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2021-12-31-accounts

Parish of St Philip and St James with St Margaret Annual Report for 2021

Page Introduction……………………………………………………………… 2 Church Attendance…………………………………………………….. 2 Membership of the PCC ………………………………………………. 3 Annual Reports 1. Vicar’s report (including Liturgy and Faith development) ……….3 2. PCC report……………………………………………………………5 3. Church Wardens …………………………………………………….5 4. Sidespersons ………………………………………………………...7 5.Children and Young People ………………………………….......... 7 6. Safeguarding …………………………………………………….. …9 7.Community and Charity Work …………………………….............10 8 Deanery Synod ……………………………………………………..10 9 Events ………………………………………………………………...11 10 Music …………………………………………………………………11 11 St Margaret’s Institute (SMI) ……………………………………… 14 12 St Philip and St James School …………………………………….14 13 Development Plan …………………………………………………..15 14 Finance Report …………………………………………………….16

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Introduction

The aim of St Margaret’s is to provide for the worship of God in a welcoming atmosphere where all people sense they are members of the family of God. Our prime concerns are to:

In 2021 we have been challenged in two main areas, firstly the Interregnum when we were without a Vicar from January to the end of November, and after the appointment of Revd Daniel Walters as Vicar, we then were lacking a stipendiary Associate Priest.

In addition, like everyone else, we have dealt with lockdowns, restrictions and a series of Covid precautions. In spite of these two major difficulties, St Margaret’s has maintained our Eucharistic worship, whether on line or in safely distanced congregations, and we are grateful to the clergy who have assisted us and to Hugh Series and the organists and choir who have continued to bring music into our worship and enabled online participation.

As the following reports will describe, our prayer life and activities with children and young people and our local community have similarly adapted to these changed circumstances, and we emerge at the end of 2021 with a very positive outlook: a Vicar newly appointed; our worship now adapted to be online every week as well as in Church, and our social communities eager to meet and support each other in friendship and various events, not possible in recent months.

Church Attendance

(Attendance could not be estimated when services were online; after the staged re-opening of the church, some members have continued to join us online and these numbers cannot be included.)

On December 31st, 2021, the number on the Electoral Roll was 133

Average attendance at the Parish Eucharist at 10.30am on Sundays :

Until Pentecost: 4 - Celebrant and those enabling the online streaming and music From Pentecost:

Numbers steadily climbed for socially distanced services to between 20 and 30, increasing gradually in the autumn to over 60 most weeks.

Average attendance at 6.00pm Evening Prayer : 7

There were 1 Baptism, 0 Marriages and 2 Funerals

Membership of the PCC during 2021

Incumbent: Vacant from January 1[st] to November 30[th] 2021 The Revd Daniel Walters from November 30[th] 2021 The Vicarage, Church Walk, Oxford, OX2 6LY

Associate Priest Stipendiary: Revd Daniel Walters until November 30[th] 2021 Vacant from November 30[th] 2021

Associate Priest self-supporting: Revd Dr Anne Holmes

Church Wardens: Hugh Series Richard Cooper

Deanery Synod Valentine Cunningham Representatives: Eve Barsham Elected Members (with dates of election): Rupert McShane (2018) retired APCM June 27[th] 2021 Lynsey Bennett (2018) retired APCM June 27[th] 2021 Thalia Carr (2018) retired APCM June 27[th] 2021 Uta Balbier (2019) Susie Harris (2019) Christopher Levick ( re-elected 2020) Carishma Thomas (2020) (PCC Treasurer) Andrew Brooks (2020) Rebecca Rose (2020) David Marshall (2020) Roger Trafford ( re-elected 2021) Michèle Crawford ( re-elected 2021) (PCC Secretary) Carol Goodall (2021) from APCM June 27[th] Tom Plant (2021) from APCM June 27[th]

There was one vacancy for an elected PCC member in 2021.

1. Vicar’s Report

Revd Daniel Walters - Vicar

2021 was really a year of transition for St Margaret’s – the first year since 1997 in which our previous Vicar, Andrew Bunch, was not in post. However, it was also of course a year of transition for the country, as vaccinations began to be rolled out at the start of the year.

These dual factors had a huge impact on the life of the parish. At the same time as people were starting to get their jabs, the so-called “Kent variant” emerged at the end of 2020 and spread widely in the beginning of 2021, leading to a third national lockdown . Although places of worship had more freedom this time around to decide how they would respond, St Margaret’s PCC approved the difficult decision to initially close once again and gradually re-open in a phased approach, in line with the Government’s “roadmap”.

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This meant that our Lent course this year was online via Zoom, offered to parishioners from across the Benefice and based around Rowan Williams’ short but thought-provoking book Being Disciples . We had some excellent discussions with a healthy number of participants, which was encouraging.

During Holy Week we took a hybrid approach – the principal liturgies of Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter were all online, but at the same time members of St Margaret’s had the opportunity to receive Holy Communion at small, pre-booked in-person services. Our guest speaker, Charlie Annis nCR (from the Community of the Resurrection in Mirfield, West Yorkshire) led us through the week as he helped us to explore our lives of prayer, and his talks were widely appreciated.

The summer brought with it a further relaxation of rules (despite a slight delay nationally with the new “Delta” variant. Sadly our Patronal Festival and garden party just missed the extended “roadmap Stage 4” deadline by a matter of days (at that point social gatherings had to be limited to 30 maximum), but over two “sittings”, many members of St Margaret’s were still able to enjoy time together outside, for the first time in a long time.

The summer of 2021 also brought to an end the long period of uncertainty as to the new Vicar for the benefice, which of course had been on the mind of many (not least my own!) since Andrew had announced his retirement in late 2019. Being appointed as Vicar in a benefice in which I had already served for (at that point) two years was a strange experience – of course many of the quirks and idiosyncrasies of both parishes were already familiar to me, but it is a very different role and I still have much to learn and get my head around. It also began the search for a new Associate Priest – who will hopefully be appointed by the time we have our Annual Meeting of 2022, and in place by this August.

In the short-term, if anything, things have been even more hectic since the appointment and my induction. There are so many important but competing priorities, as we emerge out of the pandemic, look forward to the future with our development project and develop our approaches to governance, HR and administration – all the boring but important stuff which allows us to then focus on the real priority of the Gospel of Christ.

To this end, I am hugely grateful to so many people who have been pivotal in keeping St Margaret’s alive and thriving during the course of 2021. Many of them have written their own sections elsewhere in this report, but of course I must pay especial tribute to my colleagues in the ministry team (Anne, David, Tricia and Eva), our fantastic churchwardens (Hugh and Richard Cooper), our PCC Secretary and Treasurer (Michèle and Cara) and our musical maestros Richard Goodall and, in the latter months of the year, Joe Barber. All have been incredibly flexible with constantly changing circumstances and patient with me as I invariably forget something important, for which I am very grateful. Thanks must also be given to Bernard and Liz who took numerous services at St Margaret’s during 2021 while we’ve been without an Associate Priest, along with other priests external to the benefice, and also to all members of the St Margaret’s family who have contributed in so many ways, as sacristans, readers, intercessors or on the coffee rota.

Advent and Christmas were especially hectic for me, with the usual transition period between clergy posts (which parishioners may not have been aware of) took place in November making planning somewhat rushed, with the big induction/institution service (a hugely joyful occasion for me and I hope others) and yet another new variant (Omicron) keeping life “interesting”! In the end Christmas was slightly more restrictive than any of us would have ideally liked, but a definite improvement over 2020’s – let us hope and pray that by our next Christmas together both coronavirus and clergy vacancies will be a thing of the past!

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2. PCC report

Michèle Crawford – PCC Secretary

In 2021 there were six meetings of the PCC with an average attendance of 13, five of which were held on Zoom. Two joint meetings with St Giles’ PCC, also on Zoom, were held to fulfil the requirements of the process for appointing our Incumbent. Parish Representatives were chosen and the Parish Profile outlined and discussed. It was noticeable that the average attendance in Zoom meetings was higher than for the one meeting held in person. The possibility of hybrid meetings in future was raised.

The APCM was delayed until June 27[th] , when it was possible to gather in a socially distanced congregation. Thirty people attended and we are grateful to the Revd Anthony Buckley, Area Dean, who chaired the meeting. The PCC were informed at all stages of the process for advertising, interviewing and appointing a Vicar and some PCC and congregation members met the shortlisted candidates socially over tea.

At every PCC meeting Worship, Finance, Safeguarding, Development and the Fabric of the Church building were reported and discussed. The move to online worship, followed by the staged reopening of the Church was a central area of PCC business and the changing development plans and urgent matters regarding repairs to the fabric were also a priority.

All Safeguarding Policies and the Health and Safety Policy were updated and approved. Three new Policies were adopted: Lone Worker and Personal Safety; Youth Communication and Social Media and Data Protection and Privacy. All Policies are displayed in the Porch, as are PCC Minutes when they have been approved and signed.

The new (2020) Rule for Business by Correspondence once again proved very useful. Under this rule, M29, proposals and any accompanying documents are circulated to PCC members and a week later the proposal is passed or, in the event of a majority of objections or negative responses, shelved until the next PCC meeting where it may be debated in full. Proposals approved in this way are reported and minuted at the next meeting and have included matters of finance, and letting of property for St Margaret’s Institute and agreements at the decision to move worship online or at each stage of plans to relax the regulations for worship in Church.

The PCC Secretary thanks everyone who has contributed to the Annual Report and to the PCC’s activities and discussions throughout the year.

3. Churchwardens’ report

Hugh Series and Richard Cooper - Churchwardens

Hugh Series and Richard Cooper have continued as churchwardens.

Two very important matters overshadowed 2021. Firstly, most of the year was spent in the vacancy following Andrew’s departure in December 2020. We were immensely fortunate that Daniel was with

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us as Associate Priest, and in having other members of the clergy team who generously and faithfully supported us throughout the year, particularly Rev Anne Holmes and Rev Prof Bernard Silverman, and we are deeply grateful to them. Secondly, the COVID pandemic continued to have considerable impact on life at St Margaret’s throughout 2021.

Both parishes worked hard to update the parish profile in order to support the appointment of a new incumbent. One positive aspect of the vacancy is the close working that was needed, particularly between the wardens of the two parishes, leading to much sharing of ideas and a better understanding and appreciation by each parish of the other.

Interviews for the new incumbent took place in July, and the parish was delighted with the result: that Revd Daniel Walters was appointed as our new incumbent. He was installed on 30 November. The church was packed as full as COVID restrictions would allow, and there were 138 views of the service on YouTube. Daniel’s appointment of course created a vacancy for an Associate Priest which is to be filled for the summer of 2022.

The A/V equipment installed in 2020 meant that we were able to continue online services throughout the year. This has turned out to be very significant aspect of our mission. Service arrangements changed throughout the year as national guidance changed. In person services resumed in May, though with reduced numbers, masks, social distancing, and very limited singing. For a time there was no singing at all, then we had a Cantor, and then choir singing returned in stages. The numbers watching online vary considerably, but as expected, views dropped from about 60 to 90 for the Sunday morning Eucharists (well over 100 for major services) to about 20 to 40 when in person services returned. The number of views recorded on YouTube probably underestimates the number of people, as in many households two or three people may watch a service on a single computer. For many people, watching online has enabled them to stay connected with our community when they were unable to come in person. Many of us regretted the lack of refreshments at the end of the service, meaning that our usual social interaction had to take place outside, whatever the weather.

The quinquennial report, which is the architect’s report on the condition of the fabric of the church carried out every 5 years, was completed by our architect, Christian Randall, in February. Urgent matters identified were that the roof the south aisle needed to be improved, the gutters needed cleaning, and ivy and other plants were growing up the north side of the church from the old vicarage garden, risking damage to the stonework and the ingress of damp. The gutters were cleaned out twice during the year, and the ivy removed from the north wall. Thanks to a loan from the Oliver Heaton Trust the south aisle roof has been replaced and a lead alarm installed, though not before water leaks had caused considerable damage to the floor below, and staining of the stonework. Much of the cost of replacing the floor will be covered by insurance.

The report also identified the poor condition of many of the gutters, some loose tiles on the roof and a number of other smaller matters, all of which will need to be dealt with in 2022.

Plans for redeveloping the west end of the church are described in the Development Group report.

We have come through very challenging year with much to celebrate and be thankful for. The life of the church could not continue without the contributions of so many people, and this is as true during lockdown as at other times. We are immensely grateful to them all.

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4. Sidespersons

Valentine Cunningham

Thanks to all the sidespeople for acting, in time of pandemic restrictions and dropping number of personnel. Due to Communion in One Kind Only, we have coped with two rather than the normal three persons, at the Sunday 10.30 am Parish Eucharist. But even so the dropping number of sidespersons has meant extra calls on the team. We need three new people, especially as normal Communion conditions return.

5. Children and Young People

Eva Walters – Parish Children’s Worker

2021 was my first complete year in post and although challenging at times due to covid, there was much to be grateful for:

Toddlers continues and though our numbers do fluctuate, we have a steadfast core group of families who find this term-time meeting an enjoyable part of their week. Some of the year was spent online with recorded songs and stories but we have managed to stay open for the same times that the church was, mainly by using the garden at 19a behind church. In the summer term, we finished with a “graduation” celebration where we bid farewell to three of our regular children. In September, we returned to meeting in church but continued to observe social distancing (as much as you can with toddlers) and face masks. We also reintroduced the playtime and refreshments. Then in December we celebrated Christmas with carols, a special story and part breakfast. My thanks to Katie Ronald who continues to support this group, and to Becca Rose who has stepped in several times as an extra volunteer at very short notice.

In light of isolation felt by many during the lockdowns, I decided to set up a Baby Group for parents and carers of new babies. It meets after Toddlers with the hope that some of the parents will eventually begin to bring their children to Toddlers. It’s a peer support group with willing hands to hold a baby while they drink a hot drink. This group has again mirrored a similar ebb and flow as Toddlers in line with restrictions and the seasons, but again there is a core group of people who find it a place of support and rest. I continue to be grateful for the support that Rachel Faulkner and Barbara Levick give to run this group. Their calmness and experience in supporting these parents is invaluable.

Our Saturday’s at St Margaret’s program of SAMS and Sammy’s did not restart in 2021. This is due in part to lack of volunteers but also an acknowledgement that we needed to find a new way of working for Saturday mornings. This is still very much in discussion at the Children’s Work Steering Group and we hope to move forward on this in the coming year. A huge thank you to Liz and Martin Holmes who ran (and baked for!) Sammy’s for so many years. It was a much-loved group and their dedication to musical education has helped so many young children discover a true love of music. The lockdown videos continue to be some of our highest viewed on our church YouTube channel.

In line with national and our church restrictions, Sunday School began to meet in September. For the first half-term, Juniors and Seniors explored God’s love for our planet through the Creation

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Story. Both classes made beautiful displays - the Seniors triptych can still be viewed in the Lady Chapel with the Juniors display on the board next to the side door. The Juniors then spent the second half term exploring the Advent and Christmas story, while the Seniors helped educate us all with a delicious Stir-Up Sunday cake that was decorated beautifully with the liturgical seasons.

Our Teen Discussion group has had an engaging start to the school year exploring questions about God, angels, and the Creed to name a few. Our young people enjoy these times to meet and explore their faith journeys. To compliment this, we also introduced an opportunity, roughly once a month, when they would stay in church and then meet with the priest that was presiding that day after the service during coffee time. This plan has been a little interrupted by covid and various other things and we hope to restart this properly next year. Thank you to all my fellow Sunday School teachers who give up their Sunday mornings to be with our children - Michele, Liz H, Cara, Liz B, Uta, Chris, Louise, Lucia and Rupert.

In Summer 2021, we started to run a monthly Teen Film Night. This has continued to remain hugely popular with our young people. The have pizza or hotdogs to eat and watch a film on a big screen at the back of church. It’s a huge amount of fun and I’m so grateful to Daniel and Hugh Series for their technical support and especially Liz Holmes who volunteers her Fridays once a month.

During 2021, Daniel and I have continued to build on the strong foundation of our relationship with Phil and Jim School. We have seen it begin to flourish, working to be mutually beneficial in the life of our community here in North Oxford. We both continue to lead weekly collective worship in school or online via Teams when the classes were in “bubbles”. We have also sought further ways to engage more with school life. I run a small group for pupils which helps inform what we do in collective worship. Daniel and I have supported the RE curriculum with lessons about pilgrimage and baptism. Our focus for the latter half of the year has been creating opportunities for the children to attend church whenever possible: with “Experience Pentecost” event in the summer term; a whole school Harvest Service in the Autumn term and an extensive period when we welcomed the pupils and parents for various Christmas celebrations in Advent. We also ran a mini-pilgrimage from school to St Giles via St Margaret’s and Ss Philip and James. Thanks to Michele Crawford, David Smith and Andrew Sillet (from St Giles) for their help to facilitate what I was told was a real highlight for the Year 6 leavers.

In July, we held our last Afternoon Service . Numbers had fallen for this service as the restrictions lessened. We may visit this format again, however, we have turned our focus towards welcoming families back to St Margaret’s. The All Souls area was spruced up into a Play & Pray area with a children’s altar space. The baptistery was reopened to families as a quiet space for children to play during the service supervised by parents. I’ve taken down signs on the doors and made sure the speakers are on each week so that parents and carers still feel part of the service when they use that space.

Finally, 2021 saw the formation of a new Children’s Work Steering Group which reports to the PCC. This group of Michèle Crawford, Liz Holmes, Rachel Faulkner and Daniel Walters helps to advise and support me in planning the Children’s Work.

This last year has at times felt extremely challenging. Covid has been a constant shadow leading us to have to regularly adapt our plans. However, as I write this report and detail all the ways in which people have helped and supported the children’s work here at St Margaret’s I realise how fortunate we are. I’m very much looking forward to seeing what the next year brings.

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6. Safeguarding

Michèle Crawford - Parish Safeguarding Officer

St Margaret’s Safeguarding Policies were reviewed, updated and approved by the PCC and are displayed in the Porch and on the website. A general notice about Safeguarding, with contact details for the Local Authority, Oxford Diocese and the Parish is displayed in the Porch and Vestries.

The following Statement has been agreed by the PCC and is displayed in the Porch beside the booklet of the House of Bishops’ Policy Statement.

“The Parochial Church Council of St Margaret’s Church, Oxford, adopts the Policy Statement issued by the House of Bishops. All Clergy, Church Officers, members of the Parochial Church Council and members of the congregation have access to the whole policy which is displayed in the porch and circulated electronically.”

Many of our activities with children and young people could not be held until September 2021. Some of our teenagers met online and therefore a new Policy was needed: the Youth Communication and Social Media Policy was passed in March and will join the other Safeguarding Policies for updating and approval by the PCC in January every year. A Lone Worker and Personal Safety Policy was also adopted. These and all other Safeguarding Policies are displayed in the Porch. A Parish Safeguarding Action Plan was approved in March. Once again, the Safeguarding Training requirements published by the Diocese have been changed.

One outcome of these two years of change and uncertainty has been our ability to be flexible with forward planning where possible. When activities and Sunday School classes re-started in September, new relevant Risk Assessments were in place and all leaders had up to date DBS certification. All Risk Assessments must be retained for 50 years and a file is kept by the Parish Safeguarding Officer.

I am grateful to Eva Walters whose appointment as DBS Administrator the PCC approved in March 2021. She has full awareness of all Safeguarding issues in her role as Children’s Worker and is actively engaged in all policies and practice.

As required, the Safeguarding Officer reports at every PCC meeting. There have been no Safeguarding issues reported during the year 2021.

The email for Safeguarding issues is: safeguarding@stmargaretsoxford.org

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7. Community and charity work.

a) The St Margaret’s Parish Community Project for Older People

Tricia Brant - St Margaret’s Parish Community Worker.

Despite the continuing pandemic, my volunteers and I managed to keep support groups running for most of 2021. Participants frequently said how important these groups were to them during this time. As we work with vulnerable people, we were cautious and followed guidelines carefully and there was no evidence of any transmission of the virus within the groups. It was a careful balancing act between the risks associated with the virus and those of the detrimental effects of social isolation. The two main support groups that ran were the bereavement support group and the memory café, a support group for those with dementia and their carers.

Other social groups in gardens and safe internal spaces ran when case numbers were lower and opportunity allowed.

In the summer, we started a gardening therapy café, in partnership with the garden centre in Cutteslowe Park. It is a social and support group that is dementia friendly and combines a gardening or similar activity with a time of social interaction.

My work with individuals continued to increase. Pastoral care was especially needed during this time. Access to services was harder to find because of the pandemic and many were not aware of what help was available to them. I offered a range of practical support services, including: helping individuals to access benefits and funds to help financially with their circumstances, applying for Blue Parking Badges, helping people get mobility equipment and aids, as well as finding other support so that people can stay in their own home.

b) Charitable Giving Report 2020

Cara Thomas – PCC Treasurer

No donations have been made for 2021 - we made two donations in 2021 for Asylum Welcome and Emmaus but these were the catch up for 2020.

We are committed to making the donations for 2021, and these will be made in 2022.

8. Deanery Synod

Valentine Cunningham

There were two meetings: 23 November 2021 and February 15 2022. The November meeting opened with prayer for Daniel, newly made the St Margaret’s vicar. It heard details of how General Synod and Diocesan Synod work within the management of the Church of England. The highlight was the report from the Revd Mary Gurr, Chaplain to the Homeless, about her work in Oxford. (Good work, by this Chaplain about whose existence I had no idea before this.)

The main business of the February meeting was the Parish Share for 2022. There was a small increase from 2020 - due to the Pandemic there was no set Share for 2021 - 1.2% from each parish to help St Frideswide with Binsey and their new House for Duty post. Of the 17 parishes, St Margaret’s is number 13 contributor at £54, 240.

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9. Events

Meg Peacock - Benefice Manager

a) Musical Events

With the exception of Vox, the other choirs resumed their rehearsals on a regular basis in the Autumn.of 2021.

The Cornish-American Song Institute (now known as “Music Across the Pond”, ) who use St Margaret’s for their summer trip rehearsals were again not able to come to the UK last year but have confirmed that they are delighted to be returning this June (from Saturday 4[th] to 10[th] inclusive).

There were no concerts in 2021.

b) Non Musical Events (held in the Baptistery)

The Bereavement Group and Memory Cafe, run by Tricia Brant were suspended from January but resumed their meetings in April on a regular basis.

10. Music

Music in the Liturgy

a) Richard Goodall - Organist and Choir Director

This report covers the first two-thirds of 2021, a period characterised by having to continue to work within periodically changing restrictions as the UK continued to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic. All aspects of the performing arts – in both sacred and secular contexts – continued to be impacted seriously by regulations designed to limit the transmission of the virus; but this seemed to be most acutely the case for anyone who enjoyed singing, due to the calculated additional risk from aerosols spread by that activity. Naturally, St Margaret’s own carefully-planned protocols for worship took on board this important consideration

After the autumn of 2020 in which socially distanced choirs had been permitted – only to be followed by a challenging second lockdown – the new year saw singing in worship restricted to solo cantors only. As in the previous summer, I was delighted that a small team of Carol, Chris, Louise, and Robert were so willing to step up and form a weekly rota to sing liturgically appropriate psalms and anthems. In particular, new arias were learnt, ranging from Bach, Vivaldi, and Pergolesi to Dvorak and Fauré, and then for Holy Week and Easter these four were joined by Christine and Libbeth, plus Anna as violinist on Good Friday. I remain hugely grateful to all our talented musicians for their contributions during those few months.

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The post-Easter period saw permission again granted for small choirs of socially-distanced singers, so that some familiar choral repertoire could be offered once more. It was decided that, to minimise risk to the celebrant, the choir would sit in the chancel, and this seemed to work well. However, this progression was curtailed by “recovery step 3” when rules would only allow a maximum of six singers to perform. While professional singers were no doubt able to continue to function, for those of us who have careers other than in music, and offer singing in church in the context of faith and service, were put in a less comfortable position. The change of rule also presented me with a planning nightmare – to give everyone who wished to a chance to sing while accommodating absences, but at the same time ensuring a balanced group of singers was available. Therefore, rather than arranging six people to cover the normal four choir voice parts, my solution was to alternate different groups of voices – upper voices one week, lower voices the next, and occasionally a mixed group, but singing only two parts. With some careful selection of repertoire, ranging from the French 19[th] century to contemporary composer Cecilia McDowall, via Byrd, Howells, and our own Michael Brooker, we were able to continue a weekly offering of appropriate, good quality music.

Finally, in late July, all restrictions on amateur singing were lifted, and we were able to dispense with all the rotas for singers and uncommon musical choices. The choir had return to the nave stalls (changed in their orientation for the celebrant’s safety) with more regular musical choices finally back on the menu. The only consequence was that, after 18 months of jumping through multiple planning hoops to keep the musical show on the road, I was feeling rather wrung out, and we are grateful to the churchwardens for agreeing to my taking a 6 month sabbatical.

I was therefore delighted to hear that Joe Barber had been appointed to take the musical lead during the autumn of 2021 into the first part of this year, and his report now follows. I would like to take the opportunity to thank him for all his hard work and the talent he has brought to St Margaret’s thereby enabling me to take a break. I admit it has been the strangest of experiences to stand aside after eighteen years of leading the music here, but I felt it necessary; and at the time of writing I am eagerly looking forward to resuming my “duties”.

b) Joseph Barber – Locum Director of Music

I arrived at St Margaret’s in September 2021, to take up the position of Locum Director of Music during Richard’s sabbatical. September also saw a significant and much waited for shift back to relative normality for the choir; with the easing of restrictions, it became possible for the full choir to sing together again, rather than just six at a time. The choir’s keen eagerness to sing together after a long time has been reflected in the consistently high quality of music making at St Margaret’s.

Since I started at St Margaret’s, I have made a conscious effort to try and include a mixture of familiar and new repertoire on the music list, allowing the choir both to have the comfort of singing some well-loved classics and to challenge themselves with previously unseen music. They have always risen to the occasion with the latter most skilfully, and with great enthusiasm (or so they claim!).

Another benefit of the easing of restrictions is the fact that we have been able to sing in special services alongside the choir of St Giles’ Church. The two such occasions were Daniel’s induction service and the Advent Carol Service, at which we sung Ord’s Adam Lay Ybounden , Praetorius’s Lo How a Rose , and Wood’s magnificent O Thou the Central Orb .

The Advent and Christmas season saw choral music at St Margaret’s continue to flourish, culminating in the Crib Service on Christmas Eve, which had not taken place for two years. This included Arcadelt’s Ave Maria , Willcocks’s Infant Holy, Infant Lowly , Holst’s In the Bleak Midwinter

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and Lullay my Liking , the latter of which included some solos excellently sung by our teenage choristers.

I would like to express my thanks to everyone at St Margaret’s for their most warm welcome – I have greatly enjoyed my time here so far. I would like to thank the choir, and especially Daniel, Richard, Martin, Michèle, and David for showing me the ropes and making my first few months here not only as easy as possible, but also greatly enjoyable.

Thursday Afternoon Singers

Alice Stainer

2021 was hardly a vintage year for the group, given the extensive national lockdowns, tentative road map out of lockdown (which did not include choral singing on the route) and various prohibitive changes in the timeline of lifted restrictions. However, most choirs were able to resume in some form in the summer, even if this involved rehearsing outside in gardens or, less glamorously, carparks. As we usually cease operations for the summer, this did not seem the best time to recommence after so long a break; but as September arrived, having discussed it with my trusty accompanist Sarah Coatsworth, I wrote to the members proposing a restart, set out my suggested safety protocol, and asked them to register their interest. The response was swift, unanimous, and joyful. On that note, we resumed at the end of September, moving our operations into the main body of the church, wearing masks to arrive and depart, taking lateral flow tests beforehand where possible and being careful with tea. Happily, St Margaret’s is a venue with plenty of natural ventilation!

In this mode, we have continued ever since, and have thus managed to salvage some of the year. It took a while for numbers to build up again, as many had alternative commitments on Thursdays that had filled the vacuum of our absence, but we are now holding firm at a solid and stable membership. We have even acquired two new members by word of mouth.

At first, the singing was somewhat tentative, so I stuck to simple rounds and unison songs and then gradually reintroduced part-singing. The lost confidence and disused voices returned in a steady accretion. We planned for an informal Christmas concert to friends and family, followed by a festive tea. For this we rehearsed some excellent four-part carols, as well as some more straightforward repertoire. As Omicron muscled in on the fun, we reviewed the situation as a group – it feels important that it is a communal venture – and in the end decided to go ahead as planned, as we had plenty of space, but to postpone the tea until a more propitious time. We had a tiny but appreciative audience with whom we sang a few carols after our performance of five pieces. I was incredibly proud of the choir’s efforts, and we all appreciated the festive lift it gave us. Particular mention should go to Michael Faulkner for a sterling performance as Good King Wenceslas!

I would like to register my thanks to Meg Peacock in the Benefice office and to Hugh Series for trying to keep us warm. We very much appreciate their support. I would also like to extend my sincere gratitude to Sarah Coatsworth, who always backs me so generously with her consummate musicianship, and without whom the sessions would not be half so fun or effective. I will end on this note: the pandemic has thrown into relief the power of singing to inspire and to convey joy. Although we were kept from it for so long, our restart seems to have clarified this, and each week we are very sensible of its palpable presence. There is not enough of it around in these depleted days, so I am grateful to the whole group for participating as they do, with whole hearts and full voices. Joyous.

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11 St Margaret’s Institute Management Committee

Chris Levick, - Treasurer, SMI Committee

Community centre activities substantially recovered in the second half of the year as Covid 19 restrictions eased.

Early in the year fund raising took place to replace the problematic hall floor. Some £41,700 was raised towards the cost of the new floor which was installed in August at a total cost of £43,400. A major refurbishment of the top floor flat started in 2020 was completed at a total cost of £35,000 and a new tenant found.

Charitable support for the aged was continued for the year through financing the PCC’s employment of Trish Brant.

At the end of the year the SMI showed an operating deficit of £6,500 and the level of reserves carried by SMI is still judged to be satisfactory.

12 St Philip and St James School

Elizabeth Baigent - Foundation Governor

The Covid pandemic drags on, wearying children, staff, and parents. Recognition of the uneven effects of the pandemic on children’s mental and physical health has underlain efforts to support children in school and to continue to help them to articulate difficulties and address them. Not even a global pandemic can extinguish Phil and Jimmers’ creativity, however, and it has been a pleasure to see the school developing new ideas to inspire the children. A notable initiative is that which seeks to improve reading and writing by inspiring the children with detailed projects on a wide range of books. A poetry competition last term showed how imaginative the children can be, notwithstanding the relentlessly phonicsbased national reading strategy. The impending Shakespeare drama competition looks set similarly to inspire the children this term. Congratulations to pupils, teachers, and headteacher for embracing new ideas in difficult times.

Links between the church and the school have been strengthened by Eva and Daniel who are a regular presence in the school. Their work, fully supported by the headteacher, has amplified Christian themes in the school, for example, in assemblies, and has made the church a familiar place to pupils and their parents. This latter is noticeable in school events in church and in the presence of parents and younger siblings in activities in church.

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13 St Margaret’s Development Plan

Hugh Series - Churchwarden

The development group has continued to meet throughout 2021. For a time we had to meet by zoom, but as soon as possible we returned to meeting in the church itself, which is much more helpful when thinking about the various proposed changes to the structure and layout.

By the time the DAC (Diocesan Advisory Committee) finally approved the faculty for removal of the old chamber organ, the person who was going to take it fell ill and stopped responding to any communications. We have started the process of looking for another recipient.

Our lighting designer, Bruce Kirk, worked with the group to produce an attractive and detailed design for high-level lighting, removing the current rather utilitarian pendants. The faculty for this has been submitted to the DAC, and the approval process is almost complete.

Plans to replace the heating system are running slightly behind lighting. We have appointed a heating consultant from a firm of mechanical and electrical engineers, and a design is being worked on to lay cylindrical pipe radiators in underfloor channels on either side of the two main blocks of seating in the nave, and to replace all the existing radiators with new ones, as far as possible, in discrete positions at the side of the church. It has been suggested that we could build custom designed cupboards all around the north and south walls of the nave to cill height, providing storage space, insulation, and an attractive way of housing radiators. We would retain the existing boilers which although around 10 years old are still usable. As part of the underfloor system, the existing wooden floor under the nave seating would be replaced. It has been badly damaged by water leaks, and would need to be replaced in any case.

The A/V system was installed in 2020 and has continued to be a key part of our mission. A small group of teenagers has been trained to use it, so that we can ensure that all the Sunday Eucharists are covered. It has also been used for other events including funerals, enabling friends and family members across the world to participate.

Detailed plans had been drawn up for an extension to the west end of the church housing new toilets, an extended kitchen, and a new meeting room. To our sadness, despite initial preplanning approval, the council tree officer reached the view that the plans could put the roots of one of the lime trees flanking the war memorial at risk and was unable to recommend it. We had little choice but to withdraw the plans. This was all the more disappointing because our own tree expert had worked with the architect to mitigate this risk.

The group went back to square one and produced a new set of options for the West End, one within the existing footprint and two more with small extensions. These plans were circulated and discussed within the congregation and we held a congregational meeting after a Sunday service to discuss them. The clear favourite was for a modest sized extension housing toilets outside the west wall under the great West window, with the development of the existing kitchen and flower area into a more flexible and better equipped space, moving the flower area across to the south west corner of the church. The final details of this plan are currently under development.

I am very grateful to the members of the development group for being so willing to give their time to this protracted process (more than 5 years): Richard, Roger, David, Daniel, Eva, and Christian (architect).

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Financial Report 2021

Carishma Thomas – PCC Treasurer

Collections from standing orders remained stable from our generous congregation and plate collections have recovered, however we have not been able to conduct fund-raising activities.

Church Unrestricted Funds

Our cash position remains solvent but this is due to legacies and one-off contributions and a holiday from paying the diocesan share from May of this year to October.

As a result, I have held back the cash, but not the commitment, to our charitable giving for our charities for 2021, but this will be paid once we are able to stabilise our cash position in 2022. All 2020 charitable contributions have now been made. We are also able to pay St Giles for 2021 in full for cross charges.

For Financial Year 2021, cash receipts were £153k in the period and outgoings were £148k. This includes amounts received from OHT and paid across for building works, including a loan of £26k for the roof repairs, which will be repaid using our funds deposited with the Church of England Deposit Fund Scheme in 2022.

We are looking to start a ‘Covid Recovery Fund’ and all suggestions regarding fundraising would be welcome.

Church Restricted Funds

There were no movements to the Lady Chapel Fund during the period interest earned, but I have asked CCLA to move funds moved into our current funds to cover our loan from OHT for the roof repairs.

Gift Aid

The gift aid application for £12K was received in October.

New Bank account

TSB have confirmed the opening of the new bank account, but require that the NatWest bank mandate be updated for only those signatories that will be on TSB prior to the transfer. This should be the last stage as TSB are aware that they have not been very helpful in the past. Once that is done we have three years to move all the standing orders from NatWest to CAF Bank.

Other matters

We have paid £1,675 from the congregation as a gift to Andrew for his farewell. We have the following amounts pending amounts to pay across in 2022

£460 for Christian Aid

£150 for the Bishop’s charity

We have started with the ‘electronic plate’ for collections which so far has been a smooth process.

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