Diocesan ten-year plan approved
A plan to support the life of the Church in Cornwall has been approved by the Diocese of Truro’s decision-making body, the Bishop’s Diocesan Council.
Members voted to approve the Diocesan Plan for Change and Renewal, a ten-year blueprint which aims to support deaneries to grow the Church. The plan will now be shared with members of the diocesan synod before further consultation and detailed planning, including proposals to use more diocesan reserves to support parish ministry.
The Diocesan Plan for Change and Renewal sets out how the diocese plans to lead change over the next decade. It has been largely based around the 12 combined deanery plans created by local church members over the past two years.
The plan, taking note of the main issues highlighted in the deanery plans, focuses on a number of key areas:
- Levels and types of Ministries,
- Small Churches,
- Church buildings,
- Financial sustainability,
- Mission work with deprived communities,
- Increasing the numbers of children and young people, and,
- Net Zero 2030,
and makes clear the support that will be provided at diocesan level to enable the deanery plans to come to full fruition.
The diocesan plan will have a mix of local and diocesan leadership
The diocesan plan will have a mix of local and diocesan leadership, recognising the part deanery plans have in the overall direction of the diocese. This leadership will include the bishops, archdeacons and directors of the Truro Diocesan Board of Finance working alongside the Change and Renewal team and Deanery Implementation Teams – parish and deanery members reporting to deanery synod – who will oversee implementation locally and unlock mission and Lower Income Community Funding (LICF) as well as diocesan support from the Change and Renewal team and the wider Church House team.
There needs to be significant change in patterns of ministry
Much of the Diocesan Plan is about people. As highlighted in the deanery plans, there needs to be significant change in patterns of ministry as the church works to reverse declining numbers in its congregations. This work will include maintaining the current number of stipendiary clergy, supporting new lay Pioneer and Chaplain roles and developing greater partnership between lay and ordained ministry. The plan also recognises the need to focus on clergy wellbeing and the training offered. It is hoped that by developing a culture of networking and shared learning, we can support one another without growing a large diocesan centre.
Work to support the deaneries with their aims to reach more children and young people also form a central strand in the diocesan plan. It sets out how the diocese will help deaneries to achieve their aims of increasing the numbers of children and young people.
Beginning in June 2023, planning will begin on how to take this forward. It will work with the national church Growing Faith initiative which connects schools, churches and families. The aim will be to significantly increase engagement with young people and will include school chaplaincy. There will also be practical support for churches wanting to engage with their local schools with training and resources available.
The diocesan plan includes a commitment to provide support to small churches
Many churches in the diocese are small and with a desire to keep churches open, the diocesan plan includes a commitment to provide support to small churches to enable them to flourish, grow in numbers, faith and service.
As part of this plan the diocese will focus on the support that will be needed to sustain the close to 300, mostly historic, buildings for the long term.
Solutions for the challenge of church buildings in Cornwall will not come easily but the plan recognises that if we are to continue to be stewards of this important inheritance, then parishes will need diocesan support.
The church in Cornwall is funded jointly by local giving, fund raising, diocesan reserves, income from investments, the national church via the Archbishop’s Council and the Church Commissioners. The total financial cost of the diocese, including the Diocesan Board of Finance (DBF) budget and all the PCC budgets, is roughly £14 million per year. In total parishes spend about £9m a year, including roughly £3m on MMF contributions to the DBF.
Programme of consultation expected in the summer
The Diocesan Plan for Change and Renewal does require that the diocesan assets are reviewed. Consideration of how the assets could be used to support the work of the diocese over the next ten years is currently underway with a wide programme of consultation expected in the summer before a motion is put to diocesan synod later in the year.
