Annual Parochial Meeting - 2021
Vicar’s Report
As I was in the garden, chopping up the last branches from when I recently decimated the vicarage hedge with a chainsaw, I started thinking about seasons. My hedge, now half height and very bare looked sad and lifeless, yet inside I was very confident that within a few weeks it will be budding into renewed life and vigor, a resting place for the charm of goldfinches and crews of sparrows that visit our garden regularly. As Solomon said,there is a time for everything under heaven.
We know how the annual seasons work. Church seasons are longer as a rule, more like once a generation, rather than annual. I can heartily recommend reading the Lion Handbook of Christian History, which really brings out how God is always on the move, as it highlights the many movements and renewals that have happened throughout 2000 years of human history.
So what about us as a church? Are we looking for the signs of new life, in a similar way that I do everytime I walk past my chewed up hedge wondering if I chopped too much off?
Much of last year was consumed by lockdowns, anxiety and real losses. It is easy to be downcast by that and to focus on what didn't happen. But my confidence is that the spirit of Jesus we carry around inside us, will again bring new life and
growth if we just cooperate with Him. However it is also easy to dismiss the past year as if nothing happened, yet I believe God was working in the midst of that too, and there are things to highlight.
Change is a positive biblical reality – God expects us to change.
We won’t and cannot pass through this difficult season without being changed in various ways. Whilst our aim is to move forwards, not backwards we need to recognise that change is a positive biblical reality – God expects us to change as we read and contemplate what he has to say to us. So, what positive, significant truths can be learned? What lessons does this demanding season teach us that will help us modify our relationships, our priorities and our current world view, so they better reflect truth and reality?
Here are some reflections on what has come out of this time:
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1. We don’t have the ability to control our world as we perhaps thought we had.
We understand that although we might be able to modify some of the disastrous effects of a tsunami or volcanic eruption and certainly respond to COVID-19, we are in the end powerless before their brutal intrusions. This pandemic intrusion has left us realising that we are less in control of our world than we might have thought we were.It has knocked us around. As a community generally, it has caused enormous dents in our presumption that we are an autonomous and sophisticated community, confident to handle whatever comes.
Instead, it is raising fundamental questions about who is really in control over our nation, over our community and ultimately over each of our own individual lives. Are our lives really autonomous or is it true that we are answerable to the God who is wielding history according to his own awesome plan, moving it inevitably to a truly magnificent end point? And if so, isn’t it very wise to place our lives under his control and share what he has prepared? For the Christian, the reminder is just as timely and strong: if we genuinely trust Jesus for our life and salvation, that trust will show itself in a life brought under his authority and acknowledging his control.
2. God does have the ability to bring good things out of a calamity
In our own family we have seen both negatives and positives as we have adapted to this crisis . And apart from the obvious ones such as our son getting engaged there are hidden ones too. God has built faith, character and purpose into the lives of people we know as they handle some of the adversity that has come their way. Out of adversity they
have grown a new strength and resilience. And that’s down to the touch of God’s hand!
In the church, out of our separation, Jesus is helping us to appreciate in a fresh way the value of being in close community. We appreciate in a fresh way the value of friendship, of looking out for each other and of mutually building each other up in the faith. Perhaps the often selfish trend in our society towards individualism is being slowed. In our limitations, God has supplied alternative ways of meeting that don’t involve being physically present with one another. And the day is coming when hugs will be on the agenda again! Actually, when you think about it, we ought not to be surprised that God is displaying this wonderful capacity for bringing good things out of bad. After all, in the face of the injustice, death and seeming defeat of his own Son at the cross, he actually drew the greatest victory of all. Out of his victory, he caused the flow of forgiveness and salvation that is now offered to you and me when we trust him with our lives.
3. We’ve been given the chance to reassess our lives in the light of the future
If it’s true that we have been understanding our lives and priorities in the same way the world generally has, and our vision has been limited to the “now”, this COVID season is giving us a chance to realise afresh how limited that view is. Instead, Christians are taught to lift our eyes to see the huge view of the future which belongs to God. His future is already secured and, by faith, it has become our inheritance too. When Jesus returns, he will gather up all those he “took hold of” during their earthly lives and they will share with him in the New Heaven and New Earth. There will be no tears, no grief, no pain, no death. Instead,
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we will be face to face with the Lord Jesus as he fulfils every final area of blessing, joy and righteousness. This is when the incredible potential he has built into each one of us is no longer potential but a magnificent reality. Hopefully as christians we see our present life and experience in the light of this glorious future. The way we live now will be inevitably changed by this eternal perspective. It’s not that the “now” isn’t important; it’s that our future with Jesus is the ultimate important reality to make sure we are grasping securely. Now is a good time to check our perspectives.
4. Time spent stepping out of our normal routine can be renewing
I know it’s a hackneyed observation, but most of us do live life at a fast pace. Unless we are very well organised, we rarely put time aside to stop and think, reflect, catch up. But at the moment, many have slowed in their life simply because they don’t have any other option. We’ve been forced off the merry-go-round. The result is we have less of a sense of chasing our tails. Perhaps God, in his grace, is giving us time to re-engage with him. And perhaps that is something we need to continue as life's speed picks up again.
5. There is a new openness in the community to considering spiritual truths
In talking to other church leaders, they have shared instances where people’s responses such as anxiety, fear and uncertainty have led to a new openness to the existence of God and the meaning and purpose of life. In some churches, more are attending church online than were previously attending in person. Some who have been on the fringe are now regularly watching. New people are attending online alpha courses, searching for the opportunity to clarify who Jesus is. We can pray that this move continues.
6. We’ve been reminded of our ability to respond creatively to a challenge
We are especially aware of all those who are involved in frontline responses. We know we are “all in this together”, but have we also remembered the enormous variety of gifts and expertise that God has nurtured in us? There is a lot of creative thinking going on about how best to tackle the challenges of this present time. For instance, thank God for those with the capacity to prepare online services in church and other forms of reaching a new generation.
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. Romans 8: 28
At the heart of everything, we trust the Romans 8:28 God. As in every succeeding generation, he is moving his unstoppable plan forward. We eagerly await the time when the pandemic is under control and we can regularly meet again face to face. Even more so, we look forward to our ultimate gathering around the Lord Jesus. I think it will be a long while in the future when we can truly see fully what God has been up to over this period, but I know that he hasn't let go. And that he has plans for the future.
Alan
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The Annual Parochial Church Council Report 2020
The Church and Church Office are situated on the B6133 in Normanton.
The Council is required, as stated in the Parochial Church Councils (Powers) Measure 1956, to co-operate with the ministers in promoting in the parish the whole mission of the Church, pastoral, evangelistic, social and ecumenical.
Membership
Members of the PCC are either ex-officio or elected by the Annual Parochial Church Meeting (APCM) in accordance with the Church Representation Rules.
During the year, the following served as members of the PCC:
| Incumbent: | Alan Murray | |
|---|---|---|
| Wardens: | Andy Vanstan (from APCM 2020) | Training |
| Vacant Positon | ||
| Treasurer: | Derek Howell (from APCM 2019) | Giving Ofcer |
| Secretary: | Marianne Fernandez (from PCC Sept 2020) | |
| Minute Taker: | Rachel Budby (from APCM 2017) | |
| Deanery Synod : | Sue Hodgson (from APCM 2020) | |
| Denise Sayles (from APCM 2020) | ||
| Michelle West (from APCM 2020) | Disability | |
| 1 positon vacant | ||
| Elected Members: | Gavin Budby (from APCM 2018) | Young People |
| Stewart Drury (from APCM 2018) | ||
| Judith Howell (from APCM 2018) | Children | |
| Marianne Fernandez (from APCM 2019) | ||
| Leah Huddlestone (from APCM 2020) | ||
| Ann Preston (from APCM 2020 - 2nd term) | ||
| June Townend (from APCM 2019) | ||
| Elaine Wells (from APCM 2020 - 2nd term) | Environment |
The Standing Committee
The Standing Committee is a statutory committee which deals with anything that arises in between PCC meetings. The committee consists of the Incumbent, Churchwardens, Vice Chair, Treasurer, Secretary and two elected PCC members.
The retiring members of the PCC are:
Gavin Budby Stewart Drury Judith Howell
There are 106 parishioners on the Electoral Roll, 30 of whom are not resident within the parish. No names were added to the Roll, 1 requested to be removed, 1 has moved out of the area and 2 deceased.
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The full PCC met whenever possible during the lockdown period. Meetings were mainly held via Zoom. The Standing Committee has the power to deal with any emergency which arises, subject to any directions given by the council. Three sub-committees were set up in 2019: Estates, Governance and Mission & Ministry. These meet 4 times a year, to further discuss their areas of ministry.
As an Anglican church in the parish of Normanton, West Yorkshire, our intention is to meet the spiritual, physical and pastoral needs of all the people who live within our parochial boundary. We seek to minister pastoral care to all age groups and cultural backgrounds within a Christian context.
Parochial Church Council Annual Review of Meetings in 2020
All meetings during the year were chaired by Rev’d Alan Murray. Regular items on the agenda include: Matters arising, correspondence received, Vicar’s items, Warden’s items, Finance, and also reports from The Well, TLG, The church school Governors. This year saw no reports from Deanery Synod or Churches together as they were unable to meet. As a PCC we met via zoom however the standing committee were on hand for urgent matters.
: Standing Committee Decisions during Lockdown
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Using the Government’s Job Retention Scheme where appropriate for Admin and Cleaning
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Agreeing to working from Home for the Administrator
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Adjustments to Job Retention Scheme/furloughing now twice
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Change to Administrator’s hours
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Permanent change to church office opening
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Agree for Treasurer to encourage as many as can to change to direct giving
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Future introduction of Cashless Giving including purchase and placement of contactless devices in church and church office
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To accept the Church of England and Diocese guidance on looking to reopen the church building for Funeral and Private Prayer under local circumstances and for the Vicar to determine the best times for the latter
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In so doing, to ensure the required Risk Assessment is undertaken and all appropriate required action to ensure the safety of all users
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To ask the Church Administrator to prepare the required and recommended signage
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That building preparation e.g. chair moving etc. be undertaken by a small and specifically approached group only
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When received to consider the guidance from the Church of England and Diocese on the use of buildings for weddings and a return to gathered worship. The Vicar to lead on the development of this.
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• Parish rooms carpet and new floor decided
MARCH
JULY
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Diane stepped down from PCC Secretary and Marianne was voted in
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Services to restart from 6[th] September.
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Work for Church Day was decided and went very well in August.
SEPTEMBER
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Discussions regarding TLG national taking over responsibilities for Wakefied.
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APCM would normally have already have taken place however due to Covid this was changed to the end of November.
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Virginia confirmed she would stand down as Church Warden
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Baptisms families were contacted informing them they would be restricted numbers 6 could attend.
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Church services for Christmas was discussed and the Childrens society had issued guidance for how to collect donations
Rev Alan Murray Chairman
Marianne Fernandez PCC Secretary
All Saints Parish Church
All Saints Parish Church Bank: High Street CAF Bank Ltd Normanton 25 Kings Hill Avenue West Yorkshire Kings Hill WF6 1NR West Malling Registered Charity Kent No: 1135324 ME19 4JQ
Independent Examiner:
Mr John Penrose 2 Park Avenue Normanton West Yorkshire WF6 2DR
Electoral Roll Report
After the APM 2020 the Electoral Roll stood at 110. The total for this year is 110, (please see breakdown below):
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1) Deceased 2 2) No longer attend and live outside area 1 3) Requested to be removed from Roll 1 4) New Enrolments 0
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4) New Enrolments
2020 110 - 4 106
Andy Vanstan, Electoral Roll Officer
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Church Warden’s Report
Well, it’s been a strange year to say the least!
For large periods the church building has had to remain closed for communal worship, due to restrictions and guidelines, or to hold services with reduced numbers and changes in the way we worship forcing us to reimagine how we use the building and how our services look when we have been able to open for services or private prayer. At times it seemed as though the guidance was changing hourly, with emails from the Diocese, on various matters in response to ever changing Government announcements, on health & safety protocols and what was allowed, and what wasn’t, in terms of communion and sung worship.
It’s certainly been a challenging time.
Much of the work in and around the church has had to be put on hold however, the Quinquennial Inspection of the building was carried out back in the summer, although we only recently received the written report, which the PCC will be giving attention to in due course. At the same time we commissioned a report of the Parish Rooms, although this report is still to be received.
Generally speaking though, the Church building is structurally safe and sound and watertight. However, should you spot anything that you think needs attention, please do tell us; my contact details are on the Newsletter or you can contact me via the office or the church Facebook page.
Throughout the year there have been plenty of small jobs, which have taken place often at short notice in and around the church and the Parish Rooms, and I’m grateful to all those who have helped, in giving up their time, using their knowledge or occasionally brute strength.
things behind the scenes, which help us in running the services, when we have been able to hold them and during the times that we’ve opened the building for private prayer. Your help in keeping things running as smoothly as possible in these unusual times has been invaluable.
At the last APCM Virginia Hashimi stood down as Church Warden and I would like to record my thanks to Virginia, for all her hard work and tireless effort during her time in office.
Finally, my thanks to Diane Brennan for all her hard work in the office, doing all the admin and in making sure that as Warden, I know what I’m doing and when – it really is appreciated, thanks Diane!
With every blessing.
Andy Vanstan, Churchwarden
As ever, I am grateful to the team of Deputy Wardens; Anne, Ian, Michelle, Sue, Marianne and Stewart, who assist with opening and closing the church, ushering, and doing lots of little
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Finance Report 2020
The Accounts have been prepared in accordance with the Receipts and Payments Method required under the 'The Charities Act 2011’.
Last year I commented that completing our Reordering Project had been the dominant feature of the year making it far from a ‘normal’ year in the life of ‘All Saints’ Normanton’. Of course, at that time no one could have anticipated what has happened in 2020 both to the church, the nation and globally.
Despite everything that has affected us in the last year, it is pleasing to note that, overall, we have remained closely ‘on budget’, even benefiting from a slightly higher income level than anticipated.
The detailed accounts follow, both in summary and published form. I have drawn out the following points which highlight salient points.
church in this way and especially those who have responded so positively in this most uncertain of years.
I will however repeat the very important point I raised in last year’s APCM report and continue to ask each of us to keep this in mind when considering your ongoing giving:
‘Regular giving is of course good and we thank everyone who is committed to supporting the church in that way. However, before all of us who do so feel smug - one aspect of regular giving which is of concern throughout the Church of England is what has become known as ‘static giving’.
Basically, giving the same amount regularly, year on year (i.e. but not increasing it). If we do not increase our giving by at least the rate of inflation each year how can even existing things continue, when all costs are rising by at least that rate?’
Giving and overall Income Levels:
At the time of the first lockdown, I contacted all regular givers and asked them to consider ensuring their regular direct giving was maintained (and increased if possible) and for those using Planned Giving Envelopes to consider changing to direct bank giving, especially as collections in church were not possible. The positive response to that appeal can clearly be seen in the giving figures for the year. Direct Giving has increased and Planned Giving by envelope has decreased. However, I am delighted to point out that together overall planned giving has increased over the year by about 10%. This in turn has allowed our Gift Aid income to increase too.
Other giving, reliant on actual cash, has naturally decreased because of the circumstances of the year. However, one bright spot has been the giving received through our ‘contactless machine’ which we installed in August ready for the return to services in September. Within the ‘Plate Giving’ total is £568 of contactless giving (13% of the total physically given in church).
Regular Giving is the life-blood of any church and I ant to thank everyone of you who supports the
Grants:
Throughout lockdown, we have made use of the Government’s furlough scheme in its various forms, initially fixed then as flexible furlough, for our Church Administrator and our Cleaners. Over the period this has resulted in £4,655 being received. This of course was not budgeted for at all, hence the seemingly anomalous percentage shown.
Misc:
This figure is higher than budgeted as it includes amounts still being received for the special collection set up by the Barkley family following Bryan’s funeral. The church was named as one of the ongoing donation points. Everything received will be transferred in accordance with the family’s wishes early in 2021.
Expenditure
As I mention fairly regularly, the vast majority of expenditure is not something PCC can avoid, e.g. Heat, Light, Water, Insurance, Security, Wages etc. Other elements of expenditure are relatively small and there is little room for reduction in any of them. The only aspects of major expenditure
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within the PCC’s control falls within the category of Church Mission and Parish Share (which, although treated separately, is really ‘Mission’ in our Diocese).
PCC resolved that from 2019, overall levels of Mission Giving excluding Parish Share, should be set at about 10% (a tithe) of the church’s overall total giving (Direct, Planned, Plate plus Tax reclaimed on giving).
The accounts show this has been achieved (Giving in those categories £93,500, UK and Overseas giving £9,372). Although not the full amount required of us, PCC budgeted to pay £38,800 of Parish Share payment.
As can be seen, we have paid £40,800. The reason being that in October the Diocese appealed to churches who could afford to pay £2000 of their Parish Share immediately to do so in order to assist the Diocese with it’s immediate Covid related needs. Based on our Financial position at the time Standing Committee agreed we could afford to do that and that this could be additional to the original budget approved position. So, we have paid £40,800 Parish Share.
Parish Rooms Fabric & Cleaning
Largely stimulated by TLG’s OFSTED reports, additional work was done on the Parish Rooms which was additional to the level approved in the Budget. This included the fitting of a new carpet throughout and other internal improvements. Further work will be budgeted in 2021.
The financial treatment of TLG will change substantially in 2021 when TLG Bradford (Head Office) take direct responsibility for all income and costs. The 2021 Budget paper reflects that.
Re-ordering:
In the published accounts, income and expenditure relating to the Reordering is combined with the rest of the church’s accounts. We have maintained a distinction between the two in our own internal accounting with Reordering Committee undertaking Budgetary Control.
The major movement in the account in 2020 was the sale of 2A Sunnybank and therefore the repayment of all loans made by congregation members which were covering that and I once again thank each member of the church who generously offered that facility.
There are still a small number of ‘snagging’ issues not fully dealt with and there is still a final payment certificate due. We chase these matters regularly but the current circumstances are subjecting delivery of repairs and finalisation to considerable delay it seems.
Meantime, the Reordering Account balance is held pending the finalisation of all these transactions but it now also contains named donations for future reordering work to both the church and Parish Rooms. The Reordering No3 account balance at 31 December 2020 is £29,812.
In Conclusion:
TLG Wakefield continued to function throughout the Covid lockdowns, accommodating vulnerable students. This meant that additional cleaning has been required in the Parish Rooms and this is reflected in the expenditure level incurred.
TLG:
As a result of increased demand for places and being regularly ‘full’ throughout the year, despite all the difficulties, TLG income has been considerably higher than estimated (although £3000 of that income is a specific donation for a new White Board purchased after this year end).
May I reiterate my thanks to you all for your support throughout the year. My special thanks go to our Church Administrator, Diane Brennan, for all her work in maintaining the day to day financial processes and record keeping and to John Penrose for undertaking the role as our Independent Examiner for these accounts.
Derek Howell, Treasurer
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Summarised Annual Accounts 2019 - All Saints Parish Church, Normanton
| Budget £ | EXPENDITURE | Actual £ | Budget £ | INCOME | Actual £ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CHURCH SERVICES | VOLUNTARY INCOME | |||||
| £38,800 | Parish Share | £40,800 | £48,000 | Direct Giving | £62,093 | |
| £1,950 | ClergyExps | £1,406 | £18,300 | Planned GivingEnvelope | £10,869 | |
| £2,600 | Service Resources | £1,506 | ||||
| £3,900 | Funeral/Weddings Fees | £1,300 | £14,700 | Income Tax& GASDS Reclaimed | £16,145 | |
| £300 | AwayDays,Confs. | £0 | £6,300 | Plate Collecton | £4,393 | |
| £4,700 | Parish Weekend | £0 | £200 | Weddings & Funerals collecton | £11 | |
| £1,000 | General Sundries | £1,532 | £500 | SundryDonatons | £454 | |
| CHURCH BUILDINGS | INCOME FROM CHURCH ACTIVITIES | |||||
| £5,800 | Insurance Premiums | £6,674 | £8,500 | Wedding /Funerals Fees | £4,585 | |
| £7,200 | Heat & Light & Water | £9,298 | £160 | Away Days, Conferences, Books & Media |
£62 | |
| £2,400 | Fire & Security | £2,476 | £4,700 | Parish Weekend | £0 | |
| £1,500 | Church Fabric | £920 | £2,700 | Parish Room Letngs | £443 | |
| £200 | Church Equipment | £370 | £200 | Photo copying | £25 | |
| £4,400 | Church Cleaning | £3,937 | £300 | Social Functons | £19 | |
| £400 | Parish Rooms Equipment | £303 | Insurance Claims | £0 | ||
| £2,500 | Parish Rooms Fabric | £5,429 | £1,375 | Grants | £6,031 | |
| £1,900 | Parish Rooms Cleaning | £2,752 | £525 | Misc | £1,020 | |
| INCOME FOR MISSION | ||||||
| CHURCH MISSION | £250 | Restricted Missions/Charites | £403 | |||
| £2,400 | Overseas Mission Giving | £2,400 | INVESTMENT INCOME | £0 | ||
| £6,000 | UK Mission Giving | £6,972 | £10 | Bank Interest | £8 | |
| £100 | Collectons Overseas | £100 | £400 | Investment income | £214 | |
| CHURCH ADMINISTRATION | £4,780 | Use of Cash balance | ||||
| £17,900 | Admin Wages & NI | £18,209 | ||||
| £1,500 | Repro rental & materials | £1,407 | ||||
| £100 | General | £120 | ||||
| £2,600 | Telephone Sofware & Internet |
£1,972 | ||||
| £750 | Ofce Statonery | £308 | ||||
| CHURCH SCHOOL | ||||||
| £1,000 | School Governors | £1,000 | ||||
| £111,900 | Total excl TLG | £111,190 | £111,900 | Total excl TLG | £106,776 | |
| £61,100 | TLG EXPENDITURE | £63,672 | £61,100 | TLG INCOME | £80,921 | |
| £173,000 | MONTHLY TOTAL (Excl Re- ordering) |
£174,861 | £173,000 | MONTHLY TOTAL (Excl Re- ordering) |
£187,697 | |
| Re-orderingExpenditure | £42,824 | Re-orderingIncome | £52,998 | |||
| TOTAL EXPENDITURE INCL RE -ORDERING |
£217,686 | TOTAL INCOME INCL RE- ORDERING |
£240,694 | |||
| Cash at Bank No 1 & No2 Accounts |
£22,677 | |||||
| Cash at Bank No 3 Reordering Account |
£29,812 |
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All Saints' Parish Church, Normanton - Budget 2021 (Excl Re-ordering) (Agreed by PCC January 2021)
| 2020 Actual |
EXPENDITURE | Budget | 2020 Actual |
INCOME | Budget | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CHURCH SERVICES | VOLUNTARY INCOME | |||||
| £40,800 | Parish Share | £42,000 | £62,093 | Direct Giving | £63,400 | |
| £1,406 | **Clergy Exps ** | £1,500 | £10,869 | **Planned Giving Envelope ** | £10,900 | |
| £1,506 | Service Resources | £1,600 | £16,145 | Income Tax Reclaimed | £16,150 | |
| £4,393 | Plate Collecton | £4,000 | ||||
| £11 | Weddings & Funerals collecton | £20 | ||||
| £454 | Sundry Donatons | £500 | ||||
| OTHER CHURCH ACTIVITIES | INCOME FROM CHURCH ACTIVITIES | |||||
| £1,300 | Funeral/Weddings Fees | £1,400 | £4,585 | Wedding / Funerals Fees | £4,600 | |
| £0 | Away days, Conf. Books | £0 | £62 | Away days, conf. Books, media | £100 | |
| £1,532 | General Sundries | £1,000 | £443 | **Parish Room Letngs ** | £4,200 | |
| CHURCH BUILDINGS | £25 | Photo copying | £100 | |||
| £6,674 | Insurance Premiums | £6,700 | £19 | Social Functons | £50 | |
| £9,298 | Heat & Light & Water | £9,000 | £6,031 | Grants | £2,800 | |
| £2,476 | Fire & Security | £2,500 | £1,020 | Misc | £500 | |
| £920 | Church Fabric | £1,000 | ||||
| £370 | Church Equipment | £350 | ||||
| £3,937 | Church Cleaning | £4,050 | ||||
| £303 | Parish Rooms Equipment | £5,000 | ||||
| £5,429 | Parish Rooms Fabric | £2,500 | ||||
| £2,752 | Parish Rooms Cleaning | £2,800 | ||||
| CHURCH MISSION | INCOME FOR MISSION | |||||
| £2,400 | Overseas Mission Giving | £2,400 | £403 | Restricted Missions/ Charites | £250 | |
| £6,972 | UK Mission Giving (The Well) | £6,000 | ||||
| £100 | Collectons Overseas | £100 | ||||
| CHURCH ADMINISTRATION | INVESTMENT INCOME | |||||
| £18,209 | Admin Wages & NI | £18,410 | £8 | Bank Interest | £10 | |
| £1,407 | Repro rental & materials | £1,500 | £214 | Investment income | £230 | |
| £120 | General | £100 | Use of Cash surplus b/fwd | £4,200 | ||
| £1,972 | Telephone Sofware & Inter- net |
£2,000 | ||||
| £308 | Ofce Statonery | £400 | ||||
| CHURCH SCHOOL | ||||||
| £1,000 | School Governors | £1,000 | ||||
| £111,191 | Expenditure (Excl TLG) | £113,310 | £106,775 | Income (Excl TLG) | £112,010 | |
| £63,672 | TLG | £24,700 | £80,921 | TLG | £26,000 | |
| £174,863 | ESTIMATED EXPENDITURE FOR YEAR |
£138,010 | £187,696 | ESTIMATED INCOME FOR YEAR | £138,010 | |
| No1 & No2 Accounts | ||||||
| £22,677 | Cash at 31-12-20 | |||||
| Estmated Cash at Bank at 31-12-21 |
£18,470 |
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Mens’ Group
The Men's Group are still going through the 52 Men of the Bible study, where each month we study one of those men and reflect on their influences. Admittedly we haven't met each month because of Covid and haven't done as many Zoom meetings as we should have, but we are now back on track.
We have strong tea, big breakfasts and friendly chat/banter in a safe environment. We are always willing to try new ideas or events in the Men's Group, so please feel free to raise new ideas.
If you want to come to an event, with or without a friend, you will be more than welcome, so let me know your e-mail address, so I can update you with event dates and times.
We look forward to being able to meet up in person for a Men’s breakfast soon ~ God willing.
possible. Instead we contacted our Messy Church families, our Church School and Facebook followers to offer a Christingle ‘Goody Bag’ to link to an online Christingle Service. Each bag contained all the elements to make a Christingle, a Christmas Story Book, a Christingle Balloon, quizzes, colouring and chocolate! Response was amazing and we distributed 270 bags!!! We’re grateful to those who helped to prepare the bags for distribution!
Many families collected their bag from Church over the last 3 afternoons of term and everyone was very grateful that the Christingle service would happen even online. There were hundreds of views of the service … lots of families waiting until Christmas Eve when they would usually attend.
Following the wonderful response to our Christingle Goody Bags, we had planned to arrange a Family Easter Trail around the Churchyard, hoping that many would be keen to join in and collect an Easter Goody Bag on completion.
God be with.
Scott Hodgson
Messy Church
We have not been able to hold Messy Church since last February. Following the first lockdown we had plans in place for the Autumn Term, but we could not meet.
However, we were aware that many families would be disappointed by this and also because our Christingle services would not be
However, unfortunately, due to ongoing restrictions, that was again NOT possible this year.
However we were able to produce a DIY Easter Trail that could be used at home … either indoors or in the garden. This AND lots of other Easter Activities in our EASTER GOODY BAG were offered to be collected from Church, as at Christmas.
Again there was a great response and we were able to distribute 280 bags! PTL! ( Many more than we anticipated!)
The links we are continuing to develop with families in the community are a great encouragement, and many were asking about Messy Church and when we could meet again.
Please continue to pray for all the families we have contacted and for the opportunity to restart Messy Church to come soon.
Judith Howell
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Safeguarding
On behalf of the PCC, I continue to work to ensure that we comply with the National Safeguarding requirements and have due regard to the House of Bishops’ Guidance on Safeguarding Children and Vulnerable Adults.
Judith Howell, Safeguarding Officer
Small Saints
Our Small Saints group has unfortunately not been able to meet in Church at all this year! We have really missed being able to get together!
However, we have been keeping in touch with each other in as many ways as possible throughout this time.
We’ve been pleased that our children have been keen, either individually or in family groups, to take part in our online services. Whether leading our prayers , reading from the Bible or getting involved with singing (and dancing!) their enthusiasm and thoughtfulness have been a lesson to us all.
We have included a Small Saints slot in our online services on the third Sunday in the month, when our group would normally have met. This slot had included a story, often linked to the theme of the service, and also a craft activity to try.
A special section for Small Saints has also featured in the monthly newsletter .....we know that lots of grown ups have enjoyed the quizzes and colouring too!
We had hoped to be able to restart in Church last September, but this was not possible. We kept in touch and sent things out or delivered fun packs when we could. Again we planned to restart after Christmas, but our plans were thwarted by another lockdown!
Because we haven’t been able to get together yet, since February we have been sending some fun activities to share. Each week on Thursday we have sent an email containing a video, some printable activities and a Challenge to try. This has given our Small Saints the chance to continue to explore the Bible and to learn more about our amazing God while we cannot be together.
We have enjoyed seeing some videos of the completed challenges! We also enjoyed getting together for a Small Saints Zoom quiz during half term and joining in with the Church family Zoom quizzes.
Our children are amazing,! They have so many gifts and bring such joy! They have shown outstanding determination, patience, and endurance through the very difficult circumstances over the last year. Thank you for all your encouragement and prayers. Please continue to pray for them and for us all as we plan the way forward, hopefully soon face to face!
Judith Howell & Leah Huddlestone
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TLG Wakefield
After a very successful 2019, it was fair to say that 2020 started with a feeling of anticipation and excitement for what God had planned for the year ahead. January did see an increase in students and all seemed settled on all levels. It’s safe to say that with a full centre, three members of staff and strong finances, we all looked forward to a ‘normal’ journey that would take us nicely to the Summer holidays.
In March however, we were faced with the all our plans changing due to Covid-19. With the government announcing schools were required to close in April. TLG Wakefield was faced with a lot of situations to consider and some very tough decisions to make. Keeping the centre open from our perspective was always going to be a must, and outside of some discussions, the idea of closing was never up for debate. To continue to run the centre in the usual way was also not going to be feasible and we had to change the way we did everything, from curriculum to the staffing, all had to be amended and new formats introduced.
Due to their requirement to shield, Peter and Rendel led on remote learning, leaving Ciara and myself to continue to deliver teaching within the centre. Ciara at that time was a volunteer and really showed a lot of commitment that helped the centre through a difficult time. Without her being able to
attend, I would have been the only member of staff available, and this may have meant the centre would have had to close regardless.
The decision to stay open I feel had a positive impact on all our students, especially those who after months of hard work we had successfully helped them to deal with their isolation and anxiety. I hate to think what the situation would have been for these students if we had been unable to engage with them in person during a pandemic. There were students who could not attend the centre due to medical conditions, but we ensured these families were visited on a weekly basis. These visits did catch the attention of social media and even the ITV news. Sadly, ITV did not use the footage because they felt the comments of the families they interviewed was too positive?
Once schools were allowed to reopen, we too welcomed back all our students into the centre but on a staggered return. We also extended the enrolment time for the then year 11’s to give them an opportunity to gain their NOCN qualifications. Rendel worked wonders in the time she had and all our year 11’s left TLG with the qualifications they needed to enrol with the college they had chosen. After a really tough year, I have to say I was exceptionally proud of the way we navigated everything that was thrown at us and to see all our students succeed in the face of so much adversity I feel speaks volumes about their character and resilience.
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any other period in TLG Wakefield’s history. Sadly, I feel all these problems relate to Covid and the impact this had on government services. It also gave increased opportunities for gangs and organisations to gain access to vulnerable young people during lockdown due to them taking advantage of a number of factors our students deal with like self-esteem and the need to be part of a group through family neglect. We have however implemented resources to aid in our teaching of these issues and have invested in Danny Andrews and his charity CEG to work with our young people weekly on the dangers of county lines and gang culture.
September brought with it a new school year and a familiar feeling of optimism and excitement for the term ahead. We opened the centre almost full to capacity and with a full team. Ciara was now employed has a Teaching Assistant after showing great promise as a volunteer during the previous school year. We did once again see an increase in schools wanting to use TLG and for the first time we had to introduce a waiting list.
A year like 2020 has obviously required a lot of prayer and I thank all of you who remember TLG during your intersessions. Thank you to Alan for his support and willingness to be school proprietor, to Diane for her help with everything admin and to Derek for his wizardry with our finance. Last but certainly not least I would like to say thank you to Rendel and Ciara for all the blood, sweat and tears we had to shed over the past twelve months just to keep the centre going and the students motivated . enough to attend
Gavin Budby, TLG Wakefield Centre Manager
Though all our students were attending and were showing positive signs of transformation and commitment, I have to say some of the issues we had to deal with were worrying. During the autumn term alone, the team dealt with more problems relating to drugs, county lines, CSE (Child Sexual Exploitation), neglect and gang relating violence than I would say
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Dio¢¢x of L¢¢ds.' City of Wak¢fi¢ld metro11 Di$trKt ctrI Normanton All Saints CE (A) Infant School High Slreet, Normonton. Wett Yorkshire WF6 INR TElephonelFax.- 101924) 894309 Heodteocher." Mrs A Stone emoil."heodteacher@dlsoints-normonton.wokefield.sch.uk w.allsointsinf¢vM0rnntOn.cQ.llk 'An outstandirg exaryle of a Chlrth sthool. SIAS 2LX)3 'All Soints Infl School is on outslondiNJ school, OFSTED 2CK17 'Th¢ $choofs F¢rforrnonce hos been sustoirrtd Interim ossessmEnt OFSTED 2010 'The schools distitIvenESS and efflne$S as o urch school is outstandirvj 5fA5 2012 'This is an ¢y&tstanding school. OFSTEts 2013 Our Chrlstlan Values: Thankfulness Hope Perseverance Forgiveness Friendship Respect 'Outstandir¥J SIAMS 2017 Our vision: Respect... Empower... Grow To the church f<vnily (Md the members of the PCC. April 2021 I would like to begin by saying a warm welcome to the Church family and the PCC. After returning from my maternity leave in Februory 2021, school life was certainly differentl As you can all imagine Covid-19 h<ts brought many challenges to schools, providing signif icant barriers to the education of our youn9 children. With o new way of home learning f or children, families and teachers, l am pleased to soy that our team f ully embraced this and as a result hove continued to provide on excellent education for oll. Parents and fomilies have quickly adapted and supported their children at home with admirable resilience. Mrs Edwards and the leadership team have undoubtedly led the school exceptionally in my absence providing support, guidance, care and compossion for the pupils. staff and fomilies. A recent parent survey also ref lected this with a wealth of positive comments received. If you wanted to f ind out more, please visit our school website where you will f ind lots of information about the home learning we off ered to our pupils. I am sure you will enjoy watchiTrJ our welcome back video to the childrenl School Life ... Currentlyl Af ter a lon9 period of providlng remote home learning for many children alongside in school learning f or children of critical workers ond vulneroble pupils, we were extremely happy to open our school doors to all children on Mond(ry 8, March. The children returned to school with enthusiasm (Md happiness and there was a real buzz around the school. We are proud of our children, how hard they work ond their resilience. how they enjoy their learnirg ond their kindness towards others. We continue to put measures in place to ensure the full safety of our pupils and staf f. including staggered start and end times, one way systems, zoned play9round areas. virt1 and telephone parent Consultation meetin9s etc. The children are currently workir¥J in class bubbles olon9side their class friends, teacher and support staff. However, we are pleased to say that they are accessi a broad curriculum f ull of excttirg learning opportuntti includirg daily worship. weekly indoor and outdoor PE sessions and our Year 2 pupils are due to begin their violin lessons a90in led by the Wakef ield Music service. We have also introduced 4 chickens to our school family ond the children are enjoying cooking With the eggs they lay. We currently face the chollen9e of moking sure that 9aps in leornin9 due to missed time in school are now quickly identif led and planned for. We are also mindf ul of the impact that the pandemic has had on children's emotior1 well-bein9 and social relationships. With this in mind. the stoff are determined to make sure children are provided with excellent teachin9 olon9side hi9h quolity smoll 9roup and individuol support, both academically ond pastorally. Respectf ul, positive and caring relationships between pupils and staff have remained at the centrel We are currently lookin9 at ways we can help re-en9a9e with our local community (somethin9 we hove certainly missed!) and we also look forward to being able to plan many educational visits out when this is safe to do so. Wakef1 food chi,dre,:s Ltf utsdI t5t*thy International S¢lwol Award 2(K)6 2(K)7 18
tr 'Awesome' Team During the past year the school family has continLted to grow stronger together. We continued to welcome new members of staff to our already large teaml Mrs JenThJ Wood-stones and Mr Jamie Price have joined our teaching tearn in our Upper Foundation Stoge. We also welcomed Mrs Louise Scattergood, Miss Libby Bolonce, Mrs Marie Tweedy Carter and Mrs Juliana Pacheco to our classroom teaching assistant and special educattonal tea¢hirg assistant team. Our full school team is extremely talented ¢Jnd dedtcated and we feel extremely gratef ul to have such a team of staff f ull of expertise, skill ond knowledge. Our school also continuÉs to grow ond develop professionally edch yeor. We continue to work ol¢ThJside other Wakef ield Church schools in our 'AII Saints. partnership group, which involves Heodtea¢hers ond RE coordiTh]tors meetin9 regularly to shore practice, support ond challen9e one another ond particiyK)te in joint trainirg and professional development opportunities. Mrs Edwards hos led the NQT programme f or Wokef ield local authority which has provided advice and support for newly quolified teachers re9ardin9 teachir9 and learnin9 pedo9¢gy and practice. Mrs Bellis and Miss Dixon continue to work f or the English Hub supportiry the development of reading and phonics in schools across the district. Mrs Bellis is also an Early Yeors Chompion for Wakefield local authority. focusing on the need to develop young children's speech ond communication development. Miss Beal and Miss 6allagher are both moderators for the locol authority and ore responsible for moderating teocher judgments ot the end of the early years and Key Sta9e One across Wakef ield. Alon9side myself as Heodteacher, our Senior Leadership Tedm {SLT) also consists of Mrs Edwards, who is the Acting Headteacher in my absence and olso Assistant Headteocher. Mrs Cowliry who is olso our Assistant Headteacher and SENDCO. Mrs Cowling continues to support many families and pupils with Special Educationol Needs ond Disabilities providing both professionol and pastoral support and guidance. Miss Horyrove takes a leod on Reli9ious Education and Collective Worship and Miss Dixon leads readiwj and phonics across the school. After rearravjing her big day for the 3 time. we are looking forword to celebroting MISS Dixon's wedding in June. We are hoping Mr and Mrs Dixon hove a memoroble ond hoppy doy and we wish them many happy years together. We have continued to welcome more bobies to the world over the last yeor tool MISS Jarvis welcomed Sienno. Miss Gallagher welcorned Lotte, Mrs Bellis welcomed Evelyn and Miss Hotchkiss welcomed Edie. Mrs Wynn is also expecting o boby girl in JLÉIY. The last year ... So much has happened in the last year and it is hard to believe that in such a short period of time the world hos changed lives so much and things that we once took for granted, we have missed and gone without. But we have a lot to be thankf ul f or and it has made us all appreciate the smallest of things. Re-opening the full school on the 8 March a Joyous and memorable day. Listening to the children sirg together (in their year group bubblesl) durin9 worship was an extremely moving and emotional moment. We continue to look f orward to the day that our whole school family can f ill our Church ogain where there is not an empty seat {includiTrJ the f loorl) ond where children are smiling and sirKJirg together. We know that it has been one of the most diff itult years in our country s history. As we Joined in with the silence to mark the National doy of ref lection on the 23 March we ref lected and remembered those who have lost loved ones. Our school Christian Values have continued to guide dnd help us os we hope for a brighter future, which is f illed with love. respect dnd friendship. As always the Children remoin at the centre of everything we do and all our decision making. Our Governing Body have continued to provide valuable support. guidance and leadership as they continue to be committed to the education, saf ety and well-being of our pupils, their famtlies and our staff. Thank you as always to Mrs Leah Huddlestgne, our Choir of Governors ond Mr r)avid Sanderson our Vice Chair of Governors who ¢ontinu¢ to leod our Governors with possion. dedicotion tjnd core. I would like to end by saying a persoMI thank you to the members of Church for the kindness, ¢ompassion and care you hove shown lowords fris ond my family. Your prayers ond thoU9hts have continued to provide strergth and hope. As we move towards what we hope will be a brighter school year. can I continue to ask that you keep the sch001, its staf f, children and families in your thou9his and prayers. Best wishes, Mrs Amy Stone Heodteacher Wakqrthj chi,dre,;s 'life IStaVn ¢)Jtstx4rty Inlernational S¢hool Award 2006 2007 19
This strange year saw the Well Project adapt into a Community Hub, working together with Nova and Wakefield Council in our capacity as a Community Anchor, helping people in our community who had to shield or isolate due to the Covid 19 pandemic. We carried out shopping, medication collections, dog walks, telephone befriending and more including wallpaper patch repair, building a fan, building an exercise bike, removing bed wheels and delivering papers. A team of, at one stage up to 56 volunteers, helped with these errands each week. With Michelle working from home mainly, taking calls and referrals from various other outlets, like Wakefield Council, Age Concern and more. We’ve met some great friends along the way, recruited some new volunteers and we hope to continue this service when the pandemic is over for those who cannot get out and have no support network in place.
Sadly, we lost some especially important people to us over the last year. Denton, and his wife, who supported the Well through his Mayoral duties and always had a smile and a joke at Meet n Eats. The unforgettable Councillor Alan Wassell, who helped out at everything we did from the Gala to the Youth Clubs. Alan was not only a great supporter of the Well Project, but he was also a dear friend and is missed every day. Most recently, the lovely, smiley Denise
Burgess, who volunteered throughout the pandemic telephoning people who were lonely. Denise was always on the phone chatting away, liking and sharing our facebook posts and always had time for us, she will be missed by us all.
Youth Clubs
Not long after Vicki started in the role of Youth Work Leader, the Well Project had to close due to the pandemic. Instead of furloughing Vicki, she adapted the Youth Clubs to an online platform, recording dance routines, exercise routines and putting activity and food packs together to deliver out to our young people. Vicki also worked at the Food Bank each session, helping the reduced team there. Due to Vicki adapting the role and continuing her work throughout, the funding continued from Wakefield Council. With additional funding from various places, we were able to offer Vicki an extra 5 hours per week to undertake some of the food bank admin work alongside her role. We have a new Youthy website, designed by Vicki which has been up and running a few months now.
Vicki ran the Halloween hunt in October, but the Easter Egg Hunt this year has been even more of a success. People have been able to do the hunt as and when and collect a prize when we have been open – this has meant no crowds, no groups and lots of people have engaged.
We were able to give a gift out to everyone who attended the youth clubs before by securing the Christmas Mission grant too. They provided enough toys and gifts for all of
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them – together with our Food Bank clients. Brunch clubs continued in a fashion through the school holiday’s with extra food and activities being sent out.
We are in the process of recruiting a new Youth Work Assistant, the funding for this has been provided by Wakefield Council’s Active and Inspired Grant.
Relationships with young people and their families have continued to build and we are hopeful that when we can reopen the youth clubs, they will be popular and successful. Vicki has some great ideas for them – we just need more volunteers to help run them.
Detached Youth Work
Lauren Allen completed a lot of training during the first lockdown. Since detached restarted, Lauren has continued, with Vicki, to engage with around 20 – 30 young people each week on the streets of Normanton to encourage them to stay safe, not be party to anti-social behaviour, give them knowledge of the Government Guidelines and to promote our services, hopefully attracting them to our Youth Clubs when we are open again.
Food Bank
This year has been very different for the Normanton Food Bank, our doors have been closed and our volunteer numbers have been reduced significantly due to them shielding and us not having enough space for everyone. Running with 5/6 volunteers rather than the normal 10/12 volunteers. We haven’t been able to chat to clients in need to find out
what their problems are and signpost effectively. Although some signposting has been done where possible. We haven’t accepted walk-in’s since the lockdown and instead moved to e-vouchers/online vouchers only. This has worked better in some cases, where people are signposted to someone in the first place rather than after being given a parcel and then signposted, however it has meant our numbers have dropped slightly year on year, we have fed 131 less people than we did in 2019-2020. If we had been accepting walk ins, the numbers would have been much higher than last year. Also, we have worked in our ‘areas’ only, working with other food banks and community hubs to make sure each area of Wakefield was covered by one of us, this has meant people from say Castleford or Pontefract have not been able to use us, instead we have referred them to their nearest food bank.
That being said, from 1[st] April 2020 to 31[st] March 2021 we have provided just over 12,750 meals to people through emergency food parcels through the food bank referrals alone. We have also provided meals to a local hotel/hostel for around 80 people per week. During the free school meals fiasco, we also provided free meals for children that are not counted in our food bank numbers. With brunch clubs, youth clubs and the Big Feed we’ve had a very busy year. Our reach was extended, working with Community Hubs to ensure each area of Wakefield was covered by a Hub/Food Bank. We’ve also shared and swapped food and toiletries with other food banks, Sheffield, Barnsley, Knottingley, Pontefract, Crigglestone, Kinsley and Fitzwilliam, Castleford, South Hiendley and Leeds to name but a few.
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With extra funding from the Trussell Trust/ Asda we were able to ensure the food bank was available full time rather than just two sessions a week. We were also able to offer delivery of food parcels to those shielding/ self isolating as and when needed.
The staff and volunteers have continued to work very hard throughout the year, we were the only Trussell Trust food bank in Wakefield to remain open throughout and covered areas when other food banks closed. Accepting, collecting and sorting donations is time consuming and the extra space in the shape of a new container, donated by Mobile Mini for six months, has been a great addition, meaning we have more space to sort and pack food parcels safely.
We teamed up with the Big Feed at Wakefield Trinity to supply 58 people with a ready meal each day of the week. Arnold has been delivering these out three times a week and we hope this will continue until June 2021 at least.
Our smaller team of volunteers are really appreciated and we have only been able to continue the food bank through the whole year because of their commitment, however the ones who are shielding have also kept us going with their valued support, be it advice or donations – we cannot wait to welcome them all back.
Well Loved Shop
During the first lockdown the shop closed fully, and Hilary shielded. We stopped receiving donations too due to lack of space. When we could reopen, with government guidelines, hand sanitiser, face masks and limiting the number of people in the shop to 2 at a time, Hilary and her daughter Jenny at the shop raised vital funds for the Well Project. During the second lockdown in November 2020 we operated a ‘Click and collect’ service using facebook – it was quite successful, but time consuming. December 2020 was a busy month for the shop, taking and sorting donations and reopening, everyone buying gifts for Christmas. The third lockdown in January saw the shop close yet again, we decided against a click and collect service due to Hilary having to isolate for an eye operation. We are looking forward to opening on the 13[th] April and welcoming people back into our little shop. We will be recruiting for more volunteers to help with this going forward.
Although the shop is there to help us raise funds for the Well Project, it is still our go to for items should someone in need approach us for help. Recently, for example, we have helped three families who have fled domestic violence practically kit their new homes out for free, including clothing. One gentleman who had fled DV with his two young children
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needed everything from beds to kettles to clothes for them all – we managed to get everything he needed, including beds, wardrobes, table and chairs and clothes and toys, with the help of local people donating such items to us.
The Normanton School Uniform Exchange
In October 2020, under our Charity, the NSUE started to operate from the end unit in Normanton Market Square – run by Tracy Cook. Up to the 31[st] March 2021 Tracy helped 160 families, has given out 683 items of uniform and raised £522.11 for the Well Project. All of the uniform is donated, Tracy ensures it’s cleaned, ironed and fit for purpose. It really has been needed this last year especially. Tracy has been instrumental in helping other school uniform banks open in Wakefield too.
Community Navigator
Debbie’s role was adapted to help with the youth provision and in the food bank as well as keeping in with her main role as Community Navigator. The CN’s built the WFI-Can website for young people to help improve their mental health and this has been a much-needed resource, especially during the pandemic. Debbie however, left the role with the Well Project to become the Community Navigator Lead for Young Lives in September 2020. We have just recruited Emma Farnell into the role and she starts on the 12[th] April 2021. Emma will report to Michelle rather than to Alan as Debbie did and with the guidance of Debbie will become a great asset to our team.
The Well Maintained Bike Library
Terry our Bike Library volunteer has
continued to work throughout the pandemic, doing bikes up making them available for people to borrow (for as long as they like!). People have used our bike library to allow them to get to work, including some NHS staff, or simply to take part in fun exercise with their families etc. A lot of children who grew out of their old bikes during the pandemic were able to swap for a bigger bike using our bike library. Terry has also
continued as one of the volunteers at the food bank, helping out there each week.
Health Walks, Coffee Mornings, Beetle Drive, Meet n Eat’s Diner
Health Walks, Coffee Morning, Beetle Drive and the Meet n Eat’s Diner were all closed in March last year – we can’t wait to start them all back up again and welcome people through our doors. We have been receiving donations and offers of help from all over and have invited people to our coffee mornings to come and meet us all, so hopefully they will be busy.
It’s been an extremely weird and difficult year for everyone, but we’ve continued to work through it and support each other. The support from our donors, like the Church, Well Wishers, people in our communities and local businesses has been extraordinary over the past year, with Trussell Trust arranging donations from the big supermarkets too. Of course, we wouldn’t be able to do any of it without our volunteers, shielding or not, and for each of them we are extremely grateful and thankful for their support and prayers. We cannot thank you all enough.
Michelle Newton & Ash Samuels
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Worship Team
The entire period since last year’s APCM has been affected by the restrictions and lockdowns necessary to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. During the year we have adapted to circumstances in order to continue to provide musical worship support to our online services and also in the restricted circumstances allowed, when public worship has been possible.
In the slight respite before Christmas a number of the team were able to meet, socially distanced in church, to record songs, hymns and carols relevant to the Remembrance and Christmas Seasons. These were used for both church and community worship events through that time.
Sadly, the restrictions of lockdown prevented both we as a team and the church as a whole from giving Diane and Jono the send off we would have wanted, as Jono took up his appointment as Curate at Garforth and they left to join that worshipping community. We miss them both greatly. As others before them, sending them out means a considerable loss to the worship ministry and other ministries within All Saints’, but great gain to the wider church of course.
To maintain music within our online services, recordings had to be made in our homes and then added in, with all the other recorded aspects, to form our weekly service.
Responsibilities for this were shared between our lead instrumentalists and 5 ‘groups’ were initially formed to do this: Diane & Jono, Derek & Judith, Leah, Terry, Pam & Mark. Over the initial months of our online services 3 of these groups, in rota, would record a song for inclusion each service.
Following Diane and Jono’s departure the groups were altered to Derek & Judith, Pam & Mark, Rendel & Frances (& sometimes more family) with Leah, Terry, largely going ‘solo’. To ease the burden a little, it was decided to rota so that one ‘group’ takes responsibility for all the music in one service, but to also make use of the excellent selection of pre-recorded music available online.
This way of serving our worship in music will remain until such time as public worship can return to something akin to what we remember before the pandemic, although none of us should assume anything will ever be the same again, as God moves onwards and not backwards.
All of us in Worship Team would like to thank you for your many words of encouragement and support both personally and through WhatsApp and other communication means, throughout the last year, it is much appreciated.
Derek Howell, on behalf of all Worship Team members.
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