Partnering in Mission, Supporting One another, Journeying Together
A report from the Circuit Vision Team written by Rev Peter Hibberts
You may be aware that the Circuit Meeting asked for a Circuit Vision Team be set up to look at the vision for the Circuit moving beyond Covid times. I have to say that it has been a joy to chair this team and has been a really exciting journey where we have prayerfully and carefully waited on God for direction and I feel convinced that we have heard God's voice.
The team consisted of three circuit stewards (Ann Lyne, Jill Meakin and Stephen Dando), the three ministers (Nathan Falla, Peter Bates and Peter Hibberts) and three church members from around the circuit (Jenny Everett, Jan Wright and David Watson). The Vision Team have been supported by Nigel Pimlott from the Eastern Learning Network Region.
The two page report can be accessed using the red link to the right – I think it's worth a read! In particular we imagined a circuit that aimed to encourage, excite and enable the churches in their mission and was particularly focussed on 'Partnering in Mission', 'Supporting one another' and 'Journeying in Discipleship'. This may sound like nothing new but some of the ideas for the shape of this (which would come in at a more strategic planning stage) are certainly more radical. We felt that at a time when all of our churches are vulnerable we are stronger together. We are imagining a circuit experience that is more of a family, better connected, more supportive and more focussed on our mission; a circuit that gathers to do what is done best when gathered and scatters to do what is best done in our localities. A circuit which could help us to better reach out in certain specified geographical locations; where some of the benefits might include high quality different forms of worship, systematic teaching, a concentration of resources, a reduction of our carbon footprint, and a joyous celebration of God's enabling Spirit to the encouragement of us all.
The next step is for the full report to be received by the Circuit Meeting on June 21st and for this report to be made available to all, across our churches for prayerful testing and discussion before further discussions in the Autumn Circuit Meeting (in September). I commend the report to all (available from the circuit website: ) and ask that we all surround this in prayer in the coming weeks and months. If you have thoughts or questions, do please get in touch – we'd love to hear from you. My thanks to Jan, David, Jenny, Ann, Stephen, Jill, Peter and Nathan for their prayer-full hope-filled and creative work – praise God!