ST MICHAEL'S MISSION ACTION PLAN

This page was updated on 20th April 2021

​Lichfield St Michael
(within the Benefice of Lichfield St Michael and St Mary with Wall St John)
 
Mission Action Plan 2020
Episcopal Area: Wolverhampton                  
Deanery: Lichfield 
 
Our Context
 
Worship Centre:            The parish church of St Michael is set on Greenhill and is surrounded by a large churchyard (mostly closed).
Parish Population:        14,090. See additional note
Usual Sunday Attendance 2018 = 90,
Electoral Roll:                 Revised in 2019 currently 166 
Worshipping Community 2018 = 381
Monthly Worship Pattern
                                      Sundays: 8 am BCP Holy Communion: 10 am Holy Communion CW1: Family Praise and Evening Communion. (2nd Sunday):  Evensong BCP (4th Sunday).
                                      16.30 Messy Church (3rd Sunday).
                                      Wednesday morning 9.30am Holy Communion CW1.
                                      Baptisms 12.30pm on the 1st Sunday of the month.
 
Area of the Parish         The parish covers the centre of Lichfield, which consists mainly of traditional buildings and small independent shops, and the suburban south of the city which includes mainly 20th century housing and small business parks. The main population resides in the 35 year old Boley Park estate.
 
Ministry Team               Rector, Stipendiary curate, 1 NSM, 1 Licensed Reader, 4 PTO clergy, 4 PTO Readers.
 
Safeguarding                Safeguarding is the responsibility of all in the church. The PCC pays attention to national and diocesan developments and advice in this area and discusses and adopts appropriate policies.
                                     Our commitment is that..
                                      ….we will promote the welfare of children, young people and adults, work to prevent abuse from occurring, seek to protect those that are at risk of being abused and respond well to those who have been abused. We will take care to identify where a person may present a risk to others and offer support to them whilst taking steps to mitigate such risks.

Our Vision (based on the Diocesan Vision Statement)
         
As we follow Christ in the footsteps of St Chad, we pray that the people in our parish encounter a church that is confident in the gospel, knows and loves the community, and is excited to find God already at work in the world. We pray for a church that:

• reflects the richness and variety of our community and is intentionally inclusive.
• partners with others, especially St Michael’s School, in seeking the common good and working for a more just world.
• recognises and responds to God’s call to be good stewards of creation.
• offers opportunities for everyone to grow in faith and active discipleship.

 
 
Mission Action Plan 2019
Our mission action has been revised in line with the new diocesan priorities of Discipleship, Vocation and Evangelism (DVE).
Many of our current activities already support these priorities. The intention of the new MAP is to value these but also be clear about the main emphases for the next five years that will further enhance our development and activity in growing disciples, understanding and living out our vocation and sharing the good news with others.
Some suggested activities will support more than one aspect of DVE and identified priorities will shape the development of our resources and assets (see note on New Parish Rooms)
Vocation is often understood as an individual matter, but it is equally, if not more important to see vocation as something that is shared: what is the calling of this church? Looking at vocation in this way allows us to consider how we follow through our calling to be good stewards in relation to the environment, how we respond to the demands of justice and how we hope to play our part in transforming and changing the world for good.  This approach has helped us shape this Mission Action Plan.

Important factors in the next five years.

1. Increase in population

St Michael’s parish is already experiencing an increase in population and this will continue over the next five years. The development in Streethay is now around 800 houses and there will be more added in the next phase. A new school has been opened and there are plans for an amenity centre.
In addition, developments are scheduled in the next five years off Cricket Lane to fill in the area between current housing and the A38; and in the proposed infill of houses off Shortbutts lane.
The population of the parish could be c18,000 in the next five years and with planned developments within the parish of Wall the benefice population could be around 20,000.

1. New Parish Rooms

Now that the old church hall has been sold, we are moving ahead with the development of new parish rooms as an extension to the church. These rooms will provide a flexible facility alongside our current wide use of the church itself. We need space for an office, a meeting room and space for smaller groups. The facility will also be an asset for St Michael’s School. This development is not an end in itself but will be provided to support activities noted in this Mission Action Plan.
 
Three Key Themes
In order to help us move ahead in our shared vocation, in our discipleship and our evangelism we have identified three key themes:

1. Inclusion and Welcome
2. Growth in Discipleship
3. Care for the Environment

These themes are set out below and some of the activities that we already undertake or aspire to are noted alongside. Some activities serve more than one theme.
 

Inclusion and Welcome
Outreach to the new housing areas: regular invitation and communication
Preaching and study around ideas raised by the Inclusive Church agenda.
Film Club and other activities that bring the wider community into church.
 
Build a relationship with the new school in Streethay.
Consider signing up as an Inclusive Church
Developing activities and groups that support those living with Dementia and the challenges of later life.
Developing our use of different means of communication to share the gospel and involve others.


Growth in Discipleship
A range of preaching voices presenting different understandings and approaches.
Regular Sunday worship which involves different people and sustains a faithful congregation.
Lent and Advent study and workshops on different themes
A close relationship with St Michael’s school especially through regular worship in church and Thy Kingdom Come.
Widened engagement through First Steps: Messy Church, Family Praise and Girls’ Choir
 
Develop our use of different media in worship.
Increased opportunities for Bible Study to increase Biblical literacy and mutual sharing.
More intentional activity in recruiting to the choir and ensuring that this is an experience of discipleship.
Exploring new ways to support St Michael’s School and engage with pupils on matters of faith and social change (courageous advocacy).
Sustaining the Camas trip and developing other activities for young people.
Using new parish rooms as a resource for Junior Praise during worship.
Developing a discipleship course for enquirers and new Christians.

Care for the Environment
Continued sensitive development of the closed churchyard as a green space for all.
Working in partnership with volunteers, the Payback Team and the Council.
 
Become more intentionally an Eco Church and consider how this impacts all aspects of church life.
Establish a church Environment Group to co-ordinate and oversee.
Develop preaching and teaching sessions to address ecology and stewardship of creation.
The new church rooms to be developed with low ecological impact as a priority – a model project