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NEWS IN BRIEF

LATEST NEWS

• At the back of church you can now see some more details about the proposed Triptych and examples of other work by Katie Ault.

• In time for the PCC meeting later in the month we should have received a copy of the Quinquennial  report , produced by our advising architect, Karen Butti. This will provide us with a list of priorities for undertaking necessary repairs over the next 5 years. We have already had many detailed informal discussions with her, so we are not expecting any big surprises, so the main challenges facing us will be the re-wiring, re-lighting and repair to the interior of the church.

• Lent Courses: These will begin at the end of February. One group will meet in the Upper Room on a Wednesday at 8pm, and there will be at least one other time option. Joy is researching resources and details will soon appear at the back of church and in the Pew Sheet.

• Garden: Work to prepare the garden for the spring is just beginning, and if you would like to help David and Ian with some of spade-work, literally, do let them know.

• Stewardship: To meet all our existing financial commitments St Barnabas needs an income of close to £100,000 per year. Currently, when Gift Aid, is taken into account, giving from the congregation stands at about £45,000, which means the gap in our revenue has to be filled by income from our halls. All that we do, spiritually and pastorally, depends on the financial support and voluntary participation of church members. This year, on 11th March, we will be having a special service to start our reflections on this vital part of our corporate life. High quality music, our work with children and older people, regular acts of worship, our links with local schools, our life of prayer and discipleship- stewardship is about much more than just money.

 

PARISH NEWS

• St Barnabas and local schools. We continue to work closely with our local schools. Margaret Brett is very involved with helping out at Riversdale and Ian regularly takes assemblies there. Classes from the school also regularly visit St Barnabas to find out about its history and the life of the church. Southfields Community College has a special annual Remembrance Day Service and Harvest Service at the church and we are hoping this autumn to re-launch the mentoring scheme which we pioneered 4 years ago. St Cecilia’s now visit each term to experience worship of the liberal catholic style and strengthen their connection with us.

  We are getting close again to the time when references are asked for by families seeking to apply for places in our local Church of England schools. Each one operates a slightly different system, which can be explored on the relevant school’s web-site. At St Barnabas we seek to operate a transparent and fair system, with every family being treated equally with strict principles of honesty being applied.

• Feasting on the Word: Learning for all. In the autumn we are intending to adopt a new educational programme to help all of us develop our faith. There will be new resources for our work with children, available over the Internet, and more sermons structured to encourage adult learning, shadowing the same programme.

  If you are interested in finding out more about the materials and the principles behind them please go to www.feastingontheword.net

• Garden. Considering how poor the soil was where the sunflowers were planted they have grown incredibly well. Most reached 8 feet or more, with one growing a mighty 13 feet tall. The wild flower car park is doing well but is clearly confusing some visitors who are reluctant to put their cars on a place so rampant with vegetation. As the autumn takes hold the Judas tree’s leaves have turned gold and begun to fall, but the Hebe next to the rose bed is having one final purple flourish.

• Plans for our lighting. The church lighting is effective but rather old while the electrics of the church are practically historic and have recently been condemned by the company conducting our annual safety survey. A figure in excess of £95,000 has been quoted to us for simply doing the remedial work, most of which we should be able to find by drawing on our repair funds- left over from the grant from the Diocese of Southwark. However we also are looking into improving the lighting so that all the rather fragile lamps in the Lady Chapel can be done away with and some of the more beautiful features of the church, such as the timber roof and the tops of the pillars can be picked out. Let us know what you think and if you might be able to help us.

WHERE DOES THE MONEY GO?

• St Barnabas is part of the Church of England, but its local ecclesiastical district is the diocese of Southwark. Southwark is a very socially and economically diverse district which includes Wimbledon and Brixton. Each parish is asked to contribute its fair share to the corporate costs of making sure that every parish has a functioning church and a priest to serve it.
  At a recent meeting St Barnabas' share was assessed at £60,000 per annum, which means we are asked to contribute a little bit more than the poorest parishes but far less than the most affluent ones. We also need to pay for such things as heating and light, running an office and having the services of a committed and able musical director.
  
  Our congregation's social and economic diversity mirrors that of the diocese as a whole so we do not expect everyone to contribute the same amount of money and we are well aware that everyone's financial circumstances are unique and decisions about charitable giving to charity personal, but we do need more help to continue to be thriving church.
  

  The price of 2 cheap bottles of wine per person per week, or 4 cups of coffee, or one cinema trip or one gallon of petrol would transform our finances. And there is always gift aid to top up any contributions by another 28%.
  
  When the diocese of Southwark sold the old vicarage site it could have used the profits to help needy parishes across the diocese or to help cover its other costs. Instead it ploughed the money back into St Barnabas by giving us half the proceeds and then building a brand new vicarage to replace the old. One of the great things about the Church of England is that sense of belonging and responsibility to each other in God's service.

  
  

PARISH OFFICE

• Claire Fox will be in the office from 12 noon until 4pm on Tuesdays and between 9am and 1pm on Fridays. Usually the office is also open on Saturday morning after the service, from about 10.45 until 11.30. Please look at the events calendar for more details.