Cottesloe Benefice (“Connecting People with God”)

Team Vicar with pastoral responsibility for Wing with Grove

and Wingrave with Rowsham

Cottesloe Benefice

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Contents

A Team Ministry for the seven parishes of the Cottesloe Benefice

Our Team Ministry 3

Cottesloe Benefice: Where we are 5

Profile of the Parishes of Wing and Wingrave 6

Your Team Colleagues:

Revd. Philip Derbyshire (Team Rector) 13

Revd. Gill Rowell (HfD Team Vicar) 13

Revd. Siv Tunnicliffe (Associate Team Minister) 14

Revd. Roger Hale (Associate Team Minister) 14

Revd. Peter Binns (Associate Team Minister) 14

Revd. Mike Butterworth (Associate Team Minister) 15

Revd. Robert Wright (Associate Team Minister) 15

Dr. Annie Cooper (LLM in training) 15

Appendix 1 - Mursley Deanery 17

Appendix 2 - Oxford Diocese 19

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Our Team Ministry

“Connecting People with God”: the benefice was brought together on 1st March 2012 from four

previous pastoral ‘arrangements’ and we share this aspiration in all our communities.

As a Team and a Deanery we have recently gone through the Mission Action Planning process

and are determined to not let this sit on a shelf and moulder: we seek to encourage individual

aspiration whilst fostering the Team ethos and see the real changes in staffing across the church

as a mission opportunity for growth.

We need to remember that not all was easy in the early church and their response was to look out

to the wider world and see everyone and everything as part of God’s magnificent creation which

He loved, and loves, totally.

We are seven rural Buckinghamshire Parishes (eight churches) ministered to by a Team of Clergy

and lay leaders.

Team Rector - Revd. Philip Derbyshire

Team Vicar - Revd. vacancy

Team Vicar (HfD) – Revd Gill Rowell

Associate Team Ministers (PTO) - Revds. Siv Tunnicliffe, Roger Hale, Peter Binns, Mike

Butterworth and Robert Wright

LLM in Training – Dr. Annie Cooper

We also have a number of people at various stages of acquiring Permission to Preach, leading

family worship and the ministry of the word at the Eucharist.

Our village communities vary in size from 200 to nearly 3,000 inhabitants (total population

c.10,000) We share a variety of worship from early morning BCP HC to Parish communion (CW)

to various types of Family/All Age Worship and the occasional Evensong plus all the usual

festivals and special services such as pet services. We share in two Team Eucharists per annum

(some would like more) and have local arrangements regarding 5th Sundays.

In our first two years as the Cottesloe Team we’ve shared in three Team Building days (one more

in the offing). From these has come a clear decision to coordinate children’s and young people’s

work across the Benefice and share resources where appropriate. We’ve had two sessions where

lay leaders have shared experience, aspirations and training needs. Prayer, both individual and

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corporate was identified as the basic requirement for health and growth of the whole Team. Some

parishes already have prayer groups/meetings and others are actively exploring ways of engaging

in this essential activity.

Our priorities for the immediate future are to develop work amongst young families and children,

the life of prayer across the Benefice and make training available to those who wish to pursue

ministry in its many forms.

The person we are looking for will have both a local focus on the communities of Wing and

Wingrave and also wider responsibilities across the Team area. Also someone who is willing to

share expertise around nurturing young families whilst maintaining a pastoral responsibility to

established congregations as they seek to grow and develop.

Whilst maintaining each of the PCCs we have a Team Council consisting of the Benefice clergy,

LLM and Churchwardens.

We look forward to sharing our faith journey with the person God is calling for Wing and Wingrave

parishes and the wider Team.

God Bless you as you consider your application for this post.

Revd. Philip Derbyshire,

Team Rector, Cottesloe Benefice.

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Cottesloe Benefice: Where we are now.

We are a group of large and small villages on the eastern edge of Buckinghamshire, and are

actively growing together and supporting each other. We are in a triangle between Milton Keynes

in the north, Leighton Buzzard in the east and Aylesbury to the south. We are in the AVDC

(Aylesbury Vale District Council) area and Buckinghamshire has selective secondary education.

Wing has a primary and a secondary school; Wingrave has a church primary school, and there are

grammar schools in Aylesbury.

We feel it’s very important to sustain ministry in the smaller villages, but recognise that this can

only be achieved if we work together as a team, sharing skills and ideas, overcoming any

differences whilst working together in our common mission. The members of our congregations

are committed to the Team Ministry and we look forward to your coming and sharing faith and fun

with us.

Pastoral responsibilities: St.Michael and All Angels Stewkley;

All Saints Soulbury; St.Nicholas

Cublington; and St.James the Great

Aston Abbotts = Team Rector.

All Saints Wing with Grove; and

St.Peter and St.Paul Wingrave with

Rowsham.=Team Vicar.

St.Giles Cheddington; and St.Mary

the Virgin Mentmore. = HfD Team

Vicar.

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We are looking for a colleague who…

Relies on the Holy Spirit for guidance and strength;

Has a passion for communicating God’s Love in Jesus Christ for all His creation;

Actively wants to build the Kingdom of God through collaborative ministry;

Is a team player who would enjoy developing the team;

Is a good listener with a sense of humour;

Can manage change and empower others to do likewise;

Will settle us down and develop a liturgy for both Wing and Wingrave;

The new incumbent will be expected to take two services each Sunday (currently 09.30 in

Wingrave and 11.00 in Wing), and occasionally three. One Sunday a term there is an expectation

that they will lead worship in one of the other Team parishes.

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Wing with Grove

The Church of All Saints

Wing is a lively village and a mixed community with a population of 2700 (2011 census). We have

a number of commuters and young professional families are moving in. Young retired people are

attracted to Wing and many others now work from home. New housing developments are

proposed for the near future. The community is no longer centred on agriculture and industry in

the local towns. We do have a core population of older residents and their descendant families.

The village of Wing is the area hub having two surgeries, a pharmacy, a children’s centre and a

community library. The amenities also include a number of pubs and restaurants.

Link to village website: www.wingparish.org

We are a church on a journey. Through the Diocese of Oxford ‘Living Faith’ programme we have

been able to explore our own ideas and are moving forward in a new direction.

Because of the number of new families joining

our congregation All Saints Wing has decided

to build on this and to focus our mission efforts

on families and children and have recently been

given a ‘Welcome Award’:

(http://www.oxford.anglican.org/11164/)

for being a family friendly church. Whilst we

hope to specifically further this growth we are

mindful of being inclusive towards the entire

community of Wing so that All Saints’ becomes a place where God’s grace flourishes for the

benefit of all. The average number of attendees each Sunday has remained fairly stable at around

45. We are now working towards the ‘Good News’ Award, and would like to develop a closer

relationship with the two schools in our parish, The Cottesloe School (11-18) and Overstone

Combined School (4-11).

During the vacancy we have experienced a range of worship styles. We are developing lay leadership in several different ways allowing many to get involved – including the children. We are using contemporary forms of worship in some of our services:- simple liturgy, related to the lectionary, expressing faith through group use of art, craft and graphics with lots of worship songs - trying out new things once a month - but all of our regular 11am Sunday services are for everyone. Further training could help both in this area and in our children’s work. We have an enthusiastic worship band that accompanies many of our activities. We normally have one lay led service per

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month and on that Sunday there is a 9.00 Communion by Extension. During the interregnum our regular BCP Communion services have lapsed. We would expect our new vicar to lead these Sunday services once a month at 9.00 am. We also have a 9.30 a.m. communion service each Thursday.

In recent years we have concentrated on making our church the centre of the village community.

Though Wing is made up of a widely diverse population we have been able to attract a mixture of

all age groups and backgrounds. We have been supportive of the formation of the Cottesloe

Team and are very keen to develop our role through working with the Team Rector and nurturing

links with the other parishes.

Our very committed PCC is looking for someone to come on this journey of faith with us – prayer

is a very important part of our ministry and has become the foundation for all we do. We have a

regular prayer group meeting on Saturday morning. Therefore we are praying that God has

someone in mind for us.

We have plans to grow our Christian community and to extend our efforts in ministering to the two

schools in our village as well as youth groups and the care home for older people, where a

service is held each Thursday. New Wine festivals are attended by a number of families and we

actively support Mission activities in Africa and Europe.

We have a very large and historic building to care

for with modern facilities in place and are keen to

make the best use of the building to accommodate

the needs of present and future generations for

worship and community use. A community café

(Oasis Café) was set up three years ago and has

been central in our efforts to welcome villagers and

visitors. This has now become very popular and

provides a community hub for many of our parishioners, especially those who live alone.

What is Wing looking for from our new Priest?

Someone to help us clarify and deliver our vision/mission statement – setting priorities, and

with the ability to communicate these and to bring people along with them into adopting and

living by these aims;

Someone who will encourage and support our efforts in working with families;

Someone who will deepen our faith through bible-based teaching and prayer;

Someone who will enable us to continue to open the church to the village;

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Someone who will build on the projects that we have already begun – including the Oasis

Café and ‘Holy Loitering’ in our schools;

(Our vision - to be a community where God is free to act and speak.

Our mission -To be a confident, whole of Wing community, trusting each other and sharing the joy

of having a home we can belong to and from which we can reach out to the people of our villages.)

This will need someone who:

Lives out their faith with honesty and integrity

Is an inspiring preacher, who challenges and joins people together in God’s spirit

Is a good communicator

Enjoys all styles of liturgy

Is a good self-organiser

Can offer our community the rock of stability that is Christ

In return we can offer:

A committed leadership team of wardens and PCC;

A small but thriving Sunday School, Pop-in and Paint group, and Church Mice group;

Two active house-groups meeting weekly to explore church growth in the community, study

the Bible and to plan lay-led services;

A Friends Group who raise money to maintain the historic Saxon building.

Occasional Offices in 2013

Baptisms Funerals Weddings Electoral Roll Civil Population

Wing with Grove 13 19 3 66 2745

Some funerals are combined with burial of ashes services. There are also a number of occasional

services e.g. memorials, blessings, etc.

The incumbent is ex officio a trustee of several local charities, either church, educational or for the

relief of need, and is sole trustee of 3 of these. For another 9, the incumbent is a trustee jointly

with churchwardens and/or others.

For the last three years we have not paid our full parish share (last year we paid around 96% of

our share allocation of £26,693) and we are hoping to improve this situation in the future. Fund

raising activities include:

Selling of Christmas cards and diaries

A summer event (Fayre or participation in the village carnival) including Teddy Tumble and

Sports activities

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Wingrave with Rowsham

The Church of St.Peter and St.Paul

Wingrave is a beautiful village situated between Aylesbury and Leighton Buzzard. We have a

village shop/Post Office, one pub, a garage, a C of E School (roll = 156) and the MacIntyre

Residential School. There is a strong sense of community in the village and the church is often

used for a variety of village events. In addition to the Parish Church there is a Methodist church

with which we have strong links. The hamlet of Rowsham straddles the busy A418, and contains

about 45 houses, several farms and a barn in the village which is used for occasional services.

Some of the working population of the Parish commute to London, Milton Keynes, Aylesbury or

Oxford to work, but there are others who work from home and there is a thriving Business Park at

Upper Wingbury Farm.

Services

The Parish Church of Wingrave with Rowsham has an electoral roll of 39, a PCC of 11 and an

average of 35 attend Sunday services. Our regular pattern of worship in a month consists of: 2

communion services, 1 BCP communion service, 1 family worship service called ‘ Time with God’,

a Lay-led service organised by the People’s Praise team, a weekly service for under three-year-

old children with their parents or carers called ‘Church Mice’ and once a month we have a BCP

Evensong. There are also two morning Prayer Times every week, intercessional and Morning

Prayer. Occasional services include a number of joint ones with the Methodists and some

meditative worship. We also have Bible study groups, Lent courses and Discussion groups that

are open to all.

Occasional Offices in 2013

Baptisms Funerals Weddings Electoral Roll Civil Population

Wingrave with Rowsham 6 9 3 39 1512

Outreach

The church runs a weekly children's choir/club for 5

to 10 year olds whose parents may not attend church

regularly. Once a year we hold a one-day holiday

club for approximately 60 children with over 30

helpers. Church members also run a weekly drop-in

cafe at our village sports pavilion with the profits

going to Macmillan Nurses. The church is strongly

involved with village activities such as the summer

fete, community festivals and village BBQs.

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The Wingrave Singers Choir rehearse in the church every week and we have an active group of

Bell Ringers. A weekly ‘Pew News’ is published and emailed to inform the congregation of

upcoming services and events in the church and Benefice. There are strong links with the school,

and a member of the PCC takes assembly on a regular basis. The school also visits the church

as part of the RE curriculum. One members of the PCC is a Foundation Governor at Wingrave

School and another is a Foundation Governor at Overstone School in Wing.

We support the following charities: Medicines for Muhesa, Aylesbury Vineyard (collecting food and

toiletries for those in need) Christian Aid, Whitechapel Mission, Mind, Leprosy Mission, Macmillan

Nurses and MAF. We also have strong links with the MacIntyre residential school for disabled

children.

Social

We are fortunate in having a kitchen at the back

of the Church. During the summer months we

provide cream teas every Sunday in the church.

Several times a year we provide very popular,

and well attended Mrs Bucket suppers.

We also host events such as: musical

concerts, craft fairs, drama, music workshops,

Christmas festivals, Flower festivals and

Garden produce sales.

Finances

For the last three years, reserves have been used to meet the Parish Share and last year, for the

first time, we did not pay in full (we paid 85% of our allocated Share of £18,757). The incumbent is

an ex officio trustee of several local charities, either church, educational or for the relief of need,

and is sole trustee of 3 of these. For another 9, the incumbent is a trustee jointly with

churchwardens and/or others.

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Our Opportunities We are slowly growing both in number and spirituality and we are positive about our Christian

mission. The congregation is flexible and this is reflected in the different types of service held in

the Church every month. We have a strong Lay team of 6 people who have permission from the

Bishop of Buckingham to preach and under the direction of the Team ministers the lay team take

one Sunday service a month. One of the lay team is training to be an LLM. The Parish is also

fortunate in having a non-stipendiary priest and a recently retired priest who live in the village, both

of whom are active members of the team.

We are a hard working group of Christians who are led by grace to devote our time to keeping our

Church as a beacon of faith to nurture the spirituality of fellow villagers and support them in times

of need. Our involvement with the local community directs our Christian lives so that we are

challenged to be a truly “Living Church”. We are positive and loving and with a strong leader at

our helm we could cross the wildest ocean!

The Priest

We are looking for a Priest who is prayerful, full of Love to listen and guide, full of Grace to

confidently lead through encouragement, delegation and empowerment and remain optimistic

whatever happens! This Priest should enjoy nurturing the spiritual growth of all in the Parish,

wherever they are on their spiritual journey.

Service in the Barn at Rowsham The Rowsham Band that performs in church occasionally.

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The Vicarage in Wing

The vicarage was built twenty years ago, and is a four-bedroom family house, enjoying extensive

views over the vale. It is situated approximately 5 minutes walk from the church.

Front of the house View from the rear of the house

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Your Team Colleagues

Revd. Philip Derbyshire, Team Rector with pastoral responsibility for Stewkley, Soulbury, Aston

Abbotts and Cublington.

I have been in ministry for 39 years - the past 32 as a priest serving in suburban and rural

England, a spell in eastern Zimbabwe and 12 years as a prison chaplain. I came to Cottesloe as

Team Rector designate, initially Priest in Charge of the parishes mentioned above. We gained

Team status on 1st March 2012 and I very much enjoy working with my colleagues and the people

of all the Parishes of the Benefice. I describe myself as moderate Catholic liturgically, although I

enjoy informal worship also, but Evangelical in my preaching. I have been a Spiritual Director for

over 25 years and am a Companion of the Sacred Mission at Willen. I love reading (especially

Philip Kerr and history) and listening to most forms of music except Country and Western!

My wife, Joy, and I enjoy walking, especially the canals and lakes (Milton Keynes and Cumbria). I

look forward to working with our new colleague and sharing faith and fun.

Revd. Gill Rowell – HfD Team vicar with pastoral responsibility for Cheddington and Mentmore.

I took up the role of House for Duty Team Vicar in the Parish of Cheddington with Mentmore in

October 2013, and am enjoying it! My working days are usually Sundays, Mondays and

Thursdays. I also work as Director of Novi Most International, a Christian charity working with

young people in Bosnia & Herzegovina. I came to faith in Preston, in 1986 after reading “Journey

into Life” by Norman Warren. During that time I studied Theology full-time for three years at

London Bible College (now London School of Theology) and graduated in 1996. After that, I did

secretarial temping until starting the St Albans & Oxford Ministry Course, whilst also working for

Novi Most. I served my curacy, NSM, in the Hilltop Parishes, north of Chesham – four rural

churches; and served as NSM Minister of St John’s Ashley Green, as part of the Parish of Great

Chesham Team. I moved to Berkhamsted in 2012, and worshipped at Sunnyside (St Michael’s

and All Angels) until taking up this post. I like and can participate in worship of all flavours, but at

root I am a charismatic evangelical. I have two adult daughters (one is married). I like walking

and gardening and relaxing with friends and family when I can.

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Revd. Siv Tunnicliffe, Associate Team Minister.

My retirement did not happen. Instead our Lord opened the door to a wonderful new ministry. I

was able to work with various parishes during vacancies and for eight years with Cublington and

Aston Abbotts and occasionally with both at the same time. The bishop then gave me a license to

share the ‘cure of souls’ at Wing (during their last interregnum) and eventually I ended up being

the ‘local vicar’ for Wingrave with Rowsham, my home parish (after Derek Witchell was appointed

priest-in-charge). I have formerly worked as a teacher and Special Needs specialist.

Revd. Roger Hale, Associate Team Minister.

I am married to Deborah, and we have numerous scattered grown up children. I live in retirement

in Cheddington whilst my wife is still working in Luton.

I was rector of Cheddington with Mentmore and Marsworth from 1991 to 2006, and stayed on in

the Parish as my wife did not want to move, and it is her house! I think it has worked quite well, as

I am very happy to take instruction, and realise that I had had my day as a leader. A reason for

retiring was that I felt that the parish needed new blood and fresh ideas, and that has proved to be

correct.

I am very flexible, although you may have to break my arm to officiate at a wedding, and currently

work regularly in Mentmore, Cublington and Aston Abbotts plus some churches outside the

Deanery.

Revd. Peter Binns, Associate Team Minister.

I was ordained deacon at Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford in 1975. We were the first cohort of

non-stipendiary clergy and had a special ordination that first time. I was then ordained priest in my

own church, St. Michael’s Amersham-on-the-Hill in 1976.

I taught French and German at Dr. Challoner’s Grammar School, Amersham from 1967 to 2004.

Most of my ministry has been spent at St. Michael’s but I have taken services regularly at Aston

Abbotts and Cublington since 1986 and preside at the Eucharist there on the second Sunday of

each month. This is the one Sunday when I am not at St. Michael’s. I also preside at the 8am

Eucharist at Penn once a month. I visit people from these parishes if they are in hospital and

attend social events when possible.

I would describe myself as definitely on the catholic side of the Church of England and find the

Eucharist extremely important.

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Revd. Mike Butterworth – Associate Team Minister

Having spent most of his working ministry in theological education, though always with a

significant pastoral component, Mike has now retired to Cheddington. His specialist subject was

Old Testament and he enjoys teaching and facilitating group study. His main hobby is music (both

sacred and secular) and he plays the piano and organ (and debatably the oboe).

Revd. Robert Wright – Associate Team Minister

My ordination was somewhat delayed. I spent 4 years at St Johns College Durham in the 1960's

but the intended Theology degree turned into Law, and ACCM into a career in industry then retail.

Still, the path to ordination reasserted itself at age 50. I studied at SEITE in Southwark diocese,

and was ordained deacon at St Paul's Cathedral in 2003.

For the past 5 years, I was House for Duty Team Vicar of Cheddington with Mentmore. After

taking a sabbatical, I am rejoining the Cottesloe Team, and look forward to going wherever and

whenever I am needed.

Dr. Annie Cooper, LLM in training.

I have worshipped at Wingrave for 35 years. Recently retired, I am part of the strong lay

leadership team and have been preaching and leading worship for over 10 years. I lead work with

children and young people and currently lead a team running a weekly drop-in cafe and bible

study group. I play clarinet and, with two other church members, run a children’s choir. I am

Vocations Adviser for Mursley Deanery and a Mentor for the Diocesan training scheme for LLMs

and locally trained priests.

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Appendix 1 - Mursley Deanery

The vision: to support a caring, sustainable and growing Christian presence in every part of our

Deanery.

As a deanery, we strive to lead and encourage our parishes as follows:

To LOOK UP to God in worship and prayer

To LOOK AROUND in fellowship and teaching

To LOOK OUT in pastoral care and witness.

Mursley Deanery covers a large, predominantly rural area in North Buckinghamshire. It is on the

edge of the Oxford Diocese, bordering the St. Albans Diocese. Milton Keynes lies just to the

north, Aylesbury to the south west and Leighton Buzzard to the east. Mursley Deanery faces the

prospect of significant housing development: in the south this has already begun at Pitstone in the

Ivinghoe parish, and in the north Milton Keynes is assessing options for further development,

which include a possible 1,500 new homes at Newton Longville.

There are 21 churches in the deanery (Pitstone is closed) which have been grouped into four

Benefices. The latest creation was the Cottesloe Benefice of seven Parishes in the centre of the

Deanery.

In addition to five stipendiary clergy, there is one associate priest, one ordained local minister in

training, six with permission to officiate and three licensed lay ministers, with one more in training.

In some of our parishes people have come forward for authorisation to preach and lead worship,

and to lead services of communion by Extension. The Deanery Vocations Advisor is available to

enable people within the deanery to explore a vocation; ordained to lay ministry.

We are encouraging every worshipping community to have a ministry team, which may be led by

an ordained or lay person, and will be enabled and supported by one of our priests. We also aim

to work more effectively ecumenically and to develop cross-denominational initiatives; in this

deanery predominately with the Methodist church. We are encouraging parishes to become more

overtly collaborative and mutually supportive - this is already happening but it is our intention to

develop this further.

The clergy chapter meets monthly and includes LLMs. It has a growing sense of fellowship and

mutual support. All the congregations accept and indeed welcome the ministry of women.

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The deanery synod meets four times a year. The diocese has devolved considerable

responsibility to deaneries to deliver the Diocesan Strategy and to shape their life and witness in

ways appropriate to the locality. We as a deanery believe that we have the enthusiasm and

energy to meet the challenges that lie ahead.

Revd. Lawrence Meering, Area Dean

Bobbie Ward, Lay Chair

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Appendix 2 - The Diocese of Oxford

The Diocese of Oxford serves the mission of the Church in Buckinghamshire, Berkshire and

Oxfordshire. The Diocese comprises more than 600 parishes, with over 800 churches, serving a

diverse population of more than 2 million people located in all types of settings.

Our Diocesan Bishop is the Rt. Revd. John Pritchard. Due to the size and complexity of the

Diocese, we also have three Area Bishops who exercise considerable strategic oversight for their

Episcopal areas. The Bishop of Buckingham is the Rt. Revd. Alan Wilson who has been the Area

Bishop since 2004.

Growing out of the previous Diocesan vision and values statement called “Sharing Life”, in 2009

Bishop John launched the revised Diocesan vision entitled “Living Faith for the Future”, aimed at

encouraging holistic mission and spirituality at the heart of daily life. It contains five key values

which inform our strategic directions:

sustaining the sacred centre;

creating vibrant Christian communities;

making disciples;

making a difference in the world;

shaping confident collaborative leaders.

These values are built on the principles of not neglecting the past but building on it; not so much

about strategy but culture; not top down but liberating the local; not targets but directions; not

about structures but about relationships; not one size fits all but flexibility and not about complexity

but elegance.

From 2010, each year has seen an encouragement to explore one of the key strands and in 2013,

the emphasis across the Diocese is on Creating Vibrant Christian Communities.

Full information on Living Faith for the future can be found at:

http://www.oxford.anglican.org/mission-ministry/projects/living-faith/

It is expected that all clergy appointed into the Archdeaconry of Buckingham will want to commit

themselves to this Diocesan vision and its strategic directions.