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ANNUAL REPORT

and

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

of the

PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL

for the year ended 31 December 2020

Benefice, Incumbent and role of PCC

The parish is one of five parishes which make up the benefice of the Lavingtons, the Cheverells and Easterton. Our Rector is the Revd. Marion Harrison.

The PCC has the responsibility of co-operating with the Rector in promoting in the parish the whole mission of the Church, pastoral, social and ecumenical. It also has maintenance responsibilities for the church building.

Banking

COIF Charity Funds Lloyds Santander

80 Cheapside 38 Market Place 35 Fore Street

London EC2V 6DZ Devizes SN10 1JD Trowbridge BA14 8HF

Electoral Roll: Officer – Steph Cadwgan

The number on the roll now stands at 38.

PCC Membership

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

members of the PCC are either ex-officio or elected by the APCM.

During the year, the following served as members of the PCC:

Incumbent Revd. Marion Harrison

Wardens Pauline Jenkinson

Andrew Jenkinson

Treasurer Robin O'Neill

Secretary Andy Palmer

Deanery Synod rep Anna Spear

Other elected members Peter Carr

Stanley Long

Michael Nock

Wendy Wilshin

Vanessa Reburn

Review of the year

PCC Meetings

7 meetings have been held since the 2020 APCM, all of which have been on Zoom due to Covid-19 restrictions.

Worship

Due to Covid-19, services in Church have been few this year but we did manage an outdoor Harvest service, which was well attended and made the front cover of News and Views. Then followed a couple of Sunday benefice services before we were in lockdown again, with restrictions eased in December. We resumed Benefice services and managed to hold our annual Carol Service in a slightly different format: carols were sung by six good singers from the village, led by Steph Cadwgan, and the effort was really appreciated by the congregation who felt it was a bit of normality in what has been a very difficult year. We also managed a Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve.

The following ceremonies took place during the year: Baptisms 0, Weddings 1, Funerals 1.

Community events and fund raising

Covid-19 restrictions have meant that little has been able to be organised to promote and support the church. The only event was a virtual quiz evening via Zoom, organised by Nicola and Freddie Coupe. It was well attended, very enjoyable and raised some funds.

Church fabric and grounds

Roofs: The good news is that our Nave, Chancel and Vestry roofs are all proving to be watertight although the Vestry roof continues to be of concern and will need remedial works in the next few years. Likewise, as identified in our latest Quinquennial, the lead roof over the Townsend Chapel looks like it might need some minor repairs.

Church Organ: Following William (Bill) Elliott’s death in July of 2019, we learnt that Bill had generously made a bequest of £10,000 “to ST. PETERS CHURCH at Great Cheverell the sum of Ten Thousand Pounds to be used at the discretion of the Rector and Church Wardens”. The condition of our organ has been a challenge for our organists for some years so, after discussions with our PCC, it was agreed that this would be a fitting opportunity to both restore our organ and do something in remembrance of Bill. The organ is currently with the restorer. Any sums outstanding to be used in the general church funds.

Queen Anne’s Green: To avoid a recurrence of last year’s unfortunate strimming of our green, we have cordoned off much of the area in the hope that we will have another stunning show of wildflowers, orchids and grasses. We also hope that Yellow Rattle seeds scattered last year will make an appearance. Similarly, we have taken steps to achieve this at the north end of the churchyard.

Volunteer activity: Thanks go to Michael Wright and Robin O’Neill for taking on areas of the churchyard in need of some heavy-duty gardening. Along with the continued input from the Community Payback team, the entire churchyard is now looking quite presentable.

Southern Boundary: Despite being a PCC responsibility, Sir John Nutting generously organised and paid for the restoration of the post and rail fence that runs along this boundary. Consequently, we now also have access for large vehicles such as the grave digger.

Approach to Southern Church Entrance: As identified in our last Quinquennial Report, the crab apple trees that were allowing access for squirrels to the church roofs have been pruned and reshaped.

Holy Trinity C. of E. Academy, Great Cheverell

Despite school closures and social distancing, Holy Trinity managed to hold Christmas services on a class-by-class basis, each bringing a component to create a nativity scene on the Townsend Chapel notice board, which remained up during our Christmas services. Also, we had some individual classes coming into Church to see the War Memorial for a project they were working on.

In addition, Nicola Coupe and Pauline Jenkinson have been working to try and form a closer relationship with the School and we ran a project for Remembrance where some classes made red and white poppies and wrote prayers which were displayed in the Church. Following this initiative, a Benefice group was established to foster relationships between each school and its local church. At Christmas we supplied a Christingle in a bag for every child in the School and our Rector produced a video on the story of Christingles and how to make them. For Mothering Sunday Nicola prepared a Power point presentation to tell the children a little about its history and there were various craft ideas supplied, with Vanessa Reburn and Anna Spear supplying examples.

Steph Cadwgan continues to serve as a Foundation Governor and Avril Roberts-Phare and Jane Andrew continue to work at the School, with Avril now running its new wraparound care service, before and after the school day.

Lay Pastoral Assistant

Mary Merrick stepped down as LPA this year and we are very grateful to her for all she has done in the role. We have yet to find a replacement.

Deanery Synod

There have been 3 Deanery Synod meetings since last year’s report.

Revd. Andrew Sinclair is Rural Dean and Revd. Keith Brindle is Assistant Rural Dean.

The following items always appear on the agenda:

Good News from Around the Parishes Due to the Covid-19 pandemic all churches were mostly closed for services in the past year; many were open for private prayer with Covid-19 safety precautions in place. It has been a steep learning curve for churches to use Zoom for their services and meetings however there has been much creativity. Many churches felt that services on Zoom resulted in an increase of numbers attending.

Finances There is a financial crisis in most churches in the Deanery due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The Assistant Rural Dean has set up a Strategic Planning Group to encourage churches in the Deanery to work collectively to address the problem; he suggests that by working together costs could be reduced. This is in its early stage and it will be up to individual PCCs to decide if they want to be part of the group.

Kajo- Keji, South Sudan The Deanery supports this region through prayer and financial aid. Assistance is required for refugees on return to the country to become self-sufficient; the youth to receive training and be occupied. There have been many deaths due to Covid-19.

Financial Report

The financial records for the year ended 31st December 2020 reflect the difficulties from the Covid-19 pandemic. The operating loss was £8,363 offset slightly by an increase in investment value of £2,314.

The lack of church services meant that our collections were down by £1,270 compared with 2019 although regular giving was steady at £5,152. Our income was adversely affected by the lack of fund-raising events which raised only £250 compared with a net figure of £4,746 in 2019. Donations were reduced by £2,292.

Church running expenses at £5,601 were little changed, this included our insurance premiums of £2,402. Fortunately, our repairs and maintenance were kept down to £1,822.

The Diocesan Share demanded was £11,337 for our usual category “B” plus a surcharge of £919 because numbers in the Benefice had fallen. This surcharge is under dispute but in view of the Covid-19 restrictions this was not resolved in 2020. We decided to pay the £11,337 in full but not the surcharge and this was done.

Despite the difficulties faced by churches the Diocese has offered no concession or reduction in the Share expected to be paid.

Our actual bank balances at the end of the year were Lloyds current account £3,917 (down from £11,012 in 2019) and Santander Fabric Fund £11,959. We also hold £1,484 in a fund relating to the Village Fête and the Wilding family.

Our investments include £29,975 restricted to our church fabric and £24,875 unrestricted. Our total asset figure is £68,293, not a great deal when considering the potential costs of repairs to an ancient Grade I listed church.

Although your treasurer has every confidence in the accuracy of these figures it has not be possible to have these independently verified. This will take place once Covid-19 restrictions are removed.

We look forward to an easing of the situation in 2021 and a return of church services and fund-raising events.

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Safeguarding

The PCC has complied with its duty under section 5 of the Safeguarding and Clergy Discipline Measure 2016 by having due regard to the House of Bishops’ guidance on safeguarding children and vulnerable adults within the parish. 

Generally

We are enormously grateful for the support of the local community, both financial and also, more importantly, their willingness to be involved with and help the church.

This report and the financial statements for the year were approved by the PCC at their meeting on 15th March 2021 and will be signed on their behalf by Marion Harrison, Rector, when Covid-19 restrictions allow.

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