Author: ben-clymo

Redeem the Commute – update Jul13

Ryan Sim is looking to start a new church in Ajax, a fast-growing suburb east of Toronto, Ontario. How are things developing in an area where over 80% of working age adults commute outside the area to work, and most have young families at home?

Concerned that busy commuters were too busy to try an event or service as their first point of contact with the gospel, I developed Redeem the Commute, a mobile app and web site with quality marriage, parenting, Christianity 101 courses and a daily discipleship challenge, all in less than 10 minutes a day.

This is no online church, however, users are encouraged to:

  • share this content with commuters, colleagues, neighbours and others they know;

  • form small group communities;

  • grow deeper in discipleship;

  • with time, come together for special events and corporate worship as Redeemer Church.

With technology as our primary medium for discipleship content, we have an abundance of statistics on hand at any time. Because we're planting a church – and not just trying to grow web site traffic – what's important is figuring out what the numbers really mean and not letting the numbers become the point of it all. We want to know the names and stories behind the numbers.

Redeem the Commute - screenshotIn saying that, things are developing well generally. We have seen the app installed on over 800 mobile devices since November 2012, most of them in our metropolitan area. That's in addition to hundreds of web and social media users a month, of whom a decent percentage remain engaged each month.

We're really encouraged by the overall numbers, but I like to use the parable of the sower to illustrate how visitor traffic is like the seeds sown. Some who've installed the app or visited the site will try it once and not return, or try it a few times and then stop. That's to be expected but the reason we sow seeds is in the hope that some will make it a regular habit, form small groups, eventually gather together as one and become followers of Jesus along the way. We are starting to hear a few stories like this, and I think we have huge potential for that to happen at a larger scale, but aren't there yet. Discipleship takes time, and our technological medium adds to that challenge.

We expected it to be challenging to reach a busy commuting population because they are barely at home and seldom look for extra events to attend that don't obviously add significant value to their lives. We would be asking them to reprioritise their schedules and lifestyles in order to hear the gospel. Instead, Redeem the Commute is about helping people hear the gospel even while they are overwhelmed by life, so a relationship with Jesus will help them reprioritize everything.

Adjusting to this way of life, as a pioneer, has been harder than I expected personally. The app was meant to be a way around that reality but it brings its own challenges; namely the anonymity of the Internet and Canadian privacy values. The neighbourhoods are very quiet during the day, and most people rush home in their cars, out again to activities, and back again for the kids' bedtime.

We are doing our best to engage with our neighbours and community, but it's a very different pace of life than we've experienced in rural, small town and urban settings. Having experienced this lifestyle first hand, I think we've made the right decision to connect with people as they commute, but it's a tough way to do ministry.

It means I continue to pour time and effort into discipling an audience I can't see, whose names I don't know, and who may or may not be local, unchurched people. It's up to them to tell me that kind of information (evangelism via technology is much like permission marketing), and it will take time to develop that kind of trust. At lunch with an Anglican priest recently, I told him that my ministry is much like preaching with a blindfold. We do miss the comfortable surroundings of an inherited church! Those who reach out first tend to be Christians already but that is no surprise – they know Redeem the Commute is part of the church 'family' and have a higher level of trust than an unchurched user.

I also haven't heard any stories of groups forming yet. I know we need to be patient, and we have a sense that the harvest will sprout from the ground all at once after a period of waiting, but we wouldn't mind a hint now and then that something is growing beneath the surface!

I've been surprised at the unexpected opportunities that have come our way. I expected the marriage, parenting and Christianity 101 courses we offer would be the 'draw' but, in fact, the most popular materials are our daily challenges focusing on different Christian themes.

These challenges were intended to be deeper content for those who were already followers of Jesus, or something people would grow into as they became disciples, but those statistics again show them to be are our top content. This means I'm putting a lot of effort into these, writing and filming them every week, which means that I have less time for other aspects of missional ministry that I'd hoped to engage in. I think it's a good sign, and the right place to put the emphasis right now, but engaging in this kind of ministry to commuters means we can't do the kind of events, ministry of presence and so on that other church plants or fresh expressions might engage in.

We are always adapting our content, and looking to offer new ways for people to make themselves known through things like surveys, story requests and event polls. A few people here and there take those opportunities but we'll just keep trying new things and measuring the results. We have a live Christianity 101 course starting this autumn in partnership with a local church, and know that we will meet some of our users there.

We also adjusted our group strategy. I expected to recruit Christians to lead small groups on trains and buses but, when they were difficult to find, we opted for a more organic approach using existing friendships – and that is better anyway. Other than that, we're not making any major changes and know we need to stick with it to give time for anonymous, busy, disconnected people to open up to the gospel and to one another, eventually forming a church body.

Encouragement comes from stories of people using our content and it sparking conversations with others, or changing their way of life. We've heard a few, but admittedly I long to hear more stories like this; they keep me going and give me hope that there is potential for a fresh expression of church to form. I've also suddenly started to hear from potential team members, which is great because those people have been very hard to come by until now. So we do have hope and we do have potential, not too bad at all at this stage of our journey.

(Photos: Michael Hudson Photography)

Dissecting our missional DNA (Jo Cox)

Jo Cox explores what makes us tick.

Confession time. I briefly investigated a career move into forensic science but was put off by the lengthy training and medical degree.

However that doesn't stop me from watching the addictive US drama series, CSI:Crime Scene Investigation. CSI centres on a team of forensic investigators in Las Vegas and is billed by Channel 5 as 'Sin never sleeps. Fast-paced forensics with the heroes of the Vegas crime lab'.

There is something compelling about the forensic lessons drawn from the team's search for evidence to determine the DNA of the true participants in the crime.

It reminds me that so often in a missional posture we spend so much of our time trying to collect the evidence of our existence that we can often forget the actual DNA of what we are doing. We expend all our energies on trying to get enough money, enough people, or enough permission – so much so that we neglect to stop and reflect on what makes us church in the first place.

Our evidence, our DNA, is people. Broken, chaotic, messy, glorious, beautiful, cracked, weird, disappointing, people. In the whole of the Church we are in the business of sharing stories, telling stories and making stories. But do we spend enough time telling Jesus stories too?

Our evidence, our DNA, is part of an ecclesial tradition. We may be bruised by it, or defined by it – but our very identity is passed to us and through us through tradition. Like it or loathe it, our responsibility is to connect with the tradition and traditions of the church – both structurally and liturgically.

Our evidence, our DNA, reflects part of our context. We may be trying to change it – but the very smell, taste, feel, noise, sight of our church experiments are DNA clones of not just the current Church, but the people we are reaching. It is not going to be pristine or perfect or always know when to sit down and stand up. 

Our evidence, our DNA, is poetic. It does not fit formulas or rules or standards. It is playful and provocative and calls forth a new world order of the kingdom.

Our evidence, our DNA, is characterfulness (some may call this virtue). It's the stuff of belly laughs and snorted tears. It's the stuff of patience and prayer and kindness and smiles. It's the empty cafetiere that none wants to clean. It's the chairs that need to be put away again. It's all that washing up and tidying up after the hordes have long gone home. 

Ultimately, if our church 'experiments', communities, congregations or groups do not enable people to notice something of grace and of Jesus, then all we are doing is offering false evidence. If we are not intentional about developing new forms of Church which have the DNA of the kingdom at its heart, then we are offering false hope to a church who trusts us to be faithful to our inheritance.

The Bible has a word for false evidence. Idolatry.

Let's make sure we are gathering the right evidence, the right DNA at the heart of who we are and what we do. Let's intend on the right things being at the heart of our work, worship and life.

I fear that, all too often, the current actual evidence may tell a slightly different story.

RevCoffee

Methodist VentureFX Pioneer Minister Simon Oliver, whose ministry comes under the banner of 'RevCoffee', explains how new things are happening in Cottenham through community, creativity, Christianity and cappuccinos.

I am employed by the Cambridge Methodist Circuit to work alongside the Cottenham Community Centre (CCC) and Coffee Shop.

The Centre and Coffee Shop came into existence when, after many years of faithful worship and service, Cottenham Methodist Church closed down in November 2007. The day after its final service a public meeting was held to explore the possibilities of how the building might be used as a community resource.

The CCC was formed, much hard work and fund raising was carried out, and in February 2011 the beautiful Coffee Shop was opened. It is no longer a church, but I am privileged to be a part of the Community Centre team. I was appointed as part of the VentureFX scheme to work alongside the CCC with young adults and families in Cottenham, a vibrant village of about 7,000 people just outside Cambridge.

RevCoffee - counterAt the heart of my role lies a conviction that being a welcome, accepting, incarnational Christian presence in the community is key to contemporary ministry. So I spend a great deal of time simply hanging out in the coffee shop, sometimes working behind the counter, sometimes tapping away on my laptop, and often just meeting friends old and new.

Out of these relationships, and my connections with other community groups and churches in the village, I try to find fresh ways of exploring issues of life, meaning and faith. People are interested in looking at such issues but often feel alienated, disconnected or simply uninterested in traditional Church, or are just too busy with the chaos and demands of life to find the time and space in their schedules.

We now have quite a few initiatives and projects going on in and around the Community Centre and Coffee Shop; my wife and toddler are very involved in many of these groups. My approach is to be as collaborative as possible, so everything has been set up as a result of prayerfully listening to what people might be interested in, and in partnership with others (sometimes Christians, sometimes those who don't usually have anything to do with traditional church). These initiatives include:

  • Arts Night: A small group of young-ish poets, musicians, storytellers, comedians, singers, photographers and artists get together on the second Sunday of the month. It is a mostly musical group and we have also had some great poetry from Larkin, Yeats and our own members, short stories and photography. Each month has a theme (eg war and peace, parenthood, love, death, resurrection) and we share original and borrowed material and attempt collaborate in creating new works, as well as putting on quality performances. And we always have some really interesting conversations exploring issues of life and faith from a variety of perspectives.

  • Film Club: A fun, new group where people of all beliefs and none come together to watch a movie, eat popcorn and then explore the existential and spiritual issues that come out of it.

  • Dad's Play: We have a large (70-plus on the books) group of dads and male carers/guardians of under-5s who meet informally in the back hall of the Cottenham Community Centre Coffee Shop. The kids get the chance to play together while the men get a chance to eat bacon sandwiches and drink good coffee. We also have regular curry nights – although the children aren't invited to this!

  • RevCoffee - logoMarriage and Parenting Courses. We have run a number of these courses in the Coffee Shop.

  • Daily Prayer: This takes place from 8:30 – 8:45 am, Sunday to Friday at the Coffee Shop. It is often just a couple of adults and my two-year-old, but others often pop in, have a natter and occasionally join us or ask for prayer.

  • Football Plus+: A group young and not-so-young men play football on the first and third Sundays of the month, and a small group of us are exploring the possibility of using of the fourth Sunday to talk football, life and faith over a couple of beers (or lemonades).

  • the Roost: this is new all-age event which we have been experimenting with over the last few months on Sunday afternoons and which officially 'launches' in September. It is a relaxed group which includes arts, craft, conversation, messy play, videos, the Sunday papers, music, poetry, coffee, flapjack and more to give people the opportunity to have fun together, create community and to explore different issues from a Christian perspective.

All of our activities aim to be open and accessible to all, and to give people the opportunity to develop meaningful community and consider the possibility of faith. All beliefs and viewpoints are valued, and seen as equal conversation partners as we try to make sense of life together. Everything is done in very low key and simple ways and – as I have already said – relationships take precedence over activities.

My ultimate hope is that through one or more of our initiatives people are given the opportunity to have a meaningful encounter with Jesus Christ and to explore what that might mean for them.

I take the Methodist and Fresh Expressions commitment to ecumenism very seriously, and have found it very encouraging to work alongside the Baptist Church, The Salvation Army, All Saints Parish Church and Christians Together in Cottenham as we seek to develop our ministries in collaboration.

It is not always easy, but it is a wonderful role and a rewarding project, and I feel very grateful to God and to the Methodist Church for allowing me to be a part of it!

‘Profound impact’ of fresh expressions

The General Secretary of the Methodist Church, Revd Dr Martyn Atkins has said Methodism's partnership with Fresh Expressions has been positive and productive.

Welcoming the latest statistics on attendance and membership and writing in his annual report to the 2013 Methodist Conference, he said,

The impact of the Fresh Expressions organisation, and fresh expressions more generally, upon Methodism today is profound. Naturally ecumenical, and producing some fresh expressions of church that positively challenge all partner denominations in many respects, Methodism is clearly benefitting from this partnership.

He was grateful despite the

context of decline made plain by the headline figures of our annual 'count' (e.g. c3000 loss of membership; c11000 reduction in attendance at worship across the week in 2012 compared with 2011)

because

the information coming from our Statistics for Mission in respect of fresh expressions of church is hugely encouraging.

He went on to say:

At least 1,550 'Methodist' fresh expressions are meeting monthly or more frequently, attended by c46,000 people and supported by the efforts of c8,000 volunteers. The large majority of fresh expressions are led by local preachers and lay officers rather than ministers or paid employees. Significantly, three quarters of the fresh expressions have begun in the last four years. There are fresh expressions registered from every District in the Connexion representing over 80% of our circuits. There are early signs too that our highly regarded pioneering ministry project, VentureFX, is beginning to bear fruit and produce valuable learning.

Taking a holy risk in fresh expressions

Fresh expressions of church are now developing in many denominations and traditions and Fresh Expressions is delighted to have welcomed the Church of Scotland and The Salvation Army as its most recent partners says Bishop Graham Cray, Archbishops' Missioner and leader of the Fresh Expressions team.

At its heart, Fresh Expressions is an ecumenical, missional, movement encouraging and resourcing the rediscovery of creative, contextual mission as a norm for local churches.

It is true that official reports, senior leaders and governing bodies have endorsed and commended local initiatives and promoted them across their networks. It is also true that the Mission-shaped Church report told the stories of local projects which had the potential for national significance, but the fact is that the fresh expressions movement has grown and developed from grassroots level.

However counter-cultural it may seem in our individualistic society, the Christian faith is essentially corporate and we belong to one another in Christ.

From the beginning, the life of the early church was characterised by fellowship (koinonia) – a generous mutual sharing of lives and gifts (Acts 2.42). This generosity was not just an internal matter but was demonstrated in mission as well. Paul thanks the Philippian church for their sharing (koinonia) in the gospel, which involved prayer and sending both finance and co-workers for his pioneering missionary work.

It is this sense of partnership which is characteristic of fresh expressions and the mixed economy at its best. At the local level, churches are releasing some leaders and resources to develop fresh expressions to establish a mixed economy of outreach where each contributes to the whole church's mission by engaging people unreached by the other congregation. As one part is blessed so is the whole.

At an area level, churches can combine ecumenically or within a deanery to supplement their existing work with a new missional community, such as a network church or a youth congregation. Regionally, Fresh Expressions Area Strategy Teams (FEASTs) allow the sharing of prayer, resources and training, and ensure that we never church plant competitively – out of ignorance.

Nationally, denominations partner one another so that each can benefit from the learning of all. We are on a learning curve about contextual church and we have the privilege of learning new things for one another and all benefitting together.

In the words of the movement's first team leader, Bishop Steven Croft, we have been learning to 'join the centre to the edge'. The models of fresh expression which have proved to be 'viral', such as Messy Church, Contemplative Fire and some forms of café church, all began as local initiatives. More generally, the publication of local stories has fed the imagination and given the courage for imaginative mission in many different forms in many different contexts. Many local churches are paying new and closer attention to the work of the missionary Spirit.

The Fresh Expressions initiative came into being in response to an emerging pattern of the Holy Spirit's activity. In celebrating God's leading, we shouldn't forget that the Spirit is not only the instigator of creative mission but also the sustainer and maturer of the Church. That's why we can now see further indications of this as a movement of the Spirit – with the capacity to last – through growing interest in:

  • whole life discipleship;

  • rules or rhythms of life;

  • missional communities;

  • new monasticism.

We shouldn't be surprised by this because those who pioneer the 'new things' quickly find that they need deeper spiritual roots to sustain them. It is wonderful to hear of increasing numbers of fresh expressions but few of those fresh expressions will have grown quickly. They do not provide a quick fix to overturn years of decline but are part of the Spirit's call to long term, patient, incarnational mission. In a variety of different ways, often drawing on disciplines and traditions from previous eras of the church, the call to mission is also becoming a call to deeper discipleship. The term 'ancient future' church is evocative of much of this.

The Spirit is stirring up the same concerns in a range of denominations and traditions with the mission shaped ministry course proving to be an appropriate form of learning together ecumenically. Pioneers from different denominations easily recognise a similar DNA among their peers with stories from one tradition inspiring new imagination in another. In many places, FEASTs are simply a more formal recognition of a partnership which is already developing.

Fresh expressions are here to stay because:

  • they are now a proven part of the mission of the churches in this country. The movement is making a substantial numerical difference, and helping hundreds of local churches to engage in new ventures of creative mission. It is part of the emerging mainstream.

  • the task has hardly begun. New ecumenical partners are just starting this work. A recent study of six dioceses shows 14,000 people in fresh expressions of church, about 10% of total attendance. For every person involved, another four are drawn in – but there is a lot of work to do to help many more parishes understand the possibility.

  • networks of pioneers are forming for mutual encouragement and mutual learning, and there is now the beginnings of a learning community of dioceses.

  • the partnership of mission agencies – and the 24/7 Prayer Movement – alongside the denominations in this country is another example of this shared missionary life, which the Holy Spirit is inspiring and empowering. This is even developing internationally as fresh expressions work gets underway in various parts of the world, providing new sources of learning.

The crossing of cultural and other barriers is very much part of this generous shared life. As fresh expressions are established in communities and networks previously untouched by the church, so the church locally becomes more diverse, and in the mixed economy its unity can have more of the breadth which God intends for his Church and Kingdom.

Something which first came to the attention of the national Church through a report to the Church of England has turned out to be a rich partnership of partnerships – experiencing the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, the leader of the Church's mission. May this partnership deepen, grow and extend, for the sake of the gospel.

Soul Space

Soul Space is an initiative to engage with people interested in Mind, Body and Spirit fairs. URC Emerging Church Pioneer Tim Yau and Anglican Ordained Pioneer Minister Hannah Deaves tell the story so far.

Hannah begins:

I lead a small new monastic missional community called Morph Community. This was formed in 2000 by a group of people in their 20s and 30s who were on the fringes of, or who had left, the church.

The community has 'morphed' a great deal over the years, eventually becoming an alternative worship community of people of all ages who felt a sense of mission to both church leavers and spiritual seekers. However, for the most part we found the people we connected with were church leavers and that it was quite difficult to connect with spiritual seekers.

Soul Space - welcomeWe began to feel more challenged about mission to those seekers and in January 2011 we had a prayer evening to really focus on where God might be calling us in mission. We spent some time exploring our local context, looking at where spiritual seekers were, who were the people attending local Mind, Body and Spirit Fairs and who might be the people we could join with in this mission.

From this, a team of people were gathered together from churches across Ipswich and the Morph Community and we began to meet and explore together. We were aware of the rise in interest in spirituality which suggests more than three quarters of the population would admit to having a spiritual experience – so the people we are connecting with are maybe most accurately described not as 'spiritual seekers' but as 'spiritually open' and seeking wholeness, healing or connection.

Now we are in a community café as Soul Space – offering card readings [see below], meditations and generally just being there and listening to people. As to where this will lead I don't know. We hope that by always being able to tell people when we will be there again and by advertising in the town, people might begin to return and relationships be formed over time.

What opportunities for Christian discipleship might these fairs lead on to? The team at the fairs meet together after each event to discuss if any interest in further contact was expressed, and if so what type of follow-up might be most appropriate.

Soul Space - meditationsFrom these discussions it might be that we hold other more regular events, such as meditation courses, therapy nights, discussion/social/card reading evenings in a pub – or perhaps something completely different will emerge as a way to enable people to explore further. It could be in the development of web-based resources that people could dip in and out of, or meditation cards and objects for people to take home from the fairs. These could well provide on-going prompts for contact points with God. Many will possibly not want further contact other than perhaps attending a future fair, but – over a long period of time – if people keep coming, relationships might be built up and an interest in more regular points of contact might be expressed.

Tim continues:

Our first Soul Space took place in January 2013 and our intention is that it will welcome people of all backgrounds and beliefs to find space, stillness, refreshment and insight at a Christ-centred holistic spirituality event.

Mind, Body and Spirit Fairs are alternative spirituality events where you would find tarot card readers, reiki healing, and crystal therapists. We want to tap into that interest in spirituality to point people towards Christ and, hopefully, develop community through that.

Soul Space - St Lawrence CentreThe Soul Space team involves people from different churches across Ipswich, including myself, Hannah – as an Anglican self-supporting Ordained Pioneer Minister, a parish evangelist, a trainee congregational church minister, several people from Morph, and the leader of Ipswich in Prayer (an ecumenical prayer network). We are a diverse bunch and have all brought different experiences and perspectives to the planning table.

On the day of our pilot event in January we ran three 'stations' in the St Lawrence Centre, a redundant church turned community café space in Ipswich town centre.

  • a rolling presentation of images and quotations on the theme of uniqueness;

  • a table with meditation cards where two of the team were inviting and guiding people on the principles of Christian meditation;

  • Ruach insight card readings. To the uninitiated, these may look like tarot but they are simply images that encourage people to open up and relate their life story to the cards they choose, leading into prayer if the participant wishes.

After a slow start, footfall picked up and 10 people came for card readings with very positive responses. Hopefully this is the beginning of a journey that will reach out to people in Ipswich who may never have looked for answers in the Church or the Christian faith. We don't know where this journey will eventually lead but my hope is that a new Christian community would form out of the relationships that we begin to build through these events.

Soul Space - kids' worksheetsOur second event on in April went very well. Many were blessed through the pamper table and the mirrors meditation on that table – as well as the free samples provided by The Body Shop and Lush. We also had Blessing Teas and Colouring Meditation sheets. There were many good contacts and conversations made. All 200 flyers were given out; we did 17 card readings and most of these people agreed to be prayed for.

At this event we also introduced The Jesus Deck of cards; this provided a useful tool for speaking to people one-to-one about Jesus in a flexible and accessible way.

Our next event is booked for July 13 from 11am to 3pm.

Sanctus1 and Nexus Art Café – update Jun13

Al Lowe gives the latest news on what's happening with Sanctus1 and Nexus in the heart of city centre Manchester.

There have been quite a few changes in recent times. Nexus Art Café is an independent charity so we experienced quite a shift in emphasis when the charity manager, as the person who also ran the café, decided not to return from maternity leave. We then recruited a new person but altered the focus of the role so that it now concentrates on Nexus as an arts venue and the official job title is that of art and venue coordinator.

That change has allowed us to refocus on where we are in terms of Christian spirituality: it has released us from any inhibitions in assessing the stage we have reached in our journey and what we are doing as part of that journey. It has given us a good nudge in the right direction.

Nexus Art CaféAnother outcome has been for Sanctus1 to think of Nexus as a 'legitimate' place to be linked with. The café is now more financially viable than it has been previously, so again, Sanctus1 feel happier merging with something of worth – rather than thinking they have taken on a liability.

This is all part of Sanctus1 making the gradual move towards being missional. We have seen some of the fruit of that when Sanctus1 recently contributed to an art exhibition at Nexus.

As well as our weekly service on Sundays and Wednesdays, Sanctus1 is also involved in:

  • Spirituality Film Nights

    These are run every month by Nexus Art Café (supported by Sanctus1) on their big screen in response to a survey about spirituality.

  • Halfway

    This is a joint venture between Nexus Art Cafe and Sanctus 1 and takes the form of a short weekly mediation, lasting about half an hour and designed to bring some spiritual relief and relaxation in the middle of the busy week.

  • Going Deeper

    A small group offers deeper discussion about what is happening in our lives and try to find God in what is happening. It meets twice a month at Nexus.

  • Sub

    Sanctus1 provides spiritual covering for a small group of Christians exploring their faith through the lens of alternative sub-cultures. Meeting every few months they spend time with a subject, often in a location that compliments the subject matter. Sub has also run services at Greenbelt over the last few years and will be doing so again this year.

Nexus events boardSanctus1 had struggled a little bit with a mission identity but things are moving on and we have now employed a children's worker for four hours a week to be with the children on a Sunday morning during the Sanctus1 gathering. That's great but when you start employing people you have to be aware that it is something which can challenge your constitutional status. That was certainly the case for us and, as a result, we needed to address the constitutional relationship with Nexus. Both constitutions highlight the promotion of the Christian religion so what we do has to be seen as mutually beneficial.

We are in the throes of getting to grips with the terms of the new constitutions; that's complex because we have a number of interested parties in that, including the Nexus trustees, the Manchester Methodist Circuit, the Diocese of Manchester, Sanctus1 and of course the people involved with Nexus.

Identity has turned out to be a major issue at Nexus as well during this time. The way it had been set up meant that there was some confusion about what it was, along the lines of 'it can be whatever you want it to be' but if you don't have a clear agenda, people will create their own agenda. But you can't be all things to all people so a lot of what we've been going through recently is reclaiming that sense of Nexus identity.

Nexus - donations boxPreviously we were giving out quite mixed messages and there was a sense that we were hoodwinking people who wanted to volunteer as to what we are all about. It became increasingly important for us to make clear that we are not just an arts café and we're not simply a community centre.

It means saying that this is what we are about but doing it in such a way that it creates a lot of scope for creative lateral thinking. As long as what we do doesn't interfere with the 'promotion of the Christian religion' within our constitution, then why not do it?  We are just creating more opportunities to engage with a view to some people then wanting to open up faith discussions. I would say it's important to let people have free rein to develop these creative ideas and from that we can hone the sense of community and be stepping stones into commitment.

The results of all of this in terms of relationship between Sanctus1 and Nexus are:

  • less suspicion between the two organisations;

  • some joint ideas associated with prayer groups and events;

  • letting Sanctus1 have a little more ownership of the Nexus space.

Sanctus1 - chaplainsAnother major development is our involvement in the Methodist Church's Chaplaincy Everywhere course. We have taken the opportunity of engaging with Jonathan Green, Chaplaincy Development Project Officer on the Methodist Connexional team. We ran some teaching on the subject for interested community members and we now have six lay chaplains – and me – in Afflecks Palace, a Manchester landmark and an 'eclectic emporium of indie commerce'. This Manchester landmark includes tattoo parlours, a 'pagancraft' centre, and vintage clothing outlets.

There are another three or four people who want to get on board and we'll be running further training in July with the aim of expanding the chaplaincy work across the city's Northern Quarter. There's no doubt that chaplaincy is offering very special opportunities for engagement with the local community and the great thing is that if people want to take the next step and meet somewhere we can point them in the direction of Nexus and Sanctus1 as a place to be.

Nexus Art Café SignI have been here nearly four years and I would say it is only in the past twelve months that we have seen Sanctus1 and Nexus working so closely together. Finance is always an issue and the café doesn't pay my stipend but it is now generating an income. As an independent charity, this means we are in a better position to apply for external grants. We had agreed funding from the Diocese and the Circuit for five years – the Diocese has now agreed to a further two and the Circuit is looking to do the same, though that decision still has to be ratified. Personally I am going through reinvitation stationing this year so we'll have to see what happens in 2014.