A Review of ‘The life of St. Mary’s Diss in 2012’
In recent years my report to the Annual Meeting has tried to follow the Benedictine emphasis of concentrating on Worship, Learning and Hospitality. I have always believed that this focus helps us all to remember what we ought to be about rather than getting stuck within the understandable mentality of ‘doing what we always do’ and limiting ourselves, and the work of God, to the same old thing. These three areas of concern keep our discipleship alive especially in an age where being a Christian is ever more difficult to demonstrate.
Worship
Last year I identified four areas for development regarding our worship. They were; the development of a children’s area at the back of church; new lighting for the choir and chancel area; a new screen projector for future work; and a new hymn supplement booklet to be used in worship. I am glad to report that all four of these have been achieved. This in itself is quite an achievement. Thanks to very generous legacies and the Heywood Fund all four have been achieved without touching our general fund.
(i) The new Children’s area has been well received and well used. It is wonderful to see people coming in to sit and be during the week as well as be of good use during services for those who bring children. Thanks should go to John Curtis, John Pares, Jackie Young, Linda Curtis and many others for making this such an inviting and useful space. It does of course need to be monitored carefully and I am glad to report that Linda Curtis has agreed to keep an eye on it and make sure it is cared for. It will need to continue to develop and this will need to be thought through at the Growth meetings in this next year.
(ii) The new Lighting in the Chancel and Choir is very beautiful and very well used. It has also added to the wonderful look of our building. At all three services on a Sunday it has truly enhanced our worship and we are very grateful to Muriel Newsome, Maud Harvey and Doug Bartlett whose legacies made it possible.
(iii) A very up-dated Screen Projector has been installed in the south aisle thanks to the Heywood Fund. This facility has already been used for the many schools visits that have taken place since its installation but my hope is that we will be using it more at our services in the years to come. The higher quality resolution of this machine will enable greater use of picture projection which our old machine was unable to provide. Such an option was greatly used at the recent Ecumenical Lent Course at both the Methodist, URC and Catholic churches. Our use would no longer be thought of as trendy but in total keeping with what other churches are doing!
(iv) The new Hymn Supplement booklet slipped in last summer and has been sparingly used over this last year. It illustrates our commitment to widen what we sing within our services and my hope is that it will be added to during the next few years.
Learning
Three aims were suggested for this area; an increased emphasis on Bible study within the Connect groups; an external banner fixed to the tower to communicate our learning to the wider community; and a piece of research to look into what other churches are doing regarding learning for the young. Progress has been made in these areas but more still needs to be done.
(i) The Connect Groups have been doing more Bible over this last year, and I can report that they will be doing a lot more in this next year. As always we must all be grateful to our Ministry Team for all they do in this regard.
(ii) The Banner for the Tower has yet to be achieved but our intrepid curate John is still on the job!
(iii) As to looking at Youth John Pares has done much to promote a Youth Café on Friday nights. With the help of Youth for Christ and several church members the church is open for business on Fridays. This project will be carefully monitored in the year to come.
Hospitality
Last year I outlined four areas regarding hospitality. They were; producing a prayer journey for visitors; a new magazine; a commitment to the emerging Food Bank project; and some greater thinking about how we might welcome non-churched people to our services. In these areas there has been useful developments but with more to do.
(i) The Prayer Journey has been completed and in place. Visitors to the building can now travel around the church making full use of our ‘stations’. The arrival of a Labyrinth last summer also brought visitors in who found it useful.
(ii) A new styled magazine has now been going for nearly one year. It has been met with some regrets from those who were used to the older format but visitors have remarked on the picture format and expressed appreciation. We must all thank Keith Ridgway for his valiant hard work.
(iii) After considerable teething problems I can now report that we are up and running as a Food Bank Church. The response from Church-goers in giving has been gratifying. This is useful alms giving in a modern context.
(iv) The welcoming of non-churched people to our services does not happen very often, reflecting as it does that the church has to go and be where people are and not expect them to come to us. In this respect we need to acknowledge the real growth in church members attending the new baptismal services. I would like to see more members making it their duty to attend from time to time. More thought needs to be given to how we invite people to our acts of worship and then facilitate worship for the non-churched in the years to come.
So much for the objectives we set ourselves last year and how it has all gone, but of course I am reminded that all the best laid plans are subject to greater concerns above and beyond our control. Within the Deanery of Redenhall we saw the departure of four stipendiary priests last year thus leaving considerable blanks in man-power. As you now know the old Scole Benefice has lost its full time priest as has the Upper Waveney Benefice. During last summer it was requested that Diss considered becoming a Team Ministry to look after the five parishes of the Upper Waveney. Our PCC, along with the five parishes of the Upper Waveney, agreed to do this and so we were informally launched at the start of this calendar year. A formal point will be marked as soon as the scheme is passed in parliament. When this happens we shall be joined by a part time priest who will serve over the whole Team.
Whilst all of this is very exciting we must not forget that it involves great loss and a requirement that we all re-think what it means to be a Church community in the 21st century. No longer can we think of one person doing it all; rather, we must all play our part in doing the work of God. To this end we have always been very fortunate in Diss in having as we do the help of some excellent retired clergy and Lay Readers. We are also much blessed with two very good curates. And here I would like to pay great tribute to both of them.
John Pares has been a very splendid curate, who, last summer thoroughly enjoyed himself by being in charge during my sabbatical. His contribution to the life of this church has been considerable and we rightly salute and thank him.
This year also saw a wonderful Ordination Service in our church for Maggie Swayze. It came after a great deal of commitment and training on her part and active service for over thirty years in this church. Like John we salute and thank her. Whilst her role as Administrator has grown enormously we must not forget that she does much in a priestly role, and this too will expand.
There are many more people I should thank on an occasion such as this but rather than singling people out I would rather say a generic thank you to everyone. The success of any church community lies with the willingness of every member to play its part as best they can, and if we claim any success, and I think we should, it is because so many people in our community of St. Mary’s do not leave it to others but rather role their sleeves up and give. I thank each and every one personally, but I also do so for the entire church because what you do DOES make a difference. Most of the other churches in our area have small numbers because for too long they have left it to the parson and killed him off by so doing. Thankfully this has never been the practice here, and whilst we can still attract people to join us, many other places, with few people to do anything, are finding that people do not join them for fear of being asked to do so much. So in my thanks to you all please continue to think about doing something for this community because in that way we will not die, and we will attract others to join.
The Year Ahead
In the light of all of this we must now turn our attention to the priorities for the next year.
The following objectives ought to be central stage in the year to come.
(i) Finding ways to relate and support our new brothers and sisters in the other five parishes. In the next year I want us all to find lasting ways in which we can all come together. Sunday services will not, in the main, be a place where we shall be able to do this. Regular services in most of the churches MUST be upheld. Unity is better achieved through social and learning conditions and my hope is that we will all put ourselves out and go and support each other’s ‘events’ in the years to come.
(ii) Welcoming a new Team Vicar who we will all grow to love and enjoy. Adverts are going out in late May with the hope of interviewing in early July. Please make this a matter for your prayers and if we are lucky enough to appoint work hard to help this person feel at home here.
(iii) Address our achievement in finding monies for our normal house-keeping requirements. In the last few years we have been ‘living beyond our means’ and we now need to reassess our giving. A new approach to stewardship has begun but this can no longer be a ‘one off’, we need to be more constant in the way we talk and use money. Allk our futures as a community depend on a better way to raise funds.
(iv) Consolidation needs to continue with the following projects;
· The Youth Café
· The Food Bank
· The Visiting of the Sick and Housebound
· The way we communicate through notices in and out of our building, possibly using the new screen projector to cut down on the use of paper, and better use of our new website.
· The Approach to the non-churched community. More congregational involvement in baptismal services?
· Further Development of our new Website
In conclusion, however, I would be very remiss if I did not call us all back to the love of God and a need to be utterly committed to him. Churches may have all sorts of strategies for growth and development but if they are not rooted in the regular worship of God they are pointless. May final call then is that each of us will be much more regular in our worship of God who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.
Canon Tony Billett
Rector of Diss
8th April 2013