Aim: To communicate the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ to the community and to nurture the people of God within the local congregation and the wider church.

The Council is required, as stated in the Parochial Church Councils (Powers) Measure 1956, to co-operate with the minister in promoting in the parish the whole mission of the Church, pastoral, evangelistic, social and ecumenical.

The Church Council is currently made up of the following people:

Ministers: Simon Howard and Nick Thompson

Stewards: Tony Bonnett, Margaret Stephens, Joyce Louth, David Ramsden, Pat Thomas, Charlie Croal, John Louth, Karen Bartleet and Andrew Curnow.

Church representatives: Michael Newport, Mike Bushnell and Ian Brickell

Treasurer: Richard Munday

Senior Steward/Churchwarden: John Brimicombe

Church Secretary/Churchwarden: Kay Slack

Property Administrator: Steve Edwards

Deanery Synod Representative: Virginia Thorne

Chair: Phil Hooper

Minute Secretary: Helen Dyson

The following people were on Church Council but have left during the course of the year:

Graham Looker (church representative), Richard Cocks, Ron Devine, Graham Pettipher and Joan Slater (stewards).

Church Council normally meets on the months when there is no Church Meeting. However, to mark the start of the new millennium, it was decided at Church Meeting that there would be no business meetings during Lent 2000. This meant quite a long break from Church Council meetings, between one in February and one in May. This worked so well in practice that members of Church Council have decided not to meet in Lent in 2001, although an extra meeting in April, after Easter, is planned.

The main subjects discussed over the last year were as follows:

Approval of annual reports, Healing Weekend, pastoral review, report from Property Committee, stewardship campaign, Circuit consultation on ministerial resources, proposed changes to parish boundaries, safety audit and photo board.

New sound system, report from Education and Nurture Group, Diocesan Evangelisation Strategy, new hymn books, new service books, church seating, healing ministry, stewardship campaign, Nick’s exchange and cleaning the church carpet.

Sound system, hymn books, reports from Staffing Committee and Contact Centre, recommendations from CTB quinquennial review, outreach, healing ministry, stewardship campaign, changes to Gift Aid and church security.

Report from Missions Committee, role of stewards and elders, Oxford Diocesan Convention 2002, approval of Methodist Schedules A and B, outreach and financial update.

Report from Worship Committee, review of "Safe from Harm" policy for working with children, Christmas leaflets, pastoral re-organisation, CTEER schools work, healing ministry and road signs.

Report from Education and Nurture Group, major discussion on building matters, AGM agenda, Methodist Connexional donation, Simon’s ministerial review and operation of the OHP during services.

In addition, there was the annual Church Council Away Day. This took place on Saturday 20 May 2000 at the Christchurch Centre, Henley. This is a lovely new church centre, very well kitted out. The away day is always an opportunity for Church Council members to "get away from it all" and to get to know each other a little better. The programme included opening worship, a bible study (focussed on evangelisation) and holy communion, as well as a first look at the Churches Together in Berkshire quinquennial review report. There was also a "free period" after lunch, when many of us had a pleasant stroll by the river and wished we had time to take a boat out for a row.

I am grateful to all the members of Church Council for their work over the past year. Thanks especially to Phil Hooper, for his expert chairing of the meetings and to Helen Dyson for taking the minutes.

As I finish my time as Church Secretary, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the people who have helped me in the job over the past 6 years. I would especially like to thank the senior stewards during my time, namely Richard Cocks, Margaret Stephens and John Brimicombe and also the treasurers, namely Nigel Gough and Richard Munday, for their support and friendship. Many thanks too to the ministers during that time, Neil Davies, Terry Hinks, Simon Howard and Nick Thompson, without whose help and support I could not have managed.

Kay Slack

Church Secretary / Churchwarden

Trinity currently has 248 members on its roll. The URC annual return form now requires us to indicate the number of male and female members and it is interesting to note that some 65% of members are female.

During the year to 1 February 2001, we lost 7 members, all of whom moved for personal reasons.

In the same period we gained 12 new members. They are Stephanie Stow, Alan Minns, Sylvia Hall, John Nicole, Maree Nicole, Philip Slack, Ann Memmott, David Howard, Anna Cocks, Anne Pipe, Ann-Kristin Berendsen, and Claire Brickell. The last 7 of these were also confirmed during the year. Two of the new members transferred membership from other churches.

Sue Brickell

Membership Secretary

At the present time, there are seven members of the finance committee:

Richard Munday (Treasurer)

Catherine Edwards (Assistant Treasurer)

Alison Travers (Assistant Treasurer)

John Medcraft (Covenant Secretary)

David Dongray (Envelope Secretary)

Nigel Holloway

Tony Bonnett

In addition, we welcome Nick Thompson to the committee meetings. Catherine replaced Margaret Evans during the year and I would like to take this opportunity to thank Margaret and, indeed, all the other members of the committee for their hard work and assistance.

We have continued to meet on a regular quarterly basis over the last year. Many topics have been covered during the meetings, including the following:

The Stewardship Campaign, in particular following up on the responses to the two financial questions

The Hymnbook Appeal (about £2200 was raised to allow Trinity to purchase "Mission Praise")

The new rules about giving under Gift Aid – Declarations, payroll giving etc

The funding of the extension to the manse

Trinity’s financial well-being in general, which appears to be improving gradually as explained below…

 

The accounts for the year ended 31 August showed an overall deficit of about £8100 (after adjusting for approximately £4300 that was received, but not paid out, in connection with the new sound system). However, if the £7100 that was paid out to the Circuit for the manse extension is taken into account, the underlying deficit was only about £1000 (compared to a budgeted loss of £5900, and a £4700 deficit in 1998/9).

This is all encouraging, as is the fact that a significant number of people said that they would like to give more, or give in a tax-efficient way, in their "Trinity 2000" responses. Having said this, we must not lose sight of the fact that our Assessments (the payments that we make to the three denominations) continue to increase (by about £3000 each year), as do our day-to-day expenses.

At the end of the 1999/2000 financial year, the total balances on our four funds amounted to just under £32000 (but this included the £4300 for the sound system which was paid out early in the current financial year).

As always, thank you to all of you who contribute to the church funds.

Richard Munday

Treasurer

The property committee has responsibility for the church buildings, equipment and the manse. The committee comprises:

Stephen Edwards Property Administrator

Stefan Sidorowicz Buildings Supervisor

David Rains Equipment Supervisor

Alan Langdon Manse Steward

Ruth Bainton Church Users’ Representative

Jane Thompson Cleaning Co-ordinator

Trevor Orton Reprographics Supervisor

Simon Howard and Tony Bonnett are also on the committee in their Church Council rôles.

During the year, we have had a number of petty acts of vandalism, resulting in a few broken panes of glass, the sign on the north wall being removed and some graffiti. In addition, our sound equipment was stolen. Security has been reviewed, and some new measures taken.

The Quinquennial Report of Churches Together in Berkshire raised a number of issues relating to the property. The committee reviewed these, and the Church Council is discussing potential solutions.

During the year, the ladies’ toilet and the north entrance lobby have been redecorated. The work of all those who clean and maintain the church premises is greatly appreciated by the committee.

As a result of the theft of the sound equipment, and with the aid of a generous donation, new sound equipment has been installed which should enhance the worship in church.

The lounge, dining room and study of the manse were extended during the year. Remedial action is shortly to be taken to alleviate the flooding of the rear patio, which occurs after rainfall.

Stephen Edwards

Property Administrator

The Missions Committee has 7 members and meets 6 - 7 times a year. The committee tries to support various charities/causes throughout the year, bringing to the notice of the church pressing problems at home and overseas.

Every month, there is a Traidcraft stall, which enables church members to support fair trade with poorer countries around the world. We continued to support the Jubilee 2000 campaign, which came to an end in its current form in December 2000. The church continues to support the work of the Kagando Rural Development Centre in Uganda and closer to home the Reading Drop In Centre for the homeless. We have again hosted a tea for approx 80 overseas students at the start of their university year and supported the annual Christian Aid House to House appeal.

Our Easter appeal raised £276.56 for Christian Aid’s Ethiopia Appeal and a further £446.44 was raised from retiring collections for the Mozambique flood appeal. The July appeal again supported the work of NCH Action for Children. At Harvest, as a change from previous years, we specifically requested sanitary items to be passed on to Children’s Aid Direct, fresh food again went to The Chalet and tinned food to the Drop In Centre. We again supported the C R O W sponsored bike ride. Our Autumn Fayre proceeds were donated to Children’s Aid Direct, which totalled nearly £900.00. During Advent, we collected money for the United Nations Jar of Grace appeal, to support children living on the streets. The Christingle service again supported the work of the Children’s Society and at Christmas we donated the Christmas service collections to St Paul’s Anglican Church, Molepolole, Botswana, where John Goddard worships. They have established a day care centre for the orphans of HIV/Aids victims.

A big "thank you" to everyone who has supported us. If anyone would like to join us or has any ideas, please contact me or a member of the committee.

Oliver Dyson

Chair, Missions Committee

Traidcraft has justifiably been claiming great success recently in helping to make fair trade more widely understood, and moving it into the supermarkets. Now you can buy several of our ‘lines’ in Waitrose. (We think Asda’s a little way behind but tell us if we’re wrong!) Maybe that’s one reason our sales dropped again last year.

The monthly stall, plus sales at the Autumn Fayre and a few individual orders, totalled about £1,400 (compared with £1,700 in 1999). But with Pam Thompson now joining us most months, to sell crafts and paper goods, the total of sales between us was about £1,850. And Pam’s stalls at many other events during the year sold another £5,800 worth of fairly traded goods!

Many people don’t see our monthly (4^th Sunday, 11am) stall, so we want to make it easier for them to buy fairly traded goods. We have put some order forms, with copies of the latest catalogue, on the table in the church hall. Please borrow a catalogue and put your order in our pigeon-hole.

Finally, on behalf of the communities producing for Traidcraft, a big ‘thank you’ to all our customers.

Margaret and Richard Cocks

Worship at Trinity is a fundamental part of what we as a church are able to offer to both our members and those who might be drawn to us from time to time. Worship provides not only an expression of faith but is one way in which we can grow in terms of spirituality and faith and meet with others who will encourage us in our Christian journey.

The committee is made up of a number of members, each having a different perspective on our worship, in terms of the content of the various services, musical variety, provision of readings and other material. Our ministers who feed and nourish us through the various forms of worship that Trinity provides are also on the committee.

The committee has discussed the various services that Trinity provides, with particular focus on Christmas and Easter, when we experience an opportunity to welcome those who are infrequent attendees at church. We have been greatly encouraged by the growth in numbers, especially at the children’s services before Christmas. We are also pleased to see real interest from the uniformed organisations at the parade services and, despite some friction, this is seen as a way of showing God’s love to young people, some of whom only attend at these services.

The committee is also very pleased with the new hymn book – clearly the choice has broadened the music and songs available to us and in general the musicians, although feeling that some of the music has been simplified, feel that it gives new opportunities for ‘praise and worship’. The continued use of the third Sunday in the evening for ‘something different’ is an important strand to worship, as is the leading of services by members of the congregation.

We were obviously concerned at the loss of the amplification system – thanks to Peter Whiteman and family for the loan of their own equipment on many occasions – but the new system is a vast improvement, so perhaps the initial loss, although inconvenient, was not as tragic as at first thought!

Perhaps the biggest advance during the year has been the development of the ‘Healing Ministry’ and its affect on what has happened to family worship (10:00) services. We have now held two 10:00 services at which prayer was made available during and after communion and it has been very gratifying to see that there is a real need for what we are providing. Clearly there is further ‘fine tuning’ required, but it is intended that Trinity offer prayer at a number of services, both morning and evening. We will also hold one 10:00 service for ‘all ages’, allowing young people to benefit from both the experience – and it is an experience - as well as an opportunity for themselves.

The quinquennial team was complimentary about all the services that they attended, including the ‘Time and Space’ – unfortunately it was decided to discontinue this midweek service, as it did not continue to attract sufficient numbers to make it viable.

Oh yes – I have not forgotten it – the changes to the way in which the church was laid out during the year did cause a lot of debate – but sometimes we need to be challenged not only in our own lives but in our worship at Trinity! No doubt we might try something else new during the coming year – if you have any suggestions we are always happy to hear them.

A big thank you to all those who serve on the Worship Committee – we look forward to another year in which worship will remain an important part of life for Trinity Church. No doubt we will explore new and exciting ways in which we can enrich worship in the context of healing and outreach.

John Brimicombe

Senior Steward / Churchwarden

The leadership team comprises the two ministers, church secretary, senior steward and treasurer. This small team meets on a regular basis to discuss key issues that affect Trinity and the team also offers support and guidance to each other and their families. We said farewell to Margaret Stephens at the start of the year – thank you Margaret for all your work and the smooth transition to myself.

A meeting will comprise an informal chat to start with, before asking each member for their current concerns and issues that affect them or the life of Trinity Church. The last year has been one in which much has happened – the Stewardship Campaign has opened our eyes to new talents and opportunities both within the Church and also for outreach into the wider community. Wholesale changes to the way in which pastoral care is offered have not been without difficulty – but the leadership team have discussed and supported each other during this time of change. The growth of the Healing Ministry and its affect on the church has also been a topic discussed and we are encouraged by the way in which the healing forum has developed over the past year.

Other topics have included where Trinity is heading as we enter the real new millennium. We pray for guidance when seeking new talent to help in the many jobs that Trinity has to offer, as well as helping us find the right solutions to seemingly impossible situations.

I would like to thank those on the leadership team for their dedication and service to Christ through their work in Trinity and the wider community. Thanks are due to their families for helping the team during the year. I would encourage all of the church to pray for their leadership team and ask that they will be guided for the good of Jesus and all his people in Trinity Church, Lower Earley and the wider world.

John Brimicombe

Senior Steward/Churchwarden

Team: Nick Thompson, Nina Mead, Jill Duncan, Margaret Evans, John Louth, Joyce Louth and Bridget Howard.

Meetings were held during 2000 to set up the following activities:

Lent course: led by Simon and Nick, using different approaches to prayer. This was well attended with between 20 and 30 people each week over 5 weeks.

Kaleidoscope course: led by Nina Mead. This was a 10 week basic training course for those teaching children and 12 people attended (11 from Trinity).

Summer Fellowship: This was part of the Thursday fellowship group activity. A variety of leaders, using the Book of Proverbs and following the "Seven Pillars of Wisdom". Each week, a new heading enabling people to attend those that were of interest or fitted around lifestyle (eg family holidays). About 9 people attended each one.

Weekend Retreats:

"The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" looked at the Narnia stories and how these relate to Christianity.

Healing Weekend (1-3 December) on "His Journey – My Journey", led by Rev Ray Jones.

Both retreats attracted 9 people each, with request for further activities. Karen Bartleet is researching a new venue for 2001, as Clewer has now closed.

"Journeying Together": a 4 week course on prayer ministry, attended by Jill Duncan and Joyce Louth in September 2000. Further courses to be available in March 2001.

Alpha "A Life Worth Living" course: 8 attended in the summer and 18 attended in the autumn.

Youth Alpha: 24 attended two groups - up to 15 on a Wednesday and 15 upwards on a Thursday.

A group of 16 people from Trinity are going to Spring Harvest at Minehead after Easter. The theme is the Sermon on the Mount. This has been organised by Bridget Howard.

John Louth

The magazine is now fully in the 21^st century, as it is all printed on computer. Pictures and printed notices are scanned in, so that everything that is in the magazine can go on our website. The number of pages is kept at a maximum of 32, to save on printing costs, though this is extended to 48 for the double issues in December/January and July/August. We have had a lot of "heavy" material submitted lately. Please can I put in a plea for more "light-hearted" material to provide a balance and show non-churchgoers that Trinity is a cheerful place.

Virginia Thorne

Magazine Editor

During the past year, the members of the Trinity Staffing Committee have been:

Trinity ministers:

Rev Simon Howard, Rev Nick Thompson

Trinity Church Secretary:

Kay Slack (Chair)

Trinity Senior Steward:

John Brimicombe

Trinity Church members:

Jill Ramsden, Virginia Thorne

Ecumenical Officers:

Prof Roger Mead (representing URC Ecumenical Officer and - later on -CTB Ecumenical Officer)

Rev Audrey Simpson (Methodist Ecumenical Officer) (now left)

Rev Philip Abrey (Churches Together in Berkshire Ecumenical Officer) (now left),

Rev Vivien Brooks (Anglican Ecumenical Officer)

Methodist Circuit steward:

Ray Chalk

There is not much to report, as the Staffing Committee did not meet during 2000. We usually only meet once a year, when there is no ministerial appointment to be made. However, the meeting planned for October 2000 had to be cancelled, as so few people could manage the date. That meeting has been rescheduled for Saturday 10 February 2001. The main item of business will be Simon Howard’s 5 year ministerial review, as he has now been in post for about 4½ years. Although there have been no meetings, I have been kept busy preparing all the documentation for the employment of our ministers’ secretary, so as to gain the approval of the Methodist District Lay Employment Sub Committee.

Kay Slack

Chair, Staffing Committee

Crèche and Junior Church meet during the second half of the 10am Sunday service. There are 95 names on the registers and about 50-60 children attend each week. There are 39 teachers and helpers. We need another teacher for the 7-10 group and two for the 10-13 group.

This autumn there was a "Kaleidoscope" course, run by Nina Mead, and attended by 12 people. This was an in depth training course with many guest speakers. It was found to be very useful and we would like to continue training regularly by introducing it into the staff meetings, which are held 3 - 4 times a year.

During the last year, we have started using the Scripture Union teaching material "Salt". It seems to be more lively and relevant to the age groups it is meant for than the old material and will hopefully make lesson preparation easier.

We have a child protection policy, which is currently being updated.

The Christmas parties have just been held. The 33 of the younger children had a great time in the afternoon, with games and party food, and 24 of the older ones enjoyed a disco in the evening by Peter Whiteman.

Margaret Cocks

Sunday School Superintendent

This ran on the Tuesday to Friday afternoons of the last week of the summer holidays. It was called "Going for Gold" and had an Olympic theme, based on the life of Paul. There were 12 adults and 8 young people running the afternoons; it was fun working as a team and the young people played an essential part in it all. The event was advertised within the church and library and also letters were sent to each child in 2 local primary schools. 39/40 children attended each day, the maximum number allowed was 40, so we were full.

The children had many different activities. There was a video each day telling the story of Paul, games, music, special snacks, and crafts. They ranged from flag making to T-shirt decorating, to making photo frames (each had a photo portrait taken for this), to making papier mâché trousers.

Parents were charged £8 for the first child and £6 for subsequent children, for the week. The income was £300, and expenditure £284.

It was a huge amount of work and many people were very generous with their time, we also enjoyed doing it.

Margaret Cocks

Since our last annual report, Pilots have continued to meet once a week on Mondays between 6.00pm and 7.30pm during term time with myself, Elaine Munday, Jo Allum and Ian Davidson organising the evenings. Elaine and Jo have joined us in the last year and have provided a valuable input into the leadership of Pilots. Both Elaine and myself attended the Kaleidoscope course held at Trinity, which has given us a lot of good ideas and clarified the regulations which we are required to meet. At the moment, we have 19 Pilots aged between 5 and 14, mostly boys, with the largest age group being between 5 and 6 years old.

The programme has continued with the mixture of drama, games, cooking, craft and other activities with a Christian theme. We spent a few weeks learning about how Pilots started and about the missionary boats, "The John Williams". Our last meeting of the summer term was the usual barbecue and games evening in the Brannellys’ garden – many thanks for the hospitality. Some of us attended the Wessex Province Pilot Camp in Ryde on the Isle of Wight in the summer, which is organised for Pilots over the age of 9. The camp was led by two of our ex-Pilots, Emma Brannelly and Sarah Keeley. Lynda Brannelly and myself were cooks for the week. It was a great success and we were particularly lucky with the weather. We made new friends within the Province and renewed old friendships from previous camps and rallies.

Our young leaders (AO’s) are Laura Brannelly, Gemma Whiteman and Gemma Keeley. Philip Slack and Anna Cocks are now moving into the young leadership role, as public exams are keeping the current AO’s busy. All their help is gratefully appreciated. I would like to thank everyone who has helped, especially Lynda Brannelly for her help with our board, which is always a challenge to us. The Pilots really enjoy creating the displays which go on there. We are looking forward to the National Pilots Day at Cadbury World in June and joining in the URC Church Province Day in July.

We are always pleased to see new members at Pilots and, if anyone would like to come along and help us, please come along on a Monday and see what we do.

Wendy Keeley

Pilot Leader

During the past year, our members have taken part in competitions with other companies in table tennis, badminton, chess, mastermind and football. Each section has its own planned badge work system. This year, we had the added responsibility to raise £200 for The Royal National Lifeboats and are very pleased to report that we were able to give £230 towards the plan to give four lifeboats to the RNLI. This had a good effect on our members, as it gave them a personal interest in the voluntary work carried out by the RNLI. We visited lifeboat stations and were very well received by the society.

Apart from working for badges, members may work for the President’s Badge, Duke of Edinburgh Award and the Queen’s Badge. At present, 3 of our members are working for their President’s Badge, namely Cpl Simon Blandford, John Davies and Christopher Smith. We camped at Bembridge, Isle of Wight this year and it was a most enjoyable camp. We met many other companies, who were also camping at the same time. Our choir is doing well, as also our drama group.

We welcome boys to join us, as follows:

Thursday: Anchor Boys aged 5 to 8 years

Friday: Junior Section aged 8 to 11 years

Thursday: Company and Senior Members aged 11 to 19 years

Les Bainton

Captain, Boys’ Brigade

Trinity Parent and Toddler Group is attended by parents/carers and their children aged 0-5 years. Attractions include tea/coffee and biscuits for parents, squash and biscuits for the children, lots of toys to play with and lively conversation, and all for only 80 pence per family per session.

We meet on Monday and Thursday mornings from 9.45-11.15 am. We admit approximately 20-30 parents each session and numerous more children!!!

This year we have purchased some new toys to add to our varied collection.

As I come towards the end of my third year as Chairman, I hope that the toddler group continues to be the success it is and is enjoyed by all who attend and all those who might join us in the future. My thanks go to all the parents/carers who regularly arrive early to help set up.

Denise Dant

Chairperson, Parent and Toddler Group

Speaker’s Corner was formed when Cornerstone (Trinity) and SPEAK (St Peter’s) joined together. We meet every other Sunday evening (during term time) at St Peter’s Church Hall, 6 - 8.30 pm.

Although most of our 30ish young people (13-18 yr olds) come from either Trinity or St Peter’s families, we also have members from St Luke’s and Our Lady of Peace.

The format of the evening is usually an hour or so social activities and an hour or so exploring various issues, sometimes with guest speakers.

Over the past year we have explored "New Beginnings", "The Real Jesus" and are currently exploring different aspects of the "Biblical Jesus". Other activities have included bowling, laser quest and the Christmas Party (music provided by a band including three of our young people).

As well as the Sunday evening activities, many of the young people have also taken part in Challenge 2000 (where the young people put together all aspects of a service in an afternoon), an all night event exploring the book of Amos, a song writing workshop, Youth Alpha course (including the Holy Spirit "Sleepover") and a sponsored 24hr fast (including an end of fast party!).

Bethan Jones

Speaker’s Corner Leader

The Retired Club is open to all, anyone who is not working and free during weekdays is welcome to join us. Most of our get togethers are held on a Tuesday.

The year 2000 followed our usual pattern, with Spring and Autumn teas. These being afternoons of singing, games, etc, followed by a delicious tea. Numbers of 60 plus attended. The bring and buy stall in April raised £45, which was given to the new hymn book fund.

Our outing in June took an almost full coach to Winchester for a spot of shopping or sightseeing. Quite a number of folk spent a pleasant hour or so on a tour of the cathedral. After lunch, we travelled on to Romsey, where we were met by Terry Hinks, who took us on a walk around Romsey Abbey and then a tour of his church. Ladies from Terry’s church served us a lovely tea in the church hall. Elizabeth was able to join us for tea, it was really lovely to see them both again.

The garden party was held at Simons Lane in July and again the weather was kind to us. 63 members enjoyed the sunshine, the tea and the conversation. The bring and buy stall raised £57.50p.

Christmas Lunch – 49 members enjoyed a lovely meal at "The Wee Waif" at Charvil.

The Scrabble Club continues to meet once a fortnight on Friday mornings in the church hall. Numbers are increasing but there is always space for more!

Kath Bedborough

Our choir meets every Friday, from 8.15pm to 9.15pm. We practise hymns for the 10am and 6pm services. This, of course, is very useful, bearing in mind the practice of hymns from our new music book. We also practise various songs and anthems and, during the year, we sang at least one anthem each month. We were delighted to attend the wedding of Alison Clare and were agreeably surprised when Alison said it was her intention to remain in the choir, although she is now living in Crowthorne. We recently welcomed David Newell to our choir and there is also a warm welcome for others to join us. Last Easter, we sang "The Cross of Christ" and, at Harvest, we picked a new harvest hymn to sing. We reviewed all the Christmas carols during the year – 20 of them, which added much to our practices. A special message of thanks to Graham Iles, who, as ever, is our most friendly accompanist.

Les Bainton

Choirmaster

As one of the team of (eight!) organists at Trinity, I am often approached by officials of other local churches to help out as an organist. It seems that some churches consider themselves musically well-off to have just one organist.

At Trinity, on the contrary, where we are blessed with musical talent, there are so many prepared to give their talents and time to music in worship in Trinity (and elsewhere). Long may it continue.

I receive many positive comments (and, indeed, occasional constructive criticism, which is always welcome) from the congregation and ministers and I gauge that the band is appreciated and remains a positive asset of the church.

Our numbers do fluctuate, with new members joining while others move on (this year we have not lost musicians to university and have actually welcomed back a couple of musicians), although we are of course delighted to welcome our associates if they have the chance to play between terms.

I class our musicians in two categories (a) full band members and (b) associates. This latter category comprises those who contribute occasionally, perhaps in times of need when we are looking a little thin on the ground, or when university holidays permit.

I hope you’ll forgive my maintaining pigeon-holes for the purpose of this report but by this classification we now have twenty one full band members and six associates.

Many of our members play second and third instruments, but here is the distribution of full band members against the instruments with which they are most usually associated:

4 flutes

2 clarinets

1 cornet

1 euphonium

4 violins

2 saxophones

2 bassoons

2 guitars

1 bass guitar

1 percussion

1 keyboard

The ecumenical nature of Trinity is echoed in the wide range of backgrounds, disciplines, ages, etc within the band and we are particularly blessed with the number of younger people who contribute such vitality.

During 2000, the band played for twenty-seven morning and evening services at Trinity, two memorial services at the Duchess of Kent House and as part of the massed-band at the Pentecost 2000 service in the Leisure Centre in June.

May I say another big thank-you to all members, associates, supporters and friends (and especially parents who ferry musicians and instruments to and from Trinity and other venues) past and present who have contributed.

Peter Whiteman

Band Leader

In August this year, Gaynor Davies decided it was time to move on and stepped down as Trinity’s Librarian. I would like to record our thanks for the immense amount of work that Gaynor put into the library, which was her idea originally. Beginning in 1990, she spent a year planning, organising shelves, buying books and setting up, before the library ‘opened’ for use in August 1991. Since then, she has ensured its smooth running, doing an annual stock take, buying and withdrawing books and, when necessary, gently reminding us to return those books we borrowed.

In September I took over the job of Librarian.

Book loans have continued at their usual pace, with about 120 books being borrowed this year. 28 books have been added to stock, 16 of which have been bought and 12 donated and 2 books have been bought for the Junior Library. 19 books have been withdrawn, 9 of these because they were missing.

I have requested suggestions for books to buy and 1 or 2 people have given me a couple, but more would be useful.

The Library database has now been converted from Works to Access, which has taken a while because I didn’t know what I was doing! The next step is to include the children’s books on this database, so that the whole library can be run efficiently – I hope!

Jill Duncan

Librarian

There has been at least one social activity each month, open to all the church, during the past year. These occasions have been well attended and enjoyed, thanks to the hard work of the various organisers.

We advertise events in the church magazine and on the notice board at the back of the church.

During the past year, we have had a safari supper, treasure hunt, Earley Bus outing to Compton Acres, two table tennis and social games evenings, a visit to the Hexagon, a very enjoyable visit to the Dome, a fireworks and faith supper evening, several bridge evenings, a Christmas meal, a monthly walk and a walking holiday. In May, two groups from Trinity and St Peter’s churches visited the passion play in Oberammergau, followed by a week in a small village near Salzburg. There were many requests for a reunion, to swap photos and share dumplings, but this has not yet been arranged – any offers?

An exciting new social activities programme for 2001 is on the notice board near the coffee bar, so please note future events in your new diary.

Pam Medcraft

Social Activities Co-ordinator

This year has seen some profound changes in the way pastoral care has been exercised in Trinity.

Principally, Geraldine Newport resigned as Pastoral Assistant in the autumn of 2000. Geraldine’s resignation was received with regret and the ministers have passed on their personal thanks and appreciation for Geraldine’s work in this rôle. It is good to note that Geraldine is continuing to visit and support some church members in a personal capacity.

Michael Newport and Kath Bedborough remain as Pastoral Visitors.

The Pastoral Links leaders have met several times this year. Jenny Jordan has stood down as, sadly, she and Tom are about to move away from the area. Elaine Munday has taken over her group. Eileen Witney now has a group of her own too. There continues to be a wide range in the level of interaction between the link people and their small groups.

One development this year has seen the re-introduction of several Pastoral Groups, which are planning to meet on several occasions over the year. Pam and John Medcraft, Iris Rhodes, John and Sally Brimicombe and Nina Mead have agreed to act as leaders of the groups.

Much pastoral care continues to be exercised informally in Trinity through strong and caring friendships.

During 2001, we will review the whole system of care once more and attempt to establish a more co-ordinated and flexible way to manage it.

Meanwhile, I extend a deep thanksgiving to everyone who gives their time to the pastoral care of others in and beyond Trinity Church.

Nick Thompson

The Circuit Meeting meets four times a year and Trinity is represented by the ministers, the Senior Steward, the Church Treasurer and three other elected representatives. The meeting is responsible for decision making in respect of the policy and management of the circuit and forms a link in the chain of communication between the individual churches and the Methodist Conference.

Peter Bell continues to serve the circuit splendidly as a Circuit Steward.

At the June meeting at Tilehurst Methodist Church, it was reported that the extension at 1 Strand Way was complete and very satisfactory.

In August, we said farewell to the Rev Audrey Simpson, who took up her appointment as Superintendent of the Bath Circuit. Her ministry at Christ Church, Woodley and as University Chaplain will be remembered with affection.

At the September meeting at Tadley Main Road, the new Circuit layworker, Chris Evans, introduced himself and spoke of the contacts he was making and the work he is hoping to achieve.

Tony Bonnett

Representative to Circuit Meeting

The Reading and Oxford District (Banbury to Marlow to Bracknell to Hungerford to Banbury) includes about 45 local churches and is one of five districts within the Wessex Province (Banbury to Poole to Southampton to Portsmouth to Guildford to Banbury), which includes about 170 local churches.

District Council includes all serving ministers (about 25), retired and non-serving ministers, one lay representative from each local church and several co-opted members. I am the lay representative for Trinity on both District Council and Synod, Simon and Nick are members as serving ministers and Nina is a member specifically in her role as Convener of the District Pastoral Committee, as well as being a minister.

District Council meets five times a year and Synod twice. During 2000, I have been to only three District Council meetings and neither Synod, because of other commitments.

Much of the business of both meetings comes through various committees. We do also have wide-ranging discussions on FURY (the youth structure and activities of the URC), Mental Health Awareness, "Respecting the gift of years", Reports from the General Assembly of the URC and, at the most recent meeting, there was an extensive report on the activities at Trinity, based on our ecumenical review.

District Council is particularly concerned with ministerial appointments and local church developments. During 2000:

i) Several small local churches have closed, notably St Paul’s in Reading, Theale and Charndon.

ii) Ministers have departed. (Betsy Gray-King from Temple Cowley, Stanley Jones from Marlow and Pam Richardson from Woodley Airfield, although she continues in pastoral charge at Hambledon; in addition, Phil Abrey left the Caversham Park LEP and Audrey Simpson left the Christchurch Woodley LEP.)

iii) Ministers have arrived. (Samantha Caton at Grange and Tilehurst, John Fuller, the Anglican priest at Wheatley has been inducted as the minister of Wheatley URC.)

iv) We are also searching for ministers for St Francis LEP in Banbury, Thatcham and Dunston Park and Blackbird Leys LEP, in addition, of course, to Temple Cowley and Marlow.

v) Also, there is much consideration of how to allocate ministerial scoping to our various churches, when the number of full-time stipendiary ministers in the district is limited to about 16 or 17.

vi) Ecumenical progress is happening at Spencer’s Wood (with Three Mile Cross Methodists) and Twyford (with the Church of England).

 

Roger Mead

URC Province & District Representative

I have only attended one of these meetings this year, because they tend to be on the same date as Trinity Church meetings, but the Synod has discussed re-marriage in church, with a slight majority in favour. There were elections to the General Synod, which I thought hard about standing for, to represent LEPs, but this would have involved going to three sets of hustings and standing up and being questioned, so I declined. However, Trinity is entitled to 5 members of the local synod by virtue of our large membership, so any other volunteers would be very welcome. Also, the Deanery Synod will be hosted by Trinity this spring.

Virginia Thorne

Deanery Synod Representative

The Churches Together movement has three levels, each with rather different functions, though all, of course, concerned to make the church more effective, by helping the different denominations work together. At the county level, they try to support and encourage Local Ecumenical Partnerships like Trinity, and one of the more concrete ways of doing this is by appointing two ‘visitors’ who get to know the church and provide a useful perspective on our corporate life.

The year 2000 was a quiet one for CTB. Its only paid officer is the County Ecumenical Officer and it is very dependent on this individual’s time and energy, but after several years of hard work, Phil Abrey resigned from the post in May. No successor was found until October, when our own Roger Mead was appointed, so the council did not meet between February and November. Its November meeting was therefore its first chance to discuss a review that was completed in the Spring.

The review was wide-ranging and made many recommendations for changes to the organisation’s structure and funding. Some firm proposals arising from these, the November discussion and subsequent consultation with the local CT bodies (like CTEER) will be presented to the council in March.

The November meeting was my first - and a uniquely informative one, with many people using the discussion of the review to say what they think CTB should be doing and how it should be organised. It’s an interesting time to become involved!

Richard Cocks

CTB Representative

We met in January, March, October and December 2000. The work of Christian Aid, co-ordinated by Martin Kendal of Our Lady of Peace, is one of our central concerns and takes several months of preparation. The Jubilee 2000 campaign began preparations in 1999 and we discussed many events for this item, at every meeting last year. Mr Hamish Preston from St Luke and St Bartholomew’s led all of our activities for this, and continues to do so. He took a very active part in planning for rallies, information leaflets, letters to world leaders and much more. He and the Reading team made a very valuable contribution to the campaign.

The Schools Work Project is still being co-ordinated by Rev Simon Howard and CTEER continue to help this with funding and other supports. This project is reported on and discussed at each of our meetings.

We organised two Good Friday marches of witness last year: one for Earley and finishing at St Peter’s Church, and the other for Lower Earley, finishing at Lower Earley Baptist. These were both well attended. Wokingham District Council arranged an Open Air Praise Service on Sunday May 7 and asked for our help. We advised, but due to their short notice could not really give practical help.

Our main event for the year was Pentecost 2000 and this took many, many hours of organisation, for a good 18 months beforehand. It involved many people from different churches and denominations but was a huge success. Our chief co-ordinator for this was the Rev David Skinner from Anderson Baptist Church, who did a great job! The event took place on Sunday June 11, at Loddon Valley Leisure Centre, Trinity Church, the Salvation Army and Chalfont Park. Many people from Trinity took a very active part in preparing for, and helping to run the show; as well as all of those who attended. I would like to say a big thank you to all!

We spent the time in October discussing a joint services leaflet and newspaper advertisements for the Christmas period. We finalised that in December, along with details for the week of Christian Unity in January. Anyone is welcome to attend our meetings. We usually hold one a year at Trinity, and the others are held in local churches within CTEER. Sue Brickell and myself are the Trinity Church representatives. I have been the CTEER Secretary for nearly 4 years but am stepping down from this post in May 2001.

Jill Ramsden

CTEER Secretary

"What do ministers do for the rest of the week?" Well, for one and half days a week I work as "The Schools Work Co-ordinator for Churches Together in Earley and East Reading". 2000 has been the fourth year that this innovative project had been running. We have connections with all 12 primary schools in our area, and also work with Maiden Erlegh, one of the largest comprehensive schools in Berkshire.

Much of the year has been about consolidating the work done by ministers and youth workers in assemblies and visits to RE lessons. These have been some highlights.

IN PRIMARY SCHOOLS

A team from four churches running ‘after school worship sessions’ in 6 Earley schools. They explored the story of Zacchaeus through interactive drama and video and involved children in making banners and writing prayers. In total, over 90 children attended.

A team from four churches in East Reading hosting visits from Alfred Sutton pupils to Anderson Baptist Church and Park URC.

Hosting a lunch and seminar for head teachers on the theme of children’s spiritual development.

Donating £40 to each school for RE resources. This year the money has been used, among other things, for buying bibles and copies of ‘The Miracle Maker’, an animated film of the life of Jesus.

 

As Trinity ministers, Nick and I have taken assemblies at Whiteknights, Hillside, Radstock, Hawkedon and St Peter’s. We have hosted school RE visits of Infant pupils from Hillside, Whiteknights and Radstock, as well as their carol services. I have also been invited in for RE lessons in the three schools.

AT MAIDEN ERLEGH

We helped to fund and staff a half day 6^th form conference on "The Media". It was led by Rev David Winter, former head of Religious Broadcasting at the BBC. It produced some very lively discussions!

We donated money to help establish a reference library for the RE Department’s new 6^th form ‘Philosophy and Ethics’ course.

Teams of ministers continue to take regular assemblies and once again visited RE classes in years 7, 8 and 9.

 

My thanks to Joy Hooper, who has been the Trinity rep on the schools work support group and to Sarah Scotchmer who is the Trinity rep on the reference group.

Simon Howard

CTEER Schools Work Co-ordinator

The start of the year 2000 saw just two families at our centre and after the first session in January one of these families was able to establish unsupported contact outside of the centre. This was especially pleasing, as this particular family would not be people that would usually need our support and had been using our centre for a good part of 1999. So it was a good start to a new millennium for them and re-enforced our work of bridging the break-up!

In total, we have seen 22 families this year and this is a total number of 75 family visits. So, although the number is down by 2 families on previous year, the overall family visits would appear higher. We have seen 33 children, 2 more than the previous year.

On average, the centre has been busier each session than previous year, with between 4 and 5 families attending. In the winter months, we do see fewer families and this would appear to be a trend. From April to late October we saw up to six families at each session, interspersed with the odd occasion in the middle of the summer with only 2 families.

Our centre family numbers are about average with other towns in similar economic circumstances and it is fair to point out that in the Reading Wokingham district there are three centres, one of which is open on a Sunday on the 2nd and 4th weekends, thus splitting our family numbers against Woodley who are open on 1st and 3rd Saturday mornings.

We have also only had 3 families where the non-resident parent never attended and no information was ever given to us, so I see this as a great communication improvement with solicitors and other referrers.

We have also had a good fund-raising year, thanks to our treasurer Leslie Tester and all the people who donated money to our work.

Volunteers have increased by nine people, our biggest increase since the centre opened. However, 4 people decided it was time to leave us and we thank them very much for all their support and time.

In conclusion, our work is respected and welcomed in the district and has received greater publicity as a national organisation in the last year. Generally our families have not left our centre before being able to bridge the break-up of their relationship and we hope that we can show the love of Jesus by being there and praying for them all.

Once again Thank You to all those involved in the contact centre and please pray for us as we continue with our work.

Sally Brimicombe

Central Co-ordinator

Trinity have run 2 Alpha Courses during the past year.

Both courses ran on a Tuesday evening at Trinity. The summer group was smaller (between 6 and 8) and all members came from within Trinity. Rev Paul Ketterer joined the group for the last session to see Alpha in action. He spoke of his experiences and shared some interesting insights into the way God guides us.

The autumn course, which was scheduled to coincide with the National Alpha Initiative, drew a larger group (between 16 and 21), some from outside the Church. There weren’t enough helpers for this size of group, but, following prayer, extra help arrived, so that two groups could be run.

We are grateful to King’s Church who invited Trinity to their Celebration Suppers and unforgettable Away-Days.

The Alpha leaders and helpers this year were:

Jo Allum, Steve Blagg, Margaret Evans, Rev Nina Mead, Jo Phillips, Elizabeth Scholey, Stephanie Stowe and Pat Thomas.

A significant number from the 2 Alpha Courses have continued to meet in other fellowship groups, such as the Tuesday ‘Life Worth Living’ video and discussion group or Alan & Sarah Moore’s ‘Tuesday Fellowship Group’.

Margaret Evans

Last year saw another Youth Alpha course running between September and December in conjunction with St Peter’s Church. The course covers the same range of topics as the "grown-up" Alpha course but in a format more appropriate to the age group for which it is intended. With around 25 participants aged between 11 and 18, the course was great fun for everyone involved. Activities ranged from serious discussion to the creation of knight’s outfits from newspaper.

After an initial panic, when it looked as though we would have nowhere to meet, our prayers were answered when we were able to use the Salvation Army building just across the car park from Trinity. These buildings were perfect for the course, with sufficient room for us to split into the three age based groups we used for discussions.

The participants responded enthusiastically (well, most of the time) to the activities, ideas and challenges of the course and, as a result of last year’s course, several bible study groups have been set up at the request of the youngsters themselves. The group consisted of some attending for the first time and others coming back to help and bring friends with them. We also had a number of children from non-church backgrounds this year.

The leadership team consisted of 6 adults, led by Jane Williams (St Peter’s Church) and Graham Pettipher (Trinity), and assisted by some of the older participants who had attended a previous course. We found the youngsters keen and questioning and several have made noticeable steps forward in their Christian journey over the weeks of the course, while others are starting to ask the questions that we all hope and pray will lead them to finding Christ for themselves soon.

The highlight of the course was the, inappropriately named, sleepover. Held over one Saturday night at St Peter’s Church hall, this is when we cover the sessions relating to the nature, work and relevance of the Holy Spirit. It is generally well attended and popular with the youngsters. The evening sessions finish with a service of celebration over in the church around midnight. The service was led by Derek Spears, the vicar of St Peter’s, with the added attraction of the Outreach Band. Following this, and a midnight feast, there should have been a few games, followed by some sleep, however, the youngsters felt that this was not what they wanted to do, preferring to stay awake, playing board games and talking all night, with the result that none of the adults had any sleep either. It was great fun though, and I wouldn’t have missed any of it.

Cath Bethell

Following on from Youth Alpha, there are now two new youth bible study sessions. Both are being run jointly with St Peter’s Church. The first, for school years 7, 8 and 9, is meeting every fortnight with Jane Williams (St Peter’s) leading it. The other, for the 14+ age group, is meeting weekly led by Cath Bethell (Trinity) & Anna Macfarlane (St Peter’s).

Both groups are well attended by a mixture of youngsters from both churches. The junior group has had a regular attendance of 7 and is studying Mark’s gospel. The senior group is usually around 6 (in spite of starting during Mock A level exams) and is studying the Epistle of James and its relevance to modern lifestyles.

Cath Bethell

Born out of Alpha leadership and the need for support in growth, spiritually and as leaders in Christianity. Membership is 16, with between 9 and 13 members present at any meeting. Meeting every week in the sanctuary.

Activities for 2000:

Acts: How Paul’s ministry and the Holy Spirit help our relationship with God.

Prayer ministry: Seeking guidance.

Summer Fellowship: Offered to Trinity Church, to give a flavour of the group and as a dip into the Seven Pillars of Wisdom, using Proverbs. (See Education and Nurture report.) Each week was taken by different leaders and people were able to come to one, or as many as they wished, or fitted in with their lives. There were about 9 people at each meeting.

Joyce Louth

A small group meets on the first and third Tuesday of each month, to study the bible and join together for a couple of hours of fellowship. Normally half a dozen or so of us meet, although in recent weeks we have welcomed some new faces. We start with coffee and conversation, and end with prayer. The middle part is usually a bible-based study, with some interesting digressions!

Over the last year we have read through and studied Hebrews, and followed a course looking at Job – what patience that man had! In the early summer, we followed a course looking at the New Testament teaching about the community of the church. Starting with the broad concept of the church, then its role of evangelism and witness, and finally narrowing it down to consider our own church of Trinity.

In the autumn, we did a course entitled "Too busy not to pray". This drew on various passages from the scriptures looking at the various aspects of prayer, and making suggestions for developing a deeper prayer life.

We are currently studying Ephesians, the six chapters neatly fit the number of meetings before Easter. We meet at 8pm at the home of Allan and Sarah Moore, on the first and third Tuesday of each month (with a break during the summer). Our meetings are publicised in the diary and on the service sheet, should you wish to join us.

Stephen Edwards

The Stewardship Campaign Task Force met 10 times, between 3 February 2000 and 19 October 2000. The members were:

Phil Hooper Nick Thompson Richard Cocks Richard Munday

Michael Newport Kay Slack Pat Thomas

The campaign was based on earlier Trinity campaigns and so it was good to have people on the task force who had been very involved in those other campaigns. A lot of time was spent compiling the questionnaire around which the campaign was based. A parallel campaign was also run for the teenagers, who had their own version of the questionnaire.

The campaign was launched on Sunday 21 May, with presentations at Sunday services and articles in the church magazine. Questionnaires were issued to all members and adherents. A large team of visitors was recruited from the congregation and briefed by the task force. The visitors each had a small list of people to contact and hopefully arrange to visit, to discuss the questionnaire and the campaign. The aims of the campaign were to improve fellowship and commitment, as well as raising more money and doing a survey of the talents available within the congregation.

The campaign culminated with a celebratory meal at Whiteknights School on Saturday 15 July 2000. Many thanks to Gill Glennon and her catering team for a delicious meal. Thanks too to Peter Whiteman for a great disco, enjoyed by young and not-so-young alike.

Some hard work was put in over the summer by a small band of computer experts, inputting all the data from the questionnaires. We were then able to present an analysis of the responses to Church Meeting on Monday 18 September. The final job was to follow up the many offers of time and talents within the returned questionnaires. Lists of volunteers were circulated to the appropriate people in the autumn. If you expressed an interest on your questionnaire in helping with something but have not yet been contacted about your offer, then please speak to one of the task force, so that we can put you in touch with the right person.

Kay Slack

Since the website started about 2 years ago, we have had over 3600 visits to the site, from members, former members and others all over the world. I regularly receive feedback from people, mostly complimentary! The feedback is very varied. Some ask us to pray for them - or a loved one. Some send me info for the site. Some ask me to add links to their site - in exchange for a link from theirs. Others are former members who like to keep in touch, or people who just want to say 'Hi'.

The website contains over 30 pages of information about our church. It acts as an online brochure, covering all the activities of the church, as well as being an information source for our own members. It has a front page with the church pencil drawing on it and welcoming messages, as well as general information about how to contact the ministers. From the front page, one can navigate to the other pages covering:

All this information is available to anyone in the world who wants to see it.

I update the website regularly (approx monthly), to keep it alive and up-to-date. I am constantly looking for more things to improve our website, so if you have any ideas, articles, links or photographs which would be suitable, send them to me and I will gladly add them.

I have recently moved the Trinity Website to the new address above, in order to have a more memorable address and to make it more cost effective. (If you're 'online', please update your Favourites to include the new address. The old address will disappear soon.) Moving the website earned us a mention in the "Reading Chronicle" recently.

Alex Robinson