annual parochial church meeting reports review of...
TRANSCRIPT
Annual Parochial Church Meeting
Reports
Review of 2019
Meeting online Monday 28th September
19.00
Contents
1. Vicar, Revd Ian Tomkins
2. Churchwardens’ Report
3. Children, Families and Youth
4. Music at St Matt’s
5. Discipleship
* Gather
* Small Groups ( report to follow)
6. Outreach Ministries
* Stay and Play
* Knightstone Coffee Mornings
7. Fellowship
* Tea & Chat
* Social Organising Team
* Flower Team
8. City Deanery Synod
9. Our Mission Partners
10. Safeguarding
11. Sacristans
12. St Matthew’s Playgroup ( report available from the church office)
13. Building Team
14. Technology Group
15. Electoral Roll
Annual Report .Revd Ian Tomkins, Vicar
Dear Friends
I write this report while the whole country is in lockdown, during a worldwide
pandemic – COVID-19.
Never in our wildest dreams could we have imagined such an event taking hold of
and changing all our lives so dramatically and so quickly. There is no doubt in my
mind, that when we emerge from this, we shall all be changed in some way by the
experience. This change shall necessarily also affect how we live and serve our
communities and our world as Christians, as the Body of Christ - Christ’s church for
today.
We shall in due course, have more time to look at 2020 and all that may lie ahead.
This report is to look back over the last year. There is much to be thankful for as we
do.
In this past year, our key focus has been on a renewed call to pray.
This is where everything starts – in time spent with God, in ensuring we are truly
grafted onto the vine that is Jesus, and live lives which reflect the will of God. Please
may I encourage you still, to keep on going deeper in your time with God. It is His
house we build and His love we share.
Our priorities for the year
At the beginning of the year, our PCC rightly confirmed our priorities for the year to
be Prayer, Children Families and Youth work, and our mission and outreach – giving
people opportunities to explore the Christian faith. All of this is part of encouraging a
Culture of Invitation. This resulted in our PCC embracing plans for Alpha, a big
commitment by our church.
None of this means that other areas of ministry are less valuable. But it is a prayerful
and pragmatic recognition that, in utilising a small resource it is necessary to be
focused and to move, step by step with the help and grace of God.
Review and thanksgiving
During the year gone by, I passed the 12month mark with St Matthews, and so had
the opportunity to see and live through this church community for a whole cycle of
church life and events. Thank you all for your grace and love, as we have continued
to get to know each other and have pushed new doors together.
We have a small leadership team here at St Matthews now, and I hugely value and
appreciate their support, friendship and collegiality.
We give thanks to God for Minty and Will Hull, and their faithful service to St
Matthews in so many ways over the years, not least having to help support the
parish vacancies in recent years. We said goodbye to Minty and Will at the beginning
of March this year, as they moved to the cathedral for Minty to take up a new post
there. Our love and prayers go with them.
I thank God for Richard Pendlebury and John Stilwell, and for their huge commitment
and support. Richard gives his ministry to this church in his spare time as a Self-
Supporting minister, while managing another job. His preaching, leading, support of
music, work with home groups and in many other areas is fitted around a full life! We
are hugely thankful for all that he gives and shares, and for his wise and experienced
counsel.
John Stilwell works hugely hard for St Matthews in a challenging situation, and in
challenging times, faithfully helping us rebuild our ministry with families, children and
young people. Our PCC rightly recognises this as one of our priorities. It takes
patience, time and faithfulness to re-build, and there have been many big
encouragements for us last year.
Through John’s leadership and ministry, we are building new relationships with
families through Kings Kids and community engagement, and the creativity of
families events. We are thankful for all those in St Matts who support this ministry.
Our ‘fringe’ is consolidating and growing. His creativity has been rightly recognised
during this lockdown time, in the much appreciated materials he and his team
produce week by week.
Christmas 2019 saw a tremendous increase in the engagement of local families in all
our services for families and young people, and at the Christingle there was standing
room only. All this is being done while also sustaining ministry to our present families
and youth group, who bring us such encouragement and joy.
Our Parish Administrator Julia Wright (also our safeguarding Officer), is someone
who is totally committed to helping and supporting our mission and ministry. Not only
does Julia work hard for us during the week as administrator, but she has willingly
given so much extra time to our church family, with Alpha, with Safeguarding, with
supporting our technology team, and many other areas. Her pastoral warmth and
welcome as the frontline of our church during the week has meant so much to the
many families and visitors who come to St Matthews.
I know of course, that so many of you are involved in some way, in supporting and
sustaining the life and ministry of your church family. We give thanks to God for you
all. This is what being the Body of Christ is all about – sharing, loving, supporting and
giving together as family,
Churchwardens
I want to thank our churchwardens, Chris Smith and Laura Pendlebury for their
support, encouragement and hard work this past year, and also our Standing
Committee and PCC, for the excellent and constructive meetings we hold together.
I want to especially thank Laura this year, as she comes to the end of her period as
churchwarden (though this has been unexpectedly extended by lockdown!). As many
of you will know, Laura was one of the churchwardens who helped guide St
Matthews through the challenges of the last vacancy. Laura’s quiet faithfulness and
steadiness, her unassuming care and servant heart behind the scenes of our church
life, should not be underestimated. We are very thankful. I have seen and
experienced first-hand, just how much Laura so willingly does for St Matthews –
often the difficult or mundane things of day to day. I am personally very thankful, and
I know you are too.
Trinity Context Students
St Matts has continued to benefit from our engagement with Trinity, and it was a
delight to welcome Amber Rose Baker in September. We love having all our
students and families as members of our church, and cherish the time they are with
us, and all they bring to our community.
A brief overview
During this past year, following PCC discussions, we have been looking at how we
can develop and grow in confidence as a church with a deepening Culture of
Invitation. Our sermon series have fed into this. In the spring of 2019, we engaged
with the Talking Jesus Course in Lent, aimed to help encourage us to share our own
faith story with others, and to encourage us to looks outwards. We have been
encouraging each other throughout the year, to step out in faith on the frontline of
our lives, with invitation.
We celebrated a wonderful Easter weekend together, with family and visitors. It was
a truly uplifting time, full of hope and welcome.
In our focus on going deeper in prayer, St Matts has begun again, to engage with
Thy Kingdom Come, the 10 days of global prayer between Ascension Day and
Pentecost; we need to keep this going and make it a living and active part of our
church life. During this time, we are encouraged to specifically pray for 5 people on
our hearts, and to be united in prayer for our community and world, and the
transforming of God’s Holy Spirit.
As we studied the Bible and prayed about invitation, we had an Invitation Cross
Sunday in early June, leading up to our Party in the Garden and an Invitation Sunday
afterwards. In spite of the inclement weather, this was a hugely enjoyable community
event, reminding us again of just how we can and should be using the church
building in our local parish community.
In June, the PCC embraced the aim to do Alpha in January 2020, and so this
brought a renewed focus on our prayer for individuals, our culture of invitation, as we
entered the busy autumn period and up to Christmas. We were supported in our
training and learning about Alpha by St Nicholas Church Bristol, the Alpha based
Resourcing church plant. The autumn is a good time to pray about, promote and
invite for Alpha, culminating in Christmas. Our Alpha team worked extremely hard
both before and during our Alpha, and my thanks to them all. It was very
encouraging time. Sadly, the lockdown meant we missed the last two sessions. But
we are intent on finishing, keeping in touch, and praying for the next Alpha at the
beginning of 2021.
During early 2019 - and you will remember this from our review last year, we made a
significant step forwards in our financial stewardship, as we stabilised our income
levels. I thank God for this, and ask you to continue to pray about how you
personally steward the practical resources God has shared with you. There is great
need around us, and you will also know that this year, we now enter a new and
unexpectedly challenging time due to the pandemic. So please pray, and continue to
give wherever and whenever God prompts you to do so. Wholehearted giving and
sacrificial giving transforms our hearts as we grow in faith and trust in God. In light of
the pandemic, it is likely that we shall need to re-visit this sooner than usual. We
shall keep you informed.
St Matthews Playgroup
I am particularly drawing attention to the St Matthews Playgroup this year. I have
really valued getting to know Linda Mallard and her team during the year, and I have
seen just what extraordinary commitment, professionalism and care our playgroup
give. This is a significant contribution by St Matthews to our local communities, and
often supporting families who are struggling in many ways. Our playgroup has
particular expertise and experience here, and is known and supported by Bristol City
Council for this. I encourage you to find out more about them, get to know our
playgroup staff when you see them, encourage them, and share information about
them in our communities. Alongside the long established ministry of Stay & Play, led
by Val Jeal and John Stilwell and Tea & Chat led by Jackie Burnell, these are
significant ministries in our local community which need our prayers, our
encouragement and our practical support.
Some final thoughts
We moved into 2020 with the joyful experience of Alpha – also a test of our
prayerfulness and faithfulness. We plan to establish this as a regular part of St Matts
outreach.
We have had an encouraging year and there is much to look forward to together,
among which is welcoming a new colleague, Gaby Doherty as curate, with husband
Sean and children Jamie, Joey, Caleb and Esther.
I look forward to our building and developing our team, and also to our praying,
thinking and reflecting together about our place in God’s vision for St Matts. Good,
godly vision is never framed out of a situation of anxiety. We trust therefore in our
God who is Love, for all that lies ahead, and for when and how we embrace this.
We shall be a changed people of God following this pandemic, and I encourage you
to embrace all that the Christian faith has to say into and to share with our society
today. But while all around us appears to be changing, as the writer of Hebrews tells
us, ‘Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever’ (Hebrews 13.8)
God bless you and thank you for part in the family of St Matthews.
Ian
2. Churchwardens’ Report
Warden’s Report
It is possible that the St Matthew’s Church year of 2019-20 will only be remembered
for one thing, Covid 19, and that would be a great shame because this has been a
very positive year to the point where the virus arrived. Indeed, there has been much
that is very positive in how we have responded to this unprecedented set of
circumstances but more of that later.
This has been Ian’s first full year as Vicar of St Matthew’s and we think we can say
with good confidence that it is proving a very comfortable fit! The word comfortable
can have negative connotations in the context of a body that exists to ‘build the
kingdom’ but it should not be taken so in this instance. Under Ian’s discerning and
pastoral leadership, we have seen many steps taken to build firm foundations for
new growth and to deepen relationships. His constancy of message, focus on prayer
and gift of encouragement is bearing fruit. Ian has been supported and encouraged
in this by his leadership colleagues, Richard Pendlebury and Minty Hull. For their
substantial contributions to our worship, their wisdom, dedication and sacrifice, we
thank them wholeheartedly.
There are two themes that are at the heart of our efforts to build up the Kingdom in
our part of Bristol, our Culture of Invitation and our work with Children, Youth and
Families. St Matthew’s has a very strong sense of community and it provides a great
strength from which to reach out to those around us in our parish and in our lives.
Ian has brought a focus to this ‘Journey of Invitation’ and has encouraged us to see
how we can join in with God’s mission in the planning of events, providing multiple
opportunities for members of the Church family to offer friends an unpressurised
introduction to the Christian faith. We are very grateful for all those involved in
creatively putting on such events and extending such a warm welcome.
To build further on this foundation, last Autumn Ian proposed that St Matthew’s
should once again run a full Alpha course. This has been a substantial undertaking
for those involved but the careful planning under Ian’s leadership has delivered a
very successful and widely appreciated course, which has engaged both Church
family members and those interested in exploring Christianity. It is disappointing that
the course has been truncated by the Pandemic but we pray that those who joined
us will continue on their journey and meet with encouragement. We give thanks to
those who extended invitation to friends and family, whether they were accepted this
time or not and remember that it is in God’s timing. Although there were many
involved, a particular thanks must go to David Aberdeen and Deborah Tomkins for
the marvellous catering which had a huge impact on the welcome that people clearly
felt.
The importance of the children, families and youth as an area of ministry in building
the Kingdom cannot be overstated and they are part of the DNA of St Matthews. We
are blessed to have such an enthusiastic, committed and inspirational leader in John
Stilwell and he brings unique strengths and outlook to the leadership team. We have
seen real progress and there has been a deepening in the relationship with the
Playgroup, who John regularly works alongside once a week and our toddler group,
Kings Kids, is flourishing. Much effort is going into building relationships with these
families and attendance at the Nativity service at Christmas, as well as the
Christingle, was hugely encouraging. We pray that this work will see more families
take a step towards faith. Our thanks go to all who support this vital area of work, on
Sundays and through the week. It has been a pleasure to have Aidan and family
(larger now!) continue to share and lead in our worship and introduce us to new
family friendly music. John’s relationship with the youth group is also thriving,
enabling them to give voice to their faith and to determine their next steps; we are
thankful to those who support this age group on Sunday mornings and in the evening
slot in which a meal is shared, allowing for fellowship and friendship in a way that
might encourage invitation.
Some of the foundations being laid may be less visible to many but there is solid
work going on in the ‘back office’ to ensure that as well as the daily running of the
church, that all the important essentials are in place. As an example, there has been
a noteworthy administrative effort in areas like Safeguarding, to protect all who we
welcome through our doors. We must extend a significant vote of thanks to Julia
Wright in the role of Safeguarding Officer and designated individual for Vulnerable
Adults, alongside her other administrative responsibilities (to which she has also
applied her consummate professionalism).
There are also the vital steps taken to put the Church’s finances on a more stable,
long term footing and we are hugely thankful to all the members of the Church family
for their faithful gifting that has enabled that to happen. Of course, we are also
immensely grateful to Andrew Wood, our Treasurer, and to Mary Parsons, our
Assistant Treasurer, for all their tireless work in managing the Church finances.
We would also like to thank the Building Team for their support in maintaining the
fabric of our building. This would be a substantial drain on the resources of the
wardens were it not for their efforts. We’d particularly like to thank Rick Parsons,
Simon Pugh-Jones and Phil May for their constant support in the upkeep of the
building and gardens, for use by the church family, playgroup children and the many
other groups who meet in the church.
Connected to this is another exciting development in this past year, the
establishment of an Eco Church group to steer us in our efforts to become a
‘greener’ Church and to do our part in trying to preserve and restore God’s creation.
Under the leadership of this group it is fantastic that we have recently gained the
Silver EcoChurch Award from A Rocha. Our thanks to all those in the group and we
look forward to their continuing stewardship and expert guidance as they seek to
involve the wider church family and community in this important area.
There are many other incredibly important areas of worship, outreach and welcome
to which people willingly give their time and gifts. We are grateful to the very many
who play their part in these significant areas of our Church life and urge all to pray
for and encourage them and reflect on whether you (or another in whom you
recognise a gift) are ‘being nudged’ to offer practical support. (see individual
updates)
And so to Covid-19 and the challenge that is to all of us. At the time of writing we
are still in Lockdown and learning how to be an inclusive ‘virtual Church’ to the best
of our ability. Whilst there is disappointment that we cannot physically meet, we are
thankful for all the efforts that are going into keeping us connected and for the online
worship resources that are being provided. There has been something of a learning
curve to climb in a remarkably short time and we are blessed that the technophiles in
our community were on hand to help! It may well be that what we have learnt has
some place in the future life of St Matthews as it is evident that people are accessing
resources, who would not normally do so. Our thanks to all those involved in
providing worship materials and a special mention for Jon and Imogen Ball who have
faithfully provided online Morning Prayer sessions to complement our Sunday
worship.
Finally, as we know, the life of a Church involves the joy of welcoming new members
and the mixture of emotions that accompanies bidding farewell to those who are
moving on to the next step in their journey. We are delighted to have recently had it
confirmed that we have a new Curate starting with us this summer and look forward
to welcoming Gaby Doherty. We have welcomed Amber Rose as a new Trinity
student and she has already begun supporting our youth and working with our
current context students in providing fun and welcome in the crèche. This past year
has also seen us say farewell to Paul and Sue Rowlands and we give thanks for all
they contributed and wish them all the best in their new life in Worcestershire. In
early March we also said a very emotional goodbye to Minty and Will Hull, as the
next stage in Minty’s journey of service takes her to a new role at Bristol Cathedral.
We are comforted in knowing that they remain in the parish and are excited by all
that Minty will accomplish in her new role and are assured that Will’s gentle wisdom
will be appreciated and find an outlet too.
Chris Smith and Laura Pendlebury
Laura Pendlebury and Chris Smith
3. Children, Families and Youth
Children
The children of St. Matthew’s are a really talented and resourceful bunch. They
played a full part in entertaining and inspiring a church full of visitors and guests at
Christingle. It was literally standing room only. They continue to come week by week
and play a full part in our community. The Sunday Club team continue to offer
engaging and imaginative materials each week. We are so grateful for this faithful
work each week. Through it we have seen numbers starting to expand slowly as
friends and other visitors are beginning to come and join us. This is particularly true
of the creche, which has seen a buzz of activity from new births to existing members
and others joining them.
Families
The church made it one of its key priorities to reach out to
families this year. This got off to a hugely successful start
with a Galette des Rois party to celebrate Epiphany. A huge
thanks to Mel Bunce and team for a great event with
community and a message central to it. This was repeated
through the year with a larger pancake feast, Eggsplore on a
glorious April afternoon and a wetter day in June for Party in
the Garden, drawing many families within the walls. Families
also came to fireworks and feedback was that they enjoyed
the smaller scale family feel that was on offer. This set us on
the road to Christmas and the performance of the Grumpy
Innkeeper that saw whole families coming in from our
different groups. Indeed the service saw a four-fold increase in the number of
children from last year, with many coming for the first time. So much effort put in
through the year, but each event helped build relationships and develop community
further.
King’s Kids
Week by week, small children and families have flocked in to King’s Kids. It really
does provide a great link with the local community and is great fun to run. 2019 saw
two of our longstanding volunteers take a step back from duties. Thank you so much
Margie Bushell and Rosie Low, we hope its not the last time we have seen you on a
Tuesday morning. Thank you to Mary Parsons, Ros Syrett and Margaret May for
stepping up to this vital ministry. Laura Pendlebury carries on her tireless ministry of
loving and listening to the people that come and the Vicar’s guest storytelling is one
he will have to reprise.
Youth
For the first time for a while we had somebody from every school year at Secondary
school coming regularly to Youth. 14 young people came along to our groups
sharing all their experiences, understanding and care for each other. Alongside the
numbers and excitement, we had the immense privilege of joining in with two of our
number who asked to mark their journey of faith: one with Baptism and the other
through Confirmation. Do ask him what he said about his dad!
Acts of Service
The young people have carried on their tremendous acts of service with Youth Band,
reading, prayers and as part of the coffee and projector teams. Things would be a lot
harder without them. This was particularly evident when they undertook a study of
our mission partners and decided to do a Cake and Smoothie sale for Changing
Tunes and the Robinsons in Thailand. Thanks for everyone’s hunger and thirst,
which contributed to an incredible donation.
Growing in Faith
As a team we have been hugely encouraged by the
enquiring minds and loving hearts that the group
often show. I know the children in Sunday Club
hugely appreciate the friendship of their role models
in the youth group. Their camaraderie was also on
show during another successful weekend away. This
time we headed for Dulverton down on Exmoor. The
weather wasn’t as beautiful as the previous year, but
we were able to complete all the activities we
planned. We thought about life in all its fullness and
got to experience something of what that felt like. A
huge thank you for the efforts of Chris Smith, Vanessa Conte and Katheryn
Caithness. We literally couldn’t do it without you.
Jordan & Emily
Such has been their impact that they deserve their own section. For three years,
while they have been at St. Matthews they have given so much to everyone, but
particularly the youth. Such amazing role models, teachers and examples of what
faith in Jesus can produce. It is with sadness you leave us, but we know that God
has amazing ministries planned for you and we are so grateful for everything you
gave us.
John Stilwell
4. Music at St Matt’s
Grateful thanks go to the many singers and instrumentalists who have provided musical accompaniment for both Sunday services. Until lockdown, we continued with various bands, youth band and the choir who would welcome some more members, perhaps some younger ones. We had a good augmented choir for the Christmas service, as ever skilfully held together by Stephen Browne, and pulled it off in 4 – 5 practices. For our new web services, we are slowly trying to develop recording songs at home, and layering if possible. Although it produces a raw unplugged kind of sound, it seems to be appreciated. And hopefully it won’t be forever! We hope that you feel able to sing along. Words are now being added. It’s amazing how tech-savvy we are becoming… On a personal note, as I reflect on having less musical worship during this estranged period, I am finding it is refreshing to have less songs/hymns to allow the meaning within each to have more space to breathe. Less is more. When we do come together again, songs will be one excellent way we can join together to express our joy and appreciation to God, like a prequel to heaven – the following lines comes to mind from Brother, Sister let me serve you…
We are pilgrims on a journey, we are travellers on the road We are here to help each other walk the mile and share the load. I will hold the Christ-light for you in the night-time of your fear I will hold my hands out to you* speak the peace you long to hear. When we sing to God in heaven, we shall find such harmony Born of all we’ve known together of Christ’s love and agony. *using our hands to communicate through typing, writing, etc God bless you richly Janet Lunt 5. Discipleship
Gather Annual Review (2019) Gather is for women who would like to share their thoughts and ideas about being a Christian and how being female shapes our viewpoint. We hope to grow in understanding and in experiencing more of the love of Jesus. We value each other and try to be supportive through the ups and downs in life we all go through. We also enjoy laughter and fun and try to have at least one social per term; we held a lovely celebration for Margaret W's special birthday in February '19. We base the meetings around a topic that we would like to explore, one of us will research and lead and we follow up with discussion and prayer. In 2019 the year started very sociably in that we had a relaxed bring-and-share dinner and get-together at Ann B's when we also decided what we might study in the months ahead. We thought that as we read the Bible we get to know quite a lot about the well known women but there are many women who are mentioned briefly and then the narrative moves on. The women we studied were the Samaritan woman who met Jesus at the well, plus Esther, Abigail and Rahab from the Old Testament. We looked in particular at their characters and how they coped with the circumstances they found themselves in. Also we discussed how this could help us and those we meet in handling similar present day situations. This brought us up to the summer when we had a break until October. Up till then we had been meeting in St Matthews hall but decided that as we were a small group (usually less than ten) it would be more sensible to meet in each others houses from then on. We based the next four meetings on a study in "Quiet Spaces" on Grace. In October we looked at how we need to rely and trust in God's grace "so that Christ may dwell in our hearts through faith ..........and that being rooted and established in love" (Ephesians 3: 17) we may know God fully. We had a meditation based on Psalm 1: 3
about being refreshed by the 'living water' that comes from having our spiritual roots growing deeply in God's word and in what Jesus has done for us through the Cross. In November we were at Margie B's house and looked at how God's grace is sufficient for us and how we can demonstrate His grace by the way we live. Then and in the next meeting at Waf's in January we looked at the gifts we have each been given by God, how we can discover what they are and how God wants us to use them. This was followed by a feedback evening on this series in February at Polly's. We also talked about how we might collectively use our gifts in some way through social action. We managed a final meeting together before the Coronavirus lock-down when we followed up the series on Grace by learning about the life of Edwina Wakely and how she 'moved into her calling' of working with prostitutes and other abused women in Chicago. We read some of her wonderful poetry including "Called to become" and 'The Sharing'. We finished the meeting by praying in depth for each other. Hopefully we can meet again in person at some time in the not too distant future but we hope to stay in touch with a monthly inspirational email and also by encouraging each other with any helpful scriptures / thoughts / writings / poems. Ann Baker Small Groups
If you are not in a group or would like to be, please do contact me either after a
service or via email. [email protected]
Revd Richard Pendlebury – Groups Co-ordinator
6. Outreach Ministries
Stay & Play 2020 Stay & Play is the pre-school parent/toddler group which St. Matthew’s partners with the St. Paul’s Nursery School & Children’s Centre and meet each Thursday morning in E5 Church on Jamaica Street. We are most grateful to E5 for their generous provision of this space. The team leading Stay & Play consists of myself, John Stilwell and Sarah Douglass from St. Matthew’s and Lynette Carruthers from St. Bartholomew’s Church, St. Andrew’s. We are joined each week by a Family Worker from the St. Paul’s Children’s Centre and their Somali Support Worker. As previously reported, the majority of families attending Stay & Play are Somali and many of them have been regular attenders from the early beginnings of the group. This gives us a wonderful opportunity to follow families over a number of years and to earn trust and provide support and friendship. Through the presence of John in Stay & Play, strong links have been made with St. Matthew’s through King’s Kids and a number of children now attend both groups. We see this crossover of groups as being very valuable and important links with the families.
Additional support continues to be given to families and we have been privileged to assist those living in temporary accommodation, with form filling and signposting to other services such as Food Banks and immigration. Our year ended abruptly in March due to the Covid-19 virus and lockdown. This is particularly difficult for families living in overcrowded accommodation. A number of our families live in the Dove Street flats where often 5 or 6 children live with their parents in 2-bedroom flats. Contact has been maintained with several families over the lockdown, including one family where the mother became ill with Covid-19. They all look forward to ‘normal service being resumed’ and Stay & Play restarting! Val Jeal
Knightstone House We have been visiting Knightstone House in Portland St and running a coffee morning there since September 2011. It has been really good to have been welcomed there week after week and to get to know those who come along (a core group of seven or eight though about a third of the residents who live here also come along occasionally). We bring real coffee, tea and mostly home-made cake; sometimes one of the residents brings cake, and there are times when everyone is on a diet and we need to think of a less fattening alternative! We mostly find plenty of subjects to talk about and they are wide-ranging from - whatever is going on in the world / in Knightstone / their families / their enthusiasms / their beliefs. Some are very creative and so we talk about art and music too. We try to arrange a summer party which is often a barbecue and a winter celebration which in 2019 was a meal out at The Colston Arms. We always have a festive time on the Wednesday before Christmas Day with Carols and mincepies. Margie and Tim B come with a recorder to play music, our vicar Ian brought recordings to sing to and a resident played his guitar. However like all groups we have our times when all are downcast. Especially this year when Patrick, a regular member of the coffee mornings was obviously fading and eventually died in the BRI. He loved to listen to jazz and to tell a good story, often about working on the railways; many friends from Knightstone and around Bristol went to his funeral and the wake after. On an upbeat note two of the coffee group regulars celebrated significant birthdays. It is a privilege to be able to share their joys and their sorrows - there have been ups and downs and long term illnesses. We try to be supportive where we can and do pray regularly for them all. Ann Baker
7. Fellowship
Tea & Chat Report 2019
Tea & Chat continues to meet in the church hall twice monthly on the 2nd & 4th Thursday of the month (2.15 -4.00pm). Anyone is welcome to come, although people tend to be more senior members of the congregation or neighbourhood.
We have up to 18 members & on average have 12 -15 people attend each meeting. In addition to church members from St Matthew's, we welcome folk from Knightstone House, Dove Street & two or three from further afield. Sadly in recent months two of our members have not been able to attend due to ill health & we really miss them.
We are very fortunate to have secured funding to continue having the 'Alive!' team run sessions for us once a month. Sessions with them this year have included guided reminiscence; art & music appreciation; group singing & making up our own poetry.
We began the year with an afternoon with Deborah Tomkins in January followed by a pancake party in February. We also enjoyed board games afternoons, Easter craft activities, a strawberry tea & a picnic in the garden (again held inside because the weather was too hot). A local business man, Steve Price, came to entertain us with his large collection of banjos & there was an extra meeting in the summer holidays when the Dick Bateman Quartet gave a lunchtime performance of 'golden oldies', which was very enjoyable with lunch included instead of the usual tea & cake. We had an Autumn themed afternoon with seasonal food & quiz & finished the year with our annual Christmas card making & then a Christmas party with carols, mince pies & a 'Christmas Thought for the Week' from our Vicar, Ian.
Running Tea & Chat is a real blessing to us as team members & genuine bonds of friendship & support have developed between our members, who seem to look forward to meeting together every fortnight. We always welcome new people. Currently we have several younger members who come regularly so you don't necessarily have to be an OAP to come!
Jackie Burnell, Joyce Stocks, Gillian Joomun, Heather Cressy
Social Organising Team 2019 The Social Organising Team have continued to focus efforts on organising events which build the fellowship of our Church family as well as welcome others from beyond our doors. This year we have worked with Ian, John and others to better integrate our programme of events so that they complement and support wider church activities and priorities. We hope you have felt able to invite friends to these events which help us build a 'culture of invitation' to share and extend St Matthew’s hospitality. A particular triumph this year was the catering and hospitality St Matthew's was able to offer the Alpha course, and special thanks go to David Aberdeen for this achievement. All our events are only possible with your vital support; so thank-you to everyone who came along, invited others, brought others, peeled potatoes, cooked, moved chairs, folded tables, swept floors and of course washed dishes. The core team would love to welcome more members and why not start by joining our virtual meetings during the lockdown??? David, Helen, Katheryn, Sarah, Vanessa and Chris Flower Team My thanks go to the committed, creative and wonderful group who make up the flower rota team. I am very grateful for their willingness to cover for one another so that it all runs smoothly and there are always flowers to show God’s incredible creation. During this last year we have said an emotional goodbye to Sue Rowlands (and Paul) and I would like to give thanks for her amazing creativity and knowledge of how to arrange the most wonderful displays. These were often in the porch and were much appreciated by the St Matts family and visitors alike. It is always a real joy to come together as a wider team also for Christmas, Easter and harvest. I am thankful to all those who regularly commit to these larger occasions and who willingly and generously offer time, greenery, flowers and fellowship. Please do feel free to invite friends or family, whether that’s for a larger event or just on your week. We know that personal invitation and genuine welcome can lead to someone’s first tentative step towards faith. I’d also like to encourage families and even some men to join the team – it could be that you just want to offer occasionally and that’s great too. How the weekly flowers or indeed just greenery is done, is entirely up to the individual. There is no right or wrong way and it is always a joy to see what is chosen. I would like to say a huge thank you to the Garden Team and am enormously grateful for the fact that they carefully and creatively steward *our outside space. To be able to bring some of the amazing plants into the church for decoration and praise is wonderful. Laura Pendlebury
* "Utilizing and managing all resources God provides for the glory of God and the
betterment of His creation."
8. Bristol City Deanery Synod Report – 2019-2020
Report by Fabian Breckels & Laura Protheroe and Rev Ian Tomkins
________________________________________________________________
Laura and Fabian write, “Thank you for electing us to be your Deanery Synod
Representatives for St Matthews Church to enable us to represent the church at
Deanery Synod, along with Ian. As well as attending the Deanery Synod meetings in
June and September 2019 we attended all PCC meetings as well and enjoyed
participating in the discussions, the last one being 16 March before lock down came
into force”.
Please click on this link for the detailed report covering Deanery Synod Meetings in
2019.
9. Our Mission Partners 2019 - 2020 St Matthew's supports financially and in prayer the following superb mission partners: - St George's Baghdad ( www.frrme.org ) - Busoga Trust ( www.busogatrust.co.uk ) - John and Gillian Robinson (Crosslinks) in Bangkok ( www.placeofgracebangkok.org ) - Friends of Allalay (www.allalay.co.uk ) - CPAS (www.cpas.org.uk ) - Changing Tunes ( www.changingtunes.org.uk ) - Sisters of the Church (www.sistersofthechurch.org.uk/uk/bristol ) St Matthew's gives 10% of our general giving to the Mission Fund which is divided equally among these seven partners. After the success of our church's focus on stewardship in 2019 the financial support we give per year (paid quarterly) was able to be restored to £2000 to each group after a short period of reduction earlier in the year. We do receive regular reports from our partners, sometimes in person. This year we have had speakers from CPAS and the Sisters of the Church as well as updates from Baghdad from Tim Mizen. Up to date written reports are regularly placed on the noticeboard in the foyer. However, I would advise and encourage everyone to visit the websites listed above to follow the work of our Mission Partners. They have mailing lists you can sign up to, which supply you with really fascinating and often very moving regular updates, a brilliant way to remind us to hold them faithfully in our prayers . Kyle Douglas
10.Safeguarding in 2019.
PCC Nominated person for Safeguarding – Simon Pugh-Jones Parish Safeguarding Officer (PSO) – Julia Wright Nominated Person for Vulnerable adults – Val Jeal Parish Lead Recruiter DBS checks – Julia Wright Safeguarding continues to be an extremely important part of St Matthews. The PCC see it as a top priority. At St Matthew’s all checks, processes and training requirements are up to date. It is a legal requirement and common practice now all organisations adhere to government DBS requirements.
Policy
The Safeguarding report was updated and confirmed by PCC in October 2019 for St Matthew’s church and it is available on the church notice board and is reviewed and updated annually in accordance with the guidelines from the Diocese of Bristol.
We recommend that all church members familiarise themselves with this information and the notices listing safeguarding officer and vulnerable adults officer.
Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks
DBS checks are being completed on any members of the Parish that volunteer to
assist or lead in PCC , Youth team , music and any other leadership roles.
Information within the Church
A section of notice board is allocated for the display of all safeguarding notifications
with other information to guide adults and children to where they can seek help and
support.
Annual Safeguarding Audit.
It is now no longer necessary to complete an audit each year. The Diocese have
created a Parish Safeguarding page for each church online that the PCC and
Safeguarding officer keep up to date with courses completed and DBS checks
received.
Thank you all for your cooperation and help in this.
Julia Wright
11.Sacristans The Sacristans form part of the “behind the scenes” team whose task it is to ensure the smooth running of services and care of church property. In particular, we make sure everything is in place for Holy Communion and Baptism services. This involves taking care of altar linen, altar cloths and communion silver and glassware, making sure we have supplies of bread and wine, and preparing the altar before Communion and the font before a Baptism. As linen wears out it is replaced with new pieces, and we take care of the candles and keep in stocks of the various different kinds we use. We keep in mind the pattern of the seasons of the church's year and the symbolic and seasonal use of colour. The Christmas and Holy Week/Easter seasons are particularly busy times for the sacristans. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Gina Coleman and James Rimmer for all their help and commitment with the regular week-by-week attention to Communion Services. I would also like to extend my thanks to Alison Edmonds and Ann Baker who, though not regular Sacristans,kindly step in when the circumstances get tricky for the regular team. The assistance of all these colleagues is much appreciated and very valuable in a busy church like St Matthew’s. This report also comes with my personal thanks for the way they all helped me out so kindly during 2019 when my own diary was rather shaky. If anyone would like to know more about the role of the Sacristans, please do ask one of the team. Mary Parsons
12. St Matthew’s Playgroup. This Report is available from the office
Linda and the Playgroup team
13. BUILDING & GARDEN REPORT 2019
During 2019 we had a few challenges in caring for our building and gardens, but
mercifully little to affect the use of the building, thanks as ever to the dedicated work
of key people behind the scenes.
In March our Tower Captain Becca Meyer stood down (owing to her graduation and
moving on) and was replaced by Matt Jerome. Many thanks to Becca for her
dedication and commitment to caring for the tower during her time as Captain, not
least for dealing with issues of stiff bell ropes and an infestation of flying insects!
Thanks too to all of the bell ringers for ensuring that our bells regularly sound out
across the city.
Users of the kitchen will also have noticed that 2019 saw an upgrade in cooking
facilities. This came about because of changes in the rules for gas appliances which
meant the old cooker no longer complied. A new electric cooker overcame the issue
and is that bit more user friendly and efficient. Quite of lot of the kitchen had to be
dismantled to get the old cooker out and even then it took a good deal of fervent
prayer, brute force and grazed knuckles before it could be whisked to a new life via
Ebay.
The garden also saw change with its new wildflower garden on the north side. What
started as an ambition for natural diversity and colour bought unexpected benefits –
brightly coloured bees, an influx of different birds and a little less mowing to be done
each week, but also lots and lots of positive comments from neighbours and
passers-by. A new bench was added, the compost heaps were rebuilt and with the
help of a couple of working parties much cutting back and clearing out was done.
The Garden continues to improve year on year and we owe considerable thanks in
particular to Anne and Kyle for their frequent maintenance, sometimes in less than
ideal weather.
The roofs continue to keep us dry but in the case of the tower roof, only just. A
further very large patch was added this year and the PCC is very mindful of the
imminent need to replace the leadwork as and when funds permit.
Similarly the electrical systems, alarms and lift have needed attention but all safety
tests were passed and the necessary components repaired and replaced, added to
and improved – thanks in particular to the very expert help of Rick.
A more major repair was required for the heating system due to the failure of a large
pump which happened, of course, during a very cold spell towards the end of the
year – and caused a distinct cooling of our otherwise warm welcome. The pump was
replaced and normal radiance resumed.
Perhaps the biggest issue of the year was our response to the church’s growing
desire to be more sustainable and take action in relation to climate change. Bristol
Diocese adopted a radical new sustainability policy and St Matthew’s signed up to
EcoChurch, the A Rocha scheme to promote carbon reduction and improved
ecological stewardship. One of the joys in writing APCM reports retrospectively is
that we already know our efforts in 2019 were successful and we are now have an
EcoChurch silver award – which must make 2020 our ‘going for gold year’!
We have a beautiful church which is used intensively almost every day of the year.
Keeping it going takes a lot of effort and particular thanks are owed to the gardening
team, to Rick, Julia, John – and to the often unseen efforts of people like Phil,
Graham and many others.
14. Technology Group
The Technology team keep a watching brief on all aspects of technology used in the
church. In practice this is the sound system, the projector system, the computers and
network and the web site. Andy Hogg manages the sound team while Rick looks
after the remainder. Rick is also the first point of contact on behalf of the building
committee for the electrical, heating, hot water, telephone, intruder and fire alarm
systems. These will be covered in the building report. The sound system continues
to run well. The new microphones for the choir were purchased and have been very
successful giving a much clearer sound. We also purchased a specialist microphone
suitable for small instruments. This has been particularly useful for the youth band
violin but also has adapters for woodwind and brass for where a fixed player position
cannot be maintained. The portable sound system had to be repaired in the autumn
but I don’t think it was caused by any mistreatment. It was very useful for the Party in
the (Indoor) Garden. A very successful Changing Tunes Concert was held – this is
always a huge amount of work but very satisfying. A few of the staff have received
basic training for small events, particularly for the upcoming Alpha meetings. We
were unable to record the carol service for Hospital Radio this year as it was too
close to Christmas Day to get it into the studio in time so they used a previous year’s
recording. We welcomed “Now and Then”, a local singing group to Tea & Chat and
this was recorded for Hospital Radio (one of the members being a rugby
commentator) and this is repeat broadcast regularly.
On the projector system the only change has been Julia Wright and George Taylor
are new recruits – welcome. A few other staff have also received basic training for
small events, particularly for the upcoming Alpha meetings. A lot more liturgy is now
projected to help the congregation follow the service even for parts where no
response is required.
A new phone & broadband contract was arranged with PlusNet. Apart from keeping
the computers up to date, no other changes to the systems have been needed. New
computers were obtained and configured for Playgroup and John Stilwell.
The web site software was brought up to date, a continuous battle as suppliers keep
issuing new versions with no apparent benefit for us. Other suppliers go out of
business, particularly shareware organisations giving us support issues. The
podcasts continue to be produced though, once things are back to “normal”, another
person to help create these would be welcomed.
The documentation, sufficient for the long-term management of all the systems, has
been kept up to date.
Rick Parsons.
15. Electoral Roll
In March 2019 St Matthew’s Church Electoral Roll had 80 parishioners registered.
Today 22nd September 2020 it now totals 84.