Church Family Reports – 2016
The Minister
I begin with a warm invitation to the General Church Meeting which will begin at 4pm on Saturday 7th May. I hope you will be able to come along and share time together, think and pray about the year ahead.
May I commend this report to you and thank all who have contributed to it and Helen and Alan for collating it. Behind the words I recognise there is a great deal of committed hard work, some obvious, some hidden, but all very much appreciated. I want to thank everyone for your dedicated work, continuing support and encouragement during this year. In particular I want to thank Janice who has been my help and guide through these first few months of life at Thatcham Methodist Church. I also want to thank all of you for the welcome, understanding and love you have shared with both Chris and I as we moved to serve you and work with you here. That means a great deal to us.
I have long been fascinated by the Christian understanding of God as a diversity - Father, Son and Holy Spirit existing as a unity, a tri-unity. I am glad that God is in this way beyond my comprehension; He should be. However, what is most important to me about this foundational truth is not its incomprehensibility and the challenge of wrestling with three and one, but its applicability to, and effect on, real life. I have been reading and thinking lately about models of ecumenism for my new role as Methodist County Ecumenical Officer for Berkshire. These models are about holding diversity together in unity – about the richness of being one but not the same, unity without uniformity. They almost invariably are founded upon the nature of God as Trinity.
In a world often riven by division the ability to hold diversity together, not in a grudging, passive acceptance but in a community enriched and strengthened by that diversity, is needed more than ever. This is what the church is called to do - to welcome, support and embrace people with very different life experiences, outlooks and opinions and it is strengthened by so doing. It is a privilege to be part of that here as part of the Body of Christ in Thatcham. It is a rare and precious gift. It is attractive and counter-cultural in a world all too eager to emphasise individualism and isolation.
May God bless and strengthen us in the next part of our journey.
Every blessing
Peter Bennett
Stewards’ Report for ACM
Thank you to all the stewards for all their hard work and support this year. Since the last ACM Mary has taken over from Tony and June has taken over from Dot. We are still in need of one steward so please think about joining our team.
We were pleased to welcome Peter as our minister in September and we are enjoying working with him. As always we have had a busy year with all the activities that take place at the church and in the community. Thank you to all who lead and support the activities.
In September we took the Orison Resources to Thatcham Park Primary School for a week to help in the development of the pupils’ spirituality. Janice, Mary, Marilyn, Jeff, Karen and Peter enjoyed their time there. It was well received by the pupils who enjoyed using the resources and found it beneficial.
With having Peter starting with us it has been a good opportunity to discuss all the different activities that we as a church are involved in. We have particularly been considering whether or not to reinstate Mid-Week Communion and have organised for Karen to lead a review into Saturday Shift to take place later on this month.
We must say a big thank you to those who have spent time on property matters this year. The refurbishment of the toilets at the back of the premises has been appreciated by the users of the back hall.
Thank you to Kirsty who did the weekly newssheet until December 2015 and to Howard who has very ably taken over the role.
Eva Hughes is settling into her role as manager of Pied Piper Pre-School and is glad of the support from the church. Peter was invited to both nativity plays and I was asked to judge the Easter Bonnet competition.
Sadly we said goodbye to Lisa Parker (our Drop In Coordinator) in August when she left us to take up a role as a Teaching Assistant at Francis Bailey Primary School. One of Peter’s first jobs was to interview for this post and we were able to appoint Lisa Andre to the role and she is settling in well.
Janice Schofield
Safeguarding
If you have any concerns about safeguarding please contact me at any time
Janice Schofield
Saturday Shift
What a year we’ve had at Saturday Shift!
We’ve travelled by train and eaten our version of a British Rail sandwich whilst ”Moving On” when we particularly thought about transitions: from nursery to school, school to college, work to retirement and so on.
We’ve studied “Saints and Sausages” – thinking about St Peter the fishermen and three other saints. We fished for haloes, had hanging haloes and rubbed brass coins. Of course, sausages was the food of choice!
For the first two Saturday Shifts in 2016 we have focused on “Creation” and “Caring for Creation”. You may have seen our displays of some of the activities in church: AWESOME (drawing/writing something of creation for each letter), paintings of what creation means to each of us, our painted world of hand prints to name a few.
We have been blessed with visiting musicians (Rob Bruce, Ewan & Wendy Harvey & Xpect) to lead our songs of praise. A cheerful band of volunteers has moved chairs and tables, baked, served food, led activities, cut out whatever we’ve needed prepared in advance, cleared away.
Saturday Shift has a regular attendance of 25+. Sometimes we are 40. Worshippers range from 3 weeks old to 80+. It was been exciting to see how we have praised and learned together as one. This informal, activity based, interactive, café style worship appears to meet a need within Thatcham Methodist Church, and indeed is starting to become church for some of our church family. My greatest joy as a leader has been seeing all ages and abilities PRAISING GOD TOGETHER and having FUN.
Come along, try it out, and bring a friend.
Next Saturday Shift: 18 June at 5pm. Theme: “Caring or our Neighbours”
A review of Saturday Shift is currently being carried out by Worship Consultation, reporting to Church Council on 8 June.
Please pray for Saturday Shift.
Karen Frost
Foodbank - Annual Meeting Report - May 2016
On behalf of the Westberks Foodbank, thank you for your continued support in helping those in food crisis. Every week there is something to take to the warehouse and this continuity of donations is very uplifting in order to keep the warehouse suitably stocked to help those who are struggling.
During the last year, we have not had any supermarket collections – this is due to the generosity of schools, pre-schools, employees at various offices and works as well as very generous harvest donations. It is important that we do receive the items we are short of. Our warehouse space is limited so thank you for keeping to the lists supplied regularly and for the updates I put in the weekly notices. Thank you for your very generous donations at our Harvest Festival. We delivered 77.2 kg of food – enough to provide 69 meals to the warehouse which will be distributed among the centres as required. This includes a generous donation from Pied Piper Pre-School and the display of their donations and prayer enhanced our display on Harvest Sunday.
Clients continue to arrive at the Distribution Centres at Newbury, Hungerford, Lambourn and Thatcham. We are also reaching out to those in some rural west Berkshire communities but this is something which is being explored further. The needs are still there.
Our clients are often worried, embarrassed and fearful about coming to the Foodbank. We offer a warm welcome, hot drinks and biscuits and a listening ear. We can’t advise anyone about any issues they may have – we are not trained for that. However we are able to signpost clients to other organisations who have the impartial knowledge and expertise to help them get out of food crisis.
Our clients are so grateful for your Christian outreach. And so on behalf of the clients many, many thanks.
Marilyn Britt
Alice Bye Court Annual report 2016.
We have continued to meet at Alice Bye Court on the first Thursday of the month to hold a Songs of Praise service. There are very few residents who come however those who use the day centre facilities enjoy it. We are warmly welcomed by all and quite a few are able to join in the hymn singing and listen to the prayers, readings, poems and short talks. We are often asked for requests for prayer by those attending and we often chat with them too. It lasts between 30 and 40 minutes and feedback is very positive.
Rev Peter resumed Holy Communion services in November. A small number attend and after discussion with the Manager of ABC, it will continue and be reviewed again in a few months. This service is held on the third Wednesday of the month.
Rev Peter, Karen, Mary and Marilyn help lead the services with Janice and Jeff as our pianists. We have a choice of about 50 hymns on sheets from which we choose and can then be bound together in singing order to help those with arthritic hands.
Together with the Manager, we are advertising the services in the immediate close near Alice Bye Court. We are grateful to Beryl and Eric who help keep us up to date with events at Alice Bye and for their support with the advertising within the building.
Marilyn & Jeff Britt
Pilgrims - Annual Meeting Report – May 2016
During the last year, Pilgrims has grown, left the quiet room (because with new members it became too small) and moved to meet in the church. This has the added advantage of being able to use the loop system and possibly in future use the screen.
We spent three weeks last September exploring Retail Therapy using the book by Andy Hickford. We started by thinking how everything matters, not how we manage our consumption but how our consumption manages us. We thought about how advertising makes us dissatisfied with what we have – and we are lead into temptation. We considered choice – how many types of cereal are on the shelves in our local shop? We thought about injustices in the world, how the ‘cheap’ shops get their goods and how much are the employees paid and the conditions they work in. We considered whether we need to practice the discipline of detachment from material possessions. We thought about the communion service – we consume to remember – we consume to become. If anyone wishes to read the book, I have one that can be borrowed.
Following on, we learnt about Abraham. Though he faced seemingly endless difficulties, Abraham overcame his trials and a new covenant was forged. Learning from the way that he maintained his faith, even when under severe testing reminds us about growing in obedience, prayer during time of testing. I think I can say we all learnt more about Abraham, his faith, and his patience.
With the arrival of Advent we read the book by Naomi Starkey called ‘Pilgrims to the Manger’. Some of us had read it before but more than 50% of the group hadn’t read it. All of us discovered more – it is a book that you can always find new things in. But above all, in the busyness of preparations for the Christmas season, it did make us find the time to think hard about the daily readings, the commentary and the prayers, and then discuss them and the set questions on Tuesday mornings.
During Lent we have been exploring Spiritual practices. All of us have given up time to do the ‘extra’ reading, praying, and finding out how we can each develop individually a closer relationship with God.
It all sounds very serious – and they are topics to be taken seriously. However we enjoy our learning, our fellowship and our time together with God can bring laughter and sadness as we share together.
We continue to meet on Tuesday mornings – just the first Tuesday of the month in May, June and July and we welcome anyone who would like to join us.
Marilyn Britt
BifBof report 2016
BifBof continues to meet every Friday at 8.30pm at Kennet School Leisure Centre, and many of the players finish their evening in the Spotted Dog at Cold Ash. There is a hard core of players who support the activity but there are more injuries as the years go by. We often join up with some player friends of one of our members, who gives us a run for our money and also varies our game.The main message of this report is that we would like to see new players, and the younger the better! You will be given a warm welcome.
Jon Page
Sunday School Report – May 2016
We have 7 children on the Sunday School register and the age range is from 5 years to 17 years. The attendance varies from week to week depending on school holidays. We talk to the children about the things they have done in the week as part of our pastoral care for them and we like to teach them to be loving, kind and helpful. Our collection each week goes to JMA.
In the last year we have covered stories from the old and new testaments. We studied Harvest Festival, Advent, Christmas, Lent, Palm Sunday, Easter and of course as always we had a pancake feast for Passover. We made an Advent Ring for the Church and we made an Easter Garden that was on display in Church and then in the foyer. On Sunday 10th April we acted out a play with puppets about Jesus and the 11 disciples. The puppets were used again on the 17th April for the story of Jesus and the disciple by the Sea of Galilee. We hope to use our puppets for more story telling in the coming year. We had a family outing in December to Paint a Pot which was a great success. We all made different things which, when glazed the children took home. Dorcas and I then retired to the café to enjoy a well-earned cup of tea and a mince pie. We all had a really lovely time. On Saturday 16th July we are going to Finkley Down Farm for our summer outing.
We have to remember that nowadays there are lots of activities for children on Sunday mornings outside the Church, so to make Sunday School a place the children want to come to it has to be a fun and happy place to learn.
We would like to thank the Church for their continued support and hope that you will continue to pray for us.
Sandra Ley & Dorcas Arnold
Gift Aid Report
The Gift Aid Scheme allows charities such as our Church to reclaim tax at a rate of 25% on all donations, no matter how large or small, from eligible UK taxpayers. This facility provides vital funds for our Church, but the number of register donors has dropped over recent years, and I would encourage any taxpayer wishing to join the Gift Aid scheme to speak to me in confidence. There are no hidden traps: it doesn’t hurt, and there is no commitment necessary to make regular donations. Registration simply means that anything donated will qualify for the 25% bonus. Donations can be made via Standing Order, or through the envelope scheme. Figures for the tax year just ended are not finalised yet, but the amount claimable from the Treasury is likely to be around £4,400.
Since 2013, the scheme has been extended to include the Gift Aid Small Donation Scheme which allows us also to reclaim tax on non-Gift Aided donations too – as long as the individual donations are small (less than £20 each), made in cash and provided total donations in the year are less than £5000 – giving a maximum potential claim of £1,250 per annum. This scheme has helped us enormously, with the amount claimable for the last tax year likely to be around £1,100 – not quite the full amount possible, but a tremendous effort none the less.
So, the total amount claimed for last year through both parts of the scheme will be some £5,500 – very similar to the previous year. Thank you again to all donors
Pete Sharpe
Gift Aid Secretary
Café Church Report
We are pleased to say our numbers have remained pretty constant at about 18-20 over the year, although we don’t have as many members from other Churches at the moment, due to illness and house moves.
We started the Connexional year with a talk by Howard and Elaine on their recent cruise through the Panama Canal in its centenary year. We were very pleased to be some of the first of our Church members to welcome our new Minister, Revd Peter Bennett.
In October Janice Schofield spoke to us, wearing one of her many ‘Hats’!, on her work with Cruse, the bereavement counselling service. This was very thought provoking and moving.
Toni Hinchliffe, the Poppy Appeal Organiser for the Thatcham Branch of the Royal British Legion, came in November to tell us a bit about her work organising the Poppy collection in Thatcham and the surrounding villages.
As usual, we had our normal ‘in-house’ Christmas celebration in December, with Helen playing for some carol singing, and some seasonal poems. No Café Church near Christmas would be complete without the Pied Piper Nativity, this year under the direction of the new Manager, Eva – and it was just as delightful!
2016 started with a presentation by John Ledger of Ministry Aviation Fellowship (MAF). Although several of our members already contribute to MAF, some people had never heard of the charity and were very interested in the work it does in remote and outlying places, mainly in Africa, to bring God’s word to people as well as essential medical help. Members attending donated over £83 to the charity and we received a letter of thanks which was put on the notice board.
As we had no official speaker in February, Jane and Elaine did a sketch entitled “The Prayer Emporium” and Jane explained again the workings of ‘toilet twinning’ which now seems to be going well.
Mike Schofield gave us a very interesting talk on the restoration of his and Janice’s holiday home in France. The ‘before’ and ‘after’ photos were quite amazing. He described the difficulties they faced from many different angles, not least because of the connection with the neighbouring convent.
In April our own minister, Revd Peter Bennett, told us of his Ministry in Somerset. Despite the fact that it is a lovely part of the country, many of us drive past on A303 and miss the pretty villages and countryside. But it was so interesting to hear of Peter’s 5 (!) Churches with their differing needs, and to see and hear of the challenging refurbishments, pageants and other outreach events led by the Churches.
At the time of writing, we are looking forward to hearing talks/presentations by Revd Brenda Harland (St Marys), Lynn Portwood, Revd Will Fletcher (on loan from Sheffield!) and Linda Page/Carole Hoyle – so, something for everyone!
We would like to thank all our speakers of course, but also the members who make the coffee, bring the cakes and do the washing up afterwards – and all those who attend whatever the weather! Due to their generosity we have also been able to make a donation of £100 to Church funds again this year plus the purchase of a tea urn in the front kitchen – so thank you for that too.
Elaine Fletcher and Jane Head
Action for Children 2015/2016
The support for this charity from our Church members continues. So far this year we have raised over £1130.00.
The Home Collecting Boxes to which many members donate raised £692.00 this year which is an increase for the eighth successive year. - If you would like a collecting box at home and contribute in this way please let me know.
A number of members bought a selection of Christmas cards from Action for Children and we grouped them together to save on the delivery postage – this raised over £143.00
Additionally donations received from our Church Christmas card scheme together with the collections at our Carol and Christmas Services totalled over £271.00
Our bookstall continues to be used regularly – it is always available for everyone to browse and select and the donations all add to our overall giving.
A fund raising Strawberry Tea is planned for 24th June so please come and meet friends, enjoy a cream tea and also support Action for Children.
Our annual Action for Children Sunday will be held on 25th June this year and we are looking forward to welcoming back Catherine Herriot who is going to speak to us again. The service will be led by Karen and supported by the members of Pastoral Group 1
Thank you all once again for your continuing generous support.
Howard Fletcher
Pastoral Groups
Your Pastoral Coordinators have met twice to share hopes and concerns for their pastoral groups. Although some of our friends have been unwell this year, the group members have supported each other with love and care.
All the coordinators reported positively at the last meeting. All groups are active and caring for each other and looking forward to some great social gatherings, including a repeat of the Bowling Challenge!!
Some groups are inviting members who choose not to be in a group to join in some of their social gatherings, this has proved very successful. Our families are invited by their group to suitable events but although their diaries are often too busy to join us, it’s delightful when they are able to share with us.
Anyone wishing to join a group or change the group they are with are invited to let me know so that we can ensure everyone is included in the Pastoral Care of our Church.
Jane Head
Property Report
John and Mike are responsible between them for the day to day running of property matters.
Stuart Armstrong has volunteered to join the property committee and has agreed to chair our periodic meetings. Ray Hoyle, Richard Frost and Pete Sharpe have continued to be committee members.
There have been a number of projects on the go this year including:
Portable Appliance Testing (PAT) has been carried out on all our electrical equipment and Fire extinguishers have been serviced.
Mike Schofield & Jon Page
The Well
Over the last six months we have seen an increase in numbers coming to The Well. Some weeks we have had twenty five plus children, most of whom stay and have lunch with us. Three new highchairs and table clothes have been purchased to make this more enjoyable.
Each week we try and offer different crafts - some of which children have never done before- including seed fat balls for the birds, marble and bubble wrap painting and recently pizza making. At Easter we enjoyed having a story in the church followed by an Easter egg hunt.
Recently I opened up a Facebook group to allow old and new members to follow. Photos of past events and information on upcoming events are posted on a regular basis. The group has been shared many times by different people which tells me they like it here so they are happy to spread the word.
A new car mat has been purchased this year due to the old one falling apart and becoming a health issue. Slowly old worn out toys are being replaced and some new additions have been added to the baby toys such as an arch so when young babies are here they can also be entertained. I am always letting people know I am open to suggestions but everyone is happy with what we have.
In the future we are looking forward to being involved with the church more and celebrating the Queen’s birthday by having a party.
Lisa Andre
Fund Raising
Detailed below is a table which indicates the total amount of monies that have been raised by the Church for External Events and Events carried out specifically for Church Funds. It represents a considerable amount of work to the individuals and groups involved and thanks must be expressed for all their hard work.
Fund Raising Events 2015 - 2016
The Minister
I begin with a warm invitation to the General Church Meeting which will begin at 4pm on Saturday 7th May. I hope you will be able to come along and share time together, think and pray about the year ahead.
May I commend this report to you and thank all who have contributed to it and Helen and Alan for collating it. Behind the words I recognise there is a great deal of committed hard work, some obvious, some hidden, but all very much appreciated. I want to thank everyone for your dedicated work, continuing support and encouragement during this year. In particular I want to thank Janice who has been my help and guide through these first few months of life at Thatcham Methodist Church. I also want to thank all of you for the welcome, understanding and love you have shared with both Chris and I as we moved to serve you and work with you here. That means a great deal to us.
I have long been fascinated by the Christian understanding of God as a diversity - Father, Son and Holy Spirit existing as a unity, a tri-unity. I am glad that God is in this way beyond my comprehension; He should be. However, what is most important to me about this foundational truth is not its incomprehensibility and the challenge of wrestling with three and one, but its applicability to, and effect on, real life. I have been reading and thinking lately about models of ecumenism for my new role as Methodist County Ecumenical Officer for Berkshire. These models are about holding diversity together in unity – about the richness of being one but not the same, unity without uniformity. They almost invariably are founded upon the nature of God as Trinity.
In a world often riven by division the ability to hold diversity together, not in a grudging, passive acceptance but in a community enriched and strengthened by that diversity, is needed more than ever. This is what the church is called to do - to welcome, support and embrace people with very different life experiences, outlooks and opinions and it is strengthened by so doing. It is a privilege to be part of that here as part of the Body of Christ in Thatcham. It is a rare and precious gift. It is attractive and counter-cultural in a world all too eager to emphasise individualism and isolation.
May God bless and strengthen us in the next part of our journey.
Every blessing
Peter Bennett
Stewards’ Report for ACM
Thank you to all the stewards for all their hard work and support this year. Since the last ACM Mary has taken over from Tony and June has taken over from Dot. We are still in need of one steward so please think about joining our team.
We were pleased to welcome Peter as our minister in September and we are enjoying working with him. As always we have had a busy year with all the activities that take place at the church and in the community. Thank you to all who lead and support the activities.
In September we took the Orison Resources to Thatcham Park Primary School for a week to help in the development of the pupils’ spirituality. Janice, Mary, Marilyn, Jeff, Karen and Peter enjoyed their time there. It was well received by the pupils who enjoyed using the resources and found it beneficial.
With having Peter starting with us it has been a good opportunity to discuss all the different activities that we as a church are involved in. We have particularly been considering whether or not to reinstate Mid-Week Communion and have organised for Karen to lead a review into Saturday Shift to take place later on this month.
We must say a big thank you to those who have spent time on property matters this year. The refurbishment of the toilets at the back of the premises has been appreciated by the users of the back hall.
Thank you to Kirsty who did the weekly newssheet until December 2015 and to Howard who has very ably taken over the role.
Eva Hughes is settling into her role as manager of Pied Piper Pre-School and is glad of the support from the church. Peter was invited to both nativity plays and I was asked to judge the Easter Bonnet competition.
Sadly we said goodbye to Lisa Parker (our Drop In Coordinator) in August when she left us to take up a role as a Teaching Assistant at Francis Bailey Primary School. One of Peter’s first jobs was to interview for this post and we were able to appoint Lisa Andre to the role and she is settling in well.
Janice Schofield
Safeguarding
If you have any concerns about safeguarding please contact me at any time
Janice Schofield
Saturday Shift
What a year we’ve had at Saturday Shift!
We’ve travelled by train and eaten our version of a British Rail sandwich whilst ”Moving On” when we particularly thought about transitions: from nursery to school, school to college, work to retirement and so on.
We’ve studied “Saints and Sausages” – thinking about St Peter the fishermen and three other saints. We fished for haloes, had hanging haloes and rubbed brass coins. Of course, sausages was the food of choice!
For the first two Saturday Shifts in 2016 we have focused on “Creation” and “Caring for Creation”. You may have seen our displays of some of the activities in church: AWESOME (drawing/writing something of creation for each letter), paintings of what creation means to each of us, our painted world of hand prints to name a few.
We have been blessed with visiting musicians (Rob Bruce, Ewan & Wendy Harvey & Xpect) to lead our songs of praise. A cheerful band of volunteers has moved chairs and tables, baked, served food, led activities, cut out whatever we’ve needed prepared in advance, cleared away.
Saturday Shift has a regular attendance of 25+. Sometimes we are 40. Worshippers range from 3 weeks old to 80+. It was been exciting to see how we have praised and learned together as one. This informal, activity based, interactive, café style worship appears to meet a need within Thatcham Methodist Church, and indeed is starting to become church for some of our church family. My greatest joy as a leader has been seeing all ages and abilities PRAISING GOD TOGETHER and having FUN.
Come along, try it out, and bring a friend.
Next Saturday Shift: 18 June at 5pm. Theme: “Caring or our Neighbours”
A review of Saturday Shift is currently being carried out by Worship Consultation, reporting to Church Council on 8 June.
Please pray for Saturday Shift.
Karen Frost
Foodbank - Annual Meeting Report - May 2016
On behalf of the Westberks Foodbank, thank you for your continued support in helping those in food crisis. Every week there is something to take to the warehouse and this continuity of donations is very uplifting in order to keep the warehouse suitably stocked to help those who are struggling.
During the last year, we have not had any supermarket collections – this is due to the generosity of schools, pre-schools, employees at various offices and works as well as very generous harvest donations. It is important that we do receive the items we are short of. Our warehouse space is limited so thank you for keeping to the lists supplied regularly and for the updates I put in the weekly notices. Thank you for your very generous donations at our Harvest Festival. We delivered 77.2 kg of food – enough to provide 69 meals to the warehouse which will be distributed among the centres as required. This includes a generous donation from Pied Piper Pre-School and the display of their donations and prayer enhanced our display on Harvest Sunday.
Clients continue to arrive at the Distribution Centres at Newbury, Hungerford, Lambourn and Thatcham. We are also reaching out to those in some rural west Berkshire communities but this is something which is being explored further. The needs are still there.
Our clients are often worried, embarrassed and fearful about coming to the Foodbank. We offer a warm welcome, hot drinks and biscuits and a listening ear. We can’t advise anyone about any issues they may have – we are not trained for that. However we are able to signpost clients to other organisations who have the impartial knowledge and expertise to help them get out of food crisis.
Our clients are so grateful for your Christian outreach. And so on behalf of the clients many, many thanks.
Marilyn Britt
Alice Bye Court Annual report 2016.
We have continued to meet at Alice Bye Court on the first Thursday of the month to hold a Songs of Praise service. There are very few residents who come however those who use the day centre facilities enjoy it. We are warmly welcomed by all and quite a few are able to join in the hymn singing and listen to the prayers, readings, poems and short talks. We are often asked for requests for prayer by those attending and we often chat with them too. It lasts between 30 and 40 minutes and feedback is very positive.
Rev Peter resumed Holy Communion services in November. A small number attend and after discussion with the Manager of ABC, it will continue and be reviewed again in a few months. This service is held on the third Wednesday of the month.
Rev Peter, Karen, Mary and Marilyn help lead the services with Janice and Jeff as our pianists. We have a choice of about 50 hymns on sheets from which we choose and can then be bound together in singing order to help those with arthritic hands.
Together with the Manager, we are advertising the services in the immediate close near Alice Bye Court. We are grateful to Beryl and Eric who help keep us up to date with events at Alice Bye and for their support with the advertising within the building.
Marilyn & Jeff Britt
Pilgrims - Annual Meeting Report – May 2016
During the last year, Pilgrims has grown, left the quiet room (because with new members it became too small) and moved to meet in the church. This has the added advantage of being able to use the loop system and possibly in future use the screen.
We spent three weeks last September exploring Retail Therapy using the book by Andy Hickford. We started by thinking how everything matters, not how we manage our consumption but how our consumption manages us. We thought about how advertising makes us dissatisfied with what we have – and we are lead into temptation. We considered choice – how many types of cereal are on the shelves in our local shop? We thought about injustices in the world, how the ‘cheap’ shops get their goods and how much are the employees paid and the conditions they work in. We considered whether we need to practice the discipline of detachment from material possessions. We thought about the communion service – we consume to remember – we consume to become. If anyone wishes to read the book, I have one that can be borrowed.
Following on, we learnt about Abraham. Though he faced seemingly endless difficulties, Abraham overcame his trials and a new covenant was forged. Learning from the way that he maintained his faith, even when under severe testing reminds us about growing in obedience, prayer during time of testing. I think I can say we all learnt more about Abraham, his faith, and his patience.
With the arrival of Advent we read the book by Naomi Starkey called ‘Pilgrims to the Manger’. Some of us had read it before but more than 50% of the group hadn’t read it. All of us discovered more – it is a book that you can always find new things in. But above all, in the busyness of preparations for the Christmas season, it did make us find the time to think hard about the daily readings, the commentary and the prayers, and then discuss them and the set questions on Tuesday mornings.
During Lent we have been exploring Spiritual practices. All of us have given up time to do the ‘extra’ reading, praying, and finding out how we can each develop individually a closer relationship with God.
It all sounds very serious – and they are topics to be taken seriously. However we enjoy our learning, our fellowship and our time together with God can bring laughter and sadness as we share together.
We continue to meet on Tuesday mornings – just the first Tuesday of the month in May, June and July and we welcome anyone who would like to join us.
Marilyn Britt
BifBof report 2016
BifBof continues to meet every Friday at 8.30pm at Kennet School Leisure Centre, and many of the players finish their evening in the Spotted Dog at Cold Ash. There is a hard core of players who support the activity but there are more injuries as the years go by. We often join up with some player friends of one of our members, who gives us a run for our money and also varies our game.The main message of this report is that we would like to see new players, and the younger the better! You will be given a warm welcome.
Jon Page
Sunday School Report – May 2016
We have 7 children on the Sunday School register and the age range is from 5 years to 17 years. The attendance varies from week to week depending on school holidays. We talk to the children about the things they have done in the week as part of our pastoral care for them and we like to teach them to be loving, kind and helpful. Our collection each week goes to JMA.
In the last year we have covered stories from the old and new testaments. We studied Harvest Festival, Advent, Christmas, Lent, Palm Sunday, Easter and of course as always we had a pancake feast for Passover. We made an Advent Ring for the Church and we made an Easter Garden that was on display in Church and then in the foyer. On Sunday 10th April we acted out a play with puppets about Jesus and the 11 disciples. The puppets were used again on the 17th April for the story of Jesus and the disciple by the Sea of Galilee. We hope to use our puppets for more story telling in the coming year. We had a family outing in December to Paint a Pot which was a great success. We all made different things which, when glazed the children took home. Dorcas and I then retired to the café to enjoy a well-earned cup of tea and a mince pie. We all had a really lovely time. On Saturday 16th July we are going to Finkley Down Farm for our summer outing.
We have to remember that nowadays there are lots of activities for children on Sunday mornings outside the Church, so to make Sunday School a place the children want to come to it has to be a fun and happy place to learn.
We would like to thank the Church for their continued support and hope that you will continue to pray for us.
Sandra Ley & Dorcas Arnold
Gift Aid Report
The Gift Aid Scheme allows charities such as our Church to reclaim tax at a rate of 25% on all donations, no matter how large or small, from eligible UK taxpayers. This facility provides vital funds for our Church, but the number of register donors has dropped over recent years, and I would encourage any taxpayer wishing to join the Gift Aid scheme to speak to me in confidence. There are no hidden traps: it doesn’t hurt, and there is no commitment necessary to make regular donations. Registration simply means that anything donated will qualify for the 25% bonus. Donations can be made via Standing Order, or through the envelope scheme. Figures for the tax year just ended are not finalised yet, but the amount claimable from the Treasury is likely to be around £4,400.
Since 2013, the scheme has been extended to include the Gift Aid Small Donation Scheme which allows us also to reclaim tax on non-Gift Aided donations too – as long as the individual donations are small (less than £20 each), made in cash and provided total donations in the year are less than £5000 – giving a maximum potential claim of £1,250 per annum. This scheme has helped us enormously, with the amount claimable for the last tax year likely to be around £1,100 – not quite the full amount possible, but a tremendous effort none the less.
So, the total amount claimed for last year through both parts of the scheme will be some £5,500 – very similar to the previous year. Thank you again to all donors
Pete Sharpe
Gift Aid Secretary
Café Church Report
We are pleased to say our numbers have remained pretty constant at about 18-20 over the year, although we don’t have as many members from other Churches at the moment, due to illness and house moves.
We started the Connexional year with a talk by Howard and Elaine on their recent cruise through the Panama Canal in its centenary year. We were very pleased to be some of the first of our Church members to welcome our new Minister, Revd Peter Bennett.
In October Janice Schofield spoke to us, wearing one of her many ‘Hats’!, on her work with Cruse, the bereavement counselling service. This was very thought provoking and moving.
Toni Hinchliffe, the Poppy Appeal Organiser for the Thatcham Branch of the Royal British Legion, came in November to tell us a bit about her work organising the Poppy collection in Thatcham and the surrounding villages.
As usual, we had our normal ‘in-house’ Christmas celebration in December, with Helen playing for some carol singing, and some seasonal poems. No Café Church near Christmas would be complete without the Pied Piper Nativity, this year under the direction of the new Manager, Eva – and it was just as delightful!
2016 started with a presentation by John Ledger of Ministry Aviation Fellowship (MAF). Although several of our members already contribute to MAF, some people had never heard of the charity and were very interested in the work it does in remote and outlying places, mainly in Africa, to bring God’s word to people as well as essential medical help. Members attending donated over £83 to the charity and we received a letter of thanks which was put on the notice board.
As we had no official speaker in February, Jane and Elaine did a sketch entitled “The Prayer Emporium” and Jane explained again the workings of ‘toilet twinning’ which now seems to be going well.
Mike Schofield gave us a very interesting talk on the restoration of his and Janice’s holiday home in France. The ‘before’ and ‘after’ photos were quite amazing. He described the difficulties they faced from many different angles, not least because of the connection with the neighbouring convent.
In April our own minister, Revd Peter Bennett, told us of his Ministry in Somerset. Despite the fact that it is a lovely part of the country, many of us drive past on A303 and miss the pretty villages and countryside. But it was so interesting to hear of Peter’s 5 (!) Churches with their differing needs, and to see and hear of the challenging refurbishments, pageants and other outreach events led by the Churches.
At the time of writing, we are looking forward to hearing talks/presentations by Revd Brenda Harland (St Marys), Lynn Portwood, Revd Will Fletcher (on loan from Sheffield!) and Linda Page/Carole Hoyle – so, something for everyone!
We would like to thank all our speakers of course, but also the members who make the coffee, bring the cakes and do the washing up afterwards – and all those who attend whatever the weather! Due to their generosity we have also been able to make a donation of £100 to Church funds again this year plus the purchase of a tea urn in the front kitchen – so thank you for that too.
Elaine Fletcher and Jane Head
Action for Children 2015/2016
The support for this charity from our Church members continues. So far this year we have raised over £1130.00.
The Home Collecting Boxes to which many members donate raised £692.00 this year which is an increase for the eighth successive year. - If you would like a collecting box at home and contribute in this way please let me know.
A number of members bought a selection of Christmas cards from Action for Children and we grouped them together to save on the delivery postage – this raised over £143.00
Additionally donations received from our Church Christmas card scheme together with the collections at our Carol and Christmas Services totalled over £271.00
Our bookstall continues to be used regularly – it is always available for everyone to browse and select and the donations all add to our overall giving.
A fund raising Strawberry Tea is planned for 24th June so please come and meet friends, enjoy a cream tea and also support Action for Children.
Our annual Action for Children Sunday will be held on 25th June this year and we are looking forward to welcoming back Catherine Herriot who is going to speak to us again. The service will be led by Karen and supported by the members of Pastoral Group 1
Thank you all once again for your continuing generous support.
Howard Fletcher
Pastoral Groups
Your Pastoral Coordinators have met twice to share hopes and concerns for their pastoral groups. Although some of our friends have been unwell this year, the group members have supported each other with love and care.
All the coordinators reported positively at the last meeting. All groups are active and caring for each other and looking forward to some great social gatherings, including a repeat of the Bowling Challenge!!
Some groups are inviting members who choose not to be in a group to join in some of their social gatherings, this has proved very successful. Our families are invited by their group to suitable events but although their diaries are often too busy to join us, it’s delightful when they are able to share with us.
Anyone wishing to join a group or change the group they are with are invited to let me know so that we can ensure everyone is included in the Pastoral Care of our Church.
Jane Head
Property Report
John and Mike are responsible between them for the day to day running of property matters.
Stuart Armstrong has volunteered to join the property committee and has agreed to chair our periodic meetings. Ray Hoyle, Richard Frost and Pete Sharpe have continued to be committee members.
There have been a number of projects on the go this year including:
- Renovation of the toilets (front and rear)
The work that was started (before the last annual report) to renovate the front toilets, has been completed. Renovation of the rear toilets has begun with the replacement of the floors and toilet pans. We do have plans to replace the sinks, cubical doors and partitions, and the boy’s urinals at the rear of the church. We have suspended this work and will await approval/availability of further funds before continuing. A hot water timer has been fitted into the front toilets. - Redecorating of the main hall
The painting of the main church hall (that was started before the last annual report) has been completed. - Gate, fence and wall
The work to the front gate, fence and wall has now also been completed. - Application for grants
All the grants applied for last year by Ray Hoyle have been approved and funds have been made available to us. Ray, John Page and Mike Schofield visited Greenham Common Trust and sought advice for applying for further funds. Further funds are available from the Trust and we have been advised to join the “Find Me A Grant” scheme where donations to Church would be lodged in a Trust fund and when spent on an approved project the Trust will match pound for pound any money lodged in the fund. - Safety Checks.
Portable Appliance Testing (PAT) has been carried out on all our electrical equipment and Fire extinguishers have been serviced.
- Routine Maintenance
A number of routine maintenance works have been undertaken during the year, the most notable of which has been a repair to the roof over the sanctuary which had developed a leak. During this work it was noted that not only the tiles above the sanctuary, but also the tiles over the main hall were originally constructed with a very shallow overlap between individual tiles (presumably in an attempt to minimise the construction cost). Unfortunately the long term effect of this they are prone to problems and we may need further work to the main roof before too long.
We thank Quicklight who generously donated 50% of replacement strip lights in the main church hall during the year.
Mike Schofield & Jon Page
The Well
Over the last six months we have seen an increase in numbers coming to The Well. Some weeks we have had twenty five plus children, most of whom stay and have lunch with us. Three new highchairs and table clothes have been purchased to make this more enjoyable.
Each week we try and offer different crafts - some of which children have never done before- including seed fat balls for the birds, marble and bubble wrap painting and recently pizza making. At Easter we enjoyed having a story in the church followed by an Easter egg hunt.
Recently I opened up a Facebook group to allow old and new members to follow. Photos of past events and information on upcoming events are posted on a regular basis. The group has been shared many times by different people which tells me they like it here so they are happy to spread the word.
A new car mat has been purchased this year due to the old one falling apart and becoming a health issue. Slowly old worn out toys are being replaced and some new additions have been added to the baby toys such as an arch so when young babies are here they can also be entertained. I am always letting people know I am open to suggestions but everyone is happy with what we have.
In the future we are looking forward to being involved with the church more and celebrating the Queen’s birthday by having a party.
Lisa Andre
Fund Raising
Detailed below is a table which indicates the total amount of monies that have been raised by the Church for External Events and Events carried out specifically for Church Funds. It represents a considerable amount of work to the individuals and groups involved and thanks must be expressed for all their hard work.
Fund Raising Events 2015 - 2016
TMC ACCOUNTS 2014/2015
1st September 2014 to 31st August 2015
The Detailed Account of our Income and Expenditure is listed in the hard copy booklet,
The overall result has been a decrease in our Reserves of £844 (in round numbers).
Considering we have expended £8,700 on various projects this year, beginning with the Projector and including the refurbishment of toilets, decoration of main church hall and last but not least the new entrance gate and wall, we have managed to almost break even.
Our total income was £47,130 against total expenditure of £47,973 so a good year all round in that we have protected our Reserves at a figure of £28,162 (see following balance sheets)
Our Reserves policy is to hold a minimum of 6 months expenditure, so with annual spend of £48k we have achieved this objective.
I would like to offer my thanks to everyone who contributes to making my life easier in producing these accounts from the property committee members to collection counters, fund raisers and administrators of our internal organisations (Cafe Church / Drop In / Midweek Communion and Youth Club)
Ray Hoyle
Christian Aid Report
The committee have continued to organise a range of meetings during the year with fund-raising in mind.
We had a good turn-out for carol singing outside Waitrose a week before Christmas. The public seemed to appreciate the fact that we sang “Christmas Carols” in harmony and we took £252·63 in donations. Also at Christmas, St Mary’s and the URC had appeals which together raised £299·15.
We would like to thank CTIT for organising the Lent lunches and the Methodist Church for providing the venue for all but one of these Friday events. It is a good ecumenical event and those attending come from a good mix of churches – thus enabling us to get to know other Christians in the town – so the gain is more than financial. We took over £300 at these Friday lunches.
The next main event is Christian Aid Week – 14th to 21st May. A street collection permit has been booked with the council for the Kingsland Centre/outside Waitrose and outside the Co-op in the Broadway, and a charity stall at the south end of the Green with a gazebo for balloons, publicity, information etc. We will also be organising the ‘house to house’ collection as in the past. Coffee and Cake will be arranged for St Mary’s and the Methodist Church after their services on Sunday 22nd May.
We are also planning a Quiz with Fish/Chicken & Chip supper on Saturday 25th June from 6pm to 9pm, with food at 7.30pm, at Thatcham Baptist Church – price £10 for adults and £5 for children.
The committee is in need of another rep from our church – since Heather retired from that role last year. We only have 4 or 5 meetings ( including the AGM) each year and most of the work involves publishing what is happening in our notices/newsletter and seeking support for the events we organise, so it is not onerous. With 2 reps it means that it does not matter if one is unable to attend a meeting. I would be very grateful if someone else is willing to join me in this role.
Helen Cook
Pied Piper Pre – School
I was very pleased to take over from Mandy in September 2015 after a handover period in the summer term 2015. The pre-school was well organised and the staff, although sad to say goodbye to her, were very supportive when I arrived. It was very busy in the autumn term and it took me a while to find my feet but I now feel settled and confident that I am managing the preschool well.
When I started I found the staff were working well together and the children were well supported. However, I hope for us to continue as an ‘Outstanding’ pre-school and therefore see the importance of continuously assessing what we do and making changes when appropriate to ensure we provide the best learning and development for children and keep them safe and happy at pre-school.
The pre-school continues to be very popular; I show prospective parents around every week and they all say they have either been recommended by a friend or relative or heard about the pre-school’s good reputation. We are currently full and with a growing waiting list I’ve no doubt we will fill all our places in September.
We have been lucky to have a strong committee group this year; parents are keen to support the pre-school and the fundraising team have worked really hard and raised an enormous amount of money which we are going to use for resources and experiences for the children.
Eva Hughes
1st September 2014 to 31st August 2015
The Detailed Account of our Income and Expenditure is listed in the hard copy booklet,
The overall result has been a decrease in our Reserves of £844 (in round numbers).
Considering we have expended £8,700 on various projects this year, beginning with the Projector and including the refurbishment of toilets, decoration of main church hall and last but not least the new entrance gate and wall, we have managed to almost break even.
Our total income was £47,130 against total expenditure of £47,973 so a good year all round in that we have protected our Reserves at a figure of £28,162 (see following balance sheets)
Our Reserves policy is to hold a minimum of 6 months expenditure, so with annual spend of £48k we have achieved this objective.
I would like to offer my thanks to everyone who contributes to making my life easier in producing these accounts from the property committee members to collection counters, fund raisers and administrators of our internal organisations (Cafe Church / Drop In / Midweek Communion and Youth Club)
Ray Hoyle
Christian Aid Report
The committee have continued to organise a range of meetings during the year with fund-raising in mind.
We had a good turn-out for carol singing outside Waitrose a week before Christmas. The public seemed to appreciate the fact that we sang “Christmas Carols” in harmony and we took £252·63 in donations. Also at Christmas, St Mary’s and the URC had appeals which together raised £299·15.
We would like to thank CTIT for organising the Lent lunches and the Methodist Church for providing the venue for all but one of these Friday events. It is a good ecumenical event and those attending come from a good mix of churches – thus enabling us to get to know other Christians in the town – so the gain is more than financial. We took over £300 at these Friday lunches.
The next main event is Christian Aid Week – 14th to 21st May. A street collection permit has been booked with the council for the Kingsland Centre/outside Waitrose and outside the Co-op in the Broadway, and a charity stall at the south end of the Green with a gazebo for balloons, publicity, information etc. We will also be organising the ‘house to house’ collection as in the past. Coffee and Cake will be arranged for St Mary’s and the Methodist Church after their services on Sunday 22nd May.
We are also planning a Quiz with Fish/Chicken & Chip supper on Saturday 25th June from 6pm to 9pm, with food at 7.30pm, at Thatcham Baptist Church – price £10 for adults and £5 for children.
The committee is in need of another rep from our church – since Heather retired from that role last year. We only have 4 or 5 meetings ( including the AGM) each year and most of the work involves publishing what is happening in our notices/newsletter and seeking support for the events we organise, so it is not onerous. With 2 reps it means that it does not matter if one is unable to attend a meeting. I would be very grateful if someone else is willing to join me in this role.
Helen Cook
Pied Piper Pre – School
I was very pleased to take over from Mandy in September 2015 after a handover period in the summer term 2015. The pre-school was well organised and the staff, although sad to say goodbye to her, were very supportive when I arrived. It was very busy in the autumn term and it took me a while to find my feet but I now feel settled and confident that I am managing the preschool well.
When I started I found the staff were working well together and the children were well supported. However, I hope for us to continue as an ‘Outstanding’ pre-school and therefore see the importance of continuously assessing what we do and making changes when appropriate to ensure we provide the best learning and development for children and keep them safe and happy at pre-school.
The pre-school continues to be very popular; I show prospective parents around every week and they all say they have either been recommended by a friend or relative or heard about the pre-school’s good reputation. We are currently full and with a growing waiting list I’ve no doubt we will fill all our places in September.
We have been lucky to have a strong committee group this year; parents are keen to support the pre-school and the fundraising team have worked really hard and raised an enormous amount of money which we are going to use for resources and experiences for the children.
Eva Hughes