News for clergy, churchwardens, LLMs and lay chairs `` News for Clergy, Churchwardens, LLMs and Lay Chairs The View 18 JANUARY 2021 EDITION 33 Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go A reflection by Rt Rev Peter Hill No doubt we have all had that experience where on a journey we come to a place where the path runs out, or else there are several roads to choose from and we don’t know which way to turn. A key decision is needed. How do we make it? In the coming days we face many serious turning points where the right decisions are crucial: international, national, diocesan, and personal. Some of them are known and the choice is clear, some are perplexing, and others remain yet hidden. There is much to ponder and pray upon in this liminal time in our journey together. Internationally, Joe Biden becomes President of the United States this week. We pray for the American people and that it will it be a peaceful transition of power after the chaos and challenge we saw in the attack on the Capitol Building in Washington DC. Also that it will be a positive turning point for our corporate response to climate change; that the new President will foster better and more just relationships with other countries, perhaps especially Iran, Israel, and Palestine. Give us strength to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go (continued) Alexei Navalny has been arrested on his return to Russia after allegedly being poisoned by the state. What will that mean going forward for him and international relations? Here in Britain, our NHS, its medics, nurses and support staff are at crisis point and so urgently need a turning point to rest, renew and regroup. As we pray for them, we are told we are likely to reach the peak of the coronavirus infections very soon. With the increasing roll out of the vaccines, some sort of release from this third, and hopefully final lockdown may well be on the horizon. We live with renewed hope of a real emergence; the possibility of meeting and uniting with friends and loved ones; and a release from the ubiquity of Zoom! In our diocese we approach a turning point in leadership with Bishop Guli appointed and other key leadership posts about to be filled in parishes and the Diocesan leadership team: Chief Executive, Finance Director and Dean of Mission Ministry and Education amongst them. We pray for wise appointments. Personally, so many people are anxious and hurting: some are still sick, others are worried about making ends meet, and too many are bereaved. I have written more bereavement cards in the last two weeks then at any time I can remember, as clergy families and friends have had to face the death of a loved one due to COVID-19. We uphold those we know in prayer. I cannot recall a time in my life when so much was so uncertain and wisdom for the roads ahead was so crucial, at every level. I offer you a Lutheran Collect that has become a rich source of prayer for me at past times of uncertainty. Let’s pray it for one another and all that lies ahead. Lord God, you have called your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown. Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go, but only that your hand is leading us and your love supporting us; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. News and information Bishop John Waine’s Funeral Bishop John Waine’s funeral will take place at St Edmundsbury Cathedral on Thursday 21 January at 12 noon. There are many across our diocese who will remember Bishop John fondly and all are welcome to join the service online. St Edmundsbury Cathedral will be publishing details of the livestream this week and we will share them on our diocesan website and social media channels. Philip Need’s obituary of Bishop John can be read here. Our first three Generous God, Generous Disciples Webinars are now open to book. 10 things I wish I’d known when I became a parish treasurer, Saturday 23 January, 10am – 11.30am In this practical webinar we’ll be joined by Terry Gray from Colchester, who will be known to many across the diocese and has provided advice to many of our treasurers. Register here Spirituality and Giving, Wednesday, 27 January, 7.30pm – 8.30pm We’ll be joined by the Dean of Chelmsford, Nicholas Henshall who will lead us in a reflection on spirituality and giving. Nicholas writes: “Although we easily focus on the practicalities of financial giving and its outcomes, in the New Testament giving is always a spiritual issue. Jesus talks about giving again and again – and his focus is always on the need of the giver to give. In this webinar we will be exploring these themes, and above all how we understand our generosity as a response to the generosity of the God we know in Jesus Christ, who fed thousands from a few loaves of bread and turned hundreds of gallons of water into hundreds of gallons of wine.” Register here. The Parish Giving Scheme, Thursday 4 February, 7.30pm – 8.30pm In this webinar we’ll explain how the Parish Giving Scheme can help you to encourage and enable giving in your parish. We’ll be joined by Richard Jones who is the Lead Parish Giving Adviser for the Diocese of Hereford. Richard will explain how the scheme works and how you can get started. There will also be an opportunity for discussion and questions. Register here. Dates for our other two webinars about stewardship resources and diocesan finance will be confirmed soon. Thank you to everyone who joined our special Online Church webinars last week. The two webinars covered the basics of Zoom, YouTube and Facebook Live. Recordings of the webinars are available to watch here. Coming soon: Building a Digital Mission Strategy for your Community, Tuesday 19 January, 7pm In this webinar we will hear from two online church practitioners within our diocese. The Dean of Chelmsford Nicholas Henshall will talk about Chelmsford Cathedral’s experiences since the start of the pandemic and Sarah Hayward will talk about the use of digital in her pioneer ministry in Colchester. There will also be an opportunity for discussion and questions. Register here. Evangelism in a Digital World, Tuesday 2 February, 7pm We’ll be joined by Ali Johnson, Digital Evangelist at Cliff College as we discuss evangelism in the complex and growing online space. Register here. Share Easter – resources Share Easter is a suite of resources for churches from keepthefaith.co.uk. Included are: • The Easter Story animation for children and families • Hymns and songs sung by Darlene Zschech, Sheila Walsh, Noel Robinson, Mhairi MacBean and Nicki Rogers • Seven Words from the Cross; reflections for use during Holy Week or for a Good Friday Service • An Easter Day sermon • Articles on Lent The resources are free of charge with a requested donation. For more information and to sign up, please click here. Good News Story – St John’s on the Broadway St John’s on the Broadway is a community hub based in a former shop on Debden’s main shopping street. It was set up following the first lockdown last year and whilst the pandemic has restricted how the hub can be used. it has already played a vital role in the local community. Pioneer Curate, Rev Sam Maginnis takes up the story: “The hub was ready for use in September, and since then our partners at Epping Forest Foodbank have been using it as a food storage and distribution centre, open to local residents every Saturday morning. We have also started developing our ‘Debden Youth’ ministry at the hub, beginning with detached work handing out free hot chocolate to young people walking home from school, which has helped spread word of our plans among children and parents and brought lots of return customers! After the November lockdown we were finally able to hold a couple of drop-in youth sessions at the hub with crafts and games and space to socialise, and even on a dark and rainy December evening we still had a dozen young people attend our Christmas party. “In short, we are hopeful for the future! We are now considering how we can safely continue some detached youth work during the current lockdown, and are talking to the local Citizens Advice about providing advice and support services at the hub. Alongside this, simply being at the hub and on the Broadway has alerted residents and local traders to our presence, and these conversations continue to shape our thoughts on how else we should be serving the people of Debden in these challenging times. “Please pray for the work of these projects, for the people of Debden as they continue to face the effects of the pandemic, and for us as we continue to discern our ministry and witness in this place.” .