News

RACIAL JUSTICE SUNDAY at All Saints, Ascot Heath,
London Rd. Ascot  SL5 8DQ

EVERONE is welcomed on  September 12th 2010,   morning and/or afternoon
      
“ Conflict Resolution”
Visit of the Revd. Donald Reeve MBE MA M.Litt
Director the Soul of Europe
Visiting Fellow Leeds Metropolitan University

10.30. Preaching at Parish Communion 
          Followed by refreshments in hall and informal chats with Donald.

 3.00.   Organ and talk ( in All Saints' Church)
           “Peace-building and J.S.Bach: the links between what I do in peace building and the music I play”

4.00     Tea in hall, followed by: 
            A Conversation between Donald Reeve and Geoffrey Court, Director of the Circle Works, Bethnal Green…
            Exploring links between- Conflict Resolution, Interfaith Dialogue, crisis for our Environment

                 Collections after all three events for the Soul of Europe
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Donald Reeve, former vicar of St. James’s, Piccadilly founded the Soul of Europe project, on retirement.
He and his colleague Peter Perlz work, currently in Kosovo, talking with local Serbs and Albanians, visiting  Belgrade capital of Serbia to strengthen contacts, and for many years in Bosnia. Two of their books will be available at the events.
Donald was awarded the MBE for conflict resolution in Bosnia.

We are honoured that Donald will be with us on September 12th. and await his words with full hearts of concern, for the issues he will raise.
Geoffrey Court brings to the afternoon, experiences working in the East of London for over 25 years in education and the community.

             LISTENING AMIDST CONFLICT  will be the theme of the afternoon.
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Further info. from Tina Bailey, Mark Durbridge, or Anne Yarwood 01344 621167.

The afternoon is offered to you by All Saints Racial Justice and Eco Explorers groups , together with ASPEN Ascot Peace Education Network’s Inter-Faith Payers for Peace

Letter from the Rector -- Rosie Webb

Christian ministry is all about partnership.  The task is to discern what God is doing and to join in as best we are able -- together.

As All Saints embarks on a new phase of what God is doing in the parish, I felt it would be useful to spell out exactly what it means to have a curate.

Some people have already said to me ‘it will be so helpful for you to have an extra pair of hands.’  It will certainly be nice to have Rosie with us.  She has much to contribute and share with us.  But there is a lot more to it than seeing a curate as an extra pair of hands!

In the Church of England, initial training falls into two parts.  In the first part, time is spent in a theological college or on a Ministry course dealing with the building blocks of ministry:  Biblical Studies, Christian Doctrine, Pastoral Theology, Church History, Liturgy, etc.  The second part takes place in a particular place where Rosie has the chance to try her hand at ministry, and think through her theology of ministry in the context of ministry.  Our parish is the place where Rosie's part two training is located.  We all have the privilege being a part of this important piece of work!

Below are some guidelines that have been produced by the Diocese of Oxford.  I hope they help explain how we can all assist Rosie to get the best from her training.

Fr Darrell

Our involvement:

In offering guidance on the selection of appropriate parishes as ‘Training Parishes,’ the House of Bishops has stated that training parishes should provide a variety and range of opportunities for the all-round training of a Deacon and a Priest in pastoral, liturgical, educational, and general ministerial skills and experience.  But it is equally important that they should not be parishes where the new Deacon will be over-burdened on starting out in ordained ministry.  Training parishes should also consider what training resources they can offer.

It is, therefore, important that the training parish has a developing ministry involving all the people of God.  One of the responsibilities of the clergy is to discern and build up the gifts of all members of the congregation in ministry.  Ministry belongs to the whole people of God, lay people as well as clergy.  Lay people need to exercise their own gifts in ministry, and so fulfil their baptismal commission to be the ‘hands and feet, the eyes and ears and lips of Christ, the Lord of the Church’.

It is important that parishes are fully aware of the implications of having a curate, and particularly the special opportunities they will enjoy in sharing in the training of someone in ordained ministry.

It is important that training parishes recognise the considerable time commitment the training minister will have in the supervision and training of a newly ordained colleague.  Fr Darrell will need your support in making time available for this crucial piece of work. 

It is important that the parish willingly makes time available for the curate to undertake further training “on the job.”  And it is important that all of the ministry expenses of a curate are met by the parish.  Curates, like all clergy, need a day off each week completely free of study or church duties.

The Training Minister’s involvement:

By far the most important single influence in the life of a newly ordained Deacon will be the ‘Training Minister,’ and this will very much influence his or her future ministry.

Becoming a training minister requires particular skills not necessarily acquired in other forms of ministry.  These include a strong gift for personal relationships and training in supervision.

Training ministers need to know their own limitations, and understand how to handle, in consultation with the curate, the very difficult questions of power and authority in the working relationship.  A curates’ experience of the first three years after ordination and licensing will profoundly affect their future ministry.

The training minister has the particular opportunity and responsibility to develop the particular gifts of the curate, to identify those areas in which special help and guidance are needed, and then either to make provision for that work through the parish or be part of finding it elsewhere.

In consultation with the Initial Ministerial Education Officer, the curate and training minister draw up a Learning Agreement which covers areas like spiritual development, allotment of time and priorities, supervision, areas of responsibility, specific areas of training and training beyond the parish.  Much of the curate’s training will take place within the parish and be project based, though some courses are offered through the Diocese of Oxford.

Some practical suggestions…

If you do not already know Rosie well, each time you meet in the early weeks remind her of your name.

Remember that Rosie may be new to the parish and town and is definitely in a new role – be helpful where you can.

Keep this leaflet with your Bible as a reminder to pray for our curate and the whole ministry team.

Please pray specifically for healthy key relationships with the training minister, churchwardens and PCC members and so on.

Be ready to be surprised – surprised at what God shares with us through our curate and what you share with her.

Rosie will be, at least initially, a non-stipendiary curate.  That means she will be on duty on Sundays and three days a week.  Those days will, at the outset, be Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays.  It is hoped that by the end of her curacy she will have moved to stipendiary status.  If and when that change occurs, she will then work with us full-time.

Rosie’s day off will normally be Thursday; please respect this.

Pray that Rosie would develop strong and supportive relationships with the other curates in the year group.

As much of Rosie’s continuing training will be project based or provided elsewhere there will be times when she isn’t as visible around the parish as we might expect.  Please be generous about this.