The Parish Church of St Mary the Blessed Virgin Burley-in-Wharfedale
Annual Report of the Parochial Church Council for the year ended 31st December 2019
Vicar Rev. Alastair Kirk Churchwardens Mrs. Val James Mr. John Spencer Treasurer Mr. Duncan Watts PCC Secretary Mrs Sally Weatherall Independent Examiner Mr. Roger Charnley
Bankers Yorkshire Bank, Brook Street, ILKLEY
Website: http://www.burleyparishchurch.org.uk/
1 MINUTES OF THE APCM MEETING HELD ON 7th April 2019
1 - Alastair welcomed everyone to the meeting and we opened with a time of worship. A list from the registers of all those who were baptised, married or died was read out and prayed for.
2 - Vestry Meeting - John Spencer and Val James were re-elected as church wardens.
3 - A list of apologies was read out.
4 - Minutes - it was noted that there were no minutes from the 2018 meeting, due to a computer error.
5 - Electoral Role - Christine Clarke prepared the new electoral role in accordance with Church of England rules. 165 people are currently members of the electoral role. It was noted that the list can be added to, but names cannot be removed from the list until the next role is compiled. Christine thanked Pam for her help with the administration and noted that Merel will now take on the responsibility for the electoral role. Alastair thanked Christine and Merel for their hard work.
6 - Annual Financial Report - This was presented by Kevin, who thanked the finance and the office teams for their contribution to producing the report. It was noted that in spite of a 16.2% overall increase in income, this is thanks to a legacy which is to be spent on repairing the windows. In reality, therefore, is actually a 10% reduction in income. Kevin then took questions, responding to a question on capital that there is an account for Friends of St Mary’s with £15 000, also £48 000 in our current account - which is 6 months of share that legally has to be kept in reserve.
Alastair noted that we need to continue to think about how we give, seeing it as a response to God’s graciousness to us.
7 - Appointment of an Independent Examiner - Roger Charnley was proposed as an Independent Examiner by Alastair as he is happy to continue in this role. He was seconded by Val and all were in favour.
8 - Church Warden’s Fabric Report - Val reported that Andy Jolley had completed his inspection of the building and there are still some outstanding tasks.
John then gave a report on the condition of the windows. The East Window is rotting, and 16 weeks of work will be needed to replace the stonework around the glass. This will start in September, and should be finished by Christmas. A budget of £40 000 will be split 50/50 between repairs for the glass and the stone. It is hoped the work will come in under budget. The remaining windows are a reasonable condition.
It has been over 25 years since the church was last redecorated and so it is hoped that after the repairs to the windows there will be at least the opportunity to repair the crumbling paintwork.
9 - PCC Elections - Alastair thanked the members of the PCC, especially those who were stepping down after serving their terms - Fiona Prest, Richard Holdsworth, Gemma Stanley.
2 Becky Berry, Susan Collins were re-elected and Duncan Watts (to serve as Treasurer) and Elaine Marsden were elected onto the PCC.
10 - Election of Sidespersons- Lists of the sidespersons were read out and all would be re- appointed subject to their being on the electoral role. David Brewin needs to be co-opted for this year onto the list as his name did not appear on the electoral role. He can be re-appointed officially at the 2020 APCM. Sally Weatherall also needs to be co-opted onto the list as her name did not appear.
11 - Accepting the Annual Report - Alastair proposed this, Sally Seconded and all were in favour.
12 - Vicar’s Summary
Alastair spoke about the success of the 175th anniversary celebrations, the women’s away day, Inn Churches (thanks to Mary Brooks for this link with Manningham) care for those with dementia and the elderly - with thanks to Susan Collins, whose work is now recognised Nationally, and the Jesus Shaped People course, which has shown growth in house groups and therefore faith and fellowship and disciple ship. Alastair would like to see growth in prayer, mission and giving as we deepen and strengthen our faith.
Stephen Cottrel, our architect, has produced an initial report for the potential reordering of St Mary’s, noting our limitations in terms of space and facilities that are unsuitable. The next phase will be for Stephen to produce some drawings and for the PCC/church to create a vision for St Mary’s which will be the basis for the fundraising we will need to do.
There will be three phases to the reordering. The first phase would be to put in glass doors - a simple way to appear more welcoming, removal of pews - which can hinder hospitatlity and community - new flooring and a change to the front of the dias - this would follow and take more effort.
The second phase would be to look at the accommodation in the church lounge - potentially building a new lounge on the existing footprint, adapting the space between and around the current vestry, creating a second storey with additional rooms and space, improving the catering facilities and providing accessible toilets.
The third phase would be to open the West door, add a glass porch and provide a new pathway to the church in landscaped grounds. This allows for a sight line from the west door to the altar and opens up the whole church to the views of the village and vice versa.
Prices for this cannot be estimated until there are final drawings.
Alastair had the image of St Mary’s being as a well-watered garden, attractive to those outside and a resource to all the community.
Family pastoral outreach worker - Alastair notes that there is need to minister more strategically to younger people in order to develop a lasting connection and ensure our church is still thriving in decades to come. The PCC asked Alastair to find £12 000 in funding to pay for the first year of this post and we now have 75% of this in pledges.
3 13 - Open Microphone
Margaret Young requested that the Sunday School teams were informed in advance whenever there would be potential problems with the church lounge.
Nigel Cottam raised the possibility of land beside the garden of remembrance becoming a place to park cars as parking becomes harder around the church.
Charles Prest requested a public meeting regarding the re-ordering of the church, before decisions are made, in order to ascertain whether this would be something that the Jesus, the congregation and the village would actually want us to do.
Sara Kirk responded to Charles with the comment that the lounge was unsuitable for children’s work and was unwelcoming.
Pam Sowman asked that the young people should be able to make their views on the re-ordering known.
Duncan Watts asked if it was possible to have a service once each month for all ages, where all the congregations can meet together.
Sophie Gurung spoke about the uncertainty of continuing the music group/youth/JSP groups in the coming years as she and other young leaders will be leaving the village. A joint service, she felt, would encourage others to become involved and more families to attend. She would be unhappy if in 20 years she returned and found that there had been no change in the church she had left.
Chris Hayward encouraged us to retain a mutual respect for one another and also to remember those in other parts of the world during uncertain times.
Kevin proposed a vote of thanks to Alastair on behalf of the congregation.
4 BACKGROUND
The PCC at the Parish Church of St. Mary The Blessed Virgin, Burley in Wharfedale has responsibility of co-operating with the incumbent in promoting in the ecclesiastical parish, the whole mission of the Church, pastoral, evangelistic, social and ecumenical.
The Annual Parochial Church Meeting (APCM), in accordance with the Church Representation Rules, elects members of the PCC
The following served as members of the PCC from April 2019 to April 2020.
NAME ROLE TERM OF OFFICE
Rev Alastair Kirk Vicar
John Spencer Church Warden Annual Appointment Valerie James Church Warden Annual Appointment
Sally Weatherall (Secretary) Elected Member Elected until 2020 AGM Karen Selby Elected Member Elected until 2020 AGM Frances Robinson Deanery Synod Elected until 2020 AGM Linda Nelson Deanery Synod Elected until 2020 AGM Janet Squire Deanery Synod Elected until 2020 AGM
Lizzie Reynolds (Minutes) Elected Member Elected until 2021 AGM Duncan Watts (Treasurer) Elected Member Elected until 2021 AGM Kevin Lawson Elected Member Elected until 2021 AGM Mary Brooks Elected Member Elected until 2021 AGM Margaret Young Elected Member Elected until 2021 AGM Mick Smith Elected Member Elected until 2021 AGM Ann Holmes Elected Member Elected until 2021 AGM
Susan Collins Elected Member Elected until 2022 AGM Becky Berry (Vicars PA) Elected Member Elected until 2022 AGM Elaine Marsden Elected Member Elected until 2022 AGM
5 STANDING COMMITTEE
Rev. Alastair Kirk (Vicar) John Spencer (Warden) Val James (Warden) Duncan Watts (Treasurer) Sally Weatherall (PCC Secretary) Margaret Young Mick Smith.
OFFICERS OF THE PCC
Vice Chair Church Warden
Treasurer Duncan Watts
Secretary Sally Weatherall
Minutes Secretary Lizzie Reynolds
Electoral Role Officer Merel Wood
Disability and Vulnerable Margaret Young
Adults Rep
Safeguarding Rep Dot Armstrong and Elaine Marsden
CHURCH STATISTICS
2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 Baptisms 19 13 17 14 27 26 26 28 26 Weddings 4 2 11 6 plus 2 4 9 11 9 11 blessing s Funerals 29 20 19 16 23 23 36 22 23 18 in 12 in 12 in 11 in 14 in 10 in 22 in 12 in 18 in churc churc churc church churc churc churc churc church h h h h h h h Confirmations 0 0 0 0 10 0 0 14 0 Easter Day 170 167 204 207 171 183 195 239 202 Communicants Christmas Day 124 133 209 179 91 108 155 172 222 Communicants Normal 97 106 112 107 101 112 120 129 143 Sunday Attendance – Adults Normal Sunday 14 15 22 20 28 25 25 30 38 Attendance – Under 16
ELECTORAL ROLL FIGURES They will be reported as a separate item at the Annual meeting an the official figures announced. We remember with love and thanksgiving all those who have died since the last annual meeting.
6 A WORD FROM THE VICAR
Paul the Apostle crystallises the Gospel into these three words; Hope, Faith and Love. These are the three words that should characterise the Church in each and every generation. Faith is something that looks backwards; we remember the ways in which God has come through for us and spoken to us. Faith beckons to rely on that faithfulness as we step into the next chapter of our lives, our belief strengthened by the knowledge that God will act again in our lives. Love is exercised in the present moment, it is the lavish outpouring of God’s presence in us, to those around us. It is in paying attention to the Holy Spirit as he nudges us into going beyond ourselves and allowing God’s love to shine through us. Hope looks forward, anticipating the good that is coming, even when we cannot yet perceive it. Hope reaches into the future to take hold of something that we don’t yet have – it seizes the future that is not yet, it is the confident expectation that the Kingdom of God is coming.
2019 was the year when many of us will remember participating in the Jesus Shaped People course. This course, designed by my friend Rev’d Gordon Dey, encouraged us to look at the person of Jesus as the one we model our lives upon as well as expecting the Holy Spirit to breathe new life into us and shape us more into the likeness of Jesus. Over 70 of our congregation joined together in house-groups as we discovered the priorities of Jesus; people; teaching, team building; prayer and prophetic challenge. It drew us together in fellowship and inspired us to share more deeply about our own walk with Jesus. Gordon encouraged us throughout the journey, appearing from time to time at Church or at groups and finally as he led us to review the impact on our community last September.
One of the big building projects of recent years was the restoration of our East Window. The stonework had degraded over its 175 years and was putting pressure on the stained glass. Between September and December the windows were removed, cleaned and restored by Ruth and Jonathan Cooke, whilst Graham Bailey renovated the stone work. The work was completed a week before Christmas and the result was incredibly special. We are especially thankful for a large bequest left by the Richards’ family which covered much of the cost of the work.
For me, there was the opportunity to go on sabbatical between May and early August. This was a very refreshing time, giving me the opportunity to reconnect with communities in the Middle East as well as take time to find stillness and seek God’s voice afresh. In today’s world, where we find it increasingly difficult to take time out to reconnect with God, my sabbatical was very special. It also gave opportunity at St Mary’s for many different voices to be heard from clergy across the diocese. I am hugely grateful for all those who worked hard to offer ministry at St Mary’s through the summer.
Towards the end of the year we were excited to hear the news that our reader, Lizzie Reynolds, was to be given the green light to go forward to ordination training. It has been a challenging journey that had taken a number of years, with much soul searching and heartfelt discernment, but has led to a really exciting sense of God calling her in new directions and to pick up new things.
Finally, as the year ended, we appointed two great people, Jo Clayton and Maxie Barker, in brand-new posts. Jo was appointed as Parish Centre manager while Maxie was brought in to lead on children and families work. I look forward in the coming year to see how our stepping out in faith to fund both of these posts, will bear fruit.
7 CHURCH WARDENS REPORT ON THE FABRIC OF THE CHURCH FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 st DECEMBER, 2019
East Window
The major achievement of this year has undoubtedly been the completion of the comprehensive restoration of the east window. This was heralded in last year’s report and was planned in detail in the early part of the year, liaising with our architect, Stephen Calvert, the stone mason, Graham Bailey, and the stained glass specialists Jonathan and Ruth Cooke. In May a Faculty was obtained authorising the works, which involved the repair and partial replacement of the stone work and tracery, to include the removal of paint from the stonework; the removal and re- leading of the stained glass and its subsequent replacement with the addition of external isothermal glazing.
During the works the organ needed to be thoroughly protected with plastic sheeting, with just a slim access way for Peter Collins to get to the keyboard. It must have been rather claustrophobic for him to play so obscured and we thank him for his tolerance and patience during the period from September to December when it was in place. The window was boarded up and scaffolding disfigured the altar area for the same period.
The restoration was fully completed in time for the Sunday before Christmas and we are increasingly enjoying the transformative work as the days get lighter. We are very grateful for the legacy of £28,000, specifically gifted for work to the stained glass. To have met the total cost, in the order of £40,000, entirely from our reserves would have given us more pause for thought, even though the work really needed doing to preserve what is now more evidently a very fine window.
More mundane matters
As a result of the regular Fixed Wiring testing undertaken in March, remedial works relating to the earthing of the system were subsequently effected.
You may have noticed fewer problems with the nave lighting. The replacement of 24 fittings with LED bulbs has provided reliability and reduced electricity consumption.
The Yorkshire water main burst in the churchyard in early May and was swiftly dealt with as authorised by an Interim Faculty issued as a matter of emergency by the Chancellor.
Works were needed to the sound system in July when an amplifier and the CD player were replaced
In the hope of achieving longer term savings in our heating costs, we have invested in a new and rather sophisticated controller for the boiler which keeps the church warm when we need it but avoids the 24 hour heating which we had found necessary for the past few years. This was installed in September.
The biannual PAT testing was undertaken in October.
8 The remedial work carried out to the path handrail in April 2018 proved short-lived. We are seeking a more lasting solution but it may be that annual varnishing will be necessary to keep it in good condition.
Inventory addition
We have received a gift of the Maundy money given to Frank Newbould by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II when she visited Bradford Cathedral in 1997. Since Frank’s death, this had been in the care of Robert Auty and has now been passed to the church by Robert’s widow, Margaret.
Major reordering
No significant progress has been made this year and the PCC are further reflecting on how best to proceed, the likelihood being that works will be undertaken in phases as funds become available.
Churchyard
After many years of faithful and conscientious service, Nigel Cottam and his team (Keith Dale, Vernon Whelan, Wilf Newman, Chris Nelson and Paul and Irene Fowler) retire at the end of this calendar year from maintaining the churchyard. We owe them huge thanks for what they have done.
In the absence of anyone willing to lead on this task, we have been looking into the possibilities of wilding parts of the grass previously cut and/or seeking the help of adult offenders required to do community service. The Spring and Autumn church working parties will also remain vital to ensure the churchyard is a welcoming outside space for the enjoyment of all.
The wardens would welcome offers of help in this area.
Cleaning
We also acknowledge with fulsome thanks the work and care of Margaret Sumner, who retired as the church cleaner at the end of August, again after many years in post.
We are pleased to welcome Stacey Blenkhorn who has enthusiastically taken up her appointment following the advertisement of the position.
We remain appreciative of all those volunteers who work with us to beautify and care for the fabric of our church: those who launder the altar cloths; who provide and arrange the flowers; who clean and polish the church plate and who simply notice that something needs doing and do it. Thank you all.
Val James & John Spencer
9 PCC SECRETARY’S REPORT
The Parochial Church Council shares the leadership of St. Mary’s Church with the clergy. Along with the day to day matters relating to our community, it has a legal responsibility for the financial affairs of the Parish and the maintaining of its assets, which are St. Mary’s church buildings, and the Parish Centre. The PCC is made up of the Vicar, Church Wardens, Readers and members elected from the electoral roll who worship at St. Mary’s Church.
There have been 10 meetings, with a good attendance by members at each meeting. The meetings begin with a prayer, followed by some words from the Vicar. The first meeting of each newly elected PCC, following the APCM, begins with a Eucharist.
Minutes from all the PCC meetings are available in Church, and summaries are published in the Parish Magazine, and also on the website.
Some of the PCC Agendas have included:-
East Window Stained Glass Parish Centre Manager Grounds and Churchyard Maintenance Correspondence from members of the parish Mission Giving Change in Worship pattern
I have found being a member of the PCC extremely interesting, and very rewarding. I have also found it a great privilege.
Sally Weatherall
10 TREASURERS REPORT ON 2019 ACCOUNTS
Following the trend of last year, it is very encouraging to report that our Christian Giving has increased by £1,271 to £84,940 so a huge thank you to all of our Parishioners who participate in the Scheme. It can be seen that our Collections in Church have diminished by over £1,300, but this can be accounted for by coffee and tea money collected in Church, formerly included in Open Plate, being allocated monthly to charitable causes.
Later on this year we propose setting up a Parish Giving Scheme encouraging all participants to the Christian Giving Scheme to set up a Direct Debit on the first day of each month/quarter/annual as a means of paying our commitment to our Church. We hope that members will permit their PGS to be “inflation linked” so that our income can keep pace with inflation and our cash flow will be improved by the organisers’ ability to claim Tax Relief on a monthly basis instead of the Annual Refund we have submitted hitherto. A number of other churches have already entered this new scheme successfully and for the first three years the cost of administration by Becky Nicholson and her team of five has been met by each diocese, but ultimately the annual cost amounting to an average of £50 per Parish will be met by the individual churches.
A warm welcome to Maxie, our new Outreach Worker, who started with us in January this year. Alastair invited members of our Congregation and friends to fund this post for a minimum of two years and donations amounting to £6,700 were received in 2019, consequently, we have accrued this sum in Outreach costs so that period figures balance.
Once again we were blessed with a legacy in 2019 of £20,000 which enabled our Total Income to reach £162,640, only slightly lower than the previous year,
Recently, I received a most encouraging letter from The Right Rev’d Nicholas Baines, Bishop of Leeds, thanking our Church for paying our Parish Share £95,594 in full. This is the third year in a row that we have managed to meet this commitment so that cumulative underpayments of earlier years have now been forgiven.
All the costs of repairing our East Window £43,436, made possible from a Restricted Legacy for this purpose in 2018, are included in the Accounts for 2019 and the total expenditure of £185,241 means that our deficit for the year was £22,601 which, thankfully, we could finance from our reserves.
Finally I must extend huge thanks to all other members of our Finance Team:
Christine (Monthly CGS), Judith (Salaries), Jason (Banking), Karen (Weekly Envelopes), Pam (Secretarial) and Roger (Independent Examiner).
Duncan Watts
11 DEANERY SYNOD
This year the South Craven and Wharfedale Deanery only met twice as our September meeting was cancelled. In January we met at St John’s, Ben Rhydding and in April at ChristChurch, Lothersdale. The meetings begin with a parish profile of the parish we are visiting followed by a talk from a guest speaker.
In January the speaker was Geoff Parks, the Diocesan Chief Financial Officer, who discussed the Diocesan Strategy for 2019 – 2024. This focuses on how a ‘strong and confident Church has a big impact’. He also discussed finance within the diocese for 2018 – 2022. The diocese has a large deficit and the importance of churches paying their share was highlighted. The diocese has had several voluntary redundancies as well as selling off property assets in order to try and reduce the deficit.
In April Sharon Bavington, the Bradford Episcopal Area Ministry and Lay Training Officer, presented a talk entitled ‘Helping our Churches to Flourish’.
The September meeting was due to be held at St John’s, Menston. Unfortunately Bishop Toby, the speaker, was unavailable so he is due to speak at the meeting in February 2020.
The Deanery continues to receive updates about the Marriage Preparation course, run by Lizzie Reynolds. The most recent course was in January 2020. Updates are also received about the Otley Christian Resources Hub (OCRH), Lizzie and Rev’d Peter Willox gave a presentation about the Hub at the April meeting
12 CHRISTIAN GIVING SCHEME
CGS – Christian Giving Scheme – What exactly is this?
Well , it is a means by which members of our church can give financially to the church. Currently this is by either a standing order to church or by using the envelope scheme whereby gifts are put in the envelope and are placed on the collection plate every week. Many of our congregation are members of CGS and have made a commitment to giving on a regular basis which enables the PCC to plan in the knowledge that we have a regular income. Thank you so much to everyone who already does this.
But why should anyone give to St Marys?
This is much more difficult to answer.
First and foremost, God wants us to give because it shows that we recognize he is truly the Lord of our lives. Everything we own and everything we have comes from God. So, when we give, we simply offer him a small portion of the abundance he has already given to us. Giving is an expression of our thankfulness and praise to God.
.. Remember the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ' Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. God wants us to give because he knows we will be blessed when we give generously to him and to others.
Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. (Luke 6:38) God promises to bless us over and above what we give and also according to the measure that we use to give. But, if we hold back from giving with a stingy heart, we hinder God from blessing our lives.
So what happens to the money?
At St Marys we have bills to pay in order to keep the church and the Parish Centre running. The church is an old building which is expensive to maintain and heat. Even though so many jobs are done by volunteers, people increasingly have less time to give and so we need to also employ people, such as Peter, our Musical Director, and Stacey, our cleaner, and they need to be paid.
We as a church also pay our ‘share’ to our diocese which pays primarily for Alastair to work in our parish, but also makes a contribution to other clergy in poorer parts of the diocese and provides them with homes. Our share last year was £96,000 that’s almost £1850 every week.
As a church we give to our Church school and several charities involved in mission both locally, nationally and internationally.
Do we give enough?
Last year at St Marys our giving increased slightly so we were able to meet our commitments to all of the above which was brilliant and thank you so much to those who give each and every week. This was also possible because of legacies left to the church. However, we live in a
13 Diocese which is largely poorer than we are, and so ideally they would love us to contribute more to parishes a few miles away such as Manningham, which we have a strong link with.
MORE IMPORTANLY, wouldn’t it be so much more exciting and creative if we were able to do more than just paying the bills. As a church it would be wonderful to be reaching out even more to our community, bringing God’s joy into more people’s lives, providing services, growing in our faith and building community, being a prayerful presence in our village, giving to more people. Our church could be vibrant, growing, welcoming, prayerful, serving, joyful, grateful, enthusiastic and filled. We should be buzzing with ideas and projects and a fabulous place to be on Sundays and the rest of the week!!
We are moving towards this; as a PCC we appointed a Family Worker this year (thanks to the specific donations of some members of the congregation) and a manager for the Parish Centre. These are both paid posts and they will increase our presence in the village and allow our church to reach more people.
The Parish Giving Scheme
However to continue growing and moving on instead of just treading water, we all need to review our commitment to God. We all need to prayerfully review our giving. In the summer this year we will be moving to a new way of collecting our Christian giving by joining the Parish Giving Scheme which will mean more of us using direct debits to make our gifts. Don’t panic though the envelopes will still be available if you really do want them. There will be loads more information available at the time.
Meanwhile I am praying that this time of change will be a time when we all think carefully about the church we want; one that stands still or one that moves forward and that choice will be reflected in our giving.
I really hope we opt for the second option how exciting would that be!!!!!!!!
Karen Selby
CHURCHES TOGETHER IN BURLEY AND MENSTON
The churches in our two villages have again carried out a full programme of activities, beginning in January with the Reverse Advent Calendar collection, and pulpit swaps in Christian Unity Week. The Lent lunches were again well supported, as was the Good Friday ecumenical service at Burley Grange. In the summer holidays the annual holiday club was organised, and, after days of rain, Sunday morning dawned bright and dry for the Praise in the Park service.
In the autumn, we joined together in a service of remembrance outside the Grange on November 10th, and on November 21st about 80 cards were sent overseas to Christians and others suffering for their beliefs. On December 14th a joint coffee morning was held in Salem Hall, at which the St. Mary’s children’s choir sang and money was raised for the Salvation Army. In the afternoon the Love Burley group laid on a Christmas lunch for fifty elderly guests, with donations towards the Western Nepal Disability Trust.
14 A sincere ‘thank you’ to all those involved in organising these events.
At the time of writing, the Lent ecumenical house groups are in place, using material written by Rev. Tim Perkins. The pattern of churches together committee meetings is changing, with separate meetings in the two villages, and a joint AGM.
Paul Fowler and Margaret Young
HOUSE GROUPS
As I mentioned in my welcome, the JSP course encouraged a flourishing of house-groups. For many years we have had a couple of book groups which have met monthly or bi-monthly to discuss a book together. For the last five years there has also been a fairly consistent Monday evening women’s group that was initiated by Sara Kirk and has gone through various phases. We have also had Lent groups and some of those have continued beyond Lent, especially at Margaret Young’s house, but the JSP course gave us an opportunity to build a more coherent set of house groups. In the run-up to the course I worked with a number of potential leaders and hosts to develop an ethos around the groups. During the course itself we had a men’s group meeting at the pub, 2 groups on a Monday evening, one on a Tuesday and a Thursday evening and one on a Thursday and Friday during the day. It has been wonderful to see people step into these groups, rather gingerly at first, but then begin to find them a real source of encouragement. We have not managed to keep all these groups going, but we still have five groups functioning well.
Smaller fellowship groups are the place where we are most likely to grow spiritually. As we share our thoughts and experiences with others, as we pray for one another and as we allow Scripture to shape us in a more intimate way. It is the place where we are reminded of our faith, where we practice love and where we are encouraged to be hopeful and thankful for all that God has given us. If you would like to be part of a group do let me know and I will try and connect you in.
LOVE BURLEY
Love Burley is a group set up by volunteers from all 4 churches in Burley with the aim of responding to the issue of loneliness and isolation often experienced by older people. We hope to share God’s love with the community by bringing older people together and showing them that they are not forgotten.
Volunteers from all the churches enjoy getting to know each other and working for a common cause.
Over the last year we provided 4 social events, culminating in an ‘all the trimmings’ Christmas dinner in December. We usually welcome about 45 guests to enjoy company, food and entertainment. They enjoy time to get to know each other, socialise and build new friendships.
15 Last year the numbers coming to the events increased and looking forward we hope to find ways to be able to expand Love Burley activities to include even more people.
Love Burley relies purely on voluntary help and funding to provide transport, food and entertainment and we know that the community really values these special events.
Thank you to everyone who helps Love Burley happen!
PARISH CENTRE
Church and Centre Office
2019 began without a Centre Manager and the Steering Group, after its first meeting in January, went into abeyance. Thereafter, Alastair attended the usual office meetings in order to provide more direct support to the five office volunteers who continued to maintain Church and Centre work for the rest of the year. It was with much sadness we learned, our longest serving office volunteer, Ann Clough, passed away in June, following her resignation from being the Friday ‘girl’ in the office. She is much missed by her colleagues. Since the Friday morning session has generally fewer calls and visitors it provides the opportunity to catch up with work that staff fail to accomplish due to the frequent comings and goings on other days of the week. It was fortunate that fairly quickly Jo Clayton offered to take up the Friday vacancy. At the very end of 2019 Jo beat off stiff competition to be offered the post of Centre Manager with a start at the beginning of 2020. For the first time this is a paid post of 8 hours. The only other paid post in the Centre is the cleaner. Margaret Sumner had held this post for many years and with good wishes and thanks she retired in September. The new cleaner is Stacey Blenkhorn and the cleaning hours have been increased to two sessions per week.
Discussions on progress relating to the end wall repair continued into the beginning of 2019 but the job finally was completed by the end of March. Additional work necessary to return the area to a safe and clean condition was: renewal of the decking which had been found to be rotting; rehanging of the canopy above the decking; and repainting the Garden Room. Once all this work was completed it was agreed to investigate re-laminating the Garden Room floor which after 12 years of use was beginning to look quite scuffed and dirty. By December a date was arranged to have the flooring work undertaken during the New Year break, and in co- operation with the few groups meeting during this time. The flooring has been much admired since.
Further expense was incurred in the office when it was necessary to buy new phones, a laminator, and after months of research to lease a new photocopier in July.
All this took place while we lost three of our regular long-term bookings mostly for good reasons in that they were successful and needed bigger rooms.
More disappointing was the loss of Burley Babes and Tiny Tots at the beginning of 2019. Tiny Tots had a life in the Church Lounge before the Parish Centre was built and it’s move to a more
16 central location helped it prosper. Also, the post-natal 12-week class for new mothers had proved to be an excellent feeder into Tiny Tots and when the funding for this class was withdrawn numbers began to dwindle. In addition, there is now a number of similar groups running in the village. Fortunately, new bookings have been acquired, including two new yoga classes, Storymakers (a children’s group) and regular courses run by NCT. It is hoped that in 2020 further groups will come forward to fill the gaps remaining in our lovely and welcoming Parish Centre.
It is the volunteer caretakers, whose helpful care and attention in setting out rooms to meet the hirers requirements, who quietly make a significant contribution to the success and smooth running of the Centre activities.
Finally, not only grateful thanks to our five caretakers but to all the volunteers who make it possible to run such a successful Centre.
Joyce Russell
TEA AND TOAST
Tea and Toast is our more informal service which starts with refreshments and then moves into worship at around 11am. This service is the most diverse in both content and age and is served by our creche team and a wonderfully creative and committed Sunday School team.
This is the third year since this service came back into the Church building and I think it is fair to say that the move has had advantages and disadvantages. It has been great to feel part of a bigger community and some enjoy the fact that we are in the Church building. The disadvantages are a lack of intimacy and a lack of flexibility. In addition, this year we have missed our worship group led by those in their late teens. These factors have meant that our numbers have not grown significantly. We have had a number of new families join us, but sadly others have attended much less often. This is partly an on-going cultural shift in Church attendance across the board, but it probably also suggests that we have not quite got the dynamic of worship quite right. I hope that as Maxie begins her work we can begin to discover a new energy and creativity.
If you have any ideas for improvement then do feed it back to me, Lizzie or Mary. Also, do look out for families who are sitting on their own and help them to feel welcome. Parents of young children are often so pre-occupied with their children that they don’t have a moment to get a hot drink, so an easy way of making new families welcome is to simply offer to make a drink for them. If you would like to support our work by offering an occasional stint on creche then see Ann Hayward or if you would like to contribute to Sunday school, do have a word with Frances Robinson. If you are musically inclined (singing or playing an instrument) do talk to me or Peter.
Alastair Kirk
17 MUSIC AND CHOIR
This year has been one of consolidation . The amalgamation of the two Choirs has proved to be very successful, and this has led to a more confident sound in leading the congregation.
We have continued to support Sunday services and the children have embraced the new format for the new first Sunday liturgy. Membership has remained stable and we have an average of fourteen choristers attending services.
The Choir has continued to pursue " extra curricular " activities and have acquitted themselves with distinction on BBC Radio Leeds, the Christmas coffee morning and other events. They have also enjoyed such activities including a Pizza evening and the annual ‘Panto’ visit.
I must thank the children for their continued support and dedication to music. The contribution of the two Head Choristers has been key to the success of this year. Thanks must also go to the Clergy, Lay Readers, Wardens, Admin and Helpers who support the Choir in so many ways. The Parents of the Choir are, of course the backbone of the continued development of our work and their continued support is key to the future .
It has been a pleasure to work with the St. Mary's Singers this year. They have made a significant contribution to music at Church. We welcomed them at many special Services, at Easter and Christmas and they have provided singers when the Children are away . I hope that this will become more frequent . They have also provided invaluable support for Services such as Ash Wednesday, Easter Saturday and The Mother's Union. It is always good to combine all the Choirs for Festival Services such as Christmas and Easter Day. Let us hope we can continue to go forward in this positive way.
Peter Collins
CHILDRENS WORK
The Sunday School team has a range of dedicated helpers, and I would like to begin by thanking them all for their dedication and their flexibility, in particular, thanks are due to Frances Robinson who has been responsible for organising a rota for us – no mean feat!
I say flexibility as the numbers of children we have in the different age groups can change quite dramatically, and in the past few months, with the growth of the choir and the introduction of new all age services, we have had to rethink how we provide a Sunday School. The team have not only been helpful in shaping these decisions, they have risen to the different challenges this brings.
18 Recently, we have decided to work more in pairs where we can, to provide something that different children of different ages can relate to at whatever level they are comfortable.
We are moving away from the “Roots” lectionary-based material towards finding other sources available from Otley Christian Resources Hub and online providers to create a more bespoke session for the children, and we will be reviewing this decision as the year unfolds.
In December, we appointed Maxie Barker, who will be employed by the church to work with children and families and in time she will be playing a large part in the development of our work in Sunday School, and we are looking forward to seeing what she will bring to the team.
REV
REV is the name of our youth group. REV meets at the Parish Centre once a month from 6.30- 8.30 on a Friday during term time. The session is divided into two, with the second part having a faith focus, and the young people can decide whether to attend this.
This year has seen some great times for the young people who attend REV. We have had guests come and give us demonstrations in such diverse topics as horror make up effects, police sniffer dogs and listening skills.
We have also joined up with the youth group leaders from the churches in Ilkley and Ben Rhydding to run two events together – a summer wide games/water slide night with a BBQ at All Saints and an Advent Chill Out here at St Mary’s where we dipped candles and wrote Christmas cards to Christians who suffer for their faith.
We are planning to cook a meal for approximately 20 guests and volunteers for the Inn Churches project in a church in Wyke in February. This will be supported financially by the young people and the congregation.
Joining up with the other churches has allowed the young people to meet up with others from different schools and churches and we hope to plan one event per term together, taking turns to host. It is also encouraging for the leaders to meet regularly.
The second part of the evening has developed partly in response to the needs and questions of those who attend, and we aim to encourage and develop a lively, questioning faith in our young people. With an increase in our numbers so that we can have up to 20 young people of different ages, beliefs and at different points on their faith journey, meeting the needs of everyone can be a challenge, but there are sometime such amazing moments that it is really worthwhile.
I would like to take the time to thank all who have helped at REV over the past year as guests or helpers - but in particular Janet Squire, Becky Berry, and Clare Butland who are invaluable and offer so much to REV. It would be wonderful if anyone else would like to join in with REV as we would love to have you come and meet the young people. It’s great fun and really rewarding. And where else could you go on a slip n slide or grow a giant silicone scar!
19 BURLEY BABES AND TINY TOTS
This group has run almost through to the end of this year, offering a warm and welcoming place for young mums to come together and enjoy refreshments. We have appreciated the support and friendship from the Mother's Union and others from Church who have served refreshments with a smile and taken the time to chat.
Sadly numbers have dwindled in the recent months and support from Church has become a little sporadic. It is possible that the time slot is not suiting mums and maybe we need to offer a different type of group. I want to thank Anna Bedford Collins for leading the group over the last couple of years. In December we decided to halt operations, at least until our new children and family worker had arrived. I am in no doubt that it will reappear under a different guise in the months ahead, but for now I would just like to thank all those who have supported the group over the years. If you have ideas as to how it might be rejuvenated or resurrected, then have a chat with me or Maxie.
OPEN DOOR
We’ve had another busy year in Open Door, welcoming guests who like to pop in for a drink, chat and of course some biscuits or cake!
Joyce continues to organise the rota of volunteers and also set up a volunteers meeting in the summer. This was a chance to get together to review OD and to share ideas about things that were working well and other areas that could be improved on. It was generally felt that meeting together was a very positive way forward so we will continue to do this.
Out of the meeting came an idea to start activities for some of the OD sessions and Paul and Judith Rimmington led on a bingo session that now takes place every other Tuesday in the afternoon. This has been really well attended and is so popular that the room is often fairly crowded.
As OD is such an important part of the outreach that the Parish Centre offers to the community it is essential that we ask questions regularly about how well it serves the village.
So the year ahead will focus on future outreach aims for OD, making sure that the space is used in the best way it can be to meet the changing needs of our community and to ensure we are inclusive to all. Part of this moving forward will be to look at the physical space/layout and how it can be improved upon, as well as thinking about a varied activities programme that can offer something to different age groups. Open Door remains a National Place of Welcome (www.placesofwelcome.org.uk) so that it is easily identifiable as a place that offers relaxed company with refreshments that are not charged for (donations only) and a place where all people feel safe to belong, connect and contribute.
Thank you to everyone involved in Open Door – for all the time and care you give to all our visitors. OD can only happen because of your commitment and support.
We always welcome new volunteers so please contact the parish office if you are interested in getting in involved. We are particularly keen to know if you have some skills you would like to share that would work well as an activity session!
20 GOLDIES SINGALONG
We are a small friendly group of people who just like singing 60’s and 70’s songs from the charts of the time, with a backing of the original bands and singers. Sometimes we share the memories a song brings back to us. Our singing may not always be perfect, but the afternoons are good fun – and there are refreshments to follow! We’d like to be a bigger group, so why not come and join us? Transport can be arranged if needed.
Pam Sowman
THE CRECHE REPORT
Over the last year, 14 St Mary's members have faithfully and kindly offered care and help in the weekly crèche for the youngest members of our congregation during the Tea and Toast and All Age Services. Often parents choose to stay with their little ones so it gives us an opportunity to chat, alongside playing of course!, and to get to know each other better in the St Mary's church family.It remains a reality that sometimes the crèche facilities are not required and then we can offer help to Sunday school teachers.
We are grateful to Elaine Marsden and Dot Armstrong for their continued diligent care in ensuring we are all appropriately registered to comply with the Leeds Diocesan Safeguarding Measures, which validates our crèche provision.
We are always ready to welcome new helpers to join us in this very meaningful and significant ministry.
Ann Hayward, on behalf of the crèche team members.
BURLEY AND WOODHEAD C OF E SCHOOL
The school continues to perform extremely well in terms of pupil progress and achievement, but as has been the theme of previous reports to the APCM, the staff and Governors are committed to ensure the wellbeing of staff and pupils.
The staff and Governors have worked on a new vision statement in the last year and this have the broad remit to reflect accurately what we wants the school to and to highlight the school’s church status and Christian ethos. The brief vision statement has been linked to new strategy documents that lays out a path forward for the school in coming years. This vision cements our position as a caring school, but where we also want to encourage children to face challenges. Under the theology teaching “Many Parts, One Body”, the school focuses on 7 key areas, known as the Burley Woodhead mes. They include spiritual me, learning me, global me, healthy me, safe me, creative me and collaborator me.
21 One part of our aim is:
Our aim is to develop a school that everyone can be proud of which promotes a strong social, moral, spiritual and academic ethos. When children leave our school, they will be respectful, resilient, confident, caring individuals with a love of learning, who are ambitious future leaders of their local and global community.
We were delighted that Burley and Woodhead was selected by the Department for Education as a ‘Hub’ school to share teaching and learning outcomes in English with other schools in the north of England; this includes inner-city schools with an ethnic diversity and includes the small rural schools in the Dales with few pupils and limited staff. We consider it important to share expertise with other schools and it is appreciated by the Governors that staff have gone beyond the extra mile to ensure we deliver this support to others.
The school has continued with the ‘Global Me’ concept where issues beyond the school are highlighted. Within this there has been continued support with Fairtrade (based on rice sales) and other Church-led activities including support with Lent Lunches, Dementia Friends and connecting with different members of St Mary’s congregation.
I have had the privilege of attending one of the school residential trips this year to Ingleborough Hall, and it is interesting to see how children react to new surroundings and face challenges such as caving, climbing, gorge scrambling etc. These all carry an element of controlled risk and it is enlightening to see how the young people support each other doing something that can appear a bit scary. This shows that our vision for the school is actually happening in practice.
Moving forward, the school is still working towards the enhanced standards set by SIAMS (Statutory Inspection of Anglican and Methodist Schools) and to help us achieve this, we have established closer links with other local Church Schools and their Governing Boards.
As reported last year, I have ended my term as Chair of Governors (based on limited periods for key positions to ensure rotation of skills). I have been succeeded by Eleanor Nossiter who is continuing to uphold all that we consider to be essential for an excellent primary school. The school will continue to work to high educational standards, but we can be confident that the spirit of the school will put the needs of the children
Mark Selby
22 OPEN THE BOOK (FORTNIGHTLY IN BURLEY WOODHEAD)
Our team of seven storytellers has continued to have fun entertaining the pupils of Burley Woodhead School with bible stories, often on themes linked to the school's values objectives for each half-term. Since the autumn some of the sessions have been book-ended by the ‘Worship Wonderers’ – teams of pupils who lead the school in enthusiastic worship, and contributions from individual children.
Open the Book has now been going for 20 years, and as part of the celebrations Bob Hartman, author of our key text the Storyteller Bible, was invited to a well-attended event in Otley Parish Church in October. He urged us to have a passion for the Story, and for the children, demonstrating this with two interactive stories from his new book, ‘The Rhyming Bible’. We were all invited to join in with the story of David and Goliath (with actions!):
'God helped me beat a lion;
God helped me beat a bear;
And when my fears are Giant-sized
I know that God is there’.
The event ended with a short commissioning service for all the OTB teams.
Paul Fowler and the team
MOTHERS UNION
In 2019 we had 30 members. Our meetings were, as in previous years, monthly in the afternoon and also joint meetings with the Ladies Group once a month in the evening. We have enjoyed a variety of speakers and discussions. Several were of a spiritual nature, and we also joined in the MU Wave of Prayer in January. It is quite humbling to know that as we along with 3 other dioceses are praying for our fellow members in our link dioceses, so are we being prayed for and uplifted too.
In October we were privileged to be one of the Bradford Area branches to provide an afternoon tea to welcome Mama Samira and Mama Hewaya, delegates from Sudan who were visiting Leeds diocese , their link in this country. Members from other churches and other MU branches, some near and some further away came to hear about projects we can support and pray about. Thanks to many donations that day, we were able to help the ladies financially.
Other fund raising this year has been sent to MU overseas projects and to Diocesan funds which support action against domestic violence and abuse. There is so much more to tell so please ask for a programme of meetings. Everyone is welcome.
Pam
23 LADIES GROUP
We started 2019 with our usual enjoyable Ladies Group and Mothers' Union New Year Party. Before the summer break our meetings included Val Howson's 'Tales from a Charity Shop', a talk by Wendy Walker about the 'Unique' project, being run in Burley Schools to nurture children's self-esteem, and a demonstration by Cheryl and Caroline from the Yorkshire Flower Academy. We also had our annual trip to see Ilkley Amateur Operatic Society’s production of 'The Sound of Music', which we all enjoyed very much, and completed our 2018-19 programme with a meal at The Hopper Lane Hotel in June.
At our AGM in May we had planned our programme for the 2019-20 session. The Opening Service was held in Church in September, and later in the autumn we had some very interesting talks. These included a second visit from Colin Alderson, 'Sandringham and Christmas' with slides and stories about his time in the royal household, Daniel McLoughlan from'The Donkey Sanctuary', and 'Appy Hour', or how to choose useful and safe apps for our phones and tablets by Louise Le Marquaand.
We started the Christmas period with an entertaining one-man version of 'A Christmas Carol', performed by Chris Cade and helped by some of our members wearing a variety of hats, and concluded the year with the joint Ladies Group and Mothers' Union Carol Service in Church, which was a welcome 'evening off' from Christmas preparations for many of us.
Our meetings have been well attended, and we have welcomed some new members. We have a variety of speakers, demonstrations, outings and social events and we meet on the first and third Thursdays of most months from September until May at 8pm in the Parish Centre. Visitors and new members are always welcome.
Linda Nelson
PRAYER GROUP
The group of 7 people functions as before, praying privately every day for long term sick and distressed people. The names of these people remain private and the members of this small group guarantee to pray for them every day. The effectiveness of these prayers cannot be measured. We can, however, say that the people for whom we pray do know that they are being remembered daily.
Kelvin Newberry
BURLEY CARES
We are a small group of volunteers from St. Mary’s offering support following the death of a loved one. Mostly we receive news from the Clergy and write a note to the bereaved bearing our contact details: but we are open to anyone who would like our support.
Last November, Mary led a very moving Memorial Service, which attracted an attendance of over fifty. Kathryn and Margaret served tea and biscuits afterwards, which was hugely appreciated. We do send out invitations to those who have been bereaved during the previous three years: but anyone may come along and will be made most welcome.
24 During Advent and Christmas, the Tree of Remembrance was again placed in Church and many thoughts and prayers were hung from its branches.
If you, or anyone you know, would like to get in touch with the Group, please do so via the Parish Centre Office.
Merel, Janet and Sally
CHRISTIAN AID
The Christian Aid Committee has representatives from every village church and meets 3 or 4 times during the year. There are 4 main fundraising events.
Every March we hold our annual Coffee Morning. Once again this was well supported, offered gifts and a range of Fairly Traded food and gift items and raised a total of £368.
During Lent we run lunches every Friday. These are a wonderful community event with many volunteers offering to make soup and help. They raised a magnificent £932.35.
This was the first year without a house-to-house collection in Burley after 50 years. Times have changed and there were several reasons for this decision. Instead there were collections in the churches and a street collection. A total of £1,813.48 was raised.
Finally, there were some very generous donations given for the Christmas Appeal which reached £323.
Thank you to everyone who supports Christian Aid in any way. However small your generosity helps to change the lives of those who live in the poorest parts of the world.
Janet Squire, Mary Dale and the Christian Aid Committee
WESTERN NEPAL DISABILITY TRUST (WNDT)
WNDT was set up in 2008 and since then we have given funding towards a wide range of different disability projects in Nepal. Thank you to everyone who has supported us in any way, as individuals and a group, through prayer, volunteering, or financial giving (including the PCC grant). Many of you have also supported our fundraising activities such as the Craft stall, and, particularly notable this year, the curry night at the Moghul, and sponsorship for the Ilkley ½ Marathon.
During 2019 we have continued to support the palliative care project which is based at Green Pastures Hospital in Pokhara. In summer while on a family holiday in Nepal, it was very special to
25 be able to meet staff and patients of the project and to directly experience the professional and caring support given to patients and their families. It was very meaningful to be thanked by staff who reminded us that it was due to WNDT support that the project was able to actually start, and since then we have contributed towards the growth and development which has now entered a new phase. This involves the building of a special unit and an increase in staffing to provide care, train others and continue to develop the concept of palliative care in Nepal. So, our ongoing support will continue to make a contribution to this special work.
Also while in Nepal we could meet with a former colleague who is now involved with a small community based organisation which wants to work with disabled people. Since then some planning and negotiations have been ongoing, and we are just about to fund a pilot project for 15 disabled people/ carers to have sewing training for future income-generating work and more financial independence. This is a new venture for us with a different partner project, so we hope for success, and potentially ongoing future work.
Thank you to everyone who has supported WNDT until now.
Jane Schofield Gurung, on behalf of WNDT Trustees
THE BURLEY-TERELI FRIENDSHIP TRUST
The link between the villages of Burley and Tereli, in Mali, continues to thrive. We have worked together to improve the quality of the lives of the people of Tereli and surrounding villages. We have also been able to help villages in other parts of Mali.
Dr Zakari Saye is now working in the capital, Bamako, as a surgical oncologist. After a wonderfully generous bequest last year we have been able to set aside money to help him plan for the first Palliative Care Centre in Mali. The dream is still a long way off, but this is the first step.
We have also been able to encourage Dr Tennouse Saye in his plans to set up a Pharmacy Company which can import medication and directly supply the dispensary in Tereli.
In Tereli the new dispensary buildings have provided more vital beds and facilities. New solar panels provide power for lights, fridges and equipment. It is hoped one day that these facilities will support a doctor. We have supported health and environmental education days and funded equipment and repairs to the school.
The same bequest has also enabled us to support The Joliba Trust in a variety of projects including dune stabilisation, bee keeping and land regeneration schemes. Clean, accessible water is vital, so funding was given for wells to be dug in villages after traditional wells had collapsed in floods or had run dry. The much harder task is constructing them. So much environmental damage is done by climate change and these projects achieve so much by providing for communities who might otherwise flee.
We would like to thank the many people who have helped to raise funds to support these life enhancing projects. A bumper year!
26 A team of runners ran the Ilkley Half Marathon in June and raised a spectacular £7912.25.
The ‘Ladies Please’ Choir sang in the Summer Festival and raised over £480.
We provided refreshments for the ‘Pinsuti’ Choir in November and that raised a further £83.75.
Calendars for 2020 with photos of both villages, £1,485, and the sale of Margrit Salter’s beautiful handmade Christmas cards, £467.85, have both added to our funds. Thank you to all who buy these and to all who donated a further £860 at Christmas.
Finally, we have been very saddened to hear of increasing violence in the Dogon area. Jihadists and others from outside Mali have infiltrated the area creating division between the local Dogon and Fulani people. Villages have been destroyed and people massacred creating fear and insecurity. Many have fled. Please remember these peoples in your prayers.
Janet Squire and BTFT Trustees
PARISH MAGAZINE
The magazine is still published ten months in the year and is delivered to some 500 people in Burley and its surrounds. Its quality depends upon articles of news and events relating to the life of the church in Burley being submitted to the committee responsible for its publication. Our immense gratitude must nonetheless go chiefly to Gill Whiting who assembles and arranges each month’s publication. This is an unenviable task as persuading individuals or groups to submit material is far from easy. It is most important that this is realised by all our members as the magazine may well be the only news of St. Mary’s and the other churches in the village that is received on a regular basis. Those of us closely involved do genuinely believe that the quality of the magazine is consistently high and well worth fifty pence per copy.
The production and delivery of the magazine is most ably directed by Sue Whelan who often has to deliver many more magazines than she should. The small group collating the magazine every month does so with considerable care and good humour. As with many areas of church life deliveries are undertaken by people who are no longer young. It would be good to have the names of more people to deliver copies to local dwellings.
Kelvin Newberry - Chair of Magazine team, Pam & David Sowman, Sue & Vernon Whelan.
27 UNIQUE
We have had another exciting year with ‘Unique’, the self esteem and confidence course offered to young people. At a time when mental health in young people is of increasing concern, Unique aims to provide a safe, comfortable space where young people can begin to talk about things that may be on their mind. As a church it is important that we continue to offer our time and training to our local schools and that we do what we can to help our young people towards a sense of wellbeing and positive mental health.
Becky Berry and Wendy Walker continued working with all Year 5 and 6 boys and girls in Burley Woodhead Primary School each week and both the school and pupils really value the course. The sessions facilitate discussion on important issues such as identity, dreams and ambitions, self esteem and confidence, family, friendship and image. Pupils are encouraged to build trusting relationships with each other so that they can express who they are with no judgement and full acceptance. In May after SATS Lizzie Reynolds, Becky Berry and Wendy Walker each with help from an assistant, led groups for year 6 girls. This was the first time we had done a more intensive course, spending one whole afternoon a week for three weeks in school time facilitating ‘Unique’ groups. This was a new approach but worked really well and both staff and pupils felt the benefits of the course. The timing was very important as these pupils were about to move from Primary to secondary education. Some feedback from pupils:
“It is helpful to be able to be honest about yourself in an environment where you can trust that no-one will tell anyone else” “It’s a safe space to talk about important things” “I feel part of something special” “I feel ok about being different. It has helped my confidence a lot” “ I like learning things about other people. It makes me feel closer to them”
If you would be interested in training to become a ‘Unique’ leader then please contact Becky Berry on [email protected]
Becky Berry
28