community-action-> where from here?what next?-
please add your thoughts/ feedback herewe'll review peoples comments over the month and if approp arrange a date for a next meeting.is there still a role for the community-action group?
.do you still want to be part of it or do you feel the specific group has it already served its purpose (be honest)?
.how do you see it looking?
.how do we practically be 'the message'?
.how do we support and help our mates to be the message?
.are you itching to get involved in some things?
.any practical ideas on community things to be getting involved in?
.what should the purpose of the community-action group be?
.is it worth keeping the blog going? do people feel its the right medium to communicate?
.how do we interact with/communicate with/feedback with & support what is happening in the wider church
.be awesome to hear your feedback/thoughts/ideas
MEETING twoHey gang,
Little note to say thanks to the hard-core few who made it to the meeting last night.
Our main focus was praying for some of the things currently going on or coming up in the near future, particularly Alpha and the Christmas Cafe plans.
With the busyness of Christmas fast approaching, and church changes coming January, the general consensus was that we break for a couple of months and re-group afresh again in the New Year sometime in February.
In the mean time, let’s keep talking, praying and supporting one another in all community related matters.
I'm sure Debs & Chris would be really keen for more helpers in the planning and putting on of the Christmas Cafe.(Check-out
www.christmas-cafe.co.uk, and for more information, the email address is
info@christmas-cafe.co.uk).
And if you're up for it, and still yet to input your stories, it would be great to have the BLOG updated before Christmas - and that can help us when we get things kick-started again in the new year. In the mean time, thanks so much for your participation so far, the journeys we're all on, and all the best in what you're up to and about in the run up to Christmas.
Finally
-. To plug the
2nd DreamDay happening on November 16th - checkout:
www.dreamdaysouthampton.org.ukI'm sure a lot of you folk have already heard about it. In brief it sounds a bit like speed dating, where you get 2 minutes with each person to tell them your dream/vision. Wouldn't it be great to have some input from folk with a heart and passion for community. Hope some of you can make it.
-. I'll put a post up on the blog soon to share a bit about an
IBM Community Action day I had the privilege of leading at a youth activities centre last week with 30 passionate IBM volunteers, helping out with a massive ground clearance task & building a children's play area. I love the fact that community action doesn't have to be limited solely to church folk!
-. Also I'm also thinking in the new year of doing some
volunteering at some old people's homes. Not too sure where its leading, but my thoughts at the mo are to offer my services in putting on informal bible studies fortnightly anywhere that might wanna take up the offer. If anyone has any thoughts or would like to get on board and pursue this with me - do get in touch.
-. And to close, Suzanne Baker who some of you will know, dropped us an email to say
there was a mapping exercise of Christian community projects in the city, published in March this year. I'll get hold of a copy and make it available soon.
thats all for now folks,
cheerio
Mat
next meeting
The next meeting will be on Tues 7th October - 7:30pm at Central Hallbe good to see ya there
-
lets do a straw poll:
WHO COULD/ CAN'T MAKE WEDNESDAY 1ST NOVEMBER INSTEAD
SO THAT THE MEETING DOES NOT COINCIDE WITH ALPHA?
this can become a section for us to look at, discuss and mull over how we want to pray into this vast area of community thoughts & activity
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lets become a praying community
_
__________________
_
....some thoughts from Ed
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" was chatting to Theo on Sunday about covering the Community Action stuff in prayer. I'm a firm believer in touching heaven, changing earth – or as God puts it through Zechariah; not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit. You've probably already thought something along these lines but I think it would be a good idea to have a monthly prayer meeting devoted to covering the community action stuff (which can include the bus/Miracle Street, Flowers of Justice and Southampton as a city) and any issues which may arise. I have a real heart for this and would be up for taking a lead in this if and when the time is right."
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________________________________________
__
_
....prayer walking/ biking
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....plus Karen suggested going round some of the southampton estates/ communities on bike & doing some prayer walking
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(anyone fancy setting a date?)
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________________________________________
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....also lets be a prayer support to Laura with her work involvement in the community with the council
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FREEDOM FUNK
##FREEDOM FUNK##
...
Freedom Funk is a community of creative people who meet up every week to learn together, eat loads of cake and inspire one another to live faith-filled lives in the city’s cultural scene.
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The collective began life around five years ago, when a small bunch of people began thinking about Southampton’s clubbing culture. A few djs, mcs and clubbers with a heart to see God move in the town’s bars and clubs would meet together and then support each other in going out and being a light to the dance music community. As God’s blessing poured out, the group began to pray for people on dancefloors, in club toilets and as the flyers were being dished out as the crowd spilled back out onto the streets.
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As time went on and the vision for the group expanded, four or five meeting in a spacious lounge soon became fifteen or even twenty people rushing to get the comfiest seat. The early emphasis on hip hop, drum and bass and other dj-based music soon broadened to incorporate the indie and rock scene, and after further growth the group now consists of not just the musically minded but those with a passion to be creative in living out a relevant and engaging expression of Jesus in their communities. Nurses, students and social workers contribute just as much as djs and drummers, florists and photographers; God’s creative diversity is expressed as each member of the group serves in their own unique way.Some enjoy getting involved in social action projects, cooking, larking about on bikes, surfing or scaling big bits of rock. Others communicate their passion through painting and drawing, textiles and film editing.
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Whatever the means of expression, a shared sense of faithful journeying through close friendship is the fundamental thread running through everything we do as a group, and we are in a season of real excitement about what God is doing in us, with us and through us!
-
Chrispy
EXISTING THINGS TO GET BEHIND AND SUPPORT
##mieke willlis##
...to be written
work with Bob Light on Flowers Estate
add your comments below
EXISTING THINGS TO GET BEHIND AND SUPPORT
##ed deane##
...to be written
busses project around southampton estates
add your comments below
IDEAS OUT IN THE COMMUNITY
##theo amer##
...to be written
concerning putting on movie night for students in small hall
add your comments below
IDEAS OUT IN THE COMMUNITY
James Street (St Marys/ Golden Grove)
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##andy mcneil##
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A heart for the broken.
Showing love and kindness
by providing a safe and fun atmosphere for people.
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That's what this is about for me,
and I help out at James St church in a number of ways. James Street church is a small yet warm and friendly congregation,
growing in discipleship in God's word,
growing in community,
growing in love for God by worshipping together.
He showed the initiative in reaching us, and now we're wanting to reach others with his love.
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The church expresses this in a number of ways;
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We have Funday Sundays, once a month having a very short informal service then opening the church up for bouncy castle and games with the kids, and bric - a brac stalls and a cafe. All are welcome. There is also the odd fair we put on which is fairly similar but has various items for sale and stalls for people
(throw the wet sponge at the pastor - guess how many sweets in the jar - etc).
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We run a kids club once a week for primary school age children. Here we play games and have activities for the kids.
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We have a youth club once a month for secondary school young people. It's similar to kids club, but geared to activities more suitable for the age concerned. We could possibly run the youth club more often, if there were more helpers,
so if you would like to help with this please let me know.
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The aim of these activities as I see it is to try to show the young people how to get along with people with respect, and to give them something positive to do and to look forward to. This may not seem like much, but actually, I reckon a lot of young people today don't know what to do with their time, and without good care many of them engage in destructive pasttimes.
Another result of the various activities that we put on for people on the estate is that we are building relationships with them. Some of the people on the estate are on the Alpha course at James Street. Wouldn't it be great if they and others came to know Jesus?
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Footie
---
There are quite a few young people who I know who would appreciate being part of an organised football team, and it would be good if people are willing to take this on.
I haven't looked at the practical details of it yet.
Location, times, age range, other teams, etc.. a small core of people who love football and like kids would be necessary to get this one off the ground. Anyone able to help? It would give enjoyment to a lot of kids and may lead to their growing closer to the church.
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Andy
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________________________________
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add your comments
Community Church Christmas Café
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##debs ramsey##
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For years now I’ve had a real heart for people who may find Christmas a difficult time of year. Maybe those people who have experienced loneliness or mental health problems or the older people from our communities who don’t have local family. Maybe those single parents who find Christmas a stressful time of year.
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Maybe people who finds their usual lifelines are closed during Christmas week. Maybe people from within ours or other churches or maybe those from outside of the church community, Maybe those who are homeless or experiencing a drug addiction. The list could go on……
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Well this year, in some small way I want us as church to bless these people. I want to provide something for them during what may be a difficult time of year that will act as a haven, somewhere peaceful and pleasant to go to, where there will be friendly welcoming and accepting people.
So how practically will we do this?????????
Well I don’t really know!!!
My vision is that we open Central Hall every afternoon over Christmas week.
We would welcome anyone who turns up and also provide transport to and from central hall to those who need it. We will provide coffee and mince pies, maybe a Christmas buffet style tea. We’ll also think about some kind of entertainment hour every afternoon – maybe a Christmas movie or some carols or some Christmas crafts.
I hope that the café will attract old and young, churched and unchurched.
This idea is clearly in its early stages and needs lots of planning and careful thought to ensure everything runs smoothly. Initially I’m looking for interest in the project with a handful of people agreeing to take a lead with me on it.
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Are you up for it?
I’d love you to join me in reaching out to our community!
and for more information, the email is:
-
Ch
Debs
________________________________________________
add your comments
IDEAS OUT IN THE COMMUNITY
Car Clinic
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##rob crosby##
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I thought it might be useful to run a sort of 'car clinic' where people could bring their cars along to be looked at.
I envisage people turning up to ask us what that funny noise is, "this bit fell off - does itmatter?", etc.
It wouldn't necessarily be to carry out work on cars, though simple stuff like changing a wheel or bulb could be done.
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What do people think of this?
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__________________________________
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add your comments below
CHANGES TO MEETINGS AT CENTRAL HALL
billy kennedy
"We announced on Sunday that for this next season from January 7th, 2007, we will move to a new central gathering at Central Hall at 6.30pm on a Sunday evening.
We sense this is a new time for us at Community Church and want to allow God to form something fresh in us together.
The various congregational expressions will maintain their individual identities but will take on a slightly different feel - much more inclusive and missional in their emphasis. Eastleigh, Sublime, James Street and Swaythling will continue at their usual meeting times but the evening congregation wil be looking to gather at another point in the week. The new structure will also create the opportunity for a number of new missional intitiatives to form.
We are very aware that for some this new arrangement may prove difficult - especially those with children, the elderly and those with disabilities. We anticipate that there will be a number of alternative options that may include a Sunday morning family gathering with a strong emphasis on children. Over the coming months we want to engage in dialogue togther to find the best way forward for all.
We will be organising a couple of information evenings for various groups in October and November where we will be able to outline our plans more fully and get feedback. In the meantime do feel free to contact any of the leadership.
Billy"
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_______________________________________________
_
how does this effect us?
positives/negatives?
what are your honest thoughts?
_
add your comments below
COMMUNITY ACTION mtg one - 27 09 2006
MINUTES FROM 1ST MTG
Hey all,
Thanks so much to everyone who was able to make it last night. It was so encouraging to see everyone’s enthusiasm, openness and participation.
For the benefit of those who were not able to get along, in brief:
. I shared a little of my heart,
. we opened up some good dialogue on the subject of community action,
. a few people shared about some of the things they are currently involved in/ ideas they currently are thinking on
. then we ended with a bit of prayer.
Where do we go from here?
The general consensus was to meet up again in a month’s time, keeping to a Tuesday slot.
(4 weeks time is half-term – so lets meet the following week – Tues 31st October, 7:30pm in Room 1 again)
And in the mean time to keep the communication going we are going to setup a blog to post ideas and different streams of thinking, from which people can comment on. At this stage, we’re not sure if this is the best medium – but we will go with it for now and see how things go.
Chris L has also offered to setup a website for us should that be something we want to pursue further down the line.
Below is a summary of the notes that Si and I took down last night which hopefully may help to jog our memories of some of the conversations we were having
Thanks again so much,
Keep praying, pondering, chatting to anyone and everyone about this & encouraging one another
cheerio
Mat
______________________________________________
summary of mtg:
need to make sure any potential projects are covered by legal stuff
. child protection
. food hygiene
. insurance
. risk assessments etc
cover all that we are doing/ about in prayer
. Ed would be happy to setup a monthly prayer meeting
. Karen suggested more informal prayer – going for bike rides around the estates and praying as we go
. part of our ethos would be supporting/ facilitating what we are doing & what others are already doing – and prayer hopefully will be a major part of that
. One of the ‘roles’ of the group is to be an access point/ a hub – where we can pool talents/ encourage diversity
. Being a facilitating group
. Stuff is already happening – being an extension of that, in prayer, support & encouragement
. doing stuff integral to us
. an ethos/ mindset
. small steps
. not blowing our trumpets to the church congregation
. creating/ nurturing a community which serves in practical ways
. a right heart not simply ‘projects’
. about building relationships
importance of finding out where the need is first
. no point creating stuff for sake of it
. lets find out the needs
. be strategic
. speak to the people in the know
. the Bob Lights, the council (Laura/ Laura’s contacts), the Volunteering services etc
. prayer
set up a blog to post thoughts/ flesh out their ideas – and for people to comment on
. are blogs good/ the right medium for communication?
How do we engage with others in the church without alienation?
3 general strands of thought
a) bottom-up (non-project focused) like the example set by Freedom Funk, through friends supporting/ challenging one another – community building as an overflow of the heart. Could be with your neighbours, getting involved in local stuff etc
b) supporting existing projects – whether they be through Southampton Volunteering Services (could be worth someone visiting the next ‘Discovering volunteering’ monthly meeting), or existing church projects (supporting Bob Light on Flowers Estate, Kelvin with work on the busses are just a couple of examples). At some stage it would be useful to also get an idea of what other churches in Southampton are involved in – to either support or as a minimum not get in the way/ duplicate
c) set up new ‘project(s)’, initially attracting evening congregation participation (but not exclusively so) that promote serving and allow ownership
Heard input from several folk:
Chris Pantrey - FreedomFunk
. shared some of their journey as a community
. a lot to do with allowing people to share their stories/ sharing/ all about participation, rather than up front leaders of typical church model
. connected with Billy’s talk on ancient paths – FFunk bit like a modern monastery (focus on community, word & discipleship)
Andy Mcneil – James St
. doing stuff together is really important
. Andy has been really blessed helping out at James St
. the kids on estate love football, they love the Sunday Fundays
. David S had a suggestion of putting together a football team to play in league (parents permission needed)
. There are boys/girls groups happening at daisy dip - can we connect areas together and not duplicate?
Debs Ramsey - Cafe project
. heart for Christmas time (those who don’t have family/ support/ don’t . enjoy Christmas – can be a hard time for people
. idea of running a Christmas cafe over week running up to Christmas/ over the Christmas period
. a place of sanctuary
. being ‘something special’
. something to start small & perhaps build on it
. in church / outside church?
. where? cook house, James St, orchard lane, aster house, is the building a put off?
. use pool of people of Sunday afternoon SACH
. participation from morning church
Laura Waterton - council
. currently working for council
. applying for a job as a community development worker
. be great for us to be a prayer support to Laura
Ed – 'red bus'
. Project run by Kelvin taking a bus to some of the Southampton estates
. currently needing a driver
and a verse for us to be thinking on:
1 Cor 9.19-22
19 For though I am free from all men,
I have made myself a slave to all,
so that I may win more.
20 To the Jews I became as a Jew,
so that I might win Jews;
to those who are under the Law,
as under the Law though not being myself under the Law,
so that I might win those who are under the Law;
21 to those who are without law,
as without law,
though not being without the law of God but under the law of Christ,
so that I might win those who are without law.
22 To the weak I became weak,
that I might win the weak;
I have become ALL THINGS to all men,
so that I may by all means save some.
thats all folks
______ \o/ __________
thoughts prior to meeting one
COMMUNITY ACTION
MTG one - 26TH September 2006
Intro thoughts from mat:
. why?
- what is our motivation?
o Serving
o getting out in community, interacting
o being light/ blessing
o not about converting
o not works based
o about being real/ honest
o what is God saying?
o about listening to God, listening to our community &
acting/responding
o key is building relationships
o not a project where turn up and then go home done work
o its about ongoing relationship
. when?
o wait / action
o balance
o hearing, listening, acting
o being well prepared
o not taking on too much too soon
o commitment
o leadership
o hard-work, grafting
o it looks nice on paper, but will be messy, conflict with work, our
other life commitments
. how frequent?
o one off
o weekly
o monthly
o sporadic
. what?
o opportunities are endless
. what scale?
o individual volunteering
o small groups
o entire congregation
o multiple churches & non church participation
. something new, our heart & vision, or supporting existing work
- EXISTING PROJECTS
o kelvin – busses
o bob light - flowers estate
o graham - james st
etc
- VOLUNTEERING
o Soup run
o Theo's lists
- NEW ideas
o golden grove football tournaments/ coaching
o christmas cafe . Debs
o Cook House cafe opposite church
o schools work .
o painting, gardening general clean-up, providing a helping hand
o Laura's connection with council – opportunity to support them in the community
o student movie night . Theo
o working with Polish . Dave Adcock
o working elderly
o painting houses
o plus there will be plenty of others
. Vision / direction/ where do we go
o saturated in prayer
o prayer to be initial focus
o Ed prepared to setup & initiate monthly prayer meeting
o would like us to take a day to fast about this, want us to be serious about this, not to move God, but to change our hearts, to refine our motivation, to sort our priorities
o want to create forum for us to post ideas, place also for people to further flesh out ideas for people to comment with aim being people can then pray into ideas - and see what takes shape
. what is purpose of this meeting?
o want to support people/ empower people to step out in this
o where do we go from here?
o how often do we want to meet as collective group?
o this stage I don't know
o just testing water putting it out there
o don't see that just these people are it - when things start shaping together, I do hope and expect there will be a wider pool of people to help out
. final thought
o I believe we are in preparation stage at moment, laying foundation. Fresh buzz about community things which don't want to lose, but equally don't want to be too hasty
o one thing I want from this is to ask you all be proactive in asking yourself questions/ pondering on this
. for example with Football example
o what does it look like?
o how will it work?
o where/when?
o what is the aim of it?
o how might it look if it is successful/ well received?
o i.e. hopefully part of it is building relationships
o how will we maintain & develop those relationships
o this means time commitments
o how many people do you need?
o where can you get support?
o what resources does it need to run?
o what are the risks?
o what are the potential issues that you may have to combat?
o what permission do you need?
o how do you plan to get people on board? (people you are targeting in community)
Ongoing communication/ BLOG/ Forum?
