2 0 2 0 R E P O R T A N D A C C O U N T S F O R T H E P A R O C H I A L C H U R C H C O U N C I L OF ST P A U L ' S C H U R C H, W I M B L E D O N P A R K S I D E
Report to the Annual Parochial Church Meeting 2021 of the Ecclesiastical Parish of St Paul’s Wimbledon Park London SW19 Presented on the 25th April 2021 Reporting period 1[st] January – 31[st] December 2020
Registered Charity 1142917
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MINISTRY REPORT
To say that 2020 was a memorable year for everyone is a great understatement. The discernment process begun during 2019 was greatly informed, at times invigorated and at others hampered, by the challenges of the pandemic. Our prayers and reflections have culminated in a strategy of prioritizing and forming new PCC committees around the areas of: Nurture, Outreach, Welcome and the Environment.
Nurture: The first lockdown saw churches shut, even to clergy. A considerable amount of urgent close collaboration and creativity were required to enable a continuity of worship services and community support. It meant that services including Holy Week and Easter were celebrated and broadcast from a combination of the vicarage and the home of our Music Director, Kevin Jones and his talented family. In the autumn, thanks to the generous donations of time (from Sebastiaan Boelen, Alan and Jenny Bryant, Bob Essert) and funding from the Diocese and several members of our congregation, we were able to install a high-quality pan-tilt-zoom camera and other audio/video equipment which enable us to broadcast services to people at home. It has meant that we have been able to create and maintain a sense of community with our congregation as well as people who live far away. And during an unprecedented and unexpected year of isolation and, at times, closed buildings, we have been able to worship TOGETHER.
In addition, some members of the congregation and wider community have benefitted greatly from the generosity and considerable IT skills of Mike Lowe who made it possible for them to access worship services, ‘Coffee in the Lounge’ over Zoom and other means of connecting with far away family and friends. Katie Gilbert, with the support of Joan Endean, helped St Paul’s to form ‘ring round’ groups based on location, in order to provide emotional and material support where needed. Our new Tuesday house group, led by Mark Gilbert, and the collaboratively led Friday house group were
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able to meet online and continue to explore various areas of faith. These and other efforts have enabled the congregation to be well supported and connected during these very difficult times.
Our children’s ministry has managed to provide two new offerings in 2020: Tea and Toys and Messy Church. We are thankful to Katie, Mark and Zachary Gilbert for continuing Tea and Toys online, and Marc Stoneham, Jana Bruwer, Sarah Peart and Deirdre Gooderson for enabling Messy Church to get off to a strong start at Christmas.
Sunday evening prayer has been largely offered by laity, so we give thanks for the ministry of our church warden, Margaret Brown, David and Deirdre Gooderson and of course, our incomparable Lay Reader, Norman Allen, who also preaches at the third Sunday morning Eucharist.
Outreach: In the midst of the tragedies and sadness brought on by the pandemic, we have also experienced a depth of connection to one another and a significant increase in activity. The growing sense of community and care has been something to behold!
St Paul’s Covid Angels began to offer assistance within the community, from shopping and other errands to listening to people in the community who have struggled to cope with the isolation of lockdown and shielding. Coordinated by St Paul’s Southwark Pastoral Auxiliary (SPA), Joan Endean, the Coronavirus Angels have come from a combination of the congregation and close contacts, St Paul’s Community Centre as well as the wider community.
St Paul’s Pantry began. Meanwhile, during the first lockdown in March, fresh bread, doughnuts and other food began to appear regularly on the vicarage doorstep. They were delivered to and greatly enjoyed by both members of the congregation and wider community. With time and considerable generosity, St Paul’s
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Pantry was opened on 1[st] October, under the excellent leadership of Helen Lowe and several other volunteers from the church and wider community. This continues to grow from strength to strength and has involved collaboration with our Ahmadiyya friends and local schools.
On a sad note, funeral services have been held for a number of people in our community. We have said farewell to our good friends Patricia Goddard, Joanie Pollecutt, Rosemary Hosking, Margaret Richardson and Gwen Pilgrim, who will be sorely missed. Particularly difficult is that we have not been able to celebrate their lives in the usual way. We plan, therefore, to hold a memorial service in their memory as soon as we are able to do so.
Our Community Centre (CC) has been operating on a low capacity and at one point was shut altogether. Despite that, thanks to the generosity of our CC manager Samantha Egan, St Paul’s has been able to maintain contact with members of Lunch Club, delivering meals and occasionally presiding over a game of bingo! Together with Gill Thompson, Sam has managed the difficulties of the pandemic and lockdown with great aplomb!
Welcome: Once the initial lockdown was lifted, St Paul’s prioritized maintaining an open church for private prayer and access to listeners, and for pastoral support. With the generous help of several volunteers, including Doreen and John Hewitt, Terry and Kay Woolgar, Gill and Shirley Thompson, Margaret Brown, Norman and Lois Allen and Elizabeth and Richard Simon, the doors of the church were open three mornings and an afternoon during the week and a warm atmosphere of welcome has been enjoyed by members of the congregation and passers-by. The importance of the ministry of presence cannot be underestimated, as people in our community have expressed appreciation for open doors and for simply being there.
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Realising that the first contact most people have with churches is through their websites, St Paul’s has established a new, more user friendly and informative website which sits on our ChurchDesk platform installed in 2019. Our Parish Administrator, Guy Booth, has accomplished this important development, and that work is much appreciated. We also have a presence on Facebook, which will be linked to our website with updates to the church diary.
Environment: This is an important topic which we have begun to explore, including the desire to become part of the Eco-church programme, strongly supported by our Diocese. We look forward to further exploration of and developments in this area.
Thanks: I am grateful for the ministry offered by Revd Dr Nicky von Fraunhofer who served her title curacy plus a year as Assistant Priest at St Paul’s. She felt that she needed to step away from parish ministry at the start of the pandemic. Nicky has been a wonderful colleague and friend and will be greatly missed by all of us at St Paul’s. I would also like to make a special mention of thanks to our staff team, who have been extraordinarily generous and supportive during this challenging year: churchwardens Margaret Brown, Bob Essert (till October) and Terry Woolgar (since October), our Music Director Kevin Jones (with much support from Kana, Tally and Sam), our SPA Joan Endean, Lay Reader Norman Allen and our Parish Administrator Guy Booth. The role of the priest is not only to enable others to encounter God for themselves; it is to enable the ministry and mission of the whole church, undertaken by the people. At St Paul’s we are blessed with many highly talented and generous individuals who wholeheartedly engage in sharing the love of God in daily life. I offer my heartfelt appreciation and thanks to you all.
Revd Susan Bolen, Vicar
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CHURCHWARDENS’ REPORT (including PCC Business and Fabric Report)
Covid Effects
2020 was probably one of the strangest years ever in the life of St Paul’s. After a normal start to the year, it became clear in January that there was a new virus circulating in Wuhan, China, and, by early March, that there were already many cases of Covid in the UK. After a government announcement on 16[th] March advising people not to travel, there was a minimal congregation for Mothering Sunday on 22[nd] March, and on the following day a further announcement gave effect to an immediate national lockdown to try to prevent further spread.
As part of this lockdown, churches and all other places of worship would be locked up completely with no access even for incumbents. Luckily, Revd Susan had considerable technical assistance from her husband Sebastiaan (and virtually from Bob Essert) who was able to purchase and set up the necessary equipment and open a YouTube channel to broadcast services from home. With help from Mike Lowe and others, members of the congregation were able to view services from home and to join in virtual ‘coffee meetings’ after Sunday morning services using Zoom. It was soon clear that the move online was very successful; the numbers joining services online were at least comparable with, and sometimes very much in excess of, our normal attendance.
Meanwhile the Community Centre was closed, with staff furloughed, and other church activities either were able to move online (discussion groups, Tea and Toys) or were cancelled. The series of Sunday evening Lent lectures on 'Faith and Ferment' was eventually completed in Advent, this time with simultaneous livestreaming. This culminated with Kevin’s lecture-recital on Holman Hunt’s portrait ‘The Light of the World’ which attracted over 240 online viewings.
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In the early days of lockdown it was clear that many people who were shielding at home would need help, and we are grateful to Katie Gilbert and Joan Endean who were able to launch St Paul’s Angels, organising a group of volunteers to provide any necessary support locally. Later Helen and other helpers set up St Paul’s Pantry, to distribute food provided by volunteers and local charity suppliers to people who needed it.
In the event this total closure lasted until 6[th] May, meaning that no services were held in church over the Easter period, and the Annual Parochial Church Meeting (APCM), due to be held in April, was postponed until October. From 7[th] May, incumbents were given access to churches only for purposes of recording services behind locked doors, with minimal support for music. From then until September Sunday Eucharist services were recorded in church, initially with only Kevin and his family providing music and Revd Susan officiating and her family supporting with technical services and readings. These were edited to include other readers and singers recorded separately, with gradually one or two other contributors coming into the church. Morning and evening services continued to be livestreamed from the vicarage. Carefully controlled access to churches for private prayer was granted from 5[th] June, following strict rules and risk assessments.
We are grateful to those who were willing to come to sit in the church to allow it to be opened for four 2-hour sessions each week as part of a move towards ‘Open Church’. With slight changes to the opening hours, we were able to continue this throughout 2020 (and beyond). It has clearly been appreciated by those who have ventured inside, offering a means to talk with the ‘sitters’ and enquire further if seeking contact with the Vicar, for example. We hope to expand the hours if more ‘sitters’ volunteer.
On 28[th] July we held our first funeral since March, with a technical limit of 30, socially distanced attendees. Although public services
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were allowed to commence in August, we decided to continue for a while with YouTube recordings to allow staff some time off. We started livestreaming in church, using our newly upgraded technical facilities, from 6[ th] September, and our first public Holy Communion service was on 13[th] September. This was the pattern which continued until the end of the year, with the Jones family and between 1 and 3 additional singers providing the choir and reverting to our normal rotas for readers and intercessors. Since there were still Covid cases around, growing in number through the autumn, with changing government guidelines, physical congregations were small, varying in size between 5 and 30, with many preferring to continue to watch online.
There was a greater attendance in church and online in December. On 20[th] December, the Bishop of Kingston visited for the Induction and Collation of Revd Susan as the Vicar of St Paul’s. (Previously she was appointed as Priest-in-Charge, which meant that she had fewer rights, including no tenure of the vicarage.) Due to a liberal interpretation of the rules, we were able to extend the small choir for this occasion, for the carol service that evening (250 online viewings) and Midnight Holy Communion.
Throughout the year our website, newly launched in December, and Parkside Post , were able to communicate what was going on to the Parish and other contacts. Particular thanks to Guy and Juliet respectively. It has also been encouraging to find that passers-by both notice and comment appreciatively about the attractive and informative posters which have featured on the external fences both in Augustus and Inner Park Roads.
We have been particularly grateful to those who have been generous in reacting to our appeal at the end of April with additional donations to the church which allowed us to purchase high grade technical equipment to enhance our audio-visual quality, to run the Pantry,
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and to meet continuing expenses so as to keep the church activity going during this difficult period.
The Parochial Church Council (PCC)
Staff and volunteers
The changes due to Covid, with continual changes of the context and rules, put a great load on staff and volunteers to adapt, revise plans, and keep things going. Revd Susan has borne a lot of this load, with support from Norman, Joan, Mark and Katie, and on occasion also from William Allberry. We owe a great deal to Kevin and his family who had no break all year and had considerable extra work yet managed to keep up the amazingly high musical standards, and to our technical team of Sebastiaan, Bob, Alan and Jenny. And there are also so many other volunteers who have quietly stepped in and done what was needed, and often more, without fuss.
We were sad that the closure of the Community Centre affected the roles of Sam and Siobhan but were grateful for the government help which meant we could put them on furlough. We are grateful to Sam and others for continuing to support the Lunch Club members.
We were sad to hear that Nicky von Fraunhofer, our non-stipendiary Assistant Priest, had decided to resign. She had been shielding and dealing with an additional load in her daily work due to everything going online and had decided that there were ways of serving the Diocese which she was better able to perform in these new circumstances. A celebratory farewell is planned when the rules allow.
Fabric issues
When the church was opened up in early May to allow the recording of services from the church, a lump of stone about 15cm in diameter was found to have fallen from the apex of the West Window onto the font steps, and partially splintered. The west end of the church was cordoned off in case of further falls and estimates for repair were
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gathered. Thanks to a recommendation from our architect, an excellent firm of stonemasons, Stone Edge Conservation, was chosen and the repair was carried out during August, efficiently and with care using matching Clipsham stone. Fixing the scaffolding was tricky as it was necessary to avoid and to protect the font immediately beneath the window.
Some leaks were also found on re-opening and were fixed by minor repairs to the flower sink, vestry, and roof.
The church bell also ceased working during the first lockdown. The bell and frame seem to be sound, so it appears to be the bell rope that no longer connects with the mechanism. We have plans to put this right.
The new humidifier was fitted to the organ and some final adjustments made, completing its overhaul starting in 2019. Finally, in late December we were made aware of a governmentfunded Cultural Recovery programme for organisations with listed buildings expecting to re-open, and decided to put in a bid, but the work for this was done during 2021.
Margaret Brown & Terry Woolgar, Churchwardens
The Parochial Church Council (PCC)
The PCC continued to meet monthly, but via Zoom after its last faceto-face meeting on 11[th] March. Attendance was then close to 100% at each meeting. The subcommittee structure has been generally effective in that much of the initial discussion and exploration takes place in subcommittees with final approval, or amendments, after presentation of proposals to the full PCC. Not all subcommittees are working fully yet, but gradually the membership (including some from outside the PCC) and programmes have been taking shape.
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The work of the fabric committee is described in the preceding section, and that of the finance committee and Community Centre management committee elsewhere, but the communications committee made decisions about the website, Parkside Post , signage and branding.
Much of the PCC time has been taken up in the changes caused by Covid, but we have also continued to refine the vision statement.
As noted, the APCM in 2020 was delayed until 11[th] October, and eventually took place by Zoom. This meant that Bob Essert’s tenure as churchwarden was extended beyond his 6-year maximum, and we are grateful for his agreement to continue until October, especially given other pressures. Terry Woolgar was voted in to replace him. Philip Warner decided to resign as Treasurer after serving in this role for more than 15 years, although he agreed to continue as a PCC member. Both Philip and Bob were thanked for their many years of valuable service in their respective roles at St Paul’s. Mark Gilbert kindly agreed to take over as Treasurer, with assistance from Helen Lowis, Gill Thompson and Mike Lowe. Gill was elected to the PCC vacancy, Doreen Hewitt was re-elected, and Mark and William Fairbarns were co-opted as additional members.
Margaret Brown, Secretary to the PCC
READER REPORT
My ministry in 2020 has comprised 12 Sermons at Eucharist services, and leading 10 Evening Prayers.
Norman Allen, Reader
READERS AND INTERCESSORS
We are blessed with a dedicated team of readers and intercessors and their contribution to our worship is much appreciated. We are short of intercessors and would welcome others to join us.
Eve Speare
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MUSIC
What a year! Once we went into full lockdown Kevin was able to draw on the musical talents of his own family household, and dust off rusty technical skills dormant since distant university days to prepare recordings and music videos each week which Sebastiaan edited into the final service videos to go out to the congregation on YouTube. It meant a huge amount of additional work, and we are very grateful for the extraordinary contribution made by Sebatiaan and Bob in sorting out the significant technical challenges. We joined a trend for ‘resting’ choirs to contribute to a digitally mixed chorus and are grateful to those who contributed to our virtual choir singing Tallis’ much-loved anthem “ If ye love me ”, psalm responses and additional solos from our wonderful team of cantors, that involved many hours of painstaking audio ‘surgery’ to achieve a decent result.
Thanks also to the contributors who provided inspirational artwork to accompany some of the end-of-service music for the YouTube videos – a great way to link up with and celebrate the wider creative talents of the St Paul’s community.
When the first steps to opening church buildings permitted only officiating clergy and Music Director to enter, we thought it reasonable to interpret the instruction to include other members of our respective family ‘bubbles’ and are very grateful for their longsuffering contribution and support.
There are no copyright restrictions on music used in live public worship, but for recording, broadcast or live stream it’s a different matter. At first, alert to potential complications, we restricted ourselves to older, traditional hymns that were well out of copyright (though it is surprising to realize that several authors and composers of supposedly ‘older’ hymns died quite recently, with work remaining in copyright for a further 70 years.) We now have licenses allowing us to use most copyrighted worship material, though it doesn’t cover contemporary secular or concert works which I am no longer able to
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include (a disappointment to some, but a relief to others, no doubt!). Nevertheless, we continue to receive spurious copyright claims because of over-zealous automated bots. When challenged and a human becomes involved the claims are always dropped, but it is a tiresome distraction. Copyright is a burdensome minefield, and I am very grateful for the assistance of Susan, Sebastiaan, and especially Guy in dealing with the time-consuming bureaucracy.
Once a limited number of singers were permitted in church, we found ourselves burdened with another set of constantly changing regulations and guidance. (One instruction read that “ numbers or people should be kept as small as possible” - presumably a misprint for “numbers of people” which if taken literally would suggest limiting singers to those under, say, 5’4”!) Ploughing through scores of pages of guidance on the government website, analyzed and interpreted on websites of the Church of England, Royal School of Church Music and the ISM (Incorporated Society of Musicians – the main professional body for church musicians) with changes, sometimes unannounced, almost weekly, there is a distinction between actions that ‘must’ be taken, which risk breaking the law, and actions that ‘should’ be taken, which we are expected to follow by church authorities and ignored at our peril.
In a way, St Paul’s is blessed with an ‘embarrassment of riches’ with one of the largest church choirs in the area. Indeed, earlier in the year Kevin had been asked to direct a Celebratory Eucharist led by the Archbishop of Canterbury in Roehampton, part of a major international Church of England conference where St Paul’s Choir were invited to form the backbone of participating singers. Sadly, it has had to be postponed because of the Covid lockdown.
As well as keeping the number of singers to a minimum we were also told that following government advice not to leave home, the more vulnerable and over 70’s should not be participating. We were a little more liberal in interpreting the guidelines suggesting that over 80’s
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should take a break until the situation eases and are very grateful for the patience and understanding of those affected. As Covid began to spread internationally, and the gravity of its effects became apparent, there were some notorious and tragic incidents of the virus spreading rapidly between members of amateur choirs in the US, leaving many seriously ill and causing many deaths. In the more hazardous indoor environment where masks are removed and potentially dangerous aerosols are more widely dispersed, we have tried hard to protect the health and well-being of St Paul’s Choir, and have been grateful for the tireless energy and commitment that Susan and Margaret have put into preparing the seating, measuring layout, cleaning surfaces, providing hand-sanitizer, limiting exposure etc. and gently encouraging compliance. When one of our choir members sadly went down with Covid, the fact that the rest of us escaped unscathed is a tribute to their efficient oversight.
With only a few singers permitted for services on a rotating basis, Kevin has had to both sing and direct from the piano meaning that the organ has generally been used only for voluntaries before and at the end of the service, apart from the major Christmas services where exceptionally a few more singers were allowed to participate seated in the choir stalls. Also, advised to keep services shorter, and mindful of the fact that the congregation is not permitted to join in, we have reduced the number of hymns and number of verses sung.
With many local churches remaining closed to congregations, offering services only online, or with very limited participation; some with no music at all, others following official guidelines more closely using only organ music or a single cantor, St Paul’s has been something of a rarity in maintaining home-grown music provision with the faithful support of its wonderful, patiently longsuffering choir members to whom we extend our deepest gratitude.
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COMMUNICATIONS GROUP
The Communications Group met regularly during 2020. Chris Jones and Margaret Brown stood down and we thank them for their valuable contributions. We also thank Joan Endean for her work in this area in the past. We welcomed Terry Woolgar to the group.
Revd Susan engaged Perry Rowe to assist us in developing branding for St Paul’s, including a new logo and a colour scheme. Perry was inspired by the shape of the doorway and the haloes of the saints in the stained-glass windows. We considered the colours used in the interior decoration of the church, and also the presence of nature around us. At the end of 2020, the logo and colour scheme were due to go forward to the PCC for approval.
Content and layout for the new St Paul’s website www.stpaulsparkside.org.uk was created by Guy Booth, Parish Administrator, using the ChurchDesk platform. The website went live in December 2020 with subsequent refinements to colour and design to reflect progress with the St Paul’s brand project.
Digital communications to our community were especially important during the lockdowns. Using the functionality of ChurchDesk, we broadcast 20 newsletter campaigns and 20 text messages to our contacts (which grew to over 140) during the year. The first newsletter on 29th March announced access to pre-recorded services from the vicarage on our new YouTube channel and provided links. Thereafter regular newsletters informed our audience about online recorded services for Holy Week (7[th] April); a Covid financial appeal (6[th] May); opening of the church for private prayer (19[th] June); plans for re-starting services (18[th] July); controlled access to church services in September (9[th] August); our first livestreamed service from church with a congregation (11[th] September); notice of APCM via Zoom (4[th] October); special services including All Souls (21[st] October), Remembrance (6[th] November), Advent and Christmas services (4[th] December), and other key topics. Texts were used
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tactically, often as reminders. Open rates for newsletters averaged just over 60%, which is good. Click-through rates varied depending on the subject. We normally expect 15-20% click-through although some newsletters have achieved much more (up to 39%).
Revd Susan arranged for banners to be produced to promote special services and our outreach programmes.
Two editions of Parkside Post were produced (Easter; Advent/Christmas) with the aims of incorporating content to appeal to a wide variety of readers, and of spreading the word about our outreach activities such as St Paul’s Angels and St Paul's Pantry. Unfortunately, however, there were delivery problems with both editions, with the first because of Covid restrictions, and with the second because the company engaged to carry out the delivery had difficulty in fulfilling its commitments. Digital versions of Parkside Post were published on the website and promoted in newsletters. We will revert to using volunteers to deliver Parkside Post in 2021.
Juliet Childs / Guy Booth
SOUTHWARK PASTORAL AUXILIARY (SPA)
I am a Pastoral Auxiliary for St Paul’s Church and I started training 21 years ago. Most of my work in the Parish has been getting alongside people, mostly elderly, and those in need, and being an advocate with social services where necessary. I am also a member on our Parochial Church Council (PCC). It is my privilege to administer communion, and I, as part of a team, usually take home-communion to those who cannot get to church. Unfortunately, this had to be suspended because of the pandemic.
Once a year I attend Southwark Cathedral to renew my ministry to work as a SPA in the Diocese of Southwark. I am also expected to attend quiet days and further training where appropriate and have a
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spiritual advisor to guide me. As a member of the staff team I also have to be up-to-date on safeguarding training.
This year has been very strange, being unable to see people and keeping them, and myself, safe has been a challenge. At the beginning of lockdown, from our church database I set up geographical list areas of our congregation so that they could offer support to each other, which could take the form of a simple phone call or to find out if anyone had special needs which we could help with. Katie Gilbert took over the administration of this, and did a wonderful job of contacting people to see that they were willing to be a part of their group and also sending out necessary news and messages from the church to the groups throughout the year. It has played a big part in keeping us all informed in the early pandemic lockdown, and she has my grateful thanks for taking on this project.
I then set up and organised the Coronavirus Angels Project working from home (see separate report). I have also been part of the valuable team which runs St. Paul’s Pantry, although again, because I developed health issues, it was necessary for me to work from home.
I value very much being part of the brilliant ministry team here with Revd Susan leading us. It has been particularly challenging keeping up with the guidelines to ensure everyone is safe. We have become used to using new technology and Zoom is now a ‘normal’ way of meeting. The online services have been such a blessing to me and others who are housebound and we have to thank Sebastiaan and Bob, and Mike who has helped the less tech-savvy to connect online.
It is my belief that God is showing all of us here at St Paul’s Church the way forward, to offer help in whatever way we can to all who live in our parish and are connected with our church and Community Centre at this very stressful time.
Joan Endean, Southwark Pastoral Auxiliary
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ST PAUL'S ANGELS PROJECT (formally known as Coronavirus Angels)
When lockdown happened in March, we realised that there was a need to co-ordinate people who had offered help with those who needed help. Revd Susan and I collaborated on making a poster, and then we needed to publicise what was happening. I also got helpful advice from a project already set up in St. Mary’s, Battersea, and from Wandsworth Council. I created forms and safe guidelines to set the project up and applied for a grant from Wandsworth Council to fund items that we needed. We were awarded £500.
We had 2,000 leaflets printed by Yellow Print to go into flats in our Parish into each door whenever possible. These were delivered by Wandsworth Volunteers, and through them I had further offers of help. Claudia and her family did an excellent job of identifying the blocks of flats and Amanda co-ordinated the rounds and gave out the leaflets from her home. The funding for the printing came out of the grant from Wandsworth Council.
All of this was quite an intense process because Revd Susan was getting phone calls from people self-isolating, and it needed to be set up as quickly and as safely as possible. Angels started just after Easter. We have 19 Angels signed up excluding Revd Susan and me. They have completed forms and have been sent a self-distancing guidance letter, and in some cases a priority shopping voucher.
I am co-ordinating Angels with those in need via Revd Susan who takes the initial calls/text or emails. I am also keeping the records and paperwork which go with the project.
Some Angels are providing vital listening services, which is an important task if people need a friendly ear. One kind Angel made lots of cloth masks for our congregation to use and keep.
To date we have co-ordinated over 30 tasks done by various Angels. Some tasks are repeated, such as shopping or weekly phone calls,
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and some are one-off and on demand. We were supporting one family in need with food deliveries. This was paid for by a donation for this purpose plus other food which Revd Susan had been given. The response from all the Angels I have contacted by phone to do a task has been wonderful. They have gone out in all weathers to help someone in need, and I am so grateful to all of them.
Out of this project grew the need for St. Paul’s Pantry run by Helen, which a number of our Angels support and help with. We are asking for food donations to be left at the back of church. This food goes into the Pantry and individual requests are co-ordinated through them unless there is an emergency. The people of St. Paul’s have been very kind in giving money to the Angels project which has now been transferred to the Pantry to purchase supplies.
Most importantly, if you know of someone in need, or would like to help in any way, do feel free to contact me.
Joan Endean, Southwark Pastoral Auxiliary
ST PAUL’S PANTRY
St Pauls Pantry was initiated because of an arising need in the community. We opened in October 2020, thanks in particular to advice, practical help and support from Revd Susan, Deidre Gooderson, Joan Endean and Juliet Childs. The Pantry is open at the church on every first and third Thursday evening in the month for 1.5 hours. It has been well received in the community, attendance has grown during this time and it is manned by volunteers both from the church and the wider community. Fresh food is provided by Co- Op, Rosies’ Bakery and City Harvest. Thank you to those who collect and receive food from these donors. Many thanks also to those who have donated food, money and time.
Helen Lowe
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DEANERY SYNOD 2020
Wandsworth Deanery covers 10 parishes with 13 churches. St Paul’s Deanery Synod representatives are all the clergy plus three lay members, elected by St Paul’s AGM for a three-year term. Since last year’s APCM I have been the only elected member – we do need two more. Normally, the Deanery Synod meets three times a year and tries to visit all our deanery churches in rotation.
The year 2020 started normally when we met at St Michael’s Southfields on 12th February and each church reported how we had engaged in 2019 with one of our three Deanery Mission matters - GlassDoor, EcoChurch and Discipleship: what was the impact and importance of the activity to our mission, what difference did it make? Mrs Elizabeth Simon represented St Paul’s Parkside and shared our experiences, positive and negative, in thorough and helpful reflection, as did other members of Synod. On behalf of Synod, we thanked those members who would not be standing for re-election to Deanery Synod at their April APCMs. This included St Paul’s members, Joan Endean and Elizabeth Simon, who had given many committed years of service.
Among subjects being planned for the next Synod meeting were Eco church day and the International Anglican Conference service in our borough. However, by Easter 2020 we all faced lockdown with churches closed and APCMs postponed. Our new Deanery Synod cycle took place by Zoom meeting where information was shared about the pandemic. At the Zoom meeting on 18th November 2020 we learned about the GRA:CE project, three years of extensive research across the country exploring the relationship between social action, discipleship and church growth (a partnership between Theos, Church Urban Fund and the Church of England). The author, Hannah Rich, gave a great talk on "Growing good; Growth, Social action and Discipleship in the Church of England" and we had good conversations in break out groups. We had reports and notices on Covid-19 and churches in the pandemic.
Jana Bruwer
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PARISH SAFEGUARDING
In March 2021, the PCC reviewed and agreed St Paul’s safeguarding policies for children and vulnerable adults. These are published on St Paul’s website under Our Church / Safeguarding in the top menu.
As a result of the pandemic, there have been some changes this year to the Disclosure Barring Service (DBS) process, and to Diocesan Safeguarding Training Courses. The DBS is currently allowing proof of identity checks to be carried out using video calls and scanned documents, although this situation is likely to change as restrictions are eased. In terms of training, all safeguarding training is currently being carried out remotely, with Basic Awareness and Foundation Training courses available as e-learning modules and a Leadership Training course currently offered over Zoom. The Southwark Diocese has indicated that only e-learning courses will be offered for Basic Awareness and Foundation Training in the foreseeable future. For this reason, we will not be able to hold the internal Foundation Training Course that was planned for the PCC and relevant members of the congregation, as was mentioned in last year’s AGM Report.
The Diocese recommends that safeguarding training should be delivered to the following groups: parish workers with children and young people, e.g. Sunday School, youth clubs, Messy Church leaders; parish workers with adults, e.g. home visiting, luncheon clubs and drop-ins; PCC members; those who hold positions of trust, for instance welcomers, servers. Now that our church and Community Centre group meetings are beginning to start up again, we will be contacting those involved in these teams to arrange proof of identify checks for people needing new or updated DBS numbers. We will also be identifying on-going requirements for safeguarding training, directing individuals to the most suitable training sessions, and keeping a record of safeguarding training and development.
Ann Parkin, Parish Safeguarding Officer
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SERVERS
We resumed public services as soon as possible in September after the first lockdown, however many team members including me were isolating and unable to serve. Please see me or Revd Susan if you would like to join us. Training will be given, and we try to make the job an enjoyable one!
Chris Jones
SIDESPEOPLE
Sides person’s duties came to an end at the beginning of the first lockdown in March. Before then procedures had changed to take account of new recommendations on money handling and collections. When public services resumed, our churchwardens oversaw these duties with help from any of the team in church on the day if needed.
Doreen Hewitt
TEA & TOYS
Tea and Toys playgroup began in February 2020 on a Tuesday morning with six wonderful sessions attended by many local parents, carers, childminders, and of course the 0-5s! We organised a space at the back of the church, acquired lots of toys second-hand thanks to the efforts of Joan Endean and others, set up a rota of volunteers and put a banner outside. Each week we opened our doors at 9.30 am and for an hour the children played while the adults socialised over tea and coffee. A singing and story session on the mat wrapped up the session. It was lovely to see some faces familiar to St Paul’s, and to welcome many new ones too.
Sadly, by late March we were no-longer able to run in-person sessions due to Covid-19. In April I began to record weekly song and story time videos for the St Paul’s YouTube channel – early topics included ‘Bears’ and ‘Trees’ – to continue the outreach to this age group. From September these have been livestreams on Monday
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mornings from church, using the church's excellent audio-visual technology, to give more of a feel of being together at the same time.
We hope to welcome everyone back to church as soon as we can! My heartfelt thanks go to Revd Susan, Joan Endean, Deirdre Gooderson and the many people that helped me to set up, run a session and clear away, and to Sebastiaan Boelen for his continued support with the livestreams. I could not have done it without you all.
YOUTH AND CHILDREN'S MINISTRY REPORT
Our ministry to young people has undergone some reshaping. In prior years, Junior Church was offered on a fortnightly basis and numbers have declined as our young people matured and moved on. The number of leaders has also declined for various reasons and this needs to be addressed as we move forward.
Junior Church: Owing to the pandemic, Junior Church was unable to meet on Sunday mornings once restrictions were put in place. This gave us an opportunity to rethink our approach to mission and strategy with hope that 2021 will bring new life to our work. Our plan going forward is to offer Junior Church every Sunday.
Messy Church: is a new endeavour for St Paul’s. Messy Church is a way of being church for families and others. It is for all ages, based on creativity, hospitality and celebration.
We led our first session of Messy Church on 6[th] December with an Advent theme and it was well enjoyed and well attended. Our plan is to hold sessions on the first Sunday of the month at 4:30pm in church. We are grateful for your prayers as we embark on this new ministry.
Revd Susan Bolen, Vicar
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FLOWER GROUP
We began as usual decorating for St Paul’s Tide; little did we know it would be the last occasion we could decorate our church for months.
At Easter, an arrangement of silk flowers was used and once the church was opened again, they were moved into church. When lockdown was lifted, we continued to use silk thanks to the generosity of the congregation who donated many of the flowers. However beautiful our artificial flowers were, it was lovely to have real flowers back at Harvest Time, and we have continued with the real thing since October. A change saw foliage and berries in church during Advent which were a welcoming and cheerful presence.
As usual, I am extremely grateful to all who have plundered their gardens regularly for greenery, those who donated artificial flowers so that we were able to change the silk arrangement, and to our florist for all her generosity, help and advice.
Looking ahead we cannot wait to get the whole team together again and return to a rota so we can all do what we enjoy, arranging flowers in our beautiful building to enhance our weekly services.
Doreen Hewitt
COFFEE ROTA
At the start of 2020 members of the St Paul’s family enjoyed getting together for a chat, a hot drink and a biscuit after the Sunday service, enabled by our band of volunteers. Sadly, this had to stop in early March when the Church was closed. Thanks are due to Revd Susan, who quickly made it possible for many of us to meet on Zoom for ‘Coffee in the Lounge’ on a weekly basis, so that we could continue to experience the fellowship which helps to make St Paul’s so special.
Juliet Childs
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THE PEW SHEET
After the initial lockdown period in Spring 2020 and the closure of St Paul’s Church, the pew sheet continued online-only on St. Paul’s website. In the autumn, it returned to its four-page printed format.
The first page of the pew sheet continues to list music, readings, and hymns in the order in which they appear in the service. Ann usually prepares a template sent to Kevin who fills in hymn, music & reading details that include a brief ‘headline’ summary of each reading taken from the RSCM Sunday by Sunday publication. Kevin then passes the draft back to Ann to add additional notices and service details.
The Notices section expanded considerably while being produced online-only. This additional space helped us to keep the community informed of local activities and aware of support available; we also provided links to prayer and worship. These offerings extended to links to online services from Southwark Cathedral and a phone line, the Daily Hope , with worship and prayers, which during the summer months also provided a ‘Holiday at Home’ experience. As well as being a focal document for links to our Advent and Lent discussion group Zoom sessions, the pew sheet directed people to other Zoom events, including several held by the Council for Christians and Jews.
The pew sheet gave details of the many Zoom meeting groups set up within the congregation, with links for easy access. We were also able to support the broader community, for example with our notices requesting scrubs for local hospitals and supplies for prison inmates during the most difficult days of the pandemic. The Notices section enabled us to send thanks to local traders who provided goods and to the helpers who delivered them. It also conveyed greetings and messages from members of the congregation who have moved away and was a platform to share good wishes and congratulations on special occasions such as births, birthdays and anniversaries.
Kevin Jones and Ann Parkin
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CHURCH CLEANING
During the pandemic, church cleaning continued whenever possible on a Tuesday morning:
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Sweeping and kex mopping the floor
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Vacuuming the carpets
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Dusting and sanitising the pews and choir stalls
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Tidying tables and sorting out of date literature
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Cleaning brass and silver
Having cleared the choir stalls last year, boxes of music are being stored until a more suitable home can be found for them.
Although the moth infestation was dealt with last year, we need to keep an eye on the carpets, furnishings and vestments. We need to purchase moth traps and replace existing ones as a precaution. The vestry is almost free of unnecessary ‘stuff’ but we should consider better storage for the tea, sugar and biscuits etc.
I should like to thank Terry and Kay Woolgar, Doreen and John Hewitt and Gill Thompson for their hard work and commitment each week.
Shirley Thompson
ELECTORAL ROLL OFFICER REPORT
The Electoral Roll of St Paul’s Church now stands at 91.
Very sadly, we have lost some of our faithful members this year but some new people have joined. If you consider yourself a part of St. Paul’s Church, have been worshipping with us for three months and are not yet on the Electoral Roll, please contact me for a form. Being on the Electoral Roll allows you to vote at the Annual Parochial Church Meeting (APCM) and to join the Parochial Church Council (PCC) to have a say in the running of our church. Please consider it.
Joan Endean
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CHURCH GROUPS
I took on the administration of the St Paul's 'Small Groups' following the start of the first lockdown in March 2020. It was something that needed to be arranged quickly to ensure that people felt supported and in contact when the usual networks were changing rapidly. We contacted everybody and asked if they would like to take part, and formed about 7 groups, each with a designated 'leader' to contact the 5-8 households in their group, disseminating information and making sure everyone was ok. Each group member had the contact details of the others in the group. In this way we could minimise the chances of anyone falling through the net, creating a system to provide support where it was needed. Throughout the spring, the groups kept in regular contact, and distribution of bread and baked goods when they were donated to the vicarage allowed us to make sure those we delivered to were coping. In the summer, as things opened up, the need for the groups lessened and contact was less regular. We reprised the groups for the November lockdown.
Katie Gilbert
MONEY BANKING
The banking of the church money is now in a state of change. While the church was closed there were no collections to bank and since reopening there has not been much to pay in. Amanda and Eve have now left the rota. Daphne & Sue are not able to continue.
Sue Chick
BIBLE STUDY GROUP
We meet every Tuesday at 9.30 am after morning prayer at Daphne & Sue’s flat. We are a small group, maximum 6 usually but open to all. We use a version of the Lectio Divina , from the Benedictine tradition. One person reads the Gospel while we listen to it, then we have a few minutes to think about the reading and anything that stands out for us. We take it in turns to say which word or phrase
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has stood out for us. We then have the reading again from a different Bible version, usually the Message . This is followed by a further time of silence as we think about it further. There is then a time to share our thoughts and discuss things that have come to mind. The group was mothballed during the pandemic and lockdowns. We plan to restart when we can meet face to face.
Sue Chick
TUESDAY HOME GROUP
The Tuesday evening home group started meeting in April 2020 and has met every few weeks throughout the year over Zoom. Highlights have included discussions about prayer, poetry and art and our now regular online music evenings where we share favourite pieces of music, either on a religious or seasonal theme, or just uplifting favourites. We have had great conversations and some very enjoyable evenings. We hope we can meet in person during 2021!
Mark Gilbert
FRIDAY MORNING GROUP
The first half of 2020 was interrupted by lockdown. Since restarting, our fortnightly Zoom meetings have been attended by up to a dozen.
Norman Allen
PRAYER CHAIN
We are a group of people who pray regularly for people in need. We are currently updating the list of those who wish to be prayed for. Anyone can ask for people to be added to the list. Please contact any of the following: Daphne Foster, Sue Chick, Amber Bonham Carter, Christine Brown, Bette Waller, Joan Endean, Rosemary Booth, Susie Leyland, Elizabeth Burgess, Eve Speare, Revd Susan Bolan.
Daphne Foster
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THE WORLD DAY OF PRAYER
The 2020 World Day of Prayer, organised by women, was held on 6[th] March at 2pm at St Luke’s Church, Wimbledon Park. The service was based on ideas from the Christian women of Zimbabwe on the theme of ‘Rise; take up your mat and walk’. It was one of the best recent services, was conducted by one of the female staff at St Luke’s, and included an interview with someone living in Zimbabwe. The congregation was a little smaller than usual, probably because concerns were beginning about coronavirus, but several local churches were represented. Thanks to Kevin for playing and to everyone who helped with the service and refreshments. The group was not able to meet after this to plan the 2021 service.
Margaret Brown
SOCIAL COMMITTEE
Due to the pandemic all social gatherings were suspended from March 2020. We managed to have a bring-and-share lunch in January for our Patronal Festival in 2020, and thank you again to all who helped and contributed in any way.
The Social Committee is a very small group. We do not usually have formal meetings, but we know who to call on when help is needed.
Looking ahead we hope to have a party and an open day. If you feel you would like to help at any time do contact me, no offer refused! I would also welcome ideas for events that you would enjoy.
Joan Endean
AWKWARD SQUAD
The Awkward Squad did not meet in 2020.
Norman Allen
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CHURCH BIRTHDAY CARD SCHEME
This continues with a birthday card given on behalf of all at St Paul’s to anyone who is happy to have their birthday recognised. Do let Daphne know if you would like to receive a card on your birthday. Adults do not have to declare their age, but it is helpful to have the age of children so that an appropriate card can be chosen. Thank you to those who help with the distribution of cards. We have tried to continue the deliveries during lockdown but inevitably some have had to be posted.
Daphne Foster
HAND BELL TEAM
There was no activity with the bells this year once again. We need to re-enthuse ourselves and hope new people will come forward.
Joan Endean
MISSION GIVING 2019
Like many churches, St Paul’s has had a longstanding practice of making a number of annual donations from our budget to support charities. A subcommittee of the PCC recommends to the full PCC the donations to be made and, as part of this process, we have often sought suggestions from the congregation. In recent years, the committee has followed a policy that, this being our church’s collective giving, a sizeable proportion should go to support the spread of the Gospel and practical welfare work abroad by Christian mission societies (including the Mother’s Union); with most of the remainder we should support campaigning and welfare work in this country which has a specific Christian ethos, including charities with a national or local focus (local being London, Southwark Diocese or Wandsworth). We also believed it right to set aside a sum to support clergy in sickness or old age. In 2018 we gave £4,700 for mission.
Owing to the deficit in the church accounts since 2018, caused not least by the need to repay loans made to fund the 2016/17 roof
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works, the PCC felt unable to authorise any payments for mission giving in 2019 and 2020. It seems likely that no gifts will be possible in 2021, for the same reason. However, the PCC is determined to reinstate mission giving as a priority as soon as possible.
Elizabeth Simon
JEAN GARLING FUND
We have not made any grants this last year. Although there were some initial expressions of interest, no applications were received. We look forward to renewed interest when life becomes more conducive to training and spiritual development.
This year did however see Nicky von Fraunhofer leaving St Pauls and therefore resigning from the ‘Trustees’. In line with our original objectives of having a member of clergy as one of the trustees, Revd Susan has agreed to fill the gap for the time being. The remainder of the trustees remain the same as before: Elizabeth Burgess, Doreen Hewitt, Isobel Heycock and Philip Warner.
“Trustees” Elizabeth Burgess, Revd Susan Bolen, Doreen Hewitt, Isobel Heycock, Philip Warner
CHARITY COLLECTIONS
Because of the lockdowns we were sadly not able to organise the usual collections for Christian Aid Week and Glass Door. People were asked to give directly to these charities via their websites instead.
Margaret Brown
CHURCH BOOKINGS
We began 2020 with a full calendar of forward church bookings for rehearsals, concerts and recitals, and a new Table of Fees. However, Covid-19 struck and our first concert of 2020 by Wimbledon Choral
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Society on Friday 29[th] February would prove to be our last public event outside worship for the rest of the year.
The first lockdown in March meant that Stoneleigh Youth Orchestra (SYO), our most regular client, had to cancel their bookings in church in April and May. When restrictions on educational activities eased, we enabled Stoneleigh to return to church on Sundays in September and October by implementing a rigorous cleaning regime after the main service. Stoneleigh required the church more frequently than usual at this time since the number of students able to rehearse in the Community Centre was limited by the logistics of social distancing. However, rehearsals had to cease once again during the November lockdown and, following a further easing of restrictions, Stoneleigh’s last session in church was on Sunday 13[th] December.
We were pleased to be able to host Putney Choral Society (PCS) with three two-hour Monday evening rehearsals in October and a onehour rehearsal in December (before and after the second lockdown), followed by a half-day session for a livestreamed concert on Saturday 12[th] December.
A special thank you to Joanna Thomas for providing a cheerful, efficient, and thorough cleaning service to the church, Community Centre, and our clients, thus ensuring these activities could go ahead safely between lockdowns.
The total invoiced for bookings in 2020 was just below £2,000.
Guy Booth, Parish Administrator
ST PAUL’S COMMUNITY CENTRE
The Community Centre had to close its doors from 23[rd] March due to Covid-19 although many groups cancelled the week before. On the 17[th ] March it was agreed to put the Centre Manager and our cleaner on furlough. The Premises Manager returned to work on 20th July on
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part time furlough (10 hours) to open the centre, organise the maintenance work and to get the centre Covid-secure. This meant we had to clear the corridors of furniture, install hand sanitisers, put up appropriate signs and floor markings etc. We would like to thank Alan and Jenny Bryant for their work in helping us to achieve this.
Some groups were able to return at the end of August. Ballet came in to do their exams and in September groups started to come back. Playgroup, dog training, table tennis, yoga, Stoneleigh, AA and Lunch Club all returned during September. We also had a socially distanced fish and chip lunch in the main hall with a game of bingo to reintroduce Lunch Club, raising £273.
Unfortunately, we then had the second lockdown and groups gradually stopped once again. We again reduced the Centre Manager’s hours to 7 with the rest of her time on furlough. Our cleaner has remained on full furlough throughout the various lockdowns. Playgroup and AA on Sunday were able to continue their groups, and this has meant we have had some income.
The Centre Manager agreed to carry out the cleaning after playgroup each day and the weekend cleaning is covered by temporary staff. The Centre Manager has been checking on the centre on a regular basis, dealing with phone calls and answering queries. During lockdown, the Centre Manager has also kept in touch with members of the Lunch Club and helped with the delivery of meals to the members. Our thanks to her for doing this important voluntary work.
We have a few groups still in credit like MS, Stoneleigh, Rugby Tots, and some of the concerts that were cancelled. This will be carried forward into next year when they re- book.
During the various lockdowns, the management committee met monthly via Zoom, except in November when we were able to meet in the Centre. The attendance at all meetings has been good.
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This year the management committee agreed to integrate the Community Centre finances with the church accounts. This meant that there was a transfer of money from our current account and our reserves to the church accounts. The management committee also discussed the replacement of the community centre windows and obtained several quotes for the work. This is still on-going.
Sam Egan (Centre Manager) and Gill Thompson
LUNCH CLUB
The Lunch Club was meeting regularly on a Tuesday until the pandemic forced a lockdown. Our last meeting was on 10[th] March. We re-opened with a one-off fish & chip lunch on 28[th] August. This gave everyone the opportunity to meet before re-opening on a regular basis on 29[th] September. Allowing for social distancing, we were able to accommodate up to 14, all wearing masks and seated at individual tables. This worked well and everyone was pleased to be back to meet and catch up with friends. Sadly, this came to an end and our last meeting was on 15[th] December.
During the first lockdown ‘Cook’ in Southfields provided us with 30 meals a week which Sam, with the help of Dave and Amanda, delivered to the members. Subsequently ‘Cook’ offered a 30% discount and initially Lunch Club members offered to pay but then various members of the congregation donated money towards the meals. Sam delivered them with the help of Amanda. We would like to thank ‘Cook’ for their support. Sam makes sure news is passed on between members either by phone or when delivering the meals.
At the beginning of the year, we received a grant from the Co-op of £1,846.92p. The Lunch Club had been selected as one of their nominated charities so that each time someone shopped and named us as their preferred charity, we received a percentage. A big thank you to everyone who shopped there during the year.
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We are still looking for volunteers, including a team leader to replace Caroline Keat. Our two cooks Janice O’Connor and Mary Novis will hopefully return once we reopen. We are expecting numbers to be down to start with as we are sorry to report that Phyllis Jessop, Gwen Pilgrim and Breda Kavanagh (past and present members) have all died this year and one other member has been transferred to a nursing home. They will be sadly missed.
Shirley Thompson
FRIDAY CLUB
The New Year started with Lesley Hazel having joined us with lots of new ideas. Although the numbers of attendees were decreasing, we had a couple of people joining us for a taster session and were hopeful they would be back. However, this was not to be, as due to the ages and the vulnerability of our members this was one of the first groups to close.
Fortunately, our last meeting was a really fun time, with lots of laughter and happy voices. Taking place on the Friday before Shrove Tuesday, the ladies made pancake batter, which I cooked while everyone else tried their hand at some word searches and a Lenten quiz. Pancakes were served, waitress style, by our youngest grandchildren who happened to be staying with us for half term. As we finished the children were invited to come again next holiday.
Sadly, since then we have lost members and others who have been shielding are frailer than they were. When it is safe to do so, we would like to reopen and look forward to welcoming new members.
Doreen Hewitt
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ST PAUL’S PCC – TREASURER’S REPORT 2020
Despite 2020's unique challenges, St Pauls’ finances are fairly stable. Both regular giving and one-off donations increased compared to 2019, there were very strong responses to the appeals for the Pantry, for AV equipment and to the Covid appeal, and we were beneficiaries of David Leyland's generous legacy.
Unfortunately, income from church and community centre hire took a big hit from the pandemic, with this revenue falling by around £30,000 (compared to 2019). Expenditure was lower for a couple of reasons: some costs were lower due to the periods of closure, and the PCC chose to reduce our contribution to the diocese (Parish Support Fund).
This leaves us with £104,000 in the bank, but this includes £40,000 contingency reserves, £33,000 owed to parishioners for roof fund loans due to be repaid the coming year, £20,000 from David Leyland’s legacy (of which £10,000 is committed to works on the reredos, and the other £10,000 for large projects) and £15,000 committed to community centre window works. Overall, our position is fairly good, but we will need to increase our income to avoid having to draw on our reserves, or to be able to engage in new activities or expenditure.
As incoming Treasurer, I would like to thank our outgoing Treasurer, Philip Warner, for his hard work over the past few years; Richard Holman for agreeing to become our external examiner for our accounts (and for examining this year’s account); and in particular, I would really like to thank everyone who generously supported St Pauls in 2020.
Mark Gilbert, Treasurer
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APPENDIX: ST PAUL’S PCC ACCOUNTS 2020
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St Paul's Church, Wimbledon Park Charity Commission Ref 1142917
| Charity Commission Ref 1142917 (Income & Expenditure) For the year ended 31 December 2020 Income Total Donated Income Total Donated Income (Regular) Income Tax Recovered (Gift Aid) Total Fund Raising Income Total Income from Activities Total Income from Investments Total Grants Received Total Other Voluntary Income Total Special Appeals Income Total Income Expenditure Total Activities Total Costs of Generating Funds Parish Support Fund Total Grants Given Total Major Repairs Total Management and Admin Total Expenditure Net Operating Surplus / (Deficit) Other Expenses Gains on asset revaluation Losses on asset revaluation Net Surplus / (Deficit) before Transfers Between Funds Transfers Net Surplus / (Deficit) |
2019 Total £ 9,901 51,960 13,991 5,506 59,494 15,833 9,744 0 1,000 167,429 48,099 8,714 62,000 3,326 17,359 47,469 186,967 (19,539) 0 361 (19,899) 0 (19,899) |
||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unrestricted Funds |
Designated Funds | Restricted Funds | 2020 | 2019 | |||||||||||||||
| Notes | Church - PCC | D - Community Ctr | D - Fabric Fund | D - Little Kittens | D - Friday Club | D - Jean Garling Fund | R - Audio Visual | R - Organ Fund | R - Pantry Fund | Total | Total | ||||||||
| 1 2 3 |
£ £ £ £ £ £ £ £ 9,691 0 2,000 0 0 0 0 0 0 58,753 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 14,803 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 190 1,370 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 26,780 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 26,475 0 0 0 0 0 0 21 0 11,796 0 0 0 0 0 0 1,650 0 20,000 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 8,777 0 0 0 0 0 5,500 0 3,002 178,446 0 2,000 0 0 0 5,500 1,671 3,192 42,607 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 957 7,322 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 60,000 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - - - - - - - - - 6,000 0 0 0 0 0 5,500 3,804 0 40,512 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 156,440 0 0 0 0 0 5,500 3,804 957 22,005 0 2,000 0 0 0 0(2,133) 2,236 0 0 0 0 0 525 0 0 0 22,005 0 2,000 0 0(525) 0(2,133) 2,236 50,976 (62,406) 12,800 (867) (503) 0 0 0 0 72,981(62,406) 14,800(867) (503) (525) 0(2,133) 2,236 |
£ 11,691 58,753 14,994 1,370 26,780 26,496 13,446 20,000 17,278 190,809 43,563 7,322 60,000 0 15,304 40,512 166,701 24,108 0 525 23,583 (0) 23,583 |
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St Paul's Church, Wimbledon Park Charity Commission Ref 1142917
| 2019 Total 157,137 4,411 161,548 1,412 3,931 200 2,680 89,839 98,063 2,825 2,738 2,500 268 0 0 8,331 89,731 38,100 213,180 233,079 (19,899) 213,180 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Un | restricted Funds |
Designated Funds | Restricted Funds | 2020 | 2019 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Notes | Church - PCC | D - Community Ctr | D - Fabric Fund | D - Little Kittens | D - Friday Club | D - Jean Garling Fund |
R - Organ Fund | R - Pantry Fund | Total | Total | |||||||||||||||||
| 4 4 4 4 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 6 7 s ies es |
157,137 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3,886 0 0 157,137 0 0 0 0 3,886 0 0 - - - - - - - 9,054 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 200 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2,086 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 84,828 0 10,000 0 0 2,584 4,707 2,236 96,168 0 10,000 0 0 2,584 4,707 2,236 4,117 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2,538 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 0 0 33,300 0 0 0 0 0 6,656 0 33,300 0 0 0 0 0 89,512 0 (23,300) 0 0 2,584 4,707 2,236 246,650 0(23,300) 0 0 6,470 4,707 2,236 173,669 62,406 (38,100) 867 503 6,995 6,840 0 72,981 (62,406) 14,800 (867) (503) (525) (2,133) 2,236 246,650 0(23,300) 0 0 6,470 4,707 2,236 |
157,137 3,886 161,023 0 9,054 200 2,086 104,355 115,695 4,117 2,538 0 0 0 33,300 39,956 75,739 0 236,762 213,180 23,583 236,762 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||
| - | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| - - - |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2020 Total 23,583 (0) 23,583 525 (96) 429 24,012 (3,117) 31,624 28,507 52,519 0 0 0 (38,100) 96 (38,004) 14,515 89,839 104,355 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Unrestricted Funds |
Designated Funds | Restricted | Funds | 2020 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Notes | Church - PCC | D - Community Ctr |
D - Fabric Fund |
D - Little Kittens |
D - Friday Club | R - Jean Garling Fund |
R - Audio Visual |
R - Organ Fund | R - Pantry Fund |
Total | |||||||||||||||||
| 22,005 0 2,000 0 0 (525) 0 (2,133) 2,236 50,976 (62,406) 12,800 (867) (503) 0 0 0 0 72,981 (62,406) 14,800 (867) (503) (525) 0 (2,133) 2,236 525 0 0 0 (75) 0 0 0 0 0 (21) 0 (75) 0 0 0 0 525 0 (21) 0 72,906 (62,406) 14,800 (867) (503) 0 0 (2,154) 2,236 (3,117) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 (1,386) (200) 33,300 0 (90) 0 0 0 0 (4,503) (200) 33,300 0 (90) 0 0 0 0 68,403 (62,606) 48,100 (867) (593) 0 0 (2,154) 2,236 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 (38,100) 0 0 0 0 0 0 75 0 0 0 0 0 0 21 0 75 0 (38,100) 0 0 0 0 21 0 68,478 (62,606) 10,000 (867) (593) 0 0 (2,133) 2,236 16,350 62,606 0 867 593 2,584 0 6,840 0 84,828 0 10,000 0 0 2,584 0 4,707 2,236 |
(Balance Sheet) As at 31 December 2020
Fixed Assets
Investment Assets - 90 Augustus Rd Investment Assets - CAF UK Equiyty B
Current Assets
Debtors
Dr - Accrued Income Dr - Landlord Float Dr - Prepaid Expenses Total Cash at bank and in hand
Current Liabilities
Cr - Accrued Expenses Cr - Deposits Held Cr - Prepaid Income Cr - Weddings & Funerals - Diocese Inter-Account Transfers Loans from Congregation
Falling Due Within One Year
Net Current Assets
Loans from Congregation
Net Assets
Retained Earnings Surplus/(Deficit)
Net Funds
St Paul's Church, Wimbledon Park Charity Commission Ref 1142917
Statement of Cash Flows For the year ended 31 December 2020
Net Surplus / (Deficit) berore Transfers
Between Funds Transfers
Net Surplus / (Deficit)
Gains/(Losses) on revaluation of assets Interest and dividends Non cash and financing items
Operating cash before working capital changes
Currebt Debtors
Current Liabilities
Movements in Working Capital
Net cash inflow/(outflow) from operating activities
Capital Additions Capital Disposals
Net cash inflow/(outflow) from investing activities
Loans
Interest and dividends
Net cash inflow/(outflow) from financing
Net cash inflow/(outflow)
Opening Cash
Closing Cash
40 | P a g e
| Notes to the Accounts Note 1 - Details of Income For the year ended 31 December 2020 Income Church Collections (cash) Goodbox Donations Other Giving Other Giving (Gift Aid) Total Donated Income Regular Giving (Gift Aid Envs) Regular Giving (Gift Aid SO's) Regular Giving (Other) Total Donated Income (Regular) Income Tax Recovered (Gift Aid) Fund Raising - Church Fund Raising - Cmmty Ctr Sunday Coffee Total Fund Raising Income Hire of Church Hire of Community Centre Contributions to Activities Weddings & Funerals fees Total Income from Activities Interest and Dividends Rent from 90 Augustus Rd Total Income from Investments Grants - DCMS (VAT Refund) Grants - HMRC (Furlough) Grants - NINDS Grants - Other Total Grants Received Legacy Total Other Voluntary Income Special Appeals (AudioVisual) Special Appeals (Covid) Special Appeals (Pantry) Special Appeals (War Memorial) Total Special Appeals Income Total Income |
2019 Total £ 3,407 23 250 6,220 9,901 8,361 40,338 3,261 51,960 13,991 2,966 1,889 650 5,506 5,782 51,955 366 1,391 59,494 283 15,550 15,833 0 0 0 9,744 9,744 0 0 0 0 0 1,000 1,000 167,429 |
|||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unrestricted Funds |
Designated Funds | Restricted Funds |
2020 | 2019 | ||||||||||
| Church - PCC | D - Fabric Fund | D - Jean Garling Fund |
R - Audio Visual | R - Organ Fund | R - Pantry Fund | Total | Total | |||||||
| £ £ £ £ £ £ 776 0 0 0 0 0 277 0 0 0 0 0 3,378 0 0 0 0 0 5,260 2,000 0 0 0 0 9,691 2,000 0 0 0 0 3,440 0 0 0 0 0 46,049 0 0 0 0 0 9,264 0 0 0 0 0 58,753 0 0 0 0 0 14,803 0 0 0 0 190 315 0 0 0 0 0 811 0 0 0 0 0 244 0 0 0 0 0 16,173 0 0 0 0 0 1,855 0 0 0 0 0 24,241 0 0 0 0 0 172 0 0 0 0 0 512 0 0 0 0 0 26,780 0 0 0 0 0 75 0 0 0 21 0 26,400 0 0 0 0 0 26,475 0 0 0 21 0 498 0 0 0 1,650 0 7,765 0 0 0 0 0 2,500 0 0 0 0 0 1,033 0 0 0 0 0 11,796 0 0 0 1,650 0 20,000 0 0 0 0 0 20,000 0 0 0 0 0 4,277 0 0 5,500 0 0 4,500 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3,002 - - - - - - 8,777 0 0 5,500 0 3,002 178,446 2,000 0 5,500 1,671 3,192 |
£ 776 277 3,378 7,260 11,691 3,440 46,049 9,264 58,753 14,994 315 811 244 1,370 1,855 24,241 172 512 26,780 96 26,400 26,496 2,148 7,765 2,500 1,033 13,446 20,000 20,000 9,777 4,500 3,002 0 17,278 190,809 |
P a g e | 41
| Notes to the Accounts Note 2 - Details of Expenditure For the year ended 31 December 2020 Expenditure Clergy Expenses Group Activity Expenses Heat (Gas) Insurance Light (Electricity) Maintenance & Cleaning - Church Maintenance & Cleaning - Cmmty Ctr Music (Organist / Choir Master) Music (Other) Pantry costs Running Expenses Salaries - Cleaners Water Total Activities Costs of 90 Augustus Rd Costs of Fund Raising Total Costs of Generating Funds Parish Support Fund Grants (Missionary Giving) Grants (Other) Total Grants Major Repairs - Organ Major Repairs - Boiler Major Repairs - Windows Major Works - AudioVisual Major Repairs - War Memorial Total Major Repairs Finance Costs IT & Systems Legal Costs Printing & Photocopier Salaries - Cmmty Ctr Mgmt Salaries - Parish Admin Salaries - Tax & Pensions Telephones Total Management and Admin Total Expenditures |
2019 Total £ 47 773 3,101 10,324 3,880 6,229 8,301 7,275 1,177 0 810 6,046 137 48,099 8,714 0 8,714 62,000 0 3,326 3,326 12,517 4,426 0 0 417 17,359 1,863 3,230 768 2,885 17,382 12,941 6,158 2,242 47,469 186,967 |
|||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unrestricted Funds |
Designated Funds |
Restricted Funds |
2020 | 2019 | ||||||||||
| Church - PCC | D - Fabric Fund | D - Jean Garling Fund | R - Audio Visual | R - Organ Fund | R - Pantry Fund | Total | Total | |||||||
| £ £ £ £ £ £ - - - - - - 0 0 0 0 0 0 3,382 0 0 0 0 0 11,173 0 0 0 0 0 3,018 0 0 0 0 0 3,357 0 0 0 0 0 6,266 0 0 0 0 0 6,400 0 0 0 0 0 661 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 957 1,246 0 0 0 0 0 6,898 0 0 0 0 0 206 0 0 0 0 0 42,607 0 0 0 0 957 7,322 0 0 0 0 0 - - - - - - 7,322 0 0 0 0 0 60,000 0 0 0 0 0 - - - - - - - - - - - - 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3,804 0 - - - - - - 2,989 0 0 0 0 0 3,011 0 0 5,500 0 0 - - - - - - 6,000 0 0 5,500 3,804 0 1,775 0 0 0 0 0 493 0 0 0 0 0 - - - - - - 2,950 0 0 0 0 0 14,308 0 0 0 0 0 14,315 0 0 0 0 0 4,728 0 0 0 0 0 1,943 0 0 0 0 0 40,512 0 0 0 0 0 156,440 0 0 5,500 3,804 957 |
£ 0 0 3,382 11,173 3,018 3,357 6,266 6,400 661 957 1,246 6,898 206 43,563 7,322 0 7,322 60,000 0 0 0 3,804 0 2,989 8,511 0 15,304 1,775 493 0 2,950 14,308 14,315 4,728 1,943 40,512 166,701 |
42 | P a g e
Notes to the Accounts
Note 3 Between Funds Transfers represent
| Note 4 **Note 5 ** |
The consolidation into the General Fund of Community Centre Fund Friday Club LittleKittensFund Total Transfers to General Fund Transfer from General Fund to Fabric Fund designated for Reredos from Legacy torepayRoof Loans Transfers from General Fund NetBalanceTransferto General Fund Current Debtors (Monies owed to us) Income tax recovered on Gift Aid Prepaid Insurance Prepaid Electricity Prepaid Mucic Licences Church Lettings Historic England Grant for windows Other debtors Current Creditors (Monies we owe) Tenants Deposits Fees & Salaries Due Audio Visual Costs Utilities Fees to Diocese NINDS Grant (paid in advance) Roof Fund Loans due Other Creditors |
62,406 867 503 63,776 10,000 2,800 12,800 50,976 |
62,406 867 503 63,776 10,000 2,800 12,800 50,976 |
|||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 2019 | Movement | ||||
| 8,521 0 1,543 373 0 533 370 11,340 |
3,685 2,680 0 0 1,412 0 446 8,223 |
|||||
| 3,117 | ||||||
| 2020 | 2019 | Movement | ||||
| 2,538 1,300 2,817 0 0 0 33,300 0 39,956 |
2,538 2,090 0 735 268 2,500 0 200 **8,331 ** |
|||||
| 31,624 |
NB The remaining Roof Fund Loans are now Current Creditors due in 2021
Note 6 Net Current Assets - Reserves
| The PCC has a policy to maintain Free Reserves of at least 3 months normal expenditure. | The PCC has a policy to maintain Free Reserves of at least 3 months normal expenditure. | The PCC has a policy to maintain Free Reserves of at least 3 months normal expenditure. |
|---|---|---|
| Since consolidating the Community Centre and PPC General Fund, | Weeks spend | |
| Normal Expenditure | 156,000 | 52 |
| 3 months expenditure Free Reserves requirement | 39,000 | 13 |
| The totalGeneral Fund current reserves stand at |
89,512 | 30 |
| We have the following Commitments within these reserves | ||
| Roof Fund Loans still due | 33,300 | |
| Community Centre Windows | 16,400 | |
| Refurbishment of Notice Boards | 2,500 | |
| Audio Visual equipment | 1,265 | |
| Total Commitments | 53,465 | |
| Remaining Free reserves | 36,047 | 12 |
This represents 12 weeks or just under the 3 months of normal expenditure that our reserves policy requires We shall therefore have to review our plans of how to generate sufficient surpluses to replenish the reserves
Note 7 Loans from the congregation for Roof Repairs
| Loans at the start of the year Loans converted to gifts Repaymentsin 2020via General Fund |
2020 |
|---|---|
| 38,100 2,000 2,800 |
|
| Loans Outstanding | 33,300 |
The remaining loans are due for repayment in the Autumn of 2021
P a g e | 43