Parish MOT
OUR MOT:
OUR MISSION OUR TRANSFORMATION
Since 2008, Transformational Plans have encouraged the majority of parishes in the Diocese of Wakefield to review their mission and to make plans for their future. Recognising that our plans need resources to flourish; Our MOT has been developed by a team working across Mission, Stewardship and Development, to provide training and resources to enable parishes to assess and reflect on their achievements, and to find resources and support for their future needs.
Taking an holistic approach, the toolkit brings together aspects of Transformational and Mission Planning, Parish and Community Development, and links them with support for Financial Management, Developing People, and Encouraging Good Stewardship as a means to support the mission of each parish. Divided into ten clear sections; the toolkit provides parishes with a flexible package of resources, allowing parishes to pick and choose and tailor to their individual needs.
Further information on each of the ten areas, and resources to support them can be found below.
Spring and Summer 2013 - Training Workshops
Download a flyer of training events happening in Spring and Summer 2013 on Vision, Listening to your community and Finance or go to the Events page.
PDF's of the MOT Toolkit and the Resource Handbook can be found here:
To help you launch the MOT in your parish you might find the following documents helpful:
Our MOT PowerPoint Presentation (pptx)
Our MOT Opening Liturgy (pdf) Our MOT Opening Liturgy (Word docx)
To help you root the MOT in prayer and teaching, a booklet containing prayers and readings which have been designed to accompany the MOT can be found here:
Our MOT Prayers and Readings (pdf)
Our Vision
We have a parish vision and clear priorities.
Our Community
Our vision encompasses both our church community and our place in the wider community.
Our Resources
Our plans and vision determine our budget and the PCC understands its leadership role in resourcing our vision.
Our Prayers
We regularly pray for financial and practical support to bring our vision to life.
Our Understanding
We teach and preach about how our time, talents and giving reflect our deepening faith.
Our Giving
We encourage our people to plan and review their giving annually.
Our Gratitude
We thank our donors and communicate our vision with them.
Our Generosity
We commit at least 10% of our unrestricted income to mission and outward giving.
Our Gifts
We encourage everyone to discern and develop their gifts in the service of God.
Our Service
Our service to God includes our contribution to the wider church and the outworking of our gifts in God's Kingdom.
Our Vision
Transformational Planning tools can be found on the Mission pages.
For help and support with any aspect of Transformational Planning please contact Tony Macpherson.
Our Community
Livability, Faithworks and Church Urban Fund all provide handy guides and information on community consultation for churches.
For advice, help and support with all aspects of developing your community programmes contact Susan Parker.
Our Resources
Answers to frequently asked question about how the Church of England is funded, together with an explanation of our Common Fund system in Wakefield is available through the Diocesan Office or can be downloaded from the Giving page.
Parish Resources has information from the absolute basics to managing complicated or restricted trusts and funds.
Parish Buying can help with ways to save Parishes money on running costs thereby freeing up income for mission.
Our Prayers
There are a wide range of prayer materials relating to the issue of Stewardship but we recommend the following as an excellent starting point:
Giving in Grace from Liverpool Diocese.
Parish Resources in particular the sections on preaching and worship / enhancing the offertory.
Our Understanding
Money Revolution – Christian principles for handling money. A booklet to accompany this excellent site is available for a reduced price of 75p per copy direct from Jo at Church House.
Stewardship supports individuals in managing their giving and is an excellent source of teaching and preaching materials.
Our Giving
Organising a stewardship campaign takes planning and the first step will probably be to review current giving levels and recent stewardship activity. For advice and support and to arrange a meeting contact Jo Beacroft-Mitchell.
If you do not want to plan a full campaign we suggest the following sites as a good starting point to give you an idea of what to think about in refreshing your existing approach:
Our Gratitude
A simple first step for every parish is to introduce an annual thank you letter for all regular givers. Sample thank you letters and examples from parishes around our Diocese are available from the Giving page.
Further examples can be found on the Parish Resources and Giving in Grace websites.
Our Generosity
If your parish wants to take a more planned approach to what it supports and how, Susan Parker is happy to offer advice on thinking about the most effective way for Parishes to build supportive relationships with other good causes.
Here are a few suggestions to get you started:
- The Bishop’s Development Fund supports mission and outreach work in parishes throughout the diocese and welcomes contributions to further its work.
- Mara links are a great way to build long lasting relationships and offer support to our link Diocese in Tanzania.
- Church Urban Fund supports community projects in the most deprived communities along with providing information and resources.
- Stewardship enables giving directly to individuals to enable community mission see.
Our Gifts
A wide range of resources are available from church house to encourage your congregation to consider their individual calling. Go to the Ministry and Vocation pages.
There are also examples and templates of attractive brochures and materials to encourage volunteering in parishes on the Giving pages.
Our Service
Link people to volunteering opportunities through Do it.
Ideas and inspiration for serving your community can be found through Livability or the Church Urban Fund including ideas for ready to go projects.