MINISTRY REPORTS 2016

10.30am Coffee 11am Festival Communion & Vicar’s Report 12.30pm Picnic Lunch & Bouncy Castle 2pm Annual Meeting - Sunday 24th April

1. Opening Prayer 2. Apologies (please write names on sheet) 3. Appointment of Tellers (to count votes if necessary) 4. Election of Churchwardens (2) 5. Nomination of Pro-warden for St John the Baptist, Brokenborough 6. Election of PCC Members (3 to serve for 3 years) 7. Appointment of Sidespersons & Welcome Teams 8. Appointment of Independent Examiner 9. Appointment of Churches Together Representatives (4) 10. Questions to the printed Ministry Reports* (including PCC, Churchwardens, Deanery

Synod, ) 11. Financial Report 12. Questions to the Financial Report* 13. Electoral Roll (membership) update 14. A.O.B. (Please submit to PCC Secretary before Friday 22nd April) 15. Provisional Date for Next Annual Meeting (Sunday April 30th 2017 at 2pm) 16. Closing Prayer (2.45pm)

*please submit questions before the meeting begins if possible

VISION SUNDAY

PCC 2016-2017

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Ex-officio Members Revd Canon Neill Archer (Chair) Revd John Monaghan Revd Linda Sullivan

Churchwardens Diana Crowe (to be re-elected) 1 to be elected

Deanery Synod Representatives (with 1 year to serve) Geoff Canning (Secretary) Jane Henderson Chris Jager John Sunderland (Vice Chair & Property Oversight)

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Elected Parochial Church Council

With 3 years to serve 3 to be elected

With 2 years to serve James Cole Tom Hunton Alan McAdam (Treasurer & Financial Oversight)

With 1 year to serve Sue Kirby Sam Saunders Dave Richards

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The Abbey Choir continues to provide wonderful singing at our 10.30 am Holy Communion services, and once a month at Choral Evensong (now on the 4th Sunday of the month). However the year has been notable for many exciting new developments. Firstly, there are now two Advent Carol services, and two Nine Lessons and Carols, both of which take place on two consecutive nights. This proved a great success, with very large appreciative congregations at all. We included Senex Puerum Portabat by Nico Muhly in our Advent Service. The Abbey has now commissioned a new work from him – three Advent Motets – which will have their world premiere at Advent this year. This is very exciting news. Secondly, Dr Annie Davies has been appointed Lay Precentor and now oversees our Music & Liturgy. She has been of great help organising the choir, choosing repertoire, and sorting out problems that arise – thank you Annie. Thirdly, we’ve welcomed Becky Saunders as our new Associate Conductor. She’s proved very popular with the choir and is a great help to me. Fourthly, you may have noticed, I now have a monitor screen on the organ. My thanks to Dwight Doyley for organising this. It has proved an invaluable resource.

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The traditional blended with the contemporary in both worship and performance throughout the events of the Advent and Christmas Festival. In the more traditional services our Advent Carol Service and the Nine Lessons and Carols, which this year were held on both the Saturday and Sunday evenings, each time filled the Abbey with the hope and light of Advent and the joy and celebration of Christmas through liturgy, carols and some amazing music from the Abbey Choir. Throughout December there were also numerous carol services as the Abbey hosted local choirs and schools for Christmas concerts. The international organist James McVinnie gave us an evening of incredibly beautiful music with a recital of works by Bach, Muhly (reprising the Advent theme with Nico

Four years ago Creative Response started by looking at John ch12 and reflected on Mary pouring nard on Jesus’ feet. This week, as I write this, we smelt the nard again as we shared some textile art and listened to an original poem, ‘Nard’. We looked at our youngest member’s hand and foot prints, learned about ‘breathing prayer’ and trapunto, looked at textiles and paintings, listened to one of us singing beautiful words from Iona and interacted with a ‘comfort box’. Every gathering is different and every gathering is the same, encouragement, laughter and wonder. I love the diversity of the Creative Response group – the age range is now 80 years – so you are very welcome – from all congregations and none. The Saturday between Good Friday and Easter Sunday is the feast day for the hopeless – a day to learn our complete dependence on God. As we sit with God at Creative Response we are prompted with some amazing ideas. We are not hopeless, we are creative as we are made in the image of our creator God – come along and discover more. We meet every other Friday at 10.30am in the Abbey with the occasional workshop and exhibition.

MALMESBURY ABBEY CHOIR

John Hughes

ADVENT & CHRISTMAS FESTIVAL

Annie Davis

Alice Langtree

CREATIVE RESPONSE

arts

Arts  &  worship  2

I would like to pay tribute to our amazing choir. They have had to learn many new pieces! The Good Friday devotional concert of Victoria & Handel was a triumph for them, and required many extra rehearsals. My thanks to Margaret Palmer for looking after the robes so well and to Janet Barton for her assistance earlier in the year. We are also delighted to welcome Ruth Whitehead, Rosie Wyatt and Jane Sunderland to our ranks.

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A variety of events during Holy Week enabled those in and around Malmesbury to focus upon Christ’s journey to the cross and the joyous celebration of Easter Day. Sandra and her team, created a beautiful and atmospheric Garden Labyrinth for prayer and art work from AS level pupils at Malmesbury School provided a thought provoking and unique gallery of the Stations of the Cross. Our week of events began in a ‘light-hearted’ manner as comedian Mark Palmer entertained a small crowd of 55 and between acts he was supported by Grace Archer, who performed some jazz numbers.

We are fortunate to have a very committed and gifted group of around fifteen regular musicians and singers who help to lead our sung worship at the 4pm service, and other services and events throughout the year. The Abbey is blessed with a diverse range of expressions of worship, and our 4pm sung-worship has been increasingly passionate, exuberant and fun (particularly all-age worship!). My favourite definition of a sung-worship leader is by Bob Kauflin: ‘A faithful worship leader, magnifies the greatness of God in Jesus Christ, through the power of the Holy Spirit: by skilfully combining God’s word with music, thereby motivating the gathered church to proclaim the gospel, to cherish God’s presence, and to live for God’s glory’ We choose our contemporary songs from a core list of around 100 songs that get revised a little each year as we are blessed by new songs from around the globe. A huge thank-you to all our sung-worship volunteers, and to those who set up the sound equipment and operate the projector. Let me know if you play an instrument to a reasonable standard and would like to join one of our 4pm bands.

HOLY WEEK & EASTER FESTIVAL

Becky Saunders

John Monaghan

WORSHIP TEAMS AT 4PM

arts

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It’s always a pleasure to welcome back musicians to the Abbey and Ben Holder, who had previously performed in the Abbey with Derek Paravicini, came to entertain us with his quartet on Saturday 19th March. Ben’s vivacious personality and raw talent brought a new edge to many of the jazz standards, as he improvised with such flair and ease. The collaborations with Rosie Archer were a particular highlight of the evening as she delighted the audience with songs including ‘My Favourite Things’ and ‘At Last’. Anthony Hammond was also welcomed back to the Abbey, to improvise an organ accompaniment to the 1920s film, Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. Riding Lights gave a moving performance of their latest production ‘Crosslight’, in which the audience were led to reflect upon the Christ’s journey to the cross, as witnessed by those closest to him. The Abbey choir led congregations in devotional concerts and reflective services on both Maundy Thursday and Good Friday; and as in previous years the Easter Day service for BBC Wiltshire, was recorded in the Abbey on Saturday 26th March. For many events the Abbey Kitchen team had a licensed bar and created and provided delicious refreshments and snacks, including superb and very popular nachos. Throughout Holy Week, it was so encouraging to see so many people at the Abbey, enjoying the events and using art and music to reflect upon and celebrate Easter.

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Muhly’s O Antiphons) and then bringing us into Christmas with movements from Messaien’s La Nativité du Seigneur. The Dean of Bristol Cathedral – the Very Rev David Hoyle unpacked some of the imagery and mystery of Christmas as it is depicted in art. Perhaps less highbrow, but enjoyed by all, was the Puppet Nativity, where the Abbey puppeteers produced a great show for our young families. We then moved on to sombreros and an unlikely piñata for the Malmesbury Nativity which again saw many, many people come to hear the Christmas story as performed by four talented young actors, drink mulled wine and sing carols at an insane speed (Feliz Navidad!!). Throughout the weeks of the Advent and Christmas festival there were so many people who came to the Abbey, some for the first time, simply to hear the good news of the coming of Christ. Advent and Christmas at the Abbey, through art, drama and music was truly a joyous celebration this year.

The eighth annual Abbey Skate was another great success. We had very positive feedback from those on and off the skate park, from the ease of booking, to the warm welcome, to the wonderful atmosphere, to the loving kindness the skate volunteers invested into young people on the park. A big thank you to the planning team – Holly and Matt Bird, Andrew Beebee, Phil Williams, and John Monaghan for another fruitful year. We had even better ticket sales this year than last year (if that is possible!) and are very nearly at capacity in many of the sessions. Our café sales were also the best yet – Thank you to Holly and the café team. We took in approximately £2,100, and spent £2,350 (in part because of extra insurance costs this year), but this is amazing value for an incredible outreach, and is tribute to the massive volunteer pool that make MAS happen. We tried to be more intentional this year about interviews and testimonies in-between sessions. There were some significant conversations had, and we pray that the Holy Spirit would continue to work in the lives of those who don’t yet know him. We also pray for wisdom and guidance about building connections with the children and young people throughout the year.

Jude and I have started a Thursday evening youth bible study group at our home which includes snacks, food and games. We have been really encouraged by our 4 regular attendees, who recently showed great enthusiasm raising both support and awareness for the work of Open Doors (supporting persecuted Christians worldwide).

ABBEY SKATE 2016

John Monaghan

Andrew Beebee

DEEPER

children & young people

Children  &       young  people  

FOUNDATION GOVERNORS

John Jenkins

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It has been an exciting year at Malmesbury Church of England Primary School. The Foundation Governors have remained consistent with Neill, Charlotte Cox, Chris Davies and myself continuing to sit on the Governing Body of the School with the main purpose to help ensure Christian distinctiveness in the School. We also aim to bring a Christian perspective to the sub committees with Charlotte and myself attending the Premises and Curriculum committees whilst Chris supports the Finance and Staffing. John Monaghan and Andrew Beebee continue to take assemblies combining Bible stories and the Christian message with the school values of Love, Independence, Kindness, Respect, Courage and Creativity; these are a huge hit with the children.

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At the start of the Autumn term we were all involved with organising a Cheese and Wine evening at the Abbey where parents of new school starters were able to come and meet us to gain an understanding of our specific governor role. It was a huge success. Earlier in the year Jeff Staton, the long standing Head, informed the Governors that he would retire at the end of 2015. Charlotte and Neill represented the Foundation Governors in the recruitment process through the Autumn and Stephen Heal was selected. Stephen started in January 2016, has a strong Christian faith and we are already working with him.

LITTLE STARS

Andrew Beebee

Our new baby and toddler group has been a great success since starting in February. The group meets on Monday mornings and starts with free play which includes a bouncy castle and finishes with snack time, songs, a bible story and prayer. We started our Summer Term on Monday 11th April and welcomed over 100 babies, toddlers and adults into the Abbey. With these exciting numbers comes the need for more church members to be involved in chatting to mums, dads, grandparents and careers and helping them to feel welcome and supported.

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In September 2015 we re-launched all our Sunday groups to help us move closer towards our goal of seeing young lives transformed by Jesus. These groups meet during the 4pm service, except the Boat which meets from 6pm to 8pm. On average we welcome over 40 children and youth each Sunday to our different groups. Rock Pool (Age: 0 - 2 1/2) Previously there was no supervised creche. We now have a fully functioning group with an experienced team ably led by Katharine Campbell. Little Fishes (Age: 2 1/2 - 5) Gill Shaw and her team have created a very happy group, who enjoy playing, learning bible stories, singing and eating together. Lighthouse (Age: 5 - 11) Previously this age group had met as two separate groups in Eilmer House and King’s Church. However, we wanted a space which would give us greater flexibility to play games and have designated small group areas, which is why we launched this new group in the Town Hall. The new space and format is working really well. Lighthouse has 3 small groups run by 13 leaders, 5 of whom are teenagers. Wave (Age: 11 - 14) Have recently run both Youth Alpha and the Prayer Course and enjoy playing a variety of games and exploring the big questions. Pete Campbell and James Cole lead this group with the wonderful support of Sandie Brown and Jimmy Chin. Boat (Age: 14 - 18) Previously this group had met in different locations. We wanted to provide a fixed location with its own unique atmosphere, which is why we have re-decorated the first floor of Eilmer

Youth Farm Day (June 2015) 24 young people enjoyed a day of games around Robert’s Berry Farm finishing with a bbq and ice cream. A highlight was a giant obstacle course constructed by Jamie Shaw a member of the Boat. Light Party (October 2015) Children from across Malmesbury were invited to an alternative Halloween celebration. Over 100 children and adults enjoyed the event which included scalextric racing, bouncy castle, nail bar, tuck shop, inflatable obstacle course, goodie bag and a short thought about Jesus, finishing with a giant party popper! Youth Alpha Weekend Away (November 2015) The Bird’s (Matt and Holly) and the Beebee’s (Andrew and Jude) took a group of 6 youth to Viney Hill Adventure Centre for a action packed weekend combining outdoor activities and talks on the Holy Spirit. The weekend was a great success and we hope that many more young people will come on future weekends away. A big thank you to everyone who has served to make this such an exciting year for the children’s and youth ministry. We continue to need volunteers so please talk to Andrew (andrew@malmesburyabbey.com / 07784333361) to find out how you could make the next year even better!

SUNDAY CHILDREN’S & YOUTH MINISTRY

Andrew Beebee

Andrew Beebee

SPECIAL EVENTS

children & young people

SCRIPTURE UNION LIFEPATH

Sarah Doyley

With much flag waving, music and jollity, Malmesbury Abbey welcomed nearly 450 children over two days last June (28/29th), from the surrounding villages and also Chippenham and Swindon to participate in Lifepath. Lifepath is an event that is jointly run at the Abbey with Scripture Union and it aims to allow Year 5 children an opportunity to explore the Christian faith in an engaging way and for them to also consider their own personal Lifepath. Through a series of workshops the children experience Christianity through a local historical character - in Malmesbury Abbey's case, Eilmer the Monk. All the volunteers that run the event, lead groups and workshops are Christians. The feedback from the pupils and schools was fantastic - really encouraging, they all had a great time and rated the workshops highly: they are keen to bring pupils for 2016's Lifepath. There was a wonderful sense of peace and God's presence over the 2 days, despite all that was going on! The children loved the hands on, practical nature, of the workshops where they had the opportunity to experience prayer, make stain glass windows, try felting, eat pottage, uses of herbs in medicine, try their hand at calligraphy, bell ringing, making planes (Eilmer style) and hearing/participating in Bible stories. Each workshop introduced a different aspect of Christianity - hospitality, creativity, community, Biblical scripture, worship, prayer, the cross and Christ. It was a wonderful opportunity to witness Christian faith to churched and many non-churched children and adults; for them to experience and live something of Christianity for the day, and to show that Christianity is a living and vibrant faith.

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House. The evening includes a meal, games (led by the youth) and time together looking at a topic from the bible. I am really encouraged by the progress each of our Sunday groups is making and the wonderful and committed group of volunteers who serve with humility and joy.

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Over the past year the Guild has met ten times in the King’s Church. After our AGM last year we had a meditation based upon the Prodigal Son. We’ve had various talks from Lance Osborne telling us about the rebuilding of the big Protestant Church in Dresden to Mike Lynch telling us of his experiences as a lumberjack when he lived in Canada. Ghana was a ‘far away’ experience enlightened by Philip and Sherry Baffour (from the King’s Church). They talked about the culture and challenges of the country as well as showing us objects and traditional costumes. The talk and slides about Baghdad and the work of Canon Andrew White was both frightening and inspirational. The Rev David Post, ‘The Cycling Vicar’ brought the most up-to-date information about that city. Nearer to home was the talk about the RISE Trust in Chippenham who care and support families. Robin Isaacs made a return visit to entertain us musically and at Christmas time Rev John Monaghan told a little about himself and his call to ministry. 2016 started with Lesley Wilson giving us some chair and fun exercises which we all thoroughly enjoyed. In February Richenda Milton Dawes told us about the interesting history of Mothering Sunday Our outing in June was to Highfield Garden Centre, which is just south of Gloucester. Here we met up with Mike and Joy Noah, who joined us for lunch.

ABBEY GUILD

Helen Small

community

Community  

SOCIAL MEDIA

Tom Hunton

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Jesus called us to ‘…Make disciples of all nations…’ (Matt. 28:19). But in this nation the majority of people do not come to church on a regular basis and many never cross the threshold at all. Therefore we need to meet them where they are. By using the internet we can, to some degree, bring them into the church family without them leaving their living room. Of course we do want them to cross the threshold, but I’ve found that the internet can be a great way of delivering good news to people who may not be ready to commit to a church service. I use our social media for three different types of posts: The first are messages to advertise our services so that people know when and where we are meeting and what to expect.

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The second are messages about other events run inside our church, these events may not have a Christian basis to them at all (e.g. musical concerts) but they bring a diverse range of people into the church who then feel at home in the building and hopefully will feel more likely to return. The third type will be an overtly Christian message such as an audio clip from that Sunday’s sermon or maybe an inspirational quote from it. I’ve been really encouraged by the positive response to this work. Since I took on this role in October 2014 our Facebook page has gone from 270 to 550 ‘likes’. Each person who ‘likes’ our page then receives all our posts. Twitter works in a similar way, here the term ‘like’ is replaced with ‘follow’ and we have gone from 290 followers to 542 follows. Whilst I appreciate that is not the same as adding to those attending services, it is a significant number of people who weren’t being exposed to our church who now are. But the reach of social media is far greater than those ‘likes’ and ‘follows’. Every time you ‘share’ a post on Facebook, or ‘retweet’ on Twitter, the post is seen by everybody you know on Facebook/ Twitter. This means that we can not only nurture the faith of those in our community but those elsewhere too. We can also encourage and inspire other churches and numerous tweets and Facebook posts have done just that:

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Although there was very little walking involved, several members did not come but the twenty who did, enjoyed their visit. Once again, we thank Lance and Pam Osborne for organising the outing. In future we shall just have lunch at a local venue which should involve hardly any walking. Shelly Hollingworth and Annette Bains, two of our newest members are working on a page for the Abbey Website to see we if we can encourage new members. Again I want to thank our Committee for their continued input and support.

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As part of the ministry of the May Moore Trust we hosted our fourth Holiday at Home with the theme of West Country Wonders. We invited seniors from Malmesbury and the villages, who were unable to go away on holiday, for a two day “holiday” with us. This year we “holidayed” with 3 centenarians and guests whose average age was 87 years! We were able to provide a hot meal for 38 guests both days and many of them took home a flower arrangement, greeting card, some art work, a win at Scrabble and memories of a sing along. Our keep fit session, this year run by John Monaghan, was again very popular. We bounced balls, threw bean bags, stretched, and twisted to work up an appetite! Our thanks must go to the United Reformed Church for lending us their lovely church, to the Carnival Committee who generously donated funds and to our huge team of volunteers who helped with cooking, transport, furniture moving, running activities and showing enormous fellowship to our elderly.

In 2015 Refresh spent a 2nd year looking at the Psalms with a variety of speakers from both far and near. We looked at topics such as God’s character, thankfulness and forgiveness with the help of speakers including Richenda Milton-Daws from Charlton and Kate Dommett from Christchurch, Clevedon. In May a group of us spent a day of quiet contemplation at The Vine Retreat House in Hullavington looking at psalms using methods such as Lectio Divina. 20-30 women attend each Refresh event and although attendance is predominantly from the Abbey people come from all the different denominations in Malmesbury as well as from the rural churches in the local deanery. It is our aim to bring Christian women together and build them up in their walk with God. If you are a woman from in or around Malmesbury and you would like to join us at Refresh events please contact Sandie at the Parish Office to receive a copy of our programme.

HOLIDAY AT HOME

Lesley Wilson

community

MAY MOORE CHAPLAINCY

Mandy Churcher

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In collaboration with teams of volunteers, the chaplaincy has sought to support seniors through a number of ways: The team, for leading services in residential and nursing homes, has continued to visit Athelstan House, Stainsbridge House and Glovers Court. Good feedback has been given by residents and staff. The May Moore Chaplain continues to visit individuals in their own homes and all nursing and residential homes in the area. The pastoral course team has continued to develop, with additional members who visit in Athelstan House. Two monthly Supervision meetings are held to support volunteers and discuss practice. The Pilgrim course has continued. The study group has continued to meet for another three sessions. A Songs of Praise was held in July and was well attended by over 100 people. Following the service a high tea was served, very ably organised by Mrs Jan Lester and the Abbey Cafe. The Holiday at Home took place again last July, over a period of two days(see the separate report.) Links with outside organisations have continued. ‘Time for chat' has run in the Abbey, led by a very able group of volunteers. Attendees vary but this has continued to provide a place to meet in an informal basis. The work of the chaplaincy is supported by a group of committed volunteers and I would like to thank all who give their time and energy to this ministry. This has been appreciated very much. In May 2016 a Senior Alpha will be offered for a course of six weeks.

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The May Moore Chaplain would like to thank the trust for facilitating a 6-week sabbatical in October 2015. My thanks to clergy colleagues (Linda, Bob & Peter) who supported the chaplaincy and gave time to cover responsibilities in the Chaplains absence.

Our Abbey Small Groups are one of the main ways in which discipleship and pastoral care functions across the life of the church. The staff and leadership of the Abbey meet each week for prayer and a simple meal together and our hope is that that would be a model adopted increasingly across the church.

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With Reverend Mandy Churcher’s wonderful leadership Holiday at Home has now become an annual event in the life of the Abbey.

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On Ascension Day a post on our Facebook page of an aerial view of the cross atop the Abbey was seen by 16,000 people and shared 131 times by many churches across the country who used it to inspire their own congregations. A tweet of the beautiful prayer labyrinth was retweeted by churches across the country and churches as far away as the Anglican church of St. Petersburg were asking how they could recreate this. Please ‘like’ Malmesbury Abbey on Facebook, please ‘follow’ @MalmesburyAbbey on Twitter and keep ‘liking’ and ‘sharing’ our posts so we can reach more people this year!

REFRESH!

Katharine Campbell

SMALL GROUPS

Neill Archer

I am discovering many joys in being ordained, but perhaps the most rewarding for me is being able to conduct baptisms, weddings and funerals. It is a real delight when people choose to be married in the Abbey, join the church family by baptism, or say their final goodbyes to a loved one at a funeral. These special occasions give us opportunities to discuss matters of faith, often with people we haven’t met before, and as some come to church services several times before their big event, the congregation also play their part at welcoming and encouraging people during their time of preparation. All baptisms, Weddings and funerals are arranged through Sandie Brown at the Parish Office, and all of us truly appreciate her ability to be sensitive to everyone’s needs, as well as keeping an eye on the legalities. Likewise, Janet Smith and Michael Lynch are a wonderful support, ensuring the Abbey is ready to receive the families, whether they are celebrating or grieving. During 2015, 15 weddings have taken place in the Abbey, 2 blessings of marriages, 11 Baptisms and the wider clergy team have officiated at 20 funerals. Each one of us considers it a privilege to be present at these significant moments in peoples’ lives.

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Welcoming new comers into our midst, and looking out for those who need an extra encouragement will always be the joy and role of everyone and all ages within a healthy church. Our 4pm Family Pastor roles are there to complement the attention to hospitality which already exists in the Abbey. Please share with us where you are inviting people for fellowship (it can be as simple as meeting for coffee in

BAPTISMS, WEDDINGS & FUNERALS

Linda Sullivan

community

18s-30s

Dave & Jen Richards

Throughout 2014-2015, there was significant numerical growth the 18-30s community at Malmesbury Abbey. 2015-2016 has seen the stabilisation of these numbers but growing depth of relationships and a genuine sense of community. We have revelled in the celebration of two new marriages, grown closer sharing regular food and fellowship, and it has been a great encouragement to see members of this demographic leading in worship, the Abbey Kitchen, administration and preaching and teaching in both small and large group settings. In early-mid 2015, there was a regular weekly small group focussed on this demographic meeting for prayer and bible study. More recently, we have been exploring small group fellowship using liturgy and discussion over a meal - opened up to a wider age range. We’re excited to see where this leads, and look forward to seeing a greater integration of the 18-30s community into the wider church family over the coming year.

At last count there were 16 small groups at the Abbey, including Creative Response, with about 170 people committed to our groups. The majority are now using the Bible Study notes from our weekly News Sheet and all are led by a great team of Small Group Pastors. Thank you for the wonderful work that you do.

4PM FAMILIES

Dan & Rachel Robertson

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The Abbey Kitchen before the service rather than a three course meal!), but do point people in our direction so that we can check they are aware of how to be involved in Abbey life (small groups, Junior Church, how communication works etc). A new initiative, the Newcomers' Pizza evening in February was attended by 7 new people. All appreciated being officially welcomed. They have been regular attenders and contributing to Abbey life since joining. The timing of this event was less easy to attend for those with younger children, and did not attract anybody new from the 20s-30s age group. We have been able to follow up with a family who attended the Abbey for a few months but have settled in another local church. Thank you for the Sunday by Sunday bravery of approaching an unfamiliar face, including them in a conversation where they can listen as well as be asked questions, offering a coffee to someone trying to register their child for the first time in a group, telling a child about kids' tea, these acts are all so appreciated by those yet to consider the Abbey their family.

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We are working towards establishing a community of people within Malmesbury Abbey who will commit themselves to a personal Rule of Life which has, at its centre, the rhythm of daily prayer and bible reading. Our hope is to be an encouragement to prayer to all. The community, which we’ve noticed has the acronym CoStA, will be open to any members of the Abbey congregation, or wider members of the Christian community, some are gearing up for this in the USA, who feel that their Christian discipleship would be strengthened through keeping a simple Rule of Life, and who are excited by the prospect of joining in the worldwide prayer of the church, and encountering God through saying the Office, a liturgy of prayer and Bible readings, on a daily basis. Neill has asked me to lead the Community of St Aldhelm as Lay Prior and Revd James Pettit, known to many here, will be our official ‘visitor’, an external pair of eyes that challenges us to grow well as a community. St Aldhelm’s commitment to a life of prayer, his faithfulness to Christian community and his imagination in mission will be a particular source of inspiration. If you are excited by the prospect of a life which is surrendered to God under a Rule of Life, which takes as its rhythm the daily cycle of Anglican prayer with its opportunities to join in the prayer of the

The 2014 Church of England report From Anecdote to Evidence observes growth in newer contemporary congregations with excellent provision for children and young people, such as our 4pm congregation, and also growth in congregations at Cathedrals where the worship is more choral and liturgical, very similar to our 10.30am congregation. We are working hard to develop both at the Abbey. Two new liturgical developments in the last 18 months. At our 10.30am service we began, last Advent, a complete overhaul of our liturgy and booklets, which will take a year to complete and probably another year to correct all the typos. All the liturgy for our 10.30am service is taken from the Common Worship provision of the Church of England. Also in 2016 we have introduced three Sung Eucharists on Maundy Thursday, Ascension Day and St Michael and All Angels. This is to explore a more sung and reflective holy communion.

COMMUNITY OF ST ALDHELM

Catherine Price

LITURGY

Neill Archer

prayer

Prayer  

GLORY!

John Monaghan

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‘When you come together, each one has a hymn, a word from scripture, a revelation, a tongue…let all things be done for building up’ (1 Cor 14:26). The monthly prayer and praise evenings at the Abbey have been a source of great encouragement. Around 30 Abbey members have been attending on a regular basis, making use of a wonderful opportunity to have an extended time of informal, contemporary worship, corporate prayer, and to minister in a variety of ways such as scripture, revelation and prophecy (1 Corinthians 14:26-33). As we have sought the Lord, we have had a growing sense of God’s Spirit at work in our midst, equipping the body for

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ministry and empowering us to advance His kingdom. Our next Glory evening is on Tuesday 10th May, 7.30-9pm. If you’ve not been before, you are most warmly welcome to come along and make the most of this great opportunity to lift our hearts, minds, hands and voices in praise and prayer, and for God’s glory.

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church, and to encounter God regularly in the ‘holy interruption’ of the day, then we invite you to consider whether the Community of St Aldhelm is for you. This is a new adventure for the church – none of us has done this before and we invite you to come on the adventure with us. But Benedict called his Rule ‘a rule for beginners’ and we will all be beginners together. We plan to launch the Community in the next couple of months on the Feast Day of St Aldhelm, 25th May 2016.

John 5:15 says ‘ I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me and you can do nothing.’ The Lord has been taking The Meeting Place (formerly known as Healing on the streets) and its team on a journey. I think we would all agree it has been a challenge, and yet, as always, the Lord never ceases to amaze and be faithful. There have been times over the last year when we have questioned whether our Saturday morning presence on the streets should continue, and, without fail, God shows a resounding ‘yes’’. It feels God has been teaching the team, individually and collectively, to remain in Him, no matter what, and that we should not use worldly measures to judge success. We are holding that space in Malmesbury for Him to be able to work on the streets as He sees fit - we are called to be available for His service. It continues to be an immense privilege to pray with people, to offer people God’s blessing in their lives and to build up relationships with people under God’s ‘umbrella’. We have a core number of people who we welcome regularly and we have people from near and far that come. It is a joy to see God at work in people’s lives. There is a sense of anticipation with what the Lord is doing, and as long as He calls us to be His witness on the streets, we shall continue.

Ask any member of the 4pm prayer ministry team how the prayer ministry is going, and they will tell you how amazing it is that they get to witness our wonderful God bless every person who asks for prayer! It is both a scary and an awesome experience; scary because we on the prayer team are just as weak and vulnerable as every person who comes for prayer. We may have had a lousy week too, and may ask ourselves 'how dare we pray for people when we are not in a great place ourselves?' The answer is that God's power is made perfect through our very weakness. I think the more we pray for each other; and through that, as we share together our struggles, our fears, our joys and tears, we, as a church family, will get even better connected. So if you have a heart to see the Lord bless and heal people, please speak to me or Wiene Grant, as we would love you to join one of our prayer teams. If you have need of prayer, your brothers and sisters in Christ would be privileged to pray for you.

THE MEETING PLACE

Sarah Doyley

4PM PRAYER MINISTRY

Marilyn Archer

prayer

THE PERSECUTED CHURCH

Mike Langtree

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Jesus has told us that the church will be persecuted, because that is what he experienced. Around the world today there are more than 60 countries where the culture, the government or pockets of religious extremism make it very

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difficult for those who have dedicated their lives to Christ. This can take a variety of forms such as being ostracised at home or at work or in the community where leaving the traditional religion is regarded as shameful; it could be through malicious accusations such as in Pakistan where the blasphemy laws make it easy to accuse without foundation. Perhaps it could come from penal laws that make it impossible to obtain permission for Christians to meet together; or it could be through violence from radicals, terrorist groups or malicious dictatorships, such as Eritrea and North Korea, aimed at destroying the Church. Because of this suffering experienced by our fellow Christians (there is only one Church since we are all part of Christ’s body) we have an imperative to be concerned, to pray, support and perhaps campaign on behalf of those who are suffering because of their faith in Christ. Yet the church is growing in most of these countries. As the Roman Christian Tertullian famously said “the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church”. Also, across the Muslim world, many are experiencing dreams, visions or messages directly from God. Some are even finding the true Gospel message through reading the Koran in their own language! We can learn such a lot from those who are suffering yet growing strong in the faith and taking huge risks to explain their faith to others. Several organisations facilitate support for persecuted Christians including Open Doors which for over 60 years has provided Bibles, teaching materials, children’s resources, various types of training and practical support to enable to Church to survive, grow and even flourish in the face of danger. A monthly prayer meeting is held in Malmesbury to learn about and pray for the Persecuted Church. Each meeting focuses in a different aspect or geographical region and lasts about 90 minutes.

10.30AM PRAYER MINISTRY

Wiene Grant

The Prayer Ministry Team continues to offer prayer for healing after each 10.30am service. The response is much the same as in previous years, we seem to have more visitors. We have one new member and several others who are prayerfully considering whether they might join us. We also offer ministry to people in their home where there is a need to expand and have more time and privacy. So far few have taken this opportunity up, but we are always pleased to offer this service.

Our Safeguarding team have been meeting to plan and implement the annual safeguarding audit, introduced by Leanne Smith, Bristol Diocesan Safeguarding Officer two years ago. This enables both our Children’s and Adult’s safeguarding practice and policies to be reviewed on an annual basis. Leanne came to Malmesbury in Sept 2015 to provide Safeguarding training, and she was encouraged by the support and commitment of Abbey volunteers in this area. We are very grateful for the dedication and service of our outgoing safeguarding representative – Jill Johnston, who stepped down at the end of 2015 (but will continue to provide DBS checks), and we welcome Debs Poneskis and Sue Kirby who have volunteered to be our ‘children/young people’ and ‘vulnerable adult’ safeguarding reps going forward. Our policies can be found in the parish office, and important contact information is displayed in the Abbey Porch, Eilmer House and the Parish office. For further resources and up to date information regarding Safeguarding, see: http://www.bristol.anglican.org/parish-resources/safeguarding/

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Any year following in the wake of a Quinquennial Inspection directs the focus on the fabric of the building and its surrounds. Having been unsuccessful last year in the bid for government funding towards the re-slating of the nave roof, another application was submitted in February. It will be May or June before we hear the outcome. As if to emphasise the need for the work on the roof, dislodged roof slates had to be replaced in September and several more, along with a stretch of the lead flashing on the ridge, were displaced by the January storm, requiring repair and replacement. Hardworking volunteers have cleared the brushwood, rubbish and remaining builder’s clutter from around the North Transept Arch and the piles of stones, slates and vegetation from under the west window, tidying up both areas. The newly-engaged gardeners have drawn numerous favourable comments reflecting the obvious care they have taken to improve the quality of the grass and the neatness of the churchyard, including the removal of the overgrown, untidy hedge around the Remembrance Garden. Many of the forged joints in the railings adjacent to The Old Bell had worn

SAFEGUARDING

John Monaghan

CHURCHWARDENS’ REPORT

Diana Crowe & Lesley Wilson

governance

Governance    &  building  

PROPERTY OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE

John Sunderland

The POC advises the PCC on maintenance priorities across the church estate (Abbey, Churchyard, Bell Tower, Eilmer House and Parish Office) and supports the Churchwardens by organising self-help action and, where appropriate, overseeing contracted work. Much revolves around managing routine servicing and emergent defects, particularly those which have a safety implication or potentially limit Abbey activities. Timber treatment in the Bell Tower and residual East Wall repair work was completed early in 2015 but the recent focus has been on the 2015 Quinquennial Inspection (QI) recommendations. These detail the repairs necessary over the next 5 years. The key priority is replacement of the Nave Roof for which we await a government grant decision. Meanwhile, a significant programme of self-help tasks (from railing repairs to clearing invasive vegetation) has been instigated to progress the QI recommendations wherever possible, at minimum cost. Other QI priority work will be commissioned as funds allow. The POC is grateful to those who continue to give generously of their time, skills and in many cases materials to keep the Abbey’s buildings and grounds safe, serviceable and maintained for future generations.

governance

PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL

Geoff Canning

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Malmesbury Abbey PCC has the responsibility of co-operating with the incumbent, the Revd Neill Archer, in promoting in the ecclesiastical parish the whole mission of the Church – pastoral, evangelistic, social and ecumenical. Formally, the P.C.C. is responsible for the financial affairs of the church and the care and maintenance of the church fabric and its contents. In addition to their formal duties, P.C.C. members act as representatives for all parishioners in the affairs of the church. The PCC met six times during the year with an average attendance of 13 members, compared to 14 last year. There were two extraordinary PCC meetings held during the year. The first Extraordinary PCC Meeting, following the APCM meeting on Sunday 26th April 2015, was convened to pass a number of proposals concerning the appointments of certain officers for the PCC and to welcome new PCC members. The second was to approve the annual accounts prior to the 2016 APCM meeting. There is a high level of commitment from members in serving our Abbey family and there have been many additional hours of voluntary work put in by the committee members in focussed smaller groups. They carry out many activities including preparing reports and budgets for discussion, liaising with builders, architects, planners, community groups and English Heritage, managing staff and property, responding to challenges and writing policies. These are much valued acts of service especially from those who undertake such tasks alongside their full time jobs. The PCC has been truly envisioned, united and efficient in

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through with age, causing some sections to become detached. These have been repaired by a well-qualified volunteer. The missing section of railings in Birdcage Walk was eventually replaced in December, following extended negotiations with the adjacent shop, and the wall near the Bell Tower, distorted by a coach reversing into it, was repaired in February. Within the Abbey itself, a worn hinge was replaced and a new motion sensor was fitted above the internal auto door to improve access at the entrance. Another improvement has been the removal of several years’ accumulation of dirt and spiders’ webs from the ceilings and window reveals of the North and South Aisles to brighten the interior. To enhance the visitor experience, an audio tour has been developed, the guided tour recorded by the vicar. This is available on units hired from the Stewards’ Desk or via a mobile phone app. During the year, the Abbey has been used for numerous external events in addition to those organised by the church, local schools and music groups. The Scripture Union brought their two day Lifepath event providing “learning outside the classroom” for over 300 Year 5 Primary School children and run in conjunction with volunteers from the Abbey. ‘Gardens Illustrated’ magazine brought their Spring Symposium for the first time and ‘BBC History’ magazine’s weekend returned for a third year of talks in Malmesbury and the Abbey. BBC Wiltshire introduced a General Election Hustings in April from the Abbey, in addition to their Easter service, recorded for broadcast on Easter Day. The help and expertise of all those who have given their time during the year to bring about the smooth running and efficient upkeep of the Abbey and its surroundings has been very much appreciated. A particular ‘thank you’ to those who are regularly involved, you know who you are!

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its decision making, delegation and budget control. Each meeting opens with prayer and worship when we seek to hear God’s voice and honour his name whilst considering the many challenges and issues and responsibilities facing us. The meeting agenda includes Deanery notices, Abbey business and activities, responses to correspondence and reporting back, financial reporting, health and safely, and safeguarding of children and adults. In addition there is a main Focus session. Some of the Focus sessions during the year have been concerned with

• The vision for Children’s and Youth Ministry

• The admission of children to communion before confirmation.

• Scripture Union Life Path project 2015

• The 2015 Quinquennial report

• The 2016 Budget and Mission Giving

• The Diocesan Strategy 2016-2018.

• Property Oversight Committee and Property maintenance.

Matters arising have been wide ranging from Health and Safety, ground maintenance, sound system, applications for funding, Risk Assessment procedure, Youth and children’s ministry, Abbey Maintenance, Abbey Web site and , Electronic guided tour of the Abbey. We also celebrate as we share stories of testimony from all aspects of Abbey life; from healing services and events such as Abbey Skate, Holt Week and the Advent Festival. In these, as well as the day to day

The Electoral Roll (adult membership list) of the Parish of Malmesbury & Brokenborough has just been updated. Many thanks for your cooperation. The Electoral Roll currently stands at 300; including 24 people from St John the Baptist, Brokenborough.

ELECTORAL ROLL

Sandie Brown

governance

PCC STANDING COMMITTEE

Geoff Canning

The Standing Committee is the only committee required by law, comprising the incumbent, the Churchwardens, the PCC Treasurer and the PCC Secretary. It has the power to transact any business of the P.C.C. between its meetings, subject to any directions given by the P.C.C. The Standing Committee usually meets every two months. Six meetings were held during this year together with an extraordinary meeting to discuss the application for a government grant for repairs to the Abbey roof. Subjects discussed have included Health and Safety, Correspondence, Deanery matters, Abbey and Churchyard maintenance, Discipleship and Giving, Financial issues, the Insurer’s Report Actions and Follow –up,

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connections of Abbey community life we see God at work amongst us. Minutes of our PCC meetings are available in the Parish Office if anyone would like to read the discussions, our decisions and proposals in detail.

MALMESBURY ABBEY BOOKS

Rob Hitchings

2015 was a quieter year as we welcomed 57,000 visitors, 7,000 fewer than 2014, and sales were correspondingly down. Book sales again made up more than half of our total business. We benefited from the revenue from the Garden Festival and the BBC History Weekend, and from a large order for Bibles from Malmesbury CE Primary School. Our guidebook sales remain strong and we took delivery of another 10,000 copies before Christmas. We welcomed Holly Bird as our new assistant manager in May. Holly has proved a very valuable member of the team, alongside our ever-dependable Francesca, and has taken a lead role in our Christian book promotion. Last year we purchased a defibrillator for the Abbey, and paid for a training day on its use for 12 key staff members. We also invested in a new computer which has greatly increased our efficiency. The stewards had a busy year, with an introduction to the “Safe Places” scheme in February, and a lively social evening in November. Everyone rose to the challenge of the new Abbey audio tour. Thank you for your continued support. We look forward to serving the Abbey and the wider community in the year ahead.

ABBEY KITCHEN

Dan Wyatt

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The newly named Abbey Kitchen has gone through a lot of change and a lot of testing the water for future ventures, including: • the departure of the hardworking

and loyal Clare Cork and a few team members;

• the change in structure within the staffing hierarchy;

• the decision to bring me in as catering consultant;

• significant menu and pricing change;

• building trust and encouraging the community to come and have coffee;

• putting an oven in the south isle and cooking for over 300;

• serving food on wooden boards and using hessian sack cloth for table cloths;

• using a local potter to create a unique coffee drinking experience; offering a service of cake and coffee for weddings and celebrations of life;

• small outside catering events; • and a busy History Weekend,

Advent and Easter. Through all of this, our awesome volunteers have stood steadfast and our team is growing stronger by the day with Holly and Stella in key roles; the Abbey Kitchen is covering a lot of ground. We are committed to building a God centred hub, a safe place, and we have employed young people from the youth ministries to work Saturdays, which will no doubt bear amazing fruit. Our vision for the future is to continue to build a loyal customer base day to day, to encourage bigger events as we believe that these will become the Abbey Kitchen’s bread and butter, to build the pastoral care available and

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offer prayer ministry; and to encourage and support other ministries that are building within the Abbey. And finally, our big hope for 2016, to encourage more of our congregation to use the Abbey Kitchen as their main Coffee Shop.

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The Malmesbury Abbey bell ringers (Guild of Change Ringers) continue to flourish, with membership now at 20, but this does perhaps mask a problem a problem that is common throughout towers, we have very few ringers under 60, which doesn’t bode well for the long term future. Visitors (of any age) are always welcome to come along and see what happens up in the tower, but please be prepared for a climb up the spiral staircase to get to the ringing chamber!

ST PAUL’S BELL TOWER

Richard Gray

governance

FLOWER TEAM

Diana Crowe

The welcome to the Abbey is always enhanced by the flower arrangement at the door as well as the pedestal arrangement which helps to draw attention to the sanctuary as we enter the nave. These are appreciated by the congregation and visitors alike. The extra efforts to decorate the church appropriately for the Christmas and Easter seasons and the arrangements provided have resulted in many favourable comments. The flower team have also worked hard during the year to make sure that all goes well for the many weddings in the Abbey by doing their best to match the colour schemes requested by the brides or their mothers and by providing extra arrangements if required. This attention to detail helps to make a memorable day for those involved. Thank you to all the members of the dedicated team for so ably supporting Anna Grange with your expertise and faithfulness, and thank you to Anna for your organisational role. Your hard work is much appreciated.

NORTH WILTSHIRE DEANERY

Neill Archer

Anybody who has read this far probably deserves some sort of prize for resilience. Free coffee after the service? An embrace from the vicar? A dance solo up the front during one of our 4pm action songs? Broadly anything that is budget neutral and profoundly blesses you, it’s yours. Pop by the vicarage and ask me. Anyway, the North Wilts Deanery Synod Report: On February 8th 2016, the North Wiltshire Deanery finally completed its pastoral reorganisation – the formal regrouping of parishes and churches. Malmesbury Abbey is now legally part of the Malmesbury & Upper Avon Group, which comprises of two parishes: Malmesbury & Brokenborough, and Corston & Rodbourne. The five other groups across the deanery went through a very similar drawn out and complicated process. Heads were banged against many walls. During the 2015-2016, the Synod has met to discuss four areas of ministry: how to engage with your local CE Primary School; how to pay your fair part in the Diocesan budget; how to support your local clergy; and how to support and bless your churchwardens. Very practical sessions aimed at encouraging and equipping the local church. Finally a note to say that Bishop Mike has asked me to continue as Area Dean until the end of my 10 years, which takes me through to June 2017, or my 70th birthday, whichever comes first.

ST JOHN THE BAPTIST, BROKENBOROUGH

Richard Robins

It has been a fairly quiet year for us with two funerals and a memorial service followed by burial of ashes. The Harvest service was well attended, the Harvest Auction held on the following Tuesday at the Horse Guards was once again a very successful fundraiser. The Nine lessons and Carols was candlelit for the second year running and well attended. The Abbey choir again joined us for the Patronal, Harvest and Carol Services. We really appreciate their attendance at these services; it makes them a very special time. A few repairs were carried out during the year: A second light post at back gate of churchyard blew down; the post was renewed, lantern repaired and rewired. The lead valley was cleaned out on the roof. We were finally able to clarify the problem we had experienced concerning the insurance so grass cutting could go ahead as before.

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As well as ringing for the Sunday morning services and weddings and our regular Tuesday practice night, we also get out and about and every summer we hold an outing. In 2015 we visited Shrivenham (10 bells); Ashbury (6); Bishopstone (8); Mildenhall (6); Preshute (6) and Broad Hinton (6). Every church and every set of bells is different and it is always a fascinating day out.