Parish of Hoddesdon
« Mission Action Plan »

1. A successful Mosaic Project with a rainbow theme has been conducted, involving church members and people from the local community. This will be installed in the church garden in autumn 2021.
2. A Hear4U Listening Team has been established, with 14 trained volunteers from across Churches Together. This has been receiving regular referrals from social prescribers since May 2021.
3. The Covid Vaccination programme was based in the church’s Barclay Hall from December 2020 until August 2021, and volunteer marshals were sourced through Churches Together. Over 35,000 vaccinations were given.
4. Welcome packs have been given out to residents in new housing within the parish.
5. A Family Link Worker started in post in August 2021
6. Four Home groups started in September 2021, and are studying the book of Ephesians
7. Saturday morning prayer meetings have increased from monthly to weekly. The church WhatsApp group is used regularly to share prayer needs.
8. A START course and an online Alpha course have been run.
9. The church has developed expertise in livestreaming of services and has developed a stronger presence on Facebook and the Website. Services have also been available to listen to on the telephone, for those without internet access.

We have seen slight slippage in Priority 4, although the Worship Review will be completed by January 2022, Messy Church started in November 2021 and the Consultation on Children being admitted to Communion will take place in January 2022.
We have also had to push back welcoming new families to the estates as their development has been slightly delayed but again we hope to complete this in the New Year.

VISION
At St Catherine and St Paul’s we will be a spiritual hub, reaching out to all, worshipping Jesus Christ and radiating the wonder of God through the power of the Spirit.

MISSION STATEMENT
“Our Church exists to worship God; to lead people to Christ; to build a loving Christian community; and to serve a world in need”

VALUES
We seek to be a community that is:
• Generous in love
• Attentive in prayer
• Courageous in hope
• Accepting of others

1. Deepen the spiritual life of the church

• Build up the spiritual resilience within the congregation through the Home Groups. Provide materials each term which increase the depth of understanding about the Bible and about prayer.

• Organise at least two prayer days in the year when scheduled sections of the day are set aside to pray for specific needs, or in support of specific church activities, eg the Worship Review.

• Organise an Away Day for the church, which encourages the congregation spiritually, to take place in the next 12 months.

2. Enable the church to address the issue of climate change and care of creation.

• Complete an initial eco-church audit, with the aim of achieving the first step of accreditation, within the next 12 months. Develop an action plan for increasing the level of accreditation and set the time period in which to achieve this.

• Include environmental/climate change issues in at least one sermon on Climate Sunday and two Messy Church themes during the year.

3. Help young families to grow spiritually

• Start Messy Church in St Catherine’s Primary School by the end of November 2021.

• Develop simple spiritual resources for use at the Carer and Toddler group, Early Birds, to be used over the next 12 months.

• Undertake a neighbourhood audit, particularly focusing on young families.

4. Ensure the church services meet the needs of all ages

• Complete the review of worship by January 2022 and implement the proposals.

• Consult with the congregation on the process of admitting children to Communion before Confirmation during the October/November 2021. Agree the way forward by Spring 2022.

5. Establish the New Estates Ministry

• Build up a team of people from across Churches Together who can be involved in this Ministry. Aim for a team of at least a dozen people.

• Welcome new residents to High Leigh Garden Village, with welcome packs and home visits. Autumn 2021 to Spring 2022.

• Organise an activity in the Summer of 2022 for the new residents to meet each other and have fun together.