32 _Annual Parochial Church Meeting Sunday 18th April 2021_ **ST ALKMUND’S CHURCH WHITCHURCH ANNUAL REPORTS FOR 2020** Prepared for the Annual Parochial Church Meeting Sunday 18th April 2021 2 31 ## STATISTICS FOR ST ALKMUND’S WHITCHURCH |31|31|31|31|31|31|31| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| |STATISTICS FOR ST ALKMUND’S WHITCHURCH||||||| |**Year**|**2017**|**2018**|**2019**||**2020**|| |**Electoral Roll**|176|169|144||155|| |**Average Sunday (*)**
**Adult**
**Attendance**|109|108|100||**(Oct)**
58|| |**Average Sunday (*)**
**Under 16 Attendance**|9|6|4||4|| |**8.00am**
**10.00am**
**6.30pm**(new)
**6.30pm**(total)|13.2
87
15.5
25|12.3
78
17
26|11
76.4
16.5
25||7
44
10
7|| |**Easter Communicants (**)**
**Easter Attendees (**)**|193
478|148
189|136
172||N/A
N/A|| |**Advent Special Attendees**
**Christmas Communicants**
**Christmas Attendees**|1673
153
1218|1510
116
1092|1710
125
1092||158
83
102|| |**Baptism (u16)**
**Baptism Adult**|38
2|20
0|29
0||12
1|| |**Funerals**(with Church service)
**Funerals**(at Crem Only)
**Interment of Ashes in GoR**|65
21
-|55
14
12|46
19
10||21
55
15|| |**Weddings**
**Prayer & Dedication of Marriage**|9
0|9
0|10
0||0
0|| ## **Statistics for St Alkmund’s 2017—2020** The statistics are shown in the table above. Please note that the Average Sunday Attendance (*) for 2017-19 figures include Harvest, Mothering Sundays but exclude Baptisms, Easter, Remembrance, Christingle, Memorial & Thanksgiving and Carol Services. Also, note that the Easter figures (**) were boosted in 2017 by Easter Eve Confirmations. 2020 figures affected by Covid-19. 30 3 **Reference and Administration Details** ## **Conclusion** By God’s grace and through our prayer and action, we have continued to see positive developments in 2020. The way in which members of St Alkmund’s work together continues to be inspirational. Thanks to all involved and thanks be to God. Judy Hunt, Rector January 2021 ## **Charity Name & Number** St Alkmund’s Parish Church Charity number: 1129900 ## **Address** St Alkmund’s Church, c/o The Rectory, Church Street, Whitchurch, Shropshire, SY13 1LB ## **PCC Members from APCM 2020** Judy Bellingham (PCC Secretary) Elaine Bucknell John Castledine Sheila Chase Meriel Edge David Fisher Pauline Green (Lay Chair) Judy Hunt (Rector & PCC Chair) Caroline Hulse Sam Johnson Jane Rylands Tom Rylands John Stokes (Churchwarden & Deanery Synod) Pauline Stokes (Deanery Synod) Jill Wallace (Churchwarden) Steve White (Deanery Synod) Melanie Williams (PCC Treasurer) ## **Bankers** Barclays plc ## **Independent Examiner** Staff at Lichfield Diocesan Board of Finance 4 29 ## **Structure, Governance and Management** ## **PCC’s Constitution** The Parochial Church Council is a corporate body established by the Church of England. The PCC operates under the Parochial Church Council Powers Measure. - Trustees (PCC members) are appointed by election at the APCM; ex-officio on the PCC are all clergy licensed to the parish, churchwardens and members of Deanery, Diocesan and General Synods. - New trustees are given an induction pack - A Standing Committee exists and other committees include the Bargates Hall Committee, and a Finance Committee. Other groups meet: the Social Working Group and various pastoral groups. - Safeguarding and Data Protection have received considerable attention this year and all our policies are now reviewed annually in January ## **Objectives and Activities** - Promoting the Gospel and the doctrines of the Church of England - Vision statement: Our church is a place where all are welcome and God can be found. We seek to: - build up our spiritual life through prayer and teaching, - actively encourage lay involvement in mission and outreach, - and share the good news of the Gospel with the whole community. ## **Public benefit** The trustees of the Charity are aware of the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit in The Advancement of Religion for the Public Benefit and have had regard to it in their administration of the Charity. The trustees believe that, by promoting the work of the Church of England in the Ecclesiastical Parish of St Alkmund, Whitchurch, it helps to promote the whole mission of the Church (pastoral, evangelistic, social and ecumenical) more effectively, within the Ecclesiastical Parish, and that in doing so it provides a benefit to the public by: - Providing facilities for public worship, pastoral care and spiritual, moral and intellectual development, both for its members and for anyone who wishes to benefit from what the Church offers; and - Promoting Christian values and service by members of the Church in and to their communities, to the benefit of individuals and society as a whole. with service sheets, bell-ringing, welcome, music, cleaning, flowers, readings, intercessions and communion distribution - The pastoral care exercised in many different ways, expanding and - adapting during Coronavirus restrictions - The prayer life of the church and its people; leading of Wednesday prayers by various lay people of Zoom; thanks to Judy bellingham for setting this up - The links and activities with the four local schools - The publication of the magazine and Chancel Steps; the work of our Administrator, Jo Lavin and to Pauline Stokes for proof-reading. Also the work Jo has done on signage and other Covid-19 associated-needs, plus on the website has been vital for us - exclusively during most of the year), thanks to our Manager, Wayne Edwards - The funds given to charities from our Christingle and Harvest Services, our general involvement with Christian Aid & Fair Trade and our support of our link missionaries _via_ CMS and Crosslinks - The PCC unrestricted finances showing a small surplus; the faithful and accurate work of our banking team and treasurer - The Plant Sale – which was the only fundraising event that went ahead (albeit in an amended way); thanks to Judy Bryant & Janet Ivens - The continued fundraising work of the Friends of St Alkmund’s, Whitchurch - Work on the church building - Ongoing work on Safeguarding (see elsewhere) and on Data Protection – with thanks here to Jo Lavin, Mel Williams, Paul Williamson and Meriel Edge ## **Workload** There have been changes due to Coronavirus and I am aware that some church volunteers have had their ministries much diminished by the things we have not been able to do. For others, their ministries have changed, and even grown, during this time. In past years, I have written in the annual report with some concern about my own workload and the sustainability of this. Coronavirus did add to workload initially. I have sought and gained from various types of assistance, which have been beneficial. From May onwards, the gains and losses of ministry in lockdown or during restrictions tended to even out. plus the very welcome arrival of Sam as curate, to both share the workload and to develop new areas as part of his ministry and training with us, my own workload is at a more sustainable level. 28 5 ## **Joys** - We have gained some new members. - Revd Sam Johnson and his family have joined us part-way through the year - People have stepped into new leadership roles to enable us to continue to minister during the Coronavirus pandemic; many of us have learnt new computer skills for this to be possible! - We quickly set up a large e mail list so that people could stay in touch _via_ a weekly mailing of how help could be obtained, of news, and of resources for prayer and Bible Study; thanks to John Standerline for his rapid collating of data - Over 40 volunteers offered this help with regular phoning, shopping, prayer, or picking up medication. Thanks to Jill Wallace for co-ordinating the requests for help with these offers that had been made. - A strengthened prayer network – in St Alkmund’s but also with Fauls and Tilstock - Regular Zoom meetings for prayer and for fellowship - Regular Messages for Christian outreach and nurture on a local phone line and on Facebook and YouTube; these include sessions for Collective Worship in our schools - Livestreaming of services from St Alkmund’s and recording of services to post from all three churches - Special services recorded for our Care Homes and Hospital, plus mailings of much material to them - Zoom nurture and outreach courses - Zoom Time Together and Messy Church sessions - A few meetings of Junior Church, when allowed. ## **Our activities** There is much to be thankful for in the year as a whole, despite the Coronavirus pandemic, as you can read above and in the rest of this booklet. First and foremost, we are thankful to God, but following closely on – we are also thankful for each other. In each area listed below, I would like to include thanks to the people involved: - The continuing ministry of Jane Rylands as Reader and Revds Sue & - Sam. - The oversight & ministries exercised by the Churchwardens and their deputies, Treasurer, Secretary, and other PCC and Standing Committee members - When possible to hold them, the regular Sunday services, with all the extra that had to be done before and after the services because of Covid-19, plus the more ‘normal’ preparation and ‘on the day’ work ## **Reserves Policy:** The Reserves Policy of Whitchurch PCC is to hold 3 months' costs in Unrestricted Reserves and £10,000 in Restricted General Reserves. Total unrestricted expenditure was £123,437 in 2020, so 3 months' equates to approximately £30,859. At the end of the year, there was £205,912 in bank accounts which by far exceeds the policy, and in hindsight due to the unprecedented lockdown in March we didn’t actually need to convert shares into cash. ## **Mission Action Plan: MAP** We had hoped to draw up a new MAP for 2020 but Coronavirus intervened. We have kept our activities under review, bearing in mind the Diocesan priorities of Discipleship, Vocation and Evangelism: _**Discipleship:**_ Sunday services – including the talks / sermons which are available afterwards in printed form or on the church website ## _**Discipleship and Equipping for Evangelism:**_ Lent Course (interrupted by Covid-19) based on Andrew Smith’s book “Vibrant Christianity in Multifaith Britain” Zoom study group on Tom Wright’s book “God and the Pandemic” Zoom Study group on Paula Gooder’s Book “A journey through the Wilderness” ## _**Vocation:**_ Conversations leading to people feeling able to offer new ministries during Covid-19 lockdown _e.g._ - Co-ordination of pastoral care Pastoral phone calls Prayer over the phone - Leading on changing the way in which congregation members give financially Co-leading of Zoom groups – see above and below Staying in touch with Time Together members Hosting Zoom meetings Getting DVD discs of messages and services to those with DVD players but not computers ## _**Evangelism:**_ Christianity Explored Course on Zoom – Revd Sam and co-leaders Reflections and services on Church Facebook and YouTube and also on a town Facebook group Also decisions were taken to carry out two separate reviews in 2021, both of which will impact all three aspects of our church life: a Music Review and a Review of our On-line Presence See other sections of the report for what was done during the year The contribution of volunteers is immense - all activities rely on volunteers 6 27 ## **Achievement and Performance** - See elsewhere for all the mid-week activities and the ways in which the St Alkmund’s community fulfils its remit for worship, pastoral care, outreach, community service and civic involvement - There are usually three services each Sunday; figures for October 2020—affected by Coronavirus pandemic: - 8.00am – average attendance 7 - 10.00am – average attendance 44 - 6.30pm – average attendance 17 - (of whom 7 had attended morning services on the same day) - All who live in the town have a right to the occasional offices. In 2020 all weddings booked were postponed, as were many baptisms, and venues of funerals were also affected by Covid-19. There were 21 funerals in church followed by burial or cremation (and 55 at the Graveside or Crematorium only) and 12 baptisms, one of which was an adult. ## **Financial review: 2020 Mrs Mel Williams, Treasurer** _See separate documents for detailed accounts_ ## Financial Review .At the start of 2020 the major stonework repair project was well underway. There were some hefty bills to pay to the contractor so we sold some of the shares we had invested for this purpose at the end of March – just as the Government were closing the country down. The contractors were sent home and the church doors were locked. It was a surreal time for all. It marked a sea change in many aspects of our way of life – including the life of the Church. Weddings and funerals were cancelled, schools were closed, we were told to work from home if possible. A new word ‘furlough’ has become old news. As businesses had to close, the government stepped in to pay 80% of wages – our Church cleaner included. For my part, cash handling became problematic so we took steps to negate the risks. Most of our congregation have taken up the options to donate by non-cash means willingly whether this be by standing order, Direct Debit through the Diocese’s Giving Direct initiative (by which the Diocese also take care of the recovery of Gift Aid), through a Donate button on our website, or by card payment over the phone or on the Goodplate at Church services when they are able to take place. I’d like to thank all for their continued generosity and understanding. Total receipts on unrestricted funds were £130,583, of which £56,227 came from planned voluntary donations, and a further £12,227 was from Gift Aid. Grants of £14,104 were received from various bodies to help with the Covid-19 crisis that has hit so many charitable organisations. All Bargates activities were cancelled with the exception of the Whitchurch Foodbank which took over the whole of the hall as its activities expanded. Re- ## **Rector’s Report St Alkmund’s, Whitchurch Revd Judy** **2020** will be remembered as the year of the Coronavirus pandemic in all aspects of life. Our Church life was affected deeply. Our church buildings were closed for many months. When private prayer, and later public worship, was allowed to resume, we had to act quickly but thoroughly in terms of signage, provision of hand sanitisers and of doing our best to ensure social distancing in and around the church building. Despite lockdowns and restrictions, we were able to continue to provide pastoral care and Christian nurture for many in our community and the North Shropshire area. Our outreach continued in different ways and, as in more normal times, we aimed to do this in partnership with others wherever possible: with those from Fauls and Tilstock parishes, the three other churches in Whitchurch and the Friends of St Alkmund’s too. ## **Sadnesses** - The community of St Alkmund’s was ‘hit’ by the death of a number of core members whose presence and whose contribution to the life and ministry of our church are much missed. - The opportunity to meet together physically for fellowship and nurture has been tough – especially for those who cannot join in anything that is on-line - The lack of congregational singing from the middle of March onwards - Missing the physical get-togethers for both Messy Church and Time Together, plus the opportunity to serve _via_ the Hospital Chaplaincy and Homes Services ## **Challenges** - Challenges have been linked to the sadnesses – particularly in caring for those who are bereaved, whilst feeling wider losses brought about by Coronavirus restrictions. community bereavement too. - Continuing to minister in our community despite these challenging losses and ‘down to’ the creative and willingness to adapt, plus the ongoing faithful resilience and willingness of St Alkmund’s congregation members in giving their time, energy, care and skills. - Losing the Revd Elaine Atack as she moved to Frodsham and the unwillingness of Diocesan Senior Staff to allow us to advertise the vacant House for Duty post have been additional challenges. - Other challenges have come though the work continuing on the church building: replacing the most worn exterior sandstone and repairing windows (most of which have been leaking for many years). Further water ingress has extended this work onto the roof of the building. - Ensuring that our income did not plummet during the year - Regular individual and corporate prayer for God’s help in meeting these challenges with grace and hope has been important and has been answered. 26 7 - 2x book groups that I participated in - Initial Ministerial Education (IME) training and events have all been on zoom but I have had several of them - Joining in with prayers on zoom, and some Friday afternoons - Co-ordinating Whitchurch Churches together walk around nativity - Lots of involvement with Tilstock primary school including collective worship in each class bubble each week. - Some involvement with time together where possible. - Baptism and wedding visits and baptism services (before they stopped again!) stricted income of £138,352 included a welcome legacy of £77,000 from Mrs Olive Clay and DCMS Grants to reclaim VAT on fabric renovations. The stonework and window repairs were almost completed by the end of the year at a total cost of £374,458 less total DCMS Grants received £55,395, meaning a total net cost of £319,062.76 – of which £251,245 was spent and £41,324 was recovered (ie net £209,921 cost) in 2020. ## **Appointment of Independent Examiner for 2021 accounts** Lichfield Diocesan Board of Finance - Involvement with remembrance services - Two online messy church videos and one opportunity for a zoom call afterwards (although no attendees!) - Involvement in leading and preaching at Christmas services - Planning harvest services alongside Jane - Part of the shaping for mission team – which as of December was just moving into it’s information gathering stage - Writing articles for the parish magazine / chancel steps - Short video with ‘Jam’ exploring the different objects in the church - Creating a “harvest experience” video - Organizing a online crib festival - Attended some Church Pastoral Aid Society (CPAS) leadership events - Leading an advent reflective service - Recording and editing care home services As I look ahead into the coming year I am currently involved in the music review group, exploring music in Whitchurch and across the benefice and co-ordinating the online/media group which will be looking at our engagement with digital technology. I’m also still part of the shaping for mission group which will soon (hopefully!) be drawing some threads together from the questionnaire responses and beginning to discern where God is at work across this deanery. As well as this we’ve started a weekly FTW Families video where we explore one of the set passages for the week in a family friendly and accessible way. For 2021 I’m excited to see what God will do across the benefice and how even something as devastating as Coronavirus can reveal something of His glory. I am certain that this is a key and pivotal moment in the life of the national church, but also in the life of our church. I look forward to continuing to serve alongside you as together we discern God’s call for our benefice and I feel privileged to be a part of what God is doing in Whitchurch and beyond. Every blessing. ## **Church Wardens’ Report John Stokes and Jill Wallace** 2020 was again a very busy year for the upkeep of St. Alkmund’s Church and grounds with the added difficulty of having to work with the Covid 19 Restrictions coming into place during the early part of the year. Work commenced on the repairs and renewal to the **Stone work** , with scaffolding encasing much of the church during this time. The work was completed in the Autumn of 2020. Work to the North and South **windows** took place, including restoring the panels of medieval glass. Cleaning of the windows also took place Repairs to the **lead work** on the West end of the roof took place following rain ingress in the Rear Porch (Kitchen). Further repairs planned to be carried out to the lead above the Organ. **Roof –** New rope installed from outside Bell ringing chamber to help with safety when moving around the Roof is required for maintenance. Installation by Wayne Edwards. Repairs to the **roof** above the main **entrance porch** to the church. Work on the **Organ** carried out on the organ console Complete **deep clean** carried out to church, following the Covid 19 Lock Down Faculty approved for **glass panels** to be inserted in the entrance doors into church (not the porch doors). **PAT Testing** carried out on all Electrical appliances in church and Bargates Hall by Barlows of Malpas. **Sound System** overhauled with parts renewed. **Old Grave Yard** and **Rectory Garden –** Grass and boundary hedge cut, holly trees trimmed by new contractor, **SP. Mowing** also Rectory Lawns mowed _etc_ **Gutter maintenance** etc. carried out to church roof by Wayne Edwards. **Gas Boiler** annual servicing. **Church Roof –** Remote Intruder Alarm inspected and serviced. **Pigeon** deterrent curtain working well on main door. 8 25 ## **Fire Alarm system** checked. Tom Rylands checked the wire rope to the **Font Cover.** **Electric** s inspection was carried out by Princes of Ellesmere and work carried out to bring up to required standards. Repairs to **Water Tank** situated at the top of the North Porch Stairs. **Notice Board –** timbers treated and repairs carried out to the notice doors, plus varnishing to the two church seats, situated in the church yard - work by **Dennis Edwards** **New Keys** cut for main door and church vestry. **Fire Extinguishers** serviced. - **Lightning Conductor** 5 year check by TVR, and work carried out to bring it up to the required standard **External ground lights** now at end of natural life. Securasound instructed to replace 8 new lights.. **Tree Work** carried out by Benbow Brothers Ltd. to the Beech and White beam Trees in the church yard, close to the road (Church Street). **Bridgewater Street properties** Annual safety checks carried out in line with our responsibilities as Landlords. New **Telephone system** installed. ## **Safeguarding Report 2020 Meriel Edge** (Safeguarding Officer) The PCC has complied with the duty under Section 5 of the Safeguarding and Clergy Discipline Measure 2016 (duty to have regard to the House of Bishop’s guidance on safeguarding children and vulnerable adults). Safeguarding is of immense importance in St Alkmund’s Church. It features as an Agenda item at every PCC meeting and has a full and comprehensive risk assessment which is regularly scrutinised and updated, when necessary. The following groups/people undergo training and adhere to the safeguarding policy – Incumbent, Churchwardens and Deputy Churchwardens, Time Together leaders and team, Messy Church, Baptism welcomers, Bible Study, Choir leaders, Homes Communion Teams, Residential Homes team, Junior Church, Prayers for Healing, Pastoral visitors and Transport. DBS documentation is continually reviewed and persons are contacted who need to update/refresh their paperwork. This has obviously been more difficult these past twelve months due to COVID restrictions. People have, however, gained access by visiting http://safeguarding training C of E portal.org and Reverend Judy has supported others in updating their documentation. The current position is thus: CO/1 and leadership training had been planned and advertised for 2020 but was obviously cancelled. Once training resumes, the following will be the focus:- Time Together – one occasional helper and one involved in various forms of pastoral work (CO/1) The Treasurers and Clergy have been in contact during the year. Messy Church met early in the year and has had on-line material later on Time Together and the Hospital Chaplaincy are joint ventures: contact has been kept going with all through the months of the pandemic There is now FTW section to intercessions in all three parishes in our main Sunday services and by e mail round to those who wish to pray at home too There is an item on the agenda at each Coordinating group meeting to highlight any requests for support from any of the three parishes There has been a sharing of resources and a working together in times of lockdown: prayer & nurture, pastoral care and ensuring communication are two areas of this in particular Zoom meetings and telephone meetings have helped some people to stay in touch and many positive and appreciative comments have been made about our phone line messages and our Facebook / YouTube recorded or livestreamed services and messages _**Thanks**_ to all who have prayed, worked together and provided support and encouragement. **Curate’s report Sam Johnson** Hello! Well, as far as starts to ordained ministry life and our time here in Whitchurch go – this is quite a way from how I imagined it! After finishing my studies (MA Theology and Ministry) in Durham we arrived in Whitchurch to as warm a welcome as I’m sure would be manageable given the circumstances – so thank you for that. Unfortunately there was no trip to Lichfield cathedral and not even any services in the churches! Instead I was licenced via zoom and spent time seeing people from the waist up. Imagine my surprise in mid-July when I realised you all had feet! In September I did get ordained – at a very small service and Rev Sue represented the churches at the service. Since arriving here there have been several things I’ve been involved with: - Video reflections – these have been well received - Editing together online services – a slight change from the March restrictions we moved to filming and editing together services in November - In person services, preaching and leading. - Several zoom meetings, and some in person for PCC and standing committee. - Quite a large number of funerals – I’m some way ahead of my curacy cohort in that regard. - Christianity explored faith course on zoom which I led. 24 9 ## **Judy Hunt, Rector** ## **FTW REPORT ON 2020** The year began with us being aware that Revd Elaine Atack would be moving on and that Sam Johnson would be joining us as curate. These may well be the only two main expectations for 2020 that actually came about! We did become a legal benefice at the end of January. The only joint service that took place before the Coronavirus pandemic and associated restrictions started was on Ash Wednesday (26th February 2020) at Tilstock. The FTW co-ordinating group for the three parishes, with PCC representation from each, managed to meet twice during the year, in February and November. We had a disappointing meeting with the Bishop of Shrewsbury in mid-March and it appears that the Senior Staff are no longer supportive of a House-for-Duty role that is tied to our current mission and ministry, despite having assured us that this would happen before we finally agreed to the parishes becoming a benefice. We were still charged for this post during the whole of 2020 and the same was due to happen for 2021 but a decrease in the Parish Share for each Parish has been negotiated. We were not able to say a proper ‘goodbye’ to Revd Elaine but she has settled well in Frodsham. Sam Johnson did join us at the end of June but could not be ordained (because of the pandemic) until late September. For the time in-between he was a licensed lay worker with us. This was by no means the easiest of years for a family to move or for new work which usually relies so much on ‘physically being present” to be taken on. Sam, however, has more than risen to the challenge and it’s a real positive to have him and the family with us. He has been leading worship, preaching and taking Collective Worship at Tilstock School among other things. His videoediting skills have been put to good use! Church life (worship, pastoral care, nurture and outreach) has been greatly impacted by the pandemic, but the links between the three parishes have been key and have been strengthened in some ways: Administrative support for all three parishes was provided by Jo Lavin. We have been able to keep communication going out widely – electronically and by hard copy; this has included pew sheets and magazines / Chancel Steps. Website development has also been important. Signage and other Coronavirus information and publicity has been vital. When public worship has taken place, the Clergy and Reader team members move around the 3 parishes to lead and preach at Sunday Services. Revd Judy has overall oversight and particular responsibility for Whitchurch and Tilstock and Revd Sue for Fauls. The arrival of Revd Sam means that he has taken on some ministerial roles in Tilstock Deputy Churchwardens and new organist (CO/1 and leadership module) Captain of Bell Ringers (leadership module) Any new members of teams Safeguarding Officer (C3 due April 2021) Rector and Reader (C3 due September 2021) ## _**DBS**_ Reverend Judy has taken on the role of administrator for these. The checks are currently completely up to date with nine renewed this year and one new one completed. There are three people who may offer transport who are yet to be done. ## **Electoral Roll Mr Paul Williamson** 1[st] January 2021 is the date names are recorded for the purpose of the APCM. At that time 153 names were on the list and 14 of those lived outside the Parish. On 1[st ] January 2020 144 names were on the list with 14 living outside the Parish My thanks to Revd Judy and Jo for their support. **PCC Secretary’s Report Mrs Judy Bellingham** St Alkmund’s PCC met bi-monthly during 2020 on a Monday evening in Bargates for January and then on Zoom because of the pandemic. Full list of members can be seen at the start of this report booklet. We started to spend the John Heatley legacy and the repairs to the stonework and windows have been completed. No work has been done on the inside of the church apart from general maintenance but we are hoping to replace the internal front doors soon with glass panels to make the church look more inviting to visitors. There has been a lot of upheaval due to Covid-19 restrictions and services had to be stopped for a time. We have increased our online presence on Youtube and Facebook with services being streamed and reflections recorded via this media and also by phone. A lot of people who do not normally attend church have viewed these services and appreciated them. We were pleased to welcome Sam and Leah Johnson and family in July. It has been a strange time for them as we are only able to meet up online or socially distanced and it has been difficult for them to meet other members of the congregation as they normally would. Sam has been invaluable in teaching us to use the technology to enable us to move online. There have not been any concerts in church this year due to Covid restrictions We continue to be represented on Churches Together, Christian Aid, The Friends of St Alkmund’s, Whitchurch Fairtrade Group, The Foodbank and the Higginson’s Charities. We have only been able to reach out into the community via social media etc this year. All our usual events had to be cancelled. This has been a year like no other. 10 23 ## **Bargates Hall Wayne Edwards,** Caretaker/Manager It has been very different year for Bargates Hall, the first part of the year was largely as normal until we had to close to groups due to the Covid-19 outbreak and restrictions. All those affected have been very accepting of the situation—thank you. Whilst closing to these groups does not sound like very good news we are pleased that this closure has enable us to help the wider community by allowing Whitchurch Foodbank unlimited use of the premises, enabling them to help the many people who have been in particular need of their services; this number has been greatly increased by the pandemic. Extra funding for them has meant that they have been able to make a series of extra payments for which we are very grateful. I would also like to thank the foodbank volunteers for keeping the Hall clean and tidy during their sole use of the premises. The annual regular maintenance has also come to a halt to give the foodbank free run of the building—hopefully this will alter during the coming year. ## **Churches Together in Whitchurch** ## **Revd Judy** made several donations to St Alkmund's as a thank you for use of Bargates without extra charge. Volunteers over 70 were not allowed to continue to help during the pandemic and many other younger volunteers have stepped up to help as they were furloughed. ## **Fairtrade Report** ## **Mrs Judy Bellingham** We had to stop having a Traidcraft stall at the back of church on the 2nd Sunday of each month due to Covid restrictions. I continue to have a stall in the Whitchurch Market each Friday when it is open. It has been closed from time to time due to Covid restrictions. We were hoping to celebrate our 10 years of being a Fairtrade Town this year but it had to be cancelled due to the pandemic. We hope to do something next year. Thanks to all of you who have supported Traidcraaft despite not having the stall in church. I have stock at home and can order from the catalogue for anyone who would like to. Every time we choose to buy a Fair trade product we are helping someone les fortunate to make a decent living for their family ## **Groups associated with Churches Together** Important activities in the town are undertaken ecumenically, and the Churches Together Committee receives reports from these: - Fair Trade (including the “Big Brew” hosted in St Alkmund’s) - Christian Aid - The Food Bank - Time Together - The Hospital Chaplaincy - The Bible Society ## **The Friends of St. Alkmund’s, Whitchurch Revd Judy Hunt,** ## **Chair** The Main Project was the Church Tower Clock: Money was raised by publicity on the need to install a new auto-regulator at a cost of £2,420 plus VAT. Donations received totalled £1,725 and some of these were gift-aided. **The Friends AGM** was held on 08.09.2020. Trustees for the coming year were appointed: The Revd Judy Hunt Ex-officio and Chair Mr Simon Edge Elected and Treasurer ## **Church Services** We had planned to continue with our ‘liturgical year’ for the churches in the town but during 2020, all were cancelled because of the Coronavirus Pandemic. However, St John’s hosted an on-line Christian Aid service with participation from all four churches. Mrs Hilda Francis-Roberts PCC Nomination Mr Ray Hatton Elected and Secretary Mrs Belinda Hutchinson-Smith Elected Mrs Alex Williamson PCC nomination and Membership Secretary Mr Tom Rylands PCC nomination Mr Chris Smith Elected ## **Events in 2020** All cancelled because of the Coronavirus Pandemic ## **Lent Activities** In Lent 2020, the Lent Lunches were cancelled and only part of the Lent Course was held (based around the book “Vibrant Christianity in Multifaith Britain” by Andrew Smith. ## **No AGM was held** 22 11 _**Sunday 4th October**_ Harvest Lunch in Bargates Hall _**Saturday 14th November**_ Christmas Coffee Morning in Bargates Hall. _**Saturday 28th November**_ Crib Festival. _**Saturday 5th December**_ Border Singers Concert in St Alkmund’s Church, _**Thursday 24th December**_ Light tea to be served in Bargates between services for those helping or taking part in the service. As we are all too aware, due to COVID-19 most of these events did not take place . ## **The Children’s Society** ## **Mrs Sue Collins** We, as a church, continue to give good support to The Children’s Society, with our regular contributions year on year. There are now 71 boxes in use which are emptied once a year, unless they are full, in which case, are emptied as needed. We also had 2 very generous donations, making the total amount of box money for 2020, £1737.87 a very good result. Thank you everyone who contributes so generously. The Christingle Service is the other major fund raising event for the Society. Rebecca Sims has taken over this part of the administration for the Children’s Society for which I’m extremely grateful. Due to Covid restrictions we were unable to distribute collecting candles to the children in our schools as in the past and things had to be done differently, but I do thank Revd Judy for generously allowing the service to go ahead and for all the work she put into preparing for it. In spite the huge amount of work Rebecca and her helpers put into it, sadly the service was very poorly attended and contributions were, therefore, very low compared to previous years amounting only to £88.72. Perhaps with the advent of the vaccine things will return to normal next year. The Children’s Society does wonderful work supporting deprived children, especially helping runaways, refugee children, often unaccompanied, and child carers amongst others and I do thank everyone who supports it. It is obvious that this year the box collections have been particularly invaluable to what we’ve been able to contribute to the work of the society so, if you haven’t got a box, do consider it. I am always willing to supply a box to anyone who would like one, so do please ask. Sue Collins 667845 ## **Whitchurch Foodbank Report** ## **Mrs Judy Bellingham** ## **The Churches Together Christmas Card** This was not produced in 2020 due to the advice against hand delivery of printed materials. One class of pupils from the White House School were asked to design a border for our poster – and three winners were chosen and used. ## **Welcome** During the year, we welcomed Fr Thaddaeus who is now serving at St George’s. ## **Whitchurch (Church of England) Federation: Whitchurch (Church of England) Junior Academy and Whitchurch (Church of England) Infant Academy Mrs Liz Walsh** Like most schools, this last year has been difficult for the Whitchurch C of E Federation. The Principal, Mrs Sarah Cope, and the Senior Management team have worked tirelessly to keep the education of all the children in the Nursery, Infant and Junior Schools available as much as possible. From the beginning of the pandemic both schools were reordered with one way systems, bubbles of pupils and numerous restrictions to keep everyone safe. There have been copious variations of the Government COVID-19 Risk Assessments to follow, the latest being number 14! All have been strictly adhered to; this often requiring last minute revisions. All Governor meetings have been on Zoom to keep us up to date with developments, visits and most training have been cancelled. At the beginning of November the first positive cases occurred in the Infant and Nursery school. The school was subsequently closed for a few days for deep cleaning. At the November half term Mrs J Rowlandson the Head of the Infant and Nursery School left to take up a new headship. She has been replaced by Mrs S Gilmore. Mrs Cope and all the staff of both schools are to be congratulated for keeping the pupils taught either in school or at home in this challenging time, and need our prayers for the future. We continue to have a box at the back of church for donations to the Foodbank. Things have had to change a lot during the pandemic. All food is now delivered to clients. No one is allowed to come in person to collect food.. St Alkmund's has allowed the Foodbank exclusive use of Bargates during the pandemic as it is not being used for other groups. There has been a lot more demand on services due to the crisis. Foodbank have 12 21 ## **Revd Judy** ## **Deanery Report** Elected Lay Members of the Deanery Synod in 2020: John & Pauline Stokes Steve White Clergy Members of the Deanery Synod in 2020: Revd Judy Hunt Revd Sam Johnson (from Sept) The Lay members were re-elected at the APCM on 18.10.2020 The Synod did not meet at all during 2020 because of Covid-19 restrictions The Clergy Chapter did not meet from April to October inclusive Revd Deborah Walton was licensed to the PEW group of parishes and to a Chaplain-type role in both Sir John Talbot’s and Thomas Adams Secondary Schools The Deanery has formed a “Shaping for Mission Team” to take forward the work in 2021 on this Diocesan initiative. Local members are: Mrs Marjorie Jones (Prees) Mrs Cresswell (Shawbury _etc_ ) Revd Adam Clayton (Myddle _etc_ and Rural Dean) Revd Paul Cawthorne (Hadnall _etc_ ) Revd Rich Cresswell (Shawbury _etc_ and Assistant Rural Dean) Revd Sam Johnson (FTW benefice) ## **Plant Sale & Produce Stall Miss Janet Ivens & Mrs Judy Bryant** Covid raised its ugly head just as the plants were at their peak growing time. Realising a sale in an indoor venue would be out of the question, we were determined to find an alternative way to satisfy our faithful customers. A few phone calls later and our new system was taking shape: orders to taken by phone, payment to our wonderful treasurer Mel by card and delivery by willing members of Helping Hands to the grateful recipients. It worked and most important of all we still managed to raise around £1200. This spring we hope to repeat the winning formula. The sale will take place around the 1st May and all details will be advertised well in advance. Thank you to everyone who supported us so magnificently last year. ## **Social Working Group Annual Report. Mrs Sheila Chase** The Social Working Group is made up of members of St Alkmund’s Church congregation. New members are always welcome to come along and join us . Our first meeting of the New Year was held on Tuesday 18th February 2020 at 7:30 pm in St Alkmund’s Church Office. We started the year with our diary full of confirmed dates, which were as follows. ## _**Sunday 29th March**_ ## **Whitchurch Junior C of E Academy Experience Days** ## **Wendy Darter** This year we were not able to have the children in Church for Easter and Pentecost. When Harvest came we had the expertise of Rev Sam and he videoed our volunteers presenting each of the types of Harvest. This video was shown in school but was rather long with none of the usual activities. At Christmas we delivered to school all the stories, discussion topics and activities for the Y4 teachers to present to the children themselves. This went well and was enjoyed and may be repeated at Easter. We hope that it won’t be too long before we can have the children in church again. ## **Reader’s Report** ## **Jane Rylands** A quieter year than usual! I only began a contribution to the pattern of recorded online offerings of the church towards the end of the first lockdown when I felt I could contribute something focused towards our families with young children. Since then I have had a regular slot. It was lovely to have a few weeks of ‘in church’ worship in the autumn and up to Christmas and to play a part in leading and preaching for some of those, including what felt like real trips out to Fauls and Tilstock. FTW Songs of Praise in St Alkmund’s Church @ 10:30 am This was to include Elaine’s Leaving do, unfortunately this was probably the first of the ‘extra’ events Cancelled due to Covid-19 _**Sunday 12th April**_ Easter Breakfast. _**Thursday 23rd April**_ Nine Barrow Concert in Church @ 7:30 pm _**Saturday 2nd May Plant Sale**_ usually held in Bargates Hall was changed to a remote ordering system (see Plant Sale Report) ## _**Friday 8th May**_ VE Day _**Sunday 17th May**_ Rogation Service at Tremlows Stud Farm @ 6:30 pm _**Tuesday 2nd June** Rebecca Byrne in Concert, 7:30 pm in Church_ _**Friday 12th June**_ Coffee Morning at the Civic Centre _**Saturday 13th June**_ FTW Festival _Saturday 13th June Party in the Park, for those involved with Fair Trade._ _**Sunday 14th June**_ Bishop Sarah (Shrewsbury) 10:00am service. _**Thursday 18th June**_ Ordination of Sam Johnson our new Curate @ Lichfield @ 5:00 pm, _**Sunday 28th June**_ Bring and Share Lunch in Bargates Hall after the 10:00 am service for all three Parishes _**Saturday 4th July,**_ Parish Outing to Llandudno. _**Saturday 11th July,**_ Jean Martyn in Concert @7:30 pm in Church _**Monday27th July**_ Cello Concert @ 3:00 pm refreshments required, _**Saturday 3rd October**_ , Blackberry Fair. 20 13 brought pleasure and cheer to an otherwise difficult year. Thank you to all dedicated people who come along and grace this lovely building with their talent to the Glory of God. If you would like to join us just pop along on a Friday Morning or leave contact details with Jo in the Parish Office. There are quite a few dates available on the Altar Flower Rota, too. ## **Guild of Service** ## **Sue Wainwright** Not a lot to say about the Church cleaning rota Our teams continue to do an amazing job and as always we would love more members to join us. It's been a difficult last ten months for everyone but as usual we have continued to do our best and will not doubt carry on in the coming months. With the vaccine there is a light at the end of the tunnel unless someone turns the torch off ## **Bell ringing** ## **Malcolm Monie** The year started off normally enough but the lockdown in March caused the cessation of all ringing for several months. Sunday ringing resumed in July but was limited to 15 minutes on alternate bells to comply with Covid regulations. We are fortunate to have a large and well-ventilated ringing room. Further lockdowns have also interrupted ringing and the move into Tier 3 before Christmas brought us down to ringing just one bell. We have been unable to hold practices or do any teaching since March. This is a frustration to us and especially to learners Sam and Leanne. The former had just started ringing on Sunday mornings when we went into the first lockdown. The regular band of Peter, Helen, Mike and myself have been helped out by Robin Gilbert from Tilstock on a number of occasions when one of us was unavailable. Jacob returned to Bath University but was able to ring with us in the run-up to Christmas. We had been looking forward to a bumper season of weddings to ring for, but of course, none of them took place. Hopefully, we will get back to more normal ringing during 2021 and that we will be able to progress our efforts to rebuild what has become a rather depleted band. ## **Baptism Welcome Group** ## **Mrs Wendy Darter** The pandemic has meant that many families chose to delay their baptism bookings until 2021. For those who decided to go ahead, after church opened again, we held some pleasant services, just one family at a time, each with a few guests. In place of home visits we had to rely on telephone conversations and all paperwork and even the Baptismal Candle had to be individually sealed and quarantined for 72 hours before the service. ## **Junior Church and Sermon Slot Jane Rylands and Meriel Edge** As the year began Meriel and I continued to share leadership of the morning service sessions with our youngsters and were wonderfully supported by a team of volunteers and with a particular mention of Judy Bellingham who ensures that there are photocopied activity sheets for the children to use in the pews. As Meriel and my skill sets are complementary we hope that our different styles provide an interesting variety of activities and approaches to the sharing of the Christian message with our young people. Of course, much of this year has been spent in lockdown with no meetings in church. We have both supported the video recordings for families collated by Rev Sam - although branded ‘Messy Church’ we hope that our younger 10 o’clockers also enjoyed them. When services were allowed again in the autumn we did our best to run sessions for those children who came to church: initially the weather was good enough to go outside and to be unrestricted by masks although perhaps slightly harder to maintain the children’s focus! The need to be socially-distant, to not share equipment, to create a good atmosphere within an environment which felt alien and to share a message in the shortened time scale made for a very challenging few weeks! ## **Time Together Report** ## **Revd Judy** The purpose of the Time Together group is to provide social, spiritual, physical and emotional support for those with Memory Loss or Dementia and their family members or carers. We work in partnership with AgeUK and this is very helpful. The group continued to meet twice a month on Wednesday afternoons in the first part of the year but had to stop this ‘physical’ meeting in early March due to the Coronavirus pandemic. We stayed in touch with members by phone and e mail, plus the delivery of AgeUK activity packs – either by e mail or hard copy for the rest of the year. This contact was enhanced from October to December for those who could Zoom – twice monthly Zoom meetings were held. These were greatly appreciated by the 5 families who were able to participate. We have ‘lost’ some members this year, through death or through health deterioration, and we have not yet gained other members. This will need to be a priority in 2021 once we can meet physically once more. We have received several generous donations from grateful participants and from Community Organisations. We hope to be able to reach out to the families of all who have been baptised in recent times with the Rev Sam’s online Bible story and activities for young people. 14 19 ## **Hospital Chaplaincy Team** ## **Revd Judy** The hospital chaplaincy team has been providing support for patients and staff at Whitchurch Community Hospital since October 2015. The team is led by Revd Canon Dr Judy Hunt and is currently comprised of eight lay volunteer members from St Alkmunds, Holy Immanuel Fauls Church and the Beacon Church and also includes Revd Sue Armstrong. Revd Sue’s dog, Merlin, is a qualified PAT (Pets as Therapy) dog and so sometimes visits with Sue – bringing a much appreciated canine presence. Roman Catholic minsters and a Quaker contact are also available if needed. St Alkmund’s PCC has an agreement with the Hospital to provide a service of at least 6 hours per week throughout the year. In practice it is usually more. At least one person of the team visits the hospital every weekday. Weekends and special Holy days are covered by arrangement amongst the team. Lay members are authorised to administer Holy Communion and consecrated bread and wine are kept in a cupboard at the Hospital for use, as required. Team members provide conversation and a listening ear for any concerns for the patients and pray with all those who would like it, including visitors. Hospital Staff also appreciate being able to talk with Chaplaincy Team Members. Each patient is offered a prayer card and a bookmark contact card with the telephone numbers of Revd Judy and Revd Sue on them. In addition, small palm-size holding crosses made from smooth olive tree wood are given to those who would like one. Patients have found these comforting. The turnover of patients is often high but some are on the wards for several weeks, so Team members get to know them quite well. Interaction with those in Outpatients also occurs. Team members help each other by writing short notes in a notebook about those they have spoken with and any points of note about a patient but they are always aware of the legalities of confidentiality and Health and Safety. The visiting continued until the middle of March and was then put on hold because of the Coronavirus pandemic. Revd Judy was occasionally called in for individual patients. The Team also plans and participates in activities at the Hospital; this usually includes an Easter / Springtide event, a Harvest Celebration and the Christmas Crib Service but all had to be cancelled in 2020 because of the Coronavirus pandemic. We stayed in touch with the Hospital by e mail and by providing resource activities and on-line services. This continuing contact which was much appreciated as were Christmas Cards sent to be given to patients. The Team usually meets regularly at St Alkmund’s Rectory to reflect on this ministry, to discuss improvements or any difficulties, and exchange ideas for engaging and helping the patients. In the middle and later part of 2020, these ‘physical’ meetings were replaced by Zoom meetings. I continue to enjoy working with Revd Sue, & Revd Judy, and look forward of building a good working relationship with our new curate—Revd Sam I would like to urge the congregations to continue to provide articles, reports and especially photographs for use in all the above publications when it is possible. Together we can continue to improve the quality of our publications. My thanks, as always, to Mrs Pauline Stokes, for the help and support she gives me each week and especially this year for her phone calls which have helped keep me sane. Thank you. ## **Afternoon Bible Study Group Mrs Celia Camplin** This will be a very short resume of what happened in 2020 regarding the group. We managed to start looking at the Acts of the Apostles in 2019 ad finished it in January / February 2020. We were wondering how St Peter arrived in Rome about the same time as St Paul was there, and how they both managed to be martyred about the same time. We looked to see if the Bible was any help, and as we couldn’t find any references we decided to see if St Peter’s Letters offered a clue. So these Letters were due to be started in March. However the lockdown put pay to that! Keswick too was cancelled this year, but there is always some hope in 2021. I have kept in touch with the group by sending cards for the major festivals and kept in touch in other ways. I‘ve booked the room in Bargates and sent a list of the hopeful dates to all members of the group. Hopefully when we can meet again, we shall look at St Peter’s Letters. I’ll let everyone know when that will be! If anyone would like to join us, we meet on the 2[nd] and 4[th] Wednesday each month, at 2.00pm in Bargates Hall. You will be very welcome. My phone number as in the magazine. See you there. God bless, and stay safe. ## **Flower Arrangers** Firstly, the whole team were saddened by the loss of our longest serving member Mrs Muriel Simkiss who died 31st July 2020. Muriel led the team for many years along with Olive Walker and Shirley Lakin before they hung up their florist’s scissors and afterwards with Ruth. We give thanks for Muriel’s life and service and miss her terribly. Rest in peace. restrictions permitted. Fortunately they were able to do displays for many of the Sundays and were especially pleased to be able to do so for Harvest—even though they had to work in a Covid Safe manner. ‘We each took charge of a particular display and worked dotted around the church’. We all have our favourite flowers and colours so hopefully they have 18 15 Boyne Clarke and Angela Davies returned to play at Evening Prayer where, once we were allowed to sing again, first an anthem was sung, and then gradually, one of the canticles and sometimes another hymn was added. The choir is now rather depleted of men with the sad death of Roger Duffell and the retirement of John Malam, both of whom are sadly missed, but we are grateful to Celia and Garry Churchill who have joined us. We also much appreciate Rev Judy singing with us when she can. Thanks to the work done by Rev. Judy, we were able to have a Carol Service, different from usual as everything else is, but enjoyable none the less. Singing in a choir, socially distanced from each other, is not easy and we have had no choir practices for any service, including the Carol Service, since March, but we continue to do the best we can. Without doubt, the greatest sadness of the year was the sudden death of Dr Bob (Rob) Fowler, our brilliant organist, in November. Bob could always be relied on to play whatever was asked of him, traditional or modern hymns alike, and was faithfully there for the few who turned up for choir practice for the morning service on a Wednesday evening, before Coronavirus struck. He also had the ability to fill any gaps that the hymns didn’t fill, with totally improvised music. If anyone congratulated him on his excellent playing, he always said it was a God given gift and nothing to do with him!! He was a great musician and will be hugely missed by us all. We are grateful to Ted Chegwin and Angela Davies for helping out with playing the organ for 10.00am services in December, including at Christmas. ## **Parish Office** ## **Jo Lavin, Parish Administrator** During the course of 2020 the Parish Office continued to publish the Parish Magazine of St Alkmund’s, Fauls & Tilstock and The Chancel Steps, which also accommodates news from our other two parishes. The website www.stalkmunds.com was replaced by a new site which went live early 2020 and towards the end of the year efforts turned to setting up a website, for each of Fauls and Tilstock which will go live in early 2021. The production of the regular weekly Pewsheets along with extra ‘Covid Restrictions’ versions of service booklets to use during these strange, stressful and frightening times. The role of Parish Administrator has continued to be a busy one though out the pandemic, for many weeks work having to be done from home instead of the office. And much of the work moving from the printed word to being online which has meant an expansion of the St Alkmund’s website to include more pastoral content including Pewsheets, links to Prayer Resources and welfare resources in addition to links to online services and weekly prayer contributions form the clergy and reader. ## **Pastoral Care Group Report** ## **Jill Wallace** 2020 has been such an unusual, difficult, frightening year for many during the Pandemic, and continues to be into 2021, but HOPE is looming with the advent of the Vaccine being rolled out as fast as possible. **The Church Pastoral Care Team** has been busy helping in a variety of ways, putting faith into practice … along with Helping Hands, a Whitchurch Town -based team, also helping in a variety of ways. Our aim is to support the vulnerable who are shielding, the elderly and any others needing help in various ways … sending out Church materials, doing shopping, collecting prescriptions, phoning those on their own, and trying generally to prevent anyone from feeling neglected or uncared for. ## So much comes under the term ‘pastoral care’! Revd Judy, Revd Sue, Revd Sam and Jane Rylands our Reader, have made it possible for those with computers to access the on-line services, and those without computers, to listen to a spoken ‘Reflection’ on a local phone number once or twice a week. Also Judy Bellingham has learned how to copy the services onto discs so that those with DVD players can watch the services at a later date in the comfort of their own homes … so much has been going on as we all discover new ways of using modern technology, some finding it easier than others! We also try to put the sermons/ talks/reflections on line and also hard copies in a folder in church for anyone to take home to catch up or reflect on further. **FTW Prayer Link** is a way of encouraging us to pray at home … we receive weekly information by email or hard copy of those who are ill or who have passed away in our 3 parishes, Fauls, Tilstock and Whitchurch. Also any prayer requests for our schools and communities, and from the notes written by anyone and put on our **Church Prayer Board** , for two weeks at a time, when they are removed to make room for others. Please let us know if anyone else would like to receive the Prayer Link sent regularly. **Pastoral visiting to help with the Care Homes’ Communions and private home communions** have had to stop since Covid-19 arrived, but church materials are sent by Revd Judy to the Care Homes and some of the Residents can watch the Videos and Services in this way. We recorded a special Harvest and a special Christmas service for them Also one Care Home requested a Worship Service that they could take themselves. Fellowship and Scripture Union regularly and samples are on the shelves in Church if anyone would like to take a sample home to try. **Thanks to everyone** who has helped in so many different ways this year. **Jesus said:** _**‘I am the Vine, you are the branches. If anyone remains in**_ _**Me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing’**_ **from John’s Gospel, and in James we read: ‘** _**faith, if not accompanied by action, is dead.’**_ 16 17 ## **Residential/Nursing Homes’ Communion Mrs Pauline Stokes** ## _**2020** certainly a year we shall never forget!_ Our small, but committed team of visitors to the Homes, started the New Year by taking Communion into the Care and Nursing Homes in our town. Usually the second week each month we start by visiting Edgeley House & Court, followed by visits to Weston House, Cloverfields, and to Snowdrop and Bluebell at Greenfields, also calling at St. John’s Park, too ( when we enjoy catching up with news with some of the Residents.) – Sadly, but understandably, we were only able to take Communion into the Homes in January, February, & March, before Covid struck and _Lockdown_ !!! Our short Communion Service begins with a hymn, usually fitting in with the churches year (e.g. Epiphany, Lent , &c) a Reading and a short reflection on the theme of the reading, the service is usually led by Revd Judy, though occasionally a member of the team will lead the service, and closing with a final hymn. We then take the opportunity to have a chat to the residents, some of whom have become old friends of ours over the years. We value, too, our visits to the residents who have Dementia, when we sing just one verse of a very well known hymn, say the Lord’s Prayer with them, and finish with singing the verse again – and it is lovely when memories are re-awakened! We were pleased to have two Songs of Praise services at Greenfields, in January and February _**before Lockdown -**_ when the residents really enjoyed singing the hymns! Jane Rylands our Reader leads this informal service, and she too gives a short reflection on a reading – always ‘food for thought, too.’ Though we have been unable to visit the Homes, because of Covid, since March , the Residents and their families, and all the Staff _are_ very much in our thoughts and prayers – and sadly, we lost some of our friends whom we have come to know over the years – God Bless them! ## **Dementia-Friendly Church** **Pauline Green** Much of our Dementia-Friendly Ministry as a church takes place through Time Together, the Hospital Chaplaincy, general Pastoral Care and the work with our Residential and Care Homes. We publicise this work in the local press and, when Covid-restrictions allow, through involvement in town events. We were awarded a Diocesan Certificate again for this work in 2020. We keep in touch with other churches involved in similar work through the regional meetings hosted by Sarah Thorpe. ## **Messy Church** Messy Church would usually meet every other month on a Sunday in Bargates Hall. We have been unable to meet in 2020 due to the Covid Restrictions. Instead we have put a video on Facebook/YouTube. During Covid-19 we have missed our messy church families. We hope to re-start in 2021 (dates tba). Messy Church families were invited to set up the Crib at a special Sunday service on the 20[th] December. https://www.facebook.com/ StAlkmundsWhitchurch ## **Church Music (part1)** ## **Dr Robert Anthony Fowler** _**MUS.DOC, MA, FWTC, L.L.S.M. Organist & Choirmaster, St Alkmund’s Church**_ In January the keyboards of the organ were removed and remedial work carried out including re-felting and renewing pins. The electronic keyboard was used for Sunday services and several funerals. It was wonderful once this work was completed towards the end of February and the improvements to the organ very noticeable. unfortunately a few days later a national lockdown was announced and services suspended. After a few weeks it was agreed that organ maintenance was allowed so I played once a week to ensure the organ was kept in good working order. All weddings planned for this year were postponed. After a short respite of normal services we were put in to the tier system meaning reduced numbers, social distancing, no singing except for the choir and no chatting or socialising inside the building. “Dr Bob” prepared this report early in November but unfortunately he died suddenly on 2[nd] December. The church has lost an extremely talented and committed organist and I have lost a wonderful loving husband. ## **Elaine Bucknell** ## **Church Music (part 2)** **Mrs Sue Collins, Choir** Church music has suffered considerably over the course of this year for various reasons. The obvious one, of course, was the coronavirus lockdown when, from late March to mid- July we had no services or music. Services began again on July 19[th] , though no singing was allowed, but it was a joy to have Dr Bob Fowler, our organist, playing before and after the 10.00am services, and one or two hymns during the distribution of communion. This was extended to playing a joyful piece during the offertory. Singing was at last allowed by small choirs, socially distanced, on September 6[th] , and Bob then accompanied the choir for hymns during the service. The PCC of St Alkmund's Church, Whitchurch End of Year Financial Statements Year Ending 31 December 2020 ST ALKMUNIY8 CNiWiCH.VbllTCHURCH PCC. 11%991JD stat•monl of Flnafjelal A¢tlvlU*¥ Foylhe P•Tlod fromol JIn￿ry 2020 to 31 O*cpmh•r 2020 fUthd• nd •Jnth Yo141 Prtory•4r %(•) 2fr1 2fv) 21d) lll¥e4k09nts 1414r 1161P 289ffi1$ 2111134 dllur•M.' •ThA¥7 1.031 *11,B88 tletlnoomtrllè%ppndft4t•JMDur¢••ts•for•knrfer *0 107*•Y IA42 ii.ii¥ 0th8rr•cogthLlo81#•110•4•s IOT,8V 212 112.SYD 12 Pase i sr ALKMUND S CHURCH, IfiMITCHURCH PCC- 1129900 •l•rtèsfr#•t{Chureh of Ettgland Asat: 31 De¢emb8r2020 A•4tJin2tt Note FIx0d*¥ttot8 Tfjnglblfr 8bB8ts fjaS,973 709,030 71bl 053.562 1,445,862 206.￿2 43N19 162.Y49 Lliblbth8 44Q6 07 2NSO 20VI8 141274 10 10 81 Il•Flrfd*d.OENERALFA8RIC 10 2JJ14 2,201 1,0 Ro$lJl¢t4d-LEWW4 10 Approvtd bythe Pccon The Revd Canon ￿rJ￿IY Hunt IPCC Chalrmanl 8nd $￿ed onlts behalf by: Thé noteson paw4 to ￿t0forM p*ofthese acwunts Page 2 Yh•P¢ColStAlknWthChiM￿wIll¢h￿￿b.¢l*CthMT$$loThNO1l219Ofy 7111• Pl1.7141 Cpsh FbwilMmlnv¢th8ithtl8s tH￿d￿Ld&. lrttéA%tolldrqRtfromin¥esbKents 1$0 SthlevFFSxedA$5ethw44th)erts Ch*t6elnc•th•lrash¢4iW￿skn Ihqr¢pNUnxwl¢d 234,OOt C¥shandtathewthknts•tihTh￿ry 4U10 C4Shandts**4th￿ts•t3IIlec&￿bQr btheIN￿SlMOnt¢01￿Y1oo￿t9} NetlrKomelJefosali]wstm•Trtyknsll105seil3J Deremt 1111,19 AdJ1t¥5T￿ts￿0r DlvldehdhlntLYe51anrtr•ttfromlnve511wnts DeeRasollkn th•¥alualofr4f6knN&rNoportleslnth&samarèa. carr￿TraV81￿¢. Th#prwBIDn ollh&fjnBtthl$tat•M￿d*Ift Conf￿vId￿gOnBr&llYa• a¢wnllng py•elk4 w￿lre¥￿trI￿A￿leO$ selswd KablUIW*llhod#tsoftt*lnanrJalslal8ment6and Ihg¥eport¢dwThwhtsoflncomo*klfjxp8nd6frLres thk1wJ the f*poillrrfJpwbd.Adud¢o6uH#b) th&hthjr¢¢wMdKferfr￿IhD5￿￿1MQtsfj. In iN$r8gard, fvbwteè5bBlwot1￿I ¥th8istD¢¢wtsir. UMfv•trf¢t•dFw Thw repr88PrttheRm4lnkngthEomolundt otlhgPCC thpt4r• avaqebtsforwDthnJ¢mth8g*wlpurpE*esoflt PCC. In¢4udknp omourtlBd8s&Mledbltko PCCforfv8dawtsl•r116 wseorfor6p4ndlngoh afftrfw¢ w¢lBdond whktharath*ofcwnDtkncluWln Ib*éfrrnswa¥a&dyJ¢b)Bod knth¢Tn*sf¢POrt. RMlrf¢tedFundo Th8BO 8reiwm&frjnd•th￿fv￿6ta0Sp0NtOnmts￿ pwpoMsgftdd48lbotll*ftYthkekl oThJ PToYldad areahthTh b>th• *ctgunt•. Pi8e4 ST ALKMUND'S ¢frNJRCH, WHITCIWRCH PC¢-11299ts0 An#tyg1s of In¢omo and ￿PendItur S•l¢uteEI pèrlod: 01 January 2D20 to 31 DB¢omb4r W20 Yt Tht Note lll¢thn• &nd •Nlowmw 401QO-RW•rG£¥lThJ-Sth 40A1 ,7fè 41￿1? 40f10-Rw1#r(4￿.￿*￿v Enwlopp8 4012V.R¢Nknrl)hrfng.)W 9008 1A70 IA70 4A50 40130-C¢1[B￿QnP-Ca¥l 40140-DJn•UoTh$iknd (MYL) 401W-WalboxCoI￿dthO 40200-￿￿A￿# Rerwerqd 41140-1)Ih•ri)wlloDg-R•ththl 4310D-Appo91 Income- Rgslrfth 4fj120. NoA.8lthJtoryFeos.Weddln9& 48140. NoTr-Stskn Fw. Funerntl tl818lJ- Incornefc*￿I IlngJrnFuNI 4901JrJ-Gw 2,059 2.0 12,227 1.61? 26.286 15,64 426 112 82.27$ 12.340 82275 14.104 41,Y24 iQ8 14.070 121012 128 139.680 421tr). F￿¥j Rolsl*g 46110-St41uknryPCC F•*s.W•thl 48130_SlaluloryFrt¥-Funernl 1.139 157 0.212 1.13# 2.7T4 ?￿6$ 6.212 212 adlvrfi 404W-Hosplalch￿[llnBY lo￿0& rolals 2(bl lo,￿8 17.t)I 4610Q-Chw¢h Hiro 4030D-Oaryots4 48100-MaoazkoAd¥qrtkln d8110-Photorforln¢(¥ 4è120-ParfBbl4owth• 48140_MaMwW8Dpkenl 4A180- Su*dtyirttJmg 11,264 11,504 13W4 120 T4 12(1 74 215 127 127 011￿1￿&h￿•¢￿v1rf*3TOthl* 2(c) 11.8b1 16PIO 14,037 tIO.B•nk hth¥tRwthd.PCC 14093 23A43 J78 $1460 SlrE 416610-Il¥nWlr￿.3￿￿sw￿r 4d) 14147 11Q57 24ies Page 5 Tolal L•Kywr ote Othgrlneomg 45110.LIIBPOacafoUw 8elwè 48200.LOBF v4wRèf￿ndts 61￿￿-A¢￿Ir19t￿[Dr￿cOnlIw￿n from Fau B1W211-AdmTnlobalkJnGoJW t￿11&to9 7U 1,Q74 40t Olhorln¢omo Tdals 2(&) Imomo •nd wdowmfjnts Grand tolals 188,352 269.616 211Q34 Expendlturo 5010D-PitshSh4 81000.Mthslon s￿￿01ndD￿lI 20DO_R•tit¢daknToyFg•¥wDd 04AI8 2,710 6JA16 10.245 14 2,750 52010-0t￿lF•*￿S E¥g•i10 02110. HFD1Cu￿t91oLMM￿lffj 13D. MFD1CuthWOLMP￿￿1Oth 52140-HFnlGwtolOLMHoopl 52150.VFOl¢wrBlelOLMYel￿￿￿Tr roits0-MPDICtrnl&lOLMCornpui¢i 62210-Re¢*OrF￿-m￿￿9g9 832 120 48 873 otherthl 11 300 979 249 $2240_RédtsrEyni•&-Ho¥lWMy 6W0-R8dorExwn¥￿-T¢1Qph0￿0 273 2LI) B2280.RgotwFJPgnBB8.YEg￿￿9 200 1,126 1.12S 1.44Q 10-Réo0oTExponw• 90 2@04 3.300 1.731 64110-ChMohQa¥ f78 04210-ChU￿¢tO￿III 2083 18PM> S￿10.ChUrch 54è¥J.ClyJYtthlrtw¢gnr* 84411o.8¢NkèCty￿YTh￿b￿S 410.AnM¥Subs*lfoN8 546DO.OwT61 55100.M8knanE•CoÈts. RISI￿0 6110-PffOrè￿0nl Fe¥8 E411O-HoWtdChgplalTrwF• y￿20-HO IClwpblnwTtavl l.W2 111690 7.775 4732 ?A ,761 1472 1,56B 2,149 24&198 12016 1,086 1140 243,18B 115,988 18,971 ifjo 13D 1.109 58120.Churcha•Tooéth8rExpts* eoifo.F41fftWPhoirwilng 60120.T•hskn￿vMadb￿d e0130.Stthr*ty 1.018 1.195 1,195 Pege 6 fr)140_0fv Equtyroenl BOIOO- ￿n￿ChargES 81(￿.￿Al￿￿￿[0r￿W 61100-Ad￿¥w￿lnrEftCOth-￿ 2.15 1168 2,141 12.2TO 11270 11.Ye4 82100. Baryates-EWthI fj2110-BAw8leé-G•a 02120. Barfft-Wa18r 6X30- e2140. B0rg4toI.RuftM￿C0m1 021fj0-girg8t•&-fArél•ksrcost• 641tO-So ertdg&valfji8ts Mtht•n#n e4120- 3b Btkloow*fth 721 721 12Z1 726 273 3,770 3.088 20B 176 176 e4210.ze BNkn¥tsEtre•i 1Tr8urAnc 242 InsuMnc* 242 pendllum Oh ¢haWe (Avlllg5 fot*ts 1238V 282,OW2 Exp•ndlture GrJndtofal$ 123AJ7 256,294 381,203 Page 7 Tl)¢ PCC of St Alkmund'4 WhltchuTch- Charlty Comml8slon No 1129900 Notes to thts Flftwclal Slalemenls for Ihe Year Ended 31 Décember 2020 2020 2019 4 {•) Staff Co$ts Salaries Penston Costs 16,498 18,391 325 16.868 18,716 During Ihe year the PCC employod an admlni8lrallve clerk. a cleaner and an organlst 4 Ib) R•latsd Partlas 2 Tru8tse$ have l*èn reNT￿￿Tsed £3.(W 12019 £2.8911 fortravel, phone oth8r suth expEnaes (4trfng the yeaT. Noother gxpgn898were pald to anyother PCC mèmbèr, p&tson$ doselyconngded to them or rel8ted parti￿. Donatlons from 12 Tmslees IPCC membw81 iotslled £11,316 12019 È12,2141. 6 Indop•ndont 0￿MIn*￿8 r•munbr4tlon The amount payob18 to Lichfield Diocese Board cf Flnance for indapendent examinatÉtrn seNices for 2020 is £150. 6 An4ly819 of Tranwter betsve•n Funds Unresblsted R65Mcted IDS General Time Together P￿ent to Dtoce8e becomes Restrtcted debtor Time Togethw uso of 88rgol&s H8FI Corresponding contras Corre$pondwig cijntras 12501 1240) 313 13131 1313} 313 {101 12401 Tr#nsferg In Tiansfers Out 553 15631 563 13131 1,115.0 11.115.01 12401 Page 8 Wol£*loUt4FknBndBISiBtewtsf¢wth•Y4vrEndfjd31 DAt￿l¢r2￿?ty 7 FixeDAS8ET8 AlQoglOrV￿ll 44•.&3 1W84• fj84Rat ,378 105M27 so Btl ￿2￿20 2J7.14Q N8iBuDkvdlU*st￿ Lko20Xs 71bl lJwa¥kn•ni• UDr•Atsl¢I￿fft￿ R4*Wcw4tu • GURRENT A88ETS 2019 ￿[d￿r 777 VATrt4* 1.7dS 385 545 s80 109 Vlb) C•ih•ltsank•ndthlbA 127 109 11 4*419 4$7 4A1$ Tho Pccof 8tAlkfflurtd*WhltchuT¢h-Charlty Gomml•glon 140 1121WO otes lolhB Wn•Kial Slaternen16forthp Ypor Ended 31 D•c4mber2020 10, FUND¥ The ￿lI[￿oIl￿￿o¢￿n￿Se. General F8hrfG D￿11 1ufferernondlt￿frl*thr$ mu•tt¢9uktykn BWHa11tl8￿th& Fln8ncblSt&t¢mothlorthoYe•rEmlBd 31 Deoamknr202 12.8IIMPAARYOFAg8ET6BYFUND di IF 67 Dll P8yll NotegtolhFs Hnand41 St*ments fw ihoYwrEMlvd 31 t*oeml>w2020 13 PRIOR PERIOD COMPARATNE 8OFAfw Ih•yeAr endkng 31 Oè¢vmbor 2019 ItrSAiO Y.111 17 Ttstslln¢4Nr xm 14IA52 2F¥OBZ 124271 490 DIOCESE OF LICHFIELD Independent Examlnerfs report to the trusteeslmembers of The PCC of Whltchurch Reglstered charlty number 1129900 I report on the accounts for the year ended 315t De￿mber 2020 which are set out on the following pages. Ive re5 on$lbllltlo$ of th¢ Tru es and Inde endent Exam The charlt¢s trustee5 a￿ responsible for the preparation of the account5. The charlty's trustees consider that an audlt Is not requSred for this year tjnder Sectlon 144 of the Charitie5 Act 2011 (the Charitles Act) and that an Independent examinationls needed. It Is my responsibility to examlrje the accounts under sectlon 145 01 the Charltles Act. to follow the procedures laid down In the General Dlrectlons 8lven by the Charlty Commlsslon lunder sectlon 14515llbl of the CharitSes Act, and to state whether particular matter5 have come lo my attentlon. 51 Inde endent Examlntr's Stat nt My examlnatlon was ¢arrled OLrt In accordan￿ wlth the General 01￿ctiOnS 8lven by the Charlty Commisslon. An examSnation includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comporison of the accounts presented wlth those records. It also Include5 con5ideratlon of any LFnu5ual items or d15tlosures In the accounts, and seeklng exp13natlons from the trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do nol provide all the evldence that would be requlred in an audit, and consequentty no oplnion Is glven as to whether the accounts present a "true and falrt vlew and the report is Ilmlted to those matters set out in the statement below. Inde endent Examlner's Statemè In connecllon wlth my e￿MInatIon, no materlal matters have wrne to my attention whlch 8lves me cause to believe that In any materlal respect.. accountlng fecLTrrds were not kept in accordance wlth sectlon 130 of the Charities Act or the aewLtnts do not accord with the wltli the accounting records the accounts do not comply wlth the appllcable requirements concerning the form an(1 content of accounts set out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulalion5 2008 other than any requirement that the accounts give a true and falr view whlch Is not a matter considered as part of an Independent examination. I have come across no other matters in connectlon wlth the examlnatlon to whlch Bttentlon shovld be (Irawn In order to enable a proper understanding of the a¢counts to be reached. Slgned.. jonathan Hlll FCMA CGMA Lichfield Diocesan Board of Finante St Marvs House, The Close, Lichfleld WS13 7LD Date: Ll¢hfield Dlocesan Board tsf Flntne• st Marfs House. The CIDse, LlChfle￿, WS13 7LD Tel.. 01543 306030 Fax.. 01543 306039 udfft￿ IXoce50n 8o*d ofFln•rfe Intt L* Iln4tOd by gu•r0th68 •rKI Ml$tgred In EngW IComptyNth 2398611. The Board Rogl￿￿ed Ch*rfty (No. 11078271. . DIOCESE OF LICHFIELD Independent Examinerfs report to the trusteeslmernbers of The PCC of Whitchurch Registered charity number 1129900 I report on the accounts for the year ended 31" December 2020 which are set out on the following pages. Res ctive re5 onsibilities of the Trustees and Inde ndent Examiner The charity'5 trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts. The charity's trustees consider that an audit is not required for this year under Section 144 of the Charities Act 2011 (the Charities Act) and that an independent examination is needed. It is my responsibility to examine the accounts under Section 145 of the Charities Act, to follow the procedures laid down in the General Direction5 given by the Charlty Commission (under section 1451511bl of the Charities Act, and to state whether particular matters have come to my attention. Basls of Inde endent Examiner's Statement My examination was carried out in accordance with the General Directions given by the Charity Commi55ion. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a compari50n of the accounts presented with those records. It a150 includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts, and seeking explanations from the trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit, and consequently no opinion 15 given as to whether the accounts present a "true and fairf, view and the report is limited to those matters set out in the statement below. Inde endent Examiner's Statement In connection with my examination, no material matters have corne to my attention which gives me cause to believe that in any material respect.. accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Charities Act or the accounts do not accord with the with the accounting records the accounts do not comply with the applicable requirements concerning the form and content of accounts set out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than any requirement that the accounts give a true and faSr view which is not a matter conside￿d as part of an independent examination. I have come across t)0 other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached. Signed.. Jonathan Hill FCMA CGMA Lichfield Diocesan Board of Finance St Marls House, The Close, Lichfield WS13 7LD Date.. Li¢hfleld Diocesan Board of Finance St Mary's House. The C105e, Lichfield, WS13 7LD Tel.. 01543 306030 Fax.. 01543 306039 LichfiekJ 010￿5￿4 Board of Finance Inc. is a Gharii¥ble ¢ompany limited by guarsniee 8nd leg￿t￿tI In England Ictmpany rth). 2395611. The Èoard is o Regisiered Charly (No 11078271-