Rector blesses a new pub in the Parish

Clergy, News

After leading an Armistice Day Service for the British Legion at the ancient Saxon church of St Nicholas, Worth our Rector, Canon Anthony Ball, walked the short distance to the newest building in the parish – the Coaching Halt pub.  After a short prayer of blessing for the building as a place of welcome and hospitality for travellers, refreshment & relaxation for members of the local community, and employment for many local people (as well as the home of the pub manager Steve Arnold and his wife) Canon Anthony took part in the opening ceremony of the pub alongside Crawley’s Mayor Bob Burgess and his wife Brenda.

http://www.crawleyhappytimes.co.uk/2013/11/residents-new-halt/

Discipleship & Fellowship Meeting Report

Meetings

News from the Discipleship and Fellowship Committee November 2013

Next Quiet Day:-
Planned for September 13th 2014

Up and coming Course:-

Advent York Course – Expecting Jesus will begin on November 13th for 4 Weeks in the Pastoral Centre and to be led by Canon Anthony Ball
Course books available from Joan Tick at St Nicholas. Sign-up sheets available at St Nicholas & St Barnabas churches. Open to everyone.

Wintershall DVD.
A DVD Day showing ‘The Life of Christ’ to be held on Saturday November 30th from 11.00 -16.30 at St Barnabas, and a ploughman’s lunch.
Entrance free, cash donations towards lunch. Sign-up sheets are in both churches, for catering purposes.

Parish Away Day:-
This is planned for Saturday March 8th 2014 and our Speaker will be Rev’d Andrew Mayes.
Venue Rowfant House 10.30 – 3.30pm, coffee on arrival at 10.00am, sandwich lunch and concluding at 3.30 with a Eucharist and departing at 4.00pm.
Please keep this day free and come and join us, more details to follow..

Plans for 2014
January – Bible Study
March 8th – Parish Away Day at Rowfant House
March – Lent Course
May 17th – Men’s Breakfast
June 14th – Ladies’ Breakfast
September 13th – Quiet Day

Bible Study / House Groups
It has been decided to set up House Bible Study Groups in the new year of 8 – 10 people per group; using a Bible reading /study course, further details will be issued soon.

We also need to establish how often the Group will meet, when, during the day or evening and who would lead them. A questionnaire is to be issued with the pew sheet to get a fair selection of answers to theses questions.

Teaching Courses for 2014
PILGRIM
This is a Course which starts from basics for those who have recently started to attend
church or for those who wish to understand more.
The Pilgrim Course could be lay led, it is 6 weeks per session and there are 8
Sessions, therefore it could be run for 2 or 3 years

JESUS THE FORGIVING VICTIM
This Course is more a teaching course – exploring how we read the Scriptures and a
more in-depth approach to us as a Church.

October Standing Committee Report

Meetings, PCC

October Standing Committee decisions and discussion.

The Standing Committee met on Thursday, 17 October 2013.  The Committee has the responsibility of transacting the business of the Parochial Church Council (PCC) between its meetings.

Present: Canon Anthony Ball (AJB), Alexander Brooks (AMJB), Rosemary Cordan (RC), Revd Angela Martin (AM), Phyl Pennell (PP), Richard Turpie (RT)

Apologies:  David Anderson, Matthew Knight

Amongst the matters discussed and decided by the Standing Committee were:

  1. Taking note of the decision to close the Pastoral Centre on Tuesday mornings whilst the Prince’s Trust project we were supporting needed the space (between 28th October and 27th January).  There had been a meeting of Pastoral Centre volunteers at St Barnabas on Sunday 13th October to discuss arrangements whilst the Prince’s Trust group had use of  the complex.
  2. An explanation that the painting of the drainpipes etc. at St Nicholas was only half complete as there had been some confusion about the amount of funds designated for the project.  The remaining work would be done next year.  The servicing of the boiler and removal of the oil tank at St Nicholas are still outstanding.
  3. Agreement to a new arrangement for the parish’s charitable giving, following a proposal from the Charity & Community Committee.  The current system of deciding on a month-by-month basis has led to unequal and unpredictable distribution of funds among charities.  In future the amounts given and the charities supported will be decided early in the following  year – with the Treasurer giving the amount available after  taking into account the total designated for charitable giving and the amount disbursed or collected for specific charities during the year.  So, 2014 charitable giving would be decided in January 2015 and so on.  The congregations would be asked in November to nominate charities for that year and for the Christmas charities.  For this year just the Christmas charities will be nominated in November.  The Committee decided that there should be three charities supported this Christmas – with 25% of the cash collection at designated Christmas services going to each of the charities and 25% to the PCC.
  4. Thanks to AMJB for his work in building the new website – on which there had been much positive feedback.
  5. The 2014 Budget.  In 2014 any expenditure coming from a Committee’s budget will go to the Chair for approval so that they can keep a running total of expenditure against their budget(s).
  6. The allocation of up to £1,750 from the Fabric Reserve for the repair of the bottom section of the path at St Nicholas.  The proposal was for a compacted gravel rather than tarmac finish, which might require a Faculty from the Diocese.  It was noted that over 70% of the Fabric Reserve had been spent this year and it would need to be replenished in future years.
  7. Consideration of the best way to implement the PCC’s request that t Parish Fees be increased to improve revenue from the Pastoral Offices.  A proposal will go to the November PCC meeting.
  8. Further discussion of the PCC’s decision to approve a budget for 2014 which reduced expenditure on administration by £5,000, thus necessitating a reduction in the amount spent on staff costs.  This reduction would come from the budget for the Parish Clerk – leaving only a small amount of time.  AJB would decide whether this time should be spent answering the Office phone (front-office)  or preparing baptism & marriage registers ,cards etc. (back office).  The clergy – or volunteers – would need to pick up essential elements that we could no longer pay for.
  9. Discussion of a first draft of a Parish Plan 2014-2016 prepared by AM which captured the discussion from the recent PCC Away-Day.   The document will form the basis for further work, with a proposed Plan submitted to the November PCC meeting.  
  10. There was also discussion about the schedule of works outstanding from the 2012 Quinquennial inspection,  Parish Eucharists, a new Pastoral Assistant and the advertising of our Christmas services.

The next scheduled meeting of the Standing Committee is on 12 December 2013.  The full PCC is due to meet on 28 November 2013.