| FILLING THE VACANCY |
| The two parishes - St Luke & St John and St Michael's - are to share a priest-in-charge for the first time. The two PCCs have been separately working on their "parish profiles". A parish profile is firstly a description of the parish and the church and secondly a statement of the type of person that it wants to lead it in its Christian journey |
| While it is reasonable for each church to do the first of these (the description) without reference to the other, there needs to be agreement on the second part. The Archdeacon of Cheltenham, the Ven Hedley Ringrose, has been assisting both churches in this process, and there will be a joint meeting of the PCCs on Tuesday 9th May to try to reach agreement on what can said. |
| If things go well on Tuesday, we may be able to move to the next stage - the placing of an advertisement. In discussions with the Archdeacon before Easter we agreed that in theory it would be possible to place an advertisement on 19th May in time to interview on or about 13 July (post publication update: interviews now set for 3 July). |
| St Luke's has chosen Peter Ralphs and June Cox as our "Parish Representatives" (the people actually involved in the interviews), St Michael's have chosen Sophie Franklin and Ralph Forbes-Ritte. If we cannot advertise in May, the interviews would have to wait until September, and of course, even if we find a suitable candidate, it could be some time before the vacancy is actually filled. |
| Simon Barton |
| ONE YEAR ON |
| A full year has passed since Revd Mike Lodge, Linda and their family left St Luke's, They sent us greetings at Easter via our website: |
| "Hello to all our friends at St Luke's. We are keeping up with events as they happen to you. You are all still very much in our prayers and we think of you often. Much love to you all." |
| We in turn continue to pray for them in Rayleigh. |
| BREAKING THE LINK ? |
| On Sunday 30 April we thanked Sarah Rowbotham who had retired as editor of The Link. We are most grateful to her for all she has done. |
| On Friday 5 May, at the funeral of Ivor Drew, the Revd Jeremy Whales recalled Ivor's long service as Subscription and Advertising Secretary for the Link up to January 1998. Sue Robbins, editor of The Link at that time, and Margaret Beverley, Ivor's successor in the post, were present (and I eventually took over Ivor's delivery round!) |
| There was a general discussion on the future of The Link at the Annual Meeting on 3 April. Points made included: |
| Much of the material is also presented in the weekly Newsheet and in Roundabout (which is more widely distributed around the Parish). |
| No evidence that more copies were taken by church members since the Link had been made free. |
| Contents too similar to Newsheet - previously the Link used to contain articles, rotas and lists of marriages, births and death. |
| Having a diary of events further ahead that given in the Newsheet was useful (but could be addressed by a Flyers in the Newsheet). |
| Possible loss of advertising income. |
| It was agreed that the new Communications Working Group should consider these comments and make recommendations on the future of The Link. |
| In my report to the Annual Meeting I had observed that there was little support for The Link (ie by way of contributions) or, perhaps, interest in what it contained. I added, "One might think that a parish magazine would be particularly important during an interregnum and as we sail into uncharted waters - a means of maintaining deeper communication with the church family." |
| This remains my personal view. I feel that The Link potentially has a role that should be distinct from both the Newsheet and the Roundabout. But people may not want to have so much to read; they may get all the information they need from chatting after church, or may prefer to look on the church website (www.stlukes-church.org.uk - though this too needs original content!) |
| Times move on. If The Link has had its day, so be it! We should look to the future and find new ways of providing information to church members (but not forgetting, those who cannot get to church). |
| Simon Barton |
| ST JOHN'S CHURCH OF ENGLAND PRIMARY SCHOOL |
| It seemed that Easter was barely over and the last egg not yet eaten before we were back into full swing at School! We were sad to say Goodbye to Mrs Jo Ashford who has served the School so well as School secretary for the last 5 years. We treated Jo to a super meal and she was presented with vouchers for her Garden and a bouquet in her final assembly. It will not be a long goodbye as Jo will be returning to continue her Wildlife Club with the children during Wednesday lunchtimes! We welcome Maria Baltyn as the new School Secretary and Christine Byard as Finance Officer. |
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| The School has been fortunate to receive a building funding grant which has updated the doors off the Hall and entrance and refurbished the Offices. It was fairly hectic and chaotic for a couple of days but the end result is well worth while. |
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| The School were treated to a wonderful musical concert. The children who have been learning cello and keyboard demonstrated their skills and musical ability. It was a lovely musical celebration of their hard work and dedication to learning an instrument and their parents were very proud of their efforts! |
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| Finally, the School are collecting vouchers from Tesco and Sainsburys and would be grateful for any contributions. |
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| Many Thanks, |
|
| Fiona Hadden (Reception Class Teacher) |
|
| ANNUAL MEETINGS 2006 |
| Following all the preparations by our PCC Secretary, Jean Allen, the Annual Church Meetings on 3 April went off very well under Peter Ralphs' chairmanship. They were well attended and there was active participation. Many people stayed on to chat over coffee afterwards - some even volunteering to fill some of the outstanding vacancies! |
| Highlights: |
| Peter Ralphs has agreed to stay on as churchwarden beyond his 4-year term, but he needs to retire next year, so we are actively seeking a deputy churchwarden to understudy over the coming year. |
| Under David and Jane Johnson's careful and committed supervision, the Church Hall Charity continues to provide an important asset for the local community and is able to contribute to the charitable work of the Church in the parish. This has included grants to St John's Primary School for musical instruments and to the PCC to assist the funding of the Youthworker post held by Wes Bell. Margaret Bristol is chair of Trustees. |
| The Electoral Roll stands at 150. We need a new Electoral Roll Officer. |
| Chris Foy reported that the Church finances are in reasonable shape, though our reserves are very limited. Giving has held up well during the interregnum, with over £9,000 of tax reclaimed under the Gift Aid scheme. We paid our 2005 Parish Share (£43,000) in full and made donations totalling £4,320 to the six missionary and other charities that we support. We will need to hold a Gift Day in 2006. |
| Wes Bell was thanked for his work in the church and at St John's Primary School. Sue Russell reported that, in addition to Wes' work with Revd Richard Cleaves of Highbury Congregational Church, the Church is actively involved in the Open the Book project at the School. |
| Coralie Slade was thanked for 18 years spent actively promoting Traidcraft at St Luke's. She has now handed over to Sheila Clifford. |
| Bishop Michael has offered to fund a part-time stipendiary minister for a limited period to help equip us for the longer term. |
| ANNUAL MEETINGS 2006 |
| ELECTIONS |
| (Ratified where appropriate by the PCC on 19 April 2006) |
| Churchwardens |
| Peter Ralphs & Simon Barton |
| (Deputy churchwarden needed) |
| Assistant Churchwardens |
| Michael Gibson & Doreen Eldridge |
|
| PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL |
| Elected 2006: Paul Burfitt & Jonathan Chestney) |
| Co-opted (13/4/06); Wes Bell |
| Elected 2005: Jean Allen, Ken Brightwell & June Cox |
| Elected 2004: Guy Woodcock; Linda Gay & Linda Ralphs |
| Ex-Officio PCC Members |
| Peter Ralphs Churchwarden |
| Simon Barton Churchwarden |
| Pam Dines Deanery Synod |
| Chris Foy Deanery Synod |
| Eileen Swain Deanery Synod |
| Peter Burke Reader |
|
| CHURCH WORKING GROUPS |
| Communications |
| Sue Robbins, Guy Woodcock & Marion Burke |
| Education |
| Linda Ralphs, Caroline Hodgkins, Paul Burfitt & Catherine Bradbury |
| Evangelism |
| Hellen Harrison, Peter Burke, Eamonn O'Sullivan & Marjory Brightwell |
| Fabric |
| Peter Ralphs, Marjory Brightwell, Ken Brightwell, David Johnson, Jane Johnson & Michael Gibson. |
| Finance |
| Chris Foy, Guy Woodcock, Peter Ralphs, Simon Barton & Philip Mitchell |
| Pastoral Care |
| (suspended) |
| Worship |
| Pam Dines, Jonathan Chestney & Wes Bell |
|
| SIDESPERSONS |
| Jean Atkinson |
| Roger Bardwell |
| Margaret Beverley |
| Ken Brightwell |
| Marjory Brightwell |
| Marion Burke |
| Doreen Eldridge |
| Freddie Fitzgerald |
| Linda Garbutt |
| Mike Gibson |
| Hellen Harrison |
| Tony Harrison |
| David Johnson |
| Michelle Porter-Babbage |
| Sue Robbins |
| John Russell |
| Anna Stanfield |
| Gwynne Tucker-Brown |
| Guy Woodcock |
| Charles Wright |
| Kathleen Young |