| Annual Review '09 |
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Annual Review of the life of St Peter’s for the 2009 AGM THe following article provides an overview of life at St Peter's Church, Didcot over the year to April 2009. Most unusually no weekday services were held at St Peter’s during the last two weeks of July 2008. Instead, decorators were in giving the walls and ceiling a much-needed two coats of white paint, and electricians followed, bringing new internal lights. The project had been planned over the previous nine months, and was made possible by the extraordinary generosity of those who supported the Gift Day on 24th February. The total cost of the works came to £15,951, of which almost £13,000 had been pledged by members and friends of St Peter’s. The new lights were dedicated to the glory of God on 28th September at the main morning service, when particular thanks were expressed to Mark Stanley who had coordinated the whole project. The inside of the church has been transformed and a considerable saving on power bills is also expected.Continuing the ‘buildings’ theme, work began in August on a new Vicarage for St Peter’s, positioned in the back garden of the existing parsonage house. It should be ready to move into by May 2009, and it is likely that the old house will be demolished to make way for redevelopment. This work has been commissioned and paid for by the Diocese, but the new Vicarage looks set to be a major asset for the church, guaranteeing as it does a parish priest here at St Peter’s well into the future. The new access road will run from the church carpark, which has become rather muddy over the winter, but improvements should be on the way in due course. The past year has been marked by two ordinations. On St Peter’s Day, Sunday 29th June 2008, the 10.00am Sung Eucharist was cancelled and a good number of the congregation traveled by train to Reading for the ordination of Revd James Baker as a priest. Our church choir, led by Marilyn Mitcham and Mark Stanley, had been asked to robe and sing for the service, and the final hymn was the one that had been specially written for last year’s confirmation service here at St Peter’s. Back in Didcot that evening at 6.00pm the church was completely packed as Father James presided at the Eucharist for the first time. The patronal festival was completed by some splendid refreshments in the church hall, bringing to an end a day that would live long in the memory. On 11th January 2009 St Peter’s hosted only the second ordination service that has ever been held at the church. Joy Carter had been preparing for ordination since the summer of 2005, and has been a member of St Peter’s for some thirty years, so it was very good that Bishop Stephen agreed to hold the service in Didcot. Regular members of the congregation combined with Joy’s friends and family, as well as familiar faces from the past such as Father Nicholas Gandy and Sister Pat, to fill the church. Once again the choir sang superbly, and an unforgettable day ended with a party in the hall. On 13th July 2008 the visiting preacher at the 10.00am Sung Eucharist was none other than Bishop Lawrence of Nandyal, who has the church of St Peter & St Paul Kalasapadu in his diocese in South India, with which we are linked. Bishop Lawrence and his wife stayed with churchwarden Mary Boyle in the parish for a week or so, prior to going to the Lambeth Conference, held by the Archbishop of Canterbury every ten years. They had received several other invitations, but chose particularly to come to Didcot. Bishop Lawrence also spoke movingly of his life and ministry at an evening gathering on the 13th July. As well as the ‘home team’ of preachers – James Baker, Edward Carter, Joy Carter, Fran Childs and Jenny Loder, ably assisted on occasion by Father Ernest Adley – other visiting preachers this past year have included Revd Gary Morgan, Revd Hugh Boorman from the Ladygrove Church, Dom Francis from Elmore Abbey and Mother Winsome from the Convent at Wantage. For four weeks during the summer of 2008 Chloe Willson-Thomas was on placement from Ripon College Cuddesdon, as part of her preparations for ordination. In addition to preaching, she led Evensong and took part in many other aspects of the life of St Peter’s and the parish. The autumn has seen Dom Whitting and Martin Allwood, also both from Cuddesdon, here on Sunday placement. Dom has also been in Didcot for various mid-week activities, and preached on Advent Sunday. Worship lies at the heart of the life of St Peter’s, and a whole variety of services have taken place through the past year. Sometimes the church is full, for example when the children of Northbourne School or Willowcroft School come to St Peter’s, or if there are many mourners at a funeral. On other occasions just a few gather for worship, maybe at the early Communion Service on a Sunday, or in the Prayer Corner on a Wednesday evening. Sometimes the church is full of exuberant noise, for example at the weekly ABC Service for Tuesday Club’s pre-school children, and sometimes it is peaceful, as at the annual All Souls’ Tide service of remembrance. On 6th July the local branch of the Royal Naval Association held a special service for the laying up of their banner, and Father Edward presided and preached for them. On 12th October the annual Pet Service included the escape of a bird, which perched happily in the rafters before being successfully caught in a net afterwards. Every act of worship reminds us of our primary function as a church – to give thanks and praise to God for his goodness, and to pray for his grace and help in our lives as individuals and as a community. The Youth Group has become very adventurous over the past year, with a residential trip to Phasels Wood under the direction of Father James, Graham Hall and E-K Hudson at the end of May. A separate visit to London and the museums followed on 13th December, all part of a varied and exciting programme with the regular Thursday evening meetings at church at its heart. Sunday School, now under the direction of Alison Driscoll, has grown in numbers through the autumn of 2008, with up to twenty children attending. All of this work with the youngsters has benefited from the oversight of our new Young People’s Ministry Coordinator, Julie Mintern. Behind the scenes, quiet work has also been underway to strengthen our ministry of pastoral care, following the ‘calling out’ of Judith Harris in a coordinating role at Easter. A group of ‘church neighbours’ has been formed, and new resources provided in the prayer corner at church. Amongst the enjoyable social events that were held in 2008 were the seven Quiz Nights, now a well-established fixture in our calendar which attract up to 150 people each time, a Promises Auction which raised over £1,000, the Plant Sale which was combined with a Flower Festival weekend, the Harvest Barn Dance with the band ‘Jack’s Maggot’ providing the music, and of course the Summer Fair, for which the sun shone despite all predictions. Whatever the event, people from our parish and community will all have received a warm welcome at St Peter’s, and partaken of our legendary refreshments. At the 2008 Church AGM Mark Stanley stepped down as churchwarden after three years in the role. He was thanked warmly by a hugely grateful congregation for all that he’d done in that time. Mary Boyle was elected in his place to serve alongside Margaret Meardon. Hugh Collins-Rice was also elected to a new position as Vice-Chair of the PCC. 22nd September saw the last day when Oxfordshire Mind used the church hall for their drop-in centre. Formerly known as ‘Whistlestop’, the group had used St Peter’s for almost twenty years. In their place an organisation called ‘Turnstyle’ have been using the hall and kitchen as part of their work with disabled people. High on the list of daring feats performed this year has been Father James’ parachute jump on 6th December, which raised a significant sum for church funds. A video of the jump was posted on the church website. Less dramatic but also newsworthy was Father Edward’s sponsored cycle ride around all the churches of the Wallingford Deanery, in his capacity as the Area Dean. Members of St Peter’s, as well as many others in our community, were deeply saddened by the news of David Morgan’s death on 20th June. David had been a faithful member of our church for many years, helping in all sorts of ways, and it still seems strange not to see him in church on Sundays. His funeral was held at St Peter’s on 27th June, having been preceded by a Requiem Eucharist earlier in the day. At the funeral his son Ian, who is a clergyman, spoke of his warm and kind nature and his strong Christian faith. The prayers of the whole church have been with his wife, Margaret. Amongst close family of members of St Peter’s, the funeral of David Welch was held in April, and in October the funeral of Jim Scott, a long-standing member of the Didcot Choral Society, which meets at St Peter’s, took place at the church. The church was also very saddened to hear of the death of John Loder in July. His funeral took place at St Andrew’s Hagbourne, where he was a worshipper. St Peter’s is thriving, but there is always a need to be about God’s work in new ways, so as to remind the people of our parish about Him. A launch ‘Gospel Choir from Scratch’ event held in February 2009 drew almost 100 people, many of them not church-goers. There are high hopes that this excellent start can result in significant growth for St Peter’s over the coming year. As 2009 gets underway we are also fortunate in receiving significant new offers of voluntary help at St Peter’s, and measures are being taken to ensure that all our volunteer coordinators and leaders are well supported. Although, as is inevitable, some people have a higher profile than others in the life of our church, everyone is valued, even if the onset of years or ill health makes it harder for some to attend regularly on Sundays. Thanks are due to every single person who is linked to St Peter’s in any way, for the contribution that they make. The new lights have lit up our church in a glorious way, and remind us of God’s presence with us. They might also remind us of the call that every Christian hears, to ‘shine as a light in the world.’ May God bless us as a church, as we continue shining to God’s glory. |
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