A wise man once said, “Working together, they get the job done.” He might have been a cartoon builder named Bob, but there’s truth in that statement when it comes to partnerships across parishes in our diocese.
We’ve been really heartened to see the collaboration between the Benefice of Ratby and Groby, and the parishes of Glenfield and Newtown Linford, with regards to admin, weddings, baptisms and funerals.
Whilst administrative work might not seem the most exciting of subjects, this joining up of resources has allowed for a more efficient way of working, giving flexibility within the parishes and time for deeper discipleship growth within this extended community.
It’s a partnership that has steadily grown over the years, with Revd Richard Trethewey becoming the first Rector of the newly formed Benefice of Glenfield and Newtown Linford in February 2016, and later Revd Dr Ed Bampton, joining as Rector of the Benefice of Ratby and Groby in September, 2017.
Gradually - with a little persuasion and perseverance - the churches have aligned their administrative functions to operate out of one office in Ratby, with a ‘gifted’ administrator who is technically employed by Ratby PCC, but paid for by all the churches.
Richard and Ed’s working relationship is a great demonstration of how different parishes and benefices can work successfully in partnership despite not necessarily sharing the same theological traditions.
Richard describes himself as “evangelical, with a fairly relaxed informal approach”, while Ed says he “uses a range of traditions, from formal traditional worship to much more relaxed”, and is “quite liberal” in his views, “inclusive, and so forth.”
Ed explains: “We share the most important thing – the love of the Lord Jesus, and wanting to share that with others.”
They also share baptism and prayer resources, including the CPAS First Steps course, and often find themselves disagreeing agreeably, while sharing the love of God with families honestly and openly, in what can feel like a messed up world.
Richard says: “We confess we have messed up in our own lives, but that God still loves and forgives us – that is part of our core message in baptism and faith, and we are hugely respectful of each other.”
Ed adds: “This is well thought out. We might have come to different conclusions, but that is okay – there is a strength in that.
“Within our groups, people can find what they are looking for at a pace that works for them, wherever they find their home in God.”
At the heart of the partnership, alongside working more efficiently, is a strong sense of bringing people together – be that the family, friends and godparents of those being baptised, or groups of couples planning their weddings.
Richard says: “As a pair we are something of a comedy act, with semi-rehearsed patter, often forgetting our lines,” he laughs.
Ed continues: “We talk about faith, the Bible and continuing encounter with God. Local community and belonging to a church has its positives, but it’s not just about the place, it’s about the bigger picture and opening up the possibilities that churches exist in different places and you can engage wherever you happen to be.”
Baptism is a great example of this, in that you’re not baptising just into the local church, but rather Christ’s Church universal, and that wider sense of perspective.
Ed says: “I don’t actually mind which church people go to, as long as people go to church. It’s what the Kingdom of God is about – there are no boundaries, just rejoicing that people have found God and are a part of God’s Kingdom.”
Richard agrees: “What’s that wonderful phrase? ‘It’s Kingdom building, not empire building’.”
Their pre-existing partnership of trust and respect has also helped strengthen other ways in which they work together, in a broader sense, says Richard. “Not long before lockdown I became Area Dean of Sparkenhoe East and Ed was the obvious choice to be assistant.”
When it comes to weddings, there are actually eight parishes in the deanery currently entwined administratively, including Kirby Muxloe, Desford, Anstey and Thurcaston. This would also extend to Leicester Forest East and Braunstone St Crispin’s, if or when the interest for a wedding comes about.
One of the barriers they have to get over with collective couples preparing for marriage is reassuring them that they won’t be sharing their deepest, private thoughts and feelings with other people.
“There is something about these kind of meetings that encourages couples to see that they’re not the only people getting married in church, and that chatting over coffee with others about common wedding issues brings a feeling of fellowship to the proceedings,” says Ed.
Richard agrees: “That shared experience is a great thing, and some of the conversations they have are really helpful and go beyond the wedding day and into married life. The feedback shows, universally, that they enjoy and appreciate this, offering them a space to talk and take away. And there’s definitely safety in numbers, not having that awkward situation of sitting in the living room with the vicar talking about sex!”
Partnerships such as this will become a common feature of our diocesan life as we move into Minster Communities, although Ed was quick to point out that this wasn’t a dress rehearsal for Minster Communities but something he and Richard have been doing for some time, “because it works.”
He says: “It means we can support one another, it gives us flexibility in what we do in different ways, and gives us capacity to look after and care.”
It’s clear that by increasing their geographical reach through partnership, Ed and Richard are helping to strengthen the worshiping communities in this area of the diocese, and that bringing people to faith and into a relationship with God is paramount to their work.
Ed says: “One of the things I really love about the partnership is that we have different things on at different times across all the parishes and sure, not every time will suit everyone; but we always say, ‘go where you want to go, because we’ll be journeying alongside you’.
“We can do so much more together than we can apart.”