Following the joyful commissioning of new focal leaders at the end of last year, we have been finding out more about what the role looks like for people in different contexts. This week, we spoke to Robina Jones, focal leader at St George’s, Unsworth.
Robina was already an active church member before becoming focal leader; doing the coffee, greeting people on Sunday mornings, doing the notices and occasional intercessions, being an Anna Friend for Anna Chaplaincy, the safeguarding officer for the two churches in her parish, and more. As she already does so much, she knew taking on the focal leader title wouldn’t add extra work - it would simply let people know that she is the person to go to as that is her role.
It was the congregation focus of focal leadership that really appealed to Robina and encouraged her to put herself forward. “What they want is the face of the people," she says, "the churchwarden is for the church and the building; focal leadership is for the congregation."
For Robina, being a point of contact for the congregation comes naturally. She is used to being at the front through leading the all-age service, and people often approach her to ask about events due to her doing the notices in church. She is also a visible face of the church for both regular attendees and newcomers thanks to her greeting people every Sunday.
As someone who became more active in the church thanks to an invitation from her then-vicar Revd Canon Donna Williams to do a reading one Christmas, Robina understands the importance of inviting people to become more involved. This is something which she incorporates into her focal leadership, noticing the skills of others and encouraging them to take part – one recent example being her inviting a group of ladies who are new to St George’s to take part in the church Christmas fair.
Prayer also plays a huge role in Robina’s focal leadership, having undertaken prayer courses so that she can pray alongside and for people within the congregation, should they ask her to. “Prayer is very important for me… I want my congregation to know that I'm there for them with that as well”, she says.
Working closely with her mission community and other focal leaders to “keep on the same path” also plays its part in Robina's focal leadership. By arranging things such as an all-age tea service, meeting up to share ideas, or praying the same prayers in all the different churches, the mission community helps to keep her finger on the pulse of everything that’s happening.
Robina would encourage anyone involved in their church to consider taking on the focal leadership role, saying, “It doesn’t cost me anything - I just give my time and basic knowledge, and if you want to help your church and congregation it’s a wonderful position to take!”