PCC Open Session

Dear Friends,

During the first year of my incumbency, I feel it is right to lift our eyes beyond the local to wider and broader issues within the life of our country and the Church of England at this time. I am therefore inviting all members of the church family to come and hear my reflections on the following topics: 

• What might it mean for All Saints to be known as “an evangelical church”.
  The term is used in a variety of ways today and it was a subject indeed when I was being interviewed. I plan to give a brief summary and some riders for its use going forwards.

• What might it mean for All Saints to fully be part of the wider landscape of our Diocese of Sheffield.
  I plan to bring you up to speed with the dioceses own direction of travel and seek to give some positive reflections upon its way forward.

• I wish to reflect, after nearly a year as your Vicar, on how we can chart a path forward recognising the giftings and realities that are currently at the fore.
  I plan to be upfront and personal about the challenges we face which, under God, I am increasingly sensing we can work together to address.

I am timing this short session, for which there is no need to book, to be on Monday 22 November 2021, 7.30PM - 8PM in Church because it will immediately precede the next meeting of PCC.  

I am so grateful to those who serve with me on the PCC. Ours is an important task to oversee and share in the mission of All Saints Church. Thank you for voting your representatives in and for the time those who serve give to ensure our Church is run effectively and discharges its worship and mission duties well. 

Thank you again to all for your partnership in the gospel and for your interest and prayers for our PCC and Parish at this time. It is really appreciated.

Revd Canon Mark Brown

From the Vicarage

Dear Friends,

The season “of mists an mellow fruitfulness” is upon us and so too is the season I feel of thankfulness. Our harvest thanksgiving was last week and this week we give thanks to God for trusting us as stewards of all He has given us. So on your behalf, may I thank our finance and stewardship team who serve us so well. They enable us to reflect well on what it means to live an indebted life – a life where we recognise that God gives us things to enjoy and to bless others with.

We thank God for Janet Daye and Kate Burton in our finance office. Please pray for both Kate as she starts her maternity leave soon and for Janet as she moves to a new role at Voluntary Action Sheffield at the end of the year. 

We also give thanks for our volunteers, Julia Newton, Treasurer and Roger Manterfield, Giving Treasurer and for the members of the church family who give of their time and expertise to support them by serving as part of our Treasurer's Group; Rod Ismay, Jon Hattersley and Kevin Yates who has just joined. Together they have an impressive array of skills and talents to keep us in good order and enable PCC to make wise decisions with the resources at our disposal.

As you thank God for them please pray for the necessary adjustments to the team as things change going forward. Please do get in touch if you are able to offer any skills in accountancy or handling finances that we do not know about. I am always keen to spread the load so that no one person or team is un-necessarily burdened. This is one way of course that you can steward your own gifts under God.

So the often quoted grace at meal times is shared. For what we are about to receive may the Lord make us truly thankful. Thank you for your thoughtful consideration of the Stewardship 2022 communication. We are praying for a good response so that we can all share in thanksgiving to God for blessing us and we can also share His blessing with others.

Yours in Christ,

Mark

Welcome to our new Operations Manager

Dear friends,

I am delighted to announce that Stephanie Osman has been appointed as our new Operations Manager. Stephanie currently works within our own Diocese of Sheffield and is based at Rotherham Minister and St Pauls Masbrough. Her expertise in many aspects of the oversight and management of a range of Church based activities will be of great service to us and the team here. She has previously held management roles in a marketing position at a corporate finance company in Wakefield.

I am grateful to the team who have worked with me in this appointment process, Alison Fletcher, Dave Coleshill, Sally Craig, and David Howarth. It has seemed right to us and the Holy Spirit that Stephanie is being called to work in this important role for the extension of God’s kingdom through the All Saints and in the local and wider community.
 
Please hold Stephanie in your prayers and the communities of faith she is currently based in.
 
We expect her to take up her new role in early Jan 2022.
 
Revd Canon Mark Brown

From the Vicarage - 24th September 2021

I am conscious that there are at least two communities of people who form part of the wonderful Christian family of All Saints Ecclesall that we all need to keep in mind with a spirt of rejoicing and prayer. The autumn term has come but with the freedom to travel and seek days that are holy (Holidays) and many are off and enjoying new views, places and we trust well-earned rest and refreshment. We rejoice with them and we are mindful to keep them up to speed with some of the many changes happening in our Church at this time. Amidst the usual round of competing priorities in a busy church, one is increasingly on my mind and I bring it to your attention for prayer and a bold sense of reaching out with wit and wisdom from our members. Many are still, rightly in my view, cautious about the new normal and the lifting of restrictions. Non-attendance at Church for these reasons is perfectly acceptable and indeed in some cases is self-evidently the right thing to do. How we seek to resource through digital media, notices, letters, visits and simple phone calls is both your task and mine, it seems to me. There is evident excitement about all being together again but let us not forget those of our family who belong to us and need to feel connected. A thought, a prompt of the Spirit, I feel sure will guide you in the right way to reach out. I would value prayer as we develop strategies around this important reality of living in a tough COVID world (please note this is not a post-COVID world but a current one). Hands, face, space is important as an Indian summer might soon give way to some chill winds and realities.

To these two communities of our membership and to all others I wish to announce that at all services next Sunday (3 October) I shall be giving a significant and lengthy public announcement about the way things are at the moment and developments that might be possible under God as we seek to move forward in a united way. I will speak to each congregational setting and more broadly to our whole life in God together. The extended notice will be recorded and be enabled to be watched by those away on holiday or at home through a commitment to semi-isolated living. You might care to pray I get it right and indeed not too long (7 mins) but this is one of the many ways I wish to unite our Parish and hold out the gospel to a needy world at this time. We are indeed His stewards and one day we will give an account of how we have made the most of this wonderful opportunity that lies before us as a Parish. We pray together that each of us will be found faithful in our commitment to Christ and each other.

Yours in His service,

Mark Brown

From the Vicarage - 19th Sept 2021

Today is Beth’s last Sunday with us at All Saints Ecclesall before she leaves to take on her new role at St Mark’s Broomhill. We thank God especially today for Beth’s ministry in our midst and for the role that she, Laurence, Joshua and Ana have played in the ministry of our church. As our preacher this morning and sharing testimony this evening in the context of Holy Communion we have plenty of opportunity to share in worship and thanksgiving together. We will be praying for a blessed time of thanksgiving and for Beth’s licensing service on 27 Sept at St Mark’s for the start of her new ministry.

We are firming up our faith by offering two opportunities to young people and adults to be confirmed. One at All Saints Totley with Bishop Sophie as we join together with other churches in the Deanery on Monday 11 October at 7:30pm. The other is at our own Parish Church with Bishop Pete on Sunday 7 November at 6pm. This of course follows on from our Young People’s house party, which I am leading.

If you are interested in finding out more about what it means to be confirmed (if you have not done so already!) then please have a word with me. I have set aside noon in church on each of the next couple of Sundays (19/26 Sept) to be free to have a conversation with me if you are interested. Do let the office know if you think this might apply to you or simply come along and we can have a chat!

We are in a new season. Now if I had a pound for each person that said that!! I plan to add some salt to this seasoning soon with news of some enhanced video work to enable us to be agile in this hybrid world of living with COVID, spell out exactly how our public acts of worship will be enhanced and enable through a church meeting a conversation on plans for the future. As I mentioned to our recent PCC meeting I am always happy to receive short and crisp reflections on future staffing or strategy. An essay might not pass the filter but first off the block and indeed the only response was most heartening in a few lines. Thank you. May your kingdom come and your will be done.

This of course should not just be the Lord’s Prayer but all of ours.

With thanksgiving for your partnership in the Gospel,

Mark

Update on our in person services

16/07/2021

We know that there are lots of discussions taking place about the upcoming changes in restrictions. We want our church family to feel assured that we are looking at how we respond to these changes in a way that both encourages people back to church, but also recognises that there will be many who do not feel ready or comfortable to join us.

What will services look like?

We appreciate that coming back in to church with increased capacities may cause concern amongst our church family. Revd Mark Brown has put together a video to detail what to expect if you feel able to come along to a service in person.

Will I still need to book for services?

After Monday 19th July 2021, we will be no longer requiring bookings for services. We do understand that many people will feel differently about the easing of restrictions and we encourage anyone who would feel more comfortable at a quieter service to attend the 8am Holy Communion. If you want to talk to one of our staff team about attending church, please do contact the church office.

Can I still watch the services online?

All of our services will continue to be livestreamed for August. We will then review the situation again for September onwards.

I feel comfortable to get involved, what can I do?

There are many ways that people can be involved in church, and we will continue to listen to ensure that we make changes that are realistic and well resourced. So many activities rely on volunteers and in the coming weeks we will be asking people to sign up to different areas that they can serve. It is likely that over the summer months you may not see many big changes as we begin the process of organising rotas for the autumn season.

From the Vicarage - June 2021

Our loss is Bluebell children’s hospices gain!

We will be saying farewell to our esteemed, loved and able Operations Manager Rachel, when this summer she moves to take up a significant and important position within the charity sector.

Rachel has been my foremost friend and aid in my early days of understanding how things might get done at All Saints and I am personally very grateful for her thoughtfulness and kindness. Do please pray for her and those she will be supporting in her new and important role. I am in conversation with the wardens and others about how best to carry on Rachel’s important work within the All Saints family and we would value your prayers too.

Thank you Rachel indeed – here are some fitting and well deserved tributes for your work and presence in our midst.

“It has been a joy to work and minister with Rachel these past four years.  She has done a wonderful job in keeping the operations of the church going, often behind the scenes.  We have had a lot of fun working together and there has been lots of laughter.  Most of all, it has been a real blessing to work with a friend who encourages you in your faith everyday.  We will miss her very much.”

Revd Dan Christian

“Rachel has brought a whole range of expertise to the life of All Saints .Church family life changes & goes through “ seasons” just like family life does & Rachel has been instrumental in helping  us steer our way  . Much of what she has been involved in is not directly seen by all the church family but Rachel gets things done & makes things happens!

Perhaps one of Rachel’s greatest gifts has been the care & commitment she has shown to her Operations Team supporting & encouraging them through many ups and downs . Our loss is Bluebell Hospice's gain.”

Alison Fletcher
Churchwarden

“It has been such a joy to work with Rachel. She has brought practical and visionary gifts which have helped us to develop our organisation, but she has also brought a lot of laughter into the office and also a steady reliance on God. We will really miss her and wish her well for this next season.”

Revd Beth Keith

“No one can fully appreciate all that you have done and all that you have brought during your nearly 5 years as Operations Manager at All Saints. Thank you for your wisdom, discernment and the way that you have supported the mission and ministry of All Saints. I loved working with you, Rachel, during my time as senior churchwarden and I am forever thankful for you and your support during this time. You will be missed and I pray that God will bless you as you move into your new role.”

 Sarah Leighton

An update from Mark

Dear Friends,

As our Church family approaches the APCM - One heart, many voices united we serve, I wanted to extend our thoughts further afield. What happens here locally is of course very important and I hope and pray our APCM will give time for thanksgiving on our past year and give some pointers for our life together for the next year.

We are part of a wider community, the Diocese and indeed the national Church. So here is a simple signpost with some good material that answers questions that are rightly and increasingly asked of myself and the team here.

The Diocese - what is its new model of ministry with Oversight Ministers and Focal Ministers?

Here is a great a very simple explanation - enjoy!

When can we sing? When can we get back to normal for congregational gathering? (and many other supplementary questions!!! )

The Church of England has a set of rules that we are obliged to follow - we do keep an eye on them but so too can you. It saves a question and indeed you might get the fuller answer you need. Do please continue to pray for those juggling complex issues and seeking to simplify them for others. The team here are as fully up to date as we can be and are ready to be as adventurous and as adaptable as possible.

View the guidance from the Church of England here.

Offering to help with volunteering for teams and rotas and new ways of doing things would be a really great gift to receive so we can be more adaptable and serviceable in sharing with others. If you feel you can help then please get in touch.

And finally

We are part of the one Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church local, regional and national and we are also members one of another. Please never hesitate to reach out to us if we can help you feel more connected. I am pleased we are re-doubling our efforts to be accessible and welcoming to visitors and those returning to our building even now for the first time.

Yours in Christs service,

Mark Brown