Cathie Kelly

The blog entry of February 28, 2007 introduces the work of the Transformation Team. I've now observed Cathie Kelly, Community Development Worker, who is usually the first person from the Transformation Team to meet with a congregtion or community group that may be interested in the renewal process that is promoted by the Transformation Team. These are organizations in the most depressed neighborhoods in the city -- depressed in spirit as well as materially. And the members are almost without hope for the future . "For too long the've been going down hill." Enter Cathie with a series of Toolkits "to harness the power that lies within the local church." Called Discovery, the program "works with people where they are at and helps them decide what the needs of the comunity may be."

Cathie will go with me to the next meeting of Cracking the Shell, a group of Asylum Seekers with whom I have been meeting regularly. (Cracking the Shell means coming out of the shell and entering into the life of the larger community.) The group has lately been very demoralized ever since one of their leaders was deported back to Africa. She suffered from a cruel process. The authorities of the Home Office simply knocked on her door in the night, without any warning, and took Deborah and her baby away, after she had been in Scotland for three years applying for refugee status. Her friends from Cracking the Shell were able to visit her in detention and then one day she was gone -- put on a plane to her home country, without money -- to face the dangers that brought her to the UK in the first place. We are working with the Asylum Seekers and a legal team to try to change the process.

But for now, Cathie's challenge -- using simple, interactive and practical learning resrources -- is to help the group recover its bearings by reaching out to their community. She follows a six-step process, beginning with an exercise to help them discover who they are and realize the power and resources that they already bring to the situaiton they find themselves in. One of the many Discovery exercises uses story-telling. For churches, Cathie places 8 1/2 by 11 posters on the floor, each of which would help someone tell a story reflecting on a truth that applies to their church and then asking each person to choose one that best fits their story.

My best moment in this community was.....
I am proud of my church because.....
The person I most admire in this community is.....
I feel safe when.....
The funniest thing that happened to me in this community was.....

This serves as a review of the strengths of church and community and is a step toward enabling churches to respond to the needs of the community. Many differenct exercises are used over a period of several meetings, each of which concludes with a Spiritual Exercise.

One such exercise forcuses on the story of Blind Bartimaeus, found in Mark 10:46-52. After the story is read, it is discussed using several illustrations. The first is of Jesus going from Jericho to Jerusalem, surrounded by such a crowd that the bling beggar is not noticed. Next Bartimaeus' situation is imagined with reference to outcasts throughout the world -- impoverished and forgotten. When Bartimaeus cries out, the crowd tries to shush him lest he disrupt the focus on Jesus, but then Jesus challenges the crowd to bring Bartimaeus to him. Finally, Jesus asks him what he wants and responds by giving him sight. The Discorery material enables people to draw an analogy to today's church. "The crowd represents the church and Jesus challenges the church to focus on the vulnerable and marginalized... The way Jesus responded to Bartimaeus was by finding what his needs were and acting accordingly, involving others in meeting those needs." (The Discovery material was written and illustrated by Bill Crooks and Jackie Mouradian and is owned by Tearfund.)

The Discovery process helps the church or community group build its own confidence and prepare to take action for community change. As the group begins to see the possibilities, other members of the Transformation Team can help with more ressources and information for change.