Bishop's Address to Diocesan Conference 2009
Introduction
There are a number of definitions about optimists and pessimists – like those who view a glass as either half empty or half full. I was recently told that a pessimist is someone who put prunes on his All Bran! But it was Sir Winston Churchill who said, ‘The pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity, whilst the optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty’.
It is of course, possible to be both a realist and an optimist and as I review the life of the diocese and look to the future, I see both the difficulties and the opportunities that are before us and give thanks to God for so much that is happening to bring new life to our diocese.
Review
Six years ago were told that we were the fasting declining diocese in Wales. Since then we have become the slowest declining diocese in Wales and in a number of areas we are seeing growth, new ideas being put into practice, spiritual renewal taking place and congregations growing. Much of this has been brought about by parishes engaging in Mission Action Planning in one form or another, and by trying out (consciously and unconsciously) the ideas contained in the Hope for Monmouth document.
I was going to list all the good things that are happening and then I realised that it is quite a long list and I would be in danger of omitting something and causing an upset so I thought it better just to say that there are many new initiatives in working with local communities, and with people of all age groups especially with children, young people and students. There are also new initiatives in church planting, developing our spiritual lives and in taking the church to the people.
I want to thank all those who support the Lent Appeal each year. This year the money is being used to train Street Pastors. In Newport, 12 have already been commissioned and there are 8 more in training. In Blackwood, there are 30 in training from various valley communities and I know of other areas that are also considering a Street Pastor scheme. It is good to see Christians working together ecumenically and being prepared to go out at night and get alongside the young people and it is significant to see how the Police and local authorities have supported this ministry.
I was also delighted with the response to the talks that I gave throughout Lent on St John’s Gospel with over 800 people attending. I shall hope to do something similar during Lent 2011.
This year, about 60 of our parishes engaged in Welcome Back to Church Sunday and the reports I received indicated that many parishes received a good response and people did indeed come back, or came for the first time. Our challenge of course, is to meet them at their point of need, so that they will return and become members of our worshiping communities and also for us to develop both a culture of welcome and missionary hearts.
We also had a memorable Clergy Gathering in Merville (in France) where we were able to spend time together and with God. The mornings in silence and trying to hear what God was saying to us through the scriptures by using the ancient practice of Lectio Divina which kept us focussed on God and deepened our encounter with one another. Life in the ordained ministry today is not easy so being together to pray and learn, to relax and think are important for renewing the sense of vocation. The enemy of vocation is cynicism and despair, and it breaks my heart when I see clergy give way to it.
Our link with the Diocese of the Highveld, which we renewed for a further five years at our last Diocesan Conference, continues with visits taking place both ways. Father Patrick Coleman was able to represent us at the consecration and enthronement of Bishop David Bannerman who I hope to welcome to Monmouth next year. It is a particular joy today to welcome the Revd Lynne Coull from the Highveld who will be addressing us and telling us of her work in the diocese. Parishes continue to pray for our link and to send out goods, and through our link and the good work of Celia Davies, the Lions rugby tour this year has raised in excess of £50,000 for the orphanage at Dukatole.
Looking ahead
The task of the Bishop and senior staff is to try to provide practical support for clergy parishes and we are doing this with the appointment of four specialist advisers to assist parishes with ministry to children, in spirituality and lay training and with community linked projects.
We all recognise the importance of ministry to young people and are all too aware of the lack of children and young people in our churches. Archdeacon Richard is chairing the review group looking at ministry to those under the age of 25. Pam Richard does great work with older children and young adults but the review report will also recommend the appointment of a full time children’s adviser to assist parishes in their ministry to younger children.
Later this year and in the New Year we shall be launching our lay training programme called Living Faith as well as a number of short courses for lay people. Lisa Tregenza has been appointed on a part-time basis to co-ordinate these courses and I hope that clergy will do all that they can to encourage lay people to take advantage of them. I am particularly excited about the Living Faith course which has been given to us by the Bath & Wells diocese and adapted to meet our needs. Laity who engage in lay training soon discover that not only is it fun to explore faith with other Christians but that it broadens their understanding and knowledge of Christianity and also deepens their relationship with God and stimulates vocations to lay and ordained ministries.
Many of you will know Sharon Smith, our accountant in the Diocesan Office who also has expertise with setting up community projects and obtaining funding for them. A number of parishes have identified such projects in their Mission Action Planning and by employing a part-time bookkeeper we are able to free up some of Sharon’s time for her to be available to advise parishes about their community outreach. I would also remind parishes that the Diocesan Office has the GrantFinder computer programme available for parishes to use when looking to raise funds.
I have also appointed Sister Anita Woodwell as Adviser in Spirituality so that she can develop the work that she has been doing in the past few years to train spiritual directors and to guide people in prayer, lead retreats and provide teaching about the Christian spiritual tradition. I am aware that the diocese will not experience any kind of growth without being more focussed on God. God in Christ calls us into a living relationship with him and we need to listen to what God wants of us. That process of discernment is important because it is all too easy to develop plans of our own making rather that respond to what God is calling us to do and to be.
I would urge parishes to make use of our advisers and to continue to develop your Mission Action Plans. As I have said before, ‘if you fail to plan; you plan to fail’.
This year those parishes with an income in excess of £100,000 a year will need to become registered charities and in time this will also apply to those with smaller incomes, but I would remind you that all parishes are subject to charity law which is why you can reclaim money through Gift Aid. It is a requirement for charities to have available an annual report of its activities during the past year and its plans for the future.
There are a number of difficulties (and opportunities) that face us. Finance and vocations are two of them, although if we experience growth and renewal, finance and vocations will take care of themselves. This year we have a deficit budget although we foresaw this happening and made provision for it and we are even prepared to reduce the Parish Share increase. At the same time, we are aware that a large number of stipendiary clergy will be retiring in the next ten years and the numbers being ordained will not replace them. Even if we had more, we are not sure that we could afford to pay them. Many parishes have declining and ageing congregations and are dipping into reserves to pay the Parish Share and that cannot continue for ever. These are issues both for the Province and the diocese as we make projections for the future and plan ahead. We are more or less on target to reduce our stipendiary numbers by 2013 and to be out of deficit budgeting but I am anxious to look beyond that date and to look at various scenarios and solutions.
Next year, I am inviting parish clergy to arrange to carry out a Visitation of their parishes during Lent or in Eastertide. I hope that they, or members of their ministry teams, will visit the home of everyone on the Electoral Roll. It so happens that next year the Electoral Rolls will be revised so clergy may choose to visit the homes of those on the present Electoral Roll and encourage them to join the new one, or they may see it as an opportunity to visit those on the new Electoral Roll.
The purpose of a Visitation is to bring God’s blessing to peoples’ homes, so a visit will last perhaps 40 minutes during which time the priest, deacon or lay minister will share the scriptures, offer prayer and ministry, and ask for God’s blessing on the home and those who live there and then give them a prayer card as a reminder of the occasion. I shall be pleased to provide a guide to a Visitation to help clergy and lay people to prepare for it.
Diocesan Administration
I have been in discussion with the Archdeacons about ways in which each of us might take particular responsibility for aspects of diocesan life, so that we each have responsibility for overseeing and encouraging different areas of mission and ministry. I am aware that our line management needs to be strengthened so that support and accountability are in place. Good administration should lead to good ministry.
There are two Diocesan Officers who will be retiring next year and so this will be their last Diocesan Conference whilst in their present roles. They are Mr Nigel Williams, the Registrar and my Legal Officer who reaches the statutory retirement age and Mr Richard Tarran, our Diocesan Secretary and although they both still have several months left in post I want to pay tribute to them.
Nigel, like his father before him, has served as Registrar and carried out many duties over and beyond the call of duty. He is the only lawyer I have met who deals with matters almost by return of post and whose knowledge of the Church in Wales and its Constitution is second to none. He has in fact chaired the Committee that has just reordered the Constitution. I have greatly valued Nigel’s wisdom, courtesy, support and his forbearance and I am pleased that he will continue to live in the diocese and be part of the diocesan family. And it is with great pleasure that I can announce that Mr Timothy Russen, the Senior Partner of Jacklyn, Dawson & Co. has accepted my invitation to be the new Registrar. He will take up the post next April.
Richard Tarran has served as Diocesan Secretary for the past fourteen years and is a member of my senior staff team. The relationship between a Bishop and his Diocesan Secretary is quite unique – it is not like the relationship between a company chairman and the chief executive and yet it is a relationship that depends on mutual trust and a shared vision. I have always trusted Richard and the chairmen of the Diocesan Board of Finance with the good running of the Diocese and I have relied on Richard’s advice, judgement and Christian commitment to keep the Diocese in good financial shape and mission focussed. I shall miss Richard’s presence at the many meetings that I attend and wish him and Judy every happiness on their retirement in Yorkshire.
We shall hope to appoint a new Diocesan Secretary in the first half of next year and whoever is appointed will (thanks to Richard) have a refurbished Diocesan office in which to work that satisfies heath and safety and disabled access requirements. I ask your prayers for all involved in making such a crucial appointment.
In both Nigel and Richard the Diocese has been greatly blessed and words cannot express my gratitude for the support they have given to me personally and for the parts they have played in the life of the Diocese in working to build God’s kingdom.
And so I end this Address by thanking you all for the various parts that you play in the Body of Christ. St Paul reminds us that the Church, like a human body, is made up of many parts and each is necessary for the building up of the whole. I pray that we may work together so that the living Body of Christ is lively, dynamic, healthy and strong so that we can serve the people living in this part of Wales and so work with God to build His kingdom in our midst.