Annual Report and Accounts for the Parochial Church Council of Woldmarsh for the Year Ended 31St December 2018
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Annual Report and Accounts for the Parochial Church Council of Woldmarsh Incorporating the churches of St Oswald’s, Strubby; St Edith’s, North Reston; St John the Baptist, Belleau; St Nicholas, Swaby and St Andrew’s, South Thoresby. For the year ended 31st December 2018 Aims and Purposes Woldmarsh Parochial Church Council has the responsibility of co-operating with the incumbent in promoting in the ecclesiastical parish of Woldmarsh the whole mission of the Church, pastoral, evangelistic, social and ecumenical, as well as the maintenance of the fabric of the churches and churchyards at Strubby, North Reston, Belleau, Swaby and South Thoresby and the churchyards at Gayton-le-Marsh, Aby, South Reston, Tothill, Withern and Authorpe. Objectives and Activities We are part of the Benefice of Legbourne Woldmarsh, an Anglican Christian community, worshipping in - and working from - nine churches, in villages across the Lincolnshire Wolds and Marsh. We are inspired by the Bishop of Lincoln’s call for ‘faithful worship, confident discipleship and joyful service’. In our mission to the people here we seek particular encouragement from the mobile ministry of Jesus Christ amongst the rural communities of his homeland, as recorded in Luke 8: ‘He went on through cities and villages, proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God.’ It is our sacred duty and joy to continue his work, aided by the Spirit, in the villages of Lincolnshire. As God's pilgrim people we move around our churches for worship, being prayerful, active and present in all of our communities. The PCC is committed to inviting and enabling as many people as possible to worship in our churches, to have access to the sacraments of the Church and to become part of the Christian community. To this end we strive to forge strong relationships between the church and local families and organisations, especially St Margaret’s Church of England Primary School in Withern. In summary, we exist to communicate a comprehensive and glorious vision of God and the nature and purpose of his creation, to help people to be formed into the image of Christ and to live out their faith as his disciples to transform social injustices and nurture human flourishing and the common God according to God’s will. We primarily aim to achieve this by Worship, prayer and catechesis Provision of pastoral care Missionary and outreach work. Achievements and Performance Worship, Prayer and Catechesis The parish Eucharist is the central act of worship, taking place on a Sunday morning at 10.30am. According to the longstanding benefice rota this happens in a church in Woldmarsh Parish once a month. Numerous members of the congregation read the lessons from Scripture, and a few actively assist the priest by administering the chalice, under licence. Fr James Robinson was informally introduced to the congregation at a Songs of Praise service at Legbourne in July. Fr James was then Instituted and Inducted there on 3rd September by the Archdeacon of Lincoln and the Bishop of Lincoln, who preached the sermon. The church was full, with a good contingent from Fr James’ former parish in Grantham and representatives from our local community. A buffet in the Community Centre finished off a wonderful evening of thanksgiving and fellowship. Celebrate God, a monthly service aimed at children and their families continues to do well at South Thoresby. Enormous thanks are due here to Helen for her vision and ministry, and to church wardens Sandy and Rebecca for their hospitality. The participation of the children is heartening. Not only do they receive, in the form of teaching and craft-based activities but they give, providing gift boxes for the residents of Ash Tree House Residential Home at Christmas, and running a cake stall at the summer fair. We were sad to see one family move away this year, but have had new members join. Major occasions in the church calendar provide important opportunities to draw less regular members to worship. Harvest festivals were held at South Thoresby, where local children each decorated a window, and Swaby, where a local folk duo were invited to perform some harvest folk songs. Refreshments were provided, and this opportunity to celebrate creativity and offer hospitality was greatly appreciated. Village carol services were held in the week before Christmas at South Thoresby and Swaby, with good attendance especially from younger people. An evening’s carol singing in the Waggon and Horses pub at South Reston helped to spread the true message and joy of the season, as well as raising funds for St Edith’s Church. Numbers were high and all singers thoroughly earned the meal that followed. The Christmas Day Eucharist at Strubby was greatly enhanced by the musical backing of the local folk band Wild Berry Mix. Other important feast days have begun to be celebrated with a Eucharist. We marked the patronal festival at South Thoresby on St Andrew’s Day in this fashion. The daily offices are now said publically Monday – Thursday (Friday being Fr James’ day off). After initial experimentation with timings and location, a pattern has been settled upon which has morning prayer said at Swaby at 9.30am on Mondays and evening prayer at South Thoresby at 4.15 on Thursdays. Both services has regular attendees, with tea and coffee and chat enjoyed afterwards. We took the decision to end BCP Evening prayer at Swaby on 3rd Sundays as the attendance was so low. This has allowed Helen to lead evening services in other parts of the benefice if required. An renewed emphasis on the church’s teaching ministry, began by Rev’d Alan Hayday during the interregnum, has been developed. Fr James gave a talk on St Luke’s Gospel to mark the beginning of Year C in the lectionary cycle on Advent Sunday. The occasional offices remain an important point of contact and ministry within the wider community. In 2018 there were 2 weddings, 4 funerals and 6 baptisms. Baptisms are now strongly encouraged to take place during the Parish Eucharist, to enable the congregation to welcome their newest members, and for the candidates and their families to be more directly introduced to the worshipping community. This has had a positive impact, not least in drawing more children into the Sunday morning services. On Armistice Day we observed the traditional 2 minutes silence during the Parish Eucharist at Strubby. In the evening we gathered for Evensong at Belleau, followed by ringing the church bells as part of a nationwide initiative to ring bells across the country at 7.05pm in honour of the centenary of the ending of World War 1 (justifying the hard work involved in restoring the bells a few years ago). As part of our commitment to working closely as part of the Louth and East Wolds Mission Community, Fr James attends monthly – and occasionally celebrates – the 11am Eucharist at St James’, Louth, and Choral Evensong on a Sunday. The Mission Community also makes the commitment to celebrate the Eucharist together on Red Letter Days in various churches across the deanery. All church members are of course welcome and encouraged to attend any of these services. Especial thanks should be given to Rev’d Alan Hayday for his work in leading our worship during the interregnum; to our reader Helen Marsden for her dedicated ministry, and to Liz Marshall for enhancing our worship greatly with her organ playing. Deanery Synod The parish is not represented on Deanery Synod. Representatives from the benefice, as well as the incumbent attend and report back. In general it has been a good year for the deanery, with 2 vacancies filled (including our own). Nevertheless with 3 multi-parish benefices still without an incumbent the clergy are stretched. The deanery office continues to provide essential and effective administrative support. In order to ensure this service is sustainable all benefices have been asked to contribute a monthly payment of £70. The division of the deanery into 2 Mission Communities, with Legbourne Woldmarsh united with Louth and Binbrook, has helped to create a more collaborative and mission-focused environment. One fruit of this has been the provision of a Eucharist, attended by members of the Mission Community, on important feast days. Pastoral Care Fr James has made visiting the sick and isolated a priority, as well as calling on members of the congregation for a more general chat. The availability of a visit, for whatever reason, as well as the opportunity for anointing for healing and/or the sharing of Holy Communion is advertised in all newsletters, noticeboards and on the website. The excellent work of Helen as chaplain to Ash Tree House Residential Home has continued this year. She visits at least twice a month, taking a service of the word (with hymns) and administering Holy Communion to those who seek it, as well as offering friendship and support to staff and residents alike. Fr James attends when possible and has joined for major celebrations such as Christmas. Efforts to involve the younger people in our ministry here (both from the school and from our Celebrate God Family Service) have been hugely rewarding. The Lunch Club, organised by Strubby but active across the benefice, provides an opportunity for the elderly and alone to enjoy a meal out in the company of friends. Numbers can range from 12 -25+. Christmas Lunch was held in the Orangery in Woody's Bar with carols led by Patrick and "Wild Berry Mix". Mission and Outreach Strubby continues to strive to provide a full and varied programme of activities as part of our outreach to the community.