Vicar's Report to the Annual Parochial Meeting 2008

As you all know 2007 was my sabbatical year, during which I was away from the parish for three months from September to the end of November. It was a fruitful and refreshing time during which I had the opportunity to travel wide and far and through the study of Icons and Byzantine art, have enriched and deepened my understanding of Christian faith and theology. I am thankful for the support of the parish and hope that my time away has been a refreshing and challenging time for you also!

The year has passed very quickly, partly because we have all been so busy. Last year, I reminded the parish again of the Bishop of Winchester’s document... ‘Our calling under God’ in which he reminds us that as the ‘People of God’, as the ‘Body of Christ’, the Church, we are called to engage in Christ’s activity in the world. Our major concerns as a church should be worship and prayer, mission, pastoral concern, service to the community, learning and teaching of the truths of our faith and Stewardship of the resources God has given us. These are the major things God has CALLED us to be involved in as a church. Our effectiveness is in some way related to how well we personally and individually respond to this call...and how deeply we believe and acknowledge God’s claim on the whole of our life.....to be as ‘living sacrifices SENT out in the power of Spirit’.

Even though I was away from the parish for three months, as promised at the last APM, we have made a very determined effort during 2007 to examine our strengths and weaknesses as a parish through the organisation of a Parish Audit. The process involved us selecting a cross section of 30 members of the congregation who answered a questionnaire of some 90 questions to ascertain our strengths and weakness. We chose to use the Natural Church Growth system. A system that has identified EIGHT growth factors in a growing, healthy church. The results were as follows:

EMPOWERING LEADERSHIP 29 out of a possible 60

GIFT ORIENTATED MINISTRY 36/60

PASSIONATE SPIRITUALITY 17/60

FUNCTIONAL STRUCTURES 24/ 60

INSPIRING WORSHIP SERVICES 49/60

HOLISTIC SMALL GROUPS 27/60

NEED ORIENTATED EVANGELISM 29/60

LOVING RELATIONSHIPS 40/60

Statistics in churches of various denominations throughout Europe have shown that when all these growth factors are in place the church expands and grows at a very healthy pace. Rather like a plant.....that has sufficient amounts of sunshine, warmth, water, nutrients, phosphates etc. A deficiency in any one area can inhibit healthy growth.

We are now in the process of analysing our results and working out a plan of action. It is recommended that we only look at one or two areas each year to see if we can make an improvement. Obviously, the weakest area has been identified as ‘Passionate Spirituality’ and the next lowest is ‘functional structures’ It is hoped that the areas where we are strongest will help with the weakest areas. Very clearly, our strengths as a parish are ‘Inspiring Worship’ and ‘Loving relationships’ A specialist will be helping to advise the Audit Working Party as to how to interpret these results and how best to proceed. It is an EXCITING PROCESS and one that I hope will engage every member of the congregation, because it is all about how we as individuals and as a community, can respond to God’s call to help our church to GROW! It presents us with a challenge.....if we are not ‘passionate’ about the practice of our faith.....WHY NOT? For surely, if we are not passionate about it ourselves....why should anyone else be? We cannot bury our head in the sand over this issue....we really must begin to CARE PASSIONATELY and encourage others to do the same or we are going to lose our church!

All of you are no doubt aware of the grim state of Church finances generally in the Diocese. Many parishes are not adequately covering the costs of parochial ministry. Therefore the Diocese has no choice but to very reluctantly manage the inevitable decline, which has been given the very cosy title of ‘Pastoral Reorganisation’. In our grouping of four parishes alone, the parish of St John, Moordown has lost it’s Vicar, therefore the parishes of St Luke, St Francis and St Alban will have to help carry this parish. Effectively, whereas each parish had one whole priest to themselves, in the future, you will only have 5/8ths of a priest. Only when another priest leaves our group will a decision be made about a replacement in one of the two churches, but one will ultimately lose it’s full time priest.

In response to the need of paying for the cost of parochial ministry I am satisfied that the PCC and I have done everything within our power to keep the congregation completely informed about the state of our finances. For many years now we have had an annual ‘Stewardship Sunday’ when we have issued a printed leaflet explaining our incomings and out goings and the most tax efficient ways of giving. This last year we decided to produce this leaflet around Pentecost tide, together with a response form, with the hope and expectation that everyone would prayerfully and thoughtfully respond. For various reasons we have lost some very significant contributions this year, but I am extremely grateful to those who have begun sacrificial giving as it has at least maintained the level of giving. I appeal to all who are not yet giving regularly to make a commitment. Up to date information about our finances will again be circulated around Pentecost this year.

In conclusion, I cannot emphasise more strongly, the vitally important need to remain faithful to our calling under God and to be passionate and positive about St Luke's as a church community. I passionately believe that this church makes a real DIFFERENCE to the community of Winton.....and it would be greatly impoverished if we no longer existed! For it is here, that people can experience the awesome beauty and majesty of the transcendent God. It is here that the lonely and downcast can find the welcome and warmth of a loving Christian community. It is here, that people can learn about the living God through teaching of Word and Sacrament! It is here, that many children and countless generations have their first experience of what it means to be lost in wonder, love and praise!

As our Audit has revealed there is so much room for improvement! In 2007 and early 2008 we have begun to make headway.....in the last year there were teaching sermons on the Sacraments, we have been blessed with the inspiring, challenging and amusing sermons of Fr Roy. Our choir have performed concerts and pursued even higher standards of musical excellence. We have engaged more school children from St Luke's School in our special services. Our summer and winter Fayres were better advertised and involved more people from the wider Winton community. Our Sunday school is under new leadership and we now have our new ‘parent and toddlers’ group. Another improvement is the development of a new web site, integrated with the school web site. The New Year began with an Alpha course attracting many new people. There are plans afoot for a new evening Celtic worship service led by James Sharp and hopefully more opportunities for quiet days and teaching later in the new year. And all this is underpinned by the weekly prayers of a new prayer group.

In the next 12 months, I hope the whole congregation will have their imaginations stirred and will feel passionately called to contribute and to engage in our attempts to become EVEN MORE [ as I believe to some extent we are already ] a dynamically effective and highly attractive church, where, above all, our Lord and Saviour Christ may be found, worshiped and adored! Let’s be passionate about our church and what it has to offer! Let’s be positive....and let’s move forward!