Monday, January 30, 2012

Churchwardens' Report to Annual Vestry 29 January 2012

 It is our pleasure and privilege to present you with the report for the year starting in January 2011.

Once again, the outgoing Council and Churchwardens would like to thank Father Mark for his dedicated leadership and hard work during the year.  We have experienced a further growth in numbers, and have succeeded in more than filling the extension to the Church completed in 2007. We also extend our thanks to those who carry out their roles in front of the congregation, namely the ministry and music teams and servers, as well as those behind the scenes, the sides people, sacristans, flower providers and tea suppliers, and not forgetting Cynthia who keeps the church spick and span, as befits a house of worship.  We are also extremely grateful for the services of Father Julian and Father Danny, who have always been ready to stand in on Sundays when Father Mark was unavoidably occupied elsewhere.  A very special word of thanks to Deacon Steve, for his regular work as part of our Sunday services, as well as organizing of confirmation and baptism classes.  The good news is that he will be ordained to the priesthood on 19th February, and we wish to offer him our sincere congratulations on this major step forward in his church career. A very important characteristic of Corpus Christi, which is evident to all, is the degree of intra-cultural harmony which we enjoy.

In addition to the 07.00 and 09.00 services on Sundays, there is the 09.00 communion service each Wednesday, which is attended by a small but faithful group, and a twice monthly service at the Glenhaven Old Age Home, which is much appreciated by the Anglican members of that community who are no longer able to travel to church on a regular basis.

The administration of our parish affairs continues without hitches, thanks to Cheryl.

Our Children’s Church has gone from strength to strength, thanks to Barbara Primmer, and her team.  It is always well attended, and some parents complain that they are dragged out of bed on a Sunday morning by their children who don’t want to miss out.

The Diocesan Synod was held in September, attended by your churchwardens.  Many subjects were discussed, including long needed changes to the Diocesan rules.  A full report on Synod will be available shortly.

A highlight of our year was our 30th Anniversary Celebration, held on June 19th, close to the Feast of Corpus Christi. This was celebrated with a Parish lunch and spit braai, and was a great success.  This also marked the inauguration of the Corpus Christi Family Cross, which has since a week in the homes of a number of parishioners, coupled with a visit from members of the ministry team to celebrate evening prayer with the family, and sometimes, friends.  Those families who have hosted the cross so far have all found it to have influenced their lives in a very positive sense.  The cross will hopefully continue to do the rounds during the year to come.

We have continued to support Louis Botha Homes, thanks to Penny Craven, who has made a considerable impact on the lives of a family of children there.  As this family is moving on we need to find someone to take over from her to continue the good work.  Any volunteers?  We have also supplied a good number of food parcels to Tumelong Mission, thanks to Leezal Peterson. The Corpus Christi tea garden at the Irene Homes Fete was a great success last year, thanks to dedicated motivation from Mary Verryn. Once again the Christmas party at Maboloko Haven was also very well received with more children than expected arriving, but all left satisfied.  Elsje Rudman is continuing to quietly support the WAR (Women Against Rape) movement by collecting packing and sending parcels for rape victims.

The Church Property has been improved by the addition of a fixed platform outside the North door of the hall, the addition of gutters and the painting of the walls and the clearing of the passage between the hall and the fence. The existing Borehole was tested and fitted with a pump enabling the sprinkler system to be fully utilized.  We also have a new signboard to welcome old and new parishioners.  Our thanks to Peter Davies for all his efforts to improve the property.  The property has now been fitted with “Green Lighting” using new concept lights to illuminate the car park and in the church.  This qualifies us for a rebate on the cost of procurement and installation as well as enabling an estimated saving of 25 to 30% in electricity bills, so that the initial cost should be recovered in three to five years.  This also means that we are contributing to making a difference to the environment.

Inside the church, the chairs used by the ministers which were a gift from a parishioner many years ago, have been reupholstered and are looking very good indeed.

Last, but not least, the garden is looking wonderful, thanks mainly to the efforts of Wendy Sturdy and her team.

In closing, we, as your churchwardens wish to thank all those others who have contributed to our parish life in many ways as well as by occupying the pews on Sunday mornings.

Tuelo Mogashoa
Lex Jackson
Peter Davies (Alternate).

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