Sunday 19th April 2026 - APCM - Treasurer's & Vicar's Reports

[0:00] Let's give it up for Jay Hayward, our treasurer extraordinaire.! Our glamorous warden, Marg, said to me last week how much she was looking forward to hearing about the church finances and seeing some tremendous charts.

[0:40] Well, unfortunately, I don't have many charts this year, but I thought I'd throw this one in, which is a lovely Venn diagram to show the common link between vicars, bank robbers, DJs and your mum.

[0:51] So there you go, Marg, that's just for you. You can have a look at that. So as a treasurer to a church, which is also a registered charity, it's my job to ensure that we meet all of our legal and financial obligations, such as filing financial returns to the government and all of that sort of thing.

[1:10] It's also my job to help the PCC understand the financial implications of any decisions they're making, keeping my eye on finances over a longer timescale, and to ensure the church remains financially secure and stable.

[1:23] It's very much a team effort, and I'm so lucky to have Marie and Lisa doing a lot of the regular heavy lifting, as well as people like Sarah Marg, Nigel, counting donations, taking it to the bank.

[1:36] So do please thank all of them when you get to see them, and a thank you to anyone else who supports with the just general administration of the church finances.

[1:47] So this morning, yes, a quick tour of 2025. So in summary, we've seen income reduce by about five and a half grand.

[1:58] We've seen our expenditure increase by about four and a half grand, which means there's a gap of about ten grand between income and expenditure. But because we started the year five grand better off than the previous year, our net position in our accounts is minus five grand, which is that net position number.

[2:26] You got that? Clear? So the shorter version, at the end of 2024, we had five grand more than we spent. And then in 2025, we spent ten grand more than our income.

[2:38] And so the net position is a deficit of five grand. So although there is a deficit, it's just important to say that the church does remain financially stable and in a good position.

[2:50] Overall, that's how our income breaks down in a little bit more detail. Green means income went up, and red means income went down. So nice and clear for you.

[3:02] I'm just actually going to pick out one number across all of that. So if you want to know why income went down, it's that gift aid reclaim number with the yellow star on it. So what is gift aid?

[3:14] Gift aid is when you tick your box if you're a registered tax giver. That's the money we can reclaim from the government for any donations.

[3:25] Gift aid makes up about 14% of our total income. And that's about the amount we receive. That's about the amount that would cover the church's running expenses for the year.

[3:37] So it's pretty significant. So if you are a UK taxpayer, please do fill out the form. Tick the box, as it makes a big difference, not to this charity, but any charities you might give to.

[3:48] So have a chat with me, Marie, or the wardens, if you've got any questions around that. And like I say, it's also the reason why our income has reduced this year. 2024 was a bit of a bumper year for gift aid.

[4:00] We had a number of large one-off donations and a legacy that was processed through. So those sort of large one-off things just meant that our gift aid was very high.

[4:11] So our income, as you see it, and the gift aid that we can see there is probably a fairer reflection of what will happen in 2026 as well.

[4:24] That's income. Expenditure. Again, now, here, green means a decrease in spend, which is good. And red means an increase in spend, which is bad, or at least from a financial position.

[4:41] So I'm going to walk through some of these in a bit more detail. So common fund, top left. That's the money we pay to the Litchfield Diocese. This pot pays for things like the vicar's wages, housing, pensions, as well as the training and wages of future curates, which are vicars in training, like Laura, wherever she is.

[5:00] It also helps to fund the work of various central departments in the diocese and supports work of the General Synod. Wages, top right. That's our second largest expense.

[5:11] 2025 was the first full year of wage costs for our four part-time workers, our cleaner, caretaker, little friends coordinator, and office administrator. And the PCC voted to increase their salaries by 5% in April 2025.

[5:29] The middle two, operating and running costs, they're sort of two sides of the same coin. So you can sort of combine those together and think that across all of our running costs and operating costs, the costs increased by about two grand across those two areas.

[5:45] There's all sorts of stuff in there. But the increases have come from having to replace a number of things like light fittings, sound equipment elements, as well as higher costs for general supplies of almost everything, cleaning, drinks, foods, all that kind of stuff.

[6:01] We also had higher costs and fewer donations for some of our outreach activities, such as shared lunches and our Christmas lunch. So some of those costing us a bit more as well.

[6:12] And then a quick note on our tithe and giving, bottom left. So St. John's donates 10% of our previous year's income, excluding grants.

[6:24] And in 2025, that was £11,630. And that's mainly donated through regular charitable giving, ensuring charities can plan their income accordingly.

[6:35] And these are the charities that we gave to. So starting locally, we supported Bilt and Be a Friend, Play in the Parks and Food Bank. And then moving to organisations that operate in Staffordshire, we supported Pathway Project, who are a domestic and sexual abuse service, supporting anyone in need based in Litchfield and Tamworth.

[6:58] Period Power, who partner with organisations who support vulnerable people across staffs in the West Midlands by providing period products. And the YouthNet, which is a Christian-based children and youth charity working in and out of schools and organisations in and around Stafford.

[7:16] Nationally and internationally, we supported UCB Radio and Light for Children. The latter is a charity supporting young people and families in need in Romania. And it's a charity that's got deep roots at St. John's.

[7:28] And we've supported them since its inception. So, as I said earlier, we spent a bit more this year than our income, but it's worth putting this into context on a long-term basis.

[7:40] So, as a church and PCC, we're pretty good at living within our means, which means, you can see from this chart, broadly, that green, which is the income line, is pretty much in line with red, which is the expenditure line.

[7:55] So, that's a sort of seven-year profile, six-year profile. So, even through COVID years where income dipped, we made sure our expenditure dipped, and then when our income went back up, expenditure went back up too.

[8:10] So, we're pretty good at managing it long-term. So, don't be too discouraged by the deficit. If you would like to see even more detail on the church accounts, which I'm sure you don't, but if you do, do visit the website or get in touch with me or the church office.

[8:28] The full annual reports are published, so do please ask if you're interested. And then lastly from me is the total view of our total assets. So, our total assets sits at 152 grand.

[8:42] On the left-hand side, yeah, left-hand side, that's split into fixed assets, which are things like equipment and fittings, and then net current assets. And then on the right-hand side, net current assets is made up of bank funds, things we can access nice and easily, and then restricted funds.

[9:02] So, bank funds is, yeah, money in the bank, and that roughly covers about four months of our expenditure, which is a pretty good place to be in. And then restricted funds are set aside for capital projects or investments, such as the solar panels, which have been recently installed.

[9:22] Obviously, the money has not come out for that yet, but if you're interested, 16 grand, so Nigel tells me, or something like that. So, lastly, looking ahead, there's a couple of things on my mind.

[9:35] The first will be looking at ways to try and balance our income and expenditure and make sure we're not in deficit for lots and lots of years, because that's not a sustainable position long-term. But doing that in a way whilst trying to maintain our commitment to being a generous church.

[9:52] And then the second is our energy and utilities. So, we know, I think we all know, that bills will be rising this year, but we're hoping our solar panels will be able to offset and then some, any rises in costs that we might see.

[10:07] So, if you saw utilities, that's about seven grand cost at the moment. So, hopefully, that will reduce a bit next year. That's it from me. Hopefully, that's nice and short.

[10:19] All right. Thank you. Thank you very much. Great stuff, Jay. And there'll be a chance for questions on the money side and the financial side of things later on as well, if you wish.

[10:34] As Jay said on the screen, thank you very much indeed to everyone, all of us, who gives and supports the work at a church in any kind of way, with any amount.

[10:47] As I say, we're a charity, so we're essentially self-funded. What we do is only possible because of what we give, effectively. We get some income from fees for things like funerals and so on.

[10:58] We get some income from grants and from higher costs and so on when we use the building for other people use the building. But the vast majority, as Jay was saying, comes from your generosity, our generosity.

[11:11] And I'm very grateful to be in a church that is generous and we'll be talking about generosity in a few weeks' time as part of this values series we're doing as well. But I just want to say thank you for making this church possible.

[11:25] And then big thank you to Jay and Lisa and Marie in particular, the holy hat trick of number crunchers we have. It's a complicated job that we've got to get all our financial reports together, but they work incredibly hard doing it.

[11:41] They're also incredibly clever and they know what they're doing and they know far more than I do. So I'm very grateful for them. We're very fortunate to have them. And again, as Jay was saying, we've banking help from Mark and from Nigel and Sarah through the year as well.

[11:55] As I say, can we just show our appreciation to Jay and Marie and Lisa, Marga and Nigel as well. I'm very grateful to you.

[12:10] Vickers report. Sounds a bit grand, doesn't it? But just a few words really from me, really to offer some reflections on the year we've had and a little bit, just a little bit about what's coming up.

[12:22] And I want to leave enough time at the end for questions or comments and so on. So like Jay, I'll try not to be too long, but there is a lot that I want to say thank you for today. Indeed, I really want to start and I do want to thank you and above all, thank God for you and for all that we've been able to give of ourselves and share in together as a church over this past year.

[12:50] You are very, very special indeed. And this is a special place. It's a special church. It's a special community.

[13:02] And the love and the care and the kindness and the commitment that's on display through you day after day, week after week, is just so heartening and inspiring and a huge pleasure to be a part of.

[13:20] And I've realized recently that whenever I'm asked about St. John's, not once, not once am I ever hesitant or nervous about saying, yeah, I'm from St. John's and you'd be very welcome because I'm honored to be able to say that this is our church and this is the church of which I'm vicar.

[13:38] There'll often be all sorts of preconceived ideas from folks about what church is like. Invariably, not the most positive either, sometimes with good reason.

[13:51] And yet, I know that when people come through these doors from Monday to Sunday, they'll be treated with a love and a kindness that comes from God.

[14:02] And as God's people, that's an atmosphere that each of us play our part in helping to cultivate. Now, as a St. George's parade give us a soundtrack in the background as well.

[14:18] We are not perfect by any means as a church or as people. We don't always get things right and I certainly don't. I certainly don't. And there's always more to learn and think through about how we operate as a church and what we could do better.

[14:33] But also as individuals, I know for myself, you'll be the same as me, I'm sure. At the end of the day, you'll just reflect a bit and you'll think, ah, sorry God. That conversation I had with that person, I don't know why I said what I said.

[14:46] I don't know why I said it in the way I did it. It was clumsy. It was unhelpful. So there's always this daily sense of, ah, why did I do that? Come on. Help me get better.

[14:57] Please, God. But I know for us individually and corporately, the intent and the desire and the hope to simply be a community of people open to and shaped by God and the loving leadership of Jesus.

[15:12] Well, it's there. It's here among us. And I trust that we and those we know appreciate that we're all simply on a journey with Jesus rather than ever thinking that we've arrived at our destination.

[15:26] I mean, in terms of what we've done over the past year, well, in our Sunday services here, if you want to cast your minds back, we've spent some time exploring a series on living prayer.

[15:40] We spent some time looking at how to read the Bible and what it means to be one body, one church, and most recently looking at Jesus' journey to Jerusalem just before Easter.

[15:51] That's on Sundays here. Mondays, we have another service at 10 in the morning as well. On Mondays, we spent the year looking at the life of Jesus' brother, a guy called James. We looked at various meals that Jesus shared and we're currently on our way through the book of Acts.

[16:08] And all of these themes of our sort of teaching give us a focus for our services. But I'm hugely grateful to all of those who lead and speak in our services, those who help with communion, those who lead our song worship, the prayer teams, the pastoral care that takes place, those on the visuals and the sound desk, those who welcome and serve and do refreshments, do the laundry, those who clean and set up and tidy away, those who look after the money, as well as all those who lead and help with our children's and young people's group each week.

[16:45] The baptisms we've had, for example, the times of sharing that we've had, the testimonies and the encouragements we've heard, all of that stuff and more means that Sundays and Mondays are significant undertakings each week, but they're crucial times of worship and prayer and learning and fellowship.

[17:08] That's on our sort of services, which in some ways are the kind of shop window, I suppose, of what we do, but not really because I'm equally grateful for a large number of groups and activities and clubs and events that take place and these are as much about who we are and what we do as a church as our services are and crucially, I'd say there are times in which the spirit of God is just as present in these times as God is when we gather in these services of worship as well.

[17:44] As I've said before, but it's worth mentioning again, I think, when we look at the life of Jesus, he doesn't simply spend time worshipping God in the temple or the synagogue.

[17:58] Now, in fact, the majority of his time when we read the gospel stories, the majority of it is spent making connections with people outside of typical kind of worship settings. So he eats with them, he talks with them, he walks with them, he drinks with them, he jokes with them, he goes camping with them, he prays with them, he debates with them, he cooks with them, shares money with them, fishes with them, cries with them, sails with them, washes with them, parties with them, climbs mountains with them, he sings with them, he shares stories with them, he confides with them, he surprises them.

[18:30] You know, in all sorts of ways, in other words, Jesus does life with people, this 24-7 life. And that reality, this example that Jesus gives us, that's what I hope really inspires our whole week as a church too.

[18:49] And that's why we've got so many groups on offer because I think it's in these times and events and these clubs that actually fellowship happens and friendships are formed and faith can be shared in so many natural, gentle ways in these times.

[19:11] You know, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control, which it is. Then whenever we live out these attributes in community with others, we're exhibiting the life of Jesus and witnessing to the difference that he makes in our lives and in our world.

[19:30] We don't need to Bible bash, we don't need to be preachy, we certainly don't need to use guilt or shame or fear to convert people, but rather it's simply a way of offering a way of doing life in the knowledge that God loves us, God is with us and we long for as many people as possible to experience that same love and peace and joy and salvation for themselves.

[20:00] So all these groups and more, all these things we're about, that is motivated, I hope, by this same kind of approach. but what I love most of all, I think, are when the boundaries between church and community become blurred to the point of being almost non-existent because as Jesus' life demonstrates, these soft edges, you know, that blurring of any boundaries, that's where I think God is perhaps most tangibly present.

[20:32] for example, I want to talk about watercolour dabblers a little bit because I think it does it very well. I don't think Chris and Paul are here today, are they? But in their absence, very grateful for watercolour dabblers.

[20:44] It's a community-focused group of artistry and friendship and the paintings that are produced are fantastic. But what's even better, I think, as Chris was sharing with me the other day, is the way in which some people come and instinctively know when they walk through these doors is that this is a safe place and where in between paintings they'll often share how they're really doing.

[21:10] And there's something about the piece and the process of the painting that seems to enable God's spirit to move. And so while some may say there's nothing overtly Christian about watercolour dabblers, I'd beg to differ.

[21:25] I'd beg to differ. Because these sessions can be pretty meaningful times for people where they encounter the loving welcome of God in this place even if they wouldn't have the words or the language to describe it in those ways.

[21:40] Same is true for all sorts of groups we've won. Little Friends is another one where each week countless conversations are had in terms of people's lives and profound pastoral care is offered and parents and carers often at their limit understandably in terms of energy and sometimes mental health well-being.

[22:02] They're supported and encouraged and upheld sometimes prayed with but it's all done in a very gentle and I would say Jesus-like way. So it applies for dropping since Monday mornings in combination with our service you know is church for people it's a legit church experience and I'd say Jesus is at the heart of the cake and the conversations as much as he is in our singing and our praying and I could go on about each group or activity or event we offer in that since we are the body of Christ all the time not just in a service then wherever we are whether it's things like pub club or whether it's the Christmas lunch whether it's the English classes that take place from those to the Christmas fair whether it's play in the park to the services that we do each month in Chase View you know all of these events are more deliberately mashed all up there we have the privilege of sharing

[23:07] Jesus' love and joy and peace with people and I know anything that you're involved with well great job you do of being sort of ambassadors if you like for God what's more I know this personally for me too and I've been so grateful for your prayers and your care and your concern not just for me but my family too in these recent months as I recover from herniated discs and some back trouble that that's given me been off work for a little while with that beginning of the year there's the five paramedics that were gathered around my bed as I struggled to get downstairs they had to stretch me down somehow there's me in a fetching hospital gown as well trying to learn to walk again after that so it's not been a straightforward start to the year by any means for me but in amongst that stuff the combination of your love and the way in which so many folks have been willing and certainly more than capable of stepping up and taking on some of my roles in my absence it's been both heartening and humbling and I thank God for you for you all in that in terms of who's involved with life at a church well we mentioned a few already and there's so many people I could highlight but we'd be here a long time and I wouldn't know where to stop really but

[24:33] I just want to give a special mention to Laura our curate there she is and there we are decked out in some more splendid robes there Laura's over here Laura's been with us 10 months now and it feels longer in a good way I am loving working with Laura she's a breath refresher she's been brilliant in her time with us so far and I fully appreciate all that she's bringing to the life of our church and Laura's arrival I think is one of the real pluses of the last year as we look back you know she's got her own health issues gallbladder operation in the off soon coming up but her care and her prayer her company and her time she genuinely loves people and it's a pleasure to see and I'm so glad that she's here along with her family and I'm so glad that she's here for another couple of years at least so she's not going anywhere anytime soon which is good news for all of us and they talk about going forward for us

[25:34] I'm always a bit hesitant to go too far ahead with these because pandemics and back problems and wars and politics have taught me that it's always good to hold plans pretty loosely really if you want to make God laugh you're telling me your plans those kind of things but it feels like actually I know it's spring and the sun's out and all that but it feels like we're in a pretty good and hopeful place as a church and that's that's nice to be honest it's not been the easiest couple of years perhaps various reasons particularly with some folks moving on and so on but as we were singing God is good and so it's really encouraging to have seen a good number of new folks either dipping their toes in with us in recent weeks or taking the plunge more fully and joining us and I hope if that's you if you're on the newer end of things that you'll know God's guidance and loving leading in your lives but also that you be assured of our hope to continue to do this church stuff with you because new folks who come it's great to see you but you're already making this community a better place by being here and we love it that you're along for the ride and I guess in many ways that's the hope for us all with God that as a church in a year ahead and beyond that we be up for this journey with God open to his steering and transformation we pray to become more like Jesus you know say become more like Jesus like it's something simple and kind of it is but it's also deeply complicated and profound as well but that's why from next week for example we're going to be exploring this this new series that we're doing looking at six values that we're adopting as a church six ways of being that will hope will give us the right focus for our priorities going forward under God as his community these values as we'll explore over the next month or two they're all aspirations you know they're all aims for us to aspire to rather than things that we think we're already good at but I'm excited about these these values of humility integrity inclusion openness generosity and kindness there are ways to perhaps mark and measure our progress and pray into for who we want to be as a church

[28:12] I'll say more about these values next week and beyond but flowing from these values is the hope that we might continue to learn and discover the joys of being in ever more true community I think I want to say together and under God you know I am fully aware that being committed and turning up to services or groups or clubs it's not always easy and if I look at our attendance statistics which I do occasionally and generally see who's coming through our doors my hunch is that I think we've got a very similar number of folks as we have had for a number of years now I think if everybody who was part of this church adult and child came along we'd be near 300 people it's about 280 or so I think is people who would say yeah this is my church and I come but you'll be aware that I I think we've got a similar number of people but people are maybe coming along slightly less often perhaps than we or they used to and as I say there are all sorts of totally understandable reasons for that illness and frailty could be childcare needs could be family commitments work shifts could be holidays sometimes it's social anxiety and much as you might want to come sometimes it just doesn't feel possible equally some know because we're online with the talks that we put on YouTube and so on

[29:46] I know some people like to check in with those and that maybe means that they don't feel as necessary perhaps to be here in person but there's no criticism or judgment from me on that at all I get that life happens in that way but I do want to say whenever you can whenever we can let's try this year ahead to carry on meeting together as often as possible not for numbers sake or for a buzz of a crowd or whatever but more because this life and this church is better when you're here okay make a real difference and most importantly the body of Christ is more beautiful when every part is present never underestimate the difference that you being here makes your smile your welcome your conversation your prayers your encouragement your worship often one of the most moving things in my life is when I look around and I see other people worshipping or engaging with

[31:02] God it brings me to tears often because often I know a bit about their story and I see them worshipping God in the middle of all they're going through and I think wow you are impressive that is inspirational that you're worshipping God in the midst of everything that's going on and that humbles me and inspires me and encourages me but you won't know who I'm looking at when I'm seeing you worship or seeing you pray or just seeing you interact but you are such an encouragement when you are here I think Heidi said in her baptism testimony of a week you don't know the difference that you're making when you greet someone like Heidi and are kind to her but she knows I know we know so take it from me you do make a huge difference by being here and by taking part so whenever it's possible in amongst all of life whenever it's possible we just love to see you here so one practical initiative to help our sense of connection and community is that we're launching a WhatsApp community it's a way for us as a leadership to share news and messages with the whole church via our phones if you're on WhatsApp and then for you to message us back directly if you wish but don't panic on this one it's not an open forum where your phone's going to be pinging all day long with everyone else's messages coming through you're not going to be receiving all sort of kitten memes and lots of thumbs up and that kind of thing you might want to get those but other services are available for that it's purely a way for us to communicate with you so that we can all be better informed about what's going on we can set up subgroups perhaps for different clubs and you can join those if you're part of those or want to be part of those if you wish but that's on your terms but trust me it's not going to be adding to your spam it's really just a way for us to keep in contact with you with our phones if you're not on WhatsApp

[32:58] I'd encourage you to do so because it's probably the easiest way that we can communicate with you on a regular basis and if you can follow us on Facebook as well even if you're not on Facebook you can still access that that's an easy way to keep up with what we're about as well so I'll be inviting people to join this WhatsApp community if you're on a electoral roll or in a directory and if I haven't got your number do let us have it if you wish and I will gladly invite you to that group as well but that's enough from me lots more I could say and like I say future year stuff will be coming up over the coming weeks and months as well but as Jay said and I came to let us know there's a few minutes if you wish for any questions could be about finances could be about anything in general with church life you might make any suggestions or comments criticisms if you wish most of all you can quiz Jay on the money should you be so inclined I shall come around to a roving mic there might be no questions whatsoever or comments and that's more than okay but now's your chance open forum the floor is yours

[34:05] Jack what we got it's not a question it's a statement actually so this is a great church and a great church needs a great leader as well as God but it needs a great leader and I'm sure come on let's humble him a bit that's good it needs a great leader and I'm sure you'll join me in thanking our great leader here for everything that he's done for us yes he's had a couple of months off and bits and pieces but your presence was still felt even then the reason this church is the success it is is because of you and let's not underestimate that thank you Jack I'll take the kindness but it's us and it's God

[35:08] I know but thank you though thank you all right anyway thank you Juliet at the back I was going to speak last week and obviously Matt didn't understand my hand signals for whatever reason but actually he's addressed everything I was going to kind of say so from the six weeks holiday I kind of didn't I haven't been to church for about two months from from July last year and it's because there's been a lot of change here as Matt said and not necessarily the people that left I was close to but all this change that was happening and because I am neurodiversity I really really struggled with it and I was just like I don't I don't feel like I fit in anymore and that's not through anybody from here it was just how I was feeling I didn't fit in and actually it was people like the random messages from Gemma and from Chris and Dave over there that would just message me to say how are you I haven't seen you for a while even Laura when she first started messaged me and

[36:11] I was a bit like whoa I don't know who you are so I'm not replying but actually it was it was that and Irene and and Leslie have also messaged me and kept me in church and actually when I walk into this when I started to come back and I did I have been busy I'm doing a degree I'm a single parent I'm working full time as a teacher now and life just got really really heavy and I couldn't fit anything in with the PCC and house groups and I just had to let some things go and regroup but actually when I started coming back it's people like Matt was there when he wasn't obviously laid up with his back taking a bit of a part-time job but and Alex who always welcomes me with a smile and a hug and actually I'm not a huggy person but that was amazing and again no it's fine now I'm used to them now Alex they're quite nice and and other people again you don't realise the difference you make for somebody like me who is quite introvert and who's feeling not that I fit in and actually guys I'm back whether you like that or not I'm back but yeah this is an amazing church and for the newcomers that come here you probably won't find that I speak to you and that's not because I'm being rude I just find that really awkward but it is lovely to see new people and this is my church and you are a great church guys so thank you thank you nice modules hugger Harris over there as well good stuff all right

[37:35] Barbara at the back getting my steps in today this is good there we go right I don't know whether everybody else feels as I do is that I agree Matt and Gemma and the family are what make this church the work that you do that nobody sees that goes on right but you're I don't know whether you feel like me each and every one of you are an extension of my family I find I can talk to anybody here we're humans we ain't got the wings yet well not yet and we can talk to you about things that our family can't understand whether it's mental physically anxiety illness I fell again last night Jane is like my sister

[38:36] I wouldn't tell my real sister because she'll worry but this one she knows because life can be rubbish can't it we all have it so we are a family and you're like the head of the family Matt and Gemma even though I do get told off you weren't darling well me and me mouth you see I can't tell Pitt but you are each every one of you are my family thank you so much for each of you being here well said thank you Barbara thank you Laura I just wanted to ask you Matt what was it you said last week you guys to all was it last week or the week we were four to turn to each other and say something about it's better that you're here today and that is like you encouraging us to build our relationships with each other and to you know actually acknowledge that everybody we do we can all open up to each other if we want and so that's all I want yeah we spoke about this maybe sort of 18 18 months ago I think when we began to launch after COVID a lot of these sort of midweek clubs and groups and stuff and there was some hesitancy with that thinking well we need more prayer times need more Bible study times need more worship times and all of that is good all of that is good but we felt during

[40:18] COVID in particular it kind of uncovered the deep sense of disconnection and loneliness that a lot of people ourselves perhaps included will be aware of and experiencing and so part of the holistic if Jesus says come and give you life in all its fullness that's not just about the way we connect with God that's how we connect with each other as well and so the friendships and the support and the family sort of idea that's what we're trying to foster I suppose in all of these clubs and groups they are as much church as this is so yeah I hope that's sort of filtering through and by the sounds of it being appreciated which is great and equally we've started new ones some have sort of come to a halt sometimes if seasons sort of change but if you've got ideas for new groups new things that you'd like us to get going different interests that you've got different things that you might think I can gather a few people we can do that together let us know always open for new ideas and initiatives and so on all right any of our comments or questions or suggestions or things can I just what Jack said was absolutely great and it was true but can I just like the team of us together that work as a team together are great to work with it it is a great church of course it is it breathes love and care for everybody

[41:47] I'm very proud to be part of this church I am I love everybody the personal relationships are very deep and caring and I love it love you so we're all a blessing aren't we we all care for each other and it is a big family but sometimes we look out for each other don't we we sort of like see something and you tell somebody because we care and we look after each other and that is a real gift that each and every one of us have got and each and every one of us share with this not yet I but with Christ in me and we've all got Christ in us haven't we to go forward and bless other people and show with the people that this is tremendous tremendous it's just wonderful so thank you thank you Mark yeah nice one yeah I think in all of the it's far from wanting to rest on our laurels or be smug or anything like that I'm aware in the Bible the church is described as the bride of Christ and I find that quite a beautiful image really because it's meant to be a pleasant to look at pleasant to be with you know great to be a part of something to celebrate and but in celebrating the family the friendships the connections the love it's all just a reflection of who God is that's his gift to us to get glimpses of God through each other that's that incarnational kind of way in which we try and live in a way that Jesus gave us the best glimpse you know the visible image of the invisible God and all that kind of thing we are the body of Christ let's not underestimate the the gift and the the power that comes from humbly trying to be Jesus through his spirit to each other so thank you thank you for you and thank God for you as well