Action Groups
Our church activities are all overseen or organised by members of our various Action Groups, meaning that many people are involved in the life of St Mary's.
1. Communication & Publicity AG - Dominic Gardner - email
Aim to publicise the major services, especially Easter, Harvest, and Christmas
- Edit copy for church posters and publicity, and oversee their production and display
- Organise or undertake external advertising, when appropriate
- Oversee all church interior and exterior noticeboards
- Maintain church website, including adding weekly sermon recordings (audio and visual)
- Prepare weekly ‘news loop’ to display for services
- Be creative in introducing new ways of communicating God’s love and church life
2. Traditional Services AG – Malcolm Bryden - email
Aim to oversee and facilitate the worship at our traditional church services
- Monitor how traditional church services are going,
Sundays 9.30am and 6.30pm, & Wednesday 11am - Consider and support improvements, research alternatives
- Note schedule of annual church services such as Easter, Harvest, Remembrance, Christmas
- Help coordinate ‘joint’ service on Remembrance and Christmas days
- Identify any training needs for roles within services, and possible trainees.
3. Fabric AG – David Kidney - email
Aim to oversee the maintenance of all church buildings
- Oversee maintenance (and possible replacement)
of soft-fabric of the church - Set up contracts with companies, liaise with Operations Manager
- Devise and run annual appraisals of church buildings,
including rectory interior - Devise financial planning and projections for future maintenance,
and replacement of equipment
4. Missionary AG – Heather Ursell - email
Aim to monitor, review and promote our current missionary agencies
- Review ‘mission partners', at least every three years,
creating long-term plans - Maintain links with mission partners,
currently London City Mission, Haven in Romania, and SAT-7 - Ensure each agency receives their share of
St Mary’s financial gifts each year - Appoint representatives to liaise with mission agencies
- Promote mission partners in monthly noticesheets and their own prayer diaries
- Arrange annual Mission Sundays for each of our Mission Partners
- Oversee appropriate donations to Church Pastoral Aid Society and Evangelical Alliance,
and to other ‘occasional beneficiaries’ from our ‘fourth quarter’ of giving income - Be aware of requested or agreed annual contributions to:
Christians Against Poverty, Frinton Mission, and Frinton Area Churches Together - Receive occasional feedback from smaller mission agencies,
e.g. Samaritan’s Purse and Jaywick Project
5. Training, Outreach & Evangelism AG - Peter Wood - email
Aim to equip and encourage the church with the resources, inspiration and ability to reach out into the community with the Good News of Jesus.
- Plan regular Training courses, Outreach and Evangelism opportunities
- Coordinate appropriate nurture and discipleship courses
- Ensure suitable evangelistic literature is on display or available
- Encourage ‘targeted outreach’, e.g. Men’s Breakfasts,
‘Women of Worth,’ Guest Dinners - Consider any special Easter and Christmas outreach
- Encourage our local ministries: Jaywick Project and Uniform Bank
- Support the Christmas Fayre, welcoming visitors into the church building
6. Pastoral Care AG - Malcolm Bryden (email) & Tricia Hamilton (email)
Aim to develop and oversee a system of pastoral care
for all church members
- Ensure the elderly and unwell receive support, at home,
in hospital, or in residential care - Receive from the Rector and others, names of those
who would like to be visited, including the lonely and bereaved, - Offer Holy Communion, where possible
- Consider needs of other individuals within the church,
and offer support as appropriate - Provide training, including safeguarding, for new ‘pastoral carers’
- Inform the church office of prayer requests
for the Weekly Noticesheet, with permission
7. Standing Committee AG
Churchwarden Heather (email) & Churchwarden Peter - (email)
Aim to monitor the action taken by Action Groups and PCC
- Oversee church employment contracts (staff & contractors)
- Work with Church Treasurer, overseeing expenditure
and annual church budget - Make emergency decisions on behalf of the PCC
where appropriate - Suggest items for PCC agenda, including proposals
- Monitor PCC decisions
- Coordinate Health & Safety (and related Safeguarding) matters
- Ensure Action Groups are fulfilling their duties and monitor their expenditure
- Work with Fabric AG on ‘special projects’ including application for faculties
- Support church premises use, as revenue stream to help fund church ministry
8. Children, Youth & Families AG - Yoyis Higgins - email
Aim to grow the children and youth of the church
in the knowledge and love of Jesus Christ
- Organise and administer training, nurture, education, and events to this end, involving other children and youth through contact
- Oversee and support groups involving children, youth and families: Smallsorts, Sunday Kids
- Help organise occasional community children’s events, holiday clubs, school visits
- Ensure that Health & Safety matters (including Child Safeguarding) maintain a high profile
- Ensure St Mary’s ‘volunteer employment’ system is followed,
including contracts for all volunteers - Check each group’s team of volunteers is sufficient
to support the aims of the group - Support our Children’s & Families’ Worker at St Mary’s
and involvement with Frinton Mission - Draw on resources from the diocese/wider church
9. Prayer AG - Graham Dallisson - email
Aim to oversee the prayer life of the church
and help people to engage in prayer
- Encourage & lead by example,
both in intercession and personal devotion - Keep prayer life fresh and appealing;
introduce new prayer initiatives and events - Coordinate the Church Prayer Chain
- Promote/advertise prayer at church services and in noticesheet
- Develop and advertise corporate church prayer times,
e.g. 'Monthly Prayer Meeting’ on third Mondays
and missionary prayer meetings on second Fridays - Pray for any needs arising from AG activities
and concerns, e.g. illness, publicity, special services
10. Homegroups AG - Heather Ursell - email
Aim: to support all homegroup leaders with appropriate resources to enable their group members to grow spiritually, and in an atmosphere of encouragement and mutual support
- Suggest and discuss study material and books for homegroups to use
- Support group leaders by the sharing of ideas and suggestions
- Encourage group leaders to identify and nurture
potential future homegroup leaders - Liaise with the Training, Outreach, and Evangelism AG, particularly in relation to Alpha
- Maintain accurate lists of homegroup membership and
ensure Pastoral Care AG Leader is kept informed of any relevant needs - Maintain overview of sizes and styles of homegroups at St Mary’s
- Encourage members of the congregation to join a homegroup
11. 11 O'Clock AG - Dominic Gardner - email
Aim to bring strategic thinking and vision
to the contemporary service - developments:
- Make practical recommendations on new resources and materials to use
- Liaise with other AG Leaders over shared agenda items
- Identify any training needs for roles within services,
and possible trainees - Keep general overview of 'shape' of the Sunday year, including any special services
- Have input into planning certain special services, especially at Christmas time
- Consider how to encourage and support growth in our church
- Liaise with other AG Leaders over possible development of shared areas and activities
- Maintain an overview of the range of church services being offered to the community
12. Concerts AG - Duncan Archard - email (deputy: Susan Hare)
Aim to maintain an overview of the concert year at St Mary’s
- Arrange summer lunch-time concerts, and others during the rest of the year, bearing in mind any ‘normal’ church use, including other events on days before, on, and after, concert days
- Booking of premises, including kitchen and hall as required,
and heating - Booking any personnel required, such as operator of sound system, camera, projection system
- Arrange any necessary movement or provision of equipment, and its return afterwards
- Ensure clearing up of all premises afterwards, including toilets,
leaving everything ready for other users - Ensure all buildings – all doors and windows – are secured on departure
- Generate invoices and collect payments
- Decide on rates of payment according to premises hire guidelines
- Advertising: posters, website, tickets (and information to reception)
13. Safeguarding AG - Dominic Gardner - email
Aim: to supervise and facilitate all aspects of safeguarding at St Mary’s
- Be aware of all areas of church life, including premises hire, where understanding of, and compliance with, safeguarding legislation
is necessary - Ensure that safeguarding practice is diligently carried out
in all these areas - Create and enact PCC safeguarding action plan
- Prepare relevant updates or policy proposals for each PCC meeting
- Regulate and support regular safeguarding training for all who require it