Parish Response to
Pastoral Development Strategy
Consultation
Parishioners were invited to a meeting to discuss the Pastoral Development Strategy and to consider which would be the best option for the Deanery.
Every Parish in the Deanery is having this conversation, and individuals were invited to offer their own response to the consultation document. The results of this consultation will decide the future direction of the deanery, whether we will be one big parish or two separate parishes (north and south).
The meeting started with a reflective prayer and then the consultation document was read and followed by a sharing session where people had the opportunity to share their opinions.
Having shared their opinions, the response sheet was handed out to each table to be completed on each table. This was followed by a feedback session where the following were given and have been submitted as our parish response.
Proposal 1
One Single Parish
What is good about the proposal ?
Consolidation of decision making
It reduces conflict
Everyone shares the decisions
Financially it will save money
2 groups said there were no good points about this proposal
Incorporates a large number of parishes with varying socio economic backgrounds giving a range of ideas and life experiences
Sharing of resources eg. Best practice and volunteers
What is not good about this proposal?
Travel across the deanery is difficult for elderly people who have to rely on a poor public transport system. This will also have a cost factor for some people, bus passes don’t start till 9:30am getting to early morning services could be expensive . Issues around travel were raised by every group in the meeting
Could be divisive – making communities feel more remote
Could lead to duplication
Many parishes create more problems It could be very cumbersome to operate
The scale of change is to big to go from a small parish to a large one is and may be difficult for people to adapt to this change
The Pastoral Plan has asked us to be bold and creative – are we doing this?
Bold in terms of two proposals
We feel more ideas, support and help is needed from the clergy
We are being realistic
Are there any other observations
Open minds towards the youth are needed
Thought has to be given to transport and accessibility – high numbers of Church attendees are elderly and rely on public transport which is not reliable especially on Sundays
Deanery boundaries should be discussed to ensure that the best possible proposals are being suggested .
Proposal 2 – Two Parishes
What is good about this proposal?
It is not such a dramatic change for parishioners
More practical to operate in a smaller geographical area
Would be possible to operate in one administrative hub
It will support the increase in housing in the areas – giving the parish an opportunity for evangelisation to the new residents
It reflects diversity
Allows for choice
Travel between Church’s is easier ‘Opportunity to develop female ministries
Will maintain a sense of local community
Will support and lesson the impact of the reduction in Church buildings.
What is not good about the proposal ?
It could lead to division between geographical communities
It could restrict financial support of poorer parishes
Duplication of administration
Who will decide on how funds are spent across the parishes ?
Two groups couldn’t find anything ‘not good’ about this proposal
The Pastoral Plan has asked us to be bold and creative – are we doing this?
Not bold enough
There is a need to focus on Mission and Evangelisation, increase links with schools and use them to spread the good news
Need to be more bold – Meet people from other parishes close current churches and rent a venue to worship in
Are there any other observations ?
How are the ultimate decisions going to be made ?
There is a need for a Mission statement for the new Parish structure
Need to examine deanery boundaries .
Although numbers returning to the Church have risen there is not enough to sustain the Churches long term, we need to examine outreach possibilities
There will be a meeting for all three Sefton deaneries on Saturday 31st October when the Archbishop will announce the results of the consultation and we will know the way forward for our parish and deanery. It will allow us time to build an infrastructure for the new model so that the transition will be as smooth as it can be.
A full report of the meeting will appear on the website
