The Revd Preb Stephen Stuckes in the Chair

Minutes of a session of the Bath and Wells Diocesan Synod held at The Canalside, BCC Huntworth, Bridgwater, on Saturday 19 March 2016 at 9.30 am

The session opened with worship led by The Revd Jane Haslam, Rector, Alfred Jewel Benefice assisted by The Revd Robin Lodge and Mr Jerry King.

Note: prior to the meeting apologies for absence were received from Ms Erika Baker, The Revd Jane Chamberlain, Mr Nigel Crocker, Mr David Dufour, Mrs Caroline Farrimond, The Revd Andrew Hemming, Mr John Hope-Simpson, Mrs Jenny Humphreys, The Revd David Keen, The Revd Simon Lewis, Mr Jim Loring, The Revd Nicholas Maddock, Mrs Frances Nicholson, Mr Rob Norman, Mrs Grace Rubery, The Revd Caroline Walker, Mrs Sylvia Williams, The Revd Daile Wilshere, and The Revd Dr Adrian Youings.

The Revd Preb Stephen Stuckes in the Chair.

1 Presidential address

The Presidential address was given by The Rt Revd Peter Hancock, Bishop of Bath and Wells: http://www.bathandwells.org.uk/2016/03/bishop-peters-presidential-address-synod-2/

The Bishop reminded us of the words of Jesus that “God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life”(John 3:16). God still loves His world, and just as Jesus was sent by the Father, so the church is sent by Jesus, in the name of the Father and in the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus was clear what his mission was. He came to bring deliverance to the poor, sight to the blind, freedom to those in prison and release for those who were oppressed. He came to bring life, life eternal, life in all its fullness. As John Stott once said: ‘Jesus lived and died, so that we might die and live.’

The Bishop reflected that we are called to share in Jesus’ mission to the world, and because of this we must put mission and evangelism at the heart of all that we do. As we think about what God’s call is upon our lives and what our mission should be, let’s not plan for decline. Let’s have the confidence to listen to the Spirit, to listen to each other, to listen to the voices of young people and to those who are outside of the Church. Let’s not think about reducing our capacity but think about ways to increase it. Let’s see what levers God may be giving us – levers for change, levers that will bring growth. And as God’s people, ransomed, healed, restored, forgiven, let us find ways to live and demonstrate the good news of Christ. Let’s make sure that the Diocese of Bath and Wells is known as a diocese which is reaching for the stars.

2 Minutes

The Synod resolved that the minutes of the session of the Synod held on 17 October 2015 be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairs.

3 Matters arising from the minutes.

None.

4 Bishop’s Council

The Synod resolved that the minutes of the following meetings of the Bishop’s Council be noted:

(a) 4 November 2015

(b) 3 February 2016 (draft subject to approval by Bishop’s Council)

5 Questions

A question had been submitted by Mr Jeremy Key-Pugh (Bath). A copy of the question and answer is attached as an appendix to these minutes.

6 Development of Diocesan Strategy – “Shaping our Future”

Bishop Ruth shared with Synod the latest stage in the development of a diocesan strategy.

“Shaping our Future” is about identifying strategic priorities and then making our plans to ensure we can bring about the changes we believe God is calling us to.

Bishop Ruth then reviewed previous work by the Synod; Bishop’s Staff; Bishop’s Council and the Rural Deans/Lay Chairs. In terms of strategy development, we were now at the stage of “building the plan”.

Bishop Ruth reminded Synod of the Archbishop’s Charge to Bishop Peter:

· Grow the Church

· Reimagine ministry

· Serve the common good

In the light of this two strategic priorities had been identified:

(i) Putting mission and evangelism at the heart of all we do.

(ii) Resourcing ministry for mission.

We could do much more about sharing the story of our faith with our neighbours, those we work with, our families. If we are to put mission and ministry at the heart of all we do then we need to resource ministry that is truly missional.

In order to put mission at the heart of all we do, prayer needs to underpin everything as the source of our power to change and our foundation on which to build.

We need to: grow confident Christians: who understand what discipleship is about and can share their faith. Mission and evangelism are not the prerogative of the clergy: it’s a task for each of us. We aim to encourage this through specific toolkits to reflect on mission and evangelism in particular contexts and offer ideas for simple ways of sharing our faith.

We need to: build our missional capacity

· We currently have 176 stipendiary clergy and we do not intend to make any further cuts to such posts.

· We will be asking our Archdeaconry and Deanery Missional and Pastoral Groups to reflect on their mission plans and consider whether these posts are in the best place to ensure that mission and evangelism are at the heart of all we do.

· We will seek to create 10 new and additional posts with a pioneering character in order to grow our opportunities for mission and evangelism, and we need to look at where and how these can best be placed.

· The Church Commissioners were offering funding to dioceses in capacity building and to assist plans which seek to be missional in their outreach. We aim to make applications, but we will also need to challenge the common fund to enable mission and ministry to stretch to new heights.

We need to: focus on evangelism

· We are looking to reshape the role of Director of Mission, to facilitate others and to be a practitioner of evangelism.

· Bishops Peter and Ruth seek to be more intentional in taking opportunities to build people in confident faith and to lead in mission and evangelism.

· We have a growing number of pioneers, mission enablers, people working on the edge of regular church. This is our research and development; let’s do more of it.

We need to: offer service to the world

The Bishop referred to the fifth anniversary of the Syrian war and asked about our response to these vulnerable people. We have committed £10,000 to help, and David Maggs is working with groups across the diocese to extend a welcome to those who are arriving in our communities.

· We have a link with our brothers and sisters in Zambia – how does this inform and develop our thinking?

· There is more to do with world development goals, environmental issues.

· There are local issues which concern us; food banks, young people’s mental health; how are we relevant to our culture and society?

We need to: seek culture change

· To take seriously the theological reflection necessary to inform and facilitate change, to deepen our understanding of mission and evangelism, the Kingdom of God.

· To speak the same language, tell the same story.

· Another diocesan gathering is being planned for 2018, with clergy and laity, to further our plans.

· Local churches will be encouraged to think about their practice of worship, how they use their buildings to put mission and evangelism at the heart of all they do.

To resource ministry for mission means thinking about collaboration, development and leadership.

Collaboration

· We need a greater synergy across central resources to support parishes and school development. Resource teams, directed by Archdeacons, which communicate with one another, are essential.

· Thought is being given to the current Ministry and Mission Forums, to see how ministry can be brought into a natural relationship of supporting mission in the church.

· We have a new Board of Education but we recognise that there are essential relationships to develop here.

Development

· We want to sustain an increase in the number of ordained vocations and need to increase our support of the vocations team with archdeaconry vocational advisers. In addition we anticipate an increase in our curacy provision from 7 to 8 in 2017, with an incremental rise of 1 or 2 each subsequent year. We want to develop, encourage and extend the vocation of discipleship for all the baptised and to explore new models of ministry of lay vocation and lay leadership.

Leadership

· We envisage deaneries as having a significant impact in sharing the leadership of mission and evangelism, and are asking deaneries to develop Deanery Mission and Pastoral Groups, with plans based on mission, not just deployment of parochial clergy. This lies at the heart of effective leadership for the future.

· We are reviewing appointment processes, roles and resourcing of Rural Deans and Lay Chairs.

· We are looking to develop the roles of our Archdeacons for effective Archdeaconry planning.

· We seek to appoint a strategy champion who will work across the diocese and with the Bishop’s Staff for a time, to help us implement the vision.

Bishop Ruth outlined a motion to take these matters forward, which appears later in these minutes.

At this stage the Synod moved into groups to consider the following:

· What has excited you?

· What questions do you have?

· What do you want to hear more about?

Following the discussion groups the Synod adjourned for coffee.

Following the adjournment there was some feedback from the discussion groups:

What has excited you?

· Happy that we are not talking about decline but mission – this is an important culture change.

· “Them at Wells” are taking this seriously.

· This is not just about buildings

· Could we have 18 mission posts instead of 10?

· The proposed 5 year budget.

· Growth and maturity

· Decline is not inevitable.

What questions do you have?

· Do we need another strategic post; could Bishop Ruth do it?

· What will be the balance between clergy and laity? What about increasing lay ministry, and collaboration between the two?

· Do we need to think more about being in touch with people who are not in church?

· How will this translate to rural and urban contexts?

· How do we reimagine relationships and priorities in our own parish context?

What to you want to hear more about?

· The application of these proposals to a rural environment – will it work in rural areas?

· How do we carry people with us?

· How does all this apply in a politically fluid educational environment?

· Implications for Deanery Mission and Pastoral Groups?

· Which chaplaincies will be funded – health chaplaincies?

· How do we encourage people in the pew to lift up their eyes?

Bishop Ruth mentioned the need to apply for capacity and development funding as soon as possible given national deadlines.

The following motion was moved by The Revd Catherine Sourbut and seconded by Mr Jeff Brewer:

This Synod:

1. Welcomes these priorities for ‘Shaping our Future’

2. Encourages Bishop’s Council and Bishop’s Staff to take the next steps towards appointing a ‘Strategy Programme Leader’ and authorises the Diocesan Secretary to prepare and submit applications to the Church Commissioners for Strategic Capacity Funding to support the post

3. Authorises the Diocesan Secretary to prepare and submit applications to the Church Commissioners for Strategic Development Funding to support up to ten posts of a specific missional and pioneering character

During a debate on the motion the following issues were raised:

· In response to a question, it was anticipated that funding would be available for the post of Strategic Leader for 3 years, and that the post would be full time and would be kept under review.

· A welcome for the sense of optimism and new life, but there was also a need to acknowledge a sense of decline and diminishing of power. In response it was noted that we would have to work with that sense. One outcome may be not church as we know it: we may have to recognise that death comes before resurrection.

· A view that these proposals should not be dependent on external funding from the National Church but if necessary should be funded by the diocese

It was moved by Mr Tim Hind and seconded that paragraph 1 of the motion should be amended as follows:

“This Synod:

1. Welcomes and accepts these priorities for ‘Shaping our Future’”

On being put to the vote the amendment was carried.

On being put to the vote the amended motion as set out below, was approved, with no votes against, and one abstention.

This Synod:

1. Welcomes and accepts these priorities for ‘Shaping our Future’