Item Time Actions. 1. The addition of Jayne Ozanne to the attendance list.

Transcription

1 Cowley Deanery Synod Meeting Wednesday 7 th November 2018, 7:30pm Hosted by St Nicholas Church, Marston, Oxford. Theme: Community Food Bank- An Update. Speaker: Jane Benyon- Founder of the Community Emergency Foodbank. Attendances signed: Flora Alexander Sheila Allcock Hubert Allen Margreet Armistead Ben Baker Elaine Bardwell Gemma Beesley Hannah Cartwright Leon Catallo Skye Denno Nick Dewey Beth Edwards Wulf Forrester-Barker Sister Catherine Harvey Rob Horner Tim Howles Natacha Huggett Trevor Jones David Knight Ed Ling Philip Lockley Diane Mason Patricia Michael Stephen Michael Margaret Norman Jayne Ozanne Millius Palayiwa Tony Phelan Leslie Rhodes James Plunket Philip Ritchie Felicity Wallendzus Bethan Willis Margaret Woodcock Christine Woodman Apologies received: Eric Bossward Jane Campbell Heather Carter James Cocke Bev Humberstone Darren McFarland Penny Powell Christine Tucker Item Time Actions 1. 19:37 19:41 The Reverend Skye Denno welcomed all present to St Nicholas s church. Luke 10: 38 to the end was read. The Synod was led in a prayer. The meeting was handed over to, the Cowley Area Dean, who added his welcome and thanked St Nicholas for their hospitality. 2 19:42 The following amendment was to be made to the minutes for the Synod on before they could be approved and signed by the Area Dean: 1. The addition of Jayne Ozanne to the attendance list. The minutes from Synod from the Joint Synod held on were approved by all :43 The Area Dean handed over to the Lay Chair to introduce the evening s theme and reminded Synod that the Lay Chair and Area Dean had an equal role in leadership and either could be approached on Deanery matters. The Lay Chair gave some background to the social need of the foodbank, noting that a recent rise in destitution could be linked to the introduction of Universal Credit which was in some cases leaving people without money for up to 6 weeks. The Lay Chair handed over to Jane Benyon. The Community Emergency Foodbank (CEF) celebrated its 10 th Anniversary in April this year. Having started in St Francis church in response to a need in Oxford, the CEF has grown considerably. Its main hub is a portacabin at St Francis Church, which opens on a Tuesday and Friday and is also the main warehouse. 3 years ago, another centre had opened in the Baptist Minutes to be amended. Minutes to be signed by the Area Dean. 1

2 church in Littlemore. If people felt there was a need to open another centre in another location, if they were able to run the operation CEF would be able to supply the food. They currently have team of 29 Volunteers that help with varying regularity, the volunteers are from all walks of life and some are people that have previously been helped by the CEF. This was a vision when the CEF was started, that those who had been helped would return to help. People are referred to the CEF, they are given a voucher to present and they can come back between 3 or 4 times without questions being asked. The CEF is for crisis situations rather than for long-term feeding. If people were coming regularly then contact would be made with the referral service to see what could be done to help. All helpers regard themselves as volunteers and not professionals, it is often the case that people come very nervous to talk due to experience with professional agencies. They are never asked why they have come, a referral is enough, whilst waiting for their food parcel to be packed there is an opportunity to have refreshments and talk to the volunteers. People arrive very downcast, nervous and depressed and go away happier, the feedback from them has been very humbling. There are many reasons why people may need to use the CEF, whatever welfare system is in place there will always be a need for a foodbank. Since the recession in 2008 there has been a steady increase of need and since October 2017 the numbers have increased by 50%. This can be linked to the introduction of the Universal Credit, which has meant long delays in the payment of benefits. This year the CEF has started a new scheme, a scheme for the holidays, it is recognized that school holidays are a struggle for many and the scheme has been trialed this summer to allow people in need to have additional vouchers. This scheme was advertised in schools and via social welfare officers to families who were known to be in need. This scheme will run again at the Christmas holidays. The CEF relies totally on donations, although sometimes during the busy summer holidays additional food needs to be bought. The CEF is very thankful to those who donate, there are currently 44 churches in Oxford who donate to the CEF regularly and at harvest. The CEF see itself as a Christian organization, they don t make a lot of noise about it and not all volunteers are Christian. They always pray before the start of each session and there is a leaflet given that contains a prayer, the hope is that people find encouragement in the prayer. The following questions were asked: What are the biggest challenges the CEF faces? Keeping going is the biggest challenge, at the moment it is running smoothly, they have enough food, a good site and a very loyal group of volunteers. However, these things can change quickly. What is the make-up of people the Community Emergency Foodbank help? For the last 10 Years the split has been consistently 2/3 adults to 1/3 children that have been helped by CEF, with a split of men and women and families and singles within that. However, in the last 3 months the proportions have changed to 50% children. It is thought that this big increase has been due to the introduction of the Universal Credit Scheme. How can people advertise the Summer and Christmas Schemes? It can be difficult getting through to the right person in schools or organizations, if anyone has contact with or links to a school please could they highlight these schemes. How can people receive help from CEF? People need to be referred from professional agency in order to get vouchers for the CEF. There are about 100 organizations that are currently able to refer people in need. For example, social services, GP s, Citizens Advice Bureau. 2

3 Does the Foodbank operate like a shop, with people browsing the shelves and taking what they want? There is a specific list of items that all people will receive, these are picked by volunteers and put into bags. Fresh items or slightly out of date items are available for people to help themselves to. The Foodbank will also take into consideration allergies, religious dietary requirements or personal tastes when picking the foods from the list. Whilst the food parcels are picked there is an opportunity for them to have refreshments and a chat with a volunteer. The summer is a time when stocks get low due to the summer holidays and the summer scheme would it be helpful to remind people of the increased need of this period and encourage donations earlier rather than at harvest? From June onwards, there is an increase need for donations, reminding people at this time would be helpful. What is the policy on use by dates? All food packed in the food parcels must be in date, however there is often a basket with slightly out of date food in for people to take on the understanding it is out of date. How big is the Foodbank? The foodbank is one of the larger independent foodbanks in the country, that process cases a month. How do people feel coming through the door of the foodbank? This is the hardest step for most people, as many are embarrassed, and it may take them many weeks to pluck up the courage to visit. They may also worry that they might know someone working there, however the foodbank have a policy of volunteers not serving those they know. There remains a stigma attached to needing the help of a foodbank. 20:20 The Area Dean thanked Jane Benyon for her coming to speak and invited Synod to google the Community Emergency Foodbank for further information or to find contact details 4. 20:25 Groups- discussion. The Area Dean postponed this until the end of the meeting if there was time :25 Groups- feedback. The Area Dean postponed this until the end of the meeting if there was time :26 20:28 The theme of the last Synod had been Generous Giving. Had the presentation on Generous Giving impacted the environment that you are in? Had there been any response made to the presentations? Time for a short discussion was given. The responses indicated that there had been a varying amount of activity across the Deanery as a result of the Generous Giving presentation, some felt it had been unhelpful, others reported that the topic had been discussed in PCC meetings, resulting in a number of churches signing up to the Parish Giving Scheme. St James Church had produced a leaflet to communicate how the money given to the Church was spent and details of how people could give to the church. The impact of this leaflet could not yet be measured. Copies of this document were circulated :32 The Area Dean handed over to Trevor Jones, the Deanery Treasurer. The figure that Oxford Diocese had given the Share Allocation for Cowley Deanery for 2019 was 476,752, this was a 1% decrease on the figure for All Parishes had supplied their figures this year, the Deanery Treasurer thanked all Parish Treasurers for submitting these figures. The proposed Parish Share Scheme for 2019 had been circulated via prior to the Synod, hardcopies were also available at the meeting. There had been a Treasurer and Incumbents meeting on the 28 th October, all at the meeting had been broadly in favour of the proposed scheme, although given the meeting was called at 3

4 short notice not all parishes were represented. There had been a few queries via , but it was hoped that they were now resolved. A number of Parishes were due increases, and some were due decreases. The majority of Parishes who had been due a decrease in their Parish share for 2019 had decided to maintain their 2018 share payment, this would lessen the impact of increases on other Parishes. The Parish Share Scheme included a 0.5% for the Deanery Mission Fund, last year the figure had been 2.5% to build the fund up. 0.5% future contribution would allow the Fund to keep going. The plan was to build the Fund up this year and distribute it next year. The Deanery Mission Fund currently contains 12,557 out of a promised 23,000, meaning there is currently 11,000 outstanding. The Mission Fund Grant from the Diocese is 8,000, applications will be reviewed by the Standing Committee on the 19 th November. Parishes will then be advised if their applications have been approved and the funds distributed. The Area Dean advised the Synod that a copy of all Mission Fund Applications that had been submitted for 2018 were available at the meeting if anyone wanted to view them. The Mission Fund was to support projects that grow the church, the Area Dean would be available to speak with anyone who wanted to know more about the Fund and what types of applications could be made to it. The Parish Share for 2018 was proposed. A query was raised: Holy Trinity had not been represented at the Treasurer and Incumbents meeting on the 28 th October. The PCC had not had time to discuss the proposal and the representative was unsure whether they would approve it or not. The Deanery Treasurer advised them that as a representative at Synod, they had authority from the PCC to vote but that they could abstain from voting if they wanted to. Mission Fund Applications to be reviewed. The large majority were in favour of accepting the proposed Parish Share, there were 5 who abstained from voting. There were no votes against. The proposed Parish Share for 2019 was adopted by the Synod. Whilst on the subject of Parish Share the following questions were put to the Area Dean. Included are the key questions and discussion points. What was the likelihood of the new Church plant paying any contribution to the Parish Deanery Share? No figure that would appear in the Parish Share column for the first few years of the plant, however, the cost of the ministry that was coming into the Deanery was expected to be around 50,000. Would that be invested by the Diocese of Oxford? That would be invested by St Ebbes Church not the Diocese of Oxford. As a member of the Church of England established congregations work together within the Deanery, it was a concern that there is already an established congregation within the Deanery that is not contributing to the community or part of the fellowship within the community. It therefore was a legitimate concern that the new plant would continue this pattern. It was felt by some that this lack of participation was undermining the spiritual context of the Deanery, that is, working and sharing alongside each other as brothers and sisters. Having looked at the draft copy of the BMO it was hard to see if it would make a difference to how the new plant interacted with the rest of the Deanery. It would be good to know what the BMO was and how it worked and what update if any could be given on the St Ebbe s plant. 4

5 The Bishops Mission Order had been worked on by and would be submitted to the Bishop by Vaughan Roberts, the Incumbent at St Ebbes. The Bishop would make a decision on the BMO. The BMO would be there to make sure that structures were integrated into the process rather than alongside it. This was in relation to the BMO with the Cowley Plant. St Ebbes Headington were in the early stages of conversation about a BMO, there was nothing of substance of yet, although it would be good to work within a structure of a BMO to avoid the issues that have arisen. It is however a long term rather than a short-term action. had requested in the BMO that the Bishop would consult with the Standing Committee, although he does not have to fulfil this request. St Ebbe s is still looking for a minister to appoint to lead the plant, they will be interviewing again shortly. The Bishop will be involved in the interviewing process as will the Area Dean. In conversation this week Vaughan Roberts had expressed his intention to send the draft copy of the BMO to the Bishop this week. Would it be possible for the Standing Committee to invite St Ebbes to come and share their plans and their vision for working together? A conversation with them would be useful in building trust, if they could share their vision and plan and show how we could work together profitable that would be helpful. If there was the assurance that the intention behind the invitation was to deal with each other lovingly then Standing Committee could look at extending an invitation to St Ebbes. However occasionally in the past there had not been loving conversation and this was an issue. It is however important that there was a real conversation, in a loving conversation people should be able to express their concerns and have an honest discussion rather than just papering over the cracks. The Area Dean agreed with this, but these honest conversations needed to be polite and respectful. The main concern is that no one knows what is going on, there needs to be an opportunity to explore what is going on and see what the plan is so as a Deanery we can join in. There needs to be a time for questions, where the breadth of the issue can be discussed together in a big forum, this is necessary in order to be able progress. We need to be committed to honouring each other in our common ground as well as in our differences. It is the absence of information that is causing the most trouble. At the last Synod there were clear questions that were asked, there has been no response from St Ebbe s and the lack of answers had added heat to the fire. It was felt that whilst some members of Synod were upset about the new plant there were others who were supportive of and excited about it, time needed to be given to those who represent the other side and would welcome Vaughan and the plant into the Deanery. Whilst acknowledged that conversation had progressed, and people were beginning to say that they would want to welcome St Ebbe s into the Deanery there needs to be recognition of the concerns that are deep and legitimate. As a Deanery we are welcoming and welcome a diverse group of people into our churches and they feel safe, however there is a concern that with St Ebbe s moving into the Deanery and with their differences, certain people will not feel welcomed or safe. The fact that St 5

6 Ebbe s had been specifically mentioned on a recent radio programme as a church that might be forced to leave the Church of England due to a difference of opinion on certain issues had caused concern. How we as a Deanery see our faith and our discipleship of Jesus needs to be recognised. A Synod member requested that the following was minuted; I, myself do not feel safe as a gay woman being involved with a church who has signed a statement to say that I am not a Christian because I am gay. This church plant process had highlighted, for her, the need for trust to be built in at a Deanery level. If churches are going to plant into different Deaneries and Parishes, they need to work on building trust within them first- a point she had also raised at Bishop s Council. We need to look at to the example of St Aldates and St Mary s, it seems to have worked. From an early stage there had been lots of conversations and they had openly talked through what they wanted, St Marys were happy so when they made their appointment, he had a very clear role. The process needs to be open and transparent before it could move on. There needs to be a message back from St Ebbe s and the Deanery kept up to date with developments. The Area Dean took encouragement that there had been movement in wanting to engage in conversation about this topic, but it was important that the conversation keeps moving forward. It was to be noted that the transfer of information on this issue was a concern even for those who supported the plant. The Area Dean thanked Synod for engaging in discussion on this matter. 8. Deanery Business: 1. Laity Elections to Diocesan Synod The last election process had left one Laity vacancy. There was to be no election as thanks to a retraction of a nomination from a person already on the Diocesan Synod there was only one nomination. Millius Palaywia was the new Lay member to be elected to the Diocesan Synod. 2. Laity Election to Standing Committee. A vacancy had arisen on the Standing Committee for a Lay member. An election would be held to fill this vacancy, Laity were asked to pray and consider if they could take up this role. 3. Update on the St Ebbes Cowley plant- this had already been discussed under Finance, there was nothing further to add. 4. Poverty Audit. The Area Dean handed over to the Revd Elaine Bardwell, co-author of the Poverty Audit. The Poverty Audit had been completed, Max and Elaine had worked on it for a year. The report had been divided into 6 sections, these would be added to the Deanery website. For the Audit a questionnaire had been sent to all Parishes in the Cowley Deanery and the answers had been digested and a narrative written. The questionnaire had provided an accurate reflection of what was happening in the Deanery. The purpose of the report was not just to be an intellectual exercise but rather a way to highlight the needs of the Deanery and enable the church to help. The next step was to form a list of all the resources available in the Deanery and make it Election to fill Laity vacancy on standing committee. Poverty Audit to be uploaded to the Deanery website. 6

7 available to share, the Synod was asked if they had any information to add to the resources list of any ideas of who else to share the report with to contact Elaine. It was suggested that the Poverty Audit could be shared with the Diocesan Synod, someone had a connection with the William Templeton Foundation and a blog was also suggested. The Area Dean thanked Elaine for her hard work she had put into completing the Audit. 9. There were no other business matters :16 The Area Dean thanked all present for attending, the meeting closed with a recital of Fridays blessing for Cowley Deanery. The meeting closed at 9:17. Actions arising. Item 1 Minutes to be amended. Angela Cooper Item 2 Minutes to be signed by the Area Dean. Item 3 Mission Fund Applications to be reviewed. Cowley Deanery Standing Committee Item 4 Election to fill Laity vacancy on standing committee. Item 5 Poverty Audit to be uploaded to the Deanery website. 7