November
2003
The Curate writes:
Dear friends, with the Vicar's departure we enter a new and hopefully
brief phase in the life of St. Peter's Church. The wonderful send
off given to Nick, Bev and the family is something they will remember
and treasure. Certainly the whole day came together well, thanks
to all who planned and took part in it.
For our part we are bound to be left with a somewhat 'low' feeling
at least initially, but 'life goes on', as they say. And that growth
that characterised Nick's incumbency here must become a legacy upon
which we should continue to build, if we are to offer our next Vicar
something worthwhile for him to move us even further forward in the
evangelisation of Onchan and beyond.
We are all part of the team that can, will, and must do this and
I have asked two of the key players in the on-going organisation
of Parish life to put into their own words an aspect of that life
and the part they see as important in it.
Jane Cretney will continue to run the Parish Office. Peter Cory,
our Treasurer, acquires the added responsibility, along with the
Rural Dean, of acting as Sequestrator during the interregnum.
And, as it this wasn't enough, our Stewardship Campaign begins in
the New Year; an intense seven weeks of activity that aims to touch
all who are associated in any way with St. Peter's.
So this is not a time for resting on the 'laurels' of the past years,
rather a time to prove that we, God's church in this place, are ready
to carry on forward, in faith, seeking God's continued guidance in
the work He wishes us to accomplish.
Yours in Christ
Les Lawrinson
SEQUESTRATOR
The Collins Dictionary definition of Sequestrator is “to take temporary
possession of the income of another”
As far as the interregnum is concerned it means that through a bank
account operated by myself and the Rural Dean, as joint Sequestrators,
we will be in receipt of various income streams that are normally
paid to the incumbent. This income is mainly in respect of marriage
and burial fees, the Easter Offertory etc. The Sequestrator is also
responsible for ensuring Church services are maintained and the appropriate
payments are made to visiting non-stipendiary and retired clergy.
In conjunction with the Wardens and the PCC the Sequestrator is also
responsible for the care of the Vicarage whilst unoccupied.
Peter Cory
PARISH CLERK
During the interregnum I shall be the first point of call for booking
baptisms, weddings, funerals, etc. I shall also continue to issue
bills and receive payments, of which the incumbent's proportion will
now be passed to the Sequestrators. Editing the monthly review, producing
the weekly notices and special service sheets, and the day to day
running of the parish office of course all go on.
I shall also continue as Secretary to the Churchwardens and the PCC.
I can be contacted at the Parish Office Monday to Friday 9.30 am
to 12.30 pm (telephone 675797) if I can be of any help to you.
Jane Cretney
STEWARDSHIP CAMPAIGN 2004
We are now approaching the end of our first period of Stewardship
giving. Over the almost completed 4 year term we are on target to
have received somewhere in the region of £210,000 in pledged giving
from approximately 200 families and individuals connected to St Peter’s.
On top of this figure around £75,000 will have been received in loose
plate collections.
Grateful thanks must go to everyone who has contributed as it is
this regular giving that has enabled us to run the Church over the
last 4 years. This is a notable achievement as, in the year before
Stewardship, total collections, including Gift Day, amounted to only
£35,000. Stewardship giving has covered our normal running costs
and allowed us to use the balance of our investments on capital projects
rather than just to pay the monthly Quota instalments to the Diocese.
We now have a Vicarage with a new roof, windows and garage, and extremely
versatile, much used Parish Office, a universally admired display
of Manx Crosses in the Church as well as the long awaited toilet
facility.
The Renewal Campaign
Over the next few weeks the newly formed Steering Committee will
be carrying out the preparatory work for a renewal campaign which
will actually take place over several weeks in January and February
next year. As Treasurer I will be heavily involved in producing the
budget for the next 5 years, the term of the new campaign, as agreed
by the PCC. The campaign will be launched at the Buffet Evenings
planned for the end of January. At this presentation the budget figures
and campaign target will be revealed along with the PCC’s vision
for the future of the Parish. However, this will, to some extent,
be constrained by the lack of an incumbent during the interregnum.
As part of our campaign preparation we will need to look at possible
capital expenditure over the next 5 years but, at the present time,
I believe that this is likely to relate mostly to ongoing maintenance
rather than any major improvements to our buildings or new projects
as we have seen over the last 4 years. The Wardens are aware that
the exterior of the Church will require some attention but it is
hoped that this work can be spread over a number of years.
The run up to and just after Christmas will see some activity and
a number of you may be invited to join the Funding or Hosting Committees
and I hope that those approached will be able to help.
Parish Hall
It is perhaps unfortunate that the Stewardship campaign has coincided
with the need to launch an appeal for the Parish Hall. St Peter’s
is responsible for the Hall, as the recently discovered Trust Deed
has confirmed but this, in reality, has always been the case. Over
the last 14 years approximately £50,000 has been spent on maintenance
and repairs to the building; all of it paid for by the Church and
this only includes a small portion of the current works.
The Hall appeal, of course, is more widely based in that it is directed
to the public at large whereas Stewardship is specifically aimed
at those people who are considered to have a Church connection. This
appeal does have a more secular side to it and we are not necessarily
asking the same people to contribute. As a listed building of renown
it is hoped that donations will come from a broad base which may
even spread beyond the boundaries of Onchan or even the Isle of Man
Stewardship is a separate concept in the sense that it predominately
relates to the funding of the Church’s normal running costs and maintenance
of the fabric of the Church and Vicarage. The Hall Committee have
endeavoured to make the Hall self sufficient and, until the recent
problems, the rental income and sundry donations have covered normal
running costs and general maintenance.
The Next Step
On a practical note could I ask anyone who may be off the Island
in January or February to contact me if they already take part in
planned giving and wish to renew their pledge or covenant. This also
applies to those people new to St Peter’s who wish to join the Stewardship
scheme.
In addition, it has also been decided, where possible, not to approach
those people who have previously made it clear that they do not wish
to pledge their giving. However, if anyone, having seen the undoubted
beneficial change in the Church’s finances that Stewardship has brought
about, now wishes to pledge their giving please feel free to contact
me either by phone or letter.
Our Giving & Inflation
Finally I would ask all of you who already take part in Stewardship
and those who will be new to the scheme, to give prayerful consideration
to their level of giving. It is likely that our target for the Campaign
will be around 30% higher than when I prepared the 4 year budget
at the end of 1999. This may appear to be a large increase but the
costs of running the Church have risen and, as always, inflation
takes its toll. It must be remembered though that the church does
not receive an annual ‘pay rise’ and the amount that we all choose
to pay will remain static for a 5 year period.
To put things into perspective, however, a person giving £20 per
month who increased their giving by 30% would only actually have
to increase their pledge to £26 per month which is just £1.38 per
week. Similarly a person giving £60 per month would have to increase
their giving by £4.15 per week- approximately the cost of your daily
newspaper.
We are entering Stewardship without a Vicar at the helm but it is
vitally important that we all work together and are successful in
maintaining the Parish finances in good heart prior to us welcoming
a new incumbent. We need to ensure that we do not have to retrench
and have to look at ways of reducing expenditure which would take
us back to the not so good old days of worrying about how we are
going to pay the Quota!
Peter Cory (Treasurer) 624910
Dear Friends,
Thank you so very much to you all for your generosity and good wishes
as we leave Onchan for Netherton.
Our last Sunday was very special for us and will remain in our memories
for a long time. The crystal spire is superb and the cheque for £1,500
– very generous, not to mention many other personal gifts and cards.
We have enjoyed our seven years at St. Peter's and leave with heavy
hearts. Thank you for your support, patience and encouragement and
may God continue to bless the Parish in the future.
Our new address is 183 St. Oswald's Lane, Netherton, Bootle, Merseyside,
L30 5SR – if you are ever passing we have a large kettle.
Love Nick, Bev, Matt and Mel.
HARVEST
A big thank you to everyone who came to decorate the church bright
and early on the day before Harvest. A number of people commented
on how beautiful the church looked . This was then enhanced by the
Harvest gifts from the Sunday School children the following day.
Again, a big thank you to those loyal people who braved the rain
on Monday to distribute the gifts around the parish. We were small
in number but managed to deliver the Harvest to approximately 50
people.
FROM THE PCC
The September meeting of the PCC was held in two parts. The first
part chaired by the Vicar and the second by the Lay Vice Chairman
Trevor Singleton.
It was reported that our new Bishop will be consecrated at York
on December 4th, unfortunately, as yet, no date has been arranged
for him to meet with the Queen and consequently the date for his
enthronement on the Island cannot be finalised.
A number of events for the Parish Hall Appeal have been organised
– these will no doubt be reported on elsewhere – and a couple of
charitable trusts have been approached.
Stewardship is being renewed in the New Year. A Steering Committee
will be set up in the near future. It cannot be stated strongly enough
the extent that Stewardship has enabled this parish to move forward
both practically and spiritually.
The vicar ended the first part of the meeting by expressing his
thanks to the PCC for their support and encouragement over the years.
In the second part of the meeting we were brought up-to-date with
interregnum formalities, advertising for a new vicar and the vicar’s
farewell lunch.
Sylvia Lawrinson
INTERREGNUM & INDUCTION VIGIL
Please come and join us in Church on Thursday 13th November at 7.30
pm when we will be holding a time of prayer and meditation to remember
particularly Nick's Induction at St. Oswald's, Netherton at the end
of that week. We will also place into God's hands the forthcoming
interregnum at St. Peter's and seek His guidance for the future of
our Parish.
It is hoped that all Church organisations will be represented and
I will shortly be contacting each one to talk about their involvement
with the service – perhaps a prayer or reading or simply being there
in support.
Les Lawrinson
CHRISTMAS FAYRE
The Christmas Fair this year will be held in the Parish Hall at
2pm on Saturday 6th December. Teas and coffees will be served as
usual but using the stage and centre of the main hall instead of
the lower room.
Stalls will include cakes, gifts, toys, raffles, bottle & Christmassy
items, but this year we are not having second hand bric-a-brac. So
please keep the day free – see what you can donate to stock the stalls,
and all offers of help to set up will be much appreciated. Bottles
for the bottle stall can be left at the back of Church. If you have
any good ideas for any other type of stall please let me know.
Mr Harvey Briggs – the Captain of the Parish will be opening the
Fair and all the money raised will go to the Hall Appeal – hopefully
next year we'll be serving refreshments in the lower hall once again.
Sylvia Lawrinson
PARISH HALL – A big thank you !!!!
A very big thank you to everyone who has so generously donated monies
to the Parish Hall Fund in response to the Appeal, and to all those
who have helped organise the many and varied fund raising events
– and to all of you who have supported them and of course the concert
artistes!
To the Onchan & District W.I., the Onchan Pensioners, the Silver
Band, the Heritage Society and the Victorian Society we also say
a very big thank you – the Church, the Village and the Parish even
the Island all pulling together!
The Appeal has got off to a very good start but we have a long way
to go – so if you haven't already given then please download the
giving form and make your donation, and don't forget the Manx Christmas
at Woodlands on Saturday 22nd November and of course the Church Christmas
Fayre in the Parish Hall on Saturday 6th December – please give your
support and watch out for many more fund raisers!
Thank you.
The Appeal Committee.
MCAWS
Pre Christmas Coffee Morning at Woodlands on Thursday 6th November
at 10.30 am. All proceeds in aid of Manx Churches Adoption & Welfare
Society. Various stalls and Raffle. Tickets £1 available from Mildred
Cooper or come along and pay at the door.
MOTHERS UNION
Derek Winterbottom was our speaker on 7th October, when he told us
of the life of "T.E. Brown". Derek made this so interesting
and included some readings of "Brown's" poems. A most enjoyable
afternoon.
On the 21st October we made a visit to Corrin Court, which was extremely
interesting and we were able to chat to some of the people who use
the centre on a regular basis.
Pat Costain is coming to tell us of "A Day in Court" on
4th November and we are having a Tea and Chat on the 18th November.
Evening group meet on 20th November for a talk and slide show by
John Coldwell on "Our Link Parish – Building a Church".
LADIES FELLOWSHIP
We enjoyed a good first meeting when Freda Black told us of her 'Antarctic
Memories' and showed us lovely slides.
On 5th November Elaine Christian is coming to give us the History
of Nellie Brennan and on the 19th November Alison Foster is coming
with her ideas for 'Simple Christmas Gifts'.
CHRISTMAS FAYRE
ON
SATURDAY 6TH DECEMBER, 2003
AT
2 PM
IN THE PARISH HALL
TO BE OPENED BY:
HARVEY BRIGGS
CAPTAIN OF THE PARISH
IN AID OF PARISH HALL APPEAL
VARIOUS STALLS:
Cakes, Gifts, Toys, Bottle & Christmassy items
RAFFLES
PLEASE COME AND SUPPORT THIS ANNUAL EVENT
***************
You are invited to celebrate a
MANX CHRISTMAS
at Woodlands
Saturday 22nd November
7.30 pm for 8.00 pm
In aid of the Parish Hall Appeal
Buffet Dinner with Wine
Entertainment
with John Kennaugh Master of Ceremonies
RAFFLE TICKETS £15
Tickets available from Mildred or
Jane at the Parish Office (675797)
**********************
FRIENDLY LUNCH
in
Parish Hall
on
Wednesday 26th November
at 12 noon
admission £2.50
***************
FROM THE REGISTERS
BAPTISMS
Jake Rumney, George Rumney, Aaron Rumney, Ellen Rumney,
Alexandra May Moore, Cerys Isobel Wilson,
Ashleigh Jennifer Lisy, Tia Bethany Lisy,
Daniel Thomas Cooper, Sarah Jane Cooper, John Steven Cooper, Kris
Cooper, Jessica Alice O'Neill.
WEDDINGS
Sylvia Craine and Kevin Francis Jones
Karen Lesley Marr and Timothy James Calladine
Carole Anne Mammen and James Dowds
FUNERALS
Nelly Margaret Patel, Albert Roy Livermore,
Gordon Lewis Quirk, Peter Edwin Caine
OFFERTORY
The offertory for September totalled £6,912.66 and was made up of £4,982.47 pledged
giving and £1,930.19 of loose plate giving
Thank you.
|
