Energising Local Ministry Project
An Update
Alison Way, Dave May, Janet Drury
and Anne Pretty
Energising Local Ministry
• Started in February 2011
– Creative, empowering and enabling ways of working
for all in the church.
– Energising, equipping and freeing more people to be
involved across a wider range of activities and
leadership.
– How to do this effectively for multi-parish benefices,
teams (particularly things that can only be achieved
together)
Inspired by ideas from Evreux (but not
limited to them)
Diocese the size of Salisbury with 36
priests……
What is and needs to be visible in the
baptised Christian and the Church?
What are the underlying principles that
make this possible?
solidarity
local
animation
confidence
What this looked like in Evreux
• Each parish had
– A co-ordinating team (EAP)
• Appointed from local suggestions but not elected
• Low profile but effective
– Multiple local teams (EALs)
– Every meeting began with 20 minutes discussing the
gospel of the day
– Joined up thinking, strategy and publicity that was
outward looking
Evreux Learning Points
• Start where it is most likely to work
• It will take time (in some cases it had taken 10 years
to get to what we saw)
• We don’t have the same absolute necessities, so we
will need to do more work on sales/marketing to
get everyone to understand
• Where it wasn’t working
– Personalities, ancient history and one-man band priests
(what the Bishop said!)
Lyneham with
Bradenstoke
Sept 2011 - different times here too!
Capitalise on where we are stronger
together?
Early days
• Spring/Summer 2011 - A couple of meetings open
to all with John Wraw
• Autumn 2011 - Visit to Evreux – (scales fell from my
eyes!)
• Winter/Spring 2011-2012 - Presentation and
agreement from each of the six PCCs
• Took quite a while to get agreement to proceed
– Fear of change (perceptions about ordained ministry)
– ‘Making us Roman Catholic by the back door’
– Too many meetings, too much travel
Our implementation 1
• A strategy group from the 3 areas (7 people)
– 2 representatives from each benefice plus one of the
clergy staff team
– feed back to the individual PCCs/benefice council/clergy
staff team
– capitalising on the existing good working relationships
– members of the strategy group to feed into Diocesan
Reference Group
– using the Bible at each meeting
local
Our implementation 2
• Sharing expertise, local initiatives, good
practice and ensuring clear communication
• Joined up thinking - Identifying where we are
stronger or more capable working together
from what is entirely and appropriately local
• Encouraging the local too!
• Enjoying working together across the
boundaries – lots of laughter
• What is working for us – other pilots different!
EXAMPLES
Lyneham with
Bradenstoke
ACROSS THE PILOT AREA Marriage Preparation
WORKING TOGETHER
• LPAs from neighbouring parishes
attending a course on Marriage
Preparation
• Lay led venture
• Part of our working together as a
pilot area
• 2014 year content led fully by LPA
team
MARRIAGE PREPARATION DAY
CONTENT
• Introductions
• Session 1 – Understanding, difference and
communication
• Session 2 – Communication and conflict
• Session 3 – Finances
• Session 4 – The Church Wedding Service, etc.
• Splendid and generous refreshments
throughout
LESSONS LEARNT
• Very very valuable to the couples
• Helped us with our working together
ethos
• Better together too
LOCAL TO ONE OF THE PARISHES
• Two interconnected strands of life in the local
parish
• The ‘open the book’ team
• Leads into a lay team working with the local
school into the Community …….
LOTS OF FUN WITH THE CHILDREN!
MAGIC SHOW
FROM THE REFERENCE GROUP
IN APRIL 2013
From one of the other pilots we
heard about an idea they had for a
Men’s breakfast…….
What we mere males have all been waiting for!
A chance to get together with peers for a friendly get together where
we can talk about sport, and anything we are not allowed to discuss at
home whilst tucking into a good old English breakfast at the inaugural
⦁ Gentleman’s Breakfast Club
P.S YOU DO NOT HAVE TO BE A GENTLEMAN TO COME, JUST MALE!
⦁ Saturday, 31st August 2013
9.30 a.m
(WELL IT IS BREAKFAST)
at the Mallard Pub
Lyneham
there will be a full English breakfast with coffee/tea and toast included,
all for £6 per head.
We are starting this venture with a speaker,
Francis Burroughes from Bristol Blue Glass
Tickets are limited to 36 persons, and are being sold on a first come first served basis.
Contact Dave May on 01249 891 783 (e-mail:davemay104@yahoo.co.uk) to reserve your place.
• Willingness to embrace change
(important strategic outcome)
• Involvement in and serving the
wider community (key
priority)
• Developing shared initiatives &
events
News from the other pilots
All approaching the challenges
differently!!!
MELBURY TEAM
• Progress in ELM has been hindered by David's illness.
• However: we have formed a group of 15 lay people to
take Open The Book into the local schools;
• Discussions about Messy Church are emerging;
• A coordination group has been formed and is meeting
regularly.
• The future structure of the team is being worked on
WHITTON TEAM
• Continuing to build on excellent work of the
Lay Pastoral Assistants across the team
• Current focus of Energising Local Ministry is
looking at worship and bringing together a
vision for worship across the 6 churches for
2018
The Golden Cap Team
• The Team Council has agreed to set up three
Clusters of four parishes in each Cluster, to
enable closer collaboration between our
diverse parishes.
• New Projects arranged in each Cluster (two of
which have already started meeting) will be
increasingly lay led, with the two stipendiary
clergy taking a supportive role.
AVON RIVER TEAM
• We are continuing to work together in various
initiatives and projects, and the concept of portfolio
holders amongst the Ministry Team is something
that enables a number of different gifts to be
realised.
• The staff members meet together regularly for Bible
study and to discuss pastoral concerns.
• A mechanism is in place for information sharing
across the team from all seven parishes.
To finish
Take time out to think about the question
What energises local ministry?
• Being enthusiastic from
the ‘top’
• Being interested in one
another
• Building relationships
and friendships
• Caring
• Communicating well
• Drawing out one
another’s abilities
• Encouraging people to
be themselves
• Enjoying the new things
we are doing
• Evolving from the
foundations of good
relationships and
friendships
• Feeling the Holy Spirit in
what we are doing
• Following God’s call
• Having a culture of
equality
• Having a culture of
sharing ministry
• Having clergy who are
willing to delegate
• Having and growing in
confidence
• Meeting needs
• Organising and having
effective organisation
• Promoting non-pastoral
leadership
• Providing training for new
things
• Reaching out (outreach) and
its importance
• Serving
• Sharing as a team and good
team working
• Sharing food
• Speaking, asking and listening
• Stepping out in faith together
Underlying principles
• Proclaiming the gospel
– In how we live our lives
– But also through reaching
out, pastoral care and faith
development
• Worship
– Provision of worship and
liturgy
– Part of who we are and what
matters irrespective of
geography
• Service
– All the many and varied
ways in which people
can serve
– Using our unique gifts
and talents as God
intends
– Service needs to be
understood in terms of
God and our role in the
kingdom
– and not in terms of
helping the vicar
4 key foundations
• Valuing the local but not being held to ransom by it
– Holding the tension managing local identity but not being
territorial!
• Solidarity – walking alongside the poor and vulnerable
• Animation
– Facilitating
– Coordinating
– Being a master of ceremonies
• Building up confident Christians
– Depth of Discipleship important
– Targeted training for people in specific tasks and
leadership
– Fits in with what was already happening