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Welcome to ST MICHAEL & All ANGELS CHURCH (Church of England) St
Michael's Green,
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April 2007 The full version with more contact details can
be seen in the church. If you would
like to know more about any of the activities please telephone 01494 673464 CHURCHES TOGETHER IN
St. Michael’s is a member of the Churches
Together in Each church has two lay representatives on the
committee and all the clergy belong. St. Michael’s representatives are
Deborah and Elizabeth. The next events on the CTB calendar are the
Inter Church Quiz on May 16th and the United Service on May 25th. The Revd Jim Graham of Deborah ORDINANDS’ REPORT – (Maggie and Nigel are Training for Church Ministry – They will be
ordained in October 2008) It is astounding that tomorrow, 11th
March, is the last day of the second term of the second year of the Oxford
Ministry Course, which means that we are now passed the half way point of the
three year Course. In the first year of the Course we studied for the
Certificate in Theology & Ministry, in which we both achieved a 2:1, and
will be attending Since we reported last Summer, we have
studied Atonement & Theodicy,
Interfaith matters, the Reformation and the Epistles of St Paul; all vast
subjects each requiring continuing
life long study! We have also spent up to 40 hours each on what is known as
Secular Placements. Maggie did her Placement with the Chaplain at Whilst notices were given at Services during
the autumn, we are conscious that there may not have been a formal DCC
recording in Minutes that the Bishop of Buckingham, after consultation with
the Bishop of Oxford, the Director of Ordinands and the Principal of the
Oxford Ministry Course, has determined that, for the reason of ‘anno
domini’, we should be ordained as Deacons at Michaelmas
this year, being a year earlier than originally anticipated. This means that
we shall complete our third year of academic study concurrent with serving
our diaconate year. The Service of Ordination is due to be at Nigel & Maggie
BULRUSHES Bulrushes, St Michael’s Mother and Toddler
group, meets weekly during term time on Friday mornings in the Hall. Our
objective is to provide a regular facility for Mothers/Carers and children in
our congregation and for the community.
Our priority is to introduce all facets of St Michael’s and to
encourage newcomers to become involved in our Church life. In particular we highlight the Early Bird,
Mothering Sunday, Easter, Harvest Festival and Christingle services, Sunday
School, Holiday Group and the Halo Party.
Two volunteer Mothers/Carers help with the
planning and running of the 1½ hour sessions.
With free use of the Hall and a charge of £1.00 per family group,
Bulrushes is self financing. The
income pays for all the equipment necessary and the refreshments. Any profit is paid into Church funds. Zoe and Xandie in particular have given their
time generously helping with the smooth running of Bulrushes. About 20 members of the congregation are
regularly involved on a rota basis, taking the register, serving refreshments
and leading singing sessions and visits into the Church. While being active we all enjoy social
contact with some bringing their own grandchildren! Referrals come by word of
mouth, the Service Sheet and Bucks CC.
We offer a friendly environment where children learn to mix and
Mothers/Carers socialise. Attendance
is usually about 20 Mothers/Carers and 30 children, which is almost
capacity. The programme is jointly organised by the mothers/carers
in conjunction with me. Special events
during the year have included fundraising for Macmillan Nurses (world’s
biggest coffee morning), Easter Egg Hunt, and Father Christmas visits each
year, alias David Ogborn.
Opportunities to market relevant merchandise have also been arranged –
for example - Body Shop products, Osborne books, I believe Bulrushes provides a valuable link
with the community including local schools which the children will
attend. Any offers of help from
members of our congregation are always welcome. Many thanks to those already involved. Mary ST. MICHAEL’S CHILDREn I have been asked to co-ordinate all the many
children’s activities within St. Michael’s so that we have a better
understanding of what is being done and by whom. This is something I’m working on at present
but although we don’t always appear to have lots of children every Sunday we
certainly do have a very active team of people trying to “move forward” in
this regard. Some of the activities
taking place on Sundays are: Sunday
School (3-10yr.), Springboard (11-14yr), and crèche every week, with Family
Services (co-ordinated by Ulrike and organised by Hazel and Xandie) on the
second Sunday and The Earlybirds services on the last Sunday. We have Roger involved with training the
young MCs and Acolytes, and Margaret heading up a group working with those to
be baptised. We obviously have many
other children’s activities within our church, as well as the Bulrushes Group
on Fridays (with Mary Peters) and Holiday Club during the summer for children
of the THE THE EARLY BIRDS SERVICE
I’m very pleased to report that this year has
seen the TEBs service go from strength to strength. They are held once a month in the hall at
9.15am on the last Sunday of each month, and we’re getting a regular
congregation of 16 adults and 12 children or more. This service is for preschool age children
and their parents/grandparents/family, so we have very simple songs, prayers
and stories and finish with squash and biscuits. The service is well received and the
families often stay on for a chat at the end.
If you have never tried this service and have a young family, why not
come along and join us on the last Sunday of each month. Zoe FROM OUR SACRISTAN
The Sanctuary Team continues to flourish with a
total of 28 involved currently, of whom 12 are under 20. They provide help for the Priest presiding
during each service and all carry out their duties with a quiet assurance so
that rarely does anyone notice them.
There have been a few changes to our practices as we have been guided
by Father Peter, the most noticeable of which has been the ringing of
hand-bells at the elevation of the bread and the wine. Once again we should give thanks to those who
go to St Michael’s each Saturday to prepare the Sanctuary for the next days
services, most of the congregation have no idea that they give up part of
their weekend so that the church is ready for our services. We continue to struggle to support the 8.30
service, even more so now that our most regular server at that service, Roger
VERGER’S VIEW
Since April 2007 there have been two weddings
and twelve funerals at St. Michael’s, including some which have been
relocated because of the building works at St. Mary’s. The Interregnum has
been in the capable hands of Fr. Peter Holmes and it is good to see that the
Thursday morning Holy Communion is well attended. In addition Morning Prayer is being said on
Mondays and Thursdays and we have been joined by some of the new members of
the Beaconsfield Team Ministry as well as Nigel and Maggie. One regular member of the Thursday services was
Meryal Fraser, who died recently and her memorial service at St. Mary’s was
well attended. She was always smiling
and cheerful with a kind word for everyone.
It was a real pleasure to know her, and I am sure she is much missed
by her friends in Although I missed the 75th Guild
Festival in Joy THE
CHOIR The Choir has had a good year with regular
commitment from most of our singers.
We were sad to say goodbye to Robert as he had given us support all through
his time at St Michael’s. His last
service with us was memorable and the singing very uplifting. Christmas again was hard work with some
extra singers taking part. We
introduced the singing of a Taizé chant as an Introit at the beginning of
each service. This has helped to still
the atmosphere prior to worship. I
would like to thank the choir members and our organists for their commitment
at our services. Helen (Tel 677834) JUNIOR CHOIR
We have had another
successful year with the choir, and although numbers have not increased all
who come are very keen and now come to practice prior to the service. Some of our members read music and this
helps a good deal. Frances Hall still
comes at 9.30 and helps with the practice and Robert Haley has started
helping on the piano. We may not reach
perfection with the communion hymn, but with the help of the roving mike the
children always try to achieve a melodious and heart-felt hymn for the
congregation. If you, or a friend, would like to join the Junior Choir please
let me know. Zoe 01494 672949 MUSIC GROUP The Music Group at St. Michael’s plays at the
10am Family Service on the second Sunday of the month and also purely
acoustically at the 9.15 Early Birds service on the last Sunday of
each month. Although Frances Hall is
now firmly ensconced as the woodwind section of the group with Alan and Nick,
additional musicians (young and the young at heart) are always welcome. Please contact me in the first instance for
more information. Nicholas 01494-671638)
ST MICHAELS FLOWER GROUP
The Flower Group continues much as it has done
over the past few years, although this year we were involved with the Flower
Festival at St. Mary’s last September. We rely upon the generosity of the
congregation with the retiring collections at Christmas and Easter for which
we are very appreciative. The money given pays for most of the blooms and the
flower arrangers provide the balance. We are always more than happy to create
an arrangement to commemorate an anniversary in memory of a loved one or any
other special occasion. My grateful thanks to all of the members of the
team who give their time and enthusiastic help in decorating our church, not
just on special occasions but throughout the year. SUNDAY MORNING COFFEE
The coffee rota continues to work well. However, every year there are fewer helpers
so that those on the rota cover more Sundays – but do so with great
cheerfulness. My grateful thanks to
all of them. Stock held in the Church
Hall cupboard has occasionally disappeared, especially the biscuits! When the new rota came out last December
the helpers were asked to provide biscuits as well as milk, and to take their
costs from the morning’s funds. This
seems to be working well. I have banked £104 in the last twelve months,
which is slightly higher than for the previous year. As usual, any new
helpers are always most welcome. Valerie. PASTORAL GROUP The
Pastoral Group is coordinated by Kathryn and the members are Helen, Xandie,
Hazel, “I
came out of hospital towards the end of January with a broken right arm (yes,
I am right handed) and coupled with my MS, it was impossible for me to get
about or go to the bathroom! The pastoral committee has found very kind St.
Michael's ladies to be with me when I am to be alone. Sometimes just for a
few hours, sometimes for short periods all day long. This has really been a
quite staggering example of pastoral care and my thanks to everyone who has
helped me – you are quite overwhelming.” Another
ongoing area of pastoral care is the rota of men and one woman who take
Richard Woodward out in his wheelchair once a week. This is such a valuable gift to Richard who
really enjoys his weekly trip to the shops. The Pastoral group also
coordinates a group of lay people who take communion to those who are
sick. If at any time you are sick and
would like home communion please call Kathryn on 01494 673164. If
you are aware of anyone who might be helped through the
Pastoral Group please have a word with one of the above members. We will then
assess the best way of helping to meet their need. Everything discussed
within the group is treated with the utmost confidentiality. Kathryn COMMUNICATIONS GROUP
This year has seen Frances Hall coming onto the
Committee and establishing herself in organising the Street Representative
Scheme. This is to enable the Angelus
to be delivered to all houses in our Parish as an outreach to the
community. The Committee continues to
ensure that Local Papers, Parish Magazine and Angelus is kept updated with
all that’s happening at St. Michael’s.
This year the Communications Group has had a change of members, as
Joanna Liddell and Christine Stewart have come onto the Committee, whilst
Sally Cushing and I have retired.
Although you may not be aware of all this group does, it plays a vital
part in the advertising, posters, website, calendars, etc. that are produced
to enable items of interest to be brought to the community of our church and
those around it. I do hope you will
support this Group and if there are any ideas on how to improve
“Communications” please do let a member know.
They are: HOUSE GROUPS... TUESDAY HOUSE GROUP We have continued to meet twice each month, apart
from Lent to allow those who wish to join the ecumenical groups. This last year has been spent studying the
lesser letters, those of James, John, Peter etc and each study has surprised
and challenged us, yet given us hope for ourselves and the world in which we
live. The various translations of
the bible that are used by the group have continued to enlighten and confuse
us, as we have been given new insights, yet contradictions in our
understanding of God’s word. If you’d like to know more please contact me. Roger. THURSDAY AFTERNOON
HOUSEGROUP We meet at 1.30pm on the 1st and 3rd
Thursdays of each month. We would
welcome newcomers. During 2007 we
studied “The Teaching of Jesus”, a challenging Helen (Tel 677834) THURSDAY EVENING HOUSE
GROUP A small group has been meeting fortnightly on
Thursday evenings. We meet around a dining room table and this year we have
read and discussed three books of the Bible. Acts, Ruth, our favourite Psalms
and we are now reading Luke. We use various commentaries and translations
which all enhance our greater understanding of the scriptures. We would be delighted to welcome others to
our group. Anyone interested please contact Deborah 674794. MEN’S LUNCHES
The Men’s lunches have now been in existence
for almost 6 years. It happens on the
last Tuesday of each month, in St Michael’s Room, starts at 12.30 and is open
to anybody who is around. We spend an
hour and a half putting the world to rights, discussing the issues of the day
and most importantly enjoying a lunch together, a sort of super ploughman’s
washed down with wine, beer or fruit juice. Usually about 10 people take part of whom some
have spent the previous 2 hours working in or around St Michael’s doing the
many small jobs that need doing. If
you have time to spare join us for work, (no skills required) or lunch or
both. Roger LADIES LUNCHES
Although this hasn’t been running for as long
as the men’s, it is now firmly established in the Church’s calendar. It takes place at the same time as the
men’s but at a different venue. We too
have a regular clientele of 10 who enjoy the food/drink and opportunity to
meet with fellow Christians from St. Michael’s in a relaxed atmosphere. If you’re interested in finding out more
please contact me on 672949. Zoe THE WEEKENDERS COMMITTEE The Weekenders Committee organises all the social events
at St. Michael’s. It meets before each
event to plan what needs to be done to make everything run smoothly, and we
hope everyone in St Michael’s (and their friends) have enjoyed themselves
when they have attended. During the
last year the Committee has arranged the Rev’d Robert Spicer’s leaving party
in April, Shakespeare at Hall Barn in June, Summer-in-the-Gardenlunch in
July, the worship evening at the Wycombe Swan in September(attended
bychurches in thearea), the Patronal Supper in September, the Port and
Puddings evening in October, Christmas Party in December, and the Lenten
Evening in March. In the near future we will arrange the farewell gathering
for Rev’d Dr Peter Holmes after the service on Easter Sunday, and the food after the Licensing service
for our new vicar, Rev'd Camilla Walton, on 17th April. The Chairman of the Weekenders
Committee is Judi and the other members are Zoe, Isola, Sheila, Margaret,
Graham and Mary, Maggie, Anne, Daphne and Christine. T CLUB The T Club has continued to meet on the 2nd
and 4th Mondays of each month, with numbers averaging 20-25. We have been pleased to welcome several new
members during the year, but were
sorry to lose some who have become too frail to continue coming. Our volunteer drivers do a great job
picking people up and taking them home afterwards - many thanks to all of
them. Although the majority of our members are elderly ladies, we welcome
anyone, of any age. Do call in between 2.15 and 3.30 and have a
cup of tea with us! In May we had our annual coach outing, going
for a mystery tour around the northern part of The Chilterns, before having
tea at Worlds End Garden Centre at
Wendover, where we enjoyed the opportunity to browse around the various shops
as well as purchase plants. To fill up the coach, we were pleased to offer
seats to members’ friends, including 6 ladies from Three Gables. (This year’s outing will be on 19th
May). In July, we once again had to
abandon plans to have a garden party at Helen and David’s and adjourned to
the Parsonage to avoid the showers.
Our Christmas lunch in December was well attended by members, friends,
drivers and other St. Michaels folk and we enjoyed turkey and all the
trimmings, followed by wonderful desserts, all provided by Ann Tennant. Judi’s wonderful cakes are much appreciated by
everyone and I would like to thank her
again for her support during the year, particularly when I go off on
my travels! Mary ST. MICHAEL’S MILES
For a number of reasons including inclement
weather the monthly 2-hour walk has not taken place recently. Usually it is
organised for the first Sunday afternoon in the month and a possible restart
date may be Sunday, 6th April, depending on sufficient numbers expressing a
wish to continue. Details will be mentioned in the Service Sheet. There is always a New Year’s Day walk in the morning
followed by lunch at an appropriate pub. Tom SPRING FAIR
This was formerly the Plant & Produce Fair
and 2007 saw it increase in the number of stalls and activities as well as
increased plants. This is our only fundraiser
each year and we succeeded in raising £1560 for our church this year. A lot of people were involved in organising
and running this event, and my thanks go to all those involved. This year’s event will be held on Saturday
17th May at 11.30am, and we do hope you will come along and
support it or help if you’re able. If
you want to know more please contact me on 01494-672949. Zoe
NOTES FROM THE TREASURY… My excursion
into the world of the honorary treasurer is proving to be both challenging and
rewarding. Challenging as it is new to
me and there is much to learn. The
combined thickness of the Diocese of Oxford’s Manual for Parish Treasurers
and the Charities Act 1993 and the PCC, 2001, 2nd edition
almost matches that of Wisden the cricket scorer’s bible. The opportunity of making new contacts and
friends together with the balancing of the books, occasionally at the first
time of asking, is the other and rewarding side of the coin. With those
thoughts out of the way I can, at the time of writing, report that the
accounts for the year 2007 are with the auditors. Hopefully they will have been approved and
signed off by the time these notes are being read. Copies of the accounts in a Lay format will
be available at the A.G.M. on 20th April. Kathryn introduced this Lay presentation
during her time as treasurer as the then new statutory layout for the
accounts was less informative than what had gone before. Nigel continued the practice during his
seven year stint as treasurer and I am happy to do likewise. The P.C.C.
recently recommended that treasurers should have a ‘shadow’ or understudy and
the D.C.C. is currently reviewing the subject of Stewardship, which is
outside my brief. Both these subjects
deserve our support to ensure the wellbeing of our financial affairs. This
leads me on to Gift Aid and a couple of thoughts on which to dwell; the
official annual rate of inflation is given as 2.1% - the reality as we all know is much
higher! And, as from April 6th Gift Aid tax rebate will reduce
from 28p to 25p in the pound, this at the present level of giving will reduce
St. Michael's income by almost two thousand pounds in the current year. In closing I
would particularly thank Bob Russell for all his help and support and both
Tony and Peter for their work relating to the banking of the offertory and
the preparation and filing of the Gift Aid returns. Keith P.S. Good news from the Budget! The Chancellor has left the Gift Aid tax
rebate at 28p in the pound until 2011. OUTSIDE
GIVING We welcome suggestions for suitable charities
from members of the congregation. These suggestions are then put to the
committee for consideration. There
are, of course, so many deserving causes that it can sometimes be difficult
to decide. We of course regularly
support certain charities, for example Iain Rennie Hospice at Home. It is a privilege to serve on this committee
for St. Michael’s. Annie CHRISTIAN AID
St.Michael’s congregation has always given
generously of their time to help collect for this very important charity that
helps the poorest of the There will be an opportunity to learn more
about the work of Christian Aid at 7.30
p.m. on Thursday, 24th April at the Fitzwilliams Centre when there
will be a Cheese and Wine Educational Evening with a speaker from Christian
Aid HQ. This is a prelude to the major fund raising event of the year - Christian Aid Week which this year
is from Sunday, 11th to
Saturday, 17th May. Please see if you can spare a couple of
hours during this week to deliver and collect envelopes in our allotted
streets. The more volunteers we have, the easier it is for everyone. Other dates for your diary are:- Saturday, 27th September - Coffee
Morning Monday, 17th November – For any more information please contact your
church Christian Aid representatives Allen (671330) and Tom (676373). AMERSHAM DEANERY SYNOD
REPORT FOR 2007
There were four meetings of the Amersham
Deanery Synod at differing locations in the Deanery over the period. They
were attended variously by the St Michael’s Synod Lay Members: Annie, Chris
and Graham who reported in detail on the activities covered at the next
appropriate DCC meeting. The Synod has Houses of both Clergy and Lay members,
and the evening events are in two parts: the first comprises an open general
interest session and the second covers administrative matters. In the year,
typical first parts included lectures, such as ‘Care for the Dying’ by Dr Joanna Hocknell, Consultant in
Palliative Medicine at Derbyshire Hospital Trust in Feb. 08 or an
expert panel ‘Question and Answer’ period in Nov. 07. The annual running
arrangements and pastoral matters of the Deanery were covered in the second
parts. It was noted that no progress was recorded on the Deanery Vision
Action Plan but considerable discussion invariably took place on the
allocation of Parish Share throughout the Deanery. In February ‘08 the 2007
accounts were agreed without contention. A resolution was also passed then
that would not prejudice any rebates and would allow an accumulated surplus
of up to £35000 including interest to be returned to the Parishes in
proportion to the 2007 Deanery Share – for Beaconsfield, including a
proportion for St Michael’s, would be worth about £4725 to be placed in
credit for the 2008 share account in the Diocese. There is now an Amersham
Deanery Website
www.amershamdeanery.org. Graham HALL REPORT 2007 has seen continuing extensive use of our
Hall both as a venue for Church events
and for all manner of local community activities. In the former category we have regular
users in Bulrushes, T Club, Rock Solid and on Sundays, for Sunday School, crèche and coffee after the
service. The latter includes a diverse
range of activities including the following: For adults :
pilates, yoga, Tai Chi, keep fit, art classes and bridge For children :
ballet, Perform drama workshops including holiday activities, Jazzercise and as an increasingly popular
venue for birthday parties. In August we saw a marvellous Team from the
Congregation complete a list of 40 or so maintenance tasks in the equivalent
of 4 days. Those tasks ranged
from redecorating to reupholstering of screens and even
descaling the urn! Our thanks go out
to all who participated in whatever form.
A great team effort! Our aim is to offer a well maintained,
user-friendly Hall as part of St Michael’s outreach to the community. We are
always interested in hearing of new enterprises or ideas so do contact us if
you think we could help with a venue. The St Michael’s website has proved to
be a very useful tool in advertising our activities and full details of our
weekly schedule can be found at: www.stmichaelsbeaconsfield.org.uk. Do take a
look there may be something of interest to you and we would love to see you.
Finally a big personal thank you to everyone who has helped me through my
first year in charge and in particular the Hall Committee and Church Wardens
who have been very supportive and to Christine for ensuring that our details
are always up to date on the website. Thank you and hope to see you soon. Tracey Greenough ST. MICHAEL’S ROOM This room has provided very pleasant additional
meeting space again this year for Springboard meetings on Sundays, kids crafts
activities prior to the Soup ’n’ stalls event, DCC and Pastoral Group
meetings, plus the monthly Men’s Lunches.
Margaret deals with the bookings for The Room and also does a great
job in keeping it clean and tidy, so if you need a venue for a meeting please
speak to Margaret. BAPTISM GROUP During the last year, under the guidance of Fr.
Peter, a group of volunteers have been established to support the parents and
godparents of infants being brought to baptism and any adult candidates. A member of the group visits those bringing
children to baptism and using a DVD and other relevant material explain the
service and the commitments involved.
That group-member then tries to attend the particular baptism and keeps
in contact with the families involved.
This has been a busy year for the group as there have been many
baptisms, both at the 10am service as well as private baptisms later in the
day. Margaret CHURCH GROUNDS
Many thanks to all who help to keep the church
grounds tidy and cut the grass. Usually there are two Saturday morning
sessions (from 10 a.m. to 12 noon) in June and October, when hedges are cut
and there is a general tidy up. There will be a grass cutting rota coming out
soon. There is also another opportunity to help with
the church grounds and this is on the last Tuesday morning of the month from
10 to 12 noon, and having worked up an appetite, you will enjoy even more the
monthly men’s lunch in St. Michael’s Room or the ladies lunch at Zoe Cook’s!! Tom ST. MICHAEL’S WEBSITE www.stmichaelsbeaconsfield.org.uk You can now look on the above website to find
out what’s happening at St. Michael’s, find out what is happening in The Hall
each week, and much more. The Angelus
and the Annual Magazine are also there to read. We are very grateful to the Oxford Diocese
for hosting the website on
their computer so that the cost of the website is only the cost of
registering the web address — £3.50 a year! Christine |
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