OUR LADY & ST PATRICK ORGAN RESTORATION AND REPOSITIONING

The existing pipe organ in the church is many years old now and in need of repair and restoration. At the last inspection it was discovered that the sound keyboards have been badly affected by extremes of temperature and damp over many years, and more importantly, the ranks of pipes incorporated in the instrument are starting to collapse and disintegrate through age and environment effects.

To be restored the organ has to be significantly dismantled. This is an opportune time to reposition it to the East side of the organ loft, which will free access to the rose window for any repairs needed to it in the future. It will open up the church to the beautiful coloured light from the window and being South facing it should greatly enhance the light flowing into the nave.

This obviously is quite a costly process, but thanks to a legacy donated by a parishioner, for which we are very grateful, the amount we now need to raise is £5000.

If you would like to donate in some way you could sponsor a pipe – depending on size, suggested amounts could be £10, £25 or £100. We have also been given a collection box in the form of an organ for casual donations, which will be positioned at the back of church.

If you would like to boost your donation via Gift Aid, please use one of the blue one-off envelopes sitting by the collection box and mark the envelope ‘Organ Appeal’. Any gift aided amount, large or small, would be gratefully received. These envelopes can be completed by those who are already registered with the Parish under the Gift Aid scheme or by those who wish to give an occasional gift.

We thank you, as always, for your continued generosity.

Please note: if for some reason, the appeal project cannot be completed or if a surplus arises, the remaining appeal funds will be used for the general charitable purposes of the Parish.

HOLY WEEK MASS TIMES

Here are the Mass Times for Holy Week in Teignmouth, Dawlish and Shaldon.

WHAT HAPPENED AT THE ALL SAINTS VISION DAY

All Saints recently held a Vision Day as part of our Divine Renovation journey.

This day was developed specifically to help our Paish prepare for and develop Growth or Mission Action Plans.

More than 50 parishioners took part in interactive workshops, led by members of the PPC and parishioners from the Divine Renovation bookclub, and considered what our Parish looks like now and what it might look like in the future.

THE FIRST EXERCISE – HOW WE SEE OURSELVES NOW

In the first exercise we looked at the Parish church community as it currently stands, using the boat picture.

Parishioners were invited in pairs to write on post-it notes the following:

on the blue sky, the reason why they come to Church
on the flat sea, the tings that have to happen but they don’t necessarily enjoy (like PPC meetings!)
on the rocks beneath the surface, the things that threaten the boat eg lack of money, low numbers of children attending etc.

The following images show what we came up with:

THE SECOND EXERCISE – WHAT THE FUTURE MIGHT LOOK LIKE

In thinking about what the future might look like, we focused on what might be on the Parish website and what the Parish AGM might look like in five years.

What might be on the Parish website in five years?

In the second exercise we imagined what might be on the Parish website in five years.

Groups were asked to write in the Parish name and a ‘strapline’ to summarise ‘what God is doing in the church’ across the top.

In the ‘What’s On’ and ‘Latest News’ tabs, parishioners were asked to add a one line summary of the mission and ministry they hope the church will be undertaking, such as children’s work, youth work, stewardship, outreach etc.

Finally, in the ‘Guestbook’ section, members of the group were asked to imagine what people will be saying or thinking about the church if it is everything God is calling it to be.

The following images show what we came up with.

What might the Parish AGM look like in five years?

In this exercise, we looked at what we might write on the front cover of the AGM agenda. We wanted to come up with a short, but engaging title to summarise what God is doing in the church in 2024.

Then, on the ‘page contents’ section, we tried to come up with a one line summary of the individual reports we might expect to see on the AGM agenda in five years’ time such as children’s work, youth work, stewardship and outreach.

Finally, parishioners at the vision day were asked to imagine what people would be saying or thinking about the church if it is everything God is calling it to be.

Here’s what we came up with.

WORKSHOPS

As well as the larger group exercises, parishioners broke into smaller workshop groups to consider a number of questions:

WORKSHOP 1 GIVING PRIORITY TO THE WEEKEND

The culture of a church is reflected in what it truly values. So how is the weekend liturgy a priority in this parish? How does this carry into the rest of the parish life and where could improvements be made?

It’s hard to answer something that is and hasn’t changed.
The principal point is to receive Holy Communion – food of the soul.
Society – other commitments happen on a Sunday, there is a pressure to be part of those things and to work too.
If “bigger production” would have an effect on the above point
Do we need three churches? Our focus should not be on buildings, but on community “church”.
Remove the/that building then you lose the Catholic focus/community in that area/village.
Times of Masses could be looked at eg. Sunday evening Mass, giving more times around the Masses to connect and for fellowship.
It’s not to everyone’s taste to have a big production; some find a quiet one (and a quicker one) simpler.

Final bullet points or suggestions for feedback:

People have other commitments on Sundays – look at times of Masses
Do we need three churches?
Bigger production of Mass vs quicker, simpler Mass

WORKSHOP 2 HOSPITALITY WARMTH & AUTHENTICITY OF WELCOME

What grade would you give your parish in hospitality? How are new members recognised and welcomed? Is there an appointed group to help guide them into parish life?

Proactive or reactive? Should it just come from the welcomers to ID someone new and make first contact?
– If we are “bringing someone” should there be an onus to introduce them at coffee time etc?
– Reactive – if you see someone (at Shaldon) ask are you new? On holiday? Moving? And invited to coffee. It’s a smaller church.
– There’s a welcome pack, not always given out and not everyone aware of them.
– Gentle encouragement is best. May not work everywhere.
– Needs to be fit for purpose. Smaller church works at Shaldon. After Mass introduction