Annual Report of the PCC 2017 Parish of St Mary's Charlbury with All Saints' Shorthampton

Annual Report of the PCC 2017 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 2017.

Contact information for both churches

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

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

Contents The Year in Focus 3 Looking Forward 5 Attendance and Church Registers 6

PCC Membership 7 PCC Reports: Fabric 8 World and Environment 9 Faith and Development 10 Communications 11 Finance and Generous Giving 12 Children and Young People 14 Chipping Norton Deanery Synod 16 Other Church Activities: Font Cafe 18 Prayer Team, Pastoral Team and Sacristans 19 Choir 20 Bell Ringers 21 Prayer Shawl Ministry 22 Peace@thePub and Charlbury Corner House 23 Churches Together in Charlbury 24 Flower Arrangers 26 Fundraising: The Friends of Shorthampton 27 The Children’s Society 28 Oxfordshire Historic Churches Trust Ride and Stride 28 The Bazaar and Reverse Advent Calendars 29 Charlbury Fair Traders 30 Accounts: Receipts and Payments 31 General Fund Receipts and Payments Account 32 Special Funds 33 Independent Examiner’s Report 34 Statement of Assets and Liabilities 35 Minutes of the APCM 2017 36 Agenda of the APCM 2018 38 2

The Year in Focus

Looking Back

Part of a team One of the joys of ministering at St Mary’s and All Saints is the large number of people who share this task with me. Not only do we have the loyal and hardworking support of Jan, but several other retired ministers have offered their gifts and wisdom during the year. John Witheridge, Elizabeth Koepping, Mike Williams, Angela Forbes and Ian Arthur have all played their part in the life of St Mary’s, not forgetting our ordinand Tish Bird, formerly an LLM, and now training to be a priest. But the hard work and dedication is not limited solely to the ministry team – a vast number of people have contributed to make St Mary’s and All Saints the lively, welcoming communities that they are. Each person has brought different gifts and skills, contributing what and when they can, and I value each one of them. Thank you.

A community of faith We have continued to build on the pattern of services which we developed in 2016. The bedrock of our worshipping community remains the 8.00 Book of Common Prayer and the 9.45 Parish Communion services, and it is upon the faithful support and attendance of these two congregations that we have been able not only to build, but also to experiment with other types of service. Messy Church continues to grow in numbers and enthusiasm and, supported by the regular congregation, an all age Communion Service follows very successfully on a magnificent breakfast and a large array of craft activities.

Mothering Sunday Messy Church 2017 Choral Evensongs have continued to be well attended, with music of a different kind being offered at Taize services and the new 6 O’Clock Worship service, which we welcome with enthusiasm. Evening Prayer at Shorthampton is now held during summer months only, with a Morning Service taking place at 11.15 am on the second Sunday of each month from October to March. The Lent talks explored were well attended and were supported by a sermon series at St Mary’s on Biblical landscapes, and a Bible study group met every Wednesday in term time at the Vicarage, offering a chance to discuss and reflect on different aspects of faith. Further discussions were enabled through the highly successful Discussion groups held during the year. Topics such as warfare, politics and end of life were explored from a Christian point of view with the help of expert speakers – and lovely suppers!

Festival services took place as usual, providing opportunities for the organist, the choir and the flower arrangers to show their skills to their best advantage, while other services opened the church to different communities – the Deanery Bellringers service took place at Charlbury this year, as did the Scouts’; the school visited the church for services and talks, and the Family Service rounding off a very popular Holiday Club proved a fitting celebration to an exciting week. And, forming the bedrock of all that St Mary’s and All Saints do, a continuous stream of prayer, both individual and corporate, involving Daily Prayer, midweek communions, Jan’s creative and thought provoking prayer stations and the work of the prayer team, who offer prayer at the end of each 9.45 service for all who wish.

Baptism at All Saints’ Shorthampton The Bishop of Dorchester visiting the Thy Kingdom Come prayer stations A community of hospitality St Mary’s has continued to be involved in community events, with Font Café growing in popularity, and playing host as usual to Art Week at Christmas and in the summer. St Mary’s was a venue for the Charlbury Festival – an opportunity to extend hospitality to the wider community - and also hosted the Deanery Archdeaconry Visitation as well as a Diocesan Conference on the Spirituality of the Churchyard. St Mary’s has been the venue for Deanery Chapter and Deanery Synod meetings, including the celebration supper for the launch of the Deanery Pilgrim Project. All Saints launched its fundraising appeal for a new roof with a tremendous Quiz Night, filling the Memorial Hall with eager quizzers. There have been several concerts from different choirs and organisations as well as an encouraging number of baptisms and weddings - cause indeed for celebration. The blessing of the new Community Centre took the church to the community in a different way, while the visit of the new Bishop of Oxford to Font Cafe reinforced our reputation as the ‘best Deanery in the Diocese for cake’. St Mary’s and All Saints have maintained their outward focus, with charitable giving continuing to be a mainstream activity. Reverse Advent Parcels, Children’s Society money boxes, the Christmas Bazaar and other initiatives have enabled us to contribute to charities such as the Porch, Y Care International and Cecily’s Fund, as well as emergency appeals throughout the year.

Looking Forward

The calendar for 2018 is already taking shape, with additional services and events happening alongside our regular pattern of prayer and worship. Lent talks on modern prophets are balanced with a sermon series on Biblical giants such as Jonah and Ezekiel. There are plans for more discussion groups and for a course on engaging with prayer and spirituality. Messy Church will take place seven times this year, and it is planned to begin not only a children’s choir, but a new programme of events and activities for secondary school children. We are exploring ways of developing our kitchen area so that we can better host suppers and events, as well as improving accessibility to our loo. We hope to become a hub for pilgrimage in the Cotswolds, providing resources and holding events. We will continue all that we are doing to support our communities in their personal lives and in their work in the world. Our plans and projects require funding, and inflation has eroded the generosity of regular givers. We will be aiming to transfer parish giving to a direct debit system, and encouraging new and long established givers to consider prayerfully how much they can contribute financially to the wellbeing of St Mary’s and All Saints’. 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 One of the many joys of ministering in the parish of Charlbury with Shorthampton is the many people who help with the wide variety of tasks which go to make up church and community life. The amount of commitment and support which is shown by a large number of parishioners is truly remarkable – and the church could not function without them. Among those who are essential to the successful ministry of this parish are Jo in the parish office, our churchwardens Dine and Paddy, and Brian our treasurer. Their work often goes unnoticed but the running of the building and its congregation is made much smoother by their actions! The hardworking Janet continues as our verger, with the help of Leah and Derek, and the pattern of services is admirably maintained by our team of ministers, choir and organist and many other unsung heroes and helpers. Finally, as always, I would like to express my gratitude and appreciation to Jan Fielden. Her hard work, humour, support and real love for this community are very precious, and her presence among us something to be celebrated.

Rev Dr Sally Welch [email protected]

St Mary’s Church All Saints Church

Attendance and Church Registers

The average Sunday attendance (all Sunday services) was 78 adults and 10 children at St Mary’s and 10 adults at Shorthampton. The numbers for Christmas, Easter and other occasions are detailed below:

Christmas and Easter Attendance Communicants St. Mary’s (Easter) 174 134

Shorthampton (Easter) 31 31

St Mary’s (Christmas 24/25 Dec) 658 146

Shorthampton (Christmas Day) 60 50

Special Services St. Mary’s Shorthampton

Harvest 100 32 Thanksgiving for the Departed 23 - (All Souls)

Remembrance Service 145 -

Carols by Candlelight 485 48

Children’s Nativity 124 -

Church Registers St. Mary’s Shorthampton

Baptisms 14 1

Marriages 1 1

Blessing of Marriage 0 0

Funerals in Church 8 0

Funerals at crematorium 6 0 Burial of ashes 0 0 Memorial services 2 0 Average Sunday Attendance 78 10

PCC Membership 2017

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) Paddy Gallagher Ex-officio Mary Heckman (Hon. Secretary) Brian Morley (Hon. Treasurer) Deanery Synod Representatives Roy Scott Michael Waring Elected Members Until 2018 Mary Heckman Rosalind Scott Marie-Reine Staton Mike Summers Until 2019 Rachel Gallagher Adam Leach Louise Whitehead Sarah Witheridge Until 2020 Amanda Cooper Ann Davidson Daniela Jenkins Kris Sylvester

PCC Reports - Fabric It has been a busy year for the Fabric Committee, with several major projects completed. At Charlbury these were -  Commissioning of a new parish computer  Installation of an ashes garden patio and bench  Repair of sockets in north aisle  Solving the problem of the church notice boards perspex fixing.  Successful arrangements for light control when using the projector  Castors fitted to screens making them much easier to move about  Carpet replacement by south door  Cleaning of north aisle guttering and downpipes  Tidying up entrance and notice boards in church to improve first impressions  Attempts to identify source of leak in Memorial Chapel roof. For the future we are working on -  Improving the porch lighting and emergency lighting  Repair of the churchyard dry-stone wall  Upgrading the PA system and upgrading the CCTV system  Memorial Chapel roof leak.

St Mary’s Ashes garden patio and bench All Saints’ noticeboard At Shorthampton -  Replacement of the porch notice board with one commemorating Ralph Holloway  Fitting of roof alarm to protect this vulnerable church  Repair of the missing glass in the chancel trefoil window  Several attempts to identify the source of a roof leak  Replace disintegrating bell rope  Gravel drive installed between the church and the cottage  Completion of a quinquennial inspection. For the future we are working on -  Replacing the roof, hopefully with specially treated steel  Repair of dry-stone walls and tidy up of churchyard. Both churches have had successful churchyard clean up days and many other minor items have been dealt with. Special thanks must go to the Fabric committee members, churchwardens and all those who helped achieve this impressive list of results. Mike Summers, [email protected]

World and Environment

2017 was the first year that we tried to facilitate ongoing engagement with charities benefiting from the PCC’s charitable giving commitment. Our goal was to identify one or more organisations that: a. have a specific Charlbury link (either someone local who is working in that area of concern or who has a particular interest in it); b. help illuminate issues of social justice, the environment, poverty or violence/war (priorities previously established by the committee and PCC); and, c. help to make us more of an outward looking church/community.

The highlight of the year was hosting Terry Waite for a Saturday morning gathering at St Mary’s. Terry is the President of Y Care International, the first such organization chosen by the PCC. Y Care funds and supports development projects that help young people find alternatives to a future of poverty and disadvantage in some of the world’s poorest countries. Adam Leach’s link to Y Care was critical in making the event possible. This was a rare opportunity to hear and learn from someone who, despite enduring intense and prolonged deprivation of freedom and physical abuse as a hostage in Beirut, held no grudges, no bitterness. His central message was that how we live now is what matters - now is the time for action: for compassion, care and love for others.

Terry Waite, Margie and Dine Glasgow

That message is equally applicable to Cecily’s Fund, the second charity selected by the PCC. Founded by Basil and Alison Eastwood to enable orphans and vulnerable children in Zambia to gain an education so that they can reach their true potential and have better futures, Cecily’s Fund reached its 20th anniversary milestone in 2017. In addition to educating us about the amazing work of the fund, Basil also invited interested individuals to join him on a trip to Zambia to see their efforts first hand.

If you have ideas for potential charities for the church to support, please contact a member of the PCC with details.

Dine Glasgow [email protected]

Faith and Development

Members are the Rev Dr Sally Welch, Sarah Witheridge, Dine Glasgow, Rosalind Scott, Daniela Jenkins, and Louise Whitehead.

This committee is designed to come up with fresh ideas and speakers, and to respond to requests from the congregation, all with the purpose of increasing and deepening our faith, to find ways to stimulate our study of the Bible and theology, and to provide forums for discussion and questioning.

This year included a sermon series on Death, Judgement, Heaven and Hell. We have also been running talks followed by a discussion over supper, on ethical issues. We have been fortunate to have had some excellent experts. These have happened at 6pm on Sunday evenings, approximately quarterly. Topics have included church and politics, and compassion or prudence - negotiating assisted suicide. In April the speaker was Scott Grant who delivered a fine exposition of the criteria for a Just War, followed by careful consideration of whether recent conflicts had satisfied those criteria.

We very much hope that all members of the community will give us suggestions and ideas, as well as feedback about what people found helpful, whether subjects or speakers.

Sarah Witheridge [email protected]

A Just War - Discussion evening April 2017

Communications

The communications committee met twice during 2017 and a number of actions took place with the support of the Fabric committee including:

 Replacing the carpet in welcome area and updating the welcome area  Updating welcome display board  Sourcing leaflet display holders  Ordering two colourful welcome banners to stand near the font including one for messy church  Setting up a prayer station with candles and sand  Installing a wall mounted display holder for legal church notices and church fees sheets  Updating the welcome leaflet.

Actions ongoing in 2018 include:  Improve lighting in porch  Update CCTV  Update porch noticeboards

Jo Paton [email protected]

Welcome banner in St Marys

Finance

General As in previous years the full financial details are at the end of the parish annual report. The details were examined by Mr Hugh Belshaw and found to be both true and accurate. He did ask that more detail be shown for charity donations and these were added prior to his signature.

Budget

Budget sheets for income and expenditure were devised by Dine Glasgow and Scott

Grant. Whilst they do not take into account all day to day transactions they give a good comparison between actual income and expenditure and that estimated. It was shown half way through the year that we could expect to have a deficit of £3000 in unrestricted funds by December if no action was taken. Unrestricted Funds These represent our day to day transactions over the year. As expected the deficit was a little over £3000, following a reduction in income and increased expenditure over the 2016 figures. No one item caused concern however the Gift Aid return from HMRC fell by £1500. Great care is taken by all concerned to ensure the best possible price and quality for maintenance labour and materials, much of which is donated.

Restricted Funds As the name suggests money here is for specific purposes. This fund increased by £6000 most of which is scheduled for costs associated with future repairs to the roof at Shorthampton. No direct appeal was made for re-roof funds but due to hard work by, among others, Amanda Cooper who arranged a profitable quiz night, donations were received. Considerable sums were given by Friends of Shorthampton as well as others. A further £20,000 has been promised but not yet received. The Font Cafe continues to add profit to their restricted holding, some of which was donated to the Disaster Emergency Appeals and other charities during the year, along with funding children and youth work in the parish. Charity A total of £3500 was either raised by St Mary's church or donated to the church to support charity appeals. Two National Disaster Appeals were supported as were Children Seen and Heard, the Porch, Cecily’s Fund and Y Care International. The latter two were the result of church bazaar profits. Funds held The deposit with the CCLA remains at £36,500 and total holdings are a little over £75,000. This is an increase of £2500 over 2016 partly due to donations for the Shorthampton repairs.

Brian Morley [email protected]

Generous Giving

A New Way to Give – The Parish Giving Scheme

One of the biggest financial challenges we have at St Mary’s and All Saints’ is accurately budgeting income on a month-to-month basis. During 2017, monthly donations varied by as much as 60%. Whatever the reasons for the variation, they make it difficult to plan accurately for the future. As you can see from this annual report, there is a lot going on at our churches; and, we would like to do even more. Plans are afoot for programmes for primary and secondary school children; we hope to improve the kitchen and accessibility of the loos to make St Mary’s a better venue for our own services and events, as well as public concerts and the like; and we want to find new ways to support our communities in their personal lives and in their work in the world.

The Parish Giving Scheme is a new system that would help simplify the budgeting process, and enable us to do a better job of planning for the future. It is a direct-debit system originally developed by the Diocese of Gloucester to provide a professional, effective donation management system to support parishes in funding their mission and ministry. The Parish Giving Scheme is available to all churches with no cost. The scheme has attracted considerable interest all around the country, and has been very successfully adopted locally by the Chadlington and Spelsbury parishes. Not only have their donations become much more predictable, they have increased as well. Based on their experiences, we think that the Parish Giving Scheme could work very well for us too. So, please watch out for information and presentations on the program as we evaluate whether it would be appropriate for our parish. Dine Glasgow [email protected]

Children and Young People

Sunday Club meets every week as part of St Mary’s 9.45 service. We try to offer something for the wide age range and to learn from each other. Here are some highlights of what took place in 2017:  A food-themed Good Friday. Sally led us through the story from the apple, bitter herbs, bread and wine to hot cross buns  At Easter, we wondered about how the crucifixion and resurrection windows in the stained glass talk to each other, and turned our processional cross into a flowering tree.  Our summer pilgrimage to Shorthampton. Michael Williams led us again, celebrating communion there - and his golden anniversary as a priest.  At Pentecost, we watched birds in the churchyard, blew bubbles and feathers, then made our own mini-weathercocks.  Bishop Colin confirmed Ben and Charlie, and Andrew, Edie, Ewan and Harrison were admitted to communion.

Confirmation service with admission to Holy Communion

Messy Church is an opportunity for all ages to gather together in a relaxed and informal atmosphere. Everyone is welcome and it provides an opportunity for conversation and friendship – we have an average of 75 adults and between 25 and 30 children attending each time. Messy Church has grown in popularity over the last year, as the whole church family has gathered over a delicious breakfast with the opportunity to explore the arts and crafts activities in the Memorial Chapel once enough croissants and jam have been consumed. A relaxed and informal family service is followed by a shortened Communion service, with the opportunity for further arts and crafts instead if so desired. Our Messy Church Nativity was open to anyone to dress up and join in.

Children and Young People

CTC Holiday Club ‘Watt-a-Lot Castle - Knights in Action’ in August. St Mary’s hosted and over 75 children spent time at the four day holiday club where we enjoyed the Watt family drama, made knightly crafts, played games, learnt new songs and had lots of fun. We said farewell to Madeleine, who has been a mainstay of Holiday Club for so many years.

Holiday Club 2017 Stories on Sunday During the year, one Sunday a month Alison Eastwood taught the young children about exciting Old Testament characters with craft activities and refreshments provided. Links with Charlbury School Sally and Jan led assemblies, and the whole school came to church just before Christmas. Year 2 were really engaged by role-playing a baptism with Jan. The church also sponsored and organised a talk on children’s online safety held at the school. Thank you! … to the many who support children’s work practically, and with your ideas, prayers, understanding and flexibility. It’s a joy to work amongst the children, and with such a supportive team. Find out more or get involved? Christine Pearce David Nicholls: [email protected] [email protected] 01608 810846 0776 645 2802

Chipping Norton Deanery Synod

Bishop’s Visit Bishop Stephen Croft, the recently appointed Bishop of Oxford spent a day in the Deanery as part of his programme of visiting all the deaneries throughout the Diocese during the year. He came to Font Café for part of the morning on the 2nd March, talked to a wide selection of people before moving on to Chipping Norton for a Eucharist and lunch. Here he shared his vision for the Diocese with the Deanery clergy before going on a pilgrimage around Hook Norton, including visiting the brewery. In the evening he shared a meal with lay representatives from all benefices and then led a question and answer session on his role in the Diocese and his vision for the future.

Bishop Steven’s visit March 2017 Pilgrimage walk

Pilgrim Paths The Pilgrim Path initiative comprising a programme of walks between churches across the Deanery was launched during the summer. The first pilgrimage started in St Mary’s and proceeded to Finstock and on through Wychwood Forest to Shorthampton and back to Charlbury. The second started in Finstock Church and dropped down towards the Evenlode taking in several sightings of giant snails - a legacy of the Roman occupation before moving up to Wilcote and on to Ramsden St James. The parties on these walks were drawn from Charlbury, Chase and Chipping Norton benefices and the hope is that there will be extensive exchange amongst the people of the Deanery so fulfilling one of the aims of the Mission Action Plan. Other walks were set out covering Chipping Norton, the Wychwoods, Little Compton and Chastleton, Chadlington and Spelsbury, the Tews, Wiggington and Swerford, and Hook Norton. A guide for each walk included prayers and readings at various points on each route and there is a very attractive illustrated booklet with a variety of activities and creative ideas for families and children to enjoy together.

Mission Action Plan The Deanery Plan “Towards 2020” was officially launched at the March meeting of the Deanery Synod and submitted to the Dorchester Archdeaconry Mission and Pastoral Committee in June. The plan highlights four main areas of activity:  Children, Young People and Young Families - including work with schools (Church of England and state), youth clubs, messy church  Discipleship - including the ministry of the whole people of God in a wide spread of lay training and support, lent courses, Bible study, Pilgrim courses, pastoral visiting.  Church involvement in local committees and charitable enterprises - including Dementia Awareness, debt advice, support for Y Care, North Oxfordshire food bank, Good Neighbourhood schemes, pensioner lunch clubs, hospital visits, All Together in Charlbury (ATIC)  Buildings and the Environment - covering a continuing programme of restoration, reordering and upgrading of essential facilities to enhance the suitability of each church and churchyard as a resource for the widest possible range of activities, social and spiritual, for the local community.

Daylesford After a long delay the scheme to provide for the restoration of this church and it’s use for occasional services (Anglican and Roman Catholic) will move ahead. The church incorporates a Saxon arch which was restored by Pearson (famous for buildings at the Temple in central London).

Parish Share Payment of parish share for the year (at 94.9%) showed a distinct improvement over the previous year.

Meetings Apart from those mentioned in this report, these included a wide ranging presentation on the work of the Diocesan Advisory Committee in the faculty process and some wise words from the Diocesan Youth Advisor on youth ministry.

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, and people working from home 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. Font Café is grateful to Age UK for providing bi-monthly IT sessions to anyone who would like help with their tablets or mobile phones. Visitors also have the opportunity to shop at our weekly Fairtrade ‘pop-up’ shop to stock up on daily essentials of tea, coffee, chocolate and various fairly traded gifts. With its profits, Font Café has been able to support a number of charitable projects including financial support for Syrian refugees, the DEC Famine appeal for Yemen and East Africa, Y Care International as well as the DEC appeal to help people fleeing Myanmar. In addition Font café sponsors the ongoing children and youth work at St. Mary’s. 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]

Font Café cakes

Font Cafe

St Mary’s Prayer Team

The prayer team has been meeting regularly during the year, gathering together to reflect on their experience and to make sure that the structures are in place to provide prayer support at the end of the 9.45am service every Sunday. The faithful presence of the prayer team has meant that anyone who wishes may find prayer support for themselves or those for whom they have a concern. This confidential service has proved helpful for many and is also a visual symbol of the way in which prayer is at the heart of St Mary’s community. Rev Sally Welch [email protected]

Pastoral Team During the year Tish Bird, our Lay Licensed Minister, led a six session pastoral visiting course for both our parish and the neighbouring Chase Benefice. This was an excellent course which involved some thought provoking discussion and was extremely helpful to the Chase Benefice who were launching a new pastoral care team. Our own pastoral team also attended a Safeguarding session which is compulsory for those working with children and vulnerable adults. Our work continues, mostly with the elderly, housebound and bereaved people. Rev Jan Fielden [email protected]

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 8 sacristans  prepared the sacraments for 2 communion services every Sunday and the 9am service on Wednesdays, along with 3 services at Christmas, Ash Wednesday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Ascension Day, the first PCC meeting after the AGM, and communion services at Shorthampton. Communion chalices  launder the linen  change the Altar Frontals  look after the candles  keep the seasonal booklets up to date  order the wine, wafers and candles. Two of the sacristans prepare and welcome at baptisms taking place during Parish Communion or on a Sunday afternoon. We enjoyed working as a team to organise 'Sacristan's Soup', one of St Mary's Lent Lunches.

Leah Fowler [email protected]

Choir

Richard and the choir singing during communion

2017 was a very busy year, but although the resources of the choir were stretched at times, its contribution to church life never faltered. We sang for the Sunday morning services which includes the Messy Church experience, two Taize services, Joyce Bagley’s funeral and the Church Warden’s Visitation service as well as four Choral Evensongs, one of which was a Come and Sing Choral Evensong. We had a good response and were joined by two children (Freddie and Livia), sopranos and altos, one of which, Nikki has stayed with us in the alto section. In the spring, we were invited to sing Madrigals for the Charlbury Festival with Celia Faulkner’s String and Pipe Band and Richard, our brilliant organist, gave an Organ recital one lunchtime which was very successful and greatly enjoyed by an enthusiastic audience. In October we joined many other choirs from the Diocese at St Helens Church, Abingdon for the RSCM Choirs Festival, which has become an annual event for us. There is a significant amount of music to learn and it is often very challenging but we are able to use some of the music for our own services. On a lighter side we have continued to celebrate significant birthdays and anniversaries with our members, much cake has been eaten and the odd glass of something bubbly has been drunk! We joined the bell ringers for a BBQ in Maureen’s garden and as usual managed to pick a pleasant afternoon for this event. Of course we are always hoping for new singers. Our alto section has become depleted over the last couple of years and often Jenny and Nikki find they are alone for part of the service. Also if you can hold a tune the sopranos would be very pleased to have you, especially if you are good at high notes. We have welcomed Chris, who sings tenor with Derek. If you would like to ‘give it a go’ you will be very welcome, you don’t need to read music as we can teach you the notes! So see you on Friday at 7pm.

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

Bell Ringers

It’s been a mixed year for the ringers. Following the success of the open day in 2016, our 300th anniversary, we had several new recruits wanting to learn to ring. Unfortunately, one by one they have all dropped out. We really need to get some younger people interested to provide continuity when we can no longer ring (which we hope won’t be too soon!) Nevertheless with 12 ringers on our books we are better off than many other towers around us. One recruit is making great progress being very keen and has been on several courses – one lasting a whole week in Scotland. Several other ringers have also benefited from courses run locally. In 2017 as well as the Sunday services, we rang for one wedding, the Churchwardens Visitation service and half muffled for Remembrance Sunday. We had visiting ringers in February and hosted the ringers AGM in March - during which for the first time the Clare Tarrant award was presented to a local ringer for services to ringing. For street fair we ran a couple of sessions with hand-bells behind the Bell Hotel. Anyone could come forward and have a go and many did to the enjoyment of all. We also enjoyed a mulled wine when ringing in the New Year. One other success this year was the fitting of mesh to discourage birds nesting in the bell chamber and in June we had a splendid combined ringers and singers BBQ in Maureen’s garden.

Mike Summers [email protected]

Bell ringers and choir BBQ

Prayer Shawl Ministry

St Mary's Prayer Shawl Ministry is a prayerful way of touching the lives of others as a tangible symbol of God's unconditional love. A small team make the shawls and scarves, mostly crochet, but a few knitted. The prayer of the maker is woven into the shawl as an offering of love and support. These are blessed at one of the services in church and the completed shawls are distributed to bring comfort to the sick or bereaved and whenever there is a need to show love and support. We have been supported by members of the congregation with gifts of yarn or money to buy materials. We only started in September and have been astonished at the response and gratitude shown. By the end of the year about 40 shawls had been distributed. The first shawl went to somebody who was waiting for brain surgery. She said that she was so frightened the night before surgery that she could not even pray, so she wrapped the shawl around her and remembered the people that were praying for her. May the one who receives this shawl be cradled in hope, kept in joy, graced with peace and wrapped in love.

Leah Fowler [email protected] Prayer shawls crocheted by parishioners

Flowers in St Mary’s Church

Peace at the Pub

We continued to meet on the first Friday of the month, enjoying the quiet of the Cornbury Room at The Bell, followed by a time together afterwards in the buzz of the bar area. Most of us who attend agree that the world is very short on hope at the moment, with climate change, war, and extreme politics all feeling more threatening. During the year, therefore, our monthly focus has from time to time sought out good news. It’s there if you look for it, although often hidden behind the gloomy headlines. We have held in our thoughts, prayers and meditations many diverse issues and people. These include Zimbabwean therapists making a real difference to mental health there, artists in China and Palestine who are protesting against injustices at great personal risk, those working for a different economy which respects the earth and its limits, and some of the ways in which climate change is being recognised and addressed. We are a diverse group, with varying faiths and practices. We are united by a strong sense that silence together unites rather than divides. This is partly no doubt because in silence argument is not possible – but it goes deeper than that. Beyond words there is a reality to which our faith is a signpost, a reality within which we are all immersed. When we try to listen, this reality (whether or not we call it God) speaks to us of our common humanity, our interrelationship with all things, and the urgent tasks of seeking justice and the relief of suffering.

Duncan Forbes [email protected]

Charlbury Corner House

St. Mary’s is one of the statutory trustees of the Corner House and Memorial Hall charity (the other being the Town Council). This year’s departure of the library has in part prompted a comprehensive review of the Corner House to update maintenance, to consider the layout and use of rooms for improved community benefit, and to consider how to make the building more accessible in accordance with current standards. As a result, significant expenditure is likely over the coming months.

Roy Scott [email protected]

Charlbury Corner House

Churches Together in Charlbury

Committee Stella Bristow took over as Chairperson from Ann Davidson at the AGM in October 2017. Stella is former Vice President of the Methodist Conference, a Senior Member of the Methodist Church and a Methodist Preacher. Reverend Dr Elizabeth Koepping from St Mary’s joined as our Pastoral Guide, Father Tony Joyce follows Father Aldo at St Teresa’s and Reverend Rose Westwood as the new Methodist Minister joined. Rachel Gallagher from St Mary’s and Louise Littledale from St Teresa’s joined the committee whilst Helen Wright from the Baptist church retired. Helen was an active member for many years, especially with Holiday Club and the Canadian Students, and was a valued Chairperson. Clare Carswell from St Teresa’s also retired having worked hard on the CTC website and been a dedicated Chairperson. Also farewell and thank you to Stella Marks from the Baptist Church who has been the contact for the Women’s World Day of Prayer services for many years.

United Services The United Service for the World of Christian Unity in January was led by the Reverend Paul Weir, Charlbury’s Methodist Minister. It was his last United Service before his retirement. He has been a great support for the CTC and we wish him well. The United Service at the end of Christian Aid Week (May 2017) was led by St Teresa’s followed by tea at the Methodist Church. The house to house collection was organised very ably by Clare Elson and we thank her for all the hard work this involves. The United Service for One World Week took place in October before the AGM. The service was led by the Friends in the Quaker Tradition. After the AGM we had a talk by Helen Cullen from Asylum Welcome in Oxford. Her talk highlighted how inadequate and often cruel the present systems are. Asylum Welcome are doing all they can to draw the government’s attention to these failings.

Lent Talks and Lent Lunches This year the Lent Talks had the theme ‘Only One Earth’. This had been prompted by the Climate Change Conference in 2016. The talks explored the environmental issues arising from climate change and how the churches can help limit the effects of this. The speakers each represented different aspects of this alarming issue. The talks were well attended and the discussions were lively and informative. The Lent Lunches again proved to be very popular with all the community and each Church worked hard to provide delicious soups and cheeses. The donations (less expenses) from the talks & the lunches went to Christian Aid for continuing their valuable work with the refugees. Lent Lunches Holiday Club This took place in August with the theme ‘Watt A Lott Castle - Knights in Action. The finale at the end of the week was a lively and colourful service with many children taking part. The helpers and children worked very hard to make it a success. Generous donations totalling £175 were sent direct to the Children’s Society.

Opening of the Community Centre The Blessing of the Community Centre in September was a special and memorable day. Churches Together in Charlbury were invited to take part in a short service to bless the building before the official opening by David Cameron, past MP for West Oxfordshire. Sally performed the service of dedication and blessing on behalf of all the Churches and Helen Wright from the Baptist Church read a passage from the service.

Street Fair Stall Community Centre blessing Donations of produce for our ‘Home Grown and Home Made’ stall were very generous and grateful thanks are due to all those who helped on the day. The ‘Tombola’ type raffle did very well thanks to the donation of twelve bottle of superb quality wine from Monty Phillips at Chadlington. Thank you to Leah Fowler for her organisation. 50% of our gross takings were donated to the Memorial Hall and Corner House Funds. Christmas Card We are very grateful once again to Roy Scott for producing an attractive design for our Christmas card. The card goes each year to every household in the town in the December Leaflet and lists all the Church Services. Walking the Way of the Cross Good Friday This event went well again in much better weather than in 2016. Thanks go to Jean Andrews, the Baptist Church Minister, for organising the hot cross buns which were given out outside the Co-op together with a leaflet listing all the Easter services. Richard Fairhurst played his accordion as they visited each Church for readings and hymns. The final Church we visited was St Mary’s where we joined children and parents for more hot cross buns. Donations The total sent to Christian Aid in 2017 was £3700.54 made up as follows: Christian Aid Week £2622.31 Lent Lunches £1078.23 United Service collection for Disasters Emergency Committee (Yemen) £196.01 United Service £300 which was split as follows: Charlbury Refugee Action Group £150 Asylum Welcome for work with refugees & asylum seekers £150 Women’s World Day of Prayer £120.73 Street Fair The CTC stall generated an income of £414.90: £207 contributed to the Street Fair Funds, £207.90 going to the CTC account. Thus it has been a busy year once again for Churches Together in Charlbury. We have enjoyed uniting together with our differing Christian approaches which take us down a Christian path common to us all. This vital unity means we can work together and share ideas with enthusiasm and dedication. We have a strong team led by Stella and thanks go to our secretary, Rosalind Scott for her dedication and administrative skills. Also thank you to Gerald Draper who keeps our accounts in order. Ann Davidson, [email protected]

Flower Arrangers

We hope that everybody agrees that our stalwart teams of flower arrangers kept St. Mary’s and All Saints’ Shorthampton looking beautiful during the year.

In St Mary’s five arrangers in Team 1 and four in Team 2 regularly take on between them two weeks at a time during which the two arrangements have to be kept watered daily. During the year two new arrangers joined us at each church and all four are most welcome. Seven extra arrangers are able to help us during Festivals for which we are very grateful.

However, although we have some very generous regular donors towards our Festival Flowers, as well as using our garden flowers when we can, we do need shop flowers to enhance the Church and during 2017 financial donations declined. Accordingly we would like to thank the flower arrangers who kindly bring their own flowers.

We are always on the look out for new members of the teams. Even if you haven’t attempted flower arranging before we would love to hear from you as there is a first time for everything and you will be given plenty of help, support and encouragement.

St Mary’s All Saints’ Zilvia Pumfrey Sarah Potter Amanda Cooper 811237 810388 676504 [email protected] [email protected]

Easter Flowers

Fundraising The Friends of Shorthampton Church

“… incomparably connected to its landscape, this archetypal ‘gem’ of a church seems to hold the secrets of bygone generations – and it’s not telling. The marvellous wall paintings offer a tantalising glimpse of what once was…” (comment in the visitors book 2017)

This November we celebrated our first 11.15 Morning service and seventeen people turned up! The second was cancelled due to snow but it seems to have been well received with the average attendance upwards of ten and rising. At least 75 attended Candlelit carols and 40 on Christmas morning. Roof Appeal: An enormous amount of work has been done to bring this project to fruition by both churchwardens and Friends Committee. At the time of writing, we have not heard back from the DAC as to whether they approve of the slightly cheaper option of terne-coated steel and we also await the architects spec’ so that tender can be sought from three recommended roofing firms. Financial Status: The news is better that we could have ever dreamed of with a substantial donation being made by the Wood family. This safely enables the re-roofing work to progress but does not mean that the Friends Committee can rest on their laurels as this project will reach far into our limited reserves. We have several fund-raising ideas for 2018 and were thrilled with the result of the quiz in October and the sell-out of the Christmas card. Our heartfelt thanks go to the small pool of flower-arrangers, cleaners, welcomers and readers - some of whom are new and most of which are the same people! The lovely flower tubs which are kept up all year round by Mike and Denise Summers, are much appreciated by everyone who passes by. A special mention must be made of Ann Firkins without whose indefatigable dedication much of this would not have continued as it does today.

Amanda Cooper, Chairman Shorthampton Friends [email protected]

All Saints Church in the snow

The Children’s Society

53 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 2018 a total of £1375.11 was collected which was a record for St Mary’s.

In addition a Christingle service was held in January which raised £75.30, a Charlbury School Christmas concert which raised £82.02 and a collection after our August Holiday Club which raised £175.00. This gave us a grand annual total of £1707.43, a truly amazing sum. This will be well used by the Children’s 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: 01608 811568

Oxfordshire Historic Churches Trust Ride and Stride

For Charlbury the 2017 sponsored Ride and Stride round Oxfordshire’s churches was very different from normal because the second Saturday in September was also the day on which the professional cyclists’ Tour of Britain passed through on its way from Hertfordshire to Cheltenham. The town was in festive mood, and the streets were lined with onlookers as the hard men on their mean machines sped through, but our StRiders were not intimidated and raised a very creditable £1094. This is divided between St Mary’s and All Saints and the Oxfordshire Historic Churches Trust. Our thanks to all who took part whether riding, striding or sitting in church to welcome our visiting StRiders. There were more visitors than usual because OHCT and the Windrush Bike Project organised a children’s bike rally round Charlbury’s churches shortly after the tour had passed through. The forty children taking part all had to get their card marked in each church to get their certificate. There is a video clip of the start on the OHCT Facebook page (www.facebook.com/OxfordshireHistoricChurchTrust/videos/1386143461500089). It was a happily chaotic occasion but the children all loved it. It is proposed to organise a similar Children’s Rally in September 2018, building on the lessons learnt from this inaugural event, and which hopefully would attract sponsorship and contribute to church funds. We hope it can introduce young families to the pleasures of the Ride and Stride. Sarah Potter has now stood down after many years of organising the Ride and Stride for Charlbury’s churches. We all owe her a great debt of gratitude. Alison Eastwood is taking over. Ride and Stride in 2018 will be on Saturday 8th September.

Basil and Alison Eastwood [email protected]

The Bazaar

St. Mary’s popular pre-Christmas bazaar, held on 2nd December, was once again a huge success. Thanks must go to Sarah Potter for her skilled organisation, to all the wonderful stall holders, who put in so much work before and on the day and of course to the Summers family, who masterminded the catering. The total raised this year was £1329, which was donated to Y-Care International and Cecily’s Fund.

Bob Tait and Sarah Potter [email protected] [email protected]

View to St Mary’s Church Reverse Advent Calendars

In December 2017 we invited families to join us in creating a reverse advent calendar. This was a way of bringing Christmas hope to those in need, moving the focus from receiving to giving and sharing. Every day of Advent, family members placed one item into the box. From Christmas Eve onwards these boxes were taken to St Mary’s church. 26 families donated a box full of food and household goods to go to the Porch Steppin’ Stone in Oxford. The Porch provides day long support for homeless and vulnerably housed people wanting to move forward in their lives, away from street-life and addiction. Our thanks to Frances Canham for taking the filled boxes to the Porch in Oxford. To be involved next year please contact St Mary’s Parish Office. Jo Paton [email protected]

Reverse advent calendars ready for delivery

Charlbury Fair Traders

We are a group of Church members who sell Traidcraft foodstuffs and crafts. The small profit made is donated to charities. Where you can find us: At St Mary’s following the 9.45am Sunday Morning Service At the Thursday Font Cafe At the Quarterly Charlbury Farmers’ Market At seasonal events organised by others within the town and wider community. Current Traidcraft catalogues are available in church for anyone wishing to buy a product not available on the stall. Stall holders are happy to assist with this. We participate in campaigns organised by Traidcraft Exchange. During the year we have supported two postcard campaigns asking the Government not to lose sight of the needs of the world’s poorest countries when negotiating trade deals for the UK after Brexit. Updates on the progress with these campaigns are to be found in the weekly Messenger. We warmly welcome new members and Daniela and Cara are happy to answer any questions. Charitable Donations DEC Appeal (Yemen) West Africa £300 March Practical Aid/Human Waste Appeal £100 July Traidcraft Exchange Summer Appeal £100 July DEC Appeal (People fleeing Myanmar) £100 November Our grateful thanks to Jenny Simpson for continuing to audit our account. Thank You A sincere thank you to all of you have us supported our team’s efforts throughout the year.

Cara Williams for Charlbury Fair Traders [email protected]

Fairtrade stall at Font Cafe

Accounts

Meeting of Parishioners 2017

The Meeting of Parishioners was held in St. Mary the Virgin, Charlbury on Sunday April 9th, 2017 at 11:15 am.

Minutes

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

1. Election of Churchwardens – two churchwardens were nominated: Dine Glasgow, nominated by Daniela Jenkins, seconded by Jo Elliot and Paddy Gallagher, nominated by Michael Waring and seconded by Leah Fowler. No further nominations were received so both Dine and Paddy were duly elected. The Meeting of Parishioners was then closed.

All present voted in favour of accepting Dine and Paddy 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

Minutes

1. Apologies for absence were received from Heather Arthur, Rosalind Scott, Dick Heckman and Pat Toms. 2. Report on changes in the Electoral Roll – This year we have 104 members (108 in 2016) on our electoral roll. 3. Annual Report of the Parochial Church Council (PCC) 2016 Rev. Sally Welch thanked everyone for staying and noted that she had said all she wanted to say in the APCM report but especially wanted to take the opportunity to thank the many people who make not just Sundays but every day in the life of this church possible. Thank you for volunteering for so much of what we do. It is always nice to feel needed and nice to share the load. It is a wonderful demonstration of St. Mary’s as a community; bringing the community into the church and moving the church into the wider community. Thanks too to the ministry team, particularly to Jan and Jo who is now back at work, the PCC and the church wardens. Looking ahead:  We are hosting the Diocesan Conference – Spirituality of the Churchyard on October 7th 2017  Venue for Arts Week, in May  Hosting Deanery Synod – launch of Pilgrim Paths Project in June  Taking part in National Prayer initiative: Thy Kingdom Come – prayer stations in time between Ascension and Pentecost  Key Venue for Charlbury Festival in June  Hosting Holiday Club – Armour of Faith – castles, knights and princesses  Venue for suppers and discussion groups

This on top of regular pattern of services in St. Mary’s and Shorthampton, occasional offices, Messy Church, Font Café, venue for concerts. Aim to be part of community of Charlbury, we have achieved this. Not surprisingly, this comes at a cost. We need more volunteers, need more money and most of all need more prayer. It was noted that Charlbury Primary School also came here at Easter. We hosted a service for them on Friday and it was wonderful to see them.

Financial Statement: Brian Morley spoke on the financial statements saying there was nothing to add to the report in the Annual Report but did want to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their generosity.

4. Elections and Appointments Election of Deanery Synod representatives – Roy Scott and Michael Waring were appointed with unanimous approval. Election of representatives to the PCC – the following nominations were made: Ann Davidson, proposed by Rosalind Scott, seconded by Dine Glasgow; Marie Reine-Staton, proposed by Anna Fairhurst and seconded by Simon Handley; Amanda Cooper, proposed by Dine Glasgow, seconded by Mary Heckman; Louise Whitehead proposed by Roy Scott, seconded by Hugh Goyder; Daniela Jenkins, proposed by Louise Whitehead, seconded by Dine Glasgow; Kris Sylvester, proposed by Daniela Jenkins, seconded by Ted Welsh; Rachel Gallagher, proposed by Dine Glasgow, seconded by Mary Heckman. 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 Pumfreys 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, Richard Walker Arnott, Debbie Walker Arnott – all appointed. Appointment of Verger – Janet Barnett was appointed with unanimous approval.

Deanery Synod: Pilgrim Paths Project progressing well – launch planned for June 4 at St. Mary’s Charlbury. Area Dean: Our parish share pays for Sally’s role as Area Dean. Most of the initiatives deanery-wide come from here. Appointment of Independent Examiner of Accounts – Mr. Hugh Belshaw Independently examined last year’s accounts and has agreed to do so again in January 2018.

5. Any Other Business Thanks were given to Sally from the floor. Verity noted that this year’s Annual Report was a particularly interesting and informative document.

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

Meeting of Parishioners

The Meeting of Parishioners will be held in St. Mary the Virgin, Charlbury on Sunday April 15th, 2018 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) 2017  Main issues during the year  Financial statement  Fabric, goods, ornaments of the church  Deanery Synod Report 4. Elections and Appointments  Election of representatives to the PCC  Election of representatives to Deanery Synod  Appointment of sides persons  Appointment of Independent Examiner of Accounts 5. Any Other Business

Annual Report of the PCC 2017 Parish of St Mary’s Charlbury with All Saints’ Shorthampton