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2020-12-31-accounts

Diocese of Liverpool

St John - Ainsdale

Annual Report 2020

The Parochial Church Council of the

Ecclesiastical Parish of Ainsdale St John

Annual Report of the Parochial Church Council

Incorporating the Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2020 Charity Number 1128996

Diocese of Liverpool

St John - Ainsdale

Annual Report 2020

Contents

Introduction by the vicar 3
PCC Membership 4
**TRUSTEES’ REPORT **
Section 1: Vision, Mission and Objectives 5
Aim and purposes
Vision and Mission
Progress against 2020 objectives
Section 2: Review of the Year 7
2a: Supporting our congregation - worship and pastoral care
2b. Supporting our children and young people
2c. Supporting the wider church
2d. Supporting the wider community and providing fellowship
Section 3: Our Church School and Nursery 24
Section 4: Our Infrastructure 27
Section 5: Financial Review 28
Section 6: Acknowledgements and contacts 30
Section 7: Structure, Management and Governance 31
Section 8: Administrative Information 32
**FINANCIAL STATEMENTS **
Independent Examiner’s Report 33
Financial Statement - General Fund Receipts and Payments 34
Financial Statement – Other Funds 35
Statement of Assets and Liabilities; Notes 36

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Diocese of Liverpool

St John - Ainsdale

Annual Report 2020

Introduction by the vicar

As I write this it is a year since I was licensed as your vicar. I remember saying at that wonderful celebratory service I am sure I will be flipped about a bit with being licensed on Pancake Tuesday. Little did I know what was in store for me, or for any of us for that matter. It is hard to believe that we have been in these challenging times now for a whole year and the Covid pandemic has impacted on everyone’s lives in one way or another.

Pre Covid, St John’s was a vibrant, growing church with a real commitment to the spiritual, pastoral and emotional support for its parishioners and as a centre for community activities. But as guidelines dictated that churches must close, or

remain open under strict risk assessment, we were tasked with thinking how do we do church outside the building. How do we maintain a visible presence in the community and show God’s love to His people here in this part of the kingdom, including offering worship?

This was a stark reminder that God calls his people to be the church, and the gifts God blesses us all with can still be used for his glory, even when the building was closed, but we needed to pray and think differently as to how we were to use our gifts.

Thanks to the number of many gifted and talented people we have been blessed that the worship and parish life of the church has continued, albeit in different ways, from maintaining church services and being open for private prayer when the rules permitted, offering a weekly Sunday service and mid-week reflections on YouTube, to reaching out to people in their own homes with gifts at Advent, Lent, plus children’s activities and the Care Group and a newly formed Buddy Group to keep contact with those on their own.

We have maintained our strong relationship and support of Churches Together in Ainsdale and to our church school family, and have continued to provide support to jobseekers through our Christians Against Poverty (CAP) programmes and to children and young people in Ainsdale through our support of the Impact youth group.

Despite the challenging and sad times there have been blessings that have come out of it. We have been able to be church outside the building in various ways throughout the year.

There has been a financial impact of the Pandemic. Significant elements of our income streams have either dropped drastically or disappeared completely, whilst commitments such as upkeep, have stayed the same. So we know we face this challenge in the coming year.

But this is God’s church and we are called to be His people so despite the challenges we face we have the assurance that if we listen to God’s direction all will be well.

It is essential that all that we do is rooted in prayer, and we pray that God will direct us to where we focus our energy, mindful that when it’s God’s plan, not our own plan, ministry and mission will flourish. We are God’s people and this is God’s church.

We are reminded of this in the word from Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

So despite the unforeseen challenges ahead of us, may God bless you and may you trust in the love of God to direct our path so that we have more people knowing Jesus and more justice in the world and we live as disciples in the power of the Holy Spirit.

With love and blessings,

Rev Jane Morgan MBE

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Diocese of Liverpool

St John - Ainsdale

Annual Report 2020

PCC Membership

The following comprises the PCC as at April 2021:

Incumbent: Rev. Jane Morgan PCC Chair Readers: Eirlys Jessop Churchwardens: Lesley Phipps PCC Vice Chair Chris Thursfield PCC Vice Chair Deanery Synod Reps: Paul Ellis Jean Washbourne Elected Members (and Trustees): Helen Parker PCC Secretary Ruth Wake PCC Treasurer Kate Corey Steve Cox Linda Davies John Forshaw Frank Hyland Lindsay Jessop Val Sinnott Ann Walton

Members of the PCC are the charity trustees and are the 'persons having the general control and management of the administration of the charity' (Charities Act 2011, s177).

During lockdown the PCC held meetings via zoom.

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Diocese of Liverpool

St John - Ainsdale

Annual Report 2020

Section 1: Vision, Mission and Objectives

Aim and purposes

The primary objective of St John's Church Parochial Church Council (PCC) is to promote the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ and to cooperate with the incumbent, the Reverend Jane Morgan, in promoting in the parish, the whole mission of the Church, pastoral, evangelistic, social and ecumenical.

Vision and Mission

Our Church Mission document states our Vision as:

‘Sharing God’s Love, Serving One Another’

and our Mission is:

‘Demonstrating God’s love by supporting families throughout their lives: as children; as adults; as parents; and when they need someone just to listen such as at times of bereavement’

When planning our activities for the year, the PCC have considered the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit and, in particular, the specific guidance on charities for the advancement of religion.

In supporting our Mission, as a Church our activities and efforts are focused on:

  1. Letting God touch the lives of others by providing imaginative, varied, inspiring and entertaining worship.

  2. Helping and nurturing all those who wish to explore and deepen their relationship with God by providing opportunities for bible study, prayer and Christian fellowship in a safe family- friendly environment.

  3. Providing practical support for children, adults and parents to encourage and support them through key events in their lives such as changing schools, weddings, becoming parents, sickness and times of bereavement.

  4. Equipping and supporting each other as members of the church family to be Christians in a modern world: at home; at work; with friends and in our local community.

  5. Helping to transform lives of those in need in Ainsdale through providing a safe haven for quiet contemplation and practical support for those in need of help.

The success criteria we apply to our activities are:

  1. An active church family where all members are included and valued for who they are. To respect each other’s style of worship, encourage involvement, and contribute to the whole life of the Church including our Church School, with their talents and abilities.

  2. Centred on God, letting Him lead us into the future He has prepared for us.

  3. Growing in faith as we serve our community in Ainsdale.

To facilitate the above, it is important that we maintain the fabric of the Church building and adjacent hall complex.

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Diocese of Liverpool

St John - Ainsdale

Annual Report 2020

Progress against 2020 objectives

A full set of objectives for 2020 were set at the start of the year. However, the impact of Covid-19, including the extended closure of the Church building during lockdown, led us to re-evaluate these and focus on the following immediate Mission priorities for 2020. Further details can be found in Section 2.

These remain our priorities for 2021 whilst restrictions continue to be in place. As we start to emerge from lockdown we will reassess further objectives.

Objective Status 2020 Achievements
Maintain regular
contact with our
Church family,
including our young
people, especially at
times when they are
not able to meet in
person. Continue to
provide opportunities
for worship and
spiritual reflection - in
Church (when
permitted) and online.		 During lockdown we found ways to stay in contact with the whole church
family. This was quite a challenge as there was a wide range of age ranges and
needs. We had to consider people who did not have access to the internet and
maintained contact by telephone and printing out newsletters. We delivered
sunflowers, advent bags and Christingle bags to people on the electoral roll.
We have continued with church services when it was safe to do so but in
addition, we have compiled YouTube services which were enjoyed by a wide
range of people and were invaluable for those self-isolating. DVDs of the
services were offered to those with no access to the internet. The children
participated in the YouTube services and there is a slot in these services for the
children incorporating bible stories, prayers. songs and craft activities. The
Junior PCC met via zoom. We also maintained contact with the families of
children who normally come to church. Overall people are getting to know
each other better and newfriendships have beenformed.
Support those in our
community who are
vulnerable, isolated or
disadvantaged.
Provide practical help
where needed.		 We adopted a buddy system to ensure everyone who wants regular contact
receives frequent telephone calls. We offered practical help, for example, with
shopping and collecting prescriptions for those isolating or fearful of going out.
We also have a prayer circle to offer support and comfort through prayer. Our
YouTube services were enjoyed by people who were self-isolating and helped
them feel connected with the community. We delivered DVDs of the YouTube
services, paper copies of the morning prayers and newsletters in recognition
that the elderly and disadvantaged do not always have access to the Internet.
Regular foodbank donations continued throughout 2020. Our Christmas
appeal was in aid of Asylum Link Merseyside.
Provide practical and
spiritual support for
children, staff and
families at school and
nursery.		 We have offered strong practical help to the nursery supporting them with
health and safety issues and practicalities such as allowing them to use the
committee room when they needed extra space. We have long established
strong links between the Church and School. Church members provided
recorded worship to use within class bubbles. Jane provided pastoral support
and through the Governors we continued to offer support, advice and
assurance across many aspects of school life. As we moved through the
different phases of the lockdown this included specific advice and assurance
around school closures, home schooling, provision for key workers, and the
safe reopening of school to all children. The nursery and the school have made
use of Church when lockdown restrictions have allowed.
Continue to offer access
to Job Club resources
including, when
possible, restarting face
to face activities.		 We have continued to give practical and financial support to CAP Job Club.
Overall, in 2020 the Job Club helped 17 people who either attended Job Club or
sought help over the phone. To date six people have been successful in
obtaining employment. The Job Club has received very positive feedback from
their clients.

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Diocese of Liverpool

St John - Ainsdale

Annual Report 2020

Section 2: Review of the Year

2a: Supporting our congregation – worship and pastoral care

Worship services pre lockdown

The year started with worship following our usual program of Sunday and midweek services. These were led by either visiting clergy or one of our readers as our period of interregnum continued. Average attendance at services during the first quarter of 2020 was:

From February 2020, Bibles were handed out at the services and members of the congregation were encouraged to follow the readings. The aim was for more people to read the Bible at home which would assist discussions about themes. The distribution of Bibles was well received until we had to stop the practice due to COVID-19 restrictions. We look forward to resuming this practice when it is safe to do so.

Candlemas service

In February, our Junior PCC compiled and led a special ‘Share the Light’ Candlemas service, with dramatized bible readings, prayers and a short talk.

The children gave out battery powered candles to the congregation as a reminder that Jesus is the light of the world.

Sue Mitchell, the Children and Families Missioner for the

Diocese, attended the service. She said she was genuinely moved by the whole service and it was the brightest Sunday she had had in a long time.

Welcoming our new vicar - Jane’s induction service

On Tuesday 25 February over 230 members of the church family and clergy gathered to witness and celebrate the licensing of our new vicar Jane Morgan by The Rt. Revd Beverley A Mason, Bishop of Warrington and the induction and installation by Pete Spiers, Archdeacon of the Diocese of Liverpool.

The arrival of a new incumbent in a parish is always an important event. For Jane it was a new sphere of work; for the members of the Church and the people of the parish,

it was a new chapter in the worship and life of the whole community.

To mark this new beginning, we came together to offer ourselves afresh to God for the work of the Gospel. This service was both a legal ceremony and an Act of Worship, which reminded us of our shared responsibility for the proclamation of the Gospel and the service of God's People.

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Diocese of Liverpool

St John - Ainsdale

Annual Report 2020

This was both a joyful and solemn occasion. The church was filled with people who wished to share this special occasion. The service was followed by refreshments which was an opportunity to celebrate and socialise. This was also an opportunity for Jane to thank everyone who organised her induction service and made it such a well organised, enjoyable, joyful and Holy Spirit filled occasion. Many people commented on the wonderful uplifting service and the welcome and hospitality received from St John's.

Covid-19 lockdown and the move online

Following the Prime Minister’s announcements in March 2020, the church building was closed after our services on Sunday 15 March as part of the national COVID19 lockdown of all places of worship.

Despite physical attendance being curtailed, the amazing fact was that CHURCH WAS NOT CLOSED for we, the people, are the church, not the building. To continue to worship as a church, we initiated a weekly online YouTube service. This ‘Service of the Word’ was recorded by our Vicar, or one of our readers, with a children’s slot from Linda Davies, a bible reading and intercessions led by a member of the congregation, and worship lead by our organist Paul, members of the choir and Giles from our music group.

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Diocese of Liverpool

St John - Ainsdale

Annual Report 2020

The online content was expertly compiled by Giles Davies. When Giles first offered to put these together at the outset of the first lockdown, he, like everyone else, did not expect it would carry on for more than a year!

At the beginning everyone contributing to the services had to learn new skills, or at least brush up long forgotten skills, in video making, file compressing/uploading and video editing. It is testament to all the people involved that within a very short space of time we were publishing good quality content which could hold its own alongside some of the ‘professional’ services circulating on YouTube. This is especially remarkable as all our content was made on equipment we already had and no specialist ‘gear’ had to be purchased. Old video cameras were dusted off, iPhones/iPads; laptops and old cameras were repurposed and put to use to provide all the video clips appearing each week during the service.

As well as a weekly service, we also put together a series of midweek reflections and fun video montages such as the St John’s ‘Pet Show’ and ‘Sunflower reflection’.

During the ten-month period from March to December 2020 we had a total of 7,574 hits, which was fantastic.

The PCC are extremely grateful to Giles and all those who contributed to the online content.

Anyone can subscribe to our YouTube Channel by going to the Church YouTube channel

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCiwHvmLEQum4I9LhVBdYx5w

Once subscribed if you click the bell icon you will receive a notification of any new content published. Alternatively a link appears on the Church website and Facebook page each.

Zoom coffee mornings

With the introduction of the online services, we also introduced a weekly zoom coffee morning as an opportunity for people to socialise virtually with others. These have been particularly valuable to people living on their own during lockdown.

Socially-distanced worship!

Churches were allowed to reopen for public worship on Sunday 9 August. From that point, we held a said communion service with socially distanced seating, a booking service to reserve seating, hand sanitation and other precautions in place. This cautious approach was necessary to ensure we provided a safe environment for worship. We also held a midweek said communion service on a Wednesday morning – again maintaining precautions including social distancing and operating a booking system. Average attendances at these services were:

Sundays – 32 Adults & 2 Children

Wednesdays – 16 Adults

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Diocese of Liverpool

St John - Ainsdale

Annual Report 2020

This pattern of worship in the Church building continued, except for a second period of enforced Church closures from 16 November through to 7 December when we resumed our Sunday & Wednesday said communion services for the rest of 2020. Throughout this time we continued to provide the recorded YouTube services

Christmas 2020

Due to the Covid restrictions, our Christmas celebrations for 2020 had to be scaled back but we still managed to hold a number of lovely events during December to help celebrate Jesus’ birthday.

We held a very popular carol service outside in the church grounds. This was an opportunity for us to get together and sing carols in a safely distanced way.

Jane and Paul Hooton led a Christingle Service which we live streamed from church in to each school classroom and to young families at home. Christingle bags were prepared which contained all the items needed to make up a Christingle. We distributed the bags to school and church members on the electoral roll and received very positive feedback.

The Junior PCC also led our Crib Service which was held in Church and also live streamed for those at home. Through a combination of spoken word and recorded video messages they retold the story of Jesus’ birth from the perspective of each of the main characters, including the donkey!

Choir and music group

As with all church-based activities, singing in church was severely impacted by the pandemic.

The choir sung at 22 services, including Jane's induction service, and met for only 8 choir practices before collective singing was banned. When lock-down was eased slightly in December, the choir were allowed to have one or two 'bubbles' of people sing at the morning service and 10 members led singing at the outdoor carol service.

The worship band also supported a wide range of events through the year including the 10.30 service when it met prior to lockdown, Jane’s Installation Service, online YouTube services, the children's groups, Messy Church and school collective worship.

Overall, the music and singing greatly helped to boost morale, particularly in the times when group singing was not allowed. We won't be taking the ability to sing and make music for granted in a hurry!

The PCC are very grateful for the faithful dedication of all those who help lead our worship.

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Diocese of Liverpool

St John - Ainsdale

Annual Report 2020

Baptism initiative

Our first baptism in 2020 was to take place in March and on Mothering Sunday. Unfortunately, the lockdown and church closure meant that this baptism had to be postponed, and further restrictions prevented other baptisms taking place for some time.

Many families decided to postpone their child’s baptism until conditions would be more favourable. We have kept in regular contact in the meantime and they are included in our emails to Supaclub families. We were, however, able to have three socially distanced baptisms in the final months of 2020, and welcomed three new members to our church family.

Baptisms are such an important part of our mission, and we are grateful to those members of our congregation who have continued to knit and crochet blankets, and those praying for the families. Please pray also for those awaiting baptisms, that these can take place again soon. We want the families to know that we are here to offer support and encouragement as their children grow.

St Johns was in the first cohort to be involved in The Three Steps to Christenings Initiative during the past three years, and the national Church and our Diocese continue to give ongoing support. It is good to hear that our feedback on the positive experiences we have been able to build here at St. John’s is appreciated, and being used to assist other parishes in their Ministry, and even in the training of Ordinands.

W@9

Prior to the March lockdown, a small group of parents and grandparents met in Church once a month before the restrictions for tea, toast and a chat after dropping children off at school or nursery. This was followed by the school joining for informal worship. There are plans to review and develop this when the restrictions are lifted.

Care Group

The Care Group started in 2002 with the purpose of bringing together a group of ordinary members of the congregation who could assist the clergy in the pastoral work of visiting people in the parish of all ages and in any kind of need. They speak to people by telephone if someone wants to talk but does not want a face-toface visit.

The restrictions meant that during 2020 the group have not been able to visit people in their homes, hospital or care homes, or take communion to the sick and housebound. However, members of the Care Group have been in contact with each other and with isolated people by telephone and have assisted in delivering packs for Advent and Lent to people’s homes, and a CD of the Christmas music from our church to those who are unable to access the internet.

The prayer circle is now operated through e mail and has enabled people in trouble to be prayed for as soon as a request is received.

At the start of lockdown, a buddy system was initiated to support vulnerable, lonely and isolated people by ensuring that they received regular telephone calls and offers of practical help, such as shopping.

During 2020 we started to pray for every street in Ainsdale , focusing on a few streets each week during our private prayer and weekly service intercessions.

Jane, Heather and Nancy hope to relaunch the Care Group’s face to face activities as soon as people are able to meet again, to build on the experience we have gained during lockdown and develop new ideas for reaching out to those in need in our community.

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Diocese of Liverpool

St John - Ainsdale

Annual Report 2020

Newsletters and morning prayers

Jane has sent out a weekly email enclosing prayers and Bible readings. In this email she also encloses her weekly news items. Paper copies of the newsletters and morning prayers have been made available for people with no internet access.

Advent bags

We sent Advent bags to everyone on the Electoral roll.

The bags contained ideas for activities and five tea lights in the Advent colours. Members of our Junior PCC designed the Christmas cards which were placed in each bag.

These bags were well received and helped develop people’s knowledge and understanding of Advent. It also provided an opportunity to connect with people and check that everyone was coping OK with the Lockdown.

As a result of us ‘reaching out’ in new ways through lock-down, people have got to know each other better and new friendships are developing. Overall, we hope that people have seen that we are very friendly and welcoming at St John’s.

… and finally

We couldn’t complete this section of our 2020 report without saying a massive thank you to Sarah Hope.

Sarah has been such a huge part of St John’s for most of her life. You name a job at Church and Sarah has probably done it! From running Sunday school, Messy Church, youth clubs and camps, to leading bible discussions, preaching and nurturing and supporting others, Sarah’s dedication to God and His church has been an inspiration for so many. She was even a regular in the St John’s panto back in the day!

Sarah moved to the North East in 2020 and as a result formally resigned as a reader and a member of the PCC at St John’s. She will be sorely missed by everyone but we are so pleased that she has settled in to her new home so well and know God will bless her as she continues His work.

The restrictions meant that we weren’t able to give Sarah the send-off she

deserves before moving, but once we are able to, we hope to hold a proper celebration of her time at St John’s.

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Diocese of Liverpool

St John - Ainsdale

Annual Report 2020

2b. Supporting our children and young people

"Children are a gift from the Lord - a real blessing" Psalm 127

At St John’s we are blessed with opportunities to nurture so many little ones and to see them grow. However, at the beginning of lockdown it was difficult to see the way forward and how we would continue to engage and nurture our youngest members. We have had to quickly learn new skills and ways to adapt, giving thanks to God for the wonders of modern technology. In every aspect of our ministry to the young people in our church family, the work continues. We have found fresh ways to connect with the children and their families, and to share faith in the home. However, we do look forward to the days when we can be together in one place again.

Supaclub on Sundays

We began the year with our young people and their parents being able to come to church and worship as part of the larger church family. They could go off to their groups in the school and come back to share what they had learned and made. With the move to the online YouTube service, we were keen to ensure that the children remained part of it and so we included their own Supaclub slot with a Bible story and a gospel message, and often a craft. It has been so encouraging to have our young people participate in this session – reading God’s word, sharing their prayers and helping with craft making activities. It is great to see their confidence grow as they find that they make an important contribution to our worship. A regular email is sent to Supaclub families with church news and resources to help them share faith at home, and encouraging them to send in videos and photos of their activities. Parents and children do miss coming to church and meeting their friends, and we wanted to keep regular contact with them until we can do just that.

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Diocese of Liverpool

St John - Ainsdale

Annual Report 2020

Junior PCC

The Junior PCC held regular meetings using zoom when restrictions prevented meeting in person. The aim of the group, which reports in to the full PCC, is to encourage young people to take a more active role in the Church and help develop Church activities. Our Junior PCC members have generated some excellent ideas such as the Garden of Hope. Each member of the congregation was given a bulb at the service to plant either at home or in the garden of hope in the church grounds. The flowers will be a symbol of hope when they grow in the spring.

Messy Church

This year we said goodbye to Sarah Hope. Alongside the other parts of her ministry here, she had been the enthusiastic co-ordinator of our Messy Church sessions for many years. As these sessions took place in our church building, they had to be postponed for most of 2020. However, Sarah was able to organise, at the beginning of the lockdowns, bags of activities and resources which were left in the church porch for individual families to collect and “get messy” at home. These were accompanied by an on-line video session to share.

The Event

We held our final EVENT in 2020 finishing on a high with a Mr & Mrs Quiz and a rerun of one of favourite Messy Games from the last four years – bobbing donuts! The EVENT has been a great opportunity to reach out to new families, especially those with children in Junior school. Since we started in 2017 the ‘Saturday Night Takeaway’ style format has mixed challenges, competitions and messy games with thought provoking songs and drama that share the gospel message. Since we started in 2017, The EVENT has been a very successful part of St John’s ministry. Over the 17 times it has run, we have welcomed around 1,000 young children and adults. However, we also want to make sure we keep things fresh and exciting and so at the start of 2020 we decided that our February EVENT was to be the last one and that we would explore new ideas for reaching out to children and families post pandemic.

Supaclub on Mondays and Supaclub Xtra

The restrictions in place due to the pandemic meant that we could not run these groups for Year 5 and Year 6 children at St John’s. However, we have still been able to engage with school worship during the past year – including zoom sessions in the classrooms, the donation and presentation of Bibles to Year 6, and the Christingle Service.

Confirmation

It had been our plan to incorporate some topics in the School Year 5 and 6 sessions which would assist the children in making an informed decision to be Confirmed. We did have some young people willing to be confirmed in 2020 and we trust that their Confirmation can go forward in 2021.

Impact open youth club

This was originally established at St. John’s to assist the children in year 6 with their transition to high school. However, the group now attracts young people from across the local area. The leaders represent church denominations across Ainsdale – the Village Church, St John Stone, the Methodist Church and, of course, St. John’s, alongside Hettie and David Taberner of the Southport and Area School Workers Trust. In recognition of its inter-denominational appeal and potential, Impact is now run as a project of the Trust and supported through Churches Together in Ainsdale. More than half of our membership comprises children who attended St. John’s school. Before lockdown, we had between 18 and 24 young people coming to sessions. The restrictions with the pandemic meant that, in March, our sessions in the Methodist Hall ceased. However, the leaders take part and share in a weekly Zoom session. We still have a nucleus of about 12 regulars, who enjoy the mix of fun games and challenges and exploration of faith topics, with strong relationships being formed. It is a “safe space” and an opportunity for the young people to share their feelings and experiences. The

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Diocese of Liverpool

St John - Ainsdale

Annual Report 2020

ROOTED Journals produced by Scripture Union have also been an excellent tool to help share ideas about faith and God’s love. Mobile phone apps are also a boon for interactive quizzes and discussion.

Jars of joy

We prepared ‘jars of joy’ for Impact members and Junior PCC.

These enclosed items which helped the youngsters deal with their emotions and explore different issues.

The young people were delighted to receive these thoughtful gifts.

Little John’s Baby and Toddler Group

It has been a sad year for Little John’s. As a result of the COVID-19 restrictions we have not been able to meet since early March 2020. Early on, we had to take the reluctant decision to close our doors as it would have been impossible to maintain any social distancing between the toddlers without severely restricting their play and social interaction. It was a very hard decision but the right one. We have thought a lot about opening our doors again as restrictions have eased at times but have erred on the side of caution. With hindsight, this again was the right thing to do.

We did enjoy the very early part of 2020 and continued to welcome our regular little ones with their mums or grandparents, as well as families who just ‘dropped in’ occasionally. As soon as the restrictions ease and it is safe for everyone, we will be happy to welcome everyone back into church on a Wednesday afternoon for fun, play, singing, dancing, snacks and good conversation for the adults.

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Diocese of Liverpool

St John - Ainsdale

Annual Report 2020

Sandbrook District Rainbow, Brownies and Guides

The groups have had a challenging year finding ways to meet up virtually using zoom and making adaptations to the guide programme when needed. They have continued to give the girls great experiences and challenges thanks to the dedication and enthusiasm of their guide leaders.

The 17th St Johns Guide Unit – report by Vanessa Riley

Well, 2020 meetings came to an abrupt halt in March when we hit the COVID19 pandemic. However, in good guiding spirit, we embraced the situation, never before in my 38years of being a 17th Guides leader have we been unable to do our weekly meetings so we moved over to virtually meeting on zoom.

This has been a great success, guides have worked on and achieved many interest badges at home Geocaching, Fitness, Photography, Media critic to name a few. We have carried on following the guide programme making many adaptations to the Unit meeting activities and skills builders. We have baked Mug cakes, Sweet dough ball with melted chocolate and sprinkles (my favourite) and pizzas. Leaders have made up resource packs and done front door drop offs to enable the guides to have everything required for zoom activities.

In July we were able to meet in the church garden and had afternoon tea to present the Gold Awards to our older Guides who have since moved on to join Rangers. We also had 2 face to face guide meetings in the church garden in September before we went into a tier system which left us unable to meet again, it was great to see all the guides and follow some normal meeting structure. We have managed to welcome brownies into guides and enrolled the girls on zoom and made them part of our unit.

We have taken part in a County virtual camp allowing guides to sleep anywhere but their beds, indoor dens, camping in the back garden and lots of activities to join in with.

Despite not being able to meet in the church we are enjoying carrying on guiding via zoom and look forward to the time when we can go back to normal and meet indoors again.

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Diocese of Liverpool

St John - Ainsdale

Annual Report 2020

15th Ainsdale Brownies – report by Joanne York (Tawny Owl)

What a year!

We started 2020 with a spot of stargazing, Chinese New Year, work toward theme awards and took part in Thinking Day challenges.

During the last weekend of February 2020, we went to PGL Winmarleigh Hall just outside Preston. It was wet and windy but the girls had lots of fun completing various activities including: archery abseiling, zip-lining, orienteering and giant swing.

We were able to complete our Mother’s Day activities and a final Church Parade in March and then Lockdown happened.

Not to be discouraged the leaders embraced technology and we then continued virtually on Zoom! Some highlights:

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Diocese of Liverpool

St John - Ainsdale

Annual Report 2020

performing for Brownies Got Talent. They also sent a photo of themselves as a baby so we could guess who the baby grew up to be. A loo roll was thrown virtually, and the girls also grew sunflowers.

Sadly the 38th Brownies closed so we welcomed 5 girls from that unit. We said goodbye to Harriet and Bella who achieved their Gold Awards and have joined Guides. Bella also completed all the interest badges - an amazing achievement.

In September, 9 Rainbows joined us and we held our first virtual enrolment ceremony. We now have 23 girls and feel so blessed that we are able to continue in a virtual sense.

A big Thank You must go to our lovely Brownies - their resilience throughout this time has been inspirational, they have embraced virtual meetings and have not lost their enthusiasm for Brownies.

Also, we could not continue without the support

of our fabulous parents - a lot of the activities have been adapted to be done at home and we couldn’t have done it without their help. So, a massive Thank You goes to them.

Hopefully sometime in 2021 we will be able to meet in person again but until then we will continue to meet via Zoom.

Ainsdale 2nd Rainbows – report by Ruth Leney

Rainbows have had an interesting year. Meetings are now being held weekly on Zoom on Tuesday. We have had girls moving up to Brownies and lots of girls joining us to form a full Rainbow unit. The Rainbows have gained interest badges, skill builders and theme badges and have shown their commitment to the Guiding Family.

The girls work hard while having fun- they particularly enjoy scavenger hunts around their houses and really enjoyed playing Christmas Bingo at our year end virtual party.

We are looking forward to a fun 2021 with an amazing County challenge to celebrate Girl Guiding North West 50th Anniversary along with many other exciting events!

The PCC would like to thank the leaders and helpers of all our Church groups, Rainbows, Brownies and Guides for their selfless commitment to teaching, supporting and nurturing all the young people. It really is appreciated.

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2c. Supporting the wider Church

Churches Together in Ainsdale (CTiA) is a fellowship of Christian Communities in Ainsdale. As a member of the CTiA and the wider Anglican Church, St John’s has continued to play an active role in the local and regional work of the Christian community.

St John’s takes working together with other Christians seriously, doing as many things together as we can. This has been a difficult time for meeting in person and presented us with many challenges. For many years we have worked across the churches in Ainsdale for unity. During this past year CTiA has needed to adapt to COVID-19 restrictions as their church buildings were closed. As a result, the churches have learnt how to embrace technology, with recordings, live streaming, YouTube services, Facebook articles and meetings held on Zoom; these have all been blessings.

The results of pulling together, during this last year, have been amazing. Outreach has been bigger than ever, reaching more people in their homes, their sacred space, than we ever managed to reach before. There seems to be a longing for the spiritual in lots of people, even if they do not always recognise it.

The Zoom meetings have become frank and open discussions, always with humour and love. The CTiA churches realise there are other ways of being with people and being church. So, we are exploring what the future may hold for us together.

It feels as if Ainsdale has reached out together. The Doctor’s surgery, Civic Society, the Lions charity shop and Compassion Acts, as well as the people who make up the individual churches, all became involved helping those in need. They contributed in many ways, with cash donations or essential donations of food and other items essential for wellbeing, for people who lost their jobs or just could not afford to feed their families as they struggled with home schooling and tried to make ends meet.

So how did this happen? Before the shutdown, some of us had attended a meeting about Transforming Lives for Good (TLG), a lunch provision for families struggling to feed their children during the school holidays. Joan Green from the United Reformed Church took the lead and was just building her team and getting volunteers in place when lockdown hit. This did not stop Joan: with the help of school headteachers and others she identified the needy families. We have been supporting her work, with 13 families receiving fortnightly bags of hope. At Christmas every church donated items to make up hampers for the 13 families, with the Lions donating new toys. Joan does this, on our behalf, with her large extended family. Apparently, there were tears on the doorsteps, from both sides, when these hampers were delivered at Christmas.

Some of the CTiA services, during this strange year, were held via YouTube where we couldn’t meet in person.

In March the CTiA managed to hold a couple of Lent Group together sessions before lockdown.

A Christian Aid walk with a difference took place in may. Individuals and couples got themselves sponsored and completed the walk. Some even ended up on Social Media and it was pleasing to see the effort that everyone put in.

On 13 June clergy and other members of the CTiA met on The Village Green at 2pm and knelt for eight minutes and 46 seconds, the length of time that the US police officer knelt on George Floyd’s neck. We were all deeply shocked by the brutality we saw against black people in America and we wanted to stand alongside those suffering and peacefully call for urgent change to address our own unconscious biases that lead us to discriminate against others.

The November Remembrance Day service was particularly extraordinary. It started with an aerial view of a drone flight around Ainsdale finally coming to rest above the War Memorial where the service started with silence. There were individuals, laying wreaths, representing the groups that normally attend. There was also a piper, which was good to hear.

In December we were able to hold a Blue Christmas service in St John’s. People from all the churches took part in this uplifting service for those feeling alone at Christmas. After the service those who were able went into the village and distributed the knitted Angels of Ainsdale into the trees and other hiding places for people to find the next day.

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We sang carols in the Village Church gardens, all two metres apart, on Christmas Eve. Lots of people gathered outside on the street as well as inside to join us. It was a wonderfully bright morning; a good start to Christmas for so many.

None of us know where we will be in the future or where the changes during this last year will lead us. But looking back it is good to see how far the churches have come.

Deanery Synod

Deanery Synod only met twice in 2020. The first of these meetings was before lock-down and was to discuss how to approach creating a new Deanery Mission Plan. This would be a plan on how we could better work together. All churches are finding it harder to recruit volunteers and raise money to carry out mission so if churches work together it should be possible to make better use of those limited resources.

The second meeting was to agree to the local formula for apportioning Parish Share across the Deanery. The Diocese has devolved this to the Deanery, with the Deanery now given a combined total to raise collectively. It is up to the Deanery as to how this is shared out between the local churches.

Further details of the Deanery Synod can be obtained from our representative Paul Ellis.

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2d. Supporting the wider community and providing fellowship

At St John’s we are extremely fortunate to have many skilled and dedicated people who run events, lead groups and organise fundraising activities that provide wider fellowship and support those most in need in our community and further afield.

In spite of the challenges presented by the Covid-19 restrictions, during lockdown we found ways to reach out and provide fellowship for those in the community. This was a significant challenge as we wanted to connect with everyone: local people; those who lived further afield; a wide range of age groups; people who were self-isolating; and people who did not have access to the internet.

The following were some of the ways we achieved this during 2020:

St John’s Job Club are working in partnership with Christians Against Poverty (CAP) to run a Job Club. The CAP Job Club is a tried and tested format with 156 Job Clubs across the country. By working with CAP, St John’s are delivering an effective service to help people step into work, even after years of unemployment. This includes materials to run our eight-week interactive Steps to Employment Course, covering topics such as identifying strengths, CV writing, and interview techniques. The course is designed to be an easy and effective way for us to practically equip club members, in a supportive environment that boosts confidence and morale. Through St John’s CAP job club, we can create a community that demonstrates God’s love in a relevant way.

Despite 2020 being a year like no other, the fabulous team of volunteers who run the Job Club managed to keep it open until 16[th] March, when they had no option but to close to ensure the safety of staff and clients alike. That said, up until it closed, we had eight clients attending at various times; of these 5 have managed to obtain employment and move on with their lives. One of the seven clients had just joined the Job Club on our last operational week, so we continued to support her developing a CV and searching for job opportunities, over the weeks and months from midMarch until she eventually obtained work. Here is what she had to say about the help she received from the team:

“I was only at job club for a short time, the volunteers were very welcoming, and helped me through a transitioning period, they helped with my CV and guided me through other steps I could take to find work. During lockdown, they helped me by phone and email and were always there to support me. I would strongly recommend to other job seekers.”

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When the church reopened in August after the national lockdown, the Job Club team made the decision to reopen on 12 October. They reviewed all the existing arrangements and made the decision to move into the church building to ensure the safety of staff and clients and meet the necessary COVID-19 requirements.

From October, they started a new Step towards Employment course and had 3 new clients attending. One of these have obtained employment and another has gone on to develop his own business plans. Since then, a further 3 clients joined and they have started another course to accommodate their needs. The Job Club continues to offer support to 4 clients currently, helping them develop CVs and search for employment.

At Christmas, the team were able to bless our clients by offering some chocolates and cakes to make Christmas just a bit more special. Overall, this year we have helped 17 clients, who either attended Job Club or sought help over the phone and 6 clients have obtained employment.

The PCC are extremely grateful to the skilled, dedicated and faithful team of volunteers who run the Job Club and make everyone feel so welcome and valued.

Parish Magazine

Before the Pandemic the magazine was published 10 times during a calendar year. In 2020, we published the magazine three times in January, February and March but then had to stop production due to the difficulties of managing production in the pandemic. However we produced a Christmas leaflet promoting services and other online activities which was delivered widely including to those who normally received the magazine.

Website and social media presence:

Our 2 websites continued to provide users with regular updates on our activities, services and other events during lockdown and tiered periods. Our main host website, www.stjohnsainsdale.org.uk, regularly attracted on average over 100 visitors each week and our wider community website,

www.achurchnearyou.com/church/15246/, attracted over 4,200 visitors during the year, or around 81 per week. We even had international access from the USA, Romania, Brazil and China! Most users accessed the site on a Sunday morning, but Mondays also proved to be popular, and the average time spent on each individual access was around 4 minutes. More and more people are accessing our sites from mobile devices, currently at 30%. The main website also contains our current COVID-19 policy and guidelines, risk assessments and other key documents and governance information. The sites are updated each week.

The Facebook page proved invaluable during 2020 with constant updates on services and activities. It was also lovely to see so many people sharing photos and reflections as a way of keeping in touch with the church community.

The PCC are extremely grateful to Lindsay Jessop and Chris York for all their hard work in maintaining this critical part of our ministry.

Support for other charitable organisations

The PCC is keen to support and work with other organisations with similar mission objectives. During 2020 we supported the following charitable organisations:

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Annual Report 2020

refugee, our donations supported Asylum Link Merseyside , a charity that offers practical support and friendship to refugees and asylum seekers on Merseyside. Their website address is: www.asylumlink.org.uk. We sent donations of food and toiletries and £320 to Asylum Link Merseyside to help destitute asylum seekers who receive no benefits at all and are not allowed to work.

Brainwave: The congregation of St John’s continued to support Natalie who has set herself a target of raising £30,000 towards Brainwave, a charity which has given her a great deal of support. Natalie has organised a number of fundraising events including ‘over the O2 with Olly’ and by March had already raised nearly £23,000. A fantastic achievement!

Hospice Africa: St John’s has supported Hospice Africa since its inception in both giving and prayers. Hospice Africa is a UK charity based on Merseyside. The vision for Hospice Africa is “Palliative care for all in need in Africa”. During 2020 Hospice Africa received donations from the congregation of St John’s for which it is extremely grateful.

Southport Food Bank: The Southport Food Bank was opened in 2013 to support adults and children who are suffering from food poverty within the Borough. The Food Bank helps people who are struggling to provide the essentials for their families. Throughout 2020 the Church congregation have donated food and toiletries on a regular basis, in spite of the practical difficulties due to COVID-19 restrictions. Whenever the church was open for private prayer or public worship, people dropped off contributions in the church. In addition, members of the church and school were asked to make contributions towards the foodbank at the Harvest Festival parade zoom service. The pandemic has resulted in many people suffering hardship and the foodbank has given much needed support to many families through these difficult times.

Jubilee Debt Campaign: We have supported the request by the governments of poor and vulnerable countries to cancel debt repayments during the COVID-19 crisis.

Queenscourt Hospice: The Queenscourt Christmas tree collection for 2020 was their most successful to date raising over £20,000. We supported their fundraiser by letting them use our car park and it was only with support from the local community that this fundraiser was possible.

Christian Aid is an international development agency that enables us to respond to Christ's command to care for all in need. Everything Christian Aid does is in response to God’s gift to the world, of his son Jesus Christ. Jesus promised ‘good news’ for the poor and ‘freedom’ for the oppressed, calling us all to action.

Jesus called his followers to ‘love God and love your neighbour’. Through his life and teaching, his death and his resurrection, he inspired his followers to love God,

love their neighbours and long for justice. Our faith in God, and in his loving relationship with us, gives us confidence and hope that poverty can be ended, despite all that might stand in the way.

For many years, St John’s has supported the work of Christian Aid. In 2018 and 2019, we joined in with CTiA (Churches Together in Ainsdale) and held a sponsored walk, a “Big Brekkie and cake sale” and did a small amount of House-to-House collections.

Like everything else last year, we had to do things differently. With restrictions meaning anything in groups or communally was not allowed, a few members of St John’s (still with CTiA) decided to walk individually, or in family bubbles, and took on the challenge of 300,000 steps in May (10,000 steps per day).

The weather was kind, meaning everyone who took up the challenge (including the vicar’s dog, who with his paws clocked up double the steps) finished and together we raised over £3,400. We also held an online ecumenical service to raise awareness of the additional challenges developing countries are facing coping with a pandemic. Their challenges are many and we are privileged to be able to help and support them and look forward to doing so again in 2021.

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Section 3: Our Church School and Natterjacks Nursery

Working in partnership

As a Church it is a privilege to work in partnership with our Church School and Natterjacks Day Nursery to help support and nurture the children in their care as they develop academically, physically and spiritually.

We maintain strong links between the Church and School through the Rainbow Group which supports the Christian Ethos within the school, oversees worship and RE activities, supports partnership working, and coordinates services and other joint events between Church and School.

Since the opening of the Natterjacks Day Nursery at St John’s in 2017 we are delighted to see it continue to go from strength to strength, nurturing the children and providing support to their families

Details of the fantastic work of the school and nursery are provided in the reports below.

Report from Paul Hooton, Head Teacher St John’s CE Primary School

Ainsdale St John’s CE Primary is a distinctively Christian Primary School. The vision of the school is to be a ‘warm and caring school/church family with Christ at its heart’. As a school, we aim to meet the needs of all learners and provide well-focused academic, social and spiritual support for all our children and their families. When I first settled down to write this report, I started to reflect on the roller coaster of a year we have had. I think this can be summed up by just looking at the list of words and phrases that have suddenly become commonplace in the daily life of St John’s.

Class Bubbles; remote learning; contingency plans; lateral flow testing; staggered starts; asymptomatic; outdoor sinks; catch it, bin it, kill it; separate desks, containment; contact tracing; tier two, tier four; Edenred vouchers; circuit breakers; chapped hands; lunch rotas; demarcation zones; flattening the curve.

Too often in the day to day, hurly burly of school life you have no opportunity to focus on all that has happened- you are in the moment, solving problems and moving on to the next issue. It would be easy to dwell on the disruption to education, the damage to children’s mental, physical and emotional wellbeing, the heartache, suffering and fear, the deep-felt anxieties and concerns of children, their families and staff.

It would be easy to write about the constant changes to policy, the stress of having to make plans and arrangements based on less than 24 hours’ notice, the difficult conversations and decisions.

However, it is 8.30 on a chilly February morning and there is a palpable sense of achievement and positivity in the building. Staff are joyful, there is laughter in abundance, pleasantries are warm and heartfelt and children continue to rush into class smiling and content.

Therefore, I want to reflect on the many positives of the last year.

At the heart of every school are the children and we are all so proud of the way they have coped during this time. They have obviously missed being in school with their friends and undoubtedly their education has suffered, as no matter how good home schooling is, there is no substitute for being in class. However, they have all coped admirably, stayed safe and stoically adapted to all the practices/procedures expected of them and behaved so well.

Last March there was the novelty value of being off school, the sun was out, the days were warm and there was a rapid rise in the sale of paddling pools. Children spent more time with their parents, families grew closer, and kids learn new skills: calligraphy, baking, riding bikes, building dens. Walks, bike rides, scooter trips were the norm and children stayed physically healthy. Children painted rainbows, sent messages of hope and perseverance; parents planned school treasure hunts and families supported each other by keeping in touch.

This second lockdown has been harder for the children; the weather has been inclement, the days short and for many spirits have been low.

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The children have had to be more disciplined in their learning and there has been a greater expectation of what should be achieved. However, they have risen to the challenge. They and their parents have developed so many skills –they have mastered the technology and really kept up with their studies. They have learnt the importance of strict routines, and consistently shown determination, perseverance and resilience. These skills will stay with them forever and certainly help the children grow as independent learners. There has been a real sense of classes coming together to support one another throughout the remote learning experience. Children have enjoyed collaborative learning, critical thinking and developing creativity.

All the staff in school have been amazing. Throughout this period, they have been there for all the children and their families. They have not only supported them academically but physically, emotionally and spiritually.

In the very early days last March, we opened for vulnerable and key worker children from not just this school but also other schools in the Ainsdale community. This was the period before detailed advice about risk assessments, PPE and social distancing. We were making the path we were walking and the staff in school were indeed on the front line.

Working together as a team, they have supported one another, raising spirits during testing times.

Teaching staff regularly contacted the children and their families, checking on their wellbeing and providing practical and emotional support where necessary. They have done their utmost to maintain a real sense of community and produced funny and uplifting videos for the children to view and share. Classes responded with their own recorded messages – all posted on the school website.

Staff also appreciated the strong support from the governing body and the thankful messages from children, their parents and carers.

When the children returned in September, we introduced the Recovery Curriculum – creativity, care and compassion was needed and staff applied kindness in abundance to aid the healing process and help those children struggling to re-adjust to the new normal of enhanced cleaning, bubbles and social distancing.

It was also essential to reassure parents that the children were safe in school – this was particularly important when we were forced to close before the October half term when there were a few cases in school and many of us were forced into a period of self-isolation.

Christmas is always a time of celebration in school but we had to do things differently. Typically, creative and resilient, the staff planned a whole school production of dance, mime, readings and song – filmed in Church and shared with the parents via YouTube and DVD.

Since the New Year, the staff have had the dual responsibility of supporting the 70 plus vulnerable and key worker children who were attending school whilst teaching other pupils at home. The staff have mastered the arts of technology and spent hours ensuring lessons are sequential meaningful, bespoke and ambitious. Parents cajoled, encouraged, forced and bribed the children at home ensuring they engaged with their teachers. Classes met through live streaming, we held story times, live lessons and family fun nights via YouTube.

Throughout the year, we have cared for our vulnerable families providing them with food parcels, vouchers, financial advice and IT equipment. St John’s Church has helped in this. We have done our utmost to maintain a true Christian community – daily whole school worship, Christian values and prayer remain at the core of school life. We firmly believe that God has watched over us and held us in his hands over the last twelve months. Times have been strange but the staff have been indefatigable and remained positive throughout. Our playground pencils were painted in the colours of the rainbow symbolising our hope that we will all come through this together and our school/church family will be stronger for it. Some hymns have become firm favourites of the children – This little light of Mine … I’m Gonna Let it Shine is one and it certainly reminds us of our responsibilities. At the start of lockdown, we produced a video for the children accompanying the song ‘My Lighthouse’

These lines have certainly resonated throughout this time:

My Lighthouse, My Lighthouse, shining in the Darkness – I will follow you,

You are my peace in the troubled sea. You are my peace in the troubled sea.

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Times have certainly been difficult and many have struggled and suffered but there have been many positives and I am proud of the way our school/church family has risen to challenge and worked tirelessly to help the children and their families of St John’s.

This is our school prayer. Please pray for everyone in the school community.

This is our school: Let peace dwell here; Let the rooms be full of happiness; Let love abide here; Love of one another, Love of learning And love of God. Let us remember That as many hands build a house, Many hearts make a school. Amen

Report from Mai-Ling and John Duckworth, Natterjacks Day Nursery at St John’s

What a year it has been for us all!

Our 2020 at Natterjacks started off fantastic, with a thriving nursery environment starting the new year.

Our pre-school children and families were planning for their BIG SCHOOL start in September. We were making exciting plans for ‘School readiness’ and leaving concerts,

when we were all hit by the announcement of shut due to COVID-19!!!!!!

We had a period of closure alongside the rest of the country which gave us all plenty of time to reflect. We were blessed with good weather which helped us all support a positive outlook for our mental well-being.

Along came June. Nurseries were given the go ahead to open with very tight restrictions. Natterjacks opened with a small team to support the children returning. Strange times continued over the next few months as children slowly returned to nursery, however Natterjacks remained a happy, secure place to be for the children and their families.

We finally fully re-opened in September with all the team returning to work. We have continued to grow in children attending - both returning children and new families joining us. The children are thriving at nursery, interacting with their peers and investigating exciting activities both indoors and out.

We would like to thank our wonderful families for recommending our setting to prospective families.

We would also like to thank Rev Jane, church wardens and members of the PCC who continue to support us in all our efforts to offer an outstanding service to our community and their families.

May we wish everyone a much healthier year forward. Stay safe and take care.

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Section 4: Our Infrastructure

Church Building

There was little activity required in the church building in the year under review. The structural repairs to the window in the porch were completed satisfactorily by the contractors. The alignment of locks on the porch door carried out by David Price was a success. An outside wired window in the disabled toilet and a drain cover at the rear of the church building were damaged by an act of vandalism and had to be replaced. A new safe was installed. Routine cleaning of drains and gutters was carried out during the year.

During the restrictions due to COVID-19 the routine cleaning of the church was rescheduled. The pattern of cleaning worked round the church usage to ensure the mandatory hygiene standards were maintained. In addition to freestanding sanitisers, hand dispensers were fixed at the porch and toilet areas.

Church Hall

The foyer was redecorated. Minor running repairs were made to washbasins and toilets. New overhead lighting was installed in the committee room. The remedial work to drainage in the outside play area continued to effectively control rain water.

Grounds

A number of diseased trees had to be removed along the pavement boundary wall by Stumps Away. Other groundwork and general maintenance were undertaken during the year. The church garden was maintained by a professional gardener and David Phipps restored the flower bed under the west window. Plans for a spring work party were cancelled due to the COVID-19 restrictions.

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Annual Report 2020

Section 5: Financial Review

Basis of Accounting

In previous years the Church accounts have been prepared on an accruals basis with income and expenditure shown in the year in which the relevant transaction (e.g. an event) took place. From 2020, and in line with guidance from the Diocese, the PCC has adopted the simpler Receipts and Payments (R&P) basis of accounting. This means that all income and expenditure is shown against the year in which the money is received / paid. The 2019 figures have been recreated on a R&P basis for comparative purposes.

General Fund

The Covid-19 pandemic significantly impacted church finances during 2020. With the church building being closed for large parts of the year, income was down by nearly £13k compared to 2019. Major contributors were open plate collections (£3,806 lower in 2020 compared to 2019), income from regular hires and parties (£5,680 lower), and fees for funerals and weddings (£4,423 lower). We were also unable to run any major fundraising events or operate a bar during the year. These were partially offset by an increase in some oneoff payments, most notably a significant increase in donations and £4,000 from RBS as an incentive payment for switching bank accounts.

Despite the difficulties, planned giving from individuals fared better (£57,753 in 2020 versus £62,741 in 2019). We give thanks for all those who, despite their own personal challenges, continue to faithfully and sacrificially support the church and its mission financially.

Where possible the PCC took measures to reduce costs, including making use of the government’s ‘furlough’ scheme for periods of the year and reducing expenditure on running costs such as heating and consumables. However, building maintenance costs were significantly higher in 2020 mainly due to urgent repairs to the church porch window and work required in the vicarage in readiness for Jane’s arrival.

The PCC took the decision to continue funding key mission activities including the Job Club which ran throughout the year. We also continued to pay our Parish Share in full to support the wider work of the Diocese and those churches impacted worse than ourselves.

We are grateful to Natterjacks who, despite having to close or operate at below capacity for large parts of the year, continued to honour their rental payments in full. The PCC waived the service charge during the period when the nursery could not open and, as a gesture, made a one-off discretionary payment of £1,000 to Natterjacks during the year in recognition of their difficult financial climate.

Finally, during the year Charity Bank agreed that St John’s could fund six months of loan repayments (total £6,217) from the Charity Bank Loan Security Deposit Account which was funded by St John's and is held in Charity Bank as security against the loan. After taking into account interest received, this reduced the balance of this account, which is classed as part of the General Fund, from £12,608 to £6,419.

The impact of the above resulted in a reduction in general funds of £9,573 (£7,634 for 2019), which was offset by the utilisation of the remaining balance of £6,750 held in the designated Mission Fund.

Charitable Giving

Despite the difficult financial year, St John’s has continued to support other charitable organisations through direct donations and in-kind support such as making the church building and car park available for others to use. Details of the these can be found in section 2d and also notes 5 and 6 to the accounts.

In addition, we make the church freely available to the school and Uniformed Organisations and are proud to help support SONG, the award-winning junior theatre group, who rehearse in Church when they are able to meet.

Donations and Legacies

It is an important Christian value to give back to God in gratitude for the love and blessings we have received in our lives. The congregation at St John’s has responded by regular giving in difficult financial times and through significant legacy donations. At times other donations are given to assist specific cost requirements.

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The PCC will abide by donors’ wishes. If you are considering making a significant donation or leaving a legacy in your Will, please discuss this with our Treasurer or the Vicar. Giving back to the church through our Wills can help sustain our Church and its mission in Ainsdale.

Performance of investments

The PCC hold 15.6 income shares in the CBF Investment Trust (value £320 as at 31 December 2020). It is the intention of the PCC to realise these shares at an appropriate time.

Other Funds

Organ Fund (restricted): made up of donations given towards the upkeep of the church organ.

Flower Fund (restricted): made up of donations given to cover the cost of flowers for the church. This fund was previously managed as a petty cash fund and has been brought into the church accounts for 2020.

Church Mission Fund (restricted): established in 2020 to fund specific, identified Mission objectives. This fund replaces the previous designated Mission Fund which was fully utilised during 2020.

Reserves Policy

The General Fund target level is 2 to 3 months of average monthly spending (approx. £22,000 to £33,000). It is used as a contingency should income or expenditure be dramatically hit by circumstances that are unforeseen.

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Section 6: Acknowledgements and contacts

We would like to thank all the volunteers who work so hard to make St John’s the caring and vibrant community it is. Some of them you see at the front during services and other events but many more work tirelessly behind the scenes making people feel welcome, setting things up, preparing food and drink, keeping the buildings looking lovely, ensuring the safety and wellbeing of all, and supporting the administration. Their names are too many to mention individually but we are hugely grateful for their continued dedication, selfless service and good humour.

The following members have contributed to this report. If you are interested in getting involved in any of the activities highlighted in this report, then please do make contact – you will be most welcome.

Introduction Attendance figures Choir Worship Band St John’s Care Group Messy Church SupaClub on Sundays SupaClub on Mondays & Supaclub Xtra Impact The Baptism Initiative Little John’s Guiding Brownies Rainbows Deanery Synod St John’s School Natterjack’s Day Nursery CAP Job Club Church Building Maintenance & Development Risk Assessments Finance, Giving and Fundraising St John’s Website St John’s Facebook page YouTube services Electoral roll Christian Aid Churches Together in Ainsdale (CTiA) Safeguarding

Jane Morgan Steve Cox Paul Ellis (Organist) & Chris York (Choir Association Chairman) John Forshaw & Giles Davies Nancy Lloyd Parry Linda Davies Linda Davies Linda Davies Linda Davies Linda Davies Chris Thursfield Vanessa Riley (17[th] Guide leader) Joanne York (15[th ] Brownies leader) Ruth Leney (2[nd] Ainsdale leader) Paul Ellis Paul Hooton (Head Teacher) Mai-Ling & John Duckworth Carol Richardson Frank Hyland Frank Hyland Ruth Wake Lindsay Jessop Chris York Giles Davies Paul Olive Eirlys Jessop Jean Washbourne Chris Thursfield

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Section 7: Structure, Management and Governance

Electoral Roll

All church members are encouraged to register on the Electoral Roll and stand for election to the PCC at the Annual Parochial Church Meeting (APCM) in accordance with the Church Representation Rules. As at 31 December 2020 the Roll stood at 137 representing a net increase of 2 during the year (4 added; 2 removed).

PCC

Individual PCC members, as Trustees of the Church, receive information, instruction and training when deemed appropriate. This may include information about Trustee responsibilities, health and safety, risk assessment and safeguarding procedures. The full PCC met 9 times during 2020 (including zoom meetings) with an average level of attendance of 79%. Given its wide responsibilities the PCC had four committees during 2020: Standing Committee; Mission; Property Maintenance; and Events Management. PCC members usually serve on at least one committee. The PCC is the decision-making body of The Church with each Committee making recommendations to the PCC for consideration.

Risk Assessments

Procedures are in place to manage risks and minimise their impact on the wellbeing of the church.

During the period under review, fire, health and safety operational arrangements were driven by the need to produce specific risk assessments to deal with the COVID-19 virus hazard. In early March, all events in the church building were suspended. When it was deemed safe to do so, specific measures were put in place to reopen the church building. During the year a range of activities and services including Communion, private prayer, funeral services, CAP Job Club sessions and hall hire took place. All activities were subject to specific risk assessments in accordance with the Government and C of E guidelines for protection of the public. During the period when hirers were able to use the church building all were required to provide specific COVID-19 risk assessments. The control measures were amended as guidance changed, in particular, when requirements for Track and Trace were introduced.

The COVID-19 controls were monitored and applied by the wardens and their assistants throughout the year. Thanks are recorded to all who volunteered to implement and monitor the COVID-19 controls. No incidents were reported during the year under review.

Safeguarding Procedures

During the past year, in the light of the changes in policy and guidance from the Church of England, we have updated our own policies and procedures for St. John’s Church. A copy of the policy and guidelines document is kept in church and can be viewed on request. The guidelines cover working with children and vulnerable adults and Safer Recruitment, that is, the processes to ensure that all leaders and helpers are suitable for the role they are volunteering for.

Leaders, helpers and PCC members provide self-declaration forms to confirm they are suitable candidates. References are requested then followed up with a DBS check if the role requires it. All DBS checks are currently up-to-date. All personal information is confidential and stored and managed in accordance with the data protection legislation.

At St John’s we adopt and implement the House of Bishop’s Safeguarding Policy for children, young people & adults: “The care and protection of children, young people and vulnerable adults involved in Church activities is the responsibility of the whole Church. Everyone who participates in the life of the Church has a role to play in promoting a Safer Church for all.”

New Appointments

Lesley Phipps and Chris Thursfield were appointed Church Wardens.

Page 31

Diocese of Liverpool

St John - Ainsdale

Annual Report 2020

Section 8: Administrative Information

St John’s Church is situated in Ainsdale, a suburb of Southport. It is part of the Diocese of Liverpool within the Church of England. The address of the Church is 627-629 Liverpool Road, Ainsdale, Southport, PR8 3NG. The correspondence address is: Revd. Jane Morgan, The Vicarage, 708 Liverpool Road, Ainsdale, Southport, PR8 3QE. The telephone number is 01704 577760.

The PCC is a body corporate and operates under the Parochial Church Councils (Powers) Measure 1956 and the Church Representation Rules 2017 and was registered with the Charity Commission on 3 April 2009.

PCC members (trustees) who have served from 1 January 2020 until the date this report was approved are:

To APCM 2020 From APCM 2020
Incumbent: Rev. Jane Morgan - PCC Chair from 25 February 2020 Rev Jane Morgan - PCC Chair
Readers: Eirlys Jessop Eirlys Jessop
Sarah Hope
Churchwardens: David Price - PCC Chair to 24 February 2020 Lesley Phipps
Rob Williams - PCC Vice Chair Chris Thursfield
Deanery Synod Rep: Paul Ellis Paul Ellis
Jean Washbourne Jean Washbourne
Elected Members: Helen Parker - PCC Secretary Helen Parker - PCC Secretary
Ruth Wake - Treasurer Ruth Wake - Treasurer
Sheila Chadwick (resigned 22 January 2020) Kathryn Corey
Steve Cox Steve Cox
Linda Davies Linda Davies
John Forshaw John Forshaw
Frank Hyland Frank Hyland
Lindsay Jessop Lindsay Jessop
Lesley Phipps (stepped up to Warden at APCM 2020)
Val Sinnott Val Sinnott
Chris Thursfield (stepped up to Warden at APCM 2020)
Ann Walton Ann Walton

The following specific roles are approved by the PCC:

Treasurer Ruth Wake
Electoral Roll Officer Paul Olive
Safeguarding Officer Chris Thursfield
Children’s Work Co-ordinator Linda Davies
Health & Safety Advisor Frank Hyland
Bankers The Co-Operative Bank
Independent Examiner Harrison, Latham & Co., Tulketh St., Southport
Architect Maggie Mullan Architects Ltd, 6 Percy Street, Liverpool, L8 7LU
Day to day Management Exercised by Incumbent and Wardens

Approved by the PCC on 7 May 2021 and signed on their behalf by Rev Jane Morgan (PCC Chairman)

Page 32

Diocese of Liverpool

St John - Ainsdale

Annual Report 2020

PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF AINSDALE ST JOHN INDEPENDENT EXAMINER'S REPORT

at 31 December 2020

Independent Examiner's Report to the Trustees of Ainsdale St John, Parochial Church Council

I report on the accounts for the year ended 31st December 2020 which are set out on pages 34 to 36.

Respective responsibilities of the Trustees and Independent Examiner

As trustees of the charity, the members of the PCC are responsible for the preparation of the accounts. They consider that an audit is not required for this year under section 144(2) of the Charities Act 2011 (the 2011 Act) and that an independent examination is needed.

It is my responsibility to

Basis of Independent Examiner's Statement

My examination was carried out in accordance with the General Directions given by the Charity Commission. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts, and seeking explanations from the management committee concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in a full audit, and consequently I do not express an audit opinion on the accounts.

Independent Examiner's Statement

In connection with my examination, no matters have come to my attention

  1. which give me reasonable cause to believe that in any material respect the requirements

  2. to keep accounting records in accordance with s.130 of the 2011 Act; or

  3. to prepare accounts which accord with these accounting records have not been met; or

  4. to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

N. A. Latham FCA

Harrison Latham & Company Chartered Accountants & Registered Auditors

97 Tulketh Street Southport PR8 1AW

Date: 7 May 2021

Page 33

Diocese of Liverpool

St John - Ainsdale

Annual Report 2020

PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF AINSDALE ST JOHN

FINANCIAL STATEMENT

For the year ended 31 December 2020

General (Unrestricted) Fund Receipts & Payments Account

RECEIPTS
Income and endowments
Planned giving
Collections (open plate)
Donations and legacies
Legacy
Donations
Tax recoverable including GASDS
Other trading activities
Parish magazine – sales and adverts
Rent & Service charge – Natterjacks
Fundraising activities
Miscellaneous
Charitable activities
PCC Fees
Hiring of church & committee room
Receipts from investments
Bank interest & income from CBF investment fund
Other receipts
Job Retention Scheme Grant ('Furlough')
Reimbursement of interregnum clergy costs
Insurance claim
RBS transfer of account
Total Receipts
PAYMENTS
Cost of fundraising activities
Cost of events
Envelopes
Charitable activities
Mission activities
Diocesan parish share
Church & Hall running expenses
Refund of deposits
Clergy expenses
Cost of services
Buildings maintenance
Cost of trading activities
Printing the magazine
Staff costs
Wages & salaries - cleaning
Wages & salaries - organist
Loan repayments, bank charges and HMRC
Charity Bank loan repayments & interest charges
Bank charges
Church reordering works
Payment of retention monies
Total Payments
Excess of Receipts over Payments
Transfer from Mission Fund (designated fund)
Total transfers
Bank current and deposit accounts at 1 January 2020
Bank current and deposit accounts at 1 January 2021		 2020
2019
£
£
£
£
57,753
62,741
1,730
5,536
59,483
68,277
1,000
1,000
10,229
2,654
16,203
17,264
27,433
20,918
64
2,473
24,261
25,224
2,419
4,200
672
2,799
27,416
34,696
1,432
5,855
3,810
9,490
5,242
15,345
61
89
61
89
1,253
0
1,610
0
130
0
4,000
0
6,994
0
126,628
139,325
0
1,602
134
286
134
1,888
4,287
823
75,644
80,204
23,687
31,520
100
0
140
923
197
0
9,503
554
113,559
114,024
843
3,149
843
3,149
7,053
5,679
1,835
1,720
8,888
7,399
12,754
13,189
24
80
12,778
13,269
0
7,230
0
7,230
136,201
146,959
(9,573)
(7,634)
6,750
0
6,750
0
(2,823)
(7,634)
34,629
42,263
31,806
34,629

Page 34

Diocese of Liverpool

St John - Ainsdale

Annual Report 2020

PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF AINSDALE ST JOHN FINANCIAL STATEMENT

For the year ended 31 December 2020

2020 2019
£ £ £ £
ORGAN FUND Receipts and Payments Account - Restricted Fund
The Organ Fund is made up of donations given towards the upkeep of the church organ.
Receipts
Restricted donations 0 20
0 20
Payments
Organ maintenance 236 456
236 456
Excess of Receipts over Payments (236) (436)
Bank current and deposit accounts at 1 January 528 964
Bank current and deposit accounts at 31 December 292 528
CHURCH FLOWER FUND Receipts and Payments Account - Restricted Fund
The Flower Fund is made up of donations given to cover the cost of flowers for the church. This fund was previously held outside the church accounts
but has been introduced from 2020.
Receipts
Receipts introduced - previously held outside accounts 317 0
Restricted donations - funds introduced in year 95 0
412 0
Payments
Purchase of flowers 252 0
252 0
Excess of Receipts over Payments 160 0
Balance (petty cash / current account) at 1 January 0 0
Balance (petty cash / current account) at 31 December 160 0
CHURCH MISSION FUND - Restricted Fund
The Mission Fund was established in 2020 to fund specific, identified Mission objectives.
Receipts
Restricted Donations 200 0
200 0
Payments
0 0
0 0
Excess of Receipts over Payments 200 0
Bank current and deposit accounts at 1 January 0 0
Bank current and deposit accounts at 31 December 200 0

MISSION FUND - Designated Fund

This designated fund was established to provide for new initiatives in Mission and created by a historic donation of £10,000. As a result of regular income streams being significantly reduced by Covid restrictions, the remainder of this Mission Fund was fully utilised in 2020 to fund the ongoing provision of core mission objectives and also the purchase of some new microphones central to delivering mission activities.

A new restricted Church Mission Fund was established in 2020 to start rebuilding funds for new mission work in the future.

Receipts

Payments
Excess of Receipts over Payments
Transfer to General Fund
Bank current and deposit accounts at 1 January
Bank current and deposit accounts at 31 December		 0
0		 0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
(6,750)
0
6,750
6,750
0
6,750

RESTRICTED FUNDS CLOSED IN 2019

The following two restricted funds operated in 2019 and were fully expended that year; they are shown here for comparative purposes. Hall Improvements Fund: established through a donation to enable specific improvements to be made in the church hall. Church Chairs Fund: established through a donation in 2019 to fund new chairs for the church building.

Hall Improvements' Fund
Church Chairs Fund		 Opening
balance
1 Jan 2019
£
840
0
840		 Receipts
2019
£
0
2,362
2,362		 Payments
2019
Closing
balance
31 Dec 2019
£
£
(840)
0
(2,362)
0
(3,202)
0

Page 35

Diocese of Liverpool

St John - Ainsdale

Annual Report 2020

PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF AINSDALE ST JOHN STATEMENT OF ASSETS AND LIABILITIES at 31 December 2020

Cash Funds (bank / petty cash accounts)
General Fund (including amounts held in Charity Bank Loan Security Deposit Account)
Mission Fund - historic designated
Organ Fund - restricted
Church Flower Fund - restricted
Church Mission Fund - restricted
Held on behalf of others - Asylum Seekers collection
Total all cash funds
Investment Assets
15.68 CBF Church of England Investment Fund income shares (mid market value at 31 December)		 2020
2019
£
£
31,806
34,629
0
6,750
292
528
160
0
200
0
121
0
32,580
41,907
320
301
320
301

Other Tangible Assets

The following assets are recognised but not necessarily valued in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities:

Bar stock - remaining stock from previous events held for future events

Liabilities

Charity Bank Loan (amount to be repaid at 31 December) 163,755
167,698
163,755
167,698

NOTES:

  1. All totals shown in these accounts have been calculated using the exact figures. Where figures have been shown rounded to the nearest pound, then there may be a rounding difference between the total and the sum of the rounded figures.

  2. The financial statements of the PCC have been prepared in accordance with the Church Accounting Regulations 2006 using the Receipts and Payment basis. The figures for 2019 have been restated on a R&P basis for comparative purposes, whereas in the 2019 accounts they were shown on an accruals basis.

  3. The expenses paid to clergy may include a small, immaterial proportion which relates to their function as PCC members. There were payments to a PCC member in their capacity as Organist; there were no other payments to PCC members personally or persons with close family connections, other than reimbursement of expenses paid.

  4. The General Fund includes amounts held in the Charity Bank Loan Security Deposit Account which was funded by St John's and is held in Charity Bank as security against the loan. During 2020, due to the reduced Church Income during the lockdown, Charity Bank allowed St John’s to fund its payments to Charity Bank for the months April to September from the Loan Security Deposit Account. This reduced the balance on this account from £12,607.84 to £6,419.32.

  5. During the year, the PCC made donations to the following charitable mission organisations that are recorded in these accounts:

  6. £

  7. a) Southport and Area Schools Worker Trust General donation 1,000.00 Donation towards the cost of Southport Higher Tour 1,000.00

  8. b) Christians Against Poverty (CAP) 480.00

  9. From time to time, the PCC collects money and other donations on behalf of other charitable mission organisations. In these instances, the receipts are not included in the PCC’s income as the PCC is acting as an agent for the charity. If the money is counted and the PCC treasurer writes out a cheque for money paid into the PCC bank account, then the PCC is deemed as holding this in trust for the charity. In this case the item is not included in the Accounts but a separate record is kept.

During the year the PCC collected money on behalf of the following other charitable mission organisations:

Of the above, the following was held in trust in one of the PCC's bank accounts as at 31 December:

  1. During the year, the PCC were reimbursed £2,512 sequestration fees from the Diocese in respect of costs incurred for visiting clergy during the interregnum in 2019. The majority of these costs were paid out by the PCC in 2019 but a balance of £901.72 was paid out by the PCC in 2020. The balance of £1,610.28 is shown as 'Other Receipts' in the R&P for 2020.

  2. During the year, despite the lockdown, Natterjacks continued to pay their rent in full. In recognition of the difficult business environment, the PCC agreed to waive the service charge for April and May 2020 when the nursery was unable to open due to the government restrictions. The PCC also made a one-off discretionary payment to Natterjacks of £1,000. Within the accounts this amount is netted off Natterjacks income.

  3. The 2019 figures include a payment of £7,230 made to the Church re-ordering contractors which was the final retention money held back until snagging was completed.

Approved by the PCC on and signed on their behalf

The Revd Jane Morgan PCC Chairman

Mrs Ruth Wake PCC Treasurer

Page 36