## ANNUAL PAROCHIAL CHURCH MEETING Held on SUNDAY 25[th] APRIL 2021 at 12.00 Noon ## ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING ## A Annual Vestry Meeting - Election of churchwardens 1. Prayers 2. Minutes of last Meeting 3. Chairman’s remarks 4. Election of Wardens ## B Annual General Meeting 1. Opening Worship 2. Apologies for Absence 3. Minutes of last Annual General Meeting 4. Matters Arising 5. Christ Church Reports 6. Matters arising from Reports 7. Appointment of Auditor 8. Report on Electoral Roll 9. Elections: - 9.1 PCC members - 9.2 Deputy Wardens - 9.3 Sides persons 10. Rector’s Report 11. Any other Business 12. Date of next Annual General Meeting ## CHRIST CHURCH MORETON - PARROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL ## Annual Vestry Meeting ## 18[th] October 2020 Meeting took place via zoom due to restrictions in place during the coronavirus pandemic 1. Opened in prayer 2. Minutes of last year’s meeting are they an accurate record, yes agreed and signed. 3. Chairman’s remarks - Meeting is to appoint church wardens we are reminded that that we are the parish church and have a role in the community, normally anyone in the community is entitled to attend, difficult in the current circumstances. Thank you to Steve and to Jane for serving Christ Church 4. Elections of Wardens - Steve and Jane both nominated each other and were seconded by Ian Stott so unless anyone registers an objection we affirm Steve and Jane as Church wardens until the next annual meeting. End of the vestry meeting ## CHRIST CHURCH MORETON - PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL ## Annual Parochial Church Meeting ## 18[th] October 2020 Meeting took place via zoom due to restrictions in place during the coronavirus pandemic. ## 1. Opened in prayer Philippians 1 verses 1-11 and Graham opened in prayer. ## 2. Apologies for absence None registered. ## 3. Minutes of the last AGM All agreed that they were a true copy 28 April 2019 Graham signed a copy. ## 4. Matters arising from last meeting Funding issues were raised last year but all confused because of the past six or seven months, we have seen God honour and bless what we have been doing. ## 5. Christ Church Reports The APCM is usually in April and looks at the previous year, some things in the report are now over eighteen months ago. It is worth taking time to look through that. The treasurer’s report was given by Lynda Jones. We discussed at the last meeting how we were going to address the deficit in 2018 of £6,000 underfunded. The year to 31 December 2019 showed a deficit of just £1,000 that was through increased giving, even though the fee income dropped. The extra income came from increased hall hire, increased planned giving and more people signed up for gift aid. The majority of costs went down apart from the parish share and some utilities even though utility contracts were renegotiated they still went up. Overall costs were down by £3,800 so in better position for 2019. Lynda won’t talk about the current year but did mention we are incredibly blessed as our financial position is not anywhere near as dire as we predicted in March. Thanks to Anne Turner for her assistance in 2019 and to Steve and Jane for continued work in negotiating the contracts and thank you to everyone for being so prayerful and your giving in 2019. There were no questions and the accounts are approved, thanks to Lynda for her continued work as treasurer there is a huge amount involved and Lynda does it efficiently and graciously and we are blessed to have her as treasurer. Thank you for all you do and thanks to Anne who was assistant treasurer in the year. Whole section in the booklet about the church reports including Church warden report, Health and safety, PCC Secretary’s report, policy statement on children and young people, missionary committee, building committee. There was lots going on and comments were invited. The Fabrics and Buildings Committee are thanked for keeping on top of things looking for funding, new oven so blessed to have it. Thanks to Ian for chairing and also for completing the funding work. Our mission of ‘Making Disciples’ especially flags up the outreach committee which only started at end of 2018 but last year put on special events where we could invite family and friends and allow them to mix with us and also hear the gospel. These events are on hold but look forward to this starting up again. Other reports on Pastoral care show the need for this, open church which has sadly come to an end after 14 years thank you to Beryl for her vision for this and for her commitment to it. Things have their time and season but thank you to Beryl. Prayer ministry report shows it is still an important part of church life, foodbank allows us to connect with our community and hopefully will be opening it up again. Family pack have done so much good in the past and continues to be an important part of our ministry to Moreton. Children work and families report shows SOS which is now historic, but shows good things in 2019 including toddler group, Sunday clubs and the establishment of a youth group. Internal groups also have reports on home groups, Mothers an Others, men’s breakfast and ladies lunch all part of normal church life thank you to all involved. Christ Church School have also produced a report in the booklet. ## 7. Appointment of auditor Diane Topping was re-appointed as auditor. ## 8. Report on Electoral Roll The number of names on the electoral role was 117 we lost 4 and 4 additions so come back to same number 117 a new list prepared this year. ## 9. Elections PCC terms have come to an end for Pauline Williams, Carol Allen, Eileen Hughes and Lynda Jones. Thank you to all of them for their service. Also Phil was co-opted on to PCC as PCC secretary he is now standing down and we want to thank Phil for his work as PCC secretary he has it all organised and mapped out so whoever takes over will have an easier role. He has a servant heart for seeing the need and to respond to it so we all want to say thank you for his commitment. Phil resigned through choice and thought it better if there was a wider group of people involved. There are four vacancies on the PCC plus one casual for six months and three nominations received of Gillian Hughes, Phil Raymond and Julie Harris all been proposed and seconded, no objections so Gillian, Julie and Phil are welcomed to PCC. Deanery Synod is the group of churches locally in Wallasey deanery tried to hold together the affairs of the deanery. Beryl and Jane Fisher have come to the end of their time on Deanery synod. We have three places available, Lyndsey Lawrence has been nominated and seconded and Beryl Blackman was appointed at the meeting onto deanery synod. Sides-persons are now appointed by PCC so we don’t need to do that here. Deputy Wardens will continue until next meeting when hopefully the services will have restarted and we would need Deputy Wardens. ## 10. Rectors report Normally Graham would look back on the previous year and also look forward to coming year. Today, looking back a year and a half, the annual report gives a reflection of all that had been happening. It’s very difficult to look forward and to usually think about where we are going, but at the moment we don’t know what the regulations will be next Tuesday let alone next year. The Philippians passage read at the start of the meeting it’s important to hold on to what Paul said to that church, ‘I am convinced that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion’. We are in a difficult situation at the moment, next year’s report will say we haven’t done anything last year. But we will restart, new things will start and God is still at work here we need to keep hold of that and keep confidence in what God has done and will be doing to keep looking forwards. We may not know exactly what we are doing in 2021, we don’t know what services will look like, or outreach events, we don’t know what we will be able to do. But we do know that God is at work and will continue to direct us, he is not finished with Christ Church yet. We have a great mission in this community for us to play our part in. We should have confidence in God not ourselves. ## 11. Any other business None ## 12. Date of the next AGM 25[th] April 2021 Annual Report Year ended 31 December 2020 st Members of the Parochial Church Council from 1[st] January 2020 to 31 December 2020: Rector Revd Graham Cousins (ex-officio) Associate Minister Revd Debbi Stott (ex-officio) Wardens Mr Steve Eaves (re-elected 18[th] October 2020) Mrs Jane Matthews (re-elected 18[th] October 2020) Secretary Mr Phil Jones till 18[th] October 2020 Treasurer Mrs Lynda Jones Other members Mrs Carol Allen (retired 18[th] October 2020) Mrs Beryl Blackman (Deanery Synod member) Mr Les Evans Mrs Jane Fisher (Deanery Synod member retired 18[th] October 2020) Mrs Angela Hanton Mrs Julie Harris (appointed 18[th] October 2020) Mrs Pam Hartley (retired 18[th] October 2020) Mr Martyn Hindle Mr Bob Holmes Mrs Eileen Hughes (retired 18[th] October 2020) Mrs Gillian Hughes (appointed 18[th] October 2020) Mrs Lynda Jones Mr Phil Jones (co-opted member retired 18[th] October 2020) Mrs Lindsey Lawrence (Deanery Synod member) Mr Phil Raymond (appointed 18[th] October 2020) Mr Steve Smith Dr Ian Stott Mrs Pauline Williams (retired 18[th] October 2020) Bankers: Santander Custodian Trustee: Chester Diocesan Board of Finance ## Christ Church and Public Benefit Christ Church Moreton PCC is a Christian charity which undertakes a variety of activities in Moreton with wide ranging public benefit. The individual sections of this report explain in some detail the activities that take place (with statistics where available) and these provide public benefit in one or more of the following areas: - The Christian faith provides a religious, moral and ethical framework. Christ Church PCC and the members of Christ Church seek to explain this faith to people in the parish and to live it out in their lives. - The PCC maintains the parish church as a place of worship in the town and has regular services of worship, mainly on Sundays and in addition on special occasions in the church’s year, for example Christmas and Easter Week. - The parish centre is maintained to supplement the church building in the provision of facilities for social care and outreach (e.g. TLC, Tea Bar/Lighthouse, foodbank, family pack project and various clubs) and for teaching the Christian faith. - Christ Church is available and well used for weddings, funerals and wedding blessings. The churchyard, though having no new burial plots or space available in the Gardens of Remembrance, is still open for burials and for the interment of cremation ashes in existing plots. - Christ Church helps to provide moral and spiritual education of children both by helping manage and provide spiritual instruction for Christ Church voluntary aided school and by running Sunday school and mums and toddlers groups. - The church and its members try to carry out Jesus Christ’s teaching to provide for those in need through giving away part of its income, by organising collections for relief charities and by providing assistance for local needs such as the homeless. The church has a ‘drop in’ tea bar during term time to provide a friendly face and refreshments to local people. The church also provides work placements for people from the local adult education unit. - The church has a pastoral care team which undertakes hospital and sick visiting and visits and assists those who are bereaved. A special service is held annually for those families bereaved during the year. The church also runs groups to help particular social care concerns. - The church is also aware of working in Moreton and strives to ensure that its activities do not cause problems for people living in the area. Essentially everything that is done at Christ Church is open to anyone who wishes to partake. Some areas of work, for example the toddler group, are necessarily limited to certain groups of people, but anyone who falls into such a group (subject to space being available) is welcome. Some parts of church services (such as taking communion bread and wine) are restricted to members of faith, but all are welcome to attend and partake in all services. Although most of those who benefit from the PCC’s work live or work in the Moreton area, some beneficiaries are overseas (eg the recipients of mission donations) or in other parts of the UK (eg UK societies assisted). Most of those carrying out the church’s activity are volunteers whose benefits from the activity are incidental to their work. The Rector receives stipends on a national scale and adequate housing for the work he does in the parish, but again the benefits are necessary for the proper running of the church and are incidental. The PCC are aware of the general guidance on public benefit published by the Charity Commission and this is taken into account in planning and operating the churches activities. ## RECTOR’S REPORT For all of us at Christ Church, 2020 was the strangest and most challenging year we had experienced. All of our usual activities had to cease with the National Lockdown beginning in March, and many were not able to restart at all during the year. However the life of Christ Church did continue, and though there will be less to report in this booklet this year, much has still taken place, as we have looked for new ways to implement our vision of being a church which is Making Disciples, Growing Disciples and Being Disciples. Christ Church is still a worshipping community. At the heart of our life together are the times we meet together for corporate worship. At the start of the year we had a regular pattern of services each week: Sundays at 9am was the more traditional service, at 10.45am — a family oriented service, and at 6.30pm a more reflective service held in the Parish Centre. With the National Lockdown in March, during which churches were not allowed to open, we streamed a weekly Sunday service at 10.45 am from the Rectory; once church buildings could re-open, this was streamed from there. I do want to express thanks on behalf of Christ Church for the speed at which Phil Jones was able to set this up, and to Phil, Les Evans, Ollie Jones & Ian Stott who have faithfully looked after the technical side of our Sunday on-line worship. For church members unable to access the online services, we provided a paper copy of the whole service each week. In addition when regulations permitted, we were able to hold a short communion service on Sundays at 1.30, and to provide a weekly ‘Midweek Meditation’ available both online and in paper copy. These services play an important part in serving our vision of Making, Growing & Being Disciples. Regardless of the changed nature of our services, a key element in all our service remains Bible teaching – geared to help Christians at all stages of their discipleship to grow. A small ‘Preachers and Leaders team’ met regularly to plan sermon series’ and other aspects of our services, as well as other teaching programmes within the church. Average Sunday attendances before lockdown were around 110, ranging in age from babies to those in their 90’s, whilst the streamed services have been viewed live by around 55 devices weekly, with another 70-80 views later. Our online services offer opportunities for church members to exercise different ministries – leading the services, reading the Bible or leading the prayers. Our Sunday Club which ran alongside our 10.45 am service, continues virtually, with material being sent to parents for their children to follow. The first Sunday of the month has regularly been led by one of our young people, with other young people and children contributing significantly. All these ministries involve ‘Being Disciples’ – using the gifts which God has given by his Spirit to serve his church. Christ Church is still a serving community. Many of the activities which have been part of Christ Church have had to close for the majority of the year. TLC, Toddler Group, Open Church closed at the start of the first National Lockdown in March and have not been able to restart. Food Bank also closed for a substantial time before reopening in the autumn. However the Family Pack project has continued to run, and has seen increased need of support for those in financial difficulties. The limited time that the church was open, coupled with the restrictions in numbers able to attend, meant that fewer services for the community were held, however we did hold 1 wedding and 7 services of thanksgiving for the birth of a child, whilst our clergy conducted 33 funerals (7 of which took place in Christ Church). Although closed for new burials, Christchurch graveyard is also used for burials and interment of cremation ashes in existing graves. Christ Church is still a family community. We want to see Disciples being made and grown not only among adults but also among children and young people. Sadly Kat Taylor’s role as our Children and Families Worker ended in the autumn, and I do want to again thank Kat for all that she contributed to developing this important work in her 3 years with us, both with children and families within church, but also with children at Christ Church School. As a church family we have been saddened by the deaths of some of our members – Edith Physic, Poppy Milner and Howard Turner. We grieve their loss, whilst rejoicing to know that they are now at home with the Lord. It is always the case that much work within the church family goes on almost unnoticed, and that has been especially true this year. I would like to express my thanks to those who serve behind the scenes. Our parish secretary Jane Matthews has continued to run the church office throughout a difficult year, part of which involved working from home, ably managing all our admin. Jane also serves alongside Steve Eaves in the vital role of church warden, covering so much work looking after the organisational side of the church and the buildings, ably assisted by the Facilities and Buildings Committee. Like most churches we faced big financial challenges in 2020, with almost no income from our Parish Centre or from occasional offices in church, but I am as ever very grateful to our treasurer Lynda Jones, who put in a lot of work behind the scenes to help us deal with our finances. To them, and to so many others, I would like to express my sincere thanks. ## Graham Cousins ## TREASURER’S REPORT 2020 The church accounts are included with this report. 2020 provided all of us with some unique challenges, and the same goes for our church finances. When the country went into lockdown in March the church lost some of its income streams, Hall Hire, income from groups, service cash collections and fees all took a sharp fall. In contrast expenses only decreased a little, we expected to be overspent by between £2-2.5k each month we were closed. However, God provided for us, we received donations and increased giving, our planned giving income for 2020 was up by £1500 on 2019, all of which meant we could keep going, and spend money where we needed to too ensure we could provide new services like the live stream and to cover the cost of PPE and additional cleaning. We finished the year being only underfunded by £6700. ## General funds 2020 showed a negative position this year - the total income for the year was £77,504 (down by £10,265 on 2019) - with the expenses being £78,682 (down by £4,195 on 2019) (excluding tithe) - Total deficit of £6,700.24 The PCC continue to tithe the income of the church and this is donated to missions around the world as well as our local community. The tithe for 2020 was £5,522.62 ## Restricted funds These are funds which have been received for a specific purpose and can only be spent for that purpose. The bulk of the balance in this account, is accounted for by donations for Live stream equipment, children and families’ worker and holiday at home. ## Designated Funds These are funds which the PCC have designated for a specific purpose, but can be used for another purpose with the permission of the PCC. This fund increased in 2020 as the Tithe for 2019 was only paid out in early 2021; the balance is made up from money designated for mission and the annual Tithe. I would like to thank everyone who contributed to and prayed for our finances during a very difficult year. I would also like to thank all members of the PCC for the careful and prayerful process they undertake with regards to financial decisions. As ever I couldn’t do this role without the help of Doreen Bryce, planned giving officer and Jane’s assistance in the office. I pray that God will continue to bless you and the work of Christ church as we go through 2021. Lynda Jones Treasurer ## CHURCH WARDEN’S REPORT Covid-19 has made the year difficult for so many people and also changed Church life considerably. The Church has had to make difficult decisions at short notice to maintain the Health and Safety of its congregation, to find different ways of being open and to continue its mission of “making, growing, being disciples”. Some aspects of the Church have continued unseen such as the maintenance of the Churchyard. We are thankful that Wirral Borough Council has silently continued keeping the grass, shrubs and hedges neat and tidy. We are also very grateful for the hard work in the Church Office and keeping the buildings clean and safe. The year started very much ‘Business as Usual’ coordinating Parish Centre bookings, weddings, thanksgivings and being the administrative heart of the Church. However, this soon changed as the Parish Centre had to close to almost all activities for nearly the entire year and the Government limited activities that could take place in Churches. However the Office has probably been needed as a good witness to Moreton even more and has God willing continued to be agile and operate flexibly in serving the Church and Moreton in its time of need. Repairs and maintenance work has continued including servicing the heating systems, repairing roof leaks, fixing doors and changing locks. Dead trees in the car park have been removed and some new energy efficient lighting has been installed in the Parish Centre following a very kind and unexpected legacy. Special thanks has to go to the unseen Tech team that overnight borrowed enough equipment to enable Church to continue broadcasting services initially from the Rectory and then from Church. This has been a substantial commitment and undertaking and we are blessed and fortunate to have such a level of expertise within the Church. Christ Church’s on-line and social media presence has continued to grow. Youtube services have regularly reached people all over the world as well as here in Moreton and although we have been sometimes able to hold a limited Sunday afternoon service, the on-line streaming has meant that people are ‘coming’ to Church in different ways and can also ‘catch-up’ on services or ‘thoughts for the week’ throughout the week. The Church has continued to support Christchurch school who has recently been able to use the Parish Centre hall. We have also been blessed to hold several of the large school services on-line which has reached out to large numbers of families and not just the children. Inevitably we need to look forward and plan for the time we can come together. The Church and Parish Centre will re-open and we look forward to the joy of seeing you all again soon. Jane Matthews and Steve Eaves ## HEALTH AND SAFETY REPORT The buildings have been used very little so no H & S issues have arisen, a full risk assessment was carried out after the first lockdown before re-opening the church building. A statement of cleaning was also prepared and read by all those who used the church. A risk assessment was prepared for the office ready for the reopening of the office. ## PCC SECRETARY’S REPORT In March of 2020 the majority of church life went on hold, for a number of weeks very little happened. After the realisation that the pandemic was not going to be gone as quickly as we had hoped we started learning new ways of being church. Being unable to hold our APCM in April as usual mean that the members of the PCC who were due to retire continued to work until the AGM finally happened later in the year. PCC meetings started back up online, and many members have appreciated how much shorter the meetings seem to be as a result! With us finally able to hold the APCM in October we welcomed new members to the PCC, we are thankful to those who are willing to serve in this way and hope that the roles will be a blessing both to the church and to those serving. Despite the issues in the world, we were able to continue with some activities. Building maintenance has continued, with many lights having been replaced in the parish centre among other things. The family pack changed and increased the work that is done serving those in need in the area. We were also able to put our services online and have seen a good number of people watch, both from our usually congregation and those who would not or could not usually attend. A lot of work went into ensuring that those who needed support were able to get it, with phone calls, shopping, and delivery of service packs for people shielding, unable to shop, or without internet access, we are so grateful for all those who did all this work selflessly, showing Gods love to other members of Christ Church. Going forward we have the opportunity to look at what we were doing as a church and what we want to be doing in the future. Some of the activities we previously did may not return even once we are able to, and some of the new ways of working which we have learnt during 2020 may continue to enhance our ways of working in the future. The members of the vision group, among others, will be considering the best way be church when we can return. Despite everything that has happened we are still able to see God at work through Christ Church and continue to thank him for his provision. Phil Jones PCC Secretary ## Policy Statement on Children, Young People and the Parish Church of Christ Church, Moreton. This statement was agreed at the PCC meeting held on: 9[th] March 2021 • It will be read by the PCC members at one PCC meeting each year, where progress in implementing it will be monitored. • As members of this church, we commit ourselves to the nurturing, protection and safekeeping of all, especially children and young people • It is the responsibility of each one of us to prevent the physical, sexual and emotional abuse of children and young people and to report any abuse discovered or suspected • We recognise that our work with children and young people is the responsibility of the whole church - Our church is committed to supporting, resourcing and training those who work with children and young people and to providing supervision • Our church is committed to following the guidelines and procedures published by the Diocese - The parish will adopt good practice guidelines • Each worker with children and young people must know the guidelines and undertake to follow them. Each shall be given a copy of the Parish's agreed procedures and Good Practice guidelines As part of our commitment to children and young people, the PCC has appointed Angela Hanton to be the Child Protection Coordinator. - Children and Young People are an important part of our Church today - They have much to give as well as to receive - We will listen to them - As we nurture them in worship, learning, and in community life, we will respect the wishes and feelings of Children and Young People. ## GLOBAL MISSIONS TEAM Though the Team were unable to meet physically during much of 2020, we have met on Zoom to keep abreast of the situation for the mission agencies and charities that we support as a parish and to pray for them, particularly in light of the added impact that Covid-19 has had already difficult situations. During 2020, Christ Church has supported a number of mission agencies and individuals in their work, but has focussed attention on 6 in particular. Tearfund, Open Doors, Bible Society, Samaritan’s Purse, Charles Thompson Mission & The Ark Project, and Kat’s visit to India, which was able to take place before lockdown began. We have also tried to respond, where possible, to the challenges that have come to our attention. In April, we gave £200 from the tithe balance to Open Doors to help provide food for persecuted Christians in India who were being overlooked by the national relief agencies. Following the explosion in Beirut in early August, a further donation of £200 was made to SAT-7, a Christian Broadcasting organisation working for the spread of the gospel in North Africa and the Middle East, with offices in Beirut, so that they could provide spiritual and practical hope in the affected areas of the city. We have also continued to fund the training of a nurse to degree level through IPASC in the Congo, receiving termly reports on their progress. Due to the Coronavirus pandemic, communication with our link parish of All Saints in Bunia in the Congo has proved virtually impossible, and has been limited to the infrequent updates that the Diocese of Chester has been able to obtain for the Dioceses of Aru and Boga in general. But we have continued to hold Reverend Japhet Ruhigwa and the congregation in our prayers. Thank you all for your generous support both in prayer and giving that has enabled us to support global mission this year. Please continue to pray for our brothers and sisters overseas, for the UK church and particularly our own Diocese of Chester. The tithes that have been distributed from the 2019 fund were |Barnabus Fund:|£500.00| |---|---| |Bible Society:|£450.00| |Open Doors:|£450.00| |MCYC:|£450.00| |---|---| |Wycliffe:|£300.00| |Compassion:|£450.00| |Leprosy:|£450.00| |Bible Network:|£500.00| |Christian Concern:|£450.00| |MAF:|£500.00| |Samaritans Purse:|£300.00| |The Ark:|£300.00| |Charles Thompson|£300.00| |Tear Fund:|£350.00| |Simeon’s Trustees:|£250.00| |Foxhill:|£100.00| ||£6,100.00| With every blessing ## Debbi Stott ## FABRICS AND BUILDINGS COMMITTEE REPORT The role of the Facilities Committees is to ensure the upkeep and smooth running of the buildings and equipment of Christchurch. While, for the majority of the year, we have not been able to meet in person, the work of the FAB committee has continued through the use of Zoom and Teams. Some of our activities has been reduced, due to Covid. The monthly working parties could not continue during lock-down. Though we are very grateful for the church members who continue to give up their time to perform essential maintenance activities. Similarly, the planned improvements in the storage in the parish centre were halted until the post Covid use of the centre by groups like Foodbank can be determined. A solution to the perennial issue of poor heating in the Parish Centre has been identified through the commissioning of the report by SDC (Services Design Consultancy Ltd). The report details an extensive survey of the current heating system and the required solution. The issue with this solution is that it will cost around £45,000. This is to be funded in two parts: The first through a grant from Burbo Bank, who have awarded us £15,000, without the requirement for part funding by Christchurch. The remainder is hoped to be funded by additional grant applications, once detailed quotes for the work have been obtained. With the church closed to normal services, we were very fortunate to be able to live stream services via YouTube, using borrowed equipment. As the PCC decided that this capability should continue even after church services can resume as normal, the decision was made to purchase our own equipment. A grant application for this has been made to the Allchurches Trust, with the decision to be made sometime in February. The new equipment should be installed in the week beginning 22[nd] February. Ian Stott ## PASTORAL CARE MANAGEMENT TEAM Similar to everybody we have been hit by the COVID pandemic in enabling us to complete our mandate as the Pastoral Care management Team. First may we thank the Clergy and congregations for their input in assisting the PCMT to give a degree of support and nurture to those in need. We thank you all for your prayers and assistance. During this crisis we appreciate the work of the younger members of the Church Family in contacting and shopping for those in isolation. T.L.C has been suspended from March 2019 to date but the members are in contact as far as they are able. Since the beginning of the pandemic we have lost several of our church family most recently three of our workers within the church. We extend our heartfelt sympathy to the families and friends. The Bereavement Follow-up Team is in contact to give reassurance. We are available in their hour of grief. Thanks must go to the Family Pack Project they have done an amazing job providing goody bags to the elderly and housebound. This brought joy and cheer to many. The Pastoral Care Management Team is a church facility for prayer, support and nurture to those in need either through sickness, grief or vulnerability. The aim is to get alongside the members of the church family in joy and sorrow to give thanks and praise to God Our Father in Heaven whilst being aware of the concerns within the community. Beryl Blackman ## PRAYER MINISTRY Philippians 4:6 says, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” This is a most amazing encouragement, and one that underpins all prayer activities at Christ Church. Though face-to-face prayer has not been possible during much of 2020, prayer ministry has continued to be a vital part of the life and worship of Christ Church. Very soon after the initial lockdown in March, we began morning and evening prayer on Zoom, and between 10 and 15 people regularly met on weekdays for prayer. The monthly Prayer Meeting also switched to zoom, engaging a wider number of people from within the congregation. The prayer chain has been very active, and we have also seen increased engagement from the community through Say One For Me. Within these areas we are privileged to support those who come seeking prayer for whatever reason; to be making, growing and being disciples, through the practice and encouragement of praying for one another, and seeing God answer prayer. Though we were not able to hold any of our usual communal prayer events during Thy Kingdom Come we did join with Moreton Baptist Church in a 12 hour continuous prayer time at the start of TKC. This involved members of both congregations signing up to pray for 30 minutes over the 12 hours both about the pandemic, and the opportunities it provided to share the good news of Jesus. Prayer resources were also made available to members of the congregation during the period between Ascension Day and Pentecost. I am grateful for the faithful commitment of the prayer ministry team over the past year, and encourage you to be praying for them as they continue to serve in these unusual times. God is calling all His people to prayer, because he has so much that he longs to bring about in us and through us, both at Christ Church, and in the local community. Having seen him at work this year through prayer, will you meet him there again in 2021? Debbi Stott ## FOODBANK Foodbank closed its doors in the local community in March 2020 due to the covid pandemic with any referrals being dealt with centrally. The centre re-opened in November with a reduced number of volunteers, initially for one afternoon a week. For the period we were open we fed 320 people (220 adults and 100 Children) numbers in November and December were only small but feel this is due more to the pandemic rather than a reduction in the need. Wirral debt advice have continued to be available to clients on line or at the end of the phone rather than being in the centre in person on foodbank day. ## FAMILY PACK PROJECT The Family Pack Project provides free packs of toiletries, children’s clothes, bedding and toys to disadvantaged families referred to us from schools, nurseries, community workers and other agencies who work closely with them. This has been a very different year and we have had to adapt the Family Pack Project because of the restrictions due to Covid. Normally we would welcome the families to the Parish Centre to select what they needed, collect their bags and have refreshments and a chat. This was no longer possible so we decided we would deliver to their homes which has enabled the families to still receive the packs. We have also delivered to those who have been alone and isolating as we felt that they were also very much in need. We have delivered the packs to the families and we also included masks, sanitising gel, and tea towels. In the summer we included stationery and outdoor games for the children and at Christmas included new pyjamas and toys for each child as well as a food hamper. The families normally receive 3 packs a year but this year we delivered extra packs in May and we responded to requests for help with food as many were unable to access foodbanks. We were very blessed to receive extra funding from the Co op Community Fund and Magenta Living which enabled us to do the extra deliveries and to deliver treat bags to those who were isolating and on their own. Age UK helped us to identify those who would benefit and we are very grateful to them. We delivered Say one for Me prayer cards to the elderly and had a very positive response. As a result of delivering to the elderly we realised that so many had no contact with anyone so we set up a Buddy system where a church member phones an elderly person each week for a chat and we thank them for their commitment to this. We would also like to thank Cargill who provided the funding for the new pyjamas for all the children. Altogether we delivered 189 packs to the Families and 54 Christmas hampers, we also carried out 192 deliveries to the elderly and isolated. We are so grateful to our wonderful team of helpers who have enabled us to deliver so many bags safely at such a difficult time. We know the help we have given has been much appreciated by all the families and elderly people. We thank God for blessing this project and pray that we may continue to serve Him in this way. ## Clair Culligan and Jane Fisher ## TLC TLC have not been able to meet in person since the first lockdown in March 2020, where possible we have been keeping in touch with the people who used to come. The friendships that had been formed in TLC seem to be continuing in lockdown over the telephone. The TLC members really appreciated the VE day gift bag that was distributed in May. Bar Nelson ## WORK WITH CHILDREN/FAMILIES ## TODDLER GROUP Toddler group have not been able to meet since the first lockdown in March 2020. ## SUNDAY CLUB Sunday clubs have been meeting during lockdown! Kat then Gwen have sent out on-line material to about 12 of our church family children. Which they can do during our streamed services. Once a month our children still take part in our family services through leading, saying prayers etc. Please pray for our children at this difficult time. Gwen Cousins ## YOUTH CLUB Youth Club meeting every Thursday after school in term time. Numbers ranging 10+ and in school years 7 and up. Once National Lockdown was enforced, Youth Club moved to being held online via the Zoom platform. Youth wanted to meet twice a week, Tuesday and Thursdays. Zoom Youth Club (March – July 2020) Zoom youth meetings have been a great success, going from just one evening a week to two. The meeting consists and games, fellowship and prayer. Each session is slightly different with a verse to discuss or space for the young people to share their worries and prayer requests. A ‘normal’ youth talk was unsuccessful using zoom. A verse was a simpler and more direct way for the youth’s topics of discussion. The young people really come together to encourage one another through this difficult time and support those who have been struggling. (We did not realise that even though these young people were safe within their family unit that some felt isolated due of the fear of the unknown of what was happening around them) We had a break from Youth Club in the month of August. In September, when the Lockdown was lifted and school returned. Youth Club returned to once a week, still meeting online. It was only in the short window of being in tier 2, that we all met for a face-to-face youth session using the minor hall and outside carpark for safety. (Covid risk assessment was produced and followed) That same week our area moved to tier 3, so as a group we had to continue to meet online. The Youth Club tried very hard to make Christmas special by putting together an online nativity play with the hopes that it would be the first and the last. In 2020, the young people needed the online Youth Club and helped each other get through a very difficult time. My thanks goes out to Ollie for helping with all the IT and for training the Youth Club leaders in using Zoom. My thanks also goes to Lynda and Jane who without their help the Youth Club would not have been able to run and provide this provision. Kat Taylor. ## BUILDING THE CHURCH – OUTREACH & DISCIPLESHIP ## HOME GROUPS Our Home groups - Well not so much to report from this year as you all know as we haven’t been able to actually meet in person to study notes, but glad to say a few house groups have been able to study on zoom which has really been so good. On the other side not everyone was able to do that which is a pity but something which we couldn’t avoid. We still have a few house groups which is good and who would have thought this time last year we would all be in lockdown with this terrible covid 19, it has stopped so many meetings and I am sure we are still caring for others in our groups as we continue Growing Disciples in our own homes. During 2020 Graham put together the notes to study, so thank you Graham for the studies we our all grateful to you for doing them. Thank you all for your loyalty to the house groups and God bless his word to us all. Carol Allen ## MEN’S BREAKFAST & LADIES LUNCH Both groups have not been able to meet since the first lockdown in March 2020 DAT Chrfst Churth C ol E Prlma School Update - December 2020 Communlty Llnks: Mor•ton Chrlst Church Dcspltc the chDllcnglng tlmcs wc are In wlth thc 9lobtsl oandemlc, we are contlnuing to exter￿ our Ilnks wlth P*loreton Chrlst Church Pansh. The school communlty were iivited to Join In with the online Back to School Church service. This was a wonderful time to come together to pray 'or the yeaf ahead. Ouf thanks 90 to the parlsh communlty who welcomed us on Sunday 2W September 2020. We received pos.live fteGJack on the YouTube live chat from parishioners who enjoyed the children's contribution5 and equally from families who were blessed by the service and glad to have been invrted to Join with Christ Church. Our thanks go to the parishioners ft)r theif prayers for the new sthool year. We are also thankfijl as School for the commitment and compassion showed by Reverend Cousins through the weekly prayer meetings to offer pastoral 5UPPOrt for our staff team and community. The staff have also enjoyed informatr.ve and enlightening evening training 5ession5 led by Graham during the sumrner tefvn, enb.tled 'a Walk through the Bible., Thi5 informed their teaching and improved subject knowled9e. m()rtion rnaklng dl--ioI Chr18tm•s S•Thl¢•s Lots ol our Christ Church children Joined in with the virbjal Christingle arHI Operation Shoebox service on Sunday IP November 2020. There was lots of positive feedbock following thls. As a school. vle lollowed this servlce at the start ol Advent when all 374 children made y their own Christingle! On Friday 18- December 2020, a link was sent to all parishionefs at Christ Church Parish Church to join us in watching our school's Christmas Service. Christrnas is such a joyous and happy celebration in our Christian calendar and it was a blessing to share the magic of Chri5trnas, told through the eyes of our chIld￿n with the church. We hope and pray that a5 the year contr"nue5, we wlll be able to Safely visit Christ Church a9a•n to strengthen our links and to worship together. However, during these unprKedented b"me5, our thank5 go to Reverend Canon Graham Cou5in5 and the clergy tearn for their rontinued sUPPQrt and colleth.ve worship. Durin9 this lorkdown. we have sent links for re50urce5 weekly to familie5 tt) be keep thildren connerted Togeth￿ wo can do all Ihin9& thcough Christ who stsengthens us. DAT Chrfst Churth C of E Prlma School Update - December 2020 with the church and ro fvrther develop their faith life. Experlence Harvest. We enjoyed celebrating and worshipping with lots of activities during Experience Harvest. We shared scripture, created art and formed prayers. We focussed on 9ivlng thanks to those Involved in Pr(￿￿￿"n9. packaglng and delivering our food and how we can share lood wlth those less fortunate. IP Harvest Coll•rtlons- We pulled together as a community to collect an abundance ol food and donations for Harvest this year. We are grateful to be fortunate enough to share what we have with others. We gave our donations to Wirrnl Foodbank and to Charles Thompson Mission. Communlty Support In our duty of ser¥ing the local communlty of Moreton, we have continued to work dosely with local communlty organlsatsons to support our familles, Parti￿larlY durlng lockdown. Famllies have contlnued to access support Irom the Family Pack Project at Christ Church, ¥Yho provlded packs tontaining ba*c PrEI4 Items ¥Yhlch many of us take lor granted. Durfjng 2020. we have been particularly thankful for all of the support that has been givefj from Neo Comrnunity for our families. Neo are a non.profft organisation who have delivered FSM hampers which they have supplemented to some of our families. Tog•th•r w• can do all things through Christ who 8tr•fWh•n8 118. eDAT Chrlst Church C of E Prlma School Update - December 2020 Chrlst Church gpr¢ading compagglon around Moreto Follovding our leaming on the value of compassion, each das5 thought of and carried out their own act of compassion Within our local viiiiirviirly. Wr riijuyed spreading love, hope and the words of jesus. -Be klnd and compassionate to one anotw Epheslang 4:32 He￿ a￿ Just some of the acts of compassion that she showed: Y•4r 6 - Made care packages for staff at Claire House Y••r 5 - Made care packages and delivered them while carol slnoing at Harvest Court Y•ar 4 - Made thank you cards for NMS workers i Y•ar 2 - Made packages for the elderly to accompany the Famlly Pack packages at Chrlst Church Y•4r l - wrote messages of encotsragefnent fof people In school All of the chlldren amazed us with their con%deration and klndness for others. charItab￿ glvlng In October 2020, the whole school took part in the Race for Llfe to raise money lor Cancer Research. All children ano staff had the opportunity to run, walk or )oo around the school grounds. Even Sonlc the Hedgehog ￿rned up for the evenl as our lucky mascotl In total, we ralseve have been worklng hard to support the Mental Health and Wellbeing ol our Puplls. We have delivered daily Mental Health and Wellbeing activities in each class in summer 2020 and have continued with this locus during our return to school in September 2020. The activities have focused on how the children are feeling, healthy body ar)d mind, connectir)q with others. manaqinq their feellTrgs, taking notice of the things around them and belThg thankful. belng re*lient and the beneflts of giving. Baseline assessments with every child were carried out to establish Whe￿ the thildren are in their social, emotional and mental health development. This supported teachers and the child and family mentor to plan and access re50urres a(￿rdInglY. The wellbeing ba5eliDe will be revisited at the end of the school year to measure impact of our interyentions. Positive relatlonghips At Chnst Church we are congstently stnvlng to develop posltsve relatsonships wlth our famllies and wlder communlty. Thls last year has presented wlth some barrlers, however the staff have worked hard to contsnue these relationships and ensure all famllies stsll feel connected to school. Examples of this Include during the fransltlon penod for children starting school in September 2020. School staff amended and adapted our transition process to include things such as direct emails. online inforrnation 5e5sion5. vide05 and a socially distanced teddy bears picnicl Wlth all thls In place arbd a m¢xe gradual staggered trnnsltlon perlod In September, the start to school for all famllles and chlldren was a very posltlve and successful Tog•th•r wo can do all things through Christ who 3tr•fwth•n8 US. DAT Chrlst Church C of E Prlma School Update- December 2020 event. Children settled well and families commented on how they al￿dY felt part of our school community before their child had even srarted. Throughout thls last year, Christ Church has ensured that all staff and famllies are In regular contact to provlde both academlc and pastoral support. Familles have been glven opportunlties such as Zoom or telephone call Parents Evenin9S to keep up to date with thelr child's progress and learning, contact with our Family Menror to offer support from within school and from external agencies If requi￿ and regular phone calls from school staff to keep In touch with how family life is golng In the clrcumstances. Molld4y aub PYovlth>n To accommodate our famllles who needed childcare over the summer holldays 2020, we set up a pald chlldcare facility. ran by school staff. In addltlon, we successfully achievetl a request for a bld frorn HAF (Holiday Athvity Funds) to subsldlse funded places for a fun, safe and engaging provision. These partlally funded Places were offered to our most vulnerable and dlsadvantaged child￿n. The chlldren were selected U￿ng cntena to esLibllsh thelr level of need and entitlement and some days we had up to 38 chlldren attend wlth a rnlnlmum of 16 accessln9 on other days. Thls meant thai children who had not returned to school s4nce March due to the natsonal lockdown ￿strictl0nS were able to reconnect and have some time in school before we reopene(I for the new school year In Septernber 2020, as V￿11 as providing chbldren wlth lots of fun and a healthy cooked T•¢yfund Lenl Lunch £410.66 £1 l M36.12 Churfth Wèékèr £S68.91 £141.65 £40.OJ £I.OXJ.40 £1.637.92 £1. Ice24 £176.46 Sho•box•s 5troonltwJ ew¥rnnl Ptrtsh céntr• fithts Cha¥slFL*r*'tt Ihr(￿￿ C￿lS Cnr6fvon £23.99 £183.90 £105_96 TOTAL EXPENI)IWIE ti&.978.(A £17.61iJas C¥)ening txjky) Frynly pack lrforre Ic¥ Iha y• £14.891.26 £14.621.03 £Y2.VXJ.44 lor Ih £16.978.08 £14.81126 Bdonc• d Ivnds Z12.53421 Walas•y D•an•ry occounts £349.77 £o.(r) £o.tsJ Ff¢m Ok1 dth)wy ¢xcc*Jnt Chjch thr¥)borG U49.77 TOIAL INCOIAE EXPEMDIIUIE £52.6S £o.o) £o.cx) Mi £10&79 tu65 TOTAL EXPV4DIW*E £108.79 £o.(x) £297.12 £349.77 £52.65 ExFend￿0 Icrf thè yeor £108.79 £2*7.12 £188.33 Famly pack accounts INCOIAE £207.CM) £1.8X).19 £275.￿} £3.T29.18 £6235 Gr￿lS Eosltr Eo £o.co E¥￿ts £73.21 £o.(D £o.co £194 t2.135.40 TOTAL IIKO•AE 14261.33 EXPENDItUlE £432 £JJ3.01 £3XI.64 L72.&0 £o.oJ £33.75 £98.58 £2J3JJ £71.64 £535J2 £O.C•J £275L15 £0. £o.co £76.77 £1.338J8 £375.39 £11172 Pnnlhg Easl￿ Eogs toys tsKI sio1Kw £72.75 £92.95 £184AI £111.05 £39 £1292.12 Evonts £2.344.42 TOTAL fXPEKIITUVIE £4.054.a6 £3.628.45 £3A1723 ¥A ?AI 11 £2.346.62 ICY It £4fj54.86 t3.41723 £3.623.70