The Parish of St Bartholomew Sydenham 2021 ANNUAL REPORT May 2021 page 2 Vicarfs report 5 Church Warden's report 8 Electoral Roll report to the limits on ortMtythiAng the pondpmii there ore no otherreptrrts thisyeor. rhough yrelevunrmottets ¢overediFJ the ubove reports. AFj?uncIrepOft wlllbeprÉsented5eporotefy with the accounts. uthwark
The seven months sintr rny last report have been mostly in the second lock-down. but rh ottasions of re-opening and special moments such as Christmas and Easter. Back in toberwhen held our135t APCM we were hopeful that the pandemic was easing- we had been holding In-person worship for several weeks had successfLJlly trialled'cafe Churth'and I was in the prrfe55 of booking preachers for the new year to help guide our Misyon Attion Wanning. 8ui shorfy after we were back in lock-down and wondering when iiwould all end. The lock4own has forced us to do so manythings differentty and wetre often had to improvisel But there have been some highlights- ourcarol Semce in the church yard was enjoyed bymanyaswe We able to sin& accornpanied by a bra55 ensemble and gathered around the decorated tree that mèny people ha¢J added baubles to (thanks to Jane forthetreel. Altendance at Ihe carol service and also Midnight Mass and Christfflas Morningser¥itr5was better Ihan might b3ve t)een expetted. though other services ourMI chrnasWere much less well attended. Hawng leamed from the Carol Serwce, atso held sorne out-door seNices in Holyweek & EastÈr. Good Friday Stations of the Cross, held around the outside of the buildin& had far rnore people turn up than l Ylas expectsng and prepared for butworked well. Easter morning saw us gather once again In the thurch yard in joyfvl cekbration of the Rsurrection,' we even sang some tymn51 S&ral people have said how effecDve the 5eNo was and noted that a number or paSSS• stopped to watrh. listen or join in. Thank you to everyone who helped firs readings and making SU erything went smoothtyat all these se7£e$. The H(tyWeek & Easter ser*ice5 a150 saw u5ioining with our friends at St Philip's. We had to pnKess between thetwo churclies on Palm Sunday. but this was not permitted 3tthe time. Hoer we did stiii start the dals worship at St Phillip5 with the Corn10 ofthe Lorrts entryto Jeru5aletn and ended tt with a reading of the Pasgofi at St 8artholomeWs. trA7th parts again held outside. This worked well and we were abje tOill together again throughout the week and at our Easter morning seNce. Sharing in fdlowship wilh fellow Christians is atways a 8ood thing and I look forward to ftJ¢ure opportunffies fof our churches to work ttsgeiher. White we were not atye to meet on Sundays we have tried to offer some resources for prayerènd YShiP and to keep everyone infomied ofvthar was happening. Several peopfe have expressed their appreaatyon for the letters we have sent out with their 2¥•
various accompanitnen15 and must note that these h8ve been very much a learn effort., while I have produced much of the printed rnè(erial,10 h85 (hen folded, stapled and co11ated it all, Lesley ha5 produced the Ic>vely cards and Gill has soried out the various grfts and addressed, stuffed and posted all rhe envelopes- thank you to therr alll Bee@n the letters. on-line services and phone-in prayers I hope that there has beeri at least Something to help everyone stay corinecteLI wilh 5t Bartholomths and able to find ways to prayand worship durlngthe lock-downs. Havlng the building open for a couple of hours each day has been another way we have trted 10 $OUT(e people over the pasi year. It tan go quite a few days without anyone coming in, but then someone will and It turns out that the church was open and available to thern at just the time time they needed ii. I have h3d a number of such conversation5 s well as a good few p@ople saying thÈtthey had lived in the area for ages but not ever been Into St Barfs. WeLlne5d3y 53w an especially hlgh number of visitors and1 spend most of the day in conversation wilh different people, about half of whom didn't even know Itwa5 Ash wednesday and had just corne in because the building was open. This certainty hlghlEhted the value of havin8 tne doors open. Thank you to Anne and Coleen who have both been regular companions wh@n the building has been open on Monday and Tuesday mornings. In rny report last October I noted four key pointers for our life and mission that I had picked up from the Parish Profile and Mission Action Plan. I believe these still hold, despite the pandemic, and I refflain comrnitted io them as a broad guide for Ihe next few yea. Indeed ourwork and aaivitie5 over the past few months, despite the resirictions, were still very much In keeping with at least some of these.. Engosingrnorelully with the bvhole community Workins better with children, lomilie- andyoung people Developingumore voriedpattern of worship Furtherdevelopment of the buildings Last Octobeffs repon has More detail of what all these might mean- there ign't Space to reproduce that here, but do have a look if you can. The last year has forced plans to change and certainly the tirrescale5 have Intreasedl Butwe pray that the current hopeful signswill continue ad that new life will come soon.
As we do be8in to worshlp together again I must note the'gaps, In our congregatbons. Over the past year we have said flnal farewells to Robert Kio, john Ryall and Evelyn & Dennls Harrlngton. we rejoice that they rest in God's eternal care but acknowledge the pain Srief of Iheir absence in our mldst. In the months ahead we will have approprlate opportunity for memorlal services to remember them and thè many others we loved and lost durlng the pandemic. A different kind of gap is left by Molly who has moved to be closer to her son. l am very aware that Molly has been a significant part of the life of St Bartholofnews for many years,. She has been very helpful indeed in my first year here and a great source of knowledge aboutthe church. There will be opportunlty ro thank Molly and say farewell properly In a month or so's time. stly, rny thanks to our new Church Wardens, Roland and Lesley. IYS certainly an odd time to be taking up such posts iri the Ilfe of the church, they have risen to the challenge and l am grateful for all they do. All praise to God the most Holy and blessed Trinity to whom we give our thanks for all that ha5 been po*ble and place our faith and hope for all the future holds. Revd JIM Trinity Sunday 2021
CHURCH REPORT ON THE GOODS. FABRIC AND ORNAMENTS OFTHE CHURCH WÈ took up our positions as wardens ar the lasr APCM. which was delayed until October due to the pandemic. We have therefore only been in post fDr a short tlme and during rather unusual perlod, where many church activitie5 have been ternporarlly curtalled. $0 we have yet to experience the full retnit of our roles. However, we are feeling our way and are very grateful to our predKessors. Nick and paddy. for their conrinued asslstancÈ In knocklng u5 inro shape. We would also like to take thi5 opportunity to thank them for their long an(1 faithfiJl sece a5 Wardens and for all the work they continue to do for St. Bartholome%•ls. The maintenance of the church building and interior is an ongolng task, and there have been several issues to deal with during the last year. We received the 2020 Quinquennial Reew, which benefitted frorn all the excellent work achieved by Gill and the SABRE team to the dock and tower, amongst other areas. The recomrnendatioris of the Review will be considered atthe next BIG meetin& to be organised shortly. We werè made aware of a leak in the hall roof in the larter part of the year and thi5 had caused water ingress to the hall, causlng the tirpbers bÈne8th the floor to get wet and part of the floor to rise up. RÈpairs/replacetnent to the lead flashing and mortar work were cArried out inlanuary and we are waiting for the sub-fioor titllbers to fully dry out and Ihe floor to settle as rnuch as it is going to before assessing what further work might be necessary to the fioor. While we are on the subjett of water, we were also adwsed by Thames Water that there was a leak in our water supply. This was investigated by a specialist appointed by our insurers and he confirmed a leak in the pipe running through the graves to the crypt. There were alternative 501utions which involved cappins the supply or rerouting and it was decided to consult the church architect for advice. We are currently awaiting this advlce and hope to deal with the Issue Soll. We are currently awaiting finalisation of electrical certifScation renewal, which has been affetted by staff sickness at the cornpany doing the circuit testing. Most of the work has been carried ouc but await recomrnendations of any remedial work necessary and the final cenificauon. They are also investlgating some issues with the external lighting. Sol8
YO are 8ware, the (lock was bÈautifully restored last year, and it has been wonderful travelling down rIe Park Avenue and seeing its glowing blu& and gold face. We were only permltted to do works which con5eNed the original, and this involved retaining the original part5. which are some 150 years old. The clock stopped workillg recenrly, and Ic was found th31 a boli had shearect off the rnechanism, due to suspected metal fatigue. Cumbnan Clocks were able to restart the clock movement but had to take several parts away for repair. Due to Ihe small number of specialists In the field, thls is taking a little while, bui we hope to have the repaired parts relnstalled 500n, at which point Cumbrian fjocks will a150 carry out a service. This work wll need to be done before we can progress with the planlled reinstatement of the chimes. which we hope to have chSming on the hour in daylight hours, but conserwation work will also need to be done to the bell. Again. there are very few bell specialists which are approved by the Diocese and their workload is greaL made more so by the pandernic, 50 we a currendy waiting for a date on which they are able to make a art. The notice boards outside the church need updating with current information and we are gNing them a facelift. A new desi8n hÈs been approved which will be blue and golden yellow. to reflett the colours of the church clock and the order has now been placed. We rernain eXeinglY grateful ro Nigel Rushton for his fastidious attention to the maintenance of the buildins which is an ongoing challenge. Nigel is contracted to provide Maintenance days per year but always goes the extra mile due to his love of the building. Works undertaken by hiTh in the recent year have included repairs to the main roof decoration of the hall and window masonry,. rernoval of tree branches, ivy and other foliage causing i55ue5 to the building,. repair of the organ door,. plumbing work5 including pairs to basin piping and replacement of taps and ongoing and continual work to clear tJownspout& traps and gullies. We also have frequent fly tipping on the church grounds and Ni8el herotcally disposes of the rJbbish for us. Again, we are grateful for his continued support. We are deli8hted that seNces with an actual congregation in church have retommencod and we look forward to welcoming even more of our regular community back as regulations Slowly ease, We plan to have lots of activirie5 to bring people back into the church over the corning months and we really hope that everyone will be back taking part in some capacity- we also look forward to being able to have a good old catch upl
we are pleased that we have seen one or two new faces online or at recent seNces and it will be wonderful If they Llecide to become a regular part of our community. Of course, we cannoi close off without retnembering and maklng mendon of the much-loved members of our con8re8ation whom we have lost In the last year. We are very sad that we will not be seeing them again as we come out of the pandemic, but we hope thal there will be Sotne memorial services later in future rnonths $0 that we can celebrate their lives and their part in the St Barvs family. A couple of final mention5 must go to al Molly Wickert, who recently left SE London to move to Kent, and who will be sadly missed, both as a friend and as a very valuable member of the tèam, who capably undertook so rnany roles at the church. and bl F3ther lim, who has mènÈE@d to settle in so well despite only managing a few short months before we went into total lockdown1 We hope you are feeling at home,lim. Le51ey Khatibi & Roland Bates May 2021
Electoral Ro Re There have been no addltion5 to the Electoral Roll. 4 people have been removed from the Electoral Roll having died. Following the above chan8es. there are now 136 names on the Electoral Roll
Report by the Independent Euminer on the accounts for St B4rtholomeiv Church, Sydenbam, 2020. The accounts have been prepared on an acc]5 b&sis. An understanding of the PCC'S organisatiory accounting TordS. actlVLties and nature of its assets. liabilities. income and xtIalILw¢ was gajncu Iruiii u survey oi irie ¢tLLuuntin¥ r¢Lords' anu dibLus5ions wiin iiic No major failures were identified in aCllnting records. An analytical review of the rinancial slatements was carried out to look for inconsislencies and unusual evenls in the e, &-.d coT.pue. to preN'10 sars. No unexpted quwuatriolls were di0%.ered .' financial statements. No unexwed cvents were discovercd in the fiTrgncial statements Lyond those due to the COVID19 pindemic and related lockdowns. Fnquiries did nol reveal any posl balance she¢.t e.ve.nts. which would have. sipnificthnl imty¢.t on the. financ.ial qtHte.mentq for th¢ y¢aT. In addition to the General liund, there are three Reserved Fund8. one being for the Building Fund to to m¢et ongoing maintenanc¢. the SABRF. fund. to progress th¢ major restoration of the church buildinR and roof. and the STKcial Purpos¢s Fund Ubed for Ihe Organ fund and charitable appcal5. Despite the pandemic, the Gencral Fund actually improved by £7.5k which is a very good result in thL circumstances. Although lettjngs incomc and scrvice llectIonS fell sharply, but this was more than offset by a year's rental income from the curates flat, donatsons. a legacy and reductson In expendilure. Routing MatenanCe trom the Building Fund covered by transfer from the General Fund. The SABRF. appeal to resto and imwove the church conlinued with the completion of work to the tower and the cltxk as of the Yaking Back Time" project. There is now £7y,000 in the fund for continuinbi reirS, res1oll0n and improvemcnts the building. Overall the financial position of st Bartholomew's is sthble. which is promisin8 given the continuing challenges arising from the continuing impcts of the COVIDI 9 pandemic. Simon Tavlor Treasutcr. St George and St Michael & All Angels 4 April 2021