How quick can you build a chick?

Not the first question you might expect to be asked in church!

If you happened into St Bartholomew’s Church, Old Whittington over the last weekend of September, you might!

It was the weekend of the annual Lego (oh sorry, no, it has to be called) 'Brick' Festival.

Our Brick Festival is like a flower festival but instead of flower arrangements we have tables of Lego models.

Now if you are thinking that Lego is just for the children, then you are a good few years out of date.

It’s come a long way from the red and white blocks of the ‘60s, which seemed to build houses and little more.

Now there are Star Wars and Harry Potter sets; Marvel, Ninjango, Transformers, and at least a dozen other different series.

During a ‘festival’ weekend we expect periods when the church is not so busy.

I think this year the only time we had a bit of a lull was during the school day on the Friday.

Wows all around

Once school finished, families came straight up to church for a first look.

"Oh wow!" They exclaimed as they spotted the rollercoaster and ferris wheel on the fun fair.

More wows were heard at the detail of the Harry Potter models.

Landmarks from around the world left some puzzled as to where they were.

London was the most obvious.

Many folk returned on Saturday, and some even made it again on Sunday afternoon.

The ladies in the kitchen, running the tombola and managing the raffle, all declared it a great success.

On the Monday, our local primary school walked from school to church, one class at a time, for a look round.

Several children had donated models to display and had their photo taken with them.

Where's Jo?

In addition to looking at the Lego models, people were challenged to ‘Find Rev Jo’ - well her Lego figure at least.

But when you do, sshhh don’t tell anyone else!

She moved around the different displays.

It didn’t matter where she hid, she was found.

She started by operating the roller coaster, she rode in the train, a boat, and the big wheel, she took a wedding, went fishing, watched from the rooftop and finished doing an impression of Rose on the Titanic!

Oh and the chick in question…. this is Rev Jo’s time challenge. Each year we set a simple challenge to see who is ‘the champion builder of the year’.

The youngest to complete it was Jack, who is only five and a half years old.

The top three quickest were: third, Freddy, in a time of 3 minutes 5 seconds; second, Cody, in a time of 2 minutes and 55 seconds; and in first place Alfie in a time of 2 minutes and 50 seconds.  

There is a small prize for Alfie, but the real reward is in setting the challenge for next year.

Next Year? I hear you ask.

Oh yes, by popular demand, there’ll be another Brick Festival next year.

The Diocese of Derby understands the challenge posed by the energy crisis to our worshipping communities.

We do hope that this overview is useful in terms of offering advice and practical help in meeting this challenge.

The Archdeacons’ Office will coordinate the diocesan response to the energy crisis and distribute further information as it becomes available.

Parishes and worshipping communities are encouraged to contact their archdeacon for support as required.

We know that many of our parishes have already taken steps to mitigate the impact of the energy crisis, so if your parish has a particular story of innovation or creativity in responding to either the energy or cost of living crises, please contact your archdeacon, who can share good practice.

Good ideas from across the diocese will bring encouragement and wisdom.

Jump to: Energy use guidance | Missional guidance

Saving Energy and Money

There are a number of cheap or free steps that parishes can take to reduce their energy usage.

Many parishes in the diocese are also exploring the environmental impact of their energy use.

The Cathedral and Church Buildings Division has issued the following guidance:

↓ Download CofE Practical suggestions to help parishes save energy and money [PDF]

Energy Use Guidance

National church has identified a number of resources/guides for parishes to help reduce energy use and carbon emissions.

Whilst each church building is different, there may be a number of short to medium term actions PCCs can take that will temper the impact of the high fuel bills you are facing.

↓ Download resources and guides to help reduce energy use and carbon emissions (Appendix 1).

↓ Download a list of practical actions which as a PCC you could go through together, identifying the things that will help in your particular context (Appendix 2). 

Missional Guidance

In the last two years, we have seen a significant shift in the way that we do church. We have adapted to changing circumstances and the Church showed remarkable adaptability and innovation in opening new missional spaces through online church.

This meant those who previously found it difficult to access church now had new ways to be present.

Out of the tragedy of the Covid-19 pandemic, we have seen the Holy Spirit working through His church to reach out to new people with the love of God.

The energy and cost of living crises present an equal challenge to think more simply, more boldly and humbly as we seek opportunities to be similarly creative in the way that we minister.

We welcome Bishop Libby and Bishop Malcolm’s encouragement to worshipping communities to be creative in how and where they meet as they seek to be Good News for All; to try new things and to stretch into new spaces and communities.

We can think about meeting in different buildings, in different locations and new communities, where local people can more easily access worship and events and where creating warm spaces is easier and more cost effective.

We may find that, in doing so, we are “expanding God’s tent” and sharing the Good News of Jesus in ways that we hadn’t previously considered.

You may wish to consider the following points:

• Blending the use of your buildings to ensure inherited spaces can be open (warm) and available at key moments of mission (Christmas, etc) whilst at other times using smaller venues.
• Giving strong consideration to using this opportunity to build ever deeper relationships with Church schools and other community partners. Places that others may actually feel familiar with and more comfortable accessing. By using other community spaces and halls that can be hired more cheaply than the traditional meeting spaces may be heated, the church reduced its costs and carbon footprint whilst forging new partnerships!
• Using different parts of your building, meeting in core spaces that are easier to heat (side chapels etc).
• Having the humility to recognise that rather than being a ‘provider’ of warm space that actually the need is to be a ‘recipient’ of the hospitality of others. This may include, sharing spaces with other churches and denominations across parish and community boundaries, using halls and centres that are more modern with more efficient heating systems.

For those anxious about the legality of this permissive thinking, download this guidance on Canon B40 (Appendix 3)

Temporary Closure of Church Buildings due to Cold Weather

Parishes faced with significantly higher energy bills may wish to explore alternative venues for worship during the coldest months ahead.

Moving worship away from the church building may be a wise, economically expedient, even missional step, but requires careful consideration by PCCs.

Legal, pastoral, missional and reputational issues affect the moving of worship away from church buildings either wholly or in part.

The Archdeacons, Bishops Office, and, Registrar have produced a guidance note and application form to be completed when parishes are considering moving worship to a non-church building.

For a pre-application conversation or to apply for the necessary permissions, please contact your Archdeacon.

↓ Temporary closure of church buildings due to cold weather [PDF]

↓ Application for temporary closure of church building [MS Word]

Warm Hubs

If your parish is operating a Warm Hub in response to the energy crisis, you can register your hub at www.warmwelcome.uk to enable visitors to their website to locate local warm hubs.

Warm Welcome have also produced some helpful resources for churches planning to offer a warm hub.

↓ Warm welcome step-by-sep guide [PDF]

Good safeguarding practice requires those who work closely with children and/or adults experiencing, or at risk of abuse or neglect, to have an enhanced criminal record check.

The following people would require an enhanced DBS check:

- A worker or volunteer who teaches, trains, instructs, cares for or supervises children or provides advice/guidance on physical, emotional or educational well-being to children
- A worker or volunteer who provides training, teaching, instruction, assistance, advice or guidance to an adult who receives a health or social care service
- A worker of volunteer who carries out health care, personal care, social work, assisting with cash, bills or shopping, assistance with affairs or transportation for an adult
- PCC members and trustees where they sponsor or approve work with children/vulnerable adults.

All Clergy and Readers require an enhanced DBS check.

Those in self-help groups or family and friends arrangements are not eligible for an enhanced check.

This is a broad summary. For full details please refer to the Safeguarding e-manual Chapter on Safer Recruitment and People Management.   Make note of the toolkits which are provided within the document.

There are three types of check:

Basic – this checks for unspent criminal conviction information only
Enhanced – this checks for spent and unspent convictions, cautions, reprimands and final warnings plus any additional information held by the police that's reasonably considered relevant to the role being applied for
Enhanced with barring list checks – this is like the enhanced check, but includes a check of the DBS barred child and/or adult lists.

The House of Bishops has decided that criminal record checks must be renewed every three years.

Should there ever be a delay in obtaining the criminal record check, the person is not approved by the Church to act and must stand down pending completion of the process.

These three documents are applicable for all Licensed Lay Readers / Lay Ministers as well as Clergy.

Clergy Confidential Declaration Form this must be completed and signed with either a physical/wet ink or image of your signature.

Privacy Notice (PDF).  Please read and retain a copy of this document for your reference.

ID Verification and Justification Form. For those already within the Diocese of Derby, the official signatory will need to see three forms of ID.  (parish safeguarding officer, churchwardens, a member of clergy, area dean or deanery administrator can be official signatory),

• one should bear a recent photograph,
• one must confirm your date of birth, and
• one must confirm your current address

For those yet to move to the diocese please have this countersigned by a senior member of clergy from your current diocese. Notes and an example ID form can be downloaded with a list of acceptable ID documents.

Once completed email both forms together to dbs@derby.anglican.org or post the original documents to DBS Administrator, Derby Church House, 1 Full Street, Derby, DE1 3DR.

(Do not include identity documents or copies to us)

On receipt of your completed forms,

1. You will be emailed a unique user ID number and a link to create your online application using that user ID number.
2. Use the link and user ID to access the application form and complete the step-by-step application instructions. (We are often asked why the paper/electronic forms are needed - we use these to verify the online application you make.)
3. On completion of the DBS process your certificate will be posted directly to you, this may take several months and is out of our control. Keep your certificate in a safe place as it is a legal document, you may be asked for it to show you are entitled to work with children or vulnerable adults.
4. The DST will receive a notification of your DBS certificate and will inform the Bishop's Office and / or Warden of Readers Office and as appropriate the parish safeguarding officer of your parish and the appropriate departments within the diocese.

If there are any concerns shown on your certificate, a member of the DST will contact you to discuss what should happen next.

If you need a DBS for your role please speak with your Parish Safeguarding Officer or group Leader. They will provide you with a copy of the

• Laity Confidential Declaration Form, and Privacy Notice.
• ID verification form.

Complete the Confidential Declaration Form (CDF), either online or a paper copy, ensuring the signature is a physical/wet ink or image of your signature.

Forward the CDF to the contact named on the bottom of the form who will complete an Identity Check with you.  At this point they will need to see three forms of identity: one should bear a recent photograph, one must confirm your date of birth, and at least one must confirm your current address. Notes and an example ID form can be downloaded and also a list of acceptable ID documents.

You will be provided with a unique user ID number and a link to create your online application using that user ID number (this may be immediately by your local contact, or may be emailed to you at a later date either by the local contact or from dbs@derby.anglican.org at the Diocesan Safeguarding Team).

Use the link and user ID to access the application form and complete the step-by-step application instructions. (We are often asked why the paper/electronic forms are needed - we use these to verify the online application you make.)

Once processed by the DBS service, your certificate will be posted directly to you. Keep your certificate in a safe place as it is a legal document, and you may be asked for it to show you are entitled to work with children or vulnerable adults.

The Diocesan Safeguarding Team will receive a notification of your DBS certificate and will inform your parish safeguarding officer and/or if appropriate departments within the diocese.

If there are any concerns shown on your certificate, a member of the DST will contact you to discuss what should happen next.

DBS updating service.

Once your application has been processed and you receive you DBS certificate you be able to apply for the DBS Updating Service. This means that you will no longer need to apply for renewals if your role remains the same or new role requires the same level of check. You will need to join the Updating Service within 30 days of the issue of your certificate. This service is free for volunteers. Please email dbs@derby.anglican.org and your parish safeguarding officer if you do subscribe so we can update our records that your DBS is subscribed. If you do not inform us, we are not notified otherwise and for volunteers it costs nothing.

For those who already have a DBS in place through the Diocese of Derby, or from elsewhere which was registered on the update service when first issued and has remained registered, then it may be possible to use it if it is has the required workforces and regulatory barring checks.

Note, all Clergy will be asked to make a full new DBS application even though they may have a certificate subscribed to the update service.

Note anyone who works from home will have to make a new application, even though they may have a certificate subscribed to the update service.

To use a certificate subscribed to the update service for roles in the Diocese of Derby:

1. The Parish Safeguarding Officer must have a recent, completed Confidential Declaration Form.

1. If any answers are yes / positive then a copy of this must be sent to dbs@derby.anglican.org with the completed DBS Update Service Check Form, and will be reviewed by the Diocesan safeguarding team.
2. If all answers are No, it should be retained by the Parish as part of standard policy.

2. Complete the top half of the DBS Update Service Check Form as you would for a standard DBS application and if the person is new to the Parish, also satisfy yourself that they are who they say they are by asking for identity documents other than the DBS Certificate, as you would usually when going through the recruitment steps checking:

1. Full Name
2. Date Of Birth
3. Role in Parish required now
4. If they will work from home now (often this will require a full new application)
5. Which Regulatory Barring Checks may be required
6. The Parish and Church the applicant will be working for
7. If this is for a Voluntary or Paid role

3. For the lower half of the form - From the certificate being checked on the update service – you must see the original certificate and then complete the following:

1. The disclosure (certificate) number which is subscribed to the update service (not the update service registration number) – this must include any leading zeros.
2. Date of Issue
3. Surname, Forenames and Date of Birth as they appear on the certificate if different from those already noted
4. Position applied for
5. The words in each of the 5 boxes e.g. e.g. Non Record, Not Requested, Certificate Contains no Information etc.

4. Send all the information obtained from 2, and 3 as documented on the form to us at dbs@derby.anglican.org. Do not send copies of the DBS certificate.

5. We will make the update service check and will then send you a notification of a successful DBS check, or advise that a new DBS application is required.

For any questions please contact dbs@derby.anglican.org 

Today, I join with the whole United Kingdom, the Commonwealth and friends across the world, in expressing my sorrow at the death of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II. 

I know you will join me in sending our sincere condolences to His Majesty the King, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward, and to the entire Royal Family and Royal households, with the assurance of our heartfelt prayers as they grieve. We pray they may know the peace and comfort of Christ in the loss of their mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and friend.

And through our own grieving, individually and collectively, we give thanks to God for her long life and her dedicated service to this nation and the Commonwealth.

After so many decades in public service, I expect we will each have a memory or image of Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, engaged in such a wide range of contexts as she travelled the nation and the globe, and as she supported causes close to her heart. Her commitment to those seeking to help others was enormous – she was patron of hundreds charitable organisations.

Her Late Majesty’s personal faith was deep rooted and steadfast. In her Christmas message of 2014, she said: “For me, the life of Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace, whose birth we celebrate today, is an inspiration and an anchor in my life. A role model of reconciliation and forgiveness, he stretched out his hands in love, acceptance and healing. Christ's example has taught me to seek to respect and value all people of whatever faith or none.” 

Her Late Majesty’s strength of faith and her constant seeking to follow Christ through good times and bad in her own life, serves as a wonderful example to all of us at this difficult time.

I have a number of fond, personal memories of Her Late Majesty, from occasions public and personal. I recall her charming, welcoming and gracious manner and the complete attention she afforded me during our times together. I admired her lively engagement with issues facing the world, appreciated the interest she showed in me and my family, and valued the opportunity to reflect on our faith. 

As we mourn and mark her passing, let us remember her always putting the interests of others ahead of her own and, in so doing, providing an outstanding example of Christian discipleship. As we look to the future, I pray we can take inspiration from her long life, well lived in the service of God and neighbour.

May Her Late Majesty rest in peace and rise in glory.

God save the King.

Bishop Libby

The Rt Reverend Libby Lane
Bishop of Derby

Printable prayer cards (A4 sheet - print double sided)

Creswell Breakfast club has helped get the new school year off to the best possible start by providing school uniforms for local schoolchildren moving up to secondary school.

The club is based at St Mary Magdalene Church in Creswell village and is now in its seventh year.

► Feeding Derbyshire's Children: Creswell Breakfast Club

Bob Glassey writes:

Creswell Breakfast club has been making a difference this summer by working with Creswell Junior School - coordinating activities in the parish, ensuring  a full range of free activities for the five days a week during school holidays.

At one of our meetings with the headteacher Alison Pymm and Head of Care Amie Wilson, they identified a number of families with school children in need of assistance buying the mandatary new uniform and PE kit for Clowne Heritage School (average cost of a uniform and PE kit is £100).

I was happy to hand over a cheque for £1000 that the breakfast club raised with help from: £250 from Bolsover Community lottery fund, £250 from County Councillor Mick Yates from the Community Leadership Fund, and £500 from Elmton Creswell Hodthorpe Big Local.

The school has also received £176 from the Revd Keith Cocking and will receive £200 from Councillor Duncan McGregor of Bolsover Distric Council.

Vulnerable families in our parish continue to face increasing financial pressure due to the rising cost of living, and disposable income seems to be an increasingly rare luxury. 

The added pressure of children moving up from the Creswell Junior to the Clowne Heritage School needing a new complete school uniform plus PE kit means families as desperate and need assistance now.

It will lift a great weight from the shoulders of parents and family members knowing their children will have a brilliant start and will be the same as any other child at this new school.

There are many things which make up a community spirit.

And when it exists, a positive sense of community spirit is a great asset.

It can act as a glue, bringing together a whole community, and what can you do to make a difference.

We have shown that we can work together across organisations, professional of otherwise.

We are proud to be working with our local councils and local groups for the past six years, enabling them to create and make such a positive impact on our local community.

St Francis Church in Mackworth is transforming lives with a new football club.

Thirty men between the ages of 18 and 30 are actively engaged with the club, despite the initial idea falling flat.

Earlier this year, a man who attends the church approached the vicar, Revd Andy Bond, with an interest to start a five-a-side football team. 

After a period where very few came forward to participate, prayers, invitations and a football WhatsApp group all helped to pique interest and help the church once again become a light on the hill as a living and vibrant centre of Mackworth.

Revd Andy said: “The response we have received has been incredible.

"Guys from my barbers are coming this Wednesday for the first time.

"There is a guy who is getting married at St Francis next month that had no previous church background, a guy who got married in May and both him and his wife have completed the Alpha course (also no church background previously), and an atheist who has moved from Hong Kong.

"We have attracted several others to join that don't yet follow Jesus.

“It is building relationships within church and connecting with others locally.

"Two men who came to church for the first time on Sunday morning have signed up immediately.”

The football team numbers vary week to week, however most weeks they are playing seven-a-side.

They are all praying for fun and for lives to be transformed.

Learn more about St Francis Mackworth at stfmackworth.org or email hello@stfmackworth.org