Plans for New Yorkshire Diocese Released

Dioceses Commission announces details of draft scheme

The Dioceses Commission has released details of its finalised draft scheme for the reorganisation of Church of England diocesan structures in West Yorkshire and the Dales. In short, the proposal now is to replace the existing three dioceses of Ripon and leeds, Bradford and Wakefield and create a new single diocese. The report explains in more detail than was previously the case how, if  the scheme is approved by the three Diocesan Synods and the general Synod, the three dioceses will come together. There is also an accompanying document that tells us why, in the Commission's opinion this will be better for mission across this part of Yorkshire. The Commission has concluded  that a new single diocese would be the best way to meet the challenges and opportunities of the region.

The scheme provides a legal framework which would enable the following to happen:

• The creation of one new diocese of Leeds, also to be known as the Diocese of West Yorkshire and the Dales.
• The appointment of a Bishop of Leeds in overall charge of the new diocese (the bishop will also be area bishop for Leeds)
• Bishops in each of the five areas (Bradford, Huddersfield, Leeds, Ripon and Wakefield), dedicated to the parishes in their area and therefore more closely in touch.
• Five archdeaconries, of which the most northerly will be Richmond and Craven.
• Parishes on the Durham and York borders to remain within the newly created diocese.
• The Retention of the cathedrals in Wakefiled, Ripon and Bradford on a co-equal basis. Any possible future changes in staffing at the discretion of the diocesan bishop.
• The possibilty of the creation of a new pro-cathedral (Leeds Minster) in Leeds at some point inthe future at the discretion of the new Bishop of leeds.
• Providing a framework for the new diocese to decide its own organisational structure and ways of working. The Commission anticipates that this will allow the new diocese to make savings that it can reinvest in mission.

You can read the full Scheme and the accompanying commentaries here

http://www.churchofengland.org/about-us/dioceses-commission/yorkshire.aspx

I shall comment further when I have had time to digest the implications but I welcome the fact that the Commission has recommended one new diocese, I think the Episcopal Areas and archdeaconries are workable, and I am glad that we are now much clearer about what the future holds. The bishops and senior staff are very willing to come to Deanery Synods and PCCs with a presentation about the Scheme and to speak to Diocesan Synod Members to answer questions and discuss anxieties between now and March 2nd when the Diocesan Synod has to vote on whether or not to adopt the Scheme. If you would like to take advantage of this please contact the Diocesan office or my office as soon as possible to book a date. Don't leave it until February!!

All we like sheep...: Yorkshire Diocesan Reorganisation: a view from th...

All we like sheep...: Yorkshire Diocesan Reorganisation: a view from th...: A reorganisation based on community and mission. Or is it? Three Dioceses are to be merged,  but   how will this look from the rural...

Churches - Radical or Reactionary?

I have been disturbed, as I think any Christian leader ought to be, by the number of articles I've read lately about the decline in church attendance. There has been quite a bit of moaning and groaning about churches (and especially church leaders) being too ostrich-like and burying their heads in the sand rather than facing up to the visible facts and the statistics that show that the mainstream denominations will shrink to an alarming degree by 2050 or thereabouts. The Revd Dr Patrick Richmond recently informed the Church of England's General Synod that the average age of a member is now 61. Figures put together for the Church Commissioners suggest that the number of Sunday worshippers will fall from 1.2m in 2007 to 125,000 by 2057.  The Research and Statistics Department of the Church of England has challenged these figures but, however you do the research and the interpretation, it does seem you cannot avoid the conclusion that fewer people attend services on Sundays and fewer people are involved in the life of the mainstream denominations in traditionally recognised ways. So, goes the rhetoric, churches should be trying out radically new ways of doing things - or stopping doing things altogether to concentrate on new kinds of relationship with Christ and with one another. All this is very understanable but sounds just a little bit reactive and panicky to me. A cooler-headed approach may be needed to get the statistics right in the first place, then to interpret them against the very complex backgrounds of social change and internal church politics which are exerting their influence on the shape of the twenty first century Western church. 

Firstly, then; the right kind of stats. If you look at a lot of the research, it shows the
Sunday attendance of people who could be said in some way to have identified themselves as 'core' members. In the C of E we don't even measure all the weekday services (and I don't mean weddings and funerals but times throughout the week when people get together to pray, worship, celebrate or gather round some identifyably Christian activity.) We also don't measure all the times when the community meets the church - the special services, lectures and events that lots of non-regular attenders come to. We are setting up a Church Observatory in our diocese and one of the first questions we have asked all our parishes is, 'What do you think we should be measuring?' Until we know what the important, life-giving contacts with the community are, we can't begin to resource them and plan for them properly. We need to start looking at all the after-school services, cafe church meetings, cell groups, tea-and-worship events for the elderly and so many other things that churches are doing, but not on Sundays.

Secondly, not all the evidence does show decline. David Goodhew, who is on the staff at Cranmer Hall in Durham, has edited Church Growth in Britain 1980 - Present (published as part of the Ashgate Contemporary Ecclesiology Series.) This volume paints a somewhat wider and different picture in which diversity appears to be one key to church growth. David and his colleagues' work has been endorsed by a range of theologians and leaders from across the denominations and it shows that there has been substantial church growth in the UK since 1980. The growth pattern is complex, multi-ethnic and can be seen across many different social and geographical contexts. It provides an experiential critique of the media and academy-driven notion that secularisation has effectively killed off all but the dregs of Christianity. The book powerfully demonstrates that, while there is decline in some parts of the church, this is balanced by the vitality of other parts. Undertsnading this requires a radical change in our way of assessing Christianity in the UK. I have to say this entirely backs up my own impression of what is happening which is earthed in 25 years' ministry in inner city, suburban and rural parishes. I have seen really ordinary churches change and grow, I have seen Christians from some of the newer and some of the ethnic minority churches become the catalyst for Christian growth in an area and I have seen churches 'revived'  by the most unlikely people from the young man with Downs Syndrome to the deeply faithful elderly lady who surprises everyone by 'doing change' better than people half her age. God's rainbow people!

Thirdly, I think the shape of churches is changing. A higher percentage of those who do get involved in church life are active and take on responsibility than was the case 30 years ago. There are far more cell groups, study groups and groups meeting for prayer and discussion. The concept that some of these groups hold themselves accountable to one another in quite a deep way over their Christian discipleship is growing - this was not something you heard much about in my parents' generation. Movements like third order oblates, the Northumbrian Community, Cursillo and the Rejesus - 'back to basics' movement are having a significant impact alongside the large Christian festivals like New Wine and many others I could mention. In this area of Yorkshire, I see signs that Christians are reconnecting with the deep roots of British Christian spirituality. At grass roots level, we have moved perhaps not so much beyond as around the divisions that stemmed from the Reformation in the sense that we no longer see them as 'life-giving' to the different denominations but more as historical stories which are signs of how deeply people once cared and still do care about their faith and its expression.  The communion of saints who have gone before us and the places that were significant to them are increasingly giving inspiration to today's pilgrims and we are beginning to dig the history out more creatively.

Fourthly, I do think we should be very, very concerned about two groups within the church. Young people need to be respected, listened to, given their voice and also discipled - taught the Christian story and encouraged to 'try living it out' for themselves. The Church of South India decided to allocate 30% of its resources to work with people under 30 and this has apparently changed the demography of the church beyond recognition (is that what we are afraid of?) I do think that the statistics (and the attitudes found in some churches) indicate that we are seriously failing the next generation - but even there, there is plenty of work going on on the periphery of church life and sometimes in the centre that is bearing fruit. How do we re-prioritize exploring the faith with young people? We identify those usually, but not always, younger Christians who can inspire younger people and we support them, encourage them, join in where we can. Or put more simply, we take at face value what Jesus said - that the key to the Kingdom of Heaven is a child-like disposition (see 'Children and God's Kingdom' blogpost 30th September.) Perhaps we should also require all clergy to get involved in supporting work with young people - no excuses! With training,  we can all learn to help, be it as background supporters (Trustees etc) or frontline youth and children's leaders.  And also, we need to have a good look at how we are supporting ministry among older people who, all the research shows, are at that stage of life where spirituality and ultimate questions about life and meaning make it much more likely that they will want to discover more about what it means to live through faith.

Fifthly, if you think about it, you have to be pretty radical to be a committed Christian of any kind in the UK today. You have to be strong enough to withstand the onslaughts from secularisation, materialism and 'own goals' like the disgraceful behaviour revealed in the Chichester report and the endless vacillation over women bishops. Frankly, belonging to a small church, faithfully worshipping and carrying out the tasks needed to make the church 'live' and serving your community and your colleagues because you believe that Christ is asking you to do this is not exactly mainstream behaviour in our society and often calls for sacrificial decisions. To keep doing it over many years takes a deep, personal faith, persistance, discipline and humility of a counter-cultural sort. Yes, Christians are radical people - or at least they follow a radical Saviour into demanding places. To be a Christian is countercultural and wise church leaders recognise the cost of this in everyday life before berating people who find it hard to change; churches should be, and often are, places of mutual support and it is usually through God's grace experienced in fellowship with one another that we grow in spiritual depth and the church grows in numbers.  

Lastly, I have kept to the very end my observations about structures and formulas. They have some responsibility for not always being helpful but they are not, in my opinion, the main reason for decline. Clinging on to outdated structures is a symptom of a community in decline, not the cause. We, in the Church of England need to simplify our ways of relating and working and some of our legal and synodical processes, and we need to do this quite urgently and quite quickly. However, we need to do it on the basis of the actual evidence about what it happening across the country, not on the basis of anecodtal evidence, not on the basis of saying that 'because a thing is happening here, it will automatically happen there' and not on the basis of assuming that the structures are the answer. I very much hope that the opportunity to create a new diocese in West and North Yorkshire will allow us to ensure that we have people with expertise and ways of working that will support what the churches actually need.

Dioceses Commission Draft Scheme

For Yorkshire readers, the Dioceses Commission published their second report at the start of last week. It accompanies a Draft Scheme for the reorganisation of the three dioceses of Bradford, Ripon and Leeds and Wakefield into one large diocese with 5 episcopal areas. There are no great shocks in the report. The main new recommendations are that the Diocesan Bishop will be in Leeds (not Wakefield), the diocese will be called 'Leeds to be known informally as the Diocese of West Yorkshire and the Dales.' The three cathedrals (Bradford, Ripon and Wakefield) will be retained with equal status, three Chapters and one College of Canons.

If you look on my Dioceses Commission Page, you can read about it in more detail, including the recommendations made about individual parishes. 

The report says this about the Archdeaconry of Richmond,
4.8 We propose that the Archdeadonry of Richmond should be renamed the Archdeaconry of Richmond and Craven and expanded to include those parishes in the Archdeaconry of Craven which are not transferred to another diocese and also four parishes in the Bradford Archdeaconry that are in the Harrogate District. Some of the responses we have received have questioned whether, given the distances involved and the nature of the roads this area is capable of being looked after by a single archdeacon - even if, as we propose, that archdeacon had no other duties. We recognise that such considerations might make it necessary for the archdeacon to live at a location which would offer easier access to the whole archdeaconry. Whether the distances would be manageable and the workload tolerable - or, alternatively, whether the two archdeaconries into which the rural episcopal area might be split would include sufficient numbers of parishes and clergy to justify having an archdeacon for each - cannot finally be determined until the precise boundaries of the diocese are definitively established. At this point, we are not convinced that retaining two archdeacons would be justified. We have therefore included in the draft reorganisation scheme the proposal to extend the Archdeaconry of Richmond to include all those parishes in the Archdeaconry of Craven not transferred elsewhere.

Such an archdeaconry would have a population of 270,000, an area of 1,569 sq. miles, 139 parishes distributed across 72 benefices, and 94 licensed clergy of whom 67 are stipendiary. (To give a comparison, Leeds would have a population of 767,000, an area of 184sq. miles, 77 parishes in 71 benefices and 105 clergy of whom 84 are stipendiary.)

The proposed Archdeaconry of Richmond and Craven will be in the Ripon Episcopal Area, one of the five Episcopal Areas in the new diocese (Ripon, Leeds, Bradford, Wakefield and Huddersfield) each with their own bishop and archdeacon under the overall authority of the diocesan bishop and supported by a joint diocesan team. 

Do I see any advantages in the Scheme as a whole?

Well, it will certainly enable the Church of England to be more effective in Leeds by getting the whole of the city into one diocese and one area of that diocese. This will improve relationships with civic authorities and also between the parishes of Leeds who will be able to work together, for the first time, for effective mission their city. It will also enable Richmond and Craven (everywhere north of Skipton and Ripon) to pull together and focus on rural affairs without being dominated by the large urban conurbations but, also, without losing contact with them altogther. It may be possible to have a full time rural officer. In such a huge archdeaconry a lot will depend on really good access for the parishes to the central departments - DAC, finance, mission resourcing, training - and on excellent communications. A larger diocese is likely to attract more interest from clergy applying for posts; clergy often move within a limited geaographical area once they have settled in a diocese and the new arrangement will give greater scope for moving within the diocese. (60% of clergy spend all their ministry in one diocese - attracting them here in the first place is important!) The cathedrals will be able to develop focused, distinctive ministries - Ripon would clearly be well advised to develop a ministry that supports rural life and the life of the Dales; Bradford might concentrate on interfaith and business issues; Wakefield might be the civic focus for West Yorkshire. The three dioceses have very different strengths, interests and ways of working but we will be able to learn from one another's expertise and we do already have some experience of joint working in areas such as education and training, ministry with the deaf, evangelism and the MSM course, and through sharing ecological knowhow. The most important aspects of the Scheme seem to me to be twofold. Firstly, the tidying up of boundaries so that we can work better with civic partners. We cannot underestimate the difficulty of trying to work across different districts and authorities and replicating effort over and over again in order to do so. Secondly, the episcopal areas will allow area bishops to lead mission in a way that is closer to the interests and needs of their particular area while retaining relationships with the wider diocese especially where sharing vision and resources makes that sensible. So yes, I do see advantages. The financial report that accompanies the Scheme seems to suggest that one diocese will cost around £0.8 million per anum less to run after the initial set up costs. I guess it will be like installing solar panels - over 10 years you reap the benefits though there is an initial outlay. Our finance teams are looking at this and also talking to the Commission about the spread of costs to include a proportion borne by the national church. No doubt there will be much more to say about this in due course. You can read the detail of the estimated financial effects of the proposals in document YDCR4 on the Dioceses Commission website (see Dioceses Commission page for the link to the site.)

Dioceses Commission Gives Little Away

Hi there, folks! If you follow the blog, you may have gathered from the tone of the last couple of posts, and the infrequency of writing over the last week, that we have been on holiday in Wales. It seems that the world has not been on holiday, however - famine in the Horn of Africa, the Norwegian bombings and shootings, the ever-surprising twists and turns in the phone hacking crisis (will it yet bring the government down?), the turmoil in the Middle East and the anxiety in the financial sector make it very difficult to know what to blog about next! The nature of blogging is that you need to be up-to-the-moment but you also need to avoid saying anything so precipitately that your judgements are worthless, plain wrong and make you look foolish within twenty four hours!

Holidaying though we have been, it has not escaped my attention that the Dioceses Commission (which is the body that re-organizes 'executive' areas in the Church of England) has published an interim report stating that it intends to act on its earlier proposals to create a single diocese out of the dioceses of Wakefield, Bradford and Ripon and Leeds, in Yorshire. This will be the first time the Commission has, in fact, substantially reorganised a region and their proposals create both exciting opportunities and the potential to get things wrong if done without a proper understanding of what makes Yorkshire tick. Their initial report, published in November 2010, opened up a period of consultation and the Commission now thinks that it has received sufficient evidence to persuade it to proceed with its plans to dissolve the three present dioceses and create one large one with a diocesan bishop and four area bishops.

Frankly, with the exception of the decisions it has reached about the transfer of some parishes to other dioceses (see below),  the interim report doesn't seem to tell us a great deal. It merely sets out a timetable for future developments. I quote from the Thinking Anglicans website,

'The Commission announces that in the light of the responses they have received, it is drawing up a re-organisation scheme to replace the dioceses of Bradford, Ripon and Leeds and Wakefield with a single new diocese, as well as draft instruments for the creation of episcopal areas. The draft scheme will be published in October 2011 and will be accompanied by a statement of the effect of the propsals on the mission of the Church of England and a detailed estimate of the financial effect of the creation of a single diocese.'

The question of the transfer of parishes to other dioceses will apparently be covered in a second scheme to be published at the same time (October 2011). However, the interim report states that the Commission intends to write into the scheme provision for the transfer of the parishes of Laithkirk, Romaldkirk, Bowes, Startforth, Brignall and Rokeby to the diocese of Durham (see 3.2.1,2,3,4 and 5.) Wycliffe is to remain in the new diocese. In the case of the parishes in the East Richmond Team and the Lower Swale which were asked to consider transfering to York Diocese, it intends to recommend that a final decision is postponed until a full review of the Diocese of York has been undertaken (3.6.1,2,3 and 4.) In the case of the parishes bordering on the Archdeaconry of Leeds, the interim report remains silent. The parishes concerned will know that this does not, in every case, follow the expressed wishes of the PCCs concerned. In the case of the Durham parishes, the Commission was of the opinion that the responses of the PCCs did not present any persuasive evidence to make them think again. In the case of the York parishes, they were persuaded that to make a decision without a proper review of the York diocese would be precipitate and might lead to a poor decision.   

This week's interim report doesn't give answers to any of the larger questions of detail about the new diocese which we, in Yorkshire, are all so interested in. It does not address the question of the name of the diocese, nor the question of the locations of the diocesan bishop and the administrative centre; it does not make clearer the status and responsibilites of the cathedrals or the financial arrangements for either diocese or cathedrals. It does underline that the impetus for a single diocese is not a response to numerical or financial decline; the Commission belives its proposals will enhance the church's ability to reach out to the communities of the region and to be more effective in terms of its mission. The scheme promised in October will be accompanied by a document clearly setting out the reasons for this, we are told. 

So, all in all, the gist of the Commission's announcement is that it is now committed to a one-diocese scheme with five episcopal areas and the transfer of some parishes to surrounding dioceses. However, it has not yet completed the necessary detailed work on how the scheme will be established and made workable. This will come in October and will be followed by a further statutory period of consultation. The Commission has listened to our request (contained in our Diocesan Synod's response to the initial report) for clarification on how the finances will work and on just why the whole thing will be better for mission. (As I have stated in other places, I think that if you read the original report thoroughly, it is pretty clear on the latter topic.) The point to stress now is that it will be vital for deaneries, PCCs, teams and indiviuals to respond with reasonable speed once the scheme is published. When we see the detail, we will have a much better grasp of the possible advantages, disadvantages and pit falls. This is the part of the process which is, in my opinion, crucial - the bringing together of well researched proposals with local knowledge. So my message is, clear a couple of evenings in late October or early November when you can read the scheme and the accompanying documents and then make sure you send your comments to the Commission before it is too late! And, if they show no signs of doing anything, needle your PCC, Deanery Synod and Chapter into having a proper, informed discussion of the issues and making their response.  Absolutely everbody is free to do this. Obviously, well thought-through and knowledgable responses from groups are likely to make more impact than very subjective or ill informed responses from  individuals.

The Interim report http://www.churchofengland.org/media/1300632/july2011progreport.pdf

Comment:
Thinking Anglicans website http://www.thinkinganglicans.org.uk/archives/005106.html#more
The Bishop of Bradford's blog
http://nickbaines.wordpress.com/2011/07/27/new-creation/

Archdeacon's Charge 2011

Thank you to all the church wardens and clergy who came to the Visitation at St Mary's Church Richmond, last night. It is always so very encouraging to see everyone and to able to worship together. Thank you to St Mary's, too, for their warm hospitality. (Incase you are wondering - archdeacons have 'visitations' at which they meet the church wardens and admit them to office each year and the 'charge' is the address which is given on the occasion!)

The East Window, St Mary's Richmond

ARCHDEACON OF RICHMOND’S CHARGE 2011

John I. 35-51

                            

I was woken up very early on Easter Sunday morning by the clock-radio beside my bed. The first thing I heard on the news was that one of the Roman Catholic archbishops had denounced secularism. My first thought was ‘What a shame!’ The church ought not to be known for denouncing things. We Christians ought to be known for what we are for, not what we are against. The very first Christians were most certainly known for what they were for, for their unshakeable belief that Jesus had risen from the dead and that He held the key to life – and the key to life beyond this life. Wouldn’t it have been great if the archbishop had said: ‘Today, we’ll be rejoicing in all our churches because Jesus is alive; come and join us if you’d like to’. That’s the line Jesus took with people when they met Him. Often, they asked: ‘What are you up to?’ and he said: ‘Come and see.’

Philip (in tonight’s reading) learned very quickly, didn’t he? Straight after his first meeting with Jesus, he finds Nathaniel and, when Nathaniel expresses scepticism, Philip says: ‘Well come and see!’

Last August, we had a training evening for ‘Back to Church Sunday’ at which the speaker was Michael Harvey. Michael’s message has stuck with me ever since. He challenged us not just to turn our churches into places of welcome, but to go further and create a whole culture of invitation. Invite people to ‘come and see’ – just to try it out or perhaps to join in. Michael’s point was that if, over the course of a year, you invite say a dozen people to come along, perhaps 10 will say: ‘No thank you’ but 2 may say yes. If we never invite anyone, no one will come! And Michael’s research suggests that most people like to be asked, even if they say no. So fear of being rejected, of having someone say ‘no’ shouldn’t put us off! We can all invite someone to a social event, a service, a Bible Study, a working party, a choir practice. 34 million people – that’s almost 9/10 – people in Britain went to a place of worship for a service, an event or an activity last year! But most only went once. Let’s keep inviting! I was talking to someone the other day who is a new churchwarden because she was invited to join a working party to clear the churchyard. One of my friends is now a vicar because my dad said to him, many years ago, ‘You can go along to Sunday School with Janet if you’re bored.’ You never know where an invitation leads! Jesus’ first disciples thought that they were going to spend a couple of hours one evening at his house… they had their lives changed!

One group that I am specially concerned that we invite and welcome and listen to are our youngsters. In March, I attended a wonderful event in Sheffield at which 33 bishops and 2 archbishops put aside a day to meet 250 young people from all over Britain and to listen to them. (I’ve never seen so many quiet bishops!) What came over very powerfully was that young people are just as interested in faith and theology and ethics as older people, just as passionate about God, about their own spirituality and about serving others, but they communicate differently.    

• Immediacy, reciprocity, discussion, relationship, relationship, relationship, choice to dip in and out were all key concepts
•  No chance to respond, heavy authority, hierarchical structures were out.

On the day, I learned that the average age of a member of the Church of England is 61 (based on electoral rolls, I think, where, of course the under 16's don't figure - but it's still a sobering statistic). And I learned that the Church of South India had a similar situation a few years ago. Their response? They pledged that every group, committee, synod, would aim to draw 35% of its membership from people under 35 and that it would allocate 35% of its finance for activities with the under 35's.  Archbishop Sentamu addressed us and encouraged us with stories of how he had seen God at work in the lives of children and young people – he reminded us that Samuel was only 8 when he was called!

I am proposing – and I shall be writing to Area Deans and Lay Chairs – that every Deanery Synod elects a Young People’s Ambassador. Not necessarily a young person, but someone who will champion young people and keep the concerns and interests of younger people on Deaneries’ agendas. Someone who will ask the questions: Are we inviting, welcoming, listening to the young people in our communities? And who will liaise with Nic Sheppard and Graham Richards, our Youth Team, to get information about events and opportunities out.

Speaking of which, there are invitations available at the back, to the Big Night Out, an exciting event for young people at Lightwater Valley near Ripon on the 21^st of May. Please take one for the young people of your church or village, or see www.northernsaints.org/northeast

I wonder what Philip and Nathaniel and Andrew and Simon and the other disciples talked about on that first evening with Jesus? I bet that, at some stage, they talked about their communities and their political (with a small ‘p’) concerns – in their terms, the domination by the Roman authorities of Jewish ways of life and organisation. You can just hear them, can’t you, telling Jesus about their concerns for the farmers and the fisherman and for the poor – and grumbling about the supposed ineptitude of those who were in the local and national government of the time? Jesus’ period was a time of massive political upheaval and He was most certainly looked to to show ways to respond to the changes.

We are all, I think, conscious of the far-reaching consequences of cuts and the reduction of services in our communities. We may be sceptical about all the talk of the Big Society but we are beginning to see how the voluntary sector is going to take on more responsibility for getting things that need doing done in communities. We may feel a bit daunted, but this is an opportunity for us. Churches have resources to share – local knowledge, a track record of service, buildings, partnerships. We have much to offer. Can I encourage you to do 3 things:

1. PCCs to be in contact with the voluntary service agencies in your area to find out what they are doing and to see if there is anything your churches can appropriately be involved with? (You may already be doing this.)
2. Send someone to attend the training evening on the Big Society which is being held on May 27^th at the Chantry Hall, Bedale, 7-9pm (to book a place, ring 0113 2000 544  or  email alice.ullathorne@riponleeds-diocese.org.uk
3. To be in contact with our new Rural Officer Andy Ryland to come and meet you at PCCs and Synods to help in your thinking about our response to the political and social changes that are happening. For an introduction to Andy's work see http://www.riponleeds.anglican.org/press_290.html

Of course, the other big area of change and uncertainty for us is the report by the Dioceses Commission. The Commission is responsible to the Archbishops and to the General Synod. It has been asked to produce a proposal for the re-organisation of the Yorkshire dioceses and has chosen to report first on the North and West of the county.

You can see the report on http://www.churchofengland.org/about-us/structure/dioceses-commission/yorkshire.aspx It is also accessible through the diocesan website http://www.riponleeds.anglican.org/ – click on ‘Boundary Changes’ on the welcome page - and my blog http://www.archdeaconinthedales.blogsport.com/ – click on ‘Dioceses Commission’ where I hace aslo posted some comments. The proposal is for one diocese comprising most of the present dioceses of Wakefield, Bradford and Ripon and Leeds, with episcopal areas focusing on the rural north and the cities and urban areas.

The report was published in December and the first period of consultation has just come to an end. The Commission will now revise their report in the light of the many responses they have received and produce a final report in the autumn. At that stage, it will be essential to ensure that we make our voices heard about the final recommendations. Anyone and everyone can respond. Individuals, PCCs, Synods, groups beyond the church. The General Synod will then, probably in July 2012, vote on whether the recommendations should be implemented.

The Diocesan Synod has voted to accept the principle of a larger diocese and episcopal areas, but to reject the proposed name and location of the diocesan bishop (which is Wakefield). They have asked the Commission to consider Leeds instead. The Synod has also asked for a detailed report on the financial and asset management risks and on the proposed procedures and structures for creating a new Diocesan Board of Finance. In addition, Synod asked for clear information on proposals for merging administrative and legal structures.

The Bishops, Diocesan Secretary and I know that this is very unsettling for us all and perhaps especially for those parishes who are on the geographical edges of the proposed new diocese some of whom have been asked to consider moving to another diocese. I know that all those parishes have now given their clear responses to the Dioceses Commission and I thank you for all the work that that has involved.

The important question to consider in forming a judgement is, what will best enable the mission of the church in this part of Yorkshire for the coming 100 years? Can I advise you against forming judgements based on things like parish share levels (in working with parishes who have been asked to transfer diocese, we have discovered that there is remarkably little difference in the level of parish share between dioceses) Also, beware of forming judgements based on personalities – clergy, archdeacons and bishops change!

The important things are, will the new diocese enable us

1. to be more visible and accessible in our areas and communities?
2. to work efficiently with our bishops, supported by strong and effective central administrative, legal and buildings services?
3. to exercise good financial stewardship and to generate the resources we need for mission?
4. to attract clergy to minister in the area?
5. to address rural and urban issues effectively?
6. to work with secular and ecumenical partners?

The Bishops, Diocesan Secretary and I are all willing to come to meetings to discuss the proposals further and also to explain matters that might not be immediately clear. The archdeacons of the surrounding dioceses are also very willing to be consulted and have already been very helpful.

The most important thing to say is that, while all these things go on, we continue to be the church, engaged in mission and ministry in all our communities. That will continue, come what may. Bishop John, Bishop James and I are all committed to do our very best to serve the interests of the parishes and to ensure that the outcome of all the discussions is the best it can be for the future mission of the people of God in Yorkshire.

We never get through one of these addresses without mention of money! May I take this opportunity to thank you, your PCCs and treasurers for all the hard work you have done towards paying parish share? Our share collection rate this year was 94.6%. This is very good in such economically difficult times. We can do even better! Please use the services of our Stewardship Officer Paul Winstanley and our Director of Finance Norman Gardner. I have three

things to ask: 

1.     Please ensure your PCC has a standing order for monthly payments towards parish share. This really does help us to keep down the overall level of share
2.     Please have a stewardship campaign or similar if you have not had one recently (in 5 years)
3.    Please use the Giving for Life resources (on http://www.archdeaconinthedaels.blogspot.com/ - click on publications) to ensure that your parish does an audit of its stewardship practices and does its forward planning, producing budgets which are driven by your mission priorities rather than allowing finance to drive your priorities.

Finally on finance, with regard to clergy expenses: the mileage rate, after many years at 40p, has now been increased to 45p per mile.( I think the cost of diesel and petrol has risen by more than a third in the 4 years I’ve been archdeacon!)

On the buildings front, Alice Ullathorne, our new Buildings Officer, is available to advise churches on care and development of buildings and on working with your community and the various grant-making bodies to generate funding. She has an excellent, easy to use, informative blog at http://church-community-building.blogspot.com/ (or go to http://www.riponleeds.anglican.org/ and click on ‘Alice’s blog’) and this keeps you up to date with training events and useful information.

English Heritage and Ecclesiastical have produced a useful booklet and DVD about caring for places of worship 9enclosed in your pack). This includes information about security, lead theft, insurance and health and safety matters. From it, I learned that 

•      There are 14,500 listed places of worship in England?
•      Congregations find a massive £73 million per annum for repairs?
•     7 out of 10 people think churches are an important part of the community and would be willing to support work to keep them open and repaired?

Jesus asked his first disciples: ‘What are you looking for?’ They had no idea that their encounter with Jesus that day would lead them on an adventure that would take them to the heart of God. Jesus saw the truth in people – He knew Nathaniel through and through, He saw what Simon Peter was capable of, He invited them all to come and join in and to make a difference for the sake of God’s Kingdom.

But there is one word in this passage that is probably more important than all the others. It’s the Greek word for ‘stay’. We read, they saw where he was staying and they stayed with him. This word is the same word as abide. You remember, in John 15, Jesus tells the disciples they must abide in Him as the branches on the vine are attached to the vine itself.

We cannot fulfil our calling as disciples, as churchwardens, as clergy, as diocesan staff unless we abide in Jesus. We come in and make our home with Him and He with us. Begin and end every day in company with the Risen Lord; pause at times during the day or even during a meeting, to recollect that we do His work. Seek from Him whatever we need, whatever we are looking for – wisdom, inspiration, encouragement, strength. Nathaniel was meditating under a fig tree, deep in prayer and thought, perhaps. Jesus gives Nathaniel a vision of a ladder up to Heaven, opening the way between God and human activity. Jesus Himself is the ladder enabling us to come into God’s presence and to receive whatever He has to give us. Jesus encourages Nathaniel for his lifelong journey of discipleship: ‘You will see greater things than the things you have already seen’. Do we believe that we will see greater things than we have already seen?

Two useful books
Church Wardens, A Survival Guide; the Office and Role of a Church Warden in the 21^st Century – Martin Dudley and Virginia Rounding, SPCK 2003 
 Practical Church Management; A Guide for every Parish – James Behrens, 2^nd edition, Gracewing Publications

New Diocese for Yorkshire - Responses

For the latest thinking on the proposals for one large diocese for North and West Yorkshire by the diocesan synods of Ripon and Leeds and Bradford, go to
http://www.thinkinganglicans.org.uk/archives/004911.html

This gives you a bit on the Bradford perspective. You can read in detail about the Ripon and Leeds synod debate at which nine proposals were agreed on
http://www.riponleeds.anglican.org/press_310.html

Wakefield has not yet responded.

Dioceses Commission; The Northern Archdeaconry

Above Littondale

Pen y Ghent in January



Ribblehead Viaduct

I've spent quite a bit of the weekend driving around the area of Yorkshire that forms the northern archdeaconry (the new archdeaconry of Richmond) in the Dioceses Commission's proposals for one large diocese for north and west Yorkshire. I have to say that putting most of Richmond and Craven archdeaconries together creates a very large area indeed! I know this is stating the obvious, but perhaps you don't realise just quite how huge until you have been driving on roads with 25% and 16% gradient sections for over two hours and discover you still have not crossed from one side to the other! I can see the coherence of  all the Yorkshire Dales working together and I can see that as regards organising support for parishes there will be advantages in having a dedicated area bishop of Ripon and an archdeacon giving a large part of their attention to rural life. Deaneries would remain much as they are except where parishes on the boundaries decide to move into other dioceses. But I am still wondering about the sheer size of the area. There is, of course, the precedent of the archdeaconry of Cleveland in the York diocese which also covers a vast and diverse area and yet holds together and achieves a sense of identity. Will our geography allow us to do the same? The northern and eastern dales run largely west-east while the western and southern dales run largely north-south and the main routes by which you can pass from east to west are limited; Hawes to Ribblehead, Pateleybridge to Grassington and Blubberhouses to Skipton. The roads in many places in the north are what I call 40mph roads - try to average more and you are likely to arrive late and feeling very frazzled! The eastern and southern areas of the archdeaconry are the populous areas and the A1, A684, A59 and A61 give good access to Ripon but it isn't easy to see how the most westerly areas would readily relate to Ripon. Going back on something I suggested in my initial comments on the Commision's report, it is quite difficult to see how the area bishop of such an area could also be the diocesan bishop and fulfill a role in the House of Lords as travel would be hugely time consuming.

I appreciated stunning countryside and met some lovely people on my wanderings and I popped into a couple of very welcoming churches - I enjoyed the music and the warm atmosphere at Haworth. What an amazing area we have been placed in and called to be stewards of! We must all keep thinking and talking and praying. Do please let me know what your thoughts are.

Dioceses Commission; Yorkshire Review

For those who are interested in the Dioceses Commission report which contains some radical recommendations about a new, single diocese for North and West Yorkshire, I have posted some general comments and personal thoughts on a page (at the top of the blog) entitled Dioceses Commission. The report was published on 9th December 2010 and comments are invited by 9th May 2011. These should be addressed to the assistant secretary of the Commission, Mr Simon Hughes Carew at yorkshire.review@c-of-e.org.uk

You can join the discussions going on in the Diocese of Ripon and Leeds and read some interesting comments and ideas by going to 

 http://www.riponleeds.anglican.org/  and clicking on Boundary Changes; have your say, on the home page.