Learning from the margins

I was recently invited to a church in a large town to take part in a Q&A about my roles with RM and as a hospital chaplain.

One question from the congregation particularly stood out: “What one thing from the rural church might help the urban church?”

The truth is, I think there are many things, but I felt the Spirit prompting me to answer: “Stillness.”

I grew up in the south-east, in a town near Watford. At the time, it was a small town surrounded by countryside, though it has changed significantly with increasing development. Even the quieter countryside spots are now busy.

My wife and I moved to Norfolk thirteen years ago, after spending ten years living around the M25 in Hertfordshire and Surrey. I still remember our first night in Hunstanton. Lying in bed, I heard nothing - no people, no cars, no planes (we had moved from near Heathrow Airport). The bedroom was dark because the nearest streetlight was some way down the road.

After a few weeks, as I began adjusting to the change, I remember thinking to myself, “I can’t imagine living somewhere more rural than this.” Seven years later, we moved to a farm at the top of a hill in a village with no streetlights. God clearly has a sense of humour.

Adjusting from busier, noisier, more urban areas to rural life has taken years. The first winter was especially difficult as the weather changed, daylight hours shortened, and shops closed for longer periods.

I’m not the only one who has struggled with this transition. I’ve seen many people move to the coast longing for a better lifestyle, only to find the change overwhelming and eventually move back to where they came from.

Even in a digital age of online shopping and constant connectivity, rural life imposes certain limitations.

I still find aspects of the transition difficult, especially around busyness. Rural life moves at a slower pace - along with the tractors and caravans - and yet an inner drive still pushes me to keep moving. It seems easier to take the south-easterner out of the south-east than to take the south-east out of the south-easterner.

Entering rural life and ministry has required me to adapt and change, rather than simply continue in the ways I had always known. Looking back, I realise I was initially quite negative about rural life: how slow it seemed, how disconnected we felt from ‘civilisation’, the limited choice in local shops, and even the absence of a major coffee shop chain when we first arrived.

Without fully realising it, I was also trying to impose a south-eastern culture onto my ministry and expectations. I expected church life to resemble the churches you might find in the leafy areas around the M25.

Over time, I have come to see that many of my frustrations with rural life are actually blessings - things to appreciate and learn from.

The stillness and quietness, especially compared with more built-up areas, are among those blessings. Rural life teaches us not to fill every moment with noise and activity, but instead to appreciate space and silence, creating opportunities to hear the Spirit in those moments.

My journey has been different from many of yours in the RM network, especially those who have lived in rural communities for much longer - perhaps even all your lives. So how would you answer the question I was asked?

What do you consider to be the blessings of our rural context that you want to thank God for? And which of those blessings might the urban church learn from?

I’d be interested to hear your answers, and I hope you enjoy the stillness as you reflect on that question.

Sam Abramian

Director, East of England, Rural Ministries