St Mary Redcliffe A Year at Redcliffe Magazine 2022

ST MARY REDCLIFFE CHURCH
A YEAR AT REDCLIFFE

Contents
Contents
Introduction
03 Welcome
Leadership
04 Letter from Dan
07 Letter from Kat
09 Letter from Aggy
10 Letter from Anthony
12 Letter from Stephen
13 Letter from Simon
14 Churchwardens’ report
Governance
16 Parish Office and Electoral Roll
18 Diocesan Synod
20 Deanery Synod
22 Safeguarding report
23 Finance report
Development, buildings and fabric
24 Project 450
26 Fabric report
28 The Canynges Society
30 The Church Lands Charity
32 Temple Ecclesiastical Charity
Worship
34 Sung Eucharist
36 Music
Welcome
40 Stewarding
41 Treefest
Heritage, visitor experience and retail
44 Heritage, tours and shop
Discipleship
48 Families and youth ministry
50 Feminist theology group
51 Theology book group
52 Meditation group
Community outreach
54 Youth & community work in Redcliffe
58 St Mary Redcliffe Primary School
59 Bristol Churches Winter Night Shelter
Marketing and digital
62 Marketing, digital and design
2

Introduction
Welcome
4
For as in one body we have many members,
and not all the members have the same
function, 5 so we, who are many, are one body
in Christ, and individually we are members
one of another.
Romans 12:4-5
Welcome to this year’s edition of a Year at
Redcliffe, our annual document which offers
an insight into the life, works and ministry
of our church, St Mary Redcliffe.
The range of contributions reflect the richly
diverse nature of who we are and what we
do. However, in contrast to previous years,
this year’s A Year at Redcliffe further aspires
to reflect evaluatively on what we have
achieved throughout the year by celebrating
our successes and identifying how we might
build on these as we move forward.
One of my own personal reflections since I
have been a member of St Mary Redcliffe is
that I never fail to discover something new
about the wonders of our church and its life.
There is so much going on, it really is hard
to capture it in one document. We would
like therefore to take this opportunity to
thank EVERYONE for their support, their
gifts, their time and energy which enables
our church to be the place it is. We are truly
blessed.
It has been a pleasure and a joy to collate
the contributions for this year’s document,
and I would like especially to thank Rhys
Williams for the time he has taken in putting
it together.
Being a church, it is not just what we do, it is
who we are. As we journey on, we invite you
all to join us in singing the song of faith and
justice, in working together and supporting
each other; we, who are many, are one body
in Christ, and individually we are members
of one another.
Becky James
Families and Youth Church Minister
and Ordinand
3

Leadership
Letter from Dan
I am going to focus my comments on 2021
on three things: the worship review, the
North Transept window and people.
As everyone knows, Covid was still rampant
in 2021 and services in church were
happening, when we could, at 10.00am,
which was the time we started doing online
services when we went into lockdown in
2020. They were a hybrid of what we could
pull together: sometimes using recorded
elements, sometimes coming from church,
sometimes with a congregation. As part
of our thinking about “life beyond Covid”
we took the opportunity to reflect, as a
church family, on what our Sunday pattern
of worship should look like. We had such
a huge response (almost 100 individual
returns and 5 groups responding) that it
took far longer to work out how to distil the
wisdom into decisions, into any changes that
we might wish to make. The main changes
have been to switch the time of Matins and
the Eucharist (which makes more sense
liturgically and, in time, will allow for better
social events afterwards), to introduce a
regular pattern of All Age services, to adopt
contemporary language at the Eucharist
and to switch to the BCP for our 8.00am
Communion service. These changes were
finally all introduced in October and, whilst
I know some people would prefer other
arrangements for some elements of this,
they have been well accepted and are now
very much part of the ‘normal’ SMR Sunday
pattern of worship.
In June 2020, when the statue of Edward
Colston was tipped into the harbour, we
were we were strongly advised, because of
the risk of a similar assault on the church,
to remove four panels of the stained glass
window in the north transept which bore
his name, his emblem and his motto. The
cathedral also took action again its Colston
memorials. It took us a year to work out
what to do next: but, thanks to a great idea
from Kat, we came up with a plan to replace
the four panels (not the whole window ..
there is a rumour out there suggesting that
4

Leadership
Technically, this photo is outside the scope of this “Year at Redcliffe” as it was taken at 8.20am on 31
December 2020: but I couldn’t resist adding a photo of the moon setting on the last day of the year!
5

Leadership
we’re wanting to replace the whole window
.. we’re not wanting to do .. we’re not going to
do that) in a way that not only honoured the
bible story being told, but also allowed for
an explanation of who Edward Colston was,
what he did (both his trafficking of enslaved
Africans and his philanthropy) and how our
understanding has developed since then of
the idea of ‘our neighbour’. The plan is to
replace the original panels which have the
statement at the end of the Story of the Good
Samaritan (“Go thou and do likewise”)
with the question that prompts Jesus to
tell the story (“Who is my neighbour?”).
Following some intensive work by a small
PCC working party we have recently heard
that we have permission from the diocese to
run a competition to find an artist who can
use those four panels to ask that question.
More than that, I am delighted to say that,
thanks to a generous legacy, the competition
and the new stained glass panels are fully
funded. We’ll be launching the competition
later this year and we are hoping for entries
from members of the church and from
around the world.
Finally, people.
Elizabeth Shanahan stepped down as
Churchwarden at the APCM in May 2021
and Belinda Phillipson was elected in her
stead. Elizabeth could never have expected
to have such a role at such a time and she
was absolutely superb. Not only did she take
on the role of Warden, she picked up the
role of Treasurer and started the ball rolling
in the very necessary work of re-stitching
how we manage our budgets and do our
book-keeping. Her work has rolled out in
many ways: not least in bringing our bookkeeping
in house.
We also said ‘thank you and farewell’ to
Roseanna Wood from our operations role and
to Rachel Varley who was our Community
Worker for three years and who ran our
Covid response in the local community; and
‘see you later’ to Sarah Purdon who went on
maternity leave. Rebecca Rumsey joined us
(working remotely from Stratford on Avon)
to cover Sarah’s post and Andy Carruthers
was appointed to the vacant community
development post in December. After
working hard, but failing, to fill two posts
in 2021, in January this year we managed
to fill both posts: Maria Holcombe started
with us as our Finance Officer in March,
and James Rodliff joins us in May as our
new Operations Manager.
Whilst these comings and goings remind us
of some of the changes we have coped with
whilst living with Covid, there is a longer
list of names of people from the heart of
this church family who have died either just
before or during Covid. Each death of each
of these women and men is a sorrow for
their family and friends; and together they
are going to leave a massive hole at the heart
of this community: John and Mary Cooper;
Ernest and Dorothy Green; Eric and Betty
Tyley and Joyce Tyley; Ruth Goodman;
Peter Creed; Iris McCallum; Elizabeth
Molyneaux; Liz Scott; Stephanie Appleby;
Audrey Organ; Corinne Rees; Mary Mould;
Clifford Stock; Alan Stevens; Ruth Roche
and Joy Stevens.
May they rest in peace and rise in glory.
And may their memory inspire us for the
work of the kingdom.
Dan Tyndall
April 2022
6

Leadership
Letter from Kat
What has been going well and why?
2021 saw me taking on some different areas
of responsibility at SMR as Aggy developed
her experience by taking on the community
and outreach work I had been leading. It
was sad to let it go but amazing to see how
much it had developed since I started
here in 2014. My new responsibilities are
around “a thriving, inclusive Christian
community” – so about what is happening
inside the church rather than beyond.
This has been such an important and
complex task as we slowly emerged from
the pandemic over 2021. A particular
highlight of the year was our Lenten focus
on prayer. We offered a “school of prayer”
with spiritual accompaniment, and an allage
Prayer Laboratory, all on Zoom. It was
very precious to explore prayer with so
many and deepen our prayer life together. It
was also a real joy to start doing our All Age
services in the churchyard, starting at Easter,
while numbers in church were restricted.
Worshipping with the restrictions of covid
has been challenging but has also given us
opportunities to do things we would never
have thought of before and I’ve enjoyed the
chance to be more creative.
As restrictions on what we could do in our
services changed over the summer and
autumn, and in response to our liturgy
survey, I led the work on developing our
services into their post-covid pattern. We
didn’t want to lose the gifts and opportunities
that the changes due to covid had brought
about. We embraced both our own vision
statement and the Church of England values
of “simpler, humbler, bolder” to make our
services more accessible and inclusive while
retaining the essence of who we are and
what our worship says about God and about
us as a worshipping community.
2021 was a tough year for me personally
with the death of my brother, but I felt
such a wave of support and care from
congregation and colleagues, and I would
like to thank you all for that. I have felt very
loved through some difficult times.
7

Leadership
What might you identify as an area of
development for the future?
As we emerge from covid, our church
community looks different. A number of
people have died, a number are no longer
able to come to church, others have retired
from positions and duties they have held for
a long time in church. Many of our teams
are depleted and many people we have relied
on for a number of years are no longer in
a position to hold the responsibilities they
have done. The great news is that many new
members have joined the church which is
a real joy. So an area of development I am
focussing on in 2022 is to nurture members
of the congregation to be able to find their
particular calling within the life of the
church and grow some of those depleted
teams back to healthy and sustainable
numbers, and support others to step up
into some of our leadership roles, leading
volunteer teams within the church.
I’m also keen to develop opportunities for
people to grow in faith – prayer groups,
discussion groups, Bible study groups are
all examples. The Lent 2021 focus on prayer
is something to build on, and the groups
over the summer exploring the “Pastoral
Principles” were well-received. The
challenge will be finding things that people
are able to commit to, as the last couple
of years has left people feeling exhausted
with more limited capacity. The change of
Sunday service times leaves us with a new
opportunity to run groups after the 10.30
service when people are already at church,
and zoom also creates opportunities to meet
in the evening from our homes when some
might prefer not to go out.
It is really encouraging to see not a return to
how things were but a new phase of life at
SMR, with signs of new growth in all sorts
of areas, and I really hope to nurture that
new growth and help us all grow into the
SMR God is calling us to be for a time such
as this.
Rev Kat Campion-Spall
Associate Vicar
8

Letter from Aggy
This year we have moved from total
lockdown to partial lockdown and now
we are not even expected to wear masks
anymore... what an extraordinary time
through which we have lived! Our church
community has navigated and found safe
ways to worship, participate in outreach
and have time for fellowship together. I
think we have managed extremely well and
have continued to do our part in sharing the
love of God in our community, in the wider
community and the planet.
During this time, we’ve worked alongside
the John Ray initiative, this year’s Lent
Appeal, which connects us with the
environment, science and Christianity. We
have organized a welcome party for the
newly arrived Afghan families, welcoming
over forty children and twenty adults. And
most recently, we hosted a community fun
day with the help of the ‘Noise’, joining in
with over 700 Christians across Bristol to
share God’s love with others. Around 150
local people came to join us for fun activities
and the PCSO came by to say “hi” as well.
We had so many wonderful conversations,
and it has helped us to be more visible
within our community, sharing the love
of Christ with our neighbours in practical
ways. We have also partnered with Bristol
Churches Winter Night Shelter, where
members of our congregation cooked and
cared for those in need of a home in some
of the coldest days of winter.
working together to bring the best out of our
community. Our Redcliffe Lunch club is
due to restart soon, it used to be ran mainly
by church members, but this time round,
it will be managed solely by local residents
with some input from the church. This fits
in with the ABCD (Asset Based Community
Development) model that the Outreach
team aspires to: To nurture, equip and
empower the people in our community, and
to be there for them to connect and develop
the strengths and assets that are already in
place. I believe we are seeing some of the
fruits from the seeds that were sown in
years past. The fruits being the impact that
we can see in our community and the fruits
in discipleship and the growth in spiritual
maturity in our church congregation, in you
and in me.
So, a big thank you to the SMR congregation,
the Outreach Team and the SMR staff
members who had been instrumental to the
success of the mission of this church.
Rev Aggy Palairet
Curate
Leadership
Someone said to me the other day that she
felt there is a buzz in our church, there is
just a sense that things are happening, and
that God is at work. And I agree with her
statement, as I have seen the members of this
congregation and people of this community
9

Leadership
Letter from Anthony
2021; a second year dominated in several
ways by the effects of Covid-19. True,
mercifully not in the quite the same way
as 2020 had been, but for many the fallout
from 2020 continued, indeed continues still.
For most people across the country, and
so also in the parish and our church
community, 2021 has been a year that again
brought with it change. Just as in 2020 some
of the change was rapid, responsive and
short-term. Across society other change
will be more prolonged and maybe was
already likely to happen, but the Covid
period has brought it to pass sooner. In that
way the Covid period has been a pivotal
time just as were the two World Wars, albeit
they to a significantly greater extent. It is
the same across all walks of life, and so
too in churches. For many change is not
welcomed, not pleasant, and can be at the
very least unnerving. Others find change
refreshing. One way or another, I suggest,
for many it is not easy; some find it too
rapid, others too slow.
Which brings me to my year! It has been a
year of change at work in a sector that faces
significant adjustments in coming years. It
has been a year of change within St Mary
Redcliffe as we have sought both to maintain
and develop our tradition and yet also learn
and develop new ways. Ways to re-open
church for all to visit, to open and develop
our worship in ways that are accessible to
increased numbers of differing people,
and to communicate more the gospel in
words, worship and action. Amongst this
year of development the ministry team has
developed and grown again and also more
churches in the Deanery have moved into
vacancy. This has changed how often, when
and where we lead worship and preach;
and how often we are actually in St Mary
Redcliffe at particular services, in the
worshipping community in which we are
placed.
Some institutions and organisations are
used to change on a fairly frequent basis,
others are not. My employer is in the first
group even before the “Covid years”, the
Church is definitely in the second. As a
Minister in Secular Employment what can I
bring to the St Mary Redcliffe experience? I
suggest my own experience of change from
the viewpoints of differing groups. Those
finding change significant and not within
their control, those who are proposing
it and introducing it, and those who are
seeking to manage it with least disruption
and most positive effect. Each group faces
their differing particular challenges and
difficulties; the challenge being to realise
the best possible outcome for the work of
the gospel among the existing and potential
congregation, the parish and city in which
we serve.
Rev Anthony Everitt
Associate Vicar
10

11
Leadership

Leadership
Letter from Stephen
As we have come out of lockdown it has
been a privilege and a pleasure for me to
become part of the Ministry Team at St
Mary Redcliffe.
While I have a full-time job working for the
Anglican Communion Office in London, as
its director for theological education, I am
by training and calling a parish priest as
well as a tutor and have been the incumbent
of a number of different parish churches
over the years.
Soon after my wife and I moved to Bristol,
however, the pandemic started, and I was
confined to home. Then in the Spring of
2021 I was given Permission to Officiate by
the Bishop of Bristol and Dan very kindly
welcomed me onto the team as an extra pair
of priestly hands to help out when available
and wherever needed.
occasions. celebrated at 8am and assisted at
10.30 very occasionally, and been a member
of the Theology Book Club, which has
been enriching. I also write the Prayers for
the Anglican Communion paragraph each
week.
I cannot do much at SMR because of the
constraints of my daytime job but am very
happy to lend a hand and to do so at other
churches around the deanery when needed.
Looking ahead, I hope I can get to know
parishioners better and would like to offer
my teaching skills to the parish in some way
when the time is right.
Revd Canon Stephen Spencer
Asssistant Priest
Since then, I have led Morning Prayer
from church once a week or so, presided
and preached at Choral Evensong on a few
12

Leadership
Letter from Simon
Curacy: the first ten months
I was ordained deacon in Bristol Cathedral
on 3rd July last year. I am licensed to SMR,
and Dan is my training incumbent, but I
have also spent time every month with the
chaplain at the St Monica Trust at Cote
Lane, just across the Downs.
being an ordained person – what, come the
summer, being a priest – mean or look like
in the various contexts God has placed me
in? Exciting times!
Revd Simon Goodman
Curate
It has been a year of wonderful “firsts”,
including recently my first baptism and my
first memorial service. My first wedding is
in the diary! It has been a real privilege to be
part of the nurturing and supportive teams
at SMR and at Cote Lane, to preach and
help lead worship and study, to be involved
in the whole life of the church in a new way,
and to minister among such wonderfully
supportive people. Thank you all for your
love and encouragement.
But most of my time is spent neither at SMR
nor at Cote Lane. I have not given up the
barristering, and an ongoing challenge has
been and will continue to be how to balance
the various parts of my life. What does
IMAGE Picking up the Vicar on the way to last
July’s ordination service!
13

Leadership
Churchwardens’ report
For the wardens, as for everyone involved
in the running of SMR, this has been a
difficult year. For a good part of it, we have
(once again) had to act as treasurer, but with
nothing like the expertise which Elizabeth
(to whom we said a fond farewell) brought
to the job. Managing services as we began
to open up the church has been a challenge,
starting with only every third pew in use
and booking of seats – easy enough with the
relatively small number of familiar faces of
our regular congregants; but quite another
matter with large numbers of people, almost
all unknown to us and our wonderful
team of welcomers, at the High Sheriff’s
Legal Service, and at several funerals and
weddings, when the enforcing of social
distancing and the wearing of face coverings
became quite impossible. By stages we
have got to “sit where you please”, masks
only when moving around the church, no
requirement to sign in (but still communion
in only one kind). It’s beginning to feel
almost “normal”; and it has been a joy to be
able to greet old friends, to chat over tea or
coffee, to share worship in person.
We have also had to cover other roles
where there have been staff vacancies. But
now that we have a new treasurer, Samuel
Williams; an in-house finance officer, Maria
Holcombe; and a new Head of Operations,
James Rodliff, this should all change. It is
also an opportunity, indeed a requirement,
to look again at what we expect of wardens –
though there will inevitably be fuzzy edges,
we should aim for a proper job description,
perhaps even with an indication of the likely
time commitment. Without this we are
always going to have trouble finding new
wardens, especially among our younger
members with full-time jobs or families (or
both). There’s no getting away from the fact
that it’s a complex and demanding job, not
least since the PCC took over responsibility
for employing staff, with all that that entails
by way of policies and practices (sickness
absence, pensions, annual leave...). But it is
very rewarding.
We have had great support; from clergy,
from vergers and staff in the office, and
from among the congregation – wardens’
assistants, as we now call sidesmen, and
duty wardens. But that, we suggest, is the
next challenge: we’ve had some losses from
our band of volunteers, and attracted some
new recruits, but we need more, so that we
can spread the load more widely. It would
be particularly good to have more parents
involved in managing our services, although
we know that juggling family needs with
volunteering at SMR is tricky.
Richard Wallace
Senior Churchwarden
Belinda Phillipson
Junior Churchwarden
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15
Leadership

Governance
Parish Office
This year has been one of changes for the
Parish Office. We said goodbye to Roseanna
Wood, our Operation Manager, in May 2021
and Sarah Purdon, our Parish Administrator,
began her maternity leave at the same time.
Heloise, our Head of Administration, has
also begun her maternity leave this year.
We have welcomed Rebecca Rumsey as
temporary Parish Administrator to cover
initially for Sarah and now for Heloise
and our new Operations Manager, James
Rodliff, will be starting with us in early May
2022. Maria Holcombe joined the team in
March 2022 as our Finance Officer, which
is a new role and we currently have Sarra
Dunn working in the office as a temporary
administrator along with Rebecca who
works completely remotely.
We are looking forward to working together
as a team to move St Mary Redcliffe forward.
The Parish Office was physically closed
for most of last year and has only recently
reopened with more staff making the move
to work more from the office again. With
Sarra here we have also been able to open the
Parish Office to external visitors again. The
space itself has had some refurbishment.
Rebecca Rumsey
Parish Administrator
Electoral roll
Electoral Rolls need to be revised annually.
With the new changes to the Church
Representation Rules, names no longer
need to be removed from the roll during
the course of the year; they only need to
be added. Names are still removed, as
appropriate, at the annual revision.
After the completion of a revision of the roll
of a parish, the PCC must publish the roll
(electronically or otherwise) as it decides
for 14 days and make a copy of the roll
available for inspection.
Rolls may be published electronically instead
of in paper form. The roll as published must
include every name entered on the roll but
not other personal data (e.g. addresses).
Once in every six years the preparation
of new church electoral rolls takes place,
which means that everyone must come off
the roll and re-apply. The next occasion for
the preparation of new rolls is in 2025.
Under these rules the Electoral Roll was
created anew in 2019. 2022 is therefore an
in between year so we’ve removed anyone
who is no longer with us and added in any
new applicants.
The numbers for last year (2021) were: 283
on the roll.
The numbers for this year (2022) are: 282
on the roll with 41 in the parish.
Rebecca Rumsey
Electoral Roll Officer
16

17
Governance

Governance
Diocesan Synod
My name is Auriol Britton, also known as
the blind lady who sings. I am on the Bristol
Diocesan Synod and Board of Finance Ltd,
and, Ex Officio, on the Deanery Synod and
Parochial Church Council.
The Diocesan Synod is the decision-making
body of the diocese. It is broader than
the standing committee, (also called the
Bishop’s Council), and makes decisions,
based on reports which the synod receives
and considers at its meetings. The word
Synod is derived from the Greek, and
means Council. The Church of England is
said to be canonically led and synodically
governed. The diocesan synod, (like the
general synod, which is one level above it),
consists of three houses: laity, clergy and
bishops.
Over the last year, there have been three
main meetings of the Diocesan Synod, and
an introductory evening for new members.
Every full synod has a bishop’s address, as
well as considering reports from the General
Synod and Bishop’s Council. (I like to sum
up the activities of the latter as follows: they
had meetings).
At the meeting held in June 2021, which
included the Board of Finance AGM, the
accounts from 2020 were approved, and
auditors appointed.
The synod also approved the safeguarding
report. There was an interview with Dr
Andrew Wills, the independent chairman
of the diocesan safeguarding steering
group, about its role, and safeguarding in
the diocese. My now traditional question,
about numbers of new safeguarding cases,
was forwarded to the meeting in advance,
to be asked publicly.
At the meeting held in November 2021, Liz
Townend, diocesan director of education,
gave a presentation on educational work in
the diocese, including the growth in new
Church schools.
Bishop Lee recapped that investing in
curacies, a previous commitment, would
help to bridge the demographic gap
between forthcoming retirements and
the need to increase numbers of people
in ordainedministry. This is in line with
Church of England policy nationally to
meet stipendiary clergy deployment plans.
Clare Fussell, the diocesan environmental
officer, gave an update on what is being done
about the climate emergency declared by
the diocese approximately two years earlier.
The budget for 2022 was approved.
At the meeting held in March 2022, the
principle task was to consider the first
draft of a new diocesan strategy, entitled
Transforming Church Together. Building
on work done in earlier councils, the synod
considered various questions and reflected
on scripture passages in small groups,
before engaging in a plenary debate on
whether the strategy should be adopted.
Many people praised the aspirations set
out in the strategy, but there were questions
over diversity - reflecting all ten protected
characteristics in the Equality Act, the
financing of the strategy - doing more with
less money, and such matters as eccumenical
partnerships and those with other faith
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Governance
groups. The synod voted to accept the draft
report, on the understanding that much
work still needs to be done, and that the
revised strategy will be returned to synod
for consideration in June. The diocese
can now go ahead and apply for funding
to help to implement the strategy. The
diocese always likes to have a strategy, and
usually thefunding follows the project in
the Church of England. The latest strategy,
arguably the best yet, (though none has ever
come to much hitherto), emerged following
extensive consultations with individuals
and groups from across the diocese, making
good use of pandemic time. The synod also
argued about amendments to motions,
and adopted some updates to governance
measures in the Church.
in democratic governance, so please all
do throw your hats into the ring when the
next diocesan synod is chosen, in 2024. We
have a bright group of people at present,
scrutineers, with a range of knowledge
and experience, not merely yes-men and
yes-women, but we still need more, as
well as to keep talent and expertise on the
synod refreshed, give more people a turn
at governance. For best results, we need
people who are astute, and who will read
documents in advance of meetings, ask
difficult questions.
Auriol Britton
I was only able to attend the third synod,
due to other commitments. However, I
enjoy synods, and generally regard it as an
honour and privilege to be involved.
We need lots more people to be included
19

Governance
Deanery Synod
Deanery Synod meets on average three times
a year in the spring, summer and autumn
(last summer’s meeting was postponed until
September due to Covid). Synod has met in
March this year and further meetings are
planned for July and September. Anyone
interested in the theme or subject being
presented is very welcome to come —
Synods since last year have been based on
the Five Marks of Christian Mission (see
below), with meetings to date taking one of
these as its theme.
A bit of background
In lieu of an open meeting, the first Synod
of last year (March) was a Transforming
Church workshop held on zoom for
Deanery clergy and Lay representatives. The
zoom ‘chat’ record shows a focus of concern
on relationships, compassion and relating
well in the wake of the pandemic, as seen
in recent reports to church — the Diocesan
Synod report for A Year at Redcliffe 2020
and the Deanery Synod report for the
church APCM 2021 (November 2020
Synod meeting) — all of which is congruent
with the Pastoral Principles for Living
and Learning Well Together introduced at
church last summer.
Two Synods
Last September’s Synod took at its starting
point the third Mark, “responding in loving
service”, and was billed as an invitation to
explore this area of mission in a creative,
interactive gathering — the images here
show details of work from a short, simple
creative activity designed to encourage
talk and reflection via the use of relevant
words and accessible art materials. The
evening was structured around a reflection
on scripture led by Canon Derek Maddox
(St Andew’s Hartcliffe and Withywood)
and facilitated by images of his work;
questions for discussion introduced by
Revd Tim Godden (Assistant Area Dean)
who asked us to reflect on the importance
of ‘responding in loving service’ — followed
by small group discussion led by Simon
Williams (Licensed Lay Minister, St Luke’s
Brislington) and the outlet for creative
expression (creative activity provided by
artists Carrie Farebrother and myself). The
evening concluded with worship led by
Revd Becky Waring, the Area Dean. Many
who came said how much they valued the
discussion time, and how working alongside
each other (on a creative activity) helped
enable both human connection and the to
and fro of ideas.
Going forward, the March Synod this year
explored the fifth Mark, “safeguarding
the integrity of creation and sustaining
and renewing the life of the earth”, out
of increasing concern for the state of the
natural world. Synod invited Revd John
White, curate at Hazelnut Community
Farm, to speak to Synod. Hazelnut Farm is
a fresh expression of church with a vision
of “churches and communities flourishing
in the ecological crisis”. One of its current
projects is The Creation Project, an
interactive travelling art exhibition on
loan to churches, designed with the idea
of inspiring conversation around ecology,
climate change, and communities growing
together in Christ. St Martin’s Knowle
hosted the exhibition for the week of the
Synod, and (based on September’s format)
John led an extended scriptural reflection
(“inspiring”
20

Governance
and “captivating” were common reactions),
with the exhibition providing points for
discussion and creative interaction (some of
its works being interactive).
Also happening
Canon Derek Maddox, an artist, has started
an art group in the Deanery, the idea for
which is to enable people to explore faith
and experience with reference to visual
means. The group is open to anyone;
conversation about pieces produced round
the table is thought-provoking and lively.
Highly recommended (no previous art
experience necessary), and Canon Derek
held a service on Passion Sunday at which
members’ works were an integral part of the
expression of worship.
Summing up
I have been asked to reflect on my role and
on developments going forward for the work
of the Synod. Firstly, I am relatively new to
Synod and my role, and am not yet as well
acquainted with either as I might wish — but
with the emerging emphasis on creativity
I have found it absorbing in ways I hadn’t
anticipated. Also, the news items above
are but aspects of activity in the Deanery.
Secondly, regarding developments, Becky,
our Area Dean, would like to encourage
more lay participation at Synod given that
there are vacancies across the Deanery.
Lastly, I second that. Besides Synod being
“the place where ... the parish is first heard
beyond the PCC” and its role in considering
“matters referred to it from Diocesan or
General Synod”, it is a clear opportunity to
share resources, ideas and good practice
locally and to practise love of neighbours.
Eleanor Vousden
Lay Chair, South Bristol Deanery
The Five Marks of Christian Mission:
1. To proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom;
[Tell]
2. To teach, baptise and nurture new believers;
[Transform]
3. To respond to human need by loving service;
[Teach]
4. To seek to transform unjust structures of
society, to challenge violence of every kind
and to pursue peace and reconciliation;
[Tend]
5. To strive to safeguard the integrity of
creation and sustain and renew the life of
the earth. [Treasure]
21

Governance
Safeguarding report
As always, the role of Safeguarding Officer
remains important and potentially even
more so in these uncharted times caused
by Covid 19 and its aftermath and more
recently with the anxieties about the safety
of our world in the light of the war in
Ukraine.
Our church community remains grateful
for the continued support of the many
volunteers, who have been supporting
activities coordinated by Becky James,
Andrew Kirk and David Cousins.
ask all members of the church community to
stay vigilant and be aware of potential risks
to children, young people and vulnerable
adults. And if there are any worries then
please do not hesitate to contact myself or
Dan or Kat. I look forward to carrying on
with this role to the best of my ability and
thank people for their continued support of
this very important area of work.
Esther Keller
Parish Safeguarding Officer
We are grateful that face to face activities have
resumed and our safeguarding procedures
remain strong and unchanged. Anybody
working with children, young people and
vulnerable adults must go through our
safeguarding vetting procedure. We have
carried out in excess of 20 such checks over
the past year.
We have used the Parish Safeguarding
Dashboard to monitor our Safeguarding
Policies and Procedures. Safeguarding
Training remains to be done online for
the foreseeable future and sessions are
organised through the diocese. New
recruits/volunteers will be signposted to the
relevant training and ongoing and refresher
training will also be signposted to relevant
staff and volunteers.
Our policies and procedures can be found on
our website www.stmaryredcliffe.co.uk - we
22

Governance
Finance report
This will necessarily be a short report
since, at the time of writing, the financial
statements for the year ending 31 December
are not to hand. Based, however, on the
management accounts for the year, we can
say that it looks as if we shall end up with a
deficit of something less than £50,000, which
is in line with our budgeted expectation.
It is particularly good to report that despite
the closure of the church for a good part
of the year, and therefore much-reduced
income from visitors and other sources such
as weddings and performances, and the loss
of open-plate collections, income has held
up very well, thanks largely to the generosity
of the congregation and others who support
our work from further afield. But visitors
are back, the shop is open, and goods are
now available and selling well on line. We
have also saved money from carrying staff
vacancies, though that is coming to an end.
Our balance sheet remains strong, and our
reserves are more than sufficient to cover us
in the event of a major turn-down. Formally,
this means that we can, hand on heart, state
that we are a “going concern”.
We are grateful, as always, to the Church
Lands Charity for their support, particularly
of our staff and fabric costs, and also to the
Temple Ecclesiastical Charity. We are also
very pleased to say that the trustees of the
Redcliffe Parish Charity have undertaken
to give us the greater part of their annual
income, some £6,000 a year, to support the
work of our outreach team in the parish.
During the year we received a most generous
legacy, in the form of the proceeds from the
sale of a flat here in Bristol previously owned
by the late Alberdina Tiemens, a Dutch
woman who came to Bristol every year and
worshipped at SMR. We hope to use some
of this money to fund, for a period, two new
posts to develop our events programme
and our volunteer capacity, with the aim of
increasing our income.
We are also pleased to say that we have
a new treasurer, which will enable the
wardens to lay down this burden so
reluctantly assumed. A warm welcome,
therefore, to Samuel Williams, who has
also joined the PCC. No less encouraging
is the appointment of Maria Holcombe as
our in-house finance officer, to do the bookkeeping
work hitherto done by an outside
firm of accountants, and – to judge from a
few weeks’ experience – to do a great deal
more besides. We are very hopeful that these
two, building on the work done by Elizabeth
during 2020, will further transform the
management of SMR’s finances.
Richard Wallace
Senior Churchwarden
Belinda Phillipson
Junior Churchwarden
23

Development, buildings and fabric
Project 450
Following a difficult few years, the project
team recently begun the final stage
of architectural planning prior to the
submission of a full planning application
for new built facilities, which we expect will
take place during 2023. The next six months
will be spent reviewing information, reanalysing
options, refining the design
scheme and producing architectural
drawings of the final architectural concept,
while preparing a fundraising campaign to
support the creation of the new facilities. This
comes as something of a relief since, prior to
getting going again the team experienced a
difficult couple of years, as project planning
slowed down significantly to take account
of the uncertainties associated with Covid
and a desire, on the part of the project team
and project funders (Church Lands Charity
and Canynges Society), to conduct a project
review in response to these uncertainties.
Over the years, architectural planning
for the new built facilities has responded
to a series of studies commissioned from
consultants with expertise in areas such
as heritage significance, interpretation,
business planning and fundraising. In 2016
Fundraising Consultant Eric Grounds
produced a Fundraising Feasibility Study
and Strategy, which had since been
updated on two occasions, the last iteration
appearing in 2018. In 2019, Glevum Heritage
Consultants produced a Business Plan
for the church. This plan details a phased
approach to business development over
a seven-year period that will drive visitor
numbers from 40,000 to 140,000 through
an enhanced visitor welcome, exhibition
programme and hospitality offer. All of this
will, in turn, drive an increase in income
generation to support the development
of new activities and the creation of new
posts that will, in turn, support long-term
organisational sustainability. While the
Fundraising Strategy and Business Plan in
their original and revised forms are detailed
and robust studies, the onset of Covid cast
doubt on the findings of both: would the
findings be relevant in a post-Covid world?
Potential major donors might be affected by
24

Development, buildings and fabric
a decrease in business and a reduction in
the value of investments and so be unable
to donate; visitor numbers might suffer due
to restrictions on international travel and a
reticence on the part of domestic audiences
to visit public spaces due to the threat of
infection. Accordingly, during the first and
second years of Covid, the project team and
funders recognised a need to pause, take a
step back and review these documents to
ensure that the informational foundations
of Project 450 remain strong. This has
meant playing a waiting game while the
impact of Covid has become more clear.
While the world has not yet returned to its
pre-Covid state we feel that it is now viable
to carry out the reviews. This process will
now take place this summer and will help
to inform the final stage of architectural
planning. Following a positive meeting
with the planning department in late 2020
and the submission of a planning pre-app
shortly afterwards, we have received helpful
advice from the planning department about
what the remaining architectural planning
work needs to cover. The two initial pieces
of work that have been requested by the
planners, and which are currently being
worked on by our architects Hall McNight,
are a Statement of Significance and an
Archaeological Review, which will pull
together work that has been carried out
during the life of the project and provide
updates where necessary. These two pieces
of work will provide a foundation for the last
stage of planning. Helpfully, the Planning
Manager who will have responsibility
for our assessing the church’s planning
application has committed to a process
of pre-application consultation, that will
involve the the planning department and
other statutory stakeholders, including
Historic England. This process should help
to ensure that the submitted scheme has the
best possible chance of receiving planning
permission in 2023.
Rhys Williams
Project 450 Officer
25

Development, buildings and fabric
Fabric report (a)
Once every five years all the CofE churches
in England are required under church law
to have a quinquennial inspection of their
building.
In 2022, the inspection is due for St Mary
Redcliffe and to do this, I have to spend a
number of days inspecting all aspects of
the building. The survey starts with roofs,
rainwater goods and walls, considers each
of the windows, the churchyard and the
entire interior of the church including all
the roof spaces.
The conclusion of the inspection is a report
with recommendations for repairs. High
priority works need to be undertaken within
the next twelve months and lower priority
works need to be scheduled for some
point in the next 5 years. The high priority
works generally relate to Health and Safety
matters. In addition, a longer-term plan is
also being developed to consider the next
20-year period and the associated potential
costs. In addition to the report itself, there
is also a requirement to carry out a fiveyearly
electrical test and this will similarly
be carried out this year.
of the spire, the roped access conservator
abseils down each of the eight sides and
records the condition of the masonry on
survey drawings that have previously been
prepared.
Over the last twelve months, the main
project undertaken has been the re-lighting
of the chancel and this, combined with the
previous phases to relight the Lady Chapel
now means that the east end of the church
has been entirely re-lit.
Other projects undertaken include minor
masonry repairs and footpath repairs.
As always, it is a great privilege to be involved
in the upkeep of this magnificent building
and it is a joy to be able to inspect some of
the rarely visited parts of the church and to
reflect on its remarkable construction.
Marcus Chantrey
Inspecting Architect
Such is the uniqueness of the spire, that a
policy has also been adopted to undertake
a five-yearly detailed inspection of the spire.
As previously, this will be undertaken by
Philip Scorer of Vitruvius - Philip has been
inspecting the spire for approximately 20
years and over this time the condition of each
stone has been monitored and recorded.
Access to the top of the spire is provided by
Dawsons Steeplejacks who secure a ladder
to the outside thereby allowing ‘easy’ access
for the roped access team. Once at the top
26

Development, buildings and fabric
Fabric report (b)
The major project during the year was Phase
Three of the re-lighting of the church with
low-energy fittings and improvements to the
control systems. We have now completed
everything to the east of the chancel
steps; the chancel vault looks particularly
splendid. This required scaffolding, and the
closure of the chancel for a period of weeks;
but we simply reverted to what we had got
used to at an early stage of re-opening, with
the choir in the south transept and services
conducted from the boat altar at the
crossing. Lesser works include: repair and
re-pointing of the north steps; re-bedding
a number of paving-stones on the paths in
the north churchyard; repairs to pews and
pew platforms; replacement of some locks;
improved lighting and the installation of
a handrail to improve safety in the north
aisle stair from the choir vestry, now used
by choir and servers to enter the church;
and various small electrical repairs and
improvements.
In prospect: major works are, first, the
cleaning of the exterior of the south
porch, together with minor repairs to the
masonry; and secondly, the installation of
photovoltaic cells on parts of the high roofs;
there are considerable technical challenges
to be overcome, but we are hopeful of
taking this further step towards lowering
our carbon footprint and making this
response to Bishop Viv’s call to make the
diocese carbon-neutral by 2030. The recent
inspection of the spire has revealed a certain
amount of work that needs to be done; and
no doubt the quinquennial review due this
year will throw up many (usually small)
jobs that need to be done, with varying
degrees of urgency. We also expect a report
by the diocese’s disability adviser on works
needed to improve access to and within the
building, and to its contents, for those with
disabilities of all kinds. There will also be
some improvements to the ringing chamber.
There is also the vexed question of the
“Colston” window in the north transept.
I am pleased to report that the Diocesan
Chancellor has accepted our proposal to
run a competition to provide a design for
four glass panels to replace those removed
at the time of the Black Lives Matter
protests. Taking its cue from the story of
the Good Samaritan, the theme will be not
“Go, and do thou likewise”, the command
with which the story ends, but “And who is
my neighbour?”, the question with which
it begins. This competition will be quite
a long process, so it will be in next year’s
report that further details will be given.
I record my thanks to the Church Lands
Charity and the Canynges Society for their
continuing support, and to staff at the
Diocesan Advisory Committee for their
ever-ready help and advice. I hope to hand
over in due course much of the work on
fabric to the new Head of Operations, James
Rodliff; but I expect to remain involved to at
least some extent for some time yet.
Richard Wallace
Senior Churchwarden
27

Development, buildings and fabric
The Canynges Society
A second year of a new way of living
and meeting. The Canynges Society has
continued in its support of St Mary Redcliffe
in a different way.
Once we started to learn how to work
in a Covid restricted world, many of us
discovered Zoom and Teams. This form
of communication was able to allow work
meetings, social exchanges and even quiz
nights. There was no reason why this could
not extend to the act of worship. When we
could see Rev Dan Tyndall doing a great job
to get the lid of the laptop with its camera
to point the right way, we could all see an
immediate challenge and opportunity.
The Canynges Society was delighted to
fund the installation of the new virtual
equipment into the church. The results
were immediately clear to see and hear.
How has this impacted? – in lockdown the
congregation was still able to join acts of
worship, new congregation from not just
Bristol but across the country and even
overseas. The other new opportunity that
has opened up is to be able to join this via
the recordings at any time of day or night.
Since the Canynges Society was re-formed in
1848 it has provided a support to the fabric
of the Church. We are so lucky to have such
an import landmark building at the heart
of Redcliffe. Much has and will continue
to change around it, but this magnificent
building and the spiritual support it provides
continues.
help us. One such event was the ancient
conduit given to the parish by Lord Robert
de Berkeley in 1190, and we give thanks
for the gift of fresh water. The Pipe route
covers just under two miles from the spring
near St Barnabas Church in Daventry Road
through Lower Knowle and Bedminster to
Redcliffe Hill. It takes in Victoria Park and
the pipe ends just inside the church gate
on Redcliff Hill where a Latin inscription
commemorates Lord Robert de Berkely’s
philanthropy. This translates as:
For the health of the soul of Robert Berkeley
who gave to God and the church of St Mary
Redcliffe and its minister the Rugewell and
conduit. AD 1190 erected.
It is with this length of history that we
volunteer our time and knowledge to raise
funds to continue the wellbeing of St Mary
Redcliffe.
We are always looking for new supporters
and members, as old buildings are in constant
need of repair and at times upgrading. We
hope by the end of 2022 there will be new
film showing this building at our centre in
ways never seen before. It will be free for all
to see and appreciate.
Richard Clarke
President of the Canynges Society
It is important that we understand the sense
of place in which we live and while history
is unclear from very early days, some events
28

29
Development, buildings and fabric

Development, buildings and fabric
The Church Lands Charity
What is the Church Lands Charity?
St Mary Redcliffe Church Lands Charity
(CLC for short) is a historic registered
charity which has for many years provided
support to the church and the PCC for the
funding of fabric repairs and projects, staff
salaries, and church expenses and by making
available premises for use as the Parish
Office and for church staff accommodation.
Where does CLC’s funding come from?
CLC’s endowment largely dates back to the
gift of Elizabeth Ist who gave back to trustees
the property which had been confiscated by
her father, Henry VIII. At that time and for
several centuries afterwards the endowment
would have been almost entirely land and
buildings, hence the name of the charity.
In more recent times most of the land has
been sold and the proceeds reinvested in
stock market investments which generate
income available for distribution.
Who controls CLC, and is it connected
with the PCC?
CLC is legally separate from the PCC but its
charitable ”objects” are in many ways similar
to those of the PCC. CLC is managed
by a board of directors of its corporate trustee
who can include the Vicar and Churchwardens
in an “ex-officio” capacity. This involves
some careful management to avoid a
conflict of interest arising.
CLC have recently appointed seven new
directors, following a recruitment exercise
undertaken through an executive search
agency. CLC’s aim had been not only to
identify directors with appropriate skills but
also to increase the overall diversity of the
board and we feel that we have made good
progress in both respects.
What have been the main CLC activities
since the last CLC update in the 2020 edition
of “A Year at Redcliffe”?
CLC has continued to support the PCC by
appropriate grants covering both fabric,
staff and church expenses. The fall in future
income which was predicted at the start of
the pandemic has not so far seriously impacted
on CLC’s ability to continue with
this funding.
The largest fabric grant has been directed
to the Phase 2 of the church lighting project.
Some of the other planned funding has
been carried forward as the fabric projects
have taken longer than expected to come to
fruition – at least in part due to the pandemic
– but many other smaller items of work
to the church and churchyard have been
funded. For similar reasons there have been
delays in carrying out some of the planned
repairs to CLC’s own properties.
CLC are a major funder of the design costs
associated with the PCC’s Project 450. During
the last year while there has been a pause
in design work CLC have commissioned
and shared with the PCC an independent
review of project progress. This has cleared
the way for a resumption of funding for the
design work.
Looking forward to the year ahead.
Most, but not all, of the new director
recruits were not members of the church
congregation but were attracted by the iconic
church building and the opportunities for
charitable works in the parish. This will
30

Development, buildings and fabric
perhaps lead to a change of emphasis in the
strategic direction of the charity, which is
now under active discussion.
For the last decade or more CLC and
the PCC has been going through a
process of separating their activities in
accordance with their legal requirements
as independent charities. This process is
now nearly complete. The challenge going
forward for both CLC and PCC is to devise
and implement ever improving methods of
working as closely together as their roles of
funder and beneficiary permit.
Some readers may want to know what has
happened to some of the traditional CLC
events, such as the Easter Vestry and the
Oyster Supper. There has of course been a
hiatus caused by the Covid pandemic which
has presented an opportunity for us to
review these and make them more relevant
to the current operational practices,
including the fact that CLC’s financial year
has now been changed to the calendar year
in order to bring it into line with the PCC’s
financial year. We hope to complete that
review during the course of this year.
CLC’s Annual Business Meeting is scheduled
for this June, at which point Dan Schnurr
will be taking over the chairmanship.
John Dunn
Chair of the Board of Directors SMRCLC
31

Development, buildings and fabric
Temple Ecclesiastical Charity
Temple Ecclesiastical Charity is a local
charity that supports the work of the Church
of England in Bristol.
It provides an annual grant to both the
parish of St Mary Redcliffe and the diocese
of Bristol. It also considers and gives grants
to other Church of England projects within
Bristol.
The Charity is an amalgamation of the
Church Lands and other ecclesiastical
charities of the ancient parish of Temple
or Holy Cross in Bristol which includes
the former parish church in Victoria Street
which was gutted in the Second World War.
Despite stock market uncertainties TEC was
able to provide grants in 2021 to support:
• Several CAP (Christians Against
Poverty) debt centres,
• the provisions of Covid measures to
enable use of a children’s’ soft play area,
• the Bristol Schools Connection Easter
and Christmas in a box schemes,
• the provision of technical equipment to
enable online services,
• a community woodworking project
associated with a local food bank,
• an online marriage course,
• a number of different church roof and
fabric repair projects, and
• A children and families support worker.
For more information about the charity, the
grants they’ve given and how to apply for a
grant please visit the TEC website at
www.templecharity.co.uk
or talk to Dan Tyndall or Greca Warr, both
of whom sit on the Temple Ecclesiastical
Charity board of trustees.
Greca Warr
Trustee
Temple Ecclesiastical Charity
32

33
Development, buildings and fabric

Worship
Sung Eucharist
Reading the lesson
We have a number of people who read
the lessons at the 10.30am Sung Eucharist
Service and are always happy to welcome
new readers of all ages.
If you think this might be something you
would like to do please be in touch and you
can be added to the list. Usually the rota
is issued twice a year although currently we
are doing things a little differently and rotas
are covering a shorter period of time.
Readings are e-mailed by the Vergers on
Friday but, if people want to look at it sooner,
the whole service, including the readings,
can be accessed from Friday onwards on the
St Mary Redcliffe website:
www.stmaryredcliffe.co.uk
Intercessions
We also have a small team, which we would
like to expand, of people who prepare the
prayers of intercession each week and, again,
if this is something you might be interested
in doing, do please be in touch. A training
session is going to be organised in the near
future and this is probably a good first step.
Please do be in touch either with a member
of the clergy or with me and we can take the
necessary steps for you to be involved in
either or both the above.
Denise Reynolds
dandtreynolds@blueyonder.co.uk
34

35
Worship

Worship
Music
It was the best of times;
it was the worst of times
(Charles Dickens – A tale of Two Cities)
Since writing the last APCM music report
in 2019, lots of things had changed due to
the pandemic and the series of lockdowns
from March 2020 onwards. Even tracing
back some of the choir records during the
two world wars in the twentieth century, it
appears that rehearsals and services mostly
continued uninterrupted. I wonder how
historians of future generations will view
the physical closure of church buildings
across the UK, as happened in Spring 2020?
Thankfully in the past six months, the
choirs and other musical elements at SMR
have been able to get back on track, which
is good news. It’s taken quite a lot of careful
planning, especially with the boys choir,
where 70% of the boys have joined in the
past two years and are learning from scratch.
The reorganisation of the Sunday services
works well for the choir: the shorter Mattins
(half an hour) is popular with the singers – it
would be good to further develop the reach
of this. There is no doubt that livestreaming
has added to the church staff workload, with
the added pressures, although there are
plenty of benefits too.
Many things are going well again. One
measure of success is numbers in our choirs:
we currently have 18 boys, 22 girls and
16 adults. A recruitment drive in summer
2020 through social media and choir parent
support brought us 20 new boys and girl
choristers- a fantastic result! The spirit
of goodwill in Lockdown One was a real
benefit here. There was a good momentum
at a time when many other things seemed
to stop.
Dan Tyndall and I organised two webinars
for Directors of Music and some clergy at
other major churches to discuss recruitment
and retention of choristers, along with a
separate strand to look at livestreaming. This
was really fruitful, along with the excellent
36

Worship
support at this time from the Royal School
of Church Music.
I would as usual like to take this opportunity
to thank my musical colleagues, choristers
and their families, Clergy and the Church
Lands Charity (Vestry) for their continued
support of the music at the church,
especially over the past two years when
things have been so different. The Alsop
family were able to contribute as a family to
the singing at some of our major services,
and extra thanks are extended to them for
their support.
During the pandemic ‘the best of times’
included Zoom choir practices when we
were able to get to know each other better.
We could properly celebrate birthdays, news
from home, school or remote learning, as
well as have quizzes. All of this enabled us
to keep the various sections of our choirs
together as a cohesive group. The less
good aspect was that it was difficult to sing
together due to the different connection
speeds on zoom, so learning was mostly
by rote.
The worst bit of the lockdowns was not
being able to meet at all for long periods.
Although it was possible to record some
hymns on the organ, along with a few bits
and pieces of ‘virtual choir’ for Rush Sunday
2020 (which was professionally produced),
it was a difficult time. On Sundays when
church was closed for public worship,
many of us longed for the SMR sounds of
choir, congregation and organ but we coped
somehow.
Our Thursday Lunchtime at Redcliffe Organ
Concerts 1-1.50pm resumed in February
2022. Instead of 40 concerts per year, we are
now hosting 24 concerts in three series of
eight per year – a simpler, humbler, bolder
approach. At the end of March, we were just
beginning to see audience numbers get back
towards normal. I would like to encourage
more members of the congregation to
support these events – the music is often
37

Worship
eclectic, with ‘something for everyone’. We
have one of the finest church organs in the
UK – a real heritage instrument.
Looking to the future, I think the past two
years have led to deeper thought about
future areas of development and what our
priorities may be.
Recruitment to all the choirs will remain a
big priority – we have spaces for more boys,
girls and adults. A successful Chorister
Recruitment Day was held on a Sunday
afternoon in September 2021 where we
hoped to swell our numbers further,
but strangely, this didn’t really pay huge
dividends, although it was fun.
perhaps needs different methods than were
used a few years ago. Are we nurturing
choristers enough in faith? We have an
open door policy, where choir families are
not expected to be committed churchgoers
in order for their child to enrol.
There aren’t really any quick solutions
here, especially when the church is busy
with so many different projects. The social
aspect of the choir, which we were able to
develop remotely in lockdowns, is definitely
something to ensure we invest enough time
in the future. There’s plenty to think about!
Andrew Kirk
Director of Music & Organist
One area for development is how our
church and choir might respond to the
increased busyness of Sundays with its
competing elements as a family day, Sunday
sports and other leisure activities. We have
already made some adjustments to the choir
schedule – now almost unrecognisable
from the pattern I inherited in 2003. Should
or could we be looking at more weekday
offerings of sung worship? Attendance at
after school weekday practices is usually
very high, less so on Sundays, so a logical
step forward might be to offer Compline or
other services, not necessarily every week,
but perhaps on a seasonal basis.
There are almost 40 children aged 7-16
involved in our music programme. I believe
there is further scope for working together
with Children’s Church, of which our
choristers are of course a part. We had begun
to take some steps towards this before the
pandemic. Time is limited for choristers,
so encouraging them to explore their faith
further through baptism or confirmation
38

39
Worship

Welcoming
Stewarding
As Head Steward I compile the Stewards’
monthly Rotas and communicate all
information about their roles (by email
if possible or by post if they do not have
computers). In pairs our 35 Stewards
volunteer to welcome visitors into church
either in the morning or afternoon, weekly,
fortnightly or monthly.
Since the last “A Year at Redcliffe” stewarding
has been quite disjointed because the
Church was not open for several weeks
due to Covid restrictions then closed on
Mondays between 3rd August 2021 and 4th
April this year. Sessions have now reverted
to 3 hours (from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 1
p.m. to 4 p.m.) having been reduced to 2.5
hours. All Stewards are to be congratulated
on their willingness to adapt to changing
circumstances and for offering to cover for
others’ absence on occasions.
They are encouraged to record in the
Stewards’ diary where visitors come from
(UK and abroad) and to use clickers to
count them. We have recently welcomed
visitors from all over the world and some
of the more unusual places of origin
included Kazakhstan, Lithuania, Venezuela,
Zimbabwe, Saudi Arabia and Panama. The
recorded number of visitors between 3rd
August and 20th November 2021 and 21st
February and 9th April 2022 was 10,141.
church but sometimes these are declined if
they just wish to look, to pray or to light a
candle and we must respect their choices.
There is a Handbook under the Stewards’
desk to assist with the answering of many
questions about different aspects of St.
Mary Redcliffe. People often tell us of
connections they have with our church, like
family members being baptised, married or
having funerals there. We are often asked
whether we are the Cathedral and it is good
that we can give visitors the Bristol City
Council tear-off maps showing its location.
Unfortunately some Stewards have
announced that they are no longer able
to continue to welcome visitors to church
so new Stewards would be very warmly
welcomed. If you would like to be part
of this very interesting, valuable form of
volunteering please contact Marion Durbur.
By email: marionatberkeley@talktalk.net
By phone: 0117 9422196
Marion Durbur
Head Steward
Written guides in several different languages
are available for visitors to use while in
40

Welcoming
Treefest
After a year’s break due to the Covid
Pandemic when Treefest was held online,
it was joyous to see a wonderful display of
decorated Christmas trees in December
2021.
There was a real sense of excitement during
set up day as the makers decorated their
trees. The 45 trees were submitted by local
charities, children’s groups, church groups,
businesses and individuals.
The way in which the trees are created
continues to amaze me year after year with
many of the decorations & trees being
handmade, the makers creative skills are
endless. Highlights being a tree made from
a Bell Tent, a tree made of presents, trees
made from recycled wood, cable drums &
recycled books.
Tree entries were lower this year than in
previous years with many organisations
& businesses’ unable to submit a tree due
to staff shortages and groups not meeting
to create the trees. Quite a few new
organisations joined us for the first time and
will be entering a tree again this year.
We invited Changes Bristol – a local peer
support mental health charity that provides
a support network for those suffering mental
distress - to be our nominated charity along
with the St Mary Redcliffe Community
project team to support the work they do
within Redcliffe. Both provided displays
about the work they both do and Changes
held an interactive event on the Saturday.
Every day the church was filled with
glorious music provided by local choirs and
musicians, many of whom were so excited
to be performing live for the first time in
2 years. They are all looking forward to
returning in 2022.
As with any event like this there are many
people to thank for their hard work &
support. Treefest would not be possible
without the generous support of our
sponsors, this year being Redcliffe & Temple
Business Improvement District and Queens
Square Chambers. Their generosity helped
to make Treefest 2021 a huge success.
A big thank you must be given to The SMR
Refreshments team who provided tea, coffee
and homemade cake to visitors, every day.
Special thanks to Cakesmiths a local baker
who generously donated cakes for visitors
alongside members of St Mary Redcliffe
congregation.
Special thanks must also be given to all the
people who volunteered to welcome visitors
as stewards during Treefest. It is always a
challenge to get enough people to volunteer
their time to act as stewards and this year
proved really challenging.
Finally thanks to all the SMR staff who
provided support during Treefest.
41

Welcoming
To help make Treefest 2022 a success, there
are 3 areas where we need help. We need
more trees – anyone can enter a tree from
1ft to 7ft. It would be wonderful if more
SMR congregation members would enter a
tree, imagine a church full of beautiful trees
made by families and individuals within the
SMR family. Let’s all try this year to decorate
a tree for Treefest.
Secondly we desperately need more
volunteers to help greet our visitors, to look
after the trees and help serve refreshments.
Please consider how you might help support
this annual church event.
Thirdly I need more help organising the
event, if you can offer time to work on
planning this year’s Treefest please contact
me.
Liz Hewitt
Treefest Coordinator
treefest18@gmail.com
42

43
Welcoming

Heritage, visitor experience and retail
Heritage, tours and shop
2020 marked the 250 anniversary of the
poet Thomas Chatterton’s untimely death
in 1770 at the age of seventeen. Chatterton
and his family had a strong association with
St Mary Redcliffe and the boy poet’s faux
medieval verse is said to have been inspired
by medieval manuscripts that were found
in the Muniment Room above the Outer
North Porch.
In 2019, Bristol Cultural Development
Partnership, now known as Bristol Ideas,
won funding from the National Lottery
Heritage Fund, to organise a multi-site
commemoration of the poet’s life work
and legacy, involving many of the heritage,
cultural, arts and charitable organisations in
Bristol. The project, named Bristol: A Poetic
City, was geared towards commemorating
Chatterton and his achievements, but also
encouraging engagement with poetry and
other forms of literature - whether through
reading, writing or performing - among
Bristol’s various communities.
The church received £10,000 in funding
to deliver a series of outcomes that would
raise the profile of the poet and his main
source of inspiration: the church. The
funding was also geared towards updating
the Chatterton-related interpretation that
can be found in the Chatterton Room. At
the beginning of March 2020, one of the
most pleasing outcomes of this project was
the recruitment of fifteen new volunteer
tour guides to take Chatterton-themed tours
around the church. This group was a made
up from a mixture of university students,
retired heritage enthusiasts, writers and
local historians, as well as members of the
local community.
Unfortunately, due to the intervention
of Covid in March 2020, the Poetic City
project, in most part, had to be paused. This
included the planned programme of tours to
the Chatterton Room. Fortunately, although
some of the new volunteers drifted away
during the enforced hiatus, a smaller group
remained available to volunteer following
the church’s reopening in August 2021.
These volunteers have enabled a programme
of Friday Tours and Saturday Chatterton
Room Open Days since then, attracting new
audiences to and broadening awareness of
the church. Initially, while our volunteers
learned about the history of the church
and gained confidence in presenting this
information to visitors, the tours were made
available for free. However, since March, we
have been charging £4.00 per ticket so that
the tours can begin to contribute towards
eventual financial sustainability. We are also
collecting feedback from visitors to find
out what’s working well and what might be
improved. Responses have, so far, been very
encouraging. Here’s an example of a five star
review from a visitor named Pauline:
We did a guided tour of St Mary Redcliffe
Church, which was informative and very
interesting. We even got to go up to the
Chatterton Room that was used by the young
poet Thomas Chatterton. This was accessed
by going up (and back down) a steep spiral
staircase, so not suitable for all but well
worth a visit. We also learnt about other
notable figures that have memorials in the
church. The guides were knowledgeable and
provided us with good facts without being
boring!
44

Heritage, visitor experience and retail
It’s important to link this project and other
income-generating departments such as
the shop - more on which later - with the
projections included in the organisational
Business Plan, which was commissioned in
2019 as a Project 450 study, to inform the
design of the proposed new facilities.
The Business Plan is a significant document
that provides a strategy for operational
expansion, including an incremental
expansion of the staff team and an associated
increase in public-facing and incomegenerating
activities. Based on this increase
in activity, the plan projects an increase
in visitor numbers and income that will
support short- to medium-term growth over
a seven year period, broadly coinciding with
the projected opening of the new facilities.
It is intended that - as well as supporting
succeeding phases during the process of
architectural planning and construction -
the various outcomes of this development
will act as a platform for consolidation and
growth in the years following the opening
of the new facilities, promoting long term
organisational sustainability.
What the Business Plan says
The Business Plan identifies a series of
actions that should be taken to increase
visitor numbers and develop new or
enhanced revenue streams:
• Increase donations by developing an
attractive interpretation and visitor
o ff e r
• Introduce heritage tours
• Introduce tower and roof tours
• Increase income by increasing the café
and retail spend per head
• Develop the learning offer
• Return the Hogarth altarpiece to the
church
• Improve the front of house/visitor
welcome
• Develop a well-trained and diverse
volunteer team to help deliver the
visitor offer
Phased expansion and improvements
The Business Plan recommends that the
church should adopt a six-phase approach
to operational expansion taking place over
a 7.5 yr period, as a strategic framework
for carrying out the actions listed above.
This includes the phased employment of
new staff members needed to deliver the
activities that will deliver against the income
projections of the Business Plan.
During the first phase of the operational
development strategy, it is intended that
major improvements should be made to the
church’s heritage offer so that the church
can begin to deliver the enhanced visitor
experience that will generate income to
support the second phase. The delivery of
these improvements will be facilitated by
a strong volunteer base and, accordingly,
it is recognised that a significant process
of volunteer recruitment, training and
management will need to be undertaken
during the early phases of the development
process.
So the development of a programme of
tours and the recruitment of new volunteers
to run these tours, is driven by the
recommendations of the Business Plan. The
same can be said of current work to improve
the church’s retail offer.
45

Heritage, visitor experience and retail
St Mary Redcliffe Shop
Since October 2019, we have been very lucky
to have Jackie James working as an almost
full-time volunteer managing the day-today
operation of the church’s gift and book
shop. Prior to Jackie taking on this role,
purchases from the shop were made (almost
at the visitor’s discretion) by dropping coins
in the slot on the welcome desk that is also
used for donations. The lack of a dedicated
member of staff meant that we were unable
to stock more valuable items that might
have been stolen at quieter times, while the
informality of the payment process made
it almost impossible to accurately track
purchases and measure profit.
As a dedicated shop volunteer, Jackie fufils
an important role by enabling us to stock
the shop with a wider variety of items and,
because she is present and available to
take payments, we are no longer reliant on
people dropping coins in a donation box.
A knock-on effect of this is that we are now
able to take card payments using a new (to
us) system called Zettle that links a card
reader to a mobile phone or tablet allowing
card payments to be taken more securely,
limiting the amount of cash that needs to
be handled and held in church. The system
tracks payments and sends funds directly
to the church’s PayPal account. This system
has also allowed us to create a digital stock
library and product inventory, and generate
reports on sales activity. During the next
six months, I hope to integrate this system
with the online version of the church
shop - currently using a different payment
processing software platform - which will
make stocktaking more straightfoward.
All of this is made possible by having a
dedicated Volunteer Shop Assistant and I
am grateful to Jackie for her role in helping
to build what will become an important
source of income for the church during
the coming years. As indicated in the
aforementioned organisational Business
Plan, income generation from hospitality
and retail will be key as we move towards
long-term financial sustainability.
Redcliffe Talks
In autumn 2021, I launched a series of
online lectures on subjects pertinent to the
history of the church and the surrounding
area. My intention in starting this series
of Redcliffe Talks, as they’re known, is to
build awareness of the church’s history
and context while providing material for
the growth in exhibition, storytelling and
interpretation that will be a major outcome
of Project 450 .
The first talk, entitled The Real Thomas
Chatterton, was delivered by Professor Nick
Groom, Professor of English Literature
at the University of Macau; probably the
foremost academic expert on Chatterton
and literary gothic.
The talk was well attended and successful
with some positive feedback submitted
following the event, examples of which are
below:
It was interesting to understand just how
influential Chatterton was in his time on so
many poets and writers. It counteracted all
the misinformation we read about him. A
very good lecturer.
It was such a fluent and cogent talk, given
from a standpoint of authority but without
pretension.
46

a great lecture - well paced, comprehensive,
pitched right and made me want to read the
book AND visit Bristol
Since then, local historian and author Mike
Manson has delivered the second talk in the
series, Bristol Beyond the Bridge, based on
his book of the same name on the history of
Redcliffe, St Thomas and Temple.
The next talk, on the North Porch, will be
given by Dr Helen Lunnon on Thursday 26
May. Helen is an Honorary Senior Research
Associate at the University of East Anglia,
a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries
of London, and member of the Faculty
Advisory Committee for Ely Cathedral.
She’s also an expert on church porches!
Tickets for this are available via the church
website.
Heritage research
During the last year, I have been carrying
out research to provide material for future
exhibition, interpretation and storytelling
activities that will help to improve the visitor
experience and increase public knowledge
of the church. Alongside this, I have been
building a digital archive of historical
information, images and objects to support
this process and provide a resource for
future use. One of the exciting things about
carrying out online research is that many
historical texts have now been digitised and
made available online, and are, thereofore
searchable by keyword, meaning that we
are in a position to mine hundreds of newly
available documents for information about
the church and its rich history.
Rhys Williams
Heritage, shop and visitor experience
47

Discipleship
Families and youth ministry
19
But Mary treasured up all these things and
pondered them in her heart.
Luke 2:19
Whilst recently reflecting on the gift of
ordination and pondering my role as
Families and Youth Minister, I had what I
describe as a Mary’s moment. If, back in
2003, when I first worshipped at St Mary
Redcliffe someone had said to me that one
day I would do ordination training here,
I would have replied: “never in a million
years”. I was so overwhelmed and addled on
my first visit, if it hadn’t been for my mum,
I don’t think I would have come back! But
I am very glad that I did. One of the things
I’ve discovered over the past few years is that
it is truly amazing what you can do when
you have the love of God in your heart and
the love of people by your side.
In Children’s Church we are truly blessed
to have such a dedicated and faithful team
who share their time and talents so freely
and generously. Once again, it has been a
real joy to minister alongside them. Indeed,
one of the greatest pleasures of my role is
ministering with the people - you.
What has gone well?
An evaluation of the year.
Adapting our ministry to the changes
brought by coronavirus as we transitioned
to and from life under restriction caused us
to reflect and evaluate the things we do. Our
use of space had been one of the greatest
transformations, and the opportunity to
continue Earth Church and Online Church
as well as reinstating indoor activities has
been truly wonderful, not least as it has
enabled us to cater for more needs. Born out
of the pandemic, Earth Church had been a
great success. However, we were aware that
being outside did not appeal to all children.
Whilst the Undercroft had served us well
with our Children’s Church in the past,
with more space, an accessible entrance,
and internal toilets, Faithspace overcame
many of the challenges we had previously
faced. All has not been perfect however,
for the walk to Faithspace impacts greatly
on the time we have together. Initially, I
found this quite difficult to plan. However,
my reflections took me back to my role as a
languages teacher when I taught 30 minutes
lessons. As a result, we have reverted to
some previous teaching methods which
have been well-received.
Whilst Children’s Church has continued
to thrive with increasing numbers, I am
always conscious of those on the fringes
of our ministry who can sometimes get
overshadowed – not least Toddler Church
and especially Youth Church. I think the
downside of any flourishing community is
that it can mask those who are disadvantaged,
and as a result they become truly
disadvantaged. In my personal reflections,
I always ask myself: Are we truly serving all
God’s people? Toddler Church has grown
steadily since it first began and has provided
a bridge between the local community and
church. A significant point was this year’s
Good Friday which welcomed many of our
Toddler Church families.
Whilst I have often heard it said that some
people won’t step inside church (and various
reasons are given) my own view is that the
church welcomes everyone – and everyone
might just come if we, as faithful servants of
48

Discipleship
God’s Kingdom, can get it right. And for me,
getting it right is about prayerful reflection,
fostering relationships, attentive listening
and above all, shaping our ministry to serve
others.
Youth Church has always been my greatest
challenge. Practical factors undoubtedly
play a role in our patterns of worship,
not least as we are governed by time and
resources. Consequently, incorporating
Youth Church into our morning worship
always seemed the ideal solution. However,
despite trialling this in different ways, it has
never taken off. What has proven successful
is running a monthly Youth Church on a
Sunday afternoon at 4pm.
I believe good discipleship needs to
be sincere, and it is important that we
communicate both who and what we are.
We are a church, and whether it be Toddler,
Children’s, Earth, Online or Youth Church,
we are Christ-centred. Yes, we play games,
yes, we are creative in our approach, but the
Gospel remains integral to everything we
do. We are growing together in Christ.
Moving forward...
When preparing for ordination training,
I was asked “What will be your greatest
sacrifice?”. Ordination means leaving SMR
– the church where I have belonged since
2003, where I am a member and volunteer,
an employee and ordinand. Seeing life from
all these perspectives has without doubt
been a great privilege, and something I
hope to hold onto when I am one day an
incumbent in my own church.
As I approach my final year at Redcliffe,
my aim is not to embark on new ideas and
ventures, for this will be now the joy and role
of my successor. My sole aim for the year
to come is to assist in making the transition
as smooth as possible as our Children’s
Ministry prepares for the next stage of its
journey. I have a few dreams of my own for
my future ministry, not least making God’s
love known to all God’s people, particularly
to those who feel unwelcomed in church.
However, I am learning to trust the call to
holiness and the direction this takes me.
My vocational journey has been truly life
transforming, and I am really thankful
to the people of St Mary Redcliffe for this
special gift.
Becky James
Families and Youth Minister and Ordinand
49

Discipleship
Feminist theology group
The Feminist Theology group has evolved
and adapted during the last year, seeing
our sessions take place in the evenings and
online. We negotiated the challenges of
trying to re-create the safe and constructive
discussion space we had for our in-person
sessions over Zoom, along with the
challenges of balancing engaging with new
texts and the demands of life in various
phases of lockdown.
The group has read or listened to a variety
of work on feminist theology, some texts
proving more conducive to discussion than
others. Our session on the Bible Society
podcast series #SheToo proved rich ground
for exploration, whilst our reading of
Nyasha Junior’s Introduction to Womanist
Theology was challenging but offered
many different routes into the subject by
suggesting formative works of womanist
theology to explore.
arrived a little earlier than expected in
June 2021. Reflecting on the strengths of
the group, even if we have not managed
to complete the reading the discussion is
constructive and stimulating, and the space
(whether online or physical) is a supportive
and safe space to share experiences or voice
new ideas.
For future meetings, we might wish to
try a few gatherings with no reading prerequisite,
looking instead at select discussion
points or short passages.
Helena Hoyle King
Feminist theology group
Feminist Theology experienced a bit of
a sudden break mid-book as baby Ursula
50

Discipleship
Theology book group
The theology book club started up again in
the autumn. We have met (mostly) monthly,
under Stephen’s expert and gentle guidance
and with John’s splendid hospitality.
We looked in the autumn at Celia Deane-
Drummond’s “A Primer in Ecotheology”,
which we thought would fit well with
Creationtide. It was a stimulating read, and
Stephen got us to think about some good
questions, but ultimately several of us found
that we couldn’t really get on with it. This
was, in part I think, because it was (perhaps
as the title suggests) in many ways a pointer
to others’ writings (as well as to the author’s
earlier work), but we also found that her
language was not always easy to follow.
After Christmas we began James Allison’s
“Knowing Jesus”. This was suggested
following discussion in the group about
what area we might explore next. The plan
was that it would take us up to Easter, but
Covid and other things got in the way and
at the time of writing we still have two
chapters to go. I think we are all enjoying
this one far more, and getting much out of
it. The edition we are using has discussion
questions at the end of each chapter, which
makes it ideal for our use.
We haven’t yet decided what we will be
reading next. Suggestions are always
welcome, as are new members., We do
not read academic theses, but try to find
books that deal with theological issues in
an accessible and relevant way, or relevant
questions from a theological viewpoint. If
you would like to know more, do have a
word with me.
Revd Simon Goodman
Curate
51

Discipleship
Meditation group
We are part of the World Community
of Christian Meditation and meet every
Tuesday to meditate together. Over the last
2 years we have been unable to gather in
person so have been meeting using zoom,
which has proved to be a huge success.
We have 20 members who are based
throughout Bristol, Bath, other areas of the
UK, Australia and until recently the USA.
Many are members of the St Mary Redcliffe
congregation.
We have all found the group provided
us with huge support throughout the
pandemic.
Our numbers have increased during the last
year, with old members who had moved
from Bristol re-joining as we were online.
Plus, new members are finding us via the
SMR website and From the Vicars Desk.
Our meetings begin at 6.15pm, starting to
meditate at 6.30pm with a reading from
Silence & Stillness in Every Season by John
Main (Benedictine Monk who founded
the WCCM), and an opening prayer. We
meditate for 30mins, sitting upright with
lightly closed eyes, while silently repeating
the prayer phrase “Maranatha” (Come,
Lord Jesus) to help us focus. The meditation
ends with a closing prayer.
New members are always welcome.
We are hoping to start to meet in person in
the next few months but will continue to use
Zoom so that those unable to join us can
still meditate as part of a group.
Liz Hewitt
SMR Meditation Group Coordinator
52

53
Discipleship

Community outreach
Youth and community work
St Mary Redcliffe Church is committed to
being a ‘church that makes a difference in
the parish’. Our aim is to create a community
where people living in Redcliffe believe that
they can shape the environment around
them. For us this means:
1. For people in Redcliffe to have a sense
of ownership, belonging and safety
2. A local culture of people connecting
with each other and having a sense of
connection to the area
3. SMR ‘leading from the back’,
encouraging and supporting local
people to create the environment they
want
Summary
Over 2021-2022 we have continued to
develop our vital community support
in response to COVID-19 as well as
coordinating activities for children and
young people. New groups and connections
have emerged as people have become more
engaged in the local area.
We have:
• Developed our community pop-up
into a hub for local activity including
training, computer access, food support
and advice
• Provided access to computers and other
technology within our community hub
to residents
• Distributed activity packs and improved
access to cultural attractions for local
families
• Run drop-in sessions three days per
week for people needing information
and advice
• Provided high quality one-to-one and
small group tuition to disadvantaged
children
• Supported the start-up of new groups
in the area such as Judo, sewing, ESOL,
driving theory and nutrition
• Organised holiday activities for local
families including free lunches for those
receiving Free School Meals
54

Community outreach
Community Hub
We have had over 500 visits to the hub
over the past year. We have showcased
local artists in our shop window display,
celebrating local talent in a prominent place
and helping develop confidence within
artists from non-traditional backgrounds.
We have a group of women studying for their
driving theory test with our Community
Development Worker helping to teach and
translate. We also have weekly nutrition
classes for families in the parish. A group
of women from these groups have come
together to start to organise activities such as
sewing classes, girls’ basketball, swimming
as well as support each other to apply for
new jobs, applications for childcare etc.
Community Drop-In Advice Sessions
We have had over 200 people accessing
support and advice during our drop-in
sessions. Volunteers and staff support
residents respond to challenges around
housing, employment, finance, and
education during these sessions. We have
staff available two days per week who can
translate Arabic and Somali to ensure
that we are able to provide information to
residents whose English is not their first
language.
We have had over 100 laptop uses within
the centre during our drop-in sessions.
Examples of support we’ve offered has been
to restructure debts, apply for housing,
applying for identification, benefit help, job
searches, online interviews etc.
Youth Groups
We have nearly 100 local children and young
people involved in our groups each week,
a general youth support group, academic
tuition, and a weekly football session.
Our youth group has continued running
weekly at Faithspace providing invaluable
support for children aged 8-13 in periods
where they have often had little other
activity.
We provide around 40 children per week
with additional out-of-school tutoring.
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These are all children in the parish that
have been identified as being educationally
disadvantaged. Tuition takes place in
small groups (from one to six) and is led
by a qualified teacher and supported by
volunteers.
Our football group runs each week at St
Mary Redcliffe School for teenagers. We
have a qualified coach lead a session on
the all-weather pitches. We run on a Friday
evening at the time where there is greatest
risk of young people being a victim or
perpetrator of crime.
Holiday Activity Programmes
We coordinate activities for children and
young people in the area during each of the
school holidays with a focus on providing
food for children on free school meals.
The hub was used as a base for weekly
activities through the summer holidays,
supporting nearly 100 local children and
families to access nearly 50 hours of positive
activities in their neighbourhood. We were
able to offer healthy cooking classes through
Travelling Kitchen CIC, arts and crafts,
personal fitness as well as around 200 free
lunches.
David Cousins
Community Youth Worker
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Community outreach
St Mary Redcliffe Primary School
What has been going well and why?
2021 has been a challenging year to
support schools, as there have been such
strict restrictions on visitors. However, by
the power of MS Teams the Local Board
(governors) have continued to meet and the
year ended on a real high with an OFSTED
inspection that resulted in a “good” rating.
After a few challenging years this is a real
testament to the school leadership and staff,
who show such dedication to the flourishing
of the children in their care.
I have also managed to continue a regular
presence at Collective Worship, mostly by
Teams but I went into school for the Harvest
celebration and it was a real joy to be back
face-to-face with the children.
In the autumn we started welcoming groups
from the school back into church for RE
workshops led by Sarah Yates our Education
Officer and her team, however the surge
of the covid variant omicron led to some
cancellations in December.
What might you identify as an area of
development for the future?
For 2022 we have a new Foundation
Governor from SMR, Peter Morgan,
building closer links between church
and school. We still have vacancies for
Foundation Governors so do please get in
touch if you are interested!
As we currently have no Education Officer, I
am working with the RE leads in the school
to develop different ways for the school to
make use of our wonderful church building
for their RE, and to continue developing
that sense of the church being a place where
the children belong.
Rev Kat Campion-Spall
Associate Vicar
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Bristol Churches Winter Night Shelter
Bristol Churches Winter Night Shelter
(BWCNS) is a partnership of 14 churches
in and around Bristol which work with
St Mungo’s (a national charity that
supports homeless people) to provide
accommodation and support for people
during the coldest months of the year.
In 2021/2022 BCWNS operated out of a
Bed & Breakfast in Southville and so were
able to accommodate up to eight guests in
private rooms, providing the guests with
three meals a day and access to local housing
and support services.
St Mary Redcliffe was involved in phase
1 of the project and so, for each Friday in
November and December 2021, a team of
nine volunteers from SMR provided and
served lunch and cooked and served dinner
for the residents and volunteers.
Through this we were able to get to know the
residents; we shared laughter and our stories
and got to meet some truly remarkable
people. It was an honour and a blessing
to volunteer for this annual project
and I can highly recommend that
you put your name forward when the
opportunity arises.
Greca Warr
Winter Night Shelter Coordinator
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Marketing and digital
Marketing, digital and design
During the early stages of Covid, in March
2020, we launched the church’s new website,
which I had been designing, building and
readying for launch for a number of months
prior to the arrival of Covid.
The launch was precipitated by the onset of
the virus and the attendant need to be able
to livestream services to the site while the
church was closed.
Having researched a suitable platform to
support live-streaming, we settled on Vimeo
because this platform worked seamlessly
with the software package I used to build
the website. The combination of website
and embeddable video platform, in effect,
allows us to host our own online TV channel
- SMR Live - that’s available to anyone with
access to a computer, smart phone or tablet.
This is a significant step forward, in terms of
our online presence, and the worship team
has done an excellent job in maximising
the potential of this set-up to engage online
audiences by managing the use of digital
technology during services.
During 2021 our Vimeo account recorded
10,000 views with the total time that SMR
video content was watched reaching 229
days, 18 hours, 32 minutes, 44 seconds.
These figures demonstrate that digital
streaming has been successful and is firmly
embedded in the life of St Mary Redcliffe as
an alternative way for people to experience
the the church and take part in worship,
whether or not they are able to visit the
church building.
Since the new site was launched there has
been a significant growth in website traffic,
due, in part, to the development of SMR
Live. During 2021 the website received
55,989 visits and 139,501 page views. A
significant proportion of this traffic has
been driven by the church’s presence on the
various digital and social media platforms,
which have been developed during the
last nine years. In 2013 when I launched
the church’s Twitter account, there was no
St Mary Redcliffe social media presence,
other than a Facebook account which had
yet to receive a post. We now have an active
presence on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter,
Tumblr, YouTube, Vimeo, Soundcloud,
Pinterest and Google My Business. Each
of these platforms allows us to present
the life of the church in different ways to
a variety of audiences. This has a knockon
effect in that it encourages members of
these audiences to visit and engage with the
life of the church, whether this is through
joining the congregation, attending events,
finding out about the church’s rich heritage
or volunteering.
With respect to the three main platforms,
Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, the stats
for 2021 are as follows:
• Facebook page reach 112,327 (page
reach refers to the number of people
who saw content from our Facebook
page or about our Page, including posts,
stories, ads, social information)
• Facebook page visits 5507 (the number
of times our Facebook Page was visited)
• Instagram reach 6657 (Instagram reach
refers to the number of unique accounts
that saw any of our posts or stories at
least once)
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Marketing and digital
• Instagram profile visits 950 (The
number of times our Instagram profile
was visited)
• Twitter impressions 219,400 (Twitter
impression total refers to the
total number of times people have seen
our tweets)
In terms of the number of people following
our main three social media accounts -
facebook, Twitter and Instagram - we have
the following numbers:
• Facebook 1593 followers
• Twitter 2162 followers
• Instagram 535 followers
It goes without saying that there is plenty
of room for growth here, and this will
come naturally as we increase activities
and develop the church’s offer during the
coming years.
church’s digital output and represent a solid
foundation for further expansion.
In order to use these platforms effectively,
digital content is needed, and a significant
portion of my time is spent researching
images and designing digital graphics to
help promote the church and its activities.
Following the reopening of the church I
developed a new graphic style for use on
the various digital platforms mentioned
above, the website, the digital screen in
church but also for the external signage to
the north and south of the church building.
This is a dry run for a planned rebrand of
the church, which will involve consultation
with all those involved in the church and
which I hope will take place next year.
Rhys Williams
Marketing, Digital and Web Officer
However, these numbers demonstrate
significant levels of engagement with the
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