Annual Reports to the APCM

GREAT BARTON TOWER 2016-2017

Another year has passed much too quickly. Not much has changed in the tower. We still have four fully paid-up members of the Suffolk Guild of Ringers at Great Barton. They are: Sally Veal (Tower Captain/Correspondent), Clare Veal, Simon Veal and Neal Dodge. Sally and Simon are joined by Derek Gadd, Brian Evans and Jill and Doug Rood for Sunday service ringing. At the moment though, with the service time changed to 10.30, we have lost Derek and Brian to other church commitments, and are therefore unable to ring.

At the Guild AGM in April, Neal took on the position of Public Relations Officer which has resulted in him being on Suffolk radio several times promoting ringing events. He is also on the Central Council of ringers who are holding their AGM in Edinburgh in May. During this year we have rung for five weddings and tolled for two funerals at Great Barton. We have also helped out with weddings at Pakenham, Rougham and Ingham and three funerals at Pakenham.

Great Barton ringers took part in the Suffolk Guild Striking competition held at Reydon on the 21st May. We again entered two teams: Sunday morning ringers doing call changes and Thursday evening ringers doing a method. The Sunday morning team came second (same as last year) and the Thursday evening team came third. Clare also rang in the eight bell competition, in the afternoon, at Southwold. We will hopefully be entering again on the 20th May 2017 at Woolpit. We have had seven visiting bands during the year including the Ladies Guild and a successful attempt, one of the two rang on the bells this year.

The Great Barton band have rung the following during the year: Clare 20 Quarter Peals 19 Peals Simon 11 Quarter Peals 5 Peals Neal 40 Quarter Peals 26 Peals Sally 18 Quarter Peals Doug 2 Quarter Peals Great Barton Bells 12 Quarter Peals 2 Peals

Before I close for this year, I would ask that if anyone reading this report is interested in learning to ring, or knows of anyone who may be interested, to contact the undersigned. It would be lovely to have a few more ringers to carry on this age-old tradition. Sally Veal Tower Captain

Holy Innocents Choir

Great Barton

Report for the year ended 31 December 2016

During the year, the choir struggled with numbers, especially during the winter months at the beginning of the year, when poor health took its toll. We also had difficulties in the autumn with people out of action for a variety of reasons. Nevertheless, we persevered.

Following the loss of our great stalwart, Len Bass, we had to focus on quite simple music. This led us to new music, and we sang a lovely modern anthem by Martin How in the spring. In general, however, we were rarely able to plan an anthem and most of our singing was done in conjunction with Thurston when we did choral services. We did manage to sing in our three Advent and Christmas services, helped by the temporary return of David Edwards. After working hard on a new Stainer anthem for Advent, we were happy to return to more familiar music in the main for the carol services. However, we did tackle O Holy Night specially for Manette and hope it came off well. We sang it twice, the second time at Midnight Mass with more help from Gerhard and Karen Norris.

I should like to pay special tribute to the faithful choir members who come all the time to rehearsal and to church and maintain us as a “robed choir”. However, I am also grateful to everyone who sings with us and yet cannot attend week in and week out. When we had a full muster, we did all right. And as always, it is a joy to work with the choir, who make singing fun.

Elizabeth Klingaman

Church Institute Report January – December 2016

The Church Institute continues to be a blessing, bringing people into the wider Church family through Meeting Point, Friday Coffee Morning, Stamp Club and the Postcard Club. In general terms, the Institute is in good repair although signs of wear and tear over the decoration, with small areas of paintwork beginning to lift across the ceiling. The ground around the institute has been well maintained, with regular grass cutting taking place during the growing season (thank you!). Building works in the adjoining property have limited the use of the car parking area during the latter part of the year - it remains unclear what condition the car parking area will be left in as the builders leave. Once work is complete and the lighting arrangements in position, works may need to be undertaken to improve both the lighting and the surfacing of the car park.

Sarah Geileskey

Deanery Synod Report January – December 2016

The Deanery Synod met in March, June, September and November - Great Barton was glad to host the June meeting which welcomed to the Deanery the Rev. Dave Gardner, Diocesan Director of Mission, and Bishop Mike who together shared the Growing in God agenda. Whilst there were no changes to the structure of the Synod, Michael Wilde (Chevington) continues to to serve as lay chair, Tim Collard is now the Great Barton and Thurston Benefice representative on the Deanery Standing Committee. Official thanks must be given to Debbie Lucas who sadly, for personal reasons, had to resign from the role of Deanery Synod representative during the course of the year. Along with Tim Collard, Sarah Geileskey is the other elected representative for the Parish of Great Barton for the three year period April 2014 - March 2017.

Sarah Geileskey

Housegroup Report January – December 2016

Meeting in small midweek groups in people's homes during 2016, two groups met during the Lent and Advent periods: Wednesday afternoon at the Vicarage and one on Monday evenings. As usual, these groups continue to provide an opportunity to share God's word, explore challenging concepts and to pray together in a supportive environment.

Sarah Geileskey

Report to Annual Parish Meeting.

Holy Innocents Electoral Roll, Revised February 2017.

There have been two addition to the February 2016 Roll. There have been five deletions, from the February 2016 Roll, four deaths and one person moving away.. Four people on the February 2016 Roll have moved from Great Barton, Meg Giles has requested that she leaves the Roll, she has been deleted.I have no instructions as to the other three's wishes concerning remaining on the Roll, they are: Mrs Dawn Garnham; Mrs Maureen Greenhall; Mrs Betty Swann. If anyone knows their wishes, please let me know, if not I will write to them. There are two copies of the electoral Roll, a Record Copy which has addresses and a Porch copy, which has not. The Porch Copy is displayed in the Church porch. Copies of the Record Copy are held by me, the Church wardens and the Vicar, it is available for inspection on reasonable request.

Comparison of Current and last year.

2016 2017.

Resident in the Parish 107 101 Non resident 21 21

Total 128 122

Prior to the full revision in 2013 there were136 on the roll.

The 2017 copies of the Roll will not be published until after the Annual Parish Meeting as there have often been revisions at, or just prior to the meeting. In addition, information on the four people noted above will be incorporated, the resulting copies will then be entitled “as at March 2017”.

D A Howell Electoral Roll Officer. 13th February 2017

Fabric Report for APCM 2017

We are not progressing as well as we should be doing in achieving our Quinquennial requirements ahead of our 5 yearly inspection which is due this year. We have outstanding items which we must begin to attend to in the next few months.

It is very much a work-in-progress, with three particular items. The lights for the churchyard are waiting for a time slot for the electrician and the person doing the groundwork preparation to be available. We have an on-going situation with a tree which needs to be felled, which now requires a full Faculty. We are also required to provide details of how we intend to deal with the other two trees along the same length of wall and at the same time provide a programme to maintain the integrity of the church wall. Furthermore, we are still awaiting approval that we can apply for a ‘portaloo’ for the churchyard. The current system suggests that we can only apply to use this as a temporary structure and not a permanent fixture. We have however, now been given approval for an additional seat to be placed in the churchyard.

A significant improvement has taken place in the maintenance of the churchyard opposite the parking triangle with trees being pruned and a general tidy up. Any offer of help to remove ivy from the wall and some gravestones would be appreciated. I would also like to thank those who have helped so far. Safety of gravestones continue to be an issue and I appeal to anyone who attends an unsafe headstone to take responsibility and deal with. Accidents can happen and the consequences of a loose or unstable headstone could be fatal. The church will lay gravestones flat on the ground if they become a potential danger.

The burial register book which is permanently on display in the church will soon be updated with all burial and cremations which have taken place since 1992 making the register complete, as far as it is possible. A new layout plan has been drawn up showing all burials and cremated remains; west of the existing sheds. A copy of the layout will be deposited in the Records Office for research purposes.

Going forward, we have recently received the insurance survey on Holy Innocents which the PCC will review. Within the next few months the church will also be required to undertake the five yearly electrical fixed installation check and PAT test for all appliances.

Tim Frost Churchwarden 13th February 2017

Church Flower Report for the Annual Parochial Church Meeting

The team of voluntary flower arrangers, who receive no funding for their efforts, continue to arrange flowers on the altar and other places in the Church for some 40 weeks of the year, together with a greater input at Festival times.

The Church which looks splendid in its own right seems to come to life when so admirably decorated and I am sure you will join me in thanking the Team most wholeheartedly for their work.

A Flower Festival was staged during July 2016 entitled “musicals”. I was lucky enough to obtain some outside arrangers to supplement the regulars. The results were quite outstanding and drew comments and donations from far and wide. A word of caution - these events do not just happen, much planning is required. Other churches stage Flower Festivals as well and also rely on extra help, and we must not be too greedy in repeating the exercise too frequently.

Volunteers seem reticent to join the Team saying “I cannot arrange flowers”. Please have a go, it is not a competition.

In conclusion, as always, I would like to thank everybody for their efforts in enhancing the beauty of our Church. My personal thanks go to Linda Scoles for all her behind the scenes support.

Wendy Jones

January 2017

THE FRIENDS OF HOLY INNOCENTS’ CHURCH GREAT BARTON ANNUAL REPORT

The trustees met in January to discuss progress with fund raising and grants for church projects. It was reported at last year’s AGM that we had agreed a grant towards the installation of a new security system for the church roof in particular. Whilst the agreed funding of half of the project would have cost £1646 the trustees agreed to provide a total of £2500 thanks to a bequest we had received in the year and additional funds from our reserves. Bryant Maitland has continued as our liason officer with the PCC and we have received no further requests for funding consideration to date but the additional fixings to the weather vane are still under consideration.

Our drive for membership through personal contact and a higher profile has still to have secured new members but we continue to seek funding from this source .

Our reserve of £10,000 to cover major works remains in tact and in fact the unallocated funds exceed £11,000 , Our increased profile will take time to show results and we intend to promote our aims where possible. It is hoped that members and others in the village will consider providing a bequest to the charity in future.

We pay tribute to Linda Scoles who after 10 years work for the ’Friends’ has resigned as a trustee during the year. Our Treasurer and Trustee John Sawyer has announced that he wishes to step down as treasurer for personal reasons and to date we have been unsuccessful in recruiting a successor. John many thanks for all your hard work.

Colin Tiffin

Fund-raising Report

Fund-raising in 2016 followed the usual pattern: Bangers and Bingo three times; the Supper and Wine (after Easter), the BBQ (moved to the churchyard at the last minute due to bad weather), Open Gardens and Flower Festival, Christmas Fayre and Christmas Tree Festival all very successful in raising funds for our church. The Flower Festival, in particular, was a welcome addition to a special weekend.

Volunteers to help run these vital occasions are occasionally thin on the ground. We are coming to the point where some things may have to be cancelled due to lack of helpers. Please give this some thought for 2017.

Thank you to everyone who does give of their time, talents and funds to enrich the life and outreach of Holy Innocents' Church.

Linda Scoles Great Barton

Once again the Ringers have had to cancel engagements due to sickness and lack of Ringers. The bells were rung at Fornham House in June and at Pinford End and Thurston Afternoon W. I. In December. At all venues they had to ring with 6 Ringers instead of the required 7. However, after 1 unsuccessful attempt to train a new Ringer, Helen Taylor started ringing in November, and has progressed well.

2017 has started with 7 Ringers – the first time this has happened for over a year.

£65 has been given to Gt. Barton P C C for the upkeep of the bells

Janet Hill

16.1.17

Ladies' Breakfast

The ladies who have attended our Ladies Breakfast have enjoyed the lovely food, great company and informed talks and discussions. Despite trying to increase the attendance to the Breakfast throughout 2016 the attendance levels fluctuated each month from 6 to 12.

I don't think the ladies breakfast will be continuing after the next one which is on Saturday February 25th as there are just not enough ladies coming.

Amanda Jackson

Men’s Breakfast Report for year ended 31 December 2016

We are pleased to report another successful year as we continue to meet in the Church Institute at 9.00 am on the first Saturday of each month. The average attendance is approximately 30. Whilst most tuck in to a hearty English Breakfast ( ‘seconds’ even!), we also offer a ‘Continental’ alternative.

Our meetings are of a light hearted nature and, with few exceptions, end with a talk by a member or visiting speaker. Many of the talks provide us with a Christian ‘message’ and are much appreciated by all. Thank you to those who have contributed.

As in previous years we continue to support Water Aid, having donated £678.51 during the last 12 months. Occasionally we support the charity recommended by the speaker for the day. For example, earlier this year we had a speaker from Bury Street Pastors and donated £50.00.

We again supported the Holy Innocents’ Christmas Tree Festival. Our entry, with its particular reference to Water Aid, was decorated by Kevin Laidler for which we thank him.

We much appreciate the help given by a number of our members each month, not forgetting a big ‘thank you’ to Harriett (who is now at University) and Matthew who, through the year, have continued to be responsible for the washing up; and to our ‘head waiter’, Theo! The pancakes (home made by him) provided one month were excellent.

Finally, we give a warm welcome to those who have joined us during the year. We are always pleased to see new members so why not join us? Better still, bring a friend with you.

David Sheppard.

Meeting Point Meeting Point has enjoyed a steady year during 2016. Its sixth year of operation saw total takings of £3,087 (£3,640 in 2015 and £3,360 in 2014) we served over 1,160 'customers' (1,392 in 2015 and 1,275 in 2014). A huge thank you must go to Liz Baker and Alan Horton - both very dedicated people from outside of the Parish who, along with Amanda Jackson, prepare most of the food that is served at Meeting Point - without them, or those who serve, make drinks, wash up, bake cakes or stay at the end to help clear away the tables, it would be impossible to run Meeting Point. Being a Meeting Point volunteer can be hard work, but there is always 'a reason’ for us to be there: someone enjoying the company of others, someone who bumps into an old friend, or someone who is able to share their advice or find a friendly or listening ear. One of Meeting Point’s greatest strengths is in offering hospitality that brings together people from across the wider community - not just those who attend church services at Holy Innocents. Thank you to all involved for supporting Meeting Point. Sarah Geileskey The Messenger, Parish News for Great Barton.

The Messenger distribution operation has again seen changes this year but we have managed to replace the door to door distributors that we have lost, our thanks to both old and new. No Messenger report would be complete without recognising the contribution made by Katie Laidler, our editor, our grateful thanks not only to her but to all the Messenger team.

I have been able once again to fill all advertising spaces with only a little duplication of services on offer. The Messenger has a good range of advertisers and continues to be seen to a useful reference for Parishioners.

In 2017 subscription revenue was down from £1047.10 to £1006. the lowest for four years, equivalent to 10 Messengers. (We do need more subscribers, if anyone is interested in helping to grow our circulation, please contact me).

However, advertising was up from £1892.5 to £2000, growth for the fifth year running. Overall, The Messenger continues to provide a steady surplus of income over expenditure and does its' job as the news medium for the parish.

This year, 2017, is my eighteenth year of Messenger Advertising / Business and sixteenth year of looking after Distribution. I would dearly love to hand over Distribution to someone new who would put new energy into it and grow it, don't hesitate, Call Me.

Allan Howell 01284 787728 [email protected]

MOTHERS’ UNION

CHURCH OF THE HOLY INNOCENTS GREAT BARTON

BRANCH REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31.12.2016

We come to the end of another year during which we have continued to enjoy the format of previous years, namely speaker meetings, outside visits, supporting charitable events and social occasions.

Having held our Annual General Meeting in January we provided our own entertainment in February with an afternoon of poetry, readings and music.

March was busy with members taking part in the Women’s World Day. Preparation of Mothering Day Posies was followed the next day by the Mothering Day Service when we had the pleasure of enrolling two new members, Jane Dalton and Maureen Greenhall. At the same time Maggie Beardsmore was formally ‘transferred’ back to Great Barton from Norfolk

As in previous years we have had a number of excellent speakers, including Kethleen Sewter, Rev. Manette, Samaritans and Claire Mackichan.

Our Quiet Day at Bardwell was lead by Eilish Heath and ended with Rev. Manette celebrating Communion.

We were pleased to welcome members of Ipswich Stoke to our Benefice. We all enjoyed lunch in the Institute and tea was provided by St Peter’s. We are hoping to all meet up again in 2017.

We attended the Lady Service at the Cathedral, celebrated Maundy Thursday Communion as well as Corporate Communion at Holy Innocents’ each month, followed by a time of fellowship at Meeting Point.

Once again we filled boxes for Samaritans Purse -50 boxes - and supported Open Gardens by running the usual cake stall.

In September we enjoyed a lovely hot and sunny afternoon at Anglesey Abbey. A pleasant walk followed by tea and cakes. The next day was wet!

Once again members of St Peter’s have joined us at some of our meetings and a number of us have visited them. We hope this will continue

On a less cheerful note we said goodbye to Meg (Giles), presenting her with a small memento as she moved to her new home.

On a personal note I would like to thank Isabel for taking on the mantle of ’Press Officer’. If you ever wonder how our Mothers’ Union news appears so regularly in the Messenger, Pew Sheet, etc., it is down to Izabel.

Finally, December found us enjoying food, drink and entertainment at our well attended Xmas Party in the Institute

P C C Secretary's Report to the A P C M

We have had a good year with the leadership of Manette. In 4 meetings we have considered a wide range of practical matters, ranging from Church security, finance, building works following the last quinquennial report on the Church (including works on the roof, redecoration of the clerestory windows, removal of a tree undermining the Church wall), and we discussed the unsuitability of our toilet for use by a large number of people. (We plan to replace it). We had reports on the new MATT (Multi Academy Trust) covering Great Barton Primary School and three others, and it is going very well. We discussed how we might share services with Thurston and grow together as a Benefice, thus using our shortage of active clergy positively. We met with St. Peter's PCC and a new rota of services was drawn up. We had a helpful presentation and discussion on our new website, making arrangements for a sub-group from both parishes to work on this.

Standing Committee meetings (comprised of the Vicar, Lay Vice-Chair, Church Warden, Treasurer and Secretary, have taken place between full PCC Meetings to consider matters which could not wait (such as the installation of lights in the churchyard to replace those that were stolen, and the placing of a memorial seat)

We look forward to an interesting year ahead, with trust that God will guide us as we put our trust in Him and do our best.

Jane Dalton

PCC Report Parochial Church Council AGM

Social Media

The introduction of social media to the Churches of Holy Innocents and St Peter’s has now been completed, with the website www.greatbartonandthurston.org.uk now fully populated and updated on a regular basis, with the weekly Pew Sheets for both Churches and The Messenger (Holy Innocents) and The Newsletter (St Peter’s) being posted onto the site each month. Both of these publications are placed onto the respective Facebook page.

For Holy Innocents: https://www.facebook.com/Holy-Innocents-Church-Great-Barton- 685807921585678/

For St Peter’s: https://www.facebook.com/St-Peters-Church-Thurston- 1790473917903849/

It is difficult to monitor the number of visits to the Facebook pages as each post is monitored separately. However the average views for the Pew Sheets are between 20/30 for each Church, for the Epiphany letter written by Rev’d Manette there were 100 views. Other posts vary but the advert for the Wine and Supper evening attracted 61 visits, whilst the request for new Choir members at Holy Innocents received 106 views.

The Website is easier to monitor as we are connected to Google analytics and the February figure recorded 82 visits to the site. 63% of these are from repeat visitors.

It’s pleasing to see that we are getting regular and new visitors for both of these media streams, but to ensure we retain our followers and encourage new visitors we need to update the information and refresh the pages to create a changing environment, continue to advertise in the Pew Sheets and monthly magazines, which encourage visitors to return time and time again. Hopefully this will result in increased attendance at our events and within the congregation at our services.

For this to happen we need to ensure that the information we give is up to date, interesting and contains the information our visitors need and will encourage them to make a positive decision to attend services and events associated with our Churches.

Teen Scene

Teen Scene is a delight. Four of our village teenagers, now all in Upper School, meet in my home for an hour and a half once a month to discuss their lives, loves, aspirations, and “What Would Jesus Do?” I am constantly amazed by the breadth of their knowledge and interest in the world, environment, people, politics and Our Lord and His example to us.

Their Christmas Tree, “Peace on Earth”, with coloured lights and tinsel on one half and pictures of war, famine and horror on the other half was very thoughtful and mature, and rightly won one of the prizes.

We would be happy to welcome some new teens to join us. Ring Linda on (01359) 230392 The 200 Club

The 200 Club continues with half of all monies supporting The Church Fabric Fund.Membership numbers fluctuate each year due to various reasons.Membership stands at 149 at present.Isabel Sawyers.

Holy Innocents

Treasurer’s report

Great Barton

Report for the year ended 31 December 2016

This has been a wonderful and uninteresting year for the church’s finances. Income exceeded expenditure in the main and there were several reasons for this.

First of all, it is not unusual for Great Barton to have sensible finances. Many members of the church give generously and regularly and this allows us to maintain our monthly payments to the diocese with ease. We also have several ongoing projects that generally give us a surplus as opposed to a deficit, such as Meeting Point and the Messenger. During the year, we also had 37 different fees from weddings (5) and funerals (23) and various items such as inscriptions. This represents an increase in activity, I believe, which arises from the fact that we are out of our interregnum.

The Flower Festival and Open Gardens were a stellar success and raised £5,000 for the church, which is an outstanding result and tribute to all who helped with this major effort. Nor were there horrible church repairs in this year, apart from the theft of our outside lampposts. We did enhance the roof security, however.

I stepped in to allow Tim Gregory to stop being treasurer. The handover was relatively painless apart from the need to submit our change of signatories 7 times before we were successful. It also took about 6 months, which kept the pressure up on the existing cheque signatories. With luck, the handover to the new treasurer will go more smoothly. My life as treasurer has been made infinitely easier by the excellent work done by David Sheppard, who banks and analyses our income and makes our quarterly gift aid reclaims. Both he and Tim Frost have been wonderful to work with.

Elizabeth Klingaman