The Parish of All Saints and St Wistan Wigston Magna
Wigston Magna Parochial Church Council ANNUAL REPORT
for the year ended 31[st] December 2020
1
ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION
This report is presented by the Parochial Church Council of the Ecclesiastical Parish of All Saints and St Wistan, Wigston Magna.
All Saints’ Parish Church is located on Moat Street, Wigston Magna, and the Church of St Wistan is situated on Church Nook, Wigston Magna. The parish is part of the Wigston Benefice formed on 1st June 2014. The parish is in the Diocese of Leicester and its official correspondence address is:
The Rectory 8 Harrogate Way Wigston Leicestershire LE18 3YB
The Revd Trevor Thurston-Smith SMMS is Incumbent (Rector) of the benefice.
The Revd Christopher Johnson is Associate Vicar of the benefice with delegated responsibility for St Thomas The Apostle, South Wigston.
Ms Julie Chaplin is licensed as a Reader by the Bishop of Leicester.
PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL FOR 2020
• Aim and purposes
Wigston Magna Parochial Church Council (PCC) has the responsibility of co-operating with the clergy of the Wigston Benefice in promoting the ecclesiastical parish and the whole mission of the Church - pastoral, evangelistic, social and ecumenical. The PCC is also specifically responsible for the maintenance of the All Saints Church Room, Bushloe End, Wigston Magna.
The Parochial Church Council is a charity registered with the Charity Commissioners (No.1176458).
2
The method of appointment of PCC members is set out in the Church Representation Rules (CRR) and membership of the PCC consists of the licensed clergy within the Benefice, the licensed Reader, Church Wardens and members elected by those members of the congregation who are on the electoral roll of the church. All those who attend our services are encouraged to register on the Electoral Roll and stand for election to the PCC. Two members of the PCC sit on the deanery synod, providing the PCC with a link between the parish and the wider structures of the church. Customarily, the Chair of Wigston Magna PCC is taken by the Rector or by an elected Vice-Chair at his request or in his absence.
The PCC members are responsible for making decisions on all matters of general concern and importance to the parish including deciding on how the funds of the PCC are to be spent.
The PCC met twice during the early part of the year before the Covid-19 lockdown, to deal with various aspects of parish life. Matters arising during the remainder of the year were dealt with by e-mail.
In order to fulfil its function the Council has the following sub committees:
Standing Committee
Membership: Rector, Church Wardens, Treasurer, Secretary and two members elected by the PCC. This committee sets the agenda for the PCC and conducts business on behalf of the full Council between meetings. The Committee is limited to expenditure of £500 on any single item.
Working Parties and ad hoc groups are appointed for the following matters:
- Finance Group
Individuals appointed to specific tasks on behalf of the Council:
-
Safeguarding Co-ordinator for children, young people and Vulnerable Adults
-
Church Room Bookings officer
-
Electoral Roll Officer
3
The Council employs;
- An Organist
Persons serving on the Council during 2020
| EX OFFICIO: | |
|---|---|
| The Revd Trevor Thurston- Smith |
Rector |
| The Revd Christopher Johnson | Associate Vicar |
| Ms Julie Chaplin | Reader |
| Mr Patrick Thacker | Churchwarden/Deanery Synod Representative |
| Miss Winsum Wright | Churchwarden/Deanery Synod Representative |
| ELECTED: Mr Stan Rowland |
Elected 2020 |
| Mr Dennis Daw | Elected 2020 |
| Mrs Brenda Towler | Elected 2018 |
| Mr Stephen Warden | Elected 2018 (Treasurer) |
| Mrs Caroline Wordsworth | Elected 2018 |
| Mr Bill Hardy | Elected 2019 |
| Mrs Carol Munton | Elected 2019 |
| Mrs Margery Whait | Elected 2019 |
Prior to the APCM on there are 61 parishioners on the Church Electoral Roll, of whom 52 are resident within the parish.
• Objectives and Activities
The PCC is committed to the following objectives and activities:
4
-
Regular public worship open to all
-
The provision of sacred space for personal prayer and contemplation
-
Pastoral work, including visiting the sick and bereaved
-
Teaching Christianity through sermons, courses and small groups
-
Leading Collective Worship (Assembly) in schools
-
Promoting Christianity through the staging of events and meetings and the distribution of literature
-
Promoting the whole mission of the church through provision of activities for people of all ages and abilities
-
Encouraging and enabling individuals to be faithful and effective disciples of Jesus Christ.
Achievements and Performance
Items discussed at PCC meetings during 2020 included:
-
Reports from Deanery Synod
-
Approval of key policies – Safeguarding & Health and Safety
-
Ongoing development of monthly ‘New Fire Mass’
-
Development of bi-monthly Sunday evening ‘ABLAZE’ Service
-
Development of Café-Church-style worship
-
Pattern of services for the major Festivals of Christmas and Easter
-
Special services, prayer workshops and activities for the ‘Thy Kingdom Come’ initiative
-
Special memorial Carol Service for funeral families
-
Temporary Closure of St Wistan’s and liaison with Oadby and Wigston Borough Council regarding possible future use.
-
Church Room Heating
The Revd Trevor Thurston-Smith is a Foundation Governor at All Saints CofE Primary School, Wigston. The Rector leads Collective Worship in the school on a regular basis as well as visiting on other occasions. The School normally holds end of term services in All Saints Church three times a year. Groups from other local schools have visited the church
5
regularly. Normally several schools hold carol services in All Saints during December, but sadly this wasn’t possible this year due to lockdown.
Throughout 2020 we have tried to offer a range of worship within our Inclusive Catholic tradition. While the Church had to be closed for public worship due to Covid-19 restrictions, alternative worship was offered on line (recorded services on ‘You Tube’, live Services on ‘Zoom’) with pointers to other on-line resources, and printed resources for each Sunday were posted out to those parishioners who were believed or known to be without internet access.
A Lent Course was begun on Wednesday afternoons, but had to be abandoned due to lockdown.
In July 2020 our second Wigston Benefice weekend residential Pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham, Norfolk also had to be postponed until the equivalent dates in 2021.
The monthly service at Amberwood was replaced during the year by some on-line services, but sadly these were often marred by technical difficulties. On line or video-recorded school assemblies (‘Collective Worship’) have worked well, however, and now take place on a weekly basis. Our Benefice website has been maintained and a ‘webmaster’ keeps the event pages and Calendar up to date and a Facebook page has also been maintained.
RECTOR’S REPORT
To say that 2020 was a difficult year for everyone would be an understatement. Covid-19 and the resulting regulations were highly disruptive to the life of the church. Nevertheless, it was entirely right that the safety of worshippers (many of whom, in our case, are quite elderly and vulnerable) should be of paramount concern to those making decisions about worship and the temporary closure of churches at both national and local level.
6
As indicated above, for most people, worship had to be homebased for much of the year, and we had to use a mix of on-line resources (some national but most ‘home-produced’) and printed materials to enable people to still feel part of the worshipping community. As one would expect, this involved quite a steep learning-curve for all concerned, but confidence and competence grew steadily on all sides over the year.
As we emerge from lockdown, in common with other churches and many other organisations, we will need to review what has worked well in this new and challenging environment and what new practices we might wish to continue into the future as we emerge into what has been called ‘hybrid church’ – a combination of traditional ‘in person’ worship and on-line activity. (‘Attendance at ’Zoom’ Morning and Evening Prayer from Monday to Friday is often now three or four times what it was when held in church, and people seem to appreciate the opportunity to join in this daily round of prayer without having to leave home.)
Again, as with other bodies, the Church has taken a significant financial ‘hit’ as a result of Covid. This, coupled with some of the other challenges to which the pandemic has given rise, means that issues that would need to be considered in the next five or ten years have become all the more pressing for the Church at national, diocesan and benefice level. In Leicester this has resulted in the launch of the new initiative, ‘Shaped by God Together’ that will review and re-shape our approaches to ministry, buildings and finance. It is inevitable that this will result in significant changes, but I would encourage everyone to approach this in a positive and open-minded spirit and, of course, to take an active part wherever possible in the discussions around these issues.
A further unfortunate casualty of the lockdown was the planned ‘St Wistan’s Festival’ scheduled to take place in June 2020. This would have not only been a major event for both church and community, but it was intended to be the ‘springboard’ for consultations with the public about St Wistan’s Church and its future use.
7
Although technically beyond the period covered by this report, when it became clear that the Festival would have to be cancelled yet again in 2021, I decided in consultation with the diocese that a small-scale information and consultation event would instead be held here at All Saints on Saturday 22[nd] May 2021. In parallel with this, the diocese has agreed to move forward in the legal process that will decide the future of the building. I am hopeful that the matter will be with the Church Commissioners from September 2021, but at the moment it’s unclear how quickly they are processing ‘Pastoral Schemes’ and whether there is a backlog. In the meantime there is a lot of local interest in hopefully repairing and saving the building and exploring potential future uses, but this is a community project and separate from the PCC’s decision to explore permanent closure. Whilst I’m sure we will want to work with the community in any initiatives that may emerge, we need to be quite clear that we will not be responsible for ‘driving’ this process or playing a key role in fundraising.
As always, I would like to thank my colleagues Fr Chris and Julie Chaplin for their respective ministries, their friendship and unstinting support, along with our Churchwardens, Patrick and Winsum and all members of the PCC.
It has been good in the past year to be able to welcome Fr Nick Baker as Curate and Paul Betts as a Contextual-based Ordinand on placement here for his final year of training. We now look forward to Paul also remaining with us as Curate from July onwards. I count myself as very fortunate to be surrounded by such a gifted, diverse and affable team.
So, although it has been a difficult year, good things have happened, and there are signs of interesting (if challenging) times ahead, but we move into God’s future recognising that he alone is changeless, and trusting in his unfailing love and the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
Fr Trevor
8
SAFEGUARDING REPORT
Each year we are required to review and report to the APCM what tasks are outstanding or not fully implemented in relation to our work with children and young people and vulnerable adults. These are:
-
To ensure that copies of the latest policies and the Pocket Guide to Safeguarding are made available to volunteers.
-
To ensure that volunteers undergo safeguarding training, including instruction on what to do if they receive information or have concerns about possible abuse. This should be renewed and updated as required.
-
To ensure that volunteers and staff are aware of the expectations upon them, particularly in relation to social media and the use of text messaging with those under 18.
-
To complete and update risk assessments for activities and to ensure that adequate insurance is in place for them.
-
To clarify our first aid needs and to train volunteers as appropriate.
-
To continue to ensure that consent forms for under 18s and
-
contact details for volunteers are in place and up to date.
-
To be sure that confidential details are kept securely and where they need to be shared are done so according to correct procedure and are GDPR compliant.
Ongoing matters will be monitored as appropriate. Other matters will be implemented over the next few months by church officers and the clergy.
Fr Trevor
*******
9
| Receipts and Pavments | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Receipts | Generalfund | Restrictedfund | Restrictedfund | Restrictedfund | TctalFunds | Total Funds | |||
| RoofLights | Ordinands | Sound system | 2019 | 2018 | |||||
| Personal Giving | |||||||||
| Personal Standing Order Giving | 11,230.36 | 11,230.36 | 5,954.00 | ||||||
| Bequeaths/Legacies | 0.00 | 0.00 | 158,347.46 | ||||||
| GAEnvelopes;tobuy Publications |
0.00 0.00 |
0.00 0.00 |
49.11 30.00 |
||||||
| Candles | 86.26 | 86.26 | 126.64 | ||||||
| Donations | 2,047.23 | 2,047.23 | 2,896.9'l | ||||||
| Donations Ordinands Sponsor |
0.00 0.00 13,363.8s |
0.00 | 1,200.00 1,200.00 |
0.00 | 0.00 1,200.00 .14.563.85 |
2,510.20 170.564.32 650.00 |
|||
| Collective Giving | |||||||||
| Offertory Collections | 12,245.44 | 12,245.44 | 13.429.51 | ||||||
| GifiAidReceived | 4,907.24 | 4,907.24 | 17,276.23 | ||||||
| Donations | 116.00 | 116.00 | 151.96 | ||||||
| Grants Received | -50.00 | -50.00 | 000 | ||||||
| G.ants Received | lnnnoo | lnnnnn | nnn | ||||||
| 18,218.68 | 0,00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 18,218_68 | 30,857.70 | ||||
| Other lncome | |||||||||
| Church Room lncome Fund Raising Weddings Funerals |
4,761.28 0.00 5,570.50 4,940.00 |
4.761.28 0.00 5,570.50 4,940.00 |
3,670.05 26s.45 3,896.00 8,677.00 |
||||||
| Rooflighldonations | 240.OO | 0.00 | |||||||
| Tax VAT refunds | 0.00 | 0.00 | 1,205.90 | ||||||
| Coffee momings Bank's error/movements Special EventslAwaydaysRestricted |
1,470.14 0.00 1,600.00 |
1.470.14 0.00 1,600.00 |
1.345.54 1,039.88 0.00 |
||||||
| Bank interest | 225.69 | 010 | 3.20 | 228.99 | 0.00 | ||||
| lnsurance claim Grants received Leics Diocese |
1,949.00 | 1,949.60 0.00 0.00 |
1,400.00 225.oo 0.00 |
||||||
| ArmisticePoppyweek | |||||||||
| Total Receipts | 52.O99.74 | 24A.OO | '1.200.10 | 320 | 53,543.04 | 224,638.66 |
| 6efier**{ilrd | fies&tcbdf{rmd R@fLiEhts |
fies&tcbdf{rmd R@fLiEhts |
fies&tcbdf{rmd R@fLiEhts |
Resbirtee!fud ffinan<its |
Resbirtee!fud ffinan<its |
nes*{i€kd&r&d SGUrd&Fkn! |
TsHFiinds &t* |
TsHFiinds &t* |
TdelFu&d$ ?&t8 | TdelFu&d$ ?&t8 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fayrnefib | |||||||||||
| SuPpliers | |||||||||||
| Fi€*scopier | 2"7'5$-71 | p.?{6.71 | s"450--$7 | ||||||||
| t$tli{is* | 5,17&"r7 | 5"416,'t7 | 7,94S.75 | ||||||||
| Snnl$]s{Ckd{s} | s"8s | s-w | 24$"W | ||||||||
| Ctx&& Se(B6itf | 5,?$5.78 | 5.p$5-73 | 424-S6 | ||||||||
| VBkirgi{F6{ga{tsfieq.lmr3d"u}#$} E-tsesdAVX!-!d-,.4kn}s |
49.,4$ s'!9.1s | 49,46 gt9_18 |
?ffo.s* i4s.4s |
||||||||
| fi€@gigP{doetdtc{E !/Feb€i,Ee6#g# {-i@ffi{${ersbA,S,u[d, tnc$de 2e1 6'#ei!tr,'g€*ds?s! |
2'!6..?S zg"g& :s,30 s"ffi |
?"f63& 23S-@ 236-ffi a"w |
2S9,48 t66,Ee s59,ffi t:3.9 |
||||||||
| ;tesaffies | 't?,5J5_1S | '{3,515.r9 | 8"74S,68 | ||||||||
| GtRAld €{t*retsFes | 288"5S | zffi,54 | &.ss | ||||||||
| Fgx!'tbi'eet€d.Eq | tr?o-w | 220"$0 | 8,08 | ||||||||
| Elec#ictars | '!,s91"4S | *"ml,.4& | 0-E& | ||||||||
| rgisiTrlrletr SfEisterRsa{affi ictr'ldk dc} |
45?"4S ffi.ffi |
452.44 6&.?5 |
ESS 1"6'!5"66 |
||||||||
| arper}tr lr'eSNap6nq@irF |
2$"@ 30J4fr.63 75.ffi |
2,49"fi8 |
*-ffi | S.ffi | &"S4! 3$.Seffi 75-ffi |
"C ?e5?Sl3t s,s& |
|||||
| Churc& Adfirifiisdr€illrjilr | |||||||||||
| 0md!s*fd!#d | t"s88.58 | 1,ffi_64 | s"ss | ||||||||
| Fls?dratsir€e5e$ Cls.#ctrhhir*€rffire | 8.K? 5J64'9X |
8_S0 qqt?m |
34S.4e 4.8?4*1 |
||||||||
| Cle.sdiP,6orrB &&a!r*el}arse | 14765"?S | ?3,?S5-A | 481-ST | ||||||||
| Sieqes#"ifees | aWS.$4 | s.ffiA.44 | 4,J57,SS | ||||||||
| Psi$]Giff RSC.frdS6e |
rc,ws_fis 't4e,s* |
*s,0w.@ 't4s-qs |
1s,ffi.W 13?,SC |
||||||||
| Spstd€iffhdsr'MfdsifE ChaslLi€#Sdlis€is{! |
3fs4.# s8gffi |
3.'!84.W 3ES,$E |
$-@ s-w |
||||||||
| Rdi.srd{rfiWtr€} | s"ffi | &,ffi | tm,Es | ||||||||
| Cw*ntbdiGlt{}SesBsy | 4.W | &^s | |||||||||
| Cbadtydc$adto{rsgistrr | &_flg | 1"4S-1..3S | |||||||||
| Liigtt*pitra | e.aa | 5?9.6A | |||||||||
| Arm4sdMF6ppyeaffir* | A6:S0 | ||||||||||
| 49,67?-&2 | 8.ffi | C6.SS | 4S.3?t.S1 | 3F,3m.2S | |||||||
| Fessctrlrsd | |||||||||||
| A[dltte{t | $.ffi | s,ffi | s,t?e,e) | ||||||||
| Ee$Rlrq€lErer?s"eEffdiwl CfEsrr}&arls ClerySeeed€rshs+expense* ArSiq6 |
435"8S '!.?s6"94 3,S0'f,gg w.ffi |
435_m t"te6,sd $"frs1.s$ w.ils |
s94.ffi r,,1&[.yE 4,55fi,t4 w_w |
||||||||
| firg@$st.&e Reirfi&.gstr}ffi*s Versiedrer${s?ere}is? Ofdirial$$ei${$po$!sed} |
3.845.€e s,8 g8&.*fr 4$g"ra I,ns"5g |
s,$0 | t,281.23 1,&1.a3 |
[-*s | 3,045-S6 s.ffi 9@,ES t"ffi-Sg 1s,32s-82 |
3.9'i5_98 4ffi"S* !"6:4'S& 3"484-?4 ?3,484_rS |
|||||
| T@lF*yll!+r!te | &s,s4?"q4 | 1.20"!-2$ | 4E_SS | s-532.?6 | ff-s2-43 | ||||||
| Sispei#iSet*N;ti | -3S,S4?34 | a,sg | _t {? | -45.7S | -36"SS.p | t4r,a5s_?3 | |||||
| Trelsfrsb€entLqds | 6"@ | s-sG | 0.m | 0.ffi | |||||||
| R€esncifiaiisrieffi$lds Tdatfur$s4S'!-S'$,'!9 R{evsix#rt i'ii |
yea Toatfin$sat3'!-'leig |
lffi3$.W -36.S4?.3& {3t"357.6S |
S.@ S"ffi 8.@ |
0.$0 | 'f.ss.s 45"?9 ,5S3.2p |
15s,34s,19 :36"SS,3? t22,S5{!"97 |
|||||
| 647 | |||||||||||
| ffi,$ffiswe&b*slrerlt |
| Cash | ||
|---|---|---|
| Cash at bank | 122.950.97 | |
| Petty cash | ||
| 122,950.97 | ||
| Funds | ||
| Generalfund | 121,3s7.68 | |
| Restrictedfund-Lights | 0.00 | |
| Restrictedfund-Ordinands | 0.00 | |
| Restrictedfund-Sound System | ||
| Other assets | ||
| Pending tax reclaim-General | FundGifiAid= e |
1.659.62 |
| Liabilities | ||
| RSCM Subsription | tl43.00Pald in January 2020 | |
| LOROS donation | 9169.68Bankedin2019but paid outin2020 | |
| Organist and cleaning | !436.78Paid in January 2020 |