church family matters

Transcription

1 church family matters April 2018 Appointment of Shawn Swinney We are delighted to announce that Shawn Swinney has been appointed as our new vicar following interviews at the beginning of March. Thank you to everyone who took part in the day of candidate visits, and for making our candidates feel so welcome. Shawn will be licensed in Holy Trinity on Thursday 6 September. Shawn: I was born and raised in Minneapolis. I became a Christian when I was seventeen and was quickly involved in ministry and felt God s call on my life. In my early twenties, while studying for a master s degree, I met my wife Jo in Vancouver and we moved back to England to be closer to her family. We have now lived in England for fourteen years. I love teaching and preaching to bring the Bible into everyday life. I both like reading spiritual classics and playing with technology. My guilty pleasure is enjoying a bowl of Ben and Jerrys while watching comedy sitcoms! Jo and I, and our girls (Alexa, 11, Charis, 8) are very excited to come and minister with you in Combe Down. We have had a strong sense of God at work in the process of our coming to join you, and we can't wait to see what God will do. Photos of our church family members Shawn has set himself the task of getting to know many of our names and faces before his arrival. Could you please a photo of you (and your family as appropriate) to Sarah (leadership@htcd.church) so that she can send them on to Shawn. 1

2 Reviews of: ue to multiple big prayer Lent prayer D needs in March, the staff team responded by arranging to open up the church for a dedicated hour for 5 days a week during the Lent period. Many took advantage of this peaceful time during Lent and were glad to share with others for this hour set aside. Many thanks to the team of people who opened up during this time, one of whom was Anthea F. Anthea: I opened up each Tuesday, and the time flew by each time. I enjoyed meeting with friends to share current needs before our Lord. One unexpected plus was using the unusual occasion to examine the big Chancel window at close quarters. It s so full of interesting detail and inspiration. 70 women enjoyed a weekend away at Ammerdown March. Jo Swinney had been booked many months ago as our speaker on Deep spirituality for desperately busy people, so it was an added bonus to be able to get to know our future vicar s wife, and excellent planning on God s behalf to have all this in hand! Women s weekend Jo spoke with great authenticity, bringing humour and helpful practical suggestions to encourage us on our journey with the Lord. On Saturday evening we had a fiercely contested quiz. On Sunday there was a beautiful Palm Sunday service and breaking of bread in the chapel. We left having developed relationships but possibly several pounds heavier!

3 Men s Ministry Jon Williams has recently accepted the invitation to continue the Men's Ministry work. Currently Julian Shepherd and Jon are sharing the responsibility until next September at which point Jon hopes to have the year s plan in place, as he takes over. Jon: Presently we have a number of activities. The Thursday Group meet each week at the Church 7.45pm and have been reading, leading & discussing "Hudson Taylor's Spiritual Secret." In addition to that it has been great to gather a group together of fifteen guys [so far] to do a mission project in Romania [Sept] to tackle a Barn Build which will support a pastor and his mission with the disadvantaged and rejected Roman Gypsies. Fortunately Julian's skills as a structural engineer have proved more than useful. The preparation for that includes a 100 mile cycle and an evening of music, food and an Auction of promises, so that will also keep us busy. In such a large church I regard the Men's work as an important opportunity to achieve a sense of belonging, an opportunity to lead in different ways or just time to chill in the local pub. Furthermore I hope we can continue the annual "week-end away " which was an important space for me to develop relationships when I moved to HTCD, and also to continue the beer & speaker evenings. There are many different possibilities for the future but I am keen to allow time to discuss key issues that confront our faith today such as the relationship between Science and faith, a response to Gender Issues or Politics and faith. I feel that there is a need to confront topical issues in the right context and to have evenings that those without faith could attend. For the coming months I look forward to creating a team-approach to the work as we have so many gifted people in this Church who have much to share. Watch out as I may be tapping you on the shoulder in the near future! 3

4 Mulberry Park Our team headed up by Jo Robinson have recently visited all the houses on Mulberry Park and delivered hotcross buns, our community guide and information on our Easter services. People who have recently moved to Mulberry Park responded very warmly to these visits. About 70 of the houses are now inhabited, and many more still to be built. GDPR GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) comes in to force on 25 May The new regulation is designed to allow individuals to have more control over their own data and how it is used. In order to comply with the new legislation, we are conducting an audit of the information we hold, where it is stored, how long it is kept and what it is used for. Every church member will receive a Data Protection Notice telling you what your rights are, what the PCC uses your data for and asking for your consent. The forms will be given out at the Annual Meeting and at services thereafter. We have tried to make the notice as clear as possible (within the limits of needing to convey very precise legal information). If you would like to read the form in advance, a draft copy will be on the website from 11 April or available from the office. Contact Liz Hume, Operations Manager, with any questions.

5 PCC Feedback The PCC met on Tuesday 20 March. Several of the items discussed are mentioned elsewhere in church family matters. Other items are below: Approaching the APCM and PCC roles There will be 4 places available on the PCC at the APCM as a number of people come to the end of their term. In particular, the need for someone with HR experience, safeguarding experience, and someone else to represent St Andrew s. Contact Sarah if you would like to nominate someone. Finances The PCC approved our 2017 accounts which will be presented at the annual meeting. Steve Rogers Steve is exploring the possibility of training for ordination for local ministry this would mean, if accepted, Steve would train while continuing in his role at STACC, and would then be an ordained minister at St Andrew s. Steve would appreciate your prayers as he explores the Lord s will. The PCC gave their wholehearted approval for Steve Rogers as a locally deployed ordained minister. to everyone who has returned Pledge Forms with the information on what they will be giving in It s very helpful for our finance team. It s not too late to return your form if you have not yet done so! You can now make financial gifts to our church by text from a mobile phone. Simply text HTCD01, and the amount you would like to give, to , eg HTCD01 10 You will then receive a confirmation text and will be invited to make a gift aid donation. Do try it out! 5

6 Events in May Meal, Music and Auction of Promises, HT, pm Saturday 12 May, 7.30 pm The Men's Mission team are raising money to fund the "Barn Build" in Romania. The first fundraiser is a relaxed, sit down, musical evening with the church set out like a restaurant. Book a table with your friends, homegroup, family, whoever and enjoy a casual meal and drink [we will be licenced] while the band provides a gentle musical ambience. An auction of promises will also be part of the evening so please contact Howard Jones if you can offer something for our Auction. Please note - the men on the trip all pay for their own expenses. The money raised is for foundations, wood, roofing, windows etc. needed for the barn. Sunday 20 May 2.30 pm on the Firs. Invite friends and neighbours and let s make sure the event is a big success like last year. 9 am service in the morning, but no am service.

7 Community Houses of Prayer (CHOP) his Lent, we were T encouraged to start praying with others for our local communities. Bath is made up of 16 electoral wards and is surrounded by a number of beautiful villages. The goal has been to form at least one Community House of Prayer in every council ward in our city and to gather in small monthly meetings to pray for our neighbours and communities right where we live. So far there are 24 CHOPs! Normally we pray with others from our own churches the vision of this initiative is to gather with Christians from the ward where we actually live, regardless of which church we attend simply meeting to pray for God to bless our communities, bring healing and renewal, for people to come to know Christ as Lord and Saviour. Sue Dewes is our Combe Down CHOPS Coordinator. Sue : The Combe Down CHOP met in the Church Rooms on Tuesday 13 March. I thought it might start off small and was prepared for myself and Anthea to be the sole attendees. But, it was incredibly exciting as people kept coming through the door! 22 of us met, representing 10 churches. We had to find more chairs and Richard Meryon had to nip across to the Co-op for more biscuits! It was so encouraging to meet together with people from other churches, with our common ground being God and our community. We worshipped God together and prayed for Combe Down. CHOPs will meet on the second Tuesday of every month at 7.45pm, until October, followed by a meeting all together in the Abbey in November. I would encourage you to join us on April 10 th, or try out your local CHOP. God has enabled CHOPs to be set up in the most incredible way. I am so excited to see what God will do as he brings Christians together to pray. Don t miss out on what God is doing in and around Bath! For more information go to communityhousesofprayer or see Sue Dewes 7

8 Key Dates in April Sat 14 April Family Film Afternoon StACC, 3.30 pm Sun 15 April Vacancy Prayer Meeting HT7-8 pm, We are delighted to have appointed Shawn, but the vacancy is not over! Please do come and pray. Wed 18 April Church Annual Meeting HT, 7.30 pm An opportunity to celebrate all God has done and elect new people onto our church council. PRAISE GOD for the great celebration in HT on Easter Day when Evie Hargrave, Nicoletta Kennedy, Eliza Sheppard and Jack Youlten were baptised. It was lovely to see so many visitors and family and friends. There are others in the church family who would like to get baptised and we are hoping to have another baptism service on Sunday 27th May. Please contact Esther or Sharon to find out more. Sat 18 Sun 1