2020-12-31-accounts

Annual Report and Accounts

Registered Charity no. 1172298

ANNUAL CONGREGATIONAL MEETING of the WOUGHTON ECUMENICAL PARTNERSHIP Via Zoom Due to Covid 6[th] April 2021

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Ecumenical Vision Statement For the Woughton Ecumenical Parish

In the light of the prayer of Christ ‘may they all be one… that the world may believe that you sent me…’ (Jn 17.21) and the injunction to ‘spare no effort to make fast with bonds of peace the unity which the Spirit gives’ (Eph 4:3), members of Woughton Ecumenical Parish commit themselves to work together in serving God’s mission locally and beyond.

Members of the Parish, drawn from the four participating denominations (The Church of England, The Methodist Church, The Baptist Union and The United Reformed Church) and from other Christian traditions, seek to respond to the call of God through Christ and in the power of the Holy Spirit. Our life together and our mission are shaped by our core values:

• Spiritually alive;

• Together in Christ;

• Reaching out;

• Welcoming all;

• Using our gifts;

• Being sustainable.

Each of our five local congregations gives expression to the above, in its worship, ministry and mission.

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AGENDAS for

Annual Parochial Church Meeting of Woughton Parish,

Parochial Church Council of Woughton Parish,

Annual Congregational Meeting of Woughton Ecumenical Partnership,

And Meeting of the Woughton Ecumenical Partnership Trustees At 7.30pm on Wednesday 6[th] April 2021 On Zoom

Prayers led by the Team.

Rev Ian Herbert in the Chair for items 1 and 2.

1. Annual Parochial Church Meeting

• a. Approval of Minutes of Annual Parochial Church Meeting 28[th] October 2020

• b. Nominations for churchwardens

• d. Election of PCC members as nominated in Appendix A

• e. Decision on number of elected PCC members for the year 2021/22

• f. Appointment of Deanery Synod representative

2. Parochial Church Council Meeting

• a. Co-option of PCC member

• b. Election of PCC Secretary

• c. Proposal that the WEP Treasurer should act as the PCC Treasurer for the year

Mike Davidge in the Chair

3. Annual Congregational Meeting

• a. Approval of the Minutes of Annual Congregational Meeting of WEP held on 28[th] October 2020

• b. Presentation of the Report

• c. Presentation of the Accounts for 2020

• d. Appointment of the Independent Examiner

• e. Ex-officio Trustees

• f. Election of Trustees of the Woughton Ecumenical Partnership (two only required)

• g. Appointment of the Methodist Circuit Representative

• h. Appointment of a Representative to Netherfield Partnership.

Rev Ian Herbert in the Chair

4. Meeting of Trustees

• a. Election of the lay Chair, Secretary and Treasurer

• b. Election of Trustee for the Trinity Centre, Fishermead

• c. Election of the Member of the Trinity Centre Management Committee

• d. Date of next two meetings

Appendix A to the Agenda

Appendix B

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Appendix A

Nominations for appointments at Partnership level 2021-2022

Annual Parochial Church Meeting:

PCC Members Lynn Castle (St T) all for one year Don Mahon (TF) 2021-22 Di Miller (St M)

PCC Ex-Officio to note Revd Ian Herbert, Revd Paul Norris, Church Wardens Christ the Vine Mandy Heart St Mary’s Jean Mattinsley, David Bird St Thomas’ Iola Samuels Woolstone John Howard Deanery Synod Representatives Di Miller, Kim Weston

Parochial Church Council:

Co-opt to PCC Revd. Charmaine Howard Rev Nicola Vidamour

Annual Congregational Meeting:

WEP Trustees For three years to 2024 Iola Samuels (St T)[(2021) ]

For information: Continuing Trustees Lynn Castle (St T)[(2019)] Mike Davidge[(2019)] David Hart (CVCC)[(2019)] Don Mahon (TF)[(2019)] Marilyn Mahon (TF)[(2019)] Kim Weston (St M)[(2019)] Di Miller (St M)[(2019)] John Howard (W)[(2019)]

Ex-Officio Trustees

Revd. Ian Herbert , Revd . Nicola Vidamour , Revd. Paul Norris, Revd. Charmaine Howard

Methodist Circuit (2) Lynn Castle, Marilyn Mahon, Don Mahon

Netherfield Partnership (corporate member) Revd Ian Herbert Trustee of Trinity Centre Revd. Ian Herbert Member of Trinity Management Committee Ken MacLeod

Trustees Meeting:

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Appendix B

Other Appointments and Representatives 2021-2022

Ministry Team

Revd Ian Herbert Revd Paul Norris Revd Charmaine Howard Revd Nicola Vidamour

Other Ordained Ministers

Revd Christopher Bell Revd Paul Le Sueur

Preachers and worship leaders

Lynn Castle Mike Davidge Jeff Newall Judy Rapp

URC Synod Representatives (appointed by local churches – 1 per church)

Vacant

Mission Partnership Representatives (appointed by local churches – 2 per church)

Mike Davidge (WEP) Kim Weston (St M) Lynn Castle (St T) Don Mahon (TF) Marilyn Mahon (TF) Sophie Pond ( W )

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Minutes of the Annual Parochial Church Meeting of Woughton Parish on 28th October 2020 via Zoom because of the Covid-19 pandemic .

Present: Paul Norris Judy Rapp Barbara Albone Lynn Davidge Mike Davidge Tim May Lynn Castle James Clark Alison Statham David Bird Miriam Bird Ian Bunning Sue Newby John Forbes Ophelia Cole Jill Strong Melania Hart David Hart Sophia Pond Ken MacLeod Russell Howe Don Mahon Marilyn Mahon Brian Baldwin Norma Baldwin Kim Weston Jean Mattinsley Stephen Roberts Charmaine Howard Pauline Ashton Ray Pape Ayo Ogusanye Becci Herbert Barry Messham Sue Messham Ian Herbert Geoffrey Miller Anna Berridge Mandy Heart John Howard Di Miller Jane Norton Nicola Vidamour Aston

Apologies: Jennifer Harding Barbara Zimmer Pauline Rudiger Eileen Roberts John Castle Adam Carrivick Jo Newall

Lore Reynolds Angy Norris Jeff Newall

Rev Nicola Vidamour led prayers.

Rev Ian Herbert in the chair for Items 1 & 2

1. Annual Parochial Church Meeting

• a) Minutes of the Annual Parochial Church Meeting held on 30th April 2019 were proposed for approval by Marilyn Mahon and seconded by Lynn Castle. All in favour.

• b) Nominations for churchwardens. Nomination forms have been received for Jean Mattinsley and David Bird from St Mary’s Church. Forms are awaited from John Howard from Woolstone Church. These nominations were proposed by Paul Norris and seconded by Sophia Pond. All in favour.

• c) Election of PCC members. Appendix A with corrections was proposed by David Hart and seconded by Mandy Hart. All in favour.

• d) The number of elected PCC members for the year 2019/20 to be decided. The meeting decided to keep the number at two from each congregation.

• e) Appointment of representatives for the Anglican Deanery Synod. Kim Weston and Di Miller were nominated for the next triennium. Kim reported that the Understanding Mental Health group had met four times in the year and it was still ongoing. In addition Kim urged the members to use the Deanery website which is excellent.

2. Parochial Church Meeting

Extra item taken: Co-option of Rev Nicola Vidamour as a PCC member proposed by Ian Herbert and seconded by Becci Herbert. All in favour.

• a) Election of PCC secretary. Di Miller indicated a willingness to stand again and was proposed by Jean Mattinsley and seconded by Lynn Castle. All in favour.

• b) Proposal that the WEP Treasurer Don Mahon act as the Treasurer for the PCC for the year. Jean Mattinsley proposed, and John Howard seconded this and all voted in favour.

Meeting ended at 8pm.

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Minutes of the Annual Congregational Meeting of Woughton Ecumenical Partnership held on 28[th] October 2020

via Zoom because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Present. 43 members of the Partnership were present online.

Apologies. There were a number of apologies recorded.

Mike Davidge in the Chair.

3 . Annual Congregational Meeting .

• a) Minutes of the Annual Congregational Meeting held on 30[th] April 2019. Approval of these Minutes was proposed by Ian Herbert and seconded by David Hart. All in agreement with one correction at item 3c from 2016 to 2018.

• b) Presentation of the Annual Report. Mike highlighted how delighted the Partnership is to have two new members joining the Ministry team. They are Rev Nicola Vidamour and Rev Charmaine Howard. He reported that much has been happening in WEP and generally there have been valuable contributions made to the local community. Our central core theme of mission gives us a stimulus for prayer. One group meeting each week is the House of Prayer on a Tuesday led faithfully by Martin Lever.

Mike asked representatives from each of the churches to pick out 2 or 3 special areas of blessing, loss and challenge during the past year.

Christ the Vine Community Church reported that the service restart after lockdown was welcomed and the live streaming had been appreciated. About 20 people with social distancing were able to attend. Zoom meetings and also outdoor meetings had been possible. A Coffee Hall Best Gardens competition had been held which was a good thing to try even if there were only a few entries. Sadly, ABC has not been able to restart, and no winter night shelter participation is possible. Things to miss were the absence of refreshments after a service and not being able to sing in live worship.

Trinity Fishermead reported that they opened their doors for services on 23[rd] August at the changed time of 11am. They have worked hard to stay in touch with members via pastoral groups and a weekly prayer cycle for all members, distributed via email. Sunday afternoon tea has been shared via Zoom. The gardening effort in the front of the building is in abeyance with the Covid crisis. Prayers are offered for discernment for future ministry by the members.

Holy Trinity Woolstone. People were back inside the church at the beginning of August at the new time of 10am. Music has been provided by two members. For the Harvest Service fresh produce went to Willen Hospice and the dry goods to the Food Bank. They took a collection for Water Aid. There are plans for Remembrance Sunday and Christmas.

St Mary’s Woughton. After the Quinquennial report following the ACM of 2019 there was much to do. Fundraising went well with a successful Strawberry Fayre, Christmas Bazaar and walker groups using the church frequently. All of these activities including weddings came to a sudden halt with the national lockdown during which time members stayed in touch with phone calls and emails. There have also been challenges in the churchyard with a troublesome tree finally pushing a boundary wall down. In early September the church opened for prayer on Saturday and Sunday and one service on a Sunday resumed with a rotation of family worship and Holy Communion at 10am. Up to 28 people attended these services although some vulnerable members continue to shelter at home. A Flower Festival was held in September taking its theme as “Missed Celebrations” at the time of the patronal festival. There were lots of visitors who donated generously to the church funds.

St Thomas’ Simpson reported that they had welcomed Rev Nicola Vidamour as their minister warmly. There had been good communications with their members during lockdown but in September they were able to offer two short services every Sunday at 10am and 11am with good social distancing and using laminated service sheets. During this time Stephen Roberts had stepped down from the role of churchwarden. There were plans

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for Remembrance Sunday and Christmas. Prayers are asked for their church family to grow and for Nicola’s ministry.

The Reports were proposed for acceptance by Mike Davidge and seconded by David Bird. They were agreed.

• c) Presentation of the Accounts for 2019. Don Mahon reported that the year had finished with a small surplus in the general fund and money had been paid into the ministry fund. In 2020 the year of the Covid 19 pandemic the income has fallen away quite steeply, Fee income is much reduced as there have been very few weddings and funerals. There has been no fund raising on church premises and no plate giving. As a result, he estimates a reduction of £20,000 in lost income generating a corresponding deficit of £10,000. There was a discussion concerning the amount of the Parish Share and whether it can be reduced and how to boost the giving from the members which will be crucial in the future. The Finance Report was proposed for acceptance by Mike Davidge and seconded by David Bird. All in agreement. The meeting thanked Don and Marilyn Mahon for their hard work.

• d) Appointment of the Independent Examiner. Don proposed that Christina Sabucido be appointed to this role again. This was seconded by Norma Baldwin and all agreed.

• e) Ex-Officio Trustees. Rev Ian Herbert, Rev Paul Norris, Rev Nicola Vidamour and Rev Charmaine Howard are ex-officio Trustees.

• f) Election of Trustees of the Woughton Ecumenical Partnership. The three-year period continues until 2022. The Trustees are: for Christ the Vine Community Church, Mike Davidge and David Hart; for Trinity Fishermead, Don and Marilyn Mahon; for Woolstone, John Howard; for St Mary's, Kim Weston and Di Miller and for St Thomas, Lynn Castle.

• g) Appointment of representatives to the Methodist Area. Marilyn Mahon and Lynn Castle have been proposed by Mike Davidge and seconded by Nicola Vidamour and the meeting agreed. Don Mahon as the WEP Treasurer is invited to join the Methodist Circuit meetings along with the other LEP Treasurers.

• h) Appointment of Representatives to the Netherfield Partnership. Mike Davidge proposed Rev Ian Herbert and Rev Charmaine Howard, seconded by David Bird and the meeting agreed.

4 . This section of the agenda was postponed to the first meeting of the WEP Trustees .

AOB. Rev James Whysall has retired from active ministry within WEP. Our great thanks to him for his devoted service to the Woughton Parish over many years.

The Meeting ended at 8.40pm

Rev Paul Norris closed with prayer and everyone said the Grace.

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Parochial Church Council Report 2021

Di Miller, PCC Secretary

The Parish has been deeply affected by the impact of the Covid 19 crisis on every aspect of life. We have managed to have meetings of the PCC via Zoom before the WEP meetings as usual, but this is very limiting. We have managed to hear from representatives from all the churches and the churchwardens from St Thomas’, Christ the Vine, St Mary’s, and Woolstones Church. We are pleased to report that David Hart and Mandy Heart for Christ the Vine Community Church and Mrs Iola Samuels for St Thomas’ have joined the PCC. At various times in the past year the churches have been open for socially distanced worship but since the third lockdown in December/January 2021 the churches have been closed for services. The Team has managed to produce weekly video services for people to look at over the internet which have been much appreciated. With regard to distributing the Partnership Newsletter and other documentation, these having mostly been sent out via email by Tim May. Tim has also been personally delivering resources on a Saturday to those in the parish that do have online access, I would like to thank Tim for the extra effort he has given to ensure that these members are still able to feel involved in our weekly worship.

In the past year at St Thomas’ Stephen Roberts stepped down as churchwarden in June 2020 and since then Rev Nicola Vidamour has submitted reports of the issues relating to the church and churchyard to the PCC. In summary these have related to the issues concerning the large cracks in the wall of the chancel under the tower and lead flashings on the roof and these have been discussed with the Diocesan architect. These are serious problems which require expensive repairs. The churchyard has continued to be maintained and new LED lights have been fitted in the porch. Mrs Iola Samuels has volunteered to be the next churchwarden for St Thomas’ Church.

At St Mary’s Church, the problems of invasive tree roots from a nearby cedar tree needed to be tackled. This has involved the digging of a new trench to create a barrier to further growth. A Faculty application was granted for this work and it has been done satisfactorily. The installation of broadband in the church has been a complicated story. A Faculty was granted but BT’s sub-contractor Open Reach took a long time to come and do the work. When they did come, they dug the trench in the wrong place and fractured an electrical cable to the lych gate. Liability for this mistake was accepted and the cost of repair has been met. The cabling into the church has now been done and Wi-Fi is now present inside the church. During the year the north wall has continued to need a rebuild but the cost of this in the pandemic has pushed it down the priority list. It has been made safe for the time being. The tree pressing on to the east wall from the hotel side ultimately pushed the wall over and a temporary fence has been put up. The tree has now been cut down. The hotel ownership is uncertain at the present time so the plan for rebuilding the wall is on hold.

Fund raising for the next stage of the audio-visual capability in the church is ongoing. The church clock has not worked at all in this last year and a solution to the problem is being worked on by the company Gillett and Johnson.

The Church Hall has continued as before. It can be used as a polling station but is otherwise not available for hire.

Christ the Vine Community Church is also owned by the Diocese. A decision was taken that boiler repairs were necessary. There were also plans for the Baptistry to put into use. Plans for a new ramp for the door on the east side of the building are also under discussion. The MK Winter Night Shelter has not been running this year. Services from the church have been live streamed through the lockdown time.

Within the Parish, the Fishermead Community Centre has been granted a Community Asset Transfer i.e. a transfer of ownership. The new Trust will be managed by Trustees on behalf of the Diocese and the Residents’ Association as a Community Resource. It was reported that complications of the lease is still holding things up but this was expected to be resolved.

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The Community Church at Woolstone. The new kitchen was fitted in 2019 but owing to the pandemic has not been greatly used yet. The congregation is scattered but an effort has been made to stay in touch with people. Some socially distanced services were possible in 2020 but the church is now shut. The chancel was cleared of extra things which were not needed and is looking better.

February 2021-02 Di Miller PCC Secretary

Annual Report and Accounts Woughton Ecumenical Partnership Foreword

This annual report reviews the life, ministry and activities of Woughton Ecumenical Partnership and its congregations in 2020. As we all know, this was a year unlike anything we had imagined, with our churches unable to hold services for much of the time, and even when we could do so, numbers were restricted. Many of our regular activities simply could not happen. But despite all this there have been things to celebrate. I want to thank our Ministry team and so many of our members who worked so hard to keep our Christian life and witness going with imaginative and compassionate responses to unpredictable changes.

Our Ministry team launched online video services and written materials for Sunday worship. Email, phone, WhatsApp and Zoom groups formed to keep people in touch with one another and provide pastoral support when needed.

Covid regulations put a stop to several of our important community actions, including the Soup Run, Winter Night Shelter accommodation and ABC (the group for parents and toddlers) at Christ the Vine. Ian Herbert, our Team leader, proposed a food parcel scheme to Woughton Community Council and then worked with the Council to establish regular deliveries of food and other supplies to the vulnerable and shut-in.

Although much was lost during the year, imaginative solutions meant we could still offer much to our communities. Zoom coffee mornings, Remembrance Sunday events, a gardens competition, a treasure hunt and a flower festival on the theme of ‘Missed Celebrations’ all helped to reach out to others.

On the financial side, closed churches meant loss of donations and fees. Our costs exceed our income and clearly this is not something we can sustain. We are so grateful to all who donate to keep our ministry running but circumstances now are such that we each need to ask ourselves whether we could give more. Our Treasurer Don Mahon, the district treasurers and the Trustees will continue to address this as a priority for us all as members so that we can take forward our mission in our communities.

During 2020 we have discussed with St Mary’s Bletchley a proposal that a Pioneer Minister could be placed within Woughton. These discussions are continuing.

There are many challenges facing us and Covid has brought more but we can be confident that God goes ahead of us. Our ecumenical vision statement reminds us that, as members, we commit ourselves ‘to work together in serving God’s mission locally and beyond.’ WEP’s role is to support all of us in the part we can play in that mission as we ‘seek to respond to the call of God through Christ and in the power of the Holy Spirit.’

On behalf of the Trustees, I want to thank our Ministry team, our volunteer ministers (ordained and lay) and others who lead worship and all those in our churches who do so much to build our life together – those who have worked so hard in such difficult circumstances to maintain our church life and witness. We look forward in hope to our churches opening again when we can build anew on our call to mission.

Mike Davidge Chair of Trustees 2021

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Contents

Section

Page

Title

1. Reference and Administrative Information

2. Structure, Governance and Management

• 2.1 The WEC Constitution and the WEP Governing Document

• 2.2 Appointment and training of Trustees:

• 2.3 The organisational structure of WEP and how decisions are made:

• 2.4 The relationship between WEP and Milton Keynes Mission Partnership:

• 2.5 A statement of the major risks to which WEP is exposed

3. Partnership Aims and Objectives

• 3.1 A summary of the objectives of the Partnership as set out in the Governing Document.

• 3.2 The Partnership Vision and Mission Objectives, as stated in SO No 1 3.3 Context and constraints on achieving the aims and objectives 3.4 The Partnership's main objectives

4. Activity and Achievement Reports

• 4.1 Team Leader 4.2 Secretarial Report 4.3 Christ The Vine Community Church 4.4 Holy Trinity Church, Woolstone 4.5 St Mary's Church

• 4.6 St Thomas' Church

• 4.7 Trinity Church Fishermead

• 4.8 Community Outreach: The Soup run

• 4.9 Marriage in the Parish

• 4.10 Baptisms and Thanksgiving Naming and Blessings

• 4.11 Bereavement Care

• 4.12 Christian Aid

• 4.13 Adults, Babies and Children (ABC)

• 4.14 Connect – No Longer Running

• 4.15 Netherfield Partnership Limited, The Farthing Enterprise

• 4.16 WEP Website

• 4.17 WEP Safeguarding

5. Financial Review

• 5.1 Independent Examiner

• 5.2 Statement of the principal financial policies including reserves

• 5.3 Banking and accounting arrangements

• 5.4 General Unrestricted Fund outturn and budget

• 5.5 Report of fundraising activity

• 5.6 Investment policies and performance

• 5.7 Notes to 2016 Accounts

Appendices

• 1 WEP Adult Membership Roll 2021

• 2 Trustees of WEP and Woughton PCC Members for 2021-22

• 3 Ecumenical Vision Statement for the Woughton Ecumenical Parish

• 4 Financial Statements

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Annual Report and Accounts 2020

1.	Reference and Administration Details:
1.1	Name: Woughton Ecumenical Partnership, abbreviated to WEP.
1.2	Address: Partnership Office, Christ the Vine Community Church, Jonathans, Coffee Hall, Milton Keynes MK6 5DE Tel [phone]. www.woughton.org
1.3	Trustees: Lynn Castle David Hart Mike Davidge John Howard Don Mahon Kim Weston Marilyn Mahon Rev Charmaine Howard Di Miller Rev Nicola Vidamour Rev Ian Herbert Jo Newall (co-opted, 20 February to 10 September 2020) Rev Paul Norris
1.4	Key Personnel: Chair: Mike Davidge Ministry Team: Rev Ian Herbert, Rev Charmaine Howard, Rev Paul Norris, Rev Nicola Vidamour Secretary: Di Miller Trustee Treasurer: Don Mahon WEP Administrator: Tim May
1.5	Principal Bankers: CAFBank, Central Finance Board of the Methodist Church and Central Board of Finance of the Church of England.
2.	Structure, Governance and Management:
2.1	Governing documents: Woughton Ecumenical Partnership (WEP) is established as a single congregation local ecumenical partnership. Its governing documents – the Constitution and Schedule – were approved and adopted at the inaugural congregational meeting on 18 October 2016. From this date, WEP replaced the former body known as Woughton Ecumenical Parish. As well as the governing documents, there is a Memorandum of Understanding made between the Bishop of Buckingham, the Parochial Church Council of the Parish of Woughton and the Trustees of WEP. WEP is established as a charitable unincorporated association. The Charity Commission registered it as a charity on 28 March 2017 with Registered Charity Number 1172298. A set of Standing Orders (SOs) has been approved by the Trustees. Each one covers a specific aspect of WEP policy. Standing Financial Instructions (SFIs) form part of the SOs. The SOs and SFIs have been drawn up to comply with the governing documents, relevant charity legislation and good practice as promulgated by the Charity Commission as regulator. The SOs all have scheduled review dates and the Trustees review each document as it falls due (or sooner if need arises).
2.2	Appointment and training of Trustees: The Trustee Body consists of: • Up to eleven Trustees elected by the Annual Congregational Meeting (normally for a term of three years) • Ex officio Trustees, being the ministers of the LEP for the time being. • Not more than five co-opted Trustees appointed by the Trustees. All current Trustees are either elected or ex officio. All Trustees have received the Charity Commission guide ‘The essential trustee’. Formal training for Trustees is planned but to date none has taken place.

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2.3 The organisational structure of WEP and how decisions are made:

There are five Local Church Councils (LCCs) whose task is to maintain and develop the life and mission of their local church. The rules governing LCCs are contained in SO No. 8 Local Church Councils. Each church may nominate two Trustees to the Partnership. A Chair, Secretary and Treasurer are elected by the Trustees. Members of the Ministry Team are ex officio Trustees. The Trustees have delegated to the Ministry Team matters of ministry and spiritual/pastoral care. There is an Annual Congregational Meeting to receive the Report and Accounts and elect Trustees (if there is a vacancy or a Trustee’s term is expiring). The normal business of the Partnership is conducted through regular meetings of the LCCs and the Trustees during the year. Membership data is set out in Appendix 1.

2.4 The relationship between WEP and Milton Keynes Mission Partnership:

WEP is a member of Milton Keynes Mission Partnership which seeks to advance the Christian faith by drawing together Christian communities from Milton Keynes and the surrounding areas to further the 'Five Marks of Mission' which have been adopted by the Forum of Churches Together in England. Each congregation appoints representatives to attend the Mission Partnership Assembly. Mike Davidge was a Trustee of WEP and a Trustee of Mission Partnership throughout 2020. Nicola Vidamour was a Trustee of Mission Partnership from 7 July 2020.

2.5 A statement of the major risks to which WEP is exposed:

• Inadequate level of voluntary income to support activities contributing to WEP’s objectives.

• Inability to find volunteers to lead activities essential to meeting WEP’s objectives.

• Failure to comply with relevant legislation (of which Health and Safety, Discrimination, including Disability, Safeguarding, Data Protection, Charity and Employment Law are the principal items)

• Lack of or inadequate insurance cover to meet all eventualities including loss or damage to buildings and assets or public and employer liability.

• Inappropriate words or actions of church officers and church members that damage WEP’s reputation.

• Management shortcomings in strategy, organisation, leadership, decision making, or communications mean that WEP’s objectives are not achieved.

• The Partnership Trustees act to mitigate all risks.

• WEP Aims and Objectives:

3.1 Our purpose

As set out in our Governing document, the purpose of the Charity is to advance the Christian faith in the Area of Benefit in accordance with the principles and practices of the Participating Churches.

Our Ecumenical Vision Statement

In the light of the prayer of Christ ‘may they all be one… that the world may believe that you sent me…’ (John 17.21) and the injunction to ‘spare no effort to make fast with bonds of peace the unity which the Spirit gives’ (Ephesians 4:3), members of WEP commit themselves to work together in serving God’s mission locally and beyond.

Members, drawn from the four participating denominations (The Church of England, The Methodist Church, The Baptist Union, and The United Reformed Church) and from other Christian traditions, seek to respond to the call of God through Christ and in the power of the Holy Spirit. Our life together and our mission are shaped by our core values:

• Spiritually alive;

• Together in Christ;

• Reaching out;

• Welcoming all;

• Using our gifts;

• Being sustainable.

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3.2 Our Mission Objectives

Each of our five local congregations gives expression to the above, in its worship, ministry and mission. Together across the Partnership we look to:

1. Provide regular public worship for all who wish to attend.

2. Pray for the well-being of members, adherents and people and organisations in the community.

3. Provide opportunities for children, young people and adults to learn about the Christian faith and its key teaching.

4. Undertake mission activity including both evangelism and service as appropriate.

5. Engage with the local community and other agencies to work towards meeting the needs of the community.

6. Engage in pastoral work for the benefit of members and others.

7. Offer baptism, thanksgiving, naming and blessing, marriage and funeral services for members, adherents, and people in the wider community with appropriate preparation and follow-up.

8. Provide facilities and activities with a Christian ethos for the local community including the elderly, young and groups with special needs.

9. Support other charities in the United Kingdom and overseas.

10. Seek God's guidance and direction in all that we do.

11. 3.3 Our objectives for 2020

District churches

• Each district church will challenge itself on how it contributes to achieving the ten Mission Objectives.

o Each district church will continue to develop and review its own mission action plan (District churches may add their own specific objectives reflecting their mission and service.)

How did we do: The Covid epidemic and consequent lockdowns had a significant impact on the life and work of all our district churches. Many activities, including worship services, community events and weddings and baptisms became impossible or had to be severely curtailed. Nevertheless, those of our churches where local circumstances allowed, made great efforts to keep some aspects of mission and ministry visible. Some churches were able to open to provide space for private prayer and reflection; Remembrance Sunday was observed; one church was able to organise a flower festival on the theme of ‘Missed Celebrations’, another organised a local ‘Best Garden’ community event. Our churches made great efforts to keep in touch with members and local communities, particularly those known to be vulnerable, through electronic media, by phone and personal visits where safe to do so.

The Partnership

• Support the Soup Run by making facilities available and encouraging participation.

• Provide at least one night’s accommodation a week for the Winter Night Shelter scheme

• Offer Easter Cracked and Christmas Cracked to all local schools with the appropriate year group.

• Encourage members to take up Mission Partnership and other training courses and to explore more formal training for local ministry.

How did we do: The Soup Run and Winter Night Shelter both had to shut down under Covid restrictions, but our Team Rector was able to establish a food parcel distribution scheme in partnership with Woughton Community Council, providing regular deliveries to vulnerable and shut-in members of our communities. The Easter Cracked and Christmas Cracked events for local schools could not take place. Some members took advantage of on-line courses, provided both within WEP and externally.

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Trustees

• Improve communication within the Partnership through the web site and newsletter and by encouraging cross-Partnership groups and events.

• Provide stewardship support to district churches.

• Introduce text and/or contactless giving to help raise funds for the Partnership.

• Maintain the financial health of the Partnership.

• Ensure that in all things we continue to operate in accordance with charity and other applicable laws and regulations.

How did we do: In response to lockdown, the Ministry team began producing online service videos and written worship material for each Sunday. These have helped to reinforce the sense that all of us are members of the Partnership, as well as our own district churches. The weekly Partnership newsletter was distributed by email and by hand for those members without email. Closure of our churches led to significant drops in income and efforts were made to encourage members to move to giving by standing order or direct bank transfer. Work continues on this. Our thanks go to the district church and Partnership treasurers for all their work to encourage good stewardship practices, but we know that financial challenges lie ahead and will require continued effort to manage. On applicable laws and regulations, the Trustees continue to give close regard to these. In 2020, we continued to review our own standing orders, including our safeguarding policy, to ensure they reflect good practice. Our planned work on developing strategy was disrupted by the succession of lockdowns.

4. Activity and Achievement Reports:

4.1 Ministry Team 2020 - Ian Herbert, Charmaine Howard, Paul Norris and Nicola Vidamour:

Our weekly Sunday worship was maintained in all five churches, until the closure of all places of worship due to the Corona virus in early March. 2020 has been a challenging time for the ministry team as we looked at how we were able to keep connected with our churches and to connect with the community throughout the Pandemic. Each member of the ministry team has and continues to play an important role in all that we are doing to reach all who attend one of the churches and the wider community. From online services through Zoom and Facebook to pre-recorded Videos with transcripts, weekly resources, reflections, funerals, and pastoral support to name but a few.

Our appreciation and thanks must go to the Revd. James Whyshall who in May 2020 and after twenty years stepped back from Holy Trinity, Woolstone, Although James has stepped back, he has very kindly offered to support the Ministry team with the occasional service. We are grateful also to Revd Paul le Sueur who was taking services regularly at St., Thomas’ but has now decided that he will not be renewing his license. We also extend our gratitude to the Revd. Chris Bell, Jeff Newall, Mike Davidge. John Howard, Lynn Castle, Judy Rapp & Pam Rowden who have continued to lead and preach at services when the churches have been open. They remain committed in ensuring that we will be able to maintain a weekly service throughout all our churches in the partnership as we move forward.

Although our Pastoral work is shared with church members and does not exclusively fall on to the Ministry team, 2020 saw a significant increase in the ministry team’s involvement with church members and residents. Working with those who had booked weddings, baptism, TNB in 2020, was a mammoth task as all but one wedding had to be postponed or was cancelled. All baptism’s and TNB were also cancelled, and we saw an increase in funerals and the pastoral care associated with death of a loved one.

There have been opportunities within the Partnership for teaching and learning about the Christian faith, including Bible study groups, Sunday schools, and our Lent reflections. Many of these opportunities have moved online during the year and this is something which we hope to continue.

Please read the reports from the churches if you would like to know more about what each church has been up to.

The ministry team have maintained involvement in the community including schools, homes for the elderly, community projects, residents’ associations, regeneration work and buildings management groups. See local church reports for details of the strong community links with our churches.

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Tim May our Partnership Administrator has been able to relieve the ministry team of a significant amount of day to day administrative tasks. We have continued to review the processes, procedures and legal requirements of the Partnership, and Tim has played his part in ensuring the weekly resources have been sent to Geoffrey as well as hand delivering to those who do not have email.

The parish has a long tradition of lay involvement. We would like to take this opportunity to thank those who have helped us and who exercise their own ministries by using their gifts and skills, without you we would not be able to be as effective in our communities as we have been.

As we look to the future, we encourage you all to seek God’s guidance on how you may also support the work of the Partnership, their local churches and the team.

Yours in Christ

Revd. Ian Herbert, Charmaine Howard, Revd. Paul Norris Revd. Nicola Vidamour

4.2 Secretarial Report for WEP ACM 2021

This past year has been dominated by the pandemic which has affected every aspect of our parish life, including the postponement of the ACM which was only held on 28[th] October 2020 via Zoom. Tim May has been mostly working from home and occasionally going into the office. Again, my thanks to him for his help in collating the annual report booklet.

The Trustees of the Woughton Partnership have met five times in the past year, only one of which was face to face as the lockdown started in March 2020. The Minutes of all meetings are available to read from the Parish Office and online. During the pandemic, the web site has been vital, and services have been recorded on Vimeo for downloading. Many members of the Woughton Ecumenical Partnership have been grateful for resources from the Team which have been provided during this time of isolation.

With regard to distributing the Partnership Newsletter and other documentation, these having mostly been sent out via email by Tim May. Tim has also been personally delivering resources on a Saturday to those in the parish that do have online access, I would like to thank Tim for the extra effort he has given to ensure that these members are still able to feel involved in our weekly worship.

Our prayers are for us to work together through the various challenges which Covid-19 has thrown up and for every member to be involved and interested in the work of God’s Kingdom in this area.

Di Miller Secretary to WEP.

4.3 Christ the Vine Community Church:

It has been an unusual year for everyone. In some ways it has been worrying and frightening. We were thrust into the unknown world of Coronavirus and Lockdown. We heard again and again that we were living in “unprecedented” times. But by the grace of God and the love of our church community we continued to serve God, each other, and our communities. We strengthened our relationships in all three areas and continued our worship, discipleship, and mission.

Prayer

We continue to encourage each other to spend time in daily prayer, but our focus has been on praying together. We have been encouraged (and a number of us are now accustomed) to saying the Lord’s Pray at midday each day, wherever we happen to be. We have also cultivated the habit of ending our morning Zoom meetings by saying the Lord’s Prayer together. We regularly post prayer requests on our Church WhatsApp group. We are beginning to receive prayer requests from our church members and local communities, and we incorporate these into our Sunday worship and Prayer Vine. Prayer Vine is our weekly prayer meeting. This now takes place on Zoom and we have 7 regular attenders who offer prayers and intercessions for our communities, families, church, and world issues.

Worship

Initially, we worshipped together using written worship material produced by Christ the Vine Church. We started with Fruit of the Spirit and produced material to help us read and reflect on Scripture and to engage in creative prayer activities. To these we added short video services from Easter 2020 until the first lockdown eased. We reopened church for in person services in July 2020 and introduce live

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streaming as an option for those who were not able to attend church in person. We wanted to ensure that as many of our members as possible were able to enjoy gathering for worship as the body of Christ together, though socially and geographically distanced. We were more prepared for the second lockdown and so we moved our Church Services onto Zoom. We worked together to ensure that all our members (who wished to) had the technology, the ability, and the support to join each Zoom Service. As a result, our Services have been very well attended. We also posted our streamed and Zoom Services on our Facebook page. This enabled those who preferred not to Zoom or had missed the live Service to worship at home at a later time. As a result, our weekly Sunday Services have reached hundreds of people each week. We have a few regular attenders who have indicated their intention to attend in person services when the church building re-opens. We are currently devising a hybrid system that allows us to worship in person in the church building and at the same time, allow those at home to worship with us on Zoom. We plan to use this system on Easter Sunday.

Discipleship

Study Vine is our Bible Study and Discipleship program. We have flourished on Zoom. We regularly have 12 - 14 members in attendance and studied a wide range of topics including Fruit of the Spirit, Generous Living, Habakkuk, Colossians, Testify and Meals with Jesus. We have linked our study to the Sunday Service message to maintain continuity of learning and develop depth of understanding. Our Advent Reflections were based on “Because of Bethlehem” by Max Lucado. We used the videos to aid our discussions and explore the mystery and gift of our Saviour’s birth. We used the video “He Chose the Nails” to guide our discussions and help us to prepare our hearts through Lent in readiness to receive again the joy of Easter.

Fellowship

Creative Vine began as a craft group that met weekly. During Lockdown, this group moved to Zoom. We are unable to share the same craft activity, but each person now brings their own craft - knitting, painting, sewing, jigsaws, poetry writing - and enjoy fellowship whilst they create at home. Cafe Vine continues online. This is a social time on Zoom. We enjoy coffee and chat about a range of subjects. We split into breakout rooms when the group gets too large so we can all get to speak! Throughout the pandemic, we have organised ourselves into pastoral groups. Each group has a leader who regularly contacts their team and offers love, encouragement, support and a listening ear. We have greatly valued this. When restrictions have allowed, we met in small groups in the park. When restrictions have not allowed, we met on Zoom enjoying quizzes and even a Pizza Party.

Mission

We have not been able to hold our usual Summer and Christmas Fairs. However, we have continued to engage with our communities throughout the pandemic. We joined the local community celebrating VE Day in our gardens and on video. We collected dried goods for our Harvest Festival and donated them to Foodbank. We were joined by the local Parish Council, the Mayor and the Royal British Legion for our Remembrance Day Service on video. Our Christmas Nativity Festival and Treasure Hunt had over 100 adults and children taking part and we raised £200 from our Christingle Service that was held on Zoom. We participated in a video that helped The Bridgebuilder Trust take the Christmas Story into schools. And we can also be seen wearing our Christmas jumpers on the videos that were circulated by the local Residents Association and the Parish Council. Our recent Easter Scavenger Hunt and Easter Bonnet Competition was attended by over 140 adults and children. It was great to see so many children and families out and about on the estate, engaging with the Easter Story. The pandemic has hit everyone really hard. During that time, we have lost four of our members. We remember with fondness Doreen Evans, Sonia Hale, Colin Elsey, and Domingo Ajayi who died during this year. Like their families and so many others in the country we have not had time to process our loss or come to terms with our grief. We have seen so many people in our communities suffering from anxiety, depression, and other mental health related issues. Indeed, mental health has been highlighted by the NHS and the Council as a priority for Milton Keynes. As part of our mission, we are partnering with local community groups and organisations to try to meet some of the needs of those suffering from mental health issues. Currently we are in the planning and discussion stages of setting up a Wellbeing Cafe Hub based at Christ the Vine Community Church in partnership with MK ROC, NHS Clinical Commissioning Group (Milton Keynes, Beds and Luton), Planting Up, Transition Town MK and Woughton Community Council.

Conclusion

It has been a challenging year in so many ways. We have learned to use technology in new and creative ways. We have adapted to new ways of being church and “doing” church. We have grown closer to each other through mutual support and encouragement in tough times. We have sought to bring our community to church by being church in our community. And we have done all this by relying on the faithfulness, love and mercy of our God who drew us to this passage that we have

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adopted as our focus for the coming year. “ Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” {Joshua 1:9)

Charmain Howard March 2021

4.4 Annual Report – Trinity Woolstone

It seems strange to be writing this when we are still not meeting. It is almost exactly a year since the first lockdown began and although there was a brief period in the summer when we were able to meet while observing social distancing, it was all too brief.

We have a small and elderly membership many of whom are extremely clinically vulnerable and therefore have been in isolation for the year. We have been keeping in touch on a weekly basis but very much look forward to when we can return to worshipping together in the church. During the lockdowns, the worship patterns have been varied: some have worshipped with the Diocese of Oxford, some with the weekly WEP service, some with the Zoom from Christ the Vine and some with services that they have found on-line. The challenge post lockdown will be to bring us back together as a gathered church.

During the year, the church members have played their part in the maintenance and improvement of the building. The Chancel is now tidier and more attractive, the huge table has gone to be replaced by the earlier and smaller, altar table. The church records, kept above the kitchen, have been examined and either filed or thrown away. We are no longer keeping the minutes of PCC meetings from the last century! The church was opened for the annual Deanery cycle ride.

The Rev James Whysall retired after 15 years service and we are so very grateful to him for his faithful service.

We are excited by the challenges of the year to come and very much hope that this time next year, we will be able to report successful mission and growth.

John Howard - Church Warden 3[rd] March 2021

4.5 St Marys Church Woughton on the Green Jan 2020 to Dec 2020

It goes without saying, this has been a difficult year and one that has seen us having to embrace technology and work to ensure that all members of our congregation were kept in touch with.

• Sunday Worship, Jan to March we used our usual rotation of services; traditional Communion, Café style, word, and worship at 945am and offered a Communion at 830am. We were able to have News Year Joy which is social event, and this was the last event before lockdown occurred then our services stopped completely in March. When lock down 1 finished, we formed a Covid Task force and set about making the church safe for use, we were able to realign our seating to accommodate 30, with hand sanitizer, signing in book and 2 metres social distancing and set up a booking list and this worked well till lockdown 2 and then we closed again.

• Open for You Jan to March took place on Saturdays with a welcome extended to all and refreshments served. Lockdown 1 saw this cease, but Open for you recommenced in Sept, and has now taken place every Saturday and Sunday 10am to 11 am with 2 stewards in place, it has a faithful group of participants and the time is appreciated.

• The Bell ringers met till March and the bells have been almost silent since. The ringers meet on Thursday for zoom and are keen to return.

• We had hoped to offer a Remembrance service, but this was curtailed as all were, but we laid wreaths and the Last Post etc was played over a phone and we were joined by villagers who also laid wreaths, and this was a poignant time of reflection in a socially distanced manner.

• The church yard has been maintained and families have been very supportive of the management of the Memorial ash plots.

• Occasional offices, we had no weddings, baptisms, or renewal of vows, we have had 2 burials and interment of 4 cremated remains.

• Our DCC has met by Zoom since lockdown and we have been able to use Newsletters and pew sheets electronically to reach the congregation, if they have provided an email address, those that have not have their info delivered by Tim each week, for which we are very grateful.

• The Quinquennial in 2019 gave recommendations, several of which were completed.

• • The porch floor was re-laid, during which roots were discovered, that had to be removed and a root barrier constructed and was completed in Nov 2020.

• Minor repairs required in WC. The roof required some slate repairs.

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• East churchyard wall, early in the year, the tree that was leaning against from the hotel side was blown down taking the wall with it and the hotel has provided a temporary fence. The hotel is currently closed, and no further progress has been made.

• Wi fi was eventually installed after 3yr wait, during the installation an electrical cable to lych gate was damaged and this was repaired at no cost to us.

• The church hall has been maintained as required by Ecclesiastical Insurance company.

• • All our fund raising, Strawberry Fayre etc were cancelled and with a bit of initiative we have had cake, marmalade and chutney sales, card sales that have raised £600 for much need funds and a Flower festival in Sept that raised £500 + and was a good community event.

• We supported 2 local Charities this year, Willen Hospice and The MK Hospital Cancer Centre.

• We continue to pray for the world and our community and the Parish and play an active role in the video recording of weekly services.

We welcome a return to meeting and worshipping again but realise that our priority is safety for ourselves and the community that we serve Church.

Kim Weston Chairman DCC.

4.6 Report for St Thomas’s ACM 21[st] March 2021

Introduction

In early 2019 I started to attend fund raising concerts, events and services at St Thomas’ Church and decided that I had found my new spiritual home. The congregation were warm and welcoming. In December 2020 I was invited to become the new Church Warden. After personal thoughts and prayers, I agreed. I was appointed in January 2021.

The year 2020 has been difficult for everyone, but St Thomas’ have celebrated services when possible, enjoyed online services and regular “after Church” zoom coffee meetings each Sunday. The Church has been opened on Saturday afternoons for private prayer. We all look forward to a more normal life within our Church for the rest of 2021.

Investigative work to the Chancel

St Thomas’ requires some investigative and corrective work on the cracks in the walls of the Chancel. Quotes have been received for this work. Weldon Stone Company in Corby have quoted £12,387.50.

This will require investigation into possible availability of funds for such restoration. When possible, we will also start fundraising.

The Deanery inspection [January 2021] has been successfully completed by zoom. I have been acquainted with all the official records which have been well maintained. My thanks to the past Church Warden Stephen Roberts who left these records in good order. I have had a useful meeting with Tim May and am aware that the PAT testing needs updating, and the fire extinguishers need inspecting. These items are in hand.

The Churchyard

Unauthorised items on some graves have generated complaints. We are being guided, as to the way forward, by Archdeacon Guy Elsmore on this matter.

Rebecca Hiorns is taking the lead for the Churchyard biodiversity group. We have a map of the Churchyard and are aware of the location of the “bee orchids”. A small group are visiting the Churchyard, keeping records, and taking photographs so that we will have a pictorial record of the wildflowers.

Iola Samuels 8[th] March 2021

4.7 Trinity Church 2021 WEP ACM Report

The year started with the exiting news that Rev Ian Herbert was to have pastoral responsibility for Trinity after he and Rev Nicola Vidamour had gone through a period of discernment. We had been blessed with the care given to us by Rev Chris Bell since Heather’s departure in August 2018 and we wish to express our sincere thanks to him for his love and care. Unfortunately, Chris was taken seriously ill in February and was undergoing treatment for the rest of the year. He recently shared the good news that he is free from cancer.

Like the rest of the country, we were in lockdown from 15[th] March until we reopened for services for a short time from 23[rd] August until 1[st] November. We have managed to continue our mission with daily prayer cycle through weekly emails and the Pastoral Carers have kept in contact with the people on

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their lists. During the first lock down and after the second lock down some of us watched the Parish Videos and then started to join CVCC zoomed services. Since January we have had a Trinity zoom Service each week.

Unfortunately, we have not been able to do all the things we intended to do during the year as the garden project had to be put into abeyance and it was not possible for the project with Jubilee Wood School to go ahead.

We managed to get the Manse at 60 Padstow into a condition that enabled us to have it rented out. The Insurance Company is still monitoring the subsidence issue with the hope that it can be rectified this year.

4.8 The Soup Run:

Due to Covid throughout 2020 - Nothing to Report

4.9 Marriage in the Parish

General:

2020 saw the postponement and cancellation of 21 weddings due to Covid19 and the restrictions put in place by the government and the denominations represented in WEP. However, 1 wedding in early March did go ahead. Although we were unable to meet with the wedding couples contact has been maintained throughout this exceedingly difficult year. 2021 is going to be a busy year, although we are still working with limited restrictions.

As you know weddings offer opportunities for contact with people who do not normally attend church. It is where strong relationships can be built with the couple, and sometimes also with their family and friends. We encourage couples to attend Sunday services prior to their wedding, and it is pleasing that some continue to come afterwards. We encourage couples to see their marriage service as an act of worship and we give them a Bible.

We encourage our congregations and members to pray for those getting married, having blessing or renewal of married services.

Weddings involve a lot of work for quite a significant number of people, both ordained and lay. A huge thank you to all those who give their time as part of the WEP Wedding Team, from those who clean the church, act as vergers on the day, flower arrangers, bell ringers’ musicians and those who support the ministers when couples book their wedding.

Wedding Bookings:

All wedding enquiries and bookings will continue to go through the office after which an appointments system is in place. Each session involves a member of the Ministerial Team and a lay administrator. However, due to the pandemic the ministry team have contacted each wedding couple by phone or Zoom.

Marriage Preparation Group:

Marriage preparation is undertaken by the minister officiating at the wedding.

The Ministry Team 2021

4.10 Baptism and Thanksgiving Naming and Blessings:

In 2020 due to the Covid19 restrictions there have been no Baptism’s, Thanksgiving services or Blessings.

We look forward to once again welcoming families and their guests into four of our churches, for infant baptism and TNB services. For some this will be their first time visiting our churches, whilst others may already be part of our church family. Baptisms are almost always part of a Sunday morning service, However, there are exceptions, whilst TNBs are often held on Saturday or Sunday afternoons.

Baptism and TNB services and the associated preparation give an opportunity to share our faith and to encourage parents to consider their own faith journey. We give a children’s Bible to each child, which we hope parents will enjoy reading with them. Our congregations and members are encouraged to pray for the children and their families.

We thank our lay team, those who facilitate the services as stewards and musicians.

The Ministry Team 2021

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4.11 Bereavement Care:

Total funerals taken in 2020 was 65, as well as 17 commendation and committals. However, with the introduction of GPDR, bereaved families, while grateful for the services taken by ministers, did not want their information held by WEP. But I can assure you that the ministers, where appropriate, are in contact with bereaved families.

Although we were unable to hold a traditional memorial service it was felt by the Ministry team that we should offer a service of remembrance to the families of those who had died recently. So, on All Saints weekend St Thomas’s was opened for “Light in the Darkness” from 2 - 4 on both days with half hour slots, for a short act of remembrance led by a member of the clergy.

The Ministry Team 2021

4.12 Christian Aid

Due to Covid throughout 2020 – Nothing to report

4.13 Adults, Babies and Children (ABC): Due to Covid throughout 2020 - Nothing to Report

4.14 Connect – No longer running

4.15 The Netherfield Partnership Limited (NP Ltd):

NP Ltd is a Charitable Society for the Benefit of the Community registered under the Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014. WEP was a founder member in 1999 and is one of two corporate members, the other being Milton Keynes Council (MKC). The main activity of the Society is to manage the operation of the Farthing Enterprise Centre (FEC), which provides workshop/office units for new and start-up businesses, primarily for applicants from the Netherfield area, but also encompassing the Woughton Ward.

The premises, formerly the Red Cross Centre, and owned by MKC, were refurbished under the “New Start for Netherfield” European Social Fund (ESF) Programme. This regenerated part of Netherfield and the Society was formed to run on from the ESF Programme. It has held a 17-year lease on the FEC premises which has just been renewed for a further 13 years.

The 11 FEC units are occupied by a variety of businesses including a hairdresser, picture framer, tattooist, PC repairs and IT consultancy, accountancy and bookkeeping, healthcare professional’s provider, fashion design and maker, and export /catalogue sales. Tenants benefit from managed units with Wi-Fi, and are subsidised through rents discounted below market levels, which are progressively raised as their businesses mature. A Training and Meeting Room is kept for hire and one unit is available for a Charity to occupy at a peppercorn rent. The Society is well established, and the financial model is robust, maintaining the Centre in excellent repair and funding sufficient reserves. Revd Ian Herbert and Revd Charmaine Howard are the WEP representatives on the management committee.

Due to the Covid19 there have been no meetings to my knowledge.

Revd Ian Herbert 2021

4.16 Webmaster's Report for 2021 AGM

Since the last AGM we have been put back into lockdown, which meant that a number of changes to and expansions of the website were necessary. Hopefully, we are about to be able to resume regular worship in our churches, which will therefore require further work to update the information.

The website will continue be used to provide the latest information about Church services as they resume, with whatever restrictions prove necessary. I look forward to receiving the information as it becomes available.

The Ministry Team have produced regular worship resource material and video services, which have proved popular. Thanks to all of you.

Geoffrey Miller, Webmaster 2021

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4.17 SAFEGUARDING REPORT FOR WEP AGM 2021

WEP continue to follow the Methodist Safeguarding Policy which is available here: - https://www.methodist.org.uk/media/18740/safeguarding_policy_procedures_and _guidance_for_the_methodist_church_sept_2020.pdf As this is a “live” document with constant updates (and also very long), printing is advised against and the electronic version should always be read to ensure the most up to date version is being viewed. It provides a comprehensive set of operating procedures for all Safeguarding matters in relation to children, young people (under 18 years old) and vulnerable adults.

Each May, the WEP Safeguarding Policy is updated and the revised version (Standing Order No 15) is approved by WEP. It is a requirement that this is displayed in each of the Churches along with a poster giving the relevant names and contact details for Safeguarding matters. The Partnership Policy is part of the wider national Policy.

During the year Jo Newall stepped down as the Safeguarding Lead for WEP and as safeguarding officer for Christ the Vine. We want to express our huge appreciation to Jo for the time and energy, skill and care which she has given to this role. Rev Nicola Vidamour has been providing cover, but we urgently need to appoint a new Safeguarding Lead. Each church appoints its own Safeguarding Officer. These are currently Kim Weston at St Mary’s, Ophelia Cole at Trinity, Alison Lucas at St Thomas’. There is no-one in place at Christ the Vine and Woolstone.

Six people from the Partnership had DBS Checks carried out in 2020. It was not possible to run Methodist safeguarding training because of the pandemic. Safeguarding training has to be renewed every four years and there are a significant number of people who will be due for this in the autumn of 2021.

The Methodist Circuit have asked for a financial contribution from the LEP’s to support the workload that falls on the Superintendent Minister.

The MK Methodist Circuit Safeguarding Leads Meetings that commenced in 2018 have continued during 2020. These offer valuable information exchange and guidance in the implementation of the complexities of Safeguarding Practice.

There is still significant amount of work to do on risk assessments and implementing Safer Recruitment procedures.

Implementing the Safeguarding Policy is complex and challenging for all. We give thanks for all who are involved in this task and ask that this important work is held in your prayers to promote the wellbeing of the young and most vulnerable in our communities. We all need to remember that “Safeguarding is Everybody’s Business” and underpins all our Partnership’s practices.

Nicola Vidamour Interim WEP Safeguarding Lead

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1. Financial Review: 5.1 Independent Examiner:

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5.2 A statement of the principal financial policies including reserves:

1 Principal accounting policies

Trustees’ responsibility in relation to the financial statements

Law applicable to charities in England and Wales requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the charity’s financial activities during the year and of its financial position at the end of the year. In preparing those financial statements, the trustees are required to:

• 1) select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently

• 2) make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;

• 3) state whether applicable accounting standards and statements of recommended practice have been followed subject to any departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements;

• 4) prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charity will continue in business

The trustees are responsible for keeping accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Charities Act 2011. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

Reserves policy

Only the general fund meets the Charity Commission’s definition for reserves, resulting in reported reserves of £36,325 at 31 December 2020. The trustees seek to maintain reserves at not less than three months’ general fund expenditure (i.e., £35,586 based on 2020 expenditure), believing that this provides a prudent buffer against unforeseen expenditure. Sudden serious income shortfall is not seen as a major risk as the majority of the Partnership’s income is derived from a large number of donors as well as fees and premises lettings, none of which is individually significant. Although no single donor, on their own, is significant it should be noted that four Partnership couples deliver more than a fifth of total Partnership income.

1 Accounting policies

(a) Basis of accounting

The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention and in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard 102. In preparing the financial statements the Partnership follows best practice as set out in the Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP) “Accounting and Reporting by Charities” effective January 2015.

(b) Basis of consolidation

These financial statements consolidate the financial results of the various activities of Woughton Ecumenical Partnership on a line-by-line basis. Certain of these activities are not directly managed by the trustees but delegated to groups within the Partnership. These activities have been accounted for as branches and the financial results shown within separate delegated funds.

(c) Incoming resources

Voluntary income is recognized when received. The value of services provided by volunteers has not been included.

Grants (including grants for the purchase of fixed assets) are recognized in full in the year in which they have been received. Each grant is disclosed within the category of income that is most appropriate to the activity it is intended to support.

Incoming resources from charitable activities is recognized when the activity giving rise to the income takes place.

Investment income is recognized on an accrual’s basis.

(d) Resources expended

Resources expended are included in the Statement of Financial Activities on an accrual’s basis, inclusive of VAT which cannot be recovered.

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Grants & donations payable are charged to the Statement of Financial Activities in the year in which the Partnership decides they should be made. Accruals are made if the payment is not made until the following year. In all cases where such accruals have been made, either the details of the grant or donation have been communicated to the beneficiary before the end of the year or the payment is the result of a specific appeal.

(e) Fund accounting

Charity law requires the net assets of the Partnership to be accounted for within a number of funds. The Partnership operates the following two types of funds. Unrestricted general funds These are funds that can be used in accordance with the Partnership’s charitable objects at the discretion of the trustees. • General Fund This is the fund through which the normal operating activities of the Partnership are recognized. • Delegated funds With the exception of the URC Manse and Ministry Funds these funds are not directly managed by the trustees but by groups delegated to run and oversee these activities on behalf of the Partnership and its trustees. In 2020 the pandemic forced groups to cease operations but there was some limited activity on the following delegated funds: Adults, Babies and Children Group (ABC) and the Homeless Group (Soup Run).

• Designated Funds These are funds set aside by the trustees out of unrestricted general funds for specific future purposes or projects. Currently the Partnership has no plans requiring designations. Restricted Funds

These are funds that can only be used for specific purposes within the Partnership’s objects. Restrictions arise when specified by the donor or when funds are raised for specific projects or purposes.

These expendable funds are operated by the local church councils but overseen by the trustees or (where required by Church of England rules and mostly relating to building matters) the Parochial Church Council. The income and expenditure of these funds are shown in the Restricted Fund column of the financial statements.

There are a number of funds currently in operation at four of the churches in the Partnership. Christ the Vine currently have three funds.

Gift Day : Donations made specifically for local investment, mission and support to Christian charities. Flood Relief : Following flooding in Coffee Hall a fund was set up to support those who would not have the ability to pay for the repair and recovery work.

Boiler/Baptistry : The boiler needed urgent replacement during 2020. The Church Council took the opportunity to also install the pipework for the hot water supply to the baptistry. When the installation was completed the cost was more than the funds that had been raised for the project. Fundraising efforts continue to match the outlay.

St Mary’s have received donations for specific major developments or repairs to the church building at Woughton on the Green. There are three ongoing funds with retained balances at the end of 2020. These were named as follows:

Audio : Further purchases were made during 2020 but gifts and donations continue to come in for the Audio-Visual equipment. Clock : a donation was originally made for the repair or replacement of the tower clock mechanism. There are continuing issues with the clock mechanism so some of the remaining fund has been used for the re-balancing and repair work. The original donors agreed that the funds remaining, following the mechanism installation, could be retained, and used at the discretion of the Church Council.

Fabric : donations continue to be made for the upkeep of the main church building, tower, and churchyard.

26

St Thomas’ started a building fund in 2015 for the purposes of fabric and churchyard restoration. The funds have been generated through fundraising events, grant applications and donations. It was originally created to acquire a new noticeboard and repair the paths. The fund has continued to generate cash, and this has been used for a number of repairs as they have been identified.

The legacy received specifically for local St Thomas’ projects has not been used during 2020.

Trinity received a gift, in 2016, to be used for local activities. The use is to be determined by the Church Council. The gift was being used to raise the church profile. The pandemic has stalled the local activities the church commenced in 2019.

The Baptist Association grant is still to be used. It is intended to continue with the project for the young people of Fishermead, but the pandemic and the availability of a suitable local space has prevented progress.

• Endowments

These are permanent funds. The income and expenditure of these funds is shown in the Endowment Fund column of the financial statements.

The Partnership currently has six separate permanent funds managed by CCLA. The income generated from these investments is allocated to the appropriate District in the Partnership in accordance with the Trust documents.

5.3 Banking and accounting arrangements: The Partnership operates a number of bank accounts all managed centrally. The accounts used and their closing 2020 balances are:

CAF £2,214

CAF Gold £10,823 Central Board of Finance £70,587 CCLA £47,686

All transactions were processed through these accounts or the petty cash floats held and operated by St Mary’s, the Adults, Babies and Children Group and the Homeless Group.

Throughout 2020 a standard suite of monthly statements has been distributed to the Church Councils. This provided the Church Councils with the financial perspective of their church activities. The Church Councils also provided planned activities which they identified would have a financial impact. Detailed quarterly figures were presented to the trustees at the meeting immediately following the quarter end.

5.4 General Unrestricted Fund outturn and budget:

The deployment of the full stipendiary ministry team and the impact of the pandemic has delivered a General Fund deficit of £8,941 after the full transfer from the Ministry Fund.

The 2021 General Fund Budget predicts the full stipendiary team deployment continues. The Manse in Fishermead will deliver letting income during the year but the pandemic will adversely impact general donations. The computations indicate that, despite keeping expenditure to a minimum, there will be a £32,043 deficit.

The budget has used the existing Share apportionment model to distribute the Partnership Ministry and overheads to the churches.

5.5 A Report of Fund Raising Activity:

In normal years the principle methods of raising funds are: Members donations and, where appropriate, the recovery of tax. Subscriptions and hire fees.

A wide variety of fundraising events e.g., fetes, quizzes, tabletop sales etc. Minor Grants to support specific Partnership activities.

Major Grants and special appeals to support specific significant Partnership projects or activities. Fees from Funerals, Weddings & Thanksgiving, naming and blessings. Interest from deposit accounts and dividends from investments.

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5.6

Investment Policies and Performance: To invest the unused Partnership funds in secure interest-bearing deposit accounts. To hold these and the Partnership investments in secure and ethical funds in accordance with the Trust Deeds.

5.7

Notes to the 2020 Accounts Partnership Unrestricted General Funds: Incoming Resources The Financial statements, in the Annual Report, only disclose the total of all funds operated by the Partnership in 2019. Space does not allow for the separate reporting of the prior year Unrestricted General Funds so the movements reported below cannot be extracted directly from the Financial statements included in the Annual Report. The 2019 Unrestricted General Fund figures can be found in last year’s Annual Report or on request from the Partnership Treasurer who can be contacted by email at [e-mail]. i. When compared to 2019, income from Donations and Legacies has fallen by £13,557. Note 1 of the Financial statements reports the breakdown of this income. Tax Efficient Giving has fallen by £1,760, collections qualifying for Small Donations have also fallen by £9,604. Both of these movements have had a negative impact on the Gift Aid and Small Donations Scheme re-claims from HMRC falling by £2,871. There have been further Partnership members who have advised they no longer qualify to be part of the Gift Aid scheme. This has given rise to a further increase in Other Donations rising £1,047 compared to 2019. The church closures have meant there has been no need to acquire Junior Church materials which has meant a £350 reduction in the grant awarded by Chapmans Educational Foundation. There have only been small movements on the other items under this heading. ii. Charitable activities have seen a fall of £6,298 from the 2019 performance. The breakdown of this income stream can be seen in Note 2 of the Financial statements. The cancellations brought on by the Covid-19 crisis has seen Wedding fee income fall by £2,582. Funeral fees have also seen a fall dropping £2,887 compared to the prior year. The church closures have also impacted hire income with a fall of £829, compared to last year. iii. Other Trading Activity has also been impacted by the church closures. The closures have meant the recurring annual events had to be cancelled and the restrictions prevented the regular visits the historic churches enjoyed. The outcome is a Fundraising drop of £6,578 compared to 2019. The revised Church Hall arrangements delivered an increase in General Sales income, up by £128 on the prior year. Further detail can be seen in Note 3. iv. Investments fell by £72 compared to the previous year. The interest rates on all deposits decreased rapidly towards the end of 2020. v. Other Income is predominantly delivered from events raising funds for charities and other good causes. Again, the building closures prevented events of this nature being staged. This has delivered the bulk of the fall of £2,034 compared to 2019. Resources expended i. Raising Funds costs are £919 more than 2019. The analysis of this expenditure can be seen in Note 5 of the Financial statements. Fundraising Costs have decreased by £361, compared to the prior year, due to there being fewer events needing catering in 2020; Advertising & Promotion expenditure decreased by £107; community events, that the Partnership normally participate in, were cancelled due to Covid-19. Fewer churches requested Christmas cards in 2020. There were two visits by the Diocesan architect, in 2020, delivering a £1,387 increase compared to the prior year. ii. Charitable Activities have increased by £17,820 between years. The Free Church appointment having the greatest impact on the movement. iii. Ministry and Related Staff Costs (Note 6 Sub Note (a)) have increased by £38,750 compared to 2019. The £40,377 increase in Mission Partnership LEP Share comes from the Free Church appointment but, despite the increase to two full time stipendiary ministers, the lockdowns significantly impacted the number of services which delivered a Clergy expenses reduction of £1,892 compared to 2019; all manse costs have been gathered together under the Manse Running Expenses heading. The manse annual gas and electrical inspections

28

	were conducted in order to issue the Gas Safe and electrical circuit test certificates. This
	delivered an expenditure increase of £334 compared to 2019; there was no Training
	expenditure in 2020 which is a £69 reduction from the previous year.
iv.	Employed Staff costs rose by £462 compared to the prior year. The Partnership follows the
	Living Wage Foundationannouncements published in November each year. There were
	rate rises announced in both 2019 and 2020 and this is reflected in the increase. See Note 6
	Sub Note (b).
v.	Premises and Other Resource Costs (Note 6 Sub Note (c)) are down by £18,322 from 2019.
	The most significant movements occurred on the following subheadings:
	Premises running costs are down by £1,836 compared to 2019. The catch up of missed
	charges at CVCC and St Mary’s has increased the electricity charges, but the work done at
	St Thomas’ to control its gas usage plus the building closures have significantly reduced the
	gas expenditure. Water charges have also come down particularly at CVCC. The purchase of
	sanitizer, dispensers, and antibacterial materials has added to premises cleaning costs.
	Maintenance is £6,765 lower than the prior year. Although the annual servicing was carried
	out at the anniversary dates the crisis meant the risk of building or equipment failure was
	reduced but the installation of LED lights at St Thomas’ was completed before the first
	lockdown.

Partnership Administration is down by £6,194 on the prior year. The bulk of the movement, between years, is the fees for the historic church quinquennial inspections carried out in May and June 2019. There has also been no need for printed orders of service or pew sheets which has delivered a considerable saving on photocopying and stationery.

Upkeep of Services/Centre Hire; services were severely disrupted by the lockdowns. This meant there was a reduced need for flowers and communion elements delivering a £558 reduction compared to the previous year. Insurance; the revised Woughton on the Green Church Hall arrangements delivered the bulk of the £537 reduction in insurance costs. Equipment & New Building Works is £1,927 lower than the previous year. There has been little need to invest in equipment or the buildings with the long periods of lockdown. There was an investment in equipment to aid the production of videos and Zoom broadcasts. There was also an architect visit to check on the subsidence issues at St Thomas’. Pastoral Care/Homeless; only treasure hunt prizes were purchased in 2020. The restrictions meant there were no pastoral visits or support of the Bridgebuilder MOUSE booklets There were reductions on the remaining categories in Sub Note (c) but non significant enough to comment on.

vi. Grants and donations payable (Note 6 Sub Note (d)) were down by £3,069 compared to 2019. The events, appeals or retiring collections raising money for charitable organizations were seriously impacted by the restrictions in 2020 and this has delivered the bulk of the fall. Churches also moderated their annual nominations to other charities.

General Fund:

The General Fund performance, by District, can be seen in the first section of Note 9. None of the churches were able to overcome the impact of the pandemic and deliver a surplus. The historic churches were particularly impacted being unable to host weddings, visitors, or annual events. The reduced number of services also impacted plate and envelope giving adding to the reported deficits. The building closures reduced the church running costs and this eased the final positions reported by the districts.

Partnership Groups:

The summary of Partnership Groups and Designations can be seen in the second section of Note 9 titled Delegated Funds.

The Ministry Fund is included in this section. As stated above the full accumulated amount was transferred to the General Fund to ameliorate the sharp increase in costs due to the return to a full stipendiary ministry team.

ABC (Adults, Babies and Children Group) were only able to meet to the beginning of March and, although the severity of the restrictions were eased during the year, have not been able to meet since. The financial statements reflect the reduced activity.

29

The Homeless Group (the Soup Run) had to cease operations when the social distancing restrictions came into force. The restrictions have meant the group have been unable resume even when the lockdowns were eased. The Partnership members who support the Soup Run have continued their regular donations despite the ceasing of operations.

Partnership Restricted Funds:

Boiler and Baptistry: The failure of the boilers, during the year, brought forward the planned replacement. The pipework to the baptistry was put in at the same time the new boilers were installed. The fundraising continues to match the costs incurred so far.

St Mary’s Audio-Visual appeal continues. A deposit was paid on the visual system along with the radio microphone licenses in 2020.

St Mary’s Fabric continues to receive regular gifts from supporters and, where appropriate, this is supplemented by the Gift Aid re-claim. The fund also receives money from a dedicated church box. The fund was used for the tree root protection to the porch.

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Woughton Ecumenical Partnership

Financial statements to the month ended 31 December 2020

Statement of Financial Activities 2020

Notes Income and endowments from: Donations and legacies 1 Charitable activities 2 Other trading activities 3 Investments 4 Other Total Expenditure on: Raising funds 5 Charitable activities 6 Other Total Net gains/(losses) on investments Net income/(expenditure) Transfers between funds Net movement in funds Reconciliation of funds: Total funds brought forward Total funds carried forward Fixed assets: Investments 12 Total fixed assets Current assets: Debtors 7 Cash at bank and in hand Total current assets Liabilities: Creditors: Amounts falling due within one year 8 Net current assets or liabilities Total assets less current liabilities Net asset or liabilities excluding pension asset or liability Total net assets or liabilities The funds of the charity: Endowment funds 11 Restricted income funds 10 Unrestricted funds 9 Total unrestricted funds Total charity funds	Unrestricted funds 2020 £ 94,643 4,849 2,066 265 260	Delegated funds 2020 £ 485 0 125 87 0	Restricted funds 2020 £ 7,152 0 124 304 0	Endowments 2020 £ 0 0 0 4,746 0	Total funds 2020 Full Year funds 2019 £ £ 102,280 128,048 4,849 11,147 2,315 10,249 5,402 5,530 260 2,425 115,106 157,399 (2,189) (2,136) (161,917) (154,506) (250) 0 (164,356) (156,642) 10,707 24,783 (38,543) 25,540 0 0 (38,543) 25,540 338,552 313,012 300,009 338,552 Total funds 2020 Full Year funds 2019 £ £ 168,733 158,026 168,733 158,026 1,156 7,212 130,770 173,314 131,926 180,526 (650) 0 131,276 180,526 300,009 338,552 300,009 338,552 300,009 338,552 206,864 195,114 38,656 51,772 54,489 91,666 54,489 91,666 300,009 338,552
	102,083 (2,135) (139,500) (250)	697 0 (12) 0	7,580 (54) (20,642) 0	4,746 0 (1,763) 0
	(141,885)	(12)	(20,696)	(1,763) 10,707
	(39,802) 30,861	685 (28,921)	(13,116) 0	13,690 (1,940)
	(8,941)	(28,236)	(13,116)	11,750
	45,266	46,400	51,772	195,114
	36,325	18,164	38,656	206,864
				Endowments 2020 £ 168,733
	0 1,133 35,842	0 0 18,164	0 23 38,633	168,733 0 38,131
	36,975 (650)	18,164 0	38,656 0	38,131 0
	36,325	18,164	38,656	38,131
	36,325 36,325	18,164 18,164	38,656 38,656	206,864 206,864
	36,325	18,164	38,656	206,864
	36,325	18,164	38,656	206,864
	36,325	18,164	0	0
	36,325	18,164	38,656	206,864

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Notes

Note 1: Donations and legacies Tax Efficient Giving Small Donations Gift Aid and Small Donation Re-Claim Other Donations Appeals Grants Legacies Total Donations and legacies Note 2: Charitable activities Funeral Fees Wedding Fees Building Hire Total Charitable activities Note 3: Other trading activities Fundraising Subscriptions General Sales Total Other trading activities Note 4: Investments Bank Interest Investment Income from Endowments Total Investments Note 5: Raising funds Fundraising Costs Advertising & Promotion Grant Application & Professional Costs Total Raising funds Note 6: Charitable activities (a) Ministry and Related Staff Costs Mission Partnership LEP Share Clergy Expenses Manse Running Expenses Training (b) Employed Staff Average number of part time staff Salaries & wages National insurance contributions	Unrestricted funds 2020 £ 60,349 6,441 16,792 10,091 720 250 0	Delegated funds 2020 £ 79 0 20 95 1 290 0	Restricted funds 2020 £ 4,099 0 944 20 1,125 964 0	Endowments 2020 £ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0	Total funds 2020 Full Year funds 2019 £ £ 64,527 69,699 6,441 16,489 17,756 21,660 10,206 9,160 1,846 1,760 1,504 4,280 0 5,000 102,280 128,048 3,738 6,625 520 3,102 591 1,420 4,849 11,147 941 8,406 125 722 1,249 1,121 2,315 10,249 656 916 4,746 4,614 5,402 5,530 218 635 584 1,501 1,387 0 2,189 2,136 90,751 50,374 2,800 4,692 2,954 2,620 489 250 96,994 57,936
	94,643	485	7,152	0
	3,738 520 591	0 0 0	0 0 0	0 0 0
	4,849	0	0	0
	817 0 1,249	0 125 0	124 0 0	0 0 0
	2,066	125	124	0
	265 0	87 0	304 0	0 4,746
	265	87	304	4,746
	164 584 1,387	0 0 0	54 0 0	0 0 0
	2,135	0	54	0
	90,751 2,800 2,954 0	0 0 0 0	0 0 0 0	0 0 0 489
	96,505	0	0	489
	2020 2 13,368 63	2019 2 12,848 122
	13,431	12,970

32

(c) Premises and other resource costs Premises running costs Maintenance Parish Administration Upkeep of Services/Centre Hire Insurance Equipment & New Building Works Junior Church, ABC & Youth Pastoral Care/Homeless (d) Grants and donations payable Cancer Research Children's Society Christian Aid Embrace the Middle East Hope Outreach UK Macmillan MAF MK-Act MK Bridgebuilder Trust MK Food Bank MK Hospital Charity MK MS Therapy Centre Salvation Army St Martins Meals St Thomas Aquinas Streetlight Trust Tear Fund Tinker's Bridge Rainbows Willen Hospice Winter Night Shelter Zimbabwe Housing Project Total Charitable activities Note 7: Debtors Gift Aid tax recoverable Small Donations recoverable Other debtors (Diocesan Grant) Note 8: Creditors Other creditors (Weddings)	Unrestricted funds 2020 £ 11,502 2,036 3,822 2,613 7,119 950 53 59	Delegated funds 2020 £ 0 0 0 0 0 0 12 0	Restricted funds 2020 £ 0 6,430 0 287 0 13,925 0 0	Endowments 2020 £ 0 0 0 0 0 53 0 572	Total funds 2020 Full Year funds 2019 £ £ 11,502 13,338 8,466 11,916 3,822 10,271 2,900 3,171 7,119 7,656 14,928 29,994 65 568 631 2,207 49,433 79,121 100 0 0 291 0 578 0 150 0 191 63 247 0 250 500 0 128 392 0 329 250 0 285 0 0 122 0 250 0 354 0 320 172 126 149 0 312 0 0 679 100 200 2,059 4,479 161,917 154,506 784 4,613 372 1,099 0 1,500 1,156 7,212 650 0 650 0
	28,154	12	20,642	625
	100 0 0 0 0 63 0 0 128 0 250 285 0 0 0 0 172 0 312 0 100	0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0	0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0	0 0 0 0 0 0 0 500 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 149 0 0 0
	1,410	0	0	649
	139,500	12	20,642	1,763
	761 372 0	0 0 0	23 0 0	0 0 0
	1,133	0	23	0
	650	0	0	0
	650	0	0	0

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Note 9: Unrestricted funds

Undesignated fund wWEP General cChrist the Vine hHoly Trinity sSt Mary's sSt Mary's Church Hall sSt Thomas tTrinity Church Fishermead Parish General Funds Delegated funds wAdults, Babies and Children Group wBenevolent Fund wHomeless Group wWEP Property wWEP Ministry Fund wWoolstone Chancel Trust wYouth Fund Parish Delegated Funds Parish General & Delegated Funds wWEP Suspense Accounts Note 10: Restricted funds cChrist the Vine: Gift Day cChrist the Vine: Flood Relief cChrist the Vine: Boiler/Baptistry sSt Mary's: AV sSt Mary's: Clock sSt Mary's: Fabric sSt Thomas': Building sSt Thomas': Legacy tTrinity Church: Projects tTrinity Church: Restricted Note 11: Endowments wTrust income retained Total Endowment Investments Note 12: Investments WotG Church House (127001608S) WotG Levi Trust (127001566S) Little Woolstones Church Hall (127002702S) Simpson Church Hall (127002582S) WotG Church Trust (127002774S) WotG Church Trust (COIF) (546050001T)	Balance at 1st Jan 2020 £ 32,918 7,608 (462) (1,865) 0 243 6,824	Income £ 4,020 18,224 3,770 43,513 1,518 12,763 18,275	Expenditure £ (113,398) (11,957) (1,119) (5,530) (1,282) (6,719) (1,880)	Transfers £ 117,487 (7,820) (3,547) (47,952) 0 (8,484) (18,823)	Balance at 31st Dec 2020 Net Movement £ £ 41,027 8,109 6,055 (1,553) (1,358) (896) (11,834) (9,969) 236 236 (2,197) (2,440) 4,396 (2,428) 36,325 (8,941) 1,237 121 78 0 5,211 509 2,204 0 0 (28,921) 6,240 36 3,194 19 18,164 (28,236) 54,489 (37,177) 650 650 55,139 (36,527) 872 5 1,230 7 (3,862) (6,621) 743 (3,355) 2,833 17 29,281 (3,212) 423 2 5,029 29 1,006 6 1,101 6 38,656 (13,116) 38,131 1,043 168,733 10,707 206,864 11,750 Value December 2019 £ 93,718 . 15,680 19,898 4,179 3,470 21,081 158,026
	45,266 1,116 78 4,702 2,204 28,921 6,204 3,175	102,083 133 0 509 0 0 36 19	(141,885) (12) 0 0 0 0 0 0	30,861 0 0 0 0 (28,921) 0 0
	46,400	697	(12)	(28,921)
	91,666 0	102,780 5,988	(141,897) (5,338)	1,940 0
	91,666	108,768	(147,235)	1,940
	867 1,223 2,759 4,098 2,816 32,493 421 5,000 1,000 1,095	5 7 3,304 986 17 3,218 2 29 6 6	0 0 (9,925) (4,341) 0 (6,430) 0 0 0 0	0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
	51,772	7,580	(20,696)	0
	37,088 158,026	4,746 10,707	(1,763)	(1,940)
	195,114	15,453	(1,763)	(1,940)
	Share Holdings Quantity 4,889 818 1,038 218 181 1,245	Value December 2020 £ 100,162 16,759 21,224 4,457 3,701 22,430	Dividends Received £ 2,806 469 596 125 104 646	Dividends Distributed £ (469) (596) (125) (104) (646)
	8,389	168,733	4,746	(1,940)

The Woughton-on-the-Green Church House annual income from investments is used for the general activities of the Woughton Parish

The Dividends Received from Little Woolstones Church Hall and Simpson Church Hall investments are passed back to the respective DCCs to be used by the local churches.

The Woughton-on-the-Green Church Trust is a local charity and the annual income from investments is to be used for the repair and upkeep of the fabric of St. Mary's Church, Woughton-on-the-Green.

The funds are managed by CCLA on behalf of the Parish.

34

2020 Statement of cash flows

	Current Year	Prior year
	Total funds	Total funds
	£	£
Cash flows from operating activities:
Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities	(47,946)	(5,733)
Cash flows from investing activities:
Dividends, interest and rents from investments	5,402	5,530
Proceeds from the sale of property, plant and equipment
Purchase of property, plant and equipment
Proceeds from sale of investments	0	0
Purchase of investments
Net cash provided by (used in) investing activities	5,402	5,530
Change in cash and cash equivalents in the reporting period	(42,544)	(203)
Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the reporting
period	173,314	173,517
Change in cash and cash equivalents due to exchange rate
movements	0	0
Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the reporting
period	130,770	173,314
2020 Reconciliation of net income/(expenditure)	to net cash flow from
operating activities
	Current Year	Prior Year
	£	£
Net income/(expenditure) for the reporting period (as per
the statement of financial activities)	(38,543)	25,540
Adjustments for:
Depreciation charges	0	0
(Gains)/losses on investments	(10,707)	(24,783)
Dividends, interest and rents from investments	(5,402)	(5,530)
Loss/(profit) on the sale of fixed assets	0	0
(Increase)/decrease in stocks	0	0
(Increase)/decrease in debtors	6,056	(727)
Increase/(decrease) in creditors	650	(233)
Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities	(47,946)	(5,733)
2020 Analysis of cash and cash equivalents
	Current Year	Prior Year
	£	£
Cash in hand at close of year	130,770	173,314
Notice deposits (less than 3 months)	0	0
Overdraft facility repayable on demand	0	0
Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the reporting
period	130,770	173,314

35

Appendix 1

WEP ADULT MEMBERSHIP ROLL 2021 (2020 numbers shaded)

	WEP ADULT MEMBERSHIP ROLL 2021 (2020 numbers shaded)
Church	Anglican	Baptist	Methodist	URC	Ecumenical	Other	Totals
Christ the Vine	10	2	5	3	7	10	37
	14	2	5	3	7	10	41
St Thomas'	21	1	3	1	8	5	39
	20	1	3	1	8	5	38
St Mary's	44	2	7	5	0	10	68
	42	2	7	5	0	10	66
Trinity	6	5	5	0	3	18	37
	7	5	5	0	3	16	36
Woolstone	17	3	1	1	0	0	22
	17	3	1	1	0	0	22
Totals for 2021	98	13	21	10	18	43	203
Totals By Year	Anglican	Baptist	Methodist	URC	Ecumenical	Other	WEP Total
2021	98	13	21	10	18	43	203
2020	100	13	21	10	18	41	203
2019	99	14	25	6	26	42	211
2018	99	13	20	7	30	47	216
2017	91	15	15?	5	30	39	194
2016	85	14	18	5	28	31	181
2015	86	20	19	7	29	28	189
2014	99	19	20	7	26	31	202
2013	92	16	25	5	27	28	193
2012	91	15	29	2	24	33	194
2011	99	14	25	3	27	32	200
2010	94	15	26	4	34	23	196
2009	100	15	24	2	31	30	202
2008	95	16	22	3	30	21	187
2007	88	18	27	1	28	16	178
2006	97	16	26	4	35	23	201
2005	102	16	25	6	46	23	218

36

Appendix 2

Appointments at Partnership Level 2020-21

Trustees of Woughton Ecumenical Partnership

and Woughton PCC Members 2020-21

Representing	WEP Trustee	WEP + PCC	PCC Member
Christ the Vine Community Church	Mike Davidge David Hart
Woolstone Church		John Howard	Ken MacLeod,
St Mary’s Church	Kim Weston	Di Miller
St Thomas’ Church		Lynn Castle
Trinity Church	Marilyn Mahon	Don Mahon
Team ex officio, other ex officio, co-opted		Revd. Paul Norris Revd. Ian Herbert Revd. Nicola Vidamour Revd. Charmaine Howard	Jean Mattinsley

Deanery Synod Representative Di Miller, Kim Weston and Barbara Zimmer

Church Wardens

Christ the Vine Community Church

Woolstone Church

John Howard St Thomas’ Church St Mary’s Church Jean Mattinsley David Bird

Lynn Castle; Marilyn Mahon

United Area Meeting Netherfield Partnership Corporate member Ian Herbert Trustee of Trinity Centre Member of Trinity Centre Management Committee Ken MacLeod

Andrew Buckley

Ken MacLeod

37