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Peterfest - a new way of celebrating the patronal festival
People news
Finance
Back to Church Sunday • diversity • world church
Children, Youth
DAC and church buildings
CME and Adult Education
Events and conferences
Miscellaneous

Inserts with this issue of DON:
Where does all the money go? leaflet
Peterfest leaflet

PETERFEST - A NEW WAY OF CELEBRATING THE PATRONAL FESTIVAL Top
The diocese and its cathedral will be in carnival mode on Saturday 28 June, when the first ever Peterfest is held in Peterborough Cathedral and its precincts. The idea of the “open house” style event is to enable many more people, both from the diocese and from the city, to celebrate the feast of St Peter, who is patron saint of the diocese and the cathedral.

In keeping with the Releasing Ministry theme in the diocese this year, there will be a Ministry Fair alongside children’s activities, tower tours, dramatic presentations of events in St Peter’s life and music from a jazz band.

The Ministry Fair will offer the opportunity to find information and chat to people involved in a variety of parish ministry and mission initiatives. These will include such things as how to set up a Church café; involve lay people in bereavement visiting; set up an after school club; start up youth work; or respond to God’s call in retirement.

Parish groups have been invited to participate by making a giant key (up to 4 feet long, made from plywood or papier maché) decorated with symbols or pictures of aspects of their local ministry. These will be carried in a carnival procession from St John’s Church in the city square to the Cathedral, prior to a service at 3.30pm.

A fish and chip van will be on hand to provide a meal from 12 noon (booking is essential - see below). At 1.30pm Bishop John Flack, who has been Director of the Anglican Centre in Rome for the past five years, will be speaking about “The succession to Peter - the papacy and Ecumenism today.”

The traditional invitation-only garden party and Festival Service will take place on Friday 27 June. This year the tea party (for churchwardens, clergy and civic dignitaries) will take place at 3.30pm, prior to the Festival Service at 5.30pm.

Clergy and churchwardens in each parish have been sent a booking form for Peterfest so please liaise with them to ensure that your group is booked in, especially if lunch is required.

For more information call the Cathedral Office on 01733 343342. For details of the Ministry Fair call Liz Holdsworth on 01604 887070. For more about the children’s activities contact Rona Orme on 01604 887045.

PEOPLE NEWS Top

Lay Licensings: For details of those licensed by Bishop Ian at Peterborough Cathedral on Saturday 10 May click here.
Ordinations of Deacons and Priests will take place on 5 and 6 July 2008. See Cross Keys for a note of the names of new Deacons.
Appointments
The Revd Miles Baker, Priest in charge of St Mary Magdalene Parish Church, Torquay (Exeter Diocese), has been appointed Mission Enabler for Peterborough Diocese, from 1 September.
The Revd Peter Davis, Assistant curate of Daventry, Ashby St Ledgers, Braunston, Catesby, Hellidon, Staverton and Welton, has been appointed Rector of Aylmerton, Runton, Beeston Regis and Gresham (Norwich Diocese), from 11 July.
The Revd Peter Edwards, Assistant curate of Uppingham w Ayston & Wardley w Belton, has been appointed Team Vicar in the Bridport Team Ministry (Salisbury Diocese), from 4 August.
The Revd Dr Hilary Geisow, Priest in charge of the Colsterworth group of parishes (Lincoln Diocese) has been appointed Priest in charge of Glinton, Etton, Helpston, Maxey, Northborough and Peakirk from 8 September.
The Revd Chris Goble, Rector of the Spencer Benefice, has been appointed Priest in charge of the benefice of Ilmington (Coventry Diocese) from August .
The Revd Sharon Goble, who has PTO in our diocese, has been appointed part-time chaplain of The Shakespeare Hospice in Shottery, (Coventry Diocese), from August.
The Revd Robert Hill, Assistant priest of St Peter and St Paul with St Michael, Kettering, has been appointed Social Responsibility Adviser for the diocese. He will cease his present appointment and take up his new one on 1 September.
The Revd Derek Waller, Priest in charge of St Peter, Rushden, has been appointed Rector of the same parish following a pastoral scheme. He was licensed on 11 April.
The Revd Neil Warwick, Assistant curate of Towcester with Caldecote and Easton Neston and Greens Norton and Bradden (the Tove Benefice), is to be Assistant Priest (SSM) in the same benefice from 1 September.
Mrs Becky Wills has been appointed Children’s Youth and Family Worker in the parish of St Andrew Kettering. She was licensed on 17 May.
Retirement
The Revd Barry Morrison, Rector of St Mary, Rushden with Newton Bromswold, is to retire on 31 August 2008.
PCC changes
If you have not already done so, please contact Karen Davies on 01733 887011, email: karen.davies@peterborough-diocese.org.uk to let her know of any changes of Churchwarden, Treasurer, Secretary or Child Protection Officer since your Church’s AGM. We need this information promptly as the 2008/09 Diocesan Directory will soon be in preparation.
Recent clergy email address changes
Revd Peter Beresford: petermberesford@hotmail.co.uk
Revd Amanda Cuthbertson: revacuthbertson@o2.co.uk
Revd Nicholas Gandy: nicholas.gandy@btinternet.com
Revd Simon Godfrey: simongodfrey@breathe.com
Revd Philip Street: p.street08@btinternet.com
Office news
Pat Collishaw, Secretary to the Archdeacon of Oakham and Pastoral Secretary, has now returned to work after a fall. She is still under-going physiotherapy to recover the full use of her arm so is working on a part-time (one-handed!) basis at present. She thanks everyone for their good wishes and asks for continued patience. Email:pat.collishaw@peterborough-diocese.org.uk

FINANCE Top

Reviewing financial priorities
An extract from Bishop Ian’s letter to parishes from the June Magazine Resource was reproduced in DON. See the Bishop's letter webpage.

Getting people talking about money
Paul Adams, Stewardship and Funding Officer has been meeting Parish Giving Officers
around the diocese. Here he tells us how it’s been going.

“No-one likes to talk about money” is one of the most common things I hear up and down the diocese, so I really didn’t know what to expect when I set up a programme of meetings with Parish Giving Officers.

Soon I will have met with about 60 people and sent information to several others and I have been so encouraged, as I hope those attending have been. The purpose of the meetings was to try and encourage a more consistent approach across the diocese and particularly to encourage all parishes to have annual Stewardship renewals, and to write to faithful givers each year, to say thank you. It was also an opportunity to share what resources are available, particularly through the internet, and leaflets that I have.

Mike Jones from St Mary's Burton Latimer attended one of the meetings and found it very useful. “In essence it was a step by step guide to running a successful renewal scheme,” he said. “It was good to meet people from across the diocese with the same concerns.”

He explained how the stewardship campaign in his Church had taken off. “A while ago our small stewardship committee set out two aims. Firstly, to ask the Rector for our own stewardship prayer. Secondly, to communicate this to our parishioners, along with a message about the absolute importance of paying our parish share in full.

"The subsequent response has been quite amazing. I have no doubt that our prayers have helped to pull everyone together and we are now all working to achieve our goal.”

The plan is to offer such meetings for parish giving officers twice a year, and the next meetings will take place in October and November. This time the focus will be on legacy giving and giving in rural parishes.

If you were not able to come to the meetings, or would like to receive an invitation, please contact Paul Adams on 01604 887071, email: paul.adams@peterborough-diocese.org.uk

BACK TO CHURCH SUNDAY • DIVERSITY • WORLD CHURCH

Back to Church Sunday Training events. See flyer

Celebrating Diversity - how we include the cultural diversity of the diocese in the life of our Churches. Wednesday 2 July, 7.30pm at Emmanuel Church, Northampton. See flyer

Jackie Topp meets other Church Disability Advisers at national conference
Being a disability adviser is quite a lonely business, says Jackie Topp, Disability Adviser for our diocese. So when she was invited to this conference at Church House, Westminster she made every effort to attend. She says:

About 30 delegates from across the country came, including Peterborough’s previous adviser, John Naudé, who sends his good wishes.

The morning session was organised with disabled clergy as its focus. A presentation from “Access to Work” informed us about what financial support may be available to disabled employees. It soon became apparent that the way clergy are remunerated and housed may affect eligibility for this support. This led to the second session on “clergy terms of service”.
After a welcome lunch break we heard from a disability adviser from Exeter who was fairly new in post. She was not disabled herself but had two disabled children and was committed to ensuring equal access for all people in the Church.

Following this there was opportunity to learn from each other, ask questions, and make suggestions for sharing information. Many of us said the conference would have been more useful if there had been more time for us to network with one another. Nevertheless it was both interesting and helpful to meet with other Christians, clergy and lay, who are responsible for ensuring disabled people’s needs are met within The Church of England.

Jackie Topp, Disability Adviser jmc7@btinternet.com

Diocese to host international visitors
From 26 June - 12 July four visitors from our Link Diocese of Bungoma, Kenya, will be welcomed to the diocese. It is the first such visit since 2006. The visitors include Ven. George Mechumo (Link Secretary and Diocesan Administration Secretary; Dean Joseph Weswa, Provost of Webuye Cathedral; Lay Canon Mrs Rhoda Lusaka (retired headteacher, member of the national Church's Provincial Synod and a visitor to Lambeth 1998); and Revd Reuben Kibaba (Vicar of Sikata Parish and also a Major in the Kenyan Army).

“We'd be delighted to see our guests visiting as varied a range of places around the diocese as possible,” said Clive Evans, Chair of the Bungoma Link Committee. “Sundays are already spoken for, but there are plenty of other free slots”. Please contact Clive Evans: 01327 842909 or cliver.evans@tiscali.co.uk

The diocese will also be welcoming visiting Bishops from the Anglican Communion prior to the Lambeth Conference in July. The Archbishop of Seoul in Korea, Bishop Eliud and a neighbouring Kenyan bishop have been personally invited by the diocese. Two others are making private visits to friends here and two more have been allocated to our diocese by the Lambeth Conference organisers. During their stay, from 11-16 July, they will speak at Deanery meetings and preach in local churches. Details will be posted on the website shortly.

CHILDREN, YOUTH Top

Children’s Society joins forces with Halloween Choice campaign
How does your church help children and families to mark the eve of All Hallows? Over the past couple of years a number of churches, bishops and dioceses have been working to suggest different ways of marking Halloween. 

Now, in partnership with The Children’s Society, a group of diocesan officers across the country is coming up with a higher-profile campaign called Halloween Choice. 

Rather than moaning about the ghoulish and unpleasant merchandise in the shops, Halloween Choice offers a range of ways to celebrate all that is good about All Saints Tide.
This year, The Children’s Society will be announcing the results of a survey to find out who are the people that children see as heroes in 2008, and churches, schools and children’s groups will be invited to organise events that celebrate local heroes in their community. 

The updated Halloween Choice website, when it goes live at the end of June, will contain ideas for fun events, “dark” walks and short services – most of which will involve dressing up and sharing God’s light with the world.  The website will also encourage people to donate their “treat” to The Children’s Society to benefit children in difficult circumstances. 

Rona Orme, Children’s Missioner, is the key contact for Halloween Choice and she is keen to discuss possibilities for your parish. Contact her on 01604 887045 or email rona.orme@peterborough-diocese.org.uk
www.halloweenchoice.org

Child Protection Training
Tuesday 24 June: for young leaders aged 14-21 at 7pm (tbc), at Christ the King, Kettering, with BBQ. The training and BBQ is free but booking is essential. Ideal for young church helpers at holiday clubs etc.
Monday 8 September: for adult leaders of youth & children, 7.30-9.30pm, at Christ the King, Kettering. Bookings: Tel: 01604 887044 or email youth@peterborough-diocese.org.uk

Youth Evangelism Fund see Youth webpage

Youth ministry training see Youth What's On webpage

Children's Worker sought by the United Benefice of Mears Ashby, Hardwick and Sywell cum Oversone. For job specification see:  www.mearsashbygroup.org.uk

DAC

Every Church should have one!
Paul Middleton, DAC Secretary, explains why your church would find it useful
to have a Statement of Significance up its sleeve.
Your church is special - it may be because it is of particular architectural merit or because of interesting historical associations; it may be its setting or some of the contents of the church – whatever it is, all churches are special and that is worth celebrating.

It is also worth recording, both as a way of appreciating more fully the value of our places of worship and so that whenever anyone asks – the architect at the quinquennial survey, English Heritage when repairs or new works are being considered - there is a ready reference point to go to. This document is called a Statement of Significance.

In preparing the Statement, PCCs become more informed about the church and churchyard for which they are responsible and therefore better equipped to manage it for both mission and heritage.

The Statement, once prepared, will remain largely unchanged and can be a reference point for any future work – it will include a ground plan which will often be needed as the basis for presenting ideas for changes to the Diocesan Advisory Committee.

Whenever major changes are discussed, such as re-ordering or the installation of kitchen facilities or toilets, a Statement of Significance will always be required, because these works will have an obvious impact on the appearance and character of the building.

The document should be between two and four sides of A4 in length. Start from the wider community setting and work inwards. Include a site plan and key photographs (remember it is not an inventory of all contents!).

There is plenty of guidance and examples to give you ideas, either direct from the DAC Office or from websites. Contact Paul Middleton on 01733 887026 or dac@peterborough-diocese.org.uk, or visit www.churchcare.co.uk or www.peterboroughdiocesanregistry.co.uk

Rising Church water bills
Churches in some parts of the country are experiencing huge increases in their annual water charges due to new pricing structures introduced by some companies. Although such increases have not so far been reported in our diocese, you may like to add your name to a petition set up on the 10 Downing Street by David Boddy, a Churchwarden at North Thornaby (York Diocese) where water bills have risen by 1300%.
The petition is at: http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/ChurchWaterBills/
A Church Times article on the subject is at: www.churchtimes.co.uk/content.asp?id=53755

Aiding metal theft detection
To aid detection in cases of metal theft, Dr John Bond of Northants Police Scientific Support is compiling a database of church roof lead types. If you are within the Northants Police Authority and would like your Church's lead to be added to this database, please take a thumbnail-sized lead sample to your local police station or bring it with you to the Church Security morning in Corby on 11 June (now fully booked).

Arsonist warning
The Chief Fire Officer for Northants has drawn our attention to a spate of arson attacks along the Fosse Way in Warwickshire. At two separate churches candles were used as a timing device. The lit candles were put into a cupboard area and then the cupboard filled with combustible material, allowing the offender time to get out prior to ignition.
Fire Officers are encouraging churches to be extra vigilant, store candles and paper sensibly and double check cupboards before locking up the Church.

Finding your Church’s postcode
We would like to be able to include church postcodes in the Diocesan Directory, as they are often requested by those travelling to a church in an unfamiliar place. When your church takes up its entry on the A Church Near You website, this information is automatically available. If you have not already taken up your free entry on this national website (managed by Oxford Diocese) and would like to do so, please contact Steven Hall on 01733 887018 or steven.hall@peterborough-diocese.org.uk
The A Church Near You website can be found at: www.achurchnearyou.com

Telegraph launches campaign to save churches
The Telegraph newspaper has launched a campaign calling on government to do more to help preserve our churches. Find out more at: www.telegraph.co.uk/saveourchurches

Sacred Britain: New Horizons
The Church Tourism Association 2008 Convention
24-26 November, at Swanwick, Derbyshire.
For all involved in making our churches more accessible and welcoming to visitors. Details from: www.churchestourismassociation.info

CONTINUING MINISTERIAL EDUCATION (CME) AND ADULT EDUCATION Top

CME & Adult Education Diary for 2008 more

EVENTS AND CONFERENCES Top

Holy Baptism - how is it for you? A conference run by Baptism Integrity
Thursday 5 June from 1-4pm at CPAS HQ, Warwick.
Programme includes "Implementing a Baptismal policy".
For more information visit www.baptism.org.uk or call Roger Godin on 01823 480606.

Liquid Mass Fresh Expressions of Eucharist. Saturday 7 June. A day led by The Revd Tim Sledge from 10am – 4pm at Christ Church, Bury St Edmunds, IP32 7EW. Fee £20 inc. lunch. £16 for Praxis Affiliates. To book contact Liz Billett email: disschurch2@btconnect.com

Faith in Maintenance, Thursday 12 June
A free training day, primarily for church wardens and fabric committee members.
at St Andrew’s, Barnwell. Contact: Kate Minnis, Project Administrator, SPAB Tel: 0207 456 0913. Email: katem@spab.org.uk

Windrush anniversary, Sunday 22 June
Christians across the UK are being urged to mark the Windrush 60th Anniversary by holding services and special events. The SS Empire Windrush was the passenger ship which brought 492 people from the Caribbean to Britain on 22 June 1948. The arrival of the boat at Tilbury Docks is regarded as a key moment in the development of multi-ethnic Britain. For more details see the Churches Together in England website: www.churches-together.net   

Launde Abbey Diocesan Retreat House summer programme: www.launde.org.uk ERRATUM: Sat 23 - Mon 25 August are Open Days at Launde Abbey, and not a Flower Festival as mistakenly stated in Summer Cross Keys.

SPI-DIR Resources for Spiritual Direction. Course begins Thursday 11 September 2008
12.30pm – 4pm at St Francis and St Therese Church, East Hunsbury, Northampton. 12 sessions, fortnightly, 6 before Christmas, 6 next year. Ecumenical and open to both lay and ordained people. £60 fee. Contacts: Peter Gompertz 01832 732477 or Lynda Randall 01327 260204.

Racial Justice Sunday, 14 September
Resource for churches are available from:
www.ctbi.org.uk/racialjusticesunday

Thomas Merton: Falling into Silence. 21-22 November at Norwich Christian Meditation Centre. A two-day intensive with James Finlay.£50 (£40) before 1 July, £60 or £70 thereafter. Email: nicholas.vesey@btopenworld.com
www.norwichmeditation.co.uk

MISCELLANEOUS

Paul’s musical challenge
Years ago Spring Harvest issued the “10:10 Challenge”. Five thousand £10 notes were given out with the challenge to raise money to help those affected by the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Africa. We were encouraged to use our talents, so eventually I decided to try and make a CD. With the help of three friends and fellow worship-leaders, the project has at last come to fruition. “As One God of Wonders” is a collection of well known modern worship songs, plus a couple of our own songs. It is priced at £12.50 and the profits will be split between 10:10 Challenge (now Hope HIV) and the Diocesan Mission Fund. To buy a copy email paul.adams@peterborough-diocese.org.uk
Paul Adams, Stewardship and Funding Officer

Copyright health
Christian Copyright Licensing International (CCLI) provides copyright solutions for churches wanting to reproduce or play recordings of hymns, songs, films, recorded music etc, including legally downloaded song lyrics and music from the internet. They help to ensure that copyright owners are fairly rewarded for their work. CCLI offer a Healthcheck – a short questionnaire about activities that might have copyright implications. A copy can be found at: www.ccli.co.uk/resources/health-check.cfm?country=gb>

Clergy dog collars needed in Uganda
Gill Morrison is sending them to a Mission partner. If you can help, please contact Gill on 01933 312554 or email: morrison@barryandgill.freeserve.co.uk

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