## _**‘The Light of Christ in Lightwater’**_ _**To Be, To Love, To Tell**_ **ANNUAL REPORT OF THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL for the year ended 31[st] December 2022** **ANNUAL PAROCHIAL CHURCH MEETING Wednesday 26th April 2023, 8.00 pm All Saints’ Lightwater** _Registered Charity No. 1128176_ # **MEETING OF PARISHIONERS – 8.00 pm** # **Wednesday 26[th] April 2023** ## **AGENDA** 1. Apologies for absence 2. Election of Church Wardens ## Followed by ## **ALL SAINTS’ CHURCH LIGHTWATER ANNUAL PAROCHIAL CHURCH MEETING AGENDA** 1. Prayer 2. Apologies for absence 3. Minutes of last meeting 4. The Reports - a. Electoral Roll - b. Churchwardens’ Report - c. Safeguarding Report - d. Parish Reports - e. Parish Stewardship Co-ordinator’s Report - f. Deanery Synod Report - g. Questions of clarification 5. The Accounts - a. Treasurer’s Report - b. Presentation of All Saints’ PCC Accounts - c. Questions of clarification ## 6. Elections - a. Parochial Church Council ## b. Deanery Synod ## 7. Appointment of Independent Examiner 8. Questions 9. Vicar’s Report - 10.Closing prayers 3 ## **ALL SAINTS’ CHURCH LIGHTWATER - ANNUAL REPORTS 2022** ## **ELECTORAL ROLL** In the period between the APCM in April 2022 and the end of the 2022, there were 3 members removed from the roll (1 died and 2 left the parish) and no new members were added. So, at the end of December 2022 there were 115 members of All Saints’ Church Electoral Roll. In the first 3 months of 2023 we have added 9 members, so we now have 124 Church members on the electoral roll (of which 97 are resident in the Parish and 27 non-resident) Alison Porter ## **CHURCH ATTENDANCE** Our Sunday morning services are offered at 9.30am and 11am, and our on-line broadcast relays the 9.30am service ‘live’, with the further option to see the service on-line as a recording afterwards. Attendance in church has been recovering slowly but steadily following the pandemic of 2020/21. Average Sunday attendance in church in 2022 was 69 adults and 6 children. Additionally, on-line attendance showed an average of 30 views in the week following each Sunday – it’s worth remembering some of this may have been people watching only briefly, but some may have had more than one attender, and there was a regular group watching at Lakeview Care Home. Mid-month, our Songs of Praise service received an average attendance of 41, with a small number staying on for communion. ‘Fun at 4’ re-started once a month on Sunday afternoons, with a typical attendance of 5 families out of a pool of 10. By the end of 2022 seasonal services began to look more familiar. Attendance at our 2022 Christmas Carol Service in church was 93 (2021 was 64 plus high numbers of on-line views). Attendance at Christmas 4 Midnight Service in church was 66 (45), and Christmas Day also 66 (38). There were 3 Holy Week Reflections and 3 Advent Reflections offered by church groups. In 2022 we held 0 (0) Weddings, 2 (2) Baptisms, 15 (17) Funerals. Services are conducted regularly at Moorlands and Lakeview care homes with a monthly average attendance (including our teams) of 12 (Moorlands) and 20 (Lakeview). Revd David Sigsworth ## **PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL REVIEW OF THE YEAR - 2022** The full Parochial Church Council held 7 meetings during the year, including the APCM, with an average attendance of 90%. The PCC Standing Committee held 6 meetings during the year, in preparation for the PCC meetings. We were able to resume face to face meetings in 2022 after all Covid restrictions were lifted. The APCM in April 2022 was held in All Saints’ church, with 3 new members being elected to the PCC. Rebecca Finlay ## **SAFEGUARDING** Making the church safe for all, and especially children and vulnerable adults, is a key priority for All Saints’ - we place the safety of all people at our heart. Our two safeguarding officers, Andrew Hockey and Denise Taylor, support the Clergy and the PCC in implementing safeguarding policies and practices required or recommended by national Church or the Diocese of Guildford. They work closely with the Diocesan Safeguarding Team, call on them for advice and liaise with them whenever a safeguarding concern arises. In the past year a single safeguarding episode was reported, which was promptly addressed and the learnings acted upon. 5 The Clergy and PCC pay due regard to guidance issued by the House of Bishops on matters relating to the safeguarding of children and vulnerable adults – that is to say that they follow all their guidance and would only deviate from this if there was a cogent and legitimate reason to adopt a different position. (This has not been the case to date). Safeguarding is a standing agenda item for every PCC meeting. During 2022 the PCC’s Safeguarding Policy was updated to ensure it meets current requirements. Adoption of policies and tracking of safeguarding practices is recorded continually on the Parish Dashboard system, which provides visibility of our actions to the diocesan and national level. We seek to continually improve our practice and were pleased in 2022 to have progressed from level 1 (Safer Foundations), through level 2 (Safer Activities) to level 3 (Safer Practices), the top tier. This reflects the hard work undertaken by both the PCC and by all those working with children and vulnerable adults. There has been a real shift in culture during the year, with safeguarding being seen more and more as an essential, enabling foundation for all our activities. During 2022 there was a strong focus on developing formal role profiles for our paid employee and all volunteers, giving clarity on each role’s responsibilities alongside the training needed to safeguard both the worker and the people they work with. This is essential to allowing All Saints’ to become and remain a safe, inclusive and inviting environment. Uptake of safeguarding training increased steadily throughout the year, although it’s not yet at 100% so there is still room for improvement. Risk assessments for all Church activities have been drafted, both for events on our premises and for groups going offsite on organised church activities. Our own safeguarding standards are applied to all those who use our premises – as we have to ensure that everyone using the church’s 6 buildings benefit from the same level of protection. In 2022 we added this as a requirement in our Church Hall hire agreement, and now only hire the buildings to organisations that apply the same level of safeguarding to their activities as we do to our own. We have had to decline hire requests by organisations which cannot do so, and whenever this has been the case they have appreciated our position and have benefitted from the opportunity to develop their own understanding of safeguarding. In 2022 we welcomed Jane Huttly, the Diocesan Safeguarding Manager (and currently acting Head of Safeguarding), to speak at a service to mark Safeguarding Sunday. If you were present I am sure that you would have found her talk informative, and we look forward to welcoming further guest speakers in 2023. Many thanks to Ruth Kidd who tracks safeguarding training uptake and ensures that people stay up to date, and to Christine Hughes who continues to support through her role as DBS Validator. In 2023 we will continue to focus on implementing best safeguarding practices to ensure a safe, inclusive, and welcoming environment, whilst particularly looking to protect children and vulnerable adults. We want everyone to enjoy visiting All Saints’ – whether as a church member or using the hall facilities hired by an external organisation. Everyone deserves the right to feel safe here. If anyone has any safeguarding concerns the Clergy and/or the PSOs should be your first point of contact. Contact information is displayed prominently throughout the church and the hall. They will listen to you in complete confidence, but if necessary will always take further actions to protect people at risk. If you see anything that makes you feel uncomfortable or doesn’t feel right, please let one of us know. Andrew Hockey & Denise Taylor – Parish Safeguarding Officers 7 ## **Finance** As we cautiously emerged out of the lockdown in the dawn of 2022 and observed normality being gradually reinstated, we embraced togetherness and cherished life in different ways. All Saints’ Church Lightwater (ASL) has thrived through another challenging year with everyone’s generous support and contribution and invested in various upgrades netting a deficit for the year of circa £13k. The total income for 2022 was £147k (2021: £132k) an increase of 11% compared to 2021. Plate collections have seen an increase of 84% following the increase of face-to-face services, whilst the planned giving has dropped a further 6% YoY and overall 14% compared to the 2019 pre-covid levels. By the end of the year hall bookings had resumed to a great extent and generated £10k more income compared to 2021; they were still only 80% of pre-covid levels. Total expenditure has increased to £159k (2021: £136k) with Hall running costs and significant fabric upgrades driving the main increase. Safety and quality were at the heart of the upgrades; the former involved £8.6k for a new CCTV system and the latter £5k to replace the Church’s dated projector. During Q4, our quinquennial review highlighted a number of repairs that vary in urgency; the Parochial Church Council (PCC) with the help of Church Wardens took immediate action to address the urgent repairs and has also considered the expected expenditure in the 2023 budget. Recognising that the spiking energy prices have a big negative impact on the Church’s running costs, the Diocese has kindly offered a grant of £1,800. Furthermore, a successful application for £2,000 towards the new CCTV installation which will also benefit the wider community by enhancing safety around the Church grounds was welcomed by Windlesham Parish council. The PCC maintained its generous commitment towards mission giving recognising its positive impact and consequently £11.6k was offered across multiple charities. 8 2022 was yet another year with a careful eye on finances with the everrising cost of living which impacted both the Church running costs and everyone’s disposable income; given the deficit for the last 2 years and the even bigger deficit projected for 2023, the PCC has considered the long-term viability of our existing funds and will be looking how to optimise the outflow of resources whilst exploring ways to generate more income to compensate the increasing costs. All the above could not be possible without the invaluable support from the resourceful office team, Andrew Newman, Pam Newman, Andy Hockey, and Chris Williams alongside the members of the PCC and the clergy who are always very encouraging. Imran Daniel ## **FABRIC** The Church building and contents are insured for £2,960,000 and the Hall building and contents for £1,395,042. The Quinquennial Inspection of the Church and Hall was carried out in April 2022. In addition to the regular planned maintenance, work has commenced on the maintenance identified for early attention in the Quinquennial Inspection. The items for early attention are mainly essential repairs to brickwork pointing and roof tiles and mortar in both the hall and church. The CCTV for the church and the hall has been replaced with a new system due to obsolescence and to increase the coverage of the hall and church. There has been no repetition of the vandalism of windows that we had in 2021. The intruder and fire alarm systems in the hall still require updating. A leak in the hall roof has required the erection of scaffolding and a new covering and refurbishment of the ventilation dormer. We have not yet established a practical method of heating the church and hall that would meet the Church of England target to be carbon “net zero’ by 2030. We also need a contingency plan for replacing the two church gas boilers installed in 1997 as the availability of parts is limited. 9 Many thanks to the small team of volunteers who take care of the Remembrance Garden and the grass and wildflower beds. Peter Newman March 2023 ## **Mission Giving** The mission team met during 2022 and decided that we would no longer be supporting USPG or Sachibondu in 2023. This provided an opportunity for the congregation at All Saints’ to suggest some new potential charities. The mission team met again in March 2023 and had a very fruitful discussion around potential new partners. We agreed on the following new partners – A Rocha, Scripture Union and Rainbow Africa. In the coming months we will be hearing more about the work of these amazing charities. This year our Christmas giving will go the Mothers’ Union and specifically to support two appeals, Women’s Refuges and Away From It All. Our full list of current partners for 2023 are Prison Fellowship, Release International, Camberley Youth For Christ, Besom, A Rocha, Scripture Union, Rainbow Africa and Mothers Union. In addition, we hold some money aside for emergency appeals and responded earlier this year by supporting Christian Aid as they helped those devastated by the earthquake in Turkey and Syria. Jim Porter ## **THE COFFEE SHOP** We seem to be past covid or at least have learnt to live with it and so the Coffee shop is back but with a difference. We have decided to just open on two Saturdays a month to give Us an occasional free weekend as we have been tied up every weekend for the past 20 years. Derek is once again running his hearing aid clinic on the two Saturdays we are open. Having reopened with a slow start, numbers have now built up to pre- 10 pandemic levels and it is good to see so many returning. We haven’t yet resumed our association with the Macmillan coffee event in the Autumn, but we do continue to have an annual birthday party. Carol Browning ## **SONGS OF PRAISE** As of October 2021, we have fully resumed our monthly service, and of course, our Songs of Praise Carols in December. Fortunately, many of our helpers have made themselves available once again as have those who generously provide us with our homemade cakes. This service has proved popular but we, as always, could do with more people to come and join in and once again we need to recruit more people to drive and pick up those wishing to attend. My thanks to all who continue to contribute to make this service run smoothly. I want to particularly thank Zelda Smyly who has faithfully played for quite some time now and keeps me on my toes. Also I would like to thank Michael Lewis who comes along to put up tables and the ramp and also Paul Hoddinott who has stepped in when Michael is not available. There are also those who come, rain or shine, to help in so many ways, by setting up beforehand and serving afterwards. A special mention, as well for Pam Newman, who not only collects people but mans (am I allowed to say that) the AV system at the back. And for ‘super-sonic’ Sandra who counts numbers and gives out the necessary paperwork and greets people when they arrive. I mustn’t forget Carol who is the brains behind the whole operation. Derek Browning ## **YOUTH & CHILDREN** ## **OUTREACH** We continue to have very good relationships with Hammond Junior and Lightwater Village schools. This year, with a new head teacher in each 11 village school, David has continued to take assemblies in person at both. These are always well received and include a Bible story at each assembly. In the summer, David asked the Hammond school choir to sing with the ‘Jubilee Choir’ as part of the village celebrations. It was a lovely joint occasion that left everyone smiling, and this year we hope to form a similar partnership for the Coronation. Years 1 and 2 from Lightwater Village School visited the church as part of their learning. They enjoyed being told about our church building, what we do in baptism, how we pray, and stood out in the garden for the 11 o’clock bells! The Church hosted Carol services for Hammond school and the Scouts. After 3 years of absence due to covid restrictions, we held the Remembrance Day service in the Hall. It was wonderful to have children, youth and parents of our uniformed organisations packing the hall for this community event, and we received lots of positive feedback. At Christmas we welcomed families to ‘Christmas is Coming’ and to our morning and afternoon Nativity services on Christmas Eve. The puppets helped very young children to engage with the Christmas story. And 15 of our own children and young people led the afternoon service, performing ‘The Amazing Story’ of the first Christmas. The services were well received by those who came. Ruth Kidd ## **SUNDAY MORNING CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE’S GROUPS** **Children’s Sunday morning group** meets in the Challen room during the 11am service. The number of children attending has grown steadily, and we now have a group of up to 10 children aged between 5 and 13 who attend regularly. We enjoy games and fun together, retell a Bible story (often using drama), pray and offer craft and other activities. We sometimes use Godly Play as a special way of telling Bible stories. Thanks to the team: Penelope Mullens, Barbara Williams, Sarah Dearling and Ruth Kidd. **Small Saints** on a Sunday meets during the 11am service and provides an opportunity for under 5s to meet with God and learn about Jesus and 12 enables their parents to have some quiet time in church. We follow a similar structure each week to ensure some consistency for the young children, starting with a song where they can make as much noise as they want, a gentle ‘Welcome’ song, a bible story and prayer followed by time playing and doing craft together. There is a dedicated team who take it in turn to help run and support Small Saints, including Valerie Barnard, Jackie Gray, Norma Newman and Sherayne Sigsworth. We would love more people to join the team so if you have a heart for the very young, please do let us know. Thank you. Sherayne Sigsworth ## **FUN AT 4 SERVICE** Fun at 4’ is a special service for young children and their families. We meet once a month on a Sunday afternoon, to play a game with Sam Bear, sing praise songs to God, join in a Bible story and have lots of FUN! We then go to the hall to spend time together playing with toys, making a craft, and chatting over refreshments. In July, we enjoyed a picnic and games in the vicarage garden. We have several special services in the year: ‘Easter is Coming’, ‘Christmas is Coming’ and our morning Nativity service on Christmas Eve. It has been good to welcome a few new families to Fun at 4 after they enjoyed attending the special services. Thanks to the team: Ali Porter, Barbara Williams, Ruth Kidd and Sheryane Sigsworth. Ruth Kidd ## **YOUTH WORK** ## **YOUTH OUTREACH** We support our mission giving partner Camberley Youth for Christ (CYFC) who have been able to do mentoring and other activities within schools. The Point is held at St Paul’s Church on a Friday night, and young people can join this monthly get together for games, worship and to hear a 13 speaker. The PCC continue to support our vision to have a youth worker as part of our ministry to young people. Ruth Kidd ## **SUNDAY EVENING YOUTH GROUPS** The evening youth group is continuing to develop. We regularly have between 6 – 10 children from years 7 to year 12 attending on Sunday evenings in the hall between 6 and 7pm, with 4-5 leaders. In the summer we went out onto the field and played games, which is always popular. We also undertook an eco project as a youth group, building the bug hotel which stands behind the church. Many thanks to John Kerrigan for his help with this. Also in the summer, David and Sherayne hosted a barbeque in their garden for the youth group, with delicious food and lots of games. This was very well attended and the parents joined us for drinks at the end. More recently, in October and November a group of 5 of the young people, together with a youth leader and David Sigsworth joined up on Sunday evenings with 3 other local youth groups all attending a Youth Alpha course. There are plenty of future opportunities like this where we join together with other groups e.g. a week at Satellites in the summer (similar to Soul Survivor), a weekend away in May run by CYFC at Runways End and the Point, weekly at St Pauls Church on a Friday evening. Please do ask any of the leaders if you have a child between years 7-13 who would like to come along and try us out. Thanks to the team: Jacqui Munson, Jackie Hoare, Ali Porter, Sherayne Sigsworth and Ruth Kidd. Ruth Kidd 14 ## _**GROUPS**_ ## **HOME GROUPS** During the year the numbers attending home groups have remained at around 40 and all groups have returned to meeting in homes in the evening and daytime. Towards the end of the year we welcomed a new Woman’s Bible Study group starting in the hall, meeting in Andrew’s Room and the Hub on Friday lunch time. All groups have continued with the combination of Bible study, fellowship, and prayer, as they seek to explore and grow in faith together. We look forward to welcoming new members as we see the new growth in our church family. A large variety of study material has been used by groups this year. This has included Lent studies, the popular York courses using a booklet and CD and DVD based material. Groups have also used the Christianity Explored course and material by Rob Parsons of Care for the Family. Subjects studied have included The Twelve Disciples, the Lord’s Prayer and God has no Favourites. Home groups put together both Lent and Advent Reflections in the church. Groups are encouraged to support a mission through giving with money or time. Peter Newman ## **ALL SAINTS’ MOTHERS’ UNION** We began 2022 with a games afternoon - a good way to get back together. In February we attended the Pilgrimage of Prayer at the Cathedral and had a very interesting talk about CAP (Christians Against Poverty). Some members attended the World Day of Prayer service at Christ the King in Bagshot. Easter music and readings were our theme in April. Our Soup & Puds lunch in May was another very successful event. Revd Helen Kempster, the new MU Chaplain, came to speak to us in July 15 about her amazing life. August was our garden party, accompanied as usual by wonderful weather. Jenny Banks talked about travelling in Africa with her son, and also about her involvement with MU as a Trustee. There was another successful soup & puds lunch in October, and November saw us preparing more than 50 boxes ready for The Besom Christmas hampers. In December we welcomed Camberley Ukuleles to entertain us before our Christmas tea. Our fund-raising activities were very successful and we donated £960 to MU during the year (£200 of which was raised in 2021), an amazing amount which was divided between support for local women’s refuges and Away From It All which provides breaks for families under stress. We also collected many toiletries for the refuges and took a car-load of food goods and toiletries for the refuges from All Saints’ harvest appeal which was also supported by our local schools. Some members have been supporting the Friday Baby & Toddler group in helping with refreshments. We welcomed 3 new members during the year and ended with 36 members. As a mission society supporting families and Christian family life, the Mothers’ Union is one of the largest Christian women’s organisations in the world with over 4 million members in 84 countries, although we have many male members too, including our own Bishop Andrew. We always welcome new members to our branch. Pam Newman ## **THE CHOIR** Unfortunately the choir has not yet returned to regular service this year, but has nevertheless contributed during Communion on occasions such as Mothering Sunday, Harvest Festival, All Saints Day and the Christmas Eve Midnight Service. We also joined with others in The Lightwater Jubilee Choir and at the Christmas Carol Service. 16 It is intended that we should provide at least this level of activity in future and that we should seek to recruit additional singers with a view to reinstating a regular choir at the 0930 service. Michael Lewis ## **WORSHIP GROUP** The group usually plays on the second and fourth Sundays each month for the 11:00 services. Our line-up has changed over the year and now consists of Judith (vocals), Jackie (clarinet & vocals), John (keyboard), David (violin) and me (bass guitar). I would like to thank all the group for their dedication and support, attending practices and in addition, playing at special events and services. I would also like to thank Ian (guitar), Laurence (keyboard), who have both stepped back from the group for a while. Most notably, Laurence who has played keys with the group for the best part of 25 years! It is true that you only really appreciate someone’s contribution when they are not there, and they are both greatly missed. Along with many old favourites, we try to bring our versions of some new songs into our services to hopefully become future new favourites. We are really pleased to hear that the mix of songs is being well received. Finally, the group is always open to new talent! If you would like to join in, please come and have a chat with me; you will be made most welcome. It would be great if we could find a new players and singers to join us! Mark Hoare ## **WELCOME** I would like to thank all the welcome team for their support during this year. We had a meeting early in 2022 to establish the latest role of welcomer after the pandemic and during this year the welcomer's role continues to play a vital part in welcoming newcomers and regulars to the church. 17 This last year we have lost a couple of people from the welcome rota due to church moves etc and would welcome more volunteers. Please do contact me or Valerie Barnard if you are at all interested. Thank you. Jacqui Munson ## **SOCIAL COMMITTEE** Despite some of our activities being limited in the early part of 2022, on the 14th April we were able to prepare and serve a Fellowship meal consisting of lamb pies and salad followed by fresh fruit, small cakes and coffee. This was well attended and it was nice for everyone to be able to meet together again. The 36th annual Quiz took place in May with seventeen teams competing. The Church team, Wardens Behaving Badly, reached the semi-finals with Family Affair taking the trophy. In June we resumed our annual visit to Sonning Mill – this was originally booked in 2020 but was postponed until 2022 as the theatre was closed during Covid. We were grateful for the cost reduction of 50% because of the inconvenience caused. Harvest Supper took place in October with sixty people attending. This year we offered a vegetarian dish in line with the Eco group’s suggestion although a meat option was available. The evening ended with some excellent home-grown entertainment. Forty-one people attended the Christmas meal, we were very fortunate to find a caterer at quite short notice when we were let down by our previous one. People seemed to enjoy the meal and we hope to repeat the event. We managed to purchase tickets to see Cinderella at the New Victoria Theatre, Woking just before Christmas and have booked for next year. The annual games afternoon in January was very successful with a good range of ages. There were not as many people as in previous years but hopefully the numbers will grow again. We have a coach booked for a trip to Leonardslee Park and Water Gardens in March and hope the weather will be kind to us. Again this is an event held over from 2020 when it had to be cancelled. 18 I must express thanks to the Social Committee once again for all their support and ideas. Valerie Barnard ## **ECO GROUP** During 2022 our new Eco Group began to meet at All Saints’ to help us get closer to matters of the environment and the impact of climate change. One of the Church of England’s 5 Marks of Mission is ‘to strive to safeguard the integrity of creation, and sustain and renew the life of the earth’, so it is a subject close to our heart. The first milestone was to join ‘Eco Church’, which is run by ‘A. Rocha’, and which encourages us to assess our eco credentials across five areas of church life – our worship, buildings, use of land, our engagement in the community and globally, and our lifestyle. The Carbon Neutral Group (see separate report) soon spawned from the Eco Group to look at the carbon footprint of our buildings in particular. Various activities have resulted this year, including a ‘Switch One!’ initiative to challenge us in our lifestyle, such as switching of a car journey to more eco friendly travel, switching from using plastic containers, and even switching our thermostats down. The theme of Upcycling (re-purposing discarded items) was adopted for the flower festival at the Village Fete. The team held a ‘Shop and Swap’ community event for the re-cycling of children’s toys, from which proceeds went to twinning our church hall toilets with 5 loos abroad where climate change has had a large impact. The group also organised a walk on Turf Hill to reflect on environmental management of our heathlands. Our young people (with the kind help of John Kerrigan) erected a bug hotel in our grounds – aptly called ‘Buggingham Palace’! By the end of 2022 we were delighted to register and receive the Bronze award for our Eco Church activity – an encouraging first step in the eco journey. In 2023 we are now looking at messaging around energy 19 efficiency especially in the Hall, and our policies for using eco-friendly products and materials in church life. A big thank you to Phil and Denise Blakeborough, Erin Brember, Sarah Dearling, Jackie Hoare, Ruth Kidd, Michael Lewis, Peter Newman, Sherayne Sigsworth, as members of the Eco Group in 2022. Revd David. ## **CARBON NEUTRAL GROUP** The Church of England have set an ambitious target to reach net zero carbon across all churches by 2030. This group has been formed to achieve the target with our church and hall. This is a response to God’s call to care for creation and our human life. The group is following A ‘Routemap to Net Zero Carbon by 2030’ prepared by the Church of England. A lot of information is becoming available from many resources, and we are monitoring this. Our church boilers are 26 years old and a contingency plan is needed in the event of failure. Some replacement parts are becoming unavailable There is some comfort in the church being heated by two boilers. We are measuring our carbon footprint each year. Our carbon emissions are within the same Net CO2 Percentile as 70 to 80% of churches. We are at the bottom of the scale for Emissions per square metre. Our source of energy is our main focus. Our electricity is green and currently comes from a wind farm. The church and hall are both heated by two gas boilers. We have not yet found a suitable and available method of heating for either the church or the hall. We have some limitations for possible solutions. It is difficult to insulate our church, and little space for ground heat pumps. The church roof has the original clay roof tiles and the hall roof is a lightweight construction with lightweight metal tiles. 20 There will be new solutions available. We can make some reduction of our carbon emissions now by using less energy. Some changes have already been made with our existing heating controls. A big thank you to the team of Phil Blakeborough, Andy Hockey and Chris Williams for their support and hard work in moving us forward. Peter Newman ## **LIGHTWATER VILLAGE FETE - 14 MAY 2022** After the hiatus of the Covid pandemic the Lightwater Village Fete was back with a bang on Saturday 14 May. The Fete was opened by the Mayor of Surrey Heath, Councillor Helen Whitcoft, who was performing her first public engagement. The pipes and drums from Gordon’s School got the afternoon underway with the first of two splendid displays in the arena. The ‘Lightwater Legends’ motorcycles then took a couple of turns around the arena before parking up in the car park where the riders were only too happy to chat about their proud possessions. The falconry displays in the arena kept everyone looking skywards into the bright blue sky especially when one of the hawks went awol – later found in a garden in West End. Down to earth but with their usual display of agility and artistic talent the dancers from Terri-Jayne Theatre Arts performed two excellent ‘sets’ in the arena. Stalls of all kinds around the arena provided plenty of opportunity to purchase an assortment of crafts, plants and produce. New this year for the younger visitors were donkey rides, which were very popular, and a ‘tea-cup’ ride. Windlesham Ladies football club did a great job of promoting football for girls of all ages. Another new attraction was the Shimmy Café dancers who performed a couple of sets. Chicken Rescue UK was happy to show off rescued birds and advise on the best way keeping chickens. 21 All Saints’ provided an inflatable ‘Jungle’ slide for the younger visitors and for those of a more active disposition – a ‘Gladiator’ jousting inflatable. Once again the tombola, also run by stalwarts from the church, did a roaring trade as did the bookstall. The church also provided the ARK, a ‘quiet tent’ providing some respite for those who needed it, including craft and colouring activities for children. The church was once again the setting for a Flower Festival with the theme of ‘Upcycling’ in keeping with our ECO aspirations. A great deal of time, effort and skill (and imagination) had been dedicated to producing the wonderful arrangements on show and thanks go to Pauline Hemley for the organisation. Refreshments were provided in the Hall by the WI, who served a range of sandwiches, sausage rolls and home-made cakes to the background of live piano music from Laurence ‘Liberace’ Dearling. The Scouts provided hot dogs and burgers from the barbeque. Pizza, donuts and cakes were also on offer. Prosecco, Gin and other liquid refreshments were provided at the bar and the ice cream vendor in the car park did a roaring trade. Radio Frimley Park provided the public address system. We were blessed with a very warm sunny day and it seemed as if the whole village were determined to enjoy themselves after having endured the previous couple of years of ‘lockdown’. Thanks go to Windlesham Parish Council for the use of the Recreation Ground. The organising committee responsible for the Village Fete continues to include representatives from All Saints’ Church as well as those from Lightwater Connected. Thanks must also go to the many volunteers both on the ‘day’ – from early morning until the Recreation Ground is cleared, and those involved in the preparations beforehand, without whom the Fete cannot happen. **Richard Storer** 22 ## **COMMUNITY CINEMA** After cancelling our first screening in January 2022, we showed “Rocket Man” and “About Time” in February and March. We had to cancel our proposed film for children and the adults’ film “Operation Mincemeat” in April (Covid again). However we were back on track in May with 80 people watching “Belfast”. After the summer break we screened “The Duke”, “Operation Mincemeat”, “Fishermens Friends II” and “Downton Abbey”. Unfortunately only one parent attended the children’s film so we will not be repeating that on a Saturday morning. We might try and show a film for children in the school holiday but we have decided this would be better run by the church who have the qualified volunteers to work with children. 2023 has begun very successfully with increasing audience numbers. We have a risk assessment in place and Chris Williams has drawn up a “Terms of Reference” document setting out how the Community Cinema runs with support from the church. Any money raised through donations received at screenings will be spent on something for the community’s benefit (after meeting running expenses). The sound quality of the films has been improved and two more speakers are planned to be used midway down the hall. Pauline Hemley ## _**ADMINISTRATION**_ ## **CHURCH HALL** All Saints’ Church hall continues to provide a great venue for church activities and for the wider community. 2022 saw many activities return to the hall after the pandemic. These are just some examples of how the hall was used in 2022: Coffee and fellowship after church services - Lightwater Community Cinema - Church meals at Harvest, Maundy Thursday and Christmas - Guides 23 - A variety of exercise and dance classes - The Country Market - Providing a place for refreshments during the Jubilee celebrations and Lightwater Fete - One-off bookings for parties and family events The hall was able to deliver a small financial surplus in 2022. Rising costs, particularly of energy, are a challenge as we try to cover what we spend whilst remaining affordable for our hirers. Going forward we have cut all non essential spend and increased our rates. We have also simplified our price structure. We have implemented some changes in how we control the heating. This keeps energy costs as low as possible whilst ensuring that the hall is still warm enough for our guests. Bookings are steadily increasing but are not quite up to the levels seen in 2019. We did lose one lucrative regular booking at the end of 2022 but this has now been replaced. We continue to promote the hall as a venue in Roundabout and on social media. In summary the hall is in good shape but is facing cost pressures. Huge thanks go to Jackie Gray who manages the bookings, John Trigwell who is the keyholder and to the hall committee who work so hard to maintain this important church and community facility. ## Chris Williams - Churchwarden ## **PARISH OFFICE** The Parish Office continues to be a vital part of the ministry of All Saints Church. It is open four mornings a week (closed Wednesdays and weekends) to prepare our weekly services and to attend to any necessary church administration. Jackie Gray (Tuesdays & Thursdays) oversees our hall bookings. The hall diary is maintained by the Parish Office with a good relationship existing with the hall management committee and hall users whether they be regular users or ad hoc. We now have a wide range of users with fitness groups, a Baby & Toddler group, an AA meeting, MU & WI 24 meetings, the Lightwater Community Cinema, and the Rainbows, Brownies and Guide groups all making good use of our facilities. The office continues to provide support for the clergy, Churchwardens, the church family, and the wider community, who make good use of the photocopier and laminator for very reasonable fees. The office also provides a safe, confidential, and welcoming environment where pastoral care is required. We had our new CCTV system installed in April and is proving to be an asset. For the fourth year running, we have run the Puzzle Swap from Andrew’s Room. This continues to be very popular and much sought after amongst the wider community throughout the winter months. I would like to thank my colleague Jackie, the clergy, Churchwardens, and the church family for all the support they have given me. Mark Hoare – Parish Administrator ## **ROUNDABOUT LIGHTWATER** Roundabout Lightwater continues to be enjoyed by subscribers, and contributions from the church, varied groups and individuals continue to come in and provide a good variety of content. As usual, we would very much like to increase our coverage of the village but need a canvassing volunteer. Copies for this purpose are usually available. Our individual advertisers has reduced slightly in number, some because they get little response, others because they now only advertise online. However, a few full-page adverts have boosted income. We managed to keep our subscription rate at £7 and advertising rates were still very reasonable. Thanks as usual go to all our contributors and our 33 wonderful distributors who deliver every month. Pam Newman 25 Parochial Church Council of￿1 Saints. LIgh￿ater- Accounts 2022 2