Approach to Ministry at St Mary the Virgin, Beighton

This is not a ministry agreement between Vicar and a team of laity, but an agreement within the whole Church community. It is the approach that has been developing over the past few years which has encouraged all members of the community to a deeper involvement in their faith and the life of the Church. The approach does not involve power, indeed it seeks to stem the development of lasting positions of power by encouraging the movement of influencen - eg our Church Wardens serve for three years only as we seek to give as many as are willing the opportunity to be a Church Warden.. The Vicar's role is therefore very important as the "fixed" position. This is not just delegation and is certainly not seen as a way of making life easier for the Vicar but requires a very positive and passionate view that the Vicar, given that they have very clear responsibilities, is part of a wider team of people who have skills and vision that needs to be recognised and valued. The approach relies on mutual trust, and accepts risk and the possibility of failure as ways of learning and growing. The approach seeks to soften the demands of the "organisation" whilst encouraging the growth of responsibility and faith.

Part of the development was the production of a mission statement which was formed over several months and a few "away days". To seek to understand what our Church stands for allowed us to find a focus and, in the discussions, to cement relationships.

 Our Mission Statement

"We recognise and embrace the understanding

that everyone is a child of God and we seek to offer support and care

particularly to those in our community.

St Mary's strives to be an approachable, open, welcoming

caring and  loving church,

challenging the world's priorities

and offering an environment to explore individual spiritual needs".

This mission statement is on most of our paperwork from service sheets to agendas to remind ourselves what we believe our role is in the world.

The results of this approach are seen in the following detail of how lay people are involved in the life of the Church. This is not an exhaustive list of lay involvement but it points to a church that is trying to be a real community, supporting each other, taking responsibility and growing in faith and commitment. Risks are taken, people stretched, questioned and confronted. We are all on a journey, hopefully together, all learning and growing. The depth of lay involvement is no accident as we take seriously the ministry of all baptised people. We believe that this is the future shape of our communities, away from the old concept of "vicar does all". As such, it relies on consensus rather than directing and puts more onus on being aware of each other rather than laid down structures and rules. The following examples hopefully gives a flavour of how we do things in St Mary's. They are by no means exhaustive but point to a recognition that all are involved in ministry in our Church.

Worship

There is strong encouragement for members of the congregation to involve themselves in the worship of the Church. Morning and evening prayer is said in the Church every day (apart from Saturdays) by members of the congregation. Readers provide a focus for preparing worship, and leading it but they themselves are encouraged to gather others into the process. Members of the community are involved in reading lessons, intercessions, singing, serving, assisting in communion and all the support services from side duty to refreshments. Special services gather more into the planning and presentation and our new Pathways Service has developed several worship groups that plan and present each service (non-Eucharistic). We also offer Healing services and Quiet services once a month and a quarterly Bereavement Service which are planned and organised by worship groups supported by the readers and our Parish Evangelist. Groups are also involved in the monthly baptism services, preparing people for the service and taking part in the prayers during the service. Apart from support within the community, many members have their own spiritual director.

Administration

Church Wardens

Too often, this post can be held by a "sitting tenant" who either does not want to lose control or finds that people are reluctant to stand against them. Our system gives sufficient time in office for it not to be onerous, allows for continuity (through one year as Assistant Warden) and spreads the knowledge and responsibility. We now have several people who have been a church warden and have the confidence and knowledge to support the community.

PCC

We elect a new PCC each year that has reserved places for the Church Wardens (and Assistant), Deanery Synod representatives, treasurer, a representative from the readers and the children's workers. Again we encourage new faces and many of our congregation have served as PCC members. The PCC does not take votes but works on a system of Fransiscan consensus which may take a little more time but assumes, sometime, that we shall find a solution.

Parish Office

Weddings and baptisms are initially arranged by a member of the Church. The guide lines are clear and any queries are passed to the Vicar. The Church accepts the marriage of divorced people but such couples need to follow a set process with the Vicar.

The Verger

Prepares for wedding and funeral services and presently runs the Parish Office for booking weddings and baptisms.

Treasury

The treasurer has support. Fees and Church Hall income are dealt with separately in conjunction with the treasurer. A budget forecast system is in place to reduce the amount of time spent on finances yet maintaining control. Free will offering and Gift Aid are also dealt with by other members of the Church and recorded

Parish Magazine and Web Site

The magazine is issued 10 times a year and has a circulation of around 450. It is a team effort with some contributing, others preparing for printing, printing and collating and finally a group who deliver. As you can see the new website is now up and running and is managed by members of the congregation.

Children's work

We have two trained children's workers who concentrate their efforts on our Sunday Club. It's still an area that concerns us as numbers are erratic and more thought will be given in the Autumn..

Readers

Currently we have four readers who bring their own particular ministry beyond their preaching role. They all preach regularly and provide a variation that is valuable. They meet regularly with the Vicar and the Parish Evangelist to discuss themes and service sheets, seasonal services and new worship initiatives.

  Roger Walters

Particular interests in computers and music and a combination of both. For several years he prepared the monthly Church Magazine. He is currently involved in preaching, teaching, preparing and leading worship and encouraging the development of a singing group. He also writes our pantomime! He has recently completed a Spiritual Direction course and is a Course Mentor for Diocesan Training. Roger normally offers anointing (using blessed oil) at the Parish Communion.

  Barbara Wadsworth            

Interested in spirituality, she preaches regularly and is developing the spiritual side of the church with regular Quiet Days, quiet services and has previously organised a week of Accompanied Prayer for the Church. She has recently finished her Spiritual Direction Course. She is available for funerals and is well appreciated for her ministry in this area. Barbara helped out in an interregnum on the Manor for many months and will be returning briefly in the near future. She has set up the Christmas Day lunch and has attracted many helpers. She too is a Course Mentor and is on the Reader's Executive.

  Joan Bateman

Our Reader Emeritas, Joan continues to book herself on to theological courses, mainly at Sheffield University. She preaches regularly and gets involved with the teaching. She regularly takes communion to those incapacitated.

  Elinor Noble

Recently blessed with two children, she has obviously had her hands full but preaches when she can and has returned to Darnall on several occasions to lead worship there.

Pastoral Workers

We now have 4 trained Pastoral Workers, Pat Collins, Vi Hancock, Jean Williams and David Roe who involve themselves in many areas of the church. All have been involved with the pastoral action of the church as well as worship. Some of them are involved with our schools mainly helping with assemblies. They plan and support our work with Haddon Court, St Luke?s Day centre and developing links with Beighton Hospital. Some are involved in the Crystal Peaks Bereavement Drop-In. There is a bigger group of people who are involved in pastoral issues within the parish.

Parish Evangelist

We now have Vicky Camber who has completed her evangelist course and is now involved in group work, exploring our Christian faith using Away Days and is presently organising a Parish Holiday.