A Local Shared Ministry for St. Frideswide’s, Water Eaton

Introduction

This document sets out proposals for the creation of a Local shared Ministry scheme for St. Frideswide’s as an alternative to the appointment of a House-for-Duty priest, and seeks the approval of the Bishop of Buckingham

It also sets out outline objectives and key challenges St. Frideswide’s expects to meet over the next five years. The proposals take account of previous discussions with the Bishop, Area Dean and DPC and follow from approvals in principle given by the DPC and St. Frideswide’s APCM.

Objective of the scheme

To work towards a sustainable church in Water Eaton.

Proposals

The proposals are: -

·         To replace the traditional vicar-led parish with a Leadership Team drawn from the PCC and church members and including two associate priests. This structure is intended to allow and encourage full and active participation by all church members in the mission and ministry of the church and will allow us to react flexibly to changes in Milton Keynes Deanery.

·         The associate priests would not lead the team but would, instead be equal participants. They would bring the benefits of their training, experience and vision to the team and provide the priestly ministry not possible by lay members.

·         During the period of this scheme the right of presentation would continue to be suspended. The incumbency would be held by the Area Dean. Although the Area Dean would be available to coordinate any exterior support required, no extension of their normal role of pastoral supervision and care is envisaged. This parallels the situation in a House-for-Duty appointment.

·         An annual external review and evaluation would be held to allow a measured assessment of the success and progress made. St. Frideswide’s intends to develop a series of objectives based on the Five Strands of Mission (as defined at the 1988 Lambeth conference) and these would provide the basis for the annual review.

·         The annual review would also allow appropriate changes to be made, advice, guidance and support to be given and would provide an opportunity to reaffirm the scheme or, if necessary to revert to a more traditional structure.

·         To continue to work with Spurgeon Baptist Church in mission and ministry to the parish, guided by the Lund principle (which is that we should do everything together that we can do together except that which conscience will not allow).

·         St. Frideswide’s would continue to be assessed as a House-for-Duty post for parish share purposes and the PCC would pay the expenses of the associate priests.

By removing the immediate need to search for an incumbent, the scheme creates space and time for a period of consolidation and growth at St. Frideswide’s. It preserves and builds on what has already been achieved during the vacancy and it is hoped that, with the appropriate training and support, the Leadership Team will become more confident and better equipped to set and pursue St. Frideswide’s mission goals.

Some medium term Aims

We see the next 5 years as a key time of transition for us as a church and community in establishing a sustainable church. In particular, in collaboration with Spurgeon Baptist Church, we would like: -

·               to conduct an audit of required roles and activities and the resources required and available so that an appropriate infrastructure can be developed

·               to be a more visible Christian presence in and for the community

·               to be more relevant to a rapidly growing local community

·               to become a more diverse congregation

·               to maximise the mission potential of Water Eaton Church Centre so that it is recognised as a landmark for the community

To achieve this we will need to further develop our strengths to be able to meet challenges as they present themselves

We see some of our challenges as: -

·               Providing more worship opportunities for young people and their families

·               Caring and ministering to an ageing congregation

·               Encouraging more people to get together during the week for prayer, study, fellowship

·               Continuing to meet our financial commitments

·               Forging inter-church and cross-agency links particularly in response to population growth within and on the borders of the parish

Five year outlook

If the proposed LSM scheme is to succeed within this timescale, the following key steps will need to have been taken: -

• Members of the Leadership Team must have been appropriately trained, using locally provided training, wherever possible.
• The Leadership Team will have developed and grown to include new members. This will allow for people to move on or retire and yet still permit a viable team to be maintained.

·         The ministry vision of the church will have evolved and developed to meet the ever changing needs of the parish, within the available resource.

Evaluation and Reporting

We propose an initial, mini review after six months by the Deanery and Leadership Team to check that all is in order, after which a celebratory inaugural service would be held to dedicate ourselves formally to the scheme.

The annual review and evaluation would be conducted by the Area Dean, Lay Chair and Parish Development Officer (on behalf of the Bishop and Archdeacon) and the result presented to the Deanery, area Bishop, area Archdeacon and St. Frideswide’s APCM.

Recommendation and next steps

The Bishop is asked to approve the proposals set out in this paper.

The next steps would then be to: -

• Prepare a formal document setting out the LSM scheme, its aims and objectives, key roles and responsibilities and supporting administrative arrangements for agreement by Area Dean, DPC and Area Bishop
• Carry out the mini review proposed in this document
• Formally inaugurate the scheme and commission the Leadership Team at celebratory service (perhaps on St. Frideswide’s day – 19^th October 2008)

Gail Dowdle and Malcolm Austin

Church Wardens