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Following the Cathedral Annual General Meeting on 13th March 2005
and the highly successful Carnival on 4th March and the subsequent
reflection on those events, New Directions seemed to be emerging for
the Bahrain Anglican Church Council for the coming year. Below
is a brief outline of those directions which we hope to take during
the coming months and in which we hope members from our
congregations, other than those on the Council, will be involved
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A. |
Worship and
Spiritual Growth |
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1. |
Our church
life needs to be under-girded with prayer. |
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2. |
Consider
the possibility of setting up an Alpha Course either in
homes or in the compound |
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3. |
Plan for
'church planting' in other areas of Bahrain |
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4. |
Encourage,
train and equip more lay participation in our worship |
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5. |
Seek
effective ways of nurturing the many new people who come
to the cathedral, sometimes for short periods |
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6. |
Conduct a
questionnaire research: are we meeting the needs and
expectations of our congregations? Are the service times
appropriate for today's churchgoers? |
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7. |
Introduct
'Partners of St. Christopher's Cathedral,' a new concept
to embrace the community |
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B.. |
Funding |
No institution, including the Church, can exist without
adequate funding to finance its work. st.
Christopher's Cathedral is totally dependent on local
giving and fund raising. The financial life of the
Cathedral can be clearly defined in 3 areas: |
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1. |
Freewill
giving - the scriptural tithe being the basis of our
giving with information pack, and more information on
the pew sheet. The aim, to increase our self
sufficiency through our giving. |
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2. |
Earned
income - received through rents and fees. This
requires more researc, and a strategic plan for the
upkeep and utilisation of the compound facilities. |
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3. |
Fund
raising - not to be seen as making up the shortfall in
our giving but enhancing our ability to give away to
those in real need and extend our mission and ministry.
This responsibility should be shared with more people
taking responsibility for raising large amounts of
money. |
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C. |
Fellowship |
We must broaden the interpretation and function of the
cathedral's social activities. |
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1. |
Hold a
monthly social evening/meal after the 6.30 pm Wednesday
service of Holy Communion |
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2. |
Hold more
events outside the compound, which focus on fellowship -
not fund-raising, e.g. coffee mornings hosted in
people's homes, BBQ;s in the desert... etc. etc. |
If you have a constructive comment or critical
observation to make on this process outline or wish to
volunteer your services or expertise to a particular
aspect of it, then please contact either the Dean or any
member of the council. |
Alan
Hayday
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