- Joint Annual Report
For 2008
Moseley is a multicultural and multi-faith area with several faiths living together side by side. We at St Mary’s and St Anne’s have therefore made a commitment to inter-faith dialogue with our neighbours, as well as fostering a society which aims for peace and understanding. We have been full participants in the Moseley Inter-Faith Group over the past few years.
This year has seen a strengthening of ties between members in the Group, as we have moved beyond a phase of mere tolerance of each other to a place where we genuinely appreciate each other for who we are, as committed representatives of world faiths. This year we have had excellent responses to our inter-faith evening talks which have been sponsored by the Birmingham Council of Faiths. The format has been for speakers to address pertinent issues from a range of religious traditions. From St Mary’s and St Anne’s, the Revd Frank Berry addressed the meeting on Science and Religion, and Revd Peter Hansell gave a paper on interfaith spirituality. It was particularly striking to note the common ground held by the range of religious traditions on these important issues.
The Group also had an opportunity to visit London, this year to see both the National Baha’i Centre in Kensington and Regents Park Mosque. This trip was well attended by members from St Mary’s and St Anne’s, and testifies to our churches’ commitment to continue with inter-faith dialogue in the coming years.
On a personal note, as this is going to be my last year as the Church of England representative for this Group, it seems to me that time is right for a successor to come forward. This successor need not be a member of the formal ministry team, the main qualifications being an intelligent, informed and open commitment to interfaith dialogue and developing partnership in Moseley. Presently, for example the Group is engaging in dialogue between the headteachers of the various faith schools in Moseley. Personally, I have greatly benefited from this important aspect of my ministry, and warmly commend it to the wider church, particularly as we live during the start of a century in which serious and committed inter-faith partnerships and relationships are going to be a key for the development of a peaceful society.
Peter HansellThe purpose of all our Children’s activities is to develop with the children our understanding and experience of God, and to involve the children in the church community of St Mary’s.
Lis Sparrow relinquished the role of children’s group co-ordinator in July 2008, to take up a new and more challenging role in the Church, and I took over this role from September. I am indebted to the group leaders and helpers, as well as to the clergy and the wardens, who have gently inducted me into the role, and shown me great support. The five children’s groups have continued to meet most Sundays. Numbers vary, and the unpredictability of numbers presents a particular challenge for the leaders as they seek to achieve continuity to their sessions. In that context it is gratifying to note that the pre-School group continues to be an especially large and vibrant class.
Leaders continue to use an innovative range of material to support the sessions. For example the John Dory group has used material based on Harry Potter and the Simpsons, the younger groups have taken part in a variety of craft-based and creative exercises within their classes.
The highlight of the year has been the preparations for Christmas. All classes joined together to produce decorations for our own Christmas Tree, which featured in the Christmas Tree festival. The children’s nativity play saw members of the youth group working with the younger children to plan and execute the nativity production. The bowling outing provided an opportunity for the older children to bond as a group, and the children’s party, ably coordinated by Jennifer Holloway, provided a wonderful opportunity for the children of both St Mary’s and St Anne’s to come together and enjoy fellowship.
Our challenge for the forthcoming year is to find means of increasingly integrating the children’s activities with those of the church as a whole, so that there is a shared sense of community and belonging. In addition we will need over the next few months to identify some successors to our existing Children’s group leaders, to ensure that we can continue to maintain five children’s classes, and so maintain this important part of our church ministry.
Christine (Chris) Abbott, Children’s Group Co-ordinator St Mary’sInstead of focussing on the small numbers at Sunday Club and fluctuating numbers at the Moseley After School Service (M.A.S.S.), let’s rejoice in the immense importance of each child who has contact with the church — those in Sunday Club tend to be very young, the group is sometimes augmented by visitors. More children take an active part in the Community service. It was moving to see them kneeling round the flickering candle tree recently. And we had "real" angels at the Crib service.
M.A.S.S. has followed an energetic Olympic theme and managed to raise £20 for Water Aid. We are now "unpacking" the Lord’s Prayer. M.A.S.S. will move to Moseley C of E School in mid-February, returning to St Anne’s occasionally.
A lively party for benefice children was recently held in the hall. All children are being welcomed to a morning workshop during the Lovefest. Baptism families are followed up regularly. Some of the children’s leaders went to a very well attended diocesan training day and are going to a Cathedral event soon. We will miss leader Kate Lillie as she leaves Birmingham, and give her our thanks.
Elisabeth LeicesterSince last year’s APCM, there have been some personnel changes. Lis Sparrow, who had worked tirelessly as chairperson of this sub-committee as well as co-ordinating the children’s groups, stepped down and her role was divided. Debbie Barwell became chairperson in May. Chris Abbott took on the role of children’s groups’ co-ordinator in July and joined the sub-committee. The subcommittee expressed its gratitude to Lis for all that she had achieved in both roles.
The main item of business over the past year has been the development of two family worship zones in St. Mary’s. These operated initially for a trial three-month period to give families and members of the congregation the opportunity to comment on their viability. The sub-committee was very grateful for all the comments received, the majority of which were supportive of the scheme. There were concerns about noise levels generated from these zones during services and the sub-committee is considering ways to support and involve families more in worship in order to try to minimise any disruption. As the majority of those who commented supported the zones, the Vicar sought and was granted permission to extend the trial period to eighteen months. The zones will therefore remain in place until March 2010. The sub-committee welcomes any observations or comments between now and then, when a decision will be taken whether or not to apply for one or two permanent zones.
Debbie BarwellYG has continued to meet regularly on Wednesday evenings as well as joining in a variety of other social activities across the Benefice. It is a pleasure to see the young people growing and developing in their faith as well as confidence in leading worship. This year we have seen some members go off to university and now welcome new younger members who are coming in through the ranks.
During the year YG has explored many topics such as relationships and money. They have also been involved in many seasonal liturgies as well as producing their own Community Worship sessions. In particular the creative 3-part re-enactment of Maundy Thursday and their special celebration for Christmas were highlights.
Once more they have enjoyed the annual residential this year held at Beaudesert Park. Here they took part in many activities such as Crate stacking and Go-Karting, as well as thinking about sustainable energy in the Reflections Gardens, gaining new insights to build into the newly created Peace Garden for which YG were instrumental in its design and production.
I hope that the young people can be more fully integrated into the life and ministry of the whole Benefice and once again thank all the wonderful volunteers who assist with the weekly fellowship and Greenbelt festival. Being around young people keeps you young too!
Revd. Rosemary DonovanThe Church’s wider concern has been expressed this year by special collections of nearly £2500 on top of the normal external giving. There was also a successful appeal for the restoration of the Clock. However, our normal income has again fallen short of expenditure by about £20,000, further depleting our cash reserves. This is in spite of the remission of £20,000 for the rent of the Curate’s house and the lower than anticipated cost of electricity.
In March, the Free Will Offering Committee will be making a further appeal based on the ’Trio’ programme. We hope that the congregation will respond generously, bearing in mind that our Common Fund contribution alone will amount to nearly 3% of parishioners’ pre-tax income before any of the Church running costs are paid. There is also an urgent need to rebuild the reserves that we have been depleting.
In 2009 the PCC will be required to register with the Charity Commission, which means that our finances will be subject to external scrutiny. This scrutiny will be looking particularly for a Risk Assessment of the factors affecting the viability of the organisation and the Reserves Policy.
Michael HellAs I predicted in my report at the end of 2007 this has not been an easy year for St Anne’s. Ordinary giving was down 13% on 2007 but costs were up 41%. If it had not been for increased contributions from Hall Rents, Tax Relief, and Special Events (mainly the Jumble Sale) we would have made a substantial deficit. On the positive side we did manage to complete the Bells Project within budget, and make major repairs to both the hall and the church.
However careful balancing of income and expenditure was required to ensure that we did not go overdrawn at the end of some individual months, and although a small surplus was achieved by the end of the year it was barely half that of 2007. During 2009 we will be sharing ministry and administrative costs with St Mary’s so this category of expense will be bound to rise.
I am obliged to point out that unless we can reverse the decline in giving and/or reduce costs we can expect to run a deficit in 2009.
Terry AdamsSt. Mary’s Stewardship Annual Report for 2008 — February 2009
The Numbers
| Item | 2007 Actual | 2008 Actual | (change %) | 2009 Budget | (change %) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Planned giving by Standing Order or Pledge | £50,600 | £55,000 | (+8.7%) | £61,500 | (+11.8%) |
| Collections (all other giving) | £19,500 | £18,400 | (-5.6%) | £17,500 | (-4.9%) |
| Gift Aid | *£26,300 | £19,600 | (-25.5%) | £22,900 | (+16 8%) |
| Number of regular givers | 106 | 114 | (+7.5%) | 124 | (+8.8%) |
| Total number of givers | 225 | 230 | (+2.2%) | ||
| % of giving from top 25 of all givers | 150% | 45% | 40% |
* The 2007 Gift Aid figure was artificially boosted by one-off catch up from prior years
The focus of Stewardship Group continues to be exclusively financial. We plan to look to move beyond this after the 2009 Giving Sunday (aka Stewardship Sunday).
The major event in 2008 was Stewardship Day on 13 April which resulted by the end of August in 27 increases in standing orders from existing givers plus 9 new standing orders. The annual effective increase in giving from these was £7,500 but this was offset by deaths during the year and some people moving away from Moseley.
We identified on reflection some key actions that would probably have resulted in better results — in particular following up with all active members of the church to ask for their pledge for the year. Jeremy suggested a number of resources from other Diocese and we selected the TRIO programme from Southwark. The TRIO programme is designed to broaden the base of giving and make clear to our congregation that each of us is responsible for ensuring that the church operates on a stable financial basis, hence the title “The Responsibility Is Ours”.
Giving Sunday is on 8 March and final results from it will be known by Easter. It is a large undertaking, requiring the recruitment of around 18 volunteer visitors to help the Stewardship Group follow up personally with all active members of the church to ask for their pledge. The economic downturn has begun to have an impact on regular giving, with three standing orders having been cancelled since 1st January. It seems likely that there will be some of our givers who need to at least temporarily reduce their giving in 2009. This will make it more challenging to achieve the giving figures in the 2009 Budget.
Stewardship Group is: Adam Maclean (Chair), Robert Brown (FWO Treasurer), Rosemary Berridge, Sarah Swainston, Ann Andrew with help from Chris Andrew and Dorothy Pridham.
Adam Maclean