Our Director, Canon Dr Angus Ritchie, blogs about a new season at CTC…

As the summer finally begins to turn to autumn, it’s definitely a time of transition for us – with a new name and a new location. Behind these are some deeper changes, as we focus more intently on a few core areas of work.

The name: CTC now stands for the “Centre for Theology and Community” (rather than the “Contextual Theology Centre”). This is a small shift, but emphasises that our focus is not primarily academic, nor are we a “think tank.” We grow out of the life and mission of inner city churches, and our aim is to equip them to transform their communities.

The location: We are very grateful to the Royal Foundation of St Katharine for a decade of hospitality – and their generous financial support for our Congregational Development work in the year ahead. But we are keen to move to a location more obviously rooted in the neighbourhood – and to free up space at St Katharine’s for their growing retreat ministry.

As this brief guide (and map!) explains, St George-in-the-East is an ideal venue for CTC, at the heart of one of the deprived and diverse communities which we seek to serve.

Our new home… St George-in-the-East (we’re in the crypt!)

Our focus: CTC’s roots are in churches’ engagement in community organising, and we are returning to these roots as we focus more intently on organising, theology and prayer.

Our core mission is to equip churches to transform their communities – through the practices of community organising, theological reflection and prayer. We also help them to use their resources more effectively for this mission.

That mission is expressed in four streams of work:

– equipping churches in Citizens UK to root their action in theological reflection and prayer, and to help a wider range of churches to learn from the practices of community organising (e.g. through the use of those practices in our Church Credit Champions Network, Near Neighbours in Eastern London, and SingSpire)

– developing Christian leaders through engagement in community organising, theological reflection and prayer (through the Urban Leadership School, and its Jellicoe and Buxton internships)

– undertaking research and reflection which equips these churches and leaders, and shares their learning more widely

– helping churches to harness their financial and physical assets, and place them at the service of their mission (through projects like the London Missional Housing Bond and ‘Clean Living’)

We are excited about the future, and want more Christians to be part of it! You can get involved by joining the CTC community – and are also warmly invited to an evening of celebration at our new home on Tuesday 28 October at 7pm!