OUR MISSION
We are a growing community of faith seeking to discover the face of Jesus Christ in our Church, in our Community and in our Commitment.
OUR VISION
1. To act as a beacon for Christ’s mission and maintain a safe and welcoming haven for all within the community of Topsham;
2. To recognise the centrality of worship in all our activities, ensuring that it is relevant to our mission and engages the whole congregation;
3. To offer strong and timely pastoral and prayerful support to our members and others who may be in need;
4. To work ecumenically with the other Christian churches in Topsham, thus celebrating our membership of the wider body of Christ;
5. To engage with the needs of the wider world, in Exeter and beyond, especially towards the relief of suffering caused by poverty, deprivation and political strife.
INTRODUCTION
by the Minister, the Revd Paul Collings
The famed Methodist preacher, Revd Dr Lesley Weatherhead (1893-1976) in his book The Eternal Voice writes, ‘Your gospel is just the gospel somebody needs.’ He explores the gospel according to such Christian giants as Albert Schweitzer, Mary Slesser, Amy Carmichael, and Howard Somerville, but also refers to ‘thousands of men and women unknown to fame but not unmarked by God.’
One paragraph stands out for me where Weatherhead writes, ‘God wants not only the gospel to Schweitzer, but the gospel according to the little waitress in a café, that tired mother in a home, that fussy professional man, that bank clerk, that postman, that typist, that dear old char woman, that church treasurer.’ Whilst the titles and way of writing is of its time, the meaning is ageless.
As I review this last year, I am conscious of such quiet gospel witness undertaken by St Nicholas Church family members. The membership has grown and those sharing in Sunday worship continues to build in number month on month as our inclusive welcome is extended to all who enter our building. I am also aware of how, what I would call, relational evangelism is developing as part and parcel of our mission and ministry.
Relational evangelism is a method of sharing the gospel by building relationships with people. It involves developing trust and caring for others, and then sharing what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ.
It is great to see a number of folk taking on new responsibilities whilst others such as David Batty and Jeanette Brooks roles take on a different complexion. We are grateful to David and Jeanette for their years of faithful church stewardship.
Quoting further from Lesley Weatherhead, he asserts that others ‘may not get the gospel at all unless they get the gospel according to you.’ I thank God that many within the fellowship of St Nicholas Church see such relational ministry as a responsibility and a privilege.
I conclude with a final quote from The Eternal Voice. ‘There is no joy in the world like the joy of knowing that someone else found God, or even drew a bit nearer to God, through you.’ May we continue to discover the face of Jesus Christ in our Church, in our Community and in our Commitment.
Blessings,
Paul
WORSHIP
It was gratifying to note in 2023-24 a steady increase in the numbers attending Sunday morning worship at St Nicholas and which now comprise an average of 30 folk or more. The genuine warmth of welcome at the services, noted previously, continues to be a major strength in sustaining such an attendance. While we continue to benefit from an enriching variety of worship led by ordained and local preachers, increased preaching constraints within the local Methodist Circuit have meant Church members taking more responsibility over the year in leading local arrangement services; it is a joy that there seems little reluctance amongst many members, when asked, in coming forward to participate.
Another valued contribution to worship at St Nicholas have been the fortnightly morning fellowship meetings led by the Minister on a variety of topics, supplemented by the Minister’s emailed daily devotions which now reach over 400 subscribers.
YOUNG CHURCH
At present, St Nicholas has no Junior Church. The Church however, makes provision for any youngsters who may visit, with puzzles, books and soft toys available.
PASTORAL ACTIVITIES
Our third vision statement says that St Nicholas Church, ‘.. offers strong and timely pastoral and prayerful support to our members and others who may be in need.’
The pastoral care of the church is led by the Minister, the Revd Paul Collings supported by three pastoral visitors. As a church we have grown in numbers since Covid, but still with an ageing congregation that supports each other well when needed. The church is open for a coffee morning every Saturday with a quiet area for prayer and meditation. A prayer board is widely used by the congregation and other folk that visit or use the building, with reference to the board and its contents mentioned in the Sunday service. Sadly, we have lost two dear church members, Jean Binding and Rosemary Stephenson in the spring of 2024.
CHURCH NEWSLETTER
The monthly Church newsletter was published in electronic format throughout the year and was widely distributed within the Church family. Each edition benefits from a reflection by the Minister as well as keeping Church members and friends informed of services and other events.
OUTREACH
(a) Ecumenical Links
The annual meeting of the Topsham Ecumenical Group, of which St Nicholas is a part, is an important occasion for planning local ecumenical activity with friends from St Margaret’s and Holy Cross Churches. A regular pattern of events and services has evolved over recent years, involving the three churches in a Remembrance Sunday service at St Margaret’s, ecumenical carol singing on Chapel Platt shortly before Christmas, joint meetings to mark the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity in January, a series of Lent lunches shared between the churches, and a Good Friday walk of witness starting at Holy Cross and winding its way through the town to St Margaret’s. It is also customary for our friends at St Margaret’s to join us at St Nicholas for a service around the time of Trinity Sunday.
(b) Community
During 2023-24, the St Nicholas premises continued to be used for meetings and performances by a number of local groups, bringing much appreciated income in support of the work and maintenance of the the Church. There was a wide variety of such users, including various singing groups, a string quartet, a rock school, a patchwork group, Topsham History Group, Topsham Flower Club Festival, the local Allotments & Gardens Society, and Blue Vanguard Jazz. Two lunchtime concerts organised as part of the Topsham Music Festival in April attracted capacity houses, stretching audience numbers to upwards of 120. The Saturday coffee mornings organised at St Nicholas extended further the Church’s outreach within the town.
(c) Charitable Giving
ACTION FOR CHILDREN
The Methodist Church charity like all charities has suffered firstly from the pandemic and like everyone else they are struggling through the cost of living crisis, but we at St Nicholas will always do what we can to support them, and this year several more people have requested home boxes which is encouraging for the future. During the spring we collected in the boxes and, together with the Action for Children Sunday in July 2024, we were pleased to be able to send to the charity the sum of £275.
CHRISTMAS TREE FESTVAL
A major initiative in raising funds for charity has been the Christmas Tree Festival held most recently in December in 2022, 2023 and, beyond the usual scope of this report, 2024. Excepting allowance for necessary expenses, the charities benefiting from the Festival have been Exeter Food Bank (£1000 in 2022), Hospicecare (£1500 in 2023) and £1400 (Devon Air Ambulance in 2024).
JUNIOR MISSION FOR ALL (JMA)
For the moment, the Church’s support for JMA, dependent in the past in the existence of a Junior Church, is in abeyance.
ALL WE CAN
It is a tradition of the six ecumenical Lent lunches shared by St Nicholas with St Margaret’s and Holy Cross that the hosting church chooses a charity for donations. Arising from the two lunches hosted in March 2024 by St Nicholas, £358 was raised for All We Can, the Methodist Church’s international development and emergency relief organisation.
OPERATION CHRISTMAS CHILD
St Nicholas continued its support for Operation Christmas Child organised through Samaritan’s Purse UK by collecting donations in late 2023 towards the filling of shoeboxes on our behalf. The collection raised £282.
EXETER FOODBANK
The Church’s support, begun the previous year, of the Exeter Foodbank through regular donations by the congregation of groceries, etc continued throughout 2023-24. The Foodbank also benefited from the generous giving of goods by members of the congregation at the Harvest Festival in September.
SOCIAL ACTIVITIES
We certainly are a very socially minded congregation and it is good to not only pray together but to play together, which makes for one happy family. This past year we have enjoyed our Saturday coffee mornings, a monthly craft and chat morning, a harvest lunch and, in the spring, our annual tea party, quiz and concert; it was so good to see new faces taking part in the concert. The big event this year was the Christmas Tree festival which we again hosted, and there has been a lot of favourable feedback from Topsham residents who really enjoyed the trees which were set off beautifully in our lovely Church. The monthly craft and chat sessions yielded some excellent crafts which were sold at the festival. The associated concert was a great success with some really professional performers and it has been as great joy to send over £1,400 to Devon Air Ambulance.
FINANCES
Income for the year ending 31 August 2024 exceeded expenditure by £10,583. The average weekly offertory for year 2023-24 was £270.
Our funds, the majority of which are held on deposit at Methodist Headquarters in Manchester, stand at £24,288.
We are indebted to Exeter Coast & Country Circuit for their generous grant of £11k, to assist with the essential repair to the stonework of the Church, carried out in 2024. These monies are reflected in the healthy figures of this financial year.
Friends at St Nicholas are extremely generous and faithful in their giving. Their regular contributions, along with lettings, gifts, coffee mornings and other income streams, enable us to fulfil our commitments to both the Circuit and our outreach to the wider community.
St Nicholas currently commits to an annual contribution of £10,772 to the Circuit.
Members and friends contributed £275 to Action for Children, £433 to World Mission Fund, and £282 to the Shoebox Appeal at Christmas. Over the last two years, the Christmas Tree Festival raised £1,500 for Hospiscare and over £1,400 for Devon Air Ambulance.
We look to balance our necessary day-to day finances, with funds to cover our outreach, our fellowship, and our Christian presence in Topsham and beyond.
Thanks are due to everyone for their continual, and very generous, support of the finances at St Nicholas.
Full details of all Income and Expenditure, along with plans associated with Church reserves, can be found in St Nicholas’ Treasurer’s reports. Please contact the Treasurer, Helen Brooks, if you have any questions regarding finance.
PROPERTY REPORT
St Nicholas is a Grade 2 listed Building, and with that, repairs to, and maintenance of, such a beautiful church are inevitable – and ongoing. We are custodians of this Church, and have to take responsibility for its upkeep, particularly as the building is adjacent to a retail business.
The major maintenance work to the north side of the Church highlighted in last year’s report, and which principally involved the resetting of unstable coping stones overhanging the adjacent chemist’s courtyard, was completed. The repair and repainting of gutters and down pipes in the same area were also undertaken. The cost was covered by the grant from the Circuit referred to in the financial report above.
Inevitably, the urgent work described above has taken precedence over consideration of the implications of the quinquennial inspection of the building undertaken in April 2023. Attention was given to a number of the minor concerns raised in that report but the next major project will need to be restoring the interior of the north transept where damp has been a consequence of the external problems noted in the previous paragraph.
Externally, the rear garden is subject to an annual early-year clean-up undertaken by a professional gardening team.
GOVERNANCE
The immediate management of the Church falls to its minister and its trustees, who normally meet twice a year as the Church Council. An opportunity for wider input by the congregation to the Church’s affairs is provided by the Annual Church Meeting usually held in May, to which all members and friends are invited.
The trustees are responsible directly to the Methodist Church for the good governance and upkeep of the Church, in effect through the Exeter, Coast and Country Circuit to which St Nicholas belongs. The Circuit has responsibility for some 18 churches, and it is the Circuit that Ministers are invited to serve, each responsible for one or more churches.
Formally, as at May 2024, membership of the Church Council at St Nicholas comprised:
Superintendent Minister – Revd Julian Albrow
Minister – Revd Paul Collings*
Other Circuit Ministers in Pastoral Charge
Circuit Steward – Heather Gould
Church Stewards – David Batty*, Jeanette Brooks*, Neil Gaylor*, Kathy Niklaus*
Secretary to the Church Council – Jenny Davis*
Treasurer – Helen Brooks*
Pastoral Secretary – Jeanette Brooks*
Up to 15 members as representatives of areas of Church life:
Pastoral – Jeanette Brooks*
Property – Church Stewards
Ecumenical matters – David Batty, Kathy Niklaus
Appointed by the General Church Meeting – Steph Dunleavy, Jill Gullidge, Jean Mansell, Rosemary Stephenson
As at May 2024, appointments at St Nicholas were as follows:
All those marked * above, plus:
Pastoral Visitors – Jeanette Brooks, Paul Collings
Communion Steward – Jenny Davis
Ecumenical Representatives – David Batty, Kathy Niklaus
Action for Children – Jenny Davis
Organist Rota Co-ordinator – Steph Dunleavy
Independent Examiner – Margaret Fogarty
Hall Bookings – Paul Hicks
Flower Team – Jeanette Brooks, Jenny Davis, Anne Manning, Jean Mansell
Newsletter – David Batty
Bible Reading Co-ordinator – Steph Dunleavy
Coffee Morning Co-ordinator – Jenny Davis
Representatives to the Circuit Meeting – David Batty, Helen Brooks, Neil Gaylor
This annual report was compiled thanks to contributions from the Revd Paul Collings, David Batty, Helen Brooks, Jeanette Brooks and Jenny Davis.
Further information about Church activities can be obtained from the Minister (01392-206229) or from any of the Church Stewards, ℅ St Nicholas Methodist Church, Fore Street, Topsham EX3 OHQ.
St Nicholas Methodist Church has its own web pages attached to the Circuit website. These include a monthly diary of services and other events. The main Circuit page for Topsham can be accessed at: http://exeterccmethodist.org.uk/topsham/.
The Minister also maintains a church blog at: http://st-nicholas-methodist.blogspot.com/
