1 Let Us Talk – A First Response You are God’s people proclaiming the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvellous light. Bishop Nicholas Holtam SALISBURY DIOCESAN SYNOD 13 TH JUNE Peter 2.9

2 Let Us Talk Responses from 61 benefices and 29 parishes, 236 parishes in total, 2 deaneries and 7 individuals.

3 Let Us Talk – First Impressions Impressive, exciting, honest and diverse. Responses reflect great thought and effort. Working together, sharing ideas. Hours of prayer and transformed lives. “Nurture the young and value the aged.” Good work with children and young people. Value of Diocesan resources. Deeply committed to our communities. This material will underpin our thinking and our work for a long time.

4 Let Us Talk – Big Challenges Survival. Too much to do. It’s difficult to prioritise. How do we evaluate? Lack of confidence – we need to build it. Emphasis on worship, community, buildings, finance. Discipleship is not high on agendas. Sometimes we have to ask what is the core purpose of the church. Whatever we do, we should do it well.

5 What is the personality and character of your local church?

6 “A typical parish church”. “People who want to have fun.” “Continuous Christian worship since the 9 th Century.” “Congregations predominantly over 65.” “Long tradition of social responsibility.” “Embrace most innovations readily.”

7 What is the personality and character of your local church? “BCP meets many people’s needs.” “Trying to reach scattered communities.” “Church as the focus of village life.” Perception is we are welcoming, warm, inclusive but can be difficult to break in. People can feel unwelcome if they “rock the boat”. “We wish to see Jesus” (John 12.21)

8 What are the priorities of your local church?

9 “ Worship –regular, different, good.” “Be attractive to young people and families.” “Be an active part of the community.” “Increasing the congregation.” “Going out to where young people are.” “Maintaining the church buildings.” “Starting a café.” “Developing our giving, overseas and at home.”

10 One thing to take on or develop in the current year?

11 One thing to take on or develop in the current year “Keep the church open.” “Welcome pack, events for those new to the area.” “Sustain and grow fellowship.” “Carols in the pub.” “Stewardship campaign.”

12 One thing to take on or develop in the current year “Improve our local communications.” “Encourage those exploring their faith.” “No – we have enough going on already!” Do one thing well.

13 How can we work together to achieve more?

14 How can we work together to achieve more? Build on the work with other denominations.” “Hold team services.” “Continue partnerships with schools and community projects.” “Strengthen the Messy Church Network.” “Create smaller deaneries as units of mission.” “We already do work together.” “Anything outside the parish is a task too far.”

15 How can we best measure the quality and impact of church life?

16 How can we best measure the quality and impact of church life? Growth in numbers Congregation as a percentage of population. Number of people involved in church projects and roles. How many new members? Baptisms, confirmations, marriages, funerals. Age profile in congregation reflects age profile of the surrounding community. A small church is not a failing church. Numbers at big services.

17 How can we best measure the quality and impact of church life? Growth in numbers (contd.) Electoral Roll. Number of vocations realised - lay and ordained. Hours of prayer. What & who do you pray for? Finances If your finances don’t add up you spend your life talking about it. Fairer Share members. Amount given to other charities. Don’t just use money and numbers!

18 How else can we measure? Stories of transformed lives. Presence felt in community and reputation. Deepening faith. Quality of Church. Environmental awareness. Work in schools and youth centres. Use of church by others and length of time open. Time spent on internal and external business on PCC agendas. Time given to overseas initiatives.

19 What next? All respondents will receive an individual reply. We don’t want to cut across local or deanery plans. We shouldn’t impose uniformity. We want to encourage diversity. What are the core purposes of the Church? The Bishops will articulate the core purposes of the Diocese. The Bishop’s staff are identifying and agreeing our core values.

20 Conclusion Let Us Talk is a resource which will be useful for some time. Responses are on the web-site. I am looking for excellence, energy and engagement. Keep the conversation going. If you do something you want to share make sure your Rural Dean and Archdeacon know.