At its meeting on 17th November the PCC heard reports from the Area Council and Deanery Synod on:
Training: The Council had been chiefly concerned with the training of clergy in the Area and its need for a more professional and systematic approach.
Winter shelters: It had also proposed that a night shelter be established for those sleeping out over the winter months, one night in each of six churches. Six venues had been found, one was still needed and more volunteers to help at them.
Resourcing mission and ministry: The parishes in the Deanery had been analysed for viability – only four [of which St John’s was one] were considered both healthy and viable and several were considered neither healthy nor viable.
Next Inigo gave his Treasurer’s report. The appeal for more committed giving had been very modestly successful – only 10% of those asked [ie those on the Electoral roll but not already giving] had responded, although those that had had been generous. Cash gifts [some gift aided] had also increased and he was confident that the church would break even this year. A wider spread appeal would be needed next autumn.
We heard that the Mother and Baby room had been moved in the Tower and Andrew Thorne, the architect, would advise shortly on necessary changes to make it into a pleasant small meeting room. The paving outside the front of the church was dangerously uneven and would have to be reset.
Dido Penny was welcomed onto the electoral roll.
The main business of the meeting [of which this only a very brief and biassed overview of what was a wide ranging discussion] continued the discussion of the mission shaped church. We looked at what it meant to be a church and agreed that there was and should be enormous variety. Many felt misgivings at ‘mission’, especially if it had a traditional evangelistic flavour. The balance between healthy scepticism and searching doubt on the one hand and the confidence in the value of what we believe was not always easy to find, but most of us shied away from the emphasis on those outside needing something which we inside the church had to give. Our actions should speak louder than any words and we should seek to bring into the church the unique gifts of all those we met, not suggest the church has something to offer them which they lacked. There was a clear need, however, to present the church’s case better; 40% of the population is ‘unchurched’ having no experience of Christian worship; 20% have experienced it and have been irredeemably put off and a further 20% have lapsed or left but might be ready to return. Of the remaining 20% half attend church fairly regularly, the other half very irregularly. The challenge was to educate the unchurched 40% and encourage the poor attenders and those who might be disposed to come to church to do so.
Andrew Penny
PCC Report
Andrew Penny