“We don’t do God…” Keeping faith in your community project. London
Why do some Christian community projects sometimes lose their faith?
Does receiving secular funding always dilute spiritual purposes?
Are there community projects that have kept the flame burning?
Following Livability's training survey, the results showed that Christian distinctiveness is the number one issue people would like help with, so Livability is hosting this practically helpful day. This interactive and fun day will help you reconnect your work to your deepest convictions and begin to integrate a down-to-earth theology into your frontline work
The day will include:
Practical ideas to help you and your team think theologically about your community work
How to integrate faith in your day to day work
Examples of community projects that have not lost an active Christian faith
Seeing success through Christ’s eyes, rather than funders’ monitoring forms
The chance to be stimulated by new ideas and learn from your peers
Our facilitators:
Adam Bonner, Hayley Teague and Jill Clark from Livability’s Community Mission team. The team work with a wide range of churches and Christian projects wrestling with these issues and bring experience and reflection sharpened by engagement and lively debate.
Why we called this day ‘We don’t do God’:
Many of you will be familiar with this famous phrase said by Alastair Campbell, former communications manager to Tony Blair. When an American journalist from Vanity Fair asked Tony Blair about his faith, Alastair Campbell interrupted and said; “I’m sorry, we don’t do God” and this came to represent the government’s view of engaging with faith. We feel this phrase represents the commonly held view that faith must be kept out of our daily work lives. There have been changes in government thinking since this phrase (ie the 2010 Myth Busting document stated that the government would work together with and offer funding to faith groups) but we know that many of you come across views very similar to this when working with the council, private businesses and the general public.
Directions to Salvation Army International HQ:
Please note that Blackfriars tube station is CLOSED (but Blackfriars rail station remains open) so your other tube station options are Mansion House and Cannon Street, both within a 10 minute walk. Bank station is also close, about a 15 minute walk. I would suggest using www.streetmap.co.uk and entering the postcode ‘EC4V 4EH’ to print a map. When you arrive, look for a large glass building on Queen Victoria Street. It is at the start of the walkway to the Millennium Bridge (the Tate Modern is on the other side of the river).