‘Focussed-and-connected’

: An exploration of Michael Moynagh’s view of contextual church in a multicultural church situation at the centre of a multicultural town

Abstract

This project revolves around issues raised by Michael Moynagh’s ‘focussed-and-connected’ view of contextual church as applied to a specific multicultural church situation, Abbey Baptist Church, at the centre of the multicultural town of Reading in the UK. I seek to discover what being ‘focussed’ means in the light of the Missio Dei and what priority the various churches meeting at Abbey give to the concept of being ‘connected’ and what this might look like. I seek to discover why these various churches established themselves in Reading; the reasons behind their reluctance to integrate; what their long-term vision for the future is; and how Abbey Baptist Church in particular could best offer radical hospitality to culture-specific groups.

Framed within the Pastoral Spiral, and employing a reflexive, contextual, qualitative methodology, I seek to allow the various churches to tell their story, listen carefully to their voices, and delve beneath the surface for the theological and social issues at the heart of this situation. By placing Moynagh’s views at the heart of this project, and concentrating on the issues they raise in my context, the main focus of this research is contextual mission. At the same time I draw on the contribution of a number of scholars in various related fields of study relative to my project.

Despite the ever-increasing number of multicultural congregations throughout the UK, and the rapidly growing interest in intercultural church, the reality of an integrated, ethnically diverse church is either an impossible dream or a step too far. I engage with the variety of reasons why so many culture-specific churches choose to remain that way and whether the possibility of embracing a fluid ‘focussed-and-connected’ approach, rather than any kind of organic unity or amalgamation – radical welcome or generosity rather than coloniality – could offer a progressive way forward.

Date of Award	22 Feb 2024
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	University of Winchester
Supervisor	Robert Beckford (Supervisor) & James Woodward (Supervisor)