2004-05 

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TRINITY CHURCH

 Methodist,  United Reformed,  Church of England

 Chalfont Close, Lower Earley , Reading , RG6 5HZ

 0118 931 3124 

 www.trinityearley.co.uk

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ANNUAL REPORTS 2004 / 2005

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CHURCH COUNCIL

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:  John Brimicombe, Andrew Curnow, Stephen Edwards, John Goddard, Richard Munday, John Bethell, Alan Minns and Sandy Catchick

Church representatives: Cath Bethell, Wendy Keeley and Kate Robinson

Treasurer:  Catherine Edwards

Senior Steward / Churchwarden:  John Brimicombe

Church Secretary / Churchwarden:  Elaine Munday

Property Administrator: vacant

Deanery Synod Representatives:  Stephen Edwards and Virginia Thorne

Methodist Circuit Representative: Tony Bonnett

United Reformed Representative: Wendy Keeley

Chair: Peter Musgrove

Minutes Secretary: Kathryn Johns

 

The following people have served on Church Council as stewards but have left during the course of the year:

Jill Duncan, David Ramsden, John & Joyce Louth, David Wise and Tony Bonnett (although Tony continues to serve as above). In addition, we said goodbye to Phil Hooper as chair.

 

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. There is always a pastoral report from one of the ministers, and a report from one of the church committees or groups. These report once a year to either Church Council or Church Meeting on a rota basis.

 

Over the year, we have covered a lot of business. Some items for discussion come from one of our parent denominations, with requests for feedback, but generally our business is Trinity based.

 

There have been 7 Church Council meetings during the year, where we have discussed the following subjects:

 

Feb 2004

Committee report from Education & Nurture Group, building update, URC ‘Catch the Vision’ discussion, approval of annual reports.

 

Apr 2004

Trinity constitution, Trinity worship book, Schools Work report, buildings works proposal, feedback from ‘Catch the Vision’, report from the Outreach Committee, Simon’s future plans, appointment of church cleaner.

   

May 2004

Policy for approving fundraising, Worship Committee report, Safeguarding, pastoral work and related ministries, Away Day follow up.

 

July 2004

Away Day conclusions, reports from the Staffing Committee and Contact Centre, feedback from Away Day conclusions, video projector.

Oct 2004

Committee reports from Junior Church and Youth Net, welcoming newcomers, Church Council quorum, schools work budget, pastoral care and counselling.

 

Nov 2004

Approval of annual accounts, video projector, pastoral care and counselling, bible trolley, feedback from Churches Together in England conference, approval of 2005 meetings dates, approval of Schedule A.

 

Jan 2005

URC ‘Equipping the Saints’, Committee reports from the social group and schools work, social action and youth report, Three Mile Cross, Anglican training update, building project.

 

Away Day

Last May, we spent the day at Christ Church in Henley . This event was well supported by our Church Council members and not only gave us a chance to get to know each other a little better, but also gave us the opportunity to enjoy and have a good look around the wonderful facilities at the centre.    

 

Our main topic of conversation however was not building based, but on the Anglican initiative, ‘Growing Healthy Churches’. Our day began by watching a video, ‘Restoring Hope in the Church’, and this was followed by discussions on trying to establish how healthy we are as a church. For example, what are our strengths? And what is holding us back and stopping us from growing?  We did inevitably return to some familiar ground - welcoming, small groups etc -  but many new ideas and suggestions were expressed. One of the main conclusions we drew was that as a church,  we need to spend more time in prayer and indeed, during our lunch hour, we decided to incorporate a 5 minute prayer break in all future Council meetings, and this is proving very successful.

 

Since our Away Day, the Church Council has revisited our findings on several occasions and we are now looking at ways to implement those findings.

 

I would like to express my gratitude to all the members of Church Council for their commitment and hard work again this year.

 

As I come to the end of my time as Church Secretary/Churchwarden, I would like to take this opportunity to express my thanks to all the people who have helped me over the past 4 years. I would especially like to thank

Kay Slack for her guidance, and our ministers, Simon Howard and Nick Thompson, our senior steward,  John Brimicombe, and our treasurer, Catherine Edwards, for their support and friendship.

 

                                                                                                                                             Elaine Munday

                                                                                                                  Church Secretary / Churchwarden

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CHURCH MEMBERSHIP

 

This is my first report as membership secretary, as I took over from Sue Brickell in January last year.

 

Trinity currently has 244 members on its roll, compared with 248 at this time last year. In addition, there are 210 people, including children, listed as adherents (non members). There were 234 adherents at this time last year.

 

During the year from February 2004, when I took over as membership secretary, to 1 January 2005 , seven members left. Of these seven, six have moved away and one has died. New members joining include Victor and Lydia Makgwana and Sandy Catchick. 

            Gill Glennon

                      Membership Secretary

 

 

FINANCE

 

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.

During the year there were 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 welcomed Nick Thompson to some of the committee meetings.  We aim to meet on a quarterly basis, but, in fact, in this year, we only met twice.  During the year, both Richard Munday and Nigel Holloway stood down and I would like to thank them for all their hard work and support during their respective times on the committee.

The church started the year facing a potential deficit of £1,700 and income for the first quarter of the year was indicating that there would be a larger deficit.  However, due to the generosity of the congregation, the situation turned in the last 6 months and I am pleased to report that the accounts for the year to 31 August 2004 show a surplus of £17,000 on the general fund.  After technical adjustments, our underlying surplus is £10,000.  Costs remain under control, with the main increase being in our assessments to our parent denominations.

With the commencement of the raising of finance for the building, our total income exceeded £100,000 and so we now have to produce our accounts in a different format, to comply with the Charity Commission rules.

As a committee, we continue to consider how we can help in the achievement of Trinity’s Aims:

Growing          As the church has a surplus, we are able to consider contributing towards courses, retreats etc that members may wish to attend.

Caring          In the last year, we gave 10% of our income to Mission .  We continue to support the Crescent Community Centre and have one more contribution to make under our commitment to them.

Unity               The next financial year should see a change in our pattern of ministry and there will be a consequent effect on the way our contribution to our parent denominations is divided.  It is hoped that this can be achieved amicably, building on the good relationships created in the past between treasurers.

 

Community     We were able to increase our contribution to the CTEER Schools Work project.  This will continue next year, when we will be considering changes to our level of support for this work.

I would like to thank those who have increased their giving and all those who contribute financially to church funds as we look forward to another good year for the church.

              Catherine Edwards

                                                                                                                                                   Treasurer

 

 

PROPERTY GROUP

 

The Property Committee has responsibility for the church buildings and equipment and for the Manse. The current committee members are:

 

Property Administrator              Vacancy

Buildings Supervisor                  Vacancy

Equipment Supervisor                David Rains

Cleaning Co-ordinator                Jane Thompson

Manse Steward                         Vacancy

Church Treasurer                      Catherine Edwards

Church members                       Ruth Bainton, Tony Bonnett      

Minister                                    Simon Howard

 

Although the committee is carrying too many vacancies Steve Edwards (former Property Administrator) & Alan Langdon (former Manse Steward)           have completed a number of tasks, just for this year. Without their help, neither building would have been adequately maintained and we are extremely grateful. Our thanks also go to John Louth who was Buildings Supervisor for a number of years before he and Joyce moved up to Lincolnshire . John’s skill, knowledge and ready smile are much missed. In the absence of a full committee, Margaret Evans, Secretary to the Ministers, has been a great help in enabling companies to get access to the building during the day. Steps have been taken to try and recruit new members to the property team.

 

Cleaning and a level of normal maintenance have been continued through the year. The maintenance has included

·         Touching up the paint work at the front of the sanctuary.

·         Devising emergency evacuation procedures for Sunday mornings

·         Chasing Wokingham District Council and Loddon Valley Leisure Centre over the power supply to the lighting on the outside of the church.

·         Replacing vandalised glass

 

The largest single project this year came about after one of the water heaters in the loft sprung a leak! Hot water was eventually restored but it is clear that the two heaters need replacing.

 

With thanks to Jane Thompson and David Rains for their continued work.

 

                     Simon Howard

                              Anglican minister

 

 

 

 

 

MISSIONS COMMITTEE

 

The committee currently consists of Andrew Curnow, Pam Handy, Sally Garforth, Alan Minns, Graham Looker, Pam Thompson and myself. We contribute mainly to the “Community” aspect of Trinity’s aims, being responsible for maintaining and developing the church’s links with, and compassionate response to, the wider world. However, we also try to help with “Growing” church members, in terms of developing their individual responses.

 

We met four times in 2004, to plan our regular annual programme of events and special collections and decide which of the many appeals that are received by the church we can realistically respond to. Trinity’s main activities, appeal and collections this year, most of which we were involved with, were as follows:

 

bulletNCH fundraising including house-to-house collection (£230), quiz and swimathon
bulletDonations of clothing to the Drop in Centre, as well as the usual tinned harvest produce
bulletChristian Aid Week collections (just over £1000)
bulletHarvest Supper and auction of produce in support of Novimost (£385)
bulletEaster collections (£414) donated to fund teachers at a Mission school in Msoro , Zambia
bulletOne World Week talk at 10am service
bulletAutumn Fayre, in support of the Caribbean hurricane appeal (£521)
bulletPrinter recycling box in vestibule, in support of Traidcraft Exchange
bulletSpecial Disability Sunday service
bulletThe donation of Toy Service toys to NCH’s Greenham House Family Centre
bulletDonations at the Christingle Service (£527) for the Children’s Society
bulletOver 40 “Samaritan’s Purse” shoeboxes of presents for children in eastern Europe.
bulletThe Jar of Grace UNICEF appeal
bulletChristmas collection (£560) for Christian Aid’s “Child of Bethlehem” appeal for its work  with Palestinians in Israel .

 

We also, through John Medcraft, maintain Trinity’s link with the hospital and community in Kagando , Uganda . Our £300/year donation meets most of the salary of their evangelist.

 

There has been great support from many others in church for the activities that needed it. Thanks to everyone who helped to make a difference to God’s wider family, in whatever way.

 

                    Richard Cocks

               Chair, Missions Committee

 

 

TRAIDCRAFT

 

We have continued to have a regular stall after the 10am service on the fourth Sunday of most months, with occasional other special appearances, including the Autumn Fayre.

 

Despite poor weather, we did better than last year at the Earley Carnival and for the first time provided wine tasting opportunities at the Carnival and the Safari Supper, encouraging several people to buy their own cases of Traidcraft wine (which of course does not go through our books!).

 

The total orders we have placed with Traidcraft in 2004 amount to £1,422, somewhat down on last year.

 

Pam Thompson runs a complementary (ie non-food) stall and, with the benefit of the “Shop in Comfort” and Garden Party this year, in addition to the usual occasions, sold £1,570 of goods at Trinity, making a total of nearly £3,000 sales through the church.

 

We provide the tea and coffee for after-service refreshments, for which the church reimbursed us £87 this year. Trinity is now a registered Fairtrade church and aims to serve only fairly traded drinks at all events, so, to help with this the tea, coffee and sugar in the cupboard are for use by all. We look forward to enticing you to try more fairly traded goods in 2005!

 

                                                                                                               Margaret and Richard Cocks

                                                                                                                 Traidcraft Representatives

 

 

WORSHIP COMMITTEE

 

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 both to 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 everyday 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 3 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. As in 2003, we provided refreshments between the Christingle and carol service, after the Christmas Eve family service, after the midnight communion (for the first time) 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 continued 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 whom 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. I have to say that we have been disappointed by the lack of worshippers on a Saturday morning and I extend an invitation to all to come and join us at 9:00 on a Saturday morning – the ideal time and space for quiet prayer and reflection. The TLS course, run during 2004 by Nina Mead, has provided Trinity with a new group of people who are now fully equipped to lead us in worship and we look forward to seeing them more during 2005!

Refreshments have continued to be provided after worship every Sunday evening and provide a time of fellowship and discussion after this service.

 

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! Recently we were asked by a visiting preacher, ‘are you fishers of people or merely keepers of the aquarium?’ – for me the answer is the former – what about you?

 

The new Trinity Worship Book was finally completed and thanks is due to the many people who prepared the material, typed it, proof read it and finally had it printed ready for use. It is a valuable resource and has led to the need for fewer pieces of paper during Sunday services!

 

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 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. 

 

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

 

                                                                                                                       

LEADERSHIP TEAM

 

‘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 members also offer support and guidance to each other and their families. During 2004, a number of issues have arisen and, as well as the regular meetings, there has been much exchange at additional informal meetings, on the 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!  We also took time to explore issues that were affecting our members and their lives – the discussions were often challenging but thought provoking at the same time and made us realise that we will never be comfortable in the hands of God and are here as his servants.

 

We had expected 2004 to be a year of great change, in terms of how Trinity was to be staffed with stipendiary and non-stipendiary ministry but this was not to be the case. Simon Howard, our Anglican Minister, remained with us throughout 2004 but with an increased focus on the schools work which has moved on a pace in 2004. As with many things, God has a plan for each of us, both individually and as part of many groups, and it is clear, with hindsight, that, for the schools work initiative to be really successful, Simon was needed for a few more months!

We continued to think about the ways in which Trinity will develop when we move to a single stipendiary minister from the current 1.5 when Simon leaves. Nick will remain at Trinity as the full time minister until 2007 and in preparation for this, Nina Mead of the United Reformed Church was inducted as the Minister at Three Mile Cross, as well as continuing as an associate minister at Trinity. We have also been lucky enough to have the continued support of Paddy Jose from the Methodist Circuit, who is doing pastoral work to support the ministers and members of our own pastoral team.  2004 saw the introduction of a clearer pastoral care system, which we know will continue to grow in 2005 as it becomes established within Trinity.

 

We will be looking to the Church of England for their help in 2005, to find an appropriate level of Anglican support for Trinity when Simon does eventually leave. We had a number of meetings with the new Bishop of Reading, who expressed his exciting vision for churches to become ‘Kingdom Churches’ and leave some of the past behind, as we look to develop and focus more on outreach and mission – a recurring theme found in all three of our parent denominations’ thinking during 2004.

 

The 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 continued to look at how Trinity embraces these aims and focuses on activities to further them. These aims were particularly important as we selected the scheme for making alterations to the physical building (remembering also some of the observations of the Quinquennial Review) and kicked off the fund raising appeal with the barn dance that was originally to have been Simon’s leaving do!  2005 will continue to be a time of fund raising and a time when we, as a church can pull together to make the paper plans a reality, giving us the new entrance, much needed chapel and changes to make better use of the space behind the sanctuary, including a new modern kitchen and new toilets!

 

Trinity is always undergoing change – caused in part by the area in which we are situated. 2005 will continue to challenge us all but, by prayer and a listening ear, Trinity will continue to provide what the world is looking for – a community of people who care and show what life should be like.

 

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. Each member of the leadership team has faced challenges of their own during 2004 but never lost sight of God and what we are called to do.  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.  As I step down as Senior Steward and Churchwarden, I would like to share with you all  my vision for Trinity Church as the focal point in our community, considered as the first place where people come for help and guidance, knowing that we will be there for them and have an opportunity to save them as we are already saved.

 

                                                                                                                                     John R. Brimicombe

                                                                                                                      Senior Steward / Churchwarden

 

EARLEY YOUTH NET

 

This last year has been another fun one for Youth Net. There have been a few changes in the leadership team and a lot of changes in the young people who come to the Net as they leave for university or schools in other areas.

 

We have continued to meet fortnightly at Trinity church with the young people for sessions focused on the Bible. On the alternate weeks the leaders have met and had their own session. This has worked particularly well at helping us to get to know one another better and allowing us to work as a team. Also joining us on that session are some of the older members of youth net who come to be part of the “emerging leaders” group, learning the thing needed to join the leadership team.

We have continued to strengthen our close working with Lower Earley Baptist church. Their young people are invited to join us at Youth Net and in return they invite us to come to The Point – a social session on alternate Saturday nights at Centrepoint.

 

There have been a number of particular highlights this year. In May we took a large group, about 45 in all, away to Barfield school for an exhausting weekend of activities and study sessions. It was a lot of work and most of the leaders needed a week of sleep to recover. We tried quad biking, archery, shooting, swimming, climbing and even jumping form a 65 foot platform on a zip wire. In between times we split into sessions to look at who Jesus says he is, who others said he is finishing with a “So What?” session. We had some excellent music led by the Youth Net band and the young people produced some amazing artwork which you will have seen round church. 

Another highlight was a number of the young people going to Soul in the City to take part in various

social action projects in South London over the summer. They all came back fired up and ready to do the same back here so we’re now working on ways that we can get involved in our local community. They’ve had a number of ideas and we’re busy behind the scenes trying to make some of them happen.

 

We’ve built a website www.earleyyouthnet.plus.com to help people stay in touch during the time we’re not meeting and to allow them to pass on ideas.

 

We’ve also led a number of Meeting Place services at Trinity and one at St Nicholas Church over the year. These services have a regular attendance of around 100 people and are allowing the young people to express their faith in their own way. Because it’s loud, we often find a few people wondering over from the pub to see what we’re doing as well!

 

The final session of the year was the Christmas party with music provided by Michael Whiteman and his band where we had over 50 young people having a lot of fun – in a church! A number of young people have brought their friends along for the party and some are still coming.

 

The young people continue to challenge and inspire us. We are all, young people and leaders, growing in our faith together.

 

I’d like to express a huge thank you to all the leaders for giving up so much of their time to make Youth Net happen and to you all as the church for supporting us with your prayers and continuing to encourage us

 

                                                                                                                                               Cath Bethell

                                                                                                                                        Earley Youth Net Leader

 

STAFFING COMMITTEE

 

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. Until recent years, the staffing committee held a single meeting in the year (on a Saturday morning) but as in the previous year, 2004 saw many more meetings and other activities due mainly to the changes in levels of stipendiary ministry, 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

Trinity Church Secretary:       Elaine Munday

Trinity Senior Steward/chair:  John Brimicombe

Trinity Church Members     Janet Whiteman, Virginia Thorne and Kay Slack (minute secretary)

Ecumenical Officers:               Prof Roger Mead (URC District Ecumenical Officer)

                                       Honor Alleyne (CTB Ecumenical Officer)

                                                Rev Moira Astin (Anglican Archdeaconry Ecumenical Officer)

Methodist Circuit Steward:    Derek Guy replaced by Jenny Dimmock during 2004

 

The staffing committee spent much of the year looking at how Trinity would be staffed from 2004 once Simon leaves, and we are left with a reduction in Stipendiary Ministry from 1.5 to 1 Ministers. During the year, Nina Mead from the United Reformed Church was inducted and become the minister for Three Mile Cross as well as being recognised as an associate Minister at Trinity continuing to work with Nick and Simon. We also have a pastoral worker (Paddy Jose) from the Methodist Circuit who is working with the Ministers and members of our own pastoral team. We have our Methodist local preachers – Kate Robinson, David Wise and Les Norton.

 

As we know, Simon, our Anglican minister has remained with us throughout 2004 and whilst he has been concentrating half of his time on the schools work has continued to work with Nick. That having been said, discussions have continued on future Church of England ministry between Simon leaving and the autumn of 2007 when we expect to welcome a new Anglican Minister as Nick departs, as we wish to maintain the ecumenical nature of Trinity as well as remembering the fact that Trinity is a parish and therefore needs an appropriate level of Church of England support.

It is believed that Trinity is unique in being both an ecumenical partnership and Church of England parish in Berkshire so we are testing conventional wisdom and rules as well as learning more about Canon law. We welcomed the Venerable Norman Russell – Church of England Archdeacon of Berkshire and David Ellis – Methodist Circuit Superintendent to a number of our meetings and Norman in particular helped in exploring possibilities for Anglican ministry when Trinity does not have an Anglican stipendiary minister. 

As part of the discussion, reference was made to the Trinity Constitution and as a result this is to be reviewed in 2005 to provide a better statement concerning the provision of stipendiary and non-stipendiary ministry from 2004 as well as other minor amendments.

 

Staffing committee also looked at the work done by the Ministers secretary and thought about how this role might change/develop once we move to a single stipendiary minister. We also appointed a new church cleaner (Ingrid Wallace) during 2004 making sure to conform to the Methodist Employment processes which we apply to our paid posts.

 

What of the future? As we go through 2005 we will continue to discuss how Trinity will be staffed by all three denominations in the years ahead. There are challenges not only for our parent denominations in terms of provision of ministry but also for us as a church in terms of how we grow our own people and become more self-sufficient. I ask each one of you to consider how you are called to work for God’s kingdom and whether or not you can offer yourself for training as a non-stipendiary minister or in other ways.

 

 

                 John Brimicombe

                             Chair, Staffing Committee

 

 

EDUCATION AND NURTURE

 

Aim: To encourage spiritual growth, and to develop a closer relationship with God as individuals and as a church.

 

This committee has met 3 times this year.  We hope to reflect the aims of the church in supporting the spiritual growth and learning of the church.  A highlight of the year was the 2004 Lent Course in Trinity.  Several groups met on different days and at different times with separate hosts and leaders and we were pleased with the numbers who supported this.

 

Through the year, eleven church members have attended a URC Worship Leaders’ Course, TLS Lite, run by Nina Mead.  This represented a huge commitment for the group, who covered a healthy spread of ages and backgrounds.  The course included Bible Study and an exploration of Prayer and all aspects of Worship.  In the autumn there was a Church Quiet Day, run by Jill Duncan, which sadly was poorly supported.  Nick Thompson also ran an evening on ‘Being a Godparent’ in November.

 

During the year, Joan Guile began a Monthly Prayer Group and the Prayer and Praise Group is also now monthly.

 

We are concerned at the lack of House Groups in Trinity at present and note the interest of Church Council to explore the role of Small Groups in church life.

 

We thank Bridget Howard for her time and hard work on the committee over the last years.  We are looking for new people to join the group this year.  Our meetings are always fun and interesting and open to all!

 

      Nick Thompson

     

 

HEALING FORUM AND PRAYER MINISTRY TEAM

 

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)

Lyn Tait

John Brimicombe

Graham Pettipher

Jill Duncan

Cath Bethell

Joan Guile

 

There have been some changes in our team this year, with John and Joyce Louth moving to pastures new in Lincoln .  We miss them and are grateful for their valuable contribution and commitment to God’s work, not just in the Healing Ministry, but in the life of Trinity as a whole.

 

We met as a group on 6 May and 13 September.  At the May meeting, we discussed the need to meet on a regular basis for prayers for healing, which would be open to anyone who wished to join in prayers for others or themselves.  The first of these healing prayer groups was on 24 May and was held at 22 Moorhen Drive .  This became a regular gathering, approximately every 3rd Monday each month, and called itself ‘Prayers at 22’.  To date this has been a small group, with different people (one from another church);  it has been informal and has included the prayer requests from the Prayer Board in Trinity, prayers requested by those attending as well as prayers for things happening around the world and in the community.  We continue to pray for fund-raising efforts and the inclusion of a chapel in the new extension of Trinity.

 

The Healing Services held in Trinity continue to be an important part of our church life, and a leaflet has been produced to be given to those who have requested, or would like to request, prayer, containing contact telephone numbers for follow-up if needed.

 

The prayer chain continues to be well used, and prayers are frequently requested on behalf of people not connected to Trinity, but with their full acceptance.  This is seen as a valuable part of the healing ministry and as a witness to our Christian faith in action.

 

Lyn held a social evening in July for all the members of the prayer chain;  it was good to meet those we speak to on the ‘phone, and was an excellent social gathering!

 

Our work is publicised through church notices, 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.

 

The junior church groups continue to use Scripture Union material.  During the year, it has been updated to reflect recent research on children’s learning and the name has changed to Light.  We are still getting used to the changes, which have their good and bad points, but it is good that they are trying to keep it fresh.

 

On Sunday 23 Jan 2005 there were the following numbers in classes:

Nursery  5        [usually 5-9]

Infants   3         [usually 4-6]

Juniors  12        [usually  15]

Seniors   3         [usually  5-8]

Youth    11        [usually 3-11]

 

Carol Tinson stopped teaching this year after many years of taking the senior class.  Thank you to Carol.  We are now down to only 2 teachers for that class and need to find a replacement.  Jo Allum has started teaching in the juniors’ class, thanks to her for taking it on. 

 

During the year, we discussed various problems.  One of them is keeping the children occupied during very long services, particularly when there is no warning beforehand.

 

During one of our meetings, we had a professional storyteller come and spend an hour, passing on tips and advice on story telling, which we all have to do in classes.

 

In January, we had a party for the crèche, nursery and infant children and Simon kept them all entertained with games.  We are taking the juniors and seniors bowling at the end of January.

 

                    Margaret Cocks

                                                                                                                Sunday School Superintendent

 

 

HOLIDAY BIBLE CLUB

The 12th Trinity Church Holiday Bible Club took place over four afternoons from Tuesday 24 to Friday 27 August 2004 .  There were 45 children between the ages of 5 and 11 years old registered on the club, the majority of whom came every day.  This year, we were all “Xplorers” on an “Xpedition” to climb a mountain, while hearing the Easter stories from the Gospel of Matthew.  The children were divided into three groups, called “Blue Hares”, “ Red Deer ” and “Golden Eagles” and each group had its own base camp and unit leaders.  Each day, we used a different sense to explore a bible story, from Palm Sunday to the Resurrection.  We learned that the cross has the power to change lives.

 

During the week, the children played games, sang songs, made some wonderful crafts, enjoyed watching live drama and a DVD, took part in quizzes, learned some bible verses from a washing line, laughed at jokes and consumed some very tasty refreshments.  There were so many jokes from the children this year that they have featured in several issues of the Trinity magazine for us all to enjoy.  The large collage crosses they made have been on display at the front of the sanctuary.  The children also made drums, bread and butter, crosses of nails and painted glasses.

 

 

 

I believe we fulfilled Trinity’s aims in the following ways:

 

Caring:            We cared for the children by looking after them, entertaining them and educating them.

 

Growing:         The children and the team members had a learning and growing experience.  Some of the younger helpers, in particular, took on a lot of responsibility this year, especially organising the refreshments, the drama and the scenery.

 

Unity &           Holiday Bible Club is open to all children of primary school age, so we welcome children

Community     from other churches and the “unchurched” from the wider community.

 

The income this year was £380 and the expenditure £366.52.  This leaves an apparent surplus of £13.48 but actually there is not really a surplus, if you take into account the fact that the church is paying the costs of electricity, photocopying, etc.  Most of the money is spent on craft materials.  (A detailed list of expenditure is available on request.)

 

Many thanks to the organising team and the many helpers for making the club such a successful and enjoyable event for everyone.  We were indeed fortunate to have so many willing volunteers:

Pam Thompson, Margaret Cocks, Joan Guile, Lisa Waite, Alison Travers, Rosemary Reece,
Cathy MacLennon, Bridget Howard, Simon Howard, Elaine Munday, Sarah Moore, Clare Tran,
Joan O’Callaghan, Catherine Edwards, Lucy Robinson, Keith Waite, Philip Slack, Jenni Slack, Eleanor Moore, Lizzie Glennon, Emily Travers, Laura Thompson, Claire Knight, Alastair Jackson, Jessica Travers, Jenny Howard, Fran Jackson, Elisabeth Morris, Sarah Johns, Katy Glennon,
Martin Carrick, Sam Cocks and Michael MacLennon.

 

Thanks also to the parents who helped and to the people who turned up to help with the setting up and the clearing away or who provided us with craft materials.  Finally, I must say a special thank you to Simon and Bridget, who have been such a vital part of Holiday Bible Club over the years.  We were very pleased to have their assistance one last time.

 

I think that everyone involved would agree that Holiday Bible Club is an exhausting but enjoyable and rewarding experience.  Having organised the club on six occasions now, I am hanging up my
co-ordinator’s hat but would be happy to share my knowledge and experience with anyone who would like to volunteer to take it on next summer – please get in touch if you’d like to know more!

 

Kay Slack

Holiday Bible Club Co-ordinator

 

 

                                                                                                                                                      TRINITY PILOTS

 

Pilots this year has continued to grow in numbers.  We currently have about 16 children coming each week aged between 5 and 13.  The leadership team has also changed and grown in size; we have welcomed Lizzie Glennon and Dan Hare and said good bye to Philip Slack.  The other leaders are Louise Audoire, Sarah Johns, Anna Cocks, Rosemary Reece, Sarah Keeley and Emma Brannelly.  Emma left us in October when her travels started again, we hope to see her soon!

 

The weekly sessions have included the main areas of the Pilots compass, which are prayer, interest, learning, overseas voyage, talent and service.  We have tried to carry out as many different activities as possible.  Pilots have enjoyed contributing to the life of the church by participating in church parade, making a flower arrangement and making things to display in church. 

     

We have found the opportunity to take part in the church parade service great value for the children, it has built their confidence and helped them to feel part of the church.

 

We have had three main themes over the year - mission impossible, superheroes and worship - and our voyages have been to Greece and Uganda .  Craft, cooking, games and various other activities (including a bouncy castle) have been built around the themes and the voyages.  Several members of the church have helped out for single activities and we are very grateful for their help.  Last year we had exciting trips to Legoland and to Pangbourne for canoeing. 

 

We recognize that we will shortly be losing Anna and Sarah and are still looking for more male leaders for the group, if you feel you can help then please let us know.  We also ask the members of the church to continue their support of the Pilots and the leaders through their prayers.

 

           Sarah Keeley

 

 

THE BOYS’ BRIGADE – THE 1st EARLEY COMPANY

 

We have had a very happy and successful year, in particular, a most enjoyable camp at Chidock, a most desirable camp site. The sun was shining most of the time and greatly helped in the successful running of the camp.

 

This coming July, we plan to camp at Stoke Gabriel, South Devon , from Saturday 23 – 30 July.

 

Badge work, drill and bible study continues. This year we were successful in holding both the cup for Junior section and Company members in the table tennis competitions. Sergeant Christopher Smith was awarded the Queens badge, which is the highest award a member can achieve. Aaron Cook was promoted to the rank of Lance Corporal.

 

We held our annual New Year’s party which was enjoyed by all, and we would like to say a big thank you to Mrs Daphne Wombwell, for so ably judging the Anchor Boys’ and Junior Section Boys’ fancy dress competition.

 

The Boys’ Brigade motto is ‘Sure and Steadfast’. The object is the advancement of Christ’s kingdom among boys, and the promotion of habits like obedience, reverence, discipline, self-respect and all that leads to true Christian manliness.

 

                      Leslie Bainton

                      Boys’ Brigade Captain       

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PARENT AND TODDLER GROUP

                                              

Parent & Toddler groups are running smoothly on Mondays and Thursdays. Early last year, they separated and a different group of parents run each day.  At the moment they have about 25 families in each group, of which about 15/20 children attend on each day.

 

A Christmas party was arranged for each group, with each child receiving a present; fun and games were enjoyed by all.

 

New families are always welcome, even if it’s only once, regardless of religion or race.

 

                                                                                                                                                 Hazel Bailey

                                                                                                                            Chair, Parent and Toddler Group

 

 

CRADLE ROLL

 

Trinity still has 44 under three’s on the Cradle Roll, of which 21 were baptised in 2004.

 

I still send out a birthday card for the first three birthdays of each child. Also, families receive invitations for Mother’s Day and a Christmas nursery service, encouraging the parents to bring their toddlers to these special services, the Christmas service is always well attended.

 

Although I have fewer to deliver, they take just as long, as they are further apart and some are out of the area.

 

                                                                                                                                                  Hazel Bailey

                                                                                                                                      Cradle Roll Secretary

 

 

CHALFONT CLUB

 

Aim: To offer entertainment and friendship to both men and women of all ages in the local community

 

The Chalfont Club began five years ago this April. We continue to meet weekly during term time in the church hall, on Thursdays from 2 – 3.30pm , where people have the opportunity to talk and make friends.

 

A variety of speakers inform and entertain us. Some describe their charity work. eg The Lifeboats, Guide Dogs for the Disabled, and Mercy Ships. In some cases, for instance the charity ‘Tools for Self Reliance’, people respond both financially and practically, with donations of old woodwork tools and sewing machines.

 

Nick takes three meetings, at Easter, Harvest and Christmas, when we encourage people to join us, to enjoy singing and listening to readings. This is followed by tea.

 

There are also some outings. The average attendance is about 30.

 

The programme is displayed internally on the church notice board, in the magazine and on the service sheets. Also, we advertise in the MICE van, Asda and the Crescent Community Centre.

 

Chalfont Club invites anyone interested to join them on any Thursday afternoon.

 

                               Rosemary Reece

                        Programme Secretary

WALKING GROUP

 

We continued our regular programme of monthly weekend walks, each with a different leader. Average attendance was 10-12 with larger numbers for the August Bank Holiday family walk and picnic and the Christmas walk. Our usual distance is 3-4 miles, followed by an optional pub lunch, or longer (6-8 miles) all day walks at least twice during the year.

 

There is also a short walking holiday in spring each year, when around 20 of us join a HF Holidays short break of 4 or 5 days. Apart from the walks, each accompanied by an HF leader, the social evenings are always hugely enjoyed. In 2004, we visited Abingworth in West Sussex and, in 2005, we are going to Freshwater Bay IOW

 

All of our walks and the holidays are open to all and we would be pleased to hear from anyone who would like to join any of the regular walks on the last Saturday (or Sunday) of each month. Details are on the church notice boards and in the monthly magazine.

 

         Pam & John Medcraft

 

 

SINGING GROUP

 

The Singing Group has, over the last three years, become an established part of Trinity Church tradition and worship. The group boasts some 25 regular singers. In total, close to 50 people have sung with the group since it was formed. Some people may not realise, but the history of the group goes back to around 1990, when the group met purely socially once a month, in members’ houses.

 

The objective of the group is to encourage anyone who wants to sing to be part of the group. We aim to sing at 2 – 3 services a year. For example, in 2004, we sang in October for the Harvest service, and we sang 3 times during the Christmas period. It is not the intention to practise every week. Instead, there are typically 5 – 6 practices, one per week, in the run up to the service. This way people know what the commitment is, and we remain fresh and enthusiastic!

 

All levels of musical ability are welcome, from never having sung before and can’t read music, through to experienced musicians. There are lots of ‘note bashing’, so all have confidence with the music. I would specifically like to thank Tim Raggett for helping with the practices.

 

The music that the group sings is from all styles and ages. We have sung a number of modern songs (Rutter, Goodall), and this Christmas we sang some quite traditional and older music.

 

In 2005, we are currently planning to sing at the Trinity Sunday service in June. There will be other services, and I would also like to look at singing away from the church.

 

For more information, please contact me on arixon (at) microsoft.com

 

         Andrew Rixon

           Singing Co-ordinator

 

 

 

 

 

TRINITY BAND

 

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 full band members and six associates.

 

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 2004 the band played twenty-eight times:

 

·         Twenty five services at Trinity

·         One service at St Mary’s in The Butts on 23 May celebrating the signing of the Anglican – Methodist covenant

·         One service at Three Mile Cross at Nina’s induction on 27 June

·         One memorial service at Duchess of Kent House on 17 October

 

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

 

TRINITY LIBRARY

 

During the 2003/2004 financial year, there have been 16 books bought for the adult library and 13 bought for the junior library, the total spent being £203.

We also had 18 adult books, 4 junior books, the Good News Bible on audio cassettes and the Book of Psalms on audio cassette all donated.

 

After the August stock take, 34 adult books were withdrawn, 12 of these having been missing since August 2003.  This year, there are 10 books missing - could I please make a plea for everyone to sign out every book they borrow and return them. 72 books have been borrowed during 2004.

 

I am always willing to buy books you recommend, including any that the church could have in the library as a resource for junior church or group leaders.

 Jill Duncan

    Librarian

 

SOCIAL ACTIVITIES

 

The number of social events held in 2004 was significantly higher than in previous years, mainly due to the fundraising activities for the buildings project.

 

The events held in the year were as follows:

 

Social group

 

·         Harvest Supper in October

·         Two quiz evenings, one involving the Circuit (NCH)

·         Christmas meal

·         Trinity Band concert

·         Safari Supper in January

·         Badminton evening at Leisure Centre in March

·         Annual Picnic and Walk in Windsor Great Park on Bank Holiday Monday

·         Monthly walks and walking holiday

 

Building Fund-related

 

·         ‘Sizzling Sausages’ in May

·         Barn Dance at the Leisure Centre in July (attended by over 200 people)

·         Three garden parties

·         Kennet Cruise on Norman Briggs’ barge

·         Fashion evening

·         ‘Shop in Comfort’

·         Christmas Entertainment Evening

 

The social group meetings are held annually and are less formal than most other meetings, in that anybody is welcome to attend. New ideas will be gratefully received for both fundraising and non-fundraising events. Please see Pam Medcraft or Andrew Curnow for the latter and Wendy Crosson-Smith or any members of the fundraising team for the former.

 

                       Richard Munday and Andrew Curnow

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PASTORAL REPORT

 

The Pastoral Committee has met 3 times over the last year.  Normally the ministers, plus Kath Bedborough and Michael Newport attend. In addition we have been joined by John or Sally Brimicombe and Paddy Jose, from the Methodist Circuit, who is continuing to give Trinity one day per week on a voluntary basis to assist the ministers with some of the pastoral load.

 

The committee oversees the Pastoral Team, whose members carry out pastoral visits on behalf of the church in a variety of ways.  We seek to further the aims of the church in providing care and support to anyone in the church community, or beyond, who requests it.

 

Much of the work of the committee this year has been spent in working on a paper entitled “Trinity Church – Pastoral Care & Counselling”, prepared by Sally Brimicombe.  In this, we have established many common links between the issues raised in the Prayer Ministry of the church and its Pastoral Ministry and, accordingly, we have produced a Church Leaflet advertising the differing services available to the church community – namely the Healing / Prayer Ministry on designated Sundays, the Trinity Prayer Chain, Pastoral Visits and Pastoral Care.

 

Church Meeting has also appointed Margaret Stephens as Pastoral Co-ordinator, who can be approached by anyone to arrange the appropriate Pastoral or Prayer Support in any given circumstance.

 

The leaflet also indicates that people who are interested in counselling may speak to the church ministers for information on known providers with different specialisms, who are independent of Trinity Church .

 

The committee are concerned now to increase the numbers of Pastoral Visitors, especially for younger people, and to offer some more specific training for the Pastoral Team.

 

We are very grateful to everyone in Trinity who provides ongoing Pastoral Support with such care and sensitivity.  I would particularly like to thank Sally Brimicombe for her time in working through the often complicated issues raised over the year and to Paddy Jose for her invaluable assistance and support.

 

                  Nick Thompson

 

 

URC READING AND OXFORD DISTRICT COUNCIL

 

District Council meets five times a year and I have attended three meetings since I was appointed, at Temple Cowley , Oxford , Aston Tirrold, and Christchurch , Woodley. 

 

At these meetings, information is given on the life of churches in the district, as well as publicising events and receiving reports from the committees of the district council.    The Finance and Property Committee is concerned, amongst other things, with awarding grants towards the building projects of churches needing to conform to the disabled access requirements. 

 

Fair Trade is actively encouraged and this year, along with many other churches, Trinity was acknowledged as a Fair Trade Church and we received a certificate in respect of this. 

 

The Pastoral Committee concerns itself with the staffing matters of the district and has divided the Reading and Oxford District into zones, with target numbers of ministers for the zones.

 

 

 

 

Other matters on the agendas of the meetings have been:

 

 

·         Training – a review of what is on offer to all members of the congregations on a variety of topics and levels.

 

·         The Hungerford resolution – this was voicing the concern of all the churches in Hungerford about the television programme being made about the Hungerford ‘massacre’ which it was felt was not helpful to the local community.

 

·         ‘Equipping the Saints’ - this was a discussion paper which had been generated from the General Assembly report on the future patterns of ministries and which many URC churches have discussed at their church meetings.

 

·         Training for the ministry.

 

·         Lottery funding for community grants which resulted in the loss of a grant from Synod funds.

 

        Wendy Keeley

 

 

URC WESSEX PROVINCIAL SYNOD

                       

The Wessex Synod stretches from Banbury to Poole to Southampton to Portsmouth to Guildford to Banbury and includes five districts and about 170 local churches. I am the lay representative for Trinity on Synod. Our ministers are all members of Synod.

 

Synod meets twice a year. During 2004, I did not manage to get to the first Synod meeting in Abingdon (reports from those who were there suggested it was a good meeting to avoid!), but was at the second meeting in Basingstoke .

 

Much of the business of the Synod meetings comes in the form of reports from various committees. In Abingdon there was also discussion of proposals for restructuring the work of the Synod.

 

In Basingstoke we had a very lively presentation from a group of visitors from Zambia . The two main impressions were of the great poverty of the country in material terms, in particular problems connected with Aids, and the very vibrant church, and the important involvement of the church in the life of the whole community. We also had a presentation, followed by discussion groups, on “Equipping the Saints”, which is partly more of the URC examining its ways of working, and partly an opportunity for the church to become adventurous. Four of the five districts, including Reading & Oxford , have reached the required level of involvement with Fair Trade to be recognised as Fairtrade Districts, and certificates were presented for all the individual churches which are fully Fairtrade. 

 

            Roger Mead

                                                                                                                                    URC Synod Representative

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

READING AND SILCHESTER METHODIST CIRCUIT

 

The Circuit met four times during 2004. These meetings were held at Trinity, Wesley, Tadley Common and Burghfield Common churches in February, June, September and December.

 

Our Methodist minister, Rev Nick Thompson, the senior steward, the church treasurer and three elected representatives, represent Trinity.

 

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, thanks and best wishes were expressed to James and Rosemary Fletcher, Rosemary in particular for her ministry in the circuit and Caversham during the last eight years, as was Liz Pennington, who at this meeting had already moved away. A farewell service was held at Trinity for them on 18 July.

A personal tribute was paid to Derek Guy who was shortly to retire as Senior Circuit Steward.

 

Stationing:

At the September meeting, the Rev Dermot Thornberry was warmly welcomed to the Circuit. He will be serving in the Caversham churches.

 

Circuit Stewards:

At the June meeting the following circuit stewards were appointed to serve for one year from September 2004: Peter Bell, Audrey Martin, Henry Stroud, Jennifer Dimmock and Alan Harland, also to act as Circuit Treasurer.

 

                                                                                                                                                Tony Bonnett

                                                                                                            Representative to the Circuit Meeting

 

 

READING DEANERY SYNOD

 

There are three of us in Trinity who now attend Deanery Synod - Simon Howard, Steve Edwards and myself, Virginia Thorne, so between us we attend most meetings. Trinity has now become a regular annual host of one (because of parking I suspect), and others have been at St Nicolas’, St John’s Orts Road, a church in Tilehurst, and Greyfriars (where parking is dreadful).

 

This year’s meeting at Trinity was a talk about Religion and Work, from Rev Susan van Beveren.  She has set up an ambitious programme involving local firms and churches to work together to give support in the community, after doing similar work in the Southern Hemisphere.  All Synod meetings start with refreshments, so our thanks to those in Trinity who provided them this time.  Vicars seem to need an ample helping of biscuits, to stoke them up for a good sing. They certainly raise the roof at Synod meetings with their singing.

 

The meeting at St Nicolas’ was a talk by someone from the Church Commissioners, talking about Ethical Investment.  He explained that, as a charity, he had a duty to make the best possible returns on investments with the Church’s capital, but that the Commissioners managed to combine this with Ethical Investment and still managed to give returns above the Stock Market average.  They had, over time, made a list of firms to invest in, but these were kept under constant review and personal visits made to firms to see for themselves what was going on.  In fact, he said, as a large investor, the Church Commissioners were able to influence firms to take a more ethical stance.

 

At this meeting, during coffee, there was a display about Simon’s schools work in Earley, which attracted much interest from Deanery members right across Reading .

 

The last meeting of 2004 was at Greyfriars, where the new Bishop talked about how the Church could get more involved in the community.  We split into small groups, to discuss who might need such help, and the answers ranged from lonely people in rich houses in Caversham, through Whitley to Reading Football Club. 

 

At this meeting, Nick Thompson was formally welcomed to regularly attend Synod meetings and also welcomed was a representative of the Methodist Circuit.  This followed from the joint Methodist/Anglican alliance which was agreed in the summer. So now there are four of us.

 

                                                                                                                                                      Virginia Thorne

                                                                                                                        Deanery Synod Representative

 

 

CHURCHES TOGETHER IN BERKSHIRE (CTB)

 

The Council of CTB meets twice a year and also publishes an informative newsletter, “Together”. In March, Monsignor Jeremy Garratt took over as chairman. The Chief Ecumenical Officer (CEO – a salaried 16-hr-a-week job) is Honor Alleyne and  Roger Mead is CTB’s Treasurer. The following is a selection of some of the more memorable contributions.

 

The March AGM included presentations on Christian Opportunities in Newbury Schools (COINS), where similar work is being carried out to that done here by the CTEER schools project, and on current Christian Aid campaigns.

 

At the September meeting Roger Mead put forward some ways of raising funds for the work of CTB, and in particular the CEO. Income from local Churches Together groups has been declining gradually and one proposal is that LEPs, who benefit more than most from CTB, pay 1% of the assessment currently paid to their parent denominations.

 

Also, a community audit undertaken by Churches Together in Maidenhead for their Local Strategic Partnership was presented. It details an impressive list of ways in which local Christian groups contribute to the community.

 

        Richard Cocks

                                                                                                                      CTB Council representative

 

 

CHURCHES TOGETHER IN EARLEY AND EAST READING (CTEER)

 

Trinity is one of about 15 churches (plus a number of ‘affiliates’) that make up CTEER. The representatives and ministers of the churches meet every quarter, along with people from Churches Together in Berkshire (CTB) and Churches Together in Reading (CTR), and other organisations when appropriate.

 

The work performed by CTEER is overseen by an executive committee made up of Carole Cull (Chair), Rob Weston (Vice-Chair), Sue Sheppy (Secretary) and Richard Munday (Treasurer).

 

The first meeting of 2004 was held at Abbey Baptist Church in February. Susan van Beveren gave a talk on her work as the Chaplain for Work and Economic Life. She spoke of creating a place where work and spirituality can meet. At the same meeting the representatives of the various churches approved the setting up of a Schools Project Management Committee as the first step to establishing a Schools Work Trust.

 

The AGM was held in May at St Peter’s and Carole Cull followed up on her initial thoughts about CTEER (from when she took over in 2003) by giving her views of the future plans and organisation of the group. 

 

In July, the representatives of the churches met at St Andrew’s URC church in London Road . Simon Howard presented an update on the Schools Project work. Carole Cull circulated a list of events and it was agreed that an Action Plan would be produced within two weeks of each meeting in the future, to provide a structure for future discussions, at both the Executive Meetings and the meetings of the representatives.

 

The most recent meeting was held in October at Our Lady of Peace, and a variety of matters were discussed although there was no speaker as such. A meeting is due to be held in Trinity on 31 January 2005 , at which Jeremy Sharpe will give a presentation on Community Ministry issues.

 

As always, CTEER continues to be involved with a number of other matters/events, including…

 

·         the plight of asylum seekers who have arrived in Reading and need support

·         the distribution of the Easter and Christmas leaflets to all the houses in the CTEER area

·         Good Friday pilgrimages

·         Fairtrade fortnight

·         One World Week

·         CTB and CTR, and how they interact with CTEER

·         The Reading (as opposed to the CTEER) Schools Work Project

 

     Richard Munday

   CTEER Treasurer

 

 

CTEER SCHOOLS WORK PROJECT

 

It has been another year of growth for the School Project. Here are some of the highlights.

 

·         Working in partnership with Woodley churches, ministers and church workers from CTEER delivered assemblies and gave RE input at Bulmershe School for the first time.

·         With invitations to lead RE sessions at Aldryngton and Redlands Schools we have now worked with all 12 of the primary schools in our area.

·         Our work with primary schools was the centre page feature in the July issue of the diocesan newspaper 'The DOOR’.

·         Members of the project led a training day on Schools Work for curates.

·         ‘The Starship’ After School Club at St Peter’s School now caters for 60 children and has also run parenting courses.

·         There are 50 primary school RE sessions booked for this academic year, a 30% increase on 2003/04.

 

Some of the biggest developments have taken place behind the scenes. On October 8 the project became a limited company and I acquired the glorious title of  ‘Acting Honorary Director’, in other words I’m only pretending and I don’t get paid, by the project at least! This means that we have been able to employ two of our RE team co-ordinators, Sue Rees & Julia Jones. Thanks to our income nearly doubling to £11,242, we have also been able to hire Pete Stone, the Reading Gateway Church Children’s Worker, for an extra 6 hours a week. He is spending that time developing the team that works with Whiteknights, Radstock and Hillside Schools , most of whose members come from Trinity Church .

 

After three and a half years’ sterling service, Catherine Edwards stood down as the project treasurer at the end of the summer. Catherine was the last of 3 Trinity treasurers to hold the post, the other two being Richard Munday and Nigel Gough. Thank you to all of them. Three volunteers from other churches have now taken on the role.

 

In this coming year, there will be more opportunities for the project to develop.

·         We are in the process of becoming a registered charity. Among other things this will enable people to make gift aided donations direct to the project.

·         We will launch our web site, through which we plan to sell our lesson plans and resources.

·        We will continue to work to raise the funds to employ a project director.

 

With the changes in the legal status of the Schools Project, this will be the last time it will appear in the Trinity Church annual reports. Back in 1996, when I started as the Anglican Minister at Trinity and the CTEER Schools Work Co-ordinator, I never believed that God would grow this work in the way that he has. A huge thank you is due to the Diocese of Oxford for their generous donation of my time, and also to Trinity for its support of the work in so many practical ways. Thank you.

 

Yours in His service                                                                                                               Simon Howard

                                                                        Acting Honorary Director of the CTEER Schools Project

 

PS - THE ADVERT

·         Free on a Wednesday morning or afternoon? Enjoy working with children and as part of a team?. Talk to me about being a member of the Whiteknights Radstock Hillside RE team.

·         Have you had experience of project management or financial control? Would you enjoy being part of a new and innovative piece of Christian work? Come and have a chat about joining our team of Trustees.

 

 

LOWER EARLEY FAMILY CONTACT CENTRE

 

The Contact Centre was set up by the local churches in 1996 and although not a Trinity organisation has been substantially staffed by Trinity members since then. We hold a three-hour session on two Saturdays of each month at the Salvation Army. Typically, four or five mothers will bring their children to meet and play with their fathers – in a safe and friendly environment. Sometimes it is also used as a handover point, with the contact taking place outside the Centre.

 

At the beginning of 2004, Phil Hooper took over the Chair from Sally Brimicombe and, at the AGM, we added another two members to the Management Committee, bringing in legal and social work expertise. Four of its eight members are Trinity-based, as are seven of our 14 volunteers. Our Co-ordinator is Jean Tinker, a member of Christ Church .

 

It has been the year of greatest change since we set up about 10 years ago. Because the government is trying to improve the access of parents to their children, we have been getting busier and are now at capacity most weeks. At the same time (and the two are surely connected) the government is encouraging all contact centres to become accredited. This requires the formalisation of much that was working but informal, and the adaptation and adoption of a constitution and numerous policy documents.

 

                     Richard Cocks

                                                                                                                           Contact Centre Secretary

 

 

PRAYER AND PRAISE

 

Prayer and Praise is an informal worship and prayer group. People come together to share in worship, learning new songs, as well as singing old favourites, praying and sharing together any concerns, thoughts and reflections.  It is a place where we feel uplifted by meeting together with God’s people, and where our faith is constantly being renewed, not least by the inspirational songs sung, and sensitively led by Keith on the piano.

 

This monthly worship time sees between 8 - 14 people gather, all are welcome and at present we are meeting on the 1st Monday of the month in the church.  Look in the monthly magazine for more details.

 

As a group, we are involved, from time to time in helping to lead worship at Trinity and other churches. In 2004 we helped Kate Robinson at a morning service at Three Mile Cross, and we have led 2 evening services including Easter Praise at Trinity, as well as an Advent Prayer and Praise service, which was a special and reflective time to prepare us for the coming of Christ at Christmas.

 

                                                                                                                                           Keith and Lisa Waite                                             

 

OUTREACH

 

Aim: To communicate the gospel of Jesus Christ and, in partnership with other agencies, to meet the needs of those people we, with whom we come into contact, both as individuals and as a church.. Trinity needs to set an example in Lower Earley and be both welcoming and caring.

 

This group has met just once this year, when we reviewed the outreach activities of the church.  Simon led us in an exercise on church growth, when we examined every aspect of church life, to find areas of strength and weakness from an outreach perspective.

 

Several church members also attended a Saturday Morning Conference on Community Ministry hosted by St Nicolas’ Church.

 

Trinity members continue to support the Friday Night Youth Outreach activities of ‘JAC’ - Just Around the Corner.  Others remain strongly committed to the Family Contact Centre, run from the Salvation Army premises.

 

Several members have become volunteers in the Crescent Resource Centre, to which Trinity remains committed financially.

 

This group may meet from time to time informally but it is not an official committee and has no official membership.  However, it seeks to help Trinity work out its aims in reaching out, with the Good News of Jesus Christ,  to the community in which we are set.

                   Nick Thompson

 

 

CRESCENT COMMUNITY RESOURCE CENTRE

 

Crescent has now been open and in operation for nearly two years. The years of hard work, planning, funding and building our centre are fast becoming but a dim memory.

 

Our first year of operation was a great success, the use of the centre expanded more quickly than we ever envisaged. This year has been the same. For our management team, our volunteers and Trustees, it has been an extremely busy time.

 

It has been good to see people using the building and enjoying it. The response from user groups has been positive, with 57 groups now using the building on a daily, weekly, monthly or occasional basis. It just proves they feel part of the Crescent.

 

The visitor statistics reveal just how popular Crescent has become. During the first 18 months, the centre was open, just fewer than 33,000 members of the user groups came through the doors. This is indeed proof how much the centre has filled a vacuum in the community life of Earley. The coffee bar is also well used with nearly 11,000 taking advantage of this facility during the same period. The Wednesday lunches are also very popular.

 

In 2004, Trinity Church donated the second part of their committed total giving of £9,000 over three years. A warm appreciation to all the members who have financially supported this worthwhile.

 

Every good wish to Crescent in all its future endeavours.

                                                                                                                                               Tony Bonnett

                                                                                                                                          Trustee

 

 

TRINITY MAGAZINE

 

I took over editing the Trinity Church Magazine in February 2004 and my first issue was in March 2004.  I would like to thank Virginia Thorne for such a good handover and for providing me with so much useful information about editing the magazine.  Thanks, too, Virginia , for doing such an excellent job while editing the magazine for six years.

 

There are 10 issues of the magazine a year, with double issues in July/August and December/January, because of holidays.  200 copies are made of each issue, apart from the December one, when 250 are printed.  The magazine also appears on the Trinity website, so it is available to people all over the world via their computers, thanks to Alex Robinson.  Many thanks to Stan Wombwell and Jenny Iosson and the team, who copy, collate, fold and staple the magazines each month.  Thanks also to Clare Tran for doing the diary.

 

I would like to encourage people to keep sending in contributions to the magazine, whether they are serious or humorous, thought provoking, moving or informative.  Please also remember to let me know in good time about any events which need advertising.

 

   Kay Slack

      Magazine Editor

 

 

TRINITY WEBSITE

www.trinityearley.co.uk

 

During the past year the number of visits to the website has risen from 6220 to nearly 7400.

 

The magazine continues to be posted on the website every month, and is a good resource for checking what’s going on in Trinity - including information about all our services.

 

The website contains about 50 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, including:

 

bulletAn overview of Trinity, its location, aims, history, ministers and members
bulletActivities of the church
bulletInformation to encourage potential new members
bulletCaring
bulletGroups
bulletLinks to other Christian sites (eg our denominational sites)
bulletMagazines (all the magazines for the past year)
bulletMusic
bulletLatest news
bulletPictures (eg pictures of the church picnic went up this year)
bulletPrayers
bulletReports (the report you are now reading will be on the site)
bulletServices
bulletStructure
bulletWorship
bulletYouth 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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This page was last amended on 06 June, 2009 . Please comment via the visitor's book with any comments you have about this page