## **The Parish of St Johns, Loughton** **==> picture [342 x 189] intentionally omitted <==** # **The Annual Parochial Church Meeting** May 5th 2024 10.30am St John the Baptist Church 1 **==> picture [93 x 58] intentionally omitted <==** **==> picture [94 x 58] intentionally omitted <==** ## **The Parish of St John the Baptist, Loughton** ## **Annual Parochial Church Meeting Sunday 5th May 2024 10.30am** ## **AGENDA** **1. Election of Clerk to the Meeting** **2. Election of Tellers** **3. Election of Churchwardens** **4. Apologies for Absence** **5. Minutes of 2023 Annual Parochial Church Meeting** **6. Presentation of Electoral Roll** **7. Report on the Proceedings of the PCC** **8. Presentation of the Accounts ended 31 December 2023** **9. Presentation of Report upon the Fabric, Goods and Ornaments of the Parish 10. Presentation of Report on proceedings of the Deanery Synod** **11. Election of Safeguarding Officer for the Parish** **12. Election of representatives to the Parochial Church Council** **13. Appointment of Auditor** **14. Rector’s Report** **15. Confirmation of St. John’s Sides - people** **16. AOB.** 2 The Parish of St John the Baptist, Loughton Minutes of Annual Parochial Church Meeting 14[th] May 2023 – 10.30am ## **1. Election of Clerk to the Meeting** The Revd. Chris Davies, Rector, (in the Chair) opened the meeting at 10.30am with prayers and a welcome to all. There were approximately. Parishioners in attendance. Shen Smith agreed to be clerk and welcomed. ## **2. Election of Tellers** No Chairs were selected, as it seemed unlikely that any elections would be needed. Tony Dawson agreed to be a teller if required in future. ## **3. Election of Churchwardens** Johanna Duffett and Geoff Wolfson were proposed as Churchwardens and the paperwork has been signed appropriately, Jo and Geoff were elected unanimously to serve for another year. ## **4. Apologies for Absence** Apologies were received from Jo Duffett, Sally Fairweather, Jamie Favell, Sam Maginnis, Phil Northcott, James Hill and Josie Hart. ## **5. Minutes of the 2022 Annual Parochial Meeting** Were agreed and signed unanimously, as a true and accurate reflection of the meeting. ## **6. Presentation of the Electoral Roll** It was reported that the number on the Electoral Roll was 187 with 75 men and 112 women. This is 13 new members and minus 3 members on the electoral roll since last year who have moved on or sadly passed away. Chris thanked Gill for her continuing work over the last 43 years looking after the electoral roll and Sammy to update the electoral roll going forwards. ## **7. Report on the Proceedings of the PCC** . The PCC has met 6 times in the previous year in May, July, September, November, January. The meetings have been held on a Wednesday in the Church. The PCC has discussed various elements of Church Life, including by not exclusively Health and Safety, Safeguarding, Governance, structure in the Church and reserved accounts. It has been a fairly productive time. The Chair thanked all the PCC which sat on the PCC during that time and for all of the work they have done together. We have made some good progress in the life of the Church. It is a funny organisation, as although we are volunteers and a voluntary organisation, we are looking to be the best people we can be, God calls us to be. In the local community there are a number of bureaucratic functions that have to be completed, because it is a great joy in being a state Church and we have to follow various Church laws in getting things done. We have done this in the most productive way we can. Thank you to everyone involved. 3 Particular thanks to Shen who has taken on the role of Secretary, who has made a big difference in the quality of the minutes. ## **8. Presentation of the Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2022** The Accounts were presented which had been prepared by Phil Northcott (see attached) and had been seen by an independent auditor. These were presented and briefly discussed. The Diocese has reduced the amount we have given them, as we paid over the odds during Covid, and this is much fairer. We have also done some significant work to make our investments work a bit better for us. The accounts showed a fairly productive year and there were no questions. The meeting moved to accept the accounts were accepted as accurate by a unanimous vote. Chris thanked Phil for all he has done to get the accounts. ## **9. Presentation of Report upon the Fabric, Goods and Ornaments of the Parish** David Read presented a report on the fabric and goods of the church. He outlined what we had done to ensure that we are moving forward to ensure the quinquennial concerns are dealt with. He thanks Francis Genever for all he does to ensure little jobs are completed. Also thanked the probation service for all there are doing in the churchyard and all who took a role in maintaining our church. David Read confirmed the church was decorated pre covid and made such a difference. The carpet has been ordered and we will receive the carpet in 5 weeks, and it will take 3 days to fit. This was by an anonymous donation, which was very generous. The carpet will be a similar colour, as the current carpet has been down since 1980s. Geoff and Lesley photographed the fabric and ornaments, as we need to remain vigilant at this time, due to thefts at other Churches. David thanked those who jobs made a difference, such as the cleaners floral arrangers and Francis which pops in once a week to clean the brass, check wax on the candles and undertake any other job that needs doing. ## **10. Presentation of the Report on the Proceedings of the Deanery Synod** The Deary Synod has continued to meet, much of the discussion has been around the church finances and ensuring that the diocese can keep financially viable. During the year we have moved the Mission and Ministry Unit. Discussions also around increased lay involvement in the church. During the year also a new Bishop arrive in Chelmsford. Three vacancies elected every three years for deanery synod. Suhail Baithun and David Rodrick willing to stand again. Everyone voted yes unanimously for them both to serve for another year. ## **11. Election of Safeguarding Officer for the Parish** Sally has been undertaking her role for 40 years and doing it until end of this year. We will need to find a replacement. Sally mentioned a regular item on PCC was safeguarding and the majority of PCC members have undertaken the online. It is all going smoothly. Chris thanked Sally for her time and dedication, it is very much appreciated. ## **12.Election of Representatives to the Parochial Church Council** Need to elect 12 members of the PCC Nominations were received from: 4 Vicky Shankland, Phil Northcott, Sally Fairweather, Josie Hart, Sam Murdoch, Jamie Favell, Linda Cook, James Hill, Steve Hart, David Read. With 2 further vacancies outstanding. With no other candidates there were unanimously elected to serve on the PPC for the following year. Suhail Baithun, and David Roderick are automatically members of the PCC due to their election as Deanery Synod Reps. The clergy are automatically ex-offico members, Virgil Parenzee is also ex officio in his role as Director of Music. Chris thanked all those who had been part on the PCC in the previous year for all their hard work and all had stood down in the last year. There is no curate at the moment. Geoff and Jo are Church wardens by PCC rights. Virgil is director of music and an extremely important life of our church. Tony started this year, training to be lay minister/reader. Chris contacted all PCC and they confirmed they willing to re-stand again. Ther is one vacancy on the PCC, and anyone is welcome to come and join. No one accepted. Everyone voted to elect PCC members for the year ahead. ## **13. Appointment of Auditor** John Boughton is still willing to continue as our auditor and was duly appointed. Chris was happy for John to be auditor. ## 14. **Rectors’ Report** Chris thanked everyone, as they are all what make St Johns what it is. We have had a good year and doing our best we can to move forward. Thank you all for all you do. ## **15. Confirmation of St John’s Sides people** Chris gave a verbal report on the life of the church and confirmed our sides persons as the same as last year. Chris also thanked the congregation and all volunteers. ## **16. A.O.B.** CD thanked everyone for their attendance at the meeting. Signed: Date: 5 **ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS of the Parochial Church Council of ST JOHN the BAPTIST, LOUGHTON** ## **For the year ended 31 December 2023** ## **Administrative Information** St John the Baptist I situated in Loughton, Essex. It is part of the Diocese of Chelmsford, and within the Epping Forest North MMU and the Epping Forest and Ongar Deanery. The correspondence address is the Parish Office, Church Lane, Loughton, IG10 1PD. ## **The Parochial Church Council (PCC)** The PCC has the responsibility of co-operating with the incumbent, the Revd Chris Davies to promote in the ecclesiastical parish in the whole mission of the church: evangelistic, pastoral, social and ecumenical. It also has maintenance responsibilities for the church buildings. In practice, the day to day running of the Parish is delegated to the Parish Priest. Members of the PCC are either ex-officio or elected by the APCM in accordance with the church representation rules. The PCC members during the time of this report are: |Ex-officio members||| |---|---|---| |**Incumbent**|Revd Chris Davies|| |**Wardens**|GeoffreyWolfson|| ||Joanna Duffett|| |**Ordinand**|Elizabeth Gloyn|| |**LLM in training**|TonyDawson|| |**Deanery Synod**|Suhail Baithun|| ||David Roderick|Vice Chair| ||_Vacancy_|| |||| |**Elected Members**|(1)VickyShankland|| ||(2)Steve Hart|| ||(3)James Hill|| ||(4)SallyFairweather|Safeguarding| ||(5)Jamie Favell|| ||(6)Josie Hart|| ||(7)Linda Cook|| ||(8)David Read|| ||(9)Sam Murdoch|| ||(10)Phil Northcott|Treasurer| ||(11)Shen Smith|Secretary| ||(12) Virgil Parenzee|| The PCC met 6 times during the year to decide and discuss on the Churches affairs. The work of the PCC is over. The work of the PCC is overseen by officers who are given responsibility for a given area, and who involve both members of the PCC and wider church in the organisation in the operation of the churches activities as appropriate. These officers are accountable to the PCC and make reports to the PCC as appropriate. 6 ## **Our vision and mission.** St John the Baptist, Loughton sees its primary purpose as offering a variety of opportunities for prayer and worship, whether as a community or individually. To this end it holds a diverse range of services on Sundays and during the week and the church is open daily, providing the opportunity for private prayer. It also seeks to develop an open and welcoming Christian community based on the building. To achieve this, although we would like the church to be open every day for members of the wider community to come in and visit/pray; to be able to support groups that meet various community needs. St Johns sees itself as a church for and of the community and has the Safeguarding of all who visit at the forefront of its life. We have employed 1 member of Staff on a part time basis. In addition to the employed member of staff there are many volunteers and helpers who together seek to be a transforming presence within our communities to achieve the aims of the PCC, and the clergy. ## **Public Benefit** St Johns, Loughton provides public benefit in numerous ways which can be broadly categorised as follows: - a) Christian Witness St Johns is an active member of the Church of England and Churches Together in Loughton It seeks mutually positive engagement in all the surrounding communities at every level. An important motivation for this work includes sharing the love of God and promoting Christian values and teaching to benefit members and society at large. - b) Local communities Finding mutually beneficial areas of engagement within local communities is fundamental to the activities of the Church. St Johns seeks to both address the spiritual and practical needs of the people whom we live. - c) International Communities Another focus of St Johns is overseas mission work, and poverty relief. St Johns looks to support organisations that seek to share the love of God in both practical and spiritual areas. ## **Safeguarding** The Parochial Church Council (PCC) is committed to Safeguarding children, young people and vulnerable adults and has adopted the Church of England’s policies and best practice on Safeguarding which may be found on the Church of England website and also on the Diocese of Chelmsford website as well as the Parishes website. The Parish Safeguarding Officer can be contacted via the parish office. The PCC, as a registered charity, confirms that the major risks to which it may be exposed, have been identified and reviewed and systems and procedures put in place to manage any such risks and as such has complied with its duty under Section 5 of the Safeguarding and Clergy Discipline Measure 2016 and is committed to the safeguarding, care and nurture of everyone within our community, by: - Promoting a safer environment and culture; - Safely recruiting and supporting all those with any responsibility related to children and vulnerable adults within the Church; 7 - Responding promptly to every safeguarding concern or allegation; - Caring pastorally for victims/survivors of abuse and other affected persons; - Caring pastorally for those who are the subject of concerns or allegations of abuse and other affected persons; • Responding to those that may pose a present risk to others. Revd. Chris Davies…………………………………………Date…April 2024……………………. Incumbent/ Chairman of the PCC 8 ## **LOUGHTON PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL** ## **St. JOHN THE BAPTIST** **WITH St. NICHOLAS** **ACCOUNTS** 9 **Page 2** Independent Examiners Report To the PCC of St John, the Baptist with St Nicholas This report on the accounts of the P.C.C. for the year ended 31 December 2023 which are set out on pages 3-6 is in respect of an examination carried out under Regulation 43(2) of the Church Accounting Regulations 2006 (“Regulations”) and s.43 of the Charities Act 1993 ( “the Act”) As members of the P.C.C. you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts; you consider that and audit requirement of the Regulation and s43(2) of the Act does not apply. It is my responsibility to issue this report on those accounts in accordance with the terms of the Regulations. My examination was carried out in accordance with the general directions given by the Charity Commission under section 43(7) of the Act and to be found in the guidance from the CBF. The examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the PCC, a comparison of the accounts with those records. It also includes considering any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts and seeking such explanation from you and the trustees concerning such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit, and consequently I do not express an audit opinion on the view given by the accounts. In connection with my examination, no matter has come to my attention: - 1 Which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in any material respect the requirements: - To keep records in accordance with section 41 of the Act, and - To prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records and copy with the requirements of the Act, as contained in the Church Accounting Regulations 1997. - 2 To which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to reach a proper understanding of the accounts except for those noted on Page 6 Mr John Boughton, Hon. Auditor 38 Wellfields 10 Loughton, Essex. LOUI-HTLIII F ROCHIALLHURCH CUUllilL I)F:TJOHII THE BAPTIST Pdge 3 JITH ST NII-HI-IL4b FOR THE I'EAR ENDED 3IDEcE￿1E,ER •D2D Tolal Unrertnrttij Dere )4tefit 31l¥-=Ignifl:3nt bLÉ r3fè3 Th￿* arÈ undÉr t*￿￿￿.31 A￿th￿rIty Atth13 UmÉthé113blllt¥ 3 Théadi Ustmént ts cpénl n& bal 3nco& Is r4ulred 14