Little Gaddesden, St Peter and St Paul version: 2

What progress have you made with the Goals from your previous MAP, and what do you want to celebrate?

• New external and internal lighting system.
• All new pew cushions and restored kneelers
• Bridgewater Chapel - a place for quiet prayer, to light a candle and leave a prayer intention

What Goals did you set where you saw less progress than you would have liked?

• The Vestry extension is a big project but progress is slow, mostly due to delays in approval of our plans
• Tidying the church is on-going and the general layout always under review. As needs arise, the flexibility our church offers, enables us to be imaginative in the layout week by week.

Things seen about our local community

• We are a vibrant, educated, generally economically secure, supportive, friendly and caring community.
• We are aware of how fortunate we are, and the advantages we have of living in this community.
• The community is committed to 'build up our common life'.

How have you begun to engage with these concerns / needs / issues?

• We have a weekly Sunday school during the main church service
• Regular Tuesday morning coffee mornings.
• Both the heating and sound systems have had considerable work carried out to make them more reliable and the church more welcoming.

Vision (for five years' time)

We are a Christian church, which welcomes and encourages everyone to become part of all that it has to offer and to be recognised as such.

Current Situation

From our Parish Statistics for Mission, we see that we are / have...

A growing congregation with a core of about 70 adults and 10 children under 10 years of age

Priorities (for the next five years)

• To re-focus the work of the PCC - in order to share leadership, which is ongoing.
• To gain a better understanding of the spiritual needs of the community - we continue with various house groups and courses (e.g. Pilgrim).
• Strengthen our financial position - on going. Our financial position has improved. In spite of the loss of many large givers who have died in recent years, new members of the congregation are beginning to give on a regular and more generous basis

Goals (for the next year)

• Develop the Christian discipleship of the PCC and the sense of leadership amongst its members.
• The agree changes to the church building are on-going
• Develop theological study groups.
• Build a ministry of Welcomers, who meet, greet and seat.
• Seek to engage with non-attenders on the Electoral Roll to bring them further into the life of the church.