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2021-12-31-accounts

ANNUAL REPORT FOR 2021

March 2022

Annual General Meeting

MINISTER’S REPORT

Aged about twelve I joined the Sea Scouts. We lived more than 2 hours from the sea in all directions! However, the River Thames was much nearer and it was in those waters that I had to tread water for 2 minutes before swimming 25 metres up-stream before being allowed in a boat.

As a church we have been mostly treading water for two years and now it is time to swim. Christians are called often to swim against the stream of society. In a consumer culture we fellowship together as a church of all ages and commit ourselves to one another as to the Lord.

Salt and light, Jesus said, stand out, be different, offer something no-one else can, which is hope in and through Jesus. We are trying something new on Sundays and yet through it we endeavour to continue to be faithful to God’s everlasting word and follow the leading of the Holy Spirit today.

I pray that our trial Sundays will prove helpful. I’d like them to be joyful and engaging. Even more I want them to be purposeful, to challenge us and send us out as salt and light to a world in need.

It is just six months since our last AGM, having waited eighteen months from March 2020. In the past six months not so much has happened yet a lot has changed.

Only now are all COVID restrictions being lifted. We are still leaving extra space between seats, opening windows and asking everyone to be especially mindful of others’ health and feelings.

It is good to be back in our building and to see activities increasing weekly. Please do ask the Lord in what ways, old or new, He wants you to serve Him here. There is plenty of opportunity.

It is clear that we cannot go backwards and of course in many ways we are desperate to move forward. As we do so let us remember that these past two years have been a challenge for all of us in different ways. Let us continue to be kind to one another.

We are blessed to have retained the majority of our weekly congregation since before the pandemic and also blessed to have welcomed new people too. Let us all commit to one another in the Lord and allow Him to renew and rebuild His church at CCB to His glory.

Yours in Christ Jesus Matthew Cooper

“Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.” Ephesians 5:21

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: Hedley and Marion Edwards

Baptisms: Julie Quant

Member deaths:

Members leaving: Neil and Debbie Wood

Secretary: Roy Farrant (re-appointed October 2021 for three years)

Treasurer: Paul Hutchinson (re-appointed October 2021 for three years but expecting to stand down in 2022)

Other Deacons:

(March 2019 was the first meeting of members as a CIO, at which point all deacons were newly elected.)

Diaconate vacancies - two

Church Progress:

2021 was another difficult year. Yet Matthew’s continuing tireless work kept us together and we fared extremely well given the circumstances.

The Covid-19 pandemic continued to disrupt our normal activities for the whole year. Zoom meetings continued throughout, but we were at last able also to meet together in the church premises from July onwards. It felt very odd – people needed to be spaced well apart and facemasks were required. Singing was not possible most of the time. Many of our congregation were understandably very hesitant about meeting together, which inevitably meant that numbers in the building were much reduced. We did manage to hold our annual Carols by Candlelight service on 19 December, which was highly appreciated, but the congregation were still required to wear masks.

Coming out of the Covid lockdown, we have no live keyboard player to lead the Sunday singing regularly. We do have a willing though not large band of singers and musicians who are able to lead on some Sundays. We are developing a library of electronic backing tracks, in a variety of instruments and styles, to sing with.

Later in the year the children and youth groups started meeting together once more. They have some way to go in recruiting volunteers and rebuilding their activities.

Coffee Shop and Bookshop met sporadically during the year as government regulations allowed. When those restrictions were lifted sufficiently to allow opening, we did not have enough volunteers to do so as often as we used to. So opening was restricted, but valued when it was possible.

In my report last year I suggested that we were struggling and the future was uncertain. But I also said there were some exciting opportunities before us; that we have a lot going for us; with still a lot of members and attendees and still good financial reserves. As I write my report this year I sense that we are actively on the mend and starting to grow. New members are being welcomed; Sunday services are becoming well attended; midweek activities are beginning to blossom; new initiatives are being trialled. We have a way to go and we must never be complacent, but it seems to me that God has been holding our hand through the dark times and now wants to carry on holding it as we reach for the lighter times. If God is for us, who can be against us?

Roy Farrant Secretary February 2022

TREASURER'S REPORT FOR THE YEAR END 2021 Aqain this year the Annual AccLwnts have been wepared in line with the Bapb'st un￿ sugqested format for churches wrth under £25oklyear. I should make it cle4W. ￿fOre p￿￿eed1￿ further. that a IxKet for 2021 was not fomially tJreed by the Church Meets"w. Hcrtever. I th refer to the unaqreed Wet beknv. HeadI￿e5 from the Accounts In 2U21 the total income increased by a s]nfftant amount compared with 2U20, by £211.944 to £143.7k. This increase is entsiely due to the receipt of a larqe leqw from the estate of Mike Crwi amountinq to £33. 15(l. Expenditure has in(reased by £6.465 to £121.324 compared wth 211211. In 21)21 the church ended the year wrth a surplus of £22,397, compared with the budqeted defictt of £6.(1(H. Accordinqty. the church's liquid assets have irKreased to £118.258. More than £12.(XX) of the incorne was received from the HMRC furlouqh scheffle to support the salaries of our furthqhed staff. In athlition. more than £16.IMln was received HMRC as Grft AKI. The ￿efing In 2n21 has decreased by £15.252 compared wrth 21120 and. at the end of the year. was this same amwnt below budqet. However. as I Sa￿ in my re￿rt for 2112U. approximately £12,IMKJ of the 2U21) offerinq was recetved in On￿Off donations rather than throuqh increased monthly qtvinq. so the 21)21) increase would not necessanty be repeated in 2021. This has tumed (Art to te true. At 31 Dec 2021 the leqacies ba￿l￿e is £39.651). Conceminq extemal causes. the church has qiven £5,991) to CBA and £4,519 to BMS Wodd Mission. The church dKI not nominate a "Charty of the Year in 21121, althLxJqh £41n was donated to the Chrisban Ha"rti Apttal which was the surplus from the Camival stall. Totsl giving to extwnal amounted to atM)ut 7.6(Ib of our totsl income f¢x the year. CCB continues to hold the maiorty of its rerves in the &aptist unl￿ derM)Sit accwnt. Baptist Churches are encouraqed to do so as this provkle funds to the Baptist UnTron which are used to make k)ans to finance purchase of new church sf(es and manses. fijnd the conStWc￿n IA new churches aTrJ redevekntKrEnt and improvement projects. CCB kc£vrts 2021 Paoe 1 of 12 Chrtsl Church Bapbsl is a ReoBiered Cttanty Inumtr 11785141

Two-year View Given that 2020 and 2021 haNE definrtdy rK)t been typKal years. l think rt is usthl to pick out a few f￿ureS compared bet¥Yeen the end of 2U19 and the end of 2021 :_ Dec 2(119 £611,152 £13.192 É() Dec 2(1211 £76.967 £13.994 £13 iJ66 -£347 Dec 2(J21 £62.121 £16.181 £12 278 £656 offerinq ncome I￿ 11 Grft Aid income 2) Furlou h income KCBS su lusldeficit IrM)te 4) Year-end reserves excl m.cnsp leqacy É87.944 {rM)te 5) Year-end reserves incl M. É95.861 £85.11)8 £87.944 £95.861 £118.258 l. This Sho￿ offerirKJ incre in 2020 rethThJ b to fe-pand￿K ￿velS in 2021. Z Gft lid Incor￿ 15 de￿￿t ort Off￿"ThJ ￿ the wr, g) has inCrea￿d in 2021 as regjk of the Ir￿reA￿l gi¥Ang in 2020. 3. irKome kn the that ￿ ha5 at4e ID daim frcffn HMRC through the fiJJJgh a gJt6tsnlial a)wJrt 4. The KCBS $J￿￿¢￿￿(rt stxms that the KCBS hasE t￿7 over the last 2 yeats ￿(￿1￿j tr saLiry c￿, iry ￿ ftmkn4h unhke . year& t￿ ha9 Su￿￿ to avail ?b￿ to gwal thurch lrfe. tc 2021 are oth slhJhdy down (ty ￿.836) w the Yea￿ cLwral wth tkc 2019 The Deacons have corsidered the financial rAlSItM)n of the Church and believe that we will be abk to pay all Nls. invoKes. charqes aThl othei lk4bi1rt￿S as they fall due. The work of the Treasurer is d￿ndent on other suprxirtinq peq)le. Particular thanks all those who have gr4en to the w￿k of the church in 21121. erther as reqular monthly donations ￿ in other ways. The weeklylrnonthty offen'nq amounted to £62. 121 for lthe full year. the offerirw counb'nq tearn, Roy Faffant who has managed the payroll and all of the fijrlough scheme claims. CCB .4ccounts 2021 Page2of12 Chrtst Chuf¢tt Baptist is a Reoistewj Chanty Inwmber 11785141

The d)urch cutrently has 5 individuals ￿ pa￿￿1. The people have kN)ked after First Steps. 5AINe and 7Up fijnds. Glenda Tumer for manaqiw the hirinq of ¢yJr premises althouqh aqain less actrvity than usual in this area. The church has received an income of £6.7Q5 through hall-hire in the year. Paul Hutchlnson. Treasurer Date 4th February 2022

PASTORAL CARE & PRAYER MINISTRY

‘Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.’

Hebrews 12 v 14 & 15

As I write this report, I am aware that my 6 year term of serving the Church family as Pastoral Deacon is coming to a close.

It has been an honour and privilege to work with you in taking care of our Church family at Christ Church.

So many have become personal friends and without your constant support and guidance my role would have been very different.

It is so wonderful how we have worked together as a team, especially during these past 2 difficult years and that so many of you have taken the role to contact, chat and care for each other.

As I pass on the ‘baton’, I pray that God will guide each one of you and will lead you down new and exciting directions.

God has been so good in answering our prayers for new members and new pathways beginning. So very exciting.

I will be praying for each one of you, that God will guide and show you the way.

I am looking forward to supporting the Church in the new pathways, especially Thursday mornings for as long as I am able.

Thank you again for the privilege to serve you.

May God bless you all richly

Suzie

CHRISTIAN AID REPORT 2021

We give thanks for all that was possible this year for Christian Aid in Kings Langley. It has been challenging for all of us and we have needed to adapt in order to keep the work going. Nevertheless, a total of £10,176 was raised (79% of the previous year’s total) and our thanks go to all who have supported our work and to Jeanette (and Mick) and Pat for their excellent work as church representatives. Our full annual report gives a comprehensive account and it can be accessed at: https://tinyurl.com/evpeev5p and some hard copies are available in the church.

Our key activity this year was Christian Aid Week, and we thank again the many volunteers who helped with the ‘Door to Door’ envelope delivery and collection. Our United Service on ‘Zoom’ was hosted by Matthew and our guest speaker was a Christian Aid volunteer, Neil Dymond. His theme was ‘Water, praise , love and joy’ and he focused on Rose’s story and how she had to walk miles to access clean water for herself and her family in Kenya. Through the support of Christian Aid partners, helped by the giving in Christian Aid Week, her community were shown how to make best use of their dam. ‘Water is life’ says Rose, ‘When it is readily available the peace of mind people have, especially women, is beyond explanation’

Climate Change was a major focus of campaigning with the UN Climate Change Conference COP 26 being held in Glasgow. An enthusiastic and committed group of young Christians walked in relay from St Ives (where the G7 meeting was held) to Glasgow. In August local supporters met with them at St John’s Church in Boxmoor before they set off for Tring. We then joined them via Zoom for a welcome meeting at Tring Baptist Church.

Also, in August another earthquake hit Haiti. At the time it was reckoned about 500,000 people were affected, 40% of the total population in the affected areas. An appeal was launched and a total of £1,395 was raised including £410 from the Christ Church refreshments at the Village Carnival for which we are very grateful. The good news is that houses built previously with the help of Christian Aid withstood the earthquake.

In addition to fund raising, we wrote letters, including on behalf of the beleaguered people of Afghanistan, lobbying our MP for more help and support and we are grateful to all those who signed the letter to Sir Mike Penning.

And we prayed-each week suggestions for prayer were included in the service sheet and they were used at different times throughout the year by some of those leading intercessions.

Please join us in this work

We have started a mailing list for Kings Langley Christian Aid supporters. This will enable us to send details of our events and campaigns more efficiently. Please consider joining this list at: http://www.kings-langley-churches.org. uk/ChristianAid.html or phone Chris Pettit on 07778 157093 for more details.

Paul Tucker

HOUSE GROUPS

NOMADS HOUSE GROUP

The past year has been difficult in many ways for members of the Nomads House Group. During the year we lost Sean and Hannah and Mervyn was unable to attend many meeting due to work commitments. We continue to meet on Zoom though Denis and Isabel have found it difficult and have stopped joining us since Christmas. Our intention is to meet in person again in 2022 and we hope when the days lengthen Denis and Isabel will be able to join us. We miss them a lot. We have however been encouraged since Alan and Annette joined us in January and they are proving to be a great asset to the group. We now have 8 regularly attending each week and will be back to 10 when Denis and Isabel return. If anyone would like to join you would be welcomed with open arms. We were meeting on a Thursday at 8pm but have just reverted to our long standing time of 7.30pm on Monday of every week.

Our time together starts by sharing what has been going on in our lives over the past week over coffee and excellent home-made cake!!! We end with a time of prayer.

At the beginning of the year we started a study on the Persecuted Church using material from Release International entitled All for Jesus. We found this both a challenge and at times difficult to follow. This was followed by a study on Thessalonians published by Cover to Cover and entitled Building Church in Changing Times. This we felt was very relevant to both us at Christ Church and the wider church in general. Out third study was ‘home grown’ and based on numbers in the Bible and surprised us at how many there are. We continue to look for new material that will help us study God’s Word.

Unfortunately due to Covid restrictions we have not been able during the year to invite visiting speakers to share their Christian work and experiences but hope to be able to start this again in 2022.

Individual members have supported outreach events though these have been few in 2021. Our hope is that in 2022 more such events can be organised, while 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 helping us support and encourage each other in our Christian journey. We wish we had been able to do more in 2021 but we were restricted by Covid rules. That said we had a very pleasant Christmas lunch together when chance conversations once again proved the basis of our prayer life both corporately and personally.

For all of us, meeting together every week gives us the opportunity to share our hopes and fears, and provides 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 the members of Nomad.

PRAYER GROUP/OPEN HOUSE

2021 has been and gone and with having an AGM towards the end of last year, there doesn’t seem much to update you with.

However, we continue to meet regularly and even though restrictions have lightened somewhat we have decided to stay on Zoom during this time as we have a couple of ladies who need to be more careful due to being vulnerable and practically for Charlotte Zoom works due to family commitments.

We do continue to support and pray for one another on a monthly basis and really enjoy our times together on zoom.

Of course if anyone wants to join us, please contact Charlotte.

Charlotte Cooper

BIBLE STUDY GROUP

Well, Zoom seems to have well and truly become part of our worship, fellowship and prayerful walk and what had started as a lifeline for lockdown, shows no signs of retiring. We have continued to have a loyal core group of around ten people and we have been blessed with others popping in and out as they have been able. We would love others to join – why don’t you give it a try – it’s just the usual church zoom code that we log on to church with.

Our material continues to nothing but the word. 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. The latter part of last year we worked through the whole of the book of Luke – we had a couple of Christmas specials and this year we have started on the second instalment of Luke – the book of Acts. 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.

Although we do stick to a core raison d’etre of reading the bible, we do have a close fellowship and are privileged to pray for each other and share each others burdens and celebrate each others successes.

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. We have recently made tiny moves towards actually meeting up in person with a mix of meeting together in person and on Zoom, the truth is that zoom is very convenient although there is something very special about being in the same room. And of course, 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

2 years in from the first lock down, as restrictions are lifted and feelings are mixed, we are still in a time of increased uncertainty, change and anxiety. Families need our love and support just as much as they did at any point in the pandemic as children and parents carry the emotional bagage associated with the social effects of Covid-19. As a church we continue to adapt to the changing government restrictions and to do everything we can to support families in the local community, both inside and outside of our fellowship.

Sunday mornings

During the first lock down the three Sunday morning children’s groups were merged into one. Once we were allowed back in the building we continued to meet as one group, mostly led by me with support from the Sunday School team. This was due to the lack of volunteers (several volunteers across the children and youth ministry stepped down as their personal circumstances changed during the pandemic) but also to help the children adapt to being together again on a Sunday morning after 18 months of services on Zoom. We’ve been pleased to welcome three new families on a regular basis on Sunday mornings since September, but attendance continues to be very difficult to predict.

Last summer I conducted a consultation with the church families and gave the results to Matthew and the deacons. Earlier this year we had a Family Forum on Zoom where we received more feedback about Sunday mornings. The main feedback I have taken from this is that the older children & young people need a group of their own on Sunday mornings, also there are diverse needs and many competing properties among the families in the fellowship. It is clear that we need to make some changes and I am very excited by Matthew’s ideas to experiment with a different structure for Sunday services in March and April. During those months we are not going to have a separate children’s group but will meet all together for 45mins and then provide a space for families to explore “Godly play” together for the rest of the morning. I have met with most of the young people and we have agreed to start a fortnightly bible study and discussion group during the Sunday morning service.

I look forward to seeing where this new season takes us as a fellowship.

Events

Matthew and I have continued to prepare and host Family Connect services as frequently as possible, including Christmas, Water and Sand themed sessions. These continue to be well attended by families with children in our Friday clubs and by families who come on Sunday mornings.

We have not been providing food because of concerns over people mixing together too closely during the pandemic. Previously the sandwich tea after the service had been a key time for parents to mix and for people to get to know each other better. I hope that we can re-introduce this soon.

We continue to be part of the Youth Across Hemel network. They have been very creative in their efforts to keep going during the pandemic and are a great resource for us. I took

some young people to the Youth Across Hemel Text Treasure Hunt event at the Liberty Tea Rooms in the autumn where they heard the charity’s founder Kerry-Ann Cooper give an inspiring talk. We hope to host this year’s autumn event at Christ Church Baptist.

In December we were pleased to welcome Kings Langley Rainbows (the junior version of Brownies) to use the building for their Christmas event, thanks to Lizzie North. I was delighted to visit the group and hope that this will lead to other opportunities for our church to work with Rainbows in the future,

Weekly clubs

We have three weekly clubs: Five Alive for ages 5 to 8, 7Up for ages 8 to 11 Revel8 for ages 11 and up.

The majority of the children who come to all of the Friday clubs are not in a church fellowship. After 18 months of lockdowns and changing restrictions the framework for our clubs has now been stable since September. Five Alive and Revel8 meet fortnightly and 7Up meets weekly. All the clubs are back to their previous time slots and usual activities Eg bible stories, making, baking, playing games, watching movies, etc. We have had a new influx of children in Five Alive and 7Up thanks to regular attenders inviting their friends. Five Alive has always been a fortnightly group but I would like to see Revel8 return to a weekly slot. At the moment we do not have enough volunteers to make this possible. Please pray about this situation.

Schools

During the pandemic our school’s work came to a complete stop. I did offer our services to local schools at several points. I was delighted that Kings Langley Secondary School got in touch last summer to invite us and Youth Across Hemel back to restart our weekly lunchtime club called The Summit. We have been meeting since September. To my knowledge none of the young people who attend are associated with a church but they come because they feel safe and accepted. Please pray for the group, for Mr Moyo the teacher who gives up his lunch time and his classroom for it and for Lisa Dussek, my coleader from Youth Across Hemel.

Matthew and I were invited back to give an advent assembly in Kings Langley Primary School. It had been a long time since either of us had had an opportunity to share from the Bible in the school so please pray that we continued to be welcomed there.

First Steps

Our pre-school group is still popular with the local community and highly appreciated by the families that use it. We continue to see families establish relationships with the church through First Steps and then filter into other activities at the church. In September we made an appeal for volunteers and I am very grateful for the response from the church. Several people came forward and their new perspective and ideas have been a wonderful

asset to the group. We have now moved the group back up to the Upper Hall after being in the Sanctuary since the second lock down.

We could not do it without you!

None of the youth and children’s ministry would be possible without your support. Whether you pray for the ministry, volunteer, tell others about our activities or support the church financially, we could not do it without you.

Please pray for the following:

Ben Ansell

Youth and Families Co-Ordinator

SAFEGUARDING

We continue to train those who work with children & young people. As previously reported 18 people watched the BU video in 2021 and in the latter part of 2021, 6 new people, who hadn’t done Safeguarding training before, attended a ‘virtual’ safeguarding training session run by the Central Baptist Association. Ben also joined this training too.

A small number of new volunteers also went through the DBS application process.

Mark Allchorn continues to be our Designated Person for Safeguarding

Charlotte Cooper

COFFEE SHOP AND BOOKSHOP

The pandemic has had a very disruptive effect on our bookshop and coffee shop over the last year but we have continued to hold this together when we have been able to. Anne and Kate, despite having technically retired, have continued to officiate over these strange times which we are so grateful for as a church.

As I write this report in February, I can report that my intention is to take the reigns fully from 1 March but don’t expect there to be too many changes in the short term. We are blessed with a loyal band of volunteers who allow us to staff two days a week for the coffee shop and three days a week for the bookshop via a rota which is managed brilliantly by Pam Day. I would really encourage you to consider if you might like to be on this list as it is a great way of serving the community and also because it is my intention to bring in additional volunteers whose specific purpose it will be to get alongside the patrons without having other responsibilities which means we will need more people and possibly people with other skills for which we will be looking to offer training – more of this at a later date.

Of course we are in strange times, which means we don’t know if further restrictions are going to be imposed at any time but for now, the two days the coffee shop is open are very busy. It is still table service and we have strict hygiene checklists in place to minimise the risk of the virus.

Our coffee shop is not meant to be competition for the other businesses in the village but a place to come to enjoy good coffee and cake in a spiritual setting. I look forward to building on this over the coming months and years.

The bookshop is now fully open Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays and is appreciated by their customers. Unfortunately, Christian bookshops are few and far between these days and I’m so pleased that we are able to offer people the opportunity to purchase a greetings card with a Christian message or a bible or a book. I have heard many encouraging stories about people thrilled to be able to buy a bible for a grandchild or another loved one – that sounds corny, but I don’t know how else to put it.

Galatians 5:13 You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh ; rather, serve one another humbly in love.

Cameron Varley

WELLBEING COFFEE MORNING

On 13 January this year, we opened the doors for our first Wellbeing Coffee Morning which is specifically for people that have struggled through the restrictions of the lockdown, perhaps feeling lonely or other mental strain. Having said that, anyone is welcome and there’s no questionnaire to fill in to prove you qualify.

We don’t profess to have any other skills or potions for people other than offering safe space to sit and chat over a lovely cup of coffee and a biscuit.

The Church family are encouraged to support this in any way they can and we have had a wonderful response in the first few weeks. It is early days for us, but we have had an encouraging take up. We meet in the lower hall which is set up with tables in a very large circle which people can chat as a large group or on individual tables and indeed have done both over the last few weeks. As of February, our Christian bookshop is also open at the same time.

We start with an open prayer time from 9:30-10am on Thursday morning and then serve coffee and biscuits to those that come along. At around 11am a bible passage and a message for the day is given. I have been concentrating on the words of Jesus himself from Matthew’s gospel. I have been really heartened by the large group and small group conversations that have sprung up after this and it does feel like the people that come are benefiting from sharing on a deeper level than they might otherwise have opportunity to do. A number of people have commented on the feeling that they are able to share anxieties in the morning that they don’t feel they can in other settings which I have taken as a real encouragement.

Over the coming weeks, I am hoping that we can incorporate crafts or activities that would not stop people chatting – maybe crochet or jigsaws – if you have any ideas, why not let me know or even better, come along and help!

So far we have not widely advertised the morning although but this is being remedied with signage being put up in the village and information being included in the village media but the best way to reach people is by personal invitation and I really encourage you to consider anyone that you know that might benefit from being part of this. Even if they can’t get themselves there – in fact, probably especially if they can’t get themselves there – we will provide transport if possible.

I am excited for the future of this group. There is nothing new about offering the love of the Lord to those that need it – and let’s not forget, that certainly includes us – but as Colin Pye reminded us in church, it’s so important to go back to the simple tenets of our faith in order to line ourselves up with God’s will.

Matthew 11:28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”

Cameron Varley

FABRIC

Activities taking place in the building are still returning. Some new hirers and different church activities inevitably lead to further wear and tear on the building. There is always maintenance required, either regular and predictable work or additional work when areas simply have extra use and more foot traffic.

Please continue to notify the Fabric Deacon or anyone on the diaconate about building issues, so that we can try and keep the building in good repair and address problems before they escalate.

There are still many items which require addressing, some larger projects and some very small ones. They all take time and money in some way. Some items require some degree of DIY skill, others just time, to co-ordinate trades people or simply meet them and lock up afterwards. There is likely to be something on the list suitable for everyone. If you would like to help in a small way or even a larger one, please speak to the Fabric Deacon. Maintenance can be expensive but volunteering to help in this way can allow the church to refocus its spending on other important areas.

These are some of the many areas which received attention over the few months:

CCTV fully commissioned.

Fire systems were recently serviced, and the smoke heads replaced.

PAT testing of all our (portable) electrical appliances. Garden and hedge maintenance.

Taps replaced in the upper hall.

Front door hinges adjusted, but they will need replacing as the door has dropped due to the hinge wear.

Wasp nest destroyed in the main church roof.

Two quotes have been received to convert the existing small toilet into a modern accessible toilet, with suitable access for wheelchairs. We are waiting on a third quote and a visit by a 4[th] builder. Once we have all these quotes in, then the Diaconate will put forward a recommendation at a church meeting for approval. When we have a firm commitment to proceed, we would like someone to investigate grants to assist us in the funding. If the grant process is something you feel you could assist with or have experience in, then please step forward.

Thank you to all those who help to improve and maintain the appearance of our buildings and grounds.

My time as a deacon has reached 6 years, so I retire from the Diaconate and official fabric duties. There are still a few projects that I have been part of that I will continue to finish, but I welcome in the new person to take over this role and am happy to support them in their new duties. Thank you to all who have supported me over the last 6 years.

Neil Cooper Deacon for Fabric

Christ Church Baptist Kings Langley Financial Statement for Year Ended 31st December 2021 C(TholKkted CCB R Gewa FLThJ 132.871 1Q104 $24 10 170 42 111.740 10.387 Fwst SleF6 FWKI Re¥d8 Furxl 7LP F￿j sajrve Fwx1 97 122.776 143. P•ym0ft7ts 111,214 103,412 10.734 187 310 Fffst S FWKJ d8 F￿j 7w> Fwwj F￿j 134 121.324 114859 (defw Iwtheye 21￿7 7.917 Gewal F￿d. 20X 2020 62.121 47.705 16.181 159 76.972 15.7C6 13.gjl 4.813 131871 111.740 Payments 45.042 39.543 17.fQ6 5.421 111.214 14.631 5.217 101412 Siwwus (dfW Page4rd 12

Christ Church Baptist Kings Langl•y Financial Statement for Year Ended 31st December 2021 KCBS 20 2.122 3.770 1654 4.457 519 4.107 104 10J87 6.452 193 1.734 187 3,075 519 144 75 10 10.734 J47 Fir81 524 524 267 18 134 187 SU￿1￿ (delicffj for theyeor P4p5LI12

Christ Church Baptist Kings Langley Financial Statement for Year Ended 31st December 2021 Re￿8 F￿J. 10 104 42 146 10 47 41 16 42 310 194 Su￿1￿5 Idth.¢￿) fortl*y -184 -165 andP 20 Re￿Fts 170 170 139 194 105 17 Suffplus (deficrfl 43 P4•Od12

Christ Church Baptist Kings Langley Financial Statement for Year Ended 31st December 2021 20 42 97 97 Crt 101 (der￿ rorthÉw a131 )20 95.861 118257.81 Genwa FuJ KCBSFw rst Ster6 ATh1 Rev48 FutKI 7LP FLThJ JNÈ FLThI 10 113 3. 91.641 12 13 14 15 652 762 1,031 -14 61 TOT 118￿8 16 3253,857 3,181,￿* Total A8aets 1372.115 1277,467 17 18.468 22,176 7d12

Christ Church Baplisl Kings Langley Financial Statement for Year Ended 31st December 2021 1 to ttE 2020 33.1 79) 13.r 11278 2791 827 159 253 21J211 5 (xAgoiThJ- Ministry Iptr 1 ￿￿te¢S Iwl ¥Jre EmtrJW¥ Nl (￿ts 272n 449 1D.971 1,754 410 1 168 915 UtiStes le£rt￿lI 14 TAer. heati Ir￿ran S.L￿1 24 732 764 4&042 G￿t06Ms1C 10.X 10,011 fA1 Chthn & Y¢JAh ¥ 25.932 410 543 $22 8£112

Christ Church Baptist Kings Langley Financial Statement for Year Ended 31st December 2021 20X 3.841 2,891 6.78D 3.436 17.686 14.631 4.923 5217 &421 8¥dayB CCB CIO Acc3M 37.5 77.349 12.448 77,1￿) 6,169 8wclayB KCBS CIO Acoyx Cath INL41 118.258 9&861 Pke 4." £10 1¥t gy. £15 Re¥d8 n 2021 10 General FuThJ 91,641 78,313 Trarts1eff￿ tcm KCBS Fthj 111298 91,641 11 KCBS Fw Net (ex￿￿j￿) J -347 &036 12 First Sty Fwvl Tr￿￿￿j tr) 7Up FLThY 762 P4Ègof12

Chnst Church Baptsst Kings Langley Financial Statement for Year Ended 31st December 2021 13 Re￿8 Fthd 2021 2020 -165 1,031 14 T￿ FWKI -14 -14 15 FWKI 61 18 42 Tra￿fern￿ trom Fnt stere FLThJ 201 61 16 Pkn I￿et￿Y &y¥ets heldlotthe C1wCh￿ (￿n we Nw. trkyts. W04 BESI ZYJ3,$97 IW,916 WD4 8BYI 453.U75 171,(47 47J.857 171,&17 1￿.138 113 786 1181.fA)6 PylOd12

chri￿ Church Baptsst Kings Langley Flnanclal Statement for Year Ended 31st December 2021 a deficjt of£1&n ieqKvrrt ty a past seTri¢e of 94%} The thjrch lulerth• ay al 31 CcvnW3)L. 131 tknn&w2toc". £L.1761. Sdvt * 31 2021 £46.7C•J131 t¢¥rtw202tr. {7D,c￿l. Dote: 4th FelNUWy 2022 P¥lld12

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