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Parish of Yeovil with Kingston Pitney

Annual Report of St John the Baptist Church for the Year ended 31st December 2015

Administrative Information Structure, governance and management Objectives and Activities Achievements and Performance Report on the PCC Meetings St John’s Wardens Report St John’s Sidespersons Report Report on the Electoral Roll St John’s Finance Report – Accounts to 31st December 2015 Stewardship Report St John’s Fabric Report The Tower Project St John’s Bell Ringers St John’s 18-30s Group Youth Ministry Report Junior Church Tiny Toes and Footprints St John’s and St Andrew’s Holiday Club Pastoral Care Parish Prayer Chain Fellowship Groups Genesis TCP Craft Fellowship Together on Tuesday Men’s Prayer Breakfast Men’s and Women’s Breakfasts SALT (St Andrew’s at Lunch Time) Friendship Circle Beyond Yeovil Group Men’s and Women’s Breakfasts St John’s Music Group St John’s Floral Group Report The Friends of St John’s Focus Magazine Bookstall Yeovil College Chaplaincy Deanery Synod Report Yeovil CAP Centre Annual Report Yeovil Street Pastors The Lords Larder (Yeovil Christian Support Trust) Appendix: Summary of St John’s Annual Accounts

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Parish of Yeovil with Kingston Pitney Annual Report of St John the Baptist Church for the year ended 31st December 2015

Administrative Information St John’s Church is situated in the centre of Yeovil and has a daughter church, St Andrew’s, which is about one mile from the centre. They are part of the Diocese of Bath and Wells within the Church of England. The correspondence address is: Church Street, Yeovil, Somerset BA20 1HE. This report covers the activities of St John’s church and of the Parish. St Andrew’s Church has produced its own report covering its own domestic issues. The Parochial Church Council is registered under the Charity Commission, registration number 1134345. The PCC comprises members from both churches with the Incumbent, Readers, Wardens and elected representatives to the Deanery Synod. The following members have served on the PCC during the last year. Incumbent Revd James Dudley-Smith Chairman Associate Minister Revd Tom Putt Readers Beth Farrington Keith Stevens David Upton Representatives on Edward Armitstead The Deanery Synod Jam Cary

Rob Dean Member of General Synod Jam Cary Wardens Rob Dean St John’s Jennifer Matthew Deputy Wardens David Maynard-Griffin St Andrew’s

Les Jackson Elected Members Eddie Brooks St John’s Ros Bush Roger Fox Lin Hann

Pauline Kibblewhite Charley Maidment James Maitland

Keith Ovenden Helen Peace

Jenny Salberg Nick Scorer

Jo-Anne Smith Mike Streatfeild Kath Upton (Parish Administrator)

Robert Warr Ron Blake St Andrew’s Jo Dodwell

Bridget Handcock Linda Jackson Jenny Jones Jean Kirtland

Co-opted Members St John’s Janet Dean Secretary John Brookes Treasurer

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Structure, Governance and Management The method of appointment of PCC members is set out in the Church Representation Rules. All church attendees are encouraged to join the Electoral Roll and stand for election to the PCC at the time of the Annual Parochial Church Meeting. They have prime responsibility for managing the affairs of the church. Members from St Andrew’s Church Council are also invited to attend PCC meetings. Objectives and Activities St John’s PCC has the responsibility of co-operating with the incumbent, Revd James Dudley-Smith, in promoting in the ecclesiastical parish the whole mission of the church, pastoral, evangelistic, social and ecumenical. It also has responsibility for St John’s Schoolrooms and St Andrew’s Church Hall. Achievements and Performance This report covers the activities of St John’s Church. St Andrew’s Church produces its own report.

2014 has continued to be a year of good progress under James Dudley-Smith’s steadfast leadership.

The Church Wardens are to be particularly commended: their report is a very positive statement of all that is happening at St John’s.

The financial affairs of the church are in good order.

The project to restore the church tower was duly completed in September 2015 and Bishop Peter Hancock officiated at a service of celebration shortly thereafter.

Congregations at our services continue to grow, with 6.30@St John’s now an established part of our worship with a good size congregation coming from a wide geographical area.

Youth activities continue to thrive and Holiday Club in August was once again a huge success.

Fellowship groups continue to flourish

Tiny Toes, for mums and babies, and Footprints, for mums and toddlers, are an on-going success

Christians Against Poverty continues to provide a vital service for increasing numbers of people having problems with unmanageable debt. Of these, some have become debt-free and have accepted Jesus into their lives.

There is, therefore, a tremendous amount going on in the life of the Church and we are indeed blessed by the number of people willing to get involved but we always need more. It is only by volunteering with other Christians that we become a real community of Christians serving Christ in Yeovil.

Janet Dean, PCC Secretary Report on PCC Meetings The PCC met on four occasions during the year and these were generally well attended. The minutes of all PCC Meetings can be viewed on the St John’s parish website. Apart from the routine business of finance, services and fabric matters, much of which is covered in other sections of this annual report, the following items were discussed.

The ongoing refurbishment of the church bells and their repositioning within the tower in the Summer of 2015.

The continued progress and completion of the tower project.

The appointment of an Associate Minister to work 80% of his time at St Johns and 20% of his time as Chaplain to Yeovil College, with effect from April 2015.

The appointment of a Pastoral Care Coordinator.

Changes to service times to enable our Rector to officiate both at St Andrew’s and St John’s on a Sunday morning. This entailed abandoning the 8 o’clock communion service, so that the Rector could be at St Andrew’s each week and get to St John’s for 11am. After the appointment of Rev Tom Putt as our Associate Minister, St John’s morning service reverted to its original time of 10.30am, with no change at St Andrew’s at 9.30am.

A well-attended hustings was organised prior to the General Election in May

Nick May, the Diocesan Secretary spoke to us in June regarding the Parish Share

David Jackman, founder of the Cornhill Training Course was with us for the weekend in September.

The formation of a Standing Committee.

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Replacement of the pew bibles which are becoming old and worn.

The possible future refurbishment of the organ. Janet Dean, PCC Secretary

St John’s Wardens Report People In April we had the joy of welcoming Archdeacon Nicola Sullivan to St John’s to license Rev Tom Putt as our Assistant Rector and Chaplain to Yeovil College. Tom is a great addition to the leadership team sharing James’ burden of running two churches, particularly in preaching and leading the St John’s at 6:30 service; and it is a pleasure to have Anna and the children as part of our church family. Welcome Tom and Anna. In May James was appointed Rural Dean when Rev Tony Perris stood down after many years in the role which entails leading the House of Clergy at the Deanery Synod with extra responsibilities coordinating, advising and assisting the clergy in the other parishes within Yeovil Deanery. James was also elected to the General Synod, along with Jam Cary in the Autumn. We welcomed Helen Peace to fulfil the role of Pastoral Care Coordinator in June. To hear her conducting her business on the vestry phone and reporting her achievements to the PCC is breath-taking and she has made a tremendous start, not least in raising our awareness of areas of real need within our church community. You can read more detail in her report below. Another welcome visitor to St John’s was our new Bishop, Rt Rev Peter Hancock in September. He led and preached at a special service both: to commission our new peal of bells, rung fully for the first time since being recast, added to and rehung; and to give thanks for the safe and timely repair and renovation of the tower. What a joy it was to see it emerge from its orange cocoon, beautifully and carefully restored. Things The Wardens are very grateful for the work of the Fabric Committee, chaired by Phil Juggins, and the team of staunch volunteers who maintain and look after the church building and all that entails: heating, lighting, electrics, plumbing, gutters, roofs and drains – you name it, they do it. Thank you all. Strangely there is a Victorian clock in the church tower that should drive hourly chimes. Even more strangely, it is owned by the Town Council with whom Roger Fox is in negotiation to transfer ownership to the church so that he can obtain grants to make it work. We have a number of challenges ahead. The most pressing and important is financial. People and running costs are expensive and, as we hear and read below, the church needs £3500 per week to cover salaries, our share of Diocesan expenses (clergy salary, housing and Diocese running costs and advice), heating, lighting, insurance, repairs, office supplies, licences and so on. Nothing is wasted and John Brookes, following Martin Warr’s long tenure as Treasurer, maintains tight control over spending; but the fact remains that the order of magnitude of need is on average about £20 per person per week and is why the Finance Committee really need reliable, long-term, regular, donations. Set against this background is the looming question of the church organ. It is a special instrument and after almost one hundred years it needs to be rebuilt at potentially great expense. We must continue to pray and discern the practical options for its future as the PCC meet to discuss a strategic plan of future work and spending priorities.

Rob Dean, Churchwarden

St John’s Sidespersons Report Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. 1 Peter 4:10 It falls to me this year to thank all those who give up their time to be faithful servants within the life of St John’s. Specifically, those who come to welcome and serve all who walk through our south door every week, whether they

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be church members, visitors, the passers through, the passers-by, or those who just need to come into our church home for a brief respite from life. This includes the generous souls who act as sidespeople on a Sunday morning (16), the welcomers at the 6.30 service, the Sunday vergers, the wedding supporters, those who cover Terry’s days off, and the Saturday stewards (28). These are a special group of people and last year a small tea party was held for them at The Rectory to thank them and to acknowledge all they do. It was a great privilege to enjoy James and Becky’s hospitality alongside these brothers and sisters in Christ - you are all wonderful people and we thank you. I have of course said it before and I will doubtless say it again, but welcoming and serving in any of these capacities, whilst honouring God and being a service to others, is something that pretty much anyone can do and we are always looking for people who will give up a small portion of their time to volunteer in such roles. We have many faithful helpers who have done these roles for years and this year a small number will be standing down. Thank you especially to them for their service. In the light of these ‘retirements’ could you perhaps consider volunteering some of your time? In particular, we need new volunteers to go on the Saturday steward’s rota and the sidespeople’s rota for the 10.30 service. If you feel part of our church family please take time to consider how you can help with either (or both) of these roles, and make your contribution to our family life. I would love to hear from you.

Jennifer Matthew, Churchwarden

Electoral Roll Following the 2016 annual revision of the electoral roll for St John’s, eleven names have been deleted and three names added. This number being:

Deceased 3

Moved away 8

Added 3 The total number on the roll currently stands at 229

Kath Upton

Finance Report on the accounts for the year ended 31st December 2015

The accounts of St John’s consist of three different sorts of funds. The General Fund which can be spent at the discretion of the PCC and mostly covers the day to day running costs of the church. There are Designated Funds where money is set aside for specific purposes such as the Fabric Fund and Restricted Funds which can only be spent for the purposes for which they were set up such as the Christians Against Poverty Fund. The General Fund We started 2015 with a projected deficit of £9,435 based upon the level of income at that time. Part way through the year the decision was made to appoint a Pastoral Care Coordinator primarily as we had received a legacy of £180,000 from Peter Wakely for church purposes absolutely with the wish that they use the same for their holidays at home scheme or Christmas Day scheme or such other events as they consider appropriate which take people out of their homes and into social situations. It was agreed by the PCC that an appeal be launched to fund the projected deficit and also the costs of the Pastoral Care Coordinator. However, it was also agreed that to the extent that there was still a deficit then it would be covered by money taken from Peter Wakely’s legacy but capped to the actual costs of the Pastoral Care Coordinator. The outcome was that the projected deficit was covered and in addition £2,267 of the Pastoral Care Coordinators costs were met by the General fund leaving £4,028 to be taken from the legacy. Overall the total income was £161,992 excluding special charitable collections which are paid out in their entirety. This is an increase of £7,554 (4.9%) Expenditure on a similar basis was £166,020, an increase of £18,023 (12.2%) but included £6,695 in respect of the Pastoral Care Coordinator. Our biggest expense was the Parish Share of £99,116

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which took 61% of our income. Compared with this the actual costs of running the church are relatively modest. In 2015 we continued to support our Missionary links and other good causes by giving away £14,660 which was 9% of our income. At the end of 2015 we are left with a general reserve balance of £32,291 which represents just over 2 month’s expenditure. Designated Funds The Schoolrooms had a small surplus of £527. The rent received of £6,799 was £98 less than 2014 and operating costs slightly less than 2014. The end of year balance was £10,106. There are two Fabric Funds, a Fabric Investment Fund and a Fabric Fund used to cover non-routine repairs and enhancements. The total income was £9,323 excluding a revaluation of £1,554 on the underlying investment. The income includes £5,000 from the Feofees of Yeovil Church Lands towards the cost of upgrading the audio/visual system due to be completed in 2016. Expenditure on maintenance of the fabric amounted to £5,866 leaving a year end combined balance of £86,206. The Youth Development Fund had income from pledged giving, tax reclaimed and interest of £736. There was no expenditure and the balance at the end of the year amounted to £8,237. There were only very small movements on the other designated funds. Restricted Funds There are four funds categorised as restricted. The Restoration Fund raised and spent money on the tower restoration which was completed in April 2015 at a total cost of nearly £300,000. Most of the fund raising had been carried out in the previous two years nevertheless in 2015 we received £55,160 from the Heritage Lottery Fund and repayments of VAT amounting to £46,614. The actual expenditure in the year on restoration work was £235,063 and the balance on the fund at the end of the year was £4,305. There remain small retention payments to be made in 2016 and a further grant to be claimed from the Heritage Lottery Fund. Our thanks must go to Rob Dean for managing this project and completing it within budget on time. The Christians Against Poverty (CAP) Fund raises and spends money in support of the Yeovil CAP Centre managed by Steve Hart. A total of £22,996 was given to support this ministry and in addition £2,926 gift aid tax was reclaimed. The expenditure comprising the salary of the manager, a payment to CAP HQ and other operating expenses amounted to £25,950 leaving a small surplus of £128. At the year end the balance on the fund was £33,335. The Peter Wakely Community Fund This fund was set up with the proceeds of the legacy received from Peter Wakely. During the year a further £9,655 was received from his estate making a total of £189,655. How fortunate we were to receive this sum from someone who was little known by the congregation but who obviously appreciated the work that was done for the elderly members of our churches. The £180,000 received last year is invested in a unit trust administered by CCLI on behalf of the Church Commissioners. At the year end this investment had grown by £13,935 but the value is subject to the ups and downs of the stock market but we hope will give a better return than a straightforward deposit which currently only earns ½%. As stated previously £4,028 is being transferred to the general fund to part-fund the costs of the Pastoral Care Coordinator. The PCC will be discussing the use of this legacy at an away day in early June. The Tom Setter Belfry Fund paid for the enhancement of the bells largely completed in 2014. £6,840 was spent in the year leaving a balance of £497. The Balance Sheet The balance sheet shows where are total funds of £375,671 are invested. Most of this is accounted for by designated or restricted funds with a relatively modest £32,291 represented by the general fund. A total of £242,499 is invested in unit trusts administered by CCLI on behalf of the Church Commissioners, £73,436 is on deposit with CCLI, £57,385 is in three current accounts with NatWest bank and £6,000 in National Savings.

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Unfortunately, with interest rates at record lows we do not get much benefit from money on deposit but we know that it will not depreciate if the stock market falls. Our 2016 Budget James Dudley-Smith, our rector, has spoken about the challenge that we face in 2016 when we need to increase our income by £21,000 in order to have a balanced budget. This assumes that we meet the costs of the Pastoral Care Coordinator in full from general fund income. The fall-back position is that we can take the cost of this appointment estimated at £12,000 from the Peter Wakely Community Fund. The amount that we have to pay to the Diocese is up by £4,750 to £103,866 and based upon an estimated 200 church members works out at about £10 per person per week before we meet any of the costs of running our church. The challenge we all face in 2016 is to review our level of giving, commit to regular giving preferably by standing order directly to the church’s bank account or through the envelope scheme, and to make sure that the church can reclaim as much tax as we have paid on our income by signing a gift aid form.

Whilst regular planned giving out of income meets our day-to-day running costs a legacy gives us the opportunity to

give to the church out of our estate for specific purposes without reducing our income and is always welcome.

John Brookes, Treasurer

Stewardship and Gift Aid Report 2015 This has been a record year for Tax Recovery, but so has it been for spending, and that will Increase even more next year! Giving, therefore, needs to increase, and getting as much of it as possible Gift Aided (worth another 25%). We need many more to commit to regular giving, and to sign a Gift Aid Declaration. As churches go in the Diocese, I am fairly sure we do better than most, both in what we provide and how we pay our way, but there is room for improvement. There are about 110 regular givers using Gift Aid at present. I have done this rewarding job for nearly 40 years and am being persuaded to arrange for a handover to a younger person. I have someone in mind and I shall soon be having them help with the next tax recovery claim which now has to be done on-line. The new person may be more persuasive and have some fresh ideas, so sign up soon or be prepared to have your arm twisted!

Roger Fox

St John’s Fabric Report The Tower – As is very visible to all around, to the glory of God, we have a beautifully restored tower! Completed in the summer and celebrated with the Bishop in September, this was a tremendous achievement. Thanks go to all who helped fund it, both within the church and the wider local community, and the grant-providing organisations, to the skilled workforce who completed all the meticulous detail that makes up the restoration and of course to our faithful Project Manager, Rob Dean. The Bells – With the tower complete and a proscribed settling period for the mortar, at last in September the restored and new bells were able to be rung and the full benefit week-by-week experienced. See the Ringers Report from Roger Fox for more details. The Clock – Unknown to many people, we have a historic clock within the tower, with no outside face but a chiming mechanism linked to one of the bells. It is in need of repair but belongs to the Town Council. The PCC has confirmed that we should take ownership of it (offered free of charge) and we need to consider how to complete the repairs needed (for £15k) if it is to function again.

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The Organ – Although we have the temporary digital organ in place as a potential stand-in, our historic Harrison & Harrison organ continues to be vulnerable to break-down. Future fund-raising is required of up to £300k if it is to be renovated. This year, £600 of vital maintenance was completed by Harrison & Harrison, and options for an annual maintenance contract are being pursued. Pews Removal - Removal of the pews was proposed as a medium to long term aim by James at the 2012 AGM. As a project, it has been “on hold” until the tower renovation was completed. There is due to be a PCC Away-day this coming summer which will consider the priority for this. Audio-Visual Systems – Plans for an upgrade have been put together by David Matthew, which will include permanent solutions for the current temporary screens, projector and bracketry as well as improvements to the sound system. The proposal (for £11k) has been approved by the PCC and Rob Dean is progressing the Faculty which gives permission from the Diocese to proceed. The Fabric Committee – The Fabric Committee continues to meet in the church every three months on a Saturday morning, using a comprehensive Project Plan spreadsheet to track all the items that need doing. Jobs big and small get progressed, using handyman skills or professional help if required. Our Facility Coordinator Terry Bush plays an important role, particularly in arranging outside assistance, and Eddy Brookes is our key maintenance man. Examples of tasks completed in the last year include:

Completion of waterproofing and repairs to the Vestry roof

Wood treatment of the North Door (in time for the Bishop!)

Continued clearing of roof gutters (especially of all the debris during the tower work) and painting for waterproofing

Fitting of a Smart Meter for our gas supply

Refixing loose blocks in the Vestry floor

Installing Vestry roof security lighting And many more small tasks and items of regular maintenance in both the church and the schoolrooms (thank you team!) In the near future we need also to consider requirements for masonry conservation and repairs to the north transept turret (a mini-tower). Health and Safety – In this area, we have completed Portable Appliance Testing (required every two years). We had thought there were 58 appliances, but more were found when the contractors came! Electrical System improvements were also completed, both in the body of the church and particularly in the tower. There is a continued need to maintain Risk Assessments. One area being addressed is that of people working in the Bell Chamber of the tower.

Phil Juggins (for the Fabric Committee)

The Tower Project On 16 September 2015 we received the ‘Practical Completion Certificate’ for the church tower project from our architects, Benjamin & Beauchamp. This marked the end of concerns that were first raised in 2009 regarding the danger from falling and loose masonry onto the footpaths below which resulted in the fencing off of the path and west door. The project could not have been achieved without a major donation from the Heritage Lottery Fund which helped us to follow up the feasibility study carried out by Nick Durnan in 2011 with further tests, plans, and surveys completed in the Development Phase in 2014. Sally Strachey Historic Conservation (SSHC) was appointed the sole contractor and started work in October 2014 working through the cold, windy winter until completion 11 months later. Many of us will have been in church when our contract manager Lisa Etherton explained the difficult and complicated procedures that her team, led by Nick Sharland, were carrying out; and later when the masons and conservators gave us a ground level insight of their skills.

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When we make our final payment in September 2016 the project will have cost £290,000. Thank you for all your donations and Praise the Lord for His provision and answered prayers.

Rob Dean

Bell Ringers Report At last we have our refurbished bells back in action. It was not easy keeping the band of ringers together without our own bells to ring. However, thanks to St James’ Preston Plucknett, their ringers and a few of our committed regulars, we maintained practices and began teaching some new ringers. In particular I would like to mention Annette Organ, my deputy; Brain Hinder; Jean and Colin Reston. Colin along with Eddie Brooks has helped with some jobs following the refurbishment of the tower and bells – and there will be more to do! Although we now have twelve bells, the band we have at the moment is not sufficient in numbers or ability to ring them all to an acceptable standard. That is why our Sunday Service ringing has been limited to 6 or 8 bells, which you may have noticed, and not always the same ones! The only time you are likely to hear all twelve is when visiting bands of ringers come. At present the activities of visitors have to be limited because measures need to be taken to reduce somewhat the level sound outside so as not to upset our neighbours. This is work in progress! We know that the sound of the bells is appreciated by those coming to church and others. Several times we have heard of folk in hospital remarking favourably. This is ironic, for about fifty years ago we were asked to quieten the sound by the Hospital Authorities. That was of course before “double glazing”. We shall soon be benefitting from having our new ringers taking part on Sundays, but there is always room for more. Ringing is a challenge but very rewarding – come up and see what’s involved – you may even like to try it. Please be assured that at least two of us are members of the Association of Ringing Teachers (ART) and that we hold the Enhanced DBS Certificate. As far as teaching youngsters to ring is concerned, we follow a strict code of practice. For example, when they are being taught, either a parent or male and female adults are present. We are also making use of the Simulator kit purchased from money donated, in memory of Jessica Vale who died in 2013, by her sisters. To understand how this can help training ringers you really need to come and see it in action. But by silencing the bells, they can be rung as normal with a computer making a sound in the tower, but not outside. We also have CCTV to show the movement of the bells in the belfry, and in due course this and the ringers in action could be relayed to the church below. But don’t wait for that, come up the stairs (60!) and watch - live!

Roger Fox

18-30s We meet every Wednesday, either to pray at first Wednesday, or for the rest of the month we meet at 9 Park Gardens. We have found it good to meet weekly with others in a similar stage of life as we are a diverse group that have descended on Yeovil from a variety of places for a variety of reasons. On any given week there may be anywhere between 8 and 18 of us. We have studied Philippians, John 1-3 and the first 7 Psalms together. Every 3rd Wednesday we also eat together before we open the Bible. Our prayer is that as a group we might be encouraged to love Jesus Christ more, and become like him. I would like to pass on my thanks to those who helped to keep the group running between Tim Lewis’ departure and my arrival.

Tom Putt

Youth Ministry Report During term time, 11-18 year olds meet in the school rooms on a Friday night from 7:30-9:30pm. We meet primarily to help the young people to know and love the gospel. We have around 16 young people who come along each week. In the past year, we have looked at:

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Christians and the Media

Little Black Books - Big Questions Christians Ask

Discipleship Explored

Tricky - Big Questions

Habakuk

Daniel The young people are a real joy to serve and it is wonderful to see them grow in their knowledge of the gospel and seek to tell others about Jesus.

James Maitland

Junior Church

Scramblers (age 3-5) have 14 children with 10-12 coming most weeks. They are learning that God cares for people who trust Him. One of the teachers has just stepped down, so please pray for a replacement.

Climbers (years 1-3) have 22 children with 14-15 regularly coming. They have been studying “God rescues His people” looking at Gideon, Ruth, Samuel and David.

Explorers (years 4-6) have 10 children with 7-8 most weeks. They have been studying who Jesus is. The children are a real blessing to us. Their knowledge of the Bible is amazing. We aim to build on this week by week and help them grow in their relationship with Jesus. Later in the term we are going to be talking about sharing Jesus with their friends and encouraging them to invite friends to Holiday Club and then church. After the summer all the groups are coming together to study “Meet the King”.

Jo-Anne Smith

Tiny Toes and Footprints "Tiny Toes" at St John's Tiny Toes at St John's is a group for parents and their babies (aged up to approximately 1 year old). We meet every Thursday morning, during term-time, from 10am to 11.15am in the Schoolrooms (downstairs), with lots of bright and colourful toys, and soft play-mats for the babies to lie on. The aim is to offer support and friendship for the parents, in a relaxed environment, with coffee and cake for the mums and with a time of singing and nursery rhymes with the mums and babies part way through the morning. There is a regular turnover in the group members, as some babies reach 1 year old or mothers return to work, and new babies and their mums join us. Numbers have been fairly steady recently, with an average attendance each week of between 11 and 13. We regularly have new mums coming along as others move on. People continue to recommend the group to their friends and give positive feedback about how friendly and welcoming the group is. The majority of the parents do not seem to have any links with the church at present, and we hope and pray that this group will be a way of building relationships and showing the love of Christ in action. Footprints Toddler Group Footprints Toddler Group meets every Monday morning, during term-time, from 10am to 11.30am in St John's Schoolrooms (downstairs). The group is run for the benefit of parents / carers and their pre-school age children. Our sessions involve lots of toys, a craft or playdough activity, a short story time with a bible story, songs and prayer, snack-time (with a healthy snack for the children and cake for the mums!!) and a final "goodbye" song time. We currently have about 22 children on our list, with an average attendance of 15-18 each week - which is a good number for the space available. We have a fairly slow-turnover at the group - it is encouraging that people seem to want to keep coming on a regular basis, but this means that we currently have a waiting list. The aim is to offer a fun and friendly session for parents / carers to come and enjoy time with their child, whilst also offering support and friendship. About half of the group came to "Tiny Toes" when their children were babies and have "moved-up" to Footprints now that their children are older - it is fantastic to be able to offer this continuity and maintain contact with some of the families. A few of the parents who come regularly are St John's members. The majority, however,

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do not seem to have any links with church at present and we hope and pray that this group will be a way of building relationships and showing the love of Christ in action. There are small teams of people currently involved in running both these groups, some helping once or twice a month, others each week, and a number of other church members who are supporting this work by making delicious cakes on a rota basis. Grateful thanks to all those who are involved on a regular or occasional basis, to those who bake cakes for us and to all those of you who pray faithfully for this work. If you might be willing to join the Tiny Toes or the Footprints team and help on a rota basis, serving drinks and chatting to the mums, either regularly or to be called on when needed, please do contact Joy Neville - we are always open to offers of help! Please continue to pray for us, as we develop relationships with the mums, and pray that Christ's love would be noticeable in all we do.

Joy Neville

St John’s and St Andrew’s Holiday Club

Arctic Blizzards Hit St John’s Church . . . Polar Explorers – August, and the weather outside was approaching 70 degrees, yet inside St John’s the snow got deeper and deeper; we were all wearing woolly hats, gloves and scarves! Yes it was Holiday Club 2015 and we were Polar Explorers, journeying with Sir Random Finds and Bare Feet on an expedition to discover what it takes to be a follower of Jesus.

Over 60 children joined us each morning. We shared great Bible teaching and enjoyed themed creative prayers, sports, crafts, puppets and music each day. Of course, there were messy games, jokes and water pistols! Old friendships were renewed, and new ones made.

We learned that you are never too ‘’anything’’ to follow Jesus:

Never too many mistakes

Never too ordinary

Never too near or far

Never too bad

Never too young Thank you to everyone involved with Holiday Club.

Ros Bush

Pastoral Care Report About ten months ago my freshly written job description stated this central vision: ‘The Pastoral Care Co-ordinator is to support and develop the Christian pastoral care of our congregations, enabling all to care for each, in different kinds of need, working alongside a team of volunteers’. Database of help! It’s hard to know where to begin when talking about pastoral care. There is so much of it going on in our churches! One of the first objectives I set myself was to create a working database of help and support that church members can offer one another. The response to this was overwhelming! Thank you so much to all who put their names forward – over 100 of you offering to help others in practical ways: shopping, mending things, baking cakes, hospitality, reading the Bible, praying for someone, visiting, offering a listening ear. God is good and the works of his people are generous in our churches. There are many who can testify to the kindness of others this year: cakes have been baked and delivered, transport has been arranged, people have been helped with hospital appointments, the odd leaky tap has been fixed, people have been visited, loved and cared for in so many ways. Praise God. Galatians 6:9-10 ‘Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. 10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers’.

Pastoral Team Throughout the Autumn a small team trained together following the Diocesan Course of Lay Pastoral Ministry, and as a result we have seven people working as LPAs – Lay Pastoral Assistants, more informally called the Pastoral Team in our parish. We had different speakers come to talk throughout our 8 weeks of training, and discuss aspects of the

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work, such as hospital visiting, listening, bereavement and family work. It was great to have Tom Putt with us as well, and not only did we learn a great deal together, but we also bonded as a team called to this ministry, for which I am thankful to God. Our team members are: Jenny Jones, Chris Salberg, Gil Ovenden, Mary Irwin, Helen Truett, Jenny Salberg, Pauline Kibblewhite and Beth Farrington. This team of volunteers is doing an amazing job and is busy in the parish. Pray that they keep their focus on God and know His help and strength in all they do. Fingers in all sorts of pies …. To get to grips with what is happening in our churches and how to support volunteers in what they are doing, I started an epic adventure of going to see the vast and varied activities at St John’s and St Andrew’s. Alongside visiting Yeovil 4 Family and Counselling 4 Yeovil and meeting other Pastoral Care workers outside of our churches, I have been to almost every group and fellowship group in the parish! Here’s a flavour of the groups where I have been able to help, speak, or encourage the volunteers: Footprints, Fellowship Groups, Youth Leader’s meetings, Together on Tuesday, SALT, Friendship Circle, Tuesday Men’s Breakfast Group, Children’s Leaders Meetings, Tiny Toes, TCP, Women’s Breakfasts. It is encouraging to see so much going on within our parish that builds us up as a church in mission, evangelism and pastoral care for one another. I have also been involved in the planning of our Church Weekend Away. This September, 135 of us are off to Brunel Manor near Torquay, with Revd Giles Walter as our speaker. It will be great to get away as a church family – all ages eating together, playing together and praying and growing in God together. Visiting It has been an immense privilege to visit people in their homes or in residential care homes, in hospital, or to have people for lunch or coffee at my home, or to meet folk in town. Prayer can take place anywhere – and it does on a regular basis! There is a wealth of pastoral work going on through visits to people in the places listed – which is both a responsibility and a joy. It is not all about what we can bring to people on a visit, but more about how God can use us, and how we can foster faith and encourage others to ‘press on’ with Jesus. It’s all about Him, and there is still a lot to learn! But it’s not all about tea and talking. Pastoral care can be so practical – here’s a flavour of that: someone let me loose with a drill so I could put up their blind; I’ve painted a wall of the Counselling 4 Yeovil centre; hoovered a flat; cooked breakfast; met with care workers; organised the ‘Lights on for Christmas’; planned the social calendar and attended Newcomers evenings at the rectory. A great deal of this work has been in partnership with others – thank you. Teamwork Working in this role has brought me into the church staff team – and I am able to liaise with both the Pastoral Team and the Church Leadership Team. Good communication and discussion enables others to be informed of issues and situations of need. Praying for individuals and circumstances is an important part of our Monday morning staff meetings. This work of pastoral care does not make our clergy exempt from this duty – James and Tom are both active and busy in the parish and continue to visit and meet with others. It is a real joy to work alongside them both and with the rest of the staff team. I have a desk in the vestry and am grateful to Kath Upton for sharing her space there with me so willingly, and to David Upton for setting up the computer for me to work at. The vision for future work

A coffee drop-in on Thursday mornings in St John’s for everyone and anyone.

To be more effective in reaching the needs of others – a pastoral leaflet is in the process of being made to highlight how help and support can be requested.

A ‘Holiday at Home’ activity day for older people to take place at St Andrew’s - one day planned for August 2016 and a two day event planned for May half term 2017

Hospitality Sunday – planned for 22nd May Some of these plans have been influenced by experiences of the past ten months. It is apparent that there are many lonely people in our church family, and so I hope and pray that some of the above will foster a sense of belonging and community, companionship and care for one another. Thank you to those who support me – by meeting with me occasionally and praying for me in this work: Lin Hann, Alan Irwin and Davida Lambert. It is great to be able to share some of the ups and downs with you and to receive your wisdom and care.

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Please continue to pray for the Pastoral work in all its forms in our churches, and also continue to be involved in the work yourself.

Helen Peace, Pastoral Care Co-ordinator

Parish Prayer Chain Twelve people from St John’s and St Andrew’s make up the Parish Prayer Chain, who are willing to provide prayer support for the specific needs of church family members as and when they arise. This chain is used regularly and all requests are dealt with in a sensitive manner. Prayers are offered to the Lord in faith and we leave both people and different situations in His loving care. If you have a request for prayer, perhaps for yourself or a loved one, who is undergoing surgery or has an emergency of some sort, then you can contact the Parish Prayer Chain, and the people on it will pass the message along the chain and pray for your situation, bringing it to the Lord and asking for his help and strength. The request needs to be made in a short concise way, enabling those on the chain to pass the message on without losing or adding information or distorting the original message. Each request made is treated confidentially within the boundaries of the prayer chain, and there is no ‘follow-up’ or further contact with you to find out the outcome. The person on the prayer chain contacts and informs the next person on the list and so it goes on until it reaches the beginning again. The closing chapter of the book of James encourages us to pray on all occasions for all people in all situations, especially mentioning the sick and the sinner. “The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective” James 5:16. Philippians reminds us “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your request to God”. Let us be a parish of people who turn to the Lord in prayer, who trust in his Word and who demonstrate our love for God and for each other by our prayers and our actions.

Helen Peace

Fellowship Groups Fellowship Groups meet fortnightly, usually on the 2nd and 4th weeks of each month. There are nine such groups in the parish. There are three principal aims for a Fellowship Group: Bible Study, Prayer, and Friendship. Groups give time to each of these every time they meet. As such, the groups are a vital aspect of our church life. They help us to grow in the knowledge of God, to support one another in prayer for particular concerns, and to foster real, deep, caring Christian friendships. The leaders are: Beth Farrington, Rob and Janet Dean, Edward Armitstead, Kenneth and Juliet Lamb, David and Kath Upton, Roby and Iain Maitland, Anne Wicks, Jennifer and David Matthew, and Jon and Helen Peace. I meet with the leaders about three times a year. They serve their group members, pray for them, care for them, and oversee the three aims above in a variety of ways. Please note that Fellowship Groups do not meet in the week when the First Wednesday prayer meeting occurs. This is deliberate, because we would love all who belong to a group to come along to First Wednesday, and pray with us for God’s work in our churches and further afield. Tom Putt and I wrote Bible Study materials on Philippians for the Fellowship Groups this year. We were reminded of our ‘partnership in the gospel’ with all at St John’s and St Andrew’s. We discovered a new perspective on life and death: ‘for to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.’ We considered the challenge to ‘conduct ourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ’. We gazed afresh at Christ Jesus, who ‘made himself nothing’ yet ‘every tongue will confess that he is Lord’. No wonder Paul can speak of ‘the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord’, and command us to ‘rejoice in the Lord always’.

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I know that all group members would want to thank their leaders, and all leaders would want to thank their group members. I too am grateful to all for making these groups function, for the good of our church and the glory of God.

James Dudley-Smith

Genesis Report We continue to blossom as a group of about 14 ladies. We are encouraged and challenged fortnightly studying God’s word together, and praying for one another. We have been looking at ‘The Fruit of the Spirit’, ‘Godly living in Titus’, and a series on Heaven, changing our perspective on life today and the hope to come. We are as ever thankful for our crèche team who look after our children. We have said good-bye to Helen Truett, and welcomed Roby Maitland and Paula Rollason to the team, which also includes Jenny Jones, Anne Unwin, Ann Francis and Elaine Penny.

Becky Dudley-Smith

TCP (Tea, coffee/croissants and prayer)

This is an informal fellowship group for ladies which meets for breakfast on the fourth Saturday of the month in the upper schoolroom 9.00 -10.30 am. There are generally around 12-15 ladies present from St John's, St Andrew's and St Peter's. There is no charge (donations only) and not everyone comes regularly or for the whole session. It has proved to be a great oasis in our busy lives and gives everyone a chance to reconnect and get to know others. The topics of conversation range widely and the time gives us the opportunity to support and encourage one another, and to pray for many issues and concerns.

Roz Chatwin

Craft Fellowship (Crafty Ladies)

This is not exclusively a group for ladies, but appears to have evolved as such. The group has about ten members, but not everyone attends every meeting. We meet in the downstairs room at the schoolrooms fortnightly on Thursdays from 7.30 - 9.00 pm (a non-fellowship group week) to stitch, have a cup of tea/coffee and chat. Sometimes people come just come just for the latter, the relaxed atmosphere and a lot of laughter. To date we have made the banners which hang on the nave pillars and the two Angel banners which are put up at Christmas. Currently we are working on two more banners to join them next December. Anyone is welcome to join us. All the materials are supplied and there is simply no level of skill required, just the ability to thread a needle, enthusiasm and a sense of humour. It would be lovely to have some new members join us.

Roz Chatwin

Together on Tuesday We meet downstairs in the schoolrooms on the first and third Tuesdays of each month, 2.30–4.00pm in the summer, or 2.00–3.30pm in the winter. Occasionally we go to the Princes Street URC to join with their ladies and they also meet on Tuesdays. We are grateful to a variety of speakers who give their time to share with us. This term we hope to hear from those who have travelled to Africa, Asia and South America, and to hear testimonies from other friends nearer to home. We currently average 12 -16 in the group. All are most welcome to join us.

Pat Legg

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Men’s Prayer Breakfast ‘Let us consider how we may spur one another on towards love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together......let us encourage one another.’ Hebrews 10: 24, 25 The men’s prayer breakfast, open to all the men in our parish, started in May 2008. We have continued to meet monthly on the second Saturday of the month at 8am: during the summer and autumn we meet in St John’s but during the winter months we take advantage of the cooking facilities in the schoolrooms. Occasionally we have enjoyed being served our breakfast at The Wine Vaults in the centre of town – an opportunity to witness to the staff as we share in prayer and fellowship together. We have been encouraged in recent months to see our numbers grow and enjoy a richer and wider fellowship. The summer menu comprises fruit juice, cereals, fruit, croissants, rolls and spreads, tea and coffee. In the winter months we have enjoyed the full English cooked breakfast preceded by porridge and rounded off with hot buttered toast and a range of preserves. Friendship and fellowship around the table is the reward for the early risers and after reflecting together on a passage of scripture (usually a Psalm) we share prayer concerns before praying together. Further fellowship around the sink is equally appreciated and we are all on our way by 9.30am being all the better prepared for the day ahead! Please come and join us on any second Saturday of the month – you will be made extremely welcome!

Keith Stevens

Men’s and Women’s Breakfasts Men about Yeovil Men's Breakfasts Five have been held this year in alternate months except July. The breakfasts are intentionally evangelistic and those who attend are from a variety of churches besides St John's. Our speakers have been from very different walks of life but all have challenged those attending to consider the claim that Jesus has on their life. Attendance at the breakfasts has seen a steady increase in the year for which we give thanks to God.

Edward Armitstead Women's Breakfasts We have had four breakfasts this year, all at the Yeovil Court Hotel. The attendance has been consistently good and we have welcomed a variety of speakers, all of whom have testified to the sufficiency of Jesus Christ in their different lives. Those attending have expressed appreciation not just for the talk but also for the fellowship - and a very good breakfast! Many new friendships have been forged. And for some the breakfasts have given opportunities to invite friends along so that they too may hear the good news of Jesus.

Caroline Armitstead

St Andrew's at Lunchtime....known as SALT This has been an encouraging year for the lunch club as we have ended on something of a “high” with: two new helpers; numbers of around 28-30; a good number on the bus (which helps financially); new members coming along, not necessarily church affiliated; and satisfied guests....and of course 5* rating from the inspector! Can we ask for more? Yes we can! In order to give our helpers some flexibility it would be good to have a regular number of people who would be willing to be called on when we recognise that, for whatever reason, we are short on help on a particular week perhaps through illness or holidays, etc. We already have some who are willing to help in this way for whom we are very thankful but there can never be too many. The actual lunch time for guests is about an hour and a half and full-time help is from about 12-2.30 but if you would be happy to offer say an hour's washing-up from 1.30 or even half an hour when we are pushed, it would be very helpful. SALT began in the days when mission statements were in vogue. Part of the SALT statement says that we exist as part of the ongoing pastoral care of the church and, I would add, particularly with people coming to us without church connections that we are also to be God's welcome to those who come among us. Do get in touch if you are interested in coming or helping. You are always welcome!

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As always I end this report with huge thanks to all our helpers who contribute to what is actually an enjoyable activity but which takes commitment and a sense of humour. Thank you all.

Beth Farrington

St Andrew's Friendship Circle After many years of offering friendship, tea and speakers of different sorts this group has closed in its old format because the same few leaders are too stretched for various reasons to continue. HOWEVER, this is not at the moment an end but a pause. It is planned that the group will meet a few times a year for tea and a chat and a look around the garden centre, as was so much enjoyed by the group on last year's outing.

Beth Farrington

BYG (Beyond Yeovil Group)

It is quite difficult to give a report on BYG this year as the group has decided that the time has come for a change but the change has not yet taken place. Basically the same seven people have for many years been taking responsibility for keeping the parish informed about our links, where the parish outward giving goes, planning and executing special events and encouraging remembrance of mission partners in our prayers in worship and producing the content of our notice boards. We have appealed for new people through the magazine and PCC but with little response and time goes on. At a recent PCC James highlighted our dilemma and encouraged prayer that someone might be led to re-invigorate the group or start again from scratch. As far as I know there has been no response. This leaves several questions.

Thanks mainly to Mike and Flic Streatfeild, information is still going into the magazine and on notice boards but for how long?

Do we need another way of keeping our eyes looking outward to the church beyond our parish?

Are you conscious of the church beyond our own and want to filter that through to us as a parish?

Do you want to talk about this area of church life?

There is so much we can learn from other Christians in different circumstances of courage, and commitment of love and life. There is much we can offer in prayer support and sharing. If you would like to talk about any of this or want to be involved in any way please contact me. And last but not least I want to thank the BYG group who have given so much over the years and who have been great to be with and share this work.

Beth Farrington

St John’s Music Group The music group continues to grow and develop in 2016 and have had an interesting year through 2015. Our membership sits at 14 regular members and around 4 others who fit in when they can. We have welcomed Callum to the group who quickly gelled and provides excellent cahon and drumming skills for us. Andy Dunn has joined the Tech team, along with Sam and Lewis, helping out with running the powerpoint and video system. David and Matt continue their sterling efforts running the sound desk and they would love some more help to ease their burden. Full training is given so why not come along and have a go! Becky is overseeing the development of junior members by encouraging a small group several times each year to play at Together for Worship Services and at Holiday Club: we believe this is important for the long term development of the Music Group. We had an excellent weekend workshop with Mike Sandeman, a consultant in Worship group leadership and who is a former keyboard player for Phatfish and Stuart Townend. Mike worked with us on our vocal and instrumental skills and showed us how to improve the way we play together as a band. We also explored what the Bible has to say about Worship and how it guides us in leading worship.

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We are a group who pray and play together and we have grown through God’s grace over the years. We are committed to serving our Church family through leading our worship and always welcome new members who can either sing or play an instrument or do both! You, too, could use your talents to support the church family in this way; sharing in fellowship and serving the church and at the same time growing and developing your knowledge and love of God as you experience his grace and love for us. Come and speak to us: Keith, Becky, Judy or Jane will be delighted to help you understand more!

Keith Ovenden

St John’s Floral Group Report Last year was relatively quiet for the group as we did not have any official wedding flowers to do, nor did we carry out any official fund raising. Our only income was from Easter lily money, plus a donation of £5.50 which accounts for the current state of our finances. As the group has donated £2,740.10 back to St John’s for church projects since 2011, this leaves us with funds of £410.28: so some serious fund raising will have to take place this year. To this end we had a shared soup and dessert event on 13th March which raised £140. Thank you so much to all church members who supported this. Thank you again to my faithful team for their continued commitment and loyalty to the floral group. I should be interested to hear from anyone interested in joining our team.

Mary Brooks

The Friends of St John’s After a break whilst the tower restoration was in progress the Friends of St John’s committee reconvened with some new committee members and our first fund raising function was a curry and quiz night in the schoolrooms. This turned out to be a very enjoyable evening when nearly £400 was raised. We have started planning for 2016 and so far we will be holding a charity evening at the Swan theatre on Monday 18th July when the play will be the Gostwriter by Davis Tristram. This is a murder mystery and part comedy so I hope it will appeal to a wide audience. We are running it jointly with Somerset Area Cruse Bereavement Care and as the theatre only has 129 seats please ask me to reserve a ticket for you to avoid disappointment. On Tuesday 27th September Ann Widdecome has agreed to come and speak to us. Many of you will remember her as quite a formidable politician and since she stood down from Parliament in 2010 she has been involved in many television programmes including of course Strictly Come Dancing and she has also written several novels and an autobiography. She is a very entertaining and accomplished speaker and I very much hope that we can fill St John’s for the evening. After eleven years as Chairman, I will be stepping down at the AGM on Wednesday 18th May. I am therefore looking for someone to take over from me. It would be very nice to have a volunteer so if you are at all interested please have a word with me and I will tell you what is involved. Since John Mitchell formed the Friends in 1994 we have raised £75,000 towards the fabric of St John’s and at our last committee meeting we agreed to make a grant of £3,000 towards the upgrade of the audio/visual system. Thank you all for your support over the last 22 years and please continue to support us in 2016.

John Brookes, Chairman

Focus Magazine Focus magazine has a vital role to play in the life of St John’s and St Andrew’s churches and the parish as a whole. It may possibly reach more people in our community and visitors to our churches than any other form of communication our church produces, so it is an important outreach tool.

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Editing a consistent, clear and engaging parish magazine is a very challenging job. The job is made easier through the wide variety of articles that have been submitted this past year and I am very grateful to everyone who has written articles no matter how large or how small or whether you have contributed frequently or just once. The best articles that have been printed in Focus this year (and indeed in previous years) are ones written from the heart about the difficulties we face – illnesses, bereavements and in gratitude for the care and concern given to us by our brothers and sisters in Christ. What is on your heart? What do you want to say? What issue do you want to debate? Focus Magazine is the perfect place to share ideas, start a conversation or debate the issues that matter. Focus magazine simply cannot exist without the people who write for it – thank you to them, to Les and Vivienne Whittle for printing it and to David Matthew for putting it on the church website.

Elaine Mitchell

St John’s Bookstall St Johns church bookstall has been up and running for just under a year now. Reading a good Christian book is a brilliant way to grow in our love and knowledge of the Lord Jesus. The aim of the bookstall is threefold: 1) To provide books for Christians, eager to grow in their love and knowledge of Jesus. 2) To be a place to point newcomers or people who want to find out more about the gospel. 3) To provide books to give away to friends and family members. From January to March 2016 we have sold around 50 books. We have experimented with a location for the bookstall as we want it to be in the best place for people to feel free to browse. A very positive result of having the bookstall is the conversations it produces - newcomers especially find it easy to come and have a chat over the books.

James Maitland

Yeovil College Chaplaincy Since my arrival as the College Chaplain, the College has seen a fairly turbulent 12 months. The day before I arrived at the College, staff had been informed of the necessity for redundancies, and so the remainder of the summer term was largely shaped by the uncertainty and worry that those decisions would bring. September began with a good opportunity for me to meet the new intake of students, and start up a Christian Union group. This has remained at a fairly steady group of 5 (3 students). It has been good to be able to encourage those students in the middle of the week to keep following Christ, when friends as well as the college environment offer an alternative way to live. Life as a College Chaplain has particular times where one is most noticeable: Remembrance Day, Christmas and Holocaust Memorial Day are opportunities to lead the College in prayers, and to say a few words about the hope that Christ brings. The winter term also saw the death of John Gordon, a long serving and much loved member of staff. The testimony of friends and family of his faith was a challenge to the whole College community. The rest of the time, I meet with students on a one to one basis, and supervise the student common room (usually with 70-80 kids in it) and seek to have proactive discussions with whoever will listen! Do please pray as this is a slow work, but I pray that seeds sown may produce fruit in much more abundance that I could ever expect.

Tom Putt

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Deanery Synod Report One of the main duties of members of the Deanery Synod is to act as the electorate for the elections to the General Synod and, as a result, Rev James Dudley-Smith and James Cary were elected as members for the House of Clergy and Laity respectively, from 2015-2020. On the agenda for the Synod is the exciting programme of ‘Reform and Renewal’ and other issues on which the church is divided. At the first meeting The Archbishop of Canterbury gave a Presidential Address in which he acknowledged that the C of E has not always been strong in evangelism, and urged us on – in every church, parish, cathedral, chaplaincy, etc, ‘At every point at which there is a Christian, there is a witness.’

Rev Tony Perris had served as Rural Dean of the Yeovil Deanery for twelve years and on his resignation from that role James was asked to take over in addition to his regular duties as Rector of Yeovil with Kingston Pitney. He was commissioned by Archdeacon Nicola Sullivan on 4 June 2015 at a service in Marston Magna village hall. Afterwards, she encouraged James to “be the change you want to see” and to “reimagine ministry”.

One of the key components of the Deanery Synod is news of other local parishes, some good involving marriage preparation courses, Pilgrim course, Christianity Explored Course, Lay Pastoral Assistant training attend by our own team of LPA’s; and some where churches are in more challenging situations and where we need to pray for them. A sample from the minutes follow:

Coker Ridge had no clergy but Rev Colin Simpson has now been installed. West Coker roofs need repairs as they are leaking and are currently covered with tarpaulins; the plaster within the church has also been adversely affected.

Brympton had no clergy at present either but they are soldiering on; the new school at Lufton will not be a church school but will be built on a site first spotted by the Rev Archie Dean many years ago. Rev Peter Down is to be made priest-in-charge on 6th April 2016.

Tintinhull report that Lufton is to be incorporated into the benefice in the future.

St Peter & Paul Church, Lufton, have a thanksgiving service for the 150th anniversary of rebuilding on 18th October. The Batten Trust Sermon, to be preached by James Dudley-Smith this year, is due to take place on 1st November and for which he will be paid the traditional guinea.

Holy Trinity hosted a talk entitled ‘Has Science buried God?’ Barwick is to apply for a grant to repair the roof. They are working on outreach. Holy Trinity now runs a Sunday school three times a month for between 7 and 10 children; and they recently ran a Choir Day for 70 children, and 80-90 adults watched. The church buildings bring in money through hiring out but are expensive to run. However, the Lord does provide and they have recently received a legacy which has helped.

Mudford benefice is currently raising money for the benefice by various means.

St Michael’s has recently started a Mother and Toddler group which hosts 6 or 7 people each week. David Anderson’s title is about to change from Priest-in-Charge to Vicar.

St James’ and St Peter’s took about 30 needy children on holiday to Devon in the summer. St Peter’s hope to renew their hall and a youth worker has been appointed.

St John’s and St Andrew’s hosted a visit from the Bishop of Bath & Wells recently to celebrate the rehanging of the bells and the renovation of the tower; and more recently the flagpole, the final item on the list, was replaced. James asked for prayer for their youth work: it is hard to keep teenagers engaged and they tend to drift away.

We have been considering the subject of renewal and growth this year and working in groups to see how this can be achieved in our part of Somerset. To summarize: in five years’ time we would hope to see growth among all generations with improved outreach into the community with more groups forming, such as Mother and Toddler, and more benefice events as a means of bringing people together. We would hope for more full-time incumbents, and more men’s ministry. One team concluded that it is better for us as a Deanery to work together than it is to work separately as a small parish. In other news, and after much prayer, the Lufton and Wyndham Park estates are both to open primary schools in 2016/7, both to be run by local schools with church connections. In addition, Wyndham Park is to get a large piece of land for community use which might have a temporary community hall in place by the end of next year. Discussion is also taking place with other churches about how to spread the gospel in these areas.

Rob Dean

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Yeovil CAP Debt Centre Into its fifth year, the Centre saw management change and clients going debt free at its heart. We saw David Upton step down from the Centre and Ian and Frances Croxford have brief sabbaticals and move to St Peter’s. Hence, along with YCC in partnership, in 2015 St Peter’s joined the partnership with CAP and St John’s. CAP maintain that a church who has a debt coach, needs to be in partnership with the lead church and CAP. With Ian and Frances reducing their number of referrals, the management committee agreed the need to employ an additional debt coach. So late in 2015, following an interview process, Mary Irwin joined the team, which brought debt coaches on salary to one full-time equivalent. As the Centre has grown, inevitably it has seen those repaying their debts go debt free. With four going debt free in 2012, six in 2013, eight in 2014, in 2015 we saw 19 go debt free! This was made up of three repaying their debts, five going bankrupt and eleven being given debt relief orders. With this 137% increase in those going debt free (mostly down the insolvency route), for a debt centre this is what it’s all about! Our clients are at the heart of who we are and what we do, which must remain. What we’ve not been able to do is to link up every one of those 19 with a befriender, a member of our support team. Encouraging and finding more befrienders is one of our goals for 2016. With 35 new clients, we found that not everyone needed to contact CAP but just need help on how to budget. So four CAP Money courses took place in 2015, something we aim to develop further in 2016. One of our new clients made a first time commitment and another took their family on a Discovery Break, a free holiday where the Christian faith is the focus. The weekly Thursday ‘Drop-In’ has not seen many CAP clients attend, so rather than close it, it has been decided to make some changes in 2016. The group that does continue to meet and encourage those who attend, is the men’s discipleship group who meet for breakfast from 11.30am to 1pm every Tuesday. Thanks goes to Ian Croxford and Ed Brooks for keeping this group going. Publicity has increased, especially after a picture appeared on the front of The Western Gazette of a family being given one of our forty Christmas Boxes, and also another family being interviewed for BBC Radio Somerset. Thanks here must go to our volunteer Community Links Co-ordinator, William Webbe, for his perseverance in making this happen. Finally, without the commitment and support of the Management Committee, so brilliantly led by Mike Streatfeild, and the volunteer Support Team, many who join the debt coaches on visits as befrienders, the Centre couldn’t have functioned. Many from St John’s continue to commit to pray, give financially, befriend clients, make and send Birthday & Christmas cards, take clients shopping, provide food, help serve at CAP events, and help at the Drop-In. In 2015 it has been a joy and an honour to work and serve with St John’s in what can only be described as an amazing ministry.

Steve Hart Debt Centre Manager

Yeovil Street Pastors

At the beginning of 2015, the focus was on three main areas: teams out on as many Fridays and Saturdays as possible, governance of the Trust, and recruitment of new members. By the end of the year, 84% of Fridays and 94% of Saturdays had been covered, up to date policies and risk assessments had been written, and eleven new Street Pastors had completed training. We also had six Prayer Pastors join the team.

Into our seventh year of caring, helping and listening, whatever our vision is, the core activity is being out on the streets on designated nights. In a general way, we engaged with 2,400 people (even if this was just giving out a lollipop) and helped 380 (some of whom we gave flip-flops). Since April 2009, eighty Street Pastors have been trained with currently 52 on the team, who represent twenty churches in Yeovil and the surrounding area. There are nine members on the Management Committee, from six different churches. Keith Stevens, who was part of the original group starting up the initiative in 2009, stepped down from his role on the committee and we owe

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him a huge debt of gratitude for his enthusiasm, vision and also for his role in training so many Street Pastors: he still remains a Street Pastor. At first our Avon & Somerset Police Crime Commissioner, Sue Mountstevens, was sceptical about Street Pastors but is now a convert. Our Police Neighbourhood Manager in Yeovil & South Somerset, Inspector Neil Dillon, said that our coverage on Friday & Saturday nights was amazing and thanked us for making a difference in both minor and major incidents. There are many stories to tell so I suggest you ask either a Street or Prayer Pastor to share what the year meant to them. Yeovil Street Pastors is an initiative that has changed the landscape in Yeovil, with safer streets now around the night time economy. The good news is that relationships between churches and organisations are stronger and our community is all the better for it. God does want us to be encouraged and there is nothing wrong with that, as long as we give Him the glory!

Steve Hart Yeovil Street Pastors’ Co-ordinator

YCST Lord’s Larder and King’s Place Report 2015 2015 was a busy year for the Lord’s Larder and the King’s Place Charity Shop, both of which have assisted many local people in a practical way. I would like to share with you how your regular donations have helped. In 2015 the Food Bank gave over 77,000 items of food out to put into emergency food parcels. Through the year the Food Bank had a total of 78,157 items of food donated. With your support we were able to help a total of 4484 people:-

2796 adults

1688 children

929 families Through December, with support from churches like St John’s, The Lord’s Larder was able to give 307 Christmas Parcels, requested by agencies for their most needy of clients, which helped 425 adults and 372 children – we received feedback via our agencies that the Christmas Parcels are so very much appreciated by all who receive them at Christmas time. King’s Place Referrals The shop runs a referral scheme where Agencies can bring their clients, normally those on low income, moving into rented accommodation. The clients are able to pick up items they need like Linen, Duvets, Pillows, Curtains, Kitchen Equipment, Clothes, Socks and Shoes, all free of charge. In 2015, 86 people benefitted from using this service, compared with 79 in the previous year.

The Kings Place Social Fund Monies generated from the profits from trading and “one off KPSF donations” made to the shop go straight into this Fund. It is used to provide small grants for those in poverty who have no other way of buying essential household items. In 2015, the Kings Place Social Fund purchased the following items for those in need:

4 Washing Machines, 1 Tumble Dryer, 8 Cookers, 2 Fridges, 10 Beds, 6 Bunk Beds, 1 Chest of Drawers, 1 Dining Table, 6 Sofas, 1 Television, 1 Carpet Cleaner, 1 Sim Card Top Up for person looking for work, Fuel Oil to heat a family’s home, Funding for a School Trip

I want to take this opportunity to thank you for choosing to continue to support the work of Yeovil Christian Support Trust (YCST). As we celebrate 25 years of the Larder this year, I wish to pass on the heart-felt gratitude from all those we are able to help, as it is only with all the loyal support that we receive that we can continue to reach out to those in need within the communities we live in today, tomorrow and well into the future. God’s faithfulness over the years has been unfailing and amazing! Thank you for your support

Matt Callaghan Operations Manager for Lord’s Larder and King’s Place Charity Shop (YCST)