Urban Life is a team of theological accompaniers who journey alongside individuals, groups, collectives, teams and churches to stimulate reflection on mission practice. We devise bespoke learning journeys that weave together practical experience and current academic thinking in order to help practitioners continue to enrich their mission in marginalised communities. Our programmes range from informal gatherings to accredited training at graduate and postgraduate level delivered as part of the Common Awards framework. We do this by developing learning programmes that help participants to reflect theologically on their practice. We work in a team to bring a variety of skills and experiences to accompany or facilitate this work.
Our work is shaped by:
Reflection on Practice: Rigorous theological reflection is a key part of how we learn. The role of Urban Life is to act as theological accompaniers, helping groups to navigate the journey and enable a kind of ‘banter’ between their local story and theological themes.
Context based: Where we are placed always shapes our learning and Urban Life fosters this connection by situating learning in context and by keeping conversation rooted in context.
Interdisciplinary: An interdisciplinary approach to theological learning, which means drawing on different fields such as Practical Theology, Social Science, and Urban Theory.
Learning in Community: Urban Life believes that everyone is a learner, including the facilitators, so we are strongly relational and participatory in all of our activities.
Inclusive: Open to all who want to reflect on their experience of mission in situations of marginalisation regardless of their role or academic experience.
Attentive: Attentiveness to everyday life, through the particular use of ethnographic research methods among Christians in mission.
What People Say
It gave us a greater clarity about what we’re doing and why we’re doing it.
Jackie Hird, Joanna Project Leeds
We’re delighted to partner with Urban Life – they bring passionate integrity, commitment to local communities and a transformative way of working to everything they do.
Mark Powley, Principal, St Hild College
But the ‘More Questions than Answers’ has been a brilliant series – introduced me to new theologians, kept me reflecting and stimulated. I’ve loved the mix of input, conversations, group chat and Q&A, my style of learning. Plus some great prayers too.
Ruth, Programme Participant