Affirming, celebrating and resourcing leaders that work alongside those on estates
The diocese is committed to supporting all clergy, lay leaders and their teams who have a heart for sharing Jesus with people on the estates parishes where ‘estates parishes’ are defined as any parish challenged by areas of significant deprivation: this includes estates where more than 500 homes are social housing and extends to areas of privately rented accommodation coupled with low income/dependence on benefits, eg streets with houses of multiple occupation.
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Jump to: Dates for your diary
Oxford Diocese Estate Ministry Network
Following our first Diocesan Oxford Diocese Estate Churches Conference, a well attended and well received event, emerged a commitment to a network that would meet to nurture and encourage this ministry and its practitioners. The first network meeting, hosted by St Peter’s Aylesbury and attended by Bishop Steven, took place in January.
The energy that was generated by that initial conference was as evident in this gathering, comprising lay and ordained church leaders from old hands to those stepping into this ministry for the first time. It was noted that here was a group of people who were valued being in that space together and were willing to be generous both in learning from and contributing to the group and its aims.
Those present were invited to share their stories and hopes: challenges and achievements represented as progress through mountainous terrain and hopes and aspirations on a prayer wall. This led directly into an opportunity to hear more and pray for each other and those God was sending us to. This initial focus on listening and prayer, rather than launching straight into discussion, provided an excellent starting place from which to discuss in small groups how the various ways estates ministry could be supported might impact each context. This discussion had an emphasis on honing the right questions rather than moving too quickly to the “right” answer.
Key questions were identified and recorded and provided the raw material for a Q&A with Bishop Steven, with Nick from Reading Gateway Church in interviewer mode, exploring thoughts about how this work might be most effective across the diocese.
View the notes from our meeting.
Dates for your Diary
Clergy Conference 13-15 May – Oxford Diocese Estate Churches Network Meeting and Seminar
If you have not booked the clergy conference already please do so as we are excited to announce that we will be holding our next Oxford Estates Network Meeting at the clergy conference on the evening of 13 May, where we will be meeting with the new Bishops (time and room to be confirmed).
We are pleased to announce that we will be holding our first estates ministry seminar at the clergy conference on Wednesday 14 May 4.15-5.45pm, and our guest speaker will be Rachel Gardener who will be speaking about ‘Lighting Fires: How To Kindle A Flame’. Rachel is part of the team at Youthscape, best-selling author for youth and young adults and a keen advocate for young people. Rachel and her family are based up in Blackburn, where they lead an intergenerational church plant.
Social BBQ - 16 July
Join us on Wednesday 16 July from 12-2pm for a BBQ at Reading Gateway Church Reading RG2 8DD. More information to follow.
Oxford Estates Ministry Network - 15 October
Our next Oxford Estates Ministry Network meeting after the conference will be held at St George's Church, Long Furlong Drive, Britwell SL2 2LX on Wednesday 15 October from 12- 2pm.
Inaugural Oxford Diocese Estate Ministry Conference
The inaugural conference, held at Reading Gateway Church on 17 October, was a day of insight and fellowship. You can read more about the day here, and find details of speakers and mission partners for the event below.
Keynote speakers
Bishop Lynne Cullens
Lynne has been Bishop of Barking in the Diocese of Chelmsford since January 2022. She is also the Church of England Lead Bishop for Estates Evangelism and Chair of both the National Estates Churches Network and the Church of England Estates Evangelism Task Group.
Lynne is committed to working with others to bring about a Church that is the hope of the voiceless and those on the margins, and that speaks boldly into the public square on issues of social justice.
Helen Shannon
In 2010 Helen and her team planted an estates church where she lives in North London called church@five, which she still leads today. She is one of the founding trustees and Projects Director for Hope North London and an Associate Minister at St Barnabas, north London.
Helen is Diocese of London's Estates Enabler and leads the CCX development of estates mission. Her vision is for there to be a worshipping community on every estate lead by local leaders.
Carl Beech
Carl Beech leads Edge Ministries and the Edge Faith Community and its associated network of churches. He is also the president of Christian Vision for Men (CVM), and founded the men’s festival called “The Gathering.” He is also a founding partner for the Freedom and Justice Partnership.
He also loves gardening, music, art, and hanging out with friends and family.
Mission partners
National Estate Churches Network (NECN)
National Estate Churches Network (NECN) has been networking and resourcing people active in Christian ministry on social housing estates and low income communities since 2004. We are an ecumenical charity made up of Church and community leaders/workers, clergy, residents and others who live, work and serve god in their community.
On the journey of a lifetime! Sharing the Jesus story and walking ‘The Way’ has taken me on many adventures. From living, loving and learning from Leigh Park Estate for 16 years, to listening and embracing invitation in Looe. I am a Baptist minister working for National Estate Churches Network, Curbproject and as a missional listener/pioneer. I love to walk, drink coffee and eat cake.
Sara Barron - Executive Director, NECN
Christians Against Poverty
Poverty is so much more than going without. It’s so much more than lacking materially. Poverty destroys lives. It robs people of joy, hope and opportunities. It tears families apart, isolates those most in need of support, and leads many to believe there is no way out. Christians Against Poverty won’t settle for that.
CAP’s vision is to see transformed lives, thriving churches and an end to UK poverty and one of the ways we do this is through partnering with local churches to offer the powerful combination of professional help, the support of a loving church community and most of all an introduction to the person of Jesus Christ.
Debt Help
An award-winning debt help service to bring hope to the most vulnerable in your community.
Money coaching
A revolutionary course to give those in your church and wider community the skills to manage money with confidence.
CAP Job Club
Equip people in your community with practical tools to find employment, while also supporting them to rebuild their confidence and self-esteem.
CAP Life Skills group
A course that provides practical money saving techniques and the decision-making skills needed to live on a low income.
Our offer for you to run Life Skills at half price
We are currently offering Life Skills at 50% off for churches that are based on an estate - a special reduced rate for your estate-based church of £30 per month (normally £60 p/m). There are no extra costs from CAP, and it includes training, course materials and ongoing support from CAP. This special reduced rate is valid for the duration of the partnership between your church and CAP.
Money Coaching Reduced Rate
Reduced rate of £35 one of cost each to train new Money Coaches where the church is in the 10% most deprived postcodes. Includes all training and starter pack of resources.
Debt Help options
We can talk about options if you'd like to offer debt help in your local postcode. If there's an existing centre in your town - then local partnership options where you train a debt coach and make a small contribution to the existing centre is a possibility.
To find out more, see the CAP website, email churchpartnerships@capuk.org or phone 01274 760580.
Emerge Advocacy
Emerge Advocacy is a registered charity established in 2016 out of a realisation that young people in A&E because of self-harm need something more. We have been working with hospitals and the communities surrounding them to build teams and put Emerge projects into hospitals wherever there is a need for them. And we don’t just work in A&Es - our teams support young people wherever they might be within the hospital and we offer follow up support for up to three months post-discharge to help young people take the next steps towards recovery.
The Christian faith is a key part of the DNA of Emerge. It’s what helps us hold on to hope in the hardest of situations and enables us to come back and do it all again the next day. In setting up each of our projects, we engage with churches who are local to hospital to recruit volunteers who are passionate about supporting young people in crisis and are ready to bring care and compassion indiscriminately. In conversations with young people, we’re always focusing on what they would like to chat about, we’re simply there to provide a safe, supporting space for whatever they need whether that’s playing a game, doing some colouring, talking about the latest thing on YouTube or talking about what they’d like to mention when they speak to the nurse next.
We exist to support young people of all faiths and none, to love indiscriminately, letting our actions speak. We only discuss matters of faith if a young person asks. We mobilise, equip and support local Christians in meeting the need for more support for young people struggling with mental health issues in their own communities.
Parish Nursing Ministries UK
Parish nurses promote health through health education, advice and spiritual care, to people of all faiths or none. Parish nurses serves as an additional layer of support for individuals and communities, offering holistic care that encompasses physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being.
Every Parish Nurse is a Registered Nurse, employed through a local church or Christian organisation. Many maintain their roles within the NHS, although there are some who exclusively dedicate their time to parish nursing.
Kids Matter
At Kids Matter, our vision is to see every child in need raised in a strong family, giving them the best chance to flourish from their early years. With over 4 million children living in poverty in the UK and millions of families facing challenges such as job loss, debt, and the rising cost of living, the need for support has escalated dramatically.
Parenting is hard, and even more so for mums, dads, and carers grappling with the daily impact of poverty. That's why we run community-based parenting programmes in local communities and prisons, equipping parents/carers with the competence, confidence, and community they need to help their children thrive.
Watch our video.