FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AT 31 DECEMBER 2020 St. Mary's Church To know Christ better, to make Christ better known INDEPENDENT EXAMINER'S REPORT TO THE PCC OF ST MARY'S, CHIDDINGFOLD This report on Ihe accounts of the PCC for the year ended 31 De￿mber 2020, which are set OLrt on pages Iv) to lixl, is in respect of an examinalion carried out under Regulation 3 (31 of the Church Accounting Regulations 1997 to 2001 ("the Regulations") and s.43 of the Charities Act 19931"the Act") Respective responsibilities of the PCC and the examiner. As the rnembers of the PCC, you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts,. you Consider that the audit requiremenl of Regulation 3 (3} and s.4312} of the Act do not apply. It is my responsibility to issue this report on those accounts in accordance with the terms of Regulation 25. Basis of this report.. My examination was carried out in accordance with the General Directions given by the Charily Commission under section 4317)Ib) of the Act and to be found in Ihe Church Guidance 2001 edition issued by the Finance Division of the Archbishops, Council. That examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the PCC and a comparison of the accounts with those records. 11 also includes considering any unusual item or disclosures in the accounts and seeking explanations from you, as trustees, concerning any such matters. The procedures taken do not include all the evidence that would be required in an audit and, consequently. I do not express an audit opinion on the view given by the accounts. Independent examinerfs statement: In conneclion with my examination, no matter has come to my attention.. (1 } which gives me cause to believe that, in any material respect. the requirements {al to keep accounting records in accordance with section 41 of the Act and Ib) to prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records and comply with requirements of Ihe Act and the Regulations have not been met, or (2} to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached. 28 February 2021 Maple House 2 Woodberry Close Chiddingfold Surrey GU8 4SF A Kelly FCA Chartered Accountant Independent Examiner CHIDDINGFOLD PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL TREASURER'S COMMENTS It goes without saying that 2020 has been a year like no other, affecting so many aspects of all our lives. Given the challenges presented. due to the restrictions imposed durtng the Covid pandemic, this set of accounts demonstrates thal the very careful and considered decisions which the PCC has been forced to take hav6 resulted in St Mary's managing to stay afloat financially. Indeed, to show a deficit on the past year of only £322 more than in 2019 is encouraging (see Statement of Financial Activities pg vil. Overall, we saw a fall in our in¢oming resour￿9 (note 4, pg vii) of some 29°A. However, it is not all bad n8ws as we countered this by reducing overall expenditure (note 7. pg viii) by 270/0. In April, the Standing Committee took the decision to draw down £16,000 from our General Resérve to 8nable us to cover our monthly commitment of the Diocesan Parish Share. However, it soon became apparent that the country was in this for the long term. Wilh our s6rvices curtailed, cash collections dri8d up and regular giving also took a hit as people became increasingly concèrned for their own finanaal security. As can be seen in note 4 (pg vii), regular planned giving reduced by 14% in comparison with 2019, resulting in a corresponding drop of the Gift Aid we are able to r8daim', collections over the year were less than a third of the previous year's total; income from fundraising events down more than 75% but, given that all our major sales and the Christmas ball were cancelled, it is remarkable that the fundraising team was still able to raise more than £2.000 - not only raising funds, but helping to raise morale with the introduction of monthly produce sales enjoyed by many parishioners. We thank them for their efforts. By the summer, the PCC took the very difficult decision to reduce our monthly Parish Share payments from the requested amount of £7,50010 £5,000 and, for a couple of months, we further reduced this to £4,000. The Parish Share is not invoiced to individual parishes, so the outstanding amount of £21.000 does not appear in the accounts as a creditor, but we consider it a 'debt of conscience, as, by not paying the full amount requested, we are nol assisting thos8 parishes within the Di0￿Se who fa evèn greater struggles. It is our intention to rectify the situation as soon as funds allow but, for the time being, we simply cannol pay out MO￿ than we receive each month. However, the good news to report is that we We￿ able to retum almost £7,000 to the reserve funds at year end. The £9,000 required during the year is shown in the reduction of CBF deposit ac¢ounts on the Balance Sheet {pg v) and the resulting decrease in total net assets. It might be noticed that I have set up a new reserve fund for the refurbishment of the vèstry (SOFA pg vi). The Rector was successful in obtaining a grant for £2,250 from The AIIChurches Trust to be spent in this area. The resignation of our Youth Worker at thè and of March led to a significant drop in spending in thi8 area when compared to 2019 (see note 7 pg viii), but we are well aware that funding a replacement is a huge priorty. I have introduced a new bracket of expense for online costs. This area is of vital importance, allowing our SO￿1ceS to be livestreamed and donations to be madè via our website, QR code and hands-free terminal within the church building. We are only touching the Surfa￿ of the ocean of opportunities that await us in this direction and the fLrture is exciting. St Mary's is, of course, totally reliant on the voluntary contributions we receive and the PCC would like to express our gratitude to all our regular donors both within the church community and from the wider parish. Their regular commitment makès the business of budgeting and mana9ing cash flow so much easier to handle. My thanks to Mike Jones and Gerald Williams for their h8lp in preparing my first accounts for Chiddingfold PCC. Also, to Tony Kelly who continues to act as Independent Examinèr. Gilly van Oppen Treasurèr, Chiddingfold PCC stmr?ry.slrpclsurer7o•oiillook com Bankers.. Lloyds Bank plc 49 High Street Godalming Independ6nt Examiner= Mr A Kelly 2 Woodberry Closa Chiddingfold CHIDDINGFOLD PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS Accounting Polici08 The financial statements have been prèpared in accordance with the Church Accounting Regulations 2006 together with applicable accounting standards and the FRS 102 SORP. They include all transactions, assets and liabilities for which the PCC is responsible in law. They do not include the accounts of church groups that owe their main affiliation to another body. Funds St Mary's Church has tsvo funds which are restricted for specific purposes- The Sadler Fund and the Campbell-orde Bequest are both for Churchyard care. The Restoration and Fabric Fund is an unrestricted fund, but dedicated to the repair and restoration of the church buildings. The General unrestricted funds can be used for ordinary PCC purposes. It continues to be PCC policy to retain balance of at least £25,000 in the General Fund. It is our policy to invest our fund balances with the CBF Church of England Deposit Fund. Fixed Assets Consecrated and benefice propety is not included in the accounts in accordan￿ with s.96{2) of the Charities Act. Moveable church furnishings held by the Rector and Churchwardéns on special trust for the PCC, and which rèquire a faculty for disposal, are properties listed in th8 church inventory which can be inspected by arrangement. These assets are not valued in the financial statements. Incomlng and Outyoing Resources All incoming and outgoing resources are recognised and, where appropriate, acknowledged, wthen received. Income and expenditure are accounted for gross except that charges made at weddings etc. for heating and usè of the candelabra are deducted from the relevant 8XP8nse. The Diocesan Parish Share is paid by monthly standing order over the year. iv FIXED ASSETS CURRENT ASSETS CASH AND BANK BALANCES (Note 1) CBF DEPOSIT ACCOUNTS CBF INVESTMENT FUND MAGAZINE ACCOUNT BALANCE DEBTORS (Note 2) 8,464 37,295 1,722 3,090 3,594 $4,165 4,219 9,776 46,190 1,663 3.779 4,760 86,168 -7.038 LESS: CREDITORS (Note 3) 59,130 TOTAL NET ASSETS 49,946 59,130 REPRESENTED BY UNRESTRICTED FUNDS RESTRICTED FUNDS 39,417 10,529 50,966 8,164 59,130 TOTAL FUNDS 49,946 59.130 UNRESTRICTED FUNDS GENERAL FUND BALANCE BIFWD @ 1 JANUARY INCOMING RESOURCES (Note 4 RESOURCES EXPENDED INole 71 NET PROFITIDEFICIT FOR THE YEAR TFIANSFER FROM CONTINGENCY BALANCE CIFWD @ 31 DECEMBER 50,966 59,943 103,590 -115,139 -11,549 148,541 -157.518 -8,977 -11,549 -8,977 39,417 50,966 TOTAL UNRESTRICTED FUNDS 39.417 RESTRICTED FUNDS SADLER BEQUEST ICHURCHYARDI BALANCE BIFWD @ 1 JANUARY INCOME FROM CBF UNITS UNIT VALUE INCREASE￿ECREASE BALANCE CFWD @ 31 DECEMBER 6,164 6.061 56 59 67 38 11S 6.279 103 6,164 CAMPBELL4)RDE BEQUEST BALANCE CIFWD @ 31 DECEMBER 2,000 iooo 2,000 2,000 VESTRY REFURBISHMENT FUND ALL CHURCHES GRANT TOTAL RESTRICTED FUNDS 2.250 2,250 10.529 8.164 TOTAL FUNDS 49,946 59.130 CHIDDINGFOLD PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS. 31 DECÉM8ER 20 2020 20 019 2019 I CASH AND BA￿ BALANCES LLOYDsrrs8 SANTANDERIGIRO CASH 8.380 8,135 1.337 304 28 9,776 2 DEBTORS SECRETARIAL FEE OEANERY FEE GIFT AID 24 3.490 4.78Q 4,760 CREOJTORS VERGER'S FUND FLOWER FUND CHIDDINGFOLO FETE DIOCESAN FEES CHURCH INSURANCE YOUTrI EXPENSES UTILITIES AGENCY FIJNDS 131 1.7W 1,700 55 1,414 1.395 1.050 4,219 1,747 7,038 INCOMING RESOURCES REGULAR PLANNED GWING COLLECTIONS GIFT AID WEDDING & FUNERAL FEES GENERAL DONATIONS SPECIFIC D)NATIONS (Not8 61 LEGACIES CHURCHYARD GRANTS INTEREST MAGAZINE INCOME FUNDRAISINGACTIVITIES (Noie Sl CHURCH ROOM RENTALS YOUTH EVENTS VERGER FUND INCOk4E R & F FUND INCOME (HERITAGE FUNDI 54,881 4,on 13.304 2,625 4,722 525 2,fj65 2,512 1s9 14,830 2,327 63,828 13.203 18.7S1 5,318 6,045 1.632 2,512 15.601 9,976 5,289 740 234 170 103.590 92 148,S41 FUNDRAISING ACTIVITIES INCOMING FUNOS LESS.. COST OF GENERAnNG FUNDS 2,555 -228 14,367 4,385 2,327 9,976 8 SPECIFIC DONATIONS SERVERS. ROBES CHURCHYARD SIGNAGE GRATr FRIENDS, N)NATION (BOILER REPAIRS) BOOK OF REMEMBRANCE 275 250 1,345 287 1,632 CHIODINGFOLD PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL NOTES TO THE FINANCLAL STATÈMENTS- 31 DECEM ER 2020 Nol05 2020 2019 2Q1 RESOURCES EXPENOED MINISTRY CLERGY FEES PARISH SHARE MINISTERIAL EXPENSES 52 69,250 2.398 88.609 4,918 71,700 91.526 SERVICES IAfiRSHIP MATERIALS ORGANIST& CHOIR YOUTH WORKER 1.376 953 3.494 20.955 12,210 25.402 CHURCH BUILDING INSURANCE REPA5RS & MAINTENANCE CHURCH RENOVATIONS UTILITIES BOOK OF REMEMBRANCE CHURCHYARD 3,395 5,185 3.900 1.312 3.402 287 3,2t8 3.077 14,642 15,467 CHURCH ROOM RUNNING EXPENSES 1,386 3,410 3,410 ADMINISTRATION & SUNDRIES OFFICE ADMINISTRATION STATIONERY & PRINTING INKS ETC ONLINE EXPENSES AUDIO & IT $72 2,920 2.530 527 5A27 IAAGAZINE EXPENSES 8.S18 9,017 9,017 OUTREACH SLIPPORT IN*)tg 81 1.256 1.256 8,043 8,043 TOTAL RESOURCES EXPENDED IIS,139 157.518 OUTREACH GIVING AND SUPPORT FUNDING UK CHURCH URBAN FUND BISHOPS FOUNDATION 150 150 200 300 LOCAL CROSSWAYS MILFORD & MLLAGES DAY CENTRE 5CQ 500 30Q 800 OUTREACH SUPPORT F¢JNDING 6,943 6.943 OUTREACH SUPPORT IPERACCOUNTSI 1.100 ADDITIONAL OUTREACH FUNOING THE BISHOP OF GUILOFORD FOUNDATION MISSION TO SEAFARERS ROYAL BRFfisH LEGION WATER AID MACMILLAN CANCER IChristm88 Treè Ba CLOSER TO CARE (ch￿stMaS Tree ealll CHURCH URBAN FUND CHILOREN'S SOCIETY IChri$lirvJkl CHRISTIAN AID (Joint Churches) 163 82 391 76 108 72 368 1,908 roTAL OUTREACH SUPPORT 1.256 9.951 Financial Statements for the year ended 31" December 2020 Approved by the Members and signed on their behalf by: Signed: The Revd Dr Rachel Greene, Rector Dated: ## **The Parochial Church Council of the Ecclesiastical Parish of Chiddingfold** ## **Annual Report 2020** **A Report for the Year ended 31 December 2020 Approved by the PCC at their meeting on 16[th] March 2021** _Registered Charity Number 1128727_ ## **CONTENTS** Introduction Administration and Membership Aims and Purposes Objectives and Activities Youth and Children’s Work Worship Focus Group The Fabric and Maintenance Report Finance Group Fundraising Team Stewardship Group Baptism Visiting Team Choir and Music Deanery Synod Report Eco Church Food for Fellowship The Friends of St Mary’s Joint Churches in Chiddingfold Parish Link with St Paul’s Church, Hook Pastoral Visiting Team Work in St Mary’s Church of England Primary School, Chiddingfold Safeguarding Work Electoral Roll Report Other St Mary’s Church Links 2 ## **Introduction** As we look back on a challenging year, I want to thank everyone who has contributed in any way to the life of the Church. Thank you for turning up, thank you for participating and thank you for all you give of your time, talents, money and resources. I am grateful to everyone who has stepped up in 2020 and taken on new responsibilities and new ministries. Thank you for joining me in our shared mission “to know Christ better and to make Christ better known” in Chiddingfold. Do have a browse through the reports and be encouraged by what you read. There are parts of our Church life that we have had to adapt or pause to play our part in stopping the spread of Covid-19, but as you can see, in spite of the pandemic, we have strived to express God’s love to our Church family and to our wider community. Please contact the leaders identified in the report if you would like to know more, or would like to get involved. When lockdown restrictions eased over the summer, St Mary’s was one of the first Churches in the Deanery to open again. This was a team effort: I want to thank Beverley Draper and Chris Everett, our Churchwardens, and also Jane Bradford, Helen Bendall and Irving Johnson, who came together to help orchestrate St Mary’s re-opening and enabled us to do this as safely as possible. I also want to thank David Stinson who has done a brilliant job kitting out St Mary’s with cameras and sufficient broadband to webcast our Parish Communion Service, taking the burden off the Rector’s shoulders after four months of filming with iPhone, video-editing and the time consuming process of uploading huge files with limited broadband. The numbers ‘attending Church’ online appear comparable to the number attending in-person pre-pandemic and at times significantly higher, and we are seeing growth in the numbers attending Morning Prayer as well. While it’s way too soon to know for sure the results of all these things, there is every reason for hope. We can also be proud of having created brand new resources to support and enrich prayer at home; of having successfully moved worship to digital platforms, taking the congregation with us; and of having communicated the depth of our care by providing pastoral and practical support where it was needed in our community. In April we said goodbye to Hannah Pye, as she left to take up her new post in Guildford. We have benefitted enormously from her ministry to children, young people and families here in Chiddingfold, and are grateful for all she shared with us. As well as goodbyes though, there were new beginnings and new vocations springing up. In August it was wonderful to discover Helen Bendall’s homiletical gifts, and we are delighted that she is going to train as an occasional preacher. Throughout this year, Richard Flenley has been discerning whether he could offer a priestly ministry alongside his day job, and so we might also have a curate in training in 2021. This is good news and something we should be praying about and encouraging others. This year a number of key people are stepping down who deserve our wholehearted thanks. I want to offer my sincere gratitude to Beverley Draper who is stepping down as Churchwarden, and both Jan Fellingham and Beverley for their contributions on PCC and Standing Committee. They have each brought commitment, wisdom and good humour to their roles, and it has been a pleasure to work alongside them. I am immensely grateful to them both. 3 While much about 2021 remains uncertain, some things will continue: the prayer and worship that is the heartbeat of all we do will go on, as will our care for one another, even as we need to keep adapting to circumstance. It remains my prayer that we will emerge out of this crisis a bigger Church, with a bigger view of who God is, a bigger heart for our community and with more people belonging to this wonderful Church family. The Reverend Dr Rachel Greene _rector.chiddingfold@gmail.com_ ## **Administration and Membership** St Mary’s is the Parish Church of Chiddingfold and is part of the Diocese of Guildford within the Church of England. The Church’s postal address is: St Mary’s Church, Petworth Road, Chiddingfold, Godalming, Surrey, GU8 4TY Members of the Parochial Church Council (PCC) are Trustees of the Charity for the term of their appointment. Members serving on the PCC during 2020 are: |Incumbent:|TheReverendDr Rachel Greene, Chair|TheReverendDr Rachel Greene, Chair| |---|---|---| |Churchwardens:|Beverley Draper|| ||Chris Everett|| |Deanery Synod:|Gerald Williams|(until October 2020)| ||Ken Lindup|(from October 2020)| |PCC Members:|Richard Atkinson|(from October 2020)| ||Matthew Bartlett|(until March 2020)| ||Ollie Bayne|| ||Gill Beckwith|(until October 2020)| ||John Doig|(until October 2020)| ||Jan Fellingham|| ||Richard Flenley|| ||Nigel Forman|| ||Katherine Hylton|(from October 2020)| ||Martin Johnson|| ||Hannah Pye|(until April 2020)| ||Gilly van Oppen|(from October 2020)| ||Gerald Williams|(from October 2020)| |Treasurer:|Mike Jones|(until March 2020)| ||Gilly van Oppen|(from April 2020)| |Secretary:|Jane Bradford|(until September 2020)| ||Helen Bendall|(from September 2020)| 4 ## **Aims and Purposes** 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 PCC is registered with the Charity Commission as The Parochial Church Council of the Ecclesiastical Parish of Chiddingfold and its registered Charity Number is: 1128727. The appointment of PCC members is governed by and set out in the Church Representation Rules. All those who attend St Mary’s and who qualify according to those Rules are encouraged to register on the Electoral Roll and to stand for election to the PCC. PCC members are responsible for making decisions on all matters of general concern and importance to the Parish, including deciding how the funds of the PCC are to be spent. New members are given initial training into the workings of the PCC. The PCC meets six times during the year. The PCC operates through a number of Focus Groups, which meet between full meetings. These groups are constituted to make full use of the professional expertise available within St Mary’s and members are encouraged to attend Diocesan training as appropriate. Each group has at least one representative from the PCC, and the Rector and Churchwardens are _ex officio_ members of all these groups. All the Focus Groups are responsible to the PCC and report back regularly at PCC meetings. |**_Standing Committee_**:|This statutory committee has a general power to| |---|---| ||transact the business of the PCC between its| ||meetings, subject to any directions given by the| ||PCC.| |**_Finance and Stewardship Group_**:|Oversees expenditures and monitors income and| ||investments. Encourages financial support of the| ||Church through a strategy for Regular Planned| ||Giving (RPG), legacies, occasional parish funding| ||programmes and gift days; prepares the annual| ||budget for outreach support.| |**_Fundraising Group_**:|Plans an annual programme of fundraising events to| ||generate income for the Church.| |**_Maintenance Group_**:|Attends to matters relating to the stewardship and| ||maintenance of the Church, its contents, buildings| ||and grounds, such as the Churchyard, the Church| ||Room and the Rectory.| |**_Worship Group_**:|Co-ordinates the provision and conduct of| ||worship.| |**_Youth and Children’s Work Group_**:|Co-ordinates activities involving children and young| ||people in the Church and the wider community.| 5 In addition, several important links and special interest groups complement the aims and purposes of St Mary’s PCC, as it seeks to benefit everyone in the Church and the community: - _**Baptism Visiting Team**_ - _**Bell Ringers**_ - _**Choir and Music**_ - _**Eco Church**_ - _**Food for Fellowship**_ - _**Friends of St Mary’s**_ - _**Joint Churches of Chiddingfold**_ - _**Pastoral Visiting Team**_ - _**St Mary’s C of E Primary School**_ ## **Objectives and Activities** The PCC (Powers) Measure 1956 states that the PCC is to co-operate with the incumbent in promoting in the parish the whole mission of the Church, pastoral, evangelistic, social and ecumenical. The PCC has maintenance responsibilities for the Church and the Church Room and for some internal decoration of the Rectory. St Mary’s vision is “to know Christ better and to make Christ better known”. In order to achieve these objectives St Mary’s Church offers, among other things: - regular services of worship, - occasional offices, - pastoral care, - small groups for nurture and discipleship, - social activities, - quiet days and retreats, - concerts and recitals, - programs and activities for children, young people and those who care for them, - charitable fundraising events, - a monthly parish magazine which has a distribution to many beyond the regular congregation, - a website, - a social media presence on Facebook. We invite you to read on to learn how we have been fulfilling our vision, and what we have undertaken in 2020 to meet the aims of St Mary’s Church for the benefit of our congregation within the Church and of the wider community. 6 **‘The Young Ones’** _**Youth and Children’s Work**_ St Mary’s seeks to serve people at every stage of life and to include people of all ages – even the very young – in our worship and activities. Additionally we have developed a specially tailored program designed to engage the imaginations of children and youth and help them grow in faith. The Families @ St Mary’s Program is made up of six separate ministries that allow us to serve children, young people and teens along with their families and carers. The first quarter of the year our program began as planned. Some of the highlights included our celebration on the Feast of the Epiphany in which young children set the stage by bringing the three kings to the crib. We also hosted a Shrove Tuesday party for primary school aged children and spend a joyful afternoon exploring the meaning of Lent through games, races, stories and lots of pancakes! In March we held a Messy Church Session exploring the themes of Lent and Easter, which was as popular as ever. We were particularly grateful for the support of the Men’s Group who came to set up the tables for activities in the Village Hall and to help pack it all up. In March we held another special event – a double movie night for twelve members of the Good News Gang with pizza and a sleepover in the Church Room. On 23 March, when all places of worship were closed, the Families @ St Mary’s Program needed to be completely re-invented overnight. The first step was to move our All Stars Program online, taking the readings and activities on which it is based, and making them available on St Mary’s website and FB r se **Church Mice (pre-primary)** Our weekly baby and toddler group ents meets each Thursday in term time PRICES from 9:30am-11:30am in the Church Room for play, craft, story and songs (plus snacks and coffee!). Come along with your children and join the fun. **All Stars** < On most Sundays, after lighting their ve ee ue VF £~ candle, children are invited but not é obliged to take part in one of St Mary’s three All Stars groups: Mini Stars (5s and under), Shooting Stars (6-9s), Super Stars (10-14s). This means that all ages have age-appropriate provision to explore the day’s theme. **Messy Church (perfect for primary years and under)** Messy Church is held four times a year by all three of the Churches in the village. Come and explore faith in a fun and messy way and share a meal together. ## **Half-term Madness (perfect for the whole family)** AR awed Each Thursday in half-term we have an afternoon, 2pm-4pm, to drop in and enjoy games, crafts, activities and cake. It is a chance to catch up and get to know one another better over fun activities. **#FNT (ages 9-14)** In the Autumn and Spring terms our weekly youth club meets on a Friday Night from 5:30pm-7pm. We meet in the Church Room for a free flowing session of games and activities with a tuck shop that opens at 6pm. **Good News Gang (ages 9-14)** ce ¢ 5 Ga This group is aimed at 9-14 year olds wanting to get to know a bit more about their faith and have some fun doing it. Join the gang as they explore faith through games, activities, forays into the bible and much laughter. page week by week. That way children and young people would be enabled to engage in the Sunday bible stories and themes in conjunction with or independently of our online services. 7 Our second step was to make our Lent course for families available online and to create age-specific resource pages to help families pray together and cultivate faith at home. The third step was to make available multiple guides to promote self-care for families at home to support them in coping with the school closures and pressures of the pandemic. These I continued to update throughout the year. The Families @ St Mary’s Program is sustained with the i] help of dozens of volunteers and overseen by the full-time work of St Mary’s Children, Youth and Families Minister. Sadly, we had to say goodbye to Hannah Pye, who held the ix 7x[-][f] post until April 12, when she departed to take up a new role in Guildford. Given the Government’s suspension of face-to-face work with children and young people, and in light of the fact that opportunities to raise money to fund the post were limited, the recruitment of a new Children, Youth and Families worker was temporarily postponed. We very much hope to be able to recruit a new Children, Youth and Families worker as things return to some sort of normality. With guidelines changing frequently and often with little warning, the families’ newsletter, which previously came out quarterly, had to be issued weekly. With the departure of the Children, Youth and Families Minister, I have been producing regular updates for families in an effort to keep everyone appraised of changes and help us to stay connected even when we could not gather together. From April through July, all worship services had to be filmed and produced in the Rectory, and while learning the ins and outs of video-editing, I worked hard to create opportunities for children, young people and teens take part in online services – it was wonderful to have them read lessons and lead us in prayer. In the autumn term we were not permitted to restart FNT; however, we were able to re-format the GNG for the Zoom platform and to re-launch the group with the help of Angela Stinson and Chris King, St Mary’s Young Leader. To keep the sessions interactive, I’ve created and delivered activity packs to doorsteps, which members of the gang unpack and explore in our sessions. It has been a pleasure to watch the GNG grow in number (average attendance 12) and in confidence over these sessions. As soon as we were able to resume public worship in July, we welcomed families back to Church. Children in Church have had to remain with their parents in the pews, and we have not been able to sing together, snack together, craft together, open the children's corner or re-start our All Stars program. With so many restrictions in place, new service formats had to be created to enable the participation of children and young people under conditions we could never have imagined. This has been quite a challenge, but ultimately it resulted in the creation of a short interactive Family Service. We held the first of these in 8 November and it was a great joy to welcome back so many little saints-in-the-making to worship with us. Certainly, it felt like a gift to have had the opportunity to gather safely before the second National Lockdown was imposed the following day. During that lockdown, which covered Remembrance and the beginning of Advent, we encouraged all residents to pay their respects by painting a pebble and placing it next to the war memorial at a quiet time, an act that was embraced by many of our young people. To encourage and support the families in the season leading up to Christmas, I created an “Advent at Home” program with ideas and suggestions for marking the days of the Advent season at home. We also worked with the Village Nursery in the creation of the 2020 living Advent Calendar, and are grateful to Michelle Quickfall for designing the window display for 24 December in St Mary’s Church Room. We were delighted to be able to resume in-person worship later in November, but with restrictions again tightening, we had to work to find a way to design in-person opportunities to worship as well as online opportunities over the Christmas period. A brand new Service for Families on Christmas Eve was fully booked within the space of a few hours, so two more Family Services were added that day to accommodate as many people as possible. Running three services in succession with social distancing and booking systems was much more labour intensive than one large one under normal conditions, but a brilliant team of volunteers took up the mantle to make this possible and it was wonderful to be able to give so many families a chance to celebrate with us on Christmas Eve. On Christmas Day we also created a Family Service with Communion, which was live-streamed for those who could not come in-person. In each period of lockdown, I brought families fresh ideas for crafts, activities, prayer and wellbeing, along with resources for keeping children entertained at home. We are already laying plans to launch new initiatives to nurture children, young people and their families outdoors and on permitted walks. We are excited by the prospect of drawing from resources like Muddy Church and Forest Church to encourage wonder, inspire faith and bring children and young people together outside. I have been in contact with a number of families that have moved to the village during lockdown and know how eager they are to get stuck in and to meet other families once restrictions are lifted. In anticipation of that happy day, we want to encourage more volunteers to get involved in the Families @ St Mary’s Program in the coming year, so we can re-start all our groups at the earliest opportunity and be in a strong position to warmly welcome more children, young people and their families into the life of St Mary’s. _Youth & Children’s Work Focus Group members: Rector (Chair), Oliver Bayne, Julie Flenley, Nigel Forman, Wendy Johnson and James Quickfall_ The Reverend Dr Rachel Greene, Rector 9 ## **‘In the Beauty of Holiness’** _**Worship**_ 2020 began at St Mary’s as in all other years, with the regular pattern of Sunday worship continuing in the form of 8am Holy Communion (1662 Prayer Book), 10am Parish Communion and Evensong on the 1[st] Sunday of each month (also 1662 Prayer Book). Weekly services included Holy Communion at 9:30am each Wednesday, Morning and Evening Prayers on Saturdays and Tuesdays respectively, and Messy Church planned for the 2[nd] Sundays in March, May, October and December. In January and February we were delighted to welcome the Venerable Paul Davies, Archdeacon of Surrey, the Revd Robert Jenkins, Assistant Archdeacon of Surrey, Christine Allen, Director of CAFOD, and Dr Matthew Champion of Birkbeck College, London, to preach at St Mary’s. With the imposition of the lockdown in March it became necessary to rethink how regular worship could continue while the Church was closed – the first time since 1208 that Church services had been suspended. Decisions about what to do had to be made very quickly, but we knew we wanted to offer worship services that the congregation could take part in from home, and we’ve been able to do that: first through the “Holy Week and Easter At Home” series, which included a tabletop liturgy for every day from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday; through the “Liturgy of the Empty Hands” which was led from the Rectory on Sundays at 10:00am over YouTube; and latterly through webcasting Parish Communion and Family Services from Church with or without a congregation present. For a small number of the congregation online worship hasn’t been accessible, so the Rector made sure the newsletter and worship resources were hand delivered to those not on email, and spread the word about “Daily Hope”, the Church of England’s free telephone line offering music, prayers and reflections. From March until July the Eucharist went on being offered weekly from the Rectory and clergy homes, despite there being no congregation. The Church is, fundamentally, a eucharistic community, and amid the strangeness and privations of the time it was important it remain so. We are so grateful that they were able to bear all of us before God at the altar, even on altars made from coffee tables, sideboards and desks. Evening Prayer was said at home and Morning Prayer was led on WhatsApp in the first lockdown and latterly on Zoom as well. It has been good to see this faithful group of parishioners grow in number and our heartfelt thanks go to Gill Beckwith who nurtured and facilitated the prayer group. Our planning for each liturgical season is built on our review of previous services and feedback, to ensure ongoing work is done to enable all ages and stages to ‘ _know Christ better_ ’ through the services we offer and includes adaptations necessitated by Covid-19 restrictions. Prior to lockdown we were developing our Sunday Services to create more opportunities for families to worship together, while ensuring younger members of the congregation had 10 plenty of opportunities to take part in All Stars and to lead worship. We hope to introduce these new services at some point in 2021: _**Celebration Services**_ : Mothering Sunday, Harvest Festival and Christingle _**Festival Services**_ : Easter Day, Pentecost, Patronal Festival and Christmas Day For Lent and Advent we are keen to introduce a setting of the communion service by John Rutter to delineate these more reflective, pared down seasons. We also chose the bright and accessible “ _The English Folk Song Mass_ ” by Malcolm Archer to use in our most joyous Celebration Services and look forward to being able to use these settings once congregational singing is permitted. In September, our regular services were greatly enhanced by several services celebrating special occasions and seasonal themes, where opportunities for all generations to worship together included the Patronal Festival, Harvest Festival, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. We celebrated the Feast of All Saints with a Family Service and welcomed many recently bereaved families to our annual Service of Light to remember the departed. Our Remembrance Sunday Service was conducted in Church without a congregation and live-streamed when public worship was suspended for the second time. Celebrating Christmas in lockdown required lots of creativity. The Carols by Candlelight Service was pre-recorded with music and readings and broadcast on 20[th] December. A radio play created by Canon Geoffrey Curtis was also pre-recorded and broadcast on Christmas Eve. With the help of David Goddard, CDs of our 2016 Carol Service were distributed to 60 members of the congregation who were shut in, without internet access or greatly missing Church. We were able to offer three opportunities to attend a Family Nativity Service in the afternoon of Christmas Eve, which had needed to be re-organised at short notice when some involved had to self-isolate, and to accommodate so many families whose Christmas travel plans had been cancelled at the last minute. _“The Twelve Days of_ 11 _Christmas_ ” booklet of reflections, prayers and activities was designed to be enjoyed by young and old alike and proved to be another welcome addition to our ‘At Home’ offerings. Our worship is enriched by the ministry of St Mary’s Lay Preachers, Ken Lindup and Richard Flenley, and by St Mary’s Associate Priests: the Revd Gill Welford, the Revd George Rowe, Canon Geoffrey Curtis and the Revd Dr David Neaum. We are delighted that Helen Bendall is beginning training in occasional preaching and that Richard Flenley is discerning a call to part-time ministry. We continued to focus on ensuring accessibility and offering a warm welcome to everyone attending services at St Mary’s, both online and in-person. In 2020, we were delighted that many couples and families were choosing to celebrate significant life events at St Mary’s, although most of these have had to be postponed until restrictions are lifted. All the scheduled weddings have been postponed to 2021; there were two baptisms conducted prior to the first lockdown but other families have postponed these services too. In total, 19 services for the departed were held, including Funeral Services, Burial of Ashes and Services of Thanksgiving. We look forward to being able to resume services of Holy Communion in people’s homes throughout the parish and further afield. In the year ahead we will continue to work on the development of our two new service formats, with the needs of children, young people and their families in mind. We will also begin to work on building more bridges between the services held in Church aimed at children, young people and their families and the services held in Church that we put on for the students, parents and staff of St Mary’s Church of England Primary School, so that we can grow in faith together. _Worship Focus Group members: Revd Dr Rachel Greene (Chair), Helen Bendall, Roger Crocker, Jan Fellingham and Revd Gill Welford_ ## Helen Bendall _stmarysorganist@outlook.com_ 12 ## **Caring for our Possessions** _**The Fabric and Maintenance Report**_ We have pleasure in providing our report for the year to December 2020. ## **General** The year has obviously been a very difficult and different one, particularly for our finances, but fortunately once the first lockdown was lifted and we and our various contractors could again obtain access to the premises, we were able to carry out the normal functions of maintenance and care for the Church and Churchyard without too much disruption. ## **Churchyard Working Party** Very sadly John Doig decided to relinquish responsibility for the Churchyard Working Party and a replacement has still not yet been found. Our thanks are expressed to him for his leadership of the group and to Irving Johnson who has assisted the Churchwardens in keeping this valuable resource going. Regrettably several of the scheduled meetings have had to be cancelled due to lockdown and social distancing requirements. However, the Village Bonfire Crew volunteered to assist with a major clean-up of the Churchyard and on 10 October a crew of about 20 did in one day what would have taken the CWP at least 5 months to complete. There seems every chance that they may be prepared to do another session this year and we are very grateful for their assistance. _**Bonfire Crew**_ ## **Digital Services** A YouTube Channel was established in the early days of the lockdown and the Rector was able to start streaming services, but with some difficulty due to lack of proper facilities. We have subsequently changed from a rather poor broadband service to a new 4G Router, which has greatly improved the wi-fi in the Church. This has enabled services to be live-streamed satisfactorily and our gratitude is expressed to Dave Stinson for the enormous input he has given to this. A new Charity Pay card reader system has been installed and has resulted in a steady stream of donations. Obviously, this will only really come into its own when there is a greater footfall in the Church and services resume. 13 ## **Repairs** The Tower Flagpole halyard was repaired in January 2020 by a steeplejack and gratitude is expressed to the Chiddingfold Parish Council for their contribution of £500. The flag was flown for VE Day and Remembrance Sunday. It was reported that flashing on the Tower Roof had come adrift, which could have resulted in leaks. The original roofing contractor, (Clarke Roofing) was contacted, they responded immediately, and the repairs were done on 16 September. _**Before After**_ Ted Hobbs kindly repaired the old bench removed from the Upper Churchyard because it was unsafe, and it has been placed to the East of the South Aisle. Gilly van Oppen and her family have donated a new bench. The gate to the neighbouring driveway opposite the Church Room was replaced. The cost of materials was borne by the adjacent property owners. Decay and disappearance of the historic barrel graves – the quote for restoration was too expensive and CWP will maintain them. The T-junction on the path down to the Church Room was patched. The lid of the gas meter enclosure has been repaired. ## **Stonework** Two issues reported by the Quinquennial Inspection and two others discovered subsequently have required attention: - Moisture and flaking of plaster and paint inside the North Chapel in the Church. It was found that pointing on the gable slabs of the North Chapel is missing and several slabs are damaged. - Masonry re-pointing and lead cill drip protection to the south aisle east window. - Re-pointing and repairs to the Churchyard boundary wall north east corner. 14 - Re-pointing and repairs to the Churchyard boundary wall south west side, mostly on the far side of the wall. We have instructed the firm of Anstey & Stone Ltd to proceed with all four items of stonework repair, and The Friends of St Mary’s have confirmed that they will meet these costs, for which we are very grateful. Work started in February 2021, but unfortunately it was found that the problem was greater than had been expected as several slabs were broken and came away by hand, which required replacement. ## **Services** The five-yearly Full Scope Inspection by an electrician was carried out on 6 July and the report is satisfactory. Routine inspections and services have been carried out to the Tower Clock, Fire Extinguishers, Alarm System and all electrical appliances have had a PAT Test completed. Services of the Church boiler and lightning conductor took place in February 2021, and that for the Church Room boiler will be done in March. We have persuaded Waverley Borough Council to provide refuse, recycling and food waste bins and collect them without charge, thus obviating the need for the cleaners and others to take the refuse home with them. ## **Quinquennial Report** An Action Plan to implement the requirements of the Quinquennial Inspection that was held in November 2019 was compiled and presented to the PCC Meeting. Good progress has since been made on addressing these comments, in that the report contains: - Seven items of work to be carried out within the next 18 months, of which six are now complete. - Nine items of work to be carried out within the Quinquennium, of which six are complete. - Four items of Desirable work, one of which is in progress and the rest require budgeting and approval by the PCC. - Eight items requiring monitor/maintenance, all of which are routinely checked as part of the Churchwarden’s Monthly Checklist and of which five have been attended to. - A further twelve additional items extracted from the report or current discussions which we consider worthy of consideration by the PCC, the Churchwardens or the Churchyard Working Party, of which six have been resolved. The items still to be dealt with are: - Updated Accessibility Audit. - South Porch Ramp – worn. - Rainwater Goods and other external metalwork decoration every 5-7 years. - Carry out further Fire Risk Assessment based on EIG format. - Carry out a condition survey of the Churchyard for gravestone stability. 15 - Install a hooped access ladder on the north aisle west wall to enable safe access onto the main valley gutter. - Masonry repairs and repointing – budget for ongoing works every say 5-11 years to keep on top of the soft and friable masonry walls. - Lady Chapel walling – regular redecoration. - Monitor for any trip hazards on paving in Churchyard. - Service for bells – tightness of bolts, lubrication of bearings, condition of ropes. - Check bird-proofing in doorways and in Tower openings, especially Belfry louvres. - Up-to-date plans of services. - Installation of photo-cells to control the floodlights. ## **Churchyard Management Plan** A comprehensive Churchyard Management Plan was approved by the PCC at its November meeting. Flowing from this the following may be noted: - We now have an up-to-date plan of the Churchyard. - Mowing and strimming will in future be done on a rotational basis, balancing the requirement to retain a tidy and ‘cared-for’ appearance in the immediate environs of the Church with the need to sustain and celebrate wildlife resources. This challenge has been addressed by way of ‘zoning’ the management regime to reflect the prominence of different functions in various areas of the Churchyard. Our mowing contractor has been informed of the zones deliberately being left for plants to flower and seed at particular times of year, and for animal life to thrive, and which areas are being managed mainly for appearance purposes. - Phil Darley has donated and planted English bluebells, winter aconites, wood anemones and snowdrops, for which we are very grateful. - The PCC approved a new project to erect informative signboards at the Lych Gate and the far end of the Churchyard and funding for the signboards has been received from the Chiddingfold Parish Council, the Community Fund, The Caram Trust and a private donor and our thanks are due to all. We are proceeding with obtaining Diocesan approval, which requires only the Archdeacon’s approval, not a Faculty. ## **Documentation** The Terrier, a written survey or inventory giving details and photographs of all the property, buildings, equipment, monuments, vestments, plate, windows etc. in the Parish owned by the Church has not been updated this year and we propose that given the very limited access to and usage of the Church in the year, the 2019 Terrier will be accepted as being adequate. ## **Thanks** Our thanks are extended to the Church cleaners, those who wash and iron the Church linen, the flower arrangers and key holders who have enabled us to keep the Church open and attractive. Finally, a big thank you to the Organists who have kept some music going in the Church. We look forward to the day when the Choir, Chalice Assistants, Acolytes and Bellringers will be able to return to their valued functions. February 2021 Beverley Draper, Churchwarden _stmaryschurchwarden2@outlook.com_ Chris Everett, Churchwarden _stmaryschurchwarden1@outlook.com_ 16 ## **Budgeting for our Future** _**Finance Group**_ During 2020, the important decisions regarding drawing down from our reserves to finance our outgoings during the pandemic, together with reducing our level of Parish Share payments were beyond the remit of the Finance Focus Group and needed to be taken by the full PCC. However, with cash income almost ceasing as our services were restricted, members of the group have investigated the direction we should move online to ensure we can access many sources of income in new ways. The addition of a ‘Giving’ page to the website, a QR code for use on posters, service sheets and other literature linking to the website, together with handheld devices and the permanent Good Box in Church have enabled us to take more and more payments and donations by debit and credit card. Our next goal is to investigate potential grant awards and centralise applications for such to assist us with funding specific projects. We are mindful of the need to find significant reliable income to fund a Youth Worker as soon as possible. _Finance Focus Group members: Gilly van Oppen (Chair), Jan Fellingham, Martin Johnson and Gerald Williams._ Gilly van Oppen, Treasurer _stmarystreasurer1@outlook.com_ ## **Raising Money, Having Fun** _**The Fundraising Team**_ When we wrote in our 2019 Report “Thank you to everyone who supported us in making 2019 such a successful fundraising year, and we look forward to the challenge of 2020!” we had no idea exactly how challenging 2020 was going to be! Nearly all of our normal fundraising activities were unable to take place, including the Giant Jumble Sale in March, the Quintessentially English Sales in April and November, the Village Fete and the Christmas Ball. Fortunately we were able to hold a Spring Plant Sale and several fresh produce sales, which not only raised some much-needed funds, but also proved to be a great morale booster. Thanks are given to Beverley Draper and her team on their success with the produce sales. We were also delighted that St Mary’s 2020 Fundraising Raffle went ahead in August and September – congratulations to the winners and thank you to everyone who participated and especially Gilly van Oppen for all her hard work organising it. Overall in 2020 we were able to raise just under £2,500, which is remarkable considering the circumstances – thank you to everyone who has supported us. New ideas are afoot for 2021 so look out for notices! _Fundraising Focus Group members: Martin Johnson (Chair), Beverley Draper, Susan Hodges, Pauline Kaye, Lindsay Sleap, Sue Smith and Melanie Wotherspoon_ 17 ## **Using our Gifts to make a Difference in the World** _**Stewardship Group**_ _Stewardship Focus Group members: Gilly van Oppen (Treasurer) and Jan Fellingham._ There were no official meetings in 2020. Members communicated when necessary by email and text messages. At the beginning of the first lockdown, there being no services in Church, we contacted all the Church members who donated by weekly envelopes, informing them that this method of giving would be discontinued to avoid the necessity of counting cash during the pandemic and asking if they would be willing to find an alternative way of giving to the Church. Most of this group kindly agreed to change, opting to donate by Banker’s Order, bank transfer or monthly cheques. We are extremely grateful to all our regular donors, as with no weddings or occasional services taking place this is our only source of income at present. Because of the Covid pandemic, it has reluctantly been decided not to run a Stewardship campaign in 2021. Gilly van Oppen, Treasurer _stmarystreasurer1@outlook.com_ ## **He Washes Us Clean...** _**The Baptism Visiting Team**_ Two Baptisms were held in February and five more were booked for the next few months, but these of course had to be postponed because of lockdown. The Baptism Visiting Team met face to face with Rachel when we were allowed to, in September, and it was agreed it would not be sensible to book any more Baptisms in 2020 due to changing restrictions. Anniversary of Baptism cards were sent to all the thirteen children baptised in 2019 and we have kept a light touch with all our Baptism families in the hope of better times in 2021. Wendy Johnson _wej1811@gmail.com_ 18 ## **Sing to the Lord a New Song** _**Choir and Music**_ ee ## **Choir and Music** The purpose of the choir is to enhance and support the worship in St Mary’s Church. We sing music which reflects the significance of the season and the focus of the services. ## **Membership and Attendance** It would be an understatement to say that the last year presented us with challenges. Only around half of the singers were able to take part even remotely, but they still made an uplifting contribution to the life of St Mary’s and its worship. As a result, nearly all the choir’s musical and rehearsal work moved online including rehearsals and services. While the technology was a lifesaver, the musical quality of our work was limited. The exception was when the children were able to have a brief in-person socially distanced meeting for the online Carol Service. Most older adults were shielding, and some were not always able to join the Zoom meetings due to technical limitations of the internet in rural locations. The work of David Stinson (one of the tenors in the choir) in making sure we maintained an online presence on St Marys YouTube Channel was remarkable, and the whole congregation was thankful for his talents and time in ensuring we have maintained a presence in our Church musical community. We welcomed Harriet Cook to the children’s choir and Jolande Murray has joined the online meetings and recordings. Most other activities were postponed or abandoned during the pandemic, but Rachael Quickfall now steps up as Head Chorister and all other choir roles will re-emerge when things settle down. We thank Daniel Barlow for leading us so well and hope he is soon back singing with us again. The Arthur Barnett Choristers Cup was awarded to Rachael Quickfall. We welcomed John Doig as Choir Treasurer. ## **Weddings** As all 2020 weddings were postponed, the choir looks forward to being able to support these couples when they are hopefully able to get married in 2021. ## **Festivals and Highlights** The Revd Dr Rachel Greene introduced us to several new services in Holy Week, which raised our awareness of supporting the Word in different ways in 2020. We marked Easter, the Patronal Festival, Harvest Festival, Remembrance Sunday, Advent and Christmas with a home-worship and/or online contribution. The Carols by Candlelight Service, which was broadcast on 20[th] December, was one of the choir’s greatest achievements and was very well received, especially as other village Christmas events that the choir supports, such as Carols round the Tree of Faith, Hope and Love, were not able to take place. 19 ## **Other Notable Events** We were extremely saddened by the passing of Seb Welford, whose name would usually be appended below. His Memorial Service was held on 25th January 2020. ## **Leadership** During the pandemic, both Roger and Helen continued where possible to provide music before and after services and, while singing has not been allowed for the congregation, we recorded short anthems for use during the administration. Roger continued to provide material support to the school online and the children were encouraged to follow online alternatives to keep their voices in trim at home. The parish was invited to take part in home-based music activities for the voice and Roger provided links to YouTube versions of the hymns suitable for each Sunday up to the second lockdown. ## **Future developments** A Choir dinner and Choir barbecue will be planned for 2022 and we hope to take part in the Diocesan Festival in October 2022. It is unlikely any major event will take place in 2021 unless it is online. Choir funds were held over from the previous year, there being no pastoral activities due to the pandemic. Roger Crocker, Director of Music Helen Bendall, Assistant Organist _stmarysmusicdirector48@outlook.com stmarysorganist@outlook.com_ Christine Barlow, Choir Administrator John Doig, Choir Treasurer _chris@dottydragon.co.uk johndoig65@gmail.com_ ## **Part of the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church** _**Deanery Synod Report**_ The Godalming Deanery Synod was due to meet on three occasions in 2020 in March, July and November, but all business was suspended due to Covid-19. The Deanery had looked forward to hosting Bishop Daniel Kgomosotho from South Africa during the Lambeth Conference in July, which would have included an event at St Mary’s, but the Conference has now been rescheduled to 2022. At St Mary’s Gerald Williams decided to stand down as Deanery Synod Representative, having served since April 2019, and Ken Lindup was duly elected to the role at the APCM in October. The Deanery Synod is now looking forward to working with and supporting parishes in 2021. Ken Lindup, Godalming Deanery Synod Representative _klindup@gmail.com_ 20 ## **Eco Church** ## _**“The earth is the Lord’s, and all that is in it.” Psalm 24.1**_ In 2019 St Mary’s formally launched Eco Church, an initiative run by a Christian charity called _A Rocha_ , which supports the Church in taking steps to safeguard the integrity of creation and to renew the life of the earth, as a crucial part of the Christian mission. The Eco Church group at St Mary’s aims to help our Church play its part in renewing the earth by using resources responsibly, creatively and unselfishly. Our goal is to empower individuals, the congregation and the wider community to model good stewardship by reducing our environmental footprint, increasing awareness of environmental sustainability and encouraging the appreciation of God’s creation. The Eco Church Scheme helped us to survey different aspects of Church life, so we could identify steps we could take in order to move towards our goal. We reflected on our current practices in key areas: Worship, Building, Land, Community and Global, and Lifestyle. From there we began to identify changes that we could make and actions we could take to benefit our environment. Some of those things are easy to do, and some things take a bit more time and thought. Some of the things we have done include becoming a recycling hub for candles, switching to recycled paper and recycling our ink cartridges. We ran a weekly campaign called “Pause to Pray” from May – July which provided reflections to keep us mindful of creation and its needs. At the same time, work was begun to create a plan for managing Church land, which would draw together all the different considerations that play a role in the use of our Churchyard. Chris Everett made this big project one of his missions in lockdown, and we are especially thankful to him for spearheading it. In July, the first phase of a survey of the bat population was undertaken, when members of the Surrey Bat Group made a site visit. They began the second phase in October with the installation of a bat detector. We wish to thank Jolande Murray for making it possible for St Mary’s to take part in this survey, and we are delighted to report that there are both Pipistrelle and Brown Long-Eared Bats in the Tower. In July, Fiona Haynes of Butterfly Conservation surveyed the Church grounds with a view to promoting butterflies, and came across the rare Wood White butterfly. Thanks to Fiona’s work St Mary’s has been recognised as a site of the Wood White butterfly, which is exciting news indeed. It brought St Mary’s to the attention of the local press, who helped spread the good news! We are proud that even though lockdown stopped us from holding meetings in 2020, it did not stop St Mary’s from taking important steps forward. We had another boost in November, when the ‘woodland’ area of the Churchyard was planted with a large variety of spring bulbs, in conjunction with the Wildflower project. Our special thanks go to Phil Darley for her vision, labour and generosity which made this possible. 21 With so much happening in St Mary’s Churchyard, we have been investigating the feasibility of erecting new signage to increase awareness of Churchyard management aims and to inspire budding naturalists in our community. Chris Everett has worked hard to secure funding and develop the proposals for signage at each end of the Churchyard to communicate the importance of our Churchyard as a tranquil place of prayer and reflection, a habitat for wildlife, a site of remembrance and beautiful green space for the whole community. We look forward to seeing the signs erected in 2021. As autumn arrived, Eco Church compiled and shared an environmentally-themed film list to inspire and accompany us into the longer, darker nights. All of these efforts put St Mary’s on track to be awarded _A Rocha_ Bronze award for care of creation, but having enjoyed the journey so far we are already taking steps towards a Silver award. Together there is so much we can do. Come and join us! Further information about the work of St Mary’s Eco Church is available on the Church’s website or email: stmarysecochurch@gmail.com Rachel Greene, Acting Chair _rector.chiddingfold@gmail.com_ Catherine Stovold, Secretary _catherine.ogden.celo@gmail.com_ ## **Food for Fellowship** Covid-19 brought all Church events requiring refreshments to a standstill from March 2020. The Parish Breakfast managed two sittings: January and February. Felicity Evers and Sandra Gilbert retired after the January sitting, having prepared the breakfasts for 25 years. It was arranged that for the foreseeable future pairs of volunteers should take up the reins and this began with Wendy and Irving Johnson covering February. It is hoped that this event will continue when the Government and Church give the authorisation enabling the 8 o’clock and 10am congregations to socialise once again. Beverley Draper, Felicity Evers, Sandra Gilbert, Faith Reynolds ## **With a Little Help from our Friends** _**The Friends of St Mary’s**_ I do hope this finds you all well and still coping after what has been a very hard 2020. Both my husband and I were struck down with Covid, he in particular was extremely ill, but with medics and the power of prayer we both are now recovered. Sadly I know of some in the village who were not so fortunate; our thoughts go out to the various families. 22 As you would expect, fundraising events came to a complete halt in 2020. However, I must thank so many of our loyal “Friends” who continued to support us with their membership donations, which are very much appreciated. Sadly, in November, we lost to cancer, Sara Rowe, one of our hard-working committee members. She will be greatly missed. Our thoughts go to her husband, Revd George Rowe, and the family. As I write this the sun is shining, snowdrops, crocuses and the odd daffodil are out in our garden, spring is on the way, and with the vaccine being rolled out at an ever increasing rate, let’s just hope and pray that life as we knew it will gradually return to some sort of normality. I am so longing to get fundraising with you all again. The committee and I wish everyone a healthy and happy 2021. I am looking forward to some great events later on this year; so all you wonderful cake makers, I am sure your skills will be needed shortly. Please read the parish magazine for our future plans, when we are allowed to resume our events. Keep well and safe in 2021. Rosemary Gorringe, Chairperson _rg@hartland3.plus.com_ ## **Many Members, One Body** _**The Joint Churches in Chiddingfold**_ In this extraordinary year of pandemic and lockdown we might be forgiven for believing nothing has happened. However, in spite of it all, we found ways to reach out to one another and the community, both in prayer and practical support. The Joint Churches committee comprises of the clergy and two lay members from each Church. Andrew Stewart continues as the Treasurer and Mike Danson as Secretary. The committee met three times across the year, once in person and then via Zoom. The committee’s commitment to worshipping together and organising events within the village continued, despite the restrictions faced by the pandemic. The Lent Course was due to run for 6 weeks, led by Michael Byrne, former Bishop of Chester. Unfortunately this only continued for two weeks, but was very well attended. The Lent Supper was unable to go ahead. Easter and Christmas cards are a longstanding part of the Joint Churches work. Each year a number of committee members sort through St Mary’s Primary School drawings to choose the winning front cover design. The cards give details of the services that will be held at the three Churches across the periods, and are delivered to every household in the parish by the Good Neighbours. Despite the pandemic, the cards were still printed and distributed, but with a blessing inside rather than any specific details of services due to the uncertainty of whether they would take place. 23 The Big Bike Ride was unable to take place. As such a big part of the year’s fundraising this was a real shame. It is an event that brings the community together and is normally a fun day for all. During the first meeting of 2020, it was decided that The Annual Welcome Lunch should be simplified. Since it began, Faith Reynolds, Rosemary Harris and their team have organised and run a seamless full Sunday lunch, providing the opportunity to welcome new residents to the village and allow them to meet one another and the representatives of our Churches, plus other village organisations. In past years the Lunch had upwards of 80 attendees from new families across the village. We hope to be able to run The Annual Welcome Lunch this year, welcoming those who have joined the village since late 2019, and anyone who missed the 2019 Lunch. CAMEO (Come And Meet Each Other) and Messy Church have always been such a big part of the work the Joint Churches do. These have not been able to run during the pandemic and it is hoped by all that these can restart again soon. In January we celebrated the work of the Joint Churches over the last 18 years at a special service for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, which was held at St Mary’s with Christine Allen, Director of CAFOD, speaking. Christine gave an excellent talk on the subject of ‘Unusual Kindness’, using the symbols of a rowing boat and eight oars, symbolic of us all pulling together. The Good Friday Walk of Witness was unable to take place this year. The primary focus of the Joint Churches is to provide a united Christian witness in our village community, to reflect the love of God and to love our neighbour as ourselves. In spite of the restriction placed on our usual activities there have been so many acts of kindness; those who deliver the meals cooked by the Lunch Club and The Crown to our Lunch Club members in the village (every week), and the regular phone calls, visits and offers of practical help. In many respects these are gifts that have arisen as a result of the pandemic that have deepened and developed a new togetherness. Faith Reynolds, Member of the Joint Churches Committee _faith.reynolds41@gmail.com_ ## **Parish Link with St Paul’s Church, Hook** St Paul’s and St Mary’s have shared a friendship link for many years although we have no formal representative at St Paul's. We continue to exchange Parish Magazines and weekly pew sheets, and nurture our relationship by praying for and supporting one another. Unfortunately, since March any face-to-face hospitality has been severely restricted by the Covid-19 pandemic. Olive Ellis accompanied me on 26 January 2020 when we attended St Paul's Patronal Festival and we were warmly greeted at the Church by Sue Russell and Diane Tink. After the 24 Communion Service we walked to the Parish Hall and shared a most generous cold buffet. Olive enjoyed meeting her friend Sheila Draycott; Miriam Dean told me of the difficulties of her life as a single mother since Alan died in 2017 (Alan was their representative to St Mary’s). Dave Freeman talked to me about the rewiring and new lighting in the Church which is now complete. Tolworth, Hook and Surbiton Team Ministry consists of the Churches of St George, St Paul and St Matthew led by the Reverend Luke Wickings, but we only maintain a link with St Paul’s. As the end of lockdown approaches I trust that we will once again be able to share services and events with our friends at St Paul’s. This link is valuable to both parishes. Nita Draper, St Mary’s Representative for St Paul's, Hook _nitadraper@btinternet.com_ ## **You Visited Me...** _**The Pastoral Visiting Team**_ ## **Caring for our Community** St Mary’s offers pastoral support to all parishioners regardless of their religious beliefs. St Mary’s is also committed to caring for those who are unable to attend Church due to sickness or age. I celebrate communion with them in their homes and in hospital and visit all who request it. In this I am ably assisted by St Mary’s Associate Priests and by the Pastoral Visiting Team. The ministry of the Pastoral Visiting Team is primarily one of listening. Some of the Team also take Holy Communion to those who are no longer able to attend Church. Team members are trained in specific areas of pastoral care which may include bereavement, stress, depression, suicide, dementia and age-related issues. Confidentiality is paramount and team members do not divulge any personal problems of those visited. In March, Wendy Pollington and Sue Spicer asked to step down and the Team was reduced to three active members; however, the process of recruiting a new member also got underway, and we hope to welcome Tom Markham to the Team soon. While membership of the Lay Pastoral Visiting Team was changing, visiting itself was changing in lockdown. St Mary’s Associate Priests and Lay Pastoral Visitors rose to the occasion and helped us keep in pastoral contact with te SOG Ade ke. A TED parishioners through phone calls, emails, and the SPIRITUALLY CONNECTED occasional socially distanced visit. Under the banner of “Socially Isolated | Spiritually Connected” we received While St. Mary’s Rector and Pastoral Visiting Team cannot visit you in person in your homes due to the government's social distancing prayer requests and raised awareness of how the requirements, we are telephoning those in the parish directory and anyone who would like a phone call in the coming weeks. If you would Church is supporting people through new prayer and likeChristian,a phonebecausecall, theyou Churchneed notis herebe aforchurcheveryonememberin the orparish.evenAlla worship resources. As lockdown lengthened, we youto usneedhere.to do is send a phone number on which you can be reached organised and expanded the pastoral phone calls into a telephone contact ministry headed up by Tina Johnson. That work helped to manage our efforts to stay in contact with parishioners and has also enabled better coordination, better record keeping and the creation of a GDPR compliant contact database. In addition to offering pastoral support, St Mary’s cares for our community in offering practical support. One of our priorities early on was to ensure that those who rely on the hearing aid clinics that St Mary’s hosts had recourse to help during the pandemic. Getting 25 the village’s network geared up to help deliver practical support to vulnerable and isolated people soon became the top priority. I worked in an advisory capacity with the leadership team of the Good Neighbour’s Scheme as they transitioned to a community action response team, finding them a new communications volunteer to build their first website, identifying new volunteers to deputise for area leaders who are shielding, equipping them to make referrals to specialist services and encouraging them to work in accordance with safeguarding principles. All this requires getting the word out and so, as part of the Parish Magazine’s management team, I worked to ensure we could still produce and distribute the Magazine under lockdown conditions. This has not only helped shore up communication across the parish amongst our readership but also secures an important income stream for St Mary’s. I am particularly grateful to the Parish Magazine management team for their cool heads and their work to ensure that our 33 volunteers could continue to deliver the magazine safely each month. For a number of years St Mary’s has supported Godalming Food Bank with donations. When Godalming Food Bank was becoming overwhelmed, we increased our efforts and began to collect donations to keep Haslemere Food Bank stocked as well. This has given Chiddingfold residents in difficulty recourse to help at both centres. When all places of worship were closed, it became imperative to set up another local drop-off location for food bank donations and we are grateful to be given space in the Roberts Store. We are also grateful that whenever the pressure on food banks increased, your generosity increased as well. When St Mary’s re-opened in July we decided to keep both drop-off points to make donating as convenient as possible. Ted Hobbs and Mary and John Doig deliver items at our donations drop-off points to the food banks on a weekly basis to keep up supplies. In spring we reached out to some of our key workers, bringing hampers with treats for the staff of the GP surgery and the staff of the village school to let them know how much we appreciated what they were doing for our community. % In autumn, we ran a special family-friendly ee ’ er competition in partnership with the Horticultural ;& y Society called “Autumn Glory!” in order to bring y some cheer as the days shortened. All residents hd . were invited to participate, and the community competition was a fun way of enabling folks to take delight in the natural world and prepare for the Children aged 3-5 Class 1 changing of the seasons. Children aged 3-5 Class 1 Winner Liberty Hillage 26 In the year ahead we hope to build our Pastoral Visiting Team back up and to prayerfully re-imagine what caring for our community will mean as we emerge from the pandemic, both in terms of the pastoral and practical support St Mary’s offers. We’d welcome the help of new volunteers in this vital work! _Lay Pastoral Visiting Team: Faith Reynolds, Margaret McComish, Gill Marshall._ The Reverend Dr Rachel Greene, Rector ## **Work in St Mary’s Church of England Primary School, Chiddingfold** St Mary’s Church has a special relationship with our village school, as St Mary’s Primary is a Church of England school. That means the Rector is a foundation governor and has responsibilities for the pastoral care of teachers and staff. In that role, I am also tasked with bringing elements of the RE curriculum to life, offering an act of collective worship one day each week and for leading services for the whole school. Many of those responsibilities are best shared and made ever more enjoyable by the combined efforts of St Mary’s Children, Youth and Families Minister and of volunteers. St Mary’s Church has a small but talented pool of volunteers who enrich collective worship by taking turns to lead it; and we are keen to see more volunteers come forward. St Mary’s Church coordinates the “Open the Book” Team of Storytellers, who are drawn from all three Churches and who contribute by leading assemblies twice a term. These assemblies are incredibly popular with the children and teachers alike, and exceptionally good fun for all involved. The “Open the Book” Team also bring their wonderful story telling into some of St Mary’s Family Services to create a bridge for pupils who come to Church. Since March the village school has been closed to volunteers. Nevertheless we have created new ways of working together to support pupils, staff and learning and to mark important milestones. For instance in June, against all odds, the sun suddenly broke through the clouds and I was able to hold a Leavers' Service for St Mary's Year 6 students in the school amphitheatre. And it was recorded so that parents, grandparents and siblings could join me 27 in giving thanks for all that these 16 young people had accomplished. On behalf of the three village Churches, I presented each leaver with a bible and then the ice cream truck arrived so that the celebrations could get into full swing! Over the Autumn Term, during the relaxation of lockdown, I was able to welcome three year groups into Church to explore its treasures, symbols and stories and to answer any questions they had. Canon Geoffrey Curtis produced a truly wonderful series of pre-recorded assemblies. Later in the year I was also able to go into the school to lead a Harvest Service as well as a Service of Remembrance working within year group bubbles. Whether we are together in the Church, in the school hall or amphitheatre, or in a Zoom room, there is so much fun to be had learning together. At St Mary’s we count it privilege to contribute to the flourishing of the village school and treasure the relationship we have with it. The Reverend Dr Rachel Greene, Rector ## **Looking after Children and Vulnerable Adults** _**Safeguarding Report**_ The PCC’s Safeguarding role is clearly defined in The Church of England’s ‘Parish Handbook’ and is carried out with the support of the Parish Safeguarding Officer (PSO) – Ruth Goddard, and the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) Validator – Beverley Giles. Katherine Hylton is the Safeguarding representative on the PCC. The House of Bishops’ ‘Promoting a Safer Church: Policy Statement’ has been adopted by the PCC and this is displayed in St Mary’s. A copy of the Handbook is available on the Parish website, as is a full list of contacts and organisations providing help and advice. Although Safeguarding is on the agenda of all PCC meetings, complete confidentiality is maintained where matters are raised with the PSO or the Rector. The present situation with the coronavirus has meant that services and activities for all ages where people meet have been severely curtailed but this provides new challenges. Sadly, extra vigilance is required to ensure that there is an awareness of situations which might arise and the increased possibility that people of all ages will be vulnerable. The move to hold services and activities online has also meant reviewing procedures and the assessments of risk. The extension of activities online has meant that PCC members have been able to undertake the Church of England’s safeguarding training remotely to strengthen their understanding of their roles and responsibilities in accordance with the Parish’s Action Plan following the 2019 Audit. Other actions in this Plan, which relate to such activities as letting the Church Room, will be kept under review and an updated Plan approved as lockdowns are lifted. Ruth Goddard, St Mary’s Safeguarding Officer _stmaryssafeguarding@outlook.com_ 28 ## **Membership of St Mary’s** _**Electoral Roll Report**_ The Electoral Roll is the Church membership list. Anyone is eligible to join the Electoral Roll if they have been baptised and live within the parish, or if they are baptised and have regularly attended worship at St Mary’s during the previous six months. Membership of St Mary’s implies: - that you are committed to grow in faith through prayer, Bible reading and regular worship; - that you take an active interest in the life and purposes of this Church; - that you are willing to use your time and talents to help build up the Church and its ministry; - that you undertake proportional regular planned giving to financially support this Church (which is entirely self-funded). The Electoral Roll Officer reported that a revision of the Parish Electoral Roll had been completed on Monday 23[rd] March 2020 in accordance with the Church Representation Rules. During this process, four applications for inclusion had been received and there were seven deletions in respect of those who had died or moved away. However, between the 23[rd] March and the rescheduled APCM on October 25[th] there had been a further three additions and four deletions. The total number on the Parish Electoral Roll now stood at 125 members. The figures were presented at the 2020 Annual Parochial Church Meeting (APCM) held on Sunday 25[th] October 2020 and were duly notified to the Secretaries of the Guildford Diocesan Synod and the Godalming Deanery Synod. Since the 2020 APCM there have been no further additions to the Electoral Roll and one deletion in respect of someone who has died or moved away. The total number on the St Mary’s Electoral Roll, as of 31[st] December 2020, was 124. Helen Bendall, Electoral Roll Officer _stmaryschurchcouncil@outlook.com_ ## **Other St Mary’s Church Links** Individuals, groups and organisations linked to St Mary’s Church are listed below. ## **Bell Ringing:** John Cowburn jj.cowburn@btinternet.com 01428 685940 ## **Choir / Organist:** Roger Crocker stmarysmusicdirector48@outlook.com 07713 155805 Helen Bendall stmarysorganist@outlook.com 07986 127855 29 ## **Friends of St Mary’s:** Rosemary Gorringe rg@hartland3.plus.com 01428 683518 **Churchyard Records & Archives:** Nita Draper nitadraper@btinternet.com 01428 682052 **Church Flowers Organiser:** Mary Doig marydoig69@gmail.com 01483 200798 **Church Room Bookings:** Katherine Hylton chiddhoop@outlook.com 01428 681379 **Safeguarding Children and Vulnerable Adults:** Ruth Goddard stmaryssafeguarding@outlook.com 01428 683925 Beverley Giles stmaryschidd@btinternet.com **Parish Magazine:** Anne Sheppard Anne.Sheppard@btinternet.com Tony Wiener tony.wiener1@gmail.com **St Mary’s Church of England Primary School:** School Office admin2@stmarys-godalming.surrey.sch.uk 01428 683115 **To know Christ better, to make Christ better known** 30 Annual Report for the year ended 31" December 2020 Approved by the Members and signed on their behalf by: Signed: The Revd Dr Rachel Green@ Rector Dated: 25" April 2021 ## **INDEPENDENT EXAMINER’S REPORT TO THE PCC OF ST MARY’S, CHIDDINGFOLD** This report on the accounts of the PCC for the year ended 31 December 2020, which are set out on pages (v) to (ix), is in respect of an examination carried out under Regulation 3 (3) of the Church Accounting Regulations 1997 to 2001 (“the Regulations”) and s.43 of the Charities Act 1993 (“the Act”). ## **Respective responsibilities of the PCC and the examiner:** As the members of the PCC, you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts; you consider that the audit requirement of Regulation 3 (3) and s.43 (2) of the Act do not apply. It is my responsibility to issue this report on those accounts in accordance with the terms of Regulation 25. ## **Basis of this report:** My examination was carried out in accordance with the General Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 43 (7)(b) of the Act and to be found in the Church Guidance 2001 edition issued by the Finance Division of the Archbishops’ Council. That examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the PCC and a comparison of the accounts with those records. It also includes considering any unusual item or disclosures in the accounts and seeking explanations from you, as trustees, concerning any such matters. The procedures taken do not include all the evidence that would be required in an audit and, consequently, I do not express an audit opinion on the view given by the accounts. ## **Independent examiner’s statement:** In connection with my examination, no matter has come to my attention: - (1) which gives me cause to believe that, in any material respect, the requirements (a) to keep accounting records in accordance with section 41 of the Act and (b) to prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records and comply with requirements of the Act and the Regulations have not been met, or - (2) to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached. 28 February 2021 Maple House 2 Woodberry Close Chiddingfold Surrey GU8 4SF **A Kelly FCA** Chartered Accountant Independent Examiner