On Thursday, 24 September, Manchester-based urban mission resource hub Proximity collaborated with the Diocesan Priority Communities Network to host an evening of worship, community, curry, and encouragement for those serving in urban or deprived contexts.
The evening begun with an oppotunity for leaders to get to know each other and share about their ministries over a curry.
This networking time was followed by three short talks. Natalie Williams from Jubilee+, a charity supporting churches to change the lives of those in poverty in their communities, spoke first, sharing about her experience of growing up in relative poverty in the deprived seaside town of Hastings and becoming a Christian at 15. During her talk, she explored why serving our communities and sharing our faith belong together and offered practical advice on how to do both.
Natalie’s talk was followed by Sam Ward from Proximity, who spoke about what he had learned from years of sharing faith in his community. He shared powerful stories of some of those who he had seen come to faith during his time on the estate he lives on, alongside examples of lessons he had learned.
The final talk was delivered by Tom Grant, leader of Proximity, and was focused on Proximity’s new ‘Reach mapping resource’. The resource provides ways for leaders and congregations to visually identify the people in their circles who they could be praying for and could share their faith with. The full resource is linked at the bottom of the article.
The evening closed with a time of worship as well as prayer for the leaders and those they work with, ending a powerful and encouraging evening.