A Community of Lovewith Mission at Its Heart

Family News for St Peter’s PeopleDecember 2009 - January 2010

Once again we come together to celebrate the coming of Jesus.Christmas is our biggest opportunity not only to remind ourselvesduring the Advent period of just what it means to us, but also to reachout and share the true meaning of the Gospel of Jesus with our friendsand neighbours in Yateley.Please pray for all those involved in delivering our services and forthose who will encounter Jesus through them. If you’d like tocontribute to any of the services, please let Sue Moloney know.

What’s inside?Peter’s People 2

Money Moment 2

Paul Ponders 3

Prayer Diary 4

Youth Yomp 5

Celebration City Cornerstone 6 Lay Readers 6 Stuart Townend 6 School Lunch? 6 Mission Fair 7 Godly Play 7 Messy Birthday 8 Agape! 8 Quiz Night 8 Lite-Nite 8

Mission Matters 9

PCC Points 10

Passing the Baton 11

Final Flurry 12

Monday 7th 2:30pm Carol Singing Royal Oak

Sunday 13th 8:00am Communion by Candlelight Chapel

9:00am Christingle Church

10:00am Christingle Yateley School

11:15am Advent Service Church

7:00pm Carols by Candlelight Church

Saturday 19th 5:00pm Outdoor Nativity Barclays Bank

Monday 21st 7:30pm Carol Singing Dog & Partridge

Wednesday 23rd 7:30pm Carol Singing Royal Oak

Christmas Eve 3:00pm Crib Service Church

4:15pm Crib Service Church

5:30pm Crib Service Church

11:30pm Midnight Communion Church

Christmas Day 8:00am Quiet Communion Church

10:00am Family Communion Church

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Could you be a regulargiver?There is no doubt our Churchof St Peter’s, and indeed thewider Church of England, areexceedingly cash-strapped.Winchester Diocese is havingto make cuts of £1.6 million,which will hit staffing levelsreducing clergy numbers stillfurther. Here in St Peter’s, weare facing the prospect of notbeing able to do more for ourcommunity because we don’thave the money.The sad thing is that there areso many folks out there thatare looking for God and if wecut back now the danger isthat they miss this opportunity.If every family in the diocesanchurches gave £1 extra a

week, the Diocese would nothave to cut back. If every StPeter’s family gave an extra£5 a week, we wouldeliminate our own deficit.We still have many memberswho are not regular givers.If you feel that God is callingyou to join the envelope,standing order or Gift Aidschemes and would likemore details, please speakto Chris King, our Treasurer.God is calling us to reachthe people of Yateley. Thechallenge to us is to helpthat to happen. One way todo this is to open our walletsto God’s heart in life givinggenerosity, as a response towhat Jesus did for us.

Many thanks to all those who have contributed to this issue, including Joyce Fisher, Chris King, Paul Hinckley, MattHoughton, Faith Bailey, David Cole, Judy Divall, Jenny Stebbing, Bennie Vernon, Ian Hayes, Roland Portsmouth,David Beardmore, Margaret Keane, Ernie Ong, Hilary Grey, Chris Cooper, Richard & Sarah Quarterman, Rachel &Graham Hartland.It is fantastic to see so much of God’s work here in Yateley, please keep the stories flowing.

Joyce FisherI am the new assistant manager of Discoveries and I’ve been working there sinceJune this year. Before this, I worked for Lloyds TSB for 40 years. I took earlyretirement in January 2008, but went back on a part-time basis. After 18 months, Idecided that it was time for a new challenge. I saw the advertisment for theposition in Grapevine, but didn’t do anything about it. Then after Easter, when theposition was still vacant, I felt that God was calling me to work within thecommunity of Yateley - and I haven’t looked back since.I work with a great team of people, including the other two managers and our mostvaluable team of volunteers. We have fun and fellowship together and help manypeople in Yateley by selling low cost, good quality clothes and other things, as wellas by being available to talk and to pray with them.I’ve been married to Arthur for 35 years and we moved to Yateley in 1978. Afriend I met in the early ‘80s brought me to St Peter’s. I had always attended Sunday School and Churchuntil my early teens, when I drifted away as other things in my life seemed more important. When I came toSt Peter’s, I felt like I was coming home, I was confirmed in 1986 and joined a nuture group followed by ahome group. I’m currently in Sue Anderson’s home group. Life is Good! Joyce F

PETER’s PEOPLEWho’s who around the Church family!

MONEY MOMENT

Income & Expenditure 2009

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0

50

100

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Jan Mar May Jul Sep

£ (0

00's

)

income expenditure deficit

0102030405060708090

100

8am

9am

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am 7pm

Number of familieson electoral rollNumber of regulargiversAverage monthlygiving per family (£)

3Paul Ponders... Love, Joy, PeaceLike many people who came to faith in my childhood era, when I hear the words ofGalatians 5, a tune drops into my head as I remember the timeless words:

“The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience kindness, goodness, gentleness,helpfulness, self control, against such is no law”.

Although the tune is a tad passé now, it remains a regular reminder of our response to God’s call – tobecome more like Jesus day by day. We are called to display, by the grace of the Holy Spirit, the love ofJesus in our relationships, the joy of knowing Jesus – even in hard times, lives transformed to be peace-makers for Jesus.

Why did this matter to St Paul as he wrote to the church in Galatia? Because the quality of our shared lifeis the first example of people experiencing the presence of Jesus Christ.

As we welcome people into our fellowship to worship with us this Christmas, our shared-life will eithercompel guests to discover more about how they can meet Jesus, or turn them away. Why? Because

“Christians are the only Bible that most people will ever read” in our present day world. But these qualitiesare hard-won:

Two years ago, I was saying farewell to our Midnight Communion congregation. One guest (it was onlyone) stormed by me saying “I’m not coming back, you’ve got a load of hypocrites here”. I suppressed my(internal and flippant) reaction “That’s Ok, join us – one more won’t upset us”. My more reasonablereflection remains “What a lost opportunity. Someone, somewhere in our fellowship didn’t measure up tothe full stature of Christ to this hurting and need-full individual”. Now, we’re not perfect yet. That joy awaitsus in heaven. But as we take our Advent-ure towards Christmas, particularly, I invite you to join with meprayerfully singing as we seek to display, more and more of Jesus day by day:

“The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience kindness, goodness, gentleness, helpfulness, selfcontrol, against such is no law”.

PaulH

Love: Many of us have been looking at the “One another’s” of the New Testamentwritings: Forgive one another, bear with one another, stop passing judgement onone another, serve one another, and so on. We are called to keep “short accounts”in our shared life in order to show people in the world the depth of God’sforgiveness shown to us and shown by us.

Joy: There’s nothing worse than the hollow laugh of someone hiding a deep painor a mask covering their disinterest. Jesus held joy in the core value of his projectcalled “Good News” – he rejoiced in God’s healing work in the brokenness ofpeople’s lives. That’s the kind of joy that we are called to express – sharing in thejoy of others. Much humour in the world around us is merely seeking personalpleasure at the cost of someone else’s well-being. In contrast, we are called to bejoy-bringers, particularly those who rejoice in God’s gift of healing and wholeness.

Peace: “Peace is not just the absence of conflict” – it is the quality of genuineharmony, brought about by genuine redeeming peace-making action. Much “peace”in the world is merely like holding two opposing magnet bars together with a strongclamp – the repulsion remains, despite the proximity of the two opposing bodies.Jesus instead demonstrates the pattern of our lives by laying down his own, in orderto create a community of a right-living people restored by his forgiveness.

4Prayer Diary - We pray together for our Church-based activities

You might like to use the following or similar words:"Father, Son and Holy Spirit, we thank you that we are fellow workers with you and ask you to guide andsupport us in all we do in your name at St Peter's. We ask for your blessing on all who attend (insertevent/ training) and may their lives be touched and changed by you." (Based on 1 Corinthians 3:9)

Special and one-off events

DECEMBER JANUARY

Sat 5th Messy Church Sun 3rd - Sun 10th Week of Prayer

Sun 6th Family Walk & Tea Sat 9th Christmas Tree collecting

Wed 9th 2:42 Praise & Prayer in AdventThe gospel, Church & a fastchanging world - Paul Thaxter

Sat 23rd Youth Sports Event

Sat 12th Christingle Prep

Tue 15th Prayer for Christmas Services

Looking forward - watch out for more details coming soon

Celebration of Marriage Ash WednesdayQuiet Day Organ Benefit Concert

New and on-going discipleship training

Growing Leaders St John’s StudyDiscover how to share your faith more effectively - please enquire at the office if you are interested

Week of Prayer 3rd - 10th January 2010

Our call to pray togetherPrayer is such a great privilege. Praying withothers, more so – we learn more about Godand about prayer as we join with ourbrothers and sisters in Christ.

The Church, God and our CommunityWe’ll be using the 6 images of Church thatwe have been studying this Autumn:* The Body of Christ* A Household of Faith* The Bride of Christ* A Spiritual Temple* A Holy Priesthood* New Covenant People

Together we will...* Thank God for His presence and His workamong us* Listen to God for His direction for the yearahead* Bring our concerns for the Church, Yateleyand the World to the throne of God

Saturday 3rd 10am “Beating the Bounds”

Sunday 4th All Services

Monday 5th 7am Prayer Express

12:30pm Prayer Lunch

8pm Prayer Gathering

Tuesday 5th 12:30pm Prayer Lunch

8pm Prayer Gathering

Wednesday 6th 7am Prayer Express

11am Communion

8pm 2:42

Thursday 7th 9:15am Morning Prayer

8pm Prayer Gathering

Friday 8th 7am Prayer Express

4pm - tbc After School Prayers?

8pm Prayer Gathering

Saturday tbc (inc. lunch) Prayer & our Shared Values

3:30pm Messy Church

Sunday 10th Morning Services

7pm CHAOS - Tear Fund

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Growing Disciples and small groupsI had the privilege of being able to listento Laurence Singlehurst at St Paul’s,Bursledon share about how we can helpgrow disciples in the 21st century church.Laurence kicked the day off by asking

some poignant questions:What makes a disciple? What is whole life discipleship? Howcan we encourage and nurture growth as a disciple?He went onto explore times in the church's history when newventures have changed the way we function as church eg.Roman to Celtic Christianity and the Wesleyan revival of the18th century.He said we now live in a “show me before I accept” culture.We need authenticity to show people that what we say webelieve we live!How can we do this when we live fragmented, disconnectedlives? We need to remake community and show society whattrue community looks like. What does it mean to be incommunity with one another? How can we find truecommunity?Many of us will be members of a home group. Laurencediscussed the differences between a bible study group, ahomegroup and a small group or cell group. Obviously abible study group's aim is to study the bible. A homegroupexists to study the bible and support one another as fellow

Christians. A small/cell group has all of theseaims but also seeks to empower Christians toreach out and be salt and light in theircommunity.A small group or cell group is a vital buildingblock of the church body to help Christiansgrow and find support in the body. Smallgroups have values which help guide and givethem purpose e.g. centred on Jesus, everymember contributing, reaching out, encouragehonesty and openness.Small groups help empower every memberministry and link into the big celebrationmeetings of church services. Small groups orcell groups are not just the latest Christian fador method. At its heart is mission and missionshouldnt be a method but a question – how bigis your heart and vision?I hope to reflect on the challenge of small/cellgroups and how we could implement themmore in our youth work in the new year.For further information on the cell churchmovement and how small/cell groups work gotowww.celluk.org.uk

MattLaurence Singlehurst is coming to St Barnabason 3rd Feb - watch out for news

Youth Yomp

Youth Diary Friday Pathfinders TG4Friday Youth Club4th Dec 10 pin bowling Alpha 5 - How can I read the Bible?11th Dec Christmas Crafts Christmas Crafts18th Dec Christmas Party Christmas Cinema Outing

Both groups restart on Friday 15th JanPathfinder Home Group - Tuesdays in term-time, 6:30 - 8pm in ChaddisbrookGames, worship, Bible study, discussion & prayer for all in Years 7 - 9 - see Nick Smith or Matt for more info.Tangent - every Weds, 7 - 9pm at Olympus, Handford LaneBible study, prayer and sharing for all in Years 10 - 13 - see Trevor Howes for more infoChristmas CHAOS - Sun 20th Dec, youth service, 7 - 9pm in ChurchFood, party games, seasonal songs & the meaning of ChristmasCHAOS - Sun 10th Jan, youth service 7 - 9pm in ChurchPrayer for youth challenges in 2010. Find out more about the 'No Slumber' Tearfund challenge, Slum Survivorand overseas opportunities with organisations like Tearfund and Soul Action.Summer Residentials - Monday 18th Jan, 7:30 - 9pm in OasisFind out more about the Summer 2010 Residential Camp options for young people eg. Soul Survivor & Venturecamps. Open to youth and parents.Youth Sports Event - Sat 23rd Jan, Yateley Manor School, £3We are planning a sports night at Yateley Manor school for young people in school years 7-13. A range of sportswill be available from football, water polo, swimming, netball, basketball and table tennis. There will also be achill out zone and a tuck shop. Tickets are £3 and will be available from the church office early January.Pathfinder Residential Weekend - 26th - 28th Feb - The Gordon Brown Centre, HookCost is £40 all-in (food, accomodation, outdoor activities - please return deposit of £10 to Matt asap to secureplaces (ask if the money is a problem)

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Lay Readers LicensedSaturday 3rd October was rather dull and windswept day,

but for Rachel, Ernie and Ian, it will be remembered as aday of joy, fun, fulfilment and trepidation. This was the day we

were licensed as Lay Readers (or Licensed Lay Ministers as wemay be known) in a wonderful service at Winchester Cathedral,

along with our fellow trainees fromacross the Diocese and our families and friends.The service marked both the end of our trainingand the beginning of our Ministry – it was a bithard to believe that we'd actually made itthrough the previous 3 years of essays, projects,modules and marking, and were now steppingout yet again to start as Lay Readers (nowwithout the “in training” bit) – a ratherdaunting prospect, but we know thatGod has a plan for us, and will lead

us through it..Then it was time for the photos, lunch and back to St. Peter's for acelebratory Barn Dance. The barn dance was a great way to spendtime with everyone who have supported us, and also to extend atruly St. Peter's welcome to family and friends - the spread of foodwas fantastic! Special thanks go to the Saxon Drain band, and toMeryl and Joyce who organised the food.We would like to give particular thanks to Paul. He has providedus with his time, his wisdom, his book collection, and inspirationto get us this far, and that has been of great value in adding towhat is only the foundation stones of whatever God uses us forin the future.

Ian, Rachel, Ernie

I'm delighted, on a number of fronts, that Rachel, Ian andErnie are now formally a new dimension to the way we doministry at St Peters. As we continue to "walk on the bridgewe are building", I'm full of excitement and ideas as to howthe range of their ministries and insights will enrich the

mission of God's people in Yateley. God is puttingsome amazing opportunities in our pathway, and our

Licensed Ministers will be an important part of ournext steps together. PaulH

CELEBRATION CITYWhat has God been doing with, for, and among us!

Cornerstone CelebratesCornerstone today is made up of a dedicatedgroup of counsellors which provides the localcommunity with a discreet, confidential andthoroughly professional counselling service. As acounselling service for St. Peter’s Church,Cornerstone operates under the authority of theVicar, however the counsellors are drawn fromvarious other Churches and denominations.

Over the weekend of 9-11October we celebrated our 21stwith a lunch for those who refer clients to us, an Open Dayincluding a workshop of typical BPF training, and a serviceof celebration and commissioning of the counsellors. Oldfriends, counsellors and clergy travelled from far and wideto share in our celebration.

Judy D

Saturday night fever...

....on the 24th October Stuart Townendplayed the last venue of his UK CreationSings tour at the the Fyson Blum Hall,Yateley. As one of the comments receivedstated, "it is not often that Yateley hostsworld class events", but this was surelyone of them. An extremely warm welcomewas given to Mark Edwards and StuartTownend as well as the rest of the band,and the applause at the end wasthunderous. As Stuart himself pointed out,this event was about giving glory to Godand many people were touched deeply bythe praise, worship and wonder portrayedby the band.

School Lunch?On Sunday October 18th the

church family was invited to ‘bring andshare’ lunch together at Yateley School

after the 10am service. ‘Bringing andsharing’ is a great concept as other people

tend to bring something a bit more tasty thanyour usual picnic!! There was a varied spread ofsavoury food and for those with a sweet tooththere was a great array of deserts and cakes too!Apart from the food it was good to spend timetogether in a more relaxed setting where wecould sit down and chat over lunch rather

than over a quick cup of coffee. It was agood ‘catch up’ time and great to get

to know a few new people too.

7

CELEBRATION CITYWhat has God been doing with, for, and among us!

Saturday night fever...

....on the 24th October Stuart Townendplayed the last venue of his UK CreationSings tour at the the Fyson Blum Hall,Yateley. As one of the comments receivedstated, "it is not often that Yateley hostsworld class events", but this was surelyone of them. An extremely warm welcomewas given to Mark Edwards and StuartTownend as well as the rest of the band,and the applause at the end wasthunderous. As Stuart himself pointed out,this event was about giving glory to Godand many people were touched deeply bythe praise, worship and wonder portrayed

David B

Mission FairOn Saturday 14 November many people came to StPeter’s Church Hall to see the excellent displays depictingthe work of the charities we support through our tithingTo add to the enjoyment was the opportunity to buy Christmas Cards and for children to maketheir own which many enjoyed doing. There were books/gifts on sale from CMS andLivingstones Christian Bookshop.Our Shoebox appeal on behalf of Samaritan’s Purse – Christmas Child has been well supportedagain this year and many boxes were returned on the day also we held a workshop for peopleto come and make up boxes which was a great success.Background music was played throughout on the Organ and the Piano. The Bell Tower wasopen for tours and a few attempted to ring managing to keep their feet on the ground.

Enjoyment was completed by refreshments served in our CoffeeShop.It is hoped that our Mission Giving profile has been raised within theChurch and helped members to learn more about the charities wesupport. Also that it will give encouragement to individuals to givethought to becoming a link person for some of our charities.

Jenny S

Godly PlayGodly Play? So what is it?Well, the title alone intrigued me! So I was the first to put myname down to attend the evening held at St Peter’s recently -and I’m so glad I did.!Imagine - 16 adults, mixed ages and all wondering what wewere about to let ourselves in for! My first impression was -oh! brilliant - because on the tables prepared for us were craftmaterials, glue, playdoh, pencils, paints scissors etc - youname it … then, all the toys too - Lego, blocks etc- what fun!After a brief introduction from the session leader Teresa from the WinchesterDiocese Resource Centre, we were all invited individually into the “story room” andafter being greeted by name, asked to sit ourselves down on the floor cushions (nomean feat for some of us!) and there we waited -intrigued- whilst the storytellerprepared herself. Totally in silence, she produced various beautifully made visualaids and set the scene - no eye contact. After a moments private prayer andpreparation - the story began … and as it unfolded, the items were movedaccording to the tale - and still no eye contact. You could have heard a pin drop -the story of Jonah along with the boat, the waves etc became real.And that is the basis and aim of Godly play - and it works!It can be used in all manner of settings in order to get a message across.We were encouraged to think and respond verbally and creatively afterwards and

we even had a “feast” of biscuits , grapes and drinkstoo.As we went to go home, the storyteller sent each oneof us off with an individual blessing - brilliant!

Bennie V

PS - The reason for no eye contact was that wefocused totally on the story - and not the storyteller.

School Lunch?On Sunday October 18th the

church family was invited to ‘bring andshare’ lunch together at Yateley School

after the 10am service. ‘Bringing andsharing’ is a great concept as other people

tend to bring something a bit more tasty thanyour usual picnic!! There was a varied spread ofsavoury food and for those with a sweet tooththere was a great array of deserts and cakes too!Apart from the food it was good to spend timetogether in a more relaxed setting where wecould sit down and chat over lunch rather

than over a quick cup of coffee. It was agood ‘catch up’ time and great to get

to know a few new people too.Hilary G

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Messy BirthdayAmazingly Messy Church has just

celebrated its first birthday. It hardlyseems possible that we have welcomedyoung families into the church andencouraged them to meet with God 12times. Glenda baked us a special cake tomark the occasion which everybody enjoyed.

Messy Church has grownfrom a committed groupof leaders with a passionfor young families to amonthly service wheremany families with no

other church connections come to meetwith each other and to learn about our

Great Big God.Faith B

A Recipe for Christian FellowshipTake 40 people, add a variety ofbuffet food brought by them; allowsix festive tables. Invite a fewspecial guests without asking forcontributions, ensuring a caringattitude amongst regular members.(Optional ingredient: one newly-engaged vicar!)

Mix all together, encouraging all to sitwherever they wish; season well withlove, patience, generosity, dignity andorganisation. Begin and end the feastwith an order of service, during which aspecial table is set with candle, breadand cross for the principal guest.

The result? A happy,safe, relaxed atmosphere. In otherwords, an Agape Lunch shared by the11:15 Congregation on Advent Sunday,continuing a 20-year tradition started byBrian Lillington as a way todemonstrate our Christian love for oneanother.

Margaret K

CELEBRATION CITYWhat has God been doing with, for, and among us!

Quiz NightDid you know that Graham Smith is the currentcaptain of the South African Test cricket side,that the maiden name of the heroine of JaneAusten’s Emma was Woodhouse, or thatFawlty Towers actor Andrew Sachs hadrecently appeared in an episode of CoronationStreet? Well, if we had known these things,our team would have won the Quiz night heldon the 21st November – instead we had tomake do with second place behind a teamcomprising of far too many members of thePhelps-Jones family – the smiling victors arepictured! Thanks to the catering team forsupplying us with appropriate brain food, andparticular thanks to question master andmistress Neil and Anne Paulley for a suitablymind-bending evening, particularly when itcame to the Dingbats: Remember, two goes

into eight fourtimes!Richard & Sarah Q

Messy ChurchBibleStory

Fun

Crafts Food

St Peter’s Church3:30 – 5pm

1st Saturday every month

Children 0 - 6and theirfamilies

Singing

Prayer

Messy ChurchBibleStory

Fun

Crafts Food

St Peter’s Church3:30 – 5pm

1st Saturday every month

Children 0 - 6and theirfamilies

Singing

Prayer

Lite NiteOn 31st October we held our alternative to

Halloween. Thanks to a lot of people’s hard workand enthusiasm, we had a really good evening. Therewas plenty of time to enjoy doing activities, eating andworshipping God all together.Wendy Thompson, Gill Weeks and the CHAOS bandwere brilliant at leading the worship. I don’t think I haveever seen such energy and enthusiasm, and at the endof the service nobody wanted to leave. Fortunately thefood that followed was equally good and enjoyed by all.

If youmissed theLite Nitethis year,don’t worry,we areplanning onhavinganother

one nextyear.

Faith B

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MISSION MATTERSAs a church, we tithe our income across a number of mission/charity organisations.

In this issue we focus on The Children’s Society, whom we are actively supporting overChristmas time, from Christingle to Cribs.

We take action to prevent, rescue andsupport children facing life trapped in avicious circle of fear and harm; a viciouscircle driven by violence, neglect, povertyand discrimination.We intervene in the lives of children acrossthe country, providing the right support at theright time. Take our work with youngrunaways, for example. Neglect, abuse, andisolation can sometimes make home sounbearable that the only solution is to runaway.We rescue children across the country,providing immediate and lasting help forthousands of children who are in desperateneed. We work with young refugees byhelping them rebuild their lives in newcommunities, surrounded and supported byfriends.We ensure that individual disabled childrenare given a voice in the decisions that affectthem, now and in the future.We provide expert services in the area ofyouth justice. Seeking lasting solutions to thereasons behind the statistics, providingpreventative support and guidance that leadschildren away from the cycle of crime andcustody.With our schools work, children's centres andmentoring schemes, we prevent viciouscircles of fear and harm developing.We provide ongoing support for children foras long as they need our help - also workingwith Traveller and Gypsy children, childrenand young people who are affected by adultdrug and alcohol misuse and young carers.We work in partnership with local authoritiesand other organisations to provide services,including training and consultancy, to deliverunique local solutions to local needs.

www.childrenssociety.org.uk

What does the Christingle mean?

The Christingle itself is made up of* four cocktail sticks bearing dried fruit or sweets - to signifythe four seasons and the fruits of the earth and God's goodgifts* a red ribbon (or tape) - indicating the blood/ love of Christ* an orange - representing the world* a lighted candle - symbolising Jesus, the Light of the World

Christingle is a great way for children to raise money forthousands of less fortunate young people. And it's easy toinvolve children in the preparations.

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September 2009

Giving for Life leaflets were available -encouragement to attend the diocesansession on stewardshipVicar’s secretary - admin & staffing group towork on a job descriptionFinance – recommendation that 2010 budgetremains same as for 2009 - need to findsavings to fund Vicar’s secretary.Expenses - a paper will be produced byfinance committee to give clarity to all whoclaim expenses from the ChurchBuilding project – full planning permissionreceived - building team will propose nextsteps at November meeting.Congregational teams to co-ordinate socialevents to give regular opportunities foroutreach & fellowshipShare - we are proposing that our share (themoney we give to the diocese) remains at lastyear’s levelSt Peter’s School - Paul & Faith will be ourrepresentatives on the temporary governingbodyMother’s Union - permission given to relaunchwithin St Peter’s

October 2009

New website to be launched on 1st Oct - comments &contributions will be welcomedVicar’s secretary - it was agreed to an option with weeklyhours of 22 for Sue as adminstrator & 14 for a secretary -this has budget implications - interview process will beginasapChristmas plans - broadly similar to 2008 but with usualservice pattern on 20th DecMaking progress - a proposal made by the wardens tomove some of the last 2 years of discussion from paperinto practice - includes all sub-groups of PCC revising their purposestatements - all sub-groups deciding what roles are needed in thegroup and if they need more people - all sub-groups to follow a WORDS based agenda formeetings - all sub-groups to plan a 6-month schedule ofmeetings & to be flexible in meeting times so that Paulcan attend where necessary - those in leadership roles who are members of PCCor Congregational Leadership Teams to work with Paul &the wardens to identify & apprentice a successor and todiscern their own future ministry on a timescale for re-commissioning at PentecostNew chairs - proposal from the wardens to replace thechairs in the stacks and in Oasis with something muchlighter and easier to handle - a buyer has been identifiedfor the current chairs, so it will be finance neutralNovember 2009

Laurence Gamlen from CPAS gave us an excellent presentation about purpose, values and vision. Hechallenged us to consider our implicit values (i.e. those not expressed verbally) and how they affect ourbehaviours and suggested that we move towards understanding explicitly (i.e. written and verbal) the corevalues we hold as a fellowship at St Peter’sFinancial Stewardship - a recent diocesan meeting gave us some good ideas & encouraged what we weredoing already - it was noted the example of a church where the leadership had committed themselves toincreasing their giving by a percentage & this had been shared with the membership to good result - thefinance committee were asked to consider a brief for the role of Stewardship Officer at St Peter’sVicar’s secretary - advertising in November - interviewing in DecemberMoving Forward - some clarification of the intention behind the “6-year” rule - the wardens will issue anamended proposal - some people affected have still not had a conversation, so this item will remainconfidential until the December meetingFinance - we are expecting a shortfall of £35,000 - the only source to cover this is DiscoveriesBuilding project - beginning to look at costings and the people required to make this happen

PCC PointsThe PCC is the Parochial Church Council – the leadership body of the church – andmembership consists of 12 elected members, 4 elected Deanery Synod representatives,Vicar, Church Wardens, Treasurer, Lay Readers and Secretary.This is a brief note of the main discussion topics from recent months. If you want toknow more about any of them please ask any member of the PCC; there will be a fullerdescription of the role of the PCC in a future edition

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SabbathThe principles of aSabbath rest werefirmly enshrined inthe Jewish culture,following God’sexample atCreation. Theseprinciples havebeen handed on tous in the traditionof the Church, andin many otherwalks of life, wherethe habit of takinga sabbatical, abreak for rest andrefreshment, everyseven years or soleads to anenriched andgrowing character.

Passing on the Baton

Who’s my Paul?Who’s myTimothy?St Paul in his roleleading the growingNew Testamentchurch was subjectto a higherauthority in theleaders of theJerusalem church.When he arrived ina new town andbegan a newchurch he alsoselected hissuccessors, trainedthem andcontinued tomentor them intheir role as hemoved on to thenext challenge.

Licensed ministryAll the licensedleaders in the CofE(and in many otherchurches) are in poston time-limitedlicences that areregularly appraisedand discerned jointlywith their overseers.This includes Bishops,Clergy, Lay Readers,Church Wardens andPCC members.Indeed our ownBishop, Trevor, ismoving on after only 7years with us, ourReaders will have tobe re-licensed every 3years, PCC memberscan only serve twosuccessive 3 yearterms and ChurchWardens have to bere-licensed every yearfor a maximum of 6years.

Over the last 3 years, in leadership meetings, at the Annual Meetings and during thevision gauging process begun last year, we have considered the importance ofhanding on the baton to the next generation of leaders here at St Peter’s. Indeed,this is a current theme across the wider church – John Coles (Director, New Wine,Autumn 2009) says “There is no way the nation can be changed unless the baton issuccessfully handed from one generation to the next”.

Primary callingOur first callingunder God is toknow and love theLord Jesus Christ,to learn and growas we discover thegiftings he hasgiven us and usethem in His service.Only in thatknowledge andlove can we beginto discern what Heis calling us to doand this callingcan change manytimes during a life-time of service aswe grow anddevelop into thepeople that Godhas made us to be.

Pilgrim peopleGod is alwayscalling us onwards,to love Him more,to serve Him morecompletely. AsSt Paul did, we areinvited to stretchback to the nextgeneration andgive them ahelping hand ontheir path even aswe ourselves takethe next steps intogrowing our ownnew ministries.

Please pray:John Coles describes this as “instead of holding on to power in the church, we need to be investing…in the nextgeneration.” This is undoubtedly a time of trauma and uncertainty for some within our fellowship. We need, as afellowship to move towards a sustainable model of ministry for the long-term, but we do understand and careabout those who are feeling the pain. Please pray with Paul, the wardens and especially those who are beingcalled by God to take up the challenge of relinquishing one role and moving forward with Him into another.

Sue, Betty, Paul

What have we not said?We have not said that thosewho are anointed withparticular gifting, e.g.children’s work or musicians,will have to stop.  What wehave suggested is thatSabbath ideals are that thosepeople should take a shortbreak every 6 years (or so)for their own refreshment;taking time to worship forthemselves, time out withGod, visit other churches,learn some new things andreturn to their ministry with arevived heart for their work.

What have we proposed?The PCC has recently resolved to move on fromthinking about this in theory, to putting it into practicewith the following resolution:All leadership roles are expected to have a limited termof 6 years, including a responsibility for sharing insuccession planning.The present proposal is that those in leadership roleswho have been a part of discussions about this, i.e.those on PCC and Congregational Leadership Teams,and who have been serving in their current roles formore than 6 years will be asked to prayerfully considerwith their overseer who might succeed them and beginto discern their own future ministry.At Pentecost 2010, we hope to commission both thenew leaders and the current leaders in the next stage oftheir personal and corporate ministry.

Biblical Background

Gifts & RolesWe are blessed inSt Peter’s withmany gifted peoplewho are willing toserve generously.The roles we playare changeablefrom one seasonto another,evolving as Godworks in andthrough us,especially as wepass on our gainedwisdom andresponsibilities toothers

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Book Review“How Not to Pray” by Jeff LucasIn his book, Jeff Lucas sets out toaddress the question ‘Why doChristians find praying so hard?’With humour and insight heexplores the myths andmisconceptions around the subject.Using scripture, anecdote andexperience, he attacks facileapproaches to Jesus as a ‘cosmicvending machine’ and encourageshis readers to enter into Hispresence as members of His familywith His rule and order as the firstpriority in their lives.With The Lord’s Prayer as aframework, he considers manyaspects of prayer, in joy and insorrow: as God’s children, lovedand precious to Him; as sinnersneeding to forgive and seekforgiveness; as intercessorsseeking His grace for others andourselves.Some among us may seem to be‘bionic prayer warriors’ soaring intoGod’s presence, while the rest ofus seem to be ‘chatting to theceiling’. Whether words comeeasily or not at all, whether ourprayer lives are stuck in a rut or inthe doldrums, he invites us to sitdown for a few minutes and askwhether our prayer routines havebecome boring. With suggestionsfor different approaches to prayerhe confirms – ‘You can pray, andyou can grow in prayer.The book is readable andchallenging, written with wisdomand humour to encourage us torethink and re-invigorate our prayerlives. Chris C

FINAL FLURRY

Robert thought that the Guides had controlled theChristingle monopoly for long enough

Coutesy of www.desertislandchurch.co.uk