Guisborough Road, Great Ayton, Middlesbrough TS9 6AA Charity No. 1131499
www.christchurchgreatayton.org.uk
Diocese of YORK
1 Contents
A Word from the Vicar 3 The Firms - Youth Reports 25 APCM Minutes 2008 4 Bellringers 26 Churchwardens' Report 9 Men's Group 27 PCC Secretary's Report 10 Parochial Hall 28 Electoral Roll Report 11 200 Club 28 Financial Report 12 Children's Society 29 Mission & Charity Giving 2009 14 Servers 29 Sunday School 15 Marwood C of E School 30 Sunday Alternative 16 Rainbows 31 Christ Church Choir 17 Brownies 32 Youth Choir 18 Guides 33 Bible Reading Fellowship 18 1st Great Ayton Scouts 33 Bible Study Group 19 Deanery Synod Report 19 All Saints' Church 20 Financial Report Sunday Morning Coffee 20 Report of Ind. Examiner F1 Christ Church Visitors 21 Statement of Finacial Activities F2 Flower Guild 22 Balance Sheet F3 Mothers' Union 23 Notes to Financial Statement F4 Spire - the monthly mag 24 Church Hall Accounts F8 PCC as at February 2010 Ex Officio: Clergy - Revd Canon Paul Peverell, Revd Geoff Jaques & Revd Jon Dean: Readers - Margaret Lewis & Peter Titchmarsh: Churchwardens (& Deanery Synod) - Rosemary Wheway & Eric Boyce. Deanery Synod Reps: Ken Taylor, Nick Land, David Land. PCC Members: Ken Bellamy, Julie Bourke, Jean Cumbor, Doris Huddlestone, Amanda Kidd, Julie Leng, Alison Lambert, Mike Foden, Robin Harmar, John Huddlestone, Mike Nash, Eugene Pannett, Martin Simmons, Gordon Wood,
2 A Word from the Vicar
Welcome to the Annual Report of Christ Church, Great Ayton for 2009. The following pages give a glimpse of the tremendous effort and energy many people put into the various activities and organisations associated with our Church which encompass all ages. As you read the various reports, many of which are now brought alive with photographs of activities and people, please say a prayer of thanks for all concerned, who by their efforts and industry and with God’s grace, help enrich the lives of so many in our Community. Our efforts have gone outside too, with special appeals for Bwindi Community Hospital in Uganda and the Diocese of Ho in Ghana. In September Children in Distress held their annual National Service of Thanksgiving here, as a way of expressing their appreciation for our support over the years. They kindly presented us with a hand made icon as a thank you. New staff have joined the team with Craig Cartwright as our new Choirmaster and Organist and Juanita Osborne as our Youth Worker. New initiatives have included the forming of the Men’s Group and our attendances continue to hold up. For our Church and all these activities to continue, we need people willing to be involved and committed. A good Church doesn’t just happen, it comes through people being willing to give their time and talents to it. That we have a good Church to be part of is thanks to many people, but as some step down and retire, we need others willing to take their places to enable things to continue. Could it be you? Our Annual Church Meeting is on Wednesday 24th March beginning at 7.30pm in the Parochial Hall. Please do come along to hear all that is going on and to give your encouragement and support. Due to the retirements of several PCC members, including Doris Huddlestone, Eugene Pannett and Mike Nash, who are stepping down after many years of dedicated service, there will be some vacancies. It would be good to see younger people willing to come forward take their place. May God continue to bless us in His service. Revd Canon Paul Peverell
The Vicarage, Low Green, Great Ayton, Middlesbrough, TS9 6NN Tel 01642 722333 email [email protected]
3 The Parish of Great Ayton with Easby MINUTES of The Annual Parochial Church Meeting held on Wednesday 25th March 2009 Present (30) Canon Paul Peverell (Vicar/Chairman) Julie Bourke, Mary Boyce, Gladys Brown, Jean Cumbor, Helen Dickinson, Joan Harbottle, Amanda Kidd, Alison Lambert, Julie Leng, Margaret Lewis, Audrey Prunty, Elsa Taylor, Rosemary Wheway, Ann Whittaker, Dorothy Wood, Ken Bellamy, Eric Boyce, John James Brown, Robin Harmar, John Huddlestone, Paul Kidd, Brian Lewis, Peter Prunty, David Rowland, Martin Simmons, Ken Taylor, Peter Titchmarsh, Gordon Wood
Apologies were received from: Audrey Collins, Mary de Wardt, Jo Dean, Jon Dean, John Dickinson, Dennis Herriman, Margaret Herriman, Christine Huddlestone, Doris Huddlestone, Ray Huddlestone, Maureen Hudson, Angela Jaques, Geoff Jaques, Pat Jeffries, Laura Lamb, Ben Lambert, Nick Land, Claire Lowes, Eugene Pannett, Mary Pannett, Andrew Prunty, Cath Stewart, Pauline Titchmarsh, Lynda Walker, Jonathan Winterschladen, Vivienne Winterschladen, Zuilmah Winterschladen,
Meeting of Parishioners The Vicar welcomed everyone to the meeting. A hymn was sung, a scripture was read and prayers said.
Election of Churchwardens Ÿ Rosemary Wheway had been nominated by Julie Bourke and seconded by Marina Charlton. Ÿ Eric Boyce had been nominated by Julie Bourke and seconded by Alison Lambert. Ÿ There were no further nominations and they were duly re- appointed for the coming year. Ÿ The Vicar expressed a very sincere thank you for all the work they had done during the year. They have done a tremendous job and are really appreciated.
Annual Parochial Church Meeting
Those present, who are on electoral roll, were invited to stay for the Annual Parochial Church Meeting.
Apologies for Absence · A list of the names of people giving apologies was read out.
4 Minutes of Meeting held 10th April 2008 · The minutes of last year’s Annual Parochial Church Meeting had been circulated with the Annual Report. · The minutes were proposed by Peter Titchmarsh and seconded by Ken Taylor – all agreed.
Matters Arising from the Minutes · There were no matters arising from the minutes.
Special Item. · Those present watched a short video of the work of Bwindi Community Hospital in Uganda before linking up live to speak with Dr Paul Williams about his work there. A large live image was projected of Dr Williams so all could see him, and he could see us. Christ Church has supported the hospital with our Harvest Appeals since Paul and Vicky went to work there in April 2006. We heard how the work had developed enormously under Dr Williams’ leadership, and how they were ensuring it would continue once they returned home
Electoral Roll Report · The Electoral Roll at the Annual Parochial Meeting in 2008 stood at 326. · It was reported that, following the revision of the roll for 2009, which closed on 1st March, the number appearing on the Roll is now 327 with 1 to be added during the year on their 16th birthday. · This is a net increase of 1 for the year and is due to 9 new applications being accepted and 8 names being removed from the list. · There are still a significant number of church members who are not on the Roll. · Applications for enrolment can be accepted after the conclusion of the Annual Meeting and throughout the year not just at the Annual Revision.
Presentation of the Annual Report for 2008 · The Annual Report for 2008 has been published – all organisations have contributed and the Vicar thanked all for their contributions. · Formal adoption of the report was proposed by Gordon Wood and seconded by Rosemary Wheway. · The Annual Report is also on the church website.
Financial Report & Presentation of the Audited Accounts for year ending 31st December 2008 · Mr Ken Taylor presented the audited accounts for the year ending 31st December 2008 and presented the Budget for 2009. The figures had been included in the Annual Report and Mr Taylor gave further details. · The tax recovered from gift aided money was £17,358. · The PCC is now responsible for the church hall and these figures have been included.
5 · The budget had shown income as £139,000 but actually received just over £150,000. · Figures for expenditure have varied slightly as had originally planned for a Youth Worker to be paid but she will not start until 2009/2010 financial year. Also, there has been no organist’s salary. · Major repairs were significantly in excess of the planned budget but this was due to the maintenance of the West Wall and the East Gable and the replacement of glass in the link corridor. Almost £24,000 was spent on the fabric of the building. · Overall expenditure was £148,737, which meant that income slightly exceeded expenditure. However, there was a deficit of £345 in unrestricted funds and, therefore, £42,215 is now the amount that we will hold in reserve. · The Talent Scheme : £200 was issued to the congregation – 27 functions were organised – 27 people donated instead of organising a function, £12,173 was raised plus £1071 in reclaimed tax. £13227 was the cost of the repairs. · For the 2009 Budget planned income is £140,000 with expenditure budgeted at £145,000 to include funding the Youth Worker who will start in May. Windows are to be replaced in the coffee lounge meaning that church hall reserves will fall. · Mr Taylor reminded those present not to forget to use the yellow envelopes as it is possible to claim money back from the tax man through gift aid. · Mr Taylor asked that we give regularly to help us to plan – 209 out of 327 people on electoral roll contributors regularly by envelope or standing order. · Thanks were expressed to John, Sheila, Jean and Helen for helping to keep the finances running smoothly. · The Vicar thanked Ken Taylor for all his hard work. · The finances were proposed by Ken Bellamy, seconded by Eric Boyce and all were in favour.
The Vicar’s Comments · The Vicar spoke about some of the activities that had been held during the last year: · Burns Night · Auction of Surplus Christmas Gifts. · Fundraising Award Winners – the Children’s Society was nationally recognised. · An early service was held at dawn on Easter Day. · The Alternative Service has gone from strength to strength. · The Good Friday Workshops were successful. · Sunday School is flourishing and thanks were given to Karen and all those who help with Sunday School. · Confirmation took place, including one child who had been prepared for confirmation by Skype.
6 · There are good school links – including a ‘baptism’ and ‘wedding’ as well as regular monthly worship in church and special occasions for Marwood School. The Vicar also attends Roseberry School and Stokesley School. · Thanks were expressed to the staff as well as Diane who had come to church on a placement. · Jon Dean was ordained priest in July by Archbishop Sentamu. · Peter Titchmarsh celebrated 40 years as a reader. · Thanks were given to all the church officers. · Church Visitors have now been running for 3 years. · Baptism anniversary letters are sent out for five years. · First anniversary cards are sent to the bereaved. · Welcome packs are delivered to new residents. · A youth worker has been appointed – Juanita Osborne who will start in May. · Hopefully a new organist will start in May but this is not confirmed. · Thanks were given to the huge team of people who do all sorts of hidden jobs including the cleaning, maintaining and decorating of our church. · The West Wall Appeal meant that there have been many social events throughout the year. · The Very Revd Simon Ablorh visited from the Ho Diocese. The Diocese of Ho is still very much supported. · Two Wydale weekends were held – one for the congregation and one for Sunday School and both were extremely successful. · We have said a very sad goodbye to a number of our well known members of church, including Bert and Win Fife who gave a lasting memorial to church of a wedding table. · There have been 30 baptisms, 14 weddings and 49 funerals. · Numbers have dropped slightly at 9.15am but the 8am service has increased. · The average adult attendance is 153 and the average child attendance is 29. · Easter attendance 269 of which there were 225 communicants. · Christmas attendance was 615, of which there were 287 communicants – this figure does not include the attendance at any of the carol services. · The clergy are regularly taking services at Hutton Rudby and Stokesley – hoping to appoint to Hutton Rudby or Stokesley church soon. · The readers take Evensong at Nunthorpe. · The Treasurer has been giving advice to other parishes ie Hemlington · The Synod members have played active roles on all the committees including, Youth, Mission, Finance and Standing Committees. · The Vicar believes our parish and our staff to have been a rock of stability in the Stokesley Deanery, which is going through a period of great changes. The Vicar wished to thank all the staff for being so willing to go the different services. · The Vicar has had community involvement by participating in the production of Scrooge put on by the Bradley School of Dance. Money from the pantomime went to the local scouts and Zoe’s Place.
7 · We took part in Love in a Box before Christmas and Children in Distress are to hold their National Service of Thanksgiving in our church. · Liz Myers and a number of new choir volunteers worked hard at Christmas for the Christmas Carol Service · It was recognised that it is still necessary to encourage 20-40 year olds to be more involved in church life.
Election of Deanery Synod Representatives - 1 representative is required for 2 years · There is still one vacancy – the Vicar asked if there was anyone who wished to stand for Deanery Synod – there was no one.
Election of members to the Church Council – 5 vacancies · Ken Bellamy, John Huddlestone and Gordon Wood have been nominated – there were no further nominations and they were duly elected to be on PCC for 3 years.
Appointment of Sidesmen/Sideswomen · There is no one coming off list and no one to add to the list. Volunteers were asked to contact the Churchwardens if they wished to be added to the list. Appointment of Independent Examiners · Ken Taylor proposed Stanley Bye be appointed as our Independent Examiners and this was seconded by Ken Bellamy.
Any questions about Church Matters. · Mike Nash commented that there was not enough information in church showing the work and support given to Bwindi or Ho. · The Vicar advised that there was a display previously behind the font but that had recently been changed to show photographs of newly baptised children. · It was agreed that a new display area be investigated – perhaps a free standing display unit. The Vicar said that, following his visit, the mystery worshipper had commented that our church was a very lively church with lots of activities and that the website showed lots of our activities. · Steve Griffiths is no longer going to head up the communications part of the church so a new volunteer is needed.
Ken Taylor offered thanks to Canon Peverell, our Vicar for his excellent leadership over the year and for making so many things happen in the church.
Recommendations or resolutions for consideration by the PCC. · A new display area to be organised · Further information to be available to the congregation and visitors about the church’s work in Bwindi and Ho
8 Churchwardens’ Report 2009
The congregation can be reassured that the Church Silver continues to be safe and records continue to be updated and safe. The past year has been one of many contrasts when we have sadly lost several valued members of the congregation but we have also welcomed new members and been encouraged when these new friends have already begun to contribute to the life of the Church. The last year has seen the Alternative services become a regular feature in our worship – often welcoming new faces to the congregation as well as being a joyful experience for regular attenders. Other occasional services have also been well attended including Love in a Box, the Memorial services, the evening service showcasing wedding music and Parade services. In particular, the very moving 2009 Remembrance Service was attended by a record congregation for recent years. 2009 has also seen the establishing of a Men’s Group which has already enriched the life of the church. In May we had a Confirmation service led by Bishop David Lunn with 12 candidates from our church who were joined by anoth- er from Nunthorpe. It is encourag- ing to see that many of these candidates are actively taking part in our services as bell ringers, servers or members of the Music Group. In September we wel- comed Children in Distress and were privileged to host their Annual Service of Thanksgiving. They, in return, presented us with a beautiful icon which is displayed above the Memorial Book. Mission continues to be an important area for the PCC with charity dona- tions made locally, nationally and internationally. We organised a very successful dinner at Chapters to raise funds for Bwindi, our Harvest and Christmas giving has gone to Ho. We have supported the Church Army following a delightful visit from Fluvio Ornato, their Fund Raising Officer. We have welcomed Craig and Juanita to the staff and are delighted that they have set up the Youth Choir together and look forward to hearing the Choir again after their initial performance in the Carol Service. Our support
9 continues for our young people who leave for Further Education and boxes of cake, coffee etc. were sent to them at their various Universities to show we are still thinking of them. There have been no major building projects in Christ Church this year but we have undertaken a thorough maintenance programme and are planning and costing several initiatives for 2010. Following the work on the West Wall in 2008 we have left the Choir Vestry walls to dry out and are now obtaining quotes to update the storage for books and music and will then decorate the interior. We are also costing work in the Clergy Vestry to improve the storage of vestments and (when the weather improves) to make the outer door more weatherproof. Our thanks go to the willing helpers for the clearing of leaves and tidying of the church surrounds during the year. We also thank the many people involved in keeping our Church looking so beautiful throughout the year. We recognise that this involves a tremendous amount of work and dedication by our volunteers. In All Saints work has been carried out on the Vestry roof and this was followed by plastering and decorating the interior.
We thank you for your support during the last year and encourage you to become involved in the new ventures being planned.
Eric Boyce and Rosemary Wheway Churchwardens PCC Secretary’s Report 2009
In 2009 the PCC met on 7 occasions plus the Annual Church Meeting in March. The Standing Committee met on 8 occasions. These meetings have been well attended and a full range of topics has been discussed.
Meetings of the All Saints Committee, Fabric Committee, Hall Committee and Parish Life Committee have been held throughout the year to discuss projects relating to both churches and buildings. Reports following these meetings have been given at PCC meetings.
All places on the PCC and the Deanery Synod were filled following the election of our youngest member of the PCC – Mr David Land, who joined on his 16th birthday.
10 All members of the PCC make extremely valuable contributions to ensure that the church runs smoothly and seamlessly and thanks must be given to them all.
Amongst the numerous and diverse tasks they are involved with, our PCC members have co-ordinated social events (including a very successful dinner at Chapters in support of the Bwindi Community Hospital in Uganda) and provided refreshments after specific services and events, motivated members of the congregation to spring clean the church, employed new members of staff as Youth Worker and Organist, set up a men’s group, cut hedges, stopped leaks from ceilings and planned bigger projects for the maintenance of our beautiful church. Special thanks to John Huddlestone for his valiant efforts in coping with a rodent infestation in Church. Julie Bourke - Secretary
Electoral Roll Report as at 2nd March 2009 The Electoral Roll at the Annual Parochial Meeting in 2008 stood at 326. I am pleased to report that following the revision of the roll for 2009, which closed on 1st March, the number appearing on the Roll is now 327 with 1 to be added during the year on their 16th birthday. This is a net increase of 1 for the year.
This net increase is due to 9 new applications being accepted and 8 names being removed from the list.
There are still a significant number of church members who are not on the Roll.
Applications for enrolment can be accepted after the conclusion of the Annual Meeting and throughout the year not just at the Annual Revision.
Alison Lambert Electoral Roll Officer
11 Financial Report 2009
2009 was another hectic year for Parish finances, with income and expenditure both reaching record levels The year was a dominated by three large and successful appeals relating to our mission overseas. During Lent we supported Archbishop Sentamu’s appeal for the increasingly impoverished people of Zimbabwe with £2,381 being routed directly to the work of the churches through the USPG. In the summer, thanks to the generosity of Steven Bell and Chapters Restaurant in Stokesley, we ran a highly successful gala dinner and fundraising event for Bwindi Community Hospital in Uganda where Paul Williams and Vicky Holt, who both hail from the village, are leading the medical team. The harvest appeal this year was specifically targeted at funding a new vehicle for Bishop Matthias at Ho in Ghana- this, added to the proceeds of our traditional Christmas Appeal raised £5,884 for Ho Diocesan Association. Overall our 3 major appeals generated nearly £18,000 for these worthy causes
Receipts from planned giving were in line with the budget while the tax recovered from gift-aided donations reached another record total of £17,665- this is a particularly good result given that we were in the middle of a recession
The proceeds from a successful spring coffee morning and a choir concert raised £2,888 for Church Funds. However, the number of weddings was lower than in previous years resulting in a fall in fee income and bank interest fell to £535 due to the effects of the recession. We again acted as the vehicle for a grant from the Diocesan Kite Fund for Tees Valley Youth for Christ
Elsewhere, income from the Church Hall improved to £12,376 while income from All Saints Church was bolstered by a legacy of £1,750.
Expenditure on mission giving was dominated by the three main appeals, as described above. Donations to Children in Distress, which normally arise from baptisms, increased to nearly £3,000 following the national CID service in our church. We also donated over £5,600 from PCC funds to the Tees Valley Youth for Christ project at Stokesley School, Yatton House, Church
12 Army, Children’s Society, Church Mission Society and Cockermouth Church flood relief fund Agency giving from weddings and funerals again raised a substantial sum for many regional and national charities- the main beneficiaries this year were Yorkshire Cancer Research, Herriot Hospice Homecare and Teesside Hospice Care Foundation.
Our Parish Share of £64,560 was paid in full. The PCC have agreed to pay the calculated share of £66,576 for 2010 which is based on Newton accepting a 5% share of clergy costs for the benefice.
Improvements to the fabric of the Church were limited to the provision of pew runners at a cost of £1,835.
Operating costs have been higher than budget, particularly power costs, and efforts are being made to find an improved energy tariff for the Church. In May we were pleased to welcome Juanita as our new paid youth worker- her costs from TVYFC were partly offset by donations from church members Repairs to the vestry roof and internal plasterwork at All Saints were completed during the year at a cost of £2,631 while in the Church Hall the windows in the coffee lounge were replaced at a cost of £4,427
Overall, we suffered a deficit of income over expenditure for the year of £7,131 Unrestricted reserves declined from £49,215 to £44,090 but this is considered to be a satisfactory position, as it represents around 4 months of unrestricted expenditure In 2010, the PCC anticipates carrying out a number of necessary repairs to the chancel ceiling and link passage roof both of which have suffered serious damage from rainwater ingress over recent years. Finally, I would like to thank Helen Dickinson, John Huddlestone and all sidespersons for their hard work in ensuring that the considerable sums which pass through our Church are accurately counted, collated and banked and to Sheila Levett and Jean Goat for efficiently running the gift aid and freewill offering envelope schemes respectively
Ken Taylor Hon Treasurer
13
100
400
105
600
500
115.3
643.3
98.05
Total
574.1
82.30
14000
134.27
198.23
313.13
178.38
310.15
379.59
706.25
347.46
646.76
2831.8
212.69
300.99
104.08
327.31
390.74
139.94
212.95
392.06
100.73
113.74
168.06
174.23
5884.25
1960.11
9229.31
1289.37
1332.28
2990.29
51448.65
28865.54
100
400
400
400
105
600
500
2000
3000
134.27
7639.29
Gen Funds Gen
815
245
55.7
643.3
174.1
198.23
313.13
310.05
379.59
706.25
347.46
113.73
104.08
313.14
113.74
168.06
10089.8
1182.09
1230.69
2676.46
Funerals
98.05
98.96
82.31
82.30
78.92
59.08
178.38
212.95
107.28
100.73
174.23
1269.19
Weddings
1618.61
1618.61
Baptisms
2878.3
170.07
9016.81
5968.44
Fundraising
130
115.3
555.8
562.71
300.99
352.87
139.94
101.59
2494.68
7653-05
2338.47
1201.61
Spec Serv Spec
125
11125
11000
Donations
35.26
182.4
37.87
602.18
493.33
2486.92
1135.87
Tax refund Tax
550
550
Planned Giv Planned
Totals
Student Boxes Student
South Woods Nursing Woods South
Womens World Day of Pr. of Day World Womens
Ova the Rainbow the Ova
R.S.P.B.
S Dickson Brain Tumour tr. Tumour Brain Dickson S
Amnesty International Amnesty
Yorkshire Hist. Churches Hist. Yorkshire
HODA
Mission to Seafarers to Mission
R.N.L.I
Runswick Bay Rescue boat Rescue Bay Runswick
Royal British Legion British Royal
Earl Haig Fund Haig Earl
Children's Society Children's
Yatton House Yatton
C.M.S.
U.S.P.G.
Bus Stop Ad Campaign Ad Stop Bus
Macmillan Cancer Macmillan
Stokesley Deanery Lent Ap Lent Deanery Stokesley
Stroke Unit, Carter Bequest Carter Unit, Stroke
Leonard Cheshire Disability Cheshire Leonard
British Heart Foundation Heart British
Friends of Bwindi Hospital Bwindi of Friends
Christian Aid Christian
Church Army Church
Schools Aid in India in Aid Schools
Cockermouth DCC Cockermouth
Cancer Research UK Research Cancer
Zoes Place Zoes
Herriot Hospice Homecare Hospice Herriot
Teesside Hospice Teesside
Marie Curie Cancer Care Cancer Curie Marie
G A Health Centre Health A G
T.V.Y.F.C.
Great North Air Amb. Air North Great
Children in Distress in Children
Alzhiemers Society Alzhiemers
Yorkshire Cancer Yorkshire
Charity Christ Church Charitable Giving 2009 Giving Charitable Church Christ
14 Sunday School Report Sunday school meets each Sunday during the 9.15 service except the 2nd Sunday of the month when it is Family Service at 11am. We have about 40 children on the register with an average attendance of 25. Most children attend regularly, a few being intermittent. Activities are available from 9am for early arrivals. We start with a service. The children take turns lighting the altar candles, we change the colour of the cloth as in Church to teach the children about Church colours and seasons. The service continues with our weekly story, prayers, the peace and singing. We finish with a craft activity linked to the story we have told. The children go into Church for the end of the service and show their crafts and tell the congregation what they have learnt. During the year we have followed the Lectionary with our stories at Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Easter and Harvest. We have studied many other bible stories too. On Good Friday we had nearly 90 children attend the craft workshops. It gets bigger every year. The children produced some lovely crafts and were joined by their families for a short service in Church. In June we took 16 of the older children for a weekend to Wydale Hall. We had a fantastic time with beautiful weather and we are booked to go again in May next year. The annual BBQ in the Vicarage garden went ahead in spite of the rainy weather. We participated in the special services for Love in a Box and Christingle. At Christmas we had over 30 children participating in the Crib Service. They performed and sang very well with lots of children singing solo parts. Finally can I thank the PCC for their financial support which allows us to do interesting crafts and run special events for the children
Karen Peverell
15 Alternative Worship
Dancers dancing (see pic), readers reading, singers singing, actors acting and musicians playing – all providing enjoyable, lively, hands-free, refreshing worship at Christ Church.
Over 250 different people of all ages have joined us for our six Sunday Alternatives during the year. Themes for 2009 have included: ‘All God’s Children’, ‘The Beatitudes’, ‘Bread of Life’, ‘Education Sunday’, ‘Christian Aid’ and finally in the Parochial Hall ‘Wait patiently on the Lord’ which included several Taizé chants.
We are accompanied by our music group which include guitarists, flautists, pianists, viola players and drummers! We are always pleased to welcome new musicians and singers.
Our teenagers work hard each evening rehearsing a short sketch, reading lessons and leading our prayers. On a typical evening @ 7 o’clock we have over 60 worshippers – more than 150 were at our Deanery Alternative in March - many of whom stay for coffee and a chat afterwards.
If you would like to join us, we meet on the 3rd Sunday of the odd months during 2010. All are welcome. Rev’d Geoff Jaques
16 Christ Church Choir
As this is my first annual report since taking over as Organist and Director of Music in May 2009, I would first to like to thank everyone in the parish for making me feel so welcome and for their support.
It has been a busy year for the choir who continue to enhance the worship of the 9:15am Parish Communion service each week, as well as singing at a number of weddings throughout the year. A number of different anthems have been sung during the year at various different festivals. Two personal highlights of the year include the performance of Purcell’s Thou Knowest Lord at Remembrance and the music performed for the Christmas services, which was a great way to round off a very successful year. September saw the introduction of Choral Evensong, which culminated in new settings being performed for Christ the King. The choir welcomed new members Helen Dickinson and Viv Winterschladen, with John Dickinson and Elsa Taylor joining the choir for the Christmas services. It was also great to have old members joining the present choir for Midnight Mass. May I thank every member of the choir for their hard work and dedication in turning up week by week at both services and choir practices.
The choir have also been active in musical events outside of the parish. October saw a number of the choir taking part in the RSCM NE Yorkshire festival held at Bridlington Priory, and the Sing a New Song event held at Saltburn, which was led by Gordon Appleton. October/November saw Mike Nash and myself successfully audition to become members of the Northern Cathedral Singers (NCS) for the 2010 season - a group of 200+ singers who lead worship around the Northern Cathedrals during various points of the year.
There are a number of people I would like to thank during the 8 months I have been in the parish and amongst them Margaret Heaton, Viv Winter- schladen Chris Thompson who have covered services in my absence; Chris Preston who looks after a lot of the choir “organisation” including robes, music, and on some occasions the organist as well; Above all I would like to thank Paul, Geoff, and Jon for their support during my first 8 months within the parish
Craig David Cartwright Organist and Director of Music
17 Youth Choir
2009 has seen the start of a new youth choir within the Parish. The youth choir is led by Juanita Osborne and myself and meets on a Monday evening in the Parish hall from 18:30-19:30.
The youth choir started formally with a music afternoon in early September, which was attended by a number of children. The music afternoon was a good success, which led onto the formation of the current youth choir.
The choir in its present form have been meeting since September, and have recently performed for the first time at the Christmas Carol service at Christ Church for which they did extremely well. We are looking forward to watching the youth choir grow from strength to strength in 2010. Juanita and myself are grateful to all those who have supported the start up of the youth choir.
Craig Cartwright and Juanita Osborne Youth Choir Leaders
Bible Reading Fellowship (BRF)
Thirty-six people use the booklets published by BRF for daily Bible reading for the purpose of helping us to read regularly, reflect on and learn from every part of both Old and New Testaments. There are three different booklets to choose from - `New Daylight`, `Guidelines` and `Day by Day` - each of which has a team of contributors from a variety of church backgrounds. I have sample copies of each of the booklets if you would like to try them at any time.
Sixteen of the users of `New Daylight` meet together throughout the year for debate/ discussion/comment on views expressed in the current set of notes and for prayer/ fellowship and to encourage each other. Our meetings during the past year guided four of us to attend a Quiet Day in November led by one of the writers of `New Daylight` notes. Having discovered how precious such a day can be we would hope to encourage others to come with us next time. Enid Sedgwick
18 Bible Study Group With members aged between 16 and 76(+) the Bible study group brings together a broad range of people to study God’s word and apply it to their lives. Over the last 12 months we have studied the biblical basis for the Apostles’ Creed and learned from the lives of 'Women of Faith' in the Old Testament. Studying the bible together allows us learn more about the riches of God's grace and to support each other in our walk with God.
We meet fortnightly and attendance averages 10 -12 and new members are always very welcome - no background knowledge is necessary! We are grateful to Audrey Collins for hosting the group and for her extensive range of post study cakes. Nick Land
Deanery Synod Report
The Synod has met four times in the year and has had presentations on TRIO, the Diocesan Stewardship Campaign, A Way Ahead, and Back to Church Sunday. Environmental issues were discussed following a summary of the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Ebor Lecture. During the course of Synod meetings, parishes within the Deanery have been asked to give a Parish Profile, detailing their Parish and its situation, and all that is happening within it. This process has just begun and we still have to give ours. Deanery Lent Services on Sunday evenings were started in 2009 to great effect, and they are to be repeated in 2010. The perennial item on the Agenda of the Parish Share came up with great regularity, but the good news is that Stokesley Deanery have once again paid 100% of their share allocation to the Diocese, and have now for the third year running paid Hemlington’s Parish Share. The poor financial situation of Hemlington Church and the poor condition of its Church buildings have also attracted much discussion. After many years of success and achievement, it was with sadness that Synod accepted the winding up of the Youth Committee which had come to the end of the road. Many parishes now have their own Youth Work/ workers and the Deanery events hadn’t been attracting the numbers. Due to the retirement of some key members of the committee, it was decided to give the committee a rest until sufficient enthusiasm came along to bring it back to life. 19 All Saints Church
The Churchyard received quite a lot of attention this year. Apart from the statutory "topple testing" of the gravestones, undertaken by the Local Authority, voluntary work was carried out on the approach path to the South Porch,and to the trees and shrubs against the south boundary wall. The Rev Ibbetson's grave is looking much better for the teamwork of 4 volunteers. Regarding the church itself, the Vestry roof was fully repaired and the interior, patch plastered - rather than skimmed, to retain the existing ambience. The work was carried out by the local builder, Chris Pearson. Visitor numbers were slightly up on 2008 at 1828,reversing the trend in recent years. Thanks are again due to all the volunteer guides, but particularly to Jean Crombie for also arranging the flowers, and to Kath Parker for looking after the altar linen as well. Both of them have undertaken these duties for a long time. Whilst we are lucky with the help that we have,we could always do with more,especially at week ends. Anyone who may be interested should get in touch with my colleague John Huddlestone on 722607 or myself on 722173. Roger Arkell Hon Custodian
Sunday Morning Coffee
The coffee meeting is a popular way of meeting old friends and making new friends. Even with the heavy snow some people enjoyed a hot drink before facing the elements. This year I am giving up organizing the coffee etc. My thanks to the team of ladies who in turn make sure the drinks and biscuits are ready after the 9.15am service. Also to Jennifer Roberts for printing the rotas. Anyone willing to take over will be very welcome.
Pat Jeffery
20 Christ Church Visitors
Since the setting up of the Christ Church Visitors group in October 2005 we have been in touch with 80 people and have offered a variety of ways in which we may be able to help. There are now 14 visitors who meet regularly with all 3 clergy and visit 24 elderly or housebound members of the congregation. We have visited in Residential Homes and hospital as well as people’s homes with visitors regularly going to Stokesley, Marton and Northallerton. We have offered to sit with one person, just out of hospital, so that a carer could go out of the home and have offered to help someone else visit a spouse in hospital.
We deliver a card and speak to next of kin close to the first anniversary of a bereavement and have identified suitable prayers and cards to use during visits. We have also adopted a set of guidelines to formalise the visits. In addition, we have an identity card to leave on the first visit which can give a contact phone number and has already reassured relatives of vulnerable people.
All visitors are asked to be checked by the Criminal Records Bureau under the category of “vulnerable adults”. This is overseen by Amanda Kidd as an extension of her role as Child Protection Officer.
We have begun a system of visiting new arrivals to the village and have taken 59 Welcome Packs on such occasions. This initiative requires the help of the whole congregation to fill in a card at the back of Church to advise us of any new neighbours they may have.
We support Paul with the monthly service in Hollygarth and also transport some people who would otherwise be unable to go.
We meet with the clergy each month and continue to receive appropriate training sessions at some of these meetings.
Rosemary Wheway
21 Flower Guild Report
During 2009 we were only asked to provide flowers for five weddings and at the moment we have eight for 2010. As well as adding to the wedding celebrations, the flowers also enhance worship for the congregation on Sundays. We do pull out all the stops to make the church look especially beautiful for the three main festivals. We very much enjoyed arranging the flower displays for Christmas. Many thanks to those of you who sponsored our efforts in memory of their departed loved ones. We hope you were pleased with the arrangements and found comfort in them. The Memory Tree was well supported again and raised nearly £100 for Teesside Hospice. Last February we lost our dear friend Pat Appleton who was a loyal member of the Flower Guild and who is much missed.
Once again I give my grateful thanks to the unfailing support of the Flower Guild ladies who have turned out in bitter weather to work in the church especially Joan Heaviside who was unlucky enough to have to work on the porch arrangement while the snow fell! By Sunday the arrangement had frozen solid killing some of the flowers. Pauline Titchmarsh and Enid Sedgwick rescued it with some silk flowers which I bet nobody noticed! During the very cold spell the flowers remained fresh. They actually lasted for a month and we were loath to take them out! We have 11 members at the moment who include Marina Charlton. Jeanne Crombie, Elsie Davison ,Joan Heaviside, Dulcie Jones, Margaret Karlsson, Val Moore, Liz Myers, Enid Sedgwick, Christine Smailes, Pauline Titchmarsh and for special occasions Dot Tanfield brings us lovely and unusual arrangements for the link window. Many thanks to members of the congregation who are kind enough to give us word of encouragement and to those who give donations from time to time. We do appreciate this.
Dulcie Jones Chairman Christ Church Flower Guild
22 Great Ayton Mothers Union Report
Our year started, as usual, with the social afternoon in January where our friends from the Methodists, Catholics and Society of Friends were invited and entertained by the Wilton Choir. Our monthly meetings were varied with thought provoking speakers as well as entertaining. The meeting in November was ‘a first’ for us, where we invited ideas from all our attending members for the 2010 programme. This was very helpful and is included in our 2010 programme again. The Women’s World Day of Prayer was held at Christ Church this year. Elizabeth Revett was the speaker at this event. The Lady Day Service was held in York Minster. Our Fun Domino Drive and Pie and Peas was a super evening, earning us much needed funds. For those who did not come, you missed a great time with much laughter. Never mind you can come this year! The Pilgrimage to Lindisfarne was another great day. A little damp but the sun shone intermittently for the outdoor service in the Abbey grounds. The Archdeaconry Festival held at Whitby was attended by quite a number of our members. The Deanery Quite Day, this time, was held at Hutton Rudby. Our annual trip was enjoyed by many when they visited The Creamery at Hawes. Once again the ‘Newton Lunch’ was very successful thanks to Angela who arranged it all. Thanks to the two Margarets. As in previous years we made 50+ Christmas boxes up for the Seafarers and took a collection of gifts to the Women’s Refuge. These are all gratefully received and prove to be very popular. Make a Mothers Day again raised funds for projects in Third World Countries. We are going to do the same thing again this year for all who are interested in ‘sponsoring’ a project, or putting in a donation towards one. It was with great sadness when one of our faithful members, Diane Ollerhead, passed away last summer. She will be greatly missed as she helped in so many areas in the village community. As always we are very lucky in having three members of the clergy, in Paul, Geoff and Jon, who are always there to support us. It is very much appreciated. Thank you. Laura Lamb & The Committee
23 Spire - The Monthly Mag of Ayton & Newton
Want to know what is going on at Christ Church or St Oswald’s, Newton? Then you should be receiving Spire, the Church Mag that literally goes around the world. Spire began in 1992, and after the first few copies, Malcolm Race, (pictured) a retired Gazette reporter, made the great mistake of saying how he thought it could be improved. He was given the job of Editor which he did faithfully, developing the magazine to the popular magazine we have today. In April 2009 Malcolm retired as Editor - but not as a regular contributor. May we pay tribute to all Malcolm has done to increase the circulation and success of Spire. Over the years Spire has grown in circulation, quality and content. 300 paper copies are printed 10 times a year, and 215 of these are delivered whilst the rest are for sale at the back of Church. In 2003 we added to this circulation by doing a pdf copy to go out via email, and now 340 such copies wing their way all over the world to Ghana, USA, Spain, France, Holland and Qatar as well as all over this county. It gives us a way of keeping in touch with former Aytonians who very much appreciate the regular contact.
Here is what some people have said this last year: My wife and I often come to Ayton and equally often have a coffee in Tally's! There is always a copy of 'your' parish magazine in there and I usually have a read; I think it is excellent and reflects well on the work of the Church in Ayton. Perhaps food for thought here - I suspect that this 'little' magazine is very widely read and appreciated; a very important part of your ministry and collective outreach.
The new Diocesan Communications Officer, Eleanor Course, said Thank you for sending the March Spire on to me - I've just had a good read and a good laugh! It's a brilliant magazine, and one gets a great glimpse of the life and characters within your church.
Advances in technology allow us to include photographs to illustrate the articles. Thank you to all who contribute regularly.
Paul Peverell - Editor
24 The Younger Firm We are a new group of young people. We meet together on the first and third Sunday in the month, for fun and fellowship. At the moment we have five regular members we hope to develop and increase our numbers in 2010. The group is aimed at children inY6 (10 -11) to Y9 (13 -14). We have participated in a wide range of varied and different activities this year. From Easter egg hunts, to bowling and Bonfire parties. Within our meetings we include some fun and exciting games and activities and follow this with some quiet time to reflect and discuss our Christian beliefs.
The children have actively participated in the alternative service through reading, leading prayers and as members of the music group. Several members regularly attend the Christian Youth group ‘Rock Solid’ which meets at lunch time at Stokesley School. Claire Sheridan
The Older Firm The Older Firm is for young people aged 14 to 18. We meet twice a month. About half our meetings take place in the church hall with activities such as table tennis and basketball and an opportunity to watch and discuss a teaching video about some aspect of the Christian faith. This September we also had a formal meal to say farewell to three of our senior members who were going off to University. We make sure that those leaving for University are put in touch with good churches and their University Christian Unions.
Our other meetings are often further afield e.g. Newcastle or Eaglescliffe for IXth hour which brings together hundreds of Christian young people from all over the North East. We invite the Methodist young people to join us at Low Farm House several times a year for a firework party, Easter egg hunt and BBQ. Our average attendance is 10 - 12, with up to 27 young people involved in the joint meetings.
Many of our members are also involved with the Stokesley School Christian activities organised by the Stokesley School Churches youth work team which is partly funded by Christ Church. Members of the firm can be observed Serving, Bell ringing, Singing in the Choir and providing Drama for the alternative service. Nick Land and Juanita Osborne 25 Christ Church Bell Ringers
Our Tower Team has had losses and additions this year, we now have seventeen young people ringing our bells on a regular basis. We were sad to lose four old ringers, but wish them well in their University studies: Helena Brennan is reading Economics and Business Studies at Northumbria University: Harriet Robinson is doing an Open University Law degree as well as working in Sainsburys: Jonathan Land is reading Naval Architecture at Newcastle University: Oli Simmons is reading Engineering at Durham University.
However we were delighted to welcome on board nine new ringers who rapidly learnt the ropes. On behalf of the whole congregation I should like to express our appreciation for all our ringers’ efforts, they don’t always want to get up early on a Sunday morning!
For your interest our current ringers are:- David Land, Fergus Roddy, Michael Brennan, Thomas Reevell, Lucy Bourke, Claudia Kirby, Edward Land, Brigid Knowles, Hannah Peverell Ella Jones, Luke Banfield, William Jackson, Emily Sheridan, Jessica Slater, Christian Calgie, John Hendry, Libby Hendry
Since our last report the bells have rung for seventy regular Sunday services and festivals. They have been booked for eleven weddings, earning pocket money for our more senior ringers, strong enough to keep going for the extra time required, and contributing towards the cost of our two yearly service contract, in place, to keep the bells in good working order. Smith of Derby Ltd. serviced the bells on June 18th and three worn ropes were replaced with proper Sallys. These are much kinder to the ringer’s hands, so we hope to have the funds to replace the rest next time around. The next service is due June 2011.
We have an octave of Tubular Bells, rather than real bells, but it does mean the ropes are very easy to learn. It is also another skill to put on UCAS forms. In the past, several of our ringers have been questioned about their Campanology expertise at University interviews, particularly those which are highly competitive, such as law and medicine! Should you like any more information please contact Elsa Taylor on 722400.
26 Church Men’s Group
The newly formed Men’s Group had 3 meetings in the Royal Oak in the autumn. We held the inaugural meeting on Friday, 25th September, when thirteen of our men (the number was purely coincidental!) gathered for fellowship and discussion. The informal proceedings began with drinks and a ‘bar’ meal from a choice of menu which was up to the usual standard provided by the Royal Oak. Our other meetings have followed a similar pattern, having been adequately refreshed our discussion of the evening lasts through to about 10 o’clock.
Our first topic for discussion was the Nicene Creed, which we recite at the Eucharist so we decided we’d like to know more about its history and what we actually do believe when we say it. John Dickinson gave a well-researched introduction which led into a general discussion on various aspects of the content and the relevance in today’s worship. We continued the theme at our October and November meetings.
A variety of different meetings are being organised for 2010 – including visits to York Minster and Durham Cathedral; social days out to Sporting Events e.g. a cricket match at Scarborough or the Riverside, and possibly ‘going to the dogs’; as well as further discussions with the occasional guest speaker.
We already have over 20 members – if you would like to know more please have a chat to any of the men in the photo!!
Geoff Jaques
27 Christ Church Parochial Hall
The Church Hall continues to prosper and provide a very pleasant venue for both Church and village activities, with bookings increasing, the improvements to the coffee lounge chairs and tables making it cosy and welcoming. Events to highlight during the year include the Dramatic Society production “Mother Goose”, the Charity Auction of Christmas Gifts, the Church Coffee Morning, the Marwood PTFA Christmas Table Sale and the Pantomime Aladdin which gave money to the Cumbria Flood Appeal. Once again thanks to everyone who helps me with the upkeep of the Hall – I have gathered together a merry band and they are indispensable. I am grateful to all involved with Sunday Morning Coffee and 200 Club: their donations to Hall funds are very much appreciated. Jennifer Roberts Hall Secretary
Parochial Hall 200 Club The Parochial Hall 200 Club was established in 1997 to assist with the maintenance, upkeep and improvement of our Parochial Hall to ensure it remains a suitable and welcoming venue for all the various activities.
During the year ended 31 October 2009, the scheme has raised £1086 for hall funds and 48 people were lucky enough to win a prize. As of November 2009 the scheme has seen some changes to the prize allocation due to the loss of some dear friends within the church who had previously supported the 200 Club – so to ensure we remain within the legal maximum we have amended the prize allocation to 1st prize - £50, 2nd prize - £20 and 3rd prize - £15. We were delighted that when we advised all our current members of the change that the majority have continued to support us and indeed we successfully appointed some new members!!
Membership is £24.00 per year and can be paid by direct debit quarterly, half yearly or annually or annually by cheque. We would like to take this opportunity to say a very big THANK YOU! to all who subscribe and support the Parochial Hall 200 Club, and, as always, new Members are always welcome, simply call Julie on 07979371186 or 01642 723687. Julie Leng and Jane Johnson 28 CHILDREN’S SOCIETY Thank you to all our supporters, old and new, for a great year. A total of £9988.39 was raised both through our regular annual events and a Hair and Beauty demonstration organised with local salons in June. This event was very well supported and we hope to repeat it in the future.
Jean Mitchell has taken over as Box secretary this year. We have 72 boxes and 7 shop boxes which are opened annually at our February coffee morning.
Thank you for donations which we have received from Christ Church, St. Oswald’s,Newton, St Andrew’s, Ingleby Greenhow and the Sunday Alternative. Thank you also to all the committee for their continued hard work throughout the year. We would love to have some new members and are currently looking for a new Treasurer. If you have some time to offer and would like to join us in any capacity, we would love to hear from you! Marina Charlton Chairman. SERVERS’ REPORT Our little band of volunteers continues in good heart to make their contribution to Christ Church by serving at the altar. They give their time on a regular basis by following the rota and also attending additional services at Christmas and Easter. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the servers for their devotion and for keeping things running while I have been ill recently. Serving is one of the many jobs to be done in church to help services go smoothly, but it is more than simply a practical task, it is a privilege to take part in the preparations for Holy Communion. This year, several of our young servers are studying hard at school for exams and I wish them every success. Bob has been ill recently and I wish him well as he recovers. Jonathan and Oliver left for university in September and are settling in to their studies. They both made guest appearances at Christmas and it was lovely to see them. Their place on the rota was taken by Libby Hendry and Edward Land and we were recently joined by Adrian Northey. Our prayers have been answered for volunteers just when we needed them. If you feel you can be part of serving Christ Church, please contact me. Lesley Miller
29 Marwood Church of England Voluntary Controlled Infant School
Marwood School continues to be seen by the local authority as Highly Effective for yet another year, with excellent teaching and leadership. The school website (www.marwoodschool.org) enables you to learn a lot about what Marwood looks like inside, what happens there and what is going to happen next as well as letting you put faces to names that children or grandchildren may have mentioned.
Nothing stands still in school life. There is always lots of new paperwork for the headteacher, Mrs Celia Wilson, and many action plans for everyone to complete and evaluate. The courtyard building project will hopefully be finished this year.
Governors play an active role in school life. Apart from attending meetings and sub-committees they make in-school visits to work with pupils, monitor judgments about lessons and worship and help at Sports Day as well as meeting socially with all the staff. The Vicar, as chair of governors, plays a very active and welcome role at school, sometimes with help from his puppets. The school and parents also come to church for various services.
The main priorities at Marwood are to maintain the high standards of pupil achievement as well as developing the children's enjoyment of what they learn. A typical parental comment says "The school sets very high standards for its pupils which they never fail to meet and this sets them up for life."
The school is still best summarised by its vision statement Happy Friends Learning Together. This is true for staff and governors as well as for the children.
Ann Whittaker Celia Wilson Foundation Governor Headteacher
30 2nd Great Ayton Rainbows
The Rainbows are still full of energy every Friday evening! We currently have 11 girls on the register.
We have enjoyed lots of crafts, and lots of ‘food’ activities. In March we learnt how to ‘cheerlead’ and had a great night all dressed up like High School Musical with pom poms and managed to learn a ‘Rainbow Rap’
We had a ‘Springwatch’ trip to the Walkway centre looking for different leaves and blossom, In July we held an enrolment ceremony at Captain Cooks monument then had a picnic tea. We had hot dogs and pop corn for the 4th July On the 5th September the unit took part in the Centenary Launch Party in Great Ayton and we have started the Centenary 100 challenges, we earned some points by going on a night walk – again up to Captain Cooks to see if we could see the fireworks across the villages. We had a great time and came down to Hot Chocolate and cakes.
The girls also went to the Bradley School of Dance Pantomime to see Rev Pev, although 4 of the Rainbows were also on the stage.
We are looking forward to the Centenary year when the Rainbows ‘Go Wild’ in May at an outdoor farm.
Christine Kenyon Leader
31 1st Great Ayton Brownies
We have once again enjoyed a busy year with 20 girls, 3 leaders and 3 young leaders.
All the girls completed their toymaker badge and with the help of a talented Grandma the older girls made some very impressive puppets and toys.
To start off the Guiding Centenary girls across the country took part in a project called Change the World with the aim of raising awareness and/or money for one of 19 nominated charities. We chose to undertake a tree survey for the Woodland Trust and enjoyed sessions of tree-hugging and den building in the woods.
As this is Guidings centenary year we have begun working on our Adventure 100 Challenge, this involves the girls (and leaders) completing a wide variety of challenges to gain points, the ultimate aim being 100 points for the girls and 150 for leaders.
We are making steady progress towards our points total with a self defence night, completing 100 jumps and learning about water issues in the world. We will continue this into 2010 with a Spring Brownie Camp, Bollywood dancing and a climbing night! In September we all attended the official launch party to start a year of centenary celebrations which will include a trip to a festival in 2010 and a Brownie take-over of the North Yorkshire Moors Railway.
We are very fortunate as a pack to have three adult leaders and also to have three girls who have completed their young leader training, they are a huge help, always full of enthusiasm and fun!
Alison Selby 1st Great Ayton Brownies.
32 1st Great Ayton Guides
We currently have 28 girls and a waiting list. Over the last year we have done a variety of activities inside and out. We have enjoyed pamper nights, keep fit and crafts for Mothers day, Easter and Christmas. We enjoyed trying nettle tea after a walk up Captain Cook’s Monument. We started our Centenary Celebrations with Alexandra Robinson’s badge de- sign being chosen as the winning entry for North Yorkshire North East, this has now been made into a badge which we are wearing on our uniforms. We have enjoyed an X Factor style evening, sleep over in the Church Hall and joined Senior Section for a bag pack at Tesco’s as a fundraiser. We are looking forward to completing our centenary challenge during this year with a variety of days out and activities planned. Veronica Hare Guider
1st Great Ayton Scout Group Annual Report 2009
The Scout Group continues to thrive and has enjoyed a further year of strong membership. We currently have 106 young members and 14 Leaders/ Assistants, with a waiting list for all sections.
Beavers meet on a Friday evening and like to release their spare energy at the end of a week of school! The colony is always full with 24 6 to 8 year old boys. We like to give them as many opportunities as possible to experience our wonderful local environment and to learn to be confident in it. In the summer we are usually found roaming the countryside and enjoying activities such as night walks, pond dipping,
33 following trails and welly walks. The highlight of our year is always the 24 hour sleepover where sleep mostly comes as soon as Beavers return home but an activity and action packed program keeps us going without it. Through the winter we are often, but not always to be found in the Scout hut. This term we have made bird feeders, learned to recognise garden birds and some have taken part in the RSPB garden bird watch. Even in the winter there are always occasions to get out in the fresh air to look at the stars, go sledging and just experience the pleasure of being outside in the dark. It has to be said that peacefulness very rarely features on a Beaver activity but fun most definitely does.
Monument Cub Pack has had a busy year with a wide range of activities through the year. Pack nights have largely been outdoors during the spring and summer and evenings in the Hut during the winter. Over the past 12 months Monument Pack were runners up in the District Cub football, only losing by a "golden goal" in extra time and had their annual camp on the wettest weekend of the year (yes we DID manage to camp.....) in July. During the darker nights a recent project has been to build from scratch and then race wooden racing cars. Some of the vehicles were highly original in design and showed a wide range of ingenuity by the Cubs.
Attendance has been very high and the pack has been full for most of the year. The Leaders, Barry Thomas, Dave Slater and Andy Banfield get much encouragement and support from parents.
Endeavour Pack has also enjoyed a year full of activities, both indoor and outdoor. Summer activities included a caving trip down Manchester Hole in Nidderdale and an exciting visit to Svitzer Tugs on the River Tees, courtesy of one of our parents. We entered the District Cub Swimming Gala and although our boys didn’t manage to collect any of the trophies, they had a great time. Help from parents included an evening doing the first stage of the
34 Emergency Aid Badge complete with practice on Rescussi-Annies and an evening learning all about creepy crawlies from an expert mother who brought along live Tarantulas and Scorpions! Other fun events were our annual camp, the County Cub Quiz and a Water Adventure day at Ellerton where we enjoyed kayaking, sailing, bellboating and Canadian canoeing. We rounded the year off with a trip to Splash at Stockton. It was pleasing during the year to see 6 boys achieve their Chief Scout Silver Award.
Tuesday Scout Troop is now led by Tony Dawson and the troop enjoyed a “back to basics” camp in glorious sunshine in the summer where the scouts cooked for themselves over open fires and brushed up on their “backwoodsman” skills. Under skilful coaching, axes were correctly aimed at wood logs and no fingers were lost. After all the hot work over fires, some even went for a dip in the sea! Great fun was had by all, not least of all the leaders! Cleveland Fire Brigade gave the Scouts some team building and communication skills in the “Fire House” at the Grangetown Training Centre which was enjoyed by all. Other activities have seen the Scouts go behind the scenes at the Riverside Stadium, enjoy rock climbing and, believe it or not, learn how to iron, put up some shelves and cook an egg, not to mention valeting the Scout minibus. Following a trip to Castlegate Quay, it would appear that we have many budding canoeists in the troop.
Thursday Scout Troop welcomed in 2009 with a weekend’s camping at Nidderdale in January followed by a somewhat warmer camp in the summer when they joined Scouts from the UK and overseas at the North Yorkshire Scout Jamboree (NYJAM 2009) at Harrogate. There, the challenge from the Italian Scouts at football was met with true grit, but a win was not to be. Even the dubious “subbing” of one of our leaders failed to secure the victory! We have also enjoyed backwoods cooking, caving, kayaking, and indoor climbing at the Rockantics walls at Newton Aycliffe. Two of our scouts, Ethan Selby and Ben Smith have been successful in being selected to join the North Yorkshire Contingent going to the next World Scout Jamboree in Sweden in 2011. Well done! Another escapade, this time by an ex-Great Ayton Scout, was the successful completion of the British Isles Challenge by Stuart Walker who set himself the challenge of
35 travelling under his own power from West Rock, Scilly Isles all the way to the Orkney Islands – by sea kayak, mountain bike, running, walking and camping on the way. He took in the summits of Snowdon, Scafell Pike and Ben Nevis on the way …and oh, he also swam across Derwentwater in the Lake District. This remarkable feat raised a considerable sum of money for charity. Our Explorer Scout Unit is 15 strong with a waiting list. They also camped in January at Nidderdale, but at a different site from the scouts – as befits their status! February saw the preparation of a number of aromatic meals at our Chinese Meal evening, cooked over Trangia methylated spirit stoves! In October, two teams from our unit took part in Operation Escape on the North York Moors – a three day / two night competition navigating day and night across the Moors carrying all food and equipment, whilst avoiding capture from leaders – against teams as far away as Grimsby. Five of our Explorers are already training for a summer expedition to the Pyrenees with some Cleveland Explorer Scouts, which started with a Boxing Day swim in the sea at Saltburn! Having enjoyed their White Water Rafting exploits at the Tees Barrage, the Explorers are now deciding whether to accept an invitation to enter a team to take part in the Shenington 24 hour Race – a Le Mans style race for pedalcars! Our active Supporters Committee continues organise events for fund raising and to provide fun events for parents and friends as well as the young people. The Annual Duck Race took place in May was a great success, followed by another very successful Ceilidh Dance in October. A quiz is being planned for the near future. Sarah Marsden has now taken on the lead role in the Supporters Committee and is looking for additional volunteers. This year has seen our Group Chairman, Philip Walker, hand over to Stirling Elliott after 6 years in the post. We thank Philip for all his hard work with the Group and are very grateful to Stirling for taking over the reins. The Group is very grateful to be sponsored by Christ Church. We very much appreciate the use of the church grounds for our hut and for the use of the Parochial Church Hall and equipment on many occasions. Our long association with Christ Church began as long ago as 1925 when the 22nd Middlesbrough (Ayton Troop) first met with 38 Scouts and continues strongly today. Ian McWilliam Group Scout Leader
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