New Members
Nina Lake (Chair - Bournemouth) welcomed new members Fr John Buckley (Winchester), Jim Mc Govern ((Windsor and Maidenhead) and Fr Andrew Moore (South Berkshire).

Emerging Patterns of Lay Leadership - Feedback
Angela Wills (Dept for Collaborative Ministry) summarised some of the key conclusions on the 'Position Paper' Emerging Patterns of Lay Leadership (which had been opened up to discussion with Deaneries and Parishes following the PCDP meeting of last June): the process represented a learning curve in initiating such a wide discussion across the Diocese - but it was the first time an exercise of this nature and magnitude had been attempted through PCDP channels. Obtaining focussed responses had been difficult due to the large number of issues addressed. Whilst the paper was essentially concerned more with the background to the Lay Leadership debate, it was considered that very valuable and thoughtful insights into the subject had been generated. The exercise had been very instructive, had been worth the effort, and merited a repeat. Replies from Deaneries which had not yet come in would still be very welcome, since they will all add to the debate. Bishop Crispian said there was a need to feed the results of this exercise into the development of the Diocesan Strategic Plan, which was raised at last October's PCDP meeting, and which is addressed below. Lay Leadership needs to be seen as part of the bigger picture, and work on developing the Strategic Plan would incorporate Lay Leadership issues.

Diocesan Levy
Rev Mgr John Nelson (VG) explained that the Dept for Diocesan Finance had devoted much time to establishing a balanced budget for central expenditure in the Diocese - 96% of what we spend comes in from Parishes in the form of a levy. Concerns had been expressed about the unfairness of the present system. The original method of calculation had been based on Mass Attendance. Some 7 years ago, this gave way to a new system, based on half numbers and half Parish income. The idea now to move entirely to an income tax based system. The Council of Priests has approved the model based on a banding system, as used in the calculation of personal income tax. This should produce a more streamlined system. Moreover, parishes will receive a lot more information on how their money is being spent in the Diocese. At this point, the level of parish contributions for 2004 has not yet been set. John stressed that finance should not be deciding priorities. Essentially, it is the other way round; it is the financier's job to determine the best means of funding what requires to be done.

Diocesan Strategic Planning
Bishop Crispian explained that there was a need to develop strategic planning in the Diocese that would establish principles by which change in Deaneries and Parishes could be managed, so as to plan the shape of the Diocese over the next ten years and beyond. He saw the plan as being only partly occasioned by the diminishing number of priests, so that it would not therefore be a case of managing decline. Rather, it would be concerned with the more positive utilisation of Diocesan resources - of which Priests are a very precious one. The source of the principles of the strategic planning is to be found in the Bishop's 'A Church for the 21st Century', first launched in 1997, but recently updated to reflect common currency. Two specially formed groups will take this forward. One, 'The Implementation Group', will own the whole process of consultation with Deaneries and Parishes that will necessarily precede the establishment of the Diocesan strategy - a process that will culminate in the Diocesan Assembly planned for July 28 to 30 July 2005. The second group will undertake all the work relating to the preparations for the Assembly, plus attending to the detail of the consultative arrangements. The first task for both groups will be to draw out of 'The Vision' the elements to go in the Plan. Discussions and consultation will begin in the Autumn, with the first feedback at Christmas time. This will be distilled so as to launch a fresh wave of consultation the following Spring. The Assembly will be a celebration of the culmination of the process of consultation and ownership - with the Plan representing the consensual views of Deaneries, Parishes and Diocesan Schools. The Bishop confirmed consultation will be key; the strategy will not be imposed top-down.

Education in RC Schools
Sr Mary Jo Martin, (Head of the Department for Schools), and Christine McGrew (a head teacher, Fareham) gave a critical perspective on the work of the Diocesan Department for Education. Fundamental is that Diocesan schools are integral to the Diocese. Addressing the key elements of Mission, Responsibility, Structures and Resources, the Department's aim for over 27,000 pupils is to demonstrate that we are a community sharing a common vision of the purpose of Catholic education for our young people. God is at the heart of everything the Department does; it is this that makes Catholic schools different. The 'community of faith' is a very strong guiding principle. Sr Mary Jo said that while there would always be funding constraints, resources would not dictate policies.

• The Christian Music Festival to be held at St Cassian's Retreat and Pastoral Centre, Kintbury, on 26 and 27 June 2004. Targeted at age group 15 to 21, much work had gone into making it lively, fun and meaningful - essentially it is a follow-up to the 'Bournemouth Challenge' of 18 months ago.
   
• 'Listening 2004 - My Family, My Church', this being an initiative to support family life. A 'Diocesan Conversation' will be held at Basingstoke on 16 October this year with Bishop Crispian and Bishop John Hine in attendance.
   
• The conference at Exeter University between 19 and 22 July 2004 on 'Revealing God's Word Today'. There will be over 40 Workshops, and the principal speaker will be Fr Ronald Rolheiser.

Joe Golden PCDP Minutes Secretary 31 March 2004