Dan writes ...
Hi all, Life and ministry looks so different for each of us, in the different callings God has put on our lives. We’re not starting with me because I’m more important than anyone else – far from it! But if I’m going to ask others on the staff team and in the congregation to do this, it’s only fair I have a go, too! I’m looking forward to reading contributions other people make to this series. So here’s what I’ve been up to over the last week … Thursday:
Friday
Sunday
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
And in between all of that – various emails and pastoral chats! If you’ve read this far – thank you!
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PCC Update May 2024
The PCC had their monthly meeting this week. This was the first formal meeting for some of our new PCC members – it was good to have them with us. We begin each meeting with time spent reading the Bible and reflecting. This was led by Tracy, who guided us through some Bible passages and thoughts that had come out of the church prayer meeting focusing on our buildings. We were reminded that God is in the business of transforming people as well as transforming buildings, and that anything we do needs to be in God’s strength, not our own. This was followed by a discussion on the leadership structures of the church. The idea of having a Ministry Leadership Team was discussed. This would include representatives from the Up, In and Out Teams together with church leaders and staff members, and would provide a way for the teams and staff members to know what each other are doing and to work well together. The Buildings Development Group updated us on where their plans have got to for the development of the Parish Hall. Some of the ideas will require planning permission from the council – the PCC agreed that they could go ahead and apply for this. Each PCC meeting includes an item on safeguarding. All our safeguarding policies and procedures are regularly reviewed in line with the guidance from the Diocese. This month Rosie highlighted the reporting procedures we have in place if there is a safeguarding incident. Some of the trees on our land require some work. Once we know how much this will cost the PCC will be asked to approve this so that these trees can be made safer and more manageable. We were then shown a draft video giving a taste of our church community that has been put together to go on our website. It was great to see the variety of people and activities portrayed in such a positive way. We closed the meeting with prayer, acknowledging our dependency on God in all things. We've recently had two unusual and exceptional requests ... might you be able and wiling to help out?
A former mission partner in Uganda Rev Ezekiel Nyende is known to many of us through his long partnership with St James by the Park. Back in 2010, he started St. Andrews Church Matovu in Busoga diocese, Uganda with three other people in his home. By 2013 the church had grown to 30 active members. A plot was purchased and construction of a church building was started. Doors and windows were added, the whole building was plastered and by 2018 the building was finished. The number of Christians had grown to 216 adults and 350 children. Ezekiel would now like to purchase public address equipment such as speakers, mixers, amplifiers and some musical instruments - guitars, piano, drums. So far, the congregation has raised around £400 and Ezekiel has asked if we could make a contribution towards the target of £3,000. As a parish, St James by the Park is moving its focus towards the church in Myanmar so this is a one-off request for any individual who would like to donate. If you would like to give cash, please put it in an envelope clearly marked "Ezekiel in Uganda" and send to the church office or put in the collection plate. If you prefer a transfer, please send an email to enablebusoga@outlook.com and we will send you the account details. All contributions will be put together and sent to Ezekiel as a gift from 'friends in Shirley'. A family in need in Southampton A few weeks ago, Nicky shared about a situation a colleague's family is in. He writes: A friend of mine named Kieran works with me at the docks. Keiran’s 15 year old son has a brain tumour. They have spent many weeks in London being treated. An operation successfully removed a tumour with the son making a full recovery, but then in a check up earlier this year, a further brain tumour has been found. This situation resonated with me as my own son Jay, who was 23 at the time, was in a coma for 3 weeks and his mum and myself stayed at his Hospital bedside in Wales 24/7. Constant alarms, wires, tubes and machines making these noises was terrifying, so I knew what Keiran’s family were going through. I prayed for Keiran and could not get this family out of my mind. I contacted him to pray and ask his permission to share with my wife, then our church, which he was happy about, and he let me pray for his son on speakerphone. I’ve continued to pray for this family every day and over the course of the last few weeks we text or chat nearly every day. I would like to bless this family of four because I’ve been there. I’ve gone through what they're going through. Not the tumours, but the watching your son be in the hospital, feeling helpless and hopeless...It’s devastating. I praise God that I was a Christian and God helped me through. I would love to be able to send this family away near water, perhaps somewhere on the South Coast for a week to give them rest and space from their home as a part of recovery. Just as a show of God’s kindness. Colleagues from the docks have made a collection as well, but this is a chance for our church to extend God’s blessing to this family at this devastating time. If you’d like to make a contribution, you can either put cash in an envelope clearly labelled "Keiran's family" and post it to the church office or put it in the collection plate. Or if you prefer to give by card, click here [opens in a new window]. Last Sunday, Dan reminded us that the first Christians were devoted to the apostles’ teaching and prayer (Acts 2.42) – and encouraged us to go deeper with God by developing Bible reading and prayer as spiritual disciplines for ourselves. (If you want to listen to the sermon, click here.)
But how can we go about that? Here’s some ideas, both for those who are new to Bible reading and prayer – and those who’ve been doing them for years: Bible reading
Prayer
What else would you recommend or suggest? Use the comments box below to join in! Dave Arbery led us in a time of prayer and bible study around the theme of prayer and action. There was time to talk and pray about various bible passage that encouraged us to get the balance right. James 2:14-17 was one that seemed to focus our minds and we discussed whether it was possible to have true faith without deeds, and that we should be known by our fruit, Matthew 7:18.
In preparation for the Annual Meeting the PCC formally approved the required reports. We had received these in advance so we could pre read them. We had three PCC members standing down this year, Rachel Young Nichola Caveney and Geoff Payne. We thanked these people for their contributions. There was an update on who was planning to stand this year. Dan led us in a discussion about the present leadership structures and groups. We discussed how this may alter in the future to better serve Dan and the congregation. We thought and discussed how the new teams UP/IN/OUT related to one another and to the PCC. The Safeguarding component this month included Rosie asking the PCC to re-approve the list of church activities that go on the diocesan safeguarding dashboard. We discussed the list and made sure it was relevant and up to date. We did then approve the activities. The PCC agreed to continue our present staffing levels until the end of the next academic year, August 2025. Dave A gave a short update from the Buildings Vision Group which was meeting again the following week. We raised the issue of asking the congregation to pray regularly about the plans for the buildings, so that we can hopefully get our plans in line with what God wants for the Parish. Dan shared that the May prayer meeting would be focused on the buildings. Dates of next meetings: APCM: Sun 28th Apr Meal: Mon 29th Apr Mon 13th May Mon 10th June Mon 8th July |