Transform 034 April by Baptist Union of Great Britain

April 2013

TRANSFORM

034

THANK YOU

Thank you

gracias

‫اركش‬

MERCI Dankie

谢谢

‫הדות‬

dziękuję

Read online at www.baptist.org.uk/transform

UPDATES

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Inside Transform Editorial Transition Faith and Society The Baptist Times Ministries Safeguarding Support Services Council Around the Union Staff News Events

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3 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 6 May 2013 Norbreck Castle Hotel, Blackpool

Baptist House PO Box 44 129 Broadway Didcot OX11 8RT telephone 01235 517700 facsimile 01235 517715 email info@baptist.org.uk website www.baptist.org.uk Registered Charity No. 1125912

Editorial strong sense of looking forward with faith and confidence to the future that God has prepared for us. Thankfulness is an attitude of life.

THANK YOU My life is dominated by thank yous at the moment. I am profoundly thankful for seven rich and enjoyable years as General Secretary. I wish everyone could have the privilege of exercising this ministry â&#x20AC;&#x201C; at least for a few days! I would love everyone to feel the privilege of representing the Baptist family in churches up and down the country, amongst the other denominations, in Parliament, and internationally. Everyone in this kind of role is bound to feel a profound sense of humility and inadequacy and I have certainly felt all of that. I can only respond by saying thank you to the denomination and above all to Almighty God for the privilege of serving. Thankfulness is a major theme in the Bible. It is far more than an act of politeness, but rather an indication that our lives recognize the greatness of God and our utter dependence upon him. Being thankful to God often has an historic dimension, as we gaze back through our own life and the life of Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s people. But it also has a

Over the past few weeks we have said many words of thanks to staff at Baptist House in Didcot and in the Associations who have moved on. Some have retired and others have moved into new work and ministries, and on every occasion we have wanted to say thank you and recognize the contribution that they made to our life together. It has been hard to see posts being made redundant but amidst it all we were keen to see Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hand at work, and to give thanks for his presence with us through all the changes. I am full of hope and confidence for the Baptist Union. Wherever I go I see people responding to the many challenges of these days with imagination and flexibility. I think of the small rural church that I visited recently where they have decided to have a monthly cafe style morning service in order to be more welcoming to their community. And I think of a number of churches that have recently set up food banks to serve their community. To do such things demands courage and confidence in God, and I believe that those two qualities are characteristic of all those who live lives of thankfulness. Thank you, and God bless you.

Jonathan Edwards BUGB General Secretary 3

Transition Richard Nicholls Transition Manager

In November 2012 BU Council agreed major reforms to the denominations structures to strengthen the support it gives to local churches. At the heart of the changes is a new way of working together between the national office at Didcot, the regional Associations and the Baptist Colleges, and part of this has been the formation of a new leadership team responsible for implementing the strategy of the Union. From 2014 this will be called the Baptist Steering Group (BSG) but it is recognised that 2013 is very much a year of transition to the new way of working and therefore a Transitional Steering Group (TSG) has been established to lead in this work.

TSG began working and is committed to learning and developing ways of operating which will achieve the objectives of the Futures review. It will have a large number of important issues to consider and make progress on and is committed to working with a framework which: • Nurtures, enables and supports effective local church leaders; • Seeks spiritual renewal within our churches; • Identifies a clear church planting strategy; • Develops ‘Missional Associations’; • Develops a covenantal understanding of our shared life and identity.

The current members of TSG are: Nick Bradshaw Nigel Coles Dave Ellis Rob Ellis Paul Goodliff Paul Hills Phil Jump Stephen Keyworth David Locke Richard Nicholls Jenny Royal Dianne Tidball

Team Leader, South Wales Baptist Association Team Leader, West of England Baptist Association Council Representative Principal, Regent’s Park College Ministries Team Leader Team Leader, Eastern Baptist Association Team Leader, North Western Baptist Association Faith and Society Team leader Support Services Team Leader Transition Manager Moderator of the Trustee Board Team Leader, East Midland Baptist Association

We seek your prayers for the considerable task ahead.

Faith and Society Stephen Keyworth Team Leader

The new Faith and Society Team is finding its way through a broad agenda with a diverse range of topics. Here we highlight some of the on-going areas of work. The Big Welcome ‘Our first experience of the Big Welcome was very positive and we saw several new people come to church that day. Our youth pastor invited his non-Christian mum to the church and she came for the first time in ages and left saying she could not get over how normal we were. She was so encouraged that she persuaded his father to come the following evening to our harvest supper, which in turn brought him to a men’s breakfast. Again his comment was that we truly were ‘normal’ and that this has stunned him! They may have a long way to go and their journey of faith may just be beginning, but it is such a privilege to see them start the journey.’ This was just one of the encouraging stories shared by churches which took part in the Big Welcome in 2012. This year Baptist churches, along with friends in Elim and Methodist churches, are being encouraged to offer a Big Welcome, on or around 22 September, to those who do not usually come to church. We hope that your church has already received a mailing from us with details about this year’s resources and information. This year’s theme recognises that, wherever we are on our journey of faith, we have questions. We hope that, having offered a Big Welcome, churches will enable visitors to ask their questions about God and help

them grapple with answers. Downloadable and printed resources are available on the Big Welcome website www.thebigwelcome. org. Posters, invitations and other printed materials will be despatched in late July – giving you plenty of time to plan events and invite friends. Please place your order for these by 1 July. Inter Faith resources In order to build up confidence in engaging with those of other faiths, the Inter Faith Task Group has developed three new resources to help churches understand the biblical basis for doing so.

12 Myths of Inter Faith Engagement is a set of postcards to empower Christians in a multi faith world. Each card deals with one of the myths, and includes background information and suggestions to get you thinking within a small-group context. They allow discussion and conversation by people of all faiths and none, and could be included in the programme of an existing small group, or as a new special-interest group. Guidelines for those leading the group are included in the pack. These sets of cards are available to order (£3.00 per set + p&p) from the Baptist Union’s online store at www.baptist.org.uk/ resources/bugb-online-store.html For those who want to explore this area in more depth, two further downloadable resources are now available free of charge from the Baptist Union website.

Inter Faith Journeys shares the stories of 13 people who have been engaging in inter 5

Faith and Society faith encounters. Each person was asked to reflect on questions about their involvement in inter faith matters, what excites and concerns them about it, and how it has affected their own faith. We hope that their stories will help readers gain confidence to develop encounters in this multi faith world. Download the resource from at www.baptist.org.uk/interfaith If you have a story that you feel is worth telling, we would love to hear from you, and will consider including it in a future update. Please email faithandsociety@ baptist.org.uk

Inter Faith Engagements is for those who wish to explore the subject in more detail. It is a theological exploration of some of the frequently asked questions of inter faith issues, in six sections, with questions for discussion in a group setting. Download a copy from at www.baptist.org.uk/interfaith Today…not tomorrow In the last edition of Transform, we introduced the new resource Today … not tomorrow. This has been developed in partnership with Arise Ministries to help all churches examine the ways in which they nurture and develop disciples of all ages, and was launched in February and March at a series of Roadshows throughout the country. It is hoped that all churches will make time in their calendars to work through the Tnt resource, plan a ‘Facilitation Day’ and offer 6

further teaching to explore discipleship for all ages. One of the outcomes of the process will be the development of their own ‘Intergenerational Charter’, recognising the value of all ages in the church community, which the whole church can adopt for the future. If you missed the Roadshow near you, make sure that you have a look at the new website www.todaynottomorrow.org.uk which includes an overview of the resource along with downloadable materials to use in your church. There is also an introductory video to view and share with your church to encourage participation. If you have any questions about the resources, please contact info@todaynottomorrow.org.uk RE:5 – a retreat for Youth, Children and Family Workers King’s Park Conference Centre, Northampton Wednesday 22 – Thursday 23 May This is the fourth annual gathering for people who are employed in youth and children’s ministries in Baptist churches, hosted by the Association Youth Officers. Recognising the commitment and challenges faced by those in these ministries, this retreat offers space to take time out, away from busy schedules to spend time in God’s presence. Through the ministry of retreat facilitator and speaker, Roy Searle, it is hoped that those who attend will be refreshed and focused

to return to their role within the church. Alongside the main sessions there will be opportunities to share and relax among peers who are doing similar roles in their local church. The cost for the event is £105 per person including overnight accommodation in single en-suite rooms and all meals. To reserve a place, please book by 19 April at: www.baptist.org.uk/events.html If your church employs people in youth and children’s ministry, do book their place(s) as early as possible since places may fill up before the closing date. Updates from the Joint Public Issues Team (JPIT) New Website The JPIT website has been redesigned and is now a user-friendly, easy-to-search space for all the work of the Team. The address remains the same: www.jointpublicissues. org.uk. You can also follow the work of the Team on Facebook and Twitter – see the website for further links. Alcohol Strategy Consultation Following concerted campaigning by churches and charities, including the Team’s Measure for Measure campaign, the Government committed to introduce a minimum unit price for alcohol, among other policies to limit the harm caused by alcohol misuse. The Government is currently consulting on the implementation of these policies. Churches have an important, respected voice in the field of treatment for victims of alcohol misuse. This is an opportunity to ensure that the moral and Biblical vision of life in its fullness is heard among secular discussions

of drink culture – the JPIT churches will work ecumenically with partners including the Salvation Army and the Quakers to ensure that the Government hears strong, principled and unified messages from concerned faith groups. Energy Bill The Team, along with the Quakers, has written to the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, Ed Davey, to express concerns that the Energy Bill fails to include sufficient measures for the decarbonisation of the energy sector. To support this work, the Team has provided a briefing on the Bill which has ecumenical support from the Church of England as well as the Quakers. The briefing is available at: www. jointpublicissues.org.uk/issues/environment/ the-energy-bill-campaign World Council of Churches: ‘God of life, lead us to justice and peace’ The 10th Assembly of the World Council of Churches (WCC) will take place in Busan, Republic of Korea, from 30 October to 8 November 2013. BUGB is sending two representatives to the Assembly, which is the highest governing body of the WCC, and meets every seven years. It is a moment when the fellowship of member churches comes together as a whole in prayer and celebration. The Assembly theme, ‘God of life, lead us to justice and peace’ is not merely a slogan for the event but provides a focus for theological reflection, worship and meditation, as well as for planning activities before, during and after the Assembly. 7

Faith and Society Along with the WCC member churches, partner organisations and other churches have a strong presence at the event. This makes an Assembly of the WCC the most diverse Christian gathering of its size in the world. It is a unique opportunity for the churches to deepen their commitment to visible unity and common witness so that the world may believe. Developments of The Journey Almost two years have passed since Baptist Union Council agreed ‘The Journey’ recommendations. It is also only a few months ago now that we saw a key outworking of these recommendations, when BU Council passed a resolution which stated that, as a Union, we would seek to have no fewer than 20% black and minority ethnic (BME) representation in key areas of Union life, including BU Council and the Board of Trustees. The Racial Justice Group is seeking to help ensure we have the requisite BME candidates to take up these key roles in Union life. As a group we will work to enable all within the Union to have access to the knowledge, expertise and practical resources to celebrate ethnic and cultural diversity, and challenge racial prejudice and stereotypes at play in society (and at times inadvertently reinforced in our churches). In this way we seek to remove some of the barriers preventing BME individuals from taking up key roles in Union life. Our hope is that a summary of good practice ideas in relation to the six Journey recommendations will be available shortly. Sam Sharpe update Nearly two centuries after his death, the life of Sam Sharpe continues to provide us 8

with a challenging model of Black Liberation Theology. Sharpe was a Baptist deacon and he initiated one of the largest anti-slavery rebellions in the history of the Caribbean. Over the Christmas period of 1831, he and other enslaved Africans engaged in an inspiring struggle for freedom. In the language of later liberation writers, we might say that Sharpe exemplified theology as praxis, living out his two central convictions: that Jesus is a liberator, and that humanity is created in the image of God. These are the emphases at the core of the Sam Sharpe Project and will be reflected in its programme of events and initiatives for 2013. The annual ‘Sam Sharpe Lecture’ is designed to help us re-think what a normative understanding of God, as revealed in Jesus Christ, can look like, and to articulate a new story about God’s relationship with dispossessed and marginalised peoples, a story that has power to enable real social transformation. An initiative entitled ‘Text and Story’ will aim to capture the stories of black and ethnic minority heroines and heroes and, in the true spirit of Liberation Theology, will re-present Christology from the perspective of people of colour, for people of colour. The publication of a ‘Reader’ will also seek to tell the stories of black and ethnic minority British Baptists, mapping the struggle for recognition and equality within the Baptist family. These stories will be told by black and ethnic minority Baptists, for all Baptists. From 1-2 May 2013, there will be a meeting to discuss the on-going development of the Sam Sharpe Project, its history, its present and its future. This will bring together representatives from both sides of the Atlantic – Dr Delroy Reid-Salmon (Visiting

Fellow at the Oxford Centre for Christianity and Culture) whose initiatives birthed the Sam Sharpe journey, the Revd Karl Johnson (General Secretary of the Jamaican Baptist Union), along with Sam Sharpe Project partners here in the UK. Our hope is that the resources generated by this Project will continue to build on Sam Sharpe’s unique legacy, and will contribute to the process we are calling ‘The Journey’, aiming to create a Baptist culture in Britain shot through with a serious commitment to racial justice. Faith and Society seminars at Assembly This year’s Assembly will be taking place in Blackpool from 3-6 May. The Saturday afternoon seminar programme will offer delegates the opportunity to attend two 75-minute seminars or one 3-hour seminar. Aspects of the Faith and Society Team’s work will be explored at the following seminars: 3-hour seminar beginning at 14:15 • Younger Leaders’ Forum – mission, not lost?- considers the issue of the ‘missing generation’ in most Baptist churches – young adults. 75-minute seminars beginning at 14:15 • Inter Faith engagement – is there life in other orbits?- looks at many of the misunderstandings of inter faith engagement, and signs of God at work. • Overcoming barriers to inclusion of disabled people- the BUGB Disability Justice Group will help us ensure that people with disabilities are fully included in the life of our churches.

75-minute seminars beginning at 16:00 • Encouraging young missionary disciples – today...not tomorrow: transforming church for all ages- explore how we can transform churches to become truly intergenerational, and create disciples of children and young people today. There will also be two 75 minute seminars on Sunday afternoon looking at: • Providing pastoral care for gay and lesbian Christians in the local church • Equipping churches to support people experiencing domestic violence Please see the Assembly Handbook for details of times and venues for these events. We look forward to meeting with you at one or more of these seminars. For more information, see: www. baptistassembly.org.uk/event/main-seminarprogramme-saturday Faith in health and healing conference … integrating the church with health services This ecumenical conference, being hosted by the Anglican Health Network and Parish Nursing Ministries, is being held 24-25 April in Birmingham. It promises to be a major landmark in the relationship between the health services and the church, and will examine three themes: • Health, dying and human flourishing • The healing ministries of the church amongst individuals and communities • The Church in the governance and delivery of health services For more information, see www. anglicanhealth.org/ConferenceHome.aspx 9

The Baptist Times Paul Hobson Editor

It’s been roughly a year since the launch of the revamped Baptist Times website. Since going live on 23 April 2012, the site has attracted more than 60,000 visitors and several hundred thousand page views. The average number of monthly readers – or unique visitors – is steadily growing. Following the closure of the weekly newspaper in late 2011, there remains much interest in news and views with a Baptist perspective. There has been a wide range of stories told about how God is working in our churches, lives being transformed and how our churches are sharing the love of Jesus in their communities in word and deed. A range of views, too, have been expressed by people across the denomination and I thank everyone who has contributed. Increasingly the website has provided a space for Baptist authors to share a snapshot of their recentlypublished works, in the form of excerpts or interviews. And while not perfect, the site offers space for users to air their views in the way the Baptist Times letters’ page once did. Sharing daily stories from the Baptist Assembly in London was an early and popular feature, and I look forward to doing the same at this year’s gathering in Blackpool. In addition the site has provided opportunities to advertise jobs, shared the work of BMS World Mission, relayed wider news of interest to Christians, and provided 10

a culture section with book, film, music and concert reviews. The Baptist Times, whether it has been through the website, the Weekly News Round-up, or its social media channels (Facebook, Twitter), has been particularly useful in communicating information about the life of the Baptist Union of Great Britain. The reports on the various stages of the Futures Process throughout 2012 have been among the most visited. Now sited in the new Faith and Society team, work is underway to take The Baptist Times to the next stage of its development. The aim is to provide a more dynamic site that will consistently reach more of the denomination. It will hopefully encourage even more people to contribute, providing a greater sense of ownership of the site, and aims to deepen the sense of covenantal relationship across the denomination. This is a place where we can readily share stories of blessings and failure, offer encouragement and be critical friends. We hope to equip and inspire those who visit, through news, views and ideas. So, a significant anniversary and the beginning of work to take the website to its next stage of development – it’s an appropriate time to get some feedback. What has worked for you? What hasn’t? What would you like to see more of? How can The Baptist Times be improved? I welcome feedback at any time, so please get in touch with your thoughts. editor@baptisttimes.co.uk

Ministries Paul Goodliff Team Leader

Indemnity Insurance Since 2012 the Baptist Union has no longer paid a premium for indemnity insurance for all of its working ministers from Home Mission. I am very pleased to inform ministers that the Baptist Insurance Company (BIC) has written ministers back into those covered by the public liability insurance that churches purchase. Those ministers, therefore, who are serving in Baptist appointments covered by churches insured for public liability with the BIC now have some insurance cover. The Baptist Union will be covering the additional premium for the small group of ministers not in pastoral charge, or any other employed post, but retired ministers will remain without additional indemnity insurance, other than that which they would be covered by as a member of a local church. Those working ministers in churches that are not insured for public liability with BIC should take measures to enquire whether they are similarly covered by whichever insurance that church has taken out. Indeed, this should remind all churches that they are strongly urged to take out both public liability and, where necessary, employer’s liability insurance. Human Sexuality Discussions It will not come as any surprise that discussions about same-sex relationships have been widely conducted in recent days. The proposal to extend marriage to same-gender couples has been particularly controversial, and as I write it is passing through its committee stage in Parliament. In addition, the recent controversy arising from Steve Chalke’s article in Christianity has raised the issues surrounding Civil Partnerships for debate. As Jonathan Edwards and others have said, we welcome

the debate, and for that reason I feel it would be helpful to draw the sting once and for all from the anxiety that some ministers have felt if they express their own convictions (and especially if those convictions are affirmative of same-sex relationships). The fear is that to do so would be deemed conduct unbecoming. While we have guidance over the practice of conducting blessings of Civil Partnerships, it seems to me quite contrary to our Baptist convictions about freedom of conscience and freedom of expression to have a so-called ‘gagging order’ about the debate surrounding human sexuality. So, let me say this as clearly as I can – Baptist ministers are free to discuss same-sex relationships without any fear of sanctions being applied, whether those views expressed are affirmative or, with I guess the majority, much more cautious about same-sex relations. Let’s have the debate, and have it freely. I am sure God can cope with this, and so can we! Review of Selection, Training and Funding of Ministerial Training Thank you to all who responded to my invitation to write to me about ministerial training and selection as a first step in the review currently under way. It is not too late to contribute to this debate as the focus shifts later this year to intentional conversation with association MRCs, colleges and other bodies. So, if you have anything to offer by way of constructive observation to the group that will undertake this review, then it is not too late to write to me or email me at pgoodliff@baptist.org.uk

Ministries Chaplaincy and Sector Ministry One of the changes arising from the reordering of our life together as the Baptist Union has been the reduction in the number of committees. This has included the closure of the Sector Ministries Committee, but that does not reflect any diminishment in the importance of supporting and affirming chaplaincy as an honoured expression of our pastoral and missional witness. The moderators of the four working groups (health care, work and economy, prison and educational chaplaincy) will continue to meet, and I hope there will be new vigour in the networking of chaplains together in association. Many find a small, part-time chaplaincy role alongside their duties in pastoral charge of a congregation enormously enriching to both minister and church, as well as expressing the mission of

the church in a very practical way. This is also true for military chaplains and as 2014 approaches, and with it the centenary of the establishing of The United Board in 1914, I hope that there will be a fresh sense of openness and interest by Baptist ministers in the opportunities that a range of roles in serving HM Forces affords: TA chaplaincy or Officiating Chaplaincy roles to local bases; chaplaincy to youth corps such as the Army Cadet Force, Air Training Corps and the Sea Cadets; as well as commissioned full time chaplains, with all three services still actively recruiting to these roles despite The Strategic Defence Review and its associated cuts in military strength. For more information you can email the Convenor of the Board, Revd Ian McFarlane convenor@unitedboard.org.uk

• Inspiring stories from Baptist churches and Christians around the country • News on what’s happening in our Union, including the Futures Process and reports from the Baptist Assembly and Baptist Union Council • A varied mix of columnists • Baptisms, testimonies and obituaries • Christian book extracts and reviews, and film reviews from a Christian perspective, including Skyfall and Argo

The Baptist Times also provides a free email: • The Weekly News Round-up

Visit www.baptisttimes.co.uk

Safeguarding Mave Whitchurch Interim Safeguarding Administrator

It has certainly been a season of change and the Protection of Freedoms Act continues to be a source of debate. I am pleased to say that Baptist response to the change of CRB to DBS worked very well and the new forms have been steadily going out to the churches. Thank you for being so vigilant and attentive to the information that we have been sending out. The system of paying for CRB forms in the past has been met from a central budget making the applications free of charge for all volunteer applicants. The recent review of finances within the Baptist Union has meant that every area of Baptist life has needed to be considered. The cost of these CRB (now DBS) forms are a very large part of that budget and the need to recover some of that cost has sadly become unavoidable. We are exploring the way that this might be achieved.

Regulated Activity (Adults) You are in Regulated Activity if you provide health care, personal care, social work, assistance with cash, bills or shopping, assistance in the conduct of a personâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s own affairs, conveying someone to healthcare, personal care or social care. As you know I have been doing this post temporarily until someone is appointed to take over the role. By the time you read this, that appointment should have been made and so this may well be my last article for Transform. Thank you for your patience while I have been in this post and letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hope there will be no more changes or new legislation in the near future and that things will perhaps begin to settle down for a while.

In order to help with the writing of your policy and procedures, we have now uploaded 2 model policies onto the Safe to Grow website. One is for a smaller church of 50 or less while the other is for larger churches. It is hoped that churches will be able to use them as a guideline in writing their own policies www.safetogrow.org.uk As I have had an increase in requests for information about vulnerable adults recently, I thought I would include the definition of regulated activity in this edition of Transform to help you as you discern whether the activities that your church is involved in fall into the necessary categories.

Support Services David Locke Team Leader

Introduction The newly formed Support Services Team is continuing the long established work of the Finance and Administration department. It aims to provide high quality services, information and guidance to local churches and associations. The areas covered include finance, pensions, legal and property matters. Our aim this year is make sure that we listen well to churches and associations, providing excellent support and services that release them to focus on their mission of sharing the love of Jesus. 2013 Home Mission Stipend The Trustees have fixed the Home Mission Stipend for 2013 at £20,700, an increase of 3.5% on the 2012 Stipend. The Manse Value used in the pensionable income calculation for ministerial members of the Baptist Pension Scheme will remain at £6,000 from 1 January 2013. Deposit rates The Baptist Union Corporation currently (from 1 April 2012) pays interest at 0.90% on money deposited by churches in the Baptist Union Loan Fund. The current rate can be found on the Union’s website in the Finance & Legal area. The deposits assist the provision of loans to churches, and are welcomed by the Corporation. Loan rates The Baptist Union Corporation is willing to lend at 3.80% (from 1 April 2012) to churches buying, extending or renovating buildings or manses, subject to suitable repayment arrangements being in place. This rate is also subject to change in line with national interest rates. The current 14

rate can be found on the Union’s website in the Finance & Legal area. Mileage rates There are no changes to the recommended rates. For the first 10,000 miles in each tax year, the rate is 45p per mile and for mileage over 10,000 the rate is 25p per mile. Charity Numbers Many churches assume that as they are in membership of the Baptist Union they are able to use the registered charity numbers for the Baptist Union Corporation and the Baptist Union of Great Britain. This is not the case. Also, churches should not use the registered charity number of their local association. Churches are currently regarded as ‘excepted charities’ under section 30 (2) (b) of the Charities Act 2011 and will not have their own registered number, unless they have been required to register due to their income level. The government have extended the ‘Excepting Regulations’ until 2014, pending a decision on whether to lower the registration threshold of £100,000. The Committee reviewing the operation of the Charities Act have recommended that the registration threshold be reduced to £50,000, which has yet to be confirmed by government. The Baptist Union Corporation has documentation available to support churches through this process, but there is nothing to do until the final timetable is published by government. Those churches that have registered due to their level of income should quote the number issued to them by the Charity Commission.

Assembly voting cards for Retired Ministers In January each year voting cards for the Baptist Assembly are sent to ministers in pastorate and church secretaries. Retired Ministers are able to request voting cards and should do so in writing to the General Manager at the Baptist Union’s office in Didcot.

Pensions Stuart Glen

pensions@baptist.org.uk

Basic Section All Church Treasurers will have received a letter from the Union providing details of the government’s intention for all workers to be offered workplace pensions, through a process called auto enrolment. A Basic Section of the Baptist Pension Scheme opened on 1 January 2013 for employees of Baptist churches. More information can be obtained on the Union’s website, or from the Pensions Office at Baptist House. Sick Leave Treasurers are reminded that if their minister, or other staff members who are members of the Baptist Pension Scheme have been continuously absent from work due to illness or injury for 4 weeks, it is important that the Pensions Office are notified immediately so that they can in turn notify the Insurance Company. This is important because of the income protection requirements. Delay in notifying the Pensions Office will result in the Insurance Company delaying the date on which income protection payments can be made, thus adversely affecting the member’s benefits. Members of the Scheme are also reminded that if they

resign from service with the employer because of their ill-health, they are no longer eligible for the income protection payments which over a period of years could amount to a substantial loss of income. Return of forms It is important that members return the forms sent to them by the Pensions Office. These forms can include your Declaration of Pensionable Income and the forms required by the Pensions Office prior to your retirement. Failure to return these forms on time could result in lower contributions into your pension pot or a delay in collecting your pension and any lump sum due on retirement. Request for financial information Each year, the Pension Trustees are required to collect financial information from all employers (ie churches) to assess the Employer Covenant. If you have not yet submitted the summary online or on paper for the years 2010 and 2011, we would be grateful if you could now do so. The Pensions Office will soon be issuing a request to all churches to submit a summary for 2012. Further details can be found on the Pensions page of the Union’s website at www.baptist.org.uk/pensionschemes

Legal and Property Issues Linda Holder

buc@baptist.org.uk

In Galatians 6:2 Paul encourages the believers to “Carry each others’ burdens” adding that in this way “you will fulfil the law of Christ”. The Good News Bible includes an illustration showing each

person carrying their own load and helping their companion with the burdens they carry. I think this verse and the illustration mirror what we try to do by offering guidance to help the churches who contact us about legal and property problems, or their new opportunities and projects. We have included some specific topics in this edition of Transform but if you have a question that is not covered, or is not in our guidelines leaflets, please contact us. Working together and supporting each other has a positive aim. In our various ways “as we have opportunity” we want to do good, as Paul suggests “to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.” Galatians 6:10. Charitable Incorporated Organisations A Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) is a new legal structure designed for charities that want to incorporate. We have mentioned this before – but now we have more details. The Regulations have been issued, and we have prepared information for Baptist churches. We have been working with Anthony Collins LLP Solicitors to prepare a CIO governing document that is suitable for Baptist churches. This has now been finalised and a new BUC guideline leaflet C38 Using the Charitable Incorporated Organisation Precedent Document is available on the BUGB website. The precedent document will be available from Anthony Collins Solicitors free of cost to the church. We have arranged the distribution in this way to ensure that churches receive some basic information about the processes involved. It is 16

important that each church gives careful consideration to the implications of this structure and appoints solicitors (or other professionals) to help with the explanation, possible amendment, and adoption of this new framework. There are some very important issues to consider which are described in more detail in the guideline leaflet C29 Churches, Charities and Incorporation, which has also been updated. Please remember that each church will be different so all the implications need to be considered carefully. The Charity Commission has commented: We think that the CIO will be most suitable for small to medium sized organisations which employ staff and/or enter into contracts. Although establishing and running a CIO should be simpler than establishing a charitable company, it will not be as straightforward as running an unincorporated association or a charitable trust. The main benefit of the CIO structure is that the members and trustees are usually personally safeguarded from the financial liabilities the charity incurs, which is not normally the case for unincorporated charities. This is balanced by the need to comply with the general Charity Law and the Regulations that apply to CIOs and each church and group of Charity Trustees will need to consider the implications. The Charity Commission has created a timetable for the registration of organisations adopting the new structure. All Charitable Incorporated Organisations must be registered with the Commission. The timetable is based on an individual charity’s annual income; churches with an

annual income over £250k can register as a CIO from March 2013, those with an income over £100k from May 2013 and those over £25k from July 2013. Assets of Community Value Several churches have contacted us because they have been told by their local authority that their building is being listed as an ‘Asset of Community Value’. The ‘Community Right to Bid’ is part of the Localism Act and came into force in September 2012. It aims to ensure that important community assets remain in public use and stay part of community life. The Localism Act enables voluntary and community organisations and parish councils to nominate an asset for inclusion on a list of ‘Assets of Community Value’. The list is managed by local authorities. The owner of a listed asset who decides to sell the property must notify the local authority. There is an initial period of six weeks to check whether any community groups are interested. If there is no interest the owner may sell. Where a community group expresses an interest the asset cannot be sold for six months. This gives community groups time to develop a proposal and raise funds to bid for the property when it comes onto the open market, after 6 months. However it is important to note that although a community group will have the right to bid, they will not have a right to buy and the owner remains free to sell to a purchaser of their choosing. Churches need not be unduly concerned if their building is listed in this way. It is only relevant if the building is to be sold or if there is an application for change of use. In relation to a potential sale our solicitors have advised us that there are exemptions

from the requirements to ‘wait before marketing’ which may apply to a church, depending on the circumstances. Guideline leaflets We hope you are familiar with the range of guideline leaflets we publish to help churches with a variety of legal and property issues. The information in these leaflets is specifically tailored to Baptist churches and the latest editions can all be found on the BUGB website www.baptist. org.uk We have updated: C13 Churches and Disability issues (previously DDA 1995) C23 Help! We’re a small church C29 Churches, Charities and Incorporation LB09 Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme We have new leaflets: B14 Grants for Building work (for churches seeking grants for building work) C38 Using the Charitable Incorporated Organisation Precedent Document

Compiled by Philip Cooke FCA., Honorary Taxation Adviser to the Baptist Union PAYE Real Time Information (RTI): By the time this column appears the new PAYE operating system known as RTI will likely be operational since it is due to begin on 6 April. If treasurers or those responsible for church payrolls have undertaken the necessary preliminary

preparations (particularly ensuring that there are no errors in the required data relating to employees and employer) then the changeover should go relatively smoothly. However, if you encounter any difficulties you should quickly refer to the HMRC Online Services Helpdesk (0845 60 55 999). Penalties will be imposed if there is any delay in submitting the Full Payment Submission (FPS) on or before payment of stipend or salaries, though HMRC has announced that it will adopt a ‘light touch’ approach during the first year. Where a church is not using commercial software or a payroll bureau then, as long as there are not more than nine employees, use may be made of HMRC’s Basic Payroll Tools. Every endeavour will be made to keep treasurers abreast of further developments through the Treasurers Channel on the BUGB website but it is worth stressing some important points here: • The FPS and associated EPS (Employer’s Payment Submission) form part of the payroll software and will be sent to HMRC electronically. • A FPS has to be sent on or before a payment is made to an employee even though a payment may not trigger any tax. You can, if it is more convenient, send more than one FPS at a time – say for three months in order to tally with a quarterly remittance of tax and NICs, though a remittance will not be due until the 19th (or 22nd if paid electronically) of the month following the third month’s pay. • Fees paid to visiting preachers are not regarded as earnings from an employment and will therefore not be included in a FPS – but preachers have a responsibility to include such fees in their own tax returns. 18

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Reference should at all times be made to HMRC’s comprehensive guidance notes – Operating PAYE in Real Time, the link to which is: http://www.hmrc. gov.uk/payerti/index.htm The payroll information to be shown on the FPS includes the number of hours per week normally worked by each employee, under one of four bands, namely, A – under 16 hours; B – over 16 but under 30 hours; C – over 30 hours; or D – other. In the case of ministers it is suggested that either category C, or D would be appropriate bearing in mind that they are both ‘office holders’ and also on ‘24/7’ call. The HMRC guidance notes referred to above include a comprehensive ‘A to Z guide’ to the treatment of all types of expenses and benefits. Expenses most likely to be relevant to a FPS for a minister include such items as ‘round-sum’ expense allowances and any housing allowance (as distinct from rent under a tenancy or lease agreement) paid in lieu of the provision of a manse, though if a church pays or reimburses expenses which are a minister’s personal liability these will need to be included. Manse lighting and heating expenses reimbursed to a minister will not form part of the FPS but must be shown in section N of the annual form P11D since they give rise to a taxable benefit – but no NIC liability. It should go without saying that a church should ensure that it holds a P11D dispensation covering the kind of expense payments and benefits which are normally tax allowable – but noting that reimbursed lighting and heating expenses will not form part of a dispensation. [A draft application

for a dispensation is available on the Treasurers Channel on the BUGB website.] Gift Aid Relief and Small Donations ‘Topup payment’ claims: In case you may not have caught up with the note placed in December on the BUGB website’s Treasurers Channel containing new information about changes in the claims procedure it is repeated here. HMRC has confirmed that because Baptist churches are unincorporated associations, repayment claims for Gift Aid Relief (GAR) should always be made on an accounting year basis. This means that the date to be entered on page 1 of the claim form should always be the date that the church’s annual accounts end (eg 31/12). HMRC should not inform churches to make their claims on a tax-year basis but if this happens you should contact HMRC Charities and inform them of the correct date upon which the accounting period ends. However, ‘Top-up’ payments (TUPs) under the new Small Charitable Donations scheme (available in respect of non-GAR cash donations not exceeding £20 each received on or after 6 April 2013) will be dealt with on a tax-year basis. These TUPs do not actually represent a repayment of tax but are calculated in a similar way to GAR, but limited to a maximum sum of £1,250 based on small cash donations totalling up to £5,000 in any tax year. A new claim form and online repayment service (see below for further details) is being introduced from April 2013. The claim form will contain sections for claiming GAR and TUPs but churches will be able to submit combined or separate

claims as desired. For example, in the case of a church with, say, a 31 December yearend, it could choose as follows: • To include a claim for a TUP for small donations received in the period from 6 April 2013 to 31 December 2013 when submitting a claim for GAR for the year to 31 December 2013 and then (insofar as the maximum payment for the tax year has not already been claimed) make a further TUP claim in respect of small cash donations received in the period from 1 January 2014 to 5 April 2014; or • To exclude any claim for a TUP when making the normal GAR claim for the year to 31 December 2013 and then make a separate TUP claim for the tax year ending 5 April 2014 It must, however, be remembered that a claim for a TUP on small cash donations – • is limited to £1,250 in any one tax year (ie on small cash donations of up to £5,000); • has to be made within one year of the end of the tax year to which the claim relates; • has to be ‘matched’ by a GAR claim on donations equal to at least one-tenth of the cash donations for which a TUP is being claimed (eg if the maximum TUP payment is being claimed there must be a minimum of £500 in GAR donations); and • can only be made if there have been claims for GAR in at least two of the previous four tax years. • Reference should also be made to earlier announcements appearing in Transform and on the Treasurers Channel of the Baptist Union website for information about the conditions attaching to TUPs. 19

From 22 April 2013 charities can sign up to make repayment claims electronically under a new service called Charities Online. The current claim and print form (R68(i)) will be replaced by three options for making claims, namely, (1) using the online form; (2) using your own database; or (3) using a new paper form (ChR1) which can be ordered from the HMRC Charities Helpline. Further guidance on the new claims procedures is available on the HMRC website using the following link: www.hmrc.gov.uk/charities/online/index. htm

Manse telephone/broadband packages: This subject still crops up regularly in queries sent to me despite the fact that it has been covered on so many occasions. The essential points to note are: • The agreement with a supplier must be in the name of the church and the account must be paid directly by the church. A few suppliers seem to insist upon the name of an individual appearing on the account in which case the choice is between that of the church treasurer or, if absolutely necessary, the name of the minister provided the agreement and the account clearly refers to the individual as “Minister of xyz Baptist Church”. • A demand by a supplier for payment by way of a personal credit or debit card must be resisted and a direct debit arrangement on the church’s account set up instead. • As long as any personal use is negligible the provision of the line should fall within the ‘workplace’ exemption provided by S.316 ITEPA 2003 and there will be no reportable benefit, but if a church requires a minister to account for the cost of

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personal calls (usually difficult to quantify in the case of many packages) a church should ensure that the P11D dispensation includes ‘church business calls’. [An alternative to seeking reimbursement for insubstantial personal use might be to invite a minister to increase his/her regular giving in lieu.] Packages which include other elements (eg access to TV channels) do not qualify for the S.316 exemption and will likely result in the whole cost giving rise to a taxable benefit. The provision by a church (ie in the church’s name) of a mobile phone for use by a minister for church business will not give rise to a reportable benefit even though there may be personal use.

Manse provided for a part-time or nonstipendiary minister: The official view of HMRC is that the (S.99(2) ITEPA 2003) exemption from tax in respect of the benefit of manse accommodation provided by a church applies only to a full-time minister. However, in cases where this view has been advanced it has been successfully argued that whilst a minister may not receive a full-time stipend he or she is required to be on call to members of the congregation on a ‘24/7 basis’ and accommodation must be so provided for the better performance of the duties of the office. By the same token the benefit of manse accommodation provided for a non-stipendiary minister will also fall within the exemption. The terms of appointment should, of course, always make clear that manse accommodation is provided for the better performance of the minister‘s duties.

Ministers’ training expenses: Treasurers and ministers are reminded that where a church incurs or reimburses the cost of providing work-related training for its minister this will not give rise to a taxable benefit provided the course or project is designed to “impart, instil, improve or reinforce any knowledge, skills or personal qualities that are likely to be useful in the performance of the duties of the office, or better qualify the minister to undertake those duties”. The exempted expenses include any incidental costs, though any travel or subsistence costs must satisfy the usual ‘qualifying travelling expenses’ rules. The relief will cover most kinds of training undertaken by ministers, including relevant sabbatical projects, but it will always help if it can be demonstrated (eg by minute) that the particular course or project is being undertaken at the request of the church for the purpose of further equipping the minister to perform the duties of the office. It should be noted that there is no relief for expenses borne by the minister. Ministers’ tax returns: The tax return season is once again upon us so it is pertinent to remind ministers of one or two aspects. • Paper returns have to be filed by 31 October but the deadline for online returns is the following 31 January. It appears that quite a number of ministers have availed themselves of the software facility made available at a very attractive cost by Keytime, the link to which is: www.keytime.co.uk/ ministers • As well as claiming up to 25% of actual manse lighting and heating expenses for church business purposes a similar claim can be made in respect of contents insurance.

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Ministers can also claim in the year of purchase the cost of providing a computer and other related IT equipment necessary for church business purposes though if there is personal use of such equipment the claim should be restricted pro rata. Expenses incurred or reimbursed by a church which are included in a P11D dispensation are not required to be shown in the return. Further guidance on the completion of a tax return is contained in document F13 on the BUGB website, including allowable expenses and guidance on calculating the 10% ‘cap’ on any manse service benefits such as reimbursed lighting and heating expenses.

These notes are issued for general guidance only. The author or publisher cannot accept responsibility for loss occasioned to any persons acting or refraining from action as a result of material contained herein. If you are in any doubt about the correct treatment of any matter you should seek further professional advice. I am, however, prepared to respond to questions of a general nature on a similar ’no responsibility’ basis and my e-mail address is: philipjcooke@aol.com. In order to prevent emails being treated as ’spam’ please state under ’Subject’ the name of your church plus the words ‘Church tax enquiry‘.

Council General report from Baptist Union Council (Baptist Times Online 20.3.13 – www.baptisttimes.co.uk/index.php/feature)

Baptists have been encouraged to face the future with courage and humility and be ‘utterly dependent’ on the Lord. That was the message from the Revd Jonathan Edwards as he addressed his last Baptist Union Council as general secretary of the Baptist Union of Great Britain.We are all in transition, he said, and do not know what the future holds. But evoking Abraham, who left the security of a good home to follow God’s call, Mr Edwards said the journey of faith needs both courage to take bold steps, and humility because we don’t know what’s coming up. What we can be confident in is ‘our great God’, and as we go forward in faith together, ‘God will bless us.’ Mr Edwards had opened the gathering on Monday by describing it as a ‘historic Council’. It was the last in its current format – as part of changes agreed last year the next Council in November will be attended by fewer members for two days rather than three and will be structured differently. Delegates therefore heard the last ever reports from Faith and Unity and Ministry executives, as reporting in the future will be through the Baptist Steering Group and the Trustee Board.

The former brought a report about drones to the meeting, following which members approved a series of recommendations, including challenging the Government on their use and encouraging churches to reflect biblically on the ethical dilemmas relating to the use of drones. The latter invited members to consider whether they wished to revisit guidance for ministers on Civil Partnerships. This was agreed by a majority, but not unanimously, and will be discussed at November’s meeting. On Monday and Tuesday members

considered the culture of our Baptist Union of Great Britain: not what we do, but how we do it. On Monday they broke off into small groups to try to define the nature of the culture to which we aspire; Tuesday saw them exploring how things will be different if the culture prevails. The thinking will be fed into a group looking at what cultural change might mean now the basic shape of the future for our Union has been adopted. Elsewhere, Marion Fiddes, the Revd Clare McBeath and Rupert Hill, an independent human resources consultant, were elected or re-elected as BUGB trustees. The Transitional Steering Group was commissioned. Mr Edwards, Amanda Allchorn (Communications) and Philip Putman (Finance), members of the former senior management team who will shortly leave their current roles, were thanked and prayed for. Jenny Royal, moderator of trustees, brought news from the nominations committee for the next general secretary. Sixty-five letters had been received, with 35 names put forward. Thirteen had been considered. The committee had been ‘very encouraged breadth of by age, ethnicity and gender’, and interviews take place in early April. If a name emerges, it will be brought to Assembly. Trustee Board Report – Role of Assembly Council also reflected on the section of the Governance Report about the role of Assembly. They also considered detailed changes to the BUGB Constitution, from the changes already agreed at November Council 2012. Much of this will be explained at the Annual General Meeting to be held at Assembly, during the focus on National Mission session on Saturday 4 May. Information will be sent to those who have registered for Assembly, and it is also available on our website.

Ministries Team The last report of the Ministry Executive was placed before Council by the Revd Sarah Parry, its Moderator. It included recommendations that the holding of a minimum amount of life assurance cover, equal to that currently offered through the Baptist Pension Fund, should remain an expectation upon all working ministers, but that it no longer should be a requirement for accreditation; that the support for sector ministry should continue through a regular meeting of the moderators of the four working groups representing the various kinds of chaplaincy; and that Council take the opportunity in November to reflect upon its guidance to ministers concerning civil partnerships in the light of the various developments in social policy and legislation that have arisen since 2009. Council approved these recommendations. An Appraisal and Capability Procedure was presented for approval, but this was referred back for further development, and it was acknowledged that the work of the Ministerial Recognition Committee should continue its vital work. Reports from Baptist Ministers serving as Her Majesty’s Chaplains to the Forces were received, and thanks were offered to Sarah Parry for her four years’ service as Moderator of this Executive Committee. Faith and Society Team In this time of transition, this Council marked the end of the reports of the Faith and Unity Executive. What has not changed though is the importance of the work of the Executive, much of which is moving forward to the new Faith and Society Team. Council received and debated an important piece of work from the Joint Public Issues Team on Drones, passing resolutions to support the ongoing work in providing materials for churches to engage with

the debate. Details can be found from www.jointpublicissues.org.uk/issues/ peacemaking/drones/ The Executive also reported on the ongoing vital work of the Women’s, Disability and Racial Justice groups within the union, in particular the Sam Sharpe project, part of the outcome of the Slavery apology agreed by Council in November 1997 www. samsharpeproject.org/ Support Services Team - Finance It was reported that the 2012 deficit was £523,914 which was slightly better than the forecast deficit of £600,000. The reason for this was that as well as good cost control there had also been a helpful improvement in income. After a dip in 2011, the Home Mission Appeal bounced back in 2012 with the highest ever Appeal achievement at £4,089,159, a near 2% increase on the previous year. This is an excellent result given the current economic background and means we can move forward with a real sense of purpose towards achieving the Appeal target of £4,100,000. Following the retirement of Philip Putman, a new finance manager, Mary Oshu, has been appointed. Mary is currently a finance manager with the NHS and is also a deacon at Tyndale Baptist Church in Reading. Pensions A number of improvements have been made to managing the risk of the pension scheme including implementation of a new investment strategy to reduce the risks to the scheme of increased inflation. The impact of recent stock market gains have helped the scheme but the positive impact of this has been largely offset by the low level of interest rates which remain at an historic low level. Moving forward a new pensions liaison officer is being appointed to help in supporting churches and individuals with their pension queries.

Around the Union Central Administrative contact: Stephen Copson 01462 442548 stephen.c@centralba.org.uk In early 2013 we have continued to provide training opportunities – ‘Transforming Congregations’ on shaping missionary congregations and another seminar on safeguarding. In February Chris Duffett, BUGB President, shared a weekend with us in his own distinctive fashion. Footsteps, our leadership training course run jointly with Regent’s Park College, is close to its first anniversary in the summer. We have been pleased to have a good response from people in our churches and we look forward to building on this in coming years. We are grateful to Anne Lane, Community Learning Tutor, for all her hard work.

East Midland Administrative contact: Becky Hardiman 0115 981 8645 administrator@embaptists.co.uk The EMBA is excited about the developments with our partner association HEBA and we are working together on several issues. Networking as churches is a major focus in the region and we are also exploring church planting in West Leicestershire, Peterborough and in multicultural settings. Some churches are using ‘Freedom in Christ’ material and finding it fruitful. 24

Eastern Administrative contact: Hayley Beckett 01480 530289 secretary@easternbaptist.org.uk Sheila Martin has returned from sabbatical and her research into ministers who are bullied in their churches has been published as an ebook available from Amazon – “A Guilty Secret: The bullying of ministers in the church”. The Amigos Project working with migrant workers in CBA, EBA, & EMBA has come to an end due to lack of funding. Jorge Damasceno, formerly of the Project, has been inducted as Associate Pastor at Dereham BC and will work with EBA in supporting a number of Portuguese congregations within the association.

Heart of England Administrative contact: Karen Martindale 0121 472 4986 mailbox@baptist-heartofengland.org About 150 people from the Black Country Group of churches gathered for a Celebration at Kings Community Church, Oldbury in November. It was a really encouraging evening with news of a variety of mission initiatives from the area. Staff and Trustees from HEBA and the East Midland Baptist Association met together on 20 February to explore ways of working together more closely in the future. Both Staff Teams are due to meet again for a Quiet Day in Holy Week, which this year will be led by Chris Ellis.

London Administrative contact: Norman Kincaid 020 7692 5592 norman.kincaid@londonbaptist.org.uk Early February saw 100 LBA ministers gathering at High Leigh for the annual Pastors Consultation. Our theme this year was ‘Healing’. The event considered this in diverse terms – looking at the ministry of healing to bring healing to communities – and was lead by a variety of speakers. The event enabled ministers to reflect, to share fellowship and minister to one another. February also saw us beginning to review our vision and strategy. This is an overdue process and we aim to complete it by June.

North Western Administrative contact: Mandy Howarth 01942 221595 admin@nwba.org.uk The Futures Process affects us all and NWBA is no exception. One of our key tasks in the next six months will be to work with YBA and NBA to develop a fresh approach to Home Mission Funding. We see this as a positive opportunity and are bringing churches together to share stories and develop local mission partnerships. We are also working with the Comedy Trust to develop a new preachers’ workshop programme and, as we anticipate a Regional Minister vacancy later in the year, are working with HEBA to review how our association operates.

Northern Administrative enquiries: 0191 273 7641 admin@thenba.org.uk

South Eastern Administrative contact: Steph Tidy 01444 233431 admin@seba-baptist.org.uk To support, encourage and develop our nine geographical networks, we have a Network Day on 24 April with representatives gathering at Horley BC. During the summer our networks will be preparing for the nine celebrations to be held in the late-summer and the autumn – one in every network and each including a SEBA AGM presentation. The training courses for Elders and Deacons are still popular as the Regional Team conducts them in different parts of the association. Finally, we are pleased that new churches continue to want to join SEBA!

South Wales Administrative contact: Jackie Godding 02920 491366 office@swbabugb.org.uk The annual conference for Baptist Ministers in Wales was held in February in beautiful Saundersfoot. We were enriched by the excellent teaching of Revd David Kerrigan and the Bible Studies in 1 Thessalonians led by Revd Peter Hicks. The opportunities for renewing friendships, prayer and sharing stories of what God is doing around the world encouraged us in our ministries and challenged us in our response to God’s calling.

Around the Union South West Administrative contact: Chris Wooding 01392 433533 chris@swbaptists.org.uk We are currently reviewing two projects we started three years ago. One was a church plant from scratch. It has become a group of around 30-40 people meeting every Saturday for worship, prayer, teaching and communion alongside a wide range of social involvement. The other was resourcing a dying church to reach a very needy community. There have been conversions, baptisms and new attendees. But neither project is yet financially sustainable and we are finding that planning the next three years is even harder and more complex than starting from scratch.

Southern Counties Administrative contact: Amy Allen 01235 517637 office.adminstrator@scba.org.uk Cathy Ross, who lectures in mission at Regent’s Park College, Oxford, challenged the SCBA Leaders’ Conference in Bournemouth to be ‘Go-Between Leaders’. Such leaders are called to work towards seeing local communities transformed but also to give themselves to nurturing congregations. This reflects the reality of where many of our churches find themselves, and therefore the skills required by leaders as our culture continues to develop.

West of England Administrative contact: Gary McFarlane 0117 965 8828 office@webassoc.org.uk WEBA’s trustees have approved a wide ranging review of the association’s activities for 2013. New Trustees will be appointed this year and there will be a greater strategic role for cluster representatives as network facilitators, developing our clusters as missional networks.

Yorkshire Administrative contact: Debbie Gamble 0113 278 4954 debbie.gamble@yba.org.uk ‘Jesus Life:Style – Equipping individuals for whole life discipleship’. Jesus Life:Style is a new partnership with The YBA and BMS World Mission. It provides an invitation for the Baptist churches of Yorkshire to learn more about following Jesus in today’s culture, as well as launching into another culture. Come and find out more over coffee and croissants 10:00–11:30.Saturday 11 May - Mexborough Baptist Church. Saturday 18 May - Wesley Road Baptist Church, Armley. For more information contact Jane Day at jane.day@yba.org.uk

Staff News National New Appointments In accordance with the agreed restructuring process, the following appointments have been made to the new Specialist Teams: Ian Bunce Faith & Society Networker: Mission and Media Paul Hobson Faith and Society Coordinator: Media Mary Parker Faith and Society Facilitator: Resource – Development Tracey Vallance Faith and Society Facilitator: Resource – Research and Delivery Hazel Stanyon Faith and Society Assistant: Administration Fiona Myers Support Services Assistant: (Finance, Corporation and HR) Angie Bryant PA to the General Secretary Mary Kareem-Osho Following interviews held earlier in the year, Mary Kareem-Osho has accepted the role of Finance Manager in the Support Services Team and will take up this role from 22 April.

Chris Hall has successfully been appointed to the role of Editor with BMS World Mission, having served in the Baptist Union’s Communications Department since 2004. During this time Chris was Editor of Home Mission News and Baptist Life, worked as the Union’s Media Officer and ably led the way in growing the e-Comms and social media activity across BUGB. Sally Hall worked at Baptist House for eight years until her redundancy in February this year, mostly as Departmental Secretary in the Ministry Department. Amongst her many responsibilities were administering Residential Selection Conference, handling the processes when we are informed of the death of a minister, responding to enquiries on the telephone and supporting the work of safeguarding and CMCS. We wished her well as she sought new employment in the area. Janet Farnsworth joined Faith and Unity in 2007 as Department Administrator. In addition to running the normal office routine, Janet was passionate about justice issues and particularly supported the Women’s Justice Committee. She was often the person who fielded initial enquiries as the constant presence of a dispersed team. 27

Staff News Regional Eastern Norman Tharby has stepped down as moderator but David Mayne has stepped in as acting moderator until the EBA Assembly. East Midland Dianne Tidball is now back at work after surgery and we’re thankful to have a complete team again after quite a while of not having one. Heart of England Jon Turner moves to Canada in June after five years as Outreach Director of the Saltmine Trust. During this time Jon has also been supported by HEBA to encourage evangelism in our churches. He has worked closely with Regional Minister Adrian Argile and become a valued member of the Staff Team and Ministry Recognition Group. Jon has been appointed Associate Executive Minister for the Convention of Atlantic Baptist Churches in Eastern Canada, where he will be responsible for developing new churches and evangelism. Please join us in praying for Jon, his wife Jess and their two young girls at this time of enormous change. Southern Counties After 10 years of service as Association Administrator, we held a farewell event for Keith Hawton. Amy Allen, who can reached on office.administrator@scba. org.uk, tel: 01235 517637, has been appointed as the new administrator now based at Baptist House. West of England As part of a wide ranging review of WEBA’s activities the trustees have approved a new structure to the Regional Ministers 28

team. As a result Gordon Hindmarch left WEBA by reason of voluntary redundancy on 28 February. The trustees would like to thank Gordon for his contribution to the work of the association over the past five years. Gordon was able to spend the final month of his employment focussing on completing his MA in Missional Leadership rather than carrying out his normal duties. We pray for God’s rich blessings on Gordon’s future plans. Yorkshire The YBA is really pleased that Brian Nicholls, minister at South Parade Baptist Church, Leeds, has been appointed Chair (Moderator) of the Association Executive. He was welcomed to this role by the group at their meeting in February following affirmation by the churches.

Events National

Faith and Society

Wednesday 22 – Thursday 23 May: RE:5 Youth, Children and Family Workers Retreat King’s Park Conference Centre, Northampton. The cost for the event is £105 per person including overnight accommodation in single ensuite rooms and all meals. Book by 19 April at www.baptist.org.uk/events

Regional

Central

June: Association Assembly meeting in Milton Keynes. Incoming BUGB President Ernie Whalley will be speaking on ‘The Attractive Community’ and we are also planning seminars exploring ‘Faith & the Arts’ and ‘Godly Play’.

East Midland

20 April: AGM Association Day with Phil Jump (Regional Minister Team Leader, NWBA) at Mansfield Road BC. 22 June: INSPIRE event for 20s-30s. Venue TBC. 4 June: President Ernie Whalley is visiting the EMBA and leading a retreat day for our ministers.

Eastern

Please see the EBA website www.easternbaptist.org.uk for details of: • Core leaders training in association with Spurgeon’s College • Safeguarding events • 22 June: EBA Assembly at Colchester Road BC Ipswich

Heart of England

6 July: London Event incorporating the LBA AGM at Salvation Army, Regent Hall, Oxford Street (14:00).

North Western

21 April: Cumbria Roadshow, Millom Baptist Church. 4 May: NWBA AGM, Blackpool.

South Eastern

12 April: n:vision ADORE youth celebration with Chris Duffett at Guildford. 12-15 April: Chris Duffett Big Hearted Tour events at Horsham, Gravesend, Maidstone, Eastbourne, Godalming, Brighton, Worthing, Ashford & Canterbury. 15 June: South Eastern Baptist Women’s Ministry (SEBWM) Fellowship Day at South Ashford BC. 2 September: SEBWM Tonbridge Network Rally at Tonbridge BC.

South Wales

14-15 June: South Wales Baptist Association, Baptist Union of Wales and BMS World Mission are holding Momentum the Baptist Assembly in Wales taking place in Carmarthen. Our theme is ‘Casting the Nets’ and we look forward to continuing on our journey together, accompanied by Revd Alan Donaldson.

South West

20 April: ‘The 7 Deadly Sins of Women in Leadership’ – a day for women in any kind of leadership role, with speaker Kate Coleman at Belmont Chapel Exeter. More details from www.swbaptists.org.uk/events.

Southern Counties

Toolbox Days supporting the churches’ ministries to children, youth and families. Includes Children’s spirituality and faith, Godly play, growing disciples & is Messy Church ‘real church’? 13 April: Langley Free Church, East Berks (09:00–12:30) 18 May: Kidlington BC (10:00–16:00)

9 June: Baptist churches in Herefordshire are encouraged to gather together for a Sunday evening Celebration at Ross-on-Wye Baptist Church. Young people from Ross will be helping the Regional Ministry Team to lead the service. 18 June: We look forward to welcoming BUGB President Ernie Whalley to our AGM. The venue is George Road BC in Erdington rather than IMC, to accommodate the larger numbers we have seen over the past two years. Further details from the HEBA Office or www.baptistheartofengland.org

7 Deadly Sins of Women in Leadership course – on seven Saturdays between 27 April and 14 December at Bradley Stoke Evangelical Church.

London

Yorkshire

23 April: St George’s Day Celebration at Swiss Church, Endell Street, London WC2 with guest speakers Robert Winder and Revd Dr Rosalyn Murphy. This will examine the theological exploration of English identity as well as offer practical steps for churches in this context. Cost £25 including a hot English lunch. For further details contact norman.kincaid@londonbaptist.org.uk

West of England

8 June: ‘Going for Growth – reframing the Association Story’. A day of worship, praise and thanksgiving in Huddersfield including communion led by Ernie Whalley and guest speaker Paul Maconochie from Network Church, Sheffield. Further details available from the YBA office and at www.yba.org.uk