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2022-12-31-accounts

Annual Report and

Financial Statements

of the

Parochial Church Council for the year ended 31[st] December 2022

Churchwardens:

Mr Chris Gadd, 9 Galaxie Road, Waterlooville, Hants PO8 9AT Mrs Rosemary Stone, 37 Tor Close, Waterlooville, Hants PO7 8SU

Banks: Lloyds TSB HSBC Bank PLC Mr Paul Read Bank PLC 312 London Independent Examiner 272 London Road Road 9 Tamar Down Waterlooville Waterlooville Waterlooville Hants PO7 7HN Hants PO7 7DX Hants PO7 8QJ

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THERE WILL BE A ST GEORGE’S ANNUAL PAROCHIAL CHURCH MEETING ON SUNDAY 23[RD] APRIL 2023 IN THE CHURCH AFTER THE 10 am EUCHARIST

A G E N D A

  1. Welcome

  2. Apologies

  3. MEETING OF PARISHIONERS to elect two Churchwardens to serve for one year

  4. MEETING OF ELECTORAL ROLL MEMBERS Report by Electoral Roll Officer

  5. Minutes of 2022 APCM and Matters Arising

  6. Presentation of Audited Accounts and Treasurer’s Report

  7. Election of 5 PCC members

  8. Election of 2 Deanery Synod representatives

  9. Reports from the Churchwardens, PCC Secretary and Treasurer and church groups

  10. Appointment of Independent Examiner

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MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL PAROCHIAL CHURCH MEETING of St George the Martyr, Waterlooville, held on Sunday 10[th] April 2022 in the church commencing at 11.15 am. There were 40 persons present at the meeting.

Fr Colin Lawlor, Priest chaired the meeting.

1 WELCOME: Fr Colin extended a warm welcome to everyone who is attending the APCM meeting and said the following.

2021 was another strange year, when our normal activities were somewhat curtailed due to Covid restrictions. For much of the time we were able to keep the church open, and to do so safely, but we were not able to worship in quite the same way. As the year progressed things relaxed and we were allowed music and, by the end of the year we could even sing (at least a little). Although the Christmas services went ahead in person, we were, by then, in the midst of a new variant of Covid, which was more transmissible. Infection rates were high, and this meant that extra care needed to be taken to keep people safe. Some services were scaled down a little, with less singing than would normally be the case, and less moving around the church.

The relaxing of restrictions meant that some of our social and fundraising activities were allowed to happen once more, such as the summer fete and the parish shop. I am enormously grateful to all those who made this possible, and to our PCC and subcommittees for all of their hard work over the year.

Our Lent groups, which were held online, were very well attended, and appeared to be well received. I am grateful to those who agreed to facilitate these, most of whom were members of the laity.

Last year I announced that we were to begin having a few minutes of silence before each Eucharist, to enable prayer and reflection before our worship. This has been beautifully adhered to, and has really made a difference to our Eucharist.

Finally, I want to offer some thanks. Firstly, to our Church Wardens for all that they do, and for the support and encouragement that they give me. For the PCC, and for the officers of the PCC. To Jane for being such an efficient PCC secretary. To Sara and for her hard work as our treasurer, ably assisted by Malcolm. To Sonja, our safeguarding officer. To the chairs and members of our various subcommittees. To

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David Cain, our Director of Music and to the choir; to Anne, our head server, and the serving team. For those who clean the church, arrange flowers, make refreshments, clean the linen, change the altar frontals, read or lead intercessions, trim the candles, prepare the rotas, and help with day to day maintenance. To John Johnson for producing the magazine, and to Alex, our wonderful administrator.

To our clergy with Permission to Officiate, and for the help and support that they give me personally, and for covering services.

And to any who I have inadvertently forgotten!

And, finally, a thank you to all of you, for your faithful witness to the Gospel.

We now find ourselves free of restrictions, and hopefully 2022 will be a year when all of our normal activities can resume. But this comes with a word of caution. Covid-19 is still out there, and remains highly contagious (believe me, I know). Whilst we must learn to live with the virus, we still need to take care of ourselves and others. This means that for the time being some of our safety measure will continue, such as keeping windows open and providing sanitation stations.

And if we do this I am confident we can have a happy, prayerful, joyful and healthy year 2022.

APOLOGIES were received from Candy Williams, Eileen Oades, Rosemary Monk, Sandra Hewett, Julia and Richard Spurgeon, Fr Ray and June Chapman, Barbara Clark, Andrew Clark, Rev Sandra Edwards

3 MEETING OF PARISHIONERS TO ELECT TWO CHURCHWARDENS TO SERVE FOR ONE YEAR:

It is the usual practice here at St George’s for Wardens to serve for 4 years, but they still have to be elected every year. At a PCC meeting on 15[th] December 2021 it was agreed that we revert to the official legal position of 6 years for Churchwardens if they are happy to continue.

Chris has served for four years, and has indicated his willingness to carry on for another year. Chris Gadd has been proposed by Malcolm Brewer and seconded by Patricia Byrne.

Rosy Stone has served for two years, and has indicated her

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willingness to carry on for another year. Rosy Stone has been proposed by Sara Schillemore and seconded by Patricia Byrne.

Fr Colin asked if there are there any other candidates to come forward for the post of churchwarden? As none were forthcoming Chris and Rosy were duly elected.

They will be sworn in by the Archdeacon in due course.

4 MEETING OF ELECTORAL ROLL MEMBERS / REPORT BY ELECTORAL ROLL OFFICER

Tony Rice-Oxley reported that there are 159 parishioners currently on the Electoral Roll, 70 of these are from outside the parish. Thank you to Tony for all his work on this.

The average weekly attendance, counted during October 2021, was 90 adults and 3 children including weekday services.

5 MINUTES OF THE 2021 APCM AND MATTERS ARISING

The minutes were agreed as a true and accurate record of the meeting held on 25[th] April 2021.

There were no matters arising but Tony Rice-Oxley proposed a big thank you to the Priest and the Churchwardens for working so hard to keep our church open when other churches in the area remained closed.

6 PRESENTATION OF AUDITED ACCOUNTS AND TREASURER’S REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31.12.21:

Sara Pask said hopefully everyone has had the chance to look through the summarised or full accounts. It has been another challenging year financially but thank you to everyone who has played a great part in fundraising – eg auction, strawberry fayre, Summer Fete, Christmas Bazaar and the shop, without which we would be in dire straits. Also thank you to everyone who gives on a regular basis, either via the Parish Giving Scheme, Standing Order or green envelopes. This helps with budgeting and what our income is likely to be. If anyone would like to know about the Parish Giving Scheme please speak to myself or Patricia Byrne. This saves a lot of work counting money and going to the bank. With the Parish Giving Scheme the Gift Aid element is automatically paid but with Standing Orders we need to claim it quarterly.

David Pask reminded everyone of the Easyfundraising Scheme. You need to sign up to it but then when you order things online from places like Amazon they give a percentage of what you have paid and

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it does not cost you anything. Please ask if you would like more information. Fr Colin said perhaps we need to remind people in the Bulletin occasionally. Fr Colin said that Colin Fremantle is making a stand for the card machine so it can be somewhere more prominent. Patricia Byrne proposed that we accept the accounts and this was seconded by Lynn Winter and agreed unanimously.

7 ELECTION OF 4 PCC MEMBERS

First of all thanks to the PCC members who have met over the last year. We have had some interesting discussions. Thank you to Marian Haughton and Anne Morgan who have served their 3 years and Patricia Byrne who has served 2 years for Sara Pask who became our Treasurer. Patricia is able to stand straight away again. Ceri Ward has moved away from the area and had one year left on the PCC so we need someone to stand to cover the one year he has left and they are then able to stand again straight away if they wish.

At a PCC meeting on 21[st] March 2022 it was agreed that people could stand again after the end of their 3 years on PCC for another term of 3 years if elected but after 6 years they must have a one year break.

We have had 5 applications for the PCC and Fr Colin said he would like to suggest that we elect all 5 as follows:

Fr Colin asked if everyone is happy for these five people to be elected onto the PCC. Proposed by Patricia Byrne and seconded by Sue Hodgens and agreed unanimously.

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8. REPORTS FROM THE CHURCHWARDENS, PCC SECRETARY AND TREASURER AND CHURCH GROUPS

Fr Colin went through the individual reports asking if anyone had any questions or comments.

Chris Gadd said he would just like to reiterate thanks to all those who do so much for the church and also his personal thanks to Fr Colin himself for his leadership and guidance, especially through what has been a very unusual time.

Church Hall

Tony Rice-Oxley pointed out how much work is involved in running the Hall especially during Covid which has been mainly himself, Fiona Ross and Malcolm Brewer. Thanks for all their hard work in keeping the Hall running. Life has not been easy but is gradually getting easier. There are more people wanting the Hall. We have lots of use from church based organisations which does not bring in much income. We rely on those outsiders who hire the Hall. We are breaking even at the moment but must remember that the Hall and the PCC have loans to pay back to people in November 2022. Thank you to those people who support the events in the Hall. Friday morning coffee numbers are very low and Tony encourage people to support it.

Mothers’ Union

Margaret Symonds and Janet Johnson attend Mothers’ Union regularly and they now have an overseas link with Australia.

Mission and Stewardship

Fr Colin said they only managed to meet on 25[th] October to reflect on where we are at the moment. Things are happening though.

Welcome packs are available to new people, we still have links with the Scout group and Royal Naval Association. We are still unable to go into schools or Two Beeches or South Africa Lodge but hope that will change soon. Parish Audit - we are going to invite Jacqui the local Community Officer for Asda to discuss where our services might be needed. Knit and Natter has been set up and is very well attended and a good outreach. We will also be running the Cinema every 4[th] Thursday in the month starting on 26[th] May. The first 4 films have been chosen – Belfast, The House of Gucci, West Side Story and Death on the Nile. Please add your name to the list at the back of church if you are able to help.

Pastoral

Anne Morgan said nothing really to add to the report just to reiterate a huge thanks to all the people who kept in touch with vulnerable people during the Pandemic.

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Safeguarding

Sonja Pask said she would like to reiterate that safeguarding duties are getting more and more complicated and DBS checks now have to be done every 3 years. Sonja said thank you to Lynn Winter who has offered to help process these documents. She is hoping to come to the first PCC meeting to explain what needs to be done. Training needs to be carried out when Sonja asks for it to be done which does not appear to be happening at the moment. All training can be carried out online.

George’s Men

Nothing to add to the report except that Richard Spurgeon is organising a modelling evening in the Hall on Thursday 28[th] April. St George’s Ladies

Nothing to add to report.

Walsingham

Linda Wainwright said we are hoping everyone stays well for our trip to Walsingham which we are all greatly looking forward to and we may well have filled the vacant space.

Holy Dusters

Patricia Byrne thanked the team of 16 people who keep the church looking good. Fr Colin said it is the most we have had for a long time and Rosy Stone said it is down to Patricia Byrne’s organisational skills.

Church Flower Fund

Lynn Winter thanked everyone who has contributed to the Easter flowers which collected £250. June Diaper said the Garden of Gethsemane will be in church this year and if anyone would like to help on Wednesday or Thursday to let her or Lynn know. Fr Colin said it makes more sense as space is very limited in the chapel and it will be more visible. He thanked the flower team.

Bible Reading Fellowship

Linda Wainwright always has copies to show if anyone is interested and said it is very easy to arrange new subscriptions.

Deanery Synod

Nothing to add to the report which has been a mixture of Zoom and in person meetings. Tony Rice-Oxley said that Angela Herring expressed a wish to come and talk about her links with Africa. Fr Colin said perhaps we could invite her on a Sunday when she could give her talk instead of a sermon.

Communications Team / St George’s News and Website

John Johnson said not to forget the St George’s website which has a huge amount of information on it. Fr Colin said thank you to John for all he does to keep the website up to date and for the magazine.

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St George’s Bereavement Support Group -

Linda Smith is not here today but Fr Colin said we are very lucky to have her great experience as a Bereavement Counsellor. She has a large number of people are her meetings and will be doing Counsellor training on 4[th] May.

St George’s Servers

Fr Colin said how lovely it was to have a full complement of servers this morning for the first time since the Pandemic.

Sunday School/Creche –

Lynn Winter said it is very important that we grow the Sunday School and encourage children to come along and thank you to all who help.

St George’s Parent and Toddler Group

Dawn Hyett has taken this over and they have a large number of parents and toddlers attending. They came into church at Christmas and again last week and Fr Colin said he hopes this will be a regular thing.

St George’s Choir

David Cain said he had nothing to add to his report. Fr Colin said thank you to David and the choir for all they do.

St George’s Band

Fr Colin said he wanted to make clear that it wasn’t a case of not wanting the Band at the Christingle but the fact that it was unwise to have instruments at that time. Don Lloyd said that because it is only his family in the Band and they have so many other commitments he feels it is time to close the Church Band. He said that his family will of course be happy to play whenever asked if they are able as they did this morning.

Social and Fundraising

Nothing to add to the report. Fr Colin thanked Patricia Byrne and Rosy Stone, joint chairs and all those who help.

St George’s Bonus Ball Fundraiser

Tony Rice-Oxley said he is not sure why he is separate as Bonus Ball

is only a small part of the fundraising events.

We are very grateful to Paul Read (who attends the 8am service) for again successfully examining the accounts for 2021. Fr Colin said that Paul has indicated his willingness to do this again next year and thanked him for all that he does. This was proposed by Linda Wainwright, seconded by Pat Phillips and agreed unanimously.

As there was no further business the meeting closed with a blessing at 12.20pm.

9 APPOINTMENT OF INDEPENDENT EXAMINER

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ST GEORGE’S CHURCH – ANNUAL REPORT FOR 2022

Background

St George’s Church has the responsibility of cooperating with the incumbent (Fr Colin Lawlor) in promoting in the ecclesiastical parish the whole mission of the Church, pastoral, evangelistic, social and ecumenical. It also has maintenance responsibilities for the churchyard and church hall. Services were held every Wednesday at 10am and Sunday at 8am and 10am. Morning and evening prayer took place in the Chapel from Monday to Thursday at 8.30am and 4.30pm and 9.15am on a Wednesday.

Membership

Members of the PCC are elected by the Annual Parochial Church Meeting (APCM) in accordance with the Church Representation Rules. The following served as members of the PCC:

Incumbent : Fr Colin Lawlor Curate : Rev Liz Quinn Ex Officio : Jane Cook (Secretary) Sara Pask (Treasurer) Malcolm Brewer, Assistant Treasurer (co-opted) Wardens : Chris Gadd Rosemary Stone Representatives on the Deanery Synod: Candy Williams Tony Rice-Oxley Elected Members: Lynne McNeill Anne Morgan Lynn Winter Patricia Byrne Sue Hodgens Mo Peters Linda Smith Alice Pitney Sara Schillemore Elaine Shimbart

We were very lucky to have Rev Liz Quinn join us as our Curate in July.

Committees

The PCC operates through a number of committees/groups, which meet between full meetings of the PCC – Fabric, Finance & Quinquennial, Pastoral Committee, Church Hall Committee, Mission and Stewardship Committee, Social and Fundraising Committee, Eco Church Group Committee and we

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have reports at each meeting from Sonja Pask, our Safeguarding Officer and on Deanery Synod meetings from our Deanery Synod representatives.

Church Attendance

There are 159 parishioners currently on the Electoral Roll, 70 of these are from outside the parish. Tony explained that the list that is displayed now only has names on it because of GDPR. If anyone still wishes to fill in a form after this meeting they can do and hand it to Tony and it will be agreed by the PCC.

The average weekly attendance, counted during October 2022, was 93 adults and 14 children. This includes weekday attendances.

Review of the Year

The full PCC met 6 times during the year with an average attendance of 76%. The PCC meets once every 2 months with Fabric, Finance and Quinquennial, Pastoral, Church Hall, Mission and Stewardship, Social and Fundraising and Eco Church sub-committees continuing to meet in the interim, to enable items to be discussed in more detail, and report back to the full PCC. The PCC will continue to invite outgoing Churchwardens to remain on the PCC for a further year to provide continuity.

Sara emails the monthly overview of the budget accounts to PCC members before the meeting to give people a chance to send any questions to her so they can be answered at the meeting.

We have supported over 12 wide-ranging charities, both at home and overseas, in particular £97.26 to the Children’s Society and continued support of four children under the African Child Trust Scheme. Other benefiting charities included The New Blendworth Centre, RNLI, Bishop’s Lent Appeal, Hannah’s Holiday Home, Christian Aid, PDSA Cowplain, Mission to Sea Farers, Waterlooville Food Bank, Our Dementia Choir, African Child Trust and Barnabus Aid. These were all retiring collections.

The giving through envelopes and banker’s orders decreased slightly to £31,780, but came in £70 over budget excluding tax. The tax recovered on all Gift Aid donations for the year was £5,692, a decrease of £1,769 and under budget by £2,308, however, we ended the year behind with our Gift Aid claims to the HMRC. Gift Day raised £1,495 and contributions on the collection plate were £3,361.

£87.088 was spent to provide the Christian Ministry from St George’s Church, which includes the partial contribution to the parish share of £49,589.

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Treasurer’s Report 2022

This year has been a very difficult year. We made a withdrawal of £5,962 from the UTB account to ensure that all our liabilities were met, this withdrawal brought the account to nil and was then closed. We still have the Church of England Endowment Investment Account with a valuation of £33,847 at the end of December. These funds are only available to us for a capital project and we only receive the investment interest.

Looking at the Balance Sheet the first thing to mention is that we ended the year with a deficit of funds of £13,938 compared to the deficit of £23,032 in 2021.

The main bank account held at HSBC had a balance of £24,043 at the end of December, and a reserve/buffer account to ensure we are able to manage our cash flow of £2,035. We also have an account specifically for Legacies and at the end of December we had a balance of £841.

All assigned fees for 2022 have been paid.

The accounts overview shows the income and expenditure for the past year and these mainly agree with the figures that I give you each month. Added to these are the transactions made by the individual church groups that hold their own bank accounts.

On the income side the donation figure is higher than last year at £8,603 (2021 £4,005) - this comes from Donations made to the church and also collections from baptisms, which we receive half of and the other half goes to the charity of the month. Green envelopes, gift aided pink envelopes and loose plate collections are up on last year at £7,734 (2021 £6,013). Planned Giving amounted to £27,407 (2021 £28,512). The fundraising figure this year amounted to £11,470 (2021 £18,101).

We have received dividends and interest from our investment and these have come out slightly lower this year at £1,004 (£1,020 in 2021).

Moving to Expenditure we only managed to pay part of our parish share this year amounting to £49,589. In general the expenses remained within budget. Gas, music costs and church maintenance costs were, in main, expenditure that went over budget. Overall our expenditure was £13,983 under budget for 2022 mainly as we did not pay our full year’s parish share.

I have depreciated the church hall by 10% and this came to £12,007 leaving a balance of the value of the hall as £108,060.

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Thank you to all who contribute regularly by standing order, the Parish Giving Scheme, envelopes and one-off donations and to all who contributed by organising and taking part in our fundraising events.

My thanks go to Malcolm Brewer, Assistant Treasurer and the Fabric & Finance Committee for all the work they put in and also for their support, together with the support of the PCC. On behalf of St George’s Church, my thanks are also due to Mr Paul Read, for examining the Accounts this year.

A summary of the Accounts is shown overleaf. A full version is available on request.

Sara Pask

Honorary Treasurer to the PCC

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ST GEORGE THE MARTYR, WATERLOOVILLE
COMBINED ACCOUNTS OVERVIEW FOR 2022		 2021 YEAR
TOTAL		 28452 1003 2753 6286 2257 - 4006 727 243 730 15 1684 18102 - 23 311 - 200 1436 544 7239 163 194 9389 - - 85757
YEAR’S BUDGET
For PCC Account		 30000 850 1000 8000 2200 3000 4000 500 275 750 100 1500 14000 - 100 1000 450 100 - - - - - - - - 67825
2022 YEAR TOTAL 27408 1268 3104 5693 1004 1495 8603 644 236 730 86 2653 11470 - 97 1004 429 410 1494 - 10987 100 870 14743 6645 - 101173
RESTRICTED 644 6645 7289
UNRESTRICTED 27408 1268 3104 5693 1004 1495 8603 - 236 730 86 2653 11470 - 97 1004 429 410 1494 - 10987 100 870 14743 - - 93884
INCOME Planned Giving S/Orders Planned Giving Green Env Gift Aided Pink Envelopes Gift Aid Tax General Collections Gift Days Donations & Appeals Liturgical Donations Bookstall Parish Magazine Advertising Parish Magazine Sales Fees received (PCC) Fete, Bazaar, Fund Raising Sales Photocopying Income Income from Investments/Bank Bulletin Sponsorship Church Hire Unbudgeted items: Fees received (Assigned) Other Funds (Charities) Hall Lettings Toddler Group Income Social Committee Ex.ord Income Film Club Pastoral funds received TOTALS

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TOTALS Bank Charges Film Club Toddler Group Quinquennial costs Giving to Charities Social Committee Hall Depreciation Hall Running Costs Ex.Ord Outgoing Assigned Fees Unbudgeted items: Director of Music Mission Sunday School Music Support Pastoral Costs Fundraising & Sales costs Capitation Fee Fees paid out Photocopier Costs Administration Piano and Organ tune Magazine, Bookstall & Bulletin Liturgical Costs Administrator Clergy Expenses Church and Grounds Maintenance Gas/Elec/Water Insurance Parish Share EXPENDITURE
114492 31 - - - 2794 1643 12006 12826 8752 1840 5417 300 - 788 50 935 20 35 902 566 240 717 - 3501 1599 6542 3399 49589 UNRESTRICTED
1687 1044 643 RESTRICTED
116179 31 1044 - - 2794 1643 12006 12826 8752 1840 5417 300 - 788 50 935 20 35 902 566 240 717 643 3501 1599 6542 3399 49589 2022 YEAR TOTAL
- - - - - - - - - - 5800 1000 100 250 - 600 20 800 1000 700 400 700 500 3600 2000 2300 3850 66200 YEAR’S BUDGET
For PCC Account
99828 - - 17 - 1255 65 2501 11140 6067 1436 49 61 - - 750 20 31 915 607 369 666 710 3567 1623 1741 1289 64949 2021 YEAR
Total

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Churchwardens Report

It was another busy year for us at St George’s, with sub-committees meeting regularly and bi-monthly PCC meetings.

The wardens met our new Bishop, Bishop Jonathan, in March. He spoke of his wish to enrol Anna Chaplains in the diocese.

On Palm Sunday we had our Walk of Witness through Waterlooville, with Liturgy on Maundy Thursday and Meditations and Liturgy on Good Friday. On Holy Saturday we had the Easter Vigil and First Mass, with the usual services on Easter Sunday.

The following weekend 23 of us went on our traditional annual pilgrimage to Walsingham with our friends from Havant.

Knit and Natter continues to thrive, as does the monthly cinema night. Our book club meets regularly to discuss the books we have chosen to read. Bible Study groups meet monthly. Linda Smith organised bereavement training for a group of us during the spring. Lunches were provided each Wednesday during Lent.

The choir signs for us each Sunday and also at festival choral evenings.

The Waterlooville Music Festival in June was very successful and was preceded by our Summer Fete on the first Saturday.

Margaret Cavey’s funeral and memorial service were held in June. We also lost Norman Linney in September.

We had a parish outing to the Wintershall play “Life of Christ” also in June.

Rev Liz Quinn joined us as our Curate for her first service in July.

We had an Away Day to discuss Mission and Stewardship in September at the Sisters of Bethany Convent in Southsea which was a very productive day.

Our poppies were replenished by St George’s Ladies group and decorated the church and grounds for Remembrance Sunday.

Our church shop ran successfully for two weeks in November.

The year ended with our lovely traditional Christmas services.

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Our grateful thanks to all those who serve St George’s in many different ways.

Rosy Stone, Churchwarden

St George’s Church Hall Report

The year has not been good for hall bookings and for hall maintenance. With very few casual one off bookings and no increase in the regular bookings we have seen anther year with negative finance results. This has, of course, impacted on the ability to attend to maintenance matters.

Overall the hall lost £2400 over the year, mainly due to the huge hike in energy prices. It has been decided by the PCC to share this burden equally as a large part of the costs are for providing the main church with its gas fired heating. However the hall committee has frequently found radiators left on for unnecessary periods.

It is worth noting that use of the hall is shared equally between church activities and outside bookings. Whilst this is completely acceptable, the church bookings do of course cost the hall money with little or no income. The hall is in need of considerable refurbishment and updating. The committee do have monthly get togethers to try to do the basic functions and of course the hall is cleaned daily. However it is thought that full consideration should be given to the longer term future of the hall. It has been suggested that an architect be employed to assess its current state.

It should be pointed out that several members of the hall committee work over and above to keep the hall and its customers happy. This often involves turning out at short notice to assist and to attend to book one off customers in and show them the various facilities and to check them out to see no damage before the next customers start time. Certainly the booking secretary, Fiona Ross, her husband, Glynn and Malcolm Brewer, the Treasurer work very hard to undertake these works.

A new hall Manager is required but the PCC has advised that this be left to be filled from the recent Stewardship campaign results. However it has been suggested that subcontracting of the hall to an outside organisation be investigated. A new hall chair is also required.

Tony Rice-Oxley Chair, Hall Committee

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Christ Church Portsdown Mothers’ Union, including members from St George’s

We held our first meeting of the year on 1[st] February, a church service led by the Revd Andy Wilson, followed by our branch AGM.

Our March meeting was themed on St David’s Day. We heard details of the life of St David, Wales’ Patron Saint, and members had brought items including small models of coracles, a Welsh blanket, and two dogs made of Welsh coal.

In April our speaker was Dee Humphris describing how she had trained for and ran the London Marathon in 2019.

Elizabeth Mitchell talked to us at our May meeting about the charity “Tear Fund” which with its partners helps the poorest in the world, setting up self help groups and bringing clean water to villages in Africa.

Our annual summer Tea Party in June had a Jubilee theme. Members and guests enjoyed an afternoon with a buffet tea, various stalls, a quiz and a large raffle.

In July our speaker Eileen Jones’ subject was the International Marriage Ministry and in September Julia Mitchell spoke about the Leprosy Mission. At our service on 4[th] October a new member, Sarah, was admitted. Afterwards we adjourned to the Church Hall for our belated 85[th] Anniversary Tea (delayed due to Covid 19). We had tea and lots of cakes, plus a cake with “Happy Birthday” in candles.

During our November meeting “Childhood Memories of Christmas” members recalled wartime Christmases spent abroad; stockings hung up on Christmas Eve, decorating the tree, silver 3d pieces in the Christmas pud, making paper chains and having real candles on the tree!

We held our Advent / Christmas Party on 6[th] December, where we welcomed guests from other MU branches and churches. There were prayers, Christmas readings and poems, carols and a Christmas themed quiz, plus a tea of sandwiches, savouries, cakes and trifle. Donations totalling £132.20 were collected for “Literacy and Trauma in South Sudan”.

Janet Johnson

Mission and Stewardship Committee Report

The committee met three times during the year, but there were additional meetings of the three stewardship groups set up at the PCC Awayday, in order to prepare for the Stewardship campaign taking place in 2023. Items that were discussed included the preparation of welcome packs to be handed to new members of the church. These were completed during the course of the year. We had a visit from the community engagement officer from ASDA to discuss the needs of our community, and how we might respond to this as

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a church. One result of this was the Christmas lunch that we provided for those who were likely to be isolated at Christmas, and for which we received a generous community grant from ASDA.

We also arranged for Chris Parker, the Diocesan Stewardship Advisor, to speak to the PCC in preparation for our Stewardship campaign. There was a very successful Awayday for the PCC and members of the Mission and Stewardship Committee at the Convent of the Sisters of Bethany in Southsea.

Community Engagement

The following things were set under the Mission and Stewardship subcommittee, and which have been a great success.

It was also noted by the committee that the Parent and Toddler weekly sessions, under the leadership of Dawn Hyett, continue to be very successful and oversubscribed.

Fr Colin, Chair Committee

Pastoral Committee Report

Members: Patricia Byrne, Rosy Stone, Marian Haughton, Anne Morgan, Lynn Winter, Linda Smith, Shirley Vann, Candy Williams, Lynne McNeill

Patricia took over as Head of Pastoral from Anne Morgan in April 2022, and has restructured the Committee to deal solely with pastoral issues such as baptisms, bereavements training, sick adults and children, the elderly, and safeguarding when appropriate, with each member of the team having involvement with visiting, telephoning, carrying out baptism visits, and attending baptisms.

One of Bishop Jonathan’s initiatives has been to set up an Anna Chaplaincy Division, recruiting members from churches across the Diocese. St. George’s has an Anna Chaplain who has been through her training and is now licenced as an Anna Chaplain; this will come under the remit of the Pastoral Committee.

We meet every two months and so far have had a very busy year taking care of our congregation. Patricia would like to pass on her personal thanks to all

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members of the Pastoral Committee; without everyone’s dedication and commitment, it would not be possible to carry out all of the Committee’s wideranging duties.

Patricia Byrne Chair, Pastoral Committee

EcoChurch at St George’s Report

In October 2022 the EcoChurch group was formed and met for the first time. We wanted to see how St George’s could become more aware about our responsibilities as Christians to care for God’s creation. We decided that working towards the EcoChurch Bronze Award would provide a helpful structure that would inform and inspire us in this ministry.

EcoChurch is an outreach of the Christian environmental charity A Rocha. This charity provides support for churches and other communities. This support includes sharing of environmental information and creative ideas to help care for God’s creation.

The Bronze Award considers five areas:

By working towards this award we are sharing the message of the Good News and engaging with the fifth mark of the Church’s mission which is God’s mission

‘to strive to safeguard the integrity of creation and sustain and renew the life of the earth.’

The first thing the EcoChurch group did was to complete the award questionnaire. This helped us to review what St George’s is already doing to care for the environment. It also enabled us to make an initial plan of what we needed to do next.

Initially the EcoChurch decided to inform the church community. We did this by producing a leaflet and creating an information display in the church.

We then conducted some surveys with the help of various sub-committees. We collected information about windows, power supplies, central heating, use of Fairtrade products, use of environmentally friendly products, use of

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recycling bins, information about the care of the churchyard, and information about other issues.

Members of the group attended a diocesan EcoChurch meeting to help broaden our horizons in this field.

The church community was invited to participate in using the communal Christmas card which had been made by the Sunday School. This reduced the use of individual cards and therefore preserved natural resources. It was another way of informing about EcoChurch.

In the autumn two apple trees were planted in the churchyard to commemorate the Queen’s platinum jubilee and as an outreach to the wider community of Waterlooville. The future apples will be a food resource for all. St. George’s Toddler Group were invited to participate in the tree planting. Using mini spades, the children enthusiastically covered the tree roots with soil and participated in the prayer and blessing led by Father Colin.

During services there have been prayers for the care of the environment and some preaching on this theme. During Advent, the Archbishop of York’s Advent Book, Sleepers Awake, was read by a good number of the congregation. The book considered the urgency of the Christian call to action and care of all God’s creation.

In 2023, the EcoChurch group plans to continue its work towards the EcoChurch bronze award. In this way we hope to continue to encourage both the church and wider community to have a deeper awareness, love and care for all God’s creation.

We are planning to work with the Toddler Group to place some bird boxes and bug boxes in the churchyard. We hope too to place a Coronation bug cathedral in the churchyard as a safe-haven for small creatures and as a commemoration of the Coronation of King Charles III.

We will present the PCC with a Land Management Plan for the churchyard.

We will continue work on the use of compost heaps and development of the dead-hedge.

We will invite the Sunday School to plant wild flower seeds in the wild meadow area.

We plan to host a film night for the wider community. We will show a film, Climate Change, the facts , followed by conversation around the issue.

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We hope to develop the range of recycle bins available at St. George’s.

We would encourage a policy of walk, cycle and car-share to church. We plan to research and potentially install bike racks in the churchyard. The racks would also be a resource for the wider community.

We are hoping to make a link with our link diocese of Kofuridua, Ghana, in order to share with each other the ways we are caring for God’s creation. In this way we hope to broaden our global engagement.

The EcoChurch group has made a fruitful start towards St George’s becoming an EcoChurch. We are excited to continue this work. We hope that, with God’s help, in 2023 we will support St. George’s to achieve the bronze award, and to continue to develop lifelong patterns to care for all of God’s creation.

Rev Liz Quinn

Safeguarding Report Training & development

The Portsmouth Diocese is committed to ensuring that all church officers are aware of their safeguarding responsibilities and have the core skills and knowledge to protect children and/or adults from harm. The Church of England Safeguarding Learning & Development Framework 2021 sets out the expectations and requirements for safeguarding training for all ordained and lay church officers within the diocese, whether they are paid or unpaid. The Diocese Safeguarding Team have produced a training matrix to indicate the training required by the Diocese of Portsmouth for specific roles: https://cofeportsmouth.contentfles.net/media/assets/fle/Portsmouth_Diocese _Training_Matrix_February_2023_V_2.pdf

Safeguarding training can raise sensitive and emotive issues. If you feel unable to complete any required training for your role due to personal experiences, you may be offered an exemption or pass. If you would like to talk to someone from the Safeguarding Team about this prior to attending a course, please don’t hesitate to contact the Diocese Safeguarding Trainer Julia Barton via : Julia.barton@portsmouth.anglican.org or via mobile on 07384 548190.

Vulnerable Adults

Definition of a Vulnerable Adult: A person aged 18 or over, who is or maybe in need of a community care service by reason of mental or other

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disability, age or illness and who is, or maybe, unable to take care of him or herself, or unable to protect him or herself against significant harm or exploitation.

We often consider a vulnerable adult to be someone who is impacted by illness, infirmity or perhaps have learning difficulties, however those who are impacted by circumstances such as domestic abuse / violence, or a bereavement which can impact on an individual's mental health can also be deemed vulnerable.

An example of supporting and working with vulnerable adults can be seen within the ministry of the Anna Chaplaincy programme /network: Anna Chaplaincy is a ministry of the Christian charity BRF and has been established specifically to provide care for older people, especially those living in care homes and sheltered accommodation, and to their families and the staff that look after them. Anna Chaplains also promote the spiritual welfare of older people in the wider community, particularly those facing challenges living independently.

Bishop Jonathan made care for older people one of his two main priorities, in his presidential address at the April 2022 meeting of the Diocesan Synod, aiming to create a network of Anna Chaplains across the diocese. The first Anna Chaplain in the diocese was licensed on the Isle of Wight in 2021, and the second in April 2022 on the mainland. The plan is to have an Anna Chaplain in every parish, benefice and cluster in the diocese. They are named after Anna, the widow and faithful older person who – together with Simeon – recognised the infant Jesus as the Messiah in the temple at Jerusalem.

Child Protection

The Diocese of Portsmouth is committed to safeguarding children, young people and adults and creating protective and supportive environments where all people, especially those who may be vulnerable, are able to worship and pursue their faith journey in safety. The diocese and St George's follows the national legal and procedural framework for safeguarding children and adults, as well as Church of England specific policy and practice. Reporting abuse or raising a concern

If someone is in immediate danger or needs urgent medical attention contact the emergency services on 999. If the situation you are reporting is not an emergency, please use the contact sheet via this page: - https://www.churchofengland.org/safeguarding/safer church

There are Safeguarding Advisers in every Church of England diocese across the country and Safeguarding Officers in every parish. If you are worried about someone and want to raise a concern or report abuse, please contact the Diocesan Safeguarding Adviser or initially your church PSOs [parish safeguarding officers]: Sonja Pask OR Lynn Winter - Deputy Safeguarding Officer- safeguarding@stgeorges.church

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The Portsmouth Diocese have a team of Safeguarding experts to support you. If you have a safeguarding concern, the Portsmouth Safeguarding Team can be contacted during office hours, Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm via: safeguarding@portsmouth.anglican.org / 023 9289 9665

Out of Hours advice can be sought from the Thirtyone:eight helpline on 0303 003 1111, selecting option 2.

All new parish safeguarding concerns should be reported to the Diocesan Safeguarding Team using the safeguarding report form:

https://cofeportsmouth.contentfles.net/media/assets/fle/SG_Report_Form_0 zgHWHb.docx

In addition to this, the National Safeguarding Team manages safeguarding cases relating to senior clergy including bishops and deanssafeguarding@churchofengland.org

Reports of children and young people at risk of abuse and neglect should be made to the children's social care team at their local council. You can find contact details for these teams via the Government website.

Adult safeguarding concerns should be reported to their local authority adult social care team. You can find contact details for these teams via the NHS website.

Getting support from other organisations:

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Diocesan Safeguarding Advisory Panel

The Diocesan Safeguarding Advisory Panel (DSAP) plays an important role in the Diocese of Portsmouth, The DSAP works in partnership with the Bishop’s Staff and the Diocesan Safeguarding Team in offering strategy, policy and practice advice and support to the Diocese. The DSAP is constituted in line with the House of Bishop’s practice guidance ‘Key Roles and Responsibilities of Church Office Holders and Bodies 2017’. The DSAP Chair reports to the Bishop of Portsmouth. DSAP members are appointed by the Bishop and include professionals with expertise and current experience in the strategic overview and practices regarding the safeguarding of children and adults.

Contacting the DSAP

If you are not happy about how a safeguarding matter has been dealt with and you cannot resolve the issue or concern with the Diocesan Safeguarding Team you can contact the Independent Chair of the Diocesan Safeguarding Advisory Panel. The DSAP is always interested in hearing feedback and comments regarding safeguarding matters in the diocese. If you wish to comment, compliment or complain about a safeguarding concern the Chair of the Panel contact details are below:

Kerry Young (Chair of Safeguarding Advisory Panel): c/o Diocese of Portsmouth, First Floor, Peninsular House, Wharf Road, PO2 8HB

Sonja Pask Parish Safeguarding Officer (PSO) safeguarding@stgeorges.church

George’s Men

No report received.

St George’s Ladies report

St George’s Ladies have a Facebook group which keeps people up-to-date with what is going on and anyone not on Facebook is sent an email. In February we had a get together and planning session in the Hall to come up with ideas of things to do during the year. In March there was a Beetle Drive and Games evening which was enjoyed by all who attended. Rev Sandra kindly offered a Lent course at her house on Thursday afternoons during Lent.

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Our April meeting was at Sue Hodgens, Edge of Beyond, when we had a good natter as well as fixing some of the poppy hangings. Some of us went to Bluebell Woods to do the beautiful bluebell walk and then went to warm up in the Rising Sun after for a drink. In May, Mo hosted A Night at the Movies when you shared memories of your favourite movie and people took a dessert along to share. In June, 19 of us went for afternoon tea at Northney tea rooms which was thoroughly enjoyed by all. A Parish outing was held on 25th June to “The Life of Christ” at Wintershall which several of the St George’s Ladies attended and was enjoyed by all.

In July we had our annual BBQ, games and swim evening at Glendene with everyone taking a picnic. In August Tony and Mo kindly hosted a Steam Railway evening at their house and everyone who wanted to had a go at driving Tony’s train and they provided us with some lovely food. People again took part in the Strictly Come Dancing Sweepstake which is always good fun.

In October we held another Poppy workshop in the Hall to get them all ready to go up for Remembrance Sunday and several ladies helped to put them up and take them down afterwards. In November the Church shop took place for 2 weeks which we helped with. In December we had our pre-Christmas get together in the Hall. Thanks you to Dawn H for the craft activity and to everyone for their Snatch raffle prizes which is always good fun. Our post Christmas evening meal has been arranged for 25th January at No 73.

Jane Cook

Walsingham Cell Report

It was so lovely to be able to organise our annual visit to Walsingham again after the pandemic had left us unable to visit for 2 years.

The St George’s group of 23 pilgrims set out on the Friday after Easter and as usual we travelled with our friends from St Albans, West Leigh, St John’s, Rowlands Castle and St Faith’s, Havant, 45 in all. The Havant Cell were again led by Bishop John Hind.

The St George’s pilgrims were very fortunate to have both Fr Colin Lawlor and Fr Charles Howard leading the Waterlooville Cell. St George’s serving team again enhanced the wonderful outdoor processions and we again experienced the beautiful liturgies and the fantastic food.

On the Saturday our coach driver took us to Cromer for the afternoon which everyone thoroughly enjoyed.

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During 2022 Pilgrims met at St Faith's on 13[th] March for a Cream Tea and on 24[th] July gathered at Marian Haughton's house for a BBQ. On both occasions services were held.

This annual trip is always the weekend immediately after Easter and costs approximately £250 per person.

Linda Wainwright and Jane Cook currently do all the admin for this. We have 26 people booked on the 2023 Pilgrimage from St George’s. If you are thinking about joining us in 2024 (the dates will be 5[th] to 7[th] April 2024) or if you would like more information about this weekend please do talk to one of us.

Linda Wainwright / Jane Cook

St George’s Holy Dusters Report

The last 12 months have seen the 16 stalwart members of the Holy Dusters team continuing their “behind-the-scenes” and often unnoticed hard work and efforts to ensure that St. George’s is kept spick and span for everyone.

The fortnightly cleaning sessions mean that each member of the Holy Dusters is “on duty” quite frequently, and we would very much welcome other members of the congregation to come forward and join our team, thereby helping to spread the burden of this important work.

Each and every one of the church cleaning team has done their bit throughout the last year, and it would be remiss of me not to personally thank Sue Hodgens, Rosy Stone, Margaret Deal, June Diaper, Ian Gibson, John & Lindsay Hood, Anne Morgan, Christine Culley, Jane & Steve Cook, Marian & Barry Haughton, Pat Mitchell, and Sharon Hillary for their time, hard work, and ongoing commitment to this very important, if not exactly glamourous, aspect of our church.

Patricia Byrne

Church Flower Fund Report

We are very grateful for the donations we receive from the congregation to enable us to use fresh flowers for the Festivals. Flowers are very expensive and, whilst we all would probably prefer to see fresh flowers each week, the monies in the Fund do not stretch that far. We have a huge stock of artificial flowers, which are used extensively with fresh greenery during ‘lean’ times.

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Thank you to the small team of flower arrangers for their time each week and especially for preparing the Festival flowers at Easter, Christmas and for the Music Festival.

June Diaper

Bible Reading Fellowship Report

Seventeen people subscribed to the Bible Reading Fellowship New Daylight notes during 2022. The booklet gives a printed passage from the Bible for each day of the year on a set theme, which changes every 10 days or so, with prayers and comment written by a wide variety of theologians. Published 3 times a year in January, May and September the Group subscription rate from May 2023 will be £4.95 per copy and there is now a large print deluxe edition available at £6.25 per copy.

I continue to deliver copies at the appropriate time to a number of parishioners who are unable to attend Church.

I have sample copies available and I can easily arrange new subscriptions - just ask me. There is also the option to receive the notes via a computer or mobile phone if preferred.

Linda Wainwright

Havant Deanery Synod Report

There have been 2 meetings during the year - the 196[th] meeting was held on Monday 20[th] June at St John the Baptist Church Hall in Purbrook. There was a brief update on the request to take Leadership paper to Diocesan Synod. This will now be put forward at Bishops Council in July. At present there is a Mission & Pastoral sub-committee and a Standing & Finance Committee and it is proposed to join these together to form a single Deanery Council covering all in the existing groups and this will be brought up as a formal proposal in November Synod.

Diocesan and Deanery Plan

There was a brief update and it was announced that the intention is that more clarity on direction and priorities will be issued from the Diocese from September onwards. At the November Diocesan Synod, a budget will be presented for 2023 to enable the Diocese to move forward. Between now and then we are asked to look at strategic priorities and consider how they can be incorporated in the deanery action plan:

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� Anna Chaplaincy Points to consider:

Feedback:

Anna Chaplaincy

A presentation was made by Coleen Jackson (Anna Chaplain) and Debbie Ducille (National Anna Chaplaincy Lead).

Anna Chaplaincy is one of two priorities that Bishop Jonathan is moving forward. An Anna Chaplain is appointed, authorised, and sent out under the ~~authority of their parish church. The main purposes of an Anna Chaplain are:~~

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●Offering spiritual support to older people who are living in care homes and sheltered housing complexes, their relatives and staff who look after them.

●Promoting the spiritual welfare of older people in the wider community, particularly those facing challenges living independently.

Lots of churches are already involved in many elements of pastoral care for the elderly and Anna Chaplaincy is not about reinventing things. An Anna Chaplain can be seen working with older people, supporting relatives and carers, supporting staff, working with older people, working with churches, working with the community and across the generations. Working alongside the Anna Chaplains are the Anna Friends. These volunteers are invaluable, often giving a few hours a week to suit their own circumstances and play to their strengths and gifts. In this way, the Anna Chaplaincy movement is empowering more lay people to be part of supporting older people and meeting their spiritual needs.

With a focus on family life, this is part of an intergenerational movement. There are currently 28 Diocese involved with Anna Chaplaincy and the goal of Portsmouth Diocese is to have an Anna Chaplain in every parish/benefice/cluster/etc, with the hope to have the first 20 chaplains trained in September 2022 and licenced/commissioned in November 2022. Support will then be provided to help them identify their Anna Friends. There is a section on the Diocese of Portsmouth website dedicated to Anna Chaplaincy. This will be kept up-to-date and can be found here: https://www.portsmouth.anglican.org/anna-chaplaincy/

More information regarding Anna Chaplaincy is available upon request.

The 197[th] meeting was held on Tuesday 17[th] November at The Church of the Good Shepherd, Crookhorn.

Kate Macfarlane was licensed as Associate Area Dean of the Deanery of Havant. CoGs talked about their Bus Stop ministry which is growing and from hot chocolate offered at the bus stop has turned into a breakfast café reaching out into the community.

The Diocesan and Deanery Mission Action Plan has been revised and the teams are:

  1. Mission 2. Enabling leadership 3. Partnership/working together 4. Youth and children

Please consider is somebody in your church is suited to one of these teams. Chris Parker, the Diocesan Stewardship Advisor and member of Hart Plain Church gave a presentation on Stewardship.

Rev’d Canon Nick Ralph, Head of Mission and Social Transformation for the Diocese of Portsmouth gave a presentation on data and how to best use it. There is some information at: www.churchofengland.org/researchandstats.

Candy Williams / Tony Rice-Oxley

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St George’s News and Website Report

With life returning to normal and church activities up and running again, there was more church news to report about after a difficult time with a dearth of activity during the years of lockdown.

However COVID and time has taken its toll and there are several quite prolific magazine contributors no longer with us for various reasons, so our biggest problem now is finding people ready and willing to write articles for the magazine to fill the pages. If there is a budding author inside you with any inspiration of a subject to write about, your contribution to the magazine will be gratefully received. Reports on church activities are particularly welcome, but the subject does not need to be specifically church related, items of general interest are fine, maybe a holiday, or about a Charity you support, or a hobby. We just need to be careful of copyright when it comes to using something published elsewhere, so original material please, or at least permission of the author if someone else wrote it!

That apart, not much has changed, and the magazine continues to be published four times a year, whilst the website is updated virtually every day and contains a vast amount of content, including past magazines, the Parish Calendar with up to date information on all church activities, PCC minutes, APCM reports, Hall bookings and availability and much more.

As ever, please support our advertisers as they enable the magazine to be printed in colour and still return a profit to church funds; also we are always looking for ideas and ways to improve and suggestions are very welcome.

John Johnson

St George’s Church Bereavement and Friendship Group Report Meet, second Monday of every month from 10-12 in the Church hall – all are welcome.

Our monthly group is going from strength to strength, with about 30 people attending each month and has been up to 45 people. We continue to run on a voluntary donation basis and we do a raffle. Many people bring a little raffle prize for the table.

After costs, any money left over goes into our account, and we let it build up until there is enough to spend it on an outing. Last year we paid nearly £600 for the coach to take 22 of us to the garden centre near Birdworld, and also paid for 20 people to go to the Pantomime at the Kings in December. This

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year so far, we have paid 150 to the Chichester canal boat ride in June and we shall go for lunch afterwards. (for 22 people). We also go out for lunch, every fourth Monday of the month - this month, March 23rd, 16 of us went to the Forge at Waltham Chase, lots of chatting and laughing!

There is also the bereavement support that we can provide and in the last 12 months we have supported many people on a 1-1 basis, totalling over 150 visits. Anyone can be referred for bereavement support if really struggling with the loss of a loved one, and you can contact me directly or come to the coffee morning.

I would like to thank all the helpers that support our group, especially Lindsay Hood who has been our kitchen Angel. Without all the support and drivers for our outings it would probably not be possible to run the group, so a huge thank you to the team.

Thank you also to Fr Colin and Rev Liz, as I know they come when they can.

Linda Smith

St George’s Choir Report

Musically, 2022 started in a much better place than 2021 with most of the Covid restrictions on singing and music making lifted. The choir made a full return to Sunday service singing with additional extras such as Candlemas Carols, an evensong for Pentecost Sunday and the full round of Easter Services which had not been possible in the previous few years.

The last Sunday in October included a Requiem for All Souls’ where the choir prepared John Rutter’s Requiem as the mass setting and which was ‘performed‘ with a small orchestra and organ. Services over the Advent season included an atmospheric Advent Carol Service at the end of November and at the end of December it was great to welcome a sizable congregation for the Christmas Carol Service, this year again with the added colour of a small brass group.

I’d like to thank Fr Colin and the churchwardens for all their help and support; all the members of the choir for their hard work and dedication and also to you all for your kind words and encouragement for all we do musically together, it is very much appreciated.

David Cain, Director of Music

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St George’s Servers Report

Once again it’s time for me to write the Head Server’s report. Fortunately, since the pandemic, things have returned pretty much to normal. We have a regular team of 5 who serve on a Wednesday morning. Thank you very much to them! Norma is going to join the Wednesday team, once trained. If anyone else is interested in serving on a Wednesday morning, please let me know! Many thanks to Patricia who has been on the Wednesday morning team, but is no longer available due to other commitments.

On a Sunday morning we now have an MC/Crucifer position, because we currently have Rev. Liz, who performs some of the MC’s duties, and 2 acolytes. So we have a regular team of 3 at the 10 o’clock mass. We have 9 servers on the regular Sunday morning rota. Many thanks to these! And then we have an additional 3 people who are trained as thurifers, when we require one. I have one new server due to be trained and several young Sunday School members who can perform as boat girls.

Thank you very much to all the servers for your continued support and commitment. I also hope to reintroduce the servers’ annual dinner!

Anne Morgan, Head Server

Youth Ministry at St George’s Report

In the autumn term Chris Gadd and Rev Liz began researching and discussing Youth ministry for St George’s. There were two particular aspects on which we focused.

  1. How we could support young people who are already part of the worshiping community.

  2. How we could reach out to young people in the wider community of Waterlooville.

We researched online to find out what other churches were doing in their Youth Ministry. We made contact with COGS (Church of the Good Shepherd) Crookhorn and were invited with our young people to their youth evening. Their Families and Youth Worker also told us that they attended High Tide. This is a monthly meeting for young people (11-18) from Portsmouth Diocese and other Christian churches in the area. It enables young people to join together on a regular basis for fellowship and worship. Numbers of young people in individual churches might be small but High Tide gives the opportunity to come together in a larger community. We also made contact with St Luke’s , Hedge End. We were invited to visit their after-school

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outreach to all young people. They provide a drop-in café in the church straight after school. They provide pizza and other snacks and a safe place to socialise to about 180 school pupils.

Following this research, we have invited our three young people to attend High Tide. We attended for the first time in November 2022. Each month a different church hosts the gathering. The young people are enjoying meeting their peers from other churches. They take part in organised games and enjoy tasty food. They then have a time of teaching and worship led by a worship band.

We are planning to host High Tide at St George’s in May 2023. We have also made plans to have a St George’s home group. In 2023 we hope to make progress on developing a ministry to young people in the wider community of Waterlooville.

Rev Liz Quinn

Sunday School/Creche Report

During 2022 the Sunday school has met regularly throughout the year, only pausing for half term and the usual holidays.

The current age range of our children is approximately from 2 to 12 years. Numbers vary very much each week, from three to eight or nine plus. We continue to work largely together as there are not enough children in any one age group to split into separate ‘classes’. Books, toys and colouring are always made available for younger children.

The main themes of the year are followed. We continue to make good use of the lessons previously prepared by Anne Morgan, where appropriate, for which we are grateful.

On Remembrance Sunday, the children created poppy wreaths using round bases and stick on shapes. For the first time, they were able to lay their poppy wreaths at the Lych Gate along with those from the Services. By participating in this way, it helped to underline the importance and solemnity of the occasion.

As part of our intention to become an ‘Eco Church’, the children all decorated a ‘gingerbread man’ shape to put on the large Christmas card for everyone to enjoy and sign.

A big ‘Thank You’ goes to Sheila Howard for writing and producing the children’s Nativity Play at Christmas. This time using familiar carols as a

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basis. Several children felt that they would like to say a line each and these were very successfully added by Jess. (Thank you Jess!). All credit to the children, from the youngest speaker to the oldest, for being prepared to have a go and for each delivering their lines beautifully.

The children’s work is displayed on their board in the Church Hall and we have now started a ‘monthly slot’ in the Church Magazine reporting on what the children have been doing. Much as the children enjoy showing their work at the end of the Eucharist, we do hope they are not seen as ‘light entertainment’. There is serious intention in what we do and try to achieve.

Last but not least, we are short of volunteers to help with this vital work. Two of our regular helpers have needed to step down for health reasons and so a band of three are holding the fort. If you feel you could assist, please do speak with Father Colin.

The Sunday School Team

St George's Parent and Toddler Group Report

We have twenty-five children on the register and three babies due in the next few months. Many of the adults are grandparents while the children range from babies to pre-schoolers.

The children get the opportunity to do a craft each week. We try to do a painting craft at least once a term. Gluing is the children's favourite craft, we try to introduce different textures to them while being as environmentally friendly as possible by using things like wrappings from Easter eggs, off cut material and scrap paper from when cut-outs are done.

The toys are now rotated each week to allow time for cleaning, the mats are hoovered every half term. Hand gel and wipes are available, and most adults do their hands as they enter the hall.

We went into church twice during the year, once for the Easter Story and egg hunt, and again for the Christmas story read by Father Colin. After the Christmas story we returned to the hall to await Father Christmas and have a little party. We send a birthday card to each of the children from ‘Friends at St George’s Church Toddlers’ and many of the adults have said what a lovely idea it is after the child has received the card. We also held an indoor street party for the Queen's Platinum Jubilee, which the adults and children really enjoyed.

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Rev Liz comes in most weeks and Fiona continues to help serve the teas and coffees and has been leading the singing sessions. We try to sing songs to do with the craft that week. We always end each session with the song Hokey Cokey, which is a workout for adults and the children know it's the time to go home. I am very grateful for all that Fiona does for the children and Toddler Group as a whole.

I welcome people as they arrive, keep the register and accounts up to date. I shop for the milk and biscuits before each session then set up the room and craft table. The adults and children help pack the toys up before the singing session and place them by stage or cupboard. Tracy and Dawn then put the Toys in the cupboard or under the stage. We allow the adults to bring in children’s clothes etc they no longer need, then anyone can take them. The adults must ask if they can so that only one person a week brings bits in and they have to take home anything that noone takes.

If there is anyone out there who would like to help at Toddler Group, I would be very grateful. If you are free on a Tuesday morning during term time between 9.30am and 11.45am please contact Dawn Hyett. All helpers must undergo a DBS check. I would also like to thank Tracey for all her help at Toddlers.

Dawn Hyett

St George’s Social and Fundraising Committee Report

The Social and Fundraising Committee is without a Chair as we couldn’t find anyone to take it on so a different member of the Committee chairs each meeting.

We had a successful Quiz evening on Saturday 22[nd] January followed by a Race Night on Sat 26[th] February with chilli and Bolognese which was good fun and raised a good amount of money which was paid straight to the church.

We held Lent lunches each week from Wed 2[nd] March with homemade soup, bread, cheese, pate, pickled onions, pickle and tomatoes. On Saturday 26[th] March a Bingo and American Supper evening was held.

Juice and biscuits were served in church following the Eucharist before the APCM on Sunday 10[th] April. A coffee morning was held in the church grounds with balloons, flags and cakes to celebrate the Platinum Jubilee on Friday 3[rd] June.

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The Summer Fete was held on Saturday 11[th] June with the usual stalls, tombolas, raffle and BBQ which made much needed money for the church. A Parish Outing was organised to Wintershall to the “Life of Christ” on Saturday 25[th] June which22 of us attended and was enjoyed by all.

A Harvest Parish Lunch was held on Sunday 2[nd] October. The Charity Shop was open from 14[th] to 26[th] November and although the shop was smaller than usual we still made some much needed money for church funds. The traditional Christmas Bazaar was held on Saturday 3[rd] December.

After much discussion PCC decided to suspend the Friday coffee mornings for the time being due to the fact that hardly anyone was using it and it is getting harder to get volunteers. It has not been cancelled permanently and we can look at re-starting it when the weather gets better with some retraining of volunteers.

We are desperately in need of some new faces to come and join us in putting on Fundraising events in aid of the church. If you are interested do please talk to one of us.

Social and Fundraising Committee

St George’s Bonus Ball Fundraiser Report

One of several fundraising initiatives, this scheme has been running for many years. Each year it raises £530 as well as providing a bit of fun. With several new players joining recently we pay out about £37 per week to a winner, rolling it over to the next week if the winning number is not held.

Starting way back in 2008 there have been many winners but more importantly over £7500 has been passed into church accounts.

I do hope that the scheme continues after we have moved.

Tony Rice-Oxley

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Sainl George Ihe Martyr Waterlooville WWW,Stgeorges.church THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND www.stgeorgesnews.org