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2020-12-31-accounts

Christ Church - The Quinton Annual Meeting of Parishioners and the Annual Parochial Church Meeting to be held on Zoom and in Church Thursday 27th May 2021 at 7.30pm AGENDA

Annual Meeting of Parishioners (Vestry Meeting) Purpose

Purpose
1 Apologies for absence receive
2 Appointment of Chair and Secretary vote
3 Minutes of 2019 meeting agree
4 Election of Church Wardens vote
Close of meeting
Annual Parochial Church Meeting
1 Worship, prayers and bible reading note
2 Chair and Secretary
note
3 Apologies for absence note
Looking Back over 2020
4 Covid 19 Response & impact note
4.1 Infection control – practicalities
4.2 Operations - building closure/opening, pastoral care, fnance
4.3 Ministry and worship
5 Meeting & Membership
5.1 Minutes of the APCM 28thOctober 2020 agree
5.2 Receiving of the Electoral Roll report receive
6 Governance & Leadership
6.2 PCC Report 2020 receive
6.3 Deanery Synod Report 2020 receive
6.4 Safeguarding report
agree
7 Resources
7.1 Fabric report (building, furniture & movable items) note
7.3 Old Burial Ground note
7.4 Report to Charity Commission note
7.5 Financial report including Cofee Shop receive
7.6 Appointment of independent examiner for 2021 vote
8 Mission & Ministry
8.1 Ministries report
(including Refuge Report)		 receive
8.2 Cofee Shop report
receive
8.3 Mission Links report
receive
8.4 Interim Minister’s report receive

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Questions on Looking Back section

Looking Forward 2021-22
9 Elections vote
9.1
Elections to PCC (4 x 3yr terms, 1 x 1yr terms)		 vote
9.2
Vision and Priorities for the next year		 receive
Questions on Looking Forward section
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Any other business
Closing prayer and blessing

Looking Back over 2020

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Covid 19 Response & impact

I have decided to start this meeting by setting the context that has affected almost everything that was done during the last 12 months, namely the global pandemic that was caused by the Coronavirus. All of our activities in ministry and mission have been impacted by the restrictions we have had to make in order to keep people safe. We had to make some decisions based on a little bit of information, and some decisions based on well documented science. Either way we cannot forget the impact this has had on this year and will no doubt have for many years to come.

This is my report as priest in charge of Christ Church at this time. Revd Rachel Heathfield May 2021

4.1 Infection control – practicalities This has been the main driver in all things – to reduce infection and to thus protect people. This has meant numerous risk assessments, developing across the year; changes in practice for how we meet together and how we care for one another. It has affected occasional offices – especially with the postponement of all baptisms and weddings and with the increased number of funerals conducted with reduced numbers of mourners.

4.2 Operations - building closure/opening, pastoral care, finance Building closure was imposed on us at the end of March by the Church of England. We very quickly adopted zoom as our online method of gathering for worship. We were allowed to reopen at the beginning of July which we did, with a carefully monitored number in the building due to the assessment of a safe, socially distanced congregation. In July and August we maintained 2 different services, one in person and one on zoom. In September we launched the online live stream of the worship in church. In November we closed the building again for the second lockdown, this time instructed by Church of England Birmingham. The building reopened for December but in early January, the threat of the new variant of the virus was so strong, the PCC made the decision to close the building again, (third lockdown) this time live streaming from the church without a congregation present in the building. Funerals continued in building throughout the second and third lockdown. This third lockdown ended on May 2[nd] 2021.

During the first part of the first lockdown we tried to maintain our administrator and her workload from home, but it became obvious that we needed to furlough her and we turned to volunteers to answer the phone (transferred to a mobile) and monitor emails. Thanks to both Linda Harbon for the first shift and to Ellie Gull for the second. We furloughed Emma our cleaner during the early part of lockdown, bring her back with reduced hours later in the year. We also put Phil Arnold on furlough for a percentage of his hours as the youthwork was so limited, bringing him back in September extending his job description to include elements of children’s work and the technical work.

Pastoral Care has continued during these 3 phases of lockdown and re-emerging, with our team doing a wonderful job of telephoning and writing, providing practical help where needed and prayer support throughout. There has been an increase in bereavement in the community with almost 75 funerals conducted between March 20 and March 21. Those who have been able to access services online, both with the interactivity of zoom and the benefit of watching the services streamed, has been a good way of keeping up with people, although there are a good number who we have not seen or heard from. Throughout the year, a weekly email has been sent out and a 3

printed version sent to those not online to keep people connected, informed and encouraged.

Finance is covered in the specific report, but it has not been so terrible as we may have predicted. We have been able to recover some reserves, payback a transfer we had to make from a restricted fund, born the increased cost of hand sanitizer and other covid-necessary products and have completed 3 necessary and long-awaited maintenance projects. This has been due to the generosity of individual gifts, grants, money saved through the furlough of staff, and reduced costs.

4.3 Ministry and worship

The steep learning curve that everyone went on to get themselves on zoom and then onto online streaming has been phenomenal. We had to make a decision of what platform we were going to favour and the combination of interactivity and real-time worship (as opposed to pre-recorded services) have been exactly the right thing for us at Christ Church. We remain indebted to both Phil Arnold and Finn Heathfield for their hard work in completing both the physical equipment installation and the platform/software management required to keep us worshipping online. I am strongly of the opinion we will never lose this new method of church worship. It has been widely used both on Sundays and in our funeral ministry and at the one wedding we conducted in the year, connecting families in the Caribbean, into Africa and across to India.

Our weekly midweek Morning Prayer on zoom has been a real highlight, and again, something that will remain. Every Wednesday we have had at least 30 people in the meeting, some weeks that being more like 50. We have met every day during both Holy Weeks and every day during Thy Kingdom Come in 2020.

This year has been less than ideal to minister in groups. Some of our homegroups have met, some have et rarely or not at all, Ladies Evening Guild has not met (although special thanks to Stella for maintaining good contact with the membership throughout), Third Tuesday Prayers has not happened.

Ministry among children has been hit-and-miss. Maintaining child attention on zoom was difficult for Sunday worship at the beginning and we worked hard producing printat-home activities each week, but it was difficult to assess the success of this. In September we launched a distanced, in-church, Sunday afternoon meeting, but this was kyboshed by the second lockdown, so we started a zoom gathering which more successful. Its been hard! Phil has worked very hard with the teenagers online but engagement has been patchy and getting them to talk has been tough. Teenagers have felt the lack of going out and meeting people as keenly as everyone else.

There have been 4 highlights of community engagement this year. One was the Light Trail at Halloween time, with a trail around a small part of the parish to see light displays in gardens. We had over 100 people engage with the trail. Another highlight was with the Memorial Tree at Christmas with over 300 knitted love hearts being labelled and placed on the tree for a lost loved one. At Christmas we also set an Advent Trail, with a new walking route each week of advent to see displays and read the nativity narrative together; 75 booklets were taken (our only way of gauging who went round). Finally, we opened the church for the weekend of Mothers Day, inviting people to come and spend a moment of stillness remembering our mothers, both lost, separated by covid or just deeply missed. Again, I think we had about 100 visitors through church that weekend. All of these activities were engaged with by people who would not call themselves members of Christ Church. 4

We have been blessed as a church this year to see Jo Jennings take on a different role from normal after her acceptance to train for ordained ministry. She is doing a “mixed mode” course at Trinity Bristol which means half learning in lectures and half learning in parish. We are fortunate to have her here, doing her parish based learning with us. Its not been an easy start with restrictions but Jo is resilient and flexible. She has just put into action her first mission based project by re-starting our much needed (and greatly missed) toddler work. We look forward to more over the next year!

There will be time for specific thanks later but I want to thank everyone for coming along with us through a really difficult time. You have all been so supportive and adaptable to change and have embraced the unexpected and difficult in extraordinary ways. Thank you for being kind to your neighbours and for praying so fervently for the Lord to have mercy. You really are fabulous……

Parish of Christ Church the Quinton Minutes of the Annual Meeting of Parishioners (Vestry Meeting) held on Zoom and in Church Thursday 8th October 2020 at 7.30pm

Presen t: Chair Rev Rachel Heathfield & 77 parishioners (21 present in the building and 56 online).

1. Apologies Apologies were received from:- D Stirling, B Iles, C Iles, J Floyd

2. Appointment of Chair & Secretary for the meeting

3. Minutes of the vestry meeting 2019.

Two nominations had been received:-

There were no other nominations. The Chair proposed these candidates were accepted en bloc and agreed unanimously. The two candidates were therefore declared duly elected.

The meeting was then declared closed

Parish of Christ Church, The Quinton Minutes of the Annual Parochial Church Meeting held on Thursday 8th October 2020 at 7.30pm on Zoom and in Church

1. Worship, prayers and bible reading

A thankfulness liturgy and a bible reading of James 1 v2-4 was shared by all in

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attendance.

Rachel reflected that this year has been a rollercoaster, we have lost:- people, jobs, dreams, hopes, plans. The Church has lost:- the hall, people we love, activities we value, plans for 180[th] Anniversary. James talks about how trials bring joy. A proven psychological phenomenon that if we look for how trials can grow us, we will grow. He addresses the church family, we grow because we are in community and face things together because of our faith, the ultimate belief that Jesus has done what is needed for our redemption and salvation. What happens? Maturity (like in Ephesians and joy, not happiness but joy that true inner contentment. Prayers were said in light of this for the church, during a difficult season and that we might see clearly who we are in Christ and who we are as a church during this time.

2.

Appointment of Chair and Secretary

Rachel Heathfield was willing to continue as chair of the APCM. It was also suggested that Sue Hamilton continue as Secretary for the APCM. This was accepted unanimously.

3. Apologies for absence:

All apologies were noted in the minutes of the Annual Vestry Meeting.

4. Minutes of the APCM 2019

The following errors were noted:-

a) Under point 11 Joyce’s surname should be spelled Gilkes

With those amendments it was proposed by Rachel Heathfield that the minutes should be accepted as a correct record of the meeting. This was accepted unanimously

5. Electoral Roll Report:

There are currently 128 names on the electoral roll (there were 120 on the roll previously). As this year was not a year of full revision with a number of names having been removed the overall number indicated growth overall. The full report was available on Page 7 of the pack made available both electronically and hard copy in advance of the meeting

Acceptance of the report was proposed by Rachel Heathfield and accepted unanimously.

6.

PCC Report:

The report was submitted by Rachel Heathfield as chair of the PCC as Bob Iles, the PCC Secretary had stood down. The full report was available on Page 7 of the pack made available both electronically and hard copy in advance of the meeting.

Thanks were expressed to those demitting from the PCC.

Acceptance of the report was proposed by Rachel Heathfield and accepted unanimously.

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7. Deanery Synod Report:

The Deanery Synod report was prepared by Lisa Moody. It was noted in particular that the Edgbaston and Warley Deaneries were being amalgamated and that there were interviews on the following day for a full-time area Dean and our prayers were requested.

Acceptance of the report was proposed by Rachel Heathfield and accepted unanimously.

8. Elections:

8.1 Elections to PCC (4x3yr terms, 1x1yr term):

The following nominations had been received:-

Doreen Morris Nominated: Lisa Moody Seconded:Bev Heritage
Emily West Nominated: Lisa Moody Seconded:Bev Heritage
Carole Maddock Nominated: Lisa Moody Seconded:Bev Heritage
Tracy Straker Nominated:
Lisa Moody
Seconded: David
Gallivan
Neil Allen Nominated: Lisa Moody Seconded:Bev Heritage

Tracy Straker had agreed to take up the one-year term and following clarification that it is possible to stand for PCC immediately after demitting, as there were no further nominations, no vote was necessary and those standing for PC were declared duly elected

8.2 Elections to Deanery Synod (4 places):

Lisa Moody Nominated: Boliver Forrest Boliver Forrest Seconded:Mark Heritage Seconded:Mark Heritage
John Trevor Nominated: Lisa Moody Seconded:
David
Gallivan
Joanne Jennings Nominated: Lisa Moody Seconded:
David
Gallivan
Peter Sherwen Nominated: Lisa Moody
Seconded: David
Gallivan

As there were no further nominations, no vote was necessary and the those standing for Deanery Synod were declared duly elected.

Heather Williams expressed congratulations to the members of the new PCC on behalf of the congregation.

8.3 Appointment of Stewards:

A list of stewards was available on page 8 of the pack.

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It was noted that Sue Sherwen and Heather Williams were available as assistants if required but often had other roles in the service so were not on the regular rota.

There was a need for more people to help and that there were temporary stewards on the list currently due to the current COVID restrictions on numbers in the church buildings for services.

Thanks were expressed to all on the list for their involvement in this area of ministry.

9.

Reports and updates:

It was noted that a number of reports had been prepared for the expected APCM meeting in March, however it had not been possible to go ahead with this meeting following the national lockdown.

9.1 Mission links:

A report was included on page 9 of the pack. The new PCC would review the financial situation with respect to mission giving going forward.

Acceptance of the report was proposed by Rachel Heathfield and accepted unanimously.

9.2 Fabric Report :

A report was available on page 10-11 of the pack prepared for March 2020. It was noted that it has been possible to replace the carpet in church during the lockdown but other things had, of necessity, been put on hold. The next quinquennial survey is due in 2022 and a number of items would need to be addressed in advance of that.

Thanks were expressed to Peter and Sue Sherwen for all the hard work on the fabric of the church buildings and grounds and to all those who had helped with the Parish Hall over the years. Thanks were also expressed to those who involved in Helping Hands for their hard work in the church buildings on the monthly Saturday morning sessions.

Acceptance of the report was proposed by Rachel Heathfield and accepted unanimously.

9.3 Ministries Report:

The report looked at 4 particular areas, mentioning specific areas below.

9.3.1 Children and Young people

9.3.2 Fellowship and activities

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 Elderly people groups

9.3.3 Serving the Church

9.3.4 Outreach and mission

There are no individual reports from the groups this year for obvious reasons. Some have been particularly affected by the hall closure (LG, MonClub, uniforms). Some of these groups have found alternative solutions to meeting in the hall and some are currently meeting on Zoom. Plans will still need to be put in place about how we operate post covid need to be creative about how we operate post covid

There is an amazing number of things for people to be involved in and when we re-open there will be plenty of new opportunities. There will be a need for a team to become apprentices under the best to take us forward, in particular the following areas were noted.

Please volunteer!

The Thankfulness Liturgy was shared again by all in attendance.

9.4 Safeguarding Report - Compliance and provision - Parish Safeguarding Lead,

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Rachel proposed that Joyce continues as our Safeguarding lead noting that she is very well qualified for this role. This was unanimously accepted.

9.5 Noting of Report to Charity Commission:

The report for 2019 was written by Bob Iles, we report our activities to them in retrospect. All members of the PCC are trustees. A copy of the report is available in the APCM pack on Page 11.

10. Financial Report:

The report had been prepared by Doreen Morris, PCC Treasurer, however due to issues on Zoom it was read by Rachel. The details contained in the report are contained in the APCM pack on Page 14.

Copies of the Finances were also available by e-mail or hard copies. A report on 2020 to date will also be sent out by e-mail which shows the picture is looking better despite the difficulties faced this year.

Questions sent in advance:-

  1. The Hall is listed as a fixed asset of £90K. Even before closure, was it really worth this?

A : its insured value is for £702K

2. Was Gift aid claimed? Is there anyway of making this process more timely and regular?

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Acceptance of the Finance report was proposed by Rachel and accepted unanimously

10.1 Receiving of independently examined financial statement

Acceptance of the Finance report was proposed by Rachel and accepted unanimously

10.2 Appointment of independent examiner for next year

Thanks were expressed to Chris Foy for his work as Independent Examiner for both the main church accounts and for all his work on the Preschool accounts. Chris has expressed his willingness to be used again

Rachel proposed the appointment of Mr Chris Foy as Independent examiner for 2020-2021 and this was accepted unanimously.

The Thankfulness Liturgy was shared again by all in attendance.

11. Coffee Shop AGM:

11.1 Coffee Shop Report:

A report on the Coffee Shop activity was available on page15 of the booklet

In addition to the report it was noted that the lack of an Accessible toilet was an issue for the building.

11.2 Coffee Shop Financial Report:

The financial details are contained within the main financial report. In 2017 and 2018 expenditure exceeded income but in 2019 income increased and turned this around. There were two gifts received totalling around £12k. Thanks were commended and prayers sought for the work and workers in the Coffee shop, especially in the current circumstances of social distancing and with the increased busyness of Foodbank.

Acceptance of the Coffee Shop report and Coffee shop Finance report was proposed by Rachel and accepted unanimously

12 Interim Minister's Report:

A copy of the report was available in the booklet on page 16.

The issues noted in particular were the departure of Rev Jenny Arnold in March 2019, the interregnum and appointment of Rev Rachel Heathfield as Interim Minister in Jan 2020 following the end of her curacy in December 2019. Her role was t focus on two areas of the ministry of Christ Church in particular, the Pre-school and the Coffee Shop.

With the events related to the Parish Hall, the Pre-school closed on Jan 22[nd] , which was not the sense at the time of taking the role. The value of the Preschool over many years was noted, the Ofsted report rated it Outstanding and the staff were commended as were Jenny, Bob Iles, Richard Brice and latterly Sarah Coton for their hard work on behalf of the PCC for Pre-school.

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Thanks was also expressed to Stella and her team who had worked with young people over many years in Monday Club which meat in the Parish Hall. The uniformed organisations, Karate club and Ladies Guild all need to find new homes.

Rachel went on to speak about “Build on the Past, Reimagine the future”., a message that Bev Richardson, our CMS Link partner had heard this message and knew she must convey to us.

Over the next few months we would focus on Ephesians and in particular Rachel highlighted Eph 4v1 “Live a life worthy of your calling”

Thanks in particular were expressed to Bob Iles for all his work on Pre-school and GDPR, to the Church Wardens and senior stewards as keyholders for their work during the pandemic. Rachel also thanked the pastoral care team, particularly Chris Iles for all they are doing in the current circumstances. Thanks were also expressed to the Steering Group for their work in the interregnum and to everyone who has helped in the making the church covid secure, to the floor sweepers, coffee makers, toilet cleaners, as every task has helped in the ministry.

The Thankfulness Liturgy was shared again by all in attendance.

13. Any Other Business:

It was noted that the Parish Administrator Jen had been placed on furlough. Rachel thanked those who had been assisting her in some of the additional admin tasks resulting from the pandemic, to Linda Harbon and Ellie Gull, to all delivering newsletters and post to those shielding, Sharron Brice, Andrew Brice and Sophie, Lynn Todd, Debbie Sterling, Mildred, Anne Crumpton, Claire Cronin, Andrew Johnston & Maddie Cattell.

During the current situation, the IT team have been looking into upgrading the IT provision in the building.

There being no further business, the meeting was closed in prayer

Electoral Roll Report

The final number on the ER for 2021 is 129 people. This is one more than last year.

The full list of names is on display at the back of church.

PCC Report for 2020

In the cycle this meeting relates to, from when the last APCM was due (Spring 2020) the PCC has only met

September, November, January (twice -once as an emergency, once scheduled) and March.

There was also an initial meeting with our consultant from CofE Birmingham who will assist in our Transforming Church Action Plan (TCAP) where we begun to talk about our identity as a church.

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All issues of Covid implications were discussed and finances scrutinised. Safeguarding policy was updated to include the reporting of serious issues. The updating of the administrators role was discussed and a new way forward approved. The future of the Parish Hall was “held” but during lockdown decisions were difficult to make due to lack of professional assessment of the building state. Discussion about whether to buy a new organ was held.

Deanery Synod Report

The Synod did not meet this year.

The new “super deanery” was finalised and the new full time area dean (Rev Mike Sermon, formerly of Blackheath) was appointed.

Safeguarding Report

Joyce Gilkes was once again appointed as Parish Safeguarding Co-ordinator. Phil Arnold was given the responsibility of overseeing DBS / Identity checking during the absence of an administrator.

In September, the identifying and reporting of serious incidents was delegated to the Diocesan Secretary.

Our policy has been reviewed and agreed.

There has been one incident reported under the guidance of the Diocesan safeguarding Lead.

Annual Fabric Report for 2020 (May 2021)

Church

The low level gutters around church and the valleys on the porch area have all been cleaned. All outside drains have been cleaned out. Some of the toilet windowsills have been repaired and painted. Much of the work planned for 2020 such as internal decorating was put on hold due to the pandemic.

The doors between the main part of the Church and the porch still need easing. Generally speaking, the Church is in good repair but it does need internal redecoration especially at the west end and in the gallery. The west end wall in the balcony is quite damp and there has been some water ingress in times of heavy rain. The ridge on the roof above this area was re-mortared some years ago and appears sound so where the water is getting in is uncertain. Some high level stone work is in need of repair and the stone work all around the Church needs “defrassing” (brushing off loose material). Drain surrounds repairs and low level pointing is still outstanding.

Our Church architect has retired and we are in the process of appointing someone else. We will consult with the architect about the stonework and water ingress in the balcony.

Thanks to generous donations from members of the congregation the carpet at the back of Church and in the aisles has been replaced.

The Ladies’ toilet has been refurbished to make it more accessible with baby change facilities and both toilets are now for anyone to use. (NB it is not fully accessible as this would have involved opening up the doorways)

The usual PAT testing, fire safety survey and fire extinguisher inspections have been carried out and the alarm system repaired. Additional electric sockets were put in at the back of Church for use with the coffee bar.

Parish Hall.

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Despite considerable efforts to maintain the Parish Hall, it has had to be closed (in January 2020) due to safety issues. Its future is yet to be decided.

Churchyard, drive and car parks.

The churchyard is a closed churchyard and so is the responsibility of Birmingham City Council who cut the grass on a regular basis. They are also responsible for trees and the wall. They have made repairs to the wall in the past, however there are places where it is now in need of further repairs. (Completed 14/5/21) The council have done extensive work on the large trees near the drive and we have trimmed back many of the shrubs and saplings. We have repaired some holes in the drive. Stress tests are carried out annually on the remaining grave stones and monuments. All in the church yard appear to be safe.

Work Parties.

Helping Hands has not been able to meet but there have been some “socially distanced” work parties keeping the grounds tidy and getting the church “Covid Safe” and ready for reopening. Thanks go to all who have helped in anyway during this difficult year.

Peter Sherwen 05/05/2021.

“Old Burial Ground” Report to Christ Church A.P.C.M. May 27th 2021

January 2020. The correlation between the relevant entries in “Memorial Inscriptions 2006” by Pauline Page B.M.S.G.H, with Plot Numbers listed in the Church Burial Registers was finally completed. This should make it easier to locate individual graves. Snowdrops and primroses appeared in the Primrose Bank.

Most of 2020 has been a difficult year in terms of the regular maintenance

of the site . Ongoing restrictions following the outbreak of Covid19 limited the number of people able to work in the O.B.G. In addition, staff from the Wildlife Trust were furloughed soon after “lockdown” and did not return. Some were made redundant. Consequently, there was no official Species Survey conducted, and the meadow area was not machine–cut in late summer as usual.

March. Daffodils began flowering and on the 8[th] the O.B.G. was opened for visitors – the only time this was possible during the current year.

June. An informal survey made by Peter and Sue Sherwen in June showed an increase in the variety of plants and grasses. Our one Common Spotted Orchid also reappeared. Deep-rooted ivy and brambles plus building debris were dug out of the earth bank by the school wall. It was planted later with Cotoneaster and Honesty (relocated from the edge of the car park) and Red Campion from the end of the Primrose Bank.

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July – October. A limited amount of maintenance work was continued by a small group of volunteers following social distancing guidelines. Grass in the meadow area was cut by hand and raked off. More overhanging branches along boundaries were removed and hedges pruned. Some graves were cleared of grass, tall weeds and brambles. Weeds and leaves were also cleared from the paths.

November – December . English bluebells were planted at the far end of the Primrose Bank. Artificial poppies made by pupils at Q.C.P.S. to commemorate 75 years since the end of WWII were placed by Yr. 5 near the four Commonwealth War Graves. Alison Wilkes from the Wildlife Trust sent best wishes for the church’s 180[th] birthday and hoped to resume visits to the O.B.G. in 2021. Nature does not stop just because human activity has been curtailed and in some ways it actually thrived in our absence. The west side of the site normally “closemown” by the council had a profusion of Ox-eye daisies and grasses in the summer. Cutting was later resumed. Bees, butterflies and other insects were noted. The badgers were particularly busy all over the site and a self-confident young fox was seen several times.

Final Note . The original proposal to develop the east side of the O.B.G. as a “Nature Conservation Area” was approved by the P.C.C. on May 26[th] 2011

Susan J. Sherwen 05.05.2021.

Christ Church Quinton Annual Report of the Parochial Church Council to the Charity Commission

Aim and purposes

Christ Church Quinton is a congregation of the Church of England, and a lively, friendly group of Christians who are looking to grow in relationship with Jesus Christ and to serve him in our neighbourhood (the parish of Christ Church The Quinton, Birmingham City, Dudley MBC and Sandwell MBC, and the world).

Objectives and Activities

We provide spiritual and pastoral support to all, through the provision of 2 regular Sunday services, a full range of mid-week meetings and a Coffee Shop located in Brandhall.

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The Coffee Shop is run by Christ Church and is a centre for service to the community in Brandhall and Quinton. This is a lovely place to come for a coffee and chat, or to get involved in the many activities which take place.

Work with children and young people is a priority at Christ Church and we have a dedicated youth worker. Work with children goes on at various times, not just on Sunday morning.

As a church we want to be there for people at all times of life. However, at key times our church can be involved in a special way, with services for the birth of a child, with weddings and with funerals.

Baptism and Thanksgivings

We regularly offer baptisms and thanksgiving services. We help families to decide which service is more suitable, and we want to make it an enjoyable and accessible experience

Weddings

We love conducting weddings in our beautiful church. We offer support and guidance through the legalities. We also offer marriage preparation to couples aimed to enrich their relationship before the big day.

Funerals

We have clergy who regularly take funerals either in church or in crematoria. We work with funeral directors and families to celebrate the life of loved ones and offer Christian hope for the future. We are keen to support families at a difficult time by offering ongoing pastoral support and twice a year we invite bereaved families into church for a memorial service.

Worship and Prayer

We have two regular services every Sunday.

8.30am Service - A traditional Holy Communion service.

10.30am Service - A contemporary service, with Holy Communion twice a month, with youth and children's activities.

We have evening services across the year:

A mothly 4pm service for families, with activities, worship and food. A pattern of healing service and memorial services at 6.30pm.

There are regular times of prayer during the week, a monthly Prayer evening and Home Groups that meet for Bible Study and prayer

Deanery Synod 4 members of the congregation are elected to attend the regular meetings of the Deanery Synod and provide reports to the Annual Parochial Church Meeting.

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Pastoral Care

Pastoral care is provided by both the clergy and a team of licensed lay people who have received appropriate training

Mission and Evangelism is supported locally through START and ALPHA courses. We also support mission worldwide through regular giving shared equally between Church Missionary Society in Paraguay, The Church Army (Torbay Mission Centre) Quinton Youth for Christ, A Rocha Kenya, the Birmingham Diocesan Malawi link, Esperanza Foster Home Paraguay (via SAMS Ireland), Christian Solidarity Worldwide.

Volunteers

Many of the church members volunteer their time, both on a Sunday, and throughout the week enabling the activities and mission of the Church.

Structure, governance and management

The method of appointment of PCC members at Christ Church the Quinton is set out in the Church

Representation Rules, and consists of the Incumbent and Assistant Priest, The Church Wardens, the 2 Readers and 4 Deanery Synod members. Also 12 members elected from the congregation at the Annual Parochial Church Meeting.

The Parochial Church Council members are responsible for making decisions on all matters of general concern and importance to the parish including deciding on how the funds of the PCC are to be spent.

The PCC meets every 2 months, and as well as the regular business of the Church (reports from

Deanery Synod, Fabric Committee, Mission Links sub-committee, Youth and Children's work, Finance Committee and work on the Old Burial Ground). PCC also considers it responsibilities and activities such as The Food Bank, The General Data Protection Regulations, Redevelopment of the old Caretakers House and Disabled Toilets, developed a Conflict of Interests policy, approved the Memorial Garden policy. In addition the council has complied with its duty under section 5 of the Safeguarding and Clergy Discipline Measure 2016 to have due regard to House of Bishops’ guidance on safeguarding children and vulnerable adults.

This year there had to be special consideration of the safety of the parish hall due to its continuing problem with water ingress which led to its temporary closure for surveys in December 2019. Unfortunately, due to the closure of the hall, the PreSchool became financially unviable and was forced to close in January 2020. It was then decided that the Parish Hall needed to remain closed until its problems were rectified or a more permanent decision was made.

Membership of the PCC for 2020

Rev. Rachel Heathfield – Interim Minister (Priest in Charge) Rev. Andrew Wells – Assistant Priest

Lisa Moody – Church Warden & Deanery Synod Rep John Trevor – Church Warden & Deanery Synod Rep Peter Sherwen – Deanery Synod Rep Jo Jennings – Deanery Synod Rep Mark Heritage - Reader 17

Chris Iles – Reader Heather Williams – Reader Doreen Morris - Treasurer Carol Maddock - Secretary Joyce Gilkes – parish Safeguarding Co-ordinator Melrose Brown Maddie Cattel Gina Grewal Tracey Straker Elaine Lewis Sarah Coton Pearl Coton Neil Allen Emily West

Financial Review

Total Receipts on unrestricted funds were £136,499. Restricted funds of £66,838 were held and are detailed in the financial statements.

Reserves Policy It is PCC policy to maintain a balance on deposit (if possible) which equates to at least three months unrestricted payments equivalent to £40,000 to cover emergency situations which arise from time to time. This reserve had been diminished over a number of years deficit budget. This caused a financial problem (Jan 2020 so not included in the financial statement ending Dec 19) when we were faced with a large redundancy bill after the closure of the Pre School. However, due to gifts and financial management advice from Church of England Birmingham we were able to pay these unexpected bills.

Administrative information

Jen Tyler Stephens – Church Administrator, Christ Church The Quinton, Hagley Road West, Birmingham B32 1AJ Tel 0121 422 2031

Financial Report including the Coffee Shop

See separate document

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Ministries Report

This year there are no reports from individual ministries.

Most of what was done by the church is included in the section “Covid response and impact”.

However, we look to the future and trust that God will be with us as we come out of lockdown and make progress in our “joining in with God” in his mission to the world.

Coffee Shop Report

The Coffee shop closed at the beginning of the first lockdown and remained closed for regular business until the present time due to the limitations of size to take due regard of social distancing recommendations. The Office upstairs that is used by Quinton Youth for Christ has also not been used, with Ben and Phil working mostly from home (when they weren’t furloughed).

However, it has remained busy on every Friday of lockdown due to the Foodbank. That ministry has been overwhelmed with donations at peak lockdown and have been busy most weeks with callers and deliveries. The need for help with the most basic of things has been huge during this year, especially for those who lost their income and who had a gap before any universal credit began, and for those families seeking asylum for whom their Home Office cases/appeals totally ground to a halt. As ever, the generosity of the people of Christ Church has been incredible. Thank you.

Women’s Refuge (Children in Need) Report

Since mid-March 2020 it has not been possible for our team of volunteers to run art and craft sessions with the children & young people in the Refuge due to the pandemic. However, after discussion both Rachel and Lynn felt that it was important for them to receive some help.

To this end Lynn has been liasing with staff at the Refuge on a regular basis to keep a check on how many children and young people are in residence. Sadly, the last 12 months has seen a big increase in their number. Lynn has been sourcing and delivering craft packs along with instructions to the Refuge throughout the year. On several occasions specific requests were made by the staff, and happily we were able to fulfil those requests, for example reading books and activity books. Every child in the Refuge received a Christmas gift and an Easter Egg .

At Christmas, we were blessed to be able to provide perfumes and toiletries for all the women in the Refuge as Brandhall School very kindly had a collection from their pupils. Some women and children wrote to us thanking us for making their Christmas special as they felt that someone cared.

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May 2021 saw the end of our 3 year grant, but we are hopeful that our new grant application will be successful.

Please keep the women and children and the volunteers in your prayers as we begin to plan for the future in the light of the pandemic.

Lynn Todd 20.5.21

Mission Links Report for 2020. APCM May 2021

Our Mission Links. These are the individuals and organisations that the PCC has supported financially each year in the past and we are asked to support as a Church. Our Mission Links Committee feels that this is a good spread of individuals and organisations at home and overseas.

The Church Mission Society i s the main Anglican mission society. We have had links with CMS mission partners for many years. Bev Richardson is our current link. She is working with the Anglican Church as a CMS Mission Partner in Asuncion, the capital of Paraguay.

Quinton Youth for Christ works in the local area with children, schools and churches. Phil Arnold who heads up our young people’s work works for QYfC as well as Christ Church.

We support A Rocha Kenya and Colin and Roni Jackson who are in charge there. One of the “Marks of Mission” is care for the environment and A Rocha is a Christian organisation that works to protect the environment and educate on environmental issues in Britain and in several other countries.

Birmingham Diocese has for many years had a special relationship with the Anglican Church in Malawi. All the churches in the Diocese are asked to support the Malawi link .

The Esperanza Foster Home in Paraguay was set up by two of our former link missionaries and although small, has national importance as an example of good practice, indeed the President of Paraguay visited recently. It is part of the Anglican Church in Paraguay. As well as Esperanza, we also support (through fund raising around Christmas) FEISA which is the Anglican Teacher Training College who run the Toy Library .

Christian Solidarity Worldwide advocates for Christians and others suffering persecution in various parts of the world. If one part of the body suffers then the whole of the body suffers. We feel that we should do our part in supporting the persecuted church.

Mission Links Committee didn’t meet in 2020 but we have tried to keep our links going especially with Bev Richardson who is very good at keeping in touch. All mission societies have taken a financial hit during the pandemic and other counties are in a much worse position with Covid than the UK. Please keep praying for our Mission Links and the Church worldwide.

Peter Sherwen. 05/05/2021.

Interim Minister’s Report

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In November 2019 I was appointed as Interim Minister – a new form of incumbent level role in the Church of England that gives the parish time to consider necessary and agreed tasks before discerning the next long-term minister. There were 3 main interim tasks when I was appointed. To consider how to get the Pre-School on a safe footing (financially and in governance), to consider the future for the Coffee Shop and to help the church to regain financial stability.

Never did I consider that the first of these tasks would be completed within 4 days of being inducted….albeit in a completely unforeseen way. And never did I consider that the closure of the preschool would have come about because of the instability of the parish hall, giving us a very different issue to consider.

However, neither did I ever consider that within a week of moving into the Rectory at Quinton, the whole country would go into lockdown and that all “normal” would grind to a halt.

I had no alternative but to hold us together for this extraordinary year, encouraging us to bear with one another, to go outside of our own comfort zones and to enter new and unknown territory in all senses. I have tried with all my strength to do this. As for the interim tasks however, I am faced with having to reconsider what they look like, both post covid, but also post hall-closure.

We have been given a rough estimate for exploring the water ingress in the hall and to explore what the issues with drainage is. This estimate (just to survey) is approximately £15,000. The rough estimate to then renovate the building to modern standards is at conservative guess £100,000 but that is at the bottom end of standards.

We still need to consider with humility and openness what God wants us to do with the Coffee Shop. It was established as a place from which to do mission and community outreach and has had a history of doing so. But this year life has changed in so many ways. So we need to now work out what is possible there as well as working out what God is up to, and is the Coffee Shop the viable building to do it in. Or perhaps God is wanting us to re-imagine what that place could be used for, for the bringing of his kingdom, or perhaps for us to enter into partnership for its best and most efficient use.

We are enormously blessed with the range of buildings that we have that were all special gifts in their time. We celebrated our 180[th] service thanking God for all that has been in the last 180 years. But now we need to think about the future, even the next 180 years. Covid has forced us to reimagine our ministry and now it’s as if we have to reimagine our buildings for the future. This includes the site at Christ Church, and ALL our buildings - rectory, hall, coffee shop – how do they fulfil God’s mission here in Quinton?

Rev Rachel Heathfield May 2021

Elections and “Looking forward” section will be verbally presented at the meeting.

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