Produced and printed by

Spring 2015 - issue 13

That’s the theme we will be looking at duringthis year’s Visitations and it has been a themeof both of us over the past year or so. We pickup some of these ideas in this issue as weconsider the Archdeacons’ Parish Reviews wehave conducted and highlight an excellentbook – How to get your church noticed – whichis packed full of practical ideas and advice ongetting the message out.

Everything about our lives sends a messageabout who we are, what we believe in and howserious we are about our faith and engagingwith others. The message is not just aboutwords – the famous quote attributed toSt Francis about using words where necessarycould never be more relevant.

Our actual words are only a small part of themessage we convey. The condition of ourbuilding, the friendliness of our welcome, theway we are organised, the amount we reflectthe communities we serve: all of these arestrong messages about who we are and whatwe stand for.

As your archdeacons we both want to seehealthy, viable, well-ordered and attractive

church buildings. That’s why we have placed somuch emphasis on the Archdeacons’ ParishReviews as they represent an opportunity tohave honest, supportive and challengingconversations about the health of the church.We do this in what is hopefully an atmosphereof trust and respect as we work together tobuild God’s kingdom in our diocese.

Our bishop, Bishop Paul Bayes, has stated hewants a “bigger church to make a biggerdifference”. We want to help make that a realityin each and every community in our diocese.We look forward to exploring this further withyou at this year’s Visitations.

We thank you for the part you play in this andpray every blessing on you and your parish.

archdeacons’visitation news

What we are saying andhow we are saying it...We live in a world where image is important. Where we are conditionedto form impressions of organisations and institutions based on a quickappraisal of what we are seeing. So if we are to be a growing church,attracting and building disciples, then we need to think about both whatwe are saying and how we are saying it.

Diocese of Liverpool

The return ofWACattack –The challenge ofchangeSaturday 31 October 10am to 3pm inand around the cathedral.

Come and celebrate the life of thearchdeaconry as we:

1. commit ourselves to the challengesand changes that lay ahead

2. worship together with anArchdeaconry Eucharist

3. we say farewell to ArchdeaconPeter and his wife Pat.

I hope that each parish in the archdeaconrywill ensure that as many members of theircongregation as possible come along onthe day and that at least 15 members, plusclergy and readers will attend the Eucharist.The day will include opportunities for allof us to look at, and share, what haschanged in our parishes, our churches,our schools, our families and our faithsince WACattack 2009, as well ascommitting ourselves to those challengesand changes that lay ahead.

So make sure you take your ‘Invitation’leaflets with you and I look forward toseeing you in October.

www.ecclesiastical.com/churchmatters

The Venerable Ricky PanterArchdeacon of LiverpoolTelephone: 0151 705 2154Email: ricky.panter@liverpool.anglican.org

The Venerable Peter BradleyArchdeacon of WarringtonTelephone: 0151 705 2154Email: peter.bradley@liverpool.anglican.org

Changing the ways we do things canbe scary – even for archdeacons –so it was not without trepidation thatthey chose to take on the workloadthat was involved in carrying out theParish Reviews.

“In many ways it would have been easierto simply stick with the traditional articlesof enquiry and let the parish officers dealwith a bureaucracy of tick lists andquestions,” explains Archdeacon Peter,“but we have found that time spent withwardens is mostly a productive andconstructive way to get to the heart ofthe matter in every parish.”

“It is a comprehensive approach andcertainly for the first visit with parishesthe challenge is making sure everythingis in place,” adds Archdeacon Ricky,“but it’s vitally important to get thebasics right.”

So the review looks at some practicalconsiderations in a form that wardensreceive ahead of their meeting. This looksat areas such as the Growth PlanningFramework and Parish Dashboard aswell as the Quinquennial. It also providesa checklist for making sure wardensknow where everything that falls intotheir areas of responsibility is – registers,policy documents and insurancedocuments for example.

Feedback from the parishes that havehad reviews are largely positive and thereview has certainly helped sharpenconversations between wardens, theirPCCs, archdeacons and others aboutbetter management of the parish. “It canseem a chore, but it’s a chore we can’tescape,” says Ricky “and simply trying toignore it will not work. But as charitabletrustees we have a responsibility tomanage our churches well. And a well-managed church speaks volumes abouthow seriously we take our faith and liveout our lives.”

But for both archdeacons it is importantto see these meetings as supportive.Archdeacon Peter explains: “It’s notabout beating parishes with a stick – weknow the pressures you are under – but itis about being robust about the basics sowe can have productive conversationsabout the mission of our churches.”

And it seems to work – as one parishsaid: “Although we were unsure what toexpect, we found the reviewmeeting withyou both helpful and encouraging.”

Transforming Wigan is a seven-year£1.2 million programme whichaims to:

turn around the mission and financialstrength in the strategically mostvulnerable part of our diocese, enablingit to become a missional powerhouse

transfer the learning and good practice toother parts of the diocese (and beyond) sothat we can continue to build on strengthand mitigate weakness.

This will be done through a number ofseparate but complimentary interventionsboth to tackle some of the obstacles to growth(such as the core challenges of ageing money,unsustainable leadership patterns and brokenbuildings) and set a clear framework for thefuture.

We want to:

reduce the average age of those attendingand engaging with church

increase the giving base

broaden the leadership base to allow forvocations to flourish

deal with the ‘buildings issue’

configure the deanery around healthy andviable missional units fit for future purpose,with each reflecting a clear mixedeconomy of church.

Transforming Wigan is about the re-imagination and re-invention of this coreresource initially in Wigan and then acrossthe wider diocese. As such it is directly andintentionally designed to improve the missionand financial strength of the diocese.

The Transforming Wigan challenge

It is clear to all involved in the shaping of theTransforming Wigan project that church as ithas been in Wigan will not be sustainable.The congregational demographic is skewed,buildings are a problem and growth is at bestpatchy. It is also clear that it won’t simply be apattern of gentle decline – in ten years’ timenumbers and money will fall off a cliff.

That said, there remains a richness andvibrancy about the local and churchcommunities of Wigan. There is a prideand generosity of spirit among thecongregations that continues to manifestitself in the giving of time, talents andtreasure – a testimony to the faithfulnessof generations of Christians.

The key will be to unlock this latent spiritwhere it isn’t sufficiently strong, give greaterlicence to those where there is vision anddesire, and set a new tone and a newmissional ambition.

TransformingWigan:Looking at fresh ideasfor churchArchdeacons’

Parish Reviews –“both helpful andencouraging”

The new guides are available to reador download from our website. Eachprovides a simple summary of a topictogether with links to web pages andother documents that include more-detailed information.

For those of you looking after your churchinsurance, we now have a simple guide toadministering your policy. This includes helpand advice on paying premiums and ways youmight save money, including interest-freedirect debits or increasing the excess on yourpolicy (the amount you pay if there is a claim).It also explains when you need to tell us aboutchanges or activities at your church.

In addition we have also produced thefollowing ‘Made Simple’ guides:

Church Buildings – an explanation of theinsurance issues related to church buildingssuch as ensuring you have fire riskassessments and avoiding slips, trips and falls.

People in Church Premises – looking athealth and safety and other matters toconsider to help keep regular visitors to yourbuildings safe.

Events – from fundraising to Christmasservices, a summary of what you need to knowand when you need to tell us about events atyour church.

Community outreach – churchesincreasingly offer services such as nightshelters – here we summarise the main topicsand what you need to consider with youroutreach activities.

The ‘Made Simple’ guides reflect our desireto make sure that churches understand whatis covered by their insurance and what is not.Plus we hope they will help to encouragechurches to take simple steps to mitigatepossible risks. The guides supplement the widerange of content we have on our ChurchMatterswebsite. If you have any feedback on the newguides or ideas for topics we might cover, whynot email us at churches@ecclesiastical.comwith your thoughts?

All the new guides can be found atwww.ecclesiastical.com/madesimple

National CrimeHelpline forChurchesThe Church Buildings Council hasset up a national crime helpline forchurches to use after a theft.

Once a theft is reported it will trigger analert to auctions houses, museums andcrime prevention agencies which is afast, effective way of preventing thesale and permanent loss of treasures.Both the Church Buildings Council andEcclesiastical are keen that we can allenjoy the many treasures and artworksin churches. But, while the fear of crimeis greater than the reality there is noroom for complacency and weencourage churches to take simplesecurity measures to protect theirchurch contents such as marking metalitems with SmartWater (see overleaf).

To report the loss of a treasure orartwork from your church contactthe Church Crime Alert team on020 7898 1860, or emailchurchcrimealert@churchofengland.org. Visitwww.ecclesiastical.com/churchsecurity for more informationon keeping your church secure.

Church InsuranceMade SimpleWe’ve been talking to you, our customers, over the lastyear to find out how we can help make it easier for you tounderstand your insurance cover. Thanks to what youhave told us, we have now developed a new series of‘Made Simple’ documents to help you with key topicswhere you wanted straightforward, easy-to-follow, advice.

Top Tip...If you feel your church should normallybe kept locked, you might like toconsider making the key available tovisitors. You could ask a local shop,Post Office or garage to safeguard thekeys and take details of those visitorswho wish to use them. Informationabout where to obtain the keys can bedisplayed in the porch area or on thechurch notice board.

While we have seen a reduction in recordedtheft of lead roofing, it is important that weremain vigilant as metal theft has not goneaway. This is one of the reasons whyEcclesiastical is continuing its proactive workwith SmartWater and the police to target metalthieves. We also continue to encourage theuse of other security products such as roofalarms to protect churches.

One key aspect of the ongoing fight againstmetal thieves has been to target the scrapmetal and recycling industries in order to makeit more difficult for thieves to sell on stolengoods. In the last 5 years, our partners atSmartWater have made over 1,150 visits toscrap yards accompanied by regional policeforces in proactive ‘Days of Action’ to searchfor SmartWater-marked metals.

The purpose of these visits is to remind scrapdealers that they face being arrested andconvicted of handling stolen goods if they buySmartWater-marked metals. If scrap dealers

are checking for SmartWater and refusing tobuy anything marked with it then thieves willquickly learn there is no point in stealing it inthe first place.

For this reason, it is very important that youcontinue to display SmartWater deterrent signsaround your church. These should be placed inhighly visible locations where would-be thievesare most likely to see them. If you requirenew signage then please call SmartWateron 01952 204 102. Remember, you will not becovered for metal theft or any subsequentdamage as a result of theft or attempted theftof metal unless you have applied SmartWater(or an alternative forensic marker approved byus), displayed the signage, and registered theproduct.

A number of helpful crime prevention tips –including information about SmartWater androof alarms – can be found on theEcclesiastical website atwww.ecclesiastical.com/theftofmetal

The Ongoing Fightagainst MetalThievesEcclesiastical has led a concerted effort in recent years tomake churches less-attractive targets for thieves by workingwith the Church of England, parliament and other interestedparties to tighten up the law on scrap metal dealing andincrease building security.

COVER UPDATEWe have recently increased the maximum you may claim for theft ofexternal metal – for more information see your next policy renewal pack.We are also now able to provide cover for metal theft when scaffoldingis erected subject to certain conditions. For more information, visitwww.ecclesiastical.com/theftofmetal or call 0845 777 3322.

Man jailed formelting stolenleadAn Abergavenny man has been jailedafter being caught with £3,700 ofstolen SmartWater-marked leadfrom a church roof.

Jonathan Vaughn, 35, was caught afterpolice received an anonymous call tosay he was melting lead in his garden inSt Llanfoist. When officers recoveredthe lead it was found to be markedwith SmartWater traceable liquid.Subsequent analysis identified the leadas having come from St Mary’s Churchroof in Abergavenny. At CwmbranMagistrates’ Court, Vaughn admitteda charge of handling stolen goods.He was sentenced to four months forthe offence and 113 days for a previousoffence of assault after magistratesactivated a suspended sentence.Mr Vaughn stated he had bought thelead to melt for Christmas money andrefused to say where he’d bought it from.

CaseStudy

Top Tip...SmartWater can be used on other itemsin addition to lead roofing – make sureyou mark all church owned metalsincluding memorial plaques as well asother valuables you may have inside yourchurch such as silver, altar ware andvaluable portable furnishings.

The charity, founded in 1972, is chairedby Sir Philip Mawer, former ParliamentaryCommissioner for Standards andpreviously Secretary General of theGeneral Synod of the Church of England.A career public servant, he remainsclosely involved with the work of theChurch and its clergy.

According toSir Philip, ATL’srole is to supportchurches and otherworthy causes linkedto the Christian faiththrough a programmeof financial grants.Over the last decade,it has donated over

£75m to projects as diverse as churchbuilding refurbishments and repairs,creating new facilities for people in need– even helping Anglicans in New Zealandestablish a temporary cathedral followingthe devastating Christchurch earthquake.

In 2014 alone, ATL distributed grants of£9.7m, which went to a wide range ofchurches, dioceses and cathedralsthroughout the British Isles. “ATL’s missionis to promote and support the Christianreligion,” Sir Philip explains. “In broad terms,it does this by contributing financially to

charitable organisations and churches.Every month, we receive over 100applications for grants, which areconsidered carefully by our trustees.

“Although the majority of our support goesto the Church of England, grants are alsomade in response to applications fromecumenical partner churches, churchschools and charities. We particularlywelcome applications from less well-offparishes and for projects which will benefitmission and help local communities.”

Grants to parishes from ATL range in sizedepending on the scale of the project tobe undertaken.

The prospects for ATL’s activities arevery positive based on Ecclesiastical’scommitment to donate £50m during2014-2016. “This is a hugelycommendable ambition,” Sir Philip notes.“What this means is that, givenEcclesiastical’s solid financial performanceand favourable conditions in the insurancemarket, we hope to be able to increase ourgiving to the Church to record levels overthe coming three years.”

For more information or to apply fora grant, visit ATL’s website atwww.allchurchestrust.co.uk, wherefull details are available.

St Giles DellCentre, Ashtead,SurreyAshtead is about 15 miles fromLondon, close to the M25 motorway.Facedwith an old wooden church hallnowwell past its sell by date, membersof the congregation have set aboutfundraising for new facilities.

Designs for the new Dell Centre includemeeting rooms, a professional kitchenand a host of other facilities which thecongregation envisage being used bythe whole community. Pre- and after-school clubs, social gatherings, fitness,dance and art classes are all on theiragenda, alongside mentoring jobseekers, community support andactivities for the elderly.

Allchurches Trust aimsto raise giving torecord levelsThis January, insurer Ecclesiastical announced it had donatedover £23m in 2014 to its charitable owner Allchurches Trust(ATL), a huge sum by any standard. But what is ATL and howdoes it use its resources to promote the Christian faith?

CaseStudy

CaseStudy

St Aidan’s Church,Stobhill, MorpethSt Aidan’s is a modern churchlocated in a deprived area on theoutskirts of the market town ofMorpeth, Northumberland.

With an outdated hall, the church wasdesperately in need of more communityspace. An exciting project was devised,resulting in the sale of the old churchhall and the proceeds funding anextension to the church for communityuse. The new building will house acrèche, holiday clubs, a luncheon cluband meeting rooms, and it can also beused to provide extra seating capacityfor larger services, concerts and otherevents in the church.

All our risk management guidance notesare collected together and sorted into thekey categories of security, health andsafety, fire, and storms and bad weather.Many customers also now get updatesby email – just let us have your emailaddress if you, too, would like to beupdated in this way. For furtherinformation:

Our website:www.ecclesiastical.com/church

Customer services:call 0845 777 3322 oremail churches@ecclesiastical.com

Claims:call 0845 603 8381 (24-hour service) oremail faithclaims@ecclesiastical.com

Our customer service lines are normally openMonday to Friday, 8am to 6pm, except forbank holidays. However, claims can beregistered at any time during the day or night.

IndependentFinancial AdviceDo you need help with your finances?Ecclesiastical Financial AdvisoryServices can offer you totallyindependent financial advice oninvestments, retirement and protection.They can also help parishes who havefunds to invest with their investmentstrategy. Please note, the value ofinvestments can fall as well as rise andpast performance is not a guide tofuture performance.

For more information call:0800 107 0190 or email:getadvice@ecclesiastical.com

Keeping up to dateWe hope you are familiar with our Church Matters websitewhich has a wide range of information, guidance and toolsyou can use to help you look after your church.

Did you know?Here we highlight two features of your Parishguard policy thatyou may not be aware of.

Consequential lossConsequential loss cover is included inyour Parishguard policy to help offset lossof income if your church has to close forrepairs following insured damage thatEcclesiastical is covering under the Propertysection of your Parishguard policy. You maybe able to claim up to £100,000 over afour-year period for loss of income from yournormal church activities, such as servicecollections, income from hirers not beingable to use the building and costs such ashiring alternate premises.

Money coverThe prospect of having money stolen by achurch official or a volunteer is never an easyone for a church to contemplate, but sadly thisis a risk that needs to be addressed.

In the last year there have been a number ofcourt cases involving theft from church funds.For example, in 2014, a deputy churchtreasurer in theWirral was found guilty ofsystematically stealing collection money forover a decade, amounting to almost £20,000.

The good news is that our Parishguard policyoffers some protection against the risk ofmisappropriation. However, in order to meetthe conditions of the policy and ensure that aclaim can be defended, you will need toprovide specific information and makecertain that important checks are carried out.For example, regular reconciliations shouldbe carried out of bank statements, cash-in-hand and petty cash, and these checksshould be conducted by someone not usuallyresponsible for money, so that thefts cannotbe concealed during the reconciliation.Our website has more information abouthow to limit the risk of internal fraud.

Top Tip...If you are planning to support yourcommunity, for example, throughproviding a night shelter, food bank orparish nursing, there are importantregulatory issues you need to be awareof. We can help you with free advice tomake sure you comply with theregulatory requirements.

WINan iPad

Home insuranceprize drawJust call us for a quote or let us haveyour home insurance renewal date andwe will enter you into a prize draw to winan iPad for you or your church. You canenter the draw by calling 0800 917 3345and quote IPAD15 or go on lineat www.ecclesiastical.com/ipad

So Archdeacons’ Visitation News spoketo Neil Pugmire, CommunicationsAdviser to the Diocese of Portsmouth,about his excellent book How to getyour church noticed.

1. What prompted you to writethe book?

Part of my role is to advise churches inPortsmouth about how to communicateeffectively. There was no up-to-datemanual I could give them that includedeverything parishes wanted to know –about a strategy, logos, noticeboards,magazines, posters, media liaison, websitesand using your church building effectively.So I thought I’d write one. That was back in2006. I revised it in 2014 because the firstedition was out of date and out of print.

2. Why is it important that churchestake PR and publicity seriously?

We live in a world where we aresurrounded by incredibly sophisticatedpublicity – advertising billboards, socialmedia promotions, glossy magazines andhard-sell TV adverts. In the face of that, thetypical photocopied church magazine ortatty poster on a noticeboard simply isn’tgoing to be noticed by those outside ourdoors. Taking publicity seriously involvesfirstly thinking about who we’re trying toreach and exactly what we’re trying to say,before we settle on a range of publicitymethods, each of which might reach adifferent group. Few churches have evengone through this initial stage of planning,and assume that what worked before may

work again. Not taking it seriously canmean no one knows about the good workour churches do, and therefore Christianitybecomes an irrelevance.

3. What is your background and howdid you research it?

I trained as a journalist and worked on localnewspapers for nine years before startingwork as communications adviser forPortsmouth’s CofE diocese. So I alreadyknew how themedia worked. I’d also editeda parish magazine before. Over time, I builtup some expertise on graphic design, andlearnt what makes websites and socialmedia effective. Many of the examples inthe book are actually taken from real-lifeexamples in Portsmouth Diocese or beyond.I suppose I’ve been a bit of a magpie, findingout what has worked in one church andsuggesting that other churches in the samesituation might do something similar.

4. How was the first issue received?

Well, it sold out, which must be good! It hadgood reviews and it led to the nationalChurch of England asking me to runcourses for churches around the countryon how they can get noticed.

5. Is there not a danger of this beingabout management, not God?

Yes, possibly. It should go without sayingthat we should pray about everything wedo, but sometimes it is worth saying itanyway! There is also the danger ofchurches thinking they can rely on God toprompt people to attend our services orevents. Sometimes God actually wants usto be the answer to our own prayers. Godmight inspire someone to ask questionsabout faith, but they won’t find their way toyour church if you haven’t publicised whatyou do effectively.

6. What made you decide to revise itand what have the revisions been?

The explosion in the use of social media andthe growth in mobile-friendly websites andapps that can be viewed on Smartphonesmeant that the 2006 book was alreadylooking dated. It was also getting harder tofind, as no new copies were being printed.Church House Publishing expressed aninterest in a revised and expandededition, so I made sure I includedinformation about all these new techniquesin the new edition. Going through the textwith a fine toothcomb also threw up someother items that needed revising too. Part ofthe problem about working in this field is

that you never quite know whatcommunication technique will take off next.So it might need to be revised again inanother few years!

7. How can churches best useyour book?

Hopefully as a manual that can be used.So after an initial skim, it might involvechurch members dipping into differentparts of the book as they grapple withdifferent things. Each of the 100 wayshas a ‘how to’ section, which takesreaders through how to do something ineasy stages. Hopefully that helps to breakdown what can look like a daunting task.There’s also an accompanying website –www.getyourchurchnoticed.com –where readers can pick up extra tips,and share details and images of what’sworked for them. Inevitably there isalso a Facebook page(www.facebook.com/GetYourChurchNoticed) and Twitter feed(www.twitter.com/GetYrChrchNotic)to help us talk to each other aboutthese issues.

8. In the Diocese of Liverpool we havebeen pursuing our growth agendafor years. How does getting achurch noticed help with this?

The biggest misconceptions aboutchurches is that they are all boring,irrelevant and on an inevitable decline.If that’s not true about your church, youneed ways to tell people about it or theymay assume it’s also on the brink ofclosure. You will need ways to tell yourlocal community, via the media, yourchurch literature and online, about yourgood news – that your church is growing,full of families, helping the marginalised,attracting thousands of tourists orhowever else you are bucking the trend.Hopefully this book will help you to do that.

How to get your church noticed ispublished by Church House Publishingand is available from the cathedral shopand other good stockists.

Getting your church noticedWe work in an age where it’s increasingly difficult to stand outfrom the crowd. Yet as a church called to proclaim the gospelafresh for each generation, we need to be challenged as to howwe do this creatively and effectively...

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 oftime become incorrect or out of date; and (c) neither Ecclesiastical Insurance Office plc. nor its subsidiaries can accept any responsibility or liability foraction taken or losses suffered as a result of reliance placed on the information provided in this newsletter.

© Ecclesiastical Insurance Office plc 2015 4/15

For more informationcall 0845 777 3322

email information@ecclesiastical.comvisit www.ecclesiastical.com/churchmatters

Ecclesiastical Insurance Office plc (EIO) Reg. No. 24869. Ecclesiastical Insurance Group plc (EIG) Reg. No. 1718196. Ecclesiastical Life Ltd (ELL) Reg. No. 243111. Ecclesiastical InvestmentManagement Ltd (EIM) Reg. No. 2519319. Ecclesiastical Financial Advisory Services Ltd (EFAS) Reg. No. 2046087. Ecclesiastical Services Ltd (ESL) Reg. No. 1811698. E.I.O. Trustees Ltd Reg.No. 941199. 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 andregulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority. EFAS and EIM are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. ESL is an appointedrepresentative of EIO who is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority.

As you may know, I am retiring at the endof November, having served as Curate –Up Holland TeamMinistry (1979–1983),Vicar, Holy Spirit, Dovecot (1983–94),Team Rector, Up Holland (1994–2011),and Archdeacon of Warrington from2001, not forgetting the Board of Ministry,GUML, CME and General Synod. Enoughsaid, as this sounds more like myCrockford’s entry!!

My final service is at WACattack (seefront page), so I wanted to take thisopportunity to say a big THANK YOUfor the commitment and support I havereceived during my time as curate,vicar, team rector and Archdeacon ofWarrington!

The Lord who calls us also equips usas disciples, and I hope that the annualDeanery Visitations have been part ofthat. I have also valued the Visitationsas enjoyable occasions combining bothfellowship and worship – not to mentionthe jokes!! It has been both a privilegeand an honour to work with so many ofyou in the work the Lord has called usto do. I wish you all well for the futureand look forward to seeing you on31 October in the cathedral.

Archdeacon Peter

THANK YOUfrom Archdeacon Peter

The Bishop said: “As they are Bishop’sOfficers, it was vitally important to methat I met with my – our – churchwardens.I wanted to share with them some of mythoughts around the direction our

diocese is travelling and hear fromthose who have one of the key front-lineministries about what life is like in thereal world. I had a fantastic morning andam so grateful to all who freely gavetheir time to be with us. I hope that allwill join me in praying for strength andwisdom for all those who serve aschurchwarden, and for those who mayfeel called to this role in future.”

Fit for mission

Bishop Paul has started discussionsaround how we can support the growthagenda and tackle the critical burningplatforms by becoming ‘a sharper, lighterchurch’. His paper, written on behalfof the Bishop’s Core Group, proposesideas for how this can help us grow.You can read a copy on our website.

An excellent day withchurchwardens...Bishop Paul met over 200 churchwardens recently tocelebrate and encourage them in their ministry.