Holy Trinity Church District
The year started with all of us shocked at the scenes
of devastation caused by the Tsunami in South East Asia. A group of Holy Trinity
members lead by David Osborn, decided that we had to make the effort to raise
money for Christian Aid to assist the suffering of the Tsunami victims. It was
decided that a musical evening should be held in the Holy Trinity church, David
Osborn organised the musical programme; Mark and Katherine Law organised an
auction, there was also a raffle, the evening was a complete success and a total
of £3,500.00 was raised for Christian Aid. A very big thank you to all the
people who assisted in making this evening such a great success; not forgetting
all those who attended and gave so generously for such a worthy cause.
The Holy Trinity family enjoyed a barbeque in the rectory grounds after
our Patronal Festival in June, although there were several tents erected, when
the rain came more tents were hastily erected, the short rain shower did not
dampen our enjoyment, a special thank you to the barbequers.
During the last year the Liturgical review group led by Mark Ackford have
produced three new services: Christmas with Epiphany, Easter and Ordinary Time.
The committee agreed that the Christmas and Epiphany service worked well. It is
planned to introduce the new Ordinary Time service after Candlemas.
Our Civic service held on Remembrance Sunday attended by our local Member
of Parliament and the Mayor together with other civic dignitaries, once again
resulted in a full church. We were particularly pleased that there was an
increase in the attendance of young people.
We are pleased to report around a 10% increase in baptisms during the
last year, however, the most encouraging fact is that often when we hold a
baptism for three or four families, they bring enough friends and relatives to
fill the church.
This year we continued with our memorial services for those who had lost
a loved one in the preceding year followed by tea in the Langley hall. On each
occasion we had three hundred people in church which highlights the need for
these services.
On the lighter side we carried out another fund raising evening with a
wine tasting evening in October, this was a great success, supper was on a bring
and share basis organised by Helen Osborn and her band of assistants.
We thank Malcolm Taylor and his building committee for all their work
over the last year; they have had to face many testing problems. We also thank
his many helpers who turn out to assist in the Churchyard gardening.
Finally a very big thank you to all our un-named helpers, without whose
assistance Holy Trinity could not function so smoothly, particularly to the DCC
who have had to face tough decisions because of changing "Health and safety
regulations" and the current financial situation of Holy Trinity Church.
Geoffrey Payne.
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St Andrew's Church District
Father Jeremy
We wish to record our heartfelt thanks to Jeremy for his ministry at St.
Andrew's over seven years from July 1998 to July 2005. During his time here he
showed himself to be a loving, enthusiastic, devout and conscientious priest,
and a person of great vision. Although we miss him, we continue to pray for him
and wish him and Carys well at All Saints, Boyne Hill, Maidenhead.
New Team Vicar
Regrettably, we did not feel able to appoint any of the candidates who put
themselves forward for the post of Team Vicar at St. Andrew's. However, we feel
that it is better to find someone who is not only adequate but also really well
suited to the position. We pray and hope that during 2006 we will find (and be
found by) the right person.
Worship and Fellowship
Our occasional early morning Eucharists, followed by breakfast, are now part
of our worship tradition, and we had several such services during the year.
Although we do not have regular evening worship at St. Andrew's, we do sometimes
meet for the peaceful devotion of the evening service of Compline.
On four occasions a fair sized group of us met in church for a talk followed by
a meal, a discussion and finally a celebration of the Eucharist. The theme of
these four sessions was the nature of the church and its ministry from the point
of view of both the clergy and the laity. All who came to these occasions found
them very fruitful and enjoyable, and we hope that something similar will
continue to be part of our fellowship.
Pilgrimage to Walsingham
In August a party of nineteen adults and five children went on a pilgrimage
to the Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham. Walsingham is sometimes called
"England's Nazareth". Once again we must thank Father Jeremy for making our
pilgrimage such an enjoyable and uplifting experience. We intend to go on a
Walsingham pilgrimage in 2006.
100 Club
The St. Andrew's 100 Club was set up to raise funds to meet the future cost
of providing a new heating system for St. Andrew's. We thank John McNeil for all
his work in making the present system serviceable for the time being and we hope
that it will last for several years yet.
The 100 Club was started in April 2005, and it currently has 49 members. Each
member pays £25 a year and there is a prize draw after the morning service on
the last Sunday of each month, when one person whose ticket is drawn receives
£40. However, in December's draw there are two prizes of £60 each. It is
expected that the net amount raised for the year from April 2005 to March 2006
(after deducting prizes and minor expenses), will be approximately £635.
Fund Raising Events
On the afternoon of 10 July we had a sponsored hymn singing session followed
by a cream tea. This was organised by Colin and Maggy Garton, two of our
Methodist friends and it raised about £500.
On a Sunday afternoon in September we raised about £138 from the train rides on
the miniature railway at Jocks Lane Recreation Ground. Over the years this event
has proved to be a happy social occasion as well as a chance to raise funds. We
thank Bracknell Railway Society who freely and generously gave up their time to
make this event possible.
Church Building and Grounds
Although the church and grounds are generally in good order, our quinquennial (5-yearly) inspection report last year emphasised the need to take
urgent action to cut back the vegetation growing up the outside walls of the
Church. A group of community service workers, under the auspices of the
Probation Service, did a very good and tidy job in removing this vegetation. For
this we are very grateful.
Parish Outing to Worcester
On June 25th over fifty people went on a coach trip to Worcester. The climax
of the day was a Eucharist conducted by Father Jeremy in the Lady Chapel at
Worcester Cathedral.
It was a very enjoyable and successful day and indeed some people felt that it
was one of the best trips we have ever had. Our thanks again go to Len Barrett
for all his hard work in arranging the outing.
Pram and Toddler Group
This continues to thrive. It meets in the Church on Monday mornings
(including Bank Holidays). It is sometimes difficult for families with young
children to feel comfortable in a normal church service, and this group gives
them a chance to feel more relaxed in a church setting.
Other News and Thanks
John Jayaseelan, his wife Hema and their young son Kissinger, moved to Kent
during the autumn. John was one of our District Wardens and all of them
contributed a great deal to the life of St. Andrew's. Kissinger is a delightful
child.
Our special thanks go to Peter for looking after us with such devotion and
commitment. It is wonderful to be led by someone of such education, insight and
imagination.
We thank Janet Murton for all she does for the Church, including the organising
of the sale of Fair Trade items.
It would be difficult to thank everybody but we wish also to thank:
- Pearl Harvey and her team for their work with the Sunday School;
- Chris Norman, the choir and all involved in the musical aspect of our worship;
- Mary Townsend for arranging the flowers so well and beautifully;
- All who clean the Church.
Brian Davies & Simon Sellick
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St Paul's Church District
St Paul's has been learning the true meaning of the saying
that "the only constant is change". We started the year considering whether we
wanted to form a full Local Ecumenical Partnership with our brothers and sisters
in the URC congregation, moved through discussions on the possible effects of
Fresh Expressions Ministry in the Team, and ended the year by responding to the
challenges of the future by agreeing our "core values".
This has been a lot for the congregation to absorb and deal with, and we
feel that it is to their great credit that the core values reflect a desire to
maintain good fellowship, and be outward looking.
But there have been smaller changes too...
As the children of our congregation have grown, it has been a joy to
welcome new families into the church. This means that our Children's club
continues to be a lively place, where each report at the end of the service
brings surprises, and often laughter.
The work done by the joint Anglican/URC social committee has taken off,
with an increasing number of well attended events ensuring that the two
congregations get to know each other in less formal surroundings.
The first joint Church meeting was held in February, which reaffirmed our
commitment to work together as a presence for God in the local community.
There have been some less welcome changes too...
Peter Flint leaving as the URC minister was a loss of a friend to us all.
But perhaps the greater loss was Judith who, as well as being a good friend,
also played the organ for us. This does have its interesting side however, in
the use of the midi player to provide our music. This amazing device directly
drives the organ giving the impression that the technician operating the midi
player is actually playing the organ, and leading to questions about when Stuart
learned to play so well!
We have also said goodbye to members of the congregation, Glenda and
David Watts, who were frequent worshippers at St Paul's. David was also deanery
secretary for years and has, at last, decided to retire to Norfolk.
So what is the conclusion of the year?
Well, it is clear that change is coming and we will have to deal with
this, with God's help, in the coming years. However, in doing this we have found
that it is important to have a firm idea of what the congregation wants from its
Church - its core values. So what are these for St Paul's?
- Welcoming Community.
- Desire for Growth, Discipleship and Mission.
- Eucharistic Worship that is informal but reverent.
- Fellowship.
- Friendship with the URC.
Adrian Ball & Russell Goodburn
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Team Clergy
This year sees my 40th anniversary of ordination, and I am
very conscious of the changes in those four decades during which I have
ministered. When I was first ordained, more people came to church, but not that
much more, more people were married in church and we did more baptisms. There
were more clergy, much more! Not every church and diocese is in the grip of
decline, nor can the decline be traced to one particular issue. In 1966 though,
there were not the sports activities, boot sales, weekends away, money to do
things or the opportunity to do them.
There has not been a decline in spirituality but in the way that it is
expressed. Fewer people and clergy mean though that we cannot do the things we
used to do and the role of the clergy has changed from being largely pastoral to
managing mission. The clergy are also getting older! I was ordained at 23 but
you would not find anyone of that age being ordained now. They are more likely
to be 40+ and in part time ministry.
In the past, we have been supported financially by endowments from the past.
These are now all gone and we have to raise every penny ourselves and even
support dioceses that are worse off than ourselves. In 1993 £57 million came
from the Church Commissioners: in 2003, only £26 million was received. The
clergy stipends have risen as have their pension provision and so parish share
increases have risen to as point where the Bracknell Team Ministry will run out
of its reserves at the end of this year.
Various strategy groups have been set up, in the diocese, in the deanery and in
the parish. We suffer because, like Easthampstead, as an urban parish, we are
less likely to attract financial support than the surrounding villages. The
strategic response will need to be more than altering parish boundaries and I am
praying that as in the book of Acts, God the Holy Spirit challenged the Church
to do different things in different ways, so too may we be challenged by the
same Spirit. It was painful for those Christians who had been Jews, because
people were being converted who had no previous religion. In the same way, we in
the 21st century need to grow the Christian Church, whilst at the same time,
keeping up with many of the traditional things the Church of England has always
done.
At our Annual Parish Meeting this year, I want us to discuss our core values -
the things we value the most, and then put them alongside the needs of Bracknell
in the future. I have set out below what those core values might be, but I am
hoping that those who come to the meeting will revise them, add to them and
begin to shape a response to the new situations we find ourselves in.
Team Values
Co-ordinated ministry across the parish; Administrative support centralised;
Fellowship of clergy in support of each other; Different worship experiences for
different people; Lay participation in management and ministry; Clerical and lay
pastoral care; Quality ministry in pastoral offices - baptism, marriage and
funerals.
St Andrew's
Modern church; Catholic liturgy; Community based; Central to Priestwood.
St Paul's
Flexible worship styles; Central and convenient location; A desire for mission;
In partnership with the United Reformed Church.
Holy Trinity
Town centre ministry; Civic responsibilities; Owned by older Bracknell;
Traditional Anglicanism
All of these values, which I confess are my own personal lists, are areas where
we are successful to some degree - they can be seen as strengths. There are
other areas of strength that I invite others to add. However, they may not be
marks of a 'successful church' in terms of numbers or sustainability. Bob
Jackson in his book 'The road to growth' suggests eight changes that lead to
church growth:
- Planting new congregations
- Worship less formal, more relaxed, better music
- Better provision for children and young people
- Improving welcoming and integration (Front door)
- Better small groups and pastoral care (Back door)
- Regular use of evangelism courses
- More lay involvement in leadershi
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- Improvements to buildings
All these are within the grasp of the Bracknell Team Ministry and some, in part,
are happening now. Successful congregations also need to have a degree of
self-determination and our DCCs may well need a sharper focus and cutting edge
to achieve some of these. At present, we are bogged down with fund raising,
tensions from the deanery and diocese - as Bob Jackson says 'these only add to
the spiral of decline'.
So in reflecting on this past year, we live in seriously interesting times. I am
grateful to all those who share ministry with me, to my colleagues Catherine,
Mark and Peter, Jenny and the lay ministers. To the Parish wardens, Brenda and
Andrew, so many thanks. Brenda felt that the pressure of family meant that she
needed to step down from being Warden but I am so grateful to her and Andrew for
all that they have done. Shelagh Richards will be stepping down from being PCC
secretary this year - was there ever such an accomplished person who has held
this office? Shelagh has ensured our meetings are recorded, followed up and
administered so professionally. Jenny Aellen, after 10 years has also decided
the time has come to step down as Gift Aid secretary. She has claimed our tax
back so efficiently with such competency and efficiency.
Our treasurers, Mark and Cathy Carson have again presented us with accounts that
makes understanding easy. Their task has grown more difficult this year but they
have administered things so well. Our magazine is much admired and to Jenny and
Stephen our many thanks - it contains much of interest and is always a good
read. Our office staff keep us going! Nigel, Linda, Joan and Amelia have all
again done such sterling work, and our thanks are due to them. I am delighted
that three people, Suzanne Ackford, Tracey Williams and Sue Divall have stuck
with us in working towards being pastoral ministers with funerals. I am hopeful
that we may see the beginning of this ministry in the near future. Baptism
Preparation continues to develop and we are seeing more people come to this -
our thanks to Catherine's team who assist in this. Our website is one of the
best! Our thanks to Warwick Comer-Stone for all his work in the ever-growing
process of communication.
The Bishop of Reading has recently said, 'the future of the church presents us
with some truths about ourselves, some uncomfortable, some provocative, and some
ultimately helpful'. There are many of us who dream dreams together and have a
heart for mission, but first we need to continue working on our own
spirituality, in prayer, study of the bible and worship together. Most of all
though through love in the encountering of each other and our world, praying
that God will work through us in bringing about his Kingdom.
David
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PCC Report
The PCC met six times and debated how to do church
differently. We produced a detailed response to the Deanery initiative which
will inform its Mission plan for the next 5-7 years and our own discussions for
the future.
We considered the profile required of a vicar at St Andrew's; fresh ways
of doing church and plans to minister those who currently do not attend
traditional church; how to address our financial situation, make a submission
regarding the Parish Share formula, and define a 5-year strategy for the BTM.
Ideas were discussed to balance our books, proactively react to the annual
Parish Share issue, understand the true costs of ministry and make the most
effective use of our clergy. A proven TRIO approach was put forward to
facilitate a step increase in our giving.
The work and costs required for Holy Trinity roof and other associated
repairs required much thought and debate, together with the way forward with our
application for Listed Building status.
The legislative requirements regarding the employment of staff, Criminal
Records Bureau clearance and Health, Safety & Welfare issues were addressed, but
will continue to remain on the agenda and require financial outlay. These
included testing, risk assessments, levels of responsibilities, the hire of the
Langley Hall, obligations for our staff and others for whom we have
responsibility.
Unfortunately, The Langley Centre project group could not meet and
progress, due to the delays surrounding the regeneration of the town centre.
This impacted on the need to consider urgent repairs required for the Hall, such
as the kitchen and flat roof. The security arrangements for the building had to
be addressed due to a break-in and other financial outlay had to be made to
bring the hall up to building and legislative requirements.
The PCC therefore had focussed and debated hard on our vision for the
future and how we could do church differently, whilst continuing to address the
immediate issues of finances, staffing and building works and the procedures
required to prepare us in meeting our visions. As a result, there are some plans
and proposals that have been put forward that we hope may be fulfilled in 2006.
Shelagh Richards
PCC Secretary
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