We have developed a ‘welcome’ pack to help parishes to reach out to new homes being built in their local area.
The A5 folder is designed for parishes to be able to include a whole range of useful information about the local area, with the contact details for the church on the inside front cover. There is also an editable A5 flyer on which service times and other groups run by the church can be listed – this can be printed by churches and included as one of the flyers inside the folder.
Archdeacon Mark Badger said: “There is a huge number of new housing estates popping up across the Diocese and we wanted to offer something that makes it easy for churches to reach out to those people who might be moving in. I know from my experience at Kempsey that having something that can be easily put through doors is a great way to make an initial contact. If information like bus timetables and details of the doctors’ surgery and schools can also be included alongside church information, then people are more likely to keep it somewhere handy.”
If you would like copies of the folder for your church, please contact Sam in Communications with details of the quantity required. Sam can also help with the editable insert if necessary.
How to guides from the Church of England
The New Housing Hub has partnered with the Archbishop’s Commission to raise awareness of housing need and to consider the relationship between Christians and new housing areas. The New Housing Hub has a vision to work together to share God’s love with every new housing area and this vision is woven into this work.
A series of 'how to' guides have been developed in conversation with other new housing practitioners and enablers to explore what Christians are doing that is having a positive effect upon new housing communities. They address areas such as: how to get started; how to work with councils and developers; how new communities of faith are being birthed; and what theological and missional principles have emerged which underpin this ministry.
How to use these guides
A set of How to guides sounds deceptively simple. It suggests an off-the-peg one-size-fits-all approach to missional engagement. This is, however, not the intention. The first section of guides focuses upon being Christlike and suggests a posture that acts as a lens through which to read all the other guides. Rather than suggesting an off-the-shelf approach, the How to guides include stories and examples of how others have engaged missionally in new housing and encourage the reader to consider how these principles might apply in their context.
The guides are deliberately short. They are introductions; something to inspire and initiate deeper thought, prayer and action. Many have links and resources to go deeper. Furthermore, The New Housing Hub website has a variety of resources and links to training and events that will hopefully help develop your journey into new housing engagement.
Each new housing area is different, and God’s Spirit leads us in different ways, however I hope and pray that these How to guides will be helpful food for thought.