Whenever a church in a funky or wealth location advertises for a new vicar they are inundated with applications from those who just happen to be called to be a vicar there. But advertise an unglam' parish in the 'burbs or in a tough area and there seem to be fewer takers. Odd that!
My parish is not really that glamorous. We have no shops, no pub, no meeting places and we largely consist of a roundabout and an estate. The church itself is '50s – a modernist classic but not with great curb-appeal.
But I have come really to appreciate leading a church out in the suburbs. In fact it seems to me that there are such opportunities in places like this that I'm amazed that people aren't queuing up to be leaders. Here are just a few good things about unglam paces.
Your church is it
If there is nothing else open, then this a chance to put church at the centre of the community. Churches are often blessed with being in a good place and having space to spare. If you can get your building worn then there's good scope to start serving the community. We call this doing church outside in. in other words, we responded to very low Sunday numbers by reaching out to bless the community no-string-attached. In turn we have seen Sunday numbers grow. People come when they trust us.
You are a blank canvas
The sheer greyness of many suburbs and the churches in them is actually an opportunity. If you aren't a heritage building blessed by history and beauty then good. Your ugly duckling is just waiting for you to add colour and texture to what you do. If you aren't stuck with too much history then you can invent new traditions and new ways of doing things.
You can offer a mixed economy of worship
If you aren't in a set worship tradition there's a good opportunity to experiment without risk. We started up a monthly Sunday café church that has become our best attended service of the month. We added a monthly Sunday evening Celtic service. And we keep our traditional Sunday service too, which has shown surprising growth. Our estate has a real mix of people and we can offer services to suit all tastes without stopping being an evangelical church.
The place is much more exciting than it looks
Yes I know it would be cool to be vicar in Hoxton. I understand the attractions of being a vicar in somewhere swish. But the suburbs have a subtle understated charm that can really get into you. You'll find things to do and places to go. There will be people with a similar pioneering spirit wanting to liven the place up. Theatre groups, community groups, horticultural societies and the like are all nurtured in the suburbs because people value the idea of creating community. I have actually entered a morrow in our horticultural society show. The second prize certificate is now proudly displayed in my office.
Jesus came from the wrong side of the tracks
Jesus suffers a good deal of distrust because he came from a pretty dull place. No-one expected the messiah to come from a one horse town.
I grew up in Northolt and for first part of my life was desperate to live somewhere interesting. I now think that the interesting places I lived in weren't interesting at all. The suburbs are interesting. They are a great place to lead a church.
Rev Steve Morris is the parish priest of St Cuthbert's North Wembley. Before being a priest he was a writer and ran a brand agency. In the 1980s he tried to become a pop star. Follow him on Twitter @SteveMorris214
