St John the Evangelist Church, Hook
Annual Report
And
Financial Statement
For the year ended 31st December 2013
St. John’s Church
London Road
Hook
Hants
RG27 9EG
01256 760169
Page / Contents3 / Annual Rector’s Report
5 / Annual Church Wardens’ Report
11 / Vision 2013 and Vision 2013 Teams
14 / Other Groups and Activities
16 / Finance Report
19 / Independent Examiner’s Report
Annual Rector’s Report
One of the most important events in the life of this Diocese (and yes! we are part of the Diocese of Winchester) was the Diocesan Conference at Swanwick early last autumn. The outcome was four strategic points which will, please God, enable all of us to become a more Mission focused Church reaching out to all who live in these parishes and beyond. This is not an entirely new initiative; I remember a similar vision being adopted by the Diocese of Gloucester entitled Mission and Ministry. One starting point might be to examine our own vocation – What is God calling me to do? Followed by, Which Ministry will equip us for Mission? ‘Sharing the love of our Lord Jesus Christ with all whom we meet.’ I firmly believe that all things must be undergirded by prayer…………
Almighty and everlasting God, by whose Spirit the whole body of the Church is governed and sanctified, hear our prayer which we offer for all your faithful people, that in their vocation and ministry they may serve you in holiness and truth to the glory of your name; through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
The year 2013 was marked with joys and sorrows as the Parish Families began to prepare for the forthcoming vacancy commencing in the Spring of 2014. St John’s Church celebrated the seventy-fifth anniversary of the dedication of the church in 1938. It was a joy to welcome Bishop Tim to preach and celebrate at the Festival Eucharist in June. Whilst Bishop Tim was with us I asked if he would sign the entrance to the church with the bishop’s mark of dedication (three crosses to show that the building had received the Trinitarian dedication) – something that was not recorded on the twentieth of June 1938. On the Feast of Pentecost we welcomed Bishop John Ellison to conduct a service of Confirmation in Rotherwick Church. The first occasion in living memory that a Confirmation service had taken place there. Lydia, Penelope, Raymond, Cheryl and Marcus were the candidates presented for Confirmation. I have thought of Confirmation as being the Ordination of the Laity; to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit to enable them to live the Gospel of Christ.
It is also a joy to witness members of our Parish Families growing in Faith and seeking God’s will as they share in the Church’s ministry. The Rev Mary Ashton, who had served her Title here, was appointed as the Incumbent for the Parish of Onslow Village on the outskirts of Guildford. John Spiers was ordained Deacon and is now serving his Title in the Parishes of Eversley and Darby Green. It is a great sadness that Margaret Gray was diagnosed with cancer on her return from holiday in the spring and died during the summer. Shortly after Margaret was licensed as a Reader I told her that we must always be open to God’s call for I believe that her vocation was to serve God as a Priest. With my departure just before Lent 2014 the ministry team will have changed significantly. We need more ministers! Is God calling you to be an accredited Minister in his Church? I will keep those whom I have encouraged in my prayers. It would be remiss of me not to give thanks to God for the wonderful ministry of The Open the Book teams who faithfully lead Collective Worship in Whitewater C of E Primary School and Hook Infants School. Going forward, the burden of maintaining the pattern of services in these parishes will be shared by Jennifer, Peter and to a lesser extent by Gordon, supported by the Area Dean and visiting Ministers.
I have spoken about the death of dear Margaret, who had the gift of being able to enthuse everyone she met in worship and social events. I will remember her as a fellow minister of the Gospel, a loyal friend and those spectacular Burns Suppers in Rotherwick Village Hall. Shortly after Margaret’s funeral we were all stunned by the tragic deaths of Mark Robertson (our Honorary PCC treasurer) and his close friend, Rupert Beaumont in a helicopter crash in northern Russia.
Among the faithful members of our Parish Families who died during the year were Frank Fowler (Organist at St Michael’s Church, Heckfield) Mavis Driscoll (a Sunday School teacher at St John’s for over fifty years) Gillian Morgan-Brown, Andrew Watson, Eric Ryall, Doris Seymour, Ivy Jarman and Francis Hancock who had celebrated his one hundredth birthday a few months beforehand. We give thanks to God for their lives and their ministries that enriched our worship and our own lives.
We pray… Rest eternal grant unto them O Lord, and may light perpetual shine upon them.
Part of the Lent course this year will be focussing on ‘Growing the Church’ or, ‘Doing Mission’. I have long since advocated that it’s imperative that our Liturgy (the way we do our services) is accessible to all who come to these churches. We need to constantly review our pattern of services and learn from best practice within the Church of England. Where we have witnessed growth in recent years has been in All Age Family Praise and Messy Church. Recently All Age Holy Communion has been introduced on the third Sunday each month at St John’s. We are still learning, however, the service has been well received by the majority. During the forthcoming vacancy the Archdeacon is insistent that the pattern of services is maintained and no changes introduced. During my Incumbency it has been my policy to maintain existing services and bring in new ways of ‘doing Church’, such as Messy Church. One of the changes that have occurred in recent years is the growth of our Crib Service on Christmas Eve. Many people are attending these services as ‘their’ Christmas service. How the church wardens managed to squeeze well over three hundred and fifty people into St John’s last Christmas Eve is a miracle!
I have always stressed the importance of the opportunity to minister to all who approach our churches for the Occasional Offices, that is, Holy Baptism, Holy Matrimony and Funerals. It is at these times when we, as Christians, have the opportunity to share the love of God with them, to make them aware that they are welcome and we value them sharing in our worship. Many people stay briefly and then move on. Hopefully this coming Lent we can find ways through mission to hold onto to these families so that they too become members of our Parish Families. Since being Ordained Deacon at Petertide 1995 I have kept a record of the number of Occasional Offices I have conducted. Since being collated as the Incumbent of Whitewater Benefice I have officiated at 133 Baptisms, 90 weddings and 159 funerals. Our Churches maintains records of all these people – what an opportunity for Mission!
In 1972 Michael Ramsey (then the Archbishop of Canterbury) wrote these words to Ordinands that he was going to ordain the following day………..
It is to a ministry like that of the Lord himself that you are called. The Gospel you preach affects the salvation of the world, and you may help your people to influence the world’s problems. But you will never be nearer to Christ than in caring for the one man, the one woman, the one child. His authority will be given to you as you do this, and his joy will be yours as well.
Each one of us has a God given vocation to serve his Church using the gifts he has given to us, to his praise and to his glory. Whatever your ministry, accredited minister, church officer, musician, sacristan, teacher, cleaner, administrator, treasurer, welcome, caterer, maintenance engineer, publisher, pastoral visitor,.. who have I left out? Whatever you do for your church, you have the authority of God through the gift of the Holy Spirit that you received at your Baptism and Confirmation.
May your ministries be richly blessed.
With my love and prayers
Peter Quinnell
Annual Church Wardens’ Report
Statement of Aims
The Parochial Church Council [PCC] is to co-operate with the Ministry in promoting in the parish the whole mission of the Church, pastoral, evangelical, social and ecumenical.
The PCC meets generally every other month with the Standing Committee and Finance Committee in alternate months.
Membership
Members of the PCC are either ex-officio or elected by the Annual Parochial Church Meeting (APCM) in accordance with Church Representation Rules.
Following the APCM in April 2013 the membership was made up thus;
Incumbent (Rector) The Rev’d Peter Quinnell
Curate The Rev’d Mary Ashton (left parish May 2013)
Church Wardens Martin Rudd
Sue Steele
Deanery Synod Representatives David French [Treasurer]
Jennifer Martin
John Lambert (resigned August 2013)
Elected Members Kate Blackman
Shirley Clancy
Stephen Davies
Kim Foster
Heather Lambert (resigned August 2013)
Ian Kenny
Carole-Anne Morris
Liz Wilson [Secretary]
Chrissie Bridson was Diocesan Synod representative until October 2013 when she resigned.
PCC Training & Induction
There is a short induction program for new PCC members.
Building and Fabric
As Wardens we are part of the ministry of the Whitewater Benefice, we also lead in ensuring that the buildings and fabric of our wonderful church of St John’s, Hook, is kept in good order. This does take a lot of time and an ever increasing amount of money.
During 2013 the one major piece of work carried out was the redecoration of the Narthex, kitchen, coffee and parlour areas as well as the office, toilets and the two stairwells. This has really made the whole place look a lot brighter and neater. There was also a lot of activity around the outside at the front of the church to make us look more welcoming and inviting. We had the front hedge trimmed to waist height, the Japanese knot weed taken out and some old fir trees that were blocking the overall view of the church removed. However, the wind also played a part, and took down a couple of trees on the right of the pathway into the church, and although replacements were planted they have still to grow. There were no other major works carried out in 2013.
We finally got the two ‘buzzing’ spot lights in the front of the church sorted out and all seems quiet for the moment! We will also need to replace some of the ‘chicken wire’ in the tower (a leftover from the previous Quinquennial Inspection in 2009) to stop the pigeons roosting. For 2014 and beyond we will need to decide about new notice boards and review our projection equipment.
It would be quite wrong in this report not to mention the immense pressure we are currently experiencing on our funds at St John’s in keeping the church in the forefront of God’s work in the Parish. Many people perhaps are not aware that it takes an income of some £355 per week to keep the buildings of our church open, i.e. a total of £18,500 every year. Please read our Treasurer’s Report later in this review.
The Wardens are very thankful for all the help and support we receive in looking after the fabric of our church. It is always difficult to single out people who have supported the work needed, but thank you to those who have helped in keeping the church gardens looking so neat and tidy, the ‘Holy Dusters’ for their work in the church itself and to Tara Steele, whom although paid, does do a great job as our friendly cleaner.
Our Benefice Office located at St John’s is busier each year and Ruth Scott does a really great job. The combined Benefice Office has bought with it vastly improved fellowship between the churches in the Benefice. We are also pleased to see that the St John's Church Centre continues to be used for cross Benefice events, such as the Lent and Alpha Courses, which in turn brings the Benefice closer together to further God’s work.
As leaders in mission, our thanks must also go to our Ministry Team in the Whitewater Benefice, led by our Rector, who tirelessly proclaims God’s message to the church families and beyond.
Martin Rudd & Sue Steele - Church Wardens
As this report goes to print, Peter & Jean move to Gloucester and we wish them well.
Committees
The PCC operates through committees which meet between full meetings of the PCC, their deliberations are received by the full PCC and discussed accordingly.
Standing Committee
This is the only committee required by law. It has the power to transact business of the PCC between meetings, subject to any directions given by the PCC.
Finance Committee
This oversees the general financial work of St John’s by monitoring income and expenditure, budgeting, maintaining appropriate financial controls and co-ordinating a review of Christian stewardship of money, including planned giving.
Chairman: Treasurer
Mission Committee
This committee supports the mission work of St John’s church including Odiham Deanery and Winchester agreed mission charities.
Chair: Joyce Baldock