## Christ Church Annaclone Annual General Vestry Report 8[th] April 2024 

Our focus this past year has continued to be three specific areas of building that I believe God wants us to give attention to as a church family: building our faith, building our church family and building our finances. Together we have worked hard on these: 

1. God has been building faith in our church family through worship services on Sundays, the SOMA Mission week, Prayer Walk, Connect Group, September Mission event, Good Friday focus and various Bible reading resources. Our musicians Noleen and Tracey, our choir and music group, Rita our lay reader, Ronnie our licenced preacher, guest preachers, Ethan on audiovisuals, Stu our deacon intern and ordinand Kyle all played significant roles in building faith, but there is more to do. We will build faith through the Down and Dromore GROW events 1219[th] May. We will build our children’s ministry by employing a part-time Youth and Children’s Worker to begin a Sunday School. Helping people live well with Jesus at the centre of their lives is at the heart of building faith, this is what we will focus on, to see our church family grow in faith and develop as followers of the Lord Jesus. 

2. Father God has built our church family through our Big Breakfast, Coronation fish and chip van, Daffodil Tea, Ladies Guild Day out, Day trip to Newcastle, Pizza, Police and Prayer lunch, Table Sale and after church tea/coffee times. These initiatives have helped nurture friendships within our church family and across our two churches. Plans are in place for an after-church salad lunch following our wellbeing Sunday service which will focus on Spiritual, physical and mental wellbeing in June. Our events are aimed at encouraging, supporting and providing a place of safety where strong relationships and friendships, within and across age groups, can be fostered and built. It has been my privilege to come alongside people facing significant life challenges, supporting the bereaved with a ‘living with loss’ course, walking with those facing physical and mental health challenges, as 

1 



well as those facing death. Looking to the future, we need to build our church family numerically by planting a new church family within our existing one. We will introduce a new Country Gospel service in the evening to attract country music lovers who are not attending church anywhere else and will settle within our new church family. 

3. God has blessed our finances through generous giving by our church family and our gift aid claims, we are also grateful for legacies. Our beautiful church building has been repainted; we still need to tackle a leak around the bell and damp at the East wall. Our Coffee Day, Table Sale, harvest gifts, Easter draw, Hats and Craft stalls raise substantial funds for the church and for charity. We have generously supported Water Drops, Air Ambulance, Cancer Focus, and the Heart Failure Warriors charity. We plan to apply for funding for a defibrillator through the British Heart Foundation. Despite giving away ten percent of our income, our finances remain healthy. Annaclone is a warm, welcoming church family; a happy place for new people to easily fit into. Our church wardens Sharon and Davey and each church member have played an important role in this. 

Members of the select vestry have worked hard this year. Bertie and Alan on furnishings, fabric, health and safety. Margaret on finances. Sharon on communication. Fiona and the safeguarding panel and others on vestry put in many hours behind the scenes. My sincere thanks to our leadership team. 

Revd Karen Salmon 

## Magherally and Annaclone Parishes 

1