'niddrie' Tagged Posts
A Look Back In Time
I found this little clip of the social history of Niddrie and Craigmillar online. I have also discovered that the urban regeneration that has been going on here for the last 10 years is not the first time the government has tried to ‘clean up’ the area in the last 100 years. Indeed, Niddrie & Craigmillar have both received many facelifts over that time. It…
Niddrie Football Academy!!
By Andy Constable We have been much in thought recently about how we are going to raise truly indigenous, disciplined young men as the future leaders of Niddrie Community Church. We need to have a long-term plan in place. Our aim is to try to grow men through a structured, football based outreach beginning at 5-6 years old and building an academy through their late teens…
Inner City Regeneration: Friend or Foe?
This is an emotive issue for many on our scheme. Much of the old housing and tenements have now gone from what was, historically, regarded as ‘old’ Niddrie. In its place are green fields, building sites, new flats, houses and a variety of government agencies and voluntary services. Almost everything feels new and shiny. The school, the doctor’s surgery,…
How Do We Disciple Former Drug Addicts? (Part 2)
By Andy Constable Last week we started by looking at some of the things we need to know when we are discipling drug addicts who have come to Christ and are rebuilding their lives. We looked at some of the things that you the discipler will need to look out for. This week I want to look at some of…
The Christian & The War on Drugs (1)
I live in a scheme which is blighted by drugs. Children as young as 7 and 8 years old are smoking Cannabis regularly (I smoked my first joint at 12). Heroin is as easy to get as a pint of milk from the local store. Crack, Coke, E’s, LSD, you name it and it can be delivered to your doorstep in minutes. That’s just the illegal stuff. Prescription drugs are even…
Gentrification: Help or Hindrance to Housing Schemes?
Gentrification is a phenomenon that is occurring in schemes all over Scotland (indeed the UK). It is a word that has been in use for many centuries but was brought to the fore in the early sixties by a sociologist who observed how middle class people moving into traditional working class areas,…
PROXIMITY: For People Interested In Urban Ministry
Incarnational Living | Church Planting | Urban Youth Ministry | Missional Community| Urban Church Proximity 2012 is a conference happening this May (25th-26th) in Salford, hosted by the Eden Network. It aims to bring these five streams above together in one place for two days of vision,…
What Happens When Your Church has No Christian Youth?
by Mike Stark (Children’s, Youth & Community Worker) Historically, we haven’t had many ‘Christian’ young people in Niddrie Community Church. We have a vibrant and active work among children and youth in the community, yet this is almost exclusively evangelistic, rather than…
Evangelising the Young on Housing Schemes
by Mike Stark (Youth & School’s Worker for NCC) I recently attended “Deep Impact”, Scotland’s National Christian Youth Work Conference in Aviemore. I came back refreshed, inspired and excited about all the work ahead. I’ve got a lot to reflect on over the next couple of weeks: the people I met, the things I learned, and truths I just…
How Social Media is Changing the Way we do Youth Ministry
“I’d die if I didn’t have my BlackBerry.” Recent comment from young person According to the news, a UK survey shows that TV is being pushed aside by mobile internet devices in the lives of young people. Among 7-16 year olds, 61% have a mobile phone with internet access, and use that phone for an…