Annual General Meeting 7:30pm 23rd February 2009
As you are aware, 2009 presents a number of challenges and opportunities for Christ Church, Moreton Hall. As we approach our Annual General Meeting on Monday 23rd February at 7.30 p.m. I think there are number of things you should be aware of and I hope you will join with me in rejoicing over.
1. Gift Day
Money is still coming in response to our Gift Day. Over £4,500 has been received with some new covenants and many people have increased their giving. On behalf of the Parochial Church Council I wish to express our deep heartfelt thanks for your support when times are so difficult. While we have yet to solve all our financial problems, we have taken giant steps forward towards it and we can say that we are blessed in God in this measure.
2. Three Year Plan
We all put a lot of hard work into our three year plan which obviously in the light of recent events needs to be revised. I would therefore ask for people who would like to be involved in a Steering Committee to please come forward, ideally before the Annual General Meeting. Enclosed are summaries of all the home group’s responses for you information. There is a need for us to plan carefully and use our resources wisely so not everything suggested can be done.
3. Home Groups and Church Cleaning
One of the many blessings we have received is that there are people now prepared to clean the church on a regular basis. This means that the Home Groups will not have to clean the church as often as they have done previously. However, Home Groups will still be expected to serve tea and coffee and do flowers on a once-every-other-month basis. I am sure this will help to free us up to do other work.
4. Evangelism Team
David Carpenter and his team have put on two very successful events this year - Back to Church Sunday and the Crib Service. Both these events were well attended and many new people are now attending. I would therefore like you to support our visiting team as they seek to encourage these people to church by perhaps considering being part of our Welcoming and Sideman’s Team on Sunday mornings. God is sending lots of new faces and we need to see them welcomed and encouraged to be a part of of our church life.
5. P.A and Power-point
We continue to set new and exciting standards of worship in our church, however, we do need people to help us with both Power-point and the Public Address system. If you feel you could contribute a morning or an evening on a regular basis please contact Tim Radcliffe and he will happily give you the necessary training required. This is not an onerous task and it can be quite exciting to be able to make a positive contribution to our worship in this way.
6. Worship
We are also considering changing the pattern of worship back to what it was prior to 2007, from March, Holy Communion to be on the third Sunday and the Free Communion to be on the fifth Sunday. The evening services would be rearranged accordingly. We have tried other patterns but we have not seen a significant improvement in attendance so we feel that most people are comfortable with this system and we will therefore return to it. If you wish to express a comment please let me know as soon as possible. We also need to refresh the sidemen and welcomers team. If you can help us please contact me or Margaret West
7. Youth Work
Our Youth Work continues to flourish and we are one of the few churches in this part of the diocese with both senior and junior groups. Our compliments must go to the leaders. However, they do need help and even if you have no youth work skills, practical assistance in moving furniture and preparing rooms would be much appreciated. If you wish to help in any way would you please contact me, Jo Burrows or Jonathan Corwin.
While this letter may seem like a series of appeals, it is precisely because our church is growing and being blessed by God that we have so many ministry tasks to do. Many of you know of the prophecy given to me last summer saying that God would fill in the gaps in our church membership. He has been doing this. Our task now is to make sure the people joining us are made welcome and given an opportunity to both find Christ and grow in Him. I hope in the course of 2009 as we do the tasks that are listed above we will be able to see our church grow significantly and the kingdom of God advanced.
With every blessing for the year ahead,
Yours sincerely,
Reverend Jonathan Ford.
