The Annual Report Including the Financial Statements of
‘’The Parochial Church Council of the Ecclesiastical Parish of Castle Bromwich’’
Year ending December 2020
(Registered Charity No. 1146681)
Promoting in the Ecclesiastical Parish
the whole mission of the church
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Structure, Governance and Management
The Parochial Church Council is a corporate body established by the Church of England. The PCC operates under the Parochial Church Council (Powers) Measure 1956. as amended and church representation rules.
St Mary and St Margaret is registered with the Charity Commission as ‘’The Parochial Church Council of the Ecclesiastical Parish of Castle Bromwich’’ Charity No. 1146681
The method of appointment of PCC/Trustee members is set out in the Church Representation Rules.
All regular attendees at the church are encouraged to register on the electoral roll which enables them to vote and to stand for election to the PCC.
The PCC/Trustees of
‘’The Parochial Church Council of the Ecclesiastical Parish of Castle Bromwich’’
ex officio The Rector Revd Mark Hopkins MA (Cantab) MA (Bris)
ex officio 2 Churchwardens
Mrs Lisa Wakeman Mr Barry Hopkins (elected 14[th] April)
ex officio 3 Deanery Synod representatives Mr Dennis Jorden Mrs Jane Eccleston (left 18[th] October) Mrs Karon Ward Mrs Tricia Richards (elected 18[th] October)
ex officio 4 Rev Margaret MacLachlan Honorary Curate Mrs Alyson Rickus Lay Reader
12 elected members
Mrs Elaine Jeffs (Treasurer)
Mrs Lesley Dunning (Lay Chair up to 16[th] November) Mr David Greaves (elected 18[th] October, Lay Chair from16th November) Mrs Shirley Middlemass Mrs Susan Bates Mr Trevor Jones (left 18[th] October) Mrs Laura Fallows Mrs Jackie Harris Mrs Margaret Grady Mrs Julie Fisher Miss Victoria Jorden Miss Alice Jackson Miss Laurie Fisher
Bank Lloyds Bank, High Street, Sutton Coldfield
Independent Examiner Martin Lawrence, 213 Station Road, Stechford, Birmingham, B33 8BB
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This year’s Annual Report will be somewhat affected in its content due to the Covid pandemic with reduced activity in many areas of the church’s work in the community.
Aims and purpose
The aims and purpose of the church remains undiminished where the mission, outreach, thanksgiving, and celebration are at the heart of the ethos in our parish. We are an open and inclusive Church and warmly welcome everyone at St. Mary and St. Margaret, whatever their background or previous experience of Christian worship. We are looking to grow every individual as a Child of God through close ties with the Church school and in our wider Church community.
Our Mission is to be relevant in this community and beyond, through loving Christian service.
Our Aim is to be a living, vibrant, witnessing Church at the centre of our Community.
Vision for the Future
Our vision over the past few years is highlighted in the following areas: - Fellowship, Worship, Discipleship and Leadership. In 2020 our Church has been tested under extreme circumstances, but we need to survive and once more become a growing and thriving church in Castle Bromwich. In times of adversity people rally round and meet the challenge and this is very evident in our congregation at St. Mary and St. Margaret. We can all look at the negatives, but the generosity of our congregation has been tremendous. Our pastoral group have maintained contact with a vast number of our older members of our congregation during the pandemic making on average 50 calls a week. We also introduced an online Church Newsletter featuring upcoming services and activities - that now has circulation of around 100. We organised online family events and activities along with weekly socials via zoom to support those who were shielding. We have volunteers who attend the local foodbank to help distribute food to those who are struggling. We thank everyone who has contributed food over the past 12 months.
We have shown that we have a very caring congregation with many phone calls, visits and food parcels being taken to people who are vulnerable and shielding.
We have all had to adjust to new ways of worship and many have needed to get to grips with Zoom, facetime, and social media. We need to continue to improve our social media and online presence so that we can make people in our community aware that our church is there for them. We have agreed to pay for the necessary equipment to enable us to live stream our services as and when required. We feel that this will be needed for the future but will also improve the Wi-Fi in church and will enable us to stream other events if needed to people in the community who are unable to attend church events.
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We were fortunate during lockdown that we managed to fully restore our organ after a tremendous effort to raise all the funds necessary in 2019. Our contractor W & A Boggis did a fantastic job and during some of last year Martin managed to play and discovered its full capability – a true inspiration to all that heard it.
We received a significant legacy in 2019 and although there has yet to be investment in any new initiatives, PCC have made the decision to allocate £200k to decorating the Church and £75k to employ a family worker, subject to review. We are still grappling with the vision document received from Damien Herbert, the Diocesan vision consultant. Although our income has taken a significant hit in 2020, we are still trying our upmost to find ways to support the diocese with common fund payments. The level of church funds has fallen dramatically and is affecting many church’s in the area not only in our deanery but also the Birmingham diocese.
Objects and Activities
We have a thriving and inclusive all-age congregation from many walks of life. While many people come from the local community – the “village setting” of Castle Bromwich with its Hall and Gardens – many others are drawn from further afield and from different Christian traditions. By providing a variety of services and worship styles we hope that most needs are catered for while creating the conditions for discipleship and spiritual growth, development and wellbeing. We also have an excellent relationship with our local church school, St. Mary and St. Margaret CE Aided Primary School, where children participate in weekly clergy led worship, both in the school and in the church setting. Our family church team are working hard to improve these links.
Our Community Hall provides for our own needs while broadening our community outreach by offering a broad range of services and activities that have both deepened and strengthened our local ties while fostering and developing community cohesion.
Worship and Services
Worship at St. Mary & St. Margaret Church was very different in 2020 because of the Covid pandemic.
Services followed our usual pattern up until 18[th] March with attendances averaging 78 adults & 16 children on Sundays and 30 adults and 43 children on Wednesdays.
Following the government’s lockdown announcement, our Church doors were closed. Service booklets were posted on our website to enable parishioners to follow the service at home, a provision which continued throughout 2020. The Café-Worship team held 3 Café-Worship services via zoom which were well received. When lockdown restrictions were lifted, worshippers were once again welcomed into Church, with one service on Sunday and Wednesday. There were no hymns, reduced capacity due to social distancing measures and only the bread element of Communion could be administered.
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Our annual Good Friday workshop and Christingle service were replaced with on-line activities for families.
The annual Remembrance Parade was replaced by pre-recorded Parish service officiated by Rev. Mark Hopkins.
This busy parish church has one Stipendiary Incumbent, one Self-Supporting Associate Minister and one Lay Reader.
They are ably helped by our small band of loyal servers and administrants who turn up every week to support them, their help has been an invaluable resource and they continue to support our Rector.
In 2020, the parish undertook
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3 church funerals, 0 ashes interments
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9 baptisms
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1 renewal of vows. Couples cancelled weddings due to the restrictions imposed by the government,
Normal Service patterns are as follows:
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Sunday: Holy Communion 8.00 am Said Service, 10.00 am Sung Service,
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Baptism every 1[st] Sunday 10.00 am and 2.00 pm
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Café Worship every second Sunday 10.00 am in church community hall
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Wednesday: Morning Holy Communion 9.30 am (during term time a class from our church school attends)
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Thursday morning – 9.00 am Clergy led worship at our Church School.
Pastoral Care and Counselling
There are 13 members on the team – Shirley Middlemass (Chairperson), Jane Eccleston, Helen Giles, Elizabeth Griffin, Gordon Griffin, Rev. Mark Hopkins, Margaret Howlett, Ernie Lane, Val Lane, Rev. Margaret MacLachlan, Alyson Rickus, Tricia Richards and Lisa Wakeman.
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The Group met only once during the year, on 12 February.
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The Group held only one Luncheon Club in the Community Hall, on 18 February.
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The Group held their annual meal on 22 February, which this time was held at The Kismet in Castle Bromwich – around twenty attended, including guests/partners.
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The Summer Outing scheduled for June had to be cancelled, due to Covid restrictions. We should have been going for a meal to the George Hotel in Lichfield, followed by a visit to Barton Marina.
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The Christmas Meal scheduled for December also had to be cancelled, due to Covid restrictions.
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The Group held a few Wednesday “Drop In” tea & coffee mornings, serving tea, coffee, toast and marmalade, prior to Covid restrictions starting in March.
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House visits and hospital visits were made to the sick, bereaved and lonely, prior to Covid restrictions starting in March.
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Holy Communion was taken to the homes of those unable to attend Church, prior to Covid restrictions starting in March. Thinking of You Cards were sent to the sick and bereaved throughout the year. These are always well received.
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The Bereavement Support Group held meetings in January and February.
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The Baptism Team (Tricia Richards, Alyson Rickus, Shirley Middlemass, Laura Fallows & Lisa Wakeman) were only able to arrange a few Baptisms at the beginning of the year. They hope to resume as soon as Covid restrictions are lifted.
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The All Souls Service was held on 1 November, with invitations sent to families recently bereaved. Not as well attended as usual and no refreshments after the service this time.
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Members of the Group have been phoning Parishioners, since lockdown started in March. They have also been fetching shopping and prescriptions for them.
It is hoped that “normal service” can be resumed as soon as possible for the Pastoral Group.
Baptism Team
St. Mary and St. Margaret as an historic church building continues to attract applications for Baptisms from both within the Parish and outside the Parish. Baptisms are carried out as part of the main Sunday 10am Parish Holy Communion service on the first Sunday of the month or during alternate months in the afternoon at 2pm where the service is Baptism only. Our intention during 2020 was to move the Sunday 2pm Service to 12.15pm following the Sunday morning Service. We intend to look at this again in 2021.
Out of Parish families must seek permission from their home parish priest for the Baptism to be done at St. Mary and St. Margaret. Families with no qualifying connection to the Parish are required to attend a 10am Sunday service for six months prior to the Baptism and a register of attendance is kept.
Due to Covid 19 in 2020 there was only 9 Baptisms. This has caused a back log of awaiting Baptisms, for which we intend to give priority to once Services resume in 2021.
The Baptism team undertakes the following:
Saturday morning drop-in at Church for Wedding and Baptism bookings
Assisting the Rector at Quarterly Baptism Thanksgiving Service and Baptism Preparation. Refreshments are served after this service.
Pre-Baptism home visits for families living in the Parish.
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Inviting out of Parish families to attend a Sunday 10am service prior to the Baptism with the option of the family attending the informal Café Worship service on the second Sunday of the month. By prior arrangement the family can instead attend the Wednesday 9.30am morning service. The visit being conducted over coffee after the service.
Assisting the Rector at 10am and 2pm Baptism services
The preparation of records, certificates and invitations to the Thanksgiving Service and Preparation, and to the fourth Sunday 10am All Age Service for the presentation of afternoon Baptism certificates, is done by the Parish Administrator. Our challenges for 2021 will be:
To address those already waiting on the Baptism list, by having extra baptism Services. To increase members of the Baptism Team and encourage volunteers, particularly with regard to assisting at the Thanksgiving and Preparation Services and assisting with afternoon Baptism Services .
Building on and maintaining a relationship with Baptism families.
Café Worship Team
2020 got off to a good start, with Café Worship meetings being held on the second Sunday of each month in January, February and March. The services were attended by an average of 25 adults and 20 children and the talks and crafts were well received. Unfortunately, due to the Covid pandemic and the imposition of the first National Lockdown at the end of March, it was no longer possible to hold any services in the church or Community Hall, so Café Worship was suspended. Written services of the word were available via the Church Facebook account, but initially, there were no online services.
Recognizing that many people missed the connection with church, the Café Worship Team completed a socially distanced prayer walk in June, around the grounds of the church, to pray for the different church groups and members during a worrying and difficult time. Photographs were taken and these, with the prayers used, were posted online. Many people commented that they had found the Prayer Walk comforting while church attendance was suspended.
Following the example of other churches in the area, the church acquired a Zoom account and services were delivered via Zoom from home as no access to church was then permitted. Café Worship held online Zoom services in July, August and a special Harvest Celebration in September. Online Café Worship services continued, despite the resumption of worship in church, as many people were still shielding or felt too anxious to attend church in person.
Throughout the year, the Café Worship team remained active members of the Family Church Group and assisted in other services both in church and online. The
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Birmingham Diocese Church Mission Support Team ran a number of workshops, a Christingle service and a Nativity Service. Members of the Café Worship team assisted the Family Church Group to participate and host group activities, which were well received.
This year has been a challenging one for the whole church but has also been a time of innovation and creativity, from new ways to worship online and crafts activities such as smile stones. Some of these activities may well continue when normal worship is restored, and it remains to be seen whether Café Worship continues in its present format in 2021. Due to reducing numbers on the team, the task of setting up the hall with only three people is becoming difficult. The Café Worship Team still wish to use their time and talents for the benefit of the church, however, consideration may have to be given to the way in which these are used.
The Mothers’ Union
The Mothers’ Union usually meet on the 1st Wednesday of the month in church for corporate communion and on the 3rd Wednesday of the month, they use the church hall for their meetings. Unfortunately, during the pandemic both had to be cancelled. We turned to modern technology, meetings were done by email. For those not on email we posted prayers and info through their doors. Sadly, we went into lockdown just before Mothering Sunday, so our planned service had to go online. Members have helped our church and community with various jobs, shopping, church services, and pastoral duties! I have been so proud that our more vulnerable members have kept in touch and really supported each other. We were able to help and support our family church with smile stones earlier in the year, pumpkins at harvest, Christmas gifts for children and by knitting sheep for the Christmas messy church sheep trail, which kept children happy on their daily walks. We provided knitted extenders for National health workers masks, blankets and clothes for babies. We held our Annual Carol service on zoom, it was well attended, we displayed 2 Christmas trees for our group in church. It has been a challenge, but we are meeting it head on and hopefully in the year ahead we will embrace more Zoom meetings.
The Family Church Team
2020 was a remarkably busy year for the Family Church Team. Covid restrictions may have stopped many of our groups meeting face to face – but we moved online and hit the ground running.
During the Holy Week and Easter period we provided online family activities and ran a successful Easter Bonnet competition which attracted over 30 entries from the community. In September, to support our Café Worship Harvest service, we organised a Scarecrow competition, and a village Smile Stone Trail. December was another busy month - due to the hard work and dedication of the Harris family - who collected, wrapped, and delivered over 180 presents to our local foodbank. We also organised – with the help of the Mothers Union - a Sheep Trail around the village – culminating in the Sheep arriving in Church just in time to greet the baby Jesus. We also organised an
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activity to bring together all our Church Groups who decorated the Church with bespoke Christmas Trees to remind us that our Church is made up of so many different parts. 2020 was also the year we took part in activities and services organised by Parish Mission Support – which included an online family Adventure Session when we all made Advent Calendars and their excellent All Age Christingle Service. The Family Church Team is going from strength to strength and is open to anyone with a passion for Family Church – and that includes all ages – young and old and anything in between.
‘Wayfarers’ is the Sunday school for primary aged children (3-11).
Wayfarers meet in the Community Hall, after the Gospel during the 10.00a.m. service, on the first, third and fifth Sundays (term time only).The children on our roll enjoy the group, learning about the Bible and the Christian faith in a fun and interactive way, often including messy church elements.
Our two main activities during the year are enacting the events of Holy week at the Good Friday Children’s service and the presentation of the Nativity at the Children’s Christmas Eve service, which is always supported by a packed church. However with the Pandemic and Church closing on 18[th] March there were very few opportunities to meet before Lockdown began and certainly our two main services could not be performed in the usual way.
The Good Friday service was posted on the church Facebook page and took the form of photographs taken around the church grounds with an appropriate Bible reading beneath each photo portraying the events of the Easter Journey.
The Children’s Christmas Eve service was conducted via Zoom and took the form of a power point presentation supported by live readings from some of our Wayfarer readers, who read really well. This was achieved with the invaluable help and support of Laurie Fisher and her technical skills and grateful thanks go to her. Resumption of Wayfarers meetings are obviously subject to lifting of restrictions and decisions around the reopening of Church and Hall and the feelings/concerns of our volunteers.
Children at the Lord’s Table
There was no Children at the Lord’s Table course during 2020 but we hope to be able to run one in 2021.
Baby & Me Friendship Café
Baby and Me Friendship Cafe were only able to meet 4 times at the beginning of 2020 and closed in March due to rising concerns regarding the virus. We ran a small number of zoom sessions to keep in touch with parents however these were poorly attended so we took the decision to stop. In October 2020 we managed to host two more sessions which were well attended before the November lockdown, however we were unable to
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reopen due to a change in personal circumstances. We look forward to reopening in 2021 when it is safe to do so.
Stay Inspired 18-30 Group
This social group no longer meet, however, some do keep in touch via social media.
Gents’ Breakfast Club
Usually meets on the first or second Saturday of the month at 8 am for 1 hour to discuss a subject chosen by the host but unfortunately the meetings had to be suspended when the country was put into lockdown. The gents hope that they will once again be able to enjoy a simple breakfast together soon. They have opinions on anything and everything and nothing is taken to heart, they have a laugh, and also have Charity collections at every meeting for Malawi.
Bell Ringers
This year has been a strange year for all of us not least those wanting to find an alternative to continue their bellringing. But I am glad to say that the tower and team have stayed connected through the online bell ringing platform 'ringing room'. We have made some of the most progress we have ever made notwithstanding our inability to be in the same room as each other! The team continue to progress together and we have all enjoyed our catchups on line before our practice takes place. A big thank you to Jane for all of her help and enthusiasm for setting up the ringing room accounts and Facebook calls each week! Another vote of thanks goes to Emma, who has been instrumental in us tackling the more difficult methods. We are also joined each week by Elaine, an accomplished ringer who has previously attended sessions with our ringer Jane. Elaine has been a great addition to practice sessions as well as our social chats and catch-ups - we all look forward to her joining us in ringing at St. Mary and St. Margaret's when the restrictions allow.
Outside of our online ringing sessions, we have been able to ring with each other on several occasions! We have had socially distanced handbell sessions in the church grounds in 2020. We also rung, as permitted, for Midnight Mass 2020 - which provided us a real joy to reconnect with the bells and service for our church. Jean Willis skilfully created our beautiful Christmas tree which was displayed in church over the advent period, thank you Jean! Jane, Vicky, and Ben all rang for the services on Christmas Day using our handbells calling our Parishioners to the Church.
While this year has been odd, it has been filled with progress, resilience, and a lot of fun. We look forward to continuing our learning as we build closer relations with St. Martin's Guild of Bellringers who will help us out with teaching tips and tutelage. But most of all we look forward to our return to the tower, hopefully in the not-too-distant future.
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Choir and Organ
Martin Bates continues as our organist and musical director. Our thriving choir continued into 2020 with just one sad change. Peter Shipley passed on in October. He has been the backbone of the choir at St Mary and St Margaret for many years. He suggested to Martin that he might enjoy being our organist in 2008 and remained a tremendous support for over ten years. He had a fine voice and was responsible for solo singing particularly in the psalm settings. We have now 9 sopranos, 3 altos, 2 tenors and 2 basses as dedicated regular members. We continue to enjoy the company of new members Yvonne Potter and Jackie Dale in the sopranos.
Unfortunately, there were no weddings or funerals to sing and play at during the year because of the virus and after March much of the communication has been by phone, online and through emails and texts. One notable exception was at Christmas when Lisa Wakeman and Sue Bates joined Martin for a scaled-down service of Lessons and Carols. It was also a pleasure on that occasion to see Martin accompany Rev Mark playing solo violin.
The old organ was finally switched off following the afternoon concert on January 12[th] prior to its planned renovations by Rodney Briscoe from Boggis & Co. The choir continued to practise and sing for services for a few weeks using the electronic keyboard. They sat downstairs at the back of the church on the right hand side. We were able to say that work on the organ could start due to the generous giving now having reached a point where we knew our target would be secured. Thanks must go to all the Organ Restoration Committee for their hard work. The organ was taken apart during January, Martin and Sue visited their factory in Diss, Norfolk at the beginning of February, but the putting back together of all the renovated parts was delayed by the virus lockdowns. Eventually the organ builders were allowed access during late summer and early autumn with the work completed at the end of September. The church congregations were able to hear the newly restored organ each Sunday in the run-up to Christmas. Except for the expected small snagging problems, the sound from our restored organ is back to 100% and good for many years of good use.
Bi-monthly Sunday afternoon concerts continued and were planned well into 2021 but in fact there were only two more given: on January 12[th] by Steve Davis, tenor and on March 8[th] by Georgina Bloomfield, violinist from the National Youth Orchestra. Both concerts were accompanied by Martin. The vocal harmony group “Spectrum” gave an . additional concert to raise money for the organ fund on Saturday January 25[th]
The choir looks forward to returning to their places in the choir loft some time in 2021.
The Flower Arrangers bring both beauty and colour into our worship. We are thankful that we have this small and yet willing band who work hard to produce their excellent and stunning floral arrangements. Unfortunately, due to Covid and the closure of
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Churches we had few opportunities to decorate the church with the usual floral displays but look forward to seeing floral arrangements again soon.
Church and Hall Cleaners another small but willing band of loyal volunteers who have the thankless task of cleaning our beautiful old church and our modern hall, their efforts are very much appreciated. Special thanks this year go to the volunteers who meticulously deep cleaned the church in preparation for re-opening after the Covid lockdown.
Gardening Group we are pleased with the success of the church and hall garden, it provides a tranquil and relaxing area to refresh the Spirit, however as it becomes more mature it is harder to keep tidy but thanks to the tireless work of the gardening group it remains a lovely place to sit and reflect.
Charity Fund Raising
Monthly charity collections had continued on the 1[st] Sunday of each month at the beginning of the year but unfortunately were suspended when the lockdown came. There were Lent collection boxes for Malawi but unfortunately advent collection boxes for St Basil’s and the annual Christingle service envelopes could not be distributed. However, online donations to these organisations were encouraged.
Our church supported the Families in Crisis toy appeal, many people donating money with which our volunteers bought and wrapped gifts on their behalf. A 185 gifts were donated in total.
The Hall/Social team
Mary Jones and Alison Jorden who have been organising social events in the Hall, and providing catering for party bookings decided to step down in 2020. We thank them for all their hard work over the years since the Hall opened.
We were unable to hold events in 2020 due to Covid restrictions, but hope to resume having social events again soon. We will be looking for volunteers to help with organising these.
Hall Management Team
The Community Hall is run by the PCC. Policies and Procedures are kept up to date. The Community Hall office is staffed by a part time Parish Administrator who deals with all hall enquires and bookings as well as supporting the Rector with administration.
The Hall is licensed for music and drink and has a kitchen available for hire.
Regular paid bookings have continued when possible, with Yoga classes and courses, Senior Movers and Pilates classes, ballroom dancing and a children’s dancing school. The Hall is used for Wayfarers, Café-Worship and occasional services, although these have not been able to meet since the Covid lockdown.
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Use by community groups, such as Jollytots Play Group and Baby and Me, along with Wednesday coffee mornings, Bereavement Support Group, Mothers Union meetings, Luncheon Club and Soup and Rolls Lunches has been on hold since the Covid lockdown. These events provide important opportunities for outreach, as they are attended by many people from the wider community, as well as Church regulars. We look forward to be able to open up to all our groups again, hopefully in 2021
Safeguarding
We work to provide a safe and caring community, through respectful pastoral ministry, for all our parishioners and congregation. Our clergy, Reader and all volunteers, who work with children, young people and vulnerable adults, are DBS checked and attend the relevant diocesan run safeguarding training courses. The majority of members of the PCC have also renewed their safeguarding training using the new sessions available online from Birmingham Diocese and, in compliance with the directive from the Church of England, are also DBS checked. Our safeguarding policies and procedures are discussed and approved annually at PCC meetings. The PCC has also appointed a children’s advocate and an adult’s advocate, who sit on the PCC to represent the interests of these vulnerable groups. The Parish Safeguarding Co-Ordinator has attended all recommended safeguarding training and the Diocese Resourcing day. The council has complied with its duty under section 5 of the Safeguarding and Clergy Discipline Measure 2016 to have due regard to House of Bishops’ guidance on safeguarding children and vulnerable adults. St. Mary & St. Margaret is using the new Parish Dashboard which gives us visibility of all policies, procedures and training for our church, related to keeping our church community safe.
Church/Hall Fabric
Emergency lighting has been fitted to the bell tower stairs and ringing room successfully. Following on from the cellar showing signs of water ingress in 2019, it was decided that a new cellar roof would be fitted, we applied for a faculty to replace this as the replacement would not be the same as was originally fitted. This was granted and we also received a grant from Dame Mary Bridgeman Trust to cover the cost which we are very grateful for.
In the community hall the defibrillator needed updating and this was organised and completed.
Works that were recommended in the quinquennial report have not yet been started but hopefully will be in the not too distant future.
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Deanery Synod
Rev Canon Louise Shaw, formerly vicar of Dosthill and co-area Dean of Polesworth, was appointed to Area Dean of Coleshill and Polesworth on 16[th] June 2020.
Due to the Covid pandemic, there was only 1 Deanery Synod in 2020 which was held via zoom on 25[th] November.
Welcome and Opening Prayers - Revd Louise Shaw (Area Dean) welcomed everyone to the New Triennium and the first meeting with Louise as the new Area Dean. Welcome was made to Ruthi Lancaster – the new Deanery Support Officer, to Archdeacon Simon Heathfield, to Liz Dumain from Parish Mission Support and Andrew Schofield the Parish Building Surveyor. Welcome was also made to the new representatives for Synod.
Thanks – Huge thanks were given to those who were standing down from their roles after substantial service to the Deanery: Roy Baker and Alannah Brennan as Lay Chairs, Beverly Garratt and Linda Pemberton as Secretaries and to the Treasurers Dorothy Chapman and Stephen Record. Stephen Record is content to look after Deanery
Guest Speakers
Liz Domain introduced herself to the meeting and explaines that the team members responsible for Mission and Ministry with Children & Families, Young Adults and Young People are Emma Sargeant and Adam Larkin. Damian Herbert and Abbi Wells are responsible for Transforming Church Action Planning. They offer support to Parishes around Action Planning which usually takes place over a period of 3-5 years and is broken down into 3 stages.
Stage 1 Reflect on what we are doing now Stage 2 Look at relationship with the community Stage 3 Reflect on who God calls us to be. Identify new areas of focus.
Liz went on to tell the meeting about ‘zoom’ drop-in sessions that were taking place on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons and Monday evenings. These were a chance to meet the team and people from other parishes and chat about what is going on in your churches and in the Diocese.
Andrew Schofield, Parish Building Surveyor for the Aston Archdeaconry, gave a brief resum
of his role. Everybody should have received an email with a copy of their Service Level Agreement. This is a document that briefly sets out his role, what he will do and what he won’t do. It is important that this document is signed as it covers the team with our insurance when offering professional advice.
The help and advice available can relate to any aspect of buildings including church halls, car parks, land or any other property operated by the PCC. Andrew told the meeting he had recently been involved in a varied scope of works including replacement heating, stonework repairs, bee nest removal, lighting protection upgrade / servicing, fixed wiring testing and asbestos surveys to name just a few.
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Andrew can also act as a gateway to the wider property team including his colleague Ben Smith as DAC Secretary and Care of Churches Officer, Ian Simpson who is our Historic Places of Worship Support Officer and Richard Hall our Clergy Housing Surveyor. His colleague Jan Bakewell who is Parish Building Surveyor for the Birmingham Archdeaconry can also be of assistance if Andrew is unavailable for any reason.
The Ven. Simon Heathfield emphasised the importance of parishes in the Deanery using these resources as they are available to them free of charge. He prompted the Parishes to sign their SLAs. He encouraged the representatives to get involved with their Transforming Church Action Plans and to use Liz Dumain’s resources. Prayers and Commissioning – Deanery Synod members were commissioned by both Revd Louise Shaw and The Ven. Simon Heathfield. Ruthi Lancaster was commissioned as Deanery Support Officer and Revd Canon Louise Shaw was commissioned as Area
Hopes and Dreams of the Coleshill and Polesworth Deanery – the Synod Reps were split into Break Out Rooms to discuss what their hopes and dreams for the “Super Deanery” of Coleshill and Polesworth were. When the groups were brought back together, they were asked to add a word per person in the group to describe what they would like to see in the Deanery going forward. This was fed back. News and Updates – Louise informed the Synod members of the following.
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Revd Nick Parker is to be the new Area Dean of Yardley and Solihull
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Revd Jo Johnson is to retire from St Barnabas, Kingshurst
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Deanery Planning Group – this is being formed to help with P&P.
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There is now a Deanery of Coleshill & Polesworth Facebook Group which anyone in the Deanery can join.
Volunteers
We must thank all our volunteers, many of whom work tirelessly in the background but without whom the church and hall would not run so smoothly. We are especially grateful to those who took on the task of ensuring our buildings were ‘deep cleaned’ when we were able to reopen and Covid precautions were put into place. Each year we do lose one or two of our older volunteers and we particularly give thanks to these people for their many years of service.
The above report has been compiled by the PCC Secretary with input from the PCC Vice Chair, Church Wardens and Church Groups on behalf of the PCC/Trustees.
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Approved by the PCC on 10[th] May 2021 and signed on their behalf by the PCC Vice Chair
Mr David Greaves (PCC Vice Chairman)
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The Parochial Church Council of the Ecclesiastical Parish of Castle Bromwich ( Registered Charity No1146681 from March 2012)
| STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Balance sheet at 31st December 2020 | ||||||
| 2020 | 2019 | |||||
| FIXED ASSETS | Note | £ | £ | |||
| Property- Hall | 4a | 538098 | 538098 | |||
| Fixtures & Fittigs - Hall | 4a | 2488 | 4975 | |||
| Fixture & Fittings - Church | 4b | 0 | 0 | |||
| Bells | 4b | 52291 | 52291 | |||
| Organ | 4b | 54600 | 0 | |||
| 647477 | 595364 | |||||
| CURRENT ASSETS | ||||||
| Debtors | 6 | 20000 | 2000 | |||
| Short Term Deposits | 350000 | 350000 | ||||
| Cash at bank and in hand | 76247 | 111462 | ||||
| 446247 | 481462 | |||||
| LIABILITIES; AMOUNTS FALLING DUE | 7 | |||||
| WITHIN ONE YEAR | ||||||
| Creditors | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Provision for Common Fund | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Diocesan Loan | 0 | 6703 | ||||
| NET CURRENT ASSETS | 446247 | 474759 | ||||
| LIABILITIES; AMOUNTS FALLING DUE | 8 | |||||
| AFTER ONE YEAR | ||||||
| Diocesan Loan | 0 | 0 | ||||
| NET ASSETS | 1093724 | 1070123 | ||||
| FUNDS | ||||||
| Unrestricted General | 395613 | 6958 | ||||
| Restricted Legacy (decoration Fund) | 30000 | 30000 | ||||
| Restricted Interregnum Fund | 0 | 343 | ||||
| Restricted - Hall(Captial Cost) | 540586 | 530216 | ||||
| Restricted - Bells | 13353 | 13353 | ||||
| Restricted Bells(Capital Cost) | 52291 | 52291 | ||||
| Restricted - Organ | 7281 | 46827 | ||||
| Unrestricted - Legacy | 0 | 390135 | ||||
| Restricted - Organ(Capital Cost) | 54600 | 0 | ||||
| 1093724 | 1070123 | |||||
| Approved bythe Parochial Church Meetingon and signed on its behalf by: | ||||||
| Mr DGreaves | MrsL Wakeman |
Page 1 of 10
The Parochial Church Council of the Ecclesiastical Parish of Castle Bromwich ( Registered Charity No1146681 from March 2012)
| STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES | ||||||
| For theyear ended 31st December 2020 | ||||||
| Unrestricted | Restricted | TOTAL FUNDS | TOTAL FUNDS | |||
| Funds | Funds | 2020 | 2019 | |||
| Note | £ | £ | £ | £ | ||
| INCOMING RESOURCES | ||||||
| Incomingresources from donors | 2a | 43964 | 1466 | 45430 | 364517 | |
| Other voluntaryincomingresources | 2b | 1971 | 0 | 1971 | 10903 | |
| Income from charitable and ancillarytrading | 2c | 3405 | 0 | 3405 | 75156 | |
| Other ordinaryincomingresources | 2d | 226 | 17478 | 17704 | 32515 | |
| Income from investments | 2e | 1948 | 0 | 1948 | 748 | |
| TOTAL INCOMING RESOURCES | 51514 | 18944 | 70458 | 483839 | ||
| RESOURCES USED | ||||||
| Charities | 3a | 0 | 765 | 765 | 2564 | |
| Activities directlyrelatingto the work of the church | 3b | 41232 | 2333 | 43565 | 90874 | |
| Fund-raisingandpublicity | 3c | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2917 | |
| Church Management & Administration | 3d | 40 | 0 | 40 | 136 | |
| Depreciation | 3e | 0 | 2487 | 2487 | 2487 | |
| TOTAL RESOURCES USED | 41272 | 5585 | 46857 | 98978 | ||
| NET INCOMING/(OUTGOING)RESOURCES | 10242 | 13359 | 23601 | 384861 | ||
| TRANSFER OF ASSETS | ||||||
| Restricted | 5568 | 5568 | 8896 | |||
| Unrestricted | -5568 | -5568 | -8896 | |||
| NET MOVEMENTS OF FUNDS | -5568 | 5568 | 0 | 0 | ||
| BALANCE BROUGHT FORWARD AT | ||||||
| 1ST JANUARY | 390939 | 679184 | 1070123 | 685262 | ||
| BALANCES CARRIED FORWARD AT | ||||||
| 31ST DECEMBER | 395613 | 698111 | 1093724 | 1070123 |
Page 2 of 10
The Parochial Church Council of the Ecclesiastical Parish of Castle Bromwich ( Registered Charity No1146681 from March 2012)
| NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS(continued) | ||||||
| For theyear ended 31st December 2020 | ||||||
| 2 INCOMING RESOURCES | ||||||
| Unrestricted | Restricted | TOTAL FUNDS | ||||
| Funds | Funds | 2020 | 2019 | |||
| £ | £ | £ | £ | |||
| 2a Incomingresources from donors | ||||||
| Plannedgiving | ||||||
| Covenants | 27404 | 0 | 27404 | 32801 | ||
| Income tax recoverable on covenants | 9739 | 0 | 9739 | 10000 | ||
| Collections(openplate)at all services | 1272 | 0 | 1272 | 7144 | ||
| SundryDonations | 5549 | 1466 | 7015 | 24437 | ||
| Legacy | 0 | 0 | 0 | 290135 | ||
| 43964 | 1466 | 45430 | 364517 | |||
| 2b Other voluntaryincomingresources | ||||||
| Fete & Christmas Fayre | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6442 | ||
| Donations to CommunityHall | 10 | 0 | 10 | 170 | ||
| CommunityHall Fund Raising | 1961 | 0 | 1961 | 4291 | ||
| 1971 | 0 | 1971 | 10903 | |||
| 2c Income from charitable and ancillarytrading | ||||||
| CommunityHall Letting | 2487 | 0 | 2487 | 8145 | ||
| Fees;- Weddings / Funerals | 918 | 0 | 918 | 4250 | ||
| Church Bells | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10470 | ||
| Church Bells Donation | 0 | 0 | 0 | 52291 | ||
| 3405 | 0 | 3405 | 75156 | |||
| 2d Other ordinaryincomingresources | ||||||
| Choir / Verger / Organ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Tea & Coffee Money | 226 | 0 | 226 | 1519 | ||
| Income due to Diocese | 0 | 2424 | 2424 | 3963 | ||
| Organ Fund raising | 0 | 15054 | 15054 | 27033 | ||
| 226 | 17478 | 17704 | 25688 | |||
| 2e Interest from Legacy | 1948 | 0 | 1948 | 748 | ||
| TOTAL INCOMING RESOURCES | 51514 | 18944 | 70458 | 483839 | ||
Page 3 of 10
The Parochial Church Council of the Ecclesiastical Parish of Castle Bromwich ( Registered Charity No1146681 from March 2012)
| NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS(continued) | ||||||
| For theyear ended 31st December 2020 | ||||||
| 3 RESOURCES USED | Unrestricted | Restricted | TOTAL FUNDS | |||
| Funds | Funds | 2020 | 2019 | |||
| £ | £ | £ | £ | |||
| 3a Grants | ||||||
| Missionaryand charitablegiving: | 0 | 765 | 765 | 2564 | ||
| 0 | 765 | 765 | 2564 | |||
| 3b Activities directlyrelatingto the work of the church | ||||||
| Ministry: dioceasanquota | 15000 | 0 | 15000 | 47707 | ||
| Clergyexpenses / Visitingclergyexpenses | 1046 | 0 | 1046 | 1517 | ||
| Fees due to the Diocese | 0 | 2333 | 2333 | 9527 | ||
| Church runningcosts / Domestice Services | 6926 | 0 | 6926 | 7204 | ||
| Telephone / Broad Band | 653 | 0 | 653 | 645 | ||
| Church maintenance | 1728 | 0 | 1728 | 1945 | ||
| Church Materials | 906 | 0 | 906 | 1179 | ||
| Church Administration | 1059 | 0 | 1059 | 2194 | ||
| CommunityHall Electric | 1705 | 0 | 1705 | 1543 | ||
| CommunityHall runningcosts | 3718 | 0 | 3718 | 8206 | ||
| Upkeepof churchyard | 1200 | 0 | 1200 | 1057 | ||
| Organist fees / Maintenance | 3480 | 0 | 3480 | 2960 | ||
| Justice Security/ Alarm call outs | 1417 | 0 | 1417 | 2243 | ||
| Copier Charges | 2394 | 0 | 2394 | 2947 | ||
| 41232 | 2333 | 43565 | 90874 | |||
| 3c Fund-raisingandpublicity | ||||||
| Costs of Fete & Christmas Fayre | 0 | 0 | 0 | 175 | ||
| Expenses re fund raising | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| DecoratingFund | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Bells | 0 | 0 | 0 | 835 | ||
| Organ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1907 | ||
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 2917 | |||
| 3d Church management and administration | ||||||
| Interest on Loan | 40 | 0 | 40 | 136 | ||
| 40 | 0 | 40 | 136 | |||
| 3e Depreciation | ||||||
| Hall Fixtures & Fittings | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Church Fixture & Fittings | 0 | 2487 | 2487 | 2487 | ||
| 0 | 2487 | 2487 | 2487 | |||
| TOTAL RESOURCES USED | 41272 | 5585 | 46857 | 98978 |
Page 4 of 10
The Parochial Church Council of the Ecclesiastical Parish of Castle Bromwich ( Registered Charity No1146681 from March 2012)
| NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS(continued) | ||||||
| For theyear ended 31st December 2020 | ||||||
| 5 ANALYSIS OF NET ASSETS BY FUND | ||||||
| Unrestricted | Restricted | 2020 | 2019 | |||
| Funds | Funds | Total | Total | |||
| £ | £ | £ | £ | |||
| Fixed assets | 0 | 647477 | 647477 | 595364 | ||
| Current assets | 395613 | 50634 | 446247 | 481462 | ||
| Current liabilities | 0 | 0 | 0 | -6703 | ||
| 395613 | 698111 | 1093724 | 1070123 | |||
| General Fund | 395613 | 6958 | ||||
| Legacy | 0 | 390135 | ||||
| Legacy;- Decoration fund | 30000 | 30000 | ||||
| New FaciltyFund(Capital Cost) | 540586 | 530216 | ||||
| Interegnum Fund | 0 | 343 | ||||
| Bells(Capital Cost) | 52291 | 52291 | ||||
| Organ fund | 7281 | 46827 | ||||
| Bells Fund | 13353 | 13353 | ||||
| Organ(Capital Cost) | 54600 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 1093724 | 1070123 | ||||
| 6 DEBTORS | ||||||
| Income Tax recoverable | 20000 | 20000 | ||||
| Prepayment and accrued interest | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Other Debtors | 0 | 0 | ||||
| 20000 | 20000 | |||||
| 7 LIABILITIES: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR | ||||||
| a Accruals and deferred income | 0 | 0 | ||||
| b Creditors forgoods and services | 0 | 0 | ||||
| c Other creditors | 0 | 0 | ||||
| d Dioceason Common Fund remainingfor 2020 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| e Dioceason Loan | 0 | 6703 | ||||
| 0 | 6703 | |||||
| 8 LIABILITIES: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE AFTER ONE YEAR = DB of F/Loan | 0 | 6703 | ||||
Page 5 of 10
The Parochial Church Council of the Ecclesiastical Parish of Castle Bromwich ( Registered Charity No1146681 from March 2012)
| YEAR ENDED 31ST DECEMBER 2020 | ||||||
| Additional analysis of major items(for information only) | ||||||
| Description | Amount | |||||
| £ | ||||||
| Church Running Costs | ||||||
| Insurance | 4075 | |||||
| Utilities | 2848 | |||||
| Church Administration | ||||||
| StewardshipEnvelopes | 101 | |||||
| Website | 165 | |||||
| Incidentials | 290 | |||||
| Cruet Set | 340 | |||||
| LotteryLicence | 20 | |||||
| New Keys | 33 | |||||
| Café Worship | 189 | |||||
| Maintenance & Repair | ||||||
| Plastering | 600 | |||||
| LighteningConductor | 132 | |||||
| Electrical Work | 1447 | |||||
| Incidentials | 320 | |||||
| Plumbing& Heating | 60 | |||||
| Other fund Raising Events | ||||||
| Garden Fete(G)0 | Net | 0 | ||||
| Christmas Fair(G)0 | Net | 0 | ||||
Page 6 of 10
The Parochial Church Council of the Ecclesiastical Parish of Castle Bromwich ( Registered Charity No1146681 from March 2012)
| YEAR ENDED 31ST DECEMBER 2020 | ||||||
| Description | Amount | |||||
| Charities | £ | |||||
| Leprosy | 78 | |||||
| St Basil's | 312 | |||||
| Guide Dogs for the Blind | 53 | |||||
| Malawi(Lent ) | 237 | |||||
| CysticFibrosis | 58 | |||||
| Childrens Society | 26 | |||||
| Donations - General Fund | ||||||
| Dame MaryBridgeman | 540 | |||||
| Mothers Union | 50 | |||||
| Anon Don | 5365 | |||||
| Donation/ Grant from Baby& Me | 295 | |||||
Page 7 of 10
The Parochial Church Council of the Ecclesiastical Parish of Castle Bromwich ( Registered Charity No1146681 from March 2012)
| YEAR ENDED 31ST DECEMBER 2020 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Description | Amount | |||||
| £ | ||||||
| Hall Fundraising | ||||||
| Lent Lunch | 135 | |||||
| Afternoon Tea | 285 | |||||
| Bonus Ball | 1441 | |||||
| Sale of Pavers | 100 | |||||
| Community Hall Donations | ||||||
| Soup/ Roll | 10 | |||||
| Organ Fundraising | ||||||
| Anon donations / Music/ Pipes | 2129 | |||||
| Grants | 11100 | |||||
| SundayPM Concerts | 1140 | |||||
Page 8 of 10
The Parochial Church Council of the Ecclesiastical Parish of Castle Bromwich ( Registered Charity
No1146681 from March 2012)
Page 9 of 10
The Parochial Church Council of the Ecclesiastical Parish of Castle Bromwich ( Registered Charity
No1146681 from March 2012)
Page 10 of 10