In search of new ideas in Newcastle

Eunice Attwood visited the Edinburgh and Forth Methodist circuit as part of her grand tour of the country upon becoming the Vice-President of Conference of the Methodist Church. Today Belinda, Dee, Alison, and I visited her home church: Brunswick Methodist Church, in central Newcastle.

As a church in Edinburgh, we have the opportunity to reshape the building that we occupy in Nicolson Square. Money is becoming available from the sale of other property that we can put to building something special. Our visit to Brunswick was to see what they do, how they do it, and whether there were any ideas we could pick up and adapt to fit Edinburgh.

Eunice - Deacon at Brunswick - is supported by Eden, the Superintendent. Together they make the core of a strong leadership group. I could tell that, as they each said the same thing in different ways. What they hope that they acchieve through the life of their congregation is " to say something about the story of God" to the people who they encounter. And it seems like they encounter a lot of people.

The building in Brunswick bustles with people using their gifts and their resources to support the vulnerable and marginalised. Lots of the work is done in partnership with other charities and groups- rarely is work done alone. Always, partnerships are entered into with a spirit of generosity, and commitment to relationship over time. There is a sense of trust, collaboration, and security.

The thing that I noticed wasn't the building, but the people who occupy it- their energy, grace, faith, and joy. So that's why you see a photo of us all laughing together, rather than an image of the fabric of the walls that surround us.

(P.s- one cool bit of "building was The Holy Biscuit, a Christian art gallery venue, partnering with The Biscuit Factory, a commercial art gallery- with a FANTASTIC cafe attatched)
(P.p.s- and on getting back to Edinburgh, I met up with some uni friends for a sneaky Mother India curry. Mmmmm.)
(P.p.p.s- not my most relaxing day holiday from work ever!)