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ST PAUL’S & ST GEORGE’S CHURCH

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING - 1ST December 2008

The AGM was preceded by a cheese and wine reception and commenced at 8.20 p.m.

Welcome

Jane MacLaren opened with words from Philippians 2 followed by prayer. DR noted that it was great to see so many people present. Written apologies had been noted.

Minutes

The minutes of the meeting held on 2nd December 2007 were approved.

Vestry elections

There were three vacancies, two for 5 years and one for 2 years (following the resignation of Jo Hockley). Derek Gordon and James Galbraith were elected for 5 year terms, Myra Martin for 2 years. Margaret Jack had indicated her willingness to serve as Lay Representative for a further year, as had Gwyn Higham as Alternate Lay Rep. Both were therefore re-elected.

Financial Statements 2006/07:

The Treasurer, Geoff Horne, reported on the unaudited financial statements for the year 2007/08. Across all funds, income was £1.7m and expenditure £4.2m. The £2.5m deficit was covered from funds held at the start of the year of £1.9m combined with net borrowings of £600K.

GH reminded the congregation that we have five separate funds; the General Fund, the Property Fund, the World Mission Fund, the Social Needs Fund, and the Project 21 Fund. This year there was a small deficit of £2k in the general fund resulting in a final balance of £22k in the General Fund at the end of September.

Income was down by 3% at £429k. GH commented that one of the aims of Making Church Happen was to significantly increase giving to the general Fund, ideally with standing orders so that cash flow is more reliable. In order to bring many more people to a faith in Christ we need the necessary financing. £56k per month will be required to meet current commitments and a further £6k per month to deliver the full strategy.

With regard to Project 21, income of £1,240,000 was received and £3,747,000 spent. Net outgoings were therefore £2.5m, which were funded from the balance of £1.8m at the start of the year, with bank borrowings covering the rest. Cumulatively a total of almost £5.7m has been raised.

The costs of the project have been cause for concern. The building contract is now expected to cost us 22.7% more, with other costs of the building project and relocation 17.9% more. We are putting aside an unchanged amount of £150k for the proposed church plant. The total cost of £6.8m for the whole project represents an increase of 21%. The main reasons for this relate to the building contract, specifically items in the original tender which were only in as provisional sums, unforeseen circumstances, and items missed from the original tender but required for completion of the project. The contingency of £220K was nowhere near enough to offset all these additional costs. Finally, £176K is due to the contractor following extensions of time awarded by the architect. This totals 16.5 weeks out of the 41.5 weeks that the project was late. Agreeing a final account with Clark Contracts is proving difficult, but it is estimated that we will need to borrow £1.25m to fully cover the final total costs. The current overdraft but this will be converted into a 20 year term loan from 1 January 2009.

GH concluded by thanking the team that worked to bring the Making Church Happen document to fruition, and also Kay Hamilton for her excellent support as the financial administrator.

DR thanked GH for his thorough and conscientious approach to the finances and commented that he was like an extra part-time member of staff. The congregation showed their appreciation.

Approval of the Unaudited Accounts

• Proposer David Jeffrey
• Seconder Marion Gunn

Agreed unopposed.

Re-appointment of Auditors

McLachlan and Tiffin were unanimously re-appointed as auditors for the coming year.

Written Questions

1. Neil Stewart had submitted a question wondering why the Director of Worship post focussed mainly on music, when worship is the whole of our lives. DR responded that every member of staff was, in effect, a Director of Worship and were aiming to encourage all church members to fulfil this wider view of Worship. Fiona P. also agreed that the vision was to ensure the ‘action’ side of worship was as important as the ‘adoration’ side.
2. Sid Gaved enquired whether there was an appetite for the reconstitution of the church choir, in view of the great success of the choir for the carol service. It was felt that Fiona did not have sufficient time to oversee this, was not classically trained, and that it was too much for a volunteer. However, if someone was able and willing to lead the choir, this could be revisited.

Rector’s Report:

The Rector gave a verbal report which included the following main points:

1. It has been a remarkable year! The financial giving has been amazing. The move back into the new building was a remarkable week, with a delayed completion certificate, a big church clean and three very special services.
2. Staffing: we said goodbye to Fiona MacDonald, and would soon do so to Duncan and Jane and, later in the year, to Kieren. We welcomed Jessica and Gemma, Mark and Eric. Vestry say farewell to Alison Craig and Kath Williamson, with Ali being replaced by Dougie Millican as Chair of Vestry.
3. Our strategy is clear. We want to be a church that Worships God, loves people and serves the world. How we do this may differ, but it is about becoming the church and people that God wants us to become.
4. On World Aids Day, DR reflected on his recent trip to Kenya with Cathy to make the follow up DVD for World Vision. It was the fulfilment of a dream to have 5 church members join them in Kenya. Each has a different story to tell. In Kisumu, the prevalence of AIDS is 40%. By sponsoring a child we can help to replace the lost generation of 30-65 year olds, but how can we do this and ignore those on our doorstep? It is about us becoming the people – the church – that God wants us to be. It is about us becoming vulnerable and serving in love the world God came to save and rescue – as he became a small vulnerable baby 2000 years ago in Bethlehem.

There being no further business the meeting was closed by the Rector.

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10% Team Annual Report

(for year ending 30 September 2009)

Area of Responsibility

The 10% Fund administers the giving away of 10% of the income of St. Paul's and St. George's Church. This tithe has been a feature of P's and G's for many years. The 10% Fund exists for the purpose of extending God’s kingdom by making disbursements of a charitable nature to projects which operate wholly or primarily outwith St. Paul's & St. George's Church, and which are compatible with its Christian ethos.

The Fund is administered by the 10% Team which typically meets every two months to consider applications under 5 broad categories:

• Youth (support for work with children and young people)
• Student (support for student related activities)
• Short Termers (support for people serving in the UK or overseas ordinarily for a maximum period of 2 years)
• Local Concerns (support for social projects and ministries in and around Edinburgh)
• Wider Concerns (support for national or international work, campaigns or disaster relief)

The work fits into the strategy under "Serving The World"..."We will give away at least 10% of our income in various projects in Edinburgh, Scotland and beyond"

Summary of preceding year

It was a very unusual year for the 10% Fund, as for the first time the Fund was suspended for 6 months of the year due to wider cashflow issues at St. Paul's and St. George's. During this time we did not advertise the Fund, held new applications which had been received, and made sure that payments were made to those recipients with whom there were ongoing commitments (e.g. payments over 2 or 3 years). It was great news just at the end of the financial year to have the Fund reinstated and to consider the pending applications. The fact that the Fund had been closed for 6 months means that we have finished the year with a surplus of £18,230 unspent; an unusual situation in recent years. This will be carried into the new financial year.

The 10% Team in 2008/9 was Gwyn Higham, Geoff Horne, Marjory Horne, Jane Hurst, Mike Nicholson, Chris Purcell, Kirsty Purcell and Kath Williamson (as Vestry Representative) replaced halfway through the year by Derek Gordon. It was a sad loss to the 10% Team when Gwyn Higham died. She had served on this Team for over 15 years and believed passionately that Ps and Gs was blessed in much of what it did, because it committed to give 10% of its income away.

In the year £23,050 was given away to es-team (Scripture Union), Sunflower Garden/Simpson House, the Princes Street Easter Play, Bethany Christian Trust, Fikelela AIDS Charity, London Institute of Contemporary Christianity, Cheryl’s Children’s Home, Amica Pregnancy Crisis Centre, Asian Concern, UCCF, Friends International, CityLife.

Targets for the coming year

Our targets for the coming year will be to spend the preceding year’s surplus as well as the new allocation. To do this we will be making every effort to raise the profile of the Fund with the congregation and beyond. We have started by having a stall at the Ministries Fair and are planning for the Fund to feature on the church website. We will also be featuring some of the recipients of the Fund in The Blether. We are also keen to ensure that the Fund provides support for people doing short term mission placements as we have received a much reduced number of applications for this category in the last two years.

Resource Implications for the coming year

Jon Hammond joins the 10% team in October 2009 which will provide the hands-on experience of short term mission which he has been involved with for 18 years, and a close link with the Global Focus Team which he also serves on. We will also liaise closely with the Local Focus area of ministries with a view to taking a co-ordinated approach.

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Alpha Annual Report

(for year ending 30 September 2009)

Area of Responsibility

Alpha and After Alpha

Alpha is an introduction to the Christian faith. The course runs over 11 weeks – Thursday evenings from 7 to 9.30 – starts with drinks and a delicious meal (thanks to a talented and dedicated catering team) followed by a talk (a mix of live speakers – this year Dave Richards, George Craig and Bruce Foley - and DVD of Nicky Gumbel, Vicar of HTB in Knightsbridge, the driving force behind Alpha) and then discussion in small groups led by a squad of committed, thoughtful and imaginative leaders and helpers. The course includes a day or weekend away where the focus is on the Holy Spirit. This year James Torrance was the guest speaker on the Weekend Away to Ardeonaig by Loch Tay on the winter course and Dave Richards led the Day Event on the spring course;

After Alpha courses are offered as a follow on for people who have made commitments or grown in their faith on Alpha or who just want to learn more. This year, three After Alpha groups ran in the spring and summer.

Summary of preceding year

We were very fortunate in having fabulous leadership and catering teams for both Alpha courses. Some leaders had to stand down after the winter course because of other commitments but we were able to replenish the teams with others, thus building up an ever larger pool of experienced Alpha leaders. Super teams also led the After Alpha courses. So this is an area of ministry with no shortage of leadership talent. We were also greatly encouraged by the numbers starting and sticking with both Alpha courses – more than 50 in total. The church family has heard a cross section of what Alpha has meant and is meaning to people in the interviews as part of the build up to the 2009-10 season. It is wonderful to see people who have come to faith or have recommitted through Alpha and then going on to play their part in the wider life of the church family serving in a variety of areas.

Does the church family as a whole value and support Alpha as much as we should given that it is one of our main means of evangelistic outreach? Alpha eaders are delighted by the efforts that some have made and are making to get their friends and contacts along to a low key, relaxed event which, given national and international publicity, has street cred and helps many on their spiritual journey. It takes courage to invite someone to Alpha and it’s great that some have done it. But what if we all introduced one friend a year to Alpha? Then we would need to call on all our leadership resources and might struggle to cope, but that’s a challenge we would love to have.

Targets for the coming year

We plan to run Alpha twice in 2009-10. We are off to a great start with over 70, including team, at the first night of the winter course. We again have a great team with real strength in depth and a super group of guests. Our target is that the numbers would be up on last year – so far so good. All the leaders have prayer partners and our prayer is that even more in the church would get behind Alpha in prayer and in actively promoting Alpha among their friends and acquaintances.

Resource Implications for the coming year

It costs £50 for each guest on the Alpha course, including food, courses, materials etc. In addition there are some costs for publicity and travel and accommodation for the weekend away speakers. All guests on the course are invited, irrespective of means, to attend the weekend away and in the past generous donations have enabled us to subsidise those guests who are unable to meet the cost. A donation last year allowed us to give every guest their own copy of one of the gospels during the week on “Why and how should I read the Bible?” God has graciously provided for Alpha in every way over the last year and given us everything we need to support the increasing number of guests. The biggest resource request looking ahead is for every member of the church family to commit to pray now for the guest they will invite along to the next course.

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Children's Ministry Annual Report

(for year ending 30 September 2009)

Area of Responsibility

The Children's area is responsible for our eight Sunday morning groups, Energise, Babies & Toddlers and the Parenting Course.

Summary of preceding year

Sunday morning groups – We have eight groups which meet during the morning service. In January we started a new group for our 2 year olds which has meant we have a much calmer Mini Bubbles and can concentrate on getting to know the children and parents. In our primary groups we have developed our link with Cheryls and our times of Worship Together. In June we piloted new teaching material which changes the structure of our Sunday mornings, having a time together to learn about the day’s theme before moving into age specific groups. This went well and we are now using the material. The structure is working well with our groups and we would like to see this continue into the coming year; however we are also keen to keep our goal of deepening relationships at the forefront of our mornings.

Energise – After some time of thought and discussion on how we should connect with children who do not come to church, it was decided to concentrate on building relationships with our children then encouraging them to invite their friends outwith the church to events. Therefore we started Energise which will run twice a term for primary 3-7 with one trip and one event held in the church. Our first event happened in September with 25children invading Dalkeith Country Park. We have another event planned for early November where we are going to have a fun evening on the theme 'Lights, Camera, Action'.

Babies & Toddlers – Last term Babies & Toddlers went from strength to strength with lots of parents and their children enjoying their hour and a half in the church. We stopped the group for summer and were concerned about how many people would continue after the break. This fear was not fulfilled as within our first four weeks we had 93 families signed up with the absolute majority from out with the church. The team has been great at getting to know the families and caring for them. However with growing numbers coming we need a growing team to get along side the families. We would love to see more families making the step from Thursday morning to Sunday mornings and hopefully the Parenting Course and other courses will facilitate this.

Parenting Course – There has long been a desire to run a parenting course in the church. In September this year we launched a course using the Care for the Family material. Our seven families who attend are enjoying their time and we are hopeful to run a course twice a year inviting both church and babies & toddlers' parents.

In summary, this year has been 'fast'. The time has flown and the vision has grown. It is great being part of a growing ministry and team of enthusiastic people.

Targets for the coming year

• Develop strong and steady teams for all the Sunday morning groups.
• Develop Energise with growing enthusiasm and anticipation.
• Run an Easter Holiday Club.
• Investigate to the possibility of starting another Babies & Toddlers group.
• Develop the parenting course with the possibility of running another course in February 2010.

Resource Implications for the coming year

• With an expanding programme we need expanding teams!
• More prayer for this ministry; prayer for vision and wisdom on how to implement the vision.

Gemma Stoddart, Children's Director

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Christians Against Poverty Annual Report

(for year ending 30 September 2009)

Area of Responsibility

CAP Centre (debt counselling) Steering Group:

A group has been informally meeting since March 2009 when 5 members of Ps and Gs went to a Church Partnership Day at Christians against Poverty HQ in Bradford. This group has now been formally constituted with the aims of:

Summary of preceding year

2009 Diary:

18 March CAP Partnership day Bradford —Derek Gordon, James Galbraith, Jess Smith, Richard Sneller and Rosie Benham

5 May Meeting for 20+ people who registered interest at Making Church Happen event

9 June CAP Money training Bristol – Rosie Benham

9 September CAP Partnership day Bradford — Dave Richards and Diana Hall

12 September CAP Money training Bristol – Rosie Addis, Morag Park, Andy Davis, Iain Wright, Paul Benham

27 September Activities Fair — sign-up for CAP centre support and CAP Money course

29 September to October 13 CAP Money Course — 18 started, 14 finished course (17 on waiting list for future courses)

12 October First Steering Group — James, Derek, Diana, Rosie and Paul

17 October Article in Blether

Highlights:

There has been a lot of positive interest in CAP with 20 or more church members maintaining and active interest in the establishment of the CAP Centre and involvement in CAP Money. CAP Money course well received and enthusiasm amongst Money coaches to run more courses in-house and to take the course out into different environments. Positive progress of steering group towards a Spring 2010 launch.

Weaknessess:

Current lack of funds but strategy to secure funds in place so not perceived as a problem so far.

Connection with other teams:

Members from Parents and Toddlers and Women on Tuesday and Students have joined in CAP Money with prospect of more connections with those groups. There have been the beginnings of discussion with the Local Action team about how we might work together.

Targets for the coming year

Targets:

CAP Sunday in 2010 with speaker from Christians against Poverty Bardford, to raise profile and generate enthusiasm for CAP

More CAP Money courses in different settings

Training of more Money Coaches

Project manage plan to launch CAP Centre in April/May 2010

Partnership working with MBC and Wester Hailes centres

Systems and Monitoring:

The CAP Steering Group will continue to meet regularly and report to Vestry, Director of Operations and Rector.

Paul and Rosie Benham to take responsibility for project management.

James Galbraith and Derek appointed to raise funds for £25k annual budget.

Monitoring of the process by CAP HQ Bradford — requirement for us to report to CAP HQ and to work to their requirements.

Resource Implications for the coming year

Financial Needs:

At least £25k per year from April 2010

People Required:

CAP Centre Manager 3 days per week.

Possible Debt Coach (later).

Money Coaches (as many as possible).

Admin Support:

We are well placed with administrative skills and resources in our steering group but when a CAP Centre manager is in place it would be useful to consider some admin support from the church office. (not known how much needed as CAP HQ makes appointments with clients etc.)

Communications Support:

Publicity via Website and Blether ongoing.

Technology/ Equipment:

From April 2010 Centre Manager will need PC with internet connection, mobile phone, access to office resources such as photocopying, printing and postal services.

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Counselling Annual Report

(for year ending 30 September 2009)

Area of Responsibility

The counselling team aims to provide a listening ear for anyone in the congregation, their friends, and folk from the local community, whether the need is to talk through a dilemma, make a decision, or explore an ongoing problem with trained help. We are also used by some local medical services and other churches. We are involved with training, supervision and liaising with other agencies.

Angie provides a counselling service to pupils at Drummond School which is much appreciated. We hope to raise the profile of the church as a place where people can bring their difficulties and receive a professional service.

Summary of preceding year

During the last year we have struggled with a waiting list that grew faster than we could keep up with. This means that some folk did not get the help the needed and we missed opportunities to make a difference. We have maintained good relationships with other agencies and arranged joint training workshops. We are grateful to many people... our external supervisors, our volunteers, and not least the vestry for funding a service which, although some clients donate generously, some could not afford.

Targets for the coming year

As well as maintaining the counselling service we plan to liaise with Myra Martin and the pastoral care team and join together for training sessions etc. e g the listening course in the spring.

Resource Implications for the coming year

We don’t envisage any major costs apart from our regular supervision and training budgets.

However we have had feedback regarding the depressing nature of the stair up to No 12 where Angie works (and the clergy). A fresh lick of paint would make all the difference...? Cost...?? a volunteer or two ???

Hazel Beamish, Head of Counselling Service

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Eco Congregation Annual Report

(for year ending 30 September 2009)

Area of Responsibility

The eco-congregation group seek to remind the church family that we are meant to be stewards of his world (Gen 2.15). Whilst there are many areas of environmental action that depend on governments, there are many that are our own personal choices. In a world of excessive consumption these choices take us back to the core values of being Christians. "Climate change is not just an environmental issue - it's a threat to people living in poverty." TEARFUND. When considering this statement we believe that the groups ethos fits strongly into the strategy under three categories "worshipping God, loving people and serving the world". The ethos and remit of the group also has powerful synergy with other church activities such as "Just Christmas".

Summary of preceding year

In the last year the leadership has changed from Andrew Mott to Neil Hollow. Too many people are involved to be mentioned specifically except about activities below. One of our members, Alan Beal, a professional energy engineer has carried out an energy audit on the church building. Victoria Deschampsneufs has organised a reflective prayer walk with the reflective prayer group. The wildlife artist John Busby gave a talk in conjunction with arocha. Victoria also organised the "bike doctor" from the Bike Station to undertake minor adjustments and repairs to congregation members bikes after the morning service. Members of the group held a stall at the activity fair with energy saving and other leaflets on them.

Other activities which involved members of the group (or happened in the church family) included a litter pick up along the Water of Leith and in Niddrie (in conjunction with emerge). Seed planting and distribution of free Ecological Washing up liquid samples at babies and toddlers took place. Ruben's amazing puppet making using recycled materials happened on the church picnic and The Light had an eco-themed evening. Neil has been monitoring the church’s energy use on a weekly basis for a year. He and Mark fitted some draught excluders to several church doors. A group of four couples who cycle regularly to church have donated five cycle racks, these will be installed in the next few weeks.

The major disappointment is the lack of any major action on the church’s high energy consumption. In addition as a general point we are really good at praising GOD in our songs and prayers for the beauty of creation, but only rarely do we pray through the implications of this (although it was great that the Copenhagen conference was prayed for several times recently). There is some interest in having some kind of harvest festival service. There is scope for increased cooperation with the youth leaders on the issues of the environment.

However, overall we are very encouraged with the way things are going and with what we know is planned by the church for the future in this area. We are also very pleased three members of our congregation are going on official basis to the Copenhagen climate treaty conference. We interact as required with other people and work better with others in the church family than alone, we have found Jessica in particular very open and helpful.

Targets for the coming year

Our biggest fear is that we only pay lip service to being signed up to being in eco-congregation, however we currently think this is unlikely.

Wish list! Sign up as a church to 10:10 a campaign to cut carbon emissions by 10% in 2010. Gain an eco-congregation first level award (we currently meet the criteria to be awarded this), then start working on the next level. It would be great to find a way to buy some trees for the reforestation program in Kenya initiated by Nobel prize winner Professor Wangari Maathai, which is suffering a climate change induced drought. Most of all we would like the church to engage with what Christian economist Gary Hamel in the 2009 Global leadership summit called the paradigm shift issues of energy security (peak oil), climate change and global food security. These are not just issues that will affect us all, they are also primarily moral issues that should therefore concern Christians. We would like to show a short documentary film on one of these subjects. We would like to use more local food in our meals/lunches together perhaps with some provided by some congregation members. More engagement with the youth organisations, drama, quizzes etc. A youth weekend away at the Camas centre on Mull?

Against his better judgement Neil has agreed to run a one off basic bicycle maintenance workshop possibly with either Dave Hurst (senior), or professional help. We would also be interested in using the church website environmental discussion forums to set up a lend/share/swap service. We are going to carry out a simple purely voluntary transport survey, depending on the results we may attempt to facilitate some kind of car sharing scheme for those who wish to be involved. We are just starting to think about some more cooperation with the reflective prayer group.

Resource Implications for the coming year

Financially almost none, in fact we hope to use our expertise to save the church money in its heating/lighting bills. Need continuing very minor admin support with sending energy readings and help from the production team to show a documentary film. We would like help from the production team to help engage the congregation, young and old so that creation care is seen as something that's fun, community spirited and part of our calling.

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Fabric Annual Report

(for year ending 30 September 2009)

Area of Responsibility

The Fabric Team was reconvened this year as a result of the conclusion of Project21. The group has been given the responsibility for:

• preparing, and obtaining approval for, a rolling 5 year strategy for the maintenance and improvement of all the Church properties and major equipment;
• preparing the annual fabric budget identifying priorities and advising on how best to proceed, bringing special knowledge of building practices and regulations;
• planning the budgeted projects and monitoring the expenditure for value and effectiveness, gathering quotes and supervising contractors; and
• ensuring efficient use of utilities including energy and water to minimise costs.

The group oversees the vestry’s management of the 6 church properties (the church, two rectories, three community centres/offices).

Summary of preceding year

This year the fabric improvements were primarily reactive, responding to immediate needs as they arose. These included a new boiler in 12 Broughton Street and a new Boiler and sash window in East Fettes Ave.

As a result of Duncan and Jane leaving, we have taken the opportunity to upgrade and repair Balgreen Rd in preparation for a new Associate Rector or tenant. There have been a number of successful working groups who have undertaken much of the decoration work (thank you to all those involved!) and Mark Humphrey-Taylor, our caretaker, has also been employed to carry out much of the improvements.

While Project 21 Snagging continues the team has focused on auditing the other properties, but will in time resume focus on the church building. Some of the main issues with the church building are around regular maintenance issues, energy consumption and efficient heating. These are currently being explored.

The team includes a member of Vestry as Chair (Stephen Brooks) and the Operations Manager (Jessica Smith) and members: Chris Drury, Alice Hart and Neil Hollow.

Targets for the coming year

The team is concerned to develop a 5 year program to ensure long term up keep of our buildings is carried out efficiently. Audits of our properties and reflection on the strategy are planned for the coming year.

Resource Implications for the coming year

We continue to look for new members for the 2009-2010 year who have specialist building skills. We are particularly interested in those with a compliance/regulations background or who might have knowledge of a network of trades-people.

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Fair Trade Report

(for year ending 30 September 2009)

Area of Responsibility

Our group aims to maintain the status of Fairtrade Church which we attained, which means we have to:

• Use Fairtrade tea and coffee after services and in all meetings for which you have responsibility
• Move forward on using other Fairtrade products such as sugar, biscuits and fruit
• Promote Fairtrade during Fairtrade Fortnight and during the year through events, worship and other activities whenever possible

Summary of preceding year

We are a small group, with an active core of members, who meet approximately every 6 weeks.

This year we organised, a series of stalls at each Church service on a Sunday, offering people a chance to buy fairly traded items, as well as promoting the variety of products which are available.

We have recently offered to lead a homegroup with an evening of activities, including bible study, quiz and discussion on fair and unfair trade and how this impacts our lives as Christians.

We ran a Fairtrade coffee tasting event where we watched the movie Black Gold, discussed the issues and tasted coffee. This raised £205 towards the Church giving to World Vision.

Targets for the coming year

We will continue to run Fairtrade stalls on a quarterly basis.

We will promote Fairtrade Fortnight 2010.

We are hoping look at some of the wider issues which surround world trade, and to explore how these issues relate to the Church. This is to teach, and to inspire activism where injustice is visible. We hope to run a workshop in 2010.

Resource Implications for the coming year

At present we fund ourselves through our activities.

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Global Focus Annual Report

Global Focus Team (formerly World Mission)(for year ending 30 September 2009)

Area of Responsibility

Reflecting P's&G's strategy, our aim is to show God’s love globally through links with our existing mission partners whom we continue to support in prayer and finance, and also by looking at ways of encouraging a wider interest and participation in God’s mission internationally at P's&G's. This includes helping to identify specific social, economic and spiritual needs around the world.

Summary of preceding year

• With grateful thanks to God and the generosity of P's&G's congregation, we exceeded the gift day target of £45,000 by the end of the financial year. This enables us to fulfil our commitment to mission partners over the coming year as well as continue to develop links with Kisumu, Kenya via World Vision.
• Stuart and Janeth Aitken (Ecuador) and Vincent and Beatrice Langariti (Uganda) completed their time as mission partners moving on into other areas of work and/or service. However, P's&G's commissioned one new mission partner in August '09, Kieren Barnes, who joined the staff of Cheryl's Home, Nairobi. Hopefully his being at Cheryl’s will strengthen the link already set in place with P's&G's Youth Fellowship as well as provide opportunities for others who wish to take part in short term mission trips to do so.
• Thanks to Gemma Stoddart, the children’s work now includes a regular focus on world mission. Some of this is building on the links with Kieren and Cheryl’s Home and relationships made through the YF visits. The youngsters are encouraged to write letters, send shoe boxes with presents at Christmas and also to find out more about the culture and issues faced by children in Kenya and to pray for them.
• The Global Focus (world mission) team recruited two new members – Alison Strang and Cathy Richards – both with first hand knowledge of the community links with Kisumu, Kenya. Six team meetings were held during the year when P’s&G’s strategy paper was looked at in the light of how best to encourage wider interest and participation in world mission and how this could better link into present areas of ministry in the church. We recognised this to be an ongoing process.
• A key priority of the GF team is to encourage prayer for world mission and world issues and that a focus on prayer for world mission becomes integrated into the overall church strategy for improving the prayer life of the church. To help encourage prayer, WM prayer meetings were held but, unfortunately, were not well attended. News and newsletters from mission partners were also circulated to home/small group leaders for information, sharing and prayer. A monthly mission partner prayer focus appeared in the weekly newssheet and on the Sunday service notice overheads.
• World Mission now has its own page on the P's&G's website although some material cannot be displayed due to sensitivity. WM was given its own dedicated notice board in church. Globetrotter was distributed three times during the year with details of mission partners and prayer requests. The September Activity Fair stall attracted interest for follow up.
• Mission partners Mike & Helen Parker, Malcolm & Carrie Lyon, Stuart & Janeth Aitken visited Edinburgh during the year and shared at Sunday services and in home groups. Over the summer months, there were separate visits from Perry Ngerry and Esther, and from Mary Muinde, all from World Vision Kenya, who shared in Sunday services.
• Developing short term mission opportunities is still a key area but did not progress as intended due to time constraints.

Targets for the coming year

• Ensure that the work and ministry of P's&G's mission partners is promoted and shared as widely as possible and through as many media as possible so that they are supported through encouragement, prayer and financial giving. This will include a new look Globetrotter and greater inclusion in the Blether. The GF team are working with the Communications Team on this.
• Financially to raise sufficient funds through the annual gift day target to ensure that the financial support we give to mission partners, and to the Kisumu link, is appropriate to needs and increasing costs and to fulfilling P's&G's commitment of support. Financial support to partners has remained the same for the past two years due to financial constraints.
• Encourage and develop increased prayer for world mission in the prayer life of the church individually and corporately as well as in small groups. This will be helped by the anticipated appointment of a Prayer Coordinator. It is also hoped to have more definite links between church home/small groups and mission partners.
• Develop a short term mission programme which encourages an age-wide involvement in different projects and ministries overseas. Also try to discover better ways for those who have been overseas to feed back their experiences at P's&G's.
• Look at ways to encourage wider interest and participation in God’s mission internationally. This could be through holding workshops on various world development, social, economic issues or taking a more proactive approach to short term mission opportunities. A workshop planned for 10 October, and open to other churches in Edinburgh, will look at church involvement in overseas mission and development projects and is also aimed at Christians concerned with global injustice. The speaker is Steve Haas from World Vision. This workshop cooincides with P's&G's Global Focus weekend for the launch of Just Christmas
• Explore more about what the Kisumu link to P's&G's through World Vision will mean within the church.

Resource Implications for the coming year

• To raise £50,000 (gift day target) over the coming financial year - mainly in order to meet our mission partner commitment of support but also to have a small fund available to help develop links with Kisumu.
• Receive help and guidance from the Communications Team in the task of keeping P's&G's congregation aware, informed and praying for mission partners, Kisumu and other global issues.
• Support in keeping P's&G's global focus web page up-todate and relevant.
• Support from the P's&G's Prayer Coordinator so that world prayer concerns are fed into Sunday service intercessory prayer as well as into other areas of prayer within the church.

Pauline Hurst, Chairperson

Team members include: Alison Creasey; Jon Hammond; Roderick Mackenzie (Vestry rep); Cath Macneal; Peter Quill; Cathy Richards; Alison Strang.

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International Students Annual Report

(for year ending 30 September 2009)

Area of Responsibility

International Student work at P’s&G’s has two aims: supporting and encouraging Christian students and attempting to reach out to non-Christian students. We do this by organising outings and indoor events in No 40 and in team members’ homes. Contact is made through the international student intranets at Edinburgh and Queen Margaret Universities, language schools and the Wee World Café organised under the auspices of Friends International.

We are showing God’s love to the large number of people from overseas who are studying in Edinburgh and stimulating in them an interest in the Christian faith.

Summary of preceding year

An increasing number of students have attended our events and it is always encouraging to see people coming regularly and bringing their friends.On a few occasions we could not meet the demand for places and had to start a waiting list. Countries represented include Poland, Australia, Botswana, Rwanda, China, S Korea, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, France, Ukraine, USA, Canada, Russia.

After the Activity Fair last November, we had a good response to our request for more team members.

We organised 5 outings, 4 indoor events and a barbecue. Although the outings are popular, students really enjoy being welcomed into a Scottish home and the hospitality, provided by the McDowells (Christmas Tea), the Hornes (At Home), the Martins (Easter Play lunch) and the Snellers (Barbecue), seems to make a lasting impression on the students and is a tangible way of expressing Christian love to the stranger.

In July, David Jeffrey led three walks which involved climbing the 7 Hills of Edinburgh. Hopefully these will be a regular feature of our programme as walks provide a chance for more in-depth conversations with the students.

In January, the team lost one of its most faithful members when Gwyn Higham died. Gwyn was a willing driver and could always be relied upon. Her pawky sense of humour made her very popular with the students and the others in the team. Gwyn is greatly missed.

Targets for the coming year

• To continue to provide outings and hospitality
• To encourage team members to link up with students on an individual basis
• To run a bible study where there is a demand.

Marjory Horne

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Lay Representative Annual Report

(for year ending 30 September 2009)

Area of Responsibility

As lay representative my main responsibility is to attend the Edinburgh Diocesan Synod twice each year. The other responsibilities are to keep in touch with other churches in our area namely the East End Churches Together and the Forth Area Council of Episcopal Churches.

Summary of preceding year

East End Churches Together consisted of Broughton St. Mary's Church of Scotland, St. Mary's Roman Catholic Cathedral, Stockbridge Parish Church and St. Andrew's and St. George's Church of Scotland. The EECT met five times each year and in the past clergy from various churches attended these meetings but latterly only lay representatives from the various churches were present. The main focus of these evenings was to share news of the various activities going on in our churches and to plan communal activities together. At the beginning of the 2008/09 session there was a general feeling that we were not achieving the main purpose of our constitution. It was decided at that time that each church representative would discuss with their clergy ways in which we could revitalise EECT and obtain more involvement from congregations. After many months of discussion a decision was finally reached in May that EECT should no longer function. It was agreed however that any outreach ventures in the future which individual churches were organising would be open to former EECT member churches. There was a distinct feeling of sadness that EECT was being disbanded but realistically there was a general consensus that this decision was the correct one. We participated in the annual carol singing in the local Tesco supermarket in Broughton Road and this event afforded us the opportunity of distributing Christmas cards to shoppers detailing the Christmas services in our churches. It is our intention to continue this joint venture. We hosted the World Day of Prayer Service in March which was written by the women from Papua. New Guinea. We had an attendance of around thirty at this service.

Forth Area Council: There has only been one meeting of this group of churches in the current year.

Diocesan Synod - October 2008: In the Bishop's Address he referred to the fact that society seems to be falling apart; references were made to climate change, the financial situation and following on from Lambeth, the Anglican communion. He felt that previous crises did not have the same impact as our current situation. Globalisation played such a huge part in life to-day and he gave the example of a smoky factory in Wales creating problems for polar bears in the Arctic and of course, in the Anglican communion, decisions in one church have repercussions on the other side of the world. He concluded by saying that for the Christian, the answer must lie in God and quoted St. Augustine, "Our hearts are restless till we rest in Thee". Many viewpoints were then expressed throughout the discussion of the St. Andrews draft Anglican covenant and further meetings were to take place. It is always interesting to listen to reports on the Youth and Children's work carried out in the diocese mainly through the work of the Youth and Children's Officer. She very clearly gives a lot of valued assistance to churches in the diocese where repeatedly there is the cry, "We have no children in our church". One realises again and again in listening to such reports, how blessed we are when we see the vast numbers of young people streaming through our doors each Sunday.

March 2009: The format of the March synod took the form of both plenary and group discussion. This change of format was accepted positively by all present and it was interesting and stimulating to hear varying viewpoints expressed by both clergy and lay representatives from very diverse backgrounds to our own. The Bishop in his opening talk highlighted the fact that the church to-day faces a militant atheist culture which comes in so many forms. He referred to the various changes in society which have taken place over the years and highlighted the need to engage with the younger generation for the future of the Church. Once again, we heard from the diocesan Youth and Children's Officer as she referred to the various culture changes which contribute to falling away of families attending church. It was most interesting to hear in our subsequent group discussion of the varied ways in which some churches are reaching out to their communities. I was very impressed to hear about "Messy Church" which takes the form of parents bringing along children to church, usually on a Saturday morning, and involving them in various "messy" activities and then moving on to a brief act of worship altogether. Following lunch there was discussion re changes to various Canons and the final session was devoted to finance and administration.

Targets for the coming year

The Lay Representative will continue to attend the above events and encourage support for any outreach events which EECT may plan in the future.

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Local Action Annual Report

(for year ending 30 September 2009)

Area of Responsibility

There are 5 people on the Local Action Team organizing projects for members of the congregation (plus family and friends) to get involved in the local community. The aims of each project are:

• To help the wider community
• To provide an opportunity for church members to get to know each other better by working alongside each other
• To require a one-off commitment of one day maximum

The Team also organizes "a;Hot Topic"a; nights where speakers are invited to brief us and anyone interested in opportunities to get involved in helping in the local community.

Summary of preceding year

Events

• Decorated flat for a man supported by Bethany Christian Trust through their Passing the Baton project (4 participants)
• Organised "Hot topic night" on Youth and Children’s work opportunities in our city. Speakers Keiren and Gemma (from Ps and Gs) and Jo Black from Scripture Union
• Organised 2 litter-picks in Craigmillar and 1 litter-pick along Water of Leith in partnership with the Ps and Gs Environment group (Average - 5 participants each time)
• Organised a group to help at the Christian Aid Book Sale (at St Andrew’s & St George’s church) (3 participants)
• Organised a group to help with Bethany’s Caring Christmas Tree distribution
• Brainstorming evening for new projects / identifying passions and skills (10 participants)

Outcomes

• Although the turn out for each event was lower than we would have liked, at each event there were new people coming along and therefore we had the chance to get to know people from the church who we hadn’t known previously.
• St Andrew’s and St George’s were delighted that Ps and Gs were helping them with their book sale (good for inter-church relationships)
• Some conversations with local people in Craigmillar who were surprised but pleased that we were tidying in their area
• We showed a man in Leith, through spending time decorating his flat, that we cared about him.
• One of the team attended the Christians Against Poverty training in Bradford to consider how Local Action can link in with CAP at Ps and Gs.

Disappointments

• We continue to struggle to identify appropriate projects, which results in our group being less active then we would like!
• We investigated with Bethany (and in consultation with Jess) the possibility of using either the church building or 40 York Place as a venue for their night shelter a few nights per year. Bethany decided that neither building is appropriate.

Targets for the coming year

• We will continue to organise projects which meet the aims set out above.
• In particular we will continue to take referrals from Passing the Baton to decorate flats.
• We also anticipate referrals through Christians Against Poverty for decorating or gardening projects.
• We plan to send teams to help with Caring Christmas Trees and the Christian Aid Booksale.
• We will be more proactive in marketing projects to home groups (which has had limited success in the past) and through the notice sheet.
• We will pray more for new opportunities for projects.
• We have not, as yet, made much progress on identifying local needs not being met by others. We plan to talk to social workers and support workers to try to find out where their clients have unmet needs that we may be able to address.

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Marriage Courses Annual Report

(for year ending 30 September 2009)

Area of Responsibility

The Marriage Preparation Course and the Marriage Course aim to promote a positive view of marriage, to resource those who are about to get married, and to enrich the marriages of those who are already married within our church and in the wider area.

It is part of the Pastoral Care Strategy and fits into our aims of 'loving people' and serving our local community here in Edinburgh and beyond.

Summary of preceding year

Since September 2008 we have run The Marriage Course and the Marriage Preparation Course once each, and are currently running another Marriage Course.

The courses are different in flavour: the Marriage Course has smaller numbers (typically 7-10 couples) and a more intimate feel, enabling couples to engage with a different topic each week for 7 weeks and talk together at their own private table over a candlelit dinner. The Marriage Preparation Course gives people a chance to compare notes about the forthcoming 'big day' over dinner, but all the personal discussion is still done with your fiance(e) and privacy is respected at all times during the 5 sessions.

The talks were given by Jane and volunteers at the Marriage Course and Dave with Karl Martin from mbc at Marriage Prep, using the material from HTB in London, who market the course in the same way as Alpha. The hosts and caterers have continued to excel themselves with a warm welcome, pretty table decorations and amazing food! The move back in to the building gave us plenty scope for the courses to be larger. However the Marriage Course ran with 9 couples and was in the ground floor hall. The Marriage Prep course ran with 20 couples and was hosted in the main space.

A continuing highlight is the number of people from outwith Ps and Gs doing our courses, typically about half the guests this year. Some come from other churches and some through friends. A number of the engaged couples end up at the course because they have "googled" marriage prep courses!

For both courses, the lack of a steady team for teaching posed some difficulties; however the feedback from the couples did not reflect this!

The marriage courses team also took part in hosting a Marriage Course party event for promoting the marriage courses to other churches in the Edinburgh and East of Scotland area. We had around 15 couples attend from various churches and Nicky and Sila Lee the writers of the courses were there to talk about running a course and what it involves.

Targets and Resource Implications for the coming year

The marriage course is currently running with 7 couples attending and the talks are being given by DVD which is working very well. The marriage preparation course will run in Feb/March 2010. The main challenges ahead are pulling together a hosting team who are available for the full stretch of the courses. This is quite a big time commitment but one that is very rewarding for those involved. It is anticipated that the marriage prep course will run with upwards of 20 couples and in the main space. It is likely that the marriage course will run again in autumn 2010. The marriage preparation course requires a sound expert and the marriage course would require both sound and media help if it expanded into using the main space. At the moment the catering team is fine and admin support is provided by Mairi in the office.

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Operations Annual Report

(for year ending 30 September 2009)

Area of Responsibility

The Operations or Support area of the church's work covers Administration, Communications, Volunteers, Staff, Venue, Fabric and Finances. Many of the developments in these areas are detailed in other reports.

Summary of preceding year

The last year has been one of ongoing transition and change yet with many positive steps forward as everyone plays their part, serving with their gifts.

Administration: We saw a number of changes in office staff as Trey Gilliam left one of part-time administration role to serve in the Baptist Church. He was replaced by Muriel Samson who resigned to centre manage a new counselling service tied to St Mungo's Balerno. Due to our difficult financial situation this role has not been replaced. This has placed an extra load on Mairi Simpson (3 days per week Administrator) and Kay Hamilton (Financial Administrator) but has also seen the recruitment of numerous volunteers. Currently Liz Marchant, Terry Nicholson, Jaqui Trinder, Shirley Cook and Louise Finlay give their time each week to support the work in the office – this is much appreciated and has added to the office joie de vivre!

Communications: The Communications team were central to the development of the Making Church Happen materials, the Annual Handbook and are working on developing a new website and church management system. Angela Stormont continues to lead this team with great skill and enthusiasm. The Blether continues to be produced and provides a thoughtful and newsy entry point into church life. A working group was set up through 2009 to find the right product for our new website and church management system, this team reviewed our current practices and needs and has decided on the online ChurchInsight system. This product will be launched in January 2010.

Volunteers: This year we developed a comprehensive list of all the areas in which people are serving in the church. We sought to formalise each area with a leader and staff contact, so as to enable easier communication and spread of information. We held our Annual Ministry Fair to showcase all the different areas of church life and highlight the many ways members can get involved in the community. The Annual Handbook was designed to keep opening the church up so that anyone can find out what is going on and who to contact. A Volunteers thank you meal for our Ministry Area Leaders, Small Group Leaders and Vestry was held to celebrate the hard work that goes on and to look ahead – there are over 90 people who lead significant ministry teams and groups in the church and without each person playing their part Ps &Gs would not be what it is!

Staff: This year saw the creation of the role of Caretaker. Mark Humphrey-Taylor keeps the church running efficiently and is a welcome face at the door. Eric Raffaelli joined the team for a short while but resigned in January, he has not been replaced due to our financial cuts. Ray Dunn has been volunteering since February and does a stellar job in caretaking for much of our evening activities. The Vestry's Staffing Group continues to provide the infrastructure for our staff; undertaking recruitment, appraisals and policy reviews.

Venue: This year we have begun to let the building for events, conferences and training sessions to groups outwith the church. Our policy is that church use is always a priority and a pre-existing church booking will always take precedent over an external event. We have held a number of weddings, training courses and events and have begun to see some income arrive through this means. We have begun a commercial relationship with a high-level Edinburgh catering firm called Appetite Direct who are our exclusive caterers. They are happy to provide services to anyone who uses the building and will help with our future marketing and development. We are looking to develop the site under the title '46 York Place' as a conference centre. The level of activity in the building continues to place pressure on our own production teams who are essential to its use and we will need to take this into account as we consider further lettings. We have also been able to be a blessing to the wider church by hosting special events and stewarding/producing/catering for them, such as the Scotland Alpha Day and the WillowCreek Global Leadership Summit – again the dedication and help of our church volunteers was what made these days possible!

Targets for the coming year

• The development of the new church website and management system is much anticipated. We are hoping it will provide us with an online way of sharing information and working and will continue to provide open access to information.
• There are many opportunities for developing the church as a venue. We will continue to pursue the relationship with Appetite Direct and develop marketing materials and contacts as we seek to use the building as a way to raise additional income.

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Pastoral Care Annual Report

(for year ending 30 September 2009)

Area of Responsibility

The purpose of the pastoral care team is to support and enhance the care we give to one another within the church family. Its role is to assist the clergy in offering listening, encouraging and giving support to members of the church family.

The past year has been used to develop the team. The team is made up of Myra Martin, Rhona Gough, Shirley Cook, Jaqui Kerr and Joan Mackel.

Remit of the team developed in 2008-09

Members of the team should, be clearly identified and commissioned by the church within the context of a service.

The team will be:

• available to anyone in the church family and will have a role in trying to ensure that those on the fringe or who for a variety of reasons cannot be part of a supportive small group offered by the church, can be offered support and be helped to feel a part of the church family.
• It will also have a role in responding to people during times of crisis such as illness, accident, hospitalisation or particular times of stress.
• It will have a role in identifying practical needs (both long and short term) and planning how these can be met.
• It will keep links with counselling, prayer ministry, small groups and welcome team recognising that there will often be overlap.
• It will meet regularly for mutual support, development of skills, sharing ideas, reflecting on emerging needs and prayer.

In the current vacancy Myra Martin will have responsibility for co-ordinating the team and ensuring that the clergy are kept informed appropriately.

It is important for access to the team to be easy and discreet. It would be helpful to have a variety of routes.

1. An email address at the church office.
2. A slip on the notice sheet that can be passed on to a member of the team.
3. Direct approach to a member of the team by anyone in the church family.
4. Any of these methods could be used by members of the church family on behalf of another.

Members of the team will respect privacy and treat matters discussed as confidential except where information revealed shows that there is a risk to the health, well-being or safety of that person or another, or that it is a breach of the country's laws.

Members of the team will also need from time to time to share information with the co-ordinator or another colleague to ensure they are offering appropriate help and to contribute to the understanding of changing needs within the church family.

A simple record system of names, addresses and dates of contact will be kept.

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Prayer Annual Report

(for year ending 30 September 2009)

Not Available Yet: Come back soon.

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Project 21 Annual Report

(for year ending 30 September 2009)

Summary of preceding year

The P21 journey has continued to be exciting and challenging as we have sought to strengthen our Church life together and extend God's kingdom using all our new spaces and facilities. More and more we have seen how our original vision for the Church building is being realised.

At the time of writing we are still having to contend with contractors on site dealing with the snagging and defects that our architects listed at the end of August, one year after handover. Most of these are problems that we have been able to work round, but we still have some key issues to resolve, namely the heating and the glass entrance doors. In consultation with our architects and engineers various actions have already been taken, but final solutions have still to be found. A retention of £77,000 is being held until the architects are satisfied with the contractors' work.

The organ is not yet operational having been damaged due to the negligence of the contractor. The repairs have been covered by the contractor’s insurance and Forth Pipe Organs have set aside the week beginning 19th October to try to complete the work. If successful then it will have to be tested for a month before returning to action. We must trust that they will find nothing else wrong.

On a more positive note there was great news when our architects received the Building of the Year award from the Edinburgh Architectural Association.

We have continued to be blessed by the congregation's generous financial support. In the past year a further £400,000 has been received, taking the total raised to £6,080,000, reducing our funding gap to £903,000. In January 2009 this gap stood at £1.1m, which we borrowed in the form of a 20 year term loan. We have been able to make early repayments of £150,000 and monthly repayments totalling £30,000 so the loan stood at £920,000 at the end of September 2009. We expect soon to make another early repayment of £50,000 as the congregation continues to give to P21.

Thank you for all the support given to this project and for your forebearance as the outstanding building problems are resolved. We pray that as a congregation we continue to find new ways of using the Church building to extend the work of God’s kingdom and to glorify His name.

Geoff Horne

P21 Treasurer

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Small Groups Annual Report

(for year ending 30 September 2009)

Area of Responsibility

Small groups within the church include home groups (currently 13) and other groups such as 'Women on Tuesday', the Student Group, the theological reading group and the Reflective Prayer Group. The central aims of home groups continue to include being a place to build community where people can feel they belong within the church and can get to know others at a deeper level, as well as to grow to know more of God and to be encouraged as they serve God through their daily lives.

Although small groups have been seen mostly to be within the 'Love Others' part of our church strategy there is a lot of overlap with other areas - as groups that function well also help people to 'Worship God' and 'Serve the World'.

Summary of preceding year

Over the past year there have been a fairly stable number of home groups meeting (13-14). This ministry has been led by a group of enthusiastic and skilled small group leaders who have kept the groups going despite a lot of change. Duncan MacLaren co-ordinated the home groups until his departure in Jan 2009, after that Dave Richards kept things going until August 2009 when Di Hollow took over the co-ordination. In addition to this two of the supporters stood down and one new one was appointed – there are now three in place (David Beamish, Sarah Roberts and James Bryce).

In addition to the traditional activities of Bible study and prayer, groups have been involved in a variety of other activities including meals, weekends away, decorating parties and even worship with the help of songs from 'You tube'!

The other small(ish) groups within the Small Group structure ('Women on Tuesday', the student group, the reflective prayer group and the theological reading group) have continued to flourish throughout the year, although the number of theological reading groups has dropped from two to one.

Targets for the coming year

There are a number of areas which we plan to develop within the next 12 months. These include:-

1. Opening up some of the Small Group leader training events to other members of small groups.
2. Clarifying and developing the role of the supporters.
3. Starting up a new review process.
4. A new North Edinburgh group is due to start in the next couple of weeks.
5. There is the possibility of a new current issues small group which would meet fortnightly from Jan 2010.
6. The new website will allow Small Groups to communicate in fresh ways.
7. In addition to all this we want to encourage small group leaders to continue the high quality ministry they are already providing.
8. We will need to liaise with those involved in starting up any pilot Pastorates if this occurs within the next 12 months – so that the two ministries complement each other rather than compete with each other.

Resource Implications for the coming year

1. Administrative support – help with practical matters eg updating the website, notices in notice sheet etc.
2. Financial – for books, course materials, leaders workshop expenses.
3. Some supervision and advice from Myra Martin (Vestry lead for 'Loving Others' part of strategy) and Dave Richards.
4. Use of church venues for leaders meetings.

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Students Annual Report

(for year ending 30 September 2009)

Area of Responsibility

As a Student Team, we organise a welcome for new students each year at P's&G's and run a student group which meets weekly. Our current team consists of Steve Best, Peter Alderdice, Sarah Fuller and Elise Kornahrens. Our primary aim is to get along side students and help them develop in their Christian faith. This is through regular bible study and prayer with an emphasis on living out our faith in the world.

Summary of preceding year

Over the preceding year, we met in No 40 York Place with a relatively small group mainly made up of 1st & 2nd year students from a wide range of local universities. We studied material from Navigators & Willowcreek looking at 'The character of a follower of Jesus' and Philippians. We had a number of prayer meals with some visiting guests from IFES, Wycliffe and our own Fiona Poulson. One highlight was our trip to the Falkland retreat centre in Fife which for some, was their first experience of Celtic spirituality & reflection. We had a number of social events which worked well in helping the group gel.

Targets for the coming year

We have been encouraged by the return of past members as well as quite a number of new faces to the group. We have worked hard to welcome new students to P's&G's over the past 6 weeks and we need to continue to make students feel valued and integrated into the church community. The relaunch of student hospitality by Esther Mclean will help fulfil this aim. We need to continue to listen to what the needs of students are and help facilitate communication within P's&G's so together we can seek to meet them.

Resource Implications for the coming year

We are grateful to the financial & logistical support of P's&G's in our work and the hospitality offered by many.

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Vestry Annual Report

(for year ending 30 September 2009)

The past year has been one of great challenge and blessing. After the excitement of the move back into the church building and the launch of the strategy for 2009-14, we faced major challenges in increasing our income to cover our expenditure and recruiting volunteers for all our ministries and activities. We launched ‘Making Church Happen’ in November 2008 with a ministry fair, a communications programme, and an evening of prayer in January 2009. We have been overwhelmed by God’s faithfulness to us (through the giving of time and money by church members) - that our regular giving increased by 45%, we ended the year with a financial surplus, and we have seen a large increase in the level of volunteer commitments to service.

Vestry has continued to meet, generally, twice a month; once to pray and once for business, whether as a full Vestry or through the Resources and Church Life sub-groups. During the year, we have clarified Vestry’s role as "being responsible for setting and monitoring our long term strategic vision, and ensuring the efficient stewardship of resources". Responsibility for strategy implementation, operations and day to day running rests with the Rector and staff, supported by volunteers.

Since April, we have structured the programme for Vestry, and the Church Life sub-group, in line with the strategy. We have appointed Vestry members as strategy-links for each of Worshipping God, Loving People, Serving the World, Youth, and Children to ensure that we are doing all that we can, throughout the year, to implement our strategy. Once a year, we review systematically the key ministries within each strategy area, and consider our priorities for the following year. Since implementing this new arrangement, we have completed our first review of Worshipping God, and agreed a series of actions to enhance our worship and prayer life as a church. The principal conclusions on Worshipping God, which Vestry endorsed, are:

• There is a greater sense of expectation and awareness of God moving during the services, and we want to be increasingly open to His leading and direction. We want to develop the musical side of the 9am service, consider broadening the variety of music in the services, and involve the children and teenagers in worship as appropriate.
• The Week of Prayer went well - God spoke, people prayed and there was a real sense of community. We will repeat this in 2010 while putting more emphasis and resource into a monthly prayer breakfast and People at Prayer. We will seek to develop prayer ministry and be more creative in prayer during services.
• We will continue to involve more people in leading, planning and speaking at services and place a priority on teaching. Hospitality will continue and develop, before and after services. The Welcome team will further develop its role, and the Production teams will continue to deliver a consistently high standard of service production.

Over the autumn, we are considering our strategy and ministries associated with Serving the World, before reviewing Loving People, and Youth and Children in early 2010. Throughout this process, we aim to be diligent in pursuing our strategy while open to new areas in which God may be leading.

The Resources group has carried most of Vestry’s role in over-seeing our staffing, finances, property and operations, many of which are reported on separately in other AGM reports. We have been frustrated by the difficulties in recruiting a new Associate Rector, but are in the process currently of considering further potential candidates. However, we are pleased to have recruited a new Youth Director who will start work with us in January.

Each Vestry member contributes a great deal of time beyond the formal Vestry meetings in chairing the sub groups (Church Life, Resources, Fabric, Finance, Staffing, 10% and World Mission) or over-seeing a key strategic/ministry area. I am indebted to each of them for their service and support, and wish to thank particularly Joy Nicholson, Susan Bryce, and Duncan MacLean who are all retiring from Vestry after six years of service.

We are therefore looking for three replacement Vestry members. We require two to serve on the Church Life group and one to serve on the Resources group. One of the new members will be appointed as secretary to the Vestry; another will join the Staffing group to help with staff selection, management and employment; and the third should have an interest in pastoral or youth work. It would be fantastic if church members in the 20s or 30s would stand for Vestry - so that Vestry becomes more representative of the age spread of church members.

Finally, I wish to thank Dave and all the staff for their service to us as church, and their support to Vestry during a challenging year.

Douglas Millican, Vestry Chair

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Welcome Annual Report

(for year ending 30 September 2009)

Area of Responsibility

The Welcome Team’s main aim is to get alongside people and help them to feel ‘at home’ in P’s and G’s. The team can to contribute to making the church an environment where they can encounter God in safety and in doing so, it is essential that each individual is valued and respected. The Welcome Team also undertakes duties such as fire marshalling and collecting the offering.

Summary of preceding year

Team and Duties

• We have improved systems and procedures so that team members know what they need to do and where they can find things. We are continuing to deal with new challenges as more people come to the church and as the building’s use develops.
• Team leaders now have most of the responsibility for their team’s running during services. We are continuing to develop this role.
• We have revised the team manual based on increased familiarity with the new building and the opportunities it offers.
• There are a broad diversity of personalities and ages on team, including some young people doing the Duke of Edinburgh scheme and a number of children and young people continuing to help in the morning.
• We have started promoting welcoming as a natural part of being at church rather than just when ‘on duty’.
• There is a fairly high turnover on the team (1 to 2 team members per month). 3 of the 4 main leaders have stepped down. Each new person needs an intro and some training. There are currently 15 vacancies on the team.

Environment

• The glass foyer area has shown limitations as a welcoming environment, especially during winter. To address this, proposals along with costs have been submitted to:
• Add cushions to the bench seating in the foyer
• Improve signage for when the information point is located in the foyer
• Improve the display of information on the brochure stands and info point
• Steps that have already been taken to address the limitations of the foyer are:
• At the evening service, serve coffee in the foyer during summer months
• During the worst months of winter, move the information point in to the back of church
• Provide plants for the foyer area

Other

• Our contact with Jess has greatly improved communication with the office.
• The info booklet is a great tool for the welcome team to use. It helps inform us who the right person is to introduce newcomers to.
• This year we made a proposal for a series of ‘Find out more..’ leaflets for the information point and team. We are still keen to pursue these in (see Jenny for more info) as they would have a different use to the handbook, be inexpensive and easy to update.
• We attempted to introduce a laptop into foyer but this wasn’t very successful for various reasons. We hope to re-introduce it once we have a stronger web site and e-communication channel (under development).

The team has had a tough time this year. On the bright side, I have had reports of the church being a welcoming place, well done team ?

Targets for the coming year

• Duncan MacLean is to take over the leadership of the team from January 2010 and Jenny Shiell will move to being team administrator
• To continue to develop the spirit of welcome - a role for the whole congregation through the whole service: to put people at ease and make them feel valued by God through us
• To explore ways of organising the welcome teams differently to give greater consistency
• To improve communication via the welcome and information points and other channels
• To build on the ways in which people can connect and engage with the church

Resource Implications for the coming year

• People with smiles and tongues, willingness, heart and enthusiasm
• Review of communication means may result in some new distribution stands
• Training session to refresh team members and resource them to deal with difficult situations
• Fire marshal training, which is overdue (office to organise).
• Assistance from the communications team to get signs in place and develop a plan for the information point which fits with the overall communications plan.
• We would like at least one laptop or pc at the information point, preferably with a printer.
• A budget has been requested of £650 to cover stationery, display, and meeting costs. We have also requested £2K for laptops/ pcs and printer.

JCS & DM Oct '09

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Worship Annual Report

(for year ending 30 September 2009)

Area of Responsibility

The Worship Area ensures the smooth running of the 11 and 7 services by overseeing the 4 Production teams, (with the addition of Lighting team, that’s 1 more than this time last year!), the 4 Creative teams and the Music Group. It also pulls together the plans for the 11 and 7 services, ensuring that all those involved are aware of the detail of the upcoming Sunday.

Summary of preceding year

We have spent the last year becoming more familiar with the delights and challenges of being in the newly refurbished building. The Production teams have quickly and effectively embraced the new and excellent audio visual equipment, amidst many hours of familiarisation and ongoing training, under the leadership of our servant hearted team leaders. As well as assuring us of clear sound and visuals on Sundays, we have also successfully ‘produced’ a number of additional events and conferences (numerous weddings, the Carol Service, Burns Supper, and Willow Creek and Alpha conferences). The commitment levels of the Production teams continue to be outstanding and humbling – be sure to thank them when you see them!

The 4 Creative teams (drama, writing, video editing and visuals & other) were born early in the year. Each team has a very able leader, all of whom are inspired to grow and develop their teams into a wonderful resource. The teams aim to help people draw near to God in worship as they seek to clearly portray truth through creative media. After some early teething months, we are beginning to find a workable model which takes us effectively from ‘idea’ to ‘finished creation.’ A number of services have already benefitted from the work of these teams, including Easter services, One services and Vision Sunday.

The Music group continues to grow in both number and depth. Meeting weekly, there is time to really invest in our spiritual lives – as a group we have recently finished studying Richard Foster’s Celebration of Discipline – and also our musicality. Now settled into the new building, we continue to appreciate the quality of the venue and equipment, whilst remaining focussed on our vision to ‘lead the congregation into progressively deep encounters with God.’ We do feel as a group that the church as a whole is drawing near to God and that remains our motivation. Practically, we have moved to using a rota system for the musicians, which helps the leaders choose songs more effectively, knowing the makeup of their band in advance. Fun times have included the annual weekend away, and the Thankyou Meal shared with the Production teams.

Targets for the coming year

The potential between the above teams to see the services grow in depth and creativity is exciting and inspiring! With much work and careful planning, the aim is that by the end of this year, there will be regular creative input in services, in one form or another. The aim is also that the musicians grow in depth and musicality in order to help facilitate, and remove barriers to, the congregation drawing nearer to God.

Resource Implications for the coming year

Recruitment of all teams is an ongoing necessity in a growing church where we lose an inevitable percentage as people move with work, or as students move away. Whilst all teams have room for more volunteers, we are just about at a workable number – with the exception of the need for more drummers! The team in most pressing need of resources is the Video Editing team - our once-excellent equipment is now seriously dated and flawed. It is also hoped that the Presentation Team will finally get their much needed new pc this year! We are committed to ensuring that all teams have some form of ongoing training, and this of course has financial implications.

Fiona Poulson, Worship Director

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Youth Annual Report

(for year ending 30 September 2009)

Area of Responsibility

Support, encourage and disciple teenagers as they encounter and engage with God. There are three regular groups led by separate teams:

• Oxygen – discipleship group for S1 to S3 (age 11-14) with 22 members and 6 leaders
• The Light – outreach group for S1 to S3 (ages 11-14), currently on hold
• YF – discipleship group for S4 to S6 (ages 15-18) with 20 members and 5 leaders

Summary of preceding year

This year has been dominated by Kieren, our first full time youth director, moving on to be a mission partner working at Cheryl’s Children’s home in Kenya. In the seven years he was here Kieren did a tremendous amount of work both in forging new structures for the youth program and inspiring and encouraging the young people in their faith.

One of Kieren’s key aims while here was to enable young people to experience short term overseas mission. This summer saw the third biannual trip to Cheryl’s Children’s home, with twelve young people and four leaders going to Kenya to hold a holiday club and perform site maintenance. In addition, the whole of YF were engaged in fund raising for the trip and the orphanage, which included the traditional duck race, a blind auction and the first black tie dinner to be held in the new Church building. The YF have adopted Cherish Watoto Kenya as their charity of choice, and have committed to praying, raising funds and building links with the home.

The EnE worship events have continued throughout the year, providing Oxygen and YF members the chance to try their hand at running a church service; The organisation, technical setup, music, creative communication and presentation are all done by the young people.

The Light outreach project for S1 to S3 continued to run successfully until the end of summer 2009, with numerous young people going on to join Oxygen and YF. Unfortunately each event required a significant amount of time and resources to prepare, and the group has had to be suspended until a new full time youth worker is in place. Similarly the equivalent YF outreach project, The Java House, was halted in spring as it was not attracting young people.

Otherwise the Oxygen and YF groups have continued as normal during the transition period, but with weekends away postponed until next year. A number of socials have been arranged for both age groups over the past term and these have proved successful in building friendships amongst group members.

Targets for the coming year

We are delighted to have John White taking over the post of Youth Director in January. John brings a wealth of experience in youth work, having been a full time youth pastor for four years as well as leading oversees mission trips and many more years as a volunteer leader. He proved extremely popular with the young people when he was here for interview, and has stated his initial intentions are to get to know the young people, the existing groups and the volunteers, and to see how he can build on existing work.

Resource Implications for the coming year

Ruth Curry will be leaving the YF team after three years of dedicated service, leaving a vacancy for another female leader.

The Youth budget is used for teaching materials and subsidising socials and weekends away.

We are ever grateful for the support of parents and members of the congregation that pray for the young people and leaders.

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