A General Church Meeting was held on Sunday 3 November after morning worship
The meeting received a draft of the Annual Report which will be submitted to the Charity Commission next year. It was noted that a number of people would be stepping down from key roles at the end of this Connexional year, including the Finance Team, the Safeguarding Officer, the Chair of the Worship Consultation Group, and the Church Council Secretary.
In addition, the stewards and the flower arrangers need more people to join their teams. All these were thanked for their work, and it was hope that all gaps would be filled by the GCM in May 2025. The importance of Safer Recruitment was again stressed.
It was agreed that the Charity of the Year for 2025 would be the Ocean Stars Trust, which works in the south-east of Sri Lanka. Various aspects of worship were discussed, including collections at the morning service (whether to return to passing the plate round at all services); the use of credit or debit cards for donations; whether or not to continue printing paper service sheets (or to limit the number printed); the date of the Covenant Service (January, September, or another month); and whether to continue with after-church discussions.
The Circuit had asked again for financial priorities for the next five years, and suggestions were invited
John Draisey