REVIEW OF 2016 REVIEW

“Growing as a Christ Centred CommunityLiving the Mission of Jesus”

ANNUAL CHURCH MEETING

7.30 pm

in The Church Hall

Wednesday 26th April 2017

BROCKENHURST Parish Church

St. Nicholas’ &St. Saviour’s

THE PARISH OF BROCKENHURST

The Parish of BrockenhurstMinutes of the Annual Meeting of Parishioners and

Annual Parochial Church Meeting held on Wednesday 27th April 2016 at 7.30pm

The Vicar, Revd. Neil Smart welcomed everyone to the meeting and opened with a prayer.64 church members attended the meeting. Apologies were received from: Steve & Karina Curson, John & Gay Lang, Nicky Rowntree, Shirley Jolliffe, Hugo & Jean Thomas, Anne Morley, Delphine Matthews, Wendy Wallace, Sue Lynes, Jackie Eley.

Annual Meeting of ParishionersElection of Churchwardens The candidates were:Steve Curson Proposed by Phil Horner Seconded by Jan CampbellAlan Wright Proposed by Shirley Jolliffe Seconded by Phil HornerBoth candidates were elected unanimously.

Annual Parochial Church Meeting

• Minutes of previous meetingThe Minutes of the meeting held on 29th April 2015 were accepted and signed by Neil.

• Matters ArisingOur church silver which dates from the 18th century, with a value of approximately £10K, was on display and Church Members had the opportunity to view the silver at the end of the APCM.

• The Vicar’s Report

2015 A Year to Remember – Thy Kingdom ComeNeil showed a presentation reflecting on 2015, highlighting: fun and fundraising; learning to trust God; working together; building God’s people; making a plan; using our resources well; making an impact; and growing together. The church in Kayagoro, Rwanda, celebrated the completion of their new roof, which we helped to fund, on the same day as our new Church Hall Development was opened.

Neil went on to thank the following people for their contribution to church life:

2

Project Manager for the Church Hall Development Project – John Craen; Grant Finder for the Church Hall Development Project – Mike Matthews; Church Wardens, particularly during Neil’s Sabbatical – Alan Wright & Steve Curson; Treasurer for all Church accounts – Peter Lay; Office Work, particularly during a stressful time without the phone and internet during the building works – Sharon Dibden & Lesley Munt; Minute taking and office cover – Jean Wright; and Debbie Smart for everything she does to support Neil in his ministry.

• Wardens’ Report

Alan thanked everyone for coming and summarised the highlights of the last year, full details of which are in the Annual Reports booklet and on the church website, which was written by Steve. Alan thanked Neil and Steve for their advice and instruction over the past year. Alan then summarised the various functions which church members are involved with in order for our Sunday services to go ahead; we pull together to help each other celebrate our faith. Alan covered three aspects, namely: In church – Sunday and Wednesday Services; Sunday School; Weddings; Funerals; Messy Church; Busy Badgers; Prayer meetings - these all require clergy; Youth Workers and helpers; musicians; choristers; the Sanctuary Guild; sides-people; flower teams; Spotlight editor; tea/coffee providers. In the background: administrative staff; finance team; Fabric team; Hall Team; social Team; St Nicholas’ guardians; Synod representation; gardeners; handy-men for running repairs; cleaners; the PCC. And in the community: pastoral visits; Wednesday lunches; CAMEO; Care Cars; Christmas Lunch; Village School; College; Mothers’ Union; Christian Aid; Charity support; Street and Prayer Pastors; Wedding Preparation; Baptism Preparation; Holidays@Home. Apologies if I have forgotten to mention what you do. The majority of our church members give some of their time, voluntarily; thank you to all who help and make it happen. Neil thanked Alan and Steve for their work as Church Wardens.

• Treasurer’s Report – including the Year’s accounts

Peter Lay gave the Treasurer’s Report with an overview of the Annual Report using a Powerpoint presentation which included a selection of tables and pie-charts.

In brief his observations were as follows:

• Very positive response to the Church Hall Development appeal

• still have to raise £6,000 for charity

• Overall deficit of £6,911 on main activities 3

• 10% increase in Parish Share compared to 2014

• St Nicholas’ maintenance costs

• Purchase of Mission Praise books

• Purchase of chairs with arms for St Saviour’s

• Voluntary income is very important

• Is increasing

• However not enough to support all the things that need to be paid for.

He then showed a series of pie charts and graphs, with one showing the need for an increasing trend for our Planned Giving; this growth in voluntary income is important as we need to fund more maintenance costs over the year.

When the Youth Worker fund was set up, if there was insufficient money in this fund then it was topped-up from the General Fund. However, since the introduction of Parish Giving, whereby money is paid into the General Fund, there has been a reduction into the Youth Worker fund.

Neil thanked Peter for his work in the role of Treasurer.

• Electoral Roll Report

Alan reported: 264 on the Electoral Roll as at 27 th April 2016, of which 36 are non-resident.

• Other Reports

Neil said that full reports covering other aspects of church life are in the printed booklets and also on the church website.

Thanks were given to Helen Cheeseman and Kay Pead for all the work that they do with our young people.

Thanks were also given to Lesley Munt for all her hard work in collating the reports in order to give a full picture of what is happening in the parish.

• Appointment of PCC members

There were four spaces on PCC this year, and we have two applications:Phil Horner Proposed by Shirley Jolliffe Seconded by John PearsonKay Pead Proposed by Brenda Horner Seconded by Jean WrightBoth names were approved by the meeting.

4

• Appointment of Sidespersons

Alan read out a list of 53 names willing to be Sidespersons for the coming year and this was unanimously agreed.

• Appointment of Independent Examiner

David Heslop recommended that we continue to use Jackie Paulson as our Independent Examiner, and all were in favour.

11. Open Forum• Mike Matthews asked if our new Youth Rooms are being advertised in

the village; the Hall Team are currently discussing this with the Guides and Brownies.

• John Craen updated the members on the remaining items to be replaced in the Church Hall. Four windows have already been replaced; fire doors need replacing, for which an estimate has been received, but no action has been taken until discussed with the Hall Team and PCC. Quotes are being sought for a new Hall front door; a quote for replacement of the hall carpet has been received, but final costs are not yet available.

• John Broadley encouraged members to pray for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit. The theme is ‘Thy Kingdom Come’. There are four ways to engage:

- Nine days of prayer from 7-8am in St Saviour’s Church - 48 hours of prayer from 12th – 14th May- Celebrations at Winchester Cathedral from 13 th – 15th May. Beacon event on 15th at Winchester Cathedral now sold out, outside seating available. - Praise and Worship Service at St Saviour’s on 15th May at 7pm, a link event with our Deanery. We will have a bonfire in the grounds.

• Thanks were expressed from Jan Campbell for the team work in producing and distributing the Parish Magazine.

• Phil Horner expressed thanks, on behalf of everyone, to Neil and Debbie for everything that they do in the parish.

The meeting finished at 9.10pm

After the meeting there was a short summary of the highlights of the Camino Pilgrimage from Neil and Debbie which concluded with the Grace at 9.30pm

5

VICAR’S ANNUAL REPORT 2016The year started with a flurry of activity as plans were put into place for my absence on sabbatical leave. This was such a very great gift of renewal and restoration for both Debbie and myself. The PCC generously provided some financial support for our travels, first to Rwanda and then the Camino in Spain. The study leave allowed me to write two papers for the Diocese, one on The Path to Forgiveness and the second on Mission in Kigeme Diocese. Our first six weeks in Africa were a time of immersing ourselves in the Anglican worship of a very different culture and context. Then we had four weeks on the pilgrimage trail to Santiago de Compostela, a time of spiritual as well as physical challenges.We arrived back just in time for the opening of the new rooms at a wonderful service of celebration with Bishop Jonathan. It was very humbling to be back after all the hard work in conditions of dust, cold and dirt that the office staff had put up with. It was also so encouraging to see that the spiritual life of the parish had been so well supported and nurtured while we had been away. My thanks go to all those who put in all the effort and energy that made this possible.The summer months were first a time of prayer as we joined in the Thy Kingdom Come initiative in the run up to Pentecost. Our bonfire to mark the occasion was a great way to round off the day. Then we were planning for the unveiling of the window at St Nicholas’. This was such a joy to be part of, with the local support matching the input by the New Zealanders, from Maori dancers to ministers of state. The beginning of July then brought the start of Mary Nicholson’s time with us as curate. After her ordination as deacon at Winchester she started to serve with us and has quickly become an indispensable part of the staff team. That worship team was also supplemented by the start of John Pearson’s Lay Reader training.During the autumn we developed the use of the new rooms and settled into our enlarged space. The two offices allow us to work much more cooperatively across the working week and we also appointed Gerry Radjen as a part time administrator to allow us to provide greater cover in the office. The Youth Room has been widely used by the young people on Sundays and in the week, as well as providing a much needed meeting room that is often put to good use. It has taken a little while for people to get used to our brilliant new kitchen but teething problems are gradually getting ironed out.September was marked by our amazing confirmation service with 10 of our young people confirmed by Bishop Jonathan. This is a great testament to the hard work of Kay Pead and Helen Cheeseman, our children and youth workers. We are so blessed to be able to work with these youngsters in their

6

formative years. Then in October we set out on our ‘Say One For Me’ prayer week and ended up with over 260 prayers from across our community. The start of December saw St Saviour’s filled by the Christmas Unwrapped event by J John and the Filling Station, before all the usual celebrations of the festival rounded off the year.Perhaps more than any before, this year has been a great team effort by all those across our church community who enabled us to build and grow and serve and worship. We have awesome people in so many key positions across our church. It is only as we work together that we can ever hope to see God’s Kingdom come. To Him be the Glory.

Neil Smart

CHURCH WARDENS ’ REPORT BROCKENHURST PCC – REVIEW OF THE YEAR 2016

IntroductionThe full PCC met six times with an average attendance of 80%. The PCC committees and appointed teams met between PCC meetings and reports on their deliberations were received by the PCC, discussed and acted upon where necessary. The Group Council, which represents the Brockenhurst, Boldre, South Baddesley and Sway Parishes, continued to meet regularly to coordinate future plans and share resources.

The key points of focus for the Church in 2016 continued to be:Our Role in the Community,Supporting our Congregations,Children and Youth Work,Mission.

Our Role in the CommunityThe church's pastoral activities under the Brockcare umbrella have continued to thrive with our Pastoral Visitors working in the community visiting the elderly, isolated, those in hospitals and those in care homes.This year our ‘Holidays at Home’ event entertained twenty four guests who enjoyed a three day virtual holiday on our virtual train learning more about the beautiful country of Canada. This was our eighth year of holding this event which enables elderly Brockenhurst residents to enjoy a special time of companionship, fun and entertainment. The three day holiday, based in the Church Hall, is run by Brockcare. The foyer of the newly refurbished Church Hall was transformed into our ‘Mountain Railway’ station complete with Totem Pole and the main area was decorated with bunting, ice hockey shirts, curling equipment and snowshoes. Each day was full of fun and friendship, entertainment and chat. Revd Alan Graham led a ‘Thought for the Day’ which gave everyone a few minutes to focus on God. We had talks about the East

7

coast of Canada, travelling through the Rockies, the sport of curling and the Canadian soldiers who were stationed in the New Forest during the war. An exercise class was much enjoyed, there was a craft session, and a day trip outing to the local Canadian War Memorial.

Wednesday Lunches continued to be well supported, as were the Thursday morning coffee mornings (CAMEO). Once again, Christmas Lunch in the Church Hall was a great success, catering for many people who would otherwise be alone on Christmas Day. These activities are only possible because there is an army of volunteers from within the church and increasingly from outside the church, ready and willing to give of their time and efforts on a regular basis.Our project to extend the Church Hall was completed in April. The project allows us to develop and grow the ways in which we serve our community by extending and updating the kitchen, building a Youth Room and Crèche and increasing our administration space. Many of the fund raising events to finance the extension have involved members of the village community who are not church members, and has brought them into close contact with the work of the church. The Bishop of Southampton, the Rt Revd Dr Jonathan Frost, dedicated the new rooms on 17 April, just under two years after the launch of the project.A garden party to celebrate the Queen’s 90 th Birthday was held in St. Saviour’s Church garden and Church Hall during June. The event was organised by the Parish Council and supported by the church, with a display of Brockenhurst’s history, the Mothers' Union providing teas, and the Youth Group organising children’s activities.The celebration of the opening 100 years ago of No.1 New Zealand General Hospital on the Tile Barn site took place on 29 June. The centrepiece was the new stained glass memorial window in St. Nicholas’ Church, which was unveiled jointly by the New Zealand High Commissioner Sir Lockwood Smith and the NZ Government Minister for Social Development the Hon Anne Tolley. Designed and made by Salisbury Glass it is a gift to our Parish Church from the New Zealand Government and UK-based Community. After the service to unveil the new window there was a service at the Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery which featured singing of Au E Ihu (The Soldiers' Hymn) and the reading of the poem ‘Far Away Yonder’ by a Maori group and our primary school children singing ‘Shine Jesus Shine’ before laying posies on all the graves. The Hon Anne Tolley then read excerpts from the diary of Captain Charlie May who was killed on the first day of the Battle of the Somme, which was further remembered with the playing of the Last Post, one minute silence and Reveille. The Exhortation was delivered in English by ACF Cadet Ally Hood and in Maori by Major-General Peter Kelly – CGS NZ Army. After the service the visitors were taken to the Tile Barn Centre to view the original site of the Hospital and to see the new Poppy Pod Village recently erected as

8

Hampshire County Council’s thank you to the Armed Services. The New Zealanders then hosted a Lunch Party in the Balmer Lawn Hotel. The hand rails for the churchyard steps leading to the WW1 war graves were replaced in 2016, gratefully funded by the New Zealand Women’s Association.During October we held a prayer initiative within the community over a week, which was well supported and deeply moving. Members of the church went out into the community to offer prayers. The main focus of the week was the offering to ‘Say One For Me’. All the collected prayers were then prayed through by small groups of our church members who gathered on Saturday afternoon for a special service. Candles were lit for each prayer and a ribbon tied onto the cross for each and every person we prayed for.

Supporting our Congregations We currently have ten Home Groups with over one hundred people attending. Our Home Groups are places for development and active support for individuals across our church. We also have two Youth Bible Study Groups called Small Church. Alongside this we have nine teams, which are task-focussed groups within which volunteers are able to serve our church life. Each week we have prayer meetings on Mondays for the world, and on Fridays for our community. Our church life is supported by an active church office, which is a hub for organising events and services.The church supports worship in our two church buildings across at least six congregations. The largest congregation meets at 9.30 am in St. Saviour’s Church on Sunday mornings where services are family orientated and open to all. There are a range of services through the month, from Common Worship Holy Communion to Café Church. These services are supported by clergy, licensed lay ministers, lay people and regular prayer ministry. At St. Nicholas’ Church there is a small said BCP Holy Communion Service at 8 am and then an alternating Matins and Sung Holy Communion at 11.15 am supported by a robed choir and organist. A monthly BCP Evensong is well supported by an enlarged choir and those of the other churches in our group. Each week at St. Saviour’s Church there is a Wednesday Holy Communion at 10 am, which may be led by Licenced Lay Ministers. We take communion services in two of our care homes.Neil, our priest, took three months' study leave from mid-January, having completed 10 years’ service as a vicar. With his careful pre-planning, and considerable support from the other clergy and Licensed Lay Ministers, services and other clerical activities continued with minimal disruption.A special service took place in September to welcome the new Head Teacher and Governors of our village Church of England school.Lindy Styles, who has looked after our churches for many years, retired as church cleaner in April. We welcomed Luke Chambers, who has joined our team as our new church cleaner. In July we welcomed Revd Mary Nicholson who has joined the parish as Curate. In October Gerry Radgen joined us as

9

our second Parish Administrator, who job-shares with Sharon Dibden. John Pearson commenced his training to become a Licensed Lay Minister. During the year we celebrated 10 years’ service of Sharon Dibden as Parish Administrator and Kay Pead as a Youth Worker.

Children and Youth WorkOur informal Messy Church services for families and children have been taking place for six years and run approximately six times a year. We also have a toddler service called ‘Little Flames’ which is run by our Mothers' Union. Our young people up to Year 6 are served on Sundays by age-related groups which meet on three Sundays each month, during the time when our church services take place. There are also Pathfinder and Blaze groups for our younger and older teenagers which meet weekly. We were delighted that 10 of our young people decided to receive Confirmation at a special service in September. We also serve our community through baptisms, weddings and funerals. We support a Mother and Toddler Group in the Church Hall each week, which links into our toddler service and baptism ministry. Towards the end of 2016 we introduced a ‘Sticky Faith’ initiative, which aims to provide each young person with spiritual mentors.

MissionOur links with Mission Organisations are focussed on twelve local and global partners as well as supporting the Christian Aid group in our village. We have specific projects that we are linked to with the Church Mission Society, Tearfund and the Bible Society.Our relationship with our link parish of Kigeme in Rwanda is very strong, with reciprocal visits. The Archbishop of Rwanda visited the parish in October and participated in a Street Pastor patrol in Lymington. We donated three thousand pounds which provided the roof for the new chapel in Kayogoro, Kigeme.We have a strong link with the local primary school, taking collective worship each week, supplying foundation governors and hosting services and celebrations at Church. We support the Christian Union at Brockenhurst College, where our Youth Worker has a voluntary role as College Chaplain, and we try to be an active link between the College and our community. We also work with the local Council at commemorative events and other village groups when we can.We have a strong and active Mothers’ Union who support a number of activities including marriage preparation, baptisms, Busy Badgers for mothers and toddlers, and Little Flames, which is an informal service for the under 5(’)s.We continue to strongly support the New Forest South Street Pastors through our church members who volunteer in Street Pastor and Prayer Pastor roles. We support the New Forest Basics Bank. There are collection points for donated goods in both churches and the produce from the Harvest Festival

10

service was also donated. Church members are volunteer drivers for distribution of the food parcels. At Christmas we collected jumpers and coats for the homeless.During 2016 we reviewed and updated our Parish Mission Action Plan, which continues to be our point of focus for growing the church in spirit and body.

Maintaining our Church BuildingsWe have continued to competitively review our utility contracts annually using an energy consultant. The wiring for the pendant lighting in St. Nicholas’ Church was refurbished and the internal lighting upgraded with LED bulbs. The external security lighting, which was in poor condition, was replaced with LED floodlights. The 5 year check of the electrical installation in St. Saviour’s Church and the Church Hall was completed in September and implementation of recommended follow-up items is in progress. Annual testing of portable electrical appliances was carried out in both churches and the Church Hall. Annual maintenance of the heating systems, lightning conductors, and fire extinguishers was carried out. The heat exchanger in the St. Saviour’s heating unit was found to have a small hole, most probably due to condensation and corrosion. The heat exchanger was repaired off site and reinstalled. The roof at St. Nicholas’ Church developed a small leak due to cracking of the lead in the roof valley, which was successfully repaired.

----------------------------------------------------

The Churchwardens wish to sincerely thank all those who have been involved in all of these and other areas of church life and ministry. Without their support none of this would have been possible.

Report submitted by Stephen Curson & Alan Wright, Church Wardens

HOME GROUPSOur nine Home Groups had just under a hundred members by the end of the year. There was one leaders' meeting in September and notes were produced for the autumn sermon series. One of our parish mission action plan goals is to see membership grow to 120 people. We intend to work on this in the coming year.My very great thanks goes to all the Home Group leaders who do such a good job of making sure that each group supports, equips and encourages our church members. Report submitted by Neil Smart

FINANCE TEAMThe Team is elected by the PCC; its role is to ensure the effective harnessing and utilisation of the resources available to the PCC. To this end the Team assists the Parish Treasurer in maintaining effective financial controls (systems

11

and procedures) in order to produce the statutory Annual Report & Financial Statements. As required by the Charities Commissioners et al, the latter has to be certified by an accredited External Examiner.Having established an annual budget, reflecting the priorities of the PCC, the team meets periodically to review performance against budget and where necessary recommends corrective action. The team comprises Steven Curson (Church Warden); Peter Lay (Treasurer); Jeremy Moss (Gift Aid Secretary); Philip Horner; Martyn Taylor; John Craen and David Heslop. We are indeed truly blessed to have so many individuals prepared to give their time and to share their expertise.The detailed financial performance for 2016 is recorded in the Financial Statements on which the Treasurer will report in detail. Suffice to say that in a year where the successful Hall Development has involved the raising of considerable funds through various Appeals, the Income needed to cover the costs of maintaining our usual activities has generally held up well . The Youth Worker Fund (YWF) shows a reduction in income - mainly resulting from the introduction of the Parish Giving scheme which is unable to accept restricted donations. The shortfall (Income v Expenditure) was met from the YWF reserves which are now depleted. In this situation the PCC has committed, inasfar as possible, to finance future shortfalls in the YWF from the General Fund. All that said, as we stress in all our stewardship appeals, it's not simply the giving of money - important though that is - but it is the giving of time, the use of talents and the generosity of spirit, expressed in the way we treat one another, that is at the heart of our church community.

Report prepared by David Heslop, Team Chairman

FABRIC TEAM REPORT As well as the ongoing regular maintenance at both churches the Fabric Team were involved in a number of additional projects.

St Nicholas’The installation of a new stained glass window commemorating the role of New Zealand soldiers in World War One and the maintenance of existing windows were succesfully completed. Mike Morley represented the Fabric Team in project managing this activity. The wiring of the pendant lighting was refurbished and the quality of the lighting upgraded by fitting LED lights.

St Saviour’sThe requirement to carry out a survey to determine the condition of the church roof was identified in the last Quinquennial Report. The survey has now been completed and no significant deficiencies were found. The main issue for 2017 will be the removal of vegetation in a number of areas on the roof and in the guttering. This will require the provision of some high level access.

12

Following the completion of the Church Hall Project, follow-up work to reinstate the churchyard was carried out. This included the provision of a safety rail at the access to the church storage shed.Thanks to the hard work and commitment of Lindy and Desmond Waight the refurbishment and replanting of the Memorial Garden was completed.The five yearly check and certification of the church and church hall electrical systems was completed. Other than the need for some modification to the church hall trip system no major rectification items were identified.Thanks are due to all the volunteers involved in all aspects of the maintenance of the fabric of our churches and especially to Steve Curson, Martin Fletcher and Bob Coombs who have led much of the activity during the year.

Report prepared by Phil Horner, Fabric Team Leader

CHILDREN ’ S & YOUTH WORK TEAM Reports prepared by Kay Pead (Youth & Children’s Work Co-ordinator) &

Helen Cheeseman, Pathfinder Leader (Youth & Children’s Work Co-ordinator)

• Sparklers and Bright Sparks (0 - 11 years) These Sunday groups are for those who are pre-school (Sparklers) and at primary school (Bright Sparks). Our purpose is to ‘Become friends and followers of God’. We have varying numbers from week to week, but around 10 children regularly. We meet most Sundays other than all-age services and use the Scripture Union ‘Light’ material as our guide to help us explore the stories of the bible and faith in God. There is a great group of leaders – Debbie, Gerry, Jackie, Juliet, Karina, Kay, Meg and Ros, who work on a rota basis to provide 3 leaders per week to teach the children. We would like to say thank you to all those leaders who prepare and lead sessions with real care and love for the children. Please pray for our leaders and children as they learn together, that we may grow in knowledge and love of God. Please pray for new families to join and get to know the depth of God’s love and hope for their lives.

Report prepared by Kay Pead• Small Church & Biblia Studorium

These are 2 youth (Y6-Y9) homegroups that meet each month to go deeper into the bible and learn more about faith and build relationships. Small Church finished in the summer as it had been meeting for 4 years; this group of 9 young people has moved into Blaze together. Biblia Studorium continues to meet and we have enjoyed meeting in the new youth room as well as in Kay’s home. This year we have been looking at the big story of the bible and continuing to consider our part in God’s big story. Thank you to John, Juliet and Sam who have been leaders alongside Kay. Continue to pray for these young people as they grow in their faith and relationship with God.

Report prepared by Kay Pead

13

• PathfindersPathfinders has been through some big changes in 2016: we have lost 8 of our group into Blaze, leaving a smaller but equally as valuable contingent of 6. We had a very successful annual weekend away at the start of the year and relationships continue to grow and develop. We have said goodbye to Sam Pead as he has moved with the other youth into Blaze; we are indebted to him for his commitment over the years. Sam Lansdowne faithfully supports the pathfinders; my thanks go to her. We have also lost our link with Sway as they have moved their focus from a Sunday morning to mid-week youth work. Annie will continue to support until midway through 2017. Please pray for these young people at this influential time of faith.

Report prepared by Helen Cheeseman

• Blaze (14 – 18) Following our separation from Sway this year, we were a very small group of only 2 young people. We met for a while for bible study with a meal until GCSEs started in May. We then restarted the group in September in the youth room, with the large groups of Y10s moving up from Pathfinders. Thank you to Debbie, Helen, Kay and Sam for all that they have done to manage this time of transition and make this new group a successful and flourishing one. Pray for this group that they continue to grow in love and knowledge of God, and His working through them as witnesses. Pray that as they live in the world and its culture, as they make day to day and life decisions, they are guided by the Holy Spirit.

Report prepared by Kay Pead

• Schools work The links with our Primary School continue to be healthy and strong, as Neil continues to support the Head and staff. This year saw the change of head teacher as Trudie Cawthra chose to retire and the school appointed the deputy John Littlewood as the new Head. We continue to take Collective Worship each Friday, (Neil, Francis, Debbie and Kay) and are able to share stories from the bible as well as God’s longing to be in relationship with his children. From October, we were able to start a new afterschool club called ‘Rooted’; this gave the opportunity for the children to come and explore in more depth the Christian Faith. It has been great to have Mary working with Kay to run this group and we have been really encouraged by the interest the children have in learning more about faith. Please continue to pray for the Head, the staff and the children, that the school will continue to be a place where God’s light shines. Pray for us who go in and get to know the children, that we are able to share more of God’s message of love, forgiveness and hope.

14

Report prepared by Kay Pead

• Messy Church Messy Church is an outreach activity to our families in the village. It provides an opportunity for families to come together to learn a bit more about the Christian faith. Through crafts, fun and games we introduce the theme of the event, moving into a service where a parable or bible story is explored. Then there is a shared meal, where we can get to know the families better and talk about what is happening in their lives. This year we had a Messy Nativity service on a Sunday and we are planning some Saturday Messy Church events in 2017, following talking to parents who come to Messy Church. Messy Church has a large team of people involved, and it is great that we have had some new volunteers this year. Thank you to everyone involved, in the activities, crafts, games, service and meal teams - Messy Church would not be possible without you. Please continue to pray for more families to come and engage with faith, to feel welcome and for relationships to flourish and grow.

Report prepared by Kay Pead

• Brockenhurst College Brock College CU has been small again this year, but dedicated and enthusiastic to learn about Jesus. They are keen to take on student leadership of the Cu next year and I intend to make my role more supportive than leadership. We had successful involvement in the Christmas fair at the college, raising money for Basics Bank. The students are keen to have a positive and more visible face within the college. Please pray for them as they attempt this in the college that is fairly closed to faith. Report prepared by Helen Cheeseman

MISSION TEAMWe continue to support 13 outreach/mission agencies but with a few changes from the previous years, including the addition of Open Doors.  Our Christmas collections were shared between City Life Education and Action for Refugees (based in Southampton) and International Christian Consulate for their work with refugees overseas, and we enjoyed hearing about both of these organisations at our carol services.  From the contingency fund we gave £500 for post-hurricane relief in Haiti, and the balance left in this fund was shared between our two Christmas charities. Most of our charities have received a special donation from the Hall extension fundraising as agreed for our parallel charity project.  We also continue to support the Children’s Society, Christian Aid and Traidcraft.  Neil and Debbie visited Rwanda in the Spring and helped erect the new roof at Kayogoru for which we had donated funds.  In July 2016 we enjoyed some African drumming with a talk about Kigeme and in October

15

we were impressed by a talk from Julian Eaton.  Many thanks are due to John Broadley who has now left this team and we welcome Liz Dodwell, Ollie Grant and Debbi Chua.   Report prepared by Liz Dodwell

PRAYER MINISTRY TEAMMembers of the Prayer Ministry Team are available at the 9.30 communion service at St Saviour’s on the first and third Sundays of the month.  For those who would like prayer, after they have received communion, for themselves or for family and friends, or who wish to give thanks for blessings received, members of the team will be situated on the north and south sides of the communion rail.  On alternate Sundays members of the team are always glad to pray with anyone where they are or up in the chancel.  Do ask and do be encouraged to pray for those sitting with you in church who would be glad of some prayer.  It is so good to see more people praying with each other after the services.There is prayer weekly for the community and for those in need which takes place at 8.30 on Friday mornings at St Saviour’s Church. If you, a family member or a friend has a particular prayer request, please contact Neil or better still come and pray with us at that time.We had two weeks of daily prayer in St Saviour’s during the year.  The first took place in May leading up to Pentecost, called by the Archbishop, and culminating in a 48 hour prayer vigil.  The second was in the autumn when households in the village were visited during the week and asked if they had prayer requests. On the Saturday members of the church were available in the village to pray for passers-by.  Later on that Saturday, 24 of us gathered in St Saviour’s to pray through over 200 prayer requests.  A candle was lit for each request and a ribbon tied to a cross which was placed on the altar.We would love more new members to join the Team. If you sense God calling you to this ministry, we should love to hear from you, please get in touch.

Report prepared by Jane Broadley.

PASTORAL CARE TEAM – ‘ BROCKCARE ’ Our team of around 30 visitors continues to support the elderly, bereaved and sick of our village. Each visitor is dedicated and caring; it is so good to see them at work in our community.Our regular weekly Wednesday Lunch (co-ordinated by Lesley Munt) continues to thrive and is a fine example of a church reaching out in God’s love to those in our community, particularly to the elderly and the vulnerable.CAMEO Coffee mornings continue to be a place where friendships are formed and cemented and where passing visitors are welcomed. Woodpeckers Care Home helped out this year by hosting CAMEO when the Hall was closed for the extension work and for new carpet laying in the summer. We thank them

16

for being such generous hosts and to Kay Staines for co-ordinating the coffee makers. CAMEO guests often help office staff with folding service and newssheets while enjoying coffee, tea and biscuits.In 2015 CAMEO gave the following amounts of money to:Church Hall for use of hall £200Hall Development Appeal £213CAMEO is held every Thursday between 10.15am and 12.00 noon in The Church Hall; all are welcome to come along for coffee, tea and chat.Our Film & Tea afternoons continue to be popular, and, as always, the Bereavement Service proves to be a great source of comfort for those mourning loved ones; having the opportunity to talk over tea and cake after the service proves to be particularly valuable for loved ones to share their grief. The annual ‘Holidays @ Home’ event was once again a great success, enjoyed by all who attended. We “travelled” to Canada and enjoyed themed food, great talks and entertainment, including a trip out to the Station Tea Rooms for maple syrup pancakes. Fun and companionship is enjoyed by our guests and the helpers.The Christmas Day lunch was a huge success, enjoyed by people who would otherwise spend the day alone. Our thanks go to the Social Team who set up the Hall for the occasion, and to the chef, Roger Drake and his team, and especially to Cynthia & Bryan Wilson, who were hosts on this special day, and also all the other helpers. Brockcare visitors are often just an ear to listen and a shoulder to lean on. In a world where many are too busy to stop, this is invaluable. This work is hugely rewarding and is a mark of a caring church. If you are interested in finding out more contact Sharon Dibden in the Church Office.

Report prepared by Sharon Dibden, Co-Ordinator

SOCIAL TEAMOf the Church events the Social Team supports, perhaps the most rewarding are the Bereavement Service, the Newcomers' Evening and the Carol Services, but we are involved in others.Our small team has further reduced this year and we would welcome new members or names for a list of occasional helpers.

Report prepared by Keith Nolan, Chairman

WORSHIP TEAMIn the first part of the year, while I was on sabbatical, it was most encouraging to be able to leave the worshipping life of the church in the capable hands of the Worship Team. We are so blessed to have such a wonderful array of retired clergy and readers. It was no small matter to cover the three months of my time away and especially to do it so successfully. It was a delight to come back to hear of all that had happened through Lent and up to and over Easter. With the new rooms opened we moved on into May when we enjoyed the week of prayer for the ‘Thy Kingdom Come’ initiative. Then it was on to planning for

17

unveiling of the window at St Nicholas'. In July the team was boosted by the arrival of Mary Nicholson, our curate, who has benefitted from the support of the whole team. The Autumn sermon series focussed on following the Way of Jesus and we planned for our week of prayer in the community – our ‘Say One For Me’ week. The autumn saw the final touches made to a revised service of Holy Communion for St Nicholas' that was introduced at the start of advent. Plans were also made to make our Café Church services issue-based in 2017, as these services give us a great opportunity to tackle the difficult areas of faith.Planning for Christmas started way back in September and yet again delivered a breadth of services across the festival of Christmas that engaged with over a thousand visitors to the churches. A very exciting visit by J John to host a Christmas Unwrapped carol service saw us working with Christians from across our area and produced real fruit for God’s Kingdom.It has been a privilege to be part of such an excellent team and we pray that this ministry will continue to be blessed by God as we seek to come to Him in worship.

Report prepared by Neil Smart

MUSIC - Brockenhurst Church Choir and Organs2016 was not the easiest year for the Church Choir. Ruth Cohen, who had taken over responsibility from me for running the Choir in Easter 2015, found it increasingly difficult to allocate sufficient time to the various elements of choir management, particularly in the context of her heavy and often unpredictable commitments as proprietor of the Filly Inn. This was especially so at weekends, which was also of course the busiest time for the Choir. Eventually, and most unfortunately, these conflicts proved irreconcilable and Ruth stood down from her responsibilities as Choir-mistress in the autumn. Our thanks are due to her and to her partner Jim for their significant contribution to the Church's musical life during her period in the post.During 2016 we enjoyed the benefit of the organ playing of Richard Dingle of Sway, who played for at least one service a month at St Nicholas' and took occasional choir practices, where Richard and I shared the duties previously undertaken by Ruth. Richard himself, however, decided to step down from his role early in 2017 for personal reasons, leaving us with a considerable gap in our resources.I am pleased to report that we have identified two new assistant organists, Mike Noble and Nigel Bonard, both of whom are excellent musicians with strong experience in local churches (Lyndhurst and Hordle), but where the service schedules allow some scope for their contributing to our own activities. Mike has already made his debut at St Nicholas' and Nigel will do so shortly. We have also in recent weeks received valuable assistance from Miriam Newton. Other potential options are also being explored, but more problems can be foreseen at major festivals later in the year (especially Christmas, obviously), where we will not have first call upon their services.

18

In 2016 the Choir sang at a high standard for two (untraditional) Christmas Carol Services, for which Richard Dingle played. Though these services at our two churches were well-attended, it would have been possible to combine them as a joint Carol Service, which would in many ways have perhaps been preferable and might be worth considering for 2017. The degree of cross-fertilisation between the churches remains inadequate, at least musically. The Choir would like to sing more frequently at St Saviour's and are invariably appreciated by the congregation when they do.We continue to sing Choral Evensong at St Nicholas' on the second Sunday of each month. This is musically rewarding, for both Choir and congregation, but is poorly attended. Other churches in the benefice manage more successfully than we do to draw in singers and congregations from other churches, which we should try more creatively to emulate.Our loyal Choir, as I had to report last year, is not getting any younger and numbers remain under pressure. Various attempts to recruit additional personnel (e.g. at Christmas) have been only temporarily successful and will need to be pursued or rethought.We have sung at a large number of weddings and funerals over the last twelve months, though sadly the number of weddings seems to be declining as the number of funerals rises. The Choir takes no personal fees for funerals, but the fees charged include a donation to our Music Fund, which covers many of the musical costs we incur, including organ tuning and new music. We are currently printing new copies of our chant books, now of great age and looking extremely decrepit, at a cost of some £300, paid for entirely from the Fund. This source has also been used to subsidise the coach used to take a number of members from parishes within the benefice to hear what is now the annual performance on Good Friday evening of either of the two great Bach Passions (St Matthew and St John) by the Bournemouth Symphony Chorus at the Lighthouse, Poole.Special thanks are due to Mike Kelly and his fellow instrumentalists for their contribution to music at St Saviour's and to Miriam Newton and Cynthia Wilson, the second of whom earns a special mention in this report each year for her generosity in playing for the Watchnight Service at St Nicholas' on New Year's Eve. I also thank Nicky Rowntree for her extremely valuable and often unsung help in attending to the smaller details of arranging the Church's music. Lastly, I express my appreciation of the constructive and invariably cheerful support offered by Neil Smart during the year, often in slightly trying circumstances.

Report prepared by Andrew Parrish

OTHER ACTIVITIES IN THE LIFE OF THE CHURCH

BAPTISM PREPARATION

19

The Baptism Preparation team has continued to run sessions for parents wishing to have their baby/child baptised. These sessions are held in the informal setting of the home of one of our team. Baptism is given by the grace of God and parents are made aware of the promises and commitments that they will make during the service. We discuss the reasons they have for requesting a Baptism, watch a short video and then talk about what we have just seen and include a brief questionnaire. The parents are encouraged to take an active part in our Sunday worship prior to their children being baptised. We continue to find that many of the parents are willing to share with us their thoughts on their own journey of faith, on baptism and on the promises that they and the godparents will be making. We encourage the parents to keep in touch through the ‘Little Flames’ services which are run by the Mothers’ Union, through ‘Busy Badgers’, ‘Sparklers’, the ‘All Age Worship’ service and ‘Messy Church’. We believe that these will help to introduce the children and their families to our fellowship and we find that many friendships are formed.I wish to thank all the team and the parents who have so willingly participated.

Report prepared by Brenda Horner, Co-ordinator

MARRIAGE PREPARATIONWe continue to offer Marriage Preparation for couples planning to be married in the parish, using the Prepare/Enrich material which necessitates couples completing a long questionnaire which is done on line. The results highlight strength and growth areas which are worked on during the Marriage Preparation day, and afterwards, and discussed individually during a 20 minute slot with one of the leaders who this year were once again Neil & Debbie Smart and Bill & Lesley Munt.Topics covered during the day are marriage expectations, communication, effective listening, family background, conflict resolution, finance and budgets, and spiritual beliefs and couples are also led through the format of the marriage service. Members of the Mothers’ Union once again fed everyone admirably throughout the day and also presented each couple with a copy of the book ‘Growing Together’.As done previously, we invited back a couple married last year to share their experience of the first year of married life and we were delighted that Tom and T J Kolaczkowski could be with us. They led a fun packed session, including a ‘Mr & Mrs’ style game and gave many useful tips to the seven couples marrying later in 2017. It is a great privilege to be able to spend time with young couples as they prepare for married life, and to offer them the space and opportunity to discuss together issues that might arise within their relationship. This is obviously much appreciated by the couples as displayed by the enthusiastic and positive feed-back we receive –

20

“A really useful day to help you think about your relationship, areas that need working on and how to do this.”“A fun, friendly day that was a real insight into marriage and we gained some fantastic tools to take away.” “Very interesting and thought provoking. Good at highlighting areas that need more discussion, but also where our strengths are as a couple.”“A structured but informed look at the important issues and topics of marriage.”“Very relaxed and not as scary as we thought – an interactive and fun day.”

In an increasingly secular society, it is important that we do enable those who come for a church wedding to reflect on the meaning of Christian marriage in the 21st century. Report prepared by Lesley Munt

BROCKENHURST CARE CARSIt has again been a very busy year for all of our volunteer drivers, to whom we say a very big thank you.   Without these wonderful drivers, many of our Brockenhurst residents would not be able to get to their medical appointments. For the year of 2016 we covered 591 appointments and already for January 2017 we have placed over 40 requests.Our co-ordinators, also volunteers, take the calls off our 0845 643 5808 from the clients, now over 220, at least twice a day, Monday to Friday. We try to place the requests quickly and then call our client back with the driver's name and client pick up time.We are always in need of more volunteer drivers to cover our workload and I would ask anyone who has a few hours a month to spare, if they would like to consider joining us, enabling the service to continue. Even if you no longer drive maybe you would like to consider being a co-ordinator. If so please call Sue Hendry on 01590 623543.

Report prepared by Sue Hendry, Temporary Organiser

CHURCH HALL2016 was a year to remember with the opening of the newly extended Hall and refitted kitchen. The result is beyond all our hopes and we are delighted with the new space. The official opening was presided over by Bishop Jonathan on 17th April and was a joyous event; the sun shone and church family, donors and guests all celebrated on the new patio after a wonderful service of thanks.All our regular hall users have returned and we have even gained a couple of new regular bookings. We were fortunate to receive some additional donations specifically to replace the main hall carpet, entrance doors and fire exit double doors, which have vastly improved the hall appearance.The new kitchen is great and all users have responded well to it. Many thanks to Lesley Munt and Lindy Waight who put hours and hours into the planning. Following our recent Health and Hygiene inspection from New Forest District

21

Council of the kitchen we were awarded the highest Food Hygiene Rating of 5! Good news indeed.The new rooms are working well too. The Youth Room is proving to be a wonderful asset for the youth and children’s work and is often used for church meetings as well. The additional administration office space has made a huge difference to all the church employees and office volunteers. The Youth Workers Helen and Kay, and Mary our new Curate, are all able to work from here rather than at home and an additional Administrator has been employed to manage the Hall (amongst other duties).The Hall continues to be a busy and vibrant place with all ages and activities passing through the space we have here. We will continue to strive to ensure that the hall continues to be a meeting place of excellence and increase the level of usage.The Team said a sad goodbye to one of its team this year – our Secretary Sharon Dibden. She will be greatly missed. Gerry Radjen will take on this role. 2016 has been an exciting year but also a lot of hard work. Nothing could have been achieved without the dedication and effort of our Hall Team, who all care so much for this place and the service it provides to our Churches and Community. I say a huge THANK YOU to them all!

Report prepared by Gerry Radjen, Hall Chairman

CHURCHES TOGETHERAlthough no longer formally constituted, the ethos of Churches Together is maintained under the inspired leadership of the Vicar throughout the four parishes of the Brockenhurst Group: Points of focus are mostly on the joint Services shared between the participating Churches on Advent Sunday, The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, Songs of Praise in Brockenhurst and The Women's World Day of Prayer.

Report prepared by Tony Foulger

LYNDHURST DEANERY SYNODSynods were established as part of the system of Government within the Church of England under 1969 Synodical Government Measure. Lyndhurst Deanery is the link between the PCCs of the Southern Archdeaconry and the Diocesan Synod. The Synod is allocated responsibilities which may be summarized as: a) to deliver the Diocesan Strategic Priorities and engage fully in the deanery Mission Action Planning process (dMAP); b) to review and update Mission & Pastoral Plans reflecting local needs; c). to support & monitor the collection of the Common Mission Fund and d). to encourage parishes to share best practice and develop/support deanery projects aimed at developing outward looking initiatives.

22

To fulfil its goals the Synod functions through a committee structure (e.g. finance etc). There are three Synods per year. The first part of this concentrates on Mission and there is a standing invitation for parishioners to attend these sessions. The second part covers the business of the Deanery plus any issues handed down by the General or Diocesan Synods. It has been a busy year with activities focussed on building a 'Mission Shaped Diocese'. There were presentations by Diocesan officers illustrating the support available in the area of Youth & Family work. There was a highly regarded presentation on the 'Holidays at Home' initiative developed by the parish of Brockenhurst. A member of the General Synod made a presentation on the 'Renewal and Reform' initiatives aimed at facilitating growth in church numbers, encouraging the depth of discipleship and reimagining the church's ministry. Additionally the Deanery Church Tent Team organised the activities at the New Forest Show, providing a Christian haven in an otherwise secular event. The team is multi denominational and receives vital support from the MU, who provide the welcome refreshments to the hundreds who visited 'The Tent' over the three day period in July. Also worthy of note are the activities of the Rwanda Mission Team which during the year arranged for sixteen people (representing eight parishes) to visit Rwanda. The team also co-ordinate the annual Lent Appeal project. The 2016 Deanery Lent Appeal raised £8,700 which was shared equally between two projects a) funding the bricks needed to build a house for the Bishop of the new Diocese of Gasabo and b) the Student Bursary Fund for Kigali Anglican Theological College (KATC). The Deanery representatives from Brockenhurst are: Revd Neil Smart, Revd Mary Nicholson, Martyn Taylor, Cynthia Wilson & David Heslop - they would be happy to discuss any of the foregoing items.

Report produced by David Heslop, Lay Chairman

MOTHERS ’ UNION This year has definitely been one of ‘ups and downs’ for us. The highlight of the year was in September when some of our members attended the celebrations at Winchester Cathedral for the 140 th anniversary of the formation of the Mothers’ Union. The Archbishop of Canterbury officiated and we were delighted that our vicar, Neil, was also able to participate in the service. Conversely, conditions remain challenging for the Mothers’ Union overall. Membership is once again down and branches are closing all over the country. As well as missing those members personally, and all that they contribute to the community, this also equates to income being much lower and consequently our means to help those in need. Another branch has closed in our Deanery leaving us just one of the 3 branches remaining. In the diocese membership has dropped by 50 and in Brockenhurst we have also sadly lost our newest member, Jenny Welton, with no new members coming in. We are still an active branch however and continue to do what we can. As a branch and as individuals we contribute to many areas of church life. Lesley

23

Munt assists with the Marriage Preparation course and we provide books and refreshments for the couples attending. On their wedding day the couples are given a personalized card from us. Similarly, Brenda Horner assists with Baptism preparation and we give baptism cards to babies christened in our two churches. We also keep in contact with those families by delivering anniversary of baptism cards each year until the child begins school. Each week one of our members looks after refreshments for the mums and toddlers attending the Busy Badgers sessions. We also run the ‘Little Flames’ services for the U5s, children attending Busy Badgers and the reception class in the primary school. On Mothering Sunday we were pleased to deliver flower arrangements to Forest Oaks and Woodpeckers and to make and give posies at the Mothering Sunday services in St Nicholas' and St Saviour’s. Then, in Holy Week, members were both moved and uplifted at a Quiet Morning at St Nicholas' led by Jane Broadley and Tina Cumberlege. The “Gift Swap4Coffee” outreach event has now become an annual event and was once again a big success. This year we were able to support an extra charity, so 4 in total. They were: the MU Away from it All family holiday which gives a week’s break in the Sussex countryside to families in distressed circumstances, the Women’s Refuge, the New Forest Basics Bank and Tools for Self Reliance. All the charities were very pleased with the support given from those attending and the items collected. Unfortunately, one of our other outreach events, the cake making competition “The BIG Brock Cake Off’, was not so well supported and had to be cancelled due to lack of entries. However, we were thrilled with the success of our major fundraiser and outreach event, the Family and Friends Fun Day held in August. This was held in celebration of our 140th year and raised over £1,000, our biggest ever total for a fundraiser. We have had another interesting programme of speakers this year. In February Lucy Moore, the founder of Messy Church, enthralled us with her inspirational story of how Messy Church began and how it has become the worldwide phenomenon it is today. We were also pleased to invite Debbie Smart to a supper talk in May, Debbie choosing her travels in her time in Rwanda as her theme. In June we welcomed author and writer Katherine Baldwin to speak. Katherine was such a hit that she is being invited back to Brockenhurst this July to speak at the Diocesan Information Evening. In October we were pleased that our new curate, Mary Nicholson, was able to talk to us about her faith journey to curacy. Finally, in November we were again pleased to welcome Ruth Cohen to speak about the role of women in the Jewish faith. Ruth made us equally laugh and cry at her story. Our grateful thanks also go to her for hosting our meetings so well at the Filly Inn for the period when the church hall kitchen was being refurbished. In closing I would like to thank the members and especially the committee for all that they have done this year and to remind you that everyone is always

24

very welcome to join us. Our name, the “Mothers’ Union”, may be a bit misleading and you may not realize that we are open to all, men included.

Report prepared by Gill Coombs, Secretary

ST. NICHOLAS ’ VISITOR ‘ GUARDIANS ’ This has been a momentous year in the life of the Church of St Nicholas and the 43 volunteer Guardians have played their part throughout.  From 24 March to 31 October, a total of 197 afternoons, Guardians opened the church to greet people from all over the world.  A Guardian has to make a quick judgement as to the purpose of a visit.  Is it for research of a thousand years of church history, or just tourist curiosity, or is it for quiet prayer?   Whatever the reason over 800 visits are recorded and not all sign the Visitors' Book, though Camilla did, and comments of appreciation tell what a valuable and friendly experience it has been.  One notable event in June was the unveiling of the New Zealand memorial stained-glass window donated by the NZ High Commission, London. By chance the day chosen was the very day when 100 years ago the first patients were admitted to the No 1 New Zealand Hospital at Tile Barn! School parties from Christchurch, New Zealand and nearby Gosport, several U3A groups and the New Zealand Women's Association, London came and heard about Church architecture and history, the Lady Hardinge Hospital, the No1 New Zealand General Hospital and the part St Nicholas' and its people has played.  Books, tea towels and cards generate income and there is a new fridge magnet showing the memorial window. We will hang two new exhibition boards in 2017, Passchendaele, and Rest and Rehabilitation.  To see these, the church will be open each day from 2 until 5pm starting on Maundy Thursday, 13 April until 31 October.Thank you to a wonderful band of dedicated Guardians.

Report prepared by Ros Dennison

ST. NICHOLAS ’ FLOWER GUILD A relatively quiet year with only 3 weddings and not all of them required the Guild to provide and arrange the flowers. The inevitable result was a very reduced overall income and the consequent need for a greater use of artificial flowers. As previously reported, each quarterly flower pot income provides only enough money for one or two weeks of fresh flowers.One highlight of the year was the dedication of the new New Zealand window and the special effort made resulted in a number of favourable comments.

          Report prepared by Suzanne Sewell, St Nicholas' Flower Guild

ST. SAVIOUR ’ S FLOWER GUILD This has been another busy year for our loyal team providing flower arrangements in the church.

25

We arranged wedding flowers for four of the nine weddings in St. Saviour’s Church this year as well as flowers for several funerals.At Easter, Harvest Festival and Christmas we filled the church with arrangements and hope to continue to do so despite rising costs.Special thanks go to Doreen Risso who is stepping down after several years of organising Funeral flowers so well which is always a last minute job! Happily she will stay in the Guild.We are always grateful to all who make donations to our funds on the four Flower Pot Sundays throughout the year which are the most important source of income to maintain flowers in St. Saviour’s Church.New members are always welcome so why not come and join us.

Report prepared by Sue Park, Co-ordinator

STREET PASTORSNew Forest Street Pastors continue to patrol the streets in Lymington and New Milton on Friday or Saturday nights.Our work is not as “full on” as in the towns, but we continue to meet folk who need our help, and we have called the Police and Ambulances on many occasions. However, it is mostly not as dramatic as that - chatting to youngsters who now know us and call us “The Sweetie Police” - they are often grateful for a sugar hit at midnight. Making cups of tea/coffee and biscuits for the homeless, and engaging in lengthy and deep philosophical/religious discussions when asked. Ensuring that slightly “merry” people get home safely.We are always grateful for the hospitality of the URC Church in Lymington for the use of their Cottage, and for the Prayer Pastors whose presence and prayer is so necessary to us.We are also becoming involved in community events - we have collected bags of glass at the Music Festival at Milford - helped at a Public Firework Display in New Milton, and are helping at Community Events this Summer.So we are recognised now as being helpful hands in the Community, we are welcomed by the Police, Security Officers at the Pubs, and greeted in a friendly manner by most. It is a privilege to be able to take God’s work out on to the streets.Several of our Street Pastors have left or moved away, and we are always happy to welcome new ones, who will be given an excellent training.

Report prepared by Jane Forrest

THE SANCTUARY GUILDThis past year there have been no changes to our members. This remains as:Lindy Waight, Ros Dennison, Marion Burden, Sian Husband, Hazel Ruffle and Lizzie Tindell. Tricia Hilborn continues to wash and iron the Altar cloths. Thank you to all of our members for their continued support. We continue to look after the cleaning of linen and the setting up of Communion for both churches. We also see that the Altar frontal gets changed for Advent, Christmas and Lent.

26

Now that we have the new all season frontal we do not need to change the frontal so often. Once again we are very grateful to Tony Foulgar who helps us out at St Nicholas’ changing the Altar frontal when necessary.While the wafers and bread are suitable for most people we would like to remind Communicants that gluten free wafers are available at both churches. If you need to have these please make yourself known to the server before the Communion service and he will make sure you have a special wafer set aside for you.

Report prepared by Lindy Waight

WEDNESDAY LUNCHESDuring the past year, we served 884 lunches to our ever grateful guests.  We have welcomed a number of new guests, both male and female, but have sadly lost some old, familiar faces. Our 46 volunteer cooks continue to work with a cheerful smile within the 4 teams which operate on a monthly basis and a 5th team who cook when there is a 5th Wednesday in the month.   Each week, 7 cars collect 19 of our less agile guests and grateful thanks go to Joyce Kolaczkowski who very efficiently organises the rota of 35 volunteer drivers. as well as visiting and keeping in close contact with our guests. The drivers do a really valuable job, collecting and delivering our guests, who have varying degrees of mobility, in all weathers and often fairly difficult conditions. This year, we have once again been delighted to welcome each week two Health and Social Care students and their Learning Support Assistant from Brockenhurst College.  They have enjoyed their time with us, socialising with the guests and helping to serve and clear away meals and have been a real asset to the lunch teams. Their presence has been greatly appreciated by our guests.During the 3 month closure of the church hall at the beginning of the year whilst the building works were in progress, we were very generously hosted each Wednesday by Ruth Cohen at the Filly Inn and we would like to record our grateful thanks to her and her staff.  Everyone enjoyed the change of venue and the delicious food being served but it was good to be back at the hall after the Easter break to work in our fantastic modern and extended new kitchen. We all had to be trained in how to use the new equipment and safety devices and apart from a few minor hiccups, all has gone well and it is a real pleasure to work in such splendid surroundings. However, we have on occasion had problems finding enough people to cook the weekly lunches. With the majority of our volunteer cooks in their 70s or in some cases even 80s, they are understandably finding it more difficult to do mass shopping, put up and take down tables, lift heavy pans etc. and should, in an ideal world, be joining our guests and having meals cooked for them. If the lunches are to continue in their present format, I feel it is becoming imperative that we introduce some new, younger blood to the teams. Previous pleas for new volunteers have met with virtually no response, so any suggestions on how we might encourage and recruit new, younger volunteers

27

would be gratefully received. Next January we celebrate the 30th anniversary of the start of the lunches and it would be such a shame if they were to flounder through lack of younger volunteers coming forward, especially now we have such wonderful facilities in which to operate.

Report prepared by Lesley Munt, Lunch Club Co-ordinator

CHURCH ELECTORAL ROLL

The Electoral Roll as at Annual Meeting 2016 264

The new Electoral Roll as at Annual Meeting 2017 258 ( Resident: 223 Non resident: 35)

28