SOMERSET CHURCHES TOGETHER

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "SOMERSET CHURCHES TOGETHER"

Erick Perkins
5 years ago
Views:

1 SOMERSET CHURCHES TOGETHER Minutes of the Annual General Meeting and Notes of Forum Nailsea Baptist Church, 79 Silver Street, Nailsea, Bristol 22 nd February 2018 Present: Presidents: Major Ian Harris, +Declan Lang, Revd Nigel Manges, Revd Ruth Whitehead, Revd Gary Woodall Standing Committee: Revd Steve Christian, Cheryl Govier, Revd Rowena Francis, Deacon Marion Kossmann, Revd Tim Langdon, Revd Tim Price, Revd Tim Richards, Imogen Taylor, Major Alan Dixon - County Ecumenical Officer. Minutes: Rev Tim Price Representatives of Affiliated Organisations: None In attendance: David Pendle, Fr Tom Dubois, Christopher Elliott, Judith Cole, Nick Niven- Jenkins, Elizabeth Manley, Fr Jeff Williams, Chris Spracklen, Revd Nicholas Williams, David Yates, Chris Salter, John Salter, Emily Cumberbatch, Penny Ashton, Andy Hall, Jane Di Marco, Susan Dare, Revd Tom Yacomeni, Revd Morey Andrews, Revd Mike Haslam, Ivor Dixon. Pam Dixon, Rowena Wallace, Major David Evans Welcome and Opening Prayer Ian welcomed all those present and then opened the proceedings with prayer. Apologies: Revd Nigel Coles, +Peter Hancock, Major Jean Harris, Nigel Manges, Revd Jonathan Pye, Revd Graham Thompson, +Ruth Worsley, Ronald Jordan, Lt. Col Wendy Leavey, Samuel Williams, Roger Allen, Adrian Prior-Sankey, Mike Burnett, Maggie Massey, Paul Massey, Isabel Ward, Deacon Gary Hoare, Janet Day. 1. Minutes of the AGM held on 23 rd February 2017 These had been circulated prior to the AGM, were adopted and signed by the Chair as a correct record of that meeting. 2. Matters arising from the minutes Under item 13, Any Other Business, Alan reported that in future alternate AGM s would be held at a weekend, rather than only on week days. Standing Committee was in agreement with the proposal and next year s AGM will be held on Saturday 23 rd February Presentation of the Annual Report( attached) Alan Dixon, County Ecumenical Officer, presented his Annual Report, copies of which had previously been circulated to the meeting. Alan introduced his report by mentioning Conrad Reiser s reference to the churches entering an ecumenical winter with all the problems he saw it facing, and on his own admission, having then painted a rather bleak picture concerning the current ecumenical scene concluded that after Winter comes 1

2 Spring. Alan then pointed to the Archbishop of Canterbury as someone pioneering this Ecumenical Spring and sharing that what is happening is multi-stranded and that many, if not all, the divisions centre on Principles You believe this, I believe that! You re wrong, I m right! We need to get over the barriers that separate us. Alan then shared how things had changed dramatically and instead of barriers there are open borders which now allow different Christian traditions to get to know one another. We live in interesting and changing times. We now do more together than we have ever done before and this Alan believes is an Ecumenism centred on Action. Trust is built not when we argue over Principles but when we work together on common tasks that build God s Kingdom. Alan shared that he hoped his Report reflected this and commended it to the Meeting. 4. Adoption of the Annual Report Ian thanked Alan for his Report and for his work as CEO and proposed the Report be adopted and this was seconded. 5. Presentation of Accounts for 2017( attached) The Annual Accounts had previously been circulated and Imogen in commenting on the Accounts shared that there had been slightly more received in denominational subscriptions and slightly less in individual subs during The income stream was almost identical to the previous year with a slight reduction in expenditure. The overall deficit of expenditure over income was 674. This was in line with the planned programme of maintaining a deficit and thus enabling subscriptions to go up slowly year on year. Reserves currently stand at 19,000+. The aim is to reduce this sum whilst ensuring enough reserves for 6 months. 6. Adoption of Accounts Ian Harris thanked Imogen for presenting the accounts and her work as Treasurer. He proposed and it was duly seconded that the accounts be adopted and all agreed. 7. Appointment of Independent Examiner Robin Leveridge was thanked for his work as the Independent Examiner of the 2017 Annual Accounts. He has expressed that he is willing to be re-appointed in this role and this was welcomed. 8. Appointment of Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson Major Ian Harris completed his term of office and Alan publicly thanked Ian for his leadership and support and to Gaby before him in their role as CEO during his time as Chair. Bishop Declan accepted the role as Chair for 1 year and Ruth Whitehead (URC) as Vice-Chairman for 1 year then taking the role of Chair for a further year. Bishop Declan thanked Ian for his service, his cheerfulness and generosity. 9. Election of Members to the Standing Committee Rowena Francis had expressed her willingness to be re-elected to the Standing Committee and Alan expressed his thanks for her willingness to do so. Rowena was duly re-elected. Alan reported that the two other vacancies to the Standing Committee remained unfilled despite his attempts to find people. He proposed that unless there were members from the meeting willing to stand, the positions would remain vacant. 10. Adoption of revised Constitution( previously circulated) 2

3 Alan presented the revised Constitution, copies of which had been previously circulated to the Meeting, and gave his reasons for the changes. Under item 7b members of the Standing Committee had supported the proposal to reduce the cycle of rotation of the Chair/Vice-Chair from 3 years to 2. This change would enable a President to serve 1 year as Vice Chair then 1 year as Chair. Alan then referred to the textual changes throughout the Constitution to enable it to be aligned with the National Body, Churches Together in England. Henceforth Somerset Churches Together will now be called Churches Together in Somerset. There needed to be a 75% agreement by constituent denominations and out of the 9 asked 8 supported the change of name amounting to 88% agreement. The Standing Committee in their role as Trustees accepted these changes to the Constitution. These changes were adopted by the Meeting. The Rev Tom Yacomeni requested an interim period in which the old name could be used as he had only recently had their church stationery printed which included the Somerset Churches Together name. This was agreed. 11. Notices and Concluding Remarks by Rt Rev Declan Lang Bishop Declan said that there would be a break from the conclusion of the AGM until 3pm when we would re-convene to hear Roy Crowne speak on Hope 18 and that we all looked forward to an inspiring afternoon. Supper would be at 6pm Bishop Declan concluded the Meeting by saying that Churches Together was important in building bridges between churches and that it is a sign of hope in a somewhat fractious world. He thanked Alan for all his hard work in preparing for this AGM and Forum 12. Any Other Business A question was asked about the need to retain such a large reserve of 19,000 and whether it could be used more widely in the Christian community whilst still maintaining a buffer. Alan responded by staying he would bring the issue to the next meeting of the Standing Committee in May. The meeting ended at approximately 1.50pm 3

4 Notes from the Forum: Hope 18. The Rev Gary Woodall Baptist Regional Minster read Luke 10 and then led a reflection on the sending out of the 70. He invited members to share a phrase that particularly struck them from the reading and then share this with one other person. We were then asked to join another two others and share with them what our partner had shared with us. This led to a more wide ranging discussion in the groups. Gary then shared that often churches were very good at social engagement in providing important community activities, but that this was often at the expense of sharing the Gospel. He then gave an example of how many who use, for example, a Church Playgroup are not just looking for social interaction or activities for their children, they have come to a church context because they are looking for some insight into Christianity. Many are looking for God not play doh! Gary then introduced the main speaker, Roy Crowne who led an inspiring afternoon about the work of Hope. Roy Crowne opened his talk by sharing that 27% of people come to faith not through evangelism but by directly reading the Word of God. Roy then shared about one of Hope s initiatives at the Queen s Diamond Jubilee in He spoke about the pre-eminence given to the Bible presented to the Queen at her coronation and quoted the passage spoken at the Coronation. Our gracious Queen: to keep your Majesty ever mindful of the law and the Gospel of God as the Rule for the whole life and government of Christian Princes, we present you with this Book, the most valuable thing that this world affords. Here is Wisdom; This is the royal Law; These are the lively Oracles of God. Roy then spoke about how they gave away copies of the New Testament with the outside cover embossed with the Union Flag to every Primary School child to mark the Jubilee. He shared that a grandmother shared with the Hope team You gave my granddaughter a New Testament, I read it and subsequently became a Christian. Roy shared about how Hope 08 came into being. Three friends, Andy Hawthorne, Mike Pilavachi and himself came together to have a go at something for God and reflected how God may use them to impact this nation. He then shared how Billy Graham s ministry had begun with a simple proposal Could you trust me to do something for you?. Roy then shared that underlying their vision was a sense that Social Action and Sharing the Gospel were no longer separate streams of Christian engagement, but intricately linked together. Word and Action together. He went on to add that many people simply don t understand it when churches don t get along with one another when they on the same street and lampooned this by saying we love the lost but hate the Methodists ( or Anglicans or whichever denomination they are contrasting!) We need to have a big heart for everyone and stressed the importance of working together in relationship with one another. He cited this as the way Mike, Andy and he sought to work together we eat and we worship together. They decided to take a step of faith together and sought for God to show them that He had knitted them together for this step of faith and that leap of faith was how Hope was born. In order to make Hope as inclusive as possible they sought to have every denomination represented on the Leadership Team and to have one cause that would unite them all in working together for the purpose of mission. Hope in recognising the Christian faith of the Queen sought her permission to produce the book The Servant Queen and the King she serves which draws upon what the Queen has shared about 4

5 her own faith. This book has enabled people to find a way to talk about their faith in a way they couldn t do before and has been powerfully used in mission. The Queen herself loved the project and has shared of the thousands of letters she has received of people telling the impact of the book has had upon their lives. The queen thanked them for producing the book. The Plans for Hope18 include producing a booklet Talking Jesus which they believe will transform the way we do church and in Roy s own words this could be gold dust. When the Hope denominational leaders met in Windermere, they looked at the question How over the next 20 years can we make Jesus known?. Roy mentioned that their thinking was based upon a piece of research which asked What do people outside the church think of Jesus? This produced some amazing statistics. 43% believe that Jesus rose from the dead. When they come to church at Easter they come not for an apologetic about the resurrection but because they believe. 67% know a Christian friend or member of their family When asked what do you think of us as Christians said they like us. Only 3% think we are homophobic. This changes our negative perception from thinking they hate us to they like us Why then are they not coming to faith? Those who do come to faith through friendship. Only 1% know a Church Leader, therefore the Church leaders need to equip them members to share their faith. Roy then issued the real possibility of church growth in Could the whole church in the UK grow by 10%? If every church grew by that amount we could reverse the decline in 1 year. Research looking at what makes churches grow cited the number 1 reason as Belief. Roy quoted John 6:28, 29 what must we do to do the work God requires? Jesus answered The work of God is this to believe in the one he has sent The work of God is to believe in the one who has been sent. Churches that grow are ones that believe they can grow. Roy mentioned the importance of being able to measure growth and having some way to track growth. He also cited the importance of being intentional and specific rather than vague and general and suggested -Something specific to pray for: say 5 people to come to faith -Something to say: have a message to impart -Something to give-a leaflet about the Christian faith. New Testament -Something to invite to; e.g An event at church, an Alpha or Pilgrim course -Someone knew to get to know: build relationship To boost our confidence Roy share another statistic and said 20% are open to the love of God Roy spoke about Thy Kingdom Come being held again this year between Ascension and Pentecost. It has become one of the largest prayer meetings with over 1million praying and its is scheduled to being even bigger this year. How do we help people to talk about Jesus and make them confident to share their faith? 5

6 Book to give door to door: Roy gave an example of a church giving out a church magazine and mince pie at the door and inviting them to the Carol Service. 200 new people came to the service. This Easter Hope has produce a booklet called Hope at Easter with a focus on Prince Harry speaking about Service and Sacrifice. These are attractive booklets to give to people to enable them to find our more about the Christian faith. In the Christmas edition the Duchess of Cambridge was featured as the lead story. We have opportunities through the seasons of the Christian year. Advent, Christmas Lent, Easter, Pentecost, Harvest, All Souls, Remembrance Sunday, This year with the 100 th anniversary of the ending of the First World War there will be great opportunities at what will be massive commemorations on Remembrance Sunday which coincides exactly with 1th of the 11 th. In 1918 there were peace parties-organise peace parties. In both World Wars King George V and V1 respectively called for a Day of Prayer and this year the Queen will be calling the nation on pray for Peace and Reconciliation on 4 th August which will begin 100 days of commemorative events culminating on 11 th November with the Commemoration of the Armistice in 1918 The company that makes Jelly Babies produced Peace babies back in 1918, what about 2018? What about giving Peace awards in schools and give young people recognition for their work to bring about peace and reconciliation e.g strategy for dealing with bullying. Roy ended his presentation by asking 3 rhetorical questions -How can we rise to the challenge of enabling people to work together? -What is the rhythm of mission in your particular context? -How creatively can we use the WW1 Commemorations to impact our communities. Closing Worship The Revd Ruth Whitehead, Vice Chair led the closing worship 6

CALDICOT & DISTRICT U3A ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

CALDICOT & DISTRICT U3A ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING held in Choir Hall, Caldicot at 2.15 p.m. on 20th April, 2017 1) APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE Apologies received from: Rob Harry Muriel Metcalfe Brian Metcalfe 2)