Estates Evangelism
From the Church of England
The Church of England has three priorities in its vision to become a Church for the whole nation which is Jesus Christ centred, and shaped by the five marks of mission. A church that is simpler, humbler, bolder. These priorities are:
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To become a church of missionary disciples where all God’s people are free to live the Christian life, wherever we spend our time Sunday to Saturday.
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To be a church where mixed ecology is the norm – where every person in England has access to an enriching and compelling community of faith by adding new churches and new forms of Church to our parishes, cathedrals, schools and chaplaincies.
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To be a church that is younger and more diverse.
As part of that journey, they hold webinars on different aspects of that mission. One such webinar looked at the theology of Estates Evangelism. There were 3 contributors; Bishop Philip North who focuses on ministry to the poor, Rev Sophie Cowan who has lived on estates and Rev Dean Pusey who grew up and came to faith on an estate.
For this blog, I will focus on an abridged version of Sophie's contribution which was titled, "More than bread - more than words: Good News on our Estates".
I am from a council estate, and I serve on council estates. Council estates are a huge part of my life and subsequent calling to ordained ministry, and so I'm speaking from that position.
What I mean by the term council estate, or estate is areas of housing that have been built by local authorities for the purpose of providing housing for those people who encounter financial hardship or who are legally entitled to accommodation in line with the Housing Act.
Many of these are now something of a mixed economy, given that council tenants have had the right to buy following legislation that has passed has been passed in the 1980s. What we see then on our estates is a complex picture. There are probably three key groups of residents:
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those renting through the Council on relatively secure tenancies and what I would call liveable tenancies, that is that they are financially viable for people who have a low income.
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those renting from private landlords who have procured these properties over time, and who often charge 30% to 50% more than Council rental agreement. These I would call oppressive tenancies,
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those who have bought their properties, either through the right to buy or from a sale further up the housing ladder as a result of an initial sale, through right to buy.
You could probably see that this may lead to both tight knit communities, and conversely, fractures and tensions where those who need liveable tenancies are only able to access oppressive tenancies.
The Church of England and the council estate have a history, not least because of the parish system, which has ensured, and, if safeguarded, will ensure the inclusion of social housing estates in the ministry of the church of England. In this talk, I'll argue for a theological vision and strategy that aims to pull at two planks that may or not may not be lodged in the eyes of us church leaders on estates, and then look at what we might need from the wider Church of England to support that vision and strategy.
The first metaphorical plank is the failure to be attentive to basic human needs in our communities, and the second is a shyness when it comes to the proclamation of the gospel. I argue that it is the combined focus on bread and word that ensures the greatest opportunity to share the good news. So my reflection is more than bread, more than words.
My congregations often hear me say the best thing we have to offer is Jesus. I say this because I mean it. Nothing we do as Church should minimize the meaning of the death and resurrection of Christ Jesus, or the importance of scriptures depiction of the Incarnation through to the empty tomb and the pouring out of the Spirit.
The good news is to be more than told. It is to be shared around tables. It is to care for the body as well as the soul. I come to this understanding through so many verses in scripture, but the one that rings in my mind is Jesus's reference to Deuteronomy, when the tempter aims to provoke him by saying, "If you are the Son of God tell these stones to become bread." Jesus answered, "It is written, one does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God." There is clearly a need for both, though perhaps as a church, we should prioritize the word. After all, Jesus says, "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty." And we are taught to pray, "Give us this day our daily bread." So it is not necessarily the work of the Church to resolve basic human needs. We can pray, we can point people to Jesus and help out where we can but which estate church could afford to wade in trying to solve poverty anyway?
On our estates, we are accustomed to weighing up the cost. So when we hear Jesus telling his disciples to feed the crowds, we can readily understand their response, "That would take more than half a year's wages." Are we going to spend that much on presenting bit to them to eat? If we are honest in our own context, we can be caught in this theological trap, and our attempts might be more focused on bread more than word, or word more than bread.
For example, sometimes I've heard in food banks, pantries top up shops, etc, people asking, "Do they really need it? Why should we be paying for this? We can't pay our parish share, let alone provide food for our parish." All food is provided with more than a gentle invitation to hear the word Jesus loves you. Stickers are tacked onto loaves of bread, and people are left bemused and insulted because they don't understand how Jesus could love them and also make it possible for them to have to seek out charity for food. The suggestion is made to pray more. The underlying suggestion a lack of faithfulness has led to a lack of food. If we find ourselves in this model, it may be that we are looking at this situation from the outside, observing the queues of shoppers, wondering if they could try harder, hoping for an aspiration transformation that will lead people out of a poverty mindset and into the middle class kingdom of God.
What we see in Acts is a different vision and a different strategy altogether. Acts 2v46, 47, "Every day they continue to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favour of all the people and the Lord added to their number daily those who are being saved." More than bread, more than words. We are compelled to offer both more than bread and more than words if we are to see the evangelization of our council estates and beyond. There is something about really knowing one another and living intentionally as the Body of Christ. How many of us would let our brother or sister go without food if we had something to spare and which one of us does not long for those who do not know God to come to know the love that God has shown us through Jesus Christ?
It is not about feeding everyone or forcing our views on anyone. It is about sharing God's goodness through bread and word. We must not be content to see those of us living on council estates as anything less than family, potential family, who deserve the dignity of food and the astounding truth of the gospel. We know that people living on council estates may face financial hardship, and some may not. We know that the poor will always be with us, and that what we must also accept is that God's people may be financially poor. Financial poverty does not equal spiritual poverty. Our churches must offer both material and spiritual sustenance if we are to imitate Christ.
The Church must share its wealthy resources and humble itself before God in repentance for what has been hoarded and mismanaged, both personally and institutionally. Our churches on estates grow. Our churches on estates grow younger, grow more diverse. They are spirit filled, but we are underfunded, and we don't need middle class teams parachuting in to our working class estates. We need the one thing we're missing.
So the response, I suggest, is a strategic fast, not for those who do not have enough, but for the parts of the Church of England where financial wealth can and is found. This fast ought to be directly resourcing those faithfully serving on estates, those already living among God's people, grappling with what to prioritize, knowing that there is more that should be offered, but finding that there is not enough of anything that is needed.
What is God's vision and what is God's strategy for sharing good good news on our estates? I think our vision is for fullness of life in Christ. And I think God's strategy might be found in this beautiful adaptation of Isaiah 58 v6-12 by the Northumbria community. "Is this not the fast that I've chosen; to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the heavy burden and let the oppressed go free, that you break every yoke. Is it not to share your bread with the hungry. That you bring to your house those who are cast down. When you see the naked person that you cover them and not hide yourself from your own flesh and blood. Then shall your light break forth as for the morning, healing shall spring forth speedily, and your righteousness shall go before you. The glory of the Lord shall be your rear-guard. Then you will call, and the Lord will answer you, shall cry, and he will say, "Here I am." Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins and will raise up the age old foundations for you will be called. repairer of broken walls, restorer of streets with dwellings."
You will offer more than bread, and more than words.
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From the Church of England, 29/10/2024