On Place and Space

By Revd Danny Marshall, Curate

“It’s an exciting time to join us.” I remember these words from the Autumn of 2022 when I was first asked to consider the possibility of a curacy at St Mary Magdalene with St Leonard.  This has certainly been my experience in many ways since being here but more so when I was co-opted onto the project board back in August 2024.  

I knew about Reawakening; I had read the activity plan and the proposed changes but that was merely a snapshot of the vast amount of work that had been going on in the background by faithful servants seeking to lean into where God was leading his church at this time and for the next generation.

In a short time of being here in Newark, I began to realise the significance of this place and the space it has in the hearts of the congregation but also the wider community.  Early last year I was rebuked by a cashier in a local convenient store for closing the church! As if it was a singled handed act on my behalf.  Now this wasn’t the time or place to talk about the theology that defines what a church is, but it reminded me of how this place is viewed by the community and the importance of what comes of out it.

In Andrew Rumsey’s book, Parish: An Anglican Theology of Place, he reminds us that we are faithful not to place but to God, who shows himself to us in place. It is in this place we encounter God in the long history of the church and a sense of His activity in the present.  This has certainly given me a renewed sense of appreciation for the places I have found myself in and the history of God at work in them.  And my word, there is a rich history of God at work at St Mary Magdalene and much more to come.

The church isn’t the building, but it is the place in which the church is equipped, nourished, tendered for and sent out to be a light within the community we have found ourselves in.  It is to be a place where the lost are found and the hopeless find hope.  

Before the closure, I would see each day people entering this building.  Some to marvel at its rich history, others to pray, some to light a candle in remembrance and others seeking something more.   It is a beacon; it exists as a place with a long history of worshiping God and responding to His call to love others and to be bridge builders in our community. As Dietrich Bonhoeffer writes, “the church is only the church when it exists for others.” Reawakening is about that very thing, how the church turns outwards towards the community in acts of loving service, bringing glory to God and adding to the history of God at work.

I am thrilled to be merely a footnote in the history of God working in this place and space.  The question I pose to our church and our parish is, what is God wanting to do through you in this place as we reawaken and where do you see yourself in the next part of the journey.