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BURY
UNITARIAN
CHURCH:
2018 Annual Report:
Throughout 2018, our two key-words were Improvements, and
Generosity. Our year was one of high achievement, in many areas, which
can only happen when all of us work together---when even the smallest jobs
assume significance, and each individual contribution counts towards the final
reckoning.
We have enjoyed stimulating services, each
carefully-prepared and thoughtfully-delivered. Kate has done us proud, with her
traditional services (The Harvest Festival, Remembrance Sunday, and the
Christmas ones) and with her more innovative offerings (Christingle,
Teddy Bears, and the Distance travelled from
Bethlehem,
between that first Christmas and the present-day. In addition, those who chose
to attend Communion, Contemplative Worship-sessions, or a workshop (either "The
Death Café", or "What we believe and commit to") enjoyed tranquillity and the
chance to consider what is truly most important in life; perhaps, in 2019, more
members will join in! We thank Kate for all her hard work, on our behalf; it is
not easy to prepare a quality service, every single week, and we do not always
appreciate the effort required. Kate reached her half-century, in March, which
we celebrated with cards, gifts, flowers and cake, as we congratulated her on
reaching such an advanced age!
Ade supports Kate very ably, as we have learned from
experience, and makes an excellent Minister's "wife". However, I have noticed
that he is always allocated the best jobs: sticking candles into oranges,
preparing relevant props to support services, and, occasionally, acting as Fire
Officer (thankfully unscathed!) We were delighted when Ade decided to become a
member of our congregation; we welcome his formal commitment as much as we
appreciate his contributions.
On the occasions that Kate has been absent, we have
been fortunate in being able to call upon our own members to conduct services:
Anne, Marian, Betty and Val have done so---all have been highly-impressive in
their quality. We must surely be the envy of other congregations, as requests
for repeat-visits to other churches indicate. Abi is helping the congregation at
Rochdale
with services and some pastoral-work, and Val is to be congratulated on
successfully completing the Foundation Level of the Worship Studies' Course; she
was sponsored by this church---an outlay which is already bearing fruit.
The trustees decided to carry out work on the
premises; we should express our gratitude for their deliberations, preparation,
and completion of all tasks---and for paying for it all! We now have a
platform-lift, which is quite magnificent; how did we ever manage without it, to
transport people and objects alike? The stair-lift has been removed, and the
banisters replaced, restoring the front staircase to its former glory. We can
now see what we are doing, thanks to new suspended ceilings everywhere; at the
same time, we have replaced all light-bulbs with LED's, which are brighter,
cheaper, and longer-lasting. The side-wall at the edge of the garden has been
demolished, to improve its appearance, which will be even better once the grass
has grown again! Thanks are expressed, in particular, to Roger and Peter, our
two Property Stewards, who have worked tirelessly. In July, our appreciation was
acknowledged at a short lift-opening ceremony, when they were allowed a
celebratory ride, before cutting the ribbon.
The amount of work carried out caused much dust, dirt
and rubbish, whose removal required cleaning and clearing sessions; we are
nearing the end of these; items no longer needed have been disposed of; and
forgotten treasures have reappeared---now brought to new prominence. Chief
amongst these is the bell, which links all four churches on the site of the
current church; it now sits in the worship-area, looking as if it has always
belonged there!
Our reputation as a generous congregation has
continued. In 2018, we raised funds for Medical Assistance Dogs, after an
illustrated talk about this charity's valuable health-improvement work. We sent
donations to our
Whitby
and
Chatham
churches, which were in dire need. We discovered that, by the Harvest, we had
donated more than 1,000 items to our local Food Bank, including Easter Eggs and
chocolate Advent Calendars. We also contributed 157 pairs of socks, to be
distributed to the homeless. All are achievements of which we can be proud!
Many
of our activities are ongoing, but kept fresh with new ideas and changes of
direction. Our Social and Fund Raising Committee organised 5 events: an Evening
with The Sing-A-Long Band, the annual Quiz, a concert by The Tottington Public
Band, a delicious Strawberry Cream Tea, and an intriguing Murder Mystery
Evening, all of which were successful, in every sense, and much enjoyed. The
Lunch Circle continues to serve delicious food, at incredibly low prices, and to
enjoy the occasional trip out; we could do with new cooks and helpers, however.
Our Book Club, now in its 13th year, hosted "An Evening with Paul Kenyon", in
September---a superb talk by Paul about his new book: "Dictatorland: The Men Who
Stole
Africa";
we were privileged to have him with us. The Women's League were entertained by,
amongst others, Veronica Walker, who spoke about Dickens and the women in his
life, Sister Joan, who organises our local Food Bank, and Maureen Hawksworth,
whose work with women in Nepal is praiseworthy; we sold three of her yak's wool
blankets, on the evening, but ordered another 13, subsequently. The Camera Club
presented an amazing exhibition of photographs, which was displayed at the back
of the worship area, on large boards suspended from the ceiling; so successful
was this that its run extended from two weeks to several months! The Club's
"Bury: Past and Present" Quiz was repeated at
Valley
Court,
to much acclaim! The choir, and Barrie and Chris, our regular organists, always
give of their best, lending valuable support to each service's music, but we
still lack a choir-leader. The Traidcraft Stall continues to thrive, despite
some upset, in the autumn, when it was announced that the company would cease
trading, at the end of December; fortunately, last-minute efforts kept closure
at bay, but long-term business is far from secure; all we can do is to
support fair trade, thereby helping developing countries as much as possible.
Sadly, the Men's Fellowship has not met, this year, so action needs to be taken.
We lost our Yoga Group letting, and we commiserated with Jean and Howard over
their decision to close the Prostate Cancer Support Group; remaining funds were
passed to Prostate Cancer
U.K.
Our
Calendar and website are well-produced and a tribute to Pam and Roger, who work
continuously to keep us, and others, up-to-date and informed. We have maintained
our profile, both in our local paper, and nationally, by contributing a variety
of articles, and by resuming our sponsorship of an "Inquirer" December issue. We
continue to host Music Exams, three times a year, and our own fund-raising, via
such ventures as the 100 Club, Sunshine Smarties, the Christmas Raffle, the
bookshelf, and Saturday and Sunday Coffee, attracts regular income.
Not
content with all this, we introduced several additions, in 2018. We were
required, because of a change in legislation, to adopt General Data Protection
Registration, whereby we collected information about our members but guaranteed
to respect their privacy. This has involved Kate and Anne in much paperwork, now
almost completed, but an ongoing task. With great tact and sensitivity, we held
discussions, midway through the year, about whether we should obtain a licence
to conduct Same-Sex Weddings; this was put to the vote, and agreed by a large
majority; the paperwork is still awaiting our local Registrar's approval, but we
already have a wedding booked, in April. It was decided that money which came to
us from our Halliwell Road, Bolton, church was to be spent on a defibrillator,
for our own use, as well as the local community's; this is on order. A decision
about how to spend a legacy from the late Bob Alker is yet to be made. At the
Junior
Church
Prize-giving, held on the first Sunday in January, our children were awarded
prizes, not only for good attendance, but for personal attributes---an important
change. Partway through the year, it was felt that the children might remain in
church throughout the service, once a month; despite some teething-problems,
this has been successful and will probably become a permanent fixture; moreover,
it gives June, the Junior Church leader, the opportunity to enjoy a full service
regularly. Our youngest member, Hope, and our oldest World War Two veteran, Roy
Wilkinson, laid the Remembrance Sunday wreath together, as we commemorated the
centenary of the First World War, in a touching but symbolic ceremony. On
October 1st, at Holebottom, we joined members of Bury Boys' Grammar School, to
remember two of their pupils, Harry Greenhalgh and Arthur Ashworth, both members
of Bank
Street
Chapel, who had died during the First World War, and whose graves are at
Holebottom. For the first time, we opened our premises for Heritage Weekend, at
the start of September; masterminded by Betty, Damion and Kate, this was a huge
success, with an unbelievable amount of material on display; we welcomed the
Mayor, Councillor Jane Black, and our M.P. James Frith, and completed the
weekend with a special service. Another first special service was the Fair Trade
Service, in March, during Fair Trade Fortnight, when representatives of Bury's
Fair Trade Group and civic dignitaries joined us. Mid-September, when the
now-annual Fun Run took place, we experimented with an afternoon service; as
this was well-attended, the change will probably become permanent. Smaller
changes occurred, too: we decided that it would be more practical to buy a large
artificial Christmas Tree for the worship-area; we held sing-a-longs of wartime
songs, and of Christmas carols, on appropriate Saturdays; accompanied by Stephen
Ramsay, we sang enthusiastically, proving that we knew choruses much better than
verses! Quality, not quantity, was the order of the day! Each week's notices can
be emailed to those who request them; they also appear on the notice-board and
on Facebook. In a spirit of generosity, we gave permission for our premises to
be used, in December, for an Immigration Advisory Day, and, towards the end of
the year, we allowed The Street Kitchen to serve meals, once a week, to homeless
people; both were much appreciated by the organisers. But the prize for generous
initiatives must go to George and Damion, who, with tremendous bravery, abseiled
down
Holcombe
Tower,
sponsored in order to raise funds for our Toilet-Twinning project. A magnificent
Ł900 was raised, twinning 14 toilets in
Africa
in one year!
We exchanged
services with Bury United Reformed Church, in July; their congregation joined us
for a Flower Communion, a particularly Unitarian event.
Rochdale
Unitarians shared worship with us, in May, and followed this with attendance at
Ainsworth, where Kate preached the afternoon Anniversary Service. Kate attended
Summer School, at Hucklow, as one of the organising-panel, and represented us at
York,
when she participated in a seminar: Working on our Welcome. Groups have visited
Rochdale, for their Film Evenings; Bank Street, Bolton, for a Women's League
Afternoon Tea; Hucklow for a Christmas Lunch; and Stand, to attend their 325th
Anniversary celebrations. Neville, Betty, Val, Susan and Kate represented us at
the GA AGM's and came back inspired, as they related at the subsequent feedback
service ("Restoking the Fire"). Individuals attended a Taizé session, at Cross
Street, Manchester; a dinner to celebrate the GA Presidency of Rev. Charles
VanDenBroeder; Padiham Poetry Festival; the Future of Faith lectures, at
Rawtenstall; and several meetings concerning the future of Unitarian College,
Manchester.
Sadly, we
lost two members, during 2018. Noreen Shaw, originally from Heywood, died early
in the year. In July, we lost Edna Wilkinson---a stalwart of this church, and of
Bank
Street,
previously; Edna was a lovely lady, remembered with great affection, and much
missed. To both families, we extend our sincerest condolences. The latter part
of 2018 has been marked by much illness; some members remain seriously ill,
whilst others are making a slow recovery; to anyone who is still suffering, we
send our best wishes. Alf Howson has entered permanent care, and we miss his
cheery presence; Dorothy Roberts is currently in care, too---her future, as yet,
undecided. We gained five new members, however: Adrian Brady, Barbara and Bryan
Freemantle, Peter Hunter, and Damion Langford; in April, they were all welcomed
formally into our church, in a moving ceremony which traced each individual's
path. Unfortunately, Barbara and Bryan left us, soon afterwards; they moved to
Staffordshire to be closer to family, and we wish them well.
It is my
pleasure to thank everyone in this church for contributions made. None is too
small to be ignored; all effort counts; working together, in harmony, we can
move mountains! We are all equal in our goodwill towards our church---all
dedicated to preserving what we possess. I do thank, especially, all those who
undertake committee-work, particularly all officers of committees and groups,
and all who perform vital everyday tasks that ensure the smoothness of
church-life. It would be remiss of me not to mention Rene Hollos and Jean
Taylor, both of whom have stepped down from their official duties, but who have
worked steadfastly, for years, in many capacities; they deserve our full
gratitude and appreciation.
As we enter
our 300th Annniversary year, we must ensure the continuation of Unitarian
witness, in Bury, by keeping our congregation focussed and vibrant. Much of what
we have is worth preserving, but we should always monitor this; maybe we can
adopt a more practical, sensible route, rather than a too-easy, familiar one? We
have the strength to succeed, and the means to achieve what we most require; we
must not fear change, but embrace it for the enhanced quality it can bring. Let
us congratulate ourselves, as we enter our 4th century, and celebrate in style!
Anne Mills: February,
2019.
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INTRODUCTORY BOOKLET:
A
FAITH WORTH THINKING ABOUT
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