The Power of Testimony

Community Organising l and tagged Lambeth, Speedy Cash, Storytelling, Testimony l March 17, 2015

Rosina St James is on our Buxton Leadership Programme for 2014-15. Here she blogs for us on the power of personal stories in changing the world…

I have always taken for grated the idea of testimony. I grew up around church elders telling me stories of God bringing them through many of life’s challenges.

I remember hearing my first Community Organising testimony. It was from a women called Shirley who moved from the Caribbean with her husband and two very young children. Her husband Kevin had a well-paid job so she could look after their children full time. One evening while Kevin was on his way home from work, he had a heart attack on the train and was pronounced dead at the scene. This came as such a shock to Shirley as Kevin was a young, healthy man – she hadn’t thought about preparing a will or getting life insurance.

Mission: Incarnational… On the art of Community Organising

Community Organising l and tagged Community Organising l March 10, 2015

Revd Dr Simon Cuff is Assistant Curate at Christ the Saviour, Ealing and a Research Associate of CTC. Here he blogs about how Community Organising and building relationships is key to everything we do…

Towards the end of last week, I was asked to turn to the person next me and discuss the mission statement of my organisation. It happened that I was sitting next to a minister from the black Pentecostal tradition. We reckoned that, as Christians, from the Pentecostal and anglican catholic traditions respectively, we should be able to come up with a mission statement that would describe the mission of both of our organisations and would suffice at least until our organisations achieve that unity of mission statements which Christ wills. We each agreed that our mission was ‘to be the body of Christ on earth, by proclaiming the Gospel in word and deed’.

Politics is broken. Help us play a part in fixing it…

Community Organising, The Centre for Theology & Community l and tagged Community Organising, Parliament, Politics, Thomas Fowell Buxton l March 4, 2015

Co-ordinator of our Buxton Leadership Programme, David Barclay, blogs on how we’re helping to reshape the way politics is done – and how you can join in!

Politics in the UK is broken. As politicians and parties vie for attention, a recent survey suggested that almost half the population is now so disinterested, they haven’t even registered that there is an election this year. Less than one in five of us now expect politicians to tell the truth, and most of us trust bankers and estate agents more than our Westminster elite.

800 reasons we’re glad to be Near Neighbours…

Uncategorized l and tagged Near Neighbours l February 25, 2015

Our Near Neighbours Co-ordinator Revd Tim Clapton blogs on the 800th grant awarded by this pioneering project…

It’s been an exciting week as we’ve been celebrating the 800^th Near Neighbours grant to be awarded to a project bringing together people of different faiths in local social action. Near Neighbours in eastern London continues to be interesting and thrilling. It has been a privilege to have supported small organisations, faith congregations and groups of individuals as they develop local projects. Over the first three years, eastern London received over £500,000 in Near Neighbours grants which have supported creative projects – making a tangible impact. We are continuing this success in this second round of funding.

When the spirit leads us into the desert: a Lenten reflection

Prayer, The Centre for Theology & Community l and tagged Lent l February 13, 2015

We begin Lent with another brief but profound Lenten reflection from our Chaplain, Sr Josephine Canny OA…

To live Lent is to allow ourselves be led by the Spirit into the desert – a place of passage rich with potential if, like Christ, we consent to be who we are: children who receive their life from the Father, marked with a certain void but aspiring towards fullness.

When God addresses Moses “Speak to the whole assembly of the sons of Israel and say to them, “Be holy, for I, the Lord your God am holy,” the invitation might frighten us were it not for the fact that it is followed by a list of things we should avoid in order not to hurt our neighbour and thereby arrive at holiness (Lev.19, 1-2, 11-18).

Football, fairness and the Living Wage…

Community Organising l and tagged 'Living Wage', BT, Football, Premier League, Richard Scudamore, Sky l February 13, 2015

Our Director Angus Ritchie, who’s been involved in the Living Wage campaign for 15 years, blogs about this week’s £5.1 billion Premier League TV deal…

Richard Scudamore is a comfortable man, as well he might be. I imagine the Chief Executive of the Premier League on a more-than-comfortable salary, and he has just had a very good week at the office. The League has secured £5.14 billion in broadcasting rights from British TV companies, with negotiations still ongoing about international rights.

Church Credit Champions Network gets started – in Liverpool!

The Centre for Theology & Community l and tagged CCCN, Credit, Credit Unions, Liverpool l February 5, 2015

Julia Webster, Network Co-ordinator for the Church Credit Champions Network in Liverpool blogs about the exciting expansion of our work bringing together churches and community finance providers…

I think that we are all aware, on a superficial level, that much ‘good work’ goes on in many churches across the country. But it is incredibly powerful to actually visit projects and speak with the many unsung heroes who truly put their faith into action on a daily basis. I have also found the willingness of others to share their experiences and to offer their help and commitment to the Church Credit Champions Network to be inspirational.

Music with a Mission…

SingSpire l and tagged Choir, Community Choir, Homeless, West London Mission l January 20, 2015

Tom Daggett, Co-ordinator of our community music programme SingSpire, blogs about a choir of marginalised people who made a wonderful sound…

Over four weeks in December, we worked with a remarkable set of men who came together as a choir and sang in Hinde Street Methodist Church for an audience drawn from across the West London Mission.

Since 1887, the West London Mission (WLM) has combined Christian worship with pioneering social work among some of the most marginalised members of society. The WLM works with Street homeless people, homeless ex-servicemen, men with alcohol dependency, men leaving prison, and those who need affordable counselling.

After Paris: Christians, Muslims (& others) and the Common Good

Community Organising, The Centre for Theology & Community l January 13, 2015

Our Communications Officer Andy Walton blogs about our work both before and in the aftermath of the Paris attacks…

It’s impossible to fully make sense of mass murder. Whatever reason is given, the sheer horror of the murder of 12 French people in their own capital city will always be tinged with the simple thought… why? As I mulled over the events in Paris with colleagues, our minds turned quickly back to an event we’d been part of exactly a week prior to the shootings.

Why I’m passionate about the Church & Community Finance…

Community Organising, Just Money, The Centre for Theology & Community l January 9, 2015

Theo Shaw recently joined the CTC staff team to help expand our work linking up churches and Credit Unions. Here she tells the story of why she’s personally so passionate about making credit work for people…

On Monday 27th October 2014, I was proud to walk with members of the Copleston Centre Church in Peckham to deliver nearly 150 membership applications to the London Mutual Credit Union. It was amazing to see the local community so involved in actively promoting London Mutual, with people from both the congregation and local community taking part in the march.

The church has clearly set an excellent example by signing up its own members and others in the local community, which I hope will resonate throughout the Diocese of Southwark and beyond. My prayer is that other churches will be encouraged to also take active steps to address financial issues affecting their communities, as well as promoting ethical savings. It is only through this approach that we can collectively begin to create long lasting change, re-establish a saving culture that benefits all members of society, and ultimately create a financially just system that reflects God’s command to love our neighbours as ourselves.

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