2005 was a big year. It was the year that London secured the 2012 Olympics, and it was also the year that I and my family came to work in Forest Gate. I think there was only one tower block in Stratford back then, and the Council would subsequently use it for tours so that people could view the Westfield and Olympic Park sites being constructed. How the landscape has changed since then!

I’ve been a Baptist pastor for almost 40 years, and before coming to Newham we were situated in Southwark for nearly 18 of those. Back then the Inner City was where poorer people lived, but then a strange inversion started to happen, and gentrification became the new word on everyone’s lips. Property prices in previously down-at-heel areas began to soar, and houses that cost my Caribbean church members £6,000 back in the 1960s are now worth £700,000!

As I retire from full-time ministry and leave Newham, social attitude surveys are telling me that people no longer buy into organised religion. Access to information is so much easier now, and people don’t like to be told what to believe. Newham bucks the national trend, of course, not least because we’re a multi-faith borough, but social attitude surveys are not to be dismissed lightly. And if they’re right, does the Christian Church have anything to offer future generations? So here are two very positive reflections from me:

1. Crossing boundaries

Outside of school and work, we all have a tendency to socialise with our own kind, but churches often deliver on diversity. I have had members from all over the Caribbean, Africa, Europe, the Philippines, and these days a constant trickle of people seeking sanctuary. I have learned so much about the world and its history, about food and customs, and I have great friends whom I might never have met were it not for the church community.

2. Serving the community

Before lockdown came, we had a vibrant toddler group, elders’ lunch club, football academy and a food bank. Most activities remain closed, save for the food bank which currently helps 80-90 individuals and families every week. Our motto has always been following Christ, serving people, but in the last year I have been humbled by the hordes of people who have generously donated to our food bank. I shall miss all you lovely people.

I retire at the end of April. I’m told the word is spelt re-tyre, because I’m about to put on new tyres and start the next adventure. I look forward to it!

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