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ANNUAL
REPORTS 2005 / 2006
INDEXProperty
Administrator / Buildings Supervisor arrangement What
has been, and is going to be, done? Denominational
Representatives UNITED
REFORMED CHURCH WESSEX SYNOD LOWER
EARLEY FAMILY CONTACT CENTRE CHURCH COUNCIL
The Church Council is defined by our
constitution to be the executive body of The people who have served on Church
Council during 2005 have been Chair:
Peter Musgrove Ministers:
Simon Senior Steward/ Churchwarden:
Steve Edwards (from March to December) Church Secretary/Churchwarden:
Elaine Munday (to March)
Church Treasurer:
Stewards:
John Bethell
Sandy Catchick
Andrew Curnow
John Goddard
Vronwyn Hutch (from September)
Alan Minns
David Newell (from September)
Property Administrator:
Ian Brickell (from March) Representative to Deanery Synod:
Virginia Thorne (to July)
Steve Edwards (to December) Representative to Circuit:
Tony Bonnett Representative to District Council:
Appointed by AGM:
Lynda Brannelly (from March)
Sandy Godfrey (from March)
Janet Whiteman (from March) Minute Secretary:
Kathryn Johns Methodist Circuit Steward
Jenny Dimmock (to September)
Julie Marsh (from September) Church Council meets seven times a
year. The average attendance at Church Council has been seventeen. Each
meeting opens with worship led by two members of the Council, and includes a
pastoral report from the ministers, and reports from one or two of our Church
Committees and Groups (other committees and groups report to Church Meetings).
The business of the seven meetings includes matters referred from the
denominations and from the wider church, but is mainly generated from within
Trinity, and during 2005 has included the following: January. Formal reports were received
on February. Formal reports were received
from Education & Nurture and Worship Committees. The draft Annual Reports
were received and approved. The major discussion was concerned with Spiritual
Growth and the planning and development of small group activities. We had an
initial discussion of the proposed Mission 2007 in April. Formal reports were received on
the work of the Deanery Synod and Methodist Circuit. There were discussions
about Saturday Morning Prayers, and planning for our Away Day. Future planning
for Spiritual Growth and House Groups and for Mission 2007”Regenerate” was
discussed. We also considered the planning of future worship arrangements and
enjoyed a farewell view from Simon May. A formal report was received from
the Social Committee. There were also updates from the Finance, Worship and
Missions Committees and the Property Group. We received reports on the English
Church Census, and on the CTB LEP Day and reflections on the Away Day. We
considered the future planning of ministry in the July. Formal reports were received on
the work of Churches Together in October. Formal reports were received
from the Property Group and from the Crescent Community Centre. There were
also updates from meetings of the Missions, Education & Nurture and
Pastoral Committees and from the Joint Church Council. Planning for Mission
2007 “Regenerate”, and for next year’s Away Day were discussed, and
final arrangements for the Lay worker appointment were agreed. November. Formal reports were received
on the work of
Church Secretary CHURCH MEETING
There have been the usual four Church
Meetings during 2005, in March (the Annual General Meeting), June, September
and December. The meetings have included the usual mix of items including
worship, a pastoral report, regular reports from committees and groups,
elections and appointments, decisions (mainly relating to the building
development project, and presentations. A list of all new elections &
appointments is given at the end of this report. The average attendance at these
meetings has been 40 people. The agenda matters at the four meetings have been
as follows: March (AGM). Worship was led by Keith
and Lisa Waite. June. Worship was led by September. Worship was led by December. Worship was led by The following elections have been made
at Church Meetings during 2005: Church Secretary/Churchwarden
Senior Steward/Churchwarden
Steve Edwards (March) Treasurer
Property Administrator
Ian Brickell (March) Stewards
Emma Thorne (March ),
Vronwyn Hutch (September)
David Newell (September) Members of Church Council (March for 1
year)
Lynda Brannelly
Sandy Godfrey, Janet Whiteman The following new appointments have
been made at Church Meetings during 2005: Representative to Representative to CTEER
Communion Steward
Gaynor Davies (December) Assistant Treasurer
Gill Newton (March) Crèche Co-ordinator
Sandy Godfrey (September) Leaders for Earley Youth Net
& Member of the & (as alternate to Elaine Munday)
Worship Committee members
John Goddard (June) &
Pastoral Committee member
Margaret Stephens (June) Staffing Committee member
Finance Committee member
Nigel Holloway (December) Education & Nurture Group members
Lisa Waite (June) &
Pastoral Team members
&
Each of these appointments is for a
three year term. In addition many members have been re-appointed to positions
for a further term of three years.
Church Secretary LEADERSHIP TEAM
The Leadership Team comprises the
ministers and senior lay officers of the church. The team meets, informally,
about once every six weeks, in addition to frequent e-mail communications and
conversations in passing. The membership of the Leadership Team
has changed considerably during 2005. Simon Howard left to take up his new
post at Twyford and Ruscombe. John Brimicombe stood down as Senior
Steward/Churchwarden at the AGM in March, and was replaced by Steve Edwards,
who has now resigned from the position on the removal of the Edwards Family to
We are, of course, immensely indebted
to all those who have left the Team during the year. Simon Howard has been the
Anglican minister at Trinity for more than eight years, and has made an
enormous contribution during that time not only to the Worship and Life at
Trinity but also through the development of ministry through the work in the
schools of Earley and It is difficult to summarise the
topics which have been included in the meetings of the leadership team,
because anything and everything to do with the life of Trinity has been there.
There has been a particular need to support Nick as we have approached and
finally moved from two stipendiary ministers to one. Topics which have seemed
most important have been (i) the arrangement of the pulpit plan so that a
proper representation of all three denominations in the leading of worship is
achieved while at the same time ensuring that our full-time minister is
enabled to lead the majority of our services, and (ii) the organisation of
pastoral care for all members and adherents at Trinity. It has been good that
an increasing number of members of Trinity have been involved in leading
worship, and that there have also been increasing numbers of members
interested in training for pastoral support.
Roger Mead Church Secretary FINANCE
Aim: For
During
the year there were 6 members of the finance committee: Alison
Travers
(Assistant Treasurer) Gill John
Medcraft
(Gift Aid and Envelope Secretary) Tony
Bonnett In
addition we welcomed The
Church started the year in a strong position after last year.
During the year significant funds were given by the congregation to the
new building fund. As expected
this led to a drop in the income being given to the general fund and our
general income was down on last year by £10,000.
General costs were kept under control, but there were exceptional items
on expenditure on repairs and maintenance.
This meant that we finished the year in a break-even position rather
than a surplus. However the Church
has sufficient reserves to maintain this position whilst funds are being
raised for the new building. Detailed information is contained within the
Annual Accounts. Next
year we face a very challenging position due to a substantial increase in our
assessment, which with the fall in general income leaves the Church facing a
deficit again. As
this is my last report as Treasurer I would like to thank those who contribute
financially to church funds which enables the Church to achieve so much. Thank
you for all your support during my time as Treasurer and I wish Trinity well
in the future. I
welcome Treasurer PROPERTY
COMMITTEE The property committee has
responsibility for the church buildings, equipment and the Methodist Manse.
The committee comprises: Ian Brickell
Property Administrator David Rains
Equipment Supervisor Jane
Thompson
Cleaning Coordinator Vacancy
Manse Steward Tony Bonnett
Church Users /Steward / Room Bookings representative. Willing
helpers
Always wanted! The
separate Buildings Working Group has continued to successfully progress the
plans for changes and additions to the Church building. The Committee is
represented on the group by the Property Administrator. Property Administrator / Buildings Supervisor arrangementAfter a number of years as Property
Administrator Steve Edwards stood down from this role. The extent and quality
of his work was outstanding, and hard to follow! The Buildings Supervisor post
had been vacant since Staffing The Manse
Steward post is currently vacant and a volunteer is needed for this – no
special knowledge or significant time commitment is involved. Health and
Safety Legislation applicable to the Church seems to grow every year and a
volunteer is sought to progress outstanding matters on a “one-off project
basis”. Also willing helpers to do odd jobs are always welcome! If you are interested in any of these areas Ian Brickell would be pleased to hear from you – see Church directory or magazine for contact details. What has been, and is going to be, done?A number
of maintenance items have been carried out to the church in the last year,
many of which go unnoticed, but by way of examples have included: - Repair of kitchen cupboard doors, re
fixing loose door handles, multiple bulb replacements, broken heating boost
thermostat and vandalised radiator fitting, First Aid box replenishment, roof
tile repairs, drain clearance, electrical system inspection and Portable
Appliance Testing, renewal of the
large electric water heater in the roof and the small hot water urn, and of
course regular general cleaning. The current list `of items to tackle
includes e.g. larger shelves in the I should
like to thank all those serving on the Committee for their time and expertise
and hope that the current vacancies can soon be filled. Ian Brickell Property Administrator BUILDINGS
PROJECT This report is covering the progress
made on the Buildings Scheme by the following Committees: Buildings Working Group (BWG) Buildings Finance Team Fundraising Team 2005 has been a year of major progress
for the Buildings Scheme, and all the above committees have met regularly (and
frequently!). Much progress has been made with David
Ensom (who is designing the alterations) towards having the specifications and
drawings drawn up to sufficient detail to enable us to go to tender. We are
just about there as I write this, and we expect to be going to tender in
Spring 2006, ready for building work to be going on in Autumn 2006, and be
finished for next Christmas. During that detailed design process we have
identified some small improvements to the use of the land which have resulted
in an extra £9000 costs, but much better use of space (and extra store
cupboards). Fund raising has continued with lots
of special events (too numerous to list here), which, together with last year’s
efforts, have now raised over £10,000 for the fund. Much thanks to all those
who have helped make these events so successful. The fund total has risen steadily over
the year with many very generous donations and pledges for which we are very
thankful. Altogether, by the end of 2005 we have
pushed our fund-raising to more than £80,000, which is on target for the
£88,000 2-year fundraising effort we set ourselves. However (and there always has to be a
“but”), we have not been able to raise as much as we had hoped from
external sources (grants, trusts etc) and it looks like we will have to raise
more money ourselves than we originally planned. To date we have only £33,000
towards our £80,000 target, and (realistic) hopes of probably another
£14,000. This will leave us £33,000 short (plus the extra £9,000 extra
costs mentioned above), so we are replanning how we can meet this shortfall
– but we remain confident we can get there if we all work together, even if
it takes a bit longer than we hoped. Finally, we originally planned to give
10% of what we raised (£8,000) to another building project overseas, in line
with our pledge to donate 10% of Church funds to worthy causes. We have chosen
Kagando in
PASTORAL
CARE & COMMITTEE The Pastoral
Team has met on 4 occasions over the year to discuss matters of concern
and to ensure that particular people within the Church are receiving support. Margaret Stephens continues as
Pastoral Care Co-ordinator. Her
telephone number is advertised on the service sheet each week and various
people have been in touch to request information, or to arrange a visit, or
simply to talk. The Pastoral
Committee have met 3 times to keep a watching brief over the Pastoral
needs of the Church. In particular
we have drawn up a Job Description for a Lay Pastoral Worker to work alongside
the Minister in 2006. After Simon The appointment of the Lay Worker will
assist in the development of these contacts.
The Methodist Circuit will oversee the appointment of the worker and
the funding will come from that part of the Trinity assessment paid to the
circuit. Finally, 16 Church Members attended a
Day Course on Listening and Responding Skills in November 2005 run by the
Philippi Trust. It was a very beneficial day and we look forward to putting
our new and refreshed skills into our pastoral conversations and much of daily
life. Our thanks to CHURCH
MEMBERSHIP
Trinity
currently has 242 members on its roll compared with 244 at this time last
year. In addition there are 220 people listed as adherents (non members).
There were 210 adherents at this time last year. Of the total number of people
listed on the church membership database (462) 116 are children and young
people. During the year from There have been
six new members welcomed to
Katherine
Cooke Gaynor
Davies Joanna
Shaw Adina
Wass Jessica
Winter
Membership Secretary EDUCATION AND NURTURE Aim: To
encourage spiritual growth and to develop a closer relationship with God as
individuals and as a church Our April meeting was Lisa Waite’s
first and Bridget Through the year a number of
fellowship groups have met: Lent - four groups met with a total of
45 people attending the Lent study groups. Voices from the South – two groups
met with a total of 18 people attending a five week study looking at issues
leading up to the G8 summit; we then met socially on the sixth week for an
international meal. Advent group – ten people have met
for the four weeks of Advent to reflect on the Christmas story Alpha course - organised by Prayer group – meets on the third
Monday of each month Prayer and Praise – meets on the
second Monday of each month With all of these groups the actual
people vary from week to week as we all have other commitments; however they
are a great way to grow spiritually and to make friends and the flexibility
does not seem to detract from the fellowship. Confirmation classes were run during
May, with 5 people coming forward for confirmation at the joint service in
July. Some people went to Easter People and
about 20 people went to The planned quiet day in September was
cancelled due to lack of support. Although
we are asked to plan these days, they are poorly attended and so we have
decided to not organise another for a while. On a Saturday in November we held a
Phillippi Trust Listening and Responding Skills course at Trinity.
Sixteen people attended and afterwards completed a short piece of work
to gain certificates in this deceptively difficult skill Lisa Waite held an evening of signing
in worship in November. TRINITY
LIBRARY
I had a problem with the library
database this year which took a lot of time to sort out, as I am the only who
uses it I have only myself to blame! New books bought: 13 adult and 16
children’s. Withdrawals 35, most
of which were sold at a £1 each for the buildings fund. There are 16 books
missing this year. The recorded
loans of 35 books is down on previous years, but I know some are borrowed
without being written in the book. Could I ask that everyone writes down
the books they borrow, so that I can properly record how much the library is
used and so they are not marked as missing in the annual stock take.
Every year we have between 10 and 20 books missing, perhaps half of
these reappear; if all of the books were recorded as loans I could remind
people to return them! Librarian MISSIONS
COMMITTEE
The committee currently consists of
Andrew Curnow, Pam Handy, Sally Garforth, Alan Minns, Graham Looker, Pam
Thomson and myself. We try to maintain and develop some of the “Community”
aspect of Trinity’s aims, being responsible for most of 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 2005, 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:
§
NCH fundraising included a house-to-house collection
(£212) and an envelope collection on NCH Sunday (£166).
§
Members filled a large cardboard box with tinned food, for
the Drop in Centre, to whom we also gave most of the tinned harvest produce.
§
Christian Aid Week collections (£1302)
§
Harvest Supper and auction of produce in support of the
Refugee Council and the Association of Visitors of Immigrants in Detention
(£400)
§
Easter collections (£307) donated to fund teachers at a
§
Autumn Fayre in support of the
§
Printer recycling box in vestibule, in support of
Traidcraft Exchange (£69)
§
Special Disability Sunday service
§
The donation of Toy Service toys to NCH’s Bracknell
Family Centre and the Mayor’s Appeal for local needy children
§
Donations at the Christingle Service (£80) for the
Children’s Society
§
46 “Samaritan’s Purse” shoeboxes of presents for
children in
§
The Jar of Grace UNICEF appeal for feeding supplements for
poorly nourished children (£108)
§
Christmas collections (£897) for Christian Aid’s “Child
of Africa” appeal to help rebuild lives following the civil war in The Christian Aid week collection,
organised by David Raines, was a substantial improvement on previous years. So
can we beat it this year?! Another highlight was seeing the photo taken by
Anna Headley of some Bosnian children gleefully receiving some of the
Samaritan’s Purse shoeboxes. On the downside, the Autumn Fayre was not as
successful as usual. We are looking at ways to improve on this in 2006. We have continued to support the
hospital and community in Trinity supported the Make Poverty
History campaign, flying the banner and sending groups to the “Wake up to
Fair Trade” all-night vigil 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. Missions
Committee Convenor TRINITY TRAIDCRAFT
We
have continued to have a regular stall after the Outside
Trinity we again attended the Earley Carnival and for the first time Reading
WaterFest. The
total orders we have placed with Traidcraft in 2005 amount to £2,231, a
substantial increase on last year. The figures are substantially helped
(though they were last year too) by a bulk order for the beverages consumed on
Tim Ragget’s and the Bethal’s youth camp! Pam
Thompson’s craft stall sold £1,770 of goods at Trinity, making a total of
£4,000 sales through the church – one third up on last year’s total. It
seems that people are increasingly becoming aware of the difference that fair
trade makes and are more prepared to pay a fair price for things. We
provide the tea and coffee - and now “Fairbreak cookies” - for
after-service refreshments, for which the church reimbursed us £98 this year.
We may even be able claim some credit for the addition of the new smaller
cookies to Traidcraft’s range, having told them on several occasions that
there must be a good market for them in churches. We hope you enjoy them!
Margaret and Richard Cocks WORSHIP
COMMITTEE The committee consists of
approximately nine members: currently on the committee are The secretary is responsible for
organising the readers’ rota and contacting visiting ministers/preachers
about the services. There is always a need for extra readers particularly at
the evening services. At the committee meetings previous
services are discussed and assessed for both accessibility and inclusiveness.
The patterns of Easter and Christmas services are also both arranged and
assessed. The Trinity Worship Book was discussed
fully through this committee. The music for this played a large part in the
discussions at meetings. Over the last year we have discussed
the 6pm service in its various forms; Saturday morning prayers; copyright of
the music in Trinity; the need for some consistency with visiting ministers
now that Simon has gone; the need for more sensitive ministers during the
summer, when there is no Junior Church; the greater use of combining worship
with meals; a selection of hymns for use during communion was selected.
Worship Secretary PRAYER & PRAISE The Prayer & Praise evenings have
continued throughout 2005. The meetings take the form of an
informal worship and prayer group. We meet to share in worship, learning new
songs, as well as singing old favourites. We pray and share concerns, thoughts
and reflections. The meetings are attended by around 6
to 10 people and new faces are always welcome - even if you can't make it to
every meeting. At present we are
meeting once a month in the Church. Look
in the monthly Trinity magazine for more details.
As a group we have continued to be
involved in helping to lead worship at Trinity - in particular the Easter
Sunday evening 'Easter Praise' service which we are looking forward to leading
again in 2006. One of our aims is
to identify the unknown songs in Mission Praise as well as finding newly
published songs, and include them in the services we help to lead. Keith and Lisa Waite 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 as members
come and go. University entrance programmes have taken their toll on our
membership and we are always keen to welcome new musicians.
Today we have ten full band members and six associate members, so if
you are hiding your musical light under a bushel – or perhaps just learning
an instrument and can play from sight reasonably well - why not consider
contributing to worship at Trinity with your music? The commitment is low –
an hour before a 10.00 service perhaps once every two or three weeks. The Ecumenical nature of our church 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 (within the band but also notably in other areas of
music in Trinity). During 2005 the band played
twenty-eight times: ~ Twenty three services at Trinity ~ Two memorial services at Duchess of
Kent House on 24th April and 16th October May I say another big thank-you to all
members, associates, supporters and friends past and present who have
contributed. Peter Whiteman SINGING
GROUP The Singing
Group has, over the last 4 years, become an established part of The
objectives of the group are:
·
To encourage and enable anyone who wishes, regardless of
musical background, to sing as part of a group.
·
To sing 2-3 times in a year.
It is not the intention to practise every week.
Instead, there are typically 5 to 6 practices, 1 per week, in the run
up to the service. This way,
people know what the commitment is, and we remain fresh and enthusiastic!
·
To sing music from all periods, from traditional early
music through to modern popular songs.
·
To sing music from many cultural traditions and origins. In 2005, we
sang:
·
On Trinity Sunday, in May.
This happened also to be Simon
·
3 times during the Christmas period - as indeed we did in
2004. As well as the Carol Service
and Midnight Service, we sang during Phil and Joy Hooper's evening of
Christmas time readings and drama. All levels
of musical ability are welcome, from never having sung before and can't read
music through to experienced musicians. There
is a lot of “note bashing”, so all have confidence with the music.
I would specifically like to thank Tim Raggett and 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 2006, we
are currently planning to sing again at the Trinity Sunday service in
May/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,
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