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Definitions of Church Related Community Work
What has been the Churches involvement in Community Development?
Nearly ten
years later, in 1996, ‘The Common Good’, a major statement from the Catholic
Bishops of England and Wales, was published. This report presented the
social teaching of the Catholic Church in an accessible and digestible form
and provided a theological framework for the promotion of ‘community and the
common good’. It spoke of the need for commitment to one’s neighbour, ‘at
the level of the community as well as the individual’.
Since 1997
there has been a growing acknowledgement in many quarters - including
government policy makers - that faith groups of all religions may now be the
strongest community organisations in deprived areas. As yet, however, their
potential has not been fully exploited. The Government’s Urban White Paper published in November 2000 made an important reference on the potential role of faith communities. ‘Faith communities can command valuable resources and social capital in terms of networks, buildings, voluntary activity and leadership skills. These can be especially important in deprived areas if other forms of institutional support have been eroded. Faith communities are a distinctive part of the community and voluntary sector.’ [1]
[1] Our Towns and Cities: the Future. DETR, 2000. [2] A New Commitment to Neighbourhood Renewal. Social Exclusion Unit, 2001.
What is the United Reformed Church’s involvement in Community Development?
What is Church Related Community (Development) Work? The United Reformed Church sees Church Related Community Work as a vehicle for affirming the Kingdom of God in human affairs. It aims to:
United Reformed Church, Church Related Community Workers are commissioned to care for, to challenge and to pray for the community, to discern (with others) God's will for the well-being of the community, and to enable the church to live out its calling to proclaim the love and mercy of God through working with others in both church and community for peace and justice in the world. (Basis of Union of the United Reformed Church)
Within the ‘Five Marks of Mission’, two have particular (but not exclusive) emphasis for Church Related Community Work: To respond to human need by loving service. To seek to transform unjust structures of society. CRCW is concerned with responding to a God who is already actively involved in the world (not just in church) and is contextual in nature – it needs to be worked out with local people.
This leads to a theology of:
Church
Related Community Work is not a means of increasing church membership but an
engagement with those outside the church, particularly those who are
disadvantaged or oppressed. The United Reformed Church has adopted Core Competencies for its Church Related Community Workers (CRCW) which include the National Occupational Standards in Community Development Work (NOS) given in Information Sheet 1. To these, additional values that mark the ministry of Church Related Community Work have been added, such as integrity, honesty, inclusiveness, recognising all people as valuable and equal as made in God’s image, love for one another as for ourselves, respect of and dignity for others, the integrity of all creation and the inter-dependence of all creatures of the earth These standards and values define community development and good practice and describe the knowledge, skills and attitudes needed for someone to become a United Reformed Church Church Related Community Worker. She or he is someone who is;
Fundamental is the ability for contextual theological reflection linked to community development and the ability to enable others to theologically reflect. The Church Related Community Worker is a community worker and theologian who works with the church to work for change within its local neighbourhood, rather than someone simply employed by the church to act on its behalf.
The number of United Reformed Church Church Related Community Workers is relatively small. There are currently 18 in commission with another 6 in training. At present there are CRCW projects in Middlesbrough, Nottingham, Sunderland, Bradford, Hackney, Wolverhampton, Milton Keynes, South Wallasey, Llanelli, South Leicester, Romford, Newham, Swindon, Sheffield, Aston & Bloomsbury, Birmingham, Liverpool and Peterborough.
As
a distinct ministry, CRCW has a process of calling, assessment and
training. An ecumenical training programme has been developed which results
in the Diploma, BA or MA in Contextual Theology awarded by the University of
Manchester and the ‘Higher Education Diploma in Church & Community’ which
has been professionally endorsed. This is delivered on a part-time
residential basis in Manchester for 6 or 12 weekends each year. The course
is available and appropriate for individuals from all denominations and
Christian agencies. When called by a local church the CRCWs are paid
a stipend from the United Reformed Church. The local costs, including
housing, travel, office and administration have to be met by the local
church from their own resources. The United Reformed Church sees itself as
a promoter of partnerships with other churches through Local Ecumenical
Partnerships (LEPs). Churches and congregations that don’t have a CRCW
are also involved with community initiatives. As congregations have
declined, many churches have re-orientated their activities outward into the
communities where they are located. Church buildings are being used for a
plethora of activities, some promoted by the church and others with no
direct link at all. The results from a Church Returns
questionnaire in 2002, confirmed that 671 United Reformed Churches are
directly involved with some form of community initiative. In most churches
(347) this work is jointly initiated by the minister and member(s) but in
262 churches it is the members who take on the responsibility.
contributing to
community organisation (255);
Models of Christian Involvement in community and neighbourhood by workers, volunteers and congregations
Source: Churches’ Community Work Alliance Briefing, August 1998.
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