One Voice
Nothing quite like it has been seen in York before. Such is the demand for tickets that extra events have had to be arranged. Interested? Curious? Fr Cyril Brooks, co-chair of the organizing committee, tells us more and explains how and why the churches of York have joined together with… One Voice
York University has its own slots in ‘One Voice’ — on Tuesday 27 October at 7.30 pm in the Central Hall and at lunch time on Wednesday 28 October in PL/001. ‘One Voice’ is a Bible-based mission in York in the last week of October; and it is a mission with a difference because this one is thoroughly ecumenical. True, not every denomination are involved, but nearly all are. This is why we feel that the title ‘One Voice’ is apt. We shall hear the one united voice of York respond to the Good News in the way St Paul describes in Romans 15:5–6 “May God who gives patience and encouragement give you a spirit of unity to live in harmony as you follow Jesus Christ, so that with one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
It all started as a local Methodist celebration. There were plans for a major refit at the Central Methodist Church in St Saviourgate, York, and David Mullins, the minister, asked Donald English to speak at the re-opening ceremony. The Anglican evangelist, John Young, then persuaded David to broaden his idea to enable Donald English to be heard by the whole of York. They got in touch with the York Council of Churches which at the time (1990) was chaired by Cyril Brooks. In no time the ecumenical mission was conceived. It was unanimously adopted at the AGM of the York Council of Churches. The organizing committee has been hard at work for the last eighteen months; it is now harvest time.
“Faith comes from hearing the message, and the message comes through preaching Christ.” (Romans 10.17)
Dr Donald English is going to be the main preacher. He has twice been President of the Methodist Conference and he is now the chairman of the World Methodist Council. As a preacher he is universally acclaimed as one of the very best. But beware! The Good News is infectious; it is catching. So is this particular preacher, as millions of Radio 4 listeners will no doubt admit. Perhaps the preaching by Donald at the ‘One Voice’ mission ought to have a health warning attached: “Attending One Voice will damage your pride.”
One of the best stories told by Jesus is known as the parable of the unforgiving servant. It can be found only in Matthew’s Gospel (18v23ff). It is the story of an impossible debt. No one knows how much ten thousand talents means in pounds sterling, but the bare fact of the matter is that the unfortunate servant is totally incapable of paying back what he owes no matter how much time the king may be inclined to allow him. The servant, his wife, his children are all ruined and face the living death of slavery. There is no hope. The catastrophe is final. In our days, similar disasters face the alcoholic who sees no prospect of rescue, or the compulsive gambler who loses everything and destroys his family in the process, or humanity itself if it has no vision of God. The servant in Jesus’ story does the one thing that God cannot resist and begs for mercy. Now mercy is what God is made of. It is part of God’s love. “Indeed, how good is the Lord, eternal his merciful love. He is faithful from age to age”, so sings the composer of Psalm 100. In the parable the king also finds the appeal irresistible. Hardly surprising, considering who the story-teller is. At once despair and life-long imprisonment are replaced by the utter joy of new life. Talk about healing! But healing is not enough. You have got to do something with your healing; like grow or change or repent. You can never simply be content with your healing; it has to be used and built on and traded with. Alas, the servant in the story forgets. He forgets that the king has granted him heaven; consequently he imposes hell on a fellow-servant. Forgetfulness is a dreadful state of affairs when salvation is at stake. It is for this reason that missions get preached.
York has a long history of Christianity behind it but many of us have simply forgotten why it is important. We need to hear it again. We need to drag it out of the past and get a good look at it with the help of someone sympathetic like Donald English who makes it easy. Every human being has the capacity to hear the Good News and bear it and hand it on. It is humanity that matters. It is human beings who respond. But that Good News has to be proclaimed from the York house tops for all to hear. This is why we have the solo voice of Donald English; it is pure music; it is easy to listen to. Without a preacher, of course, the Christ message does not get heard and so does not get listened to and lived. Every now and again we need the strong voice of a visiting prophet, and we have got one.
‘Remember’ is a key word. Christian worship uses it the whole time. There is an excellent prayer which is based on the principle that it is in our recalling of the great events of salvation history that God creates the image of his Son in us. The story of our salvation has to be re-told time and time again. Someone proclaims it and we all listen; someone sings about it and we all join in; someone prays about it and we all shout’Amen!’; many Christians even eat it and drink it when they worship. Christian remembering, of course, is not a matter of delving back into the past, like looking at old family snapshots; it is a bringing into the present what God did for humanity through Jesus. Christian worship is all about recalling this for us now, today, this minute. Worship is for this moment, this precious and urgent moment. And right in the thick of it is the need to remember, something we Christians learned from Judaism. The re-telling of the Christ story is vital and it is what Donald English does so well. He is enthralling about it. He has got the knack. He enjoys it. He is compelling. His talks are beautifully crafted, his vocabulary wide, his throw-away illustrations apt, his articulation excellent. So you will not be surprised by Donald’s talks, but you will be pleased. And you will be moved. And you will be convinced. You will have to do something about it as well, for Donald’s talks confront you with the living God and you cannot loll about in your deck chair for very long when that happens.
‘One Voice’ is entirely Gospel-centred. You are not going to be taken into the theological depths but onto the top of a very high mountain in order to get the view or, rather, the vision. This is the vision for which humanity craves because we human beings are beings in constant search of meaning. Meaning, of course, is the Gospel message. Without it, human morale collapses.
‘One Voice’ is ecumenical. Very nearly all the denominations are getting together in the Barbican Centre in order to proclaim Christ with one voice, not dozens of separate and competing ones. There is only one God, one Christ, one message, one humanity. It is altogether fitting that York’s ‘Amen!’ should be the united cry of one voice. Denominations will take a back seat for a few days; they are far too inclined to like the sound of their own voices, and this has confused ordinary folk who want, and need, to listen and respond to the pure word of God. The Good News comes first; how you respond (so long as you do respond) comes a long way second. This is why ‘One Voice’ has a neutral venue, the Barbican Centre, to enable us to listen without being disturbed by denominational traffic noises. Three cheers for ecumenism!