by Phil Andrews
A large turnout of members, by our modest standards, meant that our 2023 Annual Church Meeting could not only proceed but could enjoy the input of an impressive range of contributors. Serving officers were returned to the posts that they had filled for the duration of the previous year, although it was good to welcome Elizabeth Crewes, already the Church Treasurer, to the diaconate, joining Trisha Lumm, the Revd. Antony Ball and myself among the ranks of that august body.
We noted a slight improvement upon the previous year in the attendance at our annual Carols by Candlelight service in December, but our Christmas Day morning service reverted somewhat to the anticipated gathering of the faithful few. Leaks around the Church building gave us some cause for concern, but with equal concern having been expressed over the state of our finances our policy was to watch and keep check as opposed to rushing to spend.
For the first three months of the New Year we experimented with Church Meetings held after Sunday morning services rather than the traditional Wednesday evening. Attendances were not noticeably better, although it did enable some to come along who were usually unable to make evenings in the midweek. Once the lighter nights began to kick in, in April, we reverted to our more usual practice.
Certificate of Compliance
Before that, in March, the plethora of services which take place around the Easter period were maintained, with attendance and input from the usuals. A visit from the Safeguarding Officer of the Congregational Federation resulted in some minor items of general housekeeping, following which we were awarded our certificate of compliance, which is now proudly displayed at various strategic locations around the Church building.
A special meeting held on a Saturday in April, to which we welcomed a surprising array of friends and well-wishers including past attendees of the Church and a representation from our friends at Hosanna, considered an equally surprising array of suggestions for introducing new initiatives and activities in an attempt to cultivate more outside interest in our work. A new community newsletter, funded entirely by donations and delivered to 1,000 local households by volunteers, was announced and the fourth issue is currently heading to the printers as I write. A plant sale was mooted, which took place in June and raised funds for the Church, as has a bric-a-brac stall which has operated from the Church hall. This said, it is essential that we periodically revisit some of the ideas which arose from the Brainstorming Meeting, as it came to be called, to ensure that at least some of the excellent ideas which emerged can be lifted beyond the eternal wishlist.
Communion Offertory
One old practice which has been reintroduced has been the Communion offertory, which had fallen by the wayside in recent years although nobody really knew why. In June a couple of very generous donations delivered a welcome boost to the Church’s ailing funds.
A second extra-curricular meeting was held in July, after a morning service, to discuss the future of our evening services. It was noted that they remained poorly attended, attracting just a handful of “old faithfuls” who were all regulars at morning service anyway. Visiting preachers had been difficult to find as it was embarrassing to ask them to preach to such a modest congregation (modest in size, that is, rather than necessarily in disposition). Few other churches in the area, if any, still held a Sunday evening service. It was felt that we as a church might instead wish to explore other possibilities for attracting people in, possibly through introducing some midweek activities. One suggestion was that we should maybe retain the evening Communion service at the beginning of the month, as well as of course our annual Maundy Thursday and Carols by Candlelight events, but dispense with the others. At the time of the meeting this was placed on the “back burner” for further consideration, but later in the year fate intervened to compel us to implement these suggested changes – albeit to be revisited after winter – when Antony, our most regular and dependable evening preacher, sadly became ill and had to step back. We keep him warmly in our thoughts and prayers.
New Hall Hires
Church Meeting in September was thankfully quorate after a couple of failed attempts in the preceding months. We were pleased to learn of hall hires by two local Christian groups, one of them comprising entirely young people. Apart from creating one or two occasional logistical difficulties this brought in some welcome funds, as well as providing valuable outreach to others in the community.
Another quorate meeting in October saw the welcome return of Jemima Ocran, just in time for her to kindly agree to lay the wreath on our behalf once again at the upcoming Remembrance Day parade in November. The Annual Church Meeting, due to take place later in November, was announced as a reminder to those present to make every effort to attend.
As we near the end of our Church year and the arrival of Advent we give thanks for our activity and fellowship throughout the year that has passed, for the new ideas which were generated and in one or two cases already put into practice, and for our continued function as a church. We look forward to our Carols by Candlelight and Christmas Day services, and to a New Year which we hope will take us on to greater things.