WHAT is your vision for the shape of the church in our diocese in 2027 and how are we going to achieve it?

These are some of the key questions that hundreds of worshippers were asked to grapple with at each of our three archdeaconry budgetary consultation meetings.

Hundreds of worshippers gathered over three evenings to hear positive stories about what is already happening in our diocese in terms of mission and ministry.

And they also heard of the challenges that we face going forward in terms of ministry, attendance, stewardship and housing.

In Portsdown archdeaconry, worshippers met at St Alban’s Church, West Leigh. They learnt about exciting mission activities from those on the frontline.

These included a parenting course for those with young children, a lunch club for older people, a listening service for those who were lonely or troubled and an alternative worship service for those who couldn’t relate to traditional church.

They also heard how the Mission Action Planning initiative, led by our Mission Development Officer Charlie Peer, had helped Hart Plain Church evaluate its mission priorities for the future and how the Rapid Development Programme had helped St Alban’s, West Leigh raise their profile in the community.

They also heard the positive impact that last year’s leadership conferences had had in terms of reminding our church councils that they were key to the spiritual leadership of the church and energising them to make sure that mission was central to the agenda at their meetings.

The meeting was also asked to consider the proposed £6.5m budget for 2015 which would involve no increase in the total parish share collected across the diocese.

But this meant that there would need to be savings made in some areas including the programmes delivered by the newly-renamed Mission, Discipleship and Ministry team.

One major proposal was the axing of the Mission Opportunities Fund – which allocated £100,000 a year to parish and deanery projects – from 2015.

This prompted the Rev Ann Leonard, vicar of St Andrew’s and St Peter’s, Hayling Island, to issue a heartfelt plea to find a way to keep the fund going.

“The fund has been brilliant for St Andrew’s Church. It has enabled us to think big and we are doing all sorts of things now that we could never have afforded to have done without that money,” she said.

“Please if you can manage to keep the Mission Opportunities Fund going I would really value it.”

The meetings also involved breaking into groups to discuss our vision for the future of the diocese.

Ideas included:

-          More collaborative working across traditional parish boundaries

-          Greater recognition for Reader ministry

-          Closing some churches

-          Better sharing of resources and expertise

As we look towards our centenary in 2027, Bishop Christopher challenged us to think about what we wanted to be celebrating that year and how we were going to get there.

He said: “Will we be celebrating the survival of the diocese? Will we be relieved to at least be a rump of what we were in 1927 or 1977 or today?

“Are we content just to hang on as a declining church with some lingering presence in our communities or are we going to embrace a vision for ministry and mission which involves each one of us playing our part in our Christian calling?

“We are inspired by the Holy Spirit to be the church, the people of God, in our community.

“We follow the example of Jesus, who was present and active in Galilee and Jerusalem, the places that he was sent to. He had a presence there.

“Now we can find ways to stick around a bit in five or 10 years time and even in 2027, but let’s find with Jesus and each other God’s way to be at the heart of our communities because we have the heart of Jesus for our communities.”