|
|
|
 | NCH
fundraising including house-to-house collection (£230), quiz and
swimathon |
| Donations
of clothing to the Drop in Centre, as well as the usual tinned harvest
produce |
| Christian
Aid Week collections (just over £1000) |
| Harvest
Supper and auction of produce in support of Novimost (£385) |
| Easter
collections (£414) donated to fund teachers at a |
| One
World Week talk at 10am service |
| Autumn
Fayre, in support of the |
| Printer
recycling box in vestibule, in support of Traidcraft Exchange |
| Special
Disability Sunday service |
| The
donation of Toy Service toys to NCH’s Greenham House Family Centre |
| Donations
at the Christingle Service (£527) for the Children’s Society |
| Over
40 “Samaritan’s Purse” shoeboxes of presents for children in eastern
Europe. |
| The
Jar of Grace UNICEF appeal |
| Christmas
collection (£560) for Christian Aid’s “Child of Bethlehem” appeal
for its work with
Palestinians in |
We also, through John Medcraft, maintain Trinity’s link with the
hospital and community in
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
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
‘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
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
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
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
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
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
The
staffing committee is made up of a number of Trinity members (including both
ministers) and representatives from our sponsoring body Churches Together in
Current
members are as follows:
Trinity
Ministers:
Rev Simon Howard & Rev Nick Thompson
Trinity
Senior Steward/chair:
John Brimicombe
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
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
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
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
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
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
The
12th Trinity Church Holiday Bible Club took place over four afternoons from Tuesday 24 to
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
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,
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
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
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
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
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
·
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
·
Monthly walks and walking holiday
·
‘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
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
District
Council meets five times a year and I have attended three meetings since I was
appointed, at
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
The
Pastoral Committee concerns itself with the staffing matters of the district
and has divided the
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
The
Wessex Synod stretches from Banbury to
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
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
Roger Mead
URC Synod Representative
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
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
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
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
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
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
As
always, CTEER continues to be involved with a number of other matters/events,
including…
·
the plight of asylum seekers who have arrived in
·
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
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
·
With invitations to lead RE sessions at Aldryngton
and
·
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
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
Yours
in His service
Simon Howard
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.
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
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
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,
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,
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
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:
| An overview of Trinity, its location, aims,
history, ministers and members |
| Activities of the church |
| Information to encourage potential new members |
| Caring |
| Groups |
| Links to other Christian sites (eg our
denominational sites) |
| Magazines (all the magazines for the past year) |
| Music |
| Latest news |
| Pictures (eg pictures of the church picnic went
up this year) |
| Prayers |
| Reports (the report you are now reading will be
on the site) |
| Services |
| 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
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