Partnerships Home
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About Partnerships
Our 18 Partnerships were formally established by Bishop Séamus at Pentecost 2017. You can learn more about them, or visit our partnerships directory.
Resources
Guidelines and other resources developed for use by partnerships.
FAQs
Have a look at the questions being asked about partnerships and the answers offered. You might have some of your own too.
Sharing Area
Why reinvent the wheel? This area will include ideas and developments from partnerships. Send yours in too!
The Forward Together in Hope website is no longer being updated but is still accessible.
All of the resources developed over the last 3 years will be available here until further notice.
Partnerships Sharing Area
As members of one Diocesan family we have the opportunity not only to develop our own partnerships but to contribute ideas and approaches that might be helpful to those in other areas too. We sometimes take what we are doing for granted and assume that ‘everyone else is doing it’ so just keep it to ourselves. Or we might recognise that we are doing something quite special but don’t really know how best to spread the news to other areas.
This section of the website will contain information about the things we get to hear about from partnerships, but we can only get to hear about them if you tell us, so please provide us with anything you feel might be suitable.
Contact us by email or 0191 243 3304.
Some Food For Thought
During our Forward Together in Hope journey we gathered from Parish Questionnaires some of the many ideas and activities that were put forward as examples that might be of interest to others. These were collated and published in June 2016 as a 20-page booklet under the title ‘Some Food for Thought’. It is made available again here (pdf - word) as a reminder of the approach and a resources that can be dipped into.
Making a Start
An approach to planning in the St Mary the Virgin Partnership
A ‘fly on the wall’ account of how we put together the first part of our partnership plan…….not perfect by any means - but it’s working for us!
The Blackfriars Partnership at Prayer
About a year ago, the parishes of St. Robert’s and English Martyrs came up with the plan to have a 24 Hour Prayer for Pentecost 2017. All good so far, two parishes, two churches and keen parishioners led by Forward Together in Hope rep, Susan Picola, and parish priest, Fr. Shaun O’Neill.
When the Partnership Proposal went in, the small planning team decided to work with the other churches they thought they would be partnered with…still all good. Then the Blackfriars Partnership was announced…15 churches! What to do?
After a fair few deep breaths and conversations, it was decided to open up the Prayer Vigil for Pentecost to as wide a range of parishes as possible. This was going to be tricky as much was already in place but with enthusiasm and a willingness to work together, an amazing thing happened. People from across the Partnership came together and had a fabulous time!
Communicating across the Escomb Partnership
With the aim of helping parishes to see themselves as part of the new Partnership Community the Escomb Partnership is making available a weekly communication ‘Our Sunday Partnership Note’ for all of the mass-goers in its 12 churches. The ‘Partnership Note’ includes inspiring quotes, scripture passages and ‘questions to ponder’. Here are a couple of recent examples (25 June and 2 July).