Hagley Parochial Church Council
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Documents from the PCC AGM 2020 held on Thursday 19th November on Zoom
Parochial Church Council Secretary’s Report I write this report at a time of great uncertainty. The Coronavirus pandemic has meant that our Government has stopped inessential travel and prevented meetings and gatherings from taking place, in a bid to stem the spread of the virus. Some of our PCC members have had to self-isolate as they are considered, for health reasons, to be vulnerable. Therefore, the final PCC meeting of 2019-2020 has been conducted on ‘Zoom’, a technology new to most of us, but with Iain’s help, proved to be most successful. The PCC have followed guidance from the Church of England and closed the churches’ doors to protect all. The year’s other meetings have been split between St. Saviour’s and The Wychbury Room, with excellent attendance and many lively discussions. During the year, the PCC has been pleased to receive comprehensive and informative reports from the Finance Committee and from the Fabric Committee, showing our churches to be well maintained and improved. The PCC appreciate all the hard work and time that members of all committees and groups put in to the continued care of our churches. As you can see from the following group reports, Hagley is a busy and friendly Parish, with a wide variety of groups offering fellowship and activities, which are enjoyed by parishioners and visitors throughout the year. The PCC is keen to support these groups, and encourage involvement in all areas of our Parish. As a PCC we are committed to safeguarding children and vulnerable adults. The PCC is aware of its duty to have due regard to House of Bishops’ guidance on safeguarding children and vulnerable adults. In 2019 and 2020, the PCC used the ‘Safeguarding Toolkit’ provided in the diocese as a way of self-assessment to ensure fulfilment of its duty. Due to these exceptional circumstances, there will not be an APCM this April and so it has been agreed that all members will continue as at present. However, there are three people who I would like to mention as they retire from their roles this month. The PCC wish to thank Gwen Shaw for her dedicated service as she retires after 4 years as Churchwarden of St John’s. She has given of her time so willingly and always has such a welcoming smile. Toni Allison, editor of ‘Contact’ magazine for the past 20 years, has edited her last edition this month. We appreciate the considerable time and dedication that Toni has put in to producing our church magazine. We are currently looking for a volunteer to take over as Editor. Finally, the PCC would like to thank our Parish Administrator Tony Battersby, as he too retires, for his 10 years’ service to the Parish. He has established a friendly and efficient hub of our church community and his skills will be missed. The PCC extends their best wishes to all. Sue Priest - PCC Secretary
Electoral Roll Report for the year ended 31st December 2019 As at the 31st December 2019 the number on the ER was 124 of which 100 lived in the Parish and 24 outside the Parish. Tony - Electoral Roll Officer
Safeguarding Report 2019 - 2020
At the present time we are progressing well with the Dashboard app. We have some actions regarding hire agreements for non-Church activities pending. This cannot proceed at present due to the corona virus outbreak. As safeguarding officer, I have not processed any new DBS applications and existing volunteers or other are up to date. Most PCC members have completed C0 training online. There remains a couple of older or unwell members who need to complete this. This will be undertaken when I can assist them when this crisis is over. Our Sacristan Margaret Norris has just updated her C3 training in March 2020. I continue to share feedback from PSO network meetings at PCC meetings and inform the parish of any changes that need to be made. This will inform our Parish action plan.
Chris Spencer – Parish Safeguarding Officer
St John’s Churchwardens Report 2019 - 2020 "During this past year the wardens’ role has been equally challenging and joyful. We have been saddened by the loss of regular worshippers who became ill for short or long term. We continue to remember them in our prayers and where possible to visit. Our Rector Richard was quite ill for some time and we give thanks for his recovery and to all those clergy and lay officers who were so ready to help at short notice. Baptisms are still in demand and well supported with high numbers in congregation and it is so nice to see family and friends enjoying the occasion. Our thanks to Joyce Inverarity who faithfully helps on these occasions. Weddings are fewer in number but a church wedding means a lot to those who come to us and we do our best to make it a day to remember with God's blessing. Our thanks to Malcolm Roberts for taking on the writing of banns and registers in place of Jo Marsh who became too ill to continue. Our thanks to Jo for her dedication of service together with our prayers. May 2019 also saw the Hagley Music Festival take place with concerts held in different venues throughout the Parish, including St John's. Tom Paget continues to work on our archives helped by small keen group of members for which we are most grateful. We would encourage anyone to serve on PCC as this is so important to the management and care of the Parish. I would like to express her gratitude for the help and love shown during her four years as warden. It was a privilege to serve." - Gwen “Throughout the past 4 years Gwen has been a dedicated churchwarden to St. John’s and her stewardship has been a true labour of love. Her commitment has been selfless. Thank you, Gwen, for being such a good teacher (and friend) and for imparting your knowledge and understanding of the role so well, and for the example you have set in carrying it out so faithfully.
Yours in Christ, Gwen Shaw and Judy Day
Contact Magazine
At Christmas I contacted the Rector to say that I had now decided that I need a break from the monthly commitment as editor and the April edition will be my last copy. As editor for 20 years I do thank those who have regularly send pieces for inclusion, but extra items from other people would be very welcome so that the magazine may continue to be interesting and informative. This year due to the rising cost of materials, we found that there was shortfall. The PCC said that costs would have to rise so now the magazine will cost 70p per copy of £6.00 per year if you would like it delivered. We are grateful to those people who pay to advertise in it and also for all those regular subscribers. Inevitably we have lost a few subscribers over the years, people die or move away but I do urge the PCC and the Rector to promote the magazine in church. Having it just sit in a rack in the porch doesn’t encourage people to buy it. If they bought it they might find it of interest and the shortfall might become a thing of the past. New subscribers are always most welcome, so if you know anyone who would appreciate the magazine, please let Linda Jordan know so she can arrange either a delivery or a copy in the post. We are most grateful to the many volunteers we have around the village who in all weathers kindly deliver the magazine. I would like to thank them all most warmly. Thanks also go to the small committee, each with their own strengths who have supported me as editor. Toni Allison – Editor
Hagley and District Christian Aid Committee This year the Christian Aid group organised the following events:
We were delighted to send over £4,000 to help the work of Christian Aid. Over the last 40 years the committee has been able to send £200,000 to help those less fortunate than ourselves. These activities depend on the co-operation and help of all our volunteers and supporters and for this we are very grateful.
Mollie McPherson, Barbara Albert and Kathy Francis
Church Hall – Year ending 31st Dec 2019 The Hall has had another active year and continues to be a valuable asset, widely used by the church, by community groups and individual hirers. Bookings have been at a reasonable level. We are indebted to our housekeeping team of people who keep it functioning on a daily basis, and to our professional cleaners who look after it each week. We also owe a huge debt of gratitude to Jane Cartwright who works tirelessly taking bookings, producing Booking calendars and sending out invoices. Major repairs and maintenance this year totalled £1,641, whilst last year this item was £8,180. The major cost in 2019 was the installation of a Defibrillator, however we received many donations from Hall user groups, with especial thanks to Lou Thomas’s Zumba group, who raised £1,180 doing a Zumbathon, almost enough to buy a defibrillator outright. We were also able to loan the PCC £10,000. Without this loan we were showing a profit in excess of £7,400, but with the loan our accounts show a loss of just over £2,500 for 2019. In 2019 we had 518 hall lettings, which is a drop of 58 from 2018 (576). This netted an income of £14,199, a slight decrease from £14,702 in 2018. Partially due to some increase in charges for 2019, and some users cancelling their bookings or moving venue. However, if you ignore the loan to the PCC, we do continue to show a profit, however we do need to do this as every 5 years we have to resurface the floor, or carry out other major maintenance items of work. So, we cannot stress enough that with costs spiralling, we still need to set aside approximately £2,000 - £2,500 per annum to allow for future large maintenance items, some of which are still on hold awaiting adequate funding, or will eventually be needed e.g. Roof repairs; heater replacements, floor treatment etc. We must all realise that our hall is now well over 40 years old, and some of the fabric & fittings are coming to the end of their natural lives, also VAT at 20%, and a general price increases continue to raise our running costs.
David Pettit – Treasurer
St. Saviour’s Churchwardens’ report 2019/20 The year 2019-20 did not begin at all well for the Parish as Richard was very ill with pneumonia and was hospitalised. He was sorely missed, many of his duties that arose had to be carried out by visiting clergy and others. We were extremely grateful to both David (Blackburn) and Michael (Willows) for helping us out so that planned services could be continued in both churches. The 4 wardens found it somewhat stressful trying to juggle the many complexities. What a relief it was to have our Rector back, at last, to celebrate Easter 2019 with us. The Objects of the Cross on Good Friday was particularly moving. Following Richard`s return to good health it has become customary to have very regular Churchwardens meetings with Richard. These are useful for us all to discuss the needs of both churches, which have assisted greatly in our `bonding` as a team. There have been a great number of joyous occasions throughout the year as well as some extremely sad ones. We must celebrate and grieve together and ask for guidance, through prayer, for continued strength in all we do. Among some of those to celebrate are:
Our love, through and in Jesus Christ, to their families as they grieve. It is also a sad loss to our Church community that our stalwart CONTACT editor, Toni Allison, has tendered her resignation as from April. A task that she has undertaken unstintingly for 20 years! Much discussion has since ensued to plan a way forward. It is worrying that no-one yet has come forward to fill the vacancy if CONTACT is to continue in its current form. It is a much loved and useful monthly booklet. The Corona virus is a disruption to all our lives. Let us hope that through our continuing prayers and faith, coupled with the Church and Government advice, we will all come through it together. On a lighter note, for those of you who have visited St. Saviour`s recently will have seen the beautiful new Font. It is a lovely new addition to our Church (as until now we have been using a copper bowl). This new font has been purchased from part of the generous bequest left to us by the late Thelma Carwardine. It will be dedicated by Richard in due course. Last, but not least, we will be saying farewell (hopefully only as Church Administrator) to Tony Battersby at the end of March. Tony has been in post for the last 9 years and has been very committed to the work of the Parish. He has often worked far beyond his contracted hours to ensure that tasks are completed and as a community we have been well informed of all things necessary. Our thanks seem very inadequate to acknowledge his dedication to Richard and us all. Following his resignation, and the stringent interviewing process, we have appointed Sue Priest as Tony`s successor. She has already shown her dedication to the Parish through her work as secretary to the PCC. We wish her every success for the work ahead. God`s blessings to her as she takes on this additional role. Thanks to all of you for the devotion you give to supporting the smooth running of St. Saviour`s Church. Richard and the Churchwardens could not be as efficient as we are without your help. When Richard was absent last year it made us realise how much he does and how quietly supportive he is to us all in so many ways. We must continue to hold him, and Kathy, in our prayers and thank God for his work in our midst.
Yours in Faith Barbara Albert and John Gowar
Hagley Parish Church
Annual Parochial Church Meeting 2019
The minutes of the meeting held on Sunday 14th April 2019 at St Saviour’s Church
b. Parochial Church Council Members: Ambrose, Ann and Nan were thanked for their time and commitment over the past three years. Paul Evans was elected to the PCC. c. Sidespersons: The current sidespersons at both churches were nominated, seconded and elected en bloc to serve for a further twelve months.
b. Acceptance of Accounts: We were unable to formally accept the accounts at the meeting as the independent examination by Baldwins, the auditors, was not yet finished. They will be formally accepted at the next PCC meeting. c. Appointment of Auditor: Baldwins will continue as auditor – unanimously agreed.
The meeting closed with The Grace.
Review of the Year
The full PCC met six times during the year and the committees met between meetings and notes of their deliberations were received by the PCC and discussed where necessary. The PCC and its committees have undertaken risk-assessments, including matters of health and safety, building checks required by law, and monitoring the implications of The Children’s Act, and have adopted the diocese’s policies for Safeguarding. The PCC is aware of its duty to have due regard to House of Bishops' guidance on safeguarding children and vulnerable adults. In 2018 the PCC used the “Safeguarding Toolkit” provided in the diocese as a way of self-assessment to seek to ensure it is fulfilling that duty. We have been pleased to continue to have the assistance of retired priests Michael Willows and David Blackburn. Jayne Mottershead, our Authorised Lay Minister, continued to produce and lead services at various times, despite being very unwell. Jayne died in January 2020, and we will miss the huge contribution she made to our church in many different ways. Several other much-loved church members – including Cliff Bateman, Don Nixon, Lesley Scarth, Jackie Smith and Marjorie Surridge – have died during the year, who will also be greatly missed. We are grateful to local Reader Linda Kitto for continuing to lead and take part in worship. We have continued to work on becoming a “Group Ministry” in this part of the Deanery. Group Holy Communion services were held in St Saviour’s in March, in St Leonard’s Clent during May, in St John’s in June, and at St Mark’s Fairfield in September. Sunday Club and Holiday Clubs have continued, and “Messy Church” has attracted good numbers of children with their parents/carers. Social events have continued, including our annual cricket match, “cricket tea” and Songs of Praise with other churches. In May, we held the tenth Hagley Music Festival, with a wonderful variety of musical events taking place in a number of venues. We also had musical offerings from Viva Musica, Ex Cathedra and Colla Voce, and Anna Downes organised a series of “Music for Sanctuary” concerts throughout 2019 which raised several thousands of pounds for charities which help the homeless. Charitable donations have continued to a variety of causes. We held a “2019 Talents Challenge” during the year, to which people responded very generously, raising £4,600 and including a special Harvest Lunch and market stall sale. On a personal note, I am very grateful to Kathy, the Churchwardens, and ministry colleagues who helped out when I was unwell in March and April, when I had to take several weeks off work. On behalf of the PCC The Revd RJC Newton – Chairman April 2020
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