What is church community work all about?

 

Having spent a year in South Yarmouth learning and practising the work of a CRCW I can offer some thoughts on what it is like from the perspective of the actual worker.

 

The first thing I or any other CRCW would do is get to know the community in which they are to serve. This involved gathering statistics as well as speaking to members of the community. Doing this allowed me to see some of the issues or problems faced by the local population and what it would be like to live there.

 

Once I’d introduced myself to local community groups and individuals the next thing was to agree some tasks. One existing community group needed help to form a working committee. So how could I help this? A CRCW is an enabler and one of the skills they will have is offering support and training in committee or team building.

 

Why did they need this? In order to improve the services that the group could offer they had to be more efficient and professional. This seemed the best way forward for the group, and a way in which they could actively better themselves as individuals too.

 

Saying “Yes” to our communities   This is the strap line we have given to our Church Related Community Work Development Worker (CRCW) application.   At a recent meeting of the URCN Community Development Working Group Steve Summers, the United Reformed Church CRCW Development Worker came to talk to us about our application to become an accredited “Church in the Community”. This is the important step we have to take in order to be able to call a CRCW to serve with our Team.   An email from Steve said: “This Application is one of the best I've seen in recent years as a first draft -many thanks”. We will now seek District and Synod support, prior to national consideration in February. Please keep this work in your prayers

Each and every one of us has so much unfulfilled potential within us just waiting for the opportunity to come out. A CRCW is a person that will look for potential, empower people to use their gifts for the good of the community as well as themselves.

 

One such case involved a group of teenage girls who were real drama queens. They helped a local children’s club. Giving them the opportunity to display their talents improved the groups resources, gave them a real sense of worth and esteem, and will hopefully bring in more children from the community as a result.

 

Something else I have been able to do is enable groups to seek and find funding to bring projects to fruition or start programmes. Many people or groups of people simply don’t know where to begin looking for grants and funds that would see their dreams come to life. It has been my privilege to help others find grant money to do just that.

 

Besides working with community groups I have been involved with many different organisations through networks and forums, such as the community partnerships in the Great Yarmouth area. These partnerships bring together businesses, statutory bodies, voluntary organisations and community people and groups and are often themed around issues current in the area. They provide a real opportunity for residents to have a say and discuss what is happening in their own communities. I feel that this is an important part of a CRCW’s work, bringing together the people that need to discuss things with each other and setting things into motion.

 

Groups that a CRCW will aim to work with are the more marginalised and harder to reach members of communities, those who are struggling or discriminated against for who they are or where they find themselves. These are the very same groups and people that Jesus would have leaned toward in his ministry.

 

Of course, many organisations or people could do the same work, but CRCW’s offer something more. Their Christian faith and the church can bring an extra element to the work which is generally not found amongst secular organisations. The love of God.

 

I remember speaking to one teenager and asking him what he really wanted. His answer was simple and direct yet profound. He wanted someone to just be genuine, not just there because funds have been released to do some work for a while, then gone when the money runs out. I feel that a CRCW can offer this. The church will still be there regardless of money, because we are the church.