2020-12-31-accounts - The Parochial Church Council Of The Ecclesiastical Parish Of Saint John The Baptist, Holland Road, Diocese Of Kensington

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Annual Report 2020

St John the Baptist, Holland Road

St John the Baptist Holland Road Annual Report for the Year Ended 31 December 2020

Administrative Information

St John’s Church is situated on Holland Road in Kensington and is part of the Church of England in the Diocese of London. It forms part of the United Benefice of Holland Park. The correspondence address is St George’s Church, Aubrey Walk, London W8 7JG. The Parochial Church Council constitutes a charity and this year was registered as a UK charity (no. 1169173). The PCC members who have served from October 2020 until the date this report was approved are:

The Rev’d Dr James Heard Chair The Rev’d Neil Traynor Associate Priest The Rev’d Peter Wolton Associate Priest The Rev’d Dana English Associate Priest Clare Heard LLM Mrs Jenny Davenport Vice-Chair, Deanery Synod Rep. Ms Lindsay Fulcher Churchwarden Mr Jamie Priestley Churchwarden, Lay Vice Chair and Hon. Secretary Mr George Pasteur Hon. Treasurer Ms Kristin Corbet-Milward Safe Guarding Officer Mrs Jill Traynor Deanery Synod Rep. Ms Jessica Leslie Ms Marina Abel Smith Ms Stephanie de Mel Ms Anita Kouassigan Ms Panagiota Kotoula

Structure, governance and management

The appointment of the churchwardens conforms to the Churchwardens Measure 2001. They are ex officio members of the PCC. The PCC members are elected as set out in the Church Representation Rules. All church attendees are encouraged to register on the electoral roll and stand for election to the PCC.

Objectives and Activities

The PCC is responsible for promoting in the ecclesiastical parish the whole mission of the church, pastoral, evangelistic, social and ecumenical. The PCC also has maintenance responsibilities for St John’s Church, and the surrounding land.

Review of the year

The PCC met four times during the year on Zoom. A revised electoral roll was drawn up in advance of this Annual Parochial Church Meeting. There are currently 67 people on the electoral roll. This year we conducted three baptisms, one wedding and no funerals or memorials.

Evangelisation

St John’s is committed to the Gospel imperative to 'make disciples of all the nations; baptise them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit' (Matthew 28:19), and to meeting the challenge of engagement in active evangelisation amongst all the peoples of the parish it serves.

Ecumenical links

As a catholic parish of the Church of England, St John the Baptist Church honours our Lord's High Priestly prayer that all Christians may be one as He and the Father are one (John 17:21), and seeks to foster its local relationship with Christians of the great communions of East and West in furtherance of the full and organic unity of the Church. To this end we play our part in the membership of the Kensington Council of Churches.

Vicar’s Report, by James Heard

Looking back at last year’s 2019 Annual Report, it was inconceivable that a Covid-shaped bomb was about to be dropped on us. The scale of it: currently over 3 million deaths worldwide and rising daily, caught us unprepared. We found it unbelievable that churches that had remained open over the centuries, through the bubonic plague and two world wars, would be shut for public worship. This 2020 Annual Report has a very distinctive Covid shape to it.

Two Covid-related deaths in 2020 included a former vicar of St George’s, Revd Peter Myles. Also, Christopher Buckmaster, former churchwarden at St George’s and twice Mayor of Kensington and Chelsea. May they rest in peace, and rise in glory.

The most significant feature this year has been a move to online worship. It took a lot of hard work for us all to understand how it all worked and the phrase of the year has to be ‘you have to unmute’! I would like to thank my colleagues for the way they have so flexibly adapted to this change. To help provide a structure to lockdown we included a weekly rhythm of Morning, Evening and Night Prayer, Christian Meditation, Bible studies, and a coffee and poetry morning. This has fostered a growing and supportive sense of community between us. The charities committee has helped to organise several online quiz evenings, the latest of which was the Glass Door Christmas appeal which raised over £6000: quite remarkable!

To enable this to happen has involved installing online facilities at both churches: increasing our broadband speed, installing Wi-Fi extension units and, thanks to some very generous donations, installing equipment so as to provide high quality streaming of our Sunday services.

One highlight of the year for me was to have organised the Exploring Other Faiths course, in which I entered into conversation with a variety of religious leaders:

Judaism - Rabbi Jonathan Wittenberg
Islam - Yunus Dudhwala
Buddhism - Karuna Priya
Sikhism - Gurpreet Singh Anand
Hinduism - Pt Satish K Sharma

This openness on our part meant having a mind-set not threatened by other religious perspectives. It required us to acknowledge that God is greater than any one religion. This openness reveals good, healthy, grown-up faith. We hope to continue on this journey perhaps with a faith walk to other faith communities in the area, when that becomes possible.

In September we said goodbye to Margaret Houston, who has been our Family’s Pastor for 10 years. The seeds that she has planted will continue to bear fruit in the years to come. We have some incredibly bright theologically articulate children and youth as a result of her leadership, and we are immensely grateful to her for that. I am delighted that three teenagers joined the PCC in 2020 – May Lyster, Cordelia James and Maya Ranawake. With the oversight of Dana, they have helped take the lead with our Sunday School provision for 5-11 year olds.

Lastly, because I’m a glutton for punishment, I was appointed the Area Dean for Kensington Deanery. This includes additional responsibilities among the fifteen churches in the area. In short, the role of the Area Dean ‘is to ensure that the life and work of the Deanery and its constituent parishes is sustained and developed.’ This has only been possible because of my incredibly capable clergy colleagues to whom I am hugely grateful.

My sincere thanks also for the support and encouragement of the churchwardens: Lindsay Fulcher and Jamie Priestley at St John’s and Guy Ranawake and Bill James at St George’s, as well as to Victoria O’Neill, our Office Manager, who has been on furlough and part-time furlough for most of the year.

Churchwardens’ Report, by Jamie Priestley and Lindsay Fulcher

From drains and graffiti to saintly statues and MPs, the life of a Churchwarden is never dull – even in the various lockdowns which have obliged most of us to stay at home for much of the year.

We began the year with drainage problems: many of the deep drains on the north side of the church had reached the end of their lives and, having filled with rubble, the rainwater failed

to drain away properly. So, after some particularly heavy downpours, flooding occurred in the Crypt. Luckily this water damage was covered by our insurance. The work on clearing the drains finished just as the first lockdown began. All of them are now lined and free from rubble, and good for another 150 years (we hope).

Moving on to more cultural subjects, St John’s managed to host two very different events before lockdown in the early part of the year. The first was A Spoonful of Sugar: The Songs of Julie Andrews, a recital given by the multi-talented soprano Nicola Mills; then, striking a more serious note, the Belarusian Nobel Prize-winning writer and journalist, Svetlana Alexievich gave a talk entitled Second-hand Time, based on her book about the demise of the Soviet Union. We had several other events,

including concerts (our acoustics are superb), but they all had to be cancelled because of Covid-restrictions on large social gatherings. Nevertheless, individual bookings of the church used as a backdrop for a Grime music video and for an actor’s video portfolio were able to happen. We also managed to slip in a socially distanced talk on The Icon of the Nativity in early December.

Throughout the year, sculptor Danny Burbidge continued to work on the replacement statue of St John the Baptist (the original was stolen) for the empty niche above the great West Door. When news of the new statue reached Felicity Buchan, MP for Kensington, she asked to come and visit St John’s. So it was that in August, we, Churchwardens, met her, showed her round the church and the statue, and answered her questions. Ms Buchan asked us about Holland Road and antisocial behaviour. Outside the church, there is some low-level crime, such as fly-tipping, illegal parking on the pavement and, more recently, graffiti. We have applied to RBKC Council for funding to light the Western front of the church. They have already agreed to purchase and position large planters – which we hope will help deter any future antisocial actions.

Finally, we were delighted that Bishop Graham came to bless the new statue of St John at a Eucharist in September which coincided with the Open House Weekend in which St John’s had been invited to take part. The finished statue was displayed inside the church for a time during the summer before it could be safely installed; this gave visitors the chance to see it close-up. It is a superb piece of work and is now

a focus of interest for passers-by. As part of the Open House Weekend, we welcomed visitors from London and further afield. As we were not able to hold our planned church tours we arranged another way of guiding our visitors. Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School kindly lent us some music stands on which notices were placed around the church allowing visitors to ‘self-guide’ along a designated route. Further guidance was provided by A Kalendar of Saints, a booklet with the locations and biographies of all of the dozens of saints depicted in church, produced by Fr Neil. We bought some display dummies so that we could display our fine historic vestments safely for special interest groups.

Since we have been able, the church has been opened for private prayer between 3pm and 5pm on Mondays and Thursdays. A small group of volunteers has made this possible, and we have a steady stream of people coming to St John’s to pray quietly. Thank you to all those who have made this possible. It has also become apparent that the calvary cross outside is a place of individuals’ devotions with flowers being left at its foot. Even though our doors are mainly shut, we are very much a community of prayer.

Assistant Priests’ Annual Report

Fr Peter Wolton

Culture. Not culture wars but the culture of a community or an organisation. At business school it is seen as a key determinant of whether the organism will grow and succeed. As I reflect on 2020, my sense is that our benefice has grown and discovered strength that was perhaps there but of which we were not aware. We have, I believe, a culture that is supportive and given to mutual encouragement. The forced move to online services and other

gatherings, such as the poetry morning, has led to people who had recognised each other previously now talking to each other. We have also seen much wider participation in services by members of the congregation, with people reading and responding who had not previously done so.

Lay members have led Morning and Evening Prayer. And for those who are not online, contact has been maintained by regular telephone calls.

Through the wonders (or “artifice” as described by one of our community) of Zoom, we have reached out beyond the confines of our parishes. The other evening at Compline, we were joined by worshippers from Genoa, the Netherlands, Washington DC, Gloucestershire and London! I also give thanks for being part of a ministry team which operates so felicitously. As well as having complementary qualities the associate priests are united by a desire to support our incumbent.

Finally, as I look back on 2020 with its many cancellations, I was fortunate to be able to preside at two weddings. A window of opportunity arose during September 2020 when it was possible to have up to 30 guests and a reception. One was in the Isle of Wight and one in the Chalke Valley in Wiltshire. I had the honour of preparing both couples using the excellent Pre-Marriage course created by Holy Trinity Brompton. It consists of five video sessions and although it has a Christian foundation, it is suitable for people of all faiths and none and full of very wise counsel.

Your clergy team are looking forward to taking more weddings in 2021.

Fr Peter’s ‘home altar’

Fr Neil Traynor

Much of the work happening in St John’s is amply told elsewhere in this report, most notably in the Churchwardens’ Report and Music Report for St John’s and the joint report covering on-line worship.

Thanks to the fantastic efforts of our Churchwardens, musicians, congregation and visitors, St John’s has continued to play its part. The huge generosity of the congregation was demonstrated in the £50,000 raised to install the new lighting. New Bluetooth technology has allowed us flexibility to create different lighting

scenes, so that our already impressive services can be further enhanced. The gradual growing of light in our Benefice Carol Service amply demonstrated what we can do, to great effect.

Over the coming year St John’s will take part in the Kensington and Chelsea Arts Week in June, and in the Open House Festival in September. We are now the regular rehearsal venue for The NHS Choir.

COVID restrictions permitting we are looking forward to having an exciting series of concerts and other events in church, including next March the “Leaves of the Tree” exhibition, which is currently touring the UK’s cathedrals. Open days for the local community are planned, and work to further conserve and enhance the fabric of St John’s is in hand.

Thank you particularly to James, Peter and Dana for their continued support, and to Lindsay and Jamie as Wardens, Mark our organist, and Jenny and all of the volunteers who have helped to keep St John’s open. Over the last year we have grown in confidence as a worshipping community, and strengthened our contribution to the United Benefice. It’s a real privilege to be part of such a vibrant and positive team.

Online worship and websites, Revd Neil Traynor

With the lockdowns of the 2020 and 2021 online worship became central to our building of community and life together. Using Zoom, we have joined together for morning, evening and night prayer; for the major celebrations of Holy Week, Easter, Patronal Festivals and Christmas; for weekly meditation. There has been a marked increase in those attending the daily offices, and this has given a sense of community to many. We have been able to engage with more people in our services and

learning than we had done previously. Streaming our services and activities is here to stay, and will no doubt continue to develop over the coming years.

Thanks to generous donations we have been able to purchase cameras for both churches, and have engineered ways around the difficulties with sound quality. (This usually works, but sadly not always.) We are also able to record our principal services which we then post on YouTube.

YouTube is a resource that has enabled viewers from around the world to join with us in the Benefice. On average, only about one-third of our viewers are from Great Britain and Ireland. Over the 28 days to 21st April 2021 our channel received 555 views, equating to 75 hours of watch time- that’s quite impressive. Over the previous year, we had 3158 views and 433 hours of viewing. For a commercial YouTube channel these are very small figures – in our terms though this is a fantastic achievement. The average watch time for a video on YouTube is 4 minutes – our is 12 minutes, a statistic of which we can be proud.

We are expanding our use of social media, principally using Twitter and occasionally Instagram. We continue to promote both St George’s and St John’s through Google My Business. It has been notable in the last year that map searches, particularly for St John’s have fallen dramatically. As we come out of lockdown these should improve once again.

Our website is continuing to attract significant visitors, and we have used this to our advantage to advertise our Faculty Applications.

Technology has also allowed us to meet for recreation as well. Our weekly Poetry and Coffee mornings continue to be well attended, and more than 600 poems have been shared. Occasional quiz nights (for which see the Charities report) have widened participation. Our United Tuesday courses have attracted large numbers live or viewing afterwards – larger numbers than we might get when meeting only in person.

Thank you to all those who join us regularly or occasionally for services or social events. We are delighted we can regularly be with friends who are not in London and dispersed across the UK and overseas.

Education in the Benefice, The Revd Dana English

The Wednesday Study

At the beginning of 2020 the long-established Bible Study of the Benefice began to investigate the book of Genesis: since then an enthusiastic and committed group has carried on with an exploration of the successive books of the Old Testament. We decided that to keep the momentum going the discussion needed to continue every week instead of every other week.

The Revd Dana now leads the group; it meets via Zoom each Wednesday at the same time: 13.30. The group has now grown to about 20 regulars, with at least three joining from other countries! New people come to join us regularly; all are welcome. Many participating follow up each session by links to works of art history, music, or literature...it is a rich gathering! We had completed our discussion sessions on the book of Judges by the end of the year.

The Evening Study

Every other Tuesday or Wednesday evening the Young Professionals’ Group of the Benefice, with a core group of young people who had been regularly attending St John the Baptist, decided to meet for Bible Study, led by the Revd Dana. All through the summer the group met for a (distanced) picnic in Hyde Park; as of the autumn the group began to add Bible Study, first on the book of Revelation, now on the Gospel of John. We take only two or three chapters each two weeks, so that we can spend enough time on the text as well as check in with one another, given that the group must meet, now, entirely via Zoom. Members have continued to meet from temporary residence in Sri Lanka, Wales, and Sandwich: testimony to the commitment of this strong group of young persons in our Benefice!

Pastoral Care

It has been a privilege to continue to be connected to members of both congregations through distanced walks in Hyde Park. I have met, on average, three parishioners a week by this means; a great pleasure as well as good exercise! In a well-coordinated effort with the

other three clergy, we have designated certain older members as those to be called regularly on the phone, so that we have a good sense of the needs of even those farthest away. There is also a clergy rota for daily prayer, with James, Neil, Peter and me each “on duty” for a week at a time. I led a group of sixteen parishioners to Launde Abbey, October 14-16, my first time to have that opportunity. For me, it was gratifying to see how well the need for time away from London was met by this beautiful place and excellent resource. Many have asked to return, and I have been researching Mirfield, Lindesfarne, and Iona as additional places to offer for retreat. We will definitely be scheduling one of these places for a congregational retreat for the autumn of 2021. I hope to plan a pilgrimage for the Young Professionals’ Group some time during the summer of 2021, perhaps to St Alban’s on June 19th.

Preaching and Worship Leadership

Under the Vicar’s superb leadership, the rota for preaching and presiding is seamlessly distributed among the four clergy and Clare Heard, as an additional regular on the preaching rota. Lindsay Fulcher has also come to be more and more involved in this aspect of the Church’s life, as she continues on her path toward an LLM. I enjoy the opportunity to alternate between preaching and presiding, St George’s and St John’s. It is an unusually harmonious and complementary team. With thanks to James and to Neil and to Peter! I continue to be on the rota for duty chaplain at St Paul’s Cathedral, after being told of this possibility by James. I volunteer to preside “under the dome” about twice a month, being available for any tourist or visitor who would like to talk to a clergyperson, and giving prayers on the hour on the days I am there. It has been a wonderful extension of ministry for me in this time, despite the interruption of periods of closure.

Children and Youth Ministries, Revd Dana English

Margaret Houston oversaw Christian Education for children at St. George’s through Sunday, September 27th, the Harvest Festival celebration, when she was warmly thanked for the years of supervision and teaching that she had so capably given to the Benefice.

I offered to help as liaison for Christian Education after Margaret’s departure. Difficult as it obviously is to have a Sunday School if the church is not physically open, we managed to create a new, immensely enthusiastic and skilled teaching team for the age 4-12s in the Autumn: ‘graduates’ of our own Sunday School: May Lyster, Cordelia James, and Maya Ranawake. Focussing on the parables of Jesus, on an All-age service for All Saints’ Sunday, then on the season of Advent, a lovely group of children participated each Sunday. All culminated in a special rehearsal and Pageant orchestrated by Clare Heard on Sunday December 15th. There are roughly 22 families on our updated roster actively participating in this area of the congregation’s life, in both teaching and worship. A number of parents have faithfully helped by volunteering to look after the under-4 age group during the worship services. Clare Heard has taken over activities for youth, as Dana continues to lead the confirmation class. Fr Peter and Natasha Tahta are the designated safeguarding officers for our Benefice.

The current Confirmation Class consists of four young people: Phoebe James, Tallulah Bunce, Sam Williams and Lara Tahta. Having begun strongly a year ago, the group met a number of times before having to put everything on hold when all shut down in mid-March. Clare Heard and Dana English were co-teachers for this class, with Dana resuming in 2021. We were able to meet a few times in the autumn before all was disrupted again. We will resume the class in March in order to prepare for a Confirmation date after June 21st, so that all the families and friends of the confirmands can attend this great celebration. Fr James has been preparing a number of adults for confirmation on a parallel track; despite all the obstacles placed in our way, we are planning for a joy-filled Confirmation Sunday!

Charities Committee 2020 Report

The usual fundraising initiatives of the year were limited due to Covid. However, we continued to support a number of our regular charities during the year: a mixture of local and international. We did this through several online quiz evenings and the Christmas collection. Our first zoomed quiz evening in May was in support of USPG (United Society, Partners in the Gospel) one of Britain’s oldest charities founded in 1704. This charity helps local communities across the world become stronger, independent and confident. The quiz evening raised over £1500 .

In June our quiz evening was in aid of Future Hope . Parishioners Tim and Erika Grandage joined us for this and described how the charity started in 1987 and now provides opportunity through its homes, school, sports and medical programme for some of the most vulnerable children from the streets and slums of Kolkata, India. The quiz evening raised over £2500.

Glass Door normally organises night shelters in various West London churches. This changed because of Covid. Instead, they daily arranged for 90 guests to receive a night’s accommodation in a hostel and three nutritious meals the following day. Additionally, in November the charity launched a community dinner service in partnership with local churches. Every night, up to 120 people enjoyed a meal prepared and served by volunteers across four different venues. Guests also had access to phones, toiletries and other essentials as well as engaged with a Glass Door caseworker. Our Christmas collection and quiz evening raised over £6000. Despite the challenge of Covid, the United Benefice raised over £10,000: a great achievement. We very much look forward to meeting in person for future fund-raising initiatives. Do contact Fr James if you would like to join the charities committee.

Safeguarding Officer’s Report, by Kristin Corbet-Milward

We have been restricted in our activities this year, (2020) due to Covid19. As a result, very few activities involving vulnerable people have taken place. During the period when the church has been open, safeguarding our vulnerable members of the congregation has taken place by way of hand sanitising, mask wearing and following all relevant government guidance. Volunteers have kept in touch by phone with otherwise vulnerable or elderly parishioners during the pandemic. Our usual safeguarding audit and report has been undertaken.

Music report, Mark Denza

The last year has been particularly difficult for music in churches – not only with the extended lockdowns – but also the prohibition from singing. This last has left a large gap in our corporate worship. When St John’s first reopened last September, after nearly six months in mothballs, restrictions then in force only permitted a soloist in exceptional circumstances .

Fortunately, we had a highly exceptional soloist to celebrate that first

release from house arrest in Olympia Hetherington, whose magical performances have enriched the liturgy on many occasions in recent years. Furthermore, we were also blessed that evening with the sublime talents of violinist Regan Crowley, serenading the gathering congregation, and gracing Olympia’s solos with celestial obbligatos. Regan plays in a string quartet with Frances Barlow, Clare Heard’s mother, and they were both violinists in the BBC Symphony Orchestra for many years. Regan has since returned to SJB on two other occasions; most recently to celebrate the first public service of 2021 on Mothering Sunday. The St John’s Singers have not been able to sing fully since February 2020, but Quintin’s leadership of the choir has allowed a number of very special services – that for the dedication of the new statue, the All Souls’ Requiem, and our Christmas Carol Service. This last, with Britten’s A Ceremony of Carols sung liturgically, was a stunning performance. It was also Quintin’s last occasion as Director of the Saint John’s Singers, and we now have Toby Ward as an interim director. We wish Quintin well in his new rôle as Director of Music at St Peter’s College, Oxford.

That second weekend of December actually saw two final appearances from Quintin, whose phenomenal talents and musicianship will be sorely missed. On Saturday, 12th December, two familiar and much loved members of our congregation were joined together in holy matrimony – George and Lucy Pasteur.

Conducted by Quintin, the small choir then permitted under Covid regulations consisted almost entirely of George and Lucy’s friends. The quality of that ensemble assembled by the Pasteurs new was breathtaking. It was a gloriously uplifting occasion, radiating happiness, and a level of contented involvement from the musicians that is depressingly rare at weddings. Such a pity that not all the regular congregation were able to celebrate in person the nuptials of SJB’s musical power couple.

Although the organ has played less of a part in our worship than usual, music has continued to be central to our services. Last July, Fr Neil made an ingenious application for Heritage England Covid funding, to address problems caused by the instrument’s prolonged inactivity during the first lockdown. The Pedal Bourdon lost several low notes during this period, which has been particularly troublesome. For accompanimental purposes, these pipes are absolutely crucial; notwithstanding the considerable luxury of four other functioning sixteen foot stops.

Although Fr Neil’s bid was ultimately unsuccessful, it proved helpful in concentrating minds, and assessing priorities to keep our magnificent organ ticking over. Eric and John Shepherd labour tirelessly to keep the instrument playable, and the Gern was sounding transcendentally glorious during that monumental December weekend, after a particularly intensive tuning session.

The benefice is hugely fortunate that all five of its clergy are highly musical; as are its treasurers, who are both accomplished organists. David Buckley very kindly covered for me on Christmas morning, whilst George Pasteur has been an invaluable member of our slimline lockdown trios. So too is Marina Abel Smith, whose sultry alto voice has enriched these vocal threesomes whilst her little black fixing book has been gathering dust. Asher Oliver, a friend of Dana’s from Trinity College, Cambridge, played for Midnight Mass, whilst my most recent deputy on Maundy Thursday was Colin Spinks – another brilliant organist, with impressive pedigree.

A huge thank you to all of our singers and musicians, who have contributed so much to the life of St John’s.

Deanery Synod Report, by Howard Evans (former Lay Chair, Kensington Deanery)

St George’s Kensington Deanery Synod Representatives in the House of Laity for this new triennium, which began on 1[st] December 2020 (extended by episcopal fiat from 30[th] June 2020, owing to the coronavirus epidemic) and concludes under the revised Church Representation Rules 2020 on 30[th] June 2023, are Clare Heard, William James and Natasha Tahta. These are the same who served during the previous triennium. I am a member of Deanery Synod because I am also a member of the Diocesan Synod until 31[st] July 2021. The Area Dean was the Revd Mark O’Donoghue, Vicar of Christ Church, Victoria Road, W8, until his resignation in September 2020. Since October 2020, the Vicar of the United Benefice of Holland Park, the Revd Dr James Heard, is the Area Dean.

Since the date of the previous report (March 2020), there were no meetings until the first video conference (using the ubiquitous Zoom) Deanery Synod organised by James Heard on 10[th] September 2020, when the Revd Canon Miles Baker, the new Area Director of Ministry, addressed us on investing in leadership and vocations following the theme of confidence in proclaiming the faith.

This Zoom meeting was followed on 16[th] November 2020 by an address from our Area Bishop of Kensington, the Rt Revd Graham Tomlin, on the development of the Diocesan 2030 Vision – provisional at this stage, because so much energy has had to be diverted to the coronavirus epidemic consequences, especially by the clergy, who were profusely thanked.

On 8[th] February 2021, the Revd Dr Jim Walters, Chaplain to the London School of Economics, gave a lively reflection on the institutional church aspects and consequences of the epidemic.

The Standing Committee had previously become much depleted and, with the new triennium, new officers (Lay Chair, Hon. Secretary and Hon. Treasurer among others) will need to be elected by the Synod as soon as circumstances permit.

The customary Common Fund meeting of deanery treasurers, incumbents and, nowadays, church wardens or other principal PCC members with the Archdeacon, the Ven. Richard Frank, and the Area Finance Adviser, Mary Spredbury during May 2020 were necessarily abandoned. Instead, parishes encountering straitened financial circumstances because, for example, of the loss of rental income, were encouraged to advise the effect on their common fund contributions. It speaks something of the resilience of London that, overall, the reduction in common fund has been only about 8% for 2020. With continuing coronavirus restrictions, the Diocese agreed that Common Fund contributions in 2021 should broadly continue at the same level as 2020. The Diocese is, of course, anticipating a significant shortfall over last year and this.

Deanery Common Fund policy will doubtless need to be reconsidered and reviewed when the next Common Fund meetings for 2022 occur, probably in September 2021.

Treasurer’s Report by George Pasteur

COVID Impact

The main financial impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the Parochial Church Council finances was a 60% shortfall in commercial rent from the crypt as compared to the expected amount. We also saw a decline in ad hoc lettings of the church building. Against these headwinds, three positive factors allowed us to remain financially stable: firstly, there was a significant increase in online giving aided by the launch of a new

Charities Aid Foundation donation portal on our website; secondly, the London Diocesan Fund reduced the level of Common Fund contribution to assist parishes during the pandemic; and lastly St Johns was granted some emergency funding by the Heritage Lottery Fund. Taken in the round, these factors allowed us to end the year with only a small decrease in total funds and still to meet the PCC’s policy of holding reserves equivalent to two months’ running costs as at the end of the year.

General Fund

Overall the general fund generated a deficit of £9,859 (2019: £55,566 deficit).

Our gross incoming resources decreased to £74,342 (2019: £90,735). The prior year income includes the impact of a one-off insurance recovery relating to the 2017 chancel fire. Excluding this, underlying incoming resources were £21,507 higher than prior year, mainly driven by higher voluntary income.

Voluntary income was £11,179 higher than prior year due the timing of giftaid refunds (£8,255 increase) and an increase in online giving caused by services moving online (£4,282 increase). This was partly offset by slightly lower planned giving (£1,358 decrease).

Receipts from activities for generating funds were slightly higher than prior year at £15,665 (2019: £12,483). It was encouraging that we continued to see momentum with small-scale lettings of the church to the local community for a wide variety of uses (talks, filming, and choir rehearsals) in the periods that the building was open.

After adjusting for insurance recoveries, other income was £1,328 lower at £14,987 (2019: 16,315) reflecting normal variability of net rents after costs on the flat at Flat 2, 176 Holland Road. This property is owned by the Diocese of London and the associated income is allocated to St John’s.

Expenditure from the general fund decreased to £83,451 (2020: £145,551), again principally reflecting the non-recurrence of restoration costs relating to the chancel fire. On an underlying basis, general expenditure was £23,840 lower than prior year due to cost restraint in the pandemic, significantly aided by both the special reduced Common Fund level and an emergency grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund which partly alleviated the cost of urgent repairs and clergy employment costs. Utilities costs were higher than anticipated and have been addressed, going forward, by entering into fixed rate contracts with suppliers.

Restricted Funds

During 2020, we received donations of £33,539 towards the lighting appeal, with the full balance of the Lighting Appeal fund (£41,539) then being spent on the installation works. At the end of the year, there were two restricted funds carried forward: the COVID19 Recovery fund relates to a £17,000 award by the Heritage Lottery Fund, of which £11,864 was spent in 2020; secondly, there is the Organ Restoration fund, the balance on which remained unchanged during the year at £10,000.

Balance sheet

During the year total funds decreased to £28,831 (2019: £41,554). Total cash deposits at the end of the year were £61,827 (2020: £92,244).

The PCC would like to thank all those who have supported the church financially during the year.

Church of St. John the Baptist, Holland Road Financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2020

Charity number 1169173

Church of St. John the Baptist, Holland Road Financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2020

Statement of financial activities for 12 months ended 31 December 2020

Note Incoming resources Voluntary income 2(a) Activities for generating funds 2(b) Investment income 2(c) Income from church activities 2(d) Other income 2(e) Total Incoming Resources Resources expended Church activities 3(a) Goverance Costs 3(b) Total Resources Expended Net movement in funds 10 Transfers to / (from) Balances b/fwd 1 Jan Balances c/fwd 31 Dec	Unrestricted Funds 2020 £ 40,704 15,665 - 886 17,087 74,342 (83,451) (750) (84,201) (9,859) - 23,554 13,695	Restricted Funds 2020 £ 50,539 - - - - 50,539 (53,403) - (53,403) (2,864) - 18,000 15,136	Total 2020 £ 91,243 15,665 - 886 17,087 124,881 (136,854) (750) (137,604) (12,723) - 41,554 28,831	Unrestricted Funds 2019 £ 29,525 12,483 46 620 48,061 90,735 (145,551) (750) (146,301) (55,566) - 79,120 23,554	Restricted Funds 2019 £ 18,000 - - - - 18,000 - - 18,000 - - 18,000	Total 2019 £ 47,525 12,483 46 620 48,061
						108,735
						(145,551) (750)
						(146,301)
						(37,566) - 79,120
						41,554

Church of St. John the Baptist, Holland Road Financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2020

Balance sheet as at 31 December 2020

Note Current assets Debtors 4 Cash at bank and in hand Total current assets Creditors: amounts falling due within one year 5 Net current assets Total assets less current liabilities Creditors: amounts falling due after one year 6 Total net assets Parish funds Unrestricted funds Restricted funds Total funds	Unrestricted Funds 2020 £ 12,313 47,604 59,917 (26,222) 33,695 33,695 (20,000) 13,695 13,695 13,695 - 13,695	Restricted Funds 2020 £ 914 14,222 15,136 - 15,136 15,136 - 15,136 15,136 - 15,136 15,136	Total 2020 £ 13,227 61,826 75,053 (26,222) 48,831 48,831 (20,000) 28,831 28,831 13,695 15,136 28,831	Unrestricted Funds 2019 £ 328 74,244 74,572 (31,018) 43,554 43,554 (20,000) 23,554 23,554 23,554 - 23,554	Restricted Funds 2019 £ - 18,000 18,000 - 18,000 18,000 - 18,000 18,000 - 18,000 18,000	Total 2019 £ 328 92,244
						92,572 (31,018)
						61,554
						61,554 (20,000)
						41,554
						41,554
						23,554 18,000
						41,554

Approved by the Parochial Church Council on 23 May 2021 and signed on its behalf by:

Incumbent Treasurer Reverend Dr James Heard George Pasteur

Church of St. John the Baptist, Holland Road Independent Examiner’s Report to the Trustees of St John the Baptist Church, Holland Road, Parochial Church Council

I report to the charity trustees on my examination of the accounts of St John the Baptist PCC (the Trust) for the year ended 31st December 2020 comprising the Statement of Financial Activities, the Balance Sheet, and the accompanying notes to the accounts.

Respective responsibilities of the Trustees and Independent Examiner and basis of report

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. As the charity’s trustees of the Trust you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 ('the Act’).

I report in respect of my examination of the charity’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination I have followed the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act.

The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in a full audit, and consequently I do not express an audit opinion on the accounts.

Independent Examiner's Statement

I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect:

accounting records were not kept in respect of the charity as required by section 130 of the Act; or 2. the accounts do not accord with those records; or
the accounts do not comply with the applicable requirements concerning the form and content of accounts set out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than any requirement that the accounts give a 'true and fair view’ which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination.

I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

Peter Cranenburgh Cranenburgh Limited Chartered Accountants 76-80 College Road Harrow Middlesex HA1 1BQ 23 May 2021

Church of St. John the Baptist, Holland Road Financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2020

1) Accounting policies

Basis of preparation

The charity constitutes a public benefit entity as defined by FRS 102. The financial statetments have been prepared on a going concern basis under the historical cost convention and in accordance with the Charities Act 2011 and the provisions of the Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP) "Accounting and Reporting by Charities" (FRS 102).

Fund accounting

Restricted funds can only be used for particular purposes specified by or agreed with the donors. General funds may be used for any purpose within the charity’s objects.

Incoming resources

All incoming resources are included on the Statement of Financial Activities when the charity is legally entitled to the income and the amount can be quantified with reasonable accuracy.

Expenditure recognition

Liabilities are recognised as expenditure as soon as there is a legal or constructive obligation committing the charity to that expenditure, it is probable that settlement will be required, and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably.

2) Incoming resources a) Voluntary income Planned giving Collections, online giving, & other donations Grants Tax refunds b) Activities for generating funds Rent from church letting Rent from crypt letting c) Investment income Bank and deposit interest d) Income from church activities Fees for weddings Fees for funerals e) Other income Insurance recoveries Rent from church property Area Dean expenses allowance Total Incoming Resources	Unrestricted Funds 2020 £ 15,012 15,477 - 10,215 40,704 2,905 12,760 15,665 - - 691 195 886 2,100 14,387 600 17,087 74,342	Restricted Funds 2020 £ - 25,720 17,000 7,819 50,539 - - - - - - - - - - - - 50,539	Total 2020 £ 15,012 41,197 17,000 18,034 91,243 2,905 12,760 15,665 - - 691 195 886 2,100 14,387 600 17,087 124,881	Unrestricted Funds 2019 £ 16,370 11,195 - 1,960 29,525 9,950 2,533 12,483 46 46 620 - 620 31,746 16,315 - 48,061 90,735	Restricted Funds 2019 £ - 8,000 10,000 - 18,000 - - - - - - - - - - - - 18,000	Total 2019 £ 16,370 19,194 10,000 1,960
						47,525
						9,950 2,533
						12,483
						46
						46
						620 -
						620
						31,746 16,315 -
						48,061

						108,735

Church of St. John the Baptist, Holland Road Financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2020

Unrestricted Funds 2020 £ (8,247) (12,350) (1,440) (10,224) (170) (12,941) (4,063) (150) - (734) (140) (1,439) - (4,585) (2,379) (545) - - (468) (725) (141) (16,535) (3,275) (720) (2,180) (83,451) (750) (750) (84,201)	Restricted Funds 2020 £ - (7,600) - - - - - - (4,264) - - - - - - - - - - - - (41,539) - - - (53,403) - - (53,403)	Total 2019 £ (28,400) (15,970) (1,700) (10,120) - (8,432) (1,326) (133) (11,873) (2,036) (532) - (180) (3,900) (1,901) (296) (390) (135) - (120) (277) - (7,743) (38,980) (11,107)
		(145,551)
		(750)
		(750)

		(146,301)
		Total 2019 £ - - 328
Unrestricted Funds 2020 £ 7,075 2,993 2,245 12,313	Restricted Funds 2020 £ - - 914 914
		328

Church of St. John the Baptist, Holland Road Financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2020

Unrestricted Funds 2020 £ (14,162) (3,310) (8,750) (26,222)	Restricted Funds 2020 £ - - - -	Total 2019 £ (13,083) (9,185) (8,750)
		(31,018)
		Total 2019 £ (20,000)
Unrestricted Funds 2020 £ (20,000) (20,000)	Restricted Funds 2020 £ - -
		(20,000)

7) Commitments

No financial commitments other than those already provided for in the financial statements have been recognised.

8) Related party transactions

Trustees were reimbursed a total of £2,147 for expenses that they incurred on behalf of the PCC (2019: £913).

The trustees identified no other related party transactions, or balances arising as a result of such transactions, during the financial year.

9) Allocation of Net Assets by Funds

The Unrestricted Funds comprise General General Fund Designated Tenant Rent Deposit Total The Restricted Funds comprise Lighting Appeal COVID19 Recovery Organ Restoration Total Total Funds	Balance b/f 1 Jan 2020 £ 14,804 8,750 23,554 8,000 - 10,000 18,000 41,554	Income £ 74,342 - 74,342 33,539 17,000 - 50,539 124,881	Expenses £ (84,201) - (84,201) (41,539) (11,864) - (53,403) (137,604)	Transfers - - - - - - - -	Revaluation - - - - - - - -	Balance c/f 31 Dec 2020 £ 4,945 8,750
						13,695
						- 5,136 10,000
						15,136

						28,831

The Lighting Appeal fund raised £33,539 in the financial year, bringing the total amount raised since the fund was started in 2019 to £41,539. Payments out of this fund are restricted to expenditure on the new lighting system for Saint John the Baptist Church.

The COVID19 Recovery fund comprises emergency heritage funding granted by the National Lottery Heritage Fund in response to the COVID pandemic. During the financial year, £7,600 was spent from this fund on clergy employment and £4,264 on urgent repairs and conservation works.

The Organ Restoration fund comprises funding received from Ecclesiastical Insurance to pay for the conservation of the organ following damage caused by the chancel fire in February 2017.

Church of St. John the Baptist, Holland Road Financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2020

10) Reconciliation of Funds

Reconciliation of Funds
Current year Unrestricted Restricted Prior year Unrestricted Restricted	B/f 1 Jan 2020 £ 23,554 18,000 41,554	Net movement in funds £ (9,859) (2,864) (12,723)	Transfers between funds £ - - -	C/f 31 Dec 2020 £ 13,695 15,136
				28,831
	B/f 1 Jan 2019 £ 79,120 - 79,120	Net movement in funds £ (55,566) 18,000 (37,566)	Transfers between funds £ - - -	C/f 31 Dec 2019 £ 23,554 18,000
				41,554

X X X

Church of St. John the Baptist, Holland Road

Respective responsibilities of the Trustees and Independent Examiner and basis of report

examination I have followed the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act.

The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in a full audit, and consequently I do not express an audit opinion on the accounts.

Independent Examiner's Statement

I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect:

accounting records were not kept in respect of the charity as required by section 130 of the Act; or 2. the accounts do not accord with those records; or
the accounts do not comply with the applicable requirements concerning the form and content of accounts set out in the Charities

considered as part of an independent examination.

Peter Cranenburgh Cranenburgh Limited Chartered Accountants 76-80 College Road Harrow Middlesex HA1 1BQ