Tuesday 1st April 2008
High Wycombe's residents are getting used to the sight of the Revd Nicky Skipworth and friends wandering through the town, eyes raised resolutely off the ground and gazing around them. They're not lost; they are rediscovering their surroundings through God's eyes. Sally Jarman pulled on her walking shoes to find out more.
Be honest – how often do you dash around your local shopping centre or rush to work, or your next appointment, eyes down and concentrating on the day’s agenda? It’s a curse of the breakneck speed at which we live our lives, sighs Nicky Skipworth, and it is disconnecting us from seeing not only each other but also God at work in our daily environment.
If ever anyone was made for a particular role it has to be Nicky. She practically fizzes with enthusiasm and ideas as she describes her pioneer ministry work as ‘community missioner’ in High Wycombe.
‘I just love it! It’s a dream job for me. The whole parish is God’s, not just the people who go to church, and I’m a real people person so to be honest I feel more at home out in the town than I do holed up in a church building.’
Town centre ‘tours’ are just one part of Nicky’s plan to bring God and spirituality out among people, rather than waiting for people to come to church; something she fervently wishes would happen all around the country, all of the time.
‘Jesus’ ministry wasn’t confined to particular buildings and places. It was all done as he walked along on his journeys. I so want everyone in the church to break down that public/private barrier of their faith and see that Christianity and spirituality impacts on every part of life. It’s about finding a language to talk about God wherever they are, in shops, on the bus, at work, wherever, and knowing that the ground won’t swallow them up.’
In her 40 minute tours, Nicky guides her ‘theological tourists’ around the town, pointing out popular meeting places and the juxtaposition of old historic buildings with new development, of which the interestingly named Eden shopping centre is the latest addition.
She draws attention to the long-established market community, and some of the forgotten corners of the town, and to the ebb and flow of different sections of the community as the day goes by.
And when the senses are reeling, she ends with a welcome coffee and a chat in one of the local cafes.
‘People usually react in two stages,’ she smiles, ‘I tell them only to keep their eyes up off the ground, walk steadily, and to really look around them as we go along, taking time to notice the buildings and people and their interaction with their environment.
‘At first they’re usually chatty then they’re quiet and I can see that they’re thinking and perhaps praying and seeing things they don’t normally take in. They suddenly see the range of community around them and that God is perhaps there after all.
‘They often tell me it has been a revelation, and it can be quite emotional to suddenly regain that connection between spirituality and daily life.’
When she’s not guiding others around High Wycombe, Nicky is out and about on her own each day, introducing herself to people as she walks along, chatting with those she has got to know, and popping in to local businesses.
Knowing the range of emotions that might run through my mind if a smiling stranger advanced upon me in the street to ask how I was, I wondered what reception Nicky experiences to her friendly overtures.
‘I love the double-take I often get as I walk around in my dog-collar; people just don’t expect to see a vicar at large on the street. And I suppose the first reaction when I smile at someone is probably confusion. We’re just not used to passers-by making any connection with us anymore.
But if the first few times you smile they get used to it, and then you can speak to them and usually people are polite about it and gradually they relax until eventually we are having a conversation and they know I’m interested in them for their own sake.
‘It’s low level stuff really, pre-evangelism (otherwise known as being available). It’s just showing that the Church and God are interested in people’s daily lives, wherever they are at, and perhaps challenging their pre-conceptions. It might start something simmering away, pointing to Jesus and a relationship with God, or it might just be about Grace, and that presence in people’s lives is enough in itself at times.’
As we walk together Nicky catches up on market news with one of the regular stallholders, introduces herself to one of his customers, and stops for a chat with a passing Mum and toddler, asking after the family she has come to know from their previous talks.
As Nicky says, low level stuff maybe, but interaction and connection between the church and its community that many congregations only talk of.
Beyond the bustle of the town centre Nicky then often heads to the more run-down, forgotten parts of town and also wealthier areas, both of which, she says, people may feel that God has forsaken in one way or another.
‘Jesus showed us that there is nowhere he would turn away from. Whether it’s isolation and loneliness, fear of keeping up the pace, or that things have gone badly wrong for someone, I want people to know that their lives, even broken lives, are acceptable to God and that he cares about them and wants to be with them. Just interacting with someone reflects the intimacy of God that they may have lost sight of.’
Businesses too, are not forgotten in her schedule as she explains: ‘Work is such an important part of our lives. It’s where we spend a great deal of time and it’s about so much more than just bringing in the pennies. Work and creativity of businesses reflect the creative activity of God in our environment; and I would love for Christians to feel free enough to embrace that and reflect their faith in their work openly through their words and actions.’
Nicky is still brimming with enthusiasm and ideas to take her work forward, but despite her energy and commitment she is adamant that reconnecting communities with the relevance and presence of God in their lives should not and cannot be a one-woman mission, in High Wycombe or more widely in the church.
‘As churchgoers we should all be community missioners. I know people are hesitant to be open about their faith for fear of being seen as ‘Bible-bashers’, but for the majority of the public today their view of Christianity is skewed by being media-led and it is up to normal parish churches to show that we are ordinary people leading extraordinary lives for God.’
Full of plans as ever, Nicky wants to develop the community mind of her own base church in High Wycombe, All Saints, over the next year, encouraging the congregation to join her in becoming ‘pre-evangelists’ in their daily lives.
It’s not a hard task, she insists: ‘It is our job to live iconically and as a church let people know that we welcome them and accept them as they are. We can leave it to God to transform them.’
• To find out more about Nicky’s tours or her ideas on community missioning contact her on 01904 526896 or email nicky.skipworth@btinternet.com