The seaside town of Roker in Sunderland faces a range of social issues. With the support of church-related community worker (CRCW), Helen Stephenson, the elders and members of Roker United Reformed Church came to appreciate the vital need to engage with the local community, specifically with the most vulnerable, in order to truly Walk the Way of Jesus by putting faith into action. Following Helen’s departure, the work continues to grow.
The church’s success has come, not because it has a lot of people or money, but as a result of its willingness to build relationships and connections with organisations in the local area to offer support, love and compassion in partnership with others.
A simple illustration of this model in action begins with a guitar group designed to help people work through isolation and mental health concerns with music. Their leader cannot afford to hire the church’s space, but repays the church’s modest hospitality by helping to maintain the large garden, which has also seen Princes’ Trust volunteers and school children involved in creating a larger community space through raised beds, growing fruit and vegetables.
The food grown in the garden is then passed onto the ‘Social Chef’ programme, which offers cookery lessons and community meals through the church’s kitchen. These, in turn, are enjoyed by people involved with the ‘Forget Me Knot’ wellbeing programme, which supports people with dementia, using the church as a base for its operations.
As well as allowing a joined-up approach to community work, having the church at the centre of all these activities and groups has enabled people to make connections with each other, working towards a single, united community. A pantomime was held last year, as a community event, which enabled everyone to participate, in some way, together. Much fun and laughter was shared, but relationships were also grown and opportunities for further growth and development noticed. A worthwhile effort indeed!
David Dick, a member of Roker URC who is heavily involved in its community work, says that ‘Church volunteers have experienced a sense of God’s hand in the work we are doing, and spiritual growth has followed from their hands on interaction with our neighbours from all walks of life, perhaps most obviously from those most vulnerable because of mental or physical health issues, loneliness or the perils of living in a strange city very far from home. Left alone, as a small church of ageing folk, we could not have achieved anything like the projects we have delivered. Working with like-minded partners, however, has made us strong and determined to succeed.’
Are there partners your church could work with as you seek to live the life of Jesus in your community? How might you support each other in making the world around you a better place for the most vulnerable in society? The Walking the Way resource map could help you find a way forward.
