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Every Parochial Church Council now has to present a report on the
previous year in the life of the Church to the Annual Church Meeting. Here
is an extract from the report made to the Prestbury annual meeting held on
1st April. As you will see, there has been a great deal going on on many
fronts. Please pray for the Holy Spirit to inspire us in doing the work of
Jesus in this parish.
Aims and organisations
The main purpose of the PCC (is) to co-operate with the minister in
promoting in the parish the whole mission of the church, pastoral,
evangelistic, social and ecumenical.
The Parish Mission Statement, formulated in 1996, identified three main
areas for development:
Christian Nurture and Education for all ages and stages
on the Faith journey.
Shared Ministry in worship, teaching and in support of all
our Christian family.
Outreach: we are anxious to reach the "other 11,000"
people in our parish who do not come to our churches.
The Council and its Committees have endeavoured to pursue these aims in
the past year. There have been six full meetings this year, at which
reports from Committees, Ministry Leadership Team, Deanery Synod and
schools have been regularly received. There have also been meetings with
the Archdeacon of Cheltenham and Prestbury and All Saints' PCCs to consider
the future relationship of the parishes. The Committees responsible for
various areas of parish life, under the oversight of the PCC are:
Worship, Pastoral Care & Common Life, Education & Nurture, Mission &
Outreach, Fabric, Finance and Administration & Infrastructure.
At the last Annual Parochial Church Meeting, held on 9 April 2000, the
electoral roll stood at 350, comprising 230 at St Mary's and 120 at St
Nicolas'. This was a decrease of fifteen over the previous year.
Review of progress and achievements
The Council has received regular reports on the training of the Ministry
Leadership Team and has continued to support the Team financially. The
ceiling, windows and floor of St Nicolas' church were found to be in
desperate need of replacement, and the Council has agreed the plans and
expenditure required. The St Nicolas' Renewal Appeal was launched in
December 2000. Special efforts have been made to involve the local
community in St Nicolas' Renewal Appeal.
The Worship Committee has overseen the introduction of
Common Worship to the parish.
The Pastoral Care & Common Life Committee has monitored
the work of the Bereavement Support team and the Baptism Visitors, who
contact families bringing children to baptism in the parish and then
endeavour to be in church for the service or the welcome. Another
successful Marriage Preparation Day has been held with clergy and lay
involvement. A parish Prayer Diary has recently been established. Several
successful social events have been organised including the parish barbecue.
The Renewal Appeal committee has organized a substantial programme of fund
raising social events, leaving the Committee free to consider pastoral
events more, in liaison with the Ministry Leadership Team.
The Education & Nurture Committee has seen the
continuation of Rockers, Sunday School/Club and Synergy, which offer young
people from pre-schoolers to teenagers Christian education and nurture.
Andy Macauly has been appointed as the full time Parish Youth Worker with
the help of diocesan funding. A new group, The Space, has been established
to cater for young people in Years 7 & 8 who are not regular church
attenders, and the Twilight Zone continues to cater for older, mainly 'unchurched',
school children. House groups, prayer groups and study groups have met and
talks have been given. A course on parenting teenagers was over subscribed.
The Mission & Outreach Committee organized the
distribution of ecumenical Christmas cards to all households in the parish.
A copy of St Luke's gospel was taken to every house in the parish to mark
the Millennium. This was also an ecumenical venture. Carol singers took
Christmas greetings to the Wyman's Brook area. Cards were left for visitors
at the Racecourse caravan site and at local guesthouses and B&Bs with
information about church services.
The Fabric Committee has been heavily involved in work on
St Nicolas' Renewal but has also overseen the repair of pathways in the
Churchyard and various other works. The replacement of the heating system
and the floor at St Mary's is the next major project being considered by
the committee.
The Finance Committee has continued to monitor parish
finances.
The Administration & Infrastructure Committee has been
responsible for the purchase of two new computer systems for the parish.
Mrs Katrina Hawkins has been employed for 6 hours per week as an additional
administrator.
A 10-page report containing comprehensive Financial Statements covering
all financial aspects of our parish in 2001 was also presented by our
Treasurer.
Fr Stephen
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Music, Music, Music!
Colin Smith, former choirmaster and organist at St Nicolas', will
be bringing members of his Norwegian church choir to Prestbury at the end
of May, exactly a year after the visit of St Nicolas' choir to Oslo. In
between the socialising the combined choirs will sing on Sunday 27th May
at the 9.30am Eucharist at St Nicolas' and at the 6.30pm Evening
Service at St Mary's. Not to be missed!
Our guests will be with us from the Friday to Monday of that weekend. We
had a fantastic welcome from their church, including a reindeer steak meal,
and we are sure that they will receive an equally warm welcome!
The picture shows Lambertseter kirke typically in snow!
Daphne Philpot
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St Cecilia Singers
On Saturday 12th May at 7.30pm in St Mary's church the
St Cecilia Singers, conducted by Ian Ball, assistant organist at the
Cathedral, will perform Purcell's Dido and Aeneas. The programme
will also include English string music performed by the Emerald Baroque
Ensemble.
Tickets priced £7 (£5 concessions) are available on the door or in
advance from Malcolm and Christine McKelvey.
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Back in March members of Synergy put on a very successful Talent Show
and Murder Mystery evening to raise money for Charity. A lot of hard work
was put into organising the event, from acting to arranging rehearsals and
setting up on the day. Although hard work, everyone involved enjoyed the
experience. I think the highlight of the evening was S Club 7's 'Reach for
the Stars' and I am sure it will be remembered (unfortunately for some) for
a long time to come!
I should like to say a big thank you to those who helped and took part,
and enabled the evening to run smoothly?! Thank you also to everyone who
came and supported us on the evening and helped us to raise over £300. A
special thanks has to be said to 'PC' Andy Macauly who not only helped us
to solve a great mystery, but without him it would not have been possible.
Thank you.
If you would like to relive the memorable experience and dance along to
S Club 7 in the privacy of your own homes then videos are on sale for £10
from both churches.
Claire Radburn
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Many thanks to everyone who supported this event in any way. The grand
sum of £375 was raised. Raising money from an event is hard work but there
is another side. The social opportunity to work and mix with others is very
rewarding.
Gill Woodcock
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The Maundy Thursday workshop was held at St Mary's church. I helped with
the Easter garden under the Altar.
First we pinned up the back cloth, then we lined the base with plastic.
Next we put the tomb and three crosses in place. Then we covered the base
with moss. We put lots of bright yellow and some purple flowers in glass
pots and put these in the garden. We put a big stone at the tomb entrance
and lots of little stones to make a path. We sprayed the moss with lots of
water to keep it green. On Holy Saturday some of us returned to fill the
garden with even more flowers ready for Easter Day.
Sarah M, aged 8
We all made crosses with wool and two bits of wood one bit shorter than
the other. We did it by getting two colours or more and wrapping them round
one colour after the other.
At the end of the workshop we had a service and I was Jesus when it was
the Last Supper. I had to wash my friends' feet (like Jesus did to his 12
disciples).
Anna B, aged 10
Easter Workshop
On Thursday 12th April St Mary's Church had an Easter Workshop. One of
the things we did was make clay Tombs.
We all had a lump of clay and shaped it in the shape of a Tomb. With
another little lump of clay we shaped it in a round circular ball for the
rock. When we had finished the Tomb and the rock we painted them to show
where Jesus was put after he was crucified.
Grace C, aged 9
Clay Tombs
On Maundy Thursday I went to the children's activity afternoon at St
Mary's church. There were lots of activities, but my favourite was making
clay tombs. We took a lump of clay and rolled it into a ball. This was the
rock. Then we took a bigger lump of clay and rolled it into a ball, and
then scooped a hole into the side of the ball to make the tomb. When we
were satisfied with the shape, we painted the tomb and the rock and left
them to dry. At the end of the afternoon we took them home to put on the
mantelpiece as a reminder of Jesus dying and rising again at Easter.
Hannah S, aged 9
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William Hazlewood is to be ordained Deacon in Bristol Cathedral on
Monday 2nd July. I am sure that many Prestbury friends will wish to be
there to support him, and so I have booked a coach. If you would like to be
included, please give your name to Jill Yates or Ruth Shaw with £5 per
person deposit, the balance to be collected on the coach.
Jill Yates
Parish Sports
This month's sport player is Lawrence.
Rugby involves two teams of 15 players. The object of the game is to
score points against the opposition by putting the ball down over their try
line. If the ball is pushed to the ground this is called a try and scores 5
points. You can then convert the try by kicking the ball over the
horizontal bar and between the vertical posts in the centre of the try
line. This scores a bonus 2 points. Other ways of scoring are by a drop
goal and a penalty which each give 3 points. Each player has his own
position to play with a name for each, for example: hooker, flanker,
centre, fly half, prop. Moves within the match have names too, scrum, ruck
and maul.
I started playing rugby in Year 7 at Senior School. At first we learnt
all about the moves and the rules and began having matches after Christmas.
We played well and by Easter had won most of our matches and each of our
team received a plaque for most successful team in our school.
I started playing for Cheltenham U13s at the beginning of Year 8 and we
have had a very successful season, reaching the semi-finals of the County
Cup.
I enjoy rugby because it is good fun and keeps us fit.
Lawrence Curran, aged 13
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A date for your diary:
This year's Parish Quiet Day will be held on Saturday
22nd September at the Marist Centre, Nympsfield.
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Dates, dates, dates ...
A Celebration of Marriage
Sat 5th, Sun 6th & Mon 7th May 11am - 6pm each day
(except during St Mary's services: Sat 3.30pm & Sun 11.00am)
At St Mary's: Flower
arrangements displayed with wedding dresses and church vestments
At St Nicolas': Christening robes; craft displays and
demonstrations; morning coffees, lunches and teas; raffle
You are invited to
a Service in
Celebration of Marriage
on Saturday 5th May 2001
at 3.30 pm
in St Mary's Church, Prestbury
During the service there will be an
opportunity for
all who wish to do so to renew their Marriage Vows
Refreshments will be served after the
Service
All are welcome to attend!
Bible Study dates
Why not make time to join us for a bible study? No
previous experience is necessary. No long-term commitment is expected. A
willingness to share and learn would be an advantage. Have a quiet work
with Sue Read or Andy or Kathy Beacham one Sunday if you are curious.
Wednesday 9 May; Wednesday 23 May;
Thursday 7 June; Thursday 21 June.
We begin at 8pm and finish at 9.30pm. Over the next weeks we shall be
looking at Acts interspersed with some minor prophets from the Old
Testament.
Sue Read
Winston's Wish
The Bereavement Support Group are holding an open meeting
on Wednesday 16th May at 8.00pm in St Mary's Church to which all are
invited. The speaker will be from Winston's Wish, the charity which
supports children who have lost a close family member.
Beryl Elliott
Coffee Morning in aid of the National Star
Centre, Ullenwood
Martin and Jill Kannreuther invite you to a coffee
morning on Wednesday 23rd May from 10.30am to 12 noon. There will be a
raffle, bring-&-buy and plant stall. Entrance, coffee and homemade biscuits
£1.
Jill will be taking part in The Great Wall Star Trek in November, walking
80 km of the Great Wall of China to raise money for the Centre. The
National Star Centre is a college of further education for training young
people aged 16 to 25 who are physically disabled or have acquired brain
injury.
Martin and Jill Kannreuther
Plant Sale
Saturday 26th May 2.00pm at
St Nicolas'
Further details from Janet White
Come and join our Summer Supper & Songs
on Saturday 2nd June in St Mary's Church Hall
7.00pm for 7.30pm
Entertainment will be provided by Allan & Karen Gillespie
& Friends (Impromptu)
in aid of St Mary's Church Heating Fund
Tickets £6 each available at both churches on Sundays
Gardens Open
Sunday June 17th
Parking and tea available at St Nicolas' Church
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