THE PARISH
of
Worth, Pound Hill &
Maidenbower
PARISH CHURCH OF SAINT NICHOLAS,
WORTH
SAINT BARNABAS CHURCH, POUND HILL
CONTENTS
Agenda for the annual Meeting of Parishioners 2014
3
Minutes of the 2013 Annual Meeting of Parishioners &
the Annual Parochial Church Meeting
5
Rector’s report
9
2013 Annual Report of the Parochial Church Council
11
Parish Plan for 2014
41
A Scheme for Representation
43
1
2
The Parish Church of St Nicholas, Worth & The Church of St Barnabas,
Pound Hill
AGENDA
For meetings to be held in St Barnabas’ Church
23rd March 2014 at 11.30 am
Opening prayers
Meeting 1: Annual meeting of Parishioners
To elect two Churchwardens / Trustees (by custom, one from each church)
Meeting 2: Annual Parochial Church Meeting
1.
Apologies for absence
2.
Approval of minutes of the 2013 Annual Parochial Church Meeting
REPORTS
3.
The Electoral Roll (Electoral Roll Officer)
4.
Financial Statements (PCC Treasurer and Independent Examiner)
5.
Fabric, goods and ornaments of the churches (Churchwardens)
6.
Annual report of PCC & parish activities (PCC Chair and others)
ELECTIONS
7.
Two Deputy Wardens / Trustees (by custom, one from each church)
8.
Three Deanery Synod Representatives
(by custom, at least one from each church to serve to 31st May 2017)
9.
Parochial Church Council Members / Trustees
(a)
Two lay representatives for St Barnabas Church (3-year term)
(b)
One lay representative for St Barnabas Church (1-year term)
(c)
One lay representative for St Nicholas Church (3-year term)
(d)
Lay representatives to fill any places vacated by elections at 1, 7 or 8
APPOINTMENTS
10.
Sidespeople
11.
Independent Examiner
OTHER BUSINESS
12.
To note the Scheme for Representation which enters into effect following this APCM
13.
Any other business (at the Chairman’s discretion)
14.
Date of next APCM - Sunday, 22nd March 2015 at 11.30am
15.
Closing prayers.
3
The new PCC will meet immediately after the APCM to appoint a Vice Chair, the PCC
Secretary, the PCC Treasurer and at least two of its members to the Standing
Committee.
The first ordinary meeting of the PCC is on 10th April 2014 at 8.00 pm in the Garden
Room
WORTH PARISH
serving Crawley in Worth, Pound Hill and Maidenbower
and the Church of England congregations of
St Barnabas Church, Pound Hill and the Parish Church of St Nicholas, Worth
THE RECTOR
The Reverend Canon Anthony Ball
The Rectory, Church Road, Worth, Crawley, West Sussex RH10 7RT
THE ASSISTANT RECTOR
The Reverend Angela Martin
St. Barnabas’ Vicarage, 2 Crawley Lane, Pound Hill, Crawley, West Sussex RH10 7EB
HONORARY ASSISTANT PRIESTS
The Reverend Canon Roger Brown
Telephone: (01293) 520454
120, Malthouse Road, Southgate, Crawley, West Sussex RH11 6BH
The Reverend Gordon Parry
Telephone: (07802) 432398
31a, Mount Close, Crawley, West Sussex RH10 7EF
The Reverend Canon Meurig Williams
Telephone: (01293) 883051
c/o Bishop’s Lodge, Church Road, Worth, Crawley, West Sussex RH10 7RT
THE CHURCHWARDENS
Mrs Rosemary Cordan
Telephone: (01342) 842088
1 Millers Close, Millers Lane, Outwood, Redhill, Surrey RH1 5QB
Mrs Phyl Pennell
Telephone: (01293) 883362
19 Home Close, Pound Hill, Crawley, West Sussex RH10 3AF
Mr David Anderson
5 Wadham Close, Pound Hill, Crawley, West Sussex RH10 3HL
Telephone: (01293) 409914
Mr Richard Turpie
Telephone: (01293) 886357
16 Garrett Close, Maidenbower, Crawley, West Sussex RH10 7UP
4
MINUTES OF THE 2013 ANNUAL MEETING OF PARISHIONERS
AND ANNUAL PAROCHIAL CHURCH MEETING
21st April 2013 at St Barnabas’ Church at 11.30 am
Present: 50 parishioners and Canon Anthony Ball and Revd Angela Martin
Apologies: 27 parishioners
Meeting 1: Annual meeting of Parishioners
Canon Anthony welcomed everyone to the meeting and opened it with prayers.
Election of two Churchwardens
St Barnabas’
Phyl Pennell
Proposed by Myrtle Taylor
Seconded by Peter Edwards
Phyl Pennell was unanimously elected.
St Nicholas’
Rosemary Cordan
Proposed by Richard Turpie
Seconded by Max Perry
Rosemary Cordan was unanimously elected.
The meeting was declared closed.
Meeting 2: Annual Parochial Church Meeting
1. Apologies for absence – 27 parishioners.
2. Approval of minutes of the 2012 annual parochial church meeting
Minutes circulated in the Yearbook were proposed as a true record by Myrtle Taylor,
seconded by Ann Lane, and approved with two abstentions.
REPORTS
3. The new Electoral Roll (Electoral Roll Officer)
The new electoral roll totals 162 names, including 44 from St Barnabas’ (31 fewer than
2012) and 118 from St Nicholas’ (60 fewer than 2012). The high number of leavers was
thought to be due to deaths and married couples who have not re-enrolled. It was
clarified that there is a requirement for a new electoral roll every 6 years. The meeting
expressed its thanks to Jane Stanford, the Electoral Roll Officer.
4. Financial Statements (PCC Treasurer, Independent Examiner)
All details are contained within the separate Annual Report and Financial Statements
prepared for submission to the Charities Commission. Max Perry gave thanks to the
previous Treasurer Stuart Sharpe and to the APCM. He described a fairly balanced
budget in 2012, with some challenges for 2013 being passed on to the next PCC, in
particular a budget which spends more than predicted income. Thanks were expressed
to people who had used GiftAid envelopes.
There was a question regarding direct debits and it was clarified that GiftAid could be
claimed if the donor had signed a form and was a UK taxpayer. It was pointed out that
the Parish Giving Scheme relieves the parish of the administration for claiming back tax
on donations.
5
There was a question regarding whether the Accounts had been examined and
approved by the PCC. It was clarified that the accounts are the PCC’s and are
provided to the APCM for information. They had been adopted by a meeting of the
PCC. and signed by the Chair prior to their publication. They had subsequently been
checked and endorsed by the Independent Examiner. The accounts must be submitted
to the Charities Commission by October. People were invited to request to a copy of
the accounts with the Independent’s Examiner’s report attached should they wish.
In response to a question, it was clarified that tax cannot be claimed back on
contributions to the 100 Club.
There was a vote of thanks for Max Perry for his work as Treasurer and in preparing
the accounts, proposed by Malcolm Booker, seconded by Stuart Sharpe and approved
unanimously.
5. Fabric, goods and ornaments of the churches (Churchwardens – presented by Phyl Pennell)
Thanks were expressed to people in the background who helped prepare for the
Archdeacon’s visitation, which was successful. A vote of thanks for the work of the
churchwardens was proposed by Gillian Maher, seconded by Pamela Newley and
approved unanimously.
6. Annual Report of PCC & parish activities (PCC Chair and others)
Canon Anthony referred parishioners to his comments on pages 7 and 8 of the
Yearbook and said it bore testament to the tremendous amount of work and lifeblood
which is flowing through the veins of the Parish. There were no questions for the PCC
Secretary, Deanery Synod Representatives, Church Committees, or Sub-Committees
and Groups. The Parish Events & Fundraising Sub-Committee was praised for the great
effect of its fundraising.
Canon Anthony proposed a vote of thanks to the PCC and members of the SubCommittees, Groups and all those who collaborate with their activities. Mary Fry
seconded this proposal and there was a unanimous vote in favour.
ELECTIONS
7. Two Deputy Wardens/Trustees (by custom, one from each church)
St Barnabas’
David Anderson
Proposed by Don Hewerdine
Seconded by Janet Hewerdine
There was clear support for David Anderson’s election as Deputy Churchwarden for St
Barnabas’ from the St Barnabas’ electoral roll.
St Nicholas’
Richard Turpie
Proposed by Joan Tick
Seconded by Pamela Newley
There was clear support for Richard Turpie’s election as Deputy Churchwarden for St
Nicholas’ from the St Nicholas’ electoral roll.
6
8.
Two Deanery Synod Representatives (by custom for St Barnabas’, to serve to 31st May 2014)
Don Hewerdine: proposed by Phyl Pennell, seconded by David Anderson. Clear
approval was expressed by those present on the St Barnabas’ electoral roll.
Mary Fry: proposed by Greta Sawyer and seconded by Jane Stanford. Clear approval
was expressed by those present on the St Barnabas’ electoral roll.
Existing Deanery Synod Representatives had been elected for 3 years. Pamela Newley
and Ann Phillipson’s term continues and Don and Mary were elected for 1 year.
9.
a)
Parochial Church Council Members/Trustees
Robert Musselwhite, listed as a PCC member in the Yearbook, had since resigned.
Two lay representatives for St Barnabas’ Church (3-year term)
The retirement of Gillian Maher and Jane Stanford was noted. There were 3 vacancies, 2
members to be elected for 3-year terms and 1 to be elected for a 2-year term to replace
Robert Musselwhite.
David Fry was proposed by Don Hewerdine and seconded by Phyl Pennell. This was
supported by the St Barnabas’ electoral roll.
There was a vote of thanks to those who were standing down.
b)
Two lay representatives for St Nicholas’ Church (3-year term)
There were 2 vacancies for 3-year terms, due to the retirement of Colin Smith and Peter
Gusterson. There was a third vacancy for a 2-year term (due to Richard Turpie’s
election as a Deputy Churchwarden).
Max Perry was proposed by Bill Puttick and seconded by Wendy Sulley.
Alexander Brooks was proposed by Stuart Sharpe and seconded by Joan Tick.
Colin Smith was proposed by Max Perry and seconded by Alexander Brooks. Colin
Smith was not present but the meeting was content that he was willing to stand.
As one of the vacancies was for 2 years, there was an election from St Nicholas’
electoral roll members in order to decide which new member would be allocated this
vacancy. There was an objection to a vote by show of hands and therefore the vote was
taken by ballot. Members were asked to mark a cross against the candidate they would
like to elect for a 2-year term. Votes were counted by Jane Stanford and verified by
Revd Angela Martin.
The result was reported back after item 10 –
Alexander Brooks was elected for 2 years, and Colin Smith and Max Perry for 3 years.
Canon Anthony proposed a vote of thanks for all those who were leaving the PCC,
seconded by David Anderson.
Lay representatives to fill any places vacated by elections at 7 or 8 (2 year term)
There were no further candidates.
7
APPOINTMENTS
10. Sidespeople
St Barnabas’ – Nominations had been received for David Anderson, Pat Childs, Leslie
Edwards, Peter Edwards, David Fry, Janet Hewerdine, Phyl Pennell and Roger Pennell.
Their appointment was approved by a show of hands of the St Barnabas congregation.
St Nicholas’ – traditionally split into 2 groups for the two main services:
8.00 a.m. – Nominations had been received from Gerald Sandwell. At the meeting Brenda
Booker, Gill Gusterson, Pamela Newley, Ann Phillipson and Joan Tick were added to the list.
9.45 a.m. – Nominations had been received from James Bull, Karen Fly, Cecil Henman, Ann
Lane, Gill Osborne, Richard Turpie and Valerie Walter. At the meeting Gill Gusterson,
Peter Gusterson, Jackie Hemsley, Pamela Marson, Pamela Newley, Joan Pallett and Joan Tick
were added to the list.
Their appointment was approved by a show of hands of the St Nicholas’ congregation.
There was applause in support of the sidespeople.
11. Independent Examiner
Peter Dyer was proposed by David Fry, seconded by Malcolm Booker and unanimously
approved.
OTHER BUSINESS
12. To adopt a Scheme for Representation (to replace the 2009 Parish Constitution)
The proposal included in the Yearbook was introduced – noting the proposed move from
the current system where each church elects members from each church to a system where
there is at least 1 representative from each congregation. The following amendments
clarifying the text circulated were noted:
Para 1: remove the word “Church” after “St Nicholas”
Para 4.a. add the words “who shall be ex officio members of the Parochial Church Council.”
Para 4.b. insert “parochial church” between “annual” and “meeting” and remove “of
parishioners”
Para 6.b. in the final sentence remove “shall be” and insert after “candidates,” the words
“the PCC shall have”.
The Scheme, incorporating these amendments, was proposed by Ann Lane, seconded by
Stuart Sharpe and adopted with 5 abstentions. Canon Anthony noted that The Scheme will
come into effect after the 2014 APCM.
13. Any other business
Canon Anthony proposed a vote of thanks for Joan Tick for producing the Yearbook for 13
years.
This was seconded by Greta Sawyer.
14. Date of next APCM – Sunday 23rd March 2014 was approved. There were 2 votes
against.
15. Closing prayers
The meeting closed at 12.30 p.m.
8
RECTOR’S REPORT – 2013
This time last year I was typing the final lines of my introduction which concluded by paying
tribute to Joan Tick for her great dedication in compiling the Yearbook for 12 years. It seems
appropriate, therefore, to link my reflections last year with those shared below by offering my,
and I am sure all of your, thanks to Simon Wakefield for taking on this mantle. He does this
alongside taking over from Colin Smith the vital role of chairing the PCC’s Communications
Committee. I am grateful to Colin, David, Joan, Richard, Phyl and Angela for the huge amount
of time and energy they have put into coordinating the activities taking place under the auspices
of the committees they chair.
The Yearbook is, by its very nature, an opportunity for looking back and reflecting on what has
been. The reports contained in the pages that follow bear testament to a tremendous year
with a huge range of events and activities undertaken. Most of us will have played a part in at
least some of what is recorded but will also, I suspect, find things that are new and, I hope, be
reinforced in the desire not to miss out in 2014! As St Paul reflects more than once, a
Christian community is like a body in which all parts are needed for the whole to function. I
would encourage you to read through all the reports as a way of reminding yourselves of some
of the internal organs or hidden parts of our common life without whose contribution the body
would very swiftly begin to fail. I am as guilty as anyone of sometimes taking for granted the
work of others – the Tower Captain’s report, for example, could well be titled ‘out of sight,
out of mind’, or those cleaning our various facilities, or preparing the spectacular flower
arrangements in our churches week by week. That is to name but a few - but to each and
every one of you who has put in a share of the time, talent and treasure that enables the Parish
to flourish: THANK YOU.
Our collective gratitude is also due to the clergy team, and I should like to take the opportunity
to express publicly my thanks to them all for their support and counsel, and their families for
the sacrifices they make. Welcoming Canon Meurig Williams, Chaplain and Commissary to the
Bishop in Europe, as part of the team this year has enriched our worship and teaching
ministries. His assistance has been especially valuable while, as noted last year, Canon Roger
and Gordon focused their ministry in support of the neighbouring parish of Turners Hill. In
December Canon David Tickner was licensed there, enabling them each to offer to cover
services on two days a month (a weekday and a Sunday) in 2014 – and we look forward to
seeing more of them again. Given my links and debt to the Diocese in Europe it was a personal
(as well as a common) sadness to bid farewell to Bishop Geoffrey Rowell in December – but a
joy to have him celebrate the Parish Eucharist in St Barnabas’ for Christ the King and the 9.45
at St Nicholas’ on his final Sunday living in the Parish (and he has subsequently asked me to pass
on his thanks for the quarter peal rung and the presentation made on that occasion).
It is difficult to credit the fact that 2013 was Angela’s first whole year as Assistant Rector. Her
energy, enthusiasm and encouragement are witnessed to in the reports in these pages of the
‘outreach’ stream, of which she has oversight, as well as the progress made in our buildings and
facilities. The care she takes with worship and pastoral matters is also bearing fruit, as is the
effort we are both making to raise the profile of the clergy, as representatives of the parish,
within the local community – and particularly in our local schools.
During the year the temporary arrangement to provide the Anglican Chaplaincy at Worth
School was formalized in an agreement between the School and the PCC and, as we enter
2014, we wait to hear whether we (the Diocese) have been successful in our bid for the new
primary school being built in Forge Wood to be a church one. The range and extent of
ministry required of the clergy in such a large parish (the 2011 census puts the population at
9
over 25,000) are considerable. It has the potential to provide a privileged insight to those in
the initial years of their ministerial training – a gift the parish can (and does) offer to the wider
church. We enjoyed hosting Chris Sutton for a three-month placement and were delighted to
learn that Steve Burston will join the clergy team as a curate in July 2014 following his
ordination.
Much of the value in the ‘reflecting on what has been’ that this Yearbook facilitates is in the way
it can resource us for the future. It is related to the examen - an ancient practice in the Church
that can help us see God’s hand at work in our whole experience. This taking of opportunities
for prayerful reflection on events in order to detect God’s presence and discern his direction
for us forms a central part of Ignatian spirituality. I would invite you to treat the Yearbook as
an aid which, together with reflection on the talents and resources you have been granted,
might help you to discover the part or function of the ‘body’ to which you are being called.
Throughout the year in various different fora something akin to this process has been going on,
with the results distilled into the Growing in faith, hope & love: 2014-2016 document we were
asked to consider during Advent. I know a number of people were disheartened – ‘we’ve seen
it all before’ or ‘that’s what we said last time’ – to which I want to respond with an
encouragement to consider why it was that desired outcomes were not forthcoming. Maybe
we have misread the signs of where God is calling us? Your input, offering the fruits of your
examen of the Parish’s life and your part in it, is a vital component of ensuring (as I wrote in
December) that we effectively ‘review (and where necessary renew) the plans to determine
where our work is prospering and where it floundering, the better to work with the grain of
the Holy Spirit, in whose strength and guidance we trust’.
For my part, I have a growing sense that we are called to develop a greater outward focus –
building on the experience and connections we have both beyond the church and beyond
Crawley as a means of drawing in a new generation to our family. During the year I had the
chance of visiting both the cathedrals of which I am an Honorary Canon: The Redeemer in
Madrid, where I had been asked to represent Archbishop Justin at the biennial Synod of the
Spanish Episcopal Reformed Church, and All Saints, Cairo where I took part in their 75thanniversary celebrations. On both visits I was reinforced in the joy of having our lives
intertwined with fellow Christians in the one body in Christ and the privilege of being able to
‘incarnate’ or be a physical witness to that inter-dependence. May our examen of our common
life lead to a deeper appreciation of our connections with others - with a raising of our sights
and widening of our hearts to serve the common good.
Canon Anthony Ball
10
2013 ANNUAL REPORT
OF
THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL
Membership of the PCC during the calendar year 2013 was as follows:
Ex Officio
Licensed clergy: Canon Anthony Ball (Rector & Chair), Revd Angela Martin
Churchwardens: Rosemary Cordan (St Nicholas’), Phyl Pennell (St Barnabas’)
Deputy Churchwardens: David Anderson (St Barnabas’), Richard Turpie (St Nicholas’)
Deanery Synod Representatives: Mary Fry (to 16th November), Alexander Brooks (from 26th
November), Donald Hewerdine, Pamela Newley and Ann Phillipson.
Lay Representatives
Alexander Brooks (from 21st April), Karen Fly, David Fry (from 21st April), Peter Gusterson (to
21st April), Gillian Maher (to 21st April), Max Perry (from 21st April), Colin Smith and Jane
Stanford (to 21st April).
Co-opted
Matthew Knight (from 2nd May)
PCC SECRETARY’S REPORT
During the calendar year 2013 the number of meetings held by each committee was as follows:
Parochial Church Council
Standing Committee
5 meetings
8 meetings
St Barnabas’ Committee
St Nicholas’ Committee
3 meetings
4 meetings
Finance & Stewardship Sub-Committee
Parish Buildings & Facilities Sub-Committee
4 Meetings
4 Meetings
Discipleship & Fellowship Group
Parish Events & Fundraising Sub-Committee
Pastoral Care & Safeguarding Group
Worship & Sacraments Sub-Committee
6 Meetings
11 Meetings
5 Meetings
3 Meetings
Charity & Community Sub-Committee
Communications Group
Families, Children & Youth Sub-Committee
5 Meetings
4 Meetings
1 Meeting
Management
Nurture
Outreach
Appointments of Officers for the PCC following the APCM
Vice Chair of PCC
Phyl Pennell (appointed 21st April)
Proposed by David Anderson
Seconded by Pamela Newley
11
PCC Secretary
Alexander Brooks (appointed 21st April)
Proposed by Donald Hewerdine
Seconded by Phyl Pennell
PCC Treasurer
Matthew Knight (appointed 21st April)
Proposed by Ann Phillipson
Seconded by Richard Turpie
Electoral Roll Officer
Jane Stanford (appointed 2nd May)
Safeguarding Officer
(and Vulnerable Adults Protection Officer)
Pamela Newley (appointed 2nd May)
Child Protection Officer
Janet Hewerdine (appointed 2nd May)
Deanery Synod Representative
for St Barnabas’
Alexander Brooks (appointed 26th November)
Proposed by Donald Hewerdine
Seconded by David Anderson
Standing Committee
Ex officio
Plus appointed by PCC
Deputy Churchwarden
Deputy Churchwarden
PCC Secretary
PCC Treasurer
The Rector & 2 Church Wardens
Revd Angela Martin (appointed 21st April)
Proposed by David Anderson
Seconded by Mary Fry
David Anderson (appointed 21st April)
Proposed by Revd Angela Martin
Seconded by Donald Hewerdine
Richard Turpie (appointed 21st April)
Proposed by Ann Phillipson
Seconded by Karen Fly
Alexander Brooks (appointed 21st April)
Proposed by Phyl Pennell
Seconded by Pamela Newley
Matthew Knight (appointed 2nd May)
Proposed by Revd Angela Martin
Seconded by David Fry
Membership of Committees, Sub-Committees and Groups
St Barnabas’ Committee
Chair: David Anderson
Membership: Those PCC members on the St Barnabas’ electoral roll.
St Nicholas’ Committee
Chair: Richard Turpie
Membership: Those PCC members on the St Nicholas’ electoral roll.
Finance & Stewardship Sub-Committee
Chair: Canon Anthony Ball
Membership: David Fry, Don Hewerdine, Matthew Staight, Alistair Wells, Treasurer.
12
Parish Buildings & Facilities Sub-Committee
Chair: Revd Angela Martin
Membership: Gerald Sandwell, Peter Skinner, Richard Turpie, member of Finance & Stewardship
(to be designated by that committee).
Discipleship & Fellowship Group
Chair: Joan Tick
Membership: Rosemary Cordan, Stuart Sharpe, Myrtle Taylor.
Parish Events & Fundraising Sub-Committee
Chair: Phyl Pennell
Membership: Janet Brooks, Karen Fly, Shirley Harris (until August), Ann Lane (from August) Jane
Stanford.
Pastoral Care & Safeguarding Group
Chair: Canon Anthony Ball
Membership: Janet Hewerdine, Pam Marson, Pam Newley.
Worship & Sacraments Sub-Committee
Chair: Canon Anthony Ball
Membership: Mary Fry (until November), Revd Angela Martin, Alex Hiam (Director of Music).
Charity & Community Sub-Committee
Chair: Revd Angela Martin
Membership: Malcolm Booker, Don Hewerdine, Ann Phillipson.
Communications Group
Chair: Colin Smith
Membership: Alex Keulemans, Sue Perry, PCC Secretary.
Families, Children & Youth Sub-Committee
Chair: Revd Angela Martin
Membership: Mothers’ Union Chair, Jenny Dobson, Elizabeth Robinson (from July), Greta
Sawyer.
DEANERY SYNOD REPORT
There were, as always, four meetings this year.
On Thursday 28th February at St Swithun’s, East Grinstead, Richard Jackson, the Diocesan
Mission Adviser, gave a talk on Church growth. There was a Powerpoint presentation followed
by small-group discussions. Richard also gave us a lively, brief report from General Synod.
On Wednesday 19th June at St Richard’s, Three Bridges, the Deanery Synod focused on Health
Chaplaincy. John Glasspool set the scene for the healing ministry in hospitals. Revd Danielle
Robinson is also a hospital chaplain. Revd Richard Harlow then described ‘Spirituality and
Mental Health’. Mr Harlow works as lead chaplain for Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation
Trust. These presentations were followed by small-group discussions.
13
On Tuesday 17th September, the focus was on Deanery and Diocesan Finances. This meeting
was held at St Barnabas’ and our Treasurer attended with the two St Barnabas’ Deanery reps,
Churchwardens and both clergy.
On Thursday 21st November, at Holy Trinity, Tilgate, the focus was on the current Bishop’s
visit to our Deanery as well as the Deanery Mission Action Plan. Don Hewardine and both
clergy attended.
The next Deanery Synod meeting will be on Tuesday 25th March 2014 at St Andrew’s, Furnace
Green. It will, unusually, start at 6.30 pm and will include a Buffet Supper.
Pam Newley
ELECTORAL ROLL OFFICER’S REPORT
Following the review of the Church Electoral Roll earlier in the year, the electoral roll has been
updated. This gives a more accurate picture of numbers on the electoral roll within the Parish
from both St Nicholas and St Barnabas congregations. Names have been removed from the roll
as a result of members not wishing to re-register in 2013, in line with the Church
Representation Rules. Other names have been removed as a result of parishioners sadly passing
away. Following the APCM four names have been added to the St Barnabas Roll and three
names to the St Nicholas’ roll.
Numbers of names entered on Electoral Roll - St Nicholas’ 131 (2012: 161)
Number of names entered on Electoral Roll - St Barnabas’ 47 (2012: 71)
Jane Stanford
PARISH OFFICE
Anthony has asked me to write a few words about the Parish Office. It is difficult to know
where to start as the job, especially at the beginning, involved such a variety of tasks. I suppose
it goes without saying that the main life events of birth, marriage and death of take up the
majority of the time. However, never a week goes past without there being something
different – a request from holiday visitors about possible services before they fly back home,
booking the hall for a day-long cooking competition, arranging someone to talk to the
University of the Third Age, and so it goes on. It was a real pleasure to see both Canon
Anthony and Revd Angela come into the Parish and go some way to ease them in at the
beginning, and then to be a part of the progress and development that continued. There was an
element of sadness when there weren’t the funds to sustain the amount of ‘clerical’ (in both
senses of the word) support. Now the office is the centre of anything electronic and
telephonic. The telephones still get manned 24/7 if I am in, and on the rare occasions that
someone needs to leave a message it is very, very rare for it to take longer than a few hours
before it is dealt with. E-mails are checked several times a day and correspondence flies back
and forth across the ether with amazing rapidity. It doesn’t take long for the word to get
around that if something or someone needs a nudge the office knows where to do this.
Sue Perry
Parish Clerk
14
MANAGEMENT
ST BARNABAS’ COMMITTEE
All members of the PCC who are on the St Barnabas’ section of the electoral roll are members of the
Committee.
David Anderson (Chair)
St Barnabas’ Church, Pound Hill - Wardens’ Report
2013 has as usual been a busy one at St Barnabas’. Attendances at the Sunday Eucharist Service
have fluctuated with the average being slightly higher than the last few years, around 35
communicants.
In addition to our Sunday and Tuesday Eucharist Services we have seen good attendances at
‘special’ services such as the Maundy Agape/Passover Meal. However, numbers in attendance at
the St Barnabas’ Patronal Festival Service were somewhat disappointing – perhaps weekday
evenings are not popular.
In January we had a visitation by the Archdeacon, Ven Roger Coombes, and we were
encouraged by his favourable comments.
As during the previous year, the Lent Stations of the Cross Services took place on Fridays in
place of Evening Prayer. The joint Lent Course held at Crawley URC gave us the opportunity
to work with some of their congregation as well as some of St. Nicholas’ congregation. On
Good Friday there was the Ecumenical Stations of the Cross, our journey starting at Crawley
United Reform Church, visiting St. Barnabas’ and ending at St. Edward’s.
In May a number of members of our congregation were baptized and/or confirmed at the
Celebration of Baptism and Confirmation held at Worth Abbey Church.
In 2012 Revd Angela had introduced some new initiatives at St Barnabas, one being ‘Messy
Church’ with sessions held once a month and these continue to thrive. A recent addition at St.
Barnabas’ has been the introduction of a non-eucharistic Family Service held on the third
Sunday of each month and being tested for 6 months.
Links with our local schools had also been established and Revd Angela now visits 6 schools
every half term. Our links with ‘Teddies’ Nursery continue and they visit St. Barnabas’ two or
three times a year.
In November Revd Angela led us in the Annual Memorial Service. There was also an Advent
Course where we joined members of the congregations from St. Nicholas’ and Crawley United
Reform Church.
This year we have been saddened by the deaths of Harry Partridge and Douglas Sommerville.
They will be remembered for their friendship and loyalty to our church.
The Narthex at St. Barnabas’ continues to be open during the day - Monday to Saturday - for
private prayer.
15
Last year Revd Angela introduced an afternoon Christingle Service at the beginning of Advent
and a Crib service on Christmas Eve. It was disappointing that not many people attended the
Christingle service this year but numbers at the Crib Service were very encouraging. Numbers
at both the St. Barnabas’ Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve and the Family Eucharist on
Christmas Day were rather disappointing.
Throughout the year St. Barnabas’ congregation has enjoyed a variety of social and fund-raising
events – a Roger Hind concert, Quiz Nights, a Ladies’ and a Men’s Breakfast, Lunches and
Afternoon Teas, a BBQ and a Pork Roast, Jumble Sales, Saturday Markets, a Plant Fair, as well
as Fairs in the summer and at Christmas.
We are extremely grateful to our Rector and Revd Angela for leading us so well throughout
the year. Our thanks also go to our wonderful team of volunteers – too numerous to name –
who undertake such a wide range of tasks – we could not function without them. Our thanks
go to the Church Committee and those involved in church maintenance, music, flower
arranging, cleaning, gardening, Sunday School, Youth Group, rota duties, etc. However, we
desperately need more volunteers in some areas so we welcome anyone prepared to help out.
Please do approach us.
Phyl Pennell
David Anderson
Flower Arrangers
We are a very small band of ladies and would love others to join us. Men also like to arrange
flowers so if anyone is interested, please see one of the church wardens. We are happy to pair
you up with an arranger until you get the confidence to do it alone.
On behalf of the flowers arrangers, I say a big Thank You. It is nice to see how you, the
congregation, appreciate the flowers and arrangements in St Barnabas’. The donations given for
flowers for the Easter and Christmas decorations mean that we, as flower arrangers, do not
have to draw on St Barnabas’ reserves.
We were also delighted to play a part in the Flower Festival at St. Nicholas’ in October.
Mary Fry
Saturday Markets
During the year there have been eleven Markets – usually on the first Saturday of each month.
These have been in addition to the Market held with the Plant Fair and also the Market held in
aid of Macmillan Cancer Care. Thanks go to the volunteers who help with these events as
without them the Markets would not take place. There are never too many volunteers, so do
let us know if you can help – this can be any time that can be spared – and even one Saturday
morning a year would be welcomed. The main aim of the Markets is to serve the local
community and we do get some ‘locals’ looking for a bargain, refreshments and fellowship.
However, it would be nice to attract many more people to these events. How can we achieve
this? Do let us have your ideas. Thanks go to the Knit & Natter group who have had a stall at
some of the Market, selling their crafts to raise money for their own charities and our
Churches. At the beginning of the year a local Brownies group joined us for a few Markets,
selling their books, cakes, cards, etc, and raising money for their own group and their own
16
choice of charities. If you know of any charity which would like to have a stall at one of our
Markets please let us know.
We would also welcome any art or craft stalls or groups willing to display their hobbies, skills,
etc. Please let us have any contacts. The eleven Markets this year have raised more than £700
for church funds - can we improve on these amounts? Please let us have your no longer-needed
items, but do remember these must be new or ‘as new’ as we no longer have storage for stock.
Cakes and home produce are also particularly welcomed.
Phyl Pennell
[email protected]
(01293) 883362
Fellowship Breakfasts
In 2013 two Breakfasts were organised by the Parish Events and Fund-Raising Committee.
First, a Ladies’ Breakfast was held in the Pastoral Centre on Saturday 16th February. Thanks go
to Revd Bridget Banks, our guest on this occasion, who talked of her career leading to her
ministry in the United Reformed Church. Thanks also go to Richard Stanford, our chef on this
occasion. The event was well attended, and fellowship and good food were enjoyed by all. In
addition, over £90 was raised for Church funds.
A similar occasion was the Men’s Breakfast held on Saturday 27th April. Thanks go to Peter
Mansfield-Clark MBE, Director of Open House, for taking time out to talk about the charity.
Open House provides support and services for those suffering not only the effects of
homelessness but also unemployment, loneliness, discrimination or other forms of social
exclusion.
Again this occasion was well supported and a hearty breakfast, cooked this time by the
Committee ladies, was enjoyed by all. A collection was made in aid of Open House and in
addition over £116 was raised for church funds.
The Discipleship & Fellowship Committee will be organising future Breakfasts.
Phyl Pennell
ST NICHOLAS’ COMMITTEE
All members of the PCC who are on the St Nicholas’ section of the electoral roll are members of the
Committee.
Richard Turpie (Chair)
Parish Church of St Nicholas, Worth – Wardens’ Report
2013 has once again been an extremely busy and pleasing year, with many weddings and
baptisms taking place. Early in 2013 we welcomed the Archdeacon, Ven Roger Coombes, for a
Parish visitation. There was considerable work involved with checking and logging all the
various items found in the church, and my thanks go to Alexander Brooks who painstakingly
helped to gather all the required information onto the computer. Holy Week and Easter saw
many visitors to the many services offered. A quiet and peaceful three-hour meditation was
observed.
17
The Summer Fayre was held at St Barnabas’ on 22nd June, which, although not as well attended
as usual due to the very inclement weather, was a successful day. In the evening following the
Fayre there was a concert at St Nicholas’ organized by the Director of Music, Alex Hiam.
During the year we continued with the planned stewardship campaign raising money for the St
Nicholas’ sound system. Happily the sound system has now been upgraded with a very pleasing
result. September saw the 25th Anniversary of the congregation’s return to St Nicholas’ church
after the fire. This will be the theme for St Nicholas’ during the coming year.
The autumn season began in October when we welcomed an ordinand Chris Sutton to the
Parish and plans are in place to welcome a curate to the Parish in the summer of 2014.
We enjoyed a marvellous Harvest Flower Festival with the church full of glorious displays
including contributions from various local groups - A big thank you to all who were involved
with the success of the weekend. November was also enhanced by the Festival Choir singing
Faure’s Requiem. The evening was very much enjoyed.
In December, during the Eucharist to celebrate the St Nicholas’ Patronal Festival, we elected a
child Bishop - thank you, Lauren. We also said farewell to Bishop Geoffrey as he presided at his
last Eucharist at St Nicholas’ before retiring to his new home. We wish him a happy retirement.
The Christmas season with its many services was extremely well attended, often with standing
room only. It is hoped that more new people will be encouraged to join our congregation.
The plans for considerable repair to the existing path leading to St Nicholas’ are well underway
and it is hoped this will be accomplished early in 2014.
We remember with fondness those of the congregation who died this year, including John
Winter and Audrey Gifford in May and Margaret Taylor in August, and those whose funerals
took place in St Nicholas’ this year. May they rest in peace and rise in glory.
We would like to thank the Rector and Assistant Rector, and all the clergy, for supporting us
with their various ministries throughout the year.
Rosemary Cordan and Richard Turpie
Bell Ringers
Ringing is not easy. It requires teamwork and commitment. It can take months, or even years,
to learn properly. Our lightest bell is 2½ times the weight of an average man, the heaviest 6
times. Our bells are rung full circle, through 360 degrees. To quote an old text ‘The coil of
the rope, which it is necessary to hold in the hand, before and whilst raising a bell, always
puzzles a learner; it gets into his face, and perhaps round his neck (in which case he may be
hanged!)’. It requires skill and concentration; all our complex patterns (our ‘music’, if you like)
have to be memorized. There are no visual aids.
In the past year, we’ve been locked in following a wedding and had the lights in the choir room
turned out on us more than once. When the weather is particularly wet, the rain comes in and
makes the ringing room damp (not to mention damaging the plasterwork). In summer, it can
get unreasonably hot, as we have limited ventilation and need two fans and air conditioning to
make the cramped conditions bearable. We wait patiently for weddings of indeterminate length
to finish, so that we can start. Yet still we come to ring.
18
There were 46 practice nights, 49 Sunday morning services (only missing one, because there
were not enough ringers available), 9 other services (including all the major Christmas services)
and 39 weddings when the bells were rung. We rang 9 quarter peals. Average attendance was
8 ringers every Sunday morning, more on practice night. In all we clocked up around 1,000
man-hours of attendance over the year.
2014 sees the centenary of the start of the World War One and bell ringing is likely to feature
in the commemoration. With the usual crop of weddings, it is likely to be another busy year.
Thank you, ringers, for your support in 2013 and for your continued support in 2014.
Neil Dobson, Tower Captain
Church Cleaning
I have to report that we have been seriously struggling for the past year or so because of the
shortage of volunteers to help clean St. Nicholas’ on a regular basis. At the present time we
have 5 cleaners to clean the building with the exception of the choir and organ loft.
Unfortunately those who do clean are all getting older. If anyone can spare any time at all, even
only an hour or so once a month, I would be delighted to hear from them. Our Spring
Cleaning usually around March is usually a pleasant, albeit busy morning, with several regular
volunteers and we have an enjoyable, social morning while we work. Again anyone who could
help would be more than welcome, and the date will be published nearer the time.
Jill Freeborn
Flower Arrangers
Another year has passed and I once again extend my heartfelt thanks to all our Flower
Arrangers for all their hard work. We seem to have settled into a pattern regarding the
organization and arrangements of both resources and finance, although we do have the odd
‘blip’ now and again! All of our Flower Arrangers give freely of their time and talent and most
now donate the cost of the flowers they use. Where possible we do recycle arrangements,
both those for Sundays and for weddings. My thanks go also to my husband Geoff for
undertaking some of the watering, tidying and sorting out various stands and arrangements; as
always, he is a great support to me.
In the hot weather the flowers do need their drink, so watering is still a necessity, especially in
the summer months, so if anyone is in church and could spare a moment to give the
arrangements a drink, both the flowers and arrangers would be grateful as it means the flowers
last longer!
The separate arrangement for ‘Wedding Flowers’ has had a few teething troubles, but is
generally working out fairly well with Wiltshire’s Nurseries being awarded the contract. We
were sad that Patricia Welsh decided that she needed to retire from our number, but quite
understand. We thank her for her years of dedication and service. We are about to welcome
two new members to our ranks and we would welcome any more recruits to the Flower
Arrangers’ List. If you feel you would like to try your hand, please contact me and I will
organize the support to get you started! If you are interested in joining us and trying out your
skills, please ’phone me on 01293 884172 or contact me by email: [email protected]
Noreen Oxlade
19
FINANCE & STEWARDSHIP SUB-COMMITTEE
The members were Canon Anthony Ball (Chair), David Fry, Don Hewerdine, Matthew Knight
(Treasurer), Matt Staight, Alastair Wells
Max Perry (as Treasurer) also served on the committee until April.
The PCC Treasurer’s report is included as the ‘Financial Review’ in the separate Annual Report
and Financial Statements which, in turn, serves as a record some of the key matters considered
by the Committee over the year. After the APCM in April the PCC elected Matthew Knight as
Treasurer – and the Committee is grateful to him and Max Perry (the former Treasurer) as
well as Jenny Dobson, our Parish Bursar, for the work they have done in managing our finances
and keeping abreast of the changes in legislation that affect us. We are meeting well the
demands of increased professionalism in this area of Parish life.
The reasonably healthy (although not comfortable) state of the Parish’s finances in the context
of the major works completed and a challenging financial environment is testimony to the
commitment of a great many people who contribute in various ways to the Parish coffers. We
are deeply grateful to you all. During Lent we had a focus on stewardship and, in particular,
encouraging people to make a regular commitment to the church. Knowing in advance the
level of our steady/regular income is essential for forward planning. After Lent the average
donation from planned givers was £46 a month - up by nearly 10% compared with last year although with a quarter of those on the electoral roll not having a commitment to regular giving
we clearly have more ground to cover. The Parish Giving Scheme (which collects contributions
by Direct Debit and relieves the Parish of the administration involved in reclaiming GiftAid) was
successfully introduced as our preferred means of regular giving. Efforts to recruit a volunteer
Giving Officer for St Nicholas were not successful (David Anderson has continued to fulfil this
role at St Barnabas). So, as was reported last year, we need someone to take on this
responsibility and (not necessarily the same person!) that of having an overview of stewardship
in the Parish. Expressions of interest are welcome!
The following chart shows how we raised our income and spent our resources in 2013:
Income
Hall & P/Centre
rent £13,649
Fundraising
£16,551
Pastoral
Offices
& fees
£26,568
Regular giving
£73,150
Expenditure
Collections &
donations £39,183
Fundraising
costs £3,754
Clergy costs £94,195
£25,000
£50,000
Charitable giving &
mission £8,395
Buildings £59,699
Worship
£8,918
£0
Other £4,475
£75,000
£100,000
Administration
£15,448
£125,000
20
£150,000
£175,000
£200,000
Church
insurance
£4,089
The parish's ministry costs - £127,895 in 2013
Clergy stipends,
housing and pension
£81,770
Clergy training
£20,096
Diocesan &
national church
support
£21,940
Worth School
chaplaincy fee paid
to Diocese£8,666
How much the parish contributed towards
our ministry costs - £106,595
Contribution paid by
our Parish to the
Diocese £85,500
Diocesan
subsidy
£21,300
Fees from Pastoral
Offices paid to
Diocese £12,429
£0
£20,000
£40,000
£60,000
£80,000
£100,000
£120,000
£140,000
We have made good progress on an area of concern noted last year – the need to reduce our
dependence on the Diocese to cover our clergy costs. The chart above shows that we have
reduced the ‘subsidy’ by a third compared to 2012 - to £21,300. This is largely, but not
exclusively, due to the fee paid by Worth School for the provision of an Anglican Chaplaincy.
Much of the Committee’s work is ‘behind the scenes’ in support of others who take forward
the Parish’s mission. The formalization of financial policies reported last year has been finessed
during the year, allowing a simplified system of accountability to be introduced for 2014.
Following the successful delegation of financial authority to the various committees the PCC
further extended this during the year. We built on the progress in having the committees
(those responsible for spending our money) identify what budget was needed in 2014. The
need to upgrade our finance software (for 2014) has allowed a substantial simplification in
recording income and expenditure. These three elements - delegation, effective budgeting and
simplified control and recording - should deliver an improved and less time-consuming financial
system.
The Parish has benefited from a number of significant legacies and donations in memoriam this
year. The Committee recommended, and the PCC adopted, a policy that legacies should be
used for substantial and specific projects rather than be put towards the general running
expenses of the Parish. It was hoped that this would give confidence to potential legators that
any money left would be well used and need not be given for a ‘restricted’ purpose. Given the
great pressure on income faced by many of the more elderly members of the parish, the PCC
felt this was a potential area of giving that should be encouraged.
Canon Anthony Ball
21
St Barnabas’ Stewardship Officer
I was asked to take on this role at the start of 2013 with a view to updating the Parish Giving in
a way that (a) generated more income and (b) ensured that more of the congregation signed up
to regular giving.
Part of the process was to encourage the congregation to sign up to the Parish Giving Scheme
(PGS) which ensured that we had a better idea of planned income and also simplified the reclaiming of GiftAid (this is automatically paid to the Parish for members of the PGS).
To help get a better understanding of how the PGS worked I attended a training event in
Brighton. This enabled me to liaise with people from other parishes that had already signed up
to the scheme, and to gain an insight into how the scheme could be made to work and
encourage more planned giving. It also provided access to resources that could be useful in
promoting giving by highlighting the costs of running the Parish.
During the year there was a significant drop in those using the “Envelope Scheme” with more
people signing up for regular giving. There is still work to be done to improve the regular giving
which will allow us to plan ahead better for projects of maintenance and renewal.
David Anderson
St Nicholas’ Stewardship Officer
Position vacant. Volunteers welcome – please contact the Rector if you are interested in finding out
more about what the role involves.
PARISH BUILDINGS & FACILITIES COMMITTEE
Membership of the Committee is determined by the PCC.
At the end of the year the members were:
Revd Angela Martin (Chair), Gerald Sandwell, Peter Skinner, Richard Turpie and David Fry
The PBFC has continued to ensure that all the routine maintenance is carried out with the help
of many volunteers across the Parish. The Churchyard has been once again beautifully
maintained by the St Nicholas’ ground works team headed up by Ian Pallett, keeping the paths
clear and the leaves swept. This team has also created access to our new area where ashes are
being interred on the North side of the churchyard.
The Path at St Nicholas’ which has been deteriorating and a cause for concern over the last few
years is very much closer to having the necessary repairs to make the surface more even and to
allow wheelchair access through the trees at the bottom of the avenue. This is only the
beginning of a long and exciting project to improve access for all, not just those of us who
regularly worship at St Nicholas’ but also for the many visitors that come to spend a moment
absorbing the tranquility of this ancient sacred space. The need to create another path leading
from the lychgate to the West door is due to the gradient of the current path. Do look out for
these plans which will be on display in the Parish very soon for all to see and comment on.
The New Sound System at St Nicholas’ has been replaced this year. This new system has
improved the quality of sound for those who rely on the hearing loop as well as the overall
quality of the sound in church. Once again this is a project that had long been awaited and it
has been appropriate that this work has been completed during the year when we celebrate the
25th anniversary of the completion of the roof repair after the fire.
22
The project to reorder the upstairs office space at St Barnabas’ is now complete and the new
cupboards have provided much needed storage space for resources to support Knit & Natter,
the Sunday School and Messy Church. It has also provided a wardrobe for hanging the
vestments and the beautiful hand-sewn altar frontals as well as storage for the altar linen, all
paid for by a generous donation. The Jubilee Garden Fence has been given a makeover this
year. The fence was in a very poor state and noted on our 2012 Quinquennial Inspection as
needing to be replaced. The Prince’s Trust team which has been using the facilities at St
Barnabas’ cleared the shrubs as part of their community project (along with volunteer helpers
from the Parish). This reduced the cost of the work need to replace the fence and was done
just in time before the bad weather hit.
The Rainwater goods at St Barnabas’ have been our big project of this year. The gutters, soffits
and fascia boards at St Barnabas’ were in a very bad way and the gutter size had become
obsolete; we therefore replaced all the rainwater goods with uPVC gutters, soffits and fascia
boards. The materials used for this work have a 20-year guarantee so we hope will be there for
generations to come. The flat roof at St Barnabas’ was replaced at the beginning of the year and
this was an unexpected cost: again the materials used have a 40-year life and this will be there
for future generations. This repair has opened up the opportunity for us to rethink how we use
space in the back room. As part of the refurbishment following flood damage a project is
underway to rewire and refit this room. The plan is to provide an additional meeting room for
Parish meetings and for enquiry meetings, as well as additional space that we can offer to the
community for hire. As part of the plan we will be adding disabled access to the Jubilee Garden
through by replacing the window on the west side with a double French door. The doubleglazing project is ambitious and we have raised a good amount of money towards this - thank
you to all who have contributed towards this project to date which involves the whole of the St
Barnabas’ site. Our Parish facilities are used not just by us but also used by many community
organizations.
As a church we are being asked to look at our carbon footprint as well as ways to make our
places of worship comfortable and inviting spaces in which to gather and praise God. The
double-glazing project is all part of this bigger vision. We still need to apply for a faculty to
carry out this work and as part of that process we will need to demonstrate that we can afford
to pay for the work. At the moment we could almost pay for the Pastoral Centre to be done
but to complete the rest of the work we will need to look to grant bodies for further financial
help. This will mean a great deal of work for the PBFC and I would ask everyone to be patient for everything comes to those who wait! Please keep this project in your prayers.
Revd Angela Martin
Pastoral Centre and Café
The year began with a similar pattern to that of 2012 - the ‘Coffee Shop’ continued to open on
Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturday mornings. Tuesday mornings have usually been kept lively with a
few ‘regulars’ and those who attend the Tuesday Eucharists. Fridays are usually quieter, unless
there is a lunch, and Saturdays are usually quiet unless there is a Market. We sell drinks, snacks,
Fair Trade products, greetings cards and second-hand books and umbrellas. Our greetings cards
now include a range by a Sussex artist.
During Lent we were able again to offer ‘Soup Lunches’ with a wide variety of soups thanks to
our talented volunteers. This year these were served on Wednesday. The Parish World Bank
benefitted from generous donations, usually gift-aided. Whether or not it was the change of day
23
from Friday to Wednesday, the soups were not as popular as previous years so this was
somewhat disappointing.
The Friday lunches have increased in regularity, which is great news and have been on offer on
three Fridays each month instead of the previous two. A nutritious two-course lunch plus hot
drink at a reasonable cost and in friendly surroundings is well received. Why not give us a try
and bring your friends and neighbours? Thanks go to the cooks and helpers at the lunches. Plans
are afoot to provide lunches every Friday in 2014. It would also be good to hear from any
individual – or small group of people – who feels he or she could help in the Centre, serving
drinks and snacks or even offering to help with a lunch on a fairly regular basis. Every offer of
help is welcome.
In June there was a Coronation Tea in the Centre, in November the Christmas Fair included
lunches and in December there were two Christmas lunch dates as well as a Christmas Tea, all
successfully received.
The Pastoral Centre is used by local groups, e.g. WI, and Church groups, e.g. MU and St.
Nicholas’ Circle, as well as some charitable organisations. Since early 2012 there have been the
regular Thursday afternoon ‘Knit & Natter’ sessions. There were also free exercise sessions for
the elderly held in part of the Centre for one hour on Friday mornings but these have now
progressed to using the Parish Hall.
Since September The Prince’s Trust has been using our premises – including the Pastoral
Centre on Tuesday mornings. This has meant that the ‘Coffee Shop’ has been open only on
Friday and Saturday mornings. Early in 2014 we hope to resume our Tuesday morning sessions.
Every effort will be needed to get the Centre buzzing with activity.
We would be pleased to hear from any other groups who may be interested in hiring our
facilities to benefit the local community. The Pastoral Centre is available for hire at certain
times on a regular basis or for ‘one off’ bookings so do consider a letting for your private
functions (contact the Parish Office or Revd Angela Martin).
The monthly Saturday Markets help to bring people into the Centre as well as boosting funds,
and the number of visitors on Saturdays has increased due to the wedding and baptism
appointments. Wedding Preparation Courses include the provision of lunch in the Centre and
there have also been Baptism Teas.
The Centre is a superb resource and the envy of many churches. Our aim is to open all day
Mondays to Saturdays but we remain a long way from achieving this. Grateful thanks go to our
faithful volunteers – without them we would not be able to provide the events mentioned in
this report. However, we do need more volunteers – do let us know if you can spare a few
hours each month. We also need more visitors to the Centre. How can we encourage people
to join us? We need lots of ideas and lots of people to implement them.
Let us hope that we can work towards our targets and see the Centre buzzing with activity in
2014. Our priority is outreach in the Parish.
Phyl Pennell
[email protected]
(01293) 883362
24
Churchyard - St Nicholas’ Church
The maintenance group, which comprises both St Nicholas’ and Worth Conservation Group
members, has continued with the mainstream activities of mowing grass, clearing fallen tree
debris, trimming around grave stones/memorial tablets, maintaining path edges and clearing
autumn leaves. This year the final mow was in early December and hopefully this will result in a
good show for the spring bulbs and primroses. The Remembrance Garden area has also been
mowed on a monthly basis.
The St Nicholas’ Tree Report, received in March, highlighted the need for the removal of
deadwood from the trees in the avenue from the lychgate as well as the removal of some dead
trees and branches around the boundary. This was completed in June along with the grinding of
a number of tree stumps remaining after work completed in 2012.
The regular effort that the Monday team has put in over the last three years has clearly been
beneficial with a general improvement in the appearance of the church yard and the visibility of
the bulbs and flowers.
Many thanks to everyone who has helped on Mondays and at other time; between them they
have kept the churchyard mowed and tidy which has been noticed and commented on by
visitors and parishioners. New volunteers are always welcomed so please let me know if you
would like to join us either regularly or occasionally when the weather is suitable!
Ian Pallett
Grounds - St Barnabas’ Church
It has been another busy year for a small but dedicated band of workers. The mowing gang has
kept the grass under control, and there were a couple of gardening days to keep the rest of the
grounds looking respectable. The weather was good throughout the year to ensure everything
kept growing! The big project for the year was the replacement of all of the guttering and fascia
parts for the whole St Barnabas’ complex. This was a large expense but a necessary investment
to protect the buildings and to minimise the future maintenance costs, ie no more painting of
the fascia. As ever a huge thank you to all those who helped – you know who you are – and a
plea to anyone who would like to help – we always need new people to join us.
David Anderson
Toilet Block – St Nicholas
Illness and some disability have meant that it has been a difficult year for our team of four
volunteers who continue to clean the toilets at St. Nicholas - Gill Gusterson, Ann Phillipson,
Pam Marson and I. I am sure that the members of the Parish offer the Team their thanks for
this hidden and not very glamorous undertaking. Each month we wash floors, empty bins, clean
the toilets and replenish supplies. Illness has meant that we have had to try and cover each
other’s duties. We still have no hot water, but the electricity is now available and so we are
able to use a kettle to resource this. There is still a need to refresh the paintwork and fill in
some cracks. The floor is showing signs of wear, but we are conscious that finances are limited.
If anyone else would like to join us please contact me on 01293 884172 or by email:
[email protected]
Noreen Oxlade
25
NURTURE
DISCIPLESHIP & FELLOWSHIP SUB-COMMITTEE
Membership of the Committee is determined by the PCC.
At the end of the year the members were:
Canon Anthony Ball, Rosemary Cordan, Myrtle Taylor, Joan Tick (Chair) and Stuart Sharpe
During 2013 the Committee met six times to decide on discipleship and teaching courses and
to promote fellowship within the congregations of St Barnabas’ & St Nicholas’.
An Ecumenical Lent Course was undertaken between Crawley URC the Roman Catholic
church and us; this was held at the URC in Worth Park Avenue. We arranged the showing of a
film (Doubt, starring Meryl Streep) in May, which was very thought-provoking with Child
Protection issues rife at the time. Sadly it was not very well attended but those who did come
enjoyed the evening and the film. A visit to Chichester Cathedral, the day our Parish was
prayed for, did not happen as we were informed too late to make the arrangements; we will try
again in 2014, keeping an eye on the Chichester Intercession list! It was hoped that a trip to
Wintershall, Surrey, would be possible in June to see the open air play ‘The Life of Christ’ but
again not enough people wanted to attend so we postponed it to 2014; however we did show
the DVD of the play in November, which was well attended, and we provided a Ploughman’s
Lunch. At the beginning of September Stuart led an Emmaus Course concerning the Sacraments
which concluded in October.
We held a Quiet Day in September, led by Canon Meurig Williams, and again this was well
attended. We are very grateful for Meurig’s support and leadership. This day also included a
Ploughman’s Lunch. From mid-November until the first week of Advent Canon Anthony led
our pre-Advent Course, entitled ‘Expecting Christ’
There have been several Discipleship Courses offered in the Diocese but these have been
either too far away or not of interest to our congregations. We feel there is a need to ask what
the Parish would like to be ‘on offer’ and try to do that. It is hoped that a survey will take place
early in 2014. Canon Anthony will be leading another Course in January 2014 (Pilgrim) to
include Confirmation Candidates and any members of our congregations who wish to attend to
refresh or explore their faith. A Bible Study house group was planned for early 2014 but
advertizing has not produced many candidates to date.
We wanted to encourage people to attend our churches and suggested to the PCC that a
‘Welcome Pack/Leaflet’ be produced. This was approved and passed to the Communications
Committee for action. We also wanted to encourage ‘Shepherding’ where the congregations
are asked to look out for people missing from church for an unusual length of time or any new
comers and either to pass on information to the Pastoral Care Team or to welcome new
people.
Our Fellowship side aims to promote opportunities for getting together, which includes St
Nicholas’ Circle, a well-established social group, Knit & Natter and Ladies’ & Men’s Breakfasts.
The POSADA went around the Parish again and brought in some new families from ‘Messy
Church’. We aim to promote this again in 2014, giving more people a chance to meet those
they do not know and perhaps make firm friendships at the same time.
There may be more opportunities for joint fellowship which are not fund-raising events during
the coming year – watch out for notices in the Pew Sheet, Magazine, etc.
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If there is something you want, either by way of teaching or fellowship please let one of the
members of the Committee know: we are here to help you!
Joan Tick
Advent Course – Expecting Christ
From mid-November to the first week of Advent we held another course produced by York
Courses, this one entitled ‘Expecting Christ’. It was led by Canon Anthony and on average 10
people attended every week. We drew people from both St Nicholas’ and St Barnabas’ and also
from Crawley URC, a good mix and varying input. Each person attending had a few pages of the
course book to read each week, and then, on the evening, after listening to a CD detailing what
we needed to think about each week, we divided up in to small groups to talk over the various
questions and then re-assembled to discuss our findings.
The first week we looked at ‘Expecting Christ in family’, which involved us looking to see
where we found Christ in not only our own families but also the church family. The next week
saw us looking for Christ in ourselves. We then tried to find Christ in others and we decided
that Christ was working in lots of places that we do not expect to see Him. Week three moved
us on to discuss how we expected to see Christ in prayer. We all know prayers are not
answered straight away (not all of the time anyway): we have to persevere, not give up. We
should remember to pray for others’ needs, not just our own, but we can pray for help,
strength and guidance for ourselves too. Even Jesus asked God, His Father, for help but then
remembered it was God’s will in the end that had to be done. Our last week was ‘Expecting
Christ in the end’ – this proved an emotional session as we had all lost a loved one but all had
found solace in prayer and the strength that God gives us, either through friends and family,
through clergy support or just inside us, and through the Holy Spirit. Sometimes people who do
not have a faith or may not have a deep or strong faith turn to Christ during a crisis or after
one, and they too find Christ in the end, and that is where it all begins!
We are grateful to Anthony for leading us week by week and to those who attended, ensuring
we had a successful Course. If you would like to join us during 2014, look out for the notices in
both churches and on the Pew Sheets.
Joan Tick
EMMAUS – Sacraments – 5 Sessions – September/October
This course was one of a series of courses under the banner of “Growing as a Christian”.
Eleven parishioners (including the Rector, with Revd Angela substituting on one occasion)
joined the course at various times, with a slightly disappointing maximum of 7 and a minimum of
6 attending the five sessions. The course was essentially about Christian worship, and more
particularly the sacraments. All Christian worship is Easter worship, giving thanks to God through the
risen Christ and in the power of the Holy Spirit. The course aimed to understand worship through a
deeper understanding of the mystery and wonder of Easter.
There were five sessions to the course. We started by looking at how the Church celebrates Easter and
what this tells us about worship and how the Christian year is, in reality, a reflection on the significance of
Easter and also of the Incarnation. At one stage we talked about ‘memorable worship’ for us as individuals.
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Surprisingly, but after discussion more understandably, all of our memorable worship took place in venues
with which we were less familiar than our own parish churches. We went on to discuss the Christian year
and agreed that there are two focal points each with two major festivals; Incarnation
(Christmas and Epiphany) and Redemption (Easter and Pentecost). Each has a time of preparation
(Advent or Lent).
In the second session we discussed ‘What are sacraments?’ We remembered that the Book of
Common Prayer tells us that a sacrament is an ‘outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual
grace’. Every sacrament has an outward part that you can see — immersion in water for
baptism, or receiving bread and wine in Communion — and an inward part that is the spiritual
reality — forgiveness from sin or communion with Christ. We shared together memories of
baptism: in my own case my own baptism at the age of four – it was nice to be able to
remember it.
We came to the third session and considered the Eucharist as a way of understanding and
appropriating the Easter mystery. We read St Paul’s description of the institution of the Eucharist
in Corinthians; this was probably the earliest account and shows how important the Eucharist was
for the first Christians. For many, meeting the Lord in the Eucharist is at the very heart of the
Christian faith and experience. We discussed how the denominations have differed over how
often it is right to keep the Lord’s instruction: ‘Do this in remembrance of me’. We noted that
there is still a great variety in the Church today and that we must not assume that the way we
think is the way everyone else thinks. We read the story of Jesus on the Road to Emmaus in St
Luke’s Gospel. We found that it shed great light on the Eucharist and how Jesus was recognized
in the breaking of the bread.
Moving on to the fourth session we shared our thoughts on the sac raments of
reconciliation and anointing. We spent time talking about sacramental confession, which was
something none of the participants (other than clergy) had experienced. We then read the
story of the paralysed man in St Mark’s Gospel, where reconciliation and healing are linked.
Jesus forgives his sin and then He heals his legs. He is concerned to make him whole. In response to
this story we all wrote on a piece of paper the deepest need that they felt they would like to
bring to Jesus. These pieces of paper were brought together in a basket in the centre of the
room. We then prayed together: ‘May the healing mercies of the risen Lord Jesus enter our
whole being, heal us from all that harms us and fill us with His love, His joy and His peace.’
In our last session, and rather excitingly, we were invited to look at liturgy as the work of the
people. The group were asked to create a short act of worship, on the theme of ‘Encountering the
risen Christ’ using the Emmaus story. It was intended to last around twenty minutes but inevitably
we ran out of time! The service (in skeleton form) is almost ready to be used on a suitable
occasion.
These few sessions enabled us to accompany one another on a journey of faith. Our faith is like
the journey of the two friends on the road to Emmaus. We all need time to grow, time to
reflect, time to experience. By journeying together we were able to talk and listen to one
another and enjoy fellowship.
Stuart Sharpe
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Knit & Natter
During 2013 the Knit & Natter group has continued to flourish - our numbers have increased,
often having 18 - 20 ladies attending on a Thursday afternoon. We have had a very busy year
making handicraft items which have been sold at various events including the Summer Fair, the
Christmas Fair and Saturday Markets. We even branched out to an outside event with a stall at
St Paul's Advent Fair. We have raised over £1000 in 2013, which has benefited the Parish and
the charities nominated at the beginning of the year by the group, these being Chestnut Tree
House Children's Hospice, Prostate Cancer UK and Breast Cancer Campaign.
I would like to extend a very warm and sincere thank you to all who made this possible with
the sharing of their talents and support, from knitting to needlework, contemporary handiwork
to making tea, setting up stalls and packing them away again, and from buying the wonderful
things produced by the group to just being there; it simply would not have happened without
you.
Squares were knitted which were then made into blankets and donated to the Salvation Army
here in Crawley; our local homeless shelter, Open House, has received warm hats, scarves and
gloves for its clients.
All in all it has been a very busy and sociable year, enjoyed by all who attend. With new faces
appearing we have new thoughts and ideas being discussed. We look forward to 2014; no
doubt it will be as busy as in previous years and hopefully as profitable! However, while
fundraising remains important, the main aim of the group continues to be a place of social
contact for all and we continue to welcome all new friends.
Jane Stanford
Lent Course
This year our Lent course was once again an ecumenical journey of faith shared with our
brothers and sisters from the churches in Pound Hill.
We were hosted in the warm and welcoming surroundings of Crawley United Reformed
Church and each session was led by each of the clergy from those churches: Fr Gerard and Fr
Chris from St Edward the Confessor RC Church; Revd Bridget Banks from Crawley URC; and
Canon Anthony and Revd Angela from our Parish.
Each session was based on the readings for the following Sunday morning as listed in the
lectionary according to each denomination, the idea being that those who came along had time
to think about these readings before hearing them again on Sunday morning. This led to some
very interesting discussions, not just as we discussed the passage we were studying but also
about how each of us understands the call to follow Christ. It was a very enriching experience
shared by a faithful group of Christians and we pray that there will be many more occasions
when we can share fellowship in Christ in study and hospitality.
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St Nicholas’ Circle
Our group has continued to flourish, with a membership of 45 and well-attended meetings. We
have had a variety of speakers, commencing with Canon Anthony, who gave an interesting talk
on ‘The History of Christianity in the Middle East’. This was followed by a return visit of Eric
Jenner, who gave an illustrated talk on a visit to Egypt. In April Gillian Pitt, a member of the
Crawley Museum Society, outlined some of the post-war planning for ‘Rebuilding Britain’. She
covered 1942-52, including ‘The New Towns Act’, which led to the initial enlargement of
Crawley in 1947. Pam Goodall spoke to us in May, from personal experience, of the effect of
supermarkets on local small shops and, after our Summer Supper and two-month break,
Margaret Nicolle gave an interesting talk about William Allen, the ‘Quaker Friend of Lindfield’
1770-1843, who was an educational pioneer and opponent of the slave trade. Canon Roger
Brown brought some of his collection of butterflies to our October meeting and spoke about
their life cycle and large number of varieties. Our speaker in November from the RNLI gave a
very interesting and informative talk, particularly detailing its work on the River Thames, and
the year ended with our December Cheese and Wine.
We thank Rosemary Wakelin for writing our monthly reports and Malcolm Booker for
arranging such an interesting and varied programme. Having chaired our group for 18 years,
Malcolm has decided to relinquish his role at the end of 2014 and has approached Max Perry
who, we are pleased to say, has agreed to take over as chairman.
New members are always welcome to our meetings on the first Thursday of each month in the
Pastoral Centre at 8pm.
Pam Newley
PARISH EVENTS & FUNDRAISING SUB-COMMITTEE
Membership of the Committee is determined by the PCC.
At the end of the year the members were:
Canon Anthony Ball, Jan Brooks, Karen Fly, Shirley Harris until August), Ann Lane (from August), Phyl
Pennell (Chair) and Jane Stanford
We aim to organize a varied programme of events to cater for all age groups. Hopefully the
activities will raise much-needed funds for our Churches, but our emphasis is on mission in the
community. This is no easy task and our small committee can only do so much. We hope that
we can work alongside other committees and members of the congregations to identify
interesting events and ways of generating funds. We do not wish to be seen as the sole
organizer of events and fundraising - we hope that other members of the Parish will be willing
to organize events and raise funds. We are very open to suggestions and new ideas for activities
and so look forward to hearing from you!
The Knit & Natter group so ably managed by Jane Stanford, continues to go from strength to
strength and now has more than twenty members. Knitted items are created for charities, and
the knitted Easter chicks on sale again this year were very popular, raising money for Church
funds. The group is also kept busy making items for our other events, again raising funds.
Events this year have included the monthly Saturday Markets (raising over £700), two Jumble
Sales (raising over £587), two Quiz Nights (raising over £550), two Afternoon Teas, celebrating
the 60th anniversary of the Coronation and Christmas (raising over £370), a Roger Hind
concert (raising over £243) and a Ladies’ and a Men’s Breakfasts (raising a total of over £200).
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2013 provided plenty of warm, sunny weather and our Plant Fair and Market in May was so
blessed that once again we were able to make good use of the patio. It was wonderful to see
the Pastoral Centre so buzzing with activity on this occasion. A record £460 was raised at this
event.
The Summer Fair was not as fortunate as the day was cool, damp and very breezy; this was
very disappointing weather-wise but nevertheless we raised over £1000. The barbecue and
Pork Roast events were also blessed with sunshine, and so good use was made of the Jubilee
Garden at St. Barnabas’.
The Celebration of Harvest in Flowers held at St. Nicholas’ on the first weekend in October
was a joyous occasion and gave us an opportunity to work with four local community groups.
We are indebted to our sponsors for their generosity and over £518 was raised during the two
days.
The Christmas Fair in mid-November seemed to bring in new people, perhaps as a result of our
new timing of the event. This year we managed to secure some sponsorship – an advertizing
banner, prizes for the Summer Fair and Christmas Fair and donations and flowers for the
Celebration of Harvest. We thank our sponsors for their generosity.
Our final activity of the year was a Christmas Tea in the Pastoral Centre, which again was well
received and helped to generate funds.
I am indebted to the members of the Committee; without their support the Committee would
not function. Events have truly been team efforts. We were saddened that mid-year Shirley
Harris felt unable to continue as a Committee member. We wish her well and know that
Shirley continues to support us when she can. In September we welcomed Ann Lane onto the
Committee. As a group we are thankful for all the support we have received – there have been
so many volunteers at all events. Thank you!
2013 has been a successful year and we hope to produce an interesting programme of events
for 2014. The future can only be as - or more – successful with the continued support of many
volunteers. We need to be able to encourage new people to join us at our events. Can any of
you help us? If so, do contact me.
Phyl Pennell
[email protected]
(01293) 88336
PASTORAL CARE & SAFEGUARDING GROUP
The members were Canon Anthony Ball (Chair), Janet Hewerdine, Pamela Marson, Pamela Newley
The Pastoral Team is formed by the clergy and the Pastoral Assistants.
The Pastoral Assistants are: Rosemary Cordan, Janet Hewerdine, Gillian Maher, Pamela Marson,
Caritas Matora, Pamela Newley and Phyl Pennell.
Ensuring that our safeguarding practices are rigorous and appropriate has been a recurrent
theme in our deliberations, and the safeguarding report is given below. This aspect of our
remit also impacts on considerations of pastoral care in the Parish, with that offered formally
(on behalf of the Parish) needing to conform to the safeguarding guidelines. It has at times felt
like the pressures towards ‘professionalism’ can work against a ‘human’ or personal delivery of
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the care needed. We are determined to continue working through these complexities, seeking
to ensure that the pastoral ministry in the Parish reflects the compassion of Christ and meets
the standards of safeguarding required in the current context (by being exercised through the
Pastoral Team).
The year has seen the consolidation of the Pastoral Assistant role, with regular (quarterly)
meetings of the Assistants established. During the year the Pastoral Assistants introduced a
monthly ‘tea’, which has proved popular. This offers, by invitation, an opportunity for fellowship
and conversation with the Assistants: a relaxed environment in which any needs can be
expressed. If you, or anyone you know, would like to participate in these ‘PA teas’, please
make contact with one of the Pastoral Team.
Early in the year Canon Roger felt he could no longer continue to offer the monthly Eucharist
at Rowfant House. Revd Simon Hill, Vicar of Copthorne, (in whose parish Rowfant lies)
assumed responsibility for this pastoral provision and overseeing the ministry (including giving
Communion) that Gill Gusterson and Pam Newley continue to offer there. He is most grateful
to Gill and Pam for their continued care, as are we.
The offering of Communion, pastoral care and some special services at Lanehurst Gardens by
Pam Newley, Joan Tick (principally) and me (occasionally) has continued this year.
This
ministry is deeply valued by the ‘regulars’ and others at Lanehurst, and I am grateful to Pam and
Joan for their part in offering it. The PCC agreed that Joan Tick should be a Pastoral Assistant
and we expect her training and commissioning to happen in 2014 – allowing her ministry to
continue to be exercised within the structure of the Pastoral Team.
Some projects, such as work on a bereavement group and the creation of a resource book for
the Pastoral Assistants, have not progressed as far as we had hoped, but work on them is
steadily progressing. Another initiative that we shall look to launch in 2014 is the keeping of
emergency contact and next-of-kin details for those parishioners living on their own who wish
us to have them.
While this report necessarily deals with the formal aspects of our work, the Group is conscious
that a great deal of ‘pastoral care’ is offered by many of you as part of our concern for each
other as a church family. Thank you.
Canon Anthony Ball
Safeguarding
The Parish continues to follow the Diocese of Chichester Guidelines detailed in the documents,
‘The Care and Protection of Children’ and ‘Safeguarding and Promoting the Welfare of
Vulnerable Adults’ and the Church of England’s national policy ‘Protecting all God’s Children’.
Policy Statements regarding the safeguarding of both children and vulnerable adults were
approved by the PCC on 2nd May 2013.
New guides for Recruiters and Applicants were received from CCPAS indicating the criteria for
applying for DBS Disclosures from June 2013. There are also new Self-Declaration forms.
During the year it has become possible to apply for the transferability of new DBS Disclosures.
Five places have been booked for a ‘Safer Churches’ Training Day in April 2014. As yet there
has not been a training session provided by the Diocese regarding ‘Safeguarding of Adults’.
Twenty-one lay members of the parish hold DBS Disclosures of which four require renewal
during 2014.
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Janet Hewerdine, Diana Hodson, Greta Sawyer and Pam Newley continue as the Parish
validators.
The committee is grateful to all volunteers who enable the parish to run its various activities
according to the Parish Policies and Diocesan Guidelines.
Pam Newley
WORSHIP & SACRAMENTS SUB-COMMITTEE
Membership of the Committee is determined by the PCC.
At the end of the year the members were:
Canon Anthony Ball (Chair), Alex Hiam, Revd Angela Martin and Brenda Somerville.
Mary Fry also served on the Group for much of the year, and it has not met since Brenda’s
appointment.
As was reported last year, the Group seeks to ensure that the rhythm of worship in the Parish
connects with, supports and animates other aspects of our life and ministry. Although the
Group has not met frequently we have supported various committees: offering worship
services for parish groups like the Mothers’ Union, holding a ‘Songs of Praise’ service as part of
the flower festival, supporting ‘Back to Church Sunday’, supporting The Bible Society with a
‘readathon’ and also a number of charities (The Children’s Society, UNICEF and our Christmas
charities) through a particular focus in various services. We also planned some ecumenical
worship.
There have been some slight changes to the basic structure of our weekly pattern of worship
and some experimentation with different styles within the services. From Advent (December)
the St Barnabas’ ‘Children in Church’ services on the third Sunday of the month have evolved
into a non-eucharistic All Age Service. The first one seemed to go well, with good attendance.
The monthly ‘Messy Church’ which was introduced at St Barnabas’ last year has seen numbers
growing, with both regulars and visitors and is now thriving. The team of helpers has provided
invaluable support. The informal Nic’s service on the first Sunday of the month has had variable
attendance figures but does seem to be appreciated by a diverse group. We shall need to
review its timing and format in 2014. A healing service on St Luke’s day was introduced and, in
the light of feedback, will be retained as part of the calendar.
The daily offices (Morning and Evening Prayer) continue to be said Monday to Saturday, with
the Book of Common Prayer being used on Mondays and Saturdays. We continue to have
usually between 1 and 3 people joining the clergy, and it would be encouraging if those numbers
could grow – there must be others whose prayer life could be enhanced through the liturgical
structure and rhythm. The pattern of the Tuesday (St Barnabas’) and Thursday (St Nicholas’)
weekday celebrations of the Eucharist continued, with the former now taking place in the main
church and numbers remaining small. During the year we maintained the practice of ensuring a
celebration of the Eucharist on every red-letter day in the liturgical calendar – although many of
these were sparsely attended. Taken together with the very small number of Home
Communion visits requested, this suggests a lesser degree of eucharistic devotion than is
usually associated with a supposedly catholic Parish. For 2014 the decision was taken to retain
these red-letter celebrations but hold them at the time of Morning or Evening Prayer. In
addition, where permitted, festivals will be transferred to the Sunday to enable a greater
proportion of the congregations to participate in celebrating the church’s year. The practice
begun during the interregnum of celebrating a Sunday Parish Eucharist was continued, with two
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being held at each church during the year. The Holy Week services offered an opportunity for
joint worship (including the repeat of the ecumenical Walk of Witness/Stations of the Cross on
Good Friday, which after a further repeat in 2014 will assume the status of ‘a tradition’!) and
we shall be looking to develop these further in 2014 to enhance our experience of the Week
and engage some of those who are not regularly in church. The calendar of special services
during the year was maintained, although there was only one Choral Evensong at St Nicholas
(but we shall return to having two in 2014 in response to an encouraging increase in the
numbers attending).
The preparation sessions for those coming to be married or bringing children for baptism
continue to receive positive feedback, with content evolving in the light of experience. We aim
to hold a marriage-preparation day and a baptism-preparation course (over two Wednesday
evenings) each quarter. These build on an initial enquiry meeting with one of the clergy for all
couples or parents. This contact and sacramental preparation seem to be the prime source of
new members of our congregations and is clearly an important ministry. The welcome which
enquirers and newcomers receive is fundamental to their impression of us as a community and
we are, therefore, most grateful for the support of The Mothers’ Union and the Pastoral
Centre Volunteers in this regard. The debate highlighted in last year’s report about the
number of guests each family could invite to a baptism continued with a practical solution of
limiting the total number of guests from all families – rather than the numbers allowed per
family – being the current policy. There were also two courses run during the year to prepare
candidates for Confirmation in Worth Abbey in May (one course in the Parish and one for
Worth School children). We continue to work with the Discipleship & Fellowship Committee
to ensure that there are opportunities for the newly confirmed to be accompanied on their
journey and continue to grow – but we acknowledge that more could be done.
As last year, I end with some statistics for 2013 (2012 figures for comparison), when there were:
66 (85) Baptisms; none (1) admitted to Holy Communion; 7 (11) people Confirmed (as well as
9 from Worth School); 44 (40) Weddings; 39 (39) Funerals officiated at by Parish clergy of
which 9 (10) were in church; and 11 (12) people’s ashes interred in the churchyard. We count
the worshipping community at St Barnabas’ as 39 adults and 12 young people, and that at St
Nicholas’ as 121 adults and 14 young people and consider our church attendance on a normal
Sunday at St Barnabas’ to be 35 adults with 10 young people and 80 adults and 4 young people
at St Nicholas’ (both services).
Canon Anthony Ball
Worth Servers and Acolytes
We are pleased to report that our small team has once again managed to provide an altar party
to serve in the chancel for almost all Eucharists and major festivals during 2013. There have
been a few changes to the routine in the services but this serves only to keep us on our toes!
We are immensely grateful to those involved for their loyalty and hard work.
However, we are few in number and currently have no young people in our team, so we make
the same plea as in previous years and invite you, if you feel able to help, to contact Jenny or
Joan who will be pleased to explain what is involved in assisting in services as an acolyte or
server. We especially welcome interest from young people who might like to become acolytes
– this is an excellent way of increasing their understanding of the various services and those
who perform this duty find it rewarding as they feel more involved in the life and worship of the
church.
Jenny Dobson and Joan Pallett
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OUTREACH
CHARITY & COMMUNITY SUB-COMMITTEE
Membership of the Committee is determined by the PCC.
At the end of the year the members were:
Revd Angela Martin (Chair); Malcolm Booker; Don Hewerdine; Ann Phillipson
Throughout 2013 we have sought to ensure that we as a Parish are practising what we preach.
As a Parish we are struggling financially, and most of us are in the same situation on a personal
level. This inevitably means that when it comes to money matters there is not much left in the
pot to give away, or at least that is how it feels. As a church, part of our mission – the missio
Dei of God’s work - is to care for each other. Charity is to give help to those in need, and
community is to be part of something bigger, as well as to share a common unity.
Our charitable giving over the last year has focused on sharing financially what we can with
those who need help. We have done this by nominating a charity to help financially; also we
hope to raise awareness about the great work being done not just locally but all over the world
within the congregation and in the community, particularly our schools. Thank you to everyone
who has contributed to these causes this year and thank you too if you have discovered one
close to your heart and have continued to support it.
Our community work has not been so obvious this year but it has included our continued
support of Open House, and next year our aim is to be doing more for our brothers and
sisters locally. A recent project is our involvement through Open House with Crawley URC,
The Friary and Crawley Baptist Church to provide night shelters when the weather becomes
too cold for people to survive on the street. This will need us to give not just financially but
also physically as well as spiritually. These are people who have nothing; we have everything in
comparison and it would be un-Christlike not to help. We have offered, and if needed we will
be called upon, to open our doors and our hearts on a Sunday and Tuesday night. If you would
like to volunteer please contact either Ann Phillipson or me. We are also looking into the
possibility of offering our time as volunteers to help with the local community charity shop in
Pound Hill.
Next year our financial charitable giving will be calculated at the end of the year to allow
equally-matched donations to various charities. The committee will be inviting nominations for
local, national and international charities at the end of 2014 to be considered in early 2015
when the monies will be distributed. The committee proposes to meet once a quarter to
discuss and distribute the money collected through the Parish World Bank: again nominations
from the congregations will be invited and encouraged. In the event of a Disaster Emergencies
Committee appeal or any other emergency appeal, money from the PWB will be donated as
agreed by the committee.
This year through our regular giving, our targeted charity events and our Parish World Bank we
have donated to date £4052.35 to those who need it.
Revd Angela Martin
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COMMUNICATIONS GROUP
Membership of the Group is determined by the PCC.
At the end of the year the members were:
Canon Anthony Ball, Alexander Brooks (PCC Secretary) Alex Keulemans, Sue Perry (Magazine Editor)
and Colin Smith (Chair). Phyl Pennell attends the meetings as Chair of Parish Events and Fundraising.
The Communications Committee has made an effort in 2013 to improve substantially the way
we get information to our congregation and to the wider community. Where possible we have
used e-mail to advertize forthcoming events, and posters have been placed on various Notice
Boards in the Parish. The Pew Sheets also advertize events each week, with our thanks to Joan
Tick.
For the first time, our Christmas Services were advertized professionally. We felt that in
previous years the substantial effort by a few parishioners delivering cards was not costeffective. This year we placed a ¼-page advertisement in The Crawley Observer glossy Christmas
2013 magazine and also advertised in Sussex Living. We placed a ½-page advertisement in The
Crawley Observer three weeks before Christmas, followed by two further ¼-page ads thereafter.
Additionally, 5000 glossy flyers were printed free of charge by Freeman Brothers and these
were delivered with the Observer newspaper in and around the St Barnabas’ catchment area.
The cost of the delivery was born by a very generous donation from Stuart Sharpe – thank you.
Sue Perry writes: ‘Well, another year has passed and I cannot believe that I have been editor of
the Parish Magazine for seven years. This last year has seen the rise of the new
Communications Committee and I must say a heartfelt thank you to the whole group, in
particular Colin Smith who has been a tremendous support, not only by canvassing advertisers
and collecting subscriptions, but also by rolling up his sleeves and helping with the printing and
stapling. We have got the colour/black and white balance off to a fine art, coming in bang on
budget and from what people are kind enough to say, we seem to have got the mix of articles
about right. As always my inbox and letter box are always open to comments and articles.’
Alexander Brooks writes: ‘We created a Facebook page for the Parish in August 2012 in order
to increase our online presence and to establish a way of communicating with those who
haven't yet been to our churches, as well as those in our congregations who use the Internet
regularly. As a lot of people like to investigate things online before turning up, the Facebook
page allows them to see what is going on in the Parish through pictures, videos and posters. As
of 2014 we've reached 79 'likes' – we are aiming in the next year to increase this number
substantially by increasing the amount of content posted, particularly content that will be
attractive to the younger people and families that mostly use Facebook.’
In the latter half of 2013 we have fulfilled one of our aims as a committee by creating a new
website for the Parish which is more attractive and far easier to update with news items,
pictures, posters and videos. In 2014 we aim to expand the website to include more
information and features.
There is no question that Sue and Alexander have done a tremendous amount of work for the
Parish in order to communicate to you all and the wider audience in our Parish, and our thanks
go also to Phyl Pennell (Events/Fundraising) and Alex Keulemans for their untiring support.
Colin Smith
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FAMILIES, CHILDREN & YOUTH SUB-COMMITTEE
Membership of the Committee is determined by the PCC.
At the end of the year the members were:
Canon Anthony Ball, Revd Angela Martin (Chair), Jenny Dobson, Elizabeth Robinson and Greta Saywer
This committee has seen some changes over this last year. Partly because of this, and the fact
that my time has been taken up with the various projects needing attention as chair of the
PBFC, we have not met as a committee at all. However, this does not mean that we have not
been keeping an eye on our ministry with children, families and the youth. The Sunday school
at St Barnabas’ has seen a steady growth over the last year now having regularly between 8 and
11 children attending. The number of children in St Nicholas’ Sunday School has remained
steady but low over this last year with 11 on the register, but only 6 attending regularly. Joan
and Greta have each written a report. The Crib Services for both churches were advertized in
all the local schools newsletters this year inviting children to come along and take part. We had
a number of children come forward and our hope is that some may even stay on in the New
Year and join the Sunday school. Services for families, ‘Nic’s’ our 11.30am service at St
Nicholas’ after the main Sunday service on the first Sunday of the month and Messy Church at
St Barnabas’ which runs on the last Wednesday of the month, were introduced a year ago and
are doing well. All the families that come to us seeking baptism and those with children
enquiring about marriage are given information about these services and invited to come along
and give it a go.
At St Barnabas’ from Advent we began a six-month trial period of a non-eucharistic Family
Service on the third Sunday of the month as our main act of worship. This is something that has
been discussed at length within the Worship & Sacraments committee as well as the St
Barnabas’ committee and among the Sunday Leaders at St Barnabas’ (an example of how our
committees can link and work together). Our hope is that this will provide a worship space in
which everyone, and especially the children, will be enabled to explore a ministry of their own.
These services have also be designed to be shorter.
7-2-9 Club has seen a steady growth in their numbers over the year having 10 regular
members; the majority are not in church on a Sunday, so more are always welcome! The age
range is from 11 to 17 (not counting the leaders who are also youths at heart!). Although the
group has recently lost the space to run around in the hall on a Friday night due to a new
regular hirer, we still have plenty of space in the Pastoral Centre for fun and games which is a
real blessing. The club meets during term time on the first and third Friday of the month and
we often post our activities on the Parish FaceBook page so if you’re interested and have a
FaceBook account or know someone who does, do check us out. There is also a program of
events (published in the Parish magazine and on the Parish website) setting out what we are
aiming to do each time we meet from now until next summer!
Revd Angela Martin
Mothers’ Union
Mothers’ Union is an organization dedicated to Christian Outreach for the Anglican Church
world wide, and both men and women can now join. Worth and Pound Hill Branch has been
running for 26 years and during that time it has helped members to grow in their faith and
support others in their faith throughout the world.
37
This year we attended two commissioning services. My own at St Nicholas’ in February made
me aware of how much my faith would be needed over the coming year. Then we had the
commissioning of Chris Emson as the Diocesan President and our own Jacky Hemsley as a
trustee with responsibilities for Faith & Policy. The branch was well represented with members
singing in the choir and acting as chalice assistants, and we proudly paraded our banner.
We have had some good speakers. In particular the Deputy Lord Lieutenant told us all about
the different activities she was asked to carry out. We had a Cream Tea at Blackwater Lodge in
May and a coffee morning in October which helped to make good our budget and we were able
to give to the Mothers’ Union Projects world-wide and locally. Our outing to Priory Farm was
well attended. For once it was a lovely sunny hot day so most of us stayed within the many
buildings, farm shop, craft shop and gift shop. Some of us who are more energetic walked part
of the nature trail. We finished off with a lovely cream tea.
The branch helps out with Baptisms and the Baptism preparation classes. This year we had a
Baptism Celebration afternoon tea which brought together quite a few of the families who had
been baptised during the year, who told us what had been happening within their families.
We are a small branch and getting smaller as we all grow older. We are a friendly group and
would welcome new members, so just come and see what we do. We meet on the fourth
Thursday of the month, or look us up on the pew sheet for more details. At the back of each
church there is the programme of events for the coming year.
Mary Fry
Sunday School – St Nicholas
During 2013 we saw our numbers remain the same, 10 on the Register with an average of 6
attending weekly; some left and others joined.
We continue to meet every 2nd, 3rd, 4th and when possible 5th Sunday of the month in school
term time. On the first Sunday of each month we encourage the children and their families to
attend the Nic’s service at St Nicholas’, which is a half-hour informal all-age service with songs,
prayers, reading and a short talk.
In mid-January we joined St Barnabas’ Sunday School for the annual party of games and craft
with a tea provided by the teachers.
During March the teachers made over 100 posies for Mothering Sunday service and the
children were involved during the service on the day. We held a Parish Workshop on the
Saturday before Palm Sunday with 8 children attending, and made collages of Palm Sunday for
both churches as well as items to take home. The Easter Garden service for families was held
on Easter Saturday this year but we had fewer people in the congregation and to help build the
Garden than we have had in the past, when the service was held on Good Friday afternoon.
The annual Egg Hunt took place in the churchyard during the morning service on Easter Day,
with a lot of visitors too - if only we could persuade them to come to Sunday School!
Because there was no electricity we were not able to use the Annexe; shortly after this was
connected the outside of the Annexe was ‘treated’ during dry days in May and completed in
June, with our grateful thanks to Aubrey. Although, once again, we couldn’t use it during this
time it did not stop us holding Sunday School as all the children met in the Garden Room; this
was not ideal but at least it kept the continuity of lessons throughout the year.
38
In October at the Harvest Festival of Flowers, the Sunday School teachers oversaw the Prayer
Tree, encouraging people (adults and children) to write prayers on leaf-shaped pieces of paper
and hang them on the ‘tree’.
On December 8th the children were encouraged to attend the 9.45 Family Service for our
Patronal Festival; those who did attend were involved in choosing a ‘child bishop’ from their
group. At Christmas we produced the Nativity Tableau and had several ‘extras’ as some local
school children asked to take part. St Nicholas was full to capacity as we once again attempted
to spread the Christmas story within the Parish; lots of the children who attended the service
joined us on stage at the end to sing ‘Away in a manger’.
During 2013 our Sunday School joined with that of St Barnabas’ at the Parish Eucharists, and
Greta Sawyer and I worked together to teach the lessons.
Four former Sunday School members were married at St Nicholas’ this year and it was a
privilege to be at the services to see them take the next step in their lives.
My thanks as always go to our teachers and helpers, without whom we could not function.
Joan Tick
Sunday School – St Barnabas’
St Barnabas’ Sunday School meets during term time only in the Pastoral Centre. At the
beginning of the year we started at 10.00 am and then rejoined the congregation during the
Peace. However, it was thought that an extended Sunday School time would enable more
exploration of the Sunday School lesson and time to complete worksheets, etc, so since the
start of the Autumn term we now rejoin the congregation in time to receive Holy Communion
or a blessing. The children then remain at the front of church to be on hand to talk about what
they have learned in Sunday School. The new time seems to be working well. We also now
start Sunday School just before the main service begins, with a prayer of confession and
absolution led by Revd Angela.
Autumn term was a time for change as we also started our non-eucharistic Family Services on
the third Sunday of the month, in place of our ‘Children in Church’ service. On this day there is
no Sunday School as the children are involved in the service.
St. Barnabas' and St. Nicholas' Sunday School teachers and helpers continue to work together
for joint events. The Christmas party for the younger children was held in the New Year in the
form of a traditional tea party with party games and craft activities. This year we did not hold a
party for the older children as there were insufficient numbers for that age group.
Sunday School children were involved in setting up the Easter Garden and enjoyed the Easter
Day Easter egg hunt around the Jubilee Garden and Parish Hall. Several of the children also
helped to prepare a flower arrangement for the Harvest Festival of Flowers at St. Nicholas’.
Thanks to the Church’s outreach with Messy Church and involvement with the local schools
(that included an invitation to all of the children to attend one of the Christmas services), we
had a full complement (and more!) of characters for the Nativity during the Crib Service on
Christmas Eve.
39
Once again we must express our thanks to our helpers who join us for classes to ensure that
we adhere to the adult/child ratios laid down by the Child Protection Regulations as without
their help Sunday School could not take place.
The number of children attending Sunday School regularly has improved significantly and is
continuing to grow! We now have 16 children on the register and on average a weekly
attendance of 8 children. Sunday School is open to children aged three and over and we extend
a warm welcome to any who would like to join us.
Greta Sawyer
Phyl Pennell
Nicky Anderson
40
WORTH PARISH - GROWING IN FAITH, HOPE & LOVE: 2014
VISION
To be a Christian community growing in faith, hope and love by
MISSION
providing opportunities to worship and learn that are accessible to all, (faith)
working to increase our numbers and giving of time, talent and treasure (hope)
and serving the common good locally, nationally and internationally. (love)
In 2014 we plan to:
1. Improve our internal communication and sense of common purpose by
a. ensuring committee and elected PCC members are known by and accountable to those
they represent by June (survey)
b. introducing a new website with a 'news' section, with news posted within 5 days by
March (survey, viewing statistics)
c. reviewing the organs of communication and increasing their circulation or take-up by
June (survey, statistics)
d. introducing quarterly meetings of the congregations by March (attendance)
e. holding quarterly social gatherings 'for all' by March (attendance)
f. encouraging improved attendance at the Parish Eucharist by June (attendance)
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2. Improve our communication about the church by
a. enhancing the parish's profile in the print and virtual media by June (statistics)
b. establishing contact with the key property letting and sales agents and ensuring
newcomers receive information about the church by June (welcome packs distributed,
inclusion in estate agent packs)
c. developing a strategy for engaging residents of the NE sector neighbourhood as they
move in, by September (document)
3. Extend our teaching ministry, learning and fellowship by
a. introducing a regular annual cycle of catechesis using the Pilgrim resources (groups)
b. establishing two home or bible study groups, aiming for participation of 12 people
(participants)
c. providing 4 parish courses and/or spirituality days with 25% of the electoral roll
participating in at least one (participants)
d. encouraging the ‘development’ of all those involved in particular ministries, with at least
two ‘development opportunities’ (participants)
4. Review our provision of public worship and pastoral offices to
a. increase the number of those attending worship services by 10% (service registers)
b. have a third of 2013 congregation able to name one new person they have introduced to
the church
c. increase the number of Pastoral Offices officiated by parish clergy by 5% (registers,
returns)
d. improve our follow-up of those who have come for baptisms, weddings or funerals,
aiming for direct contact with the clergy of 30% within a year of the office
e. bring 10 people to Confirmation (register)
5. Develop our service to and engagement of the parish community by
a. extending our programme of school visits ensuring 2 visits to each primary school each
term and one visit a year to the church by half of the schools
b. making a connection with Oriel High School involving contact at least twice
c. increasing the number of those attending parish events, especially amongst those not
frequently attending worship (headcount from 2013/14)
d. identifying a community project, ideally in collaboration with another Anglican,
ecumenical or religious group
e. establishing an ongoing (5 year?) ‘partnership link’ with a local, national or international
charity or church
6. Invest in our mission assets and establish the financial viability of the parish by
a. increasing the income received through regular giving by 5%, primarily through new givers
(accounts)
b. ensure completion of all grade 1 and 2 quinquennial works and develop plans for
improvements to both church properties (annual report, quinquennial inspection)
c. improving the contribution made to parish funds through the use of our buildings by 5%
(accounts)
d. increasing our Diocesan contribution pledge to £101,000 for 2015 (accounts)
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The Ecclesiastical Parish of Worth, Pound Hill & Maidenbower
A SCHEME FOR REPRESENTATION
under the provisions of Rule 18 of
The Church Representation Rules (2011)
1.
The Parish
The parish is located on the eastern side of Crawley, West Sussex, and is within the
Diocese of Chichester and the Deanery of East Grinstead. The parish has two
consecrated church buildings – the Parish Church of St Nicholas, Worth and The Church
of St Barnabas, Pound Hill.
2.
The Electoral Roll
There is a single electoral roll for the ecclesiastical parish of Worth, Pound Hill and
Maidenbower. The roll shall be divided into two sections - the Church of St Barnabas,
Pound Hill and the Parish Church of St Nicholas, Worth. Those whose names appear on
the roll shall indicate with which church they wish to be primarily associated and their
names shall be registered within the appropriate section of the roll.
3.
Churchwardens
3a The parish has two churchwardens chosen in accordance with the current legislation
on church representation. It is a custom of the parish that one churchwarden be
elected to represent each of the two churches within the parish.
3b A churchwarden may be re-elected providing they do not serve more than six
consecutive years and, unless an annual meeting of parishioners determines
otherwise, a period of two years must elapse before they may again become eligible
for election to that office.
4.
Deputy Wardens
4a The Annual Parochial Church Meeting shall elect two Deputy Wardens who shall be
ex officio members of the Parochial Church Council.
4b Their term of office is for one year. They may be re-elected provided they do not
serve more than six consecutive years in office and, unless an annual parochial church
meeting determines otherwise, a period of two years must elapse before they again
become eligible for that office.
4c The deputy wardens shall be elected by those on the respective section of the
electoral roll to provide both of the churches in the parish with two wardens
(whether Churchwardens or Deputy Wardens). For the purpose of the day-to-day
running of the parish, all Wardens (whether Churchwardens or Deputy Wardens)
will be treated in a like manner. In the manner of their conduct and discipline, and in
the event that they wish to resign their office, the Deputy Wardens will behave as if
they were subject to the provisions of the Churchwardens Measure 2001, and any
other Measure, Act, or scheme affecting churchwardens.
43
5.
Deanery Synod Representatives
The-number of lay representatives elected to serve on the Deanery Synod is to be
determined with reference to the formula given by the Diocese of Chichester. Provided
there are candidates from both sections of the roll, at least one representative shall be
elected from each of the St Nicholas’ and St Barnabas’ section.
6.
Parochial Church Council
6a The powers of the Parochial Church Council (PCC) are determined by law –
principally the Parochial Church Council (Powers) Measure 1956 (as amended) but
including additional functions conferred by various other provisions. The composition
and procedure of the PCC are regulated by the Church Representation Rules which
constitute Section 3 (as since amended) to the Synodical Government Measure 1969.
6b The Annual Parochial Church Meeting shall elect up to nine representatives of the
laity to the PCC provided there are between 50 and 200 names on the electoral roll,
with this limit rising by a further three members of the PCC for every additional 100
(or part thereof) names on the roll up to a maximum of fifteen such elected
members. Provided there are candidates, the PCC shall have at least one
representative elected from each of the congregations worshiping in the parish (and,
in case of doubt, the Rector and two churchwardens shall determine which are such
congregations).
6c Elected members of the PCC [being those elected under paragraph 6.b. of this
scheme] shall be elected for a three-year term of office. Subsequently, they may be
elected for a second three-year term of office but after that they must stand down
for one year before becoming eligible for re-election. The terms of office of elected
members shall be staggered on a three-year cycle such that one third of the elected
members retire and are elected each year.
This Scheme was adopted by the Annual Parochial Church Meeting held on 21 April 2013
and comes into effect following the Annual Parochial Church Meeting on 23 March 2014.
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