I am writing this from my new home in Mangere Bridge and I am enjoying the sanctuary and refuge from the world. Being able to play my music in the lounge while making my dinner is a delight, having to accept that all things in this little world are my responsibility is also nice—the only critic as to how ‘well’ something is done around the place is me. As yet I have not descended into chaos!
This move was a big decision for me. It is a boundary marker for a period in life where there was so much uncertainty, fear, dissatisfaction and darkness. For those who have gone through separation, you’ll know what I mean. It’s wading through mud.
For the last two and a half years, I was fortunate to have had my friends Rob and Lois Kilpatrick take me and my situation in. The financial and personal space has helped me work my way out of some significant downward spirals. However, when I came back from the Camino trip this year, I knew it was time to move; that the time for recovery had finished and it was time to build a new future.
Of course it was scary. What if I fell into depression again? What if my car breaks down? What if . . . what if . . . what if? There were a whole raft of reasons why moving was not a good idea and many of them were good reasons too. The thing that tipped me from ambivalence into conviction was when one of my children asked, “does that mean I can leave stuff at your place?”
I realised with that one seemingly innocuous question, my ambivalence, my series of doubts, what-ifs and counter-arguments, my pessimistic expectations and my perceived sense of safety that worked against me moving until this point, all of these actually affected other people too. In short, to deny permanence for myself was to continue having my children be guests in “a place where dad stays”, rather than a place that they could truly call “their other home”.
I could have stayed on at the Kilpatrick’s longer and things could have turned out okay I guess, but this “step out” into calculated risk and “making it work” means that, even though it won’t be easy, things are going to work out so much better.
At last year’s AGM I presented a paper on “thoughts about the future” where I invited us to dream a bit. Underpinning my presentation was the question of what it means to be important to the local community that is about to be established around us. After the meeting, there were 5 or 6 people who gave very positive feedback—“I’d love to help with that”, “that was the best AGM I’ve ever been to”. Some people were inspired but some thought it was out of sync. Over the weeks that followed, the talk eventually submerged beneath more pressing matters.
The spiel may have receded into the background, but I have not lost a sense of the importance of what I talked about last time, and indeed, what I felt at the time I was called in 2016. I have a deep conviction that our uniqueness is of great value to what I understand as the kingdom of God. We are providing through our practices and values some of the answers to the crisis of Western Christianity’s irrelevancy and decline. I continue in my role inspired with the knowledge that we have much to contribute and I hope that we can work out a way to do this.
In the appendix of this document, there is a copy of the values that Citysiders formulated during the process of calling me. I’ve also included other statements that are central to our community identity.
This report is not to critique them, rather to highlight that some of these statements are on our website and information pack, so in some way they represent us. Have a look and see what you think (heck, even assign each one a grade and maybe we could see how we all compare with our assessments). I’m not wanting to change them, but I am interested to know where we sit with these things now.
This year’s Annual Report is a bit light on input which is more an observation than anything. However, I suspect it’s because there’s a bit of lethargy due to general life circumstances and is maybe just the season that we are in. Thank you to those who have been able to make the time to contribute.
I am grateful to Cityside Council for their continued prayer, thought and hopes for our community. We don’t always have easy discussions, but the outcomes are fundamental to the life and well-being of the church. They have given so much to us and deserve appreciation from everyone as your elected representatives.
I particularly want to thank our Chair, Hayley, for somehow managing to keep things ticking along over a very busy pre-wedding, wedding and post-wedding period. I’ve also appreciated your warm approach and keen interest in keeping our conversations flowing well and on point during meetings.
To those who are stepping down I express my sincere gratitude. Vernon, Brenda and Peter, you have all been valuable contributors to the discussions and emails. Vernon, as my Council liaison, I’ve appreciated our honest and sometimes frank discussions and feedback. Ka pai!
We’ve really had some terrific services from our curators this year and it’s been nice to see some different ideas being explored as well as some new faces on the team. Highlights have been the Sunday that Roxie and Kit ran for us where we got to know each other more, the Labyrinth, the Crowd Sourced Sermon, the Lenten series on the women of the Cross, Good Friday’s focus on William Blake, a service on Sister Corita Kent, jazzy Christmas carols, a different format for Advent, and the Saints of Cityside and the Christmas videos from youths and children.
Of the 47 services, I speak in the sermon slot around 20 so it’s great there’s a plethora of voices contributing.
I love meeting with people, it’s such an important part of my role. I try to meet with newcomers within a few weeks of them arriving and the life stories that emerge are always profound. Every life could be made into a movie I reckon.
One concern is that some people seem to get ‘lost’ at our gatherings i.e. left without someone to talk to. I think this dynamic flows over into the pastoral care throughout the week. My concern is that there are some people in our midst who aren’t having an easy time of things, and I would love to hear more stories being fed back to me where Citysiders are looking out for each other.
I’ve also heard that the 5th Sundays policy might need rethinking or re-energising and it may well be that this season has come to an end.
It’s interesting to me too that at the moment there are at least four Citysider’s in the middle of their PhDs and quite a few involved in post-grad and undergrad study. At one point there were five in Te Reo classes. There’s been two books published, a few performance poets and musicians, two dancers performing, Art courses and of course Adee’s parenting courses launching this year. It all makes for a very busy group of people. I always find it’s a very real tension to ask for ‘volunteers and help’ when we also want people to feel relaxed about saying ‘no’.
We are all disappointed that we haven't found someone to help. We have tried two advertising rounds since the beginning of 2017. The first was for a co-ordinator and we used Student Job Search, Facebook and TradMe as well print ads with Baptist Magazine, and Carey College and Laidlaw. There were no suitable applicants though we did interview one person who unfortunately didn’t quite fit.
For the second round we advertised for a Pastoral role using TradeMe, Seek and again Carey and Laidlaw. Again, we had one interview which didn’t go far and shortlisted a couple of other applicants that turned out to be the wrong fit.
We are currently trying for a third time advertising for a co-ordinator on Seek and Student Job Search. It’s worth another go, but it’s not a given we’ll find someone. I think we need to look at other options just in case.
Here are three factors as to why I think we have yielded no results thus far:
There are probably other factors at play but these three seem to be big enough to overcome as it is.
Jeannie Cochrane has been a God-send to relieve some of the pressure here. We can’t thank her enough really and her commitment to “the end of 2019 if need be” has meant we can breathe a little bit with Children’s Space.
I’ve been trying to lead the Matrix team since the beginning of the year and I think we’ve hit our stride now. However, we really need help and there are more details in the Youth report.
That’s where things are at. We’re still advertising, but we are also looking at how else we can support our children and teens in this critical ministry.
On the plus side, we have celebrated three baptisms this year, Willa, Jess and Isaac. I’ve enjoyed talking with each of them as they’ve processed the choice they were making. I thought it was cool how they chose Murray to baptise them which is a testament to how significant he has been in their lives. Each event was unique and beautiful in its own right and I’m grateful for these special moments in our church life.
Damaris has been chipping away at this with me and after our Council retreat the communication vectors became much clearer for us to create policies around.
A key mechanism that will be launched at the AGM is our incident reporting form. There will be a paper version and an online version for anyone to fill if
All of these are essential for all users of the building to fill out to the best of their ability. This will build up a narrative of how we identify and respond to Health and Safety.
Another key change is for everyone, including Citysiders old and new, that if you haven’t been through a Health and Safety induction process, then expect that Damaris will take you through this before you hire our facilities. It’s a ten minute exercise that is frankly good stuff to know. For example, it’s very helpful to know that the fire alarm needs to be triggered manually! Yep, we’re a ‘break the glass and flick the switch’ kinda community. It’s practical, helpful and important.
Thank you to everyone who helps to make these happen. It’s an important part of the service on Sundays and it provides a nice buzz of activity. I encourage you to keep your eye open for those who are standing on their own drinking their cuppa. It’s a place where we welcome everyone and it can be an intimidating place for newcomers.
If you're like me and get stuck with conversations, simple questions can make a conversation happen, “Where do you come from?” “Tell me about your family?” And “How do you spend your time?” Will get a 15 minute conversation going easily. Remembering their name for the next time they turn up would be extraordinarily affirming for them. If you need to rush off, introduce them to someone else before you go.
As you’ll see from Damaris’ report later, there’s been a good result in boosting our income. That though is nothing compared to the steady traffic and respect that we are garnering from those who use our facilities. I estimate that we are hosting at least a hundred, regular, non-cityside attenders during the week—some of them in the artist collective, others in the office and the rest either associated with the arts (acting, drawing, singing and band practicing) or with social activism (ActionStation, 350.org.nz). I think there’s a lot to explore here if we want to.
On that note, a highlight was the preview morning tea in Art Space after the service. That was a seriously excellent connection between the two groups and has opened the way for more engagement.
I am grateful to Damaris for her initiative and foresight with the buildings and creating connections. She works tirelessly all hours (literally!) to make this project work and for it to cause minimal disruption to the community.
The Management Team have had to do some heaving lifting with this area though as they sorted through the contracts, insurance and some of the building issues. I think we’ve sorted it enough now to not be as burdensome going forward, but that was hard slog and I thank you for your time and energy.
There’s loads of other stuff I could reflect on but I need to stop. There are some deep challenges for Cityside at the moment. But there are also some great opportunities. Let us not lose sight of the things we love about our Church, and our friends and our families there, as we keep being a place where we explore the depth and mystery of Jesus the Christ in our midst.
Arohanui
Stu
It has been my privilege to be the Children’s Space co-ordinator for the year so far. I am doing this role on a term by term basis until a long-term plan for the Cityside’s children and youth can be put into place. I am part of a team who meet once a term to plan the Sunday programme for the following term. and then it is my role to facilitate that programme happening on a weekly basis.
The children are a delight to interact with. They are capable of engaging thoughtfully with a range of topics. In the first term of the year our focus was on Lent, with confession as the prayer practice. A highlight for many children was a walk up Mt Eden one Sunday morning. The second term had the theme of The Gospel Goes Global. We looked at Pentecost and the following few centuries, making it as far as St Patrick in the 5th century. The children also had a prayer journal which they were able to write in each week. This term so far we have discussed what the Good News might be about and we will hear from some Citysiders about what this Good News has looked like in places around the world they have lived and worked. Later in the term, Jocelyn Friis will facilitate a Creationtide themed art project.
Social get togethers are a very important part of our life together, to foster spaces for connection and conversation in a different way than is possible on a Sunday morning. In the first term we had a great Pizza and Pool party at the Smith family’s place. The big event of the second term was a sleepover at Cityside (thanks to the wonderful Michelle McKinlay, without whom this may not have happened!) Part of the time was spent decorating cupcakes to sell on Sunday morning to raise money for the Jammies in June project. There were some very creative cupcakes produced! From the sale of the cupcakes plus extra money donated by CItysiders, we were able to buy 34 pairs of jammies as well as contribute $200 cash for the organisers to buy specific sizes that were in short supply. On the Sunday morning, Arielle Barling shared some stories with us of some of the families she has distributed the donated pyjamas to as part of her work. This term we have two more outings planned – a trip to Jump and to the Glenfield Leisure Centre to play table tennis.
This year we have 25 children officially on the roll, with an average weekly attendance of around 12. These children are in Years 3 to 8 at school. We have combined the two previous groups, Quest and Odyssey, into one as there are not enough Y1-3 children to form a viable group. Here are my observations on what is now happening: From around 2001 to 2010, there were children consistently being born into Cityside families. However, from 2011 there have been only a very small number of babies arriving into our community. The impact of this is that as the older children are reaching their teens and moving into Matrix, there are currently only a couple of pre-schoolers who could become part of Children’s Space over the next few years. It therefore seems likely that unless we have new families with younger children becoming part of our Cityside community, the numbers at Children’s Space will continue to decline over the coming years.
And finally, may I offer a challenge to our community: How many of our children do you know by name? Feel free to introduce yourself to one or two of them during morning tea and find out who they are and something of what they enjoy about life. The children will be enriched by your conversation with them and I’m sure you will be too!
Jeannie Cochrane
After Helen concluded her time looking after Matrix, I think we still had some hope that we would find an appointment quite soon so it seemed like a good idea for me to step in and help Vince, Murray and (thankfully!) Christina run the Sunday programme. I think it’s fair to say that we were all struggling to give it the time it really needed and when we had a talk about it at the end of term 2, we all agreed to change the programme focus and also “to step up a bit”. I’m pleased to say that apart from a few little hiccups we’ve been able to get a bit of momentum.
The shift has been away from a mainly “teaching” programme and into project based activities i.e. the Matrix led Service and later in this term, an art-project where one of the artists from the collective is going to help us paint a mural for Creation-tide. The idea of the projects is to have an intension for the teenagers to be there and for us to subsequently build relationships with while working together.
The service yesterday was so good. The teenagers did really well and inspired some change in many people with regard to how we can practically care for the planet. Too many to thank, but thank you!
This last term, Hayley, Vernon and myself called around most of the parent’s of Matrix age (or very soon to be) with a view to finding out where things are ‘at’. We wanted to have conversations with parents and to answer some questions for a possible way forward. The results are below:
There’s a good amount of enthusiasm for a Fortnightly Friday Night get together. However, finding someone to run this in the interim will be a challenge. Essentially youth work boils down to a very simple equation. Faith support for the future is supported by a sense of belonging to a community, which is supported by relationships in that community, which is supported by consistent attendance, which is supported by safe spaces. The programme or event is a place, but in and of itself doesn’t create a sense of belonging. As far as I am aware from years working in youth pastoral roles, there are no shortcuts to this reality.
Attendance has been good in this last term compared to the previous two, but the truth is that we have suffered fluctuating attendance at Matrix for a few years. Murray and Joy hosted a couple of social events which were also well attended.
I would love for someone at Cityside to step in and plan/promote and facilitate the team for the Friday evening events (perhaps not fortnightly this year) and co-ordinate the team of helpers (Murray, Vince, Christina and occasionally myself and any guests), on the Sundays and ideally, I reckon, this person needs to not be a parent of current teenagers. And, yes, this role could be carried by two people if need be.
Murray, Vince and Christina, I am grateful for all that you have been able to bring to our teenagers. Thanks for your time, energy and enthusiasm for them and I hope and pray we find a sustainable model soon.
Thank you too to Sarah O’Brien who was our adult-in-charge of the teens who went to Easter Camp this year. We appreciate that it was a big ask to give up Easter for something that was a bit scary beforehand—you did a great job down there and I understand it wasn’t so bad after all.
We also need to give a big shout out to Royal Oak Baptist Church and, in particular, Rosie Fleming who have been so willing to have us as part of their group on Wednesdays and also Easter Camp. Without their support, it is hard to imagine us having much to work with at all.
Stu
The Management Team comprises Sarah Heeringa, Richard Taylor, Simon Yule (seconded) and Stu McGregor (ex-officio).
Arielle Barling was appointed onto the team last August, but unfortunately resigned earlier this year due to work and study commitments.
Improvements have been made to signage, lighting and fire egress so that these all comply with fire regulations. The church has changed fire system contractor to ‘Guardian Alarms’ who are performing better than the previous contractor.
Sarah orgainised the laying of a large piece of second-hand purple carpet plus new teal carpet on stairs to toilet and around ramp door area, tightening the existing carpet, install anti-trip strips to comply with the fire code.
An area within the basement has been set aside formally for use for storage by the church, while providing sufficient area in the basement for the Matrix group activities, and allowing for several small booths to be rented out. Previously this storage area had not been available for active church storage for a number of reasons.
Toilet block: Simon has heroically been undertaking remedial work of ongoing maintenance issues.
Lights: Simon has replacec blown bulbs as and when required.
Site Meetings: Stu and Simon meet with Huynsil and Damaris on a monthly basis to discuss weekly building use, maintenance and Health and Safety issues.
The Management Team would like to acknowledge the many hours of work which Simon Yule has undertaken for the church. We are much indebted to his commitment and availability to deal with the many building issues which arise.
Citysiders can be really proud of the hospitality that is provided to groups through the week. People are very grateful to be able to use the spaces that Cityside provides and without fail, people always comment on the ‘good vibes’ that Cityside has and are struck with the obvious freedom and creativity that is expressed throughout the whole building. As a community, you have created something very unique that is highly appreciated.
The spaces indicated in the figures below include:
Total Cityside income for July ‘16 – July ‘17 period was $13,924.
The total Cityside income for July 2017 – July 2018 was $34,531.
Damaris (8SPACE) first began this work in May 2016
In April 2016, a pilot scheme for renting Cityside community spaces was established with Damaris Kingdon. In April 2017, Cityside members voted to formally extend this agreement. Damaris is a contractor in this capacity under her own company name of 8SPACE Ltd.
The goal of the rental scheme was to create much needed income for the church with the added potential to connect with communities that naturally align with interests and values of Citysiders.
In renting space to outside groups, a key priority has been to keep Cityside spaces available for Citysiders to use. Most requests from Citysiders can be accommodated in terms of bookings as long as there is a couple of weeks notice. Many of the bookings that are made on a regular basis are offered on the proviso that if Cityside/rs wish to use the space, the renter will make way.
Cityside rentals are a different arrangement to the leases that are held with the church on the 2nd level and on some of the storage spaces in the basement. These spaces are not included in the figures or descriptions provided in the snapshot.
For the sake of perspective, it is worth knowing that the upstairs lease has been in place since August 2013 and the Music rehearsal space in the basement since late 2015. Both are leased by 8SPACE.
Damaris Kingdon is the owner/operator and single-shareholder for 8SPACE Ltd. The company provides a legal structure for Damaris’ operations. 8SPACE Ltd earns income from the arrangement on a commission basis. This means there is no retainer income provided by Cityside. There is only income for 8SPACE if there is income for Cityside.
Ways in which being part of Cityside in the past year has enabled my spiritual formation (i.e. helped me to follow Jesus in the world):
I might not have formationed much in the last year
Other things I’ve liked about being part of Cityside this past year:
Mainly the people.
What I think we could do better:
It would be very nice to hear more voices at the front, like we used to, and does happen sometimes, but not so often.
New stuff I’d like to see us get into:
Hearing peoples stories
Ways in which being part of Cityside in the past year has enabled my spiritual formation (i.e. helped me to follow Jesus in the world):
Cityside is awesome and I miss it so much. All the contemplation and quiet and contributions from a range of voices, and reflective stuff definitely helped me follow Jesus.
Other things I’ve liked about being part of Cityside this past year:
Gender inclusive pronouns for God. The ability in church to be able to ask questions without fear of judgement.
What I think we could do better:
I think we need to plant Citysides all over the world! Because a lot of churches just aren’t.... you know.... just not quite.....hmmmm.
New stuff I’d like to see us get into:
Dunno. We haven’t been around since Dec.
Kia ora whanau
Ways in which being part of Cityside in the past year has enabled my spiritual formation (i.e. helped me to follow Jesus in the world):
Having a sacred space gives me the chance to re-centre on a regular basis. Hearing about other people’s journeys invigorates my own.
Other things I’ve liked about being part of Cityside this past year:
conversations, sharing in worship activities, sharing communion together, family nature and kids’ involvement
What I think we could do better:
I really value this community, but struggle with the fact that we only meet irregularly—Sunday morning for a couple of hours and we’re not all there every Sunday. Not sure how we find space/time to up our interaction. The Bits and the Facebook page help virtually...
Ways in which being part of Cityside in the past year has enabled my spiritual formation (i.e. helped me to follow Jesus in the world):
Helped me to stay more connected to the Body of Christ due to Cityside’s theology being more closely aligned with my own and being allowed to ask/discuss hard questions.
Other things I’ve liked about being part of Cityside this past year:
Stu’s pastoral visit’s when we had our first baby.
What I think we could do better:
Connecting people geographically. Perhaps we could map where we all live so we could connect more in our own communities. Provide updates on what’s happening in our own areas.
New stuff I’d like to see us get into:
Going deeper into helping to address a social issue, big or small, together that either effects Mt Eden or where Citysiders reside. Ie get people who specialise in addressing the issue come to talk to us, read about the issue, donate money, time, advocate, raise awareness, community mapping, measure our impact so it’s not just lip service. Pay someone to lead the work.
Ways in which being part of Cityside in the past year has enabled my spiritual formation (i.e. helped me to follow Jesus in the world):
Just having a regular gathering where Jesus is the focus is a great thing—even when we’re talking about the questions as much as/more than the answers.
Other things I’ve liked about being part of Cityside this past year:
Morning teas are always pretty good—thanks to those who contribute yummy stuff for a sweet-tooth like me (the healthy stuff is good too).
It’s a great encouragement to me that you guys like to sing some of my songs now & then—thanks for that. I’m glad they’re hitting the spot & I’ll try to think up some more.
What I think we could do better:
I wonder if there are ways we can “promote” Cityside? I don’t mean commercially, but to share some of what we do to a wider audience as I think a lot of people would be interested to hear about alternative ways of worship & being community, if only they knew. It could be our mission-field activity, subverting the dominant paradigms. I liked it that Stu’s recent sermon was on video, and although that wasn’t for “public consumption” the idea of having some video content to put out there could be good as that’s the way most people relate to information these days.
New stuff I’d like to see us get into:
As above; some sort of reaching out beyond ourselves. Not sure what that looks like but it might be a good discussion to have.
Other:
I think it’s great that the Cityside building is being used for all sorts of other stuff. I’ve noticed in the last year or so that a lot more people outside Cityside are aware that we’re here because they’ve been to something in the building. It’s given me chances to chat a little bit about us to non-church-goers several times, & people seem to find the spaces, and the idea that we’re a bit different to what they normally think of as ‘church’, intriguing.
Ways in which being part of Cityside in the past year has enabled my spiritual formation (i.e. helped me to follow Jesus in the world):
I am inspired by those who share from the heart about their personal journeys. And those who behave with great integrity in the world. I don’t know if I attribute this to following Jesus specifically, but from my perspective, that doesn’t matter. One recognises in one’s heart what is true and right. I think it was Jesus who said we’d know by the fruit they bear...
Other things I’ve liked about being part of Cityside this past year:
I love the chance to chat with people in various forms of hospitality.
What I think we could do better:
Physical space: Why do we not have a path in and out of the service space that doesn’t go right in front of everybody? Whether it’s me that’s late, or other people coming and going, it would be nice to be able to move a bit more discreetly.
New stuff I’d like to see us get into:
Podcasting our services. For those of us who don’t attend each service, but would enjoy listening during the week. Some privacy and technical issues for sure, but we can negotiate these.
Other:
Keep up the wide ranging participative nature of our church.
Ways in which being part of Cityside in the past year has enabled my spiritual formation (i.e. helped me to follow Jesus in the world):
I think being part of the Cityside Council as a Community Leader has helped me to be more aware of the importance of faith in our lives, and to think perhaps more deeply about issues of spirituality and why we believe what we do.
Other things I’ve liked about being part of Cityside this past year:
They way people care about each other, outside of the church building on a Sunday
The growth of our young people and how they contribute to the Cityside community
The amount of thought and preparation that curators put into the services
All the diversity of life that now happens in our building which has made many more people aware of our existence, and helps us to be more a part of the city community life
Morning teas!
What I think we could do better:
Can’t think of anything just now
New stuff I’d like to see us get into:
Ditto!
Ways in which being part of Cityside in the past year has enabled my spiritual formation (i.e. helped me to follow Jesus in the world):
Stu has been visiting me at home and the conversations have been huge as a part of processing my life and what God has been dragging me to.
Other things I’ve liked about being part of Cityside this past year:
I have only been attending events for the last month or so. So the only thing I can really comment on are Stu’s pastoral visits. Conversation, communion and prayer during those times have been really important.
When I have attended it has been wonderful to see such a stellar group of people!
What I think we could do better:
With the caveat that I have been only attending services for the last month I have to say that I have been finding them somehow a little too nice. I have come away from services wondering if we are doing a nice middle class social fix rather than engaging in a transformative activity.
I haven’t often come away with a sense that the service has enabled a more intense experience of connection with the sacred or divine.
I do think shared worship has an inevitable formative effect on our lives and I think this is being achieved to some degree but I think I would like us to connect more with the ways we look to our faith in God to change us and change the world.
New stuff I’d like to see us get into:
I have had the same hopes for quite a few years now.
I would like to see the community leadership team take on a pastoral role. In the church I grew up in the elders all had a list of people they would visit a couple of times a year to connect with them. I would like to see the CL team take this on. I have seen too many people that don’t feel wanted or valued at Cityside drift away quietly because no one knew they were feeling that Cityside, as a community, had no place for them.
Where is the process around building plans? When last I had the energy to be really engaging at Cityside Craig Drown lead a really good session about what we could do with the building.
I would love to see us use the building to make an impact on our local community.
Ways in which being part of Cityside in the past year has enabled my spiritual formation (i.e. helped me to follow Jesus in the world):
The Sunday teaching
Other things I’ve liked about being part of Cityside this past year:
Everyone is always welcome no matter what their head space
What I think we could do better:
Supporting each other, like meal prep and offering visitors an invitation to morning tea
Ways in which being part of Cityside in the past year has enabled my spiritual formation (i.e. helped me to follow Jesus in the world):
I am increasingly aware of the importance of being part of a community of faith and the ways that shapes me that are not always obvious. I benefit from being exposed to ideas and writers / poets/ artists through other Citysiders.
Other things I’ve liked about being part of Cityside this past year:
As always, the people. The fifth Sunday events. The great group of children and youth.
What I think we could do better:
Live closer to one another. (Just kidding). Have more time for hanging out.
Other:
A big thank you to Stu for all your love and care and thought for our community. And a big thank you to the Community Leaders and Management Team for the hours you spend working on behalf of our community.
What have you enjoyed about being part of Cityside this year? What are you grateful for?
Being part of the community. I like it.
What at Cityside helps you to feel aware of God?
Well, how we learn and stuff. The people and the teaching.
How does being part of Cityside help you live your life?
Teaches me to listen.
What could we do better at Cityside?
Nothing, well, maybe more activities
What's some new stuff you'd like to see us explore at Cityside?
More games. Making sure everyone is joining in.
