Shadwell

The first Urban Expression team began work in Shadwell in September 1997. Led by Jim and Juliet Kilpin, the team of eight moved into a collection of estates and communities in this part of Tower Hamlets, where they sensed God had called them.

The early months, and indeed years, were spent building relationships and getting to know the community – East End families, Sylhetti-speaking Bengali neighbours and people from many ethnic backgrounds. Many people were suspicious of us 'newcomers' for a long time, and regularly asked when we would be moving out (as they thought most of the do-gooders did who chose to target inner-city areas), and it was only after three years that people realised that we were here for the long term and stopped asking the question.

Members of the team looked for ways to become involved in the community and to meet some of its practical needs. Activities over the years have included washing windows for elderly residents, clearing waste ground that had become an eyesore, setting up a motorbike project, helping in a local youth club, running summer sports programmes and getting involved in the restoration of an adventure playground (which has in the last year re-opened with 2 full-time staff and employs several local people). In recent months we have also taken 50 local people on a church holiday to Butlins and invited newcomers to join a Bible study based on the film The Full Monty!

One of the clear convictions of the team was that we should not try to impose a pre-determined model of church on the community – assuming we knew what kind of church was appropriate in Shadwell, setting up meetings and expecting people to attend them, declaring our arrival with a great fanfare. Instead, we have patiently and gently built relationships and allowed church to emerge. One expression of this conviction was the decision not to name the church that emerged, but wait for local believers to name it. This happened in 1999, and Cable Street Community Church emerged.

This approach might have meant slower progress than some people would expect of a church plant, but has resulted in the gradual emergence of a more indigenous form of church. The church meets in households on Sundays and together on a Wednesday evening. In September 2003 a student youth worker was appointed for two years to develop the growing work with children and youth, and the church is beginning to grow strongly in numbers and maturity.

As the church develops it faces the challenge of learning how to organise things in a manner that is suitable for the number of people, but also in a way that retains the values that have been the foundations of the church. We continue to ask questions of what is appropriate and resist the temptation to do things in a certain way just because that is what all churches seem to do!

Map of Shadwell :