My dear Friends.

At long last the PCC has agreed a "Parish Vision". It goes like this:- Our vision for the Parish of South Shoebury is to see our churches and our congregations having an ever growing impact in the local community and giving support to our parish, our local churches and to the community.

We need to encourage greater and more profound commitment from all our members -

1. In attending and supporting church services, events and fellowships.
2. In welcoming and being supportive to new people coming through our doors and in accepting them gladly into our church family.
3. In caring and showing care for all people across our community regardless of age, Christian knowledge or social background.
4. In supporting Christian values and evangelism across the parish, actively encouraging unity and synergy with the other local churches.
5. Working towards growth in numbers and commitment to Christ, seeking to sustain such growth, looking forward to doubling our numbers in the next five years.
6. Letting both younger and older parishioners run things together, sharing and growing each other's gifts without being constrained by past practices and hierarchies.
7. Reaching out to all generations, and then encouraging and nurturing their growing faith in Christ, both in our own churches and in the other local churches.

Now that is fine, but it is only the beginning, for words here need to be translated into actiofl if our vision .is to become a reality. So your elected representatives (PCC) now need to agree on how we can make this happen. But it is not just up to members of the PCC, for each and every one of us who belong to St Andrew's and Sc Peters has a part to play in this. So watch this space, but please, please do join us in doing your best to extend and build up God's Kingdom here in Shoebury, and may we be a blessing to those amongst whom we live.

Now the word 'member', as used in our Parish Vision, is in my experience a word that means different things to different people. A few people believe they are members of a church because they come to a Church Jumble Sale or Bazaar. Others do so because they were baptised as a baby or got married in church. Others come once or twice a year at Christmas or Easter or Harvest, and that means they are members.

Now I am someone who is always pleased to see people at Jumble Sales, Bazaars and in Church Services, and I hope people will come again and again. But when it comes to being a member of a church, I believe it is right to expect a little bit more in the way of commitment. Which brings me to just one way in which we can openly express our membership, and that is by joining the Electoral Roll of the Church.

At present we have some 140 members on our Electoral Roll but in the near future that number will drop to zero! Hopefully, that is not because of mass defection (had enough of the Rector?)! Instead it is because Church Electoral Rolls are to be completely renewed this year. So everyone will need to re-enrol and forms are available in our two churches, or give me a ring and I can arrange for one to be sent to you.

As you are probably aware, the Electoral Roll is a register of members of the church who are entitled to vote at the Annual Parish Meeting, and who are eligible to stand for membership of the PCC, Deanery Synods and other bodies of governance within the Church of England.

So it's important to be on the ER and it's just one way of showing you consider yourself to be a member of the Church. So please do sign up!

God bless you all.

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