What does it mean to be a Church Related Community Worker (CRCW) especially in a time when many neighbourhoods have had to batten down the hatches during a global crisis? Some CRCWs admit that they have been busier than ever during this pandemic while others feel more cut off, isolated and left with the reality that they are unable to use their skills, which are often focused on highlighting injustice and enabling those who perhaps do not have a voice, by providing the tools to help make things better.

As numerous buildings closed their doors and millions of people stayed at home during the most recent lockdown, people were strongly advised to keep themselves distanced from families, friends, loved ones and members of their community (who were outside of their bubble) for the sake of their own health and the health of others.

This will no doubt have been a very lonely and isolating time for many, in countless neighbourhoods up and down the country. So, when a busy and active work life suddenly grinded to a halt, Church Related Community Worker, Marie Trubic had to find other ways to keep her mind occupied and her penchant for detective dramas helped to fill a void.

I don’t know about you, but I have survived what has seemed like an endless lockdown by watching far, far too much TV. Not having access to the various subscription streaming services, I have relied heavily on trawling the back catalogues of the likes of BBC iPlayer, ITV Hub, All 4, STV Player and the rest. There I have found many, often forgotten, gems. Who remembers “Peak Practice”, “Dangerfield” or “Where the Heart Is”? Well, trust me, they are absolute classics. 

But I have to admit that I have real penchant for crime dramas – as long as they are not too gruesome. Hence, I have only managed to stomach one episode of “Luther”. I have probably watched all 110 episodes of the detective TV programme “Taggart” as the series is based in Glasgow, where I currently live. It is often claimed that the phrase: ‘There’s been a murder!’ is growled at least once during every single episode. Something which is disputed by the series’ producers.

As I have worked my way through a variety of detective programmes ranging from “Murder, She Wrote” to the Scandi-Noir selections, I notice there is often a common scene in many of the more modern shows. It’s the one where the investigating officers enter the potential crime scene to be met by someone in a boiler suit and mask who declares ‘Sorry guv, it’s been wiped clean’. But then some beady- eyed officer notices something in a corner, a plughole or another unlikely place. Out comes that magic spray and the room lights up like Blackpool illuminations. Blood has been found and….. yes, there’s been a murder!

So, you may ask…. what has this got to do with the ministry of Church Related Community Work? I would never claim that as a CRCW I take God into the community, because I firmly believe that God got there long before me. However, I do believe that part of my role is to seek out and reveal what may otherwise go unnoticed. To illuminate how God is already working in and through the lives and communities both in and out of the Church. Then to encourage everyone to use and celebrate the God given gifts and talents they possess but which have been hidden, denied or suppressed. To realise and use the transformative power of God.

Maybe the Terms of Settlement for each Church Related Community Work ministry could make provision for a supply of Lumniol!

Find out more about Church Related Community Work

If you would like to find out more about Church Related Community Work and how you can become an agent of social change, contact the CRCW office by email for more information.

^{Community photo by Federico Burgalassi on Unsplash}