The Bishop’s Adviser for Urban and Estates Ministry, Matthew Price, who is also Vicar of the estate Church, St Mary Magdalene, Gorleston, is available to talk to about any aspect of urban and estate mission.
What is Urban and Estates Ministry?
Our Diocesan vision is that we are Transformed by Christ: Prayerfully, Pastorally and Prophetically. One of the three priorities that flow from the Prophetic part of the vision is:
- We will ensure an active priestly or lay worker/enabler presence in our lowest economic communities as we seek to address the growing inequalities in our society.
Therefore we are keen to support all those, both lay and ordained, working in the lowest economic communities in our Diocese. This support currently takes a number of forms:
- We have established The Urban Ministry Network, an active learning community of workers who meet bi-monthly (on Zoom) to share experience from our communities and develop our thinking about some of the issues we need to grapple with in order to be most effective in mission in our communities. If you are interested in joining the next Zoom gathering, please contact Matthew.
- There is also an Urban Ministry Network group on Facebook where ideas can be shared and experience sought. To join the group please click here. (https://www.facebook.com/groups/urbanministrynetwork)
- We host an annual, in person, conference. The last conference took place in October 2021 with Sara Barron from the National Estates Church Network. The 2022 conference, Leading from a different place, will take place on 6th October 2022 at Old Lakenham Community Centre in Norwich, with speakers The Rt Revd Lynn Cullens, Bishop of Barking, and Emma Scott from Urban Expressions. For full details and booking, click here. (https://www.dioceseofnorwich.org/event/leading-from-a-different-place-urban-ministry-network-conference/)
Currently our plans for the conferences and zoom meetings are made by a small working group comprising of Keith James, Archdeacon of Norwich, Tim Yau, Mission Enabler, and Matthew. Matthew would be delighted to hear from anyone who would be willing to join the planning team.
The Bishop’s Adviser for Urban and Estates Ministry is also keen to meet anyone who would like to consult about any aspect of urban mission in their own context.
Contact the Bishop’s Adviser for Urban and Estates Ministry: The Revd Matthew Price on 01493 494248 or matthew.price@dioceseofnorwich.org
Church Urban Fund
The Church Urban Fund was set up by the Church of England after the Faith in the City Report in the 1980’s. The Fund was established to help local churches and communities set up projects to engage with the challenge of poverty.
Many good projects have been set up through the scheme including several in the Diocese. The money for this fund has now run out and CUF no longer is able to offer grants itself however from time to time it can flag up opportunities for funding relevant projects. In recent years it has initiated a new approach to help churches engage with the challenge of poverty in their local communities. This is the Together Network a series of partnerships between CUF and dioceses that are governed by their own board of Trustees.
This network of local relational partnerships work with churches, national and local government, charities and foundations, as well as individual supporters, to bring about positive change in communities. It aims to develop capacity for action at a local level, and to inform, inspire, resource and support local churches and organisations, as they work to address issues of social justice and relationships between communities. It does this by:-
- Increasing the number of church-based social activities, in order to create effective responses to poverty and build strong, flourishing communities.
- Strengthening people’s capacity to take effective action to tackle poverty.
- Developing partnerships and collaborative working between churches and with other organisations, in order to encourage joined-up activities and innovative thinking
We have such a partnership in this diocese and it is entitled Imagine Norfolk Together.
Imagine Norfolk Together
Imagine Norfolk Together is part of the Together Network set up in our Diocese.Through funding from CUF and the Diocese we have been able to employ development workers in Great Yarmouth and Kings Lynn. Through their work over the past 5 years a wide range of projects have been helped to emerge and awareness by local churches developed. You can find out more on their website.
Follow Imagine Norfolk Together on Facebook here
Places of Welcome
Places of Welcome is a national network of offers of hospitality. It emerged from a development in the Together Partnership serving the West Midlands and is now national. We have a few examples in Norfolk and are keen to extend our reach.If you have an existing offer of hospitality and would like to become part of a network or are thinking of setting something up and would like advice and ideas do take a look at their website – https://www.placesofwelcome.org.uk/
If you would like to take this further please contact Peter Howard who is the area coordinator.