ODS 18.07 2017 SYNOD REPORTS ODS 18.07 The Diocese of Oxford is the Church of England in Oxfordshire, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes. Together, we are the Church, called and sent by God as disciples of Jesus Christ and filled with the Holy Spirit. We are a living, growing network of more than a thousand congregations, chaplaincies and schools. Together, we are called to be more Christ-like, to be the Church of the Beatitudes: contemplative, compassionate and courageous for the sake of God’s world. Together, we work with God and with others for the common good in every place in one of the great crossroads of the world. Together, we are called to proclaim the Christian faith afresh in this generation with joy and hope and love. Together, we are called to dream dreams and see visions of what could be, and see those visions come to birth. ODS 18.07 CONTENTS Page The Diocese of Oxford – an overview 2 Foreword by the Bishop of Oxford 3 Bishop’s Council and Standing Committee of the Diocesan Synod and Standing Committee of the Oxford Diocesan Board of Finance 4 Bishop’s Council 5 Mission and Pastoral Committee, Oxford Diocesan 6 Board of Finance, Oxford Diocesan 7-12 Advisory Committee, Oxford Diocesan 13 Communications and The Door, Oxford Diocesan 14 Committee for Interfaith Relations, Oxford Diocesan 15 Education, Oxford Diocesan Board of 16 Glebe and Buildings Committees, Oxford Diocesan 17 Mission, Oxford Diocesan Board of 18-19 World Mission, Oxford Diocesan Council for Partnership in 20 Patronage, Oxford Diocesan Board of 21 Diocesan Trustees (Oxford) Ltd 22 Council for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Oxford Diocesan 23 Mothers’ Union, Oxford Diocesan 24 Parents and Children Together 25 Appendix 1 - Share paid by summary 26 Appendix 2 - Share paid, by parish 27-33 Appendix 3 - Board and Committee members 34-35 Acronyms 37 This book contains reports to the Diocesan Synod. The Statutory Reports and Accounts of the Oxford DBF, the Diocesan Board of Education and the Diocesan Trustees (Oxford) Ltd are available on request. 1 ODS 18.07 THE DIOCESE OF OXFORD – AN OVERVIEW The Diocese of Oxford has: • The largest numbers of parishes and churches of any diocese in the Church of England •A population of 2,375,000 (2016) The Diocese of Oxford is: • The fifth most populous diocese in the Church of England • The sixth largest diocese in land area in the Church of England • Anticipating over 268,000 additional houses by 2036 – equivalent to 616,400 new people The diocese has: • 285 benefices • 615 parishes • 815 churches, of which more than 650 are listed buildings • Around 51,000 people on church electoral rolls • Approximately 600 parochial clergy, aided by retired and other clergy and around 300 Licensed Lay Ministers • Around 100 Youth/Children/Family workers • More than 58,000 children attending our church schools 2 ODS 18.07 FOREWORD BY THE BISHOP OF OXFORD Early in September last year, I attempted to make bread in public for the first time in the monthly staff coffee morning at Church House. My point was to show the importance of mixing the tiny amount of yeast through a large quantity of flour. Jesus tells a parable in Matthew 13 with exactly this message. The dough turned out well. I baked the loaves and brought them back into Church House. Apparently not everyone believed that they came from the dough they had seen me mix that morning. The second attempt was not so good. I tried the same illustration at one of the financial consultation meetings for parish treasurers and others. This time I weighed out the ingredients at home and then poured in just a fraction too much water. The result was a claggy mess which stuck to my hands and illustrated very little – except that I have some way to go before the Bake Off calls. Throughout this year we have been kneading the yeast of the Beatitudes into the life of the Diocese of Oxford in parishes and chaplaincies and schools. We have been reflecting together on what it will mean to be a more Christ-like Church: more contemplative, more compassionate and more courageous. I have been really encouraged by the process. Thousands of people have engaged with the materials and given us their feedback. We are settling on a new diocesan vision statement. We are discerning together what this will mean for different areas of our diocesan life and hope to draw out some clear plans for the coming year in the next few months. These reports give a snapshot of the boards, committees and councils over the last year. All have engaged in some way with this call to be a more Christ-like Church. All have seen good progress in their own area of work and have contributed to the Common Vision. I am immensely grateful to those who have contributed their time and expertise as lay and ordained members of these groups. I am also deeply thankful for the expertise, faith and wisdom of our diocesan staff. We hope to take some new ventures of faith in the coming year to encourage parishes, schools and chaplaincies and to build for the future. At the centre of all we seek to do will be the ongoing call to become a more Christ-like Church for the sake of God’s world. The Rt Revd Steven Croft Bishop of Oxford 3 ODS 18.07 BISHOP’S COUNCIL AND STANDING COMMITTEE OF THE DIOCESAN SYNOD AND STANDING COMMITTEE OF THE OXFORD DIOCESAN BOARD OF FINANCE EX OFFICIO MEMBERS The Bishop of Oxford, The Rt Revd Steven Croft The Bishop of Dorchester, the Rt Revd C W Fletcher The Bishop of Buckingham, the Rt Revd Dr A T L Wilson The Bishop of Reading, the Rt Revd A J Proud The Archdeacon of Oxford, the Ven. M Gorick The Archdeacon of Berkshire, the Ven. O Graham The Archdeacon of Buckingham, the Ven G C Elsmore The Archdeacon of Dorchester, the Ven. J K French The Dean of Christ Church, the Very Revd Canon Prof M Percy Vice-President of Diocesan Synod, the Revd Canon S E Booys Vice-President of Diocesan Synod, Mrs J M Scott Chairman of the Board of Finance, Revd J H Tattersall Vice-Chairman of the Board of Finance, Mr S A Richards. ELECTED MEMBERS CLERICAL LAY ARCHDEACONRY OF OXFORD Revd D W McFarland Mr H Gibbon Ms J Ozanne ARCHDEACONRY OF DORCHESTER Revd Canon A M Daffern Mr J J Macnamara The Revd J J West Mr M H Waring Mr M Powell (from 7 Feb 2017) ARCHDEACONRY OF BERKSHIRE Revd Canon A P Marsden Mr A. Glaze Revd Dr G Fancourt Mr M F Chandler Mr J P Smith ARCHDEACONRY OF BUCKINGHAM Revd Canon R.E. Harper (from 6 April 2017) Mrs G Slocombe (from 24 Jul 2017) Revd C I Walton Mr R G Merrylees Mrs J Dziegiel BISHOP’S NOMINATIONS Mr R A Birch (to 8 Feb 2017), Mrs S Scane (from 10 May 2017), Dr A Thomas- Betts SECRETARY OF SYNOD: Canon R A Pearce COMMITTEE SECRETARY: Mrs Petronella Spivey DIRECTOR OF FINANCE: Mrs A Jestico 4 ODS 18.07 BISHOP’S COUNCIL ANNUAL REPORT 2017 Chair: Bishop of Oxford Costs 2017: £20,200 Secretary: Diocesan Secretary 0.1% of total budget Work in 2017 was undertaken in the context of the developing Common Vision for the diocese based on the longing to be a more Christ-like Church. The Council has endorsed wide ranging discussions aimed at developing a shared understanding of what this means for their work. A consultation at High Leigh, which included Bishop’s Council members, agreed that this would be characterised by more fully living out the values of contemplation, compassion and courage set out by Jesus in the Beatitudes. Further work and discussion has encouraged exploration across the diocese of what this might look like and how it might shape our strategic priorities in the short and medium term. Key Issues addressed in the year As the Standing Committee of the Diocesan Synod, Bishop’s Council: • Discussed and developed the Common Vision process (Feb, May, July, October 2017) • Considered the use and future of the Mission Fund (Feb 2017) • Discussed the Report from the House of Bishops: ‘Marriage and Same Sex Relationships after the Shared Conversations’ (Feb 2017) • Approved a response to the Heathrow third runway consultation (May 2017) • Approved expenditure from the Diocesan Mission Development Fund (July 2017) • Carried out its responsibilities under the Church Representation Rules (July 2017) • Considered the report on the diocese by the national peer review group (Oct 2017) • Considered the report of the independent safeguarding audit on safeguarding in the diocese carried out by the Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) on behalf of the national church (Dec 2017) • Monitored the work of departments (Oct 2017 and Dec 2017). Diocesan Board of Finance In its role as the Standing Committee of the Oxford Diocesan Board of Finance, the Council: • Discussed the work of the Share Review Group (Feb 2017) • Agreed resources for the Common Vision process (May 2017) • Suggested directions of work for the share review group (December 2017) • Approved, in principle, to support a Total Return Accounting Approach to Investment (Oct 2017), and approved a scheme of total return accounting with an initial withdrawal cap of 7% (Dec 2017) • Approved a budget and share allocation for approval by Diocesan Synod • Monitored revenue and expenditure, levels of reserve and loans • Fulfilled statutory and regulatory obligations in terms of company and charity reporting, audit, management of risk, overdrafts and bank signatories.