Annual Report 2013

Diocese of Guildford

Diocese of Guildford

Annual Report 2013

The detailed financial section of the annual report will be available in hard copy from Diocesan House and on the diocesan website www.cofeguildford.org.uk.

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Growing local community engagement Looking back over 2013 we can report a number of encouraging outcomes, three of which link directly to part of our Common Purpose as a diocese – Growing in Community Engagement.

There was a huge increase in workload for our Schools Colleges and University (SCU) team as our first academies came on stream. Shortly, the public money we will be responsible for will be equal to Stephen Marriott almost half the diocese’s turnover, and this from nothing two years ago!

The Communities Engagement Team the Revd Alan Hulme as our new (CET) increased the income we receive director of our Parish Development and from outside agencies to fund community Evangelism (PDE) Team. His particular projects to nearly £225K and early focus is to help parishes ‘grow younger’ indications are that this figure may reach developing Mission Action Plans to £400K in 2014. New activities include achieve this, as well as organising training placing ‘Community Connectors’ in local days and other events. authorities, supporting vulnerable people in This increased focus on growth as police custody and much more. well as the day to day job of maintaining The Discipleship Vocation and Ministry parsonages, paying clergy and keeping (DVM) Team has geared itself up for the bureaucracy ticking over with as little the new church-wide ministerial training cost as possible was achieved with the validation through one university, Durham, management accounts showing another and has seen heartening enthusiasm for break-even year. The accounts team we the new worship leaders course which sits share with Portsmouth and Winchester along side our occasional preachers and continued to provide solid support, despite pastoral assistance training. changes in personnel, not least donating 2013 was the year that we welcomed their director, Stephen Collyer, to our SCU

St Paul’s, Addlestone, was transformed into a skate park attracting 180 local youngsters during autumn half-term

team, which needed the best we could give it.

Although research shows our congregations growing older and the number of stipendiary clergy reducing through retirement, we can take heart that 50 or so of our churches (large and small) are growing. There is also huge interest

in spiritual maturity, as we see from the numbers attending our training courses, and increasingly we are taking news of the Kingdom of God outside of our church buildings. Looking to the future there is much to encourage us, but the only constant in life is change. Ministry must change and we all need to recognise that

we live in a changing world and adapt to it.

Above all we should remember the words of St Paul: “I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow.”

Stephen Marriott, Diocesan Secretary

Use of Parish Share in 2013 Responding to the challenge This report sets out what the various departments of the diocese achieved in 2013.

The Diocesan Board of Finance also produces a detailed financial statement (visit www.cofeguildford.org.uk). We have summarised its key points below.

Most of the diocesan income comes from parish share, much of which is returned to parishes in the form of clergy stipends and housing. Central costs account for only a relatively small proportion of the diocese’s expenditure. A breakdown of how parish share is spent is set out here:

Parish Share 2013 - £10.0 m (2012 - £9.8 m)

National Church responsibilities 5%

National clergy training costs 6%

National Church responsibilities 6%

Special Items 2%

National clergy training costs 5%

Schools, Colleges & Universities Team 2%

in every £1 directly supports parish ministry

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Communities Engagement Team 2% Parish Development & Evangelism Team 3% Parish Development & Evangelism 3% Communities Engagement Team 2%

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Communications 1%

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Diocesan SynodSynod/Administration & Admin 5% Diocesan 6% Communications 1%

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Special items 2%

Schools, Colleges and Universities 2%

Discipleship, Vocations & Ministry Team 3%

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Clergy Housing 12% Clergy Housing 13%

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Discipleship, Vocations & Ministry team 3%

Clergy stipends and Clergy Stipends and Pensions 58% pensions 58%

2013 was Bishop Christopher’s final year as our Bishop and his legacy will live on in the Common Purpose initiative (see over): growing communities of faith and engagement through spiritual maturity, growth in numbers and community engagement.

Our diocesan teams and parishes have this as an overarching theme and you can see in this report how their life and activities reflect its many perspectives.

Over this year of vacancy I do not believe this should be a case of us all simply marking time, but that we should take things forward purposefully. We hope we shall have a new Bishop of Guildford in place by the beginning of 2015, and it would be right for him to inherit a diocese which is not only geared up for action but is already responding to the challenges that we face as a Church.

So we give thanks to God for all the work undertaken in his name over this past year and we pray for wisdom and strength to continue with the task over this coming year.

The Rt Revd Ian Brackley, Bishop of Dorking

Over this year of vacancy I do not believe this should be a case of us all simply marking time, but we should take things forward purposefully...

The Rt Revd Ian Brackley

Find out more inside...

Communities Engagement Team (CET)

CET connects with the community

This is a world that Jesus entered and Christians are called to be engaged in it. During 2013 the Communities Engagement Team facilitated the setting up of ‘Community Connector’ posts linked to local authorities and deaneries, helping churches link to other groups so that people can live well in their communities. This sits alongside the development of ‘dementia friendly churches’ and churches setting up ‘Hear Here!’ projects to support people with hearing aids, helping churches to be more inclusive in addressing the sensory needs of people both in our churches and local communities.

Restorative justice is a key theme too.

The ‘Appropriate Adult Service’ (SAAVS) volunteers The Revd Canon assisted with 1,400 Chris Rich cases, supporting vulnerable people in police custody, responding at all hours of the day. The Police Chaplaincy work continues to develop, and a new ‘Bridges Project’ to mentor young people sliding into crime was launched. A workshop in Woking was established to work with unemployed young people as part of a programme developing training and apprenticeship. The ‘Domestic Abuse Charter’ was introduced to Diocesan Synod and followed by training and support for parishes implementing it. Training also included support on a range of subjects aimed at meeting pastoral needs - for instance family support and setting up food banks.

It is always important to reflect on what our faith motivates us to become involved in.

‘Mindfulness’ sessions in a number of locations have been developed to help us pay attention to our experience in the present moment. Evidence shows that this can help us become more spiritually mature, letting go of things that no longer work for us and paying attention to how we choose our actions.

Did you know that seven out of ten volunteers in social care are motivated by their faith?!

The Revd Canon Chris Rich, Director

Diocesan Advisory Committee (DAC)

The Mission of the D

Yo Kingdom

Before Bishop Christopher retired in involved in the Church of his vision f Common Purpose’.

Spiritual maturity

llresisting superficial and simplistic Christianity in a our secular and learning, both corporately and individually, in our churches llencouraging lifelong discipleship and attractive, godly living

Numerical growth

llresisting talk of decline as inevitable llcreating an ethos of expectation of new things because nothin llencouraging all people to hear and respond to the Gospel of s

Community engagement

llresisting isolation and inward looking, self-preserving attitudes llcreating an ethos of involvement that seeks to serve the world llencouraging a practical concern for justice, right living and res

Discipleship, Vocation an

Hundreds sign up Updating worship facilities continues During 2013, the DAC considered 115 cases ranging from smaller items such as stonework repairs, new altar frontals and churchyard furniture, to the larger schemes costing up to £3.5m, and everything in between!

A significant number of cases continue to be from churches updating their buildings to serve new patterns of worship and ministry, and reaching out to the community.

These include: llRe-ordering to produce more flexible space (removing Wendy Harris pews and introducing chairs, bringing the leading of worship nearer the congregation with the introduction of a dais and new altar tables) llEnhanced audio-visual support (improved sound systems, introduction of screens, projectors and loop systems – this is the largest single category) llBetter ‘domestic’ facilities (kitchens and toilets) llBetter social and meeting space for both church and community use llBetter provision of disability access 2013 saw the Church Buildings Council introduce proposals to simplify the faculty system which, when brought into action, should improve and speed up the process.

The year has seen further work on improving our Quinquennial Inspection (QI) regime, and part of our study day was given to improving the guidelines for parishes.

It is hoped to introduce the updated guidelines in 2014. We are also planning to hold a meeting for all inspecting architects and surveyors in the spring of 2014.

English Heritage commissioned a report on the condition of all the churches in the country, based on QI reports, and we are delighted to say that Guildford came out of it as above average.

Our grateful thanks to the members of the DAC for their hard work and support throughout the year. We look forward to continuing to work with parishes to help them achieve their goals. Wendy is always on the end of the phone or email for advice and the DAC are always happy to come and give early advice on site.

Wendy Harris DAC Secretary

John Alpass DAC Chairman

2013 has seen the Discipleship, Vocation and Ministry Team, consolidating its work and its relationships. I and the employed staff – many of whom are only paid for one or two days a week – are eternally grateful to the many honorary members who work with us. We could not deliver all that we do without their dedication, and the diocese is enriched by involving women and men from all parts of the Anglican tradition.

It is hard to choose only a few things to highlight but the following show how members of the team enhance ministry and mission in this diocese and beyond.

The South Central Regional Training Partnership continues to thrive. The rich diversity which six dioceses and ecumenical partners can bring is immense and we learn so much from one another. In 2013, new supervision training was introduced, our ‘Assessing the End of Curacy’ process is proving both effective and fruitful and the validation process with Durham University will have long term benefits.

Diocese of Guildford

our m Come

Parish Development and Evangelism (PDE) Team

Growing the Church younger At a time when research shows that, left unchecked, the ageing membership of the Church of England will cause a catastrophic decline in numbers, the Parish Development & Evangelism Team is particularly focused on helping parishes to ‘grow younger’.

Alison Hendy is a resource for children and families ministry. Highlights in 2013 included 180 people attending the Creating Sparks training day

and substantial growth in the number of children being reached through Open the Book and Messy Churches.

Our support for ministry to young people included The Fuse where over 600 young people joined for worship in the Cathedral. 13 employed workers have attended ‘first timer’ training for those working amongst young people. Youth adviser David Welch is always happy to talk with parishes who would like to develop work with 11-18 year olds.

n late 2013, he reminded everyone for the Diocese of Guildford – ‘Our

rised culture creating an ethos of commitment to worship, prayer s and our schools

ng is impossible with God salvation

s d God has made and loves spect for all in our wider communities

nd Ministry (DVM) Team

p for DVM training The vocations team has been running courses and thinking especially about young vocations (with six to eight under 25s coming forward). The numbers of people engaging in lay and ordained ministry remains high. The shorter courses for occasional preachers and leaders of worship continue to The Revd Canon be popular.

Dr Hazel Whitehead 36 people became pastoral assistants in 2013 and six undertook the new funeral ministry course. Our 380+ pastoral assistants give time to the sick, those with mental health issues, the abused, the bereaved etc listening, standing alongside and encouraging.

Safeguarding training courses have been provided for hundreds of lay and ordained people, who should now be more aware of this critical issue.

The Summer School had 600+ participants and adult learning of all kinds has been encouraged and developed.

We continue to enjoy every aspect of our work in the DVM Team, aware that we work with other teams, clergy and lay people for the sake of the Kingdom.

The Revd Canon Dr Hazel Whitehead, Director

We know that churches with a clear vision and purpose are three times as likely to grow as those who do not. Assisting PCCs in developing Mission Action Plans is therefore a core part of the local mission adviser’s work.

Steve Cox also mentors clergy and trains groups The Revd Alan Hulme in all aspects of parish mission and evangelism. Church planting and fresh expressions are assuming a greater significance – as the success at St Mary’s, East Molesey highlights.

2013 saw major changes to the Gift Aid claims process. Stewardship adviser Juliet Evans guided many parishes through that transition and delivered training on planned giving, legacies and capital projects.

A visit led by Bishop Christopher and the hosting of Nigerian clergy strengthened our link with the Anglican Province of Nigeria. This is of strategic importance to the whole Anglican Communion and the aim of the link committee is to ensure that we truly learn from each other.

In conjunction with Acorn, the biennial training day on healing ministry attracted 300 people who were further equipped to minister Jesus’ healing.

The recent publication of the Church Commissioners’ research report, From Anecdote to Evidence, gives further impetus to our drive to equip parishes to engage with those under 25.

The Revd Alan Hulme Director

Schools, Colleges and Universities (SCU) Team

New academies make progress After 12 months of planning, the Board of Education’s first academy trust, the Good Shepherd Trust became fully operational in the autumn, taking on its first three schools. Under the Government’s academies programme, this means that the diocese has now

taken full responsibility for these underperforming schools. It is good to be able to report that we have already seen swift and solid progress and we look forward to further improvements this year.

A second focus for the team in 2013 was the

preparation of bids for two new schools, a primary in Aldershot and a secondary in Woking; the first at the invitation of developers and the second of Woking Borough Council. Despite the acknowledged strength Canon Derek Holbird of both applications, we were informed at the end of March that the DfE had turned down both applications. We are currently reflecting on this development and reviewing our strategy for the future.

Throughout 2013 we saw much to encourage us in the areas of RE, spiritual development and the Christian distinctiveness of our schools. A full revision of the Diocese RE guidelines is under way.

Popular Pause days continue to be attractive in schools when children are given an opportunity to stop and pray, worship and reflect. Around 3,000 11 year-olds took part in cathedral services to mark their move to secondary schools.

Our engagement with colleges and universities increased through the establishment of a new model of chaplaincy in one college group, which is already proving effective. The year also saw significant enlargement of our school effectiveness work and we saw an increase in the take up of our courses, events and consultancy.

We thank God for another fruitful and challenging year and look forward to the future in great faith.

Canon Derek Holbird, Director

Diocese of Guildford Annual Report 2013

Diocese of Guildford Brand Identity & Style Guidelines

Communications Team

A credible presence The failure of women bishops’ legislation at the end of 2012 dealt a blow for many and yet, for the communications team, along with others across the Church of England, it also presented a fresh challenge.

With the Archbishop of Canterbury’s words ringing in our ears: “We have as a result of yesterday undoubtedly lost a measure of credibility in our society,” the team began 2013 with the goal of speaking to new audiences, presenting a credible, relevant Church, raising the profile of a Church dedicated to God and its communities and helping equip churches to do just that.

So how did the team go about this? It issued 32 press releases, monthly and ad hoc mailings to parishes and office holders, eight editions of the diocesan newspaper, kept the website, Facebook and Twitter accounts up-to-the-minute and behind the scenes helped parishes and clergy under media scrutiny and provided training and advice where needed.

Several ‘hellos’ and ‘goodbyes’ made the news.

The Bishop of Guildford retired – but not before travelling to Rome for Pope Francis’ inauguration and to Canterbury for the enthronement of Archbishop Justin later that week. Also moving on was Archdeacon of Dorking the Ven Julian Henderson to be Bishop of Blackburn, and Director of Communications the Revd Mark Rudall who retired due to ill-health. Meanwhile, the arrival of Guildford’s first female Dean heralded wide interest, and the cathedral again became the focus of attention as it announced ‘2020 vision’ and an appeal to secure its future.

Within the team, communications officer Nick Edmonds took up the new shared role of communications team leader and deputy diocesan secretary as the team ended a two-year joint working arrangement with Winchester. Intern placements continued, with Dominic Kirby and Beth Richardson the latter was recently offered a prestigious sub-editor graduate placement with the Daily Mail.

The year’s stories were increasingly told and shared through social media, with more than 1,000 followers of @CofEGuildford on Twitter by the year

Register of Clergy on Call

Retired clergy busier during 2013 In 2013 the Register arranged cover for 344 services at 63 different churches (2012: 290 services at 72 churches).

It is clear that the Register serves an important function in the life of the diocese, providing essential cover for emergencies and enabling stipendiary clergy to enjoy a wellearned rest. Especially important is the cover we provide during an interregnum. During 2013 our record for providing cover was 99.13%, with only one cancellation due to bad weather.

There are currently 59 clergy on the Register and that they will increase during 2013 services have been conducted by 32 of from 1 September The Revd them. We are grateful to those who continue to give 2014. The fee for the John Richardson of their time and ministry to serve our diocese in this first Sunday or Festival service will be increased from £28 to £30; the fee for way, and also to those who, during the past year, have decided to retire, as well as those who have a second service by the same minister in the same church on the same day from £21 to £22; and the joined the Register. fee for a weekday service from £21 to £22. Travel Our turnover was £11,542.55, compared to expenses will remain at the HMRC rate of 45p per £10,747 in 2012. After paying clergy their fees and mile. allowing for the Register’s expenses there was a surplus of £14.46.

We look forward to another rewarding and The occasional duty fees have remained successful year for the Register and its clergy.

The Revd John Richardson unchanged for almost three years, and after Administrator consultation with the Diocese, it has been agreed

Staff Counselling

Busy year for staff counselling Being involved in the life of the Diocese of Guildford, as in any other CofE Diocese, can be extremely rewarding, be it as an incumbent, an LLM, an NSM, a wife, son, administrative officer or Bishop, but it can also be extremely demanding.

Many members of the diocese find that having time to think on a regular basis; to experience being heard; and to examine the dynamics of the many and varied relationships and demands that the job requires has a very beneficial effect.

Everyone’s story is different, but themes which have their family members and become more apparent in the last year have included also any member of the Sue Haycroft workload, time management, change management, diocesan or cathedral breakdown in relationships and managing boundaries. staff.

Any clergy or member of In addition, there is growing evidence that mental health issues are becoming more prevalent in our staff wishing to make an appointment should contact sue.haycroft@cofeguildford.org or phone 01372 communities.

The diocesan counselling service is available to 461061. any ordained or licensed member of the diocese and Sue Haycroft, Diocesan Counsellor

end, and a doubling in the numbers of ‘likes’ of facebook. com/CofEGuildford.

The appointment of Dean Dianna became the first post to reach 1,000 people and by Nick Edmonds December, some posts were topping 4,000.

At Christmas, a photo of lights at St Peter’s Church in Guildford spelling ‘OMG’ to pronounce Christ’s imminent arrival reached over 7,000 people (right), and found its way into the Church Times. The value of humour, honesty and visuals were brought home to the team, ever committed to ensuring the Church presents a credible and relevant face to the world.

Call, visit, or email us, and please tag us in your Facebook posts and follow us on Twitter!

Nick Edmonds, Communications Team Leader & Deputy Diocesan Secretary

Licensed Lay Ministers (LLMs)

Active support

Our 160+ LLMs (Readers) continued to take a very active part in the life of the diocese: ‘up front’ in church, they preached over 1,700 sermons and led about 1,500 services as well as conducting several hundred funerals. Within the organisation of their parishes they serve on PCCs, run groups and are engaged in teaching; outside the traditional boundaries of church they volunteer for charities, are chaplains for hospitals, prison and scouts, and you can find them as Street Angels and organisers for food banks, to name but a few.

Gertrud Sollars At our annual LLMs Service in June, we saw the admission and licensing of four new LLMs, and we welcomed two new ones who have come to Guildford from other dioceses. At the other end of the career path, we said ‘thank you and well done’ to three LLMs who were granted the honorary title LLM Emeritus.

In October, we had our first DIY training day, using in-house talent (of which we have a lot) to run a series of workshops on nine different topics, ranging from Using drama in worship and Using ministry skills in the secular workplace to How to reply to the new atheists.

And finally, we said good bye to Anthony Metcalfe (pictured left), who had been our Registrar for eight years, and welcomed Stephen Linton as his successor.

Gertrud Sollars, Warden of LLMs

Safeguarding Children and Vulnerable Adults

Building a safer future The Diocesan Safeguarding Team is committed to supporting parishes, and all who attend our churches, to ensure that best safeguarding practice is maintained at all times.

During 2013 the diocese The ten-point Safer introduced ‘Authorised Listeners’ Recruitment process, which follows the latest national a support resource for those advice, has been introduced. who have suffered abuse from any person in a position of trust It ensures that parishes follow or authority within the church best practice; the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) manager setting. Recruited and trained specifically for this role, they continued to strive to ensure that all necessary checks were offer a listening ear to survivors completed before recruitment was and victims to assist them in identifying and achieving their confirmed (DBS is the successor to what was known as the CRB goals. Any person wishing to check). discuss or access this resource A rolling programme of training should contact the Diocesan courses has been well-attended.

Safeguarding Adviser.

Sue Lawrence, Safegarding Trainer

The safeguarding team continued to work with statutory agencies with regard to training, allegations management, and inclusion of those who pose a risk to the church community.

Ian Berry Diocesan Safeguarding Officer