Annual Report of the Parochial Church Council

ANNUAL REPORT OF THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL

For the year ended 31 December 2016

Team Rector The Reverend Helen Hancock 20A Kingsdowne Road Surbiton KT6 6JZ

Registered Charity Number in England: 1143978 Registered Name: The Parochial Church Council of the Ecclesiastical Parish of St Matthew’s, Surbiton in the benefice of the Tolworth Hook & Surbiton Team Ministry

Barclays Bank Surbiton Branch, Kingston-Upon-Thames Business Centre 8 Clarence Street Kingston-upon-Thames KT1 1NY The PCC is a charity registered with the Charity Commission in England and Wales. St Matthew’s forms part of the Tolworth Hook & Surbiton Team Ministry working alongside our brothers and sisters in Christ at St George’s, Tolworth and St Paul’s, Hook.

PCC MEMBERSHIP

Members of the PCC are either ex-officio or elected at the Annual Parochial Church Meeting in accordance with the Church representation rules.

During the year the following served as members of the PCC:

Team Rector: Rev’d Helen Hancock

Readers: Mr John Fleetwood Mr Tony Geater

Churchwardens: Mr Paul Atkins Mrs Pauline Keane

Representatives on the Deanery Synod:

Until APCM 2017 Mrs Anne Geater Mrs Lesley Kennett Mr Jason Pennington

Elected representatives of the laity:

Until APCM 2017 Miss Norma Yates Miss Stephanie Taylor

Until APCM 2018 Mrs Jen Houghton Mr Greg Simmonds

Until APCM 2019 Mrs Jo Boaler Mr Dave Farris Mr Nigel Palmer Mrs Julie Usher Mr Srihan Weerasinghe

Jin Yong Kang has served as St Matthew’s Treasurer and is a co-opted member of the St Matthew’s PCC.

We are very grateful to all those who have served as PCC members this year.

The PCC operates through a number of delegated teams and committees. The only legally required committee is the PCC Standing Committee which has power to transact the business of the PCC between its meetings, subject to directions given by the PCC. It did not meet during 2016. CHURCH MEMBERSHIP

2016 saw changes to the Parish boundaries as part of the establishment of the Tolworth Hook & Surbiton Team Ministry, and our figures now reflect membership of St Matthew’s alone, rather than St Matthew’s and St George’s.

At the APCM in April 2016 there were 171 members on the Electoral Roll which is an increase of four people since 2015. With other church members joining the roll, it stands at 182 names as at December 2016. Since the change to the Parish boundaries this year, there are now more members living outside the parish (96 members) compared to those living within the parish (86 members).

OCCASIONAL SERVICES

The number of baptisms, marriages and funerals were as follows:

Baptisms 13 Weddings nil Funerals (conducted both in our church buildings but also 39 by a member of our ministry team elsewhere)

All of these represent opportunities to witness to our local community and share the love of God with people at special times in their lives and are a key part of our mission to the local community.

St Matthew’s takes a significant proportion of the church funerals within the Deanery and we are particularly grateful to The Rev’d William Allberry and to Tony Geater who, in addition to the Team Rector, conduct this important ministry.

Treasurer’s Report for the year ended 31 December 2016

Headlines

 Excess of expenditure over income for 2016 of £775  Voluntary Income in line with the 2016 budget  Expenditure higher than forecast, attributable in part to the unexpected cost of asbestos removal from the old boiler room  Deficit of £19,580 budgeted for 2017, due largely to repairs expected to be required following the Quinquennial Inspection scheduled for February 2017

Excluding gains from revaluation of investments and the Development Project, St Matthew’s Church had an excess of expenditure over income of £775. Unrealised gains on investments of £18,556 converted this loss to a surplus of £17,781. Income

Income at £146,077 was £4,018 higher than forecast, because of donations which were not budgeted, as is usual practice, plus investment income being higher than expected.

 Voluntary Income with associated Gift Aid recovery came to £116,315, £490 less than the £116,805 projected. In addition, £1,441 was collected for specific outside charities and donations of £3,955 were received.  Income for hall hire was less than budgeted by £1,640 partly because of the pre-school moving out as part of our redevelopment plans  Investment Income of £5,346 was £1,346 higher than forecast.

Expenditure

Expenditure of £146,851 was £5,312 more than expected. This is mainly attributable to the £8,880 cost of the removal of asbestos found in the boiler room, plus £2,493 spent on new furniture for our children’s groups, although the latter was covered by a donation of £3,000 given specifically for this purpose.

 Missionary and Charitable Giving of £13,227 was £1,594 higher than projected. 10% of Voluntary Income including Gift Aid recovery was given to outside charities and the increase was due to £1,441 in special collections passed directly on to various causes.  The Diocesan Quota and Insurance Costs were known at the time of Budget preparation.  Expenditures for Mission & Ministry, Sunday School & Church Youth and Office Expenditures as well as the utility costs were much as expected. The higher-than-expected spend on repairs and equipment has already been mentioned.

Development Project [para to follow from Jin or Mala]

2017 Budget

The Budget for 2017 shows an excess of Expenditure over Income of £19,580. This is largely due to three items: 1) a provision of £20,000 for repairs which are likely to become necessary as a result of the quinquennial inspection which is due to occur in February 2017, 2) £3,000 extra budgeted for our utilities bill which is likely to rise with the installation of the new heating system and expected greater use of church facilities with our ‘Seven-Days-a-Week’ vision and 3) £3,500 extra added to the budget for Mission and Ministry as anticipated cost for a graphic designer to improve our website and communications and for a cleaner.

Voluntary Giving is forecast to remain at the same level as received in August to October 2016. As is normal practice, no forecast is made for donations and legacies. 25% of Income Tax is recoverable on giving eligible for Gift Aid. 10% of voluntary income will be given to outside charities. The Diocese Parish Support Fund payable during 2017 will remain unchanged from 2016. The exact premium payable for Insurance is known.

The Vicar and Wardens have forecast a lower but, they believe, a more realistic income figure than in 2016 for Weddings, Funerals and Church hire and a significant increase for repairs and Maintenance as mentioned above. I would like to thank everybody who has helped during the year, especially Joan Higgs-Smith, Gill Davies and Andy Keane for their cashier work and administration of Gift Aid, the PCC and the Finance Team for their input and advice, Paul Mackie who prepared the Budget and Susan Murphy who put the final accounts together.

Jin-Yong Kang Treasurer and the Finance Team REVIEW OF THE YEAR

If you have been a reader of InforMatt, the notice sheet and our website since January 2016 you should already be aware of the different activities and highlights we have enjoyed as a church fellowship. But it is always quite helpful to remind ourselves of the year past, so here once again is a whistle-stop tour through some of my highlights of the year. Our focus at the beginning of the year was the newly formed Tolworth Hook & Surbiton Team Ministry which we now refer to as ‘THiS Team’. The inauguration service held at St Matthew’s was significant for all those who attended (including Bishop Richard and our then new Archdeacon, the Rev’d John Kiddle). A plait of wool, rope and cable was attempted by the Team Clergy as a very visual image of the differences between the Team churches which despite those could still combine together in power and unity. We are still looking at what it means to be Team but there have been some good examples of sharing and working together already from which we have all benefitted. One example of this was the Team Quiet Day led by Becky Whiting in Holy Week when a number of us shared together the powerful experience of peace and quiet and worship. It was a helpful preparation for our observance of Easter which came through the poetry of Malcolm Guite, the music of Gabriel Fauré and distinctive liturgy for the time of year. At our APCM in April came perhaps the highlight of the church’s year. This was the launching of the Seven Whole Days Vision. Some may be surprised that it has only been inspiring us for a matter of months – so embedded has it already become in our culture, vocabulary and thinking. Taking the hymn words of George Herbert:

‘Seven whole days not one in seven, I will praise thee’ and the notion that we have a 7-day-a-week God, we are seeking to become better equipped as ‘7-day- a-week Christians’. We have continued in the months since to explore what that might mean for our mission, our building, our discipleship and our fellowship. To some extent this Vision has overtaken our previous Mission Action Plan, the actions from which were either completed or overtaken by events. It is right to give ourselves – and particularly the PCC - a pat on the back for the completion of our first MAP and we must ensure that our approach to the coming changes to our building and all that we do continue to be mission focused. Our discipleship is being steered by a newly formed Committee and many across the church have contributed to our Action Weeks which for the first week of each month now give us all an idea which help us to exercise our faith across the week. In the Spring we had a coffee morning in the church to help communicate the progress on work to the church which was helpful in ensuring the free flow of ideas and information between the congregations and those on the Project Team, who are masterminding the development works. On another Saturday morning in late Spring we celebrated the Queen’s 90th birthday with one of the newly-formed Fundraising Committee’s first events. The formation of that Committee has been significant both in the amount raised towards the development project but more importantly towards increasing the sense of community amongst the congregations and those in the wider community. Many people have worked really hard this year to organise events, provide catering and come up with new ideas for fun things to do and our church life is all the richer for it. Thank You! The early summer saw a wonderful Churches Together in Surbiton joint service at the Surbiton Tennis Club at the beginning of their international tournament. In glorious sunshine we praised the Lord from the Centre Court, witnessing to all those around and enjoyed seeing the coveted Davis Cup close up afterwards! On another Sunday morning, we also welcomed six young people to receive Holy Communion after a series of preparatory classes. By the summer the fundraising team were well into their stride organising a wonderfully successful Indian Evening at the Palmers’ house and then a series of film afternoons through the summer for children at the cornerHOUSE. This was also a painful time for some, as St Matthew’s Pre-school closed to allow for the future development of the church building and especially the installation of the heating. The Pre-school was much loved by the community including parents, former pupils, staff and the church and many gathered one Saturday morning to say a fond farewell and express their thanks for all it had done. In September the St Matthew’s Weekend games evening was another success but, for me, the stand out event of the year was the Gift Day and the generosity which was expressed then for the heating fund. Almost in one day the whole amount required to install heating was raised. In retrospect I ask why were we surprised? God is a generous God and the generosity of all who gave on that day or who have given before or since is a response to him and his gifts to us. But still it was an amazing result and one which gave a real boost to our plans. Other events will, I am sure, be featured in other reports – the Smarties Open Day, the Evensong at Guildford Cathedral so I will finish with two other personal highlight. The first was the sermon series ‘Being a Christian Monday to Saturday’. With eight different preachers giving their take on a particular activity or situation we were all encouraged to think how we might act out our faith when we are not in church on a Sunday. It invited a really practical application of the ‘Seven Whole Days’ Vision and was hugely appreciated as such. Thanks to those who preached so effectively in that series. My final highlight was the introduction of Posada during Advent. Our knitted Mary and Joseph and ‘Bonkey the Donkey’ travelled round the Parish spending the night at a different address. They had exciting adventures and caused many people to meet new people from church and all this was captured on our website where there were pictures and short accounts to update us all on how it was going. It really seemed to capture the imagination of many and we hope they will repeat their travels to different homes again this year. So we came to Christmas and the much awaited installation of heating in the New Year. I can already think of the first three things to mention in next year’s review of the year so that proves that January has started well! Each report I have prepared (four so far) I have had to end acknowledging the death of significant figures within the church. It seemed that 2016 might be the exception but it was not to be. In mid-November a good friend of St Matthew’s and especially the scouting family of 1st Tolworth (St Matthew’s), Heather Mason died and then on 22 December 2016 Bob Hyde died. He had been a faithful member of the choir for 74 years, gracing many services as choir boy, Head Chorister and then with his fine tenor voice. He was blessed with many talents and skills and his passion for music was one which enabled him to worship God and assist others in doing so too. Sing to the Lord for he has done glorious things; Let this be known to all the world. Isaiah 12. 5

From the Team Rector:

In one of my first visits to St Paul’s someone stopped me and asked me what the Vision was for the Team, what were the targets and how we would know whether it was working. I am afraid that that is not really how my mind works and I think my reply was probably not very convincing! But the team is into its second year and I think it is helpful to take stock a little. On one level you could be hard pressed to see what impact the Team has made. Partly that is due to some organisational and historical issues but it is also about not wanting to impose anything from the centre and instead allowing matters to evolve. Behind the scenes I think the Team has achieved much. The Clergy meet and pray on a monthly basis and we are always available for help, support and holiday cover at other times. I know that both Luke and I are really appreciating that. Through these meetings and in other ways we are seeking to support St George’s while it is in vacancy. Special mention should go to Rev Victor Cuthbert (our ‘Team Ranger’) who has generously helped out in all three churches over the year and we are all very grateful to him. Others have met across the Team too– the Administrators, the Churchwardens, the clergy teams. We have attended prayer times and services at each other’s churches, had pulpit swaps. There haven’t been that many so far, but it is a start. We have taken part in social events for men and for women and we have enjoyed sharing in other events – the Team Rambles, concerts, a children’s fun afternoon and other occasions where just a few (or more) have come together. We have also been able to support each other in a number of different ways providing know-how, advice, information and resources to one another. This has been very mutual activity with no one church having all the answers or all the problems! All these things have provided us a platform from which we can move forward at the pace which suits us all. Perhaps the biggest step forward was the adoption of individual church logos which build into the Team logo. This gives us a very visual sign of our Team and I hope we will see it in use more and more. At some stage we have to set up a Team Council but we have not rushed to put in place a structure which might not suit our needs. So, as far as I am concerned, the Team is working. We are living out the unity of being brothers and sisters in Christ – not in any showy or excessive way but in ways which are about offering support and love to one another which will enable us to do that to the adjoining communities which we serve. I like to think that the ‘T’ ‘H’ and ‘S’ in our Team name as well as standing for Tolworth, Hook and Surbiton also represents us as a Team which is Trusting, Honouring and Serving our amazing God who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit. If we continue to do this separately as churches and together as a Team then I believe that we will be fulfilling our God –given vision. By yourself you’re unprotected. With a friend you can face the worst. Can you round up a third? A three-stranded rope isn’t easily snapped. Ecclesiastes 12. 4 If you don’t think the Team is working or you have ideas how to make it work better, I would love to hear from you. Give me a call on 020 8390 3829 or drop me a line at [email protected]. Rev Helen Hancock

CHURCHWARDENS’ REPORT

The following work was completed during the year:

January: Replaced failed electro-mechanical gas valve on heating system. March: Cleared blocked drains from toilet area in Sitzler Room. June: Repaired garage roof and built new compost bins. August: Redecorated Sitzler room, removed high level heaters and replaced all electrical sockets and light switches. December: Removed cupboards at rear of church ready for installation of new heating system, replaced 4mm cable feeding heaters in North Rooms, replaced 16mm feeding Distribution Board in Choir, removed asbestos and old boiler in Old Boiler Room.

2016 saw the choir continuing to play a leading role in the weekly worship at St Matthew’s. The ‘first Sunday’ choir (colloquially known as the ‘Super-choir’) has really made its mark thanks to the participation of some very musical congregation members, including some who normally go to the 11.00 service but are happy to add the 9.15 into their schedule once a month. The Super-choir allows us to do some more ambitious four-part anthems as a result of having the extra singers. At the end of January the St Matthew’s choir and band joined together with musicians and singers from St George’s and St Paul’s for the Team Inauguration service, which was an exciting start to what will hopefully be a regular series of musical collaborations across the Team.

On Good Friday the choir sang a sequence of anthems interspersed with poems and hymns appropriate for this highly significant and solemn day in the church’s calendar, and in the following two weeks sang special Easter anthems.

The summer music series this year was less extensive than in 2015, partly due to a late cancellation, but in July the Cobham band brought us a wonderful programme of music which was enjoyed by a sizeable audience. In December they returned with a splendidly festive Christmas programme which was also very well received.

On 1st October the choir sang Evensong alongside the St Andrew’s & St Mark’s choir at Guildford Cathedral, having performed the same music at St Matthew’s the week before. The combined choirs sang a beautiful harvest anthem, ‘Summer Ended’ by Charles Wood, and a large-scale Magnificat & Nunc Dimittis setting by Hugh Blair. Due to the ongoing building work at the Cathedral the choir was surrounded by scaffolding but still managed to make an impressive sound! (see photos)

Advent was as always a busy time for the choir, with carol singing at Turn it On Surbiton, the school Christmas fair, the cornerHOUSE and Ellerton Road. We also went to Bourne House, where we sang carols with Bob Hyde for what turned out to be the last time. Sadly Bob died just before Christmas after an amazingly long and devoted career with the St Matthew’s choir – he has been much missed during his time at Bourne House, and will continue to be.

The Carols by Candlelight service on 18th December was once again a highlight of the choir’s year, with a very full church to hear them sing some beautiful carols, both traditional and contemporary (including one by Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, who died in 2016) and several of them a cappella. The children’s choir also made a delightful and welcome re-appearance!

We owe grateful thanks to all the choir and band members who give freely of their time to enhance and lead the worship at nearly all services at St Matthew’s throughout the year. Also much appreciated is the organ playing of Hazel Crossley and Robert Leach, who also give generously of their time and talents.

PASTORAL TEAM REPORT

The Pastoral Team has met periodically to give attention to any pastoral issues that have arisen. These included funeral visits and visits to those who request home communions. The arrangement of the annual Bereavement Service also came within its scope, as did the arranging of regular visits to Residential and Nursing Homes. In addition to these there may be individual issues of pastoral concern, and these are treated with strict confidentiality and sensitivity.

Victor Cuthbert Hon Co-ordinator

CHILDREN’S GROUPS

CRÈCHE REPORT We have welcomed several new families into crèche over the past year, and have an average of around 4 -6 children attending weekly out of around 10 who regularly or occasionally attend. Since the pre-school left the church we have had donations of lots of new toys, which have proved to be very popular with the children. Last year, we made a decision to adjust the age ranges for our children’s groups, so that children stay in crèche until aged 3 years old, before moving up to Scramblers. To cater for the older children (aged 2 – 3), it was agreed that we would offer some more structured activity such colouring pictures or a simple craft activity. As part of the crèche rota, I added a theme for each week to indicate a bible story and ideas for an activity. We have found that, in practice, most of the children we have in crèche prefer to play freely rather than have a structured activity. However, we will continue to offer the option of colouring, drawing and stickers at a table. We offer a welcoming environment, and aim to offer fellowship and support to any parents and children who are new to church. We always invite new mums to join the St. Matthew’s Mums group on Whatsapp and also invite them to our regular Monday morning group – several newcomers have also attended this group. We would like to spruce up the crèche room in order to make it a nicer and tidier environment for young children to play in, any suggestions or help with regards to this would be welcome. We have lost some our crèche helpers over the past year, and currently Rosie Jones, Hannah Barritt and I (Sarah Rowe) are covering the rota. We would welcome any new helpers.

SCRAMBLERS’ REPORT

Spring and Summer Scramblers had a stable start to the year with a roster of experienced leaders and helpers. We continued to use the Lightlive online resource for our curriculum and ran a session structure comprising Welcome song, Scramblers Prayer, news hound, weekly themed bible reading, interactive games and discussion, craft activities and finishing with songs and stories. Previously Scramblers leaders planned multiple craft activities to support the weekly theme but it was agreed to reduce this to one main craft with a back up if necessary. The reason for this was that the children were engaging well with the activities and it was felt to get through the number planned, we were moving them on to the next too quickly. Also, we felt that it may be off putting to people who may want to volunteer to be a leader when they see so much being produced each week.

Scramblers had three leaders for the first half of the year; Sarah, Anne and Julie. Sarah stepped down at the end of the summer term, just before the birth of her third child. She has expressed a willingness to return once her daughter is not so little.

Autumn and Winter

Since the summer we have been blessed with 2 new volunteers for the role of leader; Gemma Tickel and Katalin Simmonds. Both are experienced childcare providers with Gemma running her own out of school wrap around care club and Katalin working in a local secondary school.

Changes in format In previous years the numbers in Scramblers have been extremely high, with as many as 35 children in a session. To help with this situation, in September children due to enter their Reception year moved up to Climbers. Whilst this prevented Scramblers numbers becoming unmanageable it did cause issues for the Climbers leader because of the marked differences between the behavioural and academic abilities of Reception and Key Stage One children. More recently Scramblers numbers have consistently been around 15 to 18 each week. As a result of this it was agreed that children will remain in Scramblers throughout their Reception year. It was also agreed that we would return to the previous arrangement that parents will bring their children to Scramblers then return to the service.

To help any children that may have been anxious about the change, now coming into Scramblers without their parents, we made it fun experience, by having them crawl through a play tunnel to get into the room and had extra helpers to welcome them and help them settle.

There had been confusion as to when children should move up from Creche and this was also clarified. Children move up after they turn three rather than the term they turn three. This means that there is a gentle, gradual introduction of younger children to the group rather than an influx of younger members who may need additional help but they must be able to be left without parental supervision.

These change have been universally welcomed and have been a great success. We have had extremely positive feedback from parents, many grateful that they could return to the service and listen quietly to the sermon, without the distractions of their children! Having Reception children staying in Scramblers has also been beneficial to the group. Previously the children would have only spent one year in Scramblers and so we found that we were in a constant cycle of teaching everything afresh. The Reception children give us a lovely continuity; they know the words to the prayers and the songs and understand the structure. This helps everyone involved and children do enjoy being the ‘big kids’, especially when they are the youngest at school.

CLIMBERS’ REPORT

The Climbers group provides Junior Church for children in Key Stage One – Years 1 and 2 (ages 5-7). While we previously took used to take children in in Reception (from age four), this year we have moved to taking them at Year One because we found that the younger ones did not yet have the necessary skills or attention span to take on more structured activities. Having made the change, we can now focus on more structured activities involving reading and writing. We can also engage in craft activities that involve the children using their other fine motor skills, and make better use of the Scripture Union ‘Splash’, to support our planning. Our sessions typically include an opportunity for the children to tell any news, a warm up game, Bible study using mime or drama and a craft, game or colouring activity based upon the key message of the day. We finish with prayers which are sometimes led by the Climbers themselves.

The children really enjoy doing craft activities so where possible we include one for them. In particular, on the third Sunday of the month Climbers join with the Explorers to study a particular theme and engage together in a craft activity related to that theme. This joint activity works very well and is always fun both for the children and their leaders, who enjoy getting together to plan and teach.

At the end of the session, we encourage the children to show the rest of the congregation in church what we have been working on and created. The children are always very eager and proud to display their creations.

Our leaders are Melissa Turner, Judith Jones and Alex Sage. Daphne Davies and Becca Golding are our helpers and we welcome Sue Witcombe and Elle Middleton Sloane to help in 2017.

EXPLORERS’ REPORT

Explorers is the Junior Church group for 7-11 year olds and we meet in the chapel. We have 18 children on our books and anywhere between 4 and 10 children attend each week. We learn about God by reading the Bible together, following Scripture Union material, doing art activities and playing games. Every third Sunday we join with the Climbers group and have a great time doing more in-depth art and craft activities, sometimes something to take home, sometimes a large creation to go on the wall in the chapel. The children enjoy showing the congregation what they have created in these sessions. In May last year after many years of dedication to Explorers, Pauline Keane had to 'retire' as she took on the duties of Church Warden. Her warmth and enthusiasm are greatly missed, but after several months of just Lesley and me sharing the leadership of the group, we were delighted to welcome Jackie Farris on board as a helper, and as you read this report she will recently have taken on the role of a leader, for which Lesley and I are very grateful. Also from the start of the year we have had Janet Holloway helping out on some Sundays, which is invaluable. Thank you so much, Jackie and Janet. This is a lovely age group to work with, they are eager to learn, eager to share and eager to test our knowledge! If anyone would like to come and see what we do on a Sunday morning, either just out of interest or with the thought of perhaps joining our team at some time in the future, you would be very welcome.

PATHFINDERS

CHURCH GROUPS

OPEN TO GOD Though small in number, we meet together in the Chapel at 8pm on the first Tuesday of most months in the year, for about an hour.

Sometimes one of us leads with a specific theme and we study appropriate verses from the Bible or a passage from a book interlinked by prayer. On some occasions we leave ourselves open to God, sitting quietly and letting Him lead us.

We are always pleased to welcome people to join with us, either regularly or on an occasional basis. Just come along.

Jennie and Jeff Akerman

BETA HOUSEGROUP

Beta has met weekly throughout the year. We have 14 folk on our members list although it is rare that all can come to the same session. We continue to meet in members homes and have a tradition of sharing the leadership role; this year more members felt called to lead the group. We took part in the CTS Lent Groups and have studied a variety of material including series on the Psalms, on the Parables and on the writings of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. And we have socials. Being in a house-group certainly expands our sense of connection with God's commandments and helps us aspire to being Christians Seven Whole Days.

DELTA HOUSEGROUP

Delta is one of several house groups in the Parish. We meet on a Thursday evening between 8.00 and 10.00pm. At the moment we are following a Church Army Course about sharing our faith with others along with all the other house groups in the parish. For the past year there have been seven of us in the group but five people have joined us for this course and we hope they will stay with us after it has finished. Each week we start with coffee and chat catching on each other’s news – this is an integral part of any house group as it is a time when we share our successes, joys and worries and so know how to pray for each other during the week. We then spend about an hour and a quarter studying a book or part of a book of the Bible or other related material. This year we have been following the Pilgrim course and have looked at the first three books, what Christians believe, the Lord ’s Prayer and the commandments. We have material to work from but do not stick to it if the conversation goes off at a tangent – we go where the Spirit leads us, which is often in the most extraordinary directions. Most of all we have fun and a lot of laughs. If you don’t already belong to a group do think about joining us or one of the others, as it is a brilliant way to learn more about your faith, yourself and to get spiritual support to see you through the week. Brenda Tyrrell

BRUNCH BUNCH

Brunch Bunch has continued to meet in the Chapel this year, to follow a programme of bible study. Although we focus on bible study in our meetings, this often leads to wide ranging discussions of contemporary issues. We have completed a series started last year on the Ten Commandments, considering how they applied to Moses’s contemporaries, for the people of Jesus’ time, and what they mean for us today. During Lent we followed the Lent course “The Gift” alongside other groups at St Matthews and across Surbiton. During Lent we welcome members of other Surbiton churches to our group and it is always stimulating to have a broader base of experience to fuel our discussions, particularly when the material is challenging. We then turned to the New Testament and read together the letters of Peter, seeing how he developed in his faith to be such a great leader of the early church. Much of the advice he gave to the early Christians is intensely relevant to us today. We finished the year in fine style, as always, with festive nibbles and carols, and Norma’s extraordinary line in cracker jokes. Brunch Bunch are a close knit, caring and supportive group with a wealth of experience, wisdom and humour. We are pleased to have “adopted” Susan Kang this year, and are supporting her in her SPA training through our prayers and love. Please do come and see us if you’d like to hear more – we’re always happy to welcome new people. We meet on Mondays in term time in the Chapel, 9.45 – 1100. Tea and coffee available (sadly no Brunch). Judith Jones

RUBY HOUSEGROUP

Ruby House Group meets on the first Tuesday of each month to study, reflect and then discuss how what we have learned can be implemented in our lives. We move slowly through our material but enjoy full commitment from everyone at each meeting. We have lost several people from our group this year as people moved away and now only have five members.

We are currently studying Ruth, using a Cover to Cover publication to guide our sessions.

SOUP LUNCH REPORT 2016

Once again the St Matthew’s Soup Lunches, held at 12.30pm in the Sitzler Room on most first Friday’s of the month during the year have remained as popular as they have over the last 40 years.

Our year started in January with a special lunch held during the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity when visitors from our neighbouring churches were invited to join us for a natter and a nourishing bowl of soup. This year 29 people attended and we raised £100 for KCAH.

This was followed by the Lenten Period, during which we met every Friday for six weeks and learned about the specific projects sponsored by our Diocesan Bishop’s Lent Call. The theme this year was “Caring for the Whole Person” with projects in our own Diocese and abroad and we collected £862 in support of the Bishop’s Appeal.

Following Lent we returned to our normal routine of meeting on the first Friday of the month (except August and September), a further seven meetings in all, where an average of 18 people attended – down a little on previous years due to our losing some very cherished friends. We would like to bring our numbers back up so if you haven’t been before do come along and sample us and our soups. You can be assured of a very warm welcome and a delicious meal.

Thanks to Joan Higgs -Smith and her band of helpers the quality and variety of flavoursome homemade soups even surpassed last year with an incredible 26 different soups being served during the year. At Harvest Time we were once again treated to some delicious Apple Pies made by Doris Lelliott and in December, with some hot mince pies, as we listened to the sweet singing of Christmas songs performed for us by the children from St Matthew’s School, always a highlight of our year.

In addition to this we had a variety of visiting speakers to give an interesting short talk or presentation about their charity or cause and they receive any money donated on the day. In this year we have supported : Heather Palmer - African Vision Malawi (AVM). (£75) Paul Atkins - Holiday in China (Part 2) (£30 to Building Fund) William Allberry - Kathryn’s Mercy Mission in India (£50) Len Lowes from KCAH (£50), Harvest Lunch (£40 to Church Heating Fund) Dave Farris – Children’s Society (£70). St Matthew’s School Choir (£60. School’s choice of giving to AVM).

So, finally, a very big “thank you” to Joan, all the soup makers, table layers, servers, tea and coffee makers, washer uppers, dryer uppers and clearer uppers who work so hard throughout the year to make these lunches such a pleasure and a success. JA

SMARTIES EMBROIDERY GROUP

Smarties Group meet on Thursday mornings in the Chapel at St Matthew's from 10am till 12noon for fun, friendship, sewing and knitting. We have made several banners for the walls of St Matthew's and also two banners for a church in Malawi. In July 2016 we had VERY SPECIAL Open Days – three mornings when we put all the banners on show and opened the doors of the church to all comers. It was our 20th Anniversary! Twenty years since we started (after Gill had made the wall-hanging for St George's Church's 60th Anniversary) with the beautiful Christmas banners which come out every Advent. We were joined by four local charities, who shared their stories and sold beautiful plants and crafts. Refreshments were provided and we had our faithful visitors and a few new ones. The piece de resistance was our newly-completed Noah's Ark banner. At other times in the year, we try to get to textile exhibitions and the Riverhouse in Walton never disappoints. We also celebrated a special birthday at Warren House. Do come and see us any Thursday morning for a coffee and chat, or we would be delighted if you wanted to join our happy group to sew or knit. Gill Davies.

A CHANCE TO CHAT

Run by Philippa Alexander and Joyce Lintott. Our well supported group of chatterers was augmented this year by the addition of some gentlemen, Frank, John, and more recently, David. Joyce and I with the keen support of Norma have endeavored to encourage group discussions on various topics and these do work well. However as the group’s name would indicate people usually prefer to chat. We thank Norma for her lively jokes and Jean for her amazing recitals which cause great merriment. Christmas Chance to Chat involved as always carols, with Simon, as ever at the piano. We also had a game of Pass the Parcel, which people seemed to enjoy. We are extremely grateful to our stalwart loyal members and to those like Susan who bring people to us by car and to Judith who often pops in to see us. We thank particularly Simon and Helen for their musical and continuing regular support. Thank you too to Carol P and all those who help us to wash us and tidy away. Philippa Alexander ST MATTHEW'S MUMS' GROUP

The St Matthew's mums' group has been running since October 2015. We meet together in our homes once a fortnight on a Monday morning between 10.00-11.30am. The location often varies as mums take turns to host the group. The number of different people hosting on a regular basis has increased during 2016 and it has been great for both the adults and children to have a variety of settings.

The atmosphere is relaxed and informal, with no pressure to attend every time, come on time or stay for the duration. We understand that there is often a need to be flexible with children!

Around five mums attend each fortnight. The age range of the children currently attending is around 2- 2½ years old although we would love to welcome mums with younger and older children. Our What's app message group has enabled those mums who work full time to still remain in the loop about activities at Church and keep abreast of one another’s news. The mums’ group and accompanying communications have helped forge stronger friendships between mums at St Matthew’s.

If you are interested in coming along, we very much welcome you! Please contact Jen on 07792 242 710 or by emailing [email protected].

Jen Houghton

REPORT ON DEANERY SYNOD

A year in the Diocese from the St Matthew’s perspective – a DCC report. Part of this role is attending the regular DCC meetings and being part of a relationship between church and diocese and thus I have tried to attend all meetings in 2016. There were three scheduled meetings in 2016 and I give a brief summary of those here. DCC Meeting 23/2/2016 – St Andrews Ham. Ruth Martin, Diocesan Secretary, spoke giving some background to her church involvement and her new role which is to be in charge of policies, money and property and said we are poised for a tremendous amount of change. The Church is facing great challenges to reach out to all, including those who don’t go to church. Some have no education or grounding in God and do not know the words of the Lord’s Prayer. Those at the centre of the Diocese need to work together with parishes, deaneries and schools to serve, support, lead and enable the mission of God to become apparent. We need to steward our resources including property, people, skills and time. She wants to be totally transparent and accountable to parishes as well as the Bishop. Her vision over the next five years is to have achievable targets, including the creation of a financial surplus which allows investment in new projects, and making policies and resources match. Areas of governance have been combined to cut back the number of committees and work more effectively. The Diocese has struggled for the past few years but last year this was turned around with good stewardship. With property, we need the right housing in the right places for ministers, curates, youth workers etc. John Kiddle, Archdeacon of Wandsworth described the journey which had brought him to Southwark. His vision for the Archdeaconry has three priorities. 1 – Morale and motivation of clergy and key parish officers. He will welcome personal contact and conversations with church wardens and clergy and needs to get the basics right so that they feel well supported. Clergy shouldn’t be alone – all leaders need teams around them, not necessarily ordained. 2 – Partnerships where we can all grow. He walked around the Archdeaconry when he first arrived and it is incredibly diverse. Church should connect with many different networks: we are not alone in our mission, even if we sometimes feel that. We need to work in groups without being tribal. 3 – What does it mean for us to be disciples today? The Church should be a movement for change. How do we grow? Open to people at all levels. Where is the Church during the week, not just on Sundays? We need to recover an exciting vision – seen to be interested in people not just ourselves. This is a vision of Church that celebrates the whole of life that we can all embrace. There was also an appointment at this meeting: A Deanery Funeral Administrator. Jonathan Wilkes, Helen Hancock and Simon Coupland interviewed candidates for this post and Andy Nunn has been appointed. A website has been created and Andy has started making contact with clergy and funeral directors. There has been a promising start. It was suggested that Andy writes to Treasurers and Parish administrators to introduce himself and explain procedures. Peter Watson gave out leaflets detailing a very useful new website where churches could complete an audit of their environmental impact: http://ecochurch.arocha.org.uk/ Before the next meeting we received news that the clergy in the Kingston deanery received a letter from Bishop Christopher confirming that the Revd Helen Durant-Stevensen, Associate Vicar of St John the Divine, New Malden, has very kindly accepted his offer to be our Area Dean for a period of two years. The next DCC meeting was on 13th July at our very own St Matthew’s church and we were delighted to welcome members of the DCC and, (as the first section was an open meeting), many others into the church. The topic was mental health awareness and, unfortunately, the Rev. Johnathan Easton-Crouch was unable to attend due to illness. Rev. Kevin Scott and Mandy Beck ably stepped in and delivered a thought provoking talk. Kevin Scott started by stating how we can welcome and support people with mental health problems in our congregations, and that includes clergy. He gave some statistics provided by MIND. 1 in 4 people in the UK have a mental health problem in any one year. 1 in 10 children aged 5 to 16 will experience a mental health disorder in any one year. 9 percent of the population is living with anxiety or depressive disorders. 3 to 5 percent are living with a personality disorder. 3 percent have post-traumatic stress disorder. 3 percent have phobias. 1-3 percent suffer manic depression (Bipolar). 1-6 percent have eating disorders which are related to self-image. 1-3 percent have obsessive compulsive disorders. 1-2 percent have panic disorders.

Some mental health sufferers can experience paranoia, a sense of being threatened, delusion and hallucinations, for instance hearing voices. It is only recently that people have been able to talk about this. People’s attitudes to mental health range from fear, suspicion, dismissal to embarrassment and this is often caused by little understanding of this issue. It is up to us to listen to enable us to offer help. Mandy Beck is a Chaplain to St. George’s Mental Health Trust based at Tolworth Hospital. She reported that many people find it very difficult to talk about their problems. She provided copies of a borough Directory which includes information on getting help and support in Kingston. There are helplines, including Childline, Samaritans and of course GPs are able to help. Sometimes hospital care is required, but the aim will be to get sufferers back into the community. The most helpful thing to do is to be there for those who are suffering, to listen and support. Prayer can be really helpful – but with medicine too. Mental health issues can be medical issues, and Christians need to avoid spiritualizing it or coming out with platitudes. Religion can be a particularly dangerous area for those suffering from delusion. There was also a Q&A session afterwards. The session referred to various materials and further hard copies of Kingston’s Directory of Counselling Services can be obtained from the Guildhall by contacting [email protected]. Another useful website for mental health issues is http://kingston.icope.nhs.uk/ containing further links and advice. The regular Deanery meeting followed where we heard that the funeral administrator had begun building relationships and Andy Nunn thanked everyone for their support as he continues his journey in improving the process and understanding in those involved in this area. We also got to know that June McCullough would be standing down as secretary after three years. Her role will be split into ‘minutes secretary’ (Elspeth Coke) and other papers will be sent by the lay chair thus discontinuing the role in its old form. We also heard that the search continues for a Deanery treasurer with Chris Gretton standing down after fourteen years. Chris is still assisting until a replacement is found. The final meeting was held on Thursday 10 November 2016 at Christ Church, Surbiton. Revd John Birchall, Vicar, welcomed everyone and opened with a reflection on Matthew 5 and in prayer. There then followed a fantastic presentation from Katie Harrison who has worked extensively with refugees and migrants for ‘Tear Fund’ with a theological reflection. This part of the meeting was open to all. She spoke of her involvement with refugee groups on the Syria/Lebanon border, including some very harrowing situations. She offered practical theological insights as follows: i) Wandering and displacement – The journeys of today’s refugees are as traumatic as those experienced by the Israelites and the journey of the Israelites in Old Testament, Exodus 16. God’s provision of manna in response to the people’s need. From the New Testament, Katie referred to the concept of “passing through” i.e. belonging in the world but not quite fitting in, e.g. Philippians 3. ii) Identity and belonging – the OT story of Jonah, who did not want to go to Nineveh, yet was called by God to go there. People who are now refugees in the Middle East long to go home, even if their homes no longer exist, since they find their identity in their homeland. From the NT, in 1 Peter 2 vv 9-10, the idea of a chosen, royal, special people, who had received mercy from God. We are called to identify as one people because we have received God’s mercy. iii) Welcoming the stranger – unlikely people are brought together, OT Deuteronomy 10 “You are to love those who are foreigners” and NT Matthew 25 “I was hungry and you fed me”. Revd Kevin Scott (St John’s Old Malden) shared material on the City of Sanctuary movement which has been established to ensure hospitality and welcome of refugees in towns and cities throughout the UK, and to help dispel fear of the foreigner. As a grass roots mainstream movement, it sought also to provide opportunities for positive relationships to grow between local people and refugees. Local examples of such work were: * Elmbridge CAN - http://www.elmbridgecan.org.uk/ * Refugee & Migrant Network Sutton - http://www.rmns.org.uk/ Ruth Ruse (Lay Chair) informed members she would be e-mailing further material to them containing useful links provided by both speakers, and Revd Helen Durant-Stevensen (Area Dean) gave notice of a Christian Aid event to be held on 5 December at 7.00 pm in St John’s Waterloo, focusing on refugees. Helen thanked both speakers for their input. Ruth Ruse announced that, so far, there had been no response to the plea for a new Deanery Treasurer to replace Chris Gretton, who had kindly agreed to remain in post pending the appointment of a successor. The Treasurer did not need to be a Synod member but would work closely with the Deanery Funeral Administrator. Ruth requested members to contact her or Chris with a nomination as soon as possible. Ruth Ruse gave notice that at the April 2017 APCMs, elections would be held for deanery synod lay members. A leaflet would shortly be sent to parishes showing the responsibilities of DS representatives. A quantity of leaflets will be sent to each church in the deanery early in the new year. Deepening Discipleship brochures The Discipleship and Ministry department at Trinity House had published brochures containing all the resources, training and events offered by the diocese in 2016-17. This would be repeated annually. Ruth Ruse encouraged members to take the copies available at the meeting and flag them up in their parishes. She drew attention to the ‘Growing Together’ Area Days on page 8. Revd Helen Durant-Stevensen referred to the vacancy at St George’s Tolworth, where a parish profile was being prepared. Interviews had recently been held for the vacancy at St Andrew’s Ham, and the announcement of the new priest-in-charge would be made on Sunday 13 November. Revd Alice Pettit has been appointed as priest-in-charge and her licensing will be on Monday 6 March 2017. John Henson, Christ Church New Malden, spoke about the forthcoming 150th anniversary service to be held there on Sunday 4 December, to which many former members and clergy had been invited to return. St Mark’s Surbiton had agreed to host a night shelter in February 2017, as part of the annual winter night shelter provided by churches in the borough. The children’s choir of St Mark’s had made its debut recently and was greatly appreciated singing the liturgical setting at the Eucharist. Revd Laura Selman (curate at St Mark’s) had recently given birth to a daughter, Sophia. St John’s New Malden – The CAP debt centre had now been in action for 2 years, with 2 clients having made a Christian commitment during that time. St John’s Old Malden – Under the auspices of the Mothers’ Union, 16 days of activities against gender violence were to take place from 25 November St Matthew’s Surbiton – I informed the group that the church would be undergoing refurbishment and the replacement of the existing heating system. I recounted the amazing campaign where after our fund raising efforts and a recent ‘Giving Day’ we had raised over £70,000 – to which there was a round of applause. Revd Helen Durant-Stevensen asked members to reflect on the possibility of working together as a deanery to enable Kingston to become a City of Sanctuary as per the talk at the top of the meeting.

ST MATTHEW’S C of E PRIMARY SCHOOL

‘At St Matthew’s we provide an inclusive environment where all children learn and flourish in a setting shaped by Christian values.’ Our 5 G’s (God- God’s love reflected in all we do, Growing-growing together and towards God in all we do, Grace-together and towards God, in our school and Church communities, Giving-giving freely of ourselves, revealing God’s love in our hearts and Guiding-preparing children for the challenges of the future) are at the heart of all that we do at St. Matthew’s Primary. We say and sign our 5 G’s before every act of collective worship and we make connections with them whenever we discuss God’s work. Our Prayer Bears, Matthew and Grace, are kept busy in our entrance area, collecting any worries or prayers in their rucksacks. These are then incorporated in to our collective worship prayers. Once prayed for, these prayers are included in a large book of prayers for everyone to enjoy. We have also recently started collecting the children’s thoughts about what collective worship means to them so that we can assess the impact on their lives.

Every year in school is busy and exciting. As you will have read in the newspapers, there are continual changes in education and these include many challenges. Currently there is a national recruitment crisis of teachers and all schools are experiencing large cuts in their budgets so we are having to be more mindful of waste and having to achieve more with less.

It is now three years since we had our last Statutory Inspection of Anglican and Methodist Schools (SIAMS). The next of these inspections is not due until January 2019 but we always strive to improve the impact of Collective worship on the school community and the effectiveness of our Religious Education. Our Faith Team continues to meet regularly in order to discuss aspects of how we teach R.E. and collective worship as well as update related policies. These meetings always include pupil representatives so that they can contribute their ideas. In the past few months the children have re- named our prayer area (to the ‘Peaceful Prayerful Place’) and also re-modelled it. The Faith Team also encourages families to participate in a half-termly prayer meeting and this group are slowly building capacity.

In March we shall be running our annual mini-market in aid of The Bishop of Southwark’s Lent Appeal. This is where the junior-aged pupils organize their own stalls, stock, pricelists and raise money to help others less fortunate.

We are very fortunate to have Suzanne Hurrell as our Schools’ Christian worker. Suzanne is new to the role in school but has observed the teaching of RE alongside the subject leader and would like to lead in collect worship in the near future.

We also have the Rev. Lesley Charlton from the Kingston Reformed Church in every half-term to lead an assembly as well as our own wonderful vicar, Helen, who leads worship every Wednesday and consequently she knows the pupils really well. They feel completely at their ease to share thoughts and, at times, worries with her. We are really blessed to have such great support.

This September, Southwark Diocese introduced a new syllabus for church schools to follow. We have received regular R.E training updates in school and some excellent training from Keith Field (Surrey & Kingston Consultant for R.E.) Helen too has participated in formal class observations of R.E.

We always hold an end of term Christmas, Easter and Leaver’s Service led by Helen and held at St. Matthew’s church. Our Year Six pupils always enjoy their special service at Southwark Cathedral in June as well as their special ‘Goodbye’ service held in July at St. Matthew’s church. Helen gives the children a special blessing and a Bible is presented to each of them. This is always a tear-jerking occasion.

The school has continued to make good use of the church facilities. We are very grateful to the church team for allowing us to hold our services in St Matthew’s church. We are always made extremely welcome and the church team assist the school’s work wherever possible. Several of the St Matthew’s Church Team have been involved in collective worship at the school and we have felt very well supported by them.

In the last year we welcomed many visitors to the school. These included:  Revd Helen Hancock  Revd Lesley Charlton from the Kingston Reform Church.  Suzanne Hurrell, School’s Christian worker.  Roz Cordner, SDBE Inspector  Jo Sullivan-Lyons, attached Inspector  Jane Whittington from the Barnabas Trust  Visiting Headteachers and their staff from other local Primary schools  The Rainbow Theatre Company  Jacqueline Harvey, Children’s author of the Alice-Miranda Series  Matthew Hume – from the Planetarium  Kingston Music and Arts Service  RBK Cycling Instructors  Richard from Crocodile Encounters  Keith Field, R.E. Consultant  Louise Tassell (La Jolie Ronde)

We are very grateful for everyone’s interest and support. The cornerHOUSE community arts centre The cornerHOUSE continues to be a busy and well-regarded facility available to all in the local community. Volunteers have done sterling work in making the building available for the widest range of art-based activities and events for the people of KT6. Once again the One Act Play Festival proved to be a real incentive to local writers, actors, directors and stage crews to get nine previously unseen short plays through three performances each. Also this year, with help from some Council funding, the cornerHOUSE has started a series of music master-classes which have helped aspiring string musicians and jazz singers to get professional input into their endeavours. The cornerHOUSE continues to provide a place where visual artists, musicians, actors, crafts people, dancers and others of all ability levels can put their efforts before an enthusiastic public. And a place where cinema and comedy enthusiasts can see top-quality presentations in their own locality. This year will see a community presentation of The Passion and an Alpha Course in addition to the usual programme of panto, classes, social nights, screenings, galas and much more. The Trust which runs the centre remains grateful to St Matthew's for providing the premises, and a number of regular volunteers including trustees and the new treasurer. Paul Atkins / Ian Davies / Andy Keane / Joan Scriven – PCC appointed trustees.

CHILDRENS SOCIETY REPORT 2016

During 2016 The Children’s Society has continued to work towards its stated aim – a country where children are free from disadvantage. The Society believes it can have the highest impact on the lives of children and young people by focussing its work on supporting the most vulnerable 10 to 18 year olds, a group of young people so often overlooked and left behind. There is a particular focus on five core areas of work: young people affected by child sexual exploitation, mental and emotional health, going missing, substance misuse and young people who are affected by issues related to being in care or transitioning out of care. During the year, the Society worked directly with 18,164 children with 7,480 of these being helped by one of the 102 youth at risk service that are run. It is estimated that the Society’s campaigns and policy work contributed to more than 5.6 million positive changes to children and young people’s lives across the country and there were 27 national and regional policy changes resulting from the work. Please read about the Society’s activities on childrenssociety.org.uk/about-us .

St Matthew’s is one of 7,727 churches who support the Society’s work. We have increased the number of house box holders to 15 during the year and a total of £433.15 was contributed in this manner. An additional 5 members of the congregation have now taken boxes and hopefully the amount donated will grow again in 2017. The Christingle Service held on Christmas Eve was again well attended and £359.30 was raised in the collection, £32.00 of this being gift aided. In addition, the Soup Lunch Group kindly donated £70.00.

On behalf of the Children’s Society, I would like to thank everybody for their kindness and support. If you would like to know more about the work of the Society and how you can help or if you would like to take on a home box for saving contributions, please ask Dave Farris or myself.

Paul Mackie

1ST TOLWORTH (ST MATTHEW’S) SCOUT GROUP The Group is still thriving and offering fun and excitement to our members. The past year has seen our Scout and Cub sections taking part in camps, sleepovers, expeditions, outings, District and National competitions, Beaver Scouts do not camp but take part in District events that are more fun than competitive. All this and exciting weekly meetings where emphasis is still placed on earning badges by offering the chance to learn new things and have new experiences. In 2016 our Cubs had a fantastically wet weekend camping at Chessington World of Adventure when they joined Cubs from all over the Royal Kingston District to celebrate 100 years of Cub Scouting. Seven of our Scouts were awarded the Chief Scout's Gold Award; this is no mean achievement and is the highest award available in the Scout Section. Our Climbing wall and Air Rifle Range are still being put to good use; with other groups visiting to make use of these facilities. So we are doing well and although our Beaver numbers did fall for a while we have very few vacancies for new members, which show how popular we are. A notable event took place over the night of 30th June to 1st July, when members from 1st Tolworth Group joined members from Royal Kingston and Esher Districts to hold an overnight Vigil at Polyapes Scout Memorial Site to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Battle of the Somme. Of the 70 Scouts from Kingston and Esher Districts listed on the Polyapes War Memorial 14 died in the Battle of the Somme, Six were 1st Tolworth Members. In November we lost Heather Mason, our Group Scout Leader. Heather had been a member of 1st Tolworth Scouts since 1983. When she started the new Beaver Scout Section, she was our Beaver Scout Leader for 25 years and our Group Scout Leader from 1997 to her passing. She was the longest serving GSL in our groups history. She will be sadly missed by all.

Looking forward; 2017 will be a challenge, with the loss of Heather still very heavy in our hearts. The appointment of a new GSL will take place as it must and we will continue. On a very positive note we have ex-Scouts returning as Young Leaders and Section assistants, who we hope, one day, will eventually take on full leadership roles. March 2017 will see the St Matthew’s Scout Group celebrate its 108 th Anniversary having been founded by the Curate of St Matthew’s, Reggie Bullock, back in 1909 and meeting continuously ever since.

You may not see us very often but we are there and still proud to have the name St Matthew’s as part of our official title. Long may that continue.

Finally, a massive

THANK YOU to everyone involved in preparing this Report and engaged in all the activities which it represents. We hope that you have enjoyed this Annual Report for 2015 and pray that you will take an active part in supporting the work of St Matthew’s in the coming year. Amen