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← The Parochial Church Council Of The Ecclesiastical Parish Of St Lawrence, Bovingdon

2023-12-31-accounts

St Lawrence Church Bovingdon

Annual Meetings to be held on Tuesday 23[rd] April 2024 at 7:30pm St Lawrence Hall

Agendas and background papers

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YOU are warmly invited to attend and take a full part in this important event in our Church life.

If you WOUId like to stand for election as a Church warden or member of the PCC, please pick up a nomination form from the back of church. If you would like to know more about what any of these roles entails, speak to Charles, Chris West, or a member of the PCC.

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St. Lawrence Church, Bovingdon

ANNUAL MEETINGS

Tuesday 23[rd] April 2024

7:30pm St Lawrence Hall

  1. Prayer

  2. Apologies for absence

ANNUAL MEETING OF PARISHIONERS

Agenda

  1. Minutes of the meeting held on Tuesday 25[th] April 2023.

  2. Matters arising from the minutes of the meeting of Tuesday 25[th] April 2023.

  3. Election of Churchwardens

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ANNUAL PAROCHIAL CHURCH MEETING

Agenda

  1. Minutes of meeting held on Tuesday 25[th] April 2023.

  2. Matters arising from the minutes of the meeting of Tuesday 25[th] April 2023.

  3. Annual reports:

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Electoral Roll (verbal report to the meeting)

Children, Families & Youth Work

Churchyard

  1. Appointment of Independent Accounts Examiner

  2. Election of Electoral Roll Officer

  3. Election of Parochial Church Council

  4. Closing remarks

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Churchwarden's remarks

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Chairman's remarks

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St Lawrence Church, Bovingdon

Minutes of the

Annual Meeting of Parishioners

Tuesday 25[th] April 2023, 7:30pm

St Lawrence Church Hall

Revd Charles Burch (CEB) opened the meeting with the collect for the day from St Mark’s Gospel, whose author wrote a characteristically succinct and vivid account of Jesus’ ministry.

This was followed firstly by prayer for members of St Lawrence Church who are currently sick in hospital and others mourning their recently bereaved loved ones; and secondly for God’s guidance during the meeting.

24 parishioners were present.

Apologies: Alison Cartlidge, John Walker, Karin Vallis, Neil Crockett

1. Minutes of the AMP meeting Thursday 19th May 2022.

There being no amendments, these were approved unanimously by the meeting.

2. Matters arising from the minutes of the AMP meeting held Thursday 19th May 2022.

No matters arising from these minutes.

3. Election of Churchwardens.

There was one nomination for Chris West to stand as Churchwarden.

Proposed : Carol West Seconded : Penny Havercroft Agreed : Unanimously

CEB expressed his gratitude for all that CW had done in support of St Lawrence since September 2022 when he was co-opted as Churchwarden. He encouraged anyone thinking of filling the vacancy for a second Churchwarden to speak to him of CW.

The Annual Meeting of Parishioners closed at 7:42pm.

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St Lawrence Church, Bovingdon

Minutes of the

Annual Parochial Church Meeting

Tuesday 25[th] April 2023, 7:30pm

St Lawrence Church Hall

1. Minutes of the meeting held Thursday 20[th] May 2022 .

These were presented by Revd Burch ( CEB ) and unanimously accepted as a true record of the meeting.

2. Matters arising from the minutes of the meeting held Thursday 20th May 2022.

There were none.

3. Annual Reports.

I) Electoral Roll. Carol West reported that there have been 4 addition and 4 deletions from the electoral roll, which now stands at 98.

CEB thanked Carol for her work in this role. He mentioned that the membership of the PCC will continue to comprise 2 Deanery Synod representatives and 9 other elected members in addition to those in a non officio capacity.

II) Accounts for year ending 31st December 2022.

CEB invited Gary Cartlidge to present the treasurers report .

He highlighted a few items from the report.

The overall summary of funds for 2022 shows a deficit of £3,003,78, compared to a deficit of £8,406.08 for 2020. This improved position is attributable to various movements in the General Fund including miscellaneous income from the Diocesan energy fund and increased hall lettings since Covid restrictions eased off. Bank giving and envelopes went down from the previous year when attendance was low and parishioners responded to an appeal. However other collections have gone up helped by the Payaz onsite giving system. There was also less expenditure on fuel in the 12month period due to the timing of payment dates.

Transfers totalling £7,296.80 have been made from the Muriel Swan Legacy fund. (£5,410.40 for the extension architect’s fees and £1,886.40 to the Church Repairs and Maintenance Fund. )

CEB thanked GC profusely for the time and effort he had spent on keeping the accounts in order during trying personal circumstances, and for inducting RS into the role of treasurer. Further thanks were extended to Richard Owens and Mike Leon for their respective roles handling cash and envelope donations.

CEB also paid tribute to the Friends of St Lawrence (FoSL) for their ongoing financial support of repairs and maintenance of the Church building and Church yard, without which the premises could not be kept in good order.

Alison Woodhams proposed, and Tim Taylor seconded that the report be formally accepted; this was unanimously agreed.

III) Mission & Outreach report (non-statutory)

The report was included within the financial report. CEB mentioned that Mission and Charitable giving totalled £7,563 which represents approx. 7 % of our receipts. The principle recipients were Mercy Ships (£3,000 ) and the Red Cross Appeal for Ukraine (1,827).

.

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IV) Fabric, Goods & Ornaments report

PW had submitted a report. The long-awaited repair of the south east roof has been delayed for a few more weeks due to adverse weather and it is hoped the damage won’t be significantly worse as a result. Meanwhile surfacing repairs near the entrance to the car park have been completed.

PW echoed CEB’s thanks to the FoSL for raising the money for this and for repairs to the windows in the children’s corner.

PW said that the need for more work will no doubt come to light after the quinquennial inspection in July.

CEB thanked PW for her time and hard work in dealing with the fabric issues of the Church.

Gary Cartlidge proposed, and Gill Fisher seconded that the report be formally accepted; this was unanimously agreed.

V) Safeguarding Report

SB had submitted the Safeguarding report. He said that some working procedures had been addressed during the year but that no other matters of concern had occurred in that time.

Rob Shepard proposed, and Flick Crockett seconded that the report be formally accepted; this was unanimously agreed.

CEB expressed his thanks to Sean for his work in this valuable role, and for the help given by Helen Campbell who is co-ordinating the training records and DBS renewals. He appealed to everyone to undertake their safeguarding courses promptly when asked to do so. Gill Barratt asked if the upkeep of clergy safeguarding records is the responsibility of the parish. CEB said that these are kept by the diocese.

Rob Sheppard proposed, and Flick Crockett seconded that the report be formally accepted; this was unanimously agreed.

- VI) Children & Families Work (non statutory)

Alison Cartlidge had prepared this report.

CEB thanked Alison for all she has done in support of the young children of our Church over the past 5 years. He pointed out that a lot of this type of work had dried up in other churches during COVID but not so at St Lawrence. We owe her a huge debt of gratitude for her commitment to this role and are pleased that she is willing to lend her support to her successor, Angela Hodgkinson, who has made a great start.

- VII) Little Fish Update (non statutory)

Flick Crockett ( FC) presented the report she had prepared with Philippa Burch. It had been a very fruitful year with a wide range of activities and events, and new families getting involved. She echoed CEB’s thanks to Alison Cartlidge for her continued help and support.

CEB thanked all members of the Little Fish Team for their hard work and commitment to the role.

VIII)Pastoral Care: Warm Space Update

Dena Tyler gave a verbal report. The warm space and Dens satellite foodbank initiatives began in December and lasted until March 2023. A good number of volunteers had come forward from the church and the Ladybirds but there has not been much uptake from the community. This has been the experience generally across Dacorum, and Warm Spaces have now been discontinued generally.

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However, the team headed up by Jane Taylor and Dena Tyler want to experiment with a once-a-week coffee and chat morning in Church starting in June to offer anyone in the community a chance to come together. They hope that the Ladybirds will get involved again and would like someone to organise a rota of those in charge on the day.

CEB thanked DT for all that she does in a pastoral care capacity and also Jane Taylor for the way she stepped forward and organised the St Lawrence Warm Space so efficiently.

IX) Parochial Church Council Report

CW presented his report which consisted of a summary of topics covered at each of the 7 meetings held in the past 12 months. During this time the PCC had approved expenditure to maintain the Church building and agreed important steps to progress the Patience extension.

RS had worked alongside Gary Cartlidge to get to grips with the Church accounts which he has now officially taken over. The PCC agreed to advertise for a part time bookkeeper to assist him but RS has decided to wait and see how he manages the role of treasurer alongside his home and work commitments.

Wiebke Carr proposed, and Matt Williams seconded that the report be formally accepted; this was unanimously agreed.

CEB thanked all members of the PCC for their help and support throughout the year. He has been struck by the willingness of so many members of the Church to help out in a variety of ways. He thanked Dena Tyler and Penny Havercroft in particular for taking on the roll of sidesmen for the 8.00 am Service.

X) Deanery Synod Report

GF presented the report and said that meetings are now held face-to-face which works much better. The rural Dean, Simon Cutmore, is particularly committed to progressing the young people’s

mental health project which is centred on the southern end of the deanery. CEB said that we needn’t feel overlooked as there is always an opportunity to get involved in projects like this at the right time.

Gary Cartlidge proposed, and Carol West seconded, that the report be formally accepted; this was unanimously agreed.

XI) Churchyard Update. (non-statutory)

CEB presented the report prepared by Gary Cullum. CEB stated that the Churchyard continues to look really good and that the Churchyard team do a great job getting together on the first Saturday of each month.

CEB thanked Gary Cullum and all the Churchyard team for their dedication to keeping it in such good order.

XII) EcoChurch

RS presented the report and was pleased to say that the Church had achieved its Bronze Award under the EcoChurch scheme during the year. Blister packs and batteries for recycling have been added alongside the soft plastics collections. More volunteers would be welcomed to help with these initiatives and other efforts to reduce our environmental impact going forward.

- XIII)Events & Activities (non statutory)

CEB presented the report prepared by HK. The Easter Egg Hunt was popular as usual and there were good attendances at the Summer Fete and the Christmas Market.

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CEB offered huge thanks to HK for all her hard work in co-ordinating these activities and to her helpers, including Nikki O’Hara, working hard in the background. He was pleased to say that three volunteers have come forward to organise the 2023 Summer Fete.

4. Appointment of Independent Accounts Examiner .

David Barr will be approached to see if he is happy to continue in the role of Independent Examiner.

Gary Cartlidge proposed, and Carol West seconded the appointment subject to him accepting the request. This was unanimously agreed.

5. Appointment of Electoral Roll Officer .

Carol West said that she was willing to continue.

Matt Williams proposed and Alison Woodhams seconded the appointment; this was unanimously agreed.

CEB again thanked Carol for her work as Electoral Roll officer, and for the work she does updating CCLI and ensuring we are compliant with the various licence conditions, which now include video usage.

6. Election of Parochial Church Council.

CW informed the meeting that Rob Shepherd, Pauline Wright, and Sean Bolton were due for re-election to the PCC for another 3-year period and were nominated.

An additional 4 nominations were received to fill the exiting vacancies. They were elected for the time periods shown below, to ensure that only 1/3 of the PCC elected members were due for re-election each year.

All of the above mentioned were duly elected to serve on the PCC.

Flick Crockett & Alison Woodhams were nominated and elected as Deanery Synod representatives.

CEB reiterated his thanks to all members of the PCC for their time and dedication to the role.

8. Any other Business. None

9. Closing Remarks

Church Warden’s remarks: CW said it was very good to be returning to the ‘new normal’ and that there are so many people to thank for the smooth running of everything that happens at Church. In particular he mentioned Penny Havercroft and Dena Tyler for taking over the duties at the 8.00 am service. He thanked the sidesteams coordinated by Flick Crockett, Sue Deacon, John Walker and Alison Woodhams. Besides these, there are people who serve in a myriad of ways from gardening to helping out at events. He recognised the important role the Church plays in creating opportunities for the community to come together again post Covid. He highlighted the invaluable support of the FoSL in raising funds to maintain the Church. Sadly we had lost two stalwarts from our congregations over the past year; Jane West and most recently Allan Brown, who had played a big part in Church life over many years.

Finally, CW thanked CEB for all that he continues to do nurture our faith and care for us all.

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Chairman’s Remarks: CEB reflected on the past year and said that Easter Sunday had been a real highlight with a capacity congregation. There had been a problem with the sound system, but this was overshadowed by the way the service had been so utterly joyful. He acknowledged how willingly people offer help when it’s needed; whether its fixing the sound system in a hurry or staying long after services have finished to clear up.

CEB said he was excited to have appointed Angela Hodgkinson as our new Children and Families Worker who has settled well into the role so ably performed by Alison previously. He extended particular thanks to the Ministry team for their hard work over the past year: Rev’d Hilary Kemp as Associate Priest and Gill Barratt as Reader, Organist, and Director of Music. Chris O’Hara currently works as a Discipleship Enabler and helps to support the young people in the Church. He is hoping to go forward to stage 2 in the process of ordination.

CEB also thanked Helen Campbell our Administrator who does so much that is unseen from managing the church hall, to making arrangements for weddings, baptisms, funerals etc and much more.

He is optimistic about the fulfilment of the extension project and said he hoped to see building commence in the next 18 months - 2 years.

He encouraged people to continue to pray for our Church and how to engage in the life of it.

Close: The meeting closed with prayer at 8.43pm

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St Lawrence Church Bovingdon - Finance Report 2023

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Incumbent :

Rev. Charles Burch 10 Church Street Bovingdon Herts HP3 0LU

Treasurer:

Mr. Rob Sheppard Martlets, Church Lane Bovingdon Herts HP3 0HS

Independent Examiner:

Mr. David Barr FCBI Finchley House Bovingdon Green Bovingdon Herts HP3 0LB

Independent Examiner’s report to the Parochial Church Council of St. Lawrence, Bovingdon

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This report on the accounts of the PCC for the year ended 31[st] December 2023, which are set out on pages 3 to 9 is in respect of an examination carried out in accordance with the Church Accounting Regulations (‘the Regulations’) and s.145 of the Charities Act 2011 (‘the Act’)

Respective responsibilities of the PCC and the examiner

As members of the PCC you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts; you consider that the audit requirement of the Regulations and s.144(2) of the Act does not apply. It is my responsibility to issue this report on those accounts in accordance with the terms of the Regulations.

Basis of this report

My examination was carried out in accordance with the General Directions given by the Charities Commission under s.145(5)(b) of the Act and to be found in the Church guidance 2006 edition. That examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the PCC and a comparison of those accounts with those records, it also includes considering any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts and seeking explanation s from you as trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit, and consequently I do not express an audit opinion on the view given by the accounts.

Independent examiner’s statement

In connection with my examination, no matter has come to my attention:

  1. Which gives reasonable cause to believe that in any material respect the requirements:

  2. a. To keep accounting records in accordance with section 130 of the Act and:

  3. b. To prepare accounts which accord with accounting records and comply with the requirements of the Act and the Regulations have not been met; or

  4. To which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

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Introduction

Overall in 2023 SLCB has had a positive year financially with income and expenditure broadly in line and progress made on several key tangible projects without significant impact to overall funds.

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Overall income of £164,439 and overall expenditure of £164,879 meant a small deficit over the year of under £500 in 2023

This is compares to deficits of 3k in 2022 and £8.4k in 2021

2020 saw a surplus but costs were significantly reduced by the impact of Covid lockdowns..

It is important to note that 2023 has a few key differences to previous years. Overall income and expenditure are both significantly higher than in previous years which is due to two factors. Increasing costs and donations relating to the ‘Patience’ project and the impact of the repairs to the South-East parapet.

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These costs are broken out here to show the impact of these changes on the overall year position

2024 will see increased costs due to the ‘Patience’ project and there is likely to be at least one more significant bill to complete the SE Parapet repair works.

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Summary Balance Sheet

Statement of Assets and Liabilities (by code)

Class and nominal code Total Last year
Fixed Asset - Tangible Assets
1403: Computer Equipment £922.68 £772.53
Total
£922.68		 £772.53
Current Asset - Cash At Bank And In Hand
1500: CafCash Current A/c £11,458.54 £6,098.54
1501: Cambridge Building Society £89,707.34 £86,421.77
1503: CafCash Gold Account £18,134.81 £6,695.99
1504: Virgin Deposit Account £66,881.78 £86,443.75
Total £186,182.47 £185,660.05
Liability - Creditors: Amounts Falling Due In One Year
Z04: Accounts Payable - -
Total
-		 -
Net total assets £187,105.15 £186,432.58
Represented by
General (Unrestricted) £12,465.08 £3,136.05
Designated - Building £10,000.00 £10,000.00
Designated - Outreach £436.17 £757.47
Restricted - Cyard £3,453.62 £2,454.48
Restricted - Goff £4,450.00 £4,500.00
Restricted - Pass Thru - £140.00
Restricted - Swan £130,723.88 £135,874.46
Restricted - Youth £25,576.40 £29,570.12
Total £187,105.15 £186,432.58

Fund movement summary

Fund Opening Incoming Outgoing Transfers Gains/
Losses		 Closing
Goff
Restricted £4,500.00 - - -£50.00 - £4,450.00
General
Unrestricted £3,136.05 £127,105.29 £119,078.26 £190.00 £1,112.00 £12,465.08
Building
Designated £10,000.00 £10,987.56 £11,387.41 £399.85 - £10,000.00
Outreach
Designated £757.47 - £321.30 - - £436.17
Pass Thru
Restricted £140.00 £7,558.11 £7,558.11 -£140.00 - -
Patience Project
Restricted - £11,163.60 £19,199.90 £8,036.30 - -
Swan
Restricted £135,874.46 £3,285.57 - -£8,436.15 - £130,723.88
Cyard
Restricted £2,454.48 £999.14 - - - £3,453.62
Youth
Restricted £29,570.12 £3,340.00 £7,333.72 - - £25,576.40
Totals £186,432.58 £164,439.27 £164,878.70 - £1,112.00 £187,105.15

Notes on Fund Movements

Analysis of income and expenditure

Total

Total
This year
Last year
Incoming resources
Donations, Legacies and similar incoming resources
1101 - Bank Giving
1102 - Envelope scheme
1103 - Income tax recovered
1104 - S/school collections
1105 - Church collections
1106 - Sundry donations
1108 - Card Reader Receipts
1109 - Friends of St Lawrence
1111 - Parish Giving Scheme
1112 - Fees - PCC
1113 - Fees - Diocese
1171 - Restricted donations
1172 - Maintenance Credit
Donations, Legacies and similar incoming resources Totals
Activities in furtherance of the charity's objects
Activities in furtherance of the charity's objects Totals
Activities for generating funds
1115 - Lettings - St Lawrence Hall
1116 - Events Income
1117 - Lettings - Office
Activities for generating funds Totals		 £16,879.21
£17,926.41
£1,823.97
£1,943.90
£18,783.44
£13,912.41
-
-
£2,343.24
£1,857.99
£4,020.69
£4,162.97
£6,158.99
£4,153.63
£33,175.33
-
£34,783.07
£29,323.97
£10,589.00
£8,699.42
£4,696.00
£4,046.00
£11,000.00
-
-
-
£144,252.94
£86,026.70
-
-
£4,997.25
£2,243.50
£3,423.26
£4,763.80
-
-
£8,420.51
£7,007.30

Investment income

1121 - Churchyard Endowment
1122 - Investment Income
1123 - Verger Plot Income
1124 - Bank Interest
Investment income Totals
Other incoming resources
1173 - Miscellaneous Income
1175 - Costs Incl in PCC Fees
Other incoming resources Totals
Incoming resources Grand totals
Resources used
Costs of generating funds
1313 - Hall - Cleaning
1314 - Hall - Insurance
1315 - Hall - PLH
1316 - Hall Maintenance
1322 - Hall - Rent & rates
Costs of generating funds Totals
Grants payable in furtherance of charity's objects
1331 - Outreach & Mission Allocation
1332 - Church societies
1333 - Charities
Grants payable in furtherance of charity's objects Totals
Activities in furtherance of the charity's objects
1301 - Vicars Expenses
1302 - Visiting Preachers
1303 - Books
1304 - Music
1305 - Diocesan Common Fund
1306 - Church Insurance
1310 - Church PLH
1311 - Routine maintenance
1317 - Churchyard Insurance
1318 - Churchyard Maint.
1319 - Sunday School Exes
1320 - Other Service Costs
1321 - Misc Expenses		 £1,335.78
£1,287.46
-
-
£1,930.33
£1,919.71
£3,972.73
£1,682.50
£7,238.84
£4,889.67
£1,130.98
£4,536.53
£3,396.00
£3,915.08
£4,526.98
£8,451.61
£164,439.27
£106,375.28
£1,091.00
£1,085.00
-
-
£2,720.16
£2,177.55
£3,439.80
£1,320.83
-
-
£7,250.96
£4,583.38
-
-
-
-
£6,271.89
£7,563.00
£6,271.89
£7,563.00
£409.79
£348.67
£152.00
-
£636.03
£470.48
£1,046.72
-
£53,029.00
£52,003.00
£4,425.14
£4,269.69
£6,498.81
£5,662.29
£45,593.44
£9,391.78
-
-
£4,731.30
£1,010.00
£1,055.32
£191.65
£145.19
£2,529.57
£6,113.16
£4,156.36
1323 - Costs recharged via PCC Fees
1329 - Family Praise
1330 - Growing in Grace
1334 - VACANT
Activities in furtherance of the charity's objects Totals
Support costs
1340 - Depreciation charge
1351 - Bank charges
Support costs Totals
Expenditure on managing-administering the charity
1307 - Salaries - Admin
1308 - Rent & Rates - Office
1309 - Postage & Printing
1312 - Telephone
Expenditure on managing-administering the charity Totals
Resources used Grand totals		 £3,396.00
£3,915.08
-
-
-
-
-
-
£127,231.90
£83,948.57
£961.85
£694.92
£60.00
£128.72
£1,021.85
£823.64
£19,573.03
£9,965.05
-
-
£2,409.60
£2,087.82
£1,119.47
£407.60
£23,102.10
£12,460.47
£164,878.70
£109,379.06

Notes on Income and Expenditure

Funds held by St Albans Diocesan Board of Finance for Graveyard and Graves

Shares Value £.pp
Investment Fund
Cowley 306 6,917.22 Grave Restricted
Dance 73 1,650.19 Churchyard Restricted
Elwes 236 5,334.85 Church & Churchyard Restricted
Loydall 154 3,481.22 Church & Churchyard Restricted
Hill 54 1,220.69 Church & Churchyard Restricted
Reeks 106 2,396.16 Church & Churchyard Restricted
Menheneott 146 3,300.37 Church & Churchyard Restricted
Stewart Evans 339 7,663.20 Church & Churchyard Restricted
Travers 187 4,227.19 Grave Restricted
Groves 107 2,418.77 Church & Churchyard Restricted
Reeve 250 5,651.32 Church & Churchyard Restricted
Nash 55 1,243.29 Churchyard Restricted
Riches 68 1,537.16 Churchyard Restricted
Total Investment Fund 47,041.63 Bid market value
Deposit Fund
Druce 306 Churchyard Restricted
Stewart Evans 860.75 Church & Churchyard Restricted
Reeve 1,000.00 Churchyard Restricted
Total Deposit Fund 2,166.75
Other Funds held by St Albans Diocesan Board
Investment
Fund		 3124 £22.61 70,618.96 Vergers Plot Designated
GRAND TOTAL at 31st December
2023		 119,827.34
Value at 31st December 2022 109,601.93

Mission Giving Report 2023

Charity General Pass Through Total
ABCD £1,177.50 £705.93 £1,883.43
Bishops Harvest Appeal £111.29 £422.34 £533.63
Mercy Ships £100.00 £100.00
Christian Aid (Ukraine) £44.74 £44.74
Christian Aid (Turkey
Earthquake)		 £125.63 £465.25 £590.88
Childrens Society £20.00 £20.00
Dens £41.65 £163.80 £205.45
HACRO £2,000.00 £2,000.00
Help for Heroes £47.55 £222.37 £269.92
Royal British Legion £47.55 £222.37 £269.92
T4U Shoeboxes £343.92 £10.00 £353.92
Total £3,895.09 £2,376.80 £6,271.89
Bibles for Children £321.30

Fabric Report 2023-24

Southeast Parapet

Preliminary work on the SE parapet revealed more extensive damage, made worse using modern concrete during a repair in the 1980’s. The whole parapet therefore had to be taken down and rebuilt.

In preparing to complete the required work on the gutter and outfall, the contractors discovered pinholes in the guttering which have let water through. The gutter is soft underfoot, indicating rotting timber underneath. After much debate with the Diocese, who wanted us to replace the entire length of gutter along the south aisle, a compromise solution has been agreed. Work was due to start at the end of March to cut away approx. 3m of guttering, assess the state of the timber underneath, replace with new timber and then install a new piece of gutter. The whole length of gutter will then be treated with a waterproof compound. This is viewed as an interim solution, giving us time to come up with a longer-term plan for permanent repair.

The Friends of St Lawrence have kindly met the cost so far but may not be willing to continue to write a blank cheque for this work.

Window Restoration

Window repairs in the children’s corner and north clerestory were undertaken at a cost of £3,200.00. The Friends have kindly funded this.

Church Yard Car Park

The Friends have also funded resurfacing of the car park entrance.

Quinquennial Inspection

This took place in July. The report is still outstanding. Some repairs to the north aisle roof may be needed, apart from that there are no major issues.

Memorial Garden

The 46 spaces for interment of ashes created in 2013 are nearly all occupied. A plan is being drawn up for an outer semicircle of stones.

Pauline Wright March 2024

Report from the Parish Safeguarding Officer (PSO) and Safer Recruitment Lead

At the 2023 APCM, Sean Bolton was confirmed as PSO and Carol West was voted in to continue her work as Safer Recruiting Lead. In November, Wiebke Carr took over from Sean as he is planning on moving away from Bovingdon.

Since then, Carol and I have taken Sean’s work further to establish a culture of Safeguarding throughout all of the activities in St Lawrence.

Subsequently, the PCC has approved an updated safeguarding policy following the updated guidance published by the House of Bishops.

Alongside this, we have clarified which post holder has to provide DBS checks and which post holders need to complete which level of safeguarding training. We have also established a minimal requirement of reading a safeguarding leaflet for any volunteer who works with children and vulnerable people. Wiebke is keeping track of these but there are gaps in undertaking and updating the Safeguarding Basic Awareness and Foundation.

Carol has established an excellent knowledge and procedures to ensure all DBS checks are conducted and recorded in a timely manner. She also worked tirelessly to sort out the email address safeguarding@stlawrencebovingdon.com. Which is now being used to report any safeguarding concerns or questions. So far, no concerns have been raised.

Risk assessments are currently carried out by the individual event organisers and a copy is sent to and kept by Charles.

Going forward, we will need to tighten the fulfilment of requirements for DBS and training which we are considering to arrange as a communal training session.

Through the actions described in this report the PCC has complied with its duty to safeguard children and vulnerable adults in the work of St Lawrence Church.

Carol West & Wiebke Carr April 2024

Report from The Children and Families Worker

May 2023 -March 2024

It has been an honour and a privilege to be working for the St Lawrence Church community for 15hrs/wk since April 2023. I have been very well supported and welcomed and the transition from Alison Cartlidge has been made easy for me. Many thanks to Alison and Charles for all their help in this process.

I have mainly been involved in running the children’s (and adult’s) groups after church, including yearly events. We have recently also started a Youth Group for Yr7-11s which has been going well. I also assist wherever there is other need. I have also been doing assemblies at Bovingdon Academy for Key Stage 1 & 2

Assemblies at Bovingdon Academy

I have led assemblies at Bovingdon Academy, first assisting and now doing them on my own. This has been a wonderful way of getting to know the children in the village better. We have had fun acting out Bible stories and talking about Easter. This usually happens once a month.

Explorers at Church (7-11s)

We continue to meet once a month during term time (usually 4[th] Sunday). We have various helpers. I have led the group in all sessions and Carol West has been a faithful supporter with music and support in most sessions. Some of the children have moved up to “Youth” now so we will need to work on recruiting more children for this group.

Outdoor Church

A successful outdoor church service was organised and led by Rev Charles Burch this year. I added some prayer activity in the garden for children and family members.

Messy Church (all Ages)

Messy Church, our all-age Sunday afternoon gathering, has continued each month. It is a wonderful community-orientated session which is always warm and friendly, and I always enjoy it.

I usually lead the session with the amazing support, advice and ideas from Phillipa Burch, Alison Cartlidge, and Felicity Crockett. We always explore a Christian theme through craft, quizzes, songs, puppet shows, eating together, and discussion. We have a great time with many returning each month to participate. Volunteers help prepare the food, and also help to run the session.

Craft in Church

Craft activities have continued in church during Family Communion services. These have been original and creative and have been led by various people in the Little Fish Team including Wiebke, Felicity, Alison and more. And many helpers, like Catherine, have been involved and greatly appreciated for their help.

Youth Group

I am very excited about our new group. We started a Youth Group for Yr6-9 three months ago. I have two committed helpers in Celeste Gee and Felicity Crockett. The response has been overwhelming. We have had our third session and between

13-20 attend each week. Youth is a combination of fun games and activities, and we are also using Scripture Union material called “Rooted”. This material helps to build friendships within the group and opens gentle conversations round faith.

Events:

Crazy Hat Day March 2023: The Crazy Hat Day was an outside event during the Easter holidays. Friends, family, and locals came and made Easter bonnets and Easter gardens. Those attending got to take home and keep with them for Easter. We will be running a similar event this year – Egg Blowing this time with Easter Garden making again.

“Heroes” Prayer Adventure Day Sept 2023: Was a fun filled day where children got to walk around the church garden to different stations each with a fun activity or craft. The theme was Heroes of the Bible and each station had an activity that related to that Hero. We had about 7 wonderful helpers from the church.

Wreath Making Event Dec 2023: Nearly 20 women participated in our first wreath making event which I arranged. This included friends and family of those attending the Church. It was a relationship building event and was well received and pretty much everyone wanted to do another event this year. The wreaths looked beautiful, and we will definitely have confidence going forward to replicate this event.

Nativity Dec 2023: Hilary handed over the organisation of the nativity this year to me. It was a huge learning curve in recruiting participants and bringing it all together in one practice. I made the decision to get the children more involved this year with more reading parts. We sang a new Christmas song “Star Bright” and I think it was really well received.

Some areas to think about:

We would still to create some kind of communal cupboard for all the craft materials so that everyone can have access to them.

Recruiting volunteers is always an important aspect and one I probably need to work on.

Aspirations & Plans:

I hope many families will join us as we venture to Wildfires Family Camp this year I also hope to get the St Lawrence families away for a night camping at a nearby farm. This is all in process.

I am also arranging for the Youth to do a combined event with St Paul’s Chipperfield youth group in May. And we are looking at a summer get together for the youth too.

Many thanks to all the lovely Little Fish team and Charles & Philippa for a wonderful year. I hope that the kids work will grow from strength to strength as we trust in God for his provision and leading.

Angela Hodkinson

Little Fish Report May 2023 – March 2024

It has been lovely to work alongside Angela Hodkinson as the new childrens worker and see her develop the role over the year . She has encouraged our young children to deepen their faith and learn about Jesus through fun games, activities, music and prayer.

The Little Fish Team aim to reach out to as many people as possible who have appeared in church over the last few years. We do this by regularly sending out personal invitations to special services and events. This always results in several people attending and being pleased to have been invited. The services they have been invited to have included Stir up Sunday, all Christmas services, and Candlemass. We focus on people who have not been to church for a while.

We held our ‘Back to school Barbeque’ in September which proved popular again with a large number of families attending - thank you to all those who helped with the BBQ and games.

The Christmas children’s Nativity and Crib services were wonderful, joyous occasions with a lot of families being involved, and a number of new families welcomed.

We held our Fathers and Children event to make posies for Mothering Sunday whilst the mothers had a relaxing time enjoying cream tea and prosecco at Flick’s house. Great fun was had by all and some very good flower arrangements were made.

We look forward to celebrating Easter this year and the Little Fish Team have already planned an Easter Garden making and egg blowing afternoon on Maundy Thursday, and an Easter egg hunt after the service.

The ‘St Lawrence Families’ Whatsapp is continuing really well in helping us to communicate with the wider church family. Feedback from the families has been very positive and it has certainly helped us to encourage families to join us for services and events during the year.

We have had a large number of families attending Family Praise over the year, but not all at the same time. Therefore, at some services we may have 14 or more children and other times 4 or less. It continues to be difficult to find people to commit on a regular basis to helping with Little Fish activities. However, we are aware of other commitments families have over the weekend with their children, and very much appreciate it when they are able to attend. When it rains and matches are cancelled the children might be disappointed, but we are thrilled to see them!

One change we have made this year is to stop pathways at the end of Primary School. At our Back-to-School Barbeque those moving up to Secondary School were presented with a book and their pathway sheets with a big round of applause to acknowledge this step and moving up to St Lawrence Youth Group.

We are delighted to have welcomed new families to Family Praise over the year. Our music band to help us with our worship in Family Praise and Family

Communion is still a work in progress, but we love it when it comes together as seen in the Mothering Sunday Service.

Flick and Philippa would very much like to thank the Little Fish team (Wiebke Carr, Carol West, Amanda Hibbert, Angela Hodgkinson, Alison Cartlidge, Amanda Lawes, Karen Wright, and Sue Williams) for all the hard work they have done this year. We would love to have new members!

Flick Crockett and Philippa Burch March 2024

Update on St Lawrence Church Welcome Café for PCC Annual Report 2024

St Lawrence Church Welcome Café is the fulfilment of one of our mission aims to reach out to the local community in Bovingdon and the surrounding areas.

The Welcome Café opened in November 2022, with volunteers from St Lawrence Church and Ladybirds hosting the café between 10am and 12 noon on Thursday mornings. It was a slow start but we persevered and the Welcome Café is now wellestablished and welcoming regular and new visitors every week for coffee and cake.

During the winter months we opt for the warmth of St Lawrence Church Hall. However, with the prolonged rain during recent months, we have had the occasional hitch! Like the time Charles and Helen had to wade through the church hall carpark when it flooded and rescue visitors by car. This caused much merriment for all!

During the summer months the Welcome Café takes place in St Lawrence Church, when we welcome all residents, walking groups and people passing through the churchyard. Visitors with dogs are welcome, we have a ready supply of dog biscuits so that dogs can have a treat too!

There is no charge for refreshments and all the donations to the Welcome Café are used to purchase supermarket vouchers to provide occasional support for local families. During Lent, the Welcome Café donations will be given to DENs to support their work with the homeless in Hemel Hempstead and the surrounding areas.

After Easter, we hope to move our Welcome Café back to St Lawrence Church for the summer months. We would welcome any new volunteers from the church or local community who can help on a regular or occasional basis to set up the space, serve refreshments, bake a cake or talk with our visitors.

Dena Tyler March 2024

PCC Secretary’s Report on the work of the PCC: 2023-24

Six PCC meetings and one extraordinary meeting were held over this period. These were a hybrid mix of Zoom video meetings and in person ones.

This report outlines the decisions and appointments made at each meeting.

25.04.23 Extraordinary Meeting of the PCC (after the APCM)

11.05.23 (In Person)

Vice Chair Alison Woodhams Treasurer Rob Sheppard Secretary June Gossling Churchyard Officer Gary Cullum (not an elected member of PCC) Safeguarding Officer Sean Bolton Health & Safety Dr Rodd McMillan (not an elected member of PCC) Fabric Officer Pauline Wright

 The following were ex-officio or co-opted members of the PCC: Chair Revd Charles Burch Associate Priest Revd Hilary Kemp Church Warden(s) Chris West (One Vacancy) Deanery Synod Reps Alison Woodhams, Flick Crockett Reader Gill Barrett Friends of St L Rep Pauline Wright Standing Committee Charles Burch (Chair) Alison Woodhams (vice-chair) Revd Hilary Kemp Flick Crockett Rob Sheppard (Treasurer) June Gossling (Secretary)

25.07.23 (In Church)

28.09.2023 (In St Lawrence Hall)

21.11.23 (Video)

18.01.24 (Video).

19.03.24 (St Lawrence Hall).

June Gossling (PCC Secretary) March 2024

Deanery Synod 2023 Report

St Lawrence Church is part of the Rickmansworth Deanery. The other member churches are St Paul’s - Chipperfield, Holy Cross - Sarratt, Christ Church - Chorleywood, St Andrew’s - Chorleywood, All Saint’s - Croxley Green, St Oswald’s – Croxley Green, St John’s – Heronsgate, St Peter’s – Mill End, St Mary’s – Rickmansworth, St Thomas’s – West Hyde.

The rural Dean is Simon Cutmore, who is Vicar of Mill End with Heronsgate and West Hyde.

There were 3 meetings in 2023 and the main topics covered are outline below.

Ruth Dennigan - the new Growing vocations and lay ministry officer (which she job shares with Simon Moore) – came to talk to the March meeting. This is the role that has taken on the work Charles did as Vocations Officer. Among the points she raised

Prof Nicola Slee, a prominent poet & academic, came to the November meeting to talk about ‘Sabbath the hidden heartbeat of our lives.’ Prof. Slee gave an interesting and thought-provoking talk in four sections, about the many different meanings of the Sabbath. This included a short break out section for group discussion and an opportunity for comment at the end.

At every meeting we talked about the deanery Trinity project supporting young people with mental health issues. The project is now set up as a charity in its own right. Charlotte Barton is the project’s worker, and has been spending time at Rickmansworth school, outside, interacting with students. St Oswald’s’ Donut club for year 6/7 transition students has had up to 30 children joining in with games, doughnuts and drinks. It was originally only to have been for the first half of the term but has now been extended with monthly sessions to the end of term. At St Peter’s Mill End, Pete’s Café has been running with 8 to 15 attending. A suicide prevention scheme has provided funding for two courses per term for three years. The project is for both Primary and secondary school students.

Simon, the Rural Dean, also came to the September meeting of our PCC to talk about the project. Further information can be found here: https://www.trinityproject.uk/

Deanery Synod Representatives - Alison Woodhams & Flick Crockett