North Chippenham
Group of Churches
2009 Annual Church
Meetings Rector's Report by Simon Tyndall
THANK YOU!
- as you are aware James &
Inger Denniston left in October 2007 and this left a gap in our life and
ministry which has been covered by some wonderful people in the 15 month
vacancy of the post. At the same time
Dave Kilmister was ordained as OLM (Ordained Local Minister) which has considerably
eased the workload of Communions, Baptisms, Weddings & Church
Leadership. Thank you, Dave!
Also, I want to thank all those who regularly take
services in our churches; the Ministry Team of John Woodward, Steve Cooper,
Karin Needham, Karen Rudge, Ron Pool, Barbara Wood, Pam Tayler and Tim
Woodward. And it is encouraging that
others are taking the EGP (Equipping God's People) course some of whom may
also become Lay Ministers. Thank you
all! During 2008 Anjali Kanagaratnam and
her family moved to live and work in Thailand (linked with the CMS SALT
programme) and while that is a bonus for the church there we miss them from our
fellowship!
However, part way through 2008 we were delighted that
the Rev Sam Rushton and her family moved to join us. She is the Ministry Officer for the Diocese
of Bristol but is also licensed as part of our church life and has made a great
contribution to our worship and witness.
Thank you, Sam! An added bonus is
that Peter Rushton is also a Lay Minister and at the end of 2008 he was
licensed to work amongst us. Welcome,
Peter!
GROUP LEADERSHIP
- these Ministers along with our
Church Wardens continue to form our Group Leadership (which aims to meet 4/5
times a year). And I want to thank our
Church Wardens for all they do Veronica Kilmister, Sue Gale (from 08),
Neville Hammersley (until 08), Martin Ellett, Judy Ellett (from 08), Michael
Meilton (from 08), Wendy Meilton (from 08), Cynthia Smith (until 08), Derek
Boulton, Deborah Loveday (from 08), Pam Tayler and Colin Labouchere (from 08). You provide caring and responsible leadership
which is much appreciated. Thank you for
all you do!
THE BODY OF CHRIST
- I am aware that many, many
other people contribute to make us the people that we are so, thank you for
the part you play in our church life everything you contribute is part of a
greater whole and we all depend on each other as we work together. St Paul wrote you are the body of Christ and
each one of you is a part of it (1 Cor 12:27) and that means all of us! So, thank you for who you are and what you
bring to our life together!
MINISTER AT LARGE
- by now you will know that
(after an unfortunate delay) we were able to appoint the Rev Mike Watkins to
our Team Vicar post. With Sarah and
Rebekah & Sam the family will bring lots to our life as Mike works on the
edge of church life helping us to reach out to those beyond our Sunday
fellowships. I am sure he will be
heartened to discover some of the areas we are already engaged in and will
hopefully have ideas that will help us improve what we are trying to do!
RISE - one of the great areas of social concern and
outreach through St Pauls has been the work of the RISE Trust. In 2008 we were amazed at God's goodness as
the new RISE Children's Centre was opened at St Paul's School by Bishop
Lee. It is providing high quality around
school-time provision with a mixture of paid and voluntary staff (many of whom
are members of St Paul's church). As the
work of the RISE Trust has grown (and become more complex) so the role of the
Trustees has developed, reflecting the change in relationship between St Paul's
church and the Trust. In reality RISE
has grown up (and in some ways moved away from the focus of work being around
St Paul's church). Clearly the RISE
Trust (although born out of the church) is now independent of the church as it
chooses its own Trustees, developes its own priorities and secures its own
funding. However, church members are
very proud of the links and want to retain the vital connection between our
communities. Long may it continue!
LEE ABBEY WEEKEND
- in October 2008 we had another
superb church weekend at Lee Abbey with Paul Bayes as our speaker. He was helping us to think about our mission
priorities and we again enjoyed time with each other and the lovely setting of
Lee Abbey. I am very committed to church
weekends away as they give us time with each other and the space to get to know
one another.
CONFERENCES
- I always find it interesting to
remind myself of what conferences and courses I have been on during the
previous year. In 2008 I attended the
Diocesan Conference at Swanwick; the Global Leadership Seminar at Bristol and
Child Protection Training. All were
excellent and a great help and encouragement for my ministry.
COMMUNICATION
- I want to take this opportunity
to thank Kay Mason & Martin Ellett (and latterly Stephen Cozens) for all they do in producing 2 of our most
important means of communication I refer to the weekly pew sheet and the
monthly edition of CLARION. I try to
make sure that as much information as possible is circulated in the parish
can I encourage you to use these resources and also contribute to them? Also, thanks to Amanda & Rob Kingsland,
Jon Davies & Dick Wood for all they do running the websites for St Pauls (www.stpaulsweb.co.uk) & Hardenhuish
churches (www.harnish.org.uk).
AREA DEAN
- in June I was asked by Bishop
Mike if I would take on the role as Area Dean for the Chippenham deanery
(covering some 26 parishes in 7 groupings).
I am really enjoying working with the local clergy and congregations,
though realise that I do therefore have less time for the North Chippenham
Group of Churches. (However, with our
strong team I don't feel that that is such a problem!) I see the role as supporting parishes;
helping churches to develop their ministry teams; having deanery meetings
focussed on mission; and encouraging the
link with Mukono in Uganda. In reality
the churches in the deanery will need to find ways of working closer together
and being clearer about what our purpose is ie what are we here to do? I hope I can help as we look for answers.
CONCERTS AT KINGTON ST MICHAEL - I
have been delighted that this year we have been able to host a couple of lovely
concerts in St Michael's church which have been put on by local musician Paul
Bambrough. It has been a great setting
for these ocassions and they have attracted people from the village and the
wider community. We look forward to the
next one!
WORLD WIDE ANGLICAN COMMUNION - it
was a shame that the Ugandan bishops did not attend the Lambeth Conference in
2008 and so we were not able to host Bishop Paul from Mukono. However, we had a wonderful visit from Bishop
Masimango who came with his wife
from DR Congo and spent a few days with us. It was a real privilege to have them with us
hearing stories of their lives in Africa reminds us of just how blessed we
are and of what responsibilty God has given us in our links with the church
worldwide.
HARDENHUISH CHURCH
- I am aware that lots of
exciting things are beginning to happen at St Nicholas' church under the
ministry team of Dave Kilmister, Barbara Wood & Karen Rudge. Dave's input has helped encourage thinking
about the provision for all ages and the use of the building and his care and
leadership have been a focus for much mission thinking. It is very encouraging!
CORNERSTONE CAFE
- near the end of the year 2008
we saw a new venture at St Pauls in the hall on a Monday morning. Although it is early days yet we are
beginning to see a number of people drop in for cakes, drinks and a chat both
from the church community and local residents.
I am sure this is something that we can develop and I look forward to
seeing this flourish.
ST PAUL'S CHURCH LEADERSHIP - at
the AGM in April 2008 we started a couple of experiments having a team of 4
joint churchwardens (Judy & Martin Ellett and Michael & Wendy Meilton)
and a church leadership of 6 people. I
really feel that we have got off to a good start with this and will want to
continue into 2009, though the number and personnel of the groupings may change
slightly. Thank you to Phil Crook
(Outreach); Karin Needham (Worship); Graham Pattison (Property &
Resources); Sam Rushton (Caring for Ourselves); Ann Tyndall (Out of Parish) and
I covered Youth & Children whilst we awaited the arrival of Mike Watkins.
ALSO - I just want to mention that this year I have
enjoyed Quiet Days at Nympsfield; continue to be a Trustee of the Revelation
(Bookshop); regularly volunteer at The Harbour drop-in for asylum seekers and
refugees in Swindon; and survived the sponsored Doorway Sleepout early in
2008. It has been another full year and
in a world of (economic) uncertainty it is good to be reminded of the
unchanging nature of our God, the one on whom we can fully depend.
To him who is able to keep you from falling and to
present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy to
the only God our Saviour be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus
Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and for evermore! Amen.
(Jude 24&25)