Some More Numbers

It has been suggested to me that I start keeping numbers of who we are in contact with and who comes to our group, so that when I next meet with the steering group who guide my project (and who are responsible for the report which might influence future funding) we have something concrete to go by.

We all know that numbers do not make a church, and even in established churches, Sunday attendance doesn’t give the whole picture. The national church is beginning to use a different measure. However, numbers can help us work out if what we are doing is, at least, connecting with people.

Starting with the overall reach, I estimate that we are in regular or semi-regular contact with 93 adults.

At our Sunday Gatherings, we have had 27 different adults through the door (excluding my daughter’s dedication service when 30 adults were there). Out of those, 16 adults and 12 children are what I would call regulars. Out of the regulars, this gives a theoretical maximum of 28 people including children on Sundays. And here’s a fairly meaningless stat that I like: this means that since we arrived here in 2010, we have had 933% growth(!), or 100% growth since we started the Sunday gathering with the initial core team in May 2012. Those outside our core team who have become regulars at our Sunday Gatherings have come due to an existing friendship with us or a member of our core team.

At the Little Bundles mums group, we have had 16 different mums through the door. Attendees change gradually as kids get older, mums go back to work, and as new babies are born. At the moment we get between 2 and 7 to a session, which is ample for our front room.

Our Friday Mums Bible Study group has a consistent attendance of six mums, whilst our children’s worker and I lead activities for the toddlers.

Book Club is fairly consistent too, with eleven active members and one who used to come.  Monday Night Football has 21 active members (although they don’t all come every week, resulting in games of 6-8 a side). Our Curry and Questions group, which sprung from relationships formed at football, started with four of us and now has six who have come, and two who would have made it last time but for being on holiday.

At rough count, I estimate 30 adults on the development who we have contact with who aren’t members of the above groups. This contact comes through the Northamptonshire Country Centre, the Residents Association, the school, and other friendships which have formed through the community, or mutual friends or something like that.

So, there you go, make of them what you will. I maintain the key to being a part of the community is getting involved in what is going on, and in being friendly, open, hospitable, and welcoming to those around. And undoubtedly this contributes to church growth too. It is important that relationship-building remains something we all do in the community, even as the number of Sunday regulars gets larger.

I’m aware that the above figures give no indication of how many are interested in exploring faith, or of spiritual growth for the regulars. The latter issue is something we hope to be doing week by week and we are looking at ways of helping those new to the faith explore more deeply too. Whilst we are still small and not, by any means established, we are moving in the right direction, which is encouraging. But we are still a long way from being self-sustainable, and perpetual problems such as resourcing the activities we hope to provide, and location, remain.

Findings from the Northampton Faith Communities Survey.

I reported a few months ago that Northampton Council had commissioned a survey into the status and needs of faith communities across the town. A couple of weeks ago I attended a workshop for faith leaders to discuss and critique their initial findings. The final report will go towards influencing planning policy in the future.

They heard in their survey from 113 faith groups in Northampton. All were invited to the workshop and about 30 chose to attend. The majority were from Christian groups of different denominations, but there were also a handful of Muslims, a few Hindus and Sikhs, two of Jews, one Bahai, and two people who described themselves as ‘other’ (although I’m not sure what). There were significant omissions in the scale of the survey however, as I know of a number of churches who did not fill it in, others could not be contacted, and the largest mosque in Northampton also wasn’t able to respond (for reasons I don’t know).

Findings

Using the survey combined with the most recent census data (2011). This showed that the largest ethnic group in Northampton is still White:British, followed by white:other, Pakistani, and then a combination of African nationalities. Overall there are 150 different buildings used by faith groups in Northampton.

Christianity

Between 2001 and 2011, the census data for Northampton shows a decline of 9.7%, to roughly 60%, in those who describe themselves as Christian. All other religions except Judaism showed an increase of some sort. However, as we noted in our discussions, the Christian data should be read carefully as the nature of the question in the census measured Christian allegiance rather than Christian practice. (If 60% of the population came to church, our churches would all be overflowing!).

The survey did record growth in some Christian ares, notably in informal and evangelical churches, in Catholic churches (due to Polish immigration?), and in black-led Pentecostal churches. What was clear from the survey was, quoting the workshop facilitator:

Churches are involved in a very wide and growing range of faith, cultural and community activities.

Islam

Amongst Muslim communities, the census counted roughly 8-9000 in Northampton, with the largest group being Bangladeshi, then Somali, the Pakistani. Local estimates put the total number closer to 14000, and they also questioned the methods used to discern the size of the groupings, estimating the Pakistani group to be larger than the Somali group. The error seems to have occurred in using the country of birth to determine the numbers, rather than the cultural allegiance of the worshipper. One commenter, who is a member of the Pakistani Muslim community, gained a laugh when he said “Where is the group for Muslims born in Wolverhampton?” It was also noted that the largest mosque was unable to contribute to the survey.

In all, there are 8 different mosques in Northampton which offer prayers and teaching, cultural activities, and community groups. It was asked and it is not known, however, how many of the community groups are for their own communities and how many reach out into the wider non-Muslim residential communities.

Hindu

There has been more than 50% growth since 2001. In Northampton there are 10 different Hindu groups with large Diwali celebrations. They offer faith related and community activities.

Other Religions, and ‘others’

There are two smallish Sikh groups in Northampton offering regular worship. The one Buddhist group is small but growing. They primarily meet in people’s homes. There has been a slight decrease in the Jewish population between the 2001 and 2011 census. They have an ageing membership but they get involved in prayers, meals, and talks for the Jewish community.

Just over 100 people in Northampton responded to the religion question by ticking the box ‘other’.

Needs

The survey generated needs in key areas:

• 25 groups say they need additional space, most significantly (but not confined to) Christian groups. Many of these groups were outside mainstream churches.
• There is demand for additional mosque capacity particularly for key events in the Islamic calendar. There has been talk of a possibility of a purpose-built mosque (as opposed to a converted shop) in Northampton for years.
• Broadly speaking, other religions were well catered-for. Both Hindus and Sikhs are currently building large new facilities in the town.

Fortunately, it was noted that the survey revealed almost no interest in a multi-faith worship centre, but the idea of community centres which could be used for a variety of activities, including worship, was encouraged.

In the discussion time (taken within faith groups), one church highlighted the difficulty of finding a patch of land to buy freehold on which to build a church. Developers are apparently not keen on letting go of their land!

Proposals which could influence policy

In planning, they should recognise the need for the retention and (this is key) adaptation of existing facilities. Faith groups could benefit from a supplementary planning document for places of worship, including a ‘how-to’ of the planning process, which is quite complicated.

The council could also introduce a directory of places to hire. Often there are places to meet but they just aren’t well publicised. There could also be a gathering of information of vacant non-residential institutions which could be hired, bought or adapted.

Overall it was an interesting evening, although I’m sure nothing is going to change soon. The fact that the council is funding this survey (and only a couple of other councils in the country are doing anything like this) is very encouraging. This was not the right group to be pushing the St Crispin’s community centre with, as this is already in the planning system. But the opportunity to say what we are giving to society, and what we would do with the right facilities is very much welcomed.

Good Friday Walk

Yesterday was Good Friday, and for the first time Berrywood Church marked the day with a church event. We only started meeting regularly in May last year so didn’t do anything at Easter then – in fact I was in the maternity ward with my wife on Easter Day last year waiting for the arrival of our daughter.

But what would be do that would be suitably commemorative of the day as well as welcoming and accessible to those who don’t usually come to church. I’ve led and been to numerous Good Friday family services over the years, and have never been a great fan of them. Inspired by the Walking Church idea, we decided to engage with some of the stations of the cross, or the Anglican Way of the Cross as part of a walk. Stopping six times around a local forest, I led a short reading from the Good Friday story, left a little time for reflection, and led a short prayer at each station. We ended it off with an egg hunt for the kids at the forest play park, and then disembarked to the cafe. The whole thing took about an hour for the short walk at toddler pace.

We had many of our regulars, a couple of extras who we know but don’t attend our gatherings, and two families invited by our regulars to join us. Going for a walk is something that many people do on a Bank Holiday anyway so inviting people along was no problem. And going on a nice walk at the same time as marking the season whilst also avoiding having to sit through a church service, was, apparently, quite appealing. Everyone seemed to enjoy it, despite the unseasonably cold weather and the ice still on the ground!

We might well be doing this again next year!

 

The benefits of a state church.

After this weeks debate in parliament and the passing of the equal (same-sex) marriage bill I had pondered what it’s effects on churches might be. Many had suggested that perhaps now is the time to disestablish the church, so that the legal bit of a marriage was separate from the religious bit. This would, so the argument goes, allow churches and other faith groups to offer the ceremonies that they want without impinging on the government’s definition of marriage. That way everyone would have to have the legal marriage and they could then go on to have a church ceremony afterwards, with the legalities already confirmed.

I was beginning to sympathise with that view. But the separation of church and state would have many other effects, some of which are not so desirable.

Before Christmas I was asked by the head teacher of the local primary school whether I would lead a service celebrating Candlemas for the six Church of England primary schools in Northampton. After quickly googling Candlemas to remind myself what it was, I accepted. The service was this morning.

One or Two year four classes from six schools, amounting to over 200 pupil gathered together in a local (church founded) Academy school. After I’d led a brief explanation of what Candlemas was and we’d sung a song, each school sang a solo song and read a short verse. All the verses had the theme of light in it – God’s promised light from Isaiah, God’s revealed light in Jesus, his guiding light in the Word, and so on. Scripture proclaimed to 200+ seven and eight year olds.

Also interesting were the songs they sang. Each school got to choose what song to bring. All were explicitly Christian in content, and in a couple, the children were praising God as they sang, and enjoying it.

If the Church of England wasn’t a state church, it wouldn’t be able to be so closely involved in state things, such as schooling. A valuable piece of Christian heritage would be lost to this country, and a Christian education – perhaps the only Christian input that some of these children get – would be gone with it. This is something that would be a shame to lose.

 

Northampton Faith Communities Survey

This year Northampton County Council are doing a survey of all the faith groups in the town, the extent of their activities, number of adherents, and their possible needs. The Northampton Chronicle wrote a short piece on the research this morning.

As part of the survey Iw as able to respond to question about our building needs, so, of course, I mentioned the community centre that is urgently required. More directly, they asked: If there was a multi-faith centre created for the use of those of all faiths, would we be interesting in using it?

My answer to that was this: Yes I would, but they would be better off dropping the name ‘multi-faith centre’. Behind that name is the assumption that all faiths are essentially the same, so they can be lumped together in the same building. Whilst there are some similarities between faiths, there are fundamental differences too and these differences make up the distinctiveness and the core of the individual faith. They would be better off building some sort of community building which, whilst not named as such, would be open to all faiths to use if they wish.

In my final comment, I intended to make clear one of the core values of our church – to build up the community for the benefit of all - and what is required for us to be able to meet it well:

Being on a new-build development has it’s challenges. There are so many opportunities to add to the life of the community precisely because it is a new community with no existing traditions. There is also a very high proportion of preschool and primary school-aged children. As a church, we see it as our purpose to strengthen the community by offering groups and services where, at the base level, people can simply come together and get to know one another. It is close relationships that turn a housing development into a community and lead towards a stable and cohesive society.

We are doing what we can with what we’ve got, but eagerly desire the practicality of larger space to hold our meetings and offer options to the community. A new community centre is essential for St Crispin’s, and fast!

How fresh does a Fresh Expression have to be?

As we begin our third full year here a pattern and direction is beginning to emerge. At the moment we are doing things on three levels.

We continue to provide places for the community to come together and get to know one another better, through our mums group, Zumba classes, book club and friendly football. We hold events that allow people to begin to explore matters of life and faith in a very informal manner, through our Curry and Question’s group. And there are opportunities for those who are beginning to be committed and are exploring Christianity more seriously, at our monthly gatherings and mums bible discussion group.

I’m pleased with the sort of things we’ve started, especially with the continued absence of a community centre! As I’ve been thinking, I struck me that the pattern that is emerging is not that different from a that of a good missional established church. We have low key events for newcomers, opportunities to explore, and things for the committed core (albeit done in ways that are accessible for the unchurched and for families).

The question is, does this matter? Does it matter what the outcome of a pioneering exercise look like? Does it have to look fresh?

When I think of fresh expressions, a few notable examples come first to mind. There is the Tubestation in Polzeath, Cornwall. A dying Methodist church which looks over one of the most best surfing beached in the country was given to a few Christian surfers. They gutted and converted it into a lounge, hub, shop, surf school, and cafe for the surfing community. This has resulted in a new worshipping community on Sundays.

I also think of things like Goth Church, set up in Coventry to minister to the city’s Goth community, providing worship and fellowship in ways that are accessible to this sub-culture. There are numerous other examples.

The key to these is that they are rooted in the culture of the people they are trying to reach. The practitioners have listened to the culture and created something appropriate to it.

And that is the same for us. On our new-build, our culture is primarily middle-class, families, pretty well-educated, with parents working in professional jobs. Of course, there are some outside these definitions as we are working in a geographical area rather than primarily with a sub-culture like the examples above. It is not completely homogeneous. But, we work with we whom we have.

Fortunately, this also happens to be the life stage that most of our core team are in too, so we are working from a culture that we know. It is worth noting that two fresh expressions in exactly the same area can take very different shapes according to the interests, personality, and life-stage of the pioneer. This is okay too, as God has called us specifically, so we work out of who we are.

Everything we have started has come from listening to God and responding to a need which we have seen. This is the root of fresh expressions: It is not what the outcomes look like but the workings that go before – prayerfully mapping the area and discerning ways of engaging missionally. Fresh is the method, not the product.

Therefore It doesn’t matter what the ministry or church looks like in the end, so long as it is meeting the needs of potential participants and giving opportunities for them to engage with God.

Buildings, buildings, buildings.

A new community centre, somewhere else.

As usual, a new year brings new plans.

For a few days I was entertaining the idea of opening up a coffee shop where the old one had closed. After a chat with the company that owns the building, he said they had had strong interest from others in opening up again and he’d be surprised if we didn’t have a coffee shop here again within a couple of months. We still have big plans for 2013 and hopefully I’ll be able to tell you about them soon.

Last year was supposed to be the year when the community centre was built. Guess what – still no sign of it. The initial delay from four years ago was for good reason – the original proposed location of the centre would have been wholly inadequate. Quite rightly a decision was taken to build it next to the playing fields. There is also some discussion over changing the location of a link road from the original plans written in 2002.

At the beginning of 2012 there was some movement as the council held consultation meetings with the community. A report was published at the end of the summer with the outcomes of these consultations. Sadly not a lot has been done since then. Of course, with each delay inflation increases the amount of money needed so more funds need to be found from somewhere. Money now also needs to be found for some topsoil for the playing field. This was going to be coming for free from somewhere but with the delays, this soil went elsewhere. Ours now has to be purchased.

There are more meetings between the developers, council and planners at the end of this month.

Of course, all this affects what we can do on the development. We had hoped that by now to be using the community centre for worship, toddler groups, breakfast clubs and other things. Although we are meeting of worship, it is not on the estate. We would like to start a toddler group this year bit this too may need to begin elsewhere.