Christ Church LEP - 9th Annual General Church Meeting 23.11.11
Reports on the year to 31.08.11

Bible Study Group (Monday Mid-day) First we dived into the OT in Daniel. This was because he sheds light on the Bible’s last book Revelation. We enjoyed the visions, not least the writing on the wall at the Feast.
Then we moved to Acts, Luke’s second book. This holds out interest with a clash of cultures among Gentiles in south Turkey. Similarity to situations here keeps popping up.                                                                                                Michael S Bible Study Group (Wednesday evening) The Bible Study group continued to meet regularly on the 1st and 3rd Wednesday evenings of the month at 4 RT. Led by Patrick when he is able but also by others (notably Chris R), we are still working our way through Luke’s gospel. Caroline S Call in for coffee Coffee is served every Wednesday morning from 10am to 11-30am. It’s a good place to meet friends for a chat and to enjoy an excellent coffee.
Money raised from sale of refreshments has been donated to the Macmillan Nurses, the Multiple Sclerosis Society, St George’s Crypt Leeds, Blenheim Project in Bradford and to General Church Funds. Thank you to Dorothy and Betty for continuing to organize the refreshments.                                                                                                                                    Elizabeth W

Chinstep report
An ecumenical group – Churches In Step – greatly enjoyed by members of Christ Church. Each month we meet at 10.00am on the second Wednesday in the month at the Christ Church Centre, and each month we have a different leader.
For some time we thought we were particularly blessed with the weather with sunny days even in the bad spells and squalls but this did not continue and we have recently braved the heights in rain and wind.
The length of the walk has been adjusted for the average age of walkers and 5 miles would now be the average especially in the winter months when we usually end our walk with a pub lunch.
Whatever the weather, it’s good to be out with good friends in lovely countryside having interesting conversations and sharing news. If you are able, come and join us.                                                                                                             Pat E

Christian Aid
There was a fantastic response of volunteers during Christian Aid week, with a number of new collectors and people taking on extra streets.  We raised, with gift aid, an amazing £2,044.
 5 Church members attended the Bearing Witness event on 1 October in Manchester with Christian Aid.  It was an inspiring day of campaigning and worship on the issues of climate change and global poverty.
 Together we do make a difference.  Thank you.                                                                                                Debbie S

Curry Club
The Curry Club continues to meet once per month (usually the 4th Tuesday in the month) at the home of Trevor & Alison W.  As children have grown up and the time when they were in bed by 9pm is a distant memory, our meeting time has moved to 8pm.
We have been following the follow-up to the Alpha Course, ‘A life worth living’ which looks at the letter of Paul to the Philippians and applies it to the way, as Christians, we should live our lives.
Nicky Gumble speaks to us via a DVD whilst we eat our curries. He is not everybody’s favourite but the discussion that follows is frequently lively, sometimes controversial and can be deeply theological! Everyone respects the views of others and we are all trying to gain a deeper understanding of our lives in God’s world.
The curries are supplied to us by the Home Indian at Hipperholme, and are wonderful – extras are always thrown in. New members are always welcome.                                                                                                                        Caroline S

Church Life Group
Glenys B is the Convenor of the meetings and Karen B is the Minute Secretary.
Listed below are some of the successful events we have held over the year:
December 2010                         – Christmas Tree lighting and Christmas Sale.
February 2011                         – Walk to Shibden and meal at Coffee Culture.
March 2011                          – Welsh Evening and Quiz.
April 2011             – Tea Time Treats, entertainment and tea for the elderly in our area. Thanks to Margaret W for co-ordinating the entertainment.  Also to Margaret and Andrea B for being excellent compares. 
May 2011                         – Quiz Evening.
June 2011                          – Treasure Hunt and BBQ at John and Joan W’s.  Thanks to John and Joan for
organising the Treasure Hunt and offer the use of their house and garden for the BBQ. For the new year from September 2011, our group would like to welcome other members to the group especially men to redress a current imbalance. Please see the Weekly Notices and any reports in the Church Magazine for further information.            Karen B

Good as New Weekly Sale
Channel 4 may have Mary Portas as its Queen of Charity Shops but at Christ Church we are so fortunate to have as our expert and leader our own Andrea B.
Wednesdays are so looked forward to by many of our customers. They so appreciate the coffee and a chat provided so well by Betty, Dorothy and Elizabeth to complement the GAN. The cheerful teams who serve in the outlet ensure there is always a friendly atmosphere.
With reference to Fridays we were a little concerned that when Social Services vacated the upstairs premises there may impact on the Friday morning opening. It is very encouraging that Social Services wanted to carry on and to see how much they valued the benefit of Fridays on the young people. Also it is very noticeable how many goods come in to be sorted on Fridays. The store room can be cleared by Monday lunchtime but full once more by Friday lunchtime.
When the team arrive on a Monday it is can be a daunting task to sort and price. The team gets through an enormous amount of work and not all are church members. A special thank you is given to those who help out on a Monday - it is not all hard work, we do enjoy our coffee break and the chat and banter that goes along with the work. 
Without the supply of good clothing and bric-a-brac then the outlet would not continue to be as successful as it is.
The GAN also helps others, there is a collection box for the Forget Me Not Children’s Hospice for any spare coppers people choose to donate. The British Heart Foundation benefits from the goods that John H kindly takes to them and clothing is sent to St Georges Crypt as further outreach from Christ Church. 
At two recent café worships the Good As New kept coming into discussions very positively as a major way of sharing and spreading our faith.
The Saturday opening and gift stall run by the GAN at the Christmas Festival raised £587, a wonderful result.  Added to this is the total of £6,775 from the Wednesday and Friday openings. 10% of the total will be given to charity.                                    Joan W

Junior Church
Earlier this year Jackie B retired from Junior Church and Ros W moved away from the area.  May we thank both of them for their wonderful service to the children of Christ Church over the years. Debbie S has joined the team teaching the over 8s.
Over the last year Pat S and Karen B have done a brilliant job in crèche however it was decided in August that crèche would no longer continue due to current absence of babies and a need for additional volunteers to assist in Junior Church.  Instead the toys available for the very young at the rear of the Church were refreshed from Good As New donations and Pat is on stand-by to help.  Karen has now moved to teaching under 8’s and Pat also helps if we have a large number of children in church.
Glenys B, Pat T & Alison W have shared the teaching of our under 8s and Ros/Debbie and Jan B have enjoyed the joys and challenges of the older group.  Alison has now moved to teaching the older group with Karen teaching our under 8’s.
We have used Scripture Union teaching materials as a basis for our lessons and have tried to make the time spent with the children as happy, informative and fun as possible.  It is amazing how much you can learn with children!
For most of the year the final Sunday service of the month has been all-age worship.  This has been of varying success and put additional work on visiting preachers.  It was therefore decided in August that regular monthly all-age worship will cease, Worship Group services will try to be all-age wherever possible and junior church children will be encouraged at the end of services to share their work with the congregation.
Thank you to children, leaders and all who have supported us from the church family over this last year. 
Please pray for both leaders and especially our children that we may grow in love and grace and increase our understanding and love of Jesus as we continue to share together during the coming year.                                                                          Debbie S

Langlea House Group It arose in conversation recently that someone thought this was a group which met at Langlea House. In fact the name derives from the time when the group met at the home of Chris and Ruth D on Langlea Terrace. Sadly Chris and Ruth are no longer with us but the name and the spirit live on.
We meet on the second Thursday of the month, currently at the home of Ann W and enjoy fellowship and discussion around a variety of materials. Currently we have been basing our discussions around Hubert Smith’s book “Exploring the Christian Faith”. Written in the nineties we sometimes find ourselves surprised by what a lot has happened in the lives of churchgoing Christians since the book was written.
If you feel inclined to join us there would be a space and you would be made welcome.                                                Barbara R

Mission and Outreach This group looks at the interface between the Church and society and the ongoing teaching of those within Christ Church. As such it ‘oversees’ Bible study(ies), House groups, Book Club, Reel Issues, Home and Overseas work, Good as New Sale, Tuesday fellowships, Church Life Group, Luncheon Club...the group has a very full agenda! Again, our Christmas began with the lighting of the Hipperholme Christmas Tree, this time in the snow, and the community was welcomed into the church for refreshments.
Our Christmas event, ‘Christmas for all ages’ featured a display of trees, cribs and activities with all ages, especially children, in mind and this was much enjoyed. The Good as New held their Christmas Gift stall and turkey sandwiches were served. The Wednesday morning coffee in church with carols was again a great occasion and included participation by both the Toddler Groups and the Social Services group.
As last year the Christingle service was held on a Friday evening at the Pilot’s time and many of them came, along with their families.
We continue to plan café style worship and these times of worship are proving very popular. We are becoming more accustomed to the less formal worship and the freedom of being able to wander around to collect drinks etc as the mood takes us!
The group organised a Church weekend, and arrangements are already underway for the next of these at Wydale Hall near Scarborough in 2012.
Prayer for the streets in our neighbourhood has continued for a third year and it has been noticeable that the response continues to increase.
There are still lots of ‘welcome to your new home’ cards available in church. Do take and deliver one if you know of new neighbours.
Work with Youth has moved forward and we now have a youth club for children in year 6 and above on the second Friday of the month.                                                                                                                                                               Caroline S

Pilots
Pilot Captain – Karen B                                    Other helpers:             Glenys B            Debbie S
Pilot Leader – Joyce C                                                            Alison W                        Caroline S
Pilot Leader – Rachael S                                                                        
                                                                                   
Over the last year, Pilots have continued to meet on a Friday evening, during school term time, at the Christ Church Centre, Lightcliffe from 6.30 pm to 8.00 pm to have fun together and also complete their badge work.
                                     

Pilots is a Christian outreach to the young children in our area.  Christ Church Lightcliffe Pilots is for children aged between 5 and 11 years.  We currently have 4 regular young members of Christ Church who attends Pilots with the children from Lightcliffe C of E School and their friends.
As part of their Prayer Badge, the Pilots learnt about the Christmas Story and then made tree decorations for the Church Event on 4th December 2010.  They also attended the Christingle Service.  They learnt about the Easter story and completed activities in relation to Easter.  They have also heard the Story of Joseph, Jesus Walks on Water, The Story of Creation and Noah’s Ark.
As part of their Interest Badge, the Pilots have made models of their choice using items of ‘junk’ (yoghurt pots, tissue boxes etc) and played Biscuit Beetle.
As part of their Learning Badge, the Pilots have learnt about The Water Cycle.
As part of their Overseas Badge, the Pilots have learnt about Jersey and China.
As part of their Talent Badge, the Pilots have :- Made Salt Dough Models, Created many different pictures and completed the music part of the badge with the assistance of Caroline S.
As part of their Service Badge, the Pilots have made buns for coffee after church on Sundays, taken part in a Sponsored Silence and helped to make the posies for Mothers Day.
Other activities have included games nights and on occasions watching DVD’s.
The last Pilots of the School Year was held on 8th July 2011 where we had a games night and the Pilots received their certificates for the Badge Work they had completed.
Thanks to everyone who has helped over the last year to ensure that Pilots has continued to run smoothly.            Karen B – Captain

The Church at Prayer Sunday Prayer Circle Each Sunday morning a large group of people meet in the Prayer Room for prayers. A quiet prayerful time when we prepare ourselves for worship and for the week ahead.

Prayer Fellowship We meet about twice a month on Thursday evenings at Kathleen F’s home. Thanks for the hospitality. Numbers are small but we believe in the importance of meeting together for prayer. Prayer Leaflets We continue to pray for the community, street by street. During the last year we have received about six requests for prayer from people in the community around us using the prayer sheets we deliver each week. We take these prayers to the Thursday Prayer Fellowship, the Sunday Morning Prayer Group and to the Prayer Circle.

Prayer Circle by e mail Each month a list of people needing prayers is circulated by e-mail. If you wish to join the scheme or have people you wish us to pray for contact Elizabeth or John W

Prayer Focus We continue to provide a focal point for prayer and meditation in the Prayer Room. This has been used by many visitors on Wednesdays and especially at our Christmas Fayre.                                                                                    Elizabeth W

Property Report It has been another busy year for the Property Team. The usual regular maintenance, monitoring and servicing tasks have been undertaken.
The remedial work to the cracked wall at Christ Church Centre has been completed. Unfortunately the Out of School Club which was to have been the main user of this room decided to take up an opportunity to transfer their activities to Lightcliffe C of E School which is much more convenient for them.
The floor of the Hall at CCC has been sanded and re-varnished following a request by users.
The lower Hall at Hipperholme has been redecorated and CCTV installed.
A further loss of regular users occurred when Social Services moved from the Hipperholme Annexe due to budget constraints. We do however maintain contact with the group as they return to the site on Fridays to help with the Good as New, Luncheon Club and carry out some grounds maintenance.
We have had necessary roof work carried out on both the church building and the annexe.
Additional earth rods have been connected to the lightning conductor to return it to standard. Between the date of the test and the contractors carrying out the work a section of copper strip had been stolen and needed replacement.
Thank you to all who work to keep the property clean and in good repair and respond to the ‘emergencies’ that occur from time to time.                                                                                                                                                          John W

Reading Group
The Group has continued to meet monthly, and has read and studied the usual interesting variety of books.
Possibly the best book of 2011 was “The Help”, by Kathryn Stockett, a novel examining the treatment of domestic servants in Jackson, Mississippi, as recently as the 1960’s. Could the white American middle class really have behaved so insensitively so recently? Well, yes, it seems to have been so. But if you want to study the strength of the human spirit in adversity, get hold of this book, or go to see the excellent film (of the same name) that has been made out of it.
Another splendid novel was “The Book Thief”, a study of the hideous predicament of Jews during the Second World War, in a small German town.  We are used to the mind-boggling statistics of the holocaust; here we were invited to study the microcosm – the experience of ordinary people.
Not all our chosen books were novels. Chris Mullin’s “View from the Foothills”, a diary of  his years as a junior minister in the Blair Government , offered interesting, and often witty, insights into life in the lower echelons of power. And in November we read a biography which had served as the basis of a very enjoyable film – a biography, alas, for which none of our members had a good word to say.
The Reading Group is, once again, deeply in the debt of Sue D and Angela W, who have been largely responsible for the choice of books. We congratulate Angela on the First Class Honours degree that she gained this year at Bradford University. Sue and Angela have been greatly assisted by the readiness of our Hipperholme branch library to provide us with sets of a wide range of books. Alas, the pressure on Local Authority budgets is now severely limiting the library’s ability to offer this service. We urge our readers to make use of our library at every opportunity, and thus to underline its value to our local community.            Brian E

Reel Issues Reel Issues continues to meet on the first Monday of each month with a healthy attendance of between ten to fifteen people. This year a variety of films covering a wide range of topics have been viewed and discussed including;  Remember Me,  Eat, Pray and Love,  Away from her,  Africa United,  Made in Dagenham,  Oranges and sunshine, Finding Forester and The Way.               Chris O

Safeguarding Report The main safeguarding news this year is that the Methodist Church - whose procedures for safeguarding we adopted at the inception of Christ Church - has now moved forward with its creating safer spaces policy and now has produced a policy which recognises the need for safeguarding vulnerable adults as well as children. This policy was agreed at the Leadership Team meeting in September 2011. It means that a number of people will have to apply for CRB clearance in relation to their work in different areas of church life. Filling in the form is not onerous - though the forms have changed recently. If you are asked to fill in such a form please do so as speedily as possible - lest the form changes again. We all need clearance for vulnerable adults as well as children and currently a CRB check for one area of work cannot be used in another so some of us will have CRB clearances enough to paper walls - or at least a small notice-board! There is also to be safeguarding training for a range of church workers. It should be worthwhile. It is our duty to make church a safe place. Sadly some churches have failed in this respect in the past, the resulting legislation is to try to prevent such abuses of trust happening again.                                                                                                                                         Barbara R

Tuesday Afternoon Fellowship We are a group of eight to ten people who meet on the 1st Tuesday of each month - April to November.
Our speakers have given very varied talks including the Police on Home Safety and Crime Prevention.
A donation of £80 was given to the Yorkshire Air Ambulance.                                                                                    Margaret E

Tuesday Evening Fellowship
The Tuesday Evening Fellowship has again enjoyed a varied and interesting programme during the months from September to May.
Our thanks go to Christine W who booked speakers who entertained us, made us laugh and made us think. We also thank Valery K and Shirley L who deal with our finances.
We have been pleased that the numbers attending the meetings regularly have risen this year.
Both Fellowship members and residents enjoyed our annual visit to Sandholme Fold. The granddaughter of one of our members who came along that evening has already booked her place for next year.
The New Year Meal and the Spring Supper were both held at the Stump Cross Inn and enjoyed by everyone who came.
The Tuesday Evening Fellowship meetings are usually held on the second and fourth Tuesday of the month at 7.30pm in the Hall. The full programme for the year is displayed on the notice board in the Hall and each Church magazine has the programme for the months it covers.  Everyone is welcome to come along.
Transport can be arranged for anyone who has a problem getting to the meetings.                                                 Glenys B

Worship Consultation This group meets once a quarter under the Chairmanship of Brian E. It is still a very small group which means the meetings don’t last long but it also means not everyone’s ideas for future services and comments on earlier events are heard. Do try to come along next time it is on the notice sheet – worship is the most important thing we do! 
We are not the same as the Worship Group who actually take services once a quarter and are much admired and rightly thanked for their role in our worship life.  We only suggest ideas to the Leadership team but they are usually gladly accepted and thanked for shortening LT meetings!
In the last three meetings in February, May and September we have discussed among other things: all age worship, café worship, Sunday evening DSD services, Lent Preaching series both this year and next, Easter (Dr Vautrey, former Vice President of the Methodist Conference coming next Easter), Churches Together services, Harvest, the new hymnbook, singing the Lord’s Prayer and obviously recently the arrangements for Advent, Christmas and New Year.
2012 is not just Olympic year and the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee both of which should perhaps feature in our worship when the time comes, but also the 350th Anniversary of the founding of many Congregational churches including Oliver Heywood’s in Northowram.                                                                                                                                                Chris R

Youth Club
In June this year a Youth Club was started that is held at the Lightcliffe site on the second Friday of every month 8 – 9:15pm.  It is open to years 5+ (approx aged 9+) and a fee of £1 is charged.
In that short time we cram in sport, games, craft, chat and food.  It’s amazing how noise can be made by the small group (c. 8 children) and how much pizza they can eat!!
We were given a generous donation from Barnardos of £100.  This has been spent on badminton equipment and craft items.
We are now opening the event up by trying to advertise it in the community. 
We extend a big thank you to the volunteers who give up their time on a Friday night. Please pray for the event to grow in numbers and for the continued support of volunteers.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Debbie S