Mission Enabling Fund fuels vibrant new evangelisation across Nottingham Diocese

^{Source: Diocese of Nottingham}

The Diocese of Nottingham is brimming with renewed missionary zeal, thanks to the establishment of a well-resourced Mission Enabling Fund (MEF), overseen by a dynamic Mission Enabling Team.

The Mission Enabling Team (MET) was first established in 2023 as a response to Bishop Patrick McKinney’s enduring call to his flock, to be missionary disciples.

The MET exists to support the bishop in keeping mission at the heart of diocesan planning and ensuring that decisions and priorities always serve evangelisation.  

Its purpose is to support parishes and deaneries in developing new mission projects and initiatives; to help us all to imagine and build a Church that looks outwards, reaches new people, and forms disciples who are ready to live and share the Gospel.  

An important aspect of the role of the MET in achieving this is to administer the MEF.  The MEF exists to provide grants to help parishes launch projects that promote encounter, discipleship, and missionary discipleship.

At the time of writing, almost £4 million has been pledged from the ‘Enabling Our Mission Campaign’, with 40% of funds reserved for the MET; 20% assigned to clergy and the remaining 40% dedicated to strengthening parishes.

Among the many MEF funded projects which have powerfully manifested Christ’s love in the world, is Project St Thomas (PST) which is flourishing beautifully in the parish of St Norbert’s, Spalding.

Thanks to the MEF, parish priest Fr Jim Burke has been able to employ a professional strategist and fund raiser- Tracey Carter- who has established an exceptional missionary hub, bubbling with energy and love for neighbour.

Among the many philanthropic initiatives which PST has launched are a Sunday lunch club; a crisis pregnancy fund and store; a music group; a dementia café; and 15 supermarket collections each week, to ensure food is distributed across the local community.

Meanwhile, a lucky group of young adults were able to journey all the way to Rome, in September, to witness the historic canonisation of the first millennial saint- St Carlo Acutis, thanks to subsidies gifted by the MET from the MEF.

Fr Neil Peoples, who oversaw the young people in attendance, said that it was an incredibly moving experience which ignited great conversations about faith and vocation.

The fruits of the MEF were also tangible over summer, when the Holy Family Cluster in Leicester, held their annual 4Mission Summer Camp for children aged 8 and above.

Fr David Cain, parish priest to the Holy Family parishes, commented at the time: “After a very fruitful 4Mission Summer Camp in 2024, funded by the Mission Enabling Fund (MEF), I applied for the funding for a second year. The funding application to the MEF was firstly to fund a Full-Time Youth Leader for a week's preparation, delivering the week and one week's follow-up where she will lead days in Advent & Lent supported by our Parish Deacon."

He added: “The call to become missionary disciples following the Gospel teachings is to ‘go and make disciples of all nations’ (Matthew 28:19). Therefore, the entire 5 days of 4Mission was orientated towards forming a solid foundation built upon learning more about their faith, as the 56 children took part in the various activities available throughout the week, beginning and ending each day with a liturgy.”

The Mission Enabling Team has also enabled parishes to utilise all that the digital age has to offer, to make disciples of all nations.

Thanks to the MEF, parishes have been able to launch attractive, inspiring and user-friendly websites to make them even more mission ready; neatly amalgamating and disseminating the wealth of good news which churches wish to share.

Among the parishes which have benefited in this way are the Holy Family Cluster in Leicester and All Saints parish cluster, in West Nottingham.

All these small stories remind us that, while there is plenty more work to do, Nottingham Diocese is truly becoming a plentiful vineyard for God’s labourers.