The Parish of St. Thomas, Werneth
Mission Action Plan
This page contains the parish Aims and Objectives.
Traffic Lights
This part uses a "traffic light" colour scheme for the objectives.
- Not yet agreed
- Agreed but not yet completed
- Agreed and completed
- We will probably never complete this objective.
The Parish of St. Thomas, Werneth
Use the building to serve congregation and community
Aim
Develop use of the building to achieve:
- Improved wellbeing of people who live in the area, and congregation members.
- A building whose heritage is accessible to more people, so that they can gain a better appreciation of the Christian faith.
- More flexible worship
- Witness to and engagement with the local community
- Stronger relationships with other faiths.
- Sustainability
Objectives
- Repoint the church, and renew the rainwater goods. (NICK)
- develop a new, post-pandemic pattern of services, across the two parishes (NICK, CATH)
- proposal: a more traditional Holy Communion, alternating with a more multi-media Morning Prayer;
- Holy Communion / Morning Prayer in each church on the same day (except for the fifth Sunday)
- As before, combining the best of traditional with the best of modern music
- Train congregation members up to support the delivery of these services
- child-friendly services until Sunday School restarts; but consult the children about the way forward
- Continue to offer online services (NICK, CATH)
- Recruit and develop groups to use the building who can serve the local community - for example, partnering with others to run English classes (e.g. the Whethams). (NICK)
- Support a women's group in organising activities for community support. (CATH)
The Parish of St. Thomas, Werneth
Support the growth of all congregation members in faith and ministry, both within the church and outside.
- recruit, train, support, and encourage new people into a range of ministries in the church, increasingly taking responsibility:
- Deputy Wardens
- Sidespersons
- Sunday School Assistants
- PCC Members
- Money Counters
- Readers
- Interceders
- Cleaners
- Coffee Servers
- Sacristan
- Gardeners
- Communion Assistants
- First Aiders
- Fire Marshalls
- School Governors
- Authorised Lay Ministry
- Reader Ministry
- Ordained Ministry
- Continue to support Farsi-speakers in their journey of faith, through:
- Farsi Discussion Group
- more Farsi/Dari music in services.
- Encourage the children to participate in the Services
- Encourage people to look out for each other, and provide pastoral support to each other.
- Strengthen the lines of communication so as better to ensure that those in need receive pastoral support.
The Parish of St. Thomas, Werneth
Develop our working relationship with St. Paul's, Oldham, and other local churches and denominations in Mission and Ministry.
- As a Mission Partnership - see our Mission Partnership Action Plan{/PDF/ActionPlan20161214.pdf} for more information.
- As a Mission Unit / Mission Community
Aim
- Work towards establishing the new working relationships and patterns of the proposed Mission Community
Objectives
The Parish of St. Thomas, Werneth
Support and develop our partnership with local schools in service of the community, and especially with St. Thomas' CE Primary School.
Objective
- Work with St. Thomas', and local schools, to submit a funding application and develop the building as a centre for community support.
The Parish of St. Thomas, Werneth
Support Christian Missionary Societies and Development Agencies at home and abroad.
- Kimbilio - through donations and occasional visits from Kimbilio staff.
- LifeShare - through our Harvest Collection
- The Children's Society - through boxes, and the Christingle Service.
- Interserve / The Whethams - through donations and grant applications
The Parish of St. Thomas, Werneth
Become an Eco-Church
Objectives
- Set up a small group to help us work towards becoming an Eco-Church
- Improve insulation in porch
- Complete the repointing of the church - this will reduce drafts and preserve the building going forwards
The Parish of St. Thomas, Werneth
Develop the Church Grounds
Aims
- to increase the biodiversity of the church grounds;
- to make the church grounds a more positive, sensory experience: colours, smells and textures (but nothing toxic);
- to enable the church grounds, by their nature, to communicate a vibrant, dynamic, growing church
- to engage congregation members, community members, and local families in growing and caring for the earth - whether in the church grounds or at home;
- to promote healthy eating and wellbeing;
- to explore the creation of very different kinds of spaces in the church grounds;
- to use the compost to enrich the soil.
Process
- interested parties to be invited to the first part of annual PCC meetings, to review goals and set objectives;
- all changes to be made slowly and incrementally, to test what works, bit by bit;
- to try and work in a way that reduces the risk and potential impact of vandalism
Objectives
- plant modest beds around the noticeboards with low-growing, colourful plants - with stepping stones to the noticeboards
- bulbs:
- create a "bluebell wood" under the trees, close to the trunks in the SE quadrant, ferns irises and mimoza near the wall; plant in the Autumn
- daffodils, crocuses, snowdrops into the lawns around the main paths in the Autumn
- hawthorns:
- put up bird boxes and bug hotels
- bollards:
- gain permission to put removable or hinged bollards instead of the gates to the church grounds (being wary not to encourage motorbikes)