2020-12-31-accounts

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ST JOHN’S COLCHESTER

Annual Report & Financial Statements of the Parochial Church Council

For the year ended 31 December 2020

Incumbent: Rev’d Andy Sachs

Bank: Barclays Bank High Street Colchester

Independent Examiners: Larking Gowen Unit | Claydon Business Park Great Blakenham Ipswich Suffolk IP6 ONL

St John’s Church St John’s Close Colchester Essex CO4 0HP

Registered Charity Number: | 127854

Annual Report	Annual Report	Annual Report		Page 3
Vicars	Report			Page 5
Independent Examiners Report				Page 8
Balance		Sheet		Page 9
Statement of Financial Accounts				Page 10
Accounting Policies				Page 11
Notesto		theFinancial	Statements	Page12

St. John's Church - Annual Report for 2020

Introduction

St John's PCC has the responsibility of co ~~-~~ operating with the Incumbent in promoting within the Parish the whole mission of the Church ~~-~~ pastoral, evangelistic, social and ecumenical. It oversees and directs the mission and work of the Parish Church of St John's within the parish boundaries. Rev. Andy Sachs was appointed in September 2012 as Priest in Charge of the Parish of St John's. These reports, along with the Organisation Reports of the various ministry streams of the church, illustrate how the PCC fulfils its obligations to benefit the public ~~-~~ mainly to the worshipping congregations and to the local communities, but also beyond.

PCC Membership

Members of the PCC are either ex ~~-o~~ fficio or elected by the Annual Parochial Church meeting in accordance with the Church Representation Rules.

During the year the following were members of the PCC.

AndySachs	AndySachs	AndySachs	AndySachs	AndySachs	AndySachs	AndySachs	AndySachs	Chair
Rick		Moore						Treasurer
Viv	Whitfield							Clergy
Tim	Solosy							Clergy (Left	19 December 2020)
Wendy					Tiffin			PCC Secretary
Nik	Read							Church Warden
DeniseJohnson				Johnson Church Warden (Appointed							6 Oct 2020)
Dave Gentry								Deanery/ Diocesan Synod
Mary			Anthony					Deanery Synod
Hope Osayande Deanery Synod (Appointed 6											October 2020)
Alex			Quayle					Deanery Synod
Martin				Roscoe				Deanery Synod
Dave			Sollis					PCC
Barbara						Lamb		PCC (Stepping down 28		April 2021, end ofterm)
Helen Wilson								PCC (Stepping down 28		April 2021, end ofterm)
Peter Birdseye								PCC (Stepping down 28		April 2021, end ofterm)
Geoff Gilbert								PCC
Joanna				Marshall PCC
Tony			Berry					PCC (Appointed 6 October 2020)
Jane		Cornell						PCC (Appointed 6 October 2020)
Nicky Sirett								PCC (Appointed 6 October 2020)
Jonathan							Mulvey PCC(Appointed6October2020)

The PCC operates through several committees/groups which meet between the full meetings of the PCC -

Standing Committee

This is the only committee required by law. It has the power to transact the business of the PCC between its meetings. Since March 2020, on account of the Covid pandemic, the Standing Committee has conducted the majority of the church business on behalf of the PCC.

Resources Group

This group oversees firstly, the general financial dimension of the work of St John's is accomplished by monitoring income and expenditure, setting budgets, maintaining financial controls, the allocation of finance and co ~~-o~~ rdinating the annual accounts. Secondly, this group oversees the management of the people employed by the Church, the management of people in voluntary roles and to support those involved in line management.

Thirdly this group proposes budgets and refurbishment plans to maintain the fabric of the community centre and church building. It supports and gives guidelines to administrative staff on policy and letting arrangements for the hire of church buildings. Since March 2020, on account of the Covid pandemic, the Standing Committee has conducted the majority of Resources Group business.

Mission Partnerships Group

This group was formed to serve this area on behalf of the PCC with the aim of oversee and support our Mission Partnerships, both individually and with organisations.

Below is a list of the Mission Partners and organisations that SJC gave to in 2020:

Sinclairs	Sinclairs	£0
Nortons		£5,400
Toths		£3,000
Hugh	B.	£2,600
Laura	Simcox	£2,400

St Anne’s Community Garden Project £500

Vicar’s Discretionary Fund ~~-~~ £744

Community Centre Management Committee (CCMC)

This PCC su ~~b-~~ committee ensures that the Community Centre is run with a missional business ethos, with the vision for: ‘blessing the local community by providing a facility that encourages a healthy lifestyle, promotes family life and provides educational opportunities’, utilising the facility as an instrument for seeing God's Kingdom come and generating income to support the church's missional work. From Lockdown in March 2020, much of the hiring has been curtailed.

Electoral Roll

2021 Roll Revision ~~—~~ 2 new Electoral Roll forms were filled in, of which 0 are resident of the Parish and 2 are non ~~-r~~ esident. Being listed on the Electoral Roll of St. John's gives you a say in how your Church is run. In order to vote at the AVM, or to stand for election onto our PCC you must be on the Electoral Roll of the Church . If you missed out this year, or if you are unsure whether you are already included, then please speak to our Electoral Roll Officer - Denise Johnson, and she will be ableto ensure that you are entered on in time for next year’s roll.

There was no average weekly attendance at St John’s counted during October 2020 because of the pandemic. There were an average of 341 views of the services put out each Sunday during October.

We conducted the following: ~~-~~ no Baptisms & Thanksgiving, 3 Marriages, 12 Funerals in the Church or conducted elsewhere, e.g crematorium.

|~~|~~
~~StJohn’sResident~~
~~2020~~|~~|~~
~~StJohn’sResident~~
~~2020~~|~~Resident|Non-Resident~~|~~Resident|Non-Resident~~|~~Non-Resident~~
~~|~~|~~Non-Resident~~
~~|~~| |---|---|---|---|---|---| |~~|~~
~~St John’s Resident |~~
~~|~~
~~2020~~|||||| |2021|~~a~~||~~a~~||~~a~~|

*Numbers accurate to time church building closed due to Covid- ~~19~~

crisis.

Vicars Report - The Aims of St John's Church in 2020

St John's PCC is responsible for the upkeep and maintenance of the Parish Church building, a Church Community Centre and the mission and ministry of St John's Church Family, located in and in relation to the estate of St John's in north Colchester, but with a vision to impact the lives of those beyond the parish too as with the umbrella aim of ‘Following Jesus, loving people and transforming the world’. Until the Covid pandemic took hold in March 2020 the church buildings were well used, not only for church activities and community events, but also for conferences and hirers from the wider community.

From January until March 2020 many regular missional activities of the church such as Refresh, Messy Church and SJC Community Choir, serving those with children, through every age and stage, to the activities run by our Thursday Generation team, continued to flourish.

In January 2020 Andy, the vicar preached on Noah’s Ark and asked the church to pray into three areas for SJC to develop in 2020:

|. S}C Members being called to join and build Christian communities that rescue those in our communities who don’t yet know Christ, the last, the least and the lost from despair and death... life without God. These SJC communities are the primary place of belonging, pastoral care, discipleship and missional activity at SJC

as each disciple grows in their:

UP relationship with God through prayer and worship

IN relationships with one another OUT relationships with the world around them

SJC is being called to assist in building communities across our MMP through seeing churches revitalised, new works of the kingdom pioneered and planted.... 3. SJC is being called to exercise faith, make sacrifices and to walk righteous and blameless lives with God, lives of obedience in every area of life.

Following the Prime Minister's announcement of 23rd March 2020, the Archbishops wrote to clergy in support of the measures and again on 27 March, requiring that churches must close both for private worship and public services. Our church buildings therefore closed for public worship, private prayer and all other meetings and activities. The community centre was also closed to hirers for much of the rest of 2020, apart from Oaklea nursery who returned to the centre in once pre ~~-~~ school education was permitted.

During the Lockdowns of 2020 most of the SJC community have adapted by taking their gatherings on ~~-l~~ ine.

Since March 2020 St John’s Church has provided on ~~-l~~ ine weekly services on the St John’s Church Colchester YouTube channel, and from | 1th October services in the building re ~~-~~ started for SJC communities and the public, following all current Govt. and C of E guidelines.

In March 2020 the New Wine Discipleship Year hub went online. In September 2020 the New Wine Discipleship Year hub started with its third cohort of 4 students, with two SJC discipleship students, one involved with our worship team and the other, involved with our children and youth.

At the end of 2020 Rev'd Tim Solosy’s curacy moved from SJC to the Tenpenny Villages so that he might gain experience of leading and ministering in a more rural multi ~~-~~ parish benefice.

On behalf of the PCC | am grateful to all those who volunteered of their time in such this difficult pandemic year 2020 in order to see the continued mission and ministry of St John's Church flourish. | am grateful to the Standing Committee, PCC and staff team for their hard work throughout the year. | want to thank all those who gave so generously to the work of St John's Church in 2020, as well as those who gave towards our ‘Finishing What We Started’ Community Centre Giving Campaign, raising approximately £29K ~~-~~ thank you for your incredible generosity.

Financial review

Covid-19 and the resultant lockdowns and restricted opening had a significant financial impact on the year 2020. Income from collections fell to £4,875 (2019: £19,613), and rentals from the community centre were reduced to £34,118 (2019: £52,342). Running cost reductions partly compensated, boosted by income from the government job retention scheme £39,040 and a £5,000 grant.

The annual accounts for 2020 record a total income of £408,630, compared to £379,224 in 2019. Tax recovered from Gift Aid and the Gift Aid Small Donations Scheme (GASDS) was £42,922, (£42,058 in 2019). Tax recovery remains a substantial contribution to the total income. Total expenditure for the year was £369,311, compared to £405,335 in 2019. This included our parish share to the diocese of £114,903. On 31 December 2020, the principal balances were £120,810 in the general fund and £1,013,786 in the restricted fund. Overall, the accounts show a surplus of £39,708 compared with a deficit of £25,220 in 2019.

Rev. Andy Sachs (Mar 2021) (29 March 2021)

Mr Nik Read (Mar 2021) (29 March 2021)

Independent examiner’s report to the Trustees of The Parochial Church Council of St John’s Church, Colchester

I report to the charity trustees on my examination of the accounts of St John’s Church (‘the Charity’) for the year ended 31 December 2020 which are set out on pages 9 to 15.

Responsibilities and basis of report

As the trustees of the Charity you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (‘the Act’). You are satisfied that the accounts of the Charity are not required by charity law to be audited and have chosen instead to have an independent examination.

I report in respect of my examination of the accounts. I have carried out my examination under section 145 of the 2011 Act. In carrying out my examination I have followed the Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the 2011 Act.

Independent examiner’s statement

Since the Charity’s gross income exceeded £250,000 your examiner must be a member of a body listed in section 145 of the 2011 Act. I confirm that I am qualified to undertake the examination because I am a member of Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, which is one of the listed bodies.

I have completed my examination. I confirm that no matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe:

accounting records, with respect to the Charity, were not kept as required by section 130 of the 2011 Act; or
the accounts do not accord with those records; or
the accounts do not comply with the applicable requirements concerning the form and content of accounts set out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than any requirement that the accounts give a ‘true and fair view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination.

I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

………………………………….

Name: Giles Kerkham FCA DChA

Larking Gowen LLP Chartered Accountants 1 Claydon Business Park Ipswich IP6 0NL

Date: 27 April 2021

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ST JOHN’S, COLCHESTER

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The following pages do not form part of the Annual Report and Financial Statements

The Buildings & Facilities Management Report

Initial plans for 2020 were to press ahead with the recommendations of the 2019 Quinquennial report, as well as keeping on top of regular maintenance. Volunteers gathered on 8 Feb 2020 to undertake a number of jobs in the buildings and grounds.

Routine maintenance was undertaken on the church where it was safe to do so. Later in the year, the hole in the floor of the family room was fixed and made good (our thanks to Gary and Peter Willmott) and the vinyl flooring re ~~-l~~ aid by the original contractor. Some other recommendations from the Quinquennial Report have also been implemented.

The Buildings Committee is now looking at the rest of the recommendations, as well as considering options for the roof over the link room, which is leaking again. This is likely to be a large project with significant costs, so please keep the team in your prayers as they undertake this work, and also for funding and grants to be available to help cover the costs.

2020 has been very quiet in terms of hiring, for obvious reasons. We were glad to be able to continue to accommodate Oaklea pre ~~-~~ school in the Community Centre for most of the year and some of other regular hirers have been in during those times when it was safe. Jo Roberts has done a great job of keeping in touch with all our hirers and we are pleased that many of them hope to return as soon as it is safe. We are thankful as well for new enquiries, even now, from prospective regular hirers and we hope to be able to welcome them soon.

Andrew Tiffin

Deanery Synod Report

Lay representatives plus clergy from all the Colchester Anglican churches meet three times a year, to hear what’s going on in the Diocese and nationally, and to discuss and share ideas about how we can work together more effectively across Colchester.

11 February 2020 at St. Margaret’s, Berechurch

e The Good News Story this month came from St. Stephens’ Church and John Clifton gave an excellent presentation regarding the Eco Church Scheme which St. Stephens’ had recently signed up to, and invited sister churches in the Deanery to do the same.
e Our area Dean, Reverend Canon Paul Norrington gave a presentation updating Synod members on the Deanery Vision Plan (DVP) which had been approved by the Deanery Standing and Pastoral Committee (DSPC) on 27" January 2020.
e Synod was informed that the DSPC had appointed John Chandler as Deanery Finance Officer.

25" June 2020 — Online via ‘Zoom’

e The Archdeacon of Colchester, Venerable Ruth Patten and Area Mission and Ministry Advisor, Reverend Phil Ritchie gave a presentation entitled “Towards Financial Resilience’, discussing the financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our parishes. This was followed by a question and answer session.

I* December 2020 — Online via Zoom

e Atthis meeting the election of Deanery Standing and Pastoral Committee officers took place and the following were elected:
=" Clergy — Reverend Andy Sachs
= Clergy — Reverend Lorraine Badger ~~-~~ Watts
= Clergy — Reverend Tony Bushell
= Clergy — Reverend Erwin Lammens
= Clergy — Reverend Hannah Cooper
= Laity — Mel Bateman
Laity - Mary Durlacher
= Laity - Jane Scot ~~t~~ -Thompson = Laity - Vacancy = Laity - Vacancy
e There was then an address by the Bishop of Colchester, Bishop Roger Morris. The Bishop updated Synod of where we are as a diocese with the current financial situation. A full report of the Bishop’s address and the following Q&A session can be found in the minutes of the Synod meeting.

ORGANISATIONAL REPORTS

These reports are not part of the financial statement.

Alpha Course Report 2020

In January 2020 a decision was made to run the Alpha Course, in conjunction with other churches within our Mission and Ministry Partnership (MMP), to start during May 2020. The course was to run at St. Anne’s Church Premises. The course would be jointly facilitated by Martin Roscoe along with Peter Birdseye plus Reverend Sue Howlett and Sam Lees (ordinand) from Greenstead with St. Anne’s Parish.

The global coronavirus pandemic outbreak and subsequent lockdown has meant that our original plans had to be reconsidered. The decision taken was that we would still offer the Alpha Course, but that we would facilitate it online via the Zoom platform.

Our original plan was to run the entire Alpha course broken into 4 week modules with a break of a few weeks between modules. By the time we had reached the third week of the first fou ~~r-~~ week module, it became really apparent to us that our guests were forming good relationships with each other and because they were engaging so well with each other, and with the discussions being held within the small groups, we did not want to prevent progress or the impetus with which the course was moving forward. Our guests were asked if they would like to stop for the proposed break, or whether they would like to carry on each week and complete the course in its entirety. Unanimously our guests expressed a preference for continuing the course without taking a break and so that is how we proceeded.

Weekly Videos

On this course we used the weekly videos produce by Alpha for the course, streamed from the meeting host’s computer. We then used the ‘breakout rooms’ function of Zoom and broke the course into two discussion groups, one which was hosted by Martin Roscoe and Peter Birdseye and the other by Reverend Sue Howlett and Sam Lees.

Summary

This online course was very successful. The team involved in the facilitation were absolutely amazed by the way in which our guests engaged with the course and with each other in what was a totally new way of doing things. It has certainly given us food for thought for considering to run courses online in this way in the future.

Prayers are requested for continued success here at St. John’s Church for our Alpha courses.

Young Families Community

For the past few years Young Families have met every other month for lunch together (kids included!), which has been a great opportunity for new families to get to know each other and get involved in church life. With the problems of 2020 this hasn't been possible, which has been a real shame, but we have managed to engage with a few new families through the Young Families Sunday services which ran towards the end of the year. Small groups have met together in person when restrictions have allowed (meeting in gardens etc.) but Zoom has been the go ~~-~~ to for the majority of the year. The children have enjoyed engaging in church ina different way, through the St John's kids services and more recently Messy Church Online. Rick & Becky Moore

International Community

Our saddest news is that Caroline White, who led this Community with her husband, Michael, went to glory in July 2020. Michael has since stepped down as Community leader to focus on his work with Friends International based at the University of Essex. Several of our Community members are involved with Friends International, so we tend to count our involvement as part of our outreach. Sally Anderson ~~-~~ Wai and Martin Roscoe are now the Community leaders.

Before the first lockdown, both groups within the Community were meeting in members’ homes. As lockdown started, the Tuesday morning group started having meetings online on Zoom. This has worked well and usually now involves a prayer to open, prayer requests written into a book, worship from St John’s Church’s services recorded on YouTube, a bible study and a testimonial, and closes with a prayer. Each member is encouraged to take a turn at leading the study and giving their testimonial to encourage them to grow.

Number have grown as four people from other groups have joined us on Zoom. Also one of our student friends, who became a Christian while at Essex University, now joins our Zoom meetings, which is very encouraging to all concerned.

In the summer we had a social gathering at a social distance in one of our members gardens and we’ve also held a couple of online quiz nights. Members of both groups attended the church services when we were able to do so. Also, a friend of Sally’s, who had attended a couple of quizzes, has made a commitment to the Lord and is watching the live streamed church services.

Michael’s Tuesday evening group met regularly in gardens last year but has not met since December since several members did not like zoom. Michael joins in Sally and Martin’s Tuesday morning group when he can, as he has several Friends International zoom meetings every week. He intends to suggest to members of his group that can manage Zoom that they join another group, until the lockdowns have ended. Sally Anderson ~~-~~ Wai

Oasis Community

During this year of Coronavirus we have obviously not been able to meet normally. The three main discipleship groups have met regularly online for a catch ~~-u~~ p, discussion, study and prayer. And often the prayer has continued on an individual front, especially when serious need has arisen. The groups also keep in touch with each other informally, via WhatsApp, email, etc. As a community (all groups together) we have held occasional online Holy Communion services led by Viv, with reps from each group taking part. We look forward to some kind of return to normality as soon as it is safe! Viv Whitfield and Nicky Sirett

Generation X Community

Gen X started 2020 as we meant to go on ~~—~~ meeting fortnightly, eating together occasionally and always on the lookout for people to join us. As lockdown began, we moved to weekly meetings, to support one another and give the week some shape. We have been happy to welcome some new members, this being made easier in some cases by not needing to travel. Through the autumn, we enjoyed being able to worship together in the church on Sundays, although we continued to hold our meetings by Zoom. We used the Discovery Bible Study material and also the LICC Life on the Frontline course. If you’re interested in joining a women’s group, then please do contact Wendy in the church office. Wendy Tiffin & Vanessa Sachs

Romania

So it's no surprise to you I'm sure that we weren't able to undertake any of the 3 planned trips to Romania in the past year, for very obvious reasons! We are constantly monitoring the situation and | am in almost daily contact with Attila with regards to both the projects themselves but also about various general and prayer matters. Although none of the building trips could take place, we were absolutely delighted that for the third year in a row we managed to successfully run the Christmas Shoebox project, with yet again over 700 boxes being sent! Various local schools, as well as church family members and friends all came together to send a Christmas box to the children of the gypsy communities with whom Attila works so closely. Thank you so very much to everyone who came together and made a shoebox, each and everyone of them really did make a child smile.

We were delighted to be able to start our "Honey for Hope" project, with our amazing "Queen Bee" Eileen

Read heading up this wonderful, very practical ministry. By importing and selling the finest Transylvanian honey, it's a very practical way in which we as a church community can support the projects in a small financial way ~~-~~ and get an amazing product in return!

With regards to 2021, we have already taken the view that we won't even try to undertakea trip until September this year, by which time hopefully things will be a little clearer. We are tentatively planning a second trip maybe in October or November, and we will once again endeavour to make the Christmas shoebox project happen. There is so much to do that we need to get out there as soon as we possibly can, but only once things are of course safe for everyone.

On behalf of everyone in Romania with whom we partner, we would like to thank you for your continued support of the project and we would ask you to continue praying for Attila, Adele and their team. Nik Read

Pastoral Prayer Ministry

What does The Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6:8)

It has certainly been a year of walking humbly with our Lord. With the Coronavirus and the various lockdowns implemented there has not been a lot of activity on the Pastoral Prayer Ministry side as this is a ministry where we meet ona ratio of 2:1 with people who require deeper prayer ministry for their particular situations. God is concerned about the needs that impact our very identity and our potential as human beings. With the lockdowns it has not been possible to meet. It has been a day to day asking The Lord “Who do You want us to speak to today?” (As we are sure that many others within the Church family have been doing). Almost every day there has been a neighbour, friend or family member to come alongside via e ~~-~~ mail, text, telephone or zoom or to chat to at a safe distance when out walking. To just listen, encourage, give hope to, or generally keep in touch. Once we get back to some sort of “normality” there may be more people who will need to take advantage of this ministry. Until then we will continue asking the Lord daily what He is doing and walk alongside Him. Neil & Corinne Millard

Lighthouse Community

At the beginning of 2020, Lighthouse Community was meeting weekly on Tuesday evenings, although attendance was spasmodic, partly due to member’s workloads and the only venues available to host were located in Wivenhoe and Manningtree.

During Lockdown, we decided to use Zoom and changed the day to Thursday. Members now found it easier to commit the time. This has been a great blessing and has worked extremely well. We intend to continue with Zoom when restrictions have eased.

Over the last year, we have studied Philippians, Discovery Bible Study ~~-~~ John’s miracles and Psalms. We all feel we have grown in our understanding of God’s word. More members of the group have stepped up and taken a turn to lead our weekly studies.

During the summer, we managed to meet up a couple of times (group of 6) for prayers on a Saturday morning. This is something we want to continue to do when restrictions are lifted, as we recognise the importance of prayer and meeting together in person.

Three members managed to attend ‘Church at the Boot’ one Sunday morning in September. The Lord blessed them with beautiful weather. Everything was very well organised and the church are a recognised ‘presence’ with car boot regulars.

Planning social events has been very difficult, but an online quiz was organised just before Christmas. We were all very excited that one of our members became Church Warden! Another member is involved with the group PACE Manningtree and will be helping the church to gain ‘Eco Church’ status.

2020 has been a strange year in so many ways, but as a Community, we have seen God’s provision, God’s protection and God’s overwhelming love for us. Psalm 91: | will say of the the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress,

| will say of the the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom| trust.”

Helen Robinson

New Wine Discipleship Year — 2020

The 2019/2020 cohort saw our New Wine Discipleship Year students embark on the final term of their year, where the focus was on ‘Leadinga fruitful life ~~—~~ Calling and Leadership’. With the lock down restrictions in place from March we continued all our teaching days via Zoom, which the students embraced well. Serving at their placement churches, took on a new shape and many were involved with a range of activities, from setting up streaming and delivering online services to running children and youth groups remotely. We met as a group and volunteered at Colchester Food Bank where the students were able to serve the community, gain practical experience and show faith in action. After completing the year, and seeking God for their next steps, the students went on to either university or higher education, Leadership Year (church ministry) or continued to stay serving in their placement churches.

This year we have four students, two based at St. John’s and two on placement at Kingsland. Due to further lock down restrictions the group has met partly in person and now meets via Zoom weekly for teaching, with New Wine organising national online gatherings. These have been fantastic days of worship, teaching, fellowship and fun! The group have bonded well and each week pray, worship together and are accountable to each other. | feel so encouraged by the students, that they continue to be creative in their approach to the course and their willingness to keep God as the focus of their lives.

At the heart of the New Wine Discipleship Year programme is deepening their knowledge and experience of God in a way which is relevant and meaningful for them. Our hope for these young people is that they go on to become disciple making- ~~d~~ isciples, wherever God leads them and we look forward to the rest of the year! Please continue to pray for the NWDY students that they become closer to God through these changeable times, learning to lean on Him daily and live out their faith. Maria Read

St John’s Soup Run Team

St John’s is part of the Colchester soup run organisation which for 30 years has provided sandwiches, soup and drinks every night throughout the year to those who need it. The teams are from Colchester churches and the surrounding areas.

Two teams from St John’s cover the 4" Tuesday of every month. We prepare sandwiches, drinks and soups and meet at the back of Primark in town at 8.00 pm and those in need know where to come and are often waiting for us when we arrive.

Since the pandemic and loc ~~k-~~ down we no longer do this and understand the council are providing accommodation for those who are homeless, so they no longer sleep rough through the pandemic.

We have now been asked to take two/three loaves of sandwiches to Beacon House and they are distributed throughout the day to those who want them, and | understand Open Door offer food too.

This has raised the question as to whether offering food every evening is the way forward, as they now have somewhere to sleep. Is it right to encourage them to come out every night to get the food and drink we offer or is it time for change? No decision has been made and we will keep you updated as this is a cause close to our hearts. Jane Shelley & Peter Hassard

Thursday Generation

There are about 70 members of The Thursday Generation, 40 of whom do not attend SJC. Obviously their age group has been hit very hard in 2020 and some of them have not been out of their homes since last March. We have kept in touch with them either by email or phone, but many of them live alone and don't have the internet. They have generally been very stoical and upbeat and now, though struggling with this third loc ~~k-~~ down, they are very positive about the vaccinations which will hopefully allow us to get together in some form in the months ahead.

Back in the spring we didn't know how long this would go on for. One of the Discipleship Groups started to meet weekly on Zoom, and recently a second group has started. Technology is of course challenging for a lot of the TG but they have been amazing. In September, with the aid of techno savvy people, we did the Journeys course on zoom and everyone enjoyed that. Weekly emails have been going out to make people feel that they're not alone and they have enjoyed them.

For those without the internet it has been more difficult. We have called them, swapped puzzles for them, and offered shopping help but what they have really missed has been going into church. We have just recently started a ‘paper’ newsletter and Prayer Focus that will be delivered to them every week so that they are kept up to date with church life. On the three occasions when we had services in church we had maximum numbers. Please pray that the newsletter will be a blessing to them and that before too long we will be back in church.

Diane Foster

Eco Community

Eco ~~-~~ Hub, is a new community that was set up in August 2020 and has six members. We meet fortnightly to catch up, plan and have a short bible study. As the name suggests, the group has an outward focus, looking to encourage the church and wider community into action to address the Climate and Environmental emergencies. With this in mind, St John’s has been registered for the Eco church award with La Rocha and we have been working towards the bronze award. We hope to achieve this during 2021. As part of this we had a working party in the church grounds in October 2020 and tidied up and planted the border between the church and community centre in order to attract more insect life and set up a bug hotel beside the church. We are planning further work during the spring. In September we held an outdoor service with a theme of Care for Creation. The first service of 2021 in St John’s had a theme of Care for Creation and the congregation were encouraged to take steps to assess and reduce their carbon footprint. This was accompanied by an information sheet about next steps to take and we have followed up with Eco Awareness evenings on ‘Eating for the Planet’ and ‘Renewable Energies’. We are also planning to run the Lent course ‘Care for Creation’ from York Courses. To help with information sharing, a St John’s Colchester Eco Group Facebook page was set up in November 2020 and has 20 members. It shares information, ideas and tries to open up some discussion. We are a small community but are very enthusiastic about opportunities going forward, particularly once Covid restrictions are lifted. Pauline Scott

Primary School Families Community

We started the year with a social at Highwoods country park. It was chilly but the kids loved all being out together and we were able to get a much needed hot drink too! Some of the guys went to the cinema in February and then we had another social planned for March... but lockdown arrived. We decided as a community to keep meeting every Tuesday evening as normal, but over Zoom. With many of us dealing with home learning, and for some juggling work too, it was really great to be able to encourage each other and share the highs and lows. We kept to our usual pattern of catch up, bible study and then praying for each

other. We also had a few games evenings and even a bake off! Although being able to meet over Zoom was a blessing, we are looking forward to when we can meet in homes again. Micky & Jo Roberts

SPECTRUM Community.

We have had an unusual year this year, as | am sure all the groups can testify! We have learnt how to use Zoom, set up a WhatsApp support group, found new ways to study and worship together, and continue to support each other without meeting in person. We still meet weekly to chat and share, pray and study the bible together.

The group has continued in being very supportive of each other, and we have had the encouragement of many answers to prayer, with group members often communicating throughout the week. In some ways we have had more communication and support than before which is a blessing. We have been able to pray for and support individual outreach and witness opportunities for members within the group.

One of the highlights has that Zoom has allowed us to connect more with our mission partners, and so they can join in regularly even at a distance. We praise God that lock down has deepened relationships.

And the termly party and quizzes have meant we can still relax, and have fun in each other’s company, in socially distant safety.

Sandra Huff

Prayer Ministry Team Report

As for many others this has been a challenging year for us with cancelled meetings and plans on hold. Since the team met in January 2020 we had to cancel the next 3 dates (March, May and June) due to covid.

Our main ministry is “after service prayer”. Very often when people are challenged by a particular talk or touched deeply by the Lord, they need to respond there and then. But, of course, it doesn't stop there. Most of the team are also involved in Discipleship Groups and that gives us opportunities to pray for others.

We have encouraged the team to look for openings to minister the love of Jesus into those who are hurting, have lost hope or lonely through this past year.

We continue to put into practice all that we've been trained to do and we trust that, with more time available, we will be able to minister to those who find themselves in difficult situations. LIZ BERRY and JANE CORNELL

SJC Community Choir

It seems so long ago now but... 2020 started well for Community Choir! Bouyed up by our many community performances over Christmas, we had around 50 ~~-~~ 60 people attending each week to sing together. And then...well, Covid.

We took choir online straight away ~~—~~ with no real knowledge of what an online choir might be!

‘Zoom Choir’ has been a very different experience ~~—~~ and | am very aware that for many choir members it has either not been accessible or has not been useful ~~—~~ and we have missed them! For others, the routine of still meeting on Monday evening has been useful throughout the ups and downs of the past year.

These days, a core group of around [ ~~5-~~ 18 of us meet on Zoom every Monday evening ~~—~~ sometimes a few more! It’s been a joy to have children of choir members join us at times too! Although the needed use of the ‘mute all’ button means we cannot all hear each other, we have learnt other ways of connecting ~~—~~ whether it is through doing actions to the songs so we can see a ‘visual harmony’ of everyone joining in, to still being able to chat together in breakout rooms ~~—~~ and of course having a few Zoom Quiz’s!!

During the Autumn, it was great to have something to work towards ~~—~~ recording for the SJC Carols of Comfort and Joy recorded service. Each person had to record their vocals separately, either over Zoom or directly ~~—~~ which is quite daunting, when we are used to singing in a big group! It felt great though to still be in the Carol Service, even though in such a different way. It was fab too to see (and hear!) some of choir ‘in person’ at Carols in the Car Park.

Of course, we all long to be back together, singing with gusto with other friends we haven’t seen for a year. But | am so grateful for the determination and hope from those choir members who have kept us going online ~~—~~ both from SJC and from the community. And so, we keep singing, each in our own homes, over Zoom... until we sing together again. Ruth Ellam

Prayer Centre

Tuesday 8am Prayer Group

At the beginning of 2020, we met in the church at 7am for prayer and then we shared breakfast. During lockdown, we began to meet at 8am for 40 minutes over Zoom. Getting used to using Zoom was a challenge at first, especially with sung worship, but a good lesson in being gracious to others. We do miss the time of fellowship which we enjoyed when having breakfast together.

We begin with a prayerfully chosen Bible reading and listen for the Holy Spirit’s leading. We are so aware of the Father’s love for the world and have been led to pray for the extension of His kingdom, for the suffering, the persecuted, the bereaved and for those working for the good of others during the pandemic. There have also been many times of spontaneous praise for our wonderful God.

We had no breaks in summer or at Christmas as we are so blessed by praying together! Do join us!

Helen Wain and Barbara Lamb

Thursday Prayer

Thursday Evening Prayer emerged as a lasting part of the 24/7 prayer week at the end of May 2020. It takes place on zoom for 20 minutes, 7 ~~-~~ 7.20PM. We have found this to be a good length because it enables a focussed period for unified prayer without things growing laboured over the airwaves of zoom!

In recent months, some members of SJC community have kindly agreed to ‘visit’ and share a bit about their area of work or something similar prior to our time praying. This has really helped us capture prayer needs in a ‘real world’ sense.

We enjoy this group. It has a lovely feel whilst in a small way, we hope, offering some obedience in prayer.

If you can join us, please do!

Heather Haddow

Open House Hospitality’ Community

The ‘Open House Hospitality’ community, formerly known as the ‘Outrageous Hospitality’ community currently consists of two groups: Gulp & Dollop. The groups in the community meet for a simple relaxed sharing meal, once a month, in different homes and engage in a discussion at the table around a pre ~~-~~ determined question/topic. We finish the evening with Compline.

In the last 12 months we have undergone a name change as we feel this better reflects who we are as a group. We want to be known for ‘welcoming all’, with the only limitation being the size of the of dining room table!

As our usual format is a shared meal around a table and a discussion, along with the rest of the world during the Covid ~~-~~ 19 pandemic, our groups have adapted to online video meetings. These meetings have been fortnightly with Dollop and Gulp combined. The main purpose has been to catchup with one another, ensure the well ~~-~~ being of everyone and to pray for people’s needs. We all long for the day when we can meet together again and share food!

Within the groups there has been stability of members this year, combined with some small growth. Peter & Catherine Theodosius

Messy Church

As for everyone, 2020 was a very strange year for Messy Church. We were grateful to be able to meet in Jan, Feb and March but as everything we then had to stop. By nature ~~-~~ once you follow COVID regulations there isn’t much of Messy Church left. So it was time to get creative. In October we held a Light Trail around the area close to the church with stations in the gardens of various houses of church members. We were thrilled that about 15 families, mostly familiar community Messy church families came along. We were encouraged that they continued to want to be engaged and it was great to make real life (distanced) contact. We were also grateful that we were able to hold a Christmas Messy church event, face to face in church. It was the ‘unmessiest’ Messy church ever, controlled, cleaned and spaced out ~~-~~ but it was so lovely to actually see some of our community families.

Looking to 2021 ~~-~~ we are working on having Messy church online, with an active Zoom celebration and sheets of activities for families to do at home, an outdoor Easter trail and an Easter Messy Church online. Our tentative hope is that we might be able to meet outside over the summer months if government restrictions allow.

Please thank God for some key community families that have reappeared at the events we have been able to hold, after such a long break.

Please pray that God will hold our messy church families close during the break and that we can easily reconnect with them when we are able to

Please pray for creativity and vision as we have to do things very differently.

Blokes Community

We have continued to meet fortnightly through most of the past year, mainly online via Zoom. During the lesser lockdown period, we managed a couple of outdoor meetings in the garden, most notably with a take ~~-~~ away curry, and hoping we will be able to do the same in summer 2021. Numbers have slowly increased during the year with approximately | | current members. Andrew Tiffin & Jonathan Mulvey

Pastoral Care.

This has been a challenging year for everyone because of the Covid 19 pandemic with the restrictions and lockdowns. Inevitably this has prevented people meeting together both formally and informally for sharing, listening to each other and supporting in ways that we had previously taken for granted. Consequently, some people have become more isolated from their loved ones, friends and church family through changing circumstances.

Therefore, we have all had to adapt and try to maintain contact in more creative ways. Many of us have developed new technological skills to use such as Zoom or other social media not previously considered. Some have sustained links through their Discipleship groups but many people have also made huge efforts to make regular phone calls to others who don’t have access to this technology. However, we know this is an ongoing task.

Additional pastoral support has continued to be available and offered where appropriate. This has included

links to various organisations that provide information and support for those coping with illness, bereavement, living with Dementia, needing extra care at home and dealing with anxiety in children and promoting mental health awareness.

The Pastoral mobile and Pastoral email has continued to be available for people to contact if needed for help or support that may be offered in some way.

Please pray that we can all play our part in connecting, listening and supporting each other through kind gestures or linking to other special people when needed. May we all be prompted and guided with this each day, by God’s Holy Spirit.

Mary Anthony. Pastoral Care Coordinator.

Residential Care homes in our Parish.

The year started positively with our monthly visits to lead a service at St. Fillans, Milton Lodge and Welshwood Manor. But, since March 2020 when the lockdown started, we haven’t been able to visit any of the Care homes due to the Government restrictions as a result of the Covid 19 Pandemic.

However, we have managed to maintain some contact via their Social Activity coordinators. This has been via emails with regular messages of support, cards and prayers for them at Easter and throughout the year. In the Spring each Care home was sent a CD of hymns to play with hymn sheets for their favourites so that they could either listen or sing along together. Welshwood Manor continued to do this each month and it has been much appreciated. The staff member said this lifted their spirits.

All three homes were pleased to receive a short, printed service for them to use for Remembrance Day with appropriate words, Bible readings and prayers chosen specially for them.

At Christmas each resident received a Christmas card from “Friends at St. John’s Church” with encouraging and personal words of support for them and to let them know they were not forgotten. They also received a short Christmas service which was recorded specially for them at St. John’s Church and passed on, via a Memory stick, to use through a lap top or television. In addition, they were all given a CD with Christmas carols to accompany the Bethlehem Carol sheets so they could sing together. It was encouraging to see evidence of this on the St. Fillans Facebook site. | have also received positive feedback from Welshwood Manor via their staff member who has said that they appreciated our input and messages. Our link member at Milton Lodge also values our prayers and support.

However, much prayer is still needed for all the homes and to support their staff who have worked so hard to provide the care needed to try and keep everyone safe during very difficult times. Please pray for the residents who cannot receive visitors to know God’s presence, and for their relatives who cannot see their loved ones to be comforted. Meanwhile, we continue to try and maintain contact, as much as we can, and offer our prayers of love and support for all involved. Mary Anthony. Pastoral Care Coordinator

CONNECT COMMUNITY

As the young adults community, we shift and change in membership and circumstances often and this has not changed over the last year or so. We have been lucky to have had a couple of new members though sadly saying goodbye (in location at least) to some others. So we are a transient bunch! This can make cohesion and shared mission difficult for us but nonetheless, we want to grow in both.

Many of this community work in public services and/or on shifts. One of the strange times for us recently was the short period where the rule of 6 allowed for more in person meeting. Often because of work, people have seen different sides to this crisis and so there were mixed feelings. Additional to the rightness or wrongness side of things, zoom, although a pain (my words...), does cut out travel time! So on one occasion, | led a study with both remote and in person participants. This might work in government halls but not in living rooms so a prayer point for us please would be getting a solution that works for all as we think about going forward with more, dare | say it, normality.

Connect community would love to welcome more students. However, one of the consequences of the transience | mentioned is the moving on of those who have given attention to this. | think this is an area we could look at developing in future. Heather Haddow

Children and Youth

The fact that during the majority of this last year some form of children’s and youth work has been able to take place is a testament to the fantastic volunteers we have within the church. | want to use this opportunity to say thank you to each of you that helped by telling a story online, taking part in youth Zoom or leading a session of Kid’s Church. We are blessed to have so many gifted and willing people within our church and I’m grateful for your help and support. I’m also grateful for the patience and understanding of all of the parents, children and young people as we have navigated this year.

During the first lockdown Rain and Bow, with help from Andy, Vanessa and Joseph, moved Kids’ Church online and | know that lots of children enjoyed watching their fun alongside the Bible stories. At the same time the youth team organised regular Zoom gatherings for the young people.

During September to December the youth were able to meet twice a month whilst the children mainly stayed with their parents in al ~~l-~~ age services. We have continued to produce a weekly Families Online which is aimed at those with under | 1s to encourage families to use the video together to support a short time of chatting and activity focussed on God. Whilst Zoom is not the best medium for youthwork we have continued to meet alternate weeks in two groups as we now havea large age range of young people.

Let’s praise God that we still have so many families, children and young people within our church community and pray for God to be at the centre of our plans as we come back together that he will provide the people, the pattern, the places and the inspiration.

Clare Luxton

Refresh

Sadly, we have not been able to meet since the first lockdown as the rules at various times have either meant it has not been allowed or at other times so restrictive that we decided it wouldn’t be feasible. We have intermittently kept in touch with the families via email but as an activity focussed so much on being together in person it has been difficult. It is hard to accept that many of the children connected to Refresh will have moved onto the next stage by the time we are able to restart. Whilst we haven’t been able to meet | know that the team continue to have enthusiasm, compassion and love for the families that came and | am thankful for each of them and their commitment to this activity which helps us as a church to support our community. Clare Luxton

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