Castle Church News

We're pleased to announce that the Castle Church Growth Trust is now up and running. There will be a separate flier showing you how you can support the trust financially - in some cases without donating anything! The trust has been set up to fund ministry projects here in our parish. We will always keep you up to date with information as to how that money is being used and the needs of the trust.

The trustees are: Mavis Bryant, Graeme Charlesworth, Sara Deall (Treasurer) David Boote (Chair) and Philip.

Extract from Lichfield Diocese Web site ---- A new church is set to be built in Stafford and an existing church redeveloped to cope with ever-increasing congregations. The developments at Castle Church on the Newport Road, a Grade II Listed building, will see new facilities for increased congregations, an area for the worship band, changes to the pews, a social area and facilities for people with disabilities. The proposals will also see the existing church hall on High Fields demolished and replaced with a new church building to supplement the existing church. The proposals for Castle Church have been drawn up by experienced Stafford based ecclesiastical architect Joe Huber, in consultation with experts from the Lichfield Diocese, English Heritage, the Victorian Society and the Churches Buildings Council. The plans have now been approved by the Lichfield Diocesan Advisory Committee for the Care of Churches, the statutory body responsible for planning matters on Church of England consecrated buildings. They are now open to a period of public consultation before the final decision will be made by His Honour Judge Marten Coates in the Lichfield Consistory Court. The Vicar of Castle Church, the Revd Philip Sowerbutts, said: "We are excited by these plans, which give us new possibilities and flexibility in the use of our building whilst maintaining its integrity and history. In addition to developing Castle Church, a new church will be built on the Highfields estate. The new church will replace a 1960's hall which is now in a very poor state of repair. The church is in discussion with a property developer and is considering proposals which will see a new church building built alongside several new homes. To help the scheme a new home is needed for Highfield Scouts, who are tenants on the land with a lease expiring in 2010. Philip Sowerbutts said: “The condition of our hall on the Highfields has hindered the outreach work we have attempted to do. We have a once in a lifetime opportunity to provide a terrific new church and community facility on Highfields and we want to take advantage of it. “We certainly recognise the extremely valuable work done by the Scouts in the area and want to help in any way we can to find a suitable site for re-location. Several meetings have already taken place with the Scouts and a local councillor to try and find a solution to the problem before their lease runs out in 2010.” The growth at Castle Church has seen a new Sunday School which began in 2007. This now attracts up to 30 children each week who now meets in two groups. To cope with the increased congregations the church has changed its pattern of services on Sundays. Services at Castle Church begin with a traditional service, using the centuries-old Book of Common Prayer, at 8.45am; and this is followed by an informal contemporary Service at 10.15am. In addition, another informal service takes place at the church hall on Highfields at 9.45am. The Revd Philip Sowerbutts said: “All the services are designed to allow people engage with God in a way that helps them do that. We are excited by the level of growth we have seen over the past year, especially in our contemporary service. But we want to see growth in all areas and allow people to come and meet with God in a way that they find comfortable" ENDS Further details of the building programme along with the initial feasibility study can be found in the downloads section of the church website: www.castlechurch.co.uk

The faculty notices were taken down on Wednesday evening and have been sent to the Chancellor for a final decision as to whether we can proceed with the project.
Just to squash any rumours to the contrary, if we are allowed to move forward, we WILL NOT PUT CASTLE CHURCH INTO DEBT! We aim to raise money for the project through a variety of means but will not spend what we don’t have in the bank.

The October prayer diary is now available for download from this site

 A momentous day in the life of Castle Church!
 
The Plans for re-ordering were passed by the DAC this morning!

Detailed plans have been posted on our website and can be downloaded from 'Reordering'

Abi Brain from Christian Aid will be joining us at 9.15 and 11.00 am services to receive our cheque for money raised at the Lent Lunches.

Wedding Anniversaries

This week, Kath and Derick Goode celebrate their Diamond Wedding Anniversary.

Les and Dalena Deall celebrate their Ruby Wedding anniversary

 

Congratulations from us all to both couples

Results released today by the Church Commissioners show that they have outperformed 98 per cent of similar investment funds over the past 10 years.

The Church of England has warmly welcomed the Competition Commission’s decision to seek undertakings from grocery retailers to establish a Groceries Supply Code of Practice (GSCOP) Ombudsman, as set out in the report The supply of groceries in the UK market investigation.

People in churches all over Britain, and for the first time, in other parts of the world, will be backing Back to Church Sunday this September 28th and inviting a friend back to church with them.

The House of Bishops is to discuss the report of the Legislative Drafting Group considering proposals to allow for women bishops at its next meeting in May. The report of the group, chaired by the Rt Revd Nigel McCulloch, Bishop of Manchester, has been published today and will be debated by General Synod in July.

The Church Commissioners today announce the appointment of Joseph Cannon MRICS as their new Chief Surveyor.  Joseph will head the Commissioners’ Property Investment Department, responsible for the management of a portfolio of agricultural, commercial and residential investment properties valued at nearly £1.7 billion at 31 December 2007.

The Archbishops’ Council has appointed Janet Gough as Director of Cathedrals and Church Buildings. She will take up the post in September.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, has today called on the government to do more to protect the poorest and most vulnerable from the likely consequences of an economic downturn. Speaking in the House of Lords, the Archbishop highlighted the fact that government targets on alleviating poverty, particularly child poverty, risked not being met and warned that in a period of economic decline the poorest in society, who carry a higher proportion of personal debt, were most at risk. In the debate, called by the Archbishop, he suggested ways in which government might help low income families avoid entering into cycles of unsustainable debt - by improving financial education in schools, enforcing tighter controls on doorstep credit agencies and by helping to foster responsible alternatives to doorstep lending, such as those offered by Credit Unions.

The Archbishops of Canterbury and York have issued a joint statement this morning concerning the deteriorating situation of ordinary people in Zimbabwe calling for “a civil society movement that gives voice to those who demand an end to the mayhem that grows out of injustice, poverty, exclusion and violence”.