of the world to follow: a family of many groups Vicar’s Report, 2015/16 of people, confident in their own identity, able On our return from a funeral visit recently, both to enjoy their sense of belonging but also Fr Hugo, our new(-ish) , remarked how to fulfil it in the transcendent joy of common in so many ways his experience of being a worship and in service of all humanity. in Spain had been different to being a priest in Two particular examples of this at Laurence’s south-east London. But one particular differ- over the last year might demonstrate what I ence stood out: every time he visited someone mean: the National Days that we regularly cel- here in London, he was entering another world. ebrate – this year, St George’s Day (for England), On the same street, one might visit an African Ghana Republic Day and Nigerian Independ- household, a Caribbean one, an Anglo-Saxon ence Day – allowed for a wide variety of parish one, an Asian one; a wealthy family, an educated lunches, from Bangers & Mash for St George one or an impoverished one. Each household (indeed, so many spuds were bashed that some might belong to a distinct culture, with a strong were still frying up mashed potato a week later) cultural identity, and yet people are neighbours to Curry and Jollof rice for West Africa. And a and are happy to talk to each other. more Caribbean curry was served for the fund- This is one of the great privileges of being a raising parish lunch for the Advent fair. Enjoy- priest, certainly in this part of one of the world’s ing each other’s food is one of the surest ways great cities: that you have access to such a wide to developing an understanding (at a gut level, variety of many strands of the different world one might say) of different ways of doing things. communities whose members have chosen to Secondly, during Lent we gave up the organ, live in London at this time. But this is not just as we have for the last 20 or so years. This act of restricted to : anyone who worships abstinence produced some truly wonderful sing- regularly at St Laurence’s can in the course of ing by the congregation. Huw Morgan’s mass a Sunday morning encounter not just isolated setting is in a style that is native to none of the individuals, but whole groups of people who different cultures who attend St Laurence’s – we confidently enjoy their parents’ traditions and all had to learn to sing the responses in a rather languages as well as the very contemporary unfamiliar idiom: and yet when it worked, we world in which they live and work or study. found ourselves united in an act of worship that At St Laurence’s, we have always been par- went beyond all our local differences; a style ticularly concerned to celebrate the multifaceted equally foreign but equally something we have kaleidoscope of our global religion, not in a grown to feel at home with, to express this time token way – paying lip-service to superficial our joint identity as members of St Laurence’s. differences between individuals – but inviting In this way, the church takes up and deepens the different cultural groups who make up the our individual differences and traditions, our congregation here to do what they do well, different physiognomies and cultures – and whether that is preparing the foods of which unites us in service, a service rooted in the they are most proud, contributing a particular Christian spirituality of those who have shared style of music to the eucharist – or even, as experience of sacred mystery in all its depth and recently this year, dancing at the offertory – or profundity and then desire to go out and serve raising money for particular concerns connected their neighbour, empowered by what we have with the country to which they or their parents experienced. once belonged and perhaps still do. Celebrat- Ghana Day was memorable both for the ing each others’ strengths by putting them at large and splendid lunch masterminded by the the service of God in the church is the perfect relatively small Ghanaian community here at St illustration of how Christianity works at its Laurence’s and for its being the first Sunday of best: respecting the individual history of each Fr Hugo’s ministry here. Since then, Fr Hugo person and yet gathering her children together has certainly made his mark on the parish with in praise and worship – as well as in mutual yet another style of spirituality to complement support when things go wrong, or when, as all the many we already enjoy, as observed above. too often, bereavement or illness intervene. At a In particular, he has made it his priority to time when many are afraid of the challenges that strengthen our work with young people. Thus global living brings to human beings sheltering Junior Church has been revitalised and its lead- behind the limited boundaries of their little ers asked to meet more regularly to co-ordinate national identities, what a positive and hopeful activities. An activity club for Saturday after- example the church at its best sets for the rest 1 noons has been started; mini-choir continues to members of the church, and whom the clergy flourish, while young people now once again are ordained simply to serve. (It is interest- contribute regularly to family masses, includ- ing that Jesus was not a priest, and seems to ing a memorable performance of the lost sheep have had a particular mistrust of professional parable. In addition, Sunbeam Tots, our carers’ clergy). Toward the end of the year, at a very and toddlers’ group that meets every Wednesday good PCC training afternoon, Stephen Hance, morning in term time, has been strengthened the diocesan missioner set us thinking about thanks to the intervention of Peter Charles, who the importance of increasing the confidence of supports Vicky D’Mello, its leader, in fund- non-ordained members of the congregation in raising and planning activities – the latest idea terms of leadership. Over the next months we is an attempt at crowd-funding that Lewisham will be looking to develop a strategy to achieve Borough are supporting. this, which is perhaps one of the biggest factors We are fortunate not only to have Fr Hugo inhibiting further growth of the congregation with us, but also five other priests who attend here. It would be good if we could have, say, more or less regularly. Fr Iain is an invaluable up to a dozen groups within the parish meet- colleague who this year has been a ing regularly, and offering personal support to ten years, and in 2016 will celebrate the tenth members of the congregation; at present, as anniversary of his priesting. Fr Anthony and Stephen Hance pointed out, most people relate Fr Andrew, retired clergy living in Catford, are directly to the Vicar or one of the other clergy, both happy to give us the benefit of their many which keeps numbers at their present level as years of experience of Anglican ministry both our time is limited (and increasingly filled with in England and (in the case of Fr Andrew) in paperwork). Africa. Mthr Sue is now based at St Laurence’s We do seek to provide plenty of opportunities when she is not elsewhere, pursuing a ministry for learning; regular Bible studies in the Jubilee of spiritual direction and supporting people Room or Coffee Bar on a Wednesday even- with vocations (when not at her full-time work ing (taking in also subjects such as the Creed) at St Paul’s Cathedral); and Fr Ian Thomson fortnightly throughout the year and weekly in attends St Laurence’s when not on duty at his Advent and Lent; other Bible studies in people’s prison chaplaincy. With our readers, Peter (who home or in the vicarage; sadly, there were no celebrated his tenth anniversary this year) and candidates for admission to communion this Grace, and our Pastoral Auxiliary, Ijeoma, the year, after a bumper crop last year; parish parish is extremely lucky to have so many clergy quiet days for Lent and Easter, and, new this and licensed ministers, with their wide range of year, a parish awayday in St Andrew’s Convent, pastoral gifts, available for its parishioners. We Blackheath, led by Mthr Sue and offering fas- also seek to serve our neighbouring parishes: cinating insight into praying with beads; after over the year, we provided cover for, amongst mass on Sundays we have visiting speakers (this others, St Augustine’s, Grove Park; St Andrew’s, year, for example, a fascinating talk on Diabetes; Torridon Road; St Bartholomew, Sydenham; St and Mark Sturge, the London regional director Michael’s, Sydenham; St Andrew’s, Bromley; of Christian Aid, an old friend of the church); All Saints, Blackheath; St John’s, Catford; Holy we had a training workshop for lesson readers, a Trinity, Eltham; St Edward, Mottingham; St confirmation group (which was also a refresher Saviour’s, Eltham; and St Philip, Avondale course, as most of the members are already Square (in Spanish!). Of our former clergy, Fr confirmed), and we encouraged parishioners Chris Bunce, who was attending this parish to attend courses outside the parish, notably when an ordinand, was installed as Vicar of St a mental health study day at St Mary’s, Lew- Andrew & St George Stevenage last year; and isham (attended by half a dozen members of St Sheila Cameron has just retired from years of Laurence’s), and the newly relaunched Bishop’s dedicated ministry at St George’s, Perry Hill, Certificate course (attended by two of our mem- shortly after the retirement of Fr Ackland as bers). Also Florence Browne-Marke qualified as team rector. Three of the team also teach on a Street Pastor, joining Ijeoma Nwajiobi. And the Bishop’s Certificate course in theological we have had our usual galaxy of visiting preach- education. ers over the year: Mark Sturge of Christian Aid, Clergy are all very well, but the church Liz Grant who preached on Pentecost Sunday at exists for everyone, and it is those who are not a morning mass which for the first time offered ordained who are by far the most important anointing to any member of the congregation

2 who wished for it; Fr Fred Ashford-Okai, a ment, Bethlehem Children’s Relief, Lifeboats Ghanaian priest from East London, preached and Alzheimer’s); our carol singing around on Ghana Republic Day; Christopher Irvine, Catford raised £112, of which half went to a a residentiary of Canterbury Cathedral cancer charity; Christian Aid week itself raised preached on Christ the King; for Advent we had £572, including the proceeds of a Christian Aid Fr Nicholas Elder (St George’s, Camberwell), breakfast. Individually, members of the parish Fr David Evans (St Mary’s, Lewisham), Canon raised money through sponsored events such as Alan Race (St Margaret’s, Lee) and for Lent: the Great Ormond Street Race of Life for Kids, Canon Stephen Hance (Diocesan Missioner), The (Adult) Race for Life, Cycling the Great Fr William Gulliford (DDO for the Diocese of Wall of China for Cancer Research – and these Europe), Fr John Watson (St Barnabas, Dulwich, are just a few of many activities undertaken by and former missionary) and the Ven. Alastair St Laurence people over the year. Much of my Cutting, our archdeacon. For Lent, we had mis- own year has been concerned with money trav- sion as the theme of our sermons. elling in the opposite direction: trying to raise One outcome of the study day at St Mary’s money for work on the building from elsewhere; has been a couple of evenings looking to see not huge success in finding match funding for whether we as a congregation could offer any- recent grants so far, but several applications thing in the direction of mental health. Fr Neil are still outstanding. One unexpected source Bunker, mental health chaplain for Westmin- of funding was the arrival of a film company, ster, came to talk to us, as did Fr David Evans, including the famous actor Orlando Bloom, to the curate of St Mary’s Lewisham who had shoot five days of film on site. It was quite a organised the mental health day. We are still learning experience for them and for us, and the investigating whether, with our good resources occasional glimpse of this actor along with many of space and time, we can realistically provide less famous actors and stage-hands (along with support for people who have, or are in recovery the opportunity to work as an extra) gave us a from, mental illness. taste of the excitement of the world of movies. One area where we already provide support (And of the inevitably disruption it brings). locally is at the foodbank in Downham, where Maintaining the fabric of the building is we assist with cover two days a month. Mean- almost a full-time job. At last, work on the while St Laurence Centre is a haven for many access project has begun; hopefully, by the groups and individuals looking for a place to time of the annual meeting it will be complete, meet; we have hosted a huge range of activi- even though some of the doors have yet to ties and groups. The Centre is ably run by Kay be ordered. The front of the church has been Lanston, assisted by Joyce Turpin, Melinda transformed and now looks much more wel- Gereb our parish administrator, Robert Green, coming; the motorised doors inside should and our various caretakers. It is a great place enable anyone with a pushchair or wheelchair for those who would like to put something back to have easy access to our wonderful facilities. into the community, and over the year many And work should begin soon on repairing the members of the congregation have given time concrete holding in our beautiful stained glass, to help with its running. As a congregation, we prior to having high quality secondary glazing should be very grateful to all those who enable mounted to protect the glass from the worst of us to feed into the local community, and also the weather. There has been considerable work be fed by it spiritually and financially. on the church flats, and other work is planned Something else we also do for the commu- for the Centre. nity is fund-raising, both individually and as a There has been less interfaith activity this church. This year, the Advent Fair raised a splen- year; we met at the synagogue to hear Yasmin did £900 for Christian Aid, to which was added Khatun, head of current affairs of the Islam the £200 proceeds from the parish Christmas Channel, talk about religion in the media; we Card booklet, edited and printed once more by were invited to an ‘open iftar’ at the Islamic Peter and Sue Charles. (Peter also reliably edits Centre, where we broke the Ramadan fast the much appreciated quarterly Parish Maga- with members of the Muslim community; zine, whose quality has improved hugely since and we were also invited to ‘Eidh in the Park’, the parish invested in a new printer last year). the Muslim community’s annual festival in We gave away £500 to each of five charities Mountsfield Park to mark the end of Ramadan. (Mampong Babies Home, Survivors of Bereave- It was really impressive to see several thousand

3 Muslims, all in rows, praying together before president, who has arranged talks ranging from celebrating their holy day. We were also badly Fr Andrew on the Mampong Babies’ Home to defeated at the annual interfaith cricket match, Carol Bostridge on Street Pastors. Our parish despite borrowing some Muslim players. (Sadly, pilgrimage this year was to Gorizia, an obscure the one Jewish player could not attend this year). but fascinating part of north-east Italy, on the But the food provided by both communities border with Slovenia, which also enabled us to easily made up for the disappointment. We also visit Trieste – a great port and fascinating city. enjoyed a number of events shared with Holy And Fr Andrew led a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Cross Church, our Roman Catholic neighbours. Ghana for Fr Hugo and several members of the They came to our Advent Carol Service, and to parish, who all fell in love with Africa. low mass here on the Wednesday of the week Finally, last, but certainly not least, as it is at of prayer for Christian Unity. They also hosted the very centre of all we do, we have had our the Women’s World Day of Prayer. We in turn usual amazing variety of liturgies over the year. hosted a breakfast for all local church leaders The Sunday mass goes from strength to strength of all denominations with invited speakers. – our choir once more beginning to approach We hosted, too, some secular activities: not its former strength with several new members, only a couple of concerts in Huw Morgan’s both adult and young; this year’s organ scholar, ‘Automatronic’ series, plus concerts by other Harvey Grant, is proving a really useful member musicians, but also we provided the venue for of the team; the men’s choir performed twice a remarkable collaboration by artists and musi- during the year, on Corpus Christi Sunday and cians associated with Goldsmith’s College called Advent II, and the minichoir, taught by Mairéad ‘The Living Room’, whose curators like to take Sheerin, continues to rehearse during Junior less accessible spaces and fill them with art. St Church. In addition to the National Day and Laurence’s saw about 50 people packed in to other services already mentioned, on August listen to a performance by our organ scholar, 11th, we hosted a ‘drumhead service’ at the Harvey Grant, as well as to view the dozen request of the Borough, who wished to com- or so artworks installed around the church, memorate a recruiting march round Lewisham while another artist, Maxine Beuret, has been on August 14th 1915 on its Centenary – as I was photographing the church and recording the on holiday, Fr Iain did us proud. We continue to congregation for another project. hold regular healing masses on Tuesday evenings Our social events were many and varied: as (and one on Sunday morning); we hosted the well as the parish lunches for St George, Ghana, novicing service for two new Anglican Domini- Nigeria and the Advent Fair, we had a party in cans, and our own Peter Charles made his life the vicarage after the Ascension Day mass (it vows as a Dominican brother. On the Feast of was intended for the garden, but rain stopped Christ the King, we had an experimental evening play); we hosted a ‘Liber-tea’ to mark the anni- service with music by Huw Morgan and friends, versary of the Magna Carta attended by Vicky and artwork by Jo Cregan, head of art at St Mat- Foxcroft, MP for Deptford, and the Young thew’s academy. Both were demanding, but the Mayor (he and I still appear on the homepage result was remarkably successful. The Advent of Ms Foxcroft’s website); the parish barbeque and Christmas Carol Services were of their usual was on August 15th and the parish dance on high quality; the church is immensely suited to October 24th, which made £350 despite very the atmosphere of a candlelit service, and the strong competition, as it was the evening the singing was excellent. This year, the Christmas clocks went back. Domino evenings are still Carol Service featured in addition a harpist, a feature of parish life, much enjoyed by all. and members of a local community choir, ‘Cats’ We also had a Sunday afternoon, if this can Chorus’, directed by our own Mairéad Sheerin. be deemed a social event, clearing the church The New Year’s Eve service was extremely well grounds along with volunteers from the Vol- attended – the majority of those who came were unteer Centre Lewisham, one of our new ten- not principally St Laurence people, which was ants. We are very grateful to all the organisers excellent; and Huw’s remarkably simple and yet of these events, and especially to the Mothers rich unaccompanied mass setting has marked Union, who bear the heat of the day even for what has been a really successful Lent. We also events for which they are not strictly responsible, inducted five new chalice assistants, Matthew generously sharing their warming dishes, advice Thomas, Henry Otoo, Gabriel Chinedu, Sandra and general assistance. We have been delighted Sealy and Cheryl Boyce. to welcome Beverley Lashley as the new MU In all this, we are extremely grateful to Kofi 4 Hagan and his team of servers. Kofi has ably Association of Art Critics; I am still a governor taken up the lead after Sarah King’s retirement at Rushey Green School where I chair the cur- at the start of the year and has been superb riculum sub-committee. So, plenty to keep me in training up new servers and encouraging busy in and out of the parish. older ones to take new responsibilities – we all It only remains to thank all those who give have cause to be most grateful to him. Huw so much to keep St Laurence’s going – and we Morgan, our wonderful director of music, has do have a remarkable number of volunteers: it’s just announced his departure from London in undoubtedly one of our great strengths. Huge the autumn – he will be extremely difficult to thanks to the Churchwardens, Ray Williams replace, but we are currently advertising in hope (whose first year has seen him able deal with of finding a replacement for him. all manner of crises!) and Fiona Tyrell-Jackson, We have had the usual sad bereavements whose reign now sadly comes to an end. Our over the year. Bylinda Lundie lost her husband PCC hon. treasurer, Peter Louth, remains a George; Bob Knight, his sister Sonia; Gloria useful critical friend to the members of the PCC, Baptiste lost her father, Kofi Hagan his sister now in his tenth year. Joyce, the PCC secretary, Olivia, Fr Hugo his grand-mother Margarita, is calm and unflappable. Melinda Gereb, our Ken Traille his wife Eugene, and Violet Weston parish administrator, with our caretakers our her son Winston; Linda O’Mallo and Dawn only paid staff, fields calls everyday equally Henderson lost their fathers; Mary French, a calmly from extremely difficult people and very regular pray-er for us all, died suddenly in extremely helpful ones, and produces lovely Penerley Lodge; Delia King, for many years until Christmas cards for the parish. Olive Charles ‘the vote’ a pillar of this church, and who pro- sends copies of the weekly sheet to our house- duced some of the most amazing floral arrange- bound parishioners – much appreciated – and ments I have seen, died in October; Charles Eula Nicholas oversees the flower arranging, Relle, also a former member of the parish, died which gets better and better. Mairéad Sheerin in the autumn; and, particularly sadly, Fr David has taken over the running of Junior Church, Garlick, for many years Vicar of St Mary’s Lew- which is a hugely appreciated and extremely isham, died in January on holiday in Grenada, important role. Sue Dearie masterminds the while just before Christmas, Fr Anthony’s wife readers’ rota, gently encouraging the shy to Veronica, who over the last several years had try their hand. Kevin Counihan quietly does become a key member of the community here, much of the work in the sacristy, preparing died after a long illness. May they rest in peace for the Sunday mass, and, often noticed but and rise in Glory. never unappreciated, sees to the folding of the On a more cheerful note, we have also had weekly sheets; equally behind the scenes, Ann plenty of celebrations: amongst many others, Mill, our joint safeguarding officer with Peter Ray and Sharon Williams’ 40th wedding Charles, efficiently sees to our safety, while also anniversary; Grace and David Blyth’s golden organising the readers’ rota for the 8am mass. wedding; Bob & Gill Knight’s 30th wedding Debbie Watson looks after the parish registers; anniversary, and Bob’s 80th birthday; Fr Hugo Joan Broomes the parish giving scheme; Marva turned 40 and Eileen Hoare 90. And in the and Eleisea run the Welcome Table, and warmly middle of Lent, it gave many of us huge pleasure welcome newcomers to St Laurence’s. To all of to be able to attend Lesley and Vitalis Ihekuna’s these, and to the many others whom there isn’t wedding. space to mention, a huge thank you: it has been As well as all my work in the parish, I have a good and stable year – we pray that the year given talks over the year for Blackheath Wives to come will be equally enjoyable and successful. and the clergy of Chester Diocese and lectured Fr Charles at Ripon College, Cuddesdon and Sarum Col- lege, Salisbury and at Chelsea School of Art for Some parish statistics the clergy of London Diocese, and preached at St Ann, Kew, St Thomas, Finsbury Park and St 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 Mary’s, Lewisham. I have joined the board of a baptisms 8 15 10 8 15 new charity, based in Blackheath, ‘Talking about funerals 22 22 26 21 24 Art’ (we had our first exhibition in St Margaret’s weddings 2 6 1 9 11 Church, Lee, in the autumn), as well as being adult confirmtn 5 7 6 4 5 on the board of Voluntary Action Lewisham, adm. to HC 0 7 4 2 2 Art & Christian Enquiry, and the International 5 CHURCHWARDENS’ REPORT A busy and eventful year began with the Archdeacon’s inspection in April. This involved the Archdeacon attending the church to meet with the churchwardens and inspect the various registers held, such as confirmation, burial, and wedding registers. The Archdeacon also inspected the various records of church property and examined the places where the movable valuables, such as the items used during communion, are stored. He then carried out a survey of the fabric of the church and centre. We also discussed St Laurence’s mission to engage and work with children and young people. Since the inspection, Father Hugo has taken steps to ensure that our mission leads to concrete outcomes. In addition, we, as churchwardens, have started to update the church property register. This has involved taking new photographs of items in the church, assisted by Father Iain who also provided helpful commentary, including the names of some of the unfamiliar objects and explaining their purpose. Do you know what a ‘pyx’, a ‘monstrance’ or a ‘ciborium’ looks like? We know now - in this role one never stops learning! The annual Archdeaconry Visitation Service took place at in May. During the service the churchwardens from all the churches throughout the Diocese, including those newly elected at the preceding Annual Parochial Meetings, were officially sworn in. Members of the PCC are also encouraged to attend and are commissioned during the service. The churchwardens are reminded of their duties, which include custodians of the valuables of their respective churches and looking after the fabric of the church. Ears pricked up when the Archdeacon reminded us that if there is a major disturbance within or immediately outside the church, the churchwardens have primary responsibility for dealing with the matter, escorting anyone off the premises if necessary, and can exercise a power of arrest! The Visitation Service this year will take place on 9 June at 8.00pm at the Cathedral, and as always all members of the congregation are more than welcome to attend. During the previous twelve months we have been involved with a number of projects involving the church, the centre and the flats. Last summer we were preparing to welcome a new curate, Father Hugo to St Laurence’s. Providing Father Hugo with appropriate accommodation was always going to be a challenge. This was to be a happy event for the Church and also a sad one. In welcoming Father Hugo we said farewell to ‘auntie’, who had been a tenant in the church flats for a long time. Eventually, the flat for Father Hugo was made ready for his arrival and subsequently met with his personal approval and that of the Archdeacon. Further work that needed to be carried out to the building and the other flats has been undertaken or is well in hand. Two major items of work needing substantial fundraising, and which had been planned for a long time, finally began. The roof works and the access works have run in tandem. The roof works which involve repairing the Dalle de Verre windows and installing a protective mechanism to keep the elements at bay, have progressed through the planning stages. 6 A series of secondary glass panels erected outside and running parallel to our beautiful glass windows will be the protective barrier to help stop the deterioration of the concrete mullions and resin supports. Plans for a living roof and renovation of concrete facets are also included. Hopefully, the funding process will be completed soon and the full work programme will commence. For some time now plans have been underway to improve access into the church and centre. Funding for this with the aid of some substantial grants was obtained and work began. This included redesigning the front driveway leading into the church, a new widened path running alongside the front of the centre to assist wheelchair users and the inclusion of designated disabled parking bays. Numerous improvements to the main doors leading into church and several others in the church and centre have begun. When completed these changes will allow improved access routes for everyone, especially disabled people. Updating of the disabled toilet facility at the end of the central corridor will also take place. A productive year must end with a big thank you to all those who make our job easier, volunteering their services and making themselves available to take on various roles and duties, for example as side persons, welcoming people as they come into the church, placing service sheets into hymn books, etc. These acts all help the church services to run smoothly, which ensures that we can all enjoy our collective worship. When serving our church we are serving God, no matter how large or small our contribution may appear to be.

Fiona Tyrell-Jackson

Ray Williams

7

CENTRE MANAGEMENT REPORT

Centre bookings over this reporting year have increased steadily. Unfortunately EqualiTeam who rented the South Wing were given notice to quit after several incidents and the offices have now been rented out to another voluntary organisation. VAL who rented two offices have also moved out and the offices are at the moment vacant but we are still trying to find suitable tenants. The centre now has two new part-time caretakers covering holidays and busy times.

The centre has a new gardener who does 4hours once a fortnight and a working party took place to clear fallen leaves and do some tidying up. Pollarding where necessary was done by tree surgeons on all the trees growing within the church grounds this reporting year. A thank you goes to Grace Blythe for keeping the memorial garden tidy whilst we were without a gardener.

The curate’s flat has been completed refurbished this year and it is hoped that finances will allow us to do more work on the other flats over the forthcoming year.

I would like to thank all the members of the Management Committee who have supported me throughout the reporting year. The caretaker Nick Chapman and his deputies who keep the centre clean and tidy whilst ensuring that the user’s needs are provided for. Special thanks are given to Melinda Gereb the Parish Administrator and Joyce Turpin who does the church bookings on Thursday evenings and works in the office covering holiday periods. I would also like to thank Robert Greene our Health and Safety Advisor for all the hard work he has put in this year. St Laurence Church, Catford

Treasurers Report for the year 2015

Most years the income and expenditure flows in and out at roughly the same rate. 2015 saw overall income remain almost static whilst expenditure was some £28,000 greater than in 2014 predominantly because of the renovation of one of the flats and the commencement of the work on improving access to the Church and Centre. This excess of expenditure over income (£27,791) has been funded from reserves brought forward from previous years.

£13,427 was spent in respect of the access project covered entirely from the Accessibility Fund which now stands at £28,678. This amount is ear-marked to be spent on improving access for all into and throughout the church and centre. The Bridge House Trust have also approved a grant of £60,000 towards this project. As at 1st March 2016, £29,923 of this grant had been received together with £5,000 from Marshall’s Charity and £2,000 from The Bernard Sunley Charitable Foundation. The Beatrice Laing Trust have also promised £2,000.

Income from congregational giving was slightly up by £4,258 at £44,007. 68% of this was gift-aided so boosting our income by £5,973. In addition we received an additional £1,250 in Gift Aid relief in respect of small amounts received through the weekly collections, the maximum relief available.

Fees received for weddings and funerals were £2,503.

Day to day costs of the maintaining the church, administration, clergy and readers’ expenses, mission, events, youth, music and choir costs totalled £70,685 (2014 £68,959). Our contribution to the Diocese Expenditure (the diocesan quota) was £62,841. (2014 £61,027)

We donated £4,156 to other charities. (2014 - £6,803) (See note 7 on page 4 of the annual accounts for details.) Part of the reduction (£1,500) was due to my concerns about the level of continuing expenditure and the need to make savings. If the income and expenditure figures for 2016 are better than forecast then the 5 charities that received £500 in the annual PCC donation cycle will each receive a further £300 (£1,500 in total).

Centre lettings and income from the flats, garages and car parking brought in nearly £150,000 before costs of £88,000.

The income from our monies invested with CCLA through the South London Church Fund (SLCF) and the Southwark Diocesan Board of Finance (SDBF) was £2,903. These funds are effectively managed by CCLA and invested in Board of Finance Investment Funds with a small amount on cash deposit.

8 Out of the income of £2,903 - £2,627 was used to purchase further Investment Fund units. The market value of the investment units held by us increased by £1,101 so that their market value at 31 December 2015 was £86,531, with a further £51,035 on cash deposit.

Our unrestricted General Fund now stands at £133,467 comprising £86,531 (representing the value of the units held in the CofE CBF Investment funds) and £46,936 held in the Church, Centre and Flats maintenance funds and the Accessibility Fund. Of the £86,531 - £28,975 is as yet unrealised. That is the Units in the Investment Fund that cost us £57,556 are now valued at £28,975 more than they cost, but as yet that surplus is unrealised and will not be realised until the units are sold. Do not forget the ever present investment warning that the value of these investments can go down as well as up!

We have a Reserves Policy which is basically prudence on the part of the PCC to hold sufficient funds in reserve to meet the day to day ongoing expenditure including the salaries of our employees, for a reasonable period of time, so as to enable St Laurence Church and Centre to continue operating in the unlikely event that all our sources of income dried up, or were to be severely reduced.

Donations to the church ‘gift aided’ by standing order, envelopes or through the Charities Aid Foundation and Give As You Earn (GAYE) are tax efficient and we encourage this form of giving by those of you who are UK taxpayers to whom these regulations apply. We recover from the government an amount equal to 25% of all amounts ‘gift-aided’. If as a result of the changes in the UK Tax law effective from 6 April 2016 you no longer pay sufficient tax for your giving to be ‘gift-aided’ please let us know so that we no longer claim tax back that has not been paid.

We also welcome donations received by the Pledged Envelope Scheme or simply through the Collection Plate. Over £18,000 was received this way in 2015. Thank you for your efforts and generosity.

In conclusion, this will be my last report as treasurer after 9 years. It has been a privilege to hold this post and I thank all those who have served with me on the PCC over those years and the help and encouragement that has been given.

Peter Louth FCA Hon. Treasurer 1 March 2016

9

PCC SECRETARY’S REPORT

The Parochial Church Council meets to discuss matters relating to the day- to- day running of the church receiving and discussing reports from various individuals, for example the Church Wardens reports, the Centre Manager, the Treasurer and more recently Fund Raising Committee. Issues arising from the church’s role as a landlord and employer are also dealt with during the meetings. Resolutions voted on by the PCC included concessions on the community centre hire fees, access improvements and repairs to the church roof.

Current members of the PCC are listed below: Canon Charles Pickstone, Fr Iain Farquhar, Fr Hugo (since September) Huw Morgan (Music Director), Kay Lanston (Centre Manager), Peter Louth (Treasurer) Joyce Turpin (Secretary), Fiona Tyrell Jackson (Church Warden), Esme Alexander (Fund Raising Committee), Michelle Miller-Cox, Brenda Cox, Grace Blyth (Reader), Peter Charles (Reader), Mark Thompson, Matthew Thomas, Matthew Wright, Ray Williams (Church Warden), Dele Muji, Daphne Moore, Margaret Greaves, Beverley Lashley (MU), and Jeni Griffiths.

Charities The church is committed to donating a percentage of its income to charity. One of the important decisions the PCC has to make is which charities to support each year. Suggestions were received from members of the congregation, and various charities contacted the church requesting funding. This year five charities were chosen to receive £500 each.

Mampong Babies Home (Ghana) - Members of the Parish visited this baby home in October and were keen to support it. Two appeals – Mini bus appeal and supporting a worker which costs approx. £50 a month.

Survivors of Bereavement by Suicide (SOBS )- This group supports survivors of bereavement by suicide. Suicide rates are growing in London and this is the only group offering help and is growing at an alarming rate.

Childrens Relief of Bethlehem - Provides medical care to children in war torn Middle East particularly Palestine and the Syria crisis.

RNLI - London has the two busiest RNLI lifeboat stations in the UK and Republic of Ireland. Many people’s lives are saved from the Thames each year and with London’s population growing they will be even busier.

Alzeimers Society - This charity carries out research into dementia. Once in three people will develop some sort of dementia.

Also a large amount of money has been raised for other charities this year including Christian Aid.

10 DIRECTOR OF MUSIC’S ANNUAL REPORT 2015/16

This past year has been a fine one for our choir at St Laurence, and for the music here in general. We have had new members (adult and junior) join as regular members of the choir, appointed a fine new organ scholar, Harvey Grant, undertaken a lovely trip to the north east of England, and seen many fine performances in our church on Sunday mornings and other concerts.

In October we traveled to sing at Hexham Abbey (where one of our former organists, Marcus Wibberley, is Director of Music) as well as visiting Bambrugh Castle and learning about Grace Darling and St Aidan (patron saint of firefighters!), and visiting Durham with its magnificent cathedral. This coming autumn the choir will sing at Canterbury Cathedral as part of a parish trip, and we are planning a trip led by Fr Hugo to Madrid in 2017.

Our Christmas services were particularly joyful – the Advent Carol service was wonderfully atmospheric and the 9 Lessons and Carols for Christmas was vibrant and delightful: our choir was joined by the Hanover Choir, our own mini-choir and the Cats’ Chorus, the last two being brilliantly led by Mairéad Sheerin. Mairéad has taken on working with our youngest singers and does a fine job with them, giving firm foundations to our next generation of singers. We’re also lucky to have our Men’s and Women’s choirs singing regularly – we’re really grateful to these volunteers for giving their time and doing so much to enhance our worship.

I’m very sad to say that after 10 years as your organist, I shall be leaving St Laurence this summer. My wife Emma and I are starting a new adventure by moving to New Zealand for a year to 18 months, before we return to settle further west in the UK, nearer to Emma’s parents and to my roots in Wales. The last 10 years have been overwhelmingly fruitful, happy and wonderful and I’m eternally grateful for the fellowship you have all shown during my time here. I’d like to thank Fr Charles, Fr Iain and all the clergy for being so supportive of music at St Laurence in general and of me in particular. I’d like to thank all current and past members of the choir for their unceasing hard work and willingness to have a go at anything, and most of all for their lovely singing. Above all, I’d like to thank you, the congregation and community, for your kindness and generosity. So much has happened in the last 10 years: thank you for standing by the choir in some pretty tricky times, for standing by me through the loss of both my parents and helping me celebrate my marriage to Emma, and above all thank you for your regular noisy, proud, bright, brilliant singing that makes St Laurence such a special place.

Without your support we wouldn’t be able to give our young people a rich musical education they might not otherwise be able to access. Our youngsters have been able to learn music from over 1000 years of Christian musical history and to sing it not only in our home church but also in all manner of places in the UK and abroad. We have been able to give six young organists the best possible start to their careers – most recently we must congratulate Nick Wibberley on his appointment as director of music at St John’s Bellingham. If I have one final request of you, it is that you support my successor as you have supported me, so that we can continue to be a beacon of musical opportunity for young people in Catford.

I am terribly sorry to be leaving and shall remember you all with enormous affection: I shall count myself deeply fortunate to find a community to work in that is even half as wonderful as that at St Laurence.

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Sacristy Report

Currently we have seventeen (17) active servers. They are Kofi, Henry, Julia, Senita Vitalis, Eugenia, Ijeoma, Maame, Tia, Makeda, Sienna, Akira, Titi, Ivy, Comac, Kenneth and Sandra (8 o’clock).

The new servers are Titi and Ivy. They are doing very well.

I am pleased to report that Henry is doing well with his training as Master of Ceremony (MC) and would like to thank him for being able to stand in for me during my absence. Senita is also being trained as MC and Tia will start her training as MC soon.

Special thanks to Tia, Makeda, Sienna and Akira (travelling from Croydon) and Ivy (travelling from Abbey Wood) to come and serve. We also thank Peter and Grace (Lay Readers) who normally help us when we are short of servers.

We need more servers especially the younger ones

There are 12 Chalice Assistants at the moment and they are: Peter, Grace, Eula, Joan, Alice, Jeni, Mathew, Gabriel, Berkeley, Cheryl, Henry and Kofi.

On this occasion I would like to personally take this opportunity to say A BIG THANK YOU to all the servers for their efforts and helps making our team stronger and working better.

Well done and God bless you all.

Kofi (Sacristan)

Safeguarding Report 6 people undertaking new roles within the parish have been cleared this past year using the new on-line application procedure which seems to be of benefit both to applicants (ensuring confidentiality of information; ease of use and avoidance of errors in submission) and to the parish (avoidance of repeated re-submissions due to typographical errors and a much quicker turn-round in clearance – a week as opposed to a month to six weeks experienced using the paper system). The biggest problem we face is trying to keep up to date with the ever moving goal-posts of the safeguarding and clearance system and these changes have necessitated discussions with the safeguarding team at the diocese to resolve potentially difficult areas. We are grateful to Kate Singleton and her team for their assistance and support throughout the year. Anne Mill – Parish Safeguarding Officer Peter Charles – Parish Disclosure Manager

12 Junior Church Report

Junior Church Volunteers:

Elaine Dixon Antoinette Lynda Michelle Mairéad Julia (until January 2016)

In September 2015 Mairéad Thomas took over the Junior Church co- ordinator role from Helen Pickstone which involved drawing up the termly rota. In October 2015 the Junior Church volunteers met to discuss the challenges we face and how to deal with them. We identified the following areas:

Erratic attendance of some children Retention of older children Engaging parents

We decided that to deal with these areas we needed to establish and nurture the children's sense of belonging to our church and Sunday service, so we discussed:

Saturday activities Family masses Experimenting with Junior Church A feedback questionnaire for parents and children

We held our first Saturday in December 2016 and 7 children attended. They played 'getting to know you' games, watched 2 short films and then played dodge ball. It was enjoyed by adults and children. We decided that we would like to act out one of the short films 'The Lost Sheep' in the New Year. We have since had another Saturday (13th Feb, which enjoyed an increase in attendance) in which we played games, watched a film and started planning for the drama on Mothering Sunday.

13 We are looking at other ways to develop the children's involvement in services- perhaps making sure they read once a month, help with collections and bringing up the gifts. We have also invited all young people under 18 to join Junior Church, they appear happy to do so particularly when involved in the drama projects and discussions. All of this has meant changes to how Junior Church works: instead of the previous way of organising the rota (one volunteer for the 5-8s and another for the 8-12s working on a topic per week, usually connected with that week's readings) we have been working towards the Family Mass contribution, so the work has been project-based and the age groups have been mixed. We have encouraged the older ones to take on an active role of helping the younger children rather than just following instruction. We have tried to make how we perform as democratic as possible so that they all have a sense of ownership. So far we feel that the children of all ages have very much enjoyed the changes.

Looking ahead

We will be holding a meeting after Easter to review how we have done and also to check that everyone involved is happy with the changes. A couple of this term's challenges were coping with the workload with such an early Easter and also drawing up a plan for the term and then being made aware of others' expectations of Junior Church after planning this. All of the Junior Church volunteers have busy lives and have thankfully given the extra time (Saturdays, Good Friday, extra meetings and planning time) needed for the changes, to then have to change plans puts their goodwill at risk.

Our plan for after Easter is to look at topics to cover over several weeks e.g. symbols around the church, how the church year works, the church's role in the community- our role as Christians in a mixed faith/secular society. We want to encourage lively discussion particularly amongst the older children. The volunteers will discuss how we will take part in Family Masses and Sunday services, and we will look ahead to see how we can more meaningfully mark the big feasts such as Christmas.

As always we would love to have a bigger team! We are hoping increased visible child involvement will attract more volunteers…

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MOTHER’S UNION REPORT

St. Laurence Mothers’ Union is part of a society of over four million Christians. The organisation was started by Mary Summer in 1876 as a ministry for mothers in the Church; she was inspired by a great vision concerning the Christian responsibilities of motherhood.

On the 6th of August this year the Mothers’ Union will be celebrating its 140th year. Mary Summer’s vision continues to grow and today it may surprise you to know that this community is not simply made up of married mothers! In fact we are a community of men and women. The Mothers’ Union is a Christian membership community committed to demonstrating the Christian faith in action through nurturing family in its many forms.

The Mothers' Union meet for their monthly meetings on the first Tuesday of every month (after healing Mass) in the Jubilee Room; Meetings starts with the MU Prayer said by all. We try to arranged speakers bi-monthly; our meetings tend to end by 10 pm. Membership of the Mothers' Union is open to all, whether men or women, including parents, married or single people. The Mass on the third Sunday in each month has been allocated for recognition of the MU where members are encouraged to read lessons, lead the intercessions and also for taking up the MU Banner to the Altar.

MU members pays an annual subscription - our subscriptions are divided between Mary Sumner House, MU Central Fund at Mary Sumner House and Southwark Diocesan MU.

As usual the MU organise an annual fund-raising Parish BBQ in August of each year, attendance is usually good with food and music and is enjoyed by all.

Seven members of the MU went on a Pilgrimage to Ghana in October arranged by Fr Andrew and accompanied by Fr Hugo. They visited Cape Coast Castle, Elmina Castle and the fishing village, and the Babies Home in Mampong among other places. They were invited to worship at the Anglican Parish of All Saints Asokwa in Kumasi where they met some members of the Ladies in Christ (currently sponsored by St. Laurence MU). Mass was celebrated each morning led separately by Fr Andrew and Fr Hugo. The Group thoroughly enjoyed the trip and wish to thank Fr Andrew for arranging it.

There will be a fuller report about the Pilgrimage in the Easter edition of the Parish Magazine.

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The monthly domino session continues in the Coffee Bar on the last Friday of each month where everyone who wishes can attend. The Harvest Lunch and Advent Fair held at St. Laurence’s each year continues to be well attended and is enjoyed by all. The MU continues to assist with social events in the Church during the year.

Most of our meetings have been held without any speakers this year, but hopefully we will try to arrange some interesting speakers in future; The Branch continue to hold Quiet Mornings in the Lady Chapel. This Lent it was led by Fr Hugo and was well attended by members from St. Laurence branch as well as members from other branches in the Deanery.

I am sure our members will join me in thanking Fr Iain for supporting us at our monthly meetings; I would also like to thank Margaret our Secretary and Joan our Treasurer for the work they do throughout the year, to Eula for her continued input and support. Also I would like to thank all members for their help in volunteering to lead the intercessions and readings on the third Sunday of every month throughout the year. Last but not least to say thanks you to Fr. Hugo who also attends some of our meetings when he is able to. Let pray that God will continue to bless us in the work we carry out and that we may have an enjoyable year once more.

We have two new members joining this year and we encourage people from the congregation to attend one of our monthly meetings or speak to me, Fr Iain or any member of the MU to gain more information, but there are always leaflets on the Welcome Table in the Narthex.

Beverley Lashley Enrolling Branch Leader

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REPORT OF HOUSE GROUP/BIBLE STUDY GROUP

From September 2015 we changed the name of the group to Bible Study as we started to meet in the Jubilee room at St. Laurence centre. We thought it might encourage more people to come along and find out more about the Bible and related subjects and have discussions. But we still have an average of 8 people per session. We meet on a Wednesday evening at 8pm and finish by 9.30. In Advent and Easter we meet once a week.

From Easter until July 2015 we studied the post resurrection appearances of Jesus. Then from September until Advent, and for one week in January 2016, we talked about the Creed - there were many lively discussions. During Advent we discussed the role of Mary in Jesus’ life and how the stories differ in each Gospel. During Lent we learned about the Psalms and how to use them to help us to pray. There is a Psalm for every given situation, from feeling joyful, feeling desperate to feeling lonely. We did this with a C.D. containing contributions from Bishop Stephen Cottrell, Revd Dr. Jane Leach (Principal Wesley House), Fr. Timothy Radcliffe (Dominican Friar), Revd Rose Hudson-Wilkin (Chaplain, House of Commons) and the Revd John Bell (The Iona Community). A different psalm was taken each meeting and after the C.D. we had a discussion on what we thought of the contents.

The leaders of the group are Br. Peter, Mth. Sue, Fth. Hugo and Fth. Iain. We are a very friendly bunch and it would be good if more people would join us. It is a great way to find out more about the Bible. If you would like more information please contact one of the leaders for a chat.

Fth. Iain

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