TRINITYCHURCH
Methodist,
United Reformed, Church of England
Chalfont Close,
Lower Earley
,
Reading
, RG6 2HZ
0118 931 3124
www.trinityearley.co.uk
CONTENTS
CHURCH
COUNCIL
CHURCH
MEMBERSHIP
FINANCE
PROPERTY
COMMITTEE
MISSIONS
COMMITTEE
TRAIDCRAFT
WORSHIP
COMMITTEE
LEADERSHIP
TEAM
EARLEY
YOUTH NET
STAFFING
COMMITTEE
EDUCATION
& NURTURE GROUP
HEALING
FORUM AND PRAYER MINISTRY TEAM
JUNIOR
CHURCH
HOLIDAY
BIBLE CLUB
TRINITY
PILOTS
THE
BOYS’ BRIGADE – THE 1st EARLEY COMPANY
PARENT
AND TODDLER GROUP
CRADLE
ROLL
RETIRED
CLUB
CHALFONT
CLUB
CHURCH
CHOIR
TRINITY
BAND
TRINITY
LIBRARY
SOCIAL
ACTIVITIES
PASTORAL
REPORT
URC
READING AND OXFORD DISTRICT COUNCIL and URC WESSEX PROVINCIAL SYNOD
READING
AND SILCHESTER METHODIST CIRCUIT
READING
DEANERY SYNOD
CHURCHES
TOGETHER IN BERKSHIRE (CTB)
CHURCHES
TOGETHER IN EARLEY AND EAST READING (CTEER)
CTEER
SCHOOLS WORK PROJECT
LOWER
EARLEY FAMILY CONTACT CENTRE
ALPHA
TUESDAY
HOUSE GROUP
WEDNESDAY
BIBLE STUDY
THURSDAY
FELLOWSHIP GROUP
PRAYER
AND PRAISE
OUTREACH
CRESCENT
COMMUNITY RESOURCE CENTRE
TRINITY
WEBSITE
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 missions 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, John Brimicombe, Charlie Croal, Andrew Curnow, Jill
Duncan, John Goddard, John Louth, Joyce Louth, Richard Munday, David Ramsden
and David Wise.
Church
representatives: 3 vacancies
Treasurer:
Catherine Edwards
Senior
Steward / Churchwarden: John Brimicombe
Church
Secretary / Churchwarden: Elaine Munday
Property
Administrator & Deanery Synod Representative:
Stephen Edwards
Chair:
Phil Hooper
Minutes
Secretary: Ann Memmott
The
following people have served on Church Council as representatives, but have
left during the course of the year:
Karen
Bartlett, Ian Brickell, Mike Bushnell and Nick Silburn.
Also, Helen Dyson as Minutes Secretary.
Church
Council meets during the months when there is no Church Meeting except August.
Each meeting opens with 10 minutes’ worship, which is led by two of our
members, and closes in prayer at
10pm
. We
always have a pastoral report from one of the ministers, and a report from one
of our committees or groups connected with Trinity. We have rich and varied
discussions on anything and everything to do with church life.
The
main subjects discussed over the last year were as follows:
Feb
2002
Safe
from Harm, Stewardship training, photo board, Earley Crescent, safeguarding of
children, data protection, domestic violence, beating the bounds, Braille
bibles, Trinity’s Aims, hymn books, vandalism, fund raising, CTB
recommendations, Trinity’s 15th anniversary, Schools and Outreach
Committee reports, financial resources, clergy pay and pensions, Reading
Deanery Pastoral Plan, Nick’s sabbatical, approval of
annual reports.
Apr
2002
Stewardship
training, beating the bounds, hymn book trolleys, vandalism, Pastoral report,
Education & Nurture Committee report, Future Patterns of Ministry,
Earley
Crescent
update, buildings update, clergy pay & pensions, celebration of the
banners.
May
2002
Stewards’
training, vandalism, Property Group report, Pastoral matters, Deanery Plan,
Future Pattern of Ministry, Trinitys’ charges,
Worship Committee proposals.
July
2002
Beating
of the bounds, hymn book trolleys, vandalism, safeguarding of children,
Trinity’s Aims, clergy pay & pensions, Lower Earley Family Contact
Centre report, Shinfield Rise estate, coffee after evening worship, away day
feedback, training of stewards.
Oct
2002
Hymn
book trolleys, vandalism, Shinfield Rise estate, Missions Committee report,
Trinity’s vision, buildings plans, Three Mile Cross, approval of annual
accounts,
Earley
Crescent
.
Nov
2002
Shinfield
Rise estate, Trinity’s vision, Social Committee report, Trinity website,
Anglican/Methodist Covenant, Senior Steward extension, Simon’s works
schedule post sabbatical, Trinity’s Aims, building update, meeting with
Bishop Dominic, approval of Schedules A & B.
Jan
2003
Pastoral
Committee report, Anglican/Methodist Covenant, welcome board, review of coffee
after evening worship, Future Pattern of Ministry, Aims, buildings update.
Away
Day
On
20th June 2002
, the
Council enjoyed an away day at
Burghfield
Common
Methodist
Church
. The
entire day was devoted to Trinity’s visions. After a short time of bible
study, our challenge for the morning session was to establish what, apart from
pastoral care and worship, was the distinct calling of
Trinity
Church
. This
led to a lively debate, with some very interesting ideas.
After
a break for lunch, and an opportunity for us to enjoy the sunshine, we
discussed ways in which we could make our ideas and visions a reality,
including how to make best use of our lay leadership, and what we could and
should expect from our ordained ministers.
The
day, which was very productive, ended with communion at
4.00pm
.
I
am very grateful to all the members of Church Council for their hard work
again this year. If anyone would like further information about serving on
Church Council, please contact me.
Elaine Munday
Church Secretary / Churchwarden
Trinity
currently has 254 members on its roll, of which some 67% are female. In
addition there are 254 people, including children listed as adherents (non
members).
During
the year to
1st February 2003
, we
lost 12 members and gained 10 new members: Emily Ash,
Sam Cocks, Aaron Cook, Mandy Creed, Elizabeth Goddard, Sarah
Miller, Gill Newton, Pam Norton, Les Norton and Amy Rixon.
Sue Brickell
Membership
Secretary
Aim:
For
Trinity
Church
to
generate and develop its resources to meet its responsibilities to the wider
church and to meet the Aims of growing, caring, unity and community.
At
the present time there are 6 members of the Finance Committee:
Catherine
Edwards
(Treasurer)
Richard
Munday
(Assistant Treasurer)
Alison
Travers
(Assistant Treasurer)
John
Medcraft
(Gift Aid and Envelope Secretary)
Nigel
Holloway
Tony
Bonnett
In
addition we welcome Nick Thompson to the committee meetings.
During the year David Dongray stood down as Envelope Secretary, and I
thank David for all his hard work over the years.
We meet on a quarterly basis and have considered topics such as payroll
giving and gift aid, and regularly review the financial situation of the
Church.
The
accounts for the year to
31st
August 2002
show a
net surplus of £5,152, after adjusting for special collections and contras.
This is a very encouraging situation.
I would like to thank those who have increased their giving or looked
at tax-efficient methods that increase the amount the Church receives, and all
those who contribute financially to church funds.
The
main increase in our expenditure is in the amounts we pay to the Anglican,
Methodist and
URC
Churches
in
support of our ministers and their ministry.
We have achieved a saving in our photocopying costs due to the purchase
of a new machine.
During
the year we considered how as a Committee we could help achieve Trinity’s
Aims.
Growing
The
church currently has a surplus and this needs to be used to help the church to
grow. Over the next year we will work with the various church groups to
ascertain their financial needs, so that the lack of financial resources is
not a constraint to their work.
Caring
In
the last year we gave 10.8% of our income to
Mission
,
meeting our target of 10%. Other areas to be considered are those of training
costs and pastoral care.
Unity
Our
major achievement has been to achieve a more unified process of setting
denominational assessments. We made progress by bringing the 3 denominations
together in one room!
Community
The
Committee considered funding for the Crescent Community Centre, and for
possible changes to Trinity’s buildings to promote our church to the
community.
Over
the next year the Finance Committee will be working to try to ensure that
money is not a constraint to the achievement of Trinity’s aims.
Catherine
Edwards
Treasurer
The
property committee has responsibility for the church buildings, equipment and
the manse. The committee
comprises:
Stephen
Edwards
Property Administrator
John
Louth
Buildings Supervisor
David
Rains
Equipment Supervisor
Alan
Langdon
Manse Steward
Ruth
Bainton
Church Users’ Representative
Jane
Thompson
Cleaning Coordinator
Simon
Howard and Tony Bonnett are also on the committee in their Church Council
roles.
The
Committee is responsible for the maintenance of the church building, its
equipment and the Manse. A
separate Buildings Working Group has been established, by Church Council, to
consider development of the building, and this has reported regularly to
Church Meetings.
Normal
minor maintenance has been carried out to the church and manse.
Notable developments include:
·
The photocopier room has been redecorated by some of
the young members of the church, to create a lounge. This has created another
useable room in the church for all members.
·
Cathy MacLennon has
painted another mural in the crèche room: the intention is that this room
could also be used as a chapel.
·
No incidences of vandalism to windows have occurred
since Asda extended their CCTV system to cover the courtyard, and the front of
the church.
The
committee seeks to enable the fulfilment of Trinity’s aims:
Growing
Minor
improvements to the building, such as the new mural in the crèche/chapel, and
the new lounge.
Caring
Overseeing
the provisions and maintenance of disability access (e.g. entrance marking
tape by north door to help Blind Society), loop system etc, so that the
building and worship is accessible to all.
Unity
Interaction
with all of the three parent denominations, and could be a catalyst for unity,
by encouraging them to merge some of their property activities.
Community
Members
of the committee, and others, reach out to the community in maintaining a
facility for the community to use, including the external appearance around
the church such as the steps, lighting and the flowerbeds.
Stephen
Edwards
Property
Administrator
Aim:
For
Trinity
Church
to
grow to understand and respond to the physical and spiritual needs of the
whole church (within and without the local community) by witness and action.
The
Missions Committee has 8 members and meets approximately 5 times a year. The
committee tries to support some of the many charities/causes that contact
Trinity, bringing to the notice of the church some of the many pressing needs
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.
The church continues to support the work of the Kagando Rural
Development Centre in
Uganda
, and we
support the annual Christian Aid House to House appeal held in May.
At
Easter we supported a project in
Zambia
that
needed help to purchase a knitting machine. Retiring collections were held in
May and August in aid of Kagando and the Southern Africa Famine appeal
respectively. The July appeal again supported the work of NCH Action for
Children. At Harvest, we had another very successful Harvest Supper and
auction, where again the proceeds went towards the Southern Africa Famine
appeal. The proceeds from the Autumn Fayre went towards the work of Kagando
Rural Development Centre. During
Advent we again collected money for the United Nations Jar of Grace appeal,
this year to support their Tetanus campaign. The Christingle service again
supported the work of the Children’s Society, and we donated the Christmas
service collections to the growing famine crisis in
Ethiopia
.
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
We
hold a stall on the fourth Sunday of every month - except December when we
courted the seasonal shoppers and did the first three as well! Our monthly
stall, plus sales at the Autumn Fayre and a few individual orders, totalled
about £1,530, about 10% down on last year. We stopped trying to sell crafts
because it is hard when we are only selling to a limited ‘audience’, and
coffee sales have been down too, probably because Café direct is now readily
available (and cheaper!) elsewhere.
Pam
Thompson’s craft and card stall sold nearly £900 of goods at Trinity,
making a total of about £2,400 spending by Trinity’s congregation. Pam’s
stall at many other events during the year sold another £8,600 worth of
fairly traded goods!
We
were very pleased when the Finance Committee decided this year to simplify
drinks provision by allowing the church to supply the tea and coffee for
after-service refreshments and other meetings – and to buy it from us! This
makes it easier for Trinity to meet its ‘fair-trade zone’ commitment,
which is important for our integrity as a community that thinks of others and
believes in justice.
Margaret
and Richard Cocks
Traidcraft
Representatives
Aim:
For worship at
Trinity
Church
to
enable people of all Christian traditions to respond to the presence of God,
giving him praise and glory.
‘The
hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshippers will worship the
Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship. God
is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.’ John
4:23-24 NRSV.
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. We must remember that whilst worship with others is
important we must seek to set aside time for prayer every day of our lives –
this might be at home or as we go about our every day business.
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. Meetings are held about 4 times per year.
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. This year we provided refreshments between the Christingle
and carol service, after the Christmas Eve Family service and after the
Christmas Day service, and were joined by many who only come into contact with
Christ as a result of attending such services with young people. We are also
pleased to see real interest from the uniformed organisations at the parade
services and this is seen as a way of showing God’s love to young people
(and their families), some of who only attend at these services.
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, as well as the use of stewards to lead Saturday morning
worship twice a month. Refreshments are now provided after worship every
Sunday evening and this provides a time of fellowship and discussion after
this service.
The
summer saw the continuation of a set of activities for all children under 7 at
the 10:00 service and this was very successful as it allowed those with
younger children to have more time to ‘do their business with God’ without
the distraction of their small people!
We
also welcomed a number of visitors during the year to lead us in worship –
and benefited from each in terms of their different worship style and in many
cases challenging addresses!
During
the year the Church has been better used by groups who often need to move
chairs in the sanctuary. This has resulted in the books under the chairs
becoming battered and it was decided that one solution would be to have book
trolleys to hold some of the books. We are extremely grateful to Ray Little
who, having built a prototype trolley so that we could evaluate it in use,
went on to build two beautiful trolleys for the Church. Currently the trolleys
hold the hymnbooks but have adequate space for other books in the future.
Discussions
about a new ‘resource book’ have continued. It is recognised that Trinity
still uses hymns and other material that do not exist in a single book. A
small task force has been formed to look at provision of a ‘resource book’
covering hymns and songs, as well as worship material and will endeavour to
provide it during the coming year.
Music
and song play an important part in worship at Trinity and we are blessed by a
number of groups, including the Trinity band, the choir, the praise and
worship group and the singing group, all bringing their
talents to various services throughout the year. These groups exist not only
to enrich worship but also provide an opportunity for fellowship at practice
and other sessions during the week. In recent months the choir has been a
topic of discussion and it has been decided that they should continue as a
group and perform at various services. It was felt that the choir might
benefit from some new members and that publication in the magazine of what and
when the choir were to sing might encourage this.
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 the Trinity aims covering growing, caring, unity and
community with God at the centre, as well as encouraging personal time with
God on a daily basis.
John R Brimicombe
Senior
Steward / Churchwarden
‘Now
we ask you, brothers to respect those who work hard among you, who are over
you in the Lord and who admonish you. Hold them in the highest regard in love
because of their work.’
1
Thessalonians 5:12-13 NIV
The
leadership team comprises the two ministers, church secretary, senior steward
and treasurer. This small team meets on a monthly basis to discuss key issues
that affect Trinity and the team also offers support and guidance to each
other and their families. During 2002 there have been many new challenges
facing Trinity and as well as the regular meetings there has been much
exchange at additional informal meetings, by telephone and by e-mail which is
becoming more widely used. We live in a fast moving environment where change
affects all aspects of our lives with church being no exception!
A
standard meeting, which is normally held at one of the team’s homes, will
start with some prayer asking for guidance as we discuss and resolve issues
affecting us all. An informal chat allowing each member to share their
concerns and issues that affect them and the life of
Trinity
Church
follows. We then seek to help each other in sorting out these and where
necessary determine what actions should be followed.
The
year has been busy with much focus on the future of stipendiary minister
resources at Trinity, given the pressures on each of our parent denominations.
As the year unfolded, it became clear that Trinity would need to seek new ways
to provide ministry, given the decision by our sponsoring body Churches
Together in Berkshire for provision of a single stipendiary Minister from
2004, with rotation of Methodist, Anglican, United Reformed Church, Anglican
and so on. The change in the level of stipendiary ministry provision is
balanced by provision of non-stipendiary cover, and the leadership team,
together with Staffing Committee and Church Council, has been exploring ways
in which this might be achieved with support from CTB and our parent
denominations.
During
the year, Nick’s work was reviewed by the Methodist Circuit, with
significant input from
Trinity
Church
. The
review was extensive and included input from a wide cross-section of our
membership and others in
Lower Earley
who work
with Nick. The outcome was that Nick was invited to stay with the Circuit
continuing his work at
Trinity
Church
.
Trinity
Church
also
discussed and agreed that Nick could stay beyond his 8th year to
minimise disruption to his family. He will therefore stay with us until 2007.
The
new Trinity aims covering growing, caring, unity and community with God at the
centre have continued to permeate much of what we do and the leadership team
will continue to look at how Trinity embraces these aims and focuses on
activities to further them. During the coming year the team will need to
consider how they help in achieving the aims, given the continuing changes
within the Church.
The
team has been very pleased with the way in which the stewards have taken on
more responsibilities
during the year including leading Saturday morning worship, followed by being
available in the church two mornings a month. This is seen as a move towards
more lay involvement in Trinity which will be a continuing theme in 2003 /
2004. During Simon’s sabbatical, stewards will be in attendance at Trinity
most Saturday mornings in support of Nick. Stewards have also continued to
consider how they might improve on their service to Trinity and God – a
recent meeting came up with a number of worthwhile suggestions that will be
implemented during the coming year.
Trinity
is in a period of significant change – due in part to the change in the
level of stipendiary ministry as well as major discussions concerning use of
our resources including possible expansion of the church building. We pray for
guidance when seeking non-stipendiary ministry at Trinity, when making
important decisions about use of our resources as well as helping us find the
right solutions to seemingly impossible situations, which we will surely face,
in the next year. We also recognise that as Simon is away on his 3-month
sabbatical starting in May 2003, there will be an increased need to support
Nick during this time – but that this will be the opportunity to try out new
things in preparation for 2004 when Nick becomes the sole stipendiary minister
at Trinity. Simon on his return will dedicate half his time to schools work to
make sure that this can continue beyond 2004, when his time with us comes to
an end.
Under
normal circumstances, I should have stood down in February 2004 as senior
steward. After discussion within the leadership team and a most interesting
discussion at Church Council followed by a discussion at Church Meeting, it
was agreed that I would stay in the post of senior steward until February
2005. The reasons for this were to ensure a smooth transition during 2004 as
Simon leaves us and provide a level of continuity and support within the
Church. I am grateful to Trinity for allowing me to continue in this role for
a further year – and to Sally and Chloe who agreed to it!
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
R Brimicombe
Senior
Steward / Churchwarden
As
this report is written it is still less than a year since Earley Youth Net
began. It is therefore a great time to look at its vision, its reason for
existence and how far it has come since its beginning in Feb 2002.
Earley
Youth Net was started in response to, what a number of us believed, was a
clear vision from God. We felt that there was a need for a group for the young
people of the area, not just
Trinity
Church
, which
was centred on God, which allowed the young people to explore their faith
openly and honestly and which encouraged them to grow and develop that faith.
The aim being that when they left home either for university or the world of
work, they would have the strength of faith and love of God that would see
them through these tough transitions in their lives as well as the everyday
stresses and strains. From the initial ideas through to the first meeting took
us 3 months during which time we questioned, we prayed and listened to God. We
prayed for a growth in numbers, for the growth of the young people, and for
the growth of our own expectations and that it be
constantly beyond expectations.
The
first meeting of Youth Net was a launch party at which there were 47 young
people ….. and a few tears from those of us who
had felt called to start it. We declared our aims to be
To
KNOW God’s love
To
GROW in discipleship and
To
SHOW His love in the world
The
subsequent meetings have all followed the same pattern. We begin with a
welcome – a kind of icebreaker. Then we have a time of worship. This is
usually based around music but we have also done other things like writing
Psalms and building our prayers in play dough! We then split into small
groups. These groups allow the young people to develop relationships with each
other and the leaders that make it more likely that they will want to share
their questions and experiences. We have looked at all kinds of things in this
time. It is unashamedly bible based, but we believe it is as much a sin to
bore young people with the way we present the Gospel as it is to avoid telling
them it, so it has been fun too.
The
final section is looking at applying it all to our lives. This is probably the
area we have been worst at! Usually because we run out of time with the young
people who have been questioning the leaders and keeping us constantly
challenged!
So
how has it worked out? Well God has been very obviously evident in what has
happened over the year. We have seen a huge growth in the young people’s
faith and in their confidence in expressing it. Those who came to the service
led by Youth Net, while not all will have found it their taste (!), cannot
have failed to notice the level of confidence and excitement with which the
young people expressed their faith. There has been a similar growth amongst
the leaders as we have all learned more about following the Spirit’s
promptings and developing the courage to listen to God’s call on our lives.
Also
encouraging is that although we waved goodbye to 4 of our older members to
university (Paul Holloway, Laura Brannelly, Karen Edwards and Tom Green – if
you don’t recognise the name, they’re from the other churches involved) we
have been getting regular emails back from them with news of what they are
doing and we are very encouraged to hear how they are working out their faith
in their lives.
And
what of the bits that we’re not doing so well?
I think there are two areas where we still have a lot of work to do. The first
is in the area of allowing the young people to take responsibility for leading
themselves. Our society complains endlessly that young people are not
responsible but then refuses to give them responsibility. We wanted to be
different; to allow them to take the responsibility, as they are able and to
support them as they did so. We have struggled with this simply because of the
pressure on the young people from school work, however we have taken steps in
the right direction by starting a young leaders’ group, to allow a number of
young people to grow into leadership and we have been very encouraged by their
response to this.
The
one area where I believe we have failed significantly is in our witness. A
community like Youth Net should look in three directions – UP to God, IN to
each other and OUT to the world. Right now I think we are missing the “OUT”
direction both with the young people and the leaders’groups.
Time is, as always, one of the issues there but it is the area we need to work
on the most in the coming year otherwise we will become a holy huddle! We have
managed a day called “Cast the Net Wider” on evangelism and at the end of
2002 we had a Christmas party which allowed the young people to bring their
friends along. It was a great success and all the better for having the
musical talents of “Common
or Garden”. These events were both great fun, however, Jesus called us to
“Go” and at the moment we’re not really doing much of that so we will be
looking for ways in which we can get the young people out being salt and light
in the community, whether it’s by litter picking round the church, by
visiting people in need or any other ways that we and they can think of.
Suggestions will be warmly welcomed!!
So
in conclusion. A great year. We have a
lot of evidence of God’s Spirit at work in the lives of our young people and
their leaders. We have evidence of his provision to us as we lost a number of
leaders over the year and gained 4 more! We continue to pray for God’s
blessing and guidance on what we do as we look toward the next year with plans
for more community work and also to build a mentoring process with the young
leaders to support them as they grow in their faith and discover their own
callings.
Cath Bethell
Earley
Youth Net Leader
Aim:
To oversee ministerial appointments, training appointments and other
staffing issues relating to
Trinity
Church
.
The
staffing committee is made up of a number of Trinity members (including both
ministers) and representatives from our sponsoring body Churches Together in
Berkshire
as well as from our parent
denominations. Under normal circumstances, the staffing committee holds a
single meeting in the year (on a Saturday morning) but 2002/2003 saw many more
meetings and other activities due to the changes in levels of stipendiary
ministry and Nick’s review, and I am very grateful for all the members’
hard work during the past year on behalf of Trinity.
Current
members are as follows:
Trinity
Ministers:
Rev Simon Howard & Rev Nick Thompson (and Circuit Ecumenical
Officer)
Trinity
Church
Secretary
Elaine
Munday
Trinity
Senior Steward and chair:
John
Brimicombe
Trinity
Church
Members:
Jill
Ramsden, Virginia Thorne and Kay Slack (minute secretary)
Ecumenical
Officers:
Prof Roger Mead
(URC District Ecumenical Officer)
Honor
Alleyne (CTB Ecumenical Officer) – from January
2003
Rev Vivien Brooks (Anglican Ecumenical Officer)
Methodist
Circuit Steward:
Derek
Guy
The
staffing committee spent much of the year looking at the decision from our
sponsoring body after their review of stipendiary ministry levels at all Local
Ecumenical Partnerships in
Berkshire
. The review concluded that
Trinity should have a single stipendiary minister following the rotational
pattern of Methodist, Anglican, United Reformed Church, Anglican and so on
supplemented by Non Stipendiary Ministry input once Simon Howard left Trinity
in 2004. Staffing Committee discussed the best way in which the NSM resources
could be found and appointed, supplemented by various meetings with Bishop
Dominic and other denominational leaders including Honor Alleyne to seek their
advice and support. We also looked at the recognition that the Church of
England would give to a ‘Free Church’ Minister such as Nick when they were
sole stipendiary minister at Trinity and have had encouraging responses that
will need to be followed up during 2003. As there were often discussions that
directly affect Nick and the Methodist circuit in 2004 and beyond, we were
joined by Rev Jim Booth who is the Methodist Circuit Superintendent for most
of the meetings.
We
also discussed the future relationship with Three Mile Cross given that Nick
currently spends one quarter of his time with them. An offer to provide
pastoral care and ministry at Three Mile Cross by a URC minister has been made
and accepted, and subject to ratification will allow Nick to spend most of his
time with Trinity from 2004. Staffing Committee warmly endorsed the offer and were
sure that it was in the interests of both Three Mile Cross and Trinity (and
Nick and his family).
As
part of the review, a group made up largely from the Trinity members of
Staffing Committee and others worked on a revised version of the Trinity
Church Profile. This document described the work that Trinity currently
undertakes and demonstrated the need for sufficient ministerial resources to
allow all these activities to continue. It is a useful document and will
hopefully be kept updated in 2003.
Staffing
Committee, together with other members of Trinity, were also involved in Nick’s
review which took place during 2002. We spoke with a wide cross section of
some 80 people taken from Trinity and others who work with Nick in
Lower Earley
using a short questionnaire. All
the input was then discussed, and summarised before being presented to the
Methodist Circuit. The Circuit discussed this and other input and was
delighted to ask Nick to stay until 2007. Nick has been provided with a copy
of the summary, which he has found invaluable in looking at how he develops
his ministry as part of an overall plan.
Trinity
has also accepted an invitation from our sponsoring body to participate in the
CTB Visitors’ scheme. One visitor is appointed by CTB (which has been done)
and the other approached by Trinity (candidate identified). These visitors
provide advice and guidance from the CTB perspective and maintain links with
the sponsoring body. The visitors will be attending a Church Council meeting
during 2003 to introduce themselves and discuss the scheme and how they might
work with Trinity in the future.
2003
will see Simon taking his sabbatical from May to August. This will allow Nick
and Trinity to start to make the changes necessary in preparation for Simon’s
eventual departure in 2004. It was agreed that Simon would spend 50 % of his
time dealing with the schools work on his return in August, to make sure that
it can continue under a proposed new trust from 2004 onwards. This means that
from May onwards Nick will be working towards being sole stipendiary minister
at Trinity and we would encourage all to pray for him and his family during
this time of change.
John
R Brimicombe
Chair,
Staffing Committee
Aim:
For everyone in
Trinity
Church
to be nurtured in Christian
life and faith according to their needs.
Team: Nick
Thompson, Nina Mead, Jill Duncan, Margaret Evans, Bridget Howard, John and
Joyce Louth.
Groups:
Alpha
Alpha
finished in January2002
(see separate report).
Study Groups
Groups
this year have included Tuesday house group, bible study on Wednesday evenings
and Thursday Fellowship groups.
Lent Course
Lent
courses were run on Wednesday mornings with Nina Mead,
and as part of the usual house groups on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.
The theme this year was ‘In the Wilderness’, a
York
study
course and was attended by 60 people.
Spring Harvest
Organised
by Bridget Howard, and again well supported.
Weekend Retreat
Held
at St Katherine’s Parmoor, near
Henley
on
Thames
.
Two were run over two weekends. Thanks
to Karen Bartlett and Joyce Louth for organising these.
Summer Fellowship
Based
on the parables. Shared
leadership during the summer period.
Confirmation Course
7
candidates were confirmed and the service was held at Trinity.
Healing Forum
See
separate report.
Holiday
Bible Club
See
separate report.
What Next?
Lent course, and Spring Harvest.
The
Education and Nurture group is committed to fulfilling Trinity’s aims by:
Growing
In
faith and the way of Jesus Christ through discovery, worship and learning.
Caring
By
demonstrating the love of God through welcome, care and acceptance of all.
Unity
Through being open to all,
united in the love of God and celebrating the richness and variety of our
different denominations.
Community
By
being rooted in, reaching out to, and serving the local and worldwide
community.
John
Louth
Aim:
To help all those who come to Trinity to become aware that the Healing
Ministry is an important part of worship each week, and that we all have a
need for prayers for healing and wholeness, as well as specific prayers for
ourselves or particular people known to us.
The
Team:
Simon
Howard and Nick Thompson (our ministers)
John
Brimicombe
Graham
Pettipher
Jill
Duncan
Cath
Bethell
Graham
Looker
Joan
Guile
John
and Joyce Louth
Regrettably
Margaret Evans, Michael Newport and Maggie Carter have stepped down from this
group, although Maggie continues to be involved in healing prayers during
services. We thank each of them
for their past commitment to the Healing Forum.
We
have met approximately every 2 – 3 months either in Church or someone’s
home.
The
purpose of our work is to pray for healing and wholeness for anyone who asks
for this, either during a Healing Service or after services, and also to
encourage and promote the healing ministry as central to our normal worship.
For
the first half of the year we made ourselves regularly available for prayers
after the 10.00am services, but owing to availability of the team (or lack of)
this could not continue on a regular basis.
We will look at this again if others join the team, as feedback from
those who have used this time has been positive.
A
meeting was held in the summer along with the members of the Prayer Chain,
which is very much a part of our Healing Ministry at Trinity.
This was well attended, and the discussion was centred around
intercessory prayer.
A
Prayer and Praise Healing Service was held in the
autumn which proved very successful.
Prayers
for the way forward with the work and planning of the building project is very
much a part of our prayer life in Trinity; many feel there is a need for a
Quiet Room or Chapel.
We
have been encouraged to note that many new people have felt able to come
forward for prayers, either for themselves, or for others.
Our
work is publicised through church notices and the magazine, or by word of
mouth.
Joan
Guile
JUNIOR
CHURCH
Aim:
For Trinity to bring young people to Christ by communicating the Christian
message to the local community.
Crèche
and
Junior
Church
continue to meet during the second half of the Sunday morning service.
Between 50 and 60 children and young people meet each week, but the
total numbers on the registers are substantially higher. There are over 30
people working as teachers and helpers, and I would like to thank them for
their commitment.
We
are using Scripture Union material, which costs about £50 a quarter, but
provides an excellent variety of ideas on ways of telling stories, crafts,
prayer, understanding people and the world and thinking about how being a
Christian works out in daily life.
Many
thanks to Lisa Waite, who organised activities for the children during the
summer holidays when there was no
Junior
Church
.
Margaret
Cocks
Sunday School Superintendent
HOLIDAY
BIBLE CLUB
2002
saw the 10th annual Trinity Church Holiday Bible Club.
Once again, the club ran over four afternoons in the bank holiday week
at the end of August. We took over
the whole church premises and transformed the sanctuary into a desert scene,
with palm trees, snakes and cacti, along with an enormous gazebo for our base
camp. We were fortunate to be able
to borrow Humphrey the camel, who helped Simon to welcome everyone.
A total of 34 children aged 5 to 11 years attended “Desert Detectives”
and were divided into groups called Gerbils, Sand Cats and Geckos.
Wendy Crosson Smith and I were assisted by an enthusiastic team of 11
adults and 14 young people (most of whom attended every day), plus 7 other
adult helpers, who did one or two sessions.
It is great to see that so many of the youngsters who once attended the
club as participants are now eager to keep coming back year after year to
help. We look forward to the day
when they can take over the running of the club!
The
material we used this year was from Scripture Union and was quite ambitious,
in that it aimed to give the children an introduction to the whole bible in
one week. There was an exciting
video which accompanied the material. As
usual, we then chose songs, games, crafts and refreshments linked to the
theme. There was also an
entertaining daily drama acted by the young people.
For a change, the children too were involved in doing some drama
themselves.
Another
first this year was baking – the children made cakes and biscuits which they
then sold after Sunday worship, to raise money for Water Aid.
We also introduced a post box this time, so that children could post
pictures and jokes for sharing at the end of each session.
My
thanks to all the team: Wendy
Crosson Smith, Simon Howard, Margaret Cocks, Pam Thompson, Alison Travers,
Cathy MacLennon, Bridget Howard, Ruth Bainton, Sarah Moore, Catherine Edwards,
Paul
Holloway, Emily Ash, Jenni Slack, Philip Slack, David Howard, Emily Travers,
Anna Cocks, Jenny
Howard, Sam Cocks, Frances Jackson, Laura Thompson, Sarah Johns, Lizzie
Glennon, Claire Knight, Oliver Lackie and Ben Glennon.
Kay
Slack
Since
our last annual report, Pilots have continued to meet once a week on Mondays
between
6.00 pm
and
7.30 pm
during
term time. Finding leaders
for this active group has been hard. The
named leaders were Wendy Keeley [Pilot Captain] and Ian Davidson.
Unfortunately Ian’s shiftwork pattern made it very hard for him to be
present at the meetings, although both he and his wife Trudi were keen to help
when they could. A rota of parents
kept the evening running with the help of the young leaders Anna Cocks, Sarah
Johns and Philip Slack as well as Gemma Keeley.
As all of these young leaders were in important exam years at school,
they could not be present all the time, but thanks should be given for their
invaluable help.
The
programme followed the basic outline of Pilot meetings - always opening with
the Pilot promise and the Pilot flag. Our
overseas ‘voyage’ this year was an interesting evening where we learnt
about Malaysia from Alvin Donald, a student from Oxford
- who, as well as telling us about his life and the customs and
religions of the area, cooked some delightful food.
Other meetings carry on very often following the themes of the seasons
and festivals including harvest, Christmas, pancake day,
and Easter. The young people all enjoy creating the work for the Pilot board
and take great pride when it is displayed in the hall.
During
the summer evenings, if the weather is fine, the meeting usually moves to the
field opposite for cricket, rounders or football.
The summer term ended as usual with a barbecue and games in the garden
of the Keeleys’. At this time,
Wendy said goodbye as Pilot Captain after being part of the Pilots leadership
team for 10 years.
Simon
Howard has taken over responsibility for the company while we have no captain,
and Sarah Keeley returned to help again. The
winter term had a varied theme, including remembrance and Advent. They made
decorations for the church Christmas tree, prepared and held a leaving party
for Wendy, and again time was spent doing artwork for the board in the church
hall. The spring term for 2003 has
the theme of service and will include a concert at
Rowan
Court
,
supporting and learning about Christian work in
Uganda
and a
litter pick in the area. Nina Mead
will be returning to help us as well. Meetings continue to have approximately
18 children attending, ranging from 5 -15 years.
Sarah
Keeley
We
have had another successful year. As H M The Queen
is our Patron and in order to celebrate the Queen’s Jubilee. The Boys’
Brigade held a mass music, dance and gymnastics festival. Letters of
congratulations were received from the Prime Minister Tony Blair, the Rt
Hon. Charles Kennedy and the Rt Hon. Ian Duncan
Smith. We took part in a celebration of the jubilee in Winchester Cathedral
with 700 members, and marched through
Winchester
City
with
bands and colours flying on a beautiful summer’s day.
Junior
Section news:
Our
junior section camped at Swanage. Sgt Christopher Smith came through the first
year’s test of a 2-year course for the Queen’s badge. He should complete
the course this coming year.
Michael
Rawcliffe and Joshua Kerrigan achieved the gold badge, and the whole section
took part in the
international
competitions and the company section entered the chess and table tennis
national competitions.
Leslie
Bainton
Boys’
Brigade Captain
This
group meets Monday and Thursday mornings during school term time. Between 10
& 15 children attend each group, accompanied by a parent, mainly under
three, but older children attend sometimes. Monday’s group is organised by
Sue Berriford and Becky Martindale, Thursday’s Group by Sue Spencer. The
attendance money is put towards buying presents for the children at the
Christmas party.
All
the toddlers took part in the main activity last year, which was a sponsored
pedal push. This took place last May and raised
£632.50 for Childline. (Well done everybody who took part).
The
parent and toddler group advertises mainly by word of mouth, but they do also
have information on the notice board in the church hall.
Hazel
Bailey
Chair, Parent and Toddler Group
Trinity
Cradle Roll has been going nearly as long as the church has been open, and we
have just finished the ninth cradle board, so I will soon be looking for a
space for the next three boards.
My
job is to record the babies’and children's names
on the cradleboard, and to send them a birthday card each year until they
reach three years old. Also, I send out invitations for two special services
each year, Mothers’ Day and Christmas, which are combined with the Wednesday
nursery service. This generates a number of extra children at these two
services.
Over
the last two years I have had 50 - 60 children in my register. The numbers
have been slowly going down. Back in the early nineties when I started I had
as many as 100, so my job is a little easier now. After all these years I know
most roads in
Lower
Earley
!
Hazel
Bailey
Cradle
Roll Secretary
On
Tuesday 3rd December 2002
, the
Retired Club met for the last time. The club had served the retired and
elderly members of our Church and also many people from the surrounding area
for many years. At our final meeting we sang carols and heard some seasonal
readings from Simon and Nick. We then shared a delicious Christmas tea.
Our
many thanks to all who have helped with refreshments and transport over the
years.
Special
thanks and gifts were given to ‘THE GROUP’ who helped from the very
beginning.
The
Scrabble Club will continue to meet fortnightly on Friday mornings (10.00 –
12.00).
Kath
Bedborough
The
Chalfont Club meets weekly during term time in the church hall on Thursdays
from
2.00 – 3.30pm
. It was started in April 2000 after discussion with
the ministers and members of
Trinity
Church
. The
aim is to
offer
a weekly social afternoon, open to men and women of all ages in the local
community. We have a variety of speakers, some outings and social afternoons,
with an average attendance of about 30.
The
programme is displayed on the church notice board, in the magazine and service
sheet and in the MICE van.
Chalfont
Club invites anyone interested to join them any Thursday afternoon at
2.00pm
.
Pam
Medcraft
Programme Secretary
We
meet Friday evenings
8.15 – 9.15pm
. We sing through the hymns for the
8am
,
10am
and
6pm
services. We plan to sing at least one anthem per
month.
On
Palm Sunday at the
6pm
service, we sang “Cross of Christ”. We joined
with other church choirs of
East Reading
at a
combined service at St Mary’s the Virgin church.
We
are open to receive new members, and there are facilities for those who would
wish to acquire skills in reading and singing music. Why not give us a try.
Leslie
Bainton
Choirmaster
At
Trinity, 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, although
we are of course always delighted to welcome our associates if they have the
chance to play.
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 continuing to maintain pigeonholes for the purpose of
this report but by this classification we now have twenty-four full band
members and eight 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:
7
flutes
3
clarinets
1
cornet
1
euphonium
4
violins
1
saxophone
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
2002 the band played thirty-one times (making 2002 another record year
in this respect):
·
Twenty-six morning and evening services at Trinity
·
One joint morning service at the Salvation Army
Citadel on 20th January
·
One morning service at the Twyford URC on 24th
February
·
Two memorial services at Duchess of Kent House on 14th
April and 13th October
·
A stop at each of the boundary halts during the
Beating of the Bounds on July 7th
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
A
major addition to the Library this year has been the Bible on audio cassette.
A total of 36 tapes (to be borrowed individually) read by well-known actors,
this is an excellent resource for the church.
It
was decided this year to pay for the Lent course books out of the Library
budget and put them into the Library after Easter. This meant the Library
budget was overspent, but this will be corrected by adjusting the 2003 budget.
We also received a large donation of study guides,
consequently we now have a good selection in the library available for loan
for group or individual study.
In
total for the 2001-2002 financial year, in addition to the audio cassettes we
bought 10 books, had 8 books and 8 audio cassettes donated and withdrew 31
books – 13 of which were missing. 95
books were signed out for loan during this time.
Could I please make a plea for everyone to sign out every book they
borrow, there are again quite a number missing, or borrowed without being
signed out.
Jill
Duncan
Librarian
2001/2,
was another successful year for social events.
Skittles evening, trip to London Eye including the
Christmas
illuminations, Christmas meal, Safari supper, “P”party with Salvation
Army, food and wine evening, inter church quiz evening, orienteering, trip to
Blenheim
Palace
, church
picnic and walk.
My
thanks to all involved in organising the above, plus a special thank you to
Pam Medcraft for being events co-ordinator the last few years. Pam stood down
in the autumn and we are now looking for a replacement.
There
is a social events meeting planned for September. It would nice to see a few
more people there. As I said last year, we need your input, especially from
the younger members of the congregation. Please come with your ideas on what
you would like to do.
The
Social Committee is committed to fulfilling Trinity’s aims by:
Growing
Together
in our faith as we socialise.
Caring
For
each other in the love and fellowship of Jesus Christ.
Unity
Having fun together, and united what ever the tradition.
Community
To show where we come from, and reaching out to others in all our
travels.
John
Louth
Over
the course of this year everyone who has been involved in Pastoral Care has
continued to meet in the quarterly Pastoral Team Meetings. This has been the
case since Church Meeting authorised this way of working in June 2001. The
Team has met four times over the last year to discuss concerns and to share
ideas on better practice.
The
Team embraces people working in many different ways. There are 2 Pastoral
Groups led by Pam Medcraft and Jill Ramsden. Nina Mead has resigned from her
role in Larksmeade, and indeed the Team generally, to concentrate on other
things and we thank her for her time and dedication over this period.
The
Pastoral Link leaders continue to look after their nominated Church members
within the Team setting. We thank Eileen Witney who has resigned from this
work this year to focus more on the Berkshire Blind Society Craft Group
members who meet at Trinity and with whom Eileen has developed a great
affinity.
In
addition Margaret Stephens and Lynn Hill are available for short term visiting
for personal support at a particular time of need.
The
Retired Club has come to an end after 10 years of excellent leadership from
Kath Bedborough and the team in the kitchen working alongside Ruth Bainton. It
is hoped that some of the activities of the newly formed Chalfont Group will
be offered periodically to former members of the Retired Club.
Kath
continues to visit and maintain links with Club members and to be present at
the famous Scrabble mornings at Trinity on Friday mornings! We do thank Kath
greatly for her leadership over many years.
Michael
Newport has been involved primarily with the Welcome Group over this year as
they have worked on some crucial new initiatives and continues to be a great
source of thoughtful ideas and advice.
The
ministers discuss pastoral matters weekly and liaise with members of the
Pastoral Team where appropriate.
The
Pastoral Team has the feel of a group which is growing in a culture of care
with a wide concern for the
needs of the whole church. There is evidence of this throughout the church too
as individual members take
more responsibility in befriending and caring for others, often unofficially
and without any fuss.
The
Pastoral Committee meets too twice each year to keep an overview of policy. We
continue to wrestle with new ways to be more effective. In conclusion,
however, whatever system of care is in place it is the culture of care which
matters most and that we continue to promote and pray for.
Nick
Thompson
URC
READING
AND
OXFORD
DISTRICT COUNCIL and
URC
WESSEX
PROVINCIAL SYNOD
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, including ministers from
denominations other than URC), 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 Convenor of the District Pastoral Committee, as
well as being a minister.
District
Council meets five times a year and Synod twice. During 2002, I have been to
four of the Council meetings plus two other Council meetings for the
ordination and induction of new ministers, but for different reasons have
missed both Synod meetings.
Much
of the business of both meetings comes in the form of reports from various
committees. We have also discussed at District Council (i) Youth and Children’s
work in the District, (ii) principles and procedures for District visits to
local churches, (iii) the Tripartite discussions with the Methodists and
Anglicans, (iv) future patterns of ministry (Assembly Report referred to local
churches for response and comments), and (v) Mission Council’s discussion on
where the URC was going.
District
Council is particularly concerned with ministerial appointments and local
church developments. During 2001:
(i) Ministers have
departed (Keith Green from Aston Tirrold)
(ii) and
arrived (Michael Hopkins at Twyford, and Linda Spokes – NSM)
(iii) or
returned (Kate Pryde at Marlow)
or
been redistributed (Brian Stops at Marsh Gibbon & Twyford (Bucks), and
Betsy Gray-King at Brill).
(v)
We have been searching for ministers for Park and
Banbury St Mary’s, as well as Aston Tirrold.
(vi)
Also, there has been much consideration in the
various councils of the District of how to allocate ministerial scoping
to our various churches when the number of full time URC stipendiary ministers
in the District is required to be reduced to 10.5 by 2006.
Roger
Mead
URC
Province
and
District Representative
READING
AND SILCHESTER
METHODIST CIRCUIT
The
Circuit met four times during 2002 under the chairmanship of the
Superintendent Minister, the Rev Jim Booth. These meetings were held at Tadley
Common,
Caversham
Heights
,
Burghfield Common and
Christ
Church
,
Woodley churches.
Trinity
is represented by our Methodist minister, the Rev Nick Thompson, the senior
steward, the church treasurer and three 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.
Farewells
-
At the June meeting, farewells and thanks were said to the Rev Roger and
Marian Gisbourne
who
were leaving the circuit, Phyllis Harris and Ray Chalk, who were retiring as
Circuit Stewards and Rosemary Nagle who was retiring as Circuit Administrator.
Stationing
– It was proposed and approved at the September meeting that an extension to
the Rev Nick Thompson’s invitation be for a further four years to August
2007.
The
Rev Gavin Rogers joined the Circuit staff in September to serve in the Tadley
and Silchester churches.
At
the March meeting the following circuit stewards were appointed to serve for
one year from September 2002:
Derek
Guy, Peter Bell, Jill Martin and Alan Harland, also to act as circuit
treasurer. Henry Stroud was also appointed at the June meeting with the same
terms of reference.
At
the December meeting the Anglican / Methodist Covenant was discussed in the
form of an open forum. The Covenant, with its mutual affirmations and mutual
commitments, is proposed as “a major stepping-stone towards organic unity”.
It was on the whole well received. A decision will be made at a Circuit
Meeting later this year.
Tony
Bonnett
Representative
to the Circuit Meeting
The
Deanery Synod is the local government of the Church of England, and meets four
times a year. During the year the
Deanery Synod has received reports from members who serve on the Diocesan and
General Synods.
Trinity’s
three parent denominations are all seeing a reduction in their number of
ministers, and the Deanery Synod is one forum in which we can promote our
workable solution: ecumenism. At
its February meeting the Deanery Synod approved the Deanery Plan, under which
Trinity will lose our stipendiary Anglican minister in 2004.
Whilst we put our arguments against this plan to the meeting, we were
out voted.
Trinity
has the sixth largest congregation of the 29 benefices (some incorporate more
than one church), but lacks visibility at Deanery level.
Our size entitles us to four lay representatives on Synod, but for a
long time we have only provided one. Trinity
has much it can share, through Synod, with neighbouring churches, and improved
representation would also raise our profile.
Anyone interested in becoming a Synod Representative should see Elaine
Munday, the Church Secretary.
During
the year there have also been presentations and discussions about the Reading
Boiler Room, the work of the Diocesan Advisory Committee (on Church
Buildings), the Reading Local Strategic Partnership, the diocesan First to The
Lord campaign (on giving), and the Youth Ministry at St Laurence’s.
In
February the Synod will be discussing the Anglican/Methodist Covenant.
Steve
Edwards
Deanery
Synod Representative
The
Council of CTB meets only twice a year – for its AGM in March and then again
in October. Our own
Roger
Mead has been CTB’s County Ecumenical Officer – its key worker – for
most of the year (and Nina edits the excellent Newsletter “Together”).
Meetings
aim to share experiences of churches working together at various levels and to
receive a report from the Ecumenical Officer about what ecumenically is
happening around the county. About 20 representatives attend, from local
Churches Together groups and from LEPs like Trinity.
The
March meeting focussed on working with young people and Simon attended, to
talk about the 25% of his working life not devoted to Trinity. One of the
other speakers, Chris Russell of St Lawrence, spoke of the youth outreach
based there and the success of the “Boiler Room” prayer room / coffee bar.
In
October John Fairley, a former Trinity member, gave a talk on the Trade
Justice campaign and the importance of all churches getting involved in
working to try to secure a fairer international trading system.
Roger
Mead stood down as CEO at the October meeting and was warmly thanked by the
chairman for the hard work and the ‘quality of mind’ he has brought to the
role over the preceding two years. He is succeeded by Mrs Honor Alleyne. Roger
is not retiring (!)– he is now taking on the job
of CTB Treasurer.
Richard
Cocks
CTB Council Representative
We
met 4 times last year in March, June, September and December.
The Chairman, at present, is our Rev Nick Thompson.
Other Churches who regularly attend are:
Earley St Peter’s, Park URC, St William of York, the Salvation Army,
St Luke’s with St Bart’s, Our
Lady of Peace, Lower Earley Baptist Church, Anderson Baptist, St Nicolas, St
Elias, and St John’s & St Stephen’s.
We also often have people from Churches Together in
Reading
and
Churches Together in
Berkshire
attending our meetings and reporting on their activities.
In
March we had a guest speaker from the Corrymeela Community of
Northern
Ireland
, who
spoke of their work, which is mainly with children who are living under or
with the threat of death. The lady
who spoke said they view this as ‘One Step on the Road Towards
Peace’ with a framework of opportunity on neutral territory.
We
have regular reports from Simon on his Schools’ Work, as CTEER help fund
this. There has been much
discussion this year on the future of this work.
The
Jerusalem Trust funded a National Symposium in July for schools workers, which
Rev David Skinner from
Anderson
was
very involved in, with help from other churches in CTEER. This event was very
successful and more of the same is planned for the future.
Roger
Mead visited us several times to tell us what has been going on with CTB.
He has been working hard to try and get CTB and CTEER more involved
with each other, as this has been somewhat lacking in the past.
Doreen Woods has also visited regularly to let us know what has been
happening in CTR. They were
without a Chairman for nearly a year, but Nigel Hardcastle
agreed to take on the job and is busy building bridges in
Reading
with
the religious community. They also
deal with Christian Community Action, who have
found a new home for the next 10 years.
Joint
services were arranged for Easter, Christian Aid Week, Pentecost and The Week
of Prayer for Christian Unity, among others.
We
had an informative report on the Methodist / Anglican Covenant by Dr Carole
Cull of St Peter’s in June. I
felt a glimmer of understanding on several occasions, as she made a complex
issue sound interesting!
We
have regular reports from Hamish Preston on the ‘Reading Jubilee Debt
Campaign’ who continue to lobby Parliament for Fair Trade in Third World
Countries.
St
Elias, the Greek Orthodox Church, had a special 25-year anniversary
celebration and service on the 20th
July.
They invited people from all of the CTEER churches and it was a great
day.
I
was told September and December meetings dealt with compiling of information
for Christmas Service leaflets, together with printing, distributing and
costing of them.
CTEER
is still looking, after nearly a year, for a new Treasurer.
This person can come from any of the churches and does not need to be
an accountant. I am told it is not
a big undertaking as we only meet 4 or 5 times a year, at most.
If you think you might be interested, please have a word with Nick or
myself.
Jill
Ramsden
CTEER Representative
The
Schools Work of Churches Together in Earley and
East Reading
has
continued to grow during 2002 and has made significant plans for the future.
Here are some of the highlights.
PRIMARY SCHOOLS
Lydia
Bauge, from
Anderson
Baptist
Church
, now
leads the team of volunteers from local churches who deliver part of the RE
curriculum to pupils at
Alfred
Sutton
School
.
This
year every pupil in the school had at least one session of RE in either
Anderson, Park or St Bartholomew’s church. St Peter’s school has
also taken up these lessons and a team is being developed by Rev Dan Tyndall
to deliver them to Loddon and Hawkedon schools.
Nick
and I regularly take assemblies at Whiteknights and
Hillside
school.
This year has also seen a growth in the number of assemblies we have taken at
Radstock school. Once again we have hosted church
visits from each of the schools as part of the year 2 RE curriculum, with
church members acting as guides.
SECONDARY
SCHOOLS
In
the summer CTEER acted as host for a national conference on work with 16-19
year olds called ‘Dare to Engage’. The 24 hour conference was funded by
the Jerusalem Trust and Rev David Skinner of Anderson Baptist church was the
principal organiser. It brought together 40 practitioners to share different
models of ‘spiritual development’ work in 6th form and FE
colleges. The Jerusalem Trust have agreed to fund a
follow up conference in 2004 and have allocated money for new and innovative
work with this age group.
At
Maiden Erlegh, the only secondary school physically in our patch, ministers
and church workers once again delivered 4 or 5 assemblies to each of the 7
year groups in the school. As in previous years they also acted as classroom
resources for 1 RE lesson in each of the 8 RE classes in years 7, 8 and 9. We
also helped to fund and organise a half day 6th form conference on
‘How much am I worth’ and a half day 6th form RE conference on
Medical and Sexual Ethics open to all Wokingham schools led by Rev Dr David
Cook.
In
November Maiden Erlegh went through an OFSTED inspection. The provision of
opportunities for the spiritual, moral and social development of the pupils
forms part of such an inspection. We were able to provide the school with
evidence and observations on the spiritual development of pupils which were
passed on to the inspectors.
FUTURE
PLANS
In
the course of the year plans were developed and launched to form a Schools Work Trust for Earley and
East
Reading
and the surrounding communities. This would involve the churches working in partnership with local
schools and other faith communities
“To enable schools and their pupils to develop spiritually and
creatively engage with faith.” A Trust will provide the necessary legal
framework to maintain the churches’ work with schools and enable it to grow.
The plan is to raise sufficient funds to employ two full time and five part
time workers. During 2003 churches and individuals will be invited to support
the trust with their prayers, and with their money!
Rev
Simon Howard
Schools Work Co-ordinator for Churches Together in Earley and
East
Reading
LOWER EARLEY
FAMILY CONTACT CENTRE
FAMILIES:
This
year we have seen approximately 22 families with 33 children attend The Lower
Earley Family Contact Centre.
Generally
we saw a very small decrease on 2001 figures but nothing much really changed.
But we have seen some families on a regular basis over the last twelve
months; others have been using the centre in line with court directive to ‘bridge
the break up’. This is also in line with the National Association of Child
Contact Centres, however all centres are set up to accommodate the short term
and long term needs of children involved in families that have separated and
we do not put time restrictions on places.
Most
of the families we saw who used our centre were able to establish unsupervised
contact, that is contact without a contact centre.
Some
families have used our centre as purely a ‘hand-over’ point and this also
helps to establish new routines of contact.
We
have been involved in strengthening relationships with other contact centres
in the
Berkshire
area
and following the launch in October 2001 of Berkshire Contact Centres in
Partnership with the Judiciary and Solicitors and all other agencies involved
in child contact continues to work well. The
Lord Chancellors’ Department is currently looking at the way contact is
established with the courts and the legal organisations and NACCC (national
association of child contact centres) through the promoting safe contact
working party. We are also
involved in discussions at local level.
Some
changes have taken place on our management team and I handed over the role of
Co-ordinator to Mrs Jean Tinker who attends
Christ
Church
,
Whitley Wood in October. Jean is
doing an excellent job and has just completed the task of compiling all the
necessary statistics for our centre.
I
will be taking over the role of Chair in March at our AGM, as Simon is due to
go on Sabbatical this year. We are
grateful for his support of the last few years and I thank him for a listening
ear at the end of a phone!
VOLUNTEERS:
We
will be looking for a few new recruits to join us from June onwards so if you
feel that you may be interested please contact me.
I would be more than willing to talk to you about the contact centre.
However, along with all organisations that work with children we do
have to ask that all volunteers be Criminal Records Bureau checked. Jean will
be undertaking this task of re-checking all current volunteers through CRB
shortly. Training is also
available and if you are working for a related degree then our centre is able
to offer points for voluntary work towards this.
In
conclusion, please continue to pray for our work. I am reminded of Matthew
chapter 18 where Jesus is teaching instruction on humility and in verse 5 says
‘And whoever receives one such child in My name
receives me’. Our hope at the centre is that if we can be there for one
family and help in some way then our job is done.
We pray that we can show Jesus in some way though this work with
families that have been broken, God will show some restoration.
Sally
Brimicombe
Since
the annual reports last year, there have been no further Alpha courses at
Trinity. We do
still have all the videos and training resources to run the following:
Alpha,
A Life Worth Living and Challenging Lifestyles.
If anyone who has already done an Alpha Course would like to help run a
group they should contact the ministers.
Margaret
Evans
Over
the past year, the group has studied a wide range of topics.
In Lent we became one of the four Trinity Lent groups and followed a
course featuring eminent speakers on tape and questions looking at Jesus’
time in the wilderness and Christian living.
After Easter we studied the letters in Revelations to the churches of
Asia
Minor
,
following the “You’ve got Mail . . .” course from Spring Harvest.
In
the autumn we looked at how the church arrived at certain positions, and how
they related to New Testament teaching. This
explored various issues including the communion service, different forms of
minister, baptism / christening, denominational differences and angels.
We welcomed Simon and Nick who led two very lively discussions.
The
group meets on the first and third Tuesday of each month (with a break during
the summer), at our home,
56
Durand Road
.
We are a friendly group and you are very welcome to join us in our
discussions. Our meetings are
publicised in the diary, and on the service sheet.
Steve
Edwards
We
meet every other Wednesday in the church hall from
8 –
9.45pm
. For
the last 2 terms we have followed
an
EMMAUS course, studying Sacraments and The Beatitudes. A typical evening would
include
refreshments, bible reading and discussion. The numbers present vary from
between 6 and 14.
Current
information on dates and topics is displayed on the notice boards in church.
More members are welcome.
Margaret
Evans
The
Thursday group met in Trinity on Thursday evenings, and was a wonderful group
that were able to enter into fellowship.
We
followed courses of bible study, and grew in understanding the bible and its
relation to where we are in our lives.
By
encouraging each other, listening and contributing, as well as not having to,
was very releasing and maintained the unity within the group.
During
the autumn, we discussed the future of the group and we decided to take a
break.
Joyce
Louth
“On
your feet now - applaud God! Bring a gift of laughter,
sing yourselves into His presence.......Enter with the password “Thank You!”
Make yourselves at home, talking praise. Thank Him. Worship Him.........”Psalm
100. The Message
Prayer
and Praise started in Spring 2002 and is open to
all who desire to sing praises to God.
The time shared takes the form of informal, Spirit-led worship, which
is sometimes lively, with praise songs to lift the roof, and sometimes quiet,
prayerful and reflective.
We
are discovering new and beautiful songs each time we come together, and find
ourselves blessed by the inspirational songs we sing.
Using, in the main, the Mission Praise songbook we hope we can help to
introduce some of the newer, and underused songs,
to the Sunday Services.
Prayer
and Praise is held twice monthly in the church, presently the 1st and 3rd
Mondays, at
8 pm
. Numbers
attending vary, but average around 12. All very welcome.
Keith
and Lisa Waite
Aim:
To communicate the gospel of Jesus Christ and, in partnership with other
agencies, to meet the needs of those people we, both as individuals and as a
church, come into contact with. Trinity needs to set an example in
Lower
Earley
and
be both welcoming and caring.
In
2002 many activities took place in Trinity that come under the umbrella of
outreach; coffee mornings, social events, Holiday Bible Club, and Autumn Fayre,
and so many more.
·
Chalfont Club – meets every Thursday
·
Holiday
Bible
Club – one week in the summer holidays
·
Barbershop Singers (Barbarettes)
and others
·
Trinity Concert Band
·
Autumn Fayre
·
Carol Singing at the
Royal
Berks
Hospital
and
Maiden
Place
·
Just Around the Corner (JAC) – supporting the youth
in our community
·
Youth Net
The
aims for the Outreach Group over the coming year are:
Growing
In faith, with our outreach with others
Caring
Welcoming all in our fellowship
Unity
United in our purpose
Community
Inviting
in, and reaching out
John
Louth
After
years of planning and committee work, the Centre became a reality when the new
building was opened on Thursday 16th January by Bob Ames (chairman)
and Lillian King (secretary). Afterwards a lunch was held and was attended by
approximately 130 people, which was very encouraging.
During
lunch, a cheque for £4,500 was presented to the Centre by Simon, which is
half of the £9,000 Trinity has committed over a three year period.
Warm appreciation to all the members
for their financial support to this worthy project.
Every good wish to the Centre in all
its future endeavours.
Tony
Bonnett
Trustee
www.trinityearley.co.uk
I
reported last year that we had over 4600 visits to the site. During the last
year that has risen to over 5500. This shows that the website is being used,
but is not attracting a lot of traffic by internet standards. I still welcome
feedback from anyone with a prayer request or some ideas for improving the
site.
We
recently reviewed the website at the Church Council. This was a very positive
and helpful review and gave me some new ideas for improving the website –
some of which have been put in, such as an improved front page, better page
style and greater emphasis on the pastoral opportunities of the site. Other
improvements are to follow. These
will include information about schools links, the charities we support, the
parish boundaries, and more. So do keep logging in.
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 and a source of pastoral care for
visitors. 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:
·
overview of Trinity, its location, aims, history,
ministers and members
·
Activities of the Church
·
Alpha
·
Information to encourage potential new members
·
Caring
·
Groups
·
Humour
·
Links to other Christian sites (eg our Denominational
sites)
·
Magazines (all the magazines for the past year)
·
Music
·
Latest News
·
Pictures
·
Prayers
·
Reports (the report you are now reading will be on
the site)
·
Structure
·
Worship
·
Youth organisations
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,
and to add the latest magazine. 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.
Alex
Robinson
Website
Co-Ordinator