Vicar sletter20May14 for email
Dear Friends, Brilliant Baptisms April 27 was one of the most joyful Sundays I can remember for quite some time. It's always moving to see someone baptised and give testimony about what the Lord Jesus means to them. It encourages us and provokes us to greater faith ourselves. We had that privilege no fewer than fourteen times, as well as the privilege of witnessing three of our adult members recommit themselves publicly to Jesus. The testimonies that we heard began with the straightforward but profound faith of some of our Explorers, choosing without any pressure to declare that Jesus is their Lord. Not just their parents' or grandparents' Lord, but their Lord. Choosing to witness publicly to their faith before the whole church and their friends and family took courage - and I know that some have gone on to talk at school in lessons about what their baptism meant to them. One of our young people had invited no fewer than five of her friends to come along and witness her choice of her Lord. I'm sure you'll agree that the example that our children and young people set for us was fabulous. I felt privileged to see the fruit of our church's children and youth work over many years. It was a harvest, the fruit of so much hard work, prayer and love sustained over a long period.
Many of the victories and breakthroughs we long to see are like that: they don't come in a moment, or if they seem to come in a moment, that moment often comes after a long season of preparation. In Eugene Peterson's words, they are the fruit of a 'long obedience in the same direction'. And I think that's what we saw on April 27: the fruit of the work of Shine and SoulSpace over years not weeks. So please keep praying, both for our work in schools and especially for the 'MegaMakers' Holiday Club for surely we want to see Shine and SoulSpace continue to bear such fruit over many years to come. And please take the time to encourage and thank all those who lead and help in these ministries. In the evening, the testimonies were perhaps richer still. We heard about how Jesus had rescued some folk from fairly wild lifestyles, or simply from feeling purposeless and lost. We also heard about how Jesus had been present with some of our fellowship through really difficult times of illness and struggle, and of how one had found in Highfield a new spiritual home after completely losing their way. A wonderful testimony spoke of one person's determination to keep standing for Jesus in the midst of suffering, even when they couldn't always feel His presence and love. Memorably, they told us that 'Jesus, I want you to know that I'm not going anywhere'. All of the testimonies were wonderful and moving to hear, testament to how varied and deeply personal the Spirit's work is in people's lives. If we heard the power of testimony on that day, we also heard about the power of witness. Nearly everyone spoke of particular friends who had been bold enough to witness to them about their faith, to pray for them and support them in their lives. It was both an encouragement and a challenge: that our witness really does matter, wherever we find ourselves and whoever we find ourselves with during the week, and that it can be a vital part of the Holy Spirit moving
people towards a living faith. We need to be bolder in believing that God can use us in this way.
Simply, we believe that our Values can be spelled out as that Highfield Church is called to be Growing in GRACE - where GRACE is an acrostic that is made up of G R A C E
Grace-filled Community Reverent Worship Authentic Discipleship Christ-like Service Empowered Witness
We've adopted the following three specific Vocations: Engaging with the University Embracing Portswood Loving Southampton
“
My prayer is that we will have many such days in Highfield. Many joyful days filled with baptisms and testimonies. Many joyful days that remind us that spiritual breakthroughs sometimes come in a moment, but often that moment comes after witness and service that have been a 'long obedience in the same direction'. Many joyful days where we can see the effect of an empowered witness on those we know.
”
Values, Vocations & Vectors Those of you who have been at recent QLMs, PCCs or at the APCM will know that we've been looking together at our vision and strategy as a church. The Staff, Leadership Group and the PCC have all worked on a new statement of our vision, and this was approved at the end of March. We're calling this our Values (the spiritual principles and truths that should characterise our life as a church) and our Vocations (the specific calls that we believe God has given to this church at this time in this place). The Vectors are the directions and choices we need to take to help us pursue God's call to us as a church.
If you haven't heard about all this already or you'd like to listen again, the audio of my talk from the APCM is available online on the members page. Listening to that talk will bring you up to speed with the discussions that have been going on. We want to engage as many of our congregational members as possible in the process of working at what our Values and Vocations mean in practice. This vision has to become ours not mine or the staff team's if it's going to make a difference to our church, community and city. Only if we own these Values and Vocations together will they really shape and define our life together. But if they do, I believe we will make a significant difference in the world. To help this process of engagement across the church, it's been decided to make Sunday June 8 a Vision Sunday at which our main services will be about our Values and Vocations. There will be two brief talks, one about our Values and the other about our Vocations, and there will also be opportunity for everyone to discuss around tables what is being put forward and to feed in suggestions and ideas, all within a framework undergirded by worship and prayer. A presentation will also be given to the 8am
congregation. The feedback from this day, the QLM table discussions and other reflections will be considered by the PCC at an Away Day either in the Summer or early Autumn. The Values and Vocations are already in place, and the aim is to have the Vectors (or strategic priorities) in place by the end of the calendar year. Sunday June 15 will be a RAG day (Reviewing our Annual Giving) during which I'll be speaking about the biblical approach to giving and how we go about resourcing our pursuit of our Vocations. Pledge and gift forms for your time and money and information about the church's finances will be available on this day, the aim being that they will be returned over following Sundays. Sunday June 22 will be our annual Thanksgiving and Memorial Service at 11am for all those who have been bereaved, an important and valued service, so gifts and pledges from this congregation will be returned on Sunday June 29. At the other services on Sunday June 22, the theme will be how God resources us through His Holy Spirit to pursue His calling on our lives, and as a key part of our worship, pledges and gifts will be brought forward to be blessed and received.
Two things have happened. The first was that we had significant storm damage to the roof of the spire. The second was that the tenders we received for the work were far in excess of the sum predicted by our architect. We are now looking at a total bill of £175-180k. We also need to pay VAT on that sum: while it can be reclaimed, it must first be paid. The funding gap is thus around £90-95k, of which £35-36k is the VAT that can be subsequently reclaimed. We had also budgeted for a deficit of £20k this year in the first place. This is fairly new news - the churchwardens and I discussed it for the first time on May 6th, and the PCC discussed it at length at a special meeting on May 9th.
Keeping A Roof Over Our Heads
What have we decided to do? Well, we have decided to proceed with all the works. While it might seem prudent to delay some of the works from a financial point of view, a large part of the cost is that of providing scaffolding. Doing this twice will significantly add to the eventual overall cost. It makes financial sense and building sense (the building around the tower is no longer water-tight) to press ahead. When we prayed at the PCC meeting, we felt challenged that, while this need was a shock to us, it wasn't news to God, and that we should proceed.
I need to tell you about some bad news. As reported at the APCM, the estimate of the work needing to be done on our roofs was £120k. With the proceeds of last year's Gift Day, which was £45k, and by exhausting our reserves of £75k, we managed to put the finance in place to go out to tender.
What have we done so far? We have made an insurance claim for the storm damage. It has been allowed and we are awaiting the outcome of that claim. We have sought interest free loans from some members of the congregation, and will probably use most of that promised funding to cover the cost of the VAT, repaying
I believe there's a growing sense of clarity of purpose and excitement around our Values and Vocations, and I hope that you'll come to these special services wanting both to hear more and to be part of us pursuing our corporate calling in the world.
the loans as soon as we've had the VAT refunded to us. We have talked to the diocese about various options (both potential loans and underpayment of our payments to the Parish Share this year) and have had a very sympathetic hearing. While we have promised to do all that we can to meet our obligations, there has also been a recognition that we cannot be expected to give the diocese money that we do not have. This is clearly a difficult situation and quite a shock. At a time when we're wanting to focus on our Values and our Vocations, it does seem like a distraction to have to focus once more on the building. Please pray both that we'll retain our focus on God's call and that we will be enabled to rise to all the challenges we face. It's been decided to bring forward our vision process to June, hoping to engage the whole church across all our congregations not just with the building but also with how our developing Vocations might challenge us to be more biblical and sacrificial in our giving. Let me remind you that every £ spent on ministry and mission locally is given locally. We're hoping that the whole picture - Values, Vocations and the roof - will prompt a rise in our annual giving as well as some one-off gifts to both our Vocations and to keeping a roof over our heads.
A Last Thought Please pray for us all: for divine wisdom to be given to those in leadership, for God's power, love and grace to be poured out on us as a fellowship, and for us to be able to rise with grace and courage to all the challenges that we face both within the church and in the world around us. Pray that we will genuinely be a church Growing in GRACE, where grace-filled community is a reality, where reverent worship is offered by authentic disciples, and where we all are engaged in Christ-like service and in empowered witness in the church, at home, in our neighbourhoods and at work. And pray that we courageously and fruitfully Engage with the University, Embrace Portswood and play our part in Loving Southampton. Every blessing,
Mike Archer Priest-in-Charge
Many of the victories and breakthroughs we long to see are like that: they don't come in a moment, or if they seem to come in a moment, that moment often comes after a long season of preparation. In Eugene Peterson's words, they are the fruit of a 'long obedience in the same direction'. And I think that's what we saw on April 27: the fruit of the work of Shine and SoulSpace over years not weeks. So please keep praying, both for our work in schools and especially for the 'MegaMakers' Holiday Club for surely we want to see Shine and SoulSpace continue to bear such fruit over many years to come. And please take the time to encourage and thank all those who lead and help in these ministries. In the evening, the testimonies were perhaps richer still. We heard about how Jesus had rescued some folk from fairly wild lifestyles, or simply from feeling purposeless and lost. We also heard about how Jesus had been present with some of our fellowship through really difficult times of illness and struggle, and of how one had found in Highfield a new spiritual home after completely losing their way. A wonderful testimony spoke of one person's determination to keep standing for Jesus in the midst of suffering, even when they couldn't always feel His presence and love. Memorably, they told us that 'Jesus, I want you to know that I'm not going anywhere'. All of the testimonies were wonderful and moving to hear, testament to how varied and deeply personal the Spirit's work is in people's lives. If we heard the power of testimony on that day, we also heard about the power of witness. Nearly everyone spoke of particular friends who had been bold enough to witness to them about their faith, to pray for them and support them in their lives. It was both an encouragement and a challenge: that our witness really does matter, wherever we find ourselves and whoever we find ourselves with during the week, and that it can be a vital part of the Holy Spirit moving
people towards a living faith. We need to be bolder in believing that God can use us in this way.
Simply, we believe that our Values can be spelled out as that Highfield Church is called to be Growing in GRACE - where GRACE is an acrostic that is made up of G R A C E
Grace-filled Community Reverent Worship Authentic Discipleship Christ-like Service Empowered Witness
We've adopted the following three specific Vocations: Engaging with the University Embracing Portswood Loving Southampton
“
My prayer is that we will have many such days in Highfield. Many joyful days filled with baptisms and testimonies. Many joyful days that remind us that spiritual breakthroughs sometimes come in a moment, but often that moment comes after witness and service that have been a 'long obedience in the same direction'. Many joyful days where we can see the effect of an empowered witness on those we know.
”
Values, Vocations & Vectors Those of you who have been at recent QLMs, PCCs or at the APCM will know that we've been looking together at our vision and strategy as a church. The Staff, Leadership Group and the PCC have all worked on a new statement of our vision, and this was approved at the end of March. We're calling this our Values (the spiritual principles and truths that should characterise our life as a church) and our Vocations (the specific calls that we believe God has given to this church at this time in this place). The Vectors are the directions and choices we need to take to help us pursue God's call to us as a church.
If you haven't heard about all this already or you'd like to listen again, the audio of my talk from the APCM is available online on the members page. Listening to that talk will bring you up to speed with the discussions that have been going on. We want to engage as many of our congregational members as possible in the process of working at what our Values and Vocations mean in practice. This vision has to become ours not mine or the staff team's if it's going to make a difference to our church, community and city. Only if we own these Values and Vocations together will they really shape and define our life together. But if they do, I believe we will make a significant difference in the world. To help this process of engagement across the church, it's been decided to make Sunday June 8 a Vision Sunday at which our main services will be about our Values and Vocations. There will be two brief talks, one about our Values and the other about our Vocations, and there will also be opportunity for everyone to discuss around tables what is being put forward and to feed in suggestions and ideas, all within a framework undergirded by worship and prayer. A presentation will also be given to the 8am
congregation. The feedback from this day, the QLM table discussions and other reflections will be considered by the PCC at an Away Day either in the Summer or early Autumn. The Values and Vocations are already in place, and the aim is to have the Vectors (or strategic priorities) in place by the end of the calendar year. Sunday June 15 will be a RAG day (Reviewing our Annual Giving) during which I'll be speaking about the biblical approach to giving and how we go about resourcing our pursuit of our Vocations. Pledge and gift forms for your time and money and information about the church's finances will be available on this day, the aim being that they will be returned over following Sundays. Sunday June 22 will be our annual Thanksgiving and Memorial Service at 11am for all those who have been bereaved, an important and valued service, so gifts and pledges from this congregation will be returned on Sunday June 29. At the other services on Sunday June 22, the theme will be how God resources us through His Holy Spirit to pursue His calling on our lives, and as a key part of our worship, pledges and gifts will be brought forward to be blessed and received.
Two things have happened. The first was that we had significant storm damage to the roof of the spire. The second was that the tenders we received for the work were far in excess of the sum predicted by our architect. We are now looking at a total bill of £175-180k. We also need to pay VAT on that sum: while it can be reclaimed, it must first be paid. The funding gap is thus around £90-95k, of which £35-36k is the VAT that can be subsequently reclaimed. We had also budgeted for a deficit of £20k this year in the first place. This is fairly new news - the churchwardens and I discussed it for the first time on May 6th, and the PCC discussed it at length at a special meeting on May 9th.
Keeping A Roof Over Our Heads
What have we decided to do? Well, we have decided to proceed with all the works. While it might seem prudent to delay some of the works from a financial point of view, a large part of the cost is that of providing scaffolding. Doing this twice will significantly add to the eventual overall cost. It makes financial sense and building sense (the building around the tower is no longer water-tight) to press ahead. When we prayed at the PCC meeting, we felt challenged that, while this need was a shock to us, it wasn't news to God, and that we should proceed.
I need to tell you about some bad news. As reported at the APCM, the estimate of the work needing to be done on our roofs was £120k. With the proceeds of last year's Gift Day, which was £45k, and by exhausting our reserves of £75k, we managed to put the finance in place to go out to tender.
What have we done so far? We have made an insurance claim for the storm damage. It has been allowed and we are awaiting the outcome of that claim. We have sought interest free loans from some members of the congregation, and will probably use most of that promised funding to cover the cost of the VAT, repaying
I believe there's a growing sense of clarity of purpose and excitement around our Values and Vocations, and I hope that you'll come to these special services wanting both to hear more and to be part of us pursuing our corporate calling in the world.
the loans as soon as we've had the VAT refunded to us. We have talked to the diocese about various options (both potential loans and underpayment of our payments to the Parish Share this year) and have had a very sympathetic hearing. While we have promised to do all that we can to meet our obligations, there has also been a recognition that we cannot be expected to give the diocese money that we do not have. This is clearly a difficult situation and quite a shock. At a time when we're wanting to focus on our Values and our Vocations, it does seem like a distraction to have to focus once more on the building. Please pray both that we'll retain our focus on God's call and that we will be enabled to rise to all the challenges we face. It's been decided to bring forward our vision process to June, hoping to engage the whole church across all our congregations not just with the building but also with how our developing Vocations might challenge us to be more biblical and sacrificial in our giving. Let me remind you that every £ spent on ministry and mission locally is given locally. We're hoping that the whole picture - Values, Vocations and the roof - will prompt a rise in our annual giving as well as some one-off gifts to both our Vocations and to keeping a roof over our heads.
A Last Thought Please pray for us all: for divine wisdom to be given to those in leadership, for God's power, love and grace to be poured out on us as a fellowship, and for us to be able to rise with grace and courage to all the challenges that we face both within the church and in the world around us. Pray that we will genuinely be a church Growing in GRACE, where grace-filled community is a reality, where reverent worship is offered by authentic disciples, and where we all are engaged in Christ-like service and in empowered witness in the church, at home, in our neighbourhoods and at work. And pray that we courageously and fruitfully Engage with the University, Embrace Portswood and play our part in Loving Southampton. Every blessing,
Mike Archer Priest-in-Charge
