Annual Parochial Church Meeting 2003/04

St. Peter's Draycott- Minutes

Held on 25^th April 2004 at 7:00 p.m. in the church.

Note: All reports had been previously received in written form and were circulated to the meeting, together with minutes of last year’s meeting. The reports from this meeting are here given in Appendix 1. Those presenting the reports at the meeting generally addressed the main points of the report, and on occasion there was discussion, which is recorded here.

1. Opening prayer

Stanley Price opened the meeting with a prayer, and took the chair.

2. Apologies for absence

Apologies had been received from Richard Dingley, Sylvia Dingley, Colette Jeff, Vic Skinner, Rita Skinner, Lorne Talbot, Morgan Oliver and Dee Grayling.

There were 13 people present.

3. Vestry Meeting for the Election of Church Wardens

There were two proposals for the two churchwarden posts, namely Richard Dingley and Thea Oliver (the present church wardens). They were therefore declared elected.

Thea chaired the remainder of the meeting.

4. Confirmation of Minutes from meeting on 6th April 2003

Copies of the minutes from the previous meeting had been circulated. They had previously been on the notice board inside the church, and on the website.

There were no corrections, and the meeting agreed to accept them as an accurate account of the meeting last year.

5. Matters arising

There were no matters arising.

6. Electoral Roll

(This was not available at the time of the meeting- please see report A in the appendix)

Graham Brown asked us to tell him the number currently on the electoral roll. Unfortunately we were unable to do this in the absence of the electoral roll officer and his report[1].

We promised to publicise the number as soon as possible.

7. Report on PCC proceedings

(Presented by Chris Green- please see report B in the appendix)

Chris was thanked for his work as secretary throughout the year.

8. Financial Report

(Presented by Wendy Cartwright- please see report C in the appendix)

Wendy said that as a summary, we had had an income of £10,022.75 and expenses of £9,627.16 (without restricted income).

We had not paid our full parish share, and had had a meeting with the new archdeacon to explain the position. While regretting the situation the archdeacon had stressed that we should continue to pay what we could, and in any case to pay something rather than nothing at all.

This year’s tax refund will be over £2000, and the VAT refund will also be £2000. When these monies have been received we shall use some of this to make a further payment of this year’s parish share (but not of last year’s- we consider this closed).

Wendy was thanked for her had work this year- it is not easy or pleasant to be the treasurer when we don’t have enough money!

9. Audited accounts

(Presented by Wendy Cartwright- please see report D in the appendix)

We have been able to spend nearly £30,000 on roof repairs, and despite this still have £7000 in hand. We are not destitute. This represents a significant achievement for a church of our size.

10. Report on Fabric, Goods and Ornaments of the Church

(Presented by Chris Green on behalf of Richard Dingley- please see report E in the appendix)

Wilf was thanked for his contribution to the repair of the floor.

11. Report of Refurbishment Fundraising Committee

(Presented by John Cartwright on behalf of Victor Skinner- please see report F in appendix)

Our most recent news is the grant from lottery funding. It promises a considerable sum of money, but does come with some conditions.

The first tranche will be some £12,000 to help us to determine what works are necessary, and how to go about them. We shall need to find a further £3,000 of our own towards this. We are expecting the first instalment of some £4,500 to arrive quite quickly.

Eventually we may expect around £74,000, but once again we shall need to top this up with contributions of our own. This does not finish our task, however, as we have important redecorating and re-ordering work to carry out.

This has been a most encouraging development. We thank Victor Skinner and his fundraising committee, whose hard work has finally borne fruit.

12. Report on Deanery Synod

(Presented by Julie Brown- please see report G in the appendix)

Meetings were always very well presented and interesting. Julie recommends them to all who might care to attend them!

13. Other reports

Worship Group

(Chris Green- see appendix, report H)

Covenant report

(John Cartwright- see appendix, report I)

We should increase awareness of tax refunds (to us) from cash donations, which only require the donor to sign their consent. This is restricted to taxpayers.

Many thanks to John Cartwright for all his hard work

School report

(Thea Oliver- see appendix, report J)

Question- Has the debt been paid on the school building developments? Yes.

Village hall report

(Tricia Corrick)

The hall has now been fitted with a hearing loop, and also an outside fence. Fund raising continues. Only yesterday an event raised £250.

14. Vicar’s Report

(Stanley Price- please see appendix, report L)

We thanked the vicar for his energetic ministry- we think we are getting more that 1/3 of a priest in charge. He has given us a number of new ideas, and effective leadership. This has been a welcome relief after such a long interregnum.

15. Election of PCC Members for 2002/2003

All of the proposed PCC names were accepted. They are (including ex officio members):

Richard Dingley	Dorothea Oliver
Wendy Cartwright	John Cartwright
Chris Green	Sylvia Dingley
Julia Brown	Victor Skinner
Wilf Lacey	Audrey Morgan
Colette Jeff	Lorne Talbot.

16. Any other business

(Graham Brown). Has the PCC considered providing a comfortable and well-equipped office for the benefice? Graham and Julie are hosting one, but this cannot be considered a permanent arrangement.

The school has suggested a rental of £500 for an office. We do not have any spare cash however. Perhaps we could incorporate an office in our refurbishment plans.

The matter was referred to the new PCC for their early consideration.

(Barbara Brice) Can we have less papers at morning services? It is time that we got rid of all the loose service sheets. (We shall have a chance to express views such as this in the forthcoming worship questionnaire).

Election of auditor: The current auditor is Bernard Wood, who is willing to continue this service. Motion: we reappoint Bernard Wood as auditor to St. Peter’s Church. Proposed: Wendy Cartwright. Seconded: Thea Oliver. All were in favour, so the motion was passed.

17. Closing prayer

The meeting was closed by Stanley with a prayer and the Grace.

Appendix

A. Electoral Roll

Richard Dingley, electoral roll officer

There have been a number of departures from the Roll during the past year, due both to deaths and removals from the village. We have been joined by Daphney Parfitt and Annabel and Jeffery Astle. As a result of these changes the Roll now stands at 51 people of whom 2 are away at University and one working abroad as a Missionary. The resident membership is therefore 48.

B. PCC Proceedings

Chris Green, PCC Secretary

This year our PCC membership was 13, and there have been eight regular PCC meetings. Once again, we thank Julie and Graham Brown for their hospitality over the dark cold winter months.

Under Stanley's leadership the PCC has tackled a wide range of issues and made a number of new initiatives- it has felt like a busy year. We have addressed the topics of graveyard maintenance and 'welcome packs' for new residents, both raised in last year's APCM. Fundraising has been a major pre-occupation, but we have also organised a parish away-day, regular bible study evenings, and set up two new sub-groups to tackle specific topics - the Worship Group (see report) and the Church Re-Ordering Group. We have also re-organised our meeting agenda, although strangely we don’t seem to get through this any quicker!

The parish Website has been improved since Alan Newman has been able to e-mail me the complete newsletter. Nearly everything that appears in the newsletter is now on the website (but in colour). All PCC and APCM meeting minutes are also published in the 'Reports' section. I have recently been monitoring the visitors to the site, and in the last two weeks we have had about 12 different visitors, including people from the United States and one from Ukraine.

C. Financial Report

Wendy Cartwright, Treasurer

We started the year with a bank balance of £271 allowing for any outstanding cheques. We have ended the year with a balance of £1092 credit, but allowing for cheques issued but not yet presented and other outstanding debts this would turn into a debit balance of £917, £701 of this being an outstanding roof repair bill with some £160 of unallocated charity monies.

For the 4th year running we have been unable to pay all our Parish Share (we paid £3500 of a share of £10,010. The Diocesan Office has been advised of our financial situation which has been affected by our efforts to keep a sound roof over our heads. In 2004 our share is reduced a little to £9583. We do have a VAT refund of £2368 pending, outstanding from the repair of the roof, so this will make it possible to pay some Parish Share once it is received.

The balance in the Central Board of Finance Investment Fund as at 31st December 2003 was £6879.16p, a reduction on previous years as we have used some of this to pay for the roof.. Interest rates have remained fairly steady over the last 12 months so this year we received a total of £319.20, more or less the same as 2002.

Despite our Covenant Secretary’s efforts our income from return of income tax has decreased slightly from previous years to £1330, a drop of £470. The Flower Fund is still in existence but has not really been utilised this last year (balance of £29 in the account at the end of 2003).

The Roof & Refurbishment bank balance at 31^st December 2003 was £93.80 and the Central Board of Finance account designated “Roof Fund” was £138.11.

It has been very good working with our new part-time Vicar and we are hopeful that he will be with us for some time. We are very hopeful that the situation at this time next year will have improved greatly.

D. Audited accounts

Wendy Cartwright – Treasurer

i. Central Board of Finance Roof Fund

RECEIPTS
	£	£
Account Opened 31 May 2001
Transfer from CBF Deposit fund 601181001		3,881.50
Transfers from Roof Fund account for year	7,500.00	1,500.00
Interest applied for year	359.18	99.96
Total receipts for year	7,859.18	5,481.46
PAYMENTS
Transfers to Roof & Restoration Bank Account	15,800.00
Total Payments for Year	15,800.00
Account Balance at 01/01/03	8,078.93
Excess Payments over Receipts	-7,940.82
Balance at 31/12/03	138.11

ii. Roof fund receipts and payments account

RECEIPTS	2003		2002
Incoming resources from Donors	£	£	£	£
Covenants & Gift Aid (101)	560.00		290.00
Donations (103 + 105)	4848.24		1509.96
Grants & Legacies	1426.36
Tax Recovery	605.00
Fund Raising	2012.57	9,452.17	2686.80	4,486.76
Income from Investments
Bank Interest	14.00		0.33
CBF Account Interest	359.18		247.47	247.80
Restricted receipts
Transfers from CBF Account	15,800.00
Transfers from General Fund	4,000.00	20,173.18
Total Receipts		29,625.35		4,734.56
PAYMENTS
Roof Repairs (2012)	21,556.19
Roof Repairs/Architects Fees (2015)	642.23		889.98
Administration (3000)	772.90		45.00	934.98
Transfers to Designated CBF Deposit Fund	7,500.00	30,471.32
Total Payments		30,471.32		934.98
Bank balance at 01/01/03	1,298.95		96.84
CBF Balance at 01/01/03	8,078.93		5,481.46
Add excess Receipts over Payments			3,799.58	9,377.88
Minus excess Payments over Receipts	9,145.97	231.91
Bank balance at 31/12/03	93.80		1,298.85
CBF balance at 31/12/03	138.11	231.91	8,078.93	9,377.88

iii. General Fund Receipts & Payments for year ended 31^st December 2003

RECEIPTS	2003		2002
	£	£	£	£
Incoming Resources from Donors
Planned giving/Gift Aid	5337.20		4994.80
Collections and other giving	781.80		826.95
Income Tax recovered	1330.18	7449.18	1805.70	7627.45
Other Voluntary Incoming Resources
Donations (201a)	414.98		1109.20
Donations (210b)	164.18
Donations (105 + 202)	42.50		219.10
Fund Raising	0.00	621.66	563.80	1892.10
Income from Investments
Bank Interest	15.73		1.26
CBF Investment Account Interest	319.20		328.96
3.5% War Stock Dividends	1.18	336.11	1.18	331.40
Income from Charitable & Ancillary Trading
Sale of magazine (403)	834.80		877.45
Fees (404)	792.00		558.00
Sale of church books, cards etc (401)	0.00		0.00
Church Lettings (402)	0.00	1626.80	20.00	1455.45
Insurance Claims & Other Income
(602) Sale of Assets	0.00		0.00	0.00
Restricted Receipts
(100) Roof Fund	660.00		0.00
(101) Fabric Repairs from CBF A/c	3000.00		0.00
(107) Flower Fund	0.00		0.00
(201) Disaster Appeals & specific Charity Collections	335.16		180.60
(202) Youth Work/INF	666.00	4661.16	525.00	705.60
Total Receipts		14694.91		12012.00
PAYMENTS
Grants
(1001) Church Overseas	47.00		0.00
(1002) Relief & Development Agencies Overseas	0.00		329.27
(1003) Home Missions & other church societies	82.00		20.00
(1004) Secular charities	134.00	263.00	195.00	544.27
Activities Directly Relating to the Work of the Church
Parish Share	3500.00		6000.00
Clergy Expenses (2002/2004)	782.40		1108.20
Upkeep of Church (2005/2006)	1881.71		1222.47
Upkeep of Services (2007)	173.61		78.44
Magazine Costs (2009)	448.21		551.28
Printing of cards & booklets	0.00		0.00
Glebe rent	0.00		0.00
Buildings Maintenance (2012/2015)	1111.56		785.98
Sunday Club/Youth Work/Education (2017)	32.99		13.98
Organist & Verger (2016)	22.00		100.23
Deanery Fees	15.00	7967.48	15.00	9875.58
Fund Raising & Church Administration
Fund raising costs - general	0.00		0.00
- roof fund			0.00
Church administration	1396.68	1396.68	1096.80	1096.80
Restricted Funds
Flower Fund	0.00		0.00
Roof Repairs	3660.00		55.00
Specific Charitable Collections	61.00		0.00
Transfer to CBF A/c re Fabric	0.00		0.00
To INF (202R)	791.00	4512.00	495.50	550.50
Total Payments		14139.16		12067.15

iv. Flower fund balance sheet

RECEIPTS	2003		2002
	£	£	£	£
Bank Interest	0.12		0.01
Donations	20.00	20.12
PAYMENTS
Flowers by request	6.00		0.00
Bank Account Balance at 01/01/03	15.08			15.07
Excess Receipts over Payments	14.12			0.01
Bank Acccount Balance at 31/12/02	29.20			15.08

v. Statement of assets and liabilities as at 31st December 2003

(£)	General Fund	Fabric	Roof Fund	Flower Fund	Totals
					2003	2002	2001	2000
Monetary Assets
CBF Investment account	0	6879.16	138.11	0.00	7017.27	16958.09	14360.62	6060.66
Bank Current Account	1092.45	0	93.80	29.20	1215.45	1850.73	703.76	1071.65
Total Cash Assets	1092.45	6879.16	231.91	29.20	8232.72	18808.82	15064.38	7132.31
Other Assets
3.5% War Stock Capital £34.25
Value at 31/12/03	25.30
Magazine Advert fees owed	63.00				88.30
					8321.02
Liabilities
West Country Tiling re. Scaffolding	-700.72
Charity Collections - money still held	-152.16
Fee to Country Contracts re. bats	-282.00
Fee to G. Chedburn re roof work	-559.83
Copytech re. servicing of photocopier	-164.50
John Pedder re. floor repairs	-150.00				-2,009.21
Nett Assets					6311.81

E. Fabric, goods & ornaments

Richard Dingley, Churchwarden. NB. A summary of this report was presented by Chris Green as the original was not available.

Further work has proceeded on the rood maintenance and repair programme throughout the past year. We have seen the completion of phase 2, albeit with an unfortunate delay due to our colony of bats. This means that we have the Chancel, Sanctuary and porch still to do as well as some minor tile repair to the north side of the nave. Our roof will then be complete.

News has been received, reported elsewhere for this meeting, of the strong likelihood of a significant grant towards this residual work being made by English Heritage.

During the year the sunken part of the floor at the front of the nave was renewed, by John Pedder (a carpenter visiting the Dingleys) helped by Wilf Lacey. This has been a big improvement.

The Glebe Field notice board has also finally been replaced with a new one. This is slightly larger with a single glass, which makes it much easier to read the notices and makes a more variable display possible.

There have been no changes, acquisitions or losses, of the goods and ornaments of the church although there has been some annoying minor vandalism, which has resulted in needing to lock the church for the time being.

Plans for the re-ordering of the church, the fitting of a hearing loop, of access ramps and redecorating the church are in hand and we hope that all this can be completed in the coming year

Mendip Council are slowly proceeding with the work of bringing the Churchyard up to a good level of maintenance. So far the path round to the north door has been resurfaced and the out-of-control hedge to the south of the churchyard has been cut. This has given the church a much higher profile in that it can now be seen from the road! The fence running outside the hedge has yet to be put in place but hopefully that will be completed in the near future. As the hedge regenerates it will now be possible for it to be properly laid making a tide border. Other work remaining includes the wall separating the old and new burial grounds. When all the work is completed the churchyard will be handed back to the Parish Council for continuing maintenance.

The trees in the old, closed, churchyard however remain the responsibility of the PCC and not the Civil Parish Council. When all the remaining work is completed the state of the lime avenue will need to be examined with regard to careful pollarding.

F. Church repair and refurbishment fundraising

Victor Skinner (Chairman of Roof Repair and Refurbishment Fund-raising Committee)

The Main fund-raising events of 2003/2004 were the Pig Roast, Barn Dance and Draw, held on Midsummer’s Day, 21^st June 2003. As usual, Draycott’s response to events in the village was very slow, and a proposed Whist Drive was cancelled because of lack of support. However, house to house ticket sales paid off - nearly 100 people enjoyed the Pig Roast and Barn Dance, and we sold about 900 draw tickets. We made a profit of over £850 from the event. (Exact figures can be obtained from the Treasurer.)

Rita Skinner introduced a sale of second-hand books. Members of the public swamped the barn at Milton House with their used reading matter. We made over £180 profit at the Strawberry Fair and over £90 profit at the Lions Fun Day. A table- top sale at the Cheddar First School raised only £20 profit, which was retained as float for future book sales. Rita continues to collect books for this year’s events, viz. Strawberry Fair (13^th June), Lions Fun Day (3^rd. July) and the Charity Stall at Wells Market (17^th July). John Cartwright has obtained a number of valuable household items for sale, and these will be added to the Strawberry Fair and Lions Fun Day stalls. Our thanks to Rita, and her helpers, on the book stalls.

Our thanks, also, to those people who raised funds for the roof repairs, at events which were not organised through the Fund-raising Committee.

When it became apparent that we were unlikely to meet our target by the response to our Appeal and by our own fund-raising efforts, we needed drastic action to save out Church. We applied for a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund for enough money to complete the repairs to the roof and external fabric. We have just learned that our application has been successful but the offer by English Heritage will involve certain conditions, which the PCC must resolve.

In January 2004, I applied for additional members to join an “enhanced” fund-raising committee, with sufficient numbers to ensure the success of future events. I was hoping for a team of 10-12, but only two new members volunteered. I am grateful that all members of the original Appeal Committee have agreed to continue with me. Our committee consists of John Cartwright, Owen Spencer, Maureen Richardson, Dee Grayling and myself, with Colette Jeff and Wilf Lacey as the welcome new members.

Our next major event will be the Midsummer Concert by the Cheddar Male Choir on 19^th June in the Memorial Hall. The guest soloist will be the young trumpeter, Lucian Russell-Price. We shall also hold a Draw, which will take place during the interval at the concert. Future events could include a celebration of the anniversary of VE Day.

The future looks hopeful. Although our funds are very low, we can build on our offer from English Heritage. We shall make further appeals for help with a hearing loop and facilities for the disabled – both of which are mandatory requirements of the EC.

G. Deanery Synod

Julie Brown, Axbridge Deanery Member.

The three Deanery Synods, each in a different church, where the Vicar welcomed deanery members and described aspirations and recent achievements by parishioners, were a pleasure and interesting to attend.

1. At the first meeting of the year in June at Church House, Cheddar, the Lay Chairman of the Deanery Synod welcomed the new Rural Dean, the Revd. Martin Lee, and the new Secretary, Christine Hussey.

The guest speaker, Mr. Nick Milton, led Synod members on a journey of 'Sharing a Vision for the Future'

Breaking up into four groups, each of was given a word to discuss (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) in relation to the church today. Each group made a list of reactions and later shared their thoughts. Finally we wrote our hopes for the future.

2. At Highbridge in October, the speaker was Revd. Stephen Lynas, Parish Resources Advisor, who gave a presentation on First to the Lord. Picture a rope with four strands for church survival.

The first 'changing lives' suggests active support in our community and church discipleship. Here Bishop Peter believes we are winning.

The other three strands include: 'reviewing expenditure'; 'assisting preachers and readers to teach stewardship'; and 'sharing the challenge for the need for giving'.

3. In February at Shipham Parish Church the Diocesan Director of Education spoke to Synod about Education in the Diocese. He would like to see clergy and the worshipping community make close links with local schools. He asked the question , 'Are schools churches?'. Answer 'Yes'. Then: 'Are churches schools?'. He left that in the air.

H. Worship Group report

Chris Green, PCC Secretary

The need for a new group to review the variety and content of our church services was suggested to both Draycott and Rodney Stoke PCCs by Stanley. The group consists of Colette Jeff, Tricia Corrick & Chris Green from Draycott, and Steve Percival, Jane Holmes and Alan Newman from Rodney Stoke, together with Stanley; Richard Dingley, Thea Oliver and Audrey Morgan have also contributed. We met for the first time on 3^rd July, and have since had a further five meetings.

We followed Stanley's suggestion of starting with a questionnaire to the villages to determine the requirements and views of parish members, and this went ahead in December. We had 152 responses (about a 10% return), with many sections of the community represented. The responses have been most interesting, although the many comments are often too diverse to summarise. One of the clearest findings was that the overwhelming majority of responders did not want either church to close (this was true of churchgoers and non-churchgoers alike). A summary of the analysis has been published in two issues of the parish newsletter, and next month these will appear as a single article on our main website. We continue to think about and respond to the views expressed.

Our next project is a more detailed questionnaire on worship to go to the regular attenders of the churches. We should be ready to launch this by the end of May. Once this has been analysed, the group might then turn to the question of how to actually meet the needs identified in the two surveys.

I. Covenant report

John Cartwright, Covenant Secretary

The amount received for the financial year was £7538.00, an increase on the previous year of £177. Unfortunately this will not be maintained for the coming year as we have lost an annual covenant of £450.

The amount I have been able to claim from the Inland Revenue for the period to 5^th April 2004 is £2126.10p, up on the previous year by £49.94p. This will be divided, as in previous years, between the General Fund, the Roof Fund and the INF depending on the various covenants we hold.

J. School report

Thea Oliver, Church Warden and Foundation Governor at Draycott and Rodney Stoke First School.

The links between School and St Peter’s Church have been strengthened over the last year. Church assemblies have continued to be held on alternate Wednesdays during term time, now led by our priest in charge, Stanley Price. Unfortunately, due to work commitments I have not been able to attend these assemblies this year, but I have had favourable reports!

As has been our custom we have invited the School to be involved in Sunday services for Harvest, Christingle and Mothering Sunday. We invited a member of staff to read a lesson at our village carol service. Sadly the numbers attending has been poor, but those who attended seemed to enjoy themselves, the children sang well and, as usual, not a dry eye in the house when they sang ‘Away in a manger’ at the Christingle service.

This lack of support for Sunday services with School from not only School families, but (it has to be said) Church members too has prompted me to have a rethink. I have discussed with staff and Governors at the School and fellow Church members a plan to organise services that involve the School on a Friday afternoon. The suggestion for the first one will be the Friday prior to our planed Harvest Festival. This will mean that the children will be able to help plan the service, help to decorate the Church, and attend the service and sing the songs that they have learned and practiced. Parents (and everyone!) will be invited to the service which will end at 3.15, the usual time to end the school day. Church members will be especially encouraged to attend these services too! This will mean that we can have our Sunday services at the usual time but of course welcoming anyone who wishes to attend. I hope that the Church membership will agree with and support this plan, which I hope will maintain and strengthen Church-School links by adapting to suit family lifestyles in the 21^st century.

During the last year the School has seen a number of staff changes, but the new team has settled well, and in fact the School has a very good OFSTED report including the ‘section 23’ report (a report for Church Schools). We obtained a healthy schools award, amongst many others. Full copies of these reports are available from the School.

The staff and children work tirelessly, it is a very happy and successful community school and we must support them, please continue to remember them all in your thoughts and prayers.

K. Parish Away Day

Dee Grayling

This was a new departure for our parish, and took place at St. Hugh’s- the Arts and Crafts chapel at Charterhouse on Mendip on a misty Saturday on March 27^th.

The morning session was led by the Revd. Ken Boullier, Vicar of Holy Trinity, Nailsea, who with slide, posters and books told us about Operation Mobilisation (OM), the mission on a ship which has been all round the world. We learned that over 14 years OM have operated the ships Doulos, Logos (which sank) and Logos II. There was a lively discussion in which we aired some of our own concerns, and Ken offered his encouragement and the advice to pray about them.

After lunch the Revd. Ernest Green from Cheddar joined us, to lead us in a more meditative session. We had been asked to bring and share an item, which has meant something in our lives and for the next hour or so we listened to discs, readings and poetry, and looked at artefacts and pictures. By then the sun was shining through the windows and the butterflies from inside woke, and were fluttering to get out. We closed with the Peace and after putting sugar-water to sustain the butterflies we all left for home. I think I can say it was a successful and enjoyable day.

L. Vicar’s Report

Stanley Price, Priest-in-Charge

Firstly, I thank you all most sincerely for the very warm welcome and kindness with which I am being received, not only by church members but also the population at large. There is much goodwill towards the church in the village including from those who declare themselves ‘card carrying atheists’! I think we all may take encouragement from this and the goodwill which is reflected in the responses to the questionnaire, already reported elsewhere.

Next, I congratulate everyone for your determination to keep going in spite of the financial difficulties reflected in the Treasurer’s Report. Everyone is working terribly hard, showing great courage in the face of disappointment. On behalf of the Church at large and our community in particular I thank you for the efforts you have made over many years. I am not going to single our anyone for the hard work, sufficient to say that in all departments of ministry from tea making, cleaning, to leading worship and overseeing the administration, I see everyone exercising their gifts to the full.

Turning to my own position for a moment. As your ‘temporary, acting, unpaid’ Priest-in-Charge I have enjoyed the past year immensely. (Is a Christian supposed to enjoy life? Surely we must feel guilty if things are going well? We can’t be getting it right, where is the suffering?) I do not feel at all burdened (I will admit to getting tired) because there are so many of you taking on the burdensome tasks to which Vicar’s usually succumb. I think it is an advantage that I live out of the parish because when I do come on Wednesdays I go to other people’s houses (for shelter and cups of coffee!). This means I am able to do a lot of visiting. For the record, and not to boast, I managed to visit 120 households at least once during the year.

Acting on Mrs Parfitt’s invitation I have introduced a midweek Holy Communion on the third Wednesday of every month in Sealey Close, which is well received. I have changed the time of Holy Communion at The Laurels to the 4th Sunday of the month, which is appreciated by the residents, and made possible by the non-Eucharistic service in St Leonard’s on that day. During the winter months I have lead a weekly Bible Study evening which has a loyal membership of 8 thirsty people. We would welcome more.

So what about the future? I will continue to visit new households and if anyone would like to assist with visiting I would be pleased to provide some instruction. I believe that church members visiting parishioners as a matter of course is something that will help church growth. We need to become more ‘visible’ and involved in peoples everyday concerns (not to pry but to show support). Also to share our belief in our Lord, who is there to comfort and heal, not in any special words but just by being there. Publicity is another aspect of ministry we need to address. The continuing analysis of questionnaires is important as it may point to any new direction for our ministry. Something else to consider is whether more events could be put on in church. I have a very good new book called Seasonal Worship from the Countryside which has examples from churches around Britain of events and services which have been successful, for example an Advent Christmas Tree Festival. Have you in the past staged Flower Festivals? What about a Festival of Talents. There must be many attractive ideas around which could be tried and would help to bring the church alive other than on Sundays.

I believe God still has a purpose for his churches (buildings) and I am convinced the money will come for their maintenance. The first sign of this, perhaps, is the generous offer from English Heritage of 75% grant towards the roof repairs. It wasn’t there this time last year. It is a definite ‘plus’ and a pointer towards better things to come. There is still more money needed of course and any programme for making our church building more accessible to the community will require money which may not be eligible for grant aid. If, however, God wants St Peter’s to be a continuing presence in Draycott then the money will come. What we need to do is show God our resolve to press ahead, in faith, under his guidance - and ask him to provide for our needs.

Finally therefore, I think it a priority that we seek God’s will and guidance. The only way is through prayer. We must meet regularly to pray and I hope the PCC will consider the best time and place for this to take place in the year ahead.

---

[1] Richard Dingley had sent this and the Fabric report to the secretary before his departure by e-mail, but unfortunately the secretary never received them due to technical problems.