Our September Church Meeting was thankfully quorate, and we were very pleased to welcome Antony back amongst our number after his recent hospital stays. We had a number of issues to update members on and a few changes, initiated by the deacons due to their urgency, for ratification or reversal.
Probably the most important among these was the immediate future of our evening service. At a recent gathering members of the congregation had discussed the possible termination of the Sunday evening service in the light of the fact that it tends to attract only the same few people, all of whom attend in the mornings anyway, and organising preachers was becoming increasingly difficult. As fate had it, with Antony becoming unwell the lack of preachers became the defining issue and the deacons were forced to discontinue evening services (other than Communion services) with immediate effect. Church Meeting ratified this decision, with the caveat that it would be reviewed after the coming winter. Wednesday evening Bible Studies would also be suspended, at least for the time being.
We are however looking at some ideas for opening the Church, possibly during the week, for possible community-facing events. Hopefully there will be more to report on this anon.
The meeting heard that we had two Christian groups now regularly hiring the premises, as well as our long-term guests from Hosanna, and this news was welcome. It did however present a slight logistical problem when requested dates coincided with our own activities, and some negotiation with applicants was called for.
Other matters under discussion included the possible use of the once-again active Communion Fund for charitable giving, and a few observations regarding the fabric of the Church building.
Going forward we are thankful that in spite of its difficulties the Church continues to function relatively well, and with the help and support of our members, and members of the congregation, we continue to manage our core activities while even contemplating fresh ideas and initiatives for the future.