St Peter and St Paul Barnby Dun

A year in the life of the church

Report for

the Annual Parochial Church Meeting

Sunday 20^th April 2008

11.00am in church

Churchwardens’ Report April 2008

CHURCH

The fabric of the church building is sound and well maintained mainly because of the group of unseen workers who give up their time to preserve our beautiful building.

The main disaster during the last year has been the theft of lead from the roof. We have had three such thefts and the last strip will be replaced once the security lighting has been

installed, the insurance company have agreed to pay for this.

Bob and Tom regularly clean the boiler filters to ensure that we have a warm church and a cowl is being made to protect the top of the boiler

John Overton and Tim have sorted the problem of the noisy humidifier.

Tim has repaired the hand mike , the loop system is in the process of being repaired and the sound system modernised

Fire extinguishers have been checked.

A new sweeper has been purchased.

The main gates have been secured with a chain as recommended by Ecclesiastical Insurance and a sample of Smart Water will be utilised in the near future.

The cupboards have been tidied mainly thanks to Janet.

CHURCH HALL

The Hall has been repainted thanks to an army of volunteers.

The boiler has been serviced and the cupboards fitted, thanks to Nigel.

A grant application has been submitted for the installation of a dishwasher.

CHURCHYARD and CEMETERY

The memorial bench has been sited

Thank you to all the ‘grass cutters’ who keep the churchyard and cemetery neat and tidy and to John Overton for servicing the machinery and to Nigel for cutting the hedge.

CHURCH SIGN and NOTICEBOARD

A faculty has been submitted and we are hoping that progress will soon be made.

We would like to thank all the people who give up their time to maintain the Church building, too many to mention individually, but thanks to all the grass cutters, cleaners, flower ladies, light bulb changers and all who do general maintenance

Thank you also to the sidespersons for without them our job would be all the harder.

Thanks also to the bell ringers who in spite of having to ring at other churches always manage to find a team for weddings and some Sunday services.

We would like to give a special thank you to Bob who is always there to step into the breach when needed and has provided valuable help and support.

The PCC for 2007/8 has been made up of 22 members and has met on 12 occasions – 9 planned meetings, and 3 extra meetings after Sunday morning services. Much of the business of the PCC is referred to elsewhere in the ACM Report.

Two major items on which the PCC had to spend some time were firstly the response to the theft of lead from the church roof, and secondly the decision about charitable giving. Following a series of separate incidents of theft, the PCC decided to install an alarm system (klaxon and lights) on the church roof. This has been installed, although there are some technical problems that are in the process of being sorted out.

At last year’s ACM the issue of charitable giving was raised – particularly in respect of the sum of £1760 which had been reserved for charitable giving a number of years ago, but not yet paid out. The PCC decided that as the church was in a more favourable financial situation than in previous years, it was important to give this money to charity. This sum has now been sent to different charities: £315 each to Teen Challenge, Water Aid, Shevet Achim and Macmillan Cancer Support.

Having already decided to enter into a CMS Partnership with Allan and Anne Lacey in Uganda, the remaining £500 was sent to CMS. The PCC also agreed to making further donations of £500 p.a. to CMS in the next two years. A discussion about charitable giving in respect of the 2007 income will be take place at the earliest opportunity following the ACM.

The PCC has worked at updating our Child Protection Policy, a draft version of which is currently with the Diocesan Child Protection Officer. Colin Naylor is stepping down as the ‘Named Person’ (ie the person responsible for arranging CRB checks in this church), so the PCC will have to appoint someone else to take his place. Thanks to Colin for all he has done in this role.

The Fun and Fund Committee is a sub-committee of the PCC, and there is a separate report of all that they have done.

There was a successful PCC Away Day held in November, open to all members of the congregation. During discussions at the Away Day, three particular areas of church life were highlighted as needing to be developed: reading the Bible, listening to God and telling others about Jesus. The PCC has set up another sub-committee to look at these issues – the spirituality group.

Part of the Archdeacon’s charge at last year’s Visitation service, was for churches to be open for prayer on a daily basis. As a move towards this the PCC agreed to a service of Evening Prayer on Tuesdays at 6pm. The main focus of this service is to pray for the community of Barnby Dun. Prayer Boxes for community use will also be put into various locations throughout the village.

There was a request from a church member that information about PCC business should be publicised on a regular basis. The PCC agreed to this, but it only happened once. It was felt that it was appropriate for an edited version of PCC minutes to be posted on the notice board after each meeting – unfortunately the ‘editing’ does take time and did not get done. Hopefully we can make a better job of this in future.

Thank you to all who have served as members of the PCC this year – for attending meetings, as well as the other work that goes on in between meetings. Special thanks go to those members who are not seeking re-election this year (Pete, Colin, Eric and Doreen) and to Chris and Sue for the work they do as Treasurer and Secretary.

           Jan Foden

K C Club Report – 2007/2008

When the KC Club report was completed for 2006/2007 (April 2007), we were looking for volunteers to help run the group. I am pleased to report that Chris Simpson is now part of the team along with Jacky Woolley.

Although the number of children attending has been low this year, we have still managed to have a good year learning about God and Jesus, and to also incorporate a few projects over the year.  Our first project was fish – looking at the many stories in the bible about fish and fishermen, concluding the project with a picture board of two fishermen catching a net full of fish. The children enjoyed making their own fishes in all shapes, sizes and colours. We then moved on to our second project - Paul’s Journeys, which Chris, Jacky and I enjoyed as much as the children.  We were then approaching Advent and the preparations for Christingle. Many children got involved with the Christingle play, including some children from the J Team, all the KC Club, some from our Youth Group along with a few friends and family. We then prepared short projects on Epiphany and Mothers’ Day and then Easter.

As in past years, the KC Club and friends were invited to the Barnby Dun Players’ production of Beauty and the Beast and again a good time was had by all of us.

The K C Club bank account as at April 2007 was £107.12. The only money spent this year was pantomime tickets’ for £35, leaving a balance of £72.12

Our child protection policy has now been reviewed and updated and the necessary changes have been, or, are in the process of being implemented in the running of the KC Club.

Plans we didn’t achieve from last year’s report were the organisation of social events for the children and their friends, such as ice-skating, swimming, cinema, as well as the occasional evening meeting. Hopefully this year we will be able to organise some of these suggestions.

As already mentioned the number of children attending the KC Club fluctuates, and at present we have 6 children attending regularly (from 3 families). Three older children have now joined the youth group who meet once a month. Chris, Jacky and I shall continue to plan for the next year’s projects and hopefully with some new attendees.

Diane

We continue to go into Barnby Dun Primary School on Tuesday lunchtimes. We ended the school year on May 22^nd 2007. We felt that we had enjoyed a happy year, with the children attending well and responding to the stories, activities and craft work that we had prepared.

We started the new school year on September 25^th. We “brainstormed” the children’s knowledge of Jesus, introduced the concept of belonging and explained the purpose of the “J Team”. After the story of the healing of the ten lepers we talked about being thankful and the children wrote prayers, an activity that we do regularly. The prayers are always displayed in church. The next week we explained about Baptism. We had been loaned a lovely baby doll, so we chose parents, godparents, names etc. and re-enacted a baptism, that was enjoyed by everyone, followed by a party of course.

During the following weeks we continued our Old Testament stories from last year, the crossing of the Red Sea, God’s care of his people in the desert, and onto Elijah. As we approached Christmas we told the story of our Saviour’s birth, using Babouska, a new book, Leah’s Story and an entertaining activity called “the Christmas Alphabet” During this term the children made Bookmarks using their own name as decoration and these have been placed in church bibles with a request that when a name is found the reader will pray for the child.

On January 15^th we started the New Year with a Quiz and then for the next few weeks we followed the story of Jesus’ life, the escape to Egypt, telling the stories of the journeys from the donkey’s point of view. The boyhood of Jesus. John the Baptist, Jesus in the wilderness, right through to his entry into Jerusalem, arrest, crucifixion and resurrection. We had craftwork, worksheets and songs to help the children to remember each part. The children were able to make a small gift for their mother on the Tuesday before Mothering Sunday. The boxes that we used for the gift we had obtained from Jenny Lambourne at a meeting at Intake of children’s leaders. We are attending another meeting on March 23^rd at St. Edmunds, where we hope to gather some new materials and ideas. A new activity, that we have tried, to acknowledge the value of each child, is “Circle Time” and we will continue with this regularly.

For the last few weeks of the Summer term we hope to have more emphasis on music and singing and we would really like to arrange for the children to come to church one Sunday to share some of their songs with the church members. Another aim is to develop the input of the children’s own ideas especially through performance and so hopefully maintain interest and enthusiasm.

Margaret Chapman

The youth group meet once a month in the church hall (usually the third Sunday of the month) at the same time as the evening service – 6.30pm. Currently we have 5 regular members – but newcomers between the ages of 11 and 17 are always welcome!!

The group is led by Ken Foden and Helen Acton – although they have also been supported very ably by Kate Reeve and Margaret Ottewell.

During the first session we explored what the teenagers would like to do both at the youth group and as worship in church and beyond. Consequently we have been excited about performing a puppet show at the carol service in December and a skit at the Easter service. The talented young people have also explored their second (!!!) instruments in a music session. They have looked at the different types of Christian music available and Christian websites and radio stations. We have also explored the Christian message in the film ‘Bruce Almighty’!

The sessions are lots of fun – with snacks and drinks. In the future we are looking into ways of meeting with more young Christians in the Doncaster area and beyond to develop this important part of our church.

Helen

In November 2007 our MU celebrated the 10^th Anniversary of  re-formation and with the help of photos, cards, posters, service sheets, letters etc we were able to revive many happy memories of those years, remembering with sadness Marlene and Rene but celebrating that so many of our original members still meet month by month. In August our 2 new members, Arline and Pauline were enrolled at Sheffield Cathedral – a real day of celebration for them and for us.

We continue to enjoy our monthly meetings with a variety of speakers, our special services, sometimes shared with other branches in the Doncaster Deaneries, our travelling together by train and tram and our visits to other churches across the area.

Susan Cammack has had a very busy year as Deanery Leader – a much bigger job than she anticipated when she took it on – but these jobs always are!

We are constantly aware that the MU’s aim of “Christian care for families worldwide” is central to our organisation and we are glad to have contrived to support Doncaster Women’s Aid (with the church’s very generous support and Ron and Molly’s very hard work), Doncaster Pathways and the MU charities that work to provide holidays for families in special need, play facilities in the crèche at Moorlands prison and support for the Hinge centre at Goole.

We are very keen on supporting the MU work abroad, particularly the Emergency Relief Fund which enables local people to distribute grain, pots and pans, water purification tablets, sleeping mats and blankets, mosquito nets etc – whatever is needed in their area in times of crisis. We are also enthusiastic about the literacy and numeracy training programmes that can transform family life through the education of mothers and grandmothers in Burundi, Sudan and Malawi.

During 2007 some of us were privileged to lead Evensong in church and we hope to take the service again with more of our members involved.

It is a great joy to us when so many church members join us at our Advent service and when Margaret Burdis comes to lead our meeting. Please remember that our meetings are open to visitors, male or female, married or not, mothers, aunts, cousins, grandfathers – we are always glad to welcome you and we would love to see our membership grow as we feel that the work of the MU has so much to offer to its members and to those it seeks to help. Yes, we do have cups of tea and some us of do some knitting (of blankets and clothes for Africa) and we do enjoy each others’ company.

  Pat Maddison

During 2007 we were pleased to welcome a few new members to our meetings, this brings our numbers to 24, but not all can be present at every meeting for various reasons.

We were fortunate to be able to visit Rockware Glass and the new Police Control Room during the year which proved to be very interesting, the increase in cameras around the town and outlying districts really do help and support the work of the police.  We also welcomed speakers from the Freemasons, enjoyed slide shows, went ten-pin bowling, in-house discussions and our annual visit to Wyndthorpe Hall Bowling Club. For our Christmas meal we decided to give the ladies a well earned rest and utilise excellent outside caterers – what a good choice !!

We meet in the church hall on the last Thursday of each month commencing at 7.30pm, and welcome any male person to our meetings.

The Fun & Fund committee have finished a busy year and are

about to embark on another full programme for 2008

The EVENTS in 2007 were

19th April Markham Main Colliery Band

19th May Jumble / Bric-a-Brac Sale

26th May Visit to Ripon Cathedral and the Flower Festival

30th June Evening of Illusion with Pie & Pea Supper

14th July Strawberry Tea hosted by Tim Cutts

28th July Visit to Castle Howard

4th August Vicarage BBQ

1st & 2nd Sept Art Festival

8th & 9th Sept Heritage Open Afternoons

15th Sept Halifax Celebration Band

19th Sept Lush Products Evening

30th Sept Harvest Supper and Call My Bluff

20th Oct Rock Bottom Concert

14th Dec Church Christmas Concert

20th Dec David Hainsworth Singers

23rd Feb 2008  Doncaster Schools Symphonic Band

These events are a mixture of fund raising and social activities with many different areas to organize, publicity, refreshments, raffles, coaches booked or printing posters and tickets. Lots of jobs need doing but a very dedicated and willing team all help to ensure the smooth running and successful outcome of the years planned timetable.

Concerts, quiz, day trips, Art Festival, B.B.Q. and our latest idea the Wedding Festival Weekend are all part of the varied 2008 programme.

We would not be able to manage without the help of the church members, who share the workload at the larger events and to who we would like to express our sincere thanks.

Fun and Fund Committee.

(Pete Lister)

The walking group has a very well established membership, approximately 35 people regularly meet in the church car park on the second Saturday of the month, where people are then transferred by car to our starting point, ready to begin our walk of 1 to 1½ hours.

Since the group was formed in January 2006 and 13 walkers set out along the Barnby Dun tow paths we have visited many local areas and gathered lots of new members. We encourage any suggestions for new venues but most are content to enjoy whatever has been organized.

Whilst exercise is important, the friendship and social side is also a major factor and the ‘single’ members often express how much they enjoy being part of the group.

The walking group is open to all and a number of the group who are not part of our congregation have joined us at some of our other church organized events and hopefully this can be another outreach into the community

Teen Challenge Report

During 2007 our meetings moved from utilising the bus from Leeds on a Saturday evening to moving into Christchurch on Friday evenings. This has provided us with more room to meet with our “clients”  in much more comfortable surroundings, and better facilities for serving the refreshments.

We have 2 men in rehab. in Wales who are now well into their programme, and more recently we are hopeful that 2 more will commit themselves to joining them.

The four of us from Barnby Dun go every other Friday and support a small number of volunteers from various churches. At the moment we do not walk around the town but concentrate on those who visit the church which can number from 16 to 36 in any one evening. At 10.00pm when we close the door, two or three members from Bentley Baptist Church join us for prayer and then spend 2 or 3 hours walking the streets generally speaking to the “clubbers”, but making inroads with their message.

We thank all who support us with providing sandwiches, drinks, soup, biscuits, hats, gloves, scarves, clothing and blankets. All these items have been greatly received.

Most of all we ask you to continue to pray for our work, especially on Friday evenings.

Tom , Daphne, Ken & Audrey

Singles Lunch Group Report 2008

This group has gone from strength to strength with a maximum of 56 places offered for lunch. Members are now interested in fundraising for the group and have offered loans of Hostess Trolleys. A big thank you to Rosemary and John for the gift of a Hostess Trolley

There are 93 contact names on the list so 50% uptake is very good.

There are quite a few who never come and so I am trying other ways to encourage these lonely people to take the first step. Perhaps doing afternoon tea once a month in the Summer on Sunday afternoons could be another step forward with members from the singles group and church working together providing volunteers with baking skills and waitresses.

Hopefully the Awards for All application for funding to improve the facilities in the kitchen will be successful, so washing up will be easy.

Jan Travis

Thank you to everyone who brought daffodils into church on Easter Sunday. They looked lovely and the perfume from them the following Sunday seemed as if Spring was here. The flowering plants from last year which were planted near the church doors and around the south side of the tower have produced a delightful display.

Thank you to the congregation who have donated money for the altar flowers, the flower fund is financially sound so the flowers to complement the wedding dresses will be paid for from the fund.

There are a few free Sundays for the altar and font, bearing in mind the font is needed on the second Sunday of the month. Contact Pam Heathcote if you would like to provide flowers for the altar or font. You can do them yourself, arrange them in oasis or in the altar vases. Buy them in, making sure that the container is big enough to hold extra water. Or ask one of the flower team to do them for you .

Let me know if you would like a couple of sessions on how to do the church flowers and I will run a couple of classes in the summer. The more people who can do the flowers the better.

Thank you.

Jan Travis

After 21 months of its existence the Music Group continues to go from strength to strength. If everyone is there we have a potential membership of twenty-two – larger than some congregations (sadly)!

We managed to capture the brass instrument mentioned last year but are still awaiting the appearance of a banjo. We currently have a repertoire of around 50 songs, many of them new to the congregation in the first instance. 

The group continues to play about once a month.  A number of the members are, shall we say, in the younger age group and are also members of the Youth Group. We hope that they will be able to make an increasing contribution to worship and perhaps lead a youth service some time soon.

At Christmas we were pleased to sing and play another poem by Doreen Skelton, set to a well known tune. One member of the group is a prolific writer of Christian songs and, in the near future, some of those songs will be played in church. What a lot of talented people we have!

Ken is currently on a diocesan worship leaders’ course.  This means attending a half-day session in Sheffield for one Sunday per month, completing a project, carrying out a programme of visits to other churches and studying the history and theory of worship leading in the Church of England as well as back into Old Testament times.

Many of you will remember the visit we had from the Halifax Celebration Band. They have recently agreed to do a Saturday afternoon seminar for members of the music group.  The afternoon will include training on the use of the video projector to enhance worship. The Celebration Band will have tea with us and then there will be a praise and worship concert in church, led by the Celebration Band and featuring the involvement of our music group. It sounds like a good evening. The Celebration Band deserves our support. All concerts and seminars are provided free with the simple request that we make a contribution to two charities that they support. We are currently negotiating a date. When it is arranged be sure to get along and support the event!

During the next twelve months the Music Group will continue to introduce new songs as well as maintaining the best of the old. Given the range of talents within and beyond the group there are exciting possibilities ahead for enhancing worship opportunities through music, drama, dance and the use of information technology. Once again we ask for your prayers that there will be a great outpouring of God’s Holy Spirit on our worship so that many more will hear His word and turn to Him.

Ken

Deanery Synod Report 2007/2008

Barnby Dun Deanery Synod Members are Bob Haigh, Kate Reeve and June Sadd.  There are 4 churches in interregna, St Hugh’s New Cantley, Church of the Good Shepherd, Kirk Sandall /Edenthorpe, St Mary’s Wheatley and St Paul’s Wheatley Park.

There were 3 meetings of the Deanery Synod - the first being in May 2007 at the Church of the Good Shepherd. They stated that the church was 29 years old, and they worked closely with the community with a community news letter, a harvest event and a mother and toddlers group caller Angels Delight. A junior group demonstrated the use of godly play to tell Bible Stories to children. The main speaker was supposed to be Captain Chris Chester who sent his apologies.  The Deanery Synod members had a discussion on concerns and opportunities for the Diocese.

The second meeting in Oct. 2007 was at St Aidan’s church Wheatley Hills. The parish profile stated that the church had celebrated its 50^th birthday by a celebration service in February 2007. The church hall was in the process of being sold and it was hopeful that the proceeds could be used to improve the building.  Groups such as the Brownies, Guides and Senior Citizens now meet in the church building, and it was felt that close ties had resulted. Mrs Ann Gray gave a presentation on Diocesan Lay Ministry training, outlining that all church members are called to serve and that in order to be able to serve in different ways the School of Ministry makes training available. There are courses available for a variety of ministries. The Revd Mike Wagstaff, Diocesan Social Responsibility Officer, gave a presentation on Faithful Cities, The church needs to contribute towards reducing the gap between the “haves” and the have nots” to work in partnership with others and support education to change low expectations in deprived areas.

The third meeting was in Jan 2008 at All Saints’ Church Intake.  The parish profile stated that the church was built in 1930’s designed by George Pace. They opened on Saturday afternoons in the summer which had been successful. They hope to refurbish the Church Hall in the near future, which could be made into a community centre for different activities. The main speaker was Capt. Chris Chesters, of the South Yorkshire Workplace Chaplaincy, which is the new name for Industrial Mission from Jan 2007. This was started in 1944 by Bishop Leslie Hunter. Ted Wickham the 1^st Industrial Mission worker experimented by going into the Steel Works. They established discussion groups to talk about church items and faith matters.  After 10 years about 150 discussion groups had been formed. The chaplaincy works with South Yorkshire Police, the Fire Service, retail industries and leisure industries and is looking for more Workplace Chaplains to train and new premises located nearer to the areas they are serving.  

June Sadd

Diocesan Synod Report 2008

After 11 years as Bishop of Sheffield, Jack Nicholls has announced his retirement. His last service will be held at Sheffield Cathedral on June 9^th on the 40^th anniversary of his ordination.  I’m sure you will all wish to thank him for his devotion, guidance and leadership during this period and wish him well in his retirement or whatever tasks God calls him to do in the future.

Several other holders of prominent posts in the Diocese will also be retiring shortly , John Biggin, the Chairman of the Finance Committee for the last 10 years, who has done an excellent job maintaining financial stability during a particularly difficult period, and also Miranda Myers the Diocesan Registrar for many years.

Can we all pray for God’s guidance in the Diocese during this period of change and trust that the new Bishop and other new holders of important posts will soon settle in and make a contribution to the challenging times ahead.

There were three meetings during the year. The first one, the AGM was held at the Cathedral in July just after the bad floods. The accounts for 2006 showed an annual deficit of over £ 200.000 mainly due to an extra increase in Parish Share to ensure adequate pension provision. Fortunately the initial figures for 2007 show the deficit has been almost eliminated. The main talk was by the Sheffield Council Chief Executive, highlighting improvements in urban regeneration and reduction of poverty during the last 10 years. He focused on the Archer Project at the Cathedral. A new complex has been built which among other items, feeds between 60 to 80 homeless people daily with breakfast and lunch.

The November meeting was held at the College for the Deaf in Doncaster. It was agreed to nominate 2 members to the Deanery Synod from each Parish once again. There was a talk on Together for Regeneration (TfR ) a project started in the early 90’s when many pits, factories and steel works closed in this area and quite a few communities suffered severe hardship. It was beginning to run out of funds but received a lottery grant just before Christmas to carry on its important work. IMSY is incorporated with TfR

A presentation was given about the Hope ’08 initiative. This is a nationwide project emphasising worship, social action and evangelism with emphasis on prayer. It is seen as a fresh opportunity for churches to work together in partnership to make an impact on communities and is endorsed by the two Archbishops.

The third meeting was held at the Elgin Training Centre in Rotherham just down the road from Church House. Unfortunately it was announced that the SPCK bookshop has closed. It is hoped to set up something similar in the near future. There was a talk about the work of the Faith and Justice Committee presented by its Chairman Mike Wagstaff who is also leaving. Its work includes the Church Urban Fund and Workplace Chaplaincy, the successor to IMSY. A presentation was also given about the Church’s involvement in the Prison Service, focusing in particular on the overcrowding problems at Doncaster Prison. General Synod presentations were mainly focused on the big issues mainly sexually orientated. No major decisions were made but various committees were formed to further discuss the complex arguments.

The presidential addresses presented by the Bishop were based on the themes of gratitude and thanksgiving to God particularly at this time of his retirement and that of several of his senior colleagues. He urged us to concentrate on these two items when offering our prayers to God.

Bob

It feels like this has been a very good year – it’s certainly been a busy one. We have many reasons to offer our thanks to God for all the ways that he has blessed us over the last twelve months.

We have a very beautiful building, which helps us to draw close to God in worship – and a committed group of people who keep the church, the hall and the grounds in such good repair. Many people are attracted to this building, and it’s so good that there are opportunities for them to come in – especially in the summer weekends. Thanks to everyone who makes that happen.

We also have many opportunities to meet together as a church community – and to welcome others at various events. Thanks to everyone who is involved in that, especially those who are part of the Fun and Fund group, who seem to have an inexhaustible supply of good ideas.

We must celebrate, too, the fact that we have a wide age range within our church community, although there are some gaps. We all benefit from the enthusiasm of the young people in our church, and the youth group has started well. Although the KC Club has been less active in recent months, there is great potential for growth in ministry to children, as the success of the J-Team proves. It’s an area where we have to continually revise what we’re doing – and all those who work with children and young people in this church are very willing to do that. Thank you for your time and commitment.

We have a great deal of contact with people in the 25-40 age range. We must continue to explore ways of sharing the gospel message with them. Thanks to all who are involved in the work of baptisms, weddings and funerals.

Worship is obviously a vitally important part of our life as a church – and music plays such an important part in our worship. We are blessed to have among us so many people who have musical gifts – and who are willing to use those gifts. As well as a blossoming Music Group, we also have the regular input from Ruth, Pat, Rosina and Jean, as well as occasional (and very much appreciated) offerings from Alan. Ruth, of course, plays not only on Sundays but for weddings and funerals, too, throughout the year – often at quite short notice. Thank you to all of you for all that you do to enrich our worship.

Another group of people on whom I rely very much is the Sacristans. Molly and Betty have been joined by Arline and Pauline, after Susan stepped down after many years’ service. Thank you for all that you do. And thanks, too, for all who serve as sidespersons and communion assistants.

It has been good that Lynda has had more opportunities to use her gifts as a Reader this year – leading services, preaching and taking funerals. And we’ve also been blessed by input from the Mothers’ Union Worship Group.

We must thank God, too, for all the people he has brought into contact with this church over the last year. We must continue to be faithful in our prayers for each of these ‘visitors’, so that they can become fully part of our community.

Since the last ACM we’ve had two Easters! And who can forget last year’s garden and this year’s tomb? Thanks to Jan and Doreen, in particular, for creating such a wonderful space in which to celebrate Good Friday and Easter Day.

Our attention should never solely be focused on what happens in this building though. We are called to look outwards, to serve others in this community and beyond. Communication is an important part of this – and thanks go to all who produce and distribute the Barnby Dun News, and to Dave as he manages the website.

Over the year we have been able to support very many charities financially - locally, nationally and internationally. But it’s good that we can do that in many practical ways too – in particular Women’s Aid, Teen Challenge and our partnership with Allan and Anne Lacey in Uganda.

There are many other people whom I’d like to thank, although it’s not possible to name everyone here. One of the reasons why things have worked so well, though, is that so many people are working together, and doing so with minimum fuss and loads of enthusiasm. God gives gifts to all of us – so that we can use them together.

I would like to express my thanks in particular, though, to Jan and Daphne who really work hard as Churchwardens. They do a lot of work that we can all see them doing, but they also do a great deal that isn’t as obvious. Thanks, too, to Nigel and Tom in their very special role as Churchwardens’ Husbands! And talking of husbands, I very much appreciate the fact that Ken is always alongside me.

At this point in the life of the church, we look back over the past year, but we must also look forward. However good this last year has been, the work God calls us to do is still as urgent as ever. We are called to proclaim the good news of Jesus to the world, we are called to serve the people of our community, we are called to share with others the hope which fires our lives.

It’s an impossible job to do in our own strength – but when we faithfully follow in the way that Jesus leads us, and when we open our hearts to the empowering of the Holy Spirit, we will be equipped to do everything that God is calling us to do.

We have to keep listening to him, though, to make sure that we’re going in the right direction – we have to read the Bible, we have to pray, we have to open our hearts in worship and we have to share with each other.

When we do those things, and when we approach the world with a servant heart, we discover with delight that we are able to receive all the many blessings which God continues to pour out on us. Alleluia!

Jan Foden

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