News Churches join
to reach more THE creation of a new Team Min- istry, serving a dozen churches along the PilgrimsWay, looks set to win favour. The re-organisation – merging the parishes of Hollingbourne, Hucking, Boxley, Thurnham, Detling, Leeds, Broomfield, Grove Green, Kingswood, Langley and Otham – has won the backing of all the Parochial Church Councils (PCC) af- fected. Thenew“super benefice” orTeam Ministry would operate under a Team Rector – currently Rev John Corbyn, at Holy Cross, Bearsted – with a Team Vicar, Rev Steve Hughes, in Otham; a new Mission post reaching out to families on new estates and a second Team Vicar at Hollingbourne vicarage. The official name of the Team Ministry, the Hollingbourne va- cancy and the Mission post will be progressednowthepublic consulta- tion has closed. It follows discussions that began
nearly two years ago in light of va- cancies and how the church should respond to falling and aging congre- gations – a decision described by Rural Dean Rev DickVenn as an “in- spiration from God”. He said: “It hasn’t been an easy decision. EveryPCChas had to look quite carefully and hard about the way forward and this is what we want to do. “It is important for the Church to
look at its mission work and to strike the balance between catering for our existing congregations and reaching out to new people, or the Church will cease to exist.” Rev Venn, who retires as vicar of
the Len Valley Benefice in Septem- ber, has urged the church to start ad- vertising his post now, to ensure the congregation isn’t left without a vicar for any length of time and to ensure his success in increasing at- tendance can be built on.
New chairman KAY Lowe has taken over as chair- man of Vinters Park Residents’ As- sociation. She replaces Gerry Kirrage who is standing down. Kay has lived in Vinters Park for
more than 40 years and hopes to see more events such as coffee morn- ings, drop-in meetings for older peo- ple and festive events. She can be contacted by letter to
the centre in Aldon Close or by its Facebook page.
Panto auditions LEEDS Amateur Dramatic Society (LADS) is holding auditions for next year’s pantomime, Robin Hood, which will be staged in February. They will be held in the village
hall at2pmon September 18. Details are on the LADS Facebook page.
4 Maidstone East September 2016
downsmail.co.uk
Report praises AgeUK for ‘first class’ service
AGE UK Maidstone was given a glowing report on its staff and care but has been told by a healthwatchdog that it must improve its admin. The charity’s Mill Street branch,
which provides bathing and foot- care services for more than 400 older people, received an unan- nounced two-day inspection in June from Care Quality Commis- sion (CQC) inspectors. Their report praised the service
for being effective, caring and re- sponsive, but made recommenda- tions following issues on safety and leadership. Recruitment files did not contain required information and there had not been regular criminal record checks. Some staff had worked for the charity for more than 10 years without being re-assessed. The CQC also said individuals’
care needs should be reviewed more regularly and reviews sought on the service. Fire risk assessments were overdue and the new man- ager had taken up the post earlier this year, but had not yet registered
and “gold stars”. About 80 people use the bathing service and 340 are helped by the foot care service. The report said: “Staff were trained and supported to have the right skills, knowledge and qualifications necessary to give people the right support. Everyone we spoke with said the staff, whether they were using the foot care or bathing service, respected their privacy and dignity.” Paul Coles, chief executive ofAge
Paul Coles of Age UK,Maidstone
with the CQC. However, the inspectors praised
the care provided, reporting that people they interviewed said the staff were well trained and knew what they were doing. One person described the service as “first class”
Newlyweds start life on the back of a tractor
A TRACTOR played a starring role in the Bearsted blessing of newly-weds James and Laura Jefferys. James married his Danish bride in the cathedral in their home town of Aarhus, Denmark’s second largest city, but they came back to Bearsted for a blessing at Holy Cross Church – and a scenic tractor ride through the grounds of the BearstedWoodland Trust.
James’ mum Sandra
Knatchbull lives at Gore Cottage, which adjoins theWoodland Trust, and the family stores the tractor which belonged formore than 40 years toWoodland Trust benefactor Pauline Moore. It seemed a fitting
mode of transport to travel to and from the church, with the blessing of theWoodland Trust. James (27) and Laura (31), who aremusicians, met when they were students at Canterbury University. Mrs Knatchbull, who travelled to Denmark for the wedding with her husband Andrew and other family members, said of the Bearsted blessing journey: “Because we live the other side of theWoodland Trust to the church and have Pauline’s tractor, it seemed the ideal solution to get to and from the church.”
Castle PAto
stand down THE personal assistant to the chief executive of Leeds Castle is to retire after 21 years. Beverley Clark intends to spend
time travelling with her husband. Chief executive Sir David Steel
paid tribute to Beverley in the Leeds and Broomfield parish magazine. He said: “Change in personnel is
always difficult and thankfully we do not have a high turnover in staff working for the foundation. “We miss them all but this month
we are losing one of our longest- serving members of staff. “Mrs Beverley Clark, PA to the
chief executive since 1995, will step down so that she and her husband can spend time travelling and at- tending to their many hobbies. “She will be missed greatly by all
who work here, but also by those in the surrounding area, forwhomshe has been the main point of contact.” Beverley Clark is pictured with
Leeds Castle patron Her Royal Highness Princess Alexandra in 2014.
UKMaidstone, said the charitywas working to update its admin pro- cedures. He said: “We have a very long-serving and stable staff. Some have been with us for 20 years.We are pleased that the CQC did such a detailed inspection of our service because it enables us to learn from that and ensure thatwe are provid- ing the best service to our clients. “If any of our clients are worried, they can ring and talk to our staff.”
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