This email is sent, at the request of the Diocesan Secretary, to all incumbents, ministers and officers in this Diocese. It is your monthly go-to for operational matters, guidance and advice. All part of the service!
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Welcome to our Generous Giving Campaign, 12th September - 3rd October

On the first day of the campaign, (this Sunday 12th September), I am looking forward to joining Morning Worship with the Three Valleys church near Sherborne. We will be reflecting together on God’s abundant generosity to us, and our response in discipleship – including our giving.

Our shared vision as a Diocese is for a thriving Christian presence in every community. Our 571 church buildings and 194 church schools are a visible symbol of the presence of a caring and serving community. Our lives as followers of Jesus Christ are even more a sign and symbol – a visible presence in homes, schools, work and community meeting spaces.

Together as a Diocese we are committed to supporting each other to bring the good news of Jesus Christ to the communities we serve. Each local church has many calls on its funds and the pandemic has only heightened financial pressures. In this season we are asking everyone to consider what they give to God to fund mission and ministry to grow our presence and its impact.

Resourcing stewardship and giving was endorsed by the October 2020 Diocesan Synod as part of our response to the financial challenges we all face. This autumn we are resourcing a Diocesan-wide Generous Giving Campaign with an open invitation to all parishes to take part.

We hope the Generous Giving Campaign will give you the best start possible in continuing to encourage a culture of sustainable giving in your local church and community.

You can find all the resources you need, including the first of the Bishops' sermons, on our dedicated resources page here.

We will really value your feedback on the Campaign, whether or not you were able to take part. So, do look out for the evaluation forms we will be sending out to parishes after the Autumn Campaign has ended.

Diocesan Secretary

This is a more focused monthly newsletter.

We are continuing to carry the story of our common life in mission and ministry in Grapevine, which you can subscribe to here and through social media.

Our goal is to help build good communication and engagement as we share in our common purpose as the Diocese of Salisbury. In the next six months we are replacing our website to be a more effective place for information sharing and engagement, while the whole Diocesan Support Team is seeking better ways to listen carefully to the needs of the local church – your needs.

In coming months there are some significant areas for us to attend to together across the Diocese. Our planning will respond to the needs of the local with creativity and realism. We will be taking further steps in developing our Mission and Pastoral Plan through dialogue in each deanery. This will help us to finalise our Diocesan Budget for 2022 at the November Diocesan Synod.

With a new Synod elected, a range of committees will be updating their membership to help enable timely and wise decision making. We will be launching a consultation on the Fairer Share scheme, developing discussions about the future of church buildings and our diocesan offices.

Finance is significant in many of the choices we need to make. I am delighted that Liz Ashmead is launching a monthly financial newsletter next month. Our commitment is to be transparent on where and how money is raised and deployed, so that effective decisions can be made in a timely manner. In the first edition you will find links to a new Guide to Share, and news on upcoming support for parish accounting.

The Vacancy in See

Come, Holy Spirit.
Come, quicken our minds.
Come, enlighten our hearts.
Come, enlarge our wisdom.
Come, increase our love.
Come, that we might know your will.
Come, that we might make it known.
Come. We wait upon you.
Come, that in our work we might honour you alone.
Come, Holy Spirit.
Amen.

Please continue to pray for all those involved in discerning who the next Bishop of Salisbury will be.

The Crown Nominations Commission, including our six Diocesan Representatives, will be meeting 29th September and 9th/ 10th November.

Following a thorough consultation, our ‘Vacancy in See’ Committee agreed a ‘Statement of Needs’ for the appointment. If you have not read it already, please do take a look as it gives a good overview of who we are now as a Diocese and some of the needs identified for the future.

Link to Statement of Needs here.

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