The Parish Church of ST MARY THE VIRGIN Mirfield
THE ANNUAL REPORT
of the Parochial Church Council
for the Annual Meeting 2007
INTRODUCTION
The production of an Annual Report, which accompanies the annual financial statement, is a legal obligation on all charities. It offers the opportunity for reflection on significant moments, events and developments of the previous year and is a useful means of communication between the Church Council and the congregation, enabling more effective accountability between the decision makers and those whom they represent.
The aim and purpose of St Mary’s is to live and proclaim the Good News of the love of God shown to us in Jesus Christ, and to do this by worship, community and service.
THE CHURCH COUNCIL
In the Church of England the body responsible for the oversight of the administrative, financial, pastoral and evangelistic work of the Church is the Parochial Church Council (PCC). During 2006 the Council met 9 times as a full council in addition to the meetings of various the sub-committees. The following people served on it:
Incumbent Revd Canon Peter Craig-Wild (Chair)
Assistant Staff
Revd. Stephanie Buchanan (until Easter 2006)
Revd. Ann Pollard (OLM)
Revd. Helen Butler (OLM)
Wardens
Wendy Hargrave
Sue Pope
Mark Pollard (from April 2006)
Chris Hargrave
Barry Hambling
Elected Members
At the APCM 2005 At the APCM 2006
Stephen Butler Mark Pollard
Pat Wilding Chris Hargrave
Carol Wilkinson Heather Conolly
Elected / Appointed Officers
Lay Chair Andrew Eastwood
Secretary Gillian Emerson
Treasurer Peter Dransfield
Co-opted Health & Safety Officer George Emerson
Co-opted Youth Member Sophie Butler
The Church Council has responsibility for the oversight of all issues relating to the life of St Mary’s Church, and therefore its agenda is varied and wide-ranging. In order to deal more effectively with the many items for which it is responsible the PCC is broken down into a number of sub-committees.
These committees are:
The Standing Committee which is responsible for the agenda of the PCC meetings and is empowered to act on urgent issues on behalf of the PCC when it is unable to meet.
Chair: The Vicar
The Parish Centre Management Team is responsible for the day to day running of the Parish Centre.
Chair: joint team including Pat Wilding, Ian Boocock and Sue Pope
The Fabric Committee is responsible for the care, maintenance and improvement of the church, the churchyard and the church house flat.
Chair: The Churchwardens
The Mission and Pastoral Committee aims to ensure that the Church engages in mission with the wider community and has a specific brief to explore ways in which we as a church might grow.
The Ministry Team also functions as a sub-committee of the PCC and it has over sight of the ministry of the Church.
Among the items the full PCC have dealt with this year are:
Ø The Disability Discrimination Act compliance work and the Fit for the Future Appeal
Ø Finances continue to be a difficulty for the Church and appeared on almost every PCC agenda.
Ø A report was given back the PCC from the Larger Church’s
Ø Support for Barry Hambling to be recommended for the Bishops Certificate in Pastoral Ministry
Ø The Options Feasibility Study was discussed at a number of meetings across the year
Ø Stewardship Giving was discussed on several occasions though no renewal appeal was organised for 2006. It is expected that one will happen in 2007.
Ø Scott Senogles was offered a permanent contract for his role
Ø We authorised the new Church Fees for 2007.
Ø Becoming One Parish has appeared on the agenda of every meeting with decisions being made to support the scheme and agree representation
Ø Security has featured due to the theft from the office and the ease of access to both the church and the hall complex
Ø All Age and Family worship has continued to be discussed and developed
Ø Support for the work of Justus Soloman
Ø Ongoing Heating Repairs
Ø Graveyard Machinery replacements have been agreed with the aid of local grants
Ø Significant decisions reached regarding the finances of the Parish Centre
Being on the Church Council can be time consuming and members work hard. Discussions and decisions must take account not only of practical, pastoral and financial implications but members must also be aware of how any item may impinge on child protection or health and safety issues, new laws relating to disability access, as well as promoting the life and values of the gospel of Christ. The PCC takes its responsibilities very seriously indeed and this is shown by the quality of research and discussion before decisions are taken. All who serve on the PCC deserve our utmost thanks.
FABRIC REPORT
Potentially there is so much which needs to be done and so much more which could be done to improve our buildings in so many ways. The obstacles in our way sometimes seem overwhelming. Apart from routine maintenance, any major work, quite rightly, has to be subject to rigorous discussion and go through various channels for approval. This can take a long time.
This year though it has been a delight to see the ‘fit for the future’ appeal contribute to the fabric of the church and allow the introduction of the ramp to the South-West porch and the re-laying of the surrounding path. This has both improved the access to the building and the aesthetical appearance.
Discussions regarding the internal ramp to the chancel continue but as yet without conclusion.
The feasibility report has been referenced by the PCC in 2006 to act as a guide in focussing both thought and action. Much of this work is ongoing and has been delayed in light of the probable coming together of the Parishes of Eastthorpe, Mirfield and Upper Hopton. This has meant that some work, medium term recommendations from the quinquennial report for instance, need to be put off until we know ‘the whole picture.’
All appliances continue to be regularly serviced and comply with all regulations.
The general state of repair of the house and hall continues to be good and a very willing team deals with all it can to keep it in this acceptable state.
A Summary of work completed:-
DDA external access ramp. This work was successfully completed towards the end of May 2006.
West Gates and Steps Having been closed for several months for Health & Safety reasons a ’working party’ spent a Saturday in July lifting and relaying the uneven flagstones so that the gates could be re-opened.
There are other parts of the paths around the Church which are uneven and care will always be needed.
Churchyard This continued to be maintained largely by volunteers led by Sue Pope, with the front lawned areas being cut by Grace Landscapes.
Lightening Conductor Part of the copper conductor (about 15 m) was stolen and had to be replaced.
Cleaning/Repair Valley Gutters Following leaks into the Side chapel the valley gutter above has been cleaned and cracks in the lead have been sealed. We are waiting for quotes to do similar work over the vestries.
In addition many smaller maintenance jobs are carried out from time to time by many people and we are grateful to all who help in any way.
STAFFING
At St Mary’s the Ministry Team functions as a corporate ‘staff team’ as it has responsibility for ensuring that the essential ministry of the Church is effectively carried out. It is not necessarily their responsibility to do it!
We said goodbye to our curate and friend, Stephanie Buchanan at Easter and were delighted to understand that we will continue to be a training Parish and have Wendy Dalrimple allocated as a new Curate after the Petertide ordinations in 2007.
While the clergy aim to work collaboratively with lay people in the Ministry Leadership Team it is important that this collaborative approach spreads throughout the congregation. Every Christian is both gifted and called to be part of the ministry of Christ. For some this will mean responding to specific calls within the Church. For others it is a calling to minister in home, family and at work. The sum of all these ministries makes up the ministry of the Church.
PARISH CENTRE (MANAGEMENT TEAM) REPORT
The Parish Centre continues to be well used by its regular uses that consist of a growing number of uniformed organisations, youth group, pantomime and playgroup and Monday open house and parish lunches, as well as the Mothers Union and whist drive.
It is a popular venue for private celebrations of all kinds as well as dance shows, flower shows, charity events etc.
Last September in a combined effort with the Scouts and their parents we decorated and cleaned the main hall and have made other small improvements.
The playgroup has fund raised to create a lovely garden and outdoor play area by the entrance to the small hall.
Do to financial constraints it was necessary to make the parish centre cleaner redundant in December
Sue Pope
FINANCE
As Peter Dransfield recently resigned from the role of treasurer there is no financial report in these notes from him. The thanks of the whole Parish go to Peter for his commitment to the role and the service that he has offered to St Mary’s. Additional thanks go to John Pinder for the role he has held supporting Peter and managing the overall accounts.
The parish share for the year was £60,073 of which £55,000 was paid. This was only made possible by reducing cash at the bank allocating all available monies. The PCC considered the contribution to the Diocese to be a priority for St Mary’s. The balance was added to the arrears from previous years leaving a total amount outstanding at the year end of £30,475 which there is no current prospect of being able to pay. The 2007 parish share will continue to be a burden on the church if normal income remains at similar levels to 2006. This all emphasises the need for a review of our Stewardship Giving.
The ‘fit for the future’ appeal raised £19,085 which was a great achievement and funded the much needed ramp to the South-West porch to comply with the Disability Discrimination Act.
Total giving in the year on Unrestricted Funds rose to £71,344 when the recovered income tax is included. Additionally an £8,000 legacy was received which was allocated to pay the Parish Share. The envelope scheme continues to cause some concern as some participants only donate for the weeks they attend, rather than giving the amounts promised for every week.
Church fees increased to £13,850 in 2006 from £7,772 in 2005.
In the Parish Centre income rose to £11,436 compared to £9,361 in 2005. General House and Hall expenditure rose in the same period however from £10,963 in 2005 to £12,180 in 2006. This continues to leave the Parish Centre in a strained position however the actions agreed by the PCC at the end of 2006 should start and re-dress this balance in 2007.
Although the 2006 finances show an improved position for St Mary’s the resources are becoming increasingly tight, with little room for manoeuvre as all of the reserves on which we have relied for the past few years have now been used. We must continue to focus on managing our expenditure as if it was our own money. Additionally we must all take very seriously the issue of stewardship and honour the commitments that we make.
Notes from the auditor:
In the restricted column there are two adjustments needed. The grant of £3,995 from Kirklees should be shown as income and the expenditure on maintenance increased by that amount. The DDA appeal income includes tax recovered of £1,430 which should be shown as Income tax recoverable. I also think that the £45 difference on the Panto account must be income at the start of the year, since the closing balance which you have reduced to balance with the previous year was correct
MEMBERSHIP - ELECTORAL ROLL
The Electoral Roll has remained at 301 for 2006. The roll has recently undergone a complete renewal and will be incorporated into the roll of the ‘Mirfield Team Parish’.
DEANERY SYNOD REPORT
The Synod has held four meetings during the last twelve months and they have been held at different locations throughout the Deanery. Meetings have been lively, and for the most part, interesting.
A meeting was held at Dewsbury Minster on the 9th Nov; (Peters first as Rural Dean) which had young people at the centre of the evening’s events. They performed music, sang, prayed and produced a play and in addition had displays which Illustrated young peoples approach to God. Their approach to praying and singing was different; it was noisy, loud but very infectious. In their displays they showed how things such as water, stones and music were used to help them approach God in their way, I enjoyed every minute of their involvement in this Synod.
Some members of Synod expressed their objection to this departure from the normal type of Synod meeting, but young people need to be encouraged to join in the life of the church, they are the “future” Also at this meeting Liz Morton (Diocesan Youth Advisor) gave a short talk on “perceptions of youth” in our Churches and asked the Synod “what is your own churches attitude to young people” a lively discussion than followed.
Other meetings have discussed drugs and other topical issues and also how the church has to become involved in both local and national issues to bring Christian values into our society.
Barry Hambling-Chris Hargrave(St Mary’s - Dewsbury Deanery Synod Representatives.
STATISTICS: BAPTISMS, WEDDINGS, AND FUNERALS
In 2006 we conducted 45 baptisms (compared 49 in 2005, 32 in 2004, 23 in 2003), 19 weddings, (16, 12, & 17) and 42 funerals (51,48 & 35).
Also it is right and proper to express the thanks of the Parochial Church Council to all who have helped with the life, work and ministry of St Mary’s. They are too many to name and to add to the difficulty many offer their help and service anonymously. But whether known or unknown, upfront or backroom, high profile or anonymous, our deepest gratitude goes to you.
PASTORAL CARE AND HOME COMMUNION
Over the last year many people have been given support and help through visits and telephone calls. The only problem is communication!! I am sure that some people have ‘slipped through the net’ (for this I am very sorry), because neither the clergy or myself knew about an illness or problem. So please, if you hear of anyone in need let us know. I realise that many of you make visits to people ‘unofficially’ and for this I thank you.
When receiving the Sacrament is so important to us it should not stop when we are unable to come to Church. We have a dedicated Home Communion team who go around to those who are long term sick, or infirm or recovering from operation or illness. Please let us know of anyone in these circumstances. The team comprises myself, Beryl Johnson, and Hilda Longstaff and I am pleased to welcome Valerie Walker and Rosemary Durrans who have just joined us.
With the help of the Lord may we all continue to pass on His love and compassion to all in need of help and support.
Carol Wilkinson
THE MAGAZINE
At this time approximately 300 magazines are distributed throughout the three parishes, the magazine continues to be the main medium for passing on news and articles to the congregations and other interested people.
Could you please try to encourage everyone you know to place an order for a magazine, as particularly at this time, it will keep all members of our churches informed and bring us closer together.
A word of thanks to all who edit, print, collate (pin together!) and distribute the Magazine, we are very grateful to you all.
Janice Barker is the person to contact if you have any material, Janice can be contacted on e-mail at indigold@ntlworld.com or posted to 19, Boat House Lane, Mirfield, WF14 8HQ.
Barry Hambling (Magazine Manager)
YOUTH GROUP
Unfortunately no report was available at time of printing.
OPEN HOUSE
The Monday Afternoon Open House group continues to be an important and valuable part of our outreach ministry to those who are not so young in age, but are still young at heart. The group has a regular weekly gathering of more than 30 men and women who come together to enjoy pastoral care, meet socially over tea and cake, receive prayer and pray for one another. The group maintains its Ecumenism and its service to the wider community through contact with Residential Homes and the Nettleton Centre. It is an effective source of pastoral information and enables us be more personally involved at a deeper level, not only with our own congregation but also with those of other churches and non.
Ann
ADULT WORKSHOPS
There are three adult holiday clubs throughout the year, Easter, summer and Christmas and each one maintains a religious theme and purpose according to the season. All of them include a variety of craft making and flower arranging items that are designed to enable and encourage well being and capability, alongside having fun, feeling valued and receiving care. In the summer we also include a day outing and invite other members of our congregations and community to join us. These days are always a huge success and hopefully reflect our commitment and appreciation of those who have given and continue to give so much to our church and society.
Ann
MUSIC & CHOIR GUILD REPORT
During 2006 the Guild has continued to support the Vicar, PCC and the Director of Music, effectively acting as an unofficial ‘Friends of the Music’ of St. Mary’s, by providing funds for a variety of projects. The main criteria for the use of Guild funds has always been that it should benefit the musical life & worship of the church.
This year this has included:-
Purchase of some new robes for the ladies of the choir – and one for Mr. Senogles who is too tall for the existing men’s robes!
Minor repair to the organ.
Misc. music etc..
Following a meeting with the vicar on Dec. 18th the guild agreed to donate £6000 to PCC funds over the next three years (£3000 in 2007, £2000 in 2008 & £1000 in 2009) to help cover the cost of employing the Organist/Director of Music. This could not have been done without the hard work, not only of the present members of the Guild but many others in previous years.
The Guild organises several fund raising events including cake stalls, table top sales, auctions and craft fairs, concerts and carol singing along with occasional social events.
The Auctions and Craft Fairs were first introduced 20 or more years ago and still make significant contributions to Guild funds. The Auctions now happen every 18 months or so but the Craft (Autumn) Fair continues annually, although we now encourage other organisations - churches, schools, charities etc. to have a stall and raise funds for their own purposes. The other three Anglican churches in Mirfield have all been on occasions (although not in 2006) and at various times people have raised money for World Vision, The Leprosy Mission, The Children’s Society, Women’s refuge and RNLI.. This in addition to the Guild’s own stall(s) and numerous craft workers selling their own goods.
The main Guild fund raising events in 2006 were a Table Top Sale in February and the Autumn Craft fair.
The choir have sung at fewer weddings this year so income from that source has dwindled. We need to rethink what we offer in order to attract what should be a real boost to our funds.
Mr. Senogles organised a series of organ recitals throughout the summer which were of a very high standard but generally not well attended. (This year’s series got off to a flying start however with a superb recital by Dr. Simon Lindley)
In addition we also raise funds for other purposes.
This year it included a concert by the West Yorkshire Fire Service Band which was for church funds. Carol singing at Sainsbury’s in Dewsbury, Tesco’s in Brighouse and Whiteley’s Garden Centre was in aid of the Childrens Society.
Once again we organised the Summer Fair for St. Mary’s. Hopefully this will become an event for the ‘new’ parish once it is established. Ideally this will then be organised by the new PCC..
Finally I would like to thank Scott for all his work with the choir, the Choir and Guild members for their work, and the Vicar, PCC & Congregation for their continued support of music in St. Mary’s.
Chris Hargrave
PANTOMIME
We again had a very successful year and our 2006 production was ‘The Sleeping Beauty’. We maximised the young talent and moved a number of the older chorus children into the cast. We produced the pantomime with 22 chorus and 13 cast. Again, all the cast and chorus completely committed themselves to the production and worked so hard over the 4 months. The pantomime was extremely enjoyed and over 800 people came to see it.
Anyone there on the last night of any production knows exactly how proud we are of what we achieve. The pantomime succeeds only with team commitment where everyone plays their part. Direction, production, lighting, sound, costumes and scenery all have to come together to complete the task. We thank everyone by holding a party and presenting the cast and chorus with gift vouchers to buy something to remember us with.
In 2006 we continued to invested funds into renewing our infrastructure. We re-covered more of our scenery and replaced more damaged side flats. We refreshed our wardrobe and bought some useful tools.
Additionally in 2006 we held a very successful ‘Summer Review’ raising money for Claire House Hospice. This production also involved the ‘Strickland school of Dance’. Money was donated to Claire House in support of the work done by Jethro Pope.
By the end of the year we were well on our way to staging our next production ‘Dick Whittington’.
Mark Pollard
ST MARY’S MOTHER’S UNION
As we still have no Branch leader, Shirley Edmundson, Nancy Hey and Hilda Longstaff agreed to continue to chair the meetings.
On average there are 28 members attending the monthly meetings
Once again we have had a variety os speakers including, Mrs S Sutcliffe, who spke about the "Bible in Stitches", Mr. Wildsmith who spoke about "Samaritan journey to Belarus", Peta Moffat whose subject was about her work and visits to Mara. The Rev.Mary Gaskell, Chaplain of Dewsbury NHS Trust was the next speaker, followed by Rev. Peter Craig-Wild, who spoke about his life over the last 25 years. Ruth Boyes' topic was "Pets as Therapy". In October we had our Annual Harvest Tea, and at the members afternoon in November we held a quiz. The year ended with our usual Christmas concert with the pupils of Castle Hall School.
During the year we have supported:-
The charity whist drives which are held have raised £439 which has been divided and donated to 11 different charities.
The proceeds from the May Coffee Morning was £302.50
Fish and Chips were enjoyed by all after the Mary Sumner Day Service in Wakefield.
The Christmas Lunch, held the Monte Verde, proved very successful and September saw the enrolling of 11 new members. Yet another busy and successful year.
8th MIRFIELD CUBS
Our cub pack has had a very varied and exciting programme over the last 12 months. Just after my report last year we had our fantastic Gang Show which was a tremendous success and raised a huge amount of money for the church as well as our own funds.
We spent our summer camp at Fan Wood and enjoyed good weather – just as well as most of the boys were under canvas! We spent time during the year working towards badges, helping others, including collecting items for the Christmas shoebox appeal and trying to improve the environment (we planted up the tubs outside the Parish Centre). Our Christmas party was once again at Krazy Kidz, where the boys let off steam for hours (where do they find the energy?) We created cards, presents and edible gifts at appropriate times during the year and still had time for pack nights filled with silliness and laughter!
With 2007 designated the Centenary Year for scouting we started the year in style with a balloon launch in the centre of Mirfield, a district swimming event in Batley and a district day in Dewsbury, working towards a new police badge.
My waiting list is almost as long as last year, mainly because we do not have enough uniformed leaders to enroll more boys. If you or your partner feel you would like to help, or know more about what we do, just have a chat with any of the leaders and we can arrange for you to come down and see us “in action”.
Heather Conolly
8th MIRFIELD SCOUTS
Most of the earlier part of 2006 was spent in rehearsing for our Gang Show. We spent hours practising sketches, learning songs and dance routines, sorting out costumes and making props, it was all worthwhile as we had 3 packed houses at the beginning of May and made a lot of money, half of which went towards the upkeep of the hall.
Once the show was over it was back to backwoods cooking, pioneering, hiking etc. and in July we had a weeks camp at Whitley Beaumont with wonderful weather.
In September we had a weekend decorating the hall and managed to get the paint on the walls and not the floor, and we had several weeks doing the “hobbies badge” which was very entertaining for all of us, hobbies ranged from golf and motorbikes to sports and music and we have a very talented bunch of scouts.
Sue Pope
FUTURE & CONCLUSIONS
2006 has been a challenging year by recent standards and this is critically due to the issues of both finance and Becoming One Parish.
Finance will always feature heavily in the life of the church and the constant challenge is balancing the way in which resources can drive the available worship and community support. In 2007 and beyond we need to agree financial priorities and apply clear leadership on how resources should be used.
Becoming One Parish is possibly the most thought provoking and future dependant decision that the Church can ever reach. The significant impact of the scheme has been widely discussed and debated. There has of course been mixed feeling but this has been met with a very open approach to communication. The future is particularly positive and the new life that St Mary’s with have with St Paul’s and St John’s offers many opportunities.
As Peter wrote in his report in 2006, it is no secret that over the past 20 years attendance has been falling at St Mary’s at a steady rate. This is not peculiar to us but is something that is happening right across the mainstream churches in England and Europe and what is happening here simply reflects that. Again though the situation is not hopeless and we should not simply sit back and accept the inevitability of decline. Just because people seem less inclined to come to a Church building does not mean that the life of the Church is heading for extinction. Rather than waiting for others to come to us we need rather to be going out to them. The Archbishop of Canterbury speaks of Fresh expressions of Church, as way of recognising that the Church of the future will not be the same as the Church of today or as it has been for the past hundred years. St Mary’s, together with St Paul’s and St John’s and the other churches in Mirfield, needs to re think what it is to be the Church. We need to be exploring new ways of being Church that relate to the communities we serve.
St Mary’s has continued to focus as much as it can on worship and mission. The many reports above pay tribute to this very varied approach to mission and outreach.
The work with children is surprisingly vast. There are the uniformed organisations, the pantomime, the youth group and the family services. Additionally the whole congregation are served by the pastoral team, the prayer team and the Mothers Union. We have a committed Choir and Choir Guild and we are lucky to be able to use the many facilities available to us.
St Mary’s has nurtured families to Baptism and couples to Marriage as well as supporting those offering a loved one to God.
We offer thanks to our incredibly committed clergy team who love, nurture, support and educate us in Faith.
Let us truly look forward with confidence in Christ, appreciating our many talents and the wealth of experience and understanding we offer. Let us open our minds to what the union of the churches brings in opportunity and let us not underestimate the power of the God who goes before us.
Mark Pollard (Church Warden)
on behalf of the Parochial Church Council
23rd April 2007