Presented to the Annual Parish Church Meeting of March 13, 2016

St Matthew's, Bethnal Green Registered Charity No. 1148272 Reflections of the year ended December 31, 2015 presented to the Annual Parish Church Meeting of March 13, 2016

PCC SECRETARY'S REPORT The PCC has met for six full meetings and one extraordinary in the past year, one of which included the Area Dean attending as part of the Archdeacon’s Visitation. As usual the discussions at these meeting covered a varied range of subjects involving the administration, maintenance and mission of St Matthew’s Church for the benefit of the people of Bethnal Green.

Among the items covered were:  Children: Children play a large part in the life of St Matthews and a number of issues involving children were considered throughout the year. These included discussions regarding admitting unconfirmed children to communion; the greater inclusion of children in the main services; the on-going activities of ‘Thank God It’s Friday’; the possibility of applying for grants to pay for a Children and Families worker; and of course our commitment to safeguarding children and vulnerable people at St Matthew’s Church.  Services: As part of St Matthew’s commitment to good liturgy and its outreach to the wider community new forms of service were considered and, in fact, were acted upon. ‘Ashes to Go’ on Ash Wednesday was launched with other churches at Bethnal Green Underground station; a ‘Death Café’ was held at Jonestown Coffee shop on Halloween; and a St Fiacre’s (patron saint of ‘cabbies’) day was marked with a service culminating in the blessing of taxi-cabs.  Buildings: This year the PCC finally saw the Quinquennial repair work being carried out, and discussed the use and repair of the various buildings for which they are responsible.  Links with Holy Trinity Church, Inwood, New York  Possibility of accepting a new Curate for training in 2016  Charitable Giving  Finances

The PCC continues to work to make St Matthew’s an inclusive and welcoming church, whilst bearing in mind the changing landscape of our local area and community. The exploration of new and more community based services and groups is a testament to that desire. The PCC has also been aware in the changing pattern of church attendance and continues to work to address this and discern God’s plan for us into the future.

As usual I would just like to close by offering my thanks to all members of the PCC and those who have contributed to our meetings for the hard work and the commitment they have shown over the past year, and I pray that we can continue to build up our church community and our wider community for the glory of God. - The Revd Sr. Judith Blackburn SSM – PCC Secretary

ELECTORAL ROLL OFFICER'S REPORT The Electoral Roll was revised in the lead up to APCM. This took place from February 7 to February 26, 2016.

A copy of the roll was available for inspection on the table at the back of church for two weeks in advance of the scheduled Annual Parish Meeting.

Nine names were removed. Six names were added.

The total enrolment now stands at 68.

- Adey Grummet

TREASURER’S REPORT Alfred Kamara-Laye, the Treasurer, will be on hand to answer any questions in relation to the annual accounts at the APCM.

DEANERY SYNOD MEMBERS' REPORT The Deanery Synod has met four times in the past year, mainly at the Royal Foundation of St Katherine in Limehouse, and has discussed matters that effect the life of the church in Tower Hamlets both directly and indirectly.

The first meeting in February was held at the Royal Foundation and was due to be addressed by Dr Rachel Jordan, the Church of England Missions and Evangelism Advisor, who was sadly unable to attend. The evening would therefore focus on the Standing Committee elections, and the appointment of school governors.

The next meeting of the year concentrated on the financial matters and was held in May at St James the Less Church in Bethnal Green. This meeting was led by Archdeacon Rachel Treweek shortly before she left the area to be consecrated Bishop of Gloucester. The focus was on the Church Common Fund and how the money that was paid in by parishes was spent.

In June the Synod met at the Royal Foundation where the speaker was Tim Clapton who spoke about the new partnership at St George-in-the-East that has emerged from the vacancy review process carried out by St George’s PCC. Angus Ritchie has become priest-in-charge and Tim Clapton is assistant priest with day-to-day pastoral responsibility for the parish. They both work for the Centre for Theology and Community (CTC) and a partnership has been formed by the congregation, the CTC and the Bishop of Stepney. It is hoped that by September the CTC will oversee a lay resident community of young adults who will be moving into the Rectory around September and will grow a programme of teaching and ministry, working with children and the local mosque.

2 At this meeting a new Lay-Chair was elected, Hayley Clark, and also a lay member was also appointed to the Standing Committee, David Longbottam. Other issues discussed at this meeting were:  Pay-day loan companies and credit unions.  Reform and renewal work undertaken by the General Synod to look at how the Church of England can respond to the challenges of the modern age and grow.  School Governors  Representation on General and Diocesan Synods.

In October the Synod met at St George-in-the-East where the main speakers were Ric Thorpe, the Bishop of Islington, and Richard Gough, the new Director General of the Diocese. They spoke about church growth with special reference to two Diocesan wide initiatives Capital Vision 2020 and Capital Mass.

Again, school governors were also discussed. This tends to be an on-going issue for Deanery Synod due to the number of church schools in the area and the need to find new or reappoint governors at vacancies arise.

These notes testify to the range and interest of the business dealt with at deanery level, and also, it should be noted, that the lay members of synod have been growing more and more involved and have owned these meetings by holding speakers to account on behalf of the people of Tower Hamlets. This is to be encouraged, and I would likewise encourage members of St Matthew’s to put themselves forward to share in this important and interesting work. - Sr Judith Blackburn SSM FABRIC REPORT The Church We are pleased to report that, as usual, our buildings are in pretty good shape. In line with last year’s focus on the Quinquennial Report, we obtained three quotations for the works following the architect’s inspection. The Quinquennial works were carried out by the company of Taylor Green and a faculty was acquired. Both internal and external repairs were made. All of the grilles on the north, south and main elevations at ground level were replaced, along with lead coping, redecoration, plastering and stained glass repair. A new heater was installed in the upper chapel. Our insurance policy was changed in order to further protect us against metal theft.

An additional security measure taken this year was the installation of Close Circuit Television. Five cameras have been placed in various locations both inside and outside of the church. This was made possible by an anonymous donor, to whom thanks are due.

Following some problems with the boiler, a new burner and valve was installed and seemingly solved the problem.

3 A health and safety review was undertaken to ensure that everything met required standards within the church.

The Watch House The tenants’ lease is up for renewal but it is yet to be decided whether this will be actioned or the property will change hands, potentially to accommodate the incoming curate. Both the PCC and the tenants have been informed.

The Watch House is currently in an adequate condition but various necessary improvements/repairs have been identified. As such, a condition report on the Watch House was requested and is to be submitted and discussed by the PCC in early 2016.

The Parish Hall There is a long term lease with clauses for repair works to be carried out. The tenants have yet to fulfil this obligation in full, but we have been advised by surveyors that they are not compelled to until the end of the lease. We remain satisfied that we are getting an income from the building being let.

The Parish Room The U Turn Project, a charitable organisation which supports vulnerable local women, is the long-term tenant of this room. The agreement is up for renewal in 2016 and negotiations are ongoing; the current tenants have been informed of the cost of renewal should they wish to proceed with this.

The Parish Room is also used as the venue of Parochial Church Council Meetings. The PCC is also considering its use as part of our extended work with children. Moreover, the U-Turn project occasionally holds events in church. It is in a state of good repair.

The Rectory The Rectory and the Rectory Flat are not the direct responsibility of the PCC but the Diocese. They are kept in good order by the residents, Fr Kevin Scully and The Revd Fiona Green respectively. A grant of £800.00, being for works over a two year period, was made for decoration of the Rectory.

- Ingrid Doris and Matthew Shelley (Churchwardens)