Holy Cross, - 's Report

APCM October 2020

It hardly seems like 18 months since our last APCM when I gave my initial Rector's report, about a month after my Induction as Rector. Time, indeed, passes swiftly.

2019

My arrival in the was just before the beginning of Lent and it was good to see the Lent study groups meeting throughout the Lenten season. I was delighted to see a range of courses offered and underpins my belief that study and learning are an important part of our common life together as Christians.

We kept Holy Week with Compline and a devotional address on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, followed by the customary acts of worship on Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday and Easter Day. My first Lent, Holy Week and Easter at Holy Cross was truly memorable!

At the beginning of June we were treated to a spectacular Flower Festival on the theme of 'Colours of the Wind'. It was much enjoyed and those visiting numbered into the thousands. Events such as these are missional because they provide an opportunity to welcome people and to tell them something of the Christian story.

Devon County Council declared St Boniface as patron saint of during early June and we held a joint service to celebrate this. It was led by The and the Roman Catholic Bishop of Plymouth. We began our worship at Holy Cross before moving to the statue in Newcombe's Meadow, with the final part of the service at St Boniface RC church. That a secular authority has supported the inclusion of a Christian figure such as St Boniface to be a figurehead for a county is surely a sign of hope?

At the Parish Communion in August we saw the theme of 'Community' with some informative and thought provoking sermons from a variety of preachers. It is good to depart from the lectionary readings sometimes and explore themes which are pertinent to us on our Christian journey.

The autumn saw our Harvest celebrations with the much enjoyed supper on the Sunday evening, accompanied by some rather original entertainment!

This year we made an adjustment to Remembrance Sunday by liaising with Crediton Town Council and having the Act of Remembrance at the war memorial, following the service in church. This enabled almost a thousand people to pay their respects, in person, during the two minute silence.

The beginning of December saw our much appreciated Christmas Tree Festival. The number of trees was truly magnificent and many of the decorations were highly original coupled with a mixture of thought provoking and amusing! Those visiting numbered into the thousands. Like the Flower Festival, this event offers us a missional opportunity because it provides an opportunity to welcome people and to tell them something of the Christian story, this is especially timely during Advent as we prepare for Christmas.

During the autumn, the announcement was made that The Rev'd Helen Drever, our Assistant Curate, had been offered the post of Rector of the Alham Vale Benefice in Somerset. It was a privilege for me to have been Helen's training incumbent during the final part of her curacy here and is a salient reminder that Holy Cross has a long and noble tradition of training curates.

It is a great pleasure to be able to report that the church building was kept unlocked during daylight hours in 2019 and thank you to those who enable this to happen. A glance through the visitor book indicates that we saw many people coming to Holy Cross throughout the year.

Messy Church has moved to an ecumenical format with leadership being shared with the other churches in Crediton. Each of the other churches now take it in turns to host Messy Church on a termly basis. It is good to see a substantial number of volunteers from Holy Cross supporting the work of Messy Church.

The Parent and Toddler group continued to meet on Thursday afternoons under the leadership of Angie Cargill and it was encouraging to see this group grow. Sadly lockdown has curtailed their meetings, but we look hopefully to the near future when the group will re-commence.

Baptisms, weddings and funerals were at similar numbers as previous years, and it should be said that some much loved members of the congregation died during the year.

2020

Due to the highly unusual circumstances, it seems appropriate to comment on the year 2020, so far. In March we were met with the sudden and unexpected and unprecedented news that public worship would cease and our church buildings would be locked due to the Covid-19 pandemic. This meant that worship took place individually in our own homes with online worship being offered on a Benefice-wide scale. Indeed, The executed a mandate which allowed for the delay in APCM's... hence our meeting on an October evening, rather than a March or April evening.

I was very proud of the way that Holy Cross responded to the Covid-19 pandemic. A new email address was set up for anyone in need to be able to contact us. That address was closely monitored by a small group of people and this enabled swift responses to be made. Another group was formed and they made telephone calls to members of the congregation in order to simply keep in touch. We also learned to use technology fast! My initial weekly reflection and prayers on YouTube grew, thanks to a congregation member, to include music and images. This resulted in a weekly act of worship released on Sunday mornings at 9.30am. The YouTube worship evolved to include items by the choir... socially isolated and painstakingly organised by Richard Stephens and electronically configured by Mike Brett... to them both we owe a debt of gratitude. Who can forget Handel's Hallelujah Chorus on Easter Day - recorded in isolation!

We were able, under government guidelines, to re-open Holy Cross in mid-June for individual prayer and we were able to resume socially-distanced public worship in July and my thanks go to those who enabled that to happen. Due to social distancing measures and in order to accommodate everyone who wished to attend, it was decided to have a 9.30am Eucharist and an 11am Eucharist. Our online presence continues with the 9.30am service being livestreamed.

In February we bade farewell to Mark Perry our Director of Music. Although we advertised the post in February, the Covid-19 lockdown meant that we were unable to appoint anyone to the role at that time. We owe appreciation to Richard Stephens who offered to take on the role of Acting Director of Music, to The Rev'd Canon Peter Gilks who took on the role of Acting Assistant Organist and to Luke Tayler who became Choral Assistant. At the time of writing, it is wonderful that we are able to have the Choir singing again, on a rota basis, to accompany worship.

We continue to be very blessed to continue to have the assistance of Readers and of retired clergy who are willing to help in the leading of worship and I should like to pay tribute to them for all that they offer to us.

In a sense, with the unprecedented Covid-19 pandemic, we are now in uncharted waters. I very much hope that we will be open to the guidance of the Holy Spirit as we navigate these waters. I very much hope too that we shall continue to grow in prayer and to take opportunities to deepen our Christian discipleship... setting aside time to be attentive to God's will for us will enable us to accomplish the former and wise use of technology offers us the opportunity for the latter.

Holy Trinity Yeoford

Worship continues twice monthly, although the regular Monday morning cafe has had to be postponed for the time being due to Covid restrictions. Messy Church has seen lively and imaginative activities and good attendance. The project to build a kitchen area and toilet is moving forward and it is hoped that this will be completed in the not too distant future. Carol Price, one of our Readers, continues to exercise a very effective and fruitful ministry at Holy Trinity.

St Lawrence Chapel

St Lawrence continues to be a valued place of worship, especially during the summer months. Evening Prayer, once a month on a Sunday, has been led mainly by Sandra Collier, one of our Readers, and the monthly Sacred Space worship has moved to St Lawrence from Holy Cross during the summer months.

And so, once again, I give thanks for our Churchwardens, PCC officers, PCC members, sidespeople and to all those people who work so hard (both in more visible rôles, and behind the scenes) to witness to God’s love at Holy Cross and to further the mission of His Church.

With my prayers and blessings and thanks

Matthew Tregenza Rector