Inreviewnovember14

WELCOME to the latest edition of InReview, a monthly news-letter from the National Institutions of the Church of England.

Our aim is to keep people in touch with the activities of the A r c h b i s h o p s ’

Council, Church Commissioners, the Pensions Board and other bodies who serve the Church at national level.

Do check out In Focus, our sister p u b l i c a t i o n designed to be a centrespread for A5 parish magazines.

The National Church Institutions working for you

November 2014

“Work together and be innovative” says rural school report

Small rural primary schools must form effective partnerships and col-laborations if they are to survive into the future and continue to be a vital part of rural community life, says a

new report published by the Church of England.

Working Together, released by the Church of England’s National Educa-tion Office, says that they are one of

the state’s last remaining points of contact with rural communities and they have a key role in rural life.

Continued on page two

inreviewwww.churchofengland.org

Archbishop Sentamu hails “great success” of Pilgrim Course -p4

Archbishop Justin visits ireland in Primate trip - p3

Page two | The National Church Institutions working for you

The Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu visited Southwell to officially re-open the Arch-bishop’s Palace, home to some of his predecessors.

The refurbished Palace, largely financed by a Heritage Lottery Fund grant of £1.3m, was the former residence of the Archbishops of York, and Charles

1st used the Palace during the Civil War. The re-opening is a celebration of the great restora-tion achievement that the Palace represents - and of all the hard work that has gone into making the project a success.

Read more at: bit.ly/abysouthwellminster

A statement has been released in response to the council of Reform who “expressed its dismay that the objectives of the ‘shared conversations’ on Scripture, Sexuality and Mission had been changed”.

Part of the statement read, “the objectives of the Shared

Conversations on Sexuality, Scripture and Mission were set out in June 2014 by the Bishop of Sheffield in GS Misc 1083. These objectives remain unchanged. No new objective has been added.”The statement is now available on the CofE website here:bit.ly/sharedconversation

Archbishop encourages rural leaders at Germinate conference

Nearly a thousand churches have listed their services and suppers online at www.aharvest-nearyou.com - a new seasonal initiative launched this year by the Church of England.

From church services on farms and allotments to sup-pers in church halls and com-munity centres, the tradition of harvest is alive and well and is being welcomed by communi-ties across the country. Details of the services also show that an increasing number of churches and schools are donating their non-perishable harvest goods to foodbanks

Many supported the national British Food Fort-night, BFF - using the hashtag #HarvestFever - which encour-ages community organisations and schools to learn more about UK food and support British producers.

In a CofE interview, Canon Dr Jill Hopkinson, the Church of England’s National Rural officer said:

“Having the opportunity to say thank you is really impor-tant. We have harvest services on farms, allotments and a tra-ditional harvest supper can be a ceilidh, it could be a concert .

There are a whole range of things that give people from the wider community the chance to join in what is a time of celebration.”Full interview with Jill Hopkinson at: bit.ly/harvestnearyou

The Archbishop of Canter-bury has called for a “brave” and “radical” approach to rural min-istry in a welcoming address at a conference for church leaders working in the countryside.

Archbishop Justin delivered words of encouragement to nearly 300 lay and ordained church leaders and congregation members from major denomi-nations active in rural areas, at the Germinate conference in Coventry.

Rural ministry is not more difficult than any other ministry, but is very often more complicated, the Archbishop said in a video message to the

conference.He added that reimagin-

ing ministry in the countryside involved “coming back to the faithfulness of God in all his people, especially lay people.”

The Bishop of Shrewsbury, Mark Rylands, in a key note address, told the conference that shared leadership was crucial for the future of rural ministry.

“If mission is more about discerning God’s direction, then prayer needs to be our first and primary activity and shared lead-ership is crucial,” he said.

More details can be found at: bit.ly/germinateconference

A Harvest Near You

Continued from page one

But it warns that the days of the individual autonomous small school are numbered as they face financial challenges par-ticularly with likely changes to the way schools are funded.

The Church of England is responsible for more than 50% of the 4146 small rural schools in England (with less than 210 pupils) as 200 years ago it set out to offer education to all when the landscape was very different.

The report points out the benefits of collaboration with other schools, creating formal partnerships and shares case studies from around the country where this has successfully been done. It also notes that few rural schools have the capacity to con-vert to academy status without support - and says the Church of England already has support structures in place with diocesan Multi Academy Trusts (MATs).

It also suggests proactively using parts of the school build-ing for other services including post offices, community cen-

tres, nurseries and holiday clubs.

The report goes on to issue a ‘dare to be differ-ent’ challenge to schools to in their teaching approach: one example is introducing virtual learning already working effec-tively in the Scot-tish Highlands and parts of Australia and New Zealand.

The report faces hard ques-tions and sets out helpful checklists for governors and Diocesan Boards of Education to map a way forward for their rural schools. It states that there is a still a government presumption against closure, saying any cases must be strong “and in the best interests of the overall education provision for an area.”

The Revd Nigel Genders, the Church of England’s Chief Educa-tion Officer, said: “In the current education landscape small rural

schools face some tough chal-lenges which are not simple to resolve and are often expressed in negative terms. This report is about suggesting a range of col-laborative and innovative ways forward for these schools, which clearly have a key role in rural life, while not shying away from the difficult questions.”

The Bishop of Oxford, John Pritchard, Chair of the CofE’s Board of Education said: “Rural schools, like our country churches, are the vital heartbeat of the countryside. Partnership has to be the way forward. In the Diocese of Oxford, for example, we are seeing imagi-native schemes such as the one in Bletchingdon, where a new school - which will also house community village facilities - is being built on land owned by the Duchy of Cornwall, alongside affordable rural housing, to the benefit of all. I hope this report will inspire other such creative partnerships to help our rural schools thrive.”

Listen to an interview with the Revd Nigel Genders at: bit.ly/ruralschoolsinterview

The full report can be found at:bit.ly/ruralschoolsreport

“work together and be innovative” says rural school report

Revd Phil Blamire, Chair of Governors of a very small village primary school with a shrinking population on the beautiful but remote North Norfolk coast explained his school’s dilemma. “Your excellent Head has moved on to take charge of a large primary school in the city - with no classroom teaching commitment. You’re very fortunate that the equally excellent KS2 lead teacher is headship material and, whilst Acting Head successfully leads the school through an Ofsted

with ‘good and outstanding’; then, through a rigorous process, is appointed Head. But for how long?”Trying to combine the head’s teaching and leadership commitments with other staff facing reduced contracts brought the matter to a head. Working with other local schools the Pilgrim Federation was formed - four small rural schools working together with an executive head teacher and other joint appointments with a lead teacher in each school.

News in Brief

Case Study

Pilgrim Federation of Church of England Schools, Norwich Diocese

Allotment harvest service from Southwell and Notts Diocese

Statement on Shared Conversations on Scripture, Sexuality and Mission

Archbishop re-opens Palace in Southwell

statement

InReview | Page three

Bishop says caring for environment is “central” to Christian living

Church backs new climate change and investment project

The Church of England is one of 12 global institutional investors backing a new project to study how climate change will impact the investment landscape.

The Church’s Ethical Invest-ment Advisory Group and the three national investing bodies

are supporting the project as part of a group concerned about climate change and its invest-ment implications.

Read the full release and background to the project at bit.ly/mercerproject

Archbishop Justin visits Church of ireland

The Archbishop of Can-terbury visited the Church of Ireland, meeting with leaders, congregations and their local communities.

Archbishop Justin, accom-panied by his wife, Caroline, saw reconciliation projects and other Anglican churches in their communities in Belfast, Armagh and Dublin.

The Archbishop began his visit by joining with Irish bishops at the historic peace wall divid-ing the Protestant Shankill from Catholic Falls in West Belfast.

Speaking at the wall, the Archbishop said: “One of the key things in any process of recon-ciliation is persistence and per-

severance, it is always an incred-ibly long-term process.

He joined Richard Clarke, Archbishop of Armagh, Michael Jackson, Archbishop of Dublin, and Alan Abernethy, Bishop of Connor, in visiting the peace wall at Cupar Way.

From there the Archbishop travelled to East Belfast to see the work of Willowfield Parish Church. For many years the church been strongly commit-ted to its local community, which still carries many scars from the 30 years of the Troubles.

Later he visited the Dock Café (pictured), an ecumenical community-building project in the Titanic Quarter that aims to

provide a gathering point for different traditions, and donned an apron to brew some Belfast tea. On Thursday evening the Archbishop preached at Armagh Cathedral.

The Archbishop then trav-elled to Dublin, where met with clergy and city representatives at St Patrick’s National Cathedral. There he saw the Cathedral’s ‘Lives Remembered’ exhibition, which calls attention to the bru-tality of conflict and pays trib-ute to all whose lives have been touched by war and violence.

Read more about Archbishop Justin’s visit at:bit.ly/abcirelandvisit

The Bishop of Salisbury, Nicholas Holtam has spoken about the importance of caring for the earth, which should be at the heart of the life of the church.

In an interview available on the Church of England website, the new Bishop for the environ-ment set out his thoughts on how the church can be good stewards of the earth, and how engaging with the public debate on climate change needs to begin with a recommitment to prayer.

Bishop Nicholas said: “This is about spirituality - it’s about

how we are with God, with one another and how we care for the earth. Spirituality is so central to what it is to be a Christian and that’s the right place to begin to think about the an issue like caring for the environment. It’s part of who were are ... and how we live.”

The Bishop then called on the church to share good prac-tices about how it can positively impact the environment.

The interview is now available at:bit.ly/salisburyinterview

Andrew watson announced as next Bishop of Guildford

The Rt Revd Andrew Watson, has been announced as the next Bishop of Guildford.

Bishop Andrew is currently the Bishop of Aston in the Dio-cese of Birmingham, where he has taken a lead on helping churches transform lives and communities and on encourag-

ing younger people to explore faith in Christ. He also has a strong global interest, chairing the national Panel for World Mission and the Anglican Com-munion drawing together views from Anglican churches and mis-sion agencies worldwide.

Bishop Andrew said: “It is

both exciting and deeply hum-bling to be invited to serve the people of Surrey and North East Hampshire, and to lead the Church of England in mission across the Guildford Diocese.”

For more information:bit.ly/guildfordannouncement

The Bishop of Salisbury, who discussed his environmental role on BBC Sunday Morning Live this month

Page four | The National Church Institutions working for you | InReview

The Church of England’s Communications office is currently offering a number of one-day training courses at our London Media Centre (places limited).

Upcoming courses:

Get your Church Noticed - 4th November

Does your local community know of all the good things on offer at your Church? Neil Pug-mire, author of 100 ways to get your church noticed, will be hold-ing a one-day workshop based on the principles of his success-ful and newly re-published book, teaching how to put together a coherent communications strat-egy for your church.

Giving a whistle-stop tour of tools to put your church on the map – including branding, noti-ceboards, magazines and new media – by the end of the day you will have learned how to give your Church communications a makeover!

Spaces very limited, book early to avoid disappointment. For more information, please contact: [email protected]

The Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, has hailed the success of the Church of Eng-land’s Pilgrim Course, which has launched new material.

Two new books and films have been released as part of the second stage of Pilgrim. The ‘Grow’ stage is designed to deepen churchgoers’ faith and understanding of Christian teaching, and the first of the

books in the series now availa-ble cover the Creeds, or shared beliefs of the church; and the Eucharist, covering teaching on Holy Communion.

The Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu said: “I’m so thrilled that the Pilgrim Course has been a great success this past year and is being used so much across the country. Finding out about the Christian

faith is the most important thing that anyone can do and I urge anyone who hears about the course to give it a go.”

The Pilgrim Course, which is published by Church House Publishing and has sold more than 40,000 books in its first year, is the Church of England’s national discipleship pro-gramme commissioned by the House of Bishops.

Archbishop of York hails “great success” of Pilgrim Course

The two new videos show previous attendees and leaders sharing stories about their experiences of the course. Robyn Frame from Newcastle (pictured) reflects on how Pilgrim “changed the way I learn about the Bible”

“The one thing that was really fantastic about Pilgrim was the new friends that I’ve made. I felt quite alone in my faith because I was new to it; I didn’t really know people from the congregation properly and having these people who I’ve met through the course who are on the exact same level of faith as me has been fantastic. It’s given me a group I can

Pilgrim videos

The course was created to support the Church’s goal of “spiritual and numerical growth in the church” which was highlighted by the Arch-bishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, in his first Presidential Address to the General Synod in July 2012.

The Bishop of Sheffield, the Rt Revd Steven Croft said: “The Grow Stage builds on the excellent foundation of Pilgrim to provide a rich resource for deepening faith and Christian discipleship in every parish and every kind of church. I’m excited to see how the new material will help local churches to grow from strength to strengthand be a resource that every-one can use”.

Billed as offering an approach of “participation, not persuasion”, Pilgrim: A Course for the Christian Journey is published by Church House Publishing. Assuming little or no knowledge of the Christian faith, Pilgrim can be used at any point on the journey of discipleship and by every tradi-tion in the Church of England.

For more details about the Pilgrim Course:www.pilgrimcourse.org

lean on and really learn from each other.”

Another participant said that the course gave them: “the ability to ask the daft questions - to ask those things that maybe you haven’t

had the opportunity to ask before, and maybe don’t get to ask in church” that they found most helpful.”

The videos are available now at:bit.ly/pilgrimpromo