VICAR’S REPORT TO THE ANNUAL PAROCHIAL MEETING – 2009

As always, at each APM I remind the parish of the Bishop of Winchester's excellent document ‘Our calling under God’ and I like to use this as a benchmark of our success as a church. In that document, the Bishop reminds us that the church is CALLED by God [ each one of us individually and corporately ] to fulfil it's mission of worship and prayer; mission and outreach; pastoral concern and service to the community; learning and teaching of the faith and last but not least, stewardship of our time, talent and wealth. Our effectiveness as a church, is directly 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 the Holy Spirit.

Just recently, a group of 16 or so from the parish has been looking at the life of 'St Paul.... the man and his teaching'. One thing which impressed us more than ever before, was that the gigantic achievements of this man flowed from his profound sense of calling and utter faith in the power of the Cross and resurrection of Jesus. This is something that each one of us needs to rediscover afresh. We need to recognise that we are here for a purpose, we are called to engage in a mission just as exciting and fulfilling as that of Paul, here in our own church of St Luke.

There are signs that wonderful new things are happening......and none of you will completely appreciate this unless you have been directly involved in some of the new parish initiatives. Last year I talked about 'Parish Audit', inspired by the book entitled 'Natural Church Growth'. It identified eight key areas of church life, which when all are healthily maintained, produces a thriving and growing church community. As a result of last year's audit/ questionnaire, we identified 'Inspiring Worship' as our greatest strength and 'Passionate Spirituality' as our greatest weakness. And so this was the area that we have focused on throughout the year.

What is 'Passionate Spirituality?' It is not measuring how good the people feel as Christians. It is not measuring what people believe about God. What it IS measuring is the degree to which the spiritual life of church members is characterised by prayer, enthusiasm and encouragement. The level of passion in which faith is being lived out. The extent to which faith is contagious.

These qualities can be nurtured in a number of ways. For instance, over the last year a prayer group has been formed that meets every other Thursday at Audrey Roberts house to pray for the mission of the church and other pastoral concerns. Last Summer we held a whole day of prayer using many different kinds of worship on the hour, Mattins, the Eucharist, Silent Prayer before Icons, Meditation, Celtic and Taize worship. This has led to a monthly Celtic / Taize service by candlelight and provides an opportunity for people to share their personal experiences of God and to talk about the way faith is lived out in everyday life. We have tried to encourage as many people as possible to be involved with prayer and develop this gift. Soon, a prayer tree will be available at the back of the church, so that anyone who has a particular concern can hang a prayer on one of the branches and the prayer team will pray for them weekly. Every Thursday there is a healing service, with laying on of hands for any in need of healing. The significance of the Bible for daily living is discussed in sermons and small groups and opportunities have been provided for those seeking answers. In the last year, two Alpha Courses were organised, making a number of new Christians. There have been exploration groups looking at the Gospel of John, the spirituality of the Psalms and the life and teaching of St Paul.

I hope in the future we will examine the openings and possibilities of fresh expressions of being church. By 'fresh expressions' I mean ways of being church that presents the faith afresh to people normally untouched by church life. It means going where THEY are rather than expecting them to come to us. It means asking what is of interest to them and what is helpful to them in encouraging an awareness of God and the spiritual. Services can be on any day of the week and at anytime. Maybe there will be no service involved. Just providing contact and helping to build links and friendships with the 'unchurched' is a good start. Statistically, 40% of the population never go to church, except for the occasional funeral or marriage, it is an area that the church can no longer afford to ignore.

We are shortly to organise another parish audit to monitor our progress in the area of ‘Passionate Spirituality’. But already I detect some improvements. We have made new Christians and nothing can compare with the sense of joy and fulfilment associated with this! To witness other people having the quality of their lives transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit...... and the huge enthusiasm for the church that results, is a great encouragement to us all. These new people have been attracted to our church and are becoming actively involved in key areas of church life. I am delighted that a new Toddler Group has developed and is flourishing with a large number of new mothers, and a real enthusiasm and joy among those who attend. This group is important, it is a halfway house between church attendance, worship and Sunday School. It makes possible and facilitates something that none of us must underestimate, the development of friendship. The Alpha course made me aware that statistically it has been proved that if a new member makes two or more friends in church, then they usually stay for life! It is for this reason that we will soon have a team of additional welcomers, and part of their job description is to take newcomers to the parish hall after the service and introduce them to others.

I do not need to tell you that this year has been one of considerable change. We now have a new Director of Music in Michael Whiteside, a new Sunday School co-ordinator/ teacher in Jo Fish. And I am delighted that we have a superb new Head Master, Mark Saxby at St Luke's school....and all these changes are pregnant with promise and new opportunities. We have an important link with a significant number of children and parents through our church school, and I hope we can explore new ways of being relevant and helpful to these people in the future. Our congratulations go to James Sharp, an ordinand from this parish, who was accepted for priestly ministry and is currently serving Oakmead school as its chaplain and thoroughly enjoying it!

I must also mention the considerable discussion that has taken place in the past year, between the parishes of St John, Moordown, St Alban’s Charminster and ourselves over the subject of pastoral reorganisation. Unfortunately, the Diocese is having to explore ways of reducing clergy numbers as it cannot afford to maintain present levels of staffing. It wants to avoid closing churches, but it will mean more buildings and parishes being served by less clergy in the future and more involvement by laity. In our case, the ultimate plan is to have three parishes served by two clergy. The discussions and negotiations are ongoing.

In conclusion, I want to thank you all, for your loyalty and your devotion to St Luke’s. So many of you are so faithful and generous with time and money and it is your sacrificial giving that makes this church community possible. Over the last year, there have been signs of renewal and I have definitely noticed an increased positivity and a culture of mutual encouragement developing. I am convinced that a key element in the health of our church is a sense of personal calling and a commitment, to a united sense of purpose, which is summed up in the Bishop's 'Our Calling under God' document. For when we are fulfilling our purpose as a church, we all have good reason to be immensely encouraged and we are renewed in enthusiasm. This is what we have begun to see happening in this last year and it is tremendously exciting!