St Andrew’s Church, Newlands
Rector’s Report to Annual Vestry 2018
The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.
John 4:14b
Introduction
Water, or it’s lack, is a dominant theme for us in Cape Town and the Western Cape as a whole at the moment. We, like the woman at the well in John’s gospel, would love to have an ever renewing and abundant source. Clean water, along with clean air, are foundational to our physical existence, being resources we cannot live without. The drought has highlighted our need to appreciate and conserve this resource, and recognise that we can only succeed when we collaborate as a collective, and that our individual choices need to align with the needs of the wider community. The quote above reminds us that there is always a spiritual dimension to our physical reality that we need to take seriously. While our physical resources have their limitations, the spiritual resources at our disposal are limitless and abundantly available to give us both personal and public ability to respond with life-giving options to the daily challenges of life and relationship. Richard Rohr, in one of his recent daily meditations, makes the point that our commitment to God’s reign and to loving God and one another also requires a commitment to seeking to live in harmony and sustainability with Earth and all her creatures. This is perhaps a helpful thought as we seek a relevant spirituality to apply to the “new normal” regarding water in Cape Town for the foreseeable future.
Along with water scarcity our attention has been held in recent weeks by the changes in our ruling political Party and subsequent changes in Government. Our collective South African sigh of relief at Zuma’s demise has been tangible, and even the rise in VAT to 15% and the potential threat to land ownership has not been able to stifle our renewed sense of hope. There is rumour that even product branding is affected and that Jacobs Coffee is soon to be rebranded as Cyrils! Joking aside, in our relief we must not take our eye off the ball; the wider Church needs to remain focused on dealing with the destructive issues and attitudes that continue to face our society and undermine our Constitution. Prayer is a first base priority for us: we need to pray that the influence of those who have stepped aside will be diffused, and that those who have stepped forward will find the personal and collective courage to restore the moral and ethical foundations of our Nation; and we need to commit to being part of this National journey to wholeness.
In the midst of all the above life at St Andrew’s has continued this past year, and my sense is that we continue to grow in our awareness of God’s presence, and seek genuinely to respond to God’s promptings in our lives. What have been some of the highlights?
Youth and Young People
Youth and youth ministry is a standard – and often dominating – concern for many Churches in the 21st century. Partly it is a concern that without a steady stream of younger people flowing in the future of the Church is in doubt, but it is also a growing awareness that young adults increasingly find the Church irrelevant to their needs. So it is encouraging that under Elizabeth Cherry’s guidance 11 teenagers were confirmed at the end of last year after a year-long journey of preparation, and we have another 10 signed up for 2018.
Equally encouraging is the growth in our Children’s Church towards the end of last year, demonstrating that Jess Gwynne-Evans has found her feet, and that with the extra teachers on board we are able to offer an experience that attracts our children. I was recently “in trouble” with the Archdeacon as two young families have transferred to us from St Thomas’ in Rondebosch due to the attractive nature of our Children’s Church. Under Jess’ leadership we have recently moved from using the Scripture Union Sunday School material to using teaching resources developed by the Diocese of Johannesburg focused around our Sunday readings, and so far the feedback is positive. Our challenge for 2018 is attempting to keep last year’s Confirmands involved, which is proving a challenge, and we need to identify an adult to facilitate our efforts in this regard.
Sadly, after three years with us, the St Cyprian’s Boarders have left us as the School explores other options for their spiritual growth. They are missed by the Sunday evening congregation, where they brought a positive and youthful presence to our worship. My thanks to all who made them feel welcome, both within the context of our worship, and in the invitations they received to various parishioners homes for meals and fun activities.
Worship and Spirituality
We were invited early in 2016 to be a test Parish for new liturgies being developed for the Anglican Church in Southern Africa. Our Lenten Liturgy is based on material from the recent publication by the Liturgical Committee entitled Celebrating Sunday and appears to have been well received by our Sunday and Wednesday congregations. Celebrating Sunday offers experimental liturgies for various seasons of the Church year, and the Layministers have expressed the hope that we will continue to explore these in our worship.
We have a growingly urgent need for new Layministers, and this is regularly raised for discussion at our monthly Layministers meetings over the last two years. A conscious effort will be made after Easter to draw additional parishioners into this important aspect of our Parish life, and I do encourage you all to consider whether you may be willing to explore possible involvement in this area of Parish life.
Prayer plays an important role in our faith, both in our willingness to care for others and to grow in our own spirituality. In this regard, my thanks to our outgoing Churchwarden, Rosemary Wallace, who ensures that the variety of prayer requests received are addressed during our Wednesday morning Intercessory Prayer Meeting and that pastoral follow-up takes place; and that a programme of monthly Quiet Mornings are offered (with a wonderful variety of topics and presenters over the last twelve months).
Our Lent Course is also a staple part of the spiritual food we seek here at St Andrew’s. The growing interest and attendance in our Quiet Mornings over the last year suggested a need for a slight change in focus for our Lenten Season in 2018, and my thanks to my wife, Dawn, for her creativity in addressing this need and for the hard graft of putting together the content for each session. My thanks, too, to Mags Blackie for her willingness to consult with us on the structure and focus of our 2018 offering.The addition of a Sunday focus on the spirituality of various Saints has meant that those parishioners who do not have the time or opportunity to attend the weekday focus are able to still be part of the journey.
Building and Fundraising
This is addressed more fully in the Churchwardens report, but it is positive to note that we are at last sufficiently agreed on the plans that the Architect has been instructed to ready them for submission to the City of Cape Town. This agreement has also enabled us to reach agreement on a new lease with Kildare Pre-Primary, which will hopefully be signed in the very near future. My thanks to the Chairperson of the Building Committee, Rob Coombe, who has committed substantial time and other resources to both the above.
Fundraising has moved forward, and I continue to be amazed at parishioners generosity in this regard, both in terms of donations and in terms of creative events in raising these amounts. Our efforts, together with a commitment to a sizeable contribution from Kildare Pre-Primary School to the renovations, make our goal entirely possible. My thanks to the Chairperson of the Fundraising Committee, William Tough, and his team for their commitment in this ongoing effort.
Love and Inclusivity
There is a motion on the table for tonight’s meeting to consider: a small but significant change to the wording of our Mission Statement. This change is motivated by our conversation at Volmoed in May 2017, and reflects a growing awareness that in sharing the love of God we desire to do this in an inclusive manner. This is important both in terms of our own local history as St Andrew’s, and in terms of the national conversation where issues of racism, xenophobia, corrective rape, and other violations abuse people’s right to dignity. We will explore this idea of inclusivity further during our time at Volmoed next weekend where our theme will be “Building Community”.
Thank You
Thank you’s are always something of a minefield as we all contribute to our Parish life, and to highlight some and not all suggests that some may be more important than others. However, the risk needs to be taken, and there are a few who need special mention.
Margaret Bewick has overseen the activities of our Flower Guild for more than a decade. She has done this unstintingly with dedication and creativity. She faced the challenge of stepping into the large shoes left by Margie Barnard, and demonstrated that she was more than competent to do so. Thank you, Margaret, for all you have invested in this role, and for both the example and the love you have shared in the process! We wish you well in your “retirement”. My thanks to Mags Wingfield for having the courage to step into the shoes Margaret now leaves behind.
Rosemary Wallace stepped in as Churchwarden in early 2016, after we had only been able to elect one Warden at that year’s Annual Vestry, and now steps down to make room for new blood in the Parish Executive. Thank you, Rosemary, for your gentle wisdom and care for us these past two years, and for your willingness to step forward at a time when others were unable to. Thank you for the leadership you have given us!
Richard Buttress, who has served on Council for a number of years, has indicated he is not available for re-election. Richard has not only served us faithfully, but has also represented the Parish at Archdeaconry level, which led to him serving on Diocesan Standing Committee as one of the Lay Archdeaconry representatives. Thank you, Richard, for your willingness to engage and to serve.
Elizabeth Cherry and Jess Gwynne-Evans, thank you for revitalising our ministry to children and teenagers.
My congratulations to Jim te Water Naude and his Morning Market teams on raising a new record amount at our 2017 Morning Market. Jim has asked if he could possibly be allowed to facilitate the 2018 event as he finds it such fun… It is all yours, Jim! We do, of course, harbour even greater expectations of your and the teams’ efforts than we did last year. There is a wonderful sense of freedom in being able to raise money to give away, and so thank you to all who have been involved in this important fundraiser for our Ministry to The Needy (MTN) outreach projects. A number of key store-holders are stepping back this year after many years of faithful service, and so Jim is in need of new volunteers, please, to make the 2018 event a success.
Thank you again to Bev, who hates the limelight, but serves unstintingly and faithfully as our Parish Secretary, which is not a simple administrative role at St Andrew’s, but requires a level of self-sacrifice and patience not many would be willing to give with such grace. Bev, thank you for the kindness and care with which you greet us daily, in person, on the phone, and over email.
My special thanks to Dawn for her support and love and care. I can never quite find the words or actions to express how important our relationship is to me, or how much I appreciate your willingness to share me with the communities that are a part of my life. You keep me grounded, and your love sustains me in ways that no one and nothing else ever could. Thank you!
To our assistant and retired Clergy, to the outgoing Churchwardens and Parish Council, to our ongoing Layministers, to all the groups and individuals that help sustain and grow our Parish life in seeking to love ourselves and in seeking to love the world, thank you! Know that whether you serve from in front or from behind, your contribution to our Parish life and to the reign of God in our world is meaningful and valuable!
MARK R D LONG
Rector
12 March 2018
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