Dear good folk of Tickhill and Stainton,I am thrilled to be coming back up Northand to your parishes,now within a new Mission Area. I am looking forward to sharing with you in all the challenges and opportunities of the coming months and years.I was born and grew up in Northumberland. Our family lived in the small mining village of Holywell, not far from Whitley Bay. We then moved to Rothbury, Hexham and then to Chevington, back on the coast. I was ordained in 1984 and served in parishes and chaplaincies in the North-West of England, until moving to Wiltshire in 2000. I am currently serving in Oxford diocese in the rural benefice of Shrivenham and Ashbury. Married to Katriona, we share three grown up sons and a Jack Russell terrier.I believe that my gifts, training, and experience will well equip me for the role of Interim Priest-in- Charge, and Oversight Minister. There is a real task to do in building up the life of the church in your parishes, working alongside others in growing God’s Kingdom, and developing the life and witness of the new Mission Area of which we are a part. This will be a new way of being, and of working together, for us all.Katriona and I expect to move to Tickhill sometime in the second half of January, and then take a short break between my old and this new post, before being licenced to work among you.Yours, with every blessing,PaulThe Rev. Canon Paul RichardsonInterim Oversight Minister designate
Dear good folk of Tickhill and Stainton,I am thrilled to be coming back up Northand to your parishes,now within a new Mission Area. I am looking forward to sharing with you in all the challenges and opportunities of the coming months and years.I was born and grew up in Northumberland. Our family lived in the small mining village of Holywell, not far from Whitley Bay. We then moved to Rothbury, Hexham and then to Chevington, back on the coast. I was ordained in 1984 and served in parishes and chaplaincies in the North-West of England, until moving to Wiltshire in 2000. I am currently serving in Oxford diocese in the rural benefice of Shrivenham and Ashbury. Married to Katriona, we share three grown up sons and a Jack Russell terrier.I believe that my gifts, training, and experience will well equip me for the role of Interim Priest-in- Charge, and Oversight Minister. There is a real task to do in building up the life of the church in your parishes, working alongside others in growing God’s Kingdom, and developing the life and witness of the new Mission Area of which we are a part. This will be a new way of being, and of working together, for us all.Katriona and I expect to move to Tickhill sometime in the second half of January, and then take a short break between my old and this new post, before being licenced to work among you.Yours, with every blessing,PaulThe Rev. Canon Paul RichardsonInterim Oversight Minister designate
Understanding interim ministry Why might we benefit from Interim Ministry (IM)? All churches and parishes have their own unique history. They will have experienced numerous changes in this time. The period between one minister and another is always a time of transition; of saying goodbye to the past with thanks and gratitude for what has been good (and learning from what has not been good), and preparing to welcome and embrace the next phase of what God has in store. IM provides a tool for using this time intentionally for reflection, rediscovery of vocation, and even healing, to bring about fruitful change. The goal is to help the people of a church (or parish or benefice) connect afresh with their calling as followers of Jesus, with renewed clarity about their part in God’s mission and the kind of person who will be able to lead and accompany them in fulfilling it. What is IM? IM was introduced in the Church of England in 2015 as a specifically authorised ministry, and so is relatively new (having evolved from pioneering work in several dioceses over a number of years). It is used to make relatively short-term appointments for strategic or pastoral reasons – in other words, where there is a specific mission opportunity or pastoral need requiring focussed work, so that the parish or benefice is subsequently better-placed to make a successful appointment for the longer term. An interim appointment is made for a specified period of up to 3 years. This could be followed by a second term of up to 3 years if there is more work to be done (with the same or a new interim minister, and subject to the agreement of all involved). IM is primarily about helping a parish/benefice through the process of transition to bring about change. For this reason, it’s been suggested that a better name might be ‘transitional ministry’, though for now IM is the chosen term. But don’t be misled! IM is not about making a ‘holding appointment’ or simply covering a gap. Nor is it a ‘trial period’, for the clergy person and the parish to see if they get on together! Those called to IM will usually be people with particular gifts, skills and experience in transition and change management. How is IM used? The key principles behind an IM appointment are as follows: <ul> <li>It is in response to a parish/benefice’s pastoral need or mission opportunity (not the need of the minister); </li><li>There should be clear understanding and articulation of the benefits of the interim post before an appointment is made; </li><li>The parish/benefice should be consulted and have accepted that the post supports transition; </li><li>An IM appointment is not a substitute for a full-time appointment (eg ‘to see if it works’) </li></ul> When might IM be used? There are a wide range of circumstances when IM might be used. IM provides the opportunity for a parish/benefice to come to terms with the past (and if necessary discover a fresh identity); to consider its future witness, mission and ministry; to see where and how it needs to change, and to make plans and prepare for the next chapter of its life. What are the tasks of IM? The specific tasks will vary according to the particular circumstances in which IM is being considered. But the following are likely to be needed in most cases: <ul> <li>Helping the parish/benefice to understand and articulate its history; </li><li>Enabling it to explore its identity and future direction; </li><li>Bringing about necessary changes in leadership, roles and structures; </li><li>Helping it to renew its links to the diocese and wider Church; </li><li>Pointing the way to a new direction </li></ul> How does IM relate to Oversight Ministry? Part of the IM’s remit will be to support the parish/benefice as it transitions to being part of a Mission Area under the oversight of its one or more Oversight Ministers (OMs). This will therefore be the background against which the specific tasks of IM are carried out in pursuit of the agreed IM objectives. Where can I find out more about IM? If you are interested in understanding more about IM, there is a lot of really helpful information at <font color="#0563c1">www.interimministry.org.uk</font>. Revd. Julie Bacon Associate Archdeacon-Transition Enabler for the deaneries of Rotherham and Laughton Prior to appointment to her current role, Julie was an interim minister in the diocese of Leeds and belongs to an informal national network of IM practitioners.
