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London Missional Housing Bond: social investment for the Church’s mission in London

27 November 2012 By

A new Bond is in the final stages of development by a partnership of churches and Christian organisations seeking to raise £2 million of social investment to support the mission of the church in some of the most deprived communities in London.

The Bond was initially developed by the Parish of St Paul’s Shadwell and the Contextual Theology Centre. They are now working with the wider Diocese and the Eden Network, supported by Affordable Christian Housing. All of these organisations are helping to grow churches and transform communities in the most deprived parts of London. The Bond will enable them to purchase and provide affordable rented housing for some of their Christian workers in these neighbourhoods.

Investors will be able to invest for up to five years in return for a fixed rate of interest of up to 2%. We will be offering a financial return, but the main benefit will be the social return from partners who are seeking to transform communities in London. This is the first Missional Housing Bond of its kind, but we hope it will be the first of many.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Information, Mission

Go and do likewise

12 June 2012 By

Last month, we held a really interesting Bishop of Kensington’s Community Ministry meeting at the impressively renewed St Andrew Fulham Fields. These meetings, held across the episcopal Areas, are principally an opportunity to make connections between those engaged in community ministry and to share good practice. One of the questions raised from time to time is this issue of retaining Christian distinctiveness as church members engage in/develop community projects. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Community Ministry, DCG, Featured articles, Kensington, Mission

the2012

3 October 2011 By

the2012 Ambassadors with Bishop RichardI have been immensely heartened by the way that our churches responded to the disturbances this summer. Priests and people in the front line parishes were quick to open their doors and be seen as a calming influence on the streets. Many others were moved to pray, write letters of support and to send money. Over £45,000 has been donated so far to help a number of these churches to reach out with the love of Christ to young people who seem to have lost all hope.

So at a time when the national church is examining how to respond to the issue of the ‘missing generation’, we are thinking of various ways in which we can respond to recent events and of course it makes the work we already have in hand for ‘the2012’ even more significant and urgent.

Our original vision was to help inspire and equip the next generation so that they could follow the Apostle Peter’s advice to ‘be prepared to give a reason for the hope that is within you with gentleness and respect’. We hope that with renewed confidence they will be encouraged to make the most of the mission and service opportunities of next summer and beyond.

Please do all you can to enlist your teenagers and invite your young adults to join ‘the2012’. The website at www.the2012.org.uk has all the details and you can download a choice of one-minute publicity videos to show at services or meetings. You can request publicity postcards and ask any questions of the Revd Ruth Bushyager (Email: ruth.bushyager [at] london.anglican.org), ‘the2012’ co-ordinator.

We have in the Diocese so many varied opportunities for these young ambassadors to engage with training and I am greatly looking forward to the commissioning service in our Cathedral on St Mellitus Day, 24th April 2012 at 7.00pm.

Join me in praying that in years to come there will be many hundreds of mature Christians, who will be able to look back on their journey of discipleship and name this as one of the ways the church invested in their growth as a lifelong Ambassador for Christ.

Filed Under: Ad clerum, DCG, Featured articles, London Challenge, Mission, the2012

Getting involved during the 2012 Games: city centre churches

1 August 2011 By

Central Churches can prepare for huge crowds in July-September 2012. © LOCOG

The Olympic and Paralympic Games present city centre churches with an opportunity both to reach our international visitors, but also to build community presence, and enjoy the Games together.

Here are some details of how churches can be involved, in serving at stations and transport hubs, offering hospitality, and staying open during the 2012 Games.

Stations and transport hubs:

With an extra 500,000 visitors a day in central London, it’s important that we coordinate with other groups – uniformed services, other faith groups and volunteers – so that everything runs smoothly. I’m working to find out what’s going on at the major stations, and how we can use our church members and buildings to serve visitors. For example, plans are beginning to develop at Kings Cross, Euston and St Pancras, which involve churches, Games Pastors, chaplaincy teams and other faith groups and denominations each providing a part of the overall welcome. [Read more...]

Filed Under: DCG, Featured articles, Mission, Olympics, Two Cities

Fusion Community Festivals

22 July 2011 By

Children have their faces painted, while a local teenager shows friends how to make balloon models. Parents get ready for a tug of war, and all around, onlookers get drawn in to the activities and fun.

At first glance this may look like just a party, but behind the fun and games lie a carefully constructed model, that has been adapted over Fusion’s 50 years serving in some of Australia’s toughest communities. It aims to combat a decline in social connection, trust and support in communities in need.

Open Crowd Community Festivals aim to give a taste of how life was meant to be – building a model of the ‘kingdom of heaven’ , where particpants move from isolation to engagement, and experience genuine community. The hope is that by instilling the festival with core values of justice, mercy and compassion, members of the community reciprocate these values, and instinctively know that they can relax and let down their defences. The festivals are run by committed but humble groups of Christians, and volunteers from the community, whose aim isn’t to be the stars themselves, but to help others become more of who they were created to be.

During 2012, there are plenty of opportunities to start a pattern of festivals in your community, with the Jubilee, the Opening and Closing ceremonies of the Olympics and Paralympics, as well as standard causes for celebration, like Easter and Christmas.
[Read more...]

Filed Under: Community Ministry, Featured articles, Mission, Olympics

“The 2012″ – The Ambassadors initiative of the Diocese of London

25 January 2011 By

Young PeopleOne of the commitments of the London Challenge is to recruit and train two thousand and twelve Ambassadors for Jesus Christ under the age of 35 by 2012.

The Revd Ruth Bushyager (Kensington Area Missioner) is leading on the delivery of this initiative and plans are now well under way towards a launch of the programme after Easter.

Those wanting to become one of “The 2012” will be able to sign up on-line to a range of discipleship and faith-sharing training courses that will run between this Autumn and Spring 2012. They will then be commissioned by Bishop Richard at a service in St Paul’s Cathedral in April 2012, and have the opportunity to serve in teams on a variety of mission projects surrounding the Olympics and beyond.

There will be two streams: one for those aged 12-17, and one for those aged 18-35. Further details will follow.

In addition to offering a diocesan course, we will be encouraging people to make the most of the training that is already happening in parishes across the diocese. Thus we are now building a database of churches running discipleship and faith-sharing courses open to the 18-35 age group, and who want to register their course as being affiliated with the Ambassadors initiative on the website.

To register your church course to be affiliated with The 2012 Ambassadors initiative please email Olivia Malhotra, Kensington Area Administrator: olivia.malhotra (Email: olivia.malhotra [at] london.anglican.org) before Friday 18 February , giving details of the course name, location, key contact details, and dates (if you have them) for courses running at any point between September 2011 and April 2012.

For more information on The 2012 Ambassadors initiative please contact the Revd Ruth Bushyager, Kensington Area Missioner: ruth.bushyager (Email: ruth.bushyager [at] london.anglican.org).

Filed Under: Featured articles, London Challenge, Mission, the2012

The Church of England in London toolkit

8 July 2010 By

East London view from the waterA new historical resource guide – The Church of England in London – has been put together by a team of academic historians, archivists and representatives of the Diocese of London.

The guide can be found at www.open.ac.uk/buildingonhistory. This ground-breaking and completely free guide will be invaluable to all those who want to discover more about the story of their parishes or the Diocese. It is designed for a wide range of users – from complete beginners to experienced historians – and it will be ideal for parish historians, school teachers and educators, clergy and laity putting together ‘history audits’ for Mission Action Plans, local historians, and members of local communities interested in religious heritage.

It provides an invaluable ‘how to’ historical toolkit, advising users on where to begin and how to develop historical investigations, provides information on the resources available and how to use them, and giving details on the libraries and archives of London and how to get the most out of them.

The resource guide is the work of Building on History: the Church in London, a project funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council partnering the Diocese of London, The Open University, King’s College London, and Lambeth Palace Library, which aims to inform the diocese’s sense of self-understanding and inform contemporary mission and ministry with historical awareness. The project has been running seminars and workshops across the diocese since May 2009. A key aim of the project has been to stimulate new historical research, and it is envisaged that The Church of England in London will be a widely used resource for the diocese. The project has also won funding to interact with other denominations and religious communities, and the guide will be expanded for these groups as a broader resource on religion in London.

In conjunction with the launch of this guide the project is hosting an event for those interested in writing a church and parish history on 16 October at Diocesan House, Causton Street. This day will be of interest to those of all levels of experience – from complete beginners to experienced researchers of parish history. The event will cost £7.50 and includes food and refreshments. To find out more, please contact John Maiden at j.maiden (Email: j.maiden [at] open.ac.uk).

Filed Under: Community Ministry, Featured articles, Mission