2020-12-31-accounts

The Parish of Newport Pagnell

St Peter & St Paul, High Street, Newport Pagnell, MK16 8AR St Luke, Wolverton Road, Newport Pagnell, MK16 8JQ ANNUAL REPORTS

for presentation to the Annual Parochial Church Meeting on Monday 24[th] May 2021

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Contents

	Page
Rector’s Report		3
Churchwarden Report		5
Parochial Church Council
- Secretary’s Report
- PCC membership and PCC Sub-Committees		6
Statistics		7
Safeguarding		7
Mothers’ Union		8
Sunday Club		9
Fabric Committee		10
Re-ordering Committee		10
Bellringers		11
Stewardship		12
Events Committee		12
Communications & Publicity report		13
Home Communion		14
Parish Visiting		14
Parish and St Luke’s Church Choir		14
Memory Club		14
Treasurers Report		16
Appendix 1	Accounts

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Rector’s report Rev Nick Evans

We all know that the last year has entailed unprecedented new challenges for every church in the land but the St Luke’s and SSPP congregations have risen admirably to this challenge. The activities described in this annual report reveal how much has still been going on despite the effects of church closure and quarantining of individuals and families.

One of the biggest growth points has been the increased use of social media technology in order to reach out to the existing congregation and a new developing on-line congregation. It has been good to see how the ministry team have all embraced these new patterns of worship and communication. This has been a very steep learning curve for us all and this new knowledge and experience is something which we can continue to use fruitfully and appropriately in the future. For example, during the winter months it may be a good idea to continue with live zoom prayer meetings which enable more folk to participate.

Many members of the congregation, of all ages, have been able to learn to use FB, the web site and zoom technology in order to keep in touch and attend on line worship and social gatherings. We have tried to keep in touch with those who do not have computer technology through phone calls and sending hard copies of the Pews News to them.

When we have been open for worship it has been encouraging to see the St Luke’s and SSPP congregations worshiping together and all keen to resume Sunday services in the parish church and at St Luke's as soon as possible. Thank you to the congregation of St Luke’s for worshipping at SSPP during a time when the risk assessment meant that we couldn’t currently use St Luke’s for worship.

There have been no problems with the congregations following the appropriate safety guidelines and the congregations have proved to be adaptable and supportive of the necessary changes we’ve all had to make regarding service content and timings.

In many ways, despite the covid restrictions, many congregants have expressed that they have experienced a deeper sense of fellowship together than before the pandemic. Perhaps a shared technology and all having to cope with similar restrictions has helped to see more acutely how much we need and value each other. The Sunday Club too have played their part in worship and reaching out to the public. Their Christmas video production was superb and received 2.8K views on FB.

The mission and ministry of the church has continued despite worship restrictions and this a testimony to the spiritual growth and resolve of the congregations in the benefice.

The church has generally been open in the week during the pandemic. During this time many have helped to use visual stimuli to help engage the public with God. For example, the Remembrance Day poppy cascade display was warmly received by the public – as were the bell tolls and prayer stall in front of the resurrection garden to mark the passing of Prince Philip.

This has all happened at a time when the covid infection and death toll was particularly high in the NP and MK area (I’ve conducted the funerals of 15 covid related funerals).

We have all tried to encourage each other and the public to keep our faith in God alive rather than simply focus only on covid issues.

Of course, normal pastoral visiting has been severely restricted and this is something we need to resume more vigorously once the pandemic is over – although people have kept in touch through phone and social media. The Wednesday What’s App group is an example of how we have kept in touch with each other. The MU, Prayer group, bible study, lent study group and other groups have continued and adapted to these current unprecedented circumstances. The ability of the parish to adapt to these difficult circumstances is remarkable and encouraging for the future.

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Thank you to Jenny Frost the warden, all the ministry team and to Malcolm for holding things together administratively. Thank you too to Moira Evans, our communications officer, who has helped to train us to more effectively use social media – something that has been very necessary over the last year.

Thanks also to Dick Smith for keeping our books balanced at a time when the last 12 months have presented obvious financial challenges for many institutions.

So many others too have kept the Good News of the Gospel alive during a very difficult period in our national and local history. We look forward to interesting times ahead and to where God may be leading us.

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Churchwarden’s Report Jenny Frost

Well, I could say, “not much to report as our church buildings were closed” but our buildings are not Church! Church is the living and breathing people of God and we very much continued to worship Him. We worshiped in our homes, watching streamed services from around the Country, from our Diocese of Oxford or recorded services from our own Ministry team here in Newport Pagnell. Either from their homes or from the Church.

We learnt how to use the technology of our day, to record Spiritual reflections, hymns, prayers, and ‘post’ them online. We got to grips with Zoom and held Standing Committee meetings and PCC meetings by Zoom. (Not my preferred way of holding meetings!)

During March 2020, a Parish Facebook page and WhatsApp Group chat were set up. The Chat for people to keep in touch and post encouraging messages to each other. The Facebook page used in conjunction with the Benefice Website to post services, reflections, and information about any activities. Pews News was emailed to people and posted to those not having access to the internet.

During Holy Week 2020 a small group posted Reflections for Holy week. Thanks to Olwen, Beth, Kimonie & Lynda. The Easter Cross in St Luke’s garden was put up by Bill and Chris Watson who decorated it on Easter Sunday. Thank you, Bill, and Chris. During that period, the Parish Church of St Peter and St Paul was closed to all, so the Easter gardens were not set up in 2020.

Once we were permitted to open for Private Prayer, we opened the Lady Chapel, leaving out the Prayer Cross so people could request prayers which were then taken by the Rector and incorporated into his prayers for the day.

Our Spiritual life was fed by these online services, but we were all incredibly pleased to be able to meet each other again when we held our first, in person, service on 26[th] July 2020 in St Peter and St Paul’s. Holy Communion in person! It was a treat!

A River of Remembrance was set up in November with the people of the town invited to decorate a stone red and put in in our ‘river’ in St Peter and St Paul’s. This was advertised on the Facebook page and on Newport Chit Chat and was very well received. The stones are still on the Alter of the Transfiguration in the North Aisle.

During Advent, a series of reflections were held in all 4 churches of the Benefice. A service was recorded in St Luke’s for Christmas Eve and the Crib Service was online.

Our last service of 2020 was on Christmas Day in St Peter and St Paul’s.

During the year we had started with very little technological knowhow. As time progressed the online services began to incorporate hymns, so at home we could sing! We were treated to Jennifer, Ralph, Sarah, and Jonny during the Advent reflections, many thanks to them for enhancing our worship with your music.

Thanks to Nick for his continued Spiritual leadership and getting to grips with technology! My thanks also to Malcolm, Mervyn, Lynda, Kimonie, Dick, Marlene, and Moira for all their ‘backstage’ help with putting services together, posting them online and all the administrative duties necessary to enable all our services to be held.

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PCC Report

The Parochial Church Council is a corporate body established by the Church of England. The PCC operates under the Parochial Church Council Powers Measure. The PCC is a registered charity.

Registered No: 1153668

The PCC met 4 times and the Standing Committee 6 times in 2020

PCC membership

The appointment of PCC members is governed by and set out in the Church Representation Rules.

During the year, the following have served as members of the Parochial Church Council: Incumbent: Rev Nick Evans, Rector

Licensed Lay Ministers: Mervyn Evans and Karen Goff.

Churchwardens: Kimonie Nicholls (until October 2020) and Jenny Frost

PCC Secretary: Olwen Smith

Deanery Synod representatives: Kimonie Nicholls, Dick Smith (Treasurer), John Fowler and Beth Mackay (until October 2020)

Elected: Elly Cooper (from October 2020), Lynda Evans, Doug Hird, Brian Hunt, Beth Mackay (from October 2020), Jennifer Mazzone, Ralph Mazzone, Nick Read, Hazel Reynolds (from October 2020), Marlene Smith and Bill Watson. (Until October 2020 – Pat Hudson, Linda MacDonald, Ann Townsend.)

- PCC Sub Committees

The Parochial Church Council operates through several sub-committees which meet between full meetings of the PCC. They are:

Standing Committee: This committee comprises the Rector, Churchwardens, PCC Secretary and Treasurer. It has delegated powers to transact some of the business of the PCC between its meetings and deals mainly with housekeeping matters.

Fabric Committee: This committee attends to the maintenance of the Parish Church, St Luke’s Church and 3 Castle Meadow Close, and considers future projects.

Events Committee: Established in October 2018 as an overarching committee to support organisers of events, providing support, advice and identifying possible helpers. Also, will identify new events and provide advanced planning.

Re-order Steering group: This group was established in January 2019 and will oversee and guide the re-ordering project.

Parish Visiting team: Established January 2020 to oversee and provide for the needs of those who request visits.

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Statistics

Statistics
	Baptisms	Thanksgiving	Weddings	Blessings	Church Funerals	Crem Funerals
2014	28	4	23	0	14	21
2015	35	2	19	1	20	12
2016	34	0	14	1	25	5
2017	25	0	16	0	26	6
2018	13	0	12	1	24	5
2019	15	0	7	0	21	6
2020*	3	0	3	0	8	**201 **

*Covid 19 restrictions 1 Includes Graveside services

Safeguarding Julie Eldridge

Despite the pandemic, Safeguarding remains a priority for the Church of England overall and in our parish in particular. We have kept our Safeguarding Policy up to date and it continues to be reviewed annually and to be in line with the requirements of the Church’s statutory bodies. As a Church we follow accepted standards of due diligence with regard to DBS checking all those who work with children and vulnerable adults for the Parish, and will continue to update these checks in line with guidance.

Training for our volunteers, officials and ministry team is kept regularly under review and arrangements are in place to facilitate any required updates.

In addition to the Safeguarding Policy we have also introduced a Safeguarding Action Plan which ensures that we stay abreast of any changes in national requirements and also keeps us sensitive to local needs.

During this past year we have been particularly concerned to remain in touch with our congregation and people have been able to join services online for the first time. This has been particularly valuable to those vulnerable members of our community and those who are feeling particularly isolated by new working practices. However, we are not complacent and as lockdown restrictions are eased it will remain important to ensure that what we have learned during the last year continues to inform our safeguarding practices moving forwards.

We have made one referral to the diocese this year but this was simply to refer an action plan to their team. No further action was required and the ministry team have continued to support the vulnerable individual in question.

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Mothers’ Union Jennifer Mazzone

There is no need for me to say what a difficult year 2020 was and 2021 has started off in the same way.

Mothers’ Union has suffered like all organisations but locally we have done our best to keep in contact with members via Zoom, email and telephone calls. Financially Mothers’ Union has also been affected but people were very generous with donations from Branches and from individuals.

So, lockdown arrived. Daffodils that had been ordered for Mothering Sunday had to be cancelled and we were confined to our homes. The programme for the rest of the year was cancelled.

However, Mothers’ Union did not go away.

Pauline Middleton has still been sending cards out on special occasions such as birthdays, anniversaries, illness and bereavement. Thank you, Pauline, for continuing to do this so efficiently. The cards are always appreciated.

600 Christmas cards were delivered to Woodhill Prison so that each inmate could send a card to a loved one. The response for cards was amazing. Thank you to Moira for organising this.

Obviously and sadly, I have not sent out any wedding cards but hoped to do so this year.

Baby Basics has been a great success and by Moira putting all about it on social media the response has been overwhelming. I think that people were glad to have a focus and get out their knitting needles. Thank you to Rachel, Linda and Sophie for coordinating this.

As I said earlier, we have all attempted to keep in contact with each other especially with those who live on their own or do not have the internet. Each committee member has tried to maintain contact with members for which they are responsible.

We have met monthly, on normal MU meetings, via Zoom. Sometimes, after a time of prayer, we have had speakers, Steve Urwin and Mervyn, and Nick has led Reflections on Advent and Epiphany. We now have a theme each month which has been so successful. Thank you to Nick and Moira for so expertly setting this up. A social chat usually follows.

Newsletters are regularly sent out to keep our members up to date.

Sadly, Betty Pointer, aged 95, has recently died. She was a supporter of our Branch and the Mothers’ Union for many years.

Barbara Simpson, who is in a Care Home, is now a member of the Praying Fellowship so she will still feel a part of the Mothers’ Union as she is also an avid supporter.

Good News! We now have three new fully paid up members in our Branch: Sarah Mazzone, Jonny Price and Barbara Samm. I will enrol them when allowed and welcome them properly. We now have eight men in the Branch which is excellent. We are always looking for new members to join this amazing organisation.

We must look forward with hope, especially now that the vaccine has arrived and we pray that we may soon be able to meet physically.

The work of the Mothers’ Union must still go on and people around the world need us more than ever at this time. We must continue to pray. It makes such a difference and praying is something that we can all do in whatever situation we find ourselves.

Take care and keep safe and well.

Please do not hesitate to contact me at any time on 01908613088 or [e-mail] if you wish to learn more about the Mothers’ Union.

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Sunday Club Glenda Winfield

During the Coronavirus Pandemic and two lockdowns Together at Home Sunday Packs have been distributed to the children weekly, giving them usually the opportunity of an Old or New Testament lesson, lectionary or non-lectionary, with pictures to colour, puzzles and activities. Additional resources are also provided for various festivals. The children have on occasion sent their drawings and colourings for inclusion in Pews News.

There was an opportunity at the beginning of August when we were blessed with a lovely sunny day and Sunday Club was able to meet together outside in the church grounds. The children brought some of the artwork they had created during lockdown, for display on the noticeboard in church. A paper chain was also created, with the children writing on the links all of the things they were grateful for during the lockdown. The children then went into church at the close of the service for a blessing.

Not even a global pandemic stopped the Crib Service on Christmas Eve. With some great innovative ideas, careful planning, Zoom meetings and people with fantastic technological skills who created the service and recorded it, an online Crib Service was broadcast in line with tradition at 5pm on Christmas Eve. The children played their parts brilliantly. Thanks go to parents, Sunday Club Leaders, members of the Ministry Team and organist who also played their part, not forgetting the Mayor of Newport Pagnell, the Landlady of the Kings Arms and children from the community. Even that great Newport Pagnell tradition the Christmas Hokey Cokey was included in the service. Many thanks to everyone who brought all this together and made it happen, a triumph over adversity.

On Mothering Sunday, Sunday Club were invited to take part in the online service by writing and reading the intercessions. The children did remarkably well, some of them reading to camera for the first time. Thank you everyone, it was lovely to see all the children’s faces again after such a long time apart.

The opportunity to be able to meet again in church for the Palm Sunday and Easter Day services was so welcome. Whilst we weren’t able to have the traditional Easter Egg Hunt after the Easter Day service, an Easter Egg was given to all the children at the end of the service.

The Sunday Club offertory has continued to support Hand in Hand in Ethiopia, a small children’s charity working in Addis Ababa. The most recent news we have had from the charity is that, after a difficult year, the children are all back in school and the feeding centre is up and running, giving the children their lunchtime meals every school day. Yonathan Darge, the young boy Sunday Club sponsors, is reported to be doing well. In total 270 children are being supported by the charity, who provide schooling, uniform, shoes, materials, healthcare, pastoral care and lots of love. Five of their university students have graduated and been offered jobs. The political situation in Ethiopia remains tense which, with the added Covid restrictions they say makes life very challenging.

With the easing of the lockdown, let us hope and pray that it won’t be too long before we can return to some sort of normality and Sunday Club will be able to meet together once again.

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Fabric Committee Doug Hird

In the year of Covid, we have had little opportunity to meet as a committee or to do much actual work. We did meet once to re-appoint a chairman and propose the list of people on the committee. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Bill Watson for his contribution over the years.

As with most other activities this year, a lot has moved on-line and communication by e-mail has taken over from meetings in the church.

However, there has been some activity. We have been keeping an eye on the organ and reordering projects, contractors have been in to make measurements or to carry out work and the spreadsheet “to-do list” continues to be referred to and updated. Our thanks to Malcolm for keeping things moving.

We anticipate that a relaxation of restrictions over forthcoming months will result in a lot more noticeable activity. There will be opportunities for all sorts of people to contribute.

Re-ordering Committee Mervyn Evans

Reordering Progress Report

“A building that celebrates the past, lives in the present and embraces the future.”

Progress During the Year

During the last year of lockdown the architects, JBKS, have been working on draft plans for Phase 1 of the reordering of the west end of the parish church. The first stage of work will replace the existing kitchen and toilet with three toilets. A new kitchen will be built in the south west corner of the nave, under the west window. The south porch will be refurbished with partially glazed doors internally and externally and the well in front of the internal doors will be filled in to be level with the nave floor. A reminder of the scope of the whole project is given below.

Proposals

The proposals for reordering are:

Phase 1

1. Replacement of the existing toilet and servery in the west end with three toilets, one of which will be accessible.

2. Relocation of the servery to a purpose-built enclosure under the west window.

3. Refurbishment of the south porch.

Phase 2

1. Removal of pews and pew platforms. Six pews to be retained and used for social seating in the aisles.

2. Laying new, level, flooring in place of the pew platforms. The tiled area at the west end and the tiled aisles will be retained.

3. Renewing the heating system.

4. Renewing the lighting in the Nave.

5. Redecoration of the Nave.

6. Purchasing new seating.

Phase 3

1. Reconfiguring the sanctuary and providing ramped access to a new dais.

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What Comes Next?

Once we can safely meet together, the plans will be presented to the congregation and interested parties for discussion. If the proposals are accepted, then we will move ahead with fund raising and the preparation of a faculty.

Finance

The architect estimates that the works for Phase 1 will cost in the region of £150,000 but a more carefully costed estimate will need to be prepared before we commit to any work.

Fundraising will begin this year and a dedicated fundraising group will need to be set up. If you would like to help in this vital role, then please speak to Mervyn, Malcolm or Dick Smith.

Bellringers Doug Hird

This was the year of Covid when there was very little ringing anywhere. During the few weeks when a limited amount of ringing could be done, we were able to ring four bells for Sunday services but that is all. At Christmas, the 1887 tune machine was put into use. The errors in Adeste Fideles were put right and O Come All Ye Faithful rang out over the town and on YouTube.

During this time, the number of ringers who ring at Newport has reduced due to natural attrition. That effect is expected to continue into next year as normal ringing is not expected to resume until the middle of 2021. At the moment we have about 5 ringers but we should have 16. The dominant activity during 2021 is expected to be in recruiting and teaching new people.

The absence of ringing has created an opportunity to carry out some jobs up the tower. Painting the bellframe has been on the quinquennial report for a while. That job is now complete, along with the painting of all the clock hammers and levers. There is still some cleaning of the belfry floor to be done as it has accumulated a lot of oil over the decades. A number of holes in the floors, remains of old clock weight mechanisms, have been made good, thus improving safety when working on the bells.

The correction of the tunes on the tune machine is progressing with 4 of the 14 now as good as they are going to be.

The flag pole is now half painted and is waiting for better weather to complete this task.

The electrical wiring remains a concern. When the belfry lights are turned on the trip blows downstairs so something is not right there. We are looking for an electrician with a head for heights. The power supply to the clock and chimes also need to be looked at so a complete rewire is in order.

The clock and tune machine still work but the quarter and hour chimes do not. At the last service, noticeable wear in the clock was identified which will result in unreliability at some point. We are still waiting for quotes from the clock firms.

We will need a new flag soon as the old one is becoming quite tatty.

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Stewardship Dick Smith

Planned Giving is a vital part of our income, and regular members of the congregation should commit to regular giving throughout the year. During the year, due to the pandemic, Planned Giving has dropped by a further £3,000 below the 2019 figure.

Recovery of Gift Aid from HMRC dropped by about £600 in 2020, but with the drop in Planned Giving and a lack of normal collections during 2020, our income in 2021 is likely to be £1,5002,000 down on 2020 (we have to claim this in arrears).

We would welcome new members to the Stewardship scheme. We had hoped to hold a Stewardship Campaign in 2020 but that was impossible in the circumstances. It is unlikely now that we will be able to run a campaign in 2021, but if you are regular attendees at any of our services please consider joining the scheme. Contact me for further information ([e-mail] or 01908 616508)

Events Committee Lynda Evans

As you can imagine, this has been a quiet year for the committee. Social Distancing has not allowed for a gathering together, though the regular weekly Zoom meetings for a coffee and chat have been most welcome for those who could take part. The ‘Bring a Bloom’ event came out of a general discussion at one of these meetings, as we chatted about how to mark Mothering Sunday in a year when we could not hold our usual service in church.

Members of the public were invited to place a flower in prepared vases in the Parish Church to remember all those women who have played mothering roles in our lives.

Moira produced excellent publicity for social media and by Mothering Sunday, the Rector was able to bless a veritable flower garden at his recorded service.

The committee met for a short time in the Parish Church in November, when those present agreed to continue as members and that I continue as chair until the 2021 APCM. Pat Hudson stood down, and we would like to thank her for her valuable experience and support.

If the 'opening up' dates remain the same as the ones given by the Prime Minister earlier this year, we will meet late May to make provisional plans for future events.

Much depends on social distancing rules and any continuing mask wearing conditions that are imposed in the months to come.

We cannot plan in detail until we know how close we can get to each other!

We are hoping at the very least to be able to reinstate some form of coffee and chat in the summer.

As soon as we are given the ‘all clear’, we will be back to planning the lunches, festivals, fairs, picnics and general get-togethers that play such a large part of our fellowship.

In the meantime, if you have an idea for an event that you would like to organise in the coming year, do let the committee know so that we that can support you.

Committee Members

Julie Eldridge Beth Mackay Lynda Evans (Chair) Brian Hunt Moira Evans Dick Smith Jennifer Mazzone Olwen Smith

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Communications & Publicity report Moira Evans

Over the last year use of the internet has been vital in parish communication.

FACEBOOK

The Facebook page has hosted the midweek and Sunday services. We have to date:

• 274 Likes

• 308 Followers

The like counter is the number of people that have liked our Facebook page. When a new visitor likes our page, the default setting is that they also follow our page. When someone follows our page, it means that our Facebook page posts will appear on their personal Facebook feed.

The Sunday service is boosted every week at a cost of £5 a time to reach out to Christians within a 50 mile radius. This means the FB service regularly reaches over 2K people though it is difficult to assess from the View Count whether they watch for 10 seconds, 10 minutes or almost the whole service, only complete play-throughs are logged.

For example, February 2021:

				For example February 2021:
Date	Reach	Views	Thruplays	, We have also used Facebook to publicise our
7 Feb	2,768	1,600	417
14 Feb	2,491	1,600	432
21 Feb	2,279	1,400	416
28 Feb	2,768	1,600	417

Service details and any other relevant information such as the Advent Memes etc.

WEBSITE

Our website (npparish.org.uk) also provides a link to our services that are hosted on our YouTube channel. We only use the YouTube channel for this purpose; it reflects the Facebook content and enables people without Facebook accounts to view the services. Using the same example as Facebook for February 2021:

		Facebook for February 2021:
Date	Views	The website also contains details about church opening, services and
7 Feb	29
14 Feb	23
21 Feb	25
28 Feb	17

weekly Pews News.

Visits to the website have increased with 4,285 from March 25[th] 2020 to the 31[st] March 2021. That is roughly 350 visits per month.

ZOOM

The Parish has a Zoom account and Zoom video conferencing has enabled us to stay in touch via a weekly Parish Chat hour, plus weekly Prayer meetings and Discovery Group meetings. Additionally, a Lent Study Group ran for 4 weeks with 20 people taking part.

PCC and Standing Committee meetings have taken place over Zoom as well as monthly Mothers Union meetings plus many other one to one meetings.

Pews News

This has been compiled weekly and provides a further communication avenue to parishioners. It gives details of the Sunday Service readings, intercessions, any relevant notices as well as weekly interesting and informative content. It is made available as a hard copy for those who do not use

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the internet. Bill Watson is to be commended for his untiring efforts in providing this source of communication.

Emails

The Parish Administrator has kept everyone on the database up to date with regular emails providing links to Zoom meetings, details about services and other activity plus the weekly Pews News. Thanks must be expressed to Malcolm Godwin for his work in keeping everyone connected.

Publicity

Although activity has been limited over the last year we have managed to garner press coverage in the MK Citizen, Phonebox and Diocesan Social Media for our Remembrance Exhibition of painted stones and the Mother’s Day Flower Display.

Home Communion Marlene Smith

Due to the pandemic home Communion visits stopped in March 2020. We are looking forward to being able to recommence visits later in the year once it is safe to do so.

If there is someone you know who you think would like to receive home communion please speak to them, and if they consent to their details being passed on, please contact me so that I can arrange with them for an appropriate person to take them communion.

Parish Visiting Kimonie Nicholls

Since the parish visiting team was established in January 2020 it has, sadly, not got off to a good start because of the restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic. During the past year the team have kept in touch via a zoom meeting and are reaching out to those whom they were already visiting via telephone. It is hoped that as we come out of the various lockdown restrictions, the team will be able to re-establish regular contact with those who were having regular visits prior to the pandemic, and to develop some of the ideas they had discussed to enable them to reach out to a greater number of people who they feel may benefit from a visit.

The current team comprises: Lynda Evans, Mervyn Evans, Nick Evans (Rector), Karen Goff, Carolyn Hawkes, Brian Hunt, Beth Mackay, Pam Miller, Kimonie Nicholls (co-ordinator) and Hazel Reynolds.

Parish and St Luke’s choir

Nothing to report.

Memory Club Hazel Reynolds

The Covid-19 pandemic brought about the closure of the Brooklands Centre and our Memory Club meetings with it. There was a brief interlude during October when Brooklands reopened, subject to Covid secure precautionary measures - 2 metre social distancing, face masks, hand sanitising and extensive cleaning, and we held two Memory Club meetings which were well attended and much appreciated (more successful I gather than the 3 lunch clubs Brooklands themselves ran for a few weeks) but then we went into Tier 4, immediately followed by lockdown, and Brooklands closed again.

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The Brooklands Trustees have refused to reopen the building for just the Memory Club or indeed even their own activities which support those with vulnerabilities, and the latest news is that they are unlikely to open until the end of June 2021.

Throughout lockdown the Government made exceptions for groups supporting those with particular needs, provided numbers did not exceed 15 and social distancing etc was preserved. But most venues capable of supporting groups of that size, allowing for 2 metre distancing, were firmly closed. Our temporary arrangement to use St Luke's church is only feasible because it could reopen for the use of the pre-school, and equally legitimately our vulnerable group of people affected by dementia. We had our first meeting on Monday 12th April and the 6 couples who were booked to attend were all present. We still wear face masks and socially isolate and now we have all had at least one vaccination and, in most cases, both. We all thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to meet socially and communicate with others after the long winter months of relative isolation.

Sadly, we have lost a number of our previous members; January was a bad month for falls and hospital admissions - some caught Covid, others emerged with new hips but there was no physio available so some can barely walk now; some now need nursing care; some carers simply couldn't cope any longer and those they cared for went into residential care and for some that expedited their passing. Diagnoses continue to be made, albeit with long waiting times, and we have quite a number of new members.

What is sad is how little support there has been and still is for vulnerable people of whatever age or need. As far as people affected by dementia is concerned I am reminded of what Jesus said about the harvest being plentiful but the workers being few.

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Treasurer’s report Dick Smith

2020 has been a difficult year due to the pandemic. We were saved due to a significant legacy of £80,163. We also received a small legacy of £1,000.

Planned Giving was over £3,000 down on the previous year, although the Standing Orders kept coming in but Stewardship Envelopes were sporadic because services were suspended for a large part of the year. Fortunately, many members caught up with their envelope giving when services restarted but there were a number who have never returned to services because they have been self-isolating and we lost their income. Collections however were not as lucky and the lack of services saw a drop of £7,000. Our Tax Recovery dropped slightly as anticipated because we receive that a year in arrears, but this year will see a significant drop with the drop in Planned Giving and the drop in GASD due to the lack of collections. All other income (excluding the legacy) were down. Income from Fees (Weddings and Funerals) was also down because we only had 1 wedding and few funerals in church. Fortunately 3 Castle Meadow Close had a tenant throughout the year and that boosted our income by £7,000 above 2019, but our other rental income was reduced by the same amount and there were no Events so that income was lost.

Fortunately, due to the lack of services some of our Expenditure decreased significantly as well. Although we still had to pay Insurance and Water Rates, heating and lighting was slightly reduced, and we had little costs for organists during the period. Vestry Costs were also significantly reduced. Fabric Costs were also significantly reduced as there were no major projects during the year. The PCC continued its support of Outside Charities despite the situation as many of these charities have also struggled financially but we are not a poor parish and felt we should support them in these difficult times.

Our investments this year saw an increase of £62,000 but most of that was from £50,000 put in a new investment from the legacy we received.

Overall we showed a surplus of £13,750, but if you discount the income from the legacy we really made a loss of about £16,000. Things haven’t improved since the start of 2021 so I anticipate a significant loss this year.

Reg Wright has continued to undertake the independent examination of the accounts this year, and I would like to thank him for his work. The PCC approved the accounts at the PCC meeting on 19 April.

We hope to progress the Re-ordering Project in 2021 but that will require significant Fundraising to cover the costs.

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Appendix I Accounts 17

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INDEPENDENT EXAMINER’S REPORT TO THE MEMBERS AND TRUSTEES OF THE PARISH OF NEWPORT PAGNELL

I report on the accounts for the year ended 31[st] December 2020.

RESPECTIVE RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE PCC AND THE EXAMINER

The charity’s trustees consider that an audit is not required for this year under Section 144(2) of the Charities Act 2011 (the 2011 Act) and that an independent examination is needed.

It is my responsibility to:

• Examine the accounts under Section 145 of the2011 Act

• follow the procedures laid down in the General Directions given by the Charity Commissioners section 145(5)(b) of the 2011 act and

• State whether particular matters have come to my attention.

BASIS OF THIS REPORT

My examination was carried out in accordance with the General Directions given by the Charity Commission.

An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts and seeking explanations from you as trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures do not provide all the evidence that would be required in a full audit and consequently I do not express an audit opinion on these accounts.

INDEPENT EXAMINER’S STATEMENT

In connection with my examination, no matters have come to my attention:

1. Which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in any material respect the requirement

2. to keep accounting records in accordance with Section 130 of the 2011 Act; or

3. to prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records have not been met; or

4. To which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

REGINALD. G. WRIGHT 1 Severn Drive NEWPORT PAGNELL

NEWPORT PAGNELL PCC ANNUAL INSPECTION OF 2020 ACCOUNTS

INTRODUCTION

Receipts and payments accounting has again been used for the 2020 accounts. I am satisfied that the Charity’s income level is within the limit for this method of accounting to be appropriate.

PROBITY MATTERS

1. Bank balance statements, investment statements, dividends and interest were checked and found to be correctly recorded.

2. All invoices were examined for correct approval, relevance and reasonableness.

3. A check on collections proved satisfactory all being properly recorded and timely banked.

4. Planned giving has been correctly recorded and gift aid tax recovery checked.

POINTS ARRISING

I have not found anything that requires noting or further investigation by the PCC.

OTHER MATTERS

I wish my thanks to be recorded to your treasurer Dick Smith for his full cooperation and helpful assistance in this examination.

Reginald G. Wright 1 Severn Drive NEWPORT PAGNELL