As promised at the Annual Parish meeting, we are reviving PCC Jottings to keep people informed about what has been discussed at PCC meetings. The three major subjects discussed at the latest PCC meeting make this a particularly appropriate time to do this.
1) We began the conversations about what shape a new leadership / ministry team might take, and what it might do. We plan to have an away day on July 15th to explore this further, with the aim that the new structure will be in place by early 2018.
2) We have been discussing staffing for some months. With the recent departures of the Grices and Kirbys, the team of licensed ministers is becoming increasingly stretched. Diocesan policy is that parishes have a year’s break between curates. The parish is being actively considered for a curate, however the earliest that a curate might join us is mid-2018.
Through our Parish Share payments to the diocese we are currently paying for a half time ordained minister that is not in post. It is possible to have a grant from the Diocese, the equivalent of what it would cost to support a half time ordained post, top it up with some funding from the parish, and employ a full-time lay worker.
Having considered these things, and our desire to be “Sent to be Closer to Others” the PCC are planning to advertise for a Parish Mission Enabler. This purpose of this role would be:
- To build the capacity for evangelism and disciple making within the congregations of All Saints and St Catherine’s
- To share the gospel and make disciples in the communities of Wellington and Eyton
- To reach out to those on the edges of society
It is our belief that having someone in this role will enable us to reach out more effectively to our communities with the good news of Jesus and to see the churches continue to grow in numbers and depth of discipleship.
If all goes well it is possible that we may be able to recruit to this post by September this year, but it is more likely to be early in 2018.
3) A project team has been working hard on a proposal for renewing the Audio-Visual system within All Saints. They have consulted with various users of the system to get feedback. Some improvements have already been made, and designs for a new system have been suggested. These will be considered more fully at the next meeting of the PCC.
What can you do?
There is a 24-hour prayer event in All Saints from 9 am on June 3rd to 9 am on June 4th. We have spent the last term in the sermon series thinking about and exploring prayer. Now it is time to join together in prayer.
- To listen to what God is saying to us about the vision and leadership of the parish.
- To pray for the right person to join the team to take the lead in equipping us for mission.
- To pray for the provision of the resources needed to support these initiatives.
Please do feedback or ask any questions of the PCC members.