Works to East Wall and Window The grant works continue and as a result of major scaffolding and protection works we have had to close St Anne’s for the past three weeks. These works are well advanced and we did intend to reopen with a fully cleared church for Advent Sunday - December 3rd. However, we have had some setbacks in that the lime plaster is taking longer to set on the east wall due to freezing temperatures. This prevents the skim coat from being applied until it is fully set and obviously decorations cannot be applied until it’s all fully dried out. Furthermore, we have found some serious roof leaks that we weren’t aware of and we have had to deal with these whilst the scaffold is in place. Therefore everything has had to be put back a couple of days. We still intend to reopen the church for this Sunday December 3rd but unfortunately there will be scaffold up at the far end until works are complete. The funeral of John Daulman will also take place the day after on Dec 4th. The rest of the church will be fully cleared and cleaned in order to allow the two services to take place. Any help to clear the church on Saturday morning December 2nd would be very welcome. On Wednesday December 6th the internal scaffold will be taken down so we have agreed to hold the service at St James’ again to allow scaffolders free access. The external scaffold will be removed at the end of next week. Stephen HobsonIf you wish to donate towards the upkeep of the church, please click the Donate button in the menu for a safe and secure way to Give a Little.
The stories of the men who died in World War 1 have been researched and are available to download and read online. For more details, download "Remembering WW1".
Team Council Report for ParishesThe Council oversees the work of the Team and the Team exists to support and enable the parishesand to foster a closer sense of togetherness among the parishes.There was discussion about how we can better share resources and share information, as well as howto ensure that the various congregations feel part of the Team. Since Covid the rotation of clergy to thedifferent parishes on the 3rd Sunday has not restarted: this was felt to be something important. In 2024because we now have more varied service patterns in the different churches, it was decided to use the5th Sunday of the month, where there is one, but to look at other opportunities for the clergy to movearound.It was also asked if a second Team service each year would be a good thing.We are trying to be more efficient and effective in our communications. One resource is the Team website hosted on A Church Near You. It was felt that different parishes maynot be aware of how best to use their parish website nor how to make use of the Team one; similarly,with regard to parish, church, and Team Facebook pages.The Worship at Home resources which St Maxentius originated offer worship and reflection for thosewho cannot get to church, will now be shared to the Team Website as well as delivered personally insome parishes.We can probably make better use of shared resources on Facebook; Peter said he does not yet havethe time to restart the online service each week, but it was noted how valuable that has been for manypeople in all the parishes.These shared resources mean that they do not each have to be done from fresh in each parish. Itwould be very helpful for each parish to have a named “digital champion” / point of contact to whomthings are sent, and by whom things are then shared.The central administration from Christine Sutcliffe has proved invaluable especially in the months whenPeter has been off-sick and has enabled clergy and ministers to concentrate on ministry. There is quitea bit of admin around baptisms and requests for baptisms, and also the administration of weddings andfunerals; another key piece of work has been the service rota, especially knowing where to seek someoutside support so that all services can be covered. The Team clergy also benefit greatly from sharedprayers and a regular team meeting.The Team is responsible for Turton Youth Church which has grown back more strongly after Covid withnumbers now around 28 youngsters from aged 11 to 16 meeting each month. It has outgrown itsprevious venue at St Andrew’s and is meeting at Walmsley School. Many thanks to Hannah and to Joand the team for all they do. This year the confirmation preparation was - in part - done through TYCwith some extra meetings as well. 14 youngsters and 3 adults were confirmed on Oct 15th. Thoseattending have been asked for a contribution of £2 a session to cover costs. So far this year TYC,despite the increased numbers is under budget.The Council also received updates on the various renovation, repair, and re-ordering work in ourchurches. Five out of the six buildings have extensive work to do on them.FINANCEDespite seeking an increase in monthly giving earlier in this year, if the budget is to break even parishesare being asked to increase their monthly contribution for 2024 to £205 a month.The proposed budget for 2024 is £9070Administration costs, including the work of the Administrator come to just under £7000 - £134 a week.TYC has a budget of £1400 - The Team Service costs £300 for hire of the school hallThe Team is also buying the Roots subscription for all the parishes, which is used for work with childrenand paying for the leaflets at Christmas and Easter which is cheaper than each parish doing their own.The Chair pointed out that the Team has less paid clergy than it used to have and the provision of goodadministration enables the clergy we do have to focus more on what they are primarily trained for andwhat the parishes want them to be doing.Peter Reiss - October 2023
