Attercliffe Centre of Mission

by Gina Kalsi

In March 2020, Kinder and Gina Kalsi moved into Attercliffe to set up a Centre of Mission, for Church Army and Sheffield Diocese, in partnership with other church denominations.  This is their story so far.

We couldn’t meet people, so we started letting people know we were here – we used the railings at church to offer little gifts and blessings; we put similar gifts and messages around the community – from angels at Christmas, to palm crosses at Easter.  We offered some spaces for prayer and exploring faith online. 

As things opened up further, we found ways to meet with people – in the woods at a wood walk, and in the garden of the church, around a fire.  And at special seasons, we put up angels/butterflies in the local wood and park – asking questions – with a QR code that linked to the Easter/Christmas story.

Arise prayer-walking and the Easter Egg give away gave us the opportunity to prayer-walk roads we hadn’t previously prayed along, and on Easter Sunday, we took Easter bags – including the eggs into local parks and gave them to families that we know.

We moved into Attercliffe to work in the area to develop a new Christian community – seeking to reach people who would not be reached by traditional church.  Our first 2 weeks, at the beginning of March 2020, were full of meetings and trying to connect with as many community groups as possible, at the same time as moving house. 

This was busy and stressful, but as we see throughout our story, God’s wisdom and timing was perfect – as in these 2 weeks, we managed to make connections which enabled us to develop links and get to know people during the lockdown that ensued.

As we probably all can testify, this last year has not been easy.  We have not been able to do some of the things that we would naturally do to develop community – like eat together – but we have also learnt to be creative and try new ways.  We have continually sought to bless and serve the community – with litter-picking, delivering for food bank and supporting community organisations.

Here are some of the things we have recognised from our experience:

God’s wisdom may not make sense to us!  We moved into the area to develop community just weeks before the first lockdown.  We wondered why we were delayed, or hadn’t managed to move earlier.  But in hindsight, God brought us here at a time when we could really get to know the area with prayer-walking, we could see and hear about the needs that were highlighted during the pandemic and we were forced to work at a slower pace than we normally would. 

We have got to know lots of the community agencies and people within the area, in a way we might not, if we had been able to start with lots of activity.  God had brought us to Attercliffe and Darnall for “such a time as this”!

Reflecting on the past 18 months, we have really felt God saying:

See, I am doing a new thing!
    Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the wilderness
    and streams in the wasteland.

We also realised that the things that we had started to try and make happen didn’t work anywhere near as well as the things God put in our path. As Psalm 127 says, unless God builds the house, the builders labour in vain!  A classic example of this is the bread and cake.  We were offered free bread and cake from a bakery once a week – we then delivered it to local people. 

During lockdown, it meant we could chat on doorsteps with people who would otherwise not see anyone, and to connect with families and offer support where we could.  Now, the deliveries take longer – as we meet with people, chat, have tea, pray.  We knew food would be important in developing community – we didn’t realise it would be bread and cake on the doorstep!

We are One Body – We have been blessed by the support of other Christians throughout this journey.

We have the support of the local churches, and churches further afield have helped us in both practical and prayerful ways.  The unity of prayer-walking through last Lent and Easter with Arise, and seeing other people prayer walking the area, was such an encouragement and blessing.  And we have been sustained by the support of other people across the country, through networks of pioneers.

It’s all about rhythm!  From day one, we established a rhythm of prayer, which has developed but is set into our week.  This has meant that prayer has been the foundation of all that we do.  It has kept us focussed on our calling, helped us to reflect honestly on what we are doing, and given us the courage to say yes to the opportunities we have.

Please pray for:

As we look ahead, we are seeking to develop a Creative Space – a place where people can come and explore creativity and art.  Pray that we discern the best way forward, and that God draws the people and resources together. We are also looking at starting a toddler group and after-school club: please pray for wisdom for us as we seek to develop these.

And above all, pray that God will use us, to bless the community and find more ways to draw people together to explore God’s love.

For more information follow us on @attercliffecofm and email gina.kalsi@churcharmy.org  if you would like a copy of our newsletters.