Dear JohnPaul Parish
We hold our APCM (Annual Parochial Church Meeting) on Sunday 12th May this year (12-1pm). I would love to see some of our newer faces there this year. We have already got three new members of the PCC – all from amongst our new families, which is just fab! However, I want to invite more of you to join us as we review the last year and look to the future.
Findings from our Vision Day in February
For those of you who like the details, see below for the full notes from our Vision Day at Whalley Abbey. For those of you who like the headlines, here they are:
Continue our Connect groups – these are the place where you meet weekly with people within the church in small groups. The aim is to encourage you to connect better with God, better with each other and better with our community.
Improve our welcome – this means encouraging everyone to notice newcomers and welcome them. It means improving the Sunday services, developing our sung worship, improving the heating at St John’s, putting comfortable chairs and a new AV system into St Paul’s.
Improve our Family Engagement – The two children’s parties have really helped this. We want us to focus on this more, so will set up a task force for this.
Stop dwelling on the past which leads to dithering.
Develop Prayer – We have already planned a series of sermons on Prayer after Easter which will be combined with a Prayer course in Connect groups.
Growing Leaders – We are already doing this with AV at St John’s and Amanda and Ian are running regular START courses to deepen the faith understanding of future leaders. We can do more, so we will set up a task force to look at this.
How to reach the next generation ie 20s,30s and 40s. We have an opportunity every year to share the good news with those who come to church to get their children into St John’s school and those who come to Families@5. How do we move people from being on the edge of church, to becoming more involved? We have encouraged people on the START course and to do jobs within the church. But there is more to be done. Could our Outreach team pick this up?
Fellowship – Try to have more fun events for the church family. St Paul’s have a social group but it is mainly full of older people. Could younger people join?
More Community Presence – We have already organised a free Ceilidh and a Harvest Supper for Saturday 29th September at St John’s. One of our congregation is going to organise a Christmas Meal this year. And others have suggested we do some Community Litter picking.
Vision Statement
Finally, we realised that despite having a really fruitful Vision Day, we had not actually produced a Vision Statement. I imagine you can see the direction we are taking from the above. However, the Ministry team hope to create a pithy, positive statement of intent for JohnPaul Parish and will check it out with you before we add to all our advertising.
What’s been happening recently?
Pancakes for Shrove Tuesday – thanks to our fabulous catering teams.
Mother’s day at both churches – thanks to those who do our lovely flowers.
Healing services – Thanks to our LLMs, Patricia and Tony for helping with this..
OFSTED at St John’s school – Well done to our governors and staff!
Our Connect groups have just finished the Bible series with great feedback. https://www.biblesociety.org.uk/resources/the-bible-series-experience-a-better-story/.
Accrington Christians Together Mission – We put up the two young men who came from Capernwray as part of the team of five. One of them had lived all his life in Albania and was able to act as translator to our new Albanian family.
Patricia celebrated 25 years as a Reader or LLM (Local Lay Minister) with a cake and a lovely sandwich lunch after the joint service on palm Sunday. A really lovely occasion.
What’s Coming Up?
Ian Rushton and I are leading a START course after Easter – do ask us about it!
Keep an eye on our calendar on the website for any events that are planned.
We are making several bids for grants for the repairs needed on the steeple at St John’s and for our new heating system there too.
Could you help with our graveyard over the summer months? Two of our regular mowers are getting too old and we really need help.
Henry will be doing some training for those who might want to join the tech team
Amanda is doing some training for those in the pastoral team who would like to take round home communions for those who cannot get to church.
Wishing you a very happy Easter!
Amanda and the team at JohnPaul Parish
JohnPaul Parish Vision Day Notes Saturday 10th February 2024
Group exercise 1: Dwelling in God’s word
We reflected on key passages of scripture, as suggested by the ministry team
How is God speaking to us through Scripture?
Change – forget the past do a new thing
Do not dwell on the past
Persevere – challenges to come
Step by step – not linear, take a risk
Wilderness to a fruitful harvest
Group exercise 2: What we should stop, start, continue (as it is) and Grow & Develop
Continue
Growing Leaders
Connect groups
Toast time
Busy Bees
Engagement with the diocese (e.g. visits from Bishops etc.)
Children’s work
Families@5
Listening to God
Grow & Develop
Prayer life (personal/individual & together)
Gifts of the Holy Spirit
Prayer ministry
Growing leadership, gifts and talents
Listen to God and act on it
Discipleship (faith impact on the rest of the week)
Connect groups (engage whole congregation)
Family engagement (Families@5)
Sung worship in services (participation)
Community presence
Creativity (try new things in services, not always exactly the same)
Next generation – 20s, 30s, 40s
Start
Thinking of ourselves as one church (our) incl. getting people to both buildings
Christmas community meals
Fellowship (not Sunday) with new and old people
Encourage leadership in prayer
More joint services
Talking to people we don’t know after the service
Explain in services why we do what we do (e.g. the peace)
Embrace change
Beyond Sunday morning e.g. Life skills that help to share/engage people in the good news
Youth group and leaders
Everyone is on the welcome team
Recognise gifts in ourselves and others
Stop
Dithering (indecision, apathy, frustration)
Being two separate churches
Side-lining
Making it difficult for new people
Talking only to those you know
Dwelling on the past (not wanting to let go)
Complaining and grumbling
Over lunchtime our facilitator consolidated the key themes of these to the following:
Continue
Connect Groups
Listening to God
Grow & Develop
Community presence
Leadership gifts and talents
Prayer
Family engagement
Start
Think and be one church
Welcome and include new people
Stop
Dwelling in the past
Dithering