St Hilda's
A Christ-Centred Community
St Hilda's Mission Action Plan 2015
St Hilda’s Parish Church aims to be a Christ-centred community, following these seven paths:
- Aiming to do God’s work not our own
- Making time for listening prayer
- Reading the Bible, reading other teachings
- Making time for worship
- Actions that reflect Christ’s concern for the world and humanity
- Sharing Christ’s light and love in Ashford and locally
- Supporting each other
Aiming to do God’s work not our own
Placing Christ and his mission at the Centre of all we do.
- Focussing the PCC on our mission
- Praying for our mission on a Saturday morning
- Engaging the congregation in our mission
- Making fuller use of our church building and hall to realise our mission, including physical alterations
Making time for listening prayer
Be energised by what God wants us to do
- Find more time for prayer
- Start PCC meetings with silent prayer
- When children come into services, allow time after they have left for silent prayer
- Silent prayer time in Bible study and similar groups
- Use a sermon to teach and demonstrate prayer
- Develop a prayer circle and prayer group
- Encourage the children to write their own prayers
Reading the Bible and other teachings
Develop our faith and deepen our knowledge, to place our mission on a sure rock.
- Try the resource ‘Walk through Bible’
- Short run groups such as Questions of Faith on different days and evenings
- Saturday morning activity: Practice reading the Bible and finding your way around the Bible
- Develop a 12 month rolling education programme so all courses are time limited and co-ordinated
- Children’s homily at the beginning of a service
- Junior Church to use pictures and craft to explore the Bible
Making time for worship
Enjoying the presence of God in the midst of our community
- Find opportunities for the children and families to be in church for the whole service
- Use the first Sunday in the month as a community service
- Develop a specific liturgy for such services
- Involve Junior Church in non-Parade services
- Notify uniformed organisations
- Invite scouts
- Should be led by one of the Licensed Lay Ministers
- Choir should not be robed
- Ensure Junior Church families and Senior Group know dates of monthly Prayer & Praise service
- Senior Group to help at back of church and encouraged to take a more active role
- Re-launch St Hilda’s Youth Singers, using modern music
- Publish bespoke hymn book to include hymns we use regularly that are not in our standard hymnbook
- Aim for a choral evensong 2-3 times per year
- Encourage musicians beyond the choir to lead music eg fill the time during communion, could be vocal or instrumental
- Continue with tradition of ancient choral music alongside more modern songs to evolve musical worship
Actions that reflect Christ’s concern for the world and humanity
Showing practical concern
- Supporting the Upper Room project for the homeless
- Support Knitting group
- Further develop St Hilda as a green church
- Further develop St Hilda as Fair Trade church
- Consider new projects like the Photovoltaics
- Take a time and talents survey, to see what people can offer
Sharing Christ’s light and love in Ashford and locally
Creating a caring and compassionate community, and building a community that would be attractive to others.
- Consider Cell groups
- Run a Men’s group
- Flower ladies to run a training course
- Training for Sidesmen, to ensure visitors feel welcome and included
- Include Senior Group teenagers in the Sidesmen rota
- Form an Event’s Committee, to suggest and run new and inclusive events for the local community
- Tell Ashford what we do
- Make the Church building more available for community events, both church-led and community led – this could involve building staging in the church.
Supporting each other
Creating a caring and compassionate community, and building a community that would be attractive to others.
- Consider Cell groups
- Run a Men’s group
- Flower ladies to run a training course
- Move after service coffee into the Church building instead of the Hall
- Work closer with Bible study groups
- More training on reading the lesson
- Use the Facebook page to share information with younger members of the congregation
- Seek support from the Senior Group for the 11.15 Sunday service
- Explore ‘What did the first Christ Centred community look like?’
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