The Official Minster e-mail address is admin@sunderlandminster.org  

SUNDERLAND MINSTER VISION 2015 +

INTRODUCTION

“A Church in the City. A City in the Church”

Purpose and Aims of Sunderland Minster
Sunderland Minster exists for five main reasons:

1 A Spiritual Heartbeat for the City
The Minster holds the City of Sunderland, its people and its common life in prayer. From the Minster, the daily life of prayer and worship flows out through a wider Minster Community that is engaged in the life of the city.
The Minster serves as a citywide focal point for public celebration, mourning and spiritual identity. The Minster is a place for people to connect with God in the heart of the city.

2 A Place for Meeting, Learning and Belonging
The Minster is a hospitable place in the centre of the city where people meet together and share together a vision for the life of the city and its people. It is a place of belonging for the homeless and the troubled. A place to eat and to be refreshed. A place to be nurtured, affirmed, stimulated, and encouraged in the Christian journey. A venue for the arts, cultural events and exchange. The Minster is a place where people meet who would not normally meet together.

3 Nurturing a Spiritual City
The Minster enhances the spiritual life of the city. It aims to nurture and encourage the building of ‘spiritual capital’ in the city. This is central to the work of economic regeneration and renewal of hopeful and skilled communities. The Minster enables the city to express it’s identity and connect with the past as well as be bold about its vision for the future. At times the Minster is a prophetic voice on issues of injustice and speaks on issues that need to be challenged.

4 A Place of Radical Service
The Minster is a stimulus to and a force for loving service in the city. It is able to do things that others find difficult. It can push out the boundaries and be risky. It can focus on wider needs. It has a particular calling to those who work and play in the city centre day and night. Fostering partnership is the Minster’s usual way as well as actively encouraging and supporting the voluntary sector. The Minster is a place that listens to the needs of the city and its diverse communities and struggles.

5 Serving the wider Church in the City
The Minster is a focal point for unity and common response amongst the Christian Churches in the city. It promotes ecumenical working and is a focal point for a number of sector chaplaincies in the city. The Minster is a catalyst to collective Christian action and seeks to serve and where appropriate be a helpful resource to the wider church.

Please send comments/queries about this site to David Herring. All official enquiries proper to The Minster will be passed on immediately. My email address -   herring57@btinternet.com 

My other sites relate to my main hobby (with my wife) of budgerigar breeding - a wonderful and challenging hobby, followed my many friendly and communicative people. - www.herringbrosbudgerigars.co.uk & www.sunderlandbudgerigarsociety.co.uk (Click them to visit)

Pages prepared by David Herring October/November 2005. Revised