|
VICAR’S
INTRODUCTION – JOURNEYING TOGETHER
I
recently read a book by Jean Vanier called ‘Community and Growth’.
Vanier is the founder of the L’Arche Communities. These are
christian communities that welcome and reach out to those with
significant disabilities. One of the things that Vanier emphasised
was the need to maintain a community identity both in the ordinary
times and in the times of celebration. St Mary’s is a very different
community to a L’Arche community none-the-less maintaining and
celebrating our particular identity in the ordinary times and in
times of celebration remains important. This is doubly so at a time
of transition and this year has been a time of transition for many
of us. In the following I will first focus on some of the things we
have to celebrate before considering some of the transitions we have
experienced. I will then remind us all of the Parish Vision and in
particular the values underpinning the Vision before going on to
highlight some key themes for the coming year.
Things to Celebrate
St
Mary’s remains a lively and life giving place to be. We have
continued to make contact with many families for the pastoral
offices. Some of these people have started to join us for worship
meaning that our average attendance has increased to 139. This means
there are well over 200 adults linked with St Mary’s. This year 5
adults and 4 young people have chosen to be confirmed which is an
encouraging number. The Emmaus explore course is a key part of
enabling adults to explore faith, we are currently running our third
course which is due to finish in the summer. A fourth course will
start in the autumn. In the autumn the Churches Together Youth team,
with some volunteers from St Mary’s and Norton Baptist Church
started a fortnightly open Youth Club. The St Mary’s Toddler group
on Wednesday afternoons is increasingly popular.
A great
number of people worked together to facilitate our celebration of
Advent and Christmas. We introduced a new Advent liturgy using the
Times and Seasons material. Picking up the theme of darkness and
light, cards were distributed to enhance our advent reflections. A
different group of people worked together to produce a Christmas
banner on the same theme. Others worked hard to co-ordinate three
different services, the Carol Service, the family service and the
midnight communion. In particular I commend all involved in the
choir for their musical contributions not only at Christmas but
throughout the year. This is just one example of many where
individuals use their gifts and abilities to enhance our community
life. There are many more examples in the reports below.
The
Church building is a well maintained warm and welcoming place. After
frustrations with on going lead theft the work on the nave and north
roofs is now complete with the lead being replaced by stainless
steel. The Parish Hall working group is working well to maintain the
facility and increase its use. As a church we remain active in the
locality, Churches Together and have an on going, specific link with
St Chad’s. In short we have a great deal to celebrate. However we
have experienced and continue to experience a number of significant
transitions.
Significant Transitions
Perhaps the most significant transition was the
appointment of Barbara Sherlock as Priest in Charge in the
Chelmsford Diocese based in Newport. This was a really good
appointment for Barbara and David and we wish them well, but
Chelmsford’s gain is Durham’s loss. Barbara came to as an
experienced and very hard working minister with a great deal to
contribute. She touched many people’s lives while she was based here
and we wish her God’s blessing in her new ministry. In October Chris
Pearson was licensed as an ‘authorised lay minister’. Chris was
commissioned to work as the ‘locality missioner’ while he trains for
pioneer ministry. We are very grateful for the contributions Chris
makes to our corporate life but Chris would be the first to say that
he and Karin’s transition has involved some struggles along the way.
Just after Christmas we also heard that Jan Nobel will be joining us
as curate from the summer. Do come to the ordination in the
Cathedral 29 June, 10.00am.
During the autumn Elizabeth Walker took a well
deserved sabbatical. I personally am very grateful for the help and
support that Elizabeth continues to give in both St Mary’s and St
Chad’s.
In June
we as part of Norton Churches Together took a decision to continue
our support for the Youth work team in Norton. The team is doing
some very effective work but how this work is delivered from
September is still to be finalised with the other partner churches.
Two key issues are how to fund and manage this work.
We are
very grateful to Andrew Kingscote who has helped a great deal with
playing the organ over the last 15 months. Early last year following
the tragic and unexpected death of Nick Bennet, Andrew increased his
commitment to St Mary’s considerably. Andrew reduced his commitment
in January for personal reasons and he has now indicated he wishes
to stop playing regularly. This means a further significant
transition for the choir and our church worship.
A
further on going issue of transition is the Deanery Planning
process. Each deanery has produced a deanery plan working towards
2020. In many ways our vision is in harmony with the plan. However
I’m sure that as the plan is rolled out to the parishes it will have
implications for us as a parish.
When
all the above is considered it is perhaps not surprising that some
of the issues identified in last years report have not been fully
implemented. So for example we have completed the work on St Mary’s
roof but are only just beginning to press forward with the work on
the vestry. PCC has received a report about missionary giving but we
still have to fully implement the policy. None the less we remain
committed to working to the parish vision and values.
Vision and Values
Our
vision continues to be summarised in the statement, ‘A community of
faith, hope and love seeking God’s kingdom; making connections with
God, one another, local people and the wider world. During the year
we reviewed our progress towards the vision with Peter Sinclair.
What emerged was that we had made progress but that there is still a
long way to go. For me what was reinforced at that time was the key
importance of the underlying values named.
In
January I talked about thinking of the values in a 2.2.4.2
formation. The first two general values are that we are a rooted
church and that we are open to change. We are rooted both in the
Norton community and in the Christian tradition. The second two
values are about reaching up to God, namely deepening spirituality
and inspiring worship. The next four values are largely about the
way we relate with one another although there is a significant
overspill into the wider community. These are loving relationships,
collaboration, learning together and developing our gifts for God’s
glory. The final two are about the way we connect with others,
namely we seek to be an inclusive community and seek to engage with
the wider world. This engagement includes individual people, local
organisations and faith groups as well as issues facing our world.
These ten values remain core to who we are and the community we seek
to be.
The Coming Year
Some priorities for the coming year are clear from
the above. So for example we will continue with the vestry
refurbishment, seek to appoint a new organist and implement the
missionary giving policy. However rather than giving a list of
various priorities I would like to highlight one in particular which
emerges from the idea of being a learning community. In the coming
year I believe we need to focus on growing as disciples of Christ.
This will mean different things for different people, because our
circumstances are different. But wouldn’t it be great if we can all
look back in a years time and say I have taken a step nearer to God
in this way.
For
some this might mean attending an Emmaus Course and for others
helping to lead this course. For some it might mean attending a
Faith and Life course or another short course in an area of
discipleship. Some might want to be part of a parenting course or a
marriage preparation course. Others might want to invite a friend to
a Just 10 evening event. Some might want to form a home fellowship
group or a prayer group. Others might want to engage in a course of
personal study or be part of a Leadership Development course. Please
do let me know if you have any ideas or thoughts. May we hear God’s
voice in this and continue to move forward as his people.
As ever
my personal thanks goes to the many people who make such a variety
of contributions to St Mary’s. You are each a real blessing and make
a really important contribution to our life together and a witness
and service in the wider community. In the everyday routines and in
the special events may you each continue to experience God’s
blessing of grace and peace in your lives.
Love and prayers
Revd. Norman Shave.
REPORT OF THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL FOR THE YEAR 2007/2008
Joan Seymour
PCC for
year 2007/2008 began with 21 lay council members. Barbara Sherlock
was appointed ‘Priest in Charge’ during the year, and moved on to
her own parish in the Chelmsford Diocese in October 2007. There
were 2 resignations during the year for various personal reasons
which left 19 lay council members to carry on the good work. The
year has once again been very busy with PCC completing a fair amount
of work.
At the start of the PCC year Karin
Pearson was appointed PCC Treasurer, and also took responsibility of
being the legal lottery promoter. A separate financial report is
available.
Although Ken Baker formally resigned as Treasurer he was asked to
continue in his role as Insurance Officer, along with other specific
roles on St Mary’s behalf. Ken was thanked for his hard work over
many years and presented with a gift from PCC. Ken had been
Treasurer for 35 years and had wanted to retire for some time.
St
Mary’s had once again suffered from theft and had its fair share of
vandalism, mainly to the roof, at some cost. Work on the roof was
completed and the lead roofing has now been replaced with stainless
steel, which will hopefully deter the thieves by making it harder
for theft to take place.
During
the year Peter Sinclair was invited to help St Mary’s clarify the
direction of our Parish development. The Vicar asked Peter to
return in June 2007 with a view to identifying priorities for
development, and to explore the implementation of these priorities.
A workshop took place where Peter’s findings were discussed. The
outcome showed that some groups had already achieved a lot, notably
the Parish Hall Group, with other groups making steady progress. PCC
groups had worked hard over the year improving, prioritising and
exploring the implementation of ideas suggested by Peter Sinclair.
Chris
Pearson took up his role as part of the Pioneer Ministry
initiative. As Locality Missioner he will be working across the
locality, including Roseworth and Hardwick, under Norman’s
supervision. He and Karin moved into a house in Darlington Lane in
the autumn. In October Chris began his formal studies at St John‘s
Nottingham. We anticipate he will be ordained in summer 2009.
Ben
Shaw, paid Youth Worker, was joined by Sophie Yates, volunteer, as
part of the Norton Churches Together Youth project. As part of
their role they staff Rock Solid and have set up a fortnightly Youth
Club in the Forge. A development plan for Ben had been set with
manageable targets for him to achieve. Ben and Sophie had
successfully taken a group of children on a three-day residential
trip. There is a separate report on their work.
In July
2007 St Mary’s, Norton were invited to St Mary’s Church at Faceby
for their Patronal Festival. This proved to be a very enjoyable
outing. St Mary’s at Faceby had expressed a wish that more of these
events take place.
The
Parish Hall is running along smoothly following the refurbishment,
resulting in increased bookings over the year. During the year
Bill Ferguson was appointed Chairperson, Sue Matthews Booking
Secretary and Wendy Booth Minute Writer. A separate report on the
hall activities will be available.
The
Social/Production Group had once again had a successful year. The
annual pantomime had taken place, and was once again well
supported. A separate report is available about the group’s
activities.
Just 10
and Hope 08 are new initiatives due to start in April 2008. Phil
Hillsden was invited to PCC to give an overview of proceedings. The
idea promoted is that villages, towns and cities within the UK would
unite within communities and schools, working together on community
projects. It would be open to all local people of any age and would
be inter denominational. Locally, it was planned to have a huge
marquee, which could hold up to 6,000 people in Preston Park where J
John would hold evangelical meetings over a ten-week period between
April and June 2008. More information about this project will be
available separately.
St
Mary’s had seen a record number of weddings in 2007, and there are
already many bookings for 2008 (more than 40 already), proving that
we are still a very popular wedding venue.
Unfortunately several well known members of the congregation died
during the course of the year. They will all be sadly missed.
Finally I
would like to thank everyone for their work in the Parish over the
last year. We really do appreciate everything that people do
however small. Special thanks go to the Churchwardens who have made
life more easy for everyone over the year.
|