North Chippenham
Group of Churches
North Chippenham
Group of Churches
2010 Annual Church
Meetings – Rector's Report by Simon Tyndall
This is my 9th report to the annual
meetings of the churches of the North Chippenham Group of Churches – St Peter's
Langley Burrell; St Michael & All Angels' Kington St Michael; St Nicholas'
Hardenhuish; St Paul's Chippenham – having become Team Rector on 30th
April 2001. It is a post I am really
enjoying and find working with you and amongst you to be a great
privilege. Thank you for being the
church and for all your support and encouragement over the past year. I am aware that so many people do contribute
to who we are. Thank you - your
part is important and appreciated!
It has been great to welcome Mike & Sarah Watkins
(and their children) to the post of Minister at Large - and
whilst aware that he is spending time concentrating on St Pauls at the moment
our intention is that he spreads his wings within our Group of Churches. In 2009 at St Pauls there has been so much
ministry at the fringe – SPARKS, baptisms, welcomers, RISE children's centre -
as well as helping St Pauls become a church that is able to help others into
fellowship with us! It has certainly
kept Mike busy!
At the same time Dave Kilmister has focussed more on
the work of St Nicholas' church and his ministry there is greatly valued. There are plans afoot to consider building a
hall – following discussions about church re-ordering. Dave has brought a real stability and sense
to the process and much experience in this field. With families (and few facilities) there are
regular all-age services at Hardenhuish church which Dave is developing along
with Barbara Wood & Karen Rudge.
Kington St Michael has had a quieter year but, thanks
be to God, another year of worship and fellowship in the village. Sam Rushton is working well with the church
and her regular ministry along with Pam Tayler, Tim Woodward & John
Woodward is well received. The midweek
Holy Communion service is one I particularly enjoy being part of and has given
us the opportunity to discover some interesting passages of Scripture and
preach on them.
At Langley Burrell the introduction of new church
wardens has brought a new energy and sense of joint ownership of our common
life and purpose. The Carol Service was
put together by church members and I enjoyed taking a service that they had
created. There is much energy within
this small community of faith. As also
at Kington St Michael, folk have enjoyed the musical ministry of Paul Bambrough
which enhances our worship.
We also have Steve Cooper, Karin Needham, Ron Pool and Peter Rushton as LLMs (Licensed
Lay Ministers/Readers) who are based at St Pauls but also minister in the other
3 churches. In February 2010 Alice Hall
joins this team and Veronica Kilmister is also going forward towards this
ministry. This is a wonderful sign of
people responding to God's call – and I am always wanting to encourage folk to
develop their own calling and ministry, as we sit under God's authority within
the church.
Looking back, I see that we have followed sermon
series on Paul's letter to the Philippians; Healing & Wholeness & St
Luke; and Questions Jesus asks in John's gospel. In our midweek services we have looked at
Passover & Deliverance (in Exodus); the prophet Habakkuk; the different
Marys in the NT; passages only found in Mark & Matthew; and Isaiah the
prophet. That is quite a rich and varied
diet and a lovely way to become more confident in Bible knowledge!
Our 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 (until 09), Sarah Cook & Caroline Preston
(from 09); Martin Ellett, Judy Ellett, Michael Meilton & Wendy Meilton;
Derek Boulton & Deborah Loveday; Pam Tayler & Colin Labouchere. You provide caring, responsible leadership
which is much appreciated - thank you for all you do! And at St Pauls our Leadership Team consisted
of Alice Hall (Outreach); Karin Needham (Caring for Ourselves); Martin Ellett
(Property & Resources); Ann Tyndall (Out of Parish); Mike Watkins (Youth
& Children); Michael Meilton (Administration) whilst I covered Worship.
I want to take this opportunity to thank Kay Mason for
the work she did in the Group Office and Jackie Beeney who has taken over the
role. And thank you to Stephen Cozens
for editing CLARION until it ceased in mid 2009. In truth people were not contributing
articles to it and it had served its time!
At St Pauls there are regular newsletters and I do try to make sure that
as much information as possible is circulated in the parish. 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).
Clearly, the response at St Pauls to the re-ordering
appeal has been wonderful and I am very excited by the prospect of work
starting after Easter on the entrances, under the tower and to make rooms in
the vestry area. It is much overdue and
I want to thank those who have piloted this through the church and all who have
contributed to the finances. It is a
lovely affirmation of God at work amongst us!
I am sure the autumn Healing & Wholeness course had great effect on
us as a body as well as on individual lives; and this response is some of the
visible fruit.
As you know I also have the role of Area Dean of
Chippenham which I find both challenging and enjoyable. I do find it a privilege to work with the
excellent clergy and lay leaders of the churches in our deanery – and we are
very blessed by having Aurea Hart as Lay Chair.
There is a real sense of purpose and mission as we try to help 'release
the energy' of God's people. I do find
that a very good strapline for what the diocese is wanting us to do. (And I was most heartened as the Group
Leadership shared with Archdeacon Tim McClure things we are doing and ways in
which energy is being released in our churches, parishes and area – there is so
much ....including BLAST, Cornerstone Cafe, RISE, general incarnational
ministry in the parishes – we are involved in our locality - DOORWAY,
Nightshift etc.)
If you have not heard about it, Ann & I had a very
interesting time in Thailand. It was
great to catch up with Anjali & Neil Kanagaratnam and see how they have
settled in. Also, we saw Christian
mission work through Christchurch Bangkok; CMS mission partner Gail Phillip;
Martin & Debbie Hosken's work with SIL in Chiang Mai; Friends of China;
Victory Family Church in Pattaya; and met the ALPHA co-ordinator for Singapore
and SE Asia. In that context, Ann &
I learned so much about our Christian faith and it was amazing to see what
people are doing for God. A Bhuddist
country is not an easy place in which to be a Christ follower! But it is a great place to learn to rely on
God! (PS we did also enjoy the sites,
food, beaches and swimming – it was a lovely way to mark 25 year's of
marriage!)
Also I 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 take school assemblies at St Pauls & Kington St
Michael primary schools, and sometimes at St Nicholas' special school. 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.
I think this is a great line from St Paul and it spoke
to me when we preached on Philippians..............
'Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is
noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is
admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such
things.' (Philippians 4:8)