From the Minister - Deacon Stephen Roe
June 2026
I begin my report this year fully aware that it will be my last as minister of Stratton Methodist Church, and so would like to thank you all for the welcome and support you have given to us over the past five years, and for all your contributions to the life and witness of the Church during that time, which I know will continue in the future.
One of the highlights of the year was undoubtedly the Celebration Weekend in April, when we gave thanks to God for 200 years of Methodism in Stratton St Margaret. It was the culmination of a lot of hard work, and we thank all those who were involved in the planning and preparation for the weekend. I hope that the numbers who came to all the events, and the obvious enjoyment and appreciation expressed, from the Beetle Drive to the craft activities, the crammed full church for the Afternoon Tea, the concert and the worship and lunch on Sunday, without forgetting the history display and work in the kitchen which went on all weekend, helped us all to feel that it was very worthwhile, and a real celebration of the faithfulness of the people called Methodists in Stratton, including ourselves today.
The heart of our church life together continues to be our worship, both in person and on Zoom, and we are indebted to all those who lead us in worship, both from around the Circuit and beyond, and to our own Worship Leaders. As is required every three years, they were all assessed during the year by a Local Preacher and assessed as being competent to continue to lead worship in the Methodist Church. This was confirmed by our own Church Council, and our Worship Leaders were appointed for a further three years. We are grateful too to all those who enhance our worship in other ways, including musicians, readers, welcomers, Communion Stewards, coffee makers and washers-up.
It has been said many times that the Church is the people, not a building, and while this is true, people need a place to gather and meet and call home. We owe our thanks to all those who keep our building in good repair and ready for use by the church and wider community, including our regular mid-week groups, Art Club and Connections.
A major project for consideration this year has been the boiler replacement. As reported last year, following careful consideration the decision was taken to replace the existing gas-fired boilers with a single one, still powered by gas. Our detailed exploration of the alternatives and rationale for coming to our decision was acknowledged in the readiness of the Circuit to give a generous grant towards the replacement, and we are grateful to all who were involved in that. The replacement is due for July this year.
Our Pastoral Visitors have continued to care for our members and friends during the year and have met on several occasions to consider different aspects of Christian Pastoral Care, and to share any concerns, as appropriate, although by its very nature much of the work of pastoral care remains confidential to a small number of people. We thank our Pastoral Visitors and the Pastoral Care Co-ordinator for all that they do.
An important aspect of Pastoral Care, and indeed of all of the life of the Church, is Safeguarding, ensuring that all our activities are carried out safely and that all those who are part of the Church, whatever form that takes, are kept safe. We thank our Safeguarding Officer for their diligence in keeping us aware of this and up-to-date with any developments which we need to know about.
Our finances remain in a healthy state, and indeed, for the first time that I, and I suspect many of us, can remember, our rightly cautious Treasurer changed the “status” report which he gives to each Church Council to “Everything is OK”. As he stresses each time though, this is no reason to be complacent, as all costs are continually rising, but it does reflect his careful stewarding of resources, the generous giving by our members and friends, and also the decision by the Circuit to subsidise the assessment by using some of the reserves to pay towards the cost of ministers.
Much of the work in all these aspects of Church life that I have mentioned, worship, property, pastoral care, finance, safeguarding, midweek groups and activities, takes place quietly and in the background, unseen by most of us, although we would soon notice if it was not done. We give thanks to God for all the gifts he has given us and which are used to serve him in the Church and also in the community.
As you may know, one of my favourite Bible verses is Genesis 12.1: “Now the Lord said to Abram, ‘Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house, to the land that I will show you.’” As we prepare to move from Swindon, and as you prepare to welcome your new minister, my confident prayer is that wherever we go God will travel with us, and will lead us to a land which he will show us.
May God bless you in whatever the future holds.
Deacon Stephen Roe
Stephen reads the story of the feeding of the 5,000 in Welsh.
Ever wondered what it is like to be a minister? Hear Stephen answer this question when he worked in his previous Methodist Circuit Cylchdaith Cymru, Wales.