Crosslincs 38 by Diocese of Lincoln

Son of Lincolnshire inspiration for vocations day Page 19

No 38 LENT 2013 Diocese of Lincoln newspaper www.lincoln.anglican.org

We meet the new clergy in the Diocese Page 10

Making chocolate meaningful: Real Easter Eggs Page 5

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Flying Bishop Will Harrison The Bishop of Grimsby has retired from stipendiary ministry in the Diocese of Lincoln, after more than 12 years in post. The Rt Revd David Rossdale came to the Diocese from Cookham in Berkshire, prior to which he had been a parish priest in Chelmsford. In his time as Bishop of Grimsby, David has had responsibility for clergy appointments in the northern half of the Diocese, has had particular responsibility for industrial chaplaincy and has chaired the Board of Education. The Diocese said farewell to David at a special service in Grimsby Minster in January. In retirement, Bishop David will be an assistant bishop in the Diocese, and plans to explore opportunities in charity administration and as a mentor of clergy. A keen pilot, David also plans to spend more time flying his microlight. > Read more on pages 12 and 13

Panels begin work following review report The work of implementing the Central Services Review report has begun, as a number of panels and reviews of departments in the Diocesan offices takes place. The Central Services Review, commissioned last year by the Bishop of Lincoln, made a raft of recommendations, including changes to governance structures, the number of senior clergy and the use of assets. An external review of the Diocese’s communications department has recently taken place, and further reviews of education, property, resources, youth and finance are due to be carried out. Nine ‘implementation panels’, with members drawn from around the Diocese, are also looking at specific areas, including the use of Church Buildings and the way Parish Share is calculated. > Read more on page 6

Bishop David Rossdale will officially retire on 6 April after more than 12 years as Bishop of Grimsby. ROB SAVAGE

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News

Delight as end to scrap metal trade becomes law The Church of England warmly welcomed the passing of the Scrap Metal Dealers Bill, which cleared its final legislative hurdle in the House of Lords on February 12 and now goes forward for Royal Assent. The Chair of the Church of England’s Cathedral and Church Buildings Council, Mrs Anne Sloman OBE, said: “This has been a long battle. “We are absolutely delighted that this two year campaign, led by the CofE’s Cathedrals and Church Buildings Council, will now become law." “We are thankful that the deleterious and misery-making unregulated trade in scrap metal might now be brought to an end through proper regulation leading to a reduction in crime for communities across the country." The Archdeacon of Lincoln, the Ven Tim Barker, who leads on Church Buildings strategy in the Diocese, and is a member of the Church Buildings Council, said: "A great many churches in the Diocese of Lincoln have fallen victim to lead theft, and so I am

delighted that this act has been brought into force. I hope that it will provide much more security for our churches. "I am hugely grateful to parishioners who have written in support of this Bill." The Bill, introduced to the House of Commons as a Private Members Bill by Richard Ottaway MP and to the Lords by Baroness Browning, will introduce effective regulation of the Scrap Metal Trade and finally end anonymous access to cash for scrap metal. In March 2011 a report to the Home Office from the Church Buildings Council called for new regulation of scrap yards to regulate the trade effectively and take away the incentive for metal theft. The regulation called for has been given in the Act, consolidating cashless trading, a licensing system, a national register of scrap yards and compulsory taking of identification at the point of sale. The police will have powers of entry to enforce the new regulations and to close yards where illegal activity is suspected.

Star at the Stump TV and radio star Aled Jones is to perform at a Lincolnshire Church in September. The 42-year-old personality, who came to fame as a treble, now presents Songs of Praise on BBC 1, BBC Radio 2’s The Early Breakfast Show, Good Morning Sunday and The Choir on BBC Radio 3. He is a presenter of Daybreak on ITV Breakfast and the BBC programme Escape to the Country. Mr Jones will perform at St Botolph’s Church, Boston, on Saturday 28 September in a concert which will feature The St Botolph’s Singers with soloist Caroline Trutz. Tickets cost £35 and £29.50 and are on sale on the church’s website and from the Stump Shop. There will also be a small number of special tickets for the opportunity to meet and greet Aled, have a special seat reserved and receive a picture and special programme. The Director of Development at St Botolph’s, Peter Coleman said: “We have been fortunate to have secured Aled’s services for this very special concert. This is a unique opportunity to see and hear one of this country’s most popular performers while at the same time helping with the

Aled Jones returns to Lincolnshire in September. PHIL GUEST restoration of the church.” For more details, contact Peter Coleman on 01472 398637 or 07887943125 or email phcoleman@supanet.com.

Sleepout raises £4,500, so far The Bishop of Lincoln’s Stable Sleepout has nearly reached the ambitious target of £5,000, in support of a local homeless charity, and the work of an international Christian charity in the slums of Brazil. The Rt Revd Christopher Lowson spent a cold night in a remote stable just days before Christmas to raise money and awareness for homeless charities. The Nomad Trust in Lincoln, which offers night-shelter and food bank facilities, and Christian Aid’s Favela project in Brazil will both benefit from the sleepout, which was replicated by other clergy across the Diocese. The Revd Beth Weston, Ordained Local Minister in Billinghay, raised almost £700 from her stable sleepout, and the Revd Adrian Smith, Rector of the Springline and Owmby groups of parishes raised more than £1,000 for his sleepout in Hackthorn, just north of Lincoln. “It was a powerful experience,” said Bishop Christopher after his sleepout. “On the one hand there was the feeling of overwhelming isolation in a very dark, cold and remote location. But the stable was close to a busy road, and I was surprised by how much traffic, especially heavy traffic, was going past all night long. “Those who begin to sleep rough in our towns and cities must also be overwhelmed

not only by their ending up in that situation, but also by the noise and the indignity. “For me and for the other clergy around the Diocese who experienced this, it was just for one night, and I knew that I would return to the comfort of my bed the following night. But it certainly helped me to understand a little of what a great many people experience every day.” The Nomad Trust’s main objective is to help the homeless, needy and vulnerable people that come to their door, day and night. It operates an emergency night shelter, a charity shop, furniture recycling and horticulture project. Between April 2010 and March 2011, 450 people were helped by the Nomad Trust, of which 79% had Lincolnshire connections. Christian Aid’s Favela project works to improve the living conditions of families who dwell in the slums and work in the informal economy in downtown São Paulo. The project focuses on the city central region, represented by the Subprefecture of Sé, where more than 300,000 residents are squashed into 1,138 tenements. Members of this community find themselves shut out from the regular labour market with no access to housing finance. > It is still possible to mark the Bishop’s sleepout by pledging a donation at www.charitygiving.co.uk/stablesleepout

The Revd Beth Weston braved a night in a stable to raise almost £700.

Aston Villa fan Adrian Smith took his favourite woolly hat to the stable in Hackthorn.

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News

Diocese’s academies shine Government performance tables show academies in region achieving well Church academies in the Diocese of Lincoln have achieved excellent ratings in recent Government performance tables for secondary schools. St Lawrence Church of England Academy in Scunthorpe has been placed 19th out of all 5,000 secondary schools in England for the progress young people made between entering school at age 11 and their GCSE examinations at 16. Figures, showing the progress of disadvantaged young people, place St Lawrence Academy 16th nationally. William Lovell Academy in Stickney has been recognised as the highest performing school of its type in the Boston and East Coast area, on the Government’s key indicators (five or more GCSE grades at A*–C with English and Mathematics). Results are significantly above the average for all schools in Lincolnshire and above average for schools in England. William Farr Church of England Academy is an “Outstanding” school in every category, according to school inspectors. In the West Grantham Academy St Hugh’s,

students have exceeded all predictions. Groups of pupils in years seven and eight are involved in a special reading project, and new facilities have been opened incorporating a dance studio, a hair and beauty salon and an open-plan student support area. Students in St Andrew’s College in Cleethorpes have also made excellent progress which is acknowledged in their recent Ofsted inspection. Jacqueline Waters-Dewhurst, the Diocese of Lincoln’s Director of Education, said: “Praise and credit must go to the outstanding teams of staff, directors and trustees, the students who attend our academies and everyone who supports the students, particularly parents and carers. “It is clear to see that students are provided with the very best opportunities to succeed at all levels, to make tremendous progress and to grow into the people God intended them to be. “Students and staff are really proud of their wonderful schools,” she added.

Gardens delight

In body and soul

A list of gardens opened for a range of charities this year can be found online. Lincolnshire Open Gardens 2013 follows the success of previous years, with almost 3,800 visitors to gardens last year. Many of the gardens are open in aid of the Lincolnshire Churches Trust, with Grimsby’s St Andrew’s Hospice and St John Ambulance among other beneficiaries. The list can be found online at johnketteringham.me.uk/opengardens. Additional entries can be sent by e-mail to john.ketteringham@virginmedia.com

crosslincs PUBLISHED BY THE DIOCESE OF LINCOLN EDITOR: Will Harrison REPORTER: Philip Craven CIRCULATION: Jennifer Dyke Edward King House, Minster Yard, Lincoln LN2 1PU crosslincs@lincoln.anglican.org 01522 50 40 36 www.lincoln.anglican.org/crosslincs

Bishop Christopher with the Revd Dr Jacqueline Cameron at Lincoln Cathedral

Pupils of Bourne Abbey Primary Academy are also proud of their school.

Clergy from the Diocese recently attended the first of a four-part series of events organised by the Bishop of Lincoln to help them cope with the pressures of their roles and responsibilities as ordained ministers in the Diocese. The first event was held in mid-February and looked at physical health and bodily wellbeing. The day was led by The Revd Dr Jacqueline Cameron, who is an ordained minister and a medical practitioner. Splitting her time between her native Chicago and London, Jacqueline is uniquely positioned to offer advice for our bodies, temporal and spiritual. “Often clergy are so busy and rushed off their feet that they forget to take time to consider their own physical wellbeing,” said Jacqueline. “The toll of being everywhere all the time – and often everything to everyone – is enormous. The day aimed to get clergy to step back occasionally and look at themselves, what they’re doing to keep them-

selves fuelled and enjoying the rush, and to help them remember that looking after people is only possible if we’re looking after ourselves.” The series of Clergy Wellbeing Days aim to look at four aspects of wellbeing: body, mind, soul, and heart. Bishop Christopher hopes these days will offer clergy an opportunity to come together, take time out from their busy and often stressful lives, and recharge their batteries. It is hoped that over the course of the four-day series clergy will find themselves stimulated, refreshed, and invigorated to continue doing God’s work in their churches and communities. The next event will look at intellectual wellbeing and will be held in Lincoln Cathedral on 25 April. The day will be led by the Revd Canon Vernon White, Canon Theologian of Westminster Abbey and Visiting Professor in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies at King’s College London.

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News

Celebrating success of youth project Christina Makorkij The Diocese of Lincoln’s Green Reflections project has enjoyed a celebration event at Hill Holt Wood, near Newark, to honour the achievements of all those who have taken part. The event recognised the accomplishments of the young people, aged 13 to 25, who participated in workshops held between August last year and February. The workshops, held at Hill Holt Wood, comprised camping, lime rendering, green woodworking and stone masonry. More than 40 people attended the celebration event, including the young people themselves, family, friends and members of staff at Hill Holt Wood. Bishop's Youth Achievement Awards for the camping and lime rendering workshop were given to four students from Acacia Hall. Awards were also presented to Benjamin Ford and Jordan Bell (Stone Masonry), Christina Burson-Thomas (Camping and Lime Rendering), Samuel Lowe (Camping and Lime Rendering, Stone Masonry), and Charles Smith and Sam Stokes (Camping and Lime Rendering, Stone Masonry, Green Wood Working) were awarded for attending all three sessions Helen Willcock was presented with a Bishop’s Award in recognition of the hard work she put into recording the stone masonry event via photography and text. Several of the young people are linking the awards achieved as part of the Green Reflections project to a Duke of Edinburgh award. Suzanne Starbuck, the Diocese of Lincoln’s Parish Support and Projects Worker, said: “The event was a fantastic chance to recognise all of the effort that had been put into the project, not only by the young people who participated, but also by those who organised it.”

A Eucharist with a twist The old meets the new at a regular service in North Lincolnshire Emily Watt A development of the traditional Eucharist has found success in the north of the Diocese. The services, called ‘SOS’, is a refreshingly different Eucharistic service, now in its third year at Holy Trinity, the church at Barrow-upon-Humber. The congregation meets at 6pm on the third Sunday of the month, attracting people from across the northern part of the Diocese. SOS has a large, regular congregation comprising many people, from several denominations. “I wanted the service to be recognisable as a Church of England Eucharist, but also to contain contemporary music,” said the Revd John Girtchen, the vicar at Barrowupon-Humber. “There are three main parts to the service; the music, the preaching and the communion. “For this reason, we invite guest celebrants to preach and celebrate the Eucharist with us. “I really enjoyed the SOS service. It is an excellent example of how fresh expressions of worship can be developed around the Eucharist,” said the Bishop of Grimsby, the Rt Revd David Rossdale, who recently

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celebrated a Eucharist at an SOS service. The worship band leads the service, playing worship songs and hymns with a contemporary setting. Organisers say the style of music is an important part of the service and creates a particular feel to a regular Anglican Eucharist. A member of the congregation told Crosslincs: “SOS is so important to me that I travel nearly 40 miles to be part of the wor-

ship at Holy Trinity, Barrow. “I enjoy the style of music, the people are warm and friendly, and are enthusiastic in their worship and praise. “I leave the service feeling refreshed, revitalised and uplifted.” The Bishop of Grimsby said: “It was good to see so many people from across the north of the Diocese coming together at the SOS service – it clearly meets a need.”

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News

Big retailers put meaningful Easter Eggs on shelves

Three

A three-year campaign by a Manchester-based chocolate maker reaps rewards For the first time, the UK’s biggest supermarkets are to stock a religious-themed Easter egg. For three years, customers have pestered stores and bishops have written letters of endorsement to senior management. Now, leading supermarkets Sainsbury's and Tesco will stock The Real Easter Egg. Launched in 2010, The Real Easter Egg is backed by church leaders. All the supermarkets turned down the idea at first so The Meaningful Chocolate Company, which manufactures The Real Easter Egg, sold more than 250,000 Real Easter Eggs through mail order. David Marshall (pictured, above, with the duty manager of a Tesco store), from the Meaningful Chocolate Company, said that the leading supermarket turn-around is a milestone. “The response from Tesco, Morrisons and

the Co-op has been particularly encouraging,” he said. “I am sure Sainsbury's and Waitrose will also discover real demand for an egg explaining the religious understanding of Easter on the box and which supports charitable projects. “Our aim is to change the Easter egg market forever by making it more spiritual, more generous and more faithful. “This is a great breakthrough – there are Real Easter Eggs available in some stores but quantities will vary. Tesco has the biggest supply across 450 of their largest stores. Morrisons and the Co-op have quantities available in selected outlets. “Sainsbury's and Waitrose have only about 12 eggs in a small number of stores. We have a Google map showing which stores are stocking the egg. It can be seen at

buying

options

 Chur ch and school b If order ulk ord ing six ers: or mor either v e eggs, isit the then www.re official aleaster o egg.co.u nline shop at your Tra k or bu idcraft F airtrade y throu gh r.  Pic k up one o superma r two rket sho pping: Y eggs w on supe ou will o hile rmarket nly find shelves Check 1 2 a t e a ggs ny one t the How t ime. www.re o Buy aleaster egg section superma a rkets are .co.uk to s ee wh t stocking ich the egg .  For individu Check al the orders: www.re How to Buy s aleaster ection at egg.c by debit or credit o.uk and pay card.

www.realeasteregg.co.uk” Out of 80 million eggs on sale in the UK, The Real Easter Egg is the first and only to explain the religious significance of Easter on the box. It is also the only charity Easter egg with more than £60,000 donated to Traidcraft Exchange from sales by Easter 2013. The Real Easter Egg is also the only Fairtrade egg that will appeal to children and adults with its free Easter story activity pack in the box.

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Implementation panels set to deliver change People from around the region charged with moving the Diocese forward after Central Services Review The terms of reference and membership of nine ‘implementation panels’ have been agreed, and work has begun on considering the proposals made in the Central Services Review of the Diocese, commissioned by the Bishop last year. The panels comprise a total of 75 people, with around eight or nine people on each panel. One panel was charged with the appointments of the other eight panels. Those eight panels (listed right) are complemented by a series of departmental reviews, including reviews of communications, housing, The Old Palace Hotel, youth, education, and finance. Air Vice-Marshal Paul Robinson, chair of the Strategic Oversight Panel, said: “I am pleased to re-

port encouraging progress in following up the Central Services Review. "All the Implementation Panels have met at least once, and the Panel Chairmen have already come together to report, discuss and co-ordinate their work strands. "It was a lively meeting, conducted in excellent humour, with much constructive and thoughtprovoking dialogue. "The Panels now go forward to develop their ideas further, prior to the next Strategic Oversight Panel meeting in April. The individual panels’ conclusions are due on 28 June, which the Strategic Oversight Panel will consolidate into a report for the Bishop of Lincoln.

Eight Implementation Panels ρ

Church Buildings

Discipleship

Ministry Development

Mission Fund

Parish Share

Strategic Governance

Strategic Oversight

Worship Enhancement Resourcing

The Central Services Review report was presented to the Bishop in September.

equip

Read the terms of reference online at dioce.se/imppan

A Lincolnshire expo to equip Christians in mission and discipleship

 Exhibitions  Workshops  Cafe  Live performances

ally received the ashtag, as the mark was named, many more stopped and talked to find out more about Ash Wednesday and Lent or to ask for prayer. “In many cases this was primary evangelism,” said Jonnie. “People just did not know what it was about. “Hundreds saw us and took notice of what we were doing, talking among themselves about it as they walked by or stopping to take photos. “This would not have happened if we were safely tucked away inside church.” Snow eventually called the experiment to a halt. “With the addition of thermals and an umbrella, we think it is worth repeating next year,” said Jonnie.

A high street experiment at the start of Lent gave hundreds of people the opportunity to witness the ancient ritual of imposition of ashes. Shoppers on Lincoln High Street saw members of the Luminous community – a “small community of creative, contemporary, contemplative and compassionate companions.” “The High Street ashing was a new venture for us,” said the Revd Jonnie Parkin, convenor of Luminous. “The imposition of ashes is a sign both of God’s love for us and our desire to observe Lent. “We wanted to take the imposition of ashes out on to the streets as part of inside out church.” Even though just seven people actu-

th e

High Street ashing an evangelistic opportunity

"In the meantime, we shall brief the Diocesan Council on our emerging thoughts during its May and June meetings, and also update the Diocesan Synod at its meeting on 10 July," said the Air Vice-Marshal. The Diocesan Council will consider the consolidated report on 3 September, and it will then be presented to, and discussed by, the Diocesan Synod at a special meeting on 28 September. "This is a tight schedule, but with hard work and the guidance and inspiration of the Holy Spirit, we shall maintain momentum and provide the Bishop with a report that is fit for purpose and leads to a clear way ahead for the Diocese of Lincoln,” said Mr Robinson.

Saturday 14th September 2013

9.30am - 4.30pm The Exhibition Hall, Lincolnshire Showground ‘to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up’ Ephesians 4:12 Organised

e)equip@ctal.org.uk

t) 01522 504071

w) www.ctal.org.uk

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The Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Revd Justin Welby, will be enthroned as 105th Archbishop in Canterbury Cathedral on 21 March 2013.

MARCIN MAZUR

Churches “paying the price for bat conservation” Bat conservation is damaging churches not just physically but financially and cannot be sustained, the Environment Minister Richard Benyon MP has been told. The cost of replacing one small piece of a leaded window, for example, increased from £5 using plain glass to £140 when fitting a lead ‘bat flap’ was required by the Bat Conservation Trust (BCT) - four weeks’ collection in the rural Norfolk parish church of Wiggenhall St Germans. Leaving interpretation of the law on bat conservation largely to the BCT is bringing the European Habitats Directive into disrepute to the detriment of endangered species more generally, warned a Church of England delegation led by Second Church Estates Commissioner Sir Tony Baldry MP, with representatives of Natural England.

“I remain puzzled as to why our churches are treated as if they were uninhabited barns. They are not,” said the Rt Revd Graham James, Bishop of Norwich. Welcoming current research sponsored by the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), the delegation said they looked forward to results

that would mitigate the impact of bats on buildings. Churches are places of worship, centres of communities and heritage sites, not sites of special scientific interest, they reminded the Minister. The Royal Society recently raised the issues of health and safety and the role bats play in the spread of disease. The Ven Paul Ferguson, Archdeacon of Cleveland, highlighted the problem for one of his parishes, saying that: “£29,000 has been spent so far by the congregation of St Hilda’s Ellerburn on two bat problems, and, although a licence to do something is now promised, it is by no means certain. “Meanwhile, the cost in financial and human terms to those who worship there continues.” “We have been working on this with

DEFRA and Natural England for two years and I am deeply depressed by the lack of progress,” said Anne Sloman OBE, Chair of the Church Buildings Council, after the meeting. “The Minister was clearly sympathetic but the challenge is to convert sympathy into action. There has been over-delegation to the Bat Conservation Trust which approaches the issue as a bat welfare group and not the impartial scientific organisation that should be giving advice on how to interpret the law.” Sir Tony Baldry MP said: “We need action now. Many of my colleagues in the House of Commons are as frustrated as I am by the lack of progress. I’m sure they feel, as I do, that we can’t go on, year after year, saying something will be done when it isn’t.”

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Award for homeless work

The Revd Liz Jackson with the High Sheriff of Lincolnshire, John Burke, and the Bishop of Grantham, the Rt Revd Dr Tim Ellis. Also pictured with two supporters of the BeAttitude project, Jurgita Pauzinskiate (left) and Cllr Chris Burke (right). PHILIP CRAVEN A Lincoln curate has received a prestigious award for her work with the homeless in Lincoln. The Revd Liz Jackson has been awarded the High Sheriff’s Award for her pioneering work with the BeAttitude Project at St Mary-le-Wigford church in central Lincoln. Liz was nominated for the award by the Bishop of Grantham, the Rt Revd Dr Tim Ellis, who said: “I cannot express how delighted I am that Liz has received this High Sheriff’s Award. “It is an affirmation not only of the good work that Liz herself has done over the past few years, but also for her colleagues and supporters in the BeAttitude Project. Most importantly, it is a recognition that those

who for one reason or another find themselves homeless and sometimes stateless are significant people to be cared for in the wider society of the City of Lincoln. I am deeply proud of all that has been achieved.” Liz Jackson was delighted to accept the award on behalf of the BeAttitude project and all the volunteers and staff who give their time to the cause. “It great recognition for everybody involved in the project, everybody who’s contributed,” said Liz. “Going forward we’ve now set ourselves a task – we need to raise £50,000 in just two months. We need to be able to appoint a community manager. “We’ve got all sorts of ways in which people can get involved. Obviously, financial

An inspiring day of testimony and teaching with Author and Missionary

Esther Baker Christian mission amongst those who popularly believe in Karma, Reincarnation, Idolatry, Nirvana. Sat. 20th April, 10am – 4pm St George’s Church Eastbrook Road Off Doddington Road

Lincoln LN6 7EP

“I highly recommend this book to all seekers of the truth and all who long to see if Jesus is real today.” Jackie Pullinger.

Suggested donation £5 on the day Reserve a seat by emailing thejourney.lincoln@gmail.com Bring your own lunch - drinks provided.

support is one of the things that underpins us but there’s all sorts of other support. “We’re lucky enough to have people all over the Diocese having coffee mornings to raise money and people who collect things like shaving equipment and all the items we need to keep going. We also encourage anyone to come along and volunteer and find out about the project and what we do. “We’ve recently produced literature to help churches in working with the homeless and we’re more than happy to go and speak to anyone anywhere about it.” If you would like more information on the BeAttitude Project or how to get involved, contact Liz at: beattitudelincoln@yahoo.co.uk or by calling 07799 724 908

Bite back at hunger Thousands of churches will stand together this Christian Aid Week to speak out for change. Some 100,000 committed volunteers will go out and put their faith into action, raising funds to help some of the world’s poorest and most vulnerable people. This includes Britain’s largest house-tohouse collection, an extraordinary act of witness – demonstrating to our communities that we care about ending poverty and injustice. There is enough food for everyone in the world, but one in eight people will go to bed hungry tonight. This year’s Christian Aid Week, from 12 to 18 May, tells the story of how Christian Aid is helping communities to bite back at hunger through the lens of land rights in Bolivia, new technology in Kenya and innovative agriculture in Zimbabwe. You can support Christian Aid Week by looking out for local events, and discover how you can be involved by contacting your local Christian Aid Week representative, Loughborough Christian Aid office or by visiting www.caweek.org

Mystic-inspired prayer A group which uses the writings of a 13th century mystic and visionary to inspire prayer meets after Easter. A Celebration of the Love of God at Juliantide will be held at St Mary Magdalene Church, Bailgate, Lincoln on Monday 29 April at 7pm. The theme is God invites us to pray, and is led by the Lincoln Contemplative/Julian prayer Group, who base their spirituality on that of Julian of Norwich.

Musical success A diocesan music project has reaped the rewards of much hard work at a local music festival. The Diocesan Ladies Choir, which formed just three years ago, won first place in the Open Equal Voice Choir category at the Grantham Music Festival. The choir’s Director, Miss Tori Longdon, said: “I am thoroughly delighted for the choir! They’ve been working really hard over the last few months and winning this prize is good recognition of the time and effort they’ve put in.” The ladies performed two items from their repertoire: Kyrie Eleison by Hammarstrom and Wade in the Water, a spiritual arranged Isaacs. The Ladies Choir will be touring to Sweden this summer.

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Comment and letters

Letters to the Editor, Crosslincs, Edward King House, Minster Yard, Lincoln LN2 1PU crosslincs@lincoln.anglican.org A name, address and telephone number must be supplied with every letter and e-mail Letters may be edited for style and length

Music tastes mirror worship

Comment

On the margins of the Church From Mr Ernest Coleman

From Mr Thomas Rookes Edward Joyner compared the attraction people have for cathedral services to those in parishes (The Church should be wary of cathedral statistics, Crosslincs 37). I would like to add that another important point is the variation between attendances in different churches. Certain churches are full each week. One reason for this is that the general population is increasingly mobile and for the most part people will attend a church they like regardless of its location or denomination. The general decrease in church attendance over the last century can be explained by the disillusion which set in after the Great War particularly with men. Whereas my two grandmothers were always loyal Christians my paternal grandfather, who fought in the Great War, never showed interest. My maternal grandfather died prematurely as a result of gas poisoning. My father only attended church as a boy. The attraction of Evangelical Christianity is, I think, primarily an American influence but also a result of a television-orientated society. What worries me about American culture is that it is dominated by personalities as in films and pop music so it is about display rather than about substance. As for alternatives I would like to stress the changing fashions of music particularly in the classical field. There has been a gradual reduction across generation and class. London Prom concerts are very popular across generations and attendances locally have improved dramatically over the past 30 years. Interestingly, whereas it became fashionable after the Great War for music critics to stress the intellectual music of Schoenberg and Stravinsky, this has never been popular with the musical public, yet the previously unfashionable music of late romantics such as Rachmaninov is now much more popular. Contemporary music has not caught up with this trend but theme tunes from films are often very popular because people like a good tune. If we go back to the time of Martin Luther he had the insight to set hymns to folk tunes. The same applied with Vaughan Williams a century ago. So I see an association between our own folk culture or music in a similar mood as one way to attract people to our local churches. In a wider sense I think that our Queen and the Royal Family have shown how an institution can adapt but remain in touch with its traditions ensuring a level of respect and popularity not enjoyed elsewhere. Thomas Rookes Lincoln

“Mental health issues touch the lives of every family and every congregation in England, the UK and across the globe. It is time we assigned stigma and discrimination to the history books, and started to talk more openly about the issue as a way of breaking down stigma and misunderstanding, and building more empathy and support for recovery. As a society we must take more responsibility for the negative attitudes that people with a mental illness face on a daily basis.” These were the words of the then Archbishop of Canterbury in February 2012 as he signed the Time to Change pledge. A clarion call to the Church of England if ever there was one. In a society where one in four of us will encounter mental distress at some time in our life the subject of mental illness is still remarkably taboo and that includes within the Church. If only mental illness were more visible, like a broken leg perhaps, a different view may prevail; a few months of plaster and crutches and it could all be nicely repaired and we would all be able to move on. But the reality of mental illness isn’t like that, some of us have lived with it for years and will continue to do so; yes there are good days but there are also bad days. It can be difficult to admit to mental ill health, particularly in a faith context. Shouldn’t we be strong? Or we plough on regardless, becoming, to paraphrase Galatians 6 “weary in well doing”. Of course, this can apply to clergy, constantly striving, increasingly isolated in a Church that is only slowly retreating from denial that its clergy can experience men-

tal ill health. Maybe the recent decision of Pope Benedict XVI to stand down is more courageous than we think and sends out a powerful message that it is finally okay for members of congregations and the clergy that minister to them to actually think of their own wellbeing alongside that of others. How the Church responds to those with mental ill health will either expand or further diminish her reputation in the eyes of the rest of the world. Can the Church live up to part of its calling as a place of inclusion, safety and welcome for those with mental ill health? Can it also provide a prophetic voice that seeks to challenge the stigma and discrimination that exists around issues of mental health? There are already some courageous responses to issues connected with mental illness in the Diocese of Lincoln and I pray that this inspires and encourages congregations to think more deeply about their response to this vital topic. The Church is ideally placed to be able to provide a mindful and sensitive response to issues surrounding mental illness, both within and without its walls. I pray that it will not seek to sweep mental illness under a carpet that is already posing a significant health and safety risk. I can still recall the occasion when, in conversation with a work colleague, they told me “you talk to God and its called prayer, I talk to God and I’m given a diagnosis”. The line we all tread with regard to mental health is so much finer than any of us realise. 

The Comment is written by a different anonymous author each edition, with the intention of provoking thought and debate, and is not necessarily the view of the Diocese of Lincoln. Letters are welcomed on any subject.

“How much sorrow ambition causes to the innocent.” From Joan Smith While searching out the story of the Uffington plate which was recently placed in Lincoln Cathedral’s Treasury display, I came across a little book about the village of Uffington, written by F. Earle D’A. Williss. Within the pages was a hand-written letter by the author, dated August 14, 1914: “Kinrocket, Brechin N.B August 14, 1914 Dear Mr. Trollope, You were so kind as to promise another guinea if I should need it towards the book. The accounts have come in but the

photographs and pedigrees, etc, has run the whole bill up to £47 instead of the £30 which I had calculated to receive from subscriptions and sale. So I am considerably on the wrong side. Therefore I am taking advantage of your wish that I should ask for another guinea if need occurred. I am very satisfied with the general turn out of the book, and I do not mind if am somewhat at a loss. I have had so many kind appreciations of the little work. This war is so sad, and I wish in many ways I was at home. How much sorrow ambition causes to the innocent. I feel so much for poor but brave little Belgium. Yours sincerely.” The book was dedicated to Montague Peregrine Albermale Bertie, 12th Earl of Lindsey, Lord of the Manor of Uffington. Joan Smith Lincoln

Your anonymous author of the Christmas edition ‘Comment’ certainly managed to get one thing right (Comment, Crosslincs 37). There are people “who hover on the margins of the Church” – and I am one of them. My time with the Church of England started as a choirboy in the 1950s, and ended as Treasurer, then Chairman, of the Parochial Church Council. Not a distinguished career, true, but one in which I tried to do my part. I had fought against the abolition of ancient and popular hymns, deplored the ‘dumbing down’ of the liturgy, ignored the awful, toe-curling, ‘Sign of Peace’, and fumed at the desecration of the wonderful King James Bible. I even stayed at my post when women priests were introduced, certain in my belief that someone in authority would pronounce it all a horrible mistake and we would return to the Church Christ intended. But it did not happen. Finally, when the appallingly incompetent Archbishop of Canterbury failed to give a strong lead on a vital question of personal morality, I resigned and, sadly, have nothing further to do with my parish church. Now we are told in the ‘Comment’ that, despite ‘90%’ of the church’s lay people being in favour of women bishops, the House of Laity have ‘voted it down’. Dare we hope that the eloquent witness of empty pews and the echoing silence of abandoned and redundant churches are beginning to have an effect? Is it just possible that, instead of ignoring Christ’s teaching and example, the Church may be returning to the principle of the ‘Apostolic’ succession and the ‘catholic’ (ie ‘whole and universal’) Church? Or will the Church of England continue to stagger on to its own destruction, torn apart by a desire not to be ‘outdated’ and ‘out-oftouch’? Christians such as I am, did not make our own way to the ‘margins of the Church’ – instead we were abandoned as the Church cast aside the ancient mystery and majesty and reached out for the mundane and the politically correct. Instead of leaders of stature (‘Temple’, ‘Inge’, ‘Lang’, ‘Fisher’, etc.), we get Bishops ‘Mike’, ‘Nick’, ‘Tony’, and ‘Geoff’. We even get ceremonial robes decorated with wind turbines. Are we ever to expect someone in the Church to stand up and say ‘Enough is enough. The time has come to centre our activities on the message and example of Christ’? Or are we to be condemned to see a once-great Church reduced to a faithless fad fit only for the easily-led, and the easily-fooled. E C Coleman Bishop Norton

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New Faces

An introduction to the new appointments in the Diocese

The Revd Ros Latham Alford

Ros was born and brought up in rural North Yorkshire where she lived on farms for her first 45 years. After 10 years as a Reader, she trained for ordination at Westcott House, Cambridge, and then went on to serve her curacy in this Diocese at St Lawrence, Frodingham. She has spent time in Durham and also Dorchester-on-Thames in the Diocese of Oxford. While there, Ros was responsible for three hugely varying parishes representing all socio-economic groupings together with a teaching commitment at Ripon College, Cuddesdon. “I am currently hoping to complete a PhD exploring the training needs of mature curates,” said Ros. “I’m also really enjoying the return to my rural roots, getting to know the people of Alford and the surrounding villages and looking forward to the arrival of my first three grandchildren in the summer!”

The Revd Nick Brown, Louth Nick moved to take up the post of Priestin-charge of the Louth Team Parish in the New Year from his previous role based in Warminster, Wiltshire. As well as being an Assistant Priest at the Minster Church in Warminster, Nick was involved in the wider church, supporting people in the early stages of ministry and helping facilitate sharing of good practice in local mission. “Since moving to Louth, I’ve enjoyed getting to know the local congregations – and the community that they serve,” said Nick. “I am enjoying working with the ministry team to look at how we might develop our ministry to meet the ever-changing needs and demands of contemporary society.” Nick enjoys spending time with his

wife, two young sons and Labrador, and when fortunate enough to find some time, he likes to pursue his interests in choral music and railways – despite now living in something of a railway desert!

Ali comes to the diocese from London, where she was at Christ Church, Shooters’ Hill and also a chaplain at Queen Elizabeth Hospital. “I am delighted to be here and to find myself with eight parishes that are really well organized, loved and cared for by their communities,” said Ali. “As well as my ministry I enjoy dancing and have lessons at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden and Pineapple Studios. This helped me start an organization called Dancing into Worship. “I’m also a big football fan and support Charlton Athletic.”

The Revd Ali Healy, Lovedon

The Revd Mike Doyle North Beltisloe Group

Mike came to faith relatively late, in January 2001. “A few days before I came to faith my wife, Sarah, and I had been joking about my next career. She did at that point admit that she’d rather I was a priest than a politician but it wasn’t anything we ever expected to happen.” “When I did realise God’s presence in my life and found my faith I felt the call to ordained ministry at the same moment.” Mike went on to train at St John’s College in Nottingham and then to complete a curacy in Derby. “Parish priests usually try to be everywhere at the same time,” said Mike. “And with ten churches and a chapel this would obviously be impossible. I believe, as the worldwide church is discovering, collaborative ministry is the best way forward as we strive to share the joy of the Gospel.”

Education focus for prayer A national scheme to pray specifically for local schools has been embraced by a Lincoln church. Lincoln Pray for Schools arose out of an initiative of St Peter in Eastgate Church to co-ordinate and build upon its ministry to local schools. Schools are a vital place to bear witness to Christ, but in an increasingly secular world, churches have found that this ministry presents particular challenges. In Lincoln, the Pray for Schools initiative brought about a desire to pray more and seek the encouragement of others involved in similar ministries. “We registered on the Pray for Schools website, set a date to pray and two of us pooled our knowledge of Christian teachers, governors and parents in Lincoln and sent out e-mails and invitations to pray,” said Liz Bowes-Smith, who co-ordinated Lincoln Pray for Schools. “On what turned out to be a very snowy Monday night, about 25 of us gathered to pray. “It was a very encouraging evening as we discovered others with a similar burden to pray for and witness in our local schools.” As a result of that evening, a slightly wider team from different churches met to pray about developing Pray for Schools in Lincoln. “We contacted local representatives of the Pray for Schools national partners, and also met with Lincoln Christians in Mission to discuss our plans,” said Liz. “We received a very warm reception and a strong feeling that a co-ordinated approach to praying for schools was long overdue.” The group’s contact list began to grow and a second invitation to pray, in September last year, saw almost 50 people gather to pray. “It was very encouraging to see many

supportive links being formed, and the sharing of ideas and opportunities was an important part of the evening too,” said Liz. Prayers have been answered, with a significant increase in the number of schools seeking regular Christian assemblies, and two new schools opening in the city this year already have Christian involvement on the staff and governors. The vision of Pray for Schools is to see ‘every school a prayed-for school’. So the group meets together from different churches and schools, as well as encouraging one another and praying strategically for the schools in Lincoln and the surrounding villages, with the aim of encouraging ongoing prayer for specific schools. “By God’s grace some small groups have begun to emerge committed to praying regularly for the school in which they are involved. We would love there to be others,” said Liz. The group’s plan for the future is to meet together to pray twice a year, near the beginning of the autumn term in September and again in the summer term during Pray for Schools fortnight in May. “In the spring term, we aim to encourage churches to do something locally to mark Education Sunday, maybe a full blown service, inviting their local school to participate, or something as simple as asking members of the congregation involved in schools to stand and be prayed for the year ahead,” said Liz. “The aim is to make sure prayer for our schools does not get forgotten and is on our agenda regularly.” The next central Pray for Schools event will take place at 7.30pm on Thursday 9 May at St Peter in Eastgate Church in Lincoln.  > If you would like to contact the team or join the mailing list, contact prayforschools@stpeterineastgate.org.uk

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Part of the family

The recent General Synod vote on women bishops gave the Church a timely reminder of its breadth

On The Feast of the Holy Family the parishes of Edenham, Witham on the Hill and Swinstead came together to celebrate the sacraments of Baptism and the Holy Eucharist; the Three Parishes Choir sang an anthem written jointly by two of its members Steve Webb and Sue Nicholls, and the preacher was Fr Robbie Low, (a Roman Catholic Priest in the Diocese of Plymouth) a long-time friend of mine. The service was followed by the left-overs of several Christmas cakes and not a little seasonal cheer. This was a celebration of Christian community – the best way of ‘being church’ – people of all ages, religions and cultural backgrounds brought into community by Word and Sacrament. The Edenham Benefice is one of the five Benefices (totalling fifteen parishes) in the Diocese of Lincoln under the extended episcopal care of Bishop Norman Banks, the Provincial Episcopal Visitor (the ‘flying bishop’). There are three PEV’s in the Church of England whose role is to give pastoral care to parishes and individuals who

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hold traditional and orthodox beliefs in the areas of ordination and other areas of doctrine and ethics. The Edenham Benefice has been receiving visits from a Flying Bishop since 1993. To benefit from this arrangement each PCC in the Benefice first of all had to pass both Resolutions A and B under the Ordination of Women Priests Legislation 1992. Then each PCC had to pass, by a two thirds majority, Resolution C – part of the provision of the 1993 Act of Synod, which allowed the Parish to ‘petition’ the Diocesan Bishop to permit ‘extended episcopal care’. A difficult and demanding process for all involved. This extended care includes celebrating the Sacraments of Confirmation and, when appropriate, Ordination. Parishes also look to their PEV to act as advocate for them in discussions of pastoral reorganisation and at the time of the appointment of a new priest. They have also proved invalu-

Canon Andrew Hawes SSC Rural Dean of Beltisloe

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able in pastoral support to both clergy and laity, who often find themselves marginalised and misunderstood by the majority view in the Diocese of Lincoln. They work alongside other bishops in the Diocese who also exercise ministry in the parishes – the Diocesan Bishop still having jurisdiction in all legal matters.

The PEVs have a genuine part to play in maintaining the comprehensive nature of the Church of England. The PEVs express the church’s desire to see orthodox parishes flourish and remain a vital part of Deanery and Diocesan life. Many loyal Anglicans in communities in Lincolnshire were dismayed that the proposed legislation to permit the Ordination of Women as Bishops rescinded the Act of Synod and overruled the 1992 legislation, thus threatening to remove, at a stroke, any pastoral provision for those who for reasons of conscience could not accept the innovation. They were mightily relieved when the House of Laity halted its progress and then shocked at the vehement backlash unleashed in the press and other media. It would seem that even Crosslincs was guilty of a rather one-sided appraisal of the Synod vote. Parishioners in the Edenham Benefice reflect every shade of opinion in the wider church, but

they also desire to maintain a comprehensive community in which both traditional and liberal Anglicans can co-exist happily. It is still the majority view of the three Church Councils that this is best achieved by playing a full and active part in both Deanery and Diocese and also by making a positive statement about traditional Anglican theology and practice by supporting and enjoying the ministry of the PEV. For many of them it is linked very closely to the strongly held view that each person should have both the freedom and the opportunity to worship and participate fully in church life with a clear conscience. For those readers who support the ordination of women as both priests and bishops there are three very important questions to ask: do you think that the people of the Edenham Benefice should be part of the family or not? If they should do you think that some permanent provision should be made for them in the Women Bishop’s legislation? If your answer is ‘no’, it is certain that our church family will fragment even more; is that to be the unequal outcome of the drive to equality in church life? 

Fairtrade not just for a fortnight Simon Dean Many people make a special effort during Fairtrade Fortnight to promote the ethical purchasing which is certified by the Fairtrade Foundation. This guarantees a better income for producers, which enables them to work their way out of poverty and to support their families and communities. It has been

a huge success and the Churches have played no small part in that development. Decried by the Adam Smith Institute which claims Fairtrade interferes with the freedom of the market, many believe it is a positive response to those who promote self-effort and work and entrepreneurship to break the bonds of poverty, and it is about consumer choice. In this case it is an ethical choice, one that is balanced with cost and quality. The fact that the quality of Fairtrade products has gone up and up is witnessed by the adoption of Fairtrade product lines by multinationals, such as Nestlé and Cadbury, (now Kraft). However, the work of continuing to support and promote Fairtrade and challenge unfair practices which fre-

quently force producers to accept below cost prices goes on. It is important to remember too that this is in the spirit of sustainable development which aims both to live within the ecologically possible and also to promote a shift of wealth from the rich to the poor so that they might also pursue their aspirations for a better life. The impacts of global warming are already affecting poorer peoples who live in more marginal environments and Fairtrade helps to build resilience into the economic activity, so they will be more able to withstand better the shocks and turbulence in climate, markets and communities. A number of towns have taken Fairtrade to heart and set up groups to look at trade justice and Fairtrade, and many have gone

on to gain Fairtrade Town status for their local area. In Lincolnshire Gainsborough, Louth, Sleaford, Stamford and Woodhall Spa have gained this status while South Holland has gained Fairtrade zone status. Over the last year a steering group has been set up to promote the idea of ‘Fairtrade Lincoln’ and to work towards achieving the goals set by the Fairtrade Foundation. Many of these targets have been achieved, including the City Council passing a resolution in July 2012 to adopt a Fairtrade policy; Most of the work left to complete involves organising events and publicising ‘Fairtrade Lincoln’ far and wide. We want to encourage all churches and church schools in the City of Lincoln to become Fairtrade churches and

schools. The Bishop of Lincoln was one of those attending the initial consultation of Lincoln becoming a Fairtrade City. He was fully supportive of Lincoln gaining Fairtrade status and continues to be committed to Fairtrade. “I am a big supporter of Fairtrade and the importance of supporting both the local and global economy,” said the Bishop. “I would ask every church in the Diocese to work towards the formal status of becoming a Fairtrade church, to help towards making us a Fairtrade Diocese. And to this end I am asking our Archdeacons to include this to be a standard part of their annual visitations.” > More information can be found at: www.fairtrade.org.uk

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The joys and frustrations As the Bishop of Grimsby moves on from his 12-year ministry, he reflects on life as a Church of England Bishop

Will Harrison It was in the days before interviews and assessments that David Rossdale received a letter from the then Bishop of Lincoln, the Rt Revd Bob Hardy, saying that David’s name had been given to him in his search for a new Bishop of Grimsby and that, as they didn’t know each other, it would be a good idea if they met. Having been to Lincolnshire just twice before, David, whose ministry had until then been in the Home Counties, was prepared for the culture shock of a move to North East Lincolnshire, which, while having close proximity to the beautiful landscapes of the north Wolds, also has some of the most deprived communities in the country. “Lincolnshire was a delightful discovery which has really found its way into our soul,” David told me. “We enjoy beautiful countryside but my experience is also matched by very engaging people.” A large part of David’s ministry was in Cookham, Berkshire, a suburban village of around 5,500, largely affluent people. “That was a very busy parish,” he explained. “We were able to see some significant growth and we enjoyed a rich diversity of people who came from far and wide because we were offering a distinctive brand of liberal catholicism which met a need. “ In Cookham, David built the congregation to around 250 on a Sunday morning, including some famous faces. “We really enjoyed and loved it there. It was a very good community in which to be,” he said. David took up the challenge in Cookham after he had worked on a housing estate in Chelmsford,

and he saw one of his big challenges being to understand how to preach a social Gospel to those who are very well placed in life, and for whom the message of the Gospel might not have the resonance it has in a deprived community. “Could one do this to people for whom life is very comfortable and who didn’t need to be disturbed by those sorts of things?” David challenged himself. “I found that very difficult, but I found in the end you can do that. “They will respond, and they will respond very generously. “I always felt that in a sense a test of how one can unfold that Gospel was discovered at the Millennium, when the PCC made the decision that they didn’t want just to do something for the church, so they set themselves the target of building five houses for the poor in Concepción, Chile, and they ended up raising enough to build 10.” The move to Grimsby in 2000 proved a steep learning curve, confessed David. “I quickly had to learn how the economy of the country is divisive,” he said. “Communities need a balance of enterprise and where that’s not then it struggles to make progress. “I also discovered there is a resilience not just among the people of Grimsby, but in many of the more challenged communities in the north of the Diocese, along with a thirst to shape a better future which is both attractive and something fundamental of the Gospel.” David was consecrated in Southwark Cathedral by Archbishop George Carey, and then began his new ministry with the then Bishop of Lincoln, Bob Hardy. “Working with Bob was a joy. He was coming to the end of his time as Bishop of Lincoln and was very generous-hearted in the way he wanted to develop my ministry,” he said. One of David’s first challenges was to chair the Diocese of Lincoln’s Board of Education, a role he kept for almost all of his tenure as Bishop of Grimsby. Having been involved in education as a governor of several schools, it was an opportunity he relished, and one that turned out to have scope for a great deal of change.

“We have seen a transition from the Church being a partner having a fairly avuncular relationship with both its schools and also with the local authorities, but where we weren’t held in any way accountable for what was happening in terms of education, to an enormous mind-set change needed to take our responsibilities seriously,” he said. “I think that’s still going on. The Church is yet to come to terms with what it is to be involved with education. “I think some dioceses really struggle to understand that if you want to be in education today, you’ve got to perform. And performing is about academic standards and nothing else.” Bishop David was instrumental in the establishment of the St Lawrence Academy in Scunthorpe, and will continue as a director in retirement.

“The Diocese had to put enormous resources into it, and we couldn’t ask the Diocese to make that sort of investment and it not benefit the children,” he said. “One of the things that was noted in the recent Ofsted report was that the middle leaders in the Academy have real responsibility and scope for real decision-making because we’ve set out clearly the ethos and value-structure in which they can do that. “Leadership in the Church, if it’s to have the model of Jesus, is about empowering other people and the hierarchical models of the church that we’ve inherited just do not resonate with the leadership of Christ. “Some of the work I did on management and leadership was about how leadership in different organisations will in the end determine what it is like to deal with and understand the organisation.

The Diocese of Lincoln said farewell to Bishop David Rossdale at a special service in Grimsby Minster. WILL HARRISON

The Rt Revd David Rossdale ρρ ρρ ρρ ρρ ρρ ρρ ρρ ρρ ρρ ρρ ρρ ρρ

Born May 1953 Pupil of St John’s School, Leatherhead Student at King’s College London Student at Roehampton University Ministry training at Chichester Theological College Ordained in 1981 Curacy at St Laurence, Upminster Vicar of St Luke’s, Moulsham, Chelmsford Vicar of Cookham and Area Dean of Maidenhead Married to Karen, with two children Half-brother of the musician Gavin Rossdale Holds a pilot’s licence

“In education, if you look at the schools which are successful, distributive leadership is one of the features you will find. So what I wanted from the outset at the academy was that those leading the curriculum took the responsibility for how that was delivered. “At St Lawrence’s, we were able to appoint a principal who had exactly the same philosophy.” David’s passion is plainly obvious when he talks about education, and the opportunities for young people. But his understanding of the ministry of a Bishop also sparked a great deal of passion, especially when he spoke of how his understanding of that ministry developed over 12 years. “I see the ministry of a bishop as being a hub to a series of networks, both within and also outside of the church, and one is trying to keep those networks purposeful and vibrant and making sense,” he said. “In the end, the vocation of the Church is to make sense of God while also making God accessible, and a bishop has to have a lead in those two things. “If we allow ourselves, as the world would want us, to be the chief managers of the Church, then I think it’s going to be a disaster. But if we see ourselves as the energy which gives those networks connection and direction, then I think the ministry of a bishop is just wonderful.” And David firmly believes that the job of tidying up the Church should not fall to bishops. “I think Rowan Williams put it well when he said that the job is so vast and varied, that you are bound to fail and you just have to accept that. Over the years, and observing different bishops, I think those that are not prepared to be found wanting are always going to be running uphill. “I don’t think the job of the bishop is to be tidying up the Church, but that’s a failing of all Church leadership, including parish priests. You feel that everything should be neat and tidy, cut and dry, but, in truth, working with people means that the church is always going to be an untidy institution. “People manifest their faith, and manifest their personality, and manifest their quirkiness in so many different ways that you

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of being a Bishop

David and Karen Rossdale have made their home at East Keal, near Spilsby, after David’s retirement as Bishop of Grimsby. empty the Church of its diversity if you only go for those that make a neat and tidy Church. “That’s the danger, particularly for a parish priest, that you end up with the only people in the church being those who are formed after your own likeness.” He admitted that he went into the role of bishop feeling able to ‘tidy up the Church’, and he has learned that doing so would move his ministry a long way away from that of Christ. “When you look at the raw material with which Christ was working, it had diversity as well as failure written into it - that’s the reality of discipleship” he said. Too frequently, he reflects, the rejection of diversity is written into the structures of the Church. Recently, David has been a member of General Synod, placed there by his fellow suffragan bishops. “General Synod is an amazingly frustrating body, but one really

wonders how you would do it any other way,” he said. “If you believe that the Holy Spirit works through the body of the Church and not just top-down, then you are automatically locked into the frustration which comes with democracy. I think one of the things that has been a joy about being part of General Synod is that there is a level of frustration that perhaps suggests that one of the characteristics of God is that he is patient, and keeps utter faith with us.” When asked what he felt about the direction of the Church of England, David gave a rather sad and despairing look. “To my mind, the Church has lost its way, in as much as it has increasingly adopted the corporate images from the world,” he said. “The danger then is that your processes become the product rather than serving the Kingdom. “That’s not the Church’s fault

solely. We’ve been battered and pressed by external forces. The terms and conditions for the clergy was one example where we didn’t have any option. The Government made it quite clear that we had to change our practice. But the danger is that we’ve adopted this corporate nature, and the whole problem with bureaucracy in my view is not that what they do is wrong, but that they see their work as being the essential feature of a healthy church. “My view is that the Church has bought into that view lock stock and barrel.” As he winds down his ministry as a stipendiary bishop to explore new opportunities, which may include work peripheral or outside of the Church, David will remain an assistant bishop in the Diocese of Lincoln. And talking of that continuing ministry gave him the chance to end our conversation

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on a note of hope. “I think however that the penny is beginning to drop in the life of the Church. People are recognising that we’re not caught up in decline, rather we’re caught up in change in a changing world” he said. “To me that is a joy, because if we’re an incarnational church, then we will always want to reflect our ministry into the world as it is and not as it was. ”I think there’s a lot of health in the life of the Church and I think there’s much to be celebrated in this Diocese where the census has revealed that adherence to Christianity has actually remained quite robust. “The efficient corporate Church, well-run and well-managed, doesn’t necessarily create the relationships beyond the fully paidup members, which give those on the fringe the confidence to say, ‘yes, I think I’m a Christian'

and then explore what that might mean at pivotal points in their lives. “In the past, rules and regulations were the stuff of life, and people loved it. They’re not now. “We serve a generation who are highly suspicious of organisations that wrap themselves in their structures, and they’re very suspicious of organisations who are wedded to their hierarchies. “I’ve learned as a bishop that there’s a difference between having the authority of influence where you are given the space to make a contribution, and the authority of saying that’s how it is, or that’s how it will be. “Over my time as a Bishop the phrase that has become most valuable to me has been ‘the possibilities of God.’ “The Church now needs to understand how to make sense of the possibilities of God in today’s world.” 

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Helping to improve energy efficiency

Mental

The fear of mental health issues can be overcome

The Church takes steps to help measure the effect of its buildings

The Churches are lobbying Government calling for tough action on climate change to create a low carbon society, and at the same time are promoting practical ways in which we can all join in the effort. The Church of England has launched the sMeasure which helps it to become much more aware of its energy use and energy performance in its buildings, so that the Church can take action to reduce energy consumption, reduce the carbon dioxide emitted and also quite possibly save money. Our global progress towards binding targets for reductions in CO2 has been painfully slow. Binding targets are central to the global effort to combat climate change. From the Copenhagen conference in 2009 to Rio and Doha in 2012 no new binding agreements have been made. It is hoped that by 2020 such agreements will be in place that will take over from the Kyoto Protocol and help navigate a path to CO2 reductions of over 80% by 2050. Even if the world can agree, how are the reductions to be achieved? As has been said, there is no low-carbon magic wand that can be waved. It will require the actions of many people, from those who invent technical solutions, to the policy makers, to business leaders, to institutions, in many different countries both rich and poor, and at the end of the long line of structural and institutional decisions that have to be made are those who must implement them, and that includes us, the public, the consumers, the users of goods and services. In fact our behaviour matters crucially, and may ultimately be the ingredient that makes the difference. How this can work is well illustrated by the Church of England’s own progress towards realising its low carbon ambitions. In 2005 General Synod voted to set a carbon reduction target for the Church, now 80% by 2050, in line with the UK government commitments. The Church’s decisions may not seem to be a huge contribution to the overall target, but work in 2005 showed that as

Terry Miller

an organisation, churches and schools combined, its carbon footprint was about the size of a large supermarket chain. Since then the mechanisms by which we might achieve that target have been developed and trialled and are now being rolled out. However, here is the critical thing. Its success depends on people in parishes responding. It cannot be achieved without this. The sMeasure initiative has been piloted and funded with the help of LEAF – Local Energy Assessment Fund – a Department of Energy and Climate Change. sMeasure begins with churches recording energy use online, which together with weather data will give information of the buildings’ energy performance, including usage to energy consumption, which then leads directly on to practical ways to spot divergences from predicted levels, manage them and reduce energy use and CO2 emissions. In addition, Energy-saving Benchmarking, pioneered in the Diocese of London and now also used in the south west dioceses, will sit alongside sMeasure. There also exists the opportunity to cascade this to individuals and households using iMeasure. sMeasure is offered to schools as well as churches, and, as with iMeasure, is an entirely free online toolkit and straightforward to use. The aim is to make a fully-integrated Church of England system that covers all 44 dioceses, the 16,000 churches and also the schools. Pioneered by Shrinking the Footprint, the Church of England’s dedicated environmental project, it sees the journey of carbon reduction as a fourstage process: monitor energy and carbon, improve energy efficiency, consume green energy, generate our own green energy. sMeasure provides a better understanding of building efficiency, gives the opportunity to compare energy usage with others and share the commitment with the local community. When 20 buildings are signed up then a diocesan peer group will be automatically created. > To find out more about sMeasure go to www.churchcare.co.uk and to sign up immediately go to www.shrinkingthefootprint.com > For iMeasure to access home energy efficiency go to www.imeasure.org.uk

Heather Tomlinson Sarah* has heard voices that others can’t hear and seen visual hallucinations since she was five years old, and never realised that there was anything unusual about it. Now she also hears the sound of babies crying and sees unusual things such as eyes looking at her through windows. At times she can become ill and distressed, but other times these experiences of psychosis – which is the experiencing of ‘hallucinations’ – can be comforting and help her creativity. She believes in God and would like to go to church, and has found this helpful in the past. However she’s currently not going to church because she feels that she is not welcome. “When I started to exhibit strange behaviour, people who I went to church with would cross the street so they didn’t have to speak to me,” says Sarah. “In another area, at first the vicar there would chat to me quite happily – I wasn’t ill at the time. But then at a coffee morning, he found out I experience psychosis, and from that point on he didn’t talk with me, and he just ignored me. “It was quite a shock, he was the last person I expected to do that.” Of course, churches can also be very supportive. “One of my vicars was very inclusive of everybody,” continued Sarah. “But other places are a very select club: if you don’t fit, you’re not encouraged. “It’s OK if you behave in the correct way, but if you are really struggling, like some of my friends

who don’t wash very often... then people avoid you and don’t support you. People don’t know how to handle it.” The exclusion of people who experience severe mental health problems is a challenge in all parts of society. A survey by the mental health charity Rethink found that nine out of 10 people with mental health issues said that discrimination negatively affects their lives, and two-thirds have stopped doing something for fear of discrimination. A survey of nearly 300 Christians with a mental illness found that 30% had had a negative experience with the church. And while many churches may be more inclusive than those Sarah experienced, there can be limits to this. “Often when people are ill, they get their basic needs met in a church, but they are not included as well as they might be,” comments Dr Rob Waller, a consultant psychiatrist and one of the directors of Mind and Soul, a Christian organisation that explores mental health and spirituality. “It is good to help them, but do they have friends in the church? Are they encouraged to be part of home groups for example, or to talk about their spirituality? Sometimes churches can be a bit patronising.” One reason for this is that people can be frightened or don’t understand the unusual behaviour. Mental illness is often only seen in the media in connection with a violent crime. “Often people think schizophrenia means that someone is violent, like the Hollywood portrayal... which is wholly inaccurate,” says Dr Waller. “People with schizophrenia are more likely to have violence acted on them than be violent themselves.” Controversially, it is also common for people who experience psychosis to be given deliverance ministry – sometimes without their consent. This kind of experience was variously described by people interviewed as ‘horrendous’ or ‘ineffective’. However a collaborative, loving approach to deliverance ministry was described by some as welcome and helpful.

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health support with simple steps towards acceptance

*Names have been changed

What can be done to help?

Professionals say that churches can play an important role in helping someone recover. Ellel Ministries has seen many people find healing through their work. “Try to balance the charismatic, enthusiastic aspect of spirituality with loving interventions, and giving people choice, and listening to them and really hearing where they are at,” says Dr Rufus May, a clinical psychologist who specialises in working with people experiencing psychosis, and has had such experiences himself. “From a spiritual point of view, try and give people choices: prayer, forgiveness work, charitable work, anything to help them feel better and stronger. There is a

danger if you say ‘we know what’s best for you and this will work’.” Many people have found spiritual support to be very important in their recovery. “In a piece of research I am just finishing it shows belonging to a religious organisation such as Christian worship has a positive effect on the recovery of people with mental health distress going through a crisis,” says Becky Shaw, who runs a mental health support group and trains professionals. “There is a feeling of belonging, community and much valued support, especially when the people we interviewed had very few family or friends.” Philip Clements is a retired An-

glican vicar who has a diagnosis of bipolar disorder, which has led to episodes of psychosis in the past, though his illness is well controlled now with medication. During these times, he found his congregation to be very supportive. And he says that while psychosis can be a very distressing and disabling illness, people who experience it are not necessarily victims. Some psychologists even believe that psychosis is an exaggerated form of the artistic temperament. “Often people with bipolar disorder are very creative, and it has helped me be a writer and a poet,” says Philip. “Psychosis is not a gift from God, because it is very painful.

But on balance, it has increased my sensitivity to the world around us, and my ability to express this in poetry.” He leads an active ministry now, and finds his illness does not hold him back. Dr Waller points out that Julian of Norwich and other church fathers and mothers almost certainly had a long-term mental health problem, as they are understood today. “They had visions, were quite unusual and lived in a cave, and there are probably reasons for that,” says Dr Waller. “Yet the result of that was tremendous insight into God and spirituality.” 

If someone comes to church who acts in unusual ways, don’t be alarmed. Make an effort to include them and talk to them; they may well be frightened. If you are unsure of what to do, contacting one of the groups listed should be able to explain some behaviours and how to help. But a warm smile and saying ‘hello’ goes a long way. If people attend your congregation regularly, make sure they are included in all church activities such as home groups. Ask if they need any support at church – they might find being around a lot of people daunting. Encourage them to contact mental health services if they are not already in contact with them, although they might be reluctant to do so. Other places they can get help include MIND, Rethink and the Hearing Voices Network. But just because they are receiving professional help doesn’t mean your church can’t play a role; visiting the wards, helping with jobs like shopping and prayer could all be greatly valued. Supporting the family, especially children, may be very helpful too. Don’t assume that just because someone has a longterm, severe mental health problem, or dress and behave in unusual ways, that they don’t have a lot to offer the church. For some people it does not affect their lives most of the time. Don’t diagnose mental health problems yourself, or make any statement about a person’s ‘sanity’. Before using words like ‘psychosis’ or ‘schizophrenia’, make sure a trained mental health professional has made this diagnosis and that the person is comfortable with using those words. For more information, see w w w. m i n d a n d s o u l . i n f o for resources exploring Christianity and mental health issues.

Difficulties overcome

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The Church and the community have strategies to support people with leaning disabilities

Philip Craven Learning disabilities are one of the most widely recognised, but little understood, aspects of mental health. Classrooms and schools all now have special provisions for children with learning disabilities, and there are even schools dedicated to special teaching methods and designed for people with learning disabilities. All in all it’s an issue the majority of society believes is understood and dealt with sufficiently. However, the reality of learning disabilities is very different and can still be a mystery to professionals, families and those with the disability themselves. Learning disabilities range in severity, from difficulties with reading to severe impediments in learning speech and communication – and they are lifelong. Common disabilities such as mild dyslexia can be overcome relatively easily, whereas other disabilities can be intricate and complex. It is generally acknowledged that learning disabilities are developed before, during or just after childbirth, and the symptoms can manifest anywhere between infanthood and early adulthood. Often children with learning disabilities may also have physical disabilities ranging from hearing difficulties to epilepsy. This can make communication intensely frustrating and coping with life situations difficult. Not only are learning disabilites difficult for the individual concerned, they also have a huge effect on families and friends. A Department of Work and Pension report in 2008, Exploring disability, family formation and break-up: Reviewing the evidence, concluded that there is a higher risk of separation in families with a child with disabilities than those without. MENCAP, a learning disability charity, advises in its guidance for parents that “parents sometimes feel isolated after diagnosis, as professionals can sometimes be insensitive or fail to give timely or accurate information” and many will become frightened and distressed at this time. “Such news can bring forth feelings of disbelief, disappointment, self-pity, shock, anger, numbness, guilt, and denial,” the guidance notes report.

In cases where the learning disability is moderate to severe, mothers have traditionally taken on the role of primary carer, especially in households of a lower socioeconomic status, and fathers become the main breadwinner. Not only does this put huge pressure on the mother as carer, but it has been noted that fathers experience an increased sense of pressure to earn and provide for families. All too often employers don’t understand the issues involved, and though there are government plans to ensure employers allow flexi-time and unpaid leave as required, many fathers and families are unaware of their rights. Because of increased pressure to work, fathers can feel alienated from their child’s care and the decision-making process which the mother may make with health and education professionals in their absence.

for longer and it is not unknown for patients to stay for nearer a year. Between the inpatient facility and Learning Disability Community Partnerships – comprising nurses and social workers who largely focus on care management – it was evident that there was a real gap in support for ‘outpatients’. Subsequently, in 2010 the Community Assertive Support Team (CAST) was set up. A specialist team, providing care and support where challenging behaviour and crises may result in ‘placement breakdown’ and individuals being taken into care, CAST operates around the county. “It’s not always easy to put into words frustration, pain or upset, particularly bereavement or loss,” said the Revd Angela Pavey, a Mental Health Chaplain for the Diocese. “It can cause a lot of changes in behaviour as well as emotions.”

Members of the CAST Team based at Long Leys Court with Canon Angela Pavey. Other family pressures include sibling worries and jealousy, a lack of worry-free time for couples and a lack of understanding and support from family, friends and communities. Further difficulties have arisen in recent years since austerity measures have been put in place and councils have had to find cuts to make. In April 2012 a spokesman for the Department of Health said: “We know that council spending on social care is under pressure – that’s why the government is providing an extra £7.2bn over four years to local authorities so that they can protect access to care and support.” However, on the ground it seems that social services and support for those with learning disabilities is suffering. Long Leys Court in Lincoln is a centre providing assessment and rehabilitation for people with a primary diagnosis of a learning disability who have mental ill health or behaviour and/or associated physical health issues. It has an inpatient residence, which can accommodate up to 16 people at a time, with an average residency of nearly five months (as of 2011), however, some can stay

Early signs of this distress can be seen in changes to routine or normal behaviour, such as not taking part in social activities they used to enjoy or not sleeping and loss of appetite. And when these changes, which are often are beyond the knowledge or capability of the carer to deal with, manifest themselves in challenging behaviour and a seemingly unstoppable downward spiral, CAST is there as an emergency service to try and use their expertise to prevent a breakdown of the outpatient’s situation and subsequent hospitalisation. While hospitalisation can sometimes be the only solution in certain cases, often crises are better dealt with at home and finding the root of the issue is key to preventing repeat breakdowns. With a dedicated, multi-skilled and multidisciplinary structure, CAST is ideally situated to help during crises. “It’s principally about communication,” said Evangelos Stephanopoulos, an assistant psychologist with CAST. “We always try to be non-judgemental and understand what the patient is trying to tell us. “There are times when people cannot

wait, and if they don’t get an immediate response from a phone call it can put a lot of stress on the patients themselves and on the families.” “The complex care needs of some people can be very overwhelming,” noted Mark Kowalski, a qualified practitioner with CAST. “The feeling of isolation is most profound and just having someone there on the end of a phone line is reassuring for some people.” Being on the end of the phone does make working hours unpredictable for CAST but it is clear that the passion for their job and helping others is what motivates them. One project that CAST are promoting is their carers’ support groups. These meet monthly at several locations around the Diocese. “It’s all well and good for people to provide care or support in their own home, but there needs to be a fellowship among homes and carers near where they live,” explained Mark. “One of our goals is to put carers in contact with experts and each other – so they can share their experiences and feelings.” Often in times of need people look to churches and their communities for support and spiritual guidance. Angela Pavey sees the role of churches in their communities as being very important in supporting people with learning disabilities and their families: “Pastoral care is one thing churches can offer people in their location but they can also work with people to help them express their spirituality – which might or might not be linked with a church – but it’s an important part of every single person. “Recognising the value of people is really important, because there is a lot of stigma attached to people who are different, whether it’s because of their clothes or learning difficulties or challenging behaviour. It’s an important part of my work to recognise that there is some perceptions we have to challenge, and to value each person, whether they’re professional people, at university, or a resident at Long Leys – to me and in God’s eyes they’re all equal.” “This is just one area where we see common values between CAST and the church,” said Evangelos. “We are all-inclusive, non-judgemental and we try to combat stigmas in everyday life and bring people closer together no matter what their background is.”  > If you would like more information on CAST or Learning Disabilities, please visit their website: www.lpft.nhs.uk For details of Carers groups and meetings please contact Evangelos Stephanopoulos on 01522 577 229 or email evangelos.stephanopoulos@lpft.nhs.uk A training day on Learning Disabilities will be held in Horncastle on Wednesday 15 May. For further details please visit dioce.se/LD

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Art helps see churches afresh Exhibitions confirmed for a Lincolnshire church

Altered, the pioneering arts project involving the Diocese of Lincoln, artsNK, the University of Lincoln and the Churches Conservation Trust (CCT), and funded by the Arts Council and Lincolnshire County Council has recently commissioned two exceptional artists for two exhibitions at the church of St Andrew, Heckington in May. The project, which is endorsed by the Bishop of Lincoln, aims to place cutting-edge contemporary art in our ancient churches, challenging viewers to see these beautiful buildings afresh and build audiences for contemporary art. To this end Pat van Boeckel, a Dutch artist whose work is innovative, moving and thought-provoking, has been commissioned to produce several new video pieces for St Andrew’s, exploring the unique character of the church’s architecture, art and faith. Chris Heighton, Arts Partnership Development Manger at the University of Lincoln said: “We are delighted to have Pat involved in Altered. “Our aim was to commission artists who really understood what we are trying to achieve with this project; that is exactly

Altered Exhibitions ρ Pat van Boeckel 4-5 May 2013 (Private view 3 May) ρ Emily Tracy 11-12 May (Private view 10 May)

For further information or to express an interest in taking part in phase two of Altered, please contact Ben Stoker on 01522 50 40 49 or at ben.stoker@lincoln.anglican.org or Chris Heighton on 01522 837030 or at cheighton@lincoln.ac.uk

Pat van Boeckel’s work will see the moon move across the west wall accompanied by singing. what we got with Pat. “I’m sure audiences will be as thrilled as us when they see his work installed at St Andrew’s.” Emily Tracy, the second artist to be commissioned to produce new work at St Andrew’s, will be temporarily re-instating the Rood Screen in the church. Emily’s work, which will involve physical structures, projected animations and

audience participation, chimes perfectly with the Altered project’s desire to engage local communities in contemporary art and encourage more people to visit churches. Ben Stoker, Church Development Officer for the Diocese of Lincoln, said: “Emily’s work is playful, interactive, accessible, and very beautiful. We’re excited that

she will be exhibiting brand new work at St Andrew’s.” These two exhibitions, along with two further exhibitions— Gary Woods (November 2012) and Rhubarb Theatre and Brickbeat (18-19 May 2013) – at the CCT church of St Peter, South Somercotes, represent the first phase in the life of the Altered project. The next phase will see a programme

of touring exhibitions in churches across the Diocese, as well as further new work being created. The Revd Chris Harrington, Priest in Charge of St Andrew’s said: “We are really pleased that Altered will begin in our church and we very much look forward to welcoming all the people who will come to see these exhibitions.” 

100 years ago

From the Lincoln Diocesan Magazine, February, March and April 1913

A village mission We have had a wonderful mission in our village, so wonderful that I feel constrained to write and urge those of my brethren who, like myself, work in the country, to have a mission when they have been for five years or thereabouts in their parishes. There were very large congregations at all the mission services; many communions were made, many resolutions made, many confessions heard. Miracles of grace have been wrought, many careless aroused, the earnest ones built up in the Faith. A much better tone is noticeable in the village.

St. Andrew’s, Grimsby It may be of interest to the readers of our Diocesan Magazine to hear of the result of an effort to raise money without a sale of work. St. Andrew’s is the Dock parish of Grimsby, and the congregation is not a rich one. The Vicar suggested that it would be a higher and better way of raising money for the Church if the congregation made a direct gift to God, and accordingly, Sunday, Dec. 22nd, was fixed upon for the

thankoffering Sunday. About ten weeks beforehand some 600 purses were distributed, and people were asked to save, and then to change their savings into suitable coins, and place them on the plate at any of the collections on the appointed Sunday. As soon as the collection at Evensong was over the clergy and wardens retired to the vestry and counted it, whilst the organist played a voluntary. The vicar then announced that the total thankoffering for the day amounted to £85 8s. 7d.

Caenby The new porch and vestry lately added to this church was dedicated by the Rector on Easter Day. There cannot be many parish churches, one would think, where the bell is rung from outside, as this was till recently.

The Cathedral Bells The Cathedral bells have lately been re-cast by Messrs. Taylor and Sons, of Loughborough, and it is expected that they will be hung and ready for ringing by Whit-Sunday. Each bell of the new peal is

named after a former Bishop of Lincoln.

Letter from the Bishop It is a satisfaction to have carried through my programme of Confirmations before Easter. The tour, which took me through the villages in the north of the Diocese, was rather a busy one; but it brought me into touch with some churches and parishes that I had never had an opportunity of visiting before, and I was invariably delighted with the attention and devout demeanour of the candidates. I want in particular to speak of the kindness with which the laymen helped me by the loan of their motor cars, and the care taken by the members of village choirs to attend whenever they could. EDWARD: LINCOLN:

Scredington The parish church of St. Andrew, which dates from the Norman Conquest, and is mentioned in the Doomsday Book, is in urgent need of repair. Serious settlements have taken place in the foundations, and large cracks have appeared in the north

and south walls. The western wall is separating itself from the rest of the building, and there is serious danger to the spire. The Bishop of Lincoln writes: “My hearty sympathy is with the vicar and his people in their endeavour to meet and repair this unexpected disaster.”

A word from the Bishop I am disappointed to discover that a number of Parishes and Churches and Parsonages wholly ignore this Diocesan Magazine, and never see it. I want to regard it as a telephone laid on from Lincoln to every Parish in the Diocese. Would my friends see that it is installed in every Church or Parsonage? The great danger of our Diocese is laxity of cohesion, and (as a consequence) a slackness in co-operation. The taking in of a Magazine may seem to be a trivial matter, having little connexion with vital religion or good Churchmanship. But unity is strength, and mutual sympathy is essential to the organic life of a Church. What else does that text mean, “Let brotherly love continue”? EDWARD: LINCOLN:

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Children’s mental health suffering because of image Young people are under pressure from society to conform, and this is leaving its emotional, and sometimes physical, scars

Nationally, we’ve got a health crisis. But it’s not fast food, smoking or drinking that’s the culprit. The problem is with our emotional wellbeing – and our children are suffering too. In our country, it seems to be increasingly difficult to be a child, and that is reflected in their mental health. Statistics from the charity YoungMinds are shocking. It is estimated that 850,000 children and young people suffer from some kind of mental health difficulty in the UK. There are on average three children in every classroom who have a diagnosable mental health disorder – and that’s just the youngsters who have been diagnosed. One in five young adults show signs of having an eating disorder of some kind, and one in 12 deliberately harm themselves; in fact about 25,000 young people are in hospital each year because of self-harm. And nearly 80,000 children and young people suffer from severe depression. In fact the state of our young people’s mental health has been described as a ‘hidden epidemic’ by experts. There has been much discussion about why our children are struggling with these emotional difficulties. There have been a number of changes to our culture that may have contributed, such as the increased ease of bullying through social media networks and mobile phones, and the increased pressure to be sexual and also to be physically attractive. There is a strong link between the experience of bullying and selfharming. “There appears to be a national

chaplains, led by the Revd Harry Smart, can assist, although they rarely get referrals for children, and they usually take referrals from professionals. There is also a church group near Lincoln that exists especially for people with learning difficulties, part of the Prospects group. It aims to make church inclusive and accessible for people with learning difficulties, and the Lincoln fellowship does welcome teenagers, although it can’t accommodate children who are younger. There are a number of secular organisations who can assist a young person who needs support. For example, there is Kooth, which is an online counselling and support service. Kooth provides free access to online counsellors every day of year. There is the well-known telephone confidential counselling service Childline, too. Operating for more than 25 years now, since the high-profile launch by Esther Rantzen, this service takes calls about any subject from children and young people, and is free. It reports that last year it received over 4,000 calls from the Lincolnshire area, although there are probably many more from mobiles, which don’t give regional information. Around five percent of the calls Childline receives from children are specifically about mental health, but other topics are related to a child’s emotional wellbeing, such as bullying or abuse. Calls about self-harm have come from children as young as five, the charity says; although most come from teenagers. Relationship counselling service Relate is most wellknown for its work with adult couples. However it will also provide services for young people from the age of eight years upwards, although children under the age of 13 years will need to attend with a responsible adult. The counselling session will be private, unless the young person wants the adult to attend the session with them. The Grief and Loss Centre in Lincoln

can also provide emotional support and counselling for young people aged eight years upwards who have been bereaved. Then the county has a range of specialist services, under the umbrella of the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS). Through this service families can access a range of therapies and support services. A child can be referred through their GP, but now there is also a means of referring through schools in the area. There are particular services for children who are looked after and in the care of the Local Authority, children who have been offending and those with learning disabilities. So there is help available, and the church do a lot to complement this work and help families who have children with mental health difficulties. 

Where to find help ρρ Mind and Soul www.mindandsoul.info Christian organisation that aims to improve the Church’s response to people with mental health difficulties ρρ Relate 0845 1664110 Provides relationship counselling ρρ Kooth www.kooth.com Online counselling service ρρ Childline 0800 1111 confidential telephone counselling service for children and young people ρρ Selfharm.co.uk National Christian charity that provides resources and training ρρ Prospects 0118 950 9781 Church for people with learning difficulties

Heather Tomlinson

increase in children experiencing a variety of emotional wellbeing problems,” says Amanda Newman, Team Leader for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services for Lincolnshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust. “This may be due to social factors and stresses, but help can be sought in dealing with these.” The church can do a lot to help young people and their families with any difficulties they have. Just offering a listening ear and some support can be very helpful. “Very often having access to someone who will listen and offer support will be sufficient for some young people to be able to manage whatever worries they have,” says Newman. “This can be a member of the church, or a family member.” It should be remembered that the parents and siblings of people who are having difficulties may also need support and care themselves. Mental health groups often cite both spirituality and the community of church as helpful to people dealing with emotional difficulties. There are many accounts of people who have found great strength and healing through faith in Christ, such as Abigail Robson, in her book; Secret scars: one woman’s story of overcoming self-harm. Church can create an atmosphere in which people can talk about their problems, and loving and accepting people whoever they are. And there are more ways being developed for Christians to support people with mental health problems, for example through the work of Mind and Soul, which aims to help the church reach out in a caring and effective manner. Beyond listening though, if professional help is needed, it is good to seek support as soon as possible. There are a number of places to go to get help, if you, your friends or your church family need advice. “Within Lincolnshire there is help at hand with all levels of emotional and wellbeing issues, including mental health conditions,” says Newman. The county’s mental health

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Vocations

Vocations day a chance to be comfortable with a calling Jeffrey Heskins Director of Ordinands and Vocations

There are a number of theories as to how Chad appeared, but the one I read most recently declared him to be born in Gainsborough in a secret school studying radar technology during the war. The picture above was the final one in a series of three illustrations used by the lecturer to show how the capacitor works in participation with other electrical components such as resistors and inductors. So, why not adopt a son of Lincoln (with a name of one of our most inspiring saints) to set the theme of this year’s vocations day conference? The planning group were agreed. Chad was an inspiration to many during the war years when supplies were lean. I remember my mother and father referring to him often as they slipped into that strange nostalgia of talking about rationing! It seems as though the electrical Chad original and the morale-boosting one that emerged from him had something in common; they both seemed to make things happen. I thought of Chad this year not because I wanted to project a negative image of ‘Wot no Ministers’ but because I think that together we can make things happen – it is just that we don’t always know how and because we don’t know how, we think it cannot possibly be me that God is calling to share in the responsibility of Ministry in the Church. That is simply not true. I encourage you to come along to a day when you can meet others who are in the same position of thinking they are isolated in their feelings and not knowing how or where to talk about them. You will also hear from others who sat in a vocations day in years past wondering what on earth they were doing there at the start and yet leaving at the end of the day feeling that not only was this sense of calling something that had a faint ring of authenticity about it, but that it could happen. The day takes place at St Luke’s Birch-

wood on Saturday 18 May starting at 10.30am and finishing no later that 3.30pm. The day is free of charge but you must register in advance so that we have some idea of numbers. Tea and coffee will be laid on throughout the day but you should provide yourself with a sandwich for lunch. I am pleased to be sharing this day with my colleague and Assistant DDO Anna Sorensen, and our second Assistant DDO, Liz Brown. The Young Vocations Officer, David Oxtoby, will also be around, with others not only to speak during the programme, but

there for you to have all the informal conversations you need. There is no hidden agenda to this day, just the chance to come along to a ‘no strings attached’ vocations session where you can listen, talk and ask questions without anyone pressuring you to make a decision. If you want to register, please contact me at jeffrey.heskins@lincoln.anglican.org or leave a message for me on 01522 50 40 29 along with your contact details. I look forward to perhaps seeing you on the day at Birchwood.

Nurturing vocations in North Lincolnshire

Liz Brown I'm a full-time non-stipendiary priest at St Mary's Barton-on-Humber, the last parish in Lincolnshire before you fall into the river and are washed into the Province of York. I'm married to Geoff and have three grown-up children and two adult stepchildren. To be a full-time NSM well under retirement age may be a bit unusual, but there's more to life than money and nothing better in life than the gift of a vocation recognised and lived out. My personal spirituality has always been in the Catholic tradition, but the Church spreads its broad umbrella ever wider and I think it's important that all the aspects of spirituality which energise Anglicanism are able to speak to each other with understanding. It's really good that the Diocesan Director of Ordinands and his assistants represent quite a spread of church-

manship – and the fact that we're dotted conveniently up and down the diocese in terms of geography is an added bonus. When Jeffrey Heskins asked if I'd be willing to join his team as an Assistant Diocesan Director of Ordinands (ADDO) I was delighted. I've been one of the Vocations Advisors in the Diocese for a little while and it's proved one of the most satisfying aspects of my ministry to date, as well as being an enormous privilege. Our job is both to listen to those exploring the first stages of discernment and also take part in Diocesan Interview Panels for those who feel they have identified their calling and hope to move on to the next stage at a Bishop's Advisory Panel. Walking alongside people as they try to discern God's call to them and to respond with integrity and faith is both a joyful and a humbling experience and I learn a great deal from these brave and faithful people embarking on the next phase of their journey, wherever it may take them. There are many aspects of the role of ADDO which I find exciting, but perhaps the one that really stands out is the prospect of it being part of my job description to tell anybody and everybody that there isn't a job that can hold a candle to public ministry, whichever form of that we may be called to. At Diocesan Panels I'm usually responsible for interviewing for the criteria of Vocation, Ministry in the Church of England and Spirituality, and as a combination they probably sum up my own enthusiasms very well.

Before anybody can move into public ministry, the Church has to discern a genuine vocation in that person, but once that has happened there's quite a bit more to the story. We're not called in a flabby general sort of way to “do something”, but specifically to ministry within the Church of England, which may at times be an exasperating organisation; however, it also one which I love passionately and which I can never imagine living without. Underpinning all this is the category of Spirituality. The church needs people of prayer, people who are willing to leave everything and follow God because they love him more than anything else, and it's these inspirational souls I'm privileged to meet during their discernment process and to hear their stories of God's self-disclosure in their lives. It's also worth mentioning that there is an increase in interest in the monastic religious life in the Church, and being aware of that possibility is an added dimension for those of us accompanying our brothers and sisters as they explore the path of faith. Any diocese with a determination to develop a clear spiritual vision should be attractive to any ordinand and I can't wait to plug ours for all it's worth. I'm looking forward to getting to grips with this role and if you're reading this and wondering if God might be giving you a gentle nudge, why not think seriously about finding out? > Contact Liz Brown on 01652 634855 or at brown5LE@btinternet.com

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Making a difference in Tanzania Stuart Foster Back in December of last year I was asking myself, “How hard was it going to be fitting back into life in Lincoln”. I was aware my work in Tanzania had made a substantial difference to my outlook on life, as well as reinvigorating my spiritual self. So, when I was invited to continue my association with Go MAD (in partnership with Tearfund and the Diocese of Mara) I relished the opportunity. Now I have been appointed UK Ambassador for Go MAD. I recall as November 2012 came to a close listening to the pleasing sounds of Africa outside my bedroom window. I knew the sounds of Uphill Lincoln might be less pleasing; planes, the sirens of speeding police, ambulance and, fire engines, as well as the cacophony of sound that is this busy and thriving city. My return was made easier by the fact I had made so many wonderful friends among the Tanzanian villagers of the Mara Region. For them, age is special and I earned the title ‘Babu’ (Grandfather) and was regularly consulted by all. It is a respect for eldership that has been lost in the UK. As to the questions, such as, “had we made a difference,” these were swept aside by the surprise farewell from villagers at the end of November. Their hugs and requests that we return were indicative of a people who felt we had made a difference. We were robed, and we danced with the village mammas, and such joy among their poverty reminded me of something I read one evening while nestling under my mosquito

net; “The poor man with a rich spirit is in all ways superior to the rich man with a poor spirit. Only the poor in spirit are really poor. He who has lost all, but retains his courage, cheerfulness, hope, virtue and self-respect, is still rich” (Bear Grylls: Mud, Sweat & Tears). These people were rich in ways I did not know was possible. We had made a huge difference. We have saved lives, built a house, two toilet blocks, two 9,000 litre water tanks and started a market garden project for the local co-operative, all thanks to the money given by my supporters and those of the rest of the team of volunteers. The lives we have saved are as a result

of projects that protect against the effects of little or no access to fresh water, inadequate sanitation, poor personal hygiene, flimsy housing (likely to collapse in a storm), and poor nutrition. Our educational team had played a significant part in bringing to schools, homes and villages a greater awareness of how our efforts and a villager’s diligence can save lives. As I was constantly reminded by fellow volunteers, Together Everybody Achieves More (TEAM). I had started a journey and I so wanted to continue to make a difference. The lives of the TEAM have been transformed and Tearfund must take the credit for backing this Go MAD program in con-

junction with The Anglican Church of Tanzania and the Diocese of Mara. Over my two months on the edge of the Serengeti we have had to deal with illness, poverty, and the sadness of the death of children. But we have also grabbed some people from the jaws of death and taken them to hospital where your money helped pay for their treatment. Without this aid parents and families just look on as their loved ones either suffer or die, being unable to pay for medical treatment. So much achieved and so much learnt. My African colleagues who are employed by the charity Go MAD loved instructing me and admired the confidence with which I walked around the high walls of house and toilet block. They have also become fascinated by the range of animal sounds I could mimic. Their joy and affirmation of me as a 65-year-old priest who upon retirement three years previously had lost his raison d’être encouraged me to sing and dance with them. African music does that, as does the richness that is this land and its people. So, was I mad to go to Tanzania and will I return? That is up to God and others, but certainly I am willing. Meanwhile I hope to keep up the fund-raising that I know will make a difference to people’s lives in the Diocese of Mara – and perhaps in time to come, beyond to other dioceses of the Anglican Church of Tanzania. > To support Go MAD and Tearfund visit www.thewanderingstu.co.uk or invite me to speak and share something of my journey that could be your journey of self-discovery.

I believe in God

The Chancellor of Lincoln, Dr Mark Hocknull continues his exploration of the Apostles’ Creed: The Resurrection of the Body

Of all the articles in the Creed, ‘The resurrection of the body’ has the most documentary evidence associated with it. Attacked from all sides, it seems, early Christian theologians vigorously defended their belief in the resurrection of the body. In a world accustomed to belief in the immortality of the soul, what marked out Christians as different was their strong belief in the continuing of our material existence after death. The promise of the Gospel

is not for a disembodied existence as a kind of free spirit, or existence merely in the memory of God after we have died. The promise of the Gospel is clear enough: the promise of an embodied existence after death. Again and again, the early Church affirmed its belief in the resurrection of the body against those who held only the immortality of the soul, or who attempted to spiritualise the whole conception. Belief in the resurrection of the body is an affirmation of the totality of salvation. The whole person and not just the soul is loved and saved by God. Taken too literally, the promise of bodily resurrection is not particularly appealing. After all, our earthly bodies are subject to decay and corruption and constantly let us down. The Greek and Latin forms of the creed actually have the word ‘flesh’ instead of ‘body’. This word ‘flesh’ has a faint whiff of sin and corruption about it – certainly in

the way that Paul uses it in his letters. Surely what we want is release from all of this, and escape from the body might seem like a good thing. But Paul reminds us in his first Letter to the Corinthians that though we die with a mortal, corruptible body, we will be raised with an incorruptible, immortal body. What Paul calls the spiritual body. Paul writes of the death and resurrection of the body, ‘It is sown a physical body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a physical body, there is also a spiritual body’ (1 Corinthians 15: 44). This spiritual body is not a euphemism for some kind of ghostly existence after death. It is Paul’s way of speaking of the continuity and change that resurrection brings. Resurrection is more than the revival or revivification of a corpse. In the New Testament Lazarus was returned to life after being four days in the tomb. But Lazarus died again.

What awaits us at the resurrection is not more of the same kind of life that we have now, but a transformed and transfigured life: just as Jesus’ own body was transformed by his own Resurrection. Resurrection from the dead involves a material life free from sin and corruption; free from everything that is not of God. The belief in the resurrection of the body is a belief in the survival of the whole individual after death. We will be neither obliterated into nothingness, nor absorbed into the divine in the way that a single drop of water falling into the sea ceases to exist as a discrete drop. After death, I will still be me and you will still be you. But we will not be identical to the people we are now. We will be transformed. Embodied still, yet free from all that is not of God, all that pulls us away from being the people we are intended and destined to be. 

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Advertise your event in the Deanery Diary for free Visit www.lincoln.anglican.org/yourevent

Deanery Diary

12 April 2013 Classical Piano Concert at St John the Baptist Church, Alkborough. International classical pianists Anthony Goldstone and Caroline Clemmow. Tickets £15 to include glass of wine and light supper. Proceeds in aid of church funds. For more information call 01724 720128 or e-mail cynthia.stockdale@btinternet.com

12 April 2013 Millennium Eagle Jazz Band at All Saints’ Church, Winterton. Concert of traditional jazz. Tickets £10.50 to include light supper and wine. For more information visit dioce.se/winterton

17 May 2013 Jazz Concert at St John the Baptist Church, Alkborough. A concert by New Orleans Heat in aid of church funds. Tickets £10.50 to include light refreshment. Contact 01724 720128 or cynthia.stockdale@btinternet.com for tickets.

26 April 2013 Scunthorpe Co-operative Junior Choir at All Saints’ Church, Winterton. Choir concert by superb children’s choir. Tickets in advance only at £6 with U16s free. For more information see dioce.se/winterton or call 01724 734285.

29 March 2013 Good Friday Dog Walk at St Edith’s Church, Coates by Stow. Guided tour of this unspoilt medieval church followed by a two-mile spring dog walk followed by free lunch. For more information go to www.stedithscoates.co.uk or call 01427 788629

30 April 2013 Ancient Salt Making in Lincolnshire: St Andrew’s Church, Utterby. Presentation from Lincolnshire Heritage Trust. Tickets £3, U16s free, to include refreshment. Please call 01472 841831 for tickets or pay on the evening.

2 to 6 May 2013 Flower Festival – Village Life Past & Present at All Saints Church, Branston. Refreshments available with evening service on Sunday. For more information visit www.branstonallsaints.co.uk or call 01522 826381. 31 March & 1 April 2013 A Festival of Easter Bonnets and Hats at St Peter’s Church, Navenby. For further information e-mail butlerhargate@btinternet.com 20 April 2013 Bacon Butty Bonanza at Holy Trinity Church, Martin. Bacon butties served in the church from 10am to 3pm with tea, coffee and soft drinks. All in aid of church funds. 26 April 2013 Fashion Show at St Mary’s Church, Swineshead at 7pm. With wine and nibbles. 27 April to 6 May 2013 Wigtoft Craft Fair at St Peter & St Paul, Wigtoft. A variety of crafts on display and for sale. Light refreshments will be available. For more information call 01205 460208. 27 April to 6 May 2013 Gosberton Craft & Flower Festival at St Peter & St Paul’s Church, Gosberton. Themed ‘A Great Day Out’ with stalls with items for sale. Refreshments available in the church hall. For more information go to www.gosberton.org 27 April to 6 May 2013 Flower Festival, Art Exhibition & Café at St Lawrence Church, Surfleet. Decorated church, paintings by local artists, homemade cakes, plant stalls, crafts, fresh flowers and vegetables plus tombola. Meals and other refreshments. For more information go to www.glengroup.org.uk

4 to 6 May 2013 Let’s Celebrate – Our Church, Our Community. St Mary’s Church, Fotherby. Flower festival commemorating the 150th anniversary of the rebuilding of St Mary’s. Refreshments available each day. For information call 01507 605016. 25 to 27 May 2013 25th Annual Fine Art Exhibition & Sale of Paintings at St Vedast’s Church, Tathwell. Celebration service at 11am on 25 May with talking village walk on 26 May at 6pm. Refreshments available. For more information call 01507 602869. 16 to 19 May 2013 Flower Festival at St Helen’s Church, Marehamle-Fen. With arrangements by The Horncastle Flower Club. Cheese and wine party at the opening. Stalls with light refreshments. For more information call 01507 568446. 23 March 2013 Easter Fair & Table Top Sale at the village hall, Ashby de la Launde. An Easter fair with stalls to include crafts, homemade cakes, Christian books and goods from the Olive Tree and others. Refreshments available. For more information call 01526 322571. 27 April to 6 May 2013 Long Sutton 51st Flower Festival at Long Sutton St Mary & Church Hall. ‘The New Elizabethans’. Refreshments, handicrafts and produce on sale. For more information visit www.longsuttonchurch.org or call 01406 364226. 27 April to 6 May 2013 Flower Festival ‘I remember…’ at All Saints Church, Moulton. Casual refreshments available plus stalls selling craft goods, china etc. Songs of Praise on 5 May. For more information call 01406 371201.

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Dropping in Philip Craven discovers the heritage of Bomber County in a Lincolnshire Church Driving through Scampton to the church of St John the Baptist, the high barbed-wire fences of the aerodrome and the nostalgicallythemed Dambusters Inn leave the visitor in no question as to the village’s rich wartime heritage; an impression further cemented upon arrival at the church, with its towering memorial cross and rows of white headstones reminiscent of wartime cemeteries on the continent. The first records of Scampton Church date it back to 1249 and the 14th century tower remains to this day. Re-orderings in the late 18th and 19th centuries served to renew the church and a beautiful Bodley and Garner stained-glass window was installed in the chancel around 1876. At the altar end of the church is the RAF chapel, where original shields from the RAF squadrons decorate the wall alongside a small tapestry, on which are embroidered the words: “Through these

The churchyard of St John the Baptist, Scampton. PHILIP CRAVEN portals go the bravest of men. Always frightened but never afraid.” A harrowing reminder of the church’s role in the war and the place it held in the hearts of the troops abroad. Scampton is now famously home to the Royal Air Force’s elite flying team, The Red Arrows. Perhaps not as aerodynamic

as the RAF’s elite but aiming for equally lofty heights, the ministry team at Scampton are a proactive and enthusiastic group. The Revd Adrian Smith has recently become rector of the 13-church Springline group, where he has joined a large ministry team. “When I first visited the new

patch after being appointed, my predecessor told me that I was coming to a brilliant group with 13 churches – and 16 communities,” said Adrian. “So when I arrived full-time I wanted to take a step back, see what was going on and what was working well, and run from there.” Scampton Church now acts as both the religious and community centre of the village of Scampton and “The Camp”, as the former RAF base housing – now home to around 500 civilians – is known. There are two schools, Scampton CofE Primary School and Pollyplatt School on the Camp, and both have good links with the church and are exploring further ways of engaging with it and utilising the church’s resources. While the schools and the church have fruitful and growing relationships, Scampton has also built its own links with children through its ‘Family Service’.

The Family Service was first conceived 10 years ago when the church was in interregnum and several of the congregation were concerned that a lack of local leadership and activity might ‘lose’ a generation from the church. “I phoned a retired priest who lived locally and asked whether he could think of anything to do,” said Sue Deacon, a churchwarden and ordinand. “He turned the question back on me to ask what I thought I could do about it. “At that time I worked at the local school and often took assemblies, so I was encouraged to look at how I led that and what we did, and to adapt it for Sunday worship.” The services have developed much over the past 10 years with Sue Deacon, Barbara Hudson and Lynn and Bill Shaw taking the lead. Firmly based on the pillars of story-telling and music-making the Family Service has developed

ago they were so well valued, the church decided they wanted to replace them with bespoke copies at the cost of £4,000. Inside the church, visitors will be pleasantly surprised by the large welcoming space that has been crafted over the years by the local community; the altar, font, lectern, crucifix and candlesticks were made for the church in 1962

by the pupils of the Doncaster Road School (now the St Lawrence Academy) as part of their furniture classes and the altar frontals were made in the 1990s by the local ladies sewing group. Built in the 1960s and shaped by its community ever since, the Church of the Resurrection is certainly an unconventional gem, but a gem nonetheless.

Hidden gems The Church Buildings team explores three more stunning churches

Skillington St James’ church lies near the A1, on the border of Leicestershire. It is predominantly 13th century with a well-proportioned Decorated spire but also contains 14th, 18th and 19th century elements. The porch has side benches and also dates from 13th century. The arcades in the nave are 12th century, circular piers, some with nailhead enrichments and stiff leaf carving. There are two 13th century grave slabs built into the north chancel wall.

Cherry Willingham The sweetly-named Cherry Willingham lies around four miles to the east of Lincoln. The predominant architectural style of the village is modern, domestic and functional. The Parade, a collection of shops, eateries, a pub, library and doctors’ surgery, situated around a central car park, is the natural centre for local life. However, the village is not without Georgian sophistication, embodied in the quietly beautiful church of St Peter and St Paul.

Other memorials include a bell and two windows in memory of Revd Charles Hudson, vicar of the church, who died during his descent of the Matterhorn in 1865. The real treat are the two exposed jambs of the Anglo-Saxon church showing long-and-short quoining as used by the Romans. They are complete and located on the outside at the northeast corner of the nave and internally the southeast corner is visible in the south chapel. These show the dimensions of the original box church dating to early 11th century. Built in 1753 by Thomas Beke, whose monument is housed in the church, St Peter and St Paul’s is one of the finest eighteenth-century churches in Lincolnshire. It contains a remarkable reredos, font and furnishings, but it is the cupola that surmounts the church that is perhaps of greatest interest. The badly damaged original was recently replaced by a prizewinning example of dignified, modern craftsmanship; demonstrating that in Cherry Willingham, Georgian refinement can still be the order of the day.

Scunthorpe The Resurrection The Church of the Resurrection is certainly hidden, but not everyone would agree it is a gem. Nestling within a housing estate in Scunthorpe, the ‘Industrial Garden Town’, you could easily miss it. Built in the early 1960s to a design by Alastair Bruce, the church is simply expressed in a low-built brick building with felted flat roofs and large timber framed windows. All this may seem like typical modernist 1960s architecture, a functional structure produced at low cost for a burgeoning population at the heart of the steel production industry. But it should not be dismissed immediately. The detailing of the church gives it surprising character, and points to a much loved and well used building at the heart of its parish. Walk up to the entrance underneath the steel framed campanile with cross and bell and you will be met by some swinging 1960s mustard coloured tiles with black gradated patterns. When the original tiles were replaced ten years

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an enthusiastic following over the years and takes place on the first Sunday of the month. “My family and I never miss this service – there is something for everyone,” said Jeff, a member of the congregation. “It is well-led, friendly, and has a real sense of worship. I am particularly pleased that they go out of their way to serve the needs of my five-year-old and his seven-yearold brother.” While it is unashamedly a children’s service, there is still something for everyone. “What’s interesting is that the Sunday regulars stay for it as well,” said Jeff. “The youthfulness and vibrancy bring something that can sometimes be missing from traditional Sunday morning services.” The Family Service has been very successful with numbers multiplying year on year. It’s viewed as an entry point for the church by its leaders, and last year 11 children chose to be confirmed. One of Adrian’s many plans is to build further links with the community at The Camp. He was recently afforded a rare opportunity when he was invited to attend a

‘women’s mess dinner’ at the base, and following his discussions there he led a prayer session for those with partners on active service in Afghanistan and elsewhere abroad. He has also arranged to take a special version of the family service to the Camp in the not-toodistant future. Scampton has an admirable outlook on mission and worship,

which is well-surmised by Sue Deacon: “The question we’re constantly asking ourselves is ‘What can we do next?’” It is this all-pervasive mantra which sets the pace of activities. Every other year the church puts on a Vicar-of-Dibley-inspired outdoor nativity play; however, the intervening years aren’t left wanting. Most recently the inside of the

church was transformed into a set from the much-loved BBC series Doctor Who, complete with Tardis and flashing blue lights. The cast and audience were transported back to Bethlehem so that The Doctor could learn about Christmas. Other celebrations last year saw children come dressed representing different Olympic sports and a

re-enactment of the Queen’s coronation to celebrate the jubilee. While it may seem a very youthcentred approach, as well as enjoying a truly living church for all God’s family the older members of the congregation have regular worship, concerts, and other events to enjoy. The group is rich in ministerial resources and likes to get involved in projects in the deanery and further afield. Every 5th Sunday there is a group service, to which the congregation is encouraged to bring items for the work done by St Mary-le-Wigford church with the homeless in Lincoln. The collection at these services is split to support both the BeAttitude project and a missionary partner in Malawi, as part of the Christians Abroad charity. Adrian Smith has been very fortunate to take on such a dynamic, outward-looking church, which successfully balances youthful engagement with regular worship and mission, and there is little doubt that Adrian and his team’s talents, commitment and energy will help Scampton and the Springline group to soar high with its favourite Red Arrows. 

Gazette Appointments The Revd Nicholas Brown, formerly of Warminster (Diocese of Salisbury) has become Priest in Charge of Louth. The Revd Michael Doyle, formerly of Ashbourne St Oswald (Diocese of Derby) has become Rector of the North Beltisloe Group. The Revd Dorothy (Dee) Freeman, assistant curate of St George, Swallowbeck, will become Associate Priest of that parish on 14 April 2013.

The Revd Stephen Johnson, formerly ministering in the Diocese of Lichfield, has become Community Chaplain in Louth. The Revd Harriet Orridge, Assistant Curate of the Ironstone Villages (Diocese of Leicester) to be Priest in Charge of the Saxonwell Group. The Revd Canon Rhys Prosser, Rector of the Saxilby Group, has also become Rector of the benefice of The Stow Group.

Resignations The Revd Gillian Barrow, curate of the benefice of Gainsborough and Morton, to be Rector of St George’s, Wolverton and Holy Trinity, Old Wolverton (Diocese of Oxford) on 18 April 2013. The Revd Richard Benson, Rector of the Partney Group, has became Incumbent of Taddington (Diocese of Derby).

The Revd Charles Robertson, Priest in Charge of the South Lafford Group, to become Priest in Charge of the Benefices of Swineshead, Bicker with Donington, Sutterton and Wigtoft.

The Revd Alyson Buxton, Rector of the Horncastle Group, has become Director of Ministry in the Diocese of Ely.

The Revd Rosamund Seal, Priest in Charge of Moulton, Rural Dean of Elloe East and Elloe West, has become vicar of Holbeach All Saints.

The Revd James Mackay, assistant Curate of the benefice of Walesby, has become incumbent of Stilton and Elton (Diocese of Ely).

Retirements

The Revd Michael Cartwright, Priest in Charge of Market Rasen, Linwood, Legsby and Lissington, retired on 8 December 2012.

The Revd Michael Ruff, Priest in Charge of Stamford St Mary and St Martin, to retire on 30 April 2013.

The Revd Margaret Barton, Priest in Charge of Corby Glen, retired on 31 December 2013.

The Revd June Freshney, Assistant Curate of Brant Broughton and Beckingham, Leadenham, Welbourn and Caythorpe, retired on 26 January 2013 but will continue to officiate in the Deanery of Loveden.

The Revd Joan Thornett, Assistant Curate of the Stickney Group, has retired but will continue to officiate in the Deanery of Bolingbroke.

The Revd Alison Healy, currently holding the Bishop of Southwark’s licence, to be Rector of Brant Broughton and Beckingham, Leadenham and Welbourn and Priest in Charge of the parishes of Caythorpe, Fulbeck and Carlton Scroop with Normanton.

Contact The Bishop of Lincoln The Rt Revd Christopher Lowson 01522 50 40 90 bishop.lincoln@lincoln.anglican.org The Bishop of Grantham The Rt Revd Dr Tim Ellis 01400 283344 bishop.grantham@lincoln.anglican.org The Interim Diocesan Secretary The Revd Canon Richard Bowett 01522 50 40 30 diocesan.secretary@lincoln.anglican.org The Archdeacon of Stow and Lindsey The Ven Jane Sinclair 01673 849896 archdeacon.stow@lincoln.anglican.org The Archdeacon of Lincoln The Ven Tim Barker 01529 304348 archdeacon.lincoln@lincoln.anglican.org The Diocesan Offices Edward King House, Minster Yard, Lincoln LN2 1PU 01522 50 40 50 Fax: 01522 50 40 51 reception@lincoln.anglican.org www.lincoln.anglican.org www.facebook.com/dioceselincoln @CofELincoln www.flickr.com/dioceseoflincoln

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Ice to meet you Crystal Waters His icy demeanour belied the undoubted gifts he brought to the community of a rural Lincolnshire parish. The Revd Snow began his ministry during the Saturday Club worship at Middle Rasen, north of Lincoln, one cold January morning. His particular focus was on welcoming all who came to the Church, a job he took very seriously, and which he carried out with unstinting diligence. “Our monthly Saturday Club for primary school children were extremely appreciative of the new posting,” said Linda Patrick. “The Revd Snow certainly caused a stir when he joined the Middle Rasen Ministry Team. “Many families brought their children along to be photographed with him and he welcomed all the congregation to church for communion.” No sooner had the Revd Snow arrived in the parish than he moved on, mysteriously leaving behind just a few personal effects outside the church. Local people have been wondering if his talents have been spotted abroad, and if his penchant for white robes, and his benevolent smile, might soon be famous around the world, perhaps greeted with a puff of white smoke. The Revd Snow was unavailable for comment as Crosslincs went to print. 1

Prize crossword The first correct entry to crossword 35 to be opened on 10 May 2013 will win £25. Send to: Crossword, Crosslincs, Edward King House, Minster Yard, Lincoln LN2 1PU

The editor’s decision if final. Photocopies acceptable. One entry per person. Entries from consortiums are not eligible. 11

Across 13

number 35

1 4 9 10 11 12 13 15 17 19 22 24 by Kettlebird 26 27 28 29

Scribble pad

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is published by the Diocese of Lincoln. The views of contributors and sponsors do not necessarily reflect those held by the Diocese. Deadline for the next edition: 10 May 2013 Editor: Will Harrison Reporter: Philip Craven Telephone: 01522 50 40 36 crosslincs@lincoln.anglican.org Printed by Mortons Print Ltd, Horncastle, Lincolnshire

Worn out without pride (6) Famous prom 9 (with stripes?) (7) Found on omnibus but not Stagecoach (9) Nowt in forenoon and not bright (5) Amphibian ingredients of Northern stew recipe (5) Crustacean and fruit. Source of jelly (4,5) Vivaldi’s quartet improves taste (7) Ensconces in elevated position (4,2) Latin title of new archbishop’s old bishopric (6) Escorts provided for smaller figures (7) Hat retainer. More needed for Pickles (9) Person of austere philosophy (5) Heather located in American situation (5) Lack aid manual (4,1,4) Glass acrobat (7) Hard as ferrous alloy (6)

Down 1 2 3 4

Not winning dwellists (7) Not 1a (2,3) Sapphire heath in N Lincs (9) Barely moves? Au contraire (7)

5 6 7 8 14 16 18 19 20 21 23 25

Peculiar degree, perhaps in Terpsichorean studies (5) Turn a peer into delight (9) Daisy wheels (6) Sweet smelling investments (6) Light weight 9 used for grid wires (9) Swings to orient (5,4) Seafarer, becomes famous, Lincs born, 9 when right inside (7) May conduct one to the station (6) Evacuate fluid from (4,3) Grave or acute... speech variant (6) Accommodates cow or canon (5) Speak with zero tax (5)

solution number 34

Congratulations to Mr Brian Jagger of Limber, Grimsby, the winner of crossword 34

A T A S N A I L S P A C E

C H I O N D Q U S C T A O N O L A A N C V E

R I S T M N H N E A U R M A T B O O R E G S I Y D U T A R R Y

A N C H O R S P I L T H O R E W O R U S O A T A T S I S T E E

S C A A P S K T O N N E S T R R U T P H

A K E N A T A I N C D O K E N O E R E T I H I N A I G N W A N G B B D E A U L T I L L