Holy Trinity Church District
2006/7 has been an eventful and challenging twelve
months. On 29th October we said farewell to David Osborn after nine years as
Team Rector for the Bracknell Team Ministry. A well attended Team Service was
held in Holy Trinity, followed by a reception in the Langley Hall. David and
Helen were presented with a coffee table and a lamp along with a cheque for
£310. David and Helen have settled into their new home in Llantilio Crossenny
and a number of people journeyed down from Bracknell for David's licensing on
2nd December. We are now looking forward to the licensing of the new Priest In
Charge on 20th March.
We are also sorry to be saying good bye to our curate Mark Ackford and
his family, Suzanne, Catherine and Joshua. His last service was held on Sunday
4th February and we wish him all the best in his new post in Aylesbury. One of
Mark's achievements has been the establishment of the new family service held in
the Langley Hall on the third Sunday of every month.
This new family service is attended by Sunday School and the uniform
groups and has been growing in numbers (now up to around 30). The family service
follows the main lectionary so that the same readings are heard as in main
church service. Themes for the service have included: making choices, compassion
and, listening. A variety of techniques have been used, to appeal especially to
children and young people including: drama, puppets and movie clips. Creative
activities are also included and children have enjoyed making things such as:
prayer wheels, treasure chests and prayer stars. The music used is predominantly
modern taken from the New Hymns and Worship Songs book and the Come and Praise
BBC School Song Book. The children also enjoy getting the percussion instruments
out and joining in.
The church also hosted a second and very successful pet service on 21st
May. This was very well attended and was followed by refreshments in the Langley
Hall. There were lots of small, furry animals along with several breeds of dog.
Another highlight of the year was the Civic Remembrance Service, held on
Sunday 12th November. Revd Mark Ackford led the commemorations at the war
memorial and then led the service that followed in a very packed Holy Trinity.
We had cubs sitting on the carpet and cadets in the choir stalls. The sides
people did a sterling job seating everyone. The collection raised over £450 for
the Poppy Appeal.
The Christmas services this year were also very well attended. The choir
celebrated Advent Sunday (3rd December) with an additional evening carol service
- "Darkness into Light". The team Christingle service was held at St Andrews on
10th December and was well attended by children and lots of grandparents from
all three churches. The service of Nine Lessons and Carols was held on 17th
December, followed by mulled wine and mince pies in the Langley Hall. Both the
Midnight Mass and Christmas morning services had large congregations.
Work started on the church tower in November and has now been completed.
The scaffolding has been removed and the church is watertight and more
importantly structurally safe.
Marcia Head
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St Andrew's Church District
Father Andrew
On 23rd May 2006 we welcomed Andrew Frearson when he was
licensed as our new Team Vicar at St. Andrew's. Andrew originally came from the
Birmingham area and since his ordination he has held church positions not only
in Birmingham but also in the Blackburn area and most recently in the US, at
Atlanta, Georgia. Shortly before Andrew joined us he married his American wife
Lynn, who has a teenage daughter Emily. Later in the year at St. Andrew's we had
a service of blessing of their marriage, and they invited us all to the Vicarage
afterwards for a buffet meal, which was excellent. All three of them have
settled in very well and we hope that they will enjoy life here in Bracknell.
New Things
During Advent we had a series of 'adult Sunday School'
sessions before the morning service. We looked at the lives and work of
prominent Anglicans Thomas Cranmer, Richard Hooker, Evelyn Underhill, C S Lewis
and Archbishop Desmond Tutu. Also during Advent, Father Andrew hosted several
evening sessions exploring Celtic spirituality, in which he has a special
interest. In this connection he ha suggested the possibility that we might visit
the form community.
Pilgrimage to Walsingham
Our Walsingham pilgrimage was over a period of four days at
the end of August. The services in the Shrine Church were particularly uplifting
and helpful this time and it was good that Father Andrew could be with us.
Father Jeremy was also there with a group from his congregation at Maidenhead
and we had a "get-together" with them one evening. This was of course in
addition to our very enjoyable evening visits to local hostelries. We wish to
thank Brenda Mullins for all her detailed work in organising the pilgrimage.
Everything went very smoothly.
Parish Outing to Bury St. Edmunds
On a perfect sunny day in early July, we went to see this very
attractive Suffolk market town. Edmund was a medieval king who was martyred and
his body is enshrined at Bury St. Edmunds. He used to be the patron saint of
England before we adopted St. George instead. Our thanks go to Len Barrett for
once again organising our annual trip so well.
Fund Raising
Christmas Fayre - This raised nearly £300 and our special
thanks go to Susan Alcock for all the work she put into the event. Several
others also jut in a lot of effort and we wish to thank them too.
Jocks Lane Railway - Once again the Bracknell Railway Society ran the
trains in the Jocks Lane Recreation Ground for us on a Sunday afternoon and as
always we are very grateful to them for giving up their time to help us in oar
fund raising. This event raised nearly £200.
In October some of us joined with our Methodist friends at Shepherds Lane
in a sponsored hymn sing. This was in aid of the Whitechapel Mission, an
organisation which assists homeless and deprived people in London. Over £500 was
raised and we heard a very moving and inspiring talk by a speaker from the
Mission.
100 Club - The purpose of this is to raise money to help pay for a
replacement of the heating system at St. Andrew's if and when the current system
ceases to function. At present there are about 40 members who pay £25 a year and
are entered into a prize draw each month. There is now over £1,000 in the 100
Club account.
Thelma Gadsden and Irene Sainsbury
We celebrated the lives of Thelma and Irene, who both passed
away. Thelma gave a great deal to St. Andrew's over the years, both practically
and spiritually. Irene was also a very faithful member of the congregation and
reached the great age of 101.
Thanks
We wish to thank all who contribute in so many different ways
to the life of St. Andrew's. Even if the good work people do may sometimes
appear to go unnoticed, it is still part of the missionary call to make Christ
known.
Maureen Beadsley & Simon Sellick
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St Paul's Church District
This has been a quieter year for St Paul's, trying to
reflect on where we are, and where we want to go. Therefore, the DCC has
considered four issues in their meetings during the year, minimising the amount
of routine work. The issues were:
Some issues were more successful than others. In particular we held a
very successful session on Children's work with both the DCC and Children's Club
leaders. Over breakfast one Saturday morning, we looked at options for providing
teaching for 3 to 14 year olds. As a result, the structure has been changed,
balancing the need to give leaders a time in Church with the need of the
children. The scheme is still new, but showing signs of achieving what we
wanted.
The prayer session led to a monthly prayer group on the 1st Saturday of
the month - the time chosen to allow a smooth transition into the coffee morning
afterwards. This is again new, so we will keep you informed how it goes. We also
have the Monday bible study, run by Steven and Jenny Colby. This did not come
from this initiative, but was welcomed as a good example of what can be done.
Outreach has been less successful, with us waiting for the PCC
discussion, and the issues raised with our URC partners lack of Minister. Can
you please remember them in your prayers as they continue to search for the
right person.
Developing Mission and Outreach is one of our main aims next year. There
is a promise of movement in both camps so we are hopeful of having this as a
focus.
The money discussion was the last on the agenda. And concentrated on
supporting and complementing "Giving in Grace". Again this will be a focus of
work in the coming year.
But it has not all been work. We had a successful Flower Festival in
June, with the Church a blaze of colour as arrangements were produced by
individuals and groups in both congregations. This led to the Church being open
all day, with a steady stream of visitors both from the congregation and the
surrounding community.
We also had a wonderful Crib service on Christmas Eve. The children
worked hard all afternoon to rehearse a piece of drama called "Countdown to
Christmas". This asked the question of what Christmas meant to people, and
reminded them that it was really about the birth of Christ. They were rewarded
by a packed church - almost 90 people. The mixture of carols, songs, drama and a
talk were enjoyed by all, indeed the service was so successful, we are wondering
whether we will need two performances next year.
So we have had a year where we have concentrated on a few things, and
made some changes for the better. For these we thank everyone - Catherine, the
DCC, Children's club leaders and the congregation for their commitment and
enthusiasm.
Adrian Ball & Russell Goodburn
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PCC Report
The PCC met 7 times over the past year. There is a standard framework for
the PCC agenda that ensures that important matters are given due attention. This
report provides an overview of the topics discussed. More details will be
included in other reports.
Mission
As a follow-up to last year's Annual meeting, themes from 'BTM: what
we're good at and what we could do better', were condensed into 4 topics: prayer
groups; cooperation between the 3 churches, both social and prayer; house groups
and finances, and passed to the DCC's for further action. The discussion on
Mission felt, at times, squeezed between the deliberation on financial matters
and the fabric of the Holy Trinity building. Therefore a meeting was called
solely to address ways that we can extend the mission of the Church: 'Mission
Possible'. At the time of writing this remains work in progress.
Holy Trinity
The building became a focus when a preliminary survey revealed
urgent work needed to maintain the structural integrity of the tower. The
decision to proceed with the tower repairs took much consideration due to the
financial position of the Parish.
Financial Matters
The Parish faces diminishing reserves from increasing costs, a
significant increase in the Parish Share and no increase in income from giving.
After much reflection, and by a majority vote, it was proposed to suspend
payment of the Parish Share for 2 months to proceed with repairs to Holy Trinity
and until a clearer financial picture was calculated, with the intention to
resume full payment. The Parish will have defaulted on payment by the end on the
year.
To address the financial situation it had been agreed to execute TRIO, a
programme designed to address the financial challenges faced by parishes.
Following discussions and examination why this programme was stalling, it was
decided to go forward with Giving in Grace. This has a much more defined process
and energy is currently focused on the roll-out.
As a gesture to the Deanery on the Parish's intent to pay the Parish
share, a sum of 9 days worth of scaffolding rental charge was paid. This money
was 'saved' by an additional PC meeting as soon as the results of the
preliminary survey became known and agreement to commence repair work while
scaffolding was in place.
Children's Matters
It was agreed to adopt the Diocese's Children's Policy to ensure the
Parish complies with guidelines without needing to maintain its own. Work has
gone on to define the requirements as applicable to our Parish in the least
burdensome way.
Health & Safety
To ensure the Parish's procedures are updated and action taken
to comply with requirements of operating public buildings. For example, fire
risk assessments and electrical testing.
Other Matters
The departure of Rev. David required the preparation of a Parish
profile to advertise the vacancy.
During this year, Pew sheets have been prepared to share information with the
broader congregation on critical happenings in a timely manner. Feedback has
suggested these have been appreciated.
Lesley Ann Johnson
BTM PCC Secretary
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