Innovative and unusual pastoral arrangements

Some scenarios

City Deanery1a

+

1b

¤

2+

x

3+

¤+

4+

±

5+

6b +

6a

+

7+

8

+

9†

10+

±

Parish Church + Chapel of Ease ± Cathedral †Licensed Place of Worship ¤ Methodist church x

All we need is a room somewhere!

I’m the curate in Benefice 6. My incumbent lets me

run an exciting experimental congregation

which attracts new worshippers from all

across the City. We need more space and have now found a sports hall to hire but it’s not in my parish.

What do we do now?

Church Plant - Extra Parochial Place

5 +

6b

+

6a +

•Flourishing united benefice

• Parish 6b revitalised by a now mature plant

from Parish 6a

•EPP includes rented building•Experimental worship•Eclectic congregation•Shared minister with Benefice 6

Parish Church + Extra Parochial Place

Church Plant - EPP

• Worship-centred mission project• Location not important –determined by

suitable meeting space• Minimal involvement in synodical

structures• No formal link with Benefice 6 except via

shared minister

•Pastoral Scheme to create EPP

• Minister licensed by Bishop

Worship where we work

We all work in the City Centre.

We meet for worship and discussion at

lunchtime and after work. We

also get involved in

social action. We’re all

involved in our home parishes

as well.

We use a church in the City Centre parish for our worship and as a base for our outreach. It

would close if we didn’t use it. The local incumbent is happy for us to carry on but says his parish doesn’t want the building and wants

no responsibility for looking after it.

Church Plant - EPP within Detached Part of Parish

4+

+

±

6b +

6a

+

•“Surplus” City Centre Church•Working day congregation

• Nucleus of membership from Benefice 6• Residual liability for building rests with Parish 6a.

+

Parish church + Chapel of ease ± EPP Detached part

Church Plant – EPP within Detached Part of Parish

• Location/action centred mission project• Location is important – related to place of work• Minimal involvement in synodical structures –

members also have home parishes• Utilises otherwise redundant church – “donut” for

residual maintenance liability

•Pastoral Scheme to create EPP and detached part of parish

The Heineken Effect

Our parish life died when the factory closed. The vicar does nothing. No-one wants to go to

the church. It’s rundown, depressing

and out of touch

We can help. Our parish can send people

to run a plant and bring your parish back to life We could use

the old factory canteen. But the vicar

there doesn’t want us.

Church Plant – Detached Part of Parish

6b

+

6a +

7 +

•Struggling parish – ineffective incumbent

• Planted “missionary” congregation• Former factory building• Detached part of Parish 6a

Parish church + Detached part

Church Plant – detached part of parish

• Plant to revitalise struggling parish• Meets in secular building (former factory)• Could be established against wishes of

incumbent of Benefice 7• Part of Parish 6a for financial and synodical

purposes

• Pastoral Order to create and transfer detached part of parish (Scheme not needed as no church involved)

A problem sharedOur Methodist church is in danger of closing. Few of us live nearby now and the area is full of student

bed-sits and nightclubs. We thought our local Anglican parish might want to share the building but it’s in the wrong location for

them and they can’t afford a second building,

This is the opportunity we are looking for. We can afford to

share this church with a planted congregation and it’s

the ideal venue for our “clubbers’ church” outreach

project.

Detached Parish – Shared Church

2+

×

6b +

6a

+

• Methodist church threatened with closure• Anglican Parish 2 doesn’t wish to share building• Benefice 6 sees this as a mission opportunity¤

• Separate Parish (6c) – footprint of building - detached part of Benefice 6• Sharing agreement for building• Plant congregation –youth oriented “clubbers’ church” Parish church + Methodist church x Detached parish

Licensed Place of Worship ¤

Church Plant – Detached Parish

• Plant to take advantage of mission opportunity• Not contentious for Parish 2 (lack resources

themselves)• Shared building with multiple congregations• Separate parish financially self-sufficient and

integrated into synodical structures• Eclectic congregation

•Pastoral Scheme to create new parish •Separate sharing agreement for Methodist/Anglican church building

Churches together in England?I’m the Rector of Benefice 2. I’m

enthusiastic about ecumenism. Part of my

Parish around the shared Anglican/ Methodist church

houses students of all denominations

We already share our building so an

ecumenical link is a logical next step.

We are an Anglo-Catholic Benefice (Benefice 1) and

one of our two parishes also includes a Roman Catholic church with which we have

a good relationship

Local Ecumenical Project 1 +

¤

2

+

¤

Local Ecumenical Project

• LEP may cover part of a benefice or parish

•LEP established under Canon B44 and Church of England (Ecumenical Relations) Measure

Various Arrangements for Church Plants

2

+

6c

5 +

6a

+

6b +

7 +

¤

+

Sermons in Stone?

We love our building. It’s important to our faith and worship but

we know we can’t afford to maintain it.

We can’t afford this building. It was

always too big. It’s a “millstone” which distracts us from

mission and pastoral care.

We at the Cathedral are a wealthy

congregation. We would like to offer

financial and ministerial support to a less well off parish.

Detached Part – Financial Support for Church

3+

¤

+

9†

•Struggling parish • Dynamic incumbent•“Millstone” building• Resolutions A and B

• Parish church cathedral• Wealthy eclectic congregation+

•Detached part of Parish 9• Own DCC• Group ministry

Parish church + Cathedral † Licensed PoW ¤ Detached part of parish

Financial support for church – detached part of parish

• Financial responsibility for building moves to Cathedral parish

• DCC for other matters• Group ministry enables incumbent of Benefice 3

to take services• Synodical representation now via Cathedral parish • Congregation may have dual electoral roll

membership

• Pastoral Scheme to transfer part of parish and create Group Ministry

Where do we go from here?

We know our benefice is too small to have its own priest but we are an Anglo-catholic ABC

parish and none of the next door benefices want a link with us. Where do we go from here?

Over here! We are on the other

side of the deanery but are happy to have a link with a non-

adjoining benefice.

Plurality of non-adjoining benefices

1a +

1b

¤

8

+• Forward in Faith parish•Too small for own priest•Resolutions A,B and C

• Plurality with liberal Anglo-Catholic benefice• Female curate• One parish in LEP

Parish church + Licensed Place of Worship ¤

Plurality of non-adjoining benefices

• Plurality of non-adjoining benefices for churchmanship reasons

• Could be a united benefice with detached parishes but for women priests issue

• Might also be done to match struggling benefice with supportive thriving benefice

• Pastoral Order to establish plurality

We want to be alone!

But my dear Archdeacon my parish is flourishing and keeps me fully

occupied. It’s fine as it is and I don’t want to get involved in these fancy

arrangements.

That’s fine my boy. Nothing wrong with the traditional parish where

it’s working well

The Traditional Parish

10

±

+

City Deanery

1a +

1b

¤

2+

3+

¤

4+

±

5+

6b +

6a

+

7+

8

+

9†

10+

±

+¤

+

Rural Deanery

1a 1b 2a 2b

3a 4 5 2c

3b 6a 6b 6c

Parish � Benefice - coloured

Rural Deanery

• Benefice 1 – Ineffective incumbent

• Benefice 2 – Traditionalist benefice, eclectic congregation, Resolutions A and B

• Benefice 3 - Rural/suburban benefice, embryo network church

• Benefice 4 – Thriving Market Town benefice, large underused church and hall, female incumbent

• Benefice 5 – Suburban benefice, new estate encroaching into Benefice 6

• Benefice 6 - Multi parish rural benefice. Incumbent focused on rural ministry

Deanery Team

1a 1b 2a 2b

3a 4 5 2c

3b 6a 6b 6c

7

cd

Deanery Team

• team of Team Rector , 5 Team Vicars and 2 assistants•permeable boundaries (mix of functional and territorial responsibilities)• can include Resolution A parishes and still have female team members•easier to establish Conventional District (as only one incumbent)•use resources over a wider area

• Pastoral Scheme to unite benefices and create single-benefice team ministry and extra network parish (Parish 7)• Bishop’s licence to define responsibilities• Bishop creates Conventional District

Deanery Team• Incumbent 1 - TV. Territorial responsibility for Parishes 1a, 1b, 3a and 3b, helped by assistant (OLM/NSM)

• Incumbent 2 – TV. Territorial responsibility for Parishes 2a, 2b and 2c but also services in Parish 4

• Incumbent 3 – TV. Territorial responsibility for new Parish 7, functional responsibility for mission

• Incumbent 4 – TR. General responsibility except for Parishes 2a, 2b and 2c

• Incumbent 5 –TV. Territorial responsibility for Parishes 4 and 5

• Incumbent 6 – TV.Territorial responsibility for Parishes 6a,6b and 6c, functional responsibility for rural ministry. Assistant has responsibility for Conventional District.

Team and Group

1a 1b 2a 2b

3a 4 5 2c

3b 6a 6b 6c

7

Team and Group

• A team for all six benefices requires rescinding of Resolution B (no female TR or TV) by Parishes 2a, 2b and 2c• A team as part of a Group with Benefice 2 would be possible without rescinding Resolution B

•Pastoral Scheme to unite benefices and create team ministry, group ministry and network parish• Bishop’s licence to define team members’ responsibilities• Bishop creates Conventional District (only one incumbent’s consent now required)

Minster model team

1a 2b

4

6b 6c

7

Minster model team

• Six parish team (Parishes 1a, 2b, 4, 6b, 6c and 7) “Patchwork” effect of non-adjacent parishes• Includes network church of detached parts of Parish 7

• Pastoral Scheme to create new benefice and network parish and establish team ministry (plus other reorganisation).• Bishop’s licence to define responsibilities