Findlay Family Network, Glasgow

Findlay Memorial Church has been in existence since 1895, but the building has until recently been hidden behind big red doors with no indication of its presence. Five years ago, the desire of the people to engage with the community, and the individual efforts and projects, began to coalesce.

The church’s work among children and young people, and its toddler group, were already well established. Then in 2004 the church decided to bring these two initiatives together and run a holiday club.

Numbers attending were not great, but the leaders decided they would follow up by visiting all the families that attended. This led them to develop some significant family contacts. The next step, they decided, was to hold a family weekend away.

The weekend became fully booked as soon as it was offered. Shirley Berry, leader of the Findlay Family Network, was amazed at the response.

“We didn’t really know what we were doing,” says Shirley. “We hadn’t even planned a programme, and where we chose to go wasn’t very plush or attractive.”

Seven families attended, and the weekend made a huge difference to them. “Many of those on that first weekend now run things in the network,” says Shirley.

Findlay has decided that rather than go for a major overhaul of their building, they will make the upgrades and changes gradually as the need demands. So far they have changed their entrance area which wasn’t very welcoming. They then created a café / meeting space and most recently have renovated the office space for the family network.

To date they run…

• A regular programme of family fun events
• Parent and toddler group
• Parenting courses
• A café
• One-to-one support
• Building block events – enabling people to do things they have never done before.

Gangs and drugs are big issues in the area of Glasgow that Findlay serves. Yet Shirley says that she felt more comfortable in this context than any other. For Shirley, this is not a project. These are her friends and she knows every one of them by name.

Reflecting on the impact of the network, Shirley sees several principles which may help other churches:

• On the surface this shouldn’t be working. It makes no sense. The things we are doing are simple but are being effective. It’s got to be God!
• In the network, we are always in the minority as Christians, not the majority. I used to think it had to be the other way round.
• You have to go into the community and find out what they are trying to do, and join them. Allow them to be themselves, rather than try to make them become like those in the church.
• Build in honesty and vulnerability. Don’t pretend that you have all the answers or none of the problems.
• It’s often the smallest things that make show people you’re genuine.
• Don’t lose your passion in the process of getting organised and don’t allow the need for funding to erode your aims and values. Stay committed and trust that God will provide.
• The hardest thing can be changing the mindset of the church. It has to be a gradual thing as together we find out what we’re about.

Last Updated 21 October 2008