|
The Diocese of Worcester
Mission - Looking To The Future
From the Bishop of Worcester |
|
I believe the best description of mission is - that God wants the Church to exist for those who are not - or who are not yet - its members.
In our recent thinking about mission in the diocese and in many parishes we have adopted the Five Marks of Mission. These are:
|
| 1) Proclaim the good news of the kingdom |
| 2) Question and seek to transform unjust structures of society |
| 3) Respond to human need by loving service |
| 4) Sustain the integrity of creation and renew the face of the earth |
| 5) Teach, baptise and nurture new believers |
In our deaneries we are having to make some critical decisions about how we develop the mission of the church with fewer clergy in the years to come. This is a difficult and often painful starting point but is resulting in much positive and creative thinking. Many parishes are using the Five Marks of Mission as a guide to their thinking about mission led ministry.
Mission led ministry is about how the Church can most effectively utilise all the people of God, ordained and lay, for mission, that is for those who are not - or not yet - our members. It is about how we all invest now for future growth in the Church.
The Bishop's Council asked me to write a few pointers about how mission led ministry might be realised in this diocese. The suggestions are not cast in stone, nor will there be any sudden changes in your parish or the diocese. But changes there will have to be in the years ahead.
The diocese is working to ensure that every parish has the opportunity of contributing to the diocesan policy on this subject. It is up to each parish how this discussion paper is used.
| It could be used:- |
| during a parish awayday |
| a PCC meeting or a retreat |
| through a discussion with the parish ‘quintets' set up to look at the diocesan conference programme |
| during an evening when there is a shared meal and then a discussion |
| after a parish development programme and be related to it |
| during or after a Sunday morning service. |
We hope that you will find time to discuss this paper in your parishes and diocesan staff are willing to help you with this discussion. I would be grateful if each parish could reply to the questions in the leaflet and return your responses to the diocesan office by the end of September and so contribute to a diocesan-wide discussion of the subject.
I look forward to hearing how these discussions are developing.
| Not just holding on... but investing |
Many of the changes we have made in the way we organise our ministry have seemed forced upon us, and may have looked like retreating. Suppose we thought more about investing in future growth.
What are some of the things we need to do to give priority to investing and not just hanging on? |
| Multiplying... not just adding and subtracting |
| Over the years we have added benefices and parishes to each other to make larger units served by fewer stipendiary clergy. But we know that growth happens by multiplying. Just as witness is multiplied by the contacts we make in work, home and community, so also we need to plant new congregations. If we do that we shall need new ministers and ministries. To do that we will need to make hard decisions because it means... |
| ... Allocation of ministers to mission |
If we were prepared to make more reductions than required simply to keep within our clergy numbers we could allocate a number of places to be given temporarily to 'prime the pump' of mission where growth seems possible. But we need to do more than that.
Are there ways in which we can recognise the mission of people in their places of work and community and provide more support and training for them?
Do we embark on a policy aimed at planting new congregations as a strategy for mission?
Do we ask the Pastoral Committees (diocesan, archdeaconry and deanery) to make proposals for allocating a specific number of clergy/layworker places towards mission?
|
| Calling ... not just waiting |
Waiting is one way we hear God's call. But we also need to seek actively those in our congregations who may have a specific vocation, either lay or ordained.
Many of our Readers and other lay ministers have already shown their capacity to command respect among the faithful and commend the gospel through their lives.
Over the years we have had discussions in the diocese about setting up a selection and training scheme for ordained local ministry - is now the time to go ahead with such a scheme as part of our strategy for multiplying congregations?
We also need to consider the employment of other lay ministers, for example specialist youth workers for parochial ministry.
Do we establish an ordained local ministry scheme as a diocese to sustain existing and new churches?
Should we establish diocesan wide financial support for lay ministries?
Should we establish diocesan wide financial support for the start-up of local mission projects? |
| Using waiting times to more effect |
Whether we choose it or not, many congregations face a long wait for the arrival of a new minister. In theory we know that is not wasted time; but could we not use those 'vacancy' times more effectively if we established 'transition ministers' with specific gifts in enabling congregations to face changes creatively especially in cases of reorganisation?
Should we establish 'single transition ministries', clergy and laypeople, specifically gifted and trained in enabling congregations to face the changes they encounter during vacancies as creatively as possible?
|
|
|
|
The Diocese of Worcester: Use these Quick Links for easy access to information...
Social
Outreach