New Reality, Same Mission

Members of the URC’s Church-Related Community Work, Church and Society, Children’s and Youth Work and mission and discipleship teams, along with Church Action on Poverty, started a conversation called ‘New Reality, Same Mission’ about helping congregations think about mission and community engagement in these challenging times.

The initiative began as a response to the Covid pandemic, but it is being broadened to include responses to other issues, including the cost of living crisis.

Covid response

In 2020, we produced a resource called ‘New Reality, Same Mission – A stimulus to renewed community engagement as we emerge from the pandemic’ that explored Pastoral Cycle and how this can help your church focus on the needs of your local community. There is a full version (PDF | 6.1mb) and a summary of the pastoral cycle (PDF | 98kb)

Videos

Here is a YouTube playlist of video reflections from a range of people talking about engaging in God’s mission in the time of Covid.

Zoom sessions

In early 2021, “Church at the Edge” Zoom sessions were held monthly, exploring different topics or questions about mission and community engagement in an informal setting. These sessions have currently stopped, but may resume in future.

Here is a video of a session with Shermara Fletcher, Principal Officer for Pentecostal, Charismatic and Multi-cultural Relations with Churches Together in England, sharing her thoughts on what the Church should be doing in response to these most challenging times.

Funding support

Finding funding sources for mission and community engagement can be challenging. Here are a few good places to start:

• Synod-distributed funds/funds requiring synod support – Contact your Synod Office for more information on potential funding sources in your area, including denominational funds which are distributed by synods, or otherwise require synod support.
• Community funding organisations – A list of organisations and agencies with potential funding support for mission in your local neighbourhood.
• Discipleship Development Fund – Around £5,000 per award per year is available to recognised groups within the URC who can demonstrate that their plans are about helping people to live out their faith in everyday life.
• Funder Finder – A great tool for finding potential sources of funding for various purposes and groups, including engagement with your local neighbourhood.
• URC Children’s & Youth Work Committee grants – Small grants for events, projects, activities which will benefit children, young people and families.

Additional resources

Here are some additional materials which might be useful to you and your local church as you explore mission and community engagement in light of the pandemic:

• Nurturing Social Cohesion: Why it matters and what your church can do about it  (PDF) – A practical document from think tank Theos, stemming from the Free Churches Group report into social cohesion which can help your church grapple with the challenges of connecting with your neighbourhood in meaningful ways.
• CTE Flexible Ecumenical Framework Toolkit – A helpful resource from Churches Together in England for organising effective partnerships with other churches, denominations and organisations which can be applied to partnerships for mission in your local neighbourhood.
• Organisations recommended by the CRCW network – A list of organisations and agencies, recommended by the URC’s Church Related Community Work network, with resources and support for mission in your local neighbourhood.

Contact us

Please contact us by email or call 020 7520 2718. We’d love to hear from you, or help however we can.