Chaplain’s Annual Report to the AGM

 

Like the other reports mine covers the calendar year 2009 and I have three minutes!

 

This year I start my 10^th year with you and I am the second longest serving Anglican Chaplain of Mallorca – you may groan if you wish!

 

As on many occasions, I am repeating myself, not though on this occasion through the early onset of dementia but because I again want to share with you my belief that as a church family we are anything but dead. What do I mean? I think anyone who was in church here in Palma on Easter Day would sense some sort of commitment and vitality which many church congregations would be glad of.  We are not to a large extent a congregation which is forever looking out of the cab backwards. Sometimes it’s painful moving forward, breaking the mould, and allowing change to happen – remember it’s sometimes as painful for me as for you – but not to change is to die, as John Henry Newman reminded us, to be human is to change constantly.

 

As you know since 1998 we are now one chaplaincy with 3 congregations of equal standing, based at Palma, Puerto Pollensa and Cala d’Or. This year we have said goodbye to the Assistant Chaplain, Michael Redfearn and we look forward to welcoming Canon Mel Smith as our new priest in June.

 

The first Sunday of the month sees the whole congregation worshipping together with a service that attempts to meet a wide age range. We still have a long way to go getting this right in terms of language, level and expectations but we are not peculiar in that and almost every church which is attempting to do this experiences the same problems.

 

This year as part of our programme of renovations we have revamped, improved and decorated the Coleman Hall. I think any objective assessment of the Hall would say that it needed it desperately and it is certainly looking a lot smarter.

 

Let me give you a few facts and figures. In the part of the island I cover, though you will remember that I am ultimately responsible, with the two Churchwardens for the whole island, in 2009 we had 27 funerals, 11 baptisms and nearly 70 weddings. We have had some very enjoyable social events, sing-a-longs, quiz nights, Sunday lunches, joint chaplaincy meals, bazaars not to mention our two huge raffles.

 

Now a few thanks. As always, thank you to the Churchwardens Mary and David, both of whom I am very relieved to see are standing for re-election, to the whole Church Council, our lay-readers – George, Peter, Linda, Archimedes and David. To Judy our church treasurer and chaplain’s secretary. To Dilys who looks after the Garden of Remembrance. To Conway the organist, Dee the assistant, to Georgie and the choir, to Sandra who organises the sidespeople’s rota, the Sunday School leaders, the ladies who serve coffee on a Sunday morning, and many, many more. Also to my wife Caroline who bears the brunt of the side of me which most of you never see. It’s she who has to put up with me when I’m frustrated, stressed or angry.

 

In conclusion, I think it’s fair to say it’s not been a bad year. We all stuck in there together. We’ve kept the rumour of God alive and hopefully, once again, we’ve learned a little bit more about the love of God for each and every one of us.

 

I think that might have been an ecclesiastical 2 minutes!!

 

 

Robert Ellis

25^th April 2010