2021-12-31-accounts

NOTICE is given that the Annual Vestry Meeting and the Annual Parochial Church Meeting will take place on Wednesday 27[th] April at 4.30pm at Hardy Hall

AGENDA

1. Opening worship

2. Annual Vestry Meeting – Election of Church Wardens

3. Annual Parochial Church Council Meeting

1. Apologies

2. Minutes of the 2021 Vestry and Annual Meetings

3. Matters arising from those minutes

4. Receipt of Electoral Roll

5. Election of Deputy Church Wardens

6. Election of PCC Members

7. Election of Readers to the PCC

8. Election of Auditor

9. Election of Sidespersons

10. Treasurer’s Report and presentation of accounts

11. Presentation of Annual Report

12. Deanery synod Report

13. Any Other Business (Advance notice to be given to the church wardens)

14. Future Dates

15. Date of next APCM

16. Closing Prayer

Rector’s Report APCM 2022

In January 2020 ‘The Romney Marsh Benefice’ was formed by merging the ‘Western Marsh Benefice’ with the old ‘Romney Marsh Benefice’ creating a team ministry. I was Instituted and Inducted as Team Rector on the 25[th] of October 2021 at a joyful service conducted by Bishop Rose.

I have now been in post for 6 months and, together with Chris Maclean, Shuna Body and Jacky Darling, we are looking towards the future. This began with our visioning day held at Lydd Golf Course and facilitated by Neville Emslie where we explored what it is to be Energised by Faith, have an Outward Looking Focus, Seek to Find Out What God Wants, Face the Cost of Change and Growth, Operate as a Community, Make Room For All and Do a few things but do them well. As a result of this we have had our first Benefice Service, which is to be continued on the 5[th] Sundays of the year, and a successful Lent course looking at Paula Gooder’s book ‘The Joy of the Gospel’. We will explore other courses for later in the year.

The churches across the benefice are both individual and united in their desire to move forward and grow God’s Kingdom. There are many exciting events planned and as Covid restrictions allow we can look forward to gathering our communities together for concerts and festivals and of course the Queen’s Jubilee celebrations in June.

I am excited to see where we will be this time next year.

Chris Hodgkins Team Rector

Report for 2021

The parish of Lydd with Greatstone serves the communities of Lydd, Greatstone, Lydd on Sea and Dungeness. It is part of the Romney Marsh Benefice, located in the Deanery of Tenterden and Romney Marsh and part of the Anglican Diocese of Canterbury.

The correspondence address is: All Saints Rectory, Park St, Lydd. Kent, TN29 9AY The parish website is www.western-marsh-churches.co.uk

The Parochial church Council is a charity registered with the Charities Commission (reg. No.1146683) CCL licence 87558 (All Saints) and 655313 (St Peter’s)

PCC Members who have served for the year covered by this report:

Revd Chris Maclean PCC Chairman Priest-in-charge until October, then Vicar Revd Chris Hodgkins (from October 2021) Rector Revd Jacky Darling Associate Priest Les Carter Reader + Deanery Synod Rep June Noakes Reader Frances Aubrey ALM Mike Botten Church Warden from May 2021 Jean Moon Deputy Warden from June 2021 Rita Butterworth PCC Secretary Joe Butterworth PCC Treasurer + Gift Aid Secretary Bill Darling Deanery Synod Rep Pat Carter Safeguarding Officer

……………………………… Electoral Roll Officer

Elected Members (9 are permitted)

Margaret Mace

Bank Account: Lloyds New Romney. Sort Code: 30-90-28, Account no. 01406745

David Jarman Independent Auditor

Structure, Governance and Management

The method of appointment of PCC members is set out in the Church Representation Rules. Members serve for 3 years and retire in rotation. At least one third of elected PCC members are required to be regular worshippers at All Saints and one third at St Peter’s. All church attendees are encouraged to register on the Electoral Roll and stand for election to the PCC.

Objectives

The PCC has the responsibility of cooperating with the wardens and the Vicar, in promoting in the ecclesiastical parish the whole mission of the Church, pastorally, evangelistically, socially and ecumenically. It also has the responsibility for the maintenance of churches and church hall buildings at Lydd and Greatstone.

The Church of England in Lydd, Greatstone and Dungeness worships God revealed to us in Jesus Christ.we welcome all who seek God regardless of race, age, gender or sexual orientation. We affirm that the Church’s mission, in obedience to Holy Scripture, is to proclaim the unfailing love of God in every generation. We are two churches in a team of fourteen churches in the Romney Marsh Benefice serving our community through prayer and friendship.

Standing Committee

Vicar, Wardens and deputy wardens and treasurer. This is the only committee required by law. It has the power to transact business of the PCC between its meetings, subject to any directions given by the church Council. 3

Review of the year 2021

Churchwarden’s Report 2021

2021 has been another year which will probably live in people’s memory as an odd year, due to the various Covid-related ups and downs throughout.

From the beginning of the year until Palm Sunday in March we were not able to attend church and relied on the excellent online services provided by our clergy team. In fact, these proved so popular that they carried on long after we restarted regular church attendance in person.

The diocese brought in some new safeguarding training course (online, of course) and they seem to have been well-received. Many thanks to Pat Carter for her ongoing work with safeguarding and ensuring that the right people have the right training in order to ensure the church is a safe and welcoming place for all.

Some events happened during the year and others didn’t. The summer fayre went ahead as planned and was considered quite successful in that we raised almost as much money as in previous years and lots of people attended during the day. The teddies parachuted as planned and all was well. A few of us took part in the Ride and Stride event and raised a few shillings for the churches. The remembrance service also happened and was attended by many people, much as in previous years, and was a credit to the new organising group.

There were a number of weddings during the year too, which indicated some normality to our community life, but something else happened around weddings, that wasn’t Covid related, in that we stopped using local wedding registers. Harvest supper, sadly, didn’t happen. We had a plan to hold the event amid various Covid restrictions etc, but it just wasn’t to be. The other event that didn’t happen was Christingle, which was cancelled at the eleventh hour due to Covid related problems. We did however manage to distribute the 400 oranges among the local community!

We did at least manage to hold some Christmas services.

At St Peter’s, services resumed around the same time and other aspects of life gradually returned to normal, such as lunches, dementia cafe and plant sales. And the new hall was finally signed off by the building control inspector.

Our new team Rector was installed in October and Bishop Rose visited us for the second time in as many months. On the first visit, a choir was formed with some of the Haywardians, and it was a great joy and privilege to sing with other tenors! I’m sure the Altos felt much the same.

In December the rector held a Visioning Day to find ways to move the benefice forward and I got to meet lots of fellow wardens for a Christmas Lunch.

The weather has caused one or two problems during the year, with a few tiles going missing and a window in the bell tower being blown in. Generally, there have been few problems with the fabric of the church. The interior has been changed by moving the choir stalls back towards the High Altar, allowing a useful space in the centre of the church which can be used in a variety of ways. The white lines around the chancel steps and the altar steps have been repainted, the need being brought to our attention, sadly, as the result of an accident with one of our flower arrangers.

Our choir lost one of its members, when Katherine moved away, but gained a new member when June joined. It continues to do its best and is grateful that even with her various challenges, Frances has continued to inspire it with challenging music, dedication and endless enthusiasm.

Hopefully, 2022 will bring a return to some normality and we can worship with freedom from Covid related restrictions.

I’d like to record my thanks to the many people who have assisted me with the churchwarden role during the past year. I won’t name anyone for fear of missing someone, but you all know who you are. My thanks also go to the many people within our church, who unfailingly cook, clean, set up, put away, lock, unlock, preach, ring, sing, play, pray, support and all the other 101 things that go on, quietly, diligently and faithfully, some in the background, some not. I am proud to be a small part of such a wonderful community.

Mike Botten

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St Peter’s

Opened again in May. There were then 18 services of Holy Communion and 17 of Morning Worship all held at 10.30, with an average attendance of 25 at both. From a cautious start numbers grew gradually as the year progressed and people’s confidence increased. New members moved to the area. There were 2 funerals and 2 memorial services. The WI held a carol service, but the Christingle service had to be cancelled because of another Covid outbreak. The school did not manage to come to church for their planned Harvest service, for various reasons.

Prayer, Bible Study and Home groups continued for most of the year, in homes or via Zoom. A Lent course was also done by Zoom. Another Bible study group began meeting in the hall in the Autumn, but health problems caused its suspension.

The Sunday lunches started again and people from the Pebbles Dementia Café were delighted to join in, They also came to the happy Christmas lunch – we were just able to hold it before the new Covid infection overwhelmed life. It was lovely to have help from the Drop-In community too.

PCC

There were 3 regular meetings and one by Zoom. More members are needed.

Electoral Roll

At 20 March 2022, the Roll stood at 98

Chaplain report:

Dungeness B Chaplain Visits: I recommenced my regular chaplain visits to Dungeness ‘B’ in September following the restrictions imposed by Covid. There was a delay due to site access clearance issues. The visits appear to be well received and are carried out as part of The Kent Workplace Mission Trust activities. The announced cessation of generation at the site has had limited effect on the staff so far, but a continued presence on site is in my opinion important. Les Carter

Following restrictions due to Covid, we have restarted “Godly Play” visits to Brenzett School during October. Les Carter

All Saints’ Monthly Lunches

We started lunches again in August following the restrictions due to Covid, but we have changed the regular spot to the 3rd Saturday of every month. Everyone seems happy with the new arrangements, and the meals are appreciated by all who attend, and people are being referred to us from the community We are fortunate to have members of the community helping us to serve and clear up afterwards, to whom we are very grateful. Pat Carter

6Cs / Maggie’s Makers

Our group was initially set up 11 years ago for young mothers as somewhere to meet after dropping older children at school. The 6 Cs stood for Church, crafts, chat, coffee, cake and children. It has now evolved into a community group for all ages with some of the original members still attending. There is a wealth of expertise in the group and any new members (and some of the old) can learn new crafts. We have a Facebook group so we can all keep in touch and support each other.

The group is very special because of the mental health benefits it provides just being able to share things in a safe environment. This has been so much needed during lockdown. We now have a variety of ages, skills and experiences and are currently exploring ways of increasing our membership so that more of the community can benefit

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Hardy Hall

Bookings at the Hardy Hall are starting to return to normal following the effects of the restrictions around Corona Virus. The Hardy Hall is an established centre for many activities in the town, including Food Bank, monthly lunch plus various regular group meetings and the return to normal operations is very welcome, it is an important focal facility for the local community. Rev Chris M has been acting as the administrator on a temporary basis but it is hoped that a new administrator will be in place shortly. The Hall has remained in reasonable order and no major work is planned for the near future. Pat Carter

Deanery Report

There are 15 Deaneries in the Diocese of Canterbury, and our deanery, “Romney and Tenterden”, holds regular Meeting which give the opportunity for the various ministry teams and lay members to meet and discuss matters of common interest and share challenges, experience and opportunities. In the Annual Report last year we reported the publication of the 171-page Diocesan report “ Towards A Flourishing & Sustainable Future” published in March 2021. A significant observation within this report was that “The Overall Financial situation for the Diocese is unsustainable” and it also reported the importance of filling the vacancy of Team Rector in our Benefice. The matter of filling the Team Rector position is, as you will all know, successfully concluded and we have been able to welcome Rev Chris H to the position, and he is working hard with Rev Chris M, Rev Shuna, Rev Jacky and various other members of the ministry team to ensure ministry within our Benefice functions in a co-ordinated manner.

The financial situation is one that is ongoing, and I suspect always will be, however, Tony Richter (Deanery Treasurer), is co-ordinating closely with the Diocese and Parish Treasurers, including our own Joe, to ensure that the Parish Share for the Deanery is met in full. The Diocese have looked very closely at their costs and the Parish Shares for 2022 have reduced, but it is vital that this is paid in full and this may require the stronger Parishes supporting those with a financial deficit. Providing the Parish Share for the Diocese is met in full, the financial situation for the future should once again be secured. Les Carter

St Peters Church Hall.

The hall is very popular and used by many clubs in the area.

Clubs which meet weekly are ;

Monday Games Club. 2-4p.m.

Womens Wednesday club. 2-4pm Drop In. For a drink and chat Wednesday Term Time only 9.30- 11.00

Meeting fortnightly : Pebbles, Dementia Cafe second and fourth Thursday a.m.

Meeting monthly: WI 2[nd] Monday evening.

Sunday Lunch for people living on their own, once a month.

Other events

The hall has also been hired for private family parties. Also hired to FHDC for voting in elections. Carole Comber

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St Peter's Drop-in

The St Peters Drop-in meet on Wednesday mornings from 9am-10.30 during school term time, it gives parents and carers dropping their children at school a place to meet up to socialise and have support from others in the local community, providing toys and activities, coffee and a chat. . During the Covid pandemic the group was unable to meet from its start in March 2020 until it was eventually felt it would be safe to open again in September 2021. During that time circumstances changed for many, children started school and parents went into full time employment, which meant our numbers were low. In January some advertising on social media brought in a few new members, our average attendance is 6 adults and 4 children. If the area behind the hall is developed we hope that the children will be able to play outside and adults sit out in the sunshine. Margaret Mace

St Peters Monthly Sunday lunches

During the Covid pandemic 2020/21 St Peter's was unable to provide any lunches. They restarted again in October 2021 when it was decided to offer the lunches to members of the Pebbles dementia cafe (that meet in St Peter's hall) as well as single people in the community. All cooks renewed their basic food hygiene certificate level 2 in 2021 to comply with safety guidelines. On average the attendance is 12 made up of half from Pebbles and the other half from our congregation. Everyone attending the lunches is very grateful for the good food and company at these events. In December a bigger team got together to provide a Christmas dinner open to all. We were lucky that this took place before more restrictions were put in place because of Covid and many other church events were cancelled. Margaret Mace

St Peters Garden Project 2021/22 During the summer of 2021 the land around the church and behind the hall became very overgrown and although it looked lovely with bright red poppies and purple mallow it did need to be tidied. A group got together to clear the area to clear the area at he front of the church and a large trailer full of vegetation was taken to the tip. After that a group of 5 volunteers started to work in the area behind the church and put together ideas of how the area could be developed for use by groups that use the hall. A gate has been promised by the builder that erected the hall be so for it has not been installed. In order to find out how we could work sympathetically with the unique shingle that surrounds the building we met with Tobias Jackson biodiversity officer with Romney Marsh the Fifth Continent Project in October. He did a report on all we had discussed with him recommending that we work with nature encouraging wild flowers already present, but remove plants that become dominant Common Dock and Dandelion and Mallow and remove non-native invasive Red Valerian.

He also suggested using recycled plastic grids that can be laid directly on the shingle providing a stable base for wheelchairs. Some money has now been raised for this project and money raised by the sponsored cycle ride has been added, also we have been promised the donation of a bench.

In February BBC's the One Show launched the RHS community garden competition. I started completing the online application form but became technically challenged at he point of including photos and a map. I must have submitted the incomplete form and after the closing date I was surprised to receive an email thanking me for my application, another email arrived mid March informing me that our group was unsuccessful. It was a good dream to have expert help and funding to transform the garden.

In the coming months we hope to start work again probably meeting on alternate Monday afternoons. We have received a quote for the materials to form earth retaining areas in the two corners to facilitate planting areas which will need to be considered. We also need to get quotes to install a path either a boardwalk type or concrete around the area and hard standing for fixing the benches securely. We hope that progress can continue to make this a useable space. Margaret Mace

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LYDD BELLRINGERS CAPTAIN'S REPORT 2021

Due to Covid restrictions there was very little ringing after March in 2020 with some restricted numbers for a few weeks in October. Christmas services and ringing were cancelled as was New Year ringing. 2021 was more relaxed. We rang in April on the announcement of the death of the Duke of Edinburgh and again half muffled for his funeral.

We did ring for five weddings and Sunday ringing resumed in May and Monday practices soon after. A few district meetings took place in the latter part of the year which enabled some of us to meet up with ringers from other towers. It was good to be able to ring half muffled for Remembrance Sunday and take part in the church service which we were unable to do in 2020. We were able to celebrate Christmas with ringing on Christmas morning. Our customary New year's eve meal went ahead attended by most of the band and partners followed by a visit to the tower to ring out the old year and welcome the new. Hopefully this year we can enjoy ringing as normal.

We have been asked to host the District meeting in March this year. We did not have any visiting ringers during 2021 so it would be great to welcome some this year. Hopefully we will have some weddings to ring for this year. We have rung at Brookland, through the summer months until it got too cold. Plans have been made to start again in March. Sadly we said goodbye to John Dawkins recently, he had joined us for ringing practices at Lydd and Brookland in the past. Gordon and I attended his funeral at Hastings. Rest in peace John. We still have nine regular ringers but really need some new recruits, none has come forward yet. Let us hope for some new interest this coming year. Margaret Alflatt, Tower Captain

Treasurer’s Report

After several months when I was expecting an end-of-year deficit of £2-4,000, the final result is a mere £814 on a turnover of £82,000. It would have been a small surplus without the one-off payment of £2,201, transferring the balance on the parish magazine account to the merged, benefice-wide magazine Marsh Message. A big thank-you to everyone who kept our head above water, by their weekly and monthly offerings, special gifts and fund-raising efforts – also to grant-making bodies like the Romney Marsh Historic Churches Trust and the Lydd Municipal Charities.

2021 was the second year of Covid and we were affected by lockdowns and other restrictions for the first six months of the year. After that, however, our two church halls were able to open for business, weddings and funerals could take place in church again and fund-raising events like the Summer and Christmas fairs at All Saints and the Coffee Mornings/Markets at St Peter’s could resume. It was the loss of these activities which was the main cause of a deficit of £10,000 in 2020.

Work on the windows at All Saints’ continued in the early months of 2021 with the installation of anti-vandal guards at a cost of £16,245 – kindly financed by the RMHCT. Construction of the new St Peter’s Hall was completed at the beginning of 2021 at a total cost of £194,000. Joe Butterworth.

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PT￿h1•1 Church CourKII ofAII S￿11￿. Church. Lydd St. P•l•rfs Chw Qfft¥lst¢ Finandal St•nnis lor the Year End•d 31 Decemb•r2021 B•l•nc• SW nat•• 4ndfin•Kll fer thi Yw ENl•d 31 D•c•mb•r2021 18,808 726 4,177 21.431 21.971 C85h fyi fnd CBF C of E F￿j irtwest shar88 6,837 3.925 3.925 A.202 727 Si P0kn5 Hau. eT fu￿$ and lees 5256 1334 4.471 4.692 43 Total 11 ththlvmentl￿ knW881 shares we hekj 88 Idkns'.. 270.16 426.57 BalfcwJrTFTJ51 restfrt￿ fvrKI 270 shar8S VKIts generg PLYM 1515hw88 H J BL%kthk cw & chor fu￿ 470 shares E Pl GlbULyd pneral w11￿0 470 shares A Finn (Ygan & c￿rIU1￿j 789 sh 742.&% 74255 1.246.54 25t.52 21 I)￿9e￿8d ￿1 tener￿1 the PCC thJrch ha45. St Petets ar¥J H• HaH a corti￿1 valu8 of£780,LKK) 81 the Lqst sur¥ey ￿d8rtSken in 2020 by E￿$0$￿(41 OffKe plc IEIO POM The PCC ths #ot have a on rpwves bJt cwrenty [r￿than fNe ts.mes the ¥verwe ThrthlytxF￿1ltilre rÈlaitrJ to olthe cfMJrth ￿ 2021 (excl￿￿1r•j bI￿lI1¥J th on StPetefs rrw repoA81 wi Sa'nts, Churthl. Apwtr•vJ bytt* Pwrthkal Ccwndl (A￿) 2022 on by. Hcn Tr8asur¢r A4Q

Parochl•l Church Councll of All Salnts. Church, L￿Id and SL Petees Church. Gr•atston• Fln•nd•l Statsments for the Year Ended 31 Dec•mbor 2021 TOTAL FUND8 Funds Fund Fund• 20 RECEIPTS VotLtntary Rfjtsipts". Flann&J GMI¥J al 5WV ants Ic prwts l othr ¥0￿￿t￿Y ￿Pts 27.846 5,078 16.365 10.735 7.014 67.036 120 27. 5.076 16.365 10.735 7,014 67.155 31.408 4,142 45,164 11.223 10.059 101, 120 3.872 3072 InN*strxnl & rent81 Inc¢ 1,331 13 2.020 11.477 451 Tolal R¢¢•lpts 1S8 PAYMENTS 36.110 38.110 c￿gY arml stsffry co¥ls Chuwth nmniwvJ exp Hall njnning cc6ts Mission giving and ¢kntM)ns Transfer of magaane su￿lL9 to rw Bengfice magazwie Re(luclion in value of EnLhymnt Furyls hall & rnw rnpar5 17.576 629 18.205 6.812 4.5￿7 1.967 4.049 2201 2.201 277 2n 17,633 82.887 16,288 78,669 85 238.096 309.636 12 3.941 277 277 Ex¢•B8 of Pay￿￿nts ov•r Rx•lpts Trnnslw Letween funds (1.718) (114) 1193.WJ) 1251 (1.7881 {277) (8141 1193.IX)3) Cash at b8nk and On hand at 1 Jw 33,727 226.730 C••h at bank and In hand •1 310•¢ 23,711 52n 31913 33.727

Indep•ndent Examlnerf• rnport to the Parochlal Church Coun¢ll of All Saints. Church, Lydd and St. Petefs Church, Greatstone Thi5 Rep(Kl on the accounts of Ihe PCC fty the year erKled 31 D￿rnber 2021. vthich are set out in this annual report. is in respect of an examination carrted out under Regulation 3(3) of the Churth Attounting R8gulations 1997 to 21M)6 fthe Regulations") and s.43 of the Charities Act 1993 (Ihe Acr). Ro3p•ctive regponsibilities of the PCC and the examln•r As members of the PCC you a￿ responsible for the preparatson of the accounts.. you ca￿S1der that the audil requirement of Regulation 3(3) and sedion 43(2) of the Act do not apply. It is my respon￿bilty to issue this report on ttr￿ accounts in accordance with the tem)s of Regulations 25. Basis of thi8 report examination 4was carried out in acwrdance with the General Directions given by the Charity C(xnrTNssion under sectFon 43{7)(b) of Ihe Act and to be found in the Churth guidance, 2006 edition. issued by the Finance Diwsion of the Archbishops. Council. That examination includes a review of the aC￿Unting records kept by th8 PCC and a comparison of the accounts ryth those records. It also indudes considering any unusual items or disdosu￿s in the aco)unts ar￿ se8king explanations from YDU as trustees con￿mIng any such matter5. The procedures undertaken do nol provide all the evidence that Y)uld be required in an 8udiL and consequently I do not express an audit opinion on the view given by the acixjunts. Indop•nd•nt Examln•rfs statwnent In ca)nnection ￿ryth my examination. rK) matter has coffe to my attention: {1) whic gives me reasonable causa to belbeve that in any material r8sp8¢t the reqUire￿nts - to keep aco)unts'ng re￿)rdS in accordance V￿th sectiw 41 of the Acl: arKI - to prepare ac(x)unts thich accord ￿ the accx)unting reccyds and coryly *ith th8 requirernents of the Act and the Regulations have not been met; or (2) to ￿1¢h. in my opinion. attefiti￿ should be dra￿￿ in order to enable a woper understanding of the accounts to be ￿aChed. DAVID JARMAN ACMA 2 MANITOBA co￿AGEs FRITH ROAD ALDINGTON ASHFORD Kent. TN25 7DQ FebnJ8ry-22