The Burnley Pioneer Project

The Burnley Pioneer Project is a Christian charity working in the heart of the community in Burnley. The project began four years ago when the Burnley Methodist Circuit employed a Youth Worker to work alongside a group of committed staff and volunteers to provide relevant activities to provide opportunities for people to explore the Christian faith.

The project is based in two locations – Central Methodist Church and Parkside Methodist Church. One being in the town centre and the other on the Stoops Estate. The work has developed with many exciting projects such as Reach Out kids club, Encounters youth club, cooking skills sessions, bible studies, schools work, family nights, town centre ministry, detached youth work projects, summer activities, job club and much more… Over the four years the team has developed the project with volunteers from across Burnley coming together with the same heart and vision for people to know Jesus Christ and become the best version of themselves through the work of the Holy Spirit.

We have seen people commit their lives to Jesus and be the positive change in their community. The project has invested time to develop and equip young people to serve Jesus in ministry and it is exciting to see them on fire for Jesus and mature in their relationship with Him. In the summer of 2014 two young people were baptised in Burnley town centre and the fire brigade helped by filling the tank with water!!! This was a great witness as people from the local pubs watched the young people take this step of faith.

As the project grew and developed members of the team felt called to move house and live on the Stoops Estate to be part of the community. The reason for this was Jesus ministry was incarnational. Christ become one of us to save us and for the ministry to be truly authentic we felt the way forward was to step out our comfort zone and live amongst the people to serve them, pray for them and show the love of Christ. A verse that I love from the Bible wraps this up perfectly. The word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood (John 1:14 The Message) this has helped build positive relationships with families and we have seen Jesus work in amazing ways.

A story that comes to mind is that we took our young people on a Christian youth weekend and one of the young teens made a commitment to Jesus. Since then she has committed to weekly events and now stands up in front of her peers and reads scripture and encourages them to live for Jesus. It is amazing to see such a young person strive to know Jesus more; through this her Mum has also became a Christian!

The Stoops Estate in Burnley has high unemployment, anti social behavior and many people suffering with addictions to drugs and alcohol. It is a privilege to tell people Jesus has a plan for their lives; He is for them and not against them. We are excited for the future as we work together to reach people with the Gospel.

If you would like to know more about the Burnley Pioneer Project please view our website http://www.burnleypioneerproject.org.uk/

or e-mail jemmburnleycircuit@gmail.com.

A post election reflection; what are we going to do?

This reflection based on experiences in "The Comfort Zone" in Blackpool was first published by Rev. Sally Coleman on her personal blog

 

This is a letter, but I am not sure who I am writing to! I thought about writing to David Cameron, as I have done in the past, but I have decided that I am not sure that will do much good! There are so many well written letters and articles circulating following the election results last week that my meagre offering will simply end up in a sea of many, and I will probably simply repeat what many others are saying!

I have also thought about writing to the church, but again, many many people have written good and thought provoking articles and letters concerning what our response should be, and how God works through our weaknesses to reveal his love, and invite us into another way of living. I agree with these whole heartedly, and have been challenged to think about my own life as a disciple of Jesus Christ as a result, but I want to say something more.

I think I want to speak to anybody who will listen, I want to speak to those who would call themselves spiritual, and to those who would not. Perhaps more than anything I want to write to anyone who voted Conservative, not because I want to bash you, I am sure you had good reasons for voting as you did, but please, please just pause to hear our story.

I want to speak to the rich and the poor alike because we all need the basics of life to survive, food, water, shelter, warmth and most of all friendship/ companionship. We need to know that we are not alone.

We are of course not alone, but sometimes circumstances, and maybe particularly when hope is gone and despair enters into our lives in a big way we feel alone, vulnerable, desparate and afraid. I meet people who feel like this on a regular basis, many come to our drop in "The Comfort Zone" in Blackpool. Some of these folk are homeless, others are simply struggling, really genuinely struggling to make ends meet. Through the winter folk are faced with the choice between heating or eating, we regularly give out candles and tea-lights to people with no money left on their meters.

It is easy to say that the people we see week by week should pull their socks up and get on with it, get out there and find a job, I have heard people say that, and if you reading this happen to be one of those people I would like to ask you, just for a little while to place yourslef into the shoes of someone who is scared and hungry. Imagine you have woken for breakfast, but there is nothing to eat, you do have a tea bag and some sugar, but very little milk, so you make do on that. You need to get to the library to log on to the Job Centres system, and you are going to have to walk the mile and a half because you do not have the bus fare. If you don't get there and log on as required you will be sanctioned AGAIN, for not doing enough to find work. On the way home you call in at a local church who provide you with a bag of food, while you are grateful for this you long for something other than soup, beans and corned beef! Luckily today they had some bread to give out, at least you can have toast tomorrow!

Imagine then that this is your daily routine, imagine the feared Job Centre appointments where everything you have done is scrutinised, and you dread the outcome. Imagine applying for job after job and hearing nothing. You are doing all that you can but it is NEVER enough it seems.

Now imagine that your last pair of shoes has worn out, or that your neighbours bath overflows and floods your flat, or you need to get to the next town for an appointment, or to travel to see a sick relative or go to a funeral. Life suddenly becomes overwhelmingly impossible, and a hard slog along a steep path suddenly becomes an impassable mountain, oh and please don't think I am exaggerating because these are stories, true stories that I have heard over the last few months as many people come to us on the edge of despair, and over the edge.

I have asked you to imagine this because I am fed up of hearing about the undeserving poor, and I want to point out our shared humanity, yet I find that difficult in a country where 16 members of the Governments new Cabinet are millionaires! I wonder if they can even imagine the living conditions of some of the folk we serve here in Blackpool, people who are living in tents, people who sleep in carparks, people who have difficult (rich) landlords who fail to care for their tennants.

I am also fed up with watching our wonderful volunteers struggle, ths week our food stocks hit an all time low, we gave away our last sleeping bag, and while food and more sleeping bags have arrived we operate on the edge. Our wonderful and hardworking Chaplain, Lynn greeted me this week with the words "what on earth are we going to do?" our manager Paul reported 103 people had used our service that morning, with 12 sleeping rough.  We gave out over 70 food bags and provided tea and breakfast for everyone. We are overwhelmed and fear that things are ony going to get worse, especially with the projected benefit cuts, and no sight to the ending of the benefit sanctions system.

What are we going to do?

Well we are going to carry on, but we need help and support, we and so many other groups like us need ordinary people to come along side us, to see the need, the real need, that people in this land are facing on a daily basis, and anyone can do this, no matter what your religious or spiritual belief, no matter what your politics or ideology, you can reach out in some way to help another human being, because at the end of the day that is what this is about, for these folk are our neighbours, and could be our friends, they certainly have the same needs and wants and desires as the rest of us. Grinding poverty and fear are disabling, and even crippling in peoples lives, having damaging results to mental health and self esteem.

So I leave you with a plea, please look beyond the statistics to the person, and just maybe you can join us in saying, there but for the grace of God go I….

… and echo our cry

"What are we going to do?"

…and just maybe we will come up with some real answers together…

 

CEDAR HOUSE COUNSELLING CENTRE; PRESTON

Hazel Sewell, one of the founders and moving spirits of Cedar House, writes about their ministry of binding up the broken hearted and of God's faithfulness in providing the resources they need.

Poverty isn't only about money.  In our demanding, stressful and often disjointed 21st Century society, many suffer emotionally and psychologically as well as physically. Here at Cedar House we work with people who lack peace of mind, self-worth and hope, leading to depression, post traumatic symptoms, isolation, fear, haunting memories, anger, guilt and a whole lot more.

And it's not surprising that many of these also lack the finance or the influence to get the help they need. Getting effective counselling help in situations like these is a bit of a lottery. Private counselling, at perhaps £40 per hour is out of reach of most people, while NHS provision can be of insufficient duration and often means a long wait.

God called Cedar House into being in 1997, when a small group of Christians got together to embark on a journey which led to the opening of a centre in the middle of Preston in 1998. We were guided and sustained by prayer and felt God's leading through some special passages of the Bible. Such as:

' Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.' Joshua 1:9

'The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the broken hearted and set the captives free.' Isaiah 61:1

At first we majored on help for women and girls with crisis pregnancy but over the years have developed and grown into a well-respected counselling centre dealing with a full range of issues and at present staffed by 70+ volunteers and staff. Last year we worked with over 300 clients and offered 4,000+ appointments. While we encourage those who can to make a donation towards costs, we will never turn anyone away from our homely if slightly shabby little house on Mount St.

From the start we have been quietly but unashamedly Christian in ethos and practice, which engendered a bit of suspicion in the early days. But we seem to have got over that now as agencies around the city have grown to know us and trust us. Sticking to professional ethics means that we don't speak about faith issues unless invited to by our clients and never use the situation to push our views. But the love of Jesus is on offer at Cedar House and there is no doubt that it is felt and appreciated, if not always understood.

Over the years we have built up plenty of good relationships. A number of local Churches support us and our team is drawn from folk from all denominations or none. We offer placement experience to students from a number of local Universities and Colleges, helping to train the counsellors of the future. And many local GPs, Health Centres and Hospitals refer clients to us. Not that the NHS ever gives us any money for what we do – but that's another story!

We have now come under the umbrella of Methodist Action NW, which has provided us with help in the areas where we were getting out of our depth – finance, employment and the like. Like many really valuable community initiatives, there have been some serious funding challenges and without help from MANW we would probably have gone bust by now!

And the future is by no means secure financially. But we have a God who is faithful and has always provided just what we have needed at the right time and our faith in him has been strengthened as we have seen him at work, helping us to 'bind up the broken hearted and set the captives free.'

For more information on Cedar House see http://www.cedar-house.eu/

---

Valuing the Treasure in Urban Communities

 

By Marijke Hoek

 

Text of a talk given at Preston Christian Action Network January 20^th 2015

 

My dad was a GP in the countryside. During his first years, various kids drowned in the water-rich polder where we lived. So, he and the local reverend called the villagers together to fund and build a swimming pool in which all children could learn to swim. He himself spent many an evening and weekend with a trowel to see the project through. It's one of a range of initiatives that characterised the way my father worked in, and cared for, the community. The projects survived long after he'd retired and passed away. It's a holistic understanding of his profession, addressing systemic change and increasing the wellbeing of the community. The talents to network the right people, to spark imagination, and to provide new arenas for people to use their talents.

 

"When the righteous prosper, the city rejoices" (Proverbs 11:10). When we steward our time, gifting and influence for the common good, and employ our talents lovingly and strategically, it does the community good. It is a relational view of prospering.

The theme 'Valuing the treasure in urban communities' obviously resonates Paul's reference to "a treasure in vulnerable vessels': 'For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God's glory displayed in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us' (2 Cor 4:6-7).

Paul's choice of metaphors tends to be in keeping with the emphasis of his message at a particular point. In this respect, the imagery of "clay jars" represents human weakness. It echoes something of the creation story where God uses dust and breathes life (1 Cor. 15:47). Clay vessels were earthenware used in the temple as well as in daily life. 'Clay jars' were a common metaphor for human weakness in the ancient world.

 

The clay jar metaphor serves a few points:

1. The everydayness: God chose the weak things of this world and our every day lives.

"But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things--and the things that are not--to nullify the things that are" (1 Cor.1:26-27)

 

2. Vulnerability: human weakness is the showcase of God's power

'Weakness' can be understood numerical, socio-political, economic; being human.

The first century world dominated by Roman empire, stretched as far as North Africa, Middle East, Europe. Religious, philosophical and political trends were taking its course. Imperial cult in which emperor was Lord who created peace, to his rule would come no end. Rome affected day to day life. First century believers looking for Messiah, who would redeem them from oppression, new throne, new rule, new peace. While people are looking to God, God is looking to Mary. Young, no reputation other than 'servant', yet expectant….Seed. When God does want to do something revolutionary, world changing, he starts with a seed and a teenager. The vulnerability of the exercise.  

 

While we are not the critical mass, we can be the 'critical yeast'. Using our talents diligently, creatively and risky is key to the wellbeing God has in mind. In Matthew's parable of the talents, the trustworthy servants who have been investing their talents and multiplying them receive a commendation and an invitation share their master's happiness. They receive a greater responsibility and are invited into God's shalom economy (Matthew 25:14-30).

 

'Shalom' is used in the scriptures to refer to God's creational intention. It includes peace, soundness, wholeness, security and fullness of life, in which our relationships with God, each other and nonhuman creation are thriving. Faithful stewardship entails love, work, risk, and imagination. Matthew places our vocation in an eternal light, the rays of which already illuminate our lives. In the bible we see God's people being commissioned to build houses and settle down; plant gardens, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.' Jer. 29:1-14.

 

This small community was to hold out a vision of wellbeing for the wider society and bring shalom in the place of brokenness and hopelessness. Their destiny is woven together with the city's. Every place has treasures, in terms of people and gifting:

-          Trailblazers

-          Connectors

-          Amplifiers

 

 

Trailblazers

Significantly, in a culture of captured imaginations and narrow horizons, we need a Christian imagination in the arts business, environmental protection and politics etc

In that we look for the mean of peace – shalom – whom we can work with. Together we can drill down in the soul and spirit of what shalom looks like and how that shapes our household, whether that household is personal or organisational.

 

Connectors

People who make connections, help people to think and relate outside of their silos. People who can be involved in strategic thinking in terms systemic change. For example, food banks in a land-rich area like this should be an anomaly. Besides food banks, Christians should be lamenting and looking for systemic change: food growing, employment, living wage, mentoring, giving a hope and a future.

 

Amplifiers

The Christian community is a story-formed community. It is rich in stories, and thus, our cities, towns, hamlets and villages can be filled with the story of Christ as it is lived out faithfully and told creatively. Jesus' challenge to raise our light on a stand so that people may see our good deeds motivates us to tell the tales publicly.

While local media is an excellent platform for the good news message, the Christian community not necessarily makes the most of this opportunity. In several cities local journalists have further developed the church's media coverage. Such a media savvy catalyst person can generate multiple opportunities for the Christian community in the local and regional press.

Jesus' reference to salt challenges us to provide a Christian witness in the public debate. When the local paper features youth crime, we respond with our hope. When they discus asylum, we talk about the need to recover a compassion for the persecuted. Thus, we consistently mix and mingle with the discussion in the market place. By taking part we communicate a Christian worldview, offer an alternative reality embodied in the church and exercise our advocacy, speaking up for those who wouldn't be heard otherwise.

 

Constructive change and effective mission require strategy. Developing a local media hub needs some joint-up creative thinking. It takes a catalyst with an ear to the ground, listening out for good stories. Make the most of every opportunity, always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks us of the hope that we have. A wide range of such hope-filled stories can be found on the various citywide Media Hub websites.

 

The gospel is surely good news. The active engagement of the Christian community in the local media can undoubtedly bring change from the bottom up as we seek the wellbeing of society, fill our society with the testimony of Christ and give an ongoing account of the hope we have.

 

While we are aware of our vulnerability and weakness, God's promises divine power in human weakness in view of His redemptive purposes (Romans 8:19-29).

 

May you prosper-

 

Marijke Hoek  m.hoek@btinternet.com

 

Response from UPA Parishes to Bishop of Blackburn's paper 'Healthy Churches: Transforming Communities'.

 

Posted by Rev Anne Morris … Vicar St Oswald, Knuzden

 

2015 will mark the 30^th Anniversary of the Faith in the City report which led to the foundation of the Church Urban Fund. I have clear memories of the astonishing vision behind the report which saw all C of E churches raising money for work in deprived urban areas. The Diocese of Blackburn had its own working group, chaired by Canon Eddie Burns, which drew attention to the many deprived areas in the Diocese. The Church of England seemed to have taken poverty to heart.

 

Thirty years on it seems as if much of this vision has disappeared and that ministry in poor urban areas is a lonely and uphill struggle. Raising funds to pay the parish share and for the maintenance of buildings is very difficult in parishes where money is in short supply. Church members can and do give generously week by week, and committees work hard to run fundraising events, but if the people have little money then the sum total will also be a small amount.

 

Churches in economically deprived areas also face extra challenges in ministering to their locality. These churches can be short of skilled helpers and pastoral events such as baptisms, weddings and funerals can present all sorts of difficulties and challenges not faced elsewhere. Across the diocese UPA parishes are running groups and managing projects which are, literally, a life line to people in their communities. These are often run on a shoestring with a handful of skilled volunteers who are leaned upon heavily and who can become exhausted. In a situation such as this it is disheartening to look at 'flourishing' churches in wealthier areas who seem to have more resources to draw on in terms of both money and people. It is easy for wealthier parishes to become 'consumers' of net resources, leaving poorer parishes struggling with less.

 

If we pause to look at the life of Jesus Christ, his teaching and example, it is quite clear where energy and resources should be directed. To be true to the Gospel we, in Blackburn Diocese, must do the same: resources must be directed at places of poverty. For places of deprivation, therefore, the life and example of Jesus Christ are as important as his death and ressurection; indeed, in the service of the poor and marginalised, Christ's death and resurrection serve as a template for mission and ministry, allowing new life to emerge in, often desperate circumstances. This is a gospel for the world which is outward looking, seeking people on the fringes of society who may never become churchgoers but who may, non the less, be touched by the love of Christ.

 

My feeling, serving in Shadsworth, is that, in the poorest places, poverty is worse than I've ever seen it . Our society in general may be emerging from the recession, but the very poorest are living on less money and less social support. The 'cuts' mean that the 'safety net' has gone. Churches have stepped in with food-banks, but there is much more to be done to allow the poorest on our society to regain dignity and independence. Theologian Canon John Atherton developed the idea of the 'central determining reality' of local economies. This could refer to a dominating employer or industry (such as Mullards was in Blackburn 30 years ago), or to the hidden workforce of outworkers creating budget goods and paid as pieceworkers.

 

Today's central determining reality, for many parishes in the Blackburn Diocese is poverty. There are parishes where 49% of children, 50% of pensioners and 44% of working age people live in poverty. At the same time the Diocese also has parishes where only 2-3% of these groups live in poverty. Inequality, therefore, is a very striking feature of the Diocese – a second central determining reality. However the will to support ministry in the most deprived parishes appears to be fading, or to have disappeared completely. With vision and commitment the Diocese could, at least with its own finances and resources, address the inequality in parish support. This would begin to make a difference to places of poverty and enable a much more dynamic and effective ministry there. This would be a prophetic act, centred on the life and teaching of Jesus Christ, and living out the Resurrection in the world.

 

The occurrence of poverty in the Blackburn Diocese is so significant that it should be the basis, the starting point, of any vision statement, on which all other matters are judged. If this doesn't happen then the ideas laid out on the 'Healthy Churches Vision Document' will simply not be possible in the most deprived parishes because of lack of financial and people resources. The gap between rich and poor parishes will widen and, eventually, there will be no effective ministry or mission in the places which need it most.

 

It must also be said that ministry and mission in the deprived parishes has to be 'slow ministry'. Very often 'the poor' are 'done to' rather than 'done with'. For change to be effective and lasting, ministry needs to be 'done with' those affected by poverty, not 'to'them.– it has to be there for the long haul, because it takes time to listen and understand, it takes time for trust to be earned, it takes time for cultural barriers to be understood and overcome,  to begin to change local economies and to allow hope to grow.  This needs time, patience, resources and a love whose source and inspiration is Jesus Christ. There is no 'quick fix.'

 

Anne Morris   4/12/14

Response to the Bishop of Blackburn's vision statement

The Bishop of Blackburn is asking for comments and responses to his vision statement for the future of the church in Lancashire.

This is a personal response by GREG SMITH  to the vision statement which comes out of my experience as

1. an active member of the congregation of St Mathews Preston (Parish of the Risen Lord)

2. forty years of experience in urban mission and community development in London and Lancashire (including a current role as a staff member of Together Lancashire)

3. extensive research and writing in the sociology of religion, specialising in the role of faith in urban communities (see website for links to publications etc.. http://gregsmith.synthasite.com/

There is much to be commended in the vision.. It is clear that as society changes rapidly the church needs to change too. Click on this link for my extended thoughts on reassembling the church in the contemporary context . 

It is clear to me that for the Church of England in Lancashire survival is at stake. Congregations are ageing fast and not being replaced and renewed, buildings, clergy salaries  and the traditional pattern of parish worship and ministry will not be sustainable for another two decades. Signs of life and hope in the wider church in Lancashire are found mostly in the newer independent churches which have learned to travel light without to many encumbrances by way of sacred buildings and institutional deadweight, where a basically evangelical gospel demanding personal commitment to Christ in the context of supportive community is central. Members of such groups are seen not as mere "churchgoers" but disciples of Christ being shaped to share in God's mission in the world.   The church of England in Lancashire only approaches this model in a small number of parishes and needs to move in this direction.

Within the vision document I note three areas of concern where in my view the statements need to be strengthened and developed.

 meeting the needs of the community and tackling poverty

Lancashire as a whole, and particular communities on the coast, and in the major towns faces multiple deprivation, growing poverty and increasing inequality. The welfare state is being dismantled as part of the global neo liberal project, and in the present programme of austerity which is being targetted unjustly at the poorest people in society, and with cuts in local authority funding being directed unfairly towards councils in the north of England.  As poverty grows many churches and Christian projects are raising their game and working hard through food banks, work clubs, homeless projects, youth and family work to provide help for those who are most vulnerable. As society changes every church will need to build a practical commitment to tackling local poverty into its DNA. But we will need everyone to think biblically, theologically and politically about the limits of charity and of ways to mobilise goodwill into a new politics based on commitment to the common good, and speak truth to power about what is happening in our society.

supporting mission and ministry in the tougher places, (UPA parishes and social housing estates)

The vision speaks of the need to

Plan to grow new congregations and unashamedly seek to bring others to faith in Christ

Historically it has been much easier to achieve this in comfortable areas and parishes than in UPA parishes and social housing estates, with the result that where the practical and social needs are greatest the church is often at its weakest. The Church of England has a unique role in many of these places as the commitment to parish ministry throughout the land mean that Anglicans "hang in there" long after all the other churches have given up. This commitment to the most deprived communities needs to be sustained and prioritised, with new forms of redistributing resources of finance and mission and ministry resources from wealthy Christians and parishes towards the most needy. (As an aside it is refreshing to see how Pope Francis understands and articulates these principles).  Christians from such communities, and indeed ordinary residents in these places, need to be empowered and given a voice so that their experiences, assets and concerns are better recognized within the diocese and across the county.   

working collaboratively with neighbouring churches across the denominations

For the church to be renewed we need to move away from tribal religion and silo thinking to a a wider and more open ecumenism, building friendships and alliances with the widest range of Christians, and those of other faiths and none. "working collaboratively with neighbouring churches" cannot be defined merely as sharing resources more efficiently across parishes within the deaneries of the diocese, or relying on formal ecumenical institutions such as Churches Together in Lancashire or its local groups, many or which are struggling and sometimes just boring committees that have little impact on local church life. Rather what is called for are emerging informal networks of active, mission focused, cross church partnerships that can move rapidly to meet need, take opportunities and share information and resources. In Lancashire we have at least two exciting local groupings from which we can learn, Preston Christian Action Network and its overlapping networks, and the Morecambe Churches Forum . One feature of both of these is their use of electronic communication and strong online social media presence and activity. They bring together for mission local Christian activists, share information and resources quite rapidly and sometimes bypass institutional church leaders, who can sometimes be the blockages that prevent effective action.

Working together in this way also opens up pathways to collaboration and partnership with local authorities and secular voluntary organizations, as well as with people and groups within other faith communities concerned for the welfare and shalom of the wider community. Indeed I would argue that the most appropriate models of interfaith work are based around community action rather than the tired out and naïve models which were based on tea and samosas with a period of silent reflection to remember our God(s).

If these three priorities can be incorporated as central to the vision of the church in Lancashire, and embodied as central to the corporate life of the people of God then there is a hope and a future for us all.