Thatcham Annual Parish Meeting Annual Report 17th … · Web viewJo Waller organised our Annual Dinner which was held at the Winning Hand in November. Good food and good company made

Thatcham Annual Parish Meeting Annual Report 17th April 2016

Contents pageParochial Church Council 2015/6… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … 2Team Rector’s Report………………………………………………………………. 2Background…………………………………………………………………………... 3Report of the proceedings of the PCC…………………………………………….. 3Membership… .. …. …. …. …. …. ….. …. ……………………………………... 3Committees…………………………………………………………………………... 3Report to the accounts……………………………………………………………… 4Stewardship Secretary’s Report………………………………………………… 5Fees… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … 6St Barnabas Church……………………………………………………………….. 6Mothers Union … … … … .………………………………………………………… 7Safeguarding Report……………………………………………………………….. 7ABCs… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … 8Children and Young People - Pathfinders…………………………………… … . 8Youth Work – the beAt … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …. 9Music at St Mary’s…………………………………………………………………… 11Bellringers’ Report … … ….. …………………………………………………… ... 12Deanery Synod………………………………………………………………………. 12Churchwardens ………………………………... … … … … … … ... … … … … 13Fabric…………………………………………………………………………………. 14Inventory……………………………………………………………………………… 14Pastoral Team………………………………………………………………………. 14Flowers - Sewing Group… … … … … … … … … … … 15Little Churches, Home Communions, C.A.M.E.O… … … … … … … … … … 15Men’s Breakfast - House Groups - Prayer Ministry – Oasis – Pub & Prayer 16Missions - Christian Aid –Fairtrade & Traidcraft- West Berks Foodbank - Children’s Society – US ….................................................................................

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Social Events … … … … … . … … … … … … … … … ……………………..... 21Service Rota - Welcomers………………………………………………………… 21Connect and St Mary’s Website………………………………………………… 22

Appendix 1 Accounts for 2015Appendix 2 Minutes of the APCM 2015

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Thatcham Parochial Church Council 2015/6

Ex OfficioRevd. Mark BennetRevd. Pat Jones

Revd. Marion Fontaine Revd Brenda Harland Revd Alec GillChurchwardens

Stephen Walker(2015)Joan Collins (2013)Colin Waters (2013)

Deanery Synod Representatives (to 2018)Anne RoperChris WattsMike Watsonvacancy

Co-options John Collins (Tower) Karen Walker (Children) Judith Caton (Social) Peter Harvey De-Gioia (Treasurer)

Elected Lay MembersLourdes Cottam (St Barnabas)Ron Palmer (St Barnabas)Debbie Waters St Barnabas)John Hicks (St Barnabas)Corinne Lee-Philpott (St Barnabas)Chris Druce (2013)Kevin Dunwell (2013)Andrew Ducker (2013Viv Druce (2014)Win Easen (2014)Mike Stevenson (2014)Gary Collins (2014)Mary Stagg (2015)Bayo Kester (2015)

Team Rectors Report This is not my normal review of the year – I’m interrupting my sabbatical just to give a few highlights and memories of 2015, even though the wonderful Christmas services with standing room early are a rather distant memory. We had a memorable Lent too, with the weekly reflections, and an enjoyable parish weekend in July which somehow fitted into a busy time for everyone.

We have seen Alec grow in confidence and ministry experience, including Saturday morning sessions for dads. The choir and musicians have continued to enrich our worship at St Mary’s, and at St Barnabas the team and the relationship with Thatcham Park School have grown productively – with the school achieving an excellent report on their Church ethos (the “SIAMS” report).

My own year has seen a developing role as chair of Governors at Kennet school, as well as appointment as Area Dean (my sabbatical has given me a chance to reflect a bit on how that will work). Beyond the parish, I’ve been involved with WATCH – known for the campaign for women to become bishops, and 2015 was a year of great celebration – including our own Candlemas service in Thatcham.

We’ve faced challenges – including finance and buildings, with the anxieties they inevitably bring – but faithful prayer draws us into relationship with God and puts our struggles in perspective. All who can make it are welcome Monday to Friday at 9.00am at St Mary’s for our service of morning prayer

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(about half an hour). And we have importantly continued to develop the pastoral team.

But the highlight of the year was for me joining in with the Partnership for Missional Church project, led by the Bishop of Reading – sometimes it has felt a little bit slow, but with patience we have seen new people getting involved with an important part of our work, and in the first, listening year, have spent some time building on the parish weekend and becoming more aware of each other and the community around – and holding that knowledge and learning in prayer, putting God at the heart of things

Mark Bennet

Parochial Church Council - BackgroundThatcham PCC has the responsibility of co-operating with the Team Rector and the Team Vicar in promoting in the parish the whole mission of the church – spiritual, pastoral, evangelistic and ecumenical.

The PCC met five times during the year, in April, June, September, November and February.

Highlights and resolutions from this year included the decision to take up the Pastoral Mission Project, Meeting Room improvements, repairs to the roof (bees and tree), parish share, finances and events.

Arrangements were made during 2015 for 93 baptisms (98 in 2014) and 9 (9) weddings. In addition there were 59 (43) funerals (30 with a service at St Mary’s, 28 services at a crematorium and 1 at Thatcham Cemetery Chapel).

MembershipMembers of the PCC are either ex officio, co-opted or elected by the Annual Parochial Church Meeting in accordance with the Church Representation Rules. St Barnabas Church is represented on the PCC by up to 5 members elected by their own church meeting.

CommitteesThe PCC operates through a Standing Committee and groups, which meet between full meetings of the Council. The Standing Committee is the only Committee required by law; it has power to transact business of the Council between meetings, subject to any decisions made by the PCC.

FINANCE REPORTReport to the Accounts December 2015St Mary’s General Account (day to day running of church activities) shows a further deficit of £4,564 (£3,992 in 2014). The St Barnabas General Account shows a reduction of £1,652 during 2015 (reduction of £3,466 in 2014).

Incoming resources from Donors (collections/stewardships/tax reclaims & donations) were lower in 2015 compared to 2014 (£29,137 lower, around £23k of this difference was due to one off specific Fabric Fund donations and

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donations for the new chair purchases in 2014). St Mary’s General Account showed a very slightly higher income of £435 when compared to 2014 (£86,337 vs £85,902 in 2014), whilst St Barnabas income was very slightly lower in 2015 by £183 (£10,312 vs £10,415 in 2014).

St Barnabas continue to provide much needed funds for the Parish Share. £9,000 in 2015 vs £11,000 in 2015. We again managed to pay the Parish Share (our contribution to the diocese for clergy stipends, housing and pensions) in full. However, the 2016 Parish Share will increase by 2.2% to £87,717. We do however, continue to benefit from a 1% reduction to this by paying the Parish Share via monthly Direct Debit. The Fabric fund showed a balance of £29,476 at the end of 2015 (£25,973 end of 2014), primarily as a result of the mast rental income we receive each year from Vodafone. We continue to try to build this fund for essential repairs due within the 2016-2017. On top of this, I am reliably informed that the bees above the Pathfinders room have now moved home to somewhere in Enborne ! (watch out for the future article about this in ‘Connect’). There was no expenditure on the Outreach Fund in 2015.

We have again faced yet another challenging year. There is a real need to increase Stewardship giving if we are to be able to do the much needed Fabric works and pay the Parish Share again in full in 2016. If anyone is thinking of increasing their Stewardship payments during 2016, please feel free to come to speak to me, Chris Watts or a member of the clergy.

I would again like to extend my very extra special thanks to Chris Watts for his dedication in getting everything financial in its rightful place! Finally, I would like to also thank the PCC, Mark and the Churchwardens for their support with a great deal of additional praise to Ann and Ron for their support and assistance in keeping the financial management of the two Churches running.

Investments and Fund StructureThere have been no changes to the structure of the St Mary’s PCC funds during 2015. There follows a brief description of the history, management and restrictions of each of these PCC managed funds.

Hatherley Fund224 Beenham Hill sale proceeds.The capital arose from the sale of a house given to the Church in 1935 for a succession of curates to live in. The income is applied for general parish purposes and so is unrestricted. The first call on it is the payment of clergy expenses. Thatcham Church of England CharityThe original capital arose from two-thirds of the sale proceeds of the Old Infant School in the Broadway; one-third is administered separately by the Diocesan Board of Education.

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This charity is governed by a Charity Commission Scheme sealed on the 21st

May 1980; the clear income from the permanent endowment is for furthering the religious and other charitable work of the Church of England in the ecclesiastical parish of St Mary’s Thatcham and is therefore an unrestricted fund. All the income is applied in the parish. The Church Estate CharityCharity Commission ref – 00436This is an ancient charity referred to in the Charity Commissioners Report of 1907; the income is to be applied to the upkeep of the church and the churchyard so this is a restricted fund.

Income is derived partly from investments and partly from 6/16ths of the income from Moor Meadow Charity, administered by Thatcham Parochial Charities. The Rookery Church FundThe small amount of income arising from the legacy by Mrs Hall who died in 1916, directing that the income should be restricted as its use for the fostering of the Sunday school. The Rookery was the name of the house. Bankers: St Mary’s PCC - Lloyds TSB Bank plc & St Barnabas - HSBCIndependent Examiners: Witcombs, Turnfields Court, ThatchamInvestment Managers: BlackRock Investment Managers, 33 King William Street, London. EC4R 9AS.

A summary of the Accounts together with the Independent Examiner’s Report is attached at Appendix 1.

Peter Harvey-Di Gioia

Stewardship Secretary’s Report – St Mary’s.A total of £ 59,433 was given through the Stewardship Scheme in 2015 - £38,308 by Standing Orders. The balance came through weekly envelopes and Gift Day donations. In addition £16,690 was reclaimed from HMRC (£15,490 in 2014,). This tax reclaim included £1,000 (currently the maximum allowed) from the Gift Aid Small Donations Scheme (GASDS) introduced in 2013.

50 donors used weekly envelopes at St Mary’s. 50 donors gave through Standing Orders at St Mary’s. Over 66% of the total giving comes through Standing Orders.

Most payments have been reviewed in 2015 but overall numbers of regular givers has shown a slight net reduction. Please continue to review your giving at least annually – index linking is a principle worth considering. Occasional donations (as at the Gift Day and bequests), are greatly welcomed, but commitment to regular giving is essential if we are to pay for our priests, maintain the fabric and support sustainable growth of the church in Thatcham.

I would again encourage everyone to make a will and to consider making a bequest to St Mary’s. It is not difficult to arrange and can make a significant difference to the future of a growing church in Thatcham.

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Fees in 2015The main heads of income and expenditure for the Fees account are set out below. The fees are received for weddings and funerals.

Income 2015 2014Weddings, Renewalof Vows and Blessings £ 6,308 £ 12,808Funerals £12,575 £ 8,660Other income £ 96 £ 85

ExpenditurePayments due to Oxford Diocese £ 9,273 £ 9,778Transferred to PCC £ 9,706 £ 11,775

Chris Watts

St Barnabas ChurchAnother exciting year has unfolded at St Barnabas Church. We marked the closing of the year with the delivery of a beautiful contemporary altar graciously given to us by St Bartholomew's Church in Reading. It takes pride of place each Sunday and symbolises a real sense of being embedded in Thatcham Park School. The school use the altar to enhance Collective Worship.

We started up a Children's Group twice a month on the Sunday mornings we celebrate Communion. The children have a real sense of ownership and the group is ably facilitated by a small rota of enthusiastic church members. You really can see a boost of confidence as these young people flourish at St Barnabas.

Our well established Wednesday House Group continues to cover some challenging topics. The Kestrels House Group continues to go from strength to strength. We are blessed with the presence of church members from the Kestrels and the Chaffinches alternate weeks at St Barnabas. They not only participate, but also bring a real energy to our worship.

Café Worship has really developed and creates opportunity for people on the periphery of the Church to join us in a more informal worship setting We enjoy sharing fellowship and 'breaking bread' together, while enjoying some very imaginative breakfasts. This has proved to be a very welcoming forum for families joining us for Baptism Welcome.

S.O.S afternoons continue to be the highlight of our year. We are beginning to recognise familiar families who are really committed to coming to share in this experience. We have become quite slick in rolling out the session. It is a delight to see the children sweeping the hall floor as the end of the evening. We had visitors from St George's Wash Common, who came along to see how we do things at S.O.S. They were quite overwhelmed with what they observed and felt we offered a great model in a 'messy church' style of worship.

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We 'set sail' last year on an exciting voyage that is 'Partnership in Missional Church'. We journey with St Mary's. We embarked in conditions that felt initially to be somewhat 'misty waters', but as we progress we are beginning to pick up momentum and gain some clarity. It is a question of 'watch this space' as the Holy Spirit navigates our course.

In our midst at St B's we have many gifted people from caterers to musicians! We have people who play invaluable roles in the community. We are an eclectic bunch, who roll out church, feed over a 100 at S.O.S and who are always keen to meet a challenge and support each other. I thank them all for making God's Church at Thatcham Park a rather unique place of worship. I personally extend my sincere thanks to Brenda for her support and dedication as Associate Priest.

Pat – Team VicarMothers’ Union

It was with much regret that it was agreed that Thatcham would cease as a Branch of the Mother’s Union at its February meeting. Due to illness and other commitments - from November 2015, the committee was reduced to 2 members only and one of those was wishing to stand down at the AGM in April. It was apparent that none of the regular attenders at meeting felt able to take on the responsibilities and duties required and it was therefore agreed reluctantly that the Branch should close.

It is envisaged that, in the first instance, the Wednesday afternoons currently used by the meetings will be taken up by a Tea and Chat social opportunity which will be open to hopefully appeal to the wider church community. It is still possible to become Mother’s Union Diocesan members or to remain involved if you so wish. An application form is available on the internet at The Oxford Mother’s Union website or you can phone me on 820718 and I will download a copy for you.

Viv Druce

Child Protection/Safeguarding report 2015 has been another thankfully uneventful year.

We have not had any safeguarding concerns reported this year.

At the PCC meeting in November 2015, as the result of an enquiry following the previous PCC meeting, we confirmed and clarified that as a church we adopted the Diocesan Safeguarding policy over 10 years ago and since then have upheld and adhered to this.

Throughout the year Brenda has ensured that all people involved with children on behalf of the parish have received appropriate training and all DBS applications and documents are up to date. Steve Rice in his role as Verifier, has checked all documents before sending the forms away for DBS clearing. Our grateful thanks should go to Brenda and Steve for all time and effort they expend ensuring that the church and all those working with children on the church's behalf are doing so within the Diocesan guidelines and our Child Protection policy. Thanks should also be expressed to our Child

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Advocates, Leanne Cox and Duncan Wood for St Mary’s and Colin Waters for St Barnabas.

Karen Walker

ABCs and ABCs Dads 2015

2015 saw another busy year for ABC including the introduction of ABC for Dad's and another successful crib service.

ABC for Dad's started in the 2nd half of 2015 and runs once a month on a Saturday morning following the same format as the ABC group on a Wednesday. The difference is that it is designed for Dad's/Grandad's/male carers to bring along the children and the inclusion of a bacon roll is temptation indeed to try it out.

ABC has seen an increase in the number of babies during 2015 with the carpeted area at the front overflowing at times with all the babies.

The service part of the session is also well attended consisting of a different story each week and a number of interactive songs for the children to be involved with. The favourite by far is still when the children all “jump for joy". The arts and crafts activity during the play session is always well linked with the theme or topic of the story each week.

The crib service on Christmas Eve is always a highlight of the year, with many of the children who attended ABC dressing up and featuring in the service. The church was once again packed and brought a real sense of community spirit during the festive season.

Julie Atkins

Children and Young People @ St Mary’s 2015At St Mary’s church we have groups for children and young people during the 10 o’clock service on 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th Sunday of the month.

The Climber/Explorer group for those aged 5-11 years is held in the meeting room. The group explore the bible through craft, song and games.Young people aged 11 years and above join our Pathfinder group.For the session on the 3rd Sunday of the month both groups come together and enjoy a bible story.

On Easter Sunday we held an Easter egg hunt which was well attended. The year ended with a joint Christmas session.

Our child protection policy is in place and is updated regularly.None of the above would be possible or as enjoyable without the commitment, effort and versatility of all the leaders and helpers. We pray that

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more people will come forward and join us in this rewarding and important work.

We end the year optimistically, looking forward to meeting all children who come through our doors and thanking the church family for all their prayers and support.

Helen Holman

Pathfinders(11 – 14+ years)

We meet in the Pathfinders Room on the 2nd, 4th and 5th Sunday of each month.

Together we continue on our Christian journey through our worship finding God through our shared music, drama, quizzes, and games and of course fellowship.As is traditional in all the best Christian gatherings; we share ‘breakfast’ on a Sunday morning, though it is not always healthy eating! We also celebrate special events on the Christian calendar, particularly Christmas and Easter, including the start of Lent when we have pancakes with a variety of fillings.

Please come along to visit us one Sunday morning!

Anne RoperPathfinders Leader

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The BeAt 2015/16

Spring is here, must mean longer days are coming and we’ll be able to open the Garden to all the guys at the beAt. This year we’ve seen a rise in the take up of Splat sessions, more active games in the back hall and additions such as Limo (Dodge Ball) and indoor cricket. The latest addition is a basketball hoop that’s now become a permanent fixture in the back hall - thanks to Richard for his drilling expertise. We have a core group of lads of enjoying the more active elements of back room games, to be fair the leaders like these too, as it takes away some of the excess energy and stops some of the shenanigans that come with a group of 15 year olds.

In the front room where we have the usual Youth Club games, Table Tennis, Pool and Table Football we run a Craft Table that’s grown in popularity over the past term and the work that comes from this is great. I managed to save a couple quid myself and made a Valentine card for her in doors. We’ve seen colouring, key rings, even stuffed toys in the guise of camper vans. The area is really important to the balance in the Youth Club, as Brenda calls it an area of calm in the madness. The guys who use the table are there from opening through to closing and friendships are really blossoming.

8:00p.m. brings the ‘talk’, we’ve always had this time to share how Jesus in our lives benefits and helps us; the youngsters aren’t always up for listening but we’ll keep re-inventing new ways to engage them in such an important message. Recent talks have been based on love and what Jesus did for us at the cross, along with a short talk about how we’re all very aware and cautious about what goes in our mouth but don’t pay so much thought about whatcomes out and the impact words can have on those around us. No one wanted to eat the old Pizza crust I found!

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We have plans this year to become a weekly club and are looking for new activities and equipment to make the beAt better than ever. Of course all this takes time, money and energy, some we have, others we’ll have to start searching for. Leader numbers are in decline and options for recruiting new ones limited, that’s where you good people reading this can help by raising us up in your prayers or passing on our details to anyone you think could help. So, another great year at the beat with numbers a steady twenty five to thirty young people.

Leader numbers not so healthy now Ben has time out for his studies and Jimmy moves on, we continue with the core team of nine. As I draw a close to this note I’d like to say thank you to all the leaders who help out each fortnight, Helen Holman, Helen Cooke, Jacqui Issitt, Jeff Britt, Ben Bullock, Richard Frost, Zoe Cochrane, Lourdes Cottam and Brenda Harland.

Paul Is Ace

Music at St. Mary’sTim Cooke and Carole Bentley York continue to supply superbly the instrumental support to most services. We also extend thanks to Richard Foster, Ron Palmer and Andrew Bosley who have stepped in to cover holidays and other odd occasions during the year.

We are still looking for somebody to come forward with the enthusiasm to put together a group of young musicians to cater for those who prefer a more contemporary style of worship. Could this be you?.....

During the year, the choir has lost two of its long serving members. Hannah Francis left to go to University having been in the choir since she was nine years old and Liz Smith moved away to Kent after several years as a soprano. We miss them both a great deal and therefore have openings for any sopranos (they sing the tune) who are free on Friday evenings from 7.30 to 8.30 pm.for rehearsals and Sundays for services. We take young children

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from the age of 8 so long as they can read fairly well. Our Junior choir leader Mary Stagg does a great job teaching singing skills and techniques and the Juniors have their own time with her from 7.00 to 7.30 in addition to the normal rehearsal. We still need Altos……!

In addition to the normal services and major festivals the choir led a choral evensong service for All Saints Day, some members took part in the “Come and sing Messiah” organised in St. Mary’s by Nick Beech on Advent Sunday; with St. B’s tried a new style of Service for St. Mary’s Revd. Pat called “Taize and Testimony” and organised “The Way of the Cross” a meditation in songs, readings and prayer for Good Friday.

Viv Druce.

St. Mary's Church BellringersAttendance for Sunday Morning Service ringing has remained good, which has enabled us to ring all ten bells on most Sundays, whilst maintaining a good standard of ringing. We have attempted quarter peals for all Sunday Evening Services. We have rung for all of the special services and all of the Christmas Services. Quarter Peals were often rung on these occasions. We are pleased that visitors from local towers continue to attend our Tuesday night practices. Our beginners are continuing to make good progress through special practices and being included in quarter peal bands.

We were one of three bands to enter the Newbury Branch Striking Competition at Midgham on a pleasant summer evening in July where we were placed first. With some changes to the band we went on to represent the Newbury Branch in the Guild Competition at Chalgrove in October. We were placed second for the fifth year running with 92.8%. High Wycombe were the winners again with 93.8%.

Our Annual Outing in June organised by Ben Waller, attended by tower members and guest ringers was in East Berkshire and despite a dramatic thunderstorm at the end was a great success. Jo Waller organised our Annual Dinner which was held at the Winning Hand in November. Good food and good company made for an enjoyable evening.

At a practice in early December Bill Butler was taken ill and has since spent a number of weeks in hospital. We wish him well and a return to ringing in due course. I thank our ringers for their continuing support which has contributed to another successful year. I also thank Mark and his fellow clergy for conducting belfry prayers on Sunday Mornings.

Tony Smith

(Tower Captain)

Deanery Synod ReportThe Deanery, now with its ‘new’ Area Dean (our very own Team Rector) has enjoyed a full and productive year. The highlights, as reported to Deanery Synod, included the completion of the project to restructure the Newbury Ministry Team marked by a ceremony on April 12th, payment once again of

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the Deanery Share in full, participation in election to the new General Synod and presentations on Hungerford and East Downlands parishes. Mission Action Planning, support for schools and governors, concerns about rural ministry continued to feature at most meetings. The number of parishes paying share by Direct Debit had increased making the task of the treasurer slightly easier. There remains a vacancy of representatives from Thatcham on the Deanery Synod. Anyone interested is invited to speak to our Team Rector or Chris Watts.

Chris Watts

ChurchwardensAt the Annual Parochial Church Meeting last year Paul Bullock stood down as Churchwarden with Stephen Walker elected to take his place. The Archdeacon of Berkshire, The Venerable Revd Olivia Graham came to St James the Less Church, Pangbourne for the licensing of the Newbury Deanery Churchwardens.

We had two working party days, one in the Spring and one in the Autumn to clean the church inside and to tidy up the plant borders and the churchyard. In July we held a Family Parish Away Day at Rushall Manor Farm. The day began and ended with worship in the Black Barn. There were games and activities for children with workshops for the adults. This was an opportunity for the church to come together and get to know one another. The sun shone, the food was good and everyone had a good time. Throughout the year the church has been used for brass band concerts, musical events and the craft fair which is part of the Thatcham’s Festival of Arts & Leisure fortnight. A barn dance was held in church to celebrate two choir members significant birthdays and a disco birthday evening for a church member..

In November the Churchwardens attended at Training Day at Greyfriars Church, Reading with workshops on Duties & Functions of the PCC, Churchwardens and the Faculty Process, Health & Safety matters, to name a few. A presentation on these topics were given to the PCC. We were able to arrange for Natalie Merry from the DAC to come and advise the Churchwardens, Rector and Chris Watts on how to go ahead with work needed on church roof and bees above the Pathfinders Room and refurbishment of the Kitchen and Meeting Room. Some of the work to the roof has already been carried out with more planned for later this year. The team for Kitchen and Meeting Room is underway. The Churchwardens would like to thank Chris Watts for his invaluable help and assistance to us over the past year.

The Churchwardens wish to thank all those, in both churches, who help to keep our worship running smoothly, welcomers, sidespeople, cleaners, coffee makers, bell ringers, readers, servers, choir, music group, prayer people, young people leaders flower ladies without this support our churches would be the poorer.

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We thank too our Clergy Team, Mark, Marion and Alec, Pat and Brenda who work tirelessly for us Sunday by Sunday.

Joan, Colin, Stephen

Fabric

In summary the log of work to the fabric of St Mary’s includes: Lightning Conductor tested and certified to be ‘working’ Floodlights – minor repairs Inspection, recharge and part replacement of Fire Extinguisher Equipment Repair and Service of heating boilers by CBS Organ retuned twice plus minor repairs Continuing minor repairs to floor tiles in north and south aisles. Minor electrical repairs

The fabric is in generally good condition but a number of major items identified by the Architects Inspection in 2013 have yet to be addressed. Storm damage to lead work between tower and roof, on St Valentines Day 2014 was repaired by Shire Roofing and funding by the PCC insurance.

Parts of the organ also need reinstatement, replacement or repair.

High level halogen lamps were replaced by Nurse Electrics of Hermitage with the use of a scaffold tower.

The Meeting Room and kitchen refurbishment project has restarted with a report to PCC anticipated in June 2016.

Thanks are again due to Chris Druce and Paul Bullock for general repairs and lower level lamp replacements, to Marion and a team of dedicated gardeners for work on the flower borders and to all the ladies who regularly clean, polish and arrange the flowers. A commitment has been made to regular Church and Churchyard working parties in spring and autumn.

Chris Watts

InventoryNo significant changes were made to the Inventory during 2015. Work continues on the hassocks, some have been repaired others have had foam removed and a project for display of the dedicated tapestry covers is in the capable hands of the Sewing Group.

Chris Watts

Pastoral TeamOver the past year the Pastoral Team have met monthly on a Sunday afternoon. The Pastoral Team was commissioned on Sunday 30th November 2014 by Rev Mark Bennet which enable the team to serve in pastoral ministry in the community.

We have been looking at a video by the Diocese of Oxford entitled Reaching Out which portrayed 4 quite different situations that a pastoral visitor could encounter and opened up discussion for us.

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Material has been produced for bereavement visiting and Rev Marion spoke to us of her experiences and the “do’s and don’ts” once you have made your appointment to visit.

The Pastoral Team has got to know one another, feel comfortable in each other’s company and are supportive to one another.

Thanks to Margaret who arranges our meeting place each month in the Evans Lounge at Nevil Court.

Joan Collins

Flowers.Thanks to the many ladies who arrange flowers each week. We always have a pleasing arrangement in church, and at Easter and Christmas they excel and we fill the church with flowers. Many thanks to them all. We can always use more people, tuition is freely given.

Marion Fontaine.

Sewing group.We continue to meet once a week, and through the winter months we meet in each other’s houses, It's warmer! Last November we held the usual Coffee Morning and raffle at the same time as the charity boxes were opened and managed to make over £300 with the crafts we had made and other goods.The group are working on things for this year’s coffee morning and caring for the kneelers (hassocks) that are wearing out. We have been repairing the ones that are most worn, about 40 or 50, and put them back on the pews. Others have been taken to pieces and to make the tapestry covers into a wall hanging and the remainder into a ‘book’ for occasional display.

We are a group of 6-8 ladies, any one is welcome to join us even if they can only do tacking or unpicking! Thanks to all the ladies in the group we are a happy bunch and put the world to rights most weeks over a cup of tea.

Marion Fontaine.

…. and on the subject of decorating the Church a special thank you to Rita Leroy who quietly continues to clean the brass plaques and pulpit rails and to Maggie Fidler who vacuums much of the church most Saturday mornings.God bless you both.

Anon.

Little Churches, Home Communions.The places the team visit stay the same as we cover almost all the elderly people's residencies. The residents at Thatcham Court are a faithful group and the staff are welcoming; this is not an easy place to work as the residents all have dementia in varying degrees but things remembered from younger days can be brought to the fore and they love to sing. Nevil Court and Ferndale Court have well established faithful congregations. Our thanks to all in the team, this service to the elderly could not happen without them.

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C.A.M.E.O. Come and Meet Each OtherCAMEO has been in existence now for two years. In that time the group has grown from 6 people to an average of 25 people coming along although on occasions we have 36 people!

We have had referrals from Beechcroft (part of West Berks Community Hospital) and recently the Newbury weekly News have asked permission for CAMEO’s details to be published in their papers letting people be aware that they needn’t be lonely and on their own without friends to talk to.

The Team of helpers through everyday chatting carry out a fair bit of Pastoral work – listening to family problems, health problems and everyday worries.

This past year has seen two projects take off. Firstly, knitting blankets, baby clothes and soft toys for the West Berkshire Community Hospital helping them to raise funds for the new Renal Unit. Secondly collecting milk bottle tops for the Air Ambulance Charity.

Thatcham Court have enjoyed being part of Monday afternoons especially the singing events. Our Christmas mammoth raffle along with a gift to CAMEO made it possible to purchase a loud speaker and two microphones. This equipment was in remembrance of Norah Black one of the first CAMEO members.

The group is blessed with loyal helpers :- Viv, Theresa, Ann, Margaret and our two stalwart drivers Chris and Mike.

If on reading this report you would like to become a helper or driver, on a rota basis we would be thrilled to have you on board with us.

CAMEO Team

Men’s Breakfast A very successful 13th year with eight speakers including the Revd David Winter on ‘Humour in the Bible’, Sarah Lowe on ‘World Mission, the Revd Trevor Dorey on ‘Particles of God’, David Widdett on ‘Thatcham Volunteer Bureau’ and Stephen Walker, Colin Powell and Marcus Langford-Thomas.

A great range of speakers and subjects to stir and provoke the listeners.

Men’s Breakfast is held at the Regency Park Hotel on the first Saturday of most months. To find out more contact Colin Stone on [email protected] or ring 01635 37217.

OasisWe began as a group of Mums (and me!) meeting on Tuesday afternoons and over a cup of tea and a biscuit we talk about God, the Bible and our lives. During the beginning of the year we finished off our look at the Sermon on the Mount and we are now doing Christianity Explored, where we are working our way through Mark’s gospel. There is usually a lot of laughter and the group has helped us to get to know each other and the Bible better.

Alec Gill

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Pub & PrayerThis year we met during Advent and Lent at the Crickets pub from 8pm for a swift half, before heading over to St Mary’s at around 8:30pm to say Night Prayer together, which is a simple and short service (about 15minutes long) of prayers, reflection and Bible readings to round off the day.

Last August twelve of us (and two dogs) met at Thatcham train station and we walked to the Rowbarge at Woolhampton, stopping on the way to pray and reflect. We stopped for a quick drink and as the sun set we trekked back to the bright lights of Thatcham. We are planning more Pub and Prayer walks this summer so keep a look out for more details to follow…

Alec Gill

House Groups House Groups have continued at Exmoor Road and Simmons Field and Violet Grove over the last year. The groups have developed a flexible approach to choosing the subjects for study including the Emmaus Course : Matthew’s Gospel, the Lent Courses including ‘Fleeting Glimpses’ and forthcoming weekly Readings from the Lectionary. There is always room for more participants or more House Groups. If you want to join contact details are in the ‘Bulletin’ or contact the Parish Office.

Prayer ministry St. Mary’s Prayer Ministry Team has continued to be available to spend time after the morning service in confidential prayer with anyone who wishes to share their concerns, joys and difficulties. We recognise what a privilege it is when we pray with people.

The team also pray for the people or situations mentioned in the prayer book which is left in St Anne’s chapel during the week and where anyone coming into the church may add their prayers or thoughts. The prayer book is usually taken to the altar during the main Sunday service.

As well as praying with people on a Sunday, we meet periodically as a team to pray for the clergy team, the Pastoral Team, parish initiatives and activities. In 2015 we have been focussing on the first year of the Partnership for Missional Church process.

We continue to be available after the service rather than during communion because it offers an opportunity to anyone in the congregation, choir or children’s work to receive prayer ministry.

Sue Stevenson.

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MISSIONSChristian Aid Along with our own events we also received several donations, directly and through the local churches, and so I am very pleased to report that, this year, we have raised over £5,000 for Christian Aid.

In October we held our Annual General Meeting at the Methodist Church. In December several of us braved the cold weather and went carol singing

outside Waitrose supermarket in Thatcham. There was plenty of joyous Carol Singing to welcome busy Christmas shoppers as they went about their Christmas shopping and this was well received. A total of £252.63 was collected on the day and the Christmas Appeal raised nearly £300.00. Thank you to everyone who supported these events.

Last year the remaining committee members made the decision to carry on for a further year with the agreement that we would continue in a more low-key fashion and encourage the local churches to organise their own events for Christian Aid. I would like to thank the Committee for their hard work during this last year and all our friends throughout Thatcham for their generosity and continued support.

Lent Lunches; will take place each week during Lent at the Methodist Church and conclude on Good Friday at St. Mary’s. Hot soup and a warm welcome guaranteed! Many thanks to CTIT and helpers for supporting this event once again.

Christian Aid Week House to House/Street Collections from Saturday 14th

May – Sunday 22nd May 2016; ending with a coffee and cake morning at St Mary’s - this remains our biggest source of income and new collectors are eagerly awaited and always welcome! (Details nearer the date)

Quiz Night + Fish and Chips Supper; Saturday June 25 th 2016 - 6pm; at the Baptist Church – more details to follow nearer the date.

AGM; October 2016 – Date and details to be confirmed. New committee members very welcome!!

Anne Roper Chair (Acting)

We believe in life before death

Fairtrade and TraidcraftThe aim of FAIRTRADE is to secure a better deal for farmers and traders in 74 countries around the world. FAIRTRADE was founded by CAFOD, Christian Aid, Oxfam, Traidcraft, The World Development Movement and The National Federation of Women’s Institutes. The Headquarters is in Bonn, Germany.

The key areas of activity are to:

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Provide independent certification of the trade chain for products and licensing of the FAIRTRADE mark on products

Help in growing demand for FAIRTRADE products and empowering producers to sell to traders and retailers.

Work with their partners to support producer organisations and their networks.

Raise awareness of the need for FAIRTRADE with the public.

The organisation has 1,5 million farmers/workers and 1210 FAIRTRADE certified producer organisations. 25% of all FAIRTRADE workers are women. Products are sold by all 5 of major UK supermarkets and over £23 FAIRTRADE premium is generated from sales in the UK.

FACTS: A typical poor family in a poor country spend 70% of its income on

food. Small holder farmers grow 70% of the world’s food but make up half of

the world’s hungriest people. 1.4 billion people in the developing world live in poverty, 300 million

children go to bed hungry every day. The richest 85 people in the world have more wealth than the poorest

half of the world FAIRTRADE promote better education and healthcare.

Typical products include: tea, coffee, sugar, sweets, pasta, biscuits, cleaning products, home products, fashion products, toys and stationery.

A stall selling a limited range of food products is held in the Meeting Room every 2nd Sunday each month. Products can be ordered from the TRAIDCRAFT catalogue.

Relan Clarke

Children’s SocietyCollecting boxes and at the Christingle Services at St Mary’s and St Barnabas are the two ways in which funds are raised to support the Childrens’ Society in this parish. £481 was sent to the Society in 2015. Collecting boxes are available for anyone wanting to support the Society in its work with children.

The money goes to help the Society and its network of centres and projects to deliver specialist services for children who face disaster and danger in their daily lives; children who are unable to find the support they need elsewhere.

If anyone would like to take on the organisation of events for the Society, please speak to speak to Ann Watts or any of the Churchwardens

Ann Watts

US (formerly USPG)US is working with the Anglican Church in Zambia to develop healthcare and leadership programmes that will have an impact on the life and outreach of the church and community.

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The PCC has chosen to support St Francis’, a 350 bed hospital in rural Zambia providing medical and surgical care to the people of Katete District (population 200,000). The hospital runs 14 rural clinics, an HIV treatment programme and community education programme. The hospital employs and trains Zambian doctors, nurses, midwives and support staff.

£435 was given to US in 2015.

If you would like to help, please speak to Ann Watts (864567) to arrange for a collecting Globe.

Ann Watts

West Berkshire Foodbank During 2015-2016 St. Mary’s and St. Barnabas Churches continued to give generously to West Berks Foodbank (WBFB); 801.5kg of food and toiletries for people in desperate circumstances was donated. Each client received 3 days’ worth of emergency food and sign posted when necessary to other agencies for support. Not only do we give food items but several people in our congregations volunteer for WBFB in the warehouse, at a Foodbank Centre or in the office.

Total number of people fed during 2015/2016:

Adults 1860Children 1105Total 2965 (3425 in 2014/2015)

Local churches, businesses, community groups and individuals have been generous in supporting the work of WBFB by donating food regularly; to this end there are permanent collection boxes in Sainsbury, the Co-Op, Tesco and Waitrose supermarkets. Due to the increase in supermarket permanent collections boxes we have not needed to have all day instore collections at supermarkets in 2015. But without the exceptional and regular support of local churches responding very quickly and generously to any stock shortages we would be in a different position.

“The Foodbank was a life saver”“I don’t know what I would have done without it”

These are just a couple of the many similar comments made by clients to a Foodbank volunteer. Thank you to everyone who has donated food and those who volunteer.

A simple food parcel makes a big difference, restoring dignity and reviving hope.

Sue Stevenson

Social Events

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At the moment there is no social committee. Although events still continue (a fashion show is planned for the summer), more helpers are needed; if you would like to help in any way, please see Chris Druce.

Service Rota Teams – Sidespeople, Readers, Intercessors, Servers & Chalice Administrators

Teams of volunteers have regularly helped throughout the year providing lay support in various aspects of church life.

However some people’s circumstances have changed and some have reviewed what they are able to do resulting in fewer people to share the load and for this reason new people would be most welcome in many of the teams, particularly the Sides people’s team and those who help at baptisms.

Thank you to everyone who helps.

Sue Stevenson

Welcomers

This team of faithful people, who brave all weathers, stand at the entrance to the church.

Their primary task is to greet each person with a smile and a “Good Morning”

We cover the 10am Sunday service and are there to answer any questions as well as directing newcomers towards the sidespeople or clergy.

There are currently 14 of us, who work on a rota basis in pairs.

Please speak to me if you would like to join the team.You would be most welcome and would support this vital ministry.

Christine Rice

Connect Connect, our parish magazine, is published ten times a year, double issues being December/January and July/August. The magazine includes news and information about services and events in St. Mary’s and St. Barnabas. All of our clergy team provide, in turn, a monthly article but more contributors are always welcome. Any articles or adverts to be published can be sent to Steve Rice, [email protected], or Julie Dunwell, [email protected].

Julie Dunwell

St Mary’s Church WebsiteOur website was launched in March 2010. This is part of our on-going focus on improving our communications. Our thanks go once again to Gary Collins

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for helping us to keep the site up to date but his time is now very limited for such work and a champion is required to move this project on.

The success of the website is demonstrated by the continuing enquiries for information about the church, particularly regarding former members of the congregation and for family history matters and the monuments record. These enquiries come from around the world.

Nevertheless I remain concerned that the current information on the website gives a poor impression of the good things happening at St Mary’s. The potential is huge.

Chris Watts

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Documents

Thatcham Annual Parish Meeting Annual Report 17th … · Web viewJo Waller organised our Annual Dinner which was held at the Winning Hand in November. Good food and good company made