2021-12-31-accounts

ST MARY’S CHURCH, KINGTON PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL

Registered charity number 1185453

TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS for

2021

St Mary’s Church is situated in Kington, in the Kington and Weobley Deanery in the Diocese of Hereford within the Church of England. The correspondence address is Church Office, The Vicarage, Church Road, Kington, HR5 3AG.

The PCC is a body corporate (PCC Powers Measure 1956, Church Representation Rules 2011) and is now registered with the Charity Commission (Registered charity number 1185453).

As Charity Trustees, all PCC members should be mindful of the Charity Commission’s six core principles for charity trustees, which are as follows:

1. Ensure your charity is carrying out its purposes for the public benefit.

1. Comply with your charity’s governing document i.e. PCC Measure and Church Rep Rules – and the wider law.

1. Act in your charity’s best interests.

• ie, by making sure that you act for the church and not any conflicting interest, eg a related school or other organisation.

• ensure that the decisions are yours, not those influenced by others.

1. Manage your charity’s resources responsibly.

1. Act with reasonable care and skill .

1. Ensure your charity is accountable.

……

PCC members who have served at any time since the Annual Church Meeting 2011 until the Annual Church meetings in May 2022 are:

Licensed Clergy:	Revd Benedict Grifth(Chair)
Assistant Curates:	Revd Linda MacDermot Revd Paul Buckingham
Licensed Reader	Mr Rob MacCurrach
Churchwardens:	Miss Ann Edwards Mr RodneyBowdler(Vice Chair)
Deanery Synod Representatves:	Mrs Eileen Thomas (sacristan) Mrs Bev Fensom (deputy sacristan and deputy churchwarden) Mrs PennyHalcrow
Elected members:
2019	Mrs Deborah Horne,Mrs Allison Wright
2020	Mrs Janet Price,Mr Malcolm Price,Mrs Margaret Cooke,Mr Nick

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Cooke 2121 Mr John Halcrow, Mr Philip Sell, Mrs Jackie Ferreira

Structure, governance and management

The method of appointment of PCC members is set out in the Church Representation Rules. At St Mary’s, the membership of the PCC consists of the incumbent (our vicar), assistant curates, churchwardens, the reader licensed to the Benefice, parochial representatives elected to the Deanery Synod, and members elected by those on the electoral roll of the church. All members of the congregation are encouraged to register on the Electoral Roll and stand for election to the PCC.

The PCC members are responsible for making decisions on all matters of general concern and importance to the parish, including deciding on how the funds of the PCC are to be spent.

The working of the PCC over the past year continued to be influenced by the certain restrictions relating to the coronavirus pandemic. Following the Annual Parish Meeting held in church on 15[th] June, 2021 , we were able to resume our regular pattern of PCC meetings. The meeting in July (27[th] ) 2021 was held in church to allow greater spacing between PCC members. Subsequent meetings were held in September (14[th] ), November (9[th] ) and March (8[th] ) , in the Parish House as usual, with an average attendance rate of 70%. The Standing Committee has not met during this year.

Aims and Purposes

St Mary’s (Kington) PCC has the responsibility of co-operating with the incumbent in promoting in the ecclesiastical parish the whole mission of the Church, pastoral, evangelistic, social and ecumenical. The PCC is also responsible for the maintenance of the Church and of the Parish House.

Objectives and Activities

The PCC is committed to enabling as many people as possible to worship at the church and to become part of the parish community at St Mary’s. The PCC maintains an overview of worship throughout the parish.

Our services and worship put faith into practice through prayer and scripture, music and sacrament. We try to enable everybody to live out their faith as part of our parish community through:

• Worship and prayer; learning about the gospel and developing their knowledge and trust in Jesus.

• Provision of pastoral care for people living in the parish.

• Missionary and outreach work.

To facilitate this work it is important that we maintain the fabric of the Church of St Mary and the Parish House.

Worship and Prayer

The PCC is keen to offer a range of services over the course of the year that our community find both beneficial and spiritually fulfilling.

Since the start of the pandemic, there has a been a live streamed service ‘broadcast’ from Kington each Sunday, and each of the Major feast days of the church. While the Church was in complete lockdown, the vicar led a live streamed service every Sunday morning from his study. Once churches could be reopened, then it became possible to live stream the Sunday morning service from St Mary’s. The facility to live stream all services from St Marys, has been maintained and is welcomed by many of our congregation who, for a variety of reasons, have not felt, or been able to resume attendance at church in person. Most of our live-steamed services have over 30 views, not just on the day itself, but subsequent viewing at other times during the week.

During 2021, seventeen funeral services were conducted by members of the ministry team. There were no weddings in St Mary’s Church. Several funerals were live steamed from the church. This has enabled friends and families from far away to participate in these important life events.

Perhaps the most notable service of the year was on Sunday 26[th] September when Herefordshire Council held their Annual Civic Service in our church. The first time such an event has been held outside the Cathedral setting. This was

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a truly splendid occasion attended by HM Lord Lieutenant of Herefordshire, HM High Sherriff of Herefordshire, The Chairman of Herefordshire Council and a host of local mayors.

Mission and Evangelism

Helping those in need is a demonstration of our faith. Through various special collections and donations, £795 (0.5% of income ) was sent to various charities. Through the Deanery, we continue to support the Diocesan Train-a-Priest scheme in Tanzania (please see Deanery Synod Report).

Our parish magazine keeps our parishioners informed of the important matters affecting our Church as well as providing a valuable source of community information. In additional, weekly notices and updates are provided on the Sunday pew sheet. Weekly pew sheets are available on-line, as are service booklets produced for special service.

EcumenicEcumenical Relationships

St Mary’s is a member of Churches Together in Kington and we have continued to maintain good relations with the other member Churches. During the past year, the Vicar has been Chair of this group and though this office, further strengthened ecumenical links.

Philip Sell (Secretary to the PCC)

MEMBERSHIP OF CONGREGATION

The March 2022 revision of the electoral roll showed a net loss of 1 member. 1 new member joined the roll, and sadly, 3 members died, so for 2022 - 2023 we have 115 members, 37 male and 78 female.

Ray Le Tarouilly (Electoral Roll Officer

DEANERY SYNOD

Three members of the PCC continue to sit on the Deanery Synod, with both a clergy and a lay representative from Kington serving on the Deanery Standing Committee and on the Deanery Mission and Pastoral Committee. The Deanery Synod provides the PCC with an important link between the parish and the wider structures of the church, drawing together the thoughts of the Church’s life in the Deanery and considering matters referred to it from the Diocesan Synod and General Synod.

The Kington and Weobley Deanery Synod met three times during 2021, twice by Zoom and with one face to face meeting, under the leadership of the Rural Dean, Rev’d Guy Wilkinson with Elizabeth Shayler as lay co-chair, Chris Smith as Deanery treasurer and Marcia Lynch-Staunton as Deanery secretary.

The Zoom meeting in January opened with an act of worship led by Bishop Richard. There followed a discussion providing an opportunity to look back at what had been learnt and experienced during the height of the covid pandemic and considering how to move forward. The importance of keeping in touch with all in the community was highlighted, together with the value and use of technology for news ways of worship and for meetings. Everyone agreed that during the lockdowns, the fellowship and singing of church services had been greatly missed.

The outline Mission Action Plan was discussed and adopted. This plan looks to find ways in which the Deanery can support the mission and ministry of benefices, identifying and providing training and support all who work and contribute to benefice life.

At the January meeting, the Deanery Accounts were approved. The only Deanery costs were the Train a Priest contribution to St Mark’s College in Tanzania(£1,000pa) and the purchase of 40 diaries for churchwardens in recognition of the importance of their services and to help them in their roles.

The meeting in July was held in Norton Canon village hall. As part of his financial report, the Deanery Treasurer proposed that the annual donation from the Kington and Weobley deanery towards the Train a Priest scheme should be increased to £1,500. This was unanimously approved.

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There followed an update of the Deanery Mission Action Plan.

• Benefce Sustainability Review The review is to cover each benefice in turn with a representative from each parish in the benefice. The review is to be led by the Deanery Leadership Team and is to consider every aspect of the life of the parish and benefice with a view to offering recommendations that will lead to the flourishing and growth of each parish. Each review is expected to take several months.

• Prayer Initatve The aim of this initiative, led by Rev’d Linda MacDermott, is that every week there will be one parish praying for all twenty-seven parishes of the Deanery. Each parish will have a parish prayer coordinator responsible for organising this.

• Learning Together workshop programme A training and education series of workshops has been planned: Preaching, Messy Church, Training for PCC secretaries and Treasurers, Creative Advent and Christmas, The Structure of the C of E, Inclusivity.

The November 2021 meeting was a Zoom meeting at which useful updates were given.

Joint Benefice Council Weobley and Staunton Benefice Update

Philip Harvey, Rector, reported on the progress of the Joint Benefice Council (JBC). Each PCC in the Weobley and Staunton benefice has voted on a legal framework for the formation of the JBC, which will go before the Bishop’s Council later in November. Two part-time posts are envisaged, one to coordinate the financial administration, the other to strengthen administrative pastoral activities. PCCs will remain constituted as before and their assets remain theirs’. There will be no pooling of asset ownerships, but there will be pooled management. Each PCC has a representative on the JBC. The larger parishes within the benefice will have the same number of votes as the smaller ones. Guy Wilkinson commented that this is the first time this has been attempted across the Diocese, and probably England. The idea of a Joint Benefice Council addresses the problem that too much administration burdens too few PCC officers.

Deanery Mission Action Plan update

Benefce Sustainability Review

The Lay Co-Chair reported that there are continuing good discussions within the first Benefice to be addressed, Arrowvale.

Praying Together Initatve

The Rural Dean described how most parishes now have volunteers to be prayer correspondents for their parish. The duties involve receiving prayer requests from other parishes either through email or telephone, and for two separate weeks a year praying in church for all the parishes in the deanery an hour a day.

Learning Together Workshops Programme

Anne Ingham reported that all the workshops have been very well received and that there are people from outside the Deanery who would like to be involved as well. Plans for future events include talks regarding teaching groups, bible study, learning about Christianity.

Chris Smith ran two workshops for PCC Secretaries and Treasurers, and thanked Penny Halcrow for her invaluable help.

Tessa Wilkinson ran a Creative Advent Resources workshop, and is planning prayer sessions aligned to evening prayer in Lent

Bishop Richard organised a series of Listening Events, aimed at working out a strategy for the future.

The Church of England – Who and What is it? The Rural Dean gave a fascinating explanation of the role and history of the Cof E, putting it into worldwide context as well as parish life.

The next Deanery Synod meeting is due to be held on April 28[th] , in Pembridge. Following the resignation of Rev’d Guy Wilkinson as Rural Dean, the meeting will be chaired by the Lay co-chair, Elizabeth Shayler.

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The Bishop will be consulting clergy and others about the appointment of a Rural Dean. In the meantime, planned Learning Together events and the Praying Together programme will continue.

Penny Halcrow

(Diocesan Synod Member)

PARISH HOUSE

We are glad to be able to report that the Parish House has been fully back in use since September 2021, with most of the regular users returning. We were very pleased to welcome back the Scout group and HomeStart in September and the Lunch Club have been meeting once a month. KADOS returned for their Friday evening rehearsals in January 2022 and, on Thursday evenings, the Marches Fusion Belly Dance group meet to practice.

As the covid virus is still with us, we still ask users to take extra precautions, with plentiful supplies of hand sanitiser and disinfectant wipes provided.

The building and emergency alarms and lighting are regularly checked and the annual service of the gas boiler and cooker was carried out by British Gas.

A very generous grant from Kington United Charities has been received towards repainting the outside of the Parish House. This work should be completed by the early summer.

Penny Halcrow

……………………………

St Mary’s Financial Report for the year ending 31st December 2021

During 2021 there has been a very positive cash flow, as shown in detail on the Receipts & Payments account and in the notes on the accounts, mainly as a result of the disposal of the Cottage on Bradnor Hill. It is true to say that financially, 2021 was much the same as 2020 but for the fact that we sold Bradnor Bungalow and mended the roof. This meant that we ended 2021 with an increase in our cash funds of £81,646. So financially, St. Mary’s is in a good place.

It is important to note that Covid continued to make a big difference to our fund raising. We all hope that in 2022 we will be able to raise funds as usual. This will have the benefit of making any shortfall as low as possible and allowing us to experience the benefits of the fellowship that comes from working together. The PCC can be encouraged by the fact that, although attendance at services is lower than it was before the pandemic, many of our loyal parishioners have continued to give generous donations even though they have been unable to come to church. For this the PCC thanks them.

The major item of expenditure continues to be the money that we offer to the diocese. This amounted to £43,000 in 2021 and pays for the salary of our clergy among other things. We have continued to offer the sum suggested and have rounded it up.

Reserves: We have substantial sums in a number of different accounts so the future is as secure as we can forecast it. The return to normal fundraising, the ongoing generosity of our donors and the assurance that we have from our faith bodes well for the future. “Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: yet I say unto you, that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God doth so clothe the

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grass of the field, which to-day is, and to-morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you.” (Matthew 6:28-30)

N A Cooke (Treasurer) 2nd March 2022

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BaL￿￿e sheetfOrtheye￿ endll¥31st De￿￿ber2O21 Iwntinuedl Represented by. QENEHAL FUND. In¥esrmenrAsserrtw%thK(Lyt(Enth)wn￿nt +65KI In theeststt￿ltt0I￿( Bro•norpropertyhelO Exce55orlOefvtJ (ryrEwendrtw Total RE5trittedaThltkniEnatedfun 267.422.95 14.262.85 I1￿.1)X).LX)I Bl.645.54 53.199.4D 197,973.81 2W.113.89 .lls.oi 98.(W.ty) 116,153761 19,115091 75.39 118.446.LVI 256.530.74 251.422.95 lg),568 14 RESTRKtED FUND5 Fabyycfvné."Roof JVeorriry7 124.274.30) 13.LKX>.rxi 1.211.96 IB.655.r LW7.13 41.81850 4LI4&24 Mu51C Qff9anfvftd Mjssloftsvpport 17.505.08 1.107.13 430.C6 22L03 10.399.87 .4￿.71 49.899.33 Note.. RestdaeaI￿ s￿ ￿$t￿(re0￿Mep￿rpD5efQr￿hl£hlhe funas were raiseJ. The PCCMS ros￿[r￿M forEhaE purpose. DES￿lIATED FUND5 PoyT5h thu5e 12.875.FAII 1357.951 63.61 13,503 161 IrA991 55ythuTcfi fwG5 SAfyTCOn Orptfftw (P￿1￿￿ Bles5ing51 FarnylySeFvKe Not2".The PCC hasfL41 rAY5l¢n3tedfu￿* Thpv ire dE51¥niiedfry0w<•A￿e￿e 119.321 39. 1.405.91 IL764.031 1.40591 1.40453 I4￿.91 1.42649 TotJltwenta55ets 26S16&58 329,250.19 250MJ.96 cashtw￿ acttssibltatShQrt nodce LtSSthE 5wn ￿￿1￿￿bill[￿e5 inthp Re5tritEed Funts 9.79143 114.274 48.146.89 64.8￿85 4B.146

st. Mary's Church, Kington Fln•nd¥lSt•m•ntsforth• ￿¥r •ndlnll31it D•c•rnbv 2021 I*r￿ th¥Trynth 1185453 RECEIFTS AND PAYMENTS ACCOUNT 19 RECEIPTS GIVing G4f Incometux recovered Non gif 6ibledplunned griing Cogh Colléct ritS&KViCES Schejne reCoV￿ed th¥ough P￿[¢s￿ Grvittg5chen CXh•r ￿￿lUnt￿Vre(￿ITA Surtdty Do￿¢ gn DonGtong.' ContuttlEss Eu5yFUndrrJ￿j￿g ￿ndAM￿z0 weddingond colle¢t 0￿S 2,OM.00 Roof eordering Orgo 3,￿￿ OD 13,MO.00 Cont nud on ne￿ pa8e page 2 RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS ACCOUNT 2021 2Q20 RECEIPTS Corrtinued REc&pti IrDm xt vk ÈsforFnerit ￿l￿dI PonshNeb45-scIE5ando(h( REnts/HJrEof Churth 7,495.QO Ponth Roor RevrderiTrg Or9unFwd Recdpii Irom Mleof thurthwoperty 5rodTrorGreary ByTrgoIJw SradTrowGwEEn Coppjce Recdpii Irom ès 1,405QO 115 vchuith (w￿￿1￿￿t0￿ Clubj REc&pri IrDm IrweitMertS pnwthents 5undryR?cvyrs aergyandodrnln ￿p￿￿Es{from0￿￿rF￿￿1￿hf￿e1tsJ SUTOTrcecJoJm5ondothErJ￿on TufALHE(B￿5

st. Mary's Church, Kington FinincpJlStemEnts farthe ￿￿en￿￿E313t Derember2021 R•O5t•r•dth3rtyTrJ. 1185q53 RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTSACCOUNT 20J9 PAYMENTS Cortriknt ￿ paldta DvJt•s& al Ch•itE51thnit 41￿LL 405 4L,twt 39W(k￿ 409 3%810LhJ 2,￿231 1,3)872 1.2 2W5.92 8y8urtw FrLvn5t. wy's co 0.0 ODJ 0.0 727. 0.5 4547.31 IP21m 1.0 3rn2Llf fy34a87 pkeepllncluthng Cle&w￿￿) L.61￿￿ 0.9 .49 1.0 4￿.11 4031 76 4.4 4,27L173 2.21683 1.3 4.691.16 2.7 I,￿AL 1.6 4P66AO 4.0 4A92.27 4ffja61 Gos 0.9 LW204 Woter s￿.3 0.3 40853 0.4 L6a15 Q2 7.70 0.0 LS.27 0.0 5a4 6e115 1.16&3) 0 7 77.62156 45A WL¥ks 3P96.14 3.1 0￿ 0.0 594.m 0.6 om 0.0 93¥3 1&3L.73 17,784.59 oco 0.0 OLO 0.0 00 C1#￿4￿p￿rG•s VK4r gtcn'sthp C(vs 3M1953 18 697A7 0.4 3￿￿64 30 186.98 0.2 Lfft4¥9 1.7 SCO 0.3 triwJcodfDotherPCCspll I,Y3&72 1.1 44997 0.3 S,￿3.72 2P76A2 2.1 3L963 0.3 5.28gL 45aL8 CurE ngtcn'55hore L75.56 0 2 28192 0.2 733. 439.24 0.4 &87 L2&￿ 0.1

)1. tslÉ#tvkoSOnikndi￿m￿siI SMrthES(Cttnole3. eEtr.) 41￿1 0.2 494A7 0.5 c￿ 0.7 694.2L 0.4 521n6 0.5 *Jsicond choirc05ts(Induding poyrnents to OrgoTri5tl a81L.￿ 1.6 3924.CÉ I￿7.Co 2.3 374253 3.L1102 3.2 1782.08 Conthued on nextpage page 3

RECEIPTSAND PAYMENtrs ACCOUTh 3121 Jg Pa 4nts contlnu•d Adrninirat Dn gt(]'sshG¥ cedtocékrFCC51n thebffl¢f F885 (weddng5and fun8ia15) 5t)ttsWyFe& AJdtQLJo¢#e we￿4￿￿. OrgL7wstr, bdls Paihh HousB iunnlng oxponsQS LIÈeep{kTrdudngc1￿1Nn￿I 1874.22 2.3 a514.1￿ 1.5 4,144.￿ 4.1 1927.C6 29 5,219.16 5A 357￿.￿￿ 37 &388 7￿71.92 8.E7.76 l(V l.L 3￿79￿ 35 I￿.Co Q2 ZLL15£V IA29A)J 1.2 61QOJ 0.4 ii.oJ 3,731.OJ 3,174LO 3kn14 0.2 1,017.26 1.0 12915J 1.3 232. 241.￿ O.L 6.45 Q2 72￿￿ 0.4 &38 Q5 1518.76 1.6 7,741.L0 7.6 a￿.46 Q3 29]IS 0.2 517. 42946 0.3 SÉN.￿ Q5 w&ei 157.92 0.L $355 QI 2￿1)5 Q2 54.53 0.0 f￿7c0 Q6 o(v 0.0 323&44 ow oo 11,153 62 150£V Q2 Bradnor Cot kge oco 0.0 47 Q2 0.17 sole OJ 0.0 &co og Cc￿￿1 llfE.3 1.3 aoJ 0.0 IA67.46 1.4 o.co oo 2593.93 OAIJ J.17 Mssl¢n 329% 0.2 67.L4 QI 7.26 Q3 f[￿lYS￿￿¢ OOJ 0.0 Lico oo oco oo IE&.(U O.L QI OJ 0.0 494. ]co oi 6.44 49Ag QI 6. Vaih)u5 PaymBrt5 4￿3310 2.7 0.9 a50 29 4ll3j.f￿ 4.2 1,642K6 1.7 I614.￿ 26 oo 4￿0j 0.3 sthos T￿￿FE￿I￿ CLEts oco 0.0 co ￿0 Om L17 0.0 I,CS2 I,ioi ￿S￿IL￿￿o￿ Ik]cl(Alng 8urtLV] 337.57 0.2 F+SIQ67 579. Q6 7,1Q. 2261.2a 23 9,￿.5? TOTALPAYMENVS ico 17a￿l.14 LLD lo1,2￿.15 Ico 97,493. EKLE55 DI RECEIPTS Dver PAYfwENTSa5 at315t De(Embor ￿￿5) uf PAy￿NTs uvei RECBPTSaJat31" Decembwl 8L,645.54 116,193. 2￿￿.33 Page 4 io

Independent Examiner’s Report to the PCC of St Mary’s, Kington, Herefordshire

This report on the accounts of the PCC for the year ended 31 December 2021, which are set out on

• 1) the Receipts and Payments Account (4 pages, showing a cash surplus for the year of £81,645.54);

• 2) on the Balance Sheet (2 pages, showing a Net asset Value of Funds of £265,166.58); and

• 3) as commented upon within the Financial Report (dated 3[rd] February 2022), is in respect of an examination carried out in accordance with the Church Accounting Regulations 2006 (“the Regulations”) and s.43 of the Charities Act 1993 (“the Act”).

Respective responsibilities of the PCC and the Examiner

As members of the PCC you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts. It is my responsibility to issue this report on those accounts in accordance with the terms of the Regulations.

Basis of this report

My examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the PCC and a comparison of the accounts with those records. It also includes considering 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 I do not express an audit opinion on the view given by the accounts.

Independent Examiner’s statement

In connection with my examination, no matter has come to my attention:

• (1) which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in any material respect the requirements – to keep proper accounting records; and

• to prepare proper accounts from those records and to comply with the requirements of the Act and the Regulations

have not been met; or

(2) to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

Chris H.E. Smith Chris H.E. Smith F.C.M.A., The Old Vicarage Lyonshall 01544 340598 / 07785 708603 1[st] March 2022

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THE CHURCHWARDENS’ MESSAGE AND REPORT ON THE FABRIC, GOODS AND ORNAMENTS OF ST. MARY’S CHURCH, 2021

On reflection, what a strange year 2021 seems to have been, a year when, because of the Covid Pandemic, in order to try to keep safe, we missed out on some of the regular happenings. Particularly missed was being able to sing in church, no hymns, no anthems, no choir and the fellowship time following our regular Sunday 10am. service

Of course, we missed all these aspects of our worship and time together but we owe a great debt of gratitude to the Rev. Ben for the way in which he organised the services throughout the year. Yes, they may have been different in some respects. Early in the pandemic he organised zoom services and then, together with Nick Cooke, they succeeded in having livestream services and those are still in operation and followed. Of course, we miss the friendship of those who join services in that way and hope that those who can will soon be back with us.

Ben was strict in asking us to follow the rules about social distancing, sanitising and wearing masks but we are grateful that he managed to keep so many free from the virus for so long.

To all who have assisted in any way with the maintenance of the Church and contributed to our worship we give our sincere thanks.

Once or twice more recently our bells have rung out, a truly welcome sound and we thank John, Bell Captain, for mustering ringers.

We thank Phillip Sell, Musical Director and Choirmaster and all Choir Members for their leadership and enhancement of our services once restrictions allowed.

We thank Gill Pennell for ensuring that flower arrangements were in place during these strange times and that the Church was decked for the Christmas season. The Memory Tree was well supported and was one of the ways in which Ben saw an opportunity for us to worship together because we were outside. We thank too all who created the Easter Garden and Bethlehem at Christmas, at the Lych gate.

“Not The Parish News” was a good substitute for the regular edition of the Parish News and appreciated by many. Our thanks to all who helped to make it possible

Giuiliana Nazzari has done a splendid job cleaning St Mary’s throughout the year and sanitising pews etc when that was required and we offer her a very big thank you,

I could go on. I must say that we miss those no longer with us for our regular services. We hope that soon you will feel able to return so that we can all worship together and that lay people will be able to resume the valuable part they play in life at St. Mary’s.

The day-to-day oversight of our ornaments, vestments and church linen has remained in the capable hands of our Sacristan, Eileen Thomas. Many of the tasks that Eileen undertakes are beyond the call of her office and we should certainly be the poorer were she not to do them. Thank you, Eileen, for all that you do.

Thanks must also go to Beverley Fensom for the time she gives to helping with various jobs. Bev has also been our Health and Safety Officer and the compiler of many of our duty rotas.

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THE INTERIOR OF ST MARY’S

1. Annual inspections of the security system, and lightning conductor have taken place. Inspection and servicing of all fire extinguishers has taken place and none had to be replaced

2. Smiths of Gloucester replaced light bulbs in the Vaughan Chapel and fitted a sensor light in the north porch.

3. Plans are going ahead for the reordering of the north side of the Church and we have already realised how beneficial this should prove to be. A Faculty must be obtained for this to proceed but it is hoped that 2022 will see the work under way

4. 2021 was the year for the Quinquennial Inspection carried out by Richard Lamb

5. To improve energy efficiency effective draught measures were discussed. Further discussion with a specialist glazier and the DAC was suggested.

EXTERIOR OF ST MARY’S AND CHURCHYARD

1. Extensive work to the roof, downpipes and guttering was carried out by M Pritchard and approved by the Quinquennial Inspector.

2. The report advised that much work was needed in the churchyard and the recommendation was passed to Kington Town Council whose responsibility it is.

3. The Community Pay Back Team worked regularly in 2021 to trim trees, remove ivy from walls and to cut down the overgrown Leylandii adjacent to the steps to the crypt. They have returned to work on a fortnightly basis in 2022.

4. We thank those who care for the Garden of Remembrance so regularly, an act much appreciated by many.

The south entrance porch gates and the door and gate into the Vaughan Chapel have been renovated.

Although not officially a part of this report, you will be pleased to know that the sale of the bungalow on Bradnor is complete and the money is in Church funds. We await completion of the sale of the coppice

We have all missed Rodney’s presence at St. Mary’s and while he has continued to keep in touch with all that is happening we look forward to the day when he can be back among us.

We do ask that you will continue to support the Churchwardens both in prayer and encouragement as we try to ensure that “The Fabric, Goods and Ornaments” are in good shape for future generations.

Ann Edwards on behalf of both Church Wardens

VICAR’S REPORT FOR KINGTON APCM 2022

For me, owing to the Coronavirus pandemic, the last two years have felt very much like stop-start, stopstart and I’m reasonably confident that you’ve felt very much the same. As we stand now in May 2022, the future still seems extremely uncertain. However, the images and reports that we’ve been seeing from Ukraine remind us that our complaints and irritations are as nothing compared to others and it’s imperative that we keep sight of what is precious and what isn’t.

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As we look back over the past tumultuous years, I think that there are some developments of which we can feel some justifiable satisfaction. The first of these must be our ability to live-stream all our worship; this has enabled those who would otherwise have been excluded to join us in worship. I’ve lost count of the number of people who’ve told me how grateful they have been for it. Although our viewing figures for it have declined significantly from what they were at the height of the pandemic, they remain very encouraging indeed. I’m extremely grateful to Nick for all his efforts but it would be really helpful if more people were willing to help operate this; it’s easier than you might think!

As has been stated elsewhere in this report, I’m sure that the highlight of 2021 was the much delayed Herefordshire Council Civic Service. This was a significant honour for Kington, as this service has never previously been held outside Hereford itself. Our profound gratitude to Councillor Sebastian Bowen, Chairman of Herefordshire Council for asking us to host it in the first place.

A few weeks before, we were delighted to welcome Bishop Richard our comparatively new Bishop who presided at a Confirmation Service; it was a huge privilege to witness our candidates making their commitment to Christ.

Christ’s words at the end of St. Matthew’s Gospel remind us that mission must be at the heart and centre of what we do. Despite the challenges of the past two years the Church’s mission and witness to the town remains of paramount importance.

One of our most powerful mission tools remains the Parish News and I’m deeply grateful to Freda for all her efforts as our editor. I’d also like to pay particular tribute this year to Denis and Irene Phillips, who’ve been involved with Parish News since its inception in the 1970s. Their hard work, much of it, behind the scenes for so long will be hard to replace but it’s essential that we acknowledge with deep gratitude their commitment for so many years.

Among the post-Covid-19 mission opportunities has been the revival of the Kington Kangaroo Club renamed as Messy Church which is what it was anyway. I’m extremely grateful to Stephen and all the team who are ensuring that the messy Church sessions are both fun but also opportunities for worship and catechesis.

We live in an age in which visual images dominate and we’ve not been lagging behind there either; the transformation of the Lych Gate into a Christmas Crib and Christ’s tomb for our life-size Easter Garden have been much appreciated and admired by the many people who walk through the churchyard. Huge thanks are due to Malcolm Price, Linda Ellams and Michael Horne who turn ideas into incredible reality. We must also thank Gill Pennell for the incredible crib figures.

Another valuable mission opportunity was the revived travelling crib; the figures of Mary, Joseph and the donkey visited shops, both schools and Little Orchard Nursery before coming up to Church to be at the centre of the church crib. The reaction from both local businesses, Little Orchard and the schools to the request to host them was really encouraging.

Without doubt, one of the most significant challenges over the past two years has been adjusting worship to ensure that we are both compliant with legislation (we don’t want Partygate here!) whilst also endeavouring to offer meaningful worship. I’m delighted that on the vast majority of occasions we’ve got this right, although the recent surge in Kington cases is a reminder that vigilance is still necessary.

My huge thanks are due to Eileen, Bev, the servers, readers and intercessors but also to Philip and the choir for their willingness to adapt to unprecedented circumstances throughout and that is some considerable achievement. The Christian year has been observed, we’ve altered, amended, adjusted, we’ve kept going, not perhaps always in the way that we might hope but we’ve done it and we’ve continued to do it and that is no small achievement. Around the turn of the year, I had a number of people asking when I was re-opening churches; it was a huge joy to be able to answer, they’re all open, they’re all conducting

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worship. We shouldn’t boast of our achievements, but we can be quietly proud that by a collective effort we’ve achieved something here that no other benefice has in our area.

Alongside his work as Benefice administrator and Director of Music at St. Mary’s, Philip has also been a most efficient PCC Secretary and alongside our excellent Treasurer Nick and outstanding churchwardens completes our very fine and extremely effective Standing Committee. We must also thank all our PCC officers and members. I’d like to express my sincere thanks to Alison Wright who’s stepping down from the PCC for her thoughtful contributions to the PCC over a great many years.

Alongside Eileen, Bev and their unstinting efforts ensuring that the altars are always prepared and maintained we must also thank Beryl for her outstanding efforts to ensure that the brass is always shining and Gill, Lesley and the flower arranging team who ensure that there are flowers in church reminding us of God’s bounty to the whole of creation (even if some of the flowers remind us of human creativity and ingenuity).

Visitors often comment about how clean and welcoming the church is and alongside Guiliana and her diligence at keeping the church building clean, we also thank the myriad of others who give so generously of themselves to ensure that the church building remains so obviously a much loved and cared for sanctuary welcoming and open to all of God’s children whoever and whatever they are.

One of the sadnesses over the past year has been the loss of bell ringers which means that the bells don’t ring out their vital message as frequently as we’d wish. I’d like to thank out Tower Captain John Clayton for his considerable efforts and let’s pray and hope that more people will offer to learn this tremendous art so that the bells will regularly call out their joyous message to everyone in Kington.

Over the past three years, we’ve had the pleasure of being a training benefice again while Linda MacDermott has been with us as Assistant Curate. Linda will be leaving in early June preparatory to beginning her new role as Priest-in-Charge of Alveston in Coventry Diocese. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank Linda most sincerely for her ministry and friendship in Kington and across the benefice. I know that thanks to Covid-19 it’s not been the experience that she or any of us expected, but I pray and hope that she’s enjoyed her time with us as much as we’ve enjoyed being with her as she’s taken her first steps in ordained ministry.

My final words of thanks must be to our incredible Church wardens Ann and Rodney and their deputy Beverley. We are incredibly blest to have such an outstanding team of churchwardens; always a source of wise counsel and unstinting hard work much of it entirely unseen but, my goodness, would we notice if it wasn’t done. Grateful thanks seem so inadequate, but I do pray and hope that they appreciate quite how sincere it is and quite how much we treasure them.

As you can see from elsewhere in this report, despite the hurdles and quicksands of Covid-19 St. Mary’s Kington is still here fulfilling its mission to bring the town to Christ and Christ to the town. That task is not easy or straightforward, but then, what of great value actually is? Our earliest brothers and sisters in Christ faced torture and persecution as did Christ himself. We aren’t, thank God, called upon to make that sacrifice but we are called by Christ himself to share his good news with our families, friends and neighbours. As long as we keep that in our minds and Christ’s love on our hearts and lips we can’t and won’t go far wrong.

With my love and prayers as ever Ben.

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Approved by the PCC on …………………………………… and signed on their behalf by the Revd Benedict Griffith

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……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………... (PCC chairman)

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