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← The Parochial Church Council Of The Ecclesiastical Parish Of St. John The Baptist Cookham Dean

2024-12-31-accounts

St John the Baptist COOKHAM DEAN

Annual Report and Accounts for the year ending 31 December 2024

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 18 May 2025

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

Agenda for the Annual Parochial Church Meeting Sunday 18 May 2025

  1. Apologies for absence

  2. Minutes of the meeting held on Sunday 21 April 2024 - see page 23

  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 2024

  5. Presentation of the Annual Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2024

  6. Appointment of Independent Examiner

  7. Election of PCC members

  8. Any other business – by leave of the Chairman

  9. Closing prayers

CONTENTS

CONTENTS
Annual PCC Report 2024 2 - 5
Ministry Team Report 6 - 7
Changes in Electoral Roll 7
Fabric and Churchyard 8
Safeguarding 9
Fund Raising Committee 9
Darby Pension Fund 10
Cookham Dean School Report 10 - 11
Deanery Synod 12
Treasurer’s Report 14 - 15
Annual Accounts 16 - 21
Independent Examiner’s Report 22
Minutes of Annual Parochial Meeting
held on 21 April 2024 23-26

St John the Baptist Cookham Dean - Annual Report for 2024

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Annual PCC Report for the year ending 31st December 2024

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 Rev’d Stephen Mills Chair From 11 January 2024
Associate Priest Vacant
Licensed Lay Minister Richard Simmonds Vice Chair
Church Wardens David Hazeldine
Lorna Sykes
Deanery Synod Reps Mathew Billinghurst Re-elected 2023 for 3yrs
Ray Reed Re-elected 2023 for 3 yrs
Lorna Sykes Re-elected 2023 for 3 yrs
Diocesan Synod Member John Sykes Secretary
Elected Members Katherine Billinghurst
Greta Dixon
Marion Elly
John Fairlie
Stella Fairlie
Ros Hazeldine Treasurer
Laura Satterley
Jeremy Webb

Overview

The year was characterised by the arrival of the new incumbent, Rev’d Stephen Mills in January. At short notice the induction service was transferred from Holy Trinity to Cookham Dean as Cookham Village was inaccessible due to flooding. Olivia, Bishop of Reading presided and local dignitaries including the Rt. Hon. Theresa May MP attended the service. It was a great honour to host such an important service in our village church, and thanks go to all concerned for organizing it with two days’ notice!

The post of associate priest remained unfilled throughout the year despite a decision to upgrade the post from part to full time, and two rounds of advertising. Rev’d David Joynes, who had retained his permission to officiate following his retirement continued to serve in the benefice in a limited capacity until June.

Lay Minister Richard Simmonds supported and assisted our new Vicar throughout the

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year and special thanks are due to him for his continuing dedication, enthusiasm and competence, especially in taking funeral services, pastoral care, and home communion both to individuals and Harwood House.

Annual Parochial Church Meeting

The APCM took place on 21 April 2024. The whole PCC was re-elected unopposed. The PCC Vice-chair, Secretary, Treasurer and the following committees were elected at the first regular meeting of the PCC after the APCM: Standing & Finance Committee, Fund Raising, Fabric & Churchyard.

There were 101 names (2023:94, 2022:94; 2021:101; 2020:100) on the Church Electoral Roll as presented at the 2024 APCM, 57 (2023:54, 2022:54; 2021:56; 2020:58) of whom were resident in the parish with a further 17 (2023:17, 2022:17; 2021:21; 2020:22) resident in the Benefice.

Church attendance

At the beginning of the year attendance was affected by the reduction in the number of services because of the interregnum. However, with the arrival of Fr Stephen, mid-week services were soon restored to one at each church every week. The Maundy Thursday Eucharist and Watch of Prayer was held at St John’s and the Good Friday Liturgy and Dawn Eucharist at Holy Trinity. At Christmas, Holy Trinity church was undergoing refurbishment, and the benefice Christmas Eve Midnight Mass was held at St John’s. Although the main Holy Trinity service on Christmas Day was held at the Holy Trinity school, St John’s hosted their trilogy of Carol Services for Advent, Christmas and Epiphany as well as holding its own traditional Nine Lessons and Carols.

There were 99 communion services during the year (2023:85, 2022:105; 2021:89; 2020:67; 2019:130).

Easter communicants were 68 (2023:66, 2022:70; 2021:49; 2020:0; 2019:110),

The number of Christmas communicants was 113 (2023:78, 2022:119; 2021:59; 2020:62; 2019:123).

The average weekly attendance was 64 adults (2023:60, 2022:61: 2021:48; 2020:44; 2019:91) and 7 under 16s (2023:8, 2022:7; 2021:5; 2020:4; 2019:21).

There were 5 baptisms during the year (2023:7, 2022:7; 2021:10; 2020:1; 2019:14), 2 weddings (2023:3, 2022:4; 2021:2; 2020:1; 2019:4), and 13 burials, memorials and interment of ashes (2023:11, 2022:18; 2021:14; 2020:24; 2019:18).

Generally speaking, attendances have increased probably due to continued recovery from Covid and the end of the Interregnum.

Finance

Although lower than the previous year because of a legacy received in that year, income in 2024 was c. £20,000 higher than had been budgeted for. Planned Giving was higher than budgeted, and we managed to receive more tax back on Gift Aid than expected. The card reader has been put to good use over the year and brought in more than budgeted. Interest receipts were more than double the planned budget. We are also very grateful for all the fund raising that has happened throughout the year. Other unplanned income came from Gift Day which finally totalled £4,675.

A larger than usual amount of our income has been designated to Missions and Charities, some of this coming from our fund-raising activities and through collections received at funerals. In the year we supported Christian Aid, Combat Stress, The British Legion,

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Water Aid, Alexander Devine Hospice, Thames Hospice, the Children’s Society, Thames Valley Adventure Playground, Parkinson UK, Gurkha Welfare Trust, RNIB, and Alzheimer’s.

The surplus for the year was c. £13,600 and our cash position stands at c. £122,800. The PCC has designated £25,000 of this as a “Net Zero Fund”, in anticipation of switching to non-fossil fuel for heating at some time in the future.

Our continued thanks go to Ros Hazeldine for the administration and stewardship of our funds.

Review of the year’s activities

The arrival of Fr Stephen in January marked the end of the interregnum even though the associate priest post was still vacant. Despite several rounds of advertising, the post remained vacant all year.

Online prayers and reflections continued to be provided on Mondays and Fridays. The main Sunday service continued to be livestreamed once a month on the 4th Sunday and on special occasions.

The all-age family service known as Families@4 was held on five occasions. The services were held on Mothering Sunday, St John the Baptist, Harvest, Christingle and Christmas Eve Crib and attracted congregations of 73, 50, 98, 185 and 239 respectively. During the year the engagement with Cookham Dean School in the format, preparation and running of these services has been key to the growing number of attendees and the style of the services has changed from that of previous years.

Easter Services included the ecumenical Walk of Witness between the two churches via the Stations of the Cross depicted by local artists, inaugurated in 2005.

In June, 10 members of the congregation, led by Rev’d David Joynes undertook a pilgrimage to Greece following the route of St Paul’s journey to Phillipi, Thessaloniki, Delphi, Corinth and Athens.

The Remembrance Sunday service at the War Memorial and then in church was attended by 176 people including a good representation from the Scouts. The annual service of Remembrance of Loved Ones who have Died was held in November and was very much appreciated by all those who attended.

The traditional Nine Lessons and Carols service was held on 22nd December with an attendance of 125. This service was also recorded and had over 100 views.

The PCC met on 6 occasions in 2024, 5 times in person and once by correspondence. Throughout the year the Treasurer and Ministry Team have reported to the PCC by means of written reports circulated prior to each PCC meeting. Safeguarding is a standing agenda item and attention this year has been on completing Basic Training for all PCC members. Katherine Billinghurst is our Parish Safeguarding Officer, and she is now assisted by Laura Satterley, and our thanks go to them for undertaking this essential work.

Fenella Reekie, Headteacher at Cookham Dean School, attended the January and July PCC meetings to give an update of progress and activities at the school. Both Cookham Dean and Herries continued their regular visits to the church for services and events throughout the year.

As well as the attendance by Fr Stephen and Richard Simmonds at school assemblies, an “Open the Book” Team has been established in conjunction with Holy Trinity under the leadership of John Timewell. It is now visiting each of the state primary schools in the

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benefice on a twice termly basis.

The Parish Magazine continued to be produced throughout 2024, edited by John Sykes. The magazine continues to be available online as well as being distributed to each house in the parish. Thanks go to Stella and John Fairlie for the co-ordination of the distribution of the magazine in Cookham Dean. Thanks also to John Sykes for managing the magazine advertising, which had declined as a result of the economic slowdown but is now recovering although it is still short of its pre-Covid level.

Although the number of members in the church choir is quite small compared with the past, we have still managed to provide musical support of a high standard to our worship. The PCC is grateful to David Colthup, our long-standing choirmaster and organist, for his continued service and for nurturing our small but able Junior Choir.

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. However, the number of volunteers is now quite small and an increasing amount of grass and hedge cutting is now done by contractors, which has, of course, to be paid for.

Flowers are provided in the church throughout the year by a band of volunteers, coordinated by Doreen Reed and Marion Elly. 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 had a very good year raising over £5,600. Several social/fund-raising events were organised including the traditional Autumn Fayre, this year held in WI Hall, which raised c. £3,000.

The new pattern of Fellowship Lunches introduced at the restart after the pandemic has continued, with the Methodists, Holy Trinity and ourselves taking it in turn to host the monthly event. Numbers have steadily increased, and a splendid Christmas lunch was held in the Jubilee Vestry in December.

During the year we re-established our pastoral care in the parish to Harwood House, Elizabeth House and other housebound people.

The fabric of the church remains in good condition. There were no major repairs undertaken and expenditure was restricted to minor repairs and routine maintenance.

Signed

(Chair of the meeting)

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Ministry Team report for APCM 2024

The Ministry Team continued to meet regularly in 2024, approximately every 4–6 weeks. Fr Stephen chaired all except one meeting.

Key Highlights of the Year:

Induction of Fr Stephen

The year commenced with Fr Stephen’s Induction on 11th January. Due to flooding in Cookham, the service was moved at very short notice to St John the Baptist. It was a deeply uplifting occasion, attended by dignitaries, clergy, and parishioners.

Easter and Holy Week Services

Lent was marked by a course attended by approximately 14 people, with sessions led by different leaders each week. Holy Week services were shared between SJB, HTC, and the Methodist church. Notable services included:

Families@4 Services

These family-focused services were held on five occasions in 2024:

The increasing engagement of Cookham Dean School in these services has contributed to their growing success.

Confirmation

In July, four candidates from the benefice were confirmed at St Stephen’s, Clewer.

Schools and Community Engagement

Clergy continued to take regular assemblies, and the church hosted Harvest Festivals for our church schools. A major highlight was the iSingPOP event in October, where 180 children participated in two concerts promoting Christian values. This was so well received that another is planned for 2025.

The Open The Book (OTB) programme began in 2024, led by John Timewell. This storytelling initiative visits all three benefice schools once per half-term and has been well received.

Pastoral Care and Special Services

Holy Trinity’s Temporary Relocation

With HTC closing for refurbishment in October, SJB hosted their evening services,

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including the Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany Carol Services.

Financial and Practical Developments

This report highlights the dedication and service of our ministry team, volunteers, and congregation members in sustaining and growing our parish life throughout 2024.

Fr Stephen Mills , on behalf of the Ministry Team

Changes to the Electoral Roll since the last APCM

The update of the Electoral Roll took place between the 10th Feb and 22nd Apr 2025. There are 92 people on the Electoral Roll, as opposed to 101 in 2024, there being 23 deletions and 14 additions.

Of the 92, there are 47 Resident in the Parish and a further 18 Resident in the Benefice.

Lorna Sykes Electoral Roll Officer

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Fabric and Churchyard Report 2023

As reported in previous years, our Church’s buildings, and the Churchyard, continue to be very well maintained and the Churchwardens continue to be very grateful to all the people who voluntarily look after the fabric and the grounds every week and all those who lock and unlock the building each day thus creating the opportunity for the many visits some of which result in interesting entries in our Visitors’ Book. We are also very fortunate to have so many truly delightful flower arrangements in church throughout the year and we are very much in debt to the team who provide them as we also are to those who make sure that the Church’s interior is always clean and well looked after. In addition to the items in the list below, we benefit from a lot of work performed by “Voluntary Labour” without which a significant number of further expenses would be incurred.

The following is a summary of the non-routine work, in addition to the above, carried out during 2024:

David Hazeldine Lorna Sykes Churchwardens

St John the Baptist Cookham Dean - Annual Report for 2024

Annual Safeguarding Report 2024

Annual Safeguarding Report 2024

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 Parish Safeguarding Officer

Fundraising Events Report 2024

During 2024 we continued our Fund Raising events for the Church as follows:-

17th February – Bangers and Bingo raised £787

13th March – Excellent talk by John Timewell in the WI Hall raised £278 Easter Baking raised £250.50

30th June – The ever popular Strawberry Tea raised a magnificent £1039.56

5th September – another interesting talk by Richard Poad raised £353

23rd November – The annual Autumn Fayre raised a marvellous £2,750

These events raised a total of £5,458.06

Marion Elly

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Darby Pension Report 2024/25

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 remain under the management of CCLA, a professional company which specializes in charities and church investments. The Fund recently received some unexpected income from an account held in the name of the Samual Lewis Fund which was consolidated into the Darby Pension Fund several years ago – this will be added to the CCLA investment account to supplement future income.

There were 20 pensioners supported by the Fund at the end of the financial year, however, there continues to be capacity to support additional pensioners. The search for new beneficiaries is ongoing and new applications are welcome.

Kate Dilley March 2025

Cookham Dean CE VA Primary School Report - March 2025

Report to PCC by Mrs Fen Reekie, Headteacher

Presented at PCC meeting 26 March 2025

Context ~~——~~

Number of pupils on roll – 195 currently on roll.

Full capacity – 196.

Academic Achievements

Current focus

Current targets for end of year attainment

School Development

Quality of Education

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Behaviour and Attitudes

Personal Development

Leadership

Awards

School Leadership Team

Finance

Spiritual Development

Mrs Fen Reekie Headteacher March 2025

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Maidenhead and Windsor Deanery Synod Annual Report for 2024

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 runs from 2023 to 2026. At the end of 2023 the Synod had 67 members. Attendance varied from 30 to 42 over the year.

There were three meetings of the Synod during 2024:

Wednesday 7th February 2024 at All Saints Church, Dedworth:

The Synod heard from Rev Jo Ellington, chaplain at Altwood School, Maidenhead, about her experiences and learnings there, including highlights and challenges.

Rev Paul Walker (All Saints Dedworth) shared about the chaplaincy team currently visiting Windsor Girls’ School, including how it works and what activities they run.

Rev Charlie Kerr (Diocese Chaplaincy Advisor) shared about prayer spaces and the use of Space Makers in primary schools.

General Synod member Daniel Matovu gave a report on the November 2023 General Synod sessions.

Thursday 16th May 2024 at St Luke’s Church, Maidenhead:

The Synod heard an introduction to Anna Chaplaincy, which is a way of providing spiritual care for older people, including how that works and what it involves.

The Synod heard about some of the safeguarding issues involved when supporting older adults.

General Synod member Gracy Crane gave a report on the February 2024 General Synod sessions.

Deanery Lay Chair Jim Tucker gave a brief report on the Deanery Morning held on 27th April alongside Bracknell Deanery, thinking about how we can help with Children and young people.

Wednesday 16th October 2024 at St Stephen and St Agnes Church, Windsor:

A small update to the Parish Share allocation formula was approved to stay consistent with the Diocese’s formula.

Several parishes shared some of their learnings around working with children and young people:

St Andrew’s Clewer: Wild Worship, worshipping with children outside in nature.

St Mary’s Maidenhead: three aspects of and three reflections on work with secondary school age children.

St Mary’s White Waltham: how to put youth work at the heart of church life, gradually growing a bigger team, and teaching children creatively.

General Synod member Daniel Matovu reported on the range of topics discussed at the July 2024 General Synod sessions.

(Continued on page 13)

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Other Deanery Matters

Thanks to parishes’ hard work and generosity, the Deanery paid £ 925,871 of parish share in 2024, against an allocation of £ 1,031,299, which was 89.8% of the requested amount from the diocese. The diocesan average was 93.6%. This was a reduction from the £ 931,978 paid in 2023.

During 2024, the PCCs of Windsor Parish Church, Clewer St Stephen & St Agnes, and Windsor Holy Trinity all voted to replace the New Windsor Team Ministry with one parish of Central Windsor. With the support of the Deanery Standing & Pastoral Committee and the Archdeaconry of Berkshire this change was approved by the Church Commissioners and came into effect on 1 January 2025, with Reverend Canon Sally Lodge continuing as Rector.

Thomas Walton Deanery Secretary

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Accounts for the year ending 31 December 2024

2024 Treasurer’s Report and Accounts

The audited accounts for 2024 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 £13,930 though a deficit budget had been set. We were truly delighted with this result, and I must, therefore, thank all the congregation who have helped us to achieve this. Our Gift Day last October certainly contributed to this with £4,675 being donated. In addition, we received donations of £2,260 the year during and £6,190 was raised through the Autumn Fayre and various activities the Fund- Raising Committee organised.

During 2024 we again increased our Missions and Charities amount donating over £8,470. We sent £363 to Christian Aid, £245.50 to both Combat Stress and The British Legion from Remembrance Sunday, £1,332 to Water Aid (£1062 of this was raised through Hymns and Pimms and David Colthup’s blackberries), £769 to Alzheimer’s, £265 to the Gurkha Welfare Trust, £440 to the Children’s Society, £2,009 to Thames Hospice, £821 to Thames Valley Adventure Playground, £260 to RNIB, £599 to Parkinson UK and £627 to Alexander Devine from our Christmas Day service.

2025 Budget

The budget for 2025 has been set and agreed by the PCC. It is a break-even budget. We are mindful that, although we have had a surplus for the last four years, for the 3 years before that 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 pre-Covid 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 2025 in order to assist with the ever-increasing costs of maintaining our church. We are extremely grateful to those members of our congregation and the “Friends Scheme” who have pledged money throughout the year to assist with the upkeep of the churchyard and general maintenance. We have fewer regular helpers with the churchyard and need to use our contractors Holdford’s more often, so if there are any new persons who would like to consider pledging money to the Friend’s scheme, please talk to Robert Dent or myself. We are a small church with many expenses to keep the church in its current good repair. The attached graphs show only too well how our Planned Giving does not cover our Diocesan Share.

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Assets and Liabilities

Monetary assets at the year-end were £ 122,799 (£105,882 in 2023, £84,351 in 2022 and £82,083 in 2021). The increase this year is in part due to our Giving Day and the careful management of expenditure.

Other Notes

My thanks to Amanda Hannington for examining the accounts and for her advice, this is Amanda’s second year, and the PCC is very grateful to her. I must also thank 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 supplement the income for the church with some much-needed funds to help support Church finances. This year the Autumn Fayre was again held in the WI hall and although the weather was better than last year it was still cold. Soup and teas and coffee with delightful cakes attracted a number of supporters and we are truly grateful that the committee were able to donate a significant profit to the church.

Thanks also to Robert Dent for counting the collection at the end of each service and who handles the “Friends Scheme”. The money donated has enabled 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; two pounds per week is over £100 per year. Please speak to one of the Churchwardens or me.

I end with a special plea that you support fund raising activities whenever you can as every little helps. It is always great to see familiar faces and why not try to bring someone new along. I believe you often enjoy those things you have had your arm twisted to attend! It costs over £1,500 per week to keep the church open.

Ros Hazeldine PCC Treasurer

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INDEPENDENT EXAMINER’S LETTER
Independent Examiner’s Report to the Parochial Church Council (PCC)
of St John the Baptist Church, Cookham Dean
on the Accounts for the Year Ended 31 December 2024
Respective responsibilities of the PCC and the Examiner
TO BE INCLUDED ONCE RECEIVED
As members of the PCC, you are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements.
You consider that an audit is not required for this year under section 144 of the Charities Act
2011 (the Charities Act) and that an independent examination is needed
It is my responsibility to:
ACCOUNTS ARE UNEXAMINED UNTIL LETTER RECEIVED
- examine the accounts under section 145 of the Charities Act,
----- End of picture text -----**

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Minutes of the Annual Parochial Church Meeting held on 21 April 2024 at 10.35 in the church

Present: Fr Stephen Mills, in the chair, and 30 other members.

Annual Vestry Meeting

The meeting thanked David and Lorna for their work over the last year.

Annual Parochial Meeting

These were circulated in the Annual Report and Accounts booklet.

The meeting formally received the Deanery Report, which is provided by the Deanery

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and outlines the activities over the year.

Ros Hazeldine presented highlights of the 2023 accounts:

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• Appointment of Independent Examiner

Amanda Hannington has offered to continue as examiner. Her re-appointment was proposed by John Sykes and seconded by Ray Reed, and carried unanimously.

• Election of PCC members

Due to the Electoral Roll number going over 100, we are entitled to appoint an additional 3 members to the PCC, making 12. This was a great opportunity for the existing experienced PCC members to be joined by some new members.

Nine nominations had been received as follows:- –

e nominations had been received as follows:- –
Nominee Proposer Seconder
Katherine Billinghurst John Sykes Ros Hazeldine
Greta Dixon John Sykes Richard Simmonds
Marion Elly Elizabeth Runnacles Ros Hazeldine
John Fairlie Stella Fairlie Lorna Sykes
Stella Fairlie John Fairlie Lorna Sykes
Rosalind Hazeldine Marion Elly Lorna Sykes
Laura Satterley Jeremy Webb John Sykes
Richard Simmonds John Sykes David Hazeldine
Jeremy Webb Ros Hazeldine Greta Dixon

These 9 were elected unopposed to the PCC. It was noted that the PCC can co-opt members and would seek to do over the coming year.

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Also members of PCC are Fr Stephen as Vicar and Chair, the Associate Priest (once appointed), the Churchwardens (David Hazeldine & Lorna Sykes), John Sykes by virtue of being a member of Diocesan Synod, and the Deanery Synod representatives Lorna Sykes, Mathew Billinghurst and Ray Reed.

He thanked Mathew for his comments and thanked everyone for the welcome that he and David had received since arriving. It had been hugely comforting and encouraging that they had been accepted openly as the partners that they are.

He congratulated the St John’s congregation on the quality and enthusiasm of its eucharistic worship, its music and choir, organisation and administration and its generosity.

Looking to the future, he made reference to the diocesan initiative for every parish to concentrate on its mission to children and young people. He wants to re-establish Kids club in 2025, will be working closely with the schools, and increasing the number of Families@4 services.

As far as appointing a replacement for Rev Helen is concerned, discussions are in progress to deliberately make the post more missional in relation to children and young people.

He is also planning to run some discipleship courses and confirmation classes.

In all that we will be doing he was looking forward to an open, inclusive and collaborative approach.

He then closed with a prayer with thanks for what we have and for God’s blessing for the future.

Signed …………………………………. Date ……………………

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