Church House

1.  Appointment of Acting Diocesan Secretary

As you know Jane Easton is leaving her role as Diocesan Secretary on 27th August to take up the post of Secretary General with the Royal Air Forces Association.

I am very pleased to announce that Andrew Roberts, the current Assistant Diocesan Secretary for Leicester and Coventry Dioceses, is appointed Acting Diocesan Secretary for Leicester Diocese with effect from Monday 30th August 2010.

Andrew brings a wealth of experience to this role and is well known to colleagues across the diocese. Andrew will be available in Leicester four days per week and will attend Bishop’s staff meetings as well as Bishop’s Council and Diocesan Synod as Acting Diocesan Secretary.

Simon Lloyd, Diocesan Secretary of Coventry Diocese, has kindly agreed to take responsibility for joint working arrangements between our two organisations and will be available to give advice if required. To help him to do this effectively, he intends to work from Church House, Leicester for one day each week until a successor to Jane is appointed. He will also be part of the team, with Bishop Tim, Richard Atkinson and I, which is examining the future shape of the role of Diocesan Secretary in Leicester.

The recruitment of Jane’s replacement is unlikely to be complete until early in the New Year.

2.  Director of Finance

I am pleased to let you know that John Orridge has been appointed Director of Finance for the Diocese of Leicester, with effect from 1
September 2010.  John has been with us in an acting role since May.  I  welcome John formally to head up the Finance Team.

Stephen Barney

Chairman, Diocesan Board of Finance

With the Diocesan Assembly fast approaching we are now inviting you to register your attendance and also giving you the opportunity to select which workshops you wish to attend. Click the link below and download the workshop booklet and return it to the address listed.

workshop booklet 

It is with some sadness that I announce today the resignation of Jane Easton as Diocesan Secretary to take effect from 27 August 2010.  Jane has been appointed to the role of Secretary General of the Royal Air Forces Association with its headquarters in Leicester. 

Jane has been Diocesan Secretary during the last six years in which she has taken a leadership role in relation to our partnership with the Diocese of Coventry, the reshaping of our Diocesan finances, and more recently in preparing for the major relocation to St Martin’s House. 

She will be very much missed by her many friends and colleagues for her warmth, her absolute commitment to the work and her very substantial energy and skill in dealing with the complex and multi-faceted work of a Diocesan Secretary. 

All of this has been undergirded by her evident Christian faith, her desire to be of service to the Diocese as a whole and to encourage and to enable those around her.  I personally will miss Jane as a colleague and I know that many others will be sad to lose her.  We wish her well and assure her of our prayers as she prepares for this significant national responsibility.

To Parish Treasurers: 2009 Accounts

 My sincere thanks to all who have met the statutory requirement to lodge a copy of your annual PCC accounts at Church House.  If you have not yet sent yours, please do so by Friday 11th June 2010, so that the Parish Share Committee can be aware of your current financial situation as it considers the share assessment for 2011.

It is particularly important that we understand where there are local financial challenges, and our Finance and Parish Funding teams may be able to assist with budgeting and fundraising to allow you to pay your share and to fulfil your other mission objectives for the year.

With thanks.
Jane Easton
Diocesan Secretary

To all Clergy , Church Wardens, Treasurers and PCC/DCC members

Dear Colleagues,
I am very pleased to let you have details of the finance based road shows which we are offering for the third year in the autumn. They are an increasingly important way of sharing ideas and exchanging views. They have been well attended and much valued in previous years. It is extremely important for me and the diocesan finance staff to receive as much direct feedback as possible from you as we seek to make wise decisions and recommendations for the financing of the future mission and ministry of our work together.
This year I have invited Mary Lawson (Director of Education) and Dr Claire Strachan (DAC Secretary), to talk about church schools and church buildings/ faculties respectively, so the meetings may also be of interest to anyone involved in education or considering making alterations to church buildings, as well as churchwardens, clergy and treasurers. Please do feel free to ask anyone else who might be interested.
The road shows will take place as follows:
20th September 2010 – St Peter’s, Market Bosworth

27th September 2010 – St Mary’s, Lutterworth

5th October 2010 – St Mary’s Humberstone (Church Hall)

11th October 2010 – St Mary the Virgin, Bottesford
Meetings start at 7pm and finish at about 9.30pm.
Yours faithfully

Stephen Barney
Chairman, Leicester Diocesan Board of Finance

To all Churchwardens and Deputy Churchwardens

We have recently mailed to you paperwork regarding Archdeaconry Visitations.  Unfortunately in some of the packs there is an error on one of the forms.  The sheet headed ‘Archdeaconry of Leicester/Loughborough Archdeacons Visitations 2010’ makes reference to attending the Cathedral.  This is incorrect and should read ‘intended place of visitation’.  (A choice of six venues and dates being available listed in the introductory letter, but for convenience listed below).

5th  May    Sparkenhoe East and West – St Peter’s, Glenfield
6th  May    Gartree 1 and 2 – St Giles, Medbourne
17th May   City of Leicester – St Mary’s, Knighton
18th May   N W Leicestershire – St Botolph, Shepshed
20th May   Guthlaxton   – St Mary’s, Lutterworth
25th May   Framland and Goscote -  St Mary’s, Bottesford
 
With sincere apologies for any inconvenience.

All the forms can be found at here

Dates and venues for Diocesan Synod

22^nd May – 9.30am at Christ the King, Beaumont Leys

8^th September – 7.30pm at Leicester Cathedral

20^th November – 9.30am Samworth Academy , 50 Trenant Road

Parish Share Certificates for 2009 will be posted out to PCC Secretaries on Friday 26 March 2010.

We are in the process of compiling the new Directory for 2010. If you hold an official position within the Diocese can we remind you that it is very important that all your details are up to date.

If any of your contact details have changed in the past 12months and you have not yet updated these please ensure that you send any changes directly to Urmila.Samani@LecCofE.org  by November 16th.

Many thanks

The Revd Mandy Ford, Assistant Area Dean City of Leicester and Vicar at Christ the King, Beaumont Leys, has been elected as chair of the House of Clergy, following David Newman who is to become Archdeacon of Loughborough.

Following a careers in medical administration, teaching and the arts, Mandy was ordained ten years ago in the Diocese of Leicester. She worked for five years in the multi-cultural Belgrave area and then moved to Beaumont Leys. She has particular interest in listening to the voice of the disadvantaged in society and in understanding how the church can best engage with the world. Mandy has worked on the Diocesan Leadership Programme and has been involved in training and encouraging new clergy.

Mandy says, “ I am conscious of the trust that my colleagues have placed in me by electing me to this post and I hope to act as an honest and courageous advocate for them. Together we have to explore how best to share the good news of the gospel in Leicester and Leicestershire, and to support and encourage each other.”

  Thursday 1^st October

 Does your church building feel like a burden to mission?

 St Philip’s Centre (7.00-9.00pm)

This evening aims to offer inspiration and advice on the process of adapting your building. The evening will include examples of completed projects both nationally and locally.

The first session will be led by Mrs Susan Rowe who ran the Millennium Commission funded, UK wide, Rural Churches in Community Service programme for 3 years. Since the programme finished, Mrs Rowe has worked as a freelance consultant on developing community projects in church buildings.

This session will be followed by a choice of workshops including accounts of local projects and a workshop led by the DAC secretary, Dr Claire Strachan, on navigating the faculty system.

This evening is open to anyone who is interested in exploring re-ordering their buildings for mission.

The evening will be facilitated by the Buildings for Mission Team.  To book contact Claire Stapleton, Email: claire.stapleton@leccofe.org 
or Tel: 0116 248 7417

Please note that a Bishop’s Order was signed on the 10th September 2009 to change the name of the benefice of “Syston Team Ministry” to “The Fosse Team”.
This Order comes into effect on Thursday the 1st October 2009.

The Bishop’s Order is attached herewith.

Please click HERE

Thanks and kind regards,

Lesley Whitwell – Property Officer; Coventry and Leicester

Tel. 0116 2487415 Email: Lesley.Whitwell@CovLec.org