OpenCharities

This text was generated using OCR and may contain errors. Check the original PDF to see the document submitted to the regulator.

2021-12-31-accounts

Diocese of Liverpool

St John - Ainsdale

Annual Report 2021

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 2021

Charity Number 1128996

Diocese of Liverpool

St John - Ainsdale

Annual Report 2021

Contents

Introduction by the vicar 3
PCC Membership 5
**TRUSTEES’ REPORT **
Section 1: Vision, Mission and Objectives 6
Aim and purposes
Vision and Mission
Progress against 2021 objectives
PCC objectives for 2022
Section 2: Review of the Year 10
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 25
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 33
**FINANCIAL STATEMENTS **
Independent Examiner’s Report 34
Financial Statement - General Fund Receipts and Payments 35
Financial Statement – Other Funds 36
Statement of Assets and Liabilities; Notes 37

Page 2

Diocese of Liverpool

St John - Ainsdale

Annual Report 2021

Introduction by the vicar

Who would have thought that it is only now we are coming out of the Covid pandemic, after two years of learning to live with Covid we enter the ’post-covid’ era. Life is different to how it was as we emerge from our isolation, masks and social distancing, although we are still being cautious as Covid hasn’t gone away. We have had to embrace a new way of living, of being, and that has also applied to church life too. The past two years we have really paid attention to how God was calling us to be church, to share God’s love and to serve our neighbours. We have been brought more closely to listening to what God is calling us to do in His church for His people, which hasn’t been such a bad thing, even though it’s been challenging. We can’t go back to the way things used to be pre-pandemic, life moves on and we have had to adjust accordingly.

Despite all the restrictions I give thanks for the number of many gifted and talented people we have been blessed with. The worship and parish life of the church has continued, albeit in different ways, and as restrictions were gradually lifted their flexibility and commitment to adapting to those changes ensured we were always ‘church’ both inside and outside the building, as it is us, the people, who are church.

The gradual lifting of restrictions enabled us to review what we were offering and in June the Parochial Church Council (PCC) had an away day to seek God’s voice in the way forward. Not everything pre-pandemic has resumed as we recognised that needs change in our new post-covid culture but this has enabled us to develop new ways of being. You will read of these changes in this report. What is absolutely amazing and praiseworthy is how so many good things have taken place over the past year, how people, groups, the unformed organisations have been open to adapting how they do things so that they maintained contact with each other, provided support, had fun and new things have started! A big bonus was the lifting of the ‘no-singing’ restriction in church and we could welcome back the gifts of the worship group, organist and choir who are such an important part of our worship, who enable us to meet with God in this way in our services.

We have had a strong desire to focus on caring for creation. We became a Fairtrade church and so far have achieved the bronze award as an Eco Church, currently working towards silver status.

Our link with our church school goes from strength to strength as we welcomed a new head teacher in September, started a weekly church led worship in school for pupils and teachers, plus hosted special school services in church. I have been invited into year groups as part of their curriculum and have started to provide worship for the teachers.

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.

Links with Natterjacks, the nursery, continue to grow as we seek to develop the ‘secret garden’ with them to enable them to benefit from having an outdoor green space to use, which will also benefit the uniformed organisations and church groups.

We are mindful that, as per the national picture in the CofE, although we have welcomed new people to church, the number of people returning to church has declined. With this in mind, the PCC has embarked on the Leading Your Church into Growth (LYCiG) programme to help us focus on growing numerically, growing spiritually and growing missionally. We are already benefiting from this programme by opening church for a weekly Prayer Group meeting and developing plans for some special services and events in the future.

We are still suffering from the financial impact of the Pandemic, when income declined and we have lost some giving, coupled with the increased costs in upkeep which is a challenge. As a charity that has to be self-sufficient, we will be looking at what God is asking of us to do to address these challenges in order to maintain the buildings, grow spiritually and engage in missional work in the community.

Thank you to the parishioners for their generosity as we cannot fulfil our Mission without their support and their support has been a blessing.

I have said it before that it is outstanding and humbling at the same time that the worship and parish life of the church has continued thanks to the numbers of many gifted and talented people who do so much to support the worship, ministry and the everyday running of the church, willing to adapt to doing things differently.

Page 3

St John - Ainsdale

Diocese of Liverpool

Annual Report 2021

I am deeply grateful and thankful to the many members of the church family who help in different ways and the PCC has continued to be supportive, constructive and purposeful, and I am particularly grateful for the immense support and contribution from our excellent Church Secretary who has provided a great deal of unseen support to myself, the wardens and other church staff, and we thank God for her ministry.

We continue to pray that God will direct us to His plans for His church and work has been ongoing to hear what this looks like. For 2022 our Objectives are aligned to our Mission priorities which are rooted in the 5 Marks of Mission. The objectives aim to address the key needs of those we service as a church.

A verse which has always been important to me sums up what we are called to be:

This is what is required of us, only this:

To do justice, love kindness

and walk humbly with our God.

Micah 6

I commend this Annual Report to you and pray that you can see the love and commitment that has gone into what we do, and our intent to do justice, love kindness and walk humbly in all that we are striving to do in the name of God to glorify God in this place.

Everyone deserves to be thanked for this.

With love and blessings,

Rev Jane Morgan MBE

Page 4

Diocese of Liverpool

St John - Ainsdale

Annual Report 2021

PCC Membership

The following comprises the PCC as at April 2022:

Incumbent: Rev. Jane Morgan PCC Chair Readers: Eirlys Jessop Churchwardens: Lesley Phipps Chris Thursfield PCC Vice Chair Deanery Synod Reps: Paul Ellis Jean Washbourne Elected Members (and Trustees): Helen Parker PCC Secretary Lindsay Jessop PCC Treasurer Kate Corey Linda Davies John Forshaw Lynne Grice Maggie Hilton Frank Hyland Trish Jameson 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.

Page 5

Diocese of Liverpool

St John - Ainsdale

Annual Report 2021

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, our priorities are focused around the 5 Marks of Mission:

5 Marks of Mission St John’s Mission Priorities
A. TELL:Proclaim the Good
News of the Kingdom		 • Letting God touch the lives of others by providing
imaginative,varied,inspiringand engagingworship.
B. TEACH:Teach, baptise and
nurture new believers		 • 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.
• Equipping and supporting each other as members of an
inclusive church family to be Christians in a modern world:
at home;at work;with friends and in our local community.
C. TEND:Respond to human
needs by loving service		 • Helping to transform lives of those in need in Ainsdale
through providing a safe haven for quiet contemplation and
offering practical and emotional support for life events.
D. TRANSFORM:Seek to
transform unjust structures
of society, to challenge
violence of every kind and to
pursue peace and
reconciliation		 • Working with other Christian and secular organisations to
promote global fairness for all.
E. TREASURE:Strive to
safeguard the integrity of
creation and sustain and
renew the life of the earth		 • Looking after God’s planet by raising awareness of the
impact we have on creation and the actions we can take to
improve the environment.

Page 6

Diocese of Liverpool

St John - Ainsdale

Annual Report 2021

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.

Progress against 2021 objectives

Our priorities for 2021, whilst restrictions continued to be in place as a result of the impact of Covid-19, were to focus on our main Mission priorities.

Objective Status 2021 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.		 YouTube services continued during lockdown and livestreaming continued
once the congregation could return to church.
Families were kept updated with activities and ideas via email and ‘doorstep
chats’ when dropping off Pentecost and Lent bags.
The Junior PCC held regular zoom meetings and have contributed ideas
helping make a difference in our church. They have also taken the lead on
some services in 2021 which was very well received by everyone.
Newsletters were shared via email and birthday cards were delivered.
We welcomed families back to church at the Big God Picnic for an outdoor
service and cake held in the church gardens in July 2021. This was a fantastic
event enjoyed by a wide range of ages and provided an opportunity to sing
our favourite songs.
In September 2021 we held a Big Welcome in the church gardens with games
and singing.
Links with Uniformed Groups continued with Uniformed Groups meeting on
zoom and then in person, and contributing to virtual and in person Parade
Services_._
Support those in our
community who are
vulnerable, isolated or
disadvantaged. Provide
practical help where
needed.		 We identified church members who do not have access to the internet and
delivered paper copies of the newsletter and morning prayer through their
letterboxes.
We delivered Pentecost and Lent doorstep bags.
We resumed church services when it was safe to do so and the 10-30 Sunday
service was livestreamed for people who have access to the internet but
were not able to come to church.
We also livestreamed funerals and Christenings for people who were unable
to attend because of COVID restrictions.
We adopted a buddy system to ensure everyone who wants regular contact
receives frequent telephone calls. Our prayer circle offers support and
comfort through prayer which is invaluable to people who are feeling fearful
and isolated.

Page 7

Diocese of Liverpool

Diocese of Liverpool St John - Ainsdale
Annual Report 2021
A new YouTube channel – Rooted in Christ - was set up to provide specific
content for younger children. During Covid restrictions, this was utilised in
school for worship as well as other bespoke worship recordings compiled by
church.
Church provided laptops to support home schooling for those families
without access to a computer.
From September, church led weekly worship in school, initially for classes
and then for whole school as restrictions eased. ‘Christmas in a Box’ was
enjoyed by Year 3. Church hosted a socially distanced Y6 leavers service in
July and the Christmas productions for KS1 and KS2, and we are delighted
class services have returned in church from September.
Church governors continued to support the headteacher and staff at school
to ensure children continued to learn in a safe and engaging way whether
home schooling or back in school. In 2021 governors also oversaw a number
of major transitions as we said a sad farewell to Paul Hooton and a number
of other long serving staff, and welcomed Lorna O’Brien and two new
teachers.
Regular contact was maintained with nursery including supporting practical
measures around cleaning regimes and access arrangements to minimise the
spread of Covid.
We have continued to give support to CAP Job Club which was able to
continue meeting throughout 2021. It has provided much needed practical
help for their clients who are very thankful for the support given.
Throughout 2021 we carefully monitored our budget to ensure we remained
financially viable. At the beginning of the year, the PCC made an appeal for
additional funding as our income was much depleted due to the effects of
the pandemic. We received a fantastic response to the PCC appeal raising
nearly £17,000. As a result, we have been able to continue to make progress
with our Mission activities.
In August 2021, we supported an emergency appeal for overseas help with
proceeds shared between the Haiti and Afghanistan appeals.
At Harvest we held an appeal for WaterAid. Throughout the year we make
contributions towards Southport foodbank. The foodbank thanked us for the
donations which are much needed in these difficult times.
At Christmas we supported charitable giving in lieu of sending Christmas
cards with the amount collected divided between toilet twinning and bin
twinning charities. We also sent hampers containing food, toys and toiletries
to Southport foodbank.
We set up an eco-group in June 2021 who have met regularly to discuss
environmental issues and were successful in having St John’s registered as an
eco-church on the Arocho website.
The group supported the climate walks and the congregation made banners
and prayer boats which were showcased to the leaders in Glasgow.
The Lent gift bags contained Fairtrade chocolate to raise awareness of
Fairtradegoods.
Provide practical and
spiritual support for
children, staff and families
at school and nursery.		 A new YouTube channel – Rooted in Christ - was set up to provide specific
content for younger children. During Covid restrictions, this was utilised in
school for worship as well as other bespoke worship recordings compiled by
church.
Church provided laptops to support home schooling for those families
without access to a computer.
From September, church led weekly worship in school, initially for classes
and then for whole school as restrictions eased. ‘Christmas in a Box’ was
enjoyed by Year 3. Church hosted a socially distanced Y6 leavers service in
July and the Christmas productions for KS1 and KS2, and we are delighted
class services have returned in church from September.
Church governors continued to support the headteacher and staff at school
to ensure children continued to learn in a safe and engaging way whether
home schooling or back in school. In 2021 governors also oversaw a number
of major transitions as we said a sad farewell to Paul Hooton and a number
of other long serving staff, and welcomed Lorna O’Brien and two new
teachers.
Regular contact was maintained with nursery including supporting practical
measures around cleaning regimes and access arrangements to minimise the
spread of Covid.
Continue to offer access to
Job Club resources
including, when possible,
restarting face to face
activities.		 We have continued to give support to CAP Job Club which was able to
continue meeting throughout 2021. It has provided much needed practical
help for their clients who are very thankful for the support given.
Provide careful ongoing
stewardship of our limited
resources to ensure that
we remain financially viable
whilst continuing to fully
contribute to wider Church
and communityinitiatives.
Throughout 2021 we carefully monitored our budget to ensure we remained
financially viable. At the beginning of the year, the PCC made an appeal for
additional funding as our income was much depleted due to the effects of
the pandemic. We received a fantastic response to the PCC appeal raising
nearly £17,000. As a result, we have been able to continue to make progress
with our Mission activities.
Make recommendations
for charities to be
supported by the
congregation at Lent,
Harvest and Christmas.		 In August 2021, we supported an emergency appeal for overseas help with
proceeds shared between the Haiti and Afghanistan appeals.
At Harvest we held an appeal for WaterAid. Throughout the year we make
contributions towards Southport foodbank. The foodbank thanked us for the
donations which are much needed in these difficult times.
At Christmas we supported charitable giving in lieu of sending Christmas
cards with the amount collected divided between toilet twinning and bin
twinning charities. We also sent hampers containing food, toys and toiletries
to Southport foodbank.
To strive to safeguard the
integrity of creation, and
sustain and renew the life
of the earth		 We set up an eco-group in June 2021 who have met regularly to discuss
environmental issues and were successful in having St John’s registered as an
eco-church on the Arocho website.
The group supported the climate walks and the congregation made banners
and prayer boats which were showcased to the leaders in Glasgow.
The Lent gift bags contained Fairtrade chocolate to raise awareness of
Fairtradegoods.

Page 8

Diocese of Liverpool

St John - Ainsdale

Annual Report 2021

PCC OBJECTIVES FOR 2022

Our Objectives for 2022 are aligned to our Mission priorities.

The objectives aim to address the key needs of those we service as a church including: current worshippers; under 5’s/preschool children; St John’s school; Natterjacks nursery; Uniformed Groups; family and friends joining us for baptisms, weddings and funerals; hirers, the wider community in Ainsdale; and all those we engage with through social media.

5 Marks of Mission St John’s Mission Priorities 2022 Objectives
TELL:Proclaim the Good
News of the Kingdom		 Letting God touch the lives of others
by providing imaginative, varied,
inspiring and engaging worship.		 1)
Lead school worship weekly
2)
Embed the new structure of Sunday and
midweek worship including encouraging
families back to churchpostpandemic
TEACH:Teach, baptise
and nurture new
believers		 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.
Equipping and supporting each other
as members of an inclusive church
family to be Christians in a modern
world: at home; at work; with
friends and in our local community.		 3)
Establish a weekly prayer group
4)
Run a bible study post Easter
5)
Re-establish confirmation classes for
children and adults
6)
Run an Easter event for school and
families (‘Easter in a Box’)
7)
Implement the LYCIG spirit of invitation:
target Easter Sunday, Harvest and
Christingle
8) Be a welcoming church for people with
disabilities
TEND:Respond to
human needs by loving
service		 Helping to transform lives of those in
need in Ainsdale through providing a
safe haven for quiet contemplation
and offering practical and emotional
support for life events.		 9)
Continue to support Job Club
10) Continue to welcome and build
relationships with new families through
Little John’s
11) Relaunch the Care Group
12) Provide transition activities, including
provision of Impact, for children in Y6
moving to high school
13) Enhance communications to promote
our Christian faith and sign post church
activities to those coming into the
buildingaspart of othergroups
TRANSFORM:Seek to
transform unjust
structures of society, to
challenge violence of
every kind and to
pursue peace and
reconciliation		 Working with other Christian and
secular organisations to promote
global fairness for all.		 14) Achieve Fairtrade Church status
15) Support Christian Aid, taking a leading
role in Ainsdale
16) Focus on rubbish collections, safe
disposal & recycling
TREASURE:Strive to
safeguard the integrity
of creation and sustain
and renew the life of
the earth		 Looking after God’s planet by raising
awareness of the impact we have on
creation and the actions we can take
to improve the environment.		 17) Reduce Church and individual use of
plastic
18) Encourage all church members to review
their carbon footprint

Page 9

Diocese of Liverpool

St John - Ainsdale

Annual Report 2021

Section 2: Review of the Year

2a: Supporting our congregation – worship and pastoral care

Worship & average attendance 2021

Throughout 2021 attendance at services has continued to be impacted by Covid with physical restrictions limiting opportunities in church but also as we have seen family habits change during extended period of lockdown. We continue to look for imaginative and engaging ways to encourage all worshippers back to church.

The year started with COVID restrictions closing places of worship from January till end of March – with worship resuming in time for Good Friday & Easter worship with said services only. A service pattern of Sunday morning 10:30am Communion with a Wednesday midweek 10:30am communion service being used through till end of July.

From August onwards the Sunday morning 8:30am communion service was reinstated. The pattern of the Sunday 10:30am worship service evolved as COVID restrictions on singing were eased, to include 4 Parade and 4 Baptism services. The midweek service was moved from Wednesday to its traditional Thursday morning slot.

Average attendance at Sunday services during 2021 was:

(Individual average attendance for Communion, Parade & Baptism services can be found in the table below) Average attendance at midweek Wednesday/Thursday services during 2021 was:

10:30 Communion – 16 (17 during 2020)

Throughout 2021, services were socially distanced, with hand sanitation, mask wearing and other precautions in place. This cautious approach was necessary to ensure we provided a safe environment for worship.

REGISTER ANALYSIS 2021 – Last 5 years

Averages TOTALS
2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017
8:00/8:30 11 14 13 13 14 238 151 685 701 722
YouTube SundayService VIEWS - 129 - - - - 5013 - - -
YouTube other events VIEWS - 106 - - - - 2327 - - -
10:00 or 10:30 Adult 36 43 66 68 65 1185 1106 2171 2240 2775
10:00 or 10:30 Child 4 9 19 18 11 55 166 620 586 491
10:30 Parade Adult 56 60 78 87 78 225 119 547 521 549
10:30 Parade Child 24 32 43 54 51 97 64 299 321 354
Baptism Adult 60 44 111 113 - 239 175 1108 1125 83
Baptism Child 8 7 33 28 - 31 26 334 277 15
6.30 Adult 0 13 15 16 15 0 145 757 814 764
6.30 Child 0 0 4 6 2
Wed or Thu 10:30 Adult 16 17 20 21 21 641 471 1049 1081 1088
Wed or Thu 10:30 Child 0 5 15 0 2
Funeral Adult 664 327 1229 1262 130
Funeral Child 13 0 21 18 1
WeddingAdult 87 0 68 0 10
WeddingChild 18 0 4 0 1
MessyChurch Adult - - 14 24 23 0 0 71 144 137
MessyChurch Child - - 21 32 19 0 0 106 192 114
The EVENT Adult - - 27 28 46 0 0 133 142 183
The EVENT Child - - 34 34 40 0 0 169 171 159
Special Service Adult Special Services includes such as :- Christingle Service 159 384 312 183 355
Special Service Child Compline,Good Friday,Carol Service & Crib Service 18 37 47 86 73
ADULT ATTENDANCE - ALL SERVICES -(ExcludingWedding& Funerals) 2687 2551 6833 6951 6656
CHILD ATTENDANCE - ALL SERVICES -(ExcludingWedding& Funerals) 201 298 1594 1639 1210
TOTAL ADULT & CHILD ATTENDANCE - ALL SERVICES -(ExcludingWedding& Funerals) 2888 2849 8427 8590 7866

Page 10

Diocese of Liverpool

St John - Ainsdale

Annual Report 2021

Covid-19 lockdown and the gradual lifting of restrictions

We started 2021 with the church being open for public worship with rigorous risk Assessment measures in place. However, by the middle of January it became apparent that there were safety concerns due to the increasing infection rates. In view of this, on 19 January it was decided to suspend public worship in the church building for services but to continue with funerals and the Job Club. It was felt this helped to reinforce the ‘stay at home’ message.

Despite physical attendance being curtailed, the amazing fact was that CHURCH WAS NOT CLOSED for we, the people, are the church, not the building. We continued with the 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 led by our organist Paul, members of the choir and Giles from our music group.

We also relaunched the online coffee mornings to encourage social engagement which was much appreciated by people who were self-isolating.

Giles Davies expertly compiled the online content. Facebook and our Church website also played an important part in keeping people connected to the church.

The PCC are extremely grateful to Giles Davies, Chris York, Lindsay Jessop and Chris Doragh for their expertise and the support they have given with their technical knowledge.

During this time, we continued to reach out to people who did not have access to a computer with regular telephone calls. We also prepared Lent and Pentecost doorstep bags containing Fair Trade chocolate, ideas for reflections during Lent. The bags also enclosed Lent and Easter cards which had been designed by our Junior PCC. This was a good way to reach out to our church family, particularly those who were lonely or do not have internet access. They were well received by everyone.

Socially-distanced worship!

Following the government roadmap, we reopened the church for regular public worship starting with the Good Friday ‘Hour at the Cross’ and Easter Sunday. 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 restarted the midweek said communion service on a Wednesday morning – again maintaining precautions including social distancing and operating a booking system. During this time, we continued to provide the recorded YouTube services.

In May, as we were able to resume services in the church building, we decided to discontinue the YouTube services and replace this with livestreaming of the Sunday 10-30 service so we were still able to reach out to people who were fearful about returning to the church building. Throughout this time, we have also been able to livestream other services including funerals and christenings. This has proved invaluable when people have not been able to attend in person due to travel restrictions and limits on numbers being able to meet in church. These opportunities were appreciated by everyone, but especially those feeling isolated or fearful.

This pattern of worship in the Church building continued up to September when we decided to move the mid-week service back to Thursdays and to reinstate the 8-30 holy communion service. We were also delighted that we were able to resume singing at the Sunday 10-30 service in line with Church of England. We continued to have a stringent risk assessment in place, encouraging people to wear masks

Page 11

Diocese of Liverpool

St John - Ainsdale

Annual Report 2021

and sanitise their hands. The PCC are extremely grateful to Frank Hyland for his constant support, expertise and vigilance in compiling and enacting our risk assessments during this time.

Christmas 2021

Christmas was an opportunity to celebrate Jesus’ birth whilst gathering in the church building in a socially distanced way.

Our Christingle praise and worship service was a whole school event held in church. Jane led the worship before the children created Christingles in their year groups. The service was live streamed and everyone was encouraged to join in. A truly memorable experience!

The carol service was very popular and we appreciated the opportunity to sing carols inside in a safe way.

We had our special Crib service on Christmas Eve which was held in Church and also live streamed for those at home. It was an opportunity for everyone to dress up as shepherds, angels, wise men and women, Mary and Joseph, stars, Herod and innkeepers. Adults as well as children were encouraged to dress up!

We were also delighted to be able to reinstate the Midnight mass on Christmas eve which proved to be popular.

Music for services

As with all church-based activities, singing in church was severely impacted by the pandemic. During the varying levels of lockdown members of the choir and music group supplied videos for the online services and had one or two singing during communion only.

The full choir and music group returned to lead worship at the 10.30 services and other church services in September. In addition, the choir supported the Remembrance Sunday service on the green and the music group supported 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 music.

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-to-face visit.

The Care group was not able to arrange any social events in 2021 because of Covid Restrictions.

This also curtailed the ability of members to visit people in their homes apart from a few periods when visiting rules were relaxed. Before and after Christmas some Home Communion visits were able to take place and we hope to increase this when restrictions are eased.

Page 12

Diocese of Liverpool

St John - Ainsdale

Annual Report 2021

The prayer circle was very active and we had many requests for prayers and this was appreciated by those who were prayed for and their relatives.

Currently members of the Care Group are filling in forms to comply with security regulations and we hope to restart social activities and a fuller programme of visiting in the spring of 2022.

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 without internet access.

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

2b. Supporting our children and young people

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

Children and youth mission

We are extremely grateful for all those who support our children and young people. There is also a real need for new volunteers to come forward, who feel they have a calling to assist with this important part of our mission, so it can be refreshed and renewed with their enthusiastic participation. We ask for your prayers that this need will touch people’s hearts.

During the past year with church closure and lockdowns pertaining to the Covid pandemic, it remained a challenge to find ways to continue to reach out and engage the children and young people in our church family. However, we were given an opportunity to think “OUT OF THE BOX” and adapt new ways to keep in touch and connect - especially through social media and online activities, and to encourage faith at home. We continued to provide online worship sessions throughout the year, even when we were able to return to church and stream services. We did this through a new initiative - YOUNG ROOTS on YouTube. These short weekly sessions incorporate a Bible story, worship songs, prayers and often a craft for our younger members.

As Supaclub on Sundays face to face sessions at church were unable to resume during 2021, parents received regular emails and links to online resources for us to keep in touch.

Physical attendance by the children and their families to attend Sunday services proved difficult, so we began to rethink our vision and start to create new opportunities to worship together……. times to worship outdoors, and in church in different and exciting ways - not just on Sundays - and to provide opportunities for families to share faith at home.

At Easter, we made doorstep deliveries to them and our Baptism families, with bags containing a SU book, colouring/craft activities and some Easter treats. This provided a great opportunity to enjoy short, socially distanced conversations and reconnect.

In July, on Godparents Sunday, we held a Big Family Picnic in the church grounds. We were blessed with fine weather, and it was an occasion when many of our young families returned with their children for a lively service, topped off with picnic bags of cake to take home.

Page 13

----- Start of picture text -----
Diocese of Liverpool
----- End of picture text -----

----- Start of picture text -----
St John - Ainsdale
----- End of picture text -----

----- Start of picture text -----
Annual Report 2021
----- End of picture text -----

Another outdoor event was our Welcome Back to Church Saturday afternoon celebration in early September, with games, crafts and a chance to sing at the microphone for our younger members, and contributions from SONG, the youth amateur theatre group who rehearse in our church building – even an inflatable football pitch. Great fun for all ages.

Following on from this September event, we began our new Praise & Worship Services held on the first and third Sundays in each month, and to include Parade Services on the third Sundays. These all-age services are particularly attractive for those families with young children, as they are designed to be short and inter-active. The children, young people and parents take a role in leading prayers and doing the Bible readings. The Worship Group songs are lively and encourage hearty participation, especially with the younger members. We have also been able to welcome Baptism families to these services.

Our services over the Christmas period included our Crib Service.

Doorstep Christmas bags were delivered to families, liaising with Little Johns, with a Christmas book for families to share faith at home and craft activities and treats.

In January we held a special Sunday Christingle service in church.

During the year, we have engaged with our church school , using zoom worship sessions in the classrooms. From September, it was possible to go back in to lead whole school worship. We are able to meet with over 200 pupils each week to share the message of God’s love.

There have also been opportunities to go into classes and, in the lead up to Christmas, the children in Year 3 explored the characters in the Nativity story through Christmas in a Box – encouraging reflection, responses and an opportunity for them to fill their own mini boxes and share faith at home.

Page 14

Diocese of Liverpool

St John - Ainsdale

Annual Report 2021

School class services returned to the church building, and over the Christmas period, the school held their celebrations in the church space. In January we welcomed the whole school in to make their own Christingles for a special service. Chaotic, but fun.

The children in Year 6 were presented with their own Bible donated by members of the congregation in December.

Page 15

Diocese of Liverpool

St John - Ainsdale

Annual Report 2021

Baptisms

We were able to resume baptism services once restrictions lifted. Members of the church family continue to knit and crochet blankets for the children being baptised, as we welcome each one into the church family, covering them in God’s love. The children also receive a Bible as a gift. Despite the pandemic and restrictions, we were delighted to baptise and welcome seven new members into the Jesus family here. We continue to receive many more baptism requests.

Confirmations

No confirmations could take place during the year, but there are plans to liaise with school to have discussions with the children in Y5 and Y6 about The Eucharist and Confirmation. The young people who had already considered going forward for Confirmation will do this in 2022.

Junior PCC

Many of the other children and young people’s activities we have had in the past have changed during the pandemic. Although Junior PCC sessions were also curtailed, they were able to meet on Zoom during the lockdown period, and work through a Journal, exploring their faith, but the sessions also incorporated some fun activities. The Junior PCC’s Garden of Hope was refreshed with the planting of colourful bedding plants.

Impact open youth club

Impact continued weekly on Zoom during the Pandemic, with lots of fun activities, under the supervision of Hettie and David Taberner from the Southport and Area Schools Worker Trust, Linda Davies from our church, and Joan Green from the Village Church as an ecumenical outreach with the support of the CTiA. Members logged on to ZOOM each week for fun Kahoot quizzes and to work through their ROOTED Journals until face-to-face sessions were able to recommence at The Methodist Church, outdoors and using a gazebo and the inflatable football pitch. We were able to return indoors as the weather turned colder. The addition of screens and Wii and Switch games and coloured lighting have transformed the foyer into a really welcoming and exciting space. It is so good for us to see so many young people return to this Safe Space and enjoy social time together once again and that the relationships formed with these young people have continued to grow.

Little John’s Baby and Toddler Group

We were delighted to be able to resume our sessions in the summer term last year, albeit with COVID restrictions very much in place. Parents and children alike were pleased to be able to get out and socialise even at a distance.

In September we changed the time of our session from afternoon to morning. This has proved to be a very successful move with us having up to 40 children at the sessions. This is double the number we used to have in the afternoons.

The PCC are extremely thankful for the skilled and dedicated team at Little John’s. The success of the group means that we are able to reach many more families and welcome them into our church building.

Page 16

Diocese of Liverpool

St John - Ainsdale

Annual Report 2021

Sandbrook District Rainbow, Brownies and Guides

The groups had another 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 leaders.

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

Returning face to face and some normality within our meetings has been fantastic. The guides have continued to be very active and complete Theme Awards - Bronze, Silver and Gold. Natural Remedies and Photography badges have been a great success with lots of homemade face masks and hand scrubs.

Pumpkin carving was messy but fun, marshmallow monsters were tasty too. Our Young Leader was awarded with her Leadership qualification and wished luck as she was off to university. Leaders were awarded five and ten- year service badges.

As we waved goodbye to our older guides to Rangers and Young Leaders, we welcomed Brownies into Guides.

We are looking forward to more adventures, opportunities and making friendships this next year.

We spent a weekend at Shirdley Hill Adventure House at the end of November celebrating an early Christmas. Movie evening, yule logs, candle holder snow globes and many other crafts were made. Christmas dinner followed by a snowman drive, fun games and prizes. Lastly, Sunday morning breakfast and watching The Grinch.

A few Guides and Leaders helped Southport Hesketh Round Table with the Santa sleigh collecting.

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

What a busy year 2021 was: we started the year off meeting on zoom, in June we were able to meet outside then in September we were able to return to indoor meetings.

The girls have gained lots of badges and achieved awards.

There has been lots of baking activities including decorating pancakes, s’mores cakes, Easter Egg cheesecakes and armpit fudge.

Also, craft evenings where we made Easter, Autumn and Christmas crafts. In November we welcomed Councillor Lynne Thompson to our meeting as part of Parliament Week.

Page 17

Diocese of Liverpool

St John - Ainsdale

Annual Report 2021

----- Start of picture text -----
Sports Afternoon at
Scarisbrick with the
Rainbows and Guides in
September
----- End of picture text -----

We were invited by Jane to have a meeting in the Vicarage Garden. We toasted marshmallows and played games.

----- Start of picture text -----
We finished the year with a
fundraising evening, raising £142
for Queenscourt Hospice.
----- End of picture text -----

We are so grateful for our wonderful Brownies who have been amazing over the past few months. Also, we are extremely grateful to their fabulous parents who enabled the meetings over zoom and their continued support when we returned to meetings in person.

We are looking forward to 2022 and getting back to normal again.

Ainsdale 2nd Rainbows – report by Ruth Leney (2[nd] Ainsdale leader)

2nd Ainsdale Rainbows have had another interesting year. Meetings remained on Zoom until May and we were then back in the church and took advantage of the lovely garden.

Once again, 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 commitment to the Guiding Family. One of this year’s favourite task was a bug hunt in the church grounds. Very exciting to discover so many bugs!!

Page 18

Diocese of Liverpool

St John - Ainsdale

Annual Report 2021

Two of our Rainbows received the top Rainbow Gold Award and had to display what they have most enjoyed about Rainbows among other tasks. There will be at least six more receiving this award before the end of the summer 2022.

We organised a danceathon to raise money for a unit flag. The Rainbows and their families generously raised nearly £600. This meant further long-term resources could be purchased, meaning the Ainsdale 2nd Rainbows 2021 have left a legacy for future Rainbows and should be very proud.

In the summer we visited Rev Jane in the vicarage garden. Storytelling and games made for a jolly time. We also visited Scarisbrick with the other St John guiding units for a sporting afternoon which was excellent fun.

Here's to a celebratory 2022 the Queens Platinum Jubilee!

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.

2c. Supporting the wider Church

Deanery Synod

Deanery Synod met in 2021 to discuss the following:

The Deanery Synod also had presentations on subjects including:

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

2d. Supporting the wider community and providing fellowship

Ecumenism

Churches Together in Ainsdale (CTiA) is a fellowship of Christian Churches in Ainsdale: United Reform Church, St John Stone/ Sacred Heart, the Methodist Church and St John’s.

The last year, like the previous year, was difficult because of Covid restrictions . We haven’t been able to meet so often Face to Face and continued to meet on Zoom although there weren’t as many meetings as normal due to clergy absences.

The Lent course was delivered via Zoom, with lively, diverse discussions on various topics including the Environment, Global Warming, Coming out of Denial, Faith Hope and Love. Those who attended found it a somewhat different Lent Course to anything we had done before and it was well received.

Page 19

Diocese of Liverpool

St John - Ainsdale

Annual Report 2021

During Christian Aid week on Saturday 15[th] May we held a Bric-a-brac sale, sold cakes and served breakfast under a gazebo, fortunately donated by Brough’s butchers, because there was heavy rain. Despite the rain people came and chatted, it was an enjoyable event, despite restrictions.

The highlight of the year was on Remembrance Day on 14[th] November. We were able to meet in person on the Village Green and the Reverend Patrick Evans organised the service. St John’s choir paraded across from the church as usual, and sang loudly. The uniformed organisations were also represented. It was good to see them all considering the previous year when it was celebrated online.

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 .

St John’s Job Club works 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.

Page 20

Diocese of Liverpool

St John - Ainsdale

Annual Report 2021

Despite the ups and downs of COVID restrictions, we have continued to keep our door open for those seeking and obtaining our help and support. This is a significant achievement when many CAP Job Clubs across the country were no longer operating, including the other Southport Job Club.

In June we were blessed to receive a grant of £1,200 from PH Holt to help with the annual running costs. One of our church members nominated the Job Club for the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service. We were interviewed by the local assessment panel in November 2021. We will know by mid-June 2022 if our nomination has been successful.

During the year we have helped 21 clients with 6 (almost 30%) of them finding employment (4 permanent, 1 volunteering and 1 seasonal). We delivered two Step towards Employment courses, helping a number of clients to improve their job searching and CV writing skills as well as building up their confidence and eventually gaining employment.

At Christmas we were able to bless our clients by offering some chocolates to make Christmas just a bit more special. We helped one client who was on his own for Christmas by supplying a food hamper.

What our clients say about us:

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.

Website and social media presence

As in all things, “communication” is key. The local, national and yes, global audience, we receive to our website and Facebook pages is crucial for our church and its future. These are vital “tools” in spreading the word and if there are any church groups’ news or events coming up, please do send them to our website and Facebook managers to include and advertise them on our page … you never know who sees them?!!

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

Church website

Chris Doragh took over managing our website in 2021 from Lindsay Jessop and if people need to get in contact with Chris then details are on our main website page.

This past year has been difficult for us all and our two websites have given us the chance to keep people up to date with:

Our main website https://www.stjohnsainsdale.org.uk attracted a total of 5,721 views in 2021, which 2,834 of them where new uses.

We also have a presence on the Church of England hosted website https://www.achurchnearyou.com which attracts over 4,500 views per annum.

Both sites provide useful information on all our services, events and enable our audience far and wide to access information on our church.

We Live stream our 10:30am Service on a Sunday, and also sometimes Live stream Weddings & Funerals. There is a link to access our YouTube Channel (where you can watch the services from the comfort of your home) on our site.

Page 21

Diocese of Liverpool

St John - Ainsdale

Annual Report 2021

The Diary Section on Our Site, is where you can find dates and times of our Services. Also, other activities such as Job Club, Little Johns etc.

Our main site users viewed 11,436 pages during 2021. We had viewers from 9 different countries outside the UK:

Country Total No of Views
United States 363
China 247
Canada 34
Spain 11
Ireland 10
France 8
Germany 7
Ukraine 7
Brazil 5

Our sites are updated each week and hopefully provide our audience with an accurate record of what is happening at St John's. We would like to attract more website views/uses, if you have any suggestions on how we could do this don’t hesitate to get in touch with Chris.

Facebook Page Report for 2021

Chris York set up our Church’s Facebook page back in August 2012 to promote our place in the community locally as well as further afield, along with our massive fundraising efforts at that time and the numerous events as well as day to day church activities when the main church building was closed, but “church” still carried on.

In 2021, our church page reached 20,175 people globally, up 6% on the previous year.

Our top “reach” post for the entire year was for our CAP Job Club re-opening in September with 2138 people seeing it…followed by Jane’s Advent update in December and then a post for Edna Hancock’s Memorial Service in November …amazing how an individual post can reach so many people and households!

782 people “like” and follow our page, this was up from 703 at the start of the year, which is encouraging to see this growing.

This “audience” is 76.7% women and 23.3% men, with a good representation across age groups (see graph below). They are predominantly from the UK but also from Australia, Rwanda, USA, Ireland, Uganda, Italy, Nigeria, The Philippines and even Afghanistan!

Page 22

Diocese of Liverpool

St John - Ainsdale

Annual Report 2021

It’s hard to believe that the Facebook Page has been going for 10 years and whilst it isn’t an onerous task, or even a hard one, it is Chris’s way of doing “something” for our church and its mission, especially as it’s not easy or practicable for him to do more at this time unfortunately!

For the last 3 years he has attempted to include a daily bible verse on the page as part of his own bible reading challenge and this is well received and appreciated.

Any events or updates are shared, where possible, on other local Facebook pages and groups, so this casts the net even further.

Here’s to more “likes”, “follows” and social media in 2022 and beyond!

Support for other charitable organisations

During 2021 St John’s have continued to support and work with other organisations with similar mission objectives:

Page 23

Diocese of Liverpool

St John - Ainsdale

Annual Report 2021

During 2021 the congregation of St John’s has continued to support their work which advocates home-care and day-care service for all in Africa.

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, Jesus, who promised ‘good news’ for the poor and ‘freedom’ for the oppressed. Jesus called us all to action. 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 the last few years, 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. Lockdown has changed the way we fundraise as we can no longer do House to House collections. So, a few church members decided to walk individually and took on the challenge of 300,000 steps in May (10,000 steps per day). We also held a cake sale and bric-a-brac sale at the Village Church and held a church collection. Altogether with the other churches in Ainsdale we raised £1,389.74 for Christian Aid. The combined total raised by all of the Southport churches was just over £11,500.

Eco Group

The Eco Group was founded in June 2021. We decided that we would use the fifth “Mark of Mission” as our Titled Aims: “To strive to safeguard the integrity of creation and sustain and renew the earth”. Five objectives were chosen to reflect how we can best work towards completing our Aims:

  1. We will have intentional prayer around Eco issues. This will be done on a regular basis with specific themes.

  2. Become an Eco Church

  3. Seek climate Justice for our world, with regular campaign actions and themed events/days.

  4. Raise awareness with our church, our community, nationally and internationally.

  5. Become a Fairtrade church.

Key milestones during 2021 were becoming a Fairtrade church and achieving an Eco Church Bronze Award.

As part of our commitment to seek climate justice for the world, in October Eirlys organised a climate walk to Liverpool cathedral, "Rise to the moment - relay to COP26 - Merseyside", walking in solidarity with YCCN (Young Christian Climate Network). This became a Diocesan event with over 50 churches involved across the region. Six members from the church joined with over 300 other people across the region in the walking relay to highlight the need for climate justice and the human, social, and political dimensions of global warming. Both the

congregation and St John's school got involved by writing prayers and folding them into origami boats which joined approximately 3,000 other prayer boats taken to the cathedral to highlight the issue of Climate

Crisis and the effects it is having on some of the world’s most vulnerable people. The message to the world leaders at COP26 was to make decisions which protect people not bank balances, to decide that no country will go into debt tackling climate change and saying "we are all in the same storm, but we are not in the same boat". We also made banners which helped us engage with the general public as we walked.

From September 2021, the theme of creation was adopted for our parade services for 2021/22.

Page 24

Diocese of Liverpool

St John - Ainsdale

Annual Report 2021

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 Church and Community Partnerships Committee (formerly 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, School and others.

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.

Report from Lorna O’Brien, Head Teacher St John’s CE Primary School

As the new Headteacher at Ainsdale St. John’s CE Primary School, it is a privilege to write this year’s contribution to the annual report. As mentioned to the school community in my letter of introduction back in September, the school holds such a special place in the hearts of Ainsdale families, generations for some, and I feel truly blessed to be the new custodian.

Mr Hooton retired during the summer of 2021 after 18 years serving the

community. Thankfully the COVID restrictions had relaxed enough to ensure he had a fabulous send-off with many more happy memories to add to the ones that he had already made in his time at the school.

After a rigorous interview process, I am pleased to say that the governors agreed that it was in God’s plan that I should lead the school in this next chapter of its story. Thanks to the support of Mr Hooton and the team at Ainsdale St. John’s, there was a seamless transition. I was even allowed to transform the office so that it felt a little bit more like home ahead of my September start.

We now find ourselves halfway through a new school year which has still had to contend with the challenges of COVID. Despite the difficulties, we have prioritised the reintroduction of class services and face to face parents’ evenings to reconnect with our families. We have also been able to offer a wide range of extra-curricular activities and educational visits recognising just how much our children have missed in recent years. Although our curriculum needs to prioritise academic areas of lost learning, we are very mindful that it is also our responsibility to develop our children spiritually, socially and emotionally.

We are thankful to Reverend Jane, Linda Davies and John Forshaw for providing a weekly church led worship. This worship gets each new week off to a fabulous start and complements our values worship, Picture News, singing worship and Friday celebration worship within school.

This year we have also introduced our ASJ Ambassadors; a whole school wide school council initiative to ensure ALL children have a chance to make positive changes to our immediate, and wider, community. For example, the eco team have introduced a paper recycling scheme and the VIPs (Values In Practice) will be evaluating worship and offering suggestions for improvements; I will have to warn Reverend Jane that they are a tough crowd!

If you would like to keep abreast of further changes at school, as part of our priority to focus on relationships and improve communication, we now have a school Twitter account @AinsdaleStJohns and a weekly

Page 25

Diocese of Liverpool

St John - Ainsdale

Annual Report 2021

newsletter which is emailed to our families that, as well as updating about school life, always references our Christian value worship from that week. The newsletter is uploaded to our new school website.

Finally, despite new leadership and changes, Ainsdale St. John’s CE Primary School continues to be a family where staff, children, families and church all work together to, ‘encourage one another and build each other up’ (1 Thessalonians 5:11).

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

Here at Natterjacks Day nursery, like many businesses we have had our challenges with Covid 19.

We have been able to support our families within the area and further afield with childcare that has been consistent within the rules and restrictions of Covid guidelines. Sometimes challenging with all the regular changes!!!

We have grown in numbers during the last year to nearly full capacity, for which we give thanks to our current and past families who have chosen us for childcare for their children. They have made positive recommendations to friends and families who have since visited the nursery and registered with us. A huge thank you to you.

We use Facebook to celebrate activities, notices and advice - please take a look at our posts.

We have recently received a Grade 5 award from Sefton Council for Food Safety and Hygiene. Thank you to Olga our nursery cook.

Our knowledgeable and dedicated team, also growing with demand, are like an extended family to the children and we pride ourselves with the close parent partner relationship we have.

You may see us exploring the local environment walking with our triple buggies or with our Pre-school children on ‘Walkodiles’ please give us a wave or say hello.

We hope to continue to grow in strength as a setting, continue also in offering a safe, caring, creative and educational environment for children and their families who choose us. We would still welcome volunteers to come into nursery to read with the children. I know we had some members of church that kindly volunteered before covid so if you can please let us know, as long as you have a DBS, we would still love you to come and see all of us on a weekly / monthly basis.

Best wishes to you all

Mai-Ling, John, Julie and all the Natterjacks team.

Page 26

Diocese of Liverpool

St John - Ainsdale

Annual Report 2021

Section 4: Our Infrastructure

Church Building

During the year minor snagging issues were addressed. The main issue was damage to two of the large, west facing windows in the kitchen. The damage was noted as part of a warden’s inspection of the premises. This repair has been outstanding for some months because of difficulties identifying a contractor prepared to do the work and supply issues. Rainwater ingress at the rear door has been partially solved but remains a problem. The state of the guttering and drainpipes has not changed markedly since the Quinquennial inspection in 2018. Because of this, a less costly repaint repair may be appropriate rather than the suggested re-sanding and painting.

CHURCH HALL

Repairs were made to a number of minor problems. During the year there were discussions with the nursery about additional changes to improve working conditions for nursery staff. The main expenditure was the fitting of a blind in the kitchen above the sink and blinds for the windows in the Committee Room. Recently, John Duckworth has painted the Committee Room.

Towards the end of the year there was discussion about an extended use of the Committee Room by the Nursery. This was discussed with the vicar and the wardens. Following consultation, it was decided that no substantial changes would be made and the present pattern of use would continue.

GROUNDS

Groundworks and general maintenance were undertaken during the year around the properties. The church lawn was maintained by a gardener. The Memorial Garden was tidied by a work party. A special thanks to David Evans for his work on the sandstone plinth in the Memorial Garden and to David Phipps for maintaining the front flower beds during the year. Following the death of Bernard Nolan, a former PCC treasurer, the family provided an additional bench in the Memorial Garden.

SECRET GARDEN

An area of land opposite the Vicarage, across from the public pathway, is known as the ‘Secret Garden’. During the year, there was discussion regarding making this area suitable for outdoor activities. The nursery identified this as an opportunity for an extended outdoor facility and the PCC saw a use by the church and uniformed organisations. The land is owned by Liverpool Diocese. The nursery funded the legal work to produce a joint Memorandum of Understanding which was successfully submitted to the Liverpool Diocesan Board of Finance. Work will go ahead during 2022 to make the necessary improvements.

Page 27

Diocese of Liverpool

St John - Ainsdale

Annual Report 2021

Section 5: Financial Review

Basis of Accounting

The PCC has continued with the adoption of 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.

General Fund

The Covid-19 pandemic has continued to affect church finances during 2021, with the church building being closed for part of the year. Despite this, income was up by over £21k compared to 2020.

During 2021 were we unable to hold any private functions or events and we continue to rely on generous regular planned donations and for the loyal support of our congregation.

Where possible the PCC took measures to reduce costs, and during 2021 we have managed to control our operational costs and have seen a reduction in the cost of building maintenance and wages.

The PCC took the decision to continue funding key mission activities including the Job Club.

We also continued to pay our Parish Share in full to support the wider work of the Diocese and those churches impacted worse than us.

Natterjacks also helped us to maintain a healthy financial status by honouring their monthly payment and service charges.

We continue to honour our monthly loan payments to Charity Bank, but our debt still stands at over £159k. Our Charity Bank Loan Security Deposit Account has a credit balance of £6,432 which is held in Charity Bank as security against the loan. Interest charges on our loan repayments remain high.

At the end of 2021 our receipts and payments account balance has increased by £14k to £46k.

Despite another 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.

In addition, we make the church freely available to the school and Uniformed Organisations and are proud to help support SONG, the Southport based award-winning junior theatre group, who rehearse regularly in Church on Sunday afternoons and also provide us with regular and generous financial donations.

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 and 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 £369 as at 31 December 2021). It is the intention of the PCC to realise these shares at an appropriate time.

Page 28

Diocese of Liverpool

St John - Ainsdale

Annual Report 2021

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 is now managed directly within the main church account.

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.

The next 12 months will prove to be another challenging period as increased operational costs (mainly heating) will require a full review of our expenditure and we will seek to make the most effective use of our income. We are also identifying ways to increase revenue and have set up a small team to look at “generosity week”.

We have already reviewed 3[rd] party rental and hire charges and how we cover any shortfalls, together with the most effective use of our heating / control programming to reduce costs wherever possible.

Page 29

Diocese of Liverpool

St John - Ainsdale

Annual Report 2021

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 Jane Morgan Attendance figures Steve Cox Choir Paul Ellis (Organist) & Chris York (Choir Association Chairman) Music group John Forshaw & Giles Davies St John’s Care Group Nancy Lloyd Parry Children and young people’s ministry Linda Davies Impact youth club Linda Davies Baptisms Linda Davies Little John’s Chris Thursfield Guiding Vanessa Riley (17th Guide leader) Brownies Joanne York (15th Brownies leader) Rainbows Ruth Leney (2nd Ainsdale leader) Deanery Synod Paul Ellis St John’s School Lorna O’Brien (Head Teacher) Natterjack’s Day Nursery Mai-Ling & John Duckworth CAP Job Club Carol Richardson Eco Group Chris Treble Church Building Maintenance & Development Frank Hyland Finance, Giving and Fundraising Lindsay Jessop St John’s Website Chris Doragh St John’s Facebook page Chris York Electoral roll Paul Olive Christian Aid Eirlys Jessop Churches Together in Ainsdale (CTiA) Jean Washbourne Safeguarding Chris Thursfield

Page 30

Diocese of Liverpool

St John - Ainsdale

Annual Report 2021

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. During 2021 there was a net decrease of 5 with 3 entries added and 8 removed in the year. The Roll as at 31 December 2021 was 132.

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 ten times during 2021 (including zoom meetings) with an average level of attendance of 82%.

During 2021 the PCC decided to create an Eco Group which held its first meeting on 24 June 2021.

The PCC is the decision-making body of The Church with any 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 church and hall users. Action in the main areas of risk is managed as follows:

Fire, Health and Safety

The PCC routinely reviewed the Health and Safety and fire arrangements together with relevant risk assessments. The wardens carried out regular inspections as part of their duties and in August identified serious damage to windows in the kitchen of the church building. Matters noted were either rectified or reported to the PCC for further action. The fire system and exits in the church and hall were maintained in working order and inspected by certified competent persons in accordance with the safety requirements.

Operational Risk

The need for precautions and the associated control measures to restrict Covid infection were the main focus of attention. Risk assessments relating to services and other activities were put in place following PCC approval. These were reviewed when the levels of infection or the guidance changed throughout the year. The school and PCC liaised on risk control measures relating to Covid, when services for events were held in church during 2021. In addition, the PCC required all hirers of the church and hall to provide suitable and sufficient risk assessments to cover their activities.

A number of birthday parties were held in the church building. Some included the provision of large inflatable play equipment. The PCC assessed the risks and potential hazard to the fabric of the building and identified a supplier of leisure equipment that fulfilled our needs. The supplier was assessed as suitable following an inspection of equipment, arrangements for maintenance and inspection together with membership of a relevant professional Standards Association. In all cases where inflatable equipment is requested, hirers are required to hire the equipment from the approved supplier.

Safeguarding Procedures

The past year has been fairly quiet with no issues. As a PCC we reviewed and 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.

As a Church we follow the Church of England guidelines for Safer Recruitment to ensure our volunteers and congregation members of all ages are kept safe.

All DBS checks are currently up-to-date.

All personal information is confidential and stored and managed in accordance with the data protection legislation.

Page 31

Diocese of Liverpool

St John - Ainsdale

Annual Report 2021

St John's Ainsdale takes its duty and obligation to protect all extremely seriously. We have adopted the national Church of England's robust procedures and guidelines. You can find out more about the national policies and procedures at http://www.churchofengland.org/safeguarding

If you have any safeguarding concerns or issues on a safeguarding matter then you can find useful contact information at http://www.liverpool.anglican.org/safeguarding

New Appointments

Chairperson of eco group Chris Treble appointed on 25 May 2021

Co-opted members of PCC

Giles Davies appointed on 25 October 2021

Gill Green appointed 28 February 2022

Treasurer Lindsay Jessop appointed on 2 August 2021

Gift aid Secretary Heather Treble appointed on 2 August 2021

Church Calendar and hire bookings Deb Bishop appointed on 28 September 2021

Content editor of Church Website Chris Doragh appointed on 28 September 2021

Online Stats officer Paul Ellis appointed on 29 November 2021

Page 32

Diocese of Liverpool

St John - Ainsdale

Annual Report 2021

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 2021 until the date this report was approved are:

To APCM 2021 From APCM 2021
Incumbent: Rev. Jane Morgan - PCC Chair Rev Jane Morgan - PCC Chair
Reader: Eirlys Jessop Eirlys Jessop
Churchwardens: Lesley Phipps Lesley Phipps
Chris Thursfield – PCC Vice Chair Chris Thursfield – PCC Vice Chair
Deanery Synod Reps: Paul Ellis Paul Ellis
Jean Washbourne Jean Washbourne
John Forshaw from 25 October 2021
Elected Members: Helen Parker - PCC Secretary Helen Parker - PCC Secretary
Ruth Wake - Treasurer Ruth Wake – Treasurer (resigned 16 July 2021)
Kathryn Corey Kathryn Corey
Steve Cox
Linda Davies Linda Davies
John Forshaw John Forshaw
Lynne Grice
Maggie Hilton
Frank Hyland Frank Hyland
Patricia Jameson
Lindsay Jessop Lindsay Jessop -Treasurer from 2 August 2021
Val Sinnott Val Sinnott
Ann Walton Ann Walton
Co-opted members of PCC: Giles Davies appointed on 25 October 2021
Gill Green appointed 28 February 2022

The following specific roles are approved by the PCC:

Deputy chair Chris Thursfield
PCC Secretary Helen Parker
Treasurer Lindsay Jessop
Electoral Roll Officer Paul Olive
Safeguarding Officer Chris Thursfield
Online stats officer Paul Ellis
Children’s Work Co-ordinator Linda Davies
Health & Safety Advisor Frank Hyland
Gift aid Secretary Heather Treble
Church Calendar and hire bookings Deb Bishop
Responsibility for Church Website Chris Doragh
Chairperson of eco group Chris Treble
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 26 April 2022 and signed on their behalf by Rev Jane Morgan (PCC Chairman)

Page 33

Diocese of Liverpool

St John - Ainsdale

Annual Report 2021

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

at 31 December 2021

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

I report on the accounts for the year ended 31 December 2021

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: 26 April 2022

Page 34

Diocese of Liverpool

St John - Ainsdale

Annual Report 2021

PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF AINSDALE ST JOHN FINANCIAL STATEMENT

For the year ending 31 December 2021

General (Unrestricted) Fund Receipts & Payments Account

RECEIPTS
Income and endowments
Planned giving
Collections (open plate)
Donations and legacies
2021 Appeal
Donations
Tax recoverable including GASDS
Other trading activities
Parish magazine – sales and adverts
Rent & Service charge – Natterjacks (net of refund)
Fundraising activities
Miscellaneous
Charitable activities
PCC Fees / weddings & funerals
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 ( & weddings, funerals)
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 2021
Bank current and deposit accounts at 1 January 2022		 2021
59,673
3,743
63,415
16,675
7,530
17,079
41,284
0
26,603
415
1,729
28,747
8,030
5,065
13,095
22
22
568
0
568
147,132
0
69
69
4,966
76,393
22,848
1,199
5,633
1,515
112,555
0
0
6,052
1,663
7,715
12,502
0
12,502
0
0
132,842
14,290
0
0
31,806
46,096		 2020
£
£
57,753
1,730
59,483
1,000
10,229
16,203
27,433
64
24,261
2,419
672
27,416
1,432
3,810
5,242
61
61
1,253
1,610
130
4,000
6,994
126,628
0
134
134
4,287
75,644
23,687
100
140
197
9,503
113,559
843
843
7,053
1,835
8,888
12,754
24
12,778
0
0
136,201
(9,573)
6,750
6,750
(2,823)
34,629
31,806		 2020
£
£
57,753
1,730
59,483
1,000
10,229
16,203
27,433
64
24,261
2,419
672
27,416
1,432
3,810
5,242
61
61
1,253
1,610
130
4,000
6,994
126,628
0
134
134
4,287
75,644
23,687
100
140
197
9,503
113,559
843
843
7,053
1,835
8,888
12,754
24
12,778
0
0
136,201
(9,573)
6,750
6,750
(2,823)
34,629
31,806
126,628
134
113,559
843
8,888
12,778
0
136,201
(9,573)
6,750
(2,823)
34,629
31,806

Page 35

Diocese of Liverpool

St John - Ainsdale

Annual Report 2021

PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF AINSDALE ST JOHN FINANCIAL STATEMENT

For the year ending 31 December 2021

2021 2020
£ £ £ £
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 0
0
Payments
Organ maintenance 240 236
240 236
Excess of Receipts over Payments -240 (236)
Bank current and deposit accounts at 1 January 292 528
Bank current and deposit accounts at 31 December 52 292
Donations - restricted funds
Job club - P Holt 1,200
1,200
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 0 317
Restricted donations - funds introduced in year (banked and cash in person) 224 95
224 412
Payments
Purchase of flowers & float 328 252
328 252
Excess of Receipts over Payments -104 160
Balance (petty cash / current account) at 1 January 160 0
Balance (petty cash / current account) at 31 December 56 160
CHURCH MISSION FUND - Restricted Fund
The Mission Fund was established in 2020 to fund specific, identified Mission objectives.
Receipts
Restricted Donations 0 200
200
Payments
0 0
0
Excess of Receipts over Payments 0 200
Bank current and deposit accounts at 1 January 200 0
Bank current and deposit accounts at 31 December 200 200

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
(6,750)
0
6,750
0
0
0

Page 36

Diocese of Liverpool

St John - Ainsdale

Annual Report 2021

PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF AINSDALE ST JOHN STATEMENT OF ASSETS AND LIABILITIES at 31 December 2021

h Funds (bank / petty cash accounts)
General Fund (including amounts held in Charity Bank Loan Security Deposit Account)
Mission Fund - historic designated
Organ Fund - restricted (funds in general a/c)
Church Flower Fund - restricted
(cash in hand)
Church Mission Fund - restricted
(funds in general a/c)
CAP - resricted funds
(funds in general a/c)
Refund of course fee
(funds in general a/c)
Held on behalf of others
Total all cash funds
stment Assets
15.68 CBF Church of England Investment Fund income shares (mid market value at 31 December)		 2021
2020
£
46,096
31,806
0
0
52
292
56
160
200
200
1,200
313
121
47,917
32,580
369
320
369
320

Cash Funds (bank / petty cash accounts)

Investment Assets

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) 159,481
163,755
159,481
163,755

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.

  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. a) Southport and Area Schools Worker Trust General donation

    • Donation towards the cost of Southport Higher Tour

  7. b) Christians Against Poverty (CAP)

  8. 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:

Approved by the PCC on and signed on their behalf

The Revd Jane Morgan PCC Chairman

Mr Lindsay Jessop PCC Treasurer

Page 37