The Six Villages' Mission and Ministry Unit
Hatfield Broad Oak, Bush End, Hatfield Heath, Sheering, Great & Little Hallingbury
In 2017, following the successful establishment of the Six Villages' Covenant (see below), the Churches of St Mary's Hatfield Broad Oak, St John's Bush End, Holy Trinity Hatfield Heath, St Mary's Sheering, St Giles' Great Hallingbury and St Mary's Little Hallingbury became a formal Mission and Ministry Unit.
The Service of Commission took place on Sunday 15th October 2017 at St Mary's Church Sheering, when the Bishop of Barking and the Archdeacon of Harlow commissioned the covenanted churches in their new formal partnership.
It was a joyful and very positive occasion. The choirs of the Six Villages came together to lead the music, and the clergy and lay ministers all contributed to the service.
Mission and Ministry Units are a new concept within the Chelmsford Diocese under Bishop Stephen's "Transforming Presence" initiative.
"We want to see more church for more impact in the lives of our communities.
Our ministry strategy is our way of ensuring this can be achieved.
Ministry belongs to everyone. Every Christian has a vocation.
We need priests to lead and serve the people of God."
The Service of Commission took place on Sunday 15th October 2017 at St Mary's Church Sheering, when the Bishop of Barking and the Archdeacon of Harlow commissioned the covenanted churches in their new formal partnership.
It was a joyful and very positive occasion. The choirs of the Six Villages came together to lead the music, and the clergy and lay ministers all contributed to the service.
Mission and Ministry Units are a new concept within the Chelmsford Diocese under Bishop Stephen's "Transforming Presence" initiative.
"We want to see more church for more impact in the lives of our communities.
Our ministry strategy is our way of ensuring this can be achieved.
Ministry belongs to everyone. Every Christian has a vocation.
We need priests to lead and serve the people of God."
Mission and Ministry Units are our way of ensuring that every community is served, that resources are deployed strategically and that there is room and incentive for growth.
- It is not about cutting clergy numbers. It is about ensuring that the clergy we have are deployed in the best possible way, that benefices are not left in longer and longer vacancies, and that we have plans to grow more clergy and more lay ministers.
- It is not about closing churches. It is about ensuring every church flourishes and that we plant more churches. However, in some cases there will be a few church buildings that are no longer needed.
- It is not about spreading limited resources more thinly or simply amalgamating churches together in ever larger teams. It is about ensuring that no priest has to work in isolation. It is about growing and nurturing local ministry. It is about a huge flourishing in authorised and licensed lay ministry.
- It is not about managing decline. It is about being realistic about the challenges and constraints we face and then ensuring every church has a plan for growth.
The Six Villages' Covenant
In 2014 the clergy, churchwardens and PCCs of the Six Villages responded to Bishop Stephen's transforming presence initiative by collaborating to produce a Covenant, which declares the intention of each of the six parishes to work together and to support one another.
The Covenant was formally signed at a special service on 2nd November 2014 and received the blessing and endorsement of our Archdeacon, the Ven. Martin Webster, and our Area Bishop, the Rt Rev Peter Hill.
in 2017 the Covenant has formed the basis of a proposal from the Six Villages to form a Mission and Ministry Unit, and we await the outcome of that proposal.
The text of the Covenant is reproduced below:
The Covenant was formally signed at a special service on 2nd November 2014 and received the blessing and endorsement of our Archdeacon, the Ven. Martin Webster, and our Area Bishop, the Rt Rev Peter Hill.
in 2017 the Covenant has formed the basis of a proposal from the Six Villages to form a Mission and Ministry Unit, and we await the outcome of that proposal.
The text of the Covenant is reproduced below:
