Five Year Plan 2019-2024
Our five year plan provides a summary of our key activities which we intend to undertake between 2019-2024 as we live out our mission. It is accompanied by an action plan approved at the Annual Congregations Meeting each year
Introduction
Who are we?
At Northern Lights MCC we are a faithful Christian community from a wide range of spiritual and non-religious backgrounds dedicated to living out our faith in line with our mission to:
Be yourself – Find meaning – Know God
We have been active in Newcastle and the surrounding area since 1991 and are part of the global Metropolitan Community Church denomination committed to inclusion and deeply rooted in the LGBTQ+ family. We actively value:
What is our five year plan for?
Our five year plan is about how we live these values and embody our mission in all that we do as a Church and family. It is about the practical steps that we will take over the next five years to continue to be who God calls us to be in the North East of England, in the Christian community and in the LGBTQ+.
This is both how we serve each other and support our growth in being ourselves, finding meaning and knowing God and how we are hope and light to others. It is both inward and outward looking. As well as stating what we know we will do now it also sets the focus for other things and will guide the Board and Church leadership in making decisions on how we prioritise what we do when new ideas come up.
This is not everything that we will do. Things change and new ideas will come up. It does not replace any of our understanding in who we are, our Mission Statement, Core Values and Bedrock Beliefs. These all stay exactly the same.
What are we going to do?
We have developed our five year plan around a series of key themes that came from our congregation and community. These set out what we want to look like by 2024 and are set out more fully in the rest of the plan.
These are to be a:
How did we get here?
Our five year plan is the work of everyone in the Church and not one person or group, it is something we are all called to own and to support to become a reality. It is therefore something which we have worked up together.
This was done both in and outside of our services during July and August 2018 and tried to include everyone. At two evening services, one family service, one weeknight session and a Saturday session the Board ran a series of ‘workshops’ through which we aimed to answer some important questions:
What next?
The five year plan is the start – how we make this happen is what we will be discussing over the next few years; however in the plan are some short-term as well as medium and long term tasks. We have prioritised these to make sure things happen but it will need everyone to continue to contribute their talents and efforts if we are to achieve this. The Board has already responded to the issues flagged in seeking new Board members (October 2018) and re-establishing the Pastoral Search Committee.
Each year the action plan will be prepared for approval at the ACM. The Board will continually review this to make sure that our targets are being met and to propose new ideas where our aims are not being achieved. Where an activity is completed or no longer relevant it will be removed and communicated to the membership and congregation.
At Northern Lights MCC we are a faithful Christian community from a wide range of spiritual and non-religious backgrounds dedicated to living out our faith in line with our mission to:
Be yourself – Find meaning – Know God
We have been active in Newcastle and the surrounding area since 1991 and are part of the global Metropolitan Community Church denomination committed to inclusion and deeply rooted in the LGBTQ+ family. We actively value:
- the fabulous and the beautiful in each of us
- a warm, safe, welcoming home
- worship that deepens our intimacy with God
- the strength we have together when we are each doing what we are passionate about
- love, fun and laughter
What is our five year plan for?
Our five year plan is about how we live these values and embody our mission in all that we do as a Church and family. It is about the practical steps that we will take over the next five years to continue to be who God calls us to be in the North East of England, in the Christian community and in the LGBTQ+.
This is both how we serve each other and support our growth in being ourselves, finding meaning and knowing God and how we are hope and light to others. It is both inward and outward looking. As well as stating what we know we will do now it also sets the focus for other things and will guide the Board and Church leadership in making decisions on how we prioritise what we do when new ideas come up.
This is not everything that we will do. Things change and new ideas will come up. It does not replace any of our understanding in who we are, our Mission Statement, Core Values and Bedrock Beliefs. These all stay exactly the same.
What are we going to do?
We have developed our five year plan around a series of key themes that came from our congregation and community. These set out what we want to look like by 2024 and are set out more fully in the rest of the plan.
These are to be a:
- Visible Church
- Inclusive Church
- Full-week Church
- Connected Church
- Deep Church
How did we get here?
Our five year plan is the work of everyone in the Church and not one person or group, it is something we are all called to own and to support to become a reality. It is therefore something which we have worked up together.
This was done both in and outside of our services during July and August 2018 and tried to include everyone. At two evening services, one family service, one weeknight session and a Saturday session the Board ran a series of ‘workshops’ through which we aimed to answer some important questions:
- Who do we want to be in five years, what does a Northern Lights MCC living its values look like?
- What do we need to do to make this happen?
- How do we do this, what do we need to make it happen? As we currently do not have a pastor we also discussed whether and then how we look to fill this role.
What next?
The five year plan is the start – how we make this happen is what we will be discussing over the next few years; however in the plan are some short-term as well as medium and long term tasks. We have prioritised these to make sure things happen but it will need everyone to continue to contribute their talents and efforts if we are to achieve this. The Board has already responded to the issues flagged in seeking new Board members (October 2018) and re-establishing the Pastoral Search Committee.
Each year the action plan will be prepared for approval at the ACM. The Board will continually review this to make sure that our targets are being met and to propose new ideas where our aims are not being achieved. Where an activity is completed or no longer relevant it will be removed and communicated to the membership and congregation.
Visible Church
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Where will we be in 5 years?
We will be known and seen in the local Christian and LGBTQ+ community as a source of hope and light and a bridge between identities. How will we achieve this? We will achieve this by:
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Inclusive Church
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Where will we be in 5 years?
We will be actively modelling our values with visible representation of our congregation and Membership in positions of leadership and visible through the service. We will have clear approaches to our activities, premises and services which actively meet people’s needs, particularly focusing on supporting families, trans people, bi people, people of colour and from a BAME background, people with disabilities and socio-economic challenges to be fully empowered in the life of the church. How will we achieve this? We will achieve this by:
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Full Week Church
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Where will we be in 5 years?
We will have a full programme of activities that provide spiritual growth and social uplift that is spread across the week and at different times of day involving the full congregation. How will we achieve this? We will achieve this by:
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Connected Church
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Where will we be in 5 years?
We will be a valued and known partner across the local community and our communities of interest working well with others to support visible activities, events and campaigns. We will live out our bedrock beliefs and mission in a wider setting at a local, regional, national and international level. How will we achieve this? We will achieve this by:
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Deep Church
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Where will we be in 5 years?
We are a community that has grown and continues to grow in our faith individually and together. We spend time together socially and benefit from a series of activities and worship styles which deepen our relationship with God and our understanding of the Bible. How will we achieve this? We will achieve this by:
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