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Annual Parochial Church Meeting
Report
Review of 2016
2nd April 2017
1.30pm
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Contents
1. The vicar - Revd Marcus Nelson
2. Church wardens
3. Curates
4. Children, families and Youth Ministry
5. Young Adults Ministry
6. Worship Ministry
7. International Church
8. Outreach Ministries
9. Trinity families
10. Weekend away
11. International church
12. Deanery and Diocesan Synod
13. Mission Partners
14. Safeguarding
15. St. Matthew’s playgroup
16. Building team
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1. Vicar Revd Marcus Nelson
Vicar’s Report
‘My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their
message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they
also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.
I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one. I in them
and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me
and have loved them even as you have loved me.’
John 17:20-23
What is it that allows us to lay our heads on our pillows at night and know that everything is ok?
It is the most comforting and glorious truth that at the very centre of universe, the throne room
of all reality and centre of command of the cosmos, is Jesus. Jesus is seated at the right hand of
His Almighty Father. As our Great High Priest He has taken each one of our names on his strong
shoulders and in his loving heart to His Father. He has brought us into the family. He has made
us His own brothers and sisters and the sons and daughters of His own Father. Together the
Father, Son and Holy Spirit think and talk about us in ways that we could never even of
conceived. What Jesus said about those first disciples, He also says about us. Just imagine that
your name and mine are spoken of in the throne room of heaven! Imagine what dreams and
plans they have for us to share with them in their never ending new creation future.
As we look back over 2016, there is a great deal to be thankful to our Lord Jesus for. He has
been with us at every moment and granted us His own strength, help and peace. Our ministry
team has expanded. It has been a great privilege for Minty and I to be able to welcome Richard
Pendlebury as an ordained colleague. He has already given so much to St Matthew’s and we look
forward to all that he will share in the future. Having Sam Chapple join the ministry team has
also been very significant and we are very grateful for all he has given both to our worship and
ministry among young adults. Helen Djenguet has stepped into the office extremely well and
coordinated our administration with great diligence. Kirsty Chapple has continued to
significantly develop our ministry among children and young people and our numbers have grown
considerably.
There has been so much happening in church life over the year, as we have seen new exciting
ministries spring up and grow. Our evening youth group TAB, as well as Kings Kids, Chin-Up-
Church and Gather. Our monthly St Matthew’s Nights have been times of great blessing as we
undergird all we are doing in prayer. There are too many one off highlights of 2016 to even
mention; from the Weekend Away, to the Indian Curry and Music Evening, to the Christmas Craft
Evening, the Wine Tasting Evening, the Story Behind the Stained Glass Windows Lent Course,
Christmas Unplugged and Lighthouse to name but a few.
As things change, it can feel a little unsettling. I like to know where I stand and feel safe and
secure and always find change stressful as well as exciting. I know we all deep down want to see
our church family flourish and grow but I guess the reality that it has to change to do so, takes
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us all a bit by surprise. I’m so grateful for all of your love and prayers and support as we move
into the future together. You are aware that this is my first incumbency and that I haven’t done
any of this before and have no pre-mediated grand master plan to work to. As much as all of us,
I am just doing my best to prayerfully seek the LORD Jesus, and to discern his voice and seek His
leading for where He wants to take us. We are on all this adventure of following Jesus together.
It’s very reassuring that on this adventure, while we may not quite know every turn in the road
that we are in the hands of someone who has done it before and taken many more before us,
further into His glorious and good plans and purposes. He is the same yesterday, today and
forever. We are in all in good hands, in the hands of our Lord Jesus.
By early December 1989, after nine months building works, meeting in Colstons Girls School and
St Nathanael’s Church Hall, the raised floor was in place and our wonderful existing facilities
were completed. Those of us who can remember being here then, speak of the excitement and
the anticipation that everyone felt. It feels very much to me, that we are on the verge of
another momentous step forward in our church family life. Project Shine represents the
indefatigable creativity and commitment of Simon Pugh-Jones and the entire Building Team.
Project Shine represents for our church building what we want in our life together, as a church
family, to be evermore a city on a hill, shining all across this great city of Bristol with the light
of the knowledge and glory of Jesus Christ. Even in the next few months, exciting new avenues
are opening up before us, as we hold our first Holiday Bible Club and seek to work more closely
with our St Matthew’s Playgroup as part of our mission and ministry in the parish.
It is a wonderful privilege to be able to continue to share in this life of Jesus together at St
Matthew’s Church with you. Let’s resolve to continue to give ourselves to Jesus with ever
deepening commitment and devotion, to walk in His ways and grow in grace and knowledge of
Him. As we do, just like our church building, we will shine for Him all across Bristol, and at the
very centre of the universe, there will be more for the Father, Son and Holy Spirit to talk about
when it comes to St Matthew’s Church in Bristol.
Your servant in His wonderful Name,
Reverend Marcus Nelson
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2. Churchwardens
In April the Diocese published its new Vision: ‘Creating Connections: connecting with God,
connecting with each other and proclaiming the Good News afresh in this generation by connecting
with the communities we serve’. The Diocese called on all parishes to commit to join in supporting
this vision and the St Matthew’s PCC agreed that we should seek to embrace it immediately. We
noted that these themes of connection chimed well with our existing commitments to 'Knowing',
'Growing' and 'Going'. However we felt that ownership of this Vision needed be embedded more
firmly within the PCC and accordingly it was agreed that the vision delivery teams which have so
faithfully led in these areas for the last few years should be released. We are enormously grateful
to them for all the wonderful work which they have done and in particular to the chairs of each
of the three teams, Kyle Douglas, Kate Pinfold and Minty Hull.
Part of the Diocesan Vision identified making disciples as a priority. Marcus and the rest of the
ministry team have committed significant effort and skill to helping lead us in this area over the
year. On Sunday morning the whole church has followed the Jesus Storybook Bible, taking us
through key points throughout the Bible (OT and NT) where Jesus appears and brings His message
of hope, reconciliation and salvation. In Lent Marcus and Richard led us through inspiring sessions
focused on the stained glass windows downstairs and Marcus then introduced and led regular
monthly mid-week 'St Matthew's Night' sessions focusing in particular on lessons learned from
famous Christians over the ages. We had a really exciting weekend away at Brunel Manor in
Torquay when we were taken by Steve Nicholls through Paul's message to St Matthew's in
Ephesians. More recently Marcus has led a 'Frameworks' theology course on Monday evenings at
the vicarage.
The Diocesan Vision also identified engaging with younger generations as a priority. We have
always been committed to working with children and young people and now have a larger number
of regular members of the children and youth groups on Sunday mornings than at any time in
recent history. Much credit must go to the work of Kirsty Chapple and all the many people who
have supported her in the children's and youth work. There have been a number of new initiatives
– the re-launching of the Tuesday toddlers group as 'King's Kids' with a specifically Christian context
has been hugely successful. A new Sunday evening group for the youth called 'TAB' has also been
started and has proved very popular. Other old favourites, like the Christingle's service, have also
continued to attract significant numbers and the footfall of children and families across the
threshold of this church remains substantial; there is huge further potential.
We have also always been conscious that the demographic of our parish includes a large proportion
of students and young adults. Accordingly in September we appointed Sam Chapple to work as
Young Adults and Worship Leader. Since then, as well as leading the Sunday morning music, Sam
has made great strides in engaging with students and young adults in our parish, including
connecting with the Christian Union at Bristol University and starting a new evening group called
STAT (students, twenties and thirties). Already we are beginning to see more people from this
age range joining in. We are hugely grateful to Sam and to the Lord for the progress in this area.
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There have been other exciting new initiatives – for example Chin-Up Church, led by Sam Chapple
and Gather led by Sally Taylor. Other really important well established work has continued - Tea
and Chat, led by Jackie Burnell; Stay and Play, led by Val Jeal; Knightsone House led by Ann Baker
to mention but a few. The Social Organising Team led by Chris Smith has also continued to do its
stuff, with, amongst other things, the very welcome return of the wine-tasting before Christmas.
The treasurer and his assistant and the assistant wardens, welcomers, sacristans, coffee rota
members, flower arrangers, banner makers, musicians, singers, technicians, gardeners and
cleaners have all done their part. They are too many to name. We are hugely grateful to these
people and others for all the time, effort, kindness and skill that they put into all this selflessly
and often unnoticed and unthanked.
A number of people moved on from St Matthew’s this year for a variety of reasons; we were of
course sad to see them go and wish them all well. There have also been a significant number of
new joiners. Taking into account those who do not qualify for inclusion on the Electoral Roll or
who failed to get their forms in on time for inclusion ahead of this APCM, the total number of
adult ‘members’ of St Matthew’s now stands at around 160. The total number of children and
young people regularly attending on Sundays stands at around 40 with about 12 others attending
occasionally. The total membership of St Matthew’s therefore now stands at over 200 people.
There have been changes in the staff and ministry team as well. Fran Key left us as Musical Worship
Co-Ordinator and in September our administrator Hannah Taylor went on maternity leave; Helen
Djenguet was appointed as her replacement over that period. In November we were all delighted
to see our long standing LLM Richard Pendlebury ordained as a Deacon to stand alongside Minty
Hull supporting Marcus as curates in our church.
We also should mention Marilyn Wright, who died unexpectedly in April. She had been a long
standing and well-loved member of our community and is much missed. We were very humbled
to discover, some weeks later, that she had kindly remembered St Matthew's in her will and with
the benefit of that legacy and some other very generous donations, we have decided to carry out
some refurbishment work at the church - including some refreshing and reconfiguring of the
entrance lobby and the downstairs hall. This is phase one of 'Project Shine', led by Simon Pugh-
Jones, directed at opening up the church into a more welcoming space and drawing more people
in. As Jesus said: 'A city on a hill cannot be hidden. People do not light a lamp and put it under a
bowl. Instead they put it on its stand and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way
let your light shine before others' (Matt 5: 14-16). So let it be with St Matthew’s.
Alison Edmonds and Philip May
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3. Curates
Revd Richard Pendlebury
After many years of being a Lay Minister I became a Curate in November 2016. I am very grateful to the members of St Matthew’s for all the support and encouragement I have received over the years and during this recent transition to my new role. I have embarked on theological and ministerial training in order to equip me to serve God more effectively both within St Matthews and beyond. My remit as a Curate is to work with Marcus, Minty and the ministry team to grow and expand God’s kingdom through St Matthews and in my other roles in Bristol. I continue to preach, lead services and be involved in the sung worship at St Matthews. Part of my role is to encourage and support the equipping of others to use their gifts and this is something I am keen to develop. As an ordained minister I am finding that there are more opportunities to share the Gospel, offer prayer and support both within and outside church. I look forward to the coming year as we work together to grow as disciples in order to share the good news of Jesus with the wider world. Revd Dr Minty Hull I am now in the fourth year of curacy which will come to an end in 2017. It has been an interesting and at times very challenging curacy but it is also a great joy and privilege to serve at St Matthew’s and I am so grateful for all the support I’ve been given and everyone’s patience while I’ve been learning so much ‘on the job’. I look forward to our journey ahead as a church family. When people ask me how things are going at St Matthew’s, I usually answer that we are going through a time of transition and change. There have been many new developments during the past year which you will read about elsewhere in the Annual Report. However, one of the changes that has taken place is the winding up of some of the PCC sub-groups, the Knowing, Growing and Going Teams. Over time I have been involved in all three teams and know the time given and contributions made by the various team members. Most recently I have had the privilege of chairing the Going Team, whose focus was on mission and outreach within the parish. I’d like take the opportunity here to pay tribute to the members of that team (Polly Wingate-Saul, Val Jeal, Ann Baker, Ruth Pitter, Pete Atkinson and James Taylor) for all their hard work, especially in relation to our mission partner support and reviews. I am happy to know that Julia Dunn has taken on the role of co-ordinating the work with our mission partners and in encouraging our engagement with mission more generally. With regard to our Pastoral Care within the church, I welcome the involvement of Della (Nelson) and others as we review how to be more effective in caring for each other.
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During the past year I have cut back a little on the time I give to St Matthews as Bishop Mike appointed me to the honorary post of Advisor for Spiritual Direction in the Diocese in March 2016. In this role I work very closely with my colleague, Revd Lizzie Kesteven, who is Advisor for Spirituality. We have a fairly wide ranging brief. So, currently, we are engaged in tackling a number of issues aimed at enabling the spiritual directors within the Diocese, working with Chris Priddy on our page of the Diocesan website and also a particular project, which is in development, besides the ongoing linking of people seeking spiritual direction with spiritual directors. It is great to be involved in an area which is supporting others in their discipleship and spiritual growth. It is out of our relationship with God, with Jesus, that our desire to share God’s love and the gospel springs, so ultimately work in this area is about God’s mission and his service. As many of you will know, the last couple of years have been somewhat challenging on the family front with regard to health. We are and continue to be very grateful for all the help, good wishes and prayers that so many of you have given and made.
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4. Children, Families and Youth Ministry
Young People
It has been an encouraging year for the youth in our Church and I have enjoyed working with each
of our young people and alongside our committed Youth Team. The team have worked particularly
hard this year in the absence of a dedicated Youth Worker, each taking on a considerable number
of Sunday morning Pathfinder sessions as well as helping at extra events. During our Pathfinder
sessions, the youth joined the rest of the Church in following material based on the Jesus
Storybook Bible.
Socials continued to run alongside the Sunday morning sessions including a pancake party,
bowling, Air Hop, film nights, summer BBQ, bonfire night and a Christmas party. We had eleven
young people attend the annual weekend away in October, where the group headed off to Barton
Camp located in the foothills of the Mendips. It was a great time of relationship growing and
getting to know Jesus. Our thanks go to the entire youth team for taking time out to serve our
young people.
In September, a new Sunday evening youth group was created called ‘The TAB’. This is led and
run by Kirsty Chapple, Sam Chapple and Marcus Nelson with occasional helpers. For four weeks
the group met at the vicarage and then moved to the Church building from October onwards.
During this time, the group studied the Youth Alpha course mixed in with a few film evenings.
During each gathering, the group spend time in worship, playing games, studying the Bible and
prayer. The group meets between 19:00-20:30 term time only.
Our thanks go to the entire youth team for their continuous support, time and commitment given
to leading sessions for our young people.
Summer Football Coaching Jos Lucas continued to head up the organisation of the football outreach scheme in August 2016 with support from the football team. Young people from various schools in Bristol attended and enjoyed playing football as well as hearing testimonies from Christian leaders during the week. Children
Groups are held during Sunday morning services for all children and young people. A crèche
facility is available in the church for parents to use during services for children under the age of
three. In January 2016 a new pre-school group was introduced in the hall for children aged
between 3-4 years. The need for a more constructive space for this age group had been
highlighted by several parents and so ‘Sparklers’ was created. This group has proven to be a great
success and has been a real help for those parents who felt their child had outgrown the crèche
space. Furthering this in September all children’s groups were given names and a logo to help
children identify themselves within a group when attending church each week. Names given are
as follows: Crèche (0-3 years); Sparklers (Pre-School ages 3-4); Climbers (Reception-Y3); Explorers
(Y4-Y6) and Pathfinders (Secondary school age). ‘The TAB’ was also introduced at the same time
for our young people to be part of on Sunday evenings.
From January 2016 the whole church committed to spending the year studying the Jesus Storybook
Bible together. It was a great time as children and young people of all ages, along with the
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congregation looked at different stories from the Old Testament through to the New Testament
exploring how the whole Bible proclaims Jesus, His Father and the Holy Spirit. During the family
slot at the beginning of each service we spent the time together watching the story that we were
all studying for that week from the Jesus Storybook Bible DVD. Many people of all ages enjoyed
this element of the service and commented about the helpfulness of visually seeing stories from
the Bible.
A big thank you to all our Sunday school volunteers who give up their time to plan, prepare, lead
and support the running of our Sunday morning groups and so faithfully teach the Bible to our
youngest members of the congregation.
Children and Family Events
On Saturday 20th February, St Matthew’s held a Family Lent Day. Groups were held for children
in the hall whilst adults attended workshops upstairs in the worship space. We explored what it
means to be a Christian and how we can get to know Jesus better in our daily lives through reading
the Bible and praying. Following on from lent, Eggsplore was again well attended and was held
in the hall. Children explored the Easter story from Good Friday through to Easter day through
story and a variety of crafts.
During April, many people attended the St Matthews’s church weekend away. Steve Nichols
preached on the book of Ephesians and all the children and young people spent the weekend
learning about the ‘amour of God’. Children spent time reading the Bible, exploring all the
different elements of the amour and created spectacular armour outfits. During each session,
time was spent in worship, reading the Bible, praying and taking part in crafts and activities.
Our first family ‘Lighthouse’ event took place on October 31st for our
Light Party. Children came and spent the evening celebrating and
learning about how Jesus says “I am the light of the world. Whoever
follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life”
John 8:12. We played light-themed games, made crafts, learnt a song
and ate together. A fun evening was enjoyed by all!
Many families gathered in the morning on Friday 23rd December to make 140
Christingle oranges ready for the following day. A large number of people
filled the church on Christmas Eve to attend our annual Christingle service.
Twelve children from our Church Family acted out the Christmas story along
with four of our young people from Pathfinders who narrated the entire
service. With Sam Chapple’s accompaniment on the piano, the Christmas
story came alive for all to hear.
King’s Kids
Our toddler group here at St Matthew’s continues to grow in popularity. I very much appreciate
the help of committed volunteers Ruth Rimmer, Sally Taylor, Margie Bushell and Rosie Low. The
group was re-launched with the new name ‘King’s Kids’ in September 2016 with more of an
explicitly Christian ethos. A program was put together which draws upon the seasonal calendar
and each week a different story is chosen and a Christian message given. In addition to this,
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Christian songs such as ‘He’s got the whole world in his hands’ have been introduced and once a
term the group will go up into the worship space for a special story time. In December the children
with their parents/carers enjoyed exploring the true meaning of Christmas over the course of two
weeks. We used the knitted nativity set and Sam Chapple joined us on the piano as we sang and
danced our way through the Christmas story. A big thank you goes out to everybody who has
joined us in prayer and been continually praying for the group, especially during our re-launch in
September.
Over the course of the year, the aim has been to offer Jesus to all of our children and young
people here at St Matthew’s and encourage them to engage with the Bible. Our sincere thanks
goes out to all volunteers who give their time and energy in serving all of our children and young
people. We are also grateful to all of our children and young people for all that they bring to our
Church Family. Most of all, we are grateful to our good Father for providing us with such good
news to share and such wonderful life to enjoy in Jesus.
Kirsty Chapple
5. Young Adults Ministry
September 2016 saw the appointment of our first ever Young Adults and Worship Minister put
in place in response to the ‘Creating Connections’ vision document published by the Diocese
earlier in the year.
I was delighted to be appointed as ‘Young Adults and Worship Minister’ beginning my role as the
new academic year kicked in. I was also very encouraged to see the P.C.C and Church Family’s
commitment to reaching out to Young Adults in the Parish as well as their enthusiasm in using
our music and voices to give praise to God.
Our Church is located in an area where an astonishing percentage of the population fall into the
Young Adults category, whether students, young professionals or others. This unusually high
percentage is not reflected in the cross-section of our Church Family, in fact it is drastically
lower than we would expect.
We spent much of September to December asking the Lord for help in prayer as well as trying to
understand the reasons for the students, twenties and thirties gap in our congregation. We tried
to discern the direction in which the Lord would have us go in this area. Sam Chapple
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6. Worship Ministry
Our desire in the musical worship at St Matthew’s is to lift our voices to the One True and Living
God. It has been a joy getting to know so many of our musicians and singers as well as
congregation members with a heart for singing to Jesus.
In October, we had a Worship Team meeting, which was a chance for me to get to know the
team (and vice-versa) and to enjoy thinking about who Jesus is and why he deserves our praise.
It was also an opportunity for new-comers and existing members to express how often they are
willing to take part in the music and to let me know their particular instruments and
preferences etc.
The Carol Service (as well as our other Christmas services) was
an excellent opportunity to reach our neighbours with the Good
News of Christmas through preaching the bible and praising the
Father in song. Stephen Browne kindly directed our passionate
choir and there was a time for reflection on the sermon as I
played and sung a less-known, but very powerful carol. A few
families and individuals also came together to tell the wonderful
story of Jesus in a simple rendition of the song ‘Who is He in
Yonder Stall?’ This gave an opportunity for even more Church
Members to be involved in the service and we enjoyed having
Bristol International Church join with us (most of whom are also
members of St Matthew’s Church Family). People were touched
by their ministry, so we decided to do the same each month at
our 10.30am services in the New Year.
We enjoyed our Indian Food and Outreach Concert in October. Jerome, Lydia, Marcus, Della,
Dominic and Anj, along with their friends kindly cooked some fantastic Indian food. A good
number of people came along, and many non-Christians heard the gospel. Please pray for them,
that the seed might take root and flourish.
St Matthew’s annual Christingle Service was a fun and encouraging time from all angles. I was
privileged to be asked to organise the music, which was a fantastic opportunity for people not
only to hear, but to sing the gospel. People loved singing Christian Carols with words such as:
“Light and life to all He brings
Ris'n with healing in His wings
Mild He lays His glory by
Born that man no more may die”
Christmas Unplugged was a time to get together to celebrate Jesus at Christmas time. It was a
joy for adults and children to join together to share food, read the bible and sing praise to
Jesus. We then went out to do some carol singing around the Parish with the help of Andrew
Stephen on the trumpet. We ended up at The Hare on the Hill pub, singing Christmas carols with
the local residents. I was encouraged by the great witness of all of those who joined came or
joined with us in prayer. Sam Chapple
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7. Outreach Ministries
STAT (which started out as ‘TNT’) was a new group which we launched for Students, Twenties
and Thirties meeting at mine and Kirsty’s home. It started as a small group, but saw some small
growth by the end of the calendar year. We enjoyed real fellowship together as Young Adults,
looking at the book of Ruth, watching Billy Graham’s ‘My Hope America’ and getting to know
one another better. It proved to be a helpful time laying foundations for the new-year.
Sam Chapple
Tea & Chat, aimed at more senior members of the congregation and neighbourhood, continues on the 2nd & 4th Thursday of the month in the afternoon (2.15-4.00pm) in the Church hall. We have up to 20 regular members with a few people coming from the immediate locality, some from Knightstone House & others from further afield. This year we have enjoyed regular visits from the charity group 'Alive!' who run guided reminiscence sessions for us, together with a variety of 'in house' activities & several board games/ crafts afternoons. Particular highlights this year included a Lent quiz & pancake party, an Easter themed meeting when we made Easter cards (design suggestions from Ann Baker), a strawberry tea, a visit to the docks with tea & cake at the Brunel Cafe by the SS Great Britain and a Harvest themed afternoon with a quiz, homemade cheese scones, chutney & apple pies. We had a Christmas activities session where we made our own Christmas greetings labels & ended the year with tea & mince pies at our Christmas meeting, finishing with carol singing accompanied by Julia Dunn on the organ. We have various different themes planned for meetings in 2017 & would welcome new members. Lifts can always be arranged. Gillian Joomun, Sue Budd, Joyce Stocks, Pat Goddard & Jackie Burnell Stay & Play pre-school toddler group continues to run successfully each Thursday morning during term times. St. Matthew’s partners with the St. Paul’s Children’s Centre and is facilitated by Elim Church on Jamaica Street, who provide the accommodation. We now occupy two rooms in Elim each Thursday and are most grateful to the church for their generous provision of space. At present 8 different nationalities are represented in the families attending and good relationships of trust continue to be built. The majority of families come from the Somali community and we have been particularly helped over the past 5 months by the presence of a Somali Support Worker from the Children’s Centre. This worker has enabled a number of the parents to access courses, and their children to secure nursery or playgroup places. In August 2016 we had a successful picnic in the Church garden and a summer outing is being planned, with the financial help of the Arc Community Church. A member of that church helps each week in Stay & Play, and without her help it would not be possible to maintain St. Matthew’s partnership with St. Paul’s Children’s Centre. Val Jeal
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Chin-Up Church ran for 6 consecutive weeks in the Autumn Term and was enjoyed by men of all
different ages in our congregation. Jesus met with us so it was a great time consisting of
interval training, bible study, worship, prayer and breakfast. I am very grateful to James WJ
Taylor for coming up with the idea. Sam Chapple
Knightstone Coffee Morning Since November 2011 several
of us have been going into Knightstone House on Portland
St to run a weekly coffee morning on Wednesdays.
More than coffee and cakes though, we take ourselves as
part of St Matthews Church to say to the residents we are
interested in getting to know you, i.e. we go in fellowship.
Knightstone House has 29 flats for people over 60, many
are still living very active lives and have varied interests.
We have plenty of fascinating conversations. A few are Christians but some have other faiths or
none. There are joys to be celebrated, but there is inevitably sadness too as people we get to
know die. This year we said goodbye to George and very recently to Mima, both very sadly
missed.There have been times when numbers at the coffee mornings have been low but in
recent months the numbers have climbed again and there is a really good atmosphere. Several
of the residents also come to Tea and Chat, to the Carol Service and occasionally to the morning
service.
We operate on a 'contribute what you like' basis which pays for the coffee, tea, milk etc, though
usually we provide the cakes. The 'kitty' left from this builds up over the year so that we have
enough for a good Christmas Party and possibly a summer celebration too. We also like
to provide an opportunity to sing Christmas carols. This year Margie and Tim Bushell very kindly
came and provided the music so we could all sing carols together at our Wednesday morning
meeting in the week before Christmas.
Many thanks to Nigel Currie, Sue Budd, Pat Goddard and Margie Adams for their generous help in
running the group. We would be delighted to have others join us, even on an occasional basis.
Ann Baker
Pints of View was announced as a new initiative reaching out to the community in Stokes Croft –
largely Young Adults. The concept came from Matt Stone with support from Jordan Allen who
have worked together to take this plan forward. The end of 2016 was planning time for the
project launch in January 2017. The idea is to meet locals in the pub, taking the opportunity to
reach out to them with the good news of Jesus. Sam Chapple
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8. Trinity Families
St. Matthew’s has continued its long connection with Trinity College, becoming the ‘home’
church for a number of students training for ordination, independent students, and their
families. Marcus Nelson and Minty Hull provide supervision for the ordinands and support them
in their learning in the church context, which forms part of the overall course assessment for
each ordinand. Separately to this, a number of long-time St. Matthew’s members have also
undertaken part-time courses at the college.
The academic year began with a welcome lunch at the Vicarage for both new and continuing
ordinands and their families. Since then the ordinands have been active in leading and
preaching on Sundays (particularly at the 9:00am service), serving alongside church members in
ministry and mission, and developing new initiatives such as the ‘Pints of View’ project. On
Wednesday 30th of November St. Matthew’s hosted a
joint communion for Trinity College and Bristol Baptist
College, which was organised by our students.
Here are this year’s cohort of full-time theological
students.
Back row (L-R): James R Taylor, Tim Bell, Jordan Allen,
James W J Taylor, Mike Walker. Front row (L-R): Harriet
Dove, Tom Dove, Matt Stone.
James R Taylor
9. Social Organising Team
The original remit of the Social Organising Team was to organise events that bring members of the Church family together to promote the formation of stronger networks within the Church, to strengthen the extent that we could provide pastoral care to one another. However, over the years of our existence, we have also seen the potential for our social events to provide an opportunity for members of the Church family to invite friends who are not part of our Church (or possibly any Church) to join us and witness the quality of our community, perhaps helping to create a context within which other conversations might start. To that end, we saw the 2016 Church Wine Tasting.
And so, with our desire to see our Church family grow, we have renewed our efforts in 2017, with a more comprehensive programme events through the year. We hope that this may provide some of you with the opportunity to sustain those conversations by having multiple opportunities for meeting with friends in this special place.
All this takes a considerable effort on the part of the team, so I'd really encourage to think about what opportunities these events may afford you for introducing friends to the Church. In that same vein I'd like to thank the team for all their efforts on your behalf: Katheryn Caithness, David Aberdeen, Helen Stroud, Vanessa Conte and Sarah Kilb (our newest member and most welcome replacement as we said farewell to Sue Snowden). Chris smith
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10. Weekend Away
In April, we were blessed with sunny weather as we returned to Brunel Manor, near Torquay, for our
church weekend away. 70 adults and 25 children and young people filled the house and lodge. We were
led by Rev Dr Steve Nichols, who is a Senior Minister at All Souls, Langham Place, London. Together we
studied Ephesians and how we are made alive in Jesus through God’s grace but that we have a daily
spiritual battle. We were challenged that God’s plan for his people is the church - there is no plan B. The
children’s work was led by Kirsty and followed a similar theme to the adult sessions, with the children
making some wonderful ‘armour of Christ’ (Eph 6: 13-17), which they wore during the service at the end
of the weekend.
The weekend away is a great opportunity to spend time together, get to know each other better and to
meditate on God’s word away from daily distractions. There is also lots of opportunity for fun (nothing
like the Saturday night Phil May Quiz challenge!) and, importantly, plenty of delicious food.
Polly Wingate-Saul
11. International Church
International Church has been greatly blessed with St Matthew's Church that allows her to worship our Lord and pray and outreach to people outside. The purpose of the existence of International Church is to shine the Light of the World, our Lord Jesus Christ to the world by preaching the gospel to the lost, which was the only way God expands His kingdom. For this, we have set up Cross Mission, which is now a registered charity, in order to go to every town and city in the UK to preach the gospel. We went to 39 cities and towns in 2016. Although there were some people who really hated us, mocked at us, despised us, spat on us and even hit us in the face, God healed sick people in the streets and some came to Christ. Thankfully, God has expanded Cross Mission globally over the couple of years to South Korea, the USA, Cambodia, Wales, and some cities in England. Cambodia Presbyterian Theological College students go outside after everyday’s morning-prayer meeting to preach the gospel in the streets, carrying wooden crosses. The whole congregation of Vine and Branch Church in South Korea goes out to preach the gospel in the streets every Saturday. The same thing is happening in the UK as well. In the 18th century in the UK when the churches were in a deep sleep. God raised street preachers such as John Wesley and Georgy Whitefield to wake the churches up. International Church has a passion to be used by God to wake the people of God up. So in order to please God, we concentrate on fasting and prayer and street evangelism, which we can't do with our own strength. Please remember us in your prayer. In Christ ILHO CHOI
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12. Deanery and Diocesan Synod
Deanery met 4 times over the year and covered an array of issues of interest. We had regular updates on the diocesan vision 'Creating Communities' and its aim to connect and unite us into that vision. We had various discussion about how parishes could actively engage in the priority areas identified and what support was available from the Diocese. The Diocese link with Uganda remains strong and active and the Deanery heard about various trips and events which support this link, including from the farming charity 'send a cow'.'Through the keyhole' was an educational tool developed at Redland to share the Easter and Christmas stories with local schools. It is a resource that has been very well received and now to others to use. The deanery heard about the licensed lay minister role and how it works within parishes, encouraging churches to consider how they can support and encourage those who may feel called this role.The London institute for contemporary Christianity presented their vision for us all to become a community of people living and demonstrating our faith out in the world. This would be further explored through series of workshops encouraging us to step outside of the church as disciples of Jesus.Faith sharing was advocated as an opportunity for us all to share the gospel as we live and work with non-Christians. We don't need all the answers but should speak of our own personal journey, and actively demonstrate the Christian faith, i.e. through hospitality and good friendships. The key words to start this conversation were "I have found.....".
For further details about Diocesan meetings please refer to the Diocesan summary reports which
are made available on their website following each meeting. Link
http://www.bristol.anglican.org/who-we-are/our-organisation/synods-governance/
Vanessa Conte
13. Mission Partners
I am currently in the process of taking over the role of Mission Partners’ Coordinator. This year
we have continued to give 10% of our general giving to the Mission Fund which is divided between
7 Mission Partners and this is a summary of their work:
Colin and Roni Jackson work for A Rocha Kenya conserving God’s creation through Mwamba Bird
Observatory and Field study Centre
Busoga Trust provides water and sanitation resources and health education in rural areas in Uganda
CPAS (Church Pastoral Aid Society) provides financial and educational support within the Anglican
Church
John and Gillian Robinson work for Crosslinks in Bangkok, Thailand, sharing the Gospel in the slums
and supporting children within the ‘Place of Grace’
Changing Tunes works in Bristol to rehabilitate prisoners through music
The Sisters of the Church in Bristol provide food parcels and support for those in need locally
During 2016 we adopted a new Mission Partner:
Friends of Alalay, set up by Annie Syrett (a member of St Matthew’s) helps Bolivian street children
to help themselves
I look forward to building on our relationships with our Mission Partners and hope to raise their
profile among the congregation and highlight the vital work they do in our Sunday services in the
future. Julia Dunn
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14. Safeguarding
Policy The Parish Safeguarding Officer has written a Safeguarding Policy in line with the new policies
produced by the Diocese of Bristol. The policy has been updated in the leadership team have
approved the policy. The policy covers all aspects of Safeguarding related to St Matthew’s
Church. The policy is displayed on the Safeguarding notice board and in the Safeguarding section
of the St Matthew’s Church website. St Matthew’s has policies on the Fair Recruitment of Ex-
Offenders and Handling of Disclosure Information and these are available in the Church.
Audit
The PSO completed the Safeguarding Audit through consultation with the PCC. The Audit has
two sections to action:
1. To ensure that all PCC members and volunteers regardless of whether their role involves working with children must complete the C1 Safeguarding foundation training course
2. To ensure that Churchwardens complete the C1 and C2 training course Once appointments for the coming year are completed the PSO will confirm the date for
training. Everyone requiring training will be put on the Flow system on the Church App database.
Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks A Safer recruitment process is in place for volunteers. The Diocese and PCC are responsible for
the recruitment to other posts within the Church. Certificates and renewal dates of DBS checks,
completed for St Matthew’s Church, are kept on the Church App database. A Flow system has
been set up to notify the volunteers when the DBS check needs renewing. No volunteer can start
until they have been safely recruited.
Information within the Church A Safeguarding notice board displaying the policy, copies of a guidance booklet for volunteers
and other information to signpost adults and children of here they can seek help and support.
Church website There is a Safeguarding section on the Church website under the ‘About us’ tab. This contains
all relevant information that is displayed within the Church so that Parishioners can access help
when away from the Church.
Training The Diocese has implemented a training scheme for those working with children, young people
and vulnerable adults as well as those who hold key roles within the church. The Diocese runs
the training courses. When the required training is completed it is recorded of the Church App
database. A Flow system has been set up to notify the volunteers when the DBS check needs
renewing (refer to Audit section above).
Annual registration for those attending Children and Youth groups All children are registered on the Church App database.
Safe and Welcome The Church is again registering this scheme. The scheme enables churches to achieve a
recognised standard of welcome and integration for all into their worshipping life. The Safe &
Welcome award recognises, affirms and celebrates churches that are welcoming and safe places
for all members of our communities. The Safeguarding section will be completed by the PSO.
Ali Taylor
PCC Nominated person for Safeguarding – TBC Nominated Person for Vulnerable adults – Val Jeal
Parish Safeguarding Officer (PSO) – Ali Taylor Parish Lead Recruiter DBS checks – Ali Taylor
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15. St. Matthew’s playgroup
St. Matthew’s playgroup welcomes children from the age of 2.5 to 5, and from a wide range of
backgrounds. We open 4 days per week during term time. We have a committed, well-qualified
and enthusiastic staff team and always operate a more generous staff/child ratio than the
statutory requirement. We value enormously our partnership with parents and operate an ‘open
door’ policy at the beginning and end of sessions to enable to give ample opportunity to discuss
matters of mutual interest or concern.
During the sessions we follow the statutory Early Years Foundation stage curriculum and offer a
wide range of exciting resources and activities. We provide well-planned playful experiences in
a caring and stimulating environment both indoors and outdoors.
We are an inclusive community, welcoming and valuing all children and families. Children feel
safe to explore their world, pursue their interests and be adventurous and creative. They
develop their social and language skills as they learn and play alongside each other and the staff
team, all of whom have the children’s well-being at the heart of everything they do.
During the course of the year we go on trips to places such as; the woods, the farm, the seaside
and share key celebrations from every child’s home culture. We hold meetings to support
parents and carers in preparing their child for school and routinely offer the parenting course.
We pride ourselves on our relationship with parents and carers and often support them in
involvement with outside agencies such as health visitors, speech therapists, paediatrician and
social workers. At our most recent inspection OFSTED declared us OUTSTANDING in all areas.
Sue Last
16. Building Team
After a fairly active year in 2015, the Building Team has been quieter this year; there have been
no major ‘projects’ although a good deal of regular and essential maintenance work has gone on
throughout the year; particular thanks must go to Rick Parsons for his studious attention to the
general upkeep of the building, to Simon Pugh Jones and Graham Syrett for occasional
troubleshooting and repair works, to the gardening team (led by Simon Pugh Jones, Kyle Douglas
and Ann Baker) for their meticulous attention to the gardens, to Polly Wingate Saul for her work
on managing the kitchen (securing a Food Hygiene Rating of 5 ‘Very Good’ – the best available)
and to the cleaning team led by Margie Bushell. As a result the building and gardens remain
generally in very good order.
During the year it came to the attention of the Building Team that some of the external stone
work to the north east of the building was deteriorating in places. We obtained a report from a
structural engineer which confirm that this was likely to have been caused by the corrosion of
the stone block fixing clamps. We concluded that there was no significant structural risk but
that the stone work required redressing in places. We plan to have that work done later this
year.
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We have yet to undertake the full replacement of the lead on the tower roof, which we know is
nearing the end of its life. We made two applications for grant funding to assist in meeting the
associated cost but were unfortunately unsuccessful. In the meantime we are managing to
prolong the life of the existing roof by ongoing repair works undertaken from time to time by
Simon Pugh Jones. The situation will be keep under careful review and will be a subject for
further consideration at the next Quinquennial Inspection.
The major focus of the Building Team’s attention over the year has been to work up a proposal
for ‘Project Shine’ connected with the refurbishment of the lobby area and downstairs hall. That
Project is referred to elsewhere in this Annual Review and further details are contained in the
separate Report below. We are enormously grateful for the legacy received from Marilyn Wright
and the other anonymous donations which will hopefully cover the cost and to Simon Pugh Jones
for his skilful, inspiring and visionary work in formulating the designs, creating the drawings and
leading the project.
Philip May, Chair of the Building Team
Project Shine
St. Matthew’s is among Bristol’s landmark churches. Its bold silhouette is visible on several of
the main approaches to the city. Our elevated location gives us an affinity with Matthew
5:14(Sermon on the Mount): "You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be
hidden” and so we feel inspired to proclaim the risen Lord from our hilltop in Kingsdown. We
want to be a church community that is truly shining.
Over the years there have been many ad hoc ideas about how our church facilities could be
improved. In mid-2016 the PCC commissioned the building team to revisit these ideas and
consider whether there was scope to use our building better: to shine our light and to develop
our mission.
The initial conclusion was that our building is a rich asset that we underuse in 2 ways. Firstly,
when children’s’ groups are running they need exclusive access because of safeguarding
concerns. For example it isn’t possible to run playgroup and to welcome in the general public
and have everyone share the same toilet facilities. Secondly, through habit and convenience,
the day to day entrance to our building has become the side door via bins and bicycles. Hardly
the best welcome to newcomers.
We were also reminded that St Matthew’s is unusual in its layout having been altered in 1989
with the insertion of a worship floor at the level of the original gallery pews, creating an
‘upstairs’ worship space and a ‘downstairs’ hall. Beautiful as these spaces are, they are
unconventional and potentially off-putting to the unfamiliar.
And so proposals developed around the potential to make our building more welcoming by
reinstating the main doors as the day to day entrance. By making the main downstairs hall more
self-contained with its own child specific facilities those main doors can then be open during
normal office hours (when there are staff present to welcome visitors). New glass inner doors
and a refurbished foyer will further improve the sense of welcome.
As these ideas crystallised we learned that Marilyn Wright, had left us a generous legacy
sufficient to cover the main elements of the proposals. With this endorsement a sketch proposal
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was put to the PCC in November 2016 and it was agreed that we should proceed with the
seeking the wider support of the congregation and building users. That support was secured and
so it was agreed that we should proceed to seek the necessary consents for the project with a
view to carrying out the works in the summer of 2017.
Drawings of the proposals are on display in the foyer and an illustrative sketch animation can be
found on the church website (under ‘news’). If you need more information or have queries or
suggestions please talk to Phil May or Simon Pugh-Jones.
Simon Pugh-Jones
The Technology team keep a watching brief on all aspects of technology used in the church. In
practice this is the sound system, the projector system, the computers and network and the
web site. Andy Hogg manages the sound team while Rick looks after the remainder.
The new sound system is now well bedded in and is proving its worth in both quality and
flexibility. A lot of people have been trained in its basic operation and the core of the team are
quite proficient in more advanced requirements. In 2015 a “spot monitor” was obtained for the
band worship leader. This enables them to hear themselves and the rest of the band with more
clarity without excessive sound levels. At the start of 2016 we obtained two extra lapel radio
microphones as they are now preferred for preaching and leading. This prompted a
reorganisation and expansion of the equipment cupboard. We suffered a failure of the main
loudspeakers during 2016 caused by age (they weren’t replaced with the new console). The
most cost effective solution was to replace the internal components and that was done in house
with help from the manufacturers. They are now not quite so sensitive in the bass notes so
measures are being taken to compensate. Very few CD recordings are sold now as the online
podcasts have proved popular.
With some difficulty the projector computer system was replaced at the end of 2014 but is now
running well. No other significant changes have been made in this area. The laptop sound
connection has been repaired.
The web site has been kept up to date both in technology and content but little has
fundamentally changed. Investigations have been made to make it mobile-friendly but these
have not yet been approved to go live.
A subscription to a church management database system (ChurchApp) was taken out in 2016.
This covers things like the membership and address list, hall bookings and the safeguarding &
children’s work registers. It has proved its worth in considerably reducing the administration
work in these areas and may be expanded to cover other tasks. Church member access to the
online address book is being rolled out.
The end of an era was reached in the office at the end of 2016 as Sue Hawkins, the
administrator for Cotham & St Paul’s parish moved out to a new office in St Mary’s church. This
frees up space for other members of staff to use when they need a desk. A telephone line was
installed into the vestry to allow Marcus to work from there. It already had internet access. The
computer backup server failed in 2015 and this was replaced with a modern NAS system. The
documentation, sufficient for the long-term management of the systems, has been kept up to
date. Rick Parsons
