Last day

Today was the last (Sun)day of my placement which ends officially tomorrow.  It's been an odd time for me, as while I am expected to do three hours a week plus a Sunday, my unemployment has meant that I have been able to drop in on more things than would be expected of me.

There isn't much that has went on in the life of the church that I have not had some involvement in.  I have missed out on the Messy Church, which is actually one of their growth areas.  \the rest of the events in the church I have enjoyed being a part of.

Six months has meant that I have been able to observe the dynamics of church life.  Who is friends with whom, who is the person that empowers everyone, and who is the person that will moan and be a negative influence on any project.  Somewhere in the middle of all this, the minister has to work between the various factions.  I've seen how the silliest things can be blown up out of all proportion, while major change can just happen without having any conflict.

It's been a friendly congregation, and the group that I will miss the most is the children.  I have went from being the scary tall bloke to being someone that they chat about cartoons with.  The come over and show me what they have done in Sunday School, and it's all big smiles and waving at me wehn they come and go. 

So today they presented me with a lovely home communion set. It's unfortunate that I'm not officially allowed to use it for another 18 months, but who knows, it might get an airing...

So that's one placement down, and who knows, I may even have another placement t start soon...

Easter Code

In my post the other week I mentioned my call for gazebos which had proven unsuccessful.

Last night I went to the church to set up for the Easter Code, and there was just Stephen and myself.  The only other person to turn up, the local youth worker,  coached football elsewhere so couldn't turn up until later.  So we attempted to set the hall for the Easter Code, with only 1.5 gazebos - one was missing the connectors although it got repurposed into a tomb. 

By the time 9pm cam round, the hall was feeling a little rough and ready.  although when the youth worker turned up, he had in his car the set from another Easter Code production so that was swiftly put to use.  That said, by 10pm, I still had a bad feeling about how the day was going to go.

This morning, after thirty minutes of work, the hall was completely into shape. We had all the volunteers we needed, and all the equipment.

P6 and P7 of the local school arrived, and we had a great time.  OK, we slipped our schedule a little bit, but the whole thing worked.  The pupils loved it, and this is a group that most of the staff know well, and they are genuinely willing to give criticism.

It was a load of work, but I got many thanks a few high fives on the way out from the pupils.

Other things I learned.

in terms of going with the crowd, 50% of pupils would turn up and rob PC world of Xboxes if they happened to leave the door open.  That figure goes up to 75% if they can grab a PS4 when they are in.

One pupil shoplifted a remote control.

Another pupil's brother shoplifted a TV, but it was OK because he gave it away afterwards.

Now I am absolutely knackered.  Youth work is not for me.

Gazebos.

The other week I took the whole service, for the third and final time at Lowry (North).  In my second sermon of the day (I thought I would try two sermon-ettes rather than one long one) I gave a bit of a rallying call.  A statement that a rich congregation should be throwing its clout behind less well of groups, and by supporting the oppressed, wherever they are.  In the politest possible terms, a demand that they get their thumb out of their collective backsides and consider how much work the congregation, either individually or as a whole are doing for the less fortunate of the world.

But in the opening intimations, I asked for gazebos.  In the next couple of weeks I will be working to turn their hall into a small version of Jerusalem, and to make the houses we need gazebos.  Five of them.  This will make our version of "The Easter Code" so much easier to put on.

For about three weeks now we have asked if anyone can loan us a gazebo, or a large tent for the day. We will look after them, and they will be kept clean, as they are simply the backdrop to the events that are taking place inside the hall.  For the past three weeks we have asked in the intimations, or put something in the weekly newsletter.

Nothing.

And as for the request for volunteers to help for a couple of hours...  I accept that many people have jobs to go to through the day, but even an hour helping us set up the night before would be a great help.

Not a sausage.

I'm concerned that the congregation seems to see that the role of the Minister is to do absolutely everything for them.  Outreach, besides a couple of projects,  is something they won't get involved in, and there are few volunteers to carry out any task.  So there appears to be a reluctance to get involved in any sort of action.  And as for being involved in a couple of hours religious education for the local primary school, that's not going to happen.  Not even as much as one loaned gazebo.

The only area that seems to be growing is the Messy Church.  There is an enthusiastic group of people that seems to be drawing people into the church.  One year on and the numbers keep getting larger.  They are accessing people that would never normally come into the church.

I just wish the enthusiasm and energy in the Messy Church could be shared throughout the entire congregation.  I am concerned that the congregation could be at a balance point, where they could either take off thanks to the new generation coming in from things like the Messy Church, or just go into a terminal decline due to apathy.

P.S. Thanks Mum for the loan of your gazebo!

Selfie

Our first selfie.

What do you mean, "that wall is too tall..."? 

Hugs and stuff.  :-)

Put your Hand in Your Pocket.

Until recently I was a member of a rifle club.  There were about 100 members and from within that group we elected around a dozen to be on a Management Committee, with the committee deciding on a Treasurer and a Chair.  In that respect, the structure of the rifle club was similar to any other organisation or church. 

Because the club had its own premises, there were the usual expenses associated with having a building, such as heating, electricity and general maintenance.  So in the course of a year, we knew how much it would cost to run the club.  The committee would take the costs for the year, and after allowing a small amount for unexpected expenses, divide the lot by the amount of members to give the subscription rate for the year.  It was fair, and as a result we had a pleasant club house and range to practice our sport in. 

As an aside, the trophy cabinets were really well made.  One of the members was a local funeral director and he made all the trophy cabinets.  It came as no surprise that he was exceptionally good at making wooden boxes...

So we knew that everyone was contributing their fare share to the fixed running costs for the club.  The members that used the pool table paid for it at 20p per use, which paid for it to be recovered and maintained on a regular basis, with surplus going to the club.  And the small profit on any ammunition or other consumables that the club sold covered the variable costs of running a club.  Nobody complained about the cost of membership (actually, everyone grumbles about having to pay, but that's life!) because everyone was making a fair contribution.

It's a shame that church doesn't work like my old rifle club.  It's the time of year when the church accounts have been drawn up and approved by the board and session.  While the takings are still in the black, congregational giving does not actually cover the costs of the ordinary life of the church.  It's only through a number of exceptional items of income that the church is pulling ahead.  Yet there is a fairly large congregation that gathers on a Sunday with many other members in the parish that see this as their church.  The weekly giving just doesn't seem to be enough.

A letter has been sent to members of the congregation, asking people to consider increasing their offering, and to remember to use Gift Aid so that tax may be reclaimed.  While the letter was well written, one person had an objection.  They open the weekly envelopes, and when they saw that the Minister suggested that another £3 per person per week would get the congregation onto a better footing, she objected.  She stated that some of the envelopes only contain £1, so it was unfair that the Minister was asking them to double or triple their donation.  Rather than it being unfair that the person that has been giving £1 might not have reconsidered their giving for some time.

Perhaps people don't realise how much money it takes for even a small church to operate.  The big cathedrals have signs telling you that it costs £20,000 (York Minster) per day to operate, so should we be telling our congregations that our average expenditure is over £1,000 per week, so the hundred or so in regular attendance should pay a proportionate amount to meet this cost? 

I'm concerned that a congregation that appears to be in the black, is actually not very well off at all.  If it wasn't for the additional income stream that they have, which are not guaranteed, then they would be deeply in deficit.  The congregation needs to be self funding, and then, the extra income can be used for other things.  Set aside a lump for the rainy days, then use the rest to really start doing God's work.  Fund your own aid projects.  Do advocacy for causes that haven't got your resources.  The extra income is that part that you share out, not to be used for your day to day operations.

We just don't like talking about money.  Well I think it's something we are going to have to be realistic about if we want our churches to continue.