Serving changing population

There are a few places in Scotland, like Railway Crossing, which do not have a 'normal' population profile. There is not the usual mix of old, middle aged, young and children. In some areas of St Andrews, for example, the residents are mainly students.

How the church serves these sort of areas will differ from a more diverse population profile. People come and go - perhaps staying for as little as a few days or as much as a few months. That makes developing relationships with the community different. I say different, as all parishes have their own challenges, this is just another one.

In some ways, it might concentrate the mind, as there is a limited time to engage with people. It also, perhaps, make the church less concerned with bums on seats and more with sowing seeds of God's love. After all, with transient populations it is unlikely they will come to full Christian maturity in a matter of days or weeks. I'm still working on that one!

That way of doing church in those communities needs to be held in tension with serving the needs of the permanent residents. At the end of the day, those are the people who are most likely to be members of the church, its office bearers etc.

I've no idea how this would work. Really, Railway Crossing is the first place I've been during my ministry formation process (oh, how I hate that phrase, but can't currently think of a better one!) that I have witnessed this. I do know to serve a community like this could possible be more work than a 'normal' (whatever normal is) parish. The danger people I have spoken to here have identified is that is would be easy for a minister to serve the congregation and not the parish.

On thing is pretty sure, this long term test drive I am currently on has not led me to feel I would be called to a parish such as this.