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Reports and Accounts for 2007 Annual Church Meeting
note that one or two report numbers differ slightly in the printed version
2. Wardens Report incl. Fabric 3. PCC 4. Children & Young People incl. Holiday Club 5. Homegroups 7. Website 10. Church Halls 11. 11 o’clock Club 12. Women’s Groups 13. Church Flowers 15. Blackheath Group of Churches
17. Financial Accounts and Report
Summary: over the past year at St Michael’s we have…. had lots of fun with: an International Food Evening, Easter Egg Rolling; a church w/e away at Ashburnham, a Parish Lunch; Young Mums’ and "Women of a Certain Age" and Sidespeople Suppers; Men’s Curry Nights; Quiz Night; rounders on the Heath;Cricket Match against St John’s (which we won 129 runs against 83 runs!); a BBQ for International Students, Blackheath Open Gardens; a Harvest BBQ; a church walk in Otford. * enjoyed choirs & orchestras: Proms in Blackheath Park; Blackheath String Orchestra; Second Chance Choir, students from Trinity College of Music, Blackheath Ladies Choir and Blackheath Prep. * had mid-week fun at our 11 O’Clock Club with: talks (eg Christopher, Bishop of Woolwich; WWII films; Parish Archivist; an Indian charity; National Maritime Museum; Hand Bells); an outing to Leeds Castle; a summer tea. * had some special services: Tom Butler, Bishop of Southwark, talked & answered our questions on Science & Faith; “Back to Church Sunday” encouraged back those who have not been here for a while; “Reverse Church” when the adults had 4 sessions in the halls (on Art; Education; Loneliness; & Use of Time) whilst the children stayed in church. A Bereavement Service was held for those wanting the opportunity to reflect. * studied hard . In the10.30am services the sermons considered 4 things Jesus didn't come to do, then looked at some difficult / contentious issues, then returned to study Luke's gospel. Sunday evenings we studied Daniel, John, Joshua, Galatians, interspersed with some interesting discussions such as on loneliness, architecture, Jerusalem, psychology and we had some quiet contemplative services such as Taize services. During Lent we thought about "Life Source"; our home-based Bible Study Groups studied: Christian Life & why it makes sense and the gospel of John. We also ran an Introducing God course. Our children and young people learned about Jeremiah, the early church, parables and encounters with Jesus, and more recently the Exodus story and considered what God is like. * reflected & planned : Our Church Council considered the topics: Men; Welcoming; Creche; Sunday School; Halls; Wider C of E; The Messenger; H & S; Young People & people in their 20’s; Music & musicians; notice board; prayer; homegroups; growing leaders; Ashburnham/Wychcroft. * attended training courses: prayer training for those who pray with others; “reaching the under 25’s”; “Ministry to the sick & dying”; “ Heart for Young People”; 20 of St M’s went on a Growing Leaders course. * encouraged our youth: with groups “Threads” & “Sneakers”; Holiday Club: “The Green Scene”. Threads made a video; had a Summer BBQ; went to Greenbelt; watched the film: Amazing Grace; had a Thanksgiving Meal & a Fireworks Party; went ice skating; had a Mexican Fiesta, raked leaves, snag carols, and hung out together. Leah led some of the youth sessions at Spring Harvest. We have been helped by Careforce workers: Kelvin Mtotha ( Malawi) and then Isaac Mensah ( Ghana)* welcomed several schools: Brooklands; Riverston, Blackheath High, Blackheath Prep and Nursery on the Green. *involved the Scouts: St George’s day service; Harvest Service. Visiting scouts stayed overnight whilst attending Centenary Celebrations at the O2.* given money to the various charities we support: over £7500 has been given this year. We have also raised money for and helped specific projects including: work on the Ferrier Estate; our Harvest Food Gifts went to London City Mission; Toys for local families; and Christian Aid Week raised an additional £3464.20 from the parish door-to-door collections and we raised over £1000 for solar panels for the Diocese of Western Tanzania. * funded our operations: All St M’s funds are self generating and we receive no funding from outside. In 2007, we took part in a Fairer Shares Survey which determined what the congregation of St M’s is required to pay to our Diocese in 2008 (this will be £90,000 for the year). This quota pays for clergy salaries & pensions, & diocesan support to churches which are less well off. We have worked hard as usual to manage our finances as wisely as possible. * improved & maintained our fabric: Updated our electrics following our 5 Year Electrical Inspection; repaired the church flat roof, garden walkway roof & Musa Room window; installed a new church notice board; had an Environmental Energy Survey. Re-designed The Messenger magazine. * celebrated: 8 Weddings; 13 Baptisms, 7 Thanksgivings and 16 adults & young people from St M’s who were confirmed in Jan; plus 3 members of St M’s who ran in the London Marathon. * all been saddened by the death of Barbara Bromley & Eileen Davies. * said goodbye to: Grace Richards; Pat Wallis; The Callaghan Family
It has been another active and I hope enjoyable year at St Michael’s. I continue to believe that, as someone put it, ‘the local church is the hope of the world.’ As we seek to make time for the things that matter our involvement in church should ideally both be a priority for us and help us to see more clearly what our true priorities in life are. I have set out the things we do under 4 broad categories:- 1. Growing as disciples. We continue to see teaching and mutual encouragement through services, home groups, and youth activities as a key part of what we do. I believe the Bible is reliable, living and enduring, and aim that our teaching should be true to the faith handed down to us, while working hard to ensure it is relevant and applied to 21 st century London. In general attendance at our Sunday services seems to have grown slightly in the mornings and declined slightly in the evenings, in line with wider trends. The Confirmation held here in January at which 16 of our members were confirmed was a great encouragement. We hope also to support people in all aspects of their work and home lives, and encourage each other to be ‘cheerfully different’ in an increasingly non-Christian culture. 2. Building community I believe that when church is functioning well it should reflect a unique cultural and ethnic diversity that comes only through Jesus Christ. At present the church is continuing to attract people from a broad range of different ages and backgrounds, though it is also clear we have grown younger as a church in recent years, which we needed to do. We aim to involve many different people in leading all or part of services, as a key route to fostering this diversity. Home Groups are central in helping people feel part of St Michael’s, and we encourage people to see being part of a small group network as essentially to really feeling part of the church. Our biennial weekend away at Ashburnham in 2007 was also an important part of drawing closer together. Pastoral care happens on a fairly informal basis, but seems to work reasonably well, though this may need to be reviewed once Marian Curtis moves on. 3. Reaching out In highly mobile London we need to be constantly attracting new people just to replace those who move away. More fundamentally we want to be an outward-looking church, where those exploring Christianity will not feel out of place and can begin their journey of faith without being inappropriately pressured. The re-launching of our magazine The Messenger during 2007 has been a very encouraging step forward. We have worked hard on improving our welcoming, and the website continues to be a key part of our outreach. We also run a range of different social events for different groups, e.g. men, those with children, younger adults, older people etc, in order to make the route into becoming part of the community as smooth as possible, as often today belonging comes before believing. 4. Serving those in need. Caring for and serving those in need is central to what it means to be a Christian believer, and works in harmony with each of the three aspects above. It helps us grow in our discipleship, brings us together as we work for others, and gives our words much more conviction in the minds of those to whom we reach out. In a world that is growing smaller by the day it needs to happen on both a global and local basis. We need to be willing to listen attentively and humbly to those around us, in a time when there is often economic prosperity but relational poverty. St Michael’s already does a great deal both through individuals and as a church, though we are probably not yet at the point where those around us find themselves spontaneously saying ‘we cannot do without a church like this!’ Sandy Christie
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2. CHURCH WARDENS’ & Fabric Sub-Committee Thankfully, 2007/ 8 produced no major upsets with regard to the maintenance of the buildings and grounds. It was therefore possible to catch up with some of the routine work which needed doing. This is particularly timely, as we prepare for the Quinquennial Review which is due in 2008 (not 2007 as indicated in last year’s report). The following items of maintenance and improvement were carried out during the year, together with ongoing items such as annual inspection of gas, electrical & fire fighting equipment.
We have a small Fabric sub-committee, the members of which have helped us in our role and we thank them. We are particularly grateful to Pete Moss who continues as Heath & Safety Officer and Morton Todd who is our Fire Officer. We continue our communications with the Diocesan Environment Officer as we consider environmental and efficiency issues, particularly to minimise our gas and electricity consumption. The cost of gas and electricity for the church and halls is about £7,000 per year. We thank all those who serve the Lord at St Michael’s and in particular the members of the various rotas. For services, and other activities, to run smoothly and for visitors to feel welcome, it is of paramount importance that we work together as a team. For those on duty - indeed, for all of us! - please ensure that you arrive in good time .... encouraged by the ringing of the church bells, thanks to the efforts, literally, of our Treasurer and resident campanologist Sarah Burnard. Wardens are also responsible for the organisation and conduct of our worship and we have been greatly helped during the year by the Service Co-ordinators, who have taken much of the load from us. We would welcome further offers of help, particularly in the evenings, as the list of those available has become rather small. In order to ensure that we are most welcoming to visitors, Russ and Jenny Pringle-Kanga have been appointed as welcoming coordinators to oversee the process and recommend improvements. Note, though, they are not singularly responsible for standing at the door and welcoming visitors; that is the responsibility of all of us. But please do discuss your ideas with Russ and Jenny. Again, thank you to all those who serve the Lord at St Michael’s. Encourage one another. Be joyful. "For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations." Psalm 100 v5 John Allen and David Tozer back to contents list
3. Church Council SECRETARY's report The Parochial Church Council has met 9 times since the last Annual Church meeting on 26 April 2007. The Standing & Finance Committee (a smaller group) also met 9 times in this period, focusing on prioritising items to go on PCC agendas, discussing finance issues in more detail, and ensuring that the business of the church is well managed between PCC meetings. The chair of the PCC has rotated and Natalie King has attended one meeting as youth representative. The major items discussed by the Church Council during the period were: The Messenger (led by Daphne Clifton & Bill Lowe), Home Groups (Marian Curtis), Church Halls (Halls Team), Ashburnham and Wychcroft weekends away (Richard King), review of progress on major topics raised in 2006 and 2007 (Maggie Holland), training and encouraging volunteers (Sandy Christie) including the CPAS Growing Leaders course (run on 29 Nov), the future of the Finance function (Sarah Burnard), possible development of the West End of the church (David Tozer), Men (Sandy Christie). Stephen Hingston back to contents list
4. Children & Young People's Team incl. Holiday club 2007/8 has been another strong and steady year with the children and young people at St. Michael’s Church. Events and happenings of note have been:
Sunday School continues to teach and nurture the children of St. Michael’s with thanks to the committed team of teachers giving their time and care. Climbers is being led by Fran Botley, Natalie Wilson and Leah Philbrick have shared watch over Explorers, and Catherine Christie gives oversight to Pathfinders. We have welcomed two new teachers to Explorers, but as ever there is always a need for new teachers as we discover with the children of St. Michael’s more about God and his son Jesus, through stories songs, crafts, drama and games. Threads , our youth group for children in school years 7-9, continues to meet regularly on Sunday evenings and has this year looked at the story of Exodus and the themes of Faith, Hope and Love. With an increase in the number of leaders we have enjoyed being able to split into smaller groups for discussions, and of course continue to play our usual variety of games, share food together and hold a number of socials including a Mexican night and a trip to Quasar in Bromley. It was decided this year that we would end Sneakers, the midweek group for those in school years 4-6. The sadness of ending this group, however, was tempered by the excitement of beginning a new Sports Club for children of roughly the same age. Having just begun, this club has already proven to be a success and we look forward to seeing how this group develops. This past summer’s Holiday Club, Green Scene, again ran during the last weekend of July, from Thursday to Sunday. While the weekend model draws in fewer children than a Monday to Friday model, the leaders are in agreement that the affect the weekend model has in drawing families to the Sunday service should not be underestimated and a smaller club creates a better atmosphere in which the leaders can interact with the children. Holiday Club will continue with the weekend model in 2008 with a theme of Superheroes. This year we welcomed Isaac Mensah to work with our children and young people at St. Michael’s. Isaac is our second Careforce volunteer and has come to us from Ghana. We are have greatly appreciated his hard work and the stability he brings as a second children and young people’s worker at St. Michael’s. His presence will be missed when he leaves in August and we are exploring the possibility of having another Careforce volunteer join us in September. Looking to next year, it has become apparent that another group is needed to meet the needs of the older young people at St. Michael’s, specifically those who will be in school years 10 and higher. The addition of another group as well as the continued work in Sunday School, Threads, the Sports Club and Holiday Club are dependent on volunteers from within the church community. We are ever thankful to those who give their time and energy, and are always on the look out for others who may like to join in this work. Leah Philbrick back to contents list
Homegroups continue to be an important part of our church life, providing an opportunity for friendship, learning, prayer and pastoral care. There have been some changes this year: - On the positive side, John Clark took over the leadership of what had been Frank and Lorraine’s group when they left to go to Ibiza. The group continues to thrive. - Sadly however ‘Homegroup Lite’ has, for the time being anyway, stopped meeting. Life changes, arrivals of babies, busy work schedules etc meant that attendance had dropped significantly. It has perhaps highlighted a challenge that affects the whole church in many different ways:
Nevertheless as other groups have grown the number of people involved in homegroups has remained much the same, around 60. Last summer term we followed a topic based series ‘Christian Life and Why it makes Sense’ and in the autumn we studied the gospel of John. For Lent we joined together as a whole church using the DVD series by Tom Wright ‘ Living Faith’. As before homegroups meet fortnightly during term time: Monday evening: led by Maggie Holland, mostly at Foxes Dale; Tuesday evening: led by John Clark, meeting in Lee Road. Wednesday evening: led by Pete & Pam Moss, Quaggy Walk; Thursday evening: led by David Hawkett, Blackheath Park. In addition to evening homegroups: Carolyn Watkins leads the Friday morning Mums group, meeting in the Musa room. Marion Lane leads a 3-weekly Friday lunch time group. Marian Curtis back to contents list
“This is one of the best jobs that St Michael's offers….” was what Jonathan Causer, previous editor, warned – and he was right! Thanks to an excellent Editorial Team (Sandy & Catherine Christie, Hannah Chamberlain, Sarah Burnard, Marian Curtis and Bill Lowe) we have been able to produce 6 editions of The Messenger with relative ease. Taking my vision of bringing the message of Christ crucified in bite-sized chunks, to the residents of St Michael’s parish, could not have happened without Bill Lowe’s clear thinking and creative flair. He came up with the fabulous, fresh design, purchased new computer software on behalf of the Church and hardest of all, trained The Editor how to use it! Between us we came up with a look, feel and content that the PCC agreed in June last year; for which I thank them. In addition to the editorial team there are four groups of people who make The Messenger happen each month.
The Editorial team is set fair for the next 8 months with themes and some suggested contributors. Each column has a Style Sheet with word counts and comments to help contributor’s to produce relevant copy that will fit each column. Become a contributor: don’t be shy! If you can write – think about how you could contribute. If you can think but not write, talk to The Editor and she’ll write it for you! Thank you to everyone for your support; all the positive feedback has been appreciated and we know anecdotally that many people who don’t come to St Michael’s enjoy reading The Messenger. How marvellous! Daphne Clifton back to contents list
The website has been actively maintained, more often than not being updated once or twice a week. The site aims both to provide essential information and interesting browsing. Its opening title says: Experience the Love of Christ at the friendly church of Blackheath Park; and we hope people find they can do exactly that. We know some newcomers have found the site helpful in choosing to try St Michael's; but it is thought that all too few church members use it regularly. Usage of the site has gone up slowly over the last 12 months, now running at about 80 hits a week. There should be scope to improve this. Awareness of the full content is probably not as high as it could be. The site opens with an introductory page which changes frequently and which typically explains where we are in the church's year, and from there the visitor goes to the Home Page which contains links to many other pages.The number of active pages changes fairly often to keep up with church life. New pages on weddings and funerals have recently been added. At the time of writing, there are over 60 of our own pages on the server. Perhaps we should offer a prize for the first person to place an accurate count on the blog! There is a full set of information about our services, our social diary, our home groups, our children and young people's activities, etc; there are pages on news and on needs, as well as commentaries from our clergy, information on the Church Council, current and back numbers of the Messenger, a printable version of our Welcome Pack, and full directions to the church and halls. The vault of photographic records of events continues to grow, but more input is needed from e-camera persons. There are also some 50 links to topical external sites of Christian interest, including the sites of all the missions we support, our diocesan site, the archbishop's site and many others. Work is currently in hand to make significant changes to the structure of the site, and this will hopefully see the light of day before the summer. It is also hoped to open up the possibility of more people participating in uploading material - at present it is all done by the web manager. The only truly low note has been the pretty much complete failure of Our Very Own Blog. Relaunched in March 2007, there have been only 8 postings in a year ! A small number of people have signed up to it, but virtually none of them is posting anything. If St Michaelians remain so reticent, it will be hard to justify retaining this feature. Come on folks, break out ! Chris Holland back to contents list
"God has created us in such a way that we need to know the purpose and benefit of something if we are going to be motivated to work for that thing. Motivation works on the basis of desire. For someone to pray they must learn to desire prayer. For each person to pray as the Scriptures require, they must develop a great desire to pray." (Paul Y Cho. Prayer: key to revival). I wonder as you read these words, how you see your prayer life. Do you see prayer as private (a daily "quiet time", perhaps using the prayer calendar)? Or more formal and corporate (our Sunday services)? Or is there middle ground: a place where corporate and informal meet (the Prayer Meeting)? St Michael’s Prayer Meeting is held on the first Thursday of each month in the John Bunyan Hall, from 8.15 to 9.30pm. A group of about 10 people normally attend. We sing, read the Bible together, share items for prayer - about individuals, our church life, national and world issues. The normal experience for those who come is to know that we have built up the church by meeting together and to have been personally encouraged. Gordon Kelk, a very faithful attendee at these meetings over several decades, and former warden, has left to live elsewhere and we will miss him. Others have joined us. Why not you? Our achievement over the last year has been to continue meeting, in all weathers, and in all circumstances, believing that God's name is glorified by prayer. We have discussed two possible new approaches in the coming year: a time of extended prayer (half a day) perhaps focused on a particular subject, and incorporating fasting in our corporate prayer life. Stephen Hingston back to contents list
World Focus is the name St Michael’s has now given to mission, our engagement with "the world". The world may mean the place which is (conceptually) outside the church or it can have a geographical meaning, physically somewhere else. The Bible speaks of a church/world separation and says essentially: be in the world, but not of the world. We need to be in the world in order to make Christ known. Each month we set aside a mission focus of the month (with respective church representatives in the second bracket). In 2007 we supported:
During 2008 we will continue to raise the profile of mission through prayer in services, at the prayer meeting, and in the monthly prayer calendar, as well as through the website, speaking slots in church, and the Crossing Cultures column in The Messenger. Stephen Hingston back to contents list
10. Church Halls Management Committee The Halls continue to play an important role within the community as well as provide space for church activities and a valuable source of income for the church. The Halls Committee (Brenda Woolf; Elizabeth Wiggans, Bill Lowe, Lynne Hamilton, Joy Weller, Marion Lane, Sarah Burnard) works hard keeping tabs on finance, fabric and general management. We have had several changes to how we run things this year. After years of devoted service for which we are all so very grateful, Joy Weller has handed over the Halls Finance Books to Michael Helm, who alongside Sarah Burnard, now keep tabs on our finances. It is pleasing that with all the work put into running and maintaining the halls that the Halls made a surplus in 2007 and so was able to contribute positively to the other church finances. Joy continues to look after the hall hire keys, an invaluable service. In 2007, we also started a new system asking out one-off hirers to pay in advance and this has worked well. Fabric issues: the new fire regulations were met in July; a large amount of work was done following the 5 year electrical check; the Musa Room Window has had major repairs (Morden College contributed £250 to this); the skylights in the JB and WT halls were fixed where possible and the remaining cupboard doors were recovered in blue felt; an outside tap has recently been fitted. Blinds and new locks have also been fitted in the WT hall to help First Steps security. Vandalism as well as general wear and tear (windows, doors, locks, loo seats, main hall heaters) mean that there are constant repairs. 2008 plans include additional storage in the Musa Room and attention will need to be given to the floors. Hall Hire: our halls are well used (see below). As usual there has been a small turnover of groups starting and finishing each year, but we have enough core use to ride the fluctuations in income. Fees continue to be reviewed each year with differing rates according to whether it is a community group or a small business hiring the halls. First Steps Nursery have had a difficult year with changes in the rules about government grants meaning they have had to opt out of the grant system and put additional costs over to parents. This has affected their daily numbers and their ability to pay the proposed increase in their hall hire fees. (We had an independent survey in 2006 about the level of fees we should be charging and have used that to guide us). This is a hard working Committee and the work is never done, but we remain a cheerful and committed group knowing what an important role the halls play in our church life as well as outreach to the community. Who uses the halls? (as at March08) =24 regular hirers per week, 11 of which are “ community ” groups Everyday: First Steps Nursery Mondays: Craft Cubs; Diddy Dance Children’s Dance; Perform Drama Class; Self Defence Class; Sewing Club, Conservatoire Choir. Tuesdays: Self Defence Class Private Lesson; Mums & Toddler Playgroup; Ballet Class; Munchkins Cookery After school Club; Greenwich Community Choir. Wednesdays: Mums & Toddler Playgroup; (Afternoon Party Slot); Cubs; Pilates. Thursdays: Mums & Toddler Playgroup; Post natal fitness and pilates; Munchkins Cookery; Second Chance Choir. Fridays: Toddler Theatre Group; Mini-Makers;Beavers; Scouts. Saturdays: Dance Class; Signing Club for families; Corner Club disabled people lunch (Afternoon Party Slot) One-off Hirers 2007: Children’s Parties (x63) (2006 = 41): Blood Donor Service (x 6) (2006 = 7); Residents Associations (x14) (2006 = 10); Clothes Sales (x5) (2006 = 4) Holiday Hirers 2007: Arty Party (10 weeks); Drama Club (1 wk); Munchkins Cookery (2 weeks) Regular Church use includes: 11 0’clock Club, PCC, Prayer Meeting; Lent course, Introducing God course, Marriage preparation, Mum’s Bible Study & various Youth Group/Young People Activities, Sunday School. Brenda Woolf back to contents list
It has been another successful year for all of us involved with The Eleven O’Clock Club. Attendances have now settled to about 40 to 55 per meeting. Our aim is to reach out to the lonely in our parish and to provide friendship to all. Many members look forward to the monthly meetings and the simple & tasty lunch which we provide afterwards. We also encourage members to come to our church. We would like to thank the church staff who have given us every encouragement. Our programme has included the following: John Bartram’s talk on Journalism, Jacob Levstein’s talk on Voyages to the New World, Mrs Evangeline Graham’s Blackheath and Nursery choir (Mrs Graham is Olive Kuhrt’s sister). Stephen Kuhrt, Olive’s son, gave us excerpts from 2 nd world war films illustrating hardships and difficulties and how we overcame them. We had Freddie Martin from The charity “Asha” concerning poverty relief in India. Bishop Christopher Chessun gave us a talk on “A day in the life of a bishop” and our annual outing to Leeds Castle was in July which everyone enjoyed, even the weather stayed fine. Sandra Winter gave an admiral illustration on how to use handbells. Some of us tried to do it as well! In November we had The Blackheath Conservatoire Ladies Choir and ended the year with the ever popular Christmas lunch. None of this would be possible without the very hard work and reliability of the team that runs the club. We also depend on one or two members of the church who kindly cook and bake for us and help with the washing up from time to time. We all feel that we are very fortunate to have the opportunity of serving our community in this way, and providing a very real Christian outreach. We do really need 2 or 3 new regular volunteers to help each month (1 st Wednesdays of the month). Could this be you?? Stewart Herdon back to contents list
12. WOMEN’s ACTIVITIES /Study GroupS
The Friday Morning Mums continues to be a fantastic group for mothers of pre-school & primary age children. We meet 9.30-11.00am on Friday mornings for tea, coffee, support and study. When busy we can have as many as ten mothers and ten small children but still manage to pray and study the bible amid the hullabaloo. Our recent studies have included ‘Women of Faith’ and ‘Angels’, but we started back after the summer holidays with a DVD based course from the charity Care for the Family called 21 st Century Parenting. It was an opportunity to invite friends along whether or not they share our faith and it was generally agreed to be amusing, thought-provoking and useful. We also meet up from time to time for a night out and most recently helped to swell the numbers at a Bring & Share Supper for women of an unspecifiable age group at Marion Lane’s house. The Friday Morning Mums group is open and welcoming - two of our regular members are from other churches. Several people have joined our group in the last 12 months & we look forward to greeting more new members in the coming year. Other women’s activities include: a new Mothers’ Lunchtime Bible Study Group which meets a couple of times each term for lunch and Bible Study. Kim Causer hosted a women’s supper in the summer when Daphne Clifton chaired a discussion “Why (some) men don’t come to church”. The Women of a Certain Age” has also met at various points during the year; and Women’s Bring & Share Suppers remain a fixture in the church calendar. A final note of thanks to the Friday Mums for putting together the Mother’s Day flowers. Carolyn Watkins, Marion Lane and Marian Curtis back to contents list “In the tiny petal of a tiny flower is the Miracle and the Mystery of all Creation” Flowers are a constant reminder of the beauty of nature provided for our enjoyment by our Heavenly Father. The flower committee have arranged beautiful floral displays in the church throughout the year. I should like to thank them all for their willingness and dedication in decorating the church not only Sunday by Sunday but also for the special displays made at Easter, Harvest, and Christmas. Many thanks too to those who supply greenery and to those who donate Easter baskets for the windowsills and to those who support us financially particularly at Christmas. During the year we were delighted to welcome Philippa Goffe and Anna Sterling on to the committee .They have already proved to be a great asset to the team. We were all saddened by the death of Barbara Bromley(a very dedicated member of our team) and also the loss of Doris Wescott who for years was a faithful and generous donator to our flower fund. Celia Herdon back to contents list
We send 4 representatives to Deanery Synod (Marion Chittleborough, Clare Bartram, David Seddon & myself) which has met 3 times in the year. The synod comprises representatives of all the churches in the Charlton Deanery. One of the interesting things about being a member of Synod is the wider perspective it gives of the life of the church beyond the parish. The Deanery covers an area that is diverse in so many ways and each parish hosts a meeting in turn. There is lots to be learned by visiting other parishes, meeting their members and seeing how they do things. There is also a chance to find out more about major issues in the church, both nationally and locally, which play a big part on the agenda. Locally, the area includes the Greenwich Peninsula and the Ferrier estate, both currently being redeveloped. As in previous years, this brings new challenges for Anglicans, often in conjunction with other Christian churches and other faiths. Less happily, perhaps, there is today a greater awareness of the risk of a major incident and the clergy are becoming increasingly involved in contingency planning for dealing with these. Much of the Synod’s proceedings take the form of report-backs by those involved with particular matters, including those mentioned. There are also presentations about social and other problems of common concern. Particularly interesting was a talk by a group of teachers from Kidbrooke Park Primary School about cultural and religious diversity in state schools; just over half the pupils at the school are from another cultural background and the prime objective of the school is to instil respect everyone for what they are. Synod has had administrative problems over the year, including in particular difficulty in finding a secretary. Happily, these look to have been resolved in time for the election of new representatives for a term of three years. At St. Michael’s this will take place at the Annual Church Meeting. If you are interested in taking part in this interesting and often rewarding activity by standing as for election as a representative for St. Michael’s, do talk to one of the existing representatives
John Allen back to contents list
15. CHURCHES TOGETHER IN BLACKHEATH St Michael’s has again been an active member of Churches Together in this Blackheath. There are currently eight local churches in this group: All Saints Blackheath; The Ascension Dartmouth Row; St James’ Kidbrooke; The Society of Friends (Quakers); St Margaret’s Lee; St Mary’s RC Cresswell Park; St John’s Stratheden Road and ourselves. Representing St Michael’s on the CTiB committee are Marian Curtis (currently the chairperson), Sandy Christie & Pete Moss. This past year CTiB has organised the following events: the always well-attended Good Friday service of Witness on Blackheath to which about 300 people come, Christian Aid Week and service at the Ascension, a summer picnic in the garden of St Mary’s, a joint Harvest service at All Saints, an informative and lively meeting in October to discuss Youth Crime in the area, a Quiet Day at St Mary’s Abbey, a Service for the Week of Christian Unity, and the Christmas Eve Procession through Blackheath Village followed by carol singing. This last event goes from strength to strength and again this year over 1000 adults and children joined the procession. Jacob Povey from St Michael’s led the donkey procession as Joseph. CTiB would welcome and benefit from more active support form all churches, particularly from lay people. It would be great if St M’s too could provide one more representative at this point. Marian Curtis, Pete Moss back to contents list
16. 40th Greenwich Scout Group
2007 was Scouting’s Centenary year. We celebrated the year in many ways:
A major achievement was the attainment of many badges including 29 Chief Scout Awards which are the highest available to our young people and represent a lot of hard work by all concerned. That was 13 Bronze Awards by Beavers, 7 Silver Awards by Cubs and 9 Gold Awards by Scouts. Otherwise the year was a normal busy year with all the usual activities and some new ones like learning about our traditions for the Heritage Badge. I guess this busy-ness is reflected by our continuing large numbers: . 95 boys and 8 girls; 25 Beavers, 44 Cubs and 34 Scouts. We still have waiting lists for all the age groups! We have a very dedicated leadership team who are unfortunately not getting any younger. Four of us are now over sixty and we really do need some more, younger, leaders to provide for some long-term continuity. I thank those who support us and would ask that you continue to pray for us, giving thanks for the practical support of the many parents who assist at our weekly meetings, on outings and at camps. Also that we will continue to fulfil our aim of encouraging the physical, intellectual, social and spiritual growth of our young people. We are particularly grateful to St Michael’s for their practical support in providing the halls for our meetings and last April for hosting the Greenwich District St. George’s Day service. We have also enjoyed helping at some Sunday services such as Harvest & Mothering Sunday , which is much appreciated by our young people, parents & leaders.
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