Articles
Lent Appeal 2013 letter
In April of last year I had the great pleasure of hosting members of the 2010 Brazilian street child team as they came to London to kick us off on the road to the 2014 Rio de Janeiro Street Child World Cup.
Sixteen teams of street children from five continents will come together in Rio. They will not only represent their countries (such as Egypt, South Africa, Brazil, Philippines, Ukraine, India and hopefully Mozambique) but millions of street children around the world. Together these children will use this global platform to challenge negative perceptions and to highlight the treatment of street children around the world.
I am so glad that we are able to make the Amos Trust and the Street Child World Cup the focus of our Diocesan Lent Appeal for 2013. There are resources, including films, for use in the parish and school available from Amos Trust and the Street Child World Cup websites.
Christmas letter 2012
On Friday of last week Sister Theresa Capel died peacefully and at a great age. She was one of the last members of the Church Army to have known its founder, Prebendary Wilson Carlile, a priest of the Diocese of London who had stepped outside the walls of the church where he was a curate to fan the rumour of God on the streets, and who had then returned to breathe new life into a City church as Rector of St Mary-at-Hill.
Theresa Capel embodied the spirit of the Church Army at its best. She had been a Chaplain at Strangeways Gaol and served at the Training College where Terry Waite told me she was regarded with awe and even a little fear. She was strenuous and unsentimental, and I knew her where she worked for most of her life, in a hostel for homeless women. She had no blood relatives but she had an enormous family of women, together with whom she made a home. It is a philosophy which gave way to a more developmental concept of hostel care, but there will always be a need for some people of a secure and loving shelter from the buffets of the world and this Theresa Capel built.
She was very clear-sighted about the perils which lie around us. I remember meeting her in a supermarket where, after a few words, she darted over to the checkout with a cry of “Oh no you don’t!” and extracted a bottle of gin from the basket of an alcoholic resident.
Ride+Stride 2013
RIDE+STRIDE is a national open churches event, but it’s one with a twist – as well as getting out and about you can raise money to help churches in your area.
The idea is to have as many as possible open in each diocese and to find as many people as possible to get sponsored for visiting them. The sponsorship money you raise is then shared 50/50 between a local grant-giver that assists historic churches and the individual church of your choice.
For more information on what this actually entails for visitors and for participating parishes, see the page on the diocesan website. Parishes wishing to participate should register an interest by 13 February 2013.
It Took Another Riot
Matthew Girt, Head of Strategic Development, writes:
Following the riots in Tottenham last summer a small independent group, commissioned by the Mayor and chaired by Sir Stuart Lipton, was asked to look at the reasons for the riots in Tottenham and make recommendations to turn the situation around. The Diocese and its local clergy played a key role in this work, and the report ‘It took another riot’ is the result.
The report was launched on the 11th December at both City Hall and Tottenham by Boris Johnson, Lord Heseltine, Sir Stuart Lipton and David Lammy MP. As you will see it is hard hitting in its recommendations and observations, yet has cross party, local and national support, and is accepted by the Mayor in its entirety.
Michael Heseltine who supported our work through this last year was clear in his statements about the importance of the findings and recommendations and drew parallels with the work in the 1980’s at Toxteth.
It is clear that the work of the Church of England is recognised in this report, and Sir Stuart Lipton publicly referred to it on a number of occasions in his address. The work on the report has opened doors and increased understanding of the work of the Church on a wide scale, but more importantly it smooths the way for clergy and lay to take forward their mission and ministry with the society in which they live and work in Tottenham. It also acts as ‘approved proof’ of the huge relevance of the Church of England in London.
I would particularly like to note my thanks to the local clergy, whose work features in the report, for their work and contributions and contacts throughout this years work.
Diocesan Property Review
We have recently concluded a major review of the London Diocesan Fund’s (LDF’s) property function, led by independent consultants and overseen by external experts on the Property Advisory Group. As lots of you will know, it included a far-reaching exercise to gather the views of clergy, staff, and others – huge thanks to all of you who shared your views and insights with us. The review is a thorough and encouraging piece of work, both in terms of what has been achieved so far and the potential for further improvements. It focused on three areas: clergy housing, support for the management and development of parish property, and investment income.
Safeguarding update: new policy
New Roles
Thank you to all those parishes who have already informed us who has been appointed to the new positions required by our policy – Church Safeguarding Officer and Children’s Champion. As soon as your PCC has discussed this and appointed, do let us have the relevant contact details so that we can stay in touch and supply information and support. If you are experiencing any problems at all with this, please don’t hesitate to contact me or another member of the Diocesan Safeguarding Team.
Guidance Documents
A variety of Guidance Documents have been written and will be available on the safeguarding page of the website. These include: Volunteering and Working in the Diocese, First Aid, Off Site Visits, Electronic Communications, Staffing (which includes ratios of adults : children in groups), Risk Assessments, Undertaking Activities in Your Home and Unaccompanied Children. If there any other areas where you think some guidance would be useful, please let me know (especially if you have something already that you’d be willing to share with the Diocese!).
These will all be on the website for the beginning of the New Year.
Role Descriptions
We would also like to build a bank of role descriptions that can be used in parishes to support the recruitment of volunteers and paid workers. The role descriptions related to the policy will be placed on the web site – Children’s Champion, Church Safeguarding Officer along with Evidence Checker – for DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) applications. I see some very good examples of role descriptions accompanying DBS application forms and would be grateful if you could send me an electronic version safeguarding (Email: safeguarding [at] london.anglican.org) if you would be willing to make these available to other parishes so they can ‘tweak’ them to suit roles in their parish.
I hope you all have a very Happy Christmas; the Diocesan Safeguarding Team look forward to our continued work together in 2013 to ensure our Diocese is as safe as we can possibly make it.
Money Matters November and December 2012
Money Matters, the newsletter prepared by the finance advisers for PCC treasurers and all involved with parish finances, has been published.
Included in this newsletter:
- Changes to Statutory Fees
- Gift Aid
- Year end procedures
- Financial controls, reporting serious incidents
- Lower VAT on gas and electricity bills
- Fraudulent utility bills
- PAYE – Payroll software
- Legacy Materials
- ACAT membership – free help for treasurers
- Parish Buying Service
If you have any questions please contact your Area’s Finance Adviser.
- Title : Money Matters 11 12 November and December 2012
Size : 729 kB
- Title : Money Matters 11 12 November and December 2012
Size : 112 kB
Clergy moves December 2012
Into the Diocese
The Revd David Ackerman, Associate Priest in the benefice of Bisley, Chalford, France Lynch and Oakridge, Diocese of Gloucester, is to be Incumbent of St John, Kensal Green (0206), from 11 February 2013.
The Revd Andrew Sloane, Rector of St Paul’s, K-Street, Washington DC, USA, is to be Associate Vicar at St Paul’s Knightsbridge (0316), from 13 February 2013.
The Revd Derek West, formerly Team Vicar of Upton Cum Chalvey, Diocese of Oxford, now has PTO.
Within the Diocese
The Revd Giles Fouhy, Acting Minister in Charge of St Barnabas, Dalston (0585), is to be Minister in Charge of St Barnabas, Dalston (0585), from 3 February 2013.
The Revd Marcus Nodder, Associate Vicar at St Anne with St Peter, Limehouse (0714) and St Peter, West India Quay (0714B), is to be Minister in Charge of St Peter’s Barge, West India Quay (0776), from 28 April 2013.
The Revd Ed Dix, Curate at St Paul, Shadwell (0718), is to be Minister in Charge of St Luke’s Mission Initiative (0709A) from 27 January 2013.
The Revd Rosy Barrie, Curate at St Mary, Twickenham (0905), is to be Incumbent of St Martin, West Drayton (2518), from 6 March 2013.
The Revd Hannah Reynolds, Priest in Charge of All Saints, Hanworth (1011), is to be Priest in Charge of St Peter, Didcot, Diocese of Oxford, from 22 January 2013.
The Revd Tom Gillum, Priest in Charge of St John the Baptist, Isleworth (1020), is to be Incumbent of St The Baptist, Isleworth (1020), from 23 December.
The Revd Gareth Wardell, Associate Vicar at St Mary Abbotts, Kensington (1116), is to be Incumbent of All Saints, Hampton (0902), from 13 January 2013.
The Revd Christine Cargill, Assistant Curate at St Luke, West Hampstead (1607) and St Mary with All Souls, Kilburn (1608), is to be Incumbent of St Anne, Brondesbury (2116), from 16 April 2013.
Out of the Diocese
The Revd Stephen Young, Assistant Priest at St Paul’s, Knightsbridge (0316), is to be Priest in Charge of St Andrew’s, Deal, Diocese of Canterbury, from 30 January 2013.
The Revd Simon Kirby, Assistant Curate at Friern Barnet (1409)and Chaplain to Wren Academy (1482), is to be Incumbent of Combined Benefices of Cogges and South Leigh and North Leigh, Diocese of Oxford, from 1 January.
Legal changes for the procedure for publishing banns of marriage
The procedure for publishing banns of marriage on a Sunday has changed. As the Diocesan Registrar, Paul Morris, explains:
Until now, the law has required that banns be read at the morning service (if there is one) on a Sunday, even if the main or principal service is actually at some other time of day.
With effect from Sunday 23 December 2012, that requirement has changed. Banns must now be read at the principal or main service, whether that is in the morning or not.
In addition, banns may be published at any other service on the same Sunday, as well as being read at the principal service.
Another change is that the wording for the publication of banns contained in ‘Common Worship: Pastoral Services’ is now given statutory authority, even though in practice the wording is already in use. For the avoidance of doubt, the Common Worship and Book of Common Prayer forms of wording now have equal statutory authority. Either form may be used.
Please note that if banns are published more than once on the same Sunday, both publications are the same ‘time of asking’.
A note from the legal office of the Church of England is also attached.
- Title : Legal changes for the procedure for publishing banns of marriage
Size : 222 kB
Holidays
Four children bounced up and down on the chancel steps. They had returned, just the day before, from a week-long residential Christian holiday, with 45 other 8-10 year old boys and girls.
“What was the best thing?” I asked them.
Without hesitation two of them said in unison, “The theme park”, followed by “Messing around in the dormitory” and “The food”. Then one boy said, “Actually, everything!” [Read more...]
