ANNUAL REPORT 2020
Let the door of our heart be open to receive, O Christ; the soul of our being unlocked, to welcome you; and the gate of our life flung wide, for your entering in.
2020 - An Unprecedented Year Parish Priest Revd Stephen Baxter
2 020 was extraordinary, shocking and, we hope and pray, transformational in so many ways. It was a year that required the church to be adaptable and imaginative, for the church’s community to draw together in support and encouragement and for us all to consider how to develop the mission of the church in a changed City.
Worship
T hroughout the periods of lockdown we were able to continue the patterns of worship by recording services in the church, without congregation, and in my garden from March to June when the church was required to be closed. These recordings were made available through the church’s website and YouTube channel. I am very grateful to all those who assisted in the recordings and production, especially Phillip Dawson and Jonathan Hall of J9 Imaging.
In addition to the weekly recordings of the Sung Eucharist, we also recorded and produced a number of services of Choral Evensong, an Election Service for The Grocers’ Company and Carol Services for the Gardeners’ Company and a number of local businesses.
At the start of the first lockdown we introduced Morning Prayer from the book
of Common Prayer on a Wednesday morning which has attracted a new congregation gathered from across the country. We have also continued to offer Start:Stop reflections recorded weekly as an audio-file.
The Lord of hosts is with us, the God of Jacob is our refuge.
Music
T he joy and privilege of live music have been reinforced through denial for long periods over the last year. We have been extremely fortunate that through the partnership with St Martin-inthe-Fields, the Choral Scholars and St Stephen Voices have been able to provide recorded music for all services and have been able to arrange live performances whenever the regulations allowed. The Choral Scholars have enabled us to produce a variety of twenty minute episodes of Choral Classics which have also been made available through the website.
Most of the recitals and concerts that we are normally honoured to host at St Stephen Walbrook could not happen, however we arranged special and widely acclaimed recordings of performances of Beethoven’s third and ninth symphonies arranged for four
hands on the piano by Xaver Scharwenka to celebrate the 250[th] anniversary of Beethoven’s birth. The pianists were Tessa Uys and Ben Schoemann and the Choral Scholars sang the choral parts of the ninth.
Community
I n response to the severe restrictions on physical meeting throughout much of the year many members of the community committed to phoning and emailing each other. We held open sessions for conversation closing with Compline on Thursday evenings and for six weeks in September and October worked together through Mark’s gospel assisted by Rowan Williams’s excellent book Meeting God in Mark.
The church’s online ministry is very much an extension of the vision and work of the London Internet Church founded at the church fourteen years ago. The online community has expanded significantly through the year, based on numbers of subscribers to the YouTube channel and on subscribers for newsletters and online services. We have developed close contacts with many new members based considerable distances from the church. On Thursday evenings we have frequently been joined by friends from Dubai, France and Spain.
Church team
I am very grateful to Elizabeth and Lee for their patience, flexibility and
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anticipate that there will, however, be a greater interest in the spiritual, the cultural and the need for sanctuary among many returning to the City. I also believe that many companies will be more focused on the well-being of employees to which the church will be able to contribute. We will need to promote the church more widely and draw more people into the City to attend worship and events at the church. To maximise the potential of the church, its facilities will require some development.
commitment to the church throughout the year. For much of their time they have been on furlough but have responded with undimmed enthusiasm for the church whenever asked to work. Tom Shorter left the church during the year for a full-time role with Apple Music, but we hope that he will be able to continue his involvement in aspects of the church’s musical activities, including the Community choir which we hope will resume in the summer of 2021.
Future
There is therefore much for us to think and pray about as we consider how to take the opportunities to enhance our contribution to the mission of Jesus Christ as the City evolves.
T he patterns of life in the City of London will probably be changed more dramatically than any other city. Most City workers will be keen to return to offices but for many this will be for fewer days each week. I
| Introducton by Revd Stephen Baxter | 2-3 | |
|---|---|---|
| Staf Team | 3 | |
| Ministry: Start:Stop | 4 | |
| C | Ministry: Eucharist, Choral Evensong, Morning Prayer | 5 |
| O | Ministry Outreach: The Passion in Art, Time & Space | 6 |
| N | Community: Salvaton Church, Community Choir | 7 |
| T | Community: Electoral Roll & Civic & Livery | 7—8 |
| E | Music & Events: Recitals & Christmas Events | 9-10 |
| N | Music and Events : Walbrook Music Trust | 11 |
| T | Music & Events: Choral Classics, Organ Recitals | 12 |
| S | Buildings and Fabric | 13 |
| Communicatons: Online & Social Media | 14 | |
| Giving to the Church | 15 | |
| Annual Report and Accounts 2020 | 16-20 |
I am deeply grateful to all the wide variety of support received from a host of members of the church’s community during this difficult year including financial donations, time generously given and inspiring notes of encouragement.
With Blessings,
Stephen
Rev Stephen Baxer ,
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Lee Fitzgerald
Elizabeth Maragh
Tom Shorter
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Ministry | Start:Stop
Tuesday 8am - 9.30am Start:Stop Morning
F or the first three months of 2020 Tuesday’s START:STOP sessions continued to provide valuable space to either calm or invigorate City workers. Our Start:Stop reflections were introduced in 2016, providing a ten minute reflection of music, words and prayer which begins each quarter hour between 7.45am and 9.00am on Tuesday mornings, Following the government directive to close places of worship for the
first Lockdown of 2020, we soon moved the Start Stop sessions online as weekly audio reflections. In so doing we were able to meet the needs of people for times of reflection during the long months of several periods of Lockdown, either working from home or on Furlough from their regular places of employment. We have remained in touch by email with several ‘Start:Stop’ regulars who have told us that
the reflections remain a valuable part of their personal devotion. Mostly hosted by Phillip Dawson, Meg Post and Rev Stephen Baxter, the Start:Stop reflections address current events, worries or anxieties with music, words and prayer. In just ten minutes people are able to re-set and reconnect for the day ahead—or behind, if they listen at night. During 2020 close to 50 Start:Stop recordings were produced for St Stephen Walbrook website.
O ur worship and ministry during 2020 continued despite the church closures caused by the various lockdowns in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Whilst some activities (such as our planned Lent Course, regular Friday Organ Recitals, our Community Choir and our monthly services of Choral Evensong) had to stop, other regular services and events continued and we introduced new opportunities for people to worship with us via telephone and by zoom. We continued to worship in church for as long as it was safe to do so and made recordings each week to allow all those unable to be with us in person to take part. We are grateful to Jonathan Hall for helping us with the editing and video production for the first three months of the lockdown.
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Recording Services for use online
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Ministry | Services
Thursday 12.45pm - Weekly Eucharist
O ur regular Weekly Service has remained our Sung Eucharist, which takes place every Thursday from 12.45pm for 45 minutes. Along with our faithful congregation who attend each week, this also allows workers in the City to pop over to the church for the Service, during their lunch break. For the period from 26th March until 9th July in 2020 these services took place behind closed doors with severely restricted numbers of worshippers allowed. However, a video recording was made each week, using music recorded by our Choral Scholars. Videos were then uploaded to our YouTube Channel and published on our website and recorded between 40 and 100 views per week. We look forward to the end of Lockdown and a relaxation of restrictions in 2021.
Restricted numbers of worshippers observing social distancing
Morning Prayer - Wednesday 9am
A t the start of the first Covid 19 pandemic Lockdown in April 2020 we introduced Morning Prayer by telephone conference call every Wednesday morning at 9am. This regular act of worship allows people who are not able to access our services online to join us for prayer. The conference call is easy to access and attracts both those who have been regular worshippers at the church as well as those live further afield.
Morning Prayer by Telephone, every Wednesday
C horal Evensong services began in 2018 and is usually held on the third Wednesday of the month, featuring the St Stephen Walbrook Choral Scholars. It is timed to begin as people finish work, to enable them to attend. Many comment on how it helps bring them calm after an often frenetic day of work. We were, thankfully, able to enjoy a couple of Services before the first Covid 19 Lockdown and both were very well received.
Choral Evensong, providing calm after a busy day.
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Ministry - Outreach
F ormer minister at St Stephen Walbrook and avid art scholar, expert and enthusiast, Archdeacon Peter Delaney embarked on a series of Art and faith lectures for Lenten, aptly named ‘ The Passion in Art. The first two sessions examining the paintings of Andrea Mantegna, ‘The Agony in the Garden’ 1460 and Hieronymus Bosch ‘Christ Mocked’ 1495 and were very well received. However, as the Covid 19 pandemic began to cause greater concern it became apparent that we could not continue the Series. We hope to return to the
same or similar in the near future.
A work of art is to be looked at and appreciated; When you look at a work of art you bring to it a number of preconceived ideas. Firstly you might have a strong perception of the image you are looking at in front of you from reproductions and written material. As you look you are seeing if it comes up to or falls below the level of appreciation you have already decided. You will be looking for an expression of yourself in the painting, your view of God and Christ will colour how you react to the image in front of you. Finally if you look long enough and clear your own mind of your preconceptions it is possible the painting will speak to you of truth.
Thursday – Time and Space Discussion Group
I n September we reintroduced our ‘Time and Space’ discussion group. We used Rowan Williams’ book ‘Meeting God in Mark’ to explore the Gospel of Mark over eight weeks. The group was held by Zoom and attracted not only regular members of the congregation at St Stephen Walbrook but also those who engage with us through the London Internet Church, with regular attendees dialling in from Dubai, France, Spain and Australia. Once the study group had concluded, the meetings continued, offering a space for conversation and chat and concluding with Compline. Thank you to Meg Post for leading these sessions.
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Community
T he Salvation Church was developed from a youth group in a long-established ministry that reaches out to the Chinese community predominantly in London. Since moving to St Stephen Walbrook, we have become an independent congregation, remaining in fellowship with our sister churches and the wider Elim Pentecostal family. During the pandemic lockdown, we kept in contact with each other by hosting various activities via Zoom, including group meetings, fellowship evenings, quiz & games nights, bible study and prayer meetings. Since March 2020 lockdown, we briefly met at St. Stephen Walbrook during Autumn 2020 when restrictions were temporarily lifted. We look forward to getting back to normal in 2021 .
St Stephen Walbrook Community Choir
W e have continued to grow, with rehearsals taking place on Wednesday lunchtimes. We now consistently number more than 20 singers and have contributed to many past services. In January 2020, the choir was delighted to be rehearsing another musical event from Cantata Dramatica, however, as the Covid 19 pandemic struck, all was cancelled. At present the choir is unable to meet due to Lockdown restrictions, however, we have remained in contact with the members of the choir and all are excited to resume in 2021 when the pandemic is under control and a return to normality resumes. Tom Shorter, Administrator and musical director for the choir, moved on to pastures new in April. We hope he will have time to continue his involvement with the church, and at times, the choir. However, we wish him well and thank him for his enthusiasm in leading the choir and his passion for music and song, that was a positive delight to us all.
St Stephen Walbrook Church Membership and the Electoral Roll
Last year, 2020 the church membership stood at 64 members registered on the electoral roll.
Friends of St Stephen Walbrook
At present we have a database of around 600 friends, comprising individuals and companies, of the church whom we keep in contact with throughout the year for services, events and special announcements. Many have been supporters of the church for a number of years and some more recently, following weddings or baptisms.
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Community: Civic & Livery
L ike everything else, the Covid pandemic has closed down much of the City and its live activities for the past year. Livery Companies have had to get used to virtual meetings and socials, as has the Lord Mayor, Mansion House and the Corporation.
As a result, the vast majority of our Civic services have not taken place this year, including the Annual Thanksgiving Service for the Lord Mayor and the Investiture of the Lord Mayor as Honorary Churchwarden. This is a great shame as St Stephen Walbrook is, of course, the Lord Mayor’s own Parish Church. The same has been true of Livery Company Services and I know that many Livery Masters have been disappointed that they were not able to celebrate at St Stephen Walbrook in their year of office whether in an Installation, Dedication or Carol Service. We do hope the coming months and roadmap to freedom will bring back some normality to our Livery and Civic links and activities. We can’t wait!
Jonathan Shiels, Church Warden
Church Wardens and representatives of St Stephen Walbrook present the honorary Church Warden stave to the new Lord Mayor, William Russell at his residence in Mansion House. William Russell took office as Lord Mayor of the City of London in November 2019. To ensure continuity of leadership during the current COVID -19 pandemic, he remains in office for a second term until November 2021.
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Music & Events
I n the Autumn of 2020 we had planned a concert series to celebrate the 250th Anniversary of Beethoven’s birth. Just as we were about to release tickets, the ‘short’ November lockdown was announced which meant most of the events had to be cancelled. We were however able to record two concerts performed by pianists Ben Schoeman and Tessa Uys, performing Beethoven’s Symphony Number 3 (Eroica) and the ‘Choral’ Symphony Number 9,
both arranged for four hands by Franz Xaver Scharwenka. We were delighted that our Choral Scholars were able to join Ben and Tessa for the final stirring movement of Symphony Number 9. Recordings were released on our website to coincide with the anniversary of Beethoven’s birth and remain our most viewed recordings, with over 1,100 people tuning in to watch the concerts to date.
Talented duo: Ben Schoeman and Tessa Uys with the Choral Scholars
The St Stephen Community Choir participated in the tragic real life story of Perpetua, the first woman Christian martyr, by Cantata Dramatica in February.
A fter a joyous start to the New Year with concerts from Excalibur Voices and Oakham School as part of the Brandenburg Choral Festival, in anticipation of continuing to feature such diverse concerts throughout the year, we were then forced to cancel all bookings due to the Covid 19 pandemic. The Brandenburg Choral Festival of London exists as a platform for amateur choirs to perform in Central London venues. We hope to resume our association in 2021.
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Music & Events
C hristmas at St Stephen Walbrook was very different this year. Worship was allowed by the Government with restricted numbers and no singing allowed by the congregation. Our Christmas concert was held under ‘Covid 19 safe’ conditions of ticket only entrance and only 60 people allowed in the church to enable safe distancing. With sublime Christmas music and song from the Choral Scholars and the organist—a largely surreal, Christmas Service was greatly enjoyed by all. After the service the Choral Scholars wished everyone Merry Christmas, in song, from the grand, stone steps of the church. It brought a warm glow to everyone’s hearts on such a cold wintry day.
In addition, to the Christmas Service, St Stephen Walbrook provided recorded services for Advent, Christmas and Midnight Mass services online, for all to enjoy at home.
W hilst our plans for events during the London Festival of Architecture in 2020 had to be cancelled due to the lockdown, we were delighted to be able to open the church during Open House Weekend in September—when the Lockdown rules for opening churches were slightly relaxed Thank you to Lee Fitzgerald for giving hourly talks about the history of the building.
Choral Scholars recording Christmas favourites
Ben Giddens—Organ Recital for Advent
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Music & Events
The Walbrook Music Trust Tuesday Chamber Concerts
T he Walbrook Music Trust, the independent charity responsible for the Church’s regular Tuesday lunchtime recital series, had staged just nine chamber concerts in 2020 before Covid derailed the rest of the year. We sadly possess neither the resources nor the facilities to have streamed the cancelled concerts online, which was not just a loss to our regular audience but more so for the musicians who were starved of an opportunity to perform for over 12 months. As I write I am delighted to announce that on the 18th May 2021, the day after indoor performances with social distancing are allowed, the Walbrook Music Trust will stage its first free lunchtime concert after what has been a 14 month hiatus. We will then continue with our concerts every Tuesday at 1 o’clock without interruption, certainly until the beginning of August and quite possibly through our
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Oliver Nelson and Vasileios Rakitzis, play Beethoven
and Ravel, just before the Covid Lockdown 1 in
March 2020.
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usual annual break, and then on till the end of the year. The nine concerts we were able to perform at the beginning of 2020 were staged free of charge to an audience that numbered up to 40, lasted a short hour and as ever attracted an incredibly high calibre of performer, many of whom are graduates from the Guildhall School of Music. The musicians all brilliantly performed for no fee and all the costs of staging the concerts were met by the charity and its trustees – the upshot being that again all of the retiring collections, which from those 9 concerts in 2020 came to £700 (including gift aid), were deservedly paid into church funds. The Impressaria of this successful weekly event was Molly Adams, herself an exceptional mezzo soprano, who organised all the bookings of the concerts and the preparation of all the concert programmes. The concerts were externally promoted on social media by Matthew Butt, himself a composer and pianist, and by Trevor Rowe our masterful web master. Edward Adams in his the role as musical director has been as ever, our all-round guiding light. All of the trustees labour tirelessly for no fee but for their passion for music and their love of St Stephen Walbrook, and I owe them all inestimable thanks.
John Seagrim
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Music & Events
Choral Classics with the Choral Scholars of St Stephen Walbrook
C horal Classics offers twenty minutes of choral music and readings based on a theme. Music is sung by our Choral Scholars directed by Dr Andrew Earis or Gabriella Noble and accompanied by Ben Giddens or Polina Sosnina. During the 2020 Covid 19 Lockdowns we continued providing recitals from the choral scholars by first combining a selection of previous recordings with newly composed readings and poetry from Rev Stephen—many of which were recorded at home (due to Lockdown restrictions!). As restrictions were eased during the year, we were then able to have limited numbers of choral scholars record their beautiful song in the church, resulting in a new selection of recitals - again with Rev Stephen providing the accompanying spoken word. We hope to return to normal in 2021 but are indebted to the choral scholars, director and musicians who have helped us to maintain this ministry throughout this unprecedented time of the Covid 19 virus pandemic.
During pandemic Lockdown 1, Rev Stephen recording Choral Classics readings at home.
During a brief hiatus from Pandemic Lockdown 1, the Choral Scholars returned to the church in September 2020 - until the second Lockdown in November 2020.
St Stephen Walbrook Organ Recitals
Our Friday Organ recital series has been providing fifty recitals per year for over fifty years. The pandemic of 2020 saw the recitals stop for the first time since World War II . For the first three months of 2020, we continued to provide free recitals for our loyal supporters accompanied by many visitors and tourists who as always express great delight at accidentally ‘bumping into’ a concert at no cost. The donations received for each recital go towards providing a payment of gratitude to the organists—whom we know would command far more were it a commercial performance. During the ban on indoor events during Covid 19 Lockdowns we were delighted to provide recordings of organ recitals on our website .
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Buildings and Fabric
[2 ][020 may have been the year ] when we were faced with the realities of a global pandemic, but it was also the year, when faced with the consequences of such, a church closed for the three periods of lock down, that we able to replace the entire heating system in the church with minimal disruption.
The ancient thundering boilers that had been installed in 1986 had done a valiant 35 years’ service and had soldiered on for a full seven years beyond expectations. The new gas boilers, which are more energy efficient, more environmentally friendly and easier to control, were installed with a pioneering catalytic flue, that sits neatly under the stone bench in the church yard, which removed the necessity of having to have an unsightly flue pipe running up the full height of the east end exterior wall. This brilliant augmentation was introduced by Robin Bunton, our boiler contractor. Robin is the master of installing heating systems in grade 1 listed buildings, based in Cambridge, he has done most of the university’s colleges and, like our Architect, is also responsible for St Paul’s.
Robin and his son Geoff, together with their team of Bunton boiler men, did a brilliant job. The installation of the boilers was relatively straightforward, but
connecting the same to the Church was more of a challenge. Some of the corroded pipe work at the east end had to be replaced as well as a length of leaking pipe that runs along North wall. Because we had to remove the wall benches and lift the stone slabs for this work, we took the opportunity to lay two more pipes about a third of the way down North wall - two pipes that can be more readily connected if we come to install heating in the tower and the crypt at some later date. T he total cost of these substantial works was £116,800 including VAT. This as it happens was a considerably smaller sum
than that that would have been incurred if we had responded to the alarmist recommendation of seven years ago, which included an insistence that the installation of new boilers would require that all the piping in the Church be replaced with pipes of a different diameter. When Robin
Bunton was made aware of this alleged requirement, his one word response, although not suitable for inclusion in this annual report, was categoric in its dismissal of such a notion.
I would like to pay particularly tribute to Oliver Caroe, the church architect, who despite an increasingly terrifying list of major ecclesiastical responsibilities, which now include York Minster, as well as Ripon Cathedral and St Paul’s Cathedral, continued to give St Stephen Walbrook the inestimable care and sensitive attention that it deserves, but at a very economic rate. His bill for initiating, instigating, commissioning and supervising the boiler works came to £2,792.50 or just 2.87% of the net contract sum (other architects would have charged the flat 15% fee specified in RIBA’s schedule for listed building). Oliver was ably and calmly abetted by Touseer Ahmad from his practice, whose measured interventions were of immense help during the boiler works, which at times were admittedly slightly fraught.
The fabric fund, the 2020 expenditure of which, with the Archdeacon of London’s kind approval, was met by the Benjamin West Fund, will continue to secure and appropriately augment the church and its fabric for some time to come.
John Seagrim, Church Warden
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Online and Social Media Outreach
A t the start of the lockdown we redesigned parts of the website to allow people to find and access our recorded content more easily. This included a special page during Advent and Christmas to allow people to find all seasonal recorded content in one location. During 2020, 110,000 visitors accessed the church website which equates to 300 visitors
daily. T he resources of the London Internet Church continue to remain amongst the most highly accessed pages, with 23,000 visitors to our ‘Night Prayer’ video page and 4,700 to our ‘Light a
Candle’ page. Many of our visitors live in countries where it is difficult to worship openly, for them the LIC is a vital lifeline for faith.
W e established a YouTube channel in March 2020 to host our recorded services. This has over 75 subscribers. Links to services are posted on our website and distributed by our weekly newsletter to 400 subscribers.
Our weekly Eucharist videos are watched by between 50 and 100 people each week. Our concerts celebrating Beethoven’s 250[th]
Anniversary have been viewed over 1,100 times.
O ur Twitter account has over 2,450 followers, achieves around 45,000 tweet views per month and 500-600 unique visits to our Twitter profile. Our Facebook profile has grown to 262 followers. Recorded video content has increased the popularity and reach of posts.
Phillip Dawson
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Giving to the Church
F ewer people are using cash these days, and the trend is set to continue. At St Stephen Walbrook we use three methods for collecting much needed donations for the maintenance and mission of the church. Of course, cash is still offered - and accepted.
To facilitate ‘electronic giving’ we use platforms run by IZettle and the Goodbox via contactless card readers. The IZettle provides a mobile method - easily used by hand or placed in different places in the church, as needed, whilst the GoodBox is a stationary tower placed by the doorway of the church. Both allow one-off donations to the church using debit or credit cards.
The GoodBox - A tower placed at the church entrance.
We are also able to accept donations via the St Stephen Walbrook website via several ‘donate here’ buttons, throughout the site. These offer the possibility of either making a one-off gift or to set up a regular standing order.
As a result of the pandemic, people were unable to visit the church in person due to periods of Lockdown throughout the year. So donations via our contactless card readers, during 2020, dropped to £2,320. However, on the positive side, donations received via our website have shown an encouraging increase during 2020. We received a total of 280 donations (£13,200 total) from 98 givers. This includes 21 donors who make donations on a monthly basis. We remain ever thankful to all who donate to the work of the church.
iZettle - Easily moved around the church or offered by hand.
Paul de Ridder
Website donation buttons
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The Parochial Church Council (PCC) of St Stephen Walbrook
St Stephen Walbrook Annual Report and Accounts 2020
Parish Saint Stephen Walbrook 39 Walbrook London EC4N 8BN Telephone: 020 7262 9000 www.ststephenwalbrook.net
St Stephen Walbrook (People) Parish Priest The Revd. Stephen Baxter Staff Members Lee Fitzgerald, Verger Tom Shorter, Music and Bookings Administrator (Left April 2020) Elizabeth Maragh, Finance and General Administrator PCC Members Alex Ng Bryan Lovell (Churchwarden) David Atterbury Thomas (Churchwarden, Treasurer) Emma Whitlam (Churchwarden) John Seagrim (Churchwarden)
PCC Members /cont’d John Garbutt (Churchwarden, Lay Chairman) Revd. Roger Hoath Jonathan Shiels (Churchwarden) Michael Walton James Thomson (Churchwarden) Margaret Brown (Churchwarden) Meg Post Paul de Ridder Peter Livock Phillip Dawson Stephen Baxter Elizabeth Maragh (PCC Secretary)
Bankers
CAF Bank Ltd, 25 Kings Hill Avenue, Kings Hill, Kent ME19 4JQ Barclays Bank PLC, Leicester, LE87 2BB Charity Number: 1130738
The Parochial Church Council ('PCC') presents the annual report and accounts for the year ended 31st December 2020.
Responsibilities of the PCC:
The PCC is required to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the Parish as at the end of the financial year and of its income and expenditure for that period. In preparing those accounts, the PCC is required to select appropriate accounting policies, make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent and state whether all accounting standards which they consider to be applicable have been followed. The PCC is also required to use a going concern basis in preparing the accounts unless this is inappropriate.
The PCC has the responsibility for ensuring that there are proper accounting records kept, and for taking such steps as are reasonably open to safeguard the assets of the Parish and to prevent and detect fraud and other irregularities.
The PCC has complied with the duty under section 5 of the Safeguarding and Clergy Discipline Measure 2016, in relation to having due regard to House of Bishop’s guidance on safeguarding children and vulnerable adults.
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Principal activity and review:
The PCC has the responsibility of cooperating with the Priest in Charge, in promoting in the ecclesiastical parish of St Stephen Walbrook the whole mission of the Church, pastoral, evangelistic, social and ecumenical. During 2020 the PCC believes it has met these objectives and will be maintained in the future. The Church is registered with the Charity Commission. In planning the activities for the year the PCC have kept in mind the Charity Commissioner’s guidance on public benefit.
Major Risks:
The PCC believes that it has identified and reviewed all major risks that might affect the mission and have sufficient systems and procedures in place to mitigate those risks. In particular the PCC believes that the level of reserves held are sufficient and reasonable to maintain the mission.
Financial Result:
The PCC reports a deficit of £596 (2019 deficit £27,032) on Unrestricted Funds and a deficit of £3,988 (2019 surplus £2,089) on Restricted Funds. In total our deficit for 2020 was £4,584 (2019 £24,943). At the year end our total funds were £26,758 (2019 £31,342).
Council:
The members of the PCC during the year were as shown on the previous page.
All members of the PCC are either ex officio or are elected at the Annual Parochial Church Meeting in accordance with the Church Representation Rules. The Parish has adopted a policy of electing Wardens and PCC Members annually.
Treasurer’s report
Our total income was £165,832 (2019 £234,805).
During the year there was no call on the Benjamin West Fund (2019 £64,208) and this was the principal reason for the drop in income. The Benjamin West fund is administered by the Diocese and contributions received from it support vital repairs, maintenance and building work so essential in preserving the splendid Wren Church with which we are entrusted.
Unrestricted Income was £165,826 (2019 £170,597) despite the exceptional circumstances due to the pandemic which impacted so severely on service collections, church hire and visitors. However we have benefited hugely from the genA warm welcome to new church members at St Stephen Walbrook... erosity of our congregation and our supporters, both old and new, many on-line for the first time, through donations and increased levels of planned giving.
The Grocers’ Company have continued their support towards clergy expenses. Many local businesses within the parish have supported the annual Church Rate scheme and we are grateful for these financial contributions at such a difficult time both for their businesses and their staff.
Many of our overhead costs have remained in place even when the church has been closed. Both our verger and our office administrator were furloughed during lockdown and the Government furlough scheme has generously supported continued employment under these circumstances. The Choral Scholars and our musicians have continued to play an enormous part in the church’s activities during the lockdowns and when the church has been open for services, whether on-line or live.
The Diocese allowed us to reduce our Common Fund contributions by a half in the second part of 2020. This has been very reassuring during a very difficult and unpredictable time.
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The lockdown in the early part of 2021 has seen the church closed again. Our financial outlook for 2021 remains challenging as was 2020 but we have confidence that we can respond positively to whatever it holds for us.
Special thanks are due to Stephen Baxter, our parish priest, who has kept us all in order and kept everything going, Elizabeth Maragh our office administrator, Lee Fitzgerald, our Verger, John Seagrim, our Fabric Warden, who additionally manages the fabric fund, and Paul de Ridder who keeps track of our on-line giving and the planned giving scheme and also handles the Gift Aid claims.
David Atterbury Thomas Treasurer and Churchwarden
Notes to the Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2020
1. Accounting Policies
The PCC is a public benefit entity within the meaning of FRS102. The financial statements have been prepared under the Charities Act 2011 and in accordance with the Church Accounting Regulations 2006 governing the individual accounts of PCCs, and with the Regulations' "true and fair view" provisions. They have been pre-pared under FRS102 (2016) as the applicable accounting standards and the 2016 version of the Statement of Recommended Practice, Accounting and Reporting by Charities (SORP(FRS102)).
2. Funds
Unrestricted Funds - These represent the remaining income funds of the PCC that are available for the spending on the general purposes of the PCC.
Restricted Funds - These are income funds that must be spent on restricted purposes. In this case the fund is the Fabric Fund used for the purposes of the upkeep, maintenance and repairs of the Church building.
3. Staff Costs
2020 2019
Wages and salaries (included in People Costs) £95,387 £96,694 Average number of employees 3 3
4. Related Parties
No payments or expenses were paid to any PCC member, persons connected to them or related parties.
5. Independent examiner's remuneration The independent examiner's remuneration was £2,160 (2019 £2,160).
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A warm welcome to new church members at St Stephen Walbrook...
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Independent Examiner's Report to the Members of the Parochial Church Council of St Stephen Walbrook
This report on the accounts of the PCC for the year ended 31 December 2020, which is set out on pages 16,17,18,19 is in respect of an examination carried out under Regulation 3(3) of the Church Accounting Regulations 2006 (‘the Regulations’) and Section 144 of the Charities Act 2011 (‘the 2011 Act’).
Respective responsibilities of the PCC and examiner
As described in page 16 the PCC is responsible for the preparation of the accounts. The PCC considers that the audit is not required for this year under section 144 of the Charities Act 2011 (the 2011 Act) and that an independent examination is needed. It is my responsibility to issue this report on those accounts in accordance with the Regulations.
Basis of this report
My examination was carried out in accordance with General Directions given by the Charity Commission under 43(7)(b) of the Act and to be found in the Church Guidance, 2006 edition, issued by the Finance division of the Archbishops’ Council. That examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the PCC and a comparison of accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts, and seeking explanations from you as Trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures under-taken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit, and consequently no opinion is given as to whether the accounts present a “true and fair view” and the report is limited to those matters set out in the statement below.
Independent examiner's statement
In connection with my examination, no matter has come to my attention:
1) which gives me reasonable cause to believe that, in any material respect, the requirements:
to keep accounting records in accordance with section 130 of the 2011 Act; and to prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records have not been met; or
2) to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in ord A warm welcome to new church m e r to enable a proper under-standing of the mbers at St Stephen Walbrook... accounts to be reached.
Signature:
Rowland Aarons
Brooks Green
342 Regents Park Road
London N3 2LJ
13 May 2021
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St Stephen Walbrook Annual Report and Accounts 2020
Parish of Saint Stephen Walbrook
39 Walbrook
London EC4N 8BN
Telephone: 020 626 9000 www.ststephenwalbrook.net
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