Rachel Marszalek is Vicar of All Saints Church in London, England. In this report from the New Wine United 2017 convention, she primarily shares insights and perspective about what is happening within the Anglican Church. For more about the New Wine movement and the United 2017 convention, see her other report, “Elephants Explored.”

Whether we meet God in the silence or the stadium gathering; whether we speak in tongues or sing the liturgy, whether we raise our hands or lie prostrate on the floor, Anglicans share a heritage. Philip North, the Bishop of Burnley, wrote recently about this magnanimous Church of England of which New Wine is a part. He was fascinated by the anthropology and spirituality of its various constituencies taking time out from the mother-ship, to meet, usually in a field somewhere, with its own. Keswick is home for a week for the evangelical, Walsingham – the Anglo-Catholic and Somerset – the New Wine Charismatic. There is also Spring Harvest for the gently charismatic evangelical and Greenbelt for those, well, I am hard pushed to say, those who are deconstructing and reconfiguring faith in various ways.

At New Wine, Bishop Philip said ‘the gospel is a very jolly thing … there is a powerful sense of the immanence of God … proclamation … is relevant to the immediate needs and aspirations of the culture … the festival has a powerful energy focused on a passionate belief in the local church as the hope of the world, and a real sense that we can go back home to make a difference.'[1]

Since I last reviewed New Wine for PneumaReview.com, there has been a change of leadership. Paul and Becky Harcourt are at the helm and bringing with them a new charism. This charism is encouraging a movement of God into the ordinary. There is, these days, more of an emphasis on the fifty weeks than the two spent together in worship. Paul’s opening challenge to us was to take New Wine home. This is where God will make the real difference. During ministry time, the expectant crowds are also prepared to ‘not expect.’ In other words, there is more room for the God who might not show up in experiential ways despite our sung worship, prepared hearts and open hands; the God who is also mystery and catches us by surprise. Don’t worry if He is not so tangible right now, wait … God knows … God knows you. He has His timing.

There is more humility.

In some ways, there has had to be!

In the Church of England’s July General Synod a Private Member’s Motion[2] was put forward by a change advocate, to ban conversion therapy. Its author is one of a very wide contingent strategising for doctrinal change on marriage.

Conversion therapy was denounced, passionately, at July’s synod.

Expected.

What is interesting, is that an amendment to that motion, ironing out some of the subtleties for those of us who believe in ‘conversion’ and who have heard the testimonies of people with broken sexualities, heterosexual and homosexual, made new, was not really ‘heard.’ Sean Doherty encouraged the Synod to appreciate that ‘all sexuality is equally affected by the Fall’ asking the House of Bishops to ‘discourage inappropriate … practices, and to encourage good ones’ when it comes to prayer and pastoralia.[3]

This year’s New Wine Summer Gathering was called ‘Uniting Thousands to Worship One.’ Committing itself to inspiring Bible teaching; seminars; passionate worship; fun for all the family and ministry in the Holy Spirit, it met across two weeks from the 23rd July to the 6th August, 2017. My family and I joined New Wine for Week One.

The conference is attended by Christians from all walks of life and from all over the UK. A large contingent worship in Church of England churches. Bishop David Pytches, its founder, was present this year. Bishop Philip North, one of our relatively new Bishops and from a different tradition within the Church of England, addressed the conference and described the event afterwards as one where ‘there is a powerful sense of the immanence of God … the festival has a powerful energy focused on a passionate belief in the local church as the hope of the world, and a real sense that we can go back home to make a difference.'[1]

I have been a part of the New Wine Movement since being persuaded by the curate of the church I was attending back in 2007. I encountered the Holy Spirit in such a powerful way at their week long national summer gathering that I thought I was going to explode. I have returned, every year since, to serve on the prayer ministry team to see what God was doing first hand. Every year the same wrestle would ensue, was I to serve in this way or not. It felt almost too good, to get to see what Jesus would do. I was converted to ‘tenting’ it and then ‘caravanning’ it, saying I would do this week holiday in a cardboard box if I had to. New Wine is far more than a Bible camp on an annual basis, it is a force for renewal across the denominations but beginning first in the Anglican church. I am now an Anglican church vicar and the New Wine movement invests in me, keeps me grounded and yet believing in the supernatural power of our supernatural God. When I need refreshment; when I need to be reminded to whom I belong, I head to a New Wine gathering. My family, two tweenage girls and a husband, have since joined me as those who identify with the movement and have our faith fuelled by it.

Nicky Gumbel

This March the New Wine Leadership Conference happened in Harrogate, England and brought 1700 church leaders together to listen to speakers such as Mark Batterson from National Community Church, Washington DC; Nicky Gumbel from Holy Trinity Brompton, London; Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury; Revd Dr Kate Coleman, President of the Baptist Union; Pastor Edward from Damascus and Charlotte Gambill, Pastor of Life Church Bradford. I will say a little about what four of these speakers had me hear. I say that because speaking and hearing seem to be such different mediums. What I heard is perhaps what God had for me, and as you will probably know too, is not always the same as what was said. I know that too now, as a preacher, myself. One person’s reaction to something spoken is rarely repeated in another and often I am told of things that have been heard that I never said at all, hence I still script out everything I am going to say, just so I am able to check and then give thanks to God that some of the rubbish didn’t get remembered and he spoke to people in ways that I hadn’t even explored.

I have learnt along the way to be less of a Joseph and it was only a few weeks ago that someone said to me rather seriously ‘Be careful who you tell your dreams to, Rachel.’ I still have a lot to learn. Some of my dreams have been realised, like my work towards the launch of a Street Pastor project but many are yet to be realised and maybe never will be. Nicky spoke to me about how it hadn’t been very wise of Joseph to talk about his dreams in the way he had.