APCM Report 2010.  The Revd.Canon LW. Doolan

My report does not quite fit into the January 2009- December 2009 timespan. Some of it brings us more up to speed.

1. Lay Ministry

There is an impressive amount of lay ministry in this parish. The Wardens of all three churches, PCC Officers and members meet most months and deal with a huge amount of PCC business. We have a vast army of volunteers through the parish – cleaning, welcoming, working at Cornerstone in its mission and pastoral care, serving at the altar, singing in our choirs, stewarding, sidespeople, flower arranging and so it goes on. We could not be the parish we are without all of you.

In addition there are those who deal with sacristan business, and a great deal of background work that no-one really realizes is happening day by day, week by week. There is a huge tourist activity in the town, and the Parish Church is at the very heart of this. I would like to thank Sian Defferary for all she does with our stewards.

We also have our two highly valued lay Readers, Eric and Sylvia. Each in their own way they contribute in a more than considerable way to the ministry of the parish – in preaching, leading worship, wisdom, and in their pastoral care. We are indebted to them, and I hope they realize how prized they are by all of us.

2. Ordained Ministry

This last year (2009) has seen a very big change in our clergy team. Warwick left just after Easter, and was replaced by Howard in September. In June three deacons were ordained to serve their title here – Jan, Penny, and Janet. As their training Incumbent this has been a real joy and encouragement. Howard and I, I’m sure, know what it is to have such good curates in training. Before all of us, there was Rosemary. We depend on her so much, and her ministry is greatly valued. I remember well the day when she got to the end of her 4 year curacy, and it was agreed with her, the bishop, and me that she would not move on to another parish. Rosemary was licenced in +Michael’s chapel in the presence of 2 bishops, 2 Archdeacons, and a Cathedral Dean. Not many can boast that.

The ministry team is relatively new, but we are a formidable team of clergy and much lies ahead of us over these next few years that will shape this parish for its longer term future; this will have an impact on the deanery and the diocese as well.

3. Worship and music

We have just surfaced from a wonderful week of music at the Parish Church to celebrate the new organ there. Anthony and Helen Hammond worked wonders on what was achieved that week. However, week by week in all three churches music is provided in various ways. We are grateful to all those who lead the music of our worship.

At Holy Trinity Gordon Webb retired. As a result of this the PCC agreed a new structure for our music department. Anthony Hammond has been appointed as Parish Director of Music and we are currently seeking to appoint a deputy who will both look after the organ and choir at HT, but also be assistant to Anthony for various services. Please pray that we will find someone to take on this post.

4. School of Faith

We are now in the second year of providing a programme of learning for the parish and beyond. After a hastily produced programme for 2009, the programme for this year has been greatly developed. Already this year the courses provided have been well subscribed. On Wednesday 28th we held our first meeting of PCC appointed members to begin the planning of the programme for 2011. Interest in our SoF is both ecumenical and from beyond our deanery. I know from the response sheets that the SoF courses are really appreciated. We are probably the only parish in the diocese that is providing this for discipleship development. It will become more ecumenical and will attract peole from beyond dour own deanery more and more.

5. All Age Worship

This has happened in a variety of ways in the past. The recent history of this parish is chequered, so we have to address this again in a new and vigorous way. In the Parish Church and at HT All Age worship is again being addressed by a growing number of interested supporters. It will make a difference, and we will all recognize the need to lower the age profile of those who come to church. We are about to receive the input of Dr. Sandra Millar from the diocese to help us move on to the next stages of renewed worship. We all know that our congregations are mostly elderly, however active, and that we must do all we can to sacrifice our own worship needs for the sake of increasing our numbers. At the same time our ‘all age’ worship must not be dumbed down, and we must include in it the joys and treasures of our ancient Christian tradition.

6. Family Worker

This leads well into the next subject, namely, the appointment of a Family Worker. We have tried several times to appoint a youth worker in the parish. This has singularly failed. With the backing of the PCC, and with input from the diocesan officer (Sandra Millar) the Personnel Committee has put together a job description for a Family Worker. This is not a change of direction from a Youth Worker, but a different way of looking at the issue. A family Worker is still connected to working with youth, but in a wider and more creative context, namely family. The Personnel Committee feels strongly that we should appoint someone who will work with those we have already contact with and grow our youth culture from those family units, rather than just being parachuted in to ease our conscience about not having youths in our churches. This means we need to be working with a strategy for the future, and I find that this is more appealing. I need your support for this. Remember, to get a youth worker has failed for several years, so there is no point in looking back to that type of appointment.

7.Challenges

I would like to raise some challenges for this year and beyond, looking at each of the three churches, and setting it in the context of the town. The town is after all our parish.

St. Lawrence. I was challenged the other Sunday about what St. Lawrence Church is all about on a Sunday. Numbers are very small, and are not growing. If anything they are in decline. The building is in great demand by community groups, and that is a great work that is done here. However, it is the PCC, the church, that has to maintain the building for the sake of those community bookings, and it is the PCC that has to respond to and fund, all the Health and Safety regulations. The groups that book the building don’t have to worry about that, or fund it. I would suggest that later this year we set up a group to look at a strategic future for St. Lawrence.

Holy Trinity. On the surface things seem to be going well at HT. It is a substantial building with a good sized congregation. However, one could say that it is functioning as a fairly traditional set up. It is a fine Victorian Church. It has a church hall that is used by many organizations. There is much that is attractive about it, but we always need to ask of every church community where its cutting edge is. I simply put the challenge to the HT congregation to start looking to what it sees its future as, and  how its future will be fashioned – what will be new that makes its mark on the Watermoor part of the town?

The Parish Church. Unbelievable amounts of money have been spent on this building. I hope it is more to do with ensuring that it will be fit for purpose to be the church in the future, than in just a conservation exercise. I think we know already that new and wonderful opportunities are opening up in this historic and as they say on the Continent, ‘touristic’ church. A decision is looming about seating, and this will determine in a considerable way how the church will or will not develop. To many the argument is about whether we have pews, or whether, like the Vicar, we get rid of all the history and have chairs. I am serious about this – the future of that building depends on this decision. It is not a matter of taste and temperament. It is about whether this building fulfils all the options for the future, or fails to do so!

Finance. We have a number of sub committees of the PCC. Over this last year we have seen some real changes in the quality of how these function. We have some very committed people on our sub-committes, and also expertees. We should be proud of the standard of the groups that support and advise the PCC. Not least among these is the Finance Committee. Under Graham Baber’s careful chairmanship, and with Charles Woodd as our Treasurer, we are now in far more control of our spending and we are beginning to plan seriously about how we finance the future. Increase dincome from tourism after two or three lean years, and a favourable prospect for the Cornerstone, income will increase. The diocese has a new giving scheme which I am very keen that we should adopt. Having said that we have a very well run scheme of giving at present, and Peter does a great work in claiming Gift Aid. Nonetheless I am committed personally to the Parish making a gradual transition to the new scheme, and a future point we will have a presentation on this new giving scheme.

Of course domestic, everyday finance, is as pressing here as it is anywhere else. I don’t think we are flagrant with our money, and we are conscious of areas in parish life that need to be addressed where there is financial liability. We cannot change that situation overnight, and the Property Group is working very realistically about what the future of our ancillary buildings might look like. This is the best we can hope for in the immediate future.

There has been a generosity of spirit for the appointment of some one to work with young people. I hope we will fulfil this soon. There is a desperate need – and I cannot stress this enough – for additional funding to allow us to pay for more hours for a Verger at the Parish Church. (We remember Peter Flaherty at this time). This is hopelessly under-resourced at present, and for the first time in many years both the Wardens at the Parish Church are in full time employment. It will work against us if we do not address this matter urgently.

Final Summary. It is a privilege for all of us to be engaged in living and proclaiming the gospel in this town and parish whichever church base we do it from. But there is a danger that we view everything from the church base. A telescope, if used the right way, shows a bigger picture. If used wrongly the picture ahead of you is diminished. We need to be more aware of what is demanded of us as a the Church of God, so that we can respond ecumenically where it is appropriate, or engage with our society in schemes like the Street Pastor Scheme that is emerging as a reality, or interacting with the Volunteer Centre, and other voluntary agencies in the town. I feel that a great deal of clergy time is taken up with running our churches, and with looking after those who come to church. What about our call to go out and engage the Christian faith in places where it is not yet present. This is not just a challenge to the clergy, but to all of us, because if we fill up all the clergy time running our systems and people, we are not being the light and the salt for the world.

I have been Vicar for 18 months. I am still here! I am fully energised and enthusiastic for what we can achieve in this parish. I said from the start, even at interview, that I felt the parish was under-achieving. I sense that we have just begun to change that and that we have as good a chance as anywhere to be a flourishing parish where there is excellence in practice, success in evangelism, and effectiveness in equipping the church in learning, living, and proclaiming the gospel.

I pray God’s blessing on our parish.