2021-12-31-accounts

St John the Baptist COOKHAM DEAN

Annual Report and Accounts for the year ending 31 December 2021

This Annual Report is published by the Parochial Church Council of St John the Baptist, Cookham Dean.

AGENDAS

Agenda for the Annual Meeting of Parishioners 10.30 Sunday 8 May 2022

1. The election of two churchwardens to serve for the forthcoming year.

Agenda for the Annual Parochial Church Meeting Sunday 8 May 2022

1. Apologies for absence

2. Minutes of the meeting held on Sunday 27 June 2021

3. Presentation of changes to the Electoral Roll

4. The annual reports on the proceedings of the PCC and the activities of the parish generally for the year ended 31 December 2021

5. Presentation of the Annual Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2021

6. Appointment of Independent Examiner

7. Election of nine PCC members

8. Vicar’s Reflection

9. Any other business – by leave of the Chairman

10. Closing prayers

The first PCC meeting will be on 17 May 2022 at 8pm, at which the Treasurer, Secretary and Vice-Chair will be appointed, along with membership of committees and trustee bodies

CONTENTS

CONTENTS
Annual PCC Report	2 - 5
Ministry Team	6 - 7
Changes in Electoral Roll	7
Fabric and Churchyard	7 - 8
Safeguarding	9
Fund Raising Committee	9
Darby Pension Fund	10
Cookham Dean School Report	10 - 12
Deanery Synod	12 - 13
Treasurer’s Report	14 - 15
Annual Accounts	16 - 21
Independent Examiner’s Report	22
Minutes of Annual Parochial Meeting
held on 27 June 2021	23-26

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Annual PCC Report for the year ending 31st December 2021

Background

The parish of St. John the Baptist Cookham Dean together with Holy Trinity Cookham forms The Benefice of The Cookhams. The PCC has the responsibility of co-operating with the incumbent in promoting within the ecclesiastical parish the whole mission of the Church – pastoral, evangelistic, ecumenical, and social. It also has responsibilities for the maintenance of the church and churchyard of St. John the Baptist, Church Road, Cookham Dean.

Membership

Members of the PCC are either ex officio or elected by the Annual Parochial Church Meeting (APCM) in accordance with the Church Representation Rules.

During the year the following persons served as members of the PCC:

Incumbent	The Revd Nick Plant	Chairman
Associate Priest	The Revd Helen Chamberlain
Associate Priest	The Revd David Joynes
Assistant Curate	The Revd John Ainslie		to July 2021
Licensed Lay Minister	Richard Simmonds	Vice-Chairman	from April 2021
Church Wardens	David Hazeldine
	Lorna Sykes
Deanery Synod	Mathew Billinghurst		Elected APCM
			2020 for 3 years
	Ray Reed		Elected APCM
			2020 for 3 years
	Lorna Sykes		Elected APCM
			2020 for 3 years
Diocesan Synod	John Sykes	PCC Secretary
Elected Members	Katherine Billinghurst
	Greta Dixon
	Charles Elly	Vice-Chairman	to March 2021
	John Fairlie
	Stella Fairlie		from July 2021
	Ros Hazeldine	PCC Treasurer
	Laura Satterley
	Mike Springate		to June 2021
	Chiu Sung		from June 2021
	Jeremy Webb

Annual Parochial Church Meeting

• The APCM took place on 27 June 2021. The following committees were elected at the first meeting of the PCC after the APCM: Standing & Finance Committee, Fund Raising, Fabric & Churchyard.

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There were 101 names (2020:100; 2019:104) on the Church Electoral Roll as presented at the 2021 APCM, 56 (2020:58; 2019:59) of whom were resident in the parish and a further 21 (2020:22; 2019:21) in the Benefice.

Church attendance

• Church attendance was again severely disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. There were 89 communion services during the year (2020:67; 2019:130). There were limited services at Easter with communicants of 49 (2020:0; 2019:110), The number of communicants on Christmas Eve /Christmas Day was 59 (2020:62; 2019:123). Over the 42 weeks when the church was open, the average weekly attendance was 48 adults (2020:44; 2019:91) and 5 under 16s (2020:4; 2019:21). There were 10 baptisms during the year (2020:1; 2019:14), 2 weddings (2020:1; 2019:4), and 14 burials, memorials and interment of ashes (2020:24; 2019:18).

Review of the year

• As in 2020, the year was dominated by the response to the COVID-19 Pandemic. The “second wave” of the pandemic had already escalated in the run up to Christmas 2020, and although not mandatory, the decision was made to close the church immediately after Christmas. It reopened on 14th March 2021, which was Mothering Sunday.

• In the closed period, a Sunday Eucharist service was livestreamed from the church by a member of the clergy accompanied by a technician. Use was made of the recorded choral and organ music made available by the Church of England to enhance the services. The clergy team recorded a daily prayer and reflection from their homes, and these were posted on the Worship Channel established for the benefice and accessed through the church websites.

• The services for Easter were planned to accommodate the limited capacity of the church due to social distancing. The traditional Stations of the Cross Walk of Witness was not held, but a re-make of the 2020 video was made with the members of the clergy reading the bible passages and reflections. This was made available on Good Friday and attracted over 250 views. It was also used by the Diocese as one of their Easter season offerings of on-line worship.

• Easter Sunday saw the return of the church choir although no singing by the congregation was allowed.

• After Easter, and with a steady return of the congregation to church, daily online prayers were provided on Mondays and Fridays only. The main Sunday service continued to be livestreamed each week up until July after which livestreaming/ recording was done once a month on the 4th Sunday. Our livestream service on 20th June was used by the Diocese as its “Church at Home” Sunday service.

• The previous pattern of 8am Communion Services in the benefice started again in September, but at SJB attendance was frequently zero, and so the PCC decided in October to discontinue the service for the moment. It is still held at HTC on the first Sunday using the Book of Common Prayer.

• The 4th@4 all-age service returned on 26th September with a Harvest Service. There was a good attendance, but the service in October was at the end of half term and the spread of COVID particularly amongst children reduced the numbers significantly. The November service was Christingle when numbers were back up again.

• The service from the church on Remembrance Sunday was also livestreamed and

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made use of the recording made the previous year at the War Memorial. The annual service of Remembrance of Loved Ones who have Died was also livestreamed.

• Christmas Services were planned with the capacity of the church in mind. A booking arrangement for children to visit the crib was held in the place of the usual Crib Service. The seasonal services of the Nine Lessons and Carols and Christmas Morning were recorded and made available to watch online.

• The PCC met on 6 occasions in 2021, four times by Zoom and then twice in person in September and November. Throughout the year each sub-committee, Treasurer, Deanery Synod and Ministry Team have reported to the PCC by means of written reports circulated prior to each PCC meeting.

• Fenella Reekie, Headteacher at Cookham Dean School, attended the March and November PCC meetings to give an update of progress at the school and strengthen the link between church and school. As a direct result of the pandemic, Cookham Dean School have not been able to attend their usual services at the church during the year. School visits by the Ministry Team continued to be suspended.

• The closure of the church and the smaller congregations impacted income from collections, although a significant proportion of our income is planned giving by Direct Debit or through the Parish Giving Scheme. But with careful control of expenditure and the help of a number of fund-raising events there was a surplus for the year of c. £6500, with our Parish Share being paid in full. This, in the circumstances, is an extraordinary result, but 2022 is likely to be just as challenging. Thanks go to Angela Plant for undertaking the task of reclaiming our Gift Aid from what money was donated in envelopes.

• The Parish Magazine continued to be produced throughout 2021, edited by John Sykes. Only one edition was “lost” with the March and April editions being combined into an Easter edition. The magazine continues to be available online as usual. Thanks go to Stella & John Fairlie for the co-ordination of the distribution of the magazine in Cookham Dean; especially in mobilizing our distributors during the various social restrictions. Thanks also to John Sykes for managing the magazine advertising, which has held up very well despite the disruption of 2020.

• Our Children’s Church “Sunbeams” group, restarted again under the guidance of Richard Simmonds and Laura Satterley, but the low number of children attending church has meant that it is on a week-by-week basis for the moment.

• The restrictions on singing have gradually been lifted through the year in a series of stages. The year started with no choir, then to singing outside when weather permitted, and then socially distanced in the choir stalls. The PCC is grateful to David Colthup, our choirmaster and organist, for supporting services through these various stages. St. John’s “Orchestra” staged a comeback for the 2021 Christingle.

• Our volunteer rotas for sidesmen, readers, intercessors and sound operators which had been suspended since 2020, started up again in July and offer a warm welcome to all and smooth running of the services.

• Despite the pandemic and because it is an outside activity, working parties in the churchyard took place throughout the year, which, together with the volunteer grass cutting, has seen the churchyard maintained in good condition.

• The requirement to limit access to the church during and after lockdown periods meant that the cleaners’ rota had to be suspended, with the task of cleaning the

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church carried out weekly by Lorna and John Sykes. The rota was re-established In July, coordinated by Barbara Dent, with grateful thanks to all involved. The church brass is cleaned by a separate “team” and is always shiny – thank you to the team!

• Flowers are provided in the sanctuary throughout the year by a band of volunteers, coordinated by Marion Elly and Doreen Reed. The PCC is grateful to all flower arrangers, especially those who decorated the church for major occasions.

• The activities of the fund-raising committee under the leadership of Marion Elly were severely curtailed by the social restrictions for a second year. Fund raising relies on the capacity to organise events and the willingness of people to attend and participate, and as a consequence have been difficult to get moving again. However, the committee undertook to organise our traditional Autumn Fayre in the Village Hall which raised over £3000, which was a major contributor to the favourable financial outcome for the year.

• The Cookham Kids Holiday Club, usually run for the first week of the school summer holiday was not held again this year. In 2020 an online alternative was provided, and this was repeated this year, but engagement was low, as schools themselves had been making extensive use of online learning.

• The monthly Friendship Lunches were suspended from the start of the first lockdown in 2020, which was particularly hard on the group of people who attend particularly value the friendship and togetherness that these lunches provide. It was not possible to restart these in the same format due to the reduced number of volunteers available. Following discussions with Holy Trinity and the Methodists it was decided to run the lunches on a shared basis with the venue changing from month to month. These started in September and a splendid Christmas lunch was held in the Jubilee Vestry in December.

• Since lockdown we have been unable to exercise our usual pastoral care in the parish to Harwood House, Elizabeth House, Riverside and other housebound people.

PCC report for year ending December 2021 approved at the meeting on 6th April 2022

Signed

(Chair of the meeting)

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Ministry Team report for APCM 2022

• The Ministry Team continued to meet regularly on Zoom. We have endeavoured to keep up with the ever-changing advice from the Church of England and HM Government.

• We began the year in a self-imposed lockdown, due to the high rate of cases in the area and very few people being vaccinated at this stage. The clergy offered recorded online services until we took the decision to open both churches on Mothering Sunday. There were also regular offerings from the HTC music department.

• In January, about 25 people met together for Evening Prayer by Zoom. Attendees also welcomed the opportunity to chat with others in smaller breakout groups. This worship group continued until late Spring.

• We had a well-received programme of online and live worship for Holy Week and Easter, comprising:

• Evening Prayer by Zoom Mon-Wed

• Maundy Thursday Eucharist with recorded foot-washing and reflection

• Good Friday liturgy. Online Stations of the Cross on YouTube.

• Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday evening, in place of the Dawn Eucharist

• Capacity services on Easter morning at both churches, and a Carol service in the evening on YouTube.

• We are now offering baptisms during the Sunday Eucharist, or as a stand-alone service.

• The Men’s Breakfast restarted successfully in August.

• The Fellowship lunch has restarted, and is now a group venture between HTC, SJB and Cookham Methodist Church.

• We have reintroduced the 4th@4 at SJB, the first one was attended by about 80 people.

• Nippers, which restarted in September, has slowly grown again. We have 8 families on the books, most attending regularly. As a result of this contact, we have four extra baptisms booked for 2022.

• The Hungry Hare went alfresco between May and October 2021, continuing to provide for informal pastoral one to one sessions and discussions about discipleship all in the open air when weather allowed. This was not widely promoted during the winter months to minimise Covid spread.

• Mark and Richard continued to offer YouTube Worship on Mondays and Fridays throughout the year.

• The weekly Bible Study via Zoom, led by members of the Ministry Team, continues to be popular. It followed a Lent course and an Advent course at the appropriate times, which brought in more people.

• Local schools are using clergy videos for teaching and online assemblies. Most appreciated were ‘Water to Wine’ and ‘Shrove Tuesday/Ash Wednesday’. We led an online Christmas service for Holy Trinity School.

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• Christingles at both churches were very good and the ‘make your own’ kits worked very well. There was good feedback about how welcoming the services were. Christmas services were well (and comfortably) attended; of particular note were the Crib ‘walk pasts’ at both churches which proved very successful. Overall, the Christmas season went very well, with grateful thanks for all the hard work on the trees, cribs, flowers, music etc.

• For the time being, we have made some temporary adjustments to services:

• HTC evening services restricted to two per month

• SJB evening services restricted to six per year

• Monthly Matins at SJB curtailed

• One 8am service per month on the first Sunday at HTC

Fr Nick

Changes to the Electoral Role since the last APM

The update of the Electoral Roll took place between 10th and 24th April 2022.

There are 94 people on the Electoral Roll compared to 101 in 2021, there being seven deletions and no additions.

Of the 94, there are 54 Resident in the Parish and a further 17 Resident in the Benefice.

Lorna Sykes Electoral Roll Officer

Fabric and Churchyard Report 2021

Following on from May 2016, our quinquennial inspection of the building was due in 2021. It took place on 10th June and the report drew our attention to the need for continuing with routine maintenance and protective external painting of guttering and associated iron work and oiling of oak timbers. No structural problems were identified, and the report was, as on previous occasions, complimentary about the condition of the building and its grounds and stated that the parish is doing a very good job of looking after St. John the Baptist Church. While this is exactly what we would all like to be the case, it also hides a potential long-term truth because it creates the impression that the future of SJB is miraculously secure; we can simply rely on it being there for us week after week. This is not, of course, the case and we all need to recognise that if we continue to rely on the efforts and financial contribution of others, there may, one day, come a time when the Church is no longer available for us. Our congregation is decreasing in number and the week-by-week financial offerings are also reducing so the Churchwardens will be failing in our duty if we do not point this out. We will, therefore, be looking to our congregation, both regular and occasional, to increase their contributions and, where possible, commit to regular giving. We will also be looking at ways to try and reduce our expenditure.

Fortunately, we still benefit from members of our congregation, sometimes working in teams and sometimes individually, who routinely do a lot of work to make sure that

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Cookham Dean Church and the churchyard is not neglected. As always, the Churchwardens and clergy are hugely grateful to these people as they also are for all the acts of voluntary labour that appear in the list below.

The following is a summary of the non-routine work carried out during 2021:

• February – The Churchyard tap was replaced by voluntary labour at zero cost to the Church.

• March – A new gas meter was fitted by SSE at zero cost to the Church.

• April – A “Whitebeam” tree was plated near the north-facing Lych Gate. This was a donation made by Tom Copas who also paid for appropriate arboreal work on this side of the Churchyard which has significantly improved the openness and appearance of this area.

• April – Voluntary labour replaced 2 posts in the fence of the compost area in the extreme east facing-Churchyard thus reducing the cost to just materials – £56.99.

• May – The tool shed door, boiler room door and associated railings were repainted by voluntary labour at zero cost to the Church.

• May – Following comment by SSE (when they were on site in March) that it was unsatisfactory because it was not made of fire-proof materials, the gas meter cupboard (at the extreme northeast corner of the Churchyard) was replaced by voluntary labour thus again reducing the cost to the Church to just materials – £432.67.

• June – Quinquennial Inspection – £1,310.44

• July – The annual lightning conductor inspection was carried at a cost of £142.50.

• July – The annual fire extinguisher maintenance check service, was carried out at a cost of £48.00.

• August – The long hedge that forms the Churchyard boundary with Mulberry House was cut back by Holdford at a cost of £354.00.

• September – The programme of light bulb replacement, which had been started a year ago, was completed so all CFB light bulbs have now been replaced with LEDs thus significantly reducing our energy use while also improving the lighting in Church.

September – The Notice Board, which is situated close to the Church Road Lych Gate, was returned to its usual position have been restored off-site by voluntary labour at zero cost to the Church.

October – The mechanism of the vestry clock was replaced by voluntary labour at zero cost to the Church.

December – The labels for the light switches in the cupboard near to the font were replaced by voluntary labour at zero cost to the Church.

David Hazeldine Lorna Sykes Churchwardens

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Annual Safeguarding Report 2021

We follow the Church of England’s Safer Recruitment and People Management guidance 2021. The care and protection of children, young people and vulnerable adults involved in Church activities is the responsibility of the whole Church. Everyone who participates in the life of the Church has a role to play in promoting a Safer Church for all.

The PCC operates a Safe Recruiting process, which aims to keep a balance between safe recruitment and not creating an onerous bureaucratic system. The recruitment of new volunteers involves informing the recruiter so that the necessary details and references can be obtained. Procedures are always monitored to ensure that checks and training for volunteers are delivered in a timely manner and the cooperation of volunteers in this is much appreciated.

Debbie Burroughs is responsible at St John the Baptist for checks with the Disclosure and Barring Services for new and established volunteers with children and vulnerable adults. We continue to use the Access Personal Checking Services Ltd (APCS), which is the recommended DBS Umbrella Body for the Diocese of Oxford.

The Church of England’s Practice Guidance: Safeguarding Training and Development (2021) provides a clear framework for safeguarding training across all Church of England communities. There have been some significant changes in regard to training and expectations, to further improve the safeguarding of all. We follow the Church of England’s Safer Recruitment and People Management guidance 2021, meaning a range of safeguarding training modules are a mandatory requirement for particular Church Officer roles. Safeguarding training should be renewed every three years and people are asked to forward their training records once completed. All safeguarding training records are kept securely. The resources and training equip our community to engage positively with the protection of children, young people and vulnerable adults in both a practical and theologically informed way.

The PCC has complied with the duty to have ‘due regard’ to the House of Bishops’ Safeguarding Policy and Practice Guidance.

Katherine Billinghurst

Fundraising Report 2021

Once again our activities have been curtailed by Covid but some events were possible:-

• Cake sales raised £467

• A Strawberry Tea hosted by Ray and Doreen Reed raised £581

• The Autumn Fayre raised £3,208

• When Tom Way cancelled his visit and talk in December, Richard Poad gave us a very interesting talk on "3 Men in a Boat" which raised £311

• There was an appeal for churchyard work which raised £1,980

In all this totalled £6,500 which, in the circumstances was much appreciated.

Marion Elly

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Darby Pension Report to December 2021

The Fund exists to provide payments each quarter to people in Cookham who are on low incomes and who meet the requirements set out in the will of the Darby brothers. Trustees, drawn from Holy Trinity Church, Cookham, and St John the Baptist Church, Cookham Dean, have the responsibility of administering the Fund.

The investments continue to be managed by CCLA, a professional company which specializes in charities and church investments. Given the uncertainty in financial markets over the last year the Fund finances remained healthy with income matching that of previous years. The overall annual income exceeded expenditure at the end of the year and it is forecast to remain in excess of spending going forward.

Once COVID restrictions eased in the summer the Trustees met in person for the first time since 2020. With a healthy balance in the Fund bank accounts and fewer pensioners than in previous years a decision was taken to increase the quarterly payment from September onwards. The majority of pensioners have now opted to receive their quarterly payments online.

Unfortunately, two of the pensioners supported by the Fund sadly passed away during 2021 – however, in one case entitlement was passed onto the widow. Further to this a new pensioner was added to the list and as such there were 20 pensioners supported by the Fund at the end of 2021. The Fund continues to have capacity to support additional pensioners and is actively looking for new proposals.

Kate Dilley February 2022

Cookham Dean CE VA Primary School Report for 2021

Vision and Values

With the return to ‘normal’ school life, we have been looking at our vision ‘Where all children flourish’. We discussed this as staff team and decided that, although the word flourish felt right, we all felt that our vision is about all of our community – staff, parents, governors as well as children and so therefore we have amended our vision to ‘Where we all flourish’. We are now looking at linking a bible verse to this vision and after input from Fr Nick and Rev Helen, our Pupils 4 Praise children are choosing which verse they think is more appropriate.

In addition, we continue to instil our Christian values of community, joy, peace, trust, endurance, friendship and forgiveness.

Pupil population

In September 2021, we increased our class size from 27 to 28 in a class for financial reasons. All of our classes are full apart from Years 4,5 and 6 which each have 27 children. We have waiting lists for all other groups. We currently have 193 on roll with 3 vacancies.

For our reception 2022 intake, we had 111 children apply for a place at Cookham Dean. We are not sure where they put us on their preference list but National Offer Day is 19th April so we should receive final numbers shortly after.

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Staffing

It has been a difficult year and Spring term was particularly difficult with 9 members of staff off with covid at one time (including the head teacher) and with 25% of children off meant blended learning was a priority (children learning from home online with children in the classroom). This was particularly stressful for staff. Some staff are struggling now with long covid and we are seeing an impact on mental health and family life.

Attainment and progress

For the last 2 years, there has been no official data collection for attainment and progress. This year, Year 6 will sit their SATS as well as Year 2, Year 4 will sit the MTC (Multiplication Tables Check) and Year 1 will sit their phonics screening tests. Results will be released at the end of the summer term.

Curriculum

Staff have worked hard this year to ensure that the curriculum provided is well sequenced and builds on prior learning. All subject leaders have written a long term plan which covers the national curriculum objectives for each year group. Most subject leaders have conducted learning walks in their subjects so that they can see first hand how their subject is taught as well as having the opportunity to talk to pupils and look in books. We have had a curriculum review with the local authority this term and a reading review with an external consultant to validate the work that we are doing.

We have thought about how we link subjects across our curriculum and have developed key concepts that can tie in subjects - resilience, community, individuality, democracy, responsibility, consequences.

Enrichment

Our programme of curriculum enrichment continues to be a focus. Whole key phase trip to the Albert Hall to experience a classical music concert was a highlight. Our visitors and curriculum linked trips continue to engage our children in the curriculum eg. Trip to St Albans to understand the impact of the Romans, a visit from Maidenhead’s Astronomical Society to demonstrate how a telescope works.

We have an extensive extra-curricular programme that enhances our school programme consisting of many sporting clubs but this term we have introduced an art club and a cookery club alongside our sewing club.

Church

We have been developing the role of Chaplain with Rev Jo Ellington at school. She has been working with our Pupils 4 Praise – a group of 5 and 6 children who are working with our RE lead to ensure a pupil voice in school around collective worship and reflection. This term, we invited BeSpace into school who turned our library into a prayer space for a week. Children from all year groups were encouraged to engage in 4 reflection activities throughout the week.

We continue to support the church with the 4@4 service – where children are invited to write prayers, read scriptures and take part in the service.

Community

Our local community continues to be very important to us. Our Rotakids children, who work with Cookham Bridge Rotary, have collected needed items for a women’s refuge and have made Easter cards for Elizabeth House and shared lunch with Elizabeth House visitors, as well as litter pick in our local neighbourhood.

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This year we entered a kart into the Gravity Grand Prix, had a stall at the Cookham Dean fete and will hopefully be a part of the Jubilee celebrations.

Leadership

We continue to develop our young leaders at school. There are many opportunities for children to take part in school life – school council, sports ambassadors, eco-warriors, rotakids, pupils4praise, emotional wellbeing ambassadors, librarians, gardeners. Each child is given the tools to work together as a team to ensure our school continues to move forward.

Mrs Fen Reekie Headteacher April 2022

Maidenhead and Windsor Deanery Report for 2021

The Maidenhead and Windsor Deanery comprises 14 parishes and benefices. The Deanery Synod comprises all the clergy in the deanery and Lay Representatives elected by their respective parishes for a period of three years. The current triennium has been shortened due to Covid-19 and runs from January 2021 to May 2023. At the end of 2021 the Synod had 70 members. Attendance varied from 44 to 52 over the year.

There were three meetings of the Synod during 2021:

Wednesday 10th February 2021 on Zoom:

• Jim Tucker was re-elected as Lay Chair, and the new Deanery Standing Committee was elected.

• Area Dean Ainsley, Associate Area Dean Sally and Lay Chair Jim introduced the new Deanery Mission Action Plan, talked through active initiatives in the Deanery, and described the new plan as a working document, which will be updated over time.

• Synod members shared their thoughts on what they had been learning about mission during the pandemic and how this could affect the mission action plan.

Thursday 27th May 2021 on Zoom:

• Ian Macdonald, Diocesan Youth Adviser and Discipleship Enabler for Berkshire, spoke about how the church could better reach out into the parishes, particularly about reaching young people with authenticity, building relationships and intergenerational community.

• Synod members had an opportunity to ask questions to Ian.

• Lay Chair Jim updated the Synod on proposals for a formula to determine parish share allocation.

• John Sykes informed the Synod about upcoming Diocesan Synod and General Synod elections.

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Tuesday 28th September 2021 on Zoom:

• Rev Polly Falconer, Diocesan UK Minority Ethnic Development Enabler, spoke about moving “From Lament to Action” in understanding and celebrating other cultures. She spoke of some of her experiences as a black woman, and described some of the work she is doing to help the diocese and churches acknowledge the riches of diversity in our churches. Synod members spent some time discussing in breakout groups and asked questions.

• Lay Chair Jim proposed a new system of parish share allocation within the Deanery, moving towards a formula-based system, to be brought in gradually over a number of years. Synod members shared many comments and asked many questions about these proposals. The proposal was voted on and approved by a large majority.

Thanks to parishes’ hard work and generosity, despite the ongoing challenges of Covid19, the Deanery paid 94.2% of its parish share for 2021, a total of £ 961,058 against an allocation of £1,020,191. This was a reduction from the £1,024,799 allocated and paid in 2020.

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Accounts for the year ending 31 December 2021

2021 Treasurer’s Report and Accounts

The audited accounts for 2021 have been prepared in line with Church accounting regulations (2006) and section 43 of the Charities Act 1993. The accounts have been examined, presented to, and accepted by, the PCC.

General Fund

The general fund for the year closed with a surplus of £7,748 though a deficit budget had been set. We were truly delighted with this result as we had ended with a deficit in the last three years. I must, therefore, thank all the congregation who gave so generously when ask to help with maintaining the churchyard grounds, supporting the “Bakers of Cookham Dean”, buying at the Autumn Fayre and generally donating. £7,653 was received as donations and £6,573 was raised through the Autumn Fayre and various activities the Fund Raising Committee organised. We have also been able to send £2,916 to various charities throughout the year, e.g., Water Aid (Hymns & Pimms), The Children’s Society (supplemented by singing to the turkeys, The Crib Walk Through and Christmas Day Service) and The British Legion and Combat Stress using the collections from Remembrance Sunday.

2022 Budget

The budget for 2022 has been set and agreed by the PCC and predicts a deficit position of £15,338 by the end of year. We are mindful that, although we had a surplus last year, for the 3 years before we have ended each year in deficit and we will need to examine carefully any expenditure that is not absolutely necessary for the upkeep of the church. Regular giving is still down on preCovid levels and I would ask those members, contributing by way of standing orders and other planned giving, to consider an increase in their giving in 2022 in order to assist with the ever-increasing costs of maintaining our church. We are extremely grateful to those members of our congregation and friends of Cookham Dean who have pledged money throughout the year to assist with the upkeep of the churchyard and general maintenance but we are a small church with many expenses to keep the church in its current good repair.

Assets and Liabilities

Monetary assets at the year-end were £82,083 (£71,836 in 2020, £73,131 in 2019 and £77,603 in 2018).

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My thanks to Arthur Giorgi for examining the accounts from deepest Yorkshire and for his advice, to Angela Plant for her assistance with HMRC in respect of the Gift Aid reclaim and all members of the PCC, for their help and guidance throughout the year.

A special thank you to Marion Elly and her fundraising team for all the work they have done to be creative during lock down by cooking meals and cakes on numerous occasions and raising some much-needed funds to help support Church finances. It was a delight to be able to have an Autumn Fayre again and we are truly grateful that the committee saw fit to donate the funds raised to the church. Thanks also to Robert Dent who handles the “Friends Scheme”. The money donated has enable us to keep the churchyard grounds looking splendid and we receive lots of encouraging comments but it does all cost. We are very grateful to all contributors to the “Friends Scheme” and would be delighted if anyone else felt they were able to make a regular donation no matter how small. Please speak to one of the Churchwardens or me.

I end with a special plea that you support fund raising activities, as we start to reestablish our activities this year, to help reduce our forecast deficit. It costs over £1,000 per week to keep the church open.

Ros Hazeldine, PCC Treasurer

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5TJOHN THE BAVllSTCHUR(H. C(KXHAM i FINANCIALSTATEMENtSYear Endi￿ 315tDKerTrber 2021 GENEIL4L FUND RECEIPTS RECEIPTS 2021 2020 Voluntary Retdpts 4,953 11.320 7.654 6,542 10,7Q5 8.936 5t4nding Orde Donations Incotne Tax Reco%Eredon GA. Standing Order5 arbd DoT4tio Parish Gmng Scheme Income Tax Recoveredon r 6,150 23,731 5,933 1,634 0,310 24,￿5 6,167 1,867 5,540 Ordlnèrycolleciions CAF IncomÈ Collertion5 for Mi55ionsand OtherCharOe5 QR Code and Card Reader 2.740 2.851 73.875 70.628 Receipt5fromChwch Actmbes Buriats & Interments 5,237 WeddinES CollÈrtions from Baptisms 826 271 7,2ts9 7.E71 Receipt5from Athi1￿5 fOrGe￿WallnE Fund5 azine Ad%Ertlsin Fund Rasing Events Isee note 11 15.541 6,574 7,914 2,757 22,1 10,671 other Reteipts other Income 1437 1,437 Receipt5from I￿Vest￿￿nts Intere5ton IrryestmeDts 231 315 231 315 OTAL RECEIPTS ILM,277 90.922 St Jthn the BapbstCts¢ltham Dean-Amud Rewt ftr2021 16

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Minutes of the Annual Parochial Church Meeting held on 27 June 2021 at 10.45 in the church

Present: Revd. Nick Plant in the chair and 22 other members.

Annual Vestry Meeting

Election of Churchwardens – David Hazeldine and Lorna sykes have both been proposed and seconded. David & Lorna were unanimously elected as Churchwardens.

Fr Nick thanked David & Lorna for their support in the past year. The Vestry meeting closed at 10.50am.

Annual Parochial Meeting

Apologies for absence

Received from Jean Keene, Sherry Smith, Marion Elly, Mathew Billinghurst, Katherine Billinghurst, David Joynes, Helen Chamberlain, Ray Reed and Doreen Reed.

Minutes of the meeting held on 18[th] October 2020

These were circulated in the report’s booklet.

Proposed by Richard Simmonds, seconded by Greta Dixon and agreed as a correct record, and subsequently signed by the chairman.

Presentation of the financial statements of the PCC for the year ended 31[st] December 2020

Ros presented highlights of the 2020 accounts:

Good morning I should like to say a few words about the accounts and my report, which start on page 15.

The accounts show a snapshot of the position as at 31st December 2020 6 months ago, and the last 15 months have seen some very challenging times for our church and are reflected in these accounts.

This was my second year of preparing the churches accounts and I was very pleased that the auditor found everything in order once again.

Sadly, our income for 2020 was almost £19 and half thousand (£19,470) down on 2019 and this was mainly attributed to fewer people giving in the ordinary Sunday collections as church was closed for many weeks and more importantly we were unable to hold many of the fund raising activities we had planned for the

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year. If it had not been for Bangers and Bingo and the parish bakers we would have been in a worst position so many thanks to all those involved.

We were forward thinking and introduced the QR code for those technical online viewers and over Christmas this did boost income by a small amount. Of course, many of you are aware of this year’s introduction of the card reader and we are hoping this will help income when we present next year’s accounts. The other very exciting fund raising opportunity we have introduced is for those of you who regularly shop online. Please talk to Lorna or me at the end and we can send you a link which will enable you to help church funds by a simple click before every online shop you do.

No legacies were received in 2020. We received more via planned giving PGS (The Parish Giving Scheme) as some of the congregation moved to this way of giving and some generously increased their monthly contributions, hence the reduction in income tax received on planned giving via standing order or church attendance. By the way, following the discussion last year at the APCM, I have split the amount received from this scheme to show the contributions and tax received separately. It would be great if anyone not using this method of planned giving felt they could move to PGS and I would be very willing to talk to anyone about the scheme and its benefits.

I feel I must make mention of the increase in donations this year up by nearly £6,000 (£5,849). The congregation and friends in the village have been most generous in giving to help us through this difficult period.

Our payments in 2020 (page 17) were lower than the previous year by just over £22 and a half thousand (£22,507). As you can see there was a reduction in most lines and sadly the biggest casualty was the contributions we were able to make to missions and charities.

There was a deficit of £2,213 in 2020 and sadly this was the third year running a deficit was recorded. This is because our everyday expenditure continues to rise and our income declines as people move away or very sadly are dying.

Monetary assets of £71,836 (page 21) is a good position to be in but one which we need to try and maintain. We have sadly set a deficit budget for 2021 and all I can say is that we are currently having a very challenging year. Now at the halfway point in the year we are still not able to resume all the activities we would have wished and those that are happening are restricted by the COVID regulations.

I should like to finish by reiterating my thanks to all the people I have listed on page 15, they have all helped to make this job much easier. And a plug for you to buy your strawberry tea tickets if you haven’t already done so …….our first fundraising event of the year.

The meeting thanked Ros for all her hard work as Treasurer over the continued difficult period.

Robert Dent proposed adoption of the accounts, Lorna Sykes seconded this, and it was unanimously agreed.

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Appointment of independent examiner

Arthur Giorgi has agreed to continue as independent examiner, with grateful thanks. Proposed by Ros Hazeldine and seconded by Sylvia Hull.

The annual reports on the proceedings of the PCC and the activities of the parish generally for the year ended 31[st] December 2020

The annual reports were published beforehand and taken as read. John Sykes commented that the report this year was in a slightly different format to previous years because activities had been restricted due to the pandemic. The report on the proceedings of the PCC had been written bearing in mind the future historical significance of creating a record of how the church had reacted to the pandemic. Receiving of the reports was noted by the meeting.

Report of the Deanery Synod

The Deanery Report is provided by the Deanery and outlines the activities of Deanery over the year. Deanery Synod had met twice in the year via Zoom.

Changes to the Electoral Roll

The update of the Electoral Roll took place between 30th May and 12[th] June 2021. There are 101 people on the Electoral Roll, of which 56 are resident in the Parish and a further 21 resident in the Benefice. It was noted that since the finalising of the Electoral Roll, one member, resident in the parish, had died.

Election of 9 PCC members

This year seven of the existing members have been nominated for re-election. The meeting recorded its sadness at the death of Charles Elly, vice chair of the PCC and a long standing member of the PCC, and tireless worker for the parish. Mike Springate has not sought re-election and is now resident in Harwood House. The meeting recorded its grateful thanks for their service.

8 nominations were received for 9 places – Katherine Billinghurst Greta Dixon John Fairlie Rosalind Hazeldine Laura Satterley Chiu Sung Richard Simmonds Jeremy Webb

These 8 were elected unopposed to the PCC.

Also on PCC are the clergy (Nick, Helen, David & John), churchwardens (David Hazeldine & Lorna Sykes), John Sykes by virtue of being a member of Diocesan Synod, and the Deanery Synod representatives elected last year, Lorna Sykes, Mathew Billinghurst and Ray Reed.

Vicar’s remarks

Fr Nick gave an outline of past 9 months since the last APCM during which the many challenges caused by the pandemic continued. But there had also been many opportunities for online meetings, services and bible study. Lockdown forced us to look at what worship really means to us.

Significant occasions had to be marked in other ways. For Remembrance we made

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a video in the absence of being able to meet even outside at the War Memorials. The Christmas celebrations were a mixture of online and in person based on the capacity of our churches. As a parish we should be congratulated on keeping going and sticking to the rules, irrespective of their idiosyncrasies. Christmas was a milestone in that the decision to close the church was taken immediately as the pandemic wave established itself.

Looking back, whilst living through the pandemic has been a challenge, it has been a time of great creativity and learning.

Looking to the future, the Ministry Team is currently planning to resume other services such as 8am and 4[th] @4 in September. Sunbeams needs a completely fresh start and there will be a meeting soon to explore what form this might take.

The Diocesan Mission of 3 C’s - Compassionate, Contemplative and Courageous has stood us in good stead through this period, and foremost we serve God’s mission, not our own. We also need to remember St Paul’s words that “nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus”. So, we need to continue to stay strong and be faithful.

Thanks

Fr Nick thanked the many people who do so many jobs within the church and beyond in the community.

Richard Simmonds thanked Fr Nick for his leadership and custody of the parish during this challenging time.

AOB

None

The meeting closed at 11.20am with the blessing.

Signed ………………………………….

Date ……………………

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