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Annual Reports for the Year,
2007
Revd ray gibbs, PRIEST IN
CHARGE
OF
THE
PARISH OF MYLAND
We
began our “Myland Year” in the spring of 2007 losing Geoff and
Sylvia as they moved on to pastures new, and we end it in the
spring of 2008 with the recruitment process over and my
appointment as Priest in Charge of the Parish of Myland, having
gone through the full recruitment process for a church
appointment. Although it may not have felt like it, we have
been in an interregnum for the best part of our year, and full
credit needs to be given to the staff team and wardens, who
faced with decision on whether to stand still and wait for a new
appointment, or of moving forward regardless, chose the latter,
and haven’t we moved on!
With
the decision on a Church Primary School for Myland going against
us, and the damage and vandalism suffered by the church building
and churchyard, it would have been easy to give up, and retreat
inwards in to a shell. But we have a stronger faith than those
setbacks; the damage to the church, apart from the windows, has
been repaired (and that is in hand), and the vandalism to the
churchyard is now, thankfully, a memory, and full credit to the
families of the deceased, the skills of the stonemasons and the
ongoing work and management of the churchyard by Colchester
Borough Council who have together restored it.
But
this has not been a year for looking backwards, the kitchen has
been installed at the back of the church building, and it blends
in so well, that it looks as if it has always been there, we
have the flooring, and notice boards left to complete the
project, and they to are in hand. The sound system has been
overhauled and added too, (no more sound blips and whistles);
this in turn has allowed the band to grow numerically, and those
leading the service to move around the building confident in the
abilities of the sound system to work well. Bev Turner
continues to guide the worship band, who now lead us in our
singing twice a month, enriching our worship with a mixture of
the old and the new, and I am grateful for the time and effort
our musicians and singers put in to rehearsals and practices. In
worship we are able to use a projector and screen where
appropriate, and we are currently seeking a way for a permanent
installation that takes nothing away from the view of the
chancel and sanctuary areas; this has given us a freedom to
include new and different things, such as our challenging
“Nooma” Lent Course this year, as well as the “Alpha” Course.
Numerically our attendances for the Christmas period were as
high as last year, and there seems to be a higher attendance at
our Sunday Services too, so we have much to rejoice and be
thankful for.
The
other big step forward is the successful first stage of our bid
to rejuvenate and refurbish the Church Hall, we are now working
to very tight deadlines to enable us to complete stage 2, and if
we get through that, well stage 3 is the building work itself,
but that will not be before the summer of 2009. The Community
Stadium is due to open in the autumn of 2008 with Colchester
United kicking off the new season there, (let’s hope that they
will still be a Championship side), and as it develops it will
be interesting to see what benefits it brings to Myland. We
cannot talk about building work without referring to the ongoing
house building, which is set to go on in the Parish relentlessly
until 2012 and possibly beyond, let us hope that sometime soon,
the promised infrastructure to support this ever growing
population will be put in to place, but we must do our best to
remember that every new house is a God given opportunity for
this Church.
We
cannot leave 2007 without mentioning the Ordination of John
Chandler in Chelmsford Cathedral, and we look forward to his
‘Priesting’ here in Myland in June 2008, which I am sure will be
a truly joyous occasion. John, along with the other members of
the staff team, Chris, Colin and Esther, are a huge inspiration
and support to me, and I am truly grateful to them, as I am to
so many of you, the wardens and all who do so much to make St
Michaels happen.
Ray
Gibbs
Priest
in Charge
Churchwardens Report -
Fabric and Goods 2007/8
We
confirm that we have checked the silverware, church ornaments,
furniture hymnbooks etc. These we have found to be complete
with no missing items.
Additional items of furniture and reduced number of hymnbooks
will be recorded in the Inventory.
We
would confirm that items listed A & B in the 2003 Quinquennial
inspection have been dealt with.
A new
Quinquennial inspection will take place this year. We do not
envisage any major problems.
The
churchyard is well maintained by the Borough Council. A spate
of vandalism in the churchyard and to the church buildings
occurred during the last year. Most of the damage has been
repaired; the damaged church windows are due for repair before
Easter. Protective grills are being installed. A final
decision to fitting replacement security lighting and the
installation of CCTV will be made shortly.
A new
hedge has been planted alongside the deep ditch to the north
side of the churchyard.
We
would like to thank all those who have helped us over the last
year in particular Revd Ray Gibbs, Revd John Chandler and Colin
Turner for their work in connection with the installation of the
new kitchen, stairs and updated sound system.
We
would also like to thank Mike Howell for looking after the
registry enquiries we have received this year, Paul Greenland
for undertaking the parish count in October, Helen Brown, our
Health & Safety Officer, Andrew Larchett our Tree Officer and
Hazel Greenland our Child Protection Officer.
In
April we said goodbye to Revd Geoff Catchpole at his retirement
service and of course wish Geoff and Sylvia well for the
future. We would like to thank all who helped during the
Interregnum with special thanks to the staff team.
In June
we were delighted to be at the Cathedral to support John
Chandler in his Ordination as Deacon and are looking forward to
his Priesting Service in the summer.
On
Monday 3rd March we were pleased to welcome Revd Raymond Gibbs
officially as our new Priest-in-charge at the very special
Licensing Service held in church.
We know
that there are many others to thank such as church cleaners,
assistant Churchwardens and all the many other volunteers for
all they do to around the church, for their hard work and
commitment.
We both
wish to thank Alan and Esther for their loyal support.
Tricia
Preddy and John Wilde
Churchwardens
parochial church council’s
report
The PCC
have met nine times during 2007/8. All the meetings have been
well attended have started promptly and finished mostly on time
at 9.30pm. The meetings were chaired in turn by Revd Ray Gibbs
and the Churchwardens, meetings have begun and ended with
prayer. The Standing Committee met on three occasions during
the year.
The
work of the Mission Group has been overseen by the staff team.
The Buildings Committee was divided during the year into two,
one concentrating on the church buildings, grounds & fabric and
the other on the hall modernisation project.
Mr
Keith Thompson attends PCC meetings as an observer from Mile End
Methodist Church.
The PCC
has overseen stage 2 of the church tower project, building the
staircase to the tower and the kitchenette below. The
re-ordering of the back of the church will be completed
shortly. The Tower Clock exterior was
decorated. A new sound system has been
installed. The hedging to the north boundary has been planted.
The PCC extends their thanks to all those who have given so
generously both financially and in time to these projects.
Sadly,
the churchyard, hall and church were subject to a series of
attacks of vandalism during the spring and early summer. Most
of the damage is now repaired or awaiting faculties to allow
repair work to be carried out.
The PCC
oversaw the interregnum and appointment of Revd Ray Gibbs as
Priest in Charge of the Parish.
In
November the PCC brainstormed a new “Wish List”. The list
includes re-ordering the Sanctuary area, provide a crèche area,
and redecorate the church, replacing some or all the old pews
and installing a new heating system.
The
next year should be a busy and exciting time to serve on the
PCC.
Esther
Wilde
PCC
Secretary
ELECTORAL ROLL REPORT
There
are 105 persons on the roll a net increase of 20. Made up as
follows:
45 Non
Residents
60 Residents
Diane Ayton
Electoral Roll Officer
CHILD PROTECTION OFFICER REPORT
As the Child Protection Officer for St. Michael’s
it is my job to make sure that anyone in the congregation who
works with children under 16 or vulnerable adults has a CRB
(Criminal Records Bureau) check carried out by the diocese on
their behalf. I am also responsible for keeping a register of
all those who have applied for and received a CRB check.
To date 19 checks have been carried out with
several pending. These checks must be repeated every three
years, so in effect a rolling programme of checking operates in
the Church. If you have been given a CRB form to fill in and
have not returned it to me please would you do so at the
earliest possible opportunity. It is very important that the
Church protects our young people and vulnerable adults in this
way.
As part of my role I also attended a Child
Protection Training event in June 2007 which was run by the Rev
Jean Halliday, who is the diocesan Child Protection Advisor.
Andy Ayton and Vanessa Crannis accompanied me on this occasion
where we were given training on recognising the signs and
symptoms of abuse and the process of making a referral, as well
as advice on good practice and health and safety issues.
This year Rachel Hawley-Thomas has also obtained
the Bishop’s Certificate for Working with Children and is also
available for consultation about issues surrounding child
protection and good practise.
If you have any questions about the work of a
Child Protection Officer please do not hesitate to ask.
Hazel Greenland
Child Protection – Nominated Person
HEALTH AND SAFETY (CHURCH) OFFICER’S REPORT
We have
continued to monitor the health and safety aspects of our church
building especially during the recent building works.
This year has seen the provision of the kitchen
with hot water for washing up and safe dispensing of hot drinks.
New stairs providing safe and easier access to
the tower and new storage areas.
Regular cleaning and inspection has taken place.
Replacement of bulbs when needed.
This is my final year as the nominated person for
Health and Safety in the church. I would like to thanks to the
many people who have undertaken to carry out the above tasks.
Helen Brown
Health and Safety (Church)
TREE OFFICERS REPORT
An inspection of the churchyard trees has been
carried out. The conifers and the yews are not showing any sign
of disease. It was noticed that the lime trees on the Mile End
Road Boundary had been pruned and cut back by the Borough
Council Contractors.
Andrew Larchet
Tree Officer
Report on Deanery Synod 2007
The Deanery Synod meets three times a year to discuss ministry
and needs within the Deanery. Much of the discussions last year
centred around the Deanery Plan, reports from General and
Diocesan
Synods, finances and other initiatives like Street Pastors, the
annual trip to Wetzlar, the work of the Garrison Padre and, at
the last
meeting, discussions about the 2008 Parish Share and Church
payments. St Michael’s got a special mention for being ahead in
our payments!.
It is always interesting to know what is going on around us and
I would commend the opportunity to be a representative for St
Michael’s to anyone who likes to know what is what in this area.
June Chandler
Synod Representative
BUILDING WORKING PARTY REPORT
During the past year many projects were managed
by the BWP committee and for clarity this report is divided into
two sections.
CHURCH BUILDINGS
Work to the toilet was completed with a new
storage area created at first floor level above.
The new kitchen and staircase is finished and in
full use for serving refreshments after services and other
occasions.
Last year we had the tower clock face repainted
and have received many comments on how good it looks!
Repairs to the windows damaged by the vandalism
attacks should be repaired quite soon, possibly by Easter.
These and other windows will be protected by window grills.
The sound system including additional equipment
for the band has been upgraded.
Other works being considered are:
a) New floor covering at the back of the church
b) Provision for permanent support and fixings
for overhead
projection screen.
CHURCHYARD
The provision of CCTV and external lighting to
church and churchyard is being reviewed and a decision on which
equipment is most appropriate to our needs will be made shortly.
The Borough Council are currently carrying out
levelling work within the Conservation area and the grass was
cut in the lower third of the churchyard in the autumn.
We are still awaiting a commitment from the
developers Taylor Wimpey PLC to provide gates to the footpath
through the churchyard.
We wish to thank all those who give so generously
of their time to support fundraising and for financial donations
and practical help when required.
Tricia Preddy
Churchwarden
Myland Parish Halls
Modernisation Project
The
‘Halls’ Project has this year gone from strength to strength.
Whilst localised fundraising has continued, the main drive has
been to progress the application to the ‘Big Lottery Fund’s -
Community Buildings Fund’.
Springtime 2007, saw the preparation of the Stage 1 application.
This called for a clear demonstration for the ‘Need’ for a Hall
Modernisation, and the information that was submitted detailed
the current and future planned expansion of the Myland
population, coupled with the decrease in the number of available
community buildings in the area. In addition, the application
was required to detail the planned benefits from such a
modernisation scheme, both for the current user as well as
future potential users.
Whilst
the Summer of 2007 saw the application submitted, the Autumn was
given over to the Big Lottery Fund assessing the application,
carrying out further analysis, including telephone interview,
and finally a decision was reached just before Christmas. The
advice received from the Big Lottery Fund was that we had
successfully progressed through to Stage 2 of the application
process, whilst some 90% of applicants were not so lucky, and
saw their Stage 2 applications rejected.
In
addition, the Big Lottery Fund thought it appropriate to award a
£25,000 ‘Development Grant’, to assist in the far more detailed
‘Stage 2’ application process.
This
next stage has now commenced, and will continue through the
first half of 2008, with a planning application being made to
Colchester Borough Council this Spring. This will be followed
by the submission of the Stage 2 application during the middle
of the Summer 2008. Should we be successful at Stage 2, it is
intended to carry out the building works during the middle of
2009, to coincide with the school summer holidays, when the hall
usage is at its lowest, in order to minimise the inevitable
disruption to current users.
Huw
Edwards
Chair –
Myland Parish Halls Modernisation Project
House Group
The
House group was formed following on from the advent course for
2006. It commenced in May 07 and the topic for study was Job.
Although the intention was bible study the group encompasses so
much more. We offer each other friendship, fellowship, lots of
laughter, we pray for each other, our families, the church in
Myland and Colchester. We bring the bible into our lives today
and have grown together in faith.
We had an open house in November to invite other church members
to get a feel of how the group works. It was a successful night
in as much that we decided to study Hebrews next This course
began in January and so far is proving interesting and
enjoyable. We have moved the day we meet a few times to
accommodate various different activities but have settled on a
Thursday, every fortnight. Although the group has not grown in
numbers the spiritual growth among all members has been really
exciting to see.
The group is of course very happy to greet any
one who would like to come
along.
Pam and
Eric Day
PRAYER GROUP
Two or
three of us meet regularly on Tuesday mornings for about an hour
to pray for the needs of those around us. We pray for the
parish, individuals and family members as well as the current
needs of the world. We also indulge in a cup of tea and a chat
and would very much welcome new friends to join us. It is
surprising how much news doesn’t get through to everyone and we
can’t pray if we don’t know!
So
please come and join us and as we lay before the Lord the needs
of the parish.
June
Chandler
Worship Planning Group
The group continues to meets every two months or
so to choose hymns for Sunday worship. These are selected with
the assistance of a publication from the Royal School of Church
Music, which offers helpful suggestions in line with the
Lexionary texts for the day, and the experience/repertoire of
those in the group.
The aims can be listed as:
1 To help make worship meaningful and uplifting
for the occasion.
2 To select music that is in keeping with the
theme for the day.
3 To make allowances for the experience of the
congregations, particularly baptism families and special
occasion Sundays.
4 To introduce new material from a variety of
sources.
In addition to the above, the group now has
responsibility for ensuring that there is music cover for each
Sunday, either via the worship band or an organist.
Colin Turner
Prayer Card
We continue to prepare a monthly prayer card for
the Parish, despite a very disappointing take up from regular St
Michael’s folk. The aim is still to provide a focussed resource
so that parishioners can pray each day for some aspect of our
life together as a parish. Topics are selected from events in
the parish diary and regularly include the organisations and
roads of the parish. Where possible the prayer topic will
coincide with an event that occurs that day, although this is
not always possible. Sometimes we include specific events in the
wider world but our focus is the parish.
“Prayer matters in the parish of Myland” is a
deliberately chosen title because of it’s double meaning.
Prayer does change things, we have a notice on our board at home
which reminds us each day that “Prayer should be our first
resource, not our last resort”.
If you do not currently use this card may I
encourage you to do so, an increased circulation is always
welcome. If you have suggestions or even criticisms please
communicate them, I know that some say the print size is too
small, but we are happy to provide additional large print
versions if required.
The Prayer Card is to be found in a display stand
behind the back pew beside the church funds box.
Colin Turner
St. Michael’s Band
The band has continued to grow from strength to
strength. We continue as an all age worship group and have
maintained a fairly steady number. As well as playing for the
family services once a month the band now play at the baptism
services on the fourth Sunday of the month as well as for fifth
Sunday worship and other specials. At Christmas we were able to
cover all the services that were required due to the versatility
of the group. At the beginning of December we had a joint band
of both senior and junior band members for the lighting of the
Christmas trees and shoebox service and the junior
band also played for the 3pm infants service on
Christmas Eve. At this service we were approached to take a
couple more new youngsters from outside of the church family
which means that it works well as outreach. The junior group is
currently preparing for the children’s service on Good Friday
and the senior group for Ray’s induction service. Later in the
year it is planned to combine both groups for a couple of
services and try to build on the work being done with the
younger group.
We now have the new sound system in place and are
beginning to reap the benefits of producing a better balanced
sound. We hope to introduce the new Songs of Fellowship books at
Easter, which will make it far easier to co-ordinate power point
presentations at the band services and hopefully easier to
access newer music without too much extra photocopying.
We are currently looking for new singers for the
senior band plus any instrumentalists of about grade five
standard or above and obviously
beginner players for the younger group. If you
know of anybody who may be interested please do have a word with
me after morning service or you can telephone me on Colchester
853726.
Finally, we continue to thank God and the members of both bands
for all that He has enabled us to achieve in the last year and
look forward to the next stage of our journey with Him as we
seek to serve Him in worship at St. Michael’s.
Bev
Turner
MOTHERS UNION
Our
members raised over £300 in 2007 for the Church Hall
Modernisation Project and for the new kitchen in church.
Six
ladies attended the Annual Meeting in Liverpool Cathedral.
We
still give knitted teddies to every baby baptised in church and
we send Christmas cards to the Church Mice.
We
welcomed two new members in 2007. We enjoyed some excellent
speakers and have a full programme arranged for 2008.
Thank
you to Revd Ray Gibbs and John Chandler for their continuing
support and to all those who support our Sunday sales.
Ann
Pipe
SOCIAL
INTERACTION/FUNDRAISING 2007
We started the year with a Bake and Taste
Evening, when people make and bring their favourite dish, (sweet
or savoury) biscuits, cake etc., to share, (plus the recipe). A
very enjoyable time was had sampling the various foods; it was
also planned to produce a recipe book from this and a previous
Bake and Taste Evening. Our thanks go to Penny Smith for kindly
collating, editing and producing Myland Church Recipe Book, this
has been and is still on sale. Other events included a Jumble
Sale, Plant Sale, Fish and Chip Supper and Social Evening. The
ever popular Children’s Service and Easter Egg Treasure Hunt
with over 120 children, plus adults. A Summer Barbecue, Harvest
“Ploughman's and Pud's”, a Quiz Evening and Children’s Christmas
Party. Concerts in Church included Boxted Methodist Silver Band,
Essex Police Choir, Stage Door Canteen and String of Pearls. It
would have been good to see a few more supporting these
concerts, not only for the fundraising, but for the performers
who put in a tremendous amount of time rehearsing. However,
those who did come seemed to enjoy, so much so that following
the Police Choir interest was shown to go and see them perform
with the Essex Police Band at their Charity Concert in
Chelmsford Cathedral. A coach and tickets were booked and all
duly had a good evening. I would like to thank all who have
helped and/or supported any of the events during the past year.
A list of plans for 2008 are now available.
Ivy Dix
CHURCH MICE
Our Church Mice group has continues to flourish.
We meet on Monday afternoons between 1.30—3.00pm. We spent most
of the year meeting in the large hall but as we now how both the
toilet and kitchen in church we were able to be true CHURCH Mice
against after Christmas. We are now meeting in the main church
as we have outgrown the vestry!
We sing, tell Bible stories, help the children
make simple crafts to illustrate the story, pray and play, drink
tea and squash, eat cake and biscuits and chat and make friends.
We must thank both Rene and Jean for making our
tea and offering words of encouragement and wisdom to our
younger Mums. Revd John Chandler provides our music and is chief
playmate to the Mice!
We have been encouraged to see some of the Church
Mice families regularly attending Family Services. Two of our
grown up Mice have moved on to join stmixkids, again very
encouraging
Esther Wilde
stmixkids.com
stmixkids.com is the new children’s club at St
Michaels for children aged 5-11. We started in October 2007 and
have been meeting on the first Saturday of the month (during
term time which is usually three meetings per term) for two
hours of teaching, games and making things.
Last term we were thinking about what God looks
like and how he made people. We talked about the Christmas story
answering questions hidden in the layers of pass the parcel and
decorated a tree in church with the decorations we had made.
We started this term with Epiphany and made
telescopes and crowns and searched for stars. In February we
talked about whether it was fair for Jesus to die on the cross
and for Barabbas to be granted his freedom. We made mosaic
pictures to form a large cross, which can be seen in church, and
sun catcher pictures to take home and hang in our windows. We
enjoyed hot cross buns during refreshment time and then played a
game.
Our meeting in March (Saturday 8th) will see us
approaching Easter when we will be making another wall hanging
to display in church and looking at new life.
We have also tried our hand at cooking by making
biscuits and pizzas.
We have a lovely group of children who, using
their words, “have fun” and “enjoy making things”. We are
however praying for more to come along and join in the fun.
For registration forms or further details contact
Diane Ayton on 851564 or Esther Wilde on 853890.
Di Ayton
Youth Emmaus report
Youth Emmaus has had another successful year with
an attendance of between 8 and 12 young people at the meetings.
We have been meeting fortnightly throughout the
year and have enjoyed varied topics for meetings with everybody
taking a lively participation in what we do. It is lovely to see
such a great rapport between the youngsters and the adults and
the enthusiasm with which most things are greeted.
The young people have taken part in services by
writing and reading prayers and a number of them are in the
choir or band.
Visits to Roller World and bowling have also been
enjoyed during the year.
We were sorry to lose Andy this term as his work
commitments have changed and he has been unable to take part but
I am sure he knows that we would be very pleased to have him
back as soon as he is available.
Thanks must go to all the adults who give up
their precious free time to spend with the young people but I am
sure that they, like me, enjoy being with the youngsters and
hearing their views, which they are very good at giving, and
making us all realise how many nice teenagers there still are in
spite of all the criticism in the media.
Sue Smith
On behalf of all at Youth Emmaus
Hall Management Team 2007
Having been formed in 2006, this was the first
full year the Team had operated, to oversee the day-to-day
affairs of the Halls, under delegation from the PCC. The tasks
we have been given are to ensure that the halls are kept in good
order, revenue finances break even, and that the Halls continue
to be well-used. All the regular User Organisations are
represented on the Team, and in our three meetings in 2007 we
discussed various matters including health and safety, hiring
agreements, repairs and improvements. We also received regular
updates on the Halls Modernisation Project, and in January 2008
we were consulted on our needs and aspirations for the future,
which have been passed to the Architects who are planning the
Project.
The Halls continue to be a popular local venue;
we were pleased to welcome stmixkids.com and the Friday Art
Group as new regular hirers, and there was an increase in the
number of parties and ad-hoc meetings. All of this helped us to
break even financially this year.
It has been very pleasing to see the Halls so
busy, and all the volunteer leaders working well, and we look
forward to an exciting year ahead.
John Chandler
SENIOR MOMENTS 2007
A club formed in 2006 for over 60’s to make new
friends and meet old ones. Held in the Parish Hall on the third
Wednesday of the month at 2.30.pm with a varied programme. At
the beginning of 2007 Esther and Ivy did a “Ready, Steady, Cook”
meals for one, demonstrating how to make 5 meals from a pound
(500grammes) mince; e.g. Stuffed Peppers, Meat Balls, Chilli Con
Carne etc. February, Sue Leng came along to share her experience
as a contestant on Mastermind, and said what a true gentleman
Magnus Magnusson was, a most enlightening afternoon. March we
had to put our thinking caps on as everyone was challenged to a
Music Quiz and in April Colchester Hand Bell Ringers performed
with expertise, interesting how the bells are held in different
ways. It was hoped to visit Beth Chatto Gardens in May but due
to the weather this had to be cancelled so a crossword and quiz
afternoon took place instead. June saw an outing to the Spa
Pavilion Theatre, Felixstowe to see “We’ll Meet Again” followed
by tea in the Spa Restaurant, most enjoyable. At the July
meeting Gladys Lawrence took us down memory lane when she spoke
of her work experience as a young girl “Upstairs, Downstairs”
somewhat different today. August, a members entertainment
afternoon, what talent! In September we went on Colchester’s
open top ‘bus tour, bit breezy, but very informative. There was
a talk on Fire Safety in the Home in October and although I was
unable to be at this meeting, feedback was very positive and as
a result several members had their homes checked for safety and
guidance. November everyone made a Christmas Table
Decoration-more talent, they all looked great. The year ended
with Rev. John Chandler leading us in singing a collection of
Christmas Songs, followed by a party and Santa. Every meeting
concludes with light refreshments and we currently have over 50
members. All over 60’s, male and female are welcome. Finally
many thanks to all who help with transport, refreshments and in
any other way.
Ivy Dix
1st Myland—st. Michael’s
(35th Colchester) scout group
Our
numbers have been fairly consistent over the year with the end
of the year census figures being:-
Beaver
Scouts—19, Cub Scouts 13, Leaders & Helpers 8 Total 80
The end
of 2007 saw the conclusion of the Centenary Year of Scouting and
that of the 50th Anniversary of our own Group.
My
somewhat tatty diary for 1956 records an open meeting in the
church hall on 30th April to consider starting a Scout Troop
following a successful launching of the Wolf Cub Pack. So April
2008 sees the 53rd year since the commencement of the Group—not
a bad record. Very sadly, however, due to lack of leaders, we
have been unable to restart the Scout Troop. Those Cub Scouts
completing their time in the pack have progressed to nearby
Scout troops, like the 2nd Langham. We owe our thanks to these
troops for accepting our Cub Scouts and thereby ensuring their
Scouting continues uninterrupted. Jackie Wroot, our Group Scout
Leader (G.S.L.) would always be pleased to receive offers of
assistance in any section of the Group—just contact her if you
think you could help.
The
Beaver Scouts and Cub Scouts have been very active throughout
the year and look set for another busy year in 2008.. Since the
introduction of the Myland parish Council’s magazine “The
Mylander” and the demise of the church’s magazine we have tried
to keep the parish advised of our the Scout Group’s activities,
so I will not repeat them here.
However, one unexcused repetition, that of sincere thanks to all
our leaders, helpers and supporters for their unstinting
contributions during the past year.
In
conclusion, I would like to apologise for the probable absence
of Scout folk at the church’s AGM, but at the time of writing it
would appear that the date of the AGM will clash with the Scout
Annual St. George’s Day Parade. It is certainly not our lack of
interest in St. Michael’s.
Mick
Brown
(at the
request of the G.S.L.)
Mile End Women’s Institute
We have had an interesting and event filled year
which started off in festive fashion with the piping in of the
haggis at our version of a Burn’s Supper.
In February we were told about life under German
occupation on the Channel Islands
In March our regular coach driver – Jeff Mills
took time out to come and tell us about his life long affair
with buses.
In April we hosted an event for nearly 200 WI
members from other nearby groups. The event nearly went without
a hitch except for our president turning in the star performance
with the search for her glasses, it was a good evening and was
very well received by all our visitors. Thank goodness we can
forget about it for another six years!!
One of our members her daughter gave us a talk in
May about the differences they had encountered in their nursing
careers.
Our garden party in June fell victim to the
summer weather and had to be held in the hall. It didn’t spoil
the party atmosphere but did cause a few headaches getting
everything shifted.
We also had speakers who talked about Suffolk
Punch Horses, Treasures found with a metal detector, What it was
like growing up in the Dutch Quarter, Scuba diving with that
same president trying desperately to get into the rubber, and a
gardeners question time panel.
In December we were grateful to St Michael’s for
again letting us use the church for our carol concert which was
well attended by members and friends.
We have a walking group, a book group and a darts
team. A large party of us went to visit the German Christmas
markets
We made cakes for the hospice, taught children at
the local school how to knit, entered the county show in
Chelmsford Cathedral, coming a very respectably 5th.
Our number seems to have stabilised at around 60,
which makes for quite lively meetings. To help with
communications we now have stick-on name badges for everyone at
meetings and a monthly newsletter with the record of the
previous month’s meeting.
As I said a busy year!
MYLAND PLAYGROUP
We have
had another busy year, with plenty of children on our books. We
are now open for 7 sessions a week, with effect from January
2008.
Playgroup have celebrated and supported a number of festivals
and fundraising events throughout the year, including Chinese
New Year, Easter, Divalli, Harvest, Children in Need and of
course Christmas. Unfortunately it was necessary to do some
fundraising for our own funds this year but some of our families
have also supported other fund raising events, like Sutton Seeds
and the Plant Sale, Beetle Drive and Toddler Group’s Quiz night.
We
continue to have close links to Myland Primary School, taking
children for a school visit, introducing children to school life
in the classroom. Linda and Di continue to attend Cluster
Groups, set up to bring school teachers and pre-school workers
together in partnership.
We had
a wonderful day out to Colchester Zoo in May, where 38 of our
children and 18 adults joined us. This outing was linked to our
theme of “Animals”
In July
we held a family fun session, for a social get together. These
are always well attended and considering the weather we had been
experiencing during the summer we were extremely lucky on the
day!
Despite losing 28 children to school in
September, we returned with a healthy 58 children on our books.
This soon increased to 65 children by October half term.
Once
again playgroup took great pleasure in decorating a Christmas
tree for a window display along with other organisations. It has
to be said that the Church looked absolutely wonderful when all
trees were complete and in their place.
Our
Nativity was well supported, with 53 of our children taking
part. A quick revamp of story was required to enable us to
create a few extra roles for the children (you can only have so
many angels and shepherds in one Nativity!) Once again the
children did us proud, sang their little hearts out and their
behaviour was exemplary.
Coffees, teas and squash were served afterwards in the Church
hall.
A
Christmas party was the finale to our year!
Staff
training is an ongoing practice. One member of staff is
currently undertaking the Level 3, Diploma in Pre-school
Practise, and another started in September, undertaking the
Level 2 in Pre-school Practise, plus a number of staff have
attended short courses or workshops throughout the year.
No
major problems have been experienced this year.
Playgroup has had representation at hall re-furbishment and hall
users meetings.
Di
Powell (Manager)
Mothers and Toddlers Group
It has been a busy year for us at Mothers and
Toddlers – a year where we welcomed a record number of new mums
– and dads to our group. With all the new development around us
and with many new families moving into the area, the group is an
important lifeline for new mums to meet new friends and for
little ones to let of steam in a safe and fun environment.
The group provides a range of activities that
promotes learning and development for various ages. As well as
the normal ride on toys, slide, garages and kitchen we also
enjoy a weekly craft activity, and have made everything from
sock puppets and marble paintings to flags.
We have also enjoyed making our own decorations
for the toddler group Christmas tree which was on show in the
church porch.
We have also been busy raising funds for the
Church Hall Modernisation Project and are guardians of the sale
of books in the back room of the hall. We also have a half
termly cake sale - which is always hugely popular! Since
September we have raised nearly £100!
The children have enjoyed two parties this year –
the first in the summer complete with a fantastic magician and
lots of yummy party food and also at Christmas, where we had fun
with the bouncy castle and most importantly a visit by Father
Christmas, who handed out some lovely books to all the children.
Mother and Toddler Group meets every Thursday
(term time only) from 1000-1130
Trina Doherty
Girlguiding Myland
1st Myland Guide Unit
We currently have 22 Guides and 2 Young Leaders.
Two of our Guides completed their Baden Powell Challenge this
year, the highest award that a Guide can achieve, they worked
really hard and we are very proud of them. We have another 5
girls currently working on their B.P. Challenges.
One of our Young Leaders has been selected for a
3 week trip with other Senior Section members, to Borneo and
Malaysia in 2009, whilst there, the girls will help to build a
children’s playground and will spend time working with the World
Wild Life Fund. The girls selected now have a big task ahead,
fundraising for this trip.
During the year Guides have worked on Go For It’s
in patrols and have worked on Interest badges both in patrols
and individually. We all worked on a new resource entitled
“Looking at Me” which is designed to help girls build a positive
sense of body image and self-esteem. We have explored women’s
issues through activities and games. Guides have run evenings on
quilling, games, and cooking and international themes.
We were lucky enough to receive a grant from the
Local Network Fund for Children and Young People, this has
enabled us to renew and update our camping equipment. We were
able to buy new tents and cooking equipment, which we put to
good use in the summer. Fourteen Guides were joined by girls
from 1st
West Bergholt Guides for a joint camp at Thorrington, in July.
There was a Pirate theme and activities included climbing and
abseiling, as well as jewellery and bandana making. Guides
worked hard, collecting wood and water and cooking their own
meals and of course washing up!
Some of us also joined West Bergholt Guides for
an indoor holiday, at Thorrington in October, where the theme
was Super Heroes.
In November, 21 of us joined other Guides and
Leaders in the District for a trip to Legoland, we had a great
day and especially enjoyed the water rides.
Also during the year, we helped to make posies
for Mother’s day which were then given out in Church on
Mothering Sunday, we joined the rest of Braiswick District for
the annual campfire, we attended the Remembrance Day Service in
November and helped to decorate a Christmas Tree which was
displayed in the Church.
We will welcome 4 new Guides after Easter and
look forward to another busy and fun packed year.
Tina Ray, Guider
1st Myland Brownie Unit
We
have had seven new Brownie join us this year and currently have
twenty two Brownies. Leaders attended a Training Day at St.
Helena School in October.
Activities in the past year have included a Roman
Colchester evening, making bead mats and iced buns for St.
George’s Day, learning about National Pet Week, a pirate
evening, making Guatemalan dolls and a joint meeting with the
Guides.
We
had an evening playing rounder's on the recreation field and a
meeting held at Highwoods Country Park. Over the August Bank
holiday weekend we had a Brownie holiday at Thorrington
We have enjoyed District events – the annual
summer camp fire and a Thinking Day celebration. In January we
joined other Myland groups for a trip to the panto at Essex
University.
We are saving pennies in our Penny Pot to adopt
an animal at the zoo – the Brownies’ choice this year. Girls are
currently working on their Brownie Skills badge.
We helped make posies for the Mothering Sunday
service, made papier mache fruits for the Harvest display,
attended the Remembrance Sunday service and decorated a Church
Christmas tree.
Sue Aldous, Guider.
2nd
Myland Brownie Unit
January saw us celebrating Burns Night with a
haggis tasting and Celilidh. Our Thinking Day this year found us
remembering traditional pastimes and playing Spanish games for
an international flavour. The highlight in March was our visit
to Colchester Town Hall for a tour by the Mayor and Mayoress.
Brilliant display of art and silver. All the Brownies got to sit
in the Mayor’s chair in the council chamber. A great time was
had by everyone.
The summer term saw the pack working for their
World Culture badge. Fun & games were also had at our Big
Brownie evening, which finished with a meeting to break the news
that Brown Owl was leaving at the end of term. It had to be
explained that without further volunteer support, it would be
difficult to continue in September. Fortunately, we had a parent
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