Growing young people as Christians, the Parish Giving Scheme and a review of reader ministry were among the topics under discussion by the Diocesan Synod, the church’s ‘parliament’, which met in Harrogate at the weekend.
Elected lay and clergy members from across the diocese met on Saturday, October 19h at Ashville College with an agenda that also included the safeguarding annual report, and the backing of the budget for 2020 and a motion about parish allocations for the 2020 Deanery Synod elections.
Presidential Address
Urgent political business in Westminster meant that Bishop Nick Baines was absent from the Diocesan Synod, meaning his presidential address was read out on his behalf by the Bishop of Kirkstall, The Rt Revd Paul Slater.
In his address, Bishop Nick mentioned how a review, by an external consultant, of the diocese’s governance has been commissioned, in line with the diocese’s original plan following its creation over 5 years ago.
“A review….has shone a light on where we might now adapt and improve. In December we will have our second Inter-diocesan Strategic Learning Community meeting in Birmingham, followed next March by our second inter-diocesan peer review.”
“These give us an opportunity to look in, through the eyes of those outside of us and see more clearly how we are doing. This is evidence of our commitment to our three values, Loving, Living and Learning. We must never stop learning.”
Introducing the debates to follow, including the parish allocations for 2020 deanery synod elections, Bishop Nick told members: “We need to remember why we are doing this….Deanery Synods are easily left to the keenies who have time or inclination to attend them; but, they ought to have a purpose and agenda which leads to people wanting to be on them in order to shape our priorities and mission across the diocese.”
Speaking on the up and coming budget debate, he added: “Finance matters. The Archbishop of Canterbury once described a budget as ‘theology in numbers’.
“I think he was right. Our budget says in numbers what words will tell us are our real priorities – what we think our real mission is all about.”
Read Bishop Nick’s Presidential Address in full here, along with his speech to the House of Lords on Saturday.
Growing young people as Christians
Liz Morton, team leader of the Children, Young People and Families Team gave a presentation about the work they are doing to support Goal 5 of the Diocesan Strategy, Growing Young People as Christians.
Liz set out the diocesan-wide initiatives to achieve the aspiration for Goal 5, which includes children and young people being part of a welcoming, enriching and safe worshipping community in every benefice and cathedral, and that every child in a Church of England school encounters Christ and the Christian faith in a way which enhances their lives.
During the presentation she shared the team’s core training programme, which is available to support parishes in trying to grow young people as Christians and she ended by challenging members to do three things:
“to pray for the children and young people of their parish, to look at the resources and ideas to support baptism on the church support hub and finally, to take a leaflet and think about how the team can support your parish as you journey in faith with your children and young people. The team look forward to hearing from you.”
Diocesan Budget 2020
Chief Financial Officer Geoff Park and Irving Warnett, chair of the Finance, Assets and Investment Committee, gave a presentation about the Diocesan finances, resulting in synod approving a maximum spend of £22,023,181 for 2020.
“It’s about 18 months since the new financial regime was set up, since then actions have been taken and we are now moving in a good direction,” said Irving Warnett.
“Using corporate language, I believe the diocese has now achieved a turnaround point, with finances stabilised compared to 18 months ago. Overall the next stage we move into will be no less challenging, but we are now in a situation where actions can be taken with clarity and confidence to help us grow and be fit for mission.”
Geoff Park, Chief Financial Officer, said: “The diocese has a small surplus planned for next year. “Although we start in a stronger position, there is still much work to do.”
“Because the deficit has gone down quicker than expected, we now have a stronger position to look forward to in 2020 with the opportunity to invest into new projects.”
After some debate the motion put by Revd Nigel Wright was approved, “That the Diocesan Synod authorise (or direct) the diocesan Board of Finance to raise and expend a sum not exceeding £22,023,181 for the calendar year 2020.
A detailed report, '2020 Budget and Sustainabilty Report', can be found here.
Review of licenced Reader ministry
Other business at Synod included a presentation from the Revd Canon Andrew Norman, Director or Ministry and Mission, and Kay Brown, Lay Chaplain at Abbey Grange C of E Academy, about the review of licenced Reader ministry in the diocese that has recently taken place.
They explained the context for the review and its link to the Diocesan Strategy’s second goal of Reimagining Ministry. The review process included discussions around a CRC Report, an online questionnaire sent to the 380 active Readers in the diocese, engaging with diocesan bodies and oversight from a steering group.
Responses from the survey were explored, which highlighted what Readers saw as their main calling and responsibilities. Emerging recommendations were also shared, which was followed by group discussions and feedback.
Parish Giving Scheme, safeguarding and Allocations for Deanery Synod elections
Further presentations were also given by Janet Edmond, Stewardship Officer, about the introduction of the Parish Giving Scheme across the diocese. Details of its launch in January 2020 and the pilot scheme can be found here.
Jenny Leccardi, Diocesan Safeguarding Advisor, presented the Safeguarding Annual Report 2018, introducing the team at Church House and the efforts being made to ensure safeguarding arrangements are in place across the diocese.
It was mentioned that over 2,000 people had attended safeguarding training in 2018, which should be refreshed every 3 years.
Jenny concluded by saying: “Safeguarding sits at the core of all we do to deliver the Good News of Jesus Christ.”
Synod gave approval to a proposal put forward by the Revd Canon Kathryn Fitzsimons about the Parish Allocations for 2020 Deanery Synod elections, “That the proposals for determining the number of lay members to be elected to Deanery Synods from the parishes, as set out in paper DS 19 10 02 to be approved.”
Full minutes with everything discussed at Synod will appear shortly on the Synod page of the Diocesan website.