Acting Team Leader the Rev Phil Dunning has launched a plan for a worship rota for the whole Partnership to ensure a fair coverage of worship and pastoral care across our six churches.

The idea of a worship rota for the whole Partnership was one of the recommendations made in the review completed by the Rev Neil Popham three years ago. However the idea has not been implemented with each church continuing to draw up its own rotas.

Now Phil is seeking support for the new rota running from March to May 2026 from the Anglican, Baptist and Methodist denominations.

Please discuss worship needs at your regular Congregation meetings and feedback to Helen Eaton, email her at: sburyepadm@gmail.com

Full details of this and other news can be found in the February SEP newsletter available to download here.

An Ecumenical Service for Christian Unity will be held at St James Church, New Bradwell, on Sunday (January 18) at 6pm at St James Ecumenical Church, Church Street, New Bradwell.

The preacher is Doral Hayes, Principal Officer for Ecumenical Development and Relations, Churches Together in England. Music will be provided by the One Voice Choir. More details about the service can be found here.

Bishop of Buckingham the Rt Rev Dave Bull faced a big turn out of congregations from all six of our churches on Tuesday January 6 to answer questions about the current ministry situation.

With no full time Anglican minister, two part time ministers and a full time Baptist minister, the Rev Phil Dunning, Dave acknowledged that the Partnership is under manned at present.

Bishop of Buckingham, the Rt Rev Dave Bull.

However he was unable to offer any quick fixes to the situation which came about after the suspension of the Team Rector in May last year.

Questioned about whether the Oxford Diocese should have stepped in with immediate help he said that no one envisaged that the matter would take so long to resolve.

He said the Diocese was unable to offer the help of a minister to cover the absence of the Team Rector and it was not possible to second one of the many curates attached to churches in Oxford.

He said Milton Keynes had been seriously under staffed for many years – there are 13 serving Anglican ministers in the city compared with 27 in Oxford which has a population about a third smaller than MK.

Dave said he would be working to alter this in the long term – changing the perception from elsewhere in the Diocese of the importance of Milton Keynes.

Currently living in south Bucks he will be moving to the city in the near future and hopes to put new focus on growing congregations in the city.