archdeacons visitation news

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1 Diocese of Manchester archdeacons visitation news Spring issue 12 Dear friends... Welcome to the 2016 edition of Archdeacons Visitation News. We are grateful to Ecclesiastical for once again producing this newsletter free of charge to the diocese. The Church is made up of those who have responded and continue to respond to Jesus Christ s call to follow me. As with those first disciples, Jesus comes alongside us and invites us on a life-long journey of discovery. We may not remember the first time that we said yes to that invitation. Indeed, it may well have been said on our behalf at our baptism, but living as faithful disciples requires us to continue to say yes each and every day as Jesus leads us through the ups and downs of life and draws us ever closer to him. A disciple has been variously described as a pupil or an apprentice; someone who sits at the feet of a teacher in order to learn and to grow in understanding. Jesus s first disciples lived literally alongside him, watching what he did, listening to what he said and experiencing the extraordinary fruits of his ministry. Similarly, we too are invited each day to place ourselves in Jesus s presence through prayer and through intentionally opening our hearts and minds to his Spirit. Gradually, and often with the help of others, we too learn to see his hand at work, begin to recognise his voice and to grow in our understanding of his will for our lives. This is as true for churches as it is for individual Christians. Of course, we fail, sometimes spectacularly, as did Saint Peter. At times, we are tired, lukewarm and half-hearted in our response. At others, our faith and our eagerness to follow are challenged to the limit. But Jesus is always alongside to hold out his hand to us, to pick us up and dust us down, and to say, Come, follow me. It is at those times that we often learn most about what it means to be a disciple. As you embark on another year of witness and service as disciples of Jesus, we pray that you will support and encourage one another on this journey of discovery; that you will grow in grace and in faith as you continue to say yes to wherever it is that Jesus leads you; and that above all you will learn together what it means to love one another. For Jesus says to all of us: Love one another as I have loved you. By this, everyone will know that you are my disciples. May God richly bless you and your church families this coming year. Cherry Vann Archdeacon of Rochdale Training opportunities The Archdeacons have arranged the following training sessions, to be held in the Training Suite at Church House, 90 Deansgate, Manchester M3 2GH. Churchwardens training Monday 27 June 7pm 9pm Monday 10 October 2pm 4pm PCC Secretaries training Wednesday 21 September 7pm 9pm PCC Training The Archdeacons are also willing to offer training to PCCs on a parish or deanery level. The Venerable David Bailey Archdeacon of Bolton The Venerable Cherry Vann Archdeacon of Rochdale The Venerable Mark Ashcroft Archdeacon of Manchester The Venerable David Sharples Archdeacon of Salford Produced and printed by

2 We are an Easter people and Alleluia is our song (St. Augustine of Hippo). Fourth-century Christians learned songs and liturgies by heart. Things are a bit different now. the publication to see if a licence is required. If it is, then the Copyright Licensing Agency (CLA) Church Licence will cover you. If you or others perform live music or play commercial music recordings on church premises outside of acts of worship, you need to invest in a PRS for Music Church Licence. To play commercial music recordings outside of acts of worship, say at coffee mornings or parent and toddler groups, you will also need the PPL Church Licence. Christian Copyright Licensing International or CCLI has been a familiar part of the Church landscape for many years now (in fact since 1988). For most of us this involves the annual renewal of the licence which gives us permission to well to do what exactly? You may not be aware that CCLI produces no fewer than SIX different licences. So which one(s) does your church need? Read on When we sing from an individual hymn or song book and there are enough books for each member of the congregation, we do not need a licence. Increasingly, however, congregations produce their own song sheets or reproduce words on a weekly service sheet. If you print song or service sheets, make OHP acetates or store song lyrics on a computer that are then displayed on a projection screen, you will need the most basic licence, which is the Church Copyright Licence (CCL). In addition, if you photocopy music or words from many hymn books and worship song books you will also need the Music Reproduction Licence (MRL). We all know the value of photocopying puzzles, games, study materials, drama scripts etc. for Sunday Schools and home groups. Before you do so, you should check And finally a well-chosen film clip played during a sermon or study group can be a very powerful way to communicate. We may want to show an entire film as a tool to reach out to people or simply as part of a social event. If so, you will require the Church Video Licence (CVL). Don t forget that in order to calculate the royalties due to song owners, authors and artists, we are required to fill in an annual Copy Report. CCLI is working hard to make sure that the songwriters and musicians are properly rewarded for their work, thus enabling them to continue to write words and music to inspire us and give glory to God. They also want to make licences as fair and simple as possible. For more information, go to its website churches.uk.ccli.com where you will find all you need. There is even a quick Church Health Check to help you work out which licences you need. Looking For Help? Help is at hand for churchwardens and other parish officers in the form of a number of useful publications and websites. General Guides A Handbook for Churchwardens and Parochial Church Councillors by Kenneth MacMorran & Timothy J Briden (Mowbray) is the standard reference book, but there are alternatives. Covering similar ground are Churchwardens A Survival Guide by Martin Dudley & Virginia Rounding (SPCK) and The Churchwarden s Handbook A Practical Guide by Ian Russell and Helen Elliot (Kevin Mayhew). Practical Church Management by James Behrens (Gracewing), which is now in a 3rd Edition (2014), also comes highly recommended and at the moment is possibly the most up to date of this group of general guides to practical and legal aspects of church life. Also available is The Churchwarden s Yearbook, a diary covering a calendar year, full of information, which can be ordered from enquiries@churchwardenbooks.co.uk Your Archdeacon should have further details. Church Buildings and Churchyards A useful recent publication on looking after your church building (and churchyard) is Caring for your Church Building by James Halsall (Kevin Mayhew). It includes very clear guidance on faculty procedures and advice on improvements, reordering and grant funding. More detailed advice on looking after your churchyard can be found in The Churchyard Handbook, edited by Thomas Cocke (Church House Publishing). It will be particularly useful to churchwardens and clergy responsible for open churchyards and includes advice on memorials, burial of cremated remains and management of trees. Finance and Governance The Church Treasurer s Handbook by Robert Leach (Canterbury Press) would be a useful acquisition for your hard-working Treasurer, and every parish should have a copy of the latest edition of PCC Accountability The Charities Act 2011 and the PCC (Church House Publishing), which gives authoritative guidance on the preparation and examination of your annual financial statements and report. Another essential requirement for the parish is a copy of the latest edition (currently 2011) of Church Representation Rules (Church House Publishing), which govern the activities of the Parochial Church Council and Deanery and Diocesan Synods. Websites Nowadays, of course, most of us look online for information and advice, and so it s worth having bookmarks in your browser for some of the most relevant websites: the diocesan website, of course, but also for all matters relating to church buildings, and for administration and finance (with excellent advice and information for Treasurers).

3 St. Mary s, Radcliffe There when you need us The end of 2015 was a traumatic time for many of our customers in Cumbria, Lancashire and Yorkshire. Extreme bad weather and floodwater caused by Storms Desmond, Eva, and Frank devastated many communities including their churches. In total, 70 churches we insure were badly affected by floodwater, often many feet deep. At times of major incidents like this, our claims team pull out all the stops to provide quick and effective support to affected customers. This includes sending out our specialist claims handlers to meet customers, assess their situation and help with any immediate needs, such as providing emergency funds or securing alternative accommodation. We also use the services of loss adjusters who work closely with us to help churches after major events. In this case we brought in our specialist restoration partners Richfords Fire & Flood who sent in an expert team from Cornwall, more than 400 miles from the affected areas! A sensitive response to Boxing Day misery St. Mary s, Radcliffe, Greater Manchester, is a Grade I listed building dating back to the 13th century. On the morning of 26 December 2015, the nearby River Irwell burst its banks, swamping the church along with hundreds of nearby properties. The flood water, at its peak, was waist high in the church so we sent in our specialist cleaning teams who started work to clear-up the devastation and with the help of our documentation specialists, we removed, for restoration, the delicate books, records and other artefacts that were damaged. According to Rev Hayden: Everyone (at Ecclesiastical) has been amazing; they ve taken away a huge amount of the pressure. Ecclesiastical and their partners have gone over and above what I would ever have expected they re so sensitive to working in a church building it s made our life much easier as a result. Flooding in your church and associated properties can cause inconvenience and heartache to your church community. It s impossible to fully flood-proof your church properties, but there are some simple actions you can take to reduce the damage a flood may cause on our website at Serving our customers We survey you, our church customers on a regular basis to make sure we are continuing to deliver the service you have come to expect from us. If you ve called Ecclesiastical with a church query you will have spoken to our friendly customer service team. The team only deal with church insurance and are on hand to give you expert support no matter what the question. Out of all the customers we surveyed, we were delighted that 98% (684 responses) were satisfied with our service. FAITH CLAIMS SURVEY % SATISFACTION Of course, how we handle claims is critical for our church customers and we were very pleased to see that satisfaction with our church claims handling in 2015 is now at 99% (393 responses) of all settled claims we surveyed. To back up our customer satisfaction scores, we were also delighted to be awarded Corporate Chartered Insurer status which means that we have been recognised for our professional commitment, service and ethical approach that places clients interests at the heart of the service we provide. Recovery after a flood If the worse happens and you are flooded make sure you: contact our claims team on: for specialist advice on drying out, cleaning up and repairs take photographs of flood damage be aware that flood water could be contaminated keep any damaged items until our claims team say it is ok to destroy them. We will work with you to get your building back in use as soon as possible.

4 The wisdom of crowds Situated in a beautiful rural setting on the Isle of Man, St. Mark s church needed to raise 9,000 to install an LPG gas boiler and convert an old WC into a disabled toilet and shower room. Looking for new fundraising ideas for your church? We were overwhelmed by the number 424 and quality of entries to our fundraising competition last year. There were so many great ideas that we wanted to share some of the most innovative with our customers. We are committed to supporting the churches that are at the heart of so many communities across the country and so we have made 25 of these ideas available to read or download on our website. The ideas include the winning entries but also those judged to be most helpful to churches looking for new ideas. Read just one of these ideas opposite. Plus, we have analysed all the entries and picked out the top tips for organising and publicising events. To see all the case studies, please visit fundraising Alongside traditional fundraising events, the PCC decided to turn to social media, using a crowdfunding website to invite people to pledge a donation. They were unaware just how successful the approach would be, as the crowdfunding not only quickly met its target, but led to a number of other benefits too. For a crowdfunding appeal, charities have to offer something in return to thank their supporters. St. Marks offered the ability to use a shared space that would be for everyone, not just the church. The idea caught on with people from beyond the congregation, and during the TT races, the vicar was even interviewed on local TV as the church offered the new space as a refuge for bikers visiting the island. The space is now used by a range of organisations beyond the church, including New fundraising ideas local cyclists and motorsports groups, as well as the Isle of Man Post Office, which uses the hall for business meetings. A social media campaign to promote the crowdfunding got St. Marks noticed further afield, and the parish is now forging a relationship with the Trustees of St. Omer s Trust in Liverpool who are keen to provide escape breaks for family groups. It has brought the local population together too, a priceless achievement in such a rural community. The World Wide Web has made all the difference to this global village. Find out about our 2016 Community use of Church Buildings competition and how to enter at churchcomp Peter Killey Emily Draper, Stonemason Emily originally trained in Fine Art and is an incredibly driven and interesting individual, who does not fit the stereotype of a traditional stonemason. Emily Draper She is a stonemason at Worcester Cathedral, where she is in year three of a five-year course. She is employed by the Cathedral and is on a degree course sponsored by Ecclesiastical under the auspices of the Cathedrals Workshop Fellowship (CWF). The partnership between nine cathedrals and the University of Gloucestershire has been supported for the last four years by Ecclesiastical. The students are nominated by their cathedrals and they study a range of work-based subjects, including ornamental carving, stone selection and geometry, architecture, archaeology, structural engineering and practical conservation techniques, for just less than two years. Also included is a tailored personal development programme, which the course graduates have all found highly valuable. With HRH The Prince of Wales as its patron, and Ecclesiastical s support, the Fellowship s immediate future looks positive and thanks to the CWF the nation will continue to produce master stonemasons whose traditions reach back over a thousand years, yet whose eyes are firmly on the future.

5 Allchurches Trust (ATL) Supporting the Church of England Baptism and Funeral projects ATL provides support to many churches and charities through its grant programmes and also helps support some large special projects. One example of a special grant is for the Church of England funerals and baptisms projects which are aimed at increasing the engagement of the church with these key life events. You can read more about these projects below. Let s talk about death GraveTalk, the Church of England s café space to talk about death, dying and funerals, was launched through the Funerals Project and is making a big impact across the country. It is organised by the local church and can be held in a hall, a home or a real café. At each event, a pack of GraveTalk questions are distributed there are no answers, just conversation. And it s open to people of all faiths and doubts. The Rev d Mark Salmon successfully introduced it in Harlescott and said: Marking space for people to remember loved ones and talk about death through GraveTalk is becoming part of the life of our parishes we look forward to making this a part of our long-term pastoral care plan. Sandra Millar added: The taboo of talking about death is coming under challenge and the Church of England is well-placed to be part of that momentum. If you d like to know more, visit article/gravetalk The birth of a child and the death of someone we love couldn t be more different in the spectrum of human life experience, yet they re both significant moments when the ministry of the Church of England can really make a difference. Baptism and funerals have been the focus of two major projects of the Archbishops Council, supported by a grant from Allchurches Trust. Extensive, independent research into these life events and offering specially produced resources to support ministry across Church of England parishes lies at the heart of the work. Every year the Church of England conducts over an average of 3,000 funeral ceremonies and 2,000 child baptisms every week. Together with weddings, this offers contact with half a million people each week a huge opportunity show the welcome of the church and God s grace and truth, in times of joy and celebration, as well as in moments of sadness and grief. The Rev d. Canon Dr Sandra Millar, Head of Projects & Developments, and her team have been presenting to dioceses all over the country, sharing all that s been learned through the research and explaining how the new resources can help. Sandra said: Being there for people at every stage of life is at the heart of parish ministry, whether it is discovering the good news of Jesus at the start of a life, or realising the comforting presence of God in times of sorrow. Reflecting on how we approach these core ministries can make a real difference to the local church. There are two new websites for the general public: christenings.org, and funerals.org which offer information and advice to those organising and/or attending a baptism or a funeral. And offers churches the research findings, access to customisable printed resources, plus shared ideas and articles, all in one place. There s even an online reminder system, to help churches keep track of services, related finances and to follow up with contacts already made a key driver of church growth. For more information, and to find an event near you, visit Keeping in touch Following a Baptism project presentation in the Diocese of Durham, Curate Bryony Taylor, from Houghton-le-Spring, wanted to share her experiences via the Church Support Hub website. She was inspired to learn that 9/10 people say they welcome contact from the church after their child s baptism but churches could do better with staying in touch over the longer term. She said: People do actually want what we re offering, they do want the good news, but we ve been hiding our light under a bushel for too long. Keeping in touch need not be complicated or time consuming, so I decided to share some really simple, low-cost things we d done to keep in touch with families in our parish. See Bryony s Article here: baptisms/articles To find out more about Allchurches Trust visit or call or atl@allchurches.co.uk

6 Don t Forget Keeping up to date Don t forget our Church Matters website has a wide range of information, guidance and tools you can use to help you look after your church. We can also insure your home! Just call us for a quote on or go online at churchworker Full of risk management guidance and useful information, you can quickly find out about important topics like health and safety. Many customers also now get regular updates by just let us have your address if you too would like to be updated in this way. For further information: Our website: Customer services: call or churches@ecclesiastical.com Claims: call (24-hour service) or churchclaims@ecclesiastical.com Our customer service lines are normally open Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm, except for bank holidays. However, claims can be registered at any time during the day or night. Building Works Made Simple Churches call us all the time for advice about works they are having planned so we have introduced another in our Made Simple guide series to provide help and advice about the insurance implications. Arson advice for churches from Loyd Grossman OBE The guide sets out when you need to contact us and the issues that might arise, such as different types of contract, hot works and scaffolding. Our website also includes simple forms to complete where you need to apply for confirmation of insurance cover to get faculty approval and for you to tell us about more significant building projects. Just visit where you can view this and the other guides in the series. website explains what clients need to do and you can find out more in our Building Works Made Simple Guide. We have enlisted the help of Loyd Grossman OBE, Chairman of The Churches Conservation Trust, to present a new video for us on the major disruption that arson can bring to churches and their communities. Arson poses a major security challenge for church communities. Fires can be started deliberately, either by arsonists or thieves concealing their crime and churches are often viewed as a soft target. In the event of a serious fire, a church may take 2-3 years or more to fully restore causing major disruption to services and other church activities. Loyd explores these issues and provides some practical tips to reduce the risk of arson affecting your church. Visit our website at to find out more and also download our arson checklist. The Construction (Design and Management) (CDM) Regulations 2015 Don t forget, if your church is employing a contractor you have duties under the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations The Regulations aim to protect the health and safety of people working in construction and others who may be affected by their activities. The Health & Safety Executive (HSE) Independent Financial Advice Do you need help with your finances? Ecclesiastical Financial Advisory Services can offer you totally independent financial advice on investments, retirement and protection. They can also help parishes who have funds to invest. Please note, the value of investments can fall as well as rise and past performance is not a guide to future performance. For more information call: or getadvice@ecclesiastical.com

7 MSEs Enriching the Church Expressing faith in our work should come naturally to Christians (as it often does to devout Jewish and Islamic colleagues). Mission goes beyond the passive personal holiness to actively seeking change in our workplace and in our work itself. This may be through formal bodies such as a trades union, employee panel or social group, but will often be informal. What sets our contribution apart is our faith in God and the values following from that which we bring to our work. It also lies in recognising what God is already doing where we work. In the workplace, Ministers in Secular Employment model ways of changing the relational dynamic so that each person and their contribution is valued. This means a loving recognition, driven by faith, of each person s worth. There is an added value where an MSE is known as a minister, a Belief that God had a place for me in ministry kept my ties strong with the Church. I grew in faith and cemented my conviction that the right time would come. I believe God ordained me as a wife, mother, teacher/headteacher. Skills and abilities acquired, empathy and enthusiasm applied, were to equip me with gifts for Church ministry. People can live out their faith and spirituality whether ordained or lay in the home, the workplace, through sports and hobbies. Following early retirement and greater involvement in lay ministry, I accepted God s church official. This gives permission to others to express their faith in their work. I find myself using the pastoral cycle (learning, action, experience, theological reflection) every day at work as a tax professional in HM Revenue & Customs. Within the churches, MSEs can help equip members to live out their faith at work, to discern where they can influence how the office, factory or warehouse works, as a community and a business, and to recognise that we are all loved by God. MSEs can act as mentors to those called to MSE or in equipping church leaders to support the day-to-day ministry of their congregations, not least when they are at work. Much of ministry training focuses on what goes on within the church building, rather than on equipping members for mission outside. Yet mission is essentially outward looking, to where people are. We spend much of our lives in our workplace, where we meet and work alongside others. We need to learn to think outside the church box. As James puts it (1: 22), let us be doers of the word, not hearers only for we help build the Kingdom of God by living it, not least within the workplace. Rob Fox Revd Dot Fair, Holy Rood Church, Swinton I was twelve when my brother died and God s presence in my life as comforter, encourager, supporting my growing faith, strengthened my awareness of the need for pastoral care for others. Here were set the foundations for my life path. call to ordination as a part-time OLM. I was excited by the fresh challenges ahead, though apprehensive to be a student again! Relief! My calling was to be fulfilled. Ordained in 2011 and shared ministry with my incumbent enabled awesome opportunities exploring specific ministries to enrich the Church s mission. With more hours available, while still caring for granddaughters, I was privileged to become House for Duty, Priestin-Charge four years later. I am committed to building disciples for Jesus, whoever they may be. Team building and mutual support are vital to achieving this. Congregations and the wider community all have roles to play. I strive to encourage and support everyone inclusively to identify, nurture and use their gifts and talents in service for God. SSM ministry Ordained in 2007, I am called to serve as an Ordained Local Minister at St. John the Evangelist, Pendlebury. I am also called to be Pastoral Team Leader at an inner city CE primary school in Salford. Being an OLM enables me to serve in my home church with people I already have relationships with or with people in my community who trust that I understand where they are coming from and the issues they may face in daily life. In school, my overarching role is to remove barriers to learning for the children. Many of our children have social and emotional needs and I have witnessed firsthand God s love reaching out to them in many diverse ways. This may also be by offering support to parents who for many reasons are finding life difficult. I feel immensely privileged when staff ask to speak to me about often deeply personal things and accept prayer for their own circumstances. When facing challenges at work, church or home, I often turn to: Be strong in the Lord, and in His mighty power. Ephesians 6:10. My own personal challenge comes in managing time, especially in time to simply be still with God. It is an immense privilege and joy to serve as an OLM, while recognising that everything is in God s hands and that I am called to abide in Him wherever and however He calls me to serve, whether that is church, community, school or family. Jackie Brandreth

8 Changes to the faculty system Two significant changes are happening to the faculty system this year that we hope will make life simpler and less bureaucratic for parishes when you want to do work on your church or in the churchyard. One is the introduction of Lists A and B Lists A and B came into operation as part of the law of the land at the beginning of January. There have been some training sessions on this already and information is on the ChurchCare website at churches/faculty-rules-2015 List A items are very similar to the old de minimis list detailing the items of minor repairs that a parish can simply get on with without faculty or further consultation. A new List B has been drawn up and is found on the same website where the Archdeacon can give the go ahead after consulting the DAC or one of the DAC specialists. In effect, this is part one of the old faculty process, so we get the good advice from the experts on the DAC but don t have the burden of the full faculty petition and public notice. It is quicker and simpler. Everything not on Lists A or B still requires a faculty. If in doubt, consult your Archdeacon or the DAC Secretary. The second change is the introduction of the online faculty system The diocese should have this up and running this year. We want to encourage you to use this system as it guides you through the faculty process and is quicker and simpler. For the online system, anyone wanting to use the system is required to register on the website at facultyonline.churchofengland.org This enables you to set up an account very simply. Any parish member can set up an account if you are the buildings person in your church, but if you are not already recognised as a churchwarden or incumbent by the diocese, checks would be made to ensure that you have the authority to do this. Once registered, you can create a case file for each application, whether it is List A or B or full faculty. The website takes you through all the steps you need to take, beginning with a summary of the case and creating a case number, so that you can go back to it and add further bits of information and review what still needs to be done. Other people such as your architect can also register and upload drawings and technical information, provided the files are sufficiently small in size. One of the benefits of doing it online is that much of the standard information about your church is already in place on the website. Equally, your statements of significance from previous applications will still be there, and can be updated or tweaked as you go along. You also know exactly where your application has got to and you can receive s telling you if something new has been added to your application. It is helpful to note the List A works that you undertake on the same website to keep your records straight. The Church of England has produced an excellent and detailed user manual that can be accessed at facultyonline.churchofengland. org/user-manuals If you don t wish to use the online system, the paper method is still perfectly acceptable and you can either download the forms from the ChurchCare website or contact the DAC Secretary for the appropriate forms on Whilst Ecclesiastical has used reasonable endeavours to ensure that the information in this newsletter is correct at the time of publication, please note: (a) the information is not intended to constitute a definitive or complete statement of the law on any subject, (b) the information may over the course of time become incorrect or out of date; and (c) neither Ecclesiastical Insurance Office plc. nor its subsidiaries can accept any responsibility or liability for action taken or losses suffered as a result of reliance placed on the information provided in this newsletter. For more information call churches@ecclesiastical.com visit Ecclesiastical Insurance Office plc (EIO) Reg. No Ecclesiastical Insurance Group plc (EIG) Reg. No Ecclesiastical Life Ltd (ELL) Reg. No E.I.O. Trustees Ltd Reg. No All companies are registered in England at Beaufort House, Brunswick Road, Gloucester, GL1 1JZ, UK. EIO and ELL are authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority. Ecclesiastical Insurance Office plc /16