Church in Metropolitan Areas

The Church in Metropolitan Areas began as a network of 40 urban clergy committed to meeting twice a year. Our mission is the transformation of people to live into the fullness and wholeness of their lives; to reclaim the prophetic role of the Church in the metropolitan areas of our country; to commit ourselves to the radical nature of the Gospel; and to be engaged in issues of justice and mercy in the urban context; to be practice flexibility with the moveable table of God open and inclusive (from Ezekiel) and to be the heart of Jesus in the heart of the city (from Jeremiah); to commit ourselves to overcoming the structures of poverty; to meet twice a year for reflection and support; and to strengthen the work of the Church in metropolitan areas.

At our first meeting in May 2005 we were reminded “building inclusive cities mean building economically sustainable, environmentally safe cities, where citizens are able to access employment, rely on social networks, and express their political will. As shown through the growth of civil society, a vast reservoir of political energy exists among urban residents today. “The true challenge to the future of democracy and to improving the quality of life for all those who live in cities, is whether or not that potential can be channeled in a productive, organized, and democratic matter.” (1) Several of the issues and questions that we as urban clergy want to discuss are the results of our cities changing from industrial to informational centers, the impact of urbanization and globalization on our communities, the new religious and ethnic diversity in our cities, the costs of doing ministry under pressure, the transitional nature of our cities as a result of regeneration and gentrification, the question of governance, how do you undertake grass roots organizing, partnerships and participate in community development, and what is the role of the faith community in our civil society in this secular world?

A recent gathering of The Church in Metropolitan Areas discussied the influence of globalization and urbanization. We are committed ourselves to promoting urban mission and ministry within our judicatories. We seek to sustain mediating instituions in our metro areas that have the capacity to speak with authority about poverty, social exclusion and public policy. Our interest is to promote theological reflection, social analysis and appropriate action on questions of urban policy, poverty and social exclusion.  We intend to work within the public, private and volunteer sectors of our society. We are concerned to support, to find, to encourage and to promote innovative models of church engagement and prophetic action in metropolitan areas. We are prepared to produce materials that explain our work, interpret this work to the suburban and rural church and will report to the larger Church when requested.

A recent gathering of The Church in Metropolitan Areas network included Drs. Edmond DeSueza and Judith Jones leading us in a biblical study and reflection on the Book of Daniel. Daniel is advocating for humanity. Rising out of the historical moment (crisis) to disclose what is going on. Daniel advocates for humanity to transcend itself and become in its final manifestation that part of the creation that is able to replicate the presence of God by becoming a spirit-filled life-giving spirit. Mike Gecan presented his paper on “Taking Faith Seriously” and discussed the organizing techniques of the Industrial Areas Foundation. He challenged us to see that the progressive agenda needs to examine why George Bush and Joel Osteen – those on the right and fundamentalists speak something that resonates with millions of Americans, unlike the elite progressives, it is a rugged religious individualism of the market economy. The marketing of the “Army of One” is an extension of this economic individualism except we all know that in the army one must rely totally on my platoon buddies. We discussed the difference between Jesus preaching to the crowds which seems to be the role of the mega-churches and Jesus taking aside the disciples to teach and push them into action which we found to be more in keeping with our role and work.

At the heart of the Network is a recognition of the need to connect and resource those engaged in urban ministry and mission, and to use the openings available to raise these issues in the larger Church. The Anglican Urban Network has published Impact of the Global: An Urban Theology by Bishop Laurie Green, a short introduction to some of the issues facing cities and urban churches in an ear of globalization. This publication is available through Geoff Curtiss geoff@metrochurchblog.org