Trustees report for year 2023-2024 St. John's Methodist Church BloxwiCh WS3 3HS www. stjohnsbloxwich. co.uk Minister: Rev. Jem Hawkins 29 Victoria Avenue, Bloxwich WS3 3HS. Trustees Annual Report —Y/E 31 August 2024 As reported last year our caretaker Paul retired at Christmas. Along with changes in stewarding and other realignments of roles, in the year to Aug 2024 a fresh look to the way things are done has come about. Jem our minister took a sabbatical in the spring following a successful “Church Weekend Away”. Upon his return to duties it was said that he would be leaving us in 2025. Despite all of this however we came through, As you will see from the attached accounts we remain financially vulnerable, if we should be faced with a major property expense we would struggle to meet our commitments. Our heating system has given us some problems over this past year. However, the fact that room booking receipts are significantly higher is encouraging. As always a close eye on property matters is required and is the more difficult in the absence of a caretaker. The property team now led by Dave Brown is keeping on top of things at present and we are very grateful for this. Overall the year had many positive trends. Our junior church has shown growth and promise. We have noticed that “new” families are taking an interest in what goes on here at St. John’s. Both outreach work and a variety of training courses keep us all up to the mark. The “Revive” project continues to develop along with the “Make Lunch” scheme which helps young families during school holidays. In May 2024, a group of 24 people, mainly from the Church, met at a Conference Centre in Derbyshire for our regular Weekend together. Following on from comments made by one of our ministers and with the plans for the merger of the Circuit with the Walsall Circuit, we took the theme “Moving Forward’. A number of people led our thoughts on various aspects of this idea over the Weekend, along with there being time to get to know one another and our usual entertainment on the Saturday evening. Everyone enjoyed the Weekend, with many looking forward to a similar event in 2025. This highlight, hopeful, will be shared with members of a newly created circuit which will bring together all the Methodist churches in our borough. We look forward with hope and optimism in the knowledge that the next twelve months will bring much change. On behalf of The Trustees. Peter Box, Church Council Secretary. U•(nz 1111111 1111111 illiijii ijiiii Jy 111 ) CL Y*4 11111 111111111 11111 11111111 J K)ID c J t %88 -8.18888 IOC* "888888* ooc U•(nz 1111111 1111111 illiijii ijiiii Jy 111 ) CL Y*4 11111 111111111 11111 11111111 J K)ID c J t %88 -8.18888 IOC* "888888* ooc