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2020-12-31-accounts

Annual Report of the Parochial Church Council for the year ending 31[st] December 2020

The Parish of East Leightonstone The Rectory, 15 Church Road, Brampton PE28 4PF

St Mary Magdalene Parish Church Church Road, Brampton PE28 4PF

All Saints Church High Street, Ellington PE28 0AB

All Saints Church Church Road, Grafham PE28 0BB

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Contents

Introduction (3) Administrative information (3) Structure, Governance and Management (3) PCC for 2020/21 (3-4) Other information (4) Safeguarding (5) Church Warden’s Comments (5) Objectives and Activities (6) Achievements and Performance (6) Electoral Roll (6) Worship and The Year in Statistics (6) Junior Church, Brampton (6) Community Outreach (7) Brampton Befrienders (7) Little Fishes (7) Thrive Youth Work, Brampton (7-8) Pastoral Visiting (8-9) Home Groups (9) Occasional Offices (9) Financial Report (9) The Overall Picture (9) Giving to the Church (9) Outward Giving (9) Report of the Independent Examiner (10) Annual Accounts for the Year Ended 31 December 2020 (11) Summary of Receipts and Payments (11) Designated Funds (12) Restricted Funds (13) Statement of Assets and Liabilities (14) Accounting Policy (14) Mission and Charity Giving (15) Cornerstone Pregnancy Service (15) Christians Against Poverty (15) Just Care (15-16) Christian Aid (16) Services and Events (16) Grafham Church (16) Taize Services (16) Ellington Church (16-17) Brampton Church (17) Social Activities (17) Our Church Buildings (17) Fabric Report for Brampton Church (17) Fabric Report for Ellington Church (17-18) Fabric Report for Grafham Church (18-19) St Mary Magdalene Church Hall, Brampton (19-20) Huntingdon Deanery Synod Annual Report (20) Brampton Flower Guild (20) Brampton Mothers’ Union (20) Brampton Choir (20)

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Introduction

2020 proved to be a very strange year for our parish. As we reached the middle of March not only did the pandemic take hold preventing worship in church but Jason Taylor announced that he would be leaving the parish at the beginning of July.

We were very fortunate in East Leightonstone in that we already had the necessary equipment in St Mary Magdalene Brampton and the technical ability of Mike Bigg to enable us to provide on-line services through YouTube.

We were particularly blessed by Mike’s presence when Jason left as the parish was in a very safe pair of hands. We always knew that Mike’s time with us would be limited so it came as no great surprise when he advised that he would be leaving in August.

So at the start of the year we had a vicar, a curate and were able to worship in church and by the end of September we no longer had a vicar or curate and worshipping together in church had been suspended.

As acting chairman of the PCC I am well aware of the wonderful dedication of many members of our congregations in Brampton, Ellington and Grafham. Their work has ensured that the churches have been opened when possible, kept clean and maintained, and that on-line services have continued, often with visiting vicars celebrating communion.

It would not be fair to name individuals but as a result of all the work they have done we have weathered an extremely difficult year and can view the future with optimism

Administrative Information

The East Leightonstone Parochial Church Council (“the PCC”) works with the incumbent, in order to promote in the ecclesiastical parish, the whole mission of the Church: pastoral, evangelistic, social and ecumenical.

The PCC is a body corporate and operates under the Parochial Church Councils (Powers) Measure 1956 and the Church Representation Rules.

The method of appointment of PCC members is set out in the Church Representation Rules. All

church members are encouraged to register on the Electoral Roll and stand for election to the PCC.

Structure, Governance and Management

Members of the PCC are either ex-officio, elected by the Annual Parochial Church Meeting or are coopted or appointed by the PCC itself.

PCC for 2020-21

Ex-Officio Members:

Rector: The Reverend Jason Taylor (until Jul 20) Curate: The Reverend Michael Bigg (until Aug 20) Church Wardens: Mr Keith Wood Mrs Susan Roberts Deanery Synod Representative: Dr Frances Stead

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Elected Members:

Treasurer:

Mrs Ann Davies Mr Richard Howells Miss Lollita Masuku Mr John Rowley Mrs Gill Stracey Mr Ian Stracey Mrs Gill Stratton Mrs Dee Wormald Mrs Marissa Harris Mrs Hazel Powell Mrs Karolyn Owen Mrs Sue Morgan

Appointed Members: Secretary:

Mrs Gill Stratton

The PCC had 2 subordinate committees during 2019:

Other information

Correspondence address: The Rectory, 15 Church Road, Brampton PE28 4PF Independent examiner: Tim Johnson FCA Bankers: Barclays Bank plc, 1 Market Hill, Huntingdon Youth Worker: Sarah Gosling Safeguarding Coordinator: Jane Rowley Lay Eucharist Assistants: Ian Stracey Gill Stracey Sue Morgan Sue Roberts Jan Edwards Authorised Lay Ministers: Frances Stead Organist: Ian White Worship Group Leader: Ysanne Smith Mothers Union Branch Leader: Elizabeth Arkle Electoral Roll Officer: John Rowley Brampton Befrienders: Dawn Ryder

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Safeguarding

We are committed to safeguarding all those who attend the worship and other activities that we offer in our parish. The PCC adopted ‘Promoting a Safer Church’ (2017) as our own policy on 25[th] August 2020. This can be found on the Safeguarding page of the Church of England website. It confirms that we follow the House of Bishops’ Policies ‘Protecting All God’s Children’ (2010). We promote safeguarding as everyone's responsibility. Jane Rowley is the Parish Safeguarding Officer. Large Safeguarding posters are on display in the church giving details of who to contact if anyone has any concerns. We use the Parish Safeguarding Dashboard which is a great help with safeguarding administration.

All PCC members and all church volunteers who work with children and vulnerable adults are required to have DBS clearance, complete Confidential Declaration forms and complete the appropriate Safeguarding training modules.

Jane Rowley – Safeguarding Coordinator

Church Warden’s Comments

2020 has proved to be a challenging year for our parish. We have had to contend with and overcome the difficulty of being unable to meet face to face for most of the year and particularly on Sundays because of the pandemic which decimated everyone's lives to a considerable extent. Although we were able to meet as normal during January to March, the enormity of the pandemic issues led the government to cancel all meetings in person and a major casualty for us was the cancellation of communal worship including the celebration of Holy Communion in all of our three churches. Nevertheless the installation of audiovisual equipment, albeit in Brampton church only, allowed us to continue communicating with one another through online services being held by a combination of Jason Taylor and Mike Bigg and their extraordinary talent in understanding the wonders of online technology.

No sooner had we achieved communication links within the parish by online technology we then were hit by two body blows to the parish. Firstly our vicar Jason Taylor announced his intention to leave the parish to take up a wonderful opportunity as chaplain to the Bishop of Gloucester. Shortly after this devastating announcement Mike Bigg also announced that he was leaving in August to take up a post as vicar of Madingley and Girton . To be fair to Mike he was coming to the end of his fixed term curacy with us and was scheduled to leave us around this time. However his exceptional performance whilst with us just made it all the more difficult to cope with his planned departure. It was particularly galling that owing to the idiosyncratic policies of the Church of England we were unable to begin recruitment for Jason's replacement until Jason had formally left us in July. To make matters worse the Diocese imposed a recruitment freeze throughout the diocese which was not lifted until January 2021.

On a brighter note a number of technologically able persons stepped in to maintain the Sunday morning online service from Brampton. The PCC also rose to the challenge brilliantly to keep the church alive and well, in spite of the communication difficulties created by the Coronavirus pandemic . We were fortunate that our Rural Dean, Ian Brennand, ensured that we were usually provided a priest for our online Sunday services . Moreover we were blessed by wonderful support from a number of our congregation who led a number of services of the Word; this includes Ian Stracey, Alastair Reed, Frankie Stead, Hazel Powell and Marissa Harris . There were many others who gave support including: flower ladies, locker uppers, sides persons, cleaners, readers and laptop operators. It was extremely heartening to witness the diligence and enthusiasm from so many when everything seemed to be against us.

Hopefully 2021 will bring us good fortune, with an end to the pandemic, a return to communal worship, and the appointment of our new vicar. Thank you to everyone who has offered unselfish support during this Annus Horribilus.”

Keith Wood (in the absence of a Minister)

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Objectives and Activities

The PCC is committed to encouraging and enabling as many people as possible to become worshipping members of the church community across the parish. We take seriously the Charity Commission’s requirement that we operate in the public benefit and so seek to help the people here to live out their faith in our community through:

Achievements and Performance

Electoral Roll

Our electoral roll stands at 148 people.

Worship and The Year in Statistics

As mentioned in the Church Warden’s comments above, this has been a year like no other in living memory through the entire disruption of communal worship. We were fortunate during the first three months of 2020 that our attendance numbers in Brampton, Ellington and Grafham maintained the encouraging improvement during 2019 . However from March until December inclusive Covid constraints required us to cancel communal worship in each church and to impose extensive social distancing during this lengthy period. This also prevented the celebration of baptisms and weddings but funerals continued but with the limited attendance of 15 persons increased to 30 towards the end of the year.

Fortunately Brampton church was blessed by the wise purchase of audiovisual equipment in February by Reverend Jason Taylor and, supported by Mike Biggs’ extraordinary knowledge of audiovisual matters, we were able to produce an online version of our Sunday services which was relayed by the YouTube channel to many parishioners . This facility was welcomed greatly by our parishioners and was also able to be transmitted to our friends in Grafham and Ellington.

The number of persons who logged in was extremely encouraging and it is hoped that when we return to communal worship many viewers will also join us physically. However a number of elderly parishioners have commented on how convenient it is to join the service in their own home particularly for those who may have difficulty in their mobility.

Keith Wood,Church Warden

Junior Church, Brampton

It’s been a quiet year for Junior Church due to the pandemic. Junior Church has not been able to meet. However we have been able to keep in touch with families with 4 x Christmas and 6 x Easter packs to keep families engaged with their faith journeys and the Church. We are very thankful to Freya and Mehran who continue to be key members in the church rotas for reading and live-streaming respectively. The Church website has been updated and restrictions permitting we will be able to offer various ways for children to grow in their faith. We hope that the next few months will allow us to meet face to face. We have lots of activities we will be launching and our hope is that children and families will feel able to join us safely. We look forward to seeing them all soon.

Lollita Masuku

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Community Outreach

Brampton Befrienders

Brampton Befrienders held the last Friday morning drop in before lock-down on 13 March 2020. The committee and helpers telephoned all those Befrienders we had contact details for to make sure they were OK and to ask if they wanted any support. “Keep in Touch” letters were sent out in May, August, September and November. We surprised our Befreinders with a cream tea and homemade cake delivery in September and took orders for a free Christmas lunch with all the trimmings cooked by Measures for delivery in December. We received a donation from The Brampton Thrift Shop which helped towards the costs of the 47 Christmas lunches that were enjoyed and much appreciated.

A free Spring lunch was delivered in March 2021 and we plan on holding a committee meeting in June 2021 to review the guidelines and restrictions and hopefully be able to plan to meet again in July.

The Brampton Befrienders Committee, an ecumenical partnership with the Methodist Church, looks forward to continuing to provide a warm welcome at the Friday drop-in and encouraging friendships and support in the community when restrictions permit in 2021.

Dawn Ryder

Little Fishes

Grafham Little Fishes kept going throughout 2020. We were able to meet as usual in the Grafham Village hall until mid-March. In May we started meeting via Zoom with up to 13 children joining us each week. In July we said farewell and a big thank you to Jean Clark who left us for pastures new. In September we were delighted to welcome Kia Howells as a new leader. Gill Stracey and I continue to be leaders.

Brampton Little Fishes has unfortunately been put on hold due to the pandemic.

Jane Rowley

Thrive Youth Work, Brampton

Thrive Youth Work is an organisation that has been running youth programs in Huntingdonshire for the last three years. Our programs include three youth Cafes in the Huntingdon area, a mentoring program in one of the local secondary schools, summer residential and a small group that explore Christianity together. At our Brampton Café we have table tennis, a pool table, football and games on the field, a play station and provide snacks.

Over the last year we have had to adapt significantly to the Coronavirus Pandemic. Since the first lockdown last March, we had to stop running our cafes and so took this as an opportunity to improve our online presence; posting videos and pictures every week with fun challenges and activities for the young people to do at home. As we are a Christian organisation some of our videos included short faith based similar to the Thrive Extra slots we hold at our Cafés – these are opt-in talks where we explore faith questions. During this time in particular we wanted to show young people that we are still here, we are still accessible even though our normal programs had stopped and so we felt it very important to maintain frequent online presence.

As a substitute for in-person cafes we ran a weekly café on Zoom. Along with many other youth organisations in the country, we discovered that this was a rather specialised service which had a small up take. However, we believe the value for those few that attended our online Cafes was a vital life line for them in a time where contact with others was so rare and home-schooling challenging.

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Since various lockdowns and restriction changes over the last few months we have learnt to be adaptable. The experience has been a great learning curve for the leaders and we are pleased to say that, despite all the changes, we have been able to maintain good relationships with most of the young people we worked with pre-Covid. Over the last few weeks, we’ve been able to open up our Cafes again (with Covid safe measures) and have had the joy of meeting with them again in person! We asked a few of the young people at Brampton Café why they come to Thrive, these are some of their responses:

“I love meeting new people” “I love the range of activities available”

“I like the fact that no one is left alone”

“Relaxing” “Friendly” “Warm community”

It is a common fear for many that young people in particular will suffer long term effects from this pandemic. It is certainly something that Thrive is conscious of and we are passionate about supporting all the young people we work with for years to come. So far, the support from our volunteers, charities and donors has meant that we are able to support the well-being of the young people in our community. Even after being able to run our Cafes again for just two weeks, we have seen the benefit of being able to offer a safe space where young people can be vulnerable, seek help from the leadership and, where necessary, and provide extra support or raise awareness to the schools where more support is needed.

In the future we will continue our mentorship program once we are allowed back in schools and are planning on hosting lots of activities over the summer including a mix of low-key events such as BBQ’s as well day trips with fun activities! If you would like to know more about what we will do in the future, we post updates on our website thriveyouthwork.com and our Instagram @thrivehuntingdon or email our team at thrivehuntingdon@gmail.com.

Sarah Gosling, Diocese of Ely

Pastoral Visiting

Pastoral Visiting in the Parish in normal times is predominantly through visits to people in their homes, either on a regular basis if they are unable to get out for some reason, or as a one off visit if requested. Many, but not all of these visits are to members of our church family who, for reasons of health or age, are no longer able to come to the church building. However we also visit other people who would like to see someone from the church for any reason.

Pastoral visiting is normally carried out by one of a group of volunteers headed up by Frankie Stead. The majority of visits are to members of our church family on a regular basis, such as monthly. In some cases Home Communion is provided either by a Priest or by extension. The onset of the Pandemic in 2020 necessitated a halt to normal pastoral visiting, but this has not prevented us keeping in touch with people during the various lockdowns, with regular phone calls to people who were known to be on their own being instigated. For some people these calls have continued over the entire year and into 2021, as many people are still housebound, but parish visiting has been unable to re-start. However, a simple phone call (or in some cases a text) has remained a crucial way to ensure that members of our church family know that they have not been forgotten and that they are loved and prayed for. In a few cases we were able to give people help and support in getting facilities such as Zoom up and running and this has enabled some members of our church family to keep in touch through events such as online compline and Zoom Bible studies at various times, as well as be able to worship through the Live streamed services. In addition, we were able to facilitate people phoning into our online services in the earlier part of lockdown through a complex set of programmes set up by Revd Mike Bigg, although with his departure, we have been unable to continue this facility. However, now that online Streaming has become a part of our regular worship, moves are afoot to try and find ways in which the less mobile members of our church family can join with us in worship remotely.

Frankie also spent the first half of 2020 completing the ALM Pastoral assistant course and will be commissioned to this role in 2021.

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Anyone who would like to be involved in Pastoral visiting or who knows of someone who needs a visit can contact Frankie via the Pastoral@eastleightonstone.com e mail address.

Frankie Stead

Home Groups

Gill Stracey ran a successful Lent home group and by the end some real fellowship was developing. When the Sledges’ home group recommenced some members of the Lent group expressed an interest in joining.

Several of our house groups have paused meeting up via Zoom until they can meet face to face. The Wednesday morning, Tuesday and Thursday evening house groups have continued meeting via Zoom throughout the whole of 2020.

Dee Wormald

Occasional Offices

There was one baptism, 3 weddings and 7 funerals in 2020.

Financial Report

The Overall Picture

The accounts are reported on cash accounting basis and does not reflect any payments or receipts that come after the 31 Dec that relate to the accounting year. Due to the nature of 2020 and the Covid pandemic the income and expenditure varied from 2019. Giving and gifts were down by £8,720 from the previous year but other income was slightly up by £570. The Parish received two legacies totalling £7,000 that were not included in the 2020 budget forecast.

It was decided by the PCC that due to a tight 2020 budget we could not fulfil our total contribution to the parish share, therefore we held back on paying £6,814. Fortunately, our running costs were down by £4,000 compared to the previous year, this in part would be due to the churches being closed for a large part of the year. The net effect on the year income & expenditure is therefore a £400 surplus.

Giving to the Church

Donations to the parish were 10% down from the previous year and this is an area moving forward that the PCC need to encourage new donors to sign up to through the Parish Giving Scheme which has been successful in managing the kind donations we have received to date. East Leightonstone parish has been fortunate to have received legacies over the years, but this can’t be guaranteed as a source of income.

Outward Giving

2020 saw the PCC continue to commit to mission giving from East Leightonstone parish to three chosen charities. These being Christians Against Poverty, Just Care, The Rathelder Family Trust in South Africa and a local charity, Cornerstone.

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Report of the Independent Examiner

I report on the financial statements of the PCC for the year ending 31 December 2020

Respective responsibility of the PCC and examiner

As members of the PCC you are responsible for the presentation of the financial statements. You consider that an audit is not required for this year under section 144(2) of the Charities Act 2011 (the 2011 Act) and that an independent examination is needed.

It is my responsibility to:

Basis of this report

My examination was carried out in accordance with the General Directions given by the Charity Commission, and to be found in Church Guidance, 2006 edition. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the PCC and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts, and seeking explanations from you as trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit, and consequently no opinion is given as to whether the accounts give a "true and fair view" and the report is limited to those matters set out in the statement below.

Independent examiner's statement

In connection with my examination, no matter has come to my attention: which gives me reasonable cause to believe that, in any material respect, the requirements: to keep accounting records in accordance with section 130 of the 2011 Act: and to prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records have not been met; or to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable understanding of the accounts to be reached.

T P Johnson FCA 31 Cranfield Way Brampton HUNTINGDON PE28 4QZ

Signed: TP Johnson

Date: 7th May 2021

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Annual Accounts for the year ending 31st December 2020 Summary of Receipts and Payments

Receipts:
Giving and Gift Aid
Investment Income
Legacies
Other Income
Payments:
Parish Share
Rector/Curate Costs
Church/hall/youth/running costs
Service Costs inc. honoraria
Organ Tuning
Administration
Other Costs
Audio and IT
Consultancy Costs
Mission Costs
Cash at Bank 01/01/2020
Cash at Bank 31/12/2020		 Unrestricted
Funds £
Designated
Funds £
Restricted
Funds £
Total
2020
Total
2019
77,745
-
-
77,745
86,523
206
-
-
206
279
7,000
-
-
7,000
6,180
1,959
-
8,139
10,271
91,131
1,959
-
93,090
97,073
56,920
-
-
56,920
63,734
1,862
-
-
1,862
2,299
16,599
-
-
16,599
22,355
977
-
-
977
1,628
-
- -
1,188
2,301
-
-
2,301
1,977
(2,157)
1,813
35
(309)
8,513
4,071
-
-
4,071
18,302
4,837
-
-
4,837
6,190
-
-
6,190
14,300
91,600
1,813
35
93,448
134,296
(469)
146
(35)
(358)
(37,223)
13,999
4,053 25,743
43,795
81,018
13,530
4,199 25,708
43,437
43,795

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Annual Accounts for the year ending 31st December 2020 Designated Funds

Receipts - Other Income
Lettings
Payments:
Church Hall Running Costs
Other Expenditure
Surplus for the year
Transfer between funds
Cash at Bank 01/01/2020
Cash at Bank 31/12/2020		 Church Hall £
Total 2020 £
Total 2019 £
1,959
1,959
4,661
1,959
1,959
4,661
1,813
1,813
2,664
1,813
1,813
2,664
146
146
1,997
-
-
(4,000)
4,053
4,053
6,056
4,199
4,199
4,053

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Annual Accounts for the year ending 31st December 2020 Restricted Funds

Receipts
Donations
Payments
Mission Grant
Repairs
Other Costs
Surplus/Deficit for the Year
Transfer between funds
Cash at Bank 01/01/2019		 Fabric Fund
£
Bell Fund
£
Flower Fund
£
Total
2020
£
Total
2019
£
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
6,410
-
-
-
-
1,849
-
-
35
35
7,412
-
-
35
35
15,671
-
-
-
(35)
(8,928)
-
-
-
-
-
24,327
1,208
208
25,743
41,414
Cash at Bank 31/12/2020 24,327
1,208
173
25,708
25,743

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Annual Accounts for the year ending 31st December 2020 Statement of Assets and Liabilities

Cash at bank and in hand
Barclays
CCLA
Cash in hand		 Unrestricted
Funds £
Designated
Funds £
Restricted
Funds £
Total
2020
Total
2019
5,065
4,199
-
9,264
9,623
8,465
-
25,708
34,173
34,172
13,530
4,199
25,708
43,437
43,795

Assets retained for church use

Church Hall improvements
Equipment
Cash due to creditors
Cash due from debtors		 130,439
-
-
130,439
130,439
26,398
-
-
26,398
26,398
156,837
156,837
156,837
3,447
-
-
3,447
678
509
-
-
509
969

Accounting Policy

The accounts have been prepared on a cash accounting basis. The cash accounting basis means that the various funds show only receipts and payments of East Leightonstone Parochial Church Council without taking account of any amounts owing or owed by East Leightonstone Parochial Church Council as at 31 December 2020

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Mission & Charity Giving

Throughout 2020 the parish supported three charities with regular monthly donations to each, apart from Just Care who were paid for a full year, due to the inability to set up a monthly payment because of it being based abroad. PCC decided to support one local charity ( Cornerstone Pregnancy Advice Centre ) in Huntingdon, one national ( Christians Against Poverty) and one international ( Just Care ) in South Africa.

Cornerstone Pregnancy Services

An extract from the website of Cornerstone Pregnancy Services:

You may be facing an unplanned pregnancy and feeling worried and anxious about what to do. Or you may have had an abortion and you’re now experiencing emotional pain and finding it difficult to understand why you feel the way you do. Help is available from people who genuinely care.
Our vision is to reach every woman in Huntingdonshire facing an unplanned pregnancy so that we can offer her time, space and non-directive information in order that they can make a fully informed choice and to offer her on-going support, whatever decision they make.
 We care, we won’t judge, and we have time – no one else can give you the support we can. We have helped others in your situation. Our services are free and available to both men and women

Christians Against Poverty

Christians Against Poverty (CAP) are one of the best-known debt advice charities operating in Britain. In partnership with local churches they help people deal with debt and give them the skills to stay debt-free. CAP literally saves lives and transforms lives every year. There are over 300 local debt advice centres run through local churches and last year 8,377 families were visited by a CAP debt coach in their home. Over 31,000 people called the free debt advice line last year

Their work keeps families together, relieves stress, restores health, keeps families in their homes, provides friendship and can connect people to church and to the God that loves them.

https://capuk.org

Just Care

Just Care is located in the coastal town of Hermanus in South Africa. Hermanus is renowned as a whale watching location with visitors from all over the world. The area of the town that they do not see is where Just Care is situated; an area of deprivation, drugs, street crime and often hunger.

The year 2020 has to be viewed in two sections: January to March; pre-Covid and March to December; post-Covid

From January to March the charity fulfilled its chosen function; after school care from 1pm to 5pm every week day for 130 children, (with a waiting list), providing two square meals, assistance with homework, structured sport and some peer group structure within a stable environment.

Then in March the pandemic changed everything. The Charity had to close its doors to comply with Covid regulations and could no longer operate.

The staff, who are nearly all volunteers, realised quickly that hunger was a very present threat in the community that their children come from. There are no social services comparable to ours and certainly no furloughing of staff and as this is a community living hand to mouth at the best of times certainly no savings to fall back on.

A twice weekly delivery of food to those families whose children were enrolled at Just Care was the Charity’s initial goal but, confronted by a wider community in desperate straits, the deliveries

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expanded. At the same time Just Care was suffering a drop in funding as local businesses that supported them were no longer able to do so.

Despite the challenges the food supplies were maintained. It’s worth telling how one grandmother who, on receiving a food delivery on a Wednesday said, “We ate our last food on Sunday but now we know God is watching.”

An unseen benefit in making a donation from Great Britain to South Africa is the exchange rate; £1.00 = SA Rand 20.00

We should remember that in normal times the total daily running cost of Just Care including providing 130 children with two good meals a day equates to £35.00.

To give an idea of comparative costs; in Cambridgeshire two school meals per day, (nothing else), for 130 children would cost over £500.00

Any contribution from Great Britain in sterling has a significant beneficial impact on Just Care.

As a footnote: although it is post 2020 and not technically part of this report, Just Care in 2021 is now returning to its core mission.

John Rowley

Christian Aid

In addition to the regular support we have given, Nicola Childs has continued to fundraise for Christian Aid, whose work involves transforming lives in the developing world.

Services and Events

Grafham Church

Grafham church had sadly remained closed for most of 2020 due to the pandemic. There is therefore no information to report at this time.

Hazel Powell

Taize Services

Due to the Pandemic there were no Taize services in 2020.

Jill Tyack

Ellington Church

Ellington church, like all our buildings, has sadly remained closed for a lot of 2020 due to the pandemic. However, there have been a few services when buildings were open, including an out door service of Remembrance in November. During Interregnum, communion services started to be held on the first Sunday of the month, in addition to the monthly Family Service , although we sadly only managed two of these due to the lockdowns. There was also a lovely Harvest Service with donations to the local Food bank, as we were unable to have our usual Auction and also a midnight service on Christmas Eve. Although live streamed Services have been held in Brampton church, we have managed to include people from Ellington using pre recording and the building has also been used as a venue for some of the Bible readings and intercessions.

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The tap to provide water for use in the church is now nearly finished but once it is will be really useful. (See fabric report)

Frankie Stead

Brampton Church

Social Activities

While there was every intention to reactivate a social events calendar the arrival of the pandemic with resulting lockdowns and social distancing meant that no social events were possible.

John Rowley

Our Church Buildings

Fabric Report for Brampton Church

The inventory has been updated to include the new camera equipment in Brampton Church but has not had a complete check because of the difficulty of doing so during the Covid epidemic.

Routine maintenance for the church has been carried out throughout the year and we are grateful to Ian Stracey for his diligent support. The following services or inspections were undertaken during the calendar year: Clock service, roof alarm service, boiler service, PAT put off until 2021 because of Covid, organ service and tuning, fire appliance testing, and lightning protection due 2021.

A new camera and electronic equipment to enable Live Streaming of services was installed in the summer. This has enabled us to continue weekly worship streamed to our congregation throughout the periods of Covid lock-down. We shall continue to live stream for the foreseeable future.

Bats in their mating season continued to plague us, but seemed to be less trouble than before or perhaps we are simply getting used to them! The churchyard and gardens were regularly tended through Brampton parish council and we are grateful to them for their continued support. Owing to an adverse financial situation in the parish, we have been unable to address issues identified in the Quinquennial report.

Teams of dedicated volunteers have worked tirelessly throughout the year arranging Flowers when needed, cleaning the church regularly, laundering the linen and carrying out many of the routine maintenance tasks which inevitably arise. Sadly we do not have anybody at present to clean and polishing silver and brass candlesticks and crosses, Their efforts do much to enhance the beauty of our church building and we are much indebted to these parishioners. Particular thanks for dedication to duty go to Ian Stracey, Ken Mackenzie, Billie Leighton, Hilary Garth and Sue Roberts.

Keith Wood – Church Warden

Fabric Report for Ellington Church

The churchyard is maintained by a combination of Ellington volunteers and to a lesser extent, the Parish Council; mowing of the grass is divided between two individuals with the balance being covered by the Parish Council on a fortnightly basis. It should be noted that one of the mowers also maintains the church clock. There is a general clean-up every autumn by village volunteers and, depending on the winter, another in spring if deemed necessary. There are a number of families in Ellington who take a pride in maintaining specific graves and their surrounds. As a result of all of this work the churchyard always has a well maintained appearance.

Due to Covid restrictions the church was closed for services for much of the year but when possible it was unlocked allowing access for private prayer.

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There are a number of areas which come under ongoing maintenance and good housekeeping:

c. The perimeter is inspected and maintained as necessary; the churchyard gates have been repainted.

There is a more formalised annual routine for the following:

  1. The fire extinguishers were checked in January 2020.

  2. The lightning conductor was tested in June 2020.

  3. PAT testing was carried out in July 2020

  4. There was a maintenance check on the roof alarm in October 2020.

Completed work:

· The new churchyard tap was installed but requires a final check by Anglian Water before it can be connected and activated.

Future considerations:

  1. Flaking plaster; there is an ongoing problem with plaster flaking from the walls particularly in the chancel and the corner where the font is located. This presumably has a damp related cause and will have to be “lived with” as any effective solution will probably be disproportionately costly.

  2. The scheduled quinquennial inspection was carried out by Iain Frearson of Freeland Rees Roberts Architects with the disturbing assessment that £800K might be necessary to restore the fabric. A request has been made that this report be broken down into areas of priority so that a reasoned decision on the most practical way forward can be made.

John Rowley

Fabric Report for Grafham Church

The church has been open daily for private prayer (from Friday to Monday only during the pandemic). After Easter we will resume daily opening. The church is very popular with visitors from the campsite, walkers and cyclists.

We rely very much on the goodwill of volunteers for most of the church maintenance. The drains are regularly checked and any blockages are cleared.

The roof alarm has its routine maintenance in November. The gutters are normally cleared twice yearly but owing to our helper being less active we are in need of some help with this. The fire extinguishers were serviced this March.

The weekly cleaning rota and monthly flower rota continue as before.

Our bookstall in the porch is still a thriving attraction for villagers and visitors alike. We managed to keep it open during lockdown using a ‘quarantine box’ for books touched but not bought and the

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donation box bolted to the porch table. Surplus books are sold by the warden at the campsite with money raised coming back to the church.

The church grass is kept mown by one or two volunteers. However following a visit by a retired Ecologist from the Hunts. Flora and Fauna Society who gave good advice on churchyard management, a working group has been formed, again with volunteers from the village. According to Bishop Stephen's suggestions about "caring for God's acre" a plan has been drawn up to keep the grass mown in the areas near the church but to retain a "natural area" on the boundary to encourage grasses and wildflowers to flourish. More wildflowers have been introduced during the year. Also a bug hotel has been built by the congregation. At our Harvest Festival in October 2020 the Bishop presented us with a Bronze award. Following further additions to the project we are well on the way to a Silver award in 2022.

In the Remembrance Garden the hedge has been brought under control and this area will continue to be managed.

Details of organ tuning and testing the lightning conductor are arranged by the churchwarden so we do not have dates for these events. An insurance assessment was carried out in November 2019. The roof alarm is maintained annually, the last visit being in November 2020. The next visit is in February 2022, a slight delay owing to Covid delays. A Quinquennial Inspection is due this year.

Our thoughts about the composting toilet are on hold for now.

Hazel Powell

St Mary Magdalene Church Hall, Brampton

It will come as no surprise that 2020 was difficult for the Church Hall. At the beginning of the year we had a good level of regular and casual bookings, and the Hall was, of course, available for youth and other church activities. Our regular bookings included Brownies, Guides, Mothers’ Union, Ouse Valley Chorus, Thrive Youth Group, and the Friday Group. However, that all came to an end with the Covid19 pandemic lockdown on 24 March. All bookings were suspended, as was cleaning, although in June we were able to let the outside area to a dog training group, which helped with finances.

When restrictions eased in late summer, we undertook a risk assessment for potential use of the Hall, and decided to close the kitchen and the Upper Room. New cleaners were recruited as the previous cleaner was unable to resume, and a deep clean was undertaken, allowing the Hall to reopen under new Covid guidelines on 14 September. Bookings were reduced, but included an art group for home schooled children, and a Triathlon training group.

Use of the Hall had to be kept under review as national Covid restrictions changed. As a result, we closed again in November, reopened in December, and close again in the New Year. The uncertain availability, and restrictions on gatherings, meant that by the end of 2020 our only regular bookings were the home education art group in the Hall, and the dog training group in the garden. With the approval of the PCC a charity clothing collection bin for the Children’s Air Ambulance Service was sited by the garden entrance in December.

Routine grounds maintenance, including grass cutting, hedge trimming, and weeding has continued when permitted, as well as a partial re-paint of the interior, with Tim Johnson again leading our volunteer team.

We look forward to further reductions in restrictions in 2021, and hope to increase Hall use by the middle of the year, although it may be a considerable time before we can bring group and party bookings up to previous levels. Perhaps surprisingly, the Hall ended 2020 with a very modest surplus of £90.82.

Grounds maintenance team: Tim Johnson, Rob Barker, Mike Lenton, Ken Mackenzie, and Alastair Reed

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Hall Committee: Ken Mackenzie (Chair), Tim Johnson (Secretary), Rob Barker, Sally Mackenzie, Dawn Ryder, Ian Stracey

Ken Mackenzie

Huntingdon Deanery Synod Annual Report

Due to the pandemic there were no meetings of the Deanery Synod in 2020, although some documents were circulated. At time of writing Synod has commenced meeting by Zoom in 2021.

Frances Stead – Deanery Synod Representative

Brampton Flower Guild

Due to the pandemic there is nothing to report for 2020.

Diane Hodgetts

Brampton Mothers’ Union

Brampton has a thriving Mothers’ Union branch and 2020 got off to a good start with a well-attended AGM at our evening meeting in January. The formal part was followed by a very interesting and informative talk from the manager of the local Women’s Refuge. As a group we have regularly supported the refuge. In February two of our members led the afternoon meeting on the 2020 Mothers’ Union theme ‘Building Hope and Confidence’. In March we welcomed our curate, Mike for his talk – Reflections on Lent. Little did we realise, after this sociable and meaningful evening together it would be the last time that we could all be together for the remainder of the year and during that time Mike would be moving to his own parish in Cambridge.

During lock down a few of us shared a telephone rota to make regular contact with members who lived alone and we felt would value some conversation. This seemed to be much appreciated and continued until the summertime when some of the restrictions were lifted. As advent approached we made arrangements to contact all our members by post or in person. Everyone received a letter and service sheet and was encouraged to spend time reflecting on our November meeting date. Personal deliveries also included a chocolate biscuit to have with their cuppa!

We were able to repeat this venture for the 8[th] December which would have been the date for our Christmas meeting. This time a Christmas card, letter, MU bookmark, service sheet and details of the Wave of Prayer (10[th] – 12[th] December) went to every member and for those where we could make a personal delivery chocolates and homemade flapjack were also included in the goodie bag.

As a branch we wanted to give a Christmas gift to the local Women’s Refuge. One of our members has contact with the refuge manager through her work and was able to find out that a pair of slipper socks for each lady would be well received. These were duly purchased and then gift wrapped and labelled prior to the delivery pre-Christmas along with tins of chocolates for all residents to share along with 3 Christmas flower bouquets to brighten each lounge. In addition, we have been able to send £638 this year to Mothers’ Union - for the Overseas Fund (£138), Special Relief Fund (£100), Away from it All Holidays (£100) and the Covid Appeal Fund (£300).

Elizabeth Arkle – Branch Leader

Brampton Choir

Due to the pandemic the choir did not meet in 2020.

Kate Gentles

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© 2020 East Leightonstone PCC

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