Surrounded by his family and friends, the Revd Graham Foster celebrated the extraordinary milestone of seventy years in the priesthood on Sunday 15 June. The service took place at Holy Trinity, Ashford-in-the-Water in the Diocese of Derby, where Graham was vicar from 1967 until his retirement thirty years ago, and where he and his wife Constance still live and worship regularly.

He was ordained priest in Worcester Cathedral on Trinity Sunday, 1938, and served his curacy in Kidderminster during the early part of the Second World War. Graham noted that his father had been a priest before him, and that between them their ministry had spanned the entire twentieth century. “God is faithful,” he said with characteristic modesty, “and if I have achieved anything at all, it’s through his faithfulness and not through anything I have done”.

The Bishop of Repton, the Rt Revd Humphrey Southern, presided and preached at a special service to mark the occasion, which included an opportunity for Graham to renew his ordination vows. The Bishop of Derby and the Archbishop of Canterbury also sent their greetings and best wishes. Assisting Bishop Humphrey at the service was the current assistant curate of Ashford, the Revd John Paul Hoskins, who will himself be ordained priest by the bishop two weeks later.

'The Millennium Development Goals - What's the Score?' is the title of a morning conference organised by Derby Diocese, Christian Aid and members of other churches on Saturday 21st June at the Catholic Diocesan Centre, Mackworth, Derby. The keynote speaker will be Professor John Hammock of Tufts University, USA, who was head of Oxfam USA for 10 years, and is chair of the board of Episcopalians for Global Reconciliation (www.e4gr.org). The other main speaker will be Ronelle Burger, an economist from the Church in South Africa, who is currently doing research at Nottingham University.

John and Ronelle will lead workshops at which it will be possible to discuss the issues raised in their addresses. Charles Jolly of the United Reformed Church will also lead a workshop on Climate Change and world development, and it is also hoped that Bishop Hilary Adeba, from the Sudan, will lead a workshop on poverty and the Church in the Sudan.

The conference begins with coffee from 9.30 am and will end by 1.00 pm - bring your own lunch if you wish.

For more details, including the venue, see the poster >>

An interactive online atlas giving information about the Millennium Development Goals >>

The Micah Challenge is a Christian organisation which campaigns for the Millennium Development goals to be achieved, in particular the halving of world poverty by 2015.

Visit of Indian Bishops

From Thu 10th to Wed 16th July around 20 bishops from the Church of North India will be staying in Derbyshire before going to the Lambeth Conference. Come and welcome them at an open-air Songs of Praise Festival at the amphitheatre at Carsington Water Visitor Centre at 3pm on Sunday 13th July, when Bishop Alastair will preach. The Brassington, Middleton and Wirksworth Band will play, also local church bands. Bring your picnics too! Wet weather venue – St Oswald’s church, Ashbourne.

All are also invited to a conference on current issues in the Churches in Derbyshire and India, with the Indian bishops, on Tuesday 15th July at St. Mary's church, Wirksworth. Topics to be covered will include human trafficking and the sex trade, with a speaker from CHASTE (Churches' Action on Sex Trafficking in Europe), women's issues, Christian mission today - opportunities and threats, and the Church and Social Action. Coffee from 9.30 - the conference begins at 10.00 and ends with a light lunch at 1.00 pm, to which all are welcome.

More details of the visit and of other aspects of the Derbyshire-India partnership can be found on the partnership website.

More details from the Chairman of the Partnership, Christopher Harrison, 01335 390226, Christopher.d.harrison@btinternet.com.

Newsletter

The latest newsletter of the Derbyshire Churches CNI Partnership is
now online.

Chairman's Visit to Assam

A report of a visit to Assam by the chairman of the partnership,
Christopher Harrison, can be read in the newsletter.

See photos of the visit >>

In the spring of 2007, a group was set up to review the current arrangements for assessing and collecting parish share in Derby Diocese, and to make recommendations. The report of that group is now available.

Download Report (PDF) >>

The report's summary and recommendations are as follows:

(i) The current parish share system has served the diocese well over many years, but anomalies and inaccuracies have grown, and its complexity means that it is not well understood.

(ii) It would be possible to update the present system and modify it in some minor ways. However, the working group recommends that two alternative systems in particular should be debated within the diocese:

(a) An offer-negotiation system of contribution to the Diocesan “Common Fund”
Mission and Ministry Areas and Deaneries would make offers of contributions to the Diocesan “Common Fund”, in the light of information on the costs of ministry in the MMA, Deanery and Diocese, and the ability of MMAs to give. A process of negotiation would then follow in order to match the diocesan budget with Deanery giving, and to give flexibility within Deaneries and MMAs as local circumstances changed.

(b) A system based on congregational income surveys and church attendance
Every four years, MMA congregations would carry out an anonymous income survey, and MMA attendances would be measured. MMA shares would be calculated according to these factors, and a profile of share payments set for each MMA for the following four years.

(iii) Whatever system is adopted, the working group recommends that serious attention be given to financial transparency, effective communication with churches, and local ownership of the system. Local churches, MMAs and the Diocesan Board of Finance must work in partnership rather than against each other.

The paper will be introduced to the Diocesan Synod at its meeting on Saturday 8th November. Copies of the paper will be circulated to synod members in preparation for that meeting. Churches, MMAs and Deaneries are welcome to discuss the paper in advance of that date, and send comments to the chairman of the review group, the Rev'd Christopher Harrison, at christopher.d.harrison@btinternet.com. The consultation period will extend beyond that date into 2009, however, to give adequate opportunity for full debate at all levels. Further information about the timescale of the consultation process will be given in due course, together with additional materials to help local discussions.

If you would like to discuss the paper, or request someone to speak about the paper at a local meeting, contact Christopher by email or on 01335 390226.

The Diocese of Derby has appointed a team led by Revd Rob Marshall, former media Adviser to the Archbishop of York, to reinvigorate its communications.

Marshall, 48, is a former Communications Officer to the Dioceses of Bradford and London before becoming Media Adviser to Archbishop David Hope, the former Archbishop of York.

The Diocese of Derby has asked Marshall to look at internal and external communications and to work closely with the Bishops’ offices, Derby Cathedral, the Diocesan Synod as well as the deaneries and parishes with a view to ensuring that people know what is happening in the Church of England across the Diocese.

“We have been served well in the past and felt that working with a freelance team might give us a fresh perspective on what it means to communicate as a Church to many different audiences,” said Dr. Christopher Cunliffe, Archdeacon of Derby, today.

A key area of Marshall’s work will be working with the media at regional and local level on behalf of the Diocese.

“I am looking forward to working with people in the Diocese of Derby. There is an enormous amount which is already happening and our task will be to communicate the good news which is out there,” said Marshall today.

His freelance team is called media33 and has a base in both Yorkshire and London. Marshall is also a regular presenter of Thought for the Day on BBC Radio 4 and the author of several books.

Places of Worship Grants Awareness Day
Thursday 15th May 2008
at Derby Conference Centre, London Road, Derby DE24 8UX
On a drop-in basis - starts 2pm and finishes 7.30pm

• Are you a church, faith group or organisation with an interest in heritage?
• Do you use a place of worship that is a heritage building?
  Do you have features of interest that you wish to conserve or interpret?
• Would you like to find out more about funding schemes for places of worship?

The Heritage Lottery Fund can help with funding for projects which restore, conserve and interpret historic elements at your place of worship, and together with English Heritage they can also help with the funding of repairs.

Booking is not essential for this event – please drop in at any time to speak to representatives from both organisations about any projects or repairs for your place of worship. Please note we are unlikely to help if you simply want funding for a kitchen or toilet.

For further information, contact Lindsey Wells at the Heritage Lottery Fund on 01159 349050.

We hope you will be able to attend this event and look forward to meeting you.

Heritage Lottery Fund, English Heritage

Diocesan Synod is the main policy making body of the Diocese. All deaneries are already represented and the Synod has recently adopted proposals which it believes will make its business more accessible and more relevant to the issues currently facing the Church. A new Agenda Planning Group is in place and the Group would welcome contributions and suggestions of matters which you may believe the Synod should be addressing. There are already routes by which Deanery Synods can propose specific matters for formal debate, but this invitation for contributions is being extended directly to Parochial Church Councils and to individual church members.

Contact with the Group is via the Diocesan Secretary, Bob Carey, either by letter to Church House or by email to finance@derby.anglican.org. Please note that the Board of Finance undertakes the Synod’s administration but your contributions are certainly not restricted to financial matters.

This initiative is a serious attempt to try and stop the ongoing epidemic of theft of metal from churches. Kits were sent last November to all churches insured by Ecclesiastical, asking for completion and return of registration forms to SmartWater as soon as the product had been applied. Registrations have been slow coming in, so we are encouraging parishes both to apply SmartWater and to register as soon as possible.

Any queries about the SmartWater initiative can be made with Ecclesiastical, tel. 0845 777 3322, email information@eigmail.com or visit www.ecclesiastical.com.

The Ven. Christopher Cunliffe, Archdeacon of Derby
The Ven. David Garnett, Archdeacon of Chesterfield

Reflections in the light of the Archbishop’s Lecture on Civil and Religious Law

Sermon by the Bishop of Repton >>
Address by Canon Andie Brown >>

The Appeal Treasurer has announced that the 2007 appeal ‘Bringing hope to children in India and Tanzania’ has closed. A cheque for £12,700 has been sent to the Bishop of Derby to be used for the education of disabled children in Orissa, India, and for the Watoto Wa Africa Orphanage for HIV/AIDS orphans in Tanzania. Many thanks to all those who supported this appeal.

Derbyshire is preparing to mark the 400th anniversary of the death of Bess of Hardwick – an icon of Tudor England who rose from being humble beginnings to become the second most powerful woman in England, after Queen Elizabeth I. The anniversary year is being backed by The National Trust, Chatsworth and Derby Cathedral (Bess’s final resting place), all of whom have a role in telling different parts of Bess's story, and will therefore be staging various events and exhibitions throughout 2008.

Derby Cathedral’s “Bess of Hardwick Silverware and Needlework Exhibition” – an opportunity to see a display of period silver and modern needlework – opens on Saturday 9th February. Bess lived through the reign of four Tudor sovereigns, the break with Rome and the reforming of the church, a brief reuniting under Queen Mary and severance of ties with the Pope again under Elizabeth I. At the end of her life, Stuart King, James I, was the Governor of the reformed Church of England.

The silver on exhibition, dating from 1491 to 1620, was in existence or was mostly made in Bess’s lifetime. There is also a Bishop’s Bible, or ‘Treacle’ Bible, dated 1585. Bess was famous for her skills of embroidery and worked with Mary Queen of Scots to produce needlework still seen at Hardwick Hall today. On display too are modern embroideries by the Derby Cathedral Embroidery Workshop depicting Chatsworth, Hardwick and Bolsover, three houses closely associated with Bess.

The exhibition will last throughout the year and will be available on two sites, the Cathedral, open daily 9am-6pm, and the Cathedral Centre, open 9.30am-5pm Monday to Saturday. There is no charge for entry. If you wish to have a guided tour of the Cathedral, including a talk about the exhibition, contact Canon Elaine Jones on 01332 341201 to book and for details of charges.

The Rev’d David Phypers, 68, recently retired from Wormhill and Peak Forest with Peak Dale and Dove Holes, has completed a seven day trek through the Annapurna mountains of Nepal to raise money for a Church Mission Society project to help poverty-stricken people across the globe. He was with five other walkers, including the Rev’d John Currin, former Vicar of Cromford and Matlock Bath, assisted by a band of porters and sherpas who showed the way and provided food and tents for the journey.

David said: “I was bowled over by the breathtaking views of the mountains …. It was awesome – out of this world. I’ve learned a tremendous amount. Seeing the conditions the people live has given me an appreciation for the simple way of life of the people living in the developing world. I had the experience of a lifetime and I will never forget it.”

David still works for Derby Diocese as Adviser for Christian Giving. Anyone who wishes to sponsor him, or groups who would like him as a guest speaker, can email him at david@phypers.co.uk.

Churchwarden Harvey Cross celebrated his 100th birthday with a special service at All Saints Church in Dale Abbey on Sunday 13th January. The church was packed as villagers and friends joined Harvey at a service led by the Bishop of Derby, the Rt Rev’d Dr Alastair Redfern.

Harvey was presented with a Bishop’s badge, as a gesture from the Diocese to acknowledge outstanding service to the church. His lapel badge is actually an exact replica of the one received in 1927 by Alice Moseley, mother-in-law of the current Rector, Canon Ian Gooding. That was the year when Derby became a diocese, and Alice received her badge when she became one of the first people to be confirmed. In making the award, Bishop Alastair said:” … everyone here who knows you is very proud of your service and dedication. You are the first person in Derbyshire to be given this award, and it is a great honour for me to present you with it.”

After 67 years in the role of churchwarden, Harvey said: “It has been a labour of love for me to act as churchwarden and I have no intention of quitting just yet.”

Bishop Alastair is pictured in the private chapel at his house in Duffield with the two serving Readers he licensed to the Diocese on Monday 26th November - Dr Malcolm Evans (on the bishop’s right), to serve in the parish of Alvaston, and Mark Ratcliffe, to serve in the North Wingfield Team Ministry.

The Rt Rev’d Dr Alastair Redfern and his wife Caroline visited Dehli, North India in October. The Diocese of Derby has a long-standing partnership with the Church of North India and this was Bishop Alastair’s first visit there since he was appointed in 2005. During the visit, the Bishop and his wife attended the service of the consecration of the new Bishop of Delhi, the Rt Revd. Sunil Kamar Singhi.

Bishop Alastair and Caroline also visited Bishop’s College Calcutta, to help build links that will enhance learning around mission between the college and the Diocese of Derby. They also met with members of the Delhi Brotherhood, including Bishop Collin of Rajasthan. Bishop Collin will be visiting Derby with 24 other Bishops from CNI next year prior to the Lambeth Conference.

Read more about the trip and view photos >>

On Saturday, September 29th, worshippers from all over Derbyshire met at St Mary’s Church, Wirksworth, for the Diocesan Prayer Festival. Here, Ros Bell from Melbourne offers her reflections on the day:-

“Wirksworth Church was certainly an ideal venue for this annual event and Bishop Alistair described the medieval building as being full of mystery and filled with smells, colour and music. In his opening address, he reminded us that prayer is a way in which to reflect upon our lives, taking moral choices seriously by talking and listening to God. On the one hand, some saw prayer as being highly disciplined with much stress on purgation, but Bishop Alastair invited us to approach prayer through the ‘amazingness of the world, to use our imaginations and let the church and the activities be a soul making factory where we could experience the wonder of God’s creation and be filled with joy.’

“There was structure to our day with four short acts of worship but between these there was freedom to explore a myriad of approaches to prayer, using all our senses. Music to listen to, slides of angels and facsimiles of illuminated Gospels to gaze at in wonder; bread, honey and fruit to taste, whilst contemplating relevant Scripture writings. We could use our hands to create angels, prayer beads, illuminated book marks and bread making. And who can resist the smell of baking bread? It was at this activity that we were advised by our baker that prayer can go on through everyday activities, which reminded me so much of how Celtic prayer is woven through our daily domestic duties. There were also reminders of how others need our prayers, with displays of the diocesan links with the Church in North India (which our Harvest Appeal will support) and opportunities to find out about other church Mission work throughout the world.

“I’m sure that we all came away with something different that had touched us, but we all felt overwhelmingly touched by the day.”

Ros Bell

The Diocese of Derby has a long-standing Partnership with the Church of North India. We are distressed to hear of the terrible flooding in dioceses in the region. Flooding in recent weeks has been the "worst in living memory," according to the United Nations. Across northern India, countless villages have been flooded, leaving tens of millions displaced and stranded. "The sheer size and scale of flooding and the massive numbers of people affected pose an unprecedented challenge to the delivery of desperately needed humanitarian assistance," the UN said.

Bihar's worst floods have not only rendered hundreds of thousands homeless, it has also damaged lakhs of hectares in standing crops, thousands of houses, roads, bridges, embankments and hundreds of schools. The Diocese in Bihar, the Diocese of Patna has already mobilized their Church School for extending relief in the area and a proposal has been drawn up which can be downloaded here.

If churches and individuals are able to make donations to help the relief work, please send them to the treasurer of the Derbyshire Churches CNI Partnership:

Mr John Spray, 6 Onslow Road, Mickleover, Derby DE3 5JJ.

Cheques should be payable to the Derbyshire CNI Partnership.

Ecclesiastical Insurance, the UK’s leading church insurer, has received more than 300 claims for theft of external metals from churches over the past 12 months*.

The thefts of lead, copper and other metals – from roofs, guttering and lightning conductors – are prompted by the rising price of these materials.

It’s not just the cost of replacing the materials that is the problem, thieves have also torn holes in roofs causing them to leak and ripped stonework away from pinnacles and towers. Yet the thieves get a fraction of the cost for scrap.

John Coates, Ecclesiastical’s Church Insurance Manager, said: “We highlighted this problem last year in an effort to stop the problem, but it only seems to be getting worse. We don’t insist on costly anti-theft measures, but in some cases they are the last defence we have. The real solution is for communities to rally round their churches, keeping an eye out and refusing to let thieves steal from under our noses.”

He offers this important advice for churches to prevent theft of metals:

• Make friends with your neighbours – they’re the very best people to keep an eye out.
• Consider anti-climb paint**, CCTV, intruder alarms or security lighting if your church is particularly at risk.
• Restrict vehicle access and remove ladders – make the thieves’ job harder.
• Where possible, replace with less expensive materials to make sure there’s no incentive for the thieves to re-visit (The replacement of stolen roof material will require faculty approval.
• A change of materials may also require consultation with English Heritage on a listed church building, and planning permission if it affects the external appearance.)

For more information or advice, churches can contact their local Ecclesiastical insurance surveyor by calling 0845 777 3322.

For further information please contact:

Chris Pitt, PR Manager, Ecclesiastical Insurance Group
Tel: 01452 334984
Mobile 07730 068821
Email: pressoffice@eigmail.com
Visit www.ecclesiastical.com
Beaufort House, Brunswick Road, Gloucester, GL1 1JZ.

Notes:
*These figures are taken from Anglican churches Ecclesiastical insures.
**Anti-climb paint should only be used over two metres in height and warning notices should be displayed.

On March 3rd, seventeen people from Derby Diocese began a visit to three dioceses of the Church of North India: Eastern Himalaya, Phulbani, and North East India. The aim was to develop links between churches and schools in Derbyshire and India which had been established in recent years, and to initiate new ones. Diocesan World Development Adviser the Rev’d Christopher Harrison has provided a Powerpoint presentation of photos and a report from the trip.

Presentation Part 1 >>
Presentation Part 2 >>

The Diocese of Derby has a long standing link with the Church of North India. Read more about it here.

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