1

Finding faith

Keeping faith

Sharing faith

A Review of events in 2016

in the parish of great st mary

the university church,

cambridge

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Introduction

A union of four ministries:

a unique and innovative way of being

a city centre church

This document highlights the four ministries of Great St Mary’s.

It is not the annual report, but it does give a picture of all we

do in the parish.

Cambridge is a growing and changing city with a world-leading

university. The key to our approach is to find ways of working

with a wide range of colleagues and partners in the university

and in the city to explore what faith means and how we live it

out.

We have four key areas of ministry.

First and foremost there’s the Christian community at Great St

Mary’s; Michaelhouse provides a mission centre; the Chaplaincy

to the University is a multi-faith resource, and we have a

Heritage project for schools.

In addition to our four key areas there is also a varied

programme of children’s work and music. Many people are

involved: a dedicated staff team of three clergy, seventeen full

and part-time staff and countless volunteers. We hope they

will find that this review is a way of recognition and thanks for

an outstanding year.

This document is also an invitation, and we hope you will want

to find out more and enjoy taking part.

The Revd Canon John Binns, Vicar

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1. Our Christian Community

On Sunday mornings we meet for Parish Communion. Bell ringers ar-

rive first to ring for an hour on our twelve bells, inviting people to

come to worship; they are followed by Sidesmen and women and Serv-

ers who get the church ready and prepare to welcome the congrega-

tion; leaders of children’s activities set up around the font and in the

porch. Meanwhile the choir is doing a final rehearsal and the coffee

team is putting out cups in Michaelhouse. In the preceding week the

office has been preparing service sheets and flower arrangers ensure

the church is beautifully decorated. We also have an early morning

Communion Service, a mid-morning Choral Mattins and we end the day

with Choral Evensong.

It’s been said that the Church is the Resurrection. As we celebrate together with each member

of the community sharing in the worship, so the Risen Christ speaks to us in the words of

scripture and comes to us in the bread and wine. In prayer we offer our lives and our community

to be filled by his Holy Spirit. As we go out we leave with the blessing of Christ resting on us and

empowering us. The Resurrection is not only an event in history, but a power to change and

transform us in the present.

This review which you are holding now is not a list of our achievements nor a story about what

we do. It’s a testimony to the way Christ is acting in our community, showing his presence

through our words and actions. It shows that the life of Great St Mary’s reaches out to many in

Cambridge and beyond. It is there in our church building as we pray and welcome friends and

strangers. It’s also there in our ministry to the university, schools, and civic organisations of our

city. As we reflect on all we do, we pray for God’s power to bring his love to his people and to

be faithful in carrying out our calling.

While the services and our prayers remain at the centre of our life, worship at Gt St Mary’s

includes Bible and other study groups. Like other churches, we find that peoples’ needs are

becoming more varied. Sunday services aren’t enough. We arrange other complementary services

too. Our weekday services all have a different style and are designed to meet different kinds of

needs. One-off services are important too, and on many occasions the city or university come

together for special occasions, such as Remembrance Sunday.

Each of us has our own personal way of believing in God and making sense of our lives. The

challenge in arranging worship at GSM is to find ways to enable people to express and share faith.

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2. A day at Michaelhouse……

04:30-09:00 Cleaners arrive; Head Chef starts to prepare lunch; plumbers come to fix the

men’s urinal; Sarah (assistant manager) sets up meeting rooms and tests the lift....

09:00-12:30 Rosemary (manager) arrives, lights the candles in the Chancel, preparing it for

the children’s corner; Morning prayer in the Hervey de Stanton chapel; local

business leader holds meeting in Montefiore room; Diary meeting at GSM; art-

ists arrive to plan their exhibition and workshop; Ark Eucharist – 19 children,

their buggies and carers squash into the Chancel; screams from the ladies’ toilets

leads to a giant spider being removed from the sink; plans for a wedding party

are drawn up with the marriage couple; reports that the WiFi isn’t working leads

to router being reset; A lovely e-mail arrives from a lady who had her 50th birth-

day party here thanking us and saying how much she and her friends enjoyed it;

U3A can’t get their projector to work for their class in the Michael Mayne room

– we lend them ours.

12:30-17:30 The café’s really busy and the queue almost reaches the door; Time to catch up

with phone messages and e-mails, send invoices and order office supplies; Ste-

phen Perse Foundation hold a concert with a talented young violinist; an alarm

goes off! Someone’s accidentally pulled the red cord in the disabled toilet; Knit-

ting and crochet club meet; story-time and singing for toddlers in the Chancel;

meeting to discusses maintenance budget and faculty application for the Chancel

floor; C.U. students prepare a homelessness project and discuss their funding ap-

plication to the Friends; Dorota (GSM verger) mends café furniture and tests

the fire alarm; toilets are cleaned for evening bookings.

19:00 Self Knowledge class in Michael Mayne room.

19:30 Kingsgate Community Church offer prayers for healing in the Hervey de Stanton

chapel.

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3. Chaplaincy to University Staff

end of an era?

The Chaplaincy to University Staff has completed 22 years of growth and development,

Since 2009 two separate pieces of legislation, the Equalities Act 2010 and the ‘Prevent’ duties

associated with the Immigration Act 2015 have changed the landscape of chaplaincy within High-

er Education, and continue to pose challenges. Nevertheless GSM as contributed to affording the

Chaplaincy the required resources and giving it space to grow. A few highlights:

In partnership with the Equality & Diversity section of the Human Resources Division, the

chaplaincy has influenced the University to acknowledge faith identity e.g. by including the

publication of a multi-faith calendar, a multi-faith series of talks in the annual Festival of Ideas,

and hosting creatively and educationally events such as Holocaust Memorial Day.

In partnership with the University’s Childcare Office and Accommodation Service, the chap-

laincy has established a weekly ‘Stay & Play’ session for international postgraduate and post-

doctoral spouses and toddlers who live beyond the social environment of the colleges in

isolated and isolating parts of the University. This work began by using Merton Hall Farm-

house, entrusted to the chaplaincy in 1999, thus modelling the sort of community-making

activity that will be needed in the time ahead as residents take up new accommodation on

the Northwest Cambridge site.

In partnership with secular administrative disciplines across the University, such as Health &

Safety, Licensed Facilities, Counselling, Human Resources and Newcomers and Visiting

Scholars, the Chaplaincy has made a contribution to Wellbeing, an area of growing im-

portance. The University recognises that, at least for people of faith, wellbeing - and its flip-

side stress - have spiritual and religious dimensions. Jesus, the Good Shepherd, said, “I have

come that you might have life and have it abundantly.” (John 10:10)

While partnership has clearly been the tenor of my work, and perhaps that is a rule of thumb for

chaplaincy - a church contribution to the life of a secular institution - I also worked and reflected

on this rich tapestry of opportunity, making an original contribution to the understanding of chap-

laincy. Using the ancient tradition of Virtue Ethics (Aristotle and Aquinas) together with a corpus

of work that seeks to rehabilitate this tradition for our own day (Alasdair McIntyre) I used virtue-

themed story telling as a form of reflective practice among colleagues, demonstrating that partici-

pants in this practice experience solidarity with one another. This subverts the isolating dynamics

of the complex, liberal institution (my doctoral thesis is available at http://arro.anglia.ac.uk/701524/

It is good to see what has been achieved, but I also long for the day when the University shows

how seriously it takes the contribution of its faith communities, and how necessary they are in

the relentless quest for excellence.

I am most grateful to Great St Mary’s, meaning the people, who have welcomed, supported and

Contd on p. 7...

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4. Heritage

2016 saw the first phase of the Heritage

Education Project completed. The project has

now shifted to become the Heritage Ministry,

an integral part of Great St Mary’s mission

which aims to share the fascinating Christian

history of this church with new audiences.

As the Heritage Lottery funding for the

Heritage Project ended in summer 2016, we

secured support from the Church Schools of

Cambridge (CSoC), a registered charity helping

local schools to provide imaginative RE teach-

ing and resources for collective worship. With

funding for three years, GSM will be able to

build on the legacy of the HLF-funded Heritage

Project.

Rosie Sharkey is moving on to be Education

Officer at the Bodleian Library in Oxford; her

successor, Anna Lovewell, will be in post 2.5

days per week from May 2017. We will

explore new possibilities with the Church

Schools of Cambridge, particularly looking at

expanding the range of guided walks and ses-

sions in schools introducing children to biblical

stories and spiritual reflection.

Our year of transition was still full of events -

we hosted:

14 School visits – 825 children in total

5 language school visits

8 family craft activities

1 volunteer recruitment event

5 adult learning events, including talks, ...

training and tours

1 major science festival event

1 costumed extravaganza for Open

Cambridge

Particular highlights of the Heritage activities

this year were the Summer at the Museums

family craft activities, Open Cambridge and new

historical research by volunteers.

215 people attended our six summer craft ses-

sions with 2 new activities - one looking at the

original plans for a spire at GSM, and the other

telling the story of the fish found with a book in

its stomach on Cambridge market in 1626.

For Open Cambridge 2016, thanks to financial

support from Cambridge BID and the University

Public Engagement Team, we welcomed around

2,000 people to Great St Mary’s and the

market for ‘Market Stall Stories’. Visitors

enjoyed meeting time-travelling shoppers,

taking part in a dramatic Victorian debate on

the rights of women to study at the University,

and hearing talks on the history of the market

and future plans for its development.

Behind the scenes, the new website took

shape. It will soon showcase our exciting activi-

ties for schools and the historical research.

Recently Petra Birkett and Sue Slack uncovered

the forgotten life stories of those commemo-

rated on ledgerstones around the church, and

Georgia Banjo revealed links between GSM and

the history of slavery and emancipation for

Black History Month.

Looking forward to 2017, the 500th anniversary

of the Reformation (and 450th anniversary of

Martin Bucer’s burning in Cambridge market),

many Heritage events will focus on the Refor-

mation. With Cambridge playing an important

role in these world-changing events, this year

will be a valuable opportunity to help schools

and visitors explore the Reformation in an

innovative and reflective way.

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C o n t

from p.5

loved me, listened while I rehearsed new ide-

as, and coaxed me along when I was down in

the dumps with the grungy end of the challenge. I

have been especially helped by the consola-

tions and solace of the Anglican choral

tradition, which is so lovingly and tirelessly

maintained here at GSM. It has been an

immense privilege to participate in this more

actively than passively from time to time, even

when I couldn’t find the note for the next

response!

I know that I go with your love and prayers.

Please know that you will be most welcome in

Shipbourne (pronounced Shibbun!) and/or

Plaxtol if you are passing, or would like to

visit.

Rev Dr Peter Hayler,

Chaplain to University Staff

2009 - 2017

Pastoral Visitors

Pauline Davison & Margaret Pearson

The pastoral visitors group was formed

over 20 years ago following a Lent course

on the theology of Pastoral Care led by

Dan Hardy, in which he traced God’s com-

mandment to love our neighbour from the

Old Testament to the New. In a church

with a scattered congregation, the visitors

try to make newcomers feel welcome at

church services; offer hospitality and friend-

ship at Michaelhouse or in their own

homes; meet monthly to learn from clergy,

pew slip and monthly prayer list about

parishioners who are unwell or lonely and

follow up with a phone call and a visit if

welcome. We support each other and the

clergy, and immediate, emergency contacts

often develop into more permanent friend-

ships and support. We try especially to

keep in touch with those who find it diffi-

cult or impossible to come to church, and

those in residential care.

We are, of course, not the only members

of Great St Mary’s to offer pastoral care

within the church. There is a great deal of

informal care and mutual support within

the congregation. Some of those who find

it hard to get to church enjoyed the Vicar-

age tea party in the summer, and recently, a

pub lunch organized by the Church-

wardens.

Having a dedicated group for pastoral

visitors simply serves to remind us all of

the injunction to love one another. We are

a small (and ageing) group, and would wel-

come new members, so if you would like to

join us do speak to the Vicar. 01223 747274

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Children in Great St Mary’s: The Ark Carolynn Pritchard

The Ark sets sail in Michaelhouse chapel on Tuesday

mornings, offering Holy Communion, worship, fel-

lowship and pastoral care in a relaxed environment.

We have a thriving and growing community of

parents, carers and children: new born to rising 5’s.

Launched in September 2008 with 3 families, we have

since had contact with well over 80 families,

attracting people from the city, theological colleges

and beyond. Our highest number was reached recently

with about 38 people attending one service. What we

offer at Michaelhouse is becoming recognised for its experimental liturgical praxis; we’ve had

visiting observers from home and abroad and ordinands have taken the idea to their new parishes.

An extract from an article I wrote earlier this year gives an insight into life aboard The Ark…

“Children gather around the Communion table during the Eucharistic Prayer. They play

with miniature chalices, patens, jugs, bread and grapes. A child mimes breaking the bread, saying

“Break, Bread, Pray”. The children watch, imitate gestures, repeat words and share play elements;

they are engaged in active participation. We follow a shortened Common Worship using the

“Holy Holy Holy” Additional Eucharistic Prayer. The children are central to the worship space

and free to move around, talk and play. They are facilitated in worship through “liturgical play”,

using toys and symbols reflecting the liturgy, the Gospel, colours, seasons and festivals of the

Christian year; Pentecost, for instance, uses a large red felt circle with doves, “flames” and windmills.

Everyone can participate in the liturgy with wooden crosses, liturgically coloured ribbon-

rings and maracas. For the Gospel we use pictures, figures and objects. Children choose “prayer

pictures” and we sing and sign “Oh Lord hear our Prayer.” We all share the Peace, offer a hand

or say “Peace”. Children bring up the elements and vessels, lay the table and pour the water and

wine. We have Bishop’s dispensation to communicate baptised infants with parental consent,

Children hold their hands out for the “Jesus bread” with reverence; we experience awe, wonder

and the Presence of God.

The rich liturgical and symbolic landscape of “The Ark” has been transformational in

liturgical formation. When children are incorporated into the worshipping community they are

“appropriate liturgical participants even in infancy”. We as a Christian community “have an awe-

some role in landscaping their religious imaginations”. My heartfelt thanks goes to the wonderful

regular team without whom The Ark would not be afloat; John Binns, Devin McLachlan, Jo Hall

and Ruth Bridgen, and to Angela Bridges, Pauline Davidson and Theresa Macintosh who helped us

out during the year.

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Children in Church

Children’s Ministry involved school-aged children

in Junior Church for discussion and creative

response, and pre-school children explored Chris-

tian faith through play and creative response.

September saw the genesis of “Children in Wor-

ship” with all the children in church throughout

the service, around a crèche trolley on wonderful

new carpets. Christian faith-based play materials

are placed around the font; crosses, ribbons and

maracas for praise and worship, linking toys for

the Body of Christ and story materials for the

Gospel reading and Church season. Holy

Communion materials with play chalices, patens,

grapes and bread are placed on a miniature altar.

A new addition is the Prayer Tree where children

and adults hang prayers.

A recent Gospel was “The Woman at the Well”; we

played with plastic barrels and water and we drank

water together. In the lobby children and adults

made a “Jesus Living Water”

banner of a cross with tissue

paper living water streaming

from it. As we play and create,

we offer opportunities for the

children to encounter God

through “wondering”: I wonder

if Jesus ever got his drink; I

wonder what this living water

might be... Wondering about

the Transfiguration, we asked,

“I wonder how Jesus became lit

up”. The response was,

“Perhaps he was radio-active!”

The number of children attending has risen with

the successful new format. It raises significant cate-

chetical challenges as liturgical and faith formation

is largely non-verbal - we need to offer sensory

and symbolic means for the children to encounter

God within the worship.

Our thanks go to Miranda, Alison, Karen, and Emi

for all they have done with Junior Church and for

their ongoing work, support and encouragement

as we develop “Children in Worship”.

Carolynn Pritchard

Wider Concerns Projects

Bringing new life and hope, we focus on

supporting a relatively small number of on-

going projects particularly with a Cambridge

connection, and where we can make a real dif-

ference. The emphasis is on partnership with

local communities taking the lead in what they

consider is best for their community. The

range of projects includes homes for street

children, family support for orphans, skills

training to enable independent living, basic

medical training, and income-generating

schemes. We have received warm apprecia-

tion for our assistance, enabling work to go

ahead which otherwise would not have been

possible, not least in times of emergency. The

generosity of the congregation has contributed

£12,000 - £14,000 a year to this work.

Inspiring and pioneering work can have

wide influence up to governmental level e.g.

the Patient Representative Service (PRS)

devised by Rural Health Trust (India) cross

fertilised with Medical Support in Romania;

Partners for Change, Ethiopia develop in-

novative ways of helping orphans to live a

healthy, stimulating life, and empowering com-

munities to end child poverty. The Village of

Hope project is transforming a leprosy com-

munity. e’PAP story: Ntunungwe school

in rural Zimbabwe provides shelter and edu-

cation to orphans, and is the focal point for

communities for miles around. We raised

£1,500 to feed those in need for many months.

Girls’Balloon

Race at

r e c e n t

s c h o o l

Sports Day.

Contd...

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Wider Concerns Projects (contd.)

In Cambridge we continued to work with the homeless, marginalised and vulnerable. This winter

we hosted seven night shelters with supper, hospitality and overnight accommodation in the

church. The congregation was fully involved. Great St Mary’s is also supporting Cambridge

Refugee Resettlement, and City of Sanctuary.

Margaret Johnston

Communications

Revd Devin McLaghlan & Sarah de Mas

The most important

communication tools

in a Christian com-

munity are story,

personal conversations,

and open-hearted

listening. But for

spiritual seekers, visi-

tors, newcomers and

tourists our on-line presence is often the first

point of contact. This year we launched a

GSM Facebook page and Twitter feed (both

@GreatStMarys). Our most popular tweet

reached over seven thousand people; visitors

and guests routinely tag us on their Facebook

pages. All this activity helps spread the word

about the exciting things happening here and

encourages people to come and find out more.

We have a beautiful

new webpage, repre-

senting several years of

work by GSM staff and

parishioners - especially

Kate Phizacklea. Essentially four websites in

one, we will better tell the story of the Parish,

Michaelhouse, the University Chaplaincy, and

Heritage. Fresh new images, a mobile phone-

friendly layout, and pithy, snappy language

reflect the new way

that people use websites — not as a reposi-

tory of text, but a medium for storytelling,

first impressions and invitation. Slated to

launch this Christmas, we encountered signifi-

cant technical difficulties with the University’s

webserver. Archetype, our web designers,

and Paul Hammans are hard at work to fix

the problem, and we hope to go live very

soon.

Finally, there is the Great

St Mary’s Newsletter,

freely available every

month except August.

Topics explored included

the essence of the church

‘like living stones, let yourselves be built into a

spiritual house’ (1 Peter 2.5) a re-

curring motif; the UK both inside and outside

the European Union; the contribution of our

Ordinands to the life of GSM; Science, Art

and Faith; our role and responsibilities for

caring for the environment; working with

people in the city; choir visits, concerts and

not least, personal stories from the pews. A

précis of the PCC Minutes and the church

calendar were regularly reproduced.

The cost of issuing the Newsletter is

absorbed in the office stationery and printing

budget. Financial support would be welcome.

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Music at GSM – an overview

The ministries of Great St Mary’s boast a diverse range of musical activities.

At the heart of our worshipping community is a 75-strong choral foundation of boy

and girl choristers and adult volunteer singers, with an age range approaching 80 years,

which sings at three choral services every Sunday, and at major festivals throughout the

year. The Girls’ Choir is one of the longest established in the country, founded in 1989.

The choirs’ repertoire is diverse, drawing strongly on the breadth of the English

Cathedral tradition, encompassing choral works from around the world, over seven centu-

ries or more of musical history. Their contribution to our community enriches our

worship, and provides a telling earthly reflection of the power of the Holy Spirit in our

lives.

In addition to singing for worship, the choirs undertake a tour each year, alternating national

and international destinations, the most recent being Prague, Liverpool and Belgium. The

choirs are directed and supported by a Director of Music, a Music Administrator and a

voice coach, who were joined in November 2016 by an Organist and Assistant Director of

Music.

Alongside the regular choirs, a small body of adult singers meets to sing for occasional

services, a Junior choir (of children aged 6-8) meets twice a month and introduces children

to singing, and a community singing group, Michaelhouse Chorale, meets in Michaelhouse

once a week, having originally been set up to foster well-being through music for people

with mental health problems.

Great St Mary’s also boasts a symphony orchestra, which gives four major concerts a

year, including one with a major soloist, at least two with the choirs, plus a number of other

smaller-scale performances. There is also a lively programme of lunchtime recitals through-

out the year, welcoming performers from around the world, of a diverse range of traditions

and styles.

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Churchwardens’ report

Tower decking: rebuilt on grounds of safety

and re-opened for Christmas and New Year,

thus helping to restore lost income. Note that

since the installation of the West door visitor

numbers have trebled to over 300,000.

South aisle roof : re-leading project started in

December allowing some eight months for plans,

estimates and permissions. The work will take

six months.

GSM toilets: frequent flooding; investigations

identified the problem and the proposed solu-

tion is to re-route the kitchen waste pipe and

install a sleeve in the toilet waste pipe.

The Cambridge Society of Youth Bell-

ringers: offered a financial contribution to the

safeguarding project in the Narthex.

Sound system: it has worked well throughout

the year.

Repairs: Quotations were sought to repair

candle-sticks, pew ends, the pulpit and handrail.

Boilers (kitchen and main GSM boiler): regularly

serviced and repaired

Fire alarm: we have taken out a new contract

with CamAlarms, as it is cheaper and based

locally thus able to provide a prompt response

Parish Organ: Earlier development work has

affected it(e.g. pedal sections and blower) and

costly repairs may soon be necessary

38 Eachard Road House & Hanover Court

Flat – all currently in order and occupied.

Architect’s Manuals: handed over by Shona

McKay in July 2016.

Intercom and safety button: both have been

installed in the shop for improved communica-

tion and safety for staff.

Logbooks and Inventory: regularly updated

Churchyard: awaiting confirmation of the likely

cost of repair and the architectural importance

of the graves.

Notice boards: installed at the North East

Corner and the South side and Display panels

prepared for the Narthex

“Lead and Church Security: a joint Dioce-

san Conference (Ely & Norwich) for church-

wardens”: GSM participated in July. The police

established a special task force in Norfolk; the

presence of the city centre CCTV and the

church being open is of help in protecting our

roof during daylight hours

Mobile telephone antennae: An installation

in the tower, if approved by EEE, could boost

income by over £6,000 p.a.

Eco-Group: the PCC wish to consider how

GSM can be become more ecologically friendly.

Staff: Benedict Todd joined as Organist and

Assistant Director of Music; Dorota Mederska

joined the verging team and Sam Cross joined

the shop team.

Michaelhouse

Rosemary Barrett was appointed Centre

Manager in May 2016

The major project has been to level the floor

of the chancel and to install under-floor

heating. The altar dais also needs attention

The East Window is under repair; upgrading of

toilets, sound-system and repair to kitchen

floor under way

Security at Michaelhouse is under review with

police consultation.

Gutters and downpipes were cleared regularly

and the hydro-snakes were effective for the St

Michael’s Chancel and Hervey de Stanton

Chapel.

Vergers: it was agreed for one of the Vergers

to spend up to three hours per week at

Michaelhouse.

Pioneer Minister : the application to the Di-

ocese for a part-time Arts pioneer minister

was not successful. Work in progress.

Thank you to all our staff and volunteers for their

work in ensuring that the two buildings are open,

welcoming and above all a spiritual haven.

13

Financial overview, a glance

at the accounts Patrick Brooke writes:

We are pleased to report that for the second

year running we have shown a positive balance

on our general fund, so we have managed to

bring in more money than we have spent for

general purposes.

The main reason for this is that we are now

generating a greater income from the tower

and shop due to greatly increased visitor num-

bers; we have also increased our revenue from

letting the church for use as a venue. This is an

outcome of the successful completion of the

development project and is also due to the

dedication and hard work of our excellent staff

team. This extra income has been necessary,

to pay off the final part of the cost of the de-

velopment, and we were able to pay the final

part of the loan from the diocese this year; we

also needed to replace the decking and repair

the roof at the top of the tower. This work

was essential for us to keep the tower available

for visitors. We met the cost of this from our

Fabric fund, and we will restore that fund from

some of the income we receive from the tow-

er which it has helped to ensure. We also

made necessary repairs to the house and flat

owned by the church and as a result we are

receiving improved rents. The value of these

properties provides us with some reserve

in case of need. We had held the option to

sell or mortgage one of the properties to un-

derwrite funding the development, but were

very pleased not to have to do this in the end.

Going forward, our major challenge is to find

the funds to pay for the work needed to the

South Aisle Roof. Substantial funds have

already been raised and we have begun to pre-

pare for the work. However, we are still some

way short of the £300,000 required, and this

figure may rise. We also must support and

grow all the activities of our thriving communi-

ty, whether pastoral, through music, or educa-

tion and outreach. We depend as always on

the generosity of so many of the congregation

to help us maintain our church and ministry.

Michaelhouse is a thriving concern at present,

and in the financial year just ended it has

achieved a healthy surplus: the letting income

has risen and the costs of providing support

have declined. We will be using the surplus in

the coming year to renovate parts of Michael-

house and to further plans for developing the

charitable aims of the Centre.

Others have shared in supporting the work of

Great St Mary’s. Trinity College is the patron

of the parish, and has continued to provide

generous support, especially to the Chaplaincy.

The University of Cambridge also supports

both the Chaplaincy and some of the costs of

maintaining the church. The Heritage Lottery

Fund grant has supported the schools’ outreach

programme, and now that this grant period is

complete, the Church Schools of Cambridge

Trust has started to work with us.

John Binns adds:

'The total annual turnover of Great St Mary

and Michaelhouse together is around

£500,000. This enables us to cover basic

running costs; last year there was a small

surplus. Future projects we are keen to take

on include improvements to the chancel at

Michaelhouse, better security and safeguarding

arrangements in the narthex at Great St Mary's,

and further developing our staff team as well as

the project to re-roof the south aisle. As

always the development of parish life sets us

new challenges - which we have so far always

been able to meet.

Patrick Brooke chairs the parish Finance Cttee and

Stephen Watson is Treasurer of Michaelhouse.

14

Study and Reflection

We meet to talk and study together:

FAITH IN SOCIETY

Comprising members of Great Saint Mary’s

and other churches, FiS meets once a month

to discuss how Christian faith relates to mat-

ters of current interest and importance.

About half the meetings are introduced by

members of the group and the other half by

invited speakers. Its approach is broad, inclu-

sive and open in term of topics discussed and

views expressed. Matters recently grappled

with include religious drama, religious poetry,

priesthood in the 21st century, the place and

relevance of faith in members’ work and em-

ployment, philosophy of religion, fundamental-

ism, and palliative care.

BIBLE STUDY GROUP

We meet fortnightly to study and discuss one

biblical book at a time. We aim to keep a bal-

ance between Old Testament and New Testa-

ment books. We recently studied Romans and

are currently studying and discussing Genesis.

Members find that a variety of biblical com-

mentaries are helpful in preparing for meet-

ings. Some have warmed particularly to John

Bowker’s The Complete Bible Handbook: an Il-

lustrated Companion. Two members have some

knowledge of New Testament Greek. The

group aims to be informed and openly and

honestly critical in creative and positive ways.

David Girling

Bellringing Report

The tower, with its 12 bells, hosts two ringing

societies—The Society of Cambridge Youths

founded in 1724, and the Cambridge University

Guild (1879). The Cambridge Youths are

responsible for bell-ringing at GSM, focussing

on the Sunday services, with an average of 19

ringers; there is also ringing for events of the

University, and both civic and national events.

The Tower is home to some of the best ring-

ers in the country, but we also teach learners

at our practice sessions on Monday evenings.

GSM regularly enters bell-ringing competitions

and will proudly be hosting the 2017 Ridgman

Trophy ( regional competition for East Anglia

and neighbours) on Saturday 17th June, and

the National 12-bell Competition Final on

Saturday, 23rd June 2018.

Dave Richards

Secretary, Society of Cambridge Youths

WORSHIPPING

and WORKING TOGETHER :

a Thank You from the Vicar

There are many groups of people who work

together in different ways to provide the var-

ied and inspiring services and activities.

We owe many thanks to all who give so gen-

erously of their time, talents and commitment

which enables the church to keep running so

effectively. The rota book includes lists of

sidespersons, leaders of intercessions, lesson

readers, communion administrators, welcom-

ers, flower arrangers, and many more besides.

There are too many to list by name – but all

those who worship at, and visit, Great St

Mary’s often say how much they value the

services, events, facilities and especially the

welcome they receive.

ELECTORAL ROLL

Following the revision of the Electoral Roll

this year, the names of ten people who had

left were removed and twelve new

applications were received and added.

The total on the roll for 2017 now stands

at 218.

Anne Lindley

15

The Office

Kate Phizacklea, GSM Administrator.

Monday to Friday is quite different to Sunday

at Great St Mary’s. Whilst the building itself is

first and foremost a house of prayer, its many

other functions take precedence during the

working week.

The parish office is occupied by one full time

member of staff - the administrator - and sev-

eral part-time staff - the parish secretary (3

days per week), the accounts administrator (2

days), the heritage education officer (2 days)

and the business support manager (1 day). We

also have volunteers who come and work in

the office, counting money, editing news-

letters, archiving and proofreading. The office

is also the vestry and so the sacristan works

here too. With churchwardens and clergy all

regularly passing through – you can imagine

what a very busy place the office is!

There is no such thing as a typical day in the

GSM office. Alongside some of the tasks you

might expect:

producing new booking forms and

guidelines; editing and printing service

books, posters and reports; taking

tower bookings; talking to wedding

couples; arranging memorial services;

meeting, chasing and invoicing hirers;

producing chasing and changing rotas;

attending meetings; writing reports; fix-

ing the printer; answering the phone and

solving problems, recording staff holi-

days…

We also do a lot of things that fall slightly out-

side of the more ‘usual’ remit of office staff –

we organise sleepovers overs for folk-dancers,

memorials for professors, tower visits for com-

panies and Christmas tree festivals for chari-

ties. We reunite lost property with grateful

owners, negotiate sleeping arrangements with

people in the churchyard and provide tea and

sympathy when required.

An A-Z of visitors to GSM

Artists, archdeacons and administrators,

Bishops, bell ringers and brides.

Babies, noisy boys and buskers

Groups of chatty blue badge guides.

Constables, choir kids, coffee makers,

Curates, councillors, chaplains and deans.

Dignitaries, dons and directors of music.

Evangelicals (ever so keen!)

Florists, fellows and film makers; graduates and

nervous grooms.

Heads of house, historians and hirers of

rooms.

Iberians (that’s the Spanish and Portuguese)

Jesus came too and Knelt on his Knees.

Lovers and laughers and lino-cutters

Mayors and musicians

And one or two nutters!

Ordinands, organists, porters and priests

Professors and even royalty

(when you need them least!)

Servers, soldiers, soulful-singers,

Students, sacristans, saints and sinners.

Tourists and toddlers and toilet unblockers

Vicars and vergers and volunteers

Weary travellers and shoppers

We’ve seen them all throughout the years.

Visit our website at

www.gsm.cam.ac.uk.

For further information, please call

our Parish Office on 01223 747273

16

MIDWEEK SERVICES

Monday (GSM)

9.15am Holy Communion

Tuesday (MH)

9.15am Morning Prayer

10.30am The Ark

Wednesday (MHFH)

9.00am Morning Prayer

1.00pm Holy Communion

Thursday

9.15am Morning Prayer (GSM)

1.05pm Holy Communion (MH)

GSM: at Great St Mary’s

MH: at Michaelhouse

MHFH: at Merton Hall Farmhouse, West

Cambridge Site, J J Thomson Avenue

Please join us.

SUNDAY SERVICES

(GSM)

8.00am Holy Communion

Book of Common Prayer

9.30am Parish Communion

Common Worship

We welcome all children to Great St

Mary’s. There are resources at the en-

trance area of the church to help chil-

dren to participate in our worship at the

9.30am service.

11.15am Choral Mattins

5.30pm Choral Evensong

Outside of term time, mattins and

evensong are likely to be said rather

than sung.

Regular services at Great St Mary’s,

Michaelhouse and Merton Hall Farmhouse