Urban Mission - post script

I just received the minutes from Friday's meeting. I found the following points made about city centre mission worth sharing.

i). This is a dimension of ministry with its own distinctive, if not exclusive challenges and opportunities that has been grossly overlooked, under resourced and neglected by the churches. (A shared experience and gripe)

ii). The city centre is also at the hub of the urban complex and therefore integral to the notion of urban mission in its widest expression.

iii). There is need, therefore, to:
a). find ways of keeping it on the Church’s agenda.
b). support those who are engaged in this ministry.
c). seek ways to provide an induction for those who are asked to take up this ministry;
d). introduce into theological education the notion of city centre ministry alongside inner-city, rural and suburban ministries.

Yes, it was a fruitful meeting. The remorable comment I recall went something this: "City Centre Mission involves being there where the business is done - looking, listening, waiting and learning for a long time in order to know when, where and how to contribute in a Christian way." No a popular discipline in this era of quick fixes 'spin' and makeovers.