10.00 am - 12.00 noon
Saturday 21 April 2012
The last time I wrote to you about Gift Day I reported that the circuit was facing severe financial difficulties and had appointed a strategy group to explore ways of making the most of our limited resources. After some very difficult discussions, the Circuit Meeting subsequently made the decision to reduce staffing from 6.5 ministers to 3,5. Alistair Newton (Superintendent), Freddie Takavarasha and I will leave the circuit in August. From September the Circuit will be served by Nick Blundell (Superintendent), Ian Griffiths, Sarah Jemison, and Phil Drake. The strategy group was again deployed to build on their previous work and consider ways of moving forward; their second report will be considered at the March Circuit Meeting.At the recent Treasurers’ Meeting, it was agreed that Thackley and most other churches in the Circuit would increase their assessment for 2012/13 by 5%. The assessment is a substantial financial contribution to the Circuit to cover the ministers and lay workers stipends and the work of the Methodist Church in the Bradford North Circuit and West Yorkshire District. The Treasurers consider that this 5% increase will end the circuit deficit and provide funding to employ additional lay workers to complement the work of our existing four whose focus is on children’s work, work with the elderly, administration and finance.
As my final church Gift Day at Thackley approaches, I invite you to join me for a coffee and a chat and encourage you to give as generously as possible. I would ask you to consider giving on a regular basis if you do not do so already and if you are already a regular giver to consider giving a little extra if you can. Meeting this 5% increase presents us with a major challenge especially as it comes at a time when we are all feeling the impact of the current economic climate. Don’t forget that if you pay tax you can increase your gift through Gift Aid; for example, if you pay basic rate tax and give £10 using Gift Aid, we will receive £12.50.
Despite the financial challenges, Thackley Methodist Church and its work within the community continues to flourish. We have had a series of faith lunches where we have considered ways of taking forward the various aspects of our church life. As a result we are establishing closer links with the community of Thackley. We have had a fantastic response to our monthly table top sale and hope you will come along on the 4th Saturday of the month between 10.00 am and 12.00 noon. We are also planning a Scarecrow Festival for our Harvest weekend in October, and exploring working with the community for a Diamond Jubilee celebration. We are particularly excited by the prospect of some of our uniformed organisations having a sleepover in church and participating in worship on 1 July 2012.
Over recent months we have been thrilled to receive six people into membership of the Methodist Church and we continue to explore ways of making worship meaningful and relevant to the world in which we live. We particularly enjoyed welcoming the new Chair of the District to lead our Church Anniversary Service on 11 March 2012. My final service at Thackley will be on 15 July 2012.
I am grateful to you all for the many ways you contribute to the life of the church; however, if you can dig a little deeper and offer an extra bit of financial help this year it will be greatly appreciated and will help to ensure that our valuable work continues.
May God bless you,
Keith Hunt