Where we’ve come from

There are eight Church of England parishes (with a total of ten churches) in the Glendale Group of Churches. The Glendale Alive Partnership has its origins in the growing realisation that it is becoming increasingly difficult to sustain an effective Christian presence in each of these parishes. It was recognised that the churches would be better able to do together what they were struggling to do alone, and that they would be more effective if they worked in partnership with other denominations and the wider community.

A Steering Group was established for what was then called the Rural Mission and Ministry Initiative. The Steering Group obtained funding for a feasibility study by the William Temple Foundation (WTF), who were asked to explore ways in which the churches might:

• Sustain an effective, world-facing Christian presence within each of the Glendale communities
• Engage with the structures of the wider region and the local area, both secular and religious
• Build realistically on the strengths and resources of particular places
• Reflect theologically on what it means to be the church in the rural context of today’s world
• Seek to develop new ways of being church, with realisable forms of local ministry
• Develop collaborative ways of working with the wider church and the wider community

What we’re for

Our Statement of Purpose

To enable churches in Glendale and the surrounding area, together with local communities and other organisations, to work in partnership in order to engage effectively with the processes of change in the countryside for the well-being of the whole locality.

Our aims

1. To develop the knowledge, skills and confidence of local people, so that they can be more effectively involved in improving the well being of their communities.
2. To create and support networks of individuals and organisations, so that good practice can be shared and good ideas can be developed.
3. To encourage partnerships between organisations with common interests, so that they can support each other and do together what they couldn’t do alone.
4. To explore ways of making better use of church assets, including buildings, land, and organisational structure, for the benefit of the wider community.
5. To reflect on what is happening, and what is being learnt from the experience, and to share those reflections with people and organisations beyond the Glendale area.

What we might do

The William Temple Foundation helped to organise two gatherings of interested people on 22nd September 2007 and 2nd February 2008, and produced a report that can be downloaded from www.wtf.org.uk. The report included a number of recommended projects that may be summarised as follows:

1. To construct a Glendale Heritage Trail, connecting the unique stories of each church and community in a continuous journey
2. To develop church buildings, churchyards and church land for the benefit of the whole community
3. To develop caring networks in some or all parishes and communities, by building on the good work that already takes place
4. To promote leadership and training within and between the churches
5. To work in partnership with the Glendale Gateway Trust

What we ‘look like’

The Glendale Alive Partnership involves a Forum that meets once or twice a year, and includes representatives of all the churches in the Glendale area, together with people of goodwill from secular agencies and organisations. The forum decides policy, and appoints a Management Committee to oversee the implementation of that policy and to think things through on its behalf.

The constitution states that the management committee shall be made up as follows:

• The number of Trustees shall be not less than three and not more than fifteen.
• Three of the Trustees shall be on the Electoral Roll of one of the Churches within the Glendale Group of Parishes, i.e. Chatton with Chillingham, Doddington, Eglingham with Old Bewick, Ilderton, Ingram, Kirknewton, South Charlton and Wooler.
• Licensed clergy and licensed lay workers within the Glendale Group of Parishes - up to a maximum of three - are ex officio members of the management committee.
• The Archdeacon of Lindisfarne or his/her appointee is an ex officio member of the management committee.
• The Rural Affairs Officer in the Church of England Diocese of Newcastle is an ex officio member of the management committee.

It might be said the Glendale Alive Partnership is like a juggler, in which

• The heart of the juggler is the Forum, which gives life to the whole enterprise
• The eyes and brain of the juggler are the Management Committee, keeping an eye on what’s happening and thinking ahead
• The balls are the projects identified by the William Temple Foundation (or as decided in the course of time)
• The two arms represent the churches on the one hand and the wider community on the other, working together to keep the projects moving in a co-ordinated way