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Reports On Church Activities and Organisations 2014
Contents
We met every-other month throughout the year except November, mostly in the Beauchamp Arms Pub but once in Rose’s Garden Centre due to non-availability of the pub on that occasion. The format was similar – full English Breakfast whilst chatting to those immediately around you, then ‘pushing out’ into a common circle to receive a short talk on some aspect of Christianity in action in the community from the guest speaker, followed by group discussion and questions. Guests came from: Our Village Agent, Christian Motorcyclists Association, Diocesan Missioner, retired head of the UK Bomb Squad, and the Christian Police Association. November was the parish breakfast with Bishop Michael.
Roger Parker (Return to top)
The music in worship during the first three months of 2013 was without the support of the Nicholson organ following the damage inflicted by the leaky Chancel Roof. Happily, the organ was restored to full operation by Trevor Tipple in time for Easter.
The Adult Choir has continued to enhance the patterns of worship during the year by providing strong communal leadership in congregational singing, enriched by a varied and diverse range of English choral church music. Throughout the year, members of the choir meet regularly on a Thursday evening to rehearse, sometimes augmented with additional voices for special concerts and services and on behalf of the Parish, we thank all members for their commitment, fine musical contribution and enthusiasm. (Return to top)
A welcome feature of many festival and special services has been the contribution of the ‘Young Voices’ Choir who have continued to extend their repertoire and confidence in part singing. The participation in various community events such as the Dymock Festival by some of the senior members has provided a further incentive and justifiably promoted their talent and ability. Plans are in hand to develop a second ensemble featuring the impressive musicianship of some of the younger members of Young Voices. (Return to top)
In addition to the regular worship patterns, there has also been the pleasure of singing Evensong in St Mary’s, Kempley as well as a busy year of concerts and special events. These have included the Midsummer Festival, Remembrance , Community and Christmas Concerts. (Return to top)
2014 is a year of special significance for the community of Dymock as we will continue to commemorate both the centenary of the Dymock Poets and pay special tribute to the casualties that are named on our village war memorial. The combined choirs will be actively involved in these and other events whilst continuing to provide the important function of weekly choral leadership. Bob May (Return to top)
The Adult Choir has continued to enhance the patterns of worship during the year by providing strong communal leadership in congregational singing, enriched by a varied and diverse range of English choral church music. Throughout the year, members of the choir meet regularly on a Thursday evening to rehearse, sometimes augmented with additional voices for special concerts and services and on behalf of the Parish, we thank all members for their commitment, fine musical contribution and enthusiasm. (Return to top)
A welcome feature of many festival and special services has been the contribution of the ‘Young Voices’ Choir who have continued to extend their repertoire and confidence in part singing. The participation in various community events such as the Dymock Festival by some of the senior members has provided a further incentive and justifiably promoted their talent and ability. Plans are in hand to develop a second ensemble featuring the impressive musicianship of some of the younger members of Young Voices. (Return to top)
In addition to the regular worship patterns, there has also been the pleasure of singing Evensong in St Mary’s, Kempley as well as a busy year of concerts and special events. These have included the Midsummer Festival, Remembrance , Community and Christmas Concerts. (Return to top)
2014 is a year of special significance for the community of Dymock as we will continue to commemorate both the centenary of the Dymock Poets and pay special tribute to the casualties that are named on our village war memorial. The combined choirs will be actively involved in these and other events whilst continuing to provide the important function of weekly choral leadership. Bob May (Return to top)
During the past year we had 6 permanent ringers with several visitors regularly attending our practice evenings. We would always welcome new ringers to come and join us. Training will be given. (Return to top)
We had some problems during the year, mainly the head joint on the treble bell disintegrated rendering the bell inoperable. We invited Taylors Bell Foundry in Loughborough to carry out an inspection, issue a condition report and provide a quotation for repair. The quote was quite substantial and involved taking out all the clappers, removing the flats on them where they strike the bells and refitting them with new leather washers. Also all the plastic guide sheaves had worn due to the new polypropylene bell ropes and these needed replacing. The Treble Bell needed to be taken out of its ringing position and a new cast resin head joint fitted and the bell then to be rehung. The cost of this was in the region of £4,000. (Return to top)
We invited the bell expert in the diocese to offer advice and as a result we had a local bell rope supplier fit a new resin joint, new hardwood sheaves on roller bearings and leather washers for the clappers and three of us ringers provided the labour. The cost of this was just £800, which was a great saving. The bells are much improved and ring a lot smoother. Tony Reese (Return to top)
We had some problems during the year, mainly the head joint on the treble bell disintegrated rendering the bell inoperable. We invited Taylors Bell Foundry in Loughborough to carry out an inspection, issue a condition report and provide a quotation for repair. The quote was quite substantial and involved taking out all the clappers, removing the flats on them where they strike the bells and refitting them with new leather washers. Also all the plastic guide sheaves had worn due to the new polypropylene bell ropes and these needed replacing. The Treble Bell needed to be taken out of its ringing position and a new cast resin head joint fitted and the bell then to be rehung. The cost of this was in the region of £4,000. (Return to top)
We invited the bell expert in the diocese to offer advice and as a result we had a local bell rope supplier fit a new resin joint, new hardwood sheaves on roller bearings and leather washers for the clappers and three of us ringers provided the labour. The cost of this was just £800, which was a great saving. The bells are much improved and ring a lot smoother. Tony Reese (Return to top)
Produced by Saint Mary’s Church in Dymock, the main purpose of the magazine is to carry the Christian message and news into the homes of all the parishioners in the Windcross parishes of Donnington, Dymock, Kempley and Preston. It also provides a means of passing on the news and reports of the other local events that are of interest to the community. Without a parish magazine I believe that the communities we live in would be more fragmented, losing a lot of the interaction that we all take pleasure in. (Return to top)
I try to include in the magazine every article that is sent to me, but what I can’t do is include what you don’t send to me! Some groups are extremely efficient at passing on their news and reports, but there are a number of groups that rarely, or in some cases never, submit items to the magazine. A short while ago I received a complaint from a regular reader that we had too much news from a certain source. My reply was that it’s everyone’s magazine and it’s up to everyone to send in what they want included. (Return to top)
Don’t worry if you’re not very good with a computer; just send me your items, preferably as a Word document, and I will tidy them up, sort out the page layout, spelling, grammar, punctuation, syntax and font style as best I can, and then put them into the magazine. All I ask is that you send them in as early as possible because it does take me quite a while to produce each magazine.
Terry Ball (Return to top)
I try to include in the magazine every article that is sent to me, but what I can’t do is include what you don’t send to me! Some groups are extremely efficient at passing on their news and reports, but there are a number of groups that rarely, or in some cases never, submit items to the magazine. A short while ago I received a complaint from a regular reader that we had too much news from a certain source. My reply was that it’s everyone’s magazine and it’s up to everyone to send in what they want included. (Return to top)
Don’t worry if you’re not very good with a computer; just send me your items, preferably as a Word document, and I will tidy them up, sort out the page layout, spelling, grammar, punctuation, syntax and font style as best I can, and then put them into the magazine. All I ask is that you send them in as early as possible because it does take me quite a while to produce each magazine.
Terry Ball (Return to top)
Our team of ministers and lay pastors met every month as usual to review the rota of Service leaders, to discuss in confidence any particular pastoral care needs and occasional miscellaneous matters related to ministry and outreach in the 9 parishes. (Return to top)
It also met twice during the year for a longer half-day session to consider what we do spiritually – how our ministry and outreach are organised and whether any changes would be advantageous. In particular it considered the Benefice’s response to the Bishops initiative ‘Journeying Together’. We agreed a Benefice-wide ‘Mission Statement’ and a strategy for the next couple of years for each of the four categories in Journeying together, which were agreed by each PCC, viz: (Return to top)
Worshiping Together: As a united Benefice as well as in each parish. Promote ‘9 parish’ services more widely. Explore the provision of transport to all united services. (Return to top)
A Visible Presence in Every Community & Parish: Every parish to be represented in the Ministry Focus Group. Identify lay contact for each parish. Ensure all activities are effectively publicised to the wider community. (Return to top)
Share our Christian Faith and Values: Promote personal discipleship through an appropriate learning programme. Make use of ‘Experience Church’ and ‘Experience Eucharist’ to engage members of the local community.Serving the Wider World: Explore a link with a church in an overseas link diocese. Develop a ‘Care Response’ programme for the Benefice.
(Return to top)
We’ve made a start on the first three:
Tony Lomas made a suggestion for more regular 9 parish Services which wasn’t fully accepted and is currently being revised.
We have a new Team member from Pauntley but still need someone from Kempley and Bromsberrow.
We experimented during Lent with the new C of E discipleship material ‘Pilgrim’ and the notices on our principle furniture items during the Daffodil Teas are a response to the ‘Experience Church’ material. (‘Experience Eucharist’ hasn’t yet been published).
Roger Parker (Return to top)
It also met twice during the year for a longer half-day session to consider what we do spiritually – how our ministry and outreach are organised and whether any changes would be advantageous. In particular it considered the Benefice’s response to the Bishops initiative ‘Journeying Together’. We agreed a Benefice-wide ‘Mission Statement’ and a strategy for the next couple of years for each of the four categories in Journeying together, which were agreed by each PCC, viz: (Return to top)
Worshiping Together: As a united Benefice as well as in each parish. Promote ‘9 parish’ services more widely. Explore the provision of transport to all united services. (Return to top)
A Visible Presence in Every Community & Parish: Every parish to be represented in the Ministry Focus Group. Identify lay contact for each parish. Ensure all activities are effectively publicised to the wider community. (Return to top)
Share our Christian Faith and Values: Promote personal discipleship through an appropriate learning programme. Make use of ‘Experience Church’ and ‘Experience Eucharist’ to engage members of the local community.
We’ve made a start on the first three:
Tony Lomas made a suggestion for more regular 9 parish Services which wasn’t fully accepted and is currently being revised.
We have a new Team member from Pauntley but still need someone from Kempley and Bromsberrow.
We experimented during Lent with the new C of E discipleship material ‘Pilgrim’ and the notices on our principle furniture items during the Daffodil Teas are a response to the ‘Experience Church’ material. (‘Experience Eucharist’ hasn’t yet been published).
Roger Parker (Return to top)
I feel that we have three key priorities over the coming year but, in fact, they all relate to the same over-riding issue - how we achieve greater unity within our group of parishes whilst also strengthening the life of each of our individual churches. (Return to top)
I’m absolutely sure that it will be good for us as a Benefice and as individual parishes to have more regular opportunities to come together for worship. There is something particularly uplifting about worshipping in a full church. Exactly how this will work out I’m not absolutely sure so, in PCC and Ministry Team meetings, we will be exploring how best to achieve this goal. However, as the first of our priorities we will be looking at how we can make our regular ‘5th Sunday’ services more special and therefore more attractive - visiting preachers, specific themes and making the most of some of the existing, but generally ignored, church celebrations (Rogation Sunday, Lammastide etc.), for example. (Return to top)
Secondly, I am conscious that our Pastoral activity has not been particularly good over recent years. Many people do a huge amount of very good and valuable work but I would also like us to have a more focused approach to sick and hospital visiting, preparation and follow-up for couples coming for weddings and baptisms and bereavement visiting. New Pastoral teams will be constituted on the two sides of the Benefice to spearhead this initiative. (Return to top)
Finally, the boring day-to-day administration of the Benefice; at present we do not have any official forum in which we can discuss issues that affect all of our parishes. The only way to make Benefice-wide decisions of this sort is for me to go round to 9 individual PCCs and discuss it with them. This is a very time-consuming and cumbersome way of working. I will, therefore be exploring how we can appoint a ‘Benefice Council’ that would be able to give unified leadership across our group. (Return to top)
I feel really excited about all of this. These three initiative are all perfectly achievable and will, I believe, have a real, noticeable and positive impact on the way we do things and will be a major step towards fulfilling our stated mission: “To share the transforming love of Jesus Christ with people in and around the Leadon Vale.” Anthony Lomas (Return to top)
I’m absolutely sure that it will be good for us as a Benefice and as individual parishes to have more regular opportunities to come together for worship. There is something particularly uplifting about worshipping in a full church. Exactly how this will work out I’m not absolutely sure so, in PCC and Ministry Team meetings, we will be exploring how best to achieve this goal. However, as the first of our priorities we will be looking at how we can make our regular ‘5th Sunday’ services more special and therefore more attractive - visiting preachers, specific themes and making the most of some of the existing, but generally ignored, church celebrations (Rogation Sunday, Lammastide etc.), for example. (Return to top)
Secondly, I am conscious that our Pastoral activity has not been particularly good over recent years. Many people do a huge amount of very good and valuable work but I would also like us to have a more focused approach to sick and hospital visiting, preparation and follow-up for couples coming for weddings and baptisms and bereavement visiting. New Pastoral teams will be constituted on the two sides of the Benefice to spearhead this initiative. (Return to top)
Finally, the boring day-to-day administration of the Benefice; at present we do not have any official forum in which we can discuss issues that affect all of our parishes. The only way to make Benefice-wide decisions of this sort is for me to go round to 9 individual PCCs and discuss it with them. This is a very time-consuming and cumbersome way of working. I will, therefore be exploring how we can appoint a ‘Benefice Council’ that would be able to give unified leadership across our group. (Return to top)
I feel really excited about all of this. These three initiative are all perfectly achievable and will, I believe, have a real, noticeable and positive impact on the way we do things and will be a major step towards fulfilling our stated mission: “To share the transforming love of Jesus Christ with people in and around the Leadon Vale.” Anthony Lomas (Return to top)