Voice of the People - Part 3

My Dad has been a man of commitment and integrity throughout his life. He is, without doubt, the person from whom I have learnt the most. At this point in his life when he is so ill I would like others to know a little of what it is about him that has been so special to me and many others. What follows, in this and subsequent posts, is a little of the man that we know and love in his own words:

"The Voice of the People Trust was formed to: work at the grass roots level of our society; encourage Bible-based experimental and innovative projects in disadvantaged, urban communities; listen to the voice of people and groups in such areas; and devise projects that link into local need using self-help community development principles where appropriate.

The Trust undertook the following work:

• Applied Research: A confidential survey was carried out among Angelical Parish Clergy ministering in The City of Birmingham's 72 Urban Priority Area Parishes. The results were published, in 1990, as Despair and Hope in the City - Community Work: What relevance to a C/E parish struggling to survive in an "Urban Priority Area"?


• Project Evaluation: A blueprint for detached Community Youth Projects was developed. This blueprint was adopted and implemented in the Aston and Newtown areas of Birmingham. A community centre project was fully revised. This revision was successfully implemented by the church involved. A volunteering project was planned and funding obtained. The project was successfully implemented by the church involved. The management committee of a outward bound youth project was re-structured.


• Publishing: The Trust published a series of wide ranging and accessible papers on Biblical urban involvement: Despair and Hope in the City; Ten 'Thoughtsheets' - occasional papers covering a variety of aspects of church-based community involvement; Voice of Prayer the Trust's news, prayer and information magazine.


• Youth Needs: The Aston Community Youth Project was set up by the Trust and began work in October 1989. It adopted a task-force approach based on self-help principles. It's workers were placed outside of existing church networks into the 'life space' of disaffected young people. The Trust set up a Management Committee of local people who after the initial starting up period took over the running of the project. The management committee later assisted churches in the Newtown area of Birmingham to duplicate the project. Both projects later amalgamated to form the Aston and Newtown Community Youth Project.


• Debt: The Trust published material on debt in a Thoughtsheet and unsuccessfully bid for funding to carry out a feasibility study for a Debt project in the B11 area of Birmingham.


• Ethnic Minorities: The Trust blueprint for the Community Youth Project enabled the project to become genuinely multi-cultural with this being reflected in its users, staff, management committee and partners. A Thoughtsheet was published about grant funding to ethnic religious groups.

Work on the Trust was carried out in conjunction with Phil's church ministry firstly, as a curate at Aston Parish Church and then as vicar of St Edmund's, Tysley. In both settings he was able to encourage the development of church led community action. He was helped in work on the Trust by three Trustees who also implemented aspects of the Trust's thinking in their local settings.

The Trust had grown from a small, localised think tank into a charity that was increasingly involved in fund raising and management issues for a number of different projects. The burden of the administration of this work feel solely on the Trustees and this began to prove too great for their voluntary input. In the autumn of 1992 the Trustees gave themselves 18 months to discover a solution to this problem. A development plan was produced and a programme of internal discussion, external consultation and fundraising applications begun.

Each aspect of this development programme was blocked throughout the allotted period. Attempts to expand the support base failed to bring any significant increase, funding applications were unsuccessful and consultations with church authorities encountered strong and, at times, hurtful criticism. As a result the Trustees took a decision to close down the Trust.

This whole process was a difficult and painful time for all involved in the Trust, particularly Phil. The parable of the mustard seed had been meaningful throughout the life of the Trust. At first the Trust viewed itself as a small seed that had potential for growth. Later, that growth occurred. Now, however, it seemed that the Trust itself had to die – Phil and the other Trustees hoped it would be reborn in some fashion."

What happened at this stage was that God began to lead Phil into a discovery of Celtic Christianity including a period of pilgrimage that began to challenge and develop further his own spiritual life. This discovery also complemented and assisted the exploration of spirituality that was underway at St Edmund's, Tysley. Celtic-based materials seemed to communicate well in an urban context and a project to study the use of such materials in an urban setting developed.

At the point that Phil's hopes and plans for 'Voice of the People' seemed dashed new and unexpected opportunities developed that fed into his thinking and acting on urban ministry.
Then, the Management Committee of the Aston and Newtown Community Youth Project stepped in and proposed a plan for continuing the Trust as a merger with the Youth Project.

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Stevie Wonder - Living For The City.