In our diocese new housing developments are taking place across all three counties. In early 2010 it was estimated that around 175,000 new homes were to be built in the diocese in the next ten years and of these 39 areas of planned housing, 21 would be new communities of over 2000 new homes, separate from current centres of population.
 

The challenge of these predictions is considerable if we are going to continue to have an Anglican presence in every community, and the local church is to remain at the forefront of community development and a significant pioneer in Christian mission.
Already deaneries and parishes are planning for change, and this page features some of the work already going on. Within the diocese we have been working hard to co-ordinate the work so we can learn from good practice and assist the local church in being both informed and making the right response.
 

The New Communities Group, set up two years ago, brings together clergy and laity from key areas of housing development in the three archdeaconries as well as representatives from the diocesan education and buildings department. It meets regularly to monitor progress, and aims in the next few years to write and produce a series of guidelines in toolkit form to help deaneries and parishes in their mission planning and share good practice.
 

We have recently appointed (with the help of some money from the Church Commissioners) Peter Morgan as our New Communities Development Officer. Peter is an experienced local planning consultant and his remit is to work with planners and developers in the three counties to understand plans and monitor progress, and to work with the local church, mainly through deaneries, to facilitate a creative local response to areas of new housing at the earliest stage. He will also ensure that good practice is shared, and will monitor the variety of local responses as projects and plans are developed.
 

The diocese has also secured funding from the Church Commissions for project work in new areas of housing by way of a New Communities Fund. This is to match-fund local projects across the diocese in significant areas of new housing, and its distribution, via grants, will be overseen by the New Communities Group.
Across the diocese there are already a variety of examples of ways of meeting the spiritual and practical needs of new communities. Central to our work in the immediate future will be experimenting with a variety of responses depending on location and demography, using existing buildings as well as creating new ones (including schools), and deploying community workers as well as ordained pastors and pioneers. Our work will involve community development, church planting, working with other denominations in mission and ideas for outreach and welcome.
 

In most parts of the diocese new areas of housing will be naturally absorbed into current parishes without too much difficulty; however in the larger areas of housing it will be necessary to draw up pastoral plans to support and formalise our work of mission. In some places, what has always been scattered farmland will become significant areas of housing, and some parishes will see their population double or triple.
We can literally transform empty fields into vibrant Christian communities if we are willing to exchange some of our traditional ways of seeing church for a new vision.
Christians in the Diocese of Oxford have a significant and exciting opportunity to show that God wants to make a real difference to people’s lives today through its work in these new areas of housing and to reshape and develop church to meet the spiritual needs of those living in the 21st century and beyond. For a copy of a more detailed paper on this work by Karen
Please email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
 

Introducing Peter Morgan

I'm very pleased to join the Diocese. It's an important role full of possibilities, and the prospect of working to build new communities is something that resonates strongly with me.
The first few months have been spent gathering information and talking with very committed and energized people who are responding positively to the challenges arising from significant growth within their local areas.
Given its natural beauty, demographic and proximity to the capital, it’s no surprise the diocese is an attractive location to developers, and little wonder so much large-scale development is either built, under construction or planned for the future.
Typically large-scale development will require community infrastructure necessary to support the process of building vital and sustainable communities. This is a delicate process that can take years and can so easily go wrong without the right kind of help. Therefore, I am pleased to contribute to the efforts of this diocese in assisting these emerging communities, particularly in delivering key services such as schools.
The diocesan vision is to deliver schools that serve their communities multifariously, combining a secure and effective learning environment that can also facilitate wider community needs; and from there nurture the relationship between Christian living and community life to establish a viable Christian presence. We know this to be an essential part of long established and successful communities.
 

Bicester - the fastest growing town in Europe

Bicester is apparently the fastest growing town, not only in the UK, but in the whole of Europe, writes Charles Masheder. This brings enormous challenges to the churches in the town – and in the wider Deanery. One considerable housing development is already started and will eventually total 1,600 houses and in the coming spring an eco-community development is due to see its first houses being built. A further development is definitely planned and another is likely to be built in the next few years. If this all takes place we could see up to 10,000 new homes in the next 15 years! How on earth is the local Church to respond?
 

We are hoping that this urgent need will initially be met by help from a Church Commissioners grant, to be spent under the guidance of the Diocesan New Communities Group, allocated specifically for such circumstances. Housing funding is being found locally in St Edburg’s parish as the Commissioners’ grant needs to be match-funded and, in time, the Deanery is hoping to arrange its ministry to provide funding so that the post can extend beyond the three-year period, likely to be provided by the grant. A minimum of five or seven years will probably be necessary to provide a lasting effect. Town and deanery are united in believing this post is essential in helping the people moving into the new communities to find a true Christian welcome. We hope that the post will be filled by an experienced Church Army missioner who will know how to enable new Christian communities to grow.… Watch this space! Pictured above is Bishop Colin with the Revd Chris Boyce and the Archbishop of Canterbury at the blessing of the site of Bicester’s new Emmanuel Church.
The Revd Charles Masheder is Area Dean for Bicester and Islip.

Church schools bring Christian values to new communities

Between 1993 and 2010 the Diocese of Oxford opened two brand new primary schools serving new housing estates (in Carterton and Milton Keynes), writes Gordon Joyner. This was because, in the past, the local authorities generally opened and ran the vast majority of new schools.
However, under current legislation, other providers, including the Church of England, are in a prime position to open and run the new schools and the local authorities’ roles have changed and they are now commissioners of services. This is providing considerably more opportunities for the Diocese to be involved in establishing new schools in these new communities.
As a result our latest new school opened in 2011 at Jennett’s Park, Bracknell, which will be followed by another at Buckingham Park, Aylesbury in September 2012, and there is a strong possibility of further schools in 2013 and beyond.Indeed, when the housing market picks up, there will be many opportunities in the coming years to build new schools which will provide a focus for the new communities they serve. We see our schools as serving the whole community and providing a range of facilities for everyone.
Gordon Joyner is Deputy Director of Education for the Diocese of Oxford.

Fresh Expressions for new developments in Aylesbury

The state of the economy has impacted on the pace of new developments around Aylesbury but they are still bringing enormous challenges and opportunities for the deanery.

Located a short distance north-west of Aylesbury town centre, the Weedon Hill development of 1,000 new houses is nearly complete and at the adjacent Berryfields, builders have started work on the first of another 3,000 homes. The plans also incorporate a range of community facilities, shops and several schools, including the Oxford Diocese sponsored Aylesbury Vale Academy.
The Revd Andrew Blyth, Area Dean, said: “We are planning for a new population larger than a town the size of Wendover and that demands bold thinking about mission and ministry patterns.”
 

Andrew suggests that a ‘mixed economy’ approach is key. He said: “It is naïve to think that one-size-fits-all. Some people are going to want to travel for particular styles of church and we need to help parishes in their mission planning to connect with them. But we also need to plan and deploy resources to support new neighbourhoods and ‘fresh expressions’ of church.
With this in mind, the deanery is supporting initiatives to get Christians living and serving in the new developments as quickly as possible. At Weedon Hill, an ecumenical group working under the auspices of Churches Together in Aylesbury has already successfully launched a number of community initiatives. For Berryfields, the possibility of a new joint post for a chaplain and community priest based at the Academy is being discussed. Andrew said: “We think this could be a genuine win-win helping to engender and express the Academy’s ethos and helping to build community and church. We hope it may also be a model that can be used in other places.”