Mission and Ministry: Priorities and Sermons

ST MARY & ST EANSWYTHE MISSION AND MINISTRY PRIORITIES 2023-24

I now have only two years left with you, and I want to ensure that our time together is spent wisely and well. therefore, at our PCC meeting on 1th January, we agreed together the following mission and ministry priorities to determine where our resources and my energy will go in these next two years. I thought that everyone should be aware of these, so that you can pray and join in any part of this that you feel drawn to. If you want to know more, please speak to any PCC member. I will preach on aspects of our priorities: you can hear the sermons here. 

The Actions could be for the whole PCC, any of its members, any member of the church, or just for me; but they have been endorsed by the whole PCC.

Measures are important because they tell us if we need to change our strategy.

Ethos

We aim to embed an ethos that is kind, appreciative and co-operative in which difference is valued, initiative is rewarded and mistakes are treated humanely.

Actions

  • Support Individuals and teams in developing projects and running them
  • Express gratitude both publicly and privately
  • Celebrate special moments

Measures

  • People feel relaxed and good-humoured
  • People feel included and able to have a go at things
  • Suggestions are made positively
  • Difference of opinion is expressed constructively

Welcome

We want people to feel welcome whenever they come to church

Actions

  • Maintain and support our Sidesperson and Welcome teams
  • Invite visitors to stay for coffee and to join in with any current events
  • Let people know they’re welcome to join in the life of the church, e.g. our choir or various rotas
  • Develop a Welcome Pack with information for visitors
  • Develop a Pastoral Care Team
  • Raise money for installing a new heating system

Measures

  • The numbers of people who try us out and decide to stay
  • Increasing numbers of volunteers
  • The Welcome Pack made available
  • The commissioning of a Pastoral Care Team
  • Installing a new heating system

Worship

We aim to both maintain and develop our choral, Anglo-Catholic approach to worship.

Actions

  • Maintaining the tradition of our Sunday morning worship
  • Supporting our Organist & Choir Director to strengthen the choir and its repertoire
  • Launch an alternative service that uses liturgy, symbolism, the senses and the arts in an informal and contemporary way
  • Providing high-quality care through Occasional Offices

Measures

  • Increasing numbers in attendance, baptisms, confirmations and in the choir
  • Launching a contemporary service

Spirituality

We wish to offer support for people on their spiritual journey.

Actions

  • Offering reflective sermons
  • Offering Lent & Advent Courses
  • Offering experience of traditional monastic disciplines like Lectio Divina and Contemplative prayer through The Companions of Eanswythe
  • Offering seminars and taster sessions at our St Eanswythe Festival
  • Offering a programme for non-churchgoers to explore the Christian faith
  • Offering prayers for healing and wholeness

Measures

  • The number of people who access these groups and sessions

Pilgrimage

We want to develop our church as a centre for pilgrimage.

Actions

  • Under Dr Andrew Richardson’s leadership, to cost the ‘Eanswythe Found’ project by Summer 2023
  • To fundraise for delivering the project by Summer 2025
  • To develop ecumenical partnerships

Measures

  • Accurate bids and fundraising for every aspect of the project from a variety of sources
  • Increasing pilgrimage visits
  • Increasing income

The Arts

We would like our church to continue to host the Arts

Actions

  • To develop our close partnerships with Bayle Music, the Sacconi Quartet, the Creative Quarter and other artists in Folkestone
  • To host even more concerts, performances, exhibitions and community events
  • To continue to offer worship events for our wider town community

Measures

  • Numbers of events
  • Increased footfall or attendance
  • Increased income

Children

We aim to bring God’s love to children both in our church schools, and in our parish worship

Actions

  • Support our Children’s Church team
  • Support our two church primary schools through Collective Worship, governance and participation in church events

Measures

  • Numbers of families engaging with Children’s Church
  • The strengthening of Christian values in our schools in their leadership transitions
  • Increasing school events in our church
  • Church members becoming governors

Social Care

We want to support people going through challenging times.

Actions

  • Continue to host our Ukrainian Welcome event, and support the volunteers who deliver it
  • Make our support of the Rainbow Centre far more high-profile
  • Co-operate better with Churches Together in Folkestone in their social care projects

Measures

  • Increased giving for social care projects
  • Increasing numbers of volunteers from our church community for social care events or programmes

Fr John Walker, 10th January 2023

 

Sermons

Children, 19th March 2023

 

Welcome. 12th March 2023

 

Ethos, 5th February 2023

 

Spirituality, 12th February 2023