Annual Report of the PCC 2016 Parish of St Mary's Charlbury With

Annual Report of the PCC 2016 Parish of St Mary’s Charlbury with All Saints’ Shorthampton

This report is offered by the Parochial Church Council (PCC) to the Annual Parochial Church Meeting as a record of its activities for the year of our Lord 2016.

Contact information for both churches

The Parish Office c/o The Vicarage Church Lane Charlbury Oxon OX7 3PX 01608 810230

Email: [email protected] Website: www.stmaryscharlbury.co.uk

Contents The Year in Focus 3 Looking Forward 5 Revisiting the Vision 6 Attendance and Church Registers 8 PCC Membership 9 PCC Reports Fabric 10 World and Environment 11 Faith and Development 12 Living Churchyard 13 Finance and Stewardship Review 14 Children and Young People 16 Deanery Synod 18 Other Church Activities: Font Cafe 20 Prayer Team, Pastoral Team and Sacristans 21 Choir 22 Bell Ringers 23 Mothers’ Union 24 Peace@thePub 25 Churches Together in Charlbury 26 Flower Arrangers 28 Fundraising: The Friends of Shorthampton 29 The Children’s Society 30 Oxfordshire Historic Churches Trust Ride and Stride 30 The Bazaar 31 Charlbury Fair Traders 32 Accounts Receipts and Payments 33 General Fund Receipts and Payments Account 34 Special Funds 35 Independent Examiner’s Report 36 Statement of Assets and Liabilities 37 Banker’s Order 38 Gift Aid Declaration 39 Minutes of the APCM 2016 40 Agenda of the APCM 2017 42 2

The Year in Focus

Looking Back

Beginning with Gratitude This has been my first full year with St Mary’s and All Saints, and I am aware more than ever of the vast amount of work which goes into maintaining our churches and their communities. I think I most appreciate the sense of ownership and mutual responsibility which is demonstrated by both congregations for their church buildings, the worship and other activities which occur within them, and the wider Christian life both within the parish and beyond. It has been wonderful to feel part of a team, with many different characters and personalities offering their gifts and talents for the benefit of the whole. I am profoundly grateful to have been called to serve amongst such loving, committed people.

A community of faith The pattern of services has varied slightly this year as we have tried to offer a range of ways in which people can gather to worship. The number of Messy Church services has increased, with the change in timing and the provision of Holy Communion at the end for those who wish it, enabling a more diverse congregation to gather, to the benefit of all, I hope. Choral Evensongs have continued to be well attended, providing a more formal type of service. Messy Church

Church festivals such as Easter, Pentecost, Harvest, All Souls, Remembrance and of course Christmas have been observed in a variety of ways, including a whole school visit to the church for the Easter experience led so ably by Jan. All these have been in addition to our core worship which has remained the 8.00 and 9.45 celebration of Holy Communion at St Mary’s and the monthly Evening Prayer at Shorthampton.

Easter prayer station

The Lent talks on the subject of pilgrimage were well attended, and a Bible study group meets every Wednesday in term time at the Vicarage, offering a chance to discuss and reflect on different aspects of faith. An introductory course on Mindfulness was held in September with church members and those in the wider community benefitting greatly from the teaching of Nikki Jackson on the subject.

A community of hospitality St Mary’s has continued to be involved in community events, with Font Café growing in popularity, playing host to Art Week at Christmas and in the summer, and holding the Churches Together in Charlbury Holiday Club in August.

One real highlight has to be the Flower Festival, which involved large numbers of the community, either as sponsors, members of the flower arranging team, helpers at the wonderful Font Café 90th birthday event or simply those who visited St Mary’s for the service of celebration, the party and to see the flowers. There have been several concerts from different choirs and organisations as well as an encouraging number of baptisms and weddings - cause indeed for celebration.

Baptism at All Saint’s Baptism at St Mary’s

The doors of the church have remained open for quiet prayer and reflection with noticeboards offering insight on Christian beliefs, as well as Jan’s prayer stations providing a focus for prayer. Four new members of the prayer team joined the others in their steady and often unappreciated work of offering prayer and support to those who need it, while the pastoral team has visited and supported those in need, supplemented by the vast amount of informal pastoral care that is carried out by individual members of the congregation.

A community of action Both St Mary’s and All Saints have been active in supporting charitable causes this year. A talk by a representative of the Children’s Society led many more people to take collecting boxes home, and the Messy Christingle reinforced our support for those children who benefit from the work of the Children’s Society. The annual Bazaar raised a magnificent sum, and the fundraising efforts of Font Café enabled significant amounts of money to be sent for various projects. CRAG hosted teas during Arts Week, and Singing for Syria benefitted from an illustrated talk by George Butler. The PCC voted to support YCare during 2017, both through fundraising and through an active understanding of its aims and work.

Looking Forward

The calendar for 2017 is looking to be a full one. The number of Messy Church events has increased and a team of people are now involved in their planning and preparation. The introduction of Story Sundays on the third Sunday of the month offers Bible stories, songs and crafts to young families. There will be two Taize services this year, as well as more Choral Evensongs and occasional discussion groups.

Grave Talk will offer an opportunity to discuss reactions to and reflections on death, and the Diocesan conference on ‘The Spirituality of the Churchyard’ some insight into how better to use the space outside the building. The launch of the Deanery Pilgrim Paths will include regular guided pilgrimage days which will supplement the leaflets available in church.

And as always, we will continue to welcome all those who come seeking baptisms or weddings, pastoral care and prayer, a friendly welcome and generous hospitality, or simply a quiet place to sit and reflect.

Thank you St Mary’s and All Saints could not function as well as they do without the enormous amount of commitment and help that each church receives. Our wonderful administrator, Jo, continues to hold the Parish Office together, supported by our churchwardens Dine and Louise and kept in budget by Brian, the treasurer. Janet continues as verger, helped by Leah and Derek, while the pattern of services is admirably maintained by our team of ministers, intercessors and readers.

Finally, as always, my grateful thanks to Jan Fielden, for continuing to be our Associate Priest, bringing with her an endless patience, tremendous ability for hard work, years of experience and above all, her deep love for the community she serves so well.

Rev Dr Sally Welch [email protected]

Revisiting the Vision

In November 2016 the PCC revisited their vision for the parish to measure progress against the priorities originally established.

Mission Statement:

St Mary’s Charlbury: sharing faith in our community.

Priorities  To proclaim the good news of the kingdom  To teach, baptise and nurture believers  To respond to human need by loving service  To transform unjust structures of society, to challenge violence of every kind and to pursue peace and reconciliation  To strive to safeguard the integrity of creation and sustain and renew the life of the earth

Priorities Unpacked

1 To proclaim the good news of the kingdom We understood this to mean the missional activity of the church.

The PCC decided to focus on three initiatives in this area – to update the noticeboards, to offer a mindfulness course in September and to examine our methods of communication with the wider community, especially the Leaflet and the website. Progress  Noticeboards both within and outside the church are kept updated and renewed regularly. Displays on various subjects such as Baptism, Epiphany, Taize are changed frequently  The mindfulness course was well attended and very well received  The Leaflet has been updated and is distributed to 1500 households monthly  The church website has been updated and a Facebook page opened

2 To teach, baptise and nurture new believers We understood this to mean the worship and teaching of St Mary’s.

 An introduction to Baptism evening was held for parents thinking of having their children baptised  A Bible Study groups meets weekly in the Vicarage  A more frequent programme of Messy Church services has been introduced with a group tasked with the planning and preparation of each service  Story Bags introduced for parents and children visiting the church out of service times  Sermon series on characters from the New Testament was held in Autumn 2016, two more planned for 2017 – a Lent series on Biblical landscapes and an Autumn series on the Four Last Things  Discussion groups planned for 2017 Story bags

3 To respond to human need by loving service

 New members of the Prayer team trained and commissioned  Pastoral care course planned for May 2017 th  Font Café hosted the Queens 90 birthday party, worked with CRAG, as well as Dementia friendly drop-ins, ipad and phone trouble shooting sessions  The Reverse Advent Calendar initiative saw over 25 boxes of essential supplies being collected and taken to Steppin’ Stone in Oxford

4 To transform unjust structures of society, to challenge violence of every kind and to pursue peace and reconciliation

 St Mary’s hosted a coffee morning during Christmas Artweek in aid of Charlbury Refugee Action Group  A collection of bicycles for the charity Re-Cycle resulted in over 70 being sent to Ghana for repair and distribution  Regular collections and events hosted by Font Café ensure the church is involved in needs of the wider community

5 To strive to safeguard the integrity of creation, and sustain and renew the life of the earth.

 Churchyard working parties have maintained the area, taking care to protect the wildflowers and grasses which flourish in our churchyard  Swift boxes installed in the church tower  Mowing schedule has been developed to encourage the growth of wildflowers whilst remaining sympathetic to the needs of human visitors  A churchyard prayer trail is planned for 2017  The Lent sermon series is on the subject of Biblical landscapes in 2017

The Ashes Garden in St Mary’s Churchyard

Attendance and Church Registers

The average Sunday attendance (all Sunday services) was 75 adults and 10 children at St Mary’s and 12 adults at Shorthampton. The numbers for Christmas, Easter and other occasions are detailed below:

Christmas and Easter Attendance Communicants St. Mary’s (Easter) 168 148

Shorthampton (Easter) 45 40

St Mary’s (Christmas 24/25 Dec) 588 136

Shorthampton (Christmas Day) 62 50

Special Services St. Mary’s Shorthampton

Harvest 86 40 Thanksgiving for the Departed 20 - (All Souls)

Remembrance Service 170 -

Carols by Candlelight 440 80

Children’s Nativity 112 -

Church Registers St. Mary’s Shorthampton

Baptisms 12 1

Marriages 4 1

Blessing of Marriage 0 0

Funerals in Church 11 0

Funerals at crematorium 4 0 Burial of ashes 2 0 Memorial services 2 0 Average Sunday Attendance 75 12

PCC Membership 2016

Members of the PCC are either ex-officio (as office holders) or elected by the Annual Parochial Church Meeting (APCM). During the year, the following have served as members of the PCC:

Incumbent Revd Dr Sally Welch (Chair) Associate Priest Revd Jan Fielden Churchwardens Dine Glasgow (Vice Chair) Louise Whitehead Ex-officio Mary Heckman (Hon. Secretary) Brian Morley (Hon. Treasurer) Deanery Synod Representatives Jo Murphy Roy Scott Michael Waring Elected Members Until 2017 Janet Barnett Ann Davidson Sarah Potter Amanda Cooper Until 2018 Mary Heckman Rosalind Scott Mike Summers Until 2019 Laura Barwood Paddy Gallagher Adam Leach Sarah Witheridge

PCC Reports

Fabric

There have been two major projects ongoing this year. The first was continuation of the church clock refurbishment. At the end of last year, the clock faces had been refurbished from scaffolding round the tower. This year the inside work was begun. This involved refurbishing over the first 6 months, first the quarter chimes, then the hour strike and finally the clock mechanism itself (the going). Many parts needed repair or replacement, but eventually we were done. We then had an extended period of adjustment to get it accurate. We gradually lengthened the pendulum swing until we had it more or less right. Unfortunately this period was rather more extended than we had hoped, as we needed to leave the clock running for a week to see what effect our adjustments had made to the accuracy.

The other major project was the replacement of our ageing boiler. Although it had performed faultlessly over the winter, we realised it was time to bite the bullet and go for a new, more efficient unit. Quotes were obtained in April / May and a decision made to go for the most reasonable (and most comprehensive) at around £12000. A faculty was obtained and funds identified so the boiler could eventually be installed in time for the winter, since when it has performed well.

At St Mary’s swift boxes were installed in the tower; we had no luck attracting them, either because we were too late, or the jackdaws, already in residence, scared them off. The stacking chairs for the Memorial chapel are being progressively repaired where the stacking has worn the seat fabric. There was a churchyard clean-up day at Charlbury, and the frame for the meter room door replaced. More LED light bulbs have been used. These not only give good light but use a fraction of the electricity of the old type. A new PC has been bought to replace the old one, which was getting very slow and unreliable.

At Shorthampton there has been a running battle with roof leaks. In February the Friends of Shorthampton paid for some lead-work, and in May, Mike and Dine used copious amounts of sealant to try and stem a persistent leak over the arch with some success. There have been repairs to one of the heating units (fuse) and a broken pew. We also started the Quinquennial Inspection and began the process that will lead to installing an alarm on Shorthampton roof and applying for grants towards the work. At the time of writing, a roof alarm has successfully been installed at Shorthampton.

Mike Summers [email protected]

World and Environment

The main effort of the committee during the year was to develop and organize St. Mary's charitable giving activities. The PCC recognized that the previous practice of giving to, or collecting for, numerous causes in a given year was somewhat fragmented. It was agreed that a more focused giving plan would maximize the potential impact of relatively limited donations, and improve chances of on-going engagement/relationship between charitable group(s) and our church and the wider community.

The committee established three main principles for potential recipients: first, have a specific Charlbury link (either someone local who is working in that area of concern or who has a particular interest in it); second, help illuminate issues of social justice, the environment, poverty or violence/war (priorities previously established by the committee and PCC); and, third, help to make us more of an outward looking church/community.

In line with the PCC's charitable giving commitment to donate 10% of any annual surplus, the church was fortunate to be able to donate £250 to the work of the local Lawrence Home Nursing Team which offers care at home for people approaching the end of life. We also sent £250 to Joliba Trust towards its work fighting climate change in Mali, one of the poorest countries on the planet. Our £250 paid for about 250 square meters of dune stabilization planting to halt the spread of desert and retain precious fertile land. These donations are in addition to collections at special services such as Remembrance and Villagers planting out shrubs to prevent the Christmas Eve, and the donations to charities desertification of otherwise fertile land in from funds raised at Font Café, which brings southern Mali. the total amount given to £2,500.

In order to facilitate ongoing engagement with recipients, the committee agreed to help the PCC identify up to 4 charities/causes with whom to build longer term relationships starting in 2017. In addition to meeting the three principles noted above, any charity selected must have a champion who is willing to facilitate the engagement with our church and the wider community.

The first charity selected by the PCC was YCare International, a charity focusing on social justice and poverty, especially as they relate to youth, with Adam Leach as champion. We look forward to working with Adam to learn more about YCare, and to identifying other candidate charities for longer term relationships. More information on YCare can be found at www.ycareinternational.org If you have ideas for potential charities, please contact a member of the PCC with details. Dine Glasgow [email protected]

Faith and Development

Last year the committee organised an autumn sermon series on New Testament People: Revd Hugh Wybrew spoke about Mary; Revd Angela Forbes, Mary Magdalene; Ven. Martin Gorick, Judas; and Revd Charles Chadwick, Peter. These were well received and members of the congregation appreciated the opportunity to ask questions after the service.

In 2017 we are having a Lent sermon series on Biblical Landscapes: Wilderness, Mountains, Water, Cultivated Land and Cities.

Evening discussions will be taking place three times during 2017 at 6pm on Sundays, with a corresponding sermon in the morning. In February Revd John Witheridge spoke on Church and Politics; in April: Lieutenant General Sir Scott Grant, Just War; July: Duncan Forbes, topic to be confirmed. Finally, there is to be an autumn sermon series on the Last Things: Death, Judgement, Heaven and Hell.

Sarah Witheridge [email protected]

Living Churchyard

The Committee has met occasionally to discuss issues concerning the maintenance of the churchyard. The committee has been conscious always of the requirement to balance the needs of those visiting the graves of relatives, the necessity for the exterior of the church to look attractive and welcoming, particularly for weddings and other occasions and the obligation to supervise the welfare of the fauna and flora within the churchyard walls.

To these ends, two churchyard clearing parties were organised and were well attended, with much essential maintenance work being carried out on both occasions. A mowing schedule was also drawn up, to enable the wild flowers and grasses to flourish and seed in certain areas, particularly the edges of the churchyard, before being cut short again. In addition to this a small party of committed volunteers regularly undertakes tasks such as path and drain clearing and general maintenance.

We look forward to hosting the Diocesan conference on the Spirituality of the Churchyard on 6 May. Rev Sally Welch [email protected]

Churchyard clearing

Finance

As is usual full details of the financial transactions over the past year are given at the end of the Annual Report. Brief details of income and expenditure are given under headings below.

Budget Budget sheets for unrestricted expected costs and receipts were prepared in January and it was obvious that if the estimates were correct then by the end of the year there would be a loss of around £2000 on the day to day accounts. As the year progressed it was noted that actual payments and receipts would result in a gain by December. This gain was a little over £4000

Unrestricted Funds As a result of an increase in income and a fall in expenses there was a gain of £4300 to be carried over into next year. Planned giving was 10% more than in 2015 at £60000 but there was a reduction in Tax recovered due to a change in collection dates. Other collections also showed a slight fall over 2015. Expenditure was reduced but not deliberately so. Less was spent on the churchyard and on general maintenance and upkeep. Not unexpectedly the costs of Administration increased. Additional folding tables and a new computer were purchased in the year.

Restricted Funds Sums set aside for specific purposes increased by £2000 to £32000. That held for possible St Mary's restoration increased by £500, this was the excess received over that donated for clock repairs. Several functions and sales at Shorthampton allowed £1000 to be added to All Saints Restoration Fund. Total income for the Font Cafe now stands at £4700 and small sums are held for the Holiday Club and for YoYo.

Charities A number of charities were supported during the year. They included See Saw, Lawrence Nursing, Joliba, Cecilys Fund and Porch (Stepping Stones). The church was able to donate a total of £2500 to these causes.

CCLA Deposit account The deposit account remains as a reserve in the unlikely event that all Restricted Funds would be required at the same time. During the year it was suggested that more be paid into this account but there were two main reasons why this was not done. First, with interest rates so low there would be little advantage in adding less than £10000 to the account. Second, with Clock repairs in the order of £10000 and £13000 for a new boiler, the Santander current account would be under pressure if promised donations had not been received. The CCLA deposit remains at £36500.

Brian Morley [email protected]

Stewardship Review

We now have 80 people who regularly contribute under the Stewardship Scheme on a weekly, monthly or periodic basis. Regular pledged income is currently £59,000 pa, which just meets our Parish Share. We are able to claim £14,800 pa in tax from this.

If you join the Planned Giving Scheme it makes it much easier for the PCC to effectively plan based on your commitment. This can be done either through a Banker’s Standing Order, or via Weekly Envelopes.

If you have already joined, please consider increasing what you give – costs and charges have increased and continue to do so.

Our national Government generously allows contributions to charity to be exempt from Tax. In other words the church is allowed to reclaim from the Government the tax you have paid on your earnings. Therefore if you have paid tax on your pay, pensions or savings, then for every £1 you give the church can reclaim another 25p from the Government.

So for the Church, every £100 that you give is actually worth £125. In addition if you are a higher rate tax payer you can also personally claim back 25p from each £1 that you give. So for every £100 you donate the Church get £125 and you can also reclaim £25 so it only actually costs you £75.

A copy of the banker’s order and the gift aid declaration are available towards the back of the annual report.

Children and Young People

This year, with fewer teenagers but more young children and toddlers at St Mary’s, we combined the two age groups (JAM and Sunday Club) that meet during the 9.45 Sunday services. So, from around Easter, we’ve been all together in the Memorial Chapel. This has given the older children opportunities to lead and help the younger ones, and to ‘grow in grace’ themselves. On the other hand, while we try to offer approaches and activities for different ages and interests in each session, we haven’t been so able to engage with the more challenging topics that might matter to teenagers. We keep the make-up of the group(s) under review as the demographics change.

Here are a few highlights from the year.

 Charlbury and Chadlington schools visiting Jan’s displays in church the week before Holy Week.

 The children’s Good Friday service: a series of instant mini-dramas, giving the children a chance to join in telling and experiencing the Passion gospel.

 At Easter we focused on Luke 24.1-12, in which the risen Christ doesn’t actually appear: there’s just the empty tomb. How did Jesus’ friends feel? About 20 children came, which seems a lot when managing various, more or less messy, crafts in the chapel!

 Our summer pilgrimage to All Saints’ Shorthampton: stories on the way, Communion at the church and a picnic after, kindly led once again by Mike.

 In August, St Mary’s hosted ‘Wastewatchers’, the Churches Together in Charlbury holiday club. 26 children and 5 young helpers came. The church became a park, complete with bandstand, a flowery hill, a café … and a load of rubbish. We crammed the Bible story from creation to redemption into four mornings. In parallel, our grumpy park-keeper made friends with some youngsters and transformed the vandalised, littered park into something wonderful. In keeping with the theme, all the leftover materials went to good use. We made a huge junk crocodile and played ‘cardboard knights’, in which children armour themselves with boxes, then attack each other with cardboard tubes. The Sunday service gave parents and others a recap of the story, Sally enlisting the children to represent each day of creation, and the story from there on.

Holiday Club

Children and Young People

 Making more use of the Godly Play materials. We have sets of figures, backdrops and objects for some of the key parables, each of which we present as a gift from Jesus to us, to unwrap and treasure.

 Messy Church services, every few months, continue to be popular. After some experimentation with how best to integrate the children’s and adult worship, we’ve settled on a pattern of starting at 9 for breakfast and crafts, then a shortened communion service, with crafts available in the chapel.

Messy Church

 Our Nativity Play, with an Advent Calendar theme, was open to any child who wanted to dress up and join in.

Nativity Play

Training for leaders and others associated with children and young people’s work this year included the diocesan Safeguarding training and an Emergency First Aid course.

It’s difficult to single out individuals in what is very much a team effort, but a special welcome and thanks to those taking on new roles: Laura Barwood joining the Children and Young People committee, Rachel Woods for her inspiration and help with art, craft and more, and Alison Eastwood for stories and games at holiday club. Thanks too to the many who continue to support us in practical ways, and with prayers, understanding and ideas, and - of course - to the children. It’s a privilege to work amongst you all.

Christine Pearce David Nicholls [email protected] [email protected]

Deanery Synod

This report gives a flavour of what is happening across the whole of the Chipping Norton Deanery.

A New Spirit There is a new spirit on board driving the Deanery forward on a focused path of affirmation and coming together to share our strengths as we work to further the growth of the Kingdom. This is set out in the Deanery Mission Action Plan which was approved at the December Synod and will be finalised and issued in 2017.

Young people and families There are seven church schools where clergy are governors and there is good contact with every other school in varying degrees. There is a wide variety of services for the young – stories for the under 5’s – minis for toddlers – scout groups – JAM – QandA sermons – All age Font Café etc. Family involvement in Messy Church is increasing and there are special services for the parents of the newly baptised.

Youth There is a Youth Worker at Chipping Norton who promotes youth services, weekends away and summer camps. A Youth Club for the town on Fridays after school has recently been established.

Discipleship Over the years there has been an increasing number of people involved in reading lessons, leading intercessions, administering the Chalice, pastoral visiting, and leading evening prayer. The pressure on ordained ministers however remains remorseless especially in the multi parish benefices and we are grateful for the assistance of self supporting and retired active ministers. Leadership shared with the laity is being developed and administrative tasks assumed by lay people. There are monthly meetings of the Chapter and informal support is provided so as to ensure that ministers take due time off so as to avoid undue stress and burn out.

Finance The Deanery’s payment of parish share (93.3%) was the lowest for many years. This is a significant challenge for the future; reserves have been spent, the burden of maintenance, repair and improvement of church buildings competes with the imperative requirement to cover the costs of ministry. The deficit in 2016 amounted to £27,114. (If P.C.C.s would double individual gifts it would only need two people to give £250 for each church to make this good.)

Local Communities and Charities Churches in rural areas are part and parcel of the local community; apart from involvement in parish councils they provide generous support for locally based charities as part of their Christian compassion and care for the wider community. In so doing they invite those outside the church to explore the faith which is the driving force behind this action. Examples include the Debt Advice Centre in Chipping Norton, Font Cafes in Charlbury and Hook Norton, Pensioner Lunches, Village teas, Fair Trade stalls, the Villager Bus Service, Good Neighbourhood Schemes and Food Banks which collect and distribute to those with a voucher obtained from Social Services. There are also regular visits to the various homes for the elderly and to Chipping Norton Hospital.

Buildings and Environment Churches are a unique resource for social and missional activity. Everyone is faced with heavy maintenance improvement, reordering and repair costs in order to provide up to date facilities for a wide variety of local activities. This entails wildly varying expenditure which falls unevenly to be met by local resources. This has hit Leafield particularly hard with urgent attention to the roof, drains and steeple of a Gilbert Scott church which is an outstanding feature of the landscape in the centre of the historic Forest of Wychwood.

Pilgrimage The aim of this initiative is to provide pathways linking all the Churches in the Deanery so as to enable travel across the landscape in between each parish. This will support people to experience the particular characteristics of each and every one of the churches and communities which make up the multifarious Chipping Norton Deanery. Guidance booklets are being prepared and supporting helpers trained so as to enable a launch of this new missional enterprise in 2017.

Planning Pilgrim paths Benefit Sanction Following a debate in General Synod Sir Tony Baldry asked Deanery Synod to refer any cases of distress arising from a denial of benefits to their local MPs. No cases have come to light so far but the Deanery is asked to keep a watchful eye open for any similar case as part of Bishop Stevens charge to care for the poor.

Future Work Apart from affirming and supporting all these enterprises there are openings for more lay leadership roles and a greater focus on the needs of the poor. Youth work should be developed. There are many vacancies for Church Wardens and P.C.C. Secretaries. We need a Deanery Secretary. We should seek out potential ordinands and we have no Ecumenical Representative. We must do better to share each others burdens financially and otherwise.

With an inspirational Dean, a revitalised Chapter and a determined new Lay Chair in Alan Kennedy of Wychwood the Deanery is set fair to achieve new levels in the hope of becoming a vibrant force for the mission of this part of the Diocese of Oxford.

Michael Waring 01608 810663

Other Church Activities

Font Café Thursdays, 10am – 12 noon @ St. Mary’s Church

Font Café is continuing to thrive and many people from near and far, young and old, parents, grandparents, carers and children visit the café weekly to catch up with friends or meet new people, whilst enjoying Fairtrade teas and coffees, as well as a selection of homemade cakes, provided by our many volunteers.

Highlights of 2016 were a ‘90th Birthday Tea Party’ for members of our community who turned 90 in the same year as our Queen. Almost twenty 90 year old men and women and some of their family members joined us on 9th June to celebrate this special occasion. Wendy Bailey (Estate Manager of Beechcroft) made a delicious celebration cake and provided beautiful table decorations, Susan Woolley painted a special greeting card, signed by our guests, which was sent to the Queen, and children from Charlbury Primary School performed a concert during the morning.

90th Birthday Tea Font Café cakes

In July, we had to say thank you and good-bye to Oliver Strong, who was doing his work experience at Font Cafe as part of his active citizenship programme at Marlborough School. Oliver and Barbara’s help was greatly appreciated by everyone.

In December, children from Year 3 and 4 of Charlbury Primary School came back to Font Café to perform a short Christmas Concert. The money raised on the day was donated to the local Charlbury charity ‘Special Effects’.

Font Café has also been able to support a number of other charitable projects including financial support for Syrian refugee families living in Witney and ‘Toilet Twinning’, which supports hygiene facilities in Chad, Africa.

Font Café relies on many people, who volunteer regularly to make it the success it is today. I would very much like to thank everyone who helps with baking cakes, serving coffees, washing-up, providing flowers, setting-up and clearing away tables. Your help is greatly appreciated! And if you’re not yet involved but would like to be, don’t hesitate to get in touch!

Daniela Jenkins [email protected]

St Mary’s Prayer Team

The prayer team have continued to offer prayer Sunday by Sunday after the Parish Eucharist. In the spring of 2016, we were sad to say goodbye to John and Pam Clifford who moved from Charlbury. Their enthusiasm and support had given much to us all and had been instrumental in imagining the idea of the prayer team at the beginning. Others also stepped back for a while, and the rest of the team worked hard for many months to keep the scheme going with reduced numbers.

In the late summer and autumn of 2016 a new course took place and we were delighted at the end of it to welcome Janet Barnett, Ann Davidson, and Paddy and Rachel Gallagher as prayer team members and they have quickly settled in. We have had 3 meetings during the year – a goodbye party for the Cliffords, a joint meeting with the pastoral team and a “welcome” gathering for new team members, which included discussion of future paths.

During 2017 Angela is stepping back from leading the team and we are all very pleased that Sally will be taking over the leadership. The first of our three “supervision” meetings this year will be a “mini retreat” which was requested by team members at the end of last year. Pastoral Team

The Pastoral team have continued to visit bereaved, ill and lonely people over the past year and are always happy to visit on request. Home Communions are also available for people unable to get to church. The team meets regularly to pass on concerns and receive support for themselves.

Sacristans

May our tasks be pleasing to you Lord, as we prepare for the worship of our community, ever glad to be in Your presence in these small jobs which ready us for the Celebration.

A team of eight sacristans prepared the sacraments for two communion services every Sunday and the 9am service on Wednesdays, also Christmas, Ash Wednesday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Ascension Day, the first PCC, meeting after the AGM, communion services at Shorthampton.

They launder the linen, change the Seasonal Altar Frontals (Derek Fowler broke his femur whilst helping with this task), look after the candles and keep the Seasonal booklets up to date, order the wine, wafers and some candles.

We hemmed some new linen which was then beautifully embroidered by Denise Summers. Some of the sacristans prepare and welcome at Baptisms, during Parish Communion, or on a Sunday afternoon.

In 2016 we enjoyed working as a team to organise one of St Mary’s Lent Lunches.

Leah Fowler [email protected]

Choir

We have as usual had a busy year. Singing for the Sunday morning communion service each week, enjoying Weddings and continuing the Choral Evensong services. It is always a challenge to find something appropriate to sing during Communion fitting in with the readings or even the sermon, with varying success.

The Choral Evensongs have stretched us, but are proving to be a success with the choir and the congregation, Richard’s ability to find music that is both challenging and enjoyable and Gareth Miller’s leadership as our conductor has built our confidence as we go forward into 2017. We led the Civic Service arranged with the community for the Queen’s 90th birthday in June during the celebrations held in the Town.

Choral Evensong Sebastian was born to Richard and Anna in the summer with great celebrations and good wishes from all the choir - we look forward to having a treble voice joining us in a few years time. Ted and Jenny Welsh celebrated their Golden Wedding and we took this opportunity for a small celebration and presented them with a golden box. Much to their surprise Mike and Denise Summers were award the Fellowship of St Birinus at a Service in Dorchester Abbey by Bishop Colin in September. Denise’s award was given for Services to the choir, and the choir and congregation celebrated at St Mary’s after a Choral Evensong the following week.

Festival Evensong this year was held at Dorchester Abbey. We found the music very interesting and enjoyed singing with a choir of 200-300 voices. The fish and chips afterwards were great and finished the day off with a flourish.

The Christmas services are always a joy, we sing something loud and jolly to get the children’s attention at the 5.30 service and it is great to hear the congregation singing the familiar carols. The installation of the projector has over the years increased the volume of the singing as everyone looks up to sing and not down to a carol sheet. There is usually a full choir at this service but the Midnight and Christmas morning services often have a smaller choir as members visit their families away from the town.

Richard continues to be our fabulous organist; he spends many hours practising, particularly anthems for the end of services and he loves a special occasion when he can pull out all the stops. His talent is appreciated when visiting other churches and we discover how high his standards are with his dedication to the music at our church.

We are always looking for new members, so if you are at all interested please contact either Richard or Denise at any time. Please do not be shy about coming forward as you will be most welcome.

Denise Summers Richard Fairhurst [email protected] [email protected]

Bell Ringers

It’s been a year of ups and downs (if you’ll pardon the pun) for the ringers in 2016. The high point of the year was the celebration of the 300th anniversary of the installation of the bells. They were cast and hung in the tower in 1716, and have rung out over the town ever since.

On Street Fair day we opened the tower and had a regular stream of visitors who were shown how we ring – some even had a go themselves. They could also visit the newly refurbished clock, where David, who did the work was there to explain the mechanism.

Other highlights included ringing for the Beer festival, who made generous contributions to the clock fund, and ringing to open the Street Fair. On June 11th we had a tea party to celebrate the Queen’s 90th birthday followed by a civic service for which the bells were rung. We also rang for five weddings and half muffled for Remembrance Sunday.

Although we generally have a full compliment of ringers for Sunday mornings, it’s been disappointing that many practice nights have had to be abandoned for lack of ringers. Much of this is down to the fact ringers are a multi-talented bunch and are often tied up with other community activities. We have however taken the opportunity of the open day to encourage others to take up the exercise, and so far two have joined our band and are making good progress. Unfortunately many ringers were struck down with the dreaded lurgy after Christmas, meaning for the first time in many years we could not put a band together to ring in the new year. However the refurbished clock struck the hour at the appropriate time.

Mike Summers [email protected]

Bells at St Mary’s

Mothers’ Union Group

The Mothers’ Union group at St Mary’s church, Charlbury has no formal committee. Angela Taylor from Enstone, an active long term member of the Mothers’ Union, led the group with Rachel Gallagher.

We met five times during 2016. We took part in the Mothers’ Union International Wave of Prayer in May and we enjoyed our summer tea party in July.

During the weekend of June 11th and 12th there was a wonderful Flower Festival in St. Mary’s church to celebrate our Queen’s 90th birthday. 2016 was also the year that the Mothers’ Union celebrated it’s 140th anniversary. As the Queen is patron of the Mothers’ Union, our group prepared a flower arrangement to commemorate these two events. A photograph of our display appeared in the Diocesan Focus magazine. One of our members, Pearl Emsden, like the Queen, was also 90 during 2016 and we enjoyed celebrating this with her.

During the year attendance to our meetings reduced and Joan Mann, the founder of the group left Charlbury to live near her son. By October there were five diocesan members and one regular “friend”.

So we held our last meeting on October 10th during which we assembled two boxes for Charlbury’s shoe box appeal and we provided extra items to be used to top up other boxes.

Though the regular meetings of St. Mary’s Mothers’ Union Group have now ceased, several of us remain Diocesan Members. We continue to maintain a link with the diocesan, national and international Mothers’ Union movement, receiving regular information and the magazine.

We are also represented as volunteer Welcomers at Oxford Cathedral and write to families, on the occasion of the first anniversary of a baptism that had taken place in Charlbury with Shorthampton.

Rachel Gallagher [email protected]

Peace at the Pub - Seven years of silence

Peace@thePub will be seven years old in May this year. Some of us must have sat in The Bell in silence for over 75 hours! It is great to come across people – as we do all the time – who have never come to one of our gatherings, but who are aware of them and supportive of what we do. Peace@thePub has no specific faith-alignment, but from its inception it has been supported by members of St Mary’s Church.

Each month at Peace@thePub we focus on one particular topic. A scan of our concerns over the last seven years shows that we have learned more about, and from time to time become involved in, issues as diverse as healthcare in sub-Saharan Africa, human rights in Saudi Arabia, what goes on in Campsfield House, Tibet, climate change and refugees, global trade deals, nuclear power, South Sudan, Haiti, employment in the Philippines, homelessness in the UK, Palestinian olive oil, Bhopal, end of life care, fracking and fossil fuels, and many, many more.

What is remarkable about Charlbury is that there are local, personal links with almost all the above causes. Some Charlbury residents are employed by large or small charities in these fields: some run their own enterprises or businesses to promote social and individual wellbeing: others volunteer in innumerable ways, often giving unsparingly of their time. It is rewarding at Peace@thePub when we focus on a cause that is particularly special to someone, and identify for a little while with those they are supporting. Among other things it reminds us again of the value of our freedoms and opportunities, and at the same time that we all share together a very small world.

Duncan Forbes [email protected]

Churches Together in Charlbury

Ann Davidson took over the Chair from Sue Tokumine, a member of the Methodist Church, in October 2016. Our grateful thanks are due to Sue for her expert guidance and hard work during the previous year. Madeleine Wheare from St Teresa’s, a previous member of the committee, is due to move to Portugal. She made many valued contributions to the United Services and other CTC activities especially the Holiday Club. We wish her well in her new country.

Lent Lunches and Lent Talks The donations for these showed a large increase compared with 2015. We emphasised that the donations from both the lunches and the talks would be for Christian Aid’s work with the Syrian Refugees and this might have reflected people’s amazing generosity. Two lunches were at St Mary’s, one organised by the Sacristans, and both were well attended. Our thanks to all the helpers.

The Lent Talks on ‘Mindful Journeys’ were also well attended. The theme of Pilgrimage Lent Lunch was clearly of interest. The series of talks was introduced by a screening of the film’ The Way’ with the support of CHOC and organised by Clare Carswell from St Teresa’s. Our thanks to all the organisers for a popular and appropriate introduction to the series.

United Services These were taken in rotation as in previous years. All the Churches worshipped together in different and memorable formats from the reflective to the celebratory. The United Service at the end of Christian Aid week was led by the Baptist Church and included an informative film on the work of Christian Aid. Clare Elson is now the main organiser of the house to house collection helped by Janet & Michael Crumpton who have worked tirelessly over many years.

The United Service for One World Week took place in October before the AGM. Jan Fielden planned and led a very enjoyable service. The service included a talk by Angela Gwatkin and Jon Carpenter on behalf of CRAG updating the congregation on the work it is doing and the fund raising events CRAG has held.

The AGM afterwards included a talk by Heather McCulloch about her work in settling six Syrian Refugee families in Witney. Both talks were very illuminating and informative. We are planning to have a similar format for the next AGM and hopefully it might encourage more people to stay after the service.

Holiday Club This took place in August with the theme ‘Waste Watchers’. The finale being a colourful amusing service at the end of the week. The helpers, both adult and children, all worked very hard. The collection was in aid of the Melon Mission in Nakuru Kenya. The school there has been visited by Rachel Gallagher and her daughter Anna.

Hustings This was a very popular event held before the bye-election to elect a new MP for West Oxfordshire after the resignation of David Cameron. It was organised by the UNA and the CTC. There were candidates from eight parties. The questions were thought provoking promoting good debate between candidates and a very large audience.

Street Fair Stall We kept to our usual theme of ‘Home Made & Home Grown’ and as before donations for the stall were very generous. The Raffle did well thanks to the donation of superb quality wine from Monty Phillips from Chadlington. 50% of our gross takings were donated to the Memorial Hall & Corner House funds.

Christmas Card We are very grateful to Roy Scott for designing the Christmas card again for us this year. A card went to each house in the town with the December Leaflet. The card listed all the Church services over Christmas and the New Year. The feedback from the town was again very positive so we hope to continue with this each year. We would appreciate any photographs of the inside of the Churches when they have been decorated for Christmas.

Donations  United Service for Week of Prayer for Christian Unity Donated to CRAG £252  United Service for Women’s Day of Prayer £90.50  CHRISTIAN AID Total = £5423.37 made up as follows Christian Aid Week Collection £2762.38 United service at end of Christian Aid Week £145.40 Lent Talks* (after expenses) £477.69 Lent Lunches* (after expenses) £1387.21 Hustings bi-election** & United Service £650.69 *Specified for Christian Aid work with Refugees ** Specified for Christian Aid work in Haiti following Hurricane Matthew and included the collection from the United Service for One World Week  Donation to Refugee Families in Witney given as Food Vouchers £250  Street Fair funds for Memorial Hall & Corner House (= 50% of total raised) £204.40

It has been another busy year for the CTC. Thanks, as always, are due to Rosalind Scott, our Secretary, whose experience and guidance are vital for the running of our United Services and events. Also grateful thanks to Gerald Draper, our Treasurer, whose accounting skills are so crucial. Finally I would like to thank all the Churches for their support in keeping the Churches Together in Charlbury such a vibrant part of the community in worshipping together the way we do.

Ann Davidson CTC Chairman &PCC Representative for St Mary’s Charlbury [email protected]

Flower Arrangers

We have had a very successful year. Our team of arrangers have excelled themselves.

The Flower Festival that was held in the summer was a case in point. The festival was in honour of the Queen’s 90th birthday. Two of our experienced arrangers who had been involved in other festivals, produced a plan and our team carried out the many arrangements showing the highlights of the Queen’s long reign with great success. The festival was sponsored by a variety of donors who gave generously for which we are most grateful.

Apart from the Flower Festival Sarah Potter and I are most grateful to our teams who continue to decorate the church all the year.

Zilvia Pumfrey [email protected]

Flower Festival displays

Fundraising The Friends of Shorthampton Church

The attendance at All Saints this year has been ten on average – not bad for a cold winter’s afternoon, plus standing room only at the candlelit carols, with at least 75 attendees and a very full turn out on Christmas morning.

There are quite a few recommendations in the Quinquennial report - such as re- pointing and replacing loose tiles - which can be addressed by the Fabric committee over the next year. The roof lead will need replacing, but at least we have a bit of time to work out how we pay for it. There is enough in the ‘restricted fund’ for everyday occurrences but extra funding would be required for anything major. Since the alarming spate of lead thefts in this area, a roof alarm has recently been installed with the help of two grants which covered at least half the cost. (£4,500)

The role of the Friends committee is to make sure that the ‘Restricted Fund’ is topped up with a variety of fund-raisers that are organised annually. On this note we were very pleased with the £850 raised at George Butlers’ talk which took place at St Mary’s and furthermore we received about £300 from a spontaneous Christmas card idea, organised by a well-wisher.

Sarah Witheridge and Amanda Cooper have had two very productive pruning mornings in the churchyard. Another Churchyard tidying day might be something to consider this spring. As far as the Living Churchyard project goes, the stringing of the churchyard last year was very productive and a veritable carpet of cuckoo flowers (ladies mantle) duly appeared.

Grateful thanks go to Ann Firkins and her team of flower arrangers, plus all those on the cleaning rota who work tirelessly to keep this little church on the road. The amount of people who write in the visitors’ book never ceases to amaze us and there is no doubt that passers-by and pilgrims continue to find a special peace here. They also continue to buy postcards. A quote from this year…“thank you for time and space to think…”

Amanda Cooper (Chairman) [email protected]

The Children’s Society

Some fifty houses in and around Charlbury hold a Children’s Society collection box. Small change is added to the box gradually throughout the year and the total counted at the end of January. At the grand opening event there is, in addition, a bring and buy sale, a stall selling Phoenix cards and an area to sit down for coffee/tea, biscuits and a chat. There is always a happy and cheerful atmosphere.

In January, 2017 a grand total of £1260 was collected for the Children’s Society. This sum will be well used by the society in their wonderful work with young people throughout the country.

Several families have recently volunteered to be new box holders but if anybody else would like a box please contact Paddy or Rachel.

Paddy and Rachel Gallagher [email protected] Tel: 01608811568

Oxfordshire Historic Churches Trust Ride and Stride

The congregations of St. Mary’s and All Saints have supported the Ride and Stride very generously for many years. A huge thank you to all the sponsors, welcomers and participants as this year we raised £765.90 from St. Mary’s and £96.00 from All Saints. In fact Charlbury’s churches of different denominations contributed over £1,000 to the county’s total. Unfortunately the weather was dire but even so eight members of our congregation ‘strode’ or welcomed including Sebastian Fairhurst who at the time was only a few months old and with his parents, Richard and Anna, cycled to Shorthampton on Richard’s special bicycle. Sebastian increased our age range considerably so that we can claim to have participants from under 6 months old to their nineties! We hope that more families will join our loyal supporters in 2017.

The OHCT has awarded grants to all Charlbury’s churches in the past and during the year 2014/2015 gave out £194,000 ranging from £1,000 to St. Peter ad Vincula at South Newington for woodwork and sound system to £15,000 for new interior lighting for Dorchester Abbey.

Please put the 2017 Ride and Stride, Saturday 9th September, in your diaries as it would be great to see more members of the congregation welcoming, walking, cycling, or riding.

Sarah Potter [email protected] 01608 810388

The Bazaar

St Mary’s Church Christmas Bazaar was well attended and much enjoyed, as always, under the skilful organising hand of Sarah Potter. The team of stall holders had worked really hard to prepare their wonderful stalls and deserve well earned praise for the amazing £1,280 raised.This was divided equally between the two charities chosen this year – Cecily’s Fund and Seesaw- and it was nice that both had representatives there that morning.

The date for the Bazaar next year is Saturday 2nd December.

Bob Tait and Sarah Potter

Church Bazaar

Charlbury Fair Traders

This year we have continued the weekly stalls at St Mary’s and the Thursday Font Café. Other Charlbury Christian churches continue to support our efforts and we have set up seasonal stalls at community events in the town and the surrounding area. None of this would happen if it wasn’t for the small team of faithful volunteers who often find themselves multi tasking particularly on Sunday mornings. If we are to carry on supporting low income producers and artisans to build their skills through training so they can work towards a life without poverty, we need more of you to join us. If you have questions about ways in which you can help please speak to Daniela or Cara.

Many of you signed the Traidcraft Justice Matters petition which called for changes to the law so that UK companies can be prosecuted if they cause severe harm to people abroad. Nationally more than 20,000 people signed this petition which was handed into Downing Street in November. Traidcraft will be continuing to press for change by research and meetings with policy makers and MP’s to make all business fair.

Sales Figures Profit and Loss Account from 1 January to 31 December 2016 Sales amounted to £5,289 Trading Surplus was £506.37 Charitable Donations Water Aid £150.00 CRAG £150.00 Calais Appeal £200.00 We are grateful to Jenny Simpson for continuing to audit our annual accounts.

The large fall in the value of the pound in recent months means that all imported product costs have risen significantly. There is an increase in the prices for foodstuffs and crafts in the new Traidcraft catalogue. Over many years your care has helped us support small producers and artisans throughout the world. Our hope is that you will continue to do so in these uncertain times.

Cara Williams for Charlbury Fair Traders [email protected]

Accounts

Banker’s Order

To the Manager…………………………….Bank/ Building Society Address……………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………

Please pay to Charlbury Parochial Church Council at Santander Business Accounting Bridle Road Bootle L30 4GB

Sort code 09 / 01 / 52 Account number 36209701 the sum of £ …… ( ……………………………………………..words) every month/ quarter/ year until further notice commencing on the .…… (no.) day of ……………..…. (month) ………… (year) My account name …………………………………………. My account no. ……………………………… My sort code …… / …… / …… My address ……………………………………………… ……………………………………………… ……………………………………………….

Signed ……………………………………………… Date ………………… ------Changing a Standing Order This order cancels any previous instructions in favour of the PCC of St. Mary’s Church Charlbury next payable on …… / …… / ...... Signed ……………………………………………… Date …………………

Gift Aid Declaration

I am a UK tax payer and want St. Mary’s Church to reclaim tax on all my donations until further notice. I understand that 25p of tax will be reclaimed for every £1 that I give.

I confirm that I have paid or will pay an amount of Income Tax and/or Capital Gains Tax for each tax year (6 April to 5 April) that is at least equal to the amount of tax that St. Mary’s Church and other charities or Community Amateur Sports Clubs (CASCs) that I donate to will reclaim on my gifts for that tax year. I understand that other taxes such as VAT and Council Tax do not qualify.

I note that I can cancel the Declaration at any time by notifying the Church.

Full name………………………………………………………………

Address…………………………………………………………………

..…………………………………………………………………

Postcode……………………

Signed Date

Meeting of Parishioners 2016

The Meeting of Parishioners was held in St. Mary the Virgin, Charlbury on Sunday March 13, 2016 at 11:15 am.

Minutes

Rev. Dr. Sally Welch began in the chair and welcomed everyone. The meeting started with a prayer.

Election of Churchwardens – two churchwardens were nominated: Dine Glasgow, nominated by Daniela Jenkins, seconded by Adam Leach, and Louise Whitehead, nominated by Ann Davidson, seconded by Rachel Gallagher. No further nominations were received so both Dine and Louise were duly elected. The Meeting of Parishioners was then closed.

All present voted in favour of accepting Dine and Louise as Churchwardens. Sally took the opportunity to thank both Dine and Louise for their hard work over the past year.

This was followed immediately by:

The Annual Parochial Church Meeting

Rev. Dr. Sally Welch took the chair and wanted to take the opportunity to thank the many people who make the life of the church possible. She spoke of the five different areas of action identified from the PCC Vision Days:

1. To proclaim the good news of the kingdom 2. To teach, baptise and nurture believers 3. To respond to human need by loving service 4. To transform unjust structures of society, to challenge violence of every kind and to pursue peace and reconciliation 5. To strive to safeguard the integrity of creation and sustain and renew the life of the earth

She spoke of the need for more help and input from the congregation with regard to the sort of Bible study groups, seminars, sermons series they would like to see happen along with the need for financial donations but more than anything else the need for prayers – for the community of Charlbury, for St. Mary’s, for all of us that together we can be instrumental in bringing God’s kingdom closer to us all.

Minutes

1. Apologies for absence were received from Rosalind and Roy Scott, Angela and Duncan Forbes, Daniela Jenkins, Jo Murphy, Pat Toms, Andrew Bird and Glena Chadwick 2. Report on changes in the Electoral Roll – This year we have 108 members (107 in 2015) on our electoral roll - 9 have come off and 10 have come on. 3. Annual Report of the Parochial Church Council (PCC) 2015 Elections and Appointments Election of Deanery Synod representatives – not necessary this year as elections took place in 2014 and all reps are to continue until 2017 Election of representatives to the PCC – the following nominations were made: to serve until 2019: Laura Barwood proposed by Pam Clifford, seconded by Daniela Jenkins, Paddy Gallagher proposed by Leah Fowler, seconded by Jo Murphy, re-elected until 2019 Adam Leach proposed by Dine Glasgow, seconded by Leah Fowler and Sarah Witheridge proposed by Daniela Jenkins, seconded by Rosalind Scott, and serving until 2018 Mary Humphries proposed by Denise Summers and seconded by Leah Fowler. All were appointed. Appointment of sides persons – the following names were read out: 9:45 Main Service – Roy and Rosalind Scott, Liz and Bob Tait, Zilvia Pumfrey and Ros Roberts, Michael Waring and Brian Morley, Alison Nicholls, Mary and Dick Heckman, Ted and Jenny Welsh, Margaret Hopewell and Heather Arthur – all appointed 8:00 Holy Communion – Pat Toms, Michael Waring, William Thornton, Verity Brown, Stephen Bubb and Peter Durrant – all appointed 6:00 Evening Prayer – Tish Bird, Janet Barnett, Sarah Potter – all appointed Shorthampton – Sarah Potter, Ann Firkins, Amanda Cooper, Bill Wood, Tonya Wood, Jeff West, Juliet West – all appointed.

Financial Statement: Brian Morley spoke on the financial statements indicating that the parish share is two-thirds of our income but that we had had a good year overall and that the budget had been what was expected. Gift aid returns come back at the end of the year. The Font café continues to do very well and he is fairly confident that the Clock Fund has achieved enough monies to make the necessary repairs.

Fabric: There were no questions about the report. Deanery Synod: Michael Waring discussed benefit sanctions. MPs are answerable for complaints but we need to consider whether we are aware of people here who are struggling. Appointment of Independent Examiner of Accounts – Mr. Hugh Belshaw Independently examined last year’s accounts and has agreed to do so again in January 2017.

Any Other Business Michael Waring suggested it would be good to attend the Annual Town Council Meeting. He was also encouraged by Faith Development within the church and finally called on the congregation to support the Good Friday walk around Charlbury.

Rev. Jan Fielding expressed appreciation for Sally’s appointment as our Vicar and for her hard work.

There being no further business the meeting ended with the Grace.

Meeting of Parishioners

The Meeting of Parishioners will be held in St. Mary’s the Virgin, Charlbury on Sunday April 9th, 2017 at 11.00am.

Agenda

 Election of two Churchwardens - all those on the Church Electoral Roll and residents of the parish, whose names are entered on the register of local government electors, are entitled to vote.

This will be followed immediately by:

The Annual Parochial Church Meeting

Those entered on the Church Electoral Roll may participate in and vote in the meeting. Other members of the parish may attend, with the agreement of the meeting, but not vote.

Agenda

1. Apologies for absence 2. Report on changes in the Electoral Roll 3. Annual Report of the Parochial Church Council (PCC) 2016  Main issues during the year  Financial statement  Deanery Synod Report 4. Elections and Appointments  Election of representatives to the PCC  Appointment of sides persons  Election of representatives to Deanery Synod  Appointment of Independent Examiner of Accounts 5. Any Other Business

Annual Report of the PCC 2016 Parish of St Mary’s Charlbury with All Saints’ Shorthampton

Photographs on P4 used by permission of the Baptism families. All other photographs © St Mary’s Church, Charlbury and All Saints’ Church, Shorthampton’s congregations. Picture P11 taken from iStockphoto Picture P12 taken from godsbreath.files.wordpress.com/2007/05/bible-formation.png