for tomorrow St Cuthbert's Sterwardship Campaign 2001 Issue # 3

Campaign Update 

In the last month the campaign has borne it's first fruit, with fifteen or so people kindly agreeing to be visitor team leader. This is a great start and reinforces our optimism and enthusiasm. Our planning continues apace - plenty of good ideas are coming to the fore.  

Feedback please ! 

One use we are making of the budget given to us is to send this newsletter to every household in the congregation. Do you think this is a good idea ? What do your think of the format ? What changes would you suggest ? Please communicate your views to any of the e-mail addresses at the bottom of this page. 

On Change 

Around the Church we have heard expressed the view that this Stewardship Campaign is an attempt to throw out all the current structures and push St Cuthbert's in a completely new direction. 

To this the answer is categorically and emphatically NO ! 

Change is a fact of life. There is no need to remind anyone associated with St Cuthbert's of that. Think how much change this congregation has gone through in the last fifteen years, instigated by senior members of the community.  

The buildings where we worship have changed beyond all recognition. Not only that, but a whole new series of initiatives have been introduced, many of them very original and innovative. Let's remember these achievements with pride - together we have accomplished a huge amount. 

Which is not to say that we can't make further progress together, As we move into the future there are things that we could do better, like strengthening the sense of fellowship within our congregation. As we build for tomorrow we would like to see this congregation transformed into a bona fide family of God. All ages have a part to play in that.  

So as you can se, nobody should feel threatened or alienated. And to make the most of this campaign we need to draw on the collective experience of us all - add together the years of our congregation and you've many millennia worth ! Not bad for starters. 

One criticism we hear when we ask people what they think of St Cuthbert's is that communication is not good enough. There's only one way to improve that - please talk to us and to each other. And if you don't understand why St Cuthbert's has undertaken this project, or you are cynical about it's merits, it is far more constructive to raise these issues with us than to criticise behind our backs.  

Letter From the Administration Convenors 

We are pleased to introduce ourselves to you. We are the administration convenors of the For Tomorrow campaign, and our role to date has been mainly arranging the planning group meetings, keeping the minutes of those meetings and collating information about the various activities going on in St Cuthbert's. As the campaign progresses we will be working with the Visitor Leaders in the provision of the materials for the visitors. In essence we have a communication role, between the members of the planning group, and between the various organisations within St Cuthbert's and the planning group. 

The initial ground work of the planning group has involved the bringing together of information about all of the things that happen in and from St Cuthbert's, and ascertaining from the various groups and committees within our church what work they are currently involved in and what projects they would wish to see undertaken within the church in the coming year. For our own part, we have found this most exciting. In discovering for ourselves just how many imaginative and enlightened works of mission and outreach to our parish, the city and the wider church, are happening here in St Cuthbert's we have been filled with great enthusiasm for our church and its future in the heart of this great city - the work of our congregation truly is "cutting edge". 

The awareness we now have of all the work, both in the public eye and quietly and steadily in the background, being carried out in St Cuthbert's has made us realise that as a church we need to become very good at communication, We need to be able not only to communicate to the outside world the work we are undertaking to increase God's kingdom here on earth, but also to communicate all our activities between ourselves as a congregation so that we are aware of our individual involvement in the community of the whole people of God. As administration convenors of the For Tomorrow campaign, we hope to contribute to communication within the congregation and to look for ways in which to communication may be enhanced.  

As the campaign progresses, we will also be asking for your views about the future of St Cuthbert's and any ideas you have on what else we should be doing as a church - so start thinking now ! 

Sheila M Kirk
Victoria J Nelson