2021-12-31-accounts - The Parochial Church Council Of The Ecclesiastical Parish Of St. Illogan

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Rector’s Report 2021

During the last year, The Church of England published a document called “Simpler, Humbler, Bolder: A Church for the whole nation which is Christcentred and shaped by the Five Marks of Mission .”[1]

The document is an interesting read, and you can find it at the web address:

https://www.churchofengland.org/sites/default/fles/2021 06/GS %202223%20Vision%20and%20Strategy.pdf

In case you don’t get round to reading the whole thing, Part 1, paragraphs 7 to 9 reads:

7. “…Common Worship ordination services in the Church of England … begin with these tremendous words:

“God calls his people to follow Christ, and forms us into a royal priesthood, a holy nation to declare the wonderful deeds of him who has called us out of darkness into his marvellous light.

The Church is the Body of Christ, the people of God and the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit. In baptism the whole Church is summoned to witness to God’s love and to work for the coming of his kingdom.

(Common Worship, Ordination Services, Church House Publishing, 2007, Pg. 55.)

1The five marks of mission are:

To proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom

To teach, baptise and nurture new believers

To respond to human need by loving service

To seek to transform unjust structures of society, to challenge violence of every kind and to pursue peace and reconciliation

To strive to safeguard the integrity of creation and sustain and renew the life of the earth Some churches abbreviate the five marks to five words: TELL – TEACH – TEND – TRANSFORM – TREASURE.

8.This beautifully sums up our theology of the Church and our theology of ministry. In following Christ, we are enlisted in his service. All of us. We all have a part to play in God’s mission of love to the world.

9.In the darkness and difficulty of our current situation, we need a renewal and reappraisal of what this means and how we live and bear the light of Christ to the world through the Church, evangelising a culture which knows little of the gospel and has only very limited experience of the Church.”

Particularly heartening, I think, is the reports emphasis on:

the priesthood of believers - that is, we are all set apart for the holy service of God, not just those with a collar.
evangelism, declaration, love and witness: this is the church’s unique purpose in the world to proclaim Christ in word and deed.
renewal and reappraisal - of how we are spending our time and energies.

St Illogan Parish

Vision: In St Illogan Parish, our vision statement is “Making disciples of Jesus to the Glory of God”. It has evangelism at its very heart, founded on the great commission of Jesus to his disciples.

If we are to do our very best, it’s a vision that needs each of us to use our particular gifts and to work together in love and unity. We do so because Christ is Good News ti us, and we love Him. As the above C of E report says, the message of Christ has to be good news to us if it is to be good news for other people. Why is our message good news? Because the cross of Christ both offers both mercy (a rescue from the

consequences of sin - eternal death) and grace (a rescue into the new life that God gives now and for all eternity). Without Christ, we would perish. (c.f John 3:18)

The Church then has a job to do, despite the current challenges, financial, cultural and, we might say, viral, in the report’s words, of evangelising a culture which knows little of the gospel and of church. Conscious then of the vital importance of our place in the world (who else is going to tell the world about Jesus if not the Church?) we continue to place a central importance on evangelism and mission in our parish.

Each of our activities, across the whole range of ages, from stay and play and Patch through to Monday Club, is an opportunity to fulfil our vision. The Alpha Course is another, very targeted, way of working to fulfil our evangelistic call. In previous years we have aimed to use the services around festivals and events as specific guest services, something which was difficult to maintain during 2020-21 but which would be good to restart, capacity allowing.

Staffing: On the subject of capacity, I’m delighted that both Rev Eddie Woon and Rev Olive Stevens have joined the team, bringing with them a wealth ministerial experience and gifts. I’m also very grateful to God for the fact that we have Readers, and Worship Leaders, and Preachers to assist so ably and with such positivity.

I also thank God for the church family and for the way in which so many people are involved and active in loving, caring, serving, and labouring; for our church wardens and pro-warden, treasurers, administrators, children's workers, musicians and artists, pray-ers, course leaders, cleaners, encouragers, pastoral visitors and carers, refreshment

providers, church-yard maintainers, rubbish ‘taker outers’, computer and projector technicians and so the list goes on ……. . Each ministry is needed, each ministry is valued, each of us is a priest in the fellowship of the church, and a part of the one body.

Of course, we are not just priests when we gather as a church family; we are also priests (those who represent God to man and man to God) wherever we are, the supermarket, the pub, on the road, playing golf, meeting people as we go out and about …. as Christians, we never stop having priestly ministry. Whatever we do, we are to do to the glory of God. And if you don’t feel you are able to ‘do’ anything due to frailty or seniority, please be assured that your prayers are of utmost value! Let us all, if we do nothing else, follow our Saviour’s example of prayerfulness.

Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats:

Looking ahead, there are some things we need to have an eye to:

Strengths Weaknesses Illogan Parish has: There is little engagement with the 3 enthusiastic and united schools in the parish at the moment. congregations. a willing and able ministry team across There are significant areas of the parish all three churches that we have little contact with. Committed church officers filling essential roles. Our pastoral team needs strengthening in number. We are engaged with children’s work through a number of activities. There are specific groups for older people. Opportunities Threats We could open up the space in St As do the vast majority of C of E Illogan Parish Church by removing some churches, we have an ageing or all of the pews so that the space demographic profile. becomes more usable for a wider range of activities. The number of people attending worship services is dropping We could make more of what the web may offer us in terms of reaching the Our finances are diminishing

We could make more of what the web may offer us in terms of reaching the Our finances are diminishing parish. The culture of our worship services may We can start introducing more social be seen as anachronistic and irrelevant events into the church calendar. by those not used to attending church. There may be opportunities to establish We may not be able to afford a stipend greater collegial working across the vicar in future years. deanery. We are likely to benefit from LICF monies.

*Low Income Communities Fund

On the Way . As you know, there are discussions going on at the moment in each deanery across the diocese, including ours, about the use of the limited finances that are available. Our churches need to be both sustainable (i.e. we need to balance the budget in terms ministry, primarily clergy, costs) and fruitful (i.e. we need to be salt and light, and share the good news of Jesus in both word and deed.)

If numbers continue to decline, then at some point, it will no longer be possible to employ the current number of clergy within North Carmarth deanery.

For the time being, it looks as if we will be able to keep current clergy numbers, helped significantly by LICF monies. This situation is not sustainable however over the medium to long term if the current level of decline continues.

However, as the “Simpler, Humbler, Bolder” report says, “ Even though we face huge financial challenges and must respond to these, in terms of our mission it is not downward sloping graphs, or burning platforms or melting icebergs that motivate us. Yes, we need to recognise these realities, and be challenged by them. But our motivation is the vision of the abundant life we have in Christ and a desire to share that with everyone, and to live it joyfully. That is the purpose we serve.”

Remembering those of our parish and those suffering in the wider world:

We remember in our prayers those in the parish who are ill or who are recovering from illness.

In closing, I am conscious that dear brothers and sisters in Christ have gone to be with the Lord Jesus. We give thanks to God for their lives and service, and for our memories of them.

Everlasting God, our maker and redeemer, grant us, with all the faithful departed, the sure benefits of your Son’s saving passion and glorious resurrection, that, in the last day, when you gather up all things in Christ, we may with them enjoy the fullness of your promises; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

A prayer for the people of Ukraine:Loving God, We pray for the people of Ukraine, for all those suffering or afraid, that you will be close to them and protect them. We pray for world leaders, for compassion, strength and wisdom to guide their choices. We pray for the world that in this moment of crisis, we may reach out in solidarity to our brothers and sisters in need. May we walk in your ways so that peace and justice become a reality for the people of Ukraine and for all the world. Amen.

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