1969.
Another of the Preachers during the interregnum was the Rev'd Cyril Austen,
and the Deacons following their meeting of April 28th 1969, invited him to
Preach again "with a view to the Pastorate". However this time, the Deacons
had done their homework, and had first established that he was interested
- to avoid the kind of rebuff they had been given by Pastor Hopper.
The terms of settlement for the incoming Pastor were an initial period to
the pastorate of five years, £850 per annum salary, plus superannuation,
church telephone calls and line rental, National Insurance contributions
and out of pocket expenses. The reply to the joy of the deacons was positive.
Cyril had replied accepting the pastorate and was to begin his ministry on
Saturday 5th October. The Induction Service was held at 3.15pm 18th October
1969, when Cyril A. G. Austen was formally installed as Pastor.
Shoreham Baptist Church.
Cyril was a man of wider interests, and at the meeting with the Deacons on
the 8th December he shared with them that he was a member of the Dartford
Industrial Mission, which only occupied him for a few hours each week. He
also informed the Deacons that he had taken on the oversight of Shoreham
Baptist Church, which was without a Pastor, and this was a temporary measure,
until a lay pastor could be found.
1970.
Having found his feet in his initial period of ministry he proposed a Church
Conference on the weekend of 28th February and 1st March where he was asking
all Christian friends interested in the Church, to meet to look together
at the total life and activity of the Church, to pray and consider
the way ahead for the future. From the Conference new activities were begun,
a three months trial of a week night meeting of Prayer and Bible Study, and
Fellowship for the period of May to July. The Evening Service was to begin
at 4 pm in the winter. Pastor Austen had also begun a Junior Youth Club to
supplement the Youth Club.
At the Church AGM 16th March 1970, the membership figures were reported as
being 79 last year, but 67 for this year following adjustments - Losses by
resignation; 2, by "erasure"; 3, by transfer to "Absent members list"; 13.
Additions by transfer to the Church; 6.
A glutton for extra work, Cyril had been appointed Chaplain to Livingston
and Bow Arrow Hospitals. Not neglecting his work at Eynsford a series of
special Sunday evening Services were planned at the meeting 24th June 1970;
July - Service led by the Youth Group from
Poverest Road Baptist Church,
Orpington; August - Baptismal Service; September - Harvest; October - Eynsford
Baptist Church Youth Group; November - Guest Night, with a Gospel Service;
December - United Christmas Service with St Martin's with Carols and Tableaux.
However at the same meeting it was reported that the attendance at the week
night meeting "had not been as good as anticipated" . These
were then suspended, and were to be restored after the Harvest in September.
Other decisions at the meeting concerned the installation of a hearing-aid
loop, Dartford Free Church Council, and the Church Missionary Committee.
The Church did have an amplification system of sorts, which was ineffective,
and it was agreed to install a new system to include a hearing aid loop.
Whilst Eynsford Baptist Church had participated in the events of the Free
Church Council, it had never been in membership, so it was agreed to join.
Although mission events had taken place regularly, the Church Missionary
Committee had not function collectively since 1963, and that it ought to
be reconstituted.
At the Deacons meeting on the 30th September 1970, new interdenominational
(the preferred evangelical term for "ecumenical")
meetings with the Anglicans were planned. There was to be a joint
Deacons/St Martin's PCC meeting on the 6th October, and joint evening services
for December 20th and January 17th. It was also reported that a cost of
£17, a 25% share in an "electronic duplicating machine" owned by the
Eynsford Friendship Guild, had been purchased.
At the Deacons meeting of 16th December it was reported the joint Deacons/St
Martin's PCC meeting had; "led to a better understanding between the our
two Churches", and that the Pastor "looked forward to co-operating with
the new Vicar (Rev'd D Sweetman) whose induction was planned for the afternoon
of Jan 23rd". Also at the same meetings the Pastor's salary was increased
to £950 per annum.
Ministry Tomorrow - A Report of the Baptist Union.
In 1970 a Report of the Baptist Union was yet another subject discussed by
the Pastor and Deacons at their December meeting. It was sub-titles "Use,
deployment, maintenance of the Ministry" The Report envisaged a smaller number
of better trained, better paid, full time Ministers in charge of small groups
of churches, with a membership numerically sufficient to provide adequate
"job satisfaction" for the Ministry and with the assistance of a trained
part-time lay ministry.
1971.
At the AGM 24th March 1971, it was reported the the membership had increased
by 2 to 69. Also at the same meeting the Association Church of the
Year (the regional Baptist Association pick a Church each year deserving
of financial support) was announced as West
Malling Baptist Church. The Church faced a debt of £8000 by purchasing
a property next to the church to house the Pastor, and with the addition
of two floors for childrens and youth activities. It was agreed to forward
£5 from the Communion fund, and on the 21st April to show a film and
speak on the project with a retiring collection.
Many of the Youth Club members failed to attend Church, and so a strict rule
had been imposed - only those who attended church could belong to the Youth
Group. At the Deacons' meeting 30th June 1971, it was noted the the Youth
Club rule applied rigidly; "resulted in a loss of members to such an extent
that it was no virtually impossible for the group to function effectively
in its present form". This topic of discussion continued with the meeting
of September 29th when it was suggested that the Church move to the Christian
Endeavor programme. At the meeting 1st December, the plan was to re-establish
the Youth Club meetings on a Sunday Evening with a Church Service, and a
club night on Saturdays. In November the Church members had taken part in
the "Grow and Go" Campaign.
Shoreham Baptist Church.
At the same December meeting, Cyril could report that Shoreham Baptist Church
had invited a Lay Preacher to become the Lay Pastor of the Church, a full
year after he had taken on the oversight of the Church.
1972.
At the AGM 22nd March 1972, it was reported that the membership stood at
69 members with 2 losses and 2 gains. The youth membership of the Church
had fallen drastically - under 14s; 18 members compared with 34 the year
before, and of the 14-18 year olds, 10 members compared with 27 in the previous
year. The AGM laid out future plans 1. Pastoral Letters, 2. Holiday Club,
3. Inner Mission, 4. The Mission to be followed by Evangelical Outreach,
and lastly 5. The Front of Church to be made more attractive by the removal
of the gravestones and a grassed area forming a garden. From the subsequent
history, the latter plan became an unrealised aspiration talked about in
subsequent decades, into the decade past the millennium!
At the same meeting it was noted that a plaque had been erected on the front
of 54 High Street Farningham commemorating Miss Mary Ann Hearn known by her
pseudonym Marriane Farningham, a previous member of the Church (see Chapter
2). She became a noted hymn writer and authoress. Pastor Jonathan
Whittemore, had been the main encouragement for Miss Hearn in her career
as a writer. For more details of her life see
Marianne
Farningham, 1834-1909 on the Victorian Web. What concerned the deacons,
was that they had been asked by Farningham parish Council to contribute
£14.70. The decision was left at that meeting as the view was taken
that it was considered more appropriate to have had a commemoration plaque
erected in the Church! The Deacons relented a fraction as it was reported
later (21st June 1972) that they had sent £2.50 to Farningham Parish
Council. What was not skimped over was the question of an increase in the
Pastor's salary, which was raised £100.
In June and July of 1972, the Church's 180th Anniversary was celebrated.
At the meeting of 21st June 1972, the non-viability of the Choir was
discussed. It was reported that due to the decline in membership it was:
"no longer viable for Sunday Services". However it will provide Choir music
for special occasions and try to recruit members. However with the ending
of Sunday duty spelt the end of its existence.
At the Quarterly Church meeting of the 20th September, the Church committed
itself to another of the various campaigns which were doing the rounds -
the "One Step Forward" Campaign which would be run on 6 Sunday Mornings.
Local Church groupings.
The Union Church at
Crockenhill proposed a joint ministry. Also wider links were considered
with West Kingsdown and Shoreham - but these proposals were considered second
best - instead Eynsford suggestion was for a loose federation.
Sheltering the homeless poor.
In response to an appeal for Temporary accommodation for the Uganda Asian
Immigrants, who had been thrown out by the Dictator Idi Armen, the Church
offered Eynsford Baptist School Hall , which was; "agreed without
dissent". Here was the Church at its best, scriptural obedience - with
no voice of dissent. However, the offer was not taken up but the decision
recorded in the minute book reveals a Church living the scriptures. |
"Is it not to share your bread with the hungry
and bring the homeless poor into your house;
when you see the naked, to cover him,
and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?"
Isaiah 58:7 |
|
1973.
At the AGM 21st March 1973, the membership figure was given as 69, which
meant that the Church was holding still. The Pastor's stipend was increased
by £150 to £1230 per annum. Whilst this may seem a generous
rise, it was not over generous as inflation was running at 6.4%, and it was
a low wage. [For comparison, the compiler of these history
pages received a salary of £2000 as a Technical Officer on British
Railways]. The Trustees of a small strip of land on the
Farningham side at the front of the Church (r/h side looking to the front
of the Church from the road) which did not belong to the Church were willing
to transfer this as a deed of gift provided the Church paid the conveyancing
fees. It was reported that the response to the "Inner Mission" had been poor.
The quarterly Church meeting of 16th September 1973 had reported that the
Children's Holiday Club of 21st - 24th August had been a success with an
average attendance of 30 children. However there had been no attendance at
Church. The Church looked at ways of involving children such as having them
as part of the service, but then take them to the Vestry while the Service
continues.
Shoreham Baptist Church.
The Shoreham Church continued to be a concern. The Seven Oaks District Baptist
Churches agreed to meet on the 23rd November at Shoreham Baptist Church "to
pray for the Baptist Cause in that Village".
At the Deacon's meeting 5th December 1973, it was agreed that the Pastor's
salary was increased in line with inflation (8.4%) by £100 for the end
of 1973.
1974 Resignation of Pastor Cyril Austen.
At the Deacon's meeting of the 26th June a letter which had been sent
on the 26th May by Pastor Cyril Austen giving notice of his intention to
resign in September of that year, having by then nearly completing five years
of ministry at Eynsford. It was agreed at the Deacon's meeting of 18th December
to approach Mr Malcolm Cook a student at
Spurgeon's College, to preach on
Sunday 12th January 1975.
1975, The call of Pastor Malcolm Cook.
A special meeting of the Deacons was held on the 15th January where it was
agreed to invite Malcolm Cook for 5 years, at £1500
(representing a decrease in salary as inflation had run at
17.2% for 1974), free use of the Manse, 4 weeks holiday,
Telephone rental and calls, Car Allowance, and BU Superannuation. The Induction
took place in July 1975, and Malcolm Cook, who had been ordained at the Park
Road, Bromley Baptist Church, accepted the call to Eynsford, becoming their
next Pastor.
1976.
So respected was Malcolm, that by 15th June 1976, he had been elected
the President of the Dartford Free Church Council. At the meeting of 21st
June, a £52 increase had been given to Pastor Cook - this was well below
inflation then running at 24.2% in 1975! Well into the modern age, it was
reported at the meeting of 29th November 1976, that the Services were being
tape-recorded.
West
Kingsdown.
West Kingsdown came once again to the attention of the Deacon's meeting at
Eynsford. It had flourished under its Lay Pastor, and then the Reverend Eric
Eyre had been appointed Pastor, but had resigned in the spring of 1976.
1977.
Early 1977 organ repairs were being discussed. Celebrations for the Queen's
Silver Jubilee for 7th June 1977, were discussed, and it was agreed to have
a Joint Church Float in the procession. At church that attendance began to
flag, and it was reported at the Deacon's meeting Monday 20th June, that
on 13 turned up at the Evening Service, and the Pastor expressed his concern
about the spiritual life of the Church, with the decline in attendance at
Services. The repairs to the Organ were in hand and were to begin on the
19th September 1977.
Bribery and Corruption at the Children's Mission!
At the meeting 24th September disapproval was voiced over how the Children's
mission achieved a large attendance - through a promise of prizes!!!! Attempting
to move on people's spiritual life it was announced at the meeting of 14th
November, that 5 minutes silence was to be introduced before the Service.
1978 Discussions on a team Ministry with the Vine, Sevenoaks.
Local discussions amongst Baptists centred on the possible creation of a
Team Ministry with the Vine
Church Sevenoaks. The deacons at their meeting on the 11th September
thought it would be unsettling for the Pastor. A further meeting was held
on the 9th October. The scheme outlined would be for a full time Minister
to exist at the Vine and a part-time Minister at Eynsford. Leonard Lane at
the Vine was retiring at the end of 1978, and Malcolm had been invited to
stay at Eynsford until Autumn 1980. The Pastor had considered the only place
for him in the scheme he was proposing was if he was to be invited to the
Vine. A further meeting was held on the 1st March 1979, with the Vine Church,
and no definite plans were forged, and no arrangements were entered into,
and the Vine Baptist Church responded to the sentiment for closer links with
Eynsford (which in reality did not happen, due to a lack of any proximity).
The discussions were an obvious response to a decline which had set in at
the Church.
1979, Basic salary .
It was noted at the meeting of 12th December, that the basic salary set by
the Home Mission Fund was to be £2560 inclusive of Manse Allowances.
On the issue of decline, one of the evidences was that by May 1979, there
were only five fully functioning Deacons, out of a possible eight in number.
At the same meeting the Pastor gave notice of his resignation as he was moving
to a Baptist Church in Leicester. A farewell Social was arranged for the
8th March 1980.
1980.
After the loss of Pastor Malcolm Cook, the Church took a further three
months before getting around to inviting possible new Pastors to 'preach
with a view'. The first was invited to preach mid June and whilst the Deacons
were impressed the Church was not. It was only three months later on the
17th September that the first invitee was turned down. It would be over a
year from the loss of Malcolm, before a new Pastor was appointed.
Compiler The Rev'd Dr Michael Foster
|
Eynsford Christian Fellowship
(Baptist)
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