19/07/2010 by admin.

  The PCC Meeting of 19 July heard of the progress on the building projects:Over the summer access from the P&J hall to the Fernhurst Garden area will be opened up. This will provide space for the playgroup and will also make a great area for parish events like the Bring and Braai.There had been a site visit from architect and structural engineer to review the P&J Extension  There was more money to be spent on removing asbestos roofing from the garage and shed in the garden at P&J. The heating at P&J also need replacing, and it is likely that the new system use hot water and radiators, with pipes possibly running through the hot air ducts. This will provide a much better heat and avoid the problems with condensation from the old system. The funding for projectors for P&J has also been approved which will give an audio-visual system that will be engaging for services and for other events in the church. 

There have been some further delays to the start of work on building the new Community Centre at All Saints. After some frustrating delays and discussions about whether VAT would have to be paid on the work the approved Faculty to allow the building was now “in the post” to us. HomeLodge, the builders for the hall, have their next available date for work to start in the middle of September, which will give the handover of the building in December. Unfortunately there would still be fitting out to be done after that, which would mean we won’t be able to “move in” until the new year.

Also at All Saints the new lighting is set to go ahead, with a Faculty meeting by the end of August, to allow work to start in September, completed by November. This would be ready by December, but use of the church during the week would be limited while the installation of the lights - with access platforms - was going on.

 Discussion then turned to how we are going to fund the parish - with a further push for the Stewardship campaign in October. In “Vicars Business” it was announced that Andreas will be licensed as Associate Vicar by Archdeacon. Jennifer also has new job as Chaplain of St Georges School in Ascot – which will be a Ministry job during the week. Finally we had a brainstorming session of what we can do with our new facilities. Many of the ideas that came out tied in with the themes of Natural Church Development we discussed earlier in the meeting. It is planned to broaden out the discussion of how we can use our Seven Day Church facilities to allow all the parish to contribute ideas.

Nic Evans  

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10/07/2010 by admin.

You may have read in the “PCC Digest “last month a mention of “MoneyCoach” here are more details.

MoneyCoach is the name of the group formed under the auspices of “Churches Together in Fleet and Crookham” and is comprised of volunteers from member churches.

The group was formed as an acknowledgement that in society today, particularly related to the current economic conditions, money concerns underpin other issues that negatively impact on community and family life.

For example it is recognised that issues related to money management give rise to people receiving treatment from their GP for stress, anxiety or depression which can continue to affect other aspects of their lives including issues related to employment and according to “Relate”, the biggest cause of breakdown in relationships is money.

The group is comprised of volunteers some of whom have experience in the financial and related sector and all of whom have undergone training by “CreditAction” .As the workload on the group increases there will be a need for more volunteers and we would be very interested to hear from you if you would like to participate in this valuable work.

The MoneyCoach service is designed to provide an independent and confidential support to help people in circumstances where they need help to manage money better. A session with one of the MoneyCoach volunteers will help individuals to understand what next steps may be required in their circumstances related to money matters and can draw up a budget, help to produce income and expenditure analysis and prepare individuals for discussions with creditors or debt counselling services.

MoneyCoach itself is not a debt counselling service and is not able to give financial services advice regulated by the Financial Services Authority    

When someone contacts “MoneyCoach” a trained volunteer will be assigned to meet at a mutually convenient place and time. At the first meeting the coach will explain the parameters of the service and identify with the individual the next steps to be taken.

The coach will assist with the drafting of a detailed analysis of income and expenditure which will be used as the basis of a budget to control future finances. 

To contact MoneyCoach call 07544 254608 and speak to the team co ordinator or email moneycoach@ctfleet.org.uk

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04/07/2010 by admin.

 On Sunday 4 July, blessed with a beautiful sunny day, a group of us met at Wintershall, Bramley to watch an open air theatre production of The Life of Christ.

Some of us had been before and for others it was a new experience.  It was very enjoyable spending time in fellowship, both adults and children together, as the bible based story unfolded.

Each act took place in a different part of this beautiful estate, beginning with the Angel Gabriel appearing to Mary and ending by the shores of Lake Galilee, with the resurrection and ascension of Jesus.  The flock of sheep, plus sheepdog, donkey and horses proved popular with the children and also the times when the actors mingled with the crowd.  Several times the audience became part of the play, for example when we became the crowd of five thousand and everyone was fed with bread!

Those who hadn’t been before were most impressed and several said they had found it a very moving experience. The rest of us found it was just as good as we had remembered it.  What could be a better way to spend a Sunday?  Fresh air, sunshine, good company and seeing the greatest story ever told.

Wintershall are holding their nativity production as usual this year, but having a rest from performing The Life of Christ next summer.  However, they will be showing this as usual in 2012.

Why not think about joining us when we book tickets later in the year for the nativity?

Jane Allen

A big “thank you” to Andreas and Jane Jones for organising this very special day. 

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01/07/2010 by admin.

Oberammergau is a small, picturesque village in the Bavarian Alps in the very southern part of Germany.  For the last 376 years the villagers have kept their vow made in 1633, that if God rescued them from the plague and no more villagers died , they would perform a passion play every 10 years.  They were spared from more ravages of plague, and somehow, extraordinarily, the tradition of the play has continued, since the first Passion play was performed in 1634.  This Passion play is now world famous, and in the summers when it is performed, attracts more than half a million visitors to the village from all over the world.

In June 2010 a group made up of people from different local churches left Fleet on a pilgrimage to Oberammergau, led by Revd. Haydon Wilcox.  For me it was the fulfilment of a dream I had had since schooldays, and it far exceeded all expectations.

The performance was wonderful: spectacular, awe inspiring, visually beautiful, colourful, powerful, moving, involving, marvellous music, fantastic choir.  I am running out of superlatives!  The six hours (with a break for dinner) flew by!

This year the play also included “Tableaux vivants”.  These were vividly colourful “picture” scenes from the Old Testament where the actors remained motionless until their tableaux stage went dark again.  These scenes were stunning!

The scale of the whole thing is awesome. 2,000 people, (half the population) all from Oberammergau take part, from young children and babes in arms to elderly folk, either in the cast, the orchestra, the choir, stage hands, technicians etc.  To maintain the tradition, all have to live in the village itself and the boys and men all grow their own hair and beards for their roles.  The crowd scenes are magnificent and so real! Hundreds of people on stage all shouting “Crucify!”, “Crucify”! is very frightening. Then, when it was just the crucified Jesus and his mother on the stage, I was moved to tears, and the whole audience (4500 people) was so still, transfixed.

Now at home different scenes and incidents from the play keep coming back to me. I’m sure the play stays with everyone who sees it for a long time.

The tradition of the play in Oberammergau is so strong, the village lives and breathes it.  A small group of us stayed with Herr Zwink in his pension, which he seemed to run singlehandedly!  He looked every inch a biblical figure, a stocky man with long grey hair and beard.  He told us he was taking part in the play this year, and showed us with pride his gallery of photos, showing him in different roles every ten years from the age of 12 he is now in his seventies.  The villagers of all ages willingly give up a year of their lives, each time they take part in the play, and they consider this a privilege, a gift to the world, and want to do the best they possibly can.  It is a wonderful communal effort.

All the scenery and wonderful costumes are made in Oberammergau.  The intensive rehearsals for the play included a trip to Israel for the main performers and the director in 2009!  It is quite remarkable when walking around the village to see so many men working in the shops and restaurants who all have long hair and magnificent beards!  At lunchtime they got on their bikes and cycled to the theatre to get ready for the play!

The day after the performance our group left this very special place, and began the holiday part of the trip, touring Northern Italy and into Switzerland.   Sadly the heavy rain which had been with us in Oberammergau followed us all the way for a whole week!  We concluded the clouds must be attached to the coach!

We saw nothing of the beautiful lake and mountain scenery of Northern Italy, nothing but greyness, cloud and mist!  Memories of Venice in heavy rain will stay with me, gondoliers holding umbrellas as they propelled their gondolas along the canals, and visitors taking off their shoes and paddling in St Marks Square!  Our time in Bergamo stands out it was sunny there! Bergamo “Citta Alta” is a beautiful old city surrounded by 17^th century walls and the art work in the churches is wonderful.  Lucerne when we got there was wet too!  On our last day, before we left for Zurich airport, Haydon arranged to celebrate the Eucharist for us in the little old chapel beside the cathedral. The chapel was tiny, simple and very atmospheric, and the service was lovely, a very fitting end to our pilgrimage and holiday.

A big thank you to Haydon for taking us on this unique and wonderful trip. Thank you for all the organisation you did for two years beforehand, and for being a great tour leader on the trip.  The fellowship amongst the pilgrims on the trip was great, and I’m sure many lasting friendships were formed, faiths strengthened and inspired.  Thank you too for making us each a little guide book, which is a lovely memento.  Thank you too to the people of Oberammergau for all their hard work and dedication in staging the play which none of us will ever forget.

Barbara Lyons  

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01/07/2010 by admin.

Over the next months, and even years, you are likely to hear quite a lot about Natural Church development (NCD), which is a church-growth process that the PCC agreed to embark upon last October. Thus I thought it best to explain what NCD is all about so that you will become familiar with it as soon as possible. 

NCD is a process that is used internationally in churches to assess the quality of church life in terms of eight quality characteristics. Studies of thousands of churches have shown that high quality in these characteristics correlates with growth. After celebrating and giving thanks for the best qualities of parish life, and then identifying the ‘minimum factor’ – the poorest quality characteristic in a parish - there are further stages in the process. These are: understanding the issues, planning a way forward, implementing it, and then reassessing our position, after which the cycle repeats. The principle is that by removing the main blockages to growth, the church will grow all by itself. 

A church begins the process, as we have, by conducting a survey - a questionnaire that has to be filled in by 35 people involved in the church according to quite tight guidelines. Our PCC, Pastoral Assistants and a few others made up the survey group in November 2009 at the PCC Away day. The UK’s NCD coordinator then analysed the anonymous questionnaire responses by comparison with all other UK churches that have been surveyed. The results were sent to us so that we could begin to understand what they mean. I was appointed the NCD Process Manager for the parish and my role is to act as an advisor to the NCD Steering Group (Vicar, Associate Vicar and Church Wardens), to read ahead in the NCD manual and other books to ensure that we know what the process requires us to do next, and then to arrange the appropriate meetings and working groups as necessary. 

Having spent some time understanding the survey results, the NCD Steering Group presented them to the PCC in February and then went away to prepare workshops which will be held at the June and July PCC meetings. At these workshops we shall endeavour to better understand the results of the survey, and their implications for our parish. We will then agree a way forward to address the minimum factors. At that stage we will report back to both congregations what we have discovered about the potential for growth in our churches and what our plans are to realise that potential.

Robert Smith

NCD Process Manager 

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29/06/2010 by admin.

On Tuesday 29 June there was a ‘’full house’’ at Court Moor School as parishioners and friends from Fleet and Church Crookham gathered in the hall for an evening of entertainment and lots of laughter (and we were not disappointed!).

This was the Company’s 28^th season with eight performances and, as usual all the proceeds went to the Court Moor School Society and various charities. The proceeds on 29 June the were for the parishes of Fleet and Church Crookham, and each parish received the amazing sum of over £680!

Our host for the evening was Maurice Kent, very ably assisted by 28 performers. The orchestra was made up of ‘our very own’ Graham Hix on Keyboards with Paul Tickner on Bass Guitar and David Main on Drums( Graham was also the Musical Director and responsible for many of the musical arrangements). As well as the performers, there was a large group who worked behind the scenes to make sure it all happened on the night!

The evening was a medley of song and dance from a variety of Broadway musicals and popular songs, with plenty of comedy acts thrown in! They say “laughter is the best medicine” and we certainly had plenty of medicine!  (Two acts by Graham left some members of our congregation unable to stop laughing!)

During the interval the Social Committees served  tea , coffee, cold drinks and biscuits, and this was much appreciated on a very hot evening, so thank you to the committees.

It was a wonderful evening of fellowship and great fun. We are indebted to the Company for the hard work that has gone into planning, preparing and presenting such a professional show, especially when we were the recipients of such a generous donation. If you missed this year’s show, make sure you are available for the 29^th season!

Dian Eddy    

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19/06/2010 by admin.

After the excitement of last month’s meeting it was back to more mundane, but nevertheless essential, business. New members of the PCC were welcomed and old members welcomed back. The two new church wardens Andrew Moyse for All Saints and Allan Butterfield for Ss Philip & James were introduced and sub-committees sorted. Apart from Roy and Andreas the new PCC is as follows: Messrs. Paul Allen, Jonny Anscombe, Mike Benham, Richard Buller, Allan Butterfield, Tony Cooper, Nick Doran, Nic Evans, Jon Harrow, Will Judge, Brian Meeres, Andrew Moyse, John Simson, John Watts, Peter West and Mesdames. Anne Biffin, Jean Carr, Dian Eddy, Erica Ford, Mary Goodson, Jane Jones, Anne Smith, Jennifer Sistig, Tricia White, Kate Wickenden and Juliet Worthington. Apart from serving on the PCC all of the above are on at least one, and most of them more than one, of the sub-committees - Ministry Leadership, Finance and Administration, Outreach, Discipleship, Communications, Young People’s Nurture, All Saints Fabric and Management, Ss P&J Fabric and Management and Social and Fund Raising.  Representatives for Churches Together, Christian Aid, Cathedral Link, FACCTS, Elvetham Heath liaison, Group Ministry Chapter were also appointed. As were the PCC secretary, the Treasurer and the Vice Chairman for the year, Andreas. 

More representatives from P&J are needed to go on the Social Committee. You do not have to be a member of the PCC, so if you have any good ideas for social events and would like to join the Committee contact Juliet Worthington on 614159 or e-mail: juliet_worthington@hotmail.com. Indeed, if you feel you would like to serve on any of the committees contact Charlotte at the Parish Office who will put you in touch with the relevant person. 

We had an update on the sale of Fernhurst, there is an article about that and the other exciting building works elsewhere in the magazine. 

Nick Doran gave us an introduction to the stewardship plans for the future. There will be several workshops over the next few months to disseminate this information to the wider parish. 

We heard that Neil Vigers, who has now moved out of Fernhurst, had sent Roy a letter thanking the parish for their support. 

Anne Biffin 

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17/05/2010 by admin.

We started with a demonstration of the proposed new light fittings in All Saints church. The new system looks to be very flexible and the outside lights will also be improved. The installation of the new system will take 8 weeks

Robert Frost gave the PCC an introduction to Moneycoach, a Churches Together initiative to support people in financial difficulty and with debt issues. It is an appointment service run by trained volunteers. More volunteers are required and increased publicity to raise the group’s profile.

Robert Smith gave an update on the Natural Church Development (NCD), the process started by the PCC in 2009. The NCD survey results revealed our main strengths and weaknesses. At the June and July PCC meetings, the PCC will be discussing these and will formulate an action plan to address areas needing attention.

We discussed the projector project for P & J church, in particular ease of maintenance and siting of the control computer. The PCC approved installation of a satellite dish so that both the church and hall can be used for fellowship events, eg the World Cup.

Snippets from the reports from the Sub-committees:· 36 new people attended Come to Church Sunday so we wouldlike it to become an annual event.· The Diocesan heating advisor is visiting P & J to discuss theheating system. Paul Allen is organising a regular working party on a fixed Saturday in the month.· The holiday club for 4 – 11 year-olds will be on 26 to 30 Julyand a youth canoeing trip is planned for 8 July.· Terms of Reference and Risk Registers need reviewing by allthe sub-committees.

Social and Fundraising have a busy programme plannedincluding the Parish Garden party on Sunday 11 July and Basingstoke Chamber Orchestra Concert on Saturday 17 July. Parish Lunches will be held at the back of All Saints Church when the hall is out of action.· Fernhurst sale should be completed on 28 May. Mike Ford is coordinating the clearance. Wednesday morning coffee will then be served in the narthex in P & J.

Stewardship campaign started well with 180 responses onfeedback forms. There will be related sermons in June and Sept and we should sign-up to the workshops.· P & J focus group plan to recommend some changes to the Palm Sunday and Good Friday services next year. The PCC approved that Andreas be appointed Associate Vicar.The meeting closed with Grace at 9.00 pm.

Anne Smith

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17/05/2010 by admin.

  We started with a demonstration of the proposed new light fittings in All Saints church.  The new system looks to be very flexible and the outside lights will also be improved.  The installation of the new system will take 8 weeks 

Robert Frost gave the PCC an introduction to Moneycoach, a Churches Together initiative to support people in financial difficulty and with debt issues.  It is an appointment service run by trained volunteers.  More volunteers are required and increased publicity to raise the group’s profile. 

Robert Smith gave an update on the Natural Church Development (NCD), the process started by the PCC in 2009.  The NCD survey results revealed our main strengths and weaknesses.  At the June and July PCC meetings, the PCC will be discussing these and will formulate an action plan to address areas needing attention.  We discussed the projector project for P & J church, in particular ease of maintenance and siting of the control computer. The PCC approved installation of a satellite dish so that both the church and hall can be used for fellowship events, eg the World Cup. Snippets from the reports from the Sub-committees:· 36 new people attended Come to Church Sunday so we wouldlike it to become an annual event.· The Diocesan heating advisor is visiting P & J to discuss theheating system. Paul Allen is organising a regular working party on a fixed Saturday in the month.· The holiday club for 4 – 11 year-olds will be on 26 to 30 Julyand a youth canoeing trip is planned for 8 July.· Terms of Reference and Risk Registers need reviewing by allthe sub-committees.· Social and Fundraising have a busy programme plannedincluding the Parish Garden party on Sunday 11 July and Basingstoke Chamber Orchestra Concert on Saturday 17 July.  Parish Lunches will be held at the back of All Saints Church when the hall is out of action.· Fernhurst sale should be completed on 28 May. Mike Ford iscoordinating the clearance.  Wednesday morning coffee will then be served in the narthex in P & J.· Stewardship campaign started well with 180 responses onfeedback forms. There will be related sermons in June and Sept and we should sign-up to the workshops.· P & J focus group plan to recommend some changes to the Palm Sunday and Good Friday services next year. The PCC approved that Andreas be appointed Associate Vicar.The meeting closed with Grace at 9.00 pm.  Anne Smith 

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09/05/2010 by admin.

·         As a Parish, we have now committed most of our financial capital to the new facilities described in our Vision 2010 proposals.

·         We have done this in the full knowledge that our ongoing financial position is perilous without a big increase in our regular income from Planned Giving.

·         But we believe it is essential if the words of our mission statement are to become a reality in our community of Fleet:

“Welcoming all in our community into the love of Christ”

So, what should we, as the Church in Fleet, be working towards in the next 10 years to fulfil our Mission Statement? What practical steps can help us make that a reality?

• Work more closely with schools and youth groups (brownies, cubs, boys brigade etc) – encourage the young to come to Church who will then bring along other members of the family
• Give more (time and money) so that the worries of day to day running of the parish can be put to the back of minds and we can focus on the important stuff
• Bring in to church the difficult to reach – busy families, husbands, those who have other commitments e.g. sports at normal service times
• Really reach out into the community, leading by example doing good works for the benefit of  all, not just to increase our congregation
• PT children’s worker to run youth and children’s programmes and supervise Junior
  Church program in both churches
• Ongoing spirituality workshops on a regular basis e.g. retreat in daily life, inspirational speakers
• A well coordinated young peoples and young families programme that includes outings and activities
• Good teaching on Christian Stewardship and other topics
• Install new AV equipment in both churches
• We seem to put a lot of work into fund raising – the answer is inevitably to increase giving – if not weekly then if we have a little ‘windfall’ e.g. premium bonds etc
• Make sure you use the money to bring in money
• Barter
• Make everyone aware that the giving per person in Fleet is the lowest in the Aldershot Deanery
• Spell out exactly how much we need to break even
• Set a realistic level for our church and hall users to pay per hour. Make a charge for baptisms if practical
• By giving more financially for the everyday running of our places of workshop
• By working better together and being more open
• Offer free services or promise auctions to the people of Fleet e.g. clean windows, cut lawns and shopping
• Coffee shop in each church especially around time the mums come back from taking children to school
• Work towards increasing our personal giving
• Making it easy to give offertory gifts on a monthly or weekly basis (better advertising to make this possible)
• Make church activities where funds can be raised including people who are not church goers
• Special service or talk for prospective church members without the normal congregation to  make it more relaxing
• Increase planned giving
• Donations for attendance at events but not an admittance charge
• Extend fundraising activities
• Future bequests
• Prayer and team work
• Committed regular giving
• Deep concern for the needs of the local community
• Encouraging new church members – make it welcoming and appealing to all ages being especially aware of the needs of those who are younger
• The two churches should nurture and make the most of their differences e.g. styles of workshop
• I commit to increasing my giving by the current average of all giving in the Parish
• Recognise that my spirituality covers all aspects of life – to offer it to you and follow your plans for development
• Give more time/effort to bringing my love of Christ to others – not to be selfish
• Stop thinking that the Eucharist is a barrier to welcoming new people – that too is ‘all age’ in that it is a family meal and demonstrates the love of Christ fully
• Less formality in some services may be more welcoming to newcomers e.g. no robes for choir or servers
• More variety in the music  - already heading this way at P&J
• Separate the finances of the two churches so we know where our giving will be spent
• A soup kitchen at P&J
• Open days for musicians
• Opening our churches – I would love to see P&J open every day as a place for our community to gather. Today it is dark and the doors locked most of the time
• Find ways to understand what our ‘wider community’ really needs from us and try to provide for these needs. This may have no obvious relation to church to start with
• All this will need more than just new facilities – lots of people time too. Stewardship will need to mean our time as well as money
• Have the building works been agreed  - if not there are some v. good and perhaps cost effective local suppliers I can introduce to the decision makers
• Stationery – is this an area that you feel you could get better value for money. Again savings are available so may be investigate – furniture, AV equipment etc
• Running – I could raise money this way for the parish. There are few of us that run, it may help.
• Rent out our parking spaces to parishioners that commute to London (needs to be less than £6 per day)
• Make churches more accessible to the young to strengthen congregation – youth clubs, cross church/religion events (band nights, discos etc)
• Make Christmas Tree Festival an annual event. Encourage all Fleet schools to enter and contribute
• A single committee for fund raising
• Request donations for baptisms and events where not fee is usually charged
• Have a group of people whose ‘job’ it is to spot newcomers and really make the effort welcome them and ensure they understand the format of the service and speak to them after the service – invite and accompany them into coffee and introduce them to other ‘friendly’ parishioners. I don’t feel we do this very well at the minute – particularly at AS
• Provide services of such quality and inspiration and inclusiveness that newcomers and visitors want to return
• Develop different styles of worship at the two churches such that the parish appeals to a broader spectrum  of people
• Make the community aware that we exist and the role of the church in the wider community
• Helping people to commit to ‘all member’ ministry – engendering collective responsibility
• Development of different styles/times of worship
• Making personal approaches to people in our congregations and beyond who don’t feel confident enough to volunteer for the many tasks that need doing. People can feel disempowered by those who have been doing a particular job for a long time
• Open the church for prayer every day for a few hours
• Give generously
• Offer to volunteer help in the community
• Continue to support excellent work of town centre project as that reaches young people where they are. The new facilities may be useful as a follow on
• Needs of the elderly will increase which is time consuming but very valuable – need accessible buildings and man power
• I was at St Barnabas Derby Green yesterday. They had a church and meeting hall for Nepalese Christians at 2.30pm, tea for  the Bible Society sponsored walk at 4.30pm and Ghanaian Service at 6pm! Busy and varied.
• Invite the local community to a one off Sunday service (not a come to church Sunday) perhaps involving a small concert or exhibition via a leaflet drop
• Encouraging young people who are our future
• A guide as to how much planned giving/ person is required to help people decide their priorities and what is possible
• This is a very difficult situation with all the restrictions and costs going up – we could ask our neighbours who do not come to church to help
• I’m concerned that we do not live within our means and don’t have a back up fund for emergencies.
• Try to ensure that the new facilities are available for all in the community in Fleet and not just those directly associated with the Church of England e.g. the Church on the Heath hosting the general election debate
• As a result of the above, optimise the letting income form the new facilities
• Try to learn from our recent history – the replacement of the P&J pews was an expensive and unnecessary exercise in what was then straightened financial times – don’t waste money
• One day a week of bread and water, the money saved going to the direct debit already allocated
• Fewer printed  news sheets or even scrap service sheets and dole out prayer books and spoken orders
• I am sorry I’m not ready to fill this in at the moment
• A café in each church, especially P&J as there is very little of this nature in the area
• A 10% day each year to encourage givers to increase their giving each year
• More social events to get the community into the church (but I don’t know what events!)
• Understanding the real (after hidden) needs of people in our community (in an outside church) and finding ways of meeting those needs in the love of Christ
• Separate administration of finances of the two churches so that 1) our congregation and 2) the people we reach out to have a clearer idea of the family they are supporting or joining
• Make the love we have for one another and for those in our parish more obvious and accessible
• Make the building more accessible (P&J) and welcoming (all week) – encourage greater use
• Encourage our immediate neighbours to come into the building in a non-challenging way (coffee & chat)
• Ensure that the religious teaching sessions are graded so that people can find the level for their needs
• Increase the planned giving of us all if financially possible
• Continuing fundraising with enthusiasm from us all for whatever the event is
• Praying for God’s help to achieve this
• Look to grow the congregation by at least 10% each year
• Find a way to engage the youth in the Church. They are the future of the church and we need to make the services more appealing to them
• Lots of local fund raising
• Gifts of giving
• Many hands to help volunteers
• Review our personal financial resources and attempt to increase our personal giving with single or preferably continuous gifts
• Think seriously about priorities between our parish and other charities. Can we still support both
• Pray for guidance
• Increasing the congregations
• New campaign for planned giving
• Encourage more young people – work with secondary schools, bring people from work and introduce them to church e.g. at a BBQ
• Work with the secondary schools to encourage more young people to ID and then hopefully church – along with their families because we want to welcome all into our church,
• Make the parish magazine available to more places et schools, social clubs etc
• Young people’s choir or worship group (gospel choir) that could sing or play instruments at each family service
• Increase my giving
• More people to have the Parish magazine
• To enable people with young children to come to more events e.g.  run crèche in the evenings
• Increase the congregation at all services
• Visiting in the Parish to spread the word
• We need to be more friendly to each other to create a more welcoming [atmosphere] to all who enter our churches
• Make the church meaningful to the people of Fleet. We need to contact people where they are – more volunteers needed for the Town Centre project etc
• Money – to keep going but we need to be careful not to spend it unwisely
• Using our resources to link with clubs
• Gift days
• Negotiate a reduction in our Parish Share
• Coffee mornings (with real coffee); Afternoon Cream Teas on Saturdays and/or Sundays
• Involving the youth much more in services
• Continuing to be a really welcoming church which is something we do well
• To review and increase my planned giving
• Use all talents in the services not just a few
• Cutting back on the anthropomorphisation of the Deity
• Creating genuine community facilities where the local authority fails
• Making the church and its events more attractive to non church goers
• Make the modern day church relevant to a younger generation (adults from tends to 40( who are not concerned with church
• Drama productions in church, quiz shows and more publicity to the Taize meetings so that they reach out to non church goers
• Invite more children from All Saints to join the choir
• Pray and give more with all our love
• Continue to offer young people at viable route to expend their energy and resourcefulness through engagement with local schools and clubs
• Re-engage with baptism families/newly weds – charge for these services?
• Tell people honestly what resources are needed and what they are for
• Services which are more acceptable to young families. Many have a fault but find the services which suit older people too long and old fashioned. A shorter communion service perhaps held at a different time?
• This church has more young families and children attending than many others but should we not be thinking of 100 children in church on a Sunday in a place as large as Fleet?
• A day of prayer for the parish – give plenty of notice and encouragement to turn up
• Increase our planned giving
• Build strong ties with the young people of the parish through schools and youth movements
• Have an open hour for coffee every day in the new meeting room
• Put leaflet about Christ in a prominent position at the back of both churches
• Open house coffee mornings in new hall for anyone – hopefully becoming a place for the elderly, lonely to meet and be befriended and may be drawn into church life
• More for the elderly, widows, outsiders etc. A haven for unemployed and offer help.
• Reaching out to the people of Fleet.
• Reviewing our giving will be imperative but also giving of our time
• Reaching out to people who wouldn’t normally come to a church
• Publicise events in non-Christian places – things without Church associations but offering friendship and love
• Create a list of skills and talents
• Should increase my planned giving a bit
• I’m sorry but I cannot agree with the Mission statement.
• I believe we should cut our garment according to our cloth
• By asking for more and more money we are going to discourage people from attending church at all – we want one church building not two
• Prayer and support for the pastoral team. Possible consideration of our weekly giving if possible.
• Encouraging the younger generation to join with the older. To continue the following important for the Church to survive
• Would this mean changing  one of our services to a lighter service
• Perhaps Eucharist not including in every Sunday service in the morning. Children being in to enjoy the service with their families
• To make the church community more visible – to be ‘us’ not ‘them’
• In villages, parish magazines are community magazines. Perhaps Fleet is too big and diverse for that to work here
• To get ourselves more included in Town organised activities – the new ‘Fleet Plan’ leaves the Church out while including ‘meeting spaces’ and places
• Those of use who contribute regularly should increase our monthly such as far as we are able
• First & foremost, trust in the power of prayer that we will all try to encourage both church goers and non worshippers to do all they can to support the visions
• More people to start Planned Giving
• Those already in the scheme to review their giving commitment
• As a church organise more activities which also raise funds. Perhaps activities for different age groups or jointly with other Fleet ‘clubs’
• Campaign for more people to enter the planned giving scheme thus ensuring a regular income plus enabling the church to reclaim the tax paid where appropriate
• Have an occasional family afternoon  service to encourage the recently baptised and confirmed
• When children do come to church (10 o’clock), think quickly of some simple things that they can do – sing with actions, copy leaders
• Organise regular giving
• Fundraising in ‘win a slave’ – happy to offer 1 hours gardening or make cakes
• Support or helping other initiatives in the practical sense (Pat – 616319)
• Most schools have a weekly newsletter – may be that could be used to advertise fundraising or involve more children in church activities
• Dance or music lessons – workshops?
• Other ‘happenings’ in the town – the Town Centre Project is a wonderful example. The church should be seen to be where there is a need
• A possible presence in the shopping centres on Saturdays – a stand showing church activities.
• Christians on the council (Hart)
• Ask planned givers to increase giving by 10% each year
• Whilst the 7 day church should be  free at the point of delivery, we should make sure that we get income from related activities e.g. sales of coffees and cakes
• Investigate fundraising through ways to make it easier to give e.g. online
• Direction towards a traditional British way of life towards peace, love and tolerance
• Further joint involvement with other local churches
• Tradition, tradition, tradition!
• To try and increase teenagers to come to Church and organise outings etc
• Increase the Planned Giving
• Although some money should be raised from the congregation through the planned giving, social activities and fund raisers, we should look further afield. Crookham produced fliers and distributed them across town – our Parish – so we will find it difficult to follow this route. However, this is a community project and the local community should be involved so they feel that it is owned by them and not just another wonderful Church building – built during a time when many across the country are finding things difficult
• Perhaps people could sell items through the notice sheet – giving for free and the buyer give a donation to the funds
• 7 day church – encourage Fleet residents to come to events not necessarily religious ones
• Coffee shop/teas
• Try to be the ‘centre’ Fleet does not have!
• Increase our giving
• To involve children in schools – to motivate them to take part in services etc – it will involve the parents too.
• To keep some of the old traditions in the church –to keep the older congregation (we need them )
• Use new church hall as a welcoming facility for local people – provide tea/coffee
• Encourage congregation to give on an organised basis
• Use new hall for more general functions involving community
• To be a central focus for Fleet e.g. coffee shop
• To encourage greater use of the new hall via ongoing bookings
• Consider having a parish book shop –
• Make some services interesting to teenagers/young families
• Find out why young families/teenagers don’t attend church. Follow up families who have stopped
• Have coffee shop in new facilities to attract new people in. Open lunches to people who don’t regularly attend church or may now know about them
• Monthly coffee mornings in Hall with Bring & Buy stalls/Raffle
• We have to increase our planned giving
• A 7 day church so that we can welcome and increase our congregation
• Fund raise
• Review the empathy within our own congregation
• Foster a feeling of mutual trust
• Listen to each other

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