Press release from the Church of England
Vision and Strategy Group: Tuesday 15th September
17/09/2020
A consultation hosted by the Archbishop of York took place online from 14 to 16 September and was attended by over 150 delegates.
The consultation — dubbed ‘Living Vision, Walking Strategy’ — was part of the ongoing work on the Church of England’s Vision & Strategy led by the Archbishop of York and expected to conclude in early 2021. The consultation was an opportunity for all the bishops and diocesan secretaries to work together on the Church of England’s mission, vision and priorities for the next 10 years.
The consultation opened with sessions on where the Church is presently and what we are learning from this experience. On Tuesday the consultation considered the particular challenges facing the Church both internally and externally and what the vision for the Church over the next ten years might be. The final day covered potential practicalities of committing to the work needed to put the strategy and vision into action at a national, diocesan and local level.
It would have been helpful if the second paragraph had been more expansive about where the church is , what they thought the challenges were etc.
Clear as mud, without rather more detail. Presumably we are all expected to buy into this strategy so at the very least it would be useful to know when we are supposed to be informed about it.
Agreeing with Perry. I find it hard to understand why ‘the authorities’ find it so hard to share detail; indeed it exemplifies the ‘mushroom’ method of ‘management’ and encourages the views that there is something to hide and that ‘the managed’ cannot handle the truth. Yearning to learn, trust and act in a decentralised kind of way at the local level.
And, get this, Welby and Mullally have been busy tweeting this past week about the need for subsidiarity and how centralisation disenfranchises people. Physician[s] heal thysel[ves]!
As for a Vision & Strategy Group… more top-down procrastination and hot air that will have virtually no impact at the coal face. The parish clergy are tired and once you lose the goodwill of the frontline troops, you know what the eventual outcome is.
My heart sank when I read this news. Not that vision and strategy are bad things, but it reinforces the feeling that the front line and senior leadership are increasingly detached. Now is the time for rebuilding trust and friendship and mutual support. Only then will the parishes have the confidence and capacity to think about implementing a centrally produced strategy. Assuming it is one that parishes can believe in. I’d rather the bishops and diocesan secretaries had formally met with the people of their diocese first. The consensus from the frontline could then inform national policy.
Trying to put together an upbeat article for our village magazine. Even our benefice administrator has zero information. Our church remains closed but still costs nearly £400 per week to run, the vicar has retired (sorely missed) and our locals are beginning to have serious doubts about the future. Our 2 local stores and social club were made covid safe within a couple of weeks. Our vast church has only 15% occupancy as a norm, I could organise it to be just as safe within a couple of weeks. Some of our local contractors have done work for free labour,… Read more »
So, what is the vision, and what is the strategy? Does anyone know?
I think that the bigger question is, “Does anyone care?”
Indeed Paul. Given numerical decline and lack of money what is the most pressing problem? The C of E has a strap line “A Christian Presence in every community”. Can it continue to provide this through the parish system now under immense strain and in the countryside clearly collapsing. Is the future “gathered churches”? A voluntary body operating ,for the time being, within a somewhat vague legal Establishment? .Most clergy still value the parish system while others think its days have passed. Leaving aside questions about theological identity, what is the future sociological vision of a church which calls itself… Read more »