RECTOR’S REPORT TO THE APCM 2024
MINISTRY TOGETHER ROOTED IN CHRIST
‘As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.’ (Colossian 2. 6-7)
Introduction
The four parishes that make up the Loggerheads Benefice can be described as a loving and supportive community. As your Rector, I have felt welcomed and affirmed here; heartfelt thanks to you all. We are servants of the God of new beginnings. Your witness of love and support, for each other and for the Gospel, have been tremendous deeds of mission that have spoken to our wider community of the grace of God alive and working through us.
Many of the comments made in earlier reports still apply, so if you were thanked for your contribution then please feel thanked again. I have tried not to repeat what will be reported in other reports but there is likely to be some overlap. I see my ministry here as very much the meeting point of many ministries. It is what God is doing through every one of us that is important. There is much to do if we are to advance the work of the kingdom in our Churches and this has to be a joint effort on the part of everyone.
During the last Church year, I have made parish visits. Clergy visits to the sick will always be important, but the clergy do welcome help. I would like to thank Lynn Watson for her ministry in taking Communion to the housebound. I am also aware that there are several people in the Benefice who quite spontaneously go and visit those in need. This is wonderful and to be commended. True religion, we are reminded, consists of action. See the book of James. I have attended a number of social events in the Benefice, including, Lunch for our new Curate; Christmas events such as Carols by Candle Light; Summer Fayre; Harvest Suppers; Open Gardens; Coronation events; Bingo; Harty Lunch; Lent Lunches.
Work with Young people
Our work with young people continues to be important. A big thank you to Peter Shone and his work with choirs at Hugo School and to Meg Scoble and her work at Mucklestone. Paul Griffin is taking the lead on Family services at Mucklestone and the Church club at both Mucklestone and Hugo schools. Work with Young people includes concerts at Croxton with children from Mucklestone & Bishops’ Lonsdale School supported by the congregation from Broughton. The Revd Dawn has taken on responsibility for the Fund Day and plans are in place for our next event. I continue to lead weekly assemblies at both St Mary’s Mucklestone and Hugo Meynell schools. There were Link days at the later, taking place in Church and in School. A big thanks goes to those members of the congregation at Ashley who volunteered to be involved. All this is clearly a sign of the kingdom in our Benefice. Thanks be to God!
Confirmation
In July 2023 at Mucklestone Bishop Matthew confirmed three new members to the communicant body of our benefice. Kath Amphlett, Marie Amy Haru Griffin, and Paddy Murfitt were welcomed into our Eucharistic fellowship. Confirmation is more than just a way of confirming our baptism. It is a Sacrament in its own right. One of the many things we learned in our confirmation classes is that Sacraments are an outward sign of inward grace. Confirmation, then, is more than a completion of our baptism. It is a sacrament of Christian Ministry in the Church. When we are confirmed, we not only make adult decisions about our beliefs, but we can do something about those beliefs. We can stand up for the gospel and do something about it. In Baptism, the Holy Spirit gives us new life. In confirmation, the same spirit gives the additional strength needed for this spiritual battle. This strength is needed to proclaim the Gospel of Christ Jesus and may all our lives be a living sermon to that end.
Lent & Holy Week
Churchwardens & Treasures
Our Churchwardens include Peter Shrone & Paul Aleander; Sanda Friend & Shirely Thomas; James & Louise Butter; David Finney & John Myatt. I would like to thank them all for the undivided loyalty to their parishes and to me as your Rector. They deserve our heartfelt thanks for all that they continue to do for us as a worshipping community in the service of God.
The Churchwardens met each quarter with the Clergy and the parish Administrator. We discussed issues of concern to our benefice including staffing rotas, work with young people & Confirmation classes, Quinquennial inspections, Holy Week & Easter, and Rural Ministry.
Big thanks to Treasurers, Nicola Myatt for Ashley, David Gage, Mucklestone; Sally Anne Butter for Boughton and Ian Sivington at Croxton.
The Ministry Team
In my prayers I always give thanks for our Churchwardens and Ministry Team. The Revd Sarah Humpries is our Associate Minister, and the Revd Dawn Walker is our Assistant Curate. James Butter has left the team for the best of all reasons as he has started his ordination training. Please also pray for Fr Roger Leg a retired priest and member of our team. It isn’t just about clergy. The team includes Jen Caudwell our Benefice Administrator, Lynn Watson, and Paul Grifin. It is good to have them as colleagues. However a Ministry Team is only as strong as the people it seeks to serve. It is very much the shared ministry of all those involved in the life of these parishes. Thank you for your support. I hope you know how much it is appreciated.
Rural Ministry Course with the Arthur Rank Centre
Dawn and I reported on the Rural Ministry Course we had attended. Some of it was brilliant, e.g. on agriculture and farming, and a theologian talking about how God was working in our communities as a slow God, an interesting contrast with the God in St Mark’s gospel who was always on the move. A speaker from the farming community had talked about young farmers and their feelings of isolation. Ellen Butter has talked to me about the importance of suicide prevention. We hope to follow up on this at our next Benefice service.
Mission
I think it is time now for me to share with you my Vision and start to draft a Mission Statement for our Benefice. We build this upon the vision that we already have and start to plan where our churches are going in the next few years. It sounds very grand but really it means that we are being asked to look at how we can be better Christians and find ways to share the Gospel with others. Please remember that this is very brief and is not written in tablets of stones. Comments are welcome and changes and amendments are crucial if it is be owned by the whole benefice.
So here goes ...
We are called with our Rector to witness the embodiment of the Risen Christ in these communities. Our witness is valid and righteous because Jesus is everything to us giving us life, filling it with love and setting us free from sin that we might live in his love. May the incarnate God take the work of our hands and let good come of it. May he take our lives, give us peace, and renew us in his glad service.
Worship & Prayer
At the heart of the Church's work in this Benefice is the declaration of its prayer life by means of services whose richness and beauty carry a wholeness and peace.
Witness in the World: Stewardship & Care
We embrace a Parish Funding Programme that seeks to bring together both stewardship of the village Church and our Christian witness in the communities. This programme allows us to think realistically about our giving, not just how much but how we give. We don't give just because the Church needs money (which it does), but in response to the love and generosity of the Living God.
Witness to the World: Evangelism & Out Reach
Mission is heart speaking to heart across the suffering of the human condition. It is the tiny movement of the Spirit in local places where the members of the Church take others under their wing just as the everlasting God has us all under his enduring wings. We seek to lead all to Christ by Church contact with the wider community and see this as an important part of a much larger process of Church growth. This may take many years to realise. But we are the people of faith. And it is in the faith of Christ Jesus that we continue this important work.
The Mission and Ministry of the Diocese of Lichfield is center on the three priority areas of discipleship, vocation, and evangelism (DVE) - following Christ in the footsteps of the first bishop of Lichfield, St Chad. Our Benefice Mission Statement should help us to reflect on these key areas as we seek to implement a Mission Action Plan. Each parish will need to revisit these plans because this links the Benefice Mission Statementn to the DVE.
Conclusion
Many thanks to all who contributed to the Easter flowers and to the dedicated band who worked so hard to clean and decorate our churches so beautifully. I am excited to see many signs across our four churches of a renewed interest in Bible study and prayer. It is sad that to keep our churches up and running so much of our time has to be spent thinking about money, but we need to put our parishes on a stronger financial footing. We must think realistically about our giving. Not just how much but how we give. The parish treasurers are always happy to explain about Gift Aid and covenanting. There is much to think about and much more to pray about. Please remember that we don't give just because the Church needs money (which it does), but in response to the love and generosity of the Living God.
The Rev’d. Dr David Isiorho,
Easter 2024
Endnote
St Matthew records Jesus’ parting words to his disciples: Go into all the world . . .. Notice what he is saying: we, as disciples, have to do the going. People will rarely walk up to us and say “Let me in.” Usually we have to go out to them and say, “Do come in. Come with me. I’ll introduce you to everyone and look after you.”
Mission is not a large-scale undertaking by people trained in public endeavour. No, mission is heart speaking to heart across the suffering of the human condition; mission is the tiny movement of the Spirit in local places where the members of the Church take others under their wing just as the everlasting God has us all under his enduring wings. Who is looking for your protecting wing in your neighbourhood? Do not deny them because you feel shy. Remember when you have need of words, we have been promised that God will provide them. So take heart, take care, and take a neighbour under your wing. God bless you all and strengthen you in his glad service. Amen.