BathCAN take action in the spheres

How can the united Church affect the city they are serving? Bath Christian Action Network are beginning to answer that question by getting involved in the different spheres of city life.

They have decided 4 areas to focus on this year in bringing together: Universities, the Police, the Local Council and the Church and are working with strategic action plans in each area. Their main purpose “is to be salt and light in our community, acting across the City of Bath in a way that individual churches are unable to do.”

BathCAN are bringing all these spheres together to start a city wide conversation in a conference called Living Together on 7th March 2018. This conference is supported by the Police, the Local Council and the Universities.

Here’s a bit more about the work they are doing in each of the spheres.

Universities

Bath is a university city where the student and academic community are an important part of city life. BathCAN desire to build stronger connections between the universities and the churches in Bath both for students and staff. Some of the ways they are already achieving this are:

• Seeing two new university Chaplains appointed
• Meeting with University Chaplains and Students Unions
• Connecting them with the churches and the city

They are now seeking to expand this area by planning social outreach projects with students, developing ties between Street Pastors and students and working closely with the Student Community Partnership for the upcoming city conference.

Police

BathCAN have started building stronger connections between to Police and the local churches. A member of BathCAN’s steering group is now the Chair of the Independent Advisory Group for local policing. They have also arranged for the appointment of the first Police Chaplain.

Now they are seeking to build a Christian network within the Police and identify areas in which the church can support the Police.

Local Council

There are already existing relationships between the Council and the Bath churches and BathCAN are seeking to build on those relationships this year. The challenges the local Council are facing with budget cuts provides an opportunity for the church to support in a number of areas. They are currently working to keep Children’s Centres and Youth Centres open through brokering partnerships with local churches. The Council are also funding a worker for a project initiated and supported by BathCAN.

Church

BathCAN continue their work in building unified action through the network of church leaders and members that is already well established. They are now encouraging that network to engage with the spheres of city life. Some of the ways they are doing this are:

• Meeting with a large group of church leaders from different denominations
• Initiating a city wide program for the ten days of Pentecost
• Continuing Monthly prayer breakfasts for church leaders
• A city wide prayer gathering twice a year
• Having launched a prayer booklet for the city of Bath to be used by all churches in Lent