Annual Report
Annual Report and Financial Statements
of the Parish Church Council
For the year ending 31 December 2010
Vicar Paul Mackay
Bank
Norwich & Peterborough Building Society, Aylsham Road, Norwich
Independant Examiner (Mr Derek Heffer)
St Catherine's PCC
St Catherine's PCC works with the clergy team on behalf of the congrgation and people of Mile Cross, Catton Grove and a small part of Hellesdon to fulfil that which it believes God is calling us to do as a church in this part of Norwich.
Membership:
Membership over the year has been:
Chair of PCC Revd Paul Mackay
Church Warden Brian Garner
Church Warden Margerat Proudfoot
Deanery Synod Elected 2008 Annette Knowles
Susan Mackay
Elected 2009 Sheila Hughes - 2 years
PCC Elected 2008 Catherine D'Oyley
David Knight
David Long
Elected 2009 Patricia Beamis
Caril Gaul
Scott Marrison
Richard Proudfoot
Elected 2010 Julie Howell - 1 year
Susan Coward
Simon Bransby
Patricia Mcdermott
Joyce Lincoln
The usual period of election is for three years. The PCC has a policy that after six consecutive years service, members are invited to take a sabbatical break for a period of one year before seeking re - election.
Committees and Action Groups:
The PCC operates in a number of areas through committees and action groups meeting as appropriate and necessary.
These are:
Standing Committee: The only committee required by law. It has power to transact business of the PCC between its meetings, subject to any direction given by the Council.
Finance Action Group: A group charged with the responsibility, under the PCC, of looking after and developing the financial side of life at St catherine's.
Youth and Children's Leaders: A group charged with the responsibility under the PCC, of maintaining and developing our work with young people both churched and unchurched.
Development Group: The group was formed in July 2007 comprising members of St Catherine's Church PCC plus Rachael Barber (from Gordon Barber Funeral Services) and Peter daines, who had specific skills in planning charity events and who have been chosen to continue with their support. The whole group originally was involved with planning and organising fundraising events but towards the end of 2008 it was realised a smaller group would be beneficial when submitting grant applications, and this group has met alongside the main group.
Reports from these groups are contained later in this report. It is our intention to constantly review such groups and to develop them where necessary in order to use the many gifts and abilities we have in our midist to oversee different areas of Church life.
Electrol Roll
The number on the election roll as at 31 December 2010 was 96
Vicar's Report
18 Christ is the head of the church, which is his body. He is the first of all who will rise from the dead. So he is first in everything. 19 For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ. 20 and by him God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of his blood on the cross. Colossians 1:18 - 20 (NLT)
Those who notice these things, will have spotted I have departed from my normal use of the NIV bible when quoting from scripture. The NIV (depending on your stance, means Nearly Infalible Version or more correctly New International Version (actually not that new anymore!) is the version of the bible we use all the time at St catherine's, but sometimes it's good to have other considerations! I especially like this version of colassians as it put's Christ's name in its rightful place. In life as in the Church, people and situations jostle for recognition and prominence I am grateful that at the core of what we are 'about here' is Christ's work, sharing his name, sharing his love and his peace. We, as our website states, are far from perfect, but we are trying!
After seven years here Sue and I have much to be grateful for, and there is much to celebrate in what has been truly an amazing year ( I know I have used this word many times over the years, but it's a word worth repeating). We have to be real and acknowledge that there have been 'difficult' times as well as this year, but thankfully some of the issues of the past have diminished.
I am very fortunate to be granted the opportunity to take a sabbatical this year (August to October), and Sue and I travelled to Romania and the USA meeting many wonderful Christians in both countries. I plan to take out in 2011 to write up my experiences. We returned renewed, refreshed and looking forward to continuing our ministry here.
In the Spring of this year, I was asked by Bishop Graham to consider taking on the role of Rural Dean for Norwich North, and after some prayerful consideration and advice seeking I agreed, it is a great privilage to be recommended by your peers and to be seen as a leader amongst clergy. This does not mean I had to relinquish my role as sub warden of Readers for the Northern area of the Diocese, and as there was to be some changes to the organisation of this ministry it seemed the right time to step away.
As a separate, but connected issue for the second year running we were asked to act as a placement church for a reader in training, and so Angela Stewart joined us at the end of may for what was an enriching experience for her and the parish.
During my sabbatical we had decided that we would trial the reducing of our evening services just for the month of August when many people were on holiday. After some disscussions the PCC agreed to adopt the same procedure for 2011. Throughout the year as an alternative evening service we have had 'film nights' which have been varied in genre and we have discussed their themes over refreshments and cake at the end of the movie furthering our understanding consideration of God's work in the world.
Baptism, weddings and funerals our public offices, continue to be an important part of our work here and numbers are fairly consistent with previous years.
In 2010 we celebrated the 75th year of the laying of the foundation stone for our church and in 2011 we look forward to celebrating the 75th anniversary of its consecration with a number of planned events.
The following reports are a glimpse of the life of the church here in this parish. Not everything is mentioned and some parts of the life of the church we are 'as ever' reviewing.
However it is important that we recognise and give thanks to all who have made a contribution to God's ministry here. Of course it is not practical to mention everyone by name. Given the fact, we still need to acknowledge certain individuals who have and continue to play an important role here, giving of thie time as generously as they do.
Beginning with Revd Gill Bridges and Revd Charles Read, it is my privilage to refer them as 'colleagues' and I am very grateful for all that they are able to do. They played a huge part of helping me to 'relax' during my sabbatical, knowing I had left things in safe hands. Thanks also should go to our wardens, Brian Garner (who is to step down in 2011) and (newbie...) Margaret Proudfoot together with our PCC Secretary and Named Person, Joyce Lincoln, for all their marvellous work. As I have said before there are so many to mention in writing who contribute to the life of this church and community, and so if you are not mentioned here by name - THANK YOU for all you do.
This year we saw the result of a few years fund raising, thanks to the hard work of our Development Group. In all the work that has been done to our hall and the vicarage garden. This will ensure that our hall remains an impressive resource for the church and wider community. We really do need to thank God for this provision. At this time I also want tio give thanks for our finance team, headed up by our Treasurer, Richard Proudfoot along with david Knight and Bridget Garner. Sadly once again, it is with regret, that we have failed to pay our parish share, however, the achievement of the payment in full, is something that we must continue to strive for.
The music worship here has undergone many changes over the years, musicians have come and then 'moved on' but what is amazing is that we always have a number of musicians to 'call on' the small but dedicated team who sing and play here are an example to us all of committment to the life of a church. I am very pleased we have our 'main' organist Roger Meynell firmly involved and our occassional but none the less talented young organist Will Warnes who plays for us when not at university. My sincere thanks to the rest of the 'team' for all they do!
Finally thank you to Sue, for her love, time and joyful and solid support of mysel and our calling to serve God here.
If you have wondered what NLT stands for with regards to the bible reading I mentioned in the beginning, it is the acronym for the New Living Testament. I just want to quote an extract from its cover, something which I am sure you will all understand.
"Our world seems to spin faster every day. As we struggle to keep up, we grow tired physically, mentally and spiritually at our deepest level - in our own soul - we feel a deep emptiness. The bible offers refreshment for your soul! Whether your thirst for the presence of God Himself, or for peace, love, hope and truth, the bible can answer your need."
I pray for all who need refreshment and revitalising that together we can, as a church and community, find solace and renewal through God's word and worshipping together.
Yours in Christ
Paul Mackay
Vicar of St catherines, Mile Cross
St Catherine's Parochial Church Council
Payments and Receipts Account for the year Ended 31 December 2010
General Fund
Independant Examiner's Certificate (for the PCC Accounts of St Catherine's Norwich
This report on the financial statements of the PCC for the year ended 31 December 2010, which are set out on pages 5 to 11, is in respect of an examination carried out in accordance with the Church Accounting Regulations 2006 ('regulations') and section 43 of the Charities Act 1993 ('the Act')
Respective responsibilities of the PCC and the examiner
As members of the PCC you are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements. You consider that the audit requiremnt of the Regulations and section 42 (2) of the Act do not apply. It is my responsibility to issue this report on those financial statements in accordance with the terms of the regulations.
Basis of this report
My examination was carried out in accordance with the General Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 43 (7) (b) of the Act and to be found in the Church Guidance, 2006 edition, issued by the Finace Division of the Archbishops' Council. That examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the PCC and a comparison of the accounts with those records. It also includes considering any unusual items or disclosures in the financial statements and seeking explanations from you as trustees concerning any such matters. The proceedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit, and consequently I do not express an audit opinion on the view given by the accounts.
Independant examiner's statement
In connection with my examination, no matter has come to my attention:
(1) Which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in any material respect the requirements:
a. to keep accpunting records in accordance with section 41 of the Act; and
b. to prepare financial statements, which accord with the accounting records and comply with the requirements of the Act and the Regulations
have not been met: or
(2) to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
Signed: Name: Mr Derek Heffer
Date:
Finance Action Group
This year we are able to complete the main work in the hall. Much of this was financed from 2 grants we received for £40,000 and £10,000.
The building work cost over £85,000 and the balance was met from the Development Fund, which has raised funds from various events and donations since its inception in 2008. We are grateful for all the gifts received which has enabled the Hall work and the garden project to proceed. Due to the need to fund the hall work we were unable to pay our parish Share in full but the diocese are fully aware or our financial situation.
During the year the group have encouraged more tax payers to Gift Aid their giving, so whilist overall giving was down in line with the current economic climate the tax received back from HMRC has increased.
Our prayer for the coming year is to give thanks for the gifts the church receives and to ensure they are used wisely. A goal to achieve this year would be to have sufficient funds to complete the hall and garden work, and to pay the Parish Share in full.
Richard Proudfoot, Bridget Garner, David Knight.
Church warden Report
This year lots of small jobs have been done to the church and grounds by Chris Coppage our usual handyman.
Unfortunately the roof over the side chapel and vestry has deteriorated and there has been a large ingress of water. We have asked that the quinquennial report which was due to take place in July 2011 be brought forward so that it can be used for new grant applications that have to be submitted early in 2011.
During the year we had a spate of bulb failure's in the large lanterns in church and ude to the non availability of the tungsten bulbs we have through our usual electrician replaced all the bulbs with low energy light bulbs. These give more warm light and a greater intensity of light.
This year we were delighted that our Archdeacon came for her 4 yearly visitation in November and to examine the registers etc, subsequent to this she advised that some of our old paperwork be placed into the county Archive.
As wardens we would like to thank all the sides people who help us week in and week out and to Sue Baldwin who cleans and David Abraham who does the gardening.
Brian Garner and Margerat Proudfoot.
Deanery Synod
For 2010 there were 3 Deanery Synod Meetings.
The first of these meetings was held at St Cuthert's Sprowston where there were 3 guest speakers, Richard Butler, the Diocesan Secretary, David Broom who is the Director of Operations for the Diocese and the Canon Librian for the Cathedral, Revd Dr Peter Doll. The evening ended with refreshments as a farewell to the Rural Dean, Revd John Bennett.
The second meeting was held at Norwich Cathedral where we were welcomed by the Dean who gave us a tour of the new Hostry and Visitors Centre. This was also Paul's first meeting in his new role as Rural Dean for Norwich North.
The final meeting was held at St Paul's, Hellesdon where there was an open discussion regarding the future of the Deanery and Synod.
Sue Mackay, Annette Knowles and Sheila Hughes (Deanery Synod Representatives).
PCC
The PCC has continued to meet bi-monthly during the year, with the Standing Committee meeting alternate months. The APCM was held on Sunday 18th April following a shortened Morning Prayer and was attended by 50 parishioners.
Reports are received at every meeting and throughout the year all aspects of the owrk of the church are covered. The financial situation continues to be of particular concern in view of urgent repair work necessary to the church and the completion of work to the Hall. Again this year 50% of the tithe was given towards the parish Share with the remaining 50% being given to other charities suggested by church members.
The Ven Jan MacFarlane, Archdeacon of Norwich made her visitation in November and was very pleased with all she saw and experienced.
Unfortunately again our application to English Heritage for repairs to the Church roof was rejected, but another application is to be made before June 2011 which will be supported by the latest quinequennial report. Our insurers are aware of our efforts to raise money for the repairs and thankfully, continue to issue an Insurance Certificate.
Joyce Lincoln, PCC Secretary.
Music at St Catherines
The music team continues along the same lines as last year, under the leadership of Sue Mackay, meeting generally on Monday evenings. Musicians and singers are encouraged to come along to sing and play when they are available, rather than on a rota basis. On the odd occassion, it has been necessary to resort to CD's when musicians were not available.
The practice evening usually consists of a short time prayer, with fellowship of tea and cakes completing the two our session. The fellowship helps us to build a team caring for each other as we seek to offer our collective gifts and prayers to the wider church.
The worship group have acquired two new unidirectional and sensitive microphones which have improved the sound quality, and removed the necessity for individual microphones for each singer and/ or musician.
During Paul's sabbatical, Roger Meynell stepped up to take the role of co-ordinating music and fellowship. His input for Christmas music was appreciated by many, and he continues to be an integral part of the fellowship, increasing his committment to two Sundays a month.
Will Warnes, who is an organ scholar at cambridge, continues to assist whenever possible, and we are grateful for his help. The fellowship are always pleased to welcome anyone with a genuine interest in music and worship. A particular welcome is extended to younger members of the congrgation to join, Elizabeth, Ryan and Melissa who are already valuable members.
Thank you for all musicians and singers who have committed themselves during the last year and to members of the congrgation who have been encouraging in our endeavours.
We recognise that we still have areas to improve, and one of our goals is to introduce new songs without distracting from those songs well known in order to create a balanced style of music.
The worship group will be offering "singing assistance" at weddings booked at St catherine's for those couples who think it would be beneficial and add a little something to their special day.
We have so much to be thankful for as we come together. For those people who give willingly of ther time and talents in many different ways, for musicians and singers, for those who operate our PA and computer, for those who prepare the refreshments during our rehearsal times and not forgetting of course those people who ring our bells, lead us in prayer and read us the word of God, all being many parts of the one body.
Our prayer is that God will continue to bless us as we come together to lead his people in worship of him and that hearts and minds will be open to an existing way forward.
Sue mackay and Roger Meynell
St Catherine's Tide and Gift Day
This year St Catherine's Tide Weekend was held at the end of November. This was arranged to fit in with the Archdeacon's visitation on the Sunday when Jan McFarlane preached and had lunch with the PCC afterwards.
On the Friday we had Fish and Chips quiz night in the Church which was well attended despite the heavy fall of snow just before the start of the evening. On the Saturday the church was opened to receive gifts, and in the hall were refreshments and stalls.
Over £2,000 was received over the weekend and although down on previous years, it was still an amazing amount considering the economic circumstances.
As always our thanks go to those who support this weekend and St Catherine's through prayer and the genourous giving of time, energy and monetary gifts. Our prayer is that though the committment of so many St catherine's will continue to grow in the community for many years to come.
Thank especially to God for his unswerving love, grace and blessings.
Richard Proudfoot and Sue Mackay
Development Group
2010 was a year of great blessings!
The main body of the hall had windows replaced, was decorated and had the floor re-varnished. Despite the bad weather work to the roof was undertaken to make the building water-tight. Our grand re-opening was a great success and our regular hall users very much appreciate their "new look" surroundings!
The safe garden area that is accessed by the new door in the hall has been fenced off, sheds are up and a patio has been put down and will be able to be used as soon as the weather permits (look fowrad to after Church refreshments outside in the garden!) Our thanks go to the many people that support us in all that we do (we could not have done it without your efforts and prayers!)
There is still much to do to complete the hall, and events to raise the funds are planned. The rewiring re-pointing and much needed roof work, for the church itself, is very much in the thoughts of the development group. Looking to obtain grants in the current economic climate is proving to be even more difficult.
We give thanks for God's goodness to us in this past year, which has enabled us to achieve as much as we have.
We pray that people will continue to support us and to help with the completion of the hall in the coming year.
For all that happened in 2010 we can truly "Praise God"
Ruth Lambert, Chair Development Group
Hall Hire
What a way to begin - WOW! Through patience, hard work and more importantly God's amazing blessings - we now have a newly refurbished hall. Our regular hirers have been amazed at the works undertaken and our thanks go to the groups listed below for their continued patience and flexibility with bookings while the work was being carried out. So thank you to:
The Brownies, Cubs, Extended, First Bus Short mat Bowls, Golden Star Morris, Guides, Heather Anderson - Ballroom Dancing Practice, National Blood Service, Norwich City Council, Totstop, Tuesday Fellowship and Scouts. It is fair to say that during the works some bookings were affected and therefore some revenue was lost but in the main as mentioned above through flexibility of our hirers the church was also used to cover some bookings. Although there is still some work to be done, the groups are on board for helping where they can and donations have been received through fund raising tea dance events - another sign that our relationship with our hall hirers remains strong.
Our thanks go to God for giving us the opportunity to build relationships with all our hirers. We look forward to another great year ahead when we hope to be able to complete the outstanding work including new curtains for the hall. As always our continued prayer is that the hall will be there and available to many groups over the coming years and remain a great resource and means to outreach to the community.
Sue mackay
The Alpha Course
This year we moved the course back from the Autumn to the Spring due to my taking a sabbatical later in the year. This was one of our smaller courses which utilised the Alpha DVD material and took place in the vicarage. This was well received.
There were about 8 people who took part in the course which included 3 people who were 'outside' of the church. It is exciting to say 2 of the participants came to faith during the course. This is particularly encouraging for two reasons. Firstly, they both live some distane from the parish which underlines one of, I feel, the core values of Alpha, in that it is not about recruiting people to join our church but to join Christ's church. Secondly, one person was invited to join the course by a friend, and the other had simply emailed me enquiring about our course from the Alpha Website.
After my return from my sabbatical we had a small reunion and agreed to hold, what I am calling, our Alpha Plus, where the participants see the agenda for the conversations and subjects for further evenings planned before Lent 2011
The Alpha course for 2011 will begin on Thursday 15 September. The course will be open to all and will also be advertised at the Mile Cross Methedist Church who we hope will have greater involvement thanks to the encouragement of Kim Arber, one of their local preachers and steward. Please pray and consider who you may invite to hear the good news afesh.
Revd Paul Mackay.
Missionary Reports
Church Pastoral Aid Society
last year £150,00 was collected and sent to the Headquarters. I thank all those who gave and pray.
It was lovely to have Rev Kevin Fitzgibbon to us this year. He gave us a good presentation of all the aspects of the work of CPAS was founded 175 years ago and has continued all that time in helping churches to evangelize and now runs courses for men and women to be more effective in leadership.
Praise that the money went up this year and more people are praying.
Prayer for all the 4500 children and their leaders at the camps
Goal is to encourage more people to give to the work especially the summer camps
Anne Rowe
Crosslinks
In 2010 we were able to send £110,00 in June and a further £55,00 in November a total of £165,00 to the Crosslinks Headquarters.
Many thanks to all those who gave to Crosslinks through collecting boxes and donations. Those donations have helped to deploy:
- 60 Best study partners from 12 countries on theological training for indigenous mission
- 9 projects/project partners in 7 countries serving the church through indigenous mission
- 96 young people from 11 countries on the SMILE scheme as short mission volunteers
- 10 schools of biblical Training in 6 countries teaching a total of around 900 attendees
- 13 NEXT volunteers on short/mid-term mission placements in 4 countries
- 117 Mission Partners and Associates in long term placements in 23 countries
And now we have 16 newly selected Mission Partners preparing for deployment in 2011. We thank you for your continued partnership in the gospel and hope that this year you would keep mission in your prayers; that many more may receive the wonderful gift of salvation. For more information on the Crosslinks 'means of mission' go to www.crosslinks.org
Pat Beamis
Scripture Union
The number taking scripture Union notes has stayed about the same.
These are a good resource for those who want to read the bible on a daily basis.
There are a range of options to choose from depending on how in depth you want to study the passage but all have very good and practical writers.
Brian garner
Traid Craft
St Catherine's has been a Fairtrade Church since 2003 - the terms we agreed then with the Fairtrade Foundation were:
- to use Fairtrade tea and coffee after services and in all meetings for which we have responsibility
- to move forward on using other Fairtrade products such as sugar, biscuits and fruit
- to promote Fairtrade during Fairtrade Fortnight and throughout the year through events, worship and other activities whenever possible
We continue with the monthly stall but sadly we sell less and less - we hope this means everyone are making their Fairtrade purchases from whichever supermarket used. This is good... but it does mean the profit from our sales are less and in turn means what we are able to send annually to Traidcraft to support their work with the producers has also decreased.
We appreciate the deserate times we are going through financially, the growers and producers are also suffering and appreciate our support even more. We held our annual Coffee Morning in Fairtrade Fortnight with friends from the Methodists - this had to be in the Hall in the midist of the repair work so not the most pleasant surroundings or very well supported sadly! Thank you to you all who support the stall, and to those who have made purchases from the catalogue.
Ivan and Joyce Lincoln
House Groups
2010 has been an encouarging year seeing more people joining in house groups to learn more of God's interaction with His people to get to know one another better and support each other. A wide variety of topics have been covered giving opportunity to learn more from one another. There is also opportunity to pray together either out loud if this is something people are comfortable with but in an infromal atmosphere where nobody is pressurised to do so. There is also plenty of talking and drinking of tea. The hospitality of the hosts is much appreciated.
We praise God for the opportunity to meet together midweek and learn from one another. Our prayer is that more people would come together to study God's Word and share time in getting to know one another better. Our goal is to learn more of God's ways and become more like him.
Bridget Garner
Tuesday Friendship
We have had an interesting year. In January we had to cancel our meeting because of snow and icy conditions. The last time this happened was February 1991.
In may we changed our name from Tuesday Fellowship to Tuesday Friendship and are still getting used to that. Our numbers are still low but the speakers don't seem to mind and are happy to come. We have an interesting variety of speakers. Unfortunately the beautiful redecoration of the hall had its downside - when the Revd Peter Paine of the mission to Seafarers came he was unable to show his slides because the hall was too bright. We shall have to wait until we have new curtains before we invite him again!
Our devotional meetings are on the second Tuesday of the month, but on the other Tuesdays some of us meet to knit and chat. Knitting is not essential! Many people who are unable to come knit more than we do so the charities do not suffer. So why not come for a chat or just to get to know us!
Although our numbers are low, our income has increased so that we have still been able to keep up with our giving. This year we have given the following.:
£20.00 GATE (Gambian Aid Through Education)
£20.00 The Mission for Seafarers
£150.00 Ntonda Orphan Day care Centre in Malaw!
£50.00 St Catherine's P.C.C
£20.00 Mile Cross Salvation Army for their work in the Community
£55.00 The collection at our carol service to the Leprosy Mission
We have much to praise the Lord for in all that has happened in the past year and pray that we will be able to continue and even grow in the coming year and that Tuesday Friendship will be a blessing to many.
Brenda Dickenson
Home Communion Team
St Catherine's has a long history of taking communion to people in their homes when they can no longer manage to come to church. Over the past year, four people, Ruth Lambert, Margaret Proudfoot and John Allcock, together with Bill Jacobs who is already licenced as a reader, took part in two evenings of training and refreshment with Revd Charles and myself on the meaning of Holy Communion, and the practicalities of taking communion to people in their homes.
The Bishop of Norwich issued licences, and the Home Communion Team was commissioned during a morning service in Church. We now take communion into 3 homes, and are always pleased to know about anyone else who might like to do so. Please let any of the following know: Revd Gill Bridges, Revd Paul Mackay, Revd Charles Read, or any PCC member.
Revd Gill Bridges
Soup Run
St catherine's are part of the soup run and go out evry last Wednesday of the month when we provide sandwiches, biscuits etc and home made pies and scones for the vulnerable people in our city.
We do know that some are not homeless but live in very basic, cold accommodation for various reasons. We never judge who we serve, we feel it's sad to have so many turn up, often on freezing cold evenings and to be very grateful for whatever we are able to provide for them to eat. We never ask questions however sometimes the clients share the reasons why they are there.
Over the last few months we have seen a lot of new faces, sometimes its apparent that they may have consumed alcohol or taken illicit drugs but mostly it's very ordinary people who are hungry.
In the summer there were up to 40 people catered for however in the Winter numbers have been much lower and we think this is because when the people who have found somewhere dry to sleep don't want to turn out again.
We praise the Lord for all the people who support the soup run with donations of food, (especially the delicious home made pies and scones). money which is put into a fund for fresh fruit, warm clothes or bedding and also the people who gladly give their time to help those less fortunate than we are. Even though everybody is finding things are costing more we are never short of supplies to take with us.
Please continue to pray for the coming year for the team from St catherine's that we are kept safe when we go out and that the Lord gives us the right words to offer some comfort to those in need. We ask for prayers for those we meet, that life will improve for them. We also ask for prayers for continued generous support from the members of St catherine's.
Our prayers for the future must be that the wealth this country undoubtedly has is shared amongst those who have so little.
Outreach Magazine
The magazine continues to be provided bi-monthly and is delivered by our faithful team of distributers. In July we held a 'thank you' tea for them followed by a service of Holy Communion which was well attended.
Justine Davenport answered our plea for a Distributer co-ordinator and has undertaken this job for most of the year. Justine has joined the planning team who meet bi-monthly to assess the last issue and plan the next.
Wensum Print continues to print the magazine - the two year price agreement we have with them ends in February 2011. The quality continues to be of a high standard.
We decided not to increase the cost of the magazine or the advertising this year and will review this in the autumn of 2011.
Revd Paul Mackay Pat McDermott Justine Davenport Ivan and Joyce Lincoln Outreach Team
Tot Stop
After a difficuly start in 2010 when we had to close due to work on the hall, we had a "Re-launch" in June with a new logo (and T-shirts!). Numbers were very low to start with, although a lot or our regulars' came back to us. Since then our membership has steadly increased with new people coming along most weeks.
We continue to provide a craft most weeks and occassional singing sessions when staff numbers permit. We are looking forward to being able to use the garden during the summer months.
Praise God for: the dedicated people who give their time to run this lovely toddler group.
Pray for: peace and harmony among the parents and team members
Our Goals: to continue to welcome existing and new members
Pat Mcdermott (on behalf of the Tot Stop Team)
Xplorers
We gave the name 'Xplorers' to our children's work some years ago and it now covers a number of different opportunities and events with its title.
At Mile Cross Primary School, we have an after School Club on Thursdays. Once a term children are invited to sign up and the club runs from 3.15 to 4.30. and so through the year we will have worked alongside at least nearly 50 children. In the teaching times we have been using the Friends and Heroes DVDs which are providing to be a very effective way of sharing stories from the bible. There is a rota for a small team of leaders and although at times 'interesting' it has been extremely rewarding and has been appreciated by children and the school alike. This ran for the Spring and Summer terms this year but we decided due to my sabbatical to not have the club during the autumn term but plan to start the club again in January 2011. Thanks to all those who have helped this year at the school and also to the school staff for their assistance and encouragement. Our holiday clubs this year took place on Good Friday, during the half term holiday period in May/June (with a world cup theme) and a Christmas event in December. They were generally well attended and a great time was had by all.
In the Spring, a few of us (including Lesley Musselwhite, Deputy Head at Mile Cross Primary School) attended a training day for the 'Open the book project'. This is a simple dramatised telling in a school assembly of a bible story based on the Lion Storyteller Bible. We experimented with assemblies in the summer term and planned in conjunction with the school to share the presentations. There is no doubt that the children listen to these stories and remember them and it is a great joy to hear them talk about them after the event. We now have a small team of people who represent the church and I am grateful to them for taking part.
So many thanks go to ALL who have helped in any capacity during the year ant any of our events, for your time, energy, enthusiasm and encouragement. Although they may not always say it themselves I know that children (and of course many of the adults) have had a fantastic time!
Please pray that as we share with the children the journey of Christ that they may in years to come remember good times had in church and at school with people who were somehow 'different' (in a positive way...) and that more importantly they will also recall the stories of Christ they have heard and experienced and in some cases acted out, and that it may affect and infest their future lives, helping them to turn to Christ
Revd P Mackay
Sunday Teaching - Under 5's
Sometimes only one child, another Sunday several. They all mix and play well - a very happy group. We are trying to bring into the morning session a little story about Jesus. We have several good books to use but if anyone has a bible based book suitable for our younger children it would be appreciated. We have a very good group of leaders and I thank them all for the commitment and interest they show in the children each week.
Thank you to Sue, Donna, Julie, Sue, Ruth and Bridget
Xplorers Sunday Teaching
We have a wonderful group of children, some weeks just a few and then several children another week who sometimes bring friends.
We are very lucky that after a lot of work looking for some new bibles and tables we have now got new bibles with good pictures and the words that Jesus said are in red print allowing the children to understand which verses are the important ones. We encourage the group to learn the Lord's Prayer, and read from our bibles, saying a prayer or asking us to pray for anything they ask us to. Over the next year as the group are getting a little older taking more of a part and understanding communion services better.
The two round tables allows us to seat about 8/9 children round them, making teaching and doing craft work (wipe clean services) so much easier and more enjoyable for all the children. These tables can also be used in the church.
Elizabeth and Ryan went to Horstead for a Diocesan event, 'Bread, Wine and Burgers'. They both enjoyed the activities and being with other young people from around the Diocese.
Sam and Donna (mum) walked round 25 churches in September, WELL DONE SAM! who also collected a lot of history about each church. (Numbers were small this year as we had the Heritage weekend in church and Harvest Fair).
Most of our Sunday school children join in when we have explorers events - the World Cup theme in May for holiday club and the Christmas event.
We look forward to being able to use the garden when we are able to.
Many thanks for all the committment from the team that makes Sunday teaching possible at St catherine's.
God be with us and encourage us.
Caril Gaul, David Knight, Ravi Natarajan, Scott Marrison, David Long and Cathy D'Oyley