The Bybrook Team Ministry Annual Report For the year ended 31 st December 2015 Priest in Charge Revd Jonathan Philpott Team Vicar Revd Sarah Evans Assistant Curates Revd Velma Oxley, Revd Gillian Parkin Licensed Lay Ministers Alison Flint, Anton Campbell, Len Scott, Mike King, Mary Pope, Diane Ross-Smith, Pam Tayler, Tim Woodward
Contents Composition of the Team Council 2015 Pg. 2 Bybrook Team Ministry Values and Mission Pg. 3 Priest-in-Charge s Report Pg. 4 Team Vicar s Report Pg. 5 Assistant Curate s Report Pg. 6 Office Manager s Report Pg. 7 Ark Report Pg. 8 Open the Book Report Pg. 9 Thursday Morning Prayer Group Report Pg. 9 Benefice Pastoral Care Team Report Pg. 9 Bybrook Blokes Report Pg. 10 Bybrook Refugee Crisis Support Network Pg. 10 Safeguarding Report Pg. 11 Composition of the Team Council 2015 Revd Jonathan Philpott (Priest-in-Charge, Chairman) Richard Oxley (Team Treasurer) (until 04/2015) Simon Bruce (Team Treasurer) (from 04/2015) Claire Campbell (Team Council Secretary) Mary Inder Rieden (Team Safeguarding Officer) Pat Meakins (Team Safeguarding Officer, Vulnerable Adults) (until 04/2015) Other clergy representatives: Revd Sarah Evans, Revd Velma Oxley, Revd Gillian Parkin Licensed Lay Ministers: Len Scott, Mary Pope, Diane Ross-Smith, Tim Woodward Churchwardens: Alison Fovargue (St Nicholas, Biddestone) Sally Constable (St Andrew, Castle Combe) Doug King or Rindi Runacres (St Mary, Grittleton) Janet Elms or Colin Labouchere (St Michael and All Angels, Kington St Michael) Caroline Cook (All Saints, Littleton Drew, Lay Chair) Marje Caie (St Mary, Nettleton and Burton) Anne Godwin (St James, North Wraxall) Chris Stephens (St Nicholas, Slaughterford) Merope Sylvester (St Nicholas, Slaughterford, Lay Chair) (from 04/2015) Dido Lamb (St Mary, West Kington) Pam Rawlins (St Margaret, Yatton Keynell, Lay Chair and DLT Lay Representative) (until 04/2015) Andy Stovell or Fi Redmond (St Margaret, Yatton Keynell) 2
Bybrook Team Ministry Values and Mission At the end of 2014, a new Vision Statement was launched by the Ministry Team and Team Council to help us to understand our calling as Christians. Based on Matthew 28:16-20, the statement is: Worshipping. Growing. Sharing. Because of this understanding, as a group of churches, our desire is: To love, serve and worship God To love and serve one another, our local community, and the wider world To live and share with others the good news of Jesus Christ Because we know that we are loved by God. In our mission, we aim: To proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom To teach, baptize and nurture new believers To respond to human need by loving service To seek to transform unjust structures of society To strive to safeguard the integrity of creation and sustain and renew the life of the earth. Additionally, we recognise that we have a responsibility to support the local rural community. The benefice is set across a beautiful part of rural Wiltshire. Around us there are active farms, small businesses, and other employment opportunities that can be at times challenging, stressful, and dependent on so many different issues in order to be able to be viable, let alone successful. We believe that an important part of our ministry as churches in this area is to support our rural community, those working in the area, those who are struggling to find work, those who are facing financial uncertainty, as well as to celebrate alongside those who have something to celebrate. 3
Priest-in-Charge s Report At the end of 2014, the Team Council and the PCCs in Bybrook took a very important decision. The decision was that it was not possible to carry on running things as they have always been run, and that we had the opportunity to make some decisions to try and create viable, sustainable and growing ministry across the churches here. The way that the churches operate here currently is very resource heavy. Each church has a Parochial Church Council made up of at least 6 members. Each church needs at least one churchwarden, a treasurer, a secretary, a Deanery Synod Representative. Each church relies on volunteers to help with cleaning, flower arranging, issues of maintenance, fundraising, provision of care to all ages represented in life. Each church has to balance finances so that ministry is paid for through the Diocesan Parish Share, and shared Administration and Ministerial Expense costs through the Team Parish Share. Then there are individual parish finances to do with insuring and maintaining listed buildings among many other costs. And it can often feel quite isolating for those involved. People can feel tired, overstretched, unappreciated. And that can extend to the ministers as well. It is getting harder to find people who have the time, energy, confidence and enthusiasm to take on many of the roles that need to be carried out legally in the church. Based on these issues, together we agreed to cluster the churches into 3 smaller groups, and in 2015 it has been really good to see how those groups have started to work more closely together in quite different ways. I have asked Sarah and Gillian to contribute a little about the clusters where they are working, and so I will just share a little about how the cluster of Biddestone, Kington St Michael and Yatton Keynell have been working together. Firstly, I have been impressed at the way in which the churchwardens have worked together to set plans for the pattern of worship. There have inevitably been some changes to the patterns of worship but these have been worked through together with maturity and a sense of God s kingdom being greater than our own. The cluster services across the whole group of churches seem to have been one of the greatest successes of the past 12 months with some real creativity being shown in their planning and appropriateness for each cluster. Secondly, I have been really pleased to see the way in which the churches have been working together to support the work in our local Primary schools, and you can read a little more about this in reports that follow below. Thirdly, I have been pleased to see how the PCCs have looked at their finances and at times made quite sacrificial decisions to support ministry in its widest sense. Last year in my report, I set out 4 priorities for 2015, and would like to update you on how we have addressed these. Firstly, we planned to identify people to train to lead intercessions in our churches, and to provide training. We have done this, although there is still some work to be done to set up our rotas properly to actually include leading of intercessions. It is not too late for others who may be interested. We are able to offer the training again if necessary. Secondly, we wanted to plan and run Lent and Autumn Courses. We did run the Pilgrim Course during Lent, but were unable to offer an Autumn Course as planned. Thirdly, we want to look at the possibility of developing a hospitality team for shared events and wider support for parishes. This is ongoing. Finally, we planned to meet with and develop the work of the pastoral care team. Now that Velma has moved on to her new post 4
in the Woodbridge Group of Churches, Len Scott and Cilla Palfreyman are heading up the pastoral care team and continue to meet periodically with the group. So what does 2016 hold in store for us as a group of churches? Again, this has been the source of much discussion and I think that I would summarise our plans for this year as follows: 1) To continue sorting out the pastoral reorganisation of Bybrook to become one recognisable, legal group. 2) To develop opportunities for those who will like to grow in their own sense of discipleship to do so in ways that are relevant and appropriate to their needs and circumstances. 3) To continue establishing the clusters of churches and explore ways of making the most of working together to share resources. I would like to finish with some thanks. I would first like to thank Sarah and Gillian for their patience and support during the past 12 months. They have been essential in helping the clustering system establish itself, and have worked tirelessly in their churches and across the group. I am deeply thankful for the ministry that I am able to share with them. I would also like to thank Alison, Anton, Diane, Len, Mary, Mike, Pam, Tim for their continued ministry, support and encouragement. I would like to thank the churchwardens, the members of each of the PCCs, and all others of you who are actively involved in the life of the church. I would like to thank Claire, Simon, and Mary for their tremendous work behind the scenes in supporting the Team Council, and each of the PCCs respectively. Finally, I would like to thank Tracie, Luke and Caitlin for their love and support, and their patience with me. Please do read the rest of this annual report, which contains information about the activities that are shared across the Bybrook Team Ministry. Revd Jonathan Philpott Team Vicar s Report The creation of the new clustering arrangement at the beginning of the year meant that 2015 was a period of familiarisation and consolidation. The happy constant in all this has been my relationship with Slaughterford, and I have enjoyed getting to know the PCCs and congregations at Castle Combe and Grittleton. There have been small numbers from each church willing to travel round to each other s services but, in general, clustering has not yet had the active support of the majority of church members, which is frustrating. Although the churchwardens have been able to offer each other mutual encouragement and expertise, I feel the wider congregations have yet to discover the delight of worshipping in a larger group, and the benefit this can bring to other aspects of church life. 5
All three churches have enjoyed fellowship and fundraising events and it has been good to be part of those. I am very grateful in particular to the churchwardens, who undertake the lion s share of the tasks and responsibilities, together with their PCC members. I continue to encourage all church members to play their full part in supporting them. I have enjoyed leading the Lent course and the Intercessions training we held during the year, as well as attending a Building Resilience training course and the Deanery Retreat. Alongside my work in the Team, I have also continued to represent the self-supporting and ordained local ministers at the Deanery Leadership Team and have been elected to Diocesan Synod. During May 2016 I will be undertaking a placement at Bristol Cathedral as part of my Ministerial Development. I hope to discover whether this is a direction my ministry might take at some stage in the future and bring back some learning points from that setting to help us in our rural parishes. Finally, I should like to thank Jonathan, Gillian, Claire and the Ministry Team for their continued companionship, prayers and support as we strive together to further God s Kingdom in this place. Revd Sarah Evans Assistant Curate s Report The establishment of Cluster groups which brought together the four small parishes of Littleton Drew, Nettleton, North Wraxall, and West Kington to form the Western Cluster, resulted in a need to reconsider the number and times of services at each church during the month and so we started the year with a new pattern of services. On the whole this change has been achieved with the minimum disruption and with graciousness on the part of all the congregations, and has worked really well. From a personal perspective I am delighted to be able to continue to work with the two parishes (North Wraxall & Nettleton) which had supported me with great encouragement through my training, and through the year I have got to know the congregations at West Kington and Littleton Drew. Of course it would be a joy to have larger congregations for the regular services but it has been very encouraging to see large congregations at the Christmas communion services as well as the Carol services. Littleton Drew has continued with the monthly family service ably led by Diane Ross Smith and it has been a pleasure to join her for the festival communion services and a baptism. Nettleton now has two services per month Service with a Smile led by Mike King which is aimed at younger families and a communion service and both of these services are running smoothly. Having lost the TGIF service for much of the year the PCC have worked together to provide a variety of parish social events instead which has drawn in a few non regulars and raised some vital funds for the development fund. It is pleasing to see one or two new families as a result of the new houses which have been built adjacent to the church. 6
North Wraxall - although the congregation for all services at St James' have been sadly depleted this year by death and ill health we have continued to provide two services per month one communion service and an informal TGFS service. West Kington has a small but dedicated congregation at the monthly communion service and we have been able to re-instate the Village Praise service for some months of the year. There have been a small number of weddings and baptisms through the cluster and these have been a delight not least because they have all involved families with local connections. There have also been a number of funerals and burial of ashes. The lack of volunteers to serve on PCCs and to take on roles of churchwarden etc is a concern. At three of the churches there is only one church warden at present and at the fourth there is not a warden and I am conscious that several of the churches are reliant on non attendees for key roles and I am most grateful for their support. Revd Gillian Parkin Office Manager s Report 2015 has been a year of development in the office. It started with my temporary contract being made permanent, which was reassuring. Throughout the year my knowledge and understanding of all the many different aspects of the job continued to grow and in May I attended a UCAN (UK Church and Administrator Network) training day on customer care which was very informative and has helped shape how I approach things. In July I visited a funeral director to gain a better understanding of the process from their end. In September it was recognised that the expectations from my role were more than administrative and this led to a change in title from Office Administrator to Office Manager. Although the reality is that everything I do is still the same it has given me the authority to develop and drive things rather than waiting to be instructed. With that I was able to move from simply completing the tasks in hand, to looking at the processes behind them and establishing ways that things could be improved both in quality and efficiency. Having moved in January into the benefice and begun worshiping at the churches, one thing that I have found difficult is the boundary of being off duty. It is very easy and convenient when you see someone to strike up a conversation that should really be had in office hours, so I am very grateful to everyone who has supported me with trying not to do this and also to those who have understood when I have asked them to contact me during office hours. The occasional offices continued to make up the majority of the work within the office. We held 35 funerals and burials across the team. There was a decrease in the number of weddings/blessings, with 23 in total, including a last minute, but very welcome booking for Littleton Drew, where the 7
previous wedding had taken place in 1998. In contrast though, baptisms/thanksgivings were up to 27 and these took place in 8 out of the 10 churches in the team, which is fantastic. Once again it has been a pleasure to work with Jonathan, Sarah and Gillian. I feel very privileged to be working alongside them especially as I get to see more than most just how much hard work and time they all put in to the Bybrook churches. So much goes on behind the scenes that many do not see, and their commitment to making everything run smoothly and to spreading the word of God is amazing. So on behalf of the Bybrook Team, I would like to say a huge thank you to them. I would also like to thank all the Churchwardens and members of the ministry team who have supported me and kept me on my toes. They too work tirelessly to keep the churches running smoothly and they all do a sterling job, so Thank you. Claire Campbell Ark Report It has been another busy year for The Ark and we have enjoyed lots of different activities and events which we hope have helped many families grow in their knowledge and love of God. We have had new families join us and some have moved on as their children get older, and we have an average attendance of 65-70 each session. We have welcomed some new members of the team, including a new Junior Leader Becca Childerhouse, and said thank you and goodbye to others. During the summer we ran a Craft Cafe once a week in St Margaret s Church which was well attended. In September Doug Horley came and ran a Crazy Science Praise Party which was well attended by children and families, some of whom we hadn t had contact with before. Doug did an excellent and captivating show which included a gospel message and several children did respond and give their lives to Jesus which is very exciting! We had planned to hold a "Light party" at Halloween but due to personal circumstances it was cancelled. We are now sponsoring a child from Kenya called Patience Velma and the children are looking at ways they can raise money too. I would like to thank all those who give up their time to help The Ark in planning meetings, preparations and on the day itself- we couldn t do it without you! Please pray for us and those families who come along. As a team, our question to the wider group of churches is how do we cater for those who are now too old for the Ark? How can we keep these children and their families engaged in their journey of faith and with church? Answers on a postcard... Tracie Philpott 8
Open the Book Report The Open the Book Team continue to go into By Brook Valley School each month to present bible stories in their Assembly. The children always seem very pleased to see us arrive and our Year 6 helpers soon join us in the hall to dress up and be told which parts they have to play. Once the whole school have filed in then one of the team will ask questions about the story from the previous month; then we perform the story for that particular Assembly. We finish up with a short reflection and prayer time and finally a song with plenty of actions! We are really blessed with our team members and everyone is very committed. It is such a wonderful opportunity to actually go into School with the message of the bible in a day and age when so many children are growing up not knowing the bible stories. We are still working systematically through the bible and have reached halfway through the Old Testament. It has been a wonderful year and it is encouraging to know that we are building up relationships with the children and forging links between the School and the Church. We are very grateful to By Brook School for their welcome. Cilla Palfreyman Thursday Morning Prayer Group Report The group meet for one hour each Thursday morning, 9am at Yatton Keynell Church, to read the Bible and pray together. Not everyone can come every Thursday and numbers vary from 2-8. There are also people who join us as a one off when they have a particular prayer need, and others who send us requests for prayer we welcome and encourage this. Prayer really does make a difference, and praying together helps us to remember this, so please feel free to come along you would be most welcome. Revd Jonathan Philpott Pastoral Care Team Report The pastoral care team continues to function in the life of the benefice. We continue to recognise that a lot of pastoral care takes place naturally within our communities, but this team is for dedicated pastoral care needs which might be sought from the church. We will be meeting to discuss other ways in which the role of the pastoral care team might continue to develop in the future, and hope to offer training for new people to join the team as well. Revd Jonathan Philpott 9
Bybrook Blokes Report Bybrook Blokes had a bit of a break in 2015, but plans are now developing for the coming 12 months. Although mainly we will be meeting in the pub for a catch up and chat, there will be a couple of specials including a quiz later in the year. Details can be found on the Bybrook website (see our groups for information). Revd Jonathan Philpott Bybrook Refugee Crisis Support Network Like many of us, I have been struggling to know how to respond to the daily news reports about refugees who are desperate to find a place of safety for themselves and their families away from the terror and destruction of their homelands. I have received a number of emails and phone calls from members of the local communities asking what we can do to help, and so we held an open meeting and prayer vigil at St Margaret s Church, Yatton Keynell on Thursday 24 th September to pray and discuss the options that were available to us. We talked about the importance of a co-ordinated response linking in with the local authority and also with organisations that will be working both locally and overseas providing much needed care and support for refugees. In response, we have set up the Bybrook Refugee Crisis Support Network, and invited the wider local communities across Bybrook to be involved if they would like to be. So far, we have had nearly 40 families and individuals sign up, and the responses keep coming. We have now made contact with Wiltshire Council s fostering and adoption team, and also the Voluntary and Community Sector team who are helping to lead the Council s response to the Refugee crisis, and they would like to work with us and the wider churches so that we can provide a positive and meaningful support to those who are expected to arrive in the county in the future. There are plans for a further evening with representatives of Wiltshire Council to look at opportunities that we have to work with and support them in their ongoing work with the refugees, and again more information will be made available on our website. Revd Jonathan Philpott 10
Safeguarding Report Safeguarding Officers Mary In der Rieden is currently the sole safeguarding officer whose role is to advise and assist the PCCs with their safeguarding responsibilities in relation to children and vulnerable adults. Mary can be contacted on 01249 715 269 or 07712 085 295 and is available to deal with any safeguarding concerns or queries. Safeguarding Policy The new Safeguarding Policy that was adopted by all PCCs in the Benefice in 2015 was recently subject to an annual review. This led to some minor changes being proposed. Once each PCC has resolved to adopt those changes, the revised Safeguarding Policy will be implemented in each Parish. The Policy sets out the safeguarding commitments of each PCC and includes guidelines for safer recruitment, a policy on the fair recruitment of ex-offenders and guidelines for the handling of disclosure information. The new Safeguarding Policy can be obtained from the PCCs, the Safeguarding Officers or the Benefice Office. Safeguarding Information A guide to safeguarding has been prepared which includes (i) an overview of safeguarding, (ii) a list of the roles and responsibilities for safeguarding within our Benefice, (iii) guidance on how to respond to a safeguarding concern, (iv) guidelines for those working with children and vulnerable adults and (v) a list of emergency numbers. A copy of the guide has been provided to all volunteers in the Benefice who work with children and/or vulnerable adults and a copy is available from the Safeguarding Officer. Criminal Record Checks Certain staff and volunteers throughout the Benefice are required to have a criminal record check in light of the role they undertake. The check is now undertaken by an online provider and is known as a Disclosure and Barring Service ( DBS ) check. DBS checks have been completed for all those working within the Benefice who require them. A process of repeating the DBS check every five years is on-going. Training The Diocese of Bristol provides a comprehensive safeguarding training programme for staff and volunteers working in churches and church activities. This includes a basic level safeguarding course which all staff and volunteers are requested to undertake and which can be completed online. In addition to this, all staff and volunteers who work with children or vulnerable adults must complete Foundation Safeguarding training which is a face-to-face training course. 11
Furthermore, any staff or volunteers who work in a supervisory capacity with children and/or vulnerable adults, as well as all Church Wardens, are required to complete Leadership Safeguarding Training. Training for the Ministry team is arranged by the Diocese but training for all other staff and volunteers is arranged by the PCCs with the assistance of the Safeguarding Officer. The online safeguarding course has now been completed by a number of volunteers in the Benefice. In addition, two Foundation Safeguarding training sessions have taken place in the Benefice both of which were very well attended by volunteers. The Safeguarding Officer, together with the PCCs, will review what further training is required and how best to arrange it. Risk Assessments Each activity provided by our churches should be risk assessed on an on-going basis. A team leader in respect of each such activity has been appointed. The team leader of each children s activity, together with the Safeguarding Officer, has undertaken a risk assessment of that activity. Any actions that were identified, as a result of those assessments, have been implemented. The Safeguarding Officer is in the process of arranging risk assessments for those activities which potentially involve vulnerable adults (e.g. home communion/ cafe churches). Safe and Welcome The Bristol Diocese has introduced an award scheme called Safe and Welcome. It relates to safeguarding and youth activities, as well as the accessibility of churches. As the scheme also covers accessibility issues, it goes beyond pure safeguarding, but the two can go hand in hand. When certain milestones are met, a church will be awarded bronze, silver or gold Safe and Welcome awards. The scheme replaces one called Child Friendly Churches. The scheme provides useful targets to aim for in a structured fashion and, by accessing the scheme, additional assistance and resources are available to the PCCs and Safeguarding Officers. Churches within the Bybrook Team Ministry are encouraged to join the Safe and Welcome scheme. Action Plan It is intended that the following actions will be taken over the next twelve months: DBS checks to be undertaken and repeated as necessary; training to be made available to all those who are required to undertake it; minimum level training to be completed by all PCC members, safeguarding officers and Ministry team members; minimum level training to be made available to all volunteers to whom it is applicable; formal risk assessments of activities that may involve vulnerable adults to be completed; and risk assessments already completed to be reviewed annually. 12
Assistance Required In order to implement the action plan outlined above the Safeguarding Officer will need the assistance of church staff and volunteers as well as the wider congregation. Those who require DBS checks will need to work with the Safeguarding Officers to complete the necessary process. Everyone who works within our Churches needs to complete a certain level of safeguarding training. The PCCs, with the assistance of Safeguarding Officer, will make the training courses available and individuals are asked to complete that training at the earliest opportunity. Furthermore, every member of the congregation and wider-community is reminded to report any safeguarding incidents or concerns to the Safeguarding Officer (or a member of the Ministry Team who will contact them on your behalf), no matter how small the concern. If anyone has any safeguarding queries, or requires further information, they are welcome to contact our Safeguarding Officer, Mary In der Rieden, at any time. Mary In der Rieden 13