Present: Clé Boyd, Chris Butler, David Cheetham, Nikki Devitt, Richard Dingley, Sylvia Dingley, Chris Green, Tricia Heckbert, Florrie Irving, John Irving, Colette Jeff, Gordon Jeff, Janet Jeffries, Tricia Lumley, Audrey Morgan, Thea Oliver, Barry Rose, Sue Rose

Apologies: Hewart Jeffries, Stephanie Lumley, Buffy Rose, Linda Whittle

3. Confirmation of Minutes from meeting on 18th April 2010

Minutes of the previous APCM had been available in church and on the website sing early May last year. They were agreed as an accurate record, and a copy signed by Sue Rose.

4. Vestry Meeting for the Election of two Church Wardens

Two nominations had been received for the two posts of churchwarden, David Cheetham and Thea Oliver, and both had agreed to stand. Sue Rose asked if there were any other nominations, and there were none. Richard Dingley proposed that David Cheetham and Thea Oliver be elected, and Colette Jeff seconded. All present agreed, and so they were declared duly elected.

Sue Rose thanked David Cheetham and Thea Oliver for their hard work and dedication over the past year, and also for standing again for this onerous and responsible task. All agreed.

5. Statutory Reports

Note on procedure- all statutory reports had previously been circulated (by e-mail, or at the morning service at St. Peter’s), and printed copies were distributed to all present at the meeting. Each report was taken as read after a few minutes had been given to review it. This was followed by the presenter raising further points for emphasis or clarification, then taking questions. Sue Rose thanked each presenting officer after each report. A vote was taken after all the statutory reports to formally accept them.

a. Electoral Roll

Richard Dingley

(See report A)

b. Report on PCC proceedings

Chris Green

(See report B)

Chris underlined our gratititude to Sylvia Dingley, who was stepping down from PCC duties this year due to ill health.

c. The financial report and accounts

David Cheetham

(See report C)

Clarifications:

i. In ‘General Account – Receipts’, there is a line indicating ‘Fund raising for CSC’ (where ‘CSC’ stands for ‘Community of the Sisters of the Church’, a charity we support in Bristol). This entry reflects the fact that £50 (half) of the money raised at our Harvest Festival last year went to the CSC, and passed through our accounts. This £50 is also contained in the ‘Grants made to other charities’ under ‘Payments’.

ii. In the final table (‘Grants made... to other charitable bodies’), most donations listed were made directly to the charities concerned, and therefore do not form part of the payments or receipts in the main accounts. Exceptions to this are £50 of the £70 donation to CSC, and the INF (International Nepal Fellowship) donation of £553.14, which appear in the Payments section of the General Accounts.

iii. In the Fabric Fund Receipts, specific donations for chairs that were not gift aided are separated (£332). Donations that are gift aided are contained in the ‘covenants and gift-aid’ total.

iv. In ‘Upkeep of church’ in the ‘General Account- Payment’ table, the category of ‘Other’ includes a number of miscellaneous payments- some things which appear every year, such as inspections of fire extinguishers and the lightning conductor, and organ tuning - and some non-recurring items - installation of new lighting conductor earthing plate, central heating boiler repair and hire of a floor sander.

v. Parish Share will be somewhat reduced this year. This is because the Archdeacon has agreed to our dropping to a ‘Category D’ level for this year only, in view of exceptional circumstances.

d. The churchwarden’s fabric report

David Cheetham

(See report D)

Clarifications, comments:

Trees: Mendip District Council have agreed that the laurel tree will be taken out. We are not sure what they will do with the lime trees, although they have promised individual inspection. Some are gettign entangled with power lines- this is the resopnsibility of the electricity company.
Floor collapsing in corner by font: after investigation, it was found that the patch of rotten stone is more extensive than was originally thought. The initial filling with latex screeding is insufficient, and this will have to be extended. NB. The carpeting taken up for this is not re-usable, but we do have a certain amount of carpeting that was not used in the original works.
During our next quinquennial inspection, we may come in for some negative comment on works that were not completed- such as the crypt, and the drainage from the WC.
The scaffolding which you currently see will be removed on Tuesday evening.

Comments from Sue Rose. We all owe a great debt of gratitude to David Cheetham over the refurbishment project. Many people have lent a hand and given a lot of time and effort, but David has been the driving force behind it.

NB. A cleaning party will be held on Thursday morning- please bring cleaning equipment, so that the church can be fully ready for Easter.

Linda Whittle had mailed Chris Green to pass on her own comments, congratulating the PCC on the great success of their refurbishment project.

e. Deanery Synod Report

Tricia Lumley

(See report E)

Tricia emphasised how rewarding it was to participate in these events- we still need someone else to represent us.

6. Other reports

Before hearing the remaining reports, Sue Rose proposed that the meeting adopt the statutory reports. Tricia Lumley seconded, and all were in agreement.

The same procedure was followed with the ‘other reports’ as with the ‘statutory reports’, although one of these reports (J) was read in full as it had not previously been circulated. Also there was no vote to accept them formally.

a. Ministry team

Chris Green

(See report F)

We were especially grateful to Gordon Jeff, as we had been enabled to carry on our pattern of serviced virtually unchanged in large part because he had presided at many more communion services. I have only just completed an analysis of the service register, which showed that Gordon had celebrated Eucharist at Draycott on 17 occasions over the previous year, one more even than Sue (contrary to what is set down in the report). Rupert Bursell has recently departed from Cheddar, which increases the pressure on Cheddar-based clergy. This is however compensated by Chris Butler who is due to be priested in July. With Gordon happy to keep up the tempo of his own contribution for the coming year, prospects are good that we have sufficient clergy cover without having to change our service pattern for the moment.

Sue Rose remarked how richly endowed the benefice was with leadership, with such a large and diverse ministry team.

b. Covenants

Tricia Heckbert

(See report G)

Please note there is £2,000 additional to come to us through gift aid

c. School

Nikki Devitt

(see report H)

The SIAS inspection will take place on the 2^nd Thursday of term- unfortunately Nikki will not be able to attend as she is working that day. Other foundation governors will be present.

The OFSTED report was not available in time for the APCM.

(Note added after the APCM- the OFSTED report is now available and has given the school ratings of 1 or 2 in the different categories of assessment. The Foundation Stage Unit achieved ratings of 1. NB. Grade 1 is ‘outstanding’, grade 2 ‘good’ on scale of 1 to 4.)

d. Supporters of St. Peter’s (S.o.S.P.)

Thea Oliver

(See Report I)

After a very successful year, we still need more people and more ideas (and please give us back more quiz sheets!). Please note that we need lots of scarecrows for our display in June!

This is not just about fundraising- this is part of the church’s outeach to the local community.

e. Local Ministry Group/ Cheddar Valley Churches

Sue Rose

(See report J- read out in full by Sue)

f. Bible Study Group

Audrey Morgan

(See report K)

The Lent course this year has been very successful. We were rather disappointed by the lack of village mixing - there were no participants from Cheddar in the Draycott session of the Lent course. It has been very good in mixing the different denominations however.

g. Web site

Chris Green

(See report L)

Barry Rose was concerned that the web site should be fully functioning in good time to publicise the programme of the 150^th Anniversary events to be held in June. NB. The printed programmes refer to the web site.

It was also a pity that the Rodney Stoke part of the website should have ceased to work- Tim Bibby had made a very good job of the earlier version.

Should we not be paying something towards the hosting of the site? It does not seem fair that it should be coming from Tim’s pocket.

ACTIONS:

· Barry Rose will supply Chris Green with the programme of events in electronic form. Chris will ensure that this is available on the website as soon as possible.

· CG will suggest that Tim Bibby reinstates the first version of the Rodney Stoke website

· Chris Green will update the pictures and other website content as soon as possible.

· The PCC will discuss the website, including any proposals to contribute to any expenses.

7. Election of Laity to the Parochial Church Council for 2011-12

Sue Rose read out the list of nominations that had been received for the PCC:

Richard Dingley, Chris Green, Tricia Heckbert, Colette Jeff, Janet Jeffries, Tricia Lumley,Barry Rose.

All had been proposed and seconded; all had signed in agreement. No objections were raised.

Sue Rose put it to the meeting that the abovementioned members of St. Peter’s church should serve as our new Parocial Church Council. All were in agreement.

8. Election to Deanery Synod for 2011-14

Tricia Lumley had already been appointed during the year. We still needed another Deanery Synod representative. Thea Oliver volunteered to be our second rep. For the record, Thea received a nomination from Tricia Lumley and this was seconded by Richard Dingley. All were in agreement.

9. Appointment of sides men and women

Sue Rose suggested that the current sidesmen and women should be re-appointed, en bloc, if they were willing. None dissented, so this was done. NB. We are keen to receive further volunteers- please see Colette Jeff.

10. Appointment of independent financial examiner

David Cheetham reported that the current Independent Financial Examiner, Alan Rowntree, had expressed his willingness to undertake the job again next year, and David recommended that we accept. Chris Green seconded. All were in agreement.

11. Remarks from the Priest in Charge

Sue Rose extended her thanks to all those who ‘make it happen’- whether they were church officers or those working behind the scenes.

The especial highlight at Draycott in this past year has been the refurbishment project, which has made a huge difference. This has given the church a great lift, and it will get another in the 150^th anniversary celebrations ahead.

12. Any other matters of important to the Parish

· Father’s day (an LMC event) clashes with John Reed’s address to us on the 19^th June- so some may stay away.

· There were others in the church and out of it who had not been adequately thanked. We appreciated Tricia Heckbert for her charing of our PCC meetings, as well as being our covenant secretary this year.

· Also the Rose family, and Piers in particular, were thanked for their support and (in the case of Piers) for the fantastic job he has done in the construction of the new vestry.

· We should also appreciate the musicians among us- especially our organists, Barry Rose, David Cheetham and Gordon Jeff. We are extremely blessed.

13. Closing prayer

The meeting was closed with the Grace

APPENDIX: DRAFT REPORTS

A. Electoral Roll

Richard Dingley

In the year under review Norman Silk died in September, and Mavis Ball died in March. There have been no additions to the electoral roll. The number on the present roll is 42.

B. Report on PCC proceedings

Chris Green, PCC Secretary

The PCC was 10 strong at the start of the year, increasing to 11 when Christine Butler joined us. After taking a decision to meet about once every two months, we had 7 meetings- on 4th May, 13th July, 8th September, 21st October, 16th November in 2010, and 18th January and 23rd March in 2011.

An innovation this year was the introduction of joint PCC meetings between Rodney Stoke, Draycott and Cheddar. The first was on the 21st October in Church House, Cheddar. We debated how well the three Parishes were working together, and whether there should be any changes at PCC level to reflect the emerging new benefice (an opinion had been expressed that PCCs should amalgamate into a single body). While the PCCs were positive about joint activities where appropriate- such as services- they strongly disagreed to any idea of merging. A further joint meeting was held on 15th February at St. Peter’s, to discuss proposals for women in the episcopate of the Church of England, ahead of a debate on this topic at the Deanery Synod. The meeting overwhelmingly favoured moving as quickly as we were able to appointing women bishops. We also felt that all parts of the Church of England should now officially endorse admission of women to both the priesthood and the episcopate.

We have met at the homes of Gordon and Colette Jeff and Sue Rose, as well as in St. Peter’s church. Your secretary has noticed an increase in business discussed (the minutes now covering 5-6 pages rather than 4)- without usually running over time. This can only be due to the able chairing of Tricia Heckbert. We were also generously invited to a meal hosted by Sue Rose and Christine Butler at the Vicarage.

A significant part of our PCC activities this year has centred on refurbishment of the church, reported elsewhere by David Cheetham- who leadership in this has been much appreciated by us all. I hope you will agree that this has been a most significant improvement in the environment for worship and social activity alike. As a PCC we are also quietly satisfied to have paid our way in spite of the unusually heavy calls on our purse.

Sylvia Dingley has indicated that she will be stepping down as member of the PCC and as Deanery Representative, due to ill health. On behalf of this and the many previous PCCs on which she has served, we express our heartfelt appreciation and thanks.

Once more, your prayers are requested for the new PCC as it tackles the many challenges of the next year.

C. The financial report and accounts

David Cheetham, Treasurer

GENERAL ACCOUNT

Receipts	Detail	£
Covenants and Gift-aid		7076.50
Income Tax recovered		2157.15
Collections at services		1581.62
Donations		832.45
Fund raising for the CSC		50.00
Investment income		1.58
Trading (gross)	Weddings, funerals etc	926.50
	Election rent	150.00
	Magazine	1223.50
Restricted income	INF	460.00
	Haiti	85.00
Total		14544.30

Payments.	Detail	£
Grants made to other charities		304.40
Parish Share		10468.00
Clergy expenses		399.48
Upkeep of church	Gas and electricity	838.18
	Other	649.13
Upkeep of services		77.83
Trading (printing magazine)		471.06
Fees		195.00
Church admin.	Office	335.60
	Insurance premium	489.04
Restricted payments,	INF	553.14
Total		14780.86

Balance	£
Total receipts	14544.30
Total payments	14780.86
Deficit for the year	236.56

General Account Balances	£
Bank balance at 01.01.10	3057.31
Bank balance at 31.12.10	2719.83
Loss	337.48
Less cheques drawn in 2009 but paid in 2010	263.43
	74.05
Add cheque drawn in 2010 but paid in 2011	230.00
	304.05
Less transfer from General to Fabric fund (tax refund)	67.49
	236.56

FABRIC FUND

Receipts	£
Covenants and Gift-aid	2397.00
Collections at services	501.97
Donations	550.48
Fund raising	1190.49
Restricted (non-gift-aid donations for chairs)	332.00
Total	4971.94

Payments (major works)	£
Electrical	365.00
Floor and carpet	1700.00
Chairs	1364.94
Plastering and decoration	9416.45
Paint and incidentals	32.00
Churchyard store	839.15
Total	13717.54

Balance	£
Total receipts	4971.94
Total payments	13717.54
Deficit for the year	8745.60

Fabric Fund Bank Balances	£	£
Bank balance at 01.01.10		7969.28
Bank balance at 31.12.10		2301.17
Loss		5668.11
Add transfer from Deposit Account	2645.00
Add cheque paid from Deposit Account	365.00
Add transfer (tax refund) from General Account	67.49	3077.49
		8745.60

DEPOSIT ACCOUNTS

General Account	Balance on 30.11.09	4515.82
	Interest added	1.88
	Balance on 09.11.10	4517.70

Fabric Fund	Balance on 29.12.09	3010.15
	Interest added	0.90
	Transfer to Fabric Fund	2645.00
	Cheque for electrical work	365.00
	Balance at 11.10.10	1.05

Church of England Deposit Fund
General –	Balance at 01.01.10	79.16
	Balance at 31.12.10	79.16
Fabric -	Balance at 01.01.10	220.22
	Interest added	1.12
	Balance at 31.12.10	221.34

Grants made by St Peter’s Church congregation to other charitable bodies.

Charitable body	Collection detail	£
Save the Children	31 05 10 Wessex Walks	137.00
Christian Aid	Collections during Christian Aid Week	1173.00*
Pakistan flood appeal	08 08 10 special church collection	175.00
	15 08 10 special church collection	125.00
	Total	300.00
Haiti earthquake appeal	18 01 10 special church collection	85.00
International Nepal Fellowship	Payments made throughout the year including tax recovered	553.14
Church Army	from Posada at Christmas 2009	41.50
Friends of Somerset Churches and Chapels	Subscription	25.00
The Churches Conservation Trust	Subscription	25.00
Draycott and RS School	For Bibles	77.90
Community of Sisters of the Church		70.00
The Children’s Society	Carol singing	55.62
	Christingle	77.45
	House boxes	679.69
	Total	812.76
Total of the above		3300.30

*NB. £500 was gift aided, but tax recovery dealt with elsewhere

Collections	The Laurels	52.35
	Sealey Close	24.80

Independent financial examination

The independent financial examination was undertaken by Mr. Alan Rowntree (Westfield Barn, Wells Road, Draycott, BS27 3SF). NB. St. Peter’s does not require a full audit, given our level of income.

The financial examiner professed himself satisfied with the accounts, within the terms of this limited remit.

Financial report

1. The income to the General Account has nearly (98.4%) covered our expenses. The deficit for the year is £236.56. We have paid the whole of the Parish Share; at £10468 this item is 70.8% of our total expenditure. Collections in church and regular gift-aid donations, together with the tax refunds, amount to 74.4% of total income.

2. The cost of the major works carried out in the church building this year has largely cleared out the Fabric Fund. There is some £2000 remaining in the fund, but this will not be enough to pay for remaining work to be carried out in 2011. We shall need to borrow money, from the General Fund or elsewhere, to complete the work. Note that we are entitled to transfer funds from the General Account to the Fabric Fund, but not the other way.

3. We have £300 in the CofE Deposit Fund. We have not made use of this account for some years and have decided to close it and transfer the funds to our accounts at Lloyds TSB.

4. 2011 is going to remain a time of financial uncertainty in the country at large.

5. Climate change, with the prospect of colder winters, and the continuing rise of fuel prices, are going to mean that the cost of heating and lighting the church will increase.

6. 2011 will be the year of our next quinquennial inspection. Since the previous inspection of 2006 we have been able to carry out the great majority of the works specified, and at an overall cost very much lower than was estimated at that time. We have managed to do all this work even though we were not able to sell the Burges font, and in fact the font now has pride of place in our newly refurbished building.

7. The work of SoSP in raising money for the Fabric Fund will still be vitally necessary in the years to come.

8. The fact that St Peter’s congregation has been able to give over £3000 to other charities in a year of particularly high expenditure on the Parish Share and on the refurbishment is a cause for modest congratulation and thanks.

D. The churchwarden’s fabric report

David Cheetham, Churchwarden

Two events scheduled to happen in the summer of 2011 have spurred the PCC into action on the state of the church fabric: the celebrations for the 150^th anniversary of the foundation of St Peter’s, and the five-yearly (quinquennial) inspection of the church by architectural advisor George Chedburn.

Work carried out since the APCM in April 2010.

1. The interior walls of the nave, transepts, chancel and porch have been re-plastered as necessary, scraped to remove discoloured emulsion paint and repainted with up to four coats of distemper.

2. The last one of the original church pews was dismantled from the south transept. It was a very handsome, well-built piece of furniture, though whether the rest of the original pews had been similar is not known.

3. In order to alleviate the problems with rising damp, a French Drain has been dug around the east end apse and a new soakaway has been dug leading from the south transept.

4. The lightning conductor that serves the bellcote has been renewed as necessary and extended in a new earthing plate that runs northwards towards the bier house.

5. The flaking stone (blue lias) which forms parts of the floor area of the church has been stabilized and to some extent levelled. The grills in the floor that formed part of the original heating system have been filled in, with the exception of one in the choir. The red cord carpet and various other floor coverings have been discarded. The whole of the stone area, except for a small area just inside the west door, has been carpeted with heavy-duty industrial flooring. The pine floorboards in the nave and the parquet floor in the south transept have been cleaned and oiled.

6. The grey plastic chairs which had been in use since 1970 have been taken out and given away, except for about forty chairs which were retained and are stored in the bier house. Sixty blue stacking chairs and forty black folding chairs, together with a trolley to hold them when not in use, have been bought by individual donations.

7. A site among the trees to the SE of the church has been levelled and a metal 12’ by 10’ garden shed with wooden floor has been built for storage of items which are in occasional use.

8. The north choir aisle of the church has been divided from the church by new timber and plaster walls, with storage room on the inside for vestments, books and other equipment. The walls are in fact freestanding and are not permanently attached to the fabric of the church. The curtains and rails which previously divided off the north transept have been removed.

9. The lighting has been improved by the installation of new up-lighters in the choir and floodlights in the east end of the nave

10. The tapestry kneelers that are no longer in use in the church have been given away to two other churches, with the exception of a small number that are in store.

Works which are still in progress, and which should be completed during 2011.

1. The outside of the new walls of the vestry will be plastered. The interior walls, including the former vestry and lavatory, will be plastered as necessary, scraped and painted.

2. The non-functioning rainwater downpipes to the north and south transepts will be cleared and partially replaced as necessary. The large damp patch in the south transept and the smaller damp patch in the north transept will be allowed to dry out (estimate 6 months) and then repainted. The walls behind the organ will be repainted.

3. An area of the stone floor near the west door has begun to flake again, underneath the new carpet. This will be investigated and work to stabilize it will be carried out.

4. The large laurel tree to the south of the church that covers over some of the oldest graves in the churchyard is to be removed.

5. The trees in the lime avenue are to be individually inspected and, where necessary, pruned.

Works which have not been attempted.

1. The crypt (original boiler house) and its steps were pointed out in the 2006 quinquennial survey as a cause of dampness and possible danger, but apart from being cleared of debris they have not yet been touched.

2. The painting of the nave roof was specified in the QQ, but would have been too expensive a job.

3. The rehanging of the Twelve Apostles chandelier in the nave, and the turning of the stone pulpit to face the congregation, both works the subjects of faculties granted, were not carried out.

4. The foul water drain, which serves the lavatory and the sinks and joins the main drain in School Lane, is non-functioning, presumably blocked by land movement at some point(s) between the graves. It would be a very daunting task to investigate this.

Note that the Quinquennial Inspection of 2011 will undoubtedly identify other areas for attention.

E. Deanery Synod Report

Tricia Lumley

There are three Deanery Synod meetings a year, held in different parishes. The first meeting of 2010-11 was held in May in Wedmore. Revs Ken Brown and Shaun Darley told us of their experiences in Sector Ministry. This is work outside a parish church such as in hospitals, prisons, industry, schools, airports etc. Shaun was a university chaplain for many years, Ken has had ministry in the RAF, Burnham Hospital and as a prison chaplain. The difference between parish work and sector ministry is, parish is worship and sector ministry is pastoral. you don't have to be a priest to take on this work, any Christian person can take on the role.

One of the best parts of being on Deanery Synod is becoming familiar with other parish churches. If you've never visited Berrow church, hidden amongst the dunes, I would really recommend a visit. It's a quaint little old place and quite beautiful inside.

Rev Sally introduced us to her parish and gave a most amusing talk, especially in reference to the removal of pews and the selection of chairs to replace them. Apparently you can get three seater chairs for those of broader beam

There was discussion of the upcoming vote at General Synod on women in the episcopate. We were charged with ensuring that the views of people in the parishes would 'trickle up' to the General Synod reps. The main part of the evening was spent 'exploring spirituality'. Rev Paula from Westbury, Easton and Priddy led a programme on the spirituality of our church buildings, focusing on such features as bells, fonts, windows and doors with a series of readings and meditations. I really enjoyed this presentation, there was much food for thought.

Our final meeting was in Shipham and was set aside for a discussion and vote on women as bishops. As well as the Deanery Reps there were many clergy present. Two speakers gave us their views for and against the issue and then took questions from the floor. I must say, I felt a certain sympathy for the vicar from Yeovil who spoke against women bishops - it soon became apparent that he spoke for a tiny minority in the room.

When the vote was taken it was no surprise that there was overwhelming support for the introduction of women bishops. My own discussions with members of our congregation meant I would have been very surprised if the vote went against it. There were only two votes against and a couple of abstentions out of the 50 or so people there. This decision will now inform the discussion of our Diocesan reps when they go to General Synod.

As you see, being a Deanery representative is a far from onerous task, but it is a necessary one. With the retirement of Sylvia Dingley, there is now a vacancy for this post as we need two reps. I would urge you to give it a go. Thank you, Sylvia, for all you have done for St Peter's over the years.

F. Ministry team

Chris Green, Reader

In the three parishes, we can draw on the talents of a wide variety of clergy and lay people, who together comprise the ministry team. This increased in July with the arrival of Christine Butler as curate. During the year, the following have either officiated, or preached- or both- at Draycott:

· Sue Rose (Cheddar, Draycott, Rodney Stoke- incumbent)

· Christine Butler (Cheddar, Draycott, Rodney Stoke- curate)

· Rupert Bursell (Cheddar- NSM curate)

· Hilary Thomas (Cheddar- parish priest, retd.)

· Judith Rose (Cheddar- archdeacon, retd.)

· Gordon Jeff (Draycott- canon, retd.)

· Richard Dingley (Draycott-reader)

· Ann Wait (Cheddar- reader)

· Chris Green (Draycott-reader)

· Nikki Devitt (Draycott-reader)

· Thea Oliver (Draycott-church warden)

Sue has preached and led more than any of the rest of us, perhaps not surprisingly. After her, comes Gordon, both in officiating and preaching. Hilary Thomas and Judith Rose have also officiated and preached on several occasions. Christine has preached 4 times at Draycott.

Your own three Readers, with Thea, have contributed a number of sermons- Richard has preached the most (6 times), Chris Green and Nikki 4 times each, and Thea 3 times. Ann Wait has preached once, as has Rupert Bursell.

You have heard less than you might have from Chris and Nikki, as they spent parts of the year completing their readership training, and also each took time out for ‘readership placements’, an arrangement whereby the reader is attached to another parish or ministry for a period of about 6 weeks, to gain experience in a different setting. Chris’s placement took him to St. Stephen’s Southmead, with John Hall (a former incumbent of Draycott and Rodney Stoke). Nikki shadowed the chaplain at Weston General Hospital. Nikki and Chris have also preached in Cheddar (two times each), which precluded preaching at Draycott.

As a Reader, it is a great joy and privilege to be a member of this team, and this has been an ideal environment in which to be launched on this ministry. I also believe that members of this congregation feel enriched by the range of approaches on offer. In spite of this we do recognise how very hard we work Sue, and I think that an aim of the ministry team in the future must be to find some way of easing this burden.

We must also say a big thank-you to Gordon Jeff, who has virtually come out of retirement as a priest so that communion services can continue in Draycott on many occasions when they would otherwise have been withdrawn. This, too, cannot continue indefinitely with Gordon in his 80th year- albeit, an extremely fit and active octogenarian!

Finally, we said farewell to Rupert Bursell recently, who is moving away from Cheddar. Although we have not seen very much of Rupert at Draycott, he has taken a great many services in Cheddar since Sue arrived- so his departure entails a significant increase to her workload. In his valedictory sermon, Rupert warned us that the patterns of services in our churches would not be able to stay the same, given the changes in the ministry team and diminishing congregations.

Looking to the future, we may need to be more creative in the use of the ministry team, and may have to accept a further change in the pattern of services in the churches of the benefice.

G. Covenants

Tricia Heckbert, Covenant Secretary

This is my first report as Covenant Secretary. Since taking up the position I have completed the twice yearly Income Tax claim for the year ending 5th April 2011 and a total of £2,643.80 has been reclaimed from Gift Aided contributions.

There has been some movement in the contributions with 3 new covenants being set up this year;this brings the total number to 25.

H. School

Nikki Devitt, School Governor

There are still 4 Draycott School Governors from St Peter's electoral roll (N.Devitt, J.Astle, L.Talbot, M.Rikard).

The church plays an active part in school life, with Sue teaching RE once a week, rotating round the classes on a termly basis. The school children continue to attend Assembly in the church on alternate Wednesday mornings, with Nikki officiating. The children behave respectfully in the church and join enthusiastically in the responses, the activities and the singing. They also join in saying the Lord’s Prayer; it’s good to see children of all ages are familiar with this. As 'foundation' governors we have a legal duty to monitor RE and collective worship, but quite apart from these duties, it's very encouraging to see the children participating in the life of the church.

Special church services in the past year have included the Leavers’ assembly in July, Harvest in October, Christingle led by Chris Butler on 1st December and a Christmas service at the end of term led by Sue. ‘Mothering Friday’ led by Sue was also well attended, and there was an Easter service at the end of term. The children of Mars class have made a large Holy Week collage for our church this year.

Two major events in school life this year have been the opening of the Foundation stage Unit (FSU) in September 2010, and our Ofsted inspection at the end of last term.

The FSU is thriving, and as the younger ones are likely to continue at Draycott for the next stage of their education, this is a way of assuring the future of the school in our village.

The Ofsted report is awaited. As a church school we are also due our ‘SIAS’ (Statutory Inspection of Anglican Schools) in the wake of Ofsted. This will happen early next term.

Looking to the future, there are difficult times ahead, due to the indisposition of our Chairman of Governors, Steve Percival. He is likely to be absent for a substantial part of next term whilst undergoing medical treatment. Steve contributes a great deal of his time to school both in his role as chair, and as a volunteer in the classroom. I think we are about to discover the extent of that contribution, by his absence, and we wish him a speedy recovery.

I. Supporters of St. Peter’s (S.o.S.P.)

Thea Oliver

We three committee members of SoSP (Maria Millard, Tricia Lumley, Thea Oliver) have continued to organise fundraising events throughout 2010/11 with the unstinting help and support of our spouses, families and friends! We thank you all.

We have also had donations from Church members and friends including some in lieu of ‘special’ anniversary & birthday gifts, we are very grateful to everyone who continues to support us in whatever way they can. Please see the treasurer’s report for details of amounts raised at each event & in total.

Events to date include:

· Two very successful Soup Lunches in Church

· Jumble sale at the Strawberry Special

· Quiz nights at Strawberry Special on the 5th Sunday in the month

· Refreshment stall & Candle dipping at the First School Christmas Fayre

· Carol Singing at The Laurels & very successfully in the bar of the Strawberry Special (photos on the Church website www.rodneystokewithdraycott.org.uk!)

· The now annual Lenten quiz this year featured cartoon mice & rats!

Planned events so far for 2011/12 include:

· Jumble Sale & or car boot stall

· Book stall at the Strawberry Fayre on 12/06/11

· Cream Teas in Church

· Harvest celebration & Christmas Carols outside the Church building

· More evening Quizzes at Strawberry Special (courtesy of Lori & Mick)

· More Soup Lunches!

· Soup recipe book... still a work in progress

· Draycott scarecrow festival in June 2011! As part of St Peter’s 150th anniversary celebrations SOSP are inviting everyone in Draycott to make and display scarecrows in a safe but visible position outside their homes to decorate the village during the open gardens and cream teas weekend. Involvement from those outside Draycott is warmly invited too; those scarecrows will be displayed in St Peter’s Churchyard.

· Themed evenings such as: ‘Cheese & wine’, ‘travel’

· Joint fund-raising/awareness-raising events with other charities & groups

Although the refurbishment & redecoration of St Peter’s is moving on and appears to be nearing completion there can be no let up in our efforts, as like the Forth Road Bridge scenario it is a continuing work in progress! So please if you have a good idea, or (even better) would like to organise & put on an event for SOSP we would be very grateful, we are always on the lookout for new angles, and helpers!

J. Local Ministry Group/ Cheddar Valley Churches

Sue Rose

Local Ministry Group

Mendip Local Ministry Group comprises Axbridge, Shipham & Rowberrow, Cheddar, Rodney Stoke & Draycott, and Crook Peak

The Steering Group met bi-monthly and planned a variety of events:

· The Rev Sue Rose led a Worship without Words service at Cheddar in January It was well attended and the different format much appreciated

· The Marriage Preparation morning, which has become a much valued annual event, was held on 20th February with fifteen couples There was a new format, loosely based on material from the Mothers' Union, with the three clergy leading talks and encouraging the couples to think about different aspects of married life A recently married couple was also interviewed and their, often amusing, insights were helpful The team were grateful to Axbridge Mothers' Union for their help with the lunch

· There were pulpit exchanges in February, June and November and, as well as bringing variety to our worship, these continue to be a good way of keeping the congregations aware of the links between local churches

· PCC's were grateful for the invitation to church caterers to join in the Food Hygiene Course at Axbridge in April

· Following much planning and tremendous support from the Axbridge team, a Messy Church afternoon - the first LMG event for children - was held in Cheddar in October

· This proved very successful and it is hoped that the great variety of gifts shared during the planning and on the afternoon will continue to be used within our LMG

· Our Archdeacon, The Venerable Nicola Sullivan, accepted an invitation to an evening in November hosted by Crook Peak in Biddisham Hall The supper and Nicola's talk were enjoyed by all who came - our best attended evening event so far

· The Clergy and some Readers continued to meet on Thursdays for Morning Prayer in Axbridge, Cheddar or Weare ,}

· The plans and events at the various churches within the LMG, and other churches in the Cheddar Valley, were shared at the regular meetings - with support, encouragement and commiserations offered as appropriate!

It has been a year of continuing sharing and friendship and the plans already in hand for 2011 are: Marriage Preparation on 19th February, an afternoon of activities and worship at Flagstaff Farm on 1 th July, a Quiz with fish & chip supper on 19th November and a Lay Pastoral Assistants course in the autumn

Cheddar Valley Churches

Cheddar Valley Churches is an informal network of local churches There is a monthly leaders meeting which meets for prayer and planning We are convinced that God calls us to work together to further the mission of the whole Church of God in this area

In January we celebrate the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity meeting daily for morning worship in a different church each day The week began with a presentation by the Bristol Crisis Centre when we heard about the challenging work undertaken by CAP (Christians Against Poverty) It ended with an uplifting service led by the Community Church

The Monday of Holy Week saw the return of the moving and challenging Stations of the Cross service at our lady Queen of Apostles Church Once again there was packed church as we shared this preparation for Easter together

The main focus of the year was again the Father's Day Fun day This has become an established and valued aspect of our community involvement This year the event was enhanced by the presence of arisen arisen is a prayer and worship initiative which particularly reaches to out to schools and young people The team came to the Kings of Wessex School for a week where many young people were given an insight into different ways of praying Father's day itself had its normal mix of worship outreach fun and food all given by local churches as our gift to the community; as ever being free was the topic of much conversation with those who attended providing a way into other deeper conversations

Later in the year in October the churches came together for the Bible Society evening celebrating the gift of the scriptures and what they mean to us Favourite scriptures were shared with a clever and highly amusing '5 Minute Bible' presentation

Christmas saw a new venture when we all 'Got in the Picture' Outside the Eidelweiss caf~ a small stable was prepared and passers-by were invited to dress as one of the Biblical characters and pose for a photo The photos could be downloaded form a website which~ gave further information about the real meaning of Christmas We hope this may become a regular feature of Festive night '

All this as well as the regular ecumenical outreach stall at the Car Boot sale and the weekly prayer and Bible study at 7am on Wednesday mornings Relationships between the churches are strong and a blessing to us all

K. Bible Study Group

Audrey Morgan

During the past year we have held two Study Groups. The first was one of the Fellowship Groups started in the Benefice by Rev Hilary, when the Draycott Group was ably and sensitively led by Joan Salmon.

More recently, in common with other similar groups, we have been working through the set book for study during Lent: Tom Wright’s “Lent for Everyone –Matthew”. This involves a daily reading from Matthew, with comment from Tom Wright (all printed in the book) and a weekly Group meeting for further study. It is good to have Joan leading us again for these meetings, although during her recent illness Rev Hilary stood in for her. The Lent Groups are intended partly to encourage fellowship between the Churches, and although we have been mainly “St Peter’s folk” we have been joined by one friend from St Andrews.

Members of St. Peter’s have also participated in some of the Cheddar groups, including Richard Dingley, Sylvia Dingley and Chris Green (who is leading one).

L. Web site

Chris Green, Webmaster

The address of the website for the benefice is: www.rodneystokewithdraycott.org.uk.

The website has been changing this year, with the involvement of Tim Bibby (chair of the Friends of St. Leonard’s). He was keen to find another ‘host’ for the site (i.e. an service that effectively ‘publishes’ the web site on-line, for the world to see). We have previously used a free service, but it has now been transferred to a fee-paying one (with Tim currently footing the bill).

After getting a promising initial version of the Rodney Stoke site working, further development resulted in this part becoming unusable.

The Draycott part of the site is still working however, although it has become somewhat out of date. The main problem here is that the time of the webmaster- and the magazine editor- is rather limited, during a year that has been exceptionally busy for both of us.

When the church refurbishment completes its current phase I shall collect some photographs together to use in place of those currently displayed.

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Table of Contents

d. Supporters of St. Peter’s (S.o.S.P.)

I. Supporters of St. Peter’s (S.o.S.P.)

Local Ministry Group

Cheddar Valley Churches