Houses of Mission: sharing the vision for residential communities that shape our streets
More than 40 people from around the world gathered at CMS’s Oxford headquarters in September to share their experience and vision for creating residential communities as houses of mission.
Pippa Soundy, who works with Chris Neal and the CMS mission community team, explains the rationale for the event:
“We had an idea to bring together the people with whom CMS is connected and who are involved with residential houses of mission – for mutual encouragement. We knew of about half a dozen up and down the country and ended up with about 40 people.”
The delegates were all at different stages in their journey to create residential communities but had come together to share their ideas, vision and experiences.
A team of visitors from the Anglican Church in Korea shared their experience of the 'Houses of Sharing' movement - where the church offers space to the more marginalised members of Korean society.
Some delegates had not embarked on anything yet but felt a strong calling to do so, while others were further down the road – including Mark Berry, whose community, Safespace, in Telford has been going about six years and is hoping to become residential and call itself an abbey.
“As the community we had this monastic tag which we wanted to explore. We had a feeling we wanted to plant an abbey in the town, as part of Telford’s monastic heritage,” Mark says.
“The idea has grown out of what an urban abbey in the middle of Telford would look like: a place of mission, a place of community and hospitality, creativity and a resource for the local church and community.”
The CMS event, Rhythms of Life – Creating Houses of Mission – taps into a general groundswell of interest in the missional potential of such a way of living.
“I think it’s something the spirit of God is doing because it’s a way that we can reach communities that other expressions of church aren’t quite so easily able to do. I think it’s something to do with being right in the middle of where people live and sharing their lives,” says Pippa.
CMS already has one mission house in Oxford which is still in the early stages of developing its mission focus. But CMS is hoping to get more involved with this kind of community work in the future.
Another delegate, Ali Dorey, a minister in the Church of England, works as a mission development coordinator for the North Sheffield Estates.
She said: “I am very interested in this kind of groundswell of people interested in houses of mission and building houses where people are living in a very obviously Christian way. Often local people cannot imagine how the church is relevant to them but if they can see friends or neighbours who are living in a really positive, selfless way then I think that’s at the heart of mission.”
Ali continued: “I would love to live in a house of mission so I’m keeping an open mind. I occupy a huge vicarage all on my own and have just got it kitted out with enough beds so all the rooms could be full. At the moment, I’m waiting/listening to God and speaking to local people and Christians to see if this is something they would be interested in.”