Whenever we gather in Cities there is an acute awareness that we are part of an ongoing story, a narrative that existed before us and will continue when we are gone. The Chelmsford story is unique, the U.K’s newest city, the place where the first effective system of radio communication was developed by Marconi. A place influenced by Saint Cedd who traveled to Essex from Lindisfarne, a city whose motto is ‘Many hearts, one mind’. This motto is surely a rallying call to unity for those who have ‘the mind of Christ’.
The conference opened with the story of Nehemiah that carries so much relevance for those of us who long to see our cities whole and secure.
Tony Hodges, founder of City Vision, invited us to picture an ancient city, with walls, ramparts, towers and a temple. This is the picture that was used to help us make sense of our role in cities throughout the day.
Debra Green (ROC) and Mat Eason from Cinnamon then took us through ways that churches in the city are working together to meet the needs of cities across the UK, underpinned by prayer while Mat shared a challenged from Central government that they want to work with the church ‘can’t find the front door’ to the church as a whole because of the level of disconnection.
Jon & Tricia Watts shared about the dramatic inroads they have been making towards unity in the City of Sheffield as they have sought to work in partnership with the police and with other churches through initiatives like street pastors which are supported by over twenty churches in the city. Meanwhile Ben Woollard from Together for Sheffield talked about the beauty of the Proverbs 31 church as well as the Cinnamon Faith Action Audit and its ability to cause a sense of cohesion and celebration in a city.
Jon Peterson from City Force shared some inspiring stories of supernatural unity between Christian groups from his work in Amsterdam while local Chelmsford ex-policeman David Gilbey talked about what God was doing in Chelmsford through the unity groups there - including prayer walkers who pace the city praying peace and looking for opportunities to serve.
Then to Government (the gates of the city) both national and local as Lord Nat Wei asked: What would it look like for the church to lead the way in picking up the pieces in the aftermath of a damaging brexit journey for our country? Could Chelmsford, which was 50/50 split during the referendum, be the home of a festival of empathy? A place where reconciliation is bridged between the two viewpoints.
Then to Councillor Rev Sean Blackman who told of his role in bringing about reconciliation between different local political parties and encouraging us not to give into the tribalism of politics but instead recognise the importance of the good in each party.
James Noble and Chris Edwards from Coventry raised the volume as the room was filled with the roar of engines. This was Motofest, one of Europe's largest Motor festivals and a picture of what can happen when church seeks to serve the city unconditionally.
We finished the day by hearing from our partner Ken Janke of Global Advance about his journey of seeing transformation in a run down neighbourhood New Haven, Connecticut.
If you weren't able to make it but want to find out more about what is happening across the UK and beyond in cities , please join the conversation and watch the highlights here.