# ANNUAL REPORT FOR 2020 SEPTEMBER 2021 Annual General Meeting ## **MINISTER’S REPORT** Since our last AGM eighteen months ago the COVID pandemic has been a challenge in so many ways. Each of us has been affected as individuals and families in society. Isolation, home schooling, reduced income, missed medical appointments, working from home and so much more. One side effect that was noticed quite early on is how the pandemic has accelerated pre-existing trends in society. Video conferencing on Zoom and other platforms became second nature to many of us who never thought we would embrace such technology; the cost of renting office space in central London had already begun to drop before COVID as companies chose to move out of the capital or online, yet this has gone much further than it would have by this time if COVID had not struck. Church life has been affected by all of this too. CCB was online the very first Sunday that we couldn’t meet in the building. For months it was our only option and many of us from young to old were regulars on our screens and landline phones at 10.30 on Sunday mornings. Our Youth Groups and Toddler Group moved to zoom and facebook live, social evenings in the shape of quizzes, a Bible Study, prayer meeting and Christianity Explored Course all happened through internet technology. Emails and sermon recordings were sent weekly to over 100 people and those without e-mail had a printed newssheet and letter delivered by the deacons each week. Other activities could not continue, such as the Bookshop, Over 60’s Lunch and Schools Work. Weddings were postponed and funerals were held with a maximum of 10 mourners. Many of you helped in practical ways, shopping for neighbours, friends and family as well as volunteering with Good Neighbours. Now eighteen months on and with restrictions removed so many areas of church life are still far from where they were pre-pandemic. In church too COVID has accelerated what was already happening. It is both unsettling and exciting to anticipate how the church will go on from here. Of course we cannot go back. The New Testament word for church is ekklesia, which means, ‘a gathering’. This is precisely what has been so difficult to do and to be for the past year and a half. It worked well for most of us to continue to gather via the internet at least and we have been joined by some new people and others whose churches were not able to get online. Now that we can gather in the building it has been a joy to welcome visitors who we hope will become regulars. In whatever way we gather together and however we live as Jesus followers gathered into a community, we are most certainly called to gather, to meet, to congregate. As Christians we are assembled into a church community and as such are called to assemble together regularly as the church in practice. More than twenty years ago I asked a question of the church that I was part of at the time. ‘How can we be part of the church in a world that has no time for it?’ That question is a good one for us now. It seems to be a popular idea that we are called to be followers of Jesus and that the church is a vaguely connected human invention which may or may not help us in that calling. It is easy to believe that church fitted in with life fifty years ago but that life has changed and so church is out of date. In fact we are still called to be church. The church is not an institution detached from us, separate to you. If as believers we are not gathering then the church is less than it could and should be. When Baptist Churches fall below a certain number of members they cease to be a church. Our constitution states that if we do not gather for worship for six months we cease to be a church; no matter that there is a building, a minister, deacons, funds or activities; the church is the people and if the people are not there as a gathering worshipping community then neither is the church. We are a long way off that and we have been blessed in so many ways over the past year. Some churches are closing; some pastors have left ministry; many Christians have stopped being an active part of the church. At CCB we are challenged. As things stand we could not return to life as it was eighteen months ago, our journey has been fast forwarded and we are already where we might have been in five to seven time had there been no pandemic. Our first priority is to meet for gathered worship; everything else must grow out of that core and centre. I enjoyed and benefitted from our Zoom services. The informality, interaction and involvement are features that we would profit from in the building as we become more used to being together again and relax our rules and risk assessments. I believe that the greatest challenge of COVID for us is that it stopped us gathering properly, stopped us fully being ekklesia, church. Isolation, loneliness and mental health issues have been a real problem for so many because we are made for community. We got out of the habit of, ‘going to church’. Yet again this was an acceleration of a trend. We have glimpsed our future. We now have the opportunity to take action and change our course. Our calling is to return in some shape or form, possibly quite different from before, to being the gathered and gathering people of God. In fact we are not so much, ‘people of God’, as, ‘a people of God’. Gathered and gathering as church is for our own and one another’s wellbeing, for being a vital witness to our world and above all for the worship and glory of God. “…you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God…” 1 Peter 2:9-10 Matthew Cooper **SECRETARY’S REPORT** ## **The bare facts:** Minister: Revd Matthew Cooper (inducted September 2006) Youth Work Co-ordinator: Ben Ansell (appointed September 2017) Administrator: Glenda Turner (appointed July 2006) Bookshop and Coffee Shop Co-Ordinator: Hannah Tse (appointed March 2016) New members: None Baptisms: None Deaths - Members: - Paul Boggis - Mike Crisp - Joan Tolhurst - Maralyn Tuffs Deaths - Non-Members: - Beryl Waggett - Monica Jones - Rosemary Franklin ## Secretary: - Roy Farrant (appointed deacon March 2019 and Secretary 12 March 2020; one year still to serve from 12 March 2020) - Neil Wood (appointed March 2019, stood down 12 March 2020 having served three years as Secretary) ## Treasurer: - Paul Hutchinson, (appointed Treasurer March 2019; one year still to serve from 12 March 2020) Other Deacons: - Amanda Allchorn (appointed March 2019, stood down 12 March 2020 having served one year) - Neil Cooper (appointed March 2019; two years still to serve from 12 March 2020) - Suzie Hinton-Taylor (appointed March 2019; two years still to serve from 12 March 2020) - Cameron Varley (appointed 12 March 2020 for three years) - Wendy Varley (appointed March 2019; stood down 12 March 2020 having served one year) (March 2019 was the first meeting of members as a CIO, at which point all deacons were newly elected.) Diaconate vacancies - two ## **Church Progress:** The world-wide Covid-19 pandemic hit with some force in March 2020. We had just held our a.g.m. but were not to hold the next for some eighteen months. From March onwards we were unable to use the premises, in line with national government guidelines, as gatherings for just about everything, and certainly for worship, were banned. So the building was closed; the water, gas and a lot of the electricity was switched off; and a surreal period lasting many months where we did not see each other face to face commenced. But we live in an era of electronics and Zoom came of age. After a brief dalliance with Microsoft Teams software, we settled down to use Zoom software for our regular weekly gatherings. We sat ourselves in front of our computer screens or our phones and we worshipped, we sang (though it was strange as there was no-one next to us to reinforce the singing), we prayed, we learned. The technical people amongst us kept this going, despite a few hiccoughs along the way, and for most of us Sunday morning Zoom services became the new way of doing church. There were a few bumps along the way when gatherings were sort-of possible, but it was not until well into 2021 (to be reported on next year) that we were able to use the premises as before. There can be little doubt that Matthew did a fantastic job of keeping us all together as a family and fanning the flame of faith during this period. Our youth work took quite a hit - children’s games are quite a challenge when they are held over Zoom. But Ben and our youth work volunteers kept the work alive as best they could. Coffee Shop and Bookshop could not open. We already knew that the leaders were stepping down, but the virus closed things down very quickly. There has now been some activity, but again, more on this in 2021’s report. Our constitution, and indeed all of Baptist theology, requires members’ meetings to be held in person, as the gathering of the family of God. Clearly we couldn’t do this – the government’s anti-virus rules prohibited it. So we relied entirely on the deacons to manage church activities and make decisions as best they could. The deacons certainly continued to meet - again on Zoom - and day-to-day management decisions continued to be made. Church life became very much a case of “steady as she goes” and major decisions about major areas had to be postponed. As I write this, just a few weeks before our delayed 2021 a.g.m., we are meeting as a family in the premises once more (albeit with some restrictions still in place) and people generally are very happy about that. But it is certain that we are struggling. The number of volunteers to cover the various activities we have has reduced to the point where we are now simply spread too thinly to continue with everything in the same way as before. Maybe the volunteers that have stopped will return as life post-Covid-19 picks up; or maybe they won’t. We face an uncertain future, just as very many churches across the land do. We stand at a crossroads, where the old routines and structures are behind us, and some exciting opportunities are before us. We have a lot going for us, with still a lot of members and attendees and still good financial reserves. We still have a minister leading us who is as committed, relevant and full of grace as ever. And above all of that, we still have a God who has a plan for us and who will be with us as individuals and as a church family. All we have to do is be sure and steadfast and listen to His voice. Roy Farrant Secretary September 2021 TREASURER'S REPORT FOR THE YEAR END 2020 Again this year the Annual Accounts have been prepared in line with the Baptist Union's suggested fonnat for churches with an income under £250klyear. Headlines from the Accounts In 2020 the total income increased by a significant amount compared with 2019, by £5,706 to £122.8k. Expenditure was much lower than in 2019 owing to the church building having been closed for much of the year, decreasing by more than £21k to £114.9k compared with 2019. In 2020 the church ended the year with a surplus of almost £8k, compared with the budgeted deficit of £4.3k. Accordingly, the church's liquid assets have increased to alm¢)st £96k. More than £13,000 of the income was received from the HMRC furlough scheme to support the salaries of our furloughed stsff. £2,000 of the income was a legacy from Peter Clark's estate and £500 was a legacy from Etta Evans, estate. The offering in 2020 has increased by £16.8k compared with 2019 and, at the end of the year, was almost £7,800 above budget. Much of this increase, approximately £12,000, was received in one-off donations rather than through increased monthly giving, so will not necessarily be repeated in 2021. At 31 Dec 2020 the legacies balance is £6,500. Concerning external causes, the church has given £5,706 to CBA and £4,305 BMS World Mission. The church did not nominate a charity-of-the-year in 2020, although £631 was donated to Lake Mantasoa School whith was the share of gift aid that resulted from the donations in 2020 to the schcol. Total giving to external causes amounted to about 8.70/0 of our total income for the year. CCB continue5 to hold the majority of its cash with the Baptist Union in their deposlt account. Baptist Churches are encouraged to do so as this provide funds to the Baptist Union which are used to make loans trj finance the purchase of new church sites and manses, fund the construction of new churches and redevelopment and improvement projects. The Deacons have considered the financial Fosition of the Church and believe that we will be able to pay all bills, invoices, charges and other liabilities as they fall due. The work of the Treasurer hinges on a large team of people. Particular thanks go to, all those who have given to the work of the church in 2020, either as regular monthly donations or in other ways. Thank you to all who have changed their method of giving to suit the unusual $it￿ation of 2020. The weeklylmonthly offering amounted to £76,967. CCB Accounts 2020 Pagelof11 Christ Church Baptist is a Registered Charity InuwnLw 1178S141 the offering counting team, although much less busy in 2020. Roy Farrant who has managed the payroll and all of the furlough scheme claims. TF church currently has 5 individuals on payroll. the book-keepers for KCBS, First Steps, Reve18, 7up and 5Alive who have lookf after the funds for these church activities. Glenda Turner for managing the hiring of our premises although again less activi than usual in this area. The church has re￿iVed an income of £4,813 through ha hire in the year. P. Paul Hutchinson, Treasurer Date 7th June 2021 CCB Accounts 2020 Page2of11 Christ Church Baptist is a Registered Charity (number 11785141 **PASTORAL CARE & PRAYER MINISTRY** “ I lift up my eyes to the mountains Where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, The Maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot slip” Psalm 121 v1-3 NIV As I look out of my caravan windows, I see the majestic Cader Idris mountain range and surrounding hills in Dolgellau Mid Wales. I am truly blessed, but as I reflect on the past 18 months I realise how hard it has been for us all. The pandemic of Covid 19, the 2 lockdowns and the affect it has had on everybody’s lives has been so immense. We have all felt the massive changes in our lives, through sickness, loss of family and friends, isolation and mentally trying to come to terms with it all. I personally, along with the pastoral team, would like to say a very big thank you to you all for keeping in touch with one another, alerting us when people were struggling, and ‘ being there’ for the church family. What would we have done without zoom?! Who had heard of zoom before this? I certainly hadn’t!, but it was so wonderful to have the ability to continue to see each other and keep in touch. Thank you Matthew,Neil, Cameron, and all the technical team. As we come out of lockdown, I know a great many of us feel it very hard, especially those that have had to shield. Thank you to all of you that have helped those that were struggling- or making small ‘bubbles’ with those on their own. The love and care shown by each of you was so wonderful to see. We read in 1 Timothy chapter 2 verses 1-8 that we must offer intersessions for one another, and I know that during these past 18 months this has been done by so many, for so many. Through all these difficult and very sad trying times, God has been with us - giving us the strength to endure all that has happened and to now be able to start to worship together again in the church building - seeing each other and having fellowship with one another. During this time, we have started a zoom prayer group on Thursday morning between 10 - 11 am. Please do come and join us if you can for however long or short a period of time that you have. It is such a privilege to be able to pray for one another, the church, our community and the wider world. We need God’s guidance and wisdom as we move forward in opening the church activities again. Thank you all for the support you have given to the pastoral team, and thank you pastoral team for the support you have given to the church family, Matthew and myself. May God guide your individual paths, and may you all be richly blessed this coming year. Suzi ## **CHRISTIAN AID REPORT 2020/21** We are very grateful for all the support given to Christian Aid in 2020, helping us to raise an excellent total of £12,872, an increase of 14% on last year. This is particularly encouraging given the challenges of the pandemic and the lockdown. Our annual report, which has been circulated (there are more copies available) gives full details of all the activities that made this possible and where the income came from. Some of this was from our normal planned fund raising, such as the Quiz (which we managed to hold just before the lockdown) and others such as the bike ride to Regents Park which was an unexpected bonus! Thanks go to Paul Hutchinson for his company and some expert guidance on navigating the route. We made it! The two Pauls arrive at Regents Park via the tow path. After a short rest and overcome by enthusiasm, we returned home on the road. A total of £1,615 was raised, for which we are very grateful. We continue to explore ways of working with others in partnership and Kings Langley School embarked on a ‘Dragon’s Den’ project which raised £149 and was supplemented with some additional giving from the Methodists and All Saints Church. The project supported was helping families affected by AIDs in Kenya and, as it was match funded by US Aid 1:20, achieved a magnificent total of £4,450. Prayer is an important part of our work and each week people are invited to pray for specific areas of Christian Aid’s work and then to take action, including writing to our local MP, Sir Mike Penning. We are grateful for all the help the local Committee gives to this work and at Christ Church our thanks go to our local representatives, Jeanette Hayter (often assisted by Mick) and Pat McCombe (also to John who worked with Pat on the questions for the Quiz and helped on the night). We also appreciate Mervyn being able to join us when he can, and his ideas are very helpful. As I write it’s not clear what we will be able to do this year, but we are hopeful that some form of collecting will be possible during Christian Aid Week (9 to 15 May) and appreciate all the help that our collectors can give. What we do know is that the UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow from 1 to 12 November will be crucial for many parts of our world already affected by floods, droughts, and unpredictable weather. During the year there will be more information about this and opportunities to write to MPs and Ministers. Your prayers are invited that this conference may make a positive difference to how we all care for the environment. Paul Tucker **HOUSE GROUPS** ## **NOMADS HOUSE GROUP** As with us all, the past year has been demanding in many ways for members of the Nomads House Group. Unable to meet in person for over a year we learned new skills in the use of Zoom to enable us to continue in fellowship. Unfortunately meeting in this way was not for everyone and over the course of the year we lost Sean and Hannah from the group. That said we continued to keep in touch with them both on a personal level. As with most things every cloud has a silver lining and meeting on Zoom has meant Mervyn and Carolyn have been able meet with us most weeks and have played a very active part in our meetings. We now have 10 of us attending most weeks. Our time together starts by sharing what has been going on in our lives over the past week followed by bible study and ending with a time of prayer. During the year we a studied the letters of John which we found challenging. This was followed by studies on the number 40 and then by each us choosing a different number on which to base our study. As the Pandemic took hold during the second half of the Church year and life became more difficult we took great comfort as we followed a study entitled ‘Depending on Jesus’. Restrictions on meeting physically meant we were unable to intersperse our studies with speakers from outside the group or to have ‘live’ worship together. That said as we became more familiar with Zoom and Screen Sharing we have had occasional evenings of worship using You Tube. This enabled us all to choose some our favourite songs. We even managed to have no less than two carol services. In past years Nomads has taken the lead in many of the Church’s outreach opportunities but in more recent times has taken a very back seat role. Of course Covid has prevented the Church from carrying on with all its mission activities but we are hopeful these will return soon and members are very happy to be involved once again. Our individual members have supported one another during this difficult year and many are involved in visiting those who are housebound or living in care homes. Of course no review of Nomads would be complete without mentioning our social life. Parties and BBQs have all played their part in the past in helping us support and encourage each other in our Christian journey. Chance conversations at such events have often been the basis of our prayer life both corporately and personally. How we have missed them and we can’t wait till we are able to do so again. For all of us, meeting together every Thursday evening, all be it on a remote basis, has given us the opportunity to share our hopes and fears, and provided us with the chance to support each other as we journey through life together. If anyone is thinking of joining a house group you would be very welcome at Nomads. Will Sime on behalf of the members of the Nomads House Group ## **PRAYER GROUP/OPEN HOUSE** Since I last wrote this report in Feb 2020, reporting on the previous year, we went into Lockdown. With the blessing of zoom, we have mainly still been able to have regular monthly meetings. This has been absolutely vital during the lockdown period and we were able to support one another in sharing and praying for each other. There have usually been between 4 and 6 of us on zoom. We are continuing for the time being online due to a number of our ladies having to be careful due to underlying health issues and also due to changes in Charlotte’s circumstances and having to be with her mother on the day that we meet! For me personally these ladies have been a great encouragement and support throughout the year so a huge thank you to them all. I do hope and pray that we will one day get back to meeting in person, but in the meantime the technology has really aided us by keeping us together and enabling us to pray for each other. Charlotte Cooper ## **BIBLE STUDY GROUP** I remember well when we first locked down and wondered if this might even go on past a month, none of us knew anything about Video conferencing or Zoom and some of us didn’t even have computers. I forget where the idea came from, but we struck up a bible study every Tuesday and since that date, we have hardly missed a week. We have had a loyal core group of around ten people and we have been blessed with others popping in and out as they have been able. It was a simple premise. The only study book we have used is one that was written around 3,500 years ago over a period of around 1,500 years and still manages to top the best seller list. Quite a few human authors, but tied together by the divine. Over the time, starting with the story of Joseph in Genesis, we have looked at a variety of Old and New Testament books and letters. Genesis’ Joseph, Jonah and Nahum, Philippians and Jude, the Christmas stories in Matthew, Luke and John and a selection of miracles. We are currently working our way through the book of Luke. The format tends to be the same every week. We arrive anytime up to 8pm and get to have a catch up on our weeks. We then begin the study with a prayer. We then step through the evenings reading with a handful of verses at a time. There is no pressure on anyone to read but if you would like to, you will certainly have a turn. Between each reading, we have an open discussion which I always find fruitful. Finally, we always have ten or fifteen minutes in prayer finishing around 9:05-9:10. There is absolutely no need to have attended any other week to get something out of the current week. We look at a different passage every time and just as it is not necessary to start reading the bible from page 1 and head all the way through to the last page, anyone is welcome to join our group at anytime. The Word is always NEW. When we started, I remember that everyone was very nervous to talk. Now, we are able to share almost as freely as if we were in the same place. I hope people will not mind my saying, we have a very close fellowship group that have supported each other through these lonely and frightening times. We are now, in the main, expert users of technology and have learned what we can and can’t do whilst sitting at our screens, in the locked room with the Lord. We can share our hopes and fears, open up to each other about how the Spirit is speaking to us today and opening our eyes to fresh meaning in the reading, enjoy fellowship with the Lord and each other just as He intends for us. And we can’t really sing hymns together, say the Lord’s prayer without everyone going out of synch, or resist letting others know if they are on mute. If you haven’t thought of joining a bible study before (or if you have) we really encourage you to give it a try. In fact, for at least one of the core group, this was the first bible study they have ever attended. John 20:19: On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!" For us, the evening is Tuesday and it is not the Jews, but the virus that keeps us locked away. Nonetheless, every week without fail, Jesus indeed joins us and says, ‘Peace be with you’ and certainly for me, when I come away from the meeting I feel blessed. Cameron Varley ## **CHILDREN’S & YOUTH MINISTRY** ## **Sunday mornings** In my last report I noted that we had split the Sunday School into 3 age groups; Minnows, Jim Jams and Fuse. In practice we often put two groups together as there were not always enough children on a given morning to make it practical to meet separately. Leaders would often prepare a session that was then not used. The Sunday morning groups were amalgamated into one online group from March 2020 until July 2021which met over Zoom during the various lockdowns and the social distancing restrictions. Some children and their families found it difficult to join us on Zoom for a number of reasons, one that we often heard about was “screen burn out” - where children and parents both working from home were spending so much time in front of computer screens that doing so on a Sunday morning was difficult. In March 2021 restrictions were lifted that allowed people to meet up upside again. As a result we saw an immediate drop off in attendance on Sunday Morning’s by children and their families, as many of them were now spending that time outside with others and engaging in sports clubs, as this was beneficial for their physical and mental health. Since August 1st I have been leading an all age Sunday morning group with support from the Sunday School volunteer team. I intend to continue to do this until October half term to give the children, families and volunteers the opportunity to get used to meeting together after so long apart. I will then review how this is working out, along with the Sunday School team. Since January 2021 we have been going through the Bible in chronological order. At the time of writing we are just about to finish the book of Daniel. ## **Events** We have continued to host Family Connect events over the last year, primarily online over Zoom. After some experimenting I found that the best way to involve people was to prepare and deliver activity packs prior to the event so that everyone could join in together during the Zoom session. We made masks for Purim, blew kazoos for Christmas, and had a lot of fun. Family Connect is intended as a bridge between the church fellowship and the families who come to our weekly clubs and toddler group. I’m pleased to say that this has continued to work well over the last year. Our most recent Family Connect was in May 2021 and was our first to be held in the church building in over a year. Many of the families that we work with have expressed that their needs have changed as a result of the lock down. This includes children who are struggling to adapt to being back in a small group environment like a Sunday School class after so many months of homeschooling. Also, not everyone is confident to meet inside at the moment regardless of the current government policies on social distancing. In response Helen and I have led two outdoor worship and activity sessions in July and August for families associated with Christ Church Baptist. We held the sessions in the woodland grounds at St Albert the Great School in Hemel Hempstead with help from Matthew, Phil, Cath and Bret. The sessions included group activities, free time, bible stories, tree climbing, messy play and toasting mallows. The feedback was all very positive and we plan to hold further sessions in the coming year. During the last year Matthew and I have continued to deliver regular All Age Sunday morning services, both online and in person depending on restrictions. We continue to be part of the Youth Across Hemel group and have promoted their activities to local families over the last year. Several of our families joined in for the Moses sthemed “Egyptian Murder Mystery” over Zoom in March. ## **Weekly clubs** We have three weekly clubs: Five Alive for ages 5 to 8, 7Up for ages 8 to 11 Revel 8 for ages 11 and up. All of the clubs have continued throughout the year, meeting online via Zoom during the lockdowns and meeting in person at the church for a reduced program as government restrictions allowed. Whilst some families appreciated the Zoom sessions the general trend across all the groups was that attendance dipped online and picked up whenever we were able to meet in person. Our normal program is due to start again this September, initially sessions will continue to be 1 hour instead of 1.5 hours (the length of the session before the pandemic). ## **Schools** All of the work we had been doing with local schools stopped in March 2020. I previously led a lunch time group called The Summit (a discussion group with a Christian focus) at Kings Langley Secondary School along with Mr Moyo (Head of RE) and Lisa Dussek from Youth Across Hemel. The Summit started back up this week. Our first session was well attended and the young people were very appreciative to have the group back. Matthew and I are attempting to get back in regular touch with the staff at Kings Langley Primary School, in the hope that we can pick up where we left off with visits and assemblies. ## **First Steps** During the lockdown Julie, Judith and I hosted weekly story and nursery rhyme video streams on Facebook as an effort to keep in touch with the families that attend First Steps (our preschool/toddler group). After the first lock down we tried hosting a weekly in person activity time for young families in line with then current government restrictions, but this was not well attended. Since April 2021 we have been running a weekly 1hr hour play session in person at the church in accordance with changing government guidelines. The group is well attended and highly valued in the local community. We now need to grow our volunteer team so that we can offer a longer session, refreshments, etc as parents and carers are very keen for us to get back to the same provision that we have traditionally offered at this group. ## **A big thank you!!!!** I want to say a sincere thank you to all the people who have volunteered with children, young people and families in some very difficult circumstances since the last AGM. Particularly to all those people who have had to get used to working in a different way. I am delighted that we have been able to continue to serve local families and support them in their journey of faith over this time. ## **Prayer** Understandably, several of our team have had to step down because of changes in life circumstances brought about by the pandemic. We really need to build up our volunteer team for the Revel8 youth group and the First Steps toddler group. Please do pray that we will be able to achieve this quickly. Please continue to pray for God’s blessing on the families that we have contact with. Ben Ansell Youth and Families Co-Ordinator ## **SAFEGUARDING** In April 2020 we had a Safeguarding Training session booked in to be led by Debbie Wood. A high number of people were due to attend, but due to Covid, sadly this couldn't go ahead. However Roy Farrant, our Safeguarding Trustee, had been informed later on that year that Baptist Union were doing an online Safeguarding Session. This was watched by individuals and then each person completed a report and sent it back to Central Baptist Association. So far 18 of our children's workers have done this. When it was planned, this was only for those who had already attended Safeguarding Training and was not for those who had never done it. We are still waiting for CBA to inform us to when new people can be trained. Mark Allchorn continues to be our Designated Person for Safeguarding to whom we are very grateful. Charlotte Cooper ## **KINGS CHRISTIAN BOOKSHOP** 2020 began like any other year in the bookshop – sorting out and restocking and catching up with our customers and volunteers after the Christmas break. But, 2020 turned out to be nothing like any other year that any of us can remember. News was beginning to come in from across the world of a new deadly virus and it was not long before there were cases appearing in the UK. We noticed that our busiest day, Saturday, was getting quieter and the Dance Place parents were not stopping for their normal coffee stop. Children were being dropped off and quickly collected and leaving. We had started to prepare ourselves that the virus could eventually reach Kings Langley. In that event the volunteers would have to think about their safety and we prepared ourselves for the possibility of shutting shop. On Monday 16[th] March Boris Johnson announced tougher restrictions to stop the spread of the Corona virus that had been spreading rapidly. We expected to close shop after trading on Wednesday 18[th] , but it was decided on 17[th] that all church activity was to stop immediately. The 16[th] was to be our last day opening until Monday 5[th] October. Almost seven months later. Before opening on Monday 5[th] October, there were lots of meetings to discuss and to organise the way forward to re-opening in a safe way in accordance with government guidance. Staff had to be trained, safety equipment ordered and lots of consideration given to volunteers’ and customers’ safety. Also, there was a break-in to the church during the lock down, causing damage to the door to the bookshop, which had to be replaced. Our customers were pleased to return, but everything was very different. Everyone had to wear masks and had to stay at their tables to be served. Contact details had to be taken of all those entering the building and numbers were restricted in both the coffee shop and bookshop. Despite these measures it was lovely that we could once again meet up and begin to experience some normality after the many months of lock down. Towards the end of the month numbers of covid infections were rising rapidly and there was talk of a new lock down. On Saturday October 31[st ] it was announced that there would be a new lock down from Thursday 5[th] November. During the next two opening days the shop was extremely busy as people wanted to buy their Christmas cards etc. in time for Christmas. The takings for those two mornings were approximately £1,000! With covid numbers reducing again, the shop was able to re-open on 5[th] December. After much discussion, it was decided not to open the coffee shop. A few tables were available outside and a take away service was available. As usual, at Christmas time, we were very busy right up to our closing day of December 19[th] . Our customers were very grateful that we were able to open as many of our regular customers had missed being able to meet up during the lock downs. It was decided that we would not re-open until the end of January and that Hannah would be put on furlough. Sadly, one of our most regular customers, Ray Kingham, passed away at the end of the year. He had been a regular customer for many years and, after illness earlier in the year, had eventually recovered enough to reach the coffee shop independently before the lock down in November. His family expressed their thanks to the church for the love and care given to Ray over many years. At the end of the year, Kate and myself stood down from the leadership of the team, but both of us are hoping to continue to be part of the volunteer team when the shop re-opens. Jenny stood down from keeping the accounts and Paul Hutchinson will be taking over from her in the new year. Many thanks to Jenny for all her hard work keeping the books up to date, it was no easy task. Thank you to Paul for taking this role on. A big thank you to all our committed volunteers who have worked in difficult circumstances during 2020. Hopefully, 2021 will prove to be a year that we will once again see the shop open and welcoming old and new customers. Please pray for the future of our church bookshop and coffee shop, pray for our volunteers as the shop begins to reopen and for new opportunities for sharing God’s love to our community. Volunteers as at end 2020 (some of these have been shielding, therefore not available) Hannah (paid worker), Oscar, Pam D, Glenda, Judith, Paul and Tracey, Matthew and Charlotte, Gillian, Tania, Mervyn, Shelley, Suzie(shielding), Anne and Ricky, Kate, Chris, Ann Bun, Evelyn(shielding) Norma ( shielding). Sara (shielding). Pam B (shielding) Anne Armstrong April 2021 ## **FABRIC** Those that have holiday homes will understand that when properties remain empty, closed up and unused, deterioration is not put on hold and sometimes areas suffer more due to unuse. The church buildings have also followed this pattern and the lack of use over lockdown has given us issues to resolve in various areas. Having had a break in, during the lockdown, a CCTV camera system was installed, more as a deterrent. The cameras glow slightly at night time. Areas of the roof have required repairs following water entering both the upper hall and recently, the Minnows room. The flat roof over the back rooms is now showing its age and will require completely replacing in the foreseeable future. (The water coming into the upper hall did finally identify the circuits tripping that has occasionally been a problem in the kitchen, so this should no longer occur) These are some of the many areas which received attention over the last year: - Roy completed repainting the outside windows on the sanctuary. A job that has proved bigger than anticipated. - A second chair trolley was purchased, which enables clearing chairs back from the main church quicker and easier. - Fire systems and extinguishers service were serviced. Out of date extinguishers were replaced. The fire alarm system is now 10 years old and the next service (there are two a year) in Jan 2022 will involve replacing all the smoke detectors (14 off). - PAT testing of all our (portable) electrical appliances. - Garden and hedge maintenance. - Gutter replacement around the main building As we move slowly forward and more activities return to Christ Church, please pray about the future way forward for the buildings. The buildings age every day and when constructed, fitted the purpose and lifestyles of the day. Many things have changed and are still changing. New regulations come along requiring changes and the last two years have changed our lifestyles and expectations. In my view, we should not let the building restrict the vision God gives us and with this, embrace any physical changes required to realize this vision. Thank you to all those who help to improve and maintain the appearance of our buildings and grounds. In order to keep the buildings in good condition and stick within budget, we will need to carry out more maintenance ourselves. I’m always grateful to have volunteers and I’m sure I can find suitable tasks for all abilities. Please step forward! **Neil Cooper Deacon for Fabric** Christ Church Baptist Kings Langley Financial Statement for Year Ended 31 December 2020 onsolidattd CCB Recei ts and Pa Ènt Aeeount 2020 2019 Recelpis General Fund Kings 8ookshop and Coffee Shop Fund First Steps Fund Reve18 Fund 7up Fund 5Alive Fund 111.7410 10.387 287 95.332 19.228 1.258 623 418 210 117.070 139 97 122,776 Payment$ General Fund Kings eookshop and Coffee Shop Fund First Steps Fund Reve18 Fund 7up Fund 5Ali¥e Fund 103.412 10.734 187 310 118.821 15.391 529 885 436 325 136,388 ss 114.859 Surplus (deficlrl lor ihe year 7.917 -19.319 General Fund Recei ts and Pa ents Not* 2020 2019 Recelpls Weekly Offering Donat￿n5 and other irrtome Income tax received on gffts IGThl A￿) Investhtnt In￿Me Rents & contributwss for use of premises Raised for other causes 76.967 15.713 13.994 253 4.813 80,152 13.192 12.485 3.825 95,332 111,740 P•ymetti8 Ministry M15sKJn Upkeep of Churth Pr•mi$ts Administral 45.042 38.522 14.631 5.217 103.412 45.282 45.459 22.042 6.059 118.821 SU￿1￿$ {defi¢ltJ lor the ye•r 8,328 .23,490 CCBACC￿niS 2020 P8ge3of11 ChiBt tsfiptsl 15 a ItArtv 1178$141 Christ Church Baptist Kings Langley Financial Statement for Year Ended 31 December 2020 Kin s Booksho and Coffee Sho KCBS Fund - Recei t5 and Pa 2020 ments 2019 Receipts Bookshop worker furtough receipts Sale of books. cards. grfts etc Non profrt sales Refre$hment$ Donatk)n$ 2.654 4.457 519 2.727 30 10.387 9.525 479 9.214 10 19,228 Payments Bookshop worker grgs$ $al Employer pension ¢o$ts Purchase of books. cards. elc Purchases from tharth"esln¢)n profrt Traidcraft Relreshments Postage Worldpay Maintenance & Equipment Stationery 6.256 187 3.075 519 5.903 158 5.394 385 95 2,721 39 622 75 514 65 15.391 10.734 Surplus (deflcltj for the ye•r -347 3,837 tste s Fund . Recei ts and Pa 2020 2019 Receipts Subs¢nptths 287 267 1.258 1,258 Payment$ Refreshments Crafts Party Ac¢èssewi•$ Grfls lor adults & children Equipment 59 229 30 75 66 62 187 529 Surplu$ (dellcltj for the year 729 CCB ACC￿nts 2020 Pa￿40f11 ChD51 Chwth Bwst Is a Regstwgj Clwrty Itwiw 11785141 Christ Church Baptist Kings Langley Financial Statement for Year Ended 31 December 2020 Reve18 Fund . Recei ts and Pa ments 2020 2019 Receipts Subscnptic￿S Tuck Shop Receipt5 371 252 623 42 146 Payments Outings Game$ Night l Equip￿ent Craft Wo Tuck Shop expenses & refreshments Stationery Miseellafitous 47 46 160 16 42 310 362 236 287 885 Surplus (deflclt) for th* year -165 -262 Fund. Recei and Pa men 2020 2019 Receipts Subscriplicfis 139 139 418 418 Paymtnts Craft Material Party Refre5hrnenls Resource Material siationtry 105 274 18 20 8e 436 17 39 161 Surplu5 (deflcltj lor the year -23 SAlive Fund- Recei ts ant1 Pa ents 2020 2019 Receipts Subscnplic￿S Frem 7Up lor Pufehas•s 97 210 97 210 Payments Craft Material Party Training Resources 302 23 55 325 Surplus {deff¢liJ for ibe year .115 CCO 2020 Page5of11 ctvst CMY¢h Bèptst Is a R*)tstsral CWY 11785141 Christ Church Baptist Kings Langley Financial Statement for Year Ended 31 December 2020 Statement of Assets and Liabilities at 31 December 2020 Assets Bank and other cash balances 2020 95.861 2019 87,944 Representlng balances oft the followlng fund$ General Fund 10 KCBS Fund 11 First Steps Fund 12 Reve18 Fund 13 7up Fund 14 SAlive Fund 15 TOTAL 91.641 2.380 762 1.031 -14 61 95.861 78.313 7.727 1,196 18 87.944 Non rnon•tary assets hèhl lor Ih• Church's ¢)wm ust 16 3.181.6C6 2.gSg.062 Total Ass•ts 3,277,467 3.047.006 Llabllliles Baptist Pension Seh•m• Dèbt Total Debt 17 70.000 70.000 67.000 67,000 CCB Accwnts 2020 PBge6of11 ch[￿tc￿￿(h Baptsl 15 a R￿J￿ter￿rtcl￿ty1[M1nber 117&5141 Christ Church Baptisl Kings Langley Financial Statement for Year Ended 31 December 2020 1 Notes to the Accounts Basis of accounts.. These aceounts have been prepared on a'receipts and payments. basi% and accord wrth Section 133 Charities Act 2011 2 Donations and other income DonalK)ns I Contribution lo overheads Legacie5 Memorial grfts l Funerals I WethJin9S Other Items- FurftyJgh receipts from HMRC Other items 2020 2019 300 4.000 2(X) 2.500 750 13.066 2.046 18.367 4,968 3 Investment income Bank interest 253 253 4 Raised for Other Causes Charity of th8 Year. Lake Mantasoa School. Madagascar Other charitl•S.' 3.825 3,825 S Outgoing . Ministry INot• 21 Minister's Igrossl stipend Ernployerfs Nl cost$ PensK)n Contribution (Nole Jl Ministèr's travel & Pul￿1 suppliès Church A¢tNities I Sunday servi Visiting Speakers Subscriptions and Li￿n Manse Costs.. Utilities (council tax, wat•r. Ibjht & heali Insurance Repairs l upkeep 28.700 608 9.729 28.097 10,805 277 410 239 1.259 945 4.999 592 4.599 574 726 45.262 45.042 Note 2.. The Minister acts as one of the church's trustees and recwves remuneration and olher benefrts in respect of hither servtts as Mintslef. in¢ludin9 Ihe pfov¢sion of manse accommodation owned by the church. Note 3.. The thur¢h'$ ¢ontribution in 2020 of £3024 to redu¢e Ihe Baptist Pengon Scheme defieit is included he￿. The church pays both the employerfs and the employee's pensi¢)n eontributMs. CCB Ac￿nIS 2020 Py7of11 Chnsl Church Ba￿￿t rs 8 R￿￿tered Ch￿ty (Thunbef 11785141 Christ Church Baptist Kings Langley Financial Statement for Year Ended 31 December 2020 6 Outgoing- Mission Given to BMS I CBA Given to charitvès of Ihe year Children 8 Youth wo Children 8 Family Worker gross salary Employer's Nl & Pensicrt cosls Outreach Other 2020 10.011 831 $18 25.932 1.361 2019 10.877 3.846 2.370 25.377 1.533 1.456 40 38.522 45.459 7 Outgoing . Upkeep of Church Premises 3.841 2.886 3.436 4.432 2.842 9.646 Insurance Repairs and Maintenance Church Aclivilie$ I Sunday servi Cleaner'$ salary 4.468 14,631 4.220 22,042 8 Outgoing- Administration Printing and stationary Administrator's salary CIO Solicitor Charges 295 4.923 977 4.781 300 6.059 5.217 9 Bank and other cash balances Bar¢lays CCB CIO General A￿Ount Baptist Unien Deposrt Account Barclays KC8S CIO Aeeeunt Cash (Noto 41 12.448 77.190 6.169 55 95.861 3.196 76.936 7.637 175 87.944 Note 4.. £40 151 Steps. £15 Reve18 al end of 2020 10 Gentral Fund Opening balan¢e 78.313 97.162 N•t ineornèl l•xynditurtl lor tht y•ar Transferred frgm KCBS Fund Tran$ferred from Firs¢ Slep$ Fund 8.328 5.1)00 -23.49) 3.940 700 Closing balan¢• 91.641 78.313 CC8 AttwThts 2020 Pagè8of11 Chtisl CIKxch Eapbstis B Reg￿tered ClwityltMThbw 11785141 Christ Church Baptis1 King5 Langley Financial Statement for Year Ended 31 December 2020 11 KCBS Fund Opening balance 2020 7.727 2019 Net incomel lexpenditurel for the year TransferTed to General Fund -347 -5.000 3,837 -3,940 Closing balan¢e 2,380 7.727 12 First steps Fund Opening balance 682 Net incomel lexpenditurel for the year Tran5feThed to General Fund 729 -7CK) GI￿1n9 balan 762 13 Revel8 Fund Opening balance 1.196 1.458 Net Ineomel lexpendrturel lor the y•ar Transferred to General Fund -165 -262 Closing balan¢e 1.031 1.196 14 7up Fund Opening balan¢e Net Ineomel l•xpendrturel lor the y•ar Tiansfety•d to Gen•ral Fund -23 -18 Cl¢)sing balance .14 15 SAlive Fund Opening balance 18 133 Net in¢omel lexpendrturel for the year TraD$ferred to General Fund 42 .115 Closing balanet 61 18 CC6 Acrwnts 2020 Page9of11 Chrtst ctweh B3ptst Is a RegLSter&l C1￿{rAmn￿￿ 1178514) Christ Church Baptist Kings Langley Financial Statement for Year Ended 31 December 2020 16 Non mtsnttary assets held for the Churth's tswn use The church is the ben&ficial owner {subJ8ct to th& relgvanl trusts) of the lollowing assets. the legal ttib to which is h8ldby tho ¢hu￿h s ¢ust¢dian trustee Èhe 8apbsl Union Corporation LEtl.. 2020 2019 Church yemises. insured value (The Nap. Kings Langley. Herts. WD4 8ESI Church manse. insured value12 Belham Road, Kings Langley. Herts, W04 88YI Church organ insured value The chur¢h also owns fixtures. furniture and equipment wrth an insured value of 2.456.916 2.420.577 429.857 171.047 416,530 123.786 3.181,606 121.955 2.959,062 17 Baptist Pension Scheme Debt Sthèm&'i Tho $¢rW￿ ts a sytyio Dy th• p•)$￿ P•)SK Tru51 Limrtwjl Tho m￿15t￿ LS •lw*lo tojom S¢ Sirt• J8rwery2012, hfys W m&Jg tho 0ofThd Ctyitrtyw IDCI Plan %%ithn tt* In 9wo1, pty 8% pay64 of mwws. 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M was ¢w 10 hAur* ofo&lr*d benefrt5 ￿ 31 Decernber 2011 A ¥èlueiM ol Bon•trt IDbl p￿t*￿S E￿Ic￿MOd at31 D•c4rnbor2019 IW81rfthl A¢l￿ty￿s￿ pIr￿￿o Tts mwk8t v&iJo (rf 8$845 date wos £298 mill VOIL￿1￿ D8 Pkn rève8￿# del￿0t&S$6ts rJ*rW￿ ol 01£18ffl1l￿l iequN&eni10 8 Pb51 Serv￿￿ of9451 As a le5￿1(￿￿e valuÈlKffj. In a￿drt￿ tothe c* (if any ACMA Address l Brickfield Cottages, St Marys Lane, He￿ng[0rdbUry, Hertford, SG14 2LF