Letter to all Parishes from the Diocesan Review Commission

9^th February 2022

Dear Vestry Members and Parishioners,

Each person, reading this letter has just come through the most extraordinary, unexpected and unnatural of times and we hope that people are as good, as can be under these circumstances. Over this time, the Diocesan Review Commission continued our work, changing and altering the way we carried it out and like all, at times we were exasperated by the effects of Covid.

However, there is light now, with the most recent public health guidance and we are writing to advise that we can plan with confidence our face to face Parish meetings. We envisage that the first of our Parish meetings will be scheduled towards the end of April and we ask for your continued patience as we will have over thirty meetings to facilitate.

Our approach remains unchanged and it is vital that we hear from the voices of God’s people in the Diocese in order to shape the Diocese for the future. It is imperative that each Parish sees not only the opportunity, but also their responsibility, to help the growth of faith in the Diocese, as well as the need to meet their current and future financial obligations.

Our letter today is to prompt and promote consultation and discussion within each Parish, to make best use of your Parish meeting us.

In preparation for our meeting, we would ask that you hold meetings and discussion to identify within your own Parish:

• What is important for you as Parishioners? What moves you forward what drives faith
• What are the challenges
• What solutions are working or are planned
• Looking ahead, what is your vision for the Parish in 5 years, 10 years and 20 years?

In addition to this we also ask you, to use every opportunity within Parish life to circulate our letter to ensure that it reaches regular and not such regular attenders of Church services ahead of our visit.

As we have said from the start we are coming to listen, and it is really important to us that Parishes play a discerning part in the shaping of their own future, while also combining the Diocesan challenges so as to plan the best way forward for all.

Yours sincerely,

__________________

Dorcas Collier-Hannon

On behalf of the Diocesan Review Commission

Email: diocesanreviewcommission@gmail.com