Annual Report and Accounts for the Parochial Church Council of All Saints’, Legbourne

For the year ended 31st December 2018

Aims and Purposes

All Saints’ Parochial Church Council has the responsibility of co-operating with the incumbent in promoting in the ecclesiastical parish of Legbourne the whole mission of the Church, pastoral, evangelistic, social and ecumenical, as well as the maintenance of the fabric of the church at Legbourne and the churchyards at Legbourne, Burwell and , and the church yard and cemetery at .

Objectives and Activities

We are part of the Benefice of Legbourne Woldmarsh, an Anglican Christian community, worshipping in - and working from - nine churches, in villages across the Wolds and Marsh. We are inspired by the Bishop of Lincoln’s call for ‘faithful worship, confident discipleship and joyful service’. In our mission to the people here we seek particular encouragement from the mobile ministry of Jesus Christ amongst the rural communities of his homeland, as recorded in Luke 8: ‘He went on through cities and villages, proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God.’ It is our sacred duty and joy to continue his work, aided by the Spirit, in the villages of Lincolnshire. As God's pilgrim people we move around our churches for worship, being prayerful, active and present in all of our communities. The PCC is committed to inviting and enabling as many people as possible to worship in our church, to have access to the sacraments of the church and to become part of the Christian community. To this end we strive to forge strong relationships between the church and local families and organisations, especially East Wold School and the Community Centre. In summary, we exist to  communicate a comprehensive and glorious vision of God and the nature and purpose of his creation,  to help people to be formed into the image of Christ and to live out their faith as his disciples  to nurture human flourishing and the common good according to God’s will.

We primarily aim to achieve this by  Worship, prayer and catechesis  Provision of pastoral care  Missionary and outreach work.

Achievements and Performance

Worship, Prayer and Catechesis

The parish Eucharist is the central act of worship, taking place on a Sunday morning at 10.30am. According to the longstanding benefice rota this happens at All Saints’, Legbourne on the 1st and 3rd Sunday of each month. Numerous members of the congregation read the lessons from Scripture, and four people actively assist the priest by administering the chalice, under licence.

Fr James Robinson was informally introduced to the congregation at a Songs of Praise service in July, followed by a buffet supper in the chancel. Fr James was then Instituted and Inducted on 3rd September by the Archdeacon of Lincoln and the Bishop of Lincoln, who preached the sermon. The church was full, with a good contingent from Fr James’ former parish in and representatives from our local community. A buffet in the Community Centre finished off a wonderful evening of thanksgiving and fellowship.

The major festivals in the church calendar continue to attract larger-than-usual congregations. The Crib Service on Christmas Eve was particularly successful, with good participation from younger members in constructing the crib. A traditional 9 Lessons and Carols gave opportunity to invite representatives from the wider community to read lessons, and enjoy a glass of mulled wine. Particular mention must go to Hank Green for contributing such a glorious Christmas tree, cut from his garden. A village carol service was also held at the redundant church of St Michael’s, Burwell, which is in the parish, and which allowed us to reach out to a group not normally within our orbit. Locals contributed cakes and candles (to make up for the lack of electricity in the church) and Bill Kibby led the music, with his wife Beth performing a moving solo.

Other important feast days have begun to be celebrated with a Eucharist. We marked our patronal festival, All Saints’ Day on November 1st with a Eucharist attended by members of the deanery, followed by glasses of fizz and cake.

As part of our commitment to working closely as part of the Louth and East Wolds Mission Community, Fr James attends monthly – and occasionally celebrates – the 11am Eucharist at St James’, Louth, and Choral Evensong on a Sunday. The Mission Community also makes the commitment to celebrate the Eucharist together on Red Letter Days in various churches across the deanery. All church members are of course welcome and encourage to attend any of these services.

The daily offices are now said publically Monday – Thursday (Friday being Fr James’ day off). After initial experimentation with timings and location, a pattern has been settled upon which has morning prayer said at Legbourne at 9.30am Tuesday – Thursday, and evening prayer Monday-Wednesday at 4.15pm, with a number of church members attending semi-regularly. The bell is always rung before the office to let the village know they are being prayed for!

An renewed emphasis on the church’s teaching ministry, began by Rev’d Alan Hayday during the interregnum, has been developed. Fr James gave a talk on St Luke’s Gospel to mark the beginning of Year C in the lectionary cycle on Advent Sunday.

The occasional offices remain an important point of contact and ministry within the wider community. In 2018 there were 3 baptisms, 1 wedding and3 funerals. These are lower than usual and perhaps reflect the interregnum status.

Baptisms are now strongly encouraged to take place during the Parish Eucharist, to enable the congregation to welcome their newest members, and for the candidates and their families to be more directly introduced to the worshipping community. This has had a positive impact, not least in drawing more children into the Sunday morning services.

The Taize Prayer Group, meeting in All Saints’ on the 2nd Saturday of each month (excluding a short winter break) continues to attract a good number and provide a space to share prayers and spiritual writings and to participate in the Taize style of singing.

On Armistice Day we gathered at the war memorial in the churchyard to commemorate the centenary of the ending of World War 1. After the observation of the 2 minutes silence wreaths were laid on the war graves.

Especial thanks should be given to Rev’d Alan Hayday for his work in leading our worship during the interregnum; to Hilary King for, amongst other things, performing the duties of sacristan; to our reader Helen Marsden for her dedicated ministry, and to Liz Marshall for enhancing our worship greatly with her organ playing. We are also grateful to Keith the tower captain and our team of bell ringers for announcing our worship so wonderfully; and our flower arrangers and church cleaners, who help enhance the beauty of our church and our worship.

Deanery Synod

The PCC is currently not directly represented on Deanery Synod but representatives from the benefice, as well as the incumbent and reader attend. In general it has been a good year for the deanery, with 2 vacancies filled (including our own). Nevertheless with 3 multi-parish benefices still without an incumbent the clergy are stretched.

The deanery office continues to provide essential and effective administrative support. In order to ensure this service is sustainable all benefices have been asked to contribute a monthly payment of £70.

The division of the deanery into 2 Mission Communities, with Legbourne Woldmarsh united with Louth and , has helped to create a more collaborative and mission-focused environment. One fruit of this has been the provision of a Eucharist, attended by members of the Mission Community, on important feast days.

Pastoral Care

Fr James has made visiting the sick and isolated a priority, as well as calling on members of the congregation for a more general chat. The availability of a visit, for whatever reason, as well as the opportunity for anointing for healing and/or the sharing of Holy Communion is advertised in all newsletters, noticeboards and on the website. The public praying of the daily office on most week days offers a point of contact with the parish priest, should a person wish to have a talk.

There is currently no tabernacle in any of the benefice churches where the sacrament can be properly reserved for the sick and housebound. The PCC has voted to rectify this and begin the process of acquiring one, to develop this important ministry.

A collecting box for the Community Larder, based at the Trinity Centre in Louth, is kept by the church entrance and regularly filled through donations and delivered to those who need it. A special collection of food was taken for the Community Larder at our Harvest Festival, and was greatly appreciated.

Church members are hugely involved in ‘Friendship Club’, which meets in the Community Centre and provides an opportunity for people to meet, play games, have tea and cake and enjoy one another’s company. Fr James attends when he can.

Mission and Outreach

The ‘Welcome on Wednesday’ coffee morning, which takes place once a month in All Saints’, provides an opportunity for people – whether they are a member of the congregation or not – to enjoy company and good quality cakes. This is a valuable point of contact with the wider community, and a good way to offer hospitality and enable social cohesion. Donations are taken, and usually given to a specific charitable cause each time. Speakers are occasionally invited to address attendees on matters of local interest or importance. Sincere thanks are offered to those who contribute such wonderful bakes and help serve.

All Saints’ took part in both days of the Lincolnshire Heritage Weekend in September, offering refreshments, a ‘medieval graffiti trail’ and an extensive archive of photographs was times past, documenting the life of the village, which was very popular.

The Gift Day was once again well supported, with letters sent out in advance to explain the financial needs of the church, and members present in All Saints’ to receive donations and offer refreshments. It is hoped that next year we may develop this into more of a church fete, to encourage more people to call in, as well as helping to raise funds.

The Harvest Supper was held in October, following on from the Harvest Festival. An evening of food, fellowship and musical entertainment helped to mark this important time in our intensely agricultural community.

The Christmas fair, held in the Community Centre, was another important means by which funds were raised and a wider audience engaged with. As well as stalls, games, a quiz and a raffle, and plenty of mince pies, people were invited to contribute prayers to be attached to knitted decorations and hung on the church Christmas tree.

East Wold Primary School and other work with children

Fr James has taken his place as ex officio school governor at East Wold Church of Primary School, Legbourne. The link between church and school is to be treasured and nurtured. Every class room now has a cross on display in it, and the Christian identity of the school is clear to any visitor through the display boards. Fr James goes into school every week to take collective worship with the whole school, and was invited to take part in a question and answer session with Year 1. Following on from an assembly about angels in Advent, his challenge to the school to get each child to make a paper angel to help decorate the church at Christmas was brilliantly taken up. The angels covered the chancel screen and Christmas tree and looked wonderful. The school come to All Saints’ Church for their Harvest Festival and for Christmas and Easter services, when we also welcome many parents and grandparents. Bibles are given out by Fr James to every new child entering the school.

Links with Red Hen Nursery, which is also in the village, are being developed. Fr James was delighted to be invited into the nursery to talk to the kindergarten children at harvest time and at Christmas. We look forward to welcoming some of the children into church at Easter.

At the beginning of the year Messy Church was held on a Saturday afternoon looking at the parables and up to 15 children with parents enjoyed tea and cakes, listening to the bible stories and the craft activities. The challenge of creating a more regular children’s group that is both sustainable and effective is being considered.

Church and Fabric

In October we welcomed Fr Gavin Kirk, the Archdeacon of Lincoln, to carry out his visitation inspection of the church and its contents. This proved an excellent opportunity to ‘get our house in order’, according to the guidelines sent ahead by the Diocese. Fr Gavin was pleased by what he saw, and had some helpful recommendations to share. Thanks are due to Hilary for her diligence and care in making things ready for him.

The church’s fabric is in a fair condition with no new concerns. Hopefully we will start the repairs to the buttress which the last Quinquennial advised in the coming year. Grant applications are in the process of being sent off.

We are aware that an awful lot of people give of their time in caring for the church and churchyard. We are immensely grateful for all who volunteer to go on the church cleaning and grass cutting rotas. This year the gravel in the church path was re-laid by Harry Rogers and the gate repainted. The perimeter hedge was given a much needed haircut. Ahead of Armistice Day the war memorial was thoroughly cleaned by Hank, who keeps a close eye on overly ambitious vegetation as well.

Ecumenical Relations

We continue to develop our relationship with Methodist Chapel, and were delighted to join them for their annual Covenant Service in January.

Communication

A Benefice website was launched this year. Funded by the Diocese and managed by Fr James, it provides a necessary point of contact for people seeking information about our life and worship. It is updated regularly and contains all service information as well as celebrating events and achievements.

A monthly notice sheet is produced and disseminated across the churches, which sets out services, readings and notices for the month, along with material for prayer and contemplation.

The monthly notices, as well as a letter from Fr James and reports on church activities are included in Legbourne and Little Cawthorpe Newsletter, which is widely distributed every month.

The Woldmarsh Parish Magazine continues to have a wide circulation across the benefice, helping to spread the word about our activities and inform readers with articles concerning local history and interest. Thanks are due to all contributors and distributors, and of course to Sandy and Shirley for lovingly crafting and producing it.

Extra efforts are being made to keep noticeboards clean and up to date. The noticeboard displays clear information about the life of the church and how to contact Fr James.

Efforts are also being made to help visitors to the church to enter as pilgrims. By the door there is a sheet to write down names of people to be prayed for at the Parish Eucharist (or privately by the priest if preferred) as well as material welcoming people into the church and teaching about the faith.

Financial Review

Investments are down this year, due to an unsympathetic market, as is income from weddings and funerals (symptomatic of being largely in interregnum). Collection takings have risen. We are holding our own financially and manage to meet our commitments, but do live hand to mouth, and fell £1055 short of paying our Parish Share in full (still a good effort, greatly appreciated by the Diocese). Overall expenditure exceeded income in our current account by £871. It remains an aspiration to develop reserves. We hope that a new stewardship campaign will ease things for us. The fund-raising group are working hard to organise various events through the year. We are at the moment applying for grants to help with the considerable repair work required on the tower buttresses. £14000 of our assets is ring-fenced as a contribution to this project. We are as ever hugely reliant upon and immensely grateful to all who have given financially to our work over the year.

Structure, governance and management

The method of appointment of PCC members is set out in the Church Representation Rules. Membership of the PCC consists of the incumbent (our rector Fr James), churchwardens, the reader and members of the electoral roll who have been elected by fellow members. All those who attend our services are encouraged to register on the electoral roll and consider standing for the PCC. The PCC members are responsible for making decisions on all matters of general concern to the parish, including deciding how the PCC funds are spent. New members will receive any necessary training and guidance. The PCC met 5 times in 2018.

Administrative Information

The parish of Legbourne is situated on the eastern edge of the Lincolnshire Wolds, south of the country market town of Louth. It is in the deanery of Louthesk and the , within the Church of England. The correspondence address is: The Rectory, Church Lane, Legbourne, Louth LN11 8LN. The PCC is a body corporate (PCC Powers Measure 1956) and a charity currently excepted from registration with the Charity Commission.

PCC members who have served at any point in the calendar year ending December 2018 are:

Ex Officio members: Incumbent: Fr James Robinson Reader: Helen Marsden Wardens: Valerie Osborne and Alan Brumpton (with both positions vacant from May 2018)

Elected members: Hilary King (Treasurer) Trish Broadly (Secretary) Margaret Tointon Mavis Maw Pat Brumpton Cecily Davy Janice Willrich John Davenport Glenys Gray. Sheila Johnson Don Martin.

All Wardens and PCC members are sincerely thanked for their invaluable hard work and dedication. Especial thanks are owed to Hilary King for taking on so many additional responsibilities.

Approved by the PCCs on 14th March 2019 and signed on their behalf by Fr James Robinson (chair of PCC)