Caring for people in ministry
Hi Folks
Sorry this blog has been such a flop – we’ve been busy building the GreenHouse (honest!) just haven’t been making enough time to keep our lovely supporters properly informed. The building is finished, The appeal is not. We’ve also been building a new website and that’s getting pretty close to going live. Do drop by and take a look and let us know what you think.
http://sheldonstaging.webselect.net/
Bear in mind it is still a work in progress …
It’s been all systems go since the beginning of June. Hindsite builders arrived on 2nd June and we had a super Start of Works ceremony the following day. Baroness Butler-Sloss spoke very warmly of the Mary and Martha ministry before handing over the site key to Paul McGhinn to the strains of 3 trumpeters “Fanfare for St Edmundsbury”. Bishop Graeme Knowles then gave the site (and all of us) a blessing and enthusiastic sprinkling with holy water. Every day the excavations get deeper, and on Thursday the builders, contract manager and architect all met on site for the formal “setting out” so now we have lots of yellow paint around. Guests hardly know the work is happening as it’s tucked away in the back garden and all site traffic is on the secondary access lane. Sometimes we quite forget they are here! Terry is the site foreman who did the same job for our lovely Long Barn 3 years ago so we reckon the project is in good hands. Having builders on site spending money certainly concentrates the mind on fundraising. so we have been busy writing applications to grant making trusts and sending out invitations to a special event in London in the autumn.
Thanks to Paul Ligas for photos of the Start of Works. Unfortunately the video clips are currently upside-down – when we’ve worked out how to rotate them we’ll post them too!
So we’re all systems go in readiness for the contractors to start on site on the Community GreenHouse on Monday 2nd June. And the following day we are having a special “Start of Works” ceremony in the afternoon – speeches, keys, blessings, cake etc. If you haven’t had an invitation and would like to come then give us a ring on 01647 252752 to ask for one. We’ve put in several trust applications in recent weeks and would appreciate your prayers as they go through the various scrutiny processes. Often no news for several months. It’s best part of 3 years since we started the serious design work on this project so it’s great to be seeing things moving forward.
Thank you so much to all Friends for your prayers over recent weeks. We are delighted to have some news to pass on to you.
Thank you to everyone who has been praying for these appointments and especially to the “matchmakers” who actually found the people we have appointed. We would be grateful for your ongoing prayers for new folk and existing staff and Community members as we juggle roles, learn new skills and settle people in.
The contract was finally signed last week so all is definitely set to go on 2nd June. Planning revisions and building regs have been submitted and most of the detail is sorted.
Thank you to everyone who has responded so generously to Carl’s recent request for prayers and gifts. Over £17,000 has been donated already and dozens of you have pledged to pray throughout Lent. Thanks to Anne Horton for assembling this prayer from SMM material for her own use and for others to share if you wish….
God our Father,
whose Son enjoyed the love of his friends,
Mary, Martha and Lazarus,
in learning, argument and hospitality:
We pray for our friends within the Society of Mary and Martha at Sheldon and for the work of your kingdom they are committed to.
May they and we so rejoice in your love
that the world may come to know
the depths of your wisdom, the wonder of your compassion,
and your power to bring life out of death;
through the merits of Jesus Christ, our friend and brother,
who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Amen.
We are also aware that while some of you much prefer pen, paper, cheques and stamps, others like all things online and technological. So we are pleased that in advance of the new Sheldon website and clergy forum being launched you can now …
Update your details, check bookings and donate online. Click this link http://sheldon.webselect.net/legend, enter your email and proceed.
The design of the new Sheldon website is not yet sorted so this is just a “vanilla” page while we get all the functions working correctly. We’d really appreciate your time to have a look and test it out – especially the handy “donate now” feature!
This email received this morning is a heartwarming reminder of what Sheldon is all about. The writer gave permission for us to quote it.
“A belated but heartfelt thank you for my time at Sheldon. I came wondering if it would have any effect on the fairly deep grief, confusion and despair I was feeling and left with an inner peace I had not expected and have not experienced for a very long time. I am back in harness now and taking it as gently as I can, and am really enjoying the new experience of ministry without the overarching stress. I am so grateful for the way you welcomed us and surrounded us with acceptance and lots of space.”
As ever, with love and thanks from all of us at Sheldon.
Apologies for the radio silence in recent weeks. It can be quite busy behind the scenes providing peaceful tranqulity for guests!
We are very pleased to have made two appointments to the staff team in recent weeks. Paul starts work on Monday 10th March as our new Gardener/Handyman. Kerry starts on 2nd April helping Carl and Sarah with theatre publicity on Wednesday mornings and helping Hillary with gardening and housekeeping jobs on Saturday mornings. We are in the exploratory stages of an Administrator appointment and hope to have an announcement in that direction soon. We would welcome your prayers for us all as new staff members learn the ropes and settle in. We are looking forward to working with them.
The rain has continued in rather relentless fashion but apart from general muddiness it really hasn’t affected us too badly at all. Rail travel logistics have been challenging for guests at times, and the Teign Valley road is closed alternately by landslips, tree falls, and roadworks to stop it falling into the river, but never for very long! Everyone seems to adapt and we seem to be settled in to the new normal. The sheep and their shepherd will be pleased for a bit of sunshine when lambing starts next week. No doubt that will cue posting of some cute photos on Facebook.
The Trustees will be signing the contract for the Community GreenHouse next week. There have been some delays in getting this sorted while the technical people wrestle with some details, but we’re nearly there now and still on track to start building in early June. We’ve been quite glad no-one has been trying to build here through the wet winter months. After all the end of year financial number crunching was completed we were pleased to see £138,000 in the appeal fund which is almost 40% of the way towards the target. Carl has just sent out an appeal letter to Friends of Mary and Martha – a big thank you to everyone who has responded so far. We will be putting in some Trust applications in the next few weeks so prayers would be welcome for that too.
Next week we will be launching the first of our two new websites. The theatre one should be going live on www.sheldontheatre.co.uk on Tuesday 4th but you can take a sneak peek here in the meantime. Do let us know what you think. The theatre leaflets and tickets went to the printer’s this week. It’s nice to imagine that summer might be coming one day! Next we will be working on the new Sheldon website, including a re-launch of the Clergy Forum. If you have any thoughts about what you would like the new site to feature we look forward to hearing them. The two main drivers for a new site are (a) integration with our new internal bookings and donations system and (b) modern websites need to be easily viewable on tablets and smart phones. In the meantime, apologies that the old online shop is down so you can’t make bookings payments or donations online at the moment. The old technology died before we got the new one up and running. Talking of technology, it will be the end of March before all the repairs are completed to the phone system struck by lightning in January. Thankfully the insurers are taking care of the contractors’ and equipment costs even if our own time and energy is excluded.
Since we re-opened at Candlemas the place has been very well booked with private retreats for clergy and most of the led retreats in the spring and summer are already fully booked. We’ve juggled hospitality volunteers as people’s circumstances have changed for reasons varying from bereavement to falling in love. Somehow all the gaps seem to get filled in the end. We’re interested in recruiting new hospitality volunteers – have a chat with Sarah in the first instance if you’re interested.
A quick promotional plug to finish with – private retreats are cheaper at weekends and we have some availability over the coming months. Interested? Get in touch.
Thanks for all your enquiries about our welfare in the stormy weather. People and buildings are all fine. A few trees down in the woods and the theatre looked sorry when the stream took a shortcut over the stage underneath it. The telephone system took an expensive lightening hit which has given us 2 weeks of communications disruption and more to come. But thank goodness we’re closed to guests while we sort things out and most of the losses are covered by insurance.
We’re starting work on designs of the two new websites – the main Sheldon one and the theatre one. Will give you a sneak peek when there is something to see.
Preparatory work is coming along nicely for the Community GreenHouse (new living quarters to grow Community) and we plan to start work in June. The old (horticultural) greenhouse has come down and the site is basically cleared and ready. Currently scheming for the building of new compost heaps that should work better.
The housekeeping team have been cleaning every inch of the guest accommodation, plus contract carpet cleans, linen sorting and mending sessions, curtain washing etc. Everything will be glowing when we re-open. A few guests in quietly next week and then the doors open again properly on 26th January. When the phones haven’t been out of order they’ve been very busy with enquiries and bookings for the year ahead are looking very healthy.
We’ve also taken advantage of the closed period to have some very good meeting time together as a Community. The sort of space to talk and think and plan that we just don’t get when the place is in full swing. Next week is the deadline for applications for the various new posts we currently have advertised. Please do continue to pray for good appointments as we consolidate and grow our Community and staff teams.
We’ve just completed the last of this year’s led retreats. No, sorry, that should read “we’ve just started the new year with a led retreat”. It’s a funny mix isn’t it, inhabiting both the church’s liturgical calendar and the secular Christmas calendar. Advent retreat, Christmas Coffee morning, staff party, all in quick succession. We’re using Jim Cotter’s “EXPECTANT – verses for Advent” in chapel at 5pm each day. “O come, O Come, thou salmon, swift/to leap the ladder ‘gainst our drift,/to bear our sorrows to the source/and find in Love the one true force.” Red and white fairy lights have appeared all round the site, along with several Christmas trees, crib scenes in the chapels and, mysteriously, a Santa Claus up a tree. Esther de Waal has decided to retire from retreat giving and lecturing, so this was the last retreat she’ll lead – very special for it to have been at Sheldon.
With the Community Green House we are pleased to be able to announce the appointment of Hindsite as the construction company. They are an Exeter based company who built the Pig Pens for us in 2005/6. We will be signing contracts shortly and the building work will start in June next year. About 1/3 of the funding is in place and we will be revving up the fundraising in the new year. We’re going ahead in faith and on the strength of interest free loans from supporters which will mostly need to be repaid within 1 -2 years.
Behind the scenes, Tess is putting the final finishing touches to the new booking system before she moves into Exeter to start a new job in January. She’s also been writing the code to make our internal system play nicely with the new website that we’ll be building early next year. And just to make sure we do all the difficult things together we’re half way through replacing the office server – the master computer at the hub of our office network.
One of the main housekeeping jobs in the coming weeks will be the spring cleaning of all the guest accommodation. This includes curtains, carpets, blankets and every nook and cranny. Electrical appliances are PAT tested, fire alarms and emergency lights are tested and machinery is serviced. We also get a chance to take time during Janaury to step back from the day to day hospitality and focus on the needs and future of the Community and our staff teams. There will be a number of changes in the coming months as gardener Jacquie is moving on after 5 years, Hilary B has started as a new reception volunteer, and we will soon be recruiting for an administrator as Sarah’s current role is downsized in preparation for her new responsiblities. We’re excited by all the possibilities and challenges involved and would be grateful for your prayers as we have much to think about and plan for.
O come, O come, Emmanuel,/God-with-us here and now to dwell,/at one with our humanity,/in whom we find our destiny./Rejoice! Rejoice! The human face/of God with us shall interlace.
A big shout-out for lots of wonderful volunteers who play such a vital role on hospitality teams at Sheldon throughout the year. Thank you to those who took part in the 12,000-mile Service last week – leading workshops, worship and walks, cooking and offering 1:1 time. We’ve just completed part one of our annual recruitment round for the coming year. We start by making a list of all the weeks we are running an event and emailing all the potential volunteers. They then send back the weeks they can offer and any restrictions (eg you can have 2 of these 6 weeks and they must be more than 1 month apart). Sarah writes all the offers up on a big chart and meditates on it for a long time and then starts something akin to a sudoko exercise where she tries to end up with the right numbers in the right boxes (representing human beings in the right role at the right time). Then we meditate some more and all have a look at it a few times. (got this far!) Next we enter each volunteer placement into the new bookings system and send the volunteers “booking confirmation” emails that confirm their dates. Better get that done this week so everyone can get things in their diaries. A few old hands have hung up their teatowels this year, so there are vacancies open for people who have a practical turn of hand combined with kindness and a desire to serve. Do get in touch if you are interested. Guests regularly comment on their feedback forms how touched they are that people have given their time and skills and energy to enable them to rest and relax and retreat. Thank you all.
We’re all looking forward to a different sort of volunteering next weekend when we have the Advent Volunteer Workparty. Carl and Hillary are writing lists of practical jobs that need doing and putting together the liturgy for the weekend. Over 60 people coming and going over the next week for the R5, Quiet Day, Fun with Words workshop, volunteers and Linhay Lodge retreatants. Enjoying using our new booking system to keep track of everyone’s practical needs.
We woke to a surprise a couple of weeks ago with water pouring through the Hen Runs plant room. Our various trades support have done us proud sorting out the electrics, heating controls, wifi and telephone problems (yes they all got soaked) in double-quick time. Just collecting up all the invoices for an insurance claim. The rather bizarre cause turned out to be a certain insect laying its larvae in a mud paste inside the overflow pipes and firmly blocking them up ready for a ball valve in the header tank to fail. Never a dull moment!
Last week a longstanding Friend of Mary and Martha, Anne Charlton, led a well-attended “Tapestry of Life” retreat here. The idea was to link meditation time with crafting time, and judging by the atmosphere and feedback it was a great success. “the right balance between work and prayer, silence and laughter, stillness and activity”. “many thanks to the 2 volunteers who came to help in the kitchens – it always amazes me that people give up their time enabling people to come and be looked after”.
Talking of volunteers, we’re just about to circulate dates for hospitality volunteering for 2014. Volunteers play such a valuable role in the running of Sheldon in so many ways. A big thank you to you all, and we look forward to sorting out the roster for next year.
After a very hectic 6 weeks we have an unusually quiet week coming up which gives us a chance to catch up on things. It also includes a Trustees’ meeting which is run over an evening and a morning to give us informal Community/Trustee time as well as the formal business agenda. We’ll give you an update on the Community GreenHouse after the meeting. Last week we met with the shortlisted construction companies and expect we will very shortly be moving forward the next step on the project.
The IT project now has all the main features live and running smoothly. Training sessions with admin and housekeeping teams continue to sort out workflow details while Tess has been writing up the documentation. We are also starting to get into the detailed work on the integration of our internal system with the new website. The technical “under the bonnet” bit will be done first and then the design that you actually see will follow early next year. A trustee from one of the Trusts that is helping to fund the IT project will visit this week so it’s nice to have something ready to show her. This underpinning of our ministry will enable us to keep track of the detail of people’s practical needs much more easily which we hope will reduce stress for the team and increase our capacity to welcome guests.
Please remember in your prayers the many people in ministry who come here at a difficult time in their lives. Some are being harrassed, some are dealing with incredibly tricky child protection situations, some are unwell, some are bereaved, some are struggling to keep going for all sorts of reasons. Thank you for your help in keeping Sheldon here as a resource.
Sorry the blog is a bit quiet just now. We’re putting our writing energies into the bi-annual printed newsletter for Friends which is due to go to press in a couple of days ready for mailing out in mid November.
We’re also testing our wings with the new booking system which is now fully live – lots to learn and routines to change, but first impressions all exceedingly favourable. Well done Tess.
Just finished a full 12,000-mile Service week. Last night we had members of Christchurch Priory Choir staying over between Evensong in Exeter Cathedral last night and the Eucharist this morning. Tomorrow we welcome clergy from the diocese doing a CPAS Servants & Stewards course. We’re fully booked this week with the S&S course and guests on private retreat. About to send out a promotional mailing for November where there are still some spaces for private retreats, R5s and the 12,000-mile Service.
Very calm and quiet here at the moment. Various people have changed travel plans to be ahead of the weather. Everything that moves has been tied down. Wait and see what the night brings us!
PS – the storm was kind to us thanks. Some noisy winds, puddles on the roads, acorns and a dustbin lid were the worst of our troubles!
Society of Mary and Martha 