Mission Action Plan 2014-2019 Our 7 aims We want to make Holy Cross church a 1 spiritual resource for the community, a prayerful place where people come to seek God We want Holy Cross to be a beacon for 2 Christian thinking in King s Cross not just through Mass but with reading groups, lectures and events Our community is changing and we want to ensure we change with it, ensuring we are at the heart of King s Cross Holy Cross church recently celebrated the 125 th anniversary of its consecration. Over this time we have been in King s Cross the area has changed greatly. It is 3 4 5 6 7 We will enhance our web presence to provide prayer and spiritual resources for those not yet ready to attend church We will create a group for people interested in discussing key elements of theology We want our church to be open for more hours through the week, allowing times for people just to sit in the church We want to do more to reach out to the many visitors who come to Holy Cross, King s Cross throughout the year, from outside London, England and Europe We want to do more to support the people around us, within the church and within the community still changing and as a church we want to ensure we remain relevant to, ensuring we are at the heart of our community. Although our mission remains fundamentally the same, to care for the spiritual needs of the people in King s Cross, as our community changes we know we have to look afresh at its needs and how we deliver them. The pages overleaf show how we our community is changing, drawing on the data collected by the UK Census in 2011. Of the 6,200 people in our parish, 1,765 identify themselves as Christian. This is down 10% on the 2001 figures, from 39 to 29%. Over the same time the number of single- parent households has risen and the average age has fallen. Primary concerns are housing, childhood poverty and a lack of qualifications. We are a mixed area and also have a higher than average number of graduates. Our Mission Action Plan discusses these changes and outlines ways in which our church will respond. These are summarized in the panel on the left. Please take a new look at Holy Cross as we look to continue our mission in a changing world.
To ensure we are relevant to our community we want to understand the way it is changing and how we can help support its needs Although the numbers declaring themselves Christian has fallen since the last census it remains the largest faith in the parish at 29% We have a mixed population with a particularly large student population but a high amount of deprivation Who lives in King s Cross now? From the results from the census in 2001 39% described themselves as Christian. The 2011 data reports a 10% fall to 29%. Over the same time there has been an increase in those with other faiths (Sikh X- X%, Muslim X- X%, Hindu X- X%). Christianity is still the dominant faith. Of the 6,600 population, 1,765 identify with the Christian faith. That is a lot of people for our church to support. There are also lots of people with a growing interest in the Christian faith. We want to reach out to both these groups. The area has changed a lot in the last ten years. Although the parish is now slightly smaller more than 20% of the current population have arrived in the last decade. Although British residents make up the largest single ethnic group (31%) the parish has a majority of residents who are not British including 6% born in Western Europe, 5% in China and 3% in India. The second largest group are Bangladeshi (18%). Despite the mix 64% speak English as their main language. the economic situation worsened in subsequent years. A quarter of the parish are students. 45% of our population is employed. Beneath these figures, however, are significant levels of deprivation, even amongst families where a person is employed. Around 12% face high or very high deprivation. Only 26% are described as not in deprivation. The largest group of people in the parish is single (60%) and one possible reason for the deprivation levels may be the large number of single- parent families. 45% of houses with children are lone- parent households. The population of King s Cross has become younger over the last yen years. 47% of people are aged between 15 and 44 whereas 10 years ago it was 35%. The largest age group is 15-29. There are a high number of single people in the parish and a particularly high number of lone- parent families We have a mixed area. We have a below average rate of unemployment (although the figures were recorded in 2011 and 2 Holy Cross Mission Action Plan
Making Holy Cross central to King s Cross community The key concerns of people in our parish are housing costs, child poverty, single parenthood, a lack of qualifications and environmental concerns. A large portion of the population rent their home (80%). 51% of the total population rent their home from a housing association or local authority. For both groups housing costs are reported as a major concern and so is security of tenure. Over recent years parts of King s Cross have gone through a physical regeneration, which while making for a better environment is increasing the cost of private rents and making some private renters feel insecure about their ability to stay in the area. What are the key concerns of people living in King s Cross? A key concern for many people is child poverty. As well as material deficiencies children in King s Cross lack some of the physical amenities that children in other areas have access to. There are wider concerns about future prospects for young people in the area. There is a significant group without any qualifications. 14% of the population have no qualifications and are long- term unemployed. Together with housing, single parenthood is one of the two major issues faced by people within our parish. The single parents in our area are both employed and unemployed, are men and women. Many of the challenges in our area are beyond the immediate influence of the church. We do not expect to be able to solve the housing crisis in our area or to be able to tackle the problems faced by one- parent families but we want to be able to reach out to individuals who are in a difficult place and be a church to which they can turn for support. We are here for those who feel marginalized, lonely and who are searching for a greater meaning. Holy Cross has a long history of supporting its community and continues this through strong links with Argyle School and the Holy Cross Centre Trust through our support for the elderly, through lunch clubs. We want to do more however and as well as setting out some ideas for how we might reach out to people in new ways invite ideas for how we might work differently. 3 Holy Cross Mission Action Plan
2 3 How should Holy Cross respond to the needs in its community? We want to Holy Cross to be a resource for people s spiritual needs, recognising that not all people want to attend mass At Holy Cross we recognize that there are community, our parish. We have some people who are reticent to attend connections to the places we have come mass but have an interest in religion and from and the cultures we were raised in. want to explore God. Amongst the many single people in our represented in the people that attend parish, including single parents, we Holy Cross regularly. We will aim to put believe there are large numbers of people on events where people can tell us about who feel isolated. Holy Cross is a place the country they come from. As a church where they should feel welcome and we want to do more to show that we too where they can connect with other are like the community we live within, members of their community. mixed. One of the simple things we want to do is We have a number of international open the church for longer hours. At the visitors to King s Cross. At the end of moment the church is mostly open every mass Father Chris asked new faces around masses. During the 2012 in the congregation where they have Olympics we kept the church open for come from. Over recent years we have two weeks to welcome visitors who were got to know people as they return each walking around the area. We found that year. lots of people came in to say hello, to talk about God and to that returned to Mass. We want to find times when people can drop in talk and share. visitors who stay in the area for 6 months, a year or two, either because of work or study. For as long as they are here we want to be their spiritual home and for outside of the traditional Mass. We will them to build a life- long relationship with explore ways of adding resources to our Holy Cross Church, returning to visit. available but we will explore what other materials could be added as well as trying to make our website more interactive. King s Cross has a lot of people who have come to it from another place, including other parts of Britain and Ireland. We want to create a large family of people In addition we are looking to introduce who are drawn God. Being part of our reading groups and events to discuss the community does not depend on being Christian perspective on contemporary from King s Cross. themes. As individuals we want to support those We also want to deepen the who need it in our community, including understanding of people who regularly people who attend church either regularly attend our church by setting up or occasionally. We all have different theological groups. skills and strengths, as well as We believe the notion of community is changing in the world we live within. We have our immediate geographical 4 We have occasional visitors but very often We want to find ways to engage people website. Sermons and some prayers are There are 17 different nationalities represented in the people that attend Holy Cross regularly. We have a Text regular stream of international visitors There are 17 different nationalities weaknesses, and seek to use these to support one another and strengthen our community. Holy Cross Mission Action Plan
What can we do at Holy Cross to ensure we are at the heart of our community? Our Mission Action Plan aims to help the church explore ways to better reach out to the community we live with and serve. To help us better understand its needs we have analysed the data for our parish. In the 2001 UK National Census 1,765 of the people in our parish described themselves as Christian. This is 29% of the population and the largest single faith group in the area. We have more to do to reach out to this group and let them know we are here to support them. As a church we need to reach out more rather than expect people to simply come to us. We want to provide those that have stopped coming to church and those who would not normally attend with a place where they can recognise and explore their spiritual needs. We want Holy Cross church to be a place where members of our community can come to pray. We want to create a spiritual resource for the community. The largest single group in the census were people who did not state a religion or said they had no religion 43% or 2,640 people. We believe that there will be a number of these who are interested in exploring their spirituality and have an interest in better understanding Christianity. We want to put on events to discuss the Christian perspective on contemporary events. We would like to organize a reading group for the same purpose. We want Holy Cross to be a beacon for Christian thinking in King s Cross. To help do this we want to develop our website so it provides people with materials to help them pray and provides a way for people to get involved with the church, including asking for prayers. There are people within the church who want to deepen their faith and understanding of church history and theology. We will set up a catechism group to help those interested deepen their faith. We would like to be more accessible to the community and would like our church to be open for more hours during the week so that people can drop in when it suits them. This will take time to build up and to begin with we would look to develop an additional slot during the week. We have a lot of international visitors to the church and we want to make Holy Cross a place that people come back to. To begin with our ideas are quite simple. We want to place a book at the back of the church and encourage international visitors to sign. We want to keep a record of how many visitors attend and from where. Beyond this we want to develop a ministry for visitors. Within our church we want to provide greater support to one another. We want to increase the opportunities for members to share. Many of us have skills and strengths that may help others in the congregation. We want Holy Cross to be a beacon for Christian thinking in King s Cross 5 Holy Cross Mission Action Plan
Come and visit us at Holy Cross Church Service times at Holy Cross Church, Cromer Street Holy Cross Church We hope you have enjoyed reading about Holy Cross Church and our plans for the future. If you have any suggestions for what else we might do to reach out to our community then please let us know. If our plans sound interesting to you then please get involved and help us develop them. Holy Cross Church has several masses per week (see right panel for times). W e have a website with prayers and other resources. Let us know if you would like us to pray for you or a loved one. Appointments can be made with the Parish Priest via the contact details on the left. SUNDAY 11:00 AM - Parish Mass (Sunday School) WEDNESDAY 6:00 PM - Mass THURSDAY 6:00 PM - Mass FRIDAY 10:00 AM - Church Open Morning 10am - 2pm. 12:45 PM - Mass SATURDAY 10:30 AM - Mass 1:00 PM - Over 60s Lunch Club in Church Crypt (1st Saturday of the month) Cromer Street, King s Cross, London www.holycrosscromerstreet.org 020 7278 6263 Email: info@holycrosscromerstreet.org Download a copy from the Holy Cross website website A BIT ABOUT HOLY CROSS CHURCH Holy Cross Church Cromer Street has served the people of King s Cross for over 125 years. Our essential Christian mission remains much the same and lies in the identification and care of all those whose lives are bound up with King s Cross, for whatever reason, and especially those who experience the ravages of life. Our congregation is represented by many differing nationalities. Our people both live here and are passing through. Holy Cross Church was designed and built within an Anglo- Catholic mind and for beautiful and formal worship. Masses are held most days, and you are assured of a warm welcome and the use of a church which for many people has been a sanctuary, a vital stopping off place, a house of God and a place of prayer and stillness amid the surrounding rush of King s Cross. We will soon be developing new ways for people to get involved. Get in touch and find out more.