Priest-in-Charge
Stephen Morris - acting Priest-in-Charge
Geographical parishes are made of people in all their glorious shapes and sizes, gifts and failings, joys and sorrows, anxieties and hopes. Our new parish is a wonderful mix of housing, of shops, businesses, government, entertainment and sporting facilities and other churches. It presents challenges and opportunities for mission and partnering other organisations, both religious and secular, in enabling people to flourish under the love of God and in the furtherance of His Kingdom.
Our congregations are also made of people - though I won’t go into the shapes and sizes! Although led by clergy it is the prayerful hard work of lay people which makes most difference and we all should thank God for one another. It can only be through motivated lay Christians that we will connect with our neighbours. Long gone are the days when the summit of lay involvement was, “sit up, sing up, and pay up” – although of course all these remain necessary. Alongside Readers and authorised lay ministers, where would we be without those who assist as servers, administer Holy Communion, play instruments and sing in choirs, ring bells, arrange flowers and catering, look after children, read lessons, organise rotas, prepare liturgies, welcome people at the doors, clean and keep the buildings standing pay the bills and pray? It’s a formidable and admirable list. Well done. Should you find yourself wanting to play more of a part, do talk to the churchwardens or clergy. Everyone’s gift encourages us all.
BUT, our calling as Christians is to see God’s kingdom come and will done. This happens in several areas. The first essential is the work of Christ in our own lives by which we learn about love and forgiveness through worship, humility, discipline, obedience. Another area is developing a spirit of service towards our families, colleagues and play-mates. Another lies within our neighbourhoods and communities (real or virtual) as we interact with, and affect, where we live. Neither should we forget those who are different or even hostile to ourselves but are still those for whom Christ, in His love, has died. The Church is here to offer worship to God but equally to encourage, inspire, teach and comfort one another in these things - to receive input which refreshes us for output. We demonstrate God’s worth by echoing in our own time the priorities by which Jesus lived and still lives through us. It is a huge challenge but it is intended to be a way of joy.
Our internal activities and the mission focus already overlap in several vital ways. Think of the vergers who keep doors open to all comers, the coffee shop workers and volunteers, the hosting and presenting of concerts, engagements with civic, military and educational bodies, not to mention generosity of time and effort in funding or participation in charitable mission at home and abroad. Remember, too, that little of this would happen without the parish office. New opportunities will arise and we require this firm infrastructure.
Canon Andrew Deuchar led the parishes, initially of St Peter’s and All Saints’ and St Mary’s and St Catharine’s and latterly All Saints’, St Mary’s and St Peter’s, throughout 2007. Unification of the parishes took place formally on 1st September 2007 and was the fruit of over 3 years hard and concentrated work on his part and that of many others. The unification was celebrated during the 3rd week in September in all three parish churches as well as by a walk around the new, lengthy and fascinating parish boundary, culminating in a service at St Mary’s. This was devised by Canon Deuchar with the Bishop of Southwell and Nottingham as preacher, and was an ecumenical service in which leaders of congregations from various denominations and traditions across central Nottingham signed a covenant to explore all possible ways of working and effecting their mission together.
Another notable achievement in the year was the commemoration of the 200th anniversary of the passing of the anti-slavery bill. The Bishop of Jamaica, a guest of Canon Deuchar, gave a brief introduction to a private viewing of the film ‘Amazing Grace’ at the Broadway Cinema. The Bishop was the preacher at another ecumenical service in St Mary’s on Sunday 25th March with much musical participation from local, independent Caribbean-based churches.
In January, at the request of the then High Sheriff of Nottinghamshire, the annual service in ‘Celebration of Justice’ was noteworthy for being preceded by the Muslim Call to Prayer as an indicator of the multi-faith context of both City and County. In December, we welcomed home to Nottingham from Afghanistan the Mercian Regiment with a much appreciated drum head and civic service.
On 14th December, in the presence of trade union, civic, business and ecumenical partners, the Bishop unveiled a specially commissioned stained glass window at the west end of St Peter’s in memory of those who suffered death and injury in the workplace. The venture was jointly undertaken by the parish, the Nottingham Workplace Chaplaincy and Unison.
At the beginning of November, Rev David McCoulough, Workplace Chaplain since 2001, took up a diocesan post as Associate Director of Partnerships. His departure from the chaplaincy and the parish was a big loss. His successful transformation of the chaplaincy was noted but we continue to see him as a significant player in the unfolding of the parish’s vision since much will be dependent upon partnerships of various kinds. In November, Rev Alison Maddox was appointed as David’s successor to be licensed in January 2008.
Rev Chrissie Little continued her liturgical work as Associate Rector/Priest, and her significant role as Chairman of the Governors of Unity School near All Saints’ Church while that school came to terms with its closure due to ‘falling roles’. In collaboration with other partners, including the Nottinghamshire NHS Trust for Mental Health, Chrissie also began exploring possibilities on behalf of the Church, seeking how St Peter’s could be a ‘signpost’ to some of the many with mental health difficulties who call there seeking help of various kinds.
Rev Stephen Morris continued as Lecturer/Associate Priest and as Area Dean of Central Nottingham. In addition to liturgical, pastoral and administrative parish duties he led confirmation preparation and study groups in Lent and autumn.
The parish(es) benefited hugely from the ministry of retired, non-stipendiary and visiting clergy as well as from its Readers. We are particularly thankful for the dedicated work of the administration staff with a special mention of Angela Newton who retired in October having achieved over 17 years of service to the parish in its various guises. During the spring, joint Magazines were produced with the intention of producing a quarterly magazine of in-depth items to supplement the monthly Newsletter following Robert Cockroft’s many years of sterling editorial service. Quarterly magazines and monthly Newsletters remain the aspiration but, regrettably, administrative difficulties have prevented a launch so far. We are also grateful for the work on the website which we hope will continue to be developed.
Our organists and choristers continue to enhance our worship with their talent and much appreciated hard work. John Keys has continued throughout as music director of St Mary’s while Philip Collin, having had a significant impact on St Peter’s during his 5 year reign, went in search of fresh musical challenges. We have been extremely fortunate in being able to recruit Peter Siepmann from within our own ranks. Our Organists – Andrew Abbott, Mike Leuty, Simon Williams, Paul Sibly and others who serve more occasionally at All Saints’ also deserve our thanks. Very regrettably, having stuttered for a while, St Peter’s organ failed more or less completely on Remembrance Sunday. Peter Siepmann is looking into possibilities for a permanent replacement but meanwhile we are very grateful for the long loan of an electronic replacement.
Pastorally, there have been the usual highs and lows of births, deaths, illnesses and recoveries, of moves into and from the parish, of baptisms, confirmations and weddings. Bereavement, healing and pastoral care remain crucial. Increased attendances at major services continues but the absence of many children and young people remains a cause of concern for our present as well as our future.
Returning to unification, the new parish was created upon Canon Deuchar’s Vision Statement. Our parish location is central to the conurbation’s administration, business, commerce, arts and entertainment with increasing populations of very rich and very poor. As part of this, an audit of all the activities in which city churches are involved was commissioned and its findings are already a focus of initiating ecumenical opportunities with other Christians and potentially with other faiths. Even the lives of those who live well outside our parish boundary are affected significantly by what happens in the city centre, so how we use our 3 churches and deploy ourselves requires further study to maximise opportunities for the mission of God. As we begin the process of seeking a new Priest in Charge to help us respond to the challenges of the Vision Statement, I believe we are called to tireless and faithful prayer, both that he or she will be the right person and that we shall all have a clearer picture of the next stage of our pilgrimage together.
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