ONE of the three priorities of the Church of England’s Vision and Strategy is that “mixed ecology becomes the norm,” and, by this, the Church seeks to see the growth of an ecosystem of all sorts of different types of churches. During the past 20 years, the language has moved from “mixed economy”, to “blended church”, and, more recently, to the more helpful language of “mixed ecology”.

What has not been explored as much is the idea of connectivity: the way in which these different types of churches might be interconnected in some way. The slightly problematic analogy of the blended church brought to mind a blender making a church-shaped smoothie, in which everything is blitzed together into a homogeneous blob. This, of course, is not the point of the mixed ecology. Like any natural ecosystem, ecclesiological and missiological ecosystems need to allow their constituent parts to maintain their distinctiveness, while finding points of connectivity that can bring integration, relationship, and mutual support.

This is not easy or straightforward, especially where there are tensions and divisions; but this does not mean that we should not try. To start to build connectivity, it is helpful to look again at 1 Corinthians 12, in which St Paul describes the Church as the body, each with its own part to play and with Christ as its head. I have always appreciated the Message translation of verse 19: “But I also want you to think about how this keeps your significance from getting blown up into self-importance. For no matter how significant you are, it is only because of what you are a part of. An enormous eye or a gigantic hand wouldn’t be a body, but a monster.”

SO, RATHER than try to make a smoothie, we need to be making fruit salads. All the pieces of fruit are still identifiable, but, together, they bring a richer Kingdom flavour. During the Covid 19 pandemic, when lectures were online and students were at home, we made real fruit salads in class. It was fascinating to see the differences in what was created. Different choices of fruit, different-sized bowls, varying methodologies of cutting the fruit.

So, the mixed ecology of church in itself will not be uniform: it will be varied. It will likely look different in each place, and some flavour-combinations will work better than others, and that is OK.

But why do we need the mixed ecology to become the norm? Well, because it already exists. The Church of England contains a variety of churches: those with a long-established presence in their community, those that are starting from scratch, different worshiping traditions, a variety of approaches to mission and evangelism, and varying models of leadership.

Ecosystems may be “macro-sized”, as in a diocese, or “micro-sized”, as in a group of local churches. There has been a rise in the number of people who identify as “mixed-ecology ministers”, who feel called to lead both new and existing expressions of church. Therefore, with all of this variety, it is not about pitting one form of church against another, but about recognising the value of everything in the ecosystem, and that different forms of church can be of benefit to one another. This will lay the foundations for greater connectivity and integration, which will enable the Church to grow.

HOW do we do this? It is not an easy task, but the Church needs to engage with it to thrive.

First, developing a framework for the mixed ecology will allow us to map what exists, and to begin to understand the possible connections within the ecosystem. This can bring clarification, affirmation, mutuality, and mobilisation.

Second, engaging with a theology of mixed ecology will help to lay foundations for integration. More work is needed in this area, but this will likely include themes of lament and reconciliation, Trinitarian community, difference, self-giving, and drawing from creation theology. We will also need to continue to grapple with the question “What is church?”, finding enough commonality to be able to hold ecclesiological differences.

Third, it will involve making a commitment to journeying together, and this will take “team, time, and tenacity”. It will start by noticing who is around us in the ecosystem, moving on to exploring what we might be able to offer to one another, gathering as leaders to build relationships, and making connections between churches, before seeing the possibility of collaboration despite — and perhaps because of — our differences.

To do this, we will need to hold on to three principles: recognition, resource, and resilience, in the knowledge that God is “able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us”. Only then will the integrated mixed ecology become the norm.

The Revd Ed Olsworth-Peter is the director of innovation at St Mellitus College. His book Mixed Ecology: Inhabiting an integrated Church is published by SPCK at £19.99 (Church Times Bookshop £17.99); 978-0-281-08937-6.