Appearance and Reality – the search for order and connection

On the shores of the old docklands, right in the heart of Melbourne, a new look for the 21st century is taking shape before our eyes. Fresh designs, harbour vistas, prospects for a new lease on life – for seachange – as a city perhaps as much as individuals.

But behind these new urban scenes, locals are asking themselves what it means to live among cranes, shifting property markets, incomplete glamour and the awkward realities of the new world forming around them.

A huge challenge in that world is to redefine, or maybe just recapture, what community truly means.

It is also clear that traditional churches need to respond to these times. Historically the churches have been a significant source of community and opportunity. But the view through stained glass no longer reflects the images that connect with today's community. As the community seeks new horizons, often by downsizing or reinventing their lives, so churches too are at something of a crossroads.

It is a time for church and community to grow and move and innovate together. In the Docklands Churches Forum, the major churches have committed themselves to ecumenical cooperation and innovation – partnerships with other churches and with community groups that in time will launch vital new initiatives.