2020-12-31-accounts - The Parochial Church Council Of All Saints, Lydd, St. Peter's, Greatstone And The Sanctuary, Dungeness

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PARISH of ALL SAINTS LYDD with ST PETER’S GREATSTONE

REPORTS FOR APCM 2021

Electoral Roll - At April 21 there are 97 members. During the year April 20 - April 21 New people 1: Moved away 3: Died 1

PCC Report

Members in addition to clergy and treasurer: Warden Chris Aubrey was joined by Michael Botten at the October APCM. Deputy Wardens Tricia McCarthy and Alison Brown: Readers: Les Carter and June Noakes (from October), Nigel Evenden and Katharine Lobo (until 2021), Pat Carter, Jill Rippon and Jean Moon (from October). Deanery synod representatives: Les Carter Bill Darling (from October) Secretary Rita Butterworth

This is a report covering 2020 – a year like no other! Only 2 ‘normal’ meetings were held, with email resolutions taken while government rules were observed. The APCM was delayed until October.

Discussions largely concerned the repercussions of the Covid pandemic – when and how churches could operate, financial implications and changes to agreements for use of the halls. The future of the magazine was discussed.

Treasurer’s Report

Two major events dominated Church finances in 2020; one expected, the other entirely unexpected. The one we knew was going to happen, at last, was the construction of the new St Peter’s Hall. This began in January and was almost complete by the end of December, at a cost of £193,918. It would not have happened without the £175,000 received from the sale of land in December 2019, although St Peter’s members were also generous in financing some items of kitchen equipment and new chairs for the Hall.

All Saints’ saw plenty of building activity with repairs to the glass- and stonework of the West Window (£34,578) and the refurbishment of the organ (£9,600). The organ work was funded by a number of donors, the Window by our friends at the Romney Marsh Historic Churches Trust.

The unexpected but by now all too familiar event was of course the Covid pandemic. When there were no services in church there were no cash collections, but members contributed more through cheques and standing orders so income in that area stood up quite well. The greatest loss of income was from hall lettings and fund-raising activities such as the markets at St Peter’s and fairs at All Saints’. Some expenditure also went down with the reduced activity so the overall loss due to Covid was about £10,000.

Although restrictions are gradually being eased and church services have started, social distancing and mask-wearing are likely to continue for the foreseeable future. This will limit some hall lettings and fundraising events, which have already lost four months of 2021. To make ends meet we will have to rely more on personal giving, which in turn relies too much on a few big donors, none of whom is getting any

younger… Joe Butterworth

All Saints

On a regular basis every church undergoes a Quinquennial inspection [from the Latin words meaning “five years”]. Ours has been carried out on recent occasions by our architect and friend Robert George. Between 2018-2023 we are required/asked to: upgrade the lightning protection arrangements; prevent thefts, especially of valuable lead; improve internal lighting and sound-systems; check drainage and seepage [remember, large parts of Lydd are technically below sea-level]; clear invasive weeds; renew plasterwork; replace ancient and tired windows and install guards for all the glass; maintain decoration and safeguard historical items inside and outside the church; provide a safe environment for all visitors, staff and congregants.

Many of these have been addressed, but of course All Saints’ has its own targets and Mission plans. We wanted to move the choir pews to create a larger community space; to meet one of the Quinquennial items

we needed to preserve, display and contextualise the historical artefacts [among them what Reverend Chris calls “the rocks”]; the area around the high altar needed attention; we wished to restore the old links with Lydd School; we had to be prepared for major fabric issues [for example, the present damage to the BellRoom]; and to restore safety and commitment after the dislocation of COVID. And so on.

In October 2020 [how long ago that seems] we took on board the visit of the New Bishop of Dover to Ordain our Curate Jacky Darling, who joined a large a vital spiritual team , adding her skills to those of Reverend Chris, Canon Shelia McLachlan, Readers Les and [later] June. That day required a re-think of the church’s seating arrangements and safety provision.

Naturally for all these there are Financial and Time issues. We are blessed by the generous support of the Romney Marsh Historic Churches Trust [amongst others] for their help with the majority of the costs of all the building works; the local Masons helped fund the re-siting of the old choir stalls; the Organ was totally overhauled, with significant donations from local authorities; and of course we acknowledge the sterling efforts of those who help tidy, clean, polish, prepare and maintain All Saints’ on a regular basis [We could always do with more!].

Perhaps soon we can return to those days when there was a myriad of activities inside All Saints’. By and large All Saints’ Lydd is doing very well.

St Peter’s Church

During 2020 the church has only met 18 times due to the pandemic shut down – this meant we had somewhere to store equipment from the old hall until the new premises were ready. During this year we have been able to have the electrics upgraded making it both safer and easier to identify faults.

The front doors have been revarnished and the poles repainted smartening the entrance. New fire doors replace the north doors giving direct access to the new hall and a new door installed giving access to the kitchen and toilets without going into the hall.

Generally the church is in good condition although in the next year work needs to be done on the pointing around the south door to prevent the damp coming in and also the interior woodwork needs repainting.

St Peter’s Hall

After 7 years work began on the new hall in January 2020 and it was dedicated by Rev Sarah Williams in October 2020. It was not an easy build because of lockdown however the builders worked throughout when they could get the materials and finally by the end of the year it was almost complete. Until the March 20 “lockdown” we were able to continue meeting in the old hall. Since October the dementia Café was able to meet once and the dog club during October and beginning of December. Whilst the new build cost more than its original budget owing to increased prices and the difficulty obtaining supplies we are pleased to say that the costs incurred have been covered by St Peter’s and we have not had to take from the parish funds.

Our grateful thanks must be expressed to those who have worked to raise funds and to those who have given so generously providing new chairs, blinds, industrial dishwasher, new water boiler, covering the excess overspend on the fantastic kitchen and a noticeboard to advertise what is happening in the hall. Despite health problems Tricia drove the hall project from start to finish – a tremendous example of dedication and persistence

Deanery Report

Like most other activities, the activity of the deanery has been significantly affected by the pandemic., however Chapter Meetings and Mission and Ministry meetings have been continuing via zoom. The first face to face Chapter Meeting is planned for end of June. The Chapter meeting are an important forum for the Ministry Teams throughout the Deanery to share experiences and exchange ideas and concerns. During the past year the officers of the Deanery have all changed. Our Area Dean is now Rev Chris Hodgkins -, the lay chair is Ian Bentley, and the treasurer is Tony Richter. The first Deanery Synod for the

year was held at the beginning of May. The two major subjects discussed at the Synod were finance and the 171-page Diocesan report “ Towards A Flourishing & Sustainable Future” published in March 2021. This report was put together after consulting with the 15 deaneries and this consultation was centred in this Deanery on the Mission and Ministry group but unfortunately, due to the tight timescales that were set by the bishop, early consultation with the various parishes was extremely limited. The 'Blueprint' section of this document outlines the key themes that have arisen from all this work and sets out a plan to address them. A significant observation within this report is that “ The Overall Financial situation for the Diocese is unsustainable”, however our Benefice features as a priority and the need to find a suitable candidate to fill the position of Team Rector is seen as a top priority with the full support of the Archdeacon. Finance for this position has been secured and there is an intent for Neville Emslie to act as an external facilitator to assist in this appointment. The first advertisement for this vacancy failed to attract any applications, but the profile has been amended and the second advert has been, or is about to be, published.

Les Carter Deanery Synod Rep (now joined by Bill Darling ).

Annual Report 2020

I suspect many of us would rather forget 2020. The Corona virus hit our shores at the beginning of that year and by March the nation was in lockdown. Churches were closed. Gathering for worship was forbidden. It became difficult to meet and there was a lot of frustration.

Life for many seemed to stop. There were uneven pockets of ‘virtual community’ in places. Some kept in touch supporting one another. Many of us learned to became accustomed to the blurred multiple conversations of digital platforms like Zoom and Teams. But it wasn’t entirely satisfactory.

But God never stopped; people were busy praying and studying at home. We started worshiping online – those early days of national streaming of services and, gradually as we comprehended the technology, we offered online service here. First weekly and then daily. I felt they got better as time passed; there was a regular following of around one hundred each week peaking, on two occasions, with over three hundred. These now have dropped off completely.

I should like to thank all those who helped and participated in the production of these videos. You were all stars!

We were able to offer some services and worship and one of the highlights was the visit of Bishop Rose for the priesting of Rev’d Jacky in All Saints in October. Bishop Rose was a delight and her presence here was joyful on such a special occasion.

Throughout Lockdown the church was actively at work in Foodbank. This area was particularly badly hit. We remained open throughout the pandemic and delivered almost 6,000 meals in our parish alone. It was matched by considerably generous giving and out stocks managed to hold – but it was close.

Lockdown has been hard on all of us; mentally, physically and spiritually. Many of us are tired and weary. I want to say a particular and heartfelt thank you to our church wardens and our deputy churchwardens for the tremendous work at All Saints and, particularly, with the spectacular new hall at St Peters. To Joe, our treasurer, who has conjured respectable accounts from the year and to each of and every one of you who has supported one another in prayer, in messages and in encouragement.

And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, support, strengthen, and establish you.[1 Peter 5:10 ]

Blessings

Chris

P•ro¢hlal Chw¢h CouncN of All S•lrt8' Clwr¢h, Lydd •nd SL P•tsfs chur Gw•atslone TOTAL FUMD8 FwKl• Funds 201• 213 4.142 44.164 1.195 31.4C 4.142 45.164 11223 10.059 101. 24.392 7.748 9.547 9.710 9.137 1.731 13.( 134 2223 10 314 9281 11,477 26.701 451 451 175.iKKI T•tsl R•t•lp 1fAI 11 PAYIIENTS 35.875 4.442 29214 10,141 6,767 6,244 92.683 17 Isos 2DW2 6,812 4.SY17 6.812 2,331 44.178 112.769 12 2.57fj 1¥J918 196.867 .636 12 11 7•1 EAc•M of R•c•tyts 111W> (1•1287) 11910031 179,852 116A51) (178JJI 1193.(m) 179.8S2 39.311 183.358 Cxh It WKI In h•xl a¢ 310

17. 21.971 217.145 CBF C Lrf E toit F1 FrAxI 4.175 11 IntwBst (rf2 x£1LXx)w St Pews in 2015 n Rspea rl tr Hol 177. 17.327 1.151 183.918 52&8 .71 795.01 PJ5.01 1.&14.$9 275.71 £4W1.70