Mission Network News

Parish Mission Funding - evidence of added value

Bob Jackson has written this report and presentation on Lichfield's Growth Fund, which makes use of their Parish Mission Funding.
The material is primarily for the Church Commissioners and for Lichfield diocesan Synod, but Bob has given us permission to circulate more widely. It clearly demonstrates the value of an intentional policy of using this funding to seed new work.
Please feel free to pass this on to your finance people and other interested parties. If you have done (or will do) equivalent work in your part of the country, please let us know.
As Bob says, "If the Commissioners’ funding stream were to cease or to be seriously depleted then the Growth Fund would have very little to disburse, and some of the existing projects may fold at the end of three years. If it were maintained or increased in 2008-2010 then the momentum will build and more posts and projects will be created."

Growth Fund report March 2007.doc

Growth Fund Report March 2007.ppt

Emerging Church and Anglicanism - new book

Ian Mobsby at the Moot community in central London has released this published version of his work on emerging church and Anglican ecclesiology. It's a very important contribution to the field and well worth buying for your diocesan resource centre or library. Plus, if Ian sells enough of these, his own funding as a fresh expressions pioneer will be that much more secure. So you can enrich yourself theologically and also help entrepreneurial leadership in the Church with a single purchase. Go on- you know you want to!
As the blurb says:

This exciting new book draws on recent research looking at four Anglican emerging/fresh expressions, and explores what makes them significant from the perspective of practitioners and organisers.

This book is a must for missioners, practitioners or researchers into emerging and fresh expressions of church. It explores the sociology, contextual theology, ecclesiology, missiology and Anglican identity that lies behind these initiatives – three in England and one in the United States of America.

More here:

New book launched in March 2007.doc

Lichfield Director of Parish Mission - update

Bob Jackson sends an updated version of the papers for this post (see "Two Diocesan Missioners Posts" below). These are also posted on the Lichfield diocesan intranet - http://intranet.lichfield.anglican.org/.

DPM job final draft for intranet-1.doc

DIRECTOR OF PARISH MISSION questions-1.doc

Church in New Housing Areas - new website

From Jim Currin at Group for Evangelisation.

www.cinha.net


Churches Together in England has launched this new website to help local churches with the challenge of new housing areas.
The site picks up on the three basic questions from the initial research of need:
How to get involved in the planning process
How can we create community when there is no community
What is the best expression of church on new housing estates
As with all website it is a work in progress and articles and further resources would be very welcome.

Free At Last exhibition - Spirit of Wilberforce project

Merisa MacInnes writes with this news:

Run by the Centre for Contemporary Ministry, the Spirit of Wilberforce Project team are bringing a replica slave ship up the Thames through Tower Bridge with HMS Northumberland (the first time for a tall rigger in over 150 years). It was the ship used in the film Amazing Grace, and featured in the Heaven and Earth Show on BBC1 last Sunday. We'd love people to use this opportunity to bring non Christian friends to see the Free at Last exhibition.

Final news release, 8.3.07(2).doc

"Towards 2010" Mission conference

Churches Together in Scotland have this opportunity to carry forward missional thinking as we approach the anniversary of the 1910 Edinburgh World Missionary Conference:

Better Together?
Mission and Unity Then and Now

Edinburgh was the venue for the historic World Missionary Conference in 1910, a gathering which caught an epoch-making vision of the church as a truly global missionary community. As the centenary of that event approaches, it is time to reflect on its significance in the light of the experience of the past 100 years and the realities of the 21st century. A number of different groups and agencies engaged in world mission from a Scottish base have organised a series of lectures and conferences under the title "Towards 2010", with the intention of looking to the future as well as reflecting on the past century of mission. This conference is the seventh and last in a series of lectures on the commissions of the 1910 conference, bringing both an historical perspective, and also reflection on the relevance of these themes for Christian mission in today’s world. Focussing on the still-challenging theme of Unity and Cooperation, the conference will be a significant mission and ecumenical event in Scotland.

Discovering Faith in Later Life - Sheffield Centre resource

Mike Collyer, who researches evangelism among older people at Sheffield Centre, writes with news of his latest resource:

Dear Friends and Colleagues

Please find attached my latest paper which may of interest to you or special interest groups within your networks.

I have included the attachment in two formats select which ever is easiest for you to forward or download.

"The church’s response to meeting the needs of older people rarely goes beyond the pastoral and spiritual needs of the elderly frail. Here Mike Collyer challenges this strategy as so many older people today are active, independent and searching for a meaningful spirituality. He begs the question of how can the church respond to the spiritual needs of a non-churched ‘SAGA’ generation emerging from the 1960s modernity values".

I was so much older then, I'm younger than that now. - Bob Dylan; The Byrds, My Back Pages

Discovering Faith in Later Life No. 6.doc

2007 Year of prayer - latest information

Over at the World Prayer Centre Jane Holloway has this resource to help people pray systematically for mission issues each Friday and to prepare for the excellent HOPE 08 initiative next year. Well worth sharing around.

DNA training - taster days

Pete Gilbert and the team at DNA send details of three taster days for this resource - a year's missional training for young people. DNA was established by the Pioneer network and has become an excellent resource for the whole Church. Read the details here (click on the pic to download) and do please pass the news on to churches/young people in your patch who might be interested in finding out more. See also www.dna-uk.org

Two Diocesan missioners' posts

Here are news of two vacancies in the network, for your prayers. Please bring these vital posts to the attention of any who might be right for them:

1. Wakefield - Canon Missioner
Rob Freeman (Archdeacon of Halifax) says "for us, this is an absolutely key appointment".

The advert is here:
Wakefield Canon Missioner - March 2007.doc

And the job description here (click on the pic to download)

2. Lichfield - Director of Parish Mission

To take forward Lichfield's excellent "Going for Growth" initiative. Contact Bob Jackson (Archdeacon of Walsall) for more info - contact details below

Diocese of Lichfield
Going for Growth!

Director of Parish Mission

This key post is at the heart of delivering the Diocesan Strategy ‘Going for Growth’.
The Director will help parishes develop and deliver their plans for mission, evangelism and church growth.
Are you an Anglican in priest’s orders with a passion
to see local churches flourish?
Do you have a track record as a leader in mission?
Do you know how to lead a church through the process
of developing and implementing mission plans?
If so then we would love to hear from you!

Details can be downloaded from www.intranet.lichfield.anglican.org
Informal enquiries to Ven Bob Jackson 01922 620153
Closing Date for applications 27th April
Interviews 12th May

Simon Bessant - moving on

Simon Bessant (Blackburn) has been a valued member of our network for many years, and as a member of General Synod and the Archbishops' Council he has been able to advocate the mission agenda to those who command our resources and set our policies nationally.
Simon is now about to move on to a new chapter of his ministry. He writes:

Dear Friends,
My departure from Blackburn Diocese was announced last Sunday. On 31st August I am to be instituted as vicar of All Saints Ecclesall in Sheffield. All Saints is a very large suburban church in west Sheffield. I will be leading a team of six in a very dynamic but earthed parish. There are five services each Sunday with a usual Sunday adult combined congregation of 550. I think that that should keep me busy!
I will be leaving Blackburn at the end of July. I will find it hard to leave Blackburn after sixteen years, but I now feel that the time to move on has come. I will be particularly sad to be leaving my inter faith work through which I have made so many friends. My role on General Synod and Archbishops Council will end when I resign my seat at the end of July. This I regret but it is only proper when moving from one Diocese to another and when starting to work in a new parish.
One thing that I really do want to say now is that I will be forever grateful for all of you who supported me in my fight against cancer two years ago. I was, and still am, deeply touched by the support that I received at that time.
No doubt I will be seeing most of you in the weeks and months ahead and will have a proper conversation then.
Simon

Mission Action Planning - new website resource from April 1

Peter Hill in Lichfield diocese has been working hard with Mike Chew (Blackburn) and others to collate thinking and practice on MAPs. He writes:

A new website on Mission Action Planning and strategies for growth will be launched on 1 April 2007. From that date, by clicking on www.churchmaps.co.uk, you will be able to access a major new resource designed for people who are already involved with Mission Action Planning or thinking about starting MAP work - at church, area or diocesan level. This one site will include a wide range of material previously unpublished or found only by searching through many separate sites across the country. Churchmaps will show there are many approaches to Mission Action Planning, but also some common principles. News, examples, processes, methods and a discussion forum are all included.

The background to this initiative is that Mission Action Planning is a tried and tested method for individual churches to review their mission strategy and to plan their mission priorities and actions. The origin is not clear, but there is some evidence of MAPs being used some thirty years ago.

The Church of England diocese of London was the first diocese to incorporate MAP in a diocesan-wide mission strategy, beginning with the programme originated by David Hope - 'Agenda for Action' in 1993. This process helped many parishes to try new things and to move forward with more confidence. Many began to believe for the first time that things could actually improve rather than continue sliding downhill. Researchers now agree that MAP was a key ingredient in turning around London’s decline into sustained growth in the mid 90’s.

Nowadays, many churches and organisations are using MAP - some as part of a growth strategy. In the Anglican Church alone, some fifteen dioceses actively encourage parishes to produce annual MAPs. For some years, those engaged in supporting and training for MAP have set up informal local or national networks, and this has helped the MAP process to evolve. This site has been created to stimulate further sharing and learning.

The idea for the site came from a meeting between Mike Chew, the MAP/Growth facilitator for the Church of England Blackburn diocese, and Peter Hill, Lay Chairman of Oswestry Deanery in Lichfield Diocese, who is researching nationally into MAP as part of his PhD studies. Roger Longworth, a friend of Mike’s, set up the site and is the webmaster.

Fresh Expressions - new DVD

"Changing Church in Every Place" is the forthcoming Fresh Expressions DVD, created by Norman Ivison to the same excellent standard as their first one. It includes material on rural fresh expressions, those in the workplace, those emerging from a sacramental tradition, and much more.

Here's the flyer to download:

And here's a movie taster with Diane Louise Jordan:
Advert website soon.wmv

A Church Near You

Just to remind you of this excellent resource (created by the Oxford diocesan webmaster), designed to help those who may not know which is their parish church. It's proved particularly useful in the recent clutch of wedding shows. Please make sure your diocesan and parish website editors know about it...

www.achurchnearyou.com

Book reviews

Chichester's John Twisleton is a prolific book reviewer. Here are his latest reviews - well worth browsing through. Many thanks to John for making these resources available.

A Handbook of Spiritual Ecumenism Cardinal Walter Kasper.doc

Dead or Alive Daniel Clark.doc

Love, Healing & Happiness Larry Culliford.doc

Quantum Physics & Theology John Polkinghorne.doc

The Dawkins Delusion Alister McGrath & Joanna Collicutt McGrath.doc

Unity, Holy Tradition & Contemplation Fr. Gregory CSWG.doc

The US Episcopal Church - evangelism resources

Why not take a look at these evangelism resources on the US Episcopal Church's website?

http://ecusa.anglican.org/8020_61888_ENG_HTM.htm

"Presence" rural resource - additional material

The Methodist Church's "Presence" material is highly recommended by Jill Hopkinson and others as an impetus to mission thinking in the rural church. Methodist/URC rural adviser Graham Jones sends this additional material for download. He writes:

In 2004 the publication “Presence” described a vision for the future of the rural church. (Copies can be obtained from “The Methodist Publishing House”).
This is the first of a number of occasional papers reflecting how the rural church is developing today.

Presence Publication.doc

CWR DVD course - "Christ Empowered Living"

David Ramsay at CWR sends details of their new DVD-based discipleship course, written by Selwyn Hughes. You can read details of the course on the CWR website here - http://www.cwr.org.uk/fyc/records/index.php?r=1_20060921_094451.
A free sample DVD is available on request from David - order from their website at www.cwr.org.uk—celdvd
Finally we have a sample of the full course which I will send to the first person who requests it, in exchange for your review of the material.

More on Parish Mission Funding

A few weeks ago I mentioned that Parish Mission Funding might be under threat in the future. At the General Synod a number of questions were asked about this, including some passionate interventions by ex-Lichfield missioner Mark Ireland. All this prompted the Bishop of London to issue the press release below on behalf of the Church Commissioners.

As you'll see, Bishop Richard makes clear that consultation across the Church will be needed before final decisions are made. So if your area has benefited from PMF money, please make sure that you advocate continuation of the funding stream. Talk to your bishops, synod members and finance people.

Statement on the Church Commissioners' expenditure on mission

Responding to media reports, the Rt Revd Richard Chartres, Bishop of London and acting chairman of the Board of Governors of the Church Commissioners, said:

"It is simply not true that the parish mission fund is being raided to pay for overdue repairs on major heritage buildings. The truth of the matter is that the Church - in common with many organisations - is operating in a new context of pensions regulation.

"All of the money a diocese receives from the Church Commissioners is mission funding. All bishops are involved in mission and are looking at ways of taking all the opportunities they can, particularly in proposed new housing areas, new communications hubs and new commercial areas.

"The Church Commissioners are committed to supporting the mission of the church, particularly in areas of need and opportunity.

"Any discussion about the expenditure of the Church Commissioners over the next three years, 2008 to 2011 is pure speculation. Next month we will receive the actuarial review of our pension liabilities which are the first call on our expenditure. They represent around 60 per cent of the money that we distribute.

"Only when we have received this review will we, and the Archbishops' Council be able to decide how the money is spent. We shall be consulting across the Church before any decision is reached."

Statistics on fresh expressions of church

Lynda Barley at Church House Research & Statistics Unit produced this paper for the General Synod, unpacking the latest church returns and what they tell us about fresh expressions of church. Download by clicking on the pic: