# **Parish of St. Anne, Lydgate, Oldham Part of the Saddleworth Team** ## **Deanery of Oldham East** ## **Diocese of Manchester** # **ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS OF THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL** **For the year ending 31[st] December 2021** Page 1 ## **Contents** ## **Contents** Agenda .................................................................................................................................................... 4 St Anne’s Lydgate, 2021 Annual Vestry and APCM Minutes .................................................................. 5 Administrative Information .................................................................................................................... 9 Standing Committee ........................................................................................................................... 9 Church Buildings Committee .............................................................................................................. 9 Worship Committee ............................................................................................................................ 9 Fund Raising Committee ..................................................................................................................... 9 Task Groups ......................................................................................................................................... 9 The Parochial Church Council - Objectives and Activities ................................................................... 9 Church Services ................................................................................................................................. 10 Reports .................................................................................................................................................. 11 Electoral Roll Officer’s Report ............................................................................................................... 11 Team Rector’s Report ........................................................................................................................... 11 Safeguarding Officer (Responsible for Children and Adults) ................................................................ 12 Churchwarden Report including the Fabric of the Church, The Churchyard and the Goods and Ornaments ............................................................................................................................................ 13 Parochial Church Council in 2021 ......................................................................................................... 14 Church Building Committee .................................................................................................................. 16 Worship Committee .............................................................................................................................. 18 Report from the Sexton ........................................................................................................................ 19 St Anne’s EcoGroup............................................................................................................................... 20 Fund Raising Committee ....................................................................................................................... 21 Lydgate Community Association Report ............................................................................................... 21 Coffee Team .......................................................................................................................................... 23 Card Distribution Report ....................................................................................................................... 23 Flower Team ......................................................................................................................................... 24 Junior Church ........................................................................................................................................ 24 Creche ................................................................................................................................................... 25 Page 2 Rose Queen ........................................................................................................................................... 25 Girl Guiding Associations ...................................................................................................................... 26 Guides ............................................................................................................................................... 26 Brownies ........................................................................................................................................... 26 Boy Scouting Associations ..................................................................................................................... 26 Beavers (children aged 6-8) .............................................................................................................. 27 Cubs (children aged 8 - 10 ½) ............................................................................................................ 27 Scouts (children aged 10 ½ to 14) ..................................................................................................... 27 Junior Leaders ................................................................................................................................... 28 Group Scout Leadership and Administration .................................................................................... 28 Safeguarding Policy – Promoting a Safer Church .................................................................................. 29 POLICY STATEMENT ON CHILDREN, YOUNG PEOPLE & THE CHURCH .................................................. 30 POLICY STATEMENT ON SAFEGUARDING OF ADULTS .......................................................................... 31 Page 3 ## **Agenda** ## **St Anne’s Church, Lydgate, Oldham** ## Sunday 8[th] May in Church immediately after the 11.00am service ---------------------------------------------------------- ## **Annual (Vestry) Meeting of the Parishioners Agenda** Election of the Church Wardens for the year 2022/23 ---------------------------------------------------------- ## **Annual Parochial Church Meeting Agenda** 1. Opening Prayers 2. Apologies for Absence 3. Approval of minutes of the APCM held 25[th] April 2021 4. Presentation of the General Report 5. Treasurer’s Financial Report 6. Electoral Roll Report 7. Child Protection Report 8. Elections of; PCC members Deanery Synod Representatives Charities to Support Examiner of accounts Date of next PCC meeting: 14[th] June 2022 Page 4 ## **St Anne’s Lydgate, 2021 Annual Vestry and APCM Minutes** Sunday 25[th] April 2021 Present: Rev’d Canon Sharon Jones (Chair), David Marshall (Minute Secretary), Al Gillian (Treasurer), Frank Boocock, Susan Fleming, Joanne Coxon, Anne Smith, Jennifer Greenwood, Rev’d Pat Gillian, Gwen Morton, John Pearson, Kath Hodges, Rachel Damianou, David Lloyd, Janet Lloyd, Margaret Schofield, Joyce Devenport. Apologies: Brian Devenport, Sue Willett ## **Annual Easter vestry meeting** Canon Sharon opened the meeting. Sharon explained that David Marshall is standing down as church warden after 6 years of services. On behalf of St Anne’s, Sharon thanked David for his service. Sharon then asked for nominations for this year. There was only one nomination: |Name|Proposer|Seconder| |---|---|---| |Anne Smith|John Pearson|Joyce Devenport| Sharon asked if anybody was willing to stand as a second church warden. Nobody came forward. Sharon asked who was in favour of Anne becoming church warden. All were in favour. A point of thank you was made to Anne for agreeing to stand. Sharon then asked who would stand as deputy church warden. Sharon explained the importance of the role especially as Anne will be the sole church warden and thanked those who had agreed to support Anne in this role. David Marshall also explained the help he had received off the deputy wardens whilst he had been church warden had been invaluable and he thanked them for their support. The following agreed to stand as deputy church wardens: - John Pearson - David Lloyd - Joanne Coxon - Brian Devenport Page 5 - Jennifer Greenwood There were no objections so all will stand as deputy church wardens over the next year. There being no further business the Annual Vestry closed. ## **Annual Parishioners Council Meeting** ## **Approval of minutes of APCM held 27[th] September 2020** No amendments to the minutes had been requested. Therefore the minutes were approved as being an accurate reflection of the meeting. ## **Presentation of the General Report** The General Report had been distributed prior to this meeting. Sharon gave people an opportunity to read through and asked for any comments about the report. Joyce Devenport reiterated the points made in the Flower Team section explaining that they were desperate for new volunteers. In addition to this, Joyce further explained there was also a need for new sponsorship for church flowers as there are now quite a few vacancies throughout the year. Joyce was encouraged to use new means of attracting new members and was signposted towards St Anne’s social media pages. Susan Fleming also pointed out there is also a need for additional helpers in junior church and crèche now that Jo Lyons and Janet Lloyd have stepped down. Suggestions were made of some of the new families in church and whether the parents might be asked. It was pointed out that as things stand at the moment there is not an urgent need as there is no crèche due to social distancing reasons and junior church is currently closed too due to the parish hall being closed. Susan also pointed out that she had given the PCC twelve months’ notice before she stands down at the APCM. There were no further comments about the report. ## **Treasurer’s Financial Report** The Treasurer’s Financial Report had also been circulated prior to the meeting and Sharon made a point of thanks to Al for his work as treasurer at St Anne’s. Page 6 Al explained it is currently a difficult time, financially for St Anne’s and 2020 was extremely tough. Fee income had dropped due to the decline in weddings and funerals as the church was forced to close but the amount of donations made to St Anne’s had increased. Al said that at the year end, we had liquid funds of approximately £20,000. Although a number of our parishioners had changed the way in which they donate to St Anne’s from giving through the collection plate to standing order, giving was down in the year in comparison to 2019. Consequently so was the tax recovered through Gift Aid. The lockdowns of 2020 did reduce some of our expenditure. However, this was not the case with the Parish Share which increased from the figure 2019. Al explained that due to our own financial situation, we were unable to pay the parish share in full. A question was asked about the Parish Share, how this was calculated and what it was. Al and Sharon explained the Parish Share was based on the attendance and financial surveys usually carried out in October (not 2020). The Parish Share is used to pay clergy costs across the whole diocese as well as the costs of the supporting staff based at Church House. Al further explained that the parish share had again increased in 2021 and he expected St Anne’s to pay approximately half of the assessment. Sharon said we are not alone and many churches throughout the diocese are in a similar position to us. Sharon said there are lots of challenges ahead to increase income but hopefully, as time goes on, this will happen when we are able to fully reopen. Joanne Coxon expressed the need for fundraising ideas. Kath Hodges explained that due to the current situation the fundraising committee had found it difficult to hold events etc. Sharon said we need to make plans now for events to be held in the Autumn and these need to be aimed at everyone who comes to church. Jennifer Greenwood explained that in addition to the fundraising aspect, the social interaction which these events promote is so important as we continue to come out of lockdown. Going forward Joanne Coxon agreed to plan and co-ordinate fundraising events. There being no further questions, the financial report was accepted unanimously. ## **Electoral Roll Report** Rachel Damianou, our Electoral Roll Officer, made reference to her report which had been included in the General Report. A question was asked as to how many were on the Electoral Roll as of the date of the APCM – Rachel confirmed there were now 99 on the roll and this had remained constant since the last APCM. Canon Sharon thanked Rachel for her work in maintaining the roll. ## **Child Protection Report** Susan Fleming, our Safeguarding Officer, read out the Safe Church Policy. Page 7 Susan also made reference to her report which had been included in the General Report. No questions were asked about the Child Protection Report. Sharon thanked Susan for her work and emphasised the importance of her role. ## **Elections of the following roles** ## **Parochial Church Council** Frank Boocock announced he was standing down from the PCC with immediate effect. Sharon thanked Frank for his service not only as a PCC member but in the wider life of the church but hoped that Frank’s experience could still be called on when necessary. The following people stood for election for the Parochial Church Council: - Danos Damianou (re-election) - Sue Willett (re-election) - John Pearson - David Marshall (to be elected after stepping down as church warden) The meeting was unanimously in favour of electing all of the above. Sharon pointed out that as we had 99 people on the electoral roll we were allowed to have 9 elected members on the PCC. With the 4 members elected at this meeting, it now meant there were 9 elected members on the PCC which meant that we are now at capacity. ## **Examiner of accounts for 2021** Mike Royle was proposed and accepted as independent examiner of the accounts for another year. ## **Any Other Business** There being no further business, the meeting closed. Page 8 ## **Administrative Information** ## **Standing Committee** This is the only committee required by law. It has powers to transact the business of the P.C.C. between its meetings subject to any directions given to it by the Council. Its members are: Team Rector; Churchwarden; PCC Vice-Chair; PCC Secretary; Treasurer; Chair of the Building Committee; and Worship Committee Representative. ## **Church Buildings Committee** - To maintain the fabric and grounds of the church buildings within the finance available. - To consider and recommend improvements to the economic use of the buildings and grounds. - To consider and recommend how the buildings and grounds might be altered to the benefit of the various uses of them. - To organise any repairs, improvements or alterations when agreed by the PCC. - To arrange the use of the Parish Hall to the mutual benefit and enjoyment of all the users. ## **Worship Committee** - To explore the nature of our worship, the service we hold and the liturgy and music they contain. - To consult the congregation on matters of worship and discuss findings with the Team Rector. - To discuss changes were appropriate. ## **Fund Raising Committee** - To organise social activities within the life of the Church. - To organise fundraising activities for the benefit of the Church and Parish Hall. ## **Task Groups** - These are set up for specific purposes and then disbanded. ## **The Parochial Church Council - Objectives and Activities** The primary object of St Anne's Parochial Church Council is the promotion of the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to the doctrines and practices of the Church of England. It also has responsibility for co-operation with the Team Rector in promoting throughout the ecclesiastical parish the whole mission of the church pastoral, evangelistic, social and ecumenical. Page 9 The Members of the PCC since the last APCM are: ## Rev’d Canon Sharon Jones (Chair) Mrs Anne Smith (Church Warden, Ex Officio Member) Mr Al Gillian (Deanery Synod Representative, Ex Officio Member & Treasurer) Rev’d Patricia Gillian (Ex Officio Member) Mr Danos Damianou Mrs Sam Lowe Mrs Susan Willett Mr Neil Davies Mr David Lloyd Mrs Joanne Coxon Miss Natalie Doran Mr John Pearson Mr David Marshall ## **Church Services** The following services were held in St Anne's Church during the year from 1 January 2021 to 31 December 2021: |||**2021**|**2020**
**Comparison**| |---|---|---|---| |SundayServices:|Eucharist|30|29| ||Service of the Word|9|4| ||Other Sunday Services|2|4| |Weekday Eucharist||2|15| |WeekdayFamilyService|IncludingMonthlyEucharist|16|10| |Other WeekdayServices||6|-| |Baptism Services||21|3| |Marriage Services|Includinga renewal of vows|13|3| |Burial & Funeral Services||14|7| |Internment of Ashes||8|4| ||||| |**Total of all Services**||**121**|**79**| Page 10 ## **Reports** ## **Electoral Roll Officer’s Report** Every six years it is a legal requirement to completely revise our Electoral Roll. Everyone needs to fill in an application to the Roll form and we did this three years ago. This usually results in a trimmed down roll initially. At our year end last December there were 99 members on the Electoral Roll. 67 are resident and 32 are non-resident in the Parish. The Roll has remained static since last year, understandably since we have been unable to meet together in person for part of the year. However, as we now start to reopen our activities it would be good to see new members joining the roll as they get involved with our church family. If anyone wishes to take on a role in the church, they should ideally be a member of the Roll, so it is important that as many people as possible are encouraged to join the Electoral Roll. After the AGM and throughout the year anyone not on the Roll is welcome to join at any point. Rachel Damianou ## **Team Rector’s Report** Firstly I want to thank you all for your ongoing commitment to Christ and to the Church; endeavouring to live as faithful disciples in sometimes very challenging occupations and situations. The work of the church is to support you, pray for you, and set you free to be resourced and nurtured in your faith. Your Church Wardens and PCC members often bear huge responsibilities on behalf of the parishes and are deserving of your support and encouragement. Those who nurture our children in faith, and particularly those who lead and support our midweek children’s services are to be honoured. This work keeps the faith of Christ alive in the next generations. Thank you. During two years of COVID we learnt new ways of meeting and relating to one another, and explored different avenues of communication. This was welcomed and valued as people sought strength and comfort through the Internet and social media. Emerging from the dark cloud of COVID we face new challenges in making Christ known in the world. I am confident that a praying, loving church is an attractive place. God asks of us not success but faithfulness. Page 11 The Diocese of Manchester has embarked on the creation of ‘Mission Communities’, something which we in Saddleworth have been exploring for around twenty years and call ‘Team’. We are now officially (though not legally) ‘Mission Community 5’ We will continue to be pioneers in resourcing one another and working together across the churches in deepening our faith and serving our communities. Good, authentic worship matters. It is a window onto our faith in God, our need of his grace and an opportunity to encounter Christ through Scripture and the sacraments. I would like to thank my awesome clergy and lay colleagues and all who have given voice to their faith through leading service of the Word. You have taken the opportunity to encourage the whole community of the baptised to find their voice and share their faith journey and experience. The departure of Reverend Aaron and his family for pastures new left a big gap in our life together, particularly at Holy Trinity. We look forward to the vicarage being the home of the next Team Vicar. We bid farewell to Reverend John as he retires, and thank him and Jacqui for their life among us. John has been a loyal and conscientious priest. We will miss him immensely. His commitment to Saddleworth and to St Thomas’ in particular has been both challenging and inspiring. I wish you all well in all that God has to reveal to us in 2022 as together we seek the grace of Christ to be a worshipping transforming presence within the Saddleworth community. Grace and peace Sharon ## **Safeguarding Officer (Responsible for Children and Adults)** ## **Introduction** I have continued to update myself with all the duties expected of this role by reading the Church of England Safeguarding E Manual published September 2021 and am up to date with all the relevant on line training provided by the Diocese. ## **Child Registration details** The recommendations regarding the registration of all children attending Junior Church, Crèche and Youth Group are followed and each parent/guardian is required to complete a registration form for their child. All information is updated regularly to ensure the safety of the children in our care. ## **Volunteer Details** We have had 2 new volunteers during the last 12 months and both applicants had an interview with the Church Warden before commencing their role. A completed application form, two references and a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) certificate are held for each volunteer. All DBS certificates are renewed every 5 years and our current volunteers Page 12 have completed on line Basic and Foundation Safeguarding Training. Information on our volunteers is kept in a locked safe. Currently we only have 4 volunteers for Junior Church. This means Junior Church cannot be held every week. Youth group and crèche are currently not running. ## **Safeguarding Statements** Our Safeguarding Policy Promoting a Safer Church is in line with guidance from the Diocese and is available for viewing on the notice board at the back of church along with the Referral Flow Chart stating what to do if there is a case of suspected child abuse. The parish Safeguarding Handbook (new for 2019) is also on the notice board and all volunteers have a copy of the “pocket guide”.There is also a safeguarding statement on our website. ## **PCC members** It is a requirement that all PCC members should have a DBS check completed because they are trustees of a charity overseeing work with children and adults at risk and therefore have safeguarding responsibilities. This has been completed for all current members. ## **The Future** I did let the PCC know last year that I would be standing down from the role of Safeguarding Officer as of this AGM. This has given 12 months for a new appointment to be made. To date I am not aware that the vacancy has been filled. Susan Fleming Parish Safeguarding Officer April 2022 ## **Churchwarden Report including the Fabric of the Church, The Churchyard and the Goods and Ornaments** This has been a difficult year for not only the church, but for everyone due to the pandemic of COVID-19. Our church has been closed many times in the last 12 months preventing worship, and, when allowed to open, it meant we were very limited during our services, avoiding singing, the peace and receiving wine during communion. The total number of services we held was 121 which were attended by 7,079 worshippers meaning there was an average of 59 worshippers at each service. The number of baptisms was 21, marriage services 13, and funerals 14. During this difficult time, we ensured that everyone attending were kept safe by adhering strictly to infection control advice. We had Zoom services and a WhatsApp group for anyone isolating or unable to attend services. There were also quizzes which were very popular, these were kindly arranged by David Marshall. Reverend Pat ensured there was always a service and reflections available as did the Saddleworth Team online. I thank each and everyone for their hard work. Page 13 Despite the many lockdown periods our links with St. Anne’s school remained strong, the experiences for Easter, Pentecost, Harvest and Christmas continued, albeit virtually. Our midweek family service resumed in October and numbers attending is now higher than previously. I want to thank John Pearson, David Lloyd, Jennifer Greenwood, David Marshall, Joanne Coxon, all the sides people, readers, intercessors, flower team, coffee team, Sexton, Electoral Roll Officer, Safeguarding Officer and card distribution team for their fantastic support throughout a difficult year. They have all contributed so wonderfully to keep our church open and welcoming to all. I will not be standing as church warden again, but I will continue in my roles as verger, wedding coordinator, ordering church supplies and sacristan. ## **Parochial Church Council in 2021** In the calendar year 2021, we held 4 regular PCC meetings and one additional meeting in March to explore the reopening of Church. There are 12 members of the PCC and the meetings held had between 6 and 11 people present which was in line with previous years. At the 2021 APCM, Danos Damianou, and Sue Willett were re-elected to the PCC. David Marshall (after stepping down as church warden) and John Pearson stood for election to the PCC and were duly elected. Also at the 2021 APCM, Frank Boocock stepped down from the PCC and we thank Frank for the service he has given in this role. During this year, all members of the PCC have been DBS checked. As in the previous year, despite every effort, we were unable to pay our 2021 Parish Share in full. Further information relating to this is contained within the financial report. During 2021, there were many items which formed the agenda for the PCC: ## **Reopening of Church** Church, once more, closed in January 2021 due to the Covid 19 Pandemic. The first two meetings of the year were mainly concerned with when church could reopen and how this might happen. The PCC eventually decided to reopen on the 28[th] March (Palm Sunday). This was only after the PCC approved a risk assessment to ensure all those who worship at St Anne’s remain as safe as possible. At this time, it was deemed only the main Sunday service should be restarted. As restrictions continued to ease, it was decided to restart the weekday family service and this restarted on 1[st] September. Despite it being safe to reopen, some restrictions remain in place, for example: no formal sign of peace and only one form of Holy Communion being administered. Page 14 ## **Church Building and Grounds:** Discussions continued with the Diocese regarding the consecration of the church graveyard. Thankfully due to the hard work of many, the land was consecrated in a special service in late Autumn. The upkeep of the church building is always something which features high on the PCC agenda and 2021 was no exception. Extensive work was carried out to find the source of the water ingress which was causing damage to the interior walls. This was eventually found and repaired. Pyracantha Bushes were purchased and planted alongside the North Wall of church. This is where church has been broken into on several occasions and it is hoped the planting of these bushes will act as a deterrent to anybody wanting to gain access to church via the windows on the North Side of Church. In line with the Diocese’s plans, the PCC have committed to becoming carbon neutral by 2030 and discussions were had about how to achieve this and how to work towards a Silver Eco award. ## **Fundraising:** The PCC continued to be concerned at the ever increasing costs we face as a parish. During meetings we planned fundraising ideas in order to generate further funds for church. Various fundraising events went ahead and provided additional, much-needed funds for our church. Further details about these events can be found in the Fundraising Committee’s Report (below). A contactless machine was purchased to make it easier for those who don’t use collection envelopes or standing orders to donate to church. This was put in place in the Autumn and as a consequence we had to install broadband in church so this can be used. ## **Team Clergy** Preparations were put in place to put together a Parish Profile for St Anne’s. This was necessary because of the retirement of Rev’d John Rosesale and the need to recruit a new Team Vicar. The profile, which was agreed, used the previous one as a basis and made changes to reflect St Anne’s as it is today. Our profile, along with the others from the various parishes throughout the Saddleworth Team, will be put together to create a Team Profile. Discussions were also had about what the Team were wanting when trying to recruit a new House for Duty Clergy member. Page 15 ## **Recruitment of Volunteers** The PCC have been active in trying to recruit volunteers to a variety of roles within the church. In particular the PCC looked to find two new people to take on the role of Baptism Co-Ordinator and Safeguarding Officer. Anne Smith who was the previous Baptism CoOrdinator stepped down from this role. Thankfully, this has now been filled. Susan Fleming who has been our safeguarding officer for a number of years gave notice to the PCC prior to the last APCM that she intends to step down from the role at this year’s APCM. At the time of writing, despite approaching a number of people, the PCC have been unsuccessful in their attempts to recruit somebody to this role. ## **Church Building Committee** Another strange year, but hopefully by the time we compile the annual report, things will be back to some level of normality. ## **Church Grounds** The first half of the year saw a lot of work in the graveyard and wider Church grounds, with lots of work clearing the wild area on the South side of Church, relaying paths and generally making the place look tidier and more cared for. Thanks must go to Pat, Al and Brian and Joyce Devenport for organising this, they’ve done a marvellous job. Later in the year saw the delayed tree work completed by Nik Anderson. Nik leads the Arboricultural team at Oldham Council and created a very detailed plan for thining, removing and general tree care in the Church grounds, but the work originally planned for 2020 had to be postponed. This finally went ahead late in 2021, but the results are fantastic. The area to the South of Church looks so much more open now and hopefully will enable that area to thrive for wildlife in the coming months. ## **Roof** A constant problem with buildings like our Church is the roof. This year we have engaged roofers to fix things as they come up to try to stop water getting in too much. This is pretty much a constant problem especially as winter storms take their toll. Later in the year we took advice from a local expert to identify where we have problems, and how to fix them. This took a while to work through, but eventually Roofmaster undertook a considerable amount of work to solve some of the problems that have been causing damp on the north wall, and now hopefully that can start to dry out and stabilise. This will allow us to sort out the walls, but more on that later. As part of the work we also wanted to get some of the rainwater pipes repaired, but this is yet to be completed. This will stop water gushing out of the old and damaged rainwater pipes on the South side. Page 16 ## **New Graveyard** 2022 saw the new graveyard finally consecrated, but before that could be done, there was some last minute work to do to mark the boundary of the graveyard with stone. This was very much a joint effort, with lots of people coming together to complete about 50m of shallow trench and laying stone to create a noticeable boundary. This thankfully was completed in time and allowed the consecration to go ahead. ## **Inside walls** Now the roof is water tight again, for now anyway, it has allowed us to tackle some of the flaking paint. The building committee met a couple of evenings to scrape off some of the flaking paint, which was great fun, but took quite a bit of tidying up!! This is an ongoing piece of work, and we are hoping to get some painters in for a week to do as much as they can. The cost of this is being covered by a member of the building committee, which is fantastic, and hugely appreciated. ## **Energy footprint** Manchester Diocese has made a commitment to be Carbon Neutral by 2030, so that means there is a huge amount of work to do to reduce emissions, improve grounds and generally make Churches and their grounds ready to take us into a new era. Part of this was to calculate the energy footprint of the Church by using a tool provided by the Diocese. This essentially takes energy consumption figures and provides a rating by area, and by person based on average attendance. The results weren’t great, but that is not very surprising. We scored a G by area and an E per person, so plenty of things we can do to help improve this. Ideas have been collated and we will look at things we can do easily to reduce emissions, but a lot of the bigger pieces of work will cost a lot. Something to consider as we move through 2022. ## **EcoChurch** Some of you may be aware that a few years ago we achieved the Bronze award of the EcoChurch initiative run by A Rocha. This is an initiative to help Churches reduce their impact on the environment, but also to make positive changes to support themselves and the communities they are in. Myself and Al are looking to set up a separate group to push this forward and try to get the Silver award, and who knows, we may get to Gold next time. There is a separate report about the EcoGroup that provides more information, so I’ll say no more here. Page 17 ## **Building Committee membership** Most years I write something about the small team that the building committee is and the lack of time we have to do work around the church due to busy lives, but this year our numbers have dwindled again, and we have lost 2 valued members. Brian Devenport has been a stalwart of the building committee for as long as I can remember, and his work around the Church grounds has been much needed. But 2021 saw Brian and his wife Joyce move away from the area, a sad loss for us but an exciting new chapter for them. I’d like to thank Brian and Joyce for their years of commitment to St. Annes, and for being friends for many years. Neil Davies also made the difficult decision to leave the committee in 2021, another big loss. I’d like to thank Neil for his work and enthusiasm over the years. As in previous years, I’ll reach out to the Church to see if anyone would like to support us in the year to come. We meet infrequently, but try to do as much as we can to help around Church, and would welcome anyone who has time and expertise to come and help us. Many thanks David Lloyd ## **Worship Committee** The worship committee is a sub-committee of the PCC and focuses on the worship and services at St Anne’s. Membership is not restricted to the PCC, and it would be fruitful if members of the congregation joined to give a wider perspective on our worship. We encourage the children to be involved in the services by taking part with readings, intercessions. We also encourage our Youth to help lead services and in the research that is sometimes needed beforehand. Well, this year again has certainly been different in all aspects. We started the year again in lockdown and did not re-open until Palm Sunday with restrictions on numbers attending and singing and with everyone having to wear facemasks. Slowly but surely during the year we have worked towards getting back to normal or the new normal. We still do not share the peace by shaking hands, but we share it by looking round and acknowledging people. Also, we still only receive the bread at Communion but again hopefully going forward we will be able to offer the wine. We again have started to offer Weddings and Baptisms and have been playing catch up for the families that had to cancel arrangements made. Funeral services continued and at the beginning of the year we had to restrict numbers and singing of hymns but as the year progressed and restrictions were removed, we were able to offer a full service as they used to be which was a great comfort to the families involved. Page 18 On the 24[th] November Bishop Mark came to St Anne’s to hold a service to consecrate our new graveyard to which we invited village residents, our congregation, Year 5 from St Anne’s School, and the Yates family of Lower Lydgate Farm who donated the land to us for this purpose Fred and Margaret attended as representatives of the family. Love Lydgate very kindly put on some refreshments for us in the Parish Hall as it was a bitterly cold day. On the 13[th ] of September we were able to hold our Confirmation service with Bishop Mark at St Chad’s Church Uppermill. This had been postponed from March 2020 and it was good to see the candidates and their families gathered to celebrate their confirmation. Our weekday family service and Junior Church again were cancelled but we have managed to keep in contact with families of these groups via WhatsApp, St Anne’s Facebook and by email sending out sheets for the children to complete on that week’s readings and by videoed services on a Wednesday and Sunday. On Wednesday the 1[st] September 2021 we again started to hold our Family Service and Junior Church in person and slowly but surely we built up the numbers to more than we have ever had reaching 173 people in church one Wednesday. We also started to plan to hold our “Admittance to Communion Confirmation Class” as again we had to cancel these due to Covid and are planning to hold two classes during 2022 to help to catch up: starting in the new year and one in September 2022. Our participation in School Collective Worship and Experience Church is being delivered again in person which is a much better experience for the children. We also now have a Eucharist service at school once a term which the children enjoy. We have also managed to hold End of Term Services along with a very successful Christingle Service and Harvest Service with the food from the Harvest service, brought by the children, being delivered to Oldham Foodbank, Bible presenting services to Year 6 and Reception. So, you can see we are moving forward at St Anne’s in many ways but are always open to new ideas and helpers so please get in touch if you have ideas to share. ## **Report from the Sexton** Some tremendous work has taken place in the churchyard over the last 12 months. More clearance of invasive plants has taken place with a contractor brought in to clear the ‘wild’ triangular area to the south side of the south section of the churchyard, and diseased trees have been removed or cut back in line with the grounds’ faculty obtained some time ago. It is good to say thanks to Nik Anderson for his work with tree planning and for bringing in appropriate contractors to undertake the work. Thanks also to all the willing volunteers that have worked so hard on the working parties. We have a need, now that the weather is improving, to restart monthly working parties to spread the chippings and ensure that log piles are in the correct place; tree stumps can be drilled for insects to nest in, we can put up bird houses and provide other wild animal habitats. Page 19 In the lower yard repair work on the retaining wall at the foot of the bank below the Garden of Remembrance continues. After much planning and a few hitches, we were finally able to invite the Bishop and Registrar to St Anne’s to consecrate the new field and the consecrated area has been marked out with stone-filled trenches. The semi-circle in front of the bench in the new field is to be turned into a flower garden, as this cannot be used for burials. The gates have now been repaired, with help of a grant from local councillors, which will also cover the repair of the gravel path down to the lower churchyard. With the easing of Government restrictions, we have found that families wanted to move forward with the interment of their loved one’s ashes, so many such services have gone ahead. With the pandemic restrictions staying in place for such a long time the motivation to hold memorial services diminished. Here are the numbers for 2021: 7 Burials 10 Interments of Ashes 12 Memorials, plaques or additional inscriptions were added Al Gillian ## **St Anne’s EcoGroup** Myself and Al Gillian are looking to put together a small group to take on the Diocese challenge of becoming Carbon Neutral by 2030. To do this we will need to consider all actions, from the small practical steps we can do to make our grounds more nature friendly, to the large scale things like considering renewable energy at St. Anne’s. One of the ways we can do this is by taking part in the A Rocha EcoChurch initiative. We already have a Bronze award, but to get Silver and Gold we need to do more. We believe with the right help, this is possible and have created an list of practical steps we can make to take us towards those higher awards. The A Rocha EcoChurch initiative covers 5 areas of Church life, and through a series of questions gives a score for each, and an overall score relating to the lowest rating of the groups. Page 20 The areas are: - Worship & Teaching - Buildings - Land - Community & Global Engagement - Lifestyle To achieve our goals, we need to grow our little group, so if anyone would like to help reduce our impact on the environment please get in touch with myself or Al Gillian. Many thanks David Lloyd ## **Fund Raising Committee** It has been another difficult year for us in 2021. Covid restricted activities everywhere, particularly in church. Our first fund raising day was an afternoon open church with handmade eco stalls and refreshments. Although footfall was low it was a good afternoon. We also held an Autumn evening which included private stalls that helped to make the evening a success. The Christmas Fayre took place on Saturday 20th November. We had lots of stalls with our usual tombola, raffle, home bake, bottle tombola, chocolate tombola. This year we also had our picture mugs and coasters which have continued throughout. The addition of other stalls also made the Hall full of activity. As ever the Café was very busy. A successful event yet again, which raised over £1300. Thank you to everyone who contributed their time, gifts and donations. We always need parishioners support to make events successful ## **Lydgate Community Association Report** It may appear that Lydgate Community Association is focused only on bricks and mortar and making the place viable financially. This is certainly not the case, as the Trustees see management of this valuable resource to be a much wider issue than that. At the heart of the project is a determination to create a community hub that can be used by all ages and meet a wide range of needs - physical activities, opportunities for socialising, developing new skills, making music, dancing, stitching or with volunteers there just to listen. Nearly every slot is booked up. Our research has shown that there is a real need for old and young alike to have opportunities to meet together, face to face and in a pleasant, stimulating environment counteracting loneliness, isolation, stress and lack of confidence, brought home to us all by the ravages of the Covid pandemic. Page 21 The community has seen a real bonus through the actual act of working on the hall bringing people together. From the village, the surrounding locality and the church congregation, it has become a team effort. Lydgate Hall is buzzing with activity, energy and a real sense of achievement. The interior of the building has been transformed with replacement of damaged and dangerous plaster; new standard and emergency LED lighting that is environmentally friendly; a modern stainless-steel functional kitchen, with dishwasher and larder fridge, along with a new immersion heater create a place for safe food preparation and a pleasant place to work; fully refurbished and decorated toilets; the entrance hall was completely taken down to the stonework and refurbished, the whole cost being covered by one local benefactor; much of the interior has been re-decorated with new blinds and two fabulous wall hangings created by Lydgate Stitchers - the list goes on. So, what of the outside? There has been a lot of valuable cosmetic work; around the rear garden area, clearing accumulated rubbish from places and decorating exterior surfaces. There have also been much needed repairs to the roof thanks to some very generous donations from across the community, but it has not been money alone, people have to turned up to donate their time to paint, point, clean, remove rubbish; you name it – they’ve done it. The generosity shown has been staggering and is further proof that this something that people need and want to see succeed. The 6 Trustees have worked tirelessly, making sure that grants are applied for, policies written and put in place, they communicate with users and engage and monitor contractors. The Charity operates its own bank account, its own website and membership scheme. In October, we successfully applied for a £20,000 grant from the Oldham Council Local Improvement Fund, which is to be used to provide a social hub to facilitate: (1) A local café facility serving snacks and meals for the 1,085 people aged over 65 in our area, many living alone. (2) Opportunities that encourage rebuilding of post-Covid confidence in both the young and the old and enable re-engagement in social activities. This will include a Community Garden in the hall grounds. (3) Additional exercise and recreational activities for the elderly to compliment those already in place. (4) Youth activities additional to uniformed organisations to cater for the 314 of the local 861 children who are 14+ with little if anything for them to do in their spare time. (5) A mental health "drop-in" facility for the isolated and lonely. (6) Further restoration work including replacement of the poor surface outside, initially between the two sets of steps. Page 22 Our long-term aim is to re-develop the building to allow secure, multiple group occupancy and co-operation between the LCA and the Church is so important. We thank Ann and Andrew Thorne for sourcing a grant to pay for a surveyor, who has now provided a detailed and fully costed report of the building structure. As a very old building, we fully expected this to reveal a need for significant repairs beyond what has already been done and we are sure that the PCC can put together an action plan to tackle the issues over time. Action Together have said they will help the PCC access the grant funding that will be needed. If you wish to run an activity offer your help or just want to see what has been done in the hall just contact one of the Trustees. Jennifer Greenwood (Chair), Frank Boocock, Al Gillian, Rachel Damianou, Henry Burbidge, Simon Edge. ## **Coffee Team** Coffee and tea are usually served after every 11 am Sunday service thanks to our dedicated team of volunteers. This year we restarted coffee as soon as we felt it was safe to do so. Our contribution to our three charities has obviously been down on previous years but we still manged to collect £401.36 since we opened for coffee again on 25[th] July up until the end of March this year which will be donated equally between the charities. Lydgate Community Association have taken over the running of the Parish Hall and the maintenance of the interior including the kitchen. As a result, we now have a new kitchen fit for all kinds of catering which we use for coffee each week. Thank you to everyone who has brewed up, cleaned up, shared a cuppa and donated! ## **Card Distribution Report** Despite the challenges of the Coronavirus pandemic, it is pleasing to report that approximately 2800 cards were delivered at both Easter and Christmas to households throughout the Parish. A team of 42 volunteers, no doubt some assisted by family members, delivered cards to 54 identified rounds/areas. It has been specifically pleasing to welcome 5 new volunteers although, sadly, 4 members have departed mainly due to their change of residency. This leaves us with 3 vacant rounds/areas which now needs attention. It is clear that recruitment of volunteers will always be an ongoing challenge as personal circumstances change. Moving forward, an area under consideration is the need to deliver cards to persons who either attend or have a connection to St Annes Church, but live outside the Parish. Comment is to be placed on the church notices with hopefully a list of names compiled. Page 23 Once again I would like to place on record my thanks to all volunteers for helping to communicate the Christmas messages in 2021. Richard Buckley Mobile: 07805 970799 richard.buckley17@btinternet.com ## **Flower Team** We are now a small team of just 3 regular members after Joyce moved away from Lydgate in the Autumn of 2021. Joyce had been part of the flower team for many years and played a key role organising us with the yearly flower rota and also carrying out the mid-week check and watering. We would be happy to grow our team, so please get in touch if you would like to learn more about what we do and feel that you can help. Your involvement can be as big or as small as you can manage. Easter, Harvest or Christmas times can be a good point to start as that is when we decorate church together as a team and there would be an opportunity to watch us and also get involved yourself. There are a few weeks during the year when we don't have a sponsor, so if you would like to remember an event, date or person in your life by sponsoring a flower arrangement at the altar, please contact Tracey Manifold. Flowers usually cost £25 and the arrangement is initially arranged to be displayed by the altar and as flowers generally last at least 2 weeks, they are then moved to be displayed by the curate's chair or to the memorial table in the porch. Dates still available in 2022/23 June 10th July 8th, 29th August 5th, 19th January 20th, February 3rd, 17th ## **Junior Church** As with the majority of things, our provision of Junior Church was severely restricted by the Pandemic and we were not in a position to open until the Autumn of 2021. However during our closed period, we continued to engage the children by sending out a weekly resource called Look for the children to complete at home which was themed around the weekly Gospel. We also encouraged the children to design our parish Christmas and Easter cards. When Junior Church was finally able to reopen, not only were we excited to be using the freshly decorated Parish Hall, we were also delighted to welcome two new Junior Church teachers – Clare and Laura and we thank them for volunteering. Along with Lianne and Sam we now have a team of four. Page 24 In addition to the Junior Church sessions, we also worked through Welcome to the Lord’s Table resource to support the children on their journey towards Communion Before Confirmation. We hold Junior Church on 2nd and 4th Sunday and numbers gradually increased again, with lots of new children starting. The children have enjoyed a range of activities including drama, stories, arts and crafts. ## **Creche** Since the previous leaders of crèche stepped down, we have been unable to recruit new volunteers for crèche to restart. We are in need of leaders who will be willing to take on this role. If this is something which you would like to find out more about, please ask one of the wardens or sides-people. ## **Rose Queen** My role as Rose Queen has been very different to the role I was expecting. Having had my crowing postponed due to the Pandemic, there were also restrictions on the way in which I could represent St Anne’s and raise money for church and my chosen charity – Francis House Children’s Hospice. The Whit Walks, at which the Rose/May Queen usually walks representing St Anne’s were cancelled and we had to put on hold various fund-raising ideas which we had planned. Thankfully the Retinue mums continued to develop ideas and these were eventually planned for the Spring of 2022. The highlight of the year for me was St Anne’s Day. We asked the members of our church to bring flowers which the mums put together as small bouquets. We then took them to people throughout the parish (and beyond) who had been nominated to receive them. The people we delivered them too were very grateful. I also enjoyed decorating the Church Christmas Tree and serving mulled wine and refreshments at the Christmas Carol Concert. Although my time as Rose Queen has not been as expected, it has been extremely enjoyable. I would like to thank my retinue: Issabella, Freya, Olivia, Ella and Archie and their parents. I would also like to thank everyone else who have been supportive of me in my time as Rose Queen. Holly Marshall Page 25 ## **Girl Guiding Associations** ## **Guides** Over the past year we have been focussing on some really interesting badge work. This includes raising funds for Breast Cancer UK and collecting nearly 200 bras! We have enjoyed making our very own badges, using our sewing skills and learning about causes that mean a lot to us as a group. As a Guide Unit we can earn badges which eventually award the girls with bronze, silver and gold badges. This term all 11 girls have achieved their bronze awards and couldn’t be happier. As we move into the summer term we are excitedly waiting for July when we will be back on guide camp after two years away! We cannot wait We will continue to work on some more amazing badges and we look forward to everything that guides has to offer as we move into the new academic year in September. ## **Brownies** At Brownies we like to try new things and take on a broad range of challenges as we explore the topics that sit within our six programme themes - Know Myself, Express Myself, Be Well, Have Adventures, Take Action and Skills for My Future. As well as trying activities in their meetings, girls choose from interest badges related to things they want to know more about All our Brownies have earned their Bronze award and are now working on their silver Award. ## **Boy Scouting Associations** Scouting exists to actively engage and support young people in their personal development, empowering them to make a positive contribution to society. Many local children have experienced this with our group throughout the decades of its existence. Scouting at St Anne's has offered children from 6 to 14 the ability to be involved in their local community and to undertake activities which challenge them and build skills and develop confidence which can be taken through into other areas of their daily lives. Scouting is about preparing young people with skills for life. It gives them the character, employability and practical skills they need to succeed, encouraging them to do more, learn more and be more. From teamwork, leadership, and resilience – skills that have helped Scouts become everything from teachers and social workers to astronauts and Olympians. The Scouts bring people together. We celebrate diversity and stand against intolerance. We're a worldwide movement with over 55 million members, creating stronger communities and inspiring positive futures. Page 26 ## **Beavers (children aged 6-8)** Beavers is the beginning of the Scouting adventure. It's about trying new things and making new friends. Every week, they gather in groups called Beaver Colonies to hop, skip and jump their way through lots of different games and activities. Each Beaver undertakes activities in order to achieve a variety of activity and challenge badges which, once completed, earns them the Chief Scout's Bronze Award. Our Beavers Colony closed in early 2020 due to a lack of parental help and leadership assistance. The last leadership group committed to helping all of that current group progress into Cubs before the section closed. Sadly, we had plenty of interest from parents wanting their children to be part of the Scouting movement, however, no offers to help keep the Colony alive. ## **Cubs (children aged 8 - 10 ½)** Cubs is the next stage in the Scouting adventure, providing more difficult and challenging experiences for the members to experience. Every week, they gather in groups called Cub Packs to take part in lots of interesting and challenging activities – achieving anything they set their minds to, and having lots of fun along the way. Each Cub undertakes activities in order to achieve a variety of activity and challenge badges which, once completed, earns them the Chief Scout's Silver Award. The Coronavirus has impacted volunteering groups hard, and it has had a negative effect on Scouting numbers too with many members breaking the link with attending meetings over the lockdown period and subsequently not re-joining the movement. This is true for both children and adult members. As a result, our Cubs section did not re-open following the easing of restrictions due the lack of numbers remaining, lack of parental help and leadership assistance and due to a number of the members being in the Scouts age bracket. ## **Scouts (children aged 10 ½ to 14)** Scouts is the next stage in the Scouting story. Scouts are a go-getting group of young people. They master new skills and try new things, make new friends, have fun and go on adventures, explore the world around them, help others and make a difference, in their own communities and beyond. Week in and week out, they gather in groups called Scout Troops to conquer the small task of changing the world. Each Scout undertakes activities in order to achieve a variety of activity and challenge badges which, once completed, earns them the Chief Scout's Gold Award. Just prior to COVID lockdown, our group trialled the opening of a small Scout Troop to gauge appetite. Following the easing of restrictions, we fully opened this Troop and offered our previous Cubs a route to continue their Scouting journey. This has continued as a small group with a renewed focus on helping the older Troop members achieve their Gold Aware Page 27 before moving on from Scouts. Lots of adventure awaits our Troop over the next 12 months! Our Scout Troop meets in Lydgate Parish Hall on Fridays between 7-9pm. We have a cohesive group of dedicated leaders who put together an interesting and challenging schedule of activities and badge work meaning that meetings are always rewarding. ## **Junior Leaders** Our Group has benefitted from a number of previous members returning after they have moved on in order to help run the group's activities. Some of this has been to help achieve the varying stages of their Duke of Edinburgh Award, however, each has stayed to help after their respective required time periods have concluded. This further enriches the experience delivered to members as they look up to their closer aged peers and they set an example for them to follow. ## **Group Scout Leadership and Administration** 2020/21 and 2021/22 have been difficult for our group as has been seen across the Scouting Network and wider volunteering sector. As highlighted above, parental help and leader volunteers have been lacking for our group for some time. The enforced break that COVID provided has also broken the link and habit that members had and saw a reduction in our children membership. Despite this, our group of dedicated leaders has kept our group alive and we continue to offer a valuable and meaningful experience for our Scouts. The hard work of the group as a whole has been reflected in what we have collectively output in terms of the quality of badge work and meetings in general. The group has taken pride in what we have been involved in which results in a meaningful and rewarding community group allowing young children in the area to be taught life skills and a connectivity with their community and environment. For any enquiries, please direct them to the below contact points: Scouts: Lydgate_Scouts@outlook.com Group queries and admin: Lydgate_22nd_Oldham@outlook.com Page 28 ## **Safeguarding Policy – Promoting a Safer Church** The following policy was agreed at the Parochial Church Council (PCC) meeting held on 26[th] April 2022. In accordance with the Church of England Safeguarding Policy our church is committed to: - Promoting a safer environment and culture. - Safely recruiting and supporting all those with any responsibility related to children, young people and vulnerable adults within the church. - Responding promptly to every safeguarding concern or allegation. - Caring pastorally for victims/survivors of abuse and other affected persons. - Caring pastorally for those who are the subject of concerns or allegations of abuse and other affected persons. - Responding to those that may pose a present risk to others. The Parish will: - Create a safe and caring place for all. - Have a named Parish Safeguarding Officer (PSO) to work with the incumbent and the PCC to implement policy and procedures. - Safely recruit, train and support all those with any responsibility for children, young people and adults to have the confidence and skills to recognise and respond to abuse. - Ensure that there is appropriate insurance cover for all activities involving children and adults undertaken in the name of the parish. - Display in church premises and on the Parish website the details of who to contact if there are safeguarding concerns or support needs. - Listen to and take seriously all those who disclose abuse. - Take steps to protect children and adults when a safeguarding concern of any kind arises, following House of Bishops guidance, including notifying the Diocesan Safeguarding Adviser (DSA) and statutory agencies immediately. - Offer support to victims/survivors of abuse regardless of the type of abuse, when or where it occurred. - Care for and monitor any member of the church community who may pose a risk to children and adults whilst maintaining appropriate confidentiality and the safety of all parties. - Ensure that health and safety policy, procedures and risk assessments are in place and that these are reviewed annually. - Review the implementation of the Safeguarding Policy, Procedures and Practices at least annually. Each person who works within this church community will agree to abide by this policy and the guidelines established by this church. Page 29 ## **POLICY STATEMENT ON CHILDREN, YOUNG PEOPLE & THE CHURCH** This statement must be read out to at least one PCC meeting each year, where progress in implementing it will be monitored. As members of this Church, we commit ourselves to the nurturing, protection and safekeeping of all, especially children and young people. - It is the responsibility of each one of us to prevent physical, sexual and emotional abuse of children and young people and to report any abuse discovered or suspected. - Our Church is committed to following the Safeguarding Children and Adults at Risk Manchester Diocese Handbook of Policy and Procedures. - Each worker with children and young people must have a clear Disclosure & Barring Service Certificate; undertake diocesan Safeguarding training; know the guidelines & undertake to follow them. Each shall be given a copy of the Parish’s agreed procedures & good practice guidelines. They shall also have an interview with the Church Wardens before commencing their role. - Our Church is committed to supporting and training those who work with children and young people and to providing supervision. - As part of our commitment to children and young people the PCC has appointed ……………………….to be the Parish Safeguarding Officer. - The parish’s agreed procedures and good practice guidelines can be viewed by asking the Church Warden or the Parish Safeguarding Officer. Children and young people are an important part of our Church today. They have much to give as well as to receive. We will listen to them as we nurture them in worship, learning and in community life. We will respect the wishes and feelings of children and young people. ## **Review date: May 2023** Page 30 ## **POLICY STATEMENT ON SAFEGUARDING OF ADULTS** This statement must be read out to at least one PCC meeting each year, where progress in implementing it will be monitored. 1. We recognize that everyone has different levels of vulnerability and that each of us may be regarded as vulnerable at some time in our lives. 2. As members of this parish we commit ourselves to respectful pastoral care for all adults to whom we minister. 3. We commit ourselves to the safeguarding of people who may be vulnerable, ensuring their well-being in the life of this church. 4. We commit ourselves to promoting safe practice by those in positions of trust. 5. The parish commits itself to promoting the inclusion and empowerment of people who may be vulnerable. 6. It is the responsibility of each of us to prevent the physical, emotional, sexual, financial and spiritual abuse of vulnerable people and to report any such abuse that we discover or suspect. 7. We undertake to exercise proper care in the appointment and selection of those who will work with people who may be vulnerable. 8. The parish is committed to supporting, resourcing, training and regularly reviewing those who undertake work amongst people who may be vulnerable. 9. The parish adopts the guidelines of the Church of England and the Diocese. 10. Each person who works with vulnerable people will agree to abide by these recommendations and the guidelines established by this church. ## **Review date: May 2023** Page 31 Parish of St Anne, Lydgate Charity Registration Number: 1132948 Financial Statements for the Year ended 31 December 2021 Parish of St Anne, Lydgate INDEX Page A3 Financial Report Page A5 Independent Examinerfs Report Page A6 Statement of Financial Aclivities Page A7 Statement of Financial Activities 2020 Page A8 Balan￿ Sheet Page A9 Notes to the Financial Statements Page A10 Incoming Resources Page A11 Incoming Resources (Continued) Page A12 Resources Expended Page A13 Resources Expended (Continued) Page A14 Net Position, Transfers. Revaluations & Total Balances Analysis of Funds Page A15 Analysis of Fixed Assets Current Assets & Liabilities Page A16 to Page A19 Funds Statsments Parish of St Anne. Lydgate Financial Report With chwch closed from January and only re-opening on Palm Sunday it was inevitable that income would be hit hard again as it W&5 in 2020. PCC a￿d to continue meeting the hall nmning costs until it rc-opened and that happened at the beginning of September. so reducing th¢ cost for Church to £3.174.08 compared to £4,312.44 in 2020. Overdll income rose by £5,277.73, largely through fimdraising and grants: as once agai￿ voluntary incom¢ reduced (in 2021 bj 5.50/0). Fee income from Occasional Servt¢¢s recovered with the relaxation of pandemic rules. Inpestments contirLued to gain ground. In¢om¢ [Pages AIOIAIII From 1st SeptemEer the resumption of the Wednesday ev¢ning family service help¢d committed regular giving to Tecover slightlv, following a new approach to th¢ encouragement of the families to contribute to church. However. we believe a significant sum has been lost through HSBC changing th¢ account name without our knowledge or agreement. subsequent protest has been brushed aside. > Loose collections hav¢ shown a significant up-turn and will provide an opportunity to recruit newcomers to the regular giwing schem¢. A thank you to Richard who has successfully taken over as Gift Aid Secretari, and has conducted an audit of Declarations. There ar¢ one or two opportunkties to bolster GA income with some extra 'sign-ups'. Thanks also to John and Jo for helping out with the collectÈons. > With the loss of some 200 Club 'numbers' we are currently working to recruit new members, as this remains a valuable source of income. Thanks also go to the Events & Fundraising Team who have quickly taken advantage of the opportunity to become active and hel￿d rdise £3.240.75 in 2021. > Congratulations to May Queen Katie who raised £929.31 for churclL which has been placed in th¢ Youth MinistTr' Fund. taking the value to £2.712.69. As this is mostly a restricted Fund it would be good to have some id¢as for how these funds can be put to good use. > The reialuation gain on our investments in 2021 amounted to £2.960.45, but only realisable on sale if and ￿heTh we choose to utilise these funds. > Two grants were received in 2021: £1,000 from Saddleworth Hvdro to enable the bulbs in the main part of the church to be changed to LED: £1,050 received from our Local Councillors lo help M'ith the cost of repairs to the gate and the path to the lower churchyard: the latter work still to be completed. A3 Expendi￿re [Pages AIYA13] Our Parish Share assessment of £60.180 always seemed out of reach, but that w¢ managed to pay £40:000 Th.hic￿ in these difficult times: feels like a considerable achiei'ement. Th¢ £61.384 assessment for 2022 is going io be equally tough. > Our Team costs of £8,179 [2020 £8:909] are spread across the lines of Clergy expenses. Parsonage Houses: Pastoral Care, Salari¢s and Administration. > Once again it was a pleasure to be able to continue with the issue of Bibles to the pupils in School's Year 6 and Reception classes thatths to a donation received to meet th¢ cost. The missional cost of £1.062 is i.'er%' valuable investment. > Our electricity costs have not yet benefitted much from the switch to LED lights. but there has been some reduction despite increasing church building usag¢ in 2021. To ty to save energy: the standby heating t¢meperdture has been reduced from 12 to I I and there h&s been a significant reduction in gas cost. although helped by the pcriod of church closure. > Insuranc¢ premiums hav¢ incr¢&sed with the fvll-v¢ar pa)Inent of the prwnium for the hall. but Trinitas is still substantialy cheaper than the alternatives. > We had a further suvey of the roof conducted by Roofmaster (Rochdale) Ltd to establish the cause of the continuing water ingress. Repairs and improvements have been identified and approved by the PCC at £3,048. The work has been completed in F¢bnwi 2022. > Wit church fully re-opened ￿,¢ need to re-assess our cop)Tight licensing arrangements which are due for renewal in March and this will increase the cost to £488 (2021: £421). MoTrin FoThard The Parish Hall is looking much Improv￿ following significant refiwbishment, aid¢d by grant fiJndin& which will be in the LCA report. The trustees have had a successful bid for £20.000 from Oldham Council's Local Improvement Fund. This will be used to facilitate community work for the lonely and isolated. young people and to provide a dropin c¢ntre for those with mental health issues. Some of this will be available for yard suface improvements in conjunction ￿'1th a community garden. However, there is still a debate to be had about the responsibility for fabric repairs. as there is some uncertainty within the Management Agreement. We await the strnctural survey conducted to identify issues that need to be rectified and the PCC will need to raise further grant funding to meet its reswnsibility for the building's fabric. > Excluding the nominal value of the Parish Hall (£90:000) our available funds have improved over the )'ear and total £25,207. Of this, £7,166 is restricted, £8,431 d¢signated and £9.610 unrestricted. This ￿,111 give us some scope to pay for th¢ roof repairs and meet a substantial amount of the Parish Share assessment. It would be good to aim for £48,000 - the current value of a stipend and associated costs. Al Gillian, Parish Treasurer A4 Independent Examiner's Report to The Parochial Church Council of St Anne's Church, Lydgate I report on the financial stsi¢ments of the Clwity for the year ended 31 D¢c¢mb¢r 2021. whi¢h are set out in the accompanying pa8es. Respective responyibilitieg of trmslees and etsminer As PCC members you are restM)n5ible for the preparation of the financial ststements. The PCC members consider that an audit is ttot required for this year (under section 144 of the Charities Act 2011 (the 2011 Act)) and that an independent examination is neth. It is my resFonsibility to: examine the accounts (under section 145(IXa) of the 2011 Act)- to folloiv the pro¢¢dures laid doThm in the General Directions given by the Charity, Commission (under section 145(5Xb) of the 2011 Act)- to stste whether particular matters have come to my attention B&sis of indepelldeD¢ exgminer'y ￿port My examination was caTried out in accordonce with the General Directtons given by the Charity Commission. An ¢xamination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented ￿1th those ￿OrdS. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts. and seeking ¢xplanations from l'ou as trustees concerning any such matt¢TS. The procedures undertaken do not proi'ide all the eTr¥idence that would b¢ required in an audiL and consequently I do not express an audit opinion on the view given b). the accounts. Independeot examiner's statÈment In connection with my ¢xaminatton, no rnatter has come to my attentton: (l) which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in any material respect the requitements to keep accounting records in accordance with section 130 of th¢ 201 l A¢t- to prepare accounts which accord with the ￿￿oUnting records and comply with the accounting requirements of the 2011 Act. have not been met; or (2) to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to b¢ reached. Mr Michael Royle BA FCA Chartered Accountsnt 15 Burnedge Fold Road Grasscrofi Oldham OL4 4EE 26th April 2022 A5 40 In e4 • *4 Ir. g T47 If4 *co occ In al IJ U ZS A6 *4licy not ro undertake a fomia] re￿I￿atiOn of land and buildings and no depreciation is proTr'ided in their respect as the currenti). estimated residual Yalue {dt5counted for monetary inflation since capitslisation) is noi less than the carrying va]ue and th¢ remaining usefijl life of this asset curTenily exce￿5 50 years. so that any depreciation charge would be immaterÈal. If. in the future, fhe ¢an)'ing value of ih¢ building should Icrt)k greaierthan the ¢urr¢ni value on this b&si5 an impalrn￿t review will be carried out and any resullant loss included in expenditure for that year. n Investments Investments are valued ￿ markd Val￿ based on mi&rnarkei pri¢es at 31 Dttember. A9 nr-t4 <