2022-12-31-accounts - The Parochial Church Council Of The Ecclesiastical Parish Of St Thomas With All Saints, Lymington, Winchester

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THE PARISH OF ST THOMAS, LYMINGTON WITH ALL SAINTS, WOODSIDE.

2022 REPORT and ACCOUNTS for the PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL

TO BE PRESENTED AT THE

ANNUAL PAROCHIAL CHURCH MEETING Wednesday March 29[th] , 2023

7:30pm

St Thomas’ Church

Registered Charity Number 1128119

AGENDA

PRAYERS APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

MEETING FOR THE ELECTION OF CHURCHWARDENS

Election of Churchwardens for 2023-2024.[1]

All persons whose names are on the Electoral Roll of this Parish and all persons resident in the Parish whose names are entered on a register of local government electors by reason of such residence may participate in this election.

ANNUAL PAROCHIAL CHURCH MEETING

Welcome by the Chairman of the Parochial Church Council.
Approval of 2022 Minutes.
Election of Representatives to the Deanery Synod
Election of Parochial Church Council members
Consideration of:
a) The Electoral Roll.
b) The Annual Report of the Proceedings of the PCC and activities of the Parish generally.
c) Finance[3] :
I. Examined accounts of the PCC for the year ending 31 December 2022.
II. Statement of the funds and property of the PCC.
III. To appoint independent examiners.
d) Report on the fabric, goods and ornaments of the churches.
e) Report on the Proceedings of the Deanery Synod.
f) Other Reports.
Any other business of Parochial or general interest to be submitted in writing one week in advance of the APCM to the PCC Secretary via e-mail to the Secretary at marychill45@gmail.com

Mary Hill Honorary Secretary, Lymington PCC .

1 In accordance with the Churchwardens’ Measure 2001.
2 In accordance with the Church Representation Rules 2020.
3 Item 4c is presented in accordance with the Charities SORP (FRS102).

PARISH OF ST. THOMAS, LYMINGTON WITH ALL SAINTS, WOODSIDE.

ANNUAL REPORT OF THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2022 .

Aims and Purposes.

The St Thomas’ with All Saints Parochial Church Council (PCC) has the responsibility for cooperation with the incumbent, the Revd. Canon Peter Salisbury (until July 3[rd] ), in promoting in the ecclesiastical Parish the whole mission of the Church, pastoral, evangelistic, social and ecumenical as set out in the Core Values (see Appendix 1). The PCC is also specifically responsible for the maintenance of the Parish Church of St Thomas and the Chapel of Ease of All Saints.

Administrative Information .

The Parish of St Thomas, with All Saints, is part of the Diocese of Winchester within the Church of England. The address for correspondence is: The Parish Office, St Thomas’ Church, St Thomas Street, Lymington, SO41 9ND. Telephone: 01590 676194. e-mail: office@lymingtonchurch.org website: www.lymingtonchurch.org

Personnel.
Incumbent:	The Revd. Canon Peter Salisbury (until July 3rd.)
Churchwardens:	Chris Stroud, Maureen Penrose.
Licensed Lay Minister Emeritus:	Malcolm Ward.
Parish Administrator:	Gillian Maunder/Suzie Napleton.
Organist:	Martin Penrose.
Verger, Sacristan-St Thomas’:	Helen Pocklington
Treasurer:	Andrew Payne.
Inspecting Architect:	Ryan Bunce of Ryan Bunce & Co,
	102 High Street, Lymington, Hants, SO41 9ZP.
Independent Examiner:	Hope Jones, 73 High Street, Lymington, Hants, SO41 9ZA.

PCC Members who served from the APCM 2022 until the date this report was approved are:

Incumbent The Revd. Canon Peter Salisbury (Chairman) until July3rd 2022 Churchwardens Chris Stroud (Vice-Chairman), Maureen Penrose (Elected Ex Officio), Licensed Lay Minister Emeritus Malcolm Ward. Deanery Synod Representatives: To APCM 2023 Daphne Johnston, Sylvia Pepin, Celia Swan, Michael Standage. Elected Members: To APCM 2023 Bronwen Bridges, Brian Cox, David Wansey. To APCM 2024 Pat Cashin, Jeremy Vines, Peta Walmisley. To APCM 2025 Maureen Harris, David Hanks, Andrew Clapper.

The Electoral Roll : The Electoral Roll stands at 244.

Structure, Governance and Management.

The Parochial Church Council (Powers) Measure 1956 (as amended) requires “the Minister and the PCC to consult together on matters of general concern and importance to the Parish” and requires the PCC to “co-operate with the Minister in promoting in the Parish the whole mission of the church: pastoral, evangelistic, social and ecumenical”. The Church of England (Worship and Doctrine) Measure 1974 requires the minister and PCC to agree jointly any decisions on which forms of service are to be used in any church in the Parish.

The PCC meets six times per year. Normally meetings are held in St Thomas’ Church. Agendas and Minutes of PCC meetings are made available in the Parish church and on the church website.

The Standing Committee of the PCC conducts the business of the PCC between meetings, is answerable to the PCC and submits to it proposals in connection with issues of Parish-wide significance. The ex-officio members in 2022 were the Vicar (Chairman), Churchwardens and two elected members (Andrew Payne and Michael Standage).

Other members who took responsibility in 2022 for promoting the six Core Values (see Appendix 1) were as follows:

Leadership and Co-ordination: The Revd. Canon Peter Salisbury/ Chris Stroud/ Maureen Penrose.
Worship Services: The Revd. Canon Peter Salisbury/ Chris Stroud.
Prayer: Sarah Salisbury/Malcolm Ward.
Community Action: David Fenton and Sylvia Pepin.
Discipleship and Learning: Linda Lee.
Fellowship and Mutual Support: Sarah Bunce and Pauline Lightbody.
Communications: Daphne Johnston and Nigel Mussett.
Buildings, Land and Equipment: Bill Gulland, Jeremy Vines, Michael Standage.
Finance: Andrew Payne.

The Finance Committee , chaired by Andrew Payne, prepares and monitors the annual budget and reports directly to the PCC.

The Fabric Committee, chaired by Michael Standage provides support and guidance to the PCC on the appropriate maintenance and management of the church premises and grounds.

The Vicar and Churchwardens are ex-officio Trustees of Lymington C of E Infant School and of two Trusts associated with the Parish as follows:

Fulford & Burrard Trust , which supports the Infant School and youth more generally (subject to specific criteria).

Parish Hall Trust , which supports the St Thomas site generally.

Sub-committees manage the St Thomas’ Church Hall, mission giving and social events. All meet as required and report directly to the PCC or to the Standing Committee as appropriate. The Friends of St Thomas Church have continued to promote and support the restoration, preservation, repair and beautification of the building and surrounds of the church and church hall.

Risk Management .

Risk Management in respect of St Thomas Church (STC) and Church Hall (STH) and curtilage and All Saints Church (ASC) and Hall (ASH), and curtilage.[4]

Risk	Probability	Impact	Management Action
An incident requiring Emergency Evacuation	Low	Medium/High	Evacuation procedure published; announcement of procedure when building(s) full on non-routine occasions.
Fire in Church including Sacristy/Vestry	Low	High	Fire Risk Assessments carried out for both churches. Equipment provided; standing instructions issued/reissued to clergy and staff. Fire extinguisher training undertaken.
Fire in Church Halls	Low	Medium/High	Fire Risk Assessments carried out. Equipment provided; standing instructions issued/reissued to clergy and staff.
Fire in Boiler Rooms	Low	High	Fire Risk Assessment carried out. Flammable gas detector/alarm installed in STC boiler room. Equipment in hall - ASH.
Carbon Monoxide in Boiler Rooms	Low	High	Carbon Monoxide detector/alarm installed in STC boiler room.
Financial	Low	Low/Medium	Monthly bank statements; quarterly budgetary review by Finance Committee; cash collections counted by teams of at least two, with signed record.
Statutory & Legal including Health & Safety (H&S) and Safeguarding	Low	Medium/High	H&S checks; safeguarding policy of children and vulnerable adults in place. DBS checking. Disabled access reviewed. Risk assessment sheets prepared for use with individual events (e.g., Concerts and Festivals). H&S Policy revised.
Operational Damage/Loss of Property	Low	Medium/High	Continuous security video (STC) has remained a deterrent. Smartwater applied to precious metals.
Personal	Low	Low	Attention to H&S of workers; restricted child access to gallery STC; handrails; white edges to steps.
Reputational	ST Low	ST Low	Covered byaboveprecautions.
	AS Low	AS Medium	Covered by above precautions. Regular meetings with the Tenant to ensure problems are addressed early.
Shortage of Volunteers	High	High	Combining resources across the parish, succession planning and prioritization of what we do.
Damage to the external fabric of ASC. Financial risk if Tops became unable to meet their commitment to pay rent or fail to look after the interior of the buildings.	Low	Low/Medium	Company vetted by ST and Church Commissioners. Management Committee set up to ensure regular dialog between PCC reps and Tops. Appropriate legal protections and insurance in place.
Pandemics & Epidemics	Low	High	Incidents of possible contagion, such as Covid-19 or major outbreaks of influenza. The church will act on advice and restrictions from government and relevant authorities

The regulations require risk to be assessed and managed. A risk is a contingency that would adversely affect the PCC's ability to pursue its objectives, as expressed in its statement of Core Values (see Appendix 1)

Objectives and Activities

The Parish Vocation is “to be the town church in Lymington, offering prayer and hospitality in Jesus’ name”. Mindful of this and the charity’s object to promote in the ecclesiastical Parish the whole mission of the Church, the PCC has developed this objective and has published a statement of Core Values (Appendix 1). Nine areas of ministry and roles have been identified and leaders appointed to further the realisation of these values. Accounting procedures are designed to identify clearly patterns of income and expenditure across the Parish, so that its resources may be deployed as appropriately as possible.

In their report below, the Trustees present a summary of the activities undertaken by the charity in the Parish for the benefit of the public. They confirm that they have had due regard to the public benefit guidance published by the Charity Commission and the supplementary guidance on charities for the advancement of religion.

Many Parishioners who willingly undertake a wide variety of tasks with no thought of remuneration or other recognition, have contributed to the life of the Parish. The Vicar, Churchwardens and PCC are enormously grateful to them all.

REPORTS

Leadership and Co-ordination, Incorporating Churchwarden’s Report

The period prior to the 2022 APCM was marked by personnel considerations. The Vicar (Peter Salisbury) confirmed his intention to retire on the 3[rd] of July 2022. The two Churchwardens both indicated that they would be standing down at the forthcoming APCM and the Parish office administrator resigned after many years of dedicated service.

The office administrator position was filled by Suzie Napleton after several weeks of searching and activities in the Church office continue to flourish under Suzie’s control, ably assisted by Colin (her dog!).

The Salisburys’ retirement celebration was a great success with drinks and canapes in the Church following an extended service incorporating music from our 9:15 and 11:00 am services.

Mo Penrose and I volunteered to fill the Churchwarden posts prior to the 2022 APCM and this was formalised at Christchurch Priory in June.

A vacancy team was formed to work on all aspects of recruiting a new Vicar which initially involved working on our parish profile. Bishop Debbie met with the PCC at the end of September to discuss the vacancy and the recruitment process in general. The suggested collaboration between St. Thomas’ and St. Marks’ Pennington was reviewed, the PCC having already agreed in principle to explore collaboration possibilities but to leave further action until the new incumbent was recruited. The situation has not changed at the time of writing.

How are we bearing up during our vacancy period? Pretty well I would say. Services have been uninterrupted thanks to the stalwart efforts of our retired clergy. Our regular annual activities were all as successful as ever, namely, the Solent Music Festival, the Christmas tree festival (more trees than ever before!), our carol and crib services, our Christmas lunch. The passing of Queen Elizabeth 2[nd] created additional challenges such as an additional service the day after the event, ably presided

over by Rosie Ward at very short notice. Bells were rung and flags were raised and lowered according to the prescribed protocol. A memorial service and a public showing of the funeral in the Church were other successful occasions. The events all went off without a hitch which was quite inspirational considering that everyone involved was a volunteer.

What challenges did we face? My churchwarden colleague resigned in November 2022 leaving a significant gap to fill. I chose to appoint two Assistant Churchwardens, Maureen Harris and Malcolm Ward to work with me which has worked extremely well. The second challenge was in February when our organist of nearly 25 years retired from his duties as organist at St. Thomas’. We are currently relying on temporary help from Birgit Beil as our organist and Phil Daish - Handy as choir leader. Consultation with the diocese of Winchester has revealed that it would be extremely unwise of us to attempt to appoint a replacement organist during the vacancy period so we will be relying on temporary resources until our new Vicar arrives. Our advertisement for a new Vicar will be published for at least 4 weeks, starting at the beginning of March. Hopefully the post will be filled quickly. Thank you to all who have contributed so much to the Parish during what has been a productive and challenging year.

Chris Stroud (Churchwarden)

Worship Services .

The church resumed its normal pattern of services at the beginning of the year after the disruption of the pandemic. The choir at first sang in the gallery at the 9:15 service but returned to the choir stalls during the year. The 9:15 service continued to be streamed during the year either with pictures and sound or latterly with sound only.

The number of worshippers gradually increased during the year but are not yet at pre-covid levels (see below).

(see below).
Average Attendance Oct/Nov/Dec	2019	2022
8:00 Book of Common Prayer Communion	20	19
9:15 BCP Choral Communion	102	70
11:00 Life and Soul Informal Service	53	36

Pastoral Report

The gradual return of the congregation following the Covid 19 pandemic has restored the supportive direct contact between the congregation, as well as enabling more relaxed introductions to new members.

There is an acknowledged ‘Pastoral Lead’ though as yet no formal pastoral team. Well-formed links between church members are largely maintained by a network of the six home groups, the weekly Vistas Café, or other teams involved with e.g. building structure, or provision of parish outreach activities e.g. ‘Parents and Toddlers’ or ‘Monday Lunches’.

Pastoral support to those either unwell or bereaved is also maintained by ‘phone contact or occasional visits. Other pastoral support includes visits to the local hospital (chaplain aware) and two private homes, combined with a Holy Communion - one is at the request of a local GP surgery. A small Home Communion team visits three other nursing homes.

Maureen Harris

Prayer and Prayer Ministry Report: A Praying Community

Morning Praye r is a joint prayer meeting with St Marks, Pennington on Zoom. It has continued this last year with its regular schedule of Monday to Friday and is led by several regular members.

Prayers for the Work of the Parish follow our custom of regular meetings in church on Saturday mornings. It is a thirty minute time of prayer for local events, and for people in-need within the parish.

The Prayer Tree at the Christmas Tree Festival was decorated with a great many individual prayers, which were added by visitors, during the Festival.

The Ignatian Spirituality meditation group TakeTime Together continued post 2021 and ran from January to September’22 led by Jane Nicholson and Rina Miles. The Ignatian group provided an opportunity for participants to be still and focus on God through a guided meditation on a Bible story. The group ceased meeting in September ’22 because of other activities. It had proved to be a very helpful time up until then, equipping group members with new skills in meditation.

The work of our Parish Prayer Chain has continued, many requests were received for specific concerns and situations to be held in our prayers. Prayer continues to underpin all of our work and mission in the Parish.

Malcolm Ward

Parish Mission Action Plan (pMAP)

Early in the year, the 2019 pMAP was discussed at PCC, and it was agreed that the 3[rd] objective should be divided into two, making the revised objectives:

To build our links with younger people
To tell the Christian story through our land and buildings
To help people to discover their gifts and vocations
a) To care for our church community (headed by Maureen Harris) and b) To ensure that the gifts and vocations area is rewritten to focus making the most of the vacancy.

A new team was formed in June 2022 to progress Objective 1 : It has 7 members and has met 5 times. Following a review session with the Messy Church Volunteer Team it decided, with support from Julia Morris, Head Teacher, to pilot a relocation of Messy Church services to Lymington Infants School in a midweek after-school slot, starting in January 2023.

The team has also begun to address the question of how friendly our church-based services are to children and those not used to attending church. It looks forward to sharing proposals with a new incumbent when in place. At that point, it also hopes that the appointment of a specialist worker to facilitate engagement of young people and families can be progressed and it is currently working on the drafting of a job description.

The team has availed itself of development opportunities in the children and family work field including Deanery networking sessions. Andy Clapper has completed the BCM course on Children and Youth Ministry. The Team has also contacted other Lymington churches and registered interest in collaborative working on children and family ministry.

The original steps agreed for Objective 2 had mostly been achieved, but this remained on the pMAP for new plans when we have a new incumbent.

Objective 3 : While ‘gifts and vocations’ were not handled as envisaged, the goal of seeing ‘more people volunteering for kingdom roles in and outside the life of the church’ was largely achieved

during the year. We have had an extraordinary number of contributions from all sorts of people as needs have arisen.

Objective 4 aimed to ensure that every member would feel connected to and cared for by the church community. This would be particularly important during the vacancy. Maureen has ensured that absences were noted and followed up, people in need were visited, and newcomers welcomed (see Pastoral report). A small group is being convened to continue working on this objective into 2023.

Rosie Ward, Andrew Clapper, Maureen Harris.

Choir Report

It was business as usual for St Thomas’ Choir in 2022, with the restrictions placed on singing in the previous two years fully lifted.

The choir provided music for the weekly 9.15am Eucharists and regular Choral Evensongs –

including joining the choir of St John’s Boldre for their Patronal Festival Evensong in June. Choristers also attended the Royal School of Church Music Festival at Winchester Cathedral in October, at which we were very proud to see our youngest member, Magdalena Beil Harvey, presented with her Gold Award – the top chorister medal awarded by the RSCM.

I would like to place on record my thanks to Fern Daish-Handy for all her help with directing the choir.

Martin Penrose

The Worship Band continues to provide music to lead the worship at Life and Soul every Sunday and, in its alter ego, for the monthly Messy Church services. It flexes its music with the various themes through the year and, of course, its songs for Messy Church are about fun and participation. One of its highlights in 2022 was kicking off the Woodside Jubilee Concert in June providing the music for an al fresco Life & Soul service. It also enjoyed sharing the music with the choir at the joint service to say Goodbye to Peter and Sarah Salisbury though we were very sad to lose them as accomplished members of the Band.

Annette Cox has now taken over the percussion and is providing the invaluable, and often challenging, role of keeping us all in time! We are also lucky in having Natalia Storta re-join us with her violin for occasional events.

Anyone with musical aptitude and a Christian faith is welcome to audition for the band.

Andy Clapper

Messy Church

As with all things in the church, 2022 was a year of transition for Messy Church. Sarah Salisbury had taken over the coordinator responsibility from Penni Jolly in January but Sarah herself led her last Messy Church in July. To keep things going Andy Clapper then took on the interim coordinator role sharing the leadership task with Jonathan Cook and David Wansey. Whilst throughout the year, the sessions had remained Jesus-centred and joyous, with the usual songs stories, craft activities and refreshments, attendance numbers had not recovered since the Covid lockdown, although an Easter Saturday event brought in a number of visiting families to swell the numbers.

In reviewing its activity as part of the PMAP children and families objective the Messy Church team decided it needed to take itself to where the children and families are and at a time suitable to them. So in November it began to plan its move from January 2023 to Lymington Infants School taking up the kind invitation of its Headteacher, Julia Morris. How that went is a matter for next year’s Report!

Andy Clapper

Deanery Synod.

The Lyndhurst Deanery Synod is a gathering in which we hear about the ways other churches in our area are tackling the same issues that we face here in Lymington, working together for the common good in the eastern half of the New Forest area. St Thomas Church has four representatives on the Deanery Synod.

House Group Report

St Thomas’ Sunday worship and teaching is supported and strengthened by House (Home) Group study. We currently have six groups comprising a total of 44 members. Five of the groups meet weekly and one fortnightly, each group providing a mutually supportive and sharing environment for its members.

Study material for the House (Home) Groups is produced on a rota basis by Revd William Cummins, Chris Stroud and Trish Bishop, and Malcolm Ward

Some comments from a couple of the groups:

Our House group has been following the House Group notes. In the summer we all got together for afternoon tea, the plan was for tea in the garden but the weather wasn’t kind. At the end of our meetings our prayers are usually for members of the parish who are unwell etc.
Ours is a new group started last September with seven members, but sadly Derek Mills is no longer with us. The group is going well with friendly members, good attendance, and a lot of interest in the studies. We have used the house group notes each week and started to pray for each other’s needs as well as general topics.

If you, or someone you know, would like to join a House (Home) Group, please make contact and we’ll put you in touch.

Malcolm Ward .

Safeguarding.

The PCC are responsible for Safeguarding within the Parish and receive a report on it at every PCC meeting. In 2022, they approved the appointment of a new Safeguarding team, with Jonathan Cook as the Parish Safeguarding Officer and Barbara Payne taking the lead with all DBS clearances. The team’s focus in 2022 was twofold. Firstly, they carried out a full audit of the three main areas of safeguarding namely DBS clearances, training and policies. Secondly, following on from this, they sought to bring all the records, practices and processes up to date. Individuals have been approached to ensure they hold the correct DBS clearances; the PCC has approved a number of revised Safeguarding policies; and lots of people who so generously give of their time and volunteer to help with church activities have completed the requisite on-line safeguarding courses. This has helped to raise the importance of Safeguarding in our church community. It is, though, an on-going process with much still to be done to ensure the standards required by the Church of England are met.

Jonathan Cook

Health and Safety.

Health and Safety Policy

The Health & Safety policy of St Thomas’ church and the chapel at All Saints, Woodside, is to provide

and maintain as far as is reasonably practicable, healthy, and safe working conditions, equipment, and systems of work for all our employees and voluntary helpers, and to provide such information as they need for this purpose, which may include supervision and training.

We also endeavour to ensure, as far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare of all parishioners, visitors, contractors, and others who may enter the churches, halls, churchyards, grounds, and associated buildings.

The policy is reviewed at regular intervals by the Incumbent and the Churchwardens, aided by the Health & Safety Officer (HSO) and the Parochial Church Council.

A copy of the H&S Document is available in the St Thomas’ church office for reference.

Risk Assessments

Risk assessments are usually undertaken by the HSO for activities that take place in St Thomas’ Church and Church Hall, or in All Saints Chapel and Quiet Garden; these may be delegated to an alternate competent person if appropriate. Risk assessments for regular activities e.g., worship and Vistas café, are undertaken regularly and monitored for any necessary updates or changes. Risk assessments for less frequent activities e.g., the annual Remembrance Sunday service, concerts and events run by the Friends of St Thomas’ Church and other groups, are undertaken or reviewed and updated as appropriate before each event. Checks to confirm the safety and comfort of all aspects of St Thomas’ church buildings e.g., fire hazards, trip hazards, and heating and lighting, are managed by the HSO on a regular basis and reported to the PCC

Public Liability Insurance

Public Liability Insurance is in place at both St Thomas and All Saints Churches to protect staff, volunteer workers and members of the public during activities for which the church is responsible, e.g., acts of worship and meetings. It is a requirement for all groups wishing to hire St Thomas Church or the Church Hall that they have their own Public Liability Insurance to cover the activity for which they are responsible. Applications to hire the church and/or the church hall are validated by the Church Administrator to confirm that the applicant has this in place. The Certificate of Public Liability insurance held by ‘Tops’ nursery school who lease All Saints Church and its Church Hall and grounds, is validated annually by the PCC member on the All Saints Management Committee.

Health and Safety in 2022

During 2022 restrictions concerning the Corona-19 virus were relaxed by the government but the church continues to offer masks, hand sanitiser and social distancing for those who continue to consider themselves at risk and respects their wishes.

Should further incidents of possible contagion, such as Covid-19 or major outbreaks of influenza occur, the church will abide by the advice and restrictions demanded by national government and local authorities. In such circumstances the Churchwardens and HSO will implement necessary actions and inform the congregation and visitors via appropriate notices and the church web-site.

Clive Rigden.

Eco Church

Following our Gold Eco Church award in 2021, we continued in 2022 to ensure that we go green in every aspect of church life. Annette Cox collected all the material to measure the church’s complete carbon footprint, to provide comparison for future years, and we added an ‘eco’ clause to the Hall letting form. We held two environment-themed services and at harvest explored food issues. In November we hosted Transition Lymington’s home energy table, we prayed for COP27, and for Christmas organised another corporate Christmas card.

An important part of our role as a ‘Gold’ church is spreading the word and encouraging other churches. Our ‘story’ was made into a 4-minute presentation for the church website. Rosie Ward and Maureen Harris spoke about Eco Church at a u3a meeting, and Rosie preached at the URC and St Saviour’s Brockenhurst.

Outside, we did the Big Garden Birdwatch in January, Simon Quincey recorded butterflies over the summer, and Nigel Mussett kept the flora list up to date. The churchyard mowing schedule was revised, and volunteers Phil and Andrew spent many hours strimming the ‘long grass’ area. New fritillary bulbs were planted and yellow rattle sown. Many thanks to all involved!

Rosie Ward.

Community Action, Fellowship and Mutual Support

Since Covid the Church fellowship has not been able to do much as many people are still reluctant to gather for social events. However the catering at The Blessing and Handover of All Saints Church and at the retirement celebration for Peter Salisbury were successfully organised by a committee of parishioners. In December they organised a very enjoyable Christmas Celebration lunch at Lanes.

Good Samaritans

2022 has been an active year for the Good Samaritans with more help being needed during the winter months. Contact was made with the new team of homelessness workers at NFDC and they have been able to rehouse some of our “ customers “.

We have continued to work with those who prefer living rough, allowing them use of some electricity in return for helping move tables and chairs at Monday lunch . One being so grateful for the help we have given him that he still comes to help, even though he has now been housed. We have also been able to help one couple return to their homeland after being abandoned in this country .

We feel that there is still a need for the group to continue but we are short of people on the ground so would eagerly welcome more if they have the calling to do this work

David Fenton and Sylvia Pepin

Mission Links.

In 2022 the Church made gifts to the Leprosy Mission, the Mission to Seafarers, Restored Lives and Mission Aviation Fellowship. We enjoyed visits to Sunday services from representatives of the Leprosy Mission, the Mission to Seafarers and Mission Aviation Fellowship who all gave inspiring talks about the work of their charity. The church also donated money to Ukraine via the national appeal.

Traidcraft

We’ve continued with the pattern of stalls on the 1[st] Thursday of the month, at Vistas Café, and in church on the 3[rd] Sunday of the month. It’s been a real pleasure serving and chatting to our customers and we are very grateful for your continued support. The total value of sales for 2022 was £5675, an increase of 24% on 2021 which is a really pleasing result.

Our focus is not so much on making a profit (currently just under 10 %) but rather that we are providing a market for the various producers to sell their goods. After all the clue is in the name ‘Fairtrade’. Fair because the producers get a good price for their goods (and a premium on top to support their local community) and Trade because without our purchases their marketing options would be more limited.

After our running costs have been met, we aim to send donations to Transform Trade (re-branded from Traidcraft Exchange) as and when we can. Transform Trade is the charity that works to support and develop farmers, producers and artisans in third world countries. This work is even more vital at the moment as small third world farmers are more impacted by climate change.

We also took the stall to a clothes swap event at the Community Centre organised by the Lymington Transition group and also to Wallhampton School to support their day focussing on ECO and Sustainability issues.

Brian & Annette Cox.

Toddler Group

Whilst it has not yet returned to its pre-Covid attendance numbers, St Thomas Toddlers Group continues to provide a valuable outreach from the church to the community. Every Tuesday morning, during school terms, we welcome on average 12 children plus carers in the church hall. There are toys, play equipment, craft activities and singing for the children and opportunities for carers to socialise over a tea or coffee: and a warm space in the winter months!

We remain very grateful for the contributions of our volunteers working in the kitchen and with the carers and children.

If you are interested in joining the team, or know someone who is, please phone Barbara Clapper on 01590 678193. We have a rota so your commitment could be weekly, monthly or as and when convenient to you.

Barbara Clapper

Lymington Infants CE (Aided) School

The majority of the Governors at the Infants School are Foundation Governors who are appointed through the PCC and meet regularly at Governors’ meetings. They support the school in fulfilling its Christian values of Love, Courage and Respect. It has been a great pleasure to see the children in church during the year for the Mothers’ Day Service, the Nativity Play and for the Christingle Service. The children and teachers said a fond farewell to Peter Salisbury at the end of the Summer Term and they have missed his weekly Worship Visits. However, Worship in the Autumn term has continued very successfully and has been led by the Headteacher and staff and also by members of local churches.

Mary Hill.

New Forest Basics Bank The church has continued to support the New Forest Basics Bank and the congregation is kept up to date with the service that the Bank provides. Both the Church and the Infants School donated items to the NFBB at their Harvest Services.

Vistas Café

Vistas continued to open every Thursday in the Church Hall from 10am until 12 noon. Building on our experiences in 2021, we kept table service and four volunteers for each session. With preparation and clearing up this does need quite a lot of commitment, and I am grateful to all our volunteers for this and especially to our regular volunteers who get out tables and chairs on a Wednesday evening. At times we have been quite stretched with illness or other problems.

There is a large table of Stitchers and Knitters each week and a craft group from the WI meets in the Bethune Room fortnightly. Before Christmas they met each week producing many wonderful decorations for the Christmas Tree festival. During the year we have had many guests to our café who enjoy coffee and cheese scones, flapjacks or homemade cakes. Thank you too, to all those expert bakers. Brian and Annette Cox have their Fairtrade stall on the first Thursday in the month, the magazine distributors have also met twice during the year and the Missions to Seafarers in October for Woolly hat day.

We were very sad to hear of Jenny Stott’s death in May. It was her idea to start the Vistas Café just over 10 years ago. She worked very hard to establish the café and to keep it going. She would turn her hand to anything. We owe her a great deal. We gave £500 to Oakhaven in her memory.

The Inspectors paid us a visit in June and looked carefully at our paperwork and asked some searching questions. We were very pleased to emerge with a 5 Star rating. Some suggestions were made, and we have responded to these. However we have to work hard to maintain our high standard. We now pay our financial proceeds into the PCC account, some of which goes to the Church and some to the Hall. In December 2022 we were able to give £500 to our local Basics Bank.

We are so glad that we can continue to open each week and provide a place for happy fellowship and fruitful activity. We are most grateful to our band of volunteers without whom we could not open.

Anne Keir.

Monday Lunch Club

Monday Lunch Club continues to thrive, and the number of guests has been steadily increasing since lockdown We have welcomed lovely new members and are nearly at full capacity. We have also welcomed new regular volunteers to help. There is a fantastic community feeling with those involved in both cooking and serving with clearing up afterwards.

The food continues to be seasonal and locally sourced. We also use Fairtrade products. We have managed to keep the cost of the meal at £5 as we know that the rise in the cost of living has been a worry for some of the lunch guests.

We provide a hot lunch, pudding and tea/coffee each Monday with a few special occasion lunches including one at Christmas and one at Easter.

It is a wonderful and much needed service for the people of Lymington and I am very honoured to be part of it.

Mikki Willford.

Communications

Social Media Andy Clapper has become Social Media Coordinator, a role required by the Use of Social Media Policy as approved by the PCC as part of its Safeguarding Action Plan. Following Maureen Penrose's departure he has also taken on the administration of the church's Facebook page and has been posting regularly to try and develop its role as an effective part of the church's communications system.

Parish News

The magazine has continued to play its part in providing both a permanent record of much that goes on at St Thomas’ and a platform for publishing items of a general as well as of a devotional nature. We have been able to include both occasional features and long-running series on specific subjects, all submitted by a wide range of talented authors. The readership has remained steady throughout the year and, thanks in no small measure to our generous advertisers, our income has once again managed to cover the expenses involved in producing a monthly magazine in full colour.

Nigel Mussett

The Weekly News Sheet , compiled by Parish Secretary Susie Napleton, is the most comprehensive, vital communication tool available to the Church community. Thank you Suzie for this accurate source of information covering everything we do from our regular Church services and all our other activities.

The notice boards inside the narthex display posters advertising many different non church events. These are arranged, kept tidy and topical by Rina Miles. The diversity of opportunity including new clubs to join, outings and concerts to attend, illustrates so much about our busy town.

Daphne Johnston

Friends of St Thomas Church.

Reg Charity No: 1166743 .

The Friends of St Thomas Church continue to support the PCC with the costs of repair and maintenance of the buildings and of the immediate surroundings. The sum of 20,000 pounds was donated towards the repairs to the west end of the church.

The Christmas Tree Festival in December is the main Friends fund raising event. This year was the most successful to date. The church contained 70 decorated trees, a café facility and a sales table of pre-loved Christmas items. Throughout every day local musicians entertained the many hundreds of visitors and there were two formal evening concerts. An Artisan market in the church hall on the Saturday added a further dimension and diversity, demonstrating inclusive use of the entire footprint of the church and illustrating the wide community involvement of the event.

Daphne Johnston.

Solent Music Festival.

The tenth Solent Music Festival was held in St Thomas Church in September. The opening concert was scheduled for the same day as the state funeral of HRH Queen Elizabeth. The period of national mourning was ending at 7pm so it was deemed appropriate for the concert to go ahead with reference made to the solemnity and significance of the day.

The Festival programme was diverse and original featuring six concerts from the Baroque to Jazz, each attracting a wide audience from our local community and from further afield. Such is the reputation of the festival that it has become a feature of the year for many people. Highlights this season included the performances from Red Priest, from international accordionist Djordie Gajic, and from pianist Sam Haywood. The most ambitious concert to date was on Saturday evening and featured the SMF orchestra performing two well-known pieces by Beethoven. Under the baton of conductor Rebecca Tong and with Sam Haywood, the full house audience enjoyed the Piano Concerto No 5, The Emperor, followed by the Symphony No 7. The excitement during the final bars of the symphony, when the entire wind section stood to play, (to the surprise of the conductor), and the standing ovation from the audience at the end of the concert was testament to the truly thrilling performance.

The Festival Directors and Trustees are grateful to the Church Wardens and PCC for their generous agreement for the use of St Thomas Church.

Further details of the 2023 festival, to be held at the end of May, can be found at www.solentmusicfestival.com

Daphne Johnston

Buildings and Land.

The gradual recovery in use of our buildings through 2022 has been welcome and we are on track to complete all the significant works that were recommended items in our November 2018 Quinquennial report. The next Quinquennial inspection will be in autumn 2023 and will indicate our major work requirements for the period 2023 to 2028.

Our primary objective was the completion of the West End works to the roof, walls and guttering. This inevitably disclosed some unexpected additional items, including a bees’ nest in the West End wall, but all is now complete, and the bees are happy.

Our Tower & Clock works are currently in the planning stage and should start in the summer. That will complete the major project work before the next Quinquennial.

The Energy price increases led to a major review of energy use in the church and hall. We had already completed a major replacement of most of our lighting with LED equipment some time ago that assisted the Eco Church award. We have now identified the few remaining non-energy efficient lighting and control systems for replacement.

In addition, we are working on a more flexible heating control system to minimise our energy costs.

We have also carried out a survey with our architect of all problems that are caused by damp and water ingress with the intention of eliminating or minimising the damage.

On completion of the Tower and Clock works the next major project will focus on the West End. I would like to thank the Friends of St Thomas’ for their financial support to help us maintain and improve the fabric of the church and hall.

All Saints, Woodside

The completion of Phase 1 of the TOPS Day Nursery works at the end of 2021 means that most of the work at All Saints is now mainly normal maintenance.

Phase 2 which includes additional work in the grounds and renewal of the Quiet Garden will probably start later in 2023 as economic conditions allow.

Michael Standage

The Flower Guild.

Flowers in the church are arranged by a group of parishioners and friends on a weekly rota. Special events like Easter, Harvest and Christmas are celebrated with additional arrangements while the periods of Lent and Advent are marked by green arrangements without flowers.

Bells and Flags .

Some small repairs were needed to the hinges on the top hatch leading to the roof to ensure a waterproof seal. The bells were silent during lockdown but Larry Stace, the Tower Captain, and his team of bellringers started ringing again in the autumn. Practice has resumed on Wednesdays with District Doubles practice night on the second Wednesday of each month. In part to signal that our church had re-opened for worship, we now fly a pennant with diocesan crest from the flagpole on the Tower when the diocesan flag (for religious holidays), the Union Jack (for national holidays) and the flags for our four national saints are not in use.

Allan Hill

St Thomas Church Lymington Finance Report 2022

Finance Committee

St Thomas' Church Finance Committee members manage our church finances week by week on behalf of the PCC, meeting a minimum of six times a year. Our aim is to use our finances as effectively as possible to further the Christian work of our church.

I am grateful to our committee members Jonathan Cook, Bill Gulland, Judy Martin (bookkeeper), Chris Stroud and Malcolm Ward, also to Suzie Napleton and John Nivison along with those who make up the weekly counting teams organised by Peta Walmisley. All play important roles.

Balance Sheet

At the end of 2022 the financial assets controlled by the PCC totalled £580,831.

Income

During the year our total income was £326,614 of which the Parish Giving Scheme played a most important part; total PGS donations were £93,507 on which Gift Aid to the value of £21,993 was claimed. In addition to our regular income we were most grateful to receive significant legacies and donations.

Our Sunday and midweek collections amounted to £7,828 which is some £2,000 higher than the previous year, probably reflecting an increase in people returning after the pandemic. Further to

this, donations totalling £2,626 before Gift Aid were received via the card reader at the back of the church. Some of these donations were made at services, others by visitors to the church. I sincerely thank all of you who have financially supported St Thomas' Church and continue to do so. Without you we would not exist.

Expenditure

During the year our expenditure totalled £337,154. Included in this figure is our regular expenditure, the costs of major works carried out at the east end of St Thomas' Church, at All Saints' Church, and the charitable donations we made.

During the year

The Finance Committee continued with all its routine duties and provided regular updates to the PCC, seeking its formal approval of all major decisions.

We continued to close and merge existing HSBC bank accounts and promoted the use of bank transfers rather than cheques, in order to reduce bank fees. With the closure of our local branch, we used the Post Office for depositing cash and cheques.

We made donations totalling £21,400 to various charities including DEC Ukraine, Mission to Seafarers, Restored Lives, The Leprosy Mission, Mission Aviation Fellowship, Royal British Legion, The Children's Society, Médecins Sans Frontières, and, by the Vistas team, to Oakhaven Hospice and the New Forest Basics Bank.

Overview of the year

We finished the year with an overall deficit £10,540. However, during the year we received exceptional income totalling £90,082 and made exceptional expenditure totalling £99,251, together resulting in a deficit of £9,169 which pretty much accounts for our overall deficit. Thus our regular income and regular expenditure very nearly balanced. We look back with a sense of joy at the many ways in which, as a Christian church, we have been able to continue onwards together. The commitment and generosity evident at St Thomas' is a source of confidence.

Looking Ahead

We intend to maintain our charitable donations to good causes.

Our project to repair and maintain the high level masonry and roofs of St Thomas' Church building continues. We will expect to be funding work on the tower and west end, in order to keep them in good repair and reduce the damp which is evident in the building. Similar maintenance at All Saint's Church is also due. The PCC has the means to meet the costs of this expensive, necessary work and intends to address as much of it as is possible during the coming year.

Reserves Policy

The PCC reserves policy states:

It is the policy of the PCC to hold an Operational Reserve to cover routine expenditure for a period of three months. Currently £60,000
In addition, the PCC has designated a Buildings Reserve to meet unplanned expenditure on the fabric of our buildings, recognising that the PCC is responsible for maintaining three Grade II listed historic buildings: St Thomas Church, All Saints Church, and All Saints Hall. Currently £200,000.

Andy Payne

APPENDIX 1 - CORE VALUES.

Guided and empowered by God’s Holy Spirit, we are part of the Christian Community in Lymington and District who are called to love God and all people. Therefore we:

Pray and Worship. Our worship:
Includes a variety of styles and traditions.
Is relevant to the people and issues of today Attracts and welcomes newcomers and visitors.
Has something for all ages.
Includes bible-based preaching.
Encourages spiritual growth within our congregations.
Grow as disciples of Christ. Every person is called to follow Christ and be a good steward of God's creation. We offer support in this through:
Teaching and nurture Learning from one another.
Prayer and study groups for all ages Identifying and training successors for all roles.
Identifying and developing quality leadership; both lay and ordained.
3 Are committed to one another. Because of this we offer:
Mutual support and encouragement.
A positive, generous and forgiving attitude Opportunities to learn from one another.
An attractive and welcoming community.
4 Reach out and share our faith. To do this we:
Talk about our faith (gossip the good news) with all ages Support worldwide missionary activities.
Invite people to learn about the Christian faith (e.g. Alpha and Lent Course) Respect and value people's individuality.
5 Are here to serve others, both locally and globally. We do this:
By using our gifts in leadership and service in both voluntary and paid work.
By supporting those in need.
By supporting external organisations.
By challenging injustice and inequality of opportunity for all people regardless of social or cultural issues.
6 Value our Anglican inheritance. In particular we value:
Our tradition of critical thinking.
The Parish system.
The scriptural basis for matters of faith.
Our adaptability to our cultural context.

THE PARISH OF ST THOMAS, LYMINGTON WITH ALL SAINTS, WOODSIDE.

2022 REPORT and ACCOUNTS for the PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL

TO BE PRESENTED AT THE

ANNUAL PAROCHIAL CHURCH MEETING Wednesday March 29[th] , 2023

7:30pm

St Thomas’ Church

Registered Charity Number 1128119

AGENDA

PRAYERS APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

MEETING FOR THE ELECTION OF CHURCHWARDENS

Election of Churchwardens for 2023-2024.[1]

ANNUAL PAROCHIAL CHURCH MEETING

Welcome by the Chairman of the Parochial Church Council.
Approval of 2022 Minutes.
Election of Representatives to the Deanery Synod
Election of Parochial Church Council members
Consideration of:
a) The Electoral Roll.
b) The Annual Report of the Proceedings of the PCC and activities of the Parish generally.
c) Finance[3] :
I. Examined accounts of the PCC for the year ending 31 December 2022.
II. Statement of the funds and property of the PCC.
III. To appoint independent examiners.
d) Report on the fabric, goods and ornaments of the churches.
e) Report on the Proceedings of the Deanery Synod.
f) Other Reports.
Any other business of Parochial or general interest to be submitted in writing one week in advance of the APCM to the PCC Secretary via e-mail to the Secretary at marychill45@gmail.com

Mary Hill Honorary Secretary, Lymington PCC .

1 In accordance with the Churchwardens’ Measure 2001.
2 In accordance with the Church Representation Rules 2020.
3 Item 4c is presented in accordance with the Charities SORP (FRS102).

PARISH OF ST. THOMAS, LYMINGTON WITH ALL SAINTS, WOODSIDE.

ANNUAL REPORT OF THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2022 .

Aims and Purposes.

Administrative Information .

Personnel.
Incumbent:	The Revd. Canon Peter Salisbury (until July 3rd.)
Churchwardens:	Chris Stroud, Maureen Penrose.
Licensed Lay Minister Emeritus:	Malcolm Ward.
Parish Administrator:	Gillian Maunder/Suzie Napleton.
Organist:	Martin Penrose.
Verger, Sacristan-St Thomas’:	Helen Pocklington
Treasurer:	Andrew Payne.
Inspecting Architect:	Ryan Bunce of Ryan Bunce & Co,
	102 High Street, Lymington, Hants, SO41 9ZP.
Independent Examiner:	Hope Jones, 73 High Street, Lymington, Hants, SO41 9ZA.

PCC Members who served from the APCM 2022 until the date this report was approved are:

The Electoral Roll : The Electoral Roll stands at 244.

Structure, Governance and Management.

The PCC meets six times per year. Normally meetings are held in St Thomas’ Church. Agendas and Minutes of PCC meetings are made available in the Parish church and on the church website.

Other members who took responsibility in 2022 for promoting the six Core Values (see Appendix 1) were as follows:

Leadership and Co-ordination: The Revd. Canon Peter Salisbury/ Chris Stroud/ Maureen Penrose.
Worship Services: The Revd. Canon Peter Salisbury/ Chris Stroud.
Prayer: Sarah Salisbury/Malcolm Ward.
Community Action: David Fenton and Sylvia Pepin.
Discipleship and Learning: Linda Lee.
Fellowship and Mutual Support: Sarah Bunce and Pauline Lightbody.
Communications: Daphne Johnston and Nigel Mussett.
Buildings, Land and Equipment: Bill Gulland, Jeremy Vines, Michael Standage.
Finance: Andrew Payne.

The Finance Committee , chaired by Andrew Payne, prepares and monitors the annual budget and reports directly to the PCC.

The Fabric Committee, chaired by Michael Standage provides support and guidance to the PCC on the appropriate maintenance and management of the church premises and grounds.

The Vicar and Churchwardens are ex-officio Trustees of Lymington C of E Infant School and of two Trusts associated with the Parish as follows:

Fulford & Burrard Trust , which supports the Infant School and youth more generally (subject to specific criteria).

Parish Hall Trust , which supports the St Thomas site generally.

Risk Management .

Risk Management in respect of St Thomas Church (STC) and Church Hall (STH) and curtilage and All Saints Church (ASC) and Hall (ASH), and curtilage.[4]

Risk	Probability	Impact	Management Action
An incident requiring Emergency Evacuation	Low	Medium/High	Evacuation procedure published; announcement of procedure when building(s) full on non-routine occasions.
Fire in Church including Sacristy/Vestry	Low	High	Fire Risk Assessments carried out for both churches. Equipment provided; standing instructions issued/reissued to clergy and staff. Fire extinguisher training undertaken.
Fire in Church Halls	Low	Medium/High	Fire Risk Assessments carried out. Equipment provided; standing instructions issued/reissued to clergy and staff.
Fire in Boiler Rooms	Low	High	Fire Risk Assessment carried out. Flammable gas detector/alarm installed in STC boiler room. Equipment in hall - ASH.
Carbon Monoxide in Boiler Rooms	Low	High	Carbon Monoxide detector/alarm installed in STC boiler room.
Financial	Low	Low/Medium	Monthly bank statements; quarterly budgetary review by Finance Committee; cash collections counted by teams of at least two, with signed record.
Statutory & Legal including Health & Safety (H&S) and Safeguarding	Low	Medium/High	H&S checks; safeguarding policy of children and vulnerable adults in place. DBS checking. Disabled access reviewed. Risk assessment sheets prepared for use with individual events (e.g., Concerts and Festivals). H&S Policy revised.
Operational Damage/Loss of Property	Low	Medium/High	Continuous security video (STC) has remained a deterrent. Smartwater applied to precious metals.
Personal	Low	Low	Attention to H&S of workers; restricted child access to gallery STC; handrails; white edges to steps.
Reputational	ST Low	ST Low	Covered byaboveprecautions.
	AS Low	AS Medium	Covered by above precautions. Regular meetings with the Tenant to ensure problems are addressed early.
Shortage of Volunteers	High	High	Combining resources across the parish, succession planning and prioritization of what we do.
Damage to the external fabric of ASC. Financial risk if Tops became unable to meet their commitment to pay rent or fail to look after the interior of the buildings.	Low	Low/Medium	Company vetted by ST and Church Commissioners. Management Committee set up to ensure regular dialog between PCC reps and Tops. Appropriate legal protections and insurance in place.
Pandemics & Epidemics	Low	High	Incidents of possible contagion, such as Covid-19 or major outbreaks of influenza. The church will act on advice and restrictions from government and relevant authorities

Objectives and Activities

REPORTS

Leadership and Co-ordination, Incorporating Churchwarden’s Report

The Salisburys’ retirement celebration was a great success with drinks and canapes in the Church following an extended service incorporating music from our 9:15 and 11:00 am services.

Mo Penrose and I volunteered to fill the Churchwarden posts prior to the 2022 APCM and this was formalised at Christchurch Priory in June.

Chris Stroud (Churchwarden)

Worship Services .

The number of worshippers gradually increased during the year but are not yet at pre-covid levels (see below).

(see below).
Average Attendance Oct/Nov/Dec	2019	2022
8:00 Book of Common Prayer Communion	20	19
9:15 BCP Choral Communion	102	70
11:00 Life and Soul Informal Service	53	36

Pastoral Report

Maureen Harris

Prayer and Prayer Ministry Report: A Praying Community

Morning Praye r is a joint prayer meeting with St Marks, Pennington on Zoom. It has continued this last year with its regular schedule of Monday to Friday and is led by several regular members.

The Prayer Tree at the Christmas Tree Festival was decorated with a great many individual prayers, which were added by visitors, during the Festival.

Malcolm Ward

Parish Mission Action Plan (pMAP)

Early in the year, the 2019 pMAP was discussed at PCC, and it was agreed that the 3[rd] objective should be divided into two, making the revised objectives:

To build our links with younger people
To tell the Christian story through our land and buildings
To help people to discover their gifts and vocations
a) To care for our church community (headed by Maureen Harris) and b) To ensure that the gifts and vocations area is rewritten to focus making the most of the vacancy.

The original steps agreed for Objective 2 had mostly been achieved, but this remained on the pMAP for new plans when we have a new incumbent.

during the year. We have had an extraordinary number of contributions from all sorts of people as needs have arisen.

Rosie Ward, Andrew Clapper, Maureen Harris.

Choir Report

It was business as usual for St Thomas’ Choir in 2022, with the restrictions placed on singing in the previous two years fully lifted.

The choir provided music for the weekly 9.15am Eucharists and regular Choral Evensongs –

I would like to place on record my thanks to Fern Daish-Handy for all her help with directing the choir.

Martin Penrose

Anyone with musical aptitude and a Christian faith is welcome to audition for the band.

Andy Clapper

Messy Church

Andy Clapper

Deanery Synod.

House Group Report

Study material for the House (Home) Groups is produced on a rota basis by Revd William Cummins, Chris Stroud and Trish Bishop, and Malcolm Ward

Some comments from a couple of the groups:

Our House group has been following the House Group notes. In the summer we all got together for afternoon tea, the plan was for tea in the garden but the weather wasn’t kind. At the end of our meetings our prayers are usually for members of the parish who are unwell etc.
Ours is a new group started last September with seven members, but sadly Derek Mills is no longer with us. The group is going well with friendly members, good attendance, and a lot of interest in the studies. We have used the house group notes each week and started to pray for each other’s needs as well as general topics.

If you, or someone you know, would like to join a House (Home) Group, please make contact and we’ll put you in touch.

Malcolm Ward .

Safeguarding.

Jonathan Cook

Health and Safety.

Health and Safety Policy

The Health & Safety policy of St Thomas’ church and the chapel at All Saints, Woodside, is to provide

The policy is reviewed at regular intervals by the Incumbent and the Churchwardens, aided by the Health & Safety Officer (HSO) and the Parochial Church Council.

A copy of the H&S Document is available in the St Thomas’ church office for reference.

Risk Assessments

Public Liability Insurance

Health and Safety in 2022

Clive Rigden.

Eco Church

Rosie Ward.

Community Action, Fellowship and Mutual Support

Good Samaritans

We feel that there is still a need for the group to continue but we are short of people on the ground so would eagerly welcome more if they have the calling to do this work

David Fenton and Sylvia Pepin

Mission Links.

Traidcraft

Brian & Annette Cox.

Toddler Group

We remain very grateful for the contributions of our volunteers working in the kitchen and with the carers and children.

Barbara Clapper

Lymington Infants CE (Aided) School

Mary Hill.

Vistas Café

We are so glad that we can continue to open each week and provide a place for happy fellowship and fruitful activity. We are most grateful to our band of volunteers without whom we could not open.

Anne Keir.

Monday Lunch Club

We provide a hot lunch, pudding and tea/coffee each Monday with a few special occasion lunches including one at Christmas and one at Easter.

It is a wonderful and much needed service for the people of Lymington and I am very honoured to be part of it.

Mikki Willford.

Communications

Parish News

Nigel Mussett

Daphne Johnston

Friends of St Thomas Church.

Reg Charity No: 1166743 .

Daphne Johnston.

Solent Music Festival.

The Festival Directors and Trustees are grateful to the Church Wardens and PCC for their generous agreement for the use of St Thomas Church.

Further details of the 2023 festival, to be held at the end of May, can be found at www.solentmusicfestival.com

Daphne Johnston

Buildings and Land.

Our Tower & Clock works are currently in the planning stage and should start in the summer. That will complete the major project work before the next Quinquennial.

In addition, we are working on a more flexible heating control system to minimise our energy costs.

We have also carried out a survey with our architect of all problems that are caused by damp and water ingress with the intention of eliminating or minimising the damage.

All Saints, Woodside

The completion of Phase 1 of the TOPS Day Nursery works at the end of 2021 means that most of the work at All Saints is now mainly normal maintenance.

Phase 2 which includes additional work in the grounds and renewal of the Quiet Garden will probably start later in 2023 as economic conditions allow.

Michael Standage

The Flower Guild.

Bells and Flags .

Allan Hill

St Thomas Church Lymington Finance Report 2022

Finance Committee

Balance Sheet

At the end of 2022 the financial assets controlled by the PCC totalled £580,831.

Income

Our Sunday and midweek collections amounted to £7,828 which is some £2,000 higher than the previous year, probably reflecting an increase in people returning after the pandemic. Further to

Expenditure

During the year

The Finance Committee continued with all its routine duties and provided regular updates to the PCC, seeking its formal approval of all major decisions.

Overview of the year

Looking Ahead

We intend to maintain our charitable donations to good causes.

Reserves Policy

The PCC reserves policy states:

It is the policy of the PCC to hold an Operational Reserve to cover routine expenditure for a period of three months. Currently £60,000
In addition, the PCC has designated a Buildings Reserve to meet unplanned expenditure on the fabric of our buildings, recognising that the PCC is responsible for maintaining three Grade II listed historic buildings: St Thomas Church, All Saints Church, and All Saints Hall. Currently £200,000.

Andy Payne

APPENDIX 1 - CORE VALUES.

Guided and empowered by God’s Holy Spirit, we are part of the Christian Community in Lymington and District who are called to love God and all people. Therefore we:

Pray and Worship. Our worship:
Includes a variety of styles and traditions.
Is relevant to the people and issues of today Attracts and welcomes newcomers and visitors.
Has something for all ages.
Includes bible-based preaching.
Encourages spiritual growth within our congregations.
Grow as disciples of Christ. Every person is called to follow Christ and be a good steward of God's creation. We offer support in this through:
Teaching and nurture Learning from one another.
Prayer and study groups for all ages Identifying and training successors for all roles.
Identifying and developing quality leadership; both lay and ordained.
3 Are committed to one another. Because of this we offer:
Mutual support and encouragement.
A positive, generous and forgiving attitude Opportunities to learn from one another.
An attractive and welcoming community.
4 Reach out and share our faith. To do this we:
Talk about our faith (gossip the good news) with all ages Support worldwide missionary activities.
Invite people to learn about the Christian faith (e.g. Alpha and Lent Course) Respect and value people's individuality.
5 Are here to serve others, both locally and globally. We do this:
By using our gifts in leadership and service in both voluntary and paid work.
By supporting those in need.
By supporting external organisations.
By challenging injustice and inequality of opportunity for all people regardless of social or cultural issues.
6 Value our Anglican inheritance. In particular we value:
Our tradition of critical thinking.
The Parish system.
The scriptural basis for matters of faith.
Our adaptability to our cultural context.

ACCOUNT8 FOR THE YEAR ENDED 318T DECBNBER 2022

XndeporLd•nt Examinor. s Re ort to th&L ton Parochial Church Council We r•port on th• aoeounts of the Parochial Church Council for the y•ar •nd8d 31st Dacernr 2022, are 8•t out on pages 2 to 11. Res octiv• t•$ ortsibiliti88 of the Tru8t008 of the PCC and Exaniner A8 th• Trnstees of the Parochial Church Council you are ra8ponathl• £oE the preparation of the accounts in accordance with th• requiramontB of th• Charitie8 Act 2011 Ith(t 2011 Aetl. You con8idar that an aUt is not requir for this yoar under 8ection 144121 0£ the 2011 Act and that an IndoeTrt ExaNinatson i• l•q. r•d. A• Ind•p•Adent Exaun•r it 18 our r••pon•thxlty to: Examin• th• account¥ undor S0 145 of th• 2011 Act,. To follow the procedur•8 laid dovn in th• Geral Dir•ction8 giv•n th• Charity COM•10•r3 (Und ••ctx¢)n 145{51 {bl 0£ th• 2011 A¢tl ,' To at•t• wh•th•r particular natt•r• hav• coA• tts our attantion. Btsi8 of In nd•nt Examxner, rt ¢Jur •x•mintion waB cartiad out in aoeordano• wxth th• G•n•ral Dir•ction• givan by th• Charxty CommiB8ion. An •XWL%n•tion iAelude8 zeviaw of th• acoounting recorda kept by th• Paroehial Church Council and a COApari8on 0£ ac¢xunt• pr•••nted with thosa racord• It al80 xncludos con8id•r•tion 0£ any unu8ual itam• or •¢I0•U•S XA the accounts and •••king axplanation8 frorl you a8 truBtee8 concarning any •ueh llwtt•r8. Tha proc•dur•$ und•rtak8n do not provid• all th• •vidence that would b• rwJir•d in an audit, and ¢on••qu•ntly no opinion IB giv•n •• to wh•ther the account• pr•J•nt a tru• and viaw and th• r•port x• IuLit•d to tho¥• matt•r• #ttt aut in th• •tat•a•nt 10. Ind• •nd•nt Exuin•r' • Statan•nt In oonn•etion with our •xamirtation, no utt•r ha• eoth• to out thttention: (l) whx42h giv• UB r•a•on•bl• cau•• to l1•Y• that in any xat•rial r••p•ct th• t•quiEnts a) to k•ep accountsng Eéeord8 in accordaTrc• with ••etion 130 of th• 2011 Act." and b) to pr•par• aee¢unt• whzeh accord with th• aeoountxng racords and comply with the accounting r•qux' rèments of th• 2011 Aat h•v• not ba•n m•t,' or 121 to which, in Our opinion att•rAti•n •h•uld bo drawn in ord•r to •nabl• a prOr Und•r8tng 0£ the account• to b• r••eh•d. HOPE JONES CHARTERED AccoifNTANT8 5th April 2023 8ult• 114. LYngtOn Town Hall, Avenue Road, LYMINGTON. Hant

STATEbJENT OF FINALAL ACTIVITIES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31ST DECEMBZR 2022 unt•8trlet R•stricted EndoTJnent Total Fund¥ 2022 2021 Note INCOMING RESOURCES Voluntary Incom• 2{a) Aotiviti88 for Gen•ratg 2(b) Inv••tmfjnt IncoTha 2{¢) 21d) 213,347 16.151 10.177 60,299 23,078 236.425 152,456 16.151 10,231 13,739 7,953 60,299 41,055 2,875 687 Church Aot&vitXe8 TOTAL INCCtsIING F380URCE8 £299, 974 £25, 953 £687 £326,614 £211,695 RKSOURCES EXPENDED Chureh Activitla8 3{a) 3{b) 308,022 2.29e 26,147 687 334.856 290,415 2,298 2,185 Gov•rnano• Cotst8 TOTAL RESOURCES EXPENDED £310,320 £26,147 £687 £337, 154 £292,600 NET (OUTGOING /INCC*aING BISOiIRCES 110,3461 (194) {10,5401 {80,9051 GAINS AND LOSSES ON INVESTMENTS On Dxtsposal (151 (151 On R•v•luatlon 130,6181 {3,103) {33,7211 36,371 NET iIThEMENT IN FUND8 140,9791 (194) (3,103) {44,2761 144,534) Fund Balan0•• at l•t January 2022 598,789 614 25,704 625,107 669,641 FfJND BALANCES AI 318T DECEMBER 2022 £557, 810 £420 £22, 601 £580, 831 £625, 107

LYMINGTON PAROCHIAL CHURCH CCIJNCIL BALANCE 8HEET 31ST DECEblBER 2022 Note 2022 2021 FTXED ASSETS Tan IbLe Fixed Assets A$ at 1st Januazy 2022 Les8: Depr•ciation for th• y••r 599 120 479 599 InvestsL•nts Endowth•nt Fund Investsents Hapgood Bequ08t 3,828 C.O.I.F. Chariti88 Ethical Investm•nt Furtd Mi88 B Monk Fund 586 C B Y Ittve8tnent Fljnd 10.494 11,982 12,107 13.722 22,601 25,704 Unro8trxeted Investsent8 C.B.F. D•po8it Account 10,030 C.B.F. Inv88tmont Fund Shar 7,634 COIF Charitla8 Kthic•l Inv•8tw]t Fund 545 M S G Chatxfund 233,214 207.234 280.048 234, 884 20,924 23.892 8,481 461,372 547, 305 Currant A•••t* Traidcraft stock Debtor• and Pr•paym•nt Ca8h at Bank TreaJurara Account CaBh in Hand 1,056 4.361 976 4,369 125, 627 242 59,161 205 131,286 64.711 L•88: Llabiliti•• - amounts fallinq du• vxthin ona yr 34.907 13,212 96,379 51,499 £580, 831 £625,107

LYMINGTON PARCCHIAL CHfJRCH COUNCIL BALANCE SHEET (Continu) 3LST DECEbJBER 2022 Nota 2022 2021 Unr•$triet8d 557.810 598,789. R•Btrictad Donati¢ns Fund 420 614 Endowment Funds Hapgood Bequest (Pari•h Church Fabric) B. Monk (Youth Workl 10.494 12,107 11.982 13.722 22,601 25,704 £580, 831 £625.107 Approvad by th• Parochial Church Council on ) }-• >land •ign•d on its b•half by: Churchward•n Honorary Traa

NOTES TO THE FtNANCIAL STATEMENTS JR THE YEAR ENDED 31ST DECEMBER 2022 I. ACCOiJWIING POLICIES l {al Accountin Conventions Th& Financial Statement8 hav• b8•n prepared in accordane• with the Church Accounting Rwlations 2006 togeth•t with applicabl8 accounting Standards and the Chariti•8 SORP (FRS102). The Finaneial Statgmgnts hav8 baen prapat•d urtdor the historical co$t eonvention except for th• valuation of invasts•nt a83•t• whi¢yh are 8hown at mark•t valu•. l (bl Fixed A38Ot8 Con8•¢t•t•d and benaficad prop•rty i8 excluded from th• Financial Stat•mants by s. 10 121 lal of th• Chariti•s Act 2011, and no valua 18 plac•d on movablè church furniahinqa. All èxpen. ture incurrad during th• year on con8•Ct•t•d ot bon•£icad builnq• and Novabla church fuzni8hing•, wh•th•r maintenanca or improv•mgnt. 18 writtan off a¥ •xp•nditure in th• Stat•A•nt 0£ Financial Activits••. ipment ua•d within th• Church pr10* i• d•pt•ext•d at tha rat• of 209d on th• r•du¢inq balance baaia. IAVIdUal itama 0£ aquipA•nt with a purcha•• prxo• of £3,500 or l••• ar• wzltt•n off whon th• a8s•t 18 acquirèd. I le} Inveatmont A•••t8 Inv•8tm•nt• ara valuod at Wirk•t valua at 31•t D•c•Trb•r. I Idl 8toak8 8to¢k• ar• v•luad at th• low•r of 008t and n•t r•ali•abl• value.

NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS Icontinu•d) FOR THE YLIR ENDED 318T DECKblBER 2022 . INCCfrSING RESOURCES Unre8trictad R•stricted Endownent Total Funds 2022 2021 21} Voluntary IA¢ome Plarthgd Giving: Gift Aid DoAatson8 Incoma tsx R•coverabl• Oth•r Planned Giving Collection8 Grant$ List•d Places of Wot8hip Gzant Frxend8 of St Thoma• St. Thomas Ranèwal Appoal h• Pari8h Hall Trust B•llringer8 Donation• Good 8amaritaTh FlJnd acie8 93.421 25,552 7,396 11.653 93.421 25,552 7.396 11.653 2,825 92,651 25.662 7,105 8,344 2,000 6e6 2,825 20.000 20.000 2,555 16,223 1,934 7.068 16,223 1,934 7,321 253 13.053 400 50,100 so,ioo 213,347 23.078 236,425 152,456 2{b) Aetiviti•• foz G•n•rating Fund¥ V18ta8 Ca£• Traidcra£t Sala¥ other Fund Raising Kvent• othar Inoom• 3.118 5,635 1,542 5,856 3,118 5,635 1,542 5,856 1,522 4,404 771 3,534 16.151 16,151 10,231 2 (0) Inv•stm•nt Inco M• Monk18 B•qu••t Hapgood I g B•qu•t Churchyard Maxntananoa C.B.F. Intar••t Divid•ndB C. B. F. Inv••ts•At Fund C. O. I. F. Ethical Inv••tm•nt PuAd M & G Charifund 360 327 360 327 iii 3,166 348 322 109 167 iii 3.166 6,163 2,764 8,927 S,961 652 196 652 196 643 403 10,177 2,875 687 13,739 7,953 2 Idl Church A¢tivxti•8 Pari8h Magazin• Monday Lunch Hir• st. Thomas Hall Hit• ALI Saint• Church and Hall F•es 4.438 7,522 7,049 35.000 6,290 4,438 7.522 7,049 35,000 6,290 3,216 3,613 4,708 22,80L) 6,718 60.299 60,299 41.055 TOTAL IN¢CING RESOURCES £299,974 £25, 953 £687 £326, 614 £211, 695

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL sTATNTs (contAnu•d) FOR YEAR ENDED 31ST DECEbJBER 2022 . RBSOURCZS EXPENDED Unrestrict•d R•8tricted Endowment Funds Total FuAdB 2022 2021 3 lal Church Activites Missions and Char&ti• Good SamaritaA Fund M¢nday Lunch Traidcraft Pureha8•8 ni$t Diocesan Parish 8har• Clergy Exp18•8 Wor8hi and 8ervice8 C08t of seLc8s Organists Organ Tuning and R•pax" r8 tU8io and Choir Expans•8 Church Maint•nana• and E Light, H••t and Watgr In•urance Cleaning Churchy•rd Exp•n••# R•pair8 and Renewala ALI Saint• 14* or WorkB Pro Ject Co8t8 Door R•pair All Saxnt8 Heating Yloor Scr•9ng Movinq Font Cl•aning ALtar 8ton•work Tt•ework Legal F••• St Thoma• Ma" or Works Roof ing and Gutt•rinq Work Tr•a Pollatdxng Gla88 Door R•paxr 2.217 St. Thom8 Hall Exp•n8•8 1,330 All Saints Church Hall ExponB•o 3,913 Pariah Mag•2in• Expgn8as 3,474 Pari•h Administrator 12,109 Chureh Off io• 2,035 Accountan¢y 1.272 Adv•rti•ing and Leaf lats 427 Mi8e•llanaou8 axpAn••• 5,519 DrecIatIon 0£ Equxpment 120 21,400 761 8.848 5.003 21,400 761 8,848 5,003 16,660 559 5,832 3.993 130,188 2,419 130,188 131,236 2,419 2.188 1.550 9,128 70 1,120 1,550 9,128 70 1,120 741 8,042 484 450 888 6.773 5.365 3,045 393 2,409 1,825 8.598 5,365 3,045 504 2,736 5,556 5,170 420 1.170 1,624 iii 327 17,566 3.540 17,566 3.540 40,408 5,279 2,796 2,688 2,160 6,180 864 540 864 S40 54,624 20.000 74,624 8,080 11,566 2,217 1,330 3.913 3,474 15,873 2.03S 1,272 427 6,326 120 271 5,499 3,101 12,601 895 1,234 298 3,084 150 3,764 447 360 308.022 26.147 687 334,856 290,415 3 Ibl Govarnonc• Co8t# Accountancy and Ex4n•trA f••s 2,298 2.298 2,185 £310,320 £26,147 £687 £337,154 £292, 600

LYMINGTON PARCCHIAL CHtJRCH CCNcIL NOTS8 TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMKNTS Icontinu•d) FOR THE YLAR ENDED 31ST DKCENBER 2022 nditur• Staff C08t¥ 2022 2021 Salaries Pension Co•t 16,394 170 13,274 £16,564 £13,274 During th• y••t th• Counail employad a Pariah Adnini¥tratot and a Verg•r A•ith•r 0£ vhoju earn £60,000 or Aor•. Th• •v•r•g• Thub•r ¢£ •mployeeB during the year wa8 2. Kxt•rnal Accountan and Kxaunation F••s 2022 2021 Accountancy and Examination Fa•8 £2,298 £2,185 D•btor8 and Pr 2022 2021 In¢¢ty• Tax Recoverable other Debtors and Pr•payn•nt• 2,459 1,902 3,133 1,236 £4,361 £4,369 Liabiliti••.' A•ount• £alln dua within on• 2022 2021 Craditor• for Good and 8•rvicea 3,469 1,105 500 29,833 1,770 300 Wodding D•po8it• Accru•d Exp•n••8 11,142 £34, 907 £13,212 7. R••trict•d Funds R•Btriot•d Fund• in th• accounta 4r• •• £ollow8: Donation• Fund ount8 rqcaivad for a •p•ci£ie purpose are Crat•d to th• Donation• Fknd. xxp•ntrO rnArad for th08• pufpoB•b ar• dobit•d to the Donationa Fljnd. 88et8 relating to th• R••trictod Fund¥ •r• u £ollow•: 2022 2021 Cash at £420 £614

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMKNTS Icontinu•d) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 318T DECKMBER 2022 Investment A88•ts ErtdoTAm8nt Inv•8tWAtB Fund8 Total Funds 2022 2021 Endownent Fund Inv•$tm•nts ood Be •st As at 1st Jarluary 2022 Unr•ali••d {lossl /gain 11,982 11,982 (1,488> 11.4881 10,560 1,422 A8 at 31$t D•43•thr 2022 10,494 10,494 11,982 B Monk Fund A8 at 18t January 2022 unt•al8 {10881 /gain 13,722 13,722 (1.615) 11,6151 12,005 1,717 As at 31•t D•e•b•t 2022 12,107 12,107 13,722 Unr•Btrict•d Inv•stm•nt• A• at lat January 2022 Withdrawn Disposal Proc••d Rinv*•t•d Incom• R••li••d IOBB Unrttalis•d Ilo¥•) /g•in 547.305 {50.000} (8,4661 3.166 (151 <30,618) 547,305 563, 906 {50,0001 150.0001 18,4661 3,166 1151 {30,6181 167 33.232 £461.372 £461,372 £547,305 Total V•luat&oA at 31Bt D•c•mb•r 2022 £461,372 £22,601 £483,973 £573,009 Total Unr•ali••d Gain £{30.6181 £(3,103)£{33,7211 £36,371

LYMINGTON PARCCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMLNTS Icotstittued) FOR THE YEAR ENDZD 31ST DECEt4BER 2022 Vicar and Churchwarden8' Charitable Trust The Vicar and Churchwardens ar* tru#t••s of the following charitable Trust.. The Parish Hall Trust Tha incoTr& and property of tha Trust ]b•y be applied eith•r toward8 the upkeepi repair and in8uranc• 0£ the £abric and ¢ont•nt6 0£ the PatlBh Church 0£ Lymington, or in otherwi80 furth•ring the r•Ligious and oth•r charitable work of tlw Churoh 0£ England. During the year the bank account of the Trust wa8 clo8•d and tha elo8ing balan amounting to £16,223 wa$ donat•d to Lymington Parochial Chureh Council. Divid•nd8 on tha Trust's inv••tm•nts ar• now pazd into th• bank •ceount of Lymington Parochxal Curch Council ab a contributson to th• c08t of tha P•r&•h Adx¢iMatrator. IrAvA•tX¢•nt• of th• Tru8t at 31•t DeceThb•r 2022 aAount•d to £123,710. Invo8tn•nt incom• in th• y•ar to 318t D•e•trb•r 2022 anountad to £3,679 all of whxch donat•d to Lymington Parocial Church Councxl towardo th• co•t 0£ the P•ri•h AdAknxBtrator. 10. Char Inve•ts•nt• Inv••ts•nt hgld by CharitabL• Trt8 wh•r• th• Ine¢)1 ari8inq i• dua to the Parish 18 a8 follows.. •st for Chuteh ard Maint•nanc• 1,295.05 Incom• Units Chariti•• Ethical Inv•8ts•nt Fund {Mark•t Valu• 31Bt D•+2o•b•r 2022 £3,549) io

LYMINGTON PARCCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL NOTES TO THE STATEMKNT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES Ff)R THE YEAR EIIDED 31ST DECEi4BER 2022 ii. statement of Finaneial Aetivities for the ear to 31st Il•cgmbor 2021 Unré$tricted Restrictod EndOWnt Total INc¢TrNG RESOURCES Volurjtary Income Activitigs for G•noratu Funda Investment Incom• 147.235 5,221 152,456 10,231 10,231 7,953 7,174 41.055 109 670 Chur4Jh Activit1•8 41,055 TOTAL INCOMING BISOURCES £205, 695 £5,330 £670 £211,695 RESOt7RCKS EXPENDED Churah Activiti•8 284,256 2,185 5,489 670 290,415 2.185 Govgrnanc• Co8t• OTAL RKSOURCE8 EXPENDED £286.441 £5,489 £670 £292.600 NE ¢JUTGOING INCCt41NG RES¢XJRCE8 (80.746) {1591 180,905) GAIN8 AND LOSSES ON 1NVE8TMENTS On r•v•luation 33,232 3,139 36,371 NEI 24)VENENT IN Ftn4DS 147.514) {159) 3,139 144,534) nd Balan6 at lat January 2021 646,303 773 22,565 669,641 FLfND BALANCE8 AT 318T DECEbSBER 2021 £598,789 £614 £25,704 £625.107 li