Welcome to the Annual Review

Welcome to the Ripon and Leeds review of the year of ‘Inspiring Hope’. This was the title of the clergy and lay staff conference in June and the theme of hope running through this review makes it clear that hope is not a searching in the dark, but the expression of God’s love poured into our hearts (Romans 5 v5).

May - Readers: The ministry of Readers in the diocese was affirmed in May with a special service at the Cathedral. More than one hundred Readers were being re-licensed to continue their ministry. Readers are lay church members from all walks of life, who are theologically trained and licensed to preach, teach, lead worship and assist in pastoral and evangelistic work.

July - Vocations: Seven deacons were ordained at the Cathedral - in a year which has seen the DDO team and Vocations’ Advisers consider further ways of fostering vocations within the diocese including meeting with clergy to assist them in recognising and encouraging vocations. At present we have 12 candidates in training and 22 within the discernment process.

June - Inspiring Hope: More than 200 clergy and lay delegates returned to their parishes with renewed hope and purpose following ‘In-spiring Hope, the three yearly diocesan confer-ence at Swanwick in Derbyshire. The Bishop of Chelmsford and academic and broadcaster, Dr. Elaine Storkey, were keynote speakers and there was a packed menu of talks, Bible stud-ies, workshops, films, live music, and art.

August - Ambition for Mission: This was the overall title given to a new project to develop a strategy for growth. Three task groups were set up to focus on: clergy and lay deployment; responding to financial challenges; and innova-tions in ministry. These groups will be reporting back during early 2012.

This exciting hope was reflected in the October lay conference on ‘change’, exploring the way in which our confidence in God enables us to trust him for the future as change affects our personal, commu-nity and church lives. May that hope inspire all of us in 2012.

+John

Clergy Development: The ministerial devel-opment of clergy was supported by consulta-tions, events and residential courses through 2011. These programmes sought to assist clergy to respond positively to three challenges facing the Church (identified by the Archbish-ops’ Council) – reimagining ministry, growing healthy and sustainable churches and engag-ing with our communities for the common good.

Lay Development: Individuals and parishes continue to face challenges in ministry and in developing their own discipleship; programmes offered by the diocese, and others designed individually, have hopefully helped in this. 160+ attended the Lay Conference looking at ‘Change: our response to it’. Training materials are available from the Office.

Hope for an All Age Church: How might children and young people feel part of our wor-shipping communities? Should children who are baptized also receive communion? What is the role of confirmation? These questions were contained in a leaflet drawn up by the Director of Mission Resourcing and sent to all parishes. He and the Youth and Children’s Team are will-ing to help PCCs think through these issues.

Hope for a Growing Church: The Evan-gelism Task Group sent all parishes a new resource ‘Exploring Evangelism: Questions for Your Church’, designed to encourage PCCs to explore some basic but challenging ques-tions about mission, worship and the kingdom teachings of Jesus. A resource leaflet about the opportunities for outreach through the London 2012 Olympics has also been produced.

Hope for a Just Church: Our covenant relationship with the Methodist Church found expression in the formation of the Anglican/Methodist Racial Justice Group under the chair of Deacon Al Henry. The group helped Al and Ade Lawal our Racial Justice Officer to mount the Racial Justice Sunday service at Oxford Place in Leeds, in the presence of the Lord Mayor of Leeds.

Hope for a Church in Dialogue: The Inter-faith Task Group completed work on a strategy document which gave advice engaging with people of other faiths. The resource leaflets suggest good practice in schools, give practical ideas for churches and theological reflections. Copies are available from Charles Dobbin, Interfaith Relations Officer, or the website.

December - Environment: The Diocesan En-vironment Group continued to raise awareness of climate change. A booklet, Praying for the Earth, was sent to every parish, and in Decem-ber 400 trees marked the 175th anniversary of the diocese. Hopefully, half our churches will have undertaken an energy audit by the end of 2012, enabling us to be an ‘Eco – diocese’.

A 95% share collection rate is a tremendous achievement and shows great recognition by our parishes of their continued support for ministry across the Diocese. We achieved a modest surplus this year of £33k after utilising £95K of accumulated income, together with cost savings by departmental heads and max-imising our property rental income.

April - Mothers’ Union: Links with the church in Africa have been strengthened by the visit of Margaret Kanyali, the MU President of the Diocese of Mukono in Uganda. As well as meeting members of the MU at Ripon Cathe-dral, Margaret is pictured with members at St. Bartholomew’s, Armley – a growing group, particularly enthusiastic about overseas links.

January - Learning Disabilities: Revd Sue Pearce and Mr Richard Oliver were commis-sioned by Bishop John to be Ministers with People with Learning Disabilities, continuing the long standing work of Canon Bob Brooke. A celebration service at Christ Church Armley, God Loves You Night and Day, brought to-gether people with learning disabilities, carers, families and the Off by Heart Choir.

February - Heart Campaign: Bishop John gave his backing to a campaign to keep the Yorkshire Children’s Heart Surgery Unit at the Leeds General Infirmary. “Keeping this excel-lent facility in Leeds,” he said, “is vital for the well-being of young people in the region. The illness of any child impacts on the whole fam-ily, and that’s particularly true where there are complications with the heart.”

March - Diocese Proposals: Diocesan Synod gave a qualified green light to radical proposals to dissolve the diocese and agreed ‘in principle’ to the creation of a single diocese for West and North-west Yorkshire. But members called for a full financial risk analysis and rejected propos-als to call the new diocese Wakefield with a diocesan bishop based in Wakefield.

September - Pioneer Ministry: With the growing reputation as a 24 hour city with a vibrant nightlife, Leeds now has a Pioneer Min-ister to the Night Time Economy. Beth Tash, former Youth Pastor at St George’s Church, was commissioned to minister in the city’s clubs and nightspots and said she hoped to bring “a message of life and a mission of love”.

October - Women Bishops: In the latest stage in the debate over women bishops, the October Synod voted overwhelmingly in favour of women bishops and defeated a motion calling for greater statutory provisions for op-ponents. Members backed the draft ‘Bishops and Priests (Consecration and Ordination of Women) Measure’ forwarded to every diocese in the country for debate.

November - Metal Theft: Church leaders, police, insurers and heritage officials held two meetings in the diocese to look at ways of reducing metal thefts being suffered by churches in the area. The meetings were organised by Church Building Support Officer, Alice Ullathorne. Since January 2007, there have been 173 metal theft claims in Ripon and Leeds costing £307,747.

Income ExpenditureShare £4,924

Investments £732kNational Church £793k

Fees, grants and other £796kRelease of Accumulated Income £95k

Costs recovered £84k

Total Income = £7,424k

Parochial Ministry £4,255k Clergy Housing £1,235k

Admin, Support and Education £761kResource Ministry £770k

National Church £370k

Total Expenditure = £7,391k

Surplus = £33k

Despite our tough economic times, I have been humbled by the continuing generosity of parishes across the diocese. Thank you for all you do and all you give to support mission and ministry in Ripon and Leeds.

Dr Sue Proctorwww.riponleeds.anglican.org

(0113) 2000540 © Ripon & Leeds DBF