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?unc￿IrepOft 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 chr￿nasWere 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 R*surrection,' we even sang some tymn51
S&*ral people have said how effecDve the 5eNo was and noted that a number or
paSS￿S• stopped to watrh. listen or join in. Thank you to everyone who helped
firs readings and making SU￿ ￿erything went smoothtyat all these se￿7£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. Ho￿￿er we did stiii start the dals worship at St Phillip5 with the
Corn￿￿￿10￿ 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 tOi￿ll 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 Y￿ShiP 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
Be￿e@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 a￿d 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 se￿ce 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
Re￿ew, 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 So￿ll.
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 eX￿e￿inglY 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 T￿ordS. actlVLties and nature of its assets. liabilities. income and
x￿tIalILw¢ was gajncu Iruiii u survey oi irie ¢tLLuuntin¥ r¢Lords' anu dibLus5ions wiin iiic
No major failures were identified in aC￿llnting 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 unexp￿ted quwuatriolls were di￿0%.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 Ma￿tenanCe 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 re￿irS, res1o￿ll0n 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