2023-08-31-accounts - High Street Methodist Church Maidenhead

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High Street Maidenhead Methodist Church

Trustees Report for year ending 31 August 2023

Introduction

The life of High Street Methodist has slowly returned to more normal activities this year. At the end of this Trustees’ Report is an Appendix with a copy of the Annual Report submitted to the General Church Meeting in April 2023. This gives a good overview of what we have done and what has been achieved during the previous 12 months.

Ministerial and pastoral oversight has been provided by Rev. Dr Pete Phillips since 1[st] September 2022 until the present day.

Objectives

The purposes of the Methodist Church are and shall be deemed to have been since the date of union the advancement of:

The Christian faith in accordance with the doctrinal standards and the discipline of the Methodist Church
Any charitable purpose for the time being of any Connexional, District, Circuit, local or other organisation of the Methodist Church
Any charitable purpose for the time being of any society or institution or subsidiary or ancillary to the Methodist Church
Any purpose for the time being of any charity being a charity subsidiary or ancillary to the Methodist Church.

Church’s Vision and Mission

Seek to enable all to encounter God in ways which are Spirit-led and celebratory, through worship which is diverse and relevant to our local communities.
To be a caring Christian community in the heart of Maidenhead

Through Learning and Caring

To be aware of the nature and context of High Street Methodist Church.
To explore the word of God, in study, prayer, and fellowship.
To offer pastoral care to members and adherents.
To support the presence and witness of the wider Christian Community within Maidenhead.
To build disciples by nurturing faith and recognising and developing gifts; to encourage new leaders.
To value our place within the Methodist Connexion and the World Church.

Through Service

To encourage team working.
To be a prophetic and free church voice, and initiate action for social justice.
To respond to needs locally and globally.
To provide safe spaces for the community.
To support both the Methodist and World Church through prayer and action.
To work ecumenically whenever the opportunity arises and, when appropriate, with other faiths

Through Evangelism

To offer love in the name of Jesus Christ.
To confidently share and proclaim our faith in ways which are sensitive and respectful.

Brief financial review of the year

During the financial year ending 31[st] August 2023 the total income received was £186,866 and outgoings amounted to £140,441 leading to a surplus of £46,425. Total funds carried forward amount to £210,252 of which £44,352 are restricted funds set aside for specific projects or charitable work. Fuller details can be seen in the accompanying statement of accounts.

Structure, Governance and Management

High Street Maidenhead Methodist Church is part of the Thames Valley Circuit of the Methodist Church and is governed by the Deed of Union (1932) and the Methodist Church Act 1976 as amended March 2011. Overall control of the Circuit rests with the Methodist Conference. The Connexional Office implements decisions made by Conference and is also responsible for the stationing of ministers in individual Circuits. Connexional decisions are passed to the Chair of the District and the appropriate Officers of the District for regional implementation. The District passes the control down to Circuit level for local implementation by the Superintendent Minister, other ministerial staff and Circuit Stewards via the medium of the Circuit Meeting. The membership of the Circuit Meeting is laid down in the Constitutional Practices and Discipline of the Methodist Church. The Circuit Leadership Team comprises a Senior Circuit Steward, four other Circuit Stewards, the Circuit Treasurer, the Superintendent Minister and three other Ministers. Circuit meetings are held four times a year and are attended by the Circuit Leaders, Church Ministers, and representatives from the church congregations. High Street Methodist Church’s congregation is governed by its Church Council which is chaired by the Minister in Pastoral Charge. The Church Council consists of Church Stewards and officers nominated and voted on by the entire Church membership at the Annual Church Meeting. Council Meetings are chaired by the Minister in Pastoral Charge, as delegated by the Superintendent Minister, with those attending becoming the Trustees of the church/charity. It is the Trustees who comprise the decision-making body and who will vote on proposals put before the meeting.

Volunteers

High Street Methodist Church, Maidenhead is grateful to the Church Stewards and other members of Church Council who freely volunteer their time to attend meetings and to carry out the administrative work required in order to run the church successfully.

Legal and Administrative Information

Full Name of Charity: Maidenhead High Street Methodist Church

Registration Charity Number: 1129473

Date of registration 4 January 2010

Main communication address: Methodist Church Office, King Street, Maidenhead SL6 1EF

Website: http://www.methodistmaidenhead.org.uk

Peter White acted as the principal officer overseeing the day-to-day financial management and accounting for the church during the year.

Independent Examiner of the accounts: Mr David Kinna, 18 Turpins Green, Maidenhead, SL6 4QE

Bankers: HSBC 35 High Street, Maidenhead SL6 1JQ; and, Central Finance Board of the Methodist Church, 9 Bonhill Street, London EC2A 4PE

Trustees for Methodist Church Purposes: Central Buildings Oldham Street Manchester M1 1JQ

Local Trustees

The members of High Street Maidenhead Methodist Church Council Meeting are the Charity Trustees, membership being made up of church office holders, ministers and representatives appointed by the church congregation.

Minister in Pastoral Charge: Rev Dr Pete Phillips

Church Stewards: Diana Phipps, Elijah Kommu, Ilse Statham, Margaret Maskell, Pat Crowle, Ruth Hill

Treasurer: Peter White

Other members of Church Council: Ann Pfeiffer, Charlotte Crichton, Claire Boycott, Felicity Kendon, Gill Harbut, Glenice White. Jean Barnett, Joy Brown, John Statham, Judy Stimson, Karen Ackling, Matthew Edwards, Maureen Over, Pauline Joseph, Roger Neal, Tim Rayers

Appendix 1 Annual Report

March 2023

Minister’s Report

It’s been a busy first seven months as the half-time minister at High Street. We’ve established a new pattern of worship – focussing on the morning service which we send out online, but also encouraging more engagement with Breakfast Church, reintroducing a 9am monthly Communion, and a new 6pm monthly Preaching/Praise service. The results are good – with increased attendances overall. Breakfast Church is up to about 35-40 people each month, and the 10.30 service has gone above 100 on a couple of occasions with average attendance above 60 alongside about 20 regular viewers on the YouTube feed. We’ve also had a number of big services with Jessica’s dedication/New Members’ Service (what a brilliant event that was and such a lovely meal afterwards) and Samuel Shiell’s baptism (87 guests and they seemed engaged and very happy to be there). It was great to see how much our guests for these services were welcomed. Of course, more services mean more work for musicians, musical director, technicians and stewards. A big thanks to all those who have helped out. We’ll keep a review through the stewards’ meeting/leadership team on whether we are all doing too much, we need to bring in more people to support the services, or need to cut down. But I think things are going well.

Sadly, we’ve also had some funerals and some sad moments as we note continued illness for some of our members and friends. We continue to lift them up in prayer.

We’ve held a Warm Welcome Drop In throughout February and March with attendance not too bad – sometime half a dozen people dropping in, sometimes more like 20. It’s been good to work alongside Tamsin and see the work she and her team do in Recharge and to see Carol and Ruth working alongside her when they can. Many thanks to Di who has worked so hard in the kitchen for the drop-in, as she has with Friday Lunch Club and the big meals we have had to welcome Theresa and I and also Jessica’s dedication. Thankyou too to those of you who dropped in to welcome the people coming to the drop in. It looks likely that we’ll restart the Friday morning coffee after Easter as a response to this event.

Many thanks to Jean and Ilse who run Bible studies for us at High St. I’d like to see more of these and during Lent we held a meeting both online and in the manse which seemed to go well. As are the lent devotions shared with St Marks – thanks to the team, Jean, Ilse, Carys, Eileen, Alan and myself. It would be good to get some feedback on these and for the rest of the Easter events as they unfold. But it would be good to do more Bible study.

Committees - Mission and Evangelism

When I arrived at the Church, I looked at all the committees and held my head in my hands. We have lots of them. I thought by now I’d have worked through them and sorted out where I think we are going in the future but too many other things have crept up and filled my time. The Worship Committee has moved into abeyance, alongside the Mission Outreach Committee, but the Choir Committee has been resurrected! One new committee which was passed by the Church Council was the Mission and Evangelism Committee. This will incorporate some of the people from Mission Outreach and the Publicity Committee. The key role will be to look at how we do mission and evangelism from High Street. When we set up the Warm Welcome Drop In, we noted that many of our meetings are invitational rather than open to all. In contrast, most of St Mark’s meetings are already drop-ins. We want to look at ways we can offer more opportunities for us to share our faith in the local community but also encourage others to drop in to events at the Church. A report recently circulated argues that 75% of the UK population doesn’t know someone who is a Christian. Perhaps, we are all doing too well at camouflage and not well enough at evangelism. Can we offer more socials at High St and in our homes? – I was so pleased as I was writing this to see Meg’s initiative of an Easter Games Evening for the young people? Perhaps we need a general games and pizza evening for the rest of us??? And I do hope there are lots of us on the Walk of Witness this Good Friday!

Committees/Stewards – New Leaders

We also need to recognise that it’s time for change in some of the roles in the Church – time for some people to step down after long and dedicated service, time for new people to take up the yoke. I am signalling two posts which need filling either at the General Church Meeting or the subsequent Church Council. These posts will be made vacant at the General Church Meeting.

Felicity Kendon has done a sterling role as Pastoral Secretary but for a whole number of reasons (including Alan’s health and her own), she will step down as Pastoral Secretary at the General Church Meeting. We are seeking a successor. Can you serve in this role?

Diana Phipps has worked tirelessly as Church Council Secretary for too long – especially alongside her ongoing role as Senior Steward. We need someone to take over the minutes and management of the Church Council alongside me. Di will step down from this post after the General Church Meeting. Can you serve in this role?

I am sure that each of these people would be willing to work with a new appointee for a year to show them the ropes. But I am not willing to ask them to serve again because no one else comes forward.

So, a direct challenge to pray AND ACT about this. Can you do one of these key jobs? Can you help share the load of the administration of High Street? If so, speak to me or to one of the office holders. If you want a chat, send me an email (drpmphillips@gmail.com) or phone me (07876 337157).

Your Church Needs YOU!!!

Energy Prices

I want to thank all the people that have worked so hard to keep an eye on our energy consumption over the winter and to bring in a little money to help meet the bills and to the circuit for their ‘rebate’ on the assessment. We don’t know how the figures will pan out but we seem to have weathered the storm and are still afloat! Thanks especially to Peter White, Ann Pfeiffer, Dave Herbert and Roger Neal – but there is an army of you who have helped.

Building

We’ll be talking at the meeting about our building and our site. At present, as you will see in the property report, we have very little parking in and around the church, especially with the Nicholson Car Park closed and West Street car park in maximum use. We complained to the Council and had a meeting which wasn’t totally positive. We can now use the Hines Meadow Car Park and the Stafferton Way car park for free on Sundays (among other places) but we recognise these parking places are further away. We’ve also been reallocated some passes for car parking in the centre of the town. This means those with passes (including me) will try to use car parks rather than the parking at the back of the Church. But we are still going to have issues. So:

bring a friend on Sundays – give someone else a lift to limit the number of cars
if you are mobile park further away – Hines Meadow/Stafferton Way/Reflex (under Odeon)
if you have a disabled card, use it to park nearer
if there is a space at church and you cannot walk far and don’t have a disabled pass, park there. But think of those less able than you are. We may have issues with the preacher’s space when I’m not the preacher. Someone blocked Richard Cattley from parking there. You may end up preaching!

When we come to think about the future, we really need to think about what we are going to do about parking – do we go for a scheme which allows parking for us? for housing associated with the scheme? for others in the neighbourhood? Or is the parking situation around High Street/King Street too difficult for us to continue to be viable as a venue here?

High Street as a Central Hall

Finally, something to discuss. Back in the day, the Rank Foundation gave Methodism a lot of money to establish a series of Central Hall’s across the country. Many of these have now closed, sadly. But some remain and are central venues for the local community – sometimes hubs for food distribution, for drop ins, for help groups to meet. To some extent, I think High Street has in the past and still does fulfil the role of a Central Hall. I wonder as we contemplate the future whether we need to think more of how we might fulfil this idea more – being a central venue, being a place to hold meetings, being a focus for the town. A lot of that suggests we stay in the centre (see the last paragraph) rather than being a gathered church meeting on an out of centre space. St Mark’s already does a great job of being a non-town centre Methodist Church.

I have a feeling that the Central Hall model is something we need to investigate more as what God is calling to us as we move forward with the building scheme and without mission and evangelism strategy. It might also be useful for funding bids. But if we embrace it, it does mean us taking more of a central role in the town as well – in terms of supporting others, engaging with the council, and with other service providers in the centre. Is this God’s vision for the future of High St? Should we pivot in this direction to keep on sharing God’s Glory on the High St?

Thank you

Thank you so much for welcoming me into ministry at High Street. It’s been a great six months in which I have tried to do far too much as a half-time minister. I haven’t done enough visiting or met with all the people I wanted to, but we’re still here and moving forward and seeing good progress already after only six months. God is good. I believe he has more for us. I am keen to find out what that is and spend time and space seeking his will for our church. Please join me in that and share with me what you think is God’s wisdom for us as a church pushing closer into God’s will for Maidenhead.

Pete xxx

Revd Dr Peter Phillips Methodist Minister, Thames Valley Circuit Tutor and Director for the Centre for Digital Theology, Spurgeon’s College

Senior Steward’s Report

We welcome him! No, not ‘Him’ with a capital letter H as we would address our dear Lord, but ‘him’ as in Rev Dr Pete. What a joy it is to have Pete as our Minister, having been without one for so long. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Vicci for stepping in to oversee work and activities at High Street and doing so in addition to her work as Superintendent Minister and care of three other churches. Pete has certainly made a difference to our lives at High Street – I only hope we can keep up with his energy and ideas. Pete is only supposed to spend 50% of his time across High Street and St Marks, the other 50% at Spurgeon’s College in South London, heading up the Centre for Digital Theology and lecturing there both in Digital Theology and New Testament/Greek. However, I know very well that he is spending more than 50% of his

time working with us at High Street, St Mark’s and other Circuit work. We also welcome Theresa and the rest of his family to Maidenhead.

Our ancillary building which includes the Wesley Hall, 5 meeting rooms and 2 kitchens are also open for business and meetings, and more of our rooms have been hired out to nonchurch groups and businesses.

Live streaming services through our YouTube Channel have been a great success and have benefitted those members of our congregation/Circuit who are still nervous about attending in person, and are watched by others not associated with our (or any) church. A huge thanks to members of our Tech Team who enable this to happen. They are always on the lookout for folks to join their team.

Our pastoral work continues through our great team of pastoral visitors ably led by Felicity Kendon. I need at this point to let you know that Felicity is standing down as our Pastoral Leader in May. She has done this job for many years, with the utmost professionalism and care for others. I know you would like to thank her for the work she has done for High Street. We are looking for someone to take over from her. Is this something you could do? I know that pastoral visiting is important to Pete, and since his arrival at High Street, he has spent much time visiting those of the congregation who are unwell and those who are unable to attend church.

The monthly coffee mornings/bric-a-brac sales located on the front porch of our church continued until October when it got too cold to stand outside! This was not just to raise funds, but to let people know that our church is still here and open for business, at the top of the High Street. There is some debate as to whether we start this again. Discussions have taken place and we are thinking that we restart our Friday Coffee morning instead, which would include a bric-a-brac stall but to have this in the Wesley Hall.

Our Breakfast Church on the first Sunday of each month at 9am continues to flourish with about 40 people attending. This is to encourage not just younger folks to attend, but those looking for a more modern style of worship. The main service now starts at 10.45am on that Sunday and follows more traditional lines led by the Church Choir. Pete has also added a 9am Holy Communion service and a 6pm service at High Street to the Circuit preaching plan – both monthly and both reflecting different traditions of worship. Church groups/meetings continue to meet on our premises: Friendship Hour, Art Group, Choir, Music Group, monthly Friday Lunch Club. Bible Study groups and a weekly prayer meeting continue via Zoom.

Warm Welcome Drop-in: This is an initiative, suggested by Churches Together in Maidenhead, which was taken up by Pete, to help some folk living in Maidenhead to save energy costs by opening up our premises on a Thursday afternoon from 12.30-4pm. This has proved to be very worthwhile, bringing different people onto our premises. It meets in the Bromley Room and offers hot soup and rolls, cake, coffee, tea. We organise some activities (there is a very competitive jig saw puzzle group there), and there is the opportunity for those who wish to quietly pray to do so in the Choir Vestry. This initiative continues to the end of March. Also, a good working relationship with the Recharge Group

which also meets on our premises on a Thursday has developed – they make some cakes for us, free of charge!

We have created a daily devotion which shared online for every day in Lent. High Street took the lead in the Circuit Ash Wednesday pilgrimage which began at High Street on 22 February with bacon butties, Holy Communion and an Ashing Ceremony, and a walk followed around the Circuit ending at St. Andrew’s in Slough.

It is good to have the uniformed organisations continue to meet on our premises (Guides, Brownies, Scouts, Cubs, Beavers). Thanks to them for organising the Christmas Fair on our behalf.

There are still concerns over getting volunteers for Young Church. Again, if this is something you would like to help with, please talk to Pete or Diana.

Some of our premises are hired out to groups such as the Dementia Support Group, Zumba classes, and Re-charge which is the parent and child drop-in group. We also find that our Wesley Hall and Bromley Room are great venues for children’s birthday parties. We get quite a bit of income from hiring out our premises and a big ‘thank you’ should go to John Statham who looks after this for us.

Following the church's decision to stay on our current site, the refurbishment of our buildings began in small ways, by sprucing up some of the rooms, installing new screens in the sanctuary and changing some of the lighting to LEDs. This has made a difference to the brightness of the spaces. However, we continue to have a variety of leaks and troublesome issues, as well as the need to make long term improvements. A small site development group has been established and is working through these issues. Fund raising now begins in earnest to cover the costs of any refurbishment and/or building work. We are fortunate in that all four of our shops along King Street are let.

High Street, as many churches and indeed individuals, faces considerably higher costs for energy this year - so we are being as frugal as we can with heating, whilst still providing a comfortable space for worship and various activities.

Parking in Maidenhead has become even more difficult than before because the Council has closed the Nicholson’s multi-storey car park because it has structural problems. This causes us considerable parking problems, and have had a discussion with the Council to make them aware of the difficulties we face with car parking - both at present and in the future.

As we no longer employ caretakers, the work is now covered mostly by our excellent team of Property Stewards, however, this is still a challenge and dependent on volunteers. I think you will agree with me that they do an excellent job.

We also do not employ an administrator, and again, this work is carried out by volunteers, mainly John Statham, who has set up ChurchSuite which is a web-based database management software created for churches.

I would like to thank Pete, my fellow Church Stewards, Property Stewards, and all those who lead the various groups and activities at High Street for their continued support over the last year. Looking after and running our church can only be done by working together as a part of God’s team.

Finally, we should not forget our Mission :

To be the Methodist Church in Maidenhead town centre responding to the gospel of God's love in Christ and living out our discipleship in worship and mission.
To be seen as a community hub with our church buildings being a safe space for all ages and groups to meet.

Diana Phipps

The Art Group

As the country slowly started to emerge from the lockdown, a request went out to all church groups to have a fund-raising event to help finance the re-decoration of the church rooms. The Art Group chose to stage an Art and Crafts Exhibition, and to contribute 10% of any work sold to the church. This was held very successfully over the last weekend of July 2022, and, combined with the catering stalwarts, a substantial sum was raised.

The Art Group has maintained its numbers remarkably well. A few have chosen not to return, but we have been very pleased to welcome others to our friendly Thursday morning group. All are welcome, - regardless of age or ability - as we step off the hectic world for a few hours each week and re-charge our own batteries.

Ruth Daniel

The Flower Committee

In recovering from Covid (!), our style of flowers in the Church has changed through necessity. You may have noticed that we now use fewer flowers and normally place just one Arrangement under the Cross. We place extra decorations at Easter, Harvest and Christmas Flower Donors. We value those who give flowers. Each year we “lose” some - and would appreciate offers from some fresh Donors. When we have no Donor, the cost is funded from our Flower Funds which are fast diminishing as we have lost our ability to raise funds via Coffee Mornings etc. The gift is once more acknowledged in the weekly Church Notices.

Flower Arrangers : Again, as above, we are a shrinking (!) Group and 9 stalwarts take turns to do this. However, we still enjoy “arranging”. Flowers are usually distributed after Morning Service to cheer, thank or console.

Elizabeth Barker

Communion

The table below shows the numbers of people receiving communion at services held during the year from 1 March 2022 to 28 February 2023. For comparison and completeness, figures are also shown for the last pre-covid year and for the services held after ‘normal service’

was resumed in September 2021. It should be noted that all figures include the minister and at least one steward.

	2022-23		2019-20		2021-22


Attendance	9.00am	10.30am	9.00am	10.30am	9.00am	10.30am

	3	11	8	12	0	4
Services


Average	11	57	9	85	-	49

	14	67	16	115	-	57
Maximum


Minimum	7	45	6	63	-	36

In addition, services were held at 11.30pm on Christmas Eve 2022 with 32 receiving communion, and at 9.30am on Ash Wednesday 2023 with 19 communicants.

It is too soon for any firm appraisal but there may be signs of gradual, if partial, recovery following the pandemic. The figures for 2019-20 indicate the scale of the reduction in communicants, while noting that the numbers at 10.30am were on a slow upward trend from 2013 (77).

Michael Minors

Friendship Hour Report

It is encouraging to report that Friendship Hour is maintaining a good attendance of at least 20 members per meeting, and that membership is growing. Over the past year, amongst other topics,

we’ve enjoyed an illustrated talk by the CWGC, a Poetry session, some church reminiscences and a Jubilee Party for the late Queen’s special celebration when we admired appropriate red, white and blue flower arrangements. Our monthly Wednesday afternoon meetings are open to new members at any time, men and women, and an interesting programme for the year ahead is already taking shape. Maybe we shall see you?

Kathleen McGuinness

Friday Lunch Club

It is a joy to have the Lunch Club up and running again. Thank you to our cooks – Jan Fenner, Fel Binner, Dorothy Minors, Hillary Simpson; to our helpers – Carol & Dave Herbert, Colin Freer; Kath England who phones around to check to see who is coming and collects the money: Pete who joins us each month to give pastoral support.

We have 41 people on our list and an average attendance of 29, with 22 being from the 'original' pre-Covid list.

We are continuing to do this monthly, rather than fortnightly as in pre-Covid times, mainly because we are short of helpers. So, if you think this is something you could help us with, please let Diana know.

Diana Phipps

Intergenerational Music Director Report

I'm sorry to say that the music has not gone as well as I was hoping this year but there have been positives and I'm working hard to make more improvements.

Choir - sadly, due to illness, we have had some members who have

not been able to attend regularly and may not be able to in the future. We really need to find new members urgently.

The members who are able to attend have been singing one anthem per month in the morning services and are enjoying singing some familiar songs as well as learning new ones. I have arranged music to suit the choir better and written arrangements including some other instruments such as clarinet, cello and recorder.

Music Group - sadly again, due to illness or other commitments, some people have not been able to play as often as they were so I have had to spend time reshuffling and trying out different ways to boost numbers.

Through February, I ran sessions every Wednesday where anyone could come and try out singing. Although I was a little disappointed with the uptake, I did have one person who is integrating well with the worship band and another who I'm hoping will join us soon. If anyone is hiding any musical abilities, please come forward and join us as we really need more musicians!

After discussions with Pete and Di, I am introducing one service in the month when the music group and choir are going to play together.

With the introduction of the evening service, Pete asked me to set up a worship band. We meet together weekly and are most definitely a work in progress!! However, we are working hard and improving all the time. This week, we spent time arranging the instruments into positions which allow us to work together better. This has meant we can see and hear each other better which will improve our playing.

In addition to these things, I have rearranged and simplified rehearsals for all these groups. Instead of three or four rehearsals a week, often on different or changing evenings from week to week, I have combined them into two nights a week. Wednesday for the Sunday morning rehearsal and worship group and Friday for choir.

I am also working on a more transparent and structured rehearsal schedules, so everyone knows what they are doing and when.

Moving forward, I intend to keep working on how I structure rehearsals so they are more accessible to everyone, try and boost numbers of musicians, and work on getting musicians working together. I hope to be able to write more arrangements to include the instruments we have and encourage and support younger/newer musicians into the services.

Thanks to all those who support the music within the church and to those who support me personally.

Pippa Jones

Mission and Outreach Committee

During the church year of 2021-2022, this committee has three times on 2 September, 4 January and 26 April.

We reviewed our plans:

Both the ‘Whitechapel’ collection and the collection for the ’Baby Bank’ had been successful.
The planned Alpha course was deferred to the Autumn due to a busy schedule.
The proposed pancake party had to be cancelled (not enough adults to manage the children).
A collection and barbeque were held for the Ukraine.
Drop-in Cream Teas were held to raise funds for the repairs and renovation to the church. These were very well supported and a big thank you to all who hosted and helped, especially Felicity and Jan Fenner.
Tim managed the ‘Church Family Picnic’ and ‘Mini Olympics’ which went very well. The weather was lovely and everyone appeared to be enjoying themselves. Many thanks Tim.
It was suggested that we have at least one ‘Event’ especially for ‘All You Can’.
Another charity (Children Heard and Seen), based in Oxford was suggested.
These last two suggestions have been put to one side at present as we need to continue with raising funds for the church renovations.
Many thanks to all.

Pat Crowle

Pastoral Committee

The Pastoral Committee has continued to meet during this year as we have worked to cover the pastoral needs of the church family, with the help and guidance of our minister Rev. Pete Phillips whose many pastoral visits have been very much appreciated.

We have 14 Pastoral Visitors, who keep aware, and in contact with the church members, their work often unknown to many.

The committee would welcome anyone interested, who felt that this work could be part of their ministry. Please speak to the minister or the Pastoral Secretary.

Our membership now stands at 126 having received 13 members into the church family at a joyous service on 12 March 2023.

Since the last report 2 members have died, Christine I’Fll and John Hateley, and we give thanks for their life within the church.

The church family is very grateful for the work and devotion our Pastoral Visitors give to their work.

Felicity Kendon

Prayer Time

Thursday at 2.00pm until 2.30pm is the time when our church is invited to pray for particular concerns. Easy access through ChurchSuite on zoom. Sadly only two people now attend. We would love others to join us. Contact Jean on 0779 631 2283

Jean Barnett

Daily morning prayers on WhatsApp

I have loved doing this ministry and try to connect with the season and the life and needs of our church family. If you have any favourite prayers you would like me to use, or feel like composing a prayer of your own, please get in touch with me. I select what I feel led to use the night before and send it out on WhatsApp the following morning at approximately 8am. This is a tremendous privilege and joy to me, and I love hearing from those of you to whom these prayers have touched a chord. Thank you for your messages of support.

If anyone in the congregation has a private prayer or concern they need support with, there is a small discreet team who will pray for people without making anything public. Please contact Jean and our prayer team will pray for them.

Jean Barnett

Property Stewards and Site Development Annual Report 2023

During 2022-23, our church premises have continued to keep the property team busy – both with the ordinary run of the mill tasks, and with one off repairs or investigations. Some tasks have been successful, others remain frustrating.

Since the last report to this meeting, the following are reminders of what has been done.

The downstairs corridor and room 2 (upstairs) had new ceiling tiles and LED lighting. The downstairs toilets had automatic light switches installed, to help prevent them being left on overnight.
General tidying up was carried out in various cupboards and particularly the garage and stage areas, to enable the gang show to performed.
The flower sink worktop was divided to make it lighter to lift.
The vinyl floors were scrubbed and resealed
Carpeted floors were thoroughly cleaned
The Bromley room was redecorated
TV screens were installed in the church for projection (has anyone noticed?!)
Water was found to be dripping into the Upson room and often down into the kitchen too. This was eventually traced to one of the internal downpipes- where the roofing material had worn with age, allowing rain to collect under the lip of the downpipe. A simple repair has halted it – for now.
General servicing of boiler, cleaning, putting bins out etc and essential repairs identified by the electrical survey,
Purchase of a new dishwasher, and demise of the water heater on the Bromley side of the kitchen.

Outstanding tasks / investigations:

Installation of one electronic door device to the side entrance.
External noticeboards. The one with out-of-date information has been taken down, awaiting a new one. The Perspex poster cabinet has been vandalised, and decisions about repair /renewal are still being thought about.
The organ has had a few problems, some of which have been repaired, but new ones crop up from time to time.
Even the piano has tired feet – one set of wheels have crumbled, so need to be replaced.
Energy costs. As everyone is aware, our energy costs have risen hugely this winter, resulting in us limiting the number of spaces we heat, and waiting until really chilly weather before switching it on last Autumn. Due to the global issues, there is still very little clarity about our future energy costs, so we continue to be as careful as we can, whilst still trying to provide a warm welcome for those who use our premises.
Parking. Another issue that has come to the fore this year, is the town centre parking – or lack of. Many people are finding it difficult to park on Sundays, and expensive to park to help run activities that the church is running. Whilst we knew that parking would become more difficult, the unexpected early closure of the Nicholson’s car park has brought the issue into focus.

Our Minister, Senior Steward and two Property Stewards recently met with officers of the council to try to impress on them that the church and local businesses too, are suffering from a lack of public parking at this end of the town. While the officers were as helpful as they could be, they could not offer any solutions for the long term. The church therefore needs to be aware of, and monitor the situation – and hope that the forecast change in demographics of the town centre (i.e. non car users), will filter positively into the life of the church! In addition, some folks have found that their normal bus timetables have changed significantly, also affecting the ability to attend activities.

The property team would welcome more people to help manage all our property issues – especially as Roger is actively trying to reduce his involvement. Rosemary Holland is standing down as a Property Steward, although she will continue to help keep our property clean and tidy when she can. A big ‘thank you’ to Rosemary.

Site Development:

The work carried out this year, as detailed above, enables us to continue worshipping and opening our suite of premises for various activities – but there is always more work that needs to be done – both for the short term and the long term.

There are no new refurbishment projects planned at the moment, because the Site Development group has spent some considerable time thinking about the long-term future. It is recognised that we have a larger suite of premises than we are likely to need in the future, but there is no simple way of reducing them.

Out of the blue last Spring, we were approached by a company who asked if we would consider redeveloping some of our premises, to create some housing and new church premises – whilst retaining the church sanctuary and the shops. Whilst that particular

approach has not developed further, the group has started to consider redevelopment as a long-term option. With the advice of Methodist Headquarters (TMCP), a Quantity Surveyor is helping us to consider some potential schemes that have been proposed by three different architects – all at no cost to us thus far.

If any scheme does look like a real possibility, some decisions will need to be taken fairly soon. Church Council are regularly up-dated, but as yet, there is no simple way forward. .

Parking in the town - for both the medium and the long term – will continue to be a major factor in any plans and decision making. Even when Nicholson’s car park is rebuilt, it will be further away than before. West Street car park will become the medium-term home for Shopmobility – reducing space availability by maybe half, and Grove Road car park is usually very busy.

Questions being considered include:

Will our church be viable if there is no car park available to us within a short distance? Do we need to find / develop parking of our own? Will the Council policy regarding town centre parking enable our church to continue with its operation and mission?

Ann Pfeiffer, on behalf of Property Stewards

Safeguarding

The Church Safeguarding Policy was updated, reviewed and adopted by the Church Council in January. This can be found on the Safeguarding noticeboard in the corridor and includes my contact details and those of the Circuit Safeguarding Officer and the District Safeguarding Officer. Another copy can be found in the Minister’s vestry.

The Methodist Church requires that all those who work with children and vulnerable adults should attend the Creating Safer Spaces Foundation Level Course every 4 years. Courses were held in October and February this year. Many thanks to the 7 people from High Street who have spent 3 hours on a Saturday morning attending one of these courses. As a trainer, I have really appreciated their active participation and positive feedback. There are still a few people at High Street who need to attend one of these courses and I will inform them when the next date is set.

DBS checks are also required for those working with children and vulnerable adults and should be renewed every 5 years. I will inform people a few weeks before the renewal is due and Rev Dr Pete Philips is now able to start this process and verify required documents. Many thanks to him for undertaking this.

Many thanks also to Kathy Rickman, Circuit Safeguarding Officer, for all her support again this year and to Sue Clifford, who is now sharing this role with her.

As Church Safeguarding Officer, I attend Circuit Safeguarding Meetings 3 times a year. The September meeting was attended by Graham Snelling, who is standing in as District Safeguarding Officer while Philippa Read is on sick leave. He emphasised that it is important to create a good culture in our churches, where everyone feels safe and respected and safeguarding is seen as everyone’s responsibility. This is also stressed in the Safeguarding

Training and on the Methodist Church Policy statement which you will find on the Safeguarding Board. To quote the first bullet point:

‘The creation of a safe environment and culture, where all are welcome and everyone feels able to speak out about safeguarding concerns’

If anyone does have anything that concerns them, please speak to me about it. Many thanks for your support in this.

Gill Harbut

Saturday Morning Coffee and Bric-a-brac Stall

As our Church was unable to restart regular Friday or Saturday coffee mornings after Covid, we decided to at least run a coffee morning and bric-abrac stall on the last Saturday of each month out on our front porch. We felt it was important to let the general public know that we, our church, is still here and open for business. The bric-a-brac stall we ran alongside the coffee and cakes was very much a success and

we continued to run both until the cold days of October forced us to stop! We are now considering restarting the Friday Coffee Mornings and bric-a-brac stall and this will be inside in the Wesley Hall. We hope to start this after Easter.

Diana Phipps

Sunday Coffee

I’d like to first thank my 28 coffee helpers who’ve helped to serve coffee after the morning service during this last year. We’re very lucky to have such a willing group of volunteers.

From April last year to the end of February this year we’ve managed to raise the fantastic amount of £993.68 for the following various charities: Church funds, DASH, Disaster fund, Water Aid, Shelter, Action for Children, HSMC Choir fund, Methodist Mission, Thames Hospice, The Brain Tumour Charity, NSPCC, Christian Aid, GOSH and for Ukraine.

It is fun and also a great way of meeting the other members of the congregation….so if you’d like to join us, we’d love to have you!

Karen Ackling

The Technical Team

The Team continues to provide support for worship and other activities.

This, in the main, comprises supporting live in person worship in the church and also live online via our YouTube channel, as well as the breakfast church.

As with other church operations the technical team is both small and overstretched, as many members are multi-tasking around the church, covering admin., music, stewarding and property.

We always welcome volunteers; hopefully we can provide adequate training! Those with any photographic / film or music experience, or Graphics / PowerPoint, are particularly welcome. Most of the tasks are not actually technical, much more operational.

Roger Neal

Tuesday Bible Study

We are a very small group who meet faithfully each week on a Tuesday at 2.30pm on Zoom. We would welcome any newcomers to the group: easy access through ChurchSuite. I believe we have each developed our Christian faith during the past year through our discussions and fellowship. You can too if you can spare the time.

Jean Barnett

Worship Committee

The Last meeting of the Worship Committee was held on 11 October at 7pm with the previous meeting being 4 May of church year 2022). This was our first meeting with Pete. During the meeting Pete outlined his plans for Worship in the future. The main points included:

To reintroduce the monthly 9am Service
To hold a monthly Evening service - (NB to be recorded)
The Morning Service will continue to be the main Service - there would be a balance of different styles of worship across the 3 services.
To introduce short daily devotions on line.
For Lent he is planning a pilgrimage to Burnham and then on to St Andrews (a combination of walking and driving).

All of the above has been achieved. Alex Lane has agreed to play for the 9am Communion. In the meanwhile, as there are so many committee meetings Pete would like to discuss with the Leadership Team how to deal with them, perhaps some could work on certain aspects of worship rather than regular Committee Meetings.

There was some discussion re. the quality of sound. Angela noticed that when listening on zoom it is only possible to hear the singers at the mics.. Pete said that having gone round the church during the service, he had found the sound was different in different places and would look into it.

The choir now present an anthem on the first Sunday of the month.

The survey which Charlotte had so painstakingly worked at, had still not been used. All agreed that it might now be out of date and it was suggested that it be brought to the next

Church Council Meeting, or when we next meet as the Worship committee....( depending on the reorganisation of committees.)

Pat Crowle

Treasurer’s Report

This report refers to two separate time periods:

a. The Methodist Church year from 1[st] September 2021 to 31[st] August 2022. For more
information on this see the Standard Form of Accounts of which Peter White has a copy (5 pages and too many to include in this report).

Income from offerings and Gift Aid totalled £83,677 and other income from Lettings and various items of a Restricted nature brought the total to £174,246.

On the Expenditure side the Circuit Assessment i.e. money we pay towards the costs of Ministry and the wider Methodist Church, was the largest item at £68,712 with

Maintenance and Utilities adding a further £40,000 and other payments added another £40,000 approximately.

That brings the total to £148,885 and shows a surplus for the year of £25,361. This was divided between Unrestricted funds of £14,117 and Restricted funds of £11,244.

Overall this was a satisfactory result, but it highlights two important issues:

All of our offerings are taken up by the Circuit Assessment and it is the Gift Aid that provides a small surplus there – so please ensure that you Gift Aid your contributions, if you are able. It adds another 25% to your donation.
We are greatly dependent on Lettings and the money we receive from renting out our properties in order to maintain and run our buildings. Therefore, we hope and pray that the businesses which use our shops will not be adversely affected by a downturn in the economy.
b. The current year from 1[st] September to 28[th] February. For information see the tables of Income and Expenditure for the General Account and for Restricted Funds – Appendix 1. Once again the situation looks fairly healthy with a temporary surplus at the end of February of £14,000. However, on the 1[st ] March this was tipped into a small deficit of approximately £1,500 when we paid the next quarterly instalment of the Assessment.

The greatest threat is that we shall have to meet some hefty bills for gas and electricity before the winter has passed. But I need to tell you that the Circuit have generously given us a grant of £13,000, discounted from next year’s Assessment, in order to help us with fuel payments; and Berkshire Community Foundation have given us a grant of £1,000 to run our Warm Church project.

Finally, we are grateful for all the financial support that each of you give towards the running of our church and our mission within the community. We are aware that money is tight at the present time and all our costs and outgoings are increasing, but if you have a chance to review and increase your giving it will be appreciated.

Peter White

Hlah Street Mrthodlrf Churth Income •rnl Expernlure 1st Sept 2021 to lh Feb 2013 2022.23 É6W9 iJ4.797.44 Slwiptr 1.649AI £1.12$ £B75.1 Q9.712.16 r CJrds £o(K) £•Q43Z71 C7.$6053 2.872.18 rrflnts É3&21&17 £3.130.17 £11410 [7.334 ,431.70 U.994. £316.Q4 ¢J.491.93 OwJrth 4.027A9 É119. £O.t)) (4.41159 É3.465. L Fees ceiTrocts ÉUM76 Ptyrtsll Fe Wagei £O.(•) [670.74 Ell2.96 É363.Ql J9JS LinLebW forartt É12&929.S4 É14J7Q69 Ti•n51er toAe5rricied Funds

Hlgh Street Methodlst Churth Income and EMpeTh4lture tst t 2012 to 2&h Feb 2013 ed Funds 2010.21 Rin £552.51 1.75 É625.26 Artknp £thoJ £174.15 £ooJ £iU6 £556. Éoo) £22&(Kl £3n. 7S3.22 £U139JO 92.00 £O.(#) £LS74.12 £U74.12 £ts.148.95 5.14LgS £32S.C £99 £177.6J C74L47 É199A7 0.) £426320 £7720 6. 6.8.01 E2JT>ZthO £L91 É25.50 £4 Éo Q.776. £thOJ £177&1KI £251.90 U57.19 £6017 a.1.$4 ÉIIO) £LI8 É916.14 £1.7? &&) £2U6 £0. ooo) 0.( £5(#M 07.SS>Y £IOmUI 11.JSI24 L22L14

Our Mission is :

To be the Methodist Church in Maidenhead town centre responding to the gospel of God's love in Christ and living out our discipleship in worship and mission. We will do this through:

Worship which increases awareness of God’s presence and celebrates God’s love
Helping people to grow and learn as Christians, through mutual support and care
Being a good neighbour to people in need and challenging injustice
Leading more people to become followers of Jesus Christ

Our Vision is :

To be a visible, energetic, caring Christian community in the heart of the town, with an age range from zero to a century plus.

To provide engaging worship for adults and young people on Sunday, with Bible study, prayer and fellowship groups throughout the week.

To explore different styles of worship through Breakfast Church and other formats, in order to appeal to a wider cross section of the community.

To increase attendance and involvement through welcoming, fresh, and inviting social and worship activities.

To be financially viable through regular giving, generous donations, investments and grants. To make our premises attractive, warm, comfortable, and inviting by refreshing, refurbishing and maintaining a high standard for the sanctuary and ancillary rooms.

To be seen as a community hub with our church buildings being a safe space for all ages and groups to meet from the Alzheimer’s Club to the Zumba Dance Class (A to Z).

To grow our relationship with the active Uniformed Organisations which have a long history of being engaged with us.

To help people in need and challenge social injustice through action and fund raising for Methodist and other local charities.

To widen our outreach, by continuing to broadcast our worship on YouTube, and by maintaining an informative and attractive on-line presence:

In Brief:

A caring Christian community in the heart of Maidenhead

Published by Maidenhead Methodist Church Address: High Street Methodist Church, King Street, Maidenhead, Berkshire, SL6 1EF Telephone: 01628 628104 (office) Website: www.methodistmaidenhead.org.uk

Appendix 2

A date for your diaries – Saturday, 10 June 2023 at 7.30pm .

A Concert at High Street Methodist Church, Maidenhead

Easter Services and Events


Sunday, 2 April	Palm Sunday	9.00am: Breakfast Church 10.45am: Morning Worship 6.30pm: Circuit Service	High Street High Street St. Mark’s
Thursday, 6 April	Maundy Thursday	12 noon: Local Arrangement 6.00pm: Holy Communion	St. Mark’s High Street
Friday, 7 April	Good Friday	11.00am: Walk of Witness, terminating at High Street with coffee and hot cross buns	Providence Place (near Sainsbury’s) to High Street
Sunday, 9 April	Easter Day	9.00am: Holy Communion 10.30am: Morning Worship	High Street High Street

CHURCH RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS ACCOUNTS THE METHODIST CHURCH STANDARD FORM OF ACCOUNTS Maldenh•ad H" h Str••t IA•thodist Church FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 August 2023 Thamos Valle Clrcult Clrcult no. 3614 JRoglstered Charity . Charlty Reglstrallon numbor If not a registered charity Her Majesty's R•venue and Customs Glft Ald number (The HMRC number is equivalent to 8 registered charity number in tems of eviden of charitabk slatus and may be used to give to donors or grant fundefs Vlishing to see evidence of the organisation's charitable status. Methodist ¢haritbe8 in England arKI WaSes that are n(A regislered charitb88 are excepted from registration under Statutory Instrumenl 2014 No.242) 1129473 Minisler. Rev Dr Peler Philli Church Stvwards.. Diana Phipps Ruth Hill Margaret Maskel Elijah Kommu Ilse Siatham Treasu. P¢ter Ivhite Standard Form of ALts,2023 1of5

ACCOiIMTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2023 Maidenhead High Street Methodlst Church Totals last year SECTION A Funds 81 RECEIPTS a2 Offerin s and T8x recovered Bank and CFB inler8sI and Investment IF0me 9D.594 83 527 a4 Lellin 77,159 70.778 a5 Other receipts TOTAL RECEIPTS 12.201 11201 14.109 186.866 19.264 174,246 a6 174.666 la71 SECTION b1 PAYMENTS b2 Circuit Assessment or Share b3 Qonalions 250 airs Mainlenanco UtilitS Ilnsurances, water charps. healin & lighting} 26.233 b5 b6 b7 Other payments TOTAL PAYMENTS 10.876 134695 4.746 47 16.622 140.441 39,941 148,886 b8 Ib91 SECTION C NET RECEIPTSIPAYMENTS FOR THE YEAR ¢1 a6-b8 38,970 Total fund$ broi4hl forward from la51 year 36 898 163 828 c6 138466 Sub total c1+¢2 210 262 163827 .an5fers and ad'ustmenls c7 TOTAL FUNDS AT END OF YEAR {c3+c4 165.900 44.352 210,252 {c81 163,827 {¢61 SECTION D FOR INFORMATION ONLY: MONEY RECEIVED AND PASSED ON TO EXTERPIAL ORGANISATIONS Ithg•e amounts arn not to In¢lud•d In tot•1 rn¢•l ur•8 •bov• d1 Balance brou ht foThvard from last d2 Offenn sIGrfts - received for extemal nisaticS 4,249 d3 offIngS1GfftS . passed to extemal 2,537 3,593 d4 BALANCE STILL TO BE PAID d1+d2-d3 726 858 2of5

Maideth•J H" Street Methodi51 SUMkURY SECT E INTERIIAL OAOAla8ATNJII8 3TF FrI¥th Ilu ¢7 Jr •1 Ch4ccol ItoW• 140.441 724 210.976 +d4 BY ¢NLIRCH 212 221 r•¢•wry Ind TOTAL PYMEMT8 8ECIIO•I F CLO•INQ ANCEI CHUKH-CA FUNC4 IIELO•tJl X2J C•thlnhr 8onk Curr•rtw4 Its882 fwd• 8VB TOTAL.Chw¢b •G¢•thI• 164A83 411*121 v12 TOTAL CA8H FUN NELOgY¢HUII¢N 212 222 SECTIOFI G At OTMERA8$ET8 LLWLMEB lar & 3afS

Nameofchurth... ... Declarations and Scrutiny I confimi that these Receipt and Paym1 based aTrts tr the to 31 Awst 2023 have been prepared from Ihe records of the Church armj that they IThJIe al funds under the oyknl of the Church trustees. Signature of treasurer .. Name and ad(kess of treasurer ........ Peter llthlte chatswh, SL4 4AT Vrnsontatlon to tho Church truste•• I confim Ihal the annual report and acc(M#ts for to the meeting of the Church trustees held on ... . ended 31 Amgust 2023 werthill be" presenled Signature of the Chalr ol the meeling ............ . Nam8 of Chair ofthe meetiw ......... Independent ExamlneV8 Rep)rt to tho Trustees of the Maldenhead Hlgh Street IAethodlst Church Ch•rfty Number.. 1129473 Rosponsibiliti•• and basls of v•port I report to the truslees on my examin11 ol the the .......... . . Church for the year ended 31 August 2023 set out on pages ..1 to .3. the Church's trustees. yY)u are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in 1lance wlh the reqiirwwits of the CheS Act 20111'the I report in respect of my exaMInab of the Church's accLMmts (yried out under sedion 145 of the Act and. in carrying out ffly examinatron, I have follcN*d all the Directions given by the Charity Commission urthr section 145(51{b) of the Act. ' delete or (arde as appropriate 4015

Name of Church .. High Street Melt*t cfKffth Independent Examlnerfs Statement I have completed my examination. I confim that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination ich give me cause to believe that in. any material respect: the accounting records were not kepl in aLXXn wth section 130 of the Act; or the accounts do not accord with the aounti[j records. J have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to .Ihich attention should be drawn in Ihis in order to enable a proper understsnding of the accounts to be reached. I hayelhave not. obtained independent verifiGqts"on of all investments with the Trustees for Methodist Church Purposes or held in other trusts, bank balances and funds at the Central Finance Board of the Methodist Church which are individLh211y in excess of £10,000 (ten thousand pounds) at the balan sheet date. Signature of independent examiner Name of irKlependent examiner Relevanl professional qualificats'on of independent examiner Name olfirm (where appropriate) ....................................................................... . ....... Address Post Code Date O'L+ delete or cirde as appropriate Standard Fom of A¢Unts 21Y23 5ofS