Parish of Bellair All Saints Bellair with St Mark s Chapelry, Hillary Annual Vestry Report

Transcription

1 Parish of Bellair All Saints Bellair with St Mark s Chapelry, Hillary Annual Vestry Report Feb 2013 Feb 2014

2 SUNDAY SCHOOL 2013 During the year, 2013, approximately 30 children attended Sunday school lessons, but of those children, 14 attended regularly. On average we had about 8 children per Sunday. We used The Diocese of Natal Sunday School teaching Manual Cycle C. We found this manual to be user friendly with lessons relevant to the children s age. It was also exciting to see the link between what we were teaching the children in Sunday School and the lesson in church that day. The lessons covered stories from the Gospels of John and Luke Besides the lessons from this manual we have also celebrated and included the children in special days throughout the year. We celebrated Mothers and Father s Day with special gifts for the Mothers and Fathers and with a special item presented in church for the Moms and Dads. We made the children aware of Easter, World Environment Day and Stewardship in the month of October. During term 3 we held a cake sale to raise funds for a CD player. This was well supported and we have now purchased this CD/DVD system and we look forward to using it for our praise and worship. We ended term 3 with a lovely morning of games. Each game had a significant lesson about God s Word. We attended a Sunday school training weekend in October. It was good to interact with Sunday school teachers from other parishes. Our children took part in the Carol Service where they presented a play which formed the main part of the carol service and included the setting up of the nativity scene. The children and congregation enjoyed the lively dance performed as part of this play. The children also presented a moving tribute to the late Nelson Madiba. After all the excitement of the play, the children received their prizes for regular attendance. An enjoyable party followed the service. We would like to extend our appreciation to Cecilee who often assists us with our lessons and we also appreciate the help Robert gives us setting up the table and chairs. We also acknowledge the support we get from Delysia and the church wardens, Anne and Melanie, who often purchase the items we require for the lessons. Thank you. On the whole we have had a successful and productive and very Blessed 2013 at Sunday school. Salo Soupen and Sherryl Reid All Saints, Bellair, with St Marks Chapelry Hillary, Durban Page 2

3 Youth Report Vision Our Vision as the youth of All Saints and St. Marks is grow to stronger in fellowship with one another as well as other members of the congregation and the community. To have spiritual growth amongst ourselves, bring new members to the church. Mission Statement To honour God in worship that feeds and empowers us for faithful witness and service. To embody and proclaim the message of God s redemptive hope and healing for people. Members 1. Andile Zwane 2. Sanele Khumalo 3. Mlondi Duma 4. Alison Nair 5. Alexandra Naidoo 6. Sindi Shezi 7. Arlanzo Samms 8. Chadleigh Samms 9. Gugu Zwane 10. Vuyelwa Mkhize 11. Sihle Zungu 12. Sabrina Manilall 13. Dylan Manilall 14. Lange 15. Sipho Currently we have 14 active members and we are seeking to build and recruit new members. Leadership Our former youth leader for several years Owen Soupen relocated this year to Cape Town, which meant we needed a new leader and on our first meeting it voted that I (Andile Zwane) will the leader for the following year, as well as Alex Naidoo being voted as second in command. General The youth for the most part of 2013 was not running as an organisation in the church. It was only after we hosted the workshop which it was decided that it needs to be up and running again. Thus we had our first youth meeting on the 27 th of September and our last meeting on the 6 th of December Youth commenced on the 24 th of January 2014 when the first meeting of the year was held. The few meetings we have had this year have come with a few challenges, such as few of our members leaving due to them relocating because of their University studies. All Saints, Bellair, with St Marks Chapelry Hillary, Durban Page 3

4 The youth has started a collection of R10 every month from each member, to help increase the money available to the youth. We believe this will help because in the sense we don t want to be completely reliable on the church for funds. Activities The meetings of the youth have been broken down into 4 week cycles. The 1 st week of the 4 week cycle will be separated into either planning for upcoming events such as the Valentines Day Sale, youth outings or events we wish to host. The 2 nd week will be Bible Study Night. During this night we will engage in discussion about the Bible and hopefully we will be able to have a member or two of the church clergy join us and help us with our spiritual growth. The 3 Rd week will be Scripture and worship. This Night is fully dedicated to praising and worshipping of God. The night will be spilt between Praise and worship and Scripture. In rotation each youth member will get a chance to prepare a Scripture to share with the youth and explain to us what it means to them and what is God saying to that Scripture. The 4 th week will be Games Night. This night we get together and social with one another and enjoy some youth competition, as we will play a series of board games, amongst other games. Calendar The youth calendar this year seems very busy. The first event we had this year was the Valentine Day Sale, where we held a sale on items based on the theme Valentine Day. The Church had asked us to me more involved in the Church, and it was agreed upon that one of the ways we could be more involved was to have a Youth Sunday. We had decided the first Youth Sunday is going to be in March and we will host one once a month. A prospect of a youth camp has been raised, but no final decisions have been made. It seems as if a possible camp might happen between the months of April and June, but more is to be discussed about the matter. As the youth we are also planning to host a few events during the year such as Stay awakes, fund raisers etc. Conclusion We have started the year on a good note as much of the rough planning has been done and a few more people have joined Youth. We foresee a prosperous year ahead for our organisation. Andile Zwane Sanele Khumalo Alexandrea Naidoo All Saints, Bellair, with St Marks Chapelry Hillary, Durban Page 4

5 Brief Report from WAG WAG has been running for many years in the Parish, being a combination of MU, AWF and ladies of the Parish who have no membership to either MU or AWF. The WAG was chaired by various members, and this is noted in the minute book.. Your vision/mission statement WAG HAS NO FORMAL VISION OR MISSION. This will have to be worked on by the group in 2014, in line with the Parish charter Who are the members? There are currently 14 ladies who have attended or given their apologies the meetings from July to October Current and future activities- CURRENT ACTIVITIES Cake sale 1 September Delysia Timm addressed the ladies of the Parish to inform them why WAG was formed, to encourage them to join WAG and participate in activities/events of both MU and AWF that occur within our Diocese(8 September) The ladies weekend away in October, (18-20) End of Year outing boat trip around the harbour(23 November) Collection of items for KWA Hilda Home in Newcastle for the orphans Christmas Raffle FUTURE ACTIVITIES Invitation to Flora from Mothers Union to address the group MPume Jele- parish councillor- to address the group to provide a better understanding of how WAG fits into her portfolio AWF Leadership - Joy Ford represents our Parish at AWF events.meetings. Jane Handley is the alternate representative Diocesan affiliated activites AWF regional meeting was on the 19 th November Procedure to join we will be guided by Joy, however, any Anglican woman over the age of 18 can join with no restriction List of AWF Members We are in the process of drawing up formal lists for both groups, however there does not seem to be many members Membership fees are paid to both groups, however, membership fees to MU are per person(r25 pp) and AWF is an amount of R100 pa. Membership fees for 2013 for MU have not been paid to date. WaG currently has an amount to bank of just over R5400. With the group having nominated representatives, I envisage the group to become more aligned to Diocesan activities in 2014 for both groups. All ladies of the Parish should be encouraged to attend; we will work on this in Consistent attendance and participation of the ladies will ensure the success of WAG and its objectives. ( Compiled by Beverly Naidoo WAG Leader) All Saints, Bellair, with St Marks Chapelry Hillary, Durban Page 5

6 WORSHIP GROUP REPORT This group has continued to provide music for the services. Our thanks go to Pauline Ramsamooj who plays once a month. Once again the group played at the Highway Hospices Lighting of the Christmas Tree at Jameson Park early in December. We were very grateful to the members of the Youth Group who joined us for this occasion. It was also really great to have the support of several parishioners who braved the rain and wind! Thank you! During the year some members of the Worship Group also played at the Wednesday evening meetings held in the homes of parishioners. We were very blessed to have Thasi as a member of the group and we wish him all the best for his studies. My sincere thanks go to each member of the group who has made the committment to attend practices each Thursday evening. New members will also be most welcome! I thank God for the talents He has given each one of us. We give them back to Him to be used to His honour and glory. JUDY HAWKER Layministers Report Lay Ministers are the Servants of God for the people. They are robed to show respect and honour to God as the function at the altar. We need to remember that these people, though they may be specially trained, they are actually representatives of the people. As I write this report for vestry, I cannot help but reflect back over the past year how God in His mercy and wisdom has enabled us as lay ministers to grow spiritually. It is our duty to protect the unity of our church. Before being arrested, Jesus prayed passionately for our unity. Colossians 3:4 Let love guide your life, for then the whole church will stay together in perfect harmony. In the past year, two lay ministers were licensed, two are being trained as preachers, three are helping with confirmation classes and two are faithfully serving communion to the sick and elderly at home. For the year ahead we pray that God who began the good work within us will keep on helping us grow in his grace. A special thanks to Revd Dr Delysia and Revd beryl for their teachings, motivation and prayers. With some of us in our twilight years, we appeal to the younger members of the congregation to join the lay ministry. Please feel free to discuss it with Revd Dr Delysia or Revd Beryl. Ivan Samms All Saints, Bellair, with St Marks Chapelry Hillary, Durban Page 6

7 Church Wardens Report 2013 saw the Parish continuing to enjoy combined worship & fellowship throughout the year with attendance numbers growing over the months. During 2013 / 14 we had our highs and lows. The HIGHS, most of which will be highlighted in the various Portfolio Reports, include: Baptisms the Admission of children to Holy Eucharist the Confirmation Service of and Retreat for 7 candidates the WAG retreat the Parish Workshop the Sunday School Teachers Workshop held at Koinonia the Lenten Course and Easter Celebration the Advent & Christmas Services Delysia s appointment as Priest in Charge Financial stability of the Parish During 2013 we also celebrated the marriages of 2 couples at All Saints The LOWS were Parishioners who died during the year but the news of the sudden passing of Busi Mlotshwa and more recently Joy Ford was a shock to all of us. Both Busi & Joy were Parish Councilors, who contributed hugely to the Parish. The ongoing saga of Primed who still have not vacated the Rectory or Hall Attempts to get the Contractor, who replaced All Saints roof, back to repair shoddy workmanship. Beryl and Delysia saw to all the Parish s spiritual needs with the Sunday and Wednesday services as well as Bible study groups and home & hospital visiting. The Lay ministers were also involved in taking the Eucharist to the shut-ins and in assisting with the Confirmation Courses. As a result of the Parish Workshop the Youth has been revived and is meeting regularly and have great plans for the year ahead. The Diocesan attorneys requested that the Wardens monitor but not interfere in, the goings on at the Rectory and Gugini Hall, and report back to them. The situation of these properties remains a stale-mate. In March 2013 it was agreed at Parish Council that the Wardens arrange a meeting with Bishop Rubin to discuss the way forward for the Parish but this proved fruitless. Throughout the year we tried tirelessly to get an appointment to meet with Bishop Rubin. Archdeacon Phumlani, as Priest in Charge also tried to get clarity and asked All Saints, Bellair, with St Marks Chapelry Hillary, Durban Page 7

8 the Wardens for a letter which he would pass on to the Bishop and Trustees but to no avail still no response from the Bishop s office. It was fortuitous that at a Diocesan Clergy meeting Delysia managed to corner the Bishops and suddenly there was action! As Wardens we have been rather confused by the Diocesan Properties Committee members mixed messages. In 2011, they had advised Vena and the Parish Exec, that St Mark s could not be used because it was unsafe and then 2 years later told Delysia that it could be used and so in December two services were held with further services commencing in March. Thank you to our Alternate Church Warden, Nelson Murugan who has been a great support and backstop, stepping in to help as and when he was needed. On a personal note, throughout the year we have both cared for family members who were experiencing poor health and apologies should we have neglected Parish duties in any way. I hope that with God s strength and guidance and the support of you the Parishioners we made the grade! To all who contributed in anyway, great or small, to Parish life thank you. Anne du Plessis Melanie Smith TREASURER S REPORT 2014 We give thanks to everyone in this parish for their faithful and committed giving to God and His church. Financially the parish is functioning very soundly.we carried a balance of R281, into 2014.This presented us with a surplus of R93, We met all our commitments and finished the year on budget. We were able to support diocesan and regional appeals during the year i.e.nddf,regional youth and to the family of the late Rev.Cox. We sponsored our confirmation candidates on a retreat down the south coast and Rev.Dr.Delysia and the Sunday school teachers on diocesan workshops. We purchased a new photocopier costing R Special thanks to everyone who has supported the food donation and flower fund during the year.the food donation has become a very important ministry in our parish. My sincere thanks to Olive Winsor,Pauline Ramsamooj and Ron Hawker for their Loyal work with banking and the planned giving.your help is truly appreciated. The parish finances have been audited by John Dalton from Hilltop accountants. Thank you for all your support in Anne du Plessis. All Saints, Bellair, with St Marks Chapelry Hillary, Durban Page 8

9 Revd Delysia Timm, Priest-in-Charge February 12, 2014 I would like to begin by giving thanks to God Father, Son and Holy Spirit for each and everyone in this Parish. In particular, I thank Revd Beryl who returned home early in 2013 and has been a great mentor for me and support in the ministry-life of the parish. Anne, Melanie and Nelson have been great Churchwardens who truly were committed and dedicated together with the Parish Councillors who formed the key governance structure in the Parish, thereby creating an enabling environment for ministry. We remember with great fondness Busi and Joy, two Parish Councillors who passed away in the past two months. Rest eternal grant unto them O Lord. May they rest in peace and rise in glory Amen. As a Parish within the Anglican Communion of Southern Africa, we are Anchored in the love of Christ, Committed to God s mission and Transformed by the Holy Spirit (ACSA vision). The mission of ACSA is our mission: To honour God in worship that feeds and empowers us for faithful witness and service To embody and proclaim the message of God s redemptive hope and healing for people and creation To grow communities of faith that form, inform, and transform those who follow Christ My report will be presented under the three mission objectives: 1. To Honour God in worship that feeds and empowers us for faithful witness and service We have honoured God in worship by offering our gifts and talents in deeply spiritual lay ministry, inspiring and uplifting music, creative floral arrangements, refreshing morning tea after the services, loving and friendly welcome of all who joined us week by week. Our worship was not limited to within the doors of the Church buildings but also extended to our homes on Wednesday evenings. We honour God by recognising that we are all created in the image of God and have diverse gifts and talents through and for worship. Through our teachings and proclaiming the Good News we have helped each other to be nourished and empowered for faithful witness and service towards building the Kingdom of God. Our Lenten Journey that included Meditations on the stations of the Cross culminated on Good Friday with the service of Voices at the Foot of the Cross. We have used the Diocesan Liturgical Themes and Readings in conjunction with the Anglican Prayer Book resources during our church services. The Children s ministry has grown mainly due to the commitment and dedication of the teachers, Sherryl and Salo. There was great excitement shared by parents and children during the Sunday School play and prizegiving ceremony that was held during the Christmas Carol service at St Marks. Owen led the Youth ministry for the greater part of 2013 and Andile stepped up to lead when Owen relocated to Cape Town. A visit by the Covenant players team who showed us how the Gospel can be shared using drama was very well received and they will be visiting the Parish later this year to start off our Stewardship month. During the year ahead we need to : provide sufficient opportunity for forms of worship that caters for the rich diversity in tradition, language, gender and age, amongst others, in our parish. Be disciplined and reverent in our worship of God All Saints, Bellair, with St Marks Chapelry Hillary, Durban Page 9

10 Offer more of ourselves in humble service to each other and to God. Encourage our children and youth to participate more fully in the worship of the church 2. To embody and proclaim the message of God s redemptive hope and healing for people and creation We are a people of hope. We give thanks to God that the doors of St Marks will be once again opened after more than two years of closure. The rebuilding of the church at St Marks is a long process that has just begun with the occupation of the building. We have had numerous offerings of donations for the repair of the building at St Marks for which we are truly grateful. We had requests from other Pastors to rent/use the building which we as Parish Council turned down. We are still hurting deeply due to the injustices we continue to face with the tenants at Gugini Hall and the rectory at All Saints. We need to respect the long-winded legal processes and continue to love our enemies and embody the message of God s redemptive hope and healing. Our pastoral team is always willing and available to visit the sick at home and in the hospitals. Our lists of the sick and those in need of healing in the pew bulletin are a constant reminder of us to pray and support them. The Lay Ministers and Revd Beryl have played a very active pastoral role in the parish especially after the services on a Wednesday and Sunday. My family felt the loving care and support of the parish during the death of my grandmother during this year. This year we had at least two past parishioners whose families requested for their memorial services to be held in our Parish. We have instituted a fees structure for such services especially to cover the costs of the organist and the general maintenance for those persons who are not regular members or not on the parish roll. We have also found a need to design a form called my Funeral arrangements which we are encouraging parishioners to complete and hand to one of the clergy for safe keeping. This form is useful for your family to ensure that your wishes are carried out with regards to your funeral. Our Samaritan basket has been rather bare during the course of the year, however we have managed to offer food parcels during Christmas. We were unable to have our annual Creation service at Coedmore Castle, the home of the original All Saints Church, due to bad weather on the day. We have encouraged our youth to participate in the Diocesan Environment sessions at Koinonia to engender a greater awareness of our stewardship of Creation. We have established a link with the ethekwini Municipality regarding the monitoring of the atmospheric emissions licence of NPC which impacts on many parishioners health in our community. For the Year ahead: It is my solemn prayer that we will all be able to embody and proclaim the message of God s redemptive hope and healing for all people within our community where we live, work and have our being as well as for all creation. All Saints, Bellair, with St Marks Chapelry Hillary, Durban Page 10

11 We should plan for greater awareness and involvement in the health issues- such as HIV/AIDS, stopping the abuse of women and children and addressing the violence and drug concerns in our community May we all be more committed to the Samaritan Basket and help families in need. We need to encourage parishioners to intern the ashes of their loved ones in our Garden of Remembrance. 3. To grow communities of faith that form, inform, and transform those who follow Christ I am encouraged by the transformation in the lives of those who were confirmed and who were admitted to First Holy Communion in Their Christian formation is evident in their offering of humble service. There are eight people from 14 years old to over 30 years old who are regularly attending confirmation classes and looking forward to their confirmation in June this year. Thank you to Ivan and Phumzile who have played an active role in teaching and sharing with the confirmation candidates. Revd Beryl has taken full responsibility of preparing the baptism candidates and those children who were admitted to First Holy Communion. The role of the family at home and in the Parish to help form, transform and inform every other person cannot be overemphasised. Two lay people, Mpume and Phumzile underwent training before they were licensed as lay ministers. Ivan and Phumzile received further training in preaching during the Wednesday morning and evening services respectively. They are now ready to assist with preaching on Sundays and will be joining the preaching roster later this year. The Women and God (WaG) group is a community of faith within the church that affords women the opportunity to be formed, informed and transformed as they follow Christ. WaG is unique in that both the Anglican Womens Fellowship and Mothers Union work side by side in their monthly meetings. In order to reach more people with the Gospel, we have a parish Facebook page All Saints, Bellair, with St Marks chapelry Hillary which has been liked by 117 people. I am currently posting one of the Lectionary readings for Morning prayer each weekday morning together with a short reflection on the Facebook page. On average approximately 120 people are viewing the post daily. Printed copies of these postings are available weekly on request. Furthermore, the Parish has a website which is hosted and updated by Marianhill Media Press with information that we as a parish provide. From the Analytics of the website, we have evidence that the website is viewed by people from UK, Nigeria and New Zealand. The website has a brief history of all Saints Church, my audiotaped sermons since January 2013, weekly pew leaflets, news and memory verses from the Childrens Ministry, news from youth ministry, photo gallery, and application forms amongst other interesting information. Anybody can subscribe on the website to receive a monthly newsletter of the postings on the website via their . I am thankful to the Parish for supporting my own Christian growth by funding my attendance at the Diocesan Ordinands in Training sessions held during For the Year ahead: Baptisms will be held at Easter, at Pentecost and in September May the men in the Parish come together to form a community of faith All Saints, Bellair, with St Marks Chapelry Hillary, Durban Page 11

12 I will like to encourage the parishioners to register for theological/biblical studies through TEE College and the layministers to register for the preaching course through TEE College Parishioners are encouraged to like the Facebook page Increase subscription to the website newsletter Increase the input onto the website from the WaG, Youth and any other interested persons who may have suggestions for the website All Saints, Bellair, with St Marks Chapelry Hillary, Durban Page 12