Strategic Plan

2016-2020

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Introduction

This is an exciting time for everyone involved in the ministry of

Birmingham Cathedral.

The success of celebrations of our tercentenary in 2015 shows that we can look forward with

great confidence. We have studied and responded to our unique vocation and context. We have

listened to our story through studying our history and reflecting on our heritage of faith and

what it means to be named after Philip who called others to ‘Come and See’. We have taken

some bold steps in mission and ministry and have benefitted from a stable clergy team, excellent

lay staff and faithful and mission-minded congregations and volunteers. It now feels that the

cathedral is ‘back on the map’ and has built trust and credibility across many sectors. We are

ready to respond further to our calling to ‘preach the gospel afresh in each generation’, in ways

that are both culturally sensitive and audaciously bold.

Recent major achievements include:

Building re-lit inside and out, including flood-lighting of the tower: a notable presence in the city.

Building restored inside and out: honouring God and the people of the West Midlands.

Now known as a place of creativity and partnership in the city.

Finances turned around from large annual deficit to steady modest surplus, infrastructure

accounting being put in place and a growing confidence in a growing ministry.

When Bishop Charles Gore chose the parish church of St Philip’s to be cathedral for the new

diocese of Birmingham he shaped our unique vocation: to be outward facing and ready to serve.

Unlike other English cathedrals, Birmingham Cathedral doesn’t dominate the skyline of its city.

Our physical insignificance enables us to embody the gospel character of the transformational

tiny thing: the yeast, the salt. We rejoice in being imaginative, light on our feet, responsive, both

a leader and a team player.

This is a good time for cathedrals in our national life. Cathedrals are increasingly recognised as

centres of mission, of congregational growth and of creative energy. The establishment of the

Church of England and the longevity of our buildings in changing times makes us a trusted

partner, of whom a lot is expected.

At Birmingham Cathedral, we seek to embody the values of generosity and grace, hospitality and

holiness. We seek to speak ‘of God’ in all aspects of our life, embodying mutual care and

respect. We seek to be a non-anxious presence. As well as hosting and offering a wide range

of mission and evangelistic activities, we trust the Holy Spirit is at work when we simply offer a

quiet space in the city for people to ‘be’ safely in God’s presence.

This document articulates our plans for the future under six simple principles:

Living Worship: Growing Disciples; Connecting Communities supported by

Sustainable financial growth; Caring for our building; Good order

Bishop Charles Gore’s statue stands outside the cathedral with his hand raised in blessing. In

our hospitality and holiness may we be a blessing to all people.

Catherine Ogle May 2016

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The Mission of Birmingham Cathedral

Birmingham Cathedral is a house of Christian prayer and the seat of the Bishop

of Birmingham. Mother church to Birmingham Diocese, the cathedral is a

treasured sacred space for Anglican worship and Christian discipleship in this

great and diverse city ‘where the world meets’. As the Church of England

cathedral church we are also privileged to offer hospitality as a place of

gathering and connection for people of all faiths and none in order witness to

God’s love for all and to serve the common good.

Our purpose is to worship God, share the gospel of Jesus Christ, welcome and

offer hospitality to all who come, celebrate, teach and pass on our rich

Christian heritage and discover the Kingdom of God in our contemporary city

context. We support the mission and ministry of the Bishop of Birmingham

and the parishes of the diocese. We seek to discern our unique vocation and

bring our distinct gifts and resources to the diocese, other Christian churches

and faith communities, institutions and charities as a valuable, effective and

innovative ‘team player’ in the life of our region. We intend to be properly

ambitious for our work, to foster identity and create impact.

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In order to fulfil this mission we commit ourselves to:

1 Living Worship: we worship God daily in the steady rhythm of the

liturgy of the Church of England and, in our corporate worship, rejoice in the

riches of the Anglican choral tradition. Mindful of the invitation of our Patron

Saint to ‘Come and see’, we seek to offer a growing diversity in worship

offering rich opportunities, for all ages, for encounter with God. We cherish

periods of silence each day enabling private prayer for our visitors. We

celebrate the contribution of the arts to spiritual life. We conduct all the

pastoral offices of a parish church.

2 Growing Disciples: we seek to grow in number and in depth of

discipleship in order to witness to Christ more effectively. We enable people

to encounter God and grow in faith and discipleship through our welcome and

pastoral care, through opportunities for conversation, learning and voluntary

service.

3 Connecting Communities: as a place of connection in the city, we

work in active partnership with other churches, institutions and faiths for the

common good, to foster understanding, respect, inclusion, social justice and

cohesion among the diverse communities of our diocese and region. We seek

to offer a place of safety and hospitality for all. We seek to support

community life and communities across the city and diocese and encourage

mutually enriching conversation and education.

The mission will be enabled and supported through our commitment to:

1 Care for our building: We conserve, develop and interpret our

building and environment as an icon of God’s holy and loving presence in our

city. We strive for the highest standards of care as an aspect of worship.

2 Sustainable financial growth; we steward our resources prudently

and ethically, with the intention of achieving sustainable growth to support a

growing ministry.

3 Good order: we achieve good order in the governance of the cathedral

to reflect the good order of God’s creation and to enable the cathedral to

model good working practices, good working relationships for staff, volunteers

and good communications fostering mutual understanding and respect. We are

committed to achieving the highest standards of Safeguarding of children and

vulnerable adults, according to national safeguarding guidelines in all aspects of

cathedral life.

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Strategic Plan 2016 - 2020

1 Living Worship: Worship is at the heart of the life of the cathedral.

We worship God daily in the steady rhythm of Anglican prayer witnessing to

God’s transforming activity at the centre of our lives and of the city and

diocese. At the heart of our corporate worship we rejoice in the riches of the

Anglican choral tradition and our fine choir and tradition of music. Mindful of

the invitation of our Patron Saint to ‘Come and see’, we also seek to offer a

growing diversity in worship offering rich opportunities for encounter with

Jesus Christ, for all ages. We cherish periods of silence each day enabling

private prayer for our visitors and sacred space for those who wander in. We

celebrate and seek to develop the contribution of the arts to spiritual life.

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This is a ‘serious place’ of prayer and thus in great contrast to much of our

immediate environment. In our busy context we will protect times of worship

and preparation for it. We will rejoice in opportunities for visitors, volunteers,

tourists and those who come in to light a candle and encounter the cathedral

as a living community of prayer. We will seek to ‘grow younger’ and

understand that growing numbers of children and young people will lead to

changes in our practice and cathedral identity.

We will provide patterns and rhythms of traditional Anglican corporate worship

We will seek to grow and develop worshipping congregations that are ‘Growing Younger’

and seeking to draw children and young people into the worshipping life of the cathedral

We will strive to provide models of excellence for regular, visiting and parish congregations

through hosting inspirational diocesan and public events and other activities

We will seek to respond creatively, responsively and pro-actively to ‘Missional moments’ in

public and national life as well as local events and develop the cathedrals role regionally and

nationally

We will seek to promote and raise awareness of worship at the cathedral in all its forms

using traditional methods and new media

We will support and encourage personal prayer among our congregations

We will seek opportunities and appropriate ways to take worship outside into Cathedral

Square including use of screens and audio

We will provide a quiet space for personal prayer when no organised activities are taking

place in the cathedral

We will work with artists, craftspeople and the Arts in worship to share the Christian imagination more widely and deepen and inspire prayer and reflection

Responding to the diversity of our communities, we will provide a growing diversity of

worship experiences and seek to be as inclusive as possible

promoting and enabling worship uniting different Christian traditions

provide experiences of both excellence, and inclusion.

continue to encourage participation and the ministry of a diverse range of people

and monitor and encourage proportionate ethnic and age representation

We will update the Liturgical Plan and strive to continue to learn from others

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2 Growing Disciples: We seek to grow in number and in depth of

discipleship in order to witness to Christ more effectively. We seek, along

with the diocesan initiative, to ‘grow younger’ and to encourage ethnic

minorities and young people to take an active role, in all ways and levels of

cathedral worship, life and governance. We will enable people to encounter

God and grow in faith and discipleship by our welcome and through offering

pastoral care, and opportunities for worship, conversation, and healing,

learning and voluntary service.

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We will seek to tell the Christian story in all we do and say and be ‘evangelistic’

throughout our life and grow in confidence as Christians. The cathedral is never ‘just a

venue’. We will seek to model talking about our faith in Christ in ways that are engaging,

welcoming and appropriate. We will seek to grow and develop worshipping congregations.

We will nurture one another and develop as an intentional Christian community of all ages

through offering different ‘learning and growing’ opportunities including the sacraments,

learning, education, the ministry of healing, opportunities to give and volunteer for cathedral

congregations.

We will seek to develop closer ties with parishes, chaplaincies and central diocesan staff and

clergy to connect and foster a greater vision and effectiveness

We will encourage participation in Christian festivals, Lent and Holy week.

We will deepen our corporate life in Christ

Provide, or offer access to diocesan and other high quality training for congregation e.g.

Pastoral care

We will welcome and offer hospitality and inspiration to all who visit the cathedral as

worshippers or visitors.

We will seek new and creative ways to open the cathedral and reach people with the gospel

of Christ, to people of all backgrounds

We will make best use of Cathedral Square as a distinctive space in the city.

Develop spiritual resources, educational resources and programmes of interpretation to

meet the various needs of our visitors and worshippers.

Continue Tuesday Talks and develop a strategy for development

Encourage and seek vocations to ordained ministry and other accredited ministries as well

as other volunteering opportunities.

Develop and extend the excellent work of the voluntary education team with schools,

cathedral children (including choristers) and visitors and enable us to exemplify the diocesan

‘Growing Younger’ initiative.

Support the work of the Birmingham Diocese Education department and develop our work

with schools, young visitors and worshippers to give children and young people the

opportunity of having a life enhancing encounter with the Christian faith and the person of

Jesus Christ.

Continue to develop training for and understanding among our volunteers, office staff,

Visitors Chaplains, vergers, clergy and church wardens and deputies and all who minister at

the cathedral to see themselves as ambassadors of Christ and hosts in the house of the Lord

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Continue to pilot the work of a volunteer Cathedral evangelist within the range of mission

activity of the cathedral.

Work with University chaplains and student groups to enable students to engage with

cathedral and make use of its opportunities for worship/heritage/volunteering/mission

Work with local and national media and social media to talk about faith and promote

awareness of the work of the cathedral and wider Christian church.

Raise awareness of issues of social justice and have a prophetic engagement with the wider

community

Enable Cathedral congregations to support worth-while causes through giving and

volunteering and we will monitor the total Cathedral charitable giving (including in-kind and

fund-raising enabled through use of the cathedral facilities)

Offer the ministry of healing, promoting excellent practice and providing a diocesan

resource.

Encourage Christian stewardship as a generous response to the generosity of God in Christ.

Continue to promote engagement with our heritage showing our commitment to the city

and region, offering an enriched visitor experience and also enabling a deeper engagement

with our spiritual heritage

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3 Connecting Communities: Birmingham is the place ‘where the world

meets’ and, as Archbishop Justin memorably told us in 2015, Birmingham has

perhaps a unique opportunity to show the world how people can live together in

peace.

The physical setting of the cathedral at the crossing point of busy

thoroughfares gives us a unique context of connection and connectivity. Our

cathedral vocation in Birmingham is to create opportunities for connection,

conversation and activity that foster understanding, respect, inclusion and

cohesion among the diverse communities of our diocese and region. We will

work in active partnership with other churches, institutions and faiths for the

common good.

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As Anglican cathedral we recognise that the traditions of cathedrals and of the

established church give us the privilege of widespread trust, perhaps

particularly with other faith communities. We will seek to honour this trust by

offering a place of safety and hospitality for all faiths and none. We will seek to

be a gathering place for our diverse city and diocese across difference of race,

creed, politics and social background to promote public good, public theology,

prosperity and peace.

‘The present and future of English cathedrals lies particularly in their ability to enable

and sustain a range of connections – between the tourist and the pilgrim; between

people and the traditions from which modern life cuts them off; between the diverse

organisations and communities that share the same physical space and infrastructure

yet never meet; and between a people who may be less Christian than their parents,

but are no less spiritual, and the God who made, sustains, loves and hopes for them

to join at his table.’ [Spiritual Capital; The Present and Future of English Cathedrals, Theos

and the Grubb Institute, 2012]

We will work with the Bishop of Birmingham and the department directors and the

parishes of the diocese and have clear signs of this in the cathedral

Work with those of other Christian traditions

Honour joyfully and imaginatively, our civic role, to mark significant national, international

and local occasions for the city and diocese.

Host services and events enabling charities to raise funds.

Strengthen partnerships with Birmingham businesses, institutions and charities to promote

the common good.

Develop relationship and partnership working with Arts and cultural organisations e.g. Ikon,

BMAG, RBSA, Birmingham School of Art (BCU), Hippodrome, Festivals board and Heritage

board.

Continue the work of ‘Something Good’ arts project to bring people together across faiths

and provide opportunities for wonder, conversation and community cohesion ,working

towards a mass participation and mobilisation event to reflect the city ‘where the world

meets’.

Establish a ‘distinctively Birmingham’ School/Institute for Public Theology to support the

public ministry of the Bishop of Birmingham, to make a real and significant contribution to

the life of the city and region and to enable people from across the business community and

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across the social spectrum to reflect on corporate social responsibility, meaning, purpose

and values.

Through our work with schools and the Diocesan Board of Education, support the religious

education of children of the city and diocese.

Supporting the work of the diocesan regeneration department and the interfaith

department.

Work with those of other faiths for the Common Good

Work with those who feed the hungry and restore the lost: support socially excluded and

homeless people to access support through supporting local agencies and police

Continue to offer spiritual care and Christian encouragement to the business community

around us

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The mission of Birmingham Cathedral will be enabled and supported through

our commitment to:

1 Care for our building and environs: We conserve, develop and

interpret our building, furnishings and environment as an icon of Gods holy and

loving presence in our city. We strive for the highest standards of care as an

expression of our faith and worship.

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We will preserve our heritage and enhance the facilities of the cathedral and its

environment.

We will have a planned restoration and maintenance programme, supported by

designation of funds and project fundraising. The programme of work will include:

Complete the Phase2 restoration: improve entrance with glass doors, new entrance

furniture and notice boards.

Appropriate cleaning and conservation of the Nave floor

Replace cathedral congregational chairs with ones that stack, creating a more flexible

worship and mission environment

Clean and restore the cathedral organ

Cleaning and conservation of the Burne-Jones and all windows

Commission of new prayer box

Commission of new candle stand for votive candles

Commission of new liturgical furniture Commission of new Nativity set

Bring the 1905 cathedral cross back into public space

Improve perimeter signage and signage within cathedral square

Quinquennial 2017

(Bell tower frame renewal by 2025)

We will reduce our impact on the environment and seek to ‘Green the cathedral’

We will have a planned maintenance programme, invest in infrastructure and create a

designated fund for future repairs and maintenance, including replacement of boilers in 2016.

We will continue to improve standards of maintenance, cleaning and establishing systems for

good order in the cathedral, better support for volunteers and better service for visitors

We will work with partners (Police, CBD, City Council etc.) to ensure safety and

maintenance of Cathedral Square.

We will review the role of the welcome desk in impacting people’s experience of the

Cathedral, and ensure we are meeting the full potential of our ability to offer Christian

welcome and hospitality.

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2 Sustainable financial growth; we will steward our resources

prudently and ethically, with the intention of achieving sustainable growth to

resource a growing ministry. We seek to increase visitor numbers and visitor

giving and broaden our ongoing relationship and communication with visitors

and worshippers. We will host inspirational events to attract support from the

wider community. Through a growing reputation for providing excellent

service and events we will seek corporate events and sponsorship. We will

seek to continue to employ marketing, PR and fund-raising expertise, to

support a sustainable financial growth.

Stewardship We plan to generate more income, predominantly unrestricted income from congregations and visitors. This unrestricted income forms a significant contribution to

the Core funds required for Cathedral function. We plan to grow our congregations and

visitor numbers, increase the proportion of donors who gift aid their donation and create a

virtuous cycle of income growth; we will work to promote the Parish Giving Scheme to

encourage regular donations via Standing Order.

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Fund-raising To continue fundraising in the Cathedral on a ‘Project’ Basis. We will seek

to employ fundraising expertise to allow us to maximise our opportunities to secure specific

fundraising from grants and foundations. We will create opportunities for the general public

to engage with fundraising for projects. We will work with the local business community to

maximise the opportunities for mutually beneficial relationships which could support our

fundraising. We anticipate that developing and deepening our relationship with donors will

increase the level

Management Finance & Risk Committee (a sub-committee of Chapter) will ensure good

financial management by having oversight of the Cathedral Risk register, reviewing

investment and reserves policy, and delegating authority to the Cathedral Director of

Resources and Budget Holders. Quarterly meetings will inform Chapter’s oversight of

budgets, reforecasting when required, and careful decision-making on unbudgeted

expenditure. Chapter has in place a policy for the use of end of year surplus to support

Mission, Maintenance, and the servicing of external obligations.

Review of Regular Commitments Regular review of suppliers and contractors to

ensure best value for money, and best use of resources. Where possible we will collaborate

with Diocesan partners, and Parish Buying Schemes to ensure best value for money. Where

appropriate, we will seek to secure pro-bono or heavily discounted services from our

supporters and neighbours.

Explore new Income Streams: particularly in respect to investigating opportunities to

increase commercial income. Since Core activities are covered by existing funding streams,

the development of an additional income stream would create opportunities to diversify

Cathedral activities and support and grow the ongoing mission of the Cathedral.

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3 Good order: we seek to achieve good order in the governance of the

cathedral to reflect the good order of God’s creation and to enable the

cathedral to model better working practices, stronger working relationships

for staff, volunteers and fluid communications fostering mutual understanding

and respect. As Mother Church we seek good relationships with the wider

diocese: parishes, clergy, diocesan staff and Bishops.

The safeguarding of children and vulnerable adults is our highest priority. We

seek to establish and follow the highest standards of good practice in safeguarding, and

embed a culture of safe working amongst all staff and volunteers.

We will continually seek to deliver robustly in the areas of HR, safe recruitment, staff

training and development. We will review our Staff Handbook, Employee Terms &

Conditions, and benchmark salaries both nationally and regionally.

We seek to provide safe and harmonious working conditions for all members of staff

and volunteers, and will continually review the space, storage and facilities available to best

support the work of the Cathedral.

We seek to embody codes of behaviour and set boundaries so that our space (both inside

and outside the Cathedral) is safe for all. We will facilitate the development of an inclusive

Code of Conduct for staff, volunteers and visitors, which will facilitate good relationships

between all Cathedral user groups.

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‘The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God

and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.’ 2 Corinthians 13:13