St Aidan's has been a successful church and God continues to bless us. The Watchword for St. Aidan's is John 10:10: "That they may have life, and have it abundantly." How do we do it? We listen. Yeah, that's right. Listen.
Just think about it: we listen a book a day, we speak a book a week, we read a book a month and we write a book a year. We here at St. Aidan's know how important it is to listen to YOU, the people we serve. And we do it for a very selfish reason. The reward for listening? People will like you. Your self-esteem starts to rise. As your self-esteem rises so does your confidence - and so does your willingness to listen. Listening binds us together. Yet too often, we don't know our own emotional triggers - situations or people that fire-off HUGE rushes of emotional noise which compels us to listen to ourselves rather than others. With all that emotional white noise hissing in our ears, we'll never be able to truly listen.
Effective listeners enrich the lives of others and of themselves by helping others fulfil the most basic human need: to understand and to be understood.
That's what we do at St. Aidan's - we listen.
Henry Jansma, Vicar 1996 - 2001
The Project is the organisational umbrella of our Church Community Centre and mission to the neighbourhoods of the parish and with which St. Aidan's contracts effective partnerships with the Groups who use the Centre and/or with our locality. 1997-98 saw the successful application of a bid to the National Lottery Charities Board for £61,176.00 for urgent and necessary capital improvements to the Centre fabric. 1998-99 saw the success of a matching funding application to the European Union's Regional Development Fund for a further £42,984.00 A further application is pending from the Safer Communities Partnership for £1,750.00.
Further to the work of the Community Centre, the Project has contracted a partnership with North East Lincolnshire Council in the placement of a Community Development worker in the rented office space of the Centre. Mrs Helen Willbourne was appointed and started work in January 1998. St. Aidan's has agreed to give her its full support and offered the Centre and, if available, its facilities for free as a "pump priming" to get new initiatives off the ground. 1998 saw the establishment completion of a RATE course for women of the neighbourhood, an Aromatherapy course, Brush Up on Your Maths and English, A Career Advisory, Interior Design with Artlandish, Lantern Making and Earthbound Misfits Circus Skills for Children, An Introduction to Information Technology, a Community Newsletter and a Parish Lunch Catering Cooperative. The Project is prepared to grow further in 1999 with the development of a separate management group and the offer of a Bureau Service for groups in embryo which require help with their administration and accounting.
In 1997-98 the number of groups (excluding Sundays) were 13. The average number in attendance for the same period were 327 per week. This makes an average of 15,369 for the year. Combined with the average Sunday figure the total to date is 18,229.
In 1997 Jim Muston was also successful in gaining a grant of £500.00 from the Preschool Learning Alliance for the replacement of equipment. The Preschool itself submitted a grant to Children in Need for further equipment. Jim is now working on another grant from Camelot for the Parent and Toddler group for new equipment. In 1996 the Arts Ministry was successful in gaining a singular grant of £500.00 from the Nottingham Building Society which was used to purchase equipment to develop the musical interests of our young people. An overall umbrella project was proposed to drive the ministry, but resources and interest were lacking at this time. It was agreed to wind up the ministry and instruct the finance committee to dispose of the balance in the account. Any further arts work for the community will be the responsibility of the Serving the Community Project.
Community Development workers have been employed to assist the people of North East Lincolnshire to make their voices heard, and help to secure improvements in many areas regarding many issues.
My name's Helen (don't let the photo put you off) and I've been remitted to work with the people of Cleethorpes. But this job isn't about me working alone. It's about supporting you - the Cleethorpes community to develop good ideas and providing you with ongoing support and information. Any idea you have, either individually or as a group, will be listened to and where possible, worked on.
It won't happen tomorrow - but the quicker we all get to work, the quicker we raise the profile of the area, and the people living here. I can organise workshops and training, or social and group evenings with you. I can offer an input to neighbourhood watches or community groups of any description.
I know that this approach works well, I've beneffited from it myself before I left Scotland. So if you need me for anything at all, contact me on 509779 or 0468 928112 or call into my office in St. Aidan's Church Centre. I'll be happy to speak with you and I love an excuse to stick the kettle on!
We are proud of our preschool here at St Aidan's, and we like to think we are an asset to the Church and local people. From the feedback we get from parents and the local schools, we are doing a great job!
We have more contact with the neighbourhood than anyone else. So many families have passed through our doors and we're proud of it. It is so important to us to offer a warm welcome to anyone who wishes to join us no matter the race, colour or beliefs. We always encourage the children and their families to join in with the things we love doing like our Harvest and Christingle. Life is for laughing and you sure do when you what fun the children have at these services!
We have nine staff who work on a shift basis which usually balances out to three sessions a week. All have had or are currently in training in preschool practice including 18 hours of continued training sessions in work. Boy do we know what we are doing!
We have about 70 children on the register who join us two or three times a week on average. Children start at 3 and stay until they're 4 and have a place at nursery school.
We know that while they are in our care they will learn many more skills than they would if they just stayed at home. Building learning skills through play and making friends is what preschool is all about, don't you think?
When the time comes to leave us and take that next step up childhood's ladder our children are more confident and able so we part with that smile of achievement and a tear for parting, sad to say goodbye. But now we've been so successful former children are bringing their own children to us &endash; what could be a better recommendation than that?
Getting fed-up at home with just you and the baby? You just can't beat our Group. Come Along and Join! Fun for You and the Baby! Every Thursday 12:45 - 2:45PM St. Aidan's Church Community Centre, Grimsby Road.
Price Includes Juice and Biscuits for Kids, Tea or Coffee for Mum and Dad Under 1's FREE Over 1's 80p Extra Child only 15p! Each year we organise an outing where we get to spend some time in the great outdoors.
No one likes being alone. If you're feeling female and lonely on a Wednesday night why not try our Fellowship? We meet on the second Wednesday at 7:30pm where the tea and coffee are always hot and waiting just for you, where the biscuits are always fresh and the talk lively. And just when you think how much better can it get - there's a fascinating presentation by our guest of the evening that just makes the time fly by. With a sing-song of some hymns and prayers for us all, what more could any Wednesday need? So come and join us. There's a subscription fee of £1.00 for our heat and electric and for our guest's expenses. See you there!
The Fellowship is a relaxed activity for the men of our neighbourhood. We've gone bowling, cycling, golfing, and the occasional drink in the pub or seat in the movies. Usually on the first Friday of the month, the Fellowship has recently challenged another parish to a game of Laser Tag which we lost - we didn't realise the robot we were destroying was the one we were meant to protect! Make the men's fellowship your next port of call.
Want to meet people, keep fit and have a hoe-down? Come to our Line Dancing every Monday night at 7:00pm. It's £1.00 at the door and 50p for children. That includeds refreshments as well. A good, cheap night out for the family.
Our Choir was never something out of a mini-series, all spires and cherubs, but we aim to lead worship with traditional and favourite hymns in the best way we can. "What I love about music," says one member, "Is the way it brings us together!" Both groups are a smiling crew of women and now a man as well. We both enjoy time together preparing for worship and learning new music, the Choir practise is on Friday nights at 7:00pm.
There is now a Junior Choir for young people. The ages are 8 to 10+ with boys going to the back row when their voices break. The children receive music tuition, and some christian education every Friday night from 6:30pm.
Like the Bible says SING TO THE LORD A JOYFUL SONG! and that's just what we do. Our Music Group sees itself as part of a larger team which serves the congregation on Sundays in a ministry of music. If you asked the group how it sees their ministry, it would follow these 6 points:
To encourage a free style of music, song and praise.
To encourage the congregation in their praise in music in the first instance and in their deeper relation to God in the second.
To invite the congregation to participate more actively in music.
To compliment the teaching ministry in Sunday worship.
To assume the common pastoral care of younger members, to encourage their growth in praise in music in the first instance and in their deeper relation to God in the second.
To be active as models and patterns of godliness in our worshipping life.
The Music Group meets for practise on Tuesday nights at 8:00pm.
We thought the best way to learn about Boys Brigade was to let the boys do it themselves:
"I like Boys Brigade because we play fun games and I am in the Junior Section. I love to work and we earn badges. Also we pay 25p a week. I like the officers. Each year we put up the Christmas tree in the church. We have a prayer every Tuesday about all the seasons."
"I like Boy's Brigade 'cos I am in the Junior section. I like reading from the Bible. I like the officers best 'cos I never mess around!"
"I like my red and blue uniform. We make things and have a games night."
"I think we have a good uniform. We hear readings from the Bible. There's a five-a-side tournament, you do lots of activities."
"Junior section is good because you do different things to the Anchor boys!"
"It's fun. You get badges."
"The officers are best because they are kind to us."
Come see us on a Tuesday night at 7:00pm where the Officers and Chaplain will greet you and answer your questions about the Brigade for your boy.
Our Brownies meet on Thursdays during school terms from 5:30pm to 7:30pm. In this past year we said goodbye to our Brown Owl Margaret Robinson and hello to our new Brown Owl Margaret Hardy. We have lots of fun together and recently did a sponsored walk for Macmillian Cancer Relief. Our new commissioner came to see us off! Please join us for some fun, crafts, skills and everything!
Our Rainbows (girl scouts for the youngest girls in our parish) meet on Mondays during school terms from 4:00pm to 5:30pm. Our leader Jenny Bilney makes sure we have a real good time. We have lots of fun together. Please join us for some fun, crafts, skills and everything!
Do you like having fun, making friends, trying new things? You do? Well you can join a group of boys on Wednesday nights who enjoy these things too - they're called Beavers, Cubs and Scouts. They meet together regularly to play games, find out about things and to share excitement and adventures.
Beaver Scouts are aged between 6 and 8 years and are known as a colony of Beavers. The colony usually has about 24 boys who work together in making things, playing games and learning about others. We make a promise and our motto is "fun and friends." We meet once a week and a have a lot of grown up help.
Cub Scouts are aged between 8 and 101/2 years. A small group of Cub Scouts is called a Six and a number of Sixes is called a pack. The Pack usually meets once a week with some grown ups and is led by an Akela. What do Cub Scouts do? Cub Scouts have FUN! They play games, gain badges, make a promise, look after themselves, go on outings and visits, go camping and learn about the outdoors, look after the surroundings, help others, go hiking, create things and much more.
Scouts are aged between 101/2 and 151/2 years. Scouts are organised into Patrols of six, and a group of patrols are called a troop. The Scout troop meets once a week and is led by Skip. Scouts are very resourceful, and enjoy taking part in adventerous activities: climbing, abseiling, hiking, cooking (although washing up is done reluctantly) canoeing, pioneering, sport and camping, they have even been known to play an occassional game of football!
Our Sydney Friendship Club began way back in 1976-77 when we last had the great floods in North Cleethorpes and we needed to organise ourselves to help one another. Then there were the block parties for the Queen's Jubilee remember them) and we're still going strong. We meet on a Thursday night from 7:30pm for a bit of fun for the whole family. The bingo is called by our rock of a chairman Bill Powell who loves to keep the action going. We always take a bit of our proceeds and dedicate them to a local Charity. So if you've not got much to spend and still crave a night out, Join us!
Our Darby and Joan (mostly Joan for many years now) is that traditional ladies club that meets for tea, chat and a bit of bingo on Tuesdays from 2:30pm to 4:00pm. Our chairwoman is the redoubtable Mrs. Lorna Jackson. Where we'd be without Lorna all these years we'd just don't know. We have special dinners each year and some carols at Christmas. The average age is 70+ Please join us for some fun!
Over the past year the partnership of churches in our area, Churches Together in North East Lincolnshire, has begun a Credit Union initiative. The training begins soon and St. Aidan's is right on the ground floor of the project. In the not too distant future there will be a paying-in point of the Credit Union at St. Aidan's. Don't know what it is? Here's some questions answered for you.
What is a Credit Union?
A credit union in a savings and loan cooperative, set up, owned, and run by its its members.
Credit unions work by members saving together to create a pool of money from which low cost loans are made.
What are the goals of a credit union?
to encourage members to save regularly
to provide low cost loans to members
to encourage careful money management among members
to develop a sense of cooperation
How are credit unions run?
By members who have been trained in credit union management and are democratically elected at an annual general meeting.
Credit unions are affiliated to one of the national associations which provide book-keeping systems, operating rules and model committee structures.
At least 21 founder members are needed to register a credit union. Most of these will be active in the credit union's management at the outset.
All credit union business is regulated by the Registry of Friendly Societies under the Credit Union Act of 1979.
I've heard of a common bond, what is it and what is ours?
The link that must exist between all members of a credit union is called the common bond. People are more likely to help and support, and less likely to cheat people they know. Identifying the common bond is a requirement of registration.
Our common bond is the geographical area of North East Lincolnshire.
That seems a bit big, why is that?
We discovered that the wider the geographical common bond the greater chance of success. Churches together will act as a stabilising force so that there is an associational element to our common bond by implication.
Seems like a big project, who is going to help us?
We have support from N.E. Lincs Council who promise help with our registration and in seeking matching European Funding
There's a Credit Union Development Agency who've got lot of experts
There's other Credit Unions who've promised to help us as well.
So why should churches be involved?
A Kingdom Goal: God promises that a sign of his kingdom is the cancellation of debts, churches as living signs should show this command to the world.
Relief of Debt: It will help our people in a significant way: no more loan shark.
Money Stays in Community: We will release untapped potential right here.
Working Together: A credit union demonstrates churches can work together.
I'm interested, so what's next?
Initial Members who become the first Board of Directors must come forward
We should see the first board of directors trained and ready by 1999-2000 and the first three cash points open in the same year: a millennium goal!
If you want to know more contact: Father Ken O'Riordan (871632) or Rev. Dr. Henry Jansma (692989).
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