Report for the Sponsoring and Pastoral Committee of Mission Partnership

Stantonbury Ecumenical Partnership

June 2010

Review Panel

Alison Drury, lay member of Watling Valley LEP, Milton Keynes

Don Head, lay member of Christ the Cornerstone LEP, Central Milton Keynes

Sandra Kennedy, lay member of LEP, Milton Keynes

Rev. Dr Brenda Mosedale, joint Methodist Superintendent of Milton Keynes Circuit,

Dr Adrian Prisk, lay member of Stantonbury LEP, Milton Keynes

The process of reviewing this LEP of six congregations required that the panel work somewhat independently and keeping in touch by email. At the end of a long winter the panel took heart from the following verse by Gerard Manley-Hopkins, which was attached to one of these emails when we were trying to make some succinct analysis of all the variety of information before us.

Pied Beauty

Glory be to God for dappled things— For skies of couple-colour as a brindled cow; For rose-moles all in stipple upon trout that swim; Fresh-firecoal chestnut-falls; finches' wings; Landscape plotted and pieced—fold, fallow, and plough; And áll trades, their gear and tackle and trim.

All things counter, original, spáre, strange; Whatever is fickle, frecklèd (who knows how?) With swíft, slów; sweet, sóur; adázzle, dím; He fathers-forth whose beauty is pást change:

Práise hím.

The photograph on the title page taken by Daniel Allen is of a happy gathering after the morning service at St James, on Sunday 14 March 2010, Mothering Sunday. Stantonbury Ecumenical Partnership Review 2010

Contents

Pictures of the six buildings used 2

Introduction 3

The area covered by the LEP 3

Church Buildings 3

Ministerial team and current deployment 5

Activities 6

Methodology and areas of research 7

Response from LEP 8

Findings Diverse Activity 9 Church of “default mode”

Findings Future size of ministerial team 10

Findings Emphasis on the local dimension 11 Cross & Stable Talent

Findings Communication 12

Matters for the Presidency 12

Summary & Recommendations 13

Map of the area back cover

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St Andrew, Christ Church, Stantonbury

St Lawrence, Bradwell St James, New Bradwell

Cross & Stable, Downs Barn

St Mary Magdalene, Willen

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This is a report to the Sponsoring and Pastoral Committee of MK Mission Partnership as sponsoring body for Stantonbury Ecumenical Partnership.

Introduction This Local Ecumenical Partnership has been operating since 6 June 1982 sponsored by the Baptist Union, the Church of England, the Methodist Church and the United Reformed Church. The last review of Ecumenical working in this area was conducted in 2003

The area served by the LEP The area covered by this partnership is the north east of the developed area of Milton Keynes indicated on the map included in this report. It is bounded in the west by the main west coast railway line, for practical purposes, but includes part of Bradwell Abbey and other land west of the line. In the north by it is bounded by the river Great Ouse in the east by the and the river Ousel in the south by the A509 trunk road. It also includes Newlands and Willen Lake which are south of A 509 but the land use in these grid squares is open water and leisure.

The current population figures published by Milton Keynes Council indicate a total population of 42,000 in 2009. A detailed analysis of the grid square population is included in the second report. The area includes some residential areas which have social needs as well as some of the most prosperous areas of Milton Keynes. A schedule of the index of social deprivation for each grid square is included in the second report. The areas near to Central Milton Keynes with Stantonbury and Bradville grid squares include a higher proportion of people from African and South East Asian ethnic groups than other parts of the area.

The area abuts Central Milton Keynes to the south so there is no real focus or centre other than perhaps the secondary school campus in Stantonbury grid square. Most of the housing and other buildings in the area have been built since 1970 as part of the development of Milton Keynes new . Prior to this there were some villages: Great Linford, Bradwell, New Bradwell and Willen. The largest of these was New Bradwell, a nineteenth century development of red brick terraced housing associated with the development of the railway. Further residential development now under construction in the north of the area in Red House Park and Stantonbury Park will add over 500 more dwellings in the next five to eight years.

Church buildings There are six places of worship in regular use within the ecumenical partnership well dispersed within the area. These are:

Parish Church of St Andrew, Great Linford, a medieval building in a parkland setting in the north east of the area. It is incorporated into a predominantly

5 Stantonbury Ecumenical Partnership Review 2010 residential area of the new town. It is the subject of a sharing agreement made in 1982.

Parish Church of St Lawrence, Bradwell, a medieval building in the south west of the area in residential development associated with the new town. There is also a Methodist church in Bradwell which is put to occasional use but worship is conducted as a single congregation. Both buildings are the subject of a sharing agreement made in 1982. Within the Ecumenical partnership this is referred to as Bradwell Church as it is a “combined” congregation.

Parish church of St Mary Magdalene, Willen is a seventeenth century building in the south east corner of the area in parkland and lakeside setting, close to new town residential areas. Willen was incorporated into a single parish with the other churches after the initial sharing agreements and there is no sharing agreement in respect of this building. There was within the area no building of any other denomination so there is no requirement for such an agreement.

Parish church of St James, New Bradwell, a nineteenth century building with associated church Hall surrounded by nineteenth century terraced housing in the north west of the area. The Methodist church in New Bradwell has been sold and worship is conducted as a single congregation in St James Parish church. This church is not the subject of a sharing agreement. All of the procedures for such were been approved by the denominations within the partnership over two years ago and the panel is informed that the papers currently rest with Diocese solicitors awaiting clearance for signature. Adjoining the church is a School building of the same age which is now used as a Community Centre.

All of the foregoing buildings are subject to Oxford Diocese faculty requirements. The following two buildings are not subject to these requirements.

Christ Church, Stantonbury, a building constructed in the mid 1970s within the secondary school campus and residential area, in the north central part of the area of the ecumenical partnership. This building which includes a worship area as well as a foyer and church hall with kitchen is subject to a sharing agreement dated 1983. The building is also used by Milton Keynes Chinese Church and some African congregations.

Church of Cross & Stable, a building constructed in 1980s within the residential areas in the south of the area close to Central Milton Keynes. It is owned by a charitable trust which has adjoining workshops let on commercial terms to support the worshipping community. This building is the subject of a sharing agreement dated 1989.

All of the buildings have received a quinquennial architectural inspection in the last five years. The full report on the last inspection for Cross & Stable is awaited. These buildings and the churchyards associated with them appear to

6 Stantonbury Ecumenical Partnership Review 2010 be well cared for and give the impression to visitors of being home to a lively worshipping community.

There is a Roman Catholic Church building in Heelands and a Salvation Army centre in Conniburrow within the area, and a number of independent churches using other buildings. This report includes a map indicating how well the buildings within the LEP are distributed.

Ministerial team and current deployment. Paid ministry within the team includes 3.5 Church of England posts, 1 Baptist minister and about 0.25 of a Methodist post. At the time of the review the team were working on the basis of being responsible for one or at most two individual congregations as indicated below. The leadership of the team is agreed among the team members and the responsibility is held on a three yearly basis. These paid ministers are supported by a number of ordained and authorised lay ministers who are not paid by the church. The second report includes a full list of all of these ministers and their current deployment.

Rev. Peter BALLANTINE, Team Vicar. Half-time minister with responsibility for St Andrew’s Great Linford and a half-time training role for Oxford Diocese and Milton Keynes Deanery.

Rev Mindy BELL, Methodist minister. About 25% involvement in Stantonbury LEP mainly associated with St James, New Bradwell, with 75% working elsewhere in MK Methodist Circuit. During the period of the review Rev Mindy Bell was on maternity leave and her place within the team was filled by Rev Stephen Mosedale, joint Circuit Superintendent.

Rev Chris COLLINGE, Team Vicar. Full time minister with responsibility for St James, New Bradwell also Children’s and Families Enabler for the LEP and Ecumenical Officer for MK Deanery.

Rev Chris HOWDEN, Baptist minister. Full time minister with responsibility for Christ Church, Stantonbury and responsible for Creative Arts and links with Stantonbury Campus.

Rev Andy JOWITT, Team Vicar. Full time minister with responsibility for St Lawrence, Bradwell, Evangelism Enabler for LEP and Ministerial Team Leader.

Rev Paul SMITH, Team Rector. Full time minister with responsibility for both St Mary Magdalene, Willen and Cross & Stable, Downs Barn and leading links with inter-faith groups for Milton Keynes Mission Partnership.

The team meet together on a weekly basis for mutual support, planning and worship and link up several times a year with the RC priest, leaders of the Salvation Army and some ministers of independent churches in the area as NEMO (North East Ministers Organisation).

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Activities The six church buildings are used every Sunday for worship and support a number of different weekday activities. The following paragraphs on each building give a flavour of this variety and vitality. These are listed in the same order as the earlier paragraph which has no particular significance or implication for relative size or importance.

St Andrew, Great Linford This church has a lively Sunday School and links with families through the small church school in the old village of Great Linford. There are also summer clubs in school holidays. There are house groups shared with Willen and different groups for fellowship and activities such as cake making and flower arranging, useful for the open days in the summer. Some of these open days are linked up with MK Parks Trust who sponsor an annual Waterside Festival in the park area adjoining the churchyard each June. There is a quiet garden linked to the National Quiet Gardens Trust and periodic times of reflective worship in the year and a monthly healing prayer meeting.

Bradwell Church The congregation here is beginning to out grow this building which is used exclusively by the church. There are six house groups meeting weekly or fortnightly on different days and a monthly meeting for men. There are Sunday and weekday activities for children of different age groups. The church is a base for Alpha courses and there are usually confirmation classes in the autumn for young people or other candidates. The church has groups for flower arranging organising intercessions in worship and lively social activities joining with Bradwell Village Residents Association Summer Fete in 2009. The congregation supports Open Door, a project led by Salvation Army for homeless and a Soup Run in which they co-operate with LEP.

St Mary Magdalene, Willen This church has close links with The Well at Willen, the former SSM Priory and Willen Hospice. There are Lent and Advent groups and people from Willen join in house groups from St Andrews. There is a monthly healing service. The church is used by a number of music groups, particularly Quorum an amateur group of singers whose repertoire is exclusively liturgical music.

St James New Bradwell This church has a two fortnightly children’s group on Wednesdays a monthly women’s group and lent groups and other occasional devotional groups. It has close links with its community holding a summer barbecue, participating in the local carnival. It is used by MK Drama Group and Bradwell Silver Band. It held a Flower Festival on 22-23 May 2010. The adjoining building which was a former school is now a Community Centre. The church is very involved in this and has good links with the civic parish council through the charity set up to administer this building when it closed as a school. Like so many similar organisations it is agonising over the form of legal structure that needs to exist to make this facility an effective resource for the community.

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Christ Church This church has links with Stantonbury Campus and MK Christian Foundation, who are back for a short while using the kitchen for its young persons training project, Think Food and for MK Credit Union. The building is used by Stantonbury Campus for ESOL courses and other small tutorial groups. The church itself runs 2 house groups which combine regularly as a prayer group, a Wednesday “Kids Club” in term time and a regular weekly Senior Citizens meeting. The church is currently running an “exploratory course” for enquirers. It was the base for a successful church sponsored Arts Festival before Easter which could become a regular annual feature. It also serves as a base for Milton Keynes Chinese Church and the hall is used by a number of local clubs for rehearsals and meetings.

Cross & Stable Although the church has few members it ran a regularly attended Lent course this year. The building is managed by a set of trustees distinct from the congregation and is in regular use throughout the week. When the LEP have finished Sunday worship the building is used by two separate, French speaking congregations for worship. During the week there is a pre-school group on five mornings. The building is used by the Rhema Church, weightwatchers and other arts and cultural groups. It serves as the polling station for this area and was used as such on 6 May 2010.

Methodology and areas of research Three members of the Review Panel appointed from outside of the LEP met on 7 October 2009 and arranged an initial meeting on 4 November 2009 with Rev Andy Jowitt, ministerial team leader and Mike Morris, chair of Stantonbury Ecumenical Council (SEC) requesting names of local appointees to the panel and an indication of what the Local Ecumenical Partnership wanted from this review process.

Following a meeting of SEC a response was received on 28 November 2009 indicating the proposed panel members from Stantonbury Ecumenical Partnership with a request that the exercise should be open and of use locally. The full text of the response from SEC is in the second report. The review panel met together on 16 December 2009.

At that meeting the information from SEC was considered and it was agreed that initially each panel member would visit a congregation and interview the minister with responsibility for that group of people. It was decided also to follow the method adopted by the Review Panel for Walton LEP and ask those we approached to respond with their thoughts under four headings: Hopes Concerns Questions Things they celebrate

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Separate discussions were held with all of the ministry team and with the lay chair of SEC and a specific session with the team leader to cover that area of work. Meetings of local church committees and a meeting of SEC were also observed. It was not possible for the whole Review Panel to visit every congregation but worship was observed in all of the six congregations by one or more of the panel.

The whole panel joined in a breakfast with the extended ministry team and attended the Annual General meeting of the Ecumenical Partnership on 22 April 2010. By then the initial responses had been analysed by the Review Panel and these were shared in a power point presentation at the AGM with an invitation for any further comments before this report with its findings was drafted. A fuller schedule of the various discussions and responses is included in the second report together with a printed version of the power point presentation.

While the Review Panel have tried to make this process and this report of use to the LEP it has been made clear, following the initial response from SEC, that the Panel are not qualified or empowered to be “mission consultants”. The Panel has extracted, from all of the feedback information provided, a number of issues to bring to the attention of the sponsoring body and to the LEP which we hope will inform the future life together for the participating denominations in this area.

During the process of review a number of actions within the LEP have been ongoing. There has been a rationalisation of the reporting of accounts from individual congregation accounts making it simpler for consolidated accounts for the LEP to be prepared and reported. There have been conversations with the Honorary Treasurer and the accounts of the individual churches and the consolidated LEP have been reviewed.

Accounting methods have relevance for another ongoing activity, the revision of the LEP constitution to comply with current statute relating to charitable bodies. In this the LEP have been assisted by the initiatives of the Milton Keynes Mission Partnership and the Model Governing Documents prepared by Churches Together in England & .

The other activity the panel have been pleased to note is the creation of a Stantonbury LEP website to draw together existing and varied websites for the individual churches so that any member of the public will in future be able, more readily, to find out about the work of the sponsoring denominations in this area.

Response The Review Panel have drawn out a number of the responses from Stantonbury people under the four headings, either because they have been mentioned widely or because the panel considered that these responses were particularly pertinent for this report. These can be summarised as follows

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HOPES Better communication across the congregations Extension/improvement of work with children and young people A co-ordinating administrator More events/activities involving all congregations

CONCERNS Church finances – more income needed Buildings – need for repair, suitability for current needs Ageing congregations New development areas Potential reduction in paid ministers

QUESTIONS What will happen if one of our ministers moves on? Can we have an LEP based confirmation services? Is there sufficient support for lay ministry? Can we have sharing agreement documents finalised this year?

THINGS WE CELEBRATE Our existing ministerial team Contacts through sharing our buildings with community groups Successful Marriage Celebration event and Arts Festival House Groups.

Findings From sharing of worship and discussions with different people, the Review Panel have selected seven features of life in this LEP for particular note:

Diverse activity All of the six congregations are involved in activity beyond the offering of Sunday worship. There are local committees for every congregation, house groups in several and contacts with outside organisations. Some of the congregations have been involved in sizeable projects such as major repairs to St Mary Magdalene, Willen. All of the churches are well cared for and work with a sense of mission for their part of the area.

Church of England “default mode” risk. With a preponderance of Church of England clergy and buildings there is inevitably a strong C of E pattern of worship. Current practice still provides a wide variety from the “evangelical” approach in St Lawrence, Bradwell to the Family Eucharist in St James, New Bradwell. There are efforts to offer variety for each of the different congregations, however the selection of the words from a different rite for Holy Communion delivered by the Church of England priest who normally offers the rite from Common Worship can lack a desired degree of authenticity. For the most part however the people, from whichever tradition they come from, indicate that they find the worship offered to be uplifting and a help for their personal spiritual development.

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The Church of England “mode” is more apparent in the administration of the work of the church. It is essential that proper procedures are observed in matters such as faculties, appointment of churchwardens, conduct of business that must be concluded by a PCC for purely Church of England matters, and these procedures do appear to be properly conducted. Similar arrangements need also to be observed for other denominational business. These procedures can and ought to be kept to a legal minimum and after this it should be possible to conduct the management of the work of the church as a whole on a basis and using language that avoids the pattern of only one denomination. The creation of a separate registered charity of Stantonbury Ecumenical Partnership will in future impose yet another set of procedures to comply with statutory rules.

The aim of LEPs like Stantonbury must surely be to minimise the time in meetings dealing with such matters and to devote time and prayer to the togetherness within the life of the church. The Review Panel are pleased to note that at the last AGM the LEP will now adopt the title of the charity and refer to themselves internally as an Ecumenical Partnership and not an Ecumenical Parish. This may seem a small thing, but from our discussions with people in the congregations, it could be a catalyst to creating an even greater sense of togetherness.

Future size and deployment of ministerial team At present it is possible for each minister to devote his or her efforts to a single congregation. The exception to this is Paul Smith who has two congregations. It is true that most ministers have a subsidiary role which is LEP wide or involving the area of the Mission Partnership, but the emphasis appears to be upon the role with the individual congregations. This works well for pastoral needs and worship, but may not be feasible with a smaller team of full time paid ministers.

The people of Stantonbury LEP are aware that the finances of the church both locally and beyond make it likely that, in the future the number of paid ministers will be less than the current provision and this leaves a feeling of uncertainty which was clearly expressed to the Review Panel.

The ministers and Ecumenical Council have looked at the deployment of ministers in the recent past and there is no reason at present to change a widely accepted practice. However, to deal with the uncertainty, it is the opinion of the Review Panel that the Ministerial team and SEC should work together to share with the people of Stantonbury LEP what would be a workable way forward with fewer paid ministers.

Emphasis on local dimension not so much on partnership as an entity. While each congregation with its minister exist as a strong local entity very distinct from the other churches, it would appear, there is a feeling that the

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LEP as a whole is sometimes regarded as “them” rather than “us”. For example only in this year has it been possible for the accounts of each congregation to be prepared in a common format to enable the consolidated accounts to be easily compiled and reconciled. There is a danger that LEP wide activities appear to be regarded as the initiative of one particular congregation or its minister and thus “optional” on others rather than being “central to what we are”.

The review panel do not wish to suggest that the diverse activity noted as the first of our findings should in any way be curtailed, nor that the loyalty people have to their local church should be diminished. There is, we feel room for more joining across the partnership in worship and mission which would serve to emphasise the partnership dimension. It is useful to have members of SEC from each congregation, but they should be able to see themselves as working for the whole partnership and not so much as delegates or representatives.

We note that there are now some good activities that involve the whole area. The Arts Festival clearly brought people form all parts of the partnership area together. Other activities across the area have also been given as matters for celebration and we would encourage the ministerial team and SEC to work at building up such activity.

Cross & Stable It has to be noted that this once thriving congregation is now low in number and potentially feeling under some pressure. There is no suggestion that this situation arises because of any action that the church could have taken and failed to take. It is not an uncommon experience for many places at this time.

This building is established with a modest legacy or “urban glebe” and is used by outside organisations. It is a valued social resource in one of the areas of greatest social need in the whole of Milton Keynes. The church should continue to have a presence in this area and use this building for worship as a witness as well as its important position in appointing trustees of the building.

The Review Panel in considering this matter feel drawn to these words: “You are a light for all the world. A town that stands on a hill cannot be hidden.” (St Matthew chapter 5 verse 14)

Talent and dedicated people The things to celebrate included reference to the ministers, The team of supported ministers are augmented and strengthened by a greater number of self supporting ordained ministers and authorised lay people who are able to lead worship and undertake pastoral duties.

Each congregation conducts its work through a local committee with church officers, an honorary treasurer, stewards for services, leaders for music, cleaners, grass cutters and all of the other tasks needed to keep a place of

13 Stantonbury Ecumenical Partnership Review 2010 worship open and inviting to new arrivals in the area. All added up this is a considerable army of volunteers within Stantonbury LEP serving their Lord and the local community.

When the Review Panel asked for feedback we received a great response and would like to commend this quiet commitment on the part of many people to the church and its life in Stantonbury LEP. It may appear sometimes that there are more difficulties than opportunities; that there is too great a task for the resources, but we have confidence that, although some congregations may feel under pressure, there is overall, a wealth of talent and goodwill to forward the work of the church here in this place.

Communication across LEP area One matter of concern expressed widely was the lack of information available to ordinary members or worshippers about the life of other congregations. There used to be a magazine for the whole area which had to be discontinued. During the course of this review the LEP have been working on a new website Stantonbury.net which will enable weekly “pew notices” to be available across the congregations to those with web access.

The aim is shortly to create a page on the website drawing together items of interest in the form of a monthly download like a magazine. Care should be taken to ensure that those without web access can see a printed copy in good time of publication and that these people also have the means to join in any interactive activity created by this new medium. The Review Panel are pleased to note that stantonbury.net is now live with plenty of current content. We hope that it continues to flourish and give an up to date message to those who use the web to find out about what goes on in their area, so becoming a new tool in mission and evangelism.

In time it may be thought desirable to prepare the weekly news letters (pew sheets) on a common format with information about activity across the area as well as information about the particular church and congregation where they are being given out. In this way perhaps house groups could become stronger by receiving more folk from across the area and matters asking for intercessions could also be shared across the whole area.

Matters for the Presidency The team and SEC have raised the matter of Ecumenical Confirmation within the parish when there are sufficient candidates. The Review Panel can have no view either way on this matter. Our comments about greater emphasis on the partnership and less on individual congregations in this LEP could be used to support joining together as a Mission Partnership/ Deanery to celebrate such events.

The revised sharing agreements relating to St James, New Bradwell have rested with the lawyers for the Diocese of Oxford for many months. While

14 Stantonbury Ecumenical Partnership Review 2010 other denominations have not moved with great urgency either, this LEP has received clearance from the other participating denominations several months ago. The panel understands that reminders have been sent to the diocesan solicitor and this ecumenical partnership would like to conclude this documentation in 2010. The lack of a sharing agreement prevents the release of proceeds of the sale of the Methodist church being used for improvements at St James. The review Panel would support this request for expedition. This may appear a formality, but it is important that it is concluded and does not remain a distraction from the important work of mission and witness here.

Summary of findings and Recommendations. The purpose of these periodic reviews would appear to be to determine if the work of the church is being conducted in accordance with the requirements of the participating denominations and with full opportunity of ecumenical working together. There is no doubt in this case that the answer to those questions is affirmative. As far as the review panel can ascertain all denominations are benefitting from working closely together in this part of Milton Keynes and it is difficult to see any alternative to the continuance of this close ecumenical working to forward the mission of the church into the future.

These reviews give an opportunity to comment in more detail on aspects of the life of the church and the local church through its ecumenical council has asked that this review will offer ideas and suggestions for tackling ongoing issues and challenges. There are certainly challenges facing the church in this urban area of mixed social and economic standing and with the prospect of fewer leaders in full time paid ministry.

The review panel see no virtue in setting out a long list of recommendations at this time but wish to highlight some areas of the life of the church in Stantonbury for the Sponsoring and Pastoral Committee to note and for the local church to consider carefully. These points for consideration are not peculiar to this specific ecumenical partnership nor do the panel think that they have necessarily been ignored in the past, but that they are pertinent to the life of the church in Stantonbury at this time.

1 Patterns of ecumenical working. Ecumenical working in Stantonbury was established nearly thirty years ago and the background against which such ventures operate has become one of parallel working between denominations rather than of convergence. That is not to say that the aims of each denomination within an area such as this differ, but their processes and acceptance of different forms of ministry remain separate. It is easy to sink into a familiar pattern of worship and operating, which may not necessarily fit the present or the immediate future and may not adequately reflect all of the richness of the practices and worship sponsoring denominations. As with other LEPs in Milton Keynes, this

15 Stantonbury Ecumenical Partnership Review 2010 could be a good time to reflect upon what it now means to work ecumenically.

2 Pattern of paid ministry It is fairly clear that the sponsoring denominations will not be able to support the current numbers of paid ministers for this area. The pattern of one paid minister linking with one or at most two congregations has shown some advantages in the past, but is not going to be sustainable in the future. This is already causing concern and some disquiet in most of the congregations. It would be well to consider the patterns of deployment which may be possible in the future and to begin to alter current practice so that any changes in the future can be accommodated in an organic, bottom up manner rather than as a sudden, seemingly enforced from outside pressures, decision.

3 Interdependency Current practice concentrates upon the local congregations, which does give strength and depth to the work here. It can in some issues, leave the whole area of ecumenical working, being regarded as “the other” rather than “us”. The review panel are of the opinion that the work of the partnership as a whole needs more activity and emphasis. This should be possible without losing the links that each of the congregations and buildings have with their local communities. The review panel have noted, already, an increase in emphasis of the whole, with the website, evening worship together and other activities of mission. We would like to encourage the people of this ecumenical partnership to continue this and take it further.

4 Paid administrator Several responses from different congregations have mentioned the appointment of a paid part time administrator. Other LEPs in Milton Keynes have found such a post does act as a focus for collecting and disseminating information, organising meetings and keeping people in touch. It would also free paid ministers from some of the duties they currently undertake and enable them to concentrate upon those duties which are reserved for those who are ordained by the various denominations. The circumstances in Stantonbury may be very different from other LEPs in Milton Keynes and that such a post would not be useful. The review panel think that this course should however, be carefully considered, as it has not become aware of any radical difference in Stantonbury from other areas in Milton Keynes.

Finally The panel would like to thank the people of Stantonbury who have helped in this process of review. One of our findings has been titled, ‘Talented and Dedicated People’. This area does indeed face a number of challenges. The panel has found no reason to doubt that the people in the congregations here are able to face these challenges and move the mission of the gospel forward in new and exiting ways, which could be “fickle, freckled (who knows how?)”

June 2010

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