The Growth Plan of The Upper Waveney Benefice
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In Discipleship In Service In Numbers
GROWTH PLAN
Name of Parish or Benefice:
The Upper Waveney Benefice.jpg)
“Serving God and Community”
Comprising the parishes of Bressingham, Fersfield, North Lopham, Roydon and South Lopham.
http://www.upperwaveneybenefice.com/
Incumbent: The Rev’d. Rob Mellowship
Other clergy: The Rev’d. Reg Dakin and The Rev’d. Ben Sasada.
Readers: Mr. Richard Hewitt.
Mrs Gladys Knott & Mr. Al Torrance are retired Lay Readers who minister when health and time permit.
Other Ministry Team members:
Worship Team.
Music, Praise & Worship Team.
Consultation Process and Time: A period between September 2007 and June 2008 by The Benefice Council which is open to all parishioners.
Completed on: Tuesday 24th June AD 2008
In Discipleship
How do we enable the people of Christ to fulfil their part in God’s mission; teaching, baptising and nurturing believers?
Give details of current and intended mission activities
What are the good things we are already doing?
+ We have a good variety of services providing inclusive worship for all ages and denominations. A monthly service of Healing and Reconciliation, a monthly Music, Praise and Worship Service that replaces one of our weekly traditional Evensongs, a monthly Quiet Service, an annual service of Remembrance with Thanksgiving, an annual service of The Women’s World Day of Prayer, each parish has a Pet Service and an Harvest Festival, a monthly and annual School Service, a Service of Remembrance and occasional services as when required (eg. Services for the death of Princess Diana, HRH The Queen Mother, Solidarity with The U.S.A. after the 9/11 atrocity, Solidarity with Farmers and Rural Communities during the foot and mouth outbreak, a Multi Faith Tsunami Service etc).
+ We have a dedicated service every Sunday in one church for families and children plus two other services each month in two other churches to compliment these.
+ We have a good programme of teaching and communicating the Christian Faith; We run an Alpha Course in the Autumn, an Emmaus Course in the Spring, an ecumenical Lent Course and Confirmation Courses as and when necessary.
+ We encourage small groups. We have a weekly Fellowship Group, a monthly Prayer Group and are always looking for opportunities to increase our small groups in the fields of Bible Study, Mothers’ Union and other Fellowship Groups.
+ We have a fully accountable leadership pattern. The incumbent’s diary is published in the weekly bulletin, he writes a daily blog and is open and honest with responses to questions from individuals, PCCs and The Benefice Council.
+ We have a well developed programme of communication; a weekly bulletin, a monthly magazine (The Herald) for Roydon, a bi-monthly shared magazine (The Cockcrow) for Bressingham, Fersfield, North and South Lopham and The Winfarthing Group and an extensive website of 90 sections with opportunities for people to interact in the form of a Benefice Forum and fortnightly user poll.
+ This year we introduced a Stations of Holy Week experience for our Church School, where we set up four displays in four churches (Palm Sunday, Instruments of the Passion, The Servant King and Easter Day). Children, parents and teachers then visited each station where a member of the benefice was on hand to explain the station and lead a short act of worship.
+ We have outreach groups; fortnightly Toddler Church, The Buggy Club both for children 0-5 and their parents, The BFG (Big Friendly God Club) for children 5-11. We have what we call parties to mark special times of the year, these are for children 0-11 and sometimes older and their parents; A Pancake Party on Shrove Tuesday, An All Hallows Eve Party where we encourage the children to dress as their favourite monsters or heroes (Parents love this alternative to trick or treating and last year we attracted about 90 children and parents), we end this party with a candle lit procession into church finishing with a hymn and some prayers, A Christmas Party.
+ Every year we run a week’s Summer Holiday Club and this year we are running two. They are on a Christian Theme and end with a BBQ and a Service in Church on the Sunday.
+ We have had a few Talent Services where the returns have been quite extraordinary. We give everyone who attends the service £5 and then challenge them to grow that and give it back to the church, eg. In one church we gave out £250 and had way over a £1,000 back.
+ At Christmas and Easter we have dedicated services for families and children; Carol services, Nativity Play, Crib Services, Christingle services, Stations of the Cross and Easter Egg hunts. We have two Midnight Services at Christmas. On Easter Day we have a Dawn Service a Communion Service either at a Public Place (eg. A Pub car park, Farm, The Fen at South Lopham or in someone’s garden) followed by a breakfast.
+ We have a highly developed and varied Holy Week programme allowing parishioners to enter into the full experience of The Passion. There are services every day in all of the churches. Morning Prayer, Communion and either Evening Prayer or Compline with a meditation in at least two of them, a Quiet Hour, Tenebrae. On Holy Thursday we encourage people to go to The Chrism Mass in the Cathedral, a Thanksgiving for the giving of Communion Service which incorporates stripping of the altar, washing of the feet and a vigil, Good Friday devotions all through the day with services such as Communion of the Pre-Sanctified, The Reproaches, Stations of The Cross especially for families and children, Meditations at the foot of The Cross, Seven Last Words, Last Hour and in the evening a modern multi-media more contemplative act of worship. Holy Saturday, The Easter Vigil and a full range of services on Easter Day beginning with an open air dawn service. This year during the early part of the week we had a showing of Mel Gibson’s The Passion.
+ In the Summer one of our churches has a Ramble Service where they go to Thetford Forest for an outdoor Service. Another has run a Teddy Bear’s Picnic which was successful.
+ We have a baptism preparation pack and interview. In our baptism services we give those attending the opportunity to respond to God’s call and be baptised after the service. In the last three years this has led to a couple of dozen adults responding and being baptised.
+ Our real strength is in our Pastoral Services (Baptism, Weddings and Funerals). We have a developed programme of preparation for baptism (Giving a Baptism Preparation Pack on enquiry and a home visit) and Weddings (Giving a Marriage Preparation Pack on enquiry, a marriage preparation evening, a home visit and a rehearsal). Funerals, the bereaved family are normally seen as soon as possible and given a Bereavement Leaflet (we have one for adults and one for children) and an appointment is made to pay a home visit to discuss the funeral arrangements and plan the service (we encourage the bereaved to have as much input as they feel comfortable with). We pay at least one visit after the funeral and we have a Bereavement Support Group who can act as be-frienders when and for as long as is necessary. We are very keen to remember the faithful departed (every week we publish a year’s mind list in our weekly bulletin, we have an annual Service of Remembrance with Thanksgiving (a service of comfortable words and music for the bereaved; where the bereaved make an offering of their loved ones’ names, from which a collage is made and to light a candle in the service) this service is normally on Low Sunday. Every year we have a service on All Souls’ Day where all our Years Mind List is read out (the best part of 40 pages). We have a Book of Remembrance in one church and plans for another in a different church.
+ This year we introduced A Marriage Preparation Evening where all the prospective couples were invited to an informal meeting with married couples including one from last year and giving them a helpful pack and advice not only on their wedding but also on their marriage. This was a great success and is our keynote statement to Committed to Growth.
+ We encourage leaders to engage with ongoing training.
What else is God wanting for us?
+ To encourage faithful, sacrificial and realistic giving.
+ To build up ministry both in the Sacred and Lay fields.
+ To encourage more to take an active part in our services eg. Leading them, administering the elements, reading and leading the intercessions.
+ To encourage the sense of the corporate nature of our benefice and the church in general.
+ To simplify our administration and make it more efficient.
+ To encourage more to pray and take part in our prayer group.
+ To pray more and to encourage the use of prayer in PCC Meetings.
+ To equip disciples with the necessary tools to live a practical Christian life in the 21st Century.
+ To encourage more to read The Bible and study The Word.
What can we do this year?
+ We have already published an extensive website; http://www.upperwaveneybenefice/ which we are still developing.
+ To explore new ways of raising funds; through shopping and advertising on our website, this we have already begun.
+ To develop a Marriage Preparation Course, this we have already begun.
+ To continue to consolidate the benefice and to learn to share gifts, talents and resources.
+ To deepen our dependence on God and to seek His guidance in all areas.
+ To hold a monthly Prayer Breakfast. This has already begun.
IN SERVICE
How best can we respond to human need by loving service?
How do we safeguard the integrity of creation and sustain and renew the life of the earth?
How should we seek to transform the unjust structures of society?
Give details of current and intended mission activities
What are the good things we are already doing?
+ In caring for the sick, vulnerable, disadvantaged and bereaved.
+ Supporting local industry and business.
+ Supporting local schools; we have governors in all three schools (one church and two County Schools), assemblies are taken weekly in our Church School and two a half term in the County Schools, teaching is undertaken regularly in all three schools as are special projects: Stations, Communion-writing and celebrating a service in the children’s own words, baptism and weddings where a class carries out a mock service in the church.
+ Encouraging children and young people to develop their potential-last year we held a Festival of Music in Diss High School to celebrate the formation of The Benefice. This was well attended and we gave £180 back to the schools.
+ All our churches are Grade 1 listed buildings and there is a constant round of maintenance. This year one of our churches has spent £25,000 on redecoration and restoration, another has begun a £248,000 project of replacing the nave roof with the aid of a grant from English Heritage, another church is in the process of installing a kitchen and toilet in the church and two others have begun grant applications from English Heritage in major renovation works. So all five churches are active in this field.
+ We have good ecumenical relations with other denominations taking a full role in Diss & District Churches Together (we are in the chair this year), Diss and District Christian Aid Committee and The Diss & District Clergy Fraternal. In one of our parishes we have a shared Family Service with the Methodists where we alternate between Church and Chapel.
+ Tolerance and respect for other cultures and faiths are part of our teaching and when the Tsunami occurred we had a Multi Faith Service which raised over £800 for the appeal.
+ We are considering a Benefice Environmental Policy to sit alongside our Children and Young Persons, Bells and Bell Ringing and Health and Safety Policies. At the moment we can find no better policy than the Diocesan Environmental Policy and hopefully will adopt it later this year.
+ We are a Fair Trade Benefice.
+ Global and National issues are very much at the heart of our teaching.
+ Each of our parishes support various National Charities (Secular and Christian) and Aid Agencies and every year we have a Christian Aid Service and street collections in Christian Aid Week.
+ For the last several years we have supported Diocesan and our own Lent projects.
+ We have challenged our Church School to become an Eco-School and after just three months they have been awarded a Bronze Award. They in turn have challenged their parents and us to do the same.
+ We have many parishioners who are actively engaged in The Community both in our parishes and further abroad eg. Parish Councillors, School Governors, Meals on Wheels, Good Neighbours, Charity Trustees and various local committees and clubs.
+ Supporting a local disabled boy in buying a specialist frame thereby enabling him to begin school.
+ In one our parishes we have a well equipped Parish Room which many secular and church groups in the local community use.
What else is God wanting for us?
+ To closely look at our eco-credentials and to take them far more seriously.
What can we do this year?
+ To pray, think and talk about the issues.
+ To challenge ourselves about issues.
+ To put in place an Environmental Policy.
+ In one of our parishes to work in partnership with the local community in keeping our village shop open after the Post Office has been taken away. (This is already being done in The Bressingham Shop Committee.)
+ In one of our parishes to work in partnership with the local community in turning a church field into a village amenity. (This is already being done in The Fersfield Church Meadow Management Committee.)
IN NUMBERS
How are we proclaiming the good news of the Kingdom?
Give details of current and intended mission activities
What are the good things we are already doing?
+ We have a good range of weekly services that would enable someone new to the faith to engage with the church.
+ Last year throughout the benefice we took part in Back to Church Sunday.
+ We have a good balance between Traditional and Fresh Expressions of the Church to enable people to progress in their own personal pilgrimage in faith. Everything from BCP Communion, Morning and Evening Prayer to Music, Praise and Worship (A Powerpoint presented service with Worship Band) and just about every conceivable service in between.
+ We have a full range of nurture courses that allow people to engage with the faith where they are rather than where we would like them to be. (Alpha, Emmaus, Lent and Confirmation Courses.)
+ We have a strong ministry of welcome and hospitality in all our churches.
+ We have an open and fully prepared ministry for those seeking the Pastoral Services of the Church (Baptism, Marriage, Healing, Reconciliation and Funerals).
+ We try to be as non-exclusive as possible in all our services and activities.
+ Three of our five churches are open every day of the year; and keys are freely available for the other two.
+ We have a weekly Fellowship Group where newcomers have progressed to being church members. There is also a monthly Afternoon Guild which serves the same purpose.
+ Good communication; two Parish Magazines which are both good Community Magazines rather than just Church Magazines, a weekly news bulletin and website.
+ Our work with children and families
+ Keeping five churches going with only the same resources that many one church parishes have.
+ Our visitors’ Books in all five churches.
+ Parish walks.
+ We run Quiz evenings to raise funds but also because the local communities enjoy them. In the same way we run an extensive number of Coffee Mornings.
What else is God wanting for us?
o produce a professional Benefice Brochure for display not only in our churches but also in local Tourist Information Centres and Tourist Venues.
+ To devise a church trail linking our five churches.
+ To pray for God’s help in our evangelism.
+ To invite more people to come to Church.
+ To resurrect traditional services such as Rogation, Plough Sunday etc and present them in a contemporary manner.
What can we do this year?
+ We are having a service called “Posh Frock Sunday” where we are inviting people to come in their Sunday best (optional), especially women who have brought dresses and hats for special occasions and have only worn them once, to have the opportunity to wear them again. The service is about celebrating and reaffirming relationships and afterwards a traditional Cream Tea served by the men whilst being entertained by a Music Group that uses our facilities.
+ To run a monthly Holy Bingo session intrinsically to raise funds for two parishes but also to provide a resource where people can meet, laugh, chat and have fun. This has already been going for three months.
+ In one parish we will be running a Scarecrow Weekend.
+ We are increasing our Summer holiday clubs from one to two.
+ To have a more professional relationship with the media.
This growth plan has been written by The Rev’d. Rob Mellowship after four consultations with The Benefice Council over a period of about ten months, one of them being guided by The Rev’d. Trevor Riess who acted as our consultant at our first meeting.
It must be stressed that although this is presented as a growth plan for The Upper Waveney Benefice several aspects apply to single parishes as well as the benefice.
There has been much gained in the process of building a benefice identity in discussing and praying through the issues and although there is a very long way to go this has been extremely useful for a benefice that is only just sixteen months old.
Our one keynote sentence and word for The Deanery Committed to Growth Celebration is; “This year we have thought and prayed seriously about Marriage Preparation and introduced a Benefice Marriage Preparation Evening.” “Marriage.”
Rob Mellowship
Rector
The Upper Waveney Benefice
www.upperwaveneybenefice.com
Bressingham-Fersfield-North Lopham-Roydon-South Lopham
The Birth of John the Baptist AD2008