It may come as a surprise to hear that the March Synod this year was held at St Jude’s, Walsall! Or maybe not… It was nice to have a lie-in and still get there early.
I arrived in time to help finish setting everything out and welcome our visitors. Then, after dishing out portions of lasagne I got to sit down to my own plate. Yummie! It was a really nice start to the day.
I arrived in time to help finish setting everything out and welcome our visitors. Then, after dishing out portions of lasagne I got to sit down to my own plate. Yummie! It was a really nice start to the day.
As a nice change, our meeting got underway with the trainee Readers leading the Family Service. It was nice hearing ‘Dear Lord and Father of Mankind’ sung in a nearly full church. The business part started with Paul welcoming us to Synod. A few apologies were received and then the declaration of attendance – 23 lay and 8 clergy.
Next Dad gave a brief report on the Clergy Benevolent Fund, after stealing a moment to welcome everyone to St Jude’s. Basically, it wouldn’t give much of a pension and he wanted to meet with the pension people, if they could work out the paperwork. More work was needed.
We moved on to discuss preparation for the 150th Anniversary next year. John said that after looking for a venue for almost a year, he had finally come up with the Birmingham Botanical Gardens. It was a good place to start and between us we could arrange a really good day out. It would need Convocation to formally appoint a committee to arrange everything.
After a brief mention of the Charity registration needing to be completed by May, we moved onto the Bishop’s report. There were many topics mentioned (too many for this brief report), in slightly more detail than Paul’s report at our Annual meeting. What stood out for me was meeting again with our friends from the REC, both in America and Europe. I look forward to seeing where our proposed work in Europe leads!
We then turned to the finances. Not surprisingly, after our ‘Jubilee’ year last year (did Colin get that in too early?), the funds were slightly lower. The accounts were accepted and we then moved to setting the quota. There was some discussion on this subject, as Colin was trying to make the quota fair, based on the members of each church. It was agreed that the quota would be a base rate of £110, plus £4 per person.
Following a brief report on the Stipend Fund, we moved onto electing officers. No surprises there, as for the most part we elected the same people as last year. Paul is once again Diocesan Bishop and there was a little excitement when electing a clergy council member as the first vote ended in a draw!
It was then time to hear what had been happening in each of our churches. It’s nice to hear what other people are getting up to. We met the new minister for Exmouth and it look like he’ll fit in nicely. There was also good news from Harlesdon, as after fearing they would have to close by Christmas due to a lack of finances, they received a bequest and were able to raise almost the same amount in addition. Things are picking up!
Any other business and the date of the next meeting meant that we had come to the end of this meeting. We then went back to the hall for a well-deserved cup of tea and some sandwiches, some of which we were able to put into doggy bags to keep us going on the long journey home.
Next Dad gave a brief report on the Clergy Benevolent Fund, after stealing a moment to welcome everyone to St Jude’s. Basically, it wouldn’t give much of a pension and he wanted to meet with the pension people, if they could work out the paperwork. More work was needed.
We moved on to discuss preparation for the 150th Anniversary next year. John said that after looking for a venue for almost a year, he had finally come up with the Birmingham Botanical Gardens. It was a good place to start and between us we could arrange a really good day out. It would need Convocation to formally appoint a committee to arrange everything.
After a brief mention of the Charity registration needing to be completed by May, we moved onto the Bishop’s report. There were many topics mentioned (too many for this brief report), in slightly more detail than Paul’s report at our Annual meeting. What stood out for me was meeting again with our friends from the REC, both in America and Europe. I look forward to seeing where our proposed work in Europe leads!
We then turned to the finances. Not surprisingly, after our ‘Jubilee’ year last year (did Colin get that in too early?), the funds were slightly lower. The accounts were accepted and we then moved to setting the quota. There was some discussion on this subject, as Colin was trying to make the quota fair, based on the members of each church. It was agreed that the quota would be a base rate of £110, plus £4 per person.
Following a brief report on the Stipend Fund, we moved onto electing officers. No surprises there, as for the most part we elected the same people as last year. Paul is once again Diocesan Bishop and there was a little excitement when electing a clergy council member as the first vote ended in a draw!
It was then time to hear what had been happening in each of our churches. It’s nice to hear what other people are getting up to. We met the new minister for Exmouth and it look like he’ll fit in nicely. There was also good news from Harlesdon, as after fearing they would have to close by Christmas due to a lack of finances, they received a bequest and were able to raise almost the same amount in addition. Things are picking up!
Any other business and the date of the next meeting meant that we had come to the end of this meeting. We then went back to the hall for a well-deserved cup of tea and some sandwiches, some of which we were able to put into doggy bags to keep us going on the long journey home.
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