CURRENT NEWS
What's happening at local level now - and in the next few months
The Pastoral Areas submitted their Groundplans to Bishop Peter, mostly by the end of May 2010. During last summer he was working with an advisory group of (mainly) clergy, and the Plans were fully considered. During the autumn the Bishop conducted a series of meetings with the Deans, PALs and Local Steering Groups of the Areas to talk over his response to the Groundplans.That was the stage from which they could be considered to be "approved", or "further work suggested". (The intervention of the Papal Visit and other demands on the Bishop's time resulted in this taking rather longer than had been hoped.)
At these meetings he explained that Area Pastoral Councils were to be formed to take forward the work already done, and it is expected that there will be formal commissioning events for these bodies in due course.
May 2011 - Click here for reports from three Pastoral Areas which show what they are currently doing.
In his Pastoral Letter of 9/10th October 2010 the Bishop said:
"With Blessed John Henry Newman we are called to be saints within the family of the Church. Now, with renewed energy and confidence, we can respond to that call in our parishes and pastoral areas, Walking Humbly With Our God.
I want to thank everyone for the work put into the groundplans prepared in each Pastoral Area. During the summer these plans were reviewed. Now I am meeting with the Dean and clergy and steering group of each Pastoral Area. Together I want us to identify some priorities in each groundplan. I also want a Pastoral Council to be established in each Area to address those priorities.
Among the priorities is the training of lay people to support chaplaincies in hospitals, schools and prisons as well as various ministries in our parishes. I hope that during the year we can make some progress in providing that very necessary formation."
In the meantime, Pastoral Areas are urged to continue with ongoing activities as far as they can.
Watch this space for further updates.
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Facilitator Training - Towards a wider conversation
The ‘Walking Humbly’ process is offering an opportunity for reflection and conversation from mid-2011 onwards, called ‘The Micah Conversation’ – something which will help groups in the parishes and pastoral areas to reflect prayerfully on their common life and the call to serve the wider community. In preparation for this, and with Bishop Peter’s desire for developing conversation within our communities, a special programme has been offered to train up to 30 people from across the diocese as ‘facilitators’ of small groups.
The transferable skills developed during this course will be of great use to those operating within all sorts of other situations - within both working and planning groups (such as ‘steering groups’, pastoral councils or schools) and other groups gathered for youth work, faith-sharing, RCIA, catechesis etc. .
One programme of courses has already been run successfully last year.
June 2011 update - The Micah Conversation will be taking place in the following locations over the next few months (some of which will be organised as Pastoral Area level while others will be run in discrete parishes):
Slough Pastoral Area & Luton Pastoral Area (involving several parishes in each case)
Northampton S&W Pastoral Area – Daventry and Northampton
North Northants Pastoral Area – Kettering and Corby
South Bedfordshire Pastoral Area – Flitwick and Shefford
It has already been run successfully in Mid Bucks Pastoral Area – Great Missenden Parish
Facilitator Training
To support the unfolding process, training is being offered once more to small group facilitators throughout the Diocese. Information about the Facilitator Training Course is available via the downloadable PDF mentioned above. There have been two Introductory Evenings in the early summer for those interested in participating this year, at Holy Family in Langley and at Bishop’s House.
More information is available on a leaflet downloadable from here - type Micah in the search box or use the dropdown menu to find Stream Three Current documents
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BACKGROUND
Click here for the context and origin of the Walking Humbly process.
In May 2009 the former eight Deaneries were replaced by thirteen "Pastoral Areas" intended for more effective sharing and collaboration.
The Area Deans and "Pastoral Area Links" convened Local Steering Groups which began work in autumn 2009 with reviews of local provision in their Areas. Their remit weas to produce Groundplans setting out priorities for the life and mission of the Church in their Areas. These were to address the changes brought about by having fewer priests, in the context of an aspiration to move ever closer to the model of a "Thriving Catholic Community" which was articulated by the Stream Three Team and taken up for themselves by local communities. Those Groundplans were mostly presented to the Bishop at the end of May 2010.
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The Pastoral Areas and their Deans
With effect from May 2009 Bishop Peter appointed new Deans to lead the thirteen Pastoral Areas which replaced the former eight Deaneries.
The names of the Deans, the Pastoral Area Links and the provisional names of the Areas have been published on this site here for some while.
From the box below, you can download a PDF document which gives a diagrammatic Map of the new Pastoral Areas. (The reasons behind this change were explained at length to all priests, deacons, Religious, Deanery Pastoral Councils and Diocesan agencies during the consultation process that lasted from November 08 to March 09.)
On the back of the Map is a list of the Areas, (the names given to them are purely provisional at the moment) with the names of constituent parishes and churches in each, and the names of the Area Deans.
The Church Finder facility on this site has been updated to reflect the new Areas.
With regard to the final names of the new Areas, the Bishop has indicated that he would like them to be generally known by geographical names along the lines of the ones provisionally allotted: but he is open to suggestions from Area Deans,after discussion with local clergy, for any modifications, and one Area has already suggested an alternative. Separately, a process to lead to proposals for new Patron Saints is under consideration. We will publish further information as it becomes available.
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Downloadable versions of the paper material offered for use in sessions on the 2009 "Advent DVD" are still available from the main Downloadspage. Search "Stream 3 Archives " in the drop-down box.
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Please direct all urgent queries to Deacon Philip Pugh