2020-12-31-accounts

ST SIMON’S CHURCH WAVERLEY ROAD SOUTHSEA

ANNUAL REPORT

AND ACCOUNTS

2020

PCC Annual report 05/05/21 Hugh Mason [Chair PCC]; Fran Sherren & Paul Jenkins [Church Wardens]

FOREWORD

This has been a challenging year for St Simon’s in many ways, not least in the context of the Covid 19 pandemic. This impacted on holding services in church, joining in fellowship and in the outreach and pastoral care we would normally deliver. It has also had a significant impact on income due to lack of lettings and from lower attendances and therefore giving. We do promote regular donations via bank transfers, Gift Aid and the parish giving scheme which protect the income in some measure.

We also lost our priest in charge Andy Finn who resigned in June 2020, leaving a leadership gap and only one church warden, until new officers and PCC members were elected in October 2020. We wish Andy Finn, Tamar and family every blessing in his new post in Kent.

Despite this we have managed to plan activities as far as these were permitted under the Church of England and government guidance on church worship in the context of Covid 19 restrictions.

We have a full new PCC and two new church wardens, Francesca Sherren and Paul Jenkins, who took up post in November 2020. Following the retirement of the dedicated and long serving previous administrator Mick Walters, we also welcomed a new church administrator Craig Fisher. We thank Mick Walters for all his tireless efforts and welcome the fact he will continue to serve as a valuable volunteer in future.

GDPR

We have had no data protection or privacy issues during this period.

PCC Annual report 05/05/21 Hugh Mason [Chair PCC]; Fran Sherren & Paul Jenkins [Church Wardens]

TABLE OF CONTENTS - Reports

1. Annual Report PCC

2. Deanery Synod

3. Churchwardens

4. Fabric Committee

5. Shipmates Children’s Ministry

6. Sunday Suppers

7. Social Committee

8. Pastoral Ministry

9. Mission Team

10. Church administrator

11. Treasurer

12. Annual Accounts.

PCC Annual report 05/05/21 Hugh Mason [Chair PCC]; Fran Sherren & Paul Jenkins [Church Wardens]

– 1.Annual Report from the Parochial Church Council (PCC) 2020 Linda Jenkins PCC Secretary

This is the annual report of the PCC proceedings and activities for St Simon’s Church PCC for 2020. This report covers the whole of the 2020 year. Although there was an Annual Parochial Church Meeting on 25th October 2020, which should have covered 2019-20, due to the Covid 19 pandemic this meeting was a shortened one held in order to elect a new PCC and did not deal with a full set of reports for 2020. Due to unusual circumstances of the Covid pandemic, and the resignation of our priest in charge half way through 2020, this report will also include a report from incoming new church wardens Francesca Sherren and Paul Jenkins. We also did not have a PCC secretary for some of the period January – June 2020 due to the resignation of Linda Jenkins in June 2020. Linda Jenkins was re-elected as PCC secretary in November 2020.

-Administrative information

St Simon’s Church is situated on Waverley Road in Southsea. It is part of the Diocese of Portsmouth within the Church of England. All correspondence should be addressed to the church office, St. Simon's Church, Waverley Road, Southsea, PO5 2PW.

The Parochial Church Council (PCC) is a corporate body established by the Church of England. The PCC operates under the Parochial Church Council powers Measure. The Parish registered with the Charity Commission (2009) as Charity no. 1128695 within the meaning of the charities Act 1993.

The Parochial Church Council (PCC) is a corporate body established by the Church of England. The PCC operates under the Parochial Church Council (Powers) Measure 1956. The Parish registered with the Charity Commission (2009) as Charity no.1128695 within the meaning of the Charities Act 1993. The PCC is required to provide an annual report on proceedings of the PCC and the activities of the parish generally for discussion at the annual meeting.

-PCC Objectives and Activities

The primary objective of St Simon’s PCC is the promotion of the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to the doctrines and practices of the Church of England. The PCC has the responsibility of co-operating with the priest in charge, in promoting in the ecclesiastical parish the whole mission of the Church, pastoral, evangelistic, social and ecumenical.

The Main objectives of the PCC were summed up under the heading “Outreach, Discipleship and Celebration”:

• to share the good news of Jesus through any appropriate means including personal witness, public preaching, Alpha courses, and service to the community; also by our gifts and our prayers to equip and encourage others who are called to share the gospel;

• to encourage and challenge one another to grow in our personal walk with God, through personal prayers and Bible study, through church attendance and membership of home groups; through giving, service and ministry to others;

• to have fun together as the people of God, coming together for social activities and events which are enjoyable and at which outsiders can feel welcome.

-PCC Structure, governance and management

Normal membership of the PCC consists of certain ex-officio members: the priest in charge, the churchwardens and members of the Deanery, Diocesan or General Synods and members of the church who are elected at the Annual Parochial Meeting (APCM). All church members are

PCC Annual report 05/05/21 Hugh Mason [Chair PCC]; Fran Sherren & Paul Jenkins [Church Wardens]

encouraged to consider standing for election to the PCC or to nominate others, and we aim to have a balance of skills, background and experience where possible.

The PCC is responsible for a wider range of matters affecting the work and ministry of the church, including compliance with health and safety and equalities and diversity legislation and with due regard to the Church of England House of Bishops safeguarding guidance in relation to children and vulnerable adults. In their capacity as trustees, members of the PCC hold a legal responsibility to promote its charitable purpose and for the stewardship of funds including appropriate accounting and reporting of the parish finances. The PCC works to ensure that each member is equipped to fulfil their role. Upon election, new members of the PCC are given an induction which includes their roles and responsibilities, the PCC’s agreed policies and procedures, and the most recent minutes. At the first meeting of the new PCC, the vice-chairman, secretary, treasurer are elected. The churchwardens, secretary and treasurer are encouraged to attend courses run by the diocese on their particular work and all PCC members must attend the relevant diocesan safeguarding training. Regular mailings from the diocese keep the officers up to date with changes in church regulation and financial procedure and these are reported to the whole PCC as appropriate.

In 2020 the Covid 19 pandemic had a significant impact on church life. The lockdown from March 2020 restricted activities and led to a late and shortened Annual Parochial Church meeting 25th October.

The Priest in Charge Andy Finn also resigned in June 2020. Therefore the details of the PCC members and changes in 2020 are as follows:

During the earlier part of the year 2020 the following served as members of the PCC:-

Priest in Charge: The Revd Andy Finn (Chair) [resigned June 2020] Churchwarden: Dr Hugh Mason (Vice Chair) Deanery Synod Representatives: Dr Hugh Mason; Sue Piper

-Elected Members: Gail Chipperfield (Treasurer) Oyin Alonge (Treasurer/Director of finance from November 2019) Jerry Brown Vicky Bell (safeguarding officer: resigned October 2020) Bethan Fogell (from November 2019) Cliff Golledge (resigned October 2020) Phil Gower (resigned October 2020) Linda Jenkins (secretary from November 2019) Patrick Jolly

During early 2020 Vicky Bell acted as Parish Safeguarding Officer to ensure we were compliant with the House of Bishops’ guidance on safeguarding children and vulnerable adults [with the duty under section 5 of the Safeguarding and Clergy Discipline Measure 2016.]

John Bazley was appointed as Parish Safeguarding Officer in October 2020.

In October at the postponed Annual Meeting on 25[th] October 2020 the following posts in the PCC were confirmed:

• Hugh Mason was elected Chair of PCC and as Deanery Synod representative

• Fran Sherren was elected as Church Warden

PCC Annual report 05/05/21 Hugh Mason [Chair PCC]; Fran Sherren & Paul Jenkins [Church

Wardens]

• Paul Jenkins was elected Church Warden

• Linda Jenkins was re-elected PCC Secretary

• Paul Jenkins was re-elected as Health and Safety Officer

• Oyin Alonge was re-elected assistant treasurer/director of finance with Gail Chipperfield as treasurer

• Bethan Fogell was elected onto the PCC

• Gerry Lightup was elected onto the PCC

• Louise Roulston Thomas was elected onto the PCC

• Elly Mulvaney was elected onto the PCC

• Michael Piper was elected onto the PCC

• Lorna Sandland was elected as Deanery Synod representative

• John Bazley was appointed Safeguarding officer

• Ken Slater is our designated responsible person in regard to fire and safety and ensures that the fire extinguishers are inspected regularly.

Meetings of the PCC were held online using the Zoom meeting facility. The PCC welcomed regular reports from the Treasurer, Safeguarding Officer, Fabric Committee and Andrea Grainger on the children’s ministry work.

The PCC delegates a number of its functions to sub committees which include the following:

-Standing committee

The Standing Committee is constituted in accordance with dependent on the number of names on the church electoral roll. The standing committee consists of the Priest in Charge, the Churchwardens, the Treasurer and at least two other members of the PCC. It may transact the PCC’s business between meetings of the PCC .This committee meets prior to each PCC meeting to consider outstanding issues and plan the PCC agenda.

-Fabric committee

The Fabric committee exists to ensure that the fabric of the church building is properly maintained and that the findings of the quinquennial inspection are acted upon. It was formed several years ago and reports to the PCC as appropriate. The committee has overseen work such as roof repairs, the renewal of tables and regular church cleaning and updating under the leadership of the chairperson Michael Piper.

-Mission Team

Each year the church gives at least 10% of its unrestricted income to home and overseas mission work. The committee canvassed the congregation for ideas on which charities should be supported and six were identified; two each of a local, national and international focus in their work. These are: Flame International; Joshua Radio (Uganda); Beyond the Streets; Frontline Debt Advice; Bereaved Families Holiday Fund; Faith in Football which were supported in 2020-21. These will be reviewed in 2021.

-Risk assessment

The PCC confirms that the major risks to which the council has been exposed have been identified by a risk analysis exercise carried out by PCC members. The risks identified and steps taken to mitigate these risks are as follows:

PCC Annual report 05/05/21 Hugh Mason [Chair PCC]; Fran Sherren & Paul Jenkins [Church Wardens]

 Property fire or theft: Insurance cover continues against both these risks. Fire inspections are carried out annually by a suitably qualified and experienced professional and fire extinguishers are tested and replaced and advised.

 Misappropriation of funds : The budgeted expenditure for each year is approved by the full PCC. The PCC has a “fiduciary duty” to operate with due regard to the Church of England Legal Advisory Commission guidance which highlights “…the duty to protect the assets of the charity”. The PCC operates a system of controls including analytical reviews and segregation of duties that are designed to militate against any potential for the misappropriation of funds.

Two signatories are required for all cheques and these have been reviewed with the new treasurer’s appointment. All matters involving unbudgeted expenditure in excess of £1,000 are put to the full PCC.

 Revenue falling below committed expenditure : The level of giving was monitored throughout the year, and the financial situation (income and expenditure) was reviewed by the PCC. The current financial plan includes a budget for the next financial years with the provision of separate accounting processes for church finances separated from the two main trusts that support the church (Coffee tavern Trust and Waverley Trust). The PCC plans to address the shortfall between giving income and costs with a talk to the congregation on the need for increased giving.

-Electoral roll and attendance

The electoral roll stood at 109 on 30[th] April 2021. Average weekly attendance counted during October and November 2020 (during a brief period of lifting of Covid 19 restrictions) fluctuated between 56 and 85 adults, with an average of 71. During the Covid 19 lockdown from November 2020 onwards (with in person attendance affected by government and Church of England guidance) there were restrictions on attendance. Since some partial lifting of restrictions, attendance has settled to an average of 28 attendees in the building with more viewers online either simultaneously or watched later on YouTube streaming.

-Conclusion

Overall despite the challenges of having Covid restrictions in place over most of 2020, it has been encouraging to have online services and some online home groups.

Children’s ministry has also been supported with Shipmates and children’s activities recorded and delivered online. There have been no in church activities, nor any youth group meetings such as the Fusion Café Friday group. Each month there has been an All-age Service online/recorded which continues to integrate the worship experience of both adults and children.

Our musical worship has been mainly online due to Covid restrictions with occasional worship led by a musicians and singers with use of recorded worship songs where needed which has worked well. The PCC may need to discuss how to manage music worship in future and to plan a restarting of in person services as Covid restrictions and guidance allows.

- 2. Deanery Synod annual report 2020 Lorna Sandland, Deanery Synod representative

On the whole the main points of discussion in Deanery Synod in recent months have related to the structure of the Deanery. The Deanery is a term describing a grouping of churches in a particular area. There have also been discussions about the future organisation of the local church. From these

PCC Annual report 05/05/21 Hugh Mason [Chair PCC]; Fran Sherren & Paul Jenkins [Church Wardens]

discussions, we have had encouragement from Archdeacon Jenny, who in a recent meeting described St Simon’s as, ‘An active and thriving church’.

St Simon’s, alongside all the other churches in the area has actively taken part in these discussions through Deanery Synod and through our church Wardens. In particular we are actively strengthening our partnerships and links with other churches such as St Jude’s and St Margaret’s. We do this with an awareness of our distinctiveness as individual churches and within our own local contexts.

The diocese continues to actively support these discussions and St Simon’s through prayer and support through Archdeacon Jenny amongst others

3. Churchwardens’ Report October 2020 - May 2021 – Paul Jenkins and Fran Sherren

We were appointed as new churchwardens at the APCM in October 2020. The APCM was delayed due to Covid restrictions. The formal period covered by the churchwardens’ report should therefore only include the months of November and December. However, we felt that in these usual circumstances, it would be helpful to provide an update on our activities as churchwardens from our election until the APCM for 2021.

The past 8 months have been a steep learning curve for us both. Neither of us has previously served as churchwardens and we assumed these leadership roles without the support of a priest in charge. However, we have been greatly supported by many members of the church family, particularly the retiring church warden and members of the PCC. These are extraordinary times and we have been responsible for leading a church, many of whose members have had little direct contact with each other for many months. This situation has created many challenges. But we are greatly encouraged by the way our church has worked resourcefully, to ensure that we can continue to show God’s love and care for each other and those in our community. It is this commitment to showing God’s love, even in the most challenging circumstances that we believe is the heart of St Simon’s

-Covid restrictions

St Simon’s, as with all churches in the country, has been required to operate under strict Covid restrictions. This has involved restricting the use of the church building to Sunday worship only. Strict Covid protocols have been observed during Sunday services. This has included social distancing of the congregation at all times, sung worship restricted to recorded music with no congregational singing, restrictions relating to communion and no gathering permitted after services. No other activities have been permitted on the church premises, including those of church and external groups. This has inevitably impacted on life of the church. The only exception has been Sunday Suppers, which has continued to provide a takeaway service every Sunday.

We have been blessed with the resources to provide live streaming of all Sunday services, which has allowed many members of the church family to continue to participate in Sunday worship. Some church groups have been able to meet remotely. This has also been the case for some church meetings, including those of the PCC and Standing Committee. Staff meetings have also been conducted remotely. The closure of the church to external groups has also had a considerable impact on church income.

As government Covid restrictions are reduced, we anticipate a relaxing of the current Church of England restrictions on church activities. However, it is important that restrictions are relaxed through a planned approach and that appropriate risk assessments are undertaken at each stage. We hope that we can soon return to a situation where there is full and open access to the church

PCC Annual report 05/05/21 Hugh Mason [Chair PCC]; Fran Sherren & Paul Jenkins [Church Wardens]

premises and that Sunday services will resume a more normal form. However, we need to continue to prioritise the safety of all those individuals and groups using the church.

-Deanery Consultation Process

In January the churchwardens, supported by the Rev Bob Mason, were invited to participate in a deanery consultation process. The aim of this process was to examine how churches in the diocese could develop more effective partnerships. These discussions were partly motivated by the extremely fragile financial situation of the diocese. The Covid crisis has resulted in a drastic reduction in income for the diocese. There is therefore a need to consider whether restructuring of the diocese could provide greater impact and efficiency.

The consultation process was organised through clusters of churches meeting together across the diocese. St Simon’s met in a cluster of churches which included St Jude’s, St Margaret’s, Holy Spirit and St James’ Milton. The churches explored ideas of working together, supporting each other and sharing resources. Following the wider consultation process, the churchwardens have continued to discuss and pray with the leadership of St Jude’s and St Margaret’s.

One of the outcomes of the consultation process across the diocese is that the model of church leadership will in future be increasingly based on a team ministry approach. The model of one vicar for one church is generally no longer sustainable in the diocese. This will of course impact on the situation of the priest in charge vacancy at St Simon’s. However, we remain very positive that by working together with the other churches in Southsea, St Simon’s can continue to be a vibrant and growing church, seeking to be part of the exciting work of building God’s kingdom in this city.

-Diocese

In March 2021, the Archdeacon of Portsdown, Rev Jenny Rowley, participated in our PCC meeting. She was accompanied by Rev Andrew Hargreaves from Harbour Church. The Archdeacon’s presence was greatly welcomed by all. She recognised the challenges St Simon’s has faced in recent years and provided words of support and encouragement. She introduced Rev Andrew Hargreaves, who offered to support the healing process in the St Simon’s church family, following the painful disruption and uncertainty caused by the unanticipated and abrupt loss of the past two incumbents.

The churchwardens later met again with the Archdeacon and the Rev Allie Kerr, Vicar of St Cuthbert and St Aidan, Copnor. The meeting provided great encouragement to the churchwardens and emphasised the Archdeacon’s support for St Simon’s at this challenging time. The Archdeacon has agreed to lead the service at Simon’s on 18 July 2021.

Rev Andrew Hargreaves has continued his support for healing work at St Simon’s. An extraordinary meeting of the PCC was held in April, facilitated by Andrew, to identify some of the hurt amongst church members and to look for ways to overcome this pain and learn from our experiences. Further work on healing is continuing with Andrew, which will include a healing service in July.

-Church website

Work is currently taking place on redesigning the church website. The website is a crucial tool for sharing information about St Simon’s, both to the church family and to a wider audience. It needs to be a tool that is both attractive and simple to use. The church has therefore engaged a consultant, at no cost to St Simon’s, to advise us on this process and provide possible new design for the site. A small group has been established to support this work. We hope that the new website will not only help keep church members informed about church activities, but will encourage new visitors and hopefully members to the church.

PCC Annual report 05/05/21 Hugh Mason [Chair PCC]; Fran Sherren & Paul Jenkins [Church Wardens]

– 4. Fabric Committee annual report 2020 Michael Piper, Chair

South East Area Roof

The work to repair the Prayer Space roof and the East end of the South aisle roof was put out to tender and awarded to the lower bid from DR Roofing Services for £45,000. However further costs were incurred in obtaining a faculty, resulting from the need to have a bat certificate and the support of the church architect in supervising the work. It was also necessary to add a £1,000 contingency sum to cover the possibility of additional insulation in the prayer space roof.

Quinquennial Inspection

The QI is postponed until it can be done in conjunction with the roof repairs.

Aisle Heating

Our heating consultant, Chris Reading, has produced a scheme for supplementary heating and is ready to put it out to tender to determine the funds needed. He reports that as DAC advisor to Winchester and Salisbury, he is acquainted with the current direction of the C of E to reduce carbon emissions, and has gone through the options related to carbon emissions. He is satisfied that the current proposal offers the best all round solution, given the type of building.

IT

Work was done to upgrade the IT system to a high standard for streaming services.

Routine testing

During 2020, a number of regular checks were carried out. The lightning conductor was inspected and had some remedial work carried out. A satisfactory certificate for this was issued and accepted by the insurers, subject to an annual re-inspection. All gas appliances were serviced and a gas safety certificate issued. At the request of our insurers a full fixed electrical installation inspection was undertaken. This necessitated some remedial work to be carried out in 2021, and a completion certificate to be issued. The twice-yearly service and inspection of the fire extinguishers, the fire alarm and the emergency lighting were carried out.

5. Children’s Ministry (Shipmates) annual report Jan – Dec 2020 - Andrea Grainger Children and

Families Pastor

The year began like any other, with regular groups in church and Sunday sessions. By March we were adding extra hygiene measures, hand gels, ‘Catch it, Bin it’ bins and notices and sterilising toys before and after groups. Then the world changed.

Our first Sunday of Lockdown Shipmates did a children’s service based on Andy’s sermon which, being was Genesis 1, worked well but we obviously couldn’t continue to adapt adult sermons. So I started doing Facebook live Shipmates Services each Sunday from home, which later changed to You Tube live. I’ve endeavoured to make these 45 min services as interactive as possible with singing, crafts, bible stories and conversation where possible through he comments.

One parent comments “We haven’t been regular watchers of the Sunday Shipmates and all age services because our 2 year old hasn’t always been in the mood for screen time and listening (!!) but when we have joined in, she has really enjoyed listening to and watching the stories and particularly the interactive parts when we make a craft together. I think it’s incredibly hard to keep the momentum going after a whole year of worshipping and connecting with people online and I think you’ve done a wonderful job of making us all still feel part of our church family and not forgotten!” Other families have watched live each week and others have ‘caught up’ later.

The weekday groups have also continued through live sessions, taking requests for songs for Stay (at home) and Play and continuing the ‘Praise’ sessions for Play and Praise

Parents have said;

PCC Annual report 05/05/21 Hugh Mason [Chair PCC]; Fran Sherren & Paul Jenkins [Church Wardens]

“Your weekly sessions have been like a ray of light for us, especially in the first hard weeks of lockdown with a new baby and slightly shell shocked big brother.”

“We were so grateful for the weekly Monday and Tuesday Shipmates sessions online and they made us feel we were still part of the church family even though we weren’t seeing each other”

“We thoroughly enjoy watching the stay and play singing sessions and the play and praise story time! My son especially loves the ‘box with the lid’ and it has been nice to have this continuity whilst we have been unable to go to any groups in person for such a long time. “

“My daughter loves hearing her name when you sing the song she has requested.” Most parents were already attending groups.

“It has been fantastic; we were attending before at the church before lockdown. Has been a great way to introduce ethical and religious stories to young children; a great support during for my toddler. Thank you.”

Others discovered us online.

“I just wanted to say thank you so much for all you are doing with your at home sessions! I have 3 children under 3 so hadn't been able to attend your sessions at St. Simons so it has been lovely to see you online. My little girl loves watching you, thank you for all you are doing, God bless you abundantly”

Over the summer rather than live sessions I shared various videos from Spring Harvest, New Wine etc. and delivered 4 themed Activity packs to 50 children in 30 families, these included bible stories, prayer ideas, crafts and gifts. After the success of the summer packs, I continued with Jesus Light of the world pack at October Half Term and an Advent pack.

“The activity packs have always brought a smile to my son’s face and have helped me too because it was a way to get him engaged in various activities I didn’t have to plan. We appreciate all the wonderful work you do, Andrea! Thank you!! “

“We really enjoyed the holiday packs. There was a lot for the girls to do which they enjoyed and this led on to some learning as we read related stories on our children’s bible.”

“We have really appreciated all the activity packs we’ve been given over the year and the effort you have gone to provide them for us. They have helped us to think about how we can explore our faith at home and even though my daughter is only little, we always manage to find something in them that we can engage with.

Christmas came and although plans for a socially distanced Christingle service had to be abandoned the Online Socially Distanced Nativity Service was a huge success with children from week day groups as well as Sunday worshippers taking part. The Children loved seeing their friends on the screen and it has been St Simon’s most viewed video on YouTube.

Through a difficult year my main aim has been to keep in touch with our families and let them know that they are loved. The online platforms have offered an opportunity for conversation and I’ve been able to answer both prayer requests and practical requests for help as well as ‘chat’ with families. Delivering the packs (with a 72 hour quarantine period and lots of hand sanitising) has also offered a great opportunity to meet families on the doorstep. One child was amazed to meet in the flesh “The little lady from Mummy’s phone!” I have also received messages from Grandmas and Aunties telling extended families and generations have been joining together.

“Our mums Facebook group has also been really helpful to remind me that we’re not alone and that other people are thinking of us and praying for us.”

PCC Annual report 05/05/21 Hugh Mason [Chair PCC]; Fran Sherren & Paul Jenkins [Church Wardens]

6. Sunday Suppers annual report for January to December 2020- Francesca Sherren

In January and February 2020, Sunday Suppers ran as a sit-down meal with a short, faith-based talk in the middle of the evening. Sunday Suppers was operated by two separate teams of four people; one team in the kitchen and one team in the church centre. At that time, volunteers were recruited specifically to one role only and were not permitted to move to the other team. We had to close on one Sunday (08/03/20) due to lack of leadership in place. Throughout those months we regularly catered for 40+ guests.

In March 2020, Sunday Suppers closed because of the Covid-19 pandemic. The priest-in-charge, Andy Finn, liaised with Portsmouth city council HIVE, who were coordinating support across the city, and we donated the entire collection of supplies in the North room to HIVE, approx. two tonnes of food. During lockdown the North room had a complete re-fit with strong, purpose-built shelving making food storage safer and easier to use. My heartfelt thanks go to Dave Howell and Jerry Brown for accomplishing this mammoth feat!

In the summer of 2020, we made a plan to provide a Sunday Suppers Takeaway service within the government rules for food provision. The new Activity Plan, Risk Assessment and role descriptions were drawn up and the recruitment and induction process was agreed with John Bazley, the Safeguarding officer. We restocked by spending approx. £1,750 and, when we reopened on 17th August 2020 as a ‘door-only’ service, we planned for 30 people… 36 arrived. The following week we planned for 40 and 42 arrived. Since then, we have increased the food on offer, created a ‘walkthrough’ Takeaway and regularly cater for 60+ people. We have never run out of food! In the 5 months from August to December 2020 we estimate that we have provided more than 900 freshly cooked, hot meals.

Although there is a generous annual budget from St Simon’s to fund this work, we have raised an additional £2,200 for new equipment (coffee grinder, food processor, larger freezer). We have also been given approx. £1,400 towards the cost of food via Mark Sage, (Portsmouth city council’s ‘Tackling Poverty’ coordinator) and had some donations from personal friends. Generous funding has also come from the Coffee Tavern Trust. We pay for a regular delivery from Fare Share as well as receiving donated food from Tesco, Sainsbury, Waitrose and an independent local shop called Handy Stores in Newcombe Road, Fratton. Partly due to the work with HIVE, we have developed strong links with other food banks and food provision in Portsmouth, giving and receiving from each other. Every week, we continue to offer a friendly welcome to all guests, along with freshly cooked hot food, tea and coffee, fruit, vegetables, cakes, bread and a bag of groceries to takeaway. In the coldest weeks we gave out new hats and gloves to those in need, donations which had been collected by one volunteer. We were unable to provide other clothing to avoid multiple guests handling clothes during the pandemic.

We have recently created a Sunday Suppers committee to guide and support the future direction and management of Sunday Suppers. Several volunteers stepped forward during the pandemic. In March 2020 we had a team of 19 volunteers. Now we have 32, a mixture of Christians from our own congregation, from other Portsmouth churches and some non-Christian volunteers who share our values. We have created a ‘procurement team’ led by Dinah Walters, who ensures the supplies never run out.

When the pandemic is over and social activities are allowed to start again, we will re-launch Sunday Suppers in a slightly different format, but with God’s word and message at its heart.

PCC Annual report 05/05/21 Hugh Mason [Chair PCC]; Fran Sherren & Paul Jenkins [Church Wardens]

7. Social Committee – Dinah Walters

Unfortunately due to the Covid pandemic restrictions there have not been many social activities but members have met outside following appropriate Covid guidance.

- 8. Pastoral Ministry annual report 2020 Michael Piper, Home group coordinator

From Jan to March 2020 the Pastoral Team, consisting of Andy Finn, Bob and Melanie Mason, Phil Gower, Ruth Warner, Kathy Richardson, Sue and Michael Piper, met on three Wednesday mornings a month to share and pray about pastoral matters, including the Home Groups and the Care Home services. Because of Covid-19 restrictions this ceased after March as did the provision of Care Home services in the parish. Instead, the Pastoral Team took on the responsibility of keeping in contact with church members by phone, except for those who said they did not wish to have this link. After March, Home Groups were unable to meet in person. Of the 7 groups 4 continued to ‘meet’ via Zoom. Following the Priest-in-Charge’s resignation in July, one or two of the Pastoral Team withdrew, and the contacting of members of the church continued ad hoc.

In June, on Andy Finn’s advice, a small group was formed to test a ‘Word’ for the church from Revelation 3. 7-13. It was considered that this was indeed a ‘Word from God’, and the evaluation group became a prayer group, seeking to discern the way ahead and vision for the church. The group, named Prayer Warriors, met thereafter fortnightly by zoom.

9. Mission Team annual report 2020- Ruth Warner and Geraldine Poulter:

Philippians ch. 2 v 4 (NIV)

“Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others”. Generally 2020 was a challenging year for charities although some found creative ways of sustaining and even moving forward in their work.

During 2020 St Simon's supported six charities.

• Beyond the Streets

• Faith and Football

• Flame International

• Frontline Debt

• Joshua Radio

• Bereaved Family Holiday

The first five were each blessed with a gift of £2370 from the unrestricted fund. Sadly, Bereaved Family Holiday, because of the pandemic, had to cancel their plans for their stay at the outdoor centre in Wales. They therefore did not receive funding for 2020, but the PCC decided the funding will still be sent to them for future use.

Each year we welcome someone from the charities to come and share their work, its impact and how St Simon's can support them. We found this to be the best way to interest and engage the congregation in the work of the charities. Because of the pandemic, we were restricted to inviting just one of the charities and express our grateful thanks to Maggie Golledge for her presentation of work with Frontline Debt.

We ask for your prayers for all our charities to continue and flourish in the coming year!

PCC Annual report 05/05/21 Hugh Mason [Chair PCC]; Fran Sherren & Paul Jenkins [Church Wardens]

10. Church Administrator’s Report – Mick walters/Craig Fisher

-Staff changes: Mick Walters retired. Craig Fisher appointed.

-Energy: Renewal of contract with the supplier Good Energy for a fixed term of 12 months.

-Hall lettings: There have only letting in the last 12 months is for use as a Polling Station on the 6th May. This was after a risk assessment by Portsmouth City Council where all Covid safety measures could be met.

-Events: Arrangements for Standing Committee, PCC, Staff Team Meetings and social events have been conducted by Zoom & continue until Covid Lockdown restrictions

-Payroll: Payroll is outsourced to a professional company & should continue.

-Finance: We are using online banking. Perhaps look at a contactless payment device for ease of future payments or donations.

-ISP: Nearing the end of contract with Virgin Media cable service; negotiated a new contract to include a mobile phone and a faster up & download speed for a reasonable increase in cost. -AV: While the nave flooring works were in progress we made provision for future audio changes. We now have some improved visual facilities. Thanks are due to City Life Church, Mark Crawley and Cliff Golledge for help with this.

-Staff Team: I have attended the new Staff Team meetings via Zoom.

-Future plans:

AV: To discuss updating the computer set up in the Church office at some point. Website: I feel that the church website, while functional, needs some re-design to improve the image that we present.

Building works: A number of repairs and improvements to the building are ongoing. We continue to be indebted to Ken, John, Gorik and Michael for a large number of minor repairs around the building.

Rotas: Preparing the Sunday rotas can be challenging due to a shortage of volunteers, Covid guidelines and complicated “rules” about when some volunteers are or are not available. It should be noted that we place a large work load on a core number of volunteers. Cleaner: The PCC has ended the church cleaner flexi-furlough contract. He will resume normal activities ready for reopening of church once Covid guidance allows.

11. Treasurer’s Report 2020- Gail Chipperfield

I am sure you will all agree with me that 2020 has been possibly the strangest year that most of us can remember. With the first lockdown in March, St Simon’s, in common with all other places of worship, had to close. We re-opened again in August. The impact on us financially was drastic. We lost all Church Centre lettings and collections. Collections were not too awful as money given on a Sunday morning has been steadily declining. Most of our faithful givers donate through the Gift Aid Scheme, the Parish Giving Scheme, and Charities Aid Foundation and directly into the bank. The lack of Church Centre income had more of an impact. We went from almost £13,000 in 2019 to only £2000 in 2020, a big drop as you can see. Collections halved in 2020 from £3787 in 2019 to £1600 in 2020. We decommissioned the Minibus in 2020, losing the small income we received from that.

Thanks again to our generous donors; we managed to pay our way in 2020. The Waverley Trust gave us £10k in December and the rental from 31 Gains Road remained constant. We paid 5 out of our 6 nominated charities, the sixth Charity did not receive any money from us as they did not need it, but we hope to give them funds this year should they need them.

Our Priest in charge, Andy Finn, left us in July but this did not make any significant change to our finances as all incumbents are paid by the Diocese.

PCC Annual report 05/05/21 Hugh Mason [Chair PCC]; Fran Sherren & Paul Jenkins [Church Wardens]

We continued our work with Sunday Suppers, once we had permission to open again. That ministry is largely cost neutral thanks to fundraising by members of that team. We repaid the Coffee Tavern Trust the residue of the money given for the Community Worker’s salary as Breakthru was disbanded in 2019. We still hold some restricted funds for Breakthru which cannot be used for general purposes.

We are grateful to the Coffee Tavern Trust for supporting us in various ways, including paying the Church Insurance and help given to Sunday Suppers, and other smaller donations.

We can look to 2021 as a better year financially than 2020 but I do believe that God will meet our needs as He has always done.

12. Annual Accounts 2020

The annual accounts are included here as a hyperlink or individual pdf files for information.

...\The_Annual_Accounts 2020 report.zip

March 2021 Annual March 2021 Annual March 2021 Annual March 2021 Annual March 2021 Annual March 2021 Annual Accounts Page 7.pdf Accounts Page 6.pdf Accounts Page 5.pdf Accounts Page 4.pdf Accounts Page 3.pdf Accounts Page 2.pdf PDF PDF March 2021 Annual March 2021 Annual Accounts Page 1.pdf Accounts Page 8.pdf

There is an independent auditor’s report of the annual accounts on this link

https://www.dropbox.com/s/aabzviy22rm9mmw/Independent%20examiners%20report%20on%20t he%20accounts%20page%201.pdf?dl=0

PCC Annual report 05/05/21 Hugh Mason [Chair PCC]; Fran Sherren & Paul Jenkins [Church Wardens]

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