St Martins Herne and St Peters Greenhill

Welcome to the annual vicar’s report for our parish for 2009

With a few 2010 activities sneaked in! The parish report testifies to amazing happenings and involvement in our parish; it is indeed an exciting time for us all.

All we do and seek to be as people centred round our Lord, learning and growing as disciples and attempting to be a radically different community offering hope and extravagant love and service to each other and the world, is a tall order without a foundation of prayer. 2009 has seen a focus on our learning and practice of prayer;  so whether you are or have been involved in our All Age Service prayer vine, came to the Lent quiet day or Taize Prayer services , were one of the twenty people who took part in our first Week of Accompanied Prayer, use the Lady Chapel for reflection and candle lighting, or actively  participate in the parish home prayer group, Mother’s Union private or prayer group prayers, the new Emergency Prayer Chain, come to daily Morning or Evening Prayer at St Martin’s , came to the Intercessors training morning and use the new box of intercession resources for Sunday Worship prayers, or even use our parish prayer diary day by day at home (have you got one?) , Thank you!  2010 will hopefully see more opportunities for us to widen and deepen our relationship with God through prayer. Do chat to me with any queries or needs.

Worship. All our private prayer and longings somehow come together in our corporate worship, where through the liturgy (meaning the work of the people!) we honour God. This year we have weathered the swine ‘flu pandemic, introduced children’s Holy Communion books and built upon our varied pastoral services with many weddings, funerals, Baptisms, bereavement, school, Remembrance and carol services, to name a few.  We are currently trialling Eucharistic Prayers for the Liturgical Commission, and please feel free to complete the comments forms. As a first, we successfully extended our Sunday welcome through the Back to Church Sunday initiative last September, while our worship has also embraced the wider diocese, as 50 people took part in The Gathering at Canterbury Cathedral and the Herne community (church and schools) planned and led parts of the Cathedral Christingle service.

Our learning as disciples was assisted through our home group Lent course (Faith Hope and Love), a teaching session Science and Faith, re Darwin, the new library at the back of St Martin’s, while the introduction of book boxes offering books for sale or return has not been very popular. The Confirmation courses for 13 people were challenging and enjoyable for us, while Baptism preparation continues week by week.  Our next confirmation is on October 16^th Please do see Elaine if you would like to be confirmed.                                                                                                                     

Additionally several people have taken part in training courses, Tony Millard, Cherishing Graveyards and  has now developed a plan for managing and increasing our graveyard wildlife; Sally Spence and Jackie White,  All Age Service training and came back with many ideas, some yet to be realised! ; 5 folk went to the Back to Church Sunday session;  Jean Dilnot, Child protection; Sheila Gough, Treasurer sessions; Intercessors training and  I took part in a week’s national course on Leading your Church into Growth,  as well as the regular diocesan sessions,  while this year we will be getting to grips with the new regulations on working with Vulnerable Adults! I am very encouraging of anyone who would like to learn about or be involved in any area of Church life from personal spirituality to any type of ministry or wider concerns that enthuse you! There are plenty of opportunities just ask!

Life together has been enhanced through a quiz night, a graveyard clear out with B.B.Q, (and thank you Scouts) a vicarage Sunday B.B.Q, Harvest lunch at St Peter’s, our patronal festival celebration/ open church, an Arts Day, coffee shop, concerts by the Police Band and choir and even both the Christmas Bazaars (well I agree those are mostly hard work, so thank you!!). This year will very soon see the amazing 2010 programme of events take fruition, starting at Pentecost weekend with an amazing art show, concert and Bishop Trevour! Please do spread the word, come along, and offer to help with refreshments and   keeping the church open. Thank you to all who have worked so hard for this and you who will come along to support!  We have tried to involve the whole community in our celebrations and have been amazed with the generous participation by so many! Let us really have a summer to remember!! 

Our community involvement has continued with PACT (Police and Community together) meetings in Herne and Greenhill, an amazingly privileged and important life with our local schools and Little Acorns nursery, 2010 community involvement, and other surprises like being invited to lead Carols at the First and Last pub charity event.  Of course we have contact with many people through our welcome and love to hall users, which is vital. But we have also increased our concern for our wider society through boxes for our troops, Help for heroes, a Trade Craft stall and we supported the Scrine Foundation in Canterbury who help homeless people, through food donations, and the Gambia to name a few. I am delighted that our giving to needy causes has increased year by year recently. If you have a particular link or empathy with a charity do please let Elaine know, or if you would like to co-ordinate and raise awareness in our congregation please do let Elaine know. It would be great to have an individual or small team to be interested in this!

PCC. We are custodians of several buildings and the life of our parish. I am indebted to the PCC who give so much time and thought to vital tasks like managing the money, the buildings, visionary thinking so that our buildings meet the needs of 21^st century people and its laws, and for their unfailing support and encouragement. THANK YOU! In addition to reviewing St Martin’s access, the PCC focus for 2010 will be about Mission and the creation of a parish mission plan.

Ministry. Licensed Ministerial assistance during 2009 was indeed lean! Frances Ventham was off sick throughout the year and I am sure you share my delight to have seen her back in her blue scarf on Palm Sunday (2010)! She really was an inspiration throughout her illness. Welcome back Frances! John Scott (our Permission To Officiate reader) also needed to concentrate on being carer to Clare, although he did manage to preach once per month. Now Clare is in residential care John is looking forward to being more ministerially active.  Lionel Ball (retired London Missioner) has also preached monthly and has written our weekly bible notes.  Rev’d Geoff Neale has been able to cover some of the monthly 11.15am BCP services and covered much of Elaine’s holiday cover, with the help of other local clergy.           I greatly thank you all! The parish has also had the wonderful opportunity to welcome ordinands to our parish. Two student ordinands from the Theological College of Sri Lanka (where Elaine did a placement during her training), visited us in June and took part in 2 assemblies, an Infant school Dutch breakfast, bell ringing,  a 2010 meeting, visited Strode Park, and Baptism teaching for 3, Year One groups, and all in 24 hours! In October we welcomed Julie who is training at Westcott House, Cambridge for an extended placement here. I know we will miss her when she leaves us in a few weeks. Thank you for welcoming and accommodating her in the various rotas. 

We have been greatly blessed with many children and families who worship at St Martin’s week by week, and residents from Strode Park and together we form a wonderful variety of God’s people. You are a huge gift to us and we praise God for you all.

Thank you to all who have ministered in welcome and teaching, refreshments and so many other ways to each other and the youngsters.  This year we will be exploring children’s ministry as well as the best ways we can use our accommodation, as we seek to share our life and worship with all the age ranges. As you know Neil our Youth Worker will leave us in August, thank you Neil we will miss you! So we are indeed delighted to welcome Mel Keily as our resident youth worker. She will obviously be unable to take on all that Neil did in relation to Churches Together, but will work primarily on Fridays to lead Schools Out, the Young people’s social, bible study,  the Sunday youth group and respond to our young people’s needs.  Please do pray for her and our youth and children’s ministry. Mel will start after Easter shadowing Neil and fully take the role on in September

Of course it is exciting news is that we will welcome Julian Staniforth as a stipendiary curate for his curacy training in July.  We will need to prepare for his arrival in many ways and I hope that a working party will be able to assist decorate a couple of rooms in the curates house once the flood damage has been corrected!!! (Yes you read that right, the wardens and I discovered water pouring through the ceiling on one memorable visit!). Julian will be a deacon for the first year, and so be largely non- sacramental. He will need to begin to be comfortable with being up front and get to grips with the practicalities of ministry. He will continue his academic training and have one study day off per week. Obviously he and I will work very closely together and all his work will be delegated and monitored through me.  In time he will become involved in projects, but not for some while, so please do not embarrass him by asking him to be involved projects or to take on tasks. I am really very excited by this new step forward in our parish life and know that we will all learn and be enriched by Julian and his family’s ministry among us.

As you see ministry takes various forms, from a word of welcome or encouragement, to helping with groups, praying for each other and the world or to training for full time ordination.  You are all ministers! A big thank you to you all, for without you there would be no corporate worship, or any sense of life and hope in our parish.                                                                                                             It is only when we are together that we begin to discover who we are as children of God.

The Lord your God is in your midst, a warrior who gives victory; The Lord will rejoice over you with gladness and will renew you in love, and exult over you with loud singing as on a day of festival . Zeph 3.17

May God Bless you richly in this coming year.                                 Elaine Richardson Vicar. April 2010