Special Report Community Development - A new start

Community Development

• is part of mission
• builds communities
• is rooted in people's experience, starts where they are
• works through participation
• crosses boundaries, class, culture, ethnicity, hierachy
• helps the meeting of the city, weeping and celebrating, with the Church, praying and worshiping

Following Ann Stricklen's death in March 1999, external consultants, commissioned jointly by the Board for Church in Society and the Woolwich Area Mission Team, evaluated the Community Development post.

Their report endorsed overwhelmingly the value of Ann's work and the need for the work to continue, and suggested some key changes to the way it should be done, which were accepted by the Board and the Area.

What are the key changes?

The most significant change is to give priority to Urban Priority Area parishes. Training, publications and briefing papers will be available to the whole of the Diocese, but hands on individual work will only be accessible to UPA parishes. Jill McKinnon, the new Community Development Adviser for the Diocese, is a core member of the Woolwich Area Mission Team, 74% of whose parishes are UPA, but UPA parishes in the Kingston and Croydon Areas will have an equal claim on her time.

There is a requirement for the Adviser to produce a strategy for work, and to monitor and evaluate its delivery. This involves a shift of culture, not just for the field, but for the Church of England!

The strategy for the next 3 years has already been produced, and agreed by the Board for Church in Society and the Woolwich Area Council. Contact Jill if you would like a copy.

From now on, a simple agreement will be drawn up, which will include the aims, mutual expectations and when progress will be reviewed. Jill says "I hope this will help us all to focus our work, to get the best from each other and to know when we have achieved what we set out to achieve!"

The first test for the new system will come with St Peter's, Walworth, and they seem quite keen on the idea.

What is Community Development?

Community Development is about building 'community'. It includes how people use their building for community use, how they find out about local needs, and how they respond to those needs. Take, for example, Together in Notre Dame in Clapham...

In 1996 a steering group worked with Ann Stricklen, Community Development Adviser, to look at local needs and resources, and develop a proposal for a community project operating on the Notre Dame estate.

Funding bids were successful, and they appointed a Community Development Worker in 1997. The project has gone from strength to strength, and now includes an annual carnival, a well-established youth project, holiday playschemes and workshops for adults and children.

Community Development is... Part of mission

Community development is part of the church's mission, alongside other Diocesan fields - such as race relations, evangelism, lay training. There are many overlaps, and the community development worker will be working collaboratively with many colleagues.

Community Development is... Helping people

Community development is about helping people without power or confidence to find ways of participating and enabling change.

That means always starting where people are, and building on their experience, with their agendas.

The Orchard Community Project in Deptford has elected local residents onto their Management Committee as a step towards ensuring that the community agenda, not just the church agenda, is addressed.

Community Development is... Participative Community

Development training will aim to be participative and experiential with publications and bulletins in handbook style, with checklists, 'user friendly' language, and pictures.

Community Development is a... Slow process

Community development is a long slow process - results don't tend to happen overnight and, like decorating, if you want good results you have to spend most of the time in careful preparation work. The impact of the work on both individuals and communities is long term and sustainable. It can change people's lives.

Community Development is... A gospel requirement

Community development builds on a gospel requirement to proclaim our faith and serve our neighbour. This Diocese has a strong tradition of community action and local involvement - church members have individual ministries in the local community, and community groups often share church buildings. The church is the only organisation which exists for the people outside of it, welcomes all comers and is truly local - even its workers live there.

It can be the 'glue' which holds together other community agencies and initiatives, both statutory and voluntary.

Community Development takes... Energy and time

But responding to needs involves energy and time. As Community development Adviser, Jill McKinnon hopes to encourage and tell people about why it's important and how to do it well, even in what may seem like small ways. At St Dunstan's Bellingham they have set up 'Rolling dun-Stones', a parent and toddler group which truly responds to the needs of local parents, involves them in its organisation, and encourages and expects high standards of behaviour and child care from its users.

more >