Canterbury and Littlebourne ## **Annual General Meeting** ## **19th March 2024** ## _**Book of Reports**_ |**Contents**|**Page **| |---|---| |Office Holders, Leaders and Committee Members 2023 - 2024|3| |Annual Reports:|| |Minister’s Report|5| |Church Secretary's Report|7| |Prayer Ministry|7| |Life Groups|8| |Sonbeams|8| |Littlebourne Chapel|9| |New Year Prayer|10| |Oasis Café|16| |Men’s Social Group|18| |Street Pastors|19| |Global Café|20| |Canterbury Chinese Christian Church|22| 2 _St Andrews AGM_ _19 March 2024_ ## **Office Holders, Leaders and Team Coordinators 2022-23** |**Minister:**|Rev Bernard Fidder||| |---|---|---|---| |**Serving Elders:**|Val Cannon (2021)||Caroline Camp (2019)| ||Chris Wilson-Sharp|(2019)|Janet Wilson-Sharp (2019)| ||Jonathan Hollander (2020)||Cheryl Faulds (2023)| |**Church Secretary:**|Caroline Camp (from 2020)||| ||Val Cannon (from March 2024)||| |**Minute Secretary**|Caroline Camp||| |**Treasurer:**|Peter Hollander||| |**Gift Aid:**|Janet Wilson-Sharp||| |**Offering:**|(vacant)||| |**Administrator:**|Alice Wilson-Sharp||| |**Safeguarding:**|Sue Wenham|Deputy|Rev Bernard Fidder| |**Authorised for Weddings:**|||| |**DBS verifiers:**Malcolm McIntyre||Val Cannon|| |**Church Flowers**:|Mark Camp|Catriona McIntyre|| ||**Fabric Team**||| |David Spires|Robert Deakin
Hugh Marsh||
Peter Hollander| ## **Church Representatives** **Synod** Val Cannon **Christians Together in Canterbury** Vacant **Christian Aid** Vacant **Food Bank** Kate Bassett **Street Pastors** Andrew Pantling **World Day of Prayer** Caroline Camp 3 _St Andrews AGM_ _19 March 2024_ ## **Small Group Leaders** **Life Groups** Val Cannon (in church, Tuesday afternoons) Bernard Fidder (on Zoom, Wednesday evenings) **Men’s Group:** Mark Camp Malcolm McIntyre Jonathan Hollander **Church and worship rotas:** Chris Wilson-Sharp **Preaching rota:** Val Cannon **Sound desk and technical support:** Jonathan Hollander with Adriana Fidder-Boutkan, Janet Wilson-Sharp ## **Prayer Ministry Team** **----- Start of picture text -----**
Leader: Chris Wilson-Sharp
Church Website
Coordinators: Alice Wilson-Sharp Jonathan Hollander
Oasis Café Team
Leaders: Patricia Hollander Sue Wenham
Church Cleaning
Team led by Sue Wenham
Stewarding Groups
Group 1 Dina Beukes
Group 2 Margaret Ashdown
Group 3 David Spires
Group 4 Peter Hollander
Littlebourne chapel Peter Hollander Jonathan Hollander
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4 _St Andrews AGM_ _19 March 2024_ ## **MINISTER’S REPORT** Dear Friends, Last year I started my report on the conflict in Ukraine. Now we are used to the news that there is a conflict in the Ukraine, and now the conflict in Israel and Gaza is taking much of the headlines. Fortunately, the Pandemic is now truly behind us, but the fallout of that shaped the political scene dramatically and we saw a coming and going of governments. Fortunately, life at St Andrews has not been so dramatic, and we seem to have arrived perhaps in some steadier waters. It has been good to see new people joining our congregation, while we also had to say goodbye to some as well. Service attendance has been quite steady, with still quite a group joining us via Zoom. But that does not mean that things have not been uneventful last year. We started off with New Year prayers in collaboration with Favour House Church, and we had mid-day prayer meetings during the week. Pastor King James and I felt that we don’t want to lose the momentum of these meetings, and so the Thursday lunch time “Dwelling in His presence” prayer and worship meetings were born. A small but dedicated group, and not only from St Andrews or Favour House are still meeting every Thursday at 12noon. Please join them if you can! In 2022 we started with opening the worship area for people to sit in quietly, and we had a volunteer being present at this time, to have a chat or a prayer with the guests. Initially the focus was to offer something to the shop workers in the Whitefriars Shopping Centre, but over time this did not seem to provide a need. As most of the conversations the volunteers had was with Oasis patrons visiting the toilets, this group shifted its focus and towards the end of 2023 renamed itself to be the Oasis Companions. So now on Wednesdays a volunteer is present in Oasis Café and is available for people to have a chat with. This seems to be going quite well, and the volunteers have had a number of encouraging encounters. This year we also continued with our Friday afternoon Prayer Ministry sessions, and we started a quarterly Communion and Prayer Ministry Services, where we invite the congregation to bring things before our Lord for healing, forgiveness and restoration. Members of the congregation can also receive prayer ministry if there is something that they need further help with. On Sunday afternoons we continue to have services at the Littlebourne Chapel supported by Tuesday evening prayer meetings on Zoom. A thank you to Peter, Jonathan and Patricia who have faithfully ensured there was a service in Littlebourne every week. This gave me the surprising opportunity to be invited to the Littlebourne School for leading their assembly once a month. This has been much more fun than I expected, and I hope that the children at the school enjoy it as much as I do. One big thread this year for me has been the Dunamis events. As you may know, I am a 5 _St Andrews AGM_ _19 March 2024_ member of the Dunamis Fellowship of Britain and Ireland (DFBI), with the aim to equip people to cooperate with the Holy Spirit. I was part of the teaching team of the East Anglia Dunamis Project, and we had two events, one in High Leigh, with the theme of Spiritual Warfare and Kingdom Advancement and the second as at Pontins Lowestoft, with the theme of Listening Evangelism. What I was very pleased about is that the DFBI team discerned that the next Dunamis Project (a series of six events of three years) is to be held at St Andrews. You have probably seen the flyers for that in the Church. In preparation for that the DFBI team organised a training event for leaders, called Exousia, which was followed by an Ignite day (28 Sept – 30 Sept). For the Ignite day we had about 60 attendees. In January 24 this was followed by another Ignite day, which was attended by about 50 people. I feel that this is a major focus of my Ministry here at St Andrews and I do hope that you engage with it as well! In the context of Christians together in Canterbury I have been organising monthly leaders’ lunches. We are now coming together in different churches/locations in Canterbury and it has been a time where leaders can share what is going on with their churches and helping us to discuss what we can do together. It has also been a great support for those who were able to attend. In the wider URC I was the East Kent Synod Area (EKSA) lead, and because of that member of the EKSA Pastoral Committee, who has an overseeing brief of the URCs in East Kent, as well being a member of Synod Council and Synod Trust, to help govern the activities of the whole Southern Synod. Last year it became clear to me and to the West Kent and East Sussex Synod Area (WKESSA) that there were not enough volunteers for all the necessary functions in our synod areas. So, we proposed that both synod areas should be merged into one, called Kent and East Sussex Synod Area. In 2023 we did the preparatory work for that and had agreement from both synod areas, Synod Council and finally Synod Together. The result is that from 2024 onwards St Andrew’s now belongs to KESSA, and that John Ellis and I are now the co-leaders of this new area. On 3 February 2024 we had a celebratory gathering at Maidstone URC. The other work I do for the KESSA is that I have been supporting Broomfield URC (now very small), with leading a monthly Sunday afternoon café style service. This is going well and I am pleased to say that we could receive two new members at Broomfield at the beginning of 2024. All in all, 2023 seemed to have been a very busy year, and it looks that 2024 will not be any different. Please continue to pray that 2024 will be as fruitful as 2023 has been, because it does not mean anything if what we do does not bring glory to our Lord Jesus Christ. ## _**Revd Bernard Fidder**_ 6 _St Andrews AGM_ _19 March 2024_ ## **CHURCH SECRETARY’S REPORT** This year seems to have flown by and AGM 2024 will take place on March 19[th] . Our services are held both in the church building and on Zoom and I would like to take this opportunity to thank Jonathan again for his expert technical knowledge and skills in making hybrid services possible. We now have a regular monthly praise and worship service “Healing Wings” with Favour House Church in the church building on the first Saturday of the month. We have two Life Groups meeting: one in person, other on Zoom – see the separate report for Life Groups. The time of Listening prayer on Saturday mornings on Zoom is also continuing. During August we held a number of social events as a break from Life Groups for the month. We enjoyed fish and chips in Herne Bay, a film night, a quiz evening and a walk which Val organised. The prayer Ministry group now meets on Friday afternoons in church. Services at Littlebourne are continuing and there is also a prayer meeting on Tuesday evenings on Zoom for the work at Littlebourne. We were blessed with resources provided by Alice and Chris for the week of New Year prayer and you will find this in this book of reports. Alice has been working three days a week at least as our church administrator. Many of the groups who hire our rooms have continued and there are new bookings and an unending stream of enquiries about bookings. We are very grateful to Alice for the weekly newsletter she produces with details of services and many other events both in other churches and of interest in Canterbury, and the many other administrative tasks, which she carries out. During the year we were delighted to welcome Cicely Stone and Deborah Chalk into membership and to welcome Hugo Monk into membership through baptism. We congratulate Jonathan and Chelsea on their engagement and look forward to the occasion of their marriage in May this year. We also mourned the passing of Graham Watkins in November 2023. So, as we look forward to what the year ahead will bring, my time serving as an Elder and as church secretary will come to an end at the AGM and I want to thank you for giving me the opportunity to serve you in this way. I want to finish by sharing with you these words of encouragement from Philippians Chapter 4: _“_ _**[4 ]** Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!_ _**[5 ]** Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near._ _**[6 ]** Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God._ _**[7 ]** And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus”._ ## _**Caroline Camp**_ ## **PRAYER MINISTRY** In 2023 we continued meeting as the Prayer Ministry team on Friday afternoons. Particularly at the start of 2023 we had many clients coming to us for prayer ministry. Some from St Andrews and others from other churches, even from Sandwich. Overall, we did 22 prayer ministry sessions. The times that we did not have clients we either prayed for each other, or 7 _St Andrews AGM_ _19 March 2024_ we continued studying books relating to healing and prayer ministry. We completed “Healing Care, Healing Prayer, helping the broken find Wholeness in Christ” by Terry Wardle, and are now studying “Deep Wounds, Deep Healing” by Charles Kraft. The latter half of 2023 the appointments tailed off a bit, so if you do want to receive prayer ministry, do not hesitate to ask. You may say that you do not have serious issues, but Jesus wants to bless all his followers. We also bring our cars for a service or MOT for preventative maintenance. So, maybe you cannot put in words if there is anything you need prayer ministry for, but perhaps you have felt perhaps a bit more distant from the Lord, or the spark of your initial faith has gone a bit. Or we have become weary and tired from all our responsibilities at Church. Jesus said “Come to me, all who are weary and heavy burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matt 11:28). This is our aim with Prayer Ministry that we help people to come to Jesus and for him to give you true rest. I include below a description that comes from the Dunamis Fellowship of Britain and Ireland, whose model for prayer ministry we follow, about what happens in a typical prayer ministry session. If you are interested in becoming part of the team or if you are interested in receiving prayer ministry yourself, please contact me. We would like to have some more men on the team, as men often need as much prayer ministry as women do! ## _**Revd Bernard Fidder**_ ## ============================================================= ## **What happens during a prayer ministry session** The client arrives and is welcomed by the team (usually 3 people, but sometimes husband and wife). They enable you to feel at ease. The session begins and is wrapped in prayer as the whole session is kept under the leading of the Holy Spirit, with frequent pauses to check direction by the team. Often, the Lord has prepared the way, and there is a general understanding of the issues for prayer. It’s important to know that you can stop the session or pause, at any time and you are welcome to bring a friend to support you if desired. Of course, prayer ministry can involve facing painful and difficult issues and situations which can be challenging and emotional, but knowing that at all times one is surrounded by the acceptance, love and power of the Lord Jesus and our ministering brothers and sisters is enabling and comforting. One has to put trust in those ministering, as well as the Lord, that they are addressing what is necessary to find freedom. This may include a need for prayers of repentance, forgiveness, confession, thanks or blessing. You are helped to find the right words to pray when needed. There is much opportunity for the Holy Spirit to minister His love, mercy and healing, restoring power in this 'safe' place. When all sense that enough has been accomplished for that session, there are final prayers of sealing and completing. Each client is given advice about holding onto their healing as the enemy likes to steal and destroy it. It’s important to do all you can to keep every door shut to the enemy so he is unable to find easy access into your life. 8 _St Andrews AGM_ _19 March 2024_ Sessions are normally no more than a maximum of 2 hours. The prayer minister will usually contact you shortly after the ministry session to see if you are OK. Source: Dunamis Fellowship of Britain and Ireland (https://www.dunamis.org.uk/what-wedo/healing/) ## **LIFE GROUPS** This year the two Life Groups have continued. Val’s group meets in person in church on Tuesday afternoons and Bernard’s Life Group meets virtually on Zoom on Wednesday evenings. The meetings are based on the Bible reading of the preceding Sunday and I would like to take this opportunity to again thank Val for providing the questions for our Life Group meetings. Life Group meetings normally open with prayer and begin with an ice breaker – something more light hearted to try and get people talking. This is then followed by a worship song on U-Tube and the Bible reading is read out. The question sheet has usually been sent out in advance, so that participants have had time to think about the questions posed. A time of discussion takes place in response to the questions given. There is then a time of prayer for the concerns people raise and the meeting closes with the Grace. If you are not yet part of a Life Group and would like to join one, either on Tuesday afternoons in person or virtually on Zoom on Wednesday evenings, we shall be pleased to welcome you. ## _**Caroline Camp**_ ## **SONBEAMS TODDLER GROUP** Sonbeams is a mother and toddler group that meets on Thursday mornings in term time at St Andrew’s. We have been blessed by a few committed volunteers so that we are able to provide the right mix of service and activities to the mothers and children. There are of course not just mothers, but grandparents, fathers and carers who bring children - and children’s ages range from a few months to almost five. Feedback from adults is that they enjoy the refreshments for them at the start, the space and toys and snacks, the story time and singing at the end. Numbers recently have grown recently which may become an issue if numbers are too large. We may have to get a booking system app to limit numbers if new people keep on coming. Praise God we haven’t reached that point yet because then space and the level of attention given becomes an issue. Please continue to pray for Sonbeams and consider being able to spare some of your time on Thursday mornings. ## _**Dorothy Namata and Peter Hollander**_ 9 _St Andrews AGM_ _19 March 2024_ ## **LITTLEBOURNE CHAPEL** We continue to pray for growth. We thank the faithful few who come each week. The chapel is used by the Stay and Play toddlers group on Mondays and Pilates on Tuesdays. It has also been hired out (mostly on Saturdays) for children’s birthday parties. We’ve ploughed through the whole book of Acts in the last year and a half, and are now on a Lenten series, but after Easter we’ll have a new theme… yet to be decided! We have two faithful keyboard players and we thank those who are willing to preach on Sunday afternoons so that Peter and Jonathan can be relieved now and again. Our Tuesday village prayer time on Zoom is a blessing and thanks go to all who support the chapel with their prayers. ## _**Peter, Patricia and Jonathan Hollander**_ ## **NEW YEAR PRAYER** ## **RELEASING THE STREAMS** ## **MONDAY 1ST JANUARY 2024 GOD’S PROMISES** **Praise** : Give praise to the Lord, proclaim His name! Ps.105:1 How many names of God can you think of? With each name you recall, give praise to God for that part of His character and proclaim it. **Scriptures** Deuteronomy 8:7 and 11:10-12, 31-32 … the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land—a land with brooks, streams, and deep springs gushing out into the valleys and hills… For the land which you go to possess is not like the land of Egypt from which you have come, where you sowed your seed and watered it by foot, as a vegetable garden; but the land which you cross over to possess is a land of hills and valleys, which drinks water from the rain of heaven, a land for which the Lord your God cares; the eyes of the Lord your God are always on it, from the beginning of the year to the very end of the year. For you will cross over the Jordan and go in to possess the land which the Lord your God is giving you, and you will possess it and dwell in it. And you shall be careful to observe all the statutes and judgments which I set before you today. ## **Respond** 1.When God gives us a promise, He will bring it to pass. What promises have you been waiting on God to fulfil, either for yourself or your church? Bring to Him any sense of lost hope or disappointment that has arisen in the waiting. Lay down any assumptions of how God will bring it to pass or when it should come to pass. Ask for a renewal of the promise and for renewed hope to accompany it. Ask God what He is working out in you in preparation for receiving the promise. 2.There is a former thing, and now there is a new thing. For Israel, this involved a former land like a vegetable garden, small and contained, and the promise of a new land which was boundless rugged terrain. There is a former provision out of our own efforts and a new provision that comes from God. There is a former master and a new master. There is a former enclosed, restricted space and a new spacious place. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal any areas where you need to allow Him to provide for you. Bring to Him any areas of life where you feel constrained and in need of spaciousness. Pray Israel had to cross over into the newness that God had for them. We need to take that step from the old into the new. Pray for the Holy 10 _St Andrews AGM_ _19 March 2024_ Spirit to reveal to you / us the ways in which we need to take a step to leave a ‘former thing’ behind and step into newness. This is not about giving ourselves New Year Resolutions for self-improvement, but about asking God for His next steps for us. These are not condemning or a heavy burden, because they flow from His love and wisdom. **Activity** : As you listen to God, you might like to use the stepping stones to help you jot down what you hear God say. Prayer ministry is available if you would like to have the opportunity to seek God with the support of other believers. Please contact Bernard Fidder to arrange a time. 2.What God is showing me about the new thing: 3.God’s next steps for me: 1.Where I am now … The former things that God is showing me… ## **TUESDAY 2ND JANUARY 2024 REVERENCE** **Praise** Glory in His holy name. Ps.105:3 Spend one minute listing the things that frustrate you about human leadership (church / national / international). Then spend another minute giving glory to God for His holiness: set apart from all other created things in His perfect goodness, perfect justice, perfect mercy. Exult in who God is and exalt His holy name. **Scriptures** : Deuteronomy 8:6 and 10 Observe the commands of the Lord your God, walking in obedience to Him and revering Him. When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the Lord your God for the good land He has given you. **Respond** : God wants us to be satisfied as we live life with Him. He designed and created us; therefore, He knows exactly what is best for us. As we go to Him with all that we experience in life, He provides all that we need. God knows about our physical and material needs, but He also knows the spiritual needs that we can overlook. We read in Deuteronomy 8:3 that, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord.’ These words were quoted by Jesus when Satan was tempting Him to supernaturally provide Himself with food in Matthew 4:4. Satan will always try to get us to provide for our own needs and to try to do God’s part of making things happen because then we get overwhelmed, exhausted and lose the peace of simply doing what God calls us to do. As we seek God and His righteousness above all else, He will provide for our needs. (Matt.6:33) Pray Allow Him access to any places of bitterness, resentment, discontent, envy or anger so that you can be free of all things that drain you of energy and peace. Ask God to fill you with His presence and with His word, so that you can be spiritually satisfied in Him. ## **WEDNESDAY 3RD JANUARY 2024 OBEDIENCE** **Praise:** Sing to Him, sing praise to Him. Ps. 105:2 Spend some time singing your praises to God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Praise Him for who He is, for the salvation we have through Him and that He will come again to make all things new. **Scriptures:** Deuteronomy 8:6 and 11:13-15 Observe the commands of the Lord your God, walking in obedience to Him and revering Him. ‘And it shall be that if you earnestly obey My commandments which I command you today, to love the Lord your God and serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul, then I will give you the rain for your land in its season, the early rain and the latter rain, that you may gather in your grain, your new wine, and your oil. And I will send grass in your fields for your livestock, that you may eat and be filled.’ **Respond** : God desires us to have a threefold response to His commands to us: that we observe them, that we walk in obedience to Him and, as we do these things, we are to revere Him. 1.Observe. Observing is a process of closely watching and studying something; of keeping a record of what we observe so that we can refer back. We are to observe God’s commands: to closely study His ways, to record what we notice about them and to refer back to them. By observing something, we are showing by our behaviour that it is worth close study; that it is something of value to us that should not be lost. 11 _St Andrews AGM_ _19 March 2024_ 2.Walk in Obedience. We have a choice about how we ‘walk’ through our lives: to walk in obedience to God or to go our own path. I notice in the Bible that judges and kings are recorded as having walked rightly before the LORD or as having done evil in His sight. Choosing to obey or act rightly before God with our whole heart and soul is transformative for us. It has eternal significance when we position ourselves rightly before our Almighty God. 3.Revere Him. As we study God’s ways and choose to act rightly before Him, we are to honour God in worship and through our attitudes. We give Him reverence as we acknowledge that His ways bring us light and direction in life, that His ways are right and good, that His ways flow from His loving desire for us to stay in close relationship with Him because that is the safest place to be. 4.Receive from Him. Spend a moment to consider the importance of the rains to the people – how their water and food depended on rain at the right time. In direct response to their obedience, God promised the rains for the land at the right times. God promised the early and the latter rains, so that they would have the food they needed for themselves and their livestock. The people still needed to work the land, but the land itself would be blessed with good growing conditions. God’s desire is for us to “eat and be filled.” Obedience is part of this process of being filled and satisfied with the things of God. Pray Ask the Holy Spirit for a whole-hearted desire to follow God’s ways, in the knowledge that all life, joy and peace flow from Him. We might not consider rain a great blessing, but God promised essential growing conditions for the community as a response to obedience. Pray for individuals and our churches to be obedient in all things and so receive the rains of God’s blessing. **Activity** We have the expression of being a ‘glass half-filled or glass half-empty’ to describe whether we have an optimistic or negative approach to life. Do you feel that you are one or the other? If it changes, what factors affect your outlook on life? Take a glass as a symbol of your inner being. Bring to God the things that leave you feeling empty, dissatisfied, hopeless or depressed. For each thing, pray “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done” in all those areas. If it helps, write a list of those things and write the Scripture at the bottom – not so you can keep going over it and reactivate the negative feelings but as a means of saying that those things are now in God’s hands and being dealt with. Fill the glass at the tap and as you do so invite the Holy Spirit to fill you with all joy and peace in His presence. This might be something to repeat whenever you get a drink as a means of continually inviting God’s presence to fill you. ## **THURSDAY 4TH JANUARY 2024 REMEMBRANCE** **Praise** : Remember the wonders He has done… Ps. 105:5 Praise God for the wonders and miracles He has shown us … Perhaps in placing vast planets in precise orbit around the sun, in positioning Earth at the right distance from the sun so that we have the right conditions to live. Or praise God for the wonder of relationship: with Him, with friends and family. Make a list so you can remember all the reasons to praise Him! **Scriptures** : Deuteronomy 8:10-18 and Joshua 4:1-7. Be careful that you do not forget the Lord your God, failing to observe His commands, His laws and His decrees that I am giving you this day. Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, then your heart will become proud and you will forget the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. He led you through the vast and dreadful wilderness, that thirsty and waterless land, with its venomous snakes and scorpions. He brought you water out of hard rock. He gave you manna to eat in the wilderness, something your ancestors had never known, to humble and test you so that in the end it might go well with you. You may say to yourself, “My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.” But remember the Lord your God, for it is He who 12 _St Andrews AGM_ _19 March 2024_ gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms His covenant, which He swore to your ancestors, as it is today. *** And it came to pass, when all the people had completely crossed over the Jordan, that the Lord spoke to Joshua, saying: “Take for yourselves twelve men from the people, one man from every tribe, and command them, saying, ‘Take for yourselves twelve stones from here, out of the midst of the Jordan, from the place where the priests’ feet stood firm. You shall carry them over with you and leave them in the lodging place where you lodge tonight.’ ” Then Joshua called the twelve men whom he had appointed from the children of Israel, one man from every tribe; and Joshua said to them: “Cross over before the ark of the Lord your God into the midst of the Jordan, and each one of you take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel, that this may be a sign among you when your children ask in time to come, saying, ‘What do these stones mean to you?’ Then you shall answer them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord; when it crossed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. And these stones shall be for a memorial to the children of Israel forever.” Respond In the Old Testament, we often find passages that are all about the deliberate act of listing the things that God had done. For example, Psalm 104 is a detailed list of God’s act of creation and the way in which He was still active in the world. Psalm 106 recounts the time Israel spend in the wilderness after leaving Egypt. These acts of remembering reinforce key truths: 1.God’s awesomeness and majesty. 2.God’s intervention in our lives, bringing salvation, provision and blessing. 3.Our times of sinfulness which has led to painful separation from God, not to bring fresh condemnation but as a means of reminding us why we do not want to sin again. Take time to read Joshua 3 about how God enabled Israel to supernaturally cross the Jordan. Following this miracle, God told them to do something to help them remember: they were to stop and make a tangible memorial for three reasons. Firstly, so that it would activate the memories of those who witnessed the miracle for their own encouragement. Secondly, it was to activate testimony: when people saw the stones, they would be curious and ask, “what do these stones mean to you?” Thirdly, it was to activate humble thanksgiving in the people. God knew the human tendency to unjustly claim the credit and glory for themselves, thus becoming proud and hard-hearted. It was the people’s sin that kept them in the wilderness for so long; and God’s grace and glory alone brought them into the Promised Land. God did not lead them further into the land until they had built this place of remembrance. Pray It can be all too easy to remember moments of hurt, pain and shame in our lives at the expense of memories of joy and thanksgiving. Ask God for a heart that remembers and dwells in His goodness. Ask for this thankfulness to overflow, through making known His goodness and wondrous deeds. **Activity** : What would help you to remember and testify to God’s wonders? Perhaps draw stones and label each one with something God has done, or use an empty glass jar and put a glass pebble in for every act of God in your life. ## **FRIDAY 5TH JANUARY 2024 ASKING** **Praise** : The people asked, and He….satisfied them. Ps. 105:40 Spend a moment of quietness to remember the privilege that we have in being able to approach God at all, let alone to come before Him and ask for things. Praise Him for His desire to be in relationship with us, as our Father as well as Almighty God. **Scriptures:** Judges 1:14-15 and Deuteronomy 33:13 Now it happened, when she came to him, … she dismounted from her donkey, and Caleb said to her, “What do you wish?” So, she said to him, “Give me a blessing; since you have given me land in the South, give me also springs of water.” And Caleb gave her the upper springs and the lower springs. About Joseph he said: “May the Lord bless his land with the precious dew from heaven above and 13 _St Andrews AGM_ _19 March 2024_ with the deep waters that lie below… Respond In the passage from Judges, we find another story that is based around land. Caleb’s daughter had been given in marriage to Othniel, and land had been given to them. Achsah had not needed to ask for the land – it was freely given and they were able to live in it without trouble. In these verses, we find her recognising the need to own the place where the streams were located. We read this encounter between father and daughter. The daughter had a need and was confident in going to her father to ask for him to meet that need. The father recognised his position as provider for his family. Achsah was not demanding or stroppy in her request. She approached her father and asked him for a blessing: the blessing of springs of water. We may not have had a good relationship with our own fathers, but we can take this as a model for ourselves. When we have a need, we can approach our God with confidence and ask Him for a blessing. As we saw with God’s blessing on obedience, Achsah was seeking the blessing of water: of refreshing and life to the land, the people and the livestock. Caleb abundantly blessed her with the upper and lower springs. There is such a strong theme of God blessing His people through providing the water that is so vital: the brooks, streams and deep springs, the early and latter rains, the upper and lower springs, the precious dew from heaven above and the deep waters that lie below. Psalm 36:7-9 says; How precious is Your loving kindness, O God! Therefore, the children of men put their trust under the shadow of Your wings. They are abundantly satisfied with the fullness of Your house, And You give them drink from the river of Your pleasures. For with You is the fountain of life; In Your light we see light. Pray for a heart and soul that drink from the river of God’s pleasures and rejoices in the fountain of life. Spend some time before God in silence. Hear Him ask you, “What do you wish?” What response comes from your heart? ## **SATURDAY 6TH JANUARY 2024 SEEKING** **Praise:** He opened the rock, and water gushed out …Ps. 105:41 Give God praise, for nothing is impossible with Him! Read through all that God did for Israel in Psalm 105, remembering that God’s character does not change. He is still the keeper of His covenant and of His holy promises. Scripture Psalm 105:3-4 Let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice. Look to the Lord and His strength; seek His face always. **Respond** : It does not matter how long we have followed Jesus; we are still called to be those who seek after Him: in our decisions, in our relationships, in our attitudes. We seek Him so that we can become more like Him. We seek God because of who He is: unchanging, eternal, glorious. I originally wrote that seeking the Lord leads to rejoicing, but actually it can be a difficult process. We can feel that He has not listened to us or that He is not responding to our need. This verse is like a prayer: “Let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.” As we look to God, seeking His strength and His face, we can pray that our hearts will be released to rejoice in Him. As we seek God, we can rejoice that we do not bear our circumstances alone – He is with us, in us, strengthening us from the inside out. Out of all the attributes of God mentioned in this verse, it specifically talks of God’s strength. We are to look to Him when we need someone to lean on, someone to take the weight off us, someone to steady us and take the lead. Why should we seek God’s face? The image of God’s face being turned towards someone was used as a metaphor of God’s presence and blessing upon someone. In Psalm 80, the people were seeking restoration with God and we see this refrain used three times: ‘Restore us, Lord God Almighty; make your face shine on us, that we may be saved.’ (Psalm 80:3,7 and 19) When we seek His face, we seek that closeness and interaction with Him personally. When we are face to face with Him, He can put His hands upon our heads and give us Father’s blessing. God’s people were led into the desert, into a place without any drinking water. They did not look at the rocks and think, Praise God! Rock did not provide fresh water. Yet, God the Rock did provide fresh water. With His abundant provision, water didn’t trickle out – it gushed out. They did not have to ration this water, but each could 14 _St Andrews AGM_ _19 March 2024_ quench their thirst. As we read in Psalm 44:3, ‘It was not by their sword that they won the land, nor did their arm bring them victory; it was Your right hand, Your arm, and the light of Your face, for You loved them.’ Ps. 44:3 Pray Are there circumstances in your life or church where you only see dryness and rocks? Ask God to open the rock and bring fresh water of life to revive and restore. Give thanks for God’s love, His right hand, His arm and the light of His face, which bring us victory. ## **SUNDAY 7TH JANUARY 2024 RESPONDING** **Praise** : He brought out His people with joy... Ps. 105:43 God has brought us out of spiritual blindness, spiritual darkness, spiritual slavery and into the light of His presence. Give thanks for all that He has done to bring you freedom, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Give thanks that we are now His precious adopted ones, His heirs. Scriptures Ephesians 3:7-11 I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God’s grace given me through the working of His power. Although I am less than the least of all the Lord’s people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the boundless riches of Christ… His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, according to His eternal purpose that He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord. **Respond** : Paul served the Lord with his whole heart and soul. He served by the gift of God’s grace and through the working of His power. Through God’s grace, Paul was called to tell the Gentiles about the never-ending riches of Christ and how to live life with Him. This was a total transformation from how Paul had served God in his early life. Encountering Jesus had completely undone Saul, minister of judgement, and rebuilt him as Paul, minister of grace filled righteousness. Paul recognised his calling was to preach the Gospel and to teach righteous living, so that all believers would run the race of faith to the very end. He wanted them to know that what was coming in eternity with God was worth any amount of enduring and suffering on Earth. Paul served, suffered and endured through the grace of God for the joy set before him in Christ. In the light of that, we read his prayer for the believers of Ephesus in verses 16-19 which concludes with the prayer that they would be ‘filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.’ It is being filled to the brim, to overflowing, with the things of God that enable us to run the race to the end: living righteously, preaching Jesus, teaching His ways and declaring the word of God into the spiritual world around us. It is all too easy to find that we are living life without the fullness of God. It is only when we find that we are burned out and frustrated that we realise that we have been acting in our own strength. We live in a fallen world, so mankind’s default position now is to do things by ourselves. God designed us to function in His fullness, so we need to keep going back to Him to be filled with His presence and strength. Pray In Him and through faith in Him we may approach God with freedom and confidence. (Eph. 3:12) And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!” Therefore, you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ. (Galatians 4:6-7) As you remember all that Jesus won for us through the Cross, wait before God with open hands. Remember that He paid for your sins… that He restored your relationship with God the Father …that you can approach God’s throne at any time, about anything…that He has given you abundant grace… In that place of remembering, ask God to give you a fresh revelation of what it is to be His child, His heir. Hold your hands open before Him and ask for His blessing upon you. Wait to see what His gift to you is. Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. Ephesians 3:20-21 ## _**Alice Wilson-Sharp**_ 15 _St Andrews AGM_ _19 March 2024_ ## _**Releasing the Streams Feedback**_ **TUESDAY 2 JANUARY** Unexpected flowering / blooming – the stems that Mark had spray-painted for the Christmas flower arrangements had buds on them and one stem was flowering, which was to us a sign of unexpected new life. Cf. Aaron’s staff budding as a confirmation of spiritual appointment and authority. Psalm 33 given. Verse 3 sing a new song of praise; v18 Fear Him; v20 Wait for Him; v21 Rejoice in Him; trust in Him. A reminder of King James’ sermon on Sunday: Desire More; don’t settle for less. To know Jesus more; to have more of the Holy Spirit’s power and direction; to have more influence on others and on society. Amongst songs of praise, we stood and sang Light has Dawned as a declaration and placing of God’s standard in St. Andrew’s and in the city. **THURSDAY 4 JANUARY** Time to recall and give thanks for God’s goodness in the site we were given in Canterbury and the blessings of the building we were given. The original vision is not yet fulfilled: a seven-day ministry facility. Facility has two meanings: a place, amenity, or piece of equipment provided for a particular purpose. a natural ability to do or learn something well and easily. Prayed for an ease in what we do for Christ in our facility this year. About the Gospel: “The truth is like a lion- we don’t have to defend it, just let it loose and it will defend itself.” Picture of a lighthouse on the church site, rising high into the sky. • The granite blocks used to build rock lighthouses need to be dovetailed together otherwise they are not strong enough to withstand the storms. Prayed for God’s gift of strong relationships between us. • Lighthouse keeper role: to keep the light lit and to be watchmen. Our role in Canterbury is the same – to keep the light of Christ shining brightly and to be spiritual watchmen, alert to what is going on and responding to that. • Each lighthouse has a unique light pattern / signal so that it can be identified. Tower of Refuge in the Isle of Man – positioned so that seafarers could find a place of refuge in the storm. **FRIDAY 5 JANUARY** : Prayer-Walking As we gathered in Oasis, we spotted a van parked across the road with the company name across the back doors; A lamp-post partly obscured the view, but it seemed to be: DIVINE LIGHT. Prayed around each room, around the outside of the building and our area. Feedback: • Angels stationed at each of the Worship Area doors • A jigsaw picture in the Childrens Work Office. Each jigsaw piece had the name of a church member on it. They fitted together (see dove-tailed stones of lighthouse, above) but one or two were peeling off. Rom. 12 v 10 • In the Long Thin Room, a Lost Sheep banner. • Suggestion of having a mural painted on the outside wall facing the car park. • Suggestion of having LED light illuminating the wall above the stage. Ransomed, Healed, Restored, Forgiven, the cross and the name of Jesus, would then show up for anyone looking in. ## _**Alice Wilson-Sharp & Christine Wilson-Sharp**_ ## **OASIS CAFÉ** On Tuesday 9th January 2024, almost exactly four years after it was first discussed, and agreed in principle, a shiny new chiller cabinet was delivered to Oasis Cafe. Its arrival caused a certain amount of disruption, meaning that we had to close our doors to the public some two hours after welcoming our customers back after our two week closure over Christmas, but with the components of the cabinet spread across the tables we had little choice! The total lack of instructions was an additional complication, but with the aid of a 16 _St Andrews AGM_ _19 March 2024_ picture of the finished article kindly provided by Mr. Google, the combined genius of Peter Hollander and Linda Baldwin (and a little help from various other members of staff) the unit was finally assembled and ready for service the following day. We are all delighted with our new addition which is more spacious and a lot quieter than its predecessor and are very grateful to the church for sanctioning the purchase. Business has continued to flourish over the past year, and we are busier than ever, welcoming as many new customers as ‘regulars’, all of whom seem to appreciate the relaxed atmosphere as well as the good food that Oasis delivers. We have made some small adjustments to our menu, including some price increases, necessitated by the rising prices at the wholesalers and in the shops, but we have kept these as low as possible, aiming as always to give value for money and enable our customers to enjoy the experience of eating out without breaking the bank. We have again supported students from Canterbury College, by offering work experience placements, welcoming Ridwan, Stuart and Toby. In turn we are well supported by the college, with groups of students and their tutors coming in regularly two or three days most weeks. The Garden Room is a popular choice for various small groups, who appreciate the smaller, quieter space in which to hold a meeting over coffee, or lunch. We are happy to accommodate students who attend Bemix two or three times a year when their regular venue is unavailable, and they always enjoy their time at Oasis. There have been some changes to staffing over the year, and we were sorry to say ‘goodbye’ to Pat White at Christmas. Pat has been involved with the cafe at St. Andrew’s ever since it was run on a much smaller scale operating from the old church across the road and continued to work at Oasis after moving to Herne Bay. However, Pat felt it was time to retire, and we are so grateful to her for all her loyal service over many years. New recruits Susan, Valentina and Julie have ensured that we can keep going and remain open four days a week. We are grateful to the wider church for their support and ask for continued prayer for all the staff and customers, that we may be both blessed and a blessing. ## **Oasis Café Finance 2023** Oasis made a profit of £14,219.56 of which £10,124.95 was via card sales, all of which has gone into church funds. During 2023 Oasis also raised £164.33 for MacMillan via a cake sale and £37.36 for the Royal British Legion via the Poppy Appeal. We also have a ‘post card box’ for used postcards which Mission Aviation Fellowship collect to raise funds. Our book cupboard in the garden room for donations of books, swapping of books and borrowing of books takes donations for the Samaritans. We also have Bibles which are free for anyone to take [on a stand in the café]. Thanks to all of you who have donated bibles. Many people have taken a Bible. Please pray that every Bible that leaves the building is a blessing to the recipient. All donations put in the box attached to the stand will be used to purchase more Bibles so that we can keep giving them away. ## _**Sue Wenham and Patricia Hollander**_ 17 _St Andrews AGM_ _19 March 2024_ ## **MEN’S SOCIAL GROUP** We enjoyed an Easter themed evening on 31[st] March 2023 but, apart from our regular monthly bible study led by Jonathan, we did not meet again until the Church Garden barbeque on Sat 22[nd] July. As usual the men cooked for the ladies, but due to the inclement weather we all had to eat in the Garden Room. However, our enthusiasm was not dampened and was enjoyed by all. After the summer holiday break, we restarted at the end of September by visiting our display in the chapel as part of the Littlebourne Flower Festival over that weekend. The festival theme was God’s creation and Mark had put together a display depicting the “Night Sky” and a second one showing “The Garden of Eden”. Afterwards we repaired to the Evenhill for a social drink. In October we had a film night in the Sanctuary showing the “Bank of Dave” which was an interesting and challenging film about how a Burnley entrepreneur took on the banks in establishing a successful local peoples Credit Union in the face of intense opposition from the Banks’ industry association and scepticism from the Bank of England and the FCA. It gave everyone a lot to think about and was entertaining as well. Then we had the always popular take away Chinese meal in November, and another enjoyable indoor board games night in December after Christmas. In January we enjoyed a joint Bible Quiz evening together with Favour House Church and St Vincents from Littlebourne. Against all the odds the Anglican team triumphed! Mark compiled the questions and adjudicated and Caroline kept the scores. On Shrove Tuesday Feb 13[th] the men organised a Pizza and Pancakes evening meal for the Ladies and visitors from Favour House Church. Peter and Jonathan cooked the pancakes from scratch and they were delicious with a good variety of toppings provided. An excellent evening of fellowship and fun with a full tum. Finally, we entered a Men’s Team in the Dane John Residents Quiz Night on Friday 23[rd] Feb but could not repeat the winning result of the previous year; the Oasis Café Woman’s team finished in front of us! Going forward we have a Korean themed meal evening on the 22nd March, a Sea Shanty Singing evening in Herne Bay in April, a gentle evening ramble and meal at Duke William pub Ickham in May, a ramble through Blean Woods at the end of June and finally our usual barbeque in July, weather permitting. The regular Bible studies will also run throughout this time thanks to Jonathan and we would also like to congratulate Jonathan on his engagement and forthcoming marriage to Chelsea and I am sure that we will drink a toast to him at the Duke William Ickham. We will then restart in September/October with the 2024/25 programme tba. ## _**Mark Camp and Malcolm McIntyre**_ 18 _St Andrews AGM_ _19 March 2024_ ## **CANTERBURY STREET PASTORS** Canterbury Street Pastors remains an award-winning ministry that helps people in the night time economy and is part of the Safer streets project, Community Safety Partnership, and the Purple Flag Scheme. We have been recognised by the Best Bar None Scheme that monitors the safety aspects of venues, wellbeing and zero tolerance training, amongst other things. We have been awarded for 'The outstanding contribution to the night time economy'. The purple Flag is a national accreditation scheme to assess cities and towns across the country for their safety and policy procedures, based on resident feedback and adjudicated by independent judges. Canterbury has now been awarded the Purple Flag Award, 12 consecutive years in a row. (the only city in the country to do so!) Canterbury continues to be on the leading edge of its safety in the city schemes. and Canterbury Street Pastors continue to be amid this. It is no coincidence that Canterbury Street Pastors are in its 12th year of operating; keeping the peace in the city and Christ at the forefront of what we do! ## **Engagement Officer – Helen Jones** The appointment of an engagement officer made up the largest spend from the SSF4 grant to Canterbury Street Pastors. The new role has enabled street pastors to increase the awareness of their ministry in the city, to recruit new volunteers and to raise the funds needed to make street pastors’ operations sustainable. _Helen has now moved on to be an assistant Chaplin at the Living well Retreat Centre in Nonnington. She has also now been commissioned as a Street Pastor for us too._ ## **Church and Community Visits** Our engagement officer, along with the coordinator, has spoken to congregations and had meetings with the following churches – Trinity Baptist Church, Canterbury Baptist Church, Thanington Church, City Church, Barton Church, and the Dean at Canterbury Cathedral. They have also presented to the Canterbury Rotary Club and met with local businesses such as Asda, Burgess Hodgson, Furley Page and Handelsbanken. Canterbury Street Pastors have been active in supporting the community hubs with the other SSF4 partners and attended student support events, such as freshers’ fayres for the universities. The church visits and meetings with businesses have been crucial to the process of recruiting new volunteers and raising the profile of street pastors’ ministry. A mixture of church and business visits have proved a successful way of raising funds, as well as applying for grants to local trust funds. The funds raised exceed the target set by the trustees of Canterbury Street Pastors in December 2022 and will fund the salary of the coordinator to the end of 2024, cover the cost of supplies and training for the year, and potentially provide funding for some hours for a second member of staff. Therefore, the appointment of an engagement officer has been positive for Canterbury Street Pastors’ in achieving their objectives, which could not have been reached without the funding from SSF4. 19 _St Andrews AGM_ _19 March 2024_ **Operations** _For 2023_ Patrol hours – 1,181 Number of patrols – 60 Flip-flops handed out – 119 Bottles of water handed out – 359 Glass picked up – 335 Plastic ponchos and foil blankets handed out – 60 Lollies handed out – 6-7kg Encounters with people – 378 (This includes helping vulnerable people make their way home, attending call outs to bars and pubs, first aid help and helping rough sleepers, talking to those who need a listening ear). ## **Recent events** We have just commissioned 4 New Street Pastors along with 3 from the Whitstable team. With Visits from the Lord and Lady Mayoress of Canterbury, PS J Woodward from Kent Police and Bejoy Pal CEO, from the Ascension Trust (The umbrella body for Street Pastors) a great night was had by all. Thank you for your Continued Support for Canterbury Street Pastors, our door is always open if you would like to know more or join the prayer support. ## _**Andrew Pantling Coordinator for Canterbury Street Pastors.**_ ## **GLOBAL CAFÉ (FRIENDS INTERNATIONAL)** As a church we support the work of Friends International, who work among the international student community in Canterbury, by hosting a Global café on our premises every Saturday night. Every Saturday during Global Café we offer drinks and snacks for students, and we also offer board games, table tennis, pool and badminton. It has been fantastic to see the café flourish this year and we regularly get about 40-50 international students, asylum seekers and international professionals visiting every Saturday. Each evening has a theme - for example a Malaysian night, Pancake night, table tennis tournament just to name a few. At the end of the evening, we would read a Bible passage and have a short discussion around the tables on the theme of the passage. All the events we run during the week like basketball, English club, cafe and walks help us build relationships and to invite students to our weekly meal and a Bible study where they can learn more about Jesus. This year we have seen many Japanese, Chinese and Indian students hear the gospel for the first time. We have seen many students visiting local churches and Christian Union events. We have seen students from India, Iran, China, Japan, Latvia, Netherlands, Costa Rica, Myanmar, South Korea, Spain, Thailand and many other places. Thank you for your support and for providing such a fantastic venue for us! If you have any questions or if you would like to volunteer at one of our events or support the international 20 _St Andrews AGM_ _19 March 2024_ student ministry by prayer or by hosting students for a meal, please, contact our staff worker Baiba.Strause-Kalmere@friendsinternational.uk **Thanksgiving:** We thank God for good partnership with churches and Christian Unions and the university Missions week that happened last week. Pray that the seeds sown will bear fruit in due course. ## **Please pray for:** • Recruitment of a New Staff worker. Matt Archer who has been working with us for last 5 years and focussed on reaching male students - he will be moving on to work in the mission overseas. Do pray for our team and for recruitment of a new staff worker. - Recruitment of interns for Reach discipleship year - Pray for our weekly events and especially weekly evangelistic Bible study called "Open House" • Planning for annual Canterbury Summer International Outreach based at SMB premises - from 1st-7th July 2024! We are currently recruiting local volunteers who could provide B & B for week for outreach team members, people to bake cakes, lend bikes or sponsor a team member. ## **Baiba Strause-Kalmere** Centre Team Leader, Canterbury Mobile:07999556555 Friends International - registered charity 10 21 _St Andrews AGM_ _19 March 2024_ ## **CANTERBURY CHINESE CHRISTIAN CHURCH(CCCC)** “ _Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age." (Matt. 28:19-20 ESV)._ ” We thank God for leading and guiding us throughout the past year. Frank and Amy were appointed by COCM to serve as our pastors, and Grace Liu continues to lead as our senior pastor. ## _**Sunday worship**_ Typically, during Sunday services, we utilize YouTube for the worship segment. Over the past year, we aimed to involve the youth in our church in this aspect, allowing them to showcase their musical talents by playing piano and violin. We attempted this initiative once during the evangelical Sunday service for the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival, with the goal of integrating the youth into our worship team. ## _**Children Ministry**_ Over the past year, the attendance of children in Sunday school has remained steady, with a noticeable increase during major festivals such as Christmas and the Chinese New Year. We are in need of more volunteers to join our teaching team. Thanks to God's provision, starting in 2024, COCM has assigned an associate staff member, Xiangyu, a children's minister. She will assist in training our teachers to better serve these children. ## _**Family ministry**_ We've identified certain challenges within some families, including conflicts between couples, navigating child-rearing, and supporting youth through their difficult developmental stages. In the past year, we organized three lectures to address these issues: one featured a couple's testimony on how their family was transformed by God, another focused on insights into children's ministry, and the third provided guidance on handling teenagers. Moving forward, we aim to offer more such sessions and courses to provide comprehensive support for families. May God grant us wisdom to assist those families in managing their households. ## _**Discipleship ministry**_ This year, we initiated our online adult Sunday school program. The first course, 'Basic Christian Theology,' covered fundamental concepts of Christianity, such as God, sin, Jesus, salvation, the Holy Spirit, and church life. The course ran from October 8th to December 3rd, 2023. In 2024, we've scheduled three courses throughout the year: 'Introduction to the Old Testament' (February 5th to April 1st, 2024), 'Development History of the Chinese Church' (May 6th to June 24th, 2024), and another session of 'Introduction to the New Testament' (September 16th to November 11th, 2024). Our goal is to ensure that our church members are well-equipped with a diverse range of knowledge related to their faith. ## _**Outreach events**_ Throughout the past year, we've arranged four evangelical events: Easter Sunday service, the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival, Christmas, and the Chinese New Year. The average attendance for these gatherings was approximately 100 people, encompassing both adults and children. We are grateful to God for His mercy and grace, as we've been able to connect with newcomers, including Chinese immigrants from Hong Kong. Some have already expressed their 22 _St Andrews AGM_ _19 March 2024_ commitment to joining our Sunday service and fellowship. We pray that God will provide us with co-workers who can speak Cantonese to better serve these new immigrants. Chinese New Year gathering. ## _**Visa student Ministry**_ In July 2023, all of our previous students graduated, except for two co-workers who remained in the city for work. In September, we began rebuilding our fellowship. We entered the school and invited new students to join our welcome events. We give thanks and glory to God for inspiring more sisters to prepare food before the fellowship starts. Currently, we have more than ten students regularly attending our fellowship. Frank and Amy lead the group on a weekly basis. ## _**Baptism in May**_ In May 2023, five brothers and sisters were baptized into Jesus Christ. May God guide them to remain steadfast in their faith. 23 _St Andrews AGM_ _19 March 2024_ ## _**Grace Liu**_ COCM missionaries ministering in CCCC 24 _St Andrews AGM_ _19 March 2024_ ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## |Balance Sheet at 31ST December 2023|Balance Sheet at 31ST December 2023|||||| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| |Note Balance sheet||Balance Sheet||Balance sheet|Balance sheet|Balance Sheet| ||At 31 st December 2023|At 31st December 2022||At 31st December 2021 \`\|At 31st December 2020|At_31stDe_ce_pps_I_2_0__19| |BALANCE SHEET||Jah+||||| |||EEi||||| |Cash at Bank|78,254||61,966|45,433|51,003|63,622| |Cash in Hand Oasis Float|250||250|250|250|250| |Investments held by southern synod Epworth investment Trusts|16,249||15,682|19,011|17,780|16,371| |Creditors and Accrued charges|6 (3,107)||(2,788)|(1,929)|(795)|(1,679)| |Rent Deposit received £500 Held by Tenancy Deposit scheme|(500)||(500)|(500)|(500)|| |Debtors & Prepayments|9'791||16,059|5,776|13,849|8,823| |Total Assets|£ --=-!=9-9:--9j=E==|£ --:i_-==-:_-?=9=,_-9:-=9==||£ :=====¥¥|£ ===ffiE|£ =-==`=9=g±=?=q±| |Represented by||||||| |General Fund brought forward|74,987||49,030|||70,302| |Transfer (to) / from Specific Funds - Littlebourne 4 Villages Sponsrship||||||| |Surplus / (Deficit) for period
General Fund carried forward
Funds held by Southern Province|9'701
£ ====--i.----!-!=!=-i--! =--=-
£ --,'_'_ _1_e_I_2,!_9-|25,957
£ ====Zi--!=!-=9=!-E=-
£ _,_i_ ___1!_,9_!_2_-_||£-£-
£- £L-||715
£ ====7=1:-±?=]=±_:-=
£ _ __ `__19.A,-_3_?1-_-| |Total Funds|£ ____.==._ _ _1_QQli=¥_.|£|90,670|£ =_______e=!_±g_±±____|£ 81,587|£ i_==-!-Z±!_9_±=| ## ## |Registered Charity no 1178344|Income|and|EXDenditure Account|for the year end|ed|31st December 2023|||| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| |||Note|Results for the year||Budget projection Results for the year|||Results for the year|Year ended| ||||ended 31st December 2023|||Year2023 ended 31st December||2022 ended 31st December202131 Dec2020|| |INCOME||||Variance|||||| |Freewill Offerings|||61,019|||55,000|57,550|57,659|54,845| |Covenant/Gift Aid Tax Recovery -due|||10,031|||11,00qr|13,517|1,0,645|10,760| |Hall & Premises Lettings (incl Flat £6600 & L'brne £891||)|24,842||||25,093|15,504|9,551| |Oasis cafe Receipts|Note|2|23,553||||20,066|1 1,175|8,561| |Littlebourne Offerings|||2,121|||1, 500|1,570|830|0| |OtherReceipts see below|||1,269|269||1 , 000|1,014|3,035|246| |Insurance claim -loss of rental and cafe income 2020-2021||||0|||26,715|0|3,278| |Grants due from URC|Note|2|7,420|3,420||4,000|9,193|11,820|7,250| |Capital Reserve Account & URC Interest|||1,363|1,213||150|144|18|49| |Donations for Specific purposes|Note|2|6,834|||6,000|9,478|8,740|_.____I.._.__I_-___4£16| |Total Income|||£ 138,452 a|14,802|£|123,650|£__1±-?=,=3=!-1==|119,428|99,157| ||||||||0||| |EXPENDITURE|||||||0||| |Ministry and Mission||||||41,076|41,076|41,076|41,076| |Ministerial & Preaching Expenses||||||3,000|2,972|3,084|2,091| |Welfare Fund -||||||1,000|485|830|0| |Church Cleaning|||4,344|(344)||4,000|3,925|2,118|1 , 842| |Electricity Gas & Water|||12,274|2,726||15,000|12,377|11,046|6,992| |Administration and Office Expenses|||13,380|620||14,000|13,143|13,877|10,972| |Church Insurance|||6,514|686||7,200|7,200|5,775|5,450| |Furniture & Fittings - water heater&chiller cabinet|||5,325|(3,325)||2,000|17,229|480|615| |Man§e Expenses - Council Tax, water & repairs||3|10,575|(3,575)||7,000|4,976|6,810|6,236| |Payments To Christian Workers|||4,200|0||4,200|4,200|4,200|4,200| |Courses, Teaching Aids & CCL Licence|||760|240||1,000|929|818|758| |Catering Supplies|||645|55||700|682|92|190| |Church Repairs|Note|3|5,986|14|||6,617|18,950|5,289| |Children'§ & Youth Work|||408|93|||684|706|956| |Oasis cafe payments -stock & card charges|Note|2|10,197|( 1,197)|||9,075|5,287|4,910| |Other (Bank charges, Scone sch etc)|||1,184|(184)|||968|879|889| |Donations -specific -see above donations|Note|2|6,834|(834)|||9,478|8,740|4,641| |Youth and Family Worker||||0|||2,369|9,437|9,260| |Total Expenses|||£ 128,751 £|±ee75i £ =_=_.==:___==_=±¥=±9_.z.=e=f_ I_|||£
138,383|£ _===±3=!__I_2_9=E__ _____|106,367
.-._T~_=n-,TT--.T=[==jj=J_TL==| |Surplus / (Deficit) of Income
over Expenditure (Normal Transactions)|||9'701 £|8,727|£||£ - £|(14,777)|-| |Transfer from Littlebourne Fund||||||||1,273|(1,273)| |Surplus / (Deficit) of Income
over Expenditure (after transfers from L'brne Fund)|||||||£ Lril-|£ (13,5o4)|-| ||||||||£ _ ___ (75P)||| ## ## ## ||||||Actual|Actual|Actual| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| |||Budget Projection|Results for|Results for|Results for|Results for|Results for| |||2024|Year ended|Year ended|Year ended|Year ended|Year ended| |lNCOME|||31 /12/20223|31/12/2022|31 /12/2021|31/12/2020|31 /12/2019| |Freewill Offerings||55'000|61,019|57,550|57,659|54,845|57,884| |CovenantlGift Aid Tax Recovery||10,000|10'031 1^|13,517|10,64`5|10,760|13,003| |Hall & Premises Lettings (Flat £7,200 p.a.)||25,000|24,842 ?.|25,093|15,504|9,551|24,197| |Oasis Cafe Receipts||24,000|23,553|20,066|11,175|8,561|22,638| |Littlebourne Receipts||2,000|2,121|1,570|830||| |Other Receipts -specific gifts/interest received/other income||1 ,000|1 ,269|1,014|3,035|246|1 ,242| |Insurance claim -loss of rental and cafe|income 2020-2021|||26,715||3,278|| |Grants from URC -||16'000||9,193||7.250|14,822| |Capital Reserve Account Interest||1'000||144||49|124| |Donations for Specific purposes||6,000||9,478||4,616|2,639| |Total Income||£ 140,000|138z452|164,341|119,428|99,157|| |EXPENDITURE|||||||| |Ministry and Mission||||||41,076|| |Ministerial Expenses||||||2,091|| |Welfare of church members|||||||| |Church cleaning||||||1 ,842|| |Electricity Gas & Water||||||6,992|| |Administration and Office Expenses||||||10,972|| |Church Insurance||||||5,450|| |Furniture & Fittings -|Garden Room £16740|||||615|| |Mange Expenses||||||6,236|| |Payments To Christian Workers||||||4,200|| |Courses and Teaching Aids||||||758|| |Catering Supplies||||||190|| |Church Repairs||||||5,289|| |Children's & Youth Work||||||956|| |Oasis Cafe Payments||||||4,910|| |Other||||||889|| |Donations||||||4,641|| |Youth and Family Workers & Expenses||||||9,260|| |Scone School|||||||| |Total Expenses||£ 145E470||138,383|.______ 134,2q§_ _|106]367|| |Surplus / (Defieit) of Income|||||||| |over Expenditure (Normal Transactions)||£ i_____.i_._._I__ _ (?,_47P)_|||(14,7771|._______ (7,_2_1Q_)__|| |Littleboume 4 Villages Sponsorship|||||1'273|(1,273)|| |Net Surplus / {Deficit)||15!4791_.||_________ 25z957|____I______tl3±5_Q_4||I_________I___ __ _(8 ,4§3)|715| 5 T> C £c