## **ST MARK’S CHURCH WOODCOTE** ## **ANNUAL REPORT** ## **2021—2022** ## **CONTENTS** |**Report**
|**Page**| |---|---| |**Officers, Committees and Staff**|
**4**| |**Vicar’s Report**|**5**| |**Churchwardens’ Report**|**8**| |**Lay Pastoral Assistant’s Report**|
**10**| |**PCC Secretary’s Report**|**12**| |**Deanery Synod Report**|**12**| |**Director of Music’s Report**|**13**| |**Liturgy Report**|**13**| |**Hall Lettings Report**|**13**| |**The Thursday Group Report**|**14**| |**Church Flower Group Report**|**14**| |**Coffee Group Report**|**14**| |**Prayer Group Report**|**14**| |**Happy Families House Group Report**|**15**| |**Women’s Circle Report**|**15**| |**First Woodcote Rainbows/17th Brownies Report**|
**16**| |**2nd Purley Guides**|**17**| |**25th Purley Scout Group**|**17**| |**Treasurer’s Report**|**18**| 3 **OFFICERS, COMMITTEES AND STAFF** ## **OFFICERS OF THE CHURCH** Revd. Fiona Weaver Julian Pearcey Tom Jamieson-Craig Brenda Knight Tony Tucker Susan Carter Vicar Licensed Reader Churchwarden Churchwarden Treasurer PCC Secretary ## **PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL** Revd. Fiona Weaver Brenda Knight Ian Robinson Tom Jamieson-Craig Edwin Singaratnam Julian Pearcey Martin French Tony Tucker Sue Carter Steve Dawson Deirdre Lea Eudareen Moncrieffe Diane Van Dromme ## **FINANCE COMMITTEE OF THE PCC** Revd Fiona Weaver Terry Cairns Sarah Chartres Tony Tucker Ian Robinson ## **STAFF** Rev’d Fiona Weaver Vicar Martin French Director of Music Guy Norris Organist Sue Young Parish Secretary Diana Van Dromme Lay Pastoral Assistant 4 ## **VICAR’S REPORT** _Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.… Hebrews 10 v 23-25_ At its heart a Vicar’s report for the APCM is about looking back over the past year and giving thanks. I give thanks that so many give of their time talent and gifts to our community of faith in so many different ways. I and I give thanks also for all the personal support I receive from the congregation. Despite starting the year in lockdown, thankfully the government regulations recognised the importance of the churches ability to offer spiritual support to communities and individuals. This meant our Church remained open for public worship and private prayer throughout the year, this was hard work at times but definitely worth it. The numbers attending services fluctuated as Covid infection rates rose and fell. We constantly had to adjust what we did, sadly that meant cancelling all the parade services. The 8am BCP was also cancelled, however we now have a Tuesday Morning BCP at 11am each week. We continued to implement the Covid guidelines such as social distancing, mask wearing, receiving communion in one kind etc and those restrictions remained in place for much of the year. Some will remain, like wearing a mask at the altar and keeping the bread and wine covered all the time. Congregational singing was not allowed for many months but, thankfully, the choir were able to sing and enhance our worship and finally Guy returned, and we heard the organ again. These measures were reviewed regularly by the Wardens and me, to ensure St Mark’s continued to provide a welcoming, supportive and safe environment for those who wished to worship as part of a community as well as for those who have preferred to stay at home with Zoom worship. Over the past year baptisms, weddings and funerals took place in Church, some within tight guidelines and some were postponed to 2022. I am indebted to Brenda Knight and Tom Jamieson-Craig who have served us all incredibly well as Church Wardens and helped to steer us through some difficult and complicated times. Personally, their sound advice when yet another set of guidelines came along or sensitive situations needed discussion, has been invaluable and their sense of humour has helped me get through a number of testing situations. What can I say about Tony Tucker! His fiscal understanding, acumen, and ability to enable even me to think I understand our accounts have been a mainstay in my time here I have valued his advice and personal support. I think it speaks volumes that we have needed to put in special measures to cope now he has put his spread sheets away. More about this is in another report. I am thankful for each member of the PCC and Standing Committee who have persevered with the challenge of Zoom meetings, which have given us some interesting moments and lively debates. Thanks to Sue Carter as Secretary for preparing agendas and taking minutes, not an easy ask via zoom. Also, as we have seen in the accounts, hall revenue is vital, and we owe Sue Carter our thanks for her major juggling act in managing the books and all related hall issues. 5 I continue to appreciate the ministry of our Licenced Reader, Julian Pearcey who has continued to be supportive and understanding. His sense of humour, wise counsel, and organisational skills have, on more than one occasion, kept my sanity. Although I am not sure what effect I have on his! I continue to be grateful that I do not need to preach every week and I am sure you are too! Julian Pearcey and Richard Gunning both give us much food for thought with their excellent sermons. I am also grateful for their liturgical input. Martin our musical director and Guy our organist, continue to share their expertise with us and keep the choral tradition of this church going a true blessing. I am thankful to Diana the parish Lay Pastoral Assistant for the many tasks she has taken on and all that she does developing the life of our parish. I am of course deeply thankful for those many members who behind the scenes, usually unseen and unsung, carry out the thousand and one tasks of the Kingdom. In flower arranging and watering, litter picking in the church grounds, polishing, and cleaning, visiting, security checks, tasks of administration the list is endless -small things done in love and service which bring us daily nearer to God. I am always mindful that both the outside and the inside of our building, including our church grounds, speak a message to all who pass by or pop in. I don’t know if you have noticed the bench dedicated to with the beautiful inscription. It was donated by a Hindu family who had found great solace in our garden over the years and particularly during lockdown. Through Richard Gunning they were introduced to me and I gave permission, which was privilege to give. It serves as reminder to us all that our Garden of Remembrance is also a place of outreach. Our church and grounds speak volumes - if a place is obviously loved and valued it tells people that we care about this sacred space. Having the Banners on the front of the church, thanks to Adrian and Diana, along with the posters in the Garden of Remembrance are all such things that proclaim the Gospel – and usually to more people than will ever listen to a sermon! When you undertake these small but valuable tasks, you are proclaiming the Kingdom! There is always work to be done in the garden! I am, as ever, appreciative of the amount of work that is reflected in the reports. It is important that we all take time to read them fully and give thanks for the time, effort and energy that goes in keeping our church functioning as well as it does. They represent a slice of the life of our parish and offer much to give thanks for. However, they also challenge us as they do raise questions about our long-term sustainability. I am looking forward to developing new ways we can connect with and serve our community Outside the benefice I continue to serve on the Deanery Leadership team, and having been elected again to serve on the Diocesan Synod, I was also elected to the Diocesan Council of Trustees. As much as possible I have taken part in the Churches Together Ministers’ Group and am a Trustee of the Purley Food bank. I continue as a Governor at the Minster Primary and Nursery school. I am also chair of Trustees for TOC H and All Hallows Trust; these activities give me a wider perspective of ministry. I also enjoy leading collective worship at St David’s twice a term. As I look back over the past year I do so from the perspectives of lament and thanksgiving, and I am also mindful that next year I will have been here 10 years! I lament all that has not happened that I hoped would and all that we have lost during the pandemic, and I give thanks for all that we are beginning to do again and the new opportunities that we need to embrace. 6 While it is so important to lament and confront all we have lost, we must not be in a rush to return to the church we once were. Looking forward God is calling us to be the church we’ve never been before. There won’t be room for new ideas and projects to grow if we simply go back and try to restart everything, we used to do in exactly the same way. That’s not to say we won’t restart some of the things we used to do but it is to say that we need more time to reflect and pray together about how we think God is speaking to us and how things need to change. _This is our challenge, as we move into the ‘new normal’: What kind of church do we want to be? What kind of Church can we be?_ ## _What have we learned coming out of the pandemic?_ I would like us to have some space in the Autumn for further reflection, conversation, discussion and consultation, hearing your views on the best way forwards from here and how we might allow these seeds to grow. I believe one of our key strengths is that we are a Benefice of two very different parishes. This is this a joy and a challenge for me, all too often many forget that! I want us to make the most of that richness and we must learn from what is done well in each place. The other side of the coin is that at times our differences can make the tasks of administration and planning more challenging, I spend too much time and energy simply ‘managing’ the gaps and trying to balance my time and energies between the two parishes and duplicating work. However, I believe we are working towards better ways of planning and sharing information that preserves and enhances our diversity whilst at the same time reduces the gaps. We need to make a slow and gradual recovery from this pandemic—for the sake of everyone’s wellbeing, mine included. I believe we need to look to the future not dwell on the past but learn from it. We need to nurture the seeds that have been sown over the past year and allow space for them to grow. I think we need to ask ourselves: who isn’t currently part of this conversation and how can we include them? And I think we need to set aside conscious and intentional time to pray for the wisdom and guidance of the Holy Spirit. As the prophet Isaiah writes: _“See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.”(Isaiah 43.19)._ As we lament the past year, let us also give thanks for the new things that God is doing in the life of our parish church. I know I cannot do this alone, all of us to play our part, and not wait to be asked. Let us strive to be proactive rather than reactive. Whatever plans we might have, they are useless unless they are grounded in prayer. The Daily Office has been a steady part of my devotional practice since before ordination. There’s no doubt in my mind that it’s become an important grounding for my ministry as a priest. It is part of my rule of life. It is a bonus for my rule of life that on Tuesday and Friday mornings a small group of us meet in the Lady Chapel at 9am for the daily office of morning prayer. Please feel free to join us. An exciting year ahead, but only possible if we all play our part in bringing God’s kingdom here to Woodcote. As we look to the future, there is challenge and there is hope and anticipation. We are on an adventure together. Thank you so much to the wonderful community of St Mark’s, I look forward to continuing to work together as we stabilise what has been started and look to what is to come. Your Vicar, _Fiona._ 7 ## **CHURCHWARDENS’ REPORT** To say that we are out of the woods yet as far as the pandemic is concerned would probably be rather presumptuous. However, we have managed to make some sort of progress towards getting ourselves back on an even track where church services are concerned. It is good to be able to meet and to sing together again. However, people are still encouraged to make up their own minds as to when they will return and their decisions are totally respected. Services continue to be ‘zoomed’ for those unable to attend and there has been a happy atmosphere existing between church and screen with much hand waving. It has been a vital resource for being in touch and keeping members of the congregation together. In addition, it has been a real delight to welcome some new faces to the congregation . Emerging from the bleakness that is Covid we have attempted to move forward in the life and growth of our church and have brought in one or two innovations that have been an important part of reaching out to the local community. St Mark’s was open Tuesday-Sunday throughout the lockdown and having a quiet place for private prayer and reflection was very much appreciated. We added to this some quiet music during the day which attracted several positive comments and spurred us on to think of other musical events ,among which was a most enjoyable Pirates of Penzance by Utopians Unlimited. We were also fortunate to be able to offer our church for a monthly lunchtime live music event organised by Purley Classics and this has inspired us to plan a St Mark’s Festival of arts, crafts and music in the week leading up to Harvest. We have also made other innovations including how we collect payments and contributions. Under Ian Robinson’s guidance we now have a card paying machine which is making life a lot easier in reducing the amount of cash that must be handled. This is especially useful on such occasions such as weddings (and negates the excuse “I’ve left my wallet at home”!). Another move that has been made is to make more of advertising our seasonal services. Thanks to invaluable help from Adrian Frost, we now have four banners which highlight the Harvest Festival, Christingle, Mothering Sunday and Lent. These can be easily seen from the road and help to inform passers-by of what’s happening in our church. For this our thanks go to Diana van Dromme for her designs and to Adrian Frost for arranging the display. This was further supported by our Stations walk in our memorial garden. A further initiative that has been recently set up in the ‘Place To Be’ Café. This was started by Rev. Fiona and Lena Gathercole as somewhere for dementia sufferers and their carers to come for an afternoon to meet up, chat, listen to talks, play games and quizzes and, most importantly, to have tea and cake. It has been met with some success and is proving quite popular. There is always space available for helpers so do put your name forward if you think you can help. It is every Friday afternoon 1.30 until 4.00 pm. Continuing the subject of outreach, St Mark’s with St. Swithuns has continued to support the Purley Food Hub and a large contribution of this has been from St, Mark’s Women’s Circle for which we are very grateful. 8 Further support has also been given to the Croydon Churches Floating Shelter and to Croydon Night Watch. Over a period from February to October last year and continuing from February and March this year, every Friday people from both churches provided meals for five for those in the shelter or sandwiches for Night Watch to give out to the homeless on the streets. In addition, we had regular volunteers to transport the items to the relevant centres. St. Mark’s and St. Swithun’s definitely stepped up to the plate on this one. Thanks are due to Sue Carter who had the ‘bright’ idea of a welcoming sign in our Foyer. This resulted in our obtaining, through Sue, a colourful illuminated neon sign welcoming people to St. Mark’s Church and Halls. This has received many positive comments that it makes the entrance a lot more cheerful. Overnight, when everything else is in darkness, there is a lovely glow still giving a continued welcoming impression. Unfortunately, the recent storms resulted in damage to the Foyer doorway and, once again, Sue is organising quotes for a more improved entrance. As the saying goes “watch this space”. Sue’s initiative to improve the hall is further being put into plan with the conversion of the old church office being transformed into a self-contained meeting room for smaller gatherings. It has been decided to name this in honour of Penny Norris in recognition of her long association with St. Mark's and all her loyal work she did for the Junior Church. Our Muslim friends who attend Friday prayers in the small hall, are helping us to find a suitable builder. Thank you for all that you are doing, Sue. Thank you too to the ‘Thursday Group’ who continue their efforts to look after the fabric of the church and halls. It has been quite a busy year for them including manning the pumps when there was a massive water leak in the boiler house. The group has also attended to some unsound masonry over the front porch which was damaged by frost and repaired water and rot damage to the lantern skylight on the Hall roof. The church and halls have now had and passed the mandatory inspections covering health and safety (including fire extinguishers), electrical systems, heating systems, lightening conduction and attended to a leak from the water mains. Regular attention to the grounds and to internal decoration keeps everything looking spick and span in time for our upcoming quinquennial inspection. This has by no means been an easy year and we should extend our grateful thanks to Julian Pearcey, who despite health difficulties, has provided such good support in the efficient running of our services. Finally, we must pay tribute to the hard work put in by Rev. Fiona in continuing to keep the church open and for her excellent outreach in the community. Despite overseeing two churches she manages to keep a positive outlook and sense of humour. We owe her a great deal in our church community. As we move forward, let us all work together to make our church a centre of welcome in our parish, to accept change when it is necessary and to bring the light of Christ to all. _Brenda Knight and Tom Jamieson-Craig_ 9 ## **LAY PASTORAL ASSISTANT REPORT** Pastoral care and outreach have been the main objectives in my work the past year. Some plans had to be cancelled or adapted because of the pandemic. In summer we were able to have afternoon teas and a BBQ for parishioners. This was the ideal start of connecting with parishioners and of giving pastoral visits. Because of anxiety and the unease of meeting indoors, summertime was the ideal time to meet outdoors and bring people out of isolation and in contact with each other again. Last winter we planned afternoon teas but due to Covid we felt we couldn’t meet. We will continue with afternoon teas again this summer and hopefully restrictions won’t keep us from meeting indoors during autumn and winter. I have been giving weekly pastoral visits. These visits will be increased in future. I am leading our Prayer group. We first met online and since summer 2021 we started meeting in person again. We are reaching out to join our prayer group and more details can be obtained from me or Rev’d Fiona. Until winter last year I have been writing monthly for our parish magazine, the Uplander. As I have been advised to increase my pastoral visits I will write on a less regular basis and inform about past and future projects in our parish. In our regular meetings, Fiona and I discuss the church planning and activities for members of the congregation. Last year we were thinking about creating and planning a music - arts festival. As festival lead, I set up a committee and the festival will be a reality in autumn this year. The project demands a lot of preparation, organisation, negotiation, liaising with local creatives, artists, musicians and schools. In the meantime we have established an all-inclusive programme which contains concerts, art exhibitions, musical and craft workshops, cheese and wine tasting, church walking history tours, and more. Sub-committees have been set up, such as a budget committee and a catering committee. We are now in the process of building a website and discussing marketing strategies with a first step of marketing on Patronal Festival. With God’s guidance this project is another way of reaching out to our community and beyond. After many meetings we have decided on the festival name and tagline: St. Mark’s Festival - Uniting the Community through Arts, Music and Culture. Whilst doing research for Confirmation Classes last year, I have been giving two-weekly Confirmation Classes after the Sunday Service since September 2021, leading towards the girls’ Confirmation at Southwark Cathedral on Candlemass, 29th January 2022. With Christmas we set up Outside Stations of the Nativity in the Memorial Garden including text, a piece of art, reflection and prayer to make these Stations engaging. Adrian Frost assisted me with setting them up in the garden for which I’m very grateful. I believe Outside Stations can bring people closer to our church and encourage them to reflect about our faith and the Gospel’s story. Last year, we created a Lent calendar. Two booklets with the Lent Stations and Lent calendar with Psalms, reflection and prayer were made and these booklets have been available for purchase during this Lent season. 10 Together with Ian Robinson, I am representing our church in the Deanery Synod. We attended the course Living in Love and Faith. I have been attending PCC meetings which teaches me how life in a church and parish runs. The banners for Mother’s Day, Christingle, Harvest and Lent have been ordered and displayed with the help of Adrian Frost. In autumn I organised a film evening at St. Mark’s church. We watched the film ‘Silence’, a film about the persecution of Christians in Japan in the 18th Century. This was a success and definitely something to repeat in the future. Until winter I have been assisting with weddings and funerals. Because I need to prioritise my parish work, Fiona and I have decided I will assist funerals only when it concerns people of our own parish. Richard Gunning and I have set up a rota for the sacristy, laying up the altar. Since August 2021 I am authorised to assist with the Distribution of Holy Communion. This will give me the possibility to assist Fiona in bringing Communion to people in their homes, people who are ill and therefore are not able to come to church to receive Holy Communion. As Parish Safeguarding officer, I have been responsible for the DBS checks for the volunteers and leaders who run the Activity Cafe. An important task that needs to be done in order to safeguard and protect our people. A year ago, I questioned how to build a new future church. A daunting task that requires taking risks, changing our thoughts, our approach and our actions. In order to grow we have to let go of what gives us a false feeling of security. I believe the pandemic, how difficult this has been for so many, has also given us opportunities to grow, to find another way to connect, to see the beauty and the good of what people are capable of in time of need and despair. Steps have been taken, seeds are being planted to let our church grow, and although small, I see change, I see growth. Nothing happens on its own, it is by bringing thoughts, ideas and actions together - as a community in Christ - that growth will happen. Again, I want to emphasise how warm and welcoming St.Mark’s people are, a precious God’s given gift that we need to cherish and nurture. Sharing God’s Love is the growth of the church. In the words of Thomas Merton: “When you see God in everyone, then they see God in you.” And in the words of Mother Teresa: “ Spread love everywhere you go. Let no one ever come to you without leaving happier.” In particular I want to thank Fiona Weaver, Julian Pearcey and Sarah Chartres for their continuous and valued support. The job as Lay Pastoral Assistant asks flexibility and change of plans. I am grateful to be part of this ministry and I pray that I can fulfil what God has planned for me at St. Mark’s Church and its’ community. 11 ## **PCC SECRETARY’S REPORT** We have continued to meet via Zoom for our 6 PCC meetings in 2022. The format works well and we seem to get through the agenda in half the time! The early meetings mainly focussed on overcoming worship issues using a virtual platform. Services started becoming live again in September. New initiatives which were reviewed by the PCC include the setting up of ‘A Place 2B’, a café supporting Alzheimer suffers and their carers. A trial session took place in December. The group meets weekly on Fridays at 2pm and is very much enjoyed by all those who attend. The PCC expressed support for a plan to refurbish the old office so it might become a meeting room with its own independent access. The PCC is responsible for the financial affairs of the church, and the care and maintenance of the church fabric and its contents. In each meeting we have receive reports from the Treasurer, Churchwardens and our Maintenance Group known as The Thursday Group. Each meeting will also consider Mission in the Parish through consideration of reports and activity from our LPA, Liturgy Group, Deanery Synod Representatives and, of course, our Vicar. More detailed accounts of activities are listed elsewhere in this document. _Sue Carter_ ## **DEANERY SYNOD REPORT** The Deanery Synod met three times in the last 12 months, in June and October 2021 and February 2022, with sessions chaired by Area Dean Paul Roberts. I have highlighted below three of the most important issues discussed at these meetings. An initiative discussed at each meeting was _Living in Love and Faith_ , the Church of England’s process for discerning a way forward on issues of identity, sexuality, relationships and marriage. Churches were invited to consider the issues based on national C of E material and provide voluntary feedback in order that the new General Synod could make better informed decisions later in 2022. This has been a difficult exercise but there was feedback from some churches that they had found the process valuable and informative. We await to see what the General Synod decides. In October 2021 there was a pertinent and challenging talk from the Venerable Dr Rosemarie Mallett, Archdeacon of Croydon, about _‘Engaging with Croydon’_ . This concerned how the church in Croydon had been collaborating with the local authority, police, community groups and interested ad hoc groups. The catalysts had been: (1) the response of churches to the September 2020 killing of Sgt Matt Ratana in Croydon; and (2) the financial collapse of Croydon Borough Council, which had led to unstable leadership and significant funding cuts. The Archdeacon gave a striking testimony of working collaboratively with other agencies to mitigate the effects of the Council stepping back from previous roles due to its dire finances. Another powerful talk came from Rev Sue Thomas, Assistant Priest at St. John’s, Old Coulsdon, on persecuted churches. Sue drew on material from the charity Open Doors UK, which estimated that 340 million Christians across the world – greater than the United States population – were experiencing persecution of either a violent or a gradual nature. by getting praying, including intercessions in church (we are doing so at St. Mark’s). During the year Rev Fiona was elected to the Diocesan Synod by fellow clergy, so we are well represented amongst the influential! _Ian Robinson_ 12 ## **DIRECTOR OF MUSIC’S REPORT** No report Received ## **LITURGY REPORT** The Liturgy Team is responsible for managing the services of the church, and is a sub-committee of the PCC, to which it is answerable. In 2021-22 its members were: Revd. Fiona Weaver (Chair) Martin French (Director of Music) Tom Jamieson-Craig Julian Pearcey (Reader, Secretary & Rota Manager) Tony Tucker (Treasurer) Diana Van Dromme (LPA) Its duties are wide ranging: Planning the liturgy over the year; Reviewing services that have taken place; Staffing services; Producing orders of service; Deciding on musical requirements; Managing the Vestry; Overview of the sidesmen, readers, intercessors, servers and chalice assistants. The meeting agenda always covers a review of the previous months’ services, and plans the next few months. Other areas covered in the last year include: Managing services during the Covid pandemic; Working on new ways of delivering the liturgy. In the last year the group has met five times, normally via Zoom. _Julian Pearcey_ ## **HALL LETTINGS REPORT** 2021 has been a very good year for halls and church lettings. All our regular hirers came back after time away due to the pandemic, and we have also picked up a few extra hirers too. Purley Classics are holding monthly concerts in our church, and these have been a great success. Christmas and Easter holidays have seen two Children’s School Holiday Providers using the large hall and the Lodge. We have a new Young People’s Christian Worship Group, Christ Embassy Royal using our Lodge on a Sunday afternoon. Watendone Folk Dancing amended their timings going from evening to afternoon meetings on a Tuesday . We have a new exercise class on Thursday mornings, Banstead Fitness which offers a kick boxing style workout. After Easter a new Adult Art Class Group will be with us from 9am – 1 pm on Tuesdays. Penny Parks Ballet School is coming to us on Saturdays, in addition to their Monday & Wednesday classes. It was a great disappointment that Younger Generation had to cancel their bookings this year due to lack of numbers responding to audition sessions. We have however filled many of their Sunday afternoon spaces with children’s parties. 13 We have changed the pricing structure for hall hire and this has had a positive impact on hall hire revenue. We have a space available for a new hirer, Monday mornings until 10.30 am. This might suit an exercise class so if you know anyone looking to run an extra class, please do let them know. _Sue Carter_ ## **THE THURSDAY GROUP** It’s been a bit of a hit and miss year for us with Covid hanging over us. The brave boys of the group have soldiered on. Fred Eddy is still on the sick list. We have installed 3 new items in the memorial Garden—In Memory chairs to Vinesh Lakhani and Michael Hooper and a bird bath to David Pope. A certain amount of tree work and hedge cutting around the paths to the scout hut has been done and a flood in the boiler house took many hands to solve. The foyer has had a face lift and looks good but the recent storm damaged the entrance door and frames. Due to their age (1967) they need to be replaced. We updated the Christmas candlesticks, lanterns and fairy lights. The main Hall roof has been repaired and painted and the sidings replaced with PVC shiplap boarding. A lot of work has been carried out to the church and Halls, inside and out, to keep it up to the standard we all enjoy. _Michael Sanders_ ## **CHURCH FLOWER GROUP** Once again this year we did managed to put two flower pedestals in church for Christmas, 70 tied posies for Mothering Sunday and flowers for Easter. I am grateful of the few remaining ladies who offer to help. _Maureen Eddy_ ## **COFFEE GROUP** Well done to our valiant team and thank you to those who have now joined us. Having a chance to chat and catch with everyone after the service is much appreciated. _Pat Teasdale_ ## **PRAYER GROUP REPORT** A year ago the Prayer Group was meeting online. Soon, when restrictions eased, we met again in person. Our weekly meetings take place on Thursday at 14.30pm. As we enter God’s Presence, we start with a short musical introduction followed by an opening prayer. We reflect on a bible reading in more depth. Since September we bring our relationship with God to a deeper level through “Centering Prayer”. Centering prayer is simply sitting in silence, open to God’s love and our love for God, where words are not required, were we pray beyond thoughts and beyond emotions. Out of this silence, we continue with intercessions. A time when we rejoice in the power and presence of God. God knows our needs and concerns but wants us to share those with Him. We are not alone when we pray: God is in and with us, God cares for us. We pray for world issues, our church and church leaders, our community and benefice. We pray for parishioners who are in need of God’s healing power. After the intercessions we make time for individual reflection accompanied by a moving piece of music that leads us to the end of our prayer meeting. The power of prayer brings blessings over our churches’ decisions, its activities and people. We reach out to join our prayer group and details can be obtained from me or Rev’d Fiona. _Dian van Dromme_ 14 ## **HAPPY FAMILIES PRAYER GROUP** Because of the pandemic, Happy Families house group has only met twice in the last six months, in November and at the end of February. We don’t feel that Zoom, excellent though it is for many types of meeting, works for our type of being together. Sadly, we also had to miss our customary ‘bring and share’ party at Christmas and not just because ‘party’ has recently become a dirty word. The fear of catching Covid was too great at the time. When we get back to normal, we will resume meeting monthly, mid-morning to lunchtime, and generally at Mary Taylor’s apartment opposite Wallington Library. A typical meeting would include a brief catch-up with members’ news over tea and biscuits, some music (sacred or otherwise) and either a course session, a Bible topic or passage, a lively discussion of a moral issue of the day, or of the Church in action, or inaction, as we feel is appropriate. We have followed the Pilgrim course and may one day do it again. The meeting always includes a time of prayer for people in and close to the group, and for others we know are in any kind of need. Group members are drawn from both St Mark’s and St Swithun’s churches and include two members not aligned to any particular church. This diversity is one of the strengths of the group. Current members are John Ford, Richard Gunning, Val Penney, Michael Sanders, Paul Sandford, Valerie Stokes and Mary Taylor. We continue to mourn the loss of Penny Norris, a long-standing member. Happy Families would welcome at least two more members. Further information from Richard Gunning at richardgunning@blueyonder.co.uk or 020 8395 4782 _Richard Gunning_ ## **WOMEN’S CIRCLE** Our membership now stands at 45 and after the Covid break we started meeting again with a Bring and Share lunch on 23 June 2021 in the Church Hall. Since then we have continued our meetings monthly. These meetings are most enjoyable, with good company, excellent lunches and interesting talks. We are delighted to welcome Revd Fiona to our meetings and also invite guests to our Summer and Christmas Lunches. Our Leader Robina Holmes has been sending out monthly newsletters to everyone since February 2020 to keep in touch with the group. Visitors are welcome, although we do need to know of their attendance in advance to help with the catering. Some of our speakers who were booked in 2020 agreed to come this season 2021/22 and the programme included Richard Griffin to give us a talk on his life as the personal bodyguard to Her Majesty the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh, and David Warburton to talk on “Biodiversity in Sutton”. We were also delighted to welcome back our regular speakers Sue Henning, Ian Bevan and Colin Jones. A warm welcome is extended to anyone who would like to join the group and to any visitors. For more details see the St Mark’s website and the Uplander. _Deirdre Lea_ 15 ## **FIRST WOODCOTE RAINBOWS/17TH BROWNIES** ## **1[st] Woodcote Rainbows** Follwing the cessation of face to face meetings during the Covid-19 pandemic, the Rainbows resumed activities during the summer of 2021, with appropriate protocols in place to ensure the safety of girls and volunteers. There are currently 10 girls in the Unit but a recruitment drive within Purley Division may produce some further interest. This year the Rainbows have been following the new programme and have been working on the themed awards; Express Myself, Know Myself and Be Well. In addition girls are encouraged to earn interest badges, which they do at home. Some girls are very keen to achieve as many as they can, bringing in their evidence to share with the leaders. All the Rainbows are enthusiastic and love to undertake new experiences and learn new skills. Each meeting involves games and singing as well as craft activities such as making Mothers day cards, Easter bonnets and creating stars for the church at Christmas; in particular they enjoy anything food related and loved making (and eating) pancakes for Shrove Tuesday. There are good links with the Brownies through shared leadership which helps the transition from Rainbows to the next level and beyond. ## **17th Purley Brownies** Like the Rainbows, the Brownie unit resumed face to face meetings until the summer of 2021. Many of the Brownies who were part of the unit before the pandemic did not rejoin but we had a number of new enquiries and now have 14 girls from a variety of schools in the area. Now that restrictions have eased it is hoped that numbers will increase further. The Brownies have been following the new programme and this year have been working on the Know Yourself and Skills for My Future theme awards as well as interest badges that they undertake at home. The themes challenge the girls to try new experiences, learn to work together in teams or as individuals, in a safe and supportive environment. The girls enjoy expressing their creativity through various crafts and loved making decorations for the church at Christmas. They also planned their own Christmas party, coming up with ideas on food, entertainment and decorations. A favourite activity is cooking and this year they have made toffee apple cookies for bonfire night, hot dogs for the Christmas party, jammy heart biscuits for Valentine’s day and pancakes for Shrove Tuesday. Older girls are encourged to move up to 2[nd] Purley Guides and some have attended taster sessions to experience the next level before moving on. At St Mark’s we are fortunate to have a safe space to run a wide range of activities, both indoors and out, to give the Brownies and Rainbows opportunites to make friends, develop confidence and learn new skills. ## _Lindsey Ithell_ 16 ## **2ND PURLEY GUIDES & RANGERS** 2nd Purley Guides and 2nd Purley Rangers have continued to meet weekly throughout the last year. We have been able to support girls and young women throughout this difficult year when so much has been unpredictable, being able to meet weekly with each other has kept everyone going. We produced our own weekly bulleting called COGS (carry on guiding solo) containing loads of challenges and activities. We have met for 2 hours weekly on Zoom to complete the Guiding programme and some fun challenges and badges. We participated in the county camp event with other Croydon guides. We held our own week long Camp@Home event over the summer including an outdoor cooking day. We kept our promise and supported our community by thinking of others and giving cards and heart badges and other awards. We are now planning to return to face to face meetings on Fridays so we can continue our theme awards and our plans for summer camp at the end of July. We will be holding a bring a friend/open evening on 21st May when we hope to welcome some new members. ## _Claire Wallis_ ## **25TH PURLEY (ST. MARK’S) SCOUT GROUP** My heartfelt thanks goes to our amazing volunteer leader team who have delivered brilliant Scouting week in and week out over the past 12 months – whether that was on zoom, at Park Farm (Banstead Scouting’s camp site), the Scout Hut or at our Summer Activity Day Camps last August. They have juggled their work and home lives and ensured that Scouting at the 25[th] Purley not only survived but thrived. Families have appreciated the many outdoor experiences that we have organised; the regular contact that we have maintained with our young people throughout; word has spread at the local school gates and our membership has grown. We want to look forward as we emerge from what has been for many, a 2 year nightmare. The 25[th] Purley marked 70 years of delivering Scouting at St. Mark’s on the 1[st] December 2021 and we are determined to celebrate this summer alongside Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee.We are grateful to have the support of St. Mark’s in providing us with somewhere to meet and are proud to carry your name. We are looking forward to summer evenings at Park Farm; celebrating the Long Service and Merit Awards earned by several members of our volunteer leader team that are so richly deserved; to Longridge, our water activities weekend camp for our Scouts and Summer Camp in August for all three Sections. In addition, we have an International Camp in Kandersteg, Switzerland to look forward to - 10 days in August 2024 - and all over 10’s are invited! It has also been a very sad year for the 25th Purley with the loss of three wonderful friends – Brenda Beal who supported the Group for many years - ever since her son Alex, our Chairman, joined Cubs and Angela Harland who did the same when her son, Mark, joined Cubs. Both were stalwarts at our annual Jumble Sale and on the important occasions in the life of the Group and are greatly missed. In August, we bid farewell to Ron, our amazing and inspirational President, 98 years young……… 17 On 16[th] March, we lost a fourth - my wonderful and amazing Mum….. She walked across the lavender fields to St. Mark’s Church when she and Dad moved to Stratton Avenue in 1954 and supported St. Mark’s throughout her life. Mum was lucky to have a second family, her Scout family. She loved the fun, friendship and camaraderie of being part of the 25[th] Purley whether it was serving on the Group Executive as Secretary; the treasurer of the Cub Camp account; running the shoe stall at the jumble sale; visiting me at Summer Camp and peeling potatoes; attending the special occasions in the life of the Group and most recently, serving as a Vice President. Finally, a massive thank you to Kerr. The past 12 months has been particularly tough and Kerr has been there by my side throughout. He has ensured that the 25[th] Purley has remained strong; delivered amazing Scouting; supported our volunteer Leader Teams and looked after me and Mum. Thank you Kerr……. _Barbara McKinnon, “Akela” and Group Scout Leader._ ## **TREASURER’S REPORT ENDING 31 DEC 2021** The 2021 financial results for the Parish (excluding income from restricted funds and unrealised profits in revalued Restricted and Designated Funds ) showed a surplus of £18,068 compared with a deficit last year of £20,396. This result was most gratifying and was due to a financial recovery in most areas of the Church’s activities. Total Parish income was up by £7,894, church expenditure was down by £3,773 and net profit on letting the halls and Lodge increased by £17,287 despite the continued Covid lock down during the first four months of the year. It should also be noted that some recovery in the financial markets resulted in our reserves being increased in value by £34,210 (8.85%), albeit an unrealized profit at year end. For further discussion and explanation of the financial risks faced by the Parish, please see Note 10 in the Notes to the Accounts. Major capital expenditures incurred this year have been charged to our Reserve Funds rather than shown in the Income and Expenditure account and a more detailed explanation of the movement in Reserve Funds is shown in Note 11. The Balance Sheet shows the individual balances of these various funds. Parishioners will note that I have shown our contribution to the Parish Support Fund split into its component parts of Diocesan Ministry costs, Parish Support and contribution to other Parishes. The total we paid in 2021 was £58,000 and our voluntary pledge to this scheme for 2022 is £59,000. On a personal note, I would like to thank Terry Cairns for his invaluable support in doing the banking as well as his timely attention to tax recoveries from Gift Aid. Sue Carter’s contribution as Facilities Manager in dealing with the challenges of letting the halls and Lodge and finding new clients, while remaining in touch with our regular hirers is also worthy of a special mention. I wish to thank Ian Robinson for introducing our new electronic giving machine and overcoming the technical challenges, and I would also like to record our thanks to Andrew Harker for his examination of our accounts _Tony Tucker, Hon. Treasurer_ 18 ## **ST. MARK’S CHURCH WOODCOTE BALANCE SHEET AS AT 31[ST] DECEMBER 2021** |**Tangible Fixed assets**(Note 2)
**Investments**
Restricted Investments (Note 3)

Unrestricted investments (Note 4)
**Current Assets**
Sundry Debtors and Prepayments (Note 5)
Central Board of Finance Deposit (Note 4)
Lloyds Bank Current Account
National Westminster Current Account
Missions and Charities accrued (Note 7)

Sundry Creditors and Accruals (Note 5)
**Net Current Assets**
**Total Net Assets**
_Represented by:-_
**FUNDS**
**Unrestricted**
General Purposes

**Restricted**
Southwark Diocesan Board of Finance

Restricted Gifts & Special appeals
Bequest

**Designated Funds**
Mission

Stonework & Roof repair

Church Maintenance

Hall Maintenance

Halls Caretaking

Organ

Choir

Grants (Note12)
**Total Funds Employed**|**£**
80,440
285,842



3,170
10,947

**£**

79,569
840
10,000
78,703
30,032
24,443
28,429
37,818
34,754
1,394
2,275
**£**|**2021**
**£**
486

366,282
366,768
9,971
10,029
6,591
20,632
47,223

14,117
33,106
**399,874**
71,617




90,409










237,848
**399,874**|**£**
73,825
258,246|**£**
73,825
258,246|**£**
73,825
258,246|**2020**
**£**
986
332,071
333,057
5,327
29
11,730
11,888
28,974
11,318
17,656
**350,713**
51,529



73,735








225,449
**£350,713**|**2020**
**£**
986
332,071
333,057
5,327
29
11,730
11,888
28,974
11,318
17,656
**350,713**
51,529



73,735








225,449
**£350,713**| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| ||











||






|



3,660
7,658

**£**
72,954
781
0|||| |||||||



|



| |||||||

















|| |||||80,345
27,298
23,312
27,214
34,376
31,537
1,367
0|||| ||||||||| |||||||
|| 2 19 |**ST. MARK'S CHURCH WOODCOTE**|**ST. MARK'S CHURCH WOODCOTE**|**ST. MARK'S CHURCH WOODCOTE**||||||||| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| |**STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES**||||||||||| |**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31ST DECEMBER 2021**||||||||||| |||||||**TYPE OF FUND**||||| ||||**Note **|**General**|**Special**|**Restricted **|**Designated**||**2021**|**2020**| |||||**Purposes**|**Appeals&**|**SDBF**|**Funds**||**Total**|**Total**| ||||||**Collections**||||**Funds**|**Funds**| |||||||||||| |||||||||||| |||||**£**|**£**|**£**|**£**||**£**|**£**| |**INCOME**||||||||||| |Restricted & Designated funds income|||**11**|||12,020|2,338||14,358|2,750| |Planned Giving- Tax Efficient||||48,146|||||48,146|46,766| ||- non Tax Efficient|||455|||||455|1,606| |Gift Aid Tax Repayments||||12,234|||||12,234|13,125| |Cash Collections||||2,746|||||2,746|1,696| |Electronicgifts||||218|||||218|0| |Fees for weddings and funerals||||1,585|||||1,585|1,005| |Dividends and Interest||||9,213|||||9,213|9,749| |Church Lettings||||587|||||587|1,384| |Donations||**6 and 7**||
8,577|401||||8,978|2,272| |Uplander Net Profit/(Loss)||||208|||||208|98| |**TOTAL INCOME**||||**83,969**|**401**|**12,020**|**2,338**||**98,728**|**80,451**| |||||||||||| |**EXPENDITURE**||||||||||| |Restricted & Designated funds expenditure|||**11**||||12,374||12,374|17,051| |Givingto Missions & Charities|||**7**|3,170|342||||3,512|5,472| |Church Expenses|||**8**|23,191|||||23,191|22,675| |Diocesan Ministrycosts|||**10(iv)**|31,900|||||31,900|32,250| |Parish support|||**10(iv)**|8,250|||||8,250|8,350| |Contribution to otherparishes|||**10(iv)**|17,850|||||17,850|21,700| |||||84,361|342||12,374||97,077|107,498| |**Other expenditure**||||||||||| |Secretarial costs||||5,520|||||5,520|5,334| |Printing,Postage & Stationery||||719|||||719|758| |Office costs incl.phones & computer||||307|||||307|453| |||||6,546|||||6,546|6,545| |**TOTAL EXPENDITURE**||||**90,907**|**342**|**0**|**12,374**||**103,623**|**114,043**| |||||||||||| |**CHURCH OPERATING**||||||||||| |**INCOME/(LOSS)**||||**-6,938**|**59**|**12,020**|**-10,036**||**-4,895**|**-33,592**| |||||||||||| |**PARISH HALLS& LODGE**|||**9**|||||||| |LettingIncome||||38,476|||||38,476|19,063| |Costs||||18,630|||||18,630|16,504| |**HALLS PROFIT**||||**19,846**|||||**19,846**|**2,559**| |**NET CHURCH AND HALLS INCOME**||||**12,908**|||||**12,908**|**-16,026**| |Realisedprofit(loss)on sale of investments|||||||||**0**|**-6,516**| |Unrealisedprofit(loss)on revaluation of invest.|||**11**|5,160||6,615|22,435||34,210|16,794| |||||||||||| |**NET INCOME/(EXPENDITURE)**||||**18,068**|**59**|**18,635**|**12,399**||**49,161**|**-20,755**| |Transfer between Funds|||**11**|2,020||-2,020|||0|0| |**NET MOVEMENT IN FUNDS**||||||||||| |**FOR THE YEAR**||||**20,088**|**59**|**16,615**|**12,399**||**49,161**|**-20,755**| |||||||||||| |**BALANCES BROUGHT FORWARD**||||||||||| |**AT 1ST JANUARY 2021**||||**51,529**|**781**|**72,954**|**225,449**||**350,713**|**371,468**| |||||||||||| |**BALANCES CARRIED FORWARD**||||||||||| |**AT 31ST DECEMBER 2021**|||**11**|
**71,617**|~~0~~
**840**|**89,569**|**237,848**||**399,874**|**350,713**| |||||||||||| |||||||||||| ||||||3|||||.| |||||||||||| ## **ST. MARK’S CHURCH, WOODCOTE NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS - AT 31ST DECEMBER 2021** ## 1. Basis of Accounting The accounts have been prepared using the accruals method of accounting. Their presentation incorporates the 2016 Statement of Recommended Practice (“SORP”) for Charities and the Financial Reporting Standard 102(2016). Attention is particularly drawn to the expanded presentation of the Reserves Policy and Movement in Reserves shown in the Treasurer’s Report and Notes 10 and 11. |2.Tangible Fixed Assets
2020
Cost
Balance on 1stJanuary
23,300
Additions (incl. Hall tables)
0

Balance on 31stDecember

23,300
Depreciation
Balance on 1stJanuary
20,091
Charge for the year
2,223
Balance on 31stDecember
22,314
Net Book Value
At 1stJanuary
3,209
486|2021
£
£
23,300
0
23,300
22,314
500
22,814
986
At 31stDecember
986| |---|---| |

|| Depreciation is charged using the straight line method according to the useful lives of the assets of between 3 and 7 years. ## 3 Investments and Investment Income Certain investments are held by the Southwark Diocesan Board of Finance, most of which may only be used for capital expenditure of an ecclesiastical nature and not for meeting day-to-day expenses. Income from these investments realised £2,020 this year compared with £2,125 last year. £9,213 (2020: £9,749) investment income was also achieved from the various Investments and Deposit accounts held on behalf of the Parish by CCLA, Ecclesiastical Investment Management, M&G Investments, Rathbone Management and the Central Board of Finance of the Church of England . Details of the holdings, valued at market value, at 31st December 2021, are as follows: 1 |Investments of Restricted Funds
||||2021| |---|---|---|---|---| |2020||||| |||£||£| |£||||| |Southwark Diocesan Board of Finance||||| |Will of R.A. Richards, Trust A/C 572||||| |502.63 Investment Fund shares|||11,771|| |10,297||||| |60, Green Lane (balance) Trust A/C 804||||| |15,554.52 Global Equity Fund|47,650|||| |13,273.98 Fixed Interest fund|21,019|||68,669| |63,528||||| ||80,440|||73,825| |4.Investments of Designated Funds
||||| ||2021|||2020| ||£|£||| |£||||| |CCLA||||| |40,611.02 Global Equity fund|124,408|||| |107,079||||| |13,372.55 UK Equity Fund|29,726|||| |25,279||||| |16,837.53 Fixed Interest Fund|26,662|||| |28,560||||| |8,925.38 Property Fund|13,198|193,994||| |11,550||||| |Ecclesiastical||||| |51,456.09 Eden Tree Amity Balanced fund||||58,402| |54,801||||| |Rathbone||||| |9,430.41 Ethical Bond Fund||9,722||| |10,053||||| |M&G Investments||||| |1,524.46 Charifund||||23,724
| |20,924||||| |||285,842||| |258,246||||| |CBF Deposit Accounts|10,029|||29| |Total Investments||£|295,872
|| |£258,275||||| ## 5. Creditors, Debtors and prepayments 2 |Creditors include the following:|Creditors include the following:||2021| |---|---|---|---| |2020|||| |||£|£| ||Staf salaries (Dec) and tax for last quarter 2021||3,093| ||3,159||| ||Due to Diocese re wedding and funeral fees||| |970|1,628||| ||Hall, Church & Lodge rentals & deposits received in advance||| |2,085|1,042||| ||Church, Hall & Lodge maintenance and running costs||1,676| ||267||| ||Church, Lodge and Hall utilities||1,387| |1,292|||| ||Boiler repairs and other capital works||1,203| |0|||| ||Clergy expenses, books & sundry church expenses||0| |270|Christmas charity collections paid in 2022||533| ||0

||| ||£10,947
£7,658||| |Debtors include the following:|||| ||Gift Aid Tax reclaimable||2,368| |1,983|||| ||Interest & Dividends due for 2021||816| ||809
Recoverable expenses||| |227|136||| ||Hall. lettings in 2021 owing
||1,827| ||509||| ||Lodge lettings in 2021 owing||4,016| |126|||| ||Furlough payments due from HMRC||| |0|555||| ||Donations banked in following year||0| |480|||| ||Overpayment of church security account||274| |0|||| ||Prepayments on expense contracts||443
| |729|||| ||£|9,971
|£| |5,327|||| |6. Donations Received|||| |Donations were received as gifts and as a result of appeals made|||| |throughout the year to the congregation and comprise the following:|||| |||2021|2020| |||£|£| 3 8,577 General Purposes Donations 666 |Special Appeals, Collections and Gifts Received|| |---|---| |Donations to Special Appeals and Collections are in response|| |to appeals made by special announcements and designated|| |donations at weddings and funerals.|401| |1,606|| |Plus annual charitable giving accrued|3,170| |3,160|3,571| |4,766
|| |7. Giving to Missions and Charities,|| |5% of Giving Income and reclaimed Gift Aid tax only has been allocated to|| |missions and charities in accordance with the policy adopted by the PCC|| |in 2003. Total giving also includes donations received from Special|| |Appeals and Collections. The following payments or allocations have been|| |made for 2020:-|| |2021
£
Paid in 2021
Bishop’s Lent Call

80
Children’s Society (incl. Christingle)

296
Downlands Trust
0
Alzheimers Society
725
Dementia U.K.
0
Embrace the Middle East
243
British Heart Foundation
498
Mind in Croydon
0
Nightwatch Croydon

0


£2,312
2021
Accrued in 2021 for payment in 2022
Donation to Purley Youth Project in 2020 not cashed
500
5% of St. Mark’s normal income

3,160|2020
£
0
0
243
0
227
0
0
200
142
£ 342
2020
0
3,170| |---|---| 4 £ 3,170 £ 3,660 (2021: 8 charities @ £400 each & 1 @ £510) Purley Youth Project, South East Cancer Help Centre, United Society Partners in the Gospel, Family Lives, Association for Pastoral Care in Mental Health, Off the Record, Croydon Drop In, Shooting Star Chase and Partnership for Children. |8. Church Expenses||2021|| |---|---|---|---| |2020|||| ||£||| |£|||| |Organ, Music Director and Organist|||4,639| |3,381|||| |Fees (net of HMRC refunds)||3,593|| |2,385|||| |Organ maintenance
||1,046|| |996|||| |Sanctuary and Worship||230|| |109|||| |Light, Heat and Water||3,640|| |5,813|||| |Insurance||4,152|| |4,246|||| |Depreciation of Tangible Fixed Assets||500|| |2,223|||| |Repairs and Maintenance||3,939|| |3,082|||| |Security|852||1,182| |Electrical works|1,571|300|| |Leaking roof Lady Chapel||240|0| |Church cleaning|1,062|1,167|| |Refurbishment|214||433| |Books & Teaching material||203|| |170|||| |Parish events||(134)|| |0|||| |Churches Together in Purley & Kenley subscriptions||100|| |120|||| |Flowers account||700|| |0|||| |Ministry costs
(incl. 20% L.P.A. costs )||3,405|| |1,857|||| 5 |Sundry expenses|Sundry expenses|||1,817|| |---|---|---|---|---|---| |1,674|||||| ||Licences||0||39| ||Church expenses||98||138| ||Bank Charges|||356|327| ||Votive candles less donations|||(27)|(31)| ||Audit & Accounting fees|||851|646| ||Web site maintenance|and update||539
|| ||555
||||| |||Total
||23,191
|| ||22,675||||| |9. Parish Halls and Annex|||||2021| |2020|||||| |||||£|£| |Rental Income - Halls||||28,541|| ||- Annex|||9,935|| |38,476
19,063|||||| |Costs|||||| ||Cleaning and Refuse removal||- Halls|2,795|| ||||- Annex|689|| |3,484|2,677
Insurance - Halls||||| |449|||||| ||- Annex|||45
|494| ||485||||| ||Light and Heat - Halls||3,811||| ||- Annex||673
|4,484|| |4,422|||||| ||Repairs and maintenance:-||||| ||- electrical works - Halls 1,960||||| ||- Annex||272|2,232|| |3,220|||||| ||- refurbishment - Halls||915||| ||- Annex||0|915
|3,147| |851|4,071||||| ||Water & Sewerage Charges||||| ||S.E. Surrey||||| |324|157||||| ||Security - Halls|||210|| ||- Annex|||29|| |269|409 Letting costs, including licences||||| |6,458|
. 4,283||||| 6 Total 18,630 16,504 ## 10. Reserves Policy and Major Risks This year’s accounts have been presented incorporating the 2015 Statement of Recommended Practice and Financial Reporting Standard 102 for Charities. A detailed schedule of the movement in Reserve Funds is shown in paragraph 11 below. This includes opening and closing balances in the various reserve funds as well as the income and amounts spent, transfers between funds and revaluation gains and losses of investments attributable to those funds. The notes to paragraph 11 give details of the individual amounts shown in total in the schedule. The Unrestricted general reserves stood at £71,617 at 31[st] December 2021, representing 68% (2020: 37%) of our total running expenses in a normal year, including the costs of running the Hall. The PCC regards a minimum of 33% as a prudent level of free reserves to hold against swings in income and unexpected expenditures in a given year. Restricted Reserves of £79,569 held with the S.D.B.F. arising from the sale of our former curate’s house and a bequest, have been held for capital expenditure of an ecclesiastical nature. The investments resulting from these reserves generated interest and dividend income of £2,020 (2020: £2,125) which can be used to meet Parish running costs. Other restricted or designated reserves represent specific gifts or funds set aside for the purposes designated by the donors or the PCC. The major risks facing the Parish from a financial point of view are: - (i) Church Income. The total church income this year recovered from last year’s Covid-hit results and in fact reached virtually the same amount as the pre-Covid 2019 total. However, this was, to a large extent, due to a generous gift of £6,250 (incl. Gift Aid) from a parishioner, which made up for the drop in cash collections. We remain vulnerable to a decrease in giving due to a possible reduction in attendance at services as well as the ageing of our major giving parishioners On the cost side, further leaks in the church roof and our challenging electrical system have been costly and there remains a risk that such expense may continue. For example, recommended electrical remedial works of £2,680 resulting from the most recent 5 year inspection, remain in abeyance. As a consequence, major works such as an upgrade to the sound system and resurfacing of the car park have been put on hold. 7 Halls: Unexpected capital expenditures to maintain the premises and plant remain a risk. Again, recommended electrical remedial works of £2,815 resulting from the recent 5 year inspection have not been implemented. The main risk remains the loss of hirers due to Covid restrictions, not only in meeting on our premises, but individual classes losing clients and becoming unviable. However, this year income began to improve from May/ June onwards and we ended the year with total letting income of £38,476 compared with half that amount last year. A caveat is that one client who rented the Lodge for several weeks has not paid the £3,152 outstanding amount and remained a debtor at year end. General repairs to both the halls and church have been ably done by our Thursday Group at only the cost of materials. However, they are advancing in age and such work may not be able to be carried out in the future without employing professionals. - (ii) The possible restoration of the organ continues to be under consideration. Further progress depends on a successful application to the Diocese for a Faculty and acceptance by the PCC of a business plan and timetable, including determination of when and from where the funds to finance this project will be obtained. The current tentative estimate of cost is over £300,000. - (iii) Loss of parishioners and/or a reduction in pledged donations. With an elderly parish, there is always the risk of a drop off in pledges not being replaced by new ones. A renewal of giving campaign has not been undertaken for some years now – the last one was in April 2012 – but thought might be given to other forms of encouragement. The recent introduction of gifts by electronic payment is one example. - (iv) Any significant increase in the Parish Support Fund. The Parish is asked annually to make a financial pledge of the amount they will give the following year to fund the ministry and mission of the Diocese (including the cost of clergy). The Parish pledged £58,000 for 2021 which is allocated to Diocesan Ministry costs (£31,900); Parish support (£8,250) and a contribution to other parishes in the Diocese (£17,850). The pledge for next year was increased to £59,000. The PCC monitors the expenditures through its Standing and Finance Committees and any major expenses are carefully investigated and controlled. Wherever possible, provisions are set aside for anticipated capital expenditures. The PCC has asked for an overall capital expenditure plan, differentiating between known annual projects and longer term requirements, as well as between operationally necessary works and “nice to have” proposals. The initial work on the plan has begun and will be completed as a priority once the Covid-19 situation permits. 8 The PCC undertakes a periodic review of giving by all Parishioners and actively promotes the Gift Aid tax recovery system, resulting in £12,234 (200: £13,125) being recovered from HM Revenue & Customs in 2021. ## **11. MOVEMENT IN RESERVE FUNDS** ||**11. MOVEMENT IN**
**RESERVE FUNDS**||| |---|---|---|---| ||Fund name
Not
e|Balance
at
Income
Spent
Transf
ers|Revaluat
ion
Balance| |||01-Jan-
21|gains/los
ses
31-Dec-
21| ||Restricted||| ||SDBF A/C 804
1|66,654.
03
1,721.2
7
0.00
-
2,019.
99|5,141.14
71,496.
45| ||SDBF A/C 572
1|6,300.8
7
298.72
0.00|1,473.11
8,072.7
0| ||Gifts and Special
Appeals|781.23
400.77
342.00|0.00
840.00| ||Penny Norris
Bequest
2|0.00
10,000.
00
0.00|0.00
10,000.
00| |||73,736.
13
12,420.
76
342.00|6,614.25
90,409.
15| ||Designated||| ||Church
Maintenance
3|23,311.
76
1,202.7
8|2,334.53
24,443.
51| ||Halls
Maintenance
4|27,213.
92
1,372.4
0|2,587.87
28,429.
39| ||Mission
5|80,345.
89
9,689.2
6|8,046.14
78,702.
77| ||Stonework|27,298.
08|2,733.73
30,031.
81| ||Caretaking|34,375.
56|3,442.50
37,818.
06| ||Organ
6|31,537.
07
63.00|3,153.53
34,753.
60| ||Choir
7|1,366.7
0
110.00|136.87
1,393.5
7| ||Grant
8|0.00
2,275.0
0
0.00|0.00
2,275.0
0| |||225,448
.98
2,338.0
0
12,374.
44|22,435.1
7
237,847
.71| ||Unrestricted||| 9 ||General
Purposes
9|51,528.
96
122,445
.00
109,537
.00
2,019.
99
5,160.27
71,617.
22| |---|---|---| ||TOTAL|350,714
.07
137,203
.76
122,253
.44
0.00
34,209.6
9
399,874
.08| ||**NOTES**|| 1. Interest of £2,020 on these investments was transferred to General Purposes Fund in accordance with SDBF guidelines, allowing the income, but not the capital, to be used to meet Parish 2. A bequest was received restricted to renovation of the hall "office" for small meetings in memory of Penny Norris who died in January 2021 3. Church boiler repairs had to be undertaken due to flooding in the boiler room 4. We installed a new neon welcome sign in the hall foyer (£572) and various electrical refurbishments were completed in the foyer and main hall (£800) 5. 80% of the cost of the Lay Pastoral Assistant had been charged to tis Fund per PCC resolution dated 27/1/21. The balance of the cost has been charged to Church expenses 6. Fee income was received from 3 funerals 7. £110 RSCM 2021 subscription fees were charged to this Fund 8. See Note 12 below 9. The fund was increased by £2,020 interest transfer from Restricted Fund investments. £3,170 was provided for charitable giving. Total income and total expenditure are shown in more detail in the Statement of Financial Activities. ## **12. Grants** We applied for, and in May, received a Croydon Episcopal Area Special Grant to be spent on "innovative pieces of mission in the local Church community". The PCC decided this would be used to create and run a programme for people affected by Dementia and their carers called A Place to be Café. A professional manager would be employed and activities would be staffed by volunteers. xls\st marks\movement in reserve funds 10 Independent Fxaminer's Report ¢0 the PCC of St. Mark's Church, Woodcotc I report 01) tlic accounts For tlie ￿'tar ended 31" December 2021, whi¢h arc sel oul on the stalcment of financial a¢tivilies, balaiice qheel and associated iiot¢s. Respective responsibilities of the members of Éhe Parochial Church Council (PCC) and the Independent Examiner As tl)e members of tli¢ PCC you are r#sponsible for the preparation of the accouiits- J'oii consider that an audil is not requirLd for hi.s year under.scction 144(2) of the Charities A¢t 2011 (the 2011 Act) aiid that an independent examiiiatioii IS iieeded. It is Iny responsibilily to.. examine thc accounts uiider section 145 of tl)e 2U I I ALt. follo￿." tlie procedurc8 laid down in the General Directions giveii by tlie Charity Cominissioi)¢rs Section 145(5)(b) of tlie 201 l Act State wh￿her particular matters liave come to Iny attention. Basis of Independent Examiner's Statement My cxainination was carried out in accordance iyiili the General Directions giNen b), tlie Charity Cotnmission. An eAainiiiation includes a review of the accounting records kept by the PCC and a coinparison of the accounts preseiitcd with tliose record8. It al%0 iiicludcs coiisideratioii of any ui)ugual items or disclosurcs ill the accounts. and seekiiig explaiiations froin vou as trustees coiicerning? any sucli matters. The pro¢edures undertaken do not pro￿lde all Il)e evidence that WOLild be required in a fiill audit, and ns¢qu¢ntly I do iiot express an audit opinioi) 011 tli¢ accounts. Independent Examiner's Statement In connectioii with my examiiiation, no Inatters l)ave ¢oine to my attentioii'.- (l) Ivliich giv¢s me reasonable cause to believe that iii any material respect the requireinents to keep accoiinlii)g recc)rd5 ii) accoi"danc¢ ￿,1117 s¢Gtion 130 of tlie 201 l Act. or to prepare accouiits wliicli accord witli tliese accounting records liave not been met. 01- (2) to which, in my opinion, attcnlion should be dram'n in order to eiiable a proper understaiiding of tlie accounts to be reached. zvJ31TrL Andrew Ilarker, F.C.C.A. 57, The Fieldings, soilth￿'alcr, Horsham, W. Sussex RHI 3 9LZ Dated.