2022 : A Review - St Catherine's Tilehurst

The Parish of Tilehurst St Catherine and Calcot St Birinus 2022 - a review

Our Parish purpose is to worship God and show that Jesus makes a difference in reaching, serving and caring. Our core values are healing, hope and hospitality.

This booklet contains information and a review of church activities in the parish during 2022.

It is in two parts:

• Pages 3 to24

Reports on the running of St Catherine’s beginning with the Churchwardens report.

• pages 25 to34

Reports on activities managed by St Catherine’s

The annual meeting is on Sunday 23rd April and follows the 10.00 am service.

The meeting consists of two parts:

• The Annual Parish Meeting to elect Churchwardens to which anyone living in the parish is entitled to attend and vote.

• The APCM (Annual Parochial Church Meeting) to conduct other parish business only those on the Church electoral roll may vote.

Churchwardens

What a year of change! We started 2022 with our vicar Gill Rowell at the helm and Queen Elizabeth II on the throne. We never imagined that we would leave 2022 behind, with Gill retired living in Ruddington, together with her much loved dog, Alfie, and King Charles III on the throne as King, following Queen Elizabeth II’s death. But, as we are reminded in Hebrews 13: 8, we have a steadfast unchanging God to hold onto ‘ Jesus Christ the same yesterdayandtodayandforever.’

Gill Rowell left us at the end of November 2022, having been with us for four and a half years, bringing three key things that God had laid on her heartforourparish–healing,hopeand hospitality – all of which with God’s guidingweprogressedtogether.

It was with great sadness that we said goodbye at a special service on November 27th in which we celebrated all that God had achieved during Gill’s time with us, and we were commissionedforthewayahead.

Gill’s extensive reach in the parish was evidenced by the large number that attended the service, both from the regular congregation and the wider community.

The service was followed by a bring and share lunch in a very crowded hall, as we said goodbye to Gill and her faithful dog, Alfie, with our love and prayers for God’s blessing as they movedintothenextphaseoftheirlife.

Gill was presented with a cheque, a memory box containing messages of thanks and encouragement from each of us, and a photo album of Gill’s time withus.

As Gill left she gave us Philippians 4 for thevacancy:

‘Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable, if anything is excellent or praiseworthy, think about such things. Keep on doing the things that you have learnt and received and heard and seen in me , and the God of peace willbe with you.’

Gill warned us that she would be keeping an eye on us! With God’s help we are striving to keep on doing what we have learnt, received and heard –not least because we don’t want to experienceGill’stellingoff!

WORSHIP

During 2022 we have continued worshipping as one fellowship, not limited by the past but looking forward to our role now in this place, guided by the Leaders and Preachers Action Group.

So we have continued to work at the monthly pattern of 4 differently styled services, together with the opportunity to do something different on the 5th Sunday,usuallyCaféchurch.

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We have made progress, but bedding down continues till we all feel comfortable with the services, recognising in love the different preferences we all have. Online streamingoftheserviceshascontinued so that those unable to join us can sharetheservice.

Wednesday morning communion has continued with a group of committed attendees. Following Gill’s departure, we have welcomed the great support that neighbouring clergyhave provided and have been blessed with a rich mixtureofservices.

The open air services and Carols under the Oak Tree have attracted visitors, providing a service in a space that is less different and more welcoming for somepeople.

Tots Praise has continued on a weekly basiswithvaryingnumbers.

YEAR OF PRAYER

2022 was attributed as being a Year of Prayer, as we kept going, working at our identity as a single fellowship , buildingone anotherup, all surrounded with focussed attention on our corporateprayerlife.

During 2022 we introduced Saturday morning prayer on the 3rd Saturday of each month in which we prayer for 2 church items, one of the 4 missions we support and a national/global matter. Attendance varies but typically 6-10 peoplejointogetherinprayer.

The monthly Calcot prayer and litter pick walk, started in 2022 and usually attendedby6people,continuestogive focustotheCalcotareaofourparish.

Following the pandemic, the Prayer Ministry team regrouped, and many in our community are blessed by the opportunity to pray with members of theteamafterSundayservices.

Whilst prayer takes place individually, It would be lovely to see the numbers involved in these corporate prayer activitiesgrow.

LIFEGROUPS

2022 saw a reorganisation and expansion of our Lifegroups to provide every member of the congregation withanopportunitytosharefellowship witheachotherandgrowinfaith.

Whilst some groups continued as is, others were reshaped and new ones formed. We now have 7 Life groups attended by some 50 people, meeting regularlyeitherweeklyorfortnightly.

The weekly sermon notes provided by the Sunday preacher provides common discussionmaterialforallgroups.

The vision is that the Lifegroups should help us to grow in faith and fellowship, and provide an opportunity for others outside our immediate fellowship to explore faith matters, and also provide a mechanism for pastoral care for those in our fellowship who do not attendaLifegroup.

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CENTRE

We are incredibly blessed with our centre, including the café and church hall. They have continued to grow as an amazing place to show God’s love, share hospitality and make friendships with those both in and outside our worshippingcommunity.

Thanks to our hard working café manager, centre manager, bookings clerk and volunteers, both from inside and outside our worshipping community, as well as the friendship offered by many. It is becoming well known in the area as a safe place of belonging and friendship, and a place toholdcommunityactivities.

We sadly said goodbye in December to the pre-school who had used our church hall for many years. They encountered financial difficulties as they tried to adapt to regulation changesandwereunabletocontinue.

We wish those who ran the pre-school and the parents and children who attended the very best for the future. It has left a hole in our income, which requires us with God’s help to ensure that we raise sufficient replacement funds as well as make appropriate use of the building’s availability, a building thatGodhasblesseduswith.

ACTIVITIES

The many activities that the church fellowship organise are much valued, bothbythoseinandoutsidethechurch community – far too many activities to listhere!

Tuesday Get Together and Friday

Friends offer friendship and a warm space to the older age group, activities such as Toddlers 0-5s, Pick‘n’Mix, address the younger age group, as well as a long list of specific interest groups such as Crafty Space, Carpet Bowls, Book Club, and many others. Sadly the Youth Bible Group ended this year, as theattendeeshavemovedon.

HAVING FUN

2022 has brought plenty of opportunity to have fun together, joining in with the community. Space prohibits listing alltheoccasionsbuthere isaflavour.

Thanks to the mind blowing efforts of so many, the Jubilee Jamboree, celebrating 70 years of HM The Queen, wasafantasticfreeandfunoccasion.

Something for everybody –competitions for the best knobbly knees, best decorated hat, and best caption; quizzes;splat therat; hook the duck; craft activities ; country dancing for everyone, irrespective of ability(!); and an incredible tea – we managed to eat through a mountain of cakes and scones donated by many and served by ourcafémanagerandherhardworking team who never emerged from the kitchenduringtheevent.

Octoberbrought anew event for us – a Ceilidh with dancing called and music provided by St Catherine’s Music Group, and a splendid meal organised by our café manager. The evening endingwiththebagpipes!

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Everyone had so much fun despite a shortage of energy in some places on the dance floor! So much so that we are looking for a repeat– so be warned andgetpractising!

We had a number of sales during the year, such as the Spring and Christmas fairs and an eco-sale. All opportunities for us to enjoy time together with the community and raising funds for the workofStCatherine’s.

INTO THE FUTURE

As we head into 2023, a key activity is the search for the person God is preparing for us to take up the post of vicar. We are following the formal diocesanappointmentprocess.

The DiocesanMissionandPastoralCare Committee have determined that Gill’s successor will hold the post as incumbent with full rights of ownership of the church, churchyardand vicarage, justasGilldid.

A PCC meeting, formally called a Section 11 meeting (!) was held on 23rd February 2023 in which we, Caroline Heron and Lynn Stevens, have been appointed as the 2 PCC representatives to participate in appointing the new incumbent.

The rest of the PCC and others in the church fellowship will of course be involvedintheprocess!

The parish profile is under production, directed by a team of 4 PCC members. Members of the worshipping

community and people in the community have participated in providing feedback on who we are and where we are headed which will be usedtoinformtheprofile.

As we write, the analysis of this feedback is underway. Timescales are ambitious but we hope to complete a good draft of the profile by 9th May 2023, when a meeting with the diocese (called a Section 12 meeting) will be heldtoreviewandfinalisetheprofile.

Following this the advertising and interviewprocesswilltakeplace,witha tentative date of 18th July 2023 for interviews. Your prayers for God’s guidance and wisdom through this processiswelcomed.

Meanwhile, we continue to serve God in our community, seeking to work together to grow in our faith, and remembering the verses from Philippians4thatGillleftuswith:

‘Keep on doing the things that you have learnt and received and heard and seen in me , and the God of peace will be with you’.

So we continue in love with one another to bed down our weekly Sunday service so that we are all comfortable with them, encouraging one another through prayer and study, andreachingoutinlovetooneanother and our community through our Centre and Cafe, our activities and our involvement with the community, and havingfun!

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HUGE THANK YOU

We owe a huge thank you to so many who freely offer their time and money to the work of StCatherine’s in allsorts of ways – maintenance of our buildings and grounds, carrying out the essential jobs required to run our operation, organising and taking part in our activities, providing finance and in many,manyotherways.

Itis impossibletonamealltheactivities nor all those of you involved – but a very, very big thank you to each one of you.

Without you we could not continue the work of God’s kingdom at St Catherine’s, and your contribution is muchvalued.

As we are reminded in 1 Corinthians 12 v 18-20, 25,27 ‘God has placed each part in the body just as he wanted it to be. If all the parts were the same, how could there be a body? As it is, there are many parts. But there is only one body………..All of them will take care of one another. ……..You are the body ofChrist.Eachoneofyouisapartofit.’

LynnStevensandCarolineHeron Churchwardens

RG31

I have continued to produce 4 editions a year in full colour and whilst the numberofregularsubscribershas been falling year by year, the number of magazines I have needed to print has not.

I do encourage welcomers to give a copy to anyone who is new, they then havetheoptiontosubscribe.

For 2023 the price has been increased to £6 a year which is in line with the £1.50coverpriceforsingleissues.

I am grateful to all those who regularly contribute articles and am particularly grateful to Rosemary Cunningham and Sean East who ran with my suggestion and visited the shops in Hildens Drive

to produce an excellent two-page spreadfeaturinglocalbusinesses.

I shall miss the contributions and suggestions that Gill made to help me producethemagazine.

Rather than resuming the pre-Covid methodofdistributionwithbundles for a few ‘distributors’, I have continued to put the magazines in addressed envelopes with labels produced by the Churchsuitedatabase.

The cost of envelopes is relatively small, I am happy to re-use them and it makes distribution and posting much easierallround.

TonyBartlett

Buildings & Equipment

This group is responsible for making sure that everything in the Centre, ie the Church, Hall and narthex, works and is regularly serviced, and also for keeping an eye on our overall carbon footprint.

Our five-yearly inspection (Quinquennial no 9) was carried out in May. No major problems were reported but the lack of insulation in the sanctuary was noted as a source of significantheatloss.

We continued to have problems with our boilers. To facilitate the handover of our maintenance agreement from British Gas to Advanced Maintenance Ltd(AML),wehadtospendover£2kto makethesystemfullyoperational.

AML is a local company based in Theale, and they have just carried out their first annual service. The control system continues to act unpredictably and it seems that a simpler form of thermostatisrequired.

Our fixed term contracts for supply of gas and electricity expire this year. With continuing uncertainties in the energy market, our new rates are likely to be at least five times higher and fixed only for one year. Our current carbon footprint is about 20 tonnes of carbon dioxide a year, most of which arisesfromourgasheating.

The Diocese requires us to be carbon neutral by the year 2030 so we must reduce our dependence on fossil fuels

by using renewable energy sources, suchas “green” electricity andgas, and solarpower.

All our maintenance is designed to reduce our footprint, e.g. replacing spent light bulbs with LED equivalents andminimisingheatingperiods.

Other tasks undertaken this year include

• Installation of large notice board andbenchesonthesouthpatio,

• Installation of flow regulators to hot watertaps,

• Testing of all our portable appliances(over200items),

• Regular maintenance of the building, including fire safety equipment, emergency lighting, kitchen equipment and waste disposal

• Regular testing of the fire alarm systemandemergencylighting.

As usual, we are blessed to have Chris Addison keeping an eye on things around the building and putting them right.

We are also grateful to Paddy Barrett, Roy Walklate and Stuart Poore for the weekly testing of the fire alarm system and emergency lighting, and to Peter Broomfieldforallthingselectrical.

Café Siena

Café Siena continues to be a place where everyone in the community is warmly welcomed and good food and good company is to be found. There is always someone to talk to and new, lastingfriendshipscontinuetobebuilt.

We continue to support Fareshare, the UK’s largestcharityfightinghungerand food waste by redistributing fresh and in date surplus food from the food industry. For a monthly fee, we receive quality food with high cost items like fresh meat, tinned tuna, and cheese availabletoorder.

Some of our usually requested items havesometimes beeninshortersupply in the last few months, due to the economic situation but it is still cost effectivetosupport.

We have recruited more volunteers in the last few months but we always need more! There have been gaps in the Café helpers rota more recently, due to holiday and illness but we are blessed that on most occasions volunteers answer the call for an hour or two of extra help when needed, aided by the Café Siena WhatsApp group.

All new volunteers supply references and are required to complete Basic Awareness safeguarding training as do currentvolunteers.

With huge support from Karen and other willing volunteers, the Café has supported St Catherine’s in several community and much needed fundraising events: the Summer Fair, Jubilee Jamboree, Eco sale and the very successful Ceilidh which so many peopleenjoyedlastyear.

ThenexteventistheItalianEvening on April 29th – St. Catherine’s Feast daywhere a 3 course meal , wine tasting andquizzeswillbeonoffer!

Iwouldjustliketosayahugethankyou to everyone in the Café Siena team- to Karen, all our volunteers and lovely customerstoo.

It can be very hard work, either working in the kitchen or serving but we really do enjoy it and we know that our customers really appreciate what we are offering - hospitality, our love andourcare.

SoniaLudford CentreManager

Centre Manager

Managing the Centre andHall bookings have been a challenge since the sad and unexpected closure of St Catherine’s Pre School in December 2022.

Current hirers have continued to book space but attracting new hirers through social media posts, website and posters on advertising boards has beentimeconsuming.

After School Club have taken on the running of the Breakfast Club and additionally now host a ‘Childminders Dropin’onTuesdaymornings.

Three new exercise groups will have begun in the last few weeks and Glow tots, a baby sensory group, meet on Fridaymornings.

Weekend Party bookings for children are increasing and hirers say that they areextremelypleasedwiththefacilities that the hall and Centre provide. Church and community groups continue to meet in either the church spaceorhall.

We try to liaise closely with all hirers so that any queries, problems or requests can be quickly resolved. With the increased number of hirers it is especially important that the facilities are clean and tidy for the incoming group.

We gently remind all users about conserving water, lighting and recyclingtosaveresources.

Wendy, our cleaner, does a good job in preparing the hall and toilets for each newday.

Eve Combes has done brilliantly in managing enquiries andbookings from potential hirers as has Jean Almond in processing the greater number of invoices.

Increasing revenue from bookings is a priority to help offset the loss of income from Pre School, especially with rising costs for heating, lighting andotherconsumables.

The building has continued to be maintained with the help of the Buildings Team : Chris Addison, Richard Canning and ably assisted by Richard Childs.

Thanks also to the weekly testers of the Fire Alarm- Roy Walklate, Paddy Barrett, Stuart Poore, Chris Addison andRichardCanning.

The heating system has been very difficult to manage in the last few months as the control systems and thermostats have not worked consistently.

Several visits from electrical contractors have been required to solve the problems and replacement parts have been ordered. Chris has worked tirelessly to solve the issues- so thankyou!

SoniaLudford CentreManager

The Link Café is the most visible outworking of the churches working together, although regrettably not all localchurchesareinvolved.

Sales had been considerably down on pre-Covid levels but grew as the year progressed meaning that cash reserves could be rebuilt and payments to Tilehurst Methodist Church in lieu of rentslowlyincreased.

The Bookstall has not been re-started althoughcardscontinuetobesold.

The St Catherine’s reps on the management committee are Sheila Bryant and Tony Bartlett ( I am also treasurer).

Sheila reports: ‘That we are encouraged by the increase in customers recently and would love to reopen on a Saturday. However, we need 2 adult volunteers (DBS checked) to help even if we have teenagers who usedtobeavailable.

The management committee are grateful to those who serve, bake, wash laundry and help in any way especially as we have Café Siena gaininginpopularity!

Be assured of a warm welcome when you visit and if you can help in any way have a word with me or the team leader on duty at the Link – we are opposite the Co-op and next to the MethodistChurchinSchoolRoad’.

After a long absence due to the Pandemic, the Prayer on the Streets team decided not to continue as Churches are offering various groups and they feel that they have out-lived theirusefulness.

We are very grateful for all their efforts overtheyears.

Churches Together in Tilehurst, West Reading and Southcote came together for a service for the week of Christian Unity at St Matthews Southcote with guest preacher from the Greek OrthodoxChurch.

The Good Friday Act of witness at Tilehurst Triangle was led by Rev Gill Rowell and drew a large crowd. Unfortunately, this had not been communicated to the St Josephs’ congregation who did not therefore join the St Catherine’s procession, but willbedoingsoin2023.

CarolsingingatTilehurstTriangle,again in conjunction with Pangbourne Rotary, was well attended despite the pouring rain. It was led by Rev Gill Rowell and the St Catherine’s musicians.

These events are planned by a small working group of clergy & laity that meets in January and September. Ministers meet on a regular basis for fellowship&mutualsupport.

TonyBartlett

Electoral Roll

The church’s Electoral Roll is a list of those who may vote at the APCM. At St Catherine’s, votes rarely take place, so being on the roll is more a way of indicating your membership and commitment to St Catherine’s than anythingelse.

Each year, in the weeks before the APCM takes place, the church’s Electoral Roll is formally updated. This means that as this report to press, that process has only just started - and thus I will only be able to give a final figure attheAPCMitself.

Nevertheless,I amhappyto reportthat our Electoral Roll is slowly but steadily increasing.

Since the last report, while there have sadly been two deaths, there are currently 12 new names on the roll –meaning our electoral roll currently stands at 117 of whom 29 live outside the parish. I am hopeful that a few additional new members will sign up and the final figure will be a little higher.

StuartPoore ElectoralRollOfficer

Finance Action Group

TheFinanceActionGroupexists tohelp and support the Treasurer with the financial running of the Church. The group met on four occasions in 2022 all ofwhichtookplaceinchurch. Westart each meeting with an opening prayer before discussing both the current and theprojectedyearendbankbalances.

During the year we also discuss the rates for both the hall rent and for advertising in the RG31 magazine, wage increases for the hall cleaner and the café manager, the draft budget for the following year, the contents of the Annual Financial Report and of course anyunexpected/unplannedexpenses.

In 2022 we also discussed fund raising, the Quinquennial and the policy on who needs to agree out of the normal

spend in order for the money spent to bereimbursedbythePCC.

The Finance Action Group is unable to make decisions. It can only recommend a course of action to the PCCattheirnextmeeting.

I would like to thank everyone who has helped in the Finance Action Group this year. without this help and encouragement I would not be able to dothejob.

Finally, I have decided that 2023 will be my last year as treasurer. Please feel free to come and speak to me about the job if you should feel that God is calling you to take over for 2024 and beyond.

JoanneFreeman TreasurertothePCC

GDPR

GDPR (General Data Protection Regulations) consent cards continue to be completed for new attendees at Cornwell 0-5s and Tots Praise. Details are added to our password protected database with original records stored underlock&key. Occasionalemailsare sent e.g., Christmas and Easter family events with the option of unsubscribing.

A briefer contact card is used for additions to our worshipping community, again with the same level of security. For these, names are added to the Churchsuite database which is used to email out the weekly notices and print labels for RG31 subscribers.

Grounds

Chris Addison and Richard Childs have diligently kept the church grounds tidy, clearing leaves and weeds from the car parks, and maintaining the outside seating and tables used by visitors to thecafe.

Among many other maintenance jobs, they regularly clear the blocked guttering around the East end of the church. Chris also regularly picks up anylitterfoundinthegrounds.

After a successful fund-raising effort, Tony Bartlett purchased new seating for the area outside the Garden room ontheSouthsideofthechurch.

Chris, Richard and Jo Day worked together to prune a tree on the South side of the church hall, in the far corner. (Weneedtokeepthisbeautiful tree within certain limits so that it does

not damage the roof of our neighbour’sgarageorourchurchhall.)

The flower bed next to the door to the Sanctuary was used once again for the Easter Garden and the Nativity scene. Chris had put up some netting on the wall at the back to make it easier for Pete Broomfield to put up the stars in theskyabovethenativityscene.

The lawn mower stopped working in the summer. We decided to replace it withabatterypoweredmachine,which Paddy Barrett has been very pleased withsofar. Paddyhadhealthproblems for a while, and Richard Canning kindly stepped into the breach. However, we do badly need a younger person to take over this job. Please give it some thought. Mowing is a joy with the new machine!

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TonyBartlett

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Early in the year Jo worked hard to finish moving the nerines from the buttress bed to the bed along the South side of the church hall, where they provided a splendid show of bright pink flowers at the end of the season.

Two new silver birch saplings were planted in 2022 to celebrate the queen’s Platinum Jubilee, one by the WI and the other by St Catherine’s church members. Thankfully these saplings survived the prolonged drought and extreme heat of the summer months. We did unfortunately lose a few shrubs, since the hose pipe banpreventedanywatering.

Hazel Newman continued to work on the flower bed on the North lawn and the creation of a small wild flower meadow close to it. She has also been busy on the buttress bed where the nerines had been, and has already introduced a wide variety of colours and textures. The clematis along the fence at the back of the North lawn have also thrived under her careful nurture.

We now have two compost bins, one beingfilledandtheother“maturing”. This is one of the requirements if we are to achieve the Eco Church Silver award. Another is to attract wild life by providingbirdfeeders.

To summarise, with our reduced numbers and limited ability we have been able to keep parts of the church grounds looking good, but there are someareasbadlyinneedofattention. We need more gardeners, a lawn mowing apprentice for Paddy, and a team of people to share responsibility to keep the bird feeders clean and toppedup.

JoDay

Leaders & Preachers Action Group

The Leaders & Preachers Action Group has increased its frequency of meeting since Gill Rowell’s departure from quarterly to 6 weekly, to facilitate the groupfillingthegapGillhasleft.

We have continued to come together as one church to worship God on Sunday mornings at 10am. Services continue to be live streamed, enabling thoseathometoshareourservices.

In an attempt to address the varied personal preferences of our church members, there are 4 different types of services in a month – Traditional Holy Communion, All Age Worship, Family CommunionandWord&Worship.

A 5th Sunday in the month offers the opportunity to do something different such as informal Café church with breakfast and church members choosing a song to share that is important to them, together with an explanation of the reason for its importance.

This has uplifted and encouraged many of us. LPAG is aware that ongoing work is required to embed these services so that they not only provide the traditional elements of worship but also encourage a free and spontaneous responsetoGod’slove.

We are aiming to make the different services more distinctive, and to embrace more fully the opportunity to experiment with different forms of serviceona5thSunday.

July and August repeated 2021’s outdoor services, which facilitated reaching some who do not normally attendchurchservices.

The theme was lesser known people in the Bible such as characters like Aaron, Barnabas,RuthandSarah.

Christmas services followed the usual busy pattern, including Carols under the Oak Tree, which has become immenselypopularwithlocalpeople.

In the light of the typical low attendance at midnight communion on Christmas Eve and our reduced resources following Gill’s departure, the group made the difficult but realistic decision not to offer this service, but insteadto encourage those who wanted such a service to join otherlocalchurches.

GillpreparedLPAGforherdepartureby giving its members increased opportunities to learn from leading services. It was fantastic to be able to listen on a few occasions to one of our younger members preaching – well doneAaronDevaney!

Gill also provided templates for our 4 service types for use during the vacancy ahead of any changes any new vicarmightintroduce.

Since Gill’s departure we have been well supported and blessed by other clergy,largelyfromlocalchurches.

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Missions Giving

As achurch wecontinue to supportour four chosen missions, The Children’s Society, CCA, The Leprosy Mission and Novimost.

We collected food and other items throughout the year for Readifood includingspecialitemsatChristmasand Easter. We also supported Ripple Effect (formerly Send a Cow) at our Harvest service and filled shoe boxes forSamaritan’sPurse.

Through Compassion some members continue to support Ashini in Sri Lanka and through Tearfund the World of Differenceproject.

Additional donations were also received at our Christingle service for The Children’s Society and by giving envelopes for Christian Aid and The LeprosyMission.

In addition we had special collections for Emergency Appeals for Pakistan Flood Relief and the Ukraine Relief Fund.

We have also collected a variety of items including paracetamol, candles and knitted goods for Ukraine on an ongoing basis. Cornwell Community Crafts continue to raise funds for RippleEffect.

At the monthly Saturday Prayer meetings one of our charities is highlightedandprayedfor.

A huge thank you to everyone for their generosity and on- going support of all our missions through prayer and financial giving helping to make a differencetothelivesofothers.

HilarySmee

Leaders & Preachers Action Group - continued

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We are thankful for the talents, energy and courage God has given LPAG members to work together to carry out this work and help St Catherine’s focus on serving Christ and loving one another.

TonyBartlett,MikeHeather,Caroline Heron,SoniaLudford,BillMartin, StuartPoore,LynnStevens,Richard Yates.

Music group & Singers

St Catherine’s music group supports and enhances worship at regular Sunday services, baptisms, and special servicesbothindoorsandoutdoors.

We are very fortunate to have an enthusiastic group of singers and musicians who together,when needed, canraisetheroof!

Being part of this group is both enjoyable and rewarding and we would encourage anyone whocan singorplay an instrument to join us. Coming along toapracticeisaneasyfirststep.

The music leaders are Tony Bartlett, Richard Yates and me. Essentially, for any given Sunday, our role is to agree songs with the service organiser and the preacher, assemble a group of singers and musicians, hold a practice (so we know which of the many versions of songs we are using), and deliverthesongswhenneeded.

Given our different styles of playing, availability of musicians and singers, choice of songs both old and new, there is a healthy variety to the songs wesingandthewaywepresentthem. Occasionally, Carol Charles, Caroline Herron and David Stevens lead the music at services. We are grateful to them and would encourage others to come forward if they feel they would liketoleadthemusicinaservice.

St Catherine’s has a digital mixer desk which enables our operators to control thesoundeffectively. Thedeskoffers a flexibility which meets ourvaried needs and we are most grateful to the expanding group of volunteers who operate the AV desk on a Sunday morningandalsoattendpractices. Again, please remember, we warmly welcome and encourage new singers andmusicians!

BillMartin

At the 2022 APCM Richard & Ella Canning and Stephen Priter had completed their 3-year terms on the PCC and Stephanie Walklate was appointed, whilst there were and remain vacancies, no-one else offered tostand.

The PCC met 7 times in 2022 and each meeting began with 15 minutes set aside for ‘Dwelling in the word’ and then another 10 minutes where PCC members shared under the heading ‘Where have we seen God at work?’ which was always a source of encouragement.

Then followed reports from the various ‘Action groups’. We ensure that at each meeting there are up-to-date reportsonSafeguardingandGDPR.

Minutes, once approved, are now displayedonthechurchNoticeboard.

After Gill’s announcement that she was retiring, Rhodri Bowen the Parish Development Adviser from the Diocese came to an additional (extraordinary) meeting on 26th September to explain what would happen next; the process of drawing up the ‘Parish Profile’, advertising the vacancy and then interviewingcandidates.

For a full report on 2022 by the PCC please see the big ‘Annual Report and Financial Statements’ Booklet that will bepublishedatEaster.

TonyBartlettPCCSecretary

Parish Administrator

The Parish Administrator role has formally been in place for a few years now. Its main purpose being to alleviate Gill (and now the Church Wardens) from many of the routine admintasks.

As such, the role of Parish Administrator covers many of the things which you might expect an Administrator to do within a Parish! Thisincludes:-

• Being one of the first points of contact for enquires from the public or external organisations – mainly by mail, both physical and electronic.

• Handling banns of marriage and baptismenquiries.

• Assisting in preparation of service & course materials - such as printed service booklets, on screen slides or coursehandouts.

• Updating web sites & social media feeds-bothourown,andwhereour details appear on other people’s websites.

• Designing & printing of posters, banners,flyers&tickets

• Keeping noticeboards up to date with both our own and external material.

• Keeping track of the ever-increasing amount of bureaucratic paperwork generated by any modern organisation.

These tasks, and many more, are often shared with other hard-working members of our congregation. However, if any of them fall ill, or need a break, then I need to ensure all the essential administrative tasks are still completed.

StuartPoore ParishAdministrator

Prayer Ministry

The Prayer Ministry Team offer prayer for healing to everyone who asks and who has a need for prayer support for themselves, or is asking on behalf of someone else. The prayer session is confidential.

Prayer Ministry is distinctive in that it is offered person to personat a particular point of need. The pray-er is doing so in the power of the Holy Spirit, to heal and minister to the individual and is reliant on God, not the individual praying.

The prayer offered is open to all and is in complete confidence. Prayer is offered after Sunday services and on other occasions. From time to time Healing Services are held on Sunday evenings.

The team meet regularly to listen to God, to discuss aspects of prayer ministry, and to pray for each other. The team firmly believes in the power of prayer and that prayer makes a difference.

Before she left, Rev Gill Rowell gave the team a "refresher" training session on best practice and this document will be used to train new team members. Before Gill left, she appointed Carol Charles to take on the leadership of the team. In church, badges are worn by teammemberswhenpraying.

Prayer Ministry in the power of the Holy Spirit is animportantpart of lifeat St Catherine's and has been for many years and the team are keen that it shouldcontinuetobeso.

New members would be very welcome to join the team, following appropriate training, and anyone interested should initially speak to Carol. The team would particularly welcome younger peopletojointheteam.

The team have been pleased recently to see morepeoplecoming forward for prayer and would encourage everyone to seek the support and blessing which comes from seizing the opportunity for prayer.

Pray ministry should not be restricted to only after the Sunday morning worship, but should be part of all aspects of Christian life and service, and the team would love to see more people being willing to offer this ministry and so to see God's Kingdom spread.

CarolCharles

Reading Deanery Synod

This was the second yearof the 2021/24 Synod andall three meetings,inMarch, June and November, were held in person with Zoom facilities. Lynn Stevens took over from Tony Bartlett to join Ella and me as lay representatives, and Gill joined us as ourclergyrepresentative.

There are 27 parishes in the Deanery so it was agreed that the Deanery would continue to operate with three Associate Area Deans working across four areas of the Deanery, with one elected Lay Chair (Mark Burton) and threeelectedAssociateLayChairs.

St Catherine’s is in the West area, led by Revd Liz Ratcliffe (Associate Area Dean) and Mark Burton (Associate Lay Chair).

The Revd Mike Smith, Rector of Caversham Thameside and Mapledurham, was appointed Area Dean following the departure of Revd GraemeFancourt.

Each meeting has a section of Good News and we had presentations on the new Greyfriars atrium, Parents and Children Together (PACT), the Hong Kong refugee ministry at Southlake St James, Eco Churches, Citizens UK and REInspired.

The 2023 Parish Share was debated and agreed - St Catherine’s share will be 2% higherthanin2022.

We passed a motion to make it easier to install solar panels and heat pumps inchurches,eveniftheyarelisted. This requires a change in planning law so has to pass through Diocesan and General Synod before being debated in Parliament.

RichardCanning

Safeguarding

Safeguardingiscarriedoutintheparish because our world is a fast changing place. The Church of England is very aware of the need to respond. The Diocese of Oxford is working towards creating a church which is safer for everyone.

Safeguarding training supports all those who have a role within the church to recognise and to respond to possible abuse and implement best safeguarding practise. Safeguarding is every church member and user’s responsibility.

Every volunteer role in our church has the need for safeguarding training. This ensures thateach ofus thathave a job or role have been through the requiredtraining.

Theseroles startfromminorones,such as Welcomers to more elaborate roles such as adult or children’s activity Leaders or being a member of PCC. These roles need different levels of training to suit the responsibility of eachrole.

To keep up to date, the volunteers need to renew their training every threeyears.

If a volunteer’s role needs to have completed Leadership training, they need to do a simple Basic Awareness course and a Foundation course before completing the more complex Leadershipcourse.

When the time comes forrenewal, only

the highest level training course needs to be completed. If a volunteer’s role only demands the Basic Awareness course ( as many do), then that course istoberepeatedeverythreeyears.

The Basic Awareness and Foundation courses are to be completed online, with special help to provide access to these courses where there would be difficulties using a computer to get onlineandcompletethecourse.

The Leadership course is either completed in person or via a booked Zoomevent.

As my role as Parish Safeguarding Officer, I have trained to deliver courses on a face to face basis, but since Covid, many people must do their courses online, through the Oxford Diocese online training portal (that’s justalinkonthewebsite).

Alongside training courses I can give help and advice to people wishing to complete courses. Where a volunteer is unsure of the need or how to access their required course, I can give help theretoo.

I attend as many courses as I can to keep myself up to date on what is happeningintheworldofSafeguarding withintheOxfordDiocese.

I recently completed the Domestic Abuse Course. This course is not part of the core training, (known as Core

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Safeguarding Learning Pathways - I understand, more specialised terminology to get your head around!) as detailed above, but an Additional SafeguardingLearningPathway.

There is also another course in this group called Safer Recruitment and People Management. These courses are neededby only afewpeople in our parish and they are more complex courses.

In our parish we have many people whose courses need updating. This is a considerable task to keep account of who has done what and who needs to update theircourses. OurDBS verifier/ Parish Administrator and I do a considerable amount of work to help thistohappen.

So when you are asked to update your DBS certificate or Safeguarding training we would both appreciate a prompt response to our invitation. Many, many thanks to those who do so.

For those who are a little slower, be assured we can give you as much support as you need to complete a course,sopleaseask.

So currently there are approximately 26 volunteers who need to update theirBasicAwarenesstraining. There are currently approximately 7 volunteers needing to update or complete a Foundation training and approximately 3 who need to complete or update a Leadership training. That’s a bigtaskto complete, but if all our volunteers are willing to support the church in this way, the taskwillbelessarduousthanitlooks.

While completing this report, I have seen in the diocese website that as Parish Safeguarding Officer, I need to complete the Safer Recruitment and People Management course. That will take one and a half to two hours training. Ishallbebetterinformedasa result,I’msure.

HazelNewman. ParishSafeguardingOfficer

Café Siena Book Club

St Catherine's Book Club meet monthly and discuss a wide range of books whichweborrowfromReadingLibrary. We choose the books for the forthcoming year and the eight members have very different tastes in thereadingrequests.

Sometimes we end up liking a book which we would never have chosen ourselves! Our recent selection includes “The Book Thief” which describes life and death in Nazi Germany. It obviously has tragic episodesbutalsomomentsofcomedy.

Other books which we have read in the past year include “A Short History of Tractors in Ukraine”, “The Pirates Daughter”, “The Testaments”, “The Snow Child” and “The Spywho came in fromthecold”.

We enjoy each other's company and often talk about whatever we are readingasindividuals.

RosemaryCunningham

Carpet Bowls Club

This year the Bowls Club has been able to put the Covid pandemic behind us and we are back to our normal weekly bowls sessions onSaturdays at7.00pm. This new start time is working well allowingtheeveningtofinishearlier.

Our membership is still depleted. During the year 3 more ladies have joined and we now have 13 active members(12ladiesand1man!).

The Club is actively trying to recruit new members especially men to join our lovely ladies. All those who may be interested please just pop in on a SaturdayeveningtoseeusorringAnne Soleyon 01189425407.

We now have space on the Hall Notice BoardonwhichyouwillfindourAnnual Programme and other information regardingtheClub.

PaddyBarrett

As 2022 progressed and Covid restrictions eased we were able to stop opening all the windows and allow an increase in numbers. In anticipation of a rise in the Hall rent for 2023 we decided to increase fees for the first timesincetakingoverthegroupin2018 from £3 to £3.50. The majority of those attendingeachweeknowpaybycard.

Booking is by Eventbrite and opens 6 days before each session, otherwise both sessions would be oversubscribed. Mostsessions arefully booked and whilst this means that we are having to ‘turn away’ some people, we feel that we are operating at maximumcapacity.

Before each session we commit the morning to prayer. We stick to a fairly loose timetable which includes ‘singing time’ and we do try (and succeed) to link with Tot’s Praise at St Catherine’s as well as publicising family events during the session and via the 0-5s Facebook page which as some 200 followers. The GDPRS database is used sparinglyforthistoo.

Therearetwosessionsaweek:

• Tuesday mornings, which is for family groups (Mums, Dads or Grandparents) with a limit of 20 which means up to 30 children. This is gives much-valued support for new mums who may be lonely & isolated. There are many ‘regulars’ but quite a high turnover. The provision of ‘healthy snacks’,

(mainly a variety of fresh fruits) is appreciated; the children get to try new fruits and have the discipline of sitting up to a table to eat. We provide good quality drinks & biscuits for the adults. Our regular helpers are Tony & Evelyn Bartlett, Stuart Poore, Caroline O’Sullivan and Liz Gulley. To cover absences Doreen Farmer often comes in and we are grateful to Hilary Smee for coveringonseveraloccasions.

• Thursday mornings. Which is for registered childminders with a limit of 15, which means up to 40 children. A fairly stable and selfsupporting group who help and encourage their charges in clearing away at the end of the session. Childminders bring snacks for the children. Regular helpers are Tony, Evelyn, Stuart and either Doreen or Lynn Stevens. Caroline is also able to cover absences and we can also call on Sonia Ludford or Rebecca Devaney.

We had a major toy tidy and clean during the Summer holidays and were grateful to Sonia Ludford and Beryl Nunn for helping. We are grateful to Liz and Doreen who plan and prepare the week’s craft which is themed aroundtheseasons.

We also celebrated with pancakes on Shrove Tuesday, HotCross Buns, Easter

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and Christmas books given out, party foodandCarolsatChristmas.

Whilst we have managed with the helpers mentioned above, the mornings are busy and more helpers,

particularly on aTuesday,would enable us to give more time to talk to the parents and grandparents who come, as well as with all the setting up and clearing away of furniture, toys, craft andwashingup.

TonyBartlett

Cornwell Charity Crafts

We sell handmade gifts to support an annual named charity; this year ‘Ripple effect’formerlyknownas‘SendaCow’.

We reinvest the cost of materials and donateourtimeandprofits.

We raised money for Top Notch Trees costing £21 each. Our total for the year was £756, enough for 36 trees to be senttoruralAfrica.

We concentrated selling our wares at St Catherine’s this year at Café Siena, fairs,clubsandevents.

Thank you to all who have been involved in Cornwell Charity Crafts either hosting, making, selling or buying.

In 2023 we will be raising money for Gardening kits at £24 and Cookery Classesat£18,£42forapair!

ThanksAgain,ValeriePoore, CarolineO’Sullivan &therestofyou!

Crafty Space

Crafty Space meets monthly, (except August) Saturday afternoon 1.30pm to 5.30pm in thehall. Numbers have been creepinguptoregularly16ormore.

We chat, share advice oncraft projects, drink tea, coffee and eat cake in a lovely friendly atmosphere. We even get some, sewing, knitting, drawing, colouring, felting or other hobbies donesometimes!

Our swap box regularly re-homes thingscraftrelated!

We also met in the school summer holidays on Thursday mornings - Crafty SpaceExtra! Dropinandsayhello!

ValeriePoore&CarolineO’Sullivan

Green Team

Meetings resumed in September 2022 followingapandemicbreaktocontinue maintaining our current activities, such as recycling and making the garden hospitable to wild life, and embark on newinitiatives.

The Church of England has set a target of achieving Net Zero Carbon by 2030. It sounds an almost impossible target to achieve, yet some churches, even those with old buildings, have achieved it! So the team are working to produce aStCatherine’sactionplan.

An additional incentive is the increasing cost of energy! Investigating alternative fuel sources is underway, and the team are attending various webinarstoinformtheprocess.

Solar panels are under investigation. It is a significant initial outlay, likely to cost at least £50k. Initial guidance suggests that the hall roof is the best place to place them. More work is required to determine if this is an option to present to the PCC and churchforconsideration.

Following our bronze Eco A Rocha award in March 2021, it is time to press for a silver award! Striving for these awards assists identifying actions we cantakeasstewardsofGod’screation.

The team have therefore been critically examining the areas for improvement to achieve silver. One significant area is lifestyle – both individually and as a church. So there will be a series of

suggestions/encouragements in the weekly notices to make us all aware of actions that might be appropriate for each of us to take as we discharge our responsibility to look after God’s creation.

The ask is for each one of us to look at these carefully and find at least one change a month (and preferably more!) to implement as we discharge our duties as stewards of God’s creation. We also encourage all Centre users, both church and community groups, to carefully use water, heating and lightingandtorecycleappropriately.

The 2022 Harvest Festival focussed on climate change. The devastation from the Pakistan floods, current at that time, were a timely reminder of the urgency to take action to address our climate emergency. The green team had fun putting the service together –includinganinformativequiz!

There is a call for action for all of us as we go into 2023 to work hard to take action on climate, remembering the responsibility each one of us has been given : ‘The LordGodtook the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work itandkeepit.’

As we go into the next year, please pray that God will guide each one of us todoourbit. GreenTeam:

ChrisAddison,RichardCanning, JoDay,CarolineHeron, SoniaLudford,HazelNewman

Life Groups

Before Gill retired one of her aims was to review and develop lifegroups at St Catherine’s. To ensure everyone would have the opportunity to join a lifegroup that would meet at different times to suit different lifestyles. She asked me tobethelifegroupcoordinator.

A lifegroup subcommittee was set up and after various meetings and testimonies. We reviewed the existing kinship and life groups that already been established for many years at St Catherine’s. It was clear the existing groups were already bringing much valued worship, fellowship, prayer and support.

Next, we asked the congregation to fill in a questionnaire, to see if individuals were interested in joining a lifegroup, the ideal size of a group etc. Then leaders and hosts came forward to set upnewlifegroups.

It is so encouraging to note that there are now 7 lifegroups at St Catherine’s and approx. 50 people attend a lifegroup. These are either weekly or fortnightly.

We had our first lifegroup leaders meeting in January and it was wonderful to hear positive feedback from each leader that the existing and new lifegroups are going well. All groups use the sermon notes and have atimeofprayertogether.

Hereissomeofthefeedback:

• asenseofbelonging

• encouraging and supporting one another

• Newfriendships

• Timeofprayer

• Thereisamixofpersonalities

• Boostinfaith

Pastoral care is very much integral to lifegroups. This means that in addition to caring for those within your group, each lifegroup had a list of people who currently do not belong to a lifegroup. Gill was keen to promote this hoping that everyone associated with the worshipping life at St Catherine’s wouldfeellovedandsupported.

There are still spaces available to join a lifegroup, with various options of mornings, afternoon or evenings. Please come and chat with me if you areinterested.

We look forward to another lifegroup leadersmeetinginApril.

EmmaDeacon

Mothers’ Union

Membership of St Catherine’s MU has reducedslightlyandnowstandsat41.

The removal of Covid restrictions meant that, last year, we were able to hold nearly all of our usual meetings and events. The only exception was the Anniversary Service, due to be held on 19th September 2022, which was cancelled as it coincided with the funeralofQueenElizabethll.

We continue with our prayer chain, offering prayer for people in emergencies, regular monthly bible study and fellowship meetings, which now take place in the church following the mid-week early morning communion service, and our members alsotakeonmanyothervoluntaryroles withinthechurch.

We have also made-up emergency toiletry bags for the Royal Berkshire Hospital and knitted Easter lambs and Christmas stockings for the Children Seen and Heard project. Sales of excess lambs and stockings raised £95 fortheMUGeneralFund.

Our monthly evening meetings have had a varied programme including a talk on Waterways Chaplaincy, the MU’s Theme of the year “Transformation Now” and a speaker from Henry Street Garden Centre talkingaboutroses.

In addition, we also held our annual Quiz evening, meal at Toby Carvery and August Afternoon Tea. The Quiz and Afternoon Tea raised £270 which was donated to the MU Summer of Hope appeal.

The Memorial service in October and the ever-popular Christmas Carols and Readings and Flower Arranging demonstrationwereallwellattended. The March meeting this year was to be a talk by Revd Gill Rowell but, as she has retired and left the area, we have taken the opportunity to host a World Day of Prayer service instead to which wehaveinvitedotherlocalchurches.

In the coming year we hope to continuetofindavarietyofspeakersto entertain and inspire us at our monthly meetings and to reach out further into thecommunity.

Community Prayer Group

Inthe1980's theMothersUnionprayer group started inComptonAvenue early in the morning. After Thursday Lunch club started it was transferred to the hall at 2.00 pm and the name changed to Community Prayers to include everyone.

When the building project was completed it moved to the Garden Roomat2.00pmeveryweek.

During lockdown prayers were continuedinourhomes.

We pray for the world, the Church, our local community, our Church Family and prayer requests and have seen manyanswerstoprayers.

Please feel free to join us you do not havetocommittoeveryweek.

AnneSoley

Tuesday get Together

Tuesday get Together (TgT), now in its 4th year, continues to grow and flourish and welcomes 15 - 20+ guests every week. Friendships have been made that now reach beyond our session and newcomers are made most welcome.

This winter, due to the high cost of heating, we are pleased to have been designated by the local churches as a ‘warmspace’.

The Fire Safety Service dropped in as part of this initiative and gave us the current advice regarding home fire safety.

Although we offer freerefreshments to our guests, we do receive donations in our “teapot” which are passed on weekly to the treasurer to support the churchfunds.

TgT is now an integral part of the outreach mission at St Catherine’s and all the team feel blessed that we are able to facilitate such a hub for the community.

Although such a simple concept we look forward to yet another year of being part of doing what people really enjoy-drinkingteaandchatting!

TuesdaygetTogetherTeam

Friday Friends

Friday friends continue to meet every week in the Church Hall. Several people enjoy a lunch in the Cafe before joining intheactivitiesoffered.

The programme includes a variety of

activities and fellowship is shared during the refreshments which are always welcomed and enjoyed. A warm space for everyone and their carers.

AnneSoley

Tot’s Praise

Tot’s Praise is a service that is aimed at Pre-school children and their carers. It happens at 9.15 am every Friday during term time at the front of the church on theredcarpet.

Gill started this service in September 2018. Our numbers are variable between 4 and 12 children, along with their mums, dads, grandparents or childminders.

We start with singing 3 to 5 songs, manyofwhichhavemovements(which we all do), involve shaking the musical instruments and even involve some of the toy animals from the children’s corneratthebackofthechurch.

We then have a story from the Bible read by one of the helpers, there are pictures to look at. We then celebrate any birthdays and say our prayer. We then move near to the children’s area where there is a craft activity followed by play in the children’s area while the adultshaveadrinkandachat.

When Gill retired at the end of November 2022 Stuart agreed to take on the singing section. Chris Jones was in charge of the craft activity up until the end of July 2022, we are still benefitting from the hard work that sheputintosettingthisup.

Doreen agreed to come and do the craft activity once a month from September with Joanne doing the other weeks. The story is read by either Anna, Hilary or Sonia. We try to have 3 helpers at each session though wedooccasionallyhaveonly2.

We never know whichchildren will turn up or how many or how old. It is great fun and rewarding as you get to know the children and their carers. If you would like to join us please come and have a word with one of us or just turn up.Youwillbeverywelcome.

Youth Bible Study

We hope that you have enjoyed the Raps, poems, reflections and dramatic presentations that the Youth Bible Study group have produced over the pastyear.

These have been the result of the YBS group working as a team and engaging in studying the Bible with open minds andfresheyes.

Together, we have explored matters such as individual disciples of Jesus and how they are relevant to our lives today.

Favourite verses from the Bible have been considered and application to us asindividualshasbeenexamined.

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Anna,Doreen,Hilary,Joanne,Sonia andStuart.

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It has been a privilege to work with Aaron, Rosalind, Daisy, Benjamin and Joseph - with the support and involvementfromLynn. Thanks, too, go to their parents who have taxied/ encouraged these young peopletoattendthemeetings. However, it would seem that the time has come for this particular Group to cometoanendfornow.

There are other pressures and opportunities onourTimewhichmakes it difficult to continue meeting in this way.

We would ask that you pray for the individuals associated with this Group thatthey

• Continue to grow in the knowledge oftheBible,seeingitsrelevanceand applicationtoLifetoday

• Come to a real and living faith in the personofJesus

• Might continue to be a blessing to allthosewhocomeintotheirlives And also pray that other families with young children will be attracted to the worship and life at St Catherine's...they aretheFutureChurch. KatrinaandLynn

Youth Group - Pick‘n’Mix

Pick N Mix is St Catherine's Youth Group for 11 to 18 year olds. We meet on a Friday evening, fortnightly, during termtime.

Pick‘n’Mix is a safe, fun space, for young people of all faiths or none to meet, socialise and express themselves.

Over the last year our activities have included - Board games evenings, film andpizzanights,makeyourowntrifles, sparklers, apple bobbing, barbecue, quiz nights, noodles, pancakes and our chipshopwalk.

Along with the planned activities we have equipment available such as a snooker table, football and table tennis.

We have a core of 6 young people who attendthesessions.

At the end of our evening we have a five minute 'Words ofWisdom' which is based on a Bible verse. All the young people do engage and often have commentsandquestions.

In November, last year, we said goodbye to our Vicar Gill, who was retiring. She was one of the team at Pick‘n’Mix. We were very sad to see her leave, but we said hello to Stuart, whohasjoinedmeandDeeinleading.

Please pray that all who attend Pick‘n’Mix would continue to have fun, feel safe and know that God loves them.

LynnStevens