What’s going on?

To all Deanery Synod Members Southwark and Newington Deanery from Acting Area Dean Jonathan Roberts 1 March 2022

Dear Friends,

I was asked ‘what is going on?’ and I thought I’d set it out in an orderly way. I have begun to understand what our parishes are doing; I’m much impressed and would like to offer some practical help. I will remark on the last couple of years, and I hope you find this helpful.

What is going on in Southwark and Newington Deanery?

Archdeacon Jane Steen moved last year to be a Bishop in Norwich Diocese. Bishop Christopher needed someone to cover the work of Archdeacon of Southwark and asked Jonathan Sedgwick to help. Jonathan Sedgwick was now parish priest, our Area Dean and doing the work of an archdeacon. I was asked to help him and from December I have been acting as Area Dean. 

Recently the Bishop has asked Jonathan Sedgwick to be Archdeacon of Southwark and he will start on 1^st May. He will have finished at St George’s on 27^th March. He will be formally installed as Archdeacon in the Cathedral at 3pm on 15^th May, please come and pray with us for his work.

I am to be your Area Dean (properly). I will be licensed at the Visitation Service on 9^th June in the Cathedral (7-9pm) at the same time as the Churchwardens are sworn in.

I met with the Deanery Standing Committee (Akin Akinwunmi and Bett Llewelyn). We decided to wait to have a Deanery Synod until after the APCMs this Easter. We expect this to be in person and on 15^th June 2022 7-9pm.

I plan to use the Deanery as a network of support and creativity for our parishes. We are close enough (both geographically and in our prayer and service) to work together when we can. We secured a timely grant to help pay some costs to do this. Here are a few ideas. 

What should we be doing?

As a leader in your parish, you will be occupied getting life of God’s people restarted in person in prayer and service. The relaxation of legal controls places the responsibility of caring for the elderly and vulnerable firmly on the wardens and PCC. I am sure you will seek to be Christ-centred and outward-focused in all we do and to offer welcome, care and dignity in Christ’s name.

I encourage you particularly to have a concern for young people. They have had the worst of the social measures with their schooling badly damaged over the last 2 years when they have been least likely to be at serious risk from COVID. (This week some Year 9 parents took part in their first proper Parents Evening at school since their children started secondary school -3 years since they had brought their children from Primary School to Open Days.) In church, some of our young people have grown so much that we can find it hard to identify them. They need some extra time and effort.

The Diocese offers an excellent support for work with children and young people https://southwark.anglican.org/mission-ministry/mission/children-youth/ . There has been a Woolwich Youth Forum at the Salmon Centre with Bishop Karowei on 26 February. 

As a Deanery I am offering a pair of linked events for 11-20 year olds. A planning meeting 13 March 2022 4pm-6pm. And a TRIP FOR YOUNG PEOPLE to Birmingham:  12^th April 2022. These follow on from a joint event on 5^th February which was much appreciated. (Read the full details at the end)

I am also offering a Deanery meeting for adults in our parishes who support young people. There will be a first meeting Thursday 10th March 7-9pm Deanery youth work support and growth group. I hope this will a group which grows and continues, giving support and growth to the people who are critical in making sure that out young people take their place in the Body of Christ.

We have a date with Bishop Karowei for a Deanery Confirmation on St Andrew’s day 30^th November. We plan to have a joint confirmation study group in the autumn and some taster sessions in the summer term.

Please try to reach out to the young people in your church. Above all listen to them. They have been stuck in their family groups and in restricted groups at school. You are their chance to know that God cares and is interested in knowing how they are getting on. I hope they like the mix of adventure and challenge we have on offer, and that they bring their suggestions. And encourage those who are always there for them.

I encourage you to spring clean your church this Lent. We have lost a couple of Easters from our lives and when we get to Holy Week and Easter let it be as a real fresh experience of God. Let us see tears of sadness and joy in each other’s eyes as we pass from Good Friday to Easter morning. 

A spring clean is a chance to do something together that will easily make a difference. Shift those out-of-date notices and dog-eared leaflets. Unpick the hazard sticky tape. Take the bin bags out as a victory over mess and chaos. You might even apply some paint. The world may be a mess but let’s show an alternative view.

Look at developing individual people’s gifts and ministries. 

The Diocese has a good collection of formal ministries with supporting courses. Are there people who have emerged in the last couple of years who could grow using one of these? There’s a vocations forum on 26^th March at Trinity House (in our Deanery) https://southwark.anglican.org/exploring-your-call/ . There are courses for a ‘Bishop’s Certificate’ https://southwark.anglican.org/mission-ministry/ministry/discipleship-ministry/discipleship/bishops-certificate/ 

As a Deanery I would like us to work together to develop the parish roles without which parishes don’t work. Every parish has Church Wardens, a Treasurer, a PCC Secretary, and PCC Members. Many parishes have cleaners, musicians, people who lead prayers, read the bible in public, ring a bell and so on. I would like to see well organised events for each of these special roles to share experience and grow new generations of experts. Think about which one of these your parish would like to host in the next 4 months; select one and let me know so that we can plan the event and invite the other parishes.

Our Deanery has a lot of building redevelopment. There are old buildings being demolished and new sites full of activity. There are new people moving in and you will have noticed them alongside you in the shops and market. We have a generous grant to help us reach out to them. Please organise some short walks together to look at the way your neighbourhood has changed since 2019. Looking and talking will lead to prayer and reflection. ‘What then shall we do?’ I’d like to have some days when we might learn to door knock and prepare leaflets to start a conversation with the newcomers we are welcoming. You might come up with some community focused events to invite them to. 

The generous grant from the Diocese recognises these changes. We have summarised what we hope to do like this:

Ask for a grant to £3000 from the Deanery to get you going.

Finally: go gently with each other. I was rereading Cyprian of Carthage’s ‘On the lapsed’. He led a church at a time of repeated persecution and plague. He noticed different groups as they came out of their time of trial. Martyrs had been called to stand up for the faith and died. Confessors had also stood up for the faith courageously and survived. The lapsed had found it all too hard and had not wanted to be public Christians. We have our own versions of these. We may know people who died. In this Deanery their public service genius in Care Homes, Hospitals, transport and taxis made them vulnerable. We give thanks for their service. Some of us have persisted in keeping church life alive: hooray and alleluia. Do you worry about the lapsed? People who haven’t come back to church? Cyprian reminds me that our God is very merciful. Jesus came to find the lost and save people who need help. That’s our job now and we can do it gently. Lent is a good time to be reconciled. Make that call. Reach out and find out how they are.

This is a long letter but I hope it helps. Please come back to me with your thoughts. I look forward to seeing you in June if not before.

Your servant in Christ

Jonathan Roberts

Appendix

Southwark and Newington Deanery parishes: work for and with young people 

2021 is a year when we will offer better work with young people in our church and across the Deanery. There will be times to meet and times to go on trips.

MEETING FOR YOUNG PEOPLE:  13 March 2022 4pm-6pm at Camberwell St Michael Church Wyndham Road SE5 0YY. We will get to know each other. We will plan taking part in the day trip to Birmingham by train on Tuesday 12^th April 2022. We will prepare a display for the Deanery meeting after Easter. 

This event is free. Please turn up for 4pm (Doors will open at 3,30pm) we will finish at 6.00pm.

How to get there

• Camberwell St Michael Church building is at the junction of Redcar Street and Wyndham Road, London SE5 0UB. It is the white brick building at the end of Ark All Saints Academy.
• Wyndham Road joins Camberwell Road (from the Elephant and Castle to Camberwell Green) and Camberwell New Road (from Vauxhall to Peckham). This means we have lots of buses at either end of the road a short walk away:
• Camberwell Road buses include 12, 35, 45, 148, 171, N89, N171; and the stops are at:  Wyndham Road, and Bowyer Place.
• On Camberwell New Road buses include 36, 185, 436, N136 and the stops are at:  Wyndham Road, County Grove, Vassal Road and St John’s school.

TRIP FOR YOUNG PEOPLE:  12^th April 2022

We will meet at Euston in the railway station concourse between 0900 and 0930.

We will catch the Euston fast train to Birmingham leaving at 0943 and arriving 1107.

The details of the visit will be finalised on 13 March by the meeting of young people. We can go to:

• The Birmingham University campus
• Birmingham Cathedral
• The Theatre, Symphony Hall and Library area 
• The Art Gallery and Museum
• The city centre 
• Gas Street Basin canal area
• Science museum
• And other ideas you have

We will come back on the fast train from Birmingham leaving at 1650 and arriving at Euston 1816.

We will return to Kennington Tube station 1830-1900

This event will cost each young person £10 the full cost is being subsidised by money from the wider church. You will need to bring some food and some spending money.

To take part in the trip you must have been part of the meeting on 13^th March 2022 4-6pm

Read this:

‘Children have the least to gain and most to lose from school closures. This pandemic has seen an unprecedented transfer of harm and costs from elderly socioeconomically privileged people to disadvantaged children.’ (British Medical Journal 23 February 2021) https://www.bmj.com/content/372/bmj.n521 

Our churches can help by offering better work with young people. 

Thursday 10^th March 7-9pm Deanery youth work support and growth group. THIS IS A MEETING FOR ADULTS WHO SUPPORT YOUNG PEOPLE IN YOUR PARISH Please invite adults who work with teenagers to join me to grow our work with young people. We will meet at Camberwell St Michael Church Wyndham Road SE5 0YY. We will plan a series of learning events to reflect and build skills and wisdom to work better with young people. I expect to meet 6 times in 2022.

How to get there

• Camberwell St Michael Church building is at the junction of Redcar Street and Wyndham Road, London SE5 0UB. It is the white brick building at the end of Ark All Saints Academy.
• Wyndham Road joins Camberwell Road (from the Elephant and Castle to Camberwell Green) and Camberwell New Road (from Vauxhall to Peckham). This means we have lots of buses at either end of the road a short walk away:
• Camberwell Road buses include 12, 35, 45, 148, 171, N89, N171; and the stops are at:  Wyndham Road, and Bowyer Place.
• On Camberwell New Road buses include 36, 185, 436, N136 and the stops are at:  Wyndham Road, County Grove, Vassal Road and St John’s school.

This event for adults is free

Youth event REPORT: On Saturday 5 February 2022  young people met at Camberwell St Michael Church Wyndham Road SE5 0YY. There was a mix of parishes. The young people met each other, worked creatively together on some bible passages, ate together and discussed a trip in Holy Week. 

Their feedback:

• The atmosphere was very fun and jovial.
• I really enjoyed the icebreaker
• I loved working on the play
• The geography game was excellent
• I liked working on re-enacting the readings
• I liked working in groups together and carrying out activities.
• Thank you to Desrene and Jonathan our hosts.
• I want to go on the overnight trip
• I hope that we will meet again
• I want to meet again, with even more people.
• Thank you for enabling something new to start and mixing with other churches.

Acting Area Dean Jonathan Roberts 07530 003368