THE MONTH February 2016
THE
9
month — Parish church assists funding of school's recording project
By LAURA VALENTINE PUPILS and staff have excitedly welcomed iSingPOP to Dedham Church of England Primary School. This singing and recording project, jointly funded by Dedham Parish Church and the school, lasted for five days and saw the children learning seven catchy pop songs based on Christian values. These Christian pop songs covered themes such as love, friendship, social justice, praise and trust. During the three days of workshops, the songs were put into context for the children in a really child-friendly and engaging way. The members of the iSingPOP team were incredibly positive and encouraging and it was impossible not to leave the school hall feeling a few inches taller, inspired by the lyrics and catchy melodies. On day four the children recorded their own CD and on day five they performed two brilliant concerts at Dedham Parish Church (pictured right). The whole community was invited and my favourite story was hearing how two ladies who
Dedham pupils hit high notes had simply come to see the harvest flowers ended up staying for an unexpected concert which they thoroughly enjoyed. “It was awesome”, “I didn’t want it to end” and “It’s made me want to sing more” were among the reactions from the children. It was a pleasure and delight to see all of our children – even our four year olds – beaming from ear to ear, praising God in song and giving their performances absolutely everything. The children’s enthusiasm was mirrored in the faces of the audience and their parents too. We now look forward to adding these new worship songs to the hymn list at family services and Revive@5.
PARISH BUYING: Save your church £££s EACH year church treasurers, administrators, churchwardens, and PCCs make buying decisions for their churches which add up to more than £147million across the C of E. To help with all these procurement decisions, the Parish Buying team have put together some buying tips from the experts to help you make the most of your budgets. These Procurement Top Ten Tips can be
found at http://www.parishbuying.org.uk/ emails/general/procurement-top-tips.pdf. The aim of these top tips, and of Parish Buying as a whole, is to save the church £10million a year through better procurement decisions; avoiding high costs, misleading contracts, and unnecessary spending. And it doesn’t stop with advice. All Parish
Buying contracts are carefully vetted by their Procurement team, with over 55 years combined experience, to ensure your church gets the best deal. You can access all of these contracts by registering for free on the Parish Buying website at www.parishbuying.org.uk/, contacting the team on 0800 368 0887 or emailing info@parishbuying.org.uk.
PEOPLE & PLACES AREA DEANS THE Bishop of Chelmsford has appointed Revd Jonathan Collis to be the Area Dean of Southend within the Archdeaconry of Southend. This appointment is for a period of five years from October 7, 2015. Jonathan also remains Vicar, Thorpe Bay, St Augustine (14.12). THE Bishop of Chelmsford has appointed Revd Canon Margaret Ann Shaw to continue as the Area Dean of Basildon within the Archdeaconry of Southend with effect from November 2, 2015. This appointment is for a period of two years. Margaret also remains Vicar of St Andrew’s with Holy Cross, Basildon (10.02). APPOINTMENTS Revd Katie de Bourcier, Assistant Curate in the Great Baddow Team Ministry (11b13) is appointed Priest-in-Charge, of the Halstead Area (18.04) from November 10. Revd Jane Bradbury, Assistant Curate, Helston & Wendron in the Diocese of Truro, is appointed Assistant Curate, South Weald St Peter (09.19) from February 29. Revd David Childs, Priest in Charge of Hadleigh St James the Less (13.04) and Hadleigh St Barnabas (13.05), is appointed Hospital Chaplain to Southend University Hospital NHS Trust from February 22. Revd Graham Crook, Chaplain Southend Health Care NHS Trust, retired on October 31. Revd Ian St John Fisher, Vicar of North Shoebury St Mary the Virgin (14.03) retired on August 31. Revd Sonia Groombridge, Curate Hornchurch St Andrew (04.08) and
Healing and Deliverance Ministry Adviser Barking Episcopal Area (01.0), is appointed Associate Priest Hornchurch St Andrew (04.08a) (also remaining as Healing and Deliverance Ministry Adviser Barking Episcopal Area (01.0) from February 2. Revd Pauline Hart, Assistant Curate at Alresford St Andrew (27.01) and Frating w Thorrington St Mary Magdalen (27.01a), is also appointed also appointed Assistant Curate at Elmstead St Anne & St Laurence (24.03) from January 14. Revd Susan Mann, Assistant Curate of Wickford St Catherine (10.12a), Wickford St Andrew (10.12b) and Runwell St Mary (10.12c) is appointed Priest in Charge of Orsett St Giles & All Saints (15.10), Bulphan St Mary the Virgin (15.10a) and Horndon on the Hill St Peter & St Paul (15.10b) from March 2. Revd Peter Ngugi, Assistant Curate (Title post) The Walthamstow Team Ministry (08.16): Walthamstow St Mary the Virgin (08.16a), Walthamstow St Gabriel (08.16b), Walthamstow St Luke (08.16c), Walthamstow St Stephen (08.16d), is appointed Priest in Charge Beckton St Mark (05.20) from October 29. Revd Daniel Pierce, Assistant Curate of St John the Baptist, Stockton-onTees, withSt James Hardwick in the Diocese of Durham, is appointed Pioneer Team Vicar in the Billericay and Little Burstead Team Ministry (10.03) from November 10. Revd Roderick Reid, Priest in Charge, Bocking St Mary (19.02), is also appointed Curate in Charge, Panfield, St Mary & St Christopher (19.10) from January 13. Revd Canon Paul Robinson, Priest in Charge of East and West Tilbury St Catherine and Linford St Francis (15.05), is appointed Rector of East
and West Tilbury St Catherine and Linford St Francis (15.05) from February 28. Revd Pauline Scott, Rector at Alresford St Andrew (27.01) and Frating w Thorrington St Mary Magdalen (27.01a), is also appointed as Priest-in-Charge at Elmstead St Anne & St Laurence (24.03). Revd Philip Tarris, Priest-in-Charge The Sampfords and Radwinter w Hempstead (26.08) is also appointed Priest in Charge of Thaxted - St John the Baptist with Our Lady and St Laurence (26.17) from October 13. Rt Revd Roderick Thomas, Suffragan Bishop of Maidstone, is also appointed Assistant Bishop in the Diocese of Chelmsford from January 24. Revd Samantha Winney, PTO, is appointed Associate Priest, Harwich Peninsula Team Ministry (24.02), from September 30. PERMISSION TO OFFICIATE THE Bishop of Chelmsford has given Permission to Officiate in the Diocese of Chelmsford to: Revd Laurie Bond, 34 Cedar Close, Walton-on-the-Naze, Essex CO14 8NJ. This permission is valid until May 27, 2020. Revd Anthea Marjorie Cannell,118 High Street, Harlow, Essex CM19 5EF. This permission is valid until August 10. 2019. Revd Leonard Hamblyn Kenneth Davies, The Vicarage, 79 Claremont Road, Forest Gate, London E7 0QA. This permission is valid until January 16, 2018. Revd Stewart Henry Gibbs, The Vicarage, Broomfields, Hatfield Heath, Bishops Stortford CM22 7EH. This permission is valid until July7, 2020. Revd Gillian Frances Hopkins, 15 Deer Park Way, Waltham Abbey EN9
3YN. This permission is valid until March 22, 2020. Revd Keith David Norris, Still Waters, 8 Hesselyn Drive, Rainham RM13 7EJ. This permission is valid until August 23, 2020. Revd Albert Victor Watson, 107 The Hoo, Harlow, Essex CM17 0HS. This permission is valid until April 9, 2017. READERS Allison Cline-Dean, Reader at Chelmsford Cathedral [11a03], is appointed Lead Lay Chaplain at Colchester Hospital University NHS Foundation Trust also Licensed as a Reader in the Diocese of Chelmsford from January 4. THE Bishop of Chelmsford has given Permission to Officiate as a Reader in the Diocese of Chelmsford to Mrs Margaret Elizabeth Southgate, 5 Portlight Close, Mistley, Manningtree Essex CO11 1UD. Permission is valid until October 6, 2020. LAY WORKER Gary Wilson, Pastoral and Evangelism Intern Woodford Wells All Saints and St Andrew (07.23), is appointed Licensed Lay Worker of Barkingside St Cedd from December 21. RIP Revd Peter Adams, Permission to Officiate. Died on November 24. Revd Richard Allen, Permission to Officiate. Died on December 10. Revd Christopher William Cousins, Permission to Officiate. Died on January 6. Revd Peter Williams, retired. Died October 23.
No surprises in attendance figures as plans for discipleship are firmed up
UNFAZED by the fall in weekly attendance below one million in 2014 the Church of England will not be putting its trust in short term fixes but remains realistic about the time it will take to reverse the decline. At present the Church loses about one per cent of churchgoers each year as people die or become housebound. A long term strategy described as the most radical reform and renewal programme in living memory was already under way before the figures came out. Under this strategy resources are being re-focused on prayer, evangelism, discipleship, vocations, leadership and training. Stephen Cottrell, the Bishop of Chelmsford, commented: “Obviously these figures aren’t good news, neither are we complacent about the challenges that lie ahead, but there are no surprises here, and we will certainly not be swerving off the road Jesus Christ has set before us. “Many individual churches are growing. At the moment not enough to make up for the decline in others, but we believe this can change, and we are learning from the churches where there is growth. We are still as resolute as ever in our commitment to live out our faith, share our faith, enjoy our service to God and grow our ministry. “Those priorities are set out in Transforming Presence. Our direction of travel remains the same. “Following the Time to Talk consultative conference last year attended by more than 700 people from our parishes I look forward to re-focusing our work with Transforming Presence in the near future.” Detailed analysis has revealed that attendance at services which were primarily for schools were excluded from the 2014 figure although they were included in previous years. And Fresh Expressions of Church which are effective in attracting people in were not recorded in full, underlining the importance of churchwardens recording attendances beyond Sundays and traditional forms of church. As well as this activities such as educating school children, providing chaplaincies, running homelessness services and hosting foodbanks were left out. More adults attended a CofE church each week in October 2014 (830,000) than are members of the six main political parties across the UK (794,000). 2014 attendance in Chelmsford Diocese: l Average all age weekly attendance was down by 1.9 per cent. l Child Sunday attendance was up by 1.2 per cent. l 34 per cent of parishes showed growth in their monthly member figures. l The total number of people coming to Chelmsford Cathedral for all events increased by 7.5 per cent.
Faiths Forum seeks urgent action on Calais refugees
A FAITHS Forum for London group has visited refugees in the camp at Calais. Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Sikh and Hindu members of the group returned determined to seek action in relation to the plight of 6,000 migrants living on the camp, mostly victims of war, civil unrest, and dictatorship in Sudan, Afghanistan, Eritrea, Syria and elsewhere. The group was led by Canon Steven Saxby of London Churches Social Action and Nazek Ramadan of Migrant Voice. The group met Yvette Cooper MP in Calais and urged her to press for the creation of safe, legal routes for migrants and for family re-unification of refugees separated in different parts of Europe.