Community development is a church.
The congregation of the faithful consist of youth workers, community workers, conservationists, builders, advocates, crafters, educators, rescuers, modernisers, allies, facilitators, liberators, philanthropists, health workers, cooks, trainers, organisers and practitioners. The choir comprises those who empower, consult, inform and participate.
We believe in one word - potential. The tenants of our faith are empowerment, social justice, human rights, participative democracy, equality, inclusivity and sustainable development. Our creed is the direct product of multiple and often conflicting forces – the goals of the intervening institution, the needs of the community, and even the personal aspirations of the individual practitioner.
We worship in youth and community centres, shared spaces and private places, museums and galleries, parish halls and kitchen tables, hills and valleys. Where two or three are gathered with intent, there shall progress be. And what I love about our church is how we embrace the heretics. With open arms, and open minds, and open hearts, we embrace thinking differently together.
Our rituals are practiced at unsociable hours. We hear and respond, liberate and legislate, protest and protect, research and educate, at home and abroad. Our weekly offering of underpaid hours and scarce resources is bolstered by the hopes and dreams, talents and aspirations of the communities in which we’re practising.
Our prayers are transcribed in funding applications and social media posts. They’re supplications to investors, beatitudes to communities, petitions to government, confessions to people, intercessions to legislators and often become contemplative in debrief.
But in the beginning is a word. Always, we start with a word. Written or spoken, we begin with ‘change’.