Three of our churches/partnerships are Member Institutions of Citizens:MK, a diverse alliance of community organisations acting together for a thriving, inclusive and fairer Milton Keynes. On 16 March, Citizens:MK partnered with the YMCA Milton Keynes for a day of action to promote awareness and support for the new strategy of MK Homelessness Partnership and MK Council in addressing homelessness in MK. The aims of the Day were to:
1.Educate MK residents (including children) about homelessness and what city organisations such as MK Council, voluntary organisations and businesses are doing about it;
2.Celebrate the achievement of MK Homelessness Partnership (MKHP) producing its first ‘Strategic Review December 2017’, and MK Council approving a new ‘Rough Sleeping Reduction Strategy’ to reduce the number of people sleeping rough to zero by 2021; and
3.Collaborate in building power to support MK Council and MK Homelessness Partnership in achieving their goals.
First, at lunch time, pupils from three local primary schools enjoyed a facilitated Q&A session with four people who have experienced rough sleeping.
At 7.30pm, guests had an opportunity to quiz those in positions of leadership in addressing homelessness: Cllr Peter Marland, Leader of the Council; Gamiel Yafai, Chair of MK Homelessness Partnership; Simon Green, CEO of YMCA MK; Lawrence Morgan and Suzanna Raymond of the Citizens:MK’s ‘House the Homeless’ campaign. Guests asked questions about the recommendations in the Strategic Review and their personal experiences of developing and delivering them.
At 9.00pm, 55 guests attended a ‘House the Homeless Assembly’ at which Gamiel Yafai received a Citizens:MK Gold Award for MK Homelessness Partnership for developing a strategy with the goal of ending homelessness in MK. Our 3 church Member Institutions (Christ the Cornerstone; St Frideswide’s and Stantonbury & Willen Ecumenical Partnership) sent members to support this community action.
Towards the end of the Assembly, a film was shown of Summerfield School Choir singing a song about homelessness, ‘We Will Fix You’. It was a really moving rendition, and there was much blowing into tissues at the end of it.
After the Assembly, Ian Roberts and band played live music to entertain ‘Sleep Easy’ volunteers as they prepared to bed down in the cold to raise money for the YMCA. Although the temperature didn’t get below freezing until 6.00am, the one-night volunteer ‘rough sleepers’ felt the chill and discomfort of sleeping rough in winter.
Truby’s Garden Tea Room, sponsored by Meals by Malik (a local Muslim Woman caterer) and the owner of a small Muslim led printing company Good Response, provided meals for those sleeping out and refreshments for those attending the Assembly.
An implementation Steering Group has recently been established to take the above programme forward. With Glyn Evans as Chair and Charles Chadwick as Executive Secretary, the team is also looking to recruit 3 new lay members, one from each of the 3 rural Archdeaconries. The Steering Group has therefore asked us to draw your attention to 2 events to unveil the work of the project, and encourage you to consider attending. These will be held on Saturday 17 June in Buckinghamshire, and Saturday 24 June in Oxfordshire. Posters will be sent out shortly to all rural benefices and parishes and the events will also appear on e-news in due course, but do make a note of these dates now.
As we know, the Diocese of Oxford is one of the largest dioceses in the country. 30% of its parishes have a population of under 500.
At the start of 2017 the Board of Mission endorsed the report of the working group which has a series of recommendations that address nine identified areas which impinge on the life and flourishing of the rural church:
These recommendations are not intended to be a ‘top down’ programme, rather they are designed to offer thinking and resources for the rural church across the diocese. To that end we are calling the ongoing work The Enhancing and Resourcing the Rural Church programme.
Pat Hodges (‘Miss Quiz’) and her husband Neil do a wonderful job in organising quizzes in support of different charities. Although they usually take place at St Thomas’s, Simpson, or Simpson Village Hall, the next two are at different venues. The first one – for the benefit of the Food Bank – will take place at THE HOLIDAY INN in Central Milton Keynes, on Saturday 11 March 2017, starting at 7.00pm.
The cost will be £8.00 per person. A selection of savouries will be available on each table. Please Note: You cannot bring your own drinks to this event!
If you would like to come along, please contact Pat at missquiz@sky.com or call 01908-644785. Maximum 8 per table, but don’t be put off coming even if you’re on your own. Pat does a great job of putting people together.
After ten years without a full-time minister, Revd Catherine Butt will become the new vicar in September. She will be bringing a “transplant team” with her from St Mary’s Bletchley. This is the culmination of much thought and planning, including changes to parish boundaries and a new vision for this congregation.
Announcement for: St Frideswide Water Eaton and St Marys Bletchley
8th January 2017
This morning we are pleased to be making the following announcement.
It has been decided that St Frideswide’s Water Eaton will welcome Rev Catherine Butt as their new Incumbent with a permanent Transplant Team of people from St Mary’s Bletchley to assist the present church in fulfilling its mission and ministry.
The proposed start of this new chapter of life at St Frideswide will be in the early Autumn of 2017.
Meanwhile St Mary’s Bletchley will assist St Frideswide parish during it ongoing interregnum.
There are huge mission needs and opportunities in the Water Eaton area. Our Area Dean, Tim Norwood, has been working with the church over the past three years as an “interim minister”. He has provided Sunday cover, developed lay leaders and helped the church think about the future.
During this time, we have identified four key areas for which additional ministry would be essential:
The appointment of a new minister and the arrival of a team will take the church forward in new ways…
Transplanting proposal to St Frideswide’s Water Eaton
from St Mary’s Bletchley
Written by Rev David McDougall
It is proposed that the Rev Catherine Butt becomes the new incumbent of
St Frideswide’s Water Eaton and is joined by a team of lay people from St Marys Bletchley to assist that church in fulfilling its mission and ministry.
Transplanting is when a gifted ordained leader and some central church members are permanently sent to an Anglican church which needs long term ministry assistance. This fresh injection of leadership and members enable the church to fulfil its ministry to the local area. The original members of the transplanted church often become encouraged as they begin to see their church fulfil its purpose and are often spiritually renewed themselves.
When a church has declined to the point where it is struggling to fully function and serve its local parish.
Transplanting is happening to great effect in many places all around England. It has been spearheaded in recent years by London churches such as Holy Trinity Brompton and St Stephens East Twickenham. Transplanting happens successfully across deaneries and across diocese. There have been transplants from London to Brighton and Birmingham in recent years. Churches which were otherwise struggling have been given a visionary leader and some committed church members of the sending church and have seen the transplanted church come alive.
I personally have had experience both of overseeing transplanting and leading one myself. In 2002 Kim and I transplanted from St Stephens East Twickenham to St Saviour’s Sunbury. We were there 12 years and saw the church grow from 35 – 300 in those years, with many unchurched people coming to faith, being baptised and growing in their discipleship.
Bishop Michael Colclough a former Bishop of Kensington in the London Diocese described the reason for transplanting to me in the following way:
“David will you go and rescue a church which is in trouble. They are losing the war and need both a fresh commander and troops to help them win it – are you willing to do that?”
In response to this call I took 35 adult and 15 children and went to help St Saviours Sunbury win the war!
Although I would never choose the language of war and armies – the way Bishop Michael put it made transplanting very clear to me and all the people that I eventually worked with in that church.
Transplanting is when a leader and team are sent into an already existing church which is facing challenges to survive.
Church planting is usually when a new church is started either inside an Anglican parish or into another Anglican parish by that Incumbents/PCC permission and or through what is known as a Bishops Mission Order (BMO).
At this present time, the following people have been consulted and agree with this proposal:
Announcement 8th January
Gather and prepare transplant team Jan-June 2017
Licensing service: September 2017
