St. Paul’s Church, Chippenham

On 10th March we had a consultation evening at St Paul’s church  which some 60 or so people attended representing  probably a hundred or so of  the congregation. We were meeting  as part of the Firm Foundations Project  launch to look at  a new way of organising how we do things at St Paul’s now that the church has grown and we are involved in so many activities.

Below  is a summary of the Firm Foundations Project  proposals for how  we would like  to see the  church organise itself in the future.   The proposals were greeted  with enthusiasm by those attending  the meeting who engaged well and gave us quite a lot of feedback. As with any  change, the proposals won’t change what we do overnight so there will be a transitional period as the changes come into effect. There may also  be changes to the proposals as we introduce them and see how they work in practice. Even so  this looks an exciting way forward for the church  which will help us organise ourselves better and will aid our communication. We envisage this structure will also  make it easier for more people to get involved in the life of the church  and that it will also help us develop a more integrated  vision across the various groups and activities in the church.

It is hoped that we will begin the process of organising ourselves in this new way at    our Annual Church Meeting ( the APCC) which takes place on 23rd April at 7.30 at the church. So please do come along and hear more about what is happening on that date.

Initially the people who are “responsible for” or who “facilitate” or” oversee”  the 6 areas of church life  (we haven’t yet decided on the exact terminology) will be appointed for a temporary period of a year whilst we aim to get the new structure up and running. It is possible that we may not even  have all six areas covered from this April. However, further permanent appointments which possibly will last for 2 years (with a further 2 years renewable) will be made at the 2009 annual meeting. If you would like to suggest people who might be suitable for such roles could they people let Simon Tyndall or Karin Needham have the names in writing or by email before the 23rd April.

If you would like to know more about the proposals, please speak to  one of the many people who attended the meeting or speak to one of the following members of the mission and vision group: Phil Crook, Martin Ellet, Alice Hall, Amanda Kingsland, Howard Moreland, Karin Needham Ron Poole, Simon Tyndall, David Webb.  If you don’t know who these people are please ask when you are next in church.

Please take time to read about our plans below and do keep the project in your prayers that  we would discern the right people to take this forward  and that we would build a strong foundation for our ministry at St Paul’s that would lead us to further growth of God’s kingdom here in Chippenham.

Karin Needham