WHERE ARE WE GOING?
Recently the PCC began a process of looking at our
long-term aims and objectives at Holy Trinity. Where do we want to be in the
years ahead? What sort of church are we? What do we want to offer our
congregation and the community around us? Above all, how can we best seek to
serve God in this parish?
Our answer is contained in our Long-Term Objectives document. It looks at
five key areas.
* Worship
* Growing our Christian Faith
* Reaching Out
* Pastoral Care
* Stewardship
In each of these areas we set out what we want to do, and then suggest some
ways of actually doing it! Some things we could do quite soon. Others
clearly are plans for the future. We invite you to consider them, and let us
know what you think. You could tell us what ones you think are important,
what ones less so, and perhaps any other suggestions and comments that we
could use to help our further discussions.
These are long-term plans. Each year we shall continue to set aims and
objectives for the next year and present them to you at the APCM. But we
want to set a firm course for the future, and not just be blown about by
immediate needs, important though they are.
I hope you will enjoy reading our plans, that you want to be involved, and
that you will want to let us have your comments.
Michael Ballard.
DRAFT PAPER ON LONG-TERM
OBJECTIVES
MISSION STATEMENT
We seek to be an open and welcoming church where people
of faith, or those who wish to explore faith, can find a spiritual home.
We seek to serve God with the best of traditional and more modern worship.
We seek to serve our local community through our active concern and the use
of our buildings.
(A) WORSHIP
We want:
(a) to embody the full richness of the traditions of
worship and prayer in the Church of England;
(b) to welcome visitors and newcomers, and make our worship understandable
and accessible to the visitor and newcomer, while recognising that the
awe, mystery, and majesty of our worship makes an impact on a visitor
which transcends intellectual explanation;
(c) to maintain high standards of music in our worship.
We will therefore:
* enrich our worship by use of the best of both
traditional and more modern liturgy;
* celebrate the liturgy with traditional ceremonial, but in a modern,
simplified manner;
* celebrate the cycle of seasons and festivals as a way of entering more
deeply into the mystery of faith;
* welcome all visitors and newcomers, and be responsive to their wishes
and needs;
* provide easy-to-follow service booklets for use at our principal
services on Sundays and other feast days and holy days;
* encourage participation in the daily offices of the church;
* explore ways to make our worship more accessible to children and others
unfamiliar with Anglican worship so that they can participate more fully;
* maintain our strong choral tradition by providing support and
encouragement for our Director of Music and choir members;
* care for our church building so that it both provides a welcoming
environment and imparts a deep sense of the holiness of God.
(B) GROWING OUR CHRISTIAN FAITH
We want:
(d) to increase the knowledge and understanding of our faith; (e) to
strengthen our relationship with Christ through the experience of our
liturgies, the sacraments, prayer and the arts.
We will therefore:
* encourage our children and young people to grow in the Christian faith,
through Wise Owls and other groups and activities ;
* provide suitable help and instruction before confirmation [and baptism];
* enable all church members to increase the knowledge and understanding of
their faith, through teaching, Bible study and prayer;
* introduce newcomers and members, especially children, to the liturgies,
practices, and traditions of the Church of England, so that they can play
a full part in our church life;
* develop our use of Lent and Advent as seasons in which we explore our
faith more deeply;
* continue to explore God's revelation of himself through music and the
arts.
(C) REACHING OUT
We want:
(f) to share our love of our the risen Lord with other people;
(g) to make greater use of the church and its facilities for the benefit
of the local community;
(h) to support for poor and marginalised people;
(i) to affirm the glory of God in the natural world.
We will therefore:
* seek to keep the church building open during the daytime so that it is a
spiritual resource for the whole of the local community;
* do all we can to ensure that our church buildings, our gardens and our
churchyard are attractive and welcoming, so that, through our care for
them, we speak of the love of God;
* develop links as a church with a local charity;
* develop links as a church with an Anglican parish in the developing
world;
* aim to be at the centre of life in modern Southchurch, and cherish Holy
Trinity's long history at the heart of the parish;
* demonstrate our care for God's creation by promoting nature conservation
in the churchyard;
* seek to provide support for families with young children;
* build on our links with local schools;
* raise local awareness of our church through a user-friendly and
regularly updated web site and improved signs and noticeboards;
* develop an attractive brochure to make people aware of our location,
service times and web address for announcements of special events;
* staff a hospitality or welcome table;
* ensure that our welcome for visitors and newcomers is friendlier than
ever.
(D) PASTORAL CARE
We want:
(j) to raise the consciousness and deepen the practice of our church in
its Christian responsibilities and duties to care for and about each
other.
We will therefore:
* develop our Contact Scheme, as a means of identifying and contacting
parishioners who have not been seen for several weeks;
* expand the role of our Lay Eucharistic Ministers in pastoral visitation
and bringing the reserved Sacrament to those who would be receptive;
* encourage parishioners to get to know each other better, by providing
coffee after the Sunday Eucharist and arranging other social activities;
* arrange a programme of social events which caters for all ages;
* do more to identify visitors and newcomers and to ensure they are
welcomed to the parish;
* ensure we do not discriminate against those with disabilities;
* take special care to think about the needs of the disabled, families
with young children and the elderly, and seek to address their needs.
(E) STEWARDSHIP
We want:
(k) to return to God a portion of what is God's through responsible
giving;
(l) to encourage use of everybody's God-given talents;
(m) to care for our buildings and to use our financial resources wisely in
the service of Christ;
We will therefore:
* encourage responsible giving which properly reflects God's love for us;
* encourage parishioners to use Gift Aid and to remember Holy Trinity in
their wills;
* through the Parochial Church Council, use our financial resources
responsibly in the service of Christ;
* provide regular information to parishioners about the financial "state
of the parish";
* identify parish needs and, as far as possible, match parishioner
interests and abilities to those needs;
* care for our buildings, gardens and churchyard in a way which addresses
both short-term and long-term needs and glorifies God.
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