Embedding vocation

The Centre for Theology & Community l October 9, 2016

Francesca Webster and Dunstan Rodrigues (pictured) describe an exciting project about vocation that emerged from this year’s CTC Summer Internship – and invite you to get involved…

Moving from one stage of life to another can be extremely challenging. The future appears scary and unstable; pursuing one’s passion feels too risky; status and security are very luring. It is easy to be swayed in different and conflicting directions by the pressures of friends and family. Very few, if any, people listen without giving advice that confuses more than it illuminates.

Christian groups gather to tackle debt & credit issues

Just Money l and tagged Anna Rowlands, Credit, debt, Durham University, John Barclay l September 23, 2016

Recently, Durham University hosted a conference aimed at Christians working to tackle credit and debt problems in communities across the UK. Andy Walton blogs for us on the work being done…

There’s something uniquely encouraging about knowing you’re not on your own. Being surrounded by people fighting the same fight is good not only from the point of view of sharing information and tactics, but possibly even more importantly, the impetus and energy gained from finding out there are others in the same battle is vital.

This was brought home to me recently when surrounded by people from churches across the country who’d got together at a conference in Durham to discuss their work in tackling personal debt, creating better forms of credit and innovating within a system which still allows far too many people to fall through the cracks and into crisis situations.

My first week in Shadwell…

The Centre for Theology & Community l September 16, 2016

Last Saturday, Richard Springer inaugurated his ministry as Director of our Urban Leadership School and Assistant Priest at St George-in-the-East. Here he reflects on his first week with us…

It has been a long time coming getting to Shadwell. Not just because I was interviewed at the beginning of the year and licensed as Assistant Priest to the parish of St George-in-the-East some 8 months later – just last week in a wonderful service.

Introducing this year’s Buxtonians!

The Centre for Theology & Community l September 13, 2016

Having been one of its first participants, Selina Stone now co-ordinates CTC’s Buxton Leadership Programme. In this blog she introduces this year’s participants.

The Programme has kicked off its fourth year with energy and excitement! We have three brilliant interns who are going to be with us for the whole year practicing community organising in local communities while also working in Westminster.

The next stage of an exciting journey!

The Centre for Theology & Community l and tagged Bishop of Stepney, Richard Springer, Urban Leadership School l August 27, 2016

On 10th September, the Revd Richard Springer (left) will begin his ministry as Director of our Urban Leadership School, and will licensed by the Bishop of Stepney as Assistant Priest at St George-in-the-East. It’s the next stage of CTC’s pioneering partnership with St George’s – the church in whose crypt we are now based. You are warmly invited to join us as we welcome Richard to the team.

Richard brings a wealth of experience of inner-city ministry, both as a lay person and as Curate of St Peter de Beauvoir in Hackney. In particular, Richard has experience of overseeing a residential Christian community, and more generally of working with young people in inner-city contexts. This provides a strong foundation for both of his new roles: an important part of the renewal of St George-in-the-East has been the establishment of a lay community of young Christians.

Summer Internship Stories: Putting my theology degree into action!

The Centre for Theology & Community l and tagged Internship, St James Clapton, summer l August 24, 2016

In this final in our series of blogs by our summer interns, Zoe Mathias writes about what she’s learned…

HOW THEN SHALL I LIVE? – By the end of my second year of university studying theology this question weighed heavily on my mind. I had many eloquent ideas about how the world should be and had repeatedly seen the stark contrast. It was this tension and the pressing question of how I should respond to it that drew me towards this internship.

Summer Internship Stories: Zebras and coffee mornings in Hoxton…

Community Organising l and tagged Horton, Summer internship, Zebras l August 17, 2016

Molly Kemp spent a month as part of our summer internship programme. In this latest in the series of reflections on what the interns learned, she blogs about her placement at St Johns, Hoxton…

While studying chemistry at Oxford, I became involved with an organisation called Just Love, which aims to get Christian students involved in seeking social justice. Eventually I ended up on the committee running the Just Living project, which focuses on how we can change our lifestyle, what we eat, where we buy our clothes and what we pray about so that it is more just. So although I had spent a lot of time thinking, reading and praying about social justice, it had been quite focused on the individual decisions, the impact of which was hard to trace. I wanted to explore the way relationships within a community could be used to bring about structural change – exactly what this internship (and community organising) does.

Summer Internship Stories: Finding my place in Peckham

Community Organising l and tagged Community Organising, Copleston, Park, Peckham l August 8, 2016

Here is another blog from one of our summer interns. This time, Laura MacFarlane talks about her time in Peckham, helping the church campaign for a better local park…

I was brought up in a village in a rural area of Portsmouth. Community was always very important to us, both as a church and as a family. We were deeply involved in the life of the village and I always enjoyed meeting people from different walks of life, working together with those from different churches and groups.

After finishing school, I went to Exeter University to study theology. I became more and more interested in the way that Jesus worked in communities, and also began to understand more fully the problems that existed beyond the boundaries of my little village. This led me to complete a project addressing the problems with the welfare state, following which my lecturer recommended the CTC summer internship to me.

Summer Internship stories: Crossing the road in Tottenham…

Community Organising, The Centre for Theology & Community l and tagged Community Organising, Tottenham l August 3, 2016

Every summer at CTC we introduce a group of young people to church-based community organising. This year we had a fantastic group. Here, Rachel Cook blogs about her placement at Holy Trinity, Tottenham….

Having been involved in various voluntary projects and charity work, for example cooking meals for homeless people, mentoring school children, the main reason I wanted to do this internship was to better understand how to tackle poverty and injustice on a larger scale.

From New Labour to May: The long view of power from a Council Estate

Community Organising l and tagged Aylesbury Estate, Theresa May l July 15, 2016

In this blog, our Development Director, Tim Thorlby outlines the challenges facing the new Prime Minister, and how things look from outside the Westminster bubble…

“I was the future once”

A rueful comment as another Prime Minister exits the political stage, knowing that his time is up. Such moments of transition are times of reflection. David Cameron’s time in Number 10 is already being analysed, with his initial hopes and dreams now being set against assessments of his actual legacy.

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