Kath Harrison - Commissioned Minister

Another year has passed, and still no one seems to have rumbled me. I have a fancy certificate from the Bishop, but am very aware that there are multitudes of you who are getting on assisting each other pastorally without one. The fact that you haven't got an official title, and I have, is due to an accident of history- and a God who is gracious to us "weaker brethren (and sisters)" who feel better if we have a special badge to wear. It's been a year of building on what has gone before. No new earth- shattering stuff (thankfully!) but some routine maintenance and minor re-modelling. I'm now leading the planning team for the first Sunday of each month and I'm still part of the late morning crew. If you haven't tried Sunday lunch in church yet, you're missing a lovely opportunity to relax together and chat about the week's theme ...or the latest gossip...Leading worship is a joy and privilege, and music group is fun; the extra workload is less daunting when Diana treats us to lemon drizzle cake on a Thursday night. (One Sunday recently I managed the dubious achievement of getting in the shower at 9.15 and still making it up the road in time for the 9.30 gathering song. Is this a record?). For various reasons the weekly meditation sessions have died a death, and a baby Thursday afternoon church has been born (see separate "Bite-Size Church" report). I'm committed to growing the web forum community, which is a great opportunity to be "Open Church" in an online way; the website is the first point of contact for an increasing number of people, but the forum struggles to be viable and could really do with a few more people to keep the conversations rolling. (If you are someone for whom "logging in" is a scary idea, please be brave! Jane and Paul look after us all very well - and you don't even have to reveal your identity...). As home life continues through the transition from 'small kids' to 'big kids', I'm unsure where God is going to take me - but I'm glad to be asking that question amongst the good people of St. John's. Thank you once again for all your support in so many ways.

Brenda Thomas - Commissioned Minister

This year has brought some major changes for me.  I became a grandmother for the first time to Olivia, now 15 months. This has been a fantastic, if time consuming experience but I have loved every minute of it and since December I have been looking after her for two days each week.  In January this year I retired from work but am still trying to adjust to this new phase of my life.  I also had to decide whether I wanted to be re-commissioned as a Pastoral Assistant and after much prayer and soul searching I decided I did and hope I made the right decision. I have really enjoyed co-leading the monthly Sunday morning discussions at Barr Lodge Sheltered Housing complex, beating my drum as part of the music group and my participation in the Green Group and on the PCC. I organised the Garden party at the Festival in June and helped to plan the All Souls service in November. Looking at last year’s report I think the amount of people who are involved in such a variety of worship, groups and events is amazing and wonderful and hope I will be able to continue to play a useful part in the coming year.

Tony Sheffield - Commissioned Minister (Hospital Chaplaincy/Ward Buddy)

The chaplaincy continues to thrive with three more lay chaplains joining our team and two retiring. Bill White retired this year after long and dedicated service to the chaplaincy and George Pinnell spends time with us as an ordained chaplain. The scope of work is most varied and in my role as ward buddy I also get to be in situations which are deeply rewarding. We hold communion services in the hospital chapel on Tuesdays at 1215 and Thursdays at 1415. These are normally attended by some of the chaplains and patients who are fetched from the wards. We always need people to help us collect patients. If you would like to volunteer please contact us. You will need to go through voluntary services for approval etc. Hillingdon Hospital is in the process of becoming a Trust which means it can run itself according to the local requirement—if you haven’t signed up to be a member please see me for a form. There’s nothing to it and you get a chance to air your own views to your local rep or at one of the bi-monthly meetings. These meetings have all sorts of talks about things of local hospital interest. Also a free buffet!!