The Church of England in Norfolk and North-East Suffolk
Clergy mailing
TO: LICENSED CLERGY
FROM: The Revd Jan McFarlane on Wednesday 6 February 2008

Introducing myself - Mark Heybourne
Hello there! I'm Mark Heybourne and I just wanted to introduce myself as both the new manager of The Horstead Centre and the Diocese Youth and Children's Co-ordinator. There is a huge amount for me to learn as I pick up the reins from Val Khambatta, but I'm very excited about the role and the opportunity of working with you all.

Though I am new to this job, I’m not new to the diocese. I’m a Reader, a member of St Luke with St. Augustine in New Catton, Norwich, where I run a regular young people's group on Sunday mornings. Immediately before coming to Horstead, I was the National Development Manager for ‘Action for Prisoners' Families’, the national organisation for the support of prisoners’ families; before that, as a qualified youth & community worker, I spent nearly ten years with The Matthew Project, where I pioneered the highly regarded mobile outreach service working with young people across Norfolk. I started at the Horstead Centre at the beginning of January and want to do all I can to ensure the Centre continues its journey of development and innovation, while still keeping the welcoming and vibrant centre it already is. Part of that journey is to strengthen existing links and develop new relationships with our schools, churches or youth organisations in the diocese and of course, young people themselves! I do hope you will contact me if you feel there is any opportunity in which we can do just that. I am also very pleased to be working alongside Tricia Elson, the Youth & Children's Administrator to explore any new ways in which the youth & children's work can be co-ordinated, and to ensure that each of us who work with children & young people, in church or the wider community, can share, learn and grow from each other's experience. Indeed one early priority I have for my Youth & Children's co-ordinating role is to ensure we maintain a lively, well informed network across the Diocese; this will provide us all with a shared sense of what is happening and allows us to celebrate and replicate the best practice. Please make note of my contact details and do not hesitate to contact me if there is anything local to you that you feel I should be aware of or if there is any way in which I might be ofhelp to you either as part of the team here at The Horstead Centre or along with Tricia and Youth & Children's Resource Centre Best wishes, Mark