Changes in the Safeguarding Team 

I would like to take this opportunity to announce the following changes within our Diocesan Safeguarding Team:  
 
I am very pleased to announce that Jane Huttly has been appointed as Safeguarding Manager with immediate effect.  Jane’s new remit will include the leadership of the Safeguarding Team, in addition to continuing to lead  on safeguarding policy and training for the Diocese of Guildford.
 
We are currently recruiting for a Diocesan Safeguarding Advisor and we are pleased that Ian Berry has kindly agreed to continue in this role on an interim basis, pending the appointment of a successor, in addition to his role as DSA for the Diocese of Portsmouth. Ian will be the primary safeguarding contact for our parishes in the immediate future.  For all safeguarding queries or issues, please contact Ian in the first instance on 07544 566850.
 
As previously announced, Linda Hayward will be retiring from her role of DBS Manager in early October.  I would like to take this opportunity to say a huge thank you to Linda for her commitment and faithful service for almost 20 years, we will miss her enormously.  Linda will remain the point of contact for DBS queries until that time.
 
Jenny Partridge has announced that she has decided that it’s time to step down from her role as a volunteer DBS Administrator.  Jenny has provided great support to Linda and our team over the past 12 years and  we appreciate very much her dedication and faithful service.  On behalf of the team, I would like to say a big thank you to her and to wish her well in her retirement.
 
Ali Bilovodska will sadly be leaving her role of Safeguarding Training Administrator at the end of September.  We would like to thank Ali for all her support on safeguarding training and to wish her well in her new endeavours. Ali will remain the point of contact for training queries until then.  

Admission of Churchwardens

We much look forward to this occasion each year as an opportunity to give thanks for those who serve in this important office and to pray for them for the coming year. Sadly, it will not be possible to gather physically this year, and so the Archdeacons will be admitting churchwardens through a short Zoom service for each deanery. We will shortly be publishing dates for these through November. As usual, if a churchwarden is not able to attend their local date, they can join any of the others.
 
Some APCMs are happening now and there are a number of cases where there is a quite urgent need to hand on responsibilities to a new person. Once a churchwarden has been elected by the APCM there is no barrier to them attending PCC and other committees, becoming trustees and generally transitioning into the role prior to the service where they make the declaration and become an officer of the Bishop. 
 
Details of a series of shorter subject focussed online training sessions to replace our two ‘in person’ training days will be published later this month.

Faculty Applications

Due to the pandemic, the Diocesan Registry is experiencing greatly increased numbers of requests for marriage licences and as a result faculty applications are taking much longer than usual.  So if you are currently waiting for a faculty you should know that that is the reason for the delay.  Anyone planning on applying for a faculty should allow more time for it to be processed.  We are in contact with the Registry and hope that the situation may improve shortly.

Sunday Sermon

Bishop Jo’s sermon this week tackles the huge and difficult and wonderful topic of Forgiveness, from Matthew 18:21-35. Her title is, ‘Mathematics of Forgiveness?

Transforming Harvest 

Many parishes are planning a different looking harvest this year – a lot of the things we normally do will need to look different with schools being open to pupils and staff only, and foodbanks being under more pressure than usual. A number of churches are also telling us that people are being more generous than before when presented with the pressing needs we see in our parishes and beyond. 

There are a number of organisations offering useful and adaptable harvest materials this year which will be able to be used in both an online and face to face worship service – if you have more to suggest, why not post something in our facebook group? 

Send a cow: https://sendacow.org/get-involved/organisation/churches/church-harvest/ includes things suitable for an online service and schools (email signup required) 

Trussel Trust (including resources for schools from Open the Book): https://www.trusselltrust.org/church-resources/harvest-resources/ 

CofE Seasonal Liturgy: https://www.churchofengland.org/prayer-and-worship/worship-texts-and-resources/common-worship/churchs-year/times-and-seasons/agricultural-year#mmm380  

Christian Aid: including resources for schools, a worship service, and even an outdoor worship service: https://www.christianaid.org.uk/appeals/key-appeals/global-neighbours-autumn-appeal/resources 

Music: Resound Worship have released an album of 14 songs focussed on creation, ecology and Christian hope. There’s a good variety and they would work well for Harvest, Collective Worship and reflective activities. You can preview and buy the songs either individually or as a complete album from here: https://www.resoundworship.org/projects/doxecology 

Watch out for more resources (with more notice) for the Autumn, including resources for Remembrance, Time to Remember Services, Advent and Christmas. We are encouraging parishes in the diocese to join in with the national Christmas campaign titled ‘Comfort and Joy’ which will enable you to join in with and use national resources. 

Transforming Generosity Resources Go Live!

www.cofeguildford.org.uk/generosity
 
We’re pleased to let you know that individuals can now sign up on our website to receive a daily email reminder for each ‘podcast’ reflection in October, as part of the Transforming Generosity initiative. The reflections will look at the theme of generosity running through the Gospel of Luke. The emails will contain the transcript for each day’s reflection, as well as providing the link to the audio file on our website. We have some really great and thought-provoking reflections from across our diocese to share with you, so please do advertise these to your congregations (we are providing a promotional slide and text for parishes – see below).
 
Resources for parishes, including sermons, are being loaded to the diocesan website here and should be complete by the end of the week. We are making the resources available now so that parishes can look through them in advance and consider any local messaging/resources. Juliet Evans will be speaking about Transforming Generosity as part of the ‘Encouraging Generous Giving’ webinar tonight – see below to register.

New role posted

Are you interested in a role that contributes to education, training for ministry and the development of vocations, both lay and ordained? The Local Ministry Programme (LMP) is looking for a LMP Tutor to work alongside colleagues in ‘formation for ministry’ through teaching and pastoral care of students.

Bookmark these pages

Last week, we announced the changes to our cofeguildford website. Thank you for your feedback. Below are some helpful links to some of the most viewed items on our website. We realise some things may be in a different place, so we hope this will help you bookmark these.

1. Calendar of Prayer 
2. Campaigns 
3. Training opportunities 
4. Sunday Sermons

Safeguarding, Coronavirus governance and privacy details remain in the same place.  Read more about why we’ve made these changes. If you have any questions or concerns please email comms@cofeguildford.org.uk. 

Reminder – Webinar: Encouraging generous giving in uncertain times. Tonight

Generosity and generous giving are vital issues for churches and for church members. We will be reflecting on the generous response to Covid-19, alongside the ongoing opportunities and challenges of building generous churches so that we can continue to be people who transform our communities – and beyond – in the future. This webinar is aimed at church leaders, clergy, lay ministers, treasurers and stewardship promoters and will offer discussion, case studies and good practice.

Please register in advance by choosing one of the dates below.
 

Webinar: Faithfulness for a Planet in Crisis

Monday 28th September, 2020 5-7pm 

Featuring Prof Ellen Davis – who spoke at our last Clergy Triennial – as main speaker on the subject of climate change. It is a ‘Virtual Study Day’ organised by the Anglican Episcopal House of Studies taking place at Duke Divinity School in North Carolina to which friends from the diocese of Guildford are invited to participate at no cost. Besides the keynote address it includes some live music, a discussion panel with Ryan Juskus, Ruth Valerio, Norbert Wilson, and Norman Wirzba and concluding worship with homily by Ellen and music by Charles Pettee.

Digital Labs Conference 

23-24th October online

The Church of England’s Digital Labs conference is a two-day online conference to inspire and equip Church of England churches to share Good News, grow people’s faith and bring more people to faith by harnessing digital and social media. Join us as we talk about topics such as livestreaming, mix mode services, online engagement and insights. Plus, network with churches, speakers, and experts in our first online conference taking place this October.