What follows in this Annual Report is testimony to the continuing life and vigour of the Fellowship. We thank God for His continued blessing upon us. And we want to thank everyone who, as part of their discipleship in Christ, has worked hard in the service of the church, our local community and the wider world.
2008 was a memorable year. The pivotal point was the retirement of our Minister, Rev Tony Marron, and his wife Gaynor in April. This not only marked the end of their time with us, but also the last phase of a life time in faithful Christian ministry. The period up to then was dominated by preparations to give them a good send off (which we did). Those of us who lived through that period will not forget another factor - Gaynor’s diagnosis of cancer at the beginning of the year. For a time it seemed touch and go whether she would be well enough to enjoy the party. (She was). We were inspired and challenged by her steady faith and praise God at the year end for her healing by, as she puts it “a mixture of prayer and chemo”.
The rest of the year saw us dealing with the consequences of being in a time of “ministerial vacancy”. This involved drawing up a profile, itself a useful exercise in sharing our thoughts about our life together in a more concentrated way than we often manage. It now involves a time of waiting on the Lord as He gradually reveals to us His will and direction for our future.
“Waiting” does not mean inactivity! The most amazing thing about the year was the fact that no less than seventeen friends came into membership, most following baptism. We rejoice in this not because it bolsters church numbers, but because each person represents a sign of God continuing to draw people into new life in Himself and work amongst us. It must be many years since there have been so many baptismal services in one year. Praise God!!
A ministerial vacancy is a time for those in the fellowship to fill the gap and by doing so explore their gifts. This has been particularly so in our worship; it has been good to see so many sharing, for example, in prayers on intercession in our Sunday morning services and taking lead responsibility in our evening services.
Others have come and gone. In particular, we thank Trevor Moore for his work as Treasurer and Dean Thorpe for so willingly taking up this onerous and important role in the Fellowship. We also said good bye to Helen Bellamy towards the end of the year as she came to the end of her service with us as youth worker - the first time that we had ever had a second paid worker. It was a great joy to her that so many young people came to faith and sought baptism during her time with us.
The position of Outreach Deacon has remained unfilled since Dean stood down to take up his new role. That is a challenge to us all. But it does not mean that outreach is off the agenda, and the year has seen perhaps a new sense of vision amongst many to reach out into our community. For many of us, the Christingle service in December will long live in the memory and is perhaps a sign of where we can put more of our energies in the future - reaching out to families in the town.
So - welcome to the Report - enjoy the read and give thanks to God for his faithful provision for us.
Alan Sanders & Lynne Scott
Elders