Crosslincs 37

Good health: A challenging career explained Page 15

No 37 CHRISTMAS 2012 Diocese of Lincoln newspaper www.lincoln.anglican.org

Women Bishops vote: a “sad day for the Church” In a vote by the General Synod in November to pass the measure to permit women bishops, the majority of Synod members supported the proposal, but not enough to allow the measure to be implemented.

Of the House of Bishops, 94% present voted for the measure, 77% of the clergy were in favour, and 64% of the laity, meaning that overall almost three-quarters of voters were in favour. However, each house had to achieve a majority of at least two-thirds, which fell short by just a handful of votes in the House of Laity.

Although the decision means that the matter is unlikely to be brought back for discussion until a new General Synod is elected in several years, leaked reports suggest other options will be explored.

“This was a very sad day indeed, not just for those of us who support the ministry of women, but for the future of the Church, which might very well be gravely damaged by this,” said the Rt Revd Christopher Lowson, Bishop of Lincoln.

“The proposal had the overwhelming support of most of the Diocesan Synods, and this raises very serious questions about the representation of General Synod, and calls for a broad review of how General Synod members are elected.

“The Church has suffered a serious credibility problem while it worked on the legislation, and this is a set-back that could cement the Church’s reputation as being outdated and out-of-touch.

“Young people have spoken to me of their concerns about the Church, and the way it appears to fight against that which for many people is perfectly normal and acceptable.

“I am meeting with women clergy from around the Diocese of Lincoln to discuss the implications of this vote, and to work with them to re-affirm their ministry in the coming years.”

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Farmer Peter Mottram shows the Bishop of Lincoln his accommodation for a night in December. WILL HARRISON

Bishop’s £5,000 target Christmas stable sleep-out to aid two charities Will Harrison The Bishop – and a number of other clergy – are aiming to raise thousands of pounds for charity as they brave a cold December night in stables around the Diocese.

The Rt Revd Christopher Lowson will spend the Thursday night before Christmas in a stable near Harmston, south of Lincoln.

He hopes to raise £5,000 to support the work of the Nomad Trust – a homeless charity in Lincoln – and Christian Aid’s Favela project in South America.

The Revd Adrian Smith, Rector of the Owmby and Springline Groups north of Lincoln, is also sleeping out on the same evening in a stable at Hackthorn Hall.

“I am sure that my night in the stable will offer me an opportunity to let God into my

personal preparations for Christmas, and, as Bishop Christopher has suggested, I may gain something of a glimpse of ‘The harsh realities of the experience of Mary and Joseph – and hundreds of people around the country who have no bed in which to sleep’,” said Adrian.

In the south of the Diocese, the Revd Jonathan Sibley will be joined in a sleepout by some of the servers of St Mary’s Church, Long Sutton, as they raise money for another project, and in the north, a group of six or seven teenagers, who are part of St Bartholomew’s Church, Keelby, are to spend the night in a stable near Habrough in aid of the Nomad Trust.

The Nomad Trust’s main objective is to help the homeless, needy and vulnerable people that come to their door, day and

night. It operates an emergency night shelter, a charity shop, furniture recycling and Horticulture project. Between April 2010 and March 2011, 450 people were helped by the Nomad Trust, of which 79% had Lincolnshire connections.

Christian Aid’s Favella project works to improve the living conditions of families who dwell in the slums and work in the informal economy in downtown São Paulo.

The project focuses on the city central region, represented by the Subprefecture of Sé, where more than 300,000 residents are squashed into 1,138 tenements. Members of this community find themselves shut out from the regular labour market with no access to housing finance.

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Stay vigilant, despite metal theft drop

Incorporation paves way for sponsorship

Figures released by Ecclesiastical Insurance have shown that the number of claims for the theft of lead and other valuable metals from churches has dropped – by a staggering 60% over the past six months.

Generally incidences of metal theft are tied to fluctuations in the global metal market, but prices of lead and other metals have remained stable while reported crimes plummeted.

Churches in the Diocese of Lincoln have been particularly troubled by the crime,

The Diocese of Lincoln’s Synod has approved unanimously the incorporation of the Diocesan Board of Education.

The Diocesan Director of Education said that the vote at the November meeting allows the Board of Education to become “fit for purpose in this new educational era.”

Jackie Waters-Dewhurst said: “The Diocesan Board of Education will now be able to move on apace in its work to support all of the Diocese’s schools, whether they are Voluntary Controlled, Voluntary Aided, Foundation, Trust or Academy.”

She said that 18 schools in the Diocese had converted to academy status, with two more due to convert in January.

“The Board of Education and its officers are putting together a package of support that will meet the new needs of both the schools and academies,” said Jackie.

“We are thinking creatively about new opportunities that will ensure that our collective mission through schools is not only maintained but strengthened.

which has seen many roofs stripped of lead.

The dramatic fall may be due to a highprofile campaign aimed at Anglican churches in high-risk areas. Hands Off Our Church Roofs, sponsored by Ecclesiastical Insurance, sought to install alarms and thief-deterrent signage – and this may be a contributory factor in the decline of incidents. However, John Coates, Head of Church Insurance at Ecclesiastical, warned that it was “far too early for churches to let their guard down.”

“While supporting the process of appointing a head teacher in one of the proposed academies, I was both encouraged and moved by the quality of experience that the school is providing for the pupils’ spiritual development.

“Children spoke clearly about the Christian values that are used daily as a lynch pin for their learning and I’ve never met a more thoughtful, polite group of children so eager to engage with visitors to their school – and this is in one of the more challenging areas of the Diocese.

“In this school, as in so many others, God is talked of openly, prayers are said throughout the day and the schools’ environment contains many visual signs of faith to teach, inspire and provoke thought. Many of these are made by the pupils themselves.

“But this doesn’t happen by accident. It takes the time, effort and faith of both staff and, crucially, members of the local church serving God through the work that they do in the school.”

Reader numbers swelled

Eight new readers joined the ranks of more than 160 licensed readers in the Diocese of Lincoln, after they were commissioned by the Bishop of Grantham in Lincoln Cathedral. Pictured above after the service are the new readers, left to right, Chris Hewitt (Graffoe group), Stephen Binns (Spalding St John), Helen Marsden (Legbourne & Wold Marsh), Lynne Drew (Bracebridge Heath), Bishop Tim Ellis, Archdeacon of Lincoln Tim Barker, Mary Cooney (Gainsborough), Petula Codd (Harlaxton), Anne Wild (Kirton Lindsey) and Kevin Whitworth (Sutton Bridge).

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Jews and Christians celebrate The Lincoln and District Branch of the Council of Christians and Jews (CCJ) is organising a Celebration of Advent and Hanukah to be held in the Chapter House of Lincoln Cathedral.

Although the two festivals are not connected in any way, they do share common features; in particular, both make powerful use of the symbol of light, and this will be the theme that runs throughout the programme of explanations, blessings, candle lighting and music.

The Celebration, to be held at 6.30pm on Saturday, 15 December, will not be a formal fusing of church and synagogue worship.

Rather, it will be a time for reflection to enable those present to understand just why Hanukah is so important to the Jewish faith and why Advent is so central to Christians as the Christmas period approaches.

The Chair of Lincoln CCJ, Maxine Tomashefsky said: “Not only will this important interfaith event encourage spiritual dialogue between Jews and Christians, which is the central purpose of CCJ, but it will further strengthen the close ties between the Cathedral and the local Jewish community.”

Christmas starts with Christ Tweeting ρρ If your church does not have a Twitter account, sign up for free at www.twitter.com ρρ Choose a username that people in your parish and diocese will identify with your church ρρ Make sure your Twitter profile contains a link to your parish website or your A Church Near You page ρρ Contact your local media and local news websites and let them know you will be tweeting your Christmas Day service ρρ Include the hashtag #christmasstartswithchrist in your first posts, so that people searching on this term can find and read your Christmas tweets, and then use the hashtag #cswc in subsequent tweets.

Several Church of England and Diocesan campaigns aim to make this Advent and Christmas even more prominent.

The Diocese of Lincoln has produced an Advent Prayer Booklet for social justice, which includes daily prayers and meditations for stimulating thought about those in need at this time of year.

And the Church of England centrally is running two campaigns which will complement the diocesan Advent Prayers. The first of these is the Reflections for Advent 2012 Podcasts which consist of ten-minute daily podcasts featuring inspirational Bible reflections and seasonal music.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, describes Advent as a time to journey towards “something better, something fuller, and something more joyful”.

He adds that “the invitation for us, in these Reflections for Advent, is to embark on that journey – that opening up towards the light – knowing confidently that there will be a bursting through into light, into fresh air, into the newness that Christmas brings.”

The podcasts are available to download from iTunes or from the CofE website at

www.churchofengland.org/advent.

Another initiative, which is focused on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, is the Christmas Starts With Christ Twitter Campaign. The Archbishops of Canterbury and York will be live tweeting sermons and highlights of their Christmas services to an audience expected to be in the tens of thousands.

Congregations are encouraged to get out their smartphones in church and share the Christmas good news as it happens.

“This is a brilliant opportunity for parishes to take the good news of the first Christmas out of churches and into people’s lives and homes,” said the Revd Arun Arora, Director of Communications for the Archbishops’ Council.

“We are delighted to be running this in conjunction with Twitter who will be officially promoting the site.”

It is the first time the Church has used social media is this way, and it is hoped that many people who would not usually engage with traditional Christmas services will follow the proceedings and get a glimpse of what Christmas is really about.

Measure was fair « Continued from page 1 The most senior woman in the Diocese of Lincoln, the Ven Jane Sinclair, said: “This was of course a very sad day. A lot of people have worked very hard to make the proposed legislation fair and it took seriously the concerns of those who, in conscience could not accept the ministry of women.

“They are very much the minority in the Church, as the recent results from Diocesan Synods showed, and the result is certainly not representative of the Church as a whole.

“However, I and my colleagues are determined to continue to support those parishes which in conscience cannot accept the ministry of women, particularly as it is inevitable that the matter will be raised again in the future.”

crosslincs PUBLISHED BY THE DIOCESE OF LINCOLN EDITOR: Will Harrison REPORTER: Philip Craven CIRCULATION: Jennifer Dyke Edward King House, Minster Yard, Lincoln LN2 1PU crosslincs@lincoln.anglican.org 01522 50 40 36 www.lincoln.anglican.org/crosslincs

Ministry move The Diocese of Lincoln’s Discipleship and Lay Ministry Development Officer has taken up the post of Assistant Priest in a large group of Norfolk parishes.

The Revd Andrew Tyler left the Diocese at the end of November after three years’ work to develop lay ministry to minister in the Cawston group of parishes, where he will have a particular focus on discipleship and lay ministry development.

During Andrew’s time in the Diocese of Lincoln, the number of authorised lay ministers has risen from 325 to around 600.

“I will be sorry to be leaving my work in the Diocese, not least because of a lot of very wonderful people in the parishes, deaneries and at the Diocesan office,” said Andrew.

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Hark the herald

School sacrament

A North East Lincolnshire curate, and heavy metal fan, is organising a unique Christmas service.

Billed as the ‘UK’s only heavy metal carol service’, A Very Heavy Christmas aims to appeal to people of all ages who prefer loud music to the more traditional, sweetlysung carol.

The service will take place in Grimsby Minster on 15 December at 5.30pm.

The Revd George Smith, curate of Great Coates in Grimsby, said: “It’s for all ages and was enjoyed by over 300 people last year.

“Those attending will see a church full of speakers, hear Once in Royal David’s City mixed with Deep Purple and We Three Kings mixed with Led Zeppelin.”

A Very Heavy Christmas II has its own Facebook group at: www.facebook.com/veryheavychristmas

The Bishop of Grimsby consecrated a new communion set during a regular service held in the school. EMILY WATT

Support to retired clergy The Bishop has appointed the Venerable Geoffrey Arrand, formerly Archdeacon of Suffolk, as chairman of the Retired Clergy Support Group.

Geoff is happy to be approached by any of the retired clergy who need advice or assistance. Many of the retired clergy may not be aware that financial help is available for those in need.

Gatherings of retired clergy are held from time to time. Anyone wishing for more information please contact Geoff on 01522 826967, garrand@virginmedia.com or at Domus Pacis, 8 Elm Close, Saxilby LN1 2QH.

Emily Watt A Church of England secondary school has demonstrated its commitment to its church school status by having its new communion vessels consecrated by the Bishop of Grimsby.

William Farr C of E Comprehensive School in Welton had the set consecrated during a weekly communion service in October, which was held in the school chapel.

William Farr is a popular, rural comprehensive school, with around 1,500 pupils, and has recently attained Academy status.

The school has been judged outstanding continuously by OFSTED since 2000.

The Lawres Chapel was funded by the Lawres Deanery as a place of reflection, contemplation and prayer. It is used for weekly communion services which are run by the school chaplain and led by visiting

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priests, and for other quiet time activities.

The new communion set, which was bought by the school at the request of school chaplain, Rachel Heskins, was received with great excitement by the regular communicants and staff.

“It was a really friendly and uplifting occasion,” said the Chair of Governors at the school, Angela White.

“I was very pleased that so many from the school came.”

The vessels, which are made of glazed pottery, were handmade locally with the school name inscribed on the base. The chaplain and students were delighted that they have now got their own communion set and are looking forward to using them in future services.

A pupil said: “I think that this is a very positive step forwards for the Christian community within the school. By having

this communion set blessed, we are confirming our identity as Christians in school and affirming our presence.”

The Bishop of Grimsby, The Rt Revd David Rossdale, said: “It has been many years since the money was raised for the Lawres Chapel.

“It was lovely to be invited to celebrate the Eucharist and see how much it [the chapel] has become a part of the school.

The communion vessels will be used to draw people together in faith and worship in this school.”

Head teacher, Andrew Stones, said: “We were very lucky and honoured that the Bishop came to our service. The school has built a tradition of communion in this past year. We are very grateful to Mrs Heskins for the work she does and that of the rest of the team. It is right and good that the Christian profile is raised in this school.”

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New beginnings Charlotte Orson Many people would hazard a guess that leprosy is a disease that died out soon after Jesus’ time on earth. But three million people across the globe today are disabled or blind because of leprosy. It is undeniably a 21st Century problem.

Leprosy-affected people face a triple blow of disease, disability and discrimination. It is a disease intrinsically linked with poverty.

The Leprosy Mission England and Wales is raising awareness of its work to break the cycle of poverty on Sunday 27 January – World Leprosy Day 2013.

Thanks to the generosity of its supporters, The Leprosy Mission is able to provide a springboard for a new beginning to thousands each year in the 12 countries in Asia and Africa where it focuses its work.

As well as providing opportunities for early diagnosis and treatment, The Leprosy Mission offers gifts of healthcare, rehabilitation, education, vocational training, housing and a fresh water supply.

South Sudan – the UN’s newest member state, having been granted independence in 2011 – is where The Leprosy Mission’s latest challenge lies.

It is a new country in need of renewed hope, and a leprosy-affected community is living in tents having recently been displaced from land on the outskirts of the capital, Juba. These people had very little to begin with, but now they are destitute and their only goal being survival. Their healthcare is woefully inadequate and access to education non-existent.

The Leprosy Mission is working with the government of South Sudan to set up a programme to diagnose and treat leprosy before it causes irreversible disabilities or robs a person of their eyesight. It plans to improve this community’s living conditions and send the children to school.

On Sunday 27 January, please pray for those affected by the devastating consequences of leprosy in South Sudan and around the world.

If you can, please give a gift of hope to help The Leprosy Mission England and Wales continue its life-changing work. For more information ring 01733 370505 or visit the website: www.worldleprosyday.org.uk

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No strings attached

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Philip Craven An exciting new type of ministry for young people is being pioneered by a church in Grantham.

From the children’s TV show Sesame Street through to raucously funny musical Avenue Q, puppeteering has been an effective and entertaining way of communicating with audiences both young and young-at-heart for many years. The Wuppets at St Wulfram’s in Grantham are just the latest in this long line of furry teachers and communicators.

The Puppet Ministry was devised and begun by Steven “Barny” Robins, a former RAF engineering instructor, who recently came to an active faith and wanted to use his time and skills to reach new people and to spread the news of God’s love in a less traditional way.

Barny, like many, had counted himself a Christian, but only really attended church when it was required (often by the RAF); it wasn’t until his daughter was old enough to attend Sunday School that Barny began to find himself drawn back to church. The first Sunday his daughter went to the school she was nervous and wouldn’t let Barny leave.

This continued for some time and after six weeks of attendance Barny was invited to become a teaching assistant with the group since he in full-time attendance anyway.

Just a few years later that he became a fullyfledged Sunday School teacher.

While at Sunday School, Barny investigated Christianity through the stories he was teaching to, and discussing with, the children, and this inspired him to undertake further study on the Diocese’s Lay Foundation Course: “The course was amazing – I learned so much on it about Christianity, the Bible, and how the Church of England works,” he said.

“There are specialist courses for the second year and it was at the end of that course that I asked myself, ‘What am I going to do for my ministry?’”

He had always wanted his ministry to enhance the Christian lives of children and young people and the obvious route was to set up a youth group; Grantham, however, already had a thriving youth scene of uniformed groups, such as the guides, scouts and air cadets; also, St Wulfram’s, like many town-centre churches, relies on people actively coming to it rather than it just being the ‘local church’, and so there is not a ready-made pool of young people to draw from for the group’s activities.

One of the things that Barny noticed during his time as Sunday School teacher was that, while there was plenty in the church for the children to do if they were singers, those who were not as musically-inclined were often lost to the church once they had outgrown Sunday School.

Bearing all that in mind, he started looking at what he could do to differentiate his

‘Rocket’ and Barny Robins on set at St Wulfram’s, Grantham. PHILIP CRAVEN group from the activities of the uniformed groups, and it wasn’t long before the inspiration took him.

“It was a eureka moment,” said Barny.

“We were hosting the schools’ festival in here and we had the puppets from Barrowby come – just before their group stopped. I was just watching the kids’ faces and they were mesmerised by it.

“I thought to myself, if you’re going to do children’s work, you can do one of two things: you can stand up there as an adult and preach at them and they won’t listen, or you can get a puppet to talk to them and they will. They respect what the puppet says and they’ll listen – that’s where the idea came from.”

And from that The Wuppets were born.

After bringing his concept to the ministry team at St Wulfram’s – who loved the idea and showed great support – Barny attended a number of puppetry courses and youth work training events and began to build up a supply of puppets and equipment.

Barny was aware that if The Wuppets venture was to succeed it would have to be executed to an extremely high standard, with all the equipment ready from the off.

“I’m a great believer in that if you want something to succeed, you need to put your money where your mouth is,” said Barny.

In this respect an online auction website was a life-saver: “I wanted to keep the momentum from the initial idea through to putting on shows – I didn’t want to do it by dribs and drabs and have it stagnate – and so I bought bits on eBay and spent a day driving all around

the country picking up equipment from anywhere and everywhere, from the East End of London to Nottingham,” he said.

With the equipment in place, Barny turned his attention to recruitment: “The idea was that the puppet ministry would be open to everyone, not just the church, so as not to deter those who weren’t already used to the Church,” he said.

“However, the themes always have a religious basis.”

The Wuppets project encompasses much more than just puppeteering, however, and this has sparked interest in unlikely places: “We’ve got a couple of 14-year-old boys and to them the idea of putting a puppet on their hand is ridiculous, but they are interested in running the lighting and sound desks – there’s so much to do so it’s a great way of getting all ages involved,” he said.

There are also stage managers, directors and sketch writers.

The show is made up of a mixture of songs, mostly from the Christian parody band The ApologetiX, and sketches, which are devised by the children and young people.

“We’d like it to be that the young people run it and they say what they want to do,” said Barny.

“When the kids join, if they’re interested in the puppeteering, then they’re given a puppet, the music, and the sketches for them to practice at home. All the adults have been trained, so spend time at rehearsals training up the kids.”

The Wuppets has been very successful in achieving its aims: it is thriving and perfor-

mances are well-received by young and old alike.

The group recently performed at a Parade Service with the uniformed youth groups in the church, and in September they took to the stage to support the spire appeal.

The Wuppets already has 14 young people involved and is growing by the day; however, Barny is insistent that he wants puppet ministry to expand beyond St Wulfram’s: “It is expensive equipment and it would be a shame for it just to sit there for us,” said Barny.

“It is not limited to St Wulfram’s – that’s just where it is. The more groups the better.

We’d love other churches to join with us so we could put on maybe even an hour-anda-half’s show.”

The success of The Wuppets project is down to a few factors: its tireless organisers Barny, Nicki, and Anne and the support of the ministry team at St Wulfram’s; the proactive and confident approach to coming up with the idea, sustaining the initial enthusiasm through to fruition; and perhaps most importantly the level of responsibility given to the young people involved, who have as much of a say in its direction as the leaders.

The Wuppets project and its ‘puppet ministry’ is a tremendous asset to St Wulfram’s, complementing the church’s traditional ministry and engaging with young people in the area to bring the lessons and values of God’s Word to new audiences.  If your church would like to get involved please email Barny at thewuppetshow@gmail.com

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Returns made easier Simon Bland Usually fairly arduous and inky tasks, the Diocese has undertaken to make several mandatory annual Parish forms available online.

From January the Diocese has signed up to a time-saving service that will allow parish representatives to complete these forms quickly and easily on the Internet.

This can be done on any online computer whether it is at home, at the parish offices or even in the local library.

“It’s great that this new system is available for parishes to use,” said the Venerable Jane Sinclair, Archdeacon of Stow and Lindsey.

“When I was parish priest in Rotherham it was always one of the things that I wished could be made easier and less of a hassle for the treasurer and parish officers.”

Parishes will be sent unique usernames and passwords and there will be other online security verification to make sure data is kept completely private, safe, and secure.

The online forms will help by querying anomalous figures, doing the adding up, and returning the forms to the diocesan offices at the click of a button. It will also provide instant comparisons with previous years’ data and produce useful graphs – which should be helpful in PCC meetings and for treasurer reports.

The new system will help the central diocesan offices by presenting the information in a standardised electronic format – previously all 600-plus returns had to be painstakingly entered onto a computer by hand before they could be sent off to the national statistics team.

“I think the new service will be fantastic for parishes and particularly those hardworking volunteers who have to use it,” said Archdeacon Jane.

“It’s a well-thought out system and should be easy to use for people of all levels of computer literacy.”

Parishes should continue to gather the parish data in the normal way, and should think about whom to select to use the online service – if desired the system can be used by more than one person from each parish so duties can be shared.

And finally, parishes should let the diocesan offices know who the main contact person will be to lesley.elkington@lincoln.anglican.org

A real diamond in Humberston A Lincolnshire musician has celebrated his 60th Anniversary as organist of his local parish church.

Norman Wattam of Humberston, recently celebrated 60 years in post as organist of St Peter’s in Humberston, where he has overseen the conducting of the choir as well as his organ duties.

Norman moved to Humberston when he was just nine months old and his father became the foreman of a local farm. Suffering from chronic invalidity in his childhood, Norman’s expected career path was impossible: “I think the idea was that I’d work on the farm so my mother had to think of something else,” said Norman.

“She went out and bought a piano for £6 – knowing what I know now I think she

took a tremendous risk. It functioned, but it wasn’t brilliant. I remember when it arrived on a horse and cart – I remember the magic of having a piano.”

Norman soon began lessons with a teacher who travelled out to the farm on her bike for just sixpence a lesson and dinner. When he was 15 Norman began work as an apprentice piano tuner at Pooles in Grimsby.

From there he went on to another tuning firm, eventually setting out as an independent tuner.

In his many years tuning pianos around Lincolnshire, Norman has visited all types of people and houses from the tiny urban houses of Grimsby to the great houses of the area. He has hundreds of stories and anecdotes from this period of his life, which were

Norman Wattam at the organ of St Peter’s Humberston with his great niece Olivia.

recently published as a pamphlet, ‘Slightly out of tune’.

It was while he was learning the piano tuning trade at Pooles that Norman first became interested in the organ; another of the apprentices was having lessons and, being more than a little envious of his colleague, Norman soon enquired after a teacher.

A Mr Storr at George Street Methodist Chapel offered to take Norman on for five shillings a lesson, which was a rather prohibitive amount considering Norman was being paid just seven shillings and sixpence a week as a piano tuner.

“I went home very despondent and explained to my mother that it was,” said Norman.

“Nothing was mentioned for a day or so and then she said: ‘Well I’ve been talking to your dad and we’ll lend you the money to pay for it to start off with’ – whether they got paid all their money back in the end or not I’m not too sure.”

After a few years of hard training Norman became organist at Humberston in 1952 at the Harvest Festival. As well as playing for services and directing the choir over the next 60 years, for Norman the highlights have included leading worship with the Humberston church choir at Lincoln Cathedral and the installation of a new organ in the church.

Norman celebrated his 60th Anniversary as organist on 30 September and he continues to play at the services in the church.

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The Church should be wary of cathedral statistics There’s always been a difference in what cathedrals and parishes offer, but does the increasingly sharp contrast between the two actually hurt grass roots elements of the Church?

Edward Joyner Recent figures published for the Church of England boasted a 30% increase in attendance at regular weekly cathedral services around the country in the last 10 years, based on a steady increase of about three per cent per year.

Compare these attendance figures to those of parishes, and the story is rather less triumphant, albeit less dramatic.

The question is, to what extent do these statistics represent a strengthening in the spiritual offerings of our cathedrals? While there is little doubt that almost everyone appreciates the awe-inspiring buildings, there is a strong possibility that these figures simply reflect a change in approach from many cathedrals, as deans and chapters modernise their staff to include marketing and PR specialists to enhance cathedral brands.

This is all excellent news for the cathedrals, who are regularly finding new, exciting ways to make their programmes and services more relevant to the public they serve. It’s less positive for the parishes, which are sometimes without a priest, let alone a highly-trained team of marketing professionals.

In marketing terms, an “indirect competitor” is a business which, although it may not sell the same (or even a similar) product, offers an alternative to satisfy the same customer need. For example, a restaurant and a cinema, which offer very different products, actually compete in the same market of “places to spend your free time and disposable entertainment income”.

It’s not a popular thing to say, but whether they acknowledge it or not, cathedrals have been operating in a similar market to churches for some time. The difference is that they’re now better at competing; marketing is, in its raw form, giving people what they want - and people do genuinely want much of what a cathedral offers.

Most readers will have watched the wedding of the now Duke and Duchess of Cambridge in Westminster Abbey. As the Duchess began to walk down the central aisle, the Abbey’s formidable choir and organ roared in with Parry’s immortal coronation

anthem, I Was Glad. Among other emotions, it was a moment for Anglicans to be proud of their heritage and of one of their major churches.

Of course, many cathedrals, colleges and larger churches have the resources to – and do – plan spectacularly uplifting services on a regular basis; most cathedrals have a member of staff with the time and expertise to plan complex liturgies, and boast music departments with some of the finest church musicians in the world. Our own Lincoln Cathedral, for example, offers choral evensong every day except Wednesday, two sung services on Sunday morning, and a host of non-choral services throughout the week. This is before we consider the various programmes catering for tourism, education and hospitality.

Those who work in cathedrals have very little trouble inviting friends and colleagues to attend, say, choral evensong, comfortable in the knowledge that it will be an experience from which they will benefit on many levels. I wonder if the same could be said for those in the parishes, where the services are notably less flashy and have less popular appeal? Added to this issue, the recent survey showed that cathedrals appeal to people across the demographic and social spectrum – and aside from those aged over 65, younger adults (aged between 18 and 24) are more likely to visit

cathedrals than any other group.

Again, this is in contrast to the figures from parishes, where most congregations are aging, and many young people stop attending as they enter adulthood. The cynical among us may suggest that this simply points to the cathedrals being little more than popular tourist destinations; but the figures strongly suggest that a majority of the population, irrespective of their religious beliefs, regard the cathedrals as important to the spiritual life of society.

Half of those surveyed felt that cathedrals actively reach out to the general public, not just those who are part of the Church; three quarters agreed that cathedrals contribute to the community.

Many cathedrals have, correctly, identified that their future lies particularly in their capacity to build on their existing broad appeal; for example, someone comes to a cathedral as a tourist, and leaves feeling as if attending a service would be something they’d like to do again. “Spirituality” is a painfully overused and abused term, but the reality is that many people, including from the aforementioned demographic of young people, are looking for the kind experience they can’t get from television or bars; they enjoy attending cathedral services but have no wish to become cardcarrying Anglicans.

That approach fits with the cathedral

model, but it’s a challenge for the parishes – how can they attract the same demographic, without the bells and whistles a cathedral offers? That is a question to which there are no easy answers. In this context it’s interesting to observe a place like St Albans Cathedral, which is a rare case of a cathedral with a thriving parish attached. A visitor to St Albans encounters a frenzy of activity and a strong feeling of community – but with the grandeur and ceremony of a cathedral also on offer.

Among all the glowing statistics and success stories for cathedrals there also lies a challenge: can they continue on the same path, or will they be forced to adopt a more community-minded attitude? Anyone who has visited St Paul’s Cathedral in London will know the cold professionalism of a cathedral with little or no community attached; even as a worshipper one is ushered in and out of the cathedral with suspicion and haste, as if on a conveyor belt.

The cathedral attendance figures make for happy reading, but the Church can’t afford to rest on its laurels; the success of the cathedrals is only good news if the whole Church can be lifted with them.  What do you think? Letters to the editor to crosslincs@lincoln.anglican.org Edward Joyner works in the Department of Marketing, Communications and Development at the University of Lincoln.

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crosslincs

Comment and letters

Letters to the Editor, Crosslincs, Edward King House, Minster Yard, Lincoln LN2 1PU crosslincs@lincoln.anglican.org A name, address and telephone number must be supplied with every letter and e-mail Letters may be edited for style and length

More stipendiary priests, please From Mrs Jenny Seddon I read with interest Andy Wright’s article on the ‘more expensive facets of church life’ (Resources for worship, Crosslincs 36).

SLEACM’s Priest in Parish campaign argues for the presence of a stipendiary priest in parishes and a switch in emphasis and use of funds in the diocese in order to achieve this. This campaign has received enormous support right across the diocese from members of the clergy, lay ministers and laity.

While the article sets out and rehearses the arguments relating to resources clearly and concisely our concern is that the debate is not moving forward. SLEACM notes the publication of the conclusions and proposed actions arising from the Bishop’s Review Group, but maintains that this deals with only a part of the issue and specifically excludes extending the presence and work of the stipendiary parish priest, who work and serve at the ‘coal face’ of ministry and mission.

We believe that the drawn out process of this review period must be brought to a close and a clear path for the parishes in the diocese set out so as they can come to grips with their ministry role, purpose and means.

Jenny Seddon Chair of SLEACM

How do we attract clergy?

From Mr John Boyer I refer to the article by Andy Wright, Director of Resources Consultancy and in particular the section headed ‘Clergy’ (Resources for worship, Crosslincs 36).

I would like to enquire as to what is the average age of those in the non-stipendiary ministry. No doubt the majority of such people are those who can afford to take early retirement and are paid good pensions.

Yes, of course, I would like to commend such people for taking up the ministry and indeed there is a huge need and a place for such people but not to replace and at the expense of younger stipendiary clergy.

Where have all the young (even middle aged!) stipendiary clergy gone and is enough being done to encourage young Christians into the stipendiary ministry or are too many obstacles put in their way?

Applicants have to spend years getting non-paid experience! Who is going to support them financially through those years particularly at a time when there are so few part-time jobs around that will give the young people time off at weekends to attend church activities?

How are we going to encourage young people and families into the church if the majority of church leaders are old enough to be grandparents?

100 in major drama

Comment “This is a very sad day indeed, not just for those of us who support the ministry of women, but for the future of the Church, which might very well be gravely damaged by this.”

The words of our Bishop after the proposal to allow the consecration of women as bishops was voted down by the General Synod in November.

The Bishop was right. It was a sad day for the Church, but the sense of sadness extended far beyond our own walls. It was also a sad day for the many people who hover on the margins of the church, looking in and willing us to give them enough reason to come in. They want the things they hear us say about ourselves to be true. If they’re bold enough to step inside our churches, they want to find a place where the things that lie deep inside them can be expressed and touched by the love of God. They wonder if we might just be the place where that can happen.

Sadly, the events on that day in London confirmed what many people think of the Church already: that despite all our rhetoric, despite believing our own story that we are committed to justice and equality and fullness of life for all God’s people, our actions that day said otherwise.

We are a people who have high expectations of ourselves. Rightly so; the business of making God’s love known in the world is serious stuff. The proposal that was before the General Synod required a two-thirds majority in all three houses – bishops, clergy and laity. That requirement is a good thing, but polls showed that 90% of the Church’s lay people were in favour of this move, and yet the House of Laity voted it down. That was not representative of the majority view and it was against their expectation and their desire. This raises serious questions about the representation of the General Synod.

If a broad review of how its members are elected were to be undertaken, then perhaps some good will have come out of this.

The result has affected the morale of the church: lay people, whose views were not properly reflected in the Synod; female clergy, without whom the church could not function and who now represent half of the Church’s ordinands; male clergy, who passionately believe that this is the right thing to do for our church and for our mission; and bishops, because the result questioned their integrity.

To make the code of practice in the measure work (ensuring that provision was made for those opposed to women bishops) required a level of trust between the church and the Diocesan Bishops.

Despite repeated assurances from the Bishops that they would make this work, the measure was voted down.

That is deeply disturbing. Did we not believe our Diocesan Bishops? Do we not trust them? Are we a church which believes and trusts in the authority vested in our Bishops? If not, then the gender of the person holding the office is irrelevant and we have a much more serious problem on our hands.

The measure was a compromise. Of course it was – this is the Church of England! The Church’s ability to live with compromise, to respect others and to live with acceptance of difference, has been one of its hallmarks – perhaps even one of its chief glories. That ability isn’t a weakness.

It’s a sign of confidence and maturity.

Can we find a way to cut through the Gordian Knot? I pray that is so. I pray, too, for the day when the glorious Church of England will recapture William Temple’s vision and become once again the only society on earth which exists for the benefit of non-members.

The Comment is written by a different anonymous author each edition, with the intention of provoking thought and debate, and is not necessarily the view of the Diocese of Lincoln.

Letters are welcomed on any subject.

The generation gap is an obvious problem, but for the church to continue and grow it needs to attract the young and young families through its doors and, with the best will in the world, I don’t think that for the more mature in years non-stipendiary priesthood is best placed to do this.

My experience of many years as a Christian moving around different Anglican churches in the country (moves forced on me because of work) show that a vicar with a young family attracts other young families into the church. They have children in common and meet up at schools and other children’s activities.

So come on. Please find and recruit younger stipendiary clergy who are our most important asset in building up the church. The younger stipendiary clergy may

be our most expensive resource but they are undoubtedly our most valuable.

John Boyer Lincoln The Church Repair Society works across the Diocese of Lincoln to support its members with advice about finance and grants, access to a simple and reliable savings scheme, and 50% off the cost of Quinquennial Inspections (up to a maximum of £250); all for an annual subscription fee of only £30.00. The Society has launched a new information booklet which explains more about the organisation and what it can offer churches in the Diocese of Lincoln. For more information please visit the website: dioce.se/csr

A village drama and music group is making final preparations for their biggest ever performance – entitled One Day in Bethlehem.

An evening of music and drama is being planned for Christmas – to be held on Saturday 15 December, 7.30pm at St Andrew’s Church in Heckington, and staged by the Heckington Players.

The evening will feature music from the Players’ choir – Heckington Singers – under the musical direction of John Lyon. The choir, formed earlier this year, has over a hundred members and made its successful public debut at the Heckington Show in the summer.

For their Christmas performance they will be singing a variety of well-loved Christmas music from down the years.

The evening will also include the first ever performance of a new nativity play, written

by Andrew Key and featuring members of The Inbetweeners – the Players’ teenage section – and also members of the senior group.

Further musical entertainment will be provided by the St Andrew’s Church Band and also guest soloist musicians. There are only 300 tickets available for this one-off show at £6 each.

Event organiser Andrew Key said: “This is a really exciting project for everyone. We have never attempted such a big production before with so many people involved.

“As well as hopefully enjoying the show, everyone who attends will also be helping to support both St Andrew’s Church and also the Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire Air Ambulance since all profits will be divided between the two.”

For tickets, call 01529 461161.

Hospitable at Christmas From Mrs Mandy Talbott London 2012 brought talented people to Britain. But in fact this happens every year.

Thousands of bright young men and women come to study at our universities.

Sadly, most have no contact with British people outside the campus. Some miss their families; many are curious about the real life of Britain.

That’s why HOST arranges for them to spend a day, weekend or three days at Christmas as guests in hospitable homes.

This is a great opportunity to get to know someone from another country, and help them to feel welcome.

As a volunteer host, you could enjoy introducing a student of your choice to your way of life and perhaps to their very first Christmas.

Please call me on 01472 851084 or visit www.hostuk.org Mandy Talbott Scunthorpe

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crosslincs

Church School wins top sporting prize Philip Craven The Church of England-sponsored St Lawrence Academy in Scunthorpe has won the prestigious ‘State School of the Year’ award at the recent Aviva/Telegraph School Sport Matters Awards.

The school’s PE Department was nominated by its pupils for going beyond the call of duty with its activities and bespoke curriculum.

England rugby legend Will Greenwood, who compèred at the awards ceremony, praised the school: “St Lawrence Academy has generated cultural change and shifted attitudes. This PE team have been nominated by one of their pupils for their ultimate dedication, not only to arranging sports tours and sports awards, but they have a bespoke curriculum with Scunthorpe United, allowing pupils to train there, to organise festivals and build relationships to allow work experience for pupils who want to experience a career in sport. It’s an incredible array of choices”.

A pupil from St Lawrence’s said, “We were really surprised. We’re just a little school but we’re extremely proud. Winning’s not something that happens to people from Scunthorpe very often”.

Swimming legend Duncan Goodhew (left) with staff and pupils from St Lawrence Academy and Zoe Smith (right), School Sport Matters Awards Female Pupil of the Year in 2011

For the love of trees Ash dieback threatens many thousands of trees across Britain and beyond Terry Miller LCS Environmental Chaplain

Our trees are dying – now it’s the ash dieback disease. It seems so recent in memory that our elm trees were turning brown before our eyes from Dutch Elm disease.

Great giants, beloved of John Constable, were shedding bark and revealing what the activities of burrowing insects did for them.

Since then we have become familiar with troubled trees – chestnuts, oaks, larches – the roll call goes on. We have to ask if this is the early effect of climate change enabling the spread of disease into temperate areas?

Is it the counterpart of insects bringing disease to sheep and cows and other animals? Is this the equivalent of the foot and mouth crisis for Natural England and the Forestry Authority? What is our strategy?

What shall we do? How do we value our natural environment?

There is a serious moral question as we face this challenge. What kind of world do we want? How do we value our trees? It is no wonder that many people have raised the questions – writers and commentators, environmentalists and Bishops, scientists

and the concerned public.

The world is changing – it is no good simply hiding from this. When our elms had died on the farm I cut them down and used the timber for seats and furniture. They were vast and beautiful and their presence was missed. Even the small saplings were affected. Now with multiple attacks we need a strategy – it isn’t enough to leave it to nature with her long timescales to heal and bring transformation.

On human timescales we will see devastation as woods, hedgerows, copses, gardens, and parks open up. As with the elms, if we cannot combat it on a large scale we must adapt, but this requires a commitment to our environment – for the sake of quality green infrastructure that supports human wellbeing, for eco-system services, for habitats and biodiversity. We shall also lose valuable material for construction and carpentry.

We need advice on what to replace these trees with, the loss of which will begin to make a dramatic impact in two to five years. We need to begin planting now.

This is planning on a vast scale and government should treat this with a high level of importance. Strategically we need to look at an early warning quick action system to limit these developments in the future – the near future.

This is of particular importance in Lincolnshire where tree cover is already among the lowest in the UK, at less than four per cent of the land. In the scale of importance trees are critical for our survival, enriching soil, keeping the earth on hillsides, providing homes for myriad insects and other creatures, essential to the web of life of which we are a part. They absorb carbon dioxide and give out oxygen.

Just as importantly, trees lift our spirits as they put on new dress and cast off the old to mark the passing of the seasons, the cycle of the year, that charts the passage of time, the years of our life.

Trees fill our imaginations. It was one of the great things that in planting a tree you probably do so for future generations. It is an act of generosity to the future. They will be grateful.

Youthlincs

Pull-out supplement

A crosslincs special supplement

www.lincoln.anglican.org/youth

Play Time?

Used with kind permission of Children’s Ministry Australia - LUKE ROBERTS

Judith Dickin and Dave Rose CA Everyone knows about Godly Play – or at least they think that they do. Even though it has been around in this Diocese for over ten years with articles, training events, visits and talks, there are still misconceptions about just what it is all about. People can engage with Godly Play at many different levels, taking elements of the process and adapting it to their own situation, but in its most ‘complete’ form, Godly Play lessons are based on a Eucharistic liturgy and take place within a sacred space.

In each session there is The Greeting, The Preparation and The Feast.

‘Godly Play’ uses quality artefacts, objects

The Diocese of Lincoln Children and Youth Service Edward King House Minster Yard Lincoln LN2 1PU 01522 50 40 67

and images to tell sacred stories and parables and to explore liturgical events during the church’s year.

Scripted stories are shared within a sacred space, and in a circle.

Children, young people and adults are invited to share their ‘reflection’ on the story or liturgical action through a set of open ended ‘Wondering Questions’ – ‘I wonder what ...’, ‘I wonder if ...’, ‘I wonder where ...’; this is followed by a personal physical response through a range of art, craft and other kinaesthetic materials. This is a time, when the pace is slowed, a time to be amazed at the thoughtful responses of others, a time when individuals are valued, a time when faith and fellowship are fostered.

Lastly there is a fellowship meal of grapes and matzo, with echoes of the Eucharist.

‘Godly Play’ follows the Montessori tradition of education, using all the senses to explore learning and meaning. It embraces current educational emphasis on child initiated learning.

The theology of ‘Godly Play’ was developed by Jerome Berryman, an American Priest, and is supported in the United Kingdom through the ‘Godly Play’ Foundation, www.godlyplay.org.uk headed by Dr. Rebecca Nye, a leading authority on research into Children’s spiritual development at Cambridge University.

As part of our support for Godly Play Practitioners in the Diocese; the Diocese of Lincoln Children and Youth Service (DoLCYS), in co-operation with the Education Department, aim to provide at least two training events every year.

The three-day training event in Spring

“Enabling young people to be healthy, stay safe enjoy, achieve and make a positive contribution.”

Autumn 2012

2012 (the third in the latest series) was well attended and very well received, and we hope that it will be followed by another one in Spring 2014. These are usually led by a member of the Godly Play National Training Team, and lead to accreditation as a Godly Play Practitioner. Autumn 2011 saw the first of our ‘themed’ training days, Judy Dickin leading the participants through use of the Advent and Christmas material; this was followed in Spring 2012 with a similar day exploring the theme of Lent and Easter.

Further ‘themed’ days are planned, with ‘The People of God’ – the Exodus – being the focus for 10 February 2013 and a day looking at some of the Parables in the Autumn of that year.

Judy will also be delivering short ‘Taster’ workshops at the DoLCYS Roadshows – the next one is planned for 2 March 2013 – venue to be announced. We are very grateful to Judy for giving her time to act as a Godly Play trainer and ambassador, working with schools and parishes to help them utilise this very effective process of communicating God’s Word. Judy can be contacted via this office (Parishes) or Education (Schools).

A selection of Godly Play Artefacts are available to borrow from DoLCYS. These are lent free of charge to groups or individuals who register with us. We are very grateful to Helen Sims for agreeing to coordinate this resource – she is contactable at: wh.m.sims@btinternet.com Borrowable Godly Play material includes: ρρ The Holy Family ρρ Advent ρρ The Good Shepherd (Parable) ρρ Mystery of Easter ρρ Jesus & the Twelve ρρ Good Shepherd & World Communion ρρ Synagogue & Upper Room Reflective Storytelling Material (very similar to Godly Play) includes: ρρ Jonah and the Whale ρρ The Story of Joseph ρρ Feeding the 5,000 ρρ Adam & Eve

Youthlincs

The Harvest is Waiting Dave Rose CA When it comes to children and youth work there is always a demand to be met and countless opportunities for work – as long as basic procedure is followed and firm foundations laid at the beginning, there will be a ministry to younger members of the parish. The harvest is ripe for plucking but the difficulty is often finding those who will succeed and work well with the young.

One of the saddest phone calls for someone in my line of work is the one that goes “we have had to close down our youth and children’s clubs because their leaders have left and we can’t find anyone else to do it…”

This problem isn’t unique to the Church of England either; uniformed groups – the backbone of secular children’s work, are always looking for fresh volunteers. Similarly, small community-based groups start up and shut down with frightening regularity as key people move on or have to pull out. The government’s tightening of the purse strings and promotion of ‘Big Society’ means that local authorities’ youth provision has dwindled and there is ever-more pressure on the small pool of people qualified and willing to work with children and young people.

Prudent planning should prevent the worst of the effects if a key figure has to leave a group for some reason. There are a number of support structures that can be put in place now: ρρ Young people can be trained as Junior Leaders in a recognised, ageappropriate ministry; ρρ A policy and practice of all-inclusive ministry teams should be encouraged, as it is often easier to get those already volunteering to move into youth ministry than it is to get people to volunteer in the first place; ρρ Enabling and encouraging a theologically reflective approach to Christian life is crucial to stability and continuance of youth mission.

In the past I have seen youth work as a ‘bridge’ activity – something that builds a link between the church and wider communities. I once worked in a parish where I recruited some people who worked at the local laundry – not church members – as youth workers. They wanted to offer something to the community and were happy to do so in a Christian context; they started by offering their time but soon grew to offer themselves to Christ.

Northern adventure

A group of young people from the Diocese travelled over the summer to spend a week exploring the country of a counterpart group in Sweden.

As well as the usual Summer trips to Taizé and Walsingham, a small number of young people from the Diocese joined a youth camp in Sweden as guests of the Diocese of Härnösand, a twinned diocese which is part of the Lutheran Church of Sweden.

Dave Rose CA, Children & Youth Officer youth@lincoln.anglican.org 01522 50 40 67 • 07850 20 32 79

After leaving Lincoln at 2am and travelling by almost every conceivable means of travel, the group arrived at Sundsvall in the evening in time to join the local youth group who were hosting a BBQ; however, an exhausting day’s travel necessitated an early bedtime Suzanne Starbuck, Project Worker suzanne.starbuck@lincoln.anglican.org 01522 50 40 68 • 07850 20 32 81

Some might not be comfortable approaching recruitment in this manner, preferring that volunteers be churchgoing beforehand, but in the context of an open youth club this approach could work well, though it might not be the right one for a Sunday school.

It can be argued that there are only three basic responses to a perceived demand for youth and children’s clubs: the first is to roll up your sleeves and get stuck in; the second is to get someone else to do something, either by persuasion or payment – your council tax is the traditional method or doing this; the third is to do absolutely nothing.

If the second is your main option – getting someone else to do something about the demand – then it may be worth trying the local Volunteer Centres; however, remember that PCCs should follow the Diocesan guidelines on appointing a volunteer, not accepting just whomever turns up, and PCCs will need to pay travelling expenses.

Alternatively PCCs could employ someone. This could be a trained session worker (two workers for one session a week would cost roughly between four and five thousand pounds) or a full-time professionally qualified worker (this would cost roughly

the same as a parish priest, depending on experience).

Another alternative would be to sponsor a student. They could be studying for a Foundation Degree, BA, or MA in a qualification in Children’s, Youth, School or Family work, or other related degree. Bishop Grosseteste University College (BGUC) in Lincoln and the Centre for Youth Ministry in Nottingham have some particularly good students and courses. Parishes could expect between 12 and 20 hours of work each week from student workers.

Finally, BGUC is often looking for placements for students to volunteer so as to gain experience in working with children or young people – I have three students looking to do a dozen hours a week at the time of writing. BGUC volunteers are often Lincoln-based but there are some who may travel or be based elsewhere.

and the local Kyrkoherde – literally ‘Church Herder’ – or Vicar, Jan From, was most helpful in sorting sleeping arrangements.

The following morning was spent in glorious sunshine exploring Sundsvall – the more adventurous of the group on Segways. Fortunately, the torrential rain held off until the groups got onto coaches to travel the four hours – including the obligatory moose-viewing stops – to Vålådalen, a mountainside resort close to Norway.

The camp at Vålådalen was for young confirmed Lutherans between 17 and 18 years old from the Diocese of Härnösand, who were nearing the end of their ‘leadership’ training – in all there were more than 500 of them!

As well as the programme for young leaders there were training workshops for their leaders, which was a healthy mixture of lay and ordained people. Each day started and ended with a Eucharist with representatives from the Diocese of Lincoln helping to administer the sacrament during the final service.

The young people who went on the trip had a fantastic time and made contacts and friends who they are still in touch with through Facebook.

The youth group leaders from the Diocese of Lincoln also learnt a lot about their twinned-diocese’s approach to youth work: “I found the similarities and the differ-

ence in our approaches to working with young people and Christian nurture really interesting,” said Dave Rose CA. “Their diocese spends nearly three times as much on just their confirmation programme as we are able to spend on the whole DoLCYS effort, and they’re also able to spend on areas such as training sessions for workers on how to deal with homophobia.

“Add to that a bottomless supply of cakes for the young people and it’s easy to see how they are so successful in their efforts with young people.”

It is hoped that there will be return trips from the Diocese of Lincoln and that, at some point in the future, a group from Härnösand will be able to visit this Diocese and enjoy all it has to offer.

Mark Eades-Jones, Youth Animateur mark.eades-jones@lincoln.anglican.org 01522 50 40 69 • 07850 20 32 82

If you think you can help or have any questions about finding children and youth workers or setting up groups the please contact Dave Rose CA, Children and Youth Officer. youth@lincoln.anglican.org 01522 50 40 67

Above: Touring Sundsvall on Segways.

Top Left: On a trek near the mountain camp at Vålådalen. DAVE ROSE CA Jane Leighton, Youth Administrator jane.leighton@lincoln.anglican.org 01522 50 40 65

Youthlincs

New initiative: ‘We are family’ An initiative at St Andrew’s Church in Cranwell has started up and is gaining momentum.

The new ‘We Are Family’ services began in early September and have been repeated monthly ever since.

The idea is that each family will be invited to join in with Children’s worship and with the other exciting activities they do.

The new initiative was started by Jane Hansford, who had the idea of starting a family service after attending a ‘Missionshaped Introduction evening’ run by Andrew Tyler, the outgoing Lay Ministry and Discipleship Officer.

After contacting Suzanne Starbuck, the DoLCYS Parish Support Worker, and outlining her vision and the resources required, the idea was developed for the September launch.

The service was attended by small group of children and their families, who enjoyed singing, storytime, playing musical instruments, making decorative fish and planting lemon seeds to grow. The theme of the worship was ‘New beginnings’ and focussed on the idea of the disciples as ‘Fishers of Men’.

At the end of the afternoon the children were given shoe boxes for the Christmas ‘Operation Christmas Child’ appeal and suggestions of what to put in it.

Training and support Local Training

A new training course for people working with Children has been launched this Autumn. Delivered across three separate centres – Holbeach, Branston and Horncastle – the course offers a basic introduction for people working with children up to age 14.

The training covers: ρρ Principles and Values of Children’s Work – Two Evenings; ρρ Development in Children - One Day & One Evening; ρρ Relationships – Communication & Contracting – Two Evenings; ρρ Safe to Start – One Day. As well as the participants benefiting from the training themselves, it is hoped that some will go on to become trainers in their own right, passing the training on in their own Parishes and Deaneries.

If there are Parishes or Deaneries who

would like to be part of the second tranche of training events – after Easter 2013 – then please contact Dave Rose CA, Diocesan Children & Youth Officer, at youth@lincoln.anglican.org

Support for PCCs

The responsibilities and liabilities that PCC members take on when they put their hand up at the Parish AGM can be both frightening and misunderstood; for work with Children or Young People this starts with the way a project is set up, includes appointing workers (employed or volunteer) and flows on through adequate training, support & supervision, insurance, risk assessments …

Help is at hand – if any PCC that either has or is considering work with Children or Young People, and would like someone from the DoLCYS team to provide a basic

Valuing Volunteers DoLYCS recently held a Celebration & Commissioning of Children’s and Youth Workers in the Cathedral followed by a reception in the Cathedral Centre.

As part of Choral Evensong, The Rt Revd Tim Ellis, Bishop of Grantham, commissioned the DoLCYS team (Mark EadesJones, Suzanne Starbuck, Dave Rose CA and Jane Leighton – sadly our Youth Reader, Jill Wilson, was not able to join us), and those workers from Parishes and Projects who were able to attend.

Using the following words Bishop Tim commissioned those present: “As we give thanks for all called to work with Children & Young People in this Diocese,

audit and/or training package, then please contact The Diocesan Children and Youth Officer.

Awards for PCCs Since the quality of work with Children or Young People is the responsibility of the PCC, the Diocese of Lincoln operates the Bishops’ Best Practice Awards, which recognise high-quality provision for children and young people, not just by process – the way the work is done – but also by outcomes, the effect on children or young people and the wider community.

The Bronze Award – covers having the correct policies and procedures in place, The Silver Award – is about actually delivering safe work with Children or Young People The Gold Award – is for recordable, evidenced positive outcomes for children or young people as a result of that work A Distinction is awarded when those positive outcomes flow out to the wider community.

The Awards are evidence based, and time limited, so if you already have an award – check the date, they need renewing every two years!

For more details of the Bishops’ Best Practice Awards or the related Church Children’s Achievement Awards and Bishop’s Youth Achievement Awards, which recognise the achievement and service of Children and Young People, please contact the Diocesan Children and Youth Officer.

let us celebrate the dedication and commitment of our Youth Team – be they based in Parishes, Projects or in the Diocesan Offices - and pray God’s blessing upon all that they do in His name.

Friends and colleagues in Christ, I commission you to the tasks that God has set before you; That you may show the Love of God the Father That you may demonstrate the compassion of God the Son That you may be open to the leadership and strengthening of God the Holy Spirit.

May he bring to completion in you the good work he has begun.

AMEN” Dave Rose CA with volunteers at the Cathedral Centre. MARK EADES-JONES

DoLCYS Valued Worker Badge. PHILIP CRAVEN

As well as the commissioning, Bishop Tim presented Caroline Ridgway – Formation Commander for the Church Lads & Church Girls Brigade in the Diocese - with an Officer Service Medal for Outstanding

Service to the Brigade. Caroline also serves as a representative on the DoLCYS Council of Reference.

As part of the Celebrations in the Cathe-

dral Centre following Evensong, the workers were presented with a small ‘Valued Worker’ enamelled badge as a token of appreciation.

Youthlincs

A sublime success A Heritage Lottery funded diocesan project has held its first major event during the summer months.

Green Reflections, which is run by DoLCYS, is for young people from all walks of life between the ages of 13 and 25, and in August it held its inaugural event, a camp at Hill Holt Wood.

The focus of this year’s camp was traditional building skills with a hope that it would encourage a greater appreciation of some of the diocese’s amazing churches and the master craftsmen who built them, as well as being fun skills to learn on their own.

The young people arrived on a Monday evening and immediately launched into setting up camp and exploring the woods around it. Afterwards everyone congregated for a BBQ and an evening making music with a variety of instruments and practicing juggling.

The second day was started with breakfast in the fresh air before commencing a lime-rendering workshop. The workshop’s lead ranger demonstrated how to mix the lime render properly and each prepared their own before applying it to their own practice frames.

After mastering the basic skills and getting a good even surface, the afternoon was spent personalising their renderings and coming up with interesting design ideas for them.

All in all the camp was deemed a success by the young campers, who expressed a desire for a longer event in the future. So

Above: mixing traditional lime render. Left: playing drums before BBQ. SUZANNE STARBUCK

successful was it in fact, that one of the participants has already booked onto all the events planned up to February 2013.

“We’re so glad that the campers have enjoyed themselves and learnt a new skill

over the few days we’ve had here,” said Suzanne Starbuck, DoLCYS Parish Project Worker.

“I’m excited about the future of this project and hope that it continues to grow.

We’re very grateful to Hill Holt Wood for all they’ve done and to Lincoln Cathedral who have agreed to give us stone offcuts for the

stone masonry workshop in February.”

Future Events: Tuesday 5 February - Stone Masonry Saturday 23 February - Celebration Event Please contact Suzanne Starbuck if you would like to book onto any event.

Bring your congregation together this Christmas and transform lives in Ethiopia by holding a collection for WaterAid’s Drops of Joy appeal, your congregation can reach across continents and change lives forever in the village of Layhte and across Ethiopia.

Order your free Christmas Drops of Joy droplet cards and you can share your prayers with the congregation in Layhte. You can hang them on your Christmas tree to make it a symbol of the joy you’re bringing through your collection.

Please order your free Christmas resources at www.wateraid.org/dropsofjoy now or call 020 7793 4594 for more information.

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High-up in Westminster The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman

Will Harrison At a dizzying height above the administrative centre of our country, a brightly-decorated office accommodates a team of people working hard to right the wrongs done to people when they are at their most vulnerable or anxious.

The view from the desk of the Lead Clinician in the Clinical Directorate of the Parliamentary and Health Ombudsman takes in sights not only familiar to the world, but which resonate with a life and career spent largely in the capital.

Born just down the road from where the Ombudsman’s offices – in Millbank Tower – now stands, Susan Lowson has been educated, trained, courted and married in London’s west end. And for the past 11 years, first as an adviser and now as the line manager for the large number of professional advisers, she has worked to help mend the problems people might experience in their healthcare.

“The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman takes complaints from people who have had a bad experience, be it in their healthcare or in their dealings with regional Government departmental offices,” said Susan.

“I work on the health side, so if people are dissatisfied with their level of care they would make a complaint to the healthcare provider locally.

“If then the response is not satisfactory, we then get involved.

“A lot of the time, it is quite simply that clinicians don’t know how to say sorry. Usually, that’s what people want, for it to be acknowledged that they haven’t been treated very well.”

Susan explained that the Ombudsman, Dame Julie Mellor, encourages complaints departments in local NHS trusts to handle things in the most appropri-

Susan Lowson ensures people’s healthcare is properly and carefully provided. WILL HARRISON ate and sensitive way.

“However, a lot of complaints that come to us we then sort out,” said Susan.

“A front-of-house team takes calls from the public, and then will contact the appropriate body, be it the local NHS Trust or a town’s Job Centre, and ask why appropriate action hasn’t been taken.

“Because the Ombudsman is then involved, things are often resolved quickly at that stage.”

Many cases are the result of poor communication, and have included a bereaved daughter being told that ‘death is rarely an ideal situation for anyone’, and a surgeon who told a patient that he was behaving like a baby. Once the Ombudsman is involved in such a case, an appropriate apology is usually given swiftly.

But the cases can be medically very complicated, which is when the case workers get involved.

They compile the detail of the case, and then a team of expert

clinicians, managed by Susan, provide advice and an assessment of what happened, what should have happened, and the impact if things went wrong.

Susan has a team of 20 Londonbased expert clinicians, who give a day a week outside of their regular jobs in NHS practice to provide that assessment and advice. Another team of 20 is based in Manchester, managed by Susan’s counterpart there. A large number of associate clinicians are available for the particularly specialised investigations.

Having qualified as a nurse at Westminster Children’s Hospital, Susan later went to St Thomas’s, but being married to a young priest (now, of course, Bishop of Lincoln), it was inevitable that they, and their young family, would move to new posts.

So having settled, for a while at least, in Hampshire, Susan worked in Southampton as a senior nurse and later a director

of nursing, when she took a particular interest in the complaints procedures in the local NHS Trust.

“I had the opportunity to reform the way complaints were handled, and when the chance arose to work for the Ombudsman, I jumped at it,” she said.

It is acknowledged that clergy stipends are not handsome so Susan has been pleased to able to contribute to the family’s budget.

While Christopher was an incumbent, and later Archdeacon, in Hampshire, that meant a daily commute from the south coast to London, but the fortunate opportunity to re-establish the family back in the capital, as her husband later took up the job as Director of the Ministry Division for the Archbishop’s Council.

And in the meantime, Susan’s parents were getting increasingly frail, and depended on the support of their only child. At the beginning of November this year, Susan’s father, Bill, died, making

ρρ The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) comprises the offices of the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration (PCA) and the Health Service Commissioner for England (HSC). ρρ The Ombudsman is responsible for considering complaints by the public that UK Government departments, public authorities and the National Health Service in England have not acted properly or fairly or have provided a poor service. ρρ In 2011-12, the Ombudsman handled just under 24,000 enquiries about Government departments and agencies and the NHS in England. ρρ The Ombudsman is appointed by the Crown on the recommendation of the Prime Minister and is accountable to Parliament. The Ombudsman is independent of both the Government and the civil service and reports annually to both Houses of Parliament. it particularly important for her to be on hand to support her mother.

Susan said: “It isn’t easy not to be with Christopher in Lincoln during the week. When he was appointed Bishop it was a little difficult to come to terms with the fact that we both have a vocation to follow.

“We have begun to get into the rhythm of being apart during the week, and I absolutely love my weekends in Lincoln.

“It is wonderful to be able to join Christopher on his Sunday morning visits in the Diocese, often down long and winding roads. It’s a sadness to us both that as it’s such a large diocese, we may well not do the same journey twice.”

Susan has become quickly accustomed to being married to a Bishop.

“It’s strange, but lovely to see his name on the front pages,” she said. 

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Ecclesiastical Law and The Chancellor of the Diocese, Circuit Judge and Non-Stipendiary Minister Mark Bishop describes how law complements mission.

When I was first appointed Chancellor in 2008 I read a history of the Diocese of Lincoln during the time of Henry VIII when the Diocese was of course one of the largest and richest in Europe extending to include Woburn and Oxford and south of the Thames.

In his pursuit of the Church’s wealth in this diocese on behalf of the king, Thomas Cromwell directed the then Chancellor of the Diocese to visit some villages in the north of the Diocese to persuade them of the need to give up all their silver to the King: I was interested (and increasingly alarmed) to read that the villagers were having none of it and the Chancellor was seized by the villagers and hanged.

And of course this was at around the time of the great Pilgimage of Grace when the people of the north and also from this diocese marched south to bring to the attention of the King the great injustices that were happening during the time of the reformation. And we know how that rebellion, as it was understood by the King to be, was treated in those savage days of the 16th Century.

A century later this Diocese was home to another great movement of dissent with the Scrooby Separatists, and the parishioners of Boston who were unable to accept what they saw as the compromises of the Prayer Book in the preaching and teaching of the Gospel, felt unable to stay in this diocese or even in this kingdom and at great risk to themselves sailed to Holland and eventually Massachusetts where they could worship as their consciences permitted them.

Those two moments in our history illustrate the extraordinary contribution that people from this Diocese have played, not just in the history and development of the Church of England, but also the growth of the Church in the world and even the founding of a nation in the USA. But these historic examples also illustrate what can go wrong in a church when the rule of law is not present; when instead of law there is simply the rule of the mighty and powerful king, the person with the biggest army, as in the time of the Pilgrimage of Grace.

Then those Lincolnshire vil-

“People often view law and perhaps law and order only in negative terms.” © GUNNAR3000 - FOTOLIA.COM lagers had no rights to object to what was proposed to be done to their silver; they had no right to be heard; to petition; to argue. They had to stand by and watch their church being plundered by those with power and their response was to be predicted: it was equally destructive and negative as they hanged the Chancellor.

Equally the second example illustrates what can go wrong when dissent is ignored or not tolerated; when the voice of the minority does not feel that it has been heard and had their opportunity to speak: again the rule of law always provides such an opportunity for all voices to be heard and for arguments to be weighed and considered and then a judgement reached. And as we all know when at times we are in a minority, if we feel that our opinion has been listened to and heard out

and the arguments have been weighed fairly and dispassionately, it is so much easier for the life of the community to continue, for that dissent to be respected and valued and woven into the fabric of the life of community, even if it is not a path the community follows.

This article is about how the law and particularly ecclesiastical law is part of the ministry of the Gospel; how it is part of God’s outpouring of Himself into all His Creation and for all His Creation.

How can that be? Surely we live under grace, not law? Didn’t Paul say that the law kills but the spirit gives life (2 Cor 3.6); are we not told in the Christmas Gospel that the law was given through Moses but the grace and truth came through Jesus Christ (John 1.17). Christianity is of course not a religion of law unlike Judaism or

Islam: we are all familiar with the Gospel accounts of Our Lord being watched and criticised by the Pharisees as he cures the sick on the Sabbath and as his disciples pluck the heads of corn to eat as they walk through the fields on the Sabbath day. And of course as soon as we hear in a Gospel reading that Our Lord is being approached by a lawyer with a question, we know that this is the Gospel-writer’s shorthand saying ‘here is an enemy of the Lord’.

Lawyers do not receive good press in the Gospels. It is good for lawyers to remind themselves that it was a trial process that began the Passion of Our Lord on Good Friday. So perhaps it is not surprising that we Christians, steeped in this, have a somewhat jaundiced view of the law when applied to the work of the church: how can the law be part of this growth of

“Lawyers do not receive good press in the Gospels.”

the Kingdom of God from the tiny mustard seed into the great plant? Surely law is a constraint? A check? Something that condemns and prevents growth – the very opposite of the work of the Gospel?

I think all of this is to misunderstand what law is – both law in the setting of the Church and within our secular society too. I think we have to go back to our very roots of our Judaeo-Christian understanding of God at work in the world. Chapter one, verse one of Genesis: ‘in the beginning God created heaven and earth’ when by word of command, he commanded man to go forth and multiply.

We are told of how God takes something that is without form and void, and out of it created something that was ordered, structured and good. For the Christians of Corinth the spirit infused them with spectacular gifts, yet Paul says this should be no recipe for a babble of charismatic chaos ‘for God is not a God of confusion but of peace’ (1 Cor 14.33).

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the Gospel For me this means that the starting point is that God is a God of order, and that is the foundation stone of all law, which includes ecclesiastical law.

I think part of the problem is that people often view law, and perhaps also law and order, only in negative terms – in terms of punishment and offences committed; just as they see the role of a judge in a court as someone only concerned with passing a sentence which punishes and condemns. Sometimes this false picture of a secular judge carries over, alarmingly, into a theology of what the divine judge, God himself, is like, a God of judgement means to those who hold this view, that God condemns and punishes and is angry. But of course human judgement – let alone divine judgement – is not the same thing as condemnation and punishment.

Judgement is about attentiveness to what is said, listening with care, sifting, weighing, understanding, and above all discerning where truth may lie. Now of course from that judgement may flow a response which may involve punishment, but there may

also be reparation, restoration and reformation. And any human judge is seeking to participate, however imperfectly and hopelessly at times, in nothing less than the creative, life-giving life of a God of love who listens and discerns and weighs and understands and judges.

If this is what judging is about, then law must be about this too.

The law is about due process and the judge is the guarantor of that due process – it is about permitting the dissenting voice to be heard so that their arguments can be considered and weighed. In this Diocese of all dioceses that argument must carry weight: another great Lincolnshire dissenter, John Wesley, illustrates this graphically: he had to stand on his father’s memorial in the churchyard at Epworth to preach because he had been excluded from the parish church for his dis-

sent. The Scrooby Separatists felt unable to participate in the life of the Church because their dissent was not permitted to be heard.

It may be that they would have separated from the Church in any event – who knows? – but without due process, without providing a forum, a place at the centre of the community guaranteeing that your objective will be considered and weighed and a fair judgement reached, every community will rupture, divide and separate.

The due process and the judgements that are reached mean for me that ecclesiastical law is about facilitating and enabling the life of the church to flourish and thrive.

In 1947 the Archbishop’s Commission on Canon Law wrote this: “The Church has in fact authority to make only such rules as will further its purpose as an institution for the help of men in their following of our Lord, and which

will prevent anything creeping into its life that may hinder it from performing its proper functions.”

The law of the Church is there to help us follow our Lord, and prevent things from creeping into our common life that may hinder that development. A similar thing was written by Pope John Paul II in 1983 in his promulgation of a Code of Canons for the Roman Catholic Church.

The code is not intended as a substitute for faith, grace and charity in the life of the church, but he says, “on the contrary its purpose is rather to create such an order in the ecclesial society that while assigning the primacy to love grace and charity, it at the same time renders their organic development easier in the life of both the ecclesial society (ie the church) and the individual person who belongs to it.”

What all this comes to is that I

“Ecclesiastical law is both incarnational and sacramental because it is about enabling grace”

believe that ecclesiastical law is assisting the organic development of the life of love, grace and charity in both the Church and in the lives of the Christians who belong to it. In this way ecclesiastical law is both incarnational and sacramental because it is about enabling grace, it is about the outpouring of the love of God into His creation, enabling it to flow through the veins of our community and our world. There is a phrase that I have read which says that ecclesiastical law is the ‘handmaid of grace’ and that seems, to me, to sum up what I am saying.

I hope therefore that when people become impatient with the time that it takes to advertise a Petition in the parish, you will pause and think that this is OK – it is part of a process where we are permitting all voices to be heard.

We are a Church in which everybody has a voice that counts.

In the process of listening to the voices with which you disagree, this is a process which is divinely inspired and that seeks to bring order; in Paul’s words ‘for God is not a God of confusion but of peace.’ 

100 years ago

From the Lincoln Diocesan Magazine, December 1912 and January 1913

Lincoln Diocesan Finance With the commencement of the year 1913 the scheme of Diocesan Finance, framed by the Diocesan Trust and Board of Finance, in accordance with the report of the Archbishops’ Committee, and adopted by the conference in November last, will begin to take effect.

The objects which it is desired to support are all Diocesan in their character, and four of the six are intended to assist the clergy, viz. training, maintenance, pensions, and widows and orphans, while the remaining two deal with church building and restoration and religious education.

A very superficial examination of the subscription lists of the existing Diocesan charities for these purposes discloses two striking facts:— 1. The very inadequate total sum raised in this great Diocese.

2. The very small number of parishes and of individual subscribers who contribute to this total sum.

Thus, out of some 600 parishes in the

Diocese, about 100 have not in the past given even one collection a year to the Sunday Fund, and the lists of individual subscribers show the same names constantly re-appearing, while many others are conspicuous by their absence. That there is a need for large additional funds in manifest.

How many of our beneficed clergy are still struggling along on stipends of well under £200 a year? How many incumbents in large town parishes are quite unable to find the salary of a curate? How many old and worn out clergy, after giving the best years of their lives to their parishes, know that they ought to be making way for younger and more active men, but are quite unable to do so because they have not the means on which to retire?

Church of England Temperance Society A vitally interesting book to temperance workers is “The Great Acceptance, the Life Story of T. N. Charrington.” Charrington, the son of a wealthy brewer, experienced

a very definite spiritual crisis early in his life, he still went on with his brewing.

One night, passing a public house, he saw a woman with two or three children go to the swing door and call her husband, “Tom, do give me some money, the children are crying for food.” The man came out, looked at her for a moment, and then knocked her down into the gutter. Just then the young brewer looked up and saw his own name in gilt letters over the house.

In a moment the trust flashed into his mind, here was a sample case of the brutality being fostered by the public houses which his firm posessed. He realised the enormity of the curse caused by intemperance, “And then and there I said to myself (in reference to the man who had assualted his wife). Well, you have knocked your wife down, and with the same blow you have knocked me out of the brewing business.”

He went to his father and relinquished his share in what would have meant a million and a quarter pounds on his father’s death.

Charrington is now 62 years of age, and his life since that eventful night has been one long attempt to arrest the drift of human sin, especially intemperance and immorality.

Stoke Rochford On Sunday, Dec. 22nd, an interesting ceremony took place in the parish church of Stoke, when the Rector, the Bishop of Grantham, dedicated a new altar and altar vessels to the service of God. The altar, which is the gift of Mr. Christopher Turnor, the owner of Stoke Hall and parish, is constructed of oak known to be over one thousand years old, and mentioned in the Domesday Book.

It is a very chaste design, and is a remarkable addition to the church.

It is interesting to note in connection with this service that the early celebration took place in the Cholmeley Chapel (to which the altar had been removed to make place for the new one), this, most probably, being the first celebration in the chapel since the Reformation.

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Developing the future Jeffrey Heskins Director of Ordinands and Vocations Writing in The Guardian recently Andrew Brown went in search of what he described as ‘the worst jobs in the Church of England,’ (Wanted: new archbishop of Canterbury – must have plans to fill the pews. 31 October 2012) and proceeded to paint a rather grey picture of life in the Church of England and particularly in rural dioceses (naming Truro, Hereford, Lincoln and Carlisle.)

What he encountered, however, were some realistic but quite upbeat parish clergy who described life as busy, but far from grey, and a calling that was to what one described as ‘the best job in the world.’

From a personal point of view I could not agree more with these sentiments.

Responding to a sense of call all those years ago was the best thing I think I ever

Jeffrey Heskins In our downstairs cloakroom hangs a small collection of my college photographs. In the mid-1970s I attended a faculty of theology that boasted more than 200 students and eight professors who were ordained members of the Church of England and felt they had a calling to teach ordinands.

Most of us in those college glamour shots were part of a theological Club 18-30. It was the norm. Somewhere around that time in the selection process it became fashionable to send young ordinands away and advise them to get some experience of life.

It was a bad mistake which Donald Coggan at his enthronement sermon as Archbishop of Canterbury tried to remedy, with a rallying cry that the Church should encourage the young to see parish ministry as the best life experience you could hope for. He was right, but the damage was done. Since then the number of young vocations steadily slipped and it is only now that we are beginning to see a turn-around.

Do not misunderstand. There is much to be gained from the wisdom of the mature vocation too, but that wisdom needs to influence youth which can sometimes feel alone. We have a growing number of young vocations in the Diocese of Lincoln and recently I found myself in the company of Alice Jolley, who at 17 is one of the youngest at present to be exploring a sense of calling from God to ordination.

The story Alice has to tell in one sense is not unusual, but for her, until she told it to me and I was able to share with her that there were others like her, it seemed almost as though God had cast her in an impossible role.

Alice lives in north Scunthorpe with her parents and a younger sister. She is a student at John Leggott College and has been

did with my life, and finding that expressing itself in the business of encouraging vocations to flourish – (yes even in the ‘unglamorous’ Diocese of Lincoln, Andrew) – has been the best of the best.

Again and again I am deeply moved by the stories of people who cross my threshold to explore the unexpected.

As this has grown, the need to build a vocations team has grown with it. This article is first by way of introducing the two assistant directors of ordinands and vocations and the new young vocations officer who work alongside me with the 25 or so vocations advisers in the diocese, and to encourage anyone reading this to be in touch should they feel the need.

There are some green shoots in all that greyness.

It is secondly to introduce some of those green shoots each at different points of the discernment process and to ask the question: could this be you?

Alice Jolley (17) is exploring her vocation to the ordained ministry.

wondering about ordination since she was 14. She attends All Saints, Flixborough where she is a member of the PCC, a member of a small congregation and occasionally takes a share in leading worship.

In a culture that has fallen for the propaganda that all church-related interest is on the decline, I wondered what was still attractive about the Church of England that led her to entertain thoughts of ordination.

She spoke movingly of how she first felt this and how hard it was to share: “My feelings were more that this is what God wanted me to do and at first it was terrifying,” said Alice.

“There was never really a single moment when I knew I had a call, but it was more of something in me growing over time and it continued to grow until I could no longer avoid it.”

Alice went on to tell me that she did nothing about this at all for a couple of years because she was so embarrassed and was not at all comfortable thinking about it, but then she did work experience from her school and she asked to work with a Church of England vicar in parish ministry. She did the works – experiencing meetings, a funeral, home visits, leading some worship and even shared the sermon with the vicar at the end of the week.

“I was 15 at the time and it was like the lull before the storm,” she said.

“I began to feel the need to tell someone.

It was scary; I thought the Church wouldn’t want someone like me. Being at a catholic school was an excellent experience for me.

“I had met a lot of young Catholics who took their faith seriously, but I had not met many young Anglicans. The school was definitely the catalyst for my personal relationship with God. They let me believe that I was precious and valuable to God and that I could shine as a light in God’s world and I

thought – ‘that’s what I want to be.’”

The slowly forming thoughts expressed themselves in mumblings when people asked Alice what she wanted to do with her life. It is only recently that she has become more confident in declaring it out loud. I asked her when she had first ‘outed’ herself in a vocational sense.

“The first time I said anything properly was to my vicar,” said Alice.

“I told her, ‘I think God is calling me to ordained ministry’. It was a huge relief to say it to someone who took me seriously.

“When I said it we both laughed and she said, ’that’s the first time you have said that out loud isn’t it?’ We talked some more and then she suggested I might talk to Jeff.”

Not long after this Alice saw an advertisement for a young vocations conference. Her impulse was to go and it was a watershed in her exploration. I asked her what the experience was like.

“There were about 30 people there between the ages of 16 and 19. It was an amazing experience,” she said.

“I had thought I might be spending three days with some seriously strange people, but they were lovely – all different traditions and backgrounds, but we had one thing in common; we all thought we were on our own.

“I remember at one Morning Prayer looking around and thinking, ‘maybe I’m not mad then – or if I am we all are and we can be mad together’.”

During those days Alice told me that they spent time talking and thinking and praying about what ordained ministry is, how they looked at the selection criteria, visited two theological colleges and met the ordinands there who were in training.

“It was really encouraging to be there with those 29 others. We have stayed in touch and have a support network now,” she said.

“We have our own Facebook page. They all know I am sitting in Costa at Tesco in Scunthorpe giving you this interview.”

Alice is now quite reassured about her place in the grand scheme of things. She hopes to serve a gap year in a youth retreat centre before going to Durham University to study theology. After that, “We shall see,” she says. Meanwhile, I wonder what it is like as a young vocation in a small, rural congregation.

Alice is realistic but positive about this too: “It can be hard sometimes where everyone is older than you. On the one hand you wonder where can all this be taking me? On the other hand there are loads of really nice things. Small and friendly is warm and I think that there have been occasions when I have overlooked how much I have been nurtured and allowed to grow and be myself.

“There is wisdom and experience in congregations like that and it is so valuable. I think young people can be quick to dismiss older generations, but we have so much to learn from them, so much of their experience can help us with our present-day issues.”

I asked Alice what her hopes for any kind of future Church might be and she described a Church that was going to continue to change shape and how there would be many who would find that hard.

If she is to be ordained to lead a church she feels that she will be part of a generation of priests who will need a lot of patience and understanding, because people are not deliberately difficult and change makes us all vulnerable.

Alice is 17, but freely admits that she prefers certainty to change; but she also knows that there is not much of that in a life of faith.

She makes her final comment before we depart Costa in Tesco, Scunthorpe: “And that is alright because for me God is certain – and I want to live for God.” 

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Church Jeffrey Heskins If Alice Jolley is somewhere near the start of her vocational exploration with all the scary excitement that goes with it, then Kevin Dyke is in a different phase of wrestling with whatever it is that God is calling out of his life.

Kevin, who has been a familiar face in the church community at St Lawrence, Frodingham, is in his final year of training for ordination at the College of the Resurrection in Mirfield. It was a considered choice of training venue, but one in which he has come to appreciate the core Christian values of the Community of the Resurrection which have shaped the place over the years.

In particular there are the practical ways in which the Gospel is lived out as it was in places like Johannesburg, where the likes of Trevor Huddlestone influenced the lives of individuals such as Desmond Tutu, inspiring their call to ordained ministry.

Kevin will return to the Diocese of Lincoln next summer to serve a title in the parishes of Gainsborough, but this summer was spent gaining experience of life in Paraguay as the guest of a missionary society.

He reflected on that experience in his blog, and one of the first things he noticed was the social contrasts.

“Close to the Parliament Building and the Presidential Palace are very poor areas and shanty towns where houses are made of anything they can get their hands on,” he writes.

“Children won’t be going to school, rubbish is everywhere and drainage is nonexistent in these areas.”

It is into this context that the practical help of providing glasses at affordable prices for those with poor vision is the main objective. The need is great and Kevin describes the crowds who come to meet them. Something like a thousand pairs of spectacles get distributed. But there is more; and Kevin describes a deep sense of community in what he sees. Here are

people with few resources caring for each other.

“At Remansito we distributed glasses, did sewing and children’s activities,” writes Kevin.

“The toys we brought over to Paraguay get distributed to the Ludateca (Toy Library) and there were about 50 children there using it. At lunchtime the church feeds all the children in what is called a Comidor, a shared meal of rice, meat and vegetables.

We are back tomorrow – the need is great.”

In Paraguay Kevin finds a part of the Anglican Communion which takes nothing for granted and is vibrant and faithful in its worship. He describes worship with small as well as large congregations. There is a shortage of ordained ministers in much of the diocese and so the churches find alternative ways to celebrate Sunday worship.

At Rio Verde there is no priest and the worship is led by Dona Zuny, a licensed lay leader. She leads the congregation of about

Kevin Dyke

20 people through psalms and other scriptures. Not many men are present in this congregation as so many have to work away from the locality where unemployment is high. Faith is vibrant and shared readily with each other, but what he notices is that adaptability is important when things like electricity, which we take for granted, simply does not exist. After Morning Worship at Rio Verde he visited two more churches.

“We passed through Palo Blanco and came to Rosa Cue. There is a pastor called Osvaldo and his church is a timber structure with a metal roof,” writes Kevin.

“The Menonites donated the wood but his problem now is that the structure is not big enough. He regularly gets a congregation of 50 and at Christmas more than 300.

At Palo Azul we joined evening worship which started at 6pm in the dark with 20 people but had risen to 60 by the end.

“The service was done by torchlight because there was no electricity and the Pastor was visibly moved by our visit because we had come from the other side of the world. Here visiting is very important in the life of the community and by torchlight we introduced ourselves, shared a word and sang. It was a very humbling experience that will last long in the memory.”

People like Dona Zuny are key figures in their communities. Not only does she lead worship because there is no priest to cover her community, she knows the pastoral needs of the locality and which individuals need visiting. People in her community know she is a Christian and seek her ministry out because they feel she can be trusted.

Paraguay is a country of widely varying economic fortunes and because of this is prone to corruption which leads to widespread mistrust, but among the Christians Kevin met there was a great sense of hope.

When he told them that he was in training to be a priest, they were all enormously encouraging. But it is the sense of those who have the least who seem to share the most which cements the picture of strong com-

munity in the face of economic adversity which he has come to see during his time in Paraguay.

While mission and evangelism are buzz words in the Church of England many of us are still struggling to find that language we need to talk about God in an open and easy way that is neither matey jargon nor cringingly pious. The Paraguay experience was one that showed Kevin that a ministry of hospitality and welcome is the forerunner to any of this; that establishing relationships which are built on trust and when Christians are seen to have something to contribute to community life that is beyond mere words, mission and evangelism have a real chance. It was something that really all came together in the final Eucharist he experienced with Bishop Andreas presiding and the generosity of his words of farewell.

Before beginning the 25-hour journey back to the UK, Kevin offered a final reflection on just how this has affected his sense of call: “As a Christian from the UK and one who in 12 months is hoping to be ordained, coming here has shown me just what the love of Jesus and the message of the Gospel can mean to people.

“They live out their faith daily in the most difficult of circumstances. They are open in the sharing of this faith and feel strongly the importance of being part of a worldwide Anglican Church. I feel privileged to have shared in some wonderful experiences of worship and prayer. I will remember the worship service at Palo Azul for the rest of my life as I will the old lady in Concepcion who can now read her Bible – her companion – because she has a new pair of glasses. The experience I have had will help to shape my future ministry wherever God takes me.”

Alice Jolley and Kevin Dyke are both stepping out into unknown territory, but they both know that this is the price of accepting that Christian discipleship will always open up the question of just what is God calling out of me now? 

David Oxtoby Curate, St George’s Stamford

Anna Sorenson Priest in Charge, Billingborough

I have been asked to assist the vocations team as Young Vocations Officer for the Diocese of Lincoln. I do want to assure all the young vocations who are trying to work out what to do next, that I’m here to offer advice, guidance and some nudges when needed.

I started in this role a few months back, and am planning a summer meet-up for those who are exploring their vocation, a space for us to share our experiences, journeys, and have an opportunity to support one another and ask those yet unanswered questions.

Do get in touch with me at: david@oxtobyhome.co.uk David Oxtoby

I have assisted Jeffrey Heskins with some of the work of the Diocesan Director of Ordinands and Vocations for the past two years.

I am the parish priest in a rural benefice, and give what time I can, working with candidates to help them discern their vocations; staffing Diocesan Advisory Panels and preparation sessions for national selection; planning and delivering vocations days; acting as chaplain for ordination retreats; and discussing ways of developing the support for vocations in the diocese.

Anna Sorenson (centre)

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Transformative experience David Oxtoby Curate, St George’s Stamford I don’t think I’ve ever taught so much, written so many words, prayed so frequently, marked so many papers, and ben involved in such a rich diversity of experiences and cultures, as I have in the 15 days I spent at the Back To The Bible College, in South Africa during the autumn.

This was my second time of going to the College to help, having gone last year for three weeks. It was great to be able to return and hit the ground running, as I knew the staff, who are all volunteers, and I also already knew two thirds of students, who come from all over Africa to train for ministry and mission. Their vision is ‘Africa for Jesus’.

During my time at the College, I was privileged to engage in a rich and diverse number of tasks, ranging from food collections from local farmers and food stores, preaching in the college, local prison, care-home and Churches, delivering five lectures to the 120 students, spending the weekend in a nearby Black township helping the pastor there, and marking countless exam papers.

No two days were ever the same, but let me try to paint a picture of a semi-typical day.

We gathered as a college at 7am to worship and hear the word of God, at which I preached a number of times, and what amazing worship, even though I couldn’t understand the words sung, I most certainly understood the Spirit in which the worship

happened. No instruments needed, just hearts overflowing with a love for Jesus, and of course the natural African sense of music and rhythm (which I lack).

Then we would gather for breakfast (I now have a great fondness for their staple breakfast meal, Pap), and onto lectures from 9am to 1pm – some of which I delivered. I really enjoyed the South African approach to teaching, which is very responsive and interactive, every few minutes the students would ask questions, and large-scale group discussions would then ensue, and these

were always very ‘enthusiastic’.

After lectures, time for lunch, and then on with the duties of the afternoon. I would sometimes go into the local town, Barberton, as co-driver in one of the most pensionable vehicles I think I’ve ever been in. We would collect food that was being thrown away by the local food store, since the college operates so much by faith and good will, with many town stores and local farmers supporting the college in a wide range of generous ways. We would return from the town and farms by late afternoon,

usually hot and mucky, but praising the Lord for His generosity.

The evening meal was served at 6pm, and the rest of the evening was left free. Since it was dark by about 6pm, I would go back to my room, have a wash, and set about either marking the students’ papers, or writing my next lecture or sermon, depending on what I’d been asked to do during evening meal.

One never had a huge amount of time to prepare, normally just a few days notice before delivering the material. While there I lectured on Joel, Habakkuk, The Trinity, Church Administration, and Liturgy – as you can see a diverse assortment.

One place I was asked to speak at was the MedB prison. It’s unnerving to be taken through a number of locked doors, and then shown through the last door out into the courtyard where the prisoners are, and then having the door simply locked behind you, and being left alone with the prisoners.

We gathered together for a simple Service that was focused on Worship and the Word.

I brought the Word of God, but it was only as we were driving to the prison I was told I would speak through an interpreter. Now this was a first for me. I quickly adapted my sermon ‘on the fly’ into simpler ideas and language.

It will no doubt take many months for my experience in South Africa to sink in, but I know it has enriched my life and ministry for many years to come, and I’ve already been asked for lecture dates for 2013, along with open invitations to visit many of the students in their home countries. 

I believe in God

The Chancellor of Lincoln, Dr Mark Hocknull continues his exploration of the Apostles’ Creed: The Forgiveness of Sins

With the clause ‘The Forgiveness of Sins’ in the creed we reach the very heart of the Gospel.

Throughout much of the history of humanity, sin was regarded as a very grave matter indeed and a major preoccupation was how we could be right with God. In modern times the idea of sin seems barely to be taken seriously at all, and outside the Church the word more often than not meets with a total lack of understanding.

To most it means ‘doing naughty things,’ or it might be a means of calculating how many food treats you might be able to allow yourself and still lose weight if you’re following a particular weight-loss programme. The word and the concept of sin, though, is much more serious than either of these modern uses suggest.

The Old Testament does not possess a word that captures all the dimensions of the idea of sin. Three main ideas are discernible in the Scriptures. The idea of ‘missing the target,’ another image is that of a ‘winding road,’ and the final idea is the deliberate, intentional committing of an evil act. This third idea, that of deliberately doing wrong follows on from the first two.

Somehow the human race has become out of kilter with itself and with God and lost its way. Human beings, who were created to live in loving and harmonious relationships with God and with each other, have

somehow lost that condition and have become separated from God and from each other. This condition makes it not only possible, but also inevitable that human beings will commit wrong actions. Because these bad acts are a consequence of being out of alignment with God, ourselves and other human beings, no amount of effort on our part will ever be sufficient to overcome the fundamental problem, which is separation from God. Having lost our ability to recognise God and God’s love for us, we are condemned to wander helplessly lost. The only person who can reconcile us to God and so repair the fault in our humanity is God. We need a revelation, a clear image of what God is like and how God feels about the world.

God provides such a revelation in the form of Jesus Christ. Jesus is more than a mere prophet or teacher, telling us what God is like. For Christians, Jesus is the Son of

God. He is God come into the world. To look at Jesus is to see God. To see Jesus hanging on the cross is to see God there, embracing the pain and consequences of separation from God and the world. To look upon Jesus on the cross is to see displayed before us the full reality of the love of God. Recognising this leads to repentance: the turning away from sin and separation and the turning back to God. This is forgiveness, the restoration of spiritual life to the repentant sinner. This restoration is wholly an act of God. We contribute nothing to it but the acceptance of God’s offer in Christ.

But recognising and embracing divine love does have practical consequences. It calls the recipient of God’s love to live out that love in acts of love and service to the world that God loved so much that he gave his only Son, not to condemn the world but that the world might not perish but have eternal life. 

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Advertise your event in the Deanery Diary for free Visit www.lincoln.anglican.org/yourevent

Deanery Diary

8 December 2012 Coffee Morning & Craft Day at All Saints, Winterton. Many stalls with free entry. All welcome. For information visit lincoln.ourchurchweb.org.uk/winterton 7 – 10 December 2012 Christmas Tree Festival at St Peter & St Paul Church, Caistor. A display of approximately 30 trees sponsored by local businesses, groups and individuals raising funds for church and St Andrew’s Children’s Hospice 8 – 16 December 2012 Christmas Tree Festival at St Andrew’s Church, Utterby, Louth. A spectacular display of Christmas trees and angelic paper sculptures in aid of the St Andrew’s Heritage Project and in support of Louth & District Hospice. Admission £3.00, concessions £2.50, children free. Refreshments available.

9 December 2012 Christmas at Coates at St Edith’s at Coates, Coates by Stow. Come and celebrate the joy of Christmas in this amazing pre-Reformation church.

Join in and enjoy music from Willingham Brass and guest singers.

Seasonal refreshment, Traidcraft gifts and goodies will be on sale.

For more information see www.stedithscoates.co.uk or call Pauline Organ on 01427 788629 or Bernadette Jones on 01427 787550 12 December 2013 Advent Experience at All Saints, Branston. Lincoln Diocesan Ladies Choir with Liath Hollins (Harpist).

Admission free with seasonal refreshments, retiring collection. Tel: Judy Dickin 01522 822620 or e-mail Judith.dickin@ntlworld.com 16 December 2012 Carols by Candlelight at St Mary’s Church, Hogsthorpe. All welcome. Stay after the service for mulled wine and mince pies.

8– 9 December 2012 Christmas Tree Festival at St Mary’s Church, Horncastle. More than 40 Christmas trees decorated by local organisations, businesses and schools. Stalls and light refreshments. Carols on Sunday at 3.30pm. All welcome. Preview tickets £5. www.stmaryshorncastle.org.uk 8 – 9 December 2012 Christmas Tree Festival and Yuletide Fayre at St James’ Church, Freiston. Come and enjoy the pantomime decorated trees. Start your Christmas shopping with food and treats, unusual gifts, greenery, wreaths and pot grown Christmas trees. Join in the fun with festive games, entertainment, children’s choir and dancing.

15 December 2012 Christmas Tree Festival at Holy Trinity Church, Martin, LN4 3QT. Proceeds to be apportioned to Holy Trinity Church and their chosen charity.

Parking adjacent to the primary school and refreshments available.

8 December 2012 Leasingham Christmas Fair and Coffee Morning at Leasingham village hall 10am – 12noon. Christmas fair and coffee morning with tombola, raffle, luckybags for children and adults, cake stall and books with Fairtrade refreshments. Proceeds towards St Andrew’s Church in Leasingham. For more information see www.leasingham.weebly.com.

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Building the churches of the future Keith Halliday Church Buildings Adviser

Awards

Chancel Repair Liability (CRL)

There have been a lot of contradictory statements about CRL in the national press over recent months; fortunately, Archdeacons Jane and Tim have written some guidance notes which are available on the diocesan website.

In December the Church Buildings Team are spending three days in the National Archives photographing the Records of Ascertainments for all churches in the diocese that have Chancel Repair Liability. The Church Commissioners are also supplying a list of churches which they know have liability, and maps of the land to which it applies. This should be completed by January 2013.

Following collation of all the information we will be holding a training session for those PCCs affected on 13 February.

Those identified as having a liability will be invited, but for now it would be advisable for PCCs to keep the date free.

Open Surgeries

The Church Buildings Department will be holding open surgeries two weeks after every DAC meeting. We’ll cover a huge range of topics including Faculty Forms and Procedures, Grant Applications, New Heritage Lottery Fund Grants, and Statements of Need and Significance.

First surgery: Wednesday 30 January To book please phone or email a member of the Church Buildings team.

There are numerous cases of good fabric work going on in our 631 churches, but sadly much of this will never be recognised by more than a few members in the congregation.

Heating, lime mortars, lead and timber roof work aren’t especially glamorous or flashy but they are essential to the preservation and continuance of our churches.

Occasionally however, there are some grand projects which attract a little more attention and public recognition.

Two awards and a place in a final in the last three months are testament to the talent and skills we are lucky enough to have in the Diocese.

Cherry Willingham - The Georgian Group Award The church of St Peter and St Paul in Cherry Willingham recently received the Restoration of a Georgian Church award from the Georgian Group.

The award recognised the sensitive repair to the roof and cupola and the parish’s scheme for proportional and sensitive repairs to the fabric in the future.

The work was carried out by GMS architects of Louth under the supervision of Chris Mackintosh Smith, one of the DAC advisers.

Loan Cover for VAT-rise

Following the recent government legislation to remove the 0% VAT rate on repairs to listed buildings, the government has raised the ceiling limit for the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme (LPWGS) which will now pay 100% for the qualifying repairs and alterations.

However, many PCCs are struggling because of the time delay between paying contractors and receiving the VAT compensation.

holding them at 6-weekly intervals, which has given PCCs and others more time to respond to queries and means we’ve halved items which have to be tabled again at DAC meetings. Another thing we’ll be doing to streamline processes is that we will administer De minimis permissions (changes that don’t require a full faculty process) from the New Year, which gives parishes just one point of contact for any changes you’re planning, be they large or small.

Many churches around the Diocese will have suffered from metal theft in recent years. Fortunately these thefts have fallen by about 60% and there are some potentially ground-breaking lead marking trials to be piloted in the Diocese in the coming months.

ASGARBY CHURCH © TONY BOUGHEN - PHOTOREFLECT.BLOGSPOT.CO.UK

Around the Diocese there are hundreds of stunning, picture-postcard villages and at their heart lies the parish church, full of warmth (spiritual rather than physical in too many cases) and reassurance to churchgoers and non-churchgoers alike.

The recent Central Services Review (CSR) looked at the Church Buildings Department and how it serves those villages and towns around the Diocese, and how it can help keep the church beating at the heart of our communities.

The CSR made a number of recommendations, the two main ones for us being the review and simplification of

Diocesan Advisory Committee (DAC) procedures and an expansion of the amount of advice on grants, project management and procedures.

Unfortunately, a lot of the Faculty application procedure is set centrally by the Church of England, including the time it takes to obtain Faculties; however, we are working hard to improve everything that we do control locally.

First of all, we will be inviting you to training sessions for parishes, monthly surgeries and we will be holding open DAC meetings for you to attend to gain a deeper understanding of the processes – definitely a first for the DAC which has held closed meetings since it was set up almost a century ago.

We’ve streamlined DAC meetings by

Boston – St Botolph – EASA Presidents’ Award The Presidents’ Award is given annually by the Ecclesiastical Architects and Surveyors Association in conjunction with the Incorporated Church Building Society for new design in re-ordering, alterations, extensions or new church buildings. The outcome of various feasibility studies was the proposal for a structure in the western bay of the north aisle to house vestry, office and shop, and to construct an open kitchen facility in the base of the Great West Tower.

The catering facility is designed so that although it is open to the main body of the space, it can be folded away when not in use, such as when the west doors are used for ceremonial purposes. Café patrons sit at loosely arranged tables within the tower, creating a dramatic space with the soaring height of the tower above.

This project had a challenging brief and the judges felt that the new works, designed with a vertical emphasis in a lime oak echoed the architecture of St Botolph’s Church in a sensitive and contemporary manner. The architect has achieved a totally reversible scheme within this fine Grade I listed building which has no detrimental impact on the historic fabric, nor does it compromise the nature of the sacred space.

The church’s new shop, café and toilets costing £250,000 were designed by Liz

Jackson at Manchester architects, Buttress, Fuller, Alsop, Williams and were formally opened by Her Royal Highness the Princess Royal as patron of the Restoration and Development Appeal in July of this year.

Fortunately, a new diocesan fund has been allocated to allow parishes an interest-free payment up to the cost of the VAT being reclaimed from LPWGS. This scheme will start in January.

Details are on dioce.se/vatloan

We hope you will take the opportunity to speak to our experts and give us feedback.

There are certain criteria for attendance: 1. There will be a maximum of four guests per open meeting.

2. There can only be one guest per PCC. 3. The idea is a ‘fly on the wall’ one and guests are advised that they should not participate and talk in the meetings.

The DAC dates are available at dioce.se/daccal

Open DAC Meetings

From the New Year we’ll be opening up DAC meetings so PCCs can be guests and see how it works, what matters we discuss and the standards of successful applications.

Lincoln – St John the Baptist – Jerusalem Trust Ben Stoker has been working very closely with the church of St John the Baptist, Lincoln and helped them to reach the final of the prestigious Jerusalem Trust Prize for the commissioning of new art in churches.

Although St John’s didn’t win the £10,000 prize, the dedicated hard work, enthusiasm and imagination the parish invested in the project will be carried forward as they seek the necessary funding to install a new stained glass window in the church.

Above: Stained glass, St John the Baptist. Top left: Cherry Willingham Church

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Dropping in A church doing great work with the community, Philip Craven drops in to one of the Fen’s vital former priories.

Philip Craven Arriving at St James’s Church in Freiston, one is immediately struck by the sprawling churchyard and its well-manicured memorials. Sitting squatly at the far end is St James’s, a generously-proportioned remnant of a Benedictine Priory.

The church’s histories date its foundation back to 1114 when it was set up as a subsidiary priory of Crowland Abbey, housing a large hospital for the monks of Crowland.

Situated near to Boston – one of the busiest ports in the country at that time - the Freiston Priory was somewhat at the centre of agricultural activity and it was important

The Christmas Tree Festival in December

for Crowland to have a post there.

Freiston’s monks were instrumental in the draining of the fens and encouraging the fishing and farming industries in the area; and St James’s did not go unrewarded for its hard work in the community – at the time of the dissolution it had amassed a huge wealth in assets, land and buildings, and was the fourth wealthiest dependent priory in the country.

Elements of its former glory and opulence exist to this day, most notably in the medieval font cover. The cover dates back to the 15th Century and it is believed that it was hidden during the dissolution – especially since it was located in such a puritan hotspot – as it would have been bedecked in gold leaf and is topped with a figure of the Virgin Mary.

Much of St James’s plans are based around the font cover and its restoration for the 900th anniversary celebrations.

“We’re going to wrap a lot of projects around the font,” said Simon Pearson, parishioner and budding historian.

“The aim is to make the church more appropriate and community friendly so we’ll be starting by improving access to the font, placing it at the centre of what we do.”

One of Frieston’s strengths is its heritage and the church has been instrumental in portraying that in the community. Recently parish registers from the Lincoln archives with records dating back to 1580 were put on display in the church, attracting visitors from as far afield as Derby for the day. The church also hosted a Lincolnshire heritage open day in September, where displays on the history of the fens and Freiston, demonstrations, history talks, and medieval food entertained the crowds.

St James’s most popular event, attracting hundreds of visitors, is the Christmas Tree Festival and Yuletide Fayre. The festival starts in the second weekend of December and kicks off the decoration of the church in preparation for Christmas Day. The festival has fostered great community

engagement with groups from the school, pre-school, uniformed groups and many others clamouring to decorate trees for the festival.

Last year the festival was opened by Bruce Jones, Coronation Street’s Les Battersby, cutting the ribbon, and highlights of the event were broadcast on Radio Lincolnshire.

The Fayre includes stalls with unusual gifts and decorations, and there are Christmas games and entertainment throughout the second weekend of December. I was also told that the Christmas Jazz concert is not to be missed on 15 December.

The Christmas celebrations have proved incredibly popular in Freiston, raising more than £5,000 last year, and demonstrate how effectively churches can engage with the local community when determined.

St James’s is actively engaged with increasing the footfall in the church, with the belief that as more people begin to see the church as a community hub, so it will once more thrive as a spiritual hub for the people of the area.

The Bishop of Lincoln The Rt Revd Christopher Lowson 01522 50 40 90 bishop.lincoln@lincoln.anglican.org

The Interim Diocesan Secretary The Revd Canon Richard Bowett 01522 50 40 30 diocesan.secretary@lincoln.anglican.org

The Bishop of Grimsby The Rt Revd David Rossdale 01472 371715 bishop.grimsby@lincoln.anglican.org

The Archdeacon of Stow and Lindsey The Ven Jane Sinclair 01673 849896 archdeacon.stow@lincoln.anglican.org

The Bishop of Grantham The Rt Revd Dr Tim Ellis 01400 283344 bishop.grantham@lincoln.anglican.org

The Archdeacon of Lincoln The Ven Tim Barker 01529 304348 archdeacon.lincoln@lincoln.anglican.org

Louise Pearson, Yvonne Stevenson, the Revd Andrew Higginson, and Simon Pearson around the font at Harvest Festival. PHILIP CRAVEN The coffee mornings, heritage days, harvest and Christmas festivals and its new plans to act as a library service – working in conjuction with the local council - will all help it towards achieving this end. 

Services: 1st Sunday: Common Worship 2nd Sunday: Worship Together 3rd Sunday: Joint service alternates between churches in the Group.

4th Sunday: Service of the Word

Gazette Appointment

The Reverend Michael Doyle, Assistant Curate in the parish of St Oswald, Ashbourne with Mappleton in the Diocese of Derby, to be Rector of The North Beltisloe Group of Parishes.

Contact The Diocesan Offices Edward King House, Minster Yard, Lincoln LN2 1PU 01522 50 40 50 Fax: 01522 50 40 51 reception@lincoln.anglican.org www.lincoln.anglican.org www.facebook.com/dioceselincoln @CofELincoln www.flickr.com/dioceseoflincoln

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Four new canons were installed in Lincoln Cathedral on St Hugh’s Day. From left to right: Mike BursonThomas, Priest in Charge of Scotter with East Ferry, Scotton with Northorpe was installed to the stall of Sancti Martini, while Moira Astin, Priest in Charge of St Lawrence, Frodingham was installed to the stall of Marston St Lawrence. David Osbourne, Rector of Holy Cross with St Helen’s, Boultham, Lincoln, holds the stall of Ecclesia Omnium Sanctorum, and Andrew Dodd, Priest in Charge of Great Grimsby, was installed to the stall of Decem Librarum. WILL HARRISON

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Prize crossword The first correct entry to crossword 34 to be opened on 22 February 2013 will win £25.

Send to:

Crossword, Crosslincs, Edward King House, Minster Yard, Lincoln LN2 1PU

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The editor’s decision if final. Photocopies acceptable. One entry per person. Entries from consortiums are not eligible.

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Across

6 Rock group under hat used for coping (9)

1 Rich fruitful and iced over (9,4)

7 Skill acquired in slaughtering horses (5)

10 Metric heavyweight of gold in back of old car (7)

8 Progress of waiter with escargot (2,1,6,4)

11 Top of can round a skipper (7)

9 The 23d the entire 23d and only the 23d (3,7,3)

12 Illegally occupied by short thick person (5)

15 Describes what’s left of the estate (9)

13 Present of Vol 10 - 0K inside (4,5)

16 Tender cooking (4,5)

14 Croat confused in play (5)

17 Jog the memory with tintinnabulation (4,1,4)

16 Inner pest creates website (9)

21 Treat boil with weapon? (5)

18 Man not all at sea (9)

22 Took chair that is a French composer (5)

19 First class transgression on mountain (5)

23 Verity, the wife of Boaz to a T (5)

20 Outsize roly pud mix for Trojan son of Hecuba (9)

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23 Plucky sound (5) number 34

by Kettlebird 24 Musical work about coffee perhaps (7) solution number 33

25 Canadian Prime Minister primitive in Greek T (7) 26 Scribble pad

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is published by the Diocese of Lincoln.

The views of contributors and sponsors do not necessarily reflect those held by the Diocese.

Deadline for the next edition: 22 February 2013 Editor: Will Harrison Reporter: Philip Craven Telephone: 01522 50 40 36 crosslincs@lincoln.anglican.org Printed by Mortons Print Ltd, Horncastle, Lincolnshire

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(4,5,4)

Down 2 Indian laurel area? (9) 3 Like noble gases, no fun (5) 4 A rough rule if you are under it (5) 5 Retiring person and not mobile (9)

Congratulations to Mrs J H Smith of Lincoln, the winner of crossword 33

J U A B I S L E B E L I I N G P E R S

O S E P H H H R K L E A B E R E A E O P E S P O E T H I N D Y O U M T I P S S H I R G E T E G R A L S O E A S O U P F O E P T A D I S T P

I C C U P N A H D O N I A N I O R T I P H A R E E O I N C H E P W R E C K L U U N J U S T N A T G C L A Y E O R R O B E D