Organising Ourselves for MissionSaturday February 28 2015

Why Does Your Church Exist?

How does your parish administration stack up against the requirements of the parish statute?

Then and Now

1975 2015

Communions 153,092 81,103

Marriages 248 85

Baptisms 481 78

Sunday School Pupils 1825 269

Youth 473 84

Churches 101 68

Fully Stipended Clergy 39 12

Part or Non Stipended Clergy

? 58

Licensed Lay Ministers 74 157

Engineering Library, University of Canterbury, 1967

▪ First (and only) photocopier in Christchurch

▪ IBM 1620 Computer (20 microsecond core, 60,000 decimal digit memory)

Moveable Type 15th Century

Changes:▪ Technological

▪ Intellectual

▪ Cultural

▪ Social

▪ Economic

▪ Political

▪ Spiritual

▪ Religious

Changes in the last 40 years

▪ Technological

▪ Intellectual

▪ Social

▪ Economic

▪ Political

▪ Spiritual

▪ Religious

What significant changes over the past 40 years have had an effect on your church?

A Parish

▪ Enough funds to pay all costs

▪ 2 Wardens

▪ Vestry▪ 3-10 members

▪ Treasurer▪ secretary

▪ 2 lay Synods representatives

A Struggle to keep up with change

▪ Mutual Shared Ministry

▪ Growth in non stipendiary ministry

▪ Lay liturgical leadership

Our Current Parish Statute

▪ Parish

▪ Local church : ”every local church shall be constituted within a parish of associated local churches”

▪ Parish with sub-districts (or an association of local churches)

How should we organise ourselves for mission?

A Proposed New Structure

▪Parishes

▪Regional Deaneries

▪Local Churches

A Parish

▪ Financially self sufficient

▪ 2 Wardens

▪ Vestry▪ 3-10 members

▪ Treasurer▪ secretary

▪ 2 lay Synods representatives

Regional Deaneries

▪ Financially self sufficient

▪ A group of churches, usually in geographical proximity

▪ A team of lay and ordained ministers

▪ Led by a Regional Dean who is part of the ministry team; a resource person, leader, enabler.

▪ One central governing vestry. Regional committees if wanted.

▪ One set of finances

▪ Synod representation similar to a parish.

▪ A transition period for establishment.

Local Churches

▪ Financially self sufficient but new missional initiatives may be supported by the rest of the diocese.

▪ One warden

▪ A church committee comprising no more than half the congregation.

▪ Directly responsible to the bishop

▪ Finances overseen by the diocesan office.

▪ Formed ▪ when a new group wishes to be affiliated with the diocese▪ When an existing parish can no longer function as a parish and does not

wish to join a regional deanery

▪ An annual conference of Local Churches elects synod representation

Mission Fund

▪ Resources used to promote mission on a diocesan basis

▪ Administered by the Mission management group

▪ New missional initiatives must be self funding and self sustaining. The mission fund helps with establishment, resources, research, training.

A Proposed New Structure

▪Parishes

▪Regional Deaneries

▪Local Churches