imprint12.

Christ Church >imprint<
Our occasional news-&-views-paper
No. 12
www.ccstalbans.org.uk
October 2012
An all age community … on a shared journey of faith … making the edge the centre
Registered Charity 1132925
each case if donations would be required
to cover costs. Also it was acknowledged
that partnerships with other non-Christ
Church groups would require some
flexibility in the charge or no-charge
guidelines.
In this issue:
page
Report of PCC meeting 17th Sept ............ 1
Letter from Dorothy and Michael............ 2
Time to get your hands dirty? – Maggie
Young ..................................................... 3
Faith and Society ................................... 3
A second category in the charging or not
charging question is that of funding for
taking part in a church event.
This
includes whole church activities, e.g.
church weekend, where it is felt that
members should not be excluded for
inability to pay the full cost; or individual
or small group initiated activities, where
the issue is less clear cut and may require
case-by-case decision, with reference to
the church aims and Mission Action Plan.
And finally … ......................................... 4
Items for >imprint< no. 13 should reach
me (by email at editor@ccstalbans.org.uk,
or my personal email address, or the
“XYZ” pigeon hole at church, or my home
address) by Mon. 29th October 2012,
please.
Peter Young (Ed.)
Report of PCC meeting 17th Sept
[This summary is
based on the draft
PCC minutes.
As
such its accuracy
and
the
editor’s
interpretation can’t
be guaranteed – Ed.]
A third category on requests for funding
for courses, travel costs and subsistence
(including
supervision
of
groups
attending such events) needs to be
evaluated on a case-by-case basis
according to whether attendance is
required by, or of value to, the church,
and the extent of supervision/leadership
undertaken by applicants.
PCC would
expect tighter organisational control on
those in such a leadership role and would
fully fund only those the church has
specifically asked to attend. The Vicar
and Church Wardens would make the final
decision on such cases.
Finances
The half-yearly financial report was
reviewed and, there being no surprises,
PCC agreed to fulfil the remaining
expected donations to Project 2:67
(£1,000) and STEP (£800).
PCC also reviewed a paper drafted by
Stephen Pam on charging (or not) for
church activities, catering etc.
With minor revisions PCC agreed that the
proposals on the above three categories
should become church policy.
It was agreed that beverages at church
activities and after services should remain
free at least until an analysis can be made
of a full year’s operation of the catering
budget. Other examples in this general
category include beverages for visitors,
food provided at centrally organised
church activities, e.g. Alpha; food and
beverages at Mico events (including Fifty
Plus, Big Lunch, Little Acorns, etc,); and
the Fun Day – it should be made clear in
However there was much discussion on a
fourth category on “hardship” funding,
e.g. urgent appeals for funds in extreme
personal / family need, within the church
or in the community, as well as responses
to disasters elsewhere. This also covered
the question of possible specialised
equipping of the church premises for
emergency relief (however PCC felt this
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would be impractical to maintain); and/or
the ability to contact those with expert
knowledge/qualifications (PCC would like
to have a directory of external support
agencies generally available); and a oneoff
emergency
gift
fund.
The
administration of the Vicar’s Discretionary
Fund is also relevant in this context. This
section will be rewritten and referred to
the Core Team for further consideration.
redesign project. Meanwhile PCC gave
approval for the Design Group to obtain
cost advice from 3 Design and Build
contractors for the options in their
proposals, in order to provide information
to the PCC and for the whole church at
the consultation stage
Concluding activities
building work project
on
Phase
1
Most of the required concluding activities
are in hand and should be completed
soon. Sean Ryan had asked whether his
research on a possible electronic external
notice board should be continued. PCC
agreed that his research into this should
be put on hold for the present time.
Mission Action Plan (MAP) and Quiet
Morning outcomes
As a result of the outcomes, the Core
Team affirmed the importance of the
prayer life of the church and proposed
that the formation of Prayer Triplets
under the various Micos should be
encouraged. The Vicar will review the
guidelines he has produced for the
process and will consult with
the Church Wardens with a
view to introducing this to
the church in the New Year.
Letter from Dorothy and Michael
Artwork and Witness in the
Christ Church building
The Vicar sought views on
installation of art work in the
church, e.g. the new foyer,
giving a clear Christian
witness to those coming in.
PCC
expressed
various
opinions, including whether
the foyer was the most
appropriate
location,
security, the need to change
works and how frequently,
and cost.
These opinions
will be considered and any
proposals will be brought to
PCC in the New Year.
Building
and
Grounds
Action
Group
(BAGAG)
Terms of Reference and
Design Group
BAGAG’s latest terms of
reference were reviewed.
However, PCC approval has
been
postponed
until
November, pending a review
of BAGAG interaction with
the Design Team regarding
its proposals for the Phase 2
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Time to get your hands dirty?
a long haul flight!
–
Maggie Young
Let’s
get
physical,
practical
and
passionate in our care for God’s creation.
Speak to Maggie or Susie or sign the list
of the C4 notice board.
After a few months with opportunities to
get out and appreciate different aspects
of God’s creation, the C4 project is now
stepping up a gear!
God’s Word on God’s World?
We have made links with some of the A
Rocha UK Associated Projects.
Does the Bible have anything to say about
‘green issues’?
On Sunday 18th
November we are delighted that the
founder of A Rocha International is
coming to Christ Church to share his
understanding of Creation Care as part of
mission.
Peter and Miranda Harris
started the work of A Rocha in Portugal in
1983 and now share responsibility for
shaping the organisation's vision and
ethos globally. He will be preaching at
our services – 9am and 10.40 - and they
will stay to join us for a bring-and-share
lunch and talk informally about the work
of A Rocha across 19 countries. We will
also be joined by our own mission link –
Sarah Young. Please put this important
date in your diaries now.
More
information nearer the time.
The
Steyning
Downland
Scheme, in Sussex, was
initiated by The Wiston
Estate in partnership with
A Rocha UK. There, 160
acres of chalk downland
has been designated to
be developed for the
benefit of wildlife and the local
community. It is an area comprising of
open grassland, a watercourse and ponds
and mixed woodland.
Christ Church folk have been invited to
join their Ranger Group, which meets on
the first Saturday of each month to do
important practical work. Our plan is for
a CC working party to join them early
next year, perhaps more than once.
Faith and Society
But we’d first like to take a ‘pioneer’
group there on Saturday 3rd November
to be shown round the project, work with
the Rangers and to learn about the
various small schemes for which they are
seeking funding.
Victory for evangelist in freedom of
speech case
[from an article by Christian Concern]
A Christian evangelist was this week
cleared of criminal charges by Dartford
Magistrates Court after being arrested for
distributing leaflets outside a Tesco
supermarket.
Could you be part of this first team,
joining Maggie and Peter Young?
Steyning is just a 2-hour drive away,
taking no more than the check-in time for
Mr Bachoo was temporarily imprisoned
and charged with public
order offences in January
after handing out leaflets
disapproving
of
Tesco’s
decision to fund the 2012
Gay Pride parade outside its
Metro store in Gravesend.
He was due to stand trial on
24th September for allegedly
using “threatening, abusive
or
insulting
words
or
behaviour” under section 5
of the Public Order Act but
magistrates dismissed the
case after the prosecuting
Steyning Downland working party
3
zone) and other speakers will include
newspaper columnists Andrew Pierce
(chair)
Matthew
Parris,
and
Tim
Montgomerie, with Phillip Blond, Director
of ResPublica.
barrister failed to give evidence.
Responding to the decision the National
Director of Christian Voice, Stephen
Green, said:
“Christians just keep winning these
Section 5 freedom of speech cases. It is
not against the law to preach against
sodomy, to tell the public the facts about
homosexual lifestyles, nor to display
graphic images of the effects of abortion.
These things might upset people, but
they are not threatening, they are not
abusive, they are
not insulting and
they
are
not
against the law.”
And finally …
The Cat and the Mat
How would Christians
deal with 'The cat sat
on the mat' if it
appeared in the Bible?
The Liberal theologians would point out
that such a passage did not of course
mean that the cat literally sat on the mat.
Also 'cat' and 'mat' had different
meanings in those days from today, and
anyway, the text should be interpreted
according to the customs and practices of
the period.
Here is a link to
Christian
Concern’s
“Religious
Freedom” booklet
(right):
http://www.christi
anconcern.com/sit
es/default/files/Re
ligious%20Freedom-proof.pdf
This would lead to an immediate backlash
from the Evangelicals. They would make
an essential condition of faith that a real,
physical, living cat did physically place its
whole body on a floor covering and which
is on the floor, but not of the floor.
Bp Michael Nazir-Ali at the Conservative
Party conference
Meanwhile, the Catholics would have
developed the Festival of the Sedentation
of the Blessed Cat. This would teach that
the cat was white and majestically
reclined on a mat of gold thread before
its assumption to the Great Cat Basket of
heaven. This is commemorated by the
singing of the Magnificat, lighting three
candles, and ringing a bell five times.
Bishop Michael NazirAli (former Bishop of
Rochester,
now
President
of
the
Oxford Centre for
Training,
Research,
Advocacy
and
Dialogue (OXTRAD), will be speaking at
two events during the Conservative Party
conference in Birmingham this month.
Eventually, in the Church of England. the
House of Bishops would issue a statement
on the Doctrine of the Feline Sedentation.
It would explain that, traditionally, the
text
describes
a
domestic
feline
quadruped superjacent to an unattached
covering on a fundamental surface. For
determining its salvific and eschatological
significations, we follow the heuristic
analytical principles adopted in dealing
with the Canine Fenestration Question
(How much is that doggie in the window?)
And so on for 210 pages! The General
Synod would then commend this report as
helpful resource material for clergy to
explain to the man in the pew the difficult
doctrine of 'the cat sat on the mat'.
He will speak on the topic 'Is there a
moral future for Britain?' on Tuesday 9th
October. This event is organised by the
Cornerstone group of MPs and will take
place between 1.45 and 3.15pm at the
Birmingham Christian Centre.
Bishop Michael will also be speaking at an
event, ‘Marriage: changing the terms of
debate’ from 10.30 to 11.45am on 10th
October hosted by think tank ResPublica.
This one will take place in the ResPublica
Marquee, Centenary Square entrance, ICC
Conference Centre, Birmingham (secure
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