We have enjoyed our new roles as leaders within the Benefice and have worked hard to develop our worship, our children and families work and to bring the two churches closer together. We want as many people as possible to feel appreciated and to grow their own gifts in God s service. As a Benefice we can be proud of the things we have achieved this year and the way in which we have grown as a family and as disciples of Christ. The way in which we serve one another, and the community, is based on our desire to share the love of Christ with others. We want to continue growing in this way and are looking forward to the plans we have to work more closely together in the coming year. Rev d Gill, Rev d Ann, Louisa, Graham & Matthew Message from Ministry & Leadership Team
Worship & Faith As a Christian community one of the ways we grow together is to worship. In worship we ask for forgiveness from God and one another, hear God s word, sing his praise, pray for the world and take Holy Communion. Worship is about fellowship, and because we are different, so we have different ways in which we worship. We use the Book of Common Prayer in two of our services, as there are those that love the language. Our main services on Sunday use Common Worship, which uses more modern language, but still takes its structure from the older book. One thing we all agree about and that is everyone is welcome to any service, of any age or background. Our aim is to be inclusive and welcoming and this year we have held some special services which we hope have achieved this aim. Our Taize services have taken place at Holy Trinity once every two months and have been very well attended. They offer a space for contemplation and quiet and the church looks beautiful as it is lit by candles. The Church Street Band continues to play at three out of four Sunday services at St George s and have been joined by new members this year, both instrumentalists and singers. This year they played outside the Agora, at the Good Friday service which we hold each year with other churches in Wolverton. The band were a great success and will be playing again this year. At Holy Trinity, Occasional Anthem have been singing for us at Communion Services and on special festivals. On St George s Day they sang a special anthem composed for the occasion by Robert Page, our organist and Mick Gowar our band-leader.
Worship & Faith Developing Faith C h u r c h e s T o g e t h e r In Wolverton we work well together. On Shrove Tuesday, over seventy people from different churches met for a fish and chip supper at West End Church, and then on Good Friday we held our joint Walk of Witness, walking from Holy Trinity to the Agora. Well over one hundred people attended the outdoor service before going to St George s for soup and hot cross buns. We also came together on Remembrance Sunday to lead the service in the square in remembrance of those who have died in war. Our Benefice also worked with New Life church to present Easter and Christmas Cracked to all the Year 6 pupils of our local primary schools. We presented the good news and the message of Easter and Christmas in a fun and active way. This year we presented to over two hundred children. At both our churches we support each other as we grow in our faith and discipleship. Last year we met for a Lent course on the theme of Atonement. This can be a difficult concept, but we looked at atonement as the work of reconciliation - reconciling ourselves to God and to others. In Advent we used Bishop Steven s (Bishop of Oxford) book on the Beatitudes and discussed how me might become more contemplative, compassionate and courageous. This was an animated and thoughtful discussion and we will continue to think about what this means for us as a benefice in the coming months.
Supporting the local community Children s Time This year has seen a significant increase of families joining us on a Tuesday afternoon after school for bible-based stories, craft and games. We have explored many bible stories together whilst parents and carers enjoy a cuppa and a chat. At the end of every term, we all enjoy a meal together, usually of pizza and salad. On three Sundays a month during term time, both churches have run Kids Zone where children of all ages come to learn about specific bible passages, key people in the bible, focusing on what it means to be a Christian. This is also an opportunity for children to explore and develop their own faith and to share that with their church family and peers. We have had a growing number of families join us this past year and have started to bring both church families together for specific services in the church calendar and family events. Food Bank Throughout 2017, 641 Food Parcels were handed out to families and individuals. Night Shelter Community Breakfasts On a Saturday morning 52 weeks a year we provide a full cooked breakfast to anyone in the wider community in need. Last year we served 2000 + breakfasts! A team of dedicated volunteers from our congregation and the wider community run night shelter in St George s from November to March. Every Friday night 15 homeless men and women join us for an evening meal, sleep in the church and stay for breakfast.
Supporting charities and good causes Urb Farm During 2017, we a made a donation to the Urb Farm who help young people and individuals gain functional skills and vocational qualifications. Growing seasonal produce and then selling to the local community, they learn all aspects of market gardening. Old School House Project We also made a donation to Future Wolverton and Slated Row School to support their aspirations to make the Old School House a community meeting place for local people.
Children & Family Events Last Christmas, the congregation from both churches were overjoyed to share the message of Christmas watching the children from Sunday Time and Kids Zone perform a Nativity at Holy Trinity Church. The children and their families loved spending the day together, sharing lunch, having fun practicing the play and working on a piece of art for our Christmas display. This year our benefice held its first Children s Eucharist at Holy Trinity Church. The congregation from both churches met as one, as our Sunday Time/Kid Zone and Tuesday Time Children led the Eucharist service. The children showed great respect and understanding of the significance and importance of the service, as they handed out the holy sacrament. The service was very moving for many members of the congregation, so much so that we have been asked to do it again. St George s Church was packed out again for our annual Christingle service. Over 200 Christingle oranges were distributed and lit, filling the church in beautiful candle light as we all came together to sing Away in a Manger. It was lovely to see our church families, members of the community and our Tuesday Time and Sunday Time/Kids zone children, who performed a dramatized Nativity reading, come together. At Holy Trinity in April last year we held a Teddy Bears Picnic. The event was open to everyone and we had a good mix of families from church, Tuesday Time and the community. We all enjoyed playing games on the lawn, craft and catching our Teddy Bears as they parachuted off the top of the Bell Tower. We plan to make this an annual event and hope that in the future more families will join us, for fun at church. This year we held our usual popular events, Quiz Nights, Star Party and August Tea@3 at Holy Trinity, and our Monthly Coffee Morning, Summer Open Day and Christmas Fair at St George's. This year we also hosted an extremely successful production of Godspell at St George's for three nights in Holy Week and concerts by MK Chorale, Wolverton Town Band and a screening by Vagabond Cinema.
Buildings, Grounds & Finances Church Buildings Holy Trinity is the original parish church of the Saxon settlement of Wolverton. The original medieval building was replaced by a new church in 1815 but incorporates the 14th century central tower of the old church. St George the Martyr is the world s first railway town church, built in 1843 by the London and Birmingham Railway Company to provide a place of worship for the inhabitants of the new company town. Our Churches are beautiful historic buildings that we must be maintain and preserve for future generations. During 2017 Holy Trinity replaced their sound system and had a new carpet laid. At St Georges, planning started for the refurbishment of the toilets. Finance Both Churches had a steady year of financial performance meeting running cost commitments and paying the Parish Share in full. The following summarises the transactions for the year:- We are very grateful to the church family and local community for generously supporting the churches over the past year. In particular, a big thank you to the local organisations who support our work in the community; 3CHA Ltd for their generous donation of 2500 to the Winter Night Shelter along with gifts from St Mary & St Giles and individuals within our benefice. Grounds We are very proud of our beautiful churchyard at Holy Trinity which is still open for burials and the internment of ashes. The churchyard at Holy Trinity is a large and diverse one which provides many challenges and opportunities. It consists of grassland, a small wood, important protected trees, hedgerows and many interesting historic memorials. Many people experience it as they walk through it out to the Ouse Valley Park, sit on its benches for a few quiet moments, visit graves or attend services. We want the churchyard to contribute to our mission of being a Place of Prayer, Peace and Fellowship. We are trying to balance a number of needs as we provide a suitable context for all church activities, a place which enables people to engage with the natural world and is a haven for wildlife. Several events in 2017 show the Plan in action - Teddy Bears met in the Churchyard for the first time, we completed the redressing of the paths and we made hay from the grass in the summer meadow. This hay was greatly appreciated by the alpacas next door and to show their appreciation, they came to our Tea @3 in August. In 2018 we are developing a regular maintenance group of church members and other members of the community to work in the churchyard. If you would like to contribute your time, skills and energy to this task you would be very welcome.