## St Andrew’s Church, Girton ## **Annual Report for the year ending 31st December 2021** ## **Presented at the** ## **Annual Parochial Church Meeting** Sunday 8th May 2022 Registered Charity no. 1189339 ## **Table of Contents** |**Table of Contents**|| |---|---| |**Agendas for the Meeting of Parishioners and Annual Parochial Church Meeting**|**4**| |Meeting of Parishioners Agenda|4| |Annual Parochial Church Meeting Agenda|4| |**Introduction**|**5**| |Rector|5| |Churchwardens|6| |Objectives and Activities|7| |**Ministry**|| |**The Ministry Team**|**8**| |Rector|8| |Associate Priest|9| |Readers / LLMs|9| |Services|10| |Sunday Worship|10| |Occasional Offices|11| |Taize|11| |Quiet Prayer Mornings|13| |Messy Church|13| |Pastoral Care|14| |Pastoral ALM’s Report|14| |Care Homes|15| |Music and choir|15| |St Andrew’s 4 Kids|16| |Outreach|16| |Ordinand Reports|17| |Safeguarding|18| |**Building and Fabric**|**18**| |Fabric|18| |Churchyard|19| |Flower Arrangers|20| |Church Cleaning|21| 2 |**Administration**|**22**| |---|---| |Electoral roll|22| |PCC Membership and Activity|22| |Secretarial / Pews News|23| |**Finance**|**24**| |**The Wider Church**|**25**| |Deanery Synod|25| |Friends of St Andrew’s|25| |Action Abroad|26| |**Appendix**|**27**| |Minutes of Previous APCM|27| |Meeting of Parishioners|27| |Annual Parochial Church Meeting|27| |Annual accounts|30| |Copy of the Independent examiner’s report to the PCC|40| 3 ## Agendas for the Meeting of Parishioners and Annual Parochial Church Meeting To be held in the church following the 10 a.m. service on Sunday, 8th May, 2022 ## Meeting of Parishioners Agenda 1. Apologies for absence 2. Minutes of the meeting of 16th May, 2021. See page 27. 3. Election of Churchwardens 4. Any other business ## Annual Parochial Church Meeting Agenda 1. Apologies for absence 2. Minutes of the meeting of 16th May, 2021. See page 27. 3. Matters arising from the minutes 4. Number on the electoral roll 5. Questions about Annual Report (the report itself will be taken as read) _Please note - it would be helpful to have written questions in advance if you have questions of detail to ask._ 6. Safeguarding 7. Financial report and accounts 8. Appointment of External Examiner of the accounts 9. Membership of the Parochial Church Council - a. Election of up to 3 members - b. Reappointment of Licensed Lay Ministers as PCC members ## 10. Plans for 2022 11. Any other business - _items should be given to the Rector at least 24 hours in advance of the meeting, please._ 4 ## **Introduction** ## **Rector** It’s hugely encouraging to write this introduction that reflects upon my first full year as Rector of Girton. In spite of the Covid pandemic throwing up constant challenges we have been able to worship God, encourage one another, build the church and reach out to the community around us. As always, the church is a team effort. We are the body of Christ, each with our own role to play. I am very aware that there are many, many people who quietly get on with all sorts of jobs that keep things moving. To members of the PCC, to coffee makers, to churchyard helpers, to Kerry who puts the bins out, to and everyone else who plays their part: thank you. It’s often impossible to thank you all personally and individually, but your efforts do not go unnoticed or unappreciated. I’m also very thankful to the ministry team here. Our two excellent Licensed Lay Ministers (Christina and Dugald) and retired priest (Christine Barrow) do so much to support me and the Church Wardens. The sheer range of services we are able to put on is a tribute to your skills and dedication to God’s church. With so many readers, intercessors and musicians to support us (not forgetting those who minister to our children), we have a lot to thank God for. I commend this report to you all, and thank everyone who has contributed to it (especially Dugald for his work in compiling it). Final thanks, of course, go to God for his endless goodness and mercy towards us and his church. May God the Father continue to bless us as we proclaim Jesus in Girton! ## **Revd. Michael Bigg** 5 ## **Churchwardens** The year started with both attended and on-line services and we were used to social distancing and a regular pattern of movement around the church. Sadly, on January 11th, the church had to close and we were thankful for on-line services again. During this time, a team of helpers delivered Pews News and sermons etc to those without internet access. By Easter we were back in church and services were really well attended, and this continued for the rest of the year. We are glad to have an increasing number of families with children regularly with us too. Coffee time after the 10 o’clock service was enjoyable and popular whenever Covid restrictions allowed. By June we moved outside to get together every week under the cedar tree, and we had a lively “Hymns and Pimms” there during Feast Week. Dugald organised a Zoom course to discuss Matthew’s Gospel which was much appreciated by people from both Girton and Madingley. It was good to get together for all the sessions. Michael and Richard started a completely new initiative for Key Stage 2 children known as Choir Church. A group of about 12 children met after school every Tuesday in the Autumn Term and also participated in a Service in October. Thank you to Sheila who got together a rota of helpers to serve refreshments to the very enthusiastic group. The floodlights were repaired just in time for Christmas! The replacement parts had been held up for so long “due to Covid “ but at last we had a well lit Carol Service. So that was the end of another mixed up year. We all realised how much we depend on each other and rallied around, as in the previous year, to support with friendship and reach out to those in particular need. 6 The camera operators have done a great job of filming not only on Sundays but also for weddings and funerals. The church always looks beautiful thanks to the very accomplished “flower ladies“. We give an enormous thank you to Michael and the whole Ministry Team for all they do in working together to give us a wonderful range of Services every week not only in church but in other places in the village. ## **Bruce and Wendy Hunter, Robin Bradford** ## **Objectives and Activities** Girton PCC promotes the mission of the Church of England in the village of Girton by providing public worship and other related activities. In spite of the Covid pandemic we have continued to offer public worship as best we can and to provide pastoral care to the congregation and beyond. It has been good to welcome Suzie Filmer to the team as an Authorised Lay Minister in training with special interest in pastoral care. In 2021 our “worshipping community” numbered about 110 people, with a usual Sunday attendance of around 80 across all services. It has been particularly pleasing to see the growing numbers of children attending services. As the pandemic restrictions have eased we have sought to engage more fully with our community. An initiative of significance has been the establishment of our Choir Church for children. We are also seeking to engage with the schools here, as well as resuming our regular services in the care homes across the village. There is, of course, more to be done. But God was worshipped in Girton throughout 2021 and we hope that the church provided comfort and support where we could. ## **Revd. Michael Bigg** 7 ## **Ministry The Ministry Team** ## Rector 2021 was a challenging year in many respects. Covid continued to loom large and it was difficult to plan meaningfully. I am very grateful to all of the people who were so flexible with plans changing at short notice! As always, the ministry team here is a great blessing. Christina does so much to bind us together pastorally; Dugald contributes hugely to the teaching ministry of the church through Lent and Advent courses; Christine contributes her wisdom, service leadership, and ministry in care homes. Of course we also have our Church Warden team who not only lead on looking after the fabric of the building and the churchyard, but also do so much to be a pastoral presence in the church. Thanks to all of you. It was great to welcome Suzie Filmer to the pastoral team during the course of the year. She has worked hard to complete the training as an Authorised Lay Minister and is available for pastoral care; I know that she is already valued by those she visits. We were also blessed this year with a series of excellent ordinands from Westcott House and Ridley Hall. Kirsty Borthwick and Ben Vertannes were with us for a short time but contributed excellent preaching. Since October we have enjoyed Will Moore and Chris Whittaker as part of the team; both have blessed us with more excellent preaching, and we have benefited from Will’s musical gifts and Chris’s drive to put on a contemporary worship service on Sunday afternoon. A particularly pleasing area of our life together has been the presence of increasing numbers of children. I’m hugely grateful for Jenny and the team who have contributed so much to making them welcome. They are very much the church of the present (as well as the church of the future) so I hope they’ll continue to be engaged in our life together. It’s also been good to start up our Choir Church, and make links with children and families who are not part of our regular worshipping community. Thanks to Richard for all he does, and for Sheila who makes sure there are always people with biscuits. We have much to give thanks for. There are new faces, different aspects of ministry, a sense of God doing God’s work. I am convinced that a season of growth and flourishing is arriving. However, we must not forget what drives it all: prayer. I know that many of you pray for me and for our church community (lots of you do so daily). If you already do that, please continue to do so. May I encourage all of you to dedicate time to praying that God’s kingdom might come in Girton, and that God’s church would bring glory to His name. _Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen._ (Ephesians 2:20-21) ## **Revd. Michael Bigg** 8 ## Associate Priest As we climb out of the dreary time we have experienced in the last two years during the pandemic, it’s a source of real joy to take part in our church’s return to a more normal routine. My diary is taken up mostly with activities in Madingley, but I still am able to contribute to some of the liturgical life in Girton. I have continued to be involved with Gretton Court, officiating at their monthly Communion service, and leading discussion groups in Advent and Lent. Since the autumn of 2019 I have also officiated at the monthly Communion service at Abbeyfield, which Michael and I now alternate in taking. Many people will be aware that, with an expert sense of timing, I recognised at the beginning of the pandemic that my right hip was going to need replacing with a certain degree of urgency. After waiting for the Covid infection levels to go down I was able to have the operation finally at the beginning of November, and I have now returned to “normal working.” I’m very aware of the fact that the ease with which I came out of the operation and my rapid recovery in the following days and weeks, was down in no small part to the prayerful support of the church community, and so I owe you my very grateful thanks for that. ## **Revd. Chris Barrow** ## Readers / LLMs This year has continued to be a challenge with the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. We have enjoyed working with Michael. Sharing and helping in the ministry work of the church wherever necessary and able. Dugald ran two short courses in person and online. One was on the Sermon on the Mount, the other during Advent, based on the Advent wreath. These have been fairly successful, with a significant number of attendees. Christina has had to spend more time as Reader Sub-warden and Dugald is otherwise employed in managing the service staffing rotas. ## **Christina Deacon and Dugald Wilson** 9 ## **Services** ## Sunday Worship Our worship, Sunday by Sunday, continues to be at the heart of much of what we do. It is the place we come to meet with God, to encourage one another, and to be strengthened to live out our Christian vocation to be salt and light in the world. Since Easter, when regular in-person worship resumed, we have had an average of 67 people in church each Sunday (across every service), made up of 61 adults and 6 children. However, since September as Covid restrictions have increasingly eased, we have seen 80 people through the doors each week (70 adults and 10 children). This is a significant source of joy as we see people gathering together in worship. There continue to be a fair number of people who join our worship remotely through YouTube and we are very glad to be able to make our services available to those who cannot attend in person. Numbers are not everything, of course, but they are a sign of a strong, winsome community of faith. Our whole “worshipping community” is made up of well over 100 people and if everyone came to church every single week we’d start to struggle to fit everyone in. We enjoy a pleasing sense of God’s family together as we go through the Christian year and celebrate God’s presence with us as we celebrate Jesus’ birth, revelation to the world, life, ministry, death, resurrection and ascension. I hope that this steady growth continues in 2022. Please be on the lookout for new faces and welcome them warmly! ## **Revd. Michael Bigg** 10 ## Occasional Offices Throughout 2021 our ministry in the occasional offices returned to something like normality. The ministry team took 13 funerals (9 in the church, 4 at the crematorium). We also interred 4 sets of ashes in the churchyard from funerals we did not take. The average number of funerals in pre-Covid years was around 14-16. It is always a privilege to minister to families at the time of death. We hope to continue the success of our “In Memory” service again this autumn. Three marriages were solemnised in the church in 2021, and there was also one blessing of a marriage. The move to the General Register Office’s new system of registering marriages seems to have gone without a hitch, but it is somewhat sad that the church is now no longer the keeper of official marriage registers. Christina took one baptism in 2021. We hope for more in 2022. It should be noted that previously our practice had been to offer “private” baptism services outside of regular Sunday services. Our current position is that baptisms should always take place during Sunday services unless there are exceptional circumstances. As a result, some families are choosing not to go ahead with getting their children baptised at St Andrew’s. ## **Revd. Michael Bigg** ## Taize During 2021 we continued to offer our Girton Taizé worship on each first Sunday of the month, except for the May service, which had to be cancelled at short notice. We are grateful to Christina Deacon and Gerda Mamott, who have assisted in planning services when Kay Barrett has been on holiday. Attendance continues to range between 12 and 20 participants, with some friends from further afield – including Germany and the US – joining the online worship. The 2021 Taizé services were held online using the Zoom platform, except for 1[st] August, when we decided to make the most of the light summer evenings to hold our first in-person service in the North Room since the start of the pandemic. To keep everyone safe we wore masks (except when giving readings or leading prayers) and kept the doors to the North Room open. Chairs were spaced one metre apart and, as 1[st] August was a fine evening, there was the option to sit just outside the open doors in the church yard. We continued to find new ways to draw people into the community through the online worship experience. For example, our online Easter Sunday Taizé worship included an Agapé. The New Testament reading told the story of the disciples eating breakfast on the shore with the risen Christ. Participants were asked to have to hand a few olives or some fruit and a drink of juice or water. During the service we celebrated the resurrection, our life in Christian community and the gifts of the earth by eating and drinking these together. In September we held a very simple ‘Service of Quiet’, similar to that offered by the Iona Community each Sunday evening. This was slightly shorter than our normal Taizé worship, 11 with fewer readings and twenty minutes of silent prayer. We began by singing the chant ‘O Lord Hear My Prayer’. Participants were invited to light a tea light or candle as we moved into silence together. After the time of silence, participants were invited to contribute a short, spoken prayer. To close, we listened, prayerfully, to some recorded Taizé chants, and left, quietly, whenever we felt ready. In general, our services followed the pattern of the church lectionary and seasons. Themes included New Year and Epiphany; the calming of the storm (Mark Chapter 4); and in Lent, ‘Unless a seed falls to the earth and dies’ (Mark Chapter 12). In June our theme was The True Vine (John Chapter 15); in July, our theme was Trust – we heard the story of the disciples leaving their nets to follow Jesus (Luke chapter 5). In November, our theme was the Circle of Compassion and Climate Emergency (1 John Chapter 4, on loving our brothers and sisters) and in December our Advent theme was The Voice Crying in the Wilderness (Isaiah Chapter 40). The St Andrew’s Taizé services first began in the summer of 1997 as a millennium project and we are now approaching our 25[th] anniversary! The services have touched many people over the years and continue to be a valued space for quiet contemplation and meditative singing: a good way to mark the end of the weekend and look to the week and month ahead. ## **Kay Barrett** 12 ## Quiet Prayer Mornings Unfortunately the Quiet Prayer has not happened since the first Covid lockdown. ## **Christina Deacon** ## Messy Church Messy Church runs on the second Thursday of each month in the Baptist Church from 3.30-6.00 pm. It is a joint initiative between the Baptist Church and St Andrew’s and is for any children under the age of 12. Normally between 20-40 children attend each session with their parents. In the past there have been a good number of St Andrew’s families participating but those children have now grown up and currently there are no St Andrew’s families attending, which is a great shame. The sessions start with light refreshments, as the children come straight from school. Then there are some colouring sheets and puzzles and toys out for the children to use. At 4.00 the craft sessions start. Sheila Hiley and Jenny Knights organise the Arts and Craft activities each month, with around 4 or 5 different things so all ages are catered for. They are always on a theme for the month set by Nick Lowe, the Baptist Minister. Topics have included The Lost Coin, Christmas, Harvest, and Jesus the Light of the World. Because of Covid some sessions were held online and packs of materials were assembled for each family and delivered to their homes. Where possible we planned sessions to be outside, usually on The Recreation Ground but one session was in Jeni Mills’ Garden in Weaver’s Field, where the children designed their own pizzas, and these were then cooked in an outdoor pizza oven. After the crafts there is a short story, hymn and prayer and then a free meal is provided, with a donation tin available for those who wish to contribute towards the cost. Please talk to Jenny Knights or Sheila Hiley if you wish to learn more about the sessions. We really would like to have other adults coming along to help out – It is great fun and you can eat with us too! ## **Jenny Knights and Sheila Hiley** 13 ## **Pastoral Care** Pastoral care is primarily expressed in the care we show to one another: pastoral care is everyone’s responsibility. We do our best to be a community in which we look out for those around us and welcome new-comers. Please continue to love and care for one another! As a pastoral team we do our best to visit people and keep an eye on how everyone is doing. However, inevitably there is an element of being “reactive” as we respond to particular needs that come to light. If you, or someone you know, would like someone to visit please let us know (you can contact Michael, Christina, Suzie, Wendy and more)! ## **Revd Michael Bigg** ## Pastoral ALM’s Report I decided to do the ALM Course as it would allow me to become part of the Church and to be able to visit people who were either lonely or could not for some reason get to the Church so that they know that they are still loved and cared for by God through the Church. The ALM Pastoral Course was an eight-month course - one session a month. A group of 12 of us on Zoom led by a wonderful teacher who guided us through each Session. The course aim was varied, to allow us to learn to listen, to hear, take responsibility and to understand issues of boundaries, to be aware and to ensure that the pastoral relationship is managed carefully and ethically. We therefore began to undertake a learning experience of pastoral care and to develop good safe, ongoing working practice, to be able to respond in a thoughtful, compassionate pastoral and spiritual way. Each month we prepared a Project and a daily journal which allowed us to look back on our development. We were taught to identify pastoral needs in the Parish and to facilitate delivery of pastoral care. I looked forward to each of the 8 sessions and having qualified, I am now delighted that I can go out to visit. I have already had the honour of visiting such interesting people and so look forward to broadening my visits and getting to know more people in the Parish. Please do contact me if you would like a pastoral visit! _Walk with us as we accompany one another along the journey of life. May our words and actions convey your love. Send us forth to proclaim the joy of the Gospel through faith, service, justice and love of others. Amen!_ ## **Suzie Filmer (Pastoral ALM)** _[Michael adds: if you would be interested in training to do pastoral care please get in touch!]_ 14 ## Care Homes Chris Barrow mostly does Gretton Court and Michael has been taking the services in Abbeyfield, for which people are most grateful. These services take place monthly and are an essential way for us to keep in touch with some people who are unable to get to church. February 2022 - Arlington Manor has only just reopened its doors to us. Michael and Christina will share the services between us. So far only one service has taken place. ## **Christina Deacon** ## **Music and choir** After several covid-related setbacks, the St Andrew’s Choir Church of junior singers is finally taking shape. We now have 12 boys and girls from the Glebe and Eddington/University of Cambridge schools. We give a special thankyou to all our volunteers for their help with refreshments before the rehearsal. It is very encouraging to see the children in church on a Tuesday afternoon, and their families coming to fill our pews when we had our first evening services in October (Harvest) and January (Epiphany). We’re planning another in March for Lent, with Goodall’s setting of Psalm 23. 15 The pandemic has left our numbers a bit unsettled but we now have a total of 9, welcoming back Caroline, Debbie, and Sandra. At Easter we were very happy (see photo) to be able to sing the anthem ‘This Joyful Eastertide’ albeit from the porch. Over the coming months we have gradually progressed to the usual choir stalls and at Christmas 2021 it was a relief to be able to sing our traditional carol service – Hooray! Looking ahead to April we will be joining with the Oakington Singers for a Come and Sing - Faure Requiem. Our band for the all-age service, with Edwin and Helen, is now joined by our ordinand, Will on piano. We always welcome new singers and instrumentalists to support the All Age worship – please speak to Richard after the service if you would like to offer your musical gifts. Choir practices continue weekly, Tuesdays at 3:45pm (juniors) and 6:30pm (adults). ## **Richard Hinitt** ## **St Andrew’s 4 Kids** We restarted in April after the early 2021 lockdown, meeting at first on third Sundays of the month but since June on first, third and fifth Sundays except within the main school holidays. Numbers averaged 7 children per session over the year, increasing towards the end so that now we often get 10 or 12, mostly in the 3-7 age range. Two adults are definitely needed; many thanks to all on the team this year – Jenny Knights, Suzie Filmer (now retired), Susanna Avery-Quash, Wendy de Horsey, ordinands Will and Chris and also parent helpers. Themes in 2021 included the Lord’s Prayer, for which the children invented actions we now use each session, “Beasts of the Bible”, and “Dirty Feet” (at the Last Supper). Since mid-autumn we have been using the Scripture Union “Splash” resource book, which gives ideas and consistency, and we finished the year looking at the Christmas story. The nativity play was live this year with a record cast of 22 (although 3 were struck off by last-minute Covid) from 9 families. Other activities included an Easter egg hunt (thanks Sheila) and decorating the mitten tree boxes. Michael set up a WhatsApp group which has been great for keeping families in touch. They are a lovely, lively bunch of children and it’s brilliant having them at church. If anyone, young or old, would like to join in the fun they’d be very welcome! ## **Jenny Prince** ## **Outreach** We are making a more conscious effort to engage with the wider community as a church. This year we have started our Choir Church initiative and have sought to increase our engagement with the schools. It’s been good also to be present in the village’s various retirement accommodation towards the end of the year. 16 In October we had a very successful “In Memory” service, to which we invited anyone who wanted to remember a loved one before God. Over 80 people attended and gave good feedback. At Christmas we were delighted that so many people signed up to “Christmas Dinner and Carols” at the Old Crown. In spite of Covid two busy nights of festivity and carol singing were greatly appreciated. I am personally grateful to Chris Whittaker (Ridley Hall ordinand) for taking on the role of MC at short notice. It was also excellent to make links with the village by supporting Sharon Priestley’s “Mitten Tree” initiative. We were overwhelmed with the number of hats, scarves and gloves donated by the people of the village in support of the homeless in Cambridge. Late in the year we were invited to take on responsibility for the village’s parent & toddler group (“Bobtails”). This is an exciting new venture for us. You’ll find out how it’s going in the 2022 Annual Report! We hope that 2022 will see continued growth in our links with the wider village community. ## **Revd Michael Bigg** ## **Ordinand Reports** I have really enjoyed this year at Girton parish church as an ordinand on placement, with the other half of my attachment spent at Girton College. I have particularly relished the opportunities to preach to the congregation, who are always attentive and interested in what scripture might be telling us and how it relates to our lives as Christians out in our communities as well as a parish church. My first sermon seemed to resonate with many, inviting us to break out of our cycles and be stirred up to see what God calls us to next. The second spoke into what is going on in Ukraine and where we might find God, and I found it to be a profound experience where we were all able to share our anxieties, fears, and prayers with one another as a church community. The growth in the number of children coming to Girton (through Choir Church which I have often played for, our All-Age services where I have featured in the worship band, and through St Andrew’s 4 Kids, which I have helped lead) has been inspiring. As we come closer to appointing a part-time minister for this area of the church’s ministry, we should certainly celebrate how God is at work here and pray that it continues! I must offer a heart-felt thanks to all those at Girton who have given me such a warm welcome over the past several months and made my attachment feel very homely and comfortable. It has been wonderful to be involved in so many different aspects of ministry as I train for priesthood. ## **Will Moore (Westcott House)** 17 ## **Safeguarding** There have been two areas of activity. 1. The routine renewal of DBS checks for those such as PCC members, ministry team people and those working with children including for Bobtails. 2. As reported last year the C of E Safeguarding managing tool, Dashboard, exists to help parishes do everything they need to do to ensure safeguarding best practice. We have continued to write policies and to make sure those who need training receive it. For instance, anyone working with children or who is on the PCC needs to do basic awareness training and an additional foundation course plus one on Domestic Violence. Our clergy, LLMs, Church Wardens and Safeguarding Officer also have to complete a course on Safer Recruitment. As you can see we are being asked to have safeguarding at the forefront of our minds all the time and indeed it is something for everyone in our church family to think about. This is my last report as Helen Wilson is taking over from me after the APCM. ## **Sheila Hiley** ## **Building and Fabric** ## **Fabric** The reordering process has made this a very busy year It was necessary to install 3 phase electricity to prepare for the installation of the new heating and lighting system. The internal electrical wiring was rationalised and it is now much easier to see which switch controls what. This entailed installing a new board and the removal of obsolete materials. A high level clean was the next step, before the installation of the new heating and lighting system in July. This has proved very effective, especially noticeable in the cold winter weather. In addition to the overhead heaters, pew heaters were installed to keep the choir stalls warm. 18 Outside, we have new LED lights to illuminate the church at night and this is very much better. We also had to have remedial drainage work done to clear a problem caused by the invasion of tree roots into the drains. The church clock was comprehensively examined by Smiths of Derby, who identified various problems with both the original 1908 mechanism and the new automatic winding system. The latter was covered under warranty. We are indebted to Friends of St Andrew’s for helping to fund the overhaul in June. Since then, the clock has continued to show some erratic behaviour and we thank Martyn for the time he spent trying to resolve the problem. Smiths have looked at it twice, under warranty. The repeated problems are believed to be caused by a worn bearing, which needs frequent cleaning and polishing. It is likely that this bearing will have to be replaced in the near future. An outstanding issue mentioned in the quinquennial has been resolved, with the removal of scaffolding poles, which at some point had been left on the roof. The yearly removal of leaves from the roof was done in February. ## **Bruce Hunter** ## **Churchyard** We managed to have ten Saturday work parties until November, when it rained too much, and December when it was Christmas Day. It is great to get so much done in a couple of hours, even with a break for coffee, cake and a catch up chat! More helpers are very welcome to join us with no experience needed. 19 Two big yew trees have been professionally shaped but all other maintenance work has been done by volunteers. A particular thank you to our ever willing “men who mow” for their weekly input. The other monthly grass mowing is organised by the Parish Council and we share the bill. We aim to keep the area looking cared for but not over tidy, and are always grateful when graves are tended and colourful. The muntjac deer continue to graze and seem to particularly enjoy roses. The benches and seats are well used by all the people who come to visit this lovely, peaceful place. ## **Wendy Hunter** ## **Flower Arrangers** We have continued to have flowers in our church weekly during and despite Covid! We were able to decorate the church for the Harvest Festival and for the Christmas season. Additionally we dressed the church for 1 wedding and 2 funerals. ## **Anne Lorimer** 20 ## **Church Cleaning** Thank you to all the willing and dutiful volunteers for all you have done during another odd year. We will all be glad to get new power points in accessible places soon, but well done for managing so well so far. The 7 people who regularly unlock and lock the church also deserve a mention here, as they also help to keep the church clean and tidy. ## **Wendy Hunter** 21 ## **Administration** ## **Electoral roll** As of the most recent revision (ending 18th April 2022) we have 103 names on the Electoral Roll. We have lost a few through deaths and others moving away and have gained 5 members at this revision. New members are always welcome on the Electoral Roll at any time, so feel free to join if you would like to. I would be more than happy if someone else were willing to take this on! ## **Alice Few** ## **PCC Membership and Activity** The Parochial Church Council operates under the Church Representation Rules (2020). It is made up of _ex officio_ and elected members as detailed below: - Rector (ex officio) - Michael Bigg (inducted in September 2020) - Church Wardens (ex officio) - Robin Bradford - Bruce Hunter - Wendy Hunter - Deanery Synod Reps (elected in September 2020) - Malini Jesudason - Sheila Hiley [also Parish Safeguarding Officer] - Licensed Lay Ministers (appointed by a previous APCM for as long as they are licensed) - Christina Deacon - Dugald Wilson - Elected Members - Geoff Burt (2019-2022) - Alastair Lorimer (2021-2023 - also PCC Vice Chair) - Martyn Johnson (2021-2024 - also PCC Treasurer) - Jenny Knights (2021-2024) - Co-opted members - Revd Christine Barrow (co-opted again in May 2021) The PCC has also appointed John Hall to be PCC Secretary. 22 ## **Standing Committee** The Standing Committee comprises the Rector, Church Wardens, Licensed Lay Ministers and Treasurer. This group meets from time to time as needed and has discretionary spending powers (to be reported to PCC at the next available meeting). In 2021 the PCC met on 18th January, 9th March, 26th April, 7th June, 20th July, 20th September and 8th November. Minutes of meetings are available on request via the PCC Secretary. ## **Revd. Michael Bigg / John Hall** ## **Secretarial / Pews News** The administration work of the church and parish is distributed amongst several people. There is no church secretary who might be a focus of all this work. Susie Cumming helps us in the preparation of the weekly Pews News and other occasional copying and printing and we are very grateful to her for it. Michael has continued to prepare new-look service booklets for the different church seasons, and with him having been here for over a year now, we have an almost complete set. Dugald has managed many of the church service rotas. It is always appreciated that any changes are told to him in good time so that the service documentation can be updated in time for the Sunday services. There are other, non service specific, rotas managed by other people. All in all, the church seems to run pretty smoothly. Nigel Deacon has managed the church website, keeping it up to date. He has also managed the occasional electronic newsletters informing us of important upcoming events. Obviously there have been significant issues due to the frequently changing Covid restrictions. One major change has been the introduction of the online streaming of services. The small team of dedicated and talented camera folk has kept this useful addition going. ## **Dugald Wilson** 23 ## **Finance** 2021 was a year of change, as I took the opportunity to migrate the church accounts to new software. An upgrade was long overdue, as the package introduced in 2005 was no longer supportable. The new package has brought with it some changes to accounting practices, most notably a revision to the fund structure. Full details are in explanatory notes to the financial statements, which are now in a new format. We have also been attempting to simplify the handling of some historical funding sources. Churches tend to accumulate small pots of money originally intended to generate income in perpetuity, but frequently their value has been eroded by inflation and the income becomes vanishingly small, or the arrangements lead to a disproportionate administrative burden. The PCC has therefore invoked its power under charity law to release these sums for expenditure. The Parish Clerk's Charity and the Elisabeth Hertz Memorial Fund have already been consolidated into more generic funds, and some legally required work to release some historic graveyard trusts is still in progress. At the end of 2020 the General Fund had a small negative balance. A year later, the balance is £53,398, a remarkable sum which requires some explanation. Most notably, over £32,000 of this is not cash, but represents the value of income shares formally transferred to the PCC from the Parish Clerk's Charity; as with any investment the value fluctuates. A further £18,750 came from donations originally made to the Reordering Fund but subsequently released for general purposes at the explicit request of the donors. A further source of short term income has been the hire of the parish office by the Girton Town Charity at a fair market rent; in accordance with the principles of tithing the PCC has donated 10% of this income to Action Abroad but the remainder has brought in £4,860 for general purposes. Nevertheless, routine income did substantially exceed expenditure. Thus it was possible to resume the practice of transferring £3,000 to the Fabric Fund at the end of the year, and the statutory fees arising from burials and memorials were assigned to the Churchyard Fund in anticipation of having to pay a backlog of churchyard maintenance costs to the parish council in 2022. Whilst the current financial situation is reasonably healthy, there are still matters of concern. The most obvious is the rising cost of energy, which is likely to hit us at the next contract renewal. The substantial income boost from the rental of the parish office will come to an end during 2022. General inflation is once again rising. We are grateful to all who have maintained or increased their giving during the pandemic. A particular thanks is due to those who have moved onto the new Parish Giving Scheme, which enormously simplifies the accounting of donations and their gift aid claims. ## **Martyn Johnson** 24 ## **The Wider Church** ## **Deanery Synod** We have had two meetings: - July 2021 on Zoom - February 2022 at All Saints Church Milton The **July 2021** meeting consisted of reports from all the parishes on what we had been doing during the pandemic and this was very interesting. Certain themes were seen to be important--- - Technology, good lines of communication, live streaming. - The absence of singing was seen as very regrettable. Other interesting points were … - Some parishes were not just collecting food bank items but were delivering food parcels. One parish put on ‘Forest’ Sunday Schools—i.e. outside activities, many parishes reported lots of singing outside, lots of praying. ## **February 2022** The big news here is the new Deanery Working group on which Martyn is our representative. The aim of the group is to come up with imaginative and creative ideas drawing on the knowledge of all the parishes to help plan for the future. For instance, it may be that we can make a case for having more clergy in our deanery to ensure that the Northstowe and Waterbeach developments thrive. We have to be bold in what we ask for but realistic. JBB gave an interesting report on the happenings at the General Synod. Finance --they are hoping to return £9,000 to £10,000 in rebates to parishes this year which is down from £13,190 last year. Let's hope we can have our three meetings in the coming year and that they will be in person. ## **Sheila Hiley / Malini Jesudason** ## **Friends of St Andrew’s** Since our last Report Covid has continued very severely to restrict activities, both by the restrictions themselves imposed on society, and by the understandable fear and/or reluctance of many to be unnecessarily at risk of succumbing. Now that those restrictions have been lifted we hope to compose a list of events to resume raising funds for our church. 25 But we did hold a Festive Coffee Morning in December at the Cotton Hall which went well with some very generous support from, among others, Oakington Garden Centre, The Old Crown, Graves florists and the Co-op. ## **Alastair Lorimer** ## **Action Abroad** With the exception of the Coin Trail in September, the usual fundraising events could not be held during 2021. However, a total of £2000 was raised and sent to the Domboshawa Trust. The majority of this was through individual donations, with £540 from the tithing of the GTC parish office income, for which we are very grateful. Again, my thanks go to Alice for distributing apples, and donation envelopes during Lent. We continue to receive newsletters from the Domboshawa Trust, & Domboshawa House, like most educational establishments has had to turn to online teaching. Lockdowns in Zimbabwe have to some extent mirrored those in Europe but with somewhat draconian enforcement methods and further hardship due to the general economic and political situation. It was good to be able to welcome David Alderton from the Domboshawa Trust when he came to speak to us during an autumn 10 o’clock service. ## **Claire Conboy** 26 ## **Appendix** ## Minutes of Previous APCM (held on 16th May 2021 following the 10 a.m. service) **Present (at both meetings):** Michael Bigg, Rector, in the chair (= M.B.), and 27 parishioners. (6 further parishioners followed the broadcast of the proceedings) **Apologies for absence (for both meetings) were received from:** Chris Barrow, Roger and Alice Few. ## Meeting of Parishioners 1. **Apologies for absence.** See above. 2. **The minutes** of the meeting of 6th September 2020 were approved. 3. **Election of Churchwardens.** The following were re-elected: Bruce Hunter, proposed by Dugald Wilson, seconded by Adrian Rutherford Wendy Hunter, proposed by Alastair Lorimer, seconded by Anne Lorimer. Robin Bradford, proposed by Roger Few, seconded by Geoff Burt. 4. **Any other business.** None. ## Annual Parochial Church Meeting 1. **Apologies for absence.** See above. 2. **The minutes** of the meeting of 6th September 2020 were approved. 3. **Matters arising from the minutes.** There were none. 4. **The electoral roll** now numbers 102 people. Alice Few was thanked for her work in compiling this. 5. **The annual report.** Dugald Wilson was thanked for his work in compiling this. With regard to Messy Church, it was mentioned that this is on the second Thursday of each month (not the first, as stated in the annual report), and that it is hoped to hold the June meeting on the Recreation Ground. 6. **Safeguarding.** Sheila Hiley thanked all those who had complied with the rules regarding DBS checks, and was herself thanked for her work. 7. **Finance.** Martyn Johnson said that his only comment on what was in the annual report and the accounts was that it had been an unusual year. He was thanked for his work, as were the donors to the church for their donations. 8. **The external examiner of the accounts.** On the proposal of Martyn Johnson, Jacquie Fisher was re-appointed. 27 ## 9. **Membership of the Parochial Church Council (PCC).** There were elected: - a. Martyn Johnson, re-elected for three years (proposed by Anne Lorimer, seconded by Alastair Lorimer) - b. Alastair Lorimer, re-elected for two years (proposed by Adrian Rutherford, seconded by Nora Rutherford) - c. N.B. The reason for this shorter term is to ensure that an election to the PCC should be held every year. - d. Jenny Knights, elected for three years (proposed by Sheila Hiley, seconded by Bruce Hunter). - e. Roger Few, who was not standing for re-election, was thanked for his work on the PCC. - f. Prayer for the PCC and the Churchwardens was led by Michael Bigg. 10. **Plans for 2021** were described by M.B. - a. **Re-ordering.** Permission for the new heating system, by electrical heating chandeliers, is expected in the next few days, and the heaters should be installed in June. Plans for re-ordering the west end of the church, to include a kitchen area, are being drawn up by a new architect. - b. **Outreach.** We are planning to form a “choir church” for local children. It is hoped that this choir will sing at some Evening Prayer services. - c. **Return to normality** is expected in the coming months. We hope to begin by serving tea and coffee in the churchyard after the 10 a.m. service next Sunday (May 23[rd] ). - d. **Discussion of human sexuality.** The Church of England has recently published a volume on this subject, _Living in love and faith_ , and also a short course book which provides the basis for a course to discuss this subject. M.B. said that he is willing to run such a course, and invited members of the congregation who wished for one to approach him. Amy Bland, ordinand, said that she had experienced much of the course and recommended it. Richard Hinitt asked about Girton Church being part of “Inclusive Church” (an umbrella organisation for churches whose members include people of diverse sexuality, etc.). Wendy Hunter commented that Girton Church had decided a few years ago that we are an inclusive church and said that we could be one without joining the “Inclusive Church” organisation. - e. **Participation in the work of the church.** M.B. asked members of the congregation to pray for the church’s work, and to be willing to assist with services (e.g. as sidespeople or lesson readers) and with other church work (e.g. churchyard maintenance). - f. **Financial prospects.** M.B. said that these are reasonably satisfactory for this year, as the church is receiving rent from Girton Town Charity while work is done on their own office, but this will last only for a year. In the long run we cannot continue to do as we have been doing, and spend more money than we receive. He urged parishioners to join the Parish Giving Scheme. The advantages of this are: that it gives participants an option to consider increasing their gifts in line with inflation; that it makes the work of the Parish 28 Treasurer much simpler; and that it leads to Gift Aid being received much more swiftly and smoothly. M.B. urged everyone to try to give a bit more each year as a percentage of their income, and trust that God gives us what we need. - g. **Questions on the above.** Asked further about re-ordering, M.B. said that taking out the front pews is on the agenda, but that he has no plans to move the pulpit. We may take out some pews in places where seating is needed, but chairs will be put out to replace them. It has not yet been decided whether we should retain the existing radiators to provide background heat. - h. **M.B. called for volunteers** to shadow Sheila Hiley as Safeguarding Officer and Martyn Johnson as Treasurer, and eventually to take over from them. - 11. **Any other business.** There was none. The meeting closed with prayer by M.B. 29 ## **Annual accounts** The introduction of new software has brought with it a few changes to accounting practice. Mostly these are a tidying up of historical anomalies which have persisted in the interest of providing comparable figures from year to year. The new accounting software has robust fund tracking and the main changes concern how the separate funds are presented. The PCC sometimes handles money that is not its own, but simply passes through our bank account for convenience. The most obvious example is the statutory fee income that we collect on behalf of the Diocese of Ely, but there are several other categories. In previous years these sums have appeared in the receipts and payments accounts, but this is not strictly correct as the money does not form part of the PCC's income and expenditure. In the new system, these sums continue to be recorded internally, but they do not appear in the reported receipts and payments accounts. Most of these items are cleared to a zero balance at the end of the year, but any temporary surplus that does exist at year end will be shown on the balance sheet as a liability to offset the excess funds on the assets side. The money that the PCC does control falls into three broad categories: unrestricted, restricted and designated. Unrestricted funds can be used for any purpose the PCC sees fit. Restricted funds represent money that was given for a specific purpose, and we are legally obliged to spend it on that. Designated funds represent money that the PCC has decided to allocate to a purpose, either by formal resolution or general agreement. The introduction of a designated fund helps to ensure that the money is ring fenced, whilst retaining the flexibility to reallocate the funds explicitly in the future. The funds have been slightly reorganised in the interests of clarity. For reference, the funds covered in this report are: - **General:** The general fund holds all money used for general purposes which is neither restricted nor designated. Most everyday transactions use this fund. - **Churchyard:** These are funds intended for the maintenance of the churchyard. It has both restricted and designated components, the latter being fee income from burials and memorials. - **Action Abroad:** In previous accounts the Action Abroad project appeared as restricted money under the General heading (though the money was always tracked separately behind the scenes). Most of this fund is restricted since it comes from targeted fundraising. However the PCC has agreed to donate part of its income from the rental of the parish office to Action Abroad, and this appears as designated. - **Fabric:** This is a designated fund which represents the money that the PCC has set aside as a sinking fund for future fabric maintenance. We aim to transfer funds into it at the end of each year, and spend from it as the need arises (most likely after the quinquennial inspection). - **Legacy:** This is a designated fund to hold money received as legacies. Since this is not a regular source of income, the PCC prefers not to rely on it for routine operating costs. This fund helps to keep it separate for use as the PCC decides. - **Grants:** This is a restricted fund used to hold funds from miscellaneous short term grants that have been received for a specific purpose. Such grants are typically 1-off payments which are spent shortly after being received, and therefore do not justify creation of a named fund of their own. 30 - **Reordering:** Money assigned to the ongoing reordering project. The restricted component represents donations specifically for the project and the designated component is for funds from other sources that the PCC has chosen to allocate to the project. - **E Hertz:** This money in this fund came from a collection in 1992 intended to provide an income stream for the upkeep of the grave of Elisabeth Hertz, but in practice has not generated useful sums and has sat unused for many years. During the year the PCC resolved to transfer the money to the Churchyard fund and will remain mindful of its duty to maintain the grave as part of general maintenance. The end of year balance is therefore zero. It is normal practice when presenting accounts to reproduce the figures for the previous year for comparison purposes. The 2020 figures in this report were produced by re-entering the transactions for 2020 in the new accounting software using the new conventions. Hence the figures presented are not identical to those that actually appeared in last year's report. For clarity, all amounts are individually rounded to the nearest pound. This rounding sometimes leads to small discrepancies in the column totals. The reports that follow are: - The receipts and payments accounts for each fund in turn, designated and restricted funds being shown separately. The top level breakdown of the income and expenditure is broadly intended to follow the charities’ statement of recommended practice (SORP), though there is no legal requirement for receipts and payments accounts to do so. - The balance sheet, showing the assets and liabilities at the end of the year, with a breakdown by fund. - A fund movement report, giving a 1-page summary of the overall change in each fund over the year. - A statement of assets and liabilities giving a breakdown of where the funds are actually held. Two redundant deposit accounts were closed during the year. 31 Girton P¢C- 1189339 FI￿•1pts awKI payrnents Selected period: 01 January 2021 to 31 December 2021 01 Jan￿ry XJ21 To 31 DeL%fflbEr 2￿21 01 January 2020 31 Oecember >)20 Gen**. General (Llhresidetedl Ftsnd Dwti(ry and lryav85 C¢l*¢baThS. kno$esTh￿Iea £1.715 £1,202 r2523 £27.343 £18.919 P&tth Griiro WUVTe £13.010 £402 1-oV smaii cash £1.049 14.113 rewiered diK4 £4.765 1.1 £9.W9 £44.671 oN¢¢s. PCCfe85 £1.470 t405 f2320 t320 £l.B75 f2.640 r adnryl North ￿. fiJr￿ raisryj £230 £30 £60 FUrth￿ngth InveSt￿nts rd.079 t1.074 trowuLves•nen* enifrom larf5 or￿1 12.466 13, 155 LFYM9iarts IVAT r4£￿￿gry> Path Sharc rc**e E412 È574 t64,471 1A97 k*thSture £7S £Yf £T5 EyThJtur•on ChalliaD￿*l￿eS nthy patsh share £43.(￿" £4950 W2 £779 P&tth (MffLE(x ￿7 E123 £2.￿4 £197 c￿sr¢￿L￿th É1.OB6 Relu￿101 milyjl 8Clr*ity elpe￿O [249 32 01 JaNary 2021 31 DEcember 01 J•nu•ry 2020 31 DewTrber2020 To r2.920 £355 £1.059 12 Tch 8*lr ¢lvJth gas £ITO £211 DI Hir8 ￿3 £2S É747 gi 5 E1234 rs7.9 ¢Y.44f ex￿rth￿2 È152 r152 £5 Totil•xpTh#fftlW• £58,216 ESS072 £6255 £157 1£3.5751 Ills S Gains S ktsses ¥28113 1£6461 (£6461 Churchyard- Churchyard fund (DejwJr￿Ied) FurKI (k(wiwl offices. sr•LW PCC £3,071 £3.071 È3.071 rb.071 ,071 hur¢hyar¢- Chur¢hy•rd fun¢ IR*4￿¢1•￿ Fwd tknatiorks ￿ 189ac £U8 £797 £797 Ewpwthbjre E¥p>TrI￿￿le on chwitableacti UF&eepol(thrthy8td £1.1&1 £100 £1. 153 rioo Toth1•xF￿d￿ t1,133 £100 33 01 JaNary 2021 31 DEcember 01 J•nu•ry 2020 31 Devrnber2020 To t£97 £1 167 t5218 Tuknlr4vrivJ lunT•rdLw £4.181 AA- Adlon Abmad IDeslgnaledl FUTh1 Cxher l'ad￿￿ ￿l¥it￿5 AA. Acllon Abroad {FlestrlBledl Fund Donatsons th légac f2n £1 £10 £1.130 t136 gi.521 £1.2T5 Olhertythj èJi¥l £35 E35 thhor I￿¥jP1 £125 £iS9 Total Incomè £1X1 £1.439 Experdli uv&on ¢harItstk*￿1otr$ £1281 £1.SS8 £1281 £T.558 eYper<¥NYe £30 TotslexFendHu flR81 £1.$8B £240 1£1491 £1.430 £1 2BI TotilI £37.333 t71.78J tiYA464 EMOrlZ Reslrtted £1.1 TotBI* E2&1,758 r135.111 £27a,395 38 Glrton Ifc- 1189339 ststement ol Assets and Liabiltties (by eodel As At: 31 December 2W21 Q#¥* BndrnmlnBI¢t T•t Lasi >* 31 . CBF C01E Inv0￿mOn1 Fu To OJrrerf•swty- C••h 01 ty￿k •nd ITh t21.131 £5653 10.. CCLA ICBFig8w* 11 .. CGLA IC8Fithur¢by¥d £7( £IA34 £5.542 t&3 930 £428 13.. CCLA ICgFI EHerk £i.iB6 15". Ftygwong¢6Wi W( £175261 E32584 WI 288 6580. Cash th￿￿25 in h £130 £25B To £21 358 £181.962 £43201 £246,521 £281.759 Uablll*. 8699.. r166 E166 To £166 £166 253. t181.962 £430 £278.395 £281 759 Lknreslrtcied. Gerw (£6461 £3.¢71 eJ,071 Des￿la1￿. Fayc t14J11 t12.028 £45.908 D&s￿nated. R￿tt￿l ReSt￿cIed. Churthyar t1 13.132 £113,132 £113 1 £4.161 £4,181 £3,218 Rtsththgd. AA £1521 ei.521 E37]33 r37,XLI £105 671 Fleslrf￿ed. EHe £1 16S To £53.3Y8 £181.$62 £430 2278.395 £281 759 39 Copy of the Independent examiner’s report to the PCC ## **Independent examiner’s report to the PCC of St Andrews Glebe, Girton** This report on the financial statements of the Girton PCC for the year ended 31 December 2021, which are set out on pages 1 and 2., is in respect of an examination carried out in accordance with the Church Accounting Regulations 2006 (“the Regulations”) and section 43 of the Charities Act 1993 (“the Act”). ## **Respective responsibilities of the PCC and the examiner** As members of the Girton PCC you are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements. You consider that the audit requirement of the Regulations and section 43(2) of the Act do not apply. It is my responsibility to issue this report on those financial statements in accordance with the terms of the Regulations. ## **Basis of this report** My examination was carried out in accordance with the General Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 43(7)(b) of the Act and to be found in the _Church Guidance_ , 2006 edition, issued by the Finance Division of the Archbishops’ Council. That 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 financial statements 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 accounting records in accordance with section 41 of the Act; and – to prepare financial statements, which accord with the accounting records and 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. Ms Jacquie Fisher FCCA Oleander, 155 Wellbrook Way, Girton 14th March 2022 40