Richmond ArchdeaconryA snapshot of life in Richmond Archdeaconry was provided with the visit of the Archbishop of York in September. He visited and gave encouragement to

the Hope Debt Advice Service, through which local churches in Swaledale and Wensleydale help families, and he met members of St Michael’s Hospice to hear about the development of community and bereavement care. He took part in FunKey Church, Richmond, a new expression of church with more than forty children and forty grown-ups

meeting regularly to explore faith together through activity, song and prayer. At Kairos Network Church in Harrogate the Archbishop heard about Mission Shaped Communities and ministry among the elderly in nursing homes, street evangelism, in schools, and with surrounding churches to support Step Up, a scheme for interns.

With more than two thousand young people and leaders taking part, the Big Night Out at Lightwater Valley theme park near Ripon in May has become the biggest Christian youth event in the northeast. Even small rural parishes with few young people can easily take part and experience being part of the church on a mega-scale. Big Night Out continues this coming year.

Education2012 was another eventful year for the Board of Education (DBE). The Chadwick Report ‘The Church School of the Future’ offered an important focus for the evaluation of the work of the Board. Issues such as the nature of distinctiveness offered challenge and opportunities to assess our success. The schools conference

in March was a tremendous success. Keynote speakers included the Bishop of Oxford (pictured centre), Chair of the C of E National Board of Education, and the renowned author and speaker, Bob Hartman. One hundred and fifty delegates enjoyed a stimulating, entertaining and highly professional event which celebrated

the work of our ‘family of church schools’.

2012 saw the academies agenda in education rapidly gaining pace. In collaboration with the Bradford DBE, we created a new and robust structure of multi-academy trusts, such as LEAF in East Leeds, to ensure that our church schools seeking conversion to academies would have a strong and successful sponsor. Our first primary academies opened in the Autumn term. In December, the DBE three year term ended. Thanks go to those members who have contributed so much to our continued success.

CathedralIn a remarkably busy year of growth and development in mission, more people are attending worship and other events.

Our Jubilee celebrations brought together people from across the Diocese and the whole county of North Yorkshire. A service of celebration one day gave way to a ‘street party in the nave’ the next. Additionally, many came at night to see the Cathedral bathed in red, white and blue floodlighting. We made new friends and some of those who came for the first time for the Jubilee have continued to come.

Another great celebration came with the installation and opening of our new glass west doors. As someone said: “They really are stunning”. Those of us who plan church building projects need to consider the potential for mission. The doors

continue to bring new people in and, theologically, they unite street and sanctuary giving integrity to our prayer and witness.

Canon Elizabeth Sewell joins our team to help us in our education and pastoral ministry. We look forward to God’s gifts brought through her.

Ambition for Mission2012 has been a year of vision and prayer as the diocese, deaneries and parishes have begun to implement the strategy for growth, Ambition for Mission. This wide ranging document, developed in 2011, encourages four areas for growth: growing deeper in maturity; growing wider through service to our local communities; growing younger by welcoming children and young people; and growing larger as new people are drawn into the life of our congregations.

Resources have included Preparing the Way in Prayer, and Preparing a Mission Action Plan. The first has helped churches look at the gifts and skills they have and the second helps churches think about their priorities for mission in the local context. Other areas of our mission strategy include clergy and lay deployment, responding to financial challenges, and innovations in ministry. Leading your Church into Growth courses have taken place, with more planned for

2013. A Mission Innovation fund of £30,000 was set up, to help resource churches undertaking new pieces of work around issues of social justice, human need or the environment. Ambition for Mission continues into 2013, as we continue to develop the five marks of mission in our parishes and our region.

Ripon & LeedsAnnual Review

2012

Leeds ArchdeaconryIn 2012 initiatives included church involvement in the five Food Banks across the city, the involvement of fifteen Leeds parishes on the current Leading Your Church into Growth programme, and plans to appoint a Hawksworth Wood Children’s Pastor.

The Children’s and Youth Development Worker, Anne Carter, has continued working with parishes using the Children are Welcome packs. At the Leeds Festival, churches with Nic Sheppard, became festival angels and ran a drop-in tent. Young people themselves are developing skills in ministry through Create and Refuel for children.

In September, the visit of the Archbishop of York focused on mission initiatives - a refocus on mission at Holy Trinity Boar Lane, a visit to Gather in Meanwood, and a briefing from Karin Shaw, Diocesan Fresh Expressions Officer, on initiatives

across the diocese. At the David Young Community Academy he took part in an assembly and met community representatives.

© Ripon and Leeds DBF (0113) 2000540

www.riponleeds.anglican.org

“This review illustrates the work done in 2012 to develop fresh ways to share Christ’s love with those we serve.”

Bishop John

Welcome to the Annual Review

The challenge for 2012 was to develop our following of Christ’s mission for our own area, while paying proper attention to plans for a major diocesan reorganisation for West Yorkshire and the Dales. This review illustrates the work done in 2012 to develop fresh ways to share Christ’s love with those we serve. At the

May: The month was a time for thinking about vocations, following Vocations Sunday, the fourth Sunday after Easter. Director of Ordinands, Peter Clement and his team visited parishes across the diocese to speak and preach. In July, five new curates were ordained at the Cathedral as deacons, and in October six new readers were licensed.

July: The Church on Show exhibition lasted just one day at Harrogate as the Great Yorkshire Show sank in the mud and was called off at the end of the opening day. The torrential rain was a bitter blow but, nevertheless, the Church on Show pavilion was visited by many hundreds of people who enjoyed the labyrinth experience with interactive activities and the opportunity to think about the meaning of love.

June: The nave of Ripon Cathedral was transformed into a street party for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee in a ‘happy and glorious’, though often damp weekend. Sixty guests were chosen for their memories of Coronation Day, 1953, and sandwiches were served to the guests by young people. In the same month, the Olympic flame came to Cathedral en route to London.

August: In a new initiative, the Mothers’ Union held a Summer Celebration attended by around two hundred members and friends. Speakers included Susie Hart, the founder of the Neema Crafts charity for disabled people in Tanzania, and Reg Bailey, the Chief Executive of the Mothers’ Union who talked about the report ‘Letting Children be Children’.

same time much careful effort went into planning for a single diocese covering the area of the present dioceses of Bradford, Ripon and Leeds and Wakefield, with five episcopal areas to enhance our local ministry. We pray for the right way forward for these developments in 2013.

+John Packer

Church Observatory projectThis year saw the completion of the first Observatory product, a web-based program that takes twelve different datasets on every parish in the diocese and presents that information as dynamic graphs. This makes it easier for anyone in any parish or deanery to track their own data. For more, visit http://riponleeds.anglican.org/church-observatory.html

Clergy and Lay DevelopmentTraining continues, responding to national requirements, local need, and requests for increased skills. Highlights included Leading Your Church into Growth, as over 30 parishes explored growth; research work for Agents for Change DVD was completed and people learnt more about PCCs and reading in church.

Environment: In May, Jemima Parker from Harrogate was appointed as the Diocesan Environment Officer, a ten-hour per-week post supported by the Council for Mission. Since then Jemima has been visiting parishes and deaneries encouraging them in their care for the environment and in reducing their carbon footprint.

Fairtrade: Christine Alker took up the role of Diocesan Fairtrade Secretary in 2012. Christine would love to see every church in the diocese using fairtrade products. Many churches do so and Ripon and Leeds is a Fairtrade Diocese but there are still a number of churches to come on board. Christine is happy to speak to church councils or deanery synods and advise on becoming a Fairtrade Church.

Sri Lanka: During the year, our link with the Church of Ceylon deepened with the visit of Bishop Dhilo, Bishop of Colombo and retired Bishop Kumara, who both spent time in our diocese. Pat and Rev Paul Ainsworth took up the roles of Sri Lanka Link Officers in 2012 and are hoping to encourage parishes and deaneries to twin with a parish/deanery in Sri Lanka.

Diocesan Retreat: For the first time in many years, a Diocesan Retreat was held at Wydale Hall led by Janet Morley, author of ‘The Heart’s Time’. Janet inspired retreat members as they connected poetry and the spiritual journey. Favourite poems were brought and shared and new poems written. The theme in July 2013 will be Film and Spirituality.

December: Revd Amos Kasibante, working in Harehills and Burmantofts, was commissioned as Racial Justice Officer to work with the Anglican/Methodist Racial Justice Group. He was greeted by community representatives and the congrega-tion was reminded of the need to be welcoming and inclusive, and for Christians to work for racial justice in their communities.

2012 was a challenging year in financial terms. The ongoing economic pressures on our parishes continue to bite and total share receipts were down approximately £250k, with a collection of 92% of the requested amount. We are truly grateful for the efforts of those parishes who have paid their share, and recognise the difficulties many face in balancing their own budgets. We achieved a very modest

April: The city of Leeds, with civic dignitaries, other churches and other faith groups, welcomed the new Archdeacon of Leeds, Paul Hooper to his new role. Deaneries presented Paul with gifts symbolizing each area. In his first sermon, the new archdeacon said that the Easter good news of the risen Christ needed to underlie the chal-lenges facing the church.

January: The year began on a sombre note with the sad and unexpected death of Alastair Thompson, a senior lay member of the diocese and Chair of the Board of Finance. Bishop John led tributes to Alastair who had given, he said, an “immense amount to the diocese, encourag-ing us in our stewardship and care of money – an expression of his own faith”.

February: A tractor and plough featured at the first regional Plough Sunday service to be held in Ripon Cathedral. Co-organised by Andy Ryland, our Rural Officer, prayers were said for farming and the rural community at the start of the agri-cultural year in a service led by Bishop James. Dean Keith Jukes said it marked the Cathedral’s major focus on rural issues.

March: Synod members meeting in Leeds in March, ‘broadly welcomed’ the latest stages in a plan to create a larger single diocese includ-ing Bradford and Wakefield, but also called for a series of assurances and conditions to the scheme, which could result in the Diocese of Leeds, to be known as West Yorkshire and the Dales.

September: Leeds Parish Church officially became Leeds Minster in a service of celebration attended by civic dignitaries, leaders of other Christian denominations and representatives from other minster churches in Yorkshire. A fourfold proclamation of worship, mission, hospitality and service was read out as the congregation of seven hundred was sprinkled with holy water.

October: A new and groundbreaking regional partnership was signed in October between the diocese and the Leeds District of the Methodist Church. The Covenant Area Partnership - the first of its kind in Great Britain - will mean greater consultation and co-operation between 85 Anglican parishes and their 65 neighbouring Methodist churches.

November: The new Director of Clergy Development, Revd Andrew Tawn, was licensed at Ripon Cathedral in November, taking on a recently created role pioneered by the Ven Paul Hooper two years earlier. Andrew came from Bradford Diocese after fourteen years as Rector of St Peter’s, Addingham.

Income Expenditure

surplus overall of £1k. This was assisted by deploying slightly fewer clergy than our national allocation, by maximising rental income from vacant clergy housing and from prudent budget management by all budget holders. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all parishes for their generosity over the last year in supporting ministry and mission in the Diocese.

Dr Sue Proctor

Share £4,909kInvestments £709k

National Church £838kFees, grants and other £803k

Release of Accumulated Income £60kCosts recovered £81k

Total Income = £7,400k

Parochial Ministry £4,036k Clergy Housing £1,212k

Admin, Support and Education £976kResource Ministry £823k

National Church £352k

Total Expenditure = £7,399k

Surplus = £1k