DS17 07 Diocese of Newcastle Annual Reports 2016 www.newcastle.anglican.org Contents 2 Bishop’s Council and Standing Committee 3 Rural Affairs 3 Local Ministry Development (LMD) 4 Local Evangelism 5 Continuing Ministerial Development (CMD) 6 Church in Society 6 Together Newcastle 7 PARTNERS in Community Action 8 Newcastle Diocesan Education Board (NDEB) 10 Diocesan Mission & Pastoral Committee (DMPC) 10 Diocesan Advisory Committee (DAC) 11 Houses & Glebe Committee 12 Safeguarding 13 Readers 13 Parish Giving & Stewardship 14 Interfaith & Ethnic Relations 15 Pastoral Care & Counselling 16 Children & Youth 17 Ministry of the Retired Clergy 17 Ecumenical Officer 18 Task Groups 20 Inspired North East Newcastle Diocesan Board of Finance. A Company Limited by Guarantee and a Registered Charity. Registered in England number 650977. Registered office: Church House, St John’s Terrace, North Shields NE29 6HS Tel: 0191 270 4100 | E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.newcastle.anglican.org | Twitter: @NclDiocese 1 Bishop’s Council and Standing Committee 2016 was the first full year of my ministry as your Bishop and a year of great privilege as I got to meet so many people and witness the rich and diverse communities we serve during my visits to our twelve deaneries. For the Bishop’s Council we started the year with a submission to the Dioceses Commission which required us to demonstrate the need for the first suffragan bishop for the Diocese of Newcastle. After the Commission’s meeting held in March I was pleased to share the news that we had received permission to revive the See of Berwick, which had been in abeyance since 1572. In the open following months and helped by a small panel clergy and laity from across the diocese the process of discernment was completed and I was delighted that Canon Mark Tanner accepted the invitation to become the suffragan Bishop of Berwick. The Consecration in York Minister on 18th October was a significant day for this Diocese as we celebrated the start of the ministry of our first suffragan bishop. In December we welcomed Bishop Mark, his wife Lindsay and their children at services held in Newcastle and Bamburgh. The Diocesan Synod met five times in 2016 and began in March with a well-attended Open Synod Forum for disability held at the Northumberland Church of England Academy. In May the Synod travelled to Rothbury where we gathered to say a formal farewell to Bishop Frank as he prepared for his retirement. In September we returned to Ashington for an Open Synod Forum supporting the introduction of the Companions of St Aidan and at a Finance Synod in October members helped to shape the Diocesan Budget for 2017. Returning to Ashington in November the Synod engaged with the Children and Youth Team to learn about the strategy supporting activities across the diocese. engaged 2016 saw the start of some partnership working between the Diocese and the National Church Institutions who helped us to fund the development of a new strategic vision. This work engaged the Bishop’s Staff Team working with two consultants over the summer months as we met and worked through Bible study to discern a new vision underpinned by our strongly held values of generous engaged open. The results of this work were presented to the Bishop’s Council when it met for a residential at Shepherds Dene in November and forms the building blocks for work in 2017 and beyond as we launch a vision for growing church bringing hope. I am indebted to all those who serve and have contributed to the life and mission of the Diocese through our respective Boards, Committees, Task Groups and in our parishes and it gives me great pleasure to introduce the reports for 2016. The Rt Revd Christine Hardman, Bishop of Newcastle generous 2 working towards the establishment of a Rural Church Rural Affairs Task Group as well as a network of 'rural champions', The period since my licensing to the post of Bishop's people with expertise, experience or interest in Adviser for Rural Affairs, which took place at the end different aspects of rural life. This work is now being of June 2016, has largely been spent getting to know shaped to fit with the rural strand of the diocesan the lay of the land both within the diocese – strategy, Growing Church Bringing Hope. geographically, demographically, organisationally and ecclesiastically – and further afield, not least by The Reverend Jonathan Mason establishing contacts in the wider Church of England Bishop's Rural Affairs Adviser and ecumenically. Much time has been spent talking E-mail: [email protected] to individuals – among them landowners, tenant Local Ministry Development farmers, agricultural workers, and staff in rural schools, as well as representatives of organisations – among them Natural England, the National Trust, the North East Farming and Rural Advisory Network (NEFRAN), Community Action Northumberland (CAN), and the Farming Community Network (FCN). T Events attended have included conferences: one The LMD Task group priorities for this year organised by Caring for God's Acre, on the subject of encouraged continued support for the Diocesan LMD the care and conservation of churchyards; a NEFRAN Network and the 30+ parishes who are actively conference on rural businesses; a Warm Hubs event involved with developing their local ministry and organized by CAN and Together Newcastle, as well as mission through the LMD process. the CAN Annual General Meeting; a large national conference organised by the Arthur Rank Centre, the Our 2016 Quiet Day was led, in January, by Alison ecumenical Christian charity which serves 'both the Moore, who was the pastoral care and counselling spiritual and practical needs of the rural community officer for Durham before retirement. Alison offered through a programme of community and social reflections on the theme of ‘Calling’ and encouraged projects, resourcing and training'; the National Rural us to understand our whole lives, as well as all we do Officers Gathering, a ecumenical event with Church for the church in ministry, as flowing from God’s of England, Methodist and URC participants; as well unique calling to each of us. as visits to rural clergy across the diocese, and local Our annual networking event was held in July at Café shows as well as the 2016 County Show. Azure, Cramlington. This year we tried a mission All the while, a picture of rural life in the Diocese of marketplace format which proved very popular. Newcastle has been developing. The rural narrative Groups from Kirkwhelpington, Upper Coquetdale, is always particular to a community or area, and Sugley, Blyth, Byker, Bedlington and the Great Park varies widely across the diocese. The narratives vary, came and shared what they had been doing with but many of the issues of concern to those who live ideas to take away. Bishop Christine was also able to and work in these places are the same: facilities, meet the Network for the first time. transport, communications, employment, housing. Other networking opportunities were offered in Learning about the issues has come through reading October on the theme of Baptism at Heaton, Riding reports, viewing websites, and talking to people who Mill and Belford. Groups shared their current live and work and exercise ministry in the Diocese of practice, questions and ideas around Baptism Newcastle. preparation, the Baptism Service and follow up with In the autumn of 2016, the Archdeacon of Lindisfarne families that come to their churches. and I began a series of Rural Conversations around A new LMD Team handbook and resource sheets the diocese attended by both clergy and lay people. were also developed this year with the Task group These meetings, which are continuing in 2017, are 3 and are available to download on the LMD pages of Church into Growth course and with the Reimagining the Diocesan website. The bi-monthly LMD mailings Ministry in rural multi-parish benefices strand. continued. The Revd Rachel Wood As LMD Officer, I work with others to deliver those Local Ministry Development Officer processes and initiatives that embody the LMD core E-mail: [email protected] values of collaboration, mission focus and learning. www.newcastle.anglican.org/lmd This year these included: Local Evangelism Collaborative Training Day for Readers and Incumbents run with CMD and the Readers Exec. he year began with working on the Discipleship – as a member of the Discipleship communication strand of Newcastle Task group, we delivered an action plan to T Cathedral’s Mission Action Plan. This work has Bishop’s Council which was agreed and is now continued throughout the year and a new being implemented. communications officer has been appointed. There Community Mission and Development - The first, has been work on our branding and image. pilot Know Your Church Know Your Neighbourhood process run together with Steve I led sessions on Evangelism and outreach at the Forster, the Together Newcastle worker, at Blyth Newcastle and Durham diocesan IME residential in and Sugley came to an end in May. We evaluated Durham diocese. I worked with the Evangelism Task this and developed a streamlined version to run group on the “Faith Stories” confidence building in 2017 with St Mary’s Fawdon and St George’s course which was rolled out across the diocese. We Cullercoats. also began preliminary work on our “Invitation” Companions of St Aidan – this new initiative was course under the evangelism way ahead strand of launched in 2016 and has been received work. enthusiastically by many LMDT members. I continued to serve on General Synod and spent time Pioneer Ministry – The LMDT at Ulgham and working ecumenically with the Widdrington developed into a Local Ministry and Fresh Expression Area Strategy Team.