Day: 18 July 2012

From ‘exploring’ to ‘church’: Grange Park

This story illustrates the principles of From 'exploring' to 'church' in the Guide.

Residents on a new Northamptonshire housing estate, Grange Park, have to go off the estate for medical care. In 2003, the health visitor from the nearest general practice noticed that a number of young mothers on the estate were being diagnosed with post-natal depression. So she approached the estate's vicar and his wife, Charlie and Charlotte Nobbs. 

The Nobbs offered to open their home on Thursday mornings for two hours to any young mum who would value the chance to meet others and consult the health visitor. The aim was to build community so that the women could grow in confidence, discover friendship and find support.

'Talking Point' now offers an informal, welcoming setting. Good quality coffee and cake is available in the sitting room covered with cushions, blankets and inviting toys, while any older siblings are provided with easy activities in the kitchen. Around 12-18 women at a time take advantage of this purely social service.

As a result of this contact with the church, a few mothers asked to have their babies baptised. Two of them attended an Alpha course and have been instrumental in developing the church's work on the estate.

With Talking Point established, Charlotte began to pray about how to build on it. After much prayer, she sensed God was asking her to do two things: set up pizza-social nights for the Talking Point women and talk to one of the Alpha course graduates about how to share Jesus more overtly. Following these discussions, an informal monthly session for children and their mums, called Stepping Stones, was set up.

'Praying about each step was key, asking God what to do next, and waiting upon him to give the team promptings'

Stepping Stones is held on Tuesday mornings in the Community Centre Hall. An interactive telling of a Bible story ends with a time of reflection. Around 25 adults bring children each month. Attendance jumps to around 100 adults at festivals. Occasional breakfasts attract a further 25 adults.  

Charlotte and the team asked the women who attended Stepping Stones to see it as a pilot and after three months offered them the chance to fill in a questionnaire and comment on how to take it further.

In the questionnaire we asked if any of the adults would be interested in a social night/themed evening or discussion evening,

says Charlotte.

Around a third of regular Stepping Stones members responded that they would like something for adults as well. Praying about each step was key, asking God what to do next, and waiting upon him to give the team promptings.

The result of the questionnaire was the arrival of 16 women at the vicarage for a 'pizza and pud' evening to be followed by a discussion. Many had been to the vicarage through Talking Point, which made it a familiar venue.

'Always tell people what you are going to do; don't have any hidden motives'

Always tell people what you are going to do. Don't have any hidden motives,

Charlotte advises. She offered the women a choice of purely social events, a course on family, an Alpha course or a course called Journeys (a five-part course of Christian testimonies from the Willow Creek stable). The women decided between themselves to do the Journeys course fortnightly.

It is vital that the group owns how they want the group to run, rather have an unwanted choice imposed,

Charlotte believes. Between each meeting she was keeping in touch with the women, having coffee with them and praying and fasting in her own time.

By the end of the Journeys course,

all the women had owned a move towards Jesus,

Charlotte says. They took up another Willow Creek course, Life Stories, after which their group grew into a cell in the Grange Park cell church.

A core number of these new cell members are on the team for either Stepping Stones or what is now known as Stepping Stones Plus, a revision of the Journeys course, in which a further 24 women took part in 2006.

Five or six husbands meet separately with Charlie, either for socials in the pub or for an express version of Alpha over beer and pretzels in each others' homes.

Jesus is already at work, and all we have to do is see where Jesus is already,

says Charlotte.

If it is steeped in prayer, however inadequate what you do is, it will work. Whether you meet fortnightly, weekly, with new Christians or old, in small teams or large teams, it will work.

From ‘exploring’ to ‘church’: Fellowship @ Grannies

This story illustrates the principles of From ‘exploring’ to ‘church’ in the Guide.

When an Alpha course held by Methodists in a former mining town in Nottinghamshire ended, three quarters of the group, all previously unchurched, wanted to carry on. In 2002 they continued to meet fortnightly on Thursday evenings at a local teashop for coffee, cake, discussion based around material such as Nicky Gumbel’s book A Life Worth Living, and fellowship in prayer and worship.

When a new Alpha course was proposed, these graduates of the original supported the venture in ways suited to their gifts: praying in the Methodist chapel during Alpha evenings, serving food or sitting at tables to aid discussion.

After four Alpha courses and their follow-up groups over two years, the most recent follow-up group developed into a new church in its own right.

Cell group principles: ‘Welcome, Word, Worship and Witness’

Still meeting at the teashop, Grannie’s, on Thursday evenings, it runs along the cell group principles of ‘Welcome, Worship, Word and Witness’. A social time of coffee and cake is followed by modern worship songs and prayer, which is spontaneous and low-key, ‘often conversational’, says leader of Fellowship@Grannie’s and local Methodist minister, Andy Fyall.

Bibles are provided so that everyone can follow the reading, page numbers being announced along with chapter and verse. A time of interactive study follows, with a strong emphasis on encouraging the 25 members to share their own faith. Outside resources such as the book Missionary Church, Missionary Journeys by Steven Croft aid this process.

The new church is led by a team of eight. Four leaders are from the original core team, including Andy and teashop owner, Louise Beaumont, who had a vision for using her business as a place of ministry. Each is paired with a new leader from within the church, so that two people lead each Thursday evening meeting, with members participating in music and readings.

The next time an Alpha course runs at Grannie’s teashop, this new church will not only renew its earlier work of resourcing the Alpha meetings, but will also continue its own meetings. As Andy says, Fellowship@Grannie’s is now a church ‘in its own right’.

From ‘exploring’ to ‘church’: Heyford Chapel

This story illustrates the principles of From ‘exploring’ to ‘church’ in the Guide.

When Church Army pioneer, Ian Biscoe, was sent in 2002 to work among a group of Anglican churches in north Oxfordshire, he took on responsibility for an estate with no church. The only worship building on this former US air base was a military chapel.

Ian and his family started to build relationships with their new neighbours and discover whether any other Christians were living there. One close neighbour was particularly interested in their reason for coming to the estate and kept asking

When’s the church starting? I want to come.

The Biscoes invited the neighbour to their home, along with another person who had expressed interest, and suggested an Alpha course. Meanwhile, through their community links they put on a Christmas talent show at which they advertised Alpha through posters. The course started in the new year with 24 members.

We had a sense that God had already been working in people’s lives long before we showed up,

Ian says.

The early meetings were held at the Biscoes’ home but soon moved to the military chapel when they realised that entering one another’s homes did not come easily to residents on this estate.

When the Alpha course was over, members wanted to carry on their Thursday evening meetings.

‘We had a sense that God had already been working in people’s lives long before we showed up’

We started with a mission emphasis, then realised it was discipleship time,

Ian says, adding that the ‘up, in, out, of’ vision of church is a key element of this new Christian community’s mindset.

As a worshipping community is growing and different needs are emerging, there is a sense of a maturing church with a core of believers and lots of explorers,

Ian explains.

Greater structure to what happens in the church has become necessary. Meetings follow the tried-and-tested format begun with the Alpha course of welcome and refreshments (now usually coffee and biscuits rather than a meal), corporate prayer and worship, a time of Bible study, interactive prayer and three small groups for discussion. These groups are open to anyone, but Ian has found that people tend towards their usual group without this inhibiting their wider community life.

A prayer ministry is being developed at services, which now happen weekly. As the church has grown, members have gained confidence in taking responsibility, enabling the new church to be ‘a continual meeting’.

Communion happens once a month in the adult congregation. Children and young people have their own services on the estate, with the whole church family coming together for occasional ‘celebrations’. Heyford Chapel’s four age-related congregations each have their own leadership team.

We are a growing, worshipping community and are thinking about how we meet together,

says Ian.

Language Café

Christ Church Roxeth (in Harrow) realised that it was having little impact on its neighbours of other religions and cultures and started looking for ways to serve them.

Harrow, North West London, is an area with an 'ethnic minority majority'. In the 2001 census there were 41 different ethnic groups with 2,000 people or more. 

It decided to launch a Language Café for women on a housing estate in the area, using a community centre there.  

The women meet every Wednesday afternoon and sit in small groups discussing a topic. There is no formal teaching, but the leaders use pictures and other resources to stimulate conversation on that week's theme, giving the women an opportunity to develop their English language skills.

The team offer free refreshments and look after any children who come. 

We are yet to discover if it will develop into a church of some sort,

says Caroline Newbold, one of the team,

but we are clear that we are Christians and we encourage the women who come to write down names of people they are concerned about on a prayer board. We pray for those concerns after the meeting every week.

We have had some encouraging feedback from the women about this and they have started to open up to us about situations both here and in their home countries, although language and cultural differences mean that building relationships is a slow process and patience is essential.

We have lots of ideas for developing the work of the café, including offering the women a chance to take part in a new version of Alpha for speakers of other languages in the new year.

Moving from ‘loving’ to ‘exploring’: TANGO

TANGO - insideTANGO (Together As Neighbours Giving Out) is a café and recycling centre for a Merseyside community. It was set up by the local Anglican church in 2000 in an effort to bring 'give and take' and care back into the local community. A purely social service, it nevertheless provides opportunity for Christian witness through action and conversation.

We show God's love first,

says chairperson, Avril Chisnall.

We realised that God's love is out there all the time, that people have experienced it and that all have a story to tell.

Since TANGO was established in 2000, it has grown from one day a week to three. 

Wednesdays developed into a craft day for Golden Oldies in the belief that older people still have something to offer. Golden Oldies organises trips out and the 35 to 40 members knit goods that have twice made their way to Romania and Chernobyl.

Listening to the Golden Oldies, a group of both experienced 'faithwalkers' and those remembering connections to God from 'way back', Avril and her team offered a time to get together and pray. TANGO on the QT began in the autumn of 2005 and is attended by 20 to 30 Golden Oldies every Wednesday for half an hour from two o'clock – an add-on to the craft day.

Older people still have something to offer

It's a process and we discovered that there are many at different stages of enquiry or faith, so variety is the key,

says Avril.

Sometimes it's a reflection on a few verses of God's word, sometimes music and quietness, sometimes space for prayer requests. We use a variety of things for illustrating the word: candles; stones; even a box of chocolates. Not everyone goes to a church – but everyone is grateful for the prayer. We find God does the rest – we simply need to open the channel.

Two or three people have had their 'long lost connection' reignited as a result of attending TANGO on the QT. An evening cell held at the home of the leader of Golden Oldies every Wednesday provides the opportunity to pursue faith further.

Building community: Hartcliffe and Withywood Lighthouse

Lighthouse - baptismThis story illustrates the principles of Building community in the Guide.

The Lighthouse is a beacon for the unchurched on an Urban Priority Area estate on the outskirts of Bristol.

It arose out of the prayers of two women, each a member of a different church. Their vision for the estate was the provision of a relaxed environment where people could come together to share food and share their lives.

When Jenny Low arrived as an assistant minister at the parish church in 2003, she joined the women in prayer, along with others from a range of churches across the estate. With Jenny’s arrival, the women could invite their own contacts to a regular gathering at Jenny’s church house.

The Lighthouse meets for a meal at 6.30pm on Fridays. The focus is on sharing one another’s lives and their problems. Numbers vary from 12 to 40, most of whom would not describe themselves as Christians. Men and women, old and young, children with parents, come because they find something special.

Lighthouse - meetingThe Lighthouse has been described by them as ‘a life saver’, somewhere with ‘warmth’ and a place where ‘we find God’.

We have been open about the fact that we pray for people and sometimes they have asked,

Jenny says.

We usually do this in a separate room and always make sure it is more than one of us.

Members have begun to ask for more Christian content to the evenings. Jenny believes this is a result of the clear Christian welcome and strength of relationship offered at the Lighthouse. It is provided through videos and interactive learning rather than acts of worship. Some members choose to attend a monthly Sunday evening service in a local community centre.

Through the offering of a safe space, a new community has formed which gives local people a place to experience Christian love.

Loving and serving: Safe Haven

Safe Haven - meetingThis story illustrates the principles of Loving and serving in the Guide.

Safe Haven is a spiritual home for people who live with mental illness. Held monthly on a Tuesday evening in Waltham Abbey Church, in the Essex town of the same name, the hour-and-a-half long gathering attracts up to nine people across the adult age range.

Safe Haven is one of a number of activities supported by the Mind and Spirit County Steering Group.

The point of Safe Haven is that it sets out to break down distinctions between mental health and spirituality,

explains Waltham Abbey's curate, Di Crook.

It is a safe place for each person to explore their spiritual/existential journey in a framework which is Christian, but accepts people just where they are.

She suggests that around three quarters of those who attend regularly are those with no church or Christian background but who know that they are searching. Some people come each month, others when they can. Guidelines for the meetings are agreed together and everyone is welcome.

Other meeting places have been explored, but it was found that those who attend prefer the 'spiritual' feel of Waltham Abbey Church.

'The point of Safe Haven is that it sets out to break down distinctions between mental health and spirituality'

The session is facilitated by Di, a trained counsellor who, before ordination, worked with people with mental illness. Other group members have also helped to facilitate the meetings.

Meetings are simple. They begin with a read meditation, followed by a time of quiet. People indicate they are ready by placing a lit candle in the middle of the group. When everyone is ready, people can share their thoughts.

Writing about Safe Haven, one member commented:

I am sure most of us who came along as facilitators or members never expected that we would receive, ourselves, far more than we were able to give.

Boundaries and barriers have slipped away as we take up the opportunity for personal reflection in the presence of God, and then the privilege of sharing in sometimes very intimate and personal moments, as all seek to express their feelings and needs.

Not all present would recognise or even understand the movement of the Holy Spirit, but that presence is always there, encouraging, lifting up, comforting, healing and empowering.

Safe Haven

Waltham Abbey is the venue for Safe Haven, a spiritual home for people who live with mental illness.

Revd Di Crook, curate at Waltham Abbey, is herself a trained counsellor. Before ordination she worked with people with mental illness for many years. Safe Haven is one of a number of activities supported by the West Essex Mind and Spirit Cluster Group. The cluster group aims to provide resources and support in the area of mental health and Safe Haven has become an important part of that.

Safe Haven is for anyone of any faith or none. It has tried to meet in a non-religious building but people prefer being at Waltham Abbey which has 'a spiritual feel'.

Meetings are simple. To begin, a meditation is read. This is followed by quiet. People indicate they are ready for communication by placing a lit candle in the middle of the group. When everyone is ready, people can share their thoughts.

Writing about Safe Haven, one member of the group made this comment:

I am sure most of us who came along as facilitators or members never expected that we would receive ourselves, far more than we were able to give. Boundaries and barriers have slipped away as we take up the opportunity for personal reflection in the presence of God and then the privilege of sharing in sometimes very intimate and personal moments as all seek to express their feelings and needs.

Not all present would recognise or even understand the movement of the Holy Spirit, but that presence is always there, encouraging, lifting up, comforting, healing and empowering.

Loving and serving: Legacy XS

Legacy XS - boy on a bike

This story illustrates the principles of Loving and serving in the Guide.

Church of England Legacy XS youth centre in Benfleet, Essex, grew out of a small youth group meeting in a vicarage in 2001.

These youngsters were initially friends of the vicar’s kids, though they also included a few from church families,

says leader of Legacy, Pete Hillman.

Through friendships numbers grew and

chatting about Jesus developed,

says Pete. A trip to Soul Survivor saw twelve members become Christians and a youth congregation, Legacy, was started, led by around half a dozen ‘leaders’ who saw themselves as members of the community first and leaders second.

The group moved from the vicarage to Pete’s house and again to a church hall, a 1940s army hut.

It was growing in spiritual depth and identity and we were recognising there was a limit to our impact,

recalls Pete.

So we developed a vision for a drop-in centre in Benfleet.

When, on that year’s trip to Soul Survivor, there happened to be a skate park,

the two ideas came together.

We were very aware of the local need for such a facility which local youngsters had been calling out for for years. So after discussions with the young people in the community we decided to press ahead with plans.

‘I don’t skateboard, but the young people, both Christians and non-Christians, say that they notice a difference when prayer is involved’

The hunt was on for a warehouse that could hold both services and a skateboarding arena. After several months with no success, Pete went to the local authority which granted a piece of council land for a peppercorn rent.

Since this land was in the neighbouring parish to Legacy’s founding church, permission was also sought from the congregation there, and given.

Now the Legacy XS youth centre hosts both the Legacy Sunday congregation and a drop-in centre for all young people in the area for both schools work and fun. A café, a computer gaming room, a pool table and other activities make the centre attractive. Sunday worship attracts a congregation of up 80 young people, some of them as a result of attending Legacy XS in the week.

Legacy XS - wideAnd skateboarding sometimes forms part of the worship.

Pete explains:

People ride during songs, or to drumming, or they use the ramps for prayer. One example would be where one group stood at the side of the ramps holding a piece of paper with a name on it, praying silently for that person, while others held names as they rode or skated the ramps. It’s using something normally done for fun as a prayer.

Pete’s favourite explanation for the thinking behind this manner of worship is in the words of 1920s Olympic runner, Eric Liddell, in the film Chariots of Fire.

He said, ‘When I run I feel God’s pleasure’,

Pete says.

It’s not a gimmick, it’s landing tricks for God, the one from whom all blessings flow.

I don’t skateboard, but the young people, both Christians and non-Christians, say that they notice a difference when prayer is involved.

Another important difference about Legacy XS is the number of males it attracts, something Pete and his team are keen to encourage rather than balance out.

We do lots geared up for the young men,

he says.

We took some to Snowdon where we carried stones covered in names up the mountain and built a cairn near the top. Luke Cooper (19) said afterwards that he was not good at praying because he was not good with words, but he had realised that he didn’t need to be because carrying the stone for three hours had been the prayer.

Loving and serving: Night Shift

Night Shift - steps

This story illustrates the principles of Loving and serving in the Guide.

Hereford Baptist Church sits in the centre of Hereford between the clubs and pubs that attract people from the surrounding villages at night.

Church members would arrive on Sundays to find the church forecourt covered in litter. For deacon Mair Granthier and her husband, Brian, this was not a problem to be left festering. Asking around, they gathered a team to spend their Saturday nights sitting in the church foyer, venturing out every half hour to clear up the mess.

This is how the members of Hereford Baptist Church got to know the clubbers of Hereford city. Seeing that the church was open, passers-by asked the litter pickers if they could use the toilets.

Church members and clubbers began chatting with one another, sometimes about church. As the weather grew colder, the warmth of the church foyer became an increasingly attractive place for those spilling out of the clubs.

The Granthiers asked the church whether they might also serve tea and coffee from the kitchen in the foyer.

They put it to the church that we should see where God takes us,

explains youth pastor at Hereford Baptist, Claire Hailwood.

'No two evenings are the same; it depends who comes and what's on their mind'

The church seized hold of this and asked for volunteers. The church opened and people came in. We never advertised, we were just open, and people came and brought their mates.

'Night Shift' has been open since 2002, with Claire in post since 2004. Around 200 people now visit Hereford Baptist Church every Saturday night between the hours of eleven and three for the warmth of the foyer, a free hot drink and a place to talk.

The main body of the church is open for anyone who wants to sit quietly or pray with one another. Booze and smoking are forbidden, but fast food is allowed.

There's something quite special for some people about sitting in church,

says Claire.

No two evenings are the same. It depends who comes and what's on their mind.

Christmas Eve and Holy Saturday see the church open for Nightshift services with 'Carol-oke' or a mutual exchange of ideas about Christmas and Easter.

Claire tells the story of the first visitor to Night Shift in four years to be abusive. Using the radio link to the clubs and police, church members managed the situation. The following morning the same man arrived at church to apologise, even helping to move chairs.

He recognised something about this place,

Claire believes. This experience reflects the deeper engagement with faith that those behind Night Shift feel it can offer.

A lot of us feel like this is a stage in the journey and we are asking how to develop, how to make initial contact become meaningful discipleship. It's difficult, because people do come in drunk. But at the moment, this is where people are at.

Night Shift began simply because the church was there, and it continues in a spirit of being with and for those who come.