Select Vestry
The Select Vestry is composed of The Rector, The Associate Rector and the following elected members:
Rector's Churchwarden: George LaCombre (ex-officio)
People's Churchwarden: David Donohoe (ex-officio)
Rector's Glebewarden: Ronnie Hay (ex-officio)
People's Glebewarden: Peter Rooke (ex-officio)
Hon. Secretary: Jenny Scholtz svestry@kotg.ie
Hon. Treasurer: John Riseley treasurer@kotg.ie
Edel Bell
Olive Combe
James Darling
Ian Horner (ex-officio)
Wendy Kingston (ex-officio)
Susan O'Toole
Kate Patterson
Tim Roulston
Derek Singleton
Norman Smyth
Sylvia Smyth
Keith Syms
Parochial Nominators
Averil Brennan
Mark Groves
Alan Hunt
Norman Smyth
Supplemental
Sandy Feenan
Heather Fry
Liz Roulston
Bert-Jan Van Embden
Diocesan Synodsmen
Blanche Cooper
James Darling
Sheila Lynch
Patricia Pearson
Peter Rooke
David Williams
Supplemental
Heather Jackson
Robbie Roulston
Jenny Scholtz
Hon. Secretary’s Report, Select Vestry 2009
Dear Fellow Parishioners,
This year has certainly been an interesting and eventful one, marked by many exciting developments as well as some unexpected and difficult times - your Select Vestry has certainly been kept busy! We have met ten times during this year, including a special meeting after our Rector took ill in order make the necessary arrangements to ensure the continuing ministry of the Parish. Our sincere thanks go to our Lay Readers and Rev. Tim Silk and Ian Horner for stepping in so effectively to take our Sunday services. We are also extremely grateful to so many of our parishioners for their offers of support, practical help, advice and prayer at this time.
There have been a number of new additions to the Select Vestry this year. Michael Lynn, Bruce Johnston and Jennifer Scholtz were elected onto the new Vestry at last year’s Easter General Vestry. In September 2008, Wendy Kingston joined the Kill O The Grange ministry team as the new Children’s Worker. It is such a blessing to be part of a church that is lively, all ages and growing. This is in no small part due to the devotion and commitment of those involved in the youth and children’s ministries over the years and it is wonderful to have Wendy on board. In November 2008, Kill O The Grange was delighted to welcome Rev. Tim Silk as an Associate Rector in the Parish. He has such a great heart for evangelism and outreach and enormous enthusiasm for developing our church’s ministries in these areas.
To assist the Vestry in fulfilling its duties we have 12 Sub-committees covering matters such as Worship; Communication; Mission; Stewardship; Fundraising; School; Parish Hall; Works, Health and Safety; Catering; Social and Hospitality; Development and Rectory Restoration. We are grateful for the all the work and dedication of all those people who serve both on the Vestry and its committees.
Communications: The Communications Committee has worked hard on ways to help us keep in touch with one another more effectively. A number of noticeboards have been erected in the church foyer and the parish centre thanks to a kind donation by the Scott family in memory of Joyce Scott. The website, which was launched last year, is constantly being updated and has been extremely successful, not only in keeping us up-to-date with what is going on in the Parish, but also as a way of providing people who are looking for a church in our area with information about who we are.
Mission: has, as always, been very much on our minds. In April 2008 we were blessed by a visit from Bishop Hilary from the Yei Diocese, Southern Sudan and in June we were delighted to host the Langham prayer group. We are continually looking for ways to strengthen our links with Yei Diocese through prayer, communication and fundraising. To this end we are looking forward to the possibility of a visit by some of our parishioners to Yei as part of a CMS Ireland team next autumn. We continue to maintain and strengthen links with CMS Ireland, in particular with its Director, Ian Smith and James Price, the Regional Mission Partner for Europe. With the help of James Price the church has been focusing on what it means to be a global church through an exploration of the ‘Five Marks of a Mission Church’ in our Sunday services and growing groups. This year we have also focused on expanding opportunities for outreach into our local community. In the led up to Christmas, Tim Silk held a Christianity Explored course in the church which has developed into the ‘A Question of Faith’ series currently being held on Tuesday evenings.
Youth and Children’s Work: This year has been an exciting and eventful year for the youth and children’s ministry at Kill O The Grange under the leadership of Ian Horner. In September, Cathy Lewis joined the Parish as a trainee youth worker under the Church of Ireland JUMP initiative. We have been truly blessed by the addition of both Wendy and Cathy to the team. Together with Ian and the volunteer leaders, they have created a fantastic programme and a wonderful space where children and teenagers are excited to come to hear about God, have fun, relax and spend time with their friends. In October this year, KOTG joined forces with a number of churches in the area to host Morph, a monthly youth service aimed at secondary school students. It is great to see how this ministry has grown and the way it is strengthening relationships between the churches in our community. The Parish is also looking forward to celebrating the 50th anniversary of our company of the Girls’ Brigade in April this year and we are particularly grateful for the strong relationship between the church and the school.
Rectory: As a result of a large number problems identified by the Diocesan Architect in a five yearly inspection of the Rectory, a committee was set up to investigate the development and/or refurbishment of the Rectory of Kill O The Grange Parish. The work on the refurbishment of the Rectory is now complete and we are extremely grateful for all the hard work done by the members of this committee.
Social Events: In November this year eleven members of our church joined up with St Brigid’s, Cabinteely for an Interfaith pilgrimage to Israel. The trip was an excellent opportunity for the two churches to come together and an enjoyable and enriching time was had by all. Closer to home, this year’s Harvest lunch was a great success and wonderful occasion to spend time together as a church family. We would also like to congratulate the Mothers’ Union ‘Coffee Shop’ for being short-listed for the Mothers’ Union Award for a project which would be of benefit to both the parish and the community. The Coffee Shop has been running for 28 years and is an important outreach ministry in the Parish.
Hall: We are hugely appreciative for all work that Olive Combe continues to do in relation to the Hall. We are also grateful to David Joyce and Peter Rooke for compiling a comprehensive Safety Statement for the church and their ongoing work on a hazard audit.
Giving: We have been able to repay a significant amount of the debt incurred by both the development of the Parish Centre and the refurbishment of the Rectory through the generosity of our parishioners and the tireless work of those involved in organising the car boot sales. In a time of great uncertainty and unpredictability it is comforting to look back on a year where God has provided so faithfully and abundantly for all our needs. We are hugely indebted to John Riseley, our Hon. Treasurer, for his tireless and extremely dedicated work in managing the Parish finances. Our sincere thanks must also go to Mark Groves for all his work in managing the Parish Stewardship and Keith Syms for the auditing of the church accounts.
Finally, we would like to thank God for our Rector, Ferran, whose wisdom, devotion and tireless work has inspired us all. This has been a wonderful and eventful year for Kill O The Grange, one in which we have been richly blessed as we have endeavoured ‘to love and to serve the Lord’ locally, in our community, and globally, alongside with our mission partners.
Yours sincerely,
Jennifer Scholtz
Hon. Secretary