Dear Friends,

It's Harvest-tide and thanksgiving has been very much on the agenda. One of the chief joys of Christian faith is that we can thank our heavenly Father for all our blessings. Imagine having no-one to whom we could say thank you for each new day and all that it brings.
Over my year here I have been especially thankful for all of you, the people of God here in this place.
The sheer scale and complexity of all that goes on in our two churches calls for an impressive team effort.
I was reminded very strongly of all this when we had our 'Parish Audit' a few weeks ago. Someone came in from the diocese to check that all our papers (registers, accounts, minutes etc. etc.) were in order.
I bumped in to the auditor in the parish office (the process doesn't involve me, praise the Lord!) and in the course of conversation told him that the three others in the office had 'saved my life'. Those three were Gill, Howard and Geoff, the administrator and churchwardens.
As I walked home afterwards I reflected on the truth of those words, and the further truth that they apply to everyone who puts their shoulder to the wheel in service of the Lord. We all help to save one another's lives from the endless busyness that results from trying to do everything ourselves.
Christ instituted the church to keep us working together and to remind us that we rely on one another. It doesn't matter if our role is just leading people through the printed words of the prayer book or the more creative gifts such as music or flower arranging – all are needed.
Jesus told us to go and make disciples (Matthew 28:19). He didn't tell us to convince people about a set of beliefs, he didn't tell us to get people to come to Sunday services, he told us to make disciples.
We are disciples when we commit ourselves to following Jesus, to helping one another, to sharing the load.
The divine Harvest is not only of food, but also of souls, selves. I thank God daily that I work in the fields with such a gifted and committed band of fellow disciples. I pray that we may each, in our vocation and ministry, serve the Lord in holiness and truth (from the Collect for the ministry of all Christian people).

With thanks and very best wishes, Peter

Dear Friends,

We moved to Lymington at the beginning of September last year.

I remember all the excitement and the expectation that this new vicar would change everything and people would flock to our banner.

A year on: I wonder if much has changed?

There is a new family in the Vicarage, a new face at Sunday services (when the rota allows) but it's the same pattern of services, the same service booklets. Has anything changed?

Those of you who read the weekly news sheet or magazine will know that plenty has happened beneath the surface. We have agreed our Core Values, selected a Leadership Team to suggest key areas for development, presented recommendations to the APCM and now we have set up a new structure of three Leadership Teams (you can find more details about that in the article below).

All this has put in place secure foundations for the work ahead of us. It won't need to be redone and it will allow us to work closely with all our church members in planning and implementing the changes ahead according to our shared Core Values.

At each stage we have tried to keep everyone informed through all the channels available: sermons, meetings, news sheet, magazine, even a mailing to the electoral roll.

The next step on the journey is our Parish day on 7th October at the Infant School. It will be a chance to hear about this foundational work; a chance to learn about the part each one of us has to play in the development of our congregations; a chance to make a significant contribution to the planning for our future. Please make every effort to be there if you possibly can. Godly change isn't about what the new vicar wants, it's about responding to God's calling for us as a Church.

With very best wishes, Peter

A new kind of organisation
At our PCC meeting on 13th July we set up a new kind of organisation for our parish. The new organisation is based on our Core Values (these were sent to everyone on the electoral roll and there is a copy on the web site www.lymingtonchurch.org or available from the office).
The structure is based on our understanding that our Christian calling, expressed in the Core Values, is equally valid for each individual Christian, for each congregation in the Church and for our parish as a whole.
The organisation has, in principle, one Leadership Team for the Parish and one for each congregation. In fact, at the moment, there is a single Leadership Team for the four congregations at St.Thomas and one for the congregation at All Saints.
The important thing about all three Leadership Teams is that each member has a specific role defined by the Core Values:

• Prayer and Worship Leader
• Discipleship Leader
• Pastoral Leader
• Evangelism Leader
• Community Action Leader
• Chair
• Secretary
• Resource Manager

Not a hierarchy
At first glance this looks like a typical hierarchy with the Parish Leadership Team giving orders to the other LT's. In fact this is not the case. The unifying factor is the shared values (the Core Values) and the different LT's take control of those things at their 'level'. For example the All Saints LT would decide about a sermon series at All Saints, whereas the Parish LT would make a decision about a parish-wide initiative such as the Parish day.
All the LT's are responsible to the PCC which retains the overall authority and responsibility for the running of the parish. The PCC delegates to the LT's significant but limited authority.
The Parish LT members are all members of the PCC. The PCC chooses them carefully and appoints the Parish LT as the Standing Committee. The members of the full PCC have a similar role to that of school governors.
The members of the PCC

• Have over-all legal responsibility.

• Give advice and guidance.
• Make the major decisions.
• Contact others in the parish to inform and enthuse.
• Have links with areas of the life of the parish to report to the PCC.
• Provide a pool of informed and enthusiastic people.
• Can as a last resort disband any of the Leadership Teams.

Advantages: the four C's
There are four main advantages to this way of organising:

1. Completeness – because there is a Leader for each of the Core Values in each LT we know that the whole range of our concerns will be addressed.

2. Clarity – each member of a congregation will know which Leader in their LT is responsible for which area of the life of the congregation.
3. Concentration – each LT can concentrate on its area of operation (Parish, St.Thomas or All Saints)
4. Communication – it is part of the terms of reference for each Leader that they communicate with their opposite numbers in the other LT's so that we continue to move as one parish. In addition the Secretary in each LT has the role of communicating within the congregation.

Work in progress: please pray!
As I write we have not yet completed the process of finding people for all the Leadership Teams. We also have ongoing discussions about how best to make the congregational LT's accountable to their congregations as well as to the PCC. One idea is to have congregational elections, another is that the PCC, as an elected representative body, would propose a Leadership Team to a congregation for their approval. I mention these to make it clear that the Core Values – our Christian calling under God – drive the process and not preconceived ideas.
Please pray for our PCC as we try to get this right.

Peter Salisbury