The Diocese of Derby is pleased to confirm the Revd Canon Matt Barnes has been appointed as the director of discipleship, mission and ministry for the Diocese of Derby.

A key part of this role is to help build and develop the channels through which the Church in the Diocese of Derby lives out its calling to be a church for all.

Mr Barnes has been acting director for a the past two and a half years and brings to the role his wide experience, having served in the diocese for over 20 years, most recently as Rector of St Thomas’ Church Brampton, in Chesterfield.

Working closely with the Bishop of Derby, he will plan and lead the development, training and equipping of both lay and ordained leaders and ministers at all levels across the diocese though training, church growth, community work and vocations.

Mr Barnes said: “It is a really exciting time to take on this vital role in the diocese. I’m grateful to Bishop Libby for her confidence in me and I look forward to working with our wonderful clergy and lay ministers as we work out together how best to offer the ministry and mission of the Church in these changing times”.

The Right Reverend Libby Lane, Bishop of Derby said: “I am delighted to confirm Matt Barnes to his role as Director of Discipleship, Mission and Ministry. Matt lives his faith with integrity and passion and brings a deep and energetic commitment to this role and its potential to make a transformative impact on church and community, particularly in the uncertain times ahead.

“He is already a trusted colleague and a welcome, permanent addition to the senior leadership team.”

Growing faith and developing ministry

Our exciting, easy-to-access training is available for all who want to deepen their faith, grow in discipleship and develop the gifts God has given them in the service of the church. 

The training is open to all who want to learn more about their faith and also to those who want to develop in ministry. 

You don't need any formal qualifications to take any of the modules, just some good thinking and reflecting skills.

You can work towards a Certificate of Mission & Ministry by completing the whole course with assignments or you can simply do the modules for your own faith journey.

You can do one module or many, and you can start, stop for a while and then pick up again later. 

The training is modular, which simply means that you will spend 10 sessions looking at a particular subject (for example, the Bible or Pastoral Care or Mission and Evangelism etc). 

These 10 sessions make up one module.

You will do seven of these sessions on your own in the comfort of your own home at a time to suit you and the other three sessions will be done on Zoom.  

Find out more and request an information pack from our training website www.discipleship-training.org or contact the course administrator, fiona.bennett@derby.anglican.org.

Sign up now for next term

>> What are the term dates?

Three options are available:

For Those who Would Like to Complete a Full Course
The Diocesan Certificate in Mission and Ministry (CMM) Course:
As noted above, the course is designed to help you growth in your faith and the develop the ministry to which God has called you at this time and place in your life. This is now all online and can be completed from the comfort of your own home. The course is modular and each module consists of seven sessions which you complete on your own and three which you complete with other students on Study Days via Zoom.

For Those who Think They May Be Called to Licensed Lay (Reader) Ministry 
Do you think God may be calling to be a Licensed Lay Minister (Reader)? If so you may want to sign up to the new LLM (R) training course. The first year of the new course starts in January and is now a discernment year which you can take while working with a vocations adviser and the supervision of your incumbent.  

This gives you the opportunity to explore whether Reader ministry is for you. You will need the support of your incumbent (or the equivalent in a vacancy) in order to sign up for this course.

For Those who would like to just Deepen Their Faith
Take single modules as and when they are running. The list and dates of modules running can be found here.

Closing date for applications for next term’s modules, the Certificate in Mission and Ministry and the LLM (Reader) training course is 2nd January 2024

Modules each cost a flat fee of £25, payable prior to commencement of each one (you only pay for the modules you study).

Find out more and request an information pack visit the Discipleship Training website - www.discipleship-training.org - or contact the course director dawn.glen@derby.anglican.org.

The Diocese of Derby is pleased to confirm two significant appointments to the parish support team, based at Derby Church House.

Diocesan Safeguarding Adviser (DSA).

Hannah Hogg has been appointed Diocesan Safeguarding Adviser.

Mrs Hogg is currently Corporate Safeguarding Lead at Nottinghamshire Healthcare Trust and brings with her extensive experience of working across a multi-agency partnership at a senior level.

Having studied law at the University of Dundee and Chester College of Law, she trained as a solicitor and has also previously worked at Derby City Council as Head of Service and legal adviser to the Derby City Safeguarding Children Board, and for the Nottinghamshire Safeguarding Children Board.

The Derby Diocesan Safeguarding Adviser post is a key role and Mrs Hogg will advise the diocese on all safeguarding matters ensuring that all advice is in line with the law, government guidance and national policy and guidance from the House of Bishops.

She will take start her new role in October.

Derby Diocesan Safeguarding Advisory Panel – Independent Chair

Helen Jebb has been appointed the Independent Chair of the Diocesan Safeguarding Advisory Panel.

Mrs Jebb is a former Detective Chief Superintendent with Nottinghamshire Police, where she was Head of Crime and Intelligence with responsibility for Public Protection and Safeguarding.

The Diocesan Safeguarding Advisory Panel (DSAP) is the committee that oversees the work of the Diocesan Safeguarding Team (DST) across the diocese. It is made up of senior staff within both the diocese and Derby Cathedral, alongside representatives from statutory and partner agencies who provide safeguarding services to Derby and Derbyshire.

This role will see Mrs Jebb ensure that the work of the safeguarding team is conducted impartially and in cooperation with other safeguarding agencies and that the needs of victim/survivors, children, young people and vulnerable adults are fully considered.

She will join the diocese in September.

On confirming the appointments, the Right Reverend Libby Lane, Bishop of Derby, said: “I am delighted to welcome Hannah and Helen to the team. Safeguarding is at the very heart of being Church and proclaiming the Kingdom of God.

“Both statutory responsibility and safe culture are key, and Hannah and Helen bring expertise and experience to enable the diocese to ensure best practice in Safeguarding for children, young people and vulnerable adults in our churches. I am looking forward to working with them.”

Where would you find a rector, a bishop, builders and t’owd men?

Only in Wirksworth!

St Mary’s Wirksworth has held a topping out ceremony to mark the completion of work to re-roof the nave.

A number of people involved in the project looked on as a bough of oak, a symbol of resilience and strength, was hoisted onto the roof, after which Revd David Truby and Bishop Libby climbed ladders to the top of the nave to give a blessing. They were joined on the roof by some of the builders and roofers who had worked on the project over the past months.

“The lead had been on the roof for nearly 100 years,” said Revd David Truby, the rector of Wirksworth. “It was last done in 1926 and, because of the action of the weather, it was cracking and leaking,”

The project was funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund to the tune of £120,000 – around 60% of the total cost. Generous local businesses, fundraising events and crowdfunding also contributed – although there is still more fundraising to be done to allow the two transepts to also be re-roofed.

>> Vistit St Mary's JustGiving page

Once back on the ground, Bishop Libby said: “To see how much craft goes into the restoration of a roof like this, using techniques that have been around for centuries, and the wonderful way in which the lead that had been there for a century was able to be removed and reused is amazing.

“There is something very beautiful and deeply theological about the way that God is able to re-cast the things that are part of our inheritance and our treasure into something that is now fit for purpose for the next century.

“Christ’s people here in Wirksworth have not been constrained or tied to this building – however beautiful and precious it may be – they have been the church of God when they’ve not had access to the building, continuing to worship and pray and learn and to serve their neighbours.”

Among the onlookers were two parishioners dressed as t’owd men. Inside the church, T’owd Man is an ancient carving of a lead miner, as Wirksworth had historically been an important centre for lead trade.

The oak bough that was lifted onto the roof for the ceremony also carried representations of Wirksworth’s past, being adorned with Wirksworth Red Tape – a tape manufactured in the town and used around the world to tie up bureaucratic papers (hence the term, bureaucratic red tape).

David Truby said that the Lottery funding was conditional on the church finding ways of engaging with the local community in new ways. So, originally, they had planned to take people up the scaffold during the work: “Unfortunately, because of the Covid-19 restrictions, we weren’t able to do that so we did a virtual tower tour. That meant me going up onto the roof and doing the tour via Zoom, relaying it out to people wherever they were.”

Bishop Libby said she had also been keen to see the roof work for herself: “When David first told me the plans for today, they didn’t include me going up to the roof and I was a little disappointed.

“But I was delighted when I arrived to learn that they were expecting me to go up.

“The first ladder, from the ground to the first platform, is quite long and a bit shaky, so I was given very clear instructions to maintain three points of contact at all times.

“But it was absolutely fine and the view at the top is amazing!”

More pictures from Wirksworth

Sandra Till: ordained deacon in September 2020 - ordained priest in June 2021 

I have never seen him since, but my life changed from that moment.

Being an ordained minister was not part of my bucket list but when looking back at my life, a very emotional part of my discernment, I remembered telling the career advisor that I wanted to be a vicar.

I still have no idea why, seeing as the first ordination of women was a long time after I left school.

I “chose” nursing as my career and started work as a cadet nurse at the Derby County Asylum (Kingsway Hospital).

I knew I wanted to care for those who did not seem to be attractive to others in my group at pre-nursing school.

That desire has never left me and, I believe, ministering to those on the fringes of society is a big part of my calling.

I went on to specialise in caring for those with dementia needing enhanced care.  

I never hid my faith and always felt that I had been sent to that role and that God was with me.

I discovered how much God was with me, when during one very heavy shift a staff nurse said to me: "It’s alright for you, you believe in God, I don’t."

My reply was: "It’s a good job that he believes in you." Those word were spoken through me, not by me.

When I became a Cub leader and attended church parades, I not only met other Christians who helped me develop a deeper understanding, I also met my husband Anthony.

We have been married for 34 years now, have three children and been blessed with seven grandchildren.

Anthony is also an ordained minister. I get very frustrated when people ask if that’s why I am going to be one; I try to explain that I have spent time trying to avoid God’s calling, despite many signs.  

I finally knew, just like Jonah, I could hide no longer when, working as a hospital chaplain visitor, a gentleman came into the chapel and we sat and prayed together.

From nowhere he said: "Some see it as fear and anxiety, and some see it as exciting."

I had never seen him before and have never seen him since, but my life changed from that moment.

Favourite Bible passage: Psalm 46:10. "Be still, and know that I am God." When I’m chasing round and getting nowhere its nice just to breathe and say: "Be still and remember that God is with me."

Favourite hymn: Here I am Lord. My grandson used to come to church with me and completely surprised the family when he said he wanted to be baptised. He was only five and he chose this hymn for the service. That made it very special, and as I questioned my calling, “Is it I, Lord?” has been asked so many times.

Sharon Murphy: ordained deacon in September 2020 - ordained priest in June 2021 

I have never lost the passion to communicate the gospel in language that is easily understood

My name is Sharon Murphy, I am married to John and we have eight children, two aged 15 and 13 who are still at home.

We also have a daft cocker spaniel called Jasper and a cat nicknamed The Scruffy Misery.

We recently moved to Chaddesden, Derby to take up a curacy with Derwent Oak BMO.

I became a Christian in my early 20s having suffered a miscarriage.

It was my first encounter with grief, and it was such a time of pain both physically and emotionally.

I went to bed one night and God appeared to me in a dream with my baby in his arms and when I woke up the next morning all the pain had gone, and I felt peaceful.

I then started to go to church, having already met the minister and his wife through a toddler group.

Over the next few years my husband, several of our children and a close friend became Christians.

It was during the next eight years that a call to mission really grew within us and in 2000 we moved to Manchester to become part of a group of urban missionaries (EDEN); I became the team leader for EDEN Hattersley. 

My time with EDEN showed me the importance of the church working at ground level with the community; a way of engaging with people while living out kingdom values and ‘gossiping the gospel’ to everyone.

In 2007, we moved to Poole in Dorset and joined Reconnect, a missional community It was at this point that I started to feel that God might be calling me into ordained ministry and I started to explore what that would look like.

I trained at St.Hilds College on a two-year full time pathway.

Formation came in many guises and I learnt a lot from the breath of church tradition that I encountered.

One highlight of my training was Easter school in Durham during Holy Week 2018.

The sunrise service, which started in darkness and ended in loud celebration and worship, spoke to me profoundly about the words ‘He is risen!’.

I have never lost the passion to communicate the gospel in language that is easily understood, my MA dissertation reflects this. 

I wrote a myth to try to help people with little or no understanding about the story of God try to explore what is happening during the Eucharist.

When I am out walking in the countryside especially in the  Peak District I find myself feeling very close to God and this is where he will often speak to me. I also enjoy cooking, reading, listening to classical music, drinking good coffee and chocolate. I am a bit of a contemplative and words are very important to me, the words simplicity, hospitality and pilgrim have played a significant meaning for me. My rule of life is based on Micah 6:8 And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.

As I start my curacy with Rev.Beth Honey in Derwent Oak BMO, Derby I find myself thinking about dwelling in a place, being, prayer walking, listening and building relationship.

My prayer is that people will see something of Christ in me the hope of glory and will want that hope for themselves.

Favourite Bible passage: from Isaiah 61, as paraphrased in The Message Bible. It speaks of healing, hope, joy and peace through Christ who brings restoration and new life.

To care for the needs of all who mourn in Zion,
    give them bouquets of roses instead of ashes,
Messages of joy instead of news of doom,
    a praising heart instead of a languid spirit.
Rename them “Oaks of Righteousness”
    planted by God to display his glory.
They’ll rebuild the old ruins,
    raise a new city out of the wreckage.

Some of this verse is part of the design for my ordination stole.

Favourite hymn: Be Still My Soul. I particularly like the version sung by Kari Jobe.

Ministry during the pandemic has certainly looked somewhat different to the regular parish ministry we've all been used to.

Revd Bryony Taylor, Rector at St James Barlborough and St John the Baptist Clowne, writes:

Despite having worked as a social media consultant before being ordained, I still have had to learn not to play the comparison game and compare my ministry during lockdown with that of other churches.

Comparison, they say, is the thief of joy!

So before I share some lessons I’ve learnt during lockdown, be encouraged that it is your faithfulness to God that counts more than anything!

There are three areas I have been interested to see grow or be affected by this time of pandemic:

Discipleship

People’s discipleship has deepened in a lot of areas during lockdown.

Unmoored from the safety of our church buildings, people have been expected to fend for themselves spiritually.

I distributed some prayer booklets before lockdown and a number of people have told me that they have been praying far more than usual during lockdown.

People have found it helpful to create a routine that includes prayer.

I set up a ‘dial a sermon’ system so that people can ring a phone number to listen to this week’s sermon.

Several people have told me they ring the number twice a week, once on a Sunday and then they listen again later in the week.

That’s something you can’t normally do with sermons (and is a bit scary for us preachers!)

But I’ve been deeply encouraged that people have been engaging with sermons in depth and learning more about their faith.

Mission

Much has been said about online viewing figures being a lot higher than the numbers we usually have in the pews on a Sunday.

I’m not so interested in the numbers, however, but more in individuals who have engaged with our online worship, perhaps for the first time.

I joked with people that if they get bored they can always fast forward me or mute me.

But joking aside, I think that the fact that you can ‘dip your toes in’ to worship without fear of ‘getting it wrong’ and also do that in your pyjamas if you like, acts as the bait to attract new fish!

It is much easier to send someone a YouTube link than to bring them physically with you to a church service.

The online environment is the ideal place for us to be ‘fishers of men’.

Inclusivity

Disabled people have been aware for a long time of the importance of using technology to enable them to be included in worship.

This has been highlighted during lockdown and I hope that we will continue to ask the question ‘who is not here?’ when we plan our services.

How can we continue to reach people when we return to worship in our buildings?

I will be continuing to offer a midweek Eucharist on Facebook and also over the phone (using telephone conferencing) on a Thursday morning to ensure that those who are still self-isolating have a way to connect with God and each other.

I hope this pandemic will unleash far more awareness and inclusion of those who are usually unable to attend our churches in person.

If you want to learn more about some of the technology I mention in this article, please visit bryonytaylor.com for detailed guides on how to set things up.

CofE Education

• Church of England - Education
• Church School of the Future
• DBE for the Future
• Future of Rural Schools
• RE Review
• SIAMS Inspection
• The Peak Centre – Edale

 Useful Websites

• Children's Soc: School & Poverty
• DfE School Performance Tables
• NATRE: What is RE?
• OFSTED Data Dashboard
• OFSTED Inspection
• RE Council
• RE Online
• RE Quality Mark
• Valley CIDS
• What if Learning

Disabled people and the Church - Moving from Access and Involvement to Inclusion

Disabled people’s experience of Christianity

Tweeted on 6^th December 2019 by Gregory Mansfield

Stranger to me, a wheelchair user:
”If you believe in Jesus and seek forgiveness, you will walk again.”

Disability is not sinful.
Disability is not faithless.
Disability is not a punishment.

In July 2020, Tim Rourke started a one-year project to help the diocese, deaneries and churches in the Diocese of Derby to listen more closely to the voices of deaf and disabled people. 

These voices include people in our churches, people who have been in our churches and left and people who have never felt that church was a safe place for them.

Tim works is involved in a pioneering community in Chesterfield called Holding Space. 

They enable people affected by disability to meet with God in inclusive, accessible ways. 

There is a group for disabled children (Saplings), disabled adults (Struggling Saints) and a group for carers (Solace).

This community also connects with people who don’t identify as disabled, but live lives affected by physical and mental health conditions and learning disabilities.

Tim also runs a weekly Biblical Reflection on Twitter (@Strgl_St_Bible) where, each week, readings are discussed through the lens of disability. 

The reflections are always led by a disabled Christian, but anyone is welcome to join in.

Tim says: "When we studied the Trinity Sunday readings it became clear that similarity and difference are both vital to community – In the disabled community on twitter we experience a sense of togetherness and not fitting in that draws us together but the range of illness we have means we are different, but support one another."

Disability Inclusion Working Group

Tim is drawing a Disability Inclusion Working Group together to help him to listen to voices across the diocese, in our churches and beyond, to research with them models and theologies of disabilities that will help us examine how we currently engage. 

The group will advocate for deaf and disabled people and provide training and encouragements for Christians in the Diocese of Derby who want to be more inclusive of people with different life experiences to their own.

It begin by finding out what is happening in churches across the diocese, who provides ministry to disabled people and how they encourage disabled people to respond to God’s call. 

We also want to find out where Christians are engaged with groups that work in our local areas to support disabled people and how disabled people’s needs are integrated into local churches in their planning for mission, discipleship, worship and fellowship.

So what can you do to help…?

If you, or someone you care for, are deaf or disabled or have a life that is affected by long term physical or mental health conditions, please contact Tim to discuss how you might be able to help  the Working Group. 

This is especially true if you have an invisible disability as the current group is made up, largely of people who have problems with mobility and pain and wheelchair users.

If you are a member of a church community, or a deanery synod, Tim would like you to reflect on your expectations of deaf and disabled people in church. 

Are they people who need to be cared for, or people who care for you?  Are they disabled by their impairments, or by the expectations or limitations we as a church put on them? And how can we listen more to disabled people in our lives and have them lead us into discovering more about God.

Rachael Brooks: ordained deacon in September 2020 - ordained priest in June 2021 

Do I need to wear a collar in order to be the bridge God is calling me to be?

My name is Rachael Brooks and I live in Derby with my husband, Andrew, and our son, Isaac.

I encountered God and gave my life to him at the age of 14.

Soon after, I experienced a sense of calling, although I didn’t recognise it as such until much later.

I met my husband, Andrew, at Nottingham University.

We both got jobs in Derby, me as a teacher at a junior school in Chaddesden and Andrew as a doctor on the Derby hospitals’ GP training scheme, so moved here when we married, in 1991.

We quickly found ourselves at the church which has been our home ever since - St Alkmund’s, Derby.

This is the place where my faith has deepened and matured, where I’ve found and given prayerful companionship through the ups and downs of life.

It has provided many roles in which I could serve and develop the gifts God had given me.

A few people over the years suggested I consider ordination but I always dismissed the idea that God was calling me to that.

I didn’t see myself leading a church.

In 2013, I was strongly advised by someone I looked up to to ‘have a go’ at Chaplaincy and, if I liked it, to explore ordination.

I started a voluntary role with Derby City Centre Chaplaincy in 2014, serving at a vocational training college for a few years and then at the council building.

This chaplaincy role seemed to fulfil what prayer had begun to reveal was my calling: to be a bridge - between God and the community.

A friend had a picture of me as a sparrow around this time.

The particular quality she felt God was drawing attention to was that sparrows alight gently, unobtrusively.

She was a bit apologetic, sparrows aren’t the most beautiful or rare of birds.

But I began to see that this also fitted with being a bridge: finding the people he wants to me to alight gently beside and to show his love.

The issue for me in considering ordination was ‘do I need to wear a collar in order to be the bridge God is calling me to be?’.

As I prayed and reflected I remembered those moments during chaplaincy in which I found myself thinking how I’d love to be the one to baptise the people I was walking alongside. Diocesan and national selection panels eventually ensued and I began training in 2017.

During my training at St Hild Theological College, God has stretched and challenged me further.

He’s done this through the rich community life among the students and staff and through precious times of worship: at the Sheffield site, at Mirfield and at Durham cathedral.

And through my church placement.

My calling was confirmed beyond question for me at the funeral of Rev’d Ian Mountford, in January, when in her address, Bishop Jan told us something I didn’t know - that the word ‘priest’ means ‘bridge’.

I’m so pleased to be undertaking the curacy phase of my formation adventure at St Peter’s, Littleover - the parish we happen to have lived in for most of the 29 years we’ve been in Derby - and St Andrew’s, Blagreaves.

Starting during lockdown is rather disconcerting, but it’s an opportunity to learn new skills and work creatively with God and the Church to bring the peace, love and freedom of God into a unique situation.