Ministry Support

Revd Matthew Price

The Bishop’s Adviser for Urban and Estates Ministry is Revd Matthew Price, Vicar of St Mary Magdalene Church in Gorleston.

He is available to talk about any aspect of urban and estate mission.

Contact Revd Matthew Price on 01493 494248 or matthew.price@dioceseofnorwich.org

What is Urban and Estates Ministry?

Our Diocesan vision is that we are Transformed by Christ: Prayerfully, Pastorally and Prophetically. One of the three priorities that flow from the Prophetic part of the vision is:
  • We will ensure an active priestly or lay worker/enabler presence in our lowest economic communities as we seek to address the growing inequalities in our society.

Therefore we are keen to support all those, both lay and ordained, working in the lowest economic communities in our Diocese.  This support currently takes a number of forms:

  • We have established The Urban Ministry Network, an active learning community of workers who meet bi-monthly (on Zoom) to share experience from our communities and develop our thinking about some of the issues we need to grapple with in order to be most effective in mission in our communities. If you are interested in joining the next Zoom gathering, please contact Matthew.
  • There is also an Urban Ministry Network group on Facebook where ideas can be shared and experience sought. To join the group please click here. (https://www.facebook.com/groups/urbanministrynetwork)
  • We host an annual, in person, conference. The last conference Leading from a different place was held on 6th October 2022 at Old Lakenham Community Centre in Norwich, with speakers The Rt Revd Lynn Cullens, Bishop of Barking, and Emma Scott from Urban Expressions.

Currently our plans for the conferences and zoom meetings are made by a small working group comprising of Keith James, Archdeacon of Norwich, Tim Yau, Mission Enabler, and Matthew.  Matthew would be delighted to hear from anyone who would be willing to join the planning team. He is also keen to meet anyone who would like to consult about any aspect of urban mission in their own context.

The Church Urban Fund

Many good projects have been set up through the scheme including several in the Diocese. The money for this fund has now run out and CUF no longer is able to offer grants itself however from time to time it can flag up opportunities for funding relevant projects. In recent years it has initiated a new approach to help churches engage with the challenge of poverty in their local communities. This is the Together Network a series of partnerships between CUF and dioceses that are governed by their own board of Trustees.

This network of local relational partnerships work with churches, national and local government, charities and foundations, as well as individual supporters, to bring about positive change in communities. It aims to develop capacity for action at a local level, and to inform, inspire, resource and support local churches and organisations, as they work to address issues of social justice and relationships between communities. It does this by:-

  • Increasing the number of church-based social activities, in order to create effective responses to poverty and build strong, flourishing communities.
  • Strengthening people’s capacity to take effective action to tackle poverty.
  • Developing partnerships and collaborative working between churches and with other organisations, in order to encourage joined-up activities and innovative thinking

We have such a partnership in this diocese and it is entitled Imagine Norfolk Together.

Imagine Norfolk Together

Follow Imagine Norfolk Together on Facebook  here

Places of Welcome