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Report for 2016
2016
found us as busy as ever, as a trawl of the year's calendars clearly shows. A
celebratory New Year Service, on the first Sunday in January, was followed by
the
Junior
Church
Prize-giving, the following week, when the prizes were presented by Margaret
Miller. February brought a special Valentine's Day Service, entitled "Aspects of
Love", which was followed by an excellent lunch. The annual Charity Quiz was
held, towards the end of the month, when the Minister's team won, and a large
profit was divided between the Radcliffe branch of Christians Against Poverty,
and Streetwise; representatives from both organisations visited us, later in the
year, to speak about their work and to thank us for our support. In March, we
entertained members of The Manchester District Women's League; lunch was served,
the AGM
was held, and a service, conducted by National League President, Joy Foster,
concluded the proceedings. Mothering Sunday was marked with posies of daffodils,
and Simnel cake baked by June and the children; the service concentrated on
mothers of children with problems, which proved most moving. Easter Sunday
dwelled on recent tragedies in Brussels,
conveying a powerful message: evil must not
prevail; forgiveness and shared sympathy must always triumph; an account of that
day's sermon attracted 155 visits on our Facebook page---a record! The GA AGM's
took place, in April, and were attended by 5 representatives from Bury; we felt
that the proceedings were somewhat lacking in interest, this year, and a
questionnaire designed to improve the Meetings and enhance their appeal was
completed in detail, later in the year. A visit to the
Harrogate
Flower Show, in beautiful spring sunshine, lifted our spirits, as we admired
everything on offer there. May Day brought our Cherry Blossom Service; despite
disappointing weather and a lack of blossom, we celebrated spring, new life and
the earth's beauty. A cherry-themed lunch completed a successful day. On what
would, in past years, have been Whit Sunday, we remembered the traditional Whit
Walks and watched film from the 1960's, when members of Bank Street Chapel
participated. At the end of the month, we said farewell to our Minister, Rev.
Beryl Allerton, at a poignant service in which emotion was relieved by touches
of humour, especially at the end, when Sousa's "Liberty Bell" March was played
with great gusto; the congregation presented Beryl with a pair of diamond
earrings, and the day ended in true Bury style, with a celebratory lunch at The
Red Hall. In June, we held a Summer Lunch, which, luckily, coincided with the
visit of a ministry student by the name of Kate McKenna! At the beginning of
July, we exchanged our usual visits with Bury's United Reformed Church; the
Junior Church launched its Noah's Ark Project, which kept the children occupied
until the autumn; the exhibit now graces the wall of the Primary Room; and we
started to knit the first of our Beanies, for premature babies in Africa; by the
time we had finished, in December, we had completed 356 hats, as Pam Oxley
correctly guessed, in the competition we ran. Later in July, Abi very generously
invited us to lunch at her home, where we were also able to admire the cattery
which she and Geoff run. A Strawberry Tea, at the end of the month, produced
magnificent food, particularly as regards the home-made cakes, and we relished
the chance to relax and enjoy ourselves. We rested, to some extent, throughout
August, recouping our strength for our Singalong Band Evening, in September,
when we sang our hearts out and laughed at the compère's jokes. Dot Hewerdine,
the GA President, conducted a service for us, in September, and our Harvest
Service, at the beginning of October, combined traditional and imaginative
elements, as we were invited to consider the more metaphorical meaning of sowing
seeds and reaping the products. An Antiques and Valuation Evening, later in the
month, was interesting and enjoyable but needed more support and items to be
auctioned. We welcomed our new Minister, Rev. Kate McKenna, at the beginning of
November, and have kept her busy, ever since! Kate warned us not to expect
perfection, at first, but to accept limitations and work on improvements; after
the service, we toasted the future success of Kate's ministry with us and
presented Kate with a bouquet and a card. Then Remembrance Day and Remembrance
Sunday were upon us; we pondered the sacrifices made during times of war; we
commemorated the 100th anniversary of the Battle of the Somme; Roy Holden laid
our wreath on the War Memorial; we listened to Lawrence Killian playing "The
Last Post" and "Reveille"; and we gathered together the felt poppies, scattered
around the worship-area, in order to honour our war-dead. December followed,
with its wealth of Christmas activities; we held a Grand Christmas Raffle, which
offered 21 magnificent prizes; our Christmas Lunch, once again---and for the
last time!---organised and cooked by Pam Gilbert, was superb. Our Carols by
Candlelight Service, beset by problems, in its earlier stages, won through, in
the end, and the quality of the service impressed the Mayor and Consort,
visitors and members alike; the mince pies and mulled wine proved as popular as
ever, as did the sherry and shortbread, on Christmas Day, when a good-sized
congregation celebrated in traditional manner.
On
the whole, we had another very successful year; we raised a great deal of money,
both for church-funds and for other organisations, and we proved, once more, how
generous Bury Unitarians can be, not only in terms of money, but also in time
and effort. The Notability Choir gave us a free concert, in May---because we
allowed them free use of our premises, in January, for a day's master-class. We
sponsored Freddy, when he and Zilpha participated in the junior section of The
Great Manchester
Run; more than £1,000 was raised by Freddy, and at least one third of this came
from this church. We did not hold a bazaar, but, instead, organised alternative
fund-raising events, all of which succeeded admirably. On the minus side,
however, we have experienced parking-issues; complaints were made by our
immediate neighbours, and these are not yet fully-resolved. On September 18th,
we cancelled our service, because a Fun Run was taking place, and many roads in
the town centre were closed, preventing us from accessing our premises; as the
Run promises to become an annual event, this is a situation which still requires
resolution. Bury Light Night, transformed into a weekend event, and transferred
to mid-November, was, unfortunately, a washout, in every sense of the word!
Our regular groups and activities continued to prosper. The Luncheon Club
enjoyed a trip out, to Ditto's, as well as eating in. The Book Club worked its
way through several more books, and, having read "Brooklyn",
by Colm Toibin, acquired the
DVD and watched it at the
next meeting. The Women's League's varied programme included a Bag Beetle Drive,
and the fund-raising evening for the League's annual charity (The National Deaf
Children's Society) raised £250, when Anne and Roger Mills gave an illustrated
talk about their holiday to India, followed by an Indian-themed supper. The
Men's Fellowship continues to enjoy lunch at the Trackside, preceded by a talk;
several members contributed, including Roy Wilkinson, who spoke of his
experiences as a member of 633 Squadron during World War 2. Beryl completed the
last of her Seminar Group sessions (a second consideration of Build Your Own
Theology, after which an excellent booklet of haikus, written by the group's
members, was produced and distributed); almost immediately, she began her
"Taking the Service" classes, with John to assist her; ten people lasted the
course and showed what a wealth of talent this church possesses, in terms of
ideas, knowledge and expertise, when the pulpit needs to be filled.
It is my pleasure to thank everyone in the congregation for the
contributions made to church-life, during the past year. I often comment that
nothing happens by magic; there must always be at least one person who brings
ideas to fruition. To the Church Officers, and all those who sit on Church
Council and its sub-committees; to the Trustees, and, most especially, this
year, to the members of the Ministerial Appointments Group, who worked immensely
long and hard, I wish to express my gratitude for all the administrative work
carried out. But, also, my appreciation must be conveyed to a host of
people: our flower-arrangers, who decorate the church so beautifully, each week:
our bakers and coffee-brewers, who keep us well-supplied, every Saturday and
Sunday morning; our website and Facebook administrators, who work hard to keep
the sites up-to-date, and current in terms of techniques; our photographers, for
the excellent record of church-life they produce; our calendar-editor, for
assembling and printing our monthly news-sheet; our Traidcraft organiser; those
who book service-leaders, and organists, and read the notices; our Profiles
compiler, an innovation, this year; our Sunshine Smarties' collector; our choir,
currently without a leader, but still singing bravely; our stewards, who turn
out, whenever required; and everyone who organises rotas, events, or outings, or
who works to keep the church going. You will notice that I have stressed jobs,
rather than using names; if you can't think who carries out the above
tasks, perhaps you should wonder why you don't---and resolve to find out!
2016,
more than ever, has been about people---generous, willing, quietly
efficient, hard-working people---our congregation! And I think we should
all feel very proud of ourselves for what we have achieved, particularly over
the five months when we were without a minister. There were extra tasks to be
carried out, extra burdens to be borne, extra considerations to be taken into
account---and we coped, without fuss or grumbling---on the whole! It wasn't
easy, but we did it! Worthy of special mention here are those who carried
out the pastoral work, keeping in touch with members who were sick, lonely, or
needy, in some way. Also worth special consideration are the members of the
Taking the Service Group, who gave freely of their time, worked diligently to
acquire techniques, and then put theory into practice and conducted amazingly
proficient and impressive services. This group has now become the Worship
Support Group and remains a valuable asset.
We congratulate June, and Fred, on their
Diamond Wedding Anniversary; Val for reporting on her visit to Flanders and
Picardy, in the footsteps of the Lancashire Fusiliers, tracking down former
congregation-members, who gave their lives in the two World Wars; and Betty,
who, almost in the closing hours of the year, was able to reveal her
secret---that she had been awarded a BEM, in the New Year's Honours List.
Sadly, this year contained more than our
fair share of losses, and, in March and April, we attended a high number of
funerals. During the year, we said our farewells to Chris Thompson (one of our
organists), Betty Connery, Joe Ashworth (whose ashes were subsequently buried at
Holebottom), Muriel Smith, Jean Jackson, Rodney Shaw, Dorothy Stott, Gillian
Isherwood, Sheila Houghton, and Harvey Evitts. Many of these were long-standing,
active, committed members; we mourn their passing, and we miss their presence
amongst us; we extend sincere sympathies to their families, as we do to those of
our members who have been bereaved; we also send our very best wishes to those
who have suffered ill-health, during the past year.
With
great regret, we had to say goodbye to Beryl, who had been our Minister for five
and a half years, having come, initially, for six months! Beryl felt that it was
an appropriate time for her to retire; at her final service, she said that it
had been a privilege and a pleasure to serve our congregation, and that she
considered its members to be friends, as well as church-associates. Beryl's time
at Bury was hectic; she always led from the front, never sparing herself, even
when her gallstone-problems were at their height. We owe Beryl a huge debt of
gratitude for all the work she carried out within this church, for her
enthusiasm, her inspiration, her generosity, and her determination. She was very
ably supported by John, to whom thanks are also due; we shall not see either of
them, for a year, since they took the decision to allow our new Minister to
settle in unimpeded, but we miss their presence and encouragement, and hope that
it will not be too long before they feel able to join us again.
We had our share of arrivals, however; Abi
was formally welcomed as a member, in May; Theresa came to us, from June
onwards, to open the premises, each Sunday morning, and prepare everything for
worship; and Isabelle Boardman, daughter of Richard and Justine, was baptised,
in October. There were innovations, too, some of which have already been
mentioned: we took the decision to give the Yoga Group a key, so that they could
steward their own sessions, thereby freeing church-members from turning out; we
tidied The Church Gardens, several times, in preparation for Bury in Bloom---a
gesture much appreciated in the town, and one which contributed to the success
of Bury's entry in the competition; and Ashley-Jayde sang a beautiful solo,
during one of our Christmas services.
The main arrival of the year
was that of Kate---and Ade, of course---both of whom quickly made themselves at
home. Beforehand, the Manse required a certain amount of attention, as it had
been somewhat neglected by the tenant, but, finally, all was well. Arrangements
to engage a new Minister occupied most of the year, yet November 1st almost took
us by surprise---suddenly Kate was with us, and we embarked on a new chapter of
our church-life. Kate has spoken warmly of the welcome she has received. and of
the affection she feels already for this church and its congregation, and for
Bury itself, so very different from
Norwich.
There is much to be done, as we help Kate to settle in and to learn the many
ropes which constitute ministry; we are experiencing a different style of
ministry now, but our relationship with Kate, and the general atmosphere
created, is relaxed and beneficial; it feels good, and right. 2016
ended on a very positive note; foundations were laid, to be built on, in the
immediate future, and we can proceed into the New Year with optimism and
confidence.
Anne Mills, Chairman of the Congregation,
and Church Secretary: January, 2017.
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INTRODUCTORY BOOKLET:
A
FAITH WORTH THINKING ABOUT
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