Annual report of
WORLD
SERVICE AND MISSION FINANCIAL REPORT
1ST
HARLINGTON BOYS’ BRIGADE COMPANY
LADIES
BRIGHT HOUR WEEKLY FELLOWSHIP
Dear Friends,
This has been another good year to be your minister! You continue to inspire, challenge and
support me and you keep me busy!
Together we are working out our calling as disciples of our Lord Jesus
Christ. Let us never lose sight of this
purpose for our church.
In fact, I have given Harlington rather less of my time than
previously. This has been due to David Jenkins’ sabbatical, then the
implications of Lucille Kaye’s arrival as Superintendent and at The Square, and
just lately an unprecedented number of funerals. I have been glad of your understanding, and
also I know by now that you are not dependent on your minister for day-to-day
decisions. Thank you to everyone who has being holding office, and getting on
with your job.
Obviously there has been some sadness and there are always
opportunities to grow and develop. The numbers in worship are lower than in
previous years. We have had 2 older members die recently, and several others
from the community. We have needed our pastoral visitors and all the other ways
in which we show our care.
But we have welcomed one new member, and several new people
attending worship and Sunday School. We
have young people and they are taking their place in the life of the
church. We have been active in support
for the Jaffa Club, and many of the initiatives reported last year have been
working. We remain a church which looks beyond itself, to the village,
including our ecumenical partners, and recognises that we have responsibilities
to the Circuit, District and the Connexion, as well as to the world church.
Some of these factors have come together with the church’s financial and
practical support to the Village “Contact” going into every home.
During the year I have particularly enjoyed sharing in
worship with you, and I know that other preachers say the same about
Harlington. It isn’t always easy to hold
together our varied tastes, experiences and needs in worship, but I trust that
we will continue to aim to do this, through our input to the Plan, and through
the Singing Group, the Worship Group etc. Do become involved in the Worship
Consultation, if you can.
I am pleased there has been a growing commitment to the
building project, with a larger number of people directly involved in giving
and fundraising efforts. I am excited that during the year the Church Council
has decided to go ahead with the whole scheme, because we can see our way to
paying for it. As I write we are
preparing to move off site for six months, and again I am pleased that your
approach to this has been creative, tolerant and united. As we anticipate the dislocation ahead, I
sense that people are in good heart.
The building work will not
be the only challenge in the year ahead, and I am looking forward to working
with you, God willing, for two and a bit more years!
May God bless you.
Helen Caine
7 Up continues to meet on alternate
Fridays from 8.15 to 9.30 pm. Our
membership is up to 21, but because of the clash in timing with Explorers, the
maximum attendance has been 17. If you
can imagine 17 teenagers in our current hall, you will understand the need for
more space! The two girls who spent a
year in
The influx of 5 new boys at the bottom
of the age range has meant that we now share the BB’s pool table, as well as
using our own - thanks to Brian for arranging this. We have also had to develop a way of making
sure everyone who wants to play in an evening can - no chance of the same
people hogging the table all evening.
Our lowest attendance has been 2 - when
they were the only ones unable to go to the Red Nose event at the Square. Since Mike started liaising with the Square
for MAYC events, there have been a number of evenings (not always clashing with
7 Up) where our young people have gone to events at the Square. Again, return events will be possible when we
have larger premises to run events in.
Knowing how much space our own can take up is a bit daunting when
considering doubling the attendance!
7 Up will also be transferring its
meeting place to the Village Hall - so many of our more active games will be
transferred also, but we will look forward to our return to larger premises of
our own.
TS
Methodist Relief and Development –
There was a retiring collection for the Tsunami disaster. The total collected was £790.00. A lot of the donations were made through Gift
Aid, which increased the donations by £215.76.
The total amount was therefore £1,005.76.
NCH – The house to house collection in
September 2004 was £895.87, an increase of £46.56. The Christmas Day collection was
£121.18. The annual boxes and collection
from the Ladies Bright Hour totalled £178.99.
Quiz books sold = £12.
Christian Aid – The total Village
collection was £1,693.74.
Network – The income from the Easter
Offering was £112.38. Ladies Bright Hour
box = £77.50. August Tea Party = £81.
RNMDSF (Fishermen’s
SI
Traidcraft continues to ‘tick over’
thanks to several of our loyal customers here in Church, several members of the
At the moment we have £260 in our
Traidcraft bank account; if there are any queries as to why we have a bank
account at all, I’ll be happy to explain.
Last year we were able to give £200 from the account to our Building
Fund and another £200 back to Traidcraft Exchange; perhaps we shall be able to
do something similar in another year or two.
We receive two catalogues each year
(one in Autumn and one in Spring) which not only show items which Traidcraft
sell, but also give details of the people in other countries who produce them
and it is reassuring to learn what a difference Traidcraft makes to the lives
of these people.
Since our last A.G.M. I have given
talks on Traidcraft to groups of students at the
Last year we lost girls to the 7 Up,
this year we lost boys - 5 of them. With
some concern we have noted that we shall only lose one this coming September,
but the following September we shall lose 12 children, most of them girls. To a Club with a membership in the middle
20s, to lose half in one year is slightly worrying. If you know of any youngsters in the six-plus
age group, we would welcome them.
We are continuing to play a wide
variety of active games, with the able assistance of Brian, and the 4 adult
leaders can still run rings around the children when it comes to passball -
although with a number of the older girls now playing netball in local clubs,
they are giving us a run for our money!
With so many of the children in the same academic year, irrespective of
size, we have rethought the way in which the Story Game is graduated, and now
organise the teams by age, rather than size.
We are also developing activities on
the quiet side, with the hope of starting 626 Quiet when we have more space in
the new building. One new member of the
club likes to watch the noisy activities while enjoying quiet activities
herself! So craft activities are putting
in more appearances, and a number of the children are showing mild
interest. Christine has more ideas in
the pipeline!
Bookings have been made for 626 to
happen at the village hall when we have to leave the building, so space for the
children will continue to be available during the rebuilding.
If you would like to experience any of
these activities, please come along on any Friday between 6.30 and 8.00pm. I can promise that you will be made welcome!
The Worship Consultation meets once a
quarter, about 3 weeks before the entry for the plan is made to our
Superintendent Minister, Lucille Kaye.
Our remit is to discuss all aspects of worship in our church, and part
of that is to make sure that all the types of worship we expect as a church are
included on the plan.
So we make sure that our All Age
Worship services are included, and a reasonable number of Communion Services
also. We work out the best (hopefully)
time for holding Youth and Sunday School Celebration Services, and fit in the
Worship Group as well. If other groups
within the Church would like to lead worship, they should talk to Helen or one
of the Stewards, and they can be fitted in also.
The stewards then invite preachers for
the All Age Worship and Youth services, and any other special service. We are grateful to Betty Hinson for arranging
preachers for our
The Worship Consultation is also
responsible (with the stewards) for making sure that other aspects of worship
are given the same care: that there is
quiet before the service, so people can prepare for worship; that all tastes in
music are fulfilled at least some of the time; that the church is decorated
appropriately for various occasions; and that our church is welcoming in all
ways. In this respect, we keep a
database of hymns sung, so that we can see the variety used. We keep lists of numbers attending worship,
and we keep charts of attendance at morning services, to try to see where and
why people attend, and what might be the reasons we can affect for changes in
attendance.
The Worship Consultation is open to
anyone who would like to attend. There
is no fixed membership - if you would like to come, or to make suggestions,
speak to any of the stewards.
We celebrate our tenth year as a company in Harlington in 2005. Over the last ten years we have maintained a proven method to encourage boys to challenge and improve their individual skills and at the same time work within a team with Christian attitudes. Team and individual learning are important in any walk of life, and here with the BB our boys are given every opportunity to develop their life skills at their own pace.
Did you spot the difference this year at the annual
Remembrance Day Service? The last post
was played in duet. James Norris joined
our regular bugler ‘Beany’ to play for you this year for the first time. James holds the silver bugle award and plays
solo in our band regularly. It takes
great courage and determination for a young man like James to play in front of
a crowd on such an occasion, and we would like to congratulate James on his
performance at one of the most important events in the Harlington
calendar. May I also send Beany our
thanks from the 1st Harlington company. Beany attends this and other special company
events. What you will not be aware of is
that Beany first came to Harlington ten years ago when he was in the 1st
Bebington BB Company based in the Wirral on Merseyside. His company came to our village to support us
in our effort to get the BB started here in Harlington. He has journeyed from
Our Junior Section Figure Marching Team was again the
Battalion Champions, and not forgetting our young Anchor Boys who won the
Battalion Ten Pin Bowling Competition.
The lads always enjoy the Battalion competitions. It gives them the opportunity to meet fellow
members of the Brigade within the Beds, Herts and Bucks area.
If you have lived in the village over the last ten years,
you will undoubtably have seen or heard our band on the Sunday Morning march
around the village, usually after our church parades. We are noted throughout Beds, Herts and Bucks
for our work with the lads in the band.
Indeed we have performed at various events locally and further
afield. We have an annual booking for
our Bugle and Drum band in
I am pleased to say that we have a varied programme of
activity throughout the year – you do not have to be in our band if that’s not
your interest, just be ‘willing to have a go’ at one of our many other
activities. As your local company, we
can always accept new members (we do not have a waiting list) so why not come
along on a Thursday evening and join in the fun. If you are 5 or older we would encourage you
to join. A very warm welcome awaits
all. We continue our work as we
celebrate our 10th Annual Inspection and Display. This is an ideal occasion to visit us and see
for yourself just what it is like to be in the BB.
If you would
like to join us for one of our weekly parade nights at the
NO WAITING LISTS:
ANCHORS Age 5-8 yrs Thursdays 6.15-7.30 p.m.
JUNIOR SECTION Age 8-11 yrs Thursdays 6.45-7.30 p.m.
BAND (Junior & Company Section) Thursdays 7.30-8.00 p.m.
COMPANY SECTION Age
11 yrs+ Thursdays 7.30-9.15 p.m.
Hope to see you at one of our
forthcoming events.
We continue to meet every Thursday afternoon when we have
two or three hymns, prayers, listen to a speaker and finish with a cup of tea!
Our speakers entertain and educate us on a great many topics
and we are grateful to them all for giving their time to come to talk to
us. Special thanks must go to Helen
Caine and our other Ministers who come frequently.
We have a faithful group of 18 members who enjoy the fellowship of our meetings. Sadly three members passed away and one moved during the year but we have been joined by two new members.
At present we are unable to hold our monthly meetings at
Orchard House because of their building work.
We were delighted to welcome the ladies from Westoning
Friday Group to our Christmas Party and good fun and good food was had by
all. We held a well attended Tea Party
in aid of Network.
Our outing this year was to Southend and we enjoyed a garden
party at Helen Caine’s home. Members
also attended the Toddington Daffodil Rally and the Spring Celebration at The
Square.
All women are welcome to join us, regularly or just
occasionally.
NB
The JAFFA Club (Jesus
A Friend For All) was started by Jenny Asbury in the
autumn of 2004. Jenny has
The Club is for children of Lower School age i.e. ‘rising 5’
to 8 years old. It meets on Tuesday
afternoons in the
The leaders are very happy with the way the Club is going so
far – they have had a good response from parents and welcome our support for
this excellent new venture on our Church premises.
The Youth Group continues to meet on occasional Sunday evenings. Usually six or seven young people attend and the meetings are led by Helen and take place in members’ homes.
Activities which have taken place have included:
1.
Watching
and discussing videos, which have included the life of
2.
Dramatising
and filming a story for presentation to the church congregation.
3.
Craftwork
e.g. making Christmas gift tags and a Christmas tree out of green plastic
bottles.
4.
Eating
countless biscuits and home-made cakes and drinking gallons of fizzy drinks!
Accounts
As you will see by the accounts
included in this report the Church Funds increased by £41,161 during the year
ended 31st August 2004. This was solely due to the income received
on the building project either by fundraising or donation.
We have recently had confirmation that we have approval for two grants. These are £10,000 from the London Committee and £16,000 from the Rank Trust.
The average weekly collection for the year ended 31st August 2004 was £209.80 per week which is much higher than the year before average of £189.70. This increase has continued for the first 6 months of the current year. We ask every member to review their weekly giving at least once a year to see if they are able to give more.
During the year ended 31st
August 2004 we made the following payments: