Annual Parochial Church Meeting

Reports

Review of 2019

Meeting online Monday 28th September

19.00

Contents

1. Vicar, Revd Ian Tomkins

2. Churchwardens’ Report

3. Children, Families and Youth

4. Music at St Matt’s

5. Discipleship

* Gather

* Small Groups ( report to follow)

6. Outreach Ministries

* Stay and Play

* Knightstone Coffee Mornings

7. Fellowship

* Tea & Chat

* Social Organising Team

* Flower Team

8. City Deanery Synod

9. Our Mission Partners

10. Safeguarding

11. Sacristans

12. St Matthew’s Playgroup ( report available from the church office)

13. Building Team

14. Technology Group

15. Electoral Roll

Annual Report .Revd Ian Tomkins, Vicar

Dear Friends

I write this report while the whole country is in lockdown, during a worldwide

pandemic – COVID-19.

Never in our wildest dreams could we have imagined such an event taking hold of

and changing all our lives so dramatically and so quickly. There is no doubt in my

mind, that when we emerge from this, we shall all be changed in some way by the

experience. This change shall necessarily also affect how we live and serve our

communities and our world as Christians, as the Body of Christ - Christ’s church for

today.

We shall in due course, have more time to look at 2020 and all that may lie ahead.

This report is to look back over the last year. There is much to be thankful for as we

do.

In this past year, our key focus has been on a renewed call to pray.

This is where everything starts – in time spent with God, in ensuring we are truly

grafted onto the vine that is Jesus, and live lives which reflect the will of God. Please

may I encourage you still, to keep on going deeper in your time with God. It is His

house we build and His love we share.

Our priorities for the year

At the beginning of the year, our PCC rightly confirmed our priorities for the year to

be Prayer, Children Families and Youth work, and our mission and outreach – giving

people opportunities to explore the Christian faith. All of this is part of encouraging a

Culture of Invitation. This resulted in our PCC embracing plans for Alpha, a big

commitment by our church.

None of this means that other areas of ministry are less valuable. But it is a prayerful

and pragmatic recognition that, in utilising a small resource it is necessary to be

focused and to move, step by step with the help and grace of God.

Review and thanksgiving

During the year gone by, I passed the 12month mark with St Matthews, and so had

the opportunity to see and live through this church community for a whole cycle of

church life and events. Thank you all for your grace and love, as we have continued

to get to know each other and have pushed new doors together.

We have a small leadership team here at St Matthews now, and I hugely value and

appreciate their support, friendship and collegiality.

We give thanks to God for Minty and Will Hull, and their faithful service to St

Matthews in so many ways over the years, not least having to help support the

parish vacancies in recent years. We said goodbye to Minty and Will at the beginning

of March this year, as they moved to the cathedral for Minty to take up a new post

there. Our love and prayers go with them.

I thank God for Richard Pendlebury and John Stilwell, and for their huge commitment

and support. Richard gives his ministry to this church in his spare time as a Self-

Supporting minister, while managing another job. His preaching, leading, support of

music, work with home groups and in many other areas is fitted around a full life! We

are hugely thankful for all that he gives and shares, and for his wise and experienced

counsel.

John Stilwell works hugely hard for St Matthews in a challenging situation, and in

challenging times, faithfully helping us rebuild our ministry with families, children and

young people. Our PCC rightly recognises this as one of our priorities. It takes

patience, time and faithfulness to re-build, and there have been many big

encouragements for us last year.

Through John’s leadership and ministry, we are building new relationships with

families through Kings Kids and community engagement, and the creativity of

families events. We are thankful for all those in St Matts who support this ministry.

Our ‘fringe’ is consolidating and growing. His creativity has been rightly recognised

during this lockdown time, in the much appreciated materials he and his team

produce week by week.

Christmas 2019 saw a tremendous increase in the engagement of local families in all

our services for families and young people, and at the Christingle there was standing

room only. All this is being done while also sustaining ministry to our present families

and youth group, who bring us such encouragement and joy.

Our Parish Administrator Julia Wright (also our safeguarding Officer), is someone

who is totally committed to helping and supporting our mission and ministry. Not only

does Julia work hard for us during the week as administrator, but she has willingly

given so much extra time to our church family, with Alpha, with Safeguarding, with

supporting our technology team, and many other areas. Her pastoral warmth and

welcome as the frontline of our church during the week has meant so much to the

many families and visitors who come to St Matthews.

I know of course, that so many of you are involved in some way, in supporting and

sustaining the life and ministry of your church family. We give thanks to God for you

all. This is what being the Body of Christ is all about – sharing, loving, supporting and

giving together as family,

Churchwardens

I want to thank our churchwardens, Chris Smith and Laura Pendlebury for their

support, encouragement and hard work this past year, and also our Standing

Committee and PCC, for the excellent and constructive meetings we hold together.

I want to especially thank Laura this year, as she comes to the end of her period as

churchwarden (though this has been unexpectedly extended by lockdown!). As many

of you will know, Laura was one of the churchwardens who helped guide St

Matthews through the challenges of the last vacancy. Laura’s quiet faithfulness and

steadiness, her unassuming care and servant heart behind the scenes of our church

life, should not be underestimated. We are very thankful. I have seen and

experienced first-hand, just how much Laura so willingly does for St Matthews –

often the difficult or mundane things of day to day. I am personally very thankful, and

I know you are too.

Trinity Context Students

St Matts has continued to benefit from our engagement with Trinity, and it was a

delight to welcome Amber Rose Baker in September. We love having all our

students and families as members of our church, and cherish the time they are with

us, and all they bring to our community.

A brief overview

During this past year, following PCC discussions, we have been looking at how we

can develop and grow in confidence as a church with a deepening Culture of

Invitation. Our sermon series have fed into this. In the spring of 2019, we engaged

with the Talking Jesus Course in Lent, aimed to help encourage us to share our own

faith story with others, and to encourage us to looks outwards. We have been

encouraging each other throughout the year, to step out in faith on the frontline of

our lives, with invitation.

We celebrated a wonderful Easter weekend together, with family and visitors. It was

a truly uplifting time, full of hope and welcome.

In our focus on going deeper in prayer, St Matts has begun again, to engage with

Thy Kingdom Come, the 10 days of global prayer between Ascension Day and

Pentecost; we need to keep this going and make it a living and active part of our

church life. During this time, we are encouraged to specifically pray for 5 people on

our hearts, and to be united in prayer for our community and world, and the

transforming of God’s Holy Spirit.

As we studied the Bible and prayed about invitation, we had an Invitation Cross

Sunday in early June, leading up to our Party in the Garden and an Invitation Sunday

afterwards. In spite of the inclement weather, this was a hugely enjoyable community

event, reminding us again of just how we can and should be using the church

building in our local parish community.

In June, the PCC embraced the aim to do Alpha in January 2020, and so this

brought a renewed focus on our prayer for individuals, our culture of invitation, as we

entered the busy autumn period and up to Christmas. We were supported in our

training and learning about Alpha by St Nicholas Church Bristol, the Alpha based

Resourcing church plant. The autumn is a good time to pray about, promote and

invite for Alpha, culminating in Christmas. Our Alpha team worked extremely hard

both before and during our Alpha, and my thanks to them all. It was very

encouraging time. Sadly, the lockdown meant we missed the last two sessions. But

we are intent on finishing, keeping in touch, and praying for the next Alpha at the

beginning of 2021.

During early 2019 - and you will remember this from our review last year, we made a

significant step forwards in our financial stewardship, as we stabilised our income

levels. I thank God for this, and ask you to continue to pray about how you

personally steward the practical resources God has shared with you. There is great

need around us, and you will also know that this year, we now enter a new and

unexpectedly challenging time due to the pandemic. So please pray, and continue to

give wherever and whenever God prompts you to do so. Wholehearted giving and

sacrificial giving transforms our hearts as we grow in faith and trust in God. In light of

the pandemic, it is likely that we shall need to re-visit this sooner than usual. We

shall keep you informed.

St Matthews Playgroup

I am particularly drawing attention to the St Matthews Playgroup this year. I have

really valued getting to know Linda Mallard and her team during the year, and I have

seen just what extraordinary commitment, professionalism and care our playgroup

give. This is a significant contribution by St Matthews to our local communities, and

often supporting families who are struggling in many ways. Our playgroup has

particular expertise and experience here, and is known and supported by Bristol City

Council for this. I encourage you to find out more about them, get to know our

playgroup staff when you see them, encourage them, and share information about

them in our communities. Alongside the long established ministry of Stay & Play, led

by Val Jeal and John Stilwell and Tea & Chat led by Jackie Burnell, these are

significant ministries in our local community which need our prayers, our

encouragement and our practical support.

Some final thoughts

We moved into 2020 with the joyful experience of Alpha – also a test of our

prayerfulness and faithfulness. We plan to establish this as a regular part of St Matts

outreach.

We have had an encouraging year and there is much to look forward to together,

among which is welcoming a new colleague, Gaby Doherty as curate, with husband

Sean and children Jamie, Joey, Caleb and Esther.

I look forward to our building and developing our team, and also to our praying,

thinking and reflecting together about our place in God’s vision for St Matts. Good,

godly vision is never framed out of a situation of anxiety. We trust therefore in our

God who is Love, for all that lies ahead, and for when and how we embrace this.

We shall be a changed people of God following this pandemic, and I encourage you

to embrace all that the Christian faith has to say into and to share with our society

today. But while all around us appears to be changing, as the writer of Hebrews tells

us, ‘Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever’ (Hebrews 13.8)

God bless you and thank you for part in the family of St Matthews.

Ian

2. Churchwardens’ Report

Warden’s Report

It is possible that the St Matthew’s Church year of 2019-20 will only be remembered

for one thing, Covid 19, and that would be a great shame because this has been a

very positive year to the point where the virus arrived. Indeed, there has been much

that is very positive in how we have responded to this unprecedented set of

circumstances but more of that later.

This has been Ian’s first full year as Vicar of St Matthew’s and we think we can say

with good confidence that it is proving a very comfortable fit! The word comfortable

can have negative connotations in the context of a body that exists to ‘build the

kingdom’ but it should not be taken so in this instance. Under Ian’s discerning and

pastoral leadership, we have seen many steps taken to build firm foundations for

new growth and to deepen relationships. His constancy of message, focus on prayer

and gift of encouragement is bearing fruit. Ian has been supported and encouraged

in this by his leadership colleagues, Richard Pendlebury and Minty Hull. For their

substantial contributions to our worship, their wisdom, dedication and sacrifice, we

thank them wholeheartedly.

There are two themes that are at the heart of our efforts to build up the Kingdom in

our part of Bristol, our Culture of Invitation and our work with Children, Youth and

Families. St Matthew’s has a very strong sense of community and it provides a great

strength from which to reach out to those around us in our parish and in our lives.

Ian has brought a focus to this ‘Journey of Invitation’ and has encouraged us to see

how we can join in with God’s mission in the planning of events, providing multiple

opportunities for members of the Church family to offer friends an unpressurised

introduction to the Christian faith. We are very grateful for all those involved in

creatively putting on such events and extending such a warm welcome.

To build further on this foundation, last Autumn Ian proposed that St Matthew’s

should once again run a full Alpha course. This has been a substantial undertaking

for those involved but the careful planning under Ian’s leadership has delivered a

very successful and widely appreciated course, which has engaged both Church

family members and those interested in exploring Christianity. It is disappointing that

the course has been truncated by the Pandemic but we pray that those who joined

us will continue on their journey and meet with encouragement. We give thanks to

those who extended invitation to friends and family, whether they were accepted this

time or not and remember that it is in God’s timing. Although there were many

involved, a particular thanks must go to David Aberdeen and Deborah Tomkins for

the marvellous catering which had a huge impact on the welcome that people clearly

felt.

The importance of the children, families and youth as an area of ministry in building

the Kingdom cannot be overstated and they are part of the DNA of St Matthews. We

are blessed to have such an enthusiastic, committed and inspirational leader in John

Stilwell and he brings unique strengths and outlook to the leadership team. We have

seen real progress and there has been a deepening in the relationship with the

Playgroup, who John regularly works alongside once a week and our toddler group,

Kings Kids, is flourishing. Much effort is going into building relationships with these

families and attendance at the Nativity service at Christmas, as well as the

Christingle, was hugely encouraging. We pray that this work will see more families

take a step towards faith. Our thanks go to all who support this vital area of work, on

Sundays and through the week. It has been a pleasure to have Aidan and family

(larger now!) continue to share and lead in our worship and introduce us to new

family friendly music. John’s relationship with the youth group is also thriving,

enabling them to give voice to their faith and to determine their next steps; we are

thankful to those who support this age group on Sunday mornings and in the evening

slot in which a meal is shared, allowing for fellowship and friendship in a way that

might encourage invitation.

Some of the foundations being laid may be less visible to many but there is solid

work going on in the ‘back office’ to ensure that as well as the daily running of the

church, that all the important essentials are in place. As an example, there has been

a noteworthy administrative effort in areas like Safeguarding, to protect all who we

welcome through our doors. We must extend a significant vote of thanks to Julia

Wright in the role of Safeguarding Officer and designated individual for Vulnerable

Adults, alongside her other administrative responsibilities (to which she has also

applied her consummate professionalism).

There are also the vital steps taken to put the Church’s finances on a more stable,

long term footing and we are hugely thankful to all the members of the Church family

for their faithful gifting that has enabled that to happen. Of course, we are also

immensely grateful to Andrew Wood, our Treasurer, and to Mary Parsons, our

Assistant Treasurer, for all their tireless work in managing the Church finances.

We would also like to thank the Building Team for their support in maintaining the

fabric of our building. This would be a substantial drain on the resources of the

wardens were it not for their efforts. We’d particularly like to thank Rick Parsons,

Simon Pugh-Jones and Phil May for their constant support in the upkeep of the

building and gardens, for use by the church family, playgroup children and the many

other groups who meet in the church.

Connected to this is another exciting development in this past year, the

establishment of an Eco Church group to steer us in our efforts to become a

‘greener’ Church and to do our part in trying to preserve and restore God’s creation.

Under the leadership of this group it is fantastic that we have recently gained the

Silver EcoChurch Award from A Rocha. Our thanks to all those in the group and we

look forward to their continuing stewardship and expert guidance as they seek to

involve the wider church family and community in this important area.

There are many other incredibly important areas of worship, outreach and welcome

to which people willingly give their time and gifts. We are grateful to the very many

who play their part in these significant areas of our Church life and urge all to pray

for and encourage them and reflect on whether you (or another in whom you

recognise a gift) are ‘being nudged’ to offer practical support. (see individual

updates)

And so to Covid-19 and the challenge that is to all of us. At the time of writing we

are still in Lockdown and learning how to be an inclusive ‘virtual Church’ to the best

of our ability. Whilst there is disappointment that we cannot physically meet, we are

thankful for all the efforts that are going into keeping us connected and for the online

worship resources that are being provided. There has been something of a learning

curve to climb in a remarkably short time and we are blessed that the technophiles in

our community were on hand to help! It may well be that what we have learnt has

some place in the future life of St Matthews as it is evident that people are accessing

resources, who would not normally do so. Our thanks to all those involved in

providing worship materials and a special mention for Jon and Imogen Ball who have

faithfully provided online Morning Prayer sessions to complement our Sunday

worship.

Finally, as we know, the life of a Church involves the joy of welcoming new members

and the mixture of emotions that accompanies bidding farewell to those who are

moving on to the next step in their journey. We are delighted to have recently had it

confirmed that we have a new Curate starting with us this summer and look forward

to welcoming Gaby Doherty. We have welcomed Amber Rose as a new Trinity

student and she has already begun supporting our youth and working with our

current context students in providing fun and welcome in the crèche. This past year

has also seen us say farewell to Paul and Sue Rowlands and we give thanks for all

they contributed and wish them all the best in their new life in Worcestershire. In

early March we also said a very emotional goodbye to Minty and Will Hull, as the

next stage in Minty’s journey of service takes her to a new role at Bristol Cathedral.

We are comforted in knowing that they remain in the parish and are excited by all

that Minty will accomplish in her new role and are assured that Will’s gentle wisdom

will be appreciated and find an outlet too.

Chris Smith and Laura Pendlebury

Laura Pendlebury and Chris Smith

3. Children, Families and Youth

Children

The children of St. Matthew’s are a really talented and resourceful bunch. They

played a full part in entertaining and inspiring a church full of visitors and guests at

Christingle. It was literally standing room only. They continue to come week by week

and play a full part in our community. The Sunday Club team continue to offer

engaging and imaginative materials each week. We are so grateful for this faithful

work each week. Through it we have seen numbers starting to expand slowly as

friends and other visitors are beginning to come and join us. This is particularly true

of the creche, which has seen a buzz of activity from new births to existing members

and others joining them.

Families

The church made it one of its key priorities to reach out to

families this year. This got off to a hugely successful start

with a Galette des Rois party to celebrate Epiphany. A huge

thanks to Mel Bunce and team for a great event with

community and a message central to it. This was repeated

through the year with a larger pancake feast, Eggsplore on a

glorious April afternoon and a wetter day in June for Party in

the Garden, drawing many families within the walls. Families

also came to fireworks and feedback was that they enjoyed

the smaller scale family feel that was on offer. This set us on

the road to Christmas and the performance of the Grumpy

Innkeeper that saw whole families coming in from our

different groups. Indeed the service saw a four-fold increase in the number of

children from last year, with many coming for the first time. So much effort put in

through the year, but each event helped build relationships and develop community

further.

King’s Kids

Week by week, small children and families have flocked in to King’s Kids. It really

does provide a great link with the local community and is great fun to run. 2019 saw

two of our longstanding volunteers take a step back from duties. Thank you so much

Margie Bushell and Rosie Low, we hope its not the last time we have seen you on a

Tuesday morning. Thank you to Mary Parsons, Ros Syrett and Margaret May for

stepping up to this vital ministry. Laura Pendlebury carries on her tireless ministry of

loving and listening to the people that come and the Vicar’s guest storytelling is one

he will have to reprise.

Youth

For the first time for a while we had somebody from every school year at Secondary

school coming regularly to Youth. 14 young people came along to our groups

sharing all their experiences, understanding and care for each other. Alongside the

numbers and excitement, we had the immense privilege of joining in with two of our

number who asked to mark their journey of faith: one with Baptism and the other

through Confirmation. Do ask him what he said about his dad!

Acts of Service

The young people have carried on their tremendous acts of service with Youth Band,

reading, prayers and as part of the coffee and projector teams. Things would be a lot

harder without them. This was particularly evident when they undertook a study of

our mission partners and decided to do a Cake and Smoothie sale for Changing

Tunes and the Robinsons in Thailand. Thanks for everyone’s hunger and thirst,

which contributed to an incredible donation.

Growing in Faith

As a team we have been hugely encouraged by the

enquiring minds and loving hearts that the group

often show. I know the children in Sunday Club

hugely appreciate the friendship of their role models

in the youth group. Their camaraderie was also on

show during another successful weekend away. This

time we headed for Dulverton down on Exmoor. The

weather wasn’t as beautiful as the previous year, but

we were able to complete all the activities we

planned. We thought about life in all its fullness and

got to experience something of what that felt like. A

huge thank you for the efforts of Chris Smith, Vanessa Conte and Katheryn

Caithness. We literally couldn’t do it without you.

Jordan & Emily

Such has been their impact that they deserve their own section. For three years,

while they have been at St. Matthews they have given so much to everyone, but

particularly the youth. Such amazing role models, teachers and examples of what

faith in Jesus can produce. It is with sadness you leave us, but we know that God

has amazing ministries planned for you and we are so grateful for everything you

gave us.

John Stilwell

4. Music at St Matt’s

Grateful thanks go to the many singers and instrumentalists who have provided musical accompaniment for both Sunday services. Until lockdown, we continued with various bands, youth band and the choir who would welcome some more members, perhaps some younger ones. We had a good augmented choir for the Christmas service, as ever skilfully held together by Stephen Browne, and pulled it off in 4 – 5 practices. For our new web services, we are slowly trying to develop recording songs at home, and layering if possible. Although it produces a raw unplugged kind of sound, it seems to be appreciated. And hopefully it won’t be forever! We hope that you feel able to sing along. Words are now being added. It’s amazing how tech-savvy we are becoming… On a personal note, as I reflect on having less musical worship during this estranged period, I am finding it is refreshing to have less songs/hymns to allow the meaning within each to have more space to breathe. Less is more. When we do come together again, songs will be one excellent way we can join together to express our joy and appreciation to God, like a prequel to heaven – the following lines comes to mind from Brother, Sister let me serve you…

We are pilgrims on a journey, we are travellers on the road We are here to help each other walk the mile and share the load. I will hold the Christ-light for you in the night-time of your fear I will hold my hands out to you* speak the peace you long to hear. When we sing to God in heaven, we shall find such harmony Born of all we’ve known together of Christ’s love and agony. *using our hands to communicate through typing, writing, etc God bless you richly Janet Lunt 5. Discipleship

Gather Annual Review (2019) Gather is for women who would like to share their thoughts and ideas about being a Christian and how being female shapes our viewpoint. We hope to grow in understanding and in experiencing more of the love of Jesus. We value each other and try to be supportive through the ups and downs in life we all go through. We also enjoy laughter and fun and try to have at least one social per term; we held a lovely celebration for Margaret W's special birthday in February '19. We base the meetings around a topic that we would like to explore, one of us will research and lead and we follow up with discussion and prayer. In 2019 the year started very sociably in that we had a relaxed bring-and-share dinner and get-together at Ann B's when we also decided what we might study in the months ahead. We thought that as we read the Bible we get to know quite a lot about the well known women but there are many women who are mentioned briefly and then the narrative moves on. The women we studied were the Samaritan woman who met Jesus at the well, plus Esther, Abigail and Rahab from the Old Testament. We looked in particular at their characters and how they coped with the circumstances they found themselves in. Also we discussed how this could help us and those we meet in handling similar present day situations. This brought us up to the summer when we had a break until October. Up till then we had been meeting in St Matthews hall but decided that as we were a small group (usually less than ten) it would be more sensible to meet in each others houses from then on. We based the next four meetings on a study in "Quiet Spaces" on Grace. In October we looked at how we need to rely and trust in God's grace "so that Christ may dwell in our hearts through faith ..........and that being rooted and established in love" (Ephesians 3: 17) we may know God fully. We had a meditation based on Psalm 1: 3

about being refreshed by the 'living water' that comes from having our spiritual roots growing deeply in God's word and in what Jesus has done for us through the Cross. In November we were at Margie B's house and looked at how God's grace is sufficient for us and how we can demonstrate His grace by the way we live. Then and in the next meeting at Waf's in January we looked at the gifts we have each been given by God, how we can discover what they are and how God wants us to use them. This was followed by a feedback evening on this series in February at Polly's. We also talked about how we might collectively use our gifts in some way through social action. We managed a final meeting together before the Coronavirus lock-down when we followed up the series on Grace by learning about the life of Edwina Wakely and how she 'moved into her calling' of working with prostitutes and other abused women in Chicago. We read some of her wonderful poetry including "Called to become" and 'The Sharing'. We finished the meeting by praying in depth for each other. Hopefully we can meet again in person at some time in the not too distant future but we hope to stay in touch with a monthly inspirational email and also by encouraging each other with any helpful scriptures / thoughts / writings / poems. Ann Baker Small Groups

If you are not in a group or would like to be, please do contact me either after a

service or via email. olm.rich@stmatthews-bristol.org.uk

Revd Richard Pendlebury – Groups Co-ordinator

6. Outreach Ministries

Stay & Play 2020 Stay & Play is the pre-school parent/toddler group which St. Matthew’s partners with the St. Paul’s Nursery School & Children’s Centre and meet each Thursday morning in E5 Church on Jamaica Street. We are most grateful to E5 for their generous provision of this space. The team leading Stay & Play consists of myself, John Stilwell and Sarah Douglass from St. Matthew’s and Lynette Carruthers from St. Bartholomew’s Church, St. Andrew’s. We are joined each week by a Family Worker from the St. Paul’s Children’s Centre and their Somali Support Worker. As previously reported, the majority of families attending Stay & Play are Somali and many of them have been regular attenders from the early beginnings of the group. This gives us a wonderful opportunity to follow families over a number of years and to earn trust and provide support and friendship. Through the presence of John in Stay & Play, strong links have been made with St. Matthew’s through King’s Kids and a number of children now attend both groups. We see this crossover of groups as being very valuable and important links with the families.

Additional support continues to be given to families and we have been privileged to assist those living in temporary accommodation, with form filling and signposting to other services such as Food Banks and immigration. Our year ended abruptly in March due to the Covid-19 virus and lockdown. This is particularly difficult for families living in overcrowded accommodation. A number of our families live in the Dove Street flats where often 5 or 6 children live with their parents in 2-bedroom flats. Contact has been maintained with several families over the lockdown, including one family where the mother became ill with Covid-19. They all look forward to ‘normal service being resumed’ and Stay & Play restarting! Val Jeal

Knightstone House We have been visiting Knightstone House in Portland St and running a coffee morning there since September 2011. It has been really good to have been welcomed there week after week and to get to know those who come along (a core group of seven or eight though about a third of the residents who live here also come along occasionally). We bring real coffee, tea and mostly home-made cake; sometimes one of the residents brings cake, and there are times when everyone is on a diet and we need to think of a less fattening alternative! We mostly find plenty of subjects to talk about and they are wide-ranging from - whatever is going on in the world / in Knightstone / their families / their enthusiasms / their beliefs. Some are very creative and so we talk about art and music too. We try to arrange a summer party which is often a barbecue and a winter celebration which in 2019 was a meal out at The Colston Arms. We always have a festive time on the Wednesday before Christmas Day with Carols and mincepies. Margie and Tim B come with a recorder to play music, our vicar Ian brought recordings to sing to and a resident played his guitar. However like all groups we have our times when all are downcast. Especially this year when Patrick, a regular member of the coffee mornings was obviously fading and eventually died in the BRI. He loved to listen to jazz and to tell a good story, often about working on the railways; many friends from Knightstone and around Bristol went to his funeral and the wake after. On an upbeat note two of the coffee group regulars celebrated significant birthdays. It is a privilege to be able to share their joys and their sorrows - there have been ups and downs and long term illnesses. We try to be supportive where we can and do pray regularly for them all. Ann Baker

7. Fellowship

Tea & Chat Report 2019

Tea & Chat continues to meet in the church hall twice monthly on the 2nd & 4th Thursday of the month (2.15 -4.00pm). Anyone is welcome to come, although people tend to be more senior members of the congregation or neighbourhood.

We have up to 18 members & on average have 12 -15 people attend each meeting. In addition to church members from St Matthew's, we welcome folk from Knightstone House, Dove Street & two or three from further afield. Sadly in recent months two of our members have not been able to attend due to ill health & we really miss them.

We are very fortunate to have secured funding to continue having the 'Alive!' team run sessions for us once a month. Sessions with them this year have included guided reminiscence; art & music appreciation; group singing & making up our own poetry.

We began the year with an afternoon with Deborah Tomkins in January followed by a pancake party in February. We also enjoyed board games afternoons, Easter craft activities, a strawberry tea & a picnic in the garden (again held inside because the weather was too hot). A local business man, Steve Price, came to entertain us with his large collection of banjos & there was an extra meeting in the summer holidays when the Dick Bateman Quartet gave a lunchtime performance of 'golden oldies', which was very enjoyable with lunch included instead of the usual tea & cake. We had an Autumn themed afternoon with seasonal food & quiz & finished the year with our annual Christmas card making & then a Christmas party with carols, mince pies & a 'Christmas Thought for the Week' from our Vicar, Ian.

Running Tea & Chat is a real blessing to us as team members & genuine bonds of friendship & support have developed between our members, who seem to look forward to meeting together every fortnight. We always welcome new people. Currently we have several younger members who come regularly so you don't necessarily have to be an OAP to come!

Jackie Burnell, Joyce Stocks, Gillian Joomun, Heather Cressy

Social Organising Team 2019 The Social Organising Team have continued to focus efforts on organising events which build the fellowship of our Church family as well as welcome others from beyond our doors. This year we have worked with Ian, John and others to better integrate our programme of events so that they complement and support wider church activities and priorities. We hope you have felt able to invite friends to these events which help us build a 'culture of invitation' to share and extend St Matthew’s hospitality. A particular triumph this year was the catering and hospitality St Matthew's was able to offer the Alpha course, and special thanks go to David Aberdeen for this achievement. All our events are only possible with your vital support; so thank-you to everyone who came along, invited others, brought others, peeled potatoes, cooked, moved chairs, folded tables, swept floors and of course washed dishes. The core team would love to welcome more members and why not start by joining our virtual meetings during the lockdown??? David, Helen, Katheryn, Sarah, Vanessa and Chris Flower Team My thanks go to the committed, creative and wonderful group who make up the flower rota team. I am very grateful for their willingness to cover for one another so that it all runs smoothly and there are always flowers to show God’s incredible creation. During this last year we have said an emotional goodbye to Sue Rowlands (and Paul) and I would like to give thanks for her amazing creativity and knowledge of how to arrange the most wonderful displays. These were often in the porch and were much appreciated by the St Matts family and visitors alike. It is always a real joy to come together as a wider team also for Christmas, Easter and harvest. I am thankful to all those who regularly commit to these larger occasions and who willingly and generously offer time, greenery, flowers and fellowship. Please do feel free to invite friends or family, whether that’s for a larger event or just on your week. We know that personal invitation and genuine welcome can lead to someone’s first tentative step towards faith. I’d also like to encourage families and even some men to join the team – it could be that you just want to offer occasionally and that’s great too. How the weekly flowers or indeed just greenery is done, is entirely up to the individual. There is no right or wrong way and it is always a joy to see what is chosen. I would like to say a huge thank you to the Garden Team and am enormously grateful for the fact that they carefully and creatively steward *our outside space. To be able to bring some of the amazing plants into the church for decoration and praise is wonderful. Laura Pendlebury

* "Utilizing and managing all resources God provides for the glory of God and the

betterment of His creation."

8. Bristol City Deanery Synod Report – 2019-2020

Report by Fabian Breckels & Laura Protheroe and Rev Ian Tomkins

________________________________________________________________

Laura and Fabian write, “Thank you for electing us to be your Deanery Synod

Representatives for St Matthews Church to enable us to represent the church at

Deanery Synod, along with Ian. As well as attending the Deanery Synod meetings in

June and September 2019 we attended all PCC meetings as well and enjoyed

participating in the discussions, the last one being 16 March before lock down came

into force”.

Please click on this link for the detailed report covering Deanery Synod Meetings in

2019.

9. Our Mission Partners 2019 - 2020 St Matthew's supports financially and in prayer the following superb mission partners: - St George's Baghdad ( www.frrme.org ) - Busoga Trust ( www.busogatrust.co.uk ) - John and Gillian Robinson (Crosslinks) in Bangkok ( www.placeofgracebangkok.org ) - Friends of Allalay (www.allalay.co.uk ) - CPAS (www.cpas.org.uk ) - Changing Tunes ( www.changingtunes.org.uk ) - Sisters of the Church (www.sistersofthechurch.org.uk/uk/bristol ) St Matthew's gives 10% of our general giving to the Mission Fund which is divided equally among these seven partners. After the success of our church's focus on stewardship in 2019 the financial support we give per year (paid quarterly) was able to be restored to £2000 to each group after a short period of reduction earlier in the year. We do receive regular reports from our partners, sometimes in person. This year we have had speakers from CPAS and the Sisters of the Church as well as updates from Baghdad from Tim Mizen. Up to date written reports are regularly placed on the noticeboard in the foyer. However, I would advise and encourage everyone to visit the websites listed above to follow the work of our Mission Partners. They have mailing lists you can sign up to, which supply you with really fascinating and often very moving regular updates, a brilliant way to remind us to hold them faithfully in our prayers . Kyle Douglas

10.Safeguarding in 2019.

PCC Nominated person for Safeguarding – Simon Pugh-Jones Parish Safeguarding Officer (PSO) – Julia Wright Nominated Person for Vulnerable adults – Val Jeal Parish Lead Recruiter DBS checks – Julia Wright Safeguarding continues to be an extremely important part of St Matthews. The PCC see it as a top priority. At St Matthew’s all checks, processes and training requirements are up to date. It is a legal requirement and common practice now all organisations adhere to government DBS requirements.

Policy

The Safeguarding report was updated and confirmed by PCC in October 2019 for St Matthew’s church and it is available on the church notice board and is reviewed and updated annually in accordance with the guidelines from the Diocese of Bristol.

We recommend that all church members familiarise themselves with this information and the notices listing safeguarding officer and vulnerable adults officer.

Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks

DBS checks are being completed on any members of the Parish that volunteer to

assist or lead in PCC , Youth team , music and any other leadership roles.

Information within the Church

A section of notice board is allocated for the display of all safeguarding notifications

with other information to guide adults and children to where they can seek help and

support.

Annual Safeguarding Audit.

It is now no longer necessary to complete an audit each year. The Diocese have

created a Parish Safeguarding page for each church online that the PCC and

Safeguarding officer keep up to date with courses completed and DBS checks

received.

Thank you all for your cooperation and help in this.

Julia Wright

11.Sacristans The Sacristans form part of the “behind the scenes” team whose task it is to ensure the smooth running of services and care of church property. In particular, we make sure everything is in place for Holy Communion and Baptism services. This involves taking care of altar linen, altar cloths and communion silver and glassware, making sure we have supplies of bread and wine, and preparing the altar before Communion and the font before a Baptism. As linen wears out it is replaced with new pieces, and we take care of the candles and keep in stocks of the various different kinds we use. We keep in mind the pattern of the seasons of the church's year and the symbolic and seasonal use of colour. The Christmas and Holy Week/Easter seasons are particularly busy times for the sacristans. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Gina Coleman and James Rimmer for all their help and commitment with the regular week-by-week attention to Communion Services. I would also like to extend my thanks to Alison Edmonds and Ann Baker who, though not regular Sacristans,kindly step in when the circumstances get tricky for the regular team. The assistance of all these colleagues is much appreciated and very valuable in a busy church like St Matthew’s. This report also comes with my personal thanks for the way they all helped me out so kindly during 2019 when my own diary was rather shaky. If anyone would like to know more about the role of the Sacristans, please do ask one of the team. Mary Parsons

12. St Matthew’s Playgroup. This Report is available from the office

Linda and the Playgroup team

13. BUILDING & GARDEN REPORT 2019

During 2019 we had a few challenges in caring for our building and gardens, but

mercifully little to affect the use of the building, thanks as ever to the dedicated work

of key people behind the scenes.

In March our Tower Captain Becca Meyer stood down (owing to her graduation and

moving on) and was replaced by Matt Jerome. Many thanks to Becca for her

dedication and commitment to caring for the tower during her time as Captain, not

least for dealing with issues of stiff bell ropes and an infestation of flying insects!

Thanks too to all of the bell ringers for ensuring that our bells regularly sound out

across the city.

Users of the kitchen will also have noticed that 2019 saw an upgrade in cooking

facilities. This came about because of changes in the rules for gas appliances which

meant the old cooker no longer complied. A new electric cooker overcame the issue

and is that bit more user friendly and efficient. Quite of lot of the kitchen had to be

dismantled to get the old cooker out and even then it took a good deal of fervent

prayer, brute force and grazed knuckles before it could be whisked to a new life via

Ebay.

The garden also saw change with its new wildflower garden on the north side. What

started as an ambition for natural diversity and colour bought unexpected benefits –

brightly coloured bees, an influx of different birds and a little less mowing to be done

each week, but also lots and lots of positive comments from neighbours and

passers-by. A new bench was added, the compost heaps were rebuilt and with the

help of a couple of working parties much cutting back and clearing out was done.

The Garden continues to improve year on year and we owe considerable thanks in

particular to Anne and Kyle for their frequent maintenance, sometimes in less than

ideal weather.

The roofs continue to keep us dry but in the case of the tower roof, only just. A

further very large patch was added this year and the PCC is very mindful of the

imminent need to replace the leadwork as and when funds permit.

Similarly the electrical systems, alarms and lift have needed attention but all safety

tests were passed and the necessary components repaired and replaced, added to

and improved – thanks in particular to the very expert help of Rick.

A more major repair was required for the heating system due to the failure of a large

pump which happened, of course, during a very cold spell towards the end of the

year – and caused a distinct cooling of our otherwise warm welcome. The pump was

replaced and normal radiance resumed.

Perhaps the biggest issue of the year was our response to the church’s growing

desire to be more sustainable and take action in relation to climate change. Bristol

Diocese adopted a radical new sustainability policy and St Matthew’s signed up to

EcoChurch, the A Rocha scheme to promote carbon reduction and improved

ecological stewardship. One of the joys in writing APCM reports retrospectively is

that we already know our efforts in 2019 were successful and we are now have an

EcoChurch silver award – which must make 2020 our ‘going for gold year’!

We have a beautiful church which is used intensively almost every day of the year.

Keeping it going takes a lot of effort and particular thanks are owed to the gardening

team, to Rick, Julia, John – and to the often unseen efforts of people like Phil,

Graham and many others.

14. Technology Group

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. Rick is also the first point of contact on behalf of the building

committee for the electrical, heating, hot water, telephone, intruder and fire alarm

systems. These will be covered in the building report. The sound system continues

to run well. The new microphones for the choir were purchased and have been very

successful giving a much clearer sound. We also purchased a specialist microphone

suitable for small instruments. This has been particularly useful for the youth band

violin but also has adapters for woodwind and brass for where a fixed player position

cannot be maintained. The portable sound system had to be repaired in the autumn

but I don’t think it was caused by any mistreatment. It was very useful for the Party in

the (Indoor) Garden. A very successful Changing Tunes Concert was held – this is

always a huge amount of work but very satisfying. A few of the staff have received

basic training for small events, particularly for the upcoming Alpha meetings. We

were unable to record the carol service for Hospital Radio this year as it was too

close to Christmas Day to get it into the studio in time so they used a previous year’s

recording. We welcomed “Now and Then”, a local singing group to Tea & Chat and

this was recorded for Hospital Radio (one of the members being a rugby

commentator) and this is repeat broadcast regularly.

On the projector system the only change has been Julia Wright and George Taylor

are new recruits – welcome. A few other staff have also received basic training for

small events, particularly for the upcoming Alpha meetings. A lot more liturgy is now

projected to help the congregation follow the service even for parts where no

response is required.

A new phone & broadband contract was arranged with PlusNet. Apart from keeping

the computers up to date, no other changes to the systems have been needed. New

computers were obtained and configured for Playgroup and John Stilwell.

The web site software was brought up to date, a continuous battle as suppliers keep

issuing new versions with no apparent benefit for us. Other suppliers go out of

business, particularly shareware organisations giving us support issues. The

podcasts continue to be produced though, once things are back to “normal”, another

person to help create these would be welcomed.

The documentation, sufficient for the long-term management of all the systems, has

been kept up to date.

Rick Parsons.

15. Electoral Roll

In March 2019 St Matthew’s Church Electoral Roll had 80 parishioners registered.

Today 22nd September 2020 it now totals 84.