2020 Vision Report from the Implementation Group

Since the last meeting of the Governing Body the Implementation Group has met twice, in May and July. Below is a summary of the Group’s recent work and the current activities of the other groups focussing on more specific aspects of 2020 Vision work.

  1. Evaluation of 2020 Vision

At the last Governing Body 2020 Vision was the focus of group discussions, after which the groups reported back in a plenary session: the Implementation Group reviewed the feedback in some detail at its meeting in May. This was a very useful exercise to get an initial impression of what people from across the Church in Wales feel about 2020 Vision, the impact it is having (so far), where more work needs to be done and how best to improve its impact.

These group discussions marked the beginning of a more comprehensive assessment of 2020 Vision which is now being planned. To do this the Implementation Group intends to explore whether to commission some professional research to assess in both quantitative and qualitative ways how 2020 Vision is being received across the Church in Wales: the fundamental objective of this research will be to assess whether 2020 Vision is having any impact and is taking the Church in Wales forward. The survey would actually be undertaken once reliable data is available but the baseline from which this would be measured needs to be established now and a detailed brief for this work will be needed to ensure it is carried out to the correct specification.

Preliminary advice and guidance on how to undertake such a project has been sought and, at its meeting in July, the Group had a very informative discussion with Dr Bev Botting, Head of Research and Statistics at the Archbishops’ Council in the Church of England. Dr Botting is a statistician with experience in conducting church-based research projects such as this and her advice on the various methodologies for conducting the research as well as the importance of formulating a clear brief for the project was very helpful.

This work has now moved to a new stage of planning and the Governing Body will be updated accordingly.

  1. Communications and the Church in Wales website

As reported to the Governing Body in April the Implementation Group met with the diocesan communications officers, the Archbishop’s Media Officer and members of staff from the provincial IT department to discuss communication and use of the Church in Wales website. The Group has discussed the ideas emanating from this meeting and is taking these forward.

Firstly, the 2020 Vision section of the Church in Wales website is not sufficiently informative, particularly in terms of communicating what 2020 Vision is and what its values and objectives are: particular consideration is being given to how best to articulate this vision alongside the complementary diocesan visions.

It will also be important to share stories from across the province to illustrate how the values and objectives of 2020 Visionare being put into action and to enable different parts of the Church to learn from each other. The Implementation Group is working with the diocesan communications officers to identify suitable stories but also to draw from each story the elements that relate it directly to the ethos and principles of 2020 Vision. These stories can then be showcased on the 2020 Vision page of the website and used as beacons of 2020 Vision in action.

2020 Vision Sunday

As reported to the Governing Body in April the Implementation Group is looking into finding a date in the lectionary for an annual 2020 Vision Sunday, something the Standing Committee has now endorsed. The Group has asked the Bench of Bishops for advice on a suitable Sunday for this, beginning in 2017.

  1. Board of Mission and Ministry

Re-forming a provincial Board of Mission and Ministry was one of the recommendations of the 2012 Church in Wales Review, a recommendation that was allocated to category B of recommendations and the Implementation Group has been considering the many issues that lie behind this recommendation. In doing so, it has reviewed the context of the current system of co-ordinating mission and ministry and the oversight and reporting of these as well as previous models used and the reasons why these were not, ultimately, considered to have been effective.

The Group discussed this matter in some depth at its meeting in July and will report its conclusions to the Standing Committee at its meeting in December. The Group feels the crux of this matter, and the spirit of the recommendation made by the authors of the Church in Wales Review, is that there should be mechanisms in place to facilitate the reporting of mission and ministry work within the Church in Wales to the wider Church.

The Implementation Group feels that an important first step would be to develop the relationship between the work of the Bishops’ Advisers staff and the Standing Committee and, from there, with the Governing Body.

The Group will report this in more detail to the Standing Committee in December: the Governing Body will be updated in April.

  1. Archdeacons

In May the Implementation Group had its annual meeting with the archdeacons. This is always a significant meeting and is an invaluable opportunity for mutual reporting of recent work and initiatives in the dioceses and the latest 2020 Vision-related work at a provincial level. The archdeacons are crucial links between the Implementation Group’s provincial level work and congregations at parish and ministry area level so this is a working relationship the Implementation Group values very highly.

  1. Children’s and youth officers

In July the Implementation Group was pleased to be joined by Naomi Wood (Bangor), the Reverend Dr Sarah Rogers (Llandaff) and Rachel Nelmes (Monmouth), representatives from the group of diocesan children’s and youth officers. One of the major themes running through the Church in Wales Review was an investment in outreach work with children, youth and families so the Group wanted to hear more about the work the children and youth officers do, what challenges they face and what their vision is for the Church in Wales beyond 2020 and towards 2030 and further into the future.

Among the issues discussed were:

  • The importance of appointing good leaders to oversee children’s and youth activities;
  • The need to invest in activities that actually appeal to people by ensuring they reflect current trends and fashions and not relying on outdated models;
  • Managing the cusp between ‘children’ and ‘’youth’ age groups so effective ministry and support for these people continue.
  1. Future work

The Implementation Group will next meet on 21-22 September in Llandudno when it will review progress in the ongoing programme of implementation of Church in Wales Review recommendations

Finally, the Implementation Group would like to record its thanks to James Turner who has recently stood down from the Group after serving as a member since its inception in 2013. James’s experience and expertise have been great assets to the Group’s work and will be much missed.

Implementation Group

August 2016

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