From September 2026, we’re embarking on a year-long journey of seeking the Lord together.

 

We are not beginning with strategy, plans, solutions or even our best ideas (as good and right as all those things are!), but with posture. Jesus’ words in Matthew 6:22-34 remind us that what we give our attention to will shape the direction of our lives.

 

As a church, we are seeking the Lord for personal formation, that our hearts, desires and lives would be reshaped around him,  but also for vision and direction. We believe God still speaks to his church, not only to individuals but to his people as a body. He guides, corrects and leads a community willing to listen together.

 

So, consider this an invitation to seek the Lord for Chorlton and South Manchester: to discern how he is calling us to love, serve and bring the good news of his kingdom to the people, places and communities around us.

 

This isn't about putting everything on hold while we wait for God to give us a new plan. We already know who we are and what we're here for. Rather, it's about becoming the kind of church that can hear God, recognise what he is doing and respond together.

 

In some ways, therefore, this feels like a ‘replant’ year. The church that exists today is not the same church that gathered when our vision was first articulated. There are new people, families, leaders, ministries, relationships and opportunities.

So this is an opportunity for us to bring the church as it is now on board with our vision, not simply hearing what St Werburgh's is about, but discovering it, praying into it and taking ownership of it together.

 

Across September & October our teaching series has explored what it means to be a church that:

 

• Seeks God first in a culture of anxiety and distraction;

• Trusts God’s provision over our own financial security;

• Seeks God’s presence as our ultimate reward;

• Listens for God’s voice not just making our own plans;

• Moves together as one body, in step with the Spirit, equipped to reach Chorlton, South Manchester and beyond.

​​

This is the foundation of everything that follows this year. If we get this right, everything else will flow from it.

 

A Season of Listening

As part of this Seek First year, we’re starting by entering a season of listening.

 

If Seek First is about putting our attention back on Jesus,  listening is about learning to recognise his voice and respond to what he is saying.

 

We want to create space for Jesus to speak, not because we're waiting for a brand-new vision, but because we already have a vision. We know who we are and what we're here for:

 

To play our part in seeing people, communities and churches come alive in Jesus’ name in Chorlton, Manchester and beyond.

 

The question is: what does that vision look like as we move forward? 

 

What is Jesus inviting us into now? 

What is he already doing that we can join in with? 

And how is each of us called to play our part?

 

Over the coming months, we’ll practise listening in some simple, accessible ways.

 

• In our groups, once a month we'll make space to ask: Jesus, what are you saying to us? What are you inviting us into? Is there anything you want to change in us or show us?

• In our Sunday gatherings, we'll continue making space to listen and respond. Our prayer box - yes, it has ears!- is a simple reminder that we want to be people who pray, but also make room to hear from Jesus. (St Werburgh’s loves a physical/creative response!)

• Through our listening email address, you can share a picture, Scripture, prompting or thought about where God might be leading us. You don't need to have it all figured out. listening@stwchorlton.org

 

If you think it might be something God is saying, we want to hear it.

​

A Framework for Listening

Our listening will be grounded in prayer around the three pillars of the vision:

 

PEOPLE ALIVE
Jesus, what are you doing in the lives of people around us? Who are you drawing to yourself? Where are you inviting us to create space for people to encounter you, follow you and become more like you?

 

COMMUNITIES ALIVE
Jesus, what are you doing in Chorlton and the communities around us? Where are you already at work? What needs, opportunities and places are you putting before us? How can we bring your life, hope and good news into the places where you've planted us?

 

CHURCHES ALIVE

What would it look like for St Werburgh's to form a family of churches alive in Jesus’ name? Where might you be calling us to plant, partner with, strengthen or release? What kind of church family are you inviting us to become across Chorlton, South Manchester and beyond?

 

These aren't three new things we're trying to invent. They're the vision we've already been given. We're asking Jesus to show us what they look like in this next season and how we each get to play our part.

​

How Do We Listen?

This isn't about becoming passive or sitting around waiting for God to give us a plan.

God is already at work.

 

Seeking first means learning to notice what the Spirit is doing and move in step with him. Sometimes that will mean waiting. Sometimes changing direction. Sometimes taking a risk, stepping out in faith or responding to an opportunity God has placed in front of us.

 

Listening is active attentiveness. It's keeping our eyes on Jesus, our ears open to the Spirit and our feet ready to move.

 

What’s Next?

And as we move into the new year, we'll create further opportunities for listening through a number of listening circles,  spaces where people from across St Werburgh's can come together, listen to one another, pray, listen to the Holy Spirit and discern what God might be saying to us. 

 

Over time, we'll gather the scriptures, words, promptings, stories, hopes and dreams emerging across our church. We won't assume every individual impression is what God is saying to the whole church (we all hear in part!). Instead, we'll prayerfully discern the themes emerging again and again and through that, we'll begin to discern what our existing vision looks like in the next season - what it means to live it out over the next five to ten years, where we might need to grow, what we might need to prioritise, and how each of us can play our part.

 

Jesus is already at work. Our job is to listen, recognise his voice, discern together and join in. Let’s enjoy the journey!