St Luke's Church Eccleshill - Articles from "The Link"

Reporting the last year

This year's Annual Parochial Church Meeting will be held at 11am on Sunday 14th March after a short service of Holy Communion and coffee, and we invite all our members to attend.

The purpose of the meeting is:

to allow the PCC to report its work over the last year,
to elect the new PCC, and
to let you, the members, ask the PCC any questions or propose any recommendations.

The PCC's reports are printed in a little 16-page booklet: please ask if you want one. We'll also be putting the reports on the church web site*. On this page and the next two we are setting out some "edited highlights" to put you in the picture - but these are only summaries.

The elections this year, for the first time, are by single transferable vote. That means you vote for one candidate, but your vote can get transferred to your next choice if your candidate has already been elected or eliminated. With 5 places for election, this means that five-sixths of the electorate will have a new PCC member whom they feel is there to represent them.

And for your questions and recommendations, you can ask or talk about any local church business, or anything of interest to the national Church of England, or even of international concern. Our PCC members will do our best to answer any concerns you have.

* On the rest of this page we are printing the Annual Reports in full instead of just the summary which appears in the printed Link magazine. If you want a paper copy of the complete booklet, which includes the independently examined accounts, please ask.

THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL

St Luke's PCC has the responsibility of cooperating with the incumbent in promoting in the ecclesiastical parish the whole mission of the church: pastoral, evangelistic, social and ecumenical. It also has responsibility for the maintenance and upkeep of the parish church building of St Luke's Church and Churchyard, and of the basement of the St Luke's CE(C) Primary School building which is available as a church hall.

The PCC met nine times with an average attendance of 15. To carry out its aims the PCC appointed the following committees: the Standing Committee (consisting of the incumbent, churchwardens, vice-chairman, secretary, and treasurer); the Personnel Committee, the Appeals Committee (for appeals against the Personnel Committee), the Day Centre Committee, and the Basement Committee. We are represented by Albert Sutcliffe and Joy Cooper on Churches Together in North Bradford, and by Marie Small on the Schools Out (St Luke's Eccleshill) Ltd Management Committee. Linda Gibson is our Child Protection Officer, and Evelyn Hinchliffe is ensuring that we work within the Data Protection Act.

As in previous years the activities of the church have been funded through giving, fund-raising activities, reclamation of income tax, and income from fees and letting of premises. During the year income did not meet expenditure. A budget for the next financial year has been prepared, which anticipates continuation of funding in the same way.

The following are the official statistics for this year with comparative figures for previous years:

	2003	2002	2001
Church Electoral Roll at APCM	123	127	165
Average Sunday Attendance	84	85	105	(= over 16's attending at least once)
ASA excluding one-off visitors	77.5	77.5	98	(e.g. at Christenings)

The PCC has discussed and made changes in many areas:

· As the current Churchwardens don't feel that they are practical handymen, two other members of the PCC have taken on the responsibility of keeping a weather eye on the condition of the building and the churchyard. We are very grateful to them for this.

· We decided to join the Alpha Course at the Cathedral instead of holding one ourselves. This proved a great successs andwas well andregularly attended. Two people have since been confirmed and there is ongoing discussion about how to include more people in housegroups.

· We have had discussions with experts about Church Security after vandalism, and hope that as a result of their suggestions we shall have less trouble in the future.

· The Church Mission Society have provided us with new Link Missionaries: Chris and Angela Chorlton who are going to Egypt.

· We have bought new bibles (New International Version), and a lectern bible in memory of Kathy Illingworth as part of her legacy. The new wording and clearer print are proving a success.

· Financial matters (see later).

· Church fabric (see later).

· The Vicarage front garden has at last been tidied by the Diocese after the new drive work, after pressure from PCC members.

· We have sent to the City Council a resolution about parking in the layby in Harrogate Road.

· Attendances on Sunday evenings have been a continuing concern. During the year we decided to focus on summer Sunday evening services rather than winter ones. During 2004 there will doubtless be further discussion.

· Attendances on Wednesdays also give cause for concern, and the PCC decided in 2004 to ask John to focus on nearby nursing homes instead of holding weekly Wednesday morning services.

· Alan Stanley gave a presentation on the characteristics of a growing church. We agreed to focus on holistic small groups and gift-orientated ministry.

· We have considered magazine articles and encouraged people to write.

· The Day Centre has undergone several changes (see later)

· We have considered Health & Safety, and appointing an Officer.

The PCC wants to thank many people for the different ways in which they help in the ministry and mission of our church.

John Hartley & Evelyn Hinchliffe

MINISTER'S REPORT

During 2003 we have made some progress in recovering from the difficulties of 2002 which were mentioned in last year's report. I consider that our main good news is the establishing of an activity for the youngest children during a Sunday service each week: the J-T's ("Jesus-Tweenies" now meet most Sundays during either the 10.30am or 11.15am service, with material aimed at pre-school children. This is very much enjoyed by the children who take part, although there are as yet only a few of them and attendance can be very erratic. My special thanks to those who have run J-T's and those who have helped with it.

The monthly 10.30am services are a mixed blessing. On the positive, most of those who attend enjoy them and feel it is important that the whole church should come together. They have settled into a comfortable pattern, and we have not had negative comments about them which some of the earliest ones did generate. They have been good for the church family getting to know each other better. On the negative, the variations in the time we meet does mean that some people forget to come or arrive at the wrong time. There are continued problems about some, particularly those with small children, not feeling entirely welcome, and we all need to remember that it only takes a few comments to put people off, and that we'd rather have the children noisy than not have them at all.

We continue to have visitors saying what a lovely church we are, and how they feel welcomed when they first arrive. We need to continue to work on how to make this welcome last, and how to translate the feeling of liking the church into a wish to come back regularly.

Outside the church, I have tried to build up contacts with local schools and with Ashcroft Nursing Home. The regular service at Ashcroft has been very well received, and I think it's a pity that the support for it from outside the home comes from Roman Catholic ladies rather than from our own congregation. In the future I hope to build up contacts with other Homes and with the new Eccleshill Community Hospital. I wonder also how we can take better care of the carers in our area.

On a personal level I would like to thank the Churchwardens for their support. I am naturally a "one-man band" - this is not a good thing, and those who manage to make me work collaboratively are doing both me and the whole church a great favour!

John Hartley.

FABRIC REPORT

The exterior of the building is in remarkably good condition taking into account its age of over 150 years. We have been most fortunate during 2003: apart from the usual maintenance items we have not have any major repairs. However, there are one or two areas that would benefit from a coat of paint: the Lych Gate, the exterior notice boards, the west door (main entrance), the emergency door and the vestry door. All this would not cost a lot, nor would it take a lot of time, but it would go a long way in smartening the exterior of the building.

The grassed area (graveyard) is maintained by Bradford Met who again do quite a reasonable job in keeping the area respectable. As I said in my last two reports the trees on the boundary would look far better if they were pruned. Disposal of pruned branches is one of the problems.

We are bound by Health and Safety law to make certain that grave stones are in a safe condition. At present they all appear to be so, however if we do find any in a dangerous and unsafe condition they will have to be laid flat on the ground.

The interior of the church building is in a very good condition, and well looked-after and maintained. We have the services of a weekly cleaner and a team of ladies. At the time of writing the sound system is not working in the narthex: this is being investigated and will be put right. The high-level lighting in the main building is still causing problems due to ladder work, but thanks to the assistance of Jeff Simmonite a part solution has been found for this. The kitchen is in reasonable condition: a new cooker is on order, and the walls could do with a coat of paint.

The equipment used in church is in good working order. The oil-filled candles along with the brass continue to work well and look good. The linen is well looked-after and in good condition. The communion ewer was inspected during the year by a silversmith who quoted some Ł250 for its refurbishment: the PCC decided not to proceed with this.

In conclusion I strongly recommend that consideration is given to the exterior painting and painting of the kitchen.

James (Jim) Ryder

CALVERLEY DEANERY SYNOD REPORT

29th January at St. Lawrence, Pudsey

Synod debated the Anglican/Methodist Covenant Proposals, and warmly received them. Members were encouraged to take the debate back to their PCCs, so that the whole church could be involved.

After refreshments, there was a further discussion on 'Deanery Devolution' and the Rural Dean undertook that the Standing Committee would bring some definite proposals to the next meeting in June.

12th June at St. Cuthbert's, Wrose

The Standing Committee put forward a motion about debate on issues from Diocesan and General Synods. Often these opportunities came at short notice, with little or no time for proper discussion and any discussion was often a mere formality. The motion, with amendments was carried.

The motion from Eccleshill PCC re Parish Share matters was postponed to the September meeting for further briefing and discussion.

The Bishop's Deanery Visit was discussed and the programme detailed.

Under Deanery Development, there was further discussion on procedure and full discussion on the Funding for a Church Army Worker from Holy Trinity, Idle, St John's, Greengates and St. John's Thorpe Edge. This was agreed as a 'one-off' occasion and that the Synod would authorise a payment of Ł3,000 as requested.

23rd September at St. James's, Bolton

The Eccleshill motion about Synod debates on Parish Share allocations (instead of the Standing Committee doing it), which had been postponed from last time, was defeated after discussion in the light of a paper from the Deanery Treasurer. The Synod then took note of the criteria for Deanery Devolution projects which had been agreed at the last meeting. After this Andy Milne spoke briefly: Andy is the Church Army Youth Worker who will be doing detached youth work in the area covered by Idle, Thorpe Edge and Greengates parishes. After coffee, the Synod heard a "profile" of St James' Bolton, presented by the vicar David Swales; and then an account of thinking about the ministry of St Mary Laisterdyke, presented by the vicar Paul Deo. Paul outlined why it was that the church building was now in the wrong place, and asked for prayers and support as the parish thought in earnest about whether to declare the building redundant and try to build another one, possibly by redeveloping the site of the present vicarage.

Roger Marks

DAY CENTRE REPORT

St Luke's Day Centre has two main purposes: to provide a safe friendly environment for housebound of socially isolated people over 65 years of age, and as a respite for carers - usually a partner or family who care for a vulnerable elderly loved one and need a break from caring. During the year we have moved our opening day from Mondays to Tuesdays (to avoid difficulties on Bank Holidays) and open from 10.30am to 3.30pm. There have been several changes, not least in that we now buy-in meals instead of cook them on the premises.

During the year our coordinator and team retired: we want to say a big thank-you to them. We appointed a new coordinator, after first carrying out a consultation exercise in the church to see whether the Day Centre had the support of the congregation and whether volunteers could be found to run it: this exercise demonstrated a real level of support which was very heartening. As Coordinator, June is responsible for interviewing and organising new clients who wish to attend. Clients can be referred to her by anyone, although usually this is the GP, Home Help, or Social Services. If any reader knows anyone who is very lonely or does not get out much, you can refer them (with their permission), and a warm welcome is assured.

Transport (50p) and a hot two-course lunch (Ł3.50) are provided, plus activities including occasional trips out (mostly in the summer). Access wheelchair transport is free for those who need it (by arrangement). We have volunteers from St Luke's congregation, who very kindly do escort duty, help set tables, serve lunches, wash-up, serve tea and biscuits, and clean and tidy afterwards: we are very grateful to all who do this and we could not manage without their help.

Space does not permit us to list all the activities we do: but here are a selection: Talks, Quizzes (including musical ones), Crosswords, Poetry, Beetle Drives, Bingo, Armchair exercises (we won't promise to make you 10 years younger, but we try), Dominos, Scrabble, Rumikub, Whist, Reminscence, Music appreciation. We have also had a number of more special events, such as a "what on earth is that" quiz with unusual objects (some from museums). "Roy's Clothing" has visited about every 6 weeks.

John Hartley & June Sherwin

CHURCHWARDENS' REPORT

We are rapidly approaching the end of our first year as churchwardens. It has been very much a learning year. We feel much more confident with our duties and in fact we are not worried about the sound desk any more!

The introduction of the new method of dealing with the collection is now coming together and we have a team of people who stay to count. It is not all serious - we do manage to have a laugh. Thank you, team, for your time and help. To the ones who have not yet been approached, please don't think we have overlooked you - watch this space!

Sidesmen now have the opportunity to invite people to take communion. This duty is purely voluntary and no-one is obliged to perform it.

We have lifted carpets, fitted carpets, baled out and emptied buckets. We really thought at one point we were going to have to ask you all to wear wellingtons! At last the central heating has been repaired.

We have both thoroughly enjoyed our first year and we hope we have not made too many mistakes. We have helped each other: when one forgets the other remembers. We have regular meetings with the vicar and have some very useful worthwhile discussions. We hope we will go on learning in our second year if we are re-elected, and we trust we can help maintain the happy welcome atmosphere that shines within our church.

We would like to thank all the people who have supported us throughout the last year. Your help and guidance have been so very important to us. We would also like to offer a big thank you to all the people in the congregation who perform so many tasks to make our church a warm and friendly place in which to visit and worship.

Diane Parsons and Marie Small.