Bern Leckie writes: 

Did you know that Pip n Jay is in a unique part of the world? It is part of an area defined by growth and regeneration, an area which is benefitting from massive investment from people, businesses and government, and the massive changes which it has seen over the last few years are only the beginning. As we look for signs of what God is doing around us, and seek to be part of it, here are some examples of how our neighbourhood is growing.

The major feature of St Philips where we are seeing change and redevelopment is Old Market, the beginning of the A420 out of Bristol, running opposite Pip n Jay on the other side of the dual carriageway. This street has a community heritage, as the name suggests. The area was once packed with industry and workers' housing, and as recently as the 1960s it was a major venue for meeting and trading. The effects of post-war regeneration, however, resulted in large housing developments elsewhere, moving people out, and the development of major roads cutting through this area seemed to fragment what was left of this community. Old Market became busy with traffic, but relatively quiet with people, and where there was once an abundance of shops, replacement businesses sprang up for whom ease of access combined with a little quietness and discretion was a positive benefit - the area is now notorious for its massage parlours, for example.

The potential for growing and regenerating this central part of Bristol for people - and not just cars - has been noticed, and the last few years have seen some changes which are making it a more exciting place to live and work. For example:

• New housing, such as The Refinery on Old Market, is being built in redeveloped industrial buildings or on former industrial land. The largest development is The Zone between Old Market and Temple Meads, which is currently nearing completion. Every year, this means that hundreds of people are moving into our area. Most of the new housing is small - studios or flats - so the people moving in are mainly young and likely to move out again if they decide to start families, but this is not the whole story. Developers are actively building or supporting community facilities, such as our local schools, and regeneration advisors have encouraged them to mix in some larger, family friendly housing.
• New business developments have attracted companies to base themselves in our area. Temple Quay, next to Temple Meads and The Zone, was completed in the last five years, and has become a landmark development which is inspiring more like it across Bristol. Along the river running between Temple Meads and The Dings, you can see the evidence of this - massive excavations, cranes and the beginnings of buildings which will become shops, offices, restaurants and houses due to be built over the next five years.
• With new people comes a fresh demand for goods and services, food, drink and entertainment. Investment can currently be seen on the corner of Old Market and Midland Road (which leads to The Dings) in the form of newly completed shop facilities. It takes some guts, vision and faith to invest where there aren't currently large numbers of pedestrians walking past a shop or pub to support it, but this hasn't stopped people like Ollie Skinner and Ieuan Jones investing recently in The Stag and Hounds pub on Old Market. They took it over in March 2008 with a view to attracting and entertaining the locals, and Pip n Jay are basing a monthly pub quiz there from April.
• Looking beyond our parish boundary into the neighbouring areas which are still just a five minute walk from Pip n Jay, there is major investment going on. The area around Broadmead shopping centre is becoming one of the UK's largest city centre regeneration projects. The new Cabot Circus is due to create 4,000 jobs when it opens in autumn 2008. Comprising of 120 new shops, a 13-screen cinema, three new pedestrian streets, dedicated public spaces and over 200 new homes, this represents a £500 million commercial investment which is expected to bring in 30 million visitors in its first 12 months. That's a lot of people on our doorstep!
• Aside from commercial investment, there has been significant community investment in our area too. In 2000, local residents and agencies formed a partnership which successfully bid for £50 million funding from the government's New Deal for Communities programme. This ten-year scheme benefits The Dings, Redfield, Lawrence Hill and Barton Hill. It has changed the landscape of our area through the creation of a new school, a healthy living centre, sports facilities and improvements to streets and public areas. The organisation which administrates this funding, Community At Heart, have also supported resident-led organisations which work to promote social cohesion and opportunites for all in our area. Youth work in The Dings and the recent multicultural feast are a couple of examples of work funded from this.

So we are seeing growth and transformation all around us. It's natural to ask what our role might be in the midst of such big projects.

For one thing, we are committed to following God, looking at what he is doing and joining in alongside him. It's clear that there is a lot going on, so we expect God to be pretty active in the work which is benefitting people. In our regular prayers, we are looking for God's lead to point us towards what is worth joining in with, and what else might need to be done. Several Pip n Jay people are also now residents in our parish, and enjoying getting to know its people. This isn't a project for us - this is our lives. As we are seeing here, while a lot of our area's changes are good, massive change also brings massive stress. New neighbours can be fun, but the scale and speed of change are bringing uncertainty which can be very unsettling, both for existing and new residents. Sometimes tensions boil up in unexpected ways, like vandalism or racist abuse, and we can see a lot being done (and still to be done) in growing relationships which make our life in common more fun and more important than our differences.

Some things to pray and think about as we look forward to being an increasingly important part of an increasingly special area:

• What can we see God doing right now? Are we part of it? What might we have to change or give up to become more involved with it?
• What can we see God wanting to change? How can that be done in a loving way which benefits the people here?
• How are we welcoming the visitors and newcomers? What can we do to make them feel at home, part of our area and what God is doing here?
• How are we getting on with the people who have been here a long time, and see how much their area is changing? Do they see, through our lives, that God's growth and regeneration is good news?
• What does growth look like from the viewpoint of the kingdom of God? Are we part of it, and thanking God wherever we see it?

You can read more about some of the projects and changes in our area by following some of the web links here.