Diocese of Leeds Enews+ February 6

Welcome to Enews+ for February 6

The latest resources, important information and more.

This is for all clergy, Churchwardens, Treasurers and PCC Secretaries, and is your chance to find out what is going on….

In This Edition

From the Desk of the Diocesan Secretary

New from Church House

Church Revitalisation Team

Messy Church Learning Community

Children, Young People and Families Team

Resourcing and supporting parishes
Coming soon!
Staying connected

Church Buildings and Pastoral Reorganisation Team

Church Buildings and Pastoral Reorganisation Team training sessions
Martyn's Law

Diocesan Interns Scheme

Finding and working with Interns - a conversation

Lay Training Team

Rhythm of Life Lent course
Lay training courses

Environment Team

Important next steps for your church energy bills
Confused about energy prices at your church?
Saving energy at home

Stewardship and Income Generation Team

Money for Mission: Issue 42

Safeguarding Team

Safeguarding Winter Newsletter 2023

Ministry and Mission

Engaging with new housing

Communications Team

New Diocesan Website for 2023

Key Dates for 2023

Resources

Vacancies

Other Useful Links and Information

From the Desk of the Diocesan Secretary

Dear all,

We have a bumper Enews+ this month, with lots of details of all the things going on in the diocese to support you. The most important thing to bring to your attention is the second round of hardship funding which we are launching today and which you have until Friday, February 17 to submit any requests by.

The Leeds Diocesan Board of Finance wants to support clergy and lay staff who are suffering hardship due to the cost of living crisis. It will use limited charitable funds to make targeted hardship grants to those eligible and in need of support.

Those who are eligible are:

Stipendiary clergy, including curates
Self-supporting ministers with a provided house (‘House-for-Duty’)
Salaried lay workers employed by the diocese or parishes
Retired clergy carrying out a specific role in support of Diocesan ministry as agreed by or at the request of a Bishop or Archdeacon

All who are eligible to apply are welcome to do so – we will prioritise those who did not receive a grant in the first round but please still apply even if you did and you are in need!

Please also pass this to salaried lay workers and others in your parish who are eligible – the application form can be found here, and all applications will be treated in confidence.

Finally, please do check out our new website and let us know if you have any feedback.

Jonathan

New from Church House

Messy Church Learning Community

Messy Church has been a fantastic way in which churches have worked with children and families in the last few years. As part of Barnabas: Encouraging Confidence, the Children, Young People and Families Team are inviting people who are running and starting a Messy Church to join in with a group of like-minded people to share ideas, good practice and to support each other as we seek to reach people of all ages with the good news of Jesus.

We are inviting you to an initial gathering on the evening of Thursday, February 23 at 7.30pm online. This will be a chance to talk a bit more about how a learning community works and how you can be part of it. Email [email protected] for a Zoom link.

Resourcing and supporting parishes

We have a varied workshop and training programme this term. On Tuesday, February 21 we have a Toddler Teams Gathering a chance to chat about ideas, inspiration and encouragement to enable toddler groups to thrive – why not join in with your team. On the Wednesday, March 8 there’s Starting up Youth Work for those wanting explore what they might do. Tuesday, March 21 has the Engaging with Christening Families workshop for parishes wanting to consider how they support families bringing children for baptism and on Tuesday, March 28 we have Discipleship in Children’s Groups, an opportunity to explore how we support children to grow in faith.

We are really delighted to offer our new Ministry with Children and Young People course on Saturday, March 18 in Wakefield. This is an in-person course designed for everyone; whether you’ve been working with children and young people for a long time or you are just starting out, and it aims to help you develop and refresh skills and knowledge so you can serve children and young people well. More dates around the diocese to follow.

Coming soon!

Special TEND events for children's and youth leaders and volunteers – save one of the dates and more information will be available soon.

Wakefield Cathedral - Saturday, April 22
Ripon Cathedral - Saturday, May 13
Bradford Cathedral - Saturday, October 7

Staying connected

If you would like to receive the Children, Young People and Family Team newsletter, please subscribe to the Digital Learning Platform here and be sure to tick the ‘Children & Youth’ and ‘Sign me up’ boxes!. In addition we host a Facebook group for anyone involved in children, young people and family ministry where people share details of events, resources, activities and training and also ask questions, debate ideas and learn together. As always, if you require any specific help or information, please do contact us on [email protected].

Church Buildings and Pastoral Reorganisation Team training sessions

Wednesday, March 8, 2023, 1pm – 2pm - ‘Open Churches to welcome people in – An Insurers Perspective’

Are you wanting to open your church building more to the community, occasional visitor or tourist but worried about the safety and security implications of this or how to manage it? Heather Ford, Church Insurance Consultant with Ecclesiastical will lead this session and take you through the steps and measures you can undertake to protect the building and its contents. Busting the myths about keeping the building open to welcome people in.

This session will take place in-person at Church House, 17-19 York Place, Leeds, LS1 2EX.

Wednesday, March 15, 2023, 2pm – 3pm - ‘Understanding Health & Safety Responsibilities for Churches’

Heather Ford, Church Insurance Consultant with Ecclesiastical will be leading this session on Health & Safety. Using easy to understand language, it will explain why managing health and safety effectively is important, provide an overview of health & legislation relevant to churches and offer a step by step guide and the tools to enable churches to feel more confident in managing their health and safety responsibilities.

This session will take place in-person at Church House, 17-19 York Place, Leeds, LS1 2EX.

To book on to these sessions, please contact Rob Andrews, Team Coordinator at [email protected].

Martyn's Law

Churches may have heard reports about “Martyn’s Law” (formerly known as the “Protect Duty”). This will be a law which aims to reduce the risk to the public from terrorism by the protection of public venues. This will apply to churches but there will be a tiered system, so that the majority of the churches will have less onerous requirements. The diocese will bring out further information about this in due course to aid PCCs with understanding what it means for them, but if you are a church which is very well attended or run large events for which you charge, you may wish to log on to join an engagement event for places of worship on Thursday, March 9, at 11am. Register here.

Finding and working with Interns - a conversation

Come and join us in a conversation about finding and working with interns on Thursday, March 16, 1pm - 2pm, online (Zoom).

This is another opportunity to:

hear about our Diocesan intern scheme which equips young adults for life, work and leadership as disciples of Christ through placements in churches and training;
find out how we can support you with finding and recruiting potential interns and hear stories of different interns' journeys.

What does it look like to invest in an intern over a year? What would the church need to commit to? How do we find interns?

Whether this is something you are considering now, have a vision for in the future, or maybe have personal experience of, we would be delighted to welcome you in the conversation as we look to grow more disciples and leaders across the Diocese through the internship scheme.

To join the conversation, please email [email protected] for a Zoom link.

We very much look forward to hearing from you,

Revd Joanna Seabourne, Director of Interns at the Diocese of Leeds

Rhythm of Life Lent course

The course explores Lenten themes, combined with some key issues, including poverty, racism and the environment. Sessions will provide an opportunity to engage with the Rhythm of Life areas for deepening commitment: praying, encouraging, sharing, reflecting, celebrating, resting and creating.

The course consists of five sessions and can be run in-person (using video clips) or on Zoom. Download the flyer here.

Watch the promotional video here.

Click here to download the Leader’s Guide.

For those wanting to take their engagement with the Rhythm of Life further, there will also be Episcopal Area retreats taking place during Lent.

Lay training courses

Applications for Licensed Lay Minister Training *New dates*

If you have undertaken the Introduction to Theology Course and are considering applying to train as a Licensed Lay Minister, please note that you must submit your Initial Enquiry form by Friday, March 31, and your Application form by Monday, May 22.

More information on the application process can be found here.

Ministry Pathways – Lay Worship Leaders and Lay Pastoral Ministry

Applications are now open for the 2023-24 Lay Worship Leaders and Lay Pastoral Ministry courses.

More information about these ministry pathways and the application process can be found here.

PCC Secretary Self-Paced Course

This online, self-paced course is open to anyone in the Diocese of Leeds who is currently serving as PCC Secretary or who is preparing to take on this important role.

More can be found here.

Discovery Course

Saturday March 4, The Trinity Centre, Bingley BD16 2ST, 10am start

An opportunity to learn more about how God has individually equipped you to serve him.

More can be found here.

The Being With Course (Monday, March 20, Tuesday, March 21 and Monday, March 27, online)

The ‘Being With’ course is excellent for enquirers. Over ten weeks the course focuses on the experience of being in community as we explore Christian faith together. A ‘taster’ three session course is planned for March 2023, so you can see how the course runs and whether it will suit your context.

More can be found here.

You could also run the course yourself in your parish (either on a day or spread over a few sessions). Please contact Revd Angela Hannafin for more details at [email protected].

My Faith Story (Wednesday, March 1, Wednesday, March 8 and Wednesday, March 15, online)

This course aims to equip us to feel more confident about our own faith story, as we consider what God has done for us, and learn how to share it.

More can be found here.

Important next steps for your church energy bills

Ensure you get good value for money by getting into good energy contracts. The Green Journey is a partnership that the diocese run with Green Energy Consulting. Existing churches customers (with September 2023 contract end dates) will be contacted soon. Please do not delay in responding – renewals close to the termination date considerably increase cost.

Not with the Green Journey? Please consider this option for your parish. The 250 churches who use the scheme have been on a 3 year tariff at 2019 prices. Of course energy prices have now risen considerably, but the Green Journey team are specialist in energy procurement and can usually find a good unit price/standing charge to suit your energy use. Renewable electricity and carbon offset gas get your church very close to carbon net zero too! Read more.

Confused about energy prices at your church?

Watch our webinar with energy specialist Green Journey on “What action your church can take to save energy this winter”. Webinar slides here. Watch the video here.

Saving energy at home

Dear All….Here is a letter to you and your family from your clergy colleagues. The Carbon Net Zero Clergy Properties Working Group is made up of clergy and clergy family members who know how hard it can be to heat the vicarage. Read it here.

Money for Mission: Issue 42

The February 2023 edition (Issue 42) of Money for Mission is out now. In this edition, 2023 Fee information and news on the Free Online Giving page offered by the Parish Giving Scheme and much more :

Thinking About Generosity.....
Come to the Contactless Giving Clinic
Generosity Week Resources for Easter
PGS Resources & information for PCCs
Urgent! - Energy Bill Contract Renewals
ACAT Basic Treasurer Training
Diocesan Grants' Scheme 2023 - application deadline

If you would like to receive Money for Mission directly, you can sign up for direct mailing by clicking the link in the newsletter.

Safeguarding Winter Newsletter 2023

Please find here our Safeguarding Team's latest newsletter, with lots of useful news and resources.

Engaging with new housing

Wednesday, February 8 2023, 7pm – 8.30pm, Zoom Gathering

An opportunity to discuss the challenges and opportunities of engaging with new housing developments in parishes in the diocese.

Leaders: Revd John Smith, Vicar of Pannal and Revd Canon Andrew Norman, Director of Ministry and Mission.

Revd Ali Boulton will be joining us again, to share her extensive experience. She is co-author of ‘Pioneer Ministry in New Housing Areas’ and founder of the New Housing Hub, a national cross-denominational network for engaging with new housing communities.

Find out more and book here.

New Diocesan Website for 2023

We have launched a new diocesan website! Please bear with us while we continue to make sure everything on it is up to date. If you come across any issues, please do let us know at [email protected].

Key Dates for 2023

Racial Justice Sunday: Sunday, February 12

Diocese of Leeds Synod:

Saturday, March 18
Saturday, July 15
Saturday, October 14

Church of England General Synod:

Monday, February 6 - Thursday, February 9
Friday, July 7 - Tuesday, July 11
Monday, November 13 - Wednesday, November 15

#DustAndGlory: A Lent journey of faith, failure and forgiveness: Ash Wednesday (Wednesday, February 22) to Easter Day (Sunday, April 9)

Rhythm of Life Lent Course: Resources available here

Step Forward Conference: Saturday, March 11

Coronation of King Charles III: Saturday, May 6

Thy Kingdom Come: Thursday, May 18 - Sunday, May 28

World Environment Day: Monday, June 5

Ordination of Priests: Saturday, June 24 or Sunday, June 25

Ordination of Deacons: Saturday, July 1 at Bradford Cathedral

Creationtide: Friday, September 1 - Wednesday, October, 4

Diocese of Leeds Generosity Week: Sunday, September 24 - Sunday, October 1

COP 28: Thursday, November 30 - Tuesday, December 12

Resources

On Sunday, February 12 it is Racial Justice Sunday. Racial Justice Sunday is for all churches to reflect on the importance of racial justice, to give thanks for the gifts and beauty of human diversity, and to commit to end racism and acts of discrimination. Find helpful liturgical resources here.

A new 2023 Rhythm of Life Lent Course has been created for churches across our diocese. The Rhythm of Life is an initiative that offers an opportunity for Christians to re-align and keep Christ at the centre of our daily lives. Discover the materials for the Lent course here on the Digital Learning Platform.

The Diocese of Leeds has launched its resources to help churches reach carbon net zero by 2030, 'Saving Creation: Strategic Action to Combat Climate Change'. These include a video, toolkit, and case studies, with more to come. Read more here.

The latest edition of the Prayer Diary is now online to download.There are fresh prayers for Sudan as well as prayers for Tanzania. Download prayers here.

For information, resources and more, visit www.leeds.anglican.org

Vacancies

Mission and Pastoral Secretary - Diocese of Leeds

We are looking for someone to join our Church Buildings and Pastoral Reorganisation team as the Mission & Pastoral Secretary. The M&P Secretary will work alongside senior clergy and fellow diocesan officers to deliver statutory work in relation to matters of pastoral reorganisation, including the closure and re-use of church buildings. The work of the M&P Committees enables appropriate use of available ministry resources in relation to mission and pastoral needs. Find out more here.

For all vacancies across the diocese please follow the links below:

For clergy vacancies across the diocese click here.

For educational vacancies across the diocese click here.

For non clergy vacancies across the diocese click here.