REVIEW OF THE YEAR - 2010

Welcome to our Review of the Year 2010. This year, in asking people for their contributions, we asked the guide question, ‘How does it happen?’. The idea has been to give you an insight into the ‘behind the scenes’ workings of the various events and ministries that go on week by week through the year in our church’s life. After all it’s so easy to play the ‘customer’ and go along to events, including the Sunday services, and take for granted the hard work that has gone on, in advance or behind the scenes, to make it all happen. In the following report you will catch a glimpse into some of these things, and the people who do them.

Just for fun, here’s a quiz for you:

Who opens up the church buildings at around 9.30 most Sunday mornings?
Who puts the Wheelie bins out on a Monday night?
Who sets up for Ladies Fellowship on a Tuesday?
Who puts the tables out for the Beacon Café every Wednesday?
Who leads a Keep Fit group in the hall on Thursdays?
Who volunteers to provide sound for funerals if they happen on a Friday?
Who arranges each Saturday for someone to do a Bible Reading the next morning?
Who compiles, prints and folds the BBC News leaflets each week ready for Sunday?

How many did you get?

One of the oldest jokes in the book is that Ministers only work on Sundays! Well, in case you’re wondering, here’s a little insight into how my role ‘happens’:

Aside from Sundays my routine is a wonderful mixture. Any day of the week I could find myself: chairing a Deacons meeting; visiting someone in hospital; being the listening ear to someone upset or angry; preparing and leading a Bible study; chatting with people at Little Fishes, at the Beacon Café, or just out and about in the villages; helping a grieving family plan a funeral; meeting someone with questions about the Christian faith; putting out the Wheelie bins on a Monday night (oops, gave that one away); helping a team to creatively plan a service; signing a passport form; leading an RE lesson in a school; talking with someone about church membership or baptism; praying with someone for help or healing; mediating between people who have had an argument; meeting with other local clergy; calling, e-mailing, texting, facebooking or talking to someone to encourage them to keep following Jesus; comforting someone worried about losing their job; leading an evangelistic course; encouraging someone to take up a new role in the church; buying food for someone in need; planning an upcoming event; oh, or writing a sermon. Sometimes the preparation and writing of a sermon can take more than two days. And by the way, my day off is Saturday (although if there’s a church event on a Saturday…). Actually the variety is one of the things I love the most!

If people outside the church don’t always understand how my routine works, then they probably understand even less about how our church’s programme is a massive team effort. And over the last year this has been truer than ever. It’s easy to forget that a year ago the hall renovations weren’t yet finished, the hall was not yet commissioned, and we were expectant about what the future held. At the Celebration Evening last January we talked about wanting to ‘make the most of it’, meaning our new hall. This past year has been all about getting used to the new facilities and beginning to put them to good use, through all sorts of community and church groups and teams involving dozens and dozens of people. So if you have been involved, then ‘Thank You’. It’s been ‘a year of making it work’. In fact it’s hard to believe the hall is less than a year old – it already feels like it’s been here for ever!

I would like to say a particular ‘thank you’ to my colleagues on the Leadership Team, that is the Deacons, who have worked with their usual creativity and dedication, and Miriam our Administrator, on whom much of the burden of organising things in the new hall has fallen. She has done a sterling job in ‘making it work’ this year. Do take a moment sometime to encourage and thank them!

In the past year there have been significant breakthroughs: after much delay and bureaucratic to and fro we have finally opened the Money Advice Centre. We pray for the team as they are taking on their first clients. We had our first ‘Dads and Lads weekend’, and began the new Jaffa+ group. We also had 15 new church members (a record for recent years – we thank God for each person) and 1 baptism (let’s pray for more in 2011!). We are well set for the coming year. God is faithful, and will provide us with all we need to live for Him. So whatever you are doing for God, within the church or elsewhere; whether people realise you are doing it or not, keep on quietly serving Him. You will not miss your reward. Here’s a verse for the coming year: Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for people, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. Colossians 3 verse 23

WORSHIP is honouring God, in all we do, all the time and through accessible, energising and transforming services.

As deacon for this stream of our church life, I feel it is good to have an opportunity to thank everyone who volunteers to help and also those who organise the various rotas that contribute so much to our worship and our fellowship on a Sunday. This is often hard work, especially during holiday periods and for different or special events such as the Café style service that James Stygall led for us last year.

The activities on a Sunday usually happen quietly, efficiently and with little fuss so it is easy to take them for granted. This year we would like to share with you some of the detail of how it all happens and perhaps encourage you to get involved.

Welcome team provide a friendly and warm welcome as you arrive at the front door and are at the back of the church as you decide where to sit! The rota is organised by Ed and Simone Cameron and the team are in place early before the congregation start arriving. It is their job to distribute BBC News and any other information needed during the service. Miriam Webb and her family also do a sterling job of making sure that pencils, paper, pictures etc. are available to support any interactive activities that Nick and the Service Planning have included in the service.

Communion Preparation rota: I organise this rota and am very grateful to the new volunteers who have come forward and those who are continuing to support the rota. This requires arriving at around10am, preparing the communion table and trays of bread and wine before the service starts and then washing everything up afterwards. The team provide the bread and Gillian Sugden organises the ‘wine’ for us. There is also a rota for evening communion services too.

Readers rota: Nick sends out the order of service by Thursday each week and Alison Hutchins then contacts someone on her list of willing readers. This can involve 1 or 2 people and Alison ensures that they have all the information about the bible reading in good time to have a practice!

Music team: This team is led by James Stygall and he organises a rota to cover each Sunday. The team also receive the order of service so that they can start preparing. There is usually a rehearsal on a Thursday evening and we also meet at 9:30am on a Sunday morning to practice, pray and prepare. This is in addition to all the practice that happens on an individual basis at home, particularly if we are doing something new!

We like to include the young people where possible and we have some enthusiastic percussionists, singers and ‘actions’ leaders who join us at the front. It is also great to encourage our young instrument players and the ‘Bluntisham Brass’ were a great success when they played at the early service on Christmas Eve. James hopes to build on this during the coming year.

As a team we are very aware of our role in leading worship, helping to encourage each other and glorifying God in all we do. We try to meet together for workshops to plan and learn new songs and also to worship and pray together two or three times a year. We also work closely with the ‘Techie team’ and are grateful for all their help and support with sound and projection. The words, images and music all encourage and enhance our worship together on a Sunday.

Flower rota: This organised by Katy Horrocks. She writes, “We are blessed with a group of ladies who, some for many years, have kindly provided beautiful flowers for each Sunday - thank you! I am also thrilled that we have three new ladies joining the rota in the spring – welcome! The flowers are either put into vases or used to create more formal arrangements to be put on the stage. Historically each person on the rota has taken responsibility for arranging flowers for 2 weeks at a time but shortly we will be trialling a new system whereby a different person will donate flowers each week. After the morning service the flowers will be made available to be taken to someone who has been in our prayers as a gesture that the church family are thinking about them. This need not happen each week but rather on a ‘special thought’ basis. “

Peter Lusmore, on behalf of the technical team writes.. The Technical team comprises Gordon Pickard, Steve Tall, Phil Taylor, Phil Johnson, Richard Tighe, Jamie Bagnall, Peter and William Lusmore. You will usually find about 3 of us at the back of Church every Sunday morning working the sound system and computer projection but that is really only the tip of the iceberg for what we do. Being of a technical persuasion means we get asked (or volunteer) to assist in many different things around the church some of which are obvious and some less so, our role is to help provide and maintain the facilities that support worship and ministry as well as aspects of the buildings.

On a normal week, the sound desk team will support the Thursday evening rehearsals. The person responsible for the computer projection will receive, the service outline and the slides the preacher wants to use that Sunday, on some weeks there will also be video or sound clips that need to be edited and included. Bringing this all together can take from between 1 and 3hours and sometimes longer if a service is particularly complicated! Also every service is recorded and the reading and talk is converted into a podcast and loaded to the church website so that anyone can download a copy of a talk they have missed. Or even borrow a CD containing complete recordings of the services.

Sometimes we break out...It's 8.30 on a Saturday morning in July and the team gather to load four cars and a trailer full of equipment that they spent hours testing on Thursday evening ready for the big day. Then we head off, to the annual "Party in the Park" at St Helens School! It was a long hot day this year and we weren't finished until around 8pm but it is great public ministry and shows an aspect of our church that many may not be aware of - sometimes we are LOUD.

I can't avoid mentioning Holiday Bible Club, this takes a lot of preparation. In the weeks before it starts, there are always videos to edit, sound effects and music CDs to be created, staging to be set up, special microphone set-ups and so on. During the week the team provide cover every morning, in some cases using their annual leave, to ensure that they do their bit to make the week the fantastic success it is.

The team also get involved in various maintenance and improvement work at church, over the past year this has included the installation of safety lighting in the staircases, marking equipment to help prevent theft, setting up the system for the Money Advice Centre, assisting the Renewal Project team, as well as maintaining the sound and vision systems. This is usually done during the week when no one else is around and usually no one is aware what the team get up to - which is as it should be, I was once told that if a technician is doing their job properly everything just seems to keep working and no one really knows why they are there.

I should say that we aren't perfect! At times there are problems with the projection (such as the odd missing song verse) or squeaks and squeals from the sound system but the fact that these stand out is a reflection of how uncommon they are. We are truly blessed at this church, we have a great number of dedicated people who are all 'doing their bit' and the sum of the whole is far more than the individual components - and all of it for the glory of God!

Last but not definitely not least... The refreshments team. Sue and Malcolm White write..., “It’s been another busy year for those who provide refreshments on a Sunday morning as we have seen the number of people staying after the service for a drink and a chat steadily increasing. Fortunately we have also seen the number of volunteers increase which means we are able to rotate people around and they only need to do their turn once every 9 weeks. More are always welcome to help spread the load.

For those of you who can remember, during the building work we needed to carry drinks across the road from the scout hut, so having a nice new enlarged kitchen has been a real blessing. The rota is made up of 18 people working in pairs, who need to be at church by 10 am to ensure all is prepared prior to the service. They supply both the milk and biscuits or cake each time they serve and we are grateful for their giving. We make over 60 hot drinks and numerous cold drinks each week, and numbers are increasing weekly! It is particularly busy, but rewarding, to serve at services attended by visitors to our church. Then we also clear up afterwards, but having an efficient dishwasher aids this, even it does mean staying longer after the service. If you feel you’d like to meet the majority of the congregation but are unsure how to, approach people, then this is a fantastic way of doing that!

FELLOWSHIP is building a united, inclusive, loving community where everyone can find a place to belong

Simone Cameron, who took on the role of deacon for fellowship in March this year asks how does fellowship happen? “In my opinion fellowship is what happens over coffee after the morning service, in house groups and at ladies fellowship, Beacon Café and all the other groups, committees and meetings many of us attend throughout the week. As a good Christian friend, and member of our church once tried to explain to me, “I like to talk to my Christian friends because I know they will TRULY understand where I am coming from.” My hope is that we all feel we are understood at church.

From my observations over coffee after the service I see people taking real care and genuine interest in all members of our congregation, not just their best friends and welcoming “newcomers” readily. I am delighted to say it took me 3 weeks to get a chance to speak to two of our newest members simply because I couldn’t get near them for everyone being so friendly and welcoming – well done to you all!

Church to me is Family- aunties and uncles, spiritual Grandparents, my brothers and sisters in Christ all of whose companionship and encouragement on my spiritual journey makes the road easier. I have a profound sense of belonging with you all at Bluntisham Baptist Church. As I look over the year I am delighted that others too have found this sense of belonging at BBC: we have welcomed 15 new members to our church in 2010!

There have also been a number of dedications this past year and we hope for a couple more in 2011. On a sadder note we lost one of our longest standing members, Elsie Fox, who died on the 18th September last year. Her funeral was held at the chapel and was well attended by many of you who knew and loved her.

In 2010 we have held several fellowship events, the aim of which is always to have fun and develop friendships. We held a newcomers tea early in the year which not only showcased the best of Bluntisham baking, but provided a wonderful opportunity for everyone to get to know each other and put names to faces.

In the sweltering heat of May 2010 we held a “Tramps supper” and in July, a church picnic at the picturesque Burleigh Hill Farm.

The fabulous new facilities in the church hall have really made holding fellowship events much easier and we hope to do more in 2011.

So what other things happen to deepen fellowship at our church?

Ladies Fellowship: in taking on the role of Deacon for fellowship it had been my privilege to get to know the Ladies fellowship again. They invited me back 10 years after I first spoke to them as a teenager to give them a little of my testimony and share my hobbies with them. The ladies meet every Tuesday at 2pm in the hall and aim to provide a varied program of speakers, outings, crafts and games. They like to share a hymn or two to start and always serve up a very good cup of tea. The committee consists of Betty, Christine, Sylvia, Ursula and Ena they meet every term to plan the programme.

Prayer Ministry team: It has been a quiet year for the prayer ministry team although the team has been available after several services and will continue to do so throughout 2011. We can only hope and pray that you all feel well supported in prayer through your house groups, accountability groups and friends at BBC.

Prayer Ring: John and Joy Holmes run the prayer ring extremely effectively. Prayer requests are e-mailed or telephoned to them and then sent onto the rest of the group. 2010 saw this service being very well used and encouragingly several answers to prayers were also communicated through the service. I would like to take this opportunity to say a huge thank you to The Holmes’s for their diligence in providing this service, it is greatly appreciated.

Visiting team: There is always a growing list of people in need of a pastoral visit either on a short or long term basis. The small team works hard to try to ensure visits happen. Nick has offered communion to some of our members who are now housebound which they really appreciated. CDs of our Christmas services also helped ensure that those who couldn’t join us, either through illness or frailty, were able to hear the good news of Christmas.”

So how is the church financed and how did that happen in 2010 or as Gillian Sugden, church treasurer for general funds , writes “Where does our money come from, and where does it go? Our main source of income (60% last year) is from direct giving by the congregation, with a further 12% from reclaimed tax on gift-aided giving. 62% of our giving was gift-aided last year. We all know that we take an offering on Sundays to help fund the running of the church but that money is only a quarter of what we receive – three quarters of giving goes straight into our bank account by means of standing orders. Further income comes from hiring out our premises, from some small investments, and from donations and legacies.

Our largest expense is on salaries – 54% of the total last year, utility bills take another 11% and insurance 5%. We also have to fund our children’s work, pay licence fees and subscriptions, pay for repairs and maintenance of the church buildings and the manse, and pay for printing Vision and for various resources such as stationery.

God is good and always provides the income we need, but he provides it through each one of the congregation. The budget for 2010 suggested that we would end the year with a deficit but giving increased and that didn’t happen. It will only happen again if we all take time to listen to God’s prompting again this year when deciding the level of our giving.”

And what about the Renewal Project?

Rob Gore, treasurer for the Renewal Project, reflects, “2010 was another good year of progress for the church buildings. I find it hard to believe that we’ve had our buildings back for more than a year since the renewal project reached practical completion and we’ve seen demand for them grow with loads of positive comments about them.

That said, we have only just received the final bill for the project from our contractor, Haymills. Pleasingly the final total is just £700 over the original contract sum and thanks must go to the RP Steering Group for managing the project so well, with particular thanks going to David Elms and Manda Lusmore, without whom I doubt we would have been as close as we are to the original contract sum.

So… work continues on the Renewal Project as we move to finalise the last payment and the pleasing thing is that in last year’s report I wrote that we expected to need a loan of £135k by completion, but with the delay, repayments already made and additional fundraising, we won’t need a loan of more than £117k

There is still more to do though as we try to repay the loans we have as quickly as possible and there’s more of our buildings we’d like to “Renew”.”

Hence, as deacon for Fabric and Fittings, Rob also writes, “but with RP out of the way there can’t have been much left to do in the way of Fabric and fittings right?.... Err.. No, there’s always loads!

The sterling works on the grounds has continued with a committed group of volunteers gardening and grass cutting, clearing ivy from walls and generally maintaining the church buildings. There is always something that needs doing.

In 2010 we improved part of the car parking area and we completed more work on the Manse grounds with old dilapidated buildings removed, ground cleared, a new base laid and shed installed providing better storage and a nicer outside area.

And what of 2011? – Well, in addition to the general maintenance that will need to continue with the help of volunteers, there’s lots more to do. The Manse guttering needs replacing and there’s also the Manse wall, which will need partially rebuilding and in the main church building we are having problems with the heating pipes so we need to replace those also. There’s lots to do and these all require additional funding to achieve! Hence please bear this in mind as you review your regular and irregular giving to the church or they can’t happen.”

MINISTRY is enabling people to use their gifts to serve God, by serving each other, our community and those in need

John Holmes, deacon responsible for ministry and administration writes... 2010 has been an exhilarating year in many ways. The completion of the extension of the Sunday School Hall early in the year gave us an attractive new facility. Various groups, such as Little Fishes and the Ladies Meeting, were glad to return to the hall from their temporary arrangements. We were also able to reopen the Beacon Café on Wednesday afternoons. I am pleased to say that most of the helpers, including those who baked the cakes, have resumed this work.

Of particular note is our updated and much improved kitchen. The local authority Environmental Health Officer spoke in very glowing terms of it when she saw it. We have been awarded the top grade, 5 stars for the facility. Lisa Knight, as well as managing the Beacon Café, is now responsible for this wonderful asset.

In 2011, we are looking forward to increasing the use of the hall, with new groups being attracted, both from the church, such as the Money Advice Centre, and the local community. At the same time we have to recognise that this will put pressure on those involved in the groups as well as providing the administration necessary. In particular Miriam Webb has done a great administration job, despite the considerably increased workload.

Miriam Webb, Church administrator, writes... ”This has to have been the year of having a renewed building. Remember the official opening with 200 guests, Shaleish Vara and the memorable plaque unveiling or even “conga-ing” with the church family at our church opening? I still have the privilege of hearing the wow factor as people look around and are impressed by our buildings. One of my personal highlight was the summer ‘Plum Event’, when literally hundreds of people worked thorough the doors on a wet Saturday and benefitted from our fantastic facility and top class refreshments served to them by members of our church.

Looking back over the last year there have been numerous different things that I’ve had the privilege of being involved in. However in all this activity, it has been a good year to hold onto the verse that the hall was dedicated with, “Every house has a builder but the one who built everything is God.” Hebrews 3:4 “

Phil Taylor, deacon with shared responsibilities for administration and ministry, reflects on how things happened in 2010 and some personal highlights. “I don’t have to cast my mind back too far – indeed only a few weeks back to Christmas Eve. Having been on “techie duty” for the early service, I could now relax and enjoy the 7:00pm service. As I listened to our Minister Nick and others so eloquently reading the Bible passages, I viewed the PowerPoint that perfectly followed the theme of our Vision magazine, and I heard the amazing performed songs from the music group, I was really struck with how blessed we are as a fellowship – such a range of differing gifts coming together in our worship of Christ our Lord. A big thank you to all involved not just at Christmas, but each and every Sunday, and not wanting to be smug, but I think as a church fellowship, we do things pretty well! This also seemed to resonate with the first service of 2011, when Peter and Helen Thatcher described their H.O.P.E.S. for 2011, whereby “S” represented being “satisfied”. A really valid point that we need to be thankful and give thanks for all that we have.

On that note, we have also seen several new members in 2010, many already taking active roles within the fellowship – this has been a real blessing. Also, 2010 saw a really successful Alpha course, with many continuing the momentum of their journey by attending home groups – so encouraging that we now run out of matching coffee cups at the Finders Home Group!

Finally, when I think about 2010, how can I not mentioned that first ever BBC Dads and Lads weekend back in September when 30 of us made the pilgrimage to Sheringham. It was a great weekend away from the hustles and stresses of everyday life, spending some quality time with our lads and with our Lord. We had bush-craft lessons, swimming at the local splash pool, sandcastles and cricket on the beach –the youth hostel even had its own chapel and Nick ran a series on David, Boy and Man of God. It was such a great feeling to hear us chaps and lads singing together in worship – even though we haven’t been signed up for Sundays as yet. I can’t wait for Dads and Lads 2, The Journey Back!”

DISCIPLESHIP is teaching and equipping people of all ages to become lifelong followers of Jesus

Deacon for discipleship, Dan Horrex writes... ”In 2010 the number of Home Groups grew from 8 to 9, a new home group is being led by Mary and Ernie Chapman. So how do they happen? Home Groups meet on a either weekly or fortnightly basis, they are located in a variety of different Homes in Bluntisham, Colne, Earith and St Ives. These sessions are organised by the Home Group Leaders. A typical home group evening consists of prayer, bible reading and discussion, socialising, tea, coffee, biscuits and sometimes cakes! Home groups are brilliant place to meet new people and they help to form long lasting relationships with like minded people.

Part of my role as Deacon for Growing into Maturity is to resource Home Group leaders with study materials, we have well established libraries of both printed and audio/DVD resources. One of the topics covered by Home Groups in 2010 was Future Shape. Climate change, over-consumption and threats to biodiversity are all emerging as serious issues for governments and activists. Over the course of Future Shape session we considered whether these issues have any serious connection with the Christian faith. Following on from this course a group has been formed to look at how we face at environmental issues as a church.

Another of my responsibilities is to help people find a Home Group. On the church’s website under activities tab is Home Groups. This gives an overview of the different groups. Likewise there will be a Home Group notice board in the new Hall.

As well as Home Groups there are Accountability Groups. These deepen our discipleship by praying, sharing and mentoring together to deepen our lives as true disciples of Christ.”

Aggie Durkin, deacon for children and youth, writes... It seems odd to think that a year ago we were just planning to move back into the hall, with the additional space that allowed all the Sunday school classes to meet on site again.  A year on and it seems strange to think it was ever anything different. This last year has seen changes in some of the leaders and helpers, and bought us into contact with new children to teach about the love of God.  In addition we have said a huge thank you to Joy Holmes as she stepped down as our Sunday School Superintendent, and are looking forward to a new year with Clare Stygall stepping up as Sunday School Team Leader.  Please continue to pray for the team, and please pray for the Christian male role models involved (only 1 of the Sunday School teachers is male, and several groups have A LOT of boys).

So how does Sunday school happen?

Behind the scenes there is much work that goes on to ensure that Sunday School runs each week. Termly rotas are prepared for both teachers and helpers to know when they are needed.  Suitable material is found that will help each age group understand God's love for them in the most appropriate way.  Safe to Grow forms are prepared and CRB checks made.  Much prayer is needed for the children, teachers, helpers and for the planning.  Each lesson takes preparation to ensure that the teachers know the part of the bible they are sharing that week, and to make sure that any resources and activities needed to explain it are ready.  Often on the day itself, each group sets up what equipment and resources they need before the service. Then the wait begins to see how many children and young people will be there this week - are there enough resources, have we got the ratio of adults to children right for each group, etc. Then the lesson begins, and anything can happen!  You can face everything from the most awkward questions, tough issues, disinterest and interruptions, to the funniest moments, laughter, sudden gems when things fall into place, and the first signs of faith in Jesus.

You may ask why do we do it? I think the answer may be as varied as each individual involved.  But I suspect that it will all have something to do with the fact that sharing the truth of the gospel with children and young people, whilst (very) difficult at times, brings its own rewards and we long to see these children grow into a strong and mature faith of their own.

Jaffa+: This is a new venture that has been running since May last year and usually meets on the first Sunday of the month. It is for those young people at secondary school, and at the moment it is mainly year 7 and 8 boys that attend. Each meeting has a Christian theme to it and all the games and activities are based on that theme and there is a memory verse to take home that reinforces this message. Past topics have included Identity, Saving the World, Christmas and Fresh Starts.  A huge thanks to everyone who has been involved in helping to set up and run this, especially Catrin and Natalie. We would ask you all to pray for the year ahead. Pray for the young people that they would want to keep coming, not because it's expected of them but because they belong. Please pray for the girls of this age group who we have contact with, that we would find a way to encourage and support them, even if it means setting up another group.  Please pray for the leaders, and in particular for a way we can provide Christian male role models to the boys.

Tim Wilson, writes about, “JAFFA, or ‘Jesus a friend for all’ is our club for Years 4 to 7 that runs on the first of every month.

The emphasis is on fun and faith which Wendy, Toby and I try to dole out in balanced measures! Sessions normally kick off with a short chat about who’s been up to what, after which we get straight into some games to burn off some energy.

The games are structured to ensure everyone is safe, included and having fun.  In the winter months we use the church hall, but long summer evening allow us to play outside.  ‘Castles’ is the most popular game.

Half way through the hour and a half session we have a drink and biscuit (usually Jaffa cakes, for obvious reasons).  This is the point at which we deliver our ‘Faith’ bit; usually a Bible based talk that they are invited to comment on and ask questions where appropriate. After that, it’s more games until they’re collected at 7.30pm. Year 7s go on to JAFFA plus at 7.15 so we lose them for the last quarter of an hour.”

Joy Holmes, reflects on what happened in Sunday school in 2010, “This year has been one of great blessings. The six groups now have a space to call their own, although the annexe vestry room has restricted space for the group that meet there. It will be great when we start the renewal project phase 2 and they can have a larger room!!!

On the Church's behalf I would like to thank the 14 leaders and the new band of helpers that keep the children enthusiastically wanting to learn more about Jesus. They are happy to use modern resource materials so readily available to achieve this. The number of children fluctuate week by week as there are so many things competing for the children's time. We must continue to pray that the children will come to Church when they have the opportunity. This makes planning the weekly lessons difficult as the leaders do a lot of preparation and are not sure whether there will be 4 or 12 in their group any particular week, they can become discouraged.

A group of 8-11 year olds went to the Scripture Union XcelR8 weekend in February at Histon Baptist and loved it and another group are booked in again this year. Holiday Bible Club was a great blessing and teaching opportunity to both children and adults that attended and yes I am sure there will be another one this year. The children told the Christmas story by use of an advent calendar and the message was well received. The collection went to Brambles pre-school and we were pleased to help them, as a large number of our children attend this group.

I have now passed on the baton of Sunday School team leader to Clare Stygall, who has tremendous experience of teaching children. I pray that God will use her gifts in His work amongst our children teaching them His ways and not the worlds.

I thank you all for supporting, encouraging and praying for me over the past years and I hope you will continue to do the same for Clare, leaders, helpers and all the children in 2011. I am still working as a helper in the Sunday school so God is still using me in this work.”

MISSION is representing God locally, nationally and globally, by participating in His mission through praying, giving and going

Graham Harris, deacon for local mission and evangelism writes, I took over as from Nick as Deacon for Evangelism half-way through the year. It has been an encouraging six months and we anticipate more opportunities to share the Good News of Jesus in 2011. My initial thought regarding Evangelism was that we all do it – it 'just happens' – it is a natural desire that goes with being a Christian. But while we all aim to evangelise at a personal level it is good to commit to events, courses and activities as a church. Here are some examples of how that happened in 2010.

The Alpha course ran from September to December, with Nick and Graham leading a group of nine regular guests at Orton House, Colne. For the Away Day at Lakeside Lodge we were joined by a group from Haddenham Baptist Church.

The course relies on people providing a meal each week, and once again we were thankful for generous and mouthwateringly good food.

We are grateful for provision in other respects – the prayer support of the fellowship, the consistent attendance of guests each week, and the time given by people who helped to wash up. The Alpha DVD continues to generate good discussion over tea, coffee and chocolates. A frequent comment from each guest was that: 'We feel that we are on a journey'. The really good news is that the journeys continue, with all guests now in regular attendance in church and at Finders Home Group. We take nothing for granted and pray for God to continue working in people's lives.

The Men's Breakfast on Saturday September 25 attracted 33, with several apologies from those unable to attend. Our theme of The Car's The Star enabled us to share pictures and stories of our first cars. Rob Gore and Steve Hutchins prepared a magnificent cooked breakfast, with Dennis Rimmer and Darren Young preparing and serving drinks. Mike Horrocks took a roving mic round the room and half a dozen people entertained us with their early motoring experiences. Nick rounded up the morning with a pertinent final thought.

God saves the world: During this short series of sermons we were encouraged to be bold in speaking to friends about our faith and the place that Jesus has in our lives. A credit card-sized leaflet was produced to help us do so. How did you use yours? Did that happen? Now is a good time to re-dedicate ourselves to reaching out with Jesus' love and to always be prepared to give a reason for the hope that we have. These leaflets also surfaced in Albania when Nick led a school session and used them to tell the Bible story in six pictures.

Men's football: Russell Banks continues to organise men's football on Wednesday evenings at One Leisure, St Ives. At the start of 2010 the future of these sessions was in doubt due to falling attendance, but we were blessed with an influx and through the summer were hitting the 20 mark regularly. The numbers dropped only slightly in the run-up to Christmas and we are now back to a steady 16-18 each week. An on-line blog and Facebook group keeps everyone up to date. The blog contains a personal testimony and reminds players that first and foremost we look to please God by the way we play and relate to each other.

We always enter the National Christian Cup (veterans) which gives us a great opportunity to spend quality time with each other as we travel to and from away matches, as well as meeting other churches and sharing fellowship.

Our prayer is that we continue to build relationships with men who don't yet publicly acknowledge Jesus as their Saviour.

The Ladies breakfast: “Margaret Taylor reflects: a good time was had by all,: Putting it together needed some organizing but to see 70 something ladies, new friends, old friends, some we see every week, some every day and others not seen for a long time was wonderful having breakfast together and just chatting about life in general.

We had a great speaker,  The Reverend Canon Ann Easter , The Chaplain to the Queen. She also talked about life in general and how important it is to just be yourself. She told us about a time in here life when she pretended to be not herself and how it all went wrong. THE FEED BACK WAS AMAZING. How the talk had made some ladies feel better about themselves ; that it was lovely having breakfast with friends , and making new friends.

I must thank all  the helpers, Sue , Judie, Marilyn, Elaine, Don and Martin they all worked very hard. Without them it would not have happened. Thank you Margaret for coordinating it!

The big mission event of the year is always Holiday Bible Club. It gives the opportunity to share the good news of Jesus to a 100 children every day for a week. Katy Horrocks, reflects on this year’s club, Rocky’s Plaice, held in a Fish and Chip Shop, saw the return of the much loved Captain Ketchup joined this time with his side-kick Katy Ketchup!

Holiday Bible Club 2010 as always was a wonderfully exciting week during the summer holidays when lots of children were given the opportunity get to know who Jesus is and how he can be their friend. But the event only happened with the hard work of a dedicated team of over 50 people! Early in 2010 the HBC planning team started their preparations – serious bits like child: adult ratios and the sillier side of things such as dreaming up funny group names to go with the theme...anyone remember the wooden sporks?!

As the months progress more and more people became involved as the various elements came together. Then, with the school assemblies planned and training nights organised, we were down to our final couple of weeks when it was literally all hands on deck! Drama team learning lines, crafts being prepared, refreshments being bought, group leaders preparing themselves for a marathon of a week...not to mention decorating the church, organising the fish and chip banquet (thank you Russell Banks) and all the techie stuff... the list just goes on!

A huge THANK YOU to everyone who was involved. However large or small a part you played, it couldn’t have happened without you!

Malcolm Lee, deacon for World Mission, writes... Our role in World Mission in many ways goes on quietly behind the scenes although it is a major part of our church life. We are in frequent contact with friends around the world through the wonders of technology which has made it so much easier to communicate and strengthen relationships. 2010 was a busy year again for visits and visitors. At the start of the year Judy and Graham West visited their friends in Thailand/Burma and on their return hosted a special evening review of the latest situation which was very entertaining as well as being educational.

In the middle of the year Fiona Slater went to Africa to raise money for COCO, an organisation that works with children in poverty and to help with a school building project. At the later part of the year a team of six went to Albania on what is now an annual event. The visit to Tirana was the usual mix of working with the Way of Hope Church, the Saturday children’s Miracle Club, helping at the GDQ School as well as supporting a church plant. Plus of course how could we forget Gary Anderson who is now a full time BMS worker in Albania.

In September Anne Wiles our link missionary visited us for a weekend so it was good to catch up on her work and challenges. Technology has certainly helped keep in touch with Anne especially recently as she is in a region of unrest so her almost daily updates have been a source of encouragement and in return she appreciates our messages of support and our prayers.

Other missionaries who visited us in the Summer were Ben and Angela Thorpe from Donetsk, Ukraine (Angela’s mum grew up in Bluntisham).

In December Gezim Myrte from Tirana visited the church and told of his work with students which is spreading across borders. Gezim also shared his testimony with us which is a great story of transformation.

So what will happen in 2011? The aim is to visit Anne Wiles on a fact finding mission to establish how we may more directly support her work in North Africa. To continue our support of the work in Tirana and to develop our links with other missionaries with whom we are now in contact. Time to make sure my passport is up to date.

Home Mission 2010 was a challenging year for Home Mission due to so many competing activities although again the support behind the scenes is greatly appreciated. The Christmas present wrapping morning was a fun event for those who attended and the giving over the year was significant especially in the light of all the other financial pressures. Home Mission is such an important facet of our church life and for the growth of the church in this country so this year the aim is to further develop this area through prayer and action.

It is a real blessing to be involved in mission and at times humbling as I always come back feeling that I have received more than I have given. Working with other Christians is such a joy and this year we are sure to meet more.

Taking it further…

We hope you have enjoyed reading this year’s church annual review and gaining some insight into some of the hard work that goes on quietly behind the scenes ‘to make it all happen.’

Why not keep this review somewhere to hand: you can use it to pray for aspects of our church’s work throughout the year.

The fact is that many teams and ministries are constantly looking for new volunteers and helpers. So if you fancy getting involved in some area, either contact the person named in the report, or contact John Holmes who will put you in touch with the relevant person.

Finally let’s re-state our verse of the year for 2011: ’Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord.’