- Organising prayers for Ukraine at the war memorial (April – being visible) - Offering a big breakfast in the Old School Room for Christian Aid (May – being visible) - Working with beavers on their “Faith” badge (May - community) - The re-authorisation of Jenny Grant as Authorised Lay Funeral Minister (May – leadership) - Organising a Picnic in the Park for Queens Jubilee, attended by about two hundred people during the afternoon (June – community) - Carrying out an eco-survey around the church and with our congregation to raise awareness of the need to live sustainably (June – God’s creation) - Supporting our Methodist friends with “Holiday at home” (August – community) - Supporting Friends of Oakleigh Gardens in setting up a community volunteer group to develop Oakleigh Gardens the site for leisure, sport and learning (on going – God’s Creation) - Building up our relationships with our local schools eg Hosting a Cleadon Academy school staff meeting in church, our congregation attending a bible study at school, reception classes coming to church to learn about baptism, Y5/6 Christingle in church (on-going – being visible) - Beginning to build up our presence on social media as a way of being visible to a wider audience in our community (on-going – being visible) - Publishing articles in the Courier to encourage people to embrace a sustainable lifestyle (September – God’s creation) It has been a busy year but we go into 2023 with a strategy and an action plan that gives us clear goals which, we pray, with God’s guidance, will take All Saints Church forward. ## **Marie Philpott** ## The Ecclesiastical Parish of All Saints, Cleadon Annual Report 2022 and Agenda for the 2023 Annual Vestry Meeting & 2023 Annual Parochial Church Meeting held on 30th April 2022 at 2.45pm in Church Page 28 ## **Contents** ## **Agendas:** |**(i) 2023 Vestry Meeting**
**3**
**(ii) 2023 Annual Parochial**
**Church Meeting**
**3**
**Reporting on 2022:**
Minutes of 2022 Vestry Meeting
**4**
Minutes of 2022 APCM
**4**
**Reporting on 2022:**
**Report of the PCC for 2022**
**6**
Administrative information
**6**
Electoral Roll
**6**
Safeguarding
**6**
Proceedings of the PCC
**7**
PCC Membership
**8**
Churchwardens’ Report
**8**
Deanery Synod Report
**9**
Treasurer’s Report & Accounts
**11**
Independent Examiner’s Report **17**
**Church Reports 2022**
Worship
**18**
Services
**18**
Home Communion
**18**
Intercessions and Readers
**18**
Posada
**18**
Children and Young People
**19**
Toddlers@All Saints
**19**
Young Saints and Saintlets
**19**
Easter Eggstra
**19**
Cleadon Church of England
Academy
**20**
1st Cleadon Rainbows
**21 **
1st Cleadon Brownies
**21 **|1st Cleadon Guides
1st Cleadon Rangers
Fellowship Groups
Friends in Faith
Men’s Fellowship
Mothers’ Union
Mission/Outreach
Pastoral Care Group
The Children’s Society
Support Activities
Coffee
Communications Group
Social Committee
Friends of All Saints
Gardening Team
Gift Aid
Health and Safety
Parish Administrator
The Rainbow Way|**21**
**22**
**22**
**22**
**22**| |---|---|---| |||**23**| |||**23**| |||**23**| |||**24**
**24**
**24**
**24**
**25**
**25**
**25**
**25**
**26**
**27**
**27**| Health and Safety is everyone’s responsibility, so if anyone observes anything untoward please report it to me and it will be noted and addressed. **Helen Belsham** ## **Parish Administrator** Well here we are again another year gone by so fast. I would like to start off by mentioning the groups here at All Saints. Sorry to say we have lost a few groups along the way and I know for others it was a slow and worrying start but, I am pleased to say over time the ones remaining have settled back in nicely and getting use to the new normal after the challenges over the past few years. I would also like to take this opportunity to welcome a couple of new groups we have a yoga class and Tiny Tweeties both proving to be very popular and doing really well. As I do every year I would like to give a mention to the volunteers here at All Saints Church they all work so hard from running the coffee mornings, doing the Church magazines and also working in the Church gardens. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the people who attend Church and are always welcoming when I call in afterwards for a coffee and a chat. Finally, to the people who just call into the office to say hello my office door is always open and it is always a pleasure to see you. ## **Shirley Newton** ## **The Rainbow Way** formal end of Partnership for Missional church in March 2022. They reviewed All Saints “Rainbow” plan on a page strategy for 2030 and updated it to take into account changing priorities and the learning from Partnership for Missional Church. A copy of the updated plan on a page can be found in the church and parish hall. The revised strategy, which was named “The Rainbow Way,” identified four strands which will be the basis of action plans for development of our church to 2030. The 4 strands are: Red Be visible in our community as people who live and share Christian values Orange Seek out and support where God is working in the community Yellow Encourage and develop leaders for worship, fellowship and mission Green Care for God’s creation and live sustainably We also identified three ways of working that would help us achieve our aims, and these were included in the rainbow plan as: Blue Be ready to change and adapt to be relevant to today’s world Indigo Maximise our resources and assets for the benefit of all Violet work in partnership with others In recognition of the importance of the strategy the management group was renamed “The Rainbow Way” group and PCC decided that all future activities should be assessed in relation to how they might contribute to meeting the goals of the strategy. With this in mind, the activities that took place during 2022 included …… The start of the year saw the SMDT/PMC teams planning for the Page 27 Page 2 own plants and selling them from their front drive. They were able to contribute £30.00 to the Friends Account. Whalton Show was cancelled in September as a mark of respect to the death of Queen Elizabeth II. This meant that we had to cancel the coach outing, which had already been arranged. We wish to thank our ‘Friends’ for their help and support over the year. Anyone interested in joining the Friends contact us at 5 Woodlands Road, Cleadon. ## **Helen and Ernie Belsham** ## **Gardening Team** The Garden Team has continued to meet fortnightly on Monday mornings from April through to October. We have tried to keep our Church gardens attractive and well maintained. Regular lawn mowing ,hedge trimming, and seasonal planting are our routine tasks, as, of course ,is our coffee and snack break (also referred to as our “strategy meeting”). The gate is always open to more volunteers, we are all much older than when we embarked on taming the wilderness twelve years ago, the heavy work is done, but constant attention is needed. If you are willing to help, just turn up, no need to make an appointment, you will be very welcome. We thank the members of the congregation and of the wider community for their continued encouragement and support of our fund-raising activities which are essential for income for our continued work. ## **Gift Aid** We are very grateful to all of you who gift aid your donations so that we can collect the tax paid thus increasing the amount by 25%. This year the parish managed to reclaim over £7000 through gift aid, making this a very valuable resource for us. If you are a UK tax payer all you need to do is sign a gift aid form from the back of church and arrange with us how you will make your donations. Please speak to either Keith Higgin or me about this. The preferred route is by direct debit using the Parish Giving Scheme for monthly, quarterly, annual or one-off donations. This can be arranged through their website parishgiving.org.uk or they can be contacted by email: info@parishgiving.org.uk or phone: 0333 002 1260. The parish is Cleadon All Saints and the code 130613108. Alternatively, payments can be made by standing order through the bank or by using the envelope scheme. ## **Jenny Grant** ## **Health and Safety** Health and Safety checks have been carried out in the Church, Chapter House, Parish Hall, Old School Room and the outside areas of the church grounds have been inspected and appear to be in good order. However, the car park is still in need of a little repair work as some of the surface areas are cracked and uneven in places. First aid boxes have been checked and are all up to date. The fire alarm system is checked every 3 months with no reported issues. There have been no reports of injuries or incidents to me. ## Agenda for the Vestry Meeting 2023 1. Minutes of the Vestry Meeting 2022 2. Churchwardens Report including the Annual Report on the Terrier and Inventory 3. Election of Churchwardens ## Agenda for the Annual Parochial Church Meeting 2023 1. Apologies for Absence 2. Minutes of the APCM 2022 3. Reports of the PCC 2022 - 3.1. Electoral Roll - 3.2. Proceedings of the PCC - 3.3. PCC membership - 3.4. Treasurer’s Report and Accounts - 3.5. Deanery Synod Report 4. Group Reports for 2022 ## 5. 2023 Elections - 5.1. Election Of Deanery Synod Representatives 2023-2026 5.2. Elections to the PCC 2023 ## 6. Appointment of the Independent Examiner 7. Vicar’s Report ## **John Byers** Page 26 Page 3 **Minutes of 2022 Vestry Meeting & Annual Parochial Church Meeting** Held on Sunday 15th May 2022 at 4pm in Church ## **Introduction** 10 members were present. Apologies were received from Cathy Barnes, Rob Lawson and Helen Belsham. The Annual Report for 2021 had been circulated beforehand. Revd Vernon Cuthbert chaired the meeting. ## **Vestry Meeting** i) The Minutes of the 2021 Vestry Meeting (Annual Report p4) were accepted as an accurate record. There were no questions or comments. ii) The Church Wardens’ report (Annual Report pp 8-9) was received. There were no questions. Jenny Grant and Beverley George were thanked for their hard work during the year. Jenny Grant and Beverley George were elected as Church Wardens for the 20222023 year. This concluded the Vestry Meeting. **Annual Parochial Church Meeting** - i. The Minutes of the 2021 APCM (Annual Report, p 4) were accepted as an accurate record. - ii. The Reports of the PCC for 2021 were presented (pp 6-17). - It was noted that the Electoral Roll had 88 members at the end of 2021. Anne Hudson, Helen Belsham and Rob Lawson were thanked for their service on completion of their 3-year term of office as members of the PCC. - iii. The Treasurer’s Report and Accounts (pp 10-17) for 2021 were received. The Treasurer clarified for non-PCC members - the entries under Unrestricted funds, Designated funds and Restricted funds (p11) - there were no legacies this year, and that lettings had gone up and continued to do so (p12) - the grants under income (p13) referred to government grant in relation to job retention scheme - the Restricted Repair Fund (p15) stood at £4,977.22, but £3,000 has subsequently been spent on repairs, so the balance is now just under £2,000. - Keith Higgin was thanked for his work as Treasurer, and the accounts were accepted. - iv. Group reports for 2021 were received (pp 18-29). Two questions were raised under the heading of Worship (p18) 1. Was it possible to consider having an 11am service at Cleadon, perhaps once per month? Rev’d Cuthbert responded that this was unlikely as services at Whitburn would be affected by any changes of this kind, and the two PCCs had agreed the present arrangements. 2. Could an evening service at Cleadon be considered, perhaps once per month? - It was agreed that this proposal should be brought to the next PCC meeting for discussion. It was noted that the entry for Mothers’ Union in the annual report (p23) had been done by another party to help Margaret Robson, who was standing down as president. Linda Ferries will be taking over as President. and Anne Hudson, who also maintains the distribution lists and collects the subscriptions. Additionally, Anne is Advertising Manager, collecting the money due and seeking new advertisers. If you know of anyone who may wish to advertise, please do let Anne know as some advertisers have cancelled this year. We were also able to produce a Christmas card for distribution villagewide, letting everyone know of the services that we and the Methodist Church were offering. We also include the services at Whitburn Parish Church. The 31st edition of the Information Booklet was in process of being compiled at the end of the year. Especially with the demise of the two W.I. groups, we would very much like to have more regular articles from other church groups, to communicate what is happening within the church family. ## **Keith Higgin** ## **Social Committee** The Social Committee, which comprised Lesley, Anne, Marie, Dave, Gill, Robina, Helen, Walter and Amy-Jane, met on 5 occasions during the year to make arrangements for forthcoming events. The first event of the year was the Valentine’s Quiz night in February. Rob Lawson planned and presented the Quiz while the committee organised ticket sales, advertising, a raffle and a supper of pies, peas and roast potatoes provided by Whitburn Caterers. It was a very pleasant evening which raised £662 for Church funds. In April, Compass Acapella returned to give us a wonderful concert in our hall which raised £492 for our funds. Their music was perfect with a mixture of nostalgia, fun and sheer musical delight. The group have been entertaining us for some years now, giving their time and considerable talent to help our funds. They deserve our thanks and our praise. The committee, in addition to planned events, agreed to help to organise our Christian Aid Big Breakfast in May, a Strawberry Tea Dance in June, the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Picnic in the park, also in June, and a Paddy’s Market in July. The last planned event of the year was the fifteenth appearance in our hall of the Custom’s House Big Band, featuring Ruth Lambert as their resident singer. They gave a fantastic mix of swing and jazz, together with their usual section of Christmas music presented in their own inimitable style. 64 tickets were sold for this event which made up a very appreciative audience. However, some committee members found it was becoming more difficult to sell tickets for these events and consequently decided that as a social committee we had outrun our course, but we remained willing to volunteer help in whatever social events our Rainbow Way were providing. ## **Lesley Smith** ## **Friends of All Saints** The membership of the Friends at the start of 2022 was 72 Adults and 10 Children. We purchased 513 copies of the Cleadon Courier at a cost of £256.50. As we no longer meet in the Church Hall on a Sunday after church, Helen and Ernie took the initiative of growing their Page 25 Page 4 The intercessions and request lists were sent out each week. We hope we have been able to respond to those in need in 2022, always with God’s help and grace. ## **Jean Higgin** ## **The Children’s Society** As home box collection coordinator for The Children’s Society, I am pleased to report that during 2022 box holders within the parish network raised £587.70. To add to this, £120 was collected from a coffee morning held in July and over £70 given via the Christingle candles. Collectively, an amazing total of over £777 was gratefully received by The Children’s Society. Within their thank you letter they make it clear that, through our generosity, we are helping to improve the lives of children who feel scared, unloved and like they simply do not matter. As the cost of living crisis deepens and young people’s lives become increasingly difficult it is more important than ever that we let children know how much they matter and make sure their needs are addressed. Every coin given and every donation made helps children in this country to find hope. On behalf of The Children’s Society thank you for your continued prayers and support. ## **Anne Hudson** ## Support Activities ## **Coffee** Throughout the year coffee mornings have been held in the Old School Room on the second Saturday of each month. During 2022 there were six organised to aid Church funds and six for chosen charities e.g. Church Missionary Society, The Children Society and Christian Aid. There is always a friendly welcome with coffee, tea, scones and biscuits to enjoy and time to meet up with friends for a chat. A moderate fee of £2.50 is charged and raffle tickets are available. Following the Sunday and Thursday Communion services, coffee, tea, biscuits and an occasional cake treat are served in the south aisle of the Church. Again this is a chance to socialize over a hot drink. The pump flasks continue to successfully operate and the Fair Trade coffee well accepted. Donations received go towards Church funds. We are thankful to be served on these occasions by a small group of willing helpers and grateful for all contributions of refreshments and raffle prizes. **Anne Hudson** ## **Communications Group** The committee members continue to be Brian Bage, Allan Bailey, Gordon Coxon and Keith Higgin. We produced a Cleadon Courier each month. Printing the magazine is now carried out by Shirley Newton following the purchase of another printer, which is proving to be much faster and cheaper to run. The Communications group (p25) made an appeal for more support with their activities v. Elections to the PCC 2022. Following prior consideration by the PCC, two proposals were put to the APCM: **Proposal 1** : to reduce the size of the PCC from 9 to 7 elected members, from APCM in 2023 After discussion it was agreed, unanimously, that from the APCM in 2023, the size of the PCC be reduced to 7 elected members. **Proposal 2** : to change elected PCC members’ term of office from 3 years to 1 year, with option to serve up to 6 consecutive years, from 15th May 2022 After discussion it was agreed, unanimously, that elected PCC members’ term of office would change from 3 years to 1 year, with option to serve up to 6 consecutive years, with immediate effect. The above decision meant that there were 7 vacancies for elected PCC members for 2022. The following were elected, for a period of 1 year Anne Hudson, Linda Ross The remaining 5 vacancies will be carried forward. The collation team includes Allan Bailey, Margaret Laws, Walter Carr, Ken Oley Page 24 Page 5 ## **Reports for 2022** ## **Report of the PCC** for the year ended 31 December 2022 ## **Administrative information** All Saints’ Church is situated in Cleadon Lane, Cleadon, Sunderland, SR6 7UU. It is part of the Church of England’s Diocese of Durham. The correspondence address is c/o All Saints’ Parish Hall, Sunderland Road, Cleadon, Sunderland SR6 7UR. ## **Aims and Purposes** The Parochial Church Council (PCC) has the responsibility of co-operating with the incumbent in promoting in the ecclesiastical parish the whole mission of the Church, pastoral, evangelistic, social and ecumenical. It has responsibilities for the maintenance of the Church building, the Parish Hall and the Old School Room. The PCC is committed to enabling as many people as possible to worship at our church and to become part of our parish community. Our services and worship put faith into practice through prayer and scripture, music and sacrament. In particular, we try to enable all people to live out their faith as part of our parish community through: - Worship and prayer; learning about the Gospel; and developing their knowledge and trust in Jesus. - Provision of pastoral care for people living in the parish. - Mission and outreach work. To facilitate this work it is important that we maintain the fabric of the All Saints Church and its associated buildings. ## **Public Benefit** Our worship is open to all regardless of faith or affiliation. The resources available to the PCC are used to further its aims and purposes. The PCC takes as wide an interpretation of the ‘whole mission of the Church’ as possible to enable community use of its buildings, whilst retaining the right to not allow use that is contrary to this mission. ## **Structure, governance and management** The PCC is a corporate body established by the Church of England. The PCC operates under the Parochial Church Council Powers Measure. The PCC is a registered charity No. 1132228 with the title “The Parochial Church Council of the Ecclesiastical Parish of All Saints Cleadon”. The method of appointment of PCC members is set out in the Church Representation Rules. All Church attendees are encouraged to register on the Electoral Roll and stand for election to the PCC. ## **Electoral Roll** A new Electoral Roll is compiled every 6 years, with a revision in the years in between. The Roll compiled in 2019 was revised in 2023, and at the end of the year our Electoral Roll stood at 79. ## **Robina Lawson** ## **Safeguarding** There have not been any safeguarding referrals or any concerns raised this year. The June meeting was extra special as we welcomed our Diocesan President, Carol Hopkinson. After giving her talk she thanked Margaret Robson on her retirement from ten years as our President and presented her with a beautiful bouquet of flowers. Carol then officially enrolled Linda as President and four new members. Our final meeting of the year was our Advent service, led by Linda and Vernon. At the end of each meeting, we relaxed and chatted, with refreshments most generously provided by Margaret Laws and Shirley Peel. New members are always made most welcome. Come and join us. ## **Jean Higgin** ## Mission/Outreach ## **Pastoral Care Group** We have nine members who meet each month at 11,Laburnum Grove. They are Audrey Bolam, Jean Higgin, Anne Hudson, Jan McGill, Linda Ross, Ellen Smith, Val Wallbank and Margaret Westerberg, plus our Methodist representative, Kathleen Robinson. We also have an honorary member, Lesley Smith. The group met in person each month to pray and share thoughts and ideas with each other. Each member has a designated Care List which covers all those on the electoral roll and on the Parish Network. We are committed to contacting them in some way at least once a month, if not more. The Parish Network has been kept up to date, working quietly, mostly unseen but vitally essential. There were fourteen baptisms at which a member assisted. Sadly, we were still not able to visit the families beforehand because information is not passed on as it used to be. Happily, however, baptism, wedding and bereavement anniversary cards have still been sent by Ellen, Linda and Val respectively. Gifts of bowls of hyacinths were again sent to ten sick or lonely people at Christmas, thanks to George Wilson. The Pastoral Network has been working quietly, mostly unseen but vitally essential. Invitations to the All Souls’ service were delivered or e-mailed. Debbie Wood has taken up the role of Parish Safeguarding Officer for Whitburn Page 23 Page 6 We averaged 12 Guides throughout the year. Sadly, this was lower than ever. We have 2 leader, 1 part time leader and 1 unit helper. **Lynne Carr & Val Cram** ## **1st Cleadon Rangers** With the rise in Covid cases we went back to Zoom for January before returning face to face. We only meet fortnightly but that seems a good balance for our 4 Rangers with their schoolwork. We continued using the Ranger program over the year interspersed with other random activities they wanted to do – as usual with Rangers, food is often a feature! We went bowling in May, joined the Guides on the beach and to the chippy in July and went to an Escape Room in December – at least the owners let us out as we didn’t escape on our own! We had some visits from 4 of the Guides during the Autumn term as they were all turning 14 and moving up in January. That meant for some evenings we had 8 which was a nice change, however our original 4 left at the end of the year due to schoolwork so we were back to 4 for 2023. We have 2 leaders. ## **Lynne Carr** ## Fellowship Groups ## **Friends in Faith** Friends in Faith are a group of men and women from All Saints congregation who meet to listen to speakers, to discuss topics related to our faith and to socialise. If you would like to join us or have further information please contact Robina on 0191 537 3119. ## **Robina Lawson** ## **Men’s Fellowship** The Mens Fellowship group continues to meet on the last Monday of the month during January to May then September to December with exceptions when we are invited to join the Friends in Faith group for their quiz and Christmas Party. The subjects that have entertained us during 2022 have ranged from events during World War 1 to scenes in South Shields after bombing raids to the building of the Tyne Bridge. ## **Gordon Coxon** ## **Mothers’ Union** In 2022 Mother’s Union met every 2nd Thursday afternoon at 2.00pm in the Chapter House except for January and August. We now have 15 members, including three who have joined us from Mother’s Unions which have closed in the Diocese. We also have two members from Cleadon Methodist Church. We commenced with a service, led by Linda Ferries. We used our blue MU book which includes prayers for members throughout the world. Linda chose the hymns and Bible readings. We then welcomed our speakers who included Rev’d Margaret Devine, Margaret Wright, Wilf Kelly, Walter Carr, Wendy Harrison and Marie Philpott. in December 2022; following a period of transition in the summer of 2022 from Michael O’Brien. Debbie has now completed her safeguarding training to Leadership Level, alongside some other training including Domestic Abuse, Safer Recruitment, Modern Slavery. A big thank you, to Michael for his help and support ; easing me into the role. All members of PCC need to complete training to Foundation Level and this is currently in progress. In keeping with Church of England Guidance; other training has been offered to PCC members to complete if they are able to. DBS checks are being updated as and when they expire. ## **Deborah Wood Safeguarding Officer** ## **Proceedings of the PCC** Following the end of the pandemic PCC meetings in 2022 were once again able to take place face-to-face. After such a sustained period of uncertainty and disruption PCC business focused, throughout the spring, on “renewing and refreshing” our ways of working. The SMDT/ PMC team, on behalf of the PCC, reviewed the 2030 strategy plan and presented a revised strategy and action plan “The Rainbow Way” which was accepted by PCC as a way forward. PCC monitored the plan throughout 2022 as a standing agenda item. In January, Deacons and Eucharistic Assistants were authorised for the next three years, and in May, Jenny Grant was re-authorised as Lay Funeral Minister. The PCC recruited a new Parish Safeguarding Officer and PCC recorded their thanks to Michael O’Brien for his past service in this role, and his support whilst the new officer was trained. Numbers attending services have not, even yet, recovered from the pandemic and having a smaller pool of church members it was a struggle to find people willing to undertake service to the church. In consequence, at the APCM in May 2022, two changes to the structure of the PCC were proposed and accepted viz. i) To reduce the number of elected PCC members from 9 to 7 and ii) To change elected members term of office from 3 years to 1 year, with the option to serve up to six consecutive years. We carried forward five vacancies on the PCC and a vacancy for Verger. The impact of COVID and the war in Ukraine combined to make 2022 a difficult year for everyone financially. Inflation and soaring fuel costs were significant concerns with the PCC having to negotiate four new energy contracts and carry out required maintenance around the church complex . Despite our reduced income we were able to meet our Parish Share pledge for 2022, however, with regret, the PCC have had to substantially reduce our Parish Share pledge for 2023. Over the year it has been a joy to welcome back many of the community groups that use our premises and to continue to develop our relationship with Cleadon Academy. The PCC has focused on resuming “normal” service in our interactions with the local community, e.g. Remembrance Sunday, and Christmas but also on developing new Page 22 Page 7 opportunities / partnerships to take us forward. The PCC recorded its indebtedness to Jenny and Beverley our Churchwardens, and Shirley our Administrator, for their hard work and support to Vernon and the PCC, in what has been a challenging year. ## **Marie Philpott PCC Secretary** **PCC Membership** Vernon Cuthbert* Priest-in-charge/ Chair Jenny Grant* Churchwarden Beverley George* Churchwarden Keith Higgin* Deanery Synod to 30.06.23 Diocesan Synod to 2024/Treasurer Cathy Barnes* Deanery Synod to 30.06.23/Vice Chair Elected until APCM 2023 Jill Rowden Anne Hudson Linda Ross Elected until APCM 2024 Marie Philpott PCC Secretary (* denotes an ex-officio member of the council by way of their post). The **Standing Committee** consists of the Priest-in-charge, the Churchwardens, and the Vice Chairman, Hon. Treasurer and Hon. Secretary of the PCC. It meets on an occasional basis when urgent business needs to be transacted by the PCC. **Churchwardens’ Report for 2022** Whilst we have maintained our regular pattern of worship , sadly attendance has remained low with numbers at the midweek service exceeding those on a Sunday. We have continued to deliver Communion at the chancel steps making access easier and thus allowing more people to come forward, although it is always available in the pew. During the year there have been 16 baptisms ,7 funerals,3 weddings and 1 Thanksgiving for Marriage in church. As Vernon is now priest in charge of two parishes we are trying to work more closely with Whitburn and three or four times a year the churchwardens of both parishes meet together. A lent course ‘Where the lost things go’, based on the film Mary Poppins Returns, was run for the two parishes and had a small but active attendance. There were over 200 people at the war memorial for Remembrance and also a good number at Carols Round the Tree in December both supported by music from J W Brass. Our other Christmas activities included Christingle and a lively all age service on Christmas Eve which received very positive feedback. This year, Midnight Mass was held at Whitburn and the Christmas morning service at Cleadon where we were delighted to welcome the choir from Whitburn and Christine Alder to play the organ. At the APCM Jenny Grant and Bev George were re-elected as churchwardens. This year there was a Bishop’s Visitation for the whole diocese in Durham Cathedral during which he thanked everyone for their hard work and support during the last few difficult years. You will read elsewhere about Rainbow Way where one of our aims has been to work more closely with other groups. As part of this we have strengthened our links with the school who have visited church for Experience Easter and Christmas, nativity plays and end of see the positive impact this is having on staff and pupil enthusiasm to learn more about the Bible. Church members from All Saints, were also able to welcome the school staff team into the church to complete an interesting and interactive training session about the church. We ended the year with a Christmas party, we played games and had a special guest appearance from Santa. We have 2 Leaders, 4 Young Leaders/D of E girls and 17 Rainbows. Thank you to everyone who helps at Rainbows, parents and the girls themselves, without them we wouldn’t have so much fun. May I take this opportunity to thank Thank you to everyone who helps at Reverend Vernon, those involved in Rainbows, parents and the girls governance and the members of All themselves, without them we wouldn’t Saints Church, for their support and have so much fun. prayers, as well as their kindness in providing wonderful experiences for the **Lisa Nesworthy and** children and their support of school staff **Gemma Connolly** regarding advice and guidance in the Christian Faith. It has been exciting to **1st Cleadon Brownies** start building firmer links, between It is with sadness that we had to close church and school, over the past year, the Brownie unit last year. and we look forward to continuing working together during the next year, Girls are able to attend at 2nd Cleadon showing Christian faith in action; (Methodist) Brownies. through endeavouring to support **Lisa Nesworthy** children, families and the wider community. **1st Cleadon Guides** With the rise in Covid cases we went back to Zoom for January 2022 before returning to the church hall. We continued with our usual Guide program. In addition, we had a joint Jubilee evening with East Boldon Guides and also a trip to the beach in July. ## **Gary Scott, Headteacher** ## **1st Cleadon Rainbows** We continue to have a full unit and a long waiting list. Anyone who wants to add their daughters name to the waiting list needs to go to www.girlguiding.org.uk/interested and add it online, the earlier the better. We organised a Guide camp with outdoor activities to Moor House in the summer holidays. Due to a lack of numbers we opened up our invite and ended up with some Guides and leaders from Boldon and 2 Washington Guide units. We have had another busy year having lots of fun. We particularly enjoyed having a party with West Boldon Rainbows to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. We have had fun creating seasonal crafts and playing games, one of our favourites is “the hedgehog game”. The Rainbows are also really enjoying working on their interest badges at home, which is a new part of our programme for Rainbows as well as working on badges in the unit. In the autumn we commemorated the Queens life with some art we displayed in the hall. We ended our year with a trip to the bowling alley. Page 21 Page 8 Laing Art Gallery continues, enabling year groups to experience wonderful works of art and to practise creative art skills at the Laing and back at school. The School Council have recently visited London, to tour the Houses of Parliament, and both Year 5 and Year 6 pupils have had the opportunity for a residential stay at Thurston, over the past year. our prayer activity. All the children then received a chocolate buttons egg. Thank you to all those who helped in anyway and to those who provided the eggs to give away. Any remaining eggs were donated to key to life. As a follow up we organised a summer family celebration which wasn’t as well attended sadly, but we will try both again. Our Year 2 and Year 5 children enjoyed participating in the South Tyneside Music Festival, along with other schools from South Tyneside, whilst our Year 3 children took part in The Big Sing at The Sage. It is great to see the growing confidence and collaboration of the children, at these times, as well as the great joy that they experience from singing and performing together. ## **Janet Cuthbert** ## **Cleadon Church of England Academy** During the year of 2022 we have been pleased to be “back to normal” post pandemic and being able to meet parents and wider community members on a face-to-face basis, with class worships for parents, Harvest and Christmas Services, all being important within the life of the school and the local community. It has also been wonderful to be able to be “out and about” with the children, enabling them to have valuable experiences in the “wider world”. It has been wonderful to be able to celebrate important Christian festivals within All Saints Church, where the children are able to connect with their sense of spirituality and to experience Christian celebrations within the church environment. There have been several opportunities over the last year, including special services, Christingle celebrations and church “experiences” where staff and pupils have received a real welcome by Reverend Vernon and the congregation of All Saints Church. As a school, we are keen that our pupils are motivated and engaged by their learning and that, whenever possible, memorable experiences are built into their school days. With this in mind, we have been pleased to continue offering wonderful experiences to the children. The whole school were able to experience the wonders of the animals at Northumberland Zoo, during a fortnight of visits, and as a school we have “adopted” several of the animals! Staff training has been a real priority over the last year. “The Big Story” training about the Bible, which was completed through the Diocese, enabled all staff to be emerged in the history and beliefs of the Christian Faith. It was great to invite church representatives to attend the training too and staff and church representatives alike felt inspired by the refreshing approach to teaching children about the Bible. It is good to Page 20 The Christmas pantomime at the Tyne Theatre was a memorable experience for all children from Year 2 to Year 6, to experience fun and joy through the performing arts. And our link with the term services and the staff came on one occasion to learn more about the church. We have also been invited to school for a session on ‘Understanding the bible’ and to watch nativity plays and Vernon continues to visit and lead worship there. We have worked with the Beavers too, who have been given a tour of the church and Jenny has attended their meeting to talk about St George’s Day. The church continues to support Key2Life, the Children’s Society and Christian Aid. Happily, there have been no major repairs this year but we await the report of the Quinquennial inspection carried out in December which may highlight some issues needing attention. We would like to thank the many volunteers who regularly help with jobs such as making coffee, washing linen and locking the church so that everything runs smoothly. **Jenny Grant and Beverley George** ## **Deanery Synod Report** Jarrow Deanery consists of 17 parishes (22 churches) spread across Hebburn, Jarrow, South Shields, the Boldons, Cleadon and Whitburn. The Deanery Synod is made up of all the clergy and elected lay representatives from each parish in the Deanery. The lay representatives are elected for 3 years and elections are to take place again in 2023. We elect two representatives who report back to the PCC. Everyone on a church electoral roll is entitled to vote for members of their local Deanery Synod. Partly because of the effect that Covid had on meetings, attendance has not been as good as in years past. The format was therefore changed in 2022, so that there were only two meetings of the full Synod. The local clusters of churches were expected to meet separately on at least two occasions during the year to form closer links and discuss matters of mutual interest and concern. At the May meeting of Synod, members split into groups and discussed their parish perspectives on Covid; how were they emerging; what are the concerns for the future; and what new possibilities are to be seen. In October Rev’d Cameron Abernethy gave a presentation on Resourcing Church and spoke of his experiences working across four churches in the Deanery, revitalising existing communities and reaching out to new communities, as well as working with schools. We then had a presentation from the Advisor in Discipleship and Evangelism on Developing Lay Ministry. Rejuvenation is necessary in our churches to reach out within our communities and bring new members into the church. Our cluster group of the Boldons, Cleadon and Whitburn met once and laid plans for how we can work more closely together both on parish initiatives and on social occasions. ## **Keith Higgin** ## **Treasurer’s Report and Accounts** These appear on pages 11-17 following. **Keith Higgin** Page 9 This annual report was adopted by the PCC on 19/04/2023 and signed on their behalf by the Rev’d Vernon Cuthbert, PCC Chairman. ## Children and Young People ## **Toddlers@All Saints** During the early part of 2022 numbers attending were not always high but steady and faithful, but in September when we re-opened after our summer break, Janet and I were amazed and delighted by the number of children and adults attending. We have consistently had as few as 10 and as many as 18 children having fun in the hall. At Christmas if all the children who had attended during the autumn had come to the Christmas celebration we would have had 32 children. For our final meeting in the summer we took the toys up to the church garden and had a lovely afternoon playing in the sunshine. ## **Young Saints and Saintlets** It has been a joy to welcome and get to know better Edward and Charlie on Sundays at 9am. The toys for the children are ready available in the chapter house cupboard for the occasions when the space needs to be parent led, ie. when I am unavailable. During the autumn I came across ‘weekend @’, the diocesan children's resource material produced by Blackburn Diocese and have been downloading it to use. It follows the lectionary and suggests easy ways to present it to children of varying ways, simply and is easily adaptable. ## **Janet Cuthbert** ## **Easter Eggstra** As the heating was not working in the parish hall on December 14th we decamped to church for the whole session. Celebrating Christmas with toddler friendly songs telling the story of Christmas, singing happy birthday to Jesus and finding presents under the tree. We followed this by enjoying eating the birthday cake and playing. It was great being in church, just a shame the space doesn't currently fully lend itself to making this a regular occurrence. We have had a number of parents comment how welcoming they find our group. It is lovely to know we are demonstrating God's love for our community through the group. Thanks to Janet Birchall from me for all her help on Wednesdays. **Janet Cuthbert** We were delighted that Easter Sunday was bright and sunny to welcome families to church for the Easter Eggstra service. We invited families to join us for refreshments from 10.15 at the end of the morning communion service. Easter themed activities were provided for the children along with an Easter scavanger hunt looking for symbols of the Easter story hidden around the church grounds. We rounded the time off with a short act of worship focusing on the tomb created for Experience Easter. The storyteller bible was used to re-enact the story using children and adults to take the parts of the main characters. The laminated eggs collected during the hunt were laid at the tomb as part of Page 19 Page 10 Church Reports 2022 ## Worship ## **Services** During the year worship was largely uninterrupted by Covid, yet still mitigations were required. In time we were able to resume offering the common cup for wine to be take along with bread. We still maintain that to receive Communion in either form is to receive Christ fully and there are those that prefer to receive only bread. ## **Vernon Cuthbert** ## **Home Communion** Home Communion is normally available to any baptised Christian within our parish who is unable to get to church. If you would like Home Communion. please contact the Revd. Vernon Cuthbert. ## **Robina Lawson** ## **Intercessions and Readers** Reading from the Bible, and leading God's people in prayer, are important ministries in the Body of Christ. A small but loyal group of people fulfil these roles: we have a rota of Bible readers at Sunday and Thursday services, and another group who lead the Intercessions on Sundays. The teams have reduced in number over the years – anyone who would like to join either team would be warmly welcomed. Readings and prayers are provided well in advance, and guidance/training can be given. on their travels round not just our parish on the way to the stable. They in fact began their journey in the parish of St Thomas, Gateshead and also visited Whitburn and the Boldons. They stayed with 28 host families and each day photos were posted on the church Facebook page. They met elves, had showers(!), went to a big band concert, Friends in Faith’s Christmas party to name but a few of the activities they got up to. Prayers and thought provokers were included in the box. Finally on 24th December they arrived at church for the family carol service where Grace their final host brought them to the front and placed them in the stable to await the arrival of Jesus the following day. It is proving a great way to involve folk of all ages to get involved with the Christmas story. Thanks go to all who participated and to Niamh Cuthbert for pulling all the photos together into a presentation we were able to project onto the wall for folk to see on their way into church on Christmas Eve ## **Janet Cuthbert** ## **Financial Review** In accordance with the Charities Act 2011 and in particular the 5th Edition PCC Accountability, the Annual Accounts are presented adopting the Receipts and Payments basis. Total Receipts into Unrestricted Funds are up at £115,200 (2021 £58,050), but much of this increase is explained by a legacy of £44,056, a donation from Cleadon Day Club of £2,556 and a Diocesan utility grant of £1,637. The net figure of £66,951 is an increase on 2021. Planned Giving has decreased at £27,118 (2021 £29,504 ) but Hall Lettings are up at £16,544 (2021 £10,566). The other major changes in receipts are from social activities at £3,522 (2021 £935) and Wedding & Funeral fees £2,280 (2021 £960). Magazine income increased to £2,514 (2021 £1,025). Payments from Unrestricted Funds have increased to £66,891 (2021 £61,427). There have been some increases in Utility bills, but the full effect of higher charges has not yet been felt for the winter period, partly due to changes in suppliers delaying bills. We met our Parish Share pledge in full at £36,000, an increase of £4,000 on the amount paid in 2021. The end result is an excess of receipts over payments of £48,309 on the General Account for the year, with transfers between funds increasing this surplus to £48,663. Excluding the three exceptional items totalling £48,249, the surplus would have been £414. reducing the Total Funds surplus to £46,181. ## **Reserves Policy** It is PCC policy to endeavour to maintain a balance in Unrestricted and Designated accounts equivalent to 3 months payments, to cover cash flow and emergency situations that may arise. The balances available are presently well above this requirement. ## **Investment Policy** It is the PCC policy to invest any surplus fund balances with the CCLA Central Board of Finance Church of England Deposit account. ## **Future Plans** The PCC proposes to form a strategic plan incorporating proposals for refurbishing the Parish Hall and carrying out all necessary repairs to all the properties. **Keith Higgin** ## **Cathy Barnes** ## **Posada** It was a great delight to send the holy family of Mary, Joseph and the donkey The Friends Designated Account shows a surplus of £577 and the Repair Fund Restricted Account a deficit of £3,059. Page 18 Page 11 ## **All Saints' Church Cleadon - Receipts and Payments Account For the period from 01 January 2022 to 31 December 2022** Page 17 Page 12 Notes to the financial statements For the year ended 31st December 2022 ## **Accounting Policies** The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the Charities Act 2011 and the PCC Accountability 5t" Edition. The Charities Act 2011 is a consolidation of previous Acts but did not introduce new legislation. The financial statements have been prepared on a receipts and payments basis and under the historical cost convention. The financial statements include all transactions, assets and liabilities for which the PCC is responsible in law. They do not include the accounts of church groups that owe their main affiliation to another body, nor those that are informal gatherings of church members. ## **Funds** Endowment Funds are funds, the capital of which must be maintained; only income arising from investments of the endowment may be used either as restricted or unrestricted funds depending upon the purpose for which the endowment was established. Restricted Funds represent (a) income from trusts or endowments which may be expended only on those restricted objects provided in the terms of the trust or bequest, and (b) donations or grants received for a specific object or invited by the PCC for a specific object. The funds may only be expended on the specific object for which they were given. Any balance remaining unspent at the end of the year must be carried forward a balance on that fund. The PCC does not usually invest separately for each fund. Unrestricted Funds are general funds which can be used for PCC ordinary purposes. ## **Incoming Resources** Planned Giving, collections and donations are recognised when received. Grants and legacies are accounted for when the PCC receives the amounts due. All other income is recognised when it is received. All incoming resources are accounted for gross. ## **Resources Expended** Grants and donations are accounted for when paid over, or when awarded, if that award creates a binding or constructive obligation on the PCC. The Diocesan Parish Share is accounted for when due. Amounts received specifically for mission are dealt with as restricted funds. All other expenditure is generally recognised when it is incurred and is accounted for gross. ## **Assets Retained for Church Use.** Consecrated and benefice property is not included in the accounts in accordance with the Charities Act 2011. Movable church furnishings held by the vicar and churchwardens on special trust for the PCC and which require a faculty for disposal are inalienable property, listed in the church's inventory, which can be inspected at any reasonable time. For anything acquired prior to 2000 there is insufficient cost information available and therefore such assets are not valued in the financial statements. Subsequently no individual item has cost more than £5,000 so all such expenditure has been written off when incurred. Equipment used within the church premises is depreciated on a straight-line basis over four years. Individual items of equipment with a purchase price of £1,000 or less are written off when the asset is acquired. Page 16 Page 13 **All Saints' Church Cleadon – 1132228 Balance Sheet as at: 31 December 2022** Page 14 Page 15