Diocese of Coventry DS 16/10 Coventry Diocesan Synod Minutes 21 June 2016 Minutes of a meeting of the Diocesan Synod held at the Bishop s House, Coventry. The Bishop of Coventry took the chair. 1. Opening worship and commissioning of the Lay Chairs of Deanery Synods Victoria Price, Intern to the Bishop of Coventry, led the opening worship. Bishop Christopher commissioned Lynn Arnold, Jonathan Ashton, Elizabeth Ashworth, Mark Perryman, Peter Rogers, Helen Simmonds, David Wigman and Andrew Williams as the Lay Chairs of the Deanery Synods, together with Orion Johnson, Barry Parker, Tom Walls and Fred Young in absentia. 2. Welcomes and apologies Bishop Christopher welcomed everyone to the Synod, in particular the Revd Tim Mitchell, the newly appointed Healthy Churches Development Mentor who would be taking over from Martin Saxby and the Acceler8 workers attending for item 6: Jonny Dant, Ali Hogger, Kim Morgan-Jones, Beks Rothnie, Rachel Saum, Mark Seabourne and Ian Sweeney. He noted the apologies from the Chair of the House of Laity, Graham Wright, who was unwell. 3. Minutes of the last meeting The minutes of the meeting on 7 November 2016 were approved. The Revd Ruth Walker, Chair of the House of Clergy, took the chair. 4. Presidential address Bishop Christopher addressed the Synod. The full text of his address can be found on the Diocesan website. 5. Rural Consultations Archdeacon Morris spoke to the Synod about the Rural Consultations process, which had begun with four open meetings held in June 2015. 160 people had attended and contributed and all of the comments made had been collated and circulated. This had been followed in November by a second round of consultations focussing specifically on generating ideas for action which could be taken. The suggestions made had been categorised into parish, benefice, deanery, diocese and national level actions and into actions which could be taken in the next 18 months and which would take longer. These suggestions would be published for people to consider whether any of these would be appropriate for their context. Morris said that he would consider arranging follow up consultations in 2017 to reflect on what progress has been made. Morris noted several key themes in the comments made, including restructuring and reducing the number of PCCs, the development of new forms of services and outreach, more support on caring for church buildings, help with websites and social media, and how to respond to new housing estates. A need for more lay training and development had also been raised. 1 of 7
6. Update on the Acceler8 project Archdeacon Morris updated the Synod on the Acceler8 project, which the Synod had agreed to support in March 2015. The subsequent funding application to the Church Commissioners had been successful and Morris told the Synod that job adverts had been placed shortly afterwards, for roles to build capacity to help churches with the 8 Essential Qualities across the diocese and for churchbased workers who would focus on reaching out to people in their 20s and 30s. Morris said that engagement with the 8 Essential Qualities had been increasing steadily and that 80% of clergy and 68% of parishes were now involved, from all traditions of church. This work had been led by the Healthy Churches Development Mentor, the Revd Martin Saxby. He would be retiring later in the year and his successor, the Revd Tim Mitchell, had already been appointed. A team of nine Acceler8 20s and 30s workers had also been appointed and Morris introduced Kim Morgan-Jones, who had spoken at the Diocesan Synod in March 2015 about the need to reach out to people in their 20s and 30s, and who was now leading that team. Kim told the Synod that she was very grateful for the chance to do this work and was excited by what was happening. She explained that the nine Acceler8 workers had been recruited to encourage the church in outreach to 20s and 30s, a missing group in many churches. She thanked the Synod for supporting the project and encouraged them to love and affirm the people in their 20s and 30s in their congregations. Six of the nine Acceler8 workers were present and Kim introduced Ian Sweeney, Mark Seabourne, Beks Rothnie, Jonny Dant, Rachel Saum and Ali Hogger, who spoke about what they had done and would be doing. Archdeacon Morris thanked them for what they had said and for their work. 7. Diocesan strategy and lay training Archdeacon Morris told the Synod that a major theme emerging from the Rural Consultations had been a need for particular types of lay training and resourcing. The same need had also been raised separately by the 8 Essential Qualities mentors. One of the strengths of the 8 Essential Qualities approach was that it was not programmatic and gave churches complete freedom to develop the best solution for their context. The need which had been identified was that it would be helpful for churches to have training and resources available to support this process by better equipping people for the nuts and bolts of church life. In May the Bishop s Council had discussed the possibility of a strategic initiative focussed on meeting this need and had agreed that Morris should explore this further. Morris had since raised the idea at the Support Fund meeting, where it had been strongly supported, and had had positive informal conversations with the Church Commissioners in London about a funding bid to finance this work. Morris had been invited to give a presentation on the 8 Essential Qualities to the Ebbsfleet Lay Congress, after which the Ebbsfleet community were also interested in being involved. He explained that Synod would be asked to consider a motion to support this work being taken further and noted that, while ideally this would have first been considered again by the Bishop s Council, the Council s meeting was later that week. Bishop Christopher spoke, saying that while it would have been good for the Bishop s Council meeting to be before the Synod, this would allow the Synod to feed into the Council s discussions. 2 of 7
He told the Synod that he was currently reflecting on three questions relating to diocesan strategy. Andy Brookes, the Interim Diocesan Secretary, had raised the issue of ensuring that the resources of the Diocese are properly aligned with the strategy. Whether the current work on strategy was sufficiently inclusive of all the key areas of activity in the Diocese was also being considered and Bishop Christopher noted the need for an integrated strategic approach which covered all the different areas. He said that Bishop s Council was to be presented with a proposal for the creation of a small group led by him, which would steer this work. The third question was how to meet the perceived lay training need and the possibility of putting in a bid for strategic funding. Bishop Christopher asked the Synod to divide into discussion groups, in particular to consider the second and third of the questions he had raised. Sheets had been distributed with two questions: whether there are any key areas of Diocesan life which should be considered within the strategy that are not already listed on the question sheet; and whether nuts and bolts lay training should be recognised as important in the strategy for growing healthy churches in the Diocese. The written feedback from the group discussions is attached to these minutes as an appendix. Morris was asked to expand on what was meant by nuts and bolts training and he gave the examples of keeping accounts, administrative tasks, website design and social media. Ruth asked the Synod to consider this motion, in support of an application for strategic funding: This Synod: - recognising the importance of nuts and bolts lay training in relation to delivery of the 8EQs to be an essential next step in the strategy of health and growth of churches in the Diocese of Coventry, - welcomes the forthcoming discussion at Bishop s Council on the strategic importance of lay training and its consideration of a bid for Strategic Development Funding to help resource such training. The motion was proposed by Bryan Pratt (Southam), seconded by Michael Newey (Alcester) and was passed with no votes against and one abstention. 8. Offa House Bishop Christopher gave the Synod an update on the work to determine the future of Offa House. At the time of the last Synod using the House as short-term welcome accommodation for Syrian refugees being resettled in the UK under the government s Vulnerable Persons Relocation scheme had been being considered. Bishop Christopher told the Synod that, while well received, unfortunately this proposal had not been taken forwards and a new proposal for the House to instead provide accommodation for asylum seekers had been put forward by the Home Office. This was a very different concept and Bishop Christopher said that a lot of work had gone into considering it with the Home Office and their service providers, G4S. He told the Synod that at a meeting on Thursday the Bishop s Council would discuss whether to continue to explore this option. The other possibilities for the house were either to sell it or to bring it back into use as a centre for spiritual life and proposals to further explore those options would also be discussed by the Bishop s Council. It was also possible that a like-minded partner would be found who the Diocese could work with at Offa House and efforts to find such a partner were ongoing. 3 of 7
Ruth Walker encouraged the Synod to pray for the Council s meeting on Thursday. Roderick Clark (Warwick and Leamington) noted that the condition of the House was deteriorating and asked that a decision to either reopen or sell it should be taken swiftly. 9. [Annual General Meeting of the Coventry Diocesan Board of Finance Minutes of the DBF s Annual General Meeting in 2015 Approving the minutes of the Annual General Meeting held on 16 June 2015 was proposed by Richard Adams (Shipston), seconded by Peter Rogers (Nuneaton) and was approved unanimously. Report and Financial Statements for the year to 31 December 2015 The Chair of the Diocesan Board of Finance, Canon Ian Francis, presented the Report and Financial Statements for the year to 31 December 2015 to the Synod. He put the following motion: a) That the Report and Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2015 be received ; and b) that the appointment of RSM UK Audit LLP as Auditor of the Company shall be renewed until the next Annual General Meeting and that the Directors be authorised to fix the remuneration of the Auditor. This was proposed by Peter Gregory-Hood (Fosse), seconded by Bryan Pratt (Southam) and passed unanimously. Chair of the Audit Committee The Synod approved the appointment of Mr Stephen Copley as chair of the Audit Committee. End of the AGM of the Coventry Diocesan Board of Finance Limited. The accuracy of the minutes of the AGM will be considered at the AGM in 2017.] 10. Diocesan Board of Education Report and Financial Statements Mr David Wigman (Warwick and Leamington), a member of the Diocesan Board of Education, said that unfortunately the Chair and Secretary of the Board had had to send their apologies. He presented the Board s accounts for the year to 31 December 2015 and put the following motion: That the Report and Financial Statements of Coventry Diocesan Board of Education for the year ended 31 December 2015 be noted. This was proposed by Bryan Pratt (Southam), seconded by Ali Massey (Shipston) and was passed. 11. Promulgation of Amending Canon 34 The Registrar promulged Amending Canon 34, which made a number of provisions to strengthen the Church of England s position in relation to safeguarding. 12. President s business Bishop Christopher spoke to the Synod. He said that there is a huge amount of activity on Safeguarding at present, both because of the national Goddard enquiry and a Church of England audit of the Diocese of Coventry which would take place in December. He thanked those who were involved in preparing for this, including Carol Clarke, Helen Tebbatt and Andy Brookes, the Interim Diocesan Secretary. 4 of 7
He told the Synod that a careful process to recruit a new Diocesan Secretary had taken place and he hoped to make an announcement in the near future. He thanked Andy Brookes, the Interim Diocesan Secretary, saying he had been enjoying working with him. Bishop Christopher also thanked everyone who had been involved in the recent Support Fund meeting, saying that he was told it had been a really productive meeting with a profound spiritual dynamic at work. Bishop Christopher asked for prayers for the General Synod representatives in July, as they would be taking part in shared conversations on mission, scripture and human sexuality. He said that it was an achievement that the Church was having these conversations, but that involvement in them was costly, and he thanked those who had taken part in the regional conversations. He also thanked everyone who had supported the pilgrimage of prayer and the Beacon service at the Cathedral, saying that these had been a blessing to him and he thought to the diocese. 13. Date of next meeting and dismissal It was noted that the next meeting would be held on Saturday 5 November and Bishop Christopher concluded the meeting with the dismissal. Attendance: Bishops: 2; Clergy: 28; Laity: 39 Signed: Date: Appendix: Discussion Group notes from item 7 Question 1 There is an increasing sense across the Diocese that although we have a clear strategy for church health and growth based on the 8EQs, there are many areas of activity within the Diocese which need to be prioritised and more integrated strategically. These include (in no particular order): Schools and Academies (DBE and MAT) New Housing Estates Rural Strategy Pioneering Churches Resource Church Plants (potentially linked to HTB) Together for Change and regeneration across the Diocese Increase in Curacies Lay Training Developments Church buildings development (or closure) Diocesan leadership structure (including Area Deans), resourcing and governance Coventry Cathedral Clergy engagement, spiritual renewal and wellbeing Mission in low income communities Stewardship Development of Glebe land Can you think of anything else which needs to be considered as we try to integrate and prioritise strategically? 5 of 7
Answers to Question 1 Focus on workplace / workplace outreach x3 Chaplaincy support, all areas (work, education, hospitals, forces, etc.) x2 Ministry to the elderly x3 Ministry amongst disability Working across parish boundaries Children's ministry Explain the concept / ideas. Place of rural training? Use of sabbatical? Is the list too long? Reduce to summarise areas. E.g. 1) clergy needs, 2) lay training, 3) plant, 4) financial growth, 5) etc., and then prioritise. Mission shaped communities (addition to Pioneering Churches bullet point) Add "Lay Chairs" to Diocesan Leadership Structure bullet point Need to all pull together Care of clergy Mothers' Union Reader ministry Home group leaders (modern day deacons) Children's, youth and families work x2 Something about children --> teenagers Work in non-church schools x2 Occasional offices (huge for outreach!) Integration of immigrants Marketing of NCD - integrated Environment / stewardship of creation Our place in society Parish boundaries / new parishes Social responsibility Reconciliation Interfaith Well-being of clergy - body, mind and spirit Spiritual renewal, refresher of the body of Christ - all people in Diocese Readers/ role of Lay Readers, growth of lay leadership x2 Addressing cultural shift away from regular commitments and fluidity of people's lives - nonprioritising of church activities Adapting communication strategies to suit "new media" rather than meetings Use of social media + web cohesion Supporting small communities by large Spiritual direction + retreat; renewal and refreshment of people in the Diocese Leadership structures at all areas of diocese i.e. parishes Open the Book Pre-schools and carers Urban strategy (alongside rural) Messy Church Addition to church buildings development (or closure): + its uses. Buildings money not ministry 6 of 7
Question 2 Do you recognise 'nuts and bolts' lay training relating to the 8 Essential Qualities to be an important next step in the strategy for the health and growth of churches in the Diocese of Coventry? Answers to Question 2 5 of the 15 sheets had 'Yes' or equivalent written on them. Most made some other comments: Yes, and also about training lay leaders who will work alongside their clergy and in their stead at times Agree with 'nuts and bolts' training. What is it? o Role in services? o Skills of being in PCC? o Children's / youth work? o Church warden training? o Music leading? o Administration? o Outreach? o Pastoral care? o Funerals? What does nuts and bolts mean? Is this Christian basics or an introduction to NCD-8EQs? o Emphasis seems to be training to "do" church o Emphasis is not as important as the gospel - need to be freed up to "be" church. The right people. Curates but not really as 'spare' capacity. Many more ways of 'training' are now available. Can be overkill - need to be considerate of time. Children's + youth training. Intergenerational training in history of C of E / liturgy. General evangelism training. Mental health. Diversity of Diocese. New housing, larger outreach at once. Community support mentoring. Spiritual gifts. Training of parishes to learn from each other. Fundraising training. Accounting. Need to identify "right" people. Membership of a church should lead to activity. Don't use secular gifts enough in church setting - discovery of gifts. Helping people to see that they all can have a vocation to something. As well as training leadership, practical stuff. Also "making disciples who can make disciples". Re: "relating to the 8 Essential Qualities": Needs to be broader: Children's ministry etc. doesn t fit intuitively for example and it needs to be seen as important. What is 'Nuts and Bolts' training - duties. How long is this training going on? Is this across the board or 20s-30s, or rural? Will it be based on initial knowledge? "Nuts and bolts" - for example under effective structures training for secretaries, treasurers, churchwardens, minute taking. Training for sharing our faith informally and also far more formal situations, leading of worship - confidence building. Practical training for parish officers. Rigid acceptance in training - lots more flexible. Training by doing - how does that get recognised? Lay training is vital as clergy - how to encourage people to train, let go, be willing to help others develop. Empowering through finances ministry etc. to allow risk taking. Other comments How do we focus on just a few areas to define better the strategy? Need a strategy to group these priorities 1st list is very long - we must prioritise, therefore focus ruthlessly on utilising existing lay leadership and (licensed) Readers. Group them under HR? Opportunity? Funding? But in the crunch - focus on Mission, not maintenance - i.e. structures to support mission Vision must come from the bottom up 7 of 7