ANDREW STONE finds out about The Salvation Army in Stepney, East London

Kerry (right) with members of the Opening Doors group

IF you think that going to church means sitting on an uncomfortable pew in an old building and listening to someone preach from a pulpit, Captains Nick and Kerry Coke want you to think again. The leaders of the Salvation Army church in Stepney, East London, do not have a pulpit to preach from; nor could they find you a pew on which to sit - because Nick and Kerry's church does not have a building, and many of their activities are far too physical to allow you to sit around for long. For example, once a month the couple take their congregation outside to do some gardening.

‘We live on the Ocean Estate and we wanted to do something practical to show our Christianity,' explains Nick. ‘We wanted our faith to be visible and thought we could do some gardening for people in the community who find such physical work tough.

‘We call the activity Good Neighbours, and we think of it as our church service. It is our worship, but instead of singing songs, we're doing someone's garden for them. We have people asking if they can come along, even if they aren't churchgoers. They like the idea that they can do something nice for someone else, but we always make sure that they know this is a church.

‘We go out for two hours and work in the gardens, then we all come back to our home to eat. Everyone brings some food to share. Once we've eaten we have about fifteen minutes of reflection and prayer.

The Good Neighbours team at work in Joyce's garden

‘Muslims have been comfortable coming to Good Neighbours because they can connect with the idea of doing good. Whether you're a Muslim, Buddhist or atheist, doing something nice for somebody else is a good thing. Good Neighbours has been going for three years and we must have worked on a couple of hundred gardens.'

One beneficiary of these unusual church services is 82-year-old Joyce Harris. The Good Neighbours team tidied up her overgrown garden one morning. Joyce says: ‘I was in tears. I had been so worried about the state of my garden. Now I feel like I've won the lottery!'

As I'm shown round the Ocean Estate with its numerous tower blocks and areas of social housing, Nick explains that around two thirds of the population are Muslim with roots in Bangladesh, with the remaining third made up of various other cultural groups.

‘A feature of the area is that people don't hang out together. It is divided in many ways, and people live very separate lives culturally and religiously,' says Nick.

‘They don't go into other people's homes if they are from another ethnic group. There are a lot of misconceptions about what goes on in people's homes without people ever having the opportunities to find out.'

To try to address these divisions, Kerry began a scheme at her children's primary school, where she is a governor. Through the scheme, called Opening Doors, parents are invited once a week to meet together in individual homes to build up friendships between the different cultural and religious groups.

‘The main purpose of Opening Doors is to recognise and celebrate the diversity of our community,' explains Kerry. ‘When people meet in one another's homes regardless of their culture or faith, a power for change begins.'

Nick (back right) with footballers

‘And because it's the parents who attend,' adds Nick, ‘when they talk to their children about someone with a different culture it will be in a positive light.'

Sport is another activity which is used to bring the divided community together. Football matches are held twice a week.

‘Sport is an absolute winner because people of all cultures like playing football,' says Nick. ‘We get a good mix of people and a wide age range.

‘Some are Christian believers while others just like playing football. One of the sessions we run is in conjunction with a Christian organisation called Ambassadors in Sport, and those games include players who are homeless.

‘We have lunch together after those games and then, for those who want to stay, we have a Bible study.'

It is not only adults who are brought together by Nick and Kerry. Every Tuesday they run Smarties, an after-school club attended by children and their parents and carers.

‘It's like a mini-church in itself,' enthuses Nick. ‘We wanted to have an explicitly Christian club - like a Sunday school but during the week. We meet in a council-owned building and normally around twenty kids come. The parents stay, which is brilliant because the parents and children learn the Christian story together.'

Specifically Christian teaching is also given every Thursday at a Bible study group. But rather than meeting in a church hall, as would happen at many traditional churches, this group meets in a café.

‘Being in a public space changes the dynamics of the group,' says Nick. ‘When you are looking at a Bible passage in a café you start seeing the words of the Bible in the light of what is going on around you.'

Members of the Bible study group, together with all the other people who take part in The Salvation Army's activities in Stepney, are invited to parties which take place on the first Sunday of every month.

‘Often the party is based on a theme, such as Christmas or Easter, but sometimes it is just a party for a party's sake. We all come together and have a good time. We usually get around fifty people coming to the party, which also often includes a time of Christian worship.'

Enjoying food in Nick and Kerry's home

I ask Nick about what happens on the Sundays when they aren't gardening or having parties.

‘We have something called Brunch Church,' he replies. ‘We meet in the nearby university chapel from about 10.30 and start by eating breakfast. Then we have around 20 minutes of activities for all the ages before the kids go to another room and have Sunday school, while the adults have a time of reflection on the Bible.

‘That reflection goes on for about an hour and includes prayer and worship. It's more like a normal church, but it is very informal. There are lots of churches in the area where people can attend for a traditional service, so we figure it doesn't matter if we don't offer that.

‘A variety of people come to our activities. Some would call themselves Christians - people who have believed in God for a long time - and we have others who wouldn't describe themselves as Christians but who are interested in finding out more.

‘The term "Christian" is problematic for me because other people may have a problem with the idea of what a Christian is - there are all sorts of barriers that get in the way of the word "Christian". But if I show them who Jesus is, many people can connect with that. I start with the point of view that God loves them and accepts them, because I have a fundamental belief that God loves all people.'

For both Nick and Kerry, that love extends to people from other faiths, which is why they have welcomed Muslims and people of other faiths to a number of their activities. It is also why Nick has taken on a role at the local mosque.

‘They had just set up a community centre and they asked me to become a committee member because they wanted somebody from the community who isn't a Muslim. They all know that I am a Christian minister but they still interact with me because we need to work together to help the community.'

Nick and Kerry have also worked within the community to help tackle the problem of drug abuse. Joining with other organisations, The Salvation Army in Stepney is part of the action group Com­mun­ities Against Drugs and Alcohol Abuse. Last month Nick and Kerry helped to co-ordinate a Deal With It Day, a fun day held in a local park.

Graffiti art at the Deal With It Day

The day featured children's choirs, football tournaments, graffiti art sessions and a tea dance as well as seminars on how the community could deal with drug problems.

‘It was a fantastic success,' recalls Kerry. ‘More than 1,500 residents turned up in the park to reclaim it from being a place associated with drug dealing and to make it a place of celebration for the whole community.'

As we walk around the area we are warmly greeted by people of different ages and ethnic backgrounds who are all aware of the work which Kerry and Nick are doing for the community. But I ask the couple whether they are seen as church leaders or as community leaders who tag a bit of religion on to what they do.

‘I would describe us as chaplains to the com­munity,' says Nick. ‘Our primary work is to build relationships - even with people who might not come to any activities but who are our neighbours. People might just show up at our house and we'll chat to them and see if we can help them at all.

‘Jesus put himself in a place where he accepted people. He went to the houses of sinners. He lived in a society in which he wasn't supposed to do that, but he was reaching out and being inclusive. A big emphasis for us is crossing cultural boundaries.'

Kerry adds: ‘As Christians, we see bringing people together to change things for good as the beginning of what it means to see God's Kingdom on earth as it is in Heaven.'

War Cry 4 July 2009 - - War Cry Archive - - The Salvation Army in Stepney