Minister’s report

I’ll start by acknowledging my immense gratitude for the extraordinary gift of enabling me to walk he Camino de Santiago for sabbatical. There’s no words at the moment to describe the sheer magnitude of all that it means to me and I’m sure it will come through at various moments in the future. Thank you, thank you and again thank you!

I regret that I have to leave again in a few weeks for a short trip to lead a tour around Ireland. I’d rather be settling in and focussed on things at Cityside.

Looking over my previous report, COVID was such a feature and our resilience as a community to get through it was remarkable. We wondered if 2023 would bring new energy as the normal rhythms of life started up again. Although the first quarter of the year felt bitsy to me, I remind myself that this is how it always is. Two long weekends and Easter being a variable always make the starting up of things a bit difficult. But before I left, it felt that things were going pretty smoothly all things considered.

Some of the key aspects during the last year I think were: signing off the formal Regen process late last year; Rosie gearing up to go on maternity leave; two meetings with parents regarding Matrix; me going on sabbatical and the church surviving very well without me; Matariki celebrations; unveiling Te Karakia o Cityside artwork; exceptional work by Children’s Space Collective and also Brownyn and Christina with Matrix; Easter Camp; Awaken Conference; spending time with representatives from the Human Rights Commission on conversion therapy; signing off on our Affirmation of LGTBQIA+ people by Rosie and Jaimee; Op-Shop Ball; camping at Tawharanui; visit to Auckland Gallery to look at Toi Māori; Good Friday installation of Matthias Grünewald’s crucifixion; book group; Lower Bar Collective gig; Mark Laurent gig; planting days with Children’s Space and a Rocha; gardening; a big clean out of old couches and junk …

Wait. That’s quite a lot really… And that doesn’t include the regular spots for monthly Monday night Catch up and Connect, Monastics and a few other groups that meet under the radar.

All of these things with rare exception are facilitated by Citysiders, some in consultation with Council, but mostly not which is exactly how it should be. We have huge participation in services where the curators are constantly bringing variation, flavour, nuance, depth, fun and insight. The song led worship is so varied between each of the music leaders. Most of all there’s a spontaneity and humour permeating throughout…

…because of you.

You make Cityside the welcoming, gentle, deep and surprising sanctuary that it is. Thank you for your presence, and your contributions, but mostly for your presence. You are a beautiful expression of the Christ. Thank you!

Here’s some pics of highlights for me:

❮ ❯ ⏸

I’m typically quite verbose in these reports, but there’s still a couple of things I need to cover off.

What happened to Regen?

As you can imagine, I had a lot of time to think while I was overseas. And this is one particular area I thought an awful lot about. I’d think through what the Regen project means for various areas of church life and what each could look like as part of a regenerating system. What are the priorities? Where is the energy in the church community? What’s sparking? How do we get moving on some of the bigger plans?

I think it’s worth reiterating that part of the purpose of the Regen project is to ultimately reduce the amount of collective work we are doing by focussing energy into things that generate life for us and the world around us. It’s a form of working smarter, not harder. Finding the essence of the community was the key to unlocking this.

By focussing on the essence, we think differently about what we do and in particular who we are when we are doing it. Work then is not about ‘doing’ but ‘being’, no longer task focussed, but person focussed.

A good example of where this has already been happening for years is with the song-led worship. We could ask the person ‘what will we do for song-leading’ or ‘who will you be when you lead songs?’. I love the authenticity of this and how it provides opportunity for others. I don’t think it would be possible for Mike to have led with loop pedals last Sunday if we hadn’t been welcoming his presence in the song leading. Without the constraints of a particular style of worship, we are free to be authentic in that space. That authenticity and subsequent appreciation of it by the rest of us redefines what song-led worship means and even it’s purpose. This is the helpful dynamic of coevolving with the process toward greater potential. We are invited by an intrinsically regenerative process to make something that, for some of us years ago, was lifeless and it becomes life giving.

Often when we are trying to solve resourcing problems, a common approach is looking at the default options in front of us—particularly if we are in a reactive mode. A regenerative process invites us to pause and imagine. It’s different to brainstorming ideas in that it’s a gentler and less pressured process. Instead of asking “what do you think?”, we can ask “what are you imagining?” As we pause and imagine, we can start to see the greater systems that the subject is part of and how everything interacts with each other.

Many tension points in an organisation can be resolved, or reconciled, with this softer approach, and where conflict arises, each party sees it as an opportunity for something fresh to emerge in the fault line. What emerges is not a negation of either party, but an augmentation of each idea into a whole. But critical to the success of these interactions is a sense of commonality around what we are trying to achieve.

For the three areas (Pages 27–29 of the Regen Report) that we’ve been tasked with looking at over the next two and a half years, we will see some of this emerge, but I’m aware that there’s lots of conversation still needed and it can look daunting at the start of these tasks. Some have been put back a couple of years, some have already been actioned (tick!) and some are in process. Personally, I think it’s time we focussed a bit on outside the building—physically and relationally. Who do we want to be understood as for those who see our building? Maybe you could stand across the road and have a ponder on what our building describes currently.

What is important though, as we move forward, is to remember both or either of these two things.

Our three guiding lights:

Relational, creative and restorative.

Try looking at something you’d like to see modified at Cityside and play with the order of these words. They operate together and influence each other. Depending on the starting word, the outcomes vary. All permutations are correct—but some will fit better with an activity than others.

The essence statement:

Cityside:
a nourishing wellspring where journeys converge,
a waypoint at the edge,
providing sanctuary as we creatively explore and question,
respond to and engage in our world.

This is a hugely powerful statement of what motivates us and inspires us as a church community. It’s descriptive and prescriptive at the same time drawing on who we’ve been and calling us to who we will become. Take another area of the church you’d like to improve or modify and imagine how it could look when expressing the essence of Cityside.

Often when I think about this, I find that we could easily lose sight of the sanctuary aspect by expecting too much doing of things for the church. How do we facilitate rest? How do we maintain our delight in new people joining Cityside without seeing them as a resource for a program? Don’t get me wrong, it’s nowhere near as bleak as that, but I do think about it a lot because it’s so important to hold on to.

“Thanks Stu, that’s helpful but still, what happened to Regen?” Short answer, the project is still ongoing and part of my and Council’s role is to keep it moving. All that’s helpful at the moment is to imagine using the two lenses above. Play a little with the ideas in your head, zoom in and out and see what emerges (honestly, it’s so worth the extra five or so minutes).

What about the deficit?

Yeah, not ideal I admit, but I’ll leave the details of ‘how’ and ‘why’ for the financial report. From what I see, giving is on a downward slope while the expenses are on the up. Thank goodness for the rental income (thanks Damaris for keeping that chugging along). Naturally one fix is to improve the giving, but that’s a hard ask for many in this climate. My suspicion is that any increase from giving will be less than increase in expenses and that those two lines are going to keep diverging. Again, thinking with the guiding lights and the essence, can we imagine other ways we can generate income?

[Some thoughts here as a springboard] Some of this might actually need to be the big and bold stuff if we’re going to be apply successfully for external grants and funding. For example, the art gallery idea could make money as a social enterprise while being funded from other sources and it would be amazing for the community, art studio and Cityside. Let’s think broader than bank loan constraints because if we choose the right social enterprise, like the art studios upstairs, it can be a long term return on investment through funding from Auckland Council, Ministry of Internal Affairs, LinkAlliance, Uptown, Baptist Tabernacle Trust etc).

So while a deficit is forecast, we’ve not yet had the conversations on how we will imagine what financial support for Cityside will look in the future. Maybe this deficit gives some urgency to thinking about these things sooner than later, but let’s not be distracted from the need to think boldly.

Again, I express my sincere thanks to all the people who have been instrumental behind the scenes in keeping Cityside working. It’s a big list and I don’t want to turn it into an Oscars speech. However, I do have to acknowledge Hyunsil again—I’m just so grateful for your insights into Cityside and your care for the day to day stuff around the church. Thank you for organising so much and keeping us up to date with the books and the bills and the rosters and the pantry and the list goes on… I know you do much more than you let on.

I think that this is a good place to finish.

Kia tau te rangimārie ki runga i a koutou, i roto hoki i ngā ringaringa o te Atua, ā—mā te Wairua Tapu e whakakaha koutou i ngā wā katoa.

—Stu McGregor, Minister

Co-Chair AGM Report

It’s been a year of transition as we have navigated a number of things.

Council members are assigned one of two committees that together make up Cityside Council. The Management Team (MT) look after all things property and money. The Community Leaders (CL) look after the people/pastoral matters. Stu, as Minister, sits on both committees, and Josh is a member of Council but not on either of the sub-committees.

Sarah Woodfield and Mark Haines co-chair Council and serve on MT and CL respectively.

While not wanting to belittle any of the experiences that people have had with the pandemic, the past year for has been a journey of Covid (the real McCoy) to Covid (the hangover) to Covid (not much to see here). Although the Regenerative Process was delayed an inordinate amount of time because of Covid, in some ways the conclusion of the formal review and visioning process has drawn a line in the sand and given something new to look forward to as we move forward into the new normal. The formation of a number of people clusters interested in making the next steps in the Regenerative Process happen has been all rather encouraging and good progress has already been made in some of these areas, while others are more appropriately paced over a longer timeframe. Several Council members have a responsibility for oversight of a particular aspect of Regeneration and it is a permanent Council agenda item. The values surrounding being Creative, Restorative and Relational which came out of the Regenerative should come as no surprise — they are rooted in our history (not only Cityside, but the City Mission and Mt Eden Baptist Church which came as earlier iterations of 8 Mt Eden Rd).

Special General Meetings (SGM) are not common (probably why they are called ‘Special’), but one was held November last year. Two items on the agenda looked at Guidelines on dealing with Challenging Behaviour (Health & Safety) and Affirming LGBTQIA+ people at Cityside (a reaffirmation of our stance affirming marriage equality, as well as the openness for those in the LGBTQIA+ people to fully participate in the life of our church). We also welcomed Katerina as a Council member on MT.

Cityside has continued to re-establish links with various parts of the Baptist denomination which has potentially resulted in a better understanding for people of what Cityside stands for under the wider Baptist umbrella). Representation on the Northern Baptist Association (NBA) Board and the Carey Baptist College Board has not gone unnoticed. It has been good for Cityside to also have representation at a number of hui held around the country and for Stu to be a flea in the ear of / an annoying itch for the Baptist Union when there have been things to stand up for. Sarah went to the Baptist hui-ā-Māori on Matariki weekend, enabling her to deepen her connection to her Māori heritage and contribute a wee bit to the ongoing conversations.

In April we had a very special service to unveil the new Benediction Artwork that is a taonga for Cityside. This from Stu following the service:

The service last Sunday has got to be one of the highlights of my time at Cityside. Words fail to convey how special it was to unveil the artwork of Te Karakia o Cityside (the Cityside Benediction) painted by one of the studio artists, Ehetere Pearse. It’s a beautiful addition to the permanent art on our walls. Importantly, to have what has become one of our sacred texts in te reo Māori given such prominence in our sanctuary is a visible expression of our commitment to keep journeying meaningfully toward partnering with Māori. It was an honour too that Mark Pierson could be with us for the occasion and super special when he prayed the benediction over us. Just beautiful. *

We were delighted when Rosie and Micah welcomed Toby Graham to their family. However, this impacted Rosie’s role as Youth Coordinator working with Matrix. Members of Council met with Matrix parents on a couple of occasions to discuss interim steps and we are thankful to Christina and Bronwyn for taking on oversight for a period of time.

The OpShop Ball was resurrected after a number of years in hiatus and the night was a blast for those able to attend.

The Matariki service was special for Mark, having Helen and Josh again lead us and bring further insight into the relevance and significance of this season, not only from an Aotearoa New Zealand perspective but also from a faith viewpoint.

MT and Council have been tracking the accounts this year, and minimising spending where we can. However, the deficit for the year of $56,300, and the projected deficit for the next year of $14,125 (please see the Treasurer Report for details) are a significant concern. We ask that Citysiders consider whether they can increase the level of financial support they are able to provide to the Church.

In most other churches, a minister going on sabbatical for 10 or more weeks would be replaced by an interim minister assigned to take on all ministerial duties for the period of the absence. Stu’s sabbatical came a year late due to Covid but it was great to follow his personal Camino journey. As a church, things continued pretty much as normal because a significant number of people stepped up to provide assistance and leadership during Stu’s absence. This is an indicator of what Stu means when he talks of us all as a priesthood of believers. We are thankful for the richness of gifts people have to share that means we continue to look after each other.

We have appreciated the great input to Community Leaders and Council from Jaimee and Julianne over the last few years, and wish them the best as they focus on other priorities. We look forward to welcoming new Council members to bring fresh perspectives, and we look forward to the ‘where next’ for Cityside.

— Mark Haines & Sarah Woodfield (Co-Chairs)

Management Team Report

The Team

The Management Team comprises Sarah Woodfield, Katerina Burgess, Ali Kitchen, Richard Taylor and Stu McGregor (ex-officio). Sarah is also co-chair of the Council and as Treasurer has taken a lead role in reporting on the church finances.

The management team meet approximately every 2 months with Damaris Kingdon, the main leaseholder trading as 8Space Ltd often joining the meeting for the first 20mins to discuss joint matters. This provides time for face-to-face discussion with Damaris on property and operational matters, and in addition, ensures a healthy working relationship between the two parties.

Rental and Lease Agreements

Fortunately building use has picked up again following the effects of the pandemic, and the building is once more regularly used. It is noted that the existing lease agreements expire on 29 February 2024 and it is envisaged that these will be extended for another 2 years or more.

Activities and Improvements Made

Key improvements carried out over the last 12 or so months are as follows:

• Significant Weatherboard, Gutter and Roof Repairs
  In early 2022 some serious building issues were identified. The guttering outside the second level art space on the Mount Eden Road side of the building was hanging precariously, the roofing adjacent was perforated, and the weatherboards facing Mt Eden Road were in a rotting state. This work required scaffolding which was costly in itself. The box gutter at the lower level and some adjacent roofing was also leaking, with rainwater entering the corner of the building. The final cost to complete all these repairs was close to $24,000.
• Gardens
  The garden on the Burleigh Street side of the church has been upgraded thanks to Sarah and a team lead by Claude Dewerse. The remaining gardens have also been maintained more than in previous years.
• Security
  Access through the doors at the top of the ramp on Mt Eden Rd is now also controlled by an electronic keypad (similar to the main door at the lower Mt Eden Rd entrance). This needed some rework, but is now up to a good standard and provides improved security at that entrance.
• Carpet in the Church Space
  It has taken all year to have the new carpet for the church space manufactured and delivered to New Zealand. Laying of the carpet is scheduled for August 21–23.
• A New Handrail
  for the steps down from the carparking area at the front of the church (near the street intersection) has been recently installed to address a health and safety issue. This is designed to also provide a place to lock parked bicycles. Thanks to Ross Bedingfield for his work on this.

Future Initiatives

Some of the future projects under consideration and planning include:

• Making provision for secure bike parking at the church- A rest area comprising a seat and water fountain built into the garden area on the Mount Eden Road side of the church

Summary

The Management Team is working well together and with Damaris. It is helpful having Stu involved in many of the meetings.

— Richard Taylor, on behalf of the Management Team.

Community Leaders Report

The Community Leaders team have worked hard this year and it has been great to support the Cityside community in this way. It can be difficult to quantify the space that Community Leaders holds and the work that we do, but here is a brief overview of some of the things we’ve been part of this last year.

Opshop ball:

This was such an excellent night and it was wonderful to have a great turnout from all areas of our community. There was dancing—big thanks to Kit and his band for their incredible music—great conversations, pool, and some interesting outfits. I loved seeing all ages spending time together and look forward to other similar events in the future.

Parents meetings:

In the lead up to Rosie going on maternity leave, Community Leaders were part of gathering Matrix parents across two meetings to discern together about the present and future of how we care for our teenagers. It was great to be part of such robust discussion and I’m sure this will be ongoing.

Pastoral care:

In usual times, Stu is the point person for pastoral care at Cityside. However, with Stu’s sabbatical this year it was great to see others stepping up to fill this space. In particular, Helen Dallaston held the community with such care and we are so grateful to her for her attention to this space in Stu’s absence.

In addition to the above, Community Leaders continues to be a group which offers space for reflection on the wellbeing of our community. Cityside’s split council structure is fairly unique, in my experience, and the separation of Community Leaders from Management Team every second month ensures that conversations about pastoral care, theology, and all manner of other things have space. This is a gift for our community and a privilege to be part of.

— Jaimee van Gemerden

2023 Annual Finance Report

My role as treasurer is to be kaitiaki on behalf of the Cityside Community. Attached are the annual accounts, and also the budget for the next 12 months. There are no major decisions to be made today. However, Council requests that Citysiders consider whether they can increase the level of financial support they are able to provide to the Church

Overall

• We are in a healthy financial position, however after seven years of surplus (totalling approx. $155,000), we ended the last financial year in deficit by $56,300
• We had budgeted for a deficit of $44,000, expecting to spend some of the savings from the previous surpluses without impacting our financial stability
• However, the decline in our giving has continued, and regular expenses continue to increase in line with inflation. Our giving has not showed similar increases
• We currently have set aside $130,000 for significant building maintenance (such as a roof replacement), and allocate $15,000 annually to that
• If our giving income stays static, our budget for the coming year anticipates a deficit of $14,125

Income

• Offerings (including a one-off bequest of $2,500) continue the slow downward trend since 2017/18
• Rental income has improved significantly in the last year, and contributed 45% of total income for the year

We received designated giving for:

• contributing towards Cityside making a Sabbatical payment
• financial gifts from Citysiders for Rosie & Micah pending Toby’s birth
• financial gift from Cityside for Rosie as she left on maternity leave
• gift for Rhyll for the Regen work
• covering koha for Sarah attending the Māori Baptist hui
• gifts for Esther’s family during a difficult time
• donations to Middlemore foundation from fundraising by Citysiders

Expenses

Of note:

• Benediction Art- $3,130 - considered largely offset by $2,500 bequest
• Gifts & koha - $3,335 - Included gifts for Rosie (from Cityside members) and Rhyll, koha for the Benediction translation. Offset by $2800 designated giving
• Property operations costs are increasing in line with inflation
• Repairs & maintenance - $24,000 worth of work this year - see Management Team report for details
• Salary (Youth Coordinator) - includes $2,000 gift from Cityside (fully offset by designated giving)
• Salary (Senior Minister) - includes an increase in hours to 0.9 FTE (from the usual 07. FTE) from 6th Feb-14th May 2023 to support a number of activities, including progressing the post-Regen work, and increasing engagement in the te ao Māori space
• Salaries
  • last payments for regen work of $15,030
  • payment of $558 to Ruby for some time spent sorting Children’s Space resources
  • payment of $5,562 to Micheil for archiving work*
• Sabbatical payment - $5,000. Baptist Union (BU) recommends churches set aside 2% of the pastor’s salary each year so the funds can be provided to support the Sabbatical when it occurs. Cityside had not been doing this. Therefore, Council decided to provide the payment of $5,000, but request contributions from Citysiders to offset this payment. Citysiders contributed just over half the final payment figure of $5,000
• Mileage - up on last year as Covid constraints largely gone
• BU and Northern Baptist Association payments

Budget

• If giving income remains stable, expect a deficit of approx. $14,000 in the current year
• After a period of no rent increases we are reviewing rates, and likely to increase them from 1 Jan 2024
• Budgeted expenses are lower than last year due to one off items (Regen, Sabbatical spending, property repairs, Benediction Art) that won’t repeat. However regular expenses continue to steadily increase
• We have not budgeted for any costs for Regen projects. We would expect to fundraise for any costs associated with those projects
  
  
• Of note in the budget is anticipated spending on:
  • Website maintenance of 24 hours this year (by Stu at $30/hr), likely 16 hours annually after that
  • Increases in salary payments and allowances based on BU Guidelines, and allowing for the potential of 6 months of a new youth coordinator
  • Following BU guidelines, from this year there will be a yearly allowance of 2% of salary set aside for the Sabbatical payment when that is next due
  • Depreciation increased to cover capital purchases (carpet)

—Sarah Woodfield, Treasurer

Proposed Budget

Balance Sheet

Cityside Rentals Report

If you have read previous 8Space AGM reports, some of this information will be familiar—but there are some new bits so read on!

Greetings to all Citysiders!!

For anyone new to our community, it may come as a surprise that the Cityside building is a busy hive of creative activity through the week. As we are in the middle of researching the stories of Cityside—I thought it might be interesting to some of you to find out how this all came about! If not—jump straight to those rental facts and figures that follow!

The Cityside rentals community timeline with a few fun-facts thrown in:

2003—2004: I Damaris, and my family—Hayden (husband), Ophelia (then 3yo) and Paris (then 2yo)—came along to Cityside intermittently. I felt a strong kinship with the Cityside kaupapa—bursting with creativity in its own right and a sanctuary of safety for people to explore their spiritual questions. I really appreciated it and actually decided to become a member in mid 2004 but funnily enough, something, many things interrupted my life flow and I was simply never able to return after that day. Instead, I joined the Catholic Church and worked for a Catholic order of monks for 10 years!

2005-2009: Intermittently hung out in a social/spiritual journeying way with Brenda Rockell—then the minister of Cityside and the same age as I am. Both Andrew (Brenda’s husband) and she, for a time, met with my husband Hayden and I, to talk about spiritual things and do something that was akin to praying—not really, but kind of actually - in an ‘oh so very Cityside fashion’! I remember praying with Brenda over the phone once. Cityside was under massive pressure financially. I remember praying that some how I could help but considering I suffered from terrible ongoing anxiety at the time, (aftermath of a brain injury) this seemed highly unlikely and I didn’t think about it again until....

2011: I started running courses called the Artist’s Way. One of the exercises in the book is to look at your house and get rid of things you don’t love and start bringing in the things you do. I realised I had a bedroom full of art stuff. I decided that I needed to either sell it or do something with it. The next day, a woman I hardly knew rang me out of the blue and told me there was an art studio space available at the ‘Project 12’ collective around the corner in Normanby Road.

I was with them for 18 months until their lease ran out. No one there felt they could take on the responsibility of running the collective except for me. We couldn’t renew the lease in that space, so I started looking...

2013: A real estate agent called me after more than 6 months of looking. “Would you mind being in a church?” she said? “What church?” I answered. “Cityside Baptist” she said. I laughed! “Sure-I’ll take a look!”

Brenda and I negotiated a deal through the agent and in August 2013, ‘Studio 8’ was born. (Later renamed the ‘Art Studio Collective’ due to competing identities elsewhere.) My family and I came to a service and the Cityside congregation officially blessed my studio business. I spoke my intention for the business to be of service to the church.

2015: Walking down the stairs to the basement, I saw a large storage room - just big enough for a band... My two children, Ophelia and Paris were then 14 and 15 and both drummers, Hayden and I were also regularly annoying our neighbours with our guitars and vocals. With the help of Craig Drown, we set up amps and played music as loud as we possibly could and eventually managed to convince the rest of Cityside management team that a music rehearsal room was a far more exciting prospect than storage and that it was sufficiently soundproof enough to host a rehearsal room.

(Believe it or not, you can have a heavy metal band playing full blast in there while hosting silent mediation in the main sanctuary and the meditators would never know!)

With the assistance of concrete drillers to create a couple of ventilation shafts to the outside and the installation of a second recycled door—“Room 94” was born and has hosted many, many, many grass-roots Auckland bands and occasionally an under the radar super star trying to find some peace and quiet. (A member of One Direction has actually practiced here at Cityside.)

2016/2017: I struck a deal with the Cityside management team. Why not try and rent out the big hall spaces in Cityside during the week? We put the arrangement on trial and it worked. Rather than leases on spaces, these are rented on a commission basis. ‘Drink ‘n Draw’—life drawing classes were one of our first regular rentals groups and four years later are still going. Juliet Furness Acting School started with us, as did Mt Eden Improv. Since then poetry performance, live music and theatre groups have been with us constantly; as have the activist groups and community groups of many kinds.

2017/2018: The Art Studio Collective grew to include a larger part of the basement too. It has housed painters, potters and a small screen-printing studio over the years and is currently home to ceramic artist, a three-D printing artist and Ali Kitchen’s motor scooter collection!

2020-2022: Cityside and 8Space locked step and with the Covid support payments and much generosity shared by Cityside to 8Space and onwards from 8Space to sub-renters during the big lockdowns, together, we managed to survive the and come out the other side with income for Cityside and 8Space intact.

I still cannot express the gratitude I feel that Cityside and 8Space were able to work together so constructively for mutual benefit and demonstrate such care and love to our community through such a difficult time. This has also been a very difficult period for me personally as, my health has been seriously affected by long Covid symptoms and the support of the Cityside staff and Council have been phenomenal.

As part of managing my health, Room 94 the music rehearsal space has been sublet full time to Ezra, a professional musician and drum teacher. So, while not directly managed by me, the music rehearsal space is continuing to host bands and many students on a weekly basis.

2023!

Since our AGM in August 2022, I would say that the weekly rentals at Cityside have very nearly recovered to pre-covid levels. 8Space has recently launched a new website. www.8Space.nz In the near future, booking a space at Cityside will be managed by an online booking system via this website.

10th Birthday!!

8Space is 10 years old this month! 8Space was created as a bespoke company to grow the use of space at Cityside. The number 8 representing that we are 8 Mt Eden Road.

The vision of my company 8SPACE has been to ‘nurture creativity’ and together with the amazing Vibe of relaxed love, freedom and acceptance that Cityside provides, this place is a creative sanctuary that has been Cityside church and 8SPACE partnership. Built on the back of the beautiful kaupapa that was established long before I ever arrived—this business has thrived. It will never make any of us rich, but it has certainly provided a stable income for Cityside for full decade now (remember my prayer with Brenda many years ago). And beyond that, it has been a truly happy place of creative community for so many.

Thank you to all of you for creating and allowing this awesome Vibe to thrive. It is my firm belief that as we draw close to our creative impulse, we draw close to God.

Yours faithfully,

—Damaris Kingdon
Founder and Director 8Space Ltd
damaris@cityside.org.nz
021 662 657

Financial Snapshot of weekly rentals

July ’22—July ‘23

The spaces indicated in the figures below include:

• The main auditorium
• The hall and kitchen area
• The upstairs meeting room
• Two small offices on the mezzanine floor
• Basement cubicles
• Extra spaces for special occasions such as Matrix

These figures are GST inclusive.

The leases held with the church on the 2nd level and the music rehearsal space in the basement are not included in these figures. Those leases are worth approximately $40,000 (gst exc) to Cityside annually.

FAQs—Cityside Rentals

What are Cityside Rentals?

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 but also to extend a form of outreach to the local community.

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.

What’s in it for 8SPACE Ltd as a company?

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 this 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.

What is the vision, mission, and intention of 8SPACE/Damaris in relation to Cityside Rentals?

8SPACE strategic profile for Cityside Rentals

Vision:

To grow the Cityside community

Mission:

1. Increase the number of creative and socially conscious individuals connecting with the Cityside community.
2. Create sustainable income for Cityside.
3. Embody an inclusive, just and listening Christian spirituality

8SPACE values:

Peacefulness: calm operations and modes of response

Positivity: what’s important to us can be achieved

Relaxed Cleanliness: personal responsibility for our working environment is taken in a relaxed manner

Value for money: to offer quality and rewarding products/services Generousity in relationship—to promote the comfort and success of others, looking for ways to be good to each other.

Emotional clarity: to affirm one another’s efforts and be honest when things don’t suit us, and thus protect the working atmosphere

Respect: to treat each other well and be courteous as a matter of habit Open communication—to trust that we can work through challenges and differences of opinion

Solution focused: troubles are not the end, but rather the beginning of something worth doing or learning

Things that seem to attract people to Cityside or they say they like about Cityside are:

• Comfy retro couch set up
• Fairy Lights!!!
• Feeling of a lounge (most venues for hire are formal or tend to lack personality)
• Purple carpet!
• Art on the walls
• Projectors available
• Sound systems available
• Versatility of set up—chairs and tables available
• Versatility of spaces
• Relaxed vibes
• Inclusivity
• Non-gendered toilets
• Feeling of being in a safe community space
• Rabbit warren feeling
• Wheelchair accessible (even though not convenient)
• LGBT+ and gender diverse accepting

Types of groups using Cityside in the last 12 months:

The Arts

• Visual artists
• Acting rehearsals/classes
• Dancing rehearsals
• Band practices
• Drawing classes
• Courses in creative process development Film, photo and TV shoots
• Voice classes
• Poetry performance
• Music composers
• Theatre and musical rehearsals
• Theatre performance
• Installation art pieces
• Building theatre props
• Music meet ups
• Writers and poets

Holistic Health

• Counseling
• Art Therapy
• Emotional wellness groups Meditation
• Private creative development
• Personal Events
• Birthday parties Baby showers Game nights

Community Events

• Concerts
• Cultural celebrations Language groups

Not-for-Profits

• Environmental advocacy groups Te Tiriti advocates
• Animal Rights advocates Financial services
• Eradicating poverty advocates Social change advocates Peace advocates

Local Business

• Professional supervision
• Team training days and retreats Staff functions
• Storage
• Car parking

Other Churches

• Prayer meetings
• Worship and social events Queer Youth Church

Matrix

Kia ora e te whānau, I thought I better jot some things down about Matrix.

1. We were all sad when Rosie went on maternity leave. The struggle she had to try and keep a cohesive group going was real throughout the ‘covid’ time and beyond into the wobbliness of inconsistent attendance of recent times. We have all appreciated her massive care and thought regarding our young people and also her contribution to the wider Baptist movement and wider community regarding youth work and particularly the highlighting of LGBT youth inclusion.
2. In the months leading up to Rosie finishing up, community leaders hosted two parent meetings to hear whānau thoughts about our young people and Cityside. There were a different set of people each time so wide ranging opinions and discussions were had - though it was interesting how much consistency there was regarding our hopes for our young people and the Cityside “flavour” we wanted them to grow within. It would be fair to say it would be worth going back and revisiting what was discussed at those meetings as it was difficult to resolve quite a few of the issues raised within the time constraints.
3. Christina Partridge and I loved doing Easter Camp with our young people plus 5000 others. Isaac Bayldon and Rosie’s brother Reuben were leaders and were awesome at getting alongside the campers. I finally understood how the feeding of the 5000 works, and seeing what Jesus did in real life was a whole new thing!.
   There were great bonding times, some young people made some significant discoveries and decisions about their faith, there were good discussions, main meetings and speakers that were actually pretty OK, and the phrase “mosh pit worship” was coined. We highly recommend to anyone to get involved with Easter Camp 2024. School leavers and adults of any age are able to get involved and be ‘crew members’ so some of our Matrix crew will no doubt get involved with that next year. The management of Easter Camp were finding it very difficult to recruit a full crew since covid so all help is appreciated.
4. Christina and I have volunteered to keep Matrix afloat for the next wee while. We are navigating our way through this - and are not amazing, but we will get there ! :) :) Again, all support greatly appreciated.
5. Haphazard attendance, busy young people, kids that just want to sleep (my oldest) still effect our Sunday morning Matrix hugely. However, some recent social events either on Saturday or Sunday have been well attended which has been really nice. Thanks so much to everyone who has contributed so far by hosting or speaking or leading a discussion with our young people - it takes a village. We have an interesting term planned ahead as we endeavour to ensure our young people continue to find a home here at Cityside.

Ngā mihi,

— Bronwyn Babbage (and Christina Partridge)

Report from Children’s Space collective

We currently have 18 children on our Children’s Space roll: six of these are pre-schoolers, seven are primary-aged, and five of these are in the intermediate age group. On a typical Sunday we have between 6-10 children. Dieneke co-ordinates regular meetings for our parent collective to plan the term’s program and sign onto the roster. Typically, each week one parent leads and 1-2 parents may provide support during the session.

In Term 1 we explored gospel stories leading up to Easter; in Term 2—a theme of pilgrimage with a focus on the life of Joseph from the Old Testament and in Term 3 we are looking at God’s presence in the natural world through Matariki and Creationtide. At the end of this year, our group of Year 8s will ‘graduate’ and move into the Matrix age group.

What is going well

It has been lovely to see the growing connections between children, parents, and families. Many of us have enjoyed seeing the ‘new generation’ of younger ones coming through, developing confidence to participate, and experiencing a sense of belonging at Cityside. Children’s Space has also been valuable way for parents to develop their sense of community at Cityside. Getting together outside of Sunday morning has been an important way to build these relationships. The camping weekend at Tawharanui in March and the weekend away at Mangawhai in June (both organised by Michelle & Saul—thank you!) were highlights for many of us.

Parents have appreciated the efforts to involve children in the church service and cater for their needs e.g. the Lego table, celebration box. The contemplative service with stations (e.g. body prayers and mandala art) was a standout for whānau. We would love to see more family-friendly services that can engage even the youngest of our Citysiders.

Some parents are enjoying the mix of being able to be part of their children’s spiritual education and form relationships with the other families by leading a couple of sessions each term, and then going to the main service on other Sundays in the term.

Parents keep in touch through a Whatsapp group, and this has proved helpful for co-ordinators to be able plan for approximate numbers of children and age groups each week.

Miri & Emily in the Nativity play

Challenges

One challenge of the diverse age group is planning for the very different needs and interests of toddlers to pre-teens.

Another challenge is session planning. While Kirsten Malcolm left some fantastic resources which are used, further planning is usually needed, which can be time-consuming. Online Sunday School resources often do not reflect the Cityside ethos so parents need to create or adapt materials.

While parents are keen to have input and enjoy collaborating with one another to plan the programme for our children, a number of parents are balancing demanding jobs and busy family lives. Some don’t have the energy or headspace to lead Childrens’ Space right now; others are contributing but are finding it a burden. For parents of very young children, it is challenging to lead a session while trying to meet their own children’s needs.

Several parents wonder if employing a children’s worker would ease some of the burden. If this person helped with planning sessions and creating resources for Childrens’ Space, parents could still be involved in facilitating the sessions but be relieved of the mental load of planning the sessions. It would also provide an opportunity for more parents to receive spiritual nurturing in the main service, particularly the parents of younger children. It was also suggested that having a wider pool of helpers to draw on (e.g. older kids from Matrix) would be beneficial.

The collective will continue discussing how best to solve these challenges around resourcing and roster, as we seek to meet the variety of needs in this group.

The journey continues….

—Esther Graham

Eco-church Report

In the last year the Eco-church group has organised:

In the service

• We have had regular eco-tips in the service from a wide variety of speakers
• Sarah has introduced a new song into the worship (Touch the Earth Lightly).
• Sarah spoke on frugal living to Matrix, and in a Sunday service both at Cityside and Ponsonby Baptist as part of the sustainable living strand, as well as being interviewed for a podcast on the topic.
• We have some Citysiders regularly contributing to creation care as part of A Rocha events,
• Unfortunately, the Matariki planting event planned with the Children's Space kids did not happen this last month due to complications with scheduling.

Church garden

• We have worked with several people on garden design and in sourcing native species into our church gardens on both sides of the church.
• A full write up of this project was written by Lydia Tebbutt and published in the NZ Eco-church website and can be read here.
• We have organised two mini garden clean-up working bees on Sunday mornings to keep the gardens maintained. It has been really encouraging to have volunteers come along and support these and get a good bit done before church.

Bike parking

• We have made more bicycle parking available as part of a health and safety upgrade to the railing leading to the main entrance. Bikes can be parked on the footpath and locked to the new railing.

Plans for the coming year

• Continued supporting the above objectives
• Looking at further development of the garden on Eden Rd side to create a resting place
• Investigating solar power
• Developing a plan to trial a repair café
• Further develop additional bike parking...
• Acknowledging the Season of Creation in the church calendar in September

Those involved have included:

• Claude Dewerse
• Sarah Woodfield
• Nicky Gumbrell
• Katerina Burgess
• Kate Kelly
• Miles Turkel
• And many other gardeners and eco-tippers

— Claude Dewerse and Sarah Woodfield

Children’s Space Reports

Citysider Reports

From Jeannie

Seeing as I have now been part of the Cityside Community for 20 years, I’m breaking with the tradition of the usual format to allow for a little reminiscing and reflecting.

My first visit to Cityside was with a few people from a post church group I had been part of for two years. That particular day was Easter Sunday and as quite a few of our group were away, some of us decided to visit Cityside instead of our usual get together for breakfast in someone’s home. The speaker that day was Stu McGregor, and my recollection was that he was being critiqued as part of his Bible College studies. I was impressed with what he had to say. At the end of his talk, we were each asked to each write a haiku — I had never done anything like that in church before!

The impact of that visit stayed with me and not too long afterwards, I decided to go to Cityside every second week, on the Sundays that the other group didn’t meet. After a few times of this I made the big decision to leave the group I was currently attending and make Cityside my church community. I have never once regretted my decision.

At that time I was on a relatively new journey of rethinking and re-examining what it meant to be a follower of Christ. What I really appreciated about Cityside was that it was a safe space for me to be wherever I was on that journey without being criticised, judged or unhelpfully challenged. This has remained true for me over the past 20 years as the journey has continued and is something I greatly value. The space that Cityside creates contributes to my spiritual formation by offering me the freedom to explore, question and be exposed to ideas outside my own.

Something else I have greatly appreciated is the people who make up the Cityside community. I have experienced a richness and a depth of interaction with others over the entire 20 years and I am grateful for this. I feel a sense of belonging at Cityside, not because of anything I contribute but because I am connected with others.

There have been some changes in my time at Cityside. I remember when the auditorium was set up so that we faced the corner where the piano now is. I also remember the inside wall coming down, creating the extra space behind the pillars. I remember morning tea being held in the foyer where the chapel space now is as the City Mission used the other end of the building. It could be quite a squash! The biggest changes however have been in the growing children. I’ve been at Cityside long enough to have known some of them from the time they were new born babies. It’s been quite special to watch them grow over all those years and eventually to see them set out to make their own way in the world. I ponder what church might look like for them in the days ahead. Are there conversations we could be having that will pave the way for their continued connection with a meaningful faith?

Speaking of children, I have had the privilege of having two periods of time when I had more hands-on involvement with the children of Cityside. The second time was in more recent history. The first time was somewhere around 2006–7 when there was a small group of around 5 children present on a Sunday morning. We had a routine where they were in the service one Sunday a month, we met during the service in another room on two Sundays a month for some kind of input then one Sunday a month during the service we headed up to Benediction Café for drinks, chocolate raspberry brownie and discussion.

Getting to know the Cityside children is mutually beneficial and I encourage as many of us who are able to take the time to do this.

May we continue to explore together what it means to reflect God’s presence to one another and to the world around us.

—Jeannie Cochrane

— Josh P

Brenda, 20 years at 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):

There is always something (or things) I can take away from services that make me consider/think more deeply about/possibly disagree with, and have to work out why, etc., etc.

Other things I’ve liked about being part of Cityside this past year:

It’s the people, the people, the people. I feel I’m part of a genuine community, and love hearing people’s stories (happy and difficult), both through people participating in the services, or over morning tea. I enjoy watching, and hearing, the children play with the Lego! As always, I love never knowing what to expect on a Sunday morning. I could never go regularly to a church that was almost exactly the same every time!

What I think we could do better:

I never know how to answer this one, as I’m really happy with the way things are.

Other:

Thanks so much to everyone who helps to make Cityside the wonderful community that it is. Stu, and all the curators (especially while Stu has been away), everyone who has a go at participating in the services, Brian, AJ, Micah, for making the Zoomies happy, all the people who look after morning tea stuff, the Council people who keep it all together, Hyunsil, for all the background admin work she does. I could go on … It’s the people.

Mark Laurent, 25 years at 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):

Cityside is an anchor. I’m not drifting away from God but I have a temptation to coast at times, and the regular re-focussing which happens as part of simply being there at services is always good for me, even if I occasionally feel a bit diffident before I get there on a Sunday morning. It’s ‘going through the motions’ in a good way, if that makes sense.

Other things I’ve liked about being part of Cityside this past year:

Really enjoying the catching up which happens at morning tea. I don’t know if it’s just me engaging more, but somehow post-Covid we all seem to value each other’s company even more than we did before. I’ve also been enjoying Catch-Up And Connect on the last Monday evening of each month. Again, it’s a nice chance to get to know some of you better, and we have some good (and sometimes quite deep) korero too, as well as supper, which is always an attraction for me. :)

What I think we could do better:

I can’t find quite the right words for this—I’ve tried twice already to write something but end up deleting it—but what I’m thinking is that Cityside has a lot to offer, at least to some of those out there struggling with their relationship to God and ‘church’. I think we do ‘church’ quite well, unthreateningly and inclusively, and I wonder if there are ways we can pass some of that on? I’m not talking ‘evangelism’ in any traditional sense, but my feeling is that we’re a bit insular and maybe comfortable with ourselves, and there are others who could benefit from what we have and perhaps there are ways we can ‘put it out’ beyond our walls?

New stuff I’d like to see us get into:

Prophecy, speaking in tongues, dancing in the spirit, holiness crusades…! Na, just kidding. :) I did rather like seeing what happened at Asbury earlier this year (people were calling it the Asbury Revival—there’s heaps of stuff about it on Youtube). There was a very gentle charismatic vibe that reminded me of the charismatic renewal (much softer than full-on pentecostalism) which happened in the early 70s. Probably mellower than what you see in the Jesus Revolution movie. I could imagine something like that fitting in with the kaupapa of Cityside, but we can’t manufacture that kind of thing (well you can, but we wouldn’t).

Other:

It’ll be interesting to see if the new carpet makes us feel that the rest of the building needs a make-over too. A friend who was at my concert recently in the Auditorium took some time after to read the Regen stuff, and really approved of it. His only comment was that he thought we should put some energy into the actual building itself, as it’s a historic place (this sort of thing’s not really my passion but I’m passing it on). He loves the outside but thinks the inside is disappointing. Of course we love it because it works for us and holds our stories, but I don’t know if, at least in part, he might have a point. No idea where to go with that but I thought it an interesting observation from an outsider.

Jenny De Leon, 25 years at 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):

Faithfulness to the fundamental doctrine Interesting. thoughtful sermons Faithfulness of the ‘regulars’ Hot texts that are provocative

Other things I’ve liked about being part of Cityside this past year:

Warmth of welcome from whoever is on the door Faithfulness of the young zoom chaps

Other:

Overall CitySide is the church and fellowship I choose. Thinking and sharing is caring

Lydia Tebbutt, 3 years at 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):

Connecting with our diverse community helps me feel more open to other people I encounter outside of Cityside.

Other things I’ve liked about being part of Cityside this past year:

I always really love and appreciate what people bring from their own creativity, thinking and journeying. I find these contributions precious and I like that they’re valued by the community. Always love the Christmas Eve service.

What I think we could do better:

It’d be great to do more ‘doing’ together. But I’m conscious there’s a lot that happens that I don’t manage to make it along to.

New stuff I’d like to see us get into:

Shared lunches / breakfasts from time to time.

Māia Tebbutt, 3 years at 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 am developing great connections with people at Cityside. I feel comfortable with people and enjoy giving people cuddles before the service.

Other things I’ve liked about being part of Cityside this past year:

I really like the music we have, along with the colouring, Lego and the toys out back. The giant caterpillars and the lady bird cushion are also favourite aspects of the environment. I enjoyed being part of the gardening morning recently. I like helping and it’s nice when there are things I can do to help.

New stuff I’d like to see us get into:

I would probably be up for some dancing or boogying if it were on offer.

Karen H, 10 years at 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 always appreciate hearing other people’s stories and views. And I love the range of experience and understandings that we at Cityside hold. I am always refreshed after our Sunday services, whether it is from spoken input, from rituals, from new perceptions, from prayer and silence or simply from spending time in this community. We are indeed God’s servants, gifted with dreams and visions… I look forward to another year, new celebrations, new ventures…

Other things I’ve liked about being part of Cityside this past year:

Always, the people!

Esther, 20 years at 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):

Times of contemplative prayer Singing & music—thank you musicians :)

Other things I’ve liked about being part of Cityside this past year:

Connecting with other families in Childrens Space including the Mangawhai weekend (thanks Parkinsons!) and the fabulous weekend camping trip at Tawharanui the Contemplative practices service and art work dedication service (and love the Benediction art work itself) Hearing from a range of voices and the unique & thoughtful touches of various curators

What I think we could do better:

Having some ambient/contemplative services calendared each year at appropriate times (e.g. All Saints/Souls and /or Matariki) where we create space to reflect on those we love who have passed on, provide opportunities for the bereaved to pray and receive prayer.

New stuff I’d like to see us get into:

Desert Island discs’ type slot for people to share music tracks that have shaped them, inspired them, deepened their connection to God

Katerina Burgess, 1 years at 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 really enjoyed the fact that Cityside is community that feels open, creative, contemplative, embracing. One of the most valuable traits is that the congregation is actively shaping the service through participation. I love connecting with various people and getting to know them. Coming to Cityside has been a very uplifting experience for me and my whole family.

Other things I’ve liked about being part of Cityside this past year:

That you never know what you are going to get on Sunday! The new initiative to have all age gatherings at each other’s houses.

New stuff I’d like to see us get into:

To have a book club.

Michelle Parkinson, 23 years at 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 say the same thing every year. The Cityside community is what helps me to follow Jesus in the world. If you could call what I’m doing that. I love Citysiders. It’s been especially great spending time with the children’s space peeps.

Other things I’ve liked about being part of Cityside this past year:

Loved the new art work. Love our growing use of Te Reo and the way we attempt to consider our treaty commitments. Loved going to Tawharanui and chilling with some Citysiders. Love the families we do children’s space with. Really great to see the kids more included.

What I think we could do better:

I think we could do better at being aware when our content doesn’t work for vision impaired Citysiders. I would love some more chairs that are comfortable for those with bad backs. I really can’t sit in 80% of the chairs at church. Could we consider a heat pump for the up the ramp area? It’s cold in there with the kids.

New stuff I’d like to see us get into:

Not sure.

Other:

Thanks to all the curators and musicians and contributors. I really appreciate what you all bring.

Anonymous, 2 years at 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):

”It has shown me different ways of worship and allowed space to question and hold uncertainty. "

Other things I’ve liked about being part of Cityside this past year:

Hearing lots of different voices on Sundays. It’s nice to get to hear from such a variety people and see their takes on Jesus/spiritual practice/etc

What I think we could do better:

I think we could do better at forming community outside of Sunday. I see people on a Sunday but don’t feel I really know most of them—almost none have I spent time with outside of church.

New stuff I’d like to see us get into:

Unsure how practical these are, but: - the occasional evening service - I know at lot of us do charitable things on an individual level, but I would be keen to see cityside having some sort of organised volunteering/charitable aspect. I feel that the need in our community is only growing and I’d love to see ways that we at cityside could help address that

Helen Dallaston, 14 years at 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):

New ideas, new friends but especially, I’m appreciating the richness, insights and new depth offered by our Maori brothers and sisters. They guide me towards a deeper understanding of what it means to be a Jesus-follower in Aotearoa. I really enjoy coming to church Sunday by Sunday because it feeds my soul, my mind and sometimes even my body (i.e. morning tea) The range of input, the intelligence and thoughtfulness behind much of what is offered, and the very flat leadership structure are all features of Cityside that enable me to belong to this faith community with my integrity intact. This in turn makes me a better disciple—or at the very least, more likely to hear the gentle calling/nudging/whispering of the Spirit.

Other things I’ve liked about being part of Cityside this past year:

The variety in terms of Sunday morning services The fact that we have finally got down to working on some of the ideas generated by the Regen process.

What I think we could do better:

- Keep working on the Regen stuff… - I’d love a new Cityside Directory to update the 2019 version. (So many comings and goings since then!)

New stuff I’d like to see us get into:

Aim to have a ‘dinners of 6’ event at least twice a year?

Other:

THANKS to the many who do an awful lot of unseen work behind the scenes. Your generosity really does make all the difference!

Karen P, 10 years at 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):

Good conversations at morning tea about what I’m reading or other things which are on top which are a great opportunity to test my own thinking. The connections with other parents have been very helpful to my spiritual formation as a parent cos I have NO IDEA how to do this Christianity thing with Emily; you guys reassure me by your presence that the way we turn up for our kids seem to be a big part of it.

Other things I’ve liked about being part of Cityside this past year:

Being involved in services again. Thanks everyone for being gracious about the single-use plastic that time I gave out lollies in the service :) Also, thanks everyone for being SO supportive that time Jaime read out that rant/prayer thing I wrote. Also still really enjoying the general vibe of Cityside; comfy couches, contemporary art on the walls, chill music, kids table

What I think we could do better:

I’m still getting a bit stuck with accessing content in services at times… Thanks very much to those who have approached me about this. Over the next few months will try using the tech I have; this might look like handing someone my phone with a specific app open and asking them to take a pic of whatever is on the screen. God willing I’ll be able to read it that way. Also, if there’s a video or painting as part of the service would be great if someone would sit by me and describe it for a minute.

Ruby Dewerse, 16? years at 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):

Learning about the bible and other peoples perspectives in it and life in general.

Other things I’ve liked about being part of Cityside this past year:

Its very chill and welcoming.

What I think we could do better:

-

New stuff I’d like to see us get into:

Not sure, maybe some more interactive things during the service

Caleb, 9 years at 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):

Easter camp and Sunday service I always learn a lot.

Other things I’ve liked about being part of Cityside this past year:

Community

What I think we could do better:

We need a full indoor weight section.

New stuff I’d like to see us get into:

Weightlifting for God

Other:

💪

Roelant Dewerse, 4 years at 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):

Challenged me to keep open to change, and to revising my beliefs and practice.

Other things I’ve liked about being part of Cityside this past year:

Strengthening and deepening friendships with deeply reflective people. Lots of good modelling of what it can mean to be Christian, for my children. A strong, welcoming and interesting community with lots of good things happening in it.

What I think we could do better:

Perhaps a little less focus on what we don’t want to be and are therefore rejecting, and more on what we want to become and how this could look. Regen gives us the platform for this—now to start imagining and exploring. Younger voices feeding serious ideas into this would be good, though I know the challenges of eliciting those.

New stuff I’d like to see us get into:

A Taize service.