Diocesan Policy and Action Plan

In our Diocesan Review undertaken during 2006 and 2007 the strategic position of our congregations and our diocese was thoroughly examined and widely discussed. The Review considered our strengths and opportunities as well as weaknesses and threats.

From evidence, analysis and reflection we were able to draw a number of important conclusions about the future of our congregations and diocese, which our Diocesan Policy and Action Plan, available for download below and the Casting the Net Resources sub-section, seeks to address:

• We need to develop a new kind of future. The church must respond creatively to change in society. We must halt the decline in membership. It erodes the viability and threatens the long term future of individual congregations and of the diocese as a whole. Outreach work needs to be given priority. We must overcome ambivalence, apathy and resistance to change.
• We recognise that some decline in churchgoing is rooted in what the church does. We can reverse decline if we understand it and are prepared to address it.
• We must focus our resources on growth. We must work for growth together with other churches where sharing resources can make possible that which would otherwise not be.
• Our diocese and congregations need both spiritual renewal and a coherent and widely-supported strategy. We need to organise our diocese differently if we are to implement a strategy for growth.

Download the Plan

Diocesan Policy and Action Plan | PDF | 276Kb