HOLY TRINITY CHURCH A PLAN FOR MISSION in EAST FINCHLEY Confident/Compassionate/Creative Diocese of London Capital Vision 2020 1
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Introduction Holy Trinity is a vital part of the growing church of God in London. Like the rest of the church in this great City we have seen growth both in physical numbers and a desire to learn more about the God we worship. We are sharing in the Capital Vision 2020 of the Diocese of London. To that end: We will be more Confident in speaking and living the Gospel of Jesus Christ We will be more Compassionate in serving our community with the love of God the Father We will be more Creative in reaching people and places with the Good News in the power of the Spirit. What follows is a Profile of Holy Trinity and Our Mission Action Plan or MAP. It is our route to 2020. 3
A Mission Action Plan? Mission Action Planning is a tried and tested way of putting flesh on what we say about ourselves as a Church and Parish, exploring our strengths and the challenges that face us, and putting together a realistic plan for the way forward that God is calling us to. Every Parish in London is encouraged to have an up to date Mission Action Plan or MAP. It is regarded as a prime document for those involved in the support and development of parochial ministry. It should reflect the vision of the whole church in its call to ministry. MAPs are used by churches to focus on the priorities that they have set for themselves and are individual to each church s situation size, location, history, tradition, etc as well as its anticipated future path. At this point in our journey with God, having a MAP is of particular importance for Holy Trinity. There is much to be done and together we have a real opportunity to drive, shape and help determine our future as a church, while being aware of the challenges ahead. We are moving back to a position where we can engage a full time priest to lead us. Having a MAP will enable us to focus our combined efforts and energy on the direction we currently expect God will take us in. It will be a practical document, for reference and review on a regular basis as we develop and grow as a church. It is certainly not a box-ticking exercise to be filed away and gather dust. It must be open to the surprises and new directions God has for us. While our MAP should reflect the hopes and intentions of our congregation, it is not just an internal document. It will also be of interest to those who may be thinking about joining our fellowship, to those within the Diocese who assess our health and viability as a church, and as an input to the support and development which might be available to us. Importantly, of course, in time it will be of interest to those interested in our vacancy! 4
Developing Holy Trinity s MAP Preparing a MAP means making it an activity which has the widest possible involvement across the congregation. It should, after all, reflect the activities and spiritual direction we feel are important to us as a church. Feedback and ideas have been taken from brainstorming/planning days held over the last two years ( Living the Vision and Build the Vision ). A sub-group of the PCC has drafted our MAP, which has been discussed, reviewed and agreed with the remaining PCC members. Many resources are available to churches to help them draft a MAP. Two key inputs in shaping the structure of our MAP have been the London Challenge 2012 and Capital Vision 2020, the current evolving strategy for the Diocese of London. Bringing Capital Vision 2020 to life and engaging with its three themes of confidence, compassion and creativity will be well underway if we are able to embed our MAP in life at Holy Trinity. Now, at Advent 2013, the start of the church s year, we come full circle from those brainstorming and planning sessions and need you to let us know what you think without your engagement and input, the MAP becomes something which lacks relevance and doesn t reflect your vision for our church. Please do take the time to read it and comment on it. The PCC will keep the MAP at the forefront as we discuss the activities of our church and where God is calling us to focus our energies, as well as reviewing it more fully on a six monthly basis, to update, amend and celebrate! 5
Holy Trinity The Parish There is a map of the parish at the back of this Plan. It covers a large part of East Finchley, primarily to the north and west, and runs from the North Circular in the north-west to Coldfall Woods to the east and is served by East Finchley tube station. It falls within the Borough of Barnet. It is a parish which is very mixed, as is typical of London, containing many families with young children, long term older residents, as well as students and young professionals. There is significant social housing, particularly to the north-east of the parish around Strawberry Vale. Other Christian denominations are well represented in the area, including Methodists, Baptists, Catholics and Greek Orthodox churches, as well as Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist and Jewish residents. There is a Hindu community centre in Holy Trinity s old church hall and a Catholic care home and nunnery at the end of Church Lane. Two large cemeteries lie within the parish and St Marylebone Crematorium is on the border. The parish residents live in a mix of social housing flats with three tower blocks, late Victorian and modern flats (both purpose-built or later subdivided) and mid to late Victorian houses, with a few more modern homes. This reflects the area s primary building phase from 1860 onwards as well as pre-and post- war private and local authority housing. The variety of housing also reflects the wide range of incomes seen in the parish from those living at wellbelow poverty levels to those well above London and British average incomes. East Finchley s main shopping street also reflects this mixture of incomes, with many eateries ranging from KFC to fine Italian restaurants and an Italian deli, a renowned second-hand book shop, many charity shops, a mortgage shop as well as many hairdressers. Budgens is the only branded larger food store within the parish. There are two junior schools in the parish. Holy Trinity s own school and The Martin School, both with a long history of educating what was initially a working class area. There are 2 secondary schools, one catholic, Bishop Douglass and a new free school which has opened this year, The Archer Academy. Many pupils from Holy Trinity go on to attend The Wren Academy, an Anglican secondary school with links to our congregation. There are several nurseries including Scrabbles and Newstead Children s centre. Two sheltered housing centres for older residents lie within the parish. A hospital, Finchley Memorial, with a Walk-in Centre, but no A&E facility, lies just across the North Circular. Facilities for the local community include the Green Man community centre in Strawberry Vale, the Phoenix cinema, Coldfall Woods and Cherry Tree Woods, Long Lane pasture and the Youth Theatre. East Finchley still has its own library. A swimming pool, sports centre and multiplex cinema lie just across the North Circular, but are much used by residents. The Hampstead Garden Suburb Institute, offering adult education, has a centre near East Finchley station. The Academy for Middlesex Cricket Club is on East End road. Large employers within the parish include the UK head office of Macdonalds. 6
Holy Trinity The Church As a Church, we aim to see the work of God in everything around us, to accept God s free gift of reconciliation in Jesus Christ and to rely on the power of the Holy Spirit to help and direct us. Our over riding objective is to help meet the needs of all members of our diverse community, no matter where each of us is on our spiritual journey. Holy Trinity Church sees itself as is a vibrant, friendly and growing congregation of Christians in North London. There are about 100 on the Electoral Roll, plus others with whom we are in regular contact. We have a wide range of worshippers who are regular attendees, 90% of whom live in the immediate local area of N2. The lively Sunday Club for younger children and our historical connection to the local Church of England primary school - means that a high proportion of our congregation is made up of families with young children. However, with the Eucharist at the heart of our Sunday worship we aim to appeal to as broad a range of the community as possible. We encourage an engaging, inclusive and sociable atmosphere during - and after - our services, in which a wide variety of individuals in the congregation play a part and contribute. Our aims are currently achieved through a collaborative ministry involving the PCC and all members of the Church. Revd Gray Featherstone has been appointed by the Bishop to work in the parish on a voluntary basis and supports the work of the full membership with the help of a Ministry team comprising the Churchwardens, Readers, and other office holders from time to time. The principal service is held on Sunday at 10.00am. The emphasis is on participating together in prayer, teaching, music and sacrament, making space for all ages to get involved. The objective is to provide a firm spiritual base, from which we can all be enabled to live out our faith in the parish community, and a building that can be used both by the Church itself to provide services to the community and a convenient location for other local activities. 7
Holy Trinity The Building Our church was established in 1846 at the instigation of local landowners and other benefactors because of an increasing degree of lawlessness and social deprivation in the area. Drunkenness and frequent bouts of bare-knuckle fighting on the fields around The Five Bells pub were other symptoms of a godless society. The renowned architect Anthony Salvin (1799-1881) lived at Elmhurst and offered to design the church. He became one of the first churchwardens. It is described as Early English in style and is noted for its fine roof and exceptional Victorian stained glass windows. It has been pointed out that the intimate scale of the building is greatly enhanced by the fact that the roof of the chancel is lower than that of the nave. The church has the status of a Grade II listed building. It began as a modest single-nave building with a vestry, where the present organ is located. Later the north and south aisles were added by benefactors and a new vestry built out. There were no facilities like washbasins or toilets. The church hall was not built until 1913, but then sold in 1985. That enabled the church to be reordered, with a limited number of new rooms and facilities at the back, plus a gallery. The church itself is a flexible space and is used for concerts, social events and fund raising activities. The church and rooms are used by community activities (such as support groups, music, the disabled, yoga and pilates), occasionally, for private functions. We hope the Church will increasingly become a shared resource for the parish, whilst remaining, at its heart, a place of prayer, worship and outreach. An historic lack of parochial funds has led to a back-log of maintenance and we are currently dealing with defects to the bells, the stained glass windows, the roof and the plaster-work. Thought is being given to how to extend the facilities to create more space, especially for use on a Sunday morning. The churchyard is now closed, meaning that no further burials can take place. It has been greatly neglected, to the extent that we now face a large bill for the management of the many trees that have been allowed to grow unhindered in the most inappropriate locations. 8
Holy Trinity Finance The emphasis is on rebuilding the Church income to a point where we are able to support a stipendiary priest. To the extent that we are able to improve our reserves during the process it will enable us to bring that day forward and develop the other resources, primarily rooms and equipment, that will be needed to support a more extensive ministry. Our main sources of income are giving by members of the congregation and hire of the church premises. Regular giving by standing order is increasing, supplemented by collections on a Sunday morning, social events and individual donations. During this period without a full time minister the vicarage is managed by the Diocese and is let out on a commercial basis. The income goes to the Diocese. The Church also makes a contribution to the Common Fund commensurate with its current status, that is without having a priest paid from that Fund. The PCC is very pleased to have been able to reverse the annual financial deficit and be in a position to instigate a programme of building and fabric restoration/maintenance in order to correct the under investment of previous years. That has included work on the organ, improvement to the lighting and heating. Funding continues to be needed to tackle the maintenance back-log and will increase when we consider more radical improvements to the functionality of the space, in the absence of a Church Hall. 9
Mission Action Plan What follows is the core of our Plan. It is intended for comment and constant review. We will be more Confident in speaking and living the Gospel of Jesus Christ We will be more Compassionate in serving our community with the love of God the Father We will be more Creative in reaching people and places with the Good News in the power of the Spirit. This is our Mission Action Plan or MAP. It is our route to 2020. 10
A Confident in sharing the good news of Jesus Christ Goal Action Resources needed Time-scale To provide spiritual support and guidance which is inclusive and accessible to as many people in the parish as possible whilst retaining the centrality of the Eucharist Inclusive Sunday morning worship which has a place for all ages Participation by as many as possible including setting up music, dance and drama groups The key resources and timings depend on provision for young people in separate locations for part of the Sunday morning worship. (See Commitment 3 below) People willing and able to lead and participate Develop a team of intercessors Trained and willing participants Already in place This is the core of Holy Trinity s current witness and its development is always a work in progress. Music happening regularly Drama we have the talent so timing will match willingness and opportunity Dance when opportunities arise Develop prayer and healing ministry Trained and willing participants Already in place Give older children roles within the service (eg. Readings, serving, music etc as above) Willing young people and those able to guide Already in place and to be developed To provide the Eucharist to those who are unable to attend the church service To make resources linked to Services available on the web (eg background reading material, video of key events, copies of sermons) Linked to parish visiting (see Commitment D) People able and willing to develop use of website and social media Resource dependent Dependent on finding the right person 11
B Confident in equipping the servants of Jesus Christ Goal Action Resources needed Time-scale To nurture Spiritual development and discipleship, and care for one another House groups for bible study and prayer Prayer group Leadership training Alpha/ Emmaus course or similar way to encourage seekers and new Christians or those wanting a basics refresher Trained leaders Participants the value of this needs to be more widely understood. Identify the right people to encourage. Appropriate material (? CPAS which is recommended by those from both ends of the churchmanship spectrum) Happening on an occasional basis. Ongoing development also involves finding good times for those wishing to participate. Ongoing Target to start, say, 2014/15 Course, leaders, time, participants Target to start, say, 2014/15 12
C Confident in telling the story of Jesus Christ afresh for this generation and especially for the young Goal Action Resources needed Time-scale To nurture and teach children and young people Offer Sunday club targeted to individual age groups Trained and supported adult volunteers Materials for activities Space/ room for teaching. This is a key requirement and potential restriction on development On-going Weekday/ non Sunday activities Willing and able adult volunteers From 2014 Train and develop teachers Courses or seminars to recommend In house sessions (people able and willing to lead) Ongoing To involve older children in parts of the church service (be part of the reading rota, etc, as outlined above) and to encourage the Sunday Club to lead appropriate Sunday services during the year. Already in place but ongoing 13
D Confident, Compassionate & Creative in serving our community Goal Action Resources needed Time-scale To provide spiritual and practical support to Holy Trinity School Continued on next page Sit on Governing body and subcommittees Willing volunteers Good number involved now but need for their activity to be led and focussed Full involvement of priest when we have a full time ministry Leaders To be at optimum, bar full time priest, in 2014 Opportunities for the school to use the church (Services, classes, educational visits) On-going development linked to increasing involvement of church membership Assemblies Leaders Happening regularly but more Develop new ideas for the school and help put them into practice Encourage further engagement from the school. People to support governors in this so wide spread of church involved participants needed Ongoing 14
To establish Holy Trinity as a Community Hub Make HT available for use by more local groups Get to know and support those groups Social Events: Summer Fair (Autumn/Spring?) Annual Harvest Barn Dance Concerts Lettings Manager Part time caretaker/verger Regular and ad hoc cleaner Volunteers people willing to make things happen and identify other social events which might appeal to both the congregation and the wider community. Donations Current restraint is resources to manage a full programme and find best groups to use. To develop as building facilities expand to meet the church s own requirements On-going Pastoral outreach to the elderly, housebound, infirm, lonely, vulnerable Establish links with care providers in the parish (care homes, other schools, community groups) Archer Academy Strawberry Vale Full time priest and/or volunteers Contact needed. Resourcing to happen alongside HT School Link with existing outreach work managed by St Barnabas Resource dependent Asap First steps being taken Open church (arts festival) Co-ordinator and volunteers Getting started Coffee mornings Organisers and volunteers Resource dependent Drop in centre for the elderly/those isolated/regularly based at home Mother and toddler groups Organisers and volunteers Resource dependent Programme of visiting Trained and willing pastoral visitors Resource dependent Night Shelter Volunteers On-going 15
E Creative in expressing God s love in our world city Goal Action Resources needed Time-scale Increase links with other faith Continue to participate in Homeless Volunteers On-going Jan March every year communities and other churches action Barnet with New North London Synagogue Develop existing link with Methodist On-going To provide for those in need in the parish and beyond Continue to be a fair trade church church Food Bank and other projects Volunteers At the moment we only have the resources to respond to other initiatives rather than take a lead Serve fair trade tea/coffee/ biscuits after church on a Sunday Sell fair trade goods after church and at annual fair. Fair trade goods Fair trade goods Volunteers On-going On-going F Creative in supporting at least one external (overseas?) project Goal Action Resources needed Time-scale To develop a long term relationship with one overseas community (eg. Angola/ Mozambique) To investigate potential projects To put a suggestion box in church to collect ideas Co-ordinator 2014 16
G Creative in generating the resources in finance and property needed Goal Action Resources needed Time-scale Maintain a balanced budget Regular renewal of the stewardship campaign Core objective linked to being able to support a full time priest and other workers Encourage more generous giving To re-educate congregation Ongoing regarding financing of church. Maintain the church property On going programme Ongoing Rent out church during week To identify community groups in Ongoing need of local space and to partner with them. Use the church building for the See above mission of the church Renovate the interior of church to make better use of the space To consult with different groups to establish what type of space they require Meetings with relevant groups Suggestion box In preparatory phase 17