When Revd Laura Bushell Hawke was appointed Priest in Charge of the proposed new Kernow Gateway Benefice in March 2024, the church officers had never met together. Starting her first year with the three watchwords of Unity, Stability, and Joy, Revd Laura began holding regular meetings with all the Churchwardens, providing a platform for news and ideas to be shared. Regular meetings with everyone involved in Sunday services also began, offering support to Local Worship Leaders as the churches embraced Lay Led Worship.

Revd Laura, who is Oversight Minister for the Benefice of Saltash (St Nicholas & St Faith and St Stephen’s by Saltash) and the Benefice of Landrake with St Erney & Botus Fleming and the parish of Landulph, realised that in order for the churches to work together more effectively, they needed to understand the strengths and challenges of each parish. The PCC Tonight material from CPAS provided the perfect platform for this. Organizing the 12 modules across four Saturday mornings in winter allowed PCC members to come together. The first two sessions were attended by representatives from every PCC, though the numbers were low. By the third session, which focused on the Multi-Parish Benefice material, attendance had grown to 28 people from across the five PCCs.

The first two sessions explored why the PCC exists and how it behaves and communicates. The final two sessions focused on the joys and challenges of being part of a Multi-Parish Benefice (MPB): 70% of parishes across the country are in a MPB, and this figure is even higher in rural areas. Topics covered included hospitality, nurturing leaders, local ministry, and dreaming about the benefice’s future in three years.

Revd Laura says: “The sessions have made a difference in how we see and communicate with each other. The opportunities identified to help one another will make a difference to the smaller village churches and enrich the larger town churches. At the beginning, I had difficulty getting the different churches to engage in the group exercises, but by the final session, I had trouble stopping them from talking so we could move on!”

Andy Evans, PCC member for St Nicholas and St Faith, Saltash, said: “Initially I was against it. I’d been on the PCC before, why do we need training? but I went along with an open mind, and found it really useful. It made you think about things differently and how we all need to work together.”

As a result of the sessions, the PCCs have planned a social event with a BBQ on a Sunday afternoon in July to continue getting to know each other. The group has also asked Revd Laura to organise regular Saturday morning breakfasts for all leaders in the benefice, so they can drop in, share ideas, and solve problems together.

Since the sessions, the five PCC Secretaries have already met to plan for the APCM season, collaborating on how to shape the annual reports and tackle the tasks. The meeting was so useful that another one has already been planned for next January.

The proposed new Kernow Gateway Benefice is beginning to experience the joys and strengths of working together on various tasks, helping Church Officers and leaders share the workload.