Category: News

All the latest news from NECN!

NECN Conference 2020…facts, figures, feedback and follow-up

Huge thanks to all those who took part in our online NECN Conference on 1st July, both as delegates and as presenters.

As with so many areas of current church activity, we learned a lot from the process and thought you might like to see some of the facts, figures, feedback and follow-up from the event.

What went well…

  • around 200 delegates signed up for the Conference which we hosted on YouTube and Zoom. There have now been over 800 views of the uploaded content on our YouTube channel, which is a far higher reach than our physical Conferences.  Feedback strongly indicates that, in future years, delegates would value there being both physical and online elements to the Conference. We’ll be taking that feedback on board for 2021 Conference planning.
  • We asked what delegates found inspiring and the ‘stories from the front line’ given by our various presenters and shared in the breakout groups featured strongly in responses. 87% of respondents said they would like to see more regular estates stories ‘from the front line’, both in regular website and YouTube content.  That’s followed closely by 69% of respondents wanting online seminars of relevance to estates ministry, and the same percentage wanting NECN to facilitate a monthly or quarterly online open forum for estates practitioners.
  • Key estate ministry concerns were around a lack of local leaders, lack of confidence and lack of resources.
  • Some suggested future Conference themes were Working with Secular Partners, Developing Youth Ministry and Leadership, Listening and Community Organising

Plus there were quotes, such as…

‘The lay leader speakers were articulate and inspiring and shared superb insight’

 ‘It confirmed for me that I have been doing all the right things in the right way, but I just need to be patient’

 ‘I was inspired by the evidence that progress has been made’

 ‘I believe your vision is definitely the way forward, to equip ALL people of God’s Church to go out into the community’

 ‘I found the numbers attending and the locations they represented inspiring.  So often we feel alone on our ‘own estate’; seeing so many others in a similar situation and hearing their ‘Good News Stories’ is encouraging, uplifting and affirming of the fact that ‘with God anything is possible’.

 ‘I enjoyed seeing lots of different faces in their places and finding out about different ways leaders were emerging from estates’

 

And what we learned from the process…

  • Though online access went very well generally, we could direct the breakout group and panel discussions more helpfully in future.
  • It would be useful to give an overview of NECN and its work. 46% of respondents were at their first NECN Conference (which is great, welcome!) and some scene setting for them would have been helpful.

 

So, where now…?

NECN will continue to work to support to all those involved, or interested in involvement in, estates ministry nationally.

We sit on a number of key groups and will continue to advocate for practitioners on those areas of concern raised.

We are also seeking to work more closely with others engaged in urban ministry, to ensure the best possible fit of resources available to estate practitioners and churches.

We’ll be uploading more content, as it’s produced, around the development of local leadership.  Our first open forum for estates practitioners will take place online in late September and will pick up themes from the Conference around identifying and nurturing local leaders.

We’ll be transferring content from our toolkit on Pinterest, over to the NECN website over the month of August.

We’ll be delivering the NECN London Conference on 8th October 2020 on the theme of Local Leadership, particularly from a BAME perspective; booking details available soon.

 

And we’d love you to be an on-going part of our work…

Please do join our mailing list by contacting NECN’s Support Officer, Christine on ChristineM@cofebirmingham.com   Christine can also upload details of your estates vacancies, plus any resources you’d recommend to other practitioners, to our website

Please follow NECN on Facebook and Twitter (@NECNestates) and subscribe to our YouTube channel (NECN – National Estates Church Network)

And do get in touch with our Chair, Lynne Cullens, via lynne.cullens@gmail.com for any of the following

  • if you have an estate story or stories to share; there is a real desire to see more regular online content.
  • if you are able to give some time to support our Comms team at NECN, headed by trustee Robb Sutherland, in encouraging and supporting estate churches to tell their stories
  • if you could be a part of an NECN email ‘Sounding Board’, giving feedback on draft resources, policies and developments
  • any further thoughts and feedback on NECN’s work and areas for development

…and to those who responded to say they’d be happy to be contacted post-Conference but left no contact details, we hope you see this and hope to hear from you too!

With thanks from all at NECN for all you’re contributing to estates ministry, wherever you are and in whatever way.  You have our continued prayers,

Sara, Robb, Emma, Dave and Lynne

The NECN Conference Team

HOPE for all – Estates Magazine

CHECK THIS OUT! HOPE for all magazine full of helpful articles, encourages stories and all the cost of postage! Watch the clip below to find out more.

To claim your free copies go to https://hopetogether.org.uk/Shop/Products/500233/Hope_Together/Magazines/Hope_for_All.aspx    use the code ESTATES2020.

New ‘Mission on the Margins’ Training

StHild_011_A5 Leaflet_MISSION ON THE MARGINS

I am pleased to let you know about a new Mission on the Margins Practitioner track. Urban Life have been developing this with St Hild and we will commence accepting students in September.

Mission on the Margins is designed for people who are involved in mission and ministry in marginal contexts and with marginalised communities. We offer a wide range of modules and a flexibility that enables participants to discover the best learning path for them. Participants can be accredited at MA, postgraduate and graduate level or you can follow a non-accredited path. Modules are taught through a mixture of online seminars, further reading and in person sessions at St Hild’s Sheffield and Mirfield centres. I’ve attached a flyer that gives you more information or you can visit www.sthild.org/practitioner-tracks.

We believe that the training we are offering will enable participants to engage in learning that will increase their understanding of their practice. If you have any questions, then please feel free to ask.

 

Kids Matter – Working with Estate Churches

Kids Matter has a vision to see every child in need raised in a strong family. We engage local churches to use relational, evidence informed programmes to equip parents and carers in the community who are facing disadvantages with confidence, competence and community enabling their children to thrive. Everything we do is focused on the country’s vulnerable children. We train peer facilitators from churches and they provide ongoing support and supervision to run the programme, help churches connect with new families and to support churches to continue to build relationships with families who have been on the programme.
The parenting groups are small with no more than 4 – 8 parents. The atmosphere is informal, it is always sitting around a table together over coffee, tea and pastries, working together with user-friendly and evidence-informed booklets, all led by the trained peer facilitator from the local church. The programme has been adapted so that it can run via group video calls, along with the facilitator training which is also available online. Even though currently we can’t all sit around a table with tea and coffee we still very much encourage our facilitators to create a warm hospitable atmosphere through zoom, one facilitator even delivered biscuits to each of the participants homes beforehand

You can find out all about kids matter here (www.kidsmatter.org) where you will also find free resources that you can use with families.

Here are few comments on the impact of Kids Matter parenting programmes.

‘These weeks have been a real journey for our family, my 4 year old now says ‘I love you mummy’, he never used to do that before.’

‘It’s helped me massively to realise it’s ok to feel overwhelmed sometimes. Talking to others and realising I am not alone’

‘I realised the importance of eating together as a family we never did that when I was growing up and I felt like my mum didn’t know me.’

‘Kids Matter has proved to be an excellent way to help churches engage with families and caregivers, particularly in areas where family life is a struggle. I would recommend any church looking to ­nd ways to connect with parents in their parish to explore Kids Matter.’ Rt Revd Dr Graham Tomlin. Bishop of Kensington

Bishop Appoints Andy to Exciting New Role

New Birmingham Cathedral missioner role for NECN Executive Director
The Trustees of the National Estate Churches Network (NECN) congratulate our Executive Director, The Revd Canon Andy Delmege, on his appointment as Canon Missioner at Birmingham Cathedral announced on Sunday 10th May 2020.
Andy has served NECN for many years in various roles; as a trustee, as convenor of the local estates group in Birmingham, as NECN Chair and, for the last year, as Executive Director.
During that time, NECN has become increasingly influential in its work to support estate churches, practitioners and broader urban ministry, and now holds a leading role in the partnership of organisations helping to deliver national church estate agendas alongside urban and estate communities across the country.
Andy has been instrumental in this process and the NECN trustees wish to pay warm tribute to the contribution he has made, and will continue to make, to the profile of urban ministry nationally.
NECN Chair, The Revd Lynne Cullens, said “NECN has gained hugely from Andy’s commitment, gifting and passion for urban and estates ministry. NECN is now in a strong position, supported by a three-year grant from the All Churches Trust received in 2019, with a vision for local group development, new strategic partnerships and the building of our capacity to deliver across a broader range of topics relevant to those ministering on estates. The trustees and I will shortly be commencing the process of recruiting a new Executive Director to lead NECN through its next phase of development as a charity.”
Andy Delmege said, “I am sorry to be leaving NECN, but I know that, with an excellent board of trustees, a hugely increased number of local groups and many willing and gifted volunteers, it is in good hands and in a strong position to build on the work of recent years.”
Andy will begin his new role at the end of July and he will continue to lead the delivery of the Urban Leadership Learning Pathways Pilot in Birmingham Diocese working closely with Revd Helen Shannon who leads the Estates Evangelism course in the Diocese of London, both of which benefit from All Churches Trust funding via NECN.
Before he moves, Andy will be leading the NECN Online Conference on 1st July along with trustees Sara Barron and Robb Sutherland and other exciting contributors. Booking available via
Revd Lynne Cullens

coronavirus news

Dear Sisters and Brothers,

We are writing to you with prayers and love at this time of crisis.

The coronavirus pandemic has affected all of us very deeply.  We know only too well how it is touching us, our communities, our families and our Churches.  This is an extremely difficult time, and we know that you are all working really hard trying to work out the best way to be Church when we can’t meet physically, trying to figure out how we can continue to serve our communities, putting in place some mechanisms of care.

At NECN, we are praying for you.  We are thinking of ways in which we can offer one another helpful support.  If you have time, could you share stories and examples of what is working in your Church and your community?  It would be a wonderful resource to get things into each others hands.  If you are able to do this, please email Christine at  christinem@cofebirmingham.com  or put something on the Facebook page.
We will post things on our website here:  https://estatechurches.org/covid-19/
please keep an eye on this page for news.

One really important thing at the moment is that we don’t feel guilty about the things we can’t do.  We need to be looking after our own physical, mental and spiritual health so that we can be serving others.  And it is increasingly apparent that this will be a marathon and not a sprint.  If you can’t livestream your services, don’t worry – just publicise links to churches that are doing this, and work out other ways of keeping in touch with people.  We are all making this up as we go along, we are all making mistakes, and this is all very provisional.

Let’s continue to be a community that supports one another.  Let us know if you have any particular prayer requests or questions.  Please remember that although we might be physically isolated, we are not alone.  God is with us and we have each other.

We will be in touch again after Easter, when things have hopefully settled down a little, with some ideas of how NECN can continue to be a family and support Estate Churches through the internet, through our local groups, and through conferences and webinars.

With love and prayers,

Andy, Lynne, Sara and Christine.

What  does it mean to be a Church on the Margins in a time of coronavirus? 


A weekly space for shared reflection in these challenging times
2pm Thursday, for the next 4 weeks (2, 9, 16 and 23 April)

https://being-a-church-on-the-margins.eventbrite.co.uk

These are extraordinary times for all of us, but what does it mean to be a ‘church on the margins’ and to seek to be attentive to and inclusive of those on margins of society in the current crisis?

We are not offering any answers, but simply a space to reflect together with others on these challenging times, on our own hopes and fears, on the practical and theological issues thrown up by the crisis, and what it means for church, discipleship, ministry and spirituality to be a ‘Church on the Margins’ at this current time.

Each session will start with a short reflection, but mostly be spent in small groups sharing together our own experiences, thoughts and reflections on these questions.

The event will take place via Zoom. You can participate via any internet enabled device with a microphone (laptop, tablet, phone etc) – or simply over the phone. Once you have signed up via Eventbrite, we will send you a link or a phone number that will allow you to take part.

Sign up for one session, or for the whole series. Dip in and give it a go!

https://being-a-church-on-the-margins.eventbrite.co.uk

Whilst it is possible to participate in Zoom calls from a normal phone, we are also exploring the possibility of holding separate phone-based conversations that could be accessed free of charge from a phone – further details of this in due course.