The Briefing

							May 2011

                   The Church House


                   The Briefing
Register                                                                       New Diocesan
for Back                                                                       Secretary Announced
to Church
                                                                               Following the interviews (from an application list of around 130) for the
                                                                               post of Diocesan Secretary, members of the P anel (consisting of the

Sunday
                                                                               Bishop, the Dean, the Chairs of the houses of clergy and laity, the Chair of
                                                                               the DBF, the Archdeacon of Rochdale, with the HR Adviser and the
                                                                               Bishop’s Senior Chaplain in attendance) were unanimous in extending an
Back to Church Sunday is on 25 September 2011. Back to Church Sunday
                                                                               invitation to Mr Martin Miller to become the next Diocesan Secretary.
raises a high media profile as tens of thousands of church members offer a
                                                                               Martin took up his new duties on 1st May. Bishop Nigel said, “ I am
personal invitation to a friend. Some churches put on special events, while
                                                                               delighted to welcome Martin as our Diocesan Secretary. The panel and I
others continue with their regular services.
                                                                               believe that, with his experience, energy and commitment, he will bring to
  Either way, the most important part of the day is to offer a warm and
                                                                               the role important assets that will be of great benefit to the diocese in its
honest welcome to people.
                                                                               mission and ministry for God”.
If you are planning to take part, register you church, free of charge,
at tinyurl.com/6k8y4bk. Packs of resources, containing posters,
prayer card/invitations and t-shirts can also be purchased. Order
online.




Communications
training
Looking for a half-day training session on 'Social Media for the scared'; a
                                                                               Bishop smells the coffee
special session for churches who want to work more closely with their          The Bishop of Middleton tried his hand as a barista to raise awareness of
local media; help for churches considering a stand at a wedding show; or a     how small-scale coffee far mers in Nicaragua have been supported by
day's workshop on personal communication skills?                               Christian Aid to work their way out of poverty. Bishop Mark Davies learnt
All of these are among the new courses on offer as part of the latest          how to make lattes and cappuccinos at Manchester Cathedral Café ahead
Communications Training programme from the Archbishops' Council's              of Christian Aid Week (15-21 May).
Communications Office.
The programme is specially developed to help churches use a variety of
tools to speak to their communities.
                                                                               St Martin's grants
The five streams of church-specific training on offer cover broadcast          We are pleased to report that St Martin-in-the-Field in London has once
media; presentation skills; church communications; print communications;       again made a block grant for the diocese for distribution to people in need
and web and new media in a variety of half- and full-day sessions. For         who live within its boundary. Grants of up to £200 can be made for people
more infor mation visit www.churchcommstraining.org or ring 020 7898           facing extreme hardship. The grants prioritise those:
1465.                                                                                who are in danger of becoming homeless,
                                                                                     who are currently homeless, destitute and/or vulnerable, and

American Memorial                                                                    who are attempting to establish or maintain a tenancy.


Chapel Travel Grant
                                                                               P arishes can apply for grants by contacting Dian Leppington -
                                                                               d l ep pi ngt on @ ma n ch e st e r .a ngl i c an .o rg , o r S u e H ei l -
                                                                               sueheil@manchester.anglican.org. We need a short email detailing what
Applications are now being accepted for the 2011 American Memorial             the grant is for, the name of the person concerned, and how much you are
Chapel Travel Grant for me mbers of the clergy.                                requesting. Grants can be arranged quickly and are paid via parishes by
The grant is £1800 a year, which can be given to one candidate or spread       BACS.
across several, at the discretion of the interview panel. It can be used for

                                                                               Churchwardens Training
travel anywhere in the United States. P ast scholars have used the grant to
finance a very wide range of projects, from research for a P hD to
exploring the international development of P arish Nursing. The aim o f the
                                                                               P lease make sure any churchwardens who are new to their role receive the
grant is to foster understanding and the exchange of ideas between clergy
                                                                               enclosed information about training for wardens from 7.15pm to 9pm on
of all denominations, in this country and in the USA.
                                                                               Monday 6 June 2011 at 90 Deansgate M3 2GH. Refreshments are fro m
For an application download from www.esu.org/amctg or email
                                                                               7pm.
education@esu.org. The deadline for applications is 15 June with
interviews taking place on 12 July at Dartmouth House, London.




       P roduced by the Diocesan Communications Office. Director of Communications: David Marshall
       Tel: 0161 828 1421 Mobile: 07836 22 44 44 email: dmarshall@manchester.anglican.org
                                                    Resources
                                                    available now
                                     A new supply of Wedding P roject
                                     resources is available from Church
                                     House. The pack contains resources
designed to help make each church build more meaningful relationships with
couples and to help couples become more involved with their local church.
Each pack costs £5 and includes the full set of support leaflets and access to
the Wedding P roject website. Email dmarshall@manchester.anglican.org
to order your supply. Later in the year there will be training days for clergy
who missed last year’ s training so watch out for this information.


Calendar and
Annual Report
  The Annual Report/calendar is a tool
for parishes to use throughout the year.
It features articles on the key diocesan
priorities of serving communities,
growing congregations and increasing giving.
  The calendar runs until April 2012 and contains resources and reminders
of important times during the liturgical year for the parish and the diocese.
The report is free but we have limited supplies. You will have received
two copies in a previous mailing.

  Additional copies are available on request (on a f irst-come, f irst-
served basis) by contacting Church House reception on 0161 828 1400.


Prison Fellowship seeks volunteers
P rison Fellowship England & Wales is urgently recruiting Christian
volunteers to support its nationwide programmes. The P rison Service is
facing new and complex challenges and the role of the volunteer in
ensuring that prisoners, victims of crime and their families receive
adequate support is becoming ever more important. P rison Fellowship
needs people who can pray for their work regularly, engage in letter
writing, supporting the much celebrated Sycamore Tree restorative justice
programme and engage with some of their other initiatives.
Can you help? Can you make this known in your church? P lease point
people to our website www.prisonfellowship.org.uk


On your marks
The next Olympic Games briefing for churches is at                                                                    Book your place now!
Salford City Reds on 21 June at 7.30pm (not May                                                                       A Manchester Diocesan
as advertised in April’s CRUX). Join others from                                                                      P ilgrimage to the Holy Land
the North West for a packed programme that                                                                            will be led by Bishops Nigel,
includes: The latest on the Games, More Than Gold                                                                     Chris and Mark from 19 to 27
resources and activities in your area, The Torch                                                                      November 2011.
Relay: The impact it will have on your community                                                                      There is a special page on the
and the role your church can play, Community                                                                          diocesan website at
Festivals: The why and how of running a festival for                                                                  www.tiny.cc/kokve
your community and where help is available.
To reserve places go to www.morethangold.org.uk/onyourmarks




Manchester D ioces an Boar d of Finance is a com pany l imited by g uara ntee reg istered i n Engl and (n o 149 99 9) and re gistere d charity (no 2 494 24)