St Margaret's News December 2018 | Page 14

The Inner North The government planners tell us this population growth will be a mixture of many types of people, with a particular increase in singles, young professionals and small families, but there will be more of all population groups including older people and the middle aged, and there will be a great mix of ethnicities and beliefs. The extra people in the Inner North will result in a greater demand for community facilities and services of all sorts whether it be toy libraries, community halls, disability services, aged care facilities, clubs, and sporting facilities. This sort of population growth means there are lots of opportunities for the churches in the Inner North. Conclusion Steve Coster concluded his report with the following statements. ‘Substantial and Timely Action New ministries need a number of years to be established and become ‘self-reliant’. We cannot sit back and wait to see what happens. The ac- tion needed are substantial, we need to enable all our existing strengths (people, leaders, etc) and resources if we are to have a healthy, long- term sustainable ministry within this region. RESPECT We will not give-in to lifeless cynicism and contempt for the yet un- known, so we will be careful about what we say, how we treat each oth- er and how we listen and contribute to the conversations – we will re- spect one another. We are not alone! We are not alone in seeking to better understand and empower the strengths among us and in our wider community. We need to draw on the wisdom of others, including: ABCD 2, Enneagram 3 Australia Re- made 4, Better Suburbs Statement 2030 5. 2 https://sustainingcommunity.wordpress.com/resources-for-students/ strengths-based-approaches/ 3 https://enneagramacademy.com/ 4 https://www.australiaremade.org/ 5 https://www.yoursay.act.gov.au/BetterSuburbs - see link to ‘Better Suburb Statement’ St Margaret’s News 14 December 2018