Here are the reports for the year ended December 2023 used for the APCM 2024, which follow the Minutes of the previous APCM that were agreed at the APCM 2024.
| Registered Charity No 1172631
“Connecting with Jesus, with each other, with the community” |
Gleneagles Anglican Church, Wellingborough
Minutes of the Annual Parochial Church Meeting
held on Sunday 21 May 2023
Present: Rev Dawn Airey (Chair) & Chris Airey +1; Amanda Allen; Pauline Ball; Gordon & Jane Bell; Jackie Brooks-Cheesman +1; Valerie Brown; Fiona Clarke; Greg & Helen Cracknell; Bob Cutler; Marion Darker; David & Helen Downey; Bruno & Suzanna Duarte +3; Matt & Heidi Ellson; Suzy Follows +2; Ruth Gilbert; Chris & Steph Gledhill; Elizabeth Holbrook; Dan Hulland; Stephen Lomax; Carol Maycock; Alan Palmer; Alice Pettifer; Chris Pettifer; Sandi Rance; Anya Rezanova; Rob & Maria Seaman; Colin & Sue Suter; David & Lis Wells; Ludolff & Ruth Wium +2; Jean Woods.
| The Chair opened the meeting with prayer and welcoming everyone. She thanked God for everyone who had served the church over the last year. | |
| Meeting of Parishioners and Annual Parochial Church Meeting | |
| 1 | Fiona Clarke was appointed as Clerk to the meeting. |
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Apologies: John Gilyead; Mel Hartung.
Elections Dawn advised the congregation of the current ruling for elections, which is that, if there are the same number of applications for each post as there are available positions, then there is no need for a vote and the applicants are automatically appointed. Both Helen and David had been proposed and seconded previously and were automatically appointed. Election of Churchwardens The Chair thanked Elizabeth and David for all they’ve done over the past year, particularly regarding the new church building of All Saints Church, Great Harrowden. Dawn gave Elizabeth a present for all her help and support over the last six years. · Elizabeth has served the maximum number of terms (6) so had to step down this year. However, she has agreed to be Assistant Churchwarden. · David Wells was elected to continue as Churchwarden. · Helen Cracknell was elected as the second Churchwarden. She is stepping down from being PCC Treasurer. |
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Minutes of last APCM dated 22/05/2022.
The minutes from the last APCM were agreed by the majority at the meeting, however, some had not been at the APCM in 2022. Dawn will sign and file them. Deanery Synod · Heidi Ellson is continuing as Deanery Synod rep. The current term ends 31/06/2023 but under the rules she can be re-elected for a further three-year term. · Helen Cracknell has stepped down from her role as Deanery Synod rep this year, having taken on the role of Churchwarden. · No reps were appointed at the meeting but there is one vacancy. Dawn asked anyone interested in this role to contact her for completion of the appropriate application paperwork.
Election of PCC Members PCC members can serve up to three years. None of the existing PCC members have served three years and they have agreed to continue for another year. However, Jackie Bello has moved away from the Parish and has, therefore, stepped down from the PCC leaving three lay vacancies, filled by: – · Melanie Hartung · Alan Palmer · Elizabeth Holbrook Each of these had already been proposed and seconded and were automatically appointed. |
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| 7 | Safeguarding
The duties are split as follows: · John Gilyead is responsible for DBS, training, and safeguarding. · Amanda Allen (Parish Administrator) is responsible for Safer Recruiting. If someone moves into a role Amanda collates their applications, references, etc. |
| 8 | Finance Report
· No Questions were forthcoming regarding the Finance Report. · Dawn encouraged giving regularly. · Lis Wells is taking over as Treasurer as Helen is stepping down. |
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Vicar’s Report –
Dawn reminded everyone that we are the body of the church, and each have roles to play. She said that people have lost sight of God’s supernatural presence and that in 2022 we needed courage to go forward. 2022 was a year of two halves with the second half being more hopeful as we learn to live with a new normal, and to rebuild the church community by: · Glenvale Park Community days · Weekly church at Glenvale Care Home · Coffee, Cake, and Chat – which has now stopped, as it did not fulfil its purpose, but nevertheless allowed us to engage with the community.
Regarding the reordering of All Saints, there will be further news at the end of summer.
Dawn reminded the congregation of the encouragement from the prophesy given to her, which indicated that the Lord is preparing and equipping his church to be more spiritual and to make new disciples. The Church of England has seen a 70-year decline, experiencing birth pains as God reshapes His church. Throughout history, there have been significant changes/ reformation to the church roughly every 500 years. The church nationally is now in that phase. 2023 is a growing year.
As we emerged from the pandemic, we are the remnant, and it is taking time for us to adapt and reorder ourselves.
From the prophesy, we are in the third year with the winter past and spring on its way. This year we will start to grapple with what the church will look like going forward.
We will be focusing on shaping Connect Groups to fulfil our vision of, ‘Connecting: with Jesus, with each other, with the community.’ We will do this by: · Connecting with Jesus: o Through study o Prayer for one another o Prophesy · Connecting with each other: o Building friendships o Being honest about our home lives o Mutual support o Mutual discipling Acts 2 describes actions of early biblical community meetings in small groups, in each other’s homes, and caring for each other.
Connect Group leaders will now become facilitators, and we will be looking at how Connect Groups work.
At present there is a very small Care Team attempting to watch out for everyone. Due to the very limited numbers this team may cease to exist. We need everyone caring for everyone. We all have things to offer each other.
There are currently only four Connect Groups, and this number will need to increase.
Belonging to a connect group will look different for every one of us: · Some will take an active part and physically attend the meetings. · Some will just use the group for communication. · Some will only attend the social events. Everyone will receive an invitation to join a group and can try another group if the allocated group does not suit their needs.
Through Connect Groups we can learn to love and care for each other and gain a feeling of belonging.
Questions about the APCM reports · One person wished to know what measures were being taken to make sure that All Saints is accessible for disabled people. Dawn advised that: – o There are two accesses, one with steps and the second a slope. o The flooring inside is level, except for a step up to the bell tower, which will be ramped to allow access to the disabled toilet that will be constructed within. o There are a few steps in the Chancel and an auto-platform will be installed. · There were no other questions. |
There being no other business the Vicar thanked everyone for attending and the meeting closed with prayers and a reading from Hebrews 12:1-4.
ANNUAL REPORT
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023
FOR GLENEAGLES ANGLICAN CHURCH,
WELLINGBOROUGH, PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL
REPORTS OF CHURCH MINISTRY AND MISSION
Church attendance
The total on the Electoral Roll for 2024 is 82. Last year it was 74, with 7 names being removed where people have left the church and 15 new names added.
Marion Darker – Electoral Roll Officer.
Report on the work of the PCC.
Membership
The PCC is made up of the following – ex officio members, who are the clergy, currently including the Incumbent (Vicar), and our two Curates (Ben and Livvy Haughton-Scales), the churchwardens, and Deanery Synod representatives. The other members of the PCC are elected at the Annual Parochial Church Meeting (APCM).
- Deanery Synod representatives fulfil a three-year term, but new rules since 2020 enable them to stand for two terms before standing down for at least one term.
- Churchwardens are elected every year. They can be re-elected but can only serve up to six consecutive years and then have a break of at least one year before standing for re-election.
- Elected PCC members may remain on the PCC for up to three years and stand again after a one year wait.
Jackie Bello resigned in April, but two new PCC member were elected at the APCM. Additionally, two Curates joined in June, bringing the total to 15 members. Pauline Ball stepped down in October.
Since 2023
- Sally Quincey has now moved to a new parish, resigning from lay PCC membership.
- Three more of the existing lay PCC members were elected three years ago at the APCM in May 2021 and are due to step down at the APCM (2024).
- David Wells and Helen Cracknell will not be continuing as Churchwardens after the APCM.
- Heidi Ellson will be stepping down from Deanery Synod after the APCM.
- Rob Seaman will be taking up a post as curate in early June so will be stepping down from PCC at the APCM.
There is, therefore, allowance for election of an additional six PCC members, two Churchwardens and two Deanery Synod representatives at the APCM (2024).
The PCC is empowered to co-opt two additional members after the APCM for a particular purpose, regardless of vacancies, but only until the next APCM and then they would need to be elected.
Legalities
The PCC is required to have a Standing Committee, its membership comprises the Incumbent, Curates, Churchwardens and Treasurer.
As Gleneagles Anglican Church is a registered charity, members of the PCC are registered with the Charity Commission as trustees. The responsibilities of the trustees are detailed in the Trustees’ Report.
Responsibilities
Given its wide responsibilities, the Ministry Leadership Team (MLT) look after hands-on mission and ministry covering the Under 18’s Ministry and pastoral care. The MLT is accountable to the PCC. At every meeting the PCC considers reports from the MLT, and from others who cover areas of the three priorities highlighted in the Church Vision, together with reports from Deanery Synod and Safeguarding. The Treasurer also presents regular reports on the church finances. All are responsible to the PCC and report back to it regularly. Their reports are received by the full PCC and discussed, as needed.
Attendance
The full PCC met seven times during this year, including a short meeting after the APCM, with an average attendance of 84%.
Members of the PCC also met together with church leaders in November 2023, after a short PCC meeting included above. This was for their annual half day of discussion, prayer and worship that helps formulate Gleneagles’ Vision for the coming year.
Fiona Clarke – PCC Secretary.
Vicar’s Report
“Connecting: with Jesus, with each other, with the wider community”.
I would like to start in my usual way by thanking our churchwardens, David, Helen, and Elizabeth (assistant churchwarden), the PCC, the Ministry Leadership Team, Connect Group facilitators and to our staff team – Amanda Allen (Parish Administrator), Rob Seaman (Ordinand) and we welcomed our two Curates Ben & Livvi Haughton-Scales. Alice worked with us as our Intern until July 2023. This is a really hard-working team and I so appreciate the wisdom and generosity from each individual and am privileged to work alongside them.
When I was preparing to come to Gleneagles church towards the end of 2020, the Lord gave me the following scripture – Isaiah 37:30-32:
30 “This year you will eat what grows by itself,
and the second year what springs from that.
But in the third year sow and reap,
plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
31 Once more a remnant of the kingdom of Judah
will take root below and bear fruit above.
32 For out of Jerusalem will come a remnant,
and out of Mount Zion a band of survivors.
The zeal of the Lord Almighty
will accomplish this.
Of course, the scripture was a prophetic vision for Israel at that time, but I believed this to be a prophetic word for me and for us as a church. Last year I reflected on how, as we emerged from the pandemic, there were many who looked around and wondered what had happened to the church, the church nationally as well as locally here at Gleneagles. We were the ‘remnant’ and it took time to adjust. Year 1 & 2 were about re-orienting ourselves, setting a new vision, simply being faithful to the faith that had been given us and starting to respond to what the Lord was putting in front of us. But in year 3 (2023) we would ‘sow and reap’. And at the beginning of 2023 we received another prophetic word from Song of Songs 2 ‘the winter is past’ and spring is on its way.
Well, what a year 2023 has been!
-Greater connection between Sunday worship and our Monday – Saturday lives.
-A growing desire among us for greater intimacy with the Father.
-The Lord is adding to our number, and we continue to see new people all the time.
-The Lord has grown each of the ministry areas.
-We have begun to see some become Christians or return to faith in Jesus.
-Planning for new ministries begun.
-Greater engagement with the school.
-Fantastic community presence during festival times of the year (Easter rock hunt, summer community days and Advent/Christmas).
-Reshaping of Connect groups in line with our vision.
-Decision for Glenvale Park School to become a Church of England School.
-Initial discussions around starting a second congregation/fresh expression of church at Glenvale Park.
Update on Extending the Parish:
Last year we concluded our discussions with our neighbouring parish of Great Harrowden around redrawing parish boundaries. It was agreed that the parish boundaries would change so that Glenvale Park would come under our parish instead of Gt Harrowden. As part of that discussion, in 2021 we were offered, and hoped to reorder, All Saints Church building in Great Harrowden, and thereby take the whole of the parish of Gt Harrowden, which would have also included Redhill Grange. However, it became clear toward the end of last year that this was not going to be possible, and a decision was made by the PCC to stop pursuing it. Gt Harrowden parish wish to keep Redhill Grange but have agreed that Glenvale Park should be part of our parish. The parish boundaries are currently being redrawn and the legal process should be completed before the summer of 2024. Recognising that we are not just the church for Gleneagles estate but also the church for Glenvale Park and Redhill Farm (artists estate), the church was given an opportunity to choose a new name and it was agreed, once the legalities have been approved, we will become North Wellingborough Anglican Church.
In the end, the Lord simply calls us to be faithful to what He has given us, to respond to where He is taking us but more importantly than anything else, to know more deeply than before that we are sons and daughters of the King of Kings…..everything flows from this place.
We are this parish’s glimpse of heaven and I love being part of it!
Rev. Dawn Airey – Vicar.
Churchwardens’ Fabric Report
Following great discussion at PCC and consideration the decision to not relocate to All Saint’s Church, Harrowden was made in the summer.
A buyer has still not yet been found to sell the land in the Artist’s area of the parish, but negotiations are still being pursued with Carter Jonas Property Advisors in conjunction with the Diocese.
Whilst we remain based at Redwell Primary School, articles belonging to the church, and used for worship and other activities, are stored in a shed on the school grounds. Everything is in good order, with no evidence of deterioration due to damp. Other items are used in the church office at the Vicarage. Electrical equipment and the lectern are stored within the school. Items are repaired or replaced as necessary, and the costs are borne from church funds under the oversight of the PCC. We are now using the school’s in-built screen instead of the projector screen. This has removed the need for setting up both the aging screen and projector.
This report comprises the Terrier report, together with the report on the Church Inventory and Logbook.
In conclusion, we would like to acknowledge and give thanks for the hard work and dedication of those who fulfil so many duties across our church life, who make our task so much easier by their selfless service.
David Wells and Helen Cracknell – Churchwardens.
Sung Worship Team
Team: Alex Palmer, Ben Haughton-Scales, Dan Hulland, Ezra Airey, Jane Bell (to end February 2024), Jasmine Childs, Louise Harrison, Maria Seaman, Mel Hartung, Rob Seaman, Ruth Wium & Steph Gledhill
As I list the names of the people above, I am mindful of how blessed we are with musicians and vocalists who are willing to be part of the team. The process of planning worship, preparing music, learning new songs and gathering early on Sundays to practice is not without sacrifice and we are grateful to the way these people’s gifts enrich our gathered worship. In addition to the team, we are also hugely grateful to Sally Wilkins who diligently compiles the PowerPoint slides, to those who manage the visuals week to week and the sound team who have to navigate considerable challenges most weeks, whilst trying to satisfy our demands over microphone volumes through foldback speakers!
We are grateful to Jane Bell for her contribution and dedication over recent years, having decided to step down at the end of February 2024, and for Louise Harrison being willing to step forward in the last quarter of 2023.
Ben is doing some work in the background in trying to encourage the gifts of others in the church to get involved, including our young people, and this looks to be a really exciting development. If you are harbouring a musical gift but are worried that you might not be good enough or that the commitment is too great, please speak to Ben.
Rob Seaman – Ordinand.
Financial Review for 2023
The church has two bank accounts: – a General Account, and a Building Account. Any spending from the Building Account is restricted to works associated with the building. The General Account is for general use but does have within it restricted monies that have been given for specific purposes, such as social events. Staffing costs have been put in here as well. All transactions from both the building and general account go into the same accounting system.
GENERAL ACCOUNT We started the year with £9,524 in the bank account and ended the year with £1,071.07.
Restricted Money
There are three main restricted spending areas within the General account, these are money held for social events, money given for wages and expenses plus the Discretionary Fund (Acts2Fund or Family in Need).
Expenditure from the Discretionary fund this year was £326.00 leaving a balance of £1,134. 00
BUILDING ACCOUNT (Restricted Fund) We started the year with £56,864 in the bank account and ended the year with £49,031.94. During the year the main expenditure was for Priory Heritage advice for the Harrowden Church costing £7,359.00
Income and Expenditure for General and Building accounts.
Over the year Our total expenditure across both the general and Building accounts was £95,413.00 and our total income £79,127.00. The difference of £16,286.00 was made up of £8,453.00 funds carried over from the 2022 general account and expenditure in the building fund of £7,832.06.
The Parish Share for 2023 was set at £69,781, of this amount £58,630, was actually paid for 2023. This is the largest expenditure for the church. We continued to support our many Mission Partners this year. The main source of our funding still comes from the congregation.
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GENERAL ACCOUNT (Unrestricted money) BUDGET 2023 |
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| Receipts | Budget 2023 | Actual 2023 | |
| Planned Giving – Parish Giving Scheme | 49,000.00 | 48,391.00 | |
| Collections – Other giving eg plate and online | 15,000.00 | 10,664.00 | |
| Gift Aid recovered | 14,000.00 | 14,164.00 | |
| Other receipts | 3,000.00 | 1,427.00 | |
| Fundraising | |||
| Church activities | 3,000.00 | 4,478.00 | |
| TOTAL | 84.000.00 | 79,124.00 | |
| Payments | Budget 2023 | Actual 2023 | |
| Parish Share | 69,780.00 | 58,630.00 | |
| Missionary Giving | 3,000.00 | 2,760.00 | |
| Clergy and staff costs | 3,500.00 | 8,748.00 | |
| Church running costs | 11,000.00 | 12,643.00 | |
| Transferred to Building Fund | |||
| TOTAL | 87,280.00 | 82,781.00 | |
We thank God for his generous provision during 2023 which enabled us to sustain ministry. We pray that this will continue.
Lis Wells – Treasurer. On behalf of the Finance Team.
Key Vision Areas:
Discipleship
- Connect Groups
From the APCM in 2023 we ‘re-launched’ Connect Groups and reshaped them around the vision of the church. It isn’t possible to get to know everyone and so our midweek Connect Groups are the main way of caring for, encouraging, and supporting one another both in our faith journey but also life in general! The other change in Connect Groups is that we stopped calling those who coordinated them ‘leaders’ and instead call them ‘facilitators’. In many ways it may not feel like a significant change, but we recognised that a culture had developed in which those who were willing to be ‘leaders’ felt at times overwhelmed and found themselves organizing every aspect of the Connect Group. The purpose of the facilitator is to enable every person in the group to use their God given gifts and skills to serve and build one another up, rather than do everything themselves.
Since May last year we now have 5 Connect Groups, all meet fortnightly (listed below). We have tried to encourage everyone to be part of a group and while for some going to the fortnightly meetings might be hard, the majority can get to the group socials and be part of the wider group to pray for and support one another.
Greg was the Connect Group coordinator until just before Christmas 2023 and stepped down due to ill health. We are so thankful to Greg for his commitment to Connect Groups and supporting others who facilitate these groups – thank you Greg. The facilitators continue to meet every couple of months to support one another.
Our five groups are:
Monday afternoon (Carol Maycock)
Monday evening (Elizabeth Holbrook)
Thursday morning (Alan Palmer)
Wednesday evening (Rob Seaman)
Wednesday evening (Ben & Livvi Haughton-Scales)
- Tuesday Teaching evenings:
In 2022 we decided to keep Tuesday evenings free from other church business to allow for occasional extra teaching sessions. In 2023 we used Tuesday evenings for a Lent course and a training course in prophetic ministry.
Revd. Dawn Airey.
- Community Events
We seemed to have developed a pattern of hosting community missional events at festival times of year and almost all of us are involved in these in some way or other, so thank you everyone!!! As the parish Church of England, we are called to be this parish’s glimpse of heaven and so I believe our community events have been a really significant part of being present in and being that good news to our local community.
Easter:
The popularity of the Holy Week rock hunt meant we ran it again last year (200 decorated rocks went out) and we finished the week by inviting families to an activity morning on Good Friday. 200 children, young people and their families came and enjoyed the activities, being introduced and invited into the mission of the church.
Summer:
During the summer we hosted the pop-up Community Days at Glenvale Park for the second time at the beginning of the July school holidays. Three days were planned but due to rain the first day had to be cancelled. However, the other two days were full of crafts, games, bouncy assault course, bouncy dash n’ grab, drinks and cakes. This was very well received by the community and a great number of people attended from the community and further afield. Some people from the care home also visited the Community Days. So many people from the church were involved in running the community days and it felt like a really good time for the church too. The developers were very pleased with them and have asked us to do it again in 2024. In 2023 we bought a new church Gazebo to be used for mission, so we look forward to having that as part of the 9/10 gazebos in 2024!
Advent/Christmas:
In December we had a full programme of carol events every weekend.
- Week 1: Outdoor Carols & Lights (knitted nativity characters) on Gleneagles; Wreath event
- Week 2: Outdoor Carol service (drinks and food vans) on Glenvale Park
- Week 3: Return of an indoor Traditional Carol Service at Redwell School
- Week 4: Indoor Christingle & Nativity Service at Redwell School
Each event/service was developed further from the previous year and held a traditional carol service for the first time since the pandemic. It was great to see so many people across the whole month, many who we did not know as well as a good number who we see at our various midweek groups.
Revd. Dawn Airey.
Glenvale Park Care Home
At the beginning of 2023 we had continued to facilitate ‘Coffee, Cake and Chat’ which had intended to be both a blessing to the care home but also as a means of engaging with the Glenvale community. Unfortunately, the wider community never really came along to this and given both the small team from GAC facilitating the event, and the reality that it wasn’t meeting our original intentions, we decided it should be stopped and this happened on 4 April 2023.
For as long as Valerie and the team facilitated this outreach it was much appreciated by the care home and our efforts were very much valued.
It is hoped that something similar might be facilitated once the community centre is up and running on Glenvale estate but that looks to be some way off.
Whilst Coffee, Cake and Chat finished, the team (Rob, Mel, Alice, Dawn, Livvi, Ben and Ruth W), have continued to visit and facilitate a weekly church service which normally lasts about 30 minutes including some liturgy, songs, prayers and a short reflection. Dawn joins the team periodically so that we can administer communion.
The services themselves are well attended and most weeks we have needed to collect additional chairs to meet demand. Average attendances are probably around 17 each week. We have tried different things through the services to engage the residents, whilst including elements of liturgy which provide a framework and some familiarity that those with dementia can engage with.
One exciting development in recent months is that relatives of some of the residents seem to try and come and visit when the service is happening and join us – it is a privilege to minister to them as well.
We would value your prayers as we seek to shape this work to best meet the residents’ needs and for the formation of relationships with visitors coming along.
Rob Seaman – Ordinand.
Under 18’s Ministry
- Under 11s ministry
For all of our under 18s ministry we have both a discipleship stream and an outreach stream. For under 11s our discipleship stream is primarily Sunday mornings at Sunday Club. Our outreach stream is on a Thursday – under 5s have Wellitots and those in year 1-5 have Ignite.
Last year we signed up to a resource called Energize which we use across all of our under 18s groups. This appears to have been appreciated by all the leaders.
Revd. Dawn Airey.
Sunday Club (Discipleship)
Sunday club continues to be appreciated by children and parents. There is a great group of people who lead and help with the groups. Huge thanks to each of them for their willingness to guide the children in their individual journeys with the Lord.
Revd. Dawn Airey.
Wellitots
In November 2022 the group moved to the Hub at Redwell School which meant the session time could be extended and has proved to be a much better venue. The numbers attending prior to moving venue had become very low and we even wondered if we might need to stop the group. However, throughout 2023 we have had many new households coming along and now have 10/11 households each week. A number of these join in with our events at festival times of year and some are touching their toes with Sunday mornings by coming to the café style service.
Revd. Dawn Airey.
Ignite
Leaders: Alice Pettifer (to July 2023), Maria Seaman (to September 2023), Sally Quincey (to September 2023), Rob Seaman, Ruth Gilbert, Michelle Norwood, Alan Palmer, Chris Green, Erin and Georgia. Dawn opens and helps set up weekly and she, Ben and Livvi have filled gaps in the team as and when they arise.
It has been a great year with the children at Ignite with numbers dipping quite low in the months leading up to Christmas (averaging 10 per week), causing the leaders to seriously consider whether it was sustainable. However, the opportunity of taking an Assembly in early 2024 at Redwell Primary School, led by Michelle and Livvi, has boosted numbers enormously and these have been sustained over subsequent weeks (averaging 25 per week since Christmas!).
The large majority of children at Ignite are aged between 5 – 7 and so our activities are shaped towards this group – we have some who are older and happy to be part of things.
We continue to have games one week and bible stories the next where children have the opportunity to let off some steam but also hear a bible story, do a craft to affirm their learning with some tuck in between. Over the last year we have undertaken a series on the friends of Jesus and had some brilliant times of engagement with the children. The leaders take turns in preparing games, story or craft and it is wonderful how our different gifts and ways of communicating all work together to help the children grow in their knowledge of Jesus.
Alan and Chris joined the team in September 2023 and have been great additions. I will be stepping down from the role of leader of Ignite at the end of May 2024, when I leave GAC to head off to curacy – none of the existing team members feel able to step into this role and so we would appreciate your prayers as we look beyond this academic year both regarding a new leader but also one or two more team members to help in this important work.
Please pray for the children coming along and for potential relationships with their families, we long to see them making lifelong commitments to Jesus.
Rob Seaman – Ordinand.
School’s work
Invitations to engage with Redwell School in 2023 increased. This has meant we were invited to be present at school assemblies/plays and special days at school. We were given the opportunity of doing monthly in person assemblies last year too. We continued to run several wellbeing groups throughout the year with different year groups….and were able to invite a number to Ignite and Ignite Youth as a result. For the first time last year we were able to offer year 6 ‘Transition to Secondary School’ sessions using material from Scripture Union. We once again made a pre-recorded assembly for Easter but were able to do an in-person Christmas assembly to the whole school. On both occasions we were able to advertise the seasonal family events – namely the rock hunt and Good Friday event at Easter, and then the various carol & Christingle services at Christmas.
Glenvale Park school was built but sadly had to remain empty until it could be agreed who would run it. In November 2023 it was finally announced that Wilby Church of England school will relocate to Glenvale Park School and become one of Peterborough Diocese Education Trust (PDET) schools. We have been praying for this for a long time and so delighted when this was announced. We look forward to the school opening in September 2024 and working very closely with them.
I would like to thank everybody involved in the children’s ministry for all the incredible work they do with all the children and families we are in contact with. They are a fantastic bunch doing a great job. But a really huge thanks belongs to Maria Seaman who for a number of years has taken responsibility for the children’s work and needed to step back last year. Maria you were and are missed and we cannot thank you enough for who you are and what you have given.
Please pray for all of us, that God will continue to give us the passion and the opportunities to present the gospel to all the children attending the groups and that He will continue to guide us in His will for all the groups and all of us. Also please pray for all the children attending, that God will work incredibly in their hearts.
Revd. Dawn Airey.
Youth Ministry Report
2023 has been a really positive year for youth ministry at Gleneagles. The church continues to run three groups:
- Sunday Youth – This is the group that meets during Sunday services on 2nd and 4th Sundays in the month (1st Sundays are Together on Sunday services and 3rd Sundays have, since September, been designated as opportunities for the young people to serve in some way during services). The group is focused on Bible teaching and prayer, and there are 9 young people who attend regularly (up from 3 at the start of last year).
- Ignite Youth – This is an outreach group which meets each Thursday evening (term-time only). The group has around 15-20 young people who attend regularly (down from 25 at the start of last year). It involves games, crafts, a tuck shop, and a short ‘thought for the day’ on issues relevant to the young people and based on Christian teaching. Topics covered have included the leaders giving their testimonies, looking at different influences in our lives, Halloween and Bonfire Night, and Christmas.
- Connect Youth – This is a discipleship group which runs fortnightly on Sunday afternoons. The sessions are made up of a game, followed by worship and Bible teaching, and then ending with a meal. There are 15 young people who are currently committed to the group (up from 7 at the start of last year). The group followed the Youth Alpha course during the Spring term, then spent most of the Autumn term hearing testimonies from the group leaders and looking at the topic of prayer.
The vision is that these groups will feed into one another, and that those attending Ignite Youth may choose to get involved with our discipleship groups. This has not been happening as much as we would hope yet, but we continue to pray and look for opportunities from God to encourage this.
The growth in Sunday Youth and Connect Youth is largely due to a number of new families joining the church, and it has been great to have their young people join these groups. We are really excited about the spiritual growth and deepening of friendships that are taking place in these groups and are praying that God continues to work powerfully among our young people to help them grow as followers of Jesus.
In 2023 the church took out a subscription with the Energize online children’s and youth work resource by Urban Saints. This has proven to be an excellent tool for all our children’s and youth volunteers to assist with planning and preparing sessions.
Team
Until the Summer of 2023 the church’s youth ministry was led by Alice Pettifer as the church’s Youth Intern before she moved on to new opportunities. Alice did an excellent job and served the church and young people really faithfully during her time in post.
I took on responsibility for the church’s youth ministry from September 2023, though it is completely a team effort and would not happen without all those who support the discipleship of our young people in so many different ways. I will resist trying to list everyone for fear of missing someone out, but you know who you all are and I am immensely grateful for all your hard work and dedication.
Looking Ahead
- We are continuing to pray and monitor opportunities for connecting with young people on the new Glenvale Park housing development.
- We are taking those who want to attend from Connect Youth to the Satellites summer youth festival (one of the events that replaced Soul Survivor) at the Bath & West Showground from 2nd-6th August 2024. This is now booked but more young people can continue to book on. We currently have 5 young people booked to come and the adults involved will be Dawn & Chris, Ben & Livvi.
Ben Haughton-Scales – Curate and Youth Team Leader.
Wholeness in Jesus/ Wellbeing
- Care Team
Throughout 2023 pastoral Care at Gleneagles Anglican Church continued to operate through Connect Groups and by direct contact with the Care Team providing fellowship, friendship and practical help where needed. The Care Team members were Valerie Brown, David & Helen Downey, and Elizabeth Holbrook. Helen Downey took responsibility for this team, and I am so grateful to her. I want to thank them all for all they have done in responding to the needs of church members.
However, it became clear in the early part of 2023 that the Care Team was itself very small and therefore limited in how it could respond. As the church was growing, we realised a new way was needed. At the same time, we were developing ideas around Connect Groups and as described in the discipleship section we slightly reshaped the purpose of Connect Groups in line with the vision of the church (Connecting – with Jesus, with each other, with the wider community). Part of that reshaping included a different understanding about pastoral care. The language of pastoral care had perhaps become unhelpful in that in can encourage a culture in which some are giving help, and some are receiving help. The reality is that most of us will find ourselves in both ‘camps’ at the same time! The Christian life is such that we are all members of Jesus’s body with different skills and gifts to offer one another, and we are all broken human vessels that need love, support, friendship, practical help, and encouragement. The other reality is that it is only possible to have close relationships with a few people at one time, close enough to know and be honest about our needs. With all of that in mind it made sense to close the Pastoral Care Team and for Connect Groups to become the main way in which we are all enabled to build close friendships, offer one another support when needed and use the gifts the Lord has given us to build one another up.
Revd. Dawn Airey.
- Prayer Ministry Report April 2024
- Last Summer, all members of the Prayer Ministry Team attended a training session to refresh good practice and safeguarding. It also included instructions for praying with and for minors.
- Members of the Prayer Ministry team currently are Dawn, Ben, Livvi, Alan, Alex, Chris, Steph, Mel, Ruth and myself.
- During the year, one of our prayer warriors, Helen Downey, left Gleneagles to worship at another church. I would like to extend my grateful thanks for her faithful ministry and wish her well for whatever God calls her to do next.
- Prayer ministry is now offered during almost every service but is always available for those who may need it. Please ask Dawn or myself if you ever need prayer and we will arrange this for you.
- The Prayer Chain continues to be extremely responsive and effective. It currently has 15 members who pray for any needs at short notice. Alerts are sent out via email.
- The list of names being prayed for by the chain are also included in the weekly prayers circulated to the wider church. This list has been revised and updated earlier this year to keep it up to date and, in some cases, remind us of what we are praying for. Reviews will now be carried out at regular intervals in the year.
- I am currently researching healing ministry and hope to be able to launch some instruction into this, to strengthen and extend what we can offer.
- As always, my sincere thanks go to the members of both the Prayer Chain and Prayer Ministry Team for their faithful service and devotion to this vital ministry.
Jackie Brooks-Cheesman.
- Reading Group – 2023/24
We have read five books during the last year, meeting every couple of months with extended gaps over Christmas and Easter. The books read range from the inspiring biographical, ‘Eye Can Write’ by Jonathan Bryan to the more practical ‘two views on homosexuality’ and, most recently, ‘Faith after Doubt’ by Brian McLaren.
The group remains small, normally only four of us are in attendance, which is good on one hand because we get on well but disappointing on the other because we had hoped that more might feel able to get into reading Christian books in a very relaxed and informal environment. If you are imagining stuffy academic discussions bemoaning the technical qualities of the author’s work, you couldn’t be further from reality – we just chew over what we’ve liked or not and whether or not the book has been helpful; and that takes about an hour!
With my departure at the end of May 2024, and the reality that there needs to be a minimum of about five people to sustain a small group, the Reading Group is taking a break until September 2024 and the existing members will meet at that point to consider whether it could continue. If you had hoped to get involved but never got round to it, please speak to Dawn.
Rob Seaman – Ordinand.
- Social Events
This year we organised a bowling evening, this was attended by many people of all ages. A trail was prepared by Gordon and Jane Bell around Higham Ferrers for us. Sally Quincey served tea and cake in her garden where everyone chatted afterwards in the sun. Again, our Christmas meal at the Merry Miller was well attended and all enjoyed the food and conversation.
The three of us have always tried to include social activities that appeal to all ages through the year thus allowing the church congregation to connect with each other. We have all decided that now is the right time to step down and let others with new ideas to step forward.
Thanks to everyone who has supported these events in the past.
Sally, Helen, and Heidi.
- Wellingborough Bereavement and Loss Group.
The group has struggled to continue over the last twelve months and was eventually put on hold over the summer holiday.In July we were asked to allow two employees of the Health Service to visit, and they have now begun to refer patients, from a variety of Doctors Surgeries, who are journeying through bereavement.
As the number of members has grown so we have found a new venue which gives privacy and confidentiality and the team organising the group now look forward to welcoming new members and expanding our work in the community and our parish.
Valerie Brown – Facilitator.
Safeguarding Report
At Gleneagles Church, Safeguarding is treated with the seriousness it deserves. We have lots of members who give their time supporting children and vulnerable adults; DBSs, Safer Recruiting and Safeguarding Training are all important elements that back-up the work of volunteers. Since May 2023, 7 people have got new DBS certificates and 3 have been renewed (DBSs need renewing every 3 years). Of these 10 people, all but 2 are up to date with the Safeguarding training. 3 people have done training on Domestic Abuse. The Parish Safeguarding Officer (John Gilyead) has done training on Safeguarding Leadership. Thank you to everyone who volunteers at church and has done the forms and training – this certainly makes my role more straightforward.
John Gilyead Safeguarding Officer
Deanery Synod Report
Deanery Synod has met throughout the year at different churches in the Deanery. The meetings have been very useful allowing attendees to share their responses to a range of issues affecting them. At each meeting there is usually a speaker who presents on a specific area of ministry, e.g., the work of the Mission team supporting Parishes with “Leading your church into growth” and a vision of the Deanery moving forward. Discussions have included stewardship, card readers, Parish Share, Five Wells Prison, Gen2, Prayer Walk, Youth Work, increasing heating costs, planning children’s activities for Christmas, and how parishes could work together to pool expertise and resources.
The meetings are always a good way to connect with people from other churches across the Deanery.
Unfortunately, due to increased work demands, Heidi has not been able to attend some of the meetings, although, when possible, these have been attended by a member of the clergy. Heidi has now decided to step down from this role at the forthcoming APCM.
Fiona Clarke pp Heidi Ellson.
Approved by the PCC in April 2024
Signed: Dawn Airey (Vicar) Date: 29/04/2024
