(Youth Alpha at St John’s)

Annual Parochial Church Reports 2019

Charity Number 1155185

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Annual Vestry & Parochial Church Meeting Tuesday 13th October 2020 · 8.00 pm via Zoom

Agenda

Annual Vestry Meeting Minutes of Annual Vestry Meeting 2019 p 4 Election of Churchwardens (2)

Annual Parochial Church Meeting Apologies Minutes of the Annual Parochial Church Meeting 2019 p 4 Matters arising

Electoral Roll – accept new Roll

Reports Vicar’s Report p 7 Wardens’ Report p 7 PCC Secretary’s Report p 9 Safeguarding Officer Report p 9 Parish Hub p 10 The Link p 11 Supporting Mission p 11 Deanery Synod Report p 12 Legal Documentation p 14 Trustees Annual Report & Financial Report p 16 Independent Examiner’s Report

Questions arising from the Reports

Appointment of Treasurer and Secretary

Appointment of Safeguarding Officer

Election of PCC members, (6 for 3 years) (At Copthorne, for the sake of continuity, if not otherwise elected, the PCC Secretary & Treasurer are co-opted positions.)

Election of Deanery Synod Members, (3 for 3 years)

Appointment of Sidespersons

Appointment of Independent Examiner

Any Other Business

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Copy of the record of the Minutes of The Annual Vestry Meeting held in the church at 10.00am Sunday 24th March 2019

The meeting was conducted by Wim Mauritz (Vicar) in the presence of 62 parishioners.

The Minutes of the Vestry Meeting of Sunday 18th March 2018 were unanimously approved. Proposer: John Edwards, Seconder: Sandra Cramp

It was unanimously agreed that Section 3 of the Churchwarden’s Measure 2001, shall not apply in relation to this parish until such time as a further meeting of the parishioners may resolve otherwise.

Therefore, Mr David Hornsby (proposed by Barbara Riches and seconded by Angela Vevers) and Mrs Monica Polley (proposed by Sue Williams and seconded by Gillian Hodsdon) were unanimously elected and duly appointed wardens for the coming year.

Wim thanked Sue and Monica for all their hard work over the past year.

There being no further business, the meeting closed.

Cathy Sexton, PCC Secretary, 24th March 2019

Minutes of the Annual Parochial Church Meeting Held on Sunday 24th March 2019 At 10.10am in church

Attendance: The meeting was conducted by Wim Mauritz (Vicar) and attended by sixty-two parishioners.

Apologies: Received from: Jeanette Cheeseborough, Vicky Grant, Penny Harpham, Eddie Redfern, Carol Watson

4 MINUTES:

Formal business: Apologies as noted were accepted.

Proposal: That the Minutes of the APCM 2018 be accepted. Proposed: Mike Livesey Seconded: Jeremy Vevers Unanimously agreed.

There were no matters arising from the 2018 reports.

Electoral Roll – It was unanimously agreed that we accept the Roll of 118 members. Proposed: David Wheatley Seconded: Geoff Truesdale

REPORTS:

Annual Report 2018 It was unanimously agreed that all reports – Annual Report, Wardens and Secretary’s, Safeguarding officer, Parish Hub, Link, Supporting Mission, Deanery Synod, Trustees and Financial Reports - as previously circulated were accepted. Proposed: Andy Harpham Seconded: Angela Vevers

Financial Reports and Accounts: The surplus on the General fund was due to one off donations without which the account would have balanced. However, the reserves are still not at the level recommended by the Charity Commission. The funds for The Link have a surplus of approximately £23,000 but this fund obviously went down due to building Phase 1. Fund raising and grants from Copthorne West will be sought to go towards building Phase 2.

Questions/comments on the accounts:

How would the West Copthorne money work? A small amount of money from the Holly Farm development goes towards buildings in the village – not just the church – and then three payments of £72,000 available when the 1st house, 75th house and 150th house are completed have been set aside for the Church, the hall and the Scouts. They will not necessarily get £72,000 each the division of the monies will be decided by the council.

There are no losses or gains on the endowments. Is this something that needs to be chased at the Diocese? Yes and will be followed up by Chris Philips.

There is a difference between the Charitable giving and summary note 4. Is the difference the accruals? Yes, that is what the difference is 5 Adoption of Accounts

Proposal: That we adopt the accounts as presented subject to the final report of the Independent Examiners Proposer: Geoff Truesdale, Seconder: Mike Livesey All agreed.

Chris was thanked for all his hard work over the past year.

Appointment of Treasurer and PCC Secretary

It was unanimously agreed that Chris Phillips be appointed Treasurer It was unanimously agreed that Cathy Sexton be appointed PCC Secretary It was unanimously agreed that Eddie Redfern be appointed Safeguarding Officer.

Elections

PCC Nigel Cramp, David Hornsby, Chris Wheatley and David Wheatley stood down as laity members. David Hornsby joined the PCC as Church Warden. Lesley Dawson and Jan Leftley were unanimously re-elected and Andrew Taylor, Eric Trevett and Sue Williams were unanimously elected.

Sidespersons The following were unanimously re-elected for 2019: Peter Chatfield, Julie Coker, Sandra Cramp, Jaqi Davis, Margaret Forde, Andy Harpham, Penny Harpham, Jean Hedges, Gillian Hodsdon, Audrey Hornsby, Ros Livesey, Paul Mallard, Paul Simmons, Maralyn Smith, Chris Wheatley, David Wheatley and Margaret Wilkins.

Any Other Business

Sandra gave a vote of thanks to David Wheatley for all his hard work on the Office and the Link. Wim thanked everyone for all their work throughout the year and for making him and his family welcome in the Parish.

There being no further business, the meeting closed at 10.35am.

Cathy Sexton, PCC Secretary

6 Reports

From the Vicar:

‘Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?’ Jesus replied: ‘”Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: “Love your neighbour as yourself.” (Matthew 22 v 36-39)

In 2019 we launched our new vision of: “GROWING IN LOVE for God & each other”. We believe, that as local church in Copthorne, we are invited to play our role in reaching out in God’s mission to our local community. We are passionate about sharing the Gospel with everyone, demonstrating God’s love and kindness and to nurturing & developing each other as followers of Jesus Christ. We are also keen to increase our response to those in need, our awareness of injustice issues and our care for God's creation locally as well as globally. In all these activities and aspirations, we're praying to see God's kingdom come and His will to be done on earth as it is in heaven.

These Annual Reports show how much our church continues to flourish as a community of love, welcome and worship. Reading through them I am especially encouraged by the growth of our mission and evangelism activities. Our average church attendance saw an increase of 26%. More than 85 people attended our different Alpha Courses (incl. Youth Alpha). And weekly the ‘Open the Book’ storytellers visited our local schools, telling and acting out different bible stories. Besides these we had numerous social events, special services, other gatherings and activities all contributing to the mission of the Church.

I am incredibly grateful for everyone’s contributions. There are so many people engaged in serving our church community in large ways and small, visible and often invisible - and I would like to express huge thank you for all those groups and individuals who do so much in the life of the church and the wider parish. In all this we want to honour God’s faithfulness and remind ourselves that we can continue to trust Him as we look forward to the years ahead as we grow in love for Him and each other.

Wim Mauritz

Church Wardens’ Report

This past year has been a year of encouraging growth and consolidation. We are encouraged to see new members across most of our services, as well as having well attended Alpha courses, social events and working parties.

We have achieved much during the year and some highlights of the year are as follows:  We have launched a new website which is more secure and looks much more modern and appealing, to connect with potential new members and keep us all up to date and informed.

7  Alongside the launch of our new website we have adopted a new vision of “Growing in Love for God and each other” – this expresses our desire to be a growing, outward looking church which cares for our community and all of God’s creation.  In July we welcomed Alex Wheeler as our Assistant Curate to assist Wim on a part time basis. Alex has contributed significantly to our Church in those few months leading various services and focusing on pastoral care for the congregation and those facing bereavement. It has been a delight to welcome Alex to St John’s.  During this year we also said a farewell to Barbara Riches as Parish Administrator following many years of dedicated service to the Church. We sincerely thank Barbara for her significant contribution to life at St John’s as Administrator and wish her well in her retirement. Following Barbara’s retirement, we welcomed Maralyn Smith to the role of Church Manager. In this new role Maralyn is covering most of the administrative tasks and additionally managing church staff (other than clergy).  We have introduced the ChurchSuite software to St John’s which, in time, will be central to our administration and communication as well as us helping us to remain fully GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) compliant.

For 2020 we want to continue to see a growing church and part of our vision is to become self-sufficient. For many year’s St John’s has failed to pay its way in the diocese and has only paid around 70% of our Parish Ministry costs (the amount the diocese requests from us to provide clergy, support and training – amongst many other things). In 2020, for the first time, the PCC has committed to meet this full cost to prevent the need for other churches to subsidise us. This will be a huge challenge as it is an increase in the region of £20,000. Furthermore, we have some urgent maintenance items and a sound system that sometimes struggles with the demands we place upon it. All of this means we have an extremely tight budget for 2020 and are asking everyone to consider whether they can increase their giving to assist with this.

As usual, there are many to be thanked. Firstly, we want to thank everyone who contributes financially to St John’s – we could not achieve anything without this generosity, and it is hugely appreciated.

We are also incredibly grateful to everyone who gives time, talent and energy in so many ways. From contributing to services and teaching our young people, assisting with the day to day running of the church, helping to keep the church and churchyard attractive and in good order or running the fundraising and social events, which are enjoyed by so many.

Together we do and can continue to make St. John’s a church which lives out its vision of “Growing in Love for God and each other”

David Hornsby and Monica Polley

8 Secretary’s Report

The PCC this year started with 18 people and increased to 19 from July when Alex joined and is made up of the two churchwardens, vicar, curate, treasurer, secretary, electoral roll officer, safeguarding officer, three deanery synod members and eight members of the laity. The PCC met 9 times during the year and there was an additional PCC away day in May.

Every meeting included a report on the finances for the year to keep track of the income and expenditure to ensure it was as close to the budget as possible. The other items discussed at every meeting were Health and Safety updates, work required in the churchyard and church and safeguarding updates.

Over the year there was a change of focus from raising money for the completion of the Link to ensuring that the Parish Share is paid in full this year. Therefore, the congregation has been asked to focus on giving to the ‘General Fund’ and outside funding is to be sourced for the building of the Link.

A report was also presented at each meeting detailing the usage and work carried out on the Parish Hub. The Hub has many regular bookings such as Sunshine Preschool and Penrhyn but still has booking slots available for one off bookings. Improvements this year have included the provision of blackout blinds in the main hall.

During the year the new Church website was set up and ChurchSuite was introduced. It is hoped that, as the church grows, these will gradually be used more to reduce the amount of administration required. The Church Vision and Evangelism were the focus of the meetings and two successful Alpha courses have been held over the year. The new worship themes have all been linked to the vision and are being used in all the weekly services.

Cathy Sexton, PCC Secretary

Parish Safeguarding Officer

The last year has been relatively busy with St John’s completing the SQP process for our safeguarding procedures. In addition to new leaders in the 11:00 o’clock service where we have carried out DBS checks on those new leaders, plus all of the PCC, in their capacity as Trustees. In addition, the diocese requires all persons involved in safeguarding, or safeguarding policy to carry out the Church of England online safeguarding course, despite some IT issues at church house with the IT system, this process is taking longer than anticipated. I would urge those that haven’t completed the training to do so as soon as possible. Towards the end of 2020 we will restart the process of DBS renewals, but this should be easier as most will have registered for the update service.

Eddie Redfern, Parish Safeguarding Officer 9 The Parish Hub

2019 saw the popularity of The Parish Hub continuing. Although casual lettings were 5% lower than in 2018, events put on by the church, mainly social events for the community including Big Breakfasts, quiz evenings and sing-alongs, doubled over 2018. Regular hirers’ income was 5% higher from increased sessions for Sunshine Pre-School and the personal training and gym clubs. Additionally, following a scheduled rent review, the South Room rent paid by Worth Parish Council increased by £1,650 per annum from May 2019. The next review is scheduled for May 2022. As part of the agreement for the increased rent, the Parish Council and the PCC agreed to share the cost of installing air-conditioning in the South Room. This has made the room more attractive to hirers. Sunshine pre-school continues to be our main term-time weekday morning hirer. Local voluntary and not-for-profit organisations have also found it ideal for seminars and training days and it continues to provide a magnificent venue for church events from film shows to quiz evenings, all of which attract churchgoers and non-churchgoers alike as well as helping to raise funds. A well-attended Christmas Market, superbly organised by Kate Bagnall, our Marketing manager, was a great success. Joelle Rabelle stepped down as Hub administrator in the autumn and has been replaced by Patrizia Rudisser-Street. They have both handled all the booking enquiries and reservations smoothly and efficiently. Our thanks go to Kate, Joelle and Patrizia for their hard work and successful efforts. Following a generous donation from a member of our congregation, we have been able to fit remote controlled blinds to the skylight windows in the main hall. After some teething troubles they were refitted in November and enable us to black out the hall for film shows and presentations while still providing a bright, airy space when the blinds are open. Although there is limited parking at the Hub, an agreement with the Copthorne Sports Association, who run the Copthorne Jubilee Pavilion, means we can offer parking at that location for larger events, opening the Hub to a wider clientele. Lettings of the main hall in 2019 generated £25,900 of income with operating expenses for the period of just under £29,500. The income from the lease of the first floor South Room to Worth Parish Council generated £5,800 in the year. This goes to help repay (at £5,000 per year) the loan which stood at £10,000 at the year end. The recharges to Worth Parish Council for shared service charges and utilities generated a further £6,300 of income in the year. Thanks go to Richard Polley, in his role as hardware facilities manager, for dealing most efficiently with a variety of plumbing and electrical glitches, false alarms and other “mechanical” upsets. Thanks go also to John Dawson for looking after our A/V system, to Ian Woodcock in his role as caretaker, and to our cleaners, Zoe, who stepped down in early 2019, and Teri and all those members of the congregation who help to keep this facility in tip-top condition as a superb asset for the village.

Mike Livesey

10 The Link

With growing church numbers and a new church vision to grow further, the Link Project will provide extra space for church activities and small community groups. The project has been an important part of the PCC’s work in the last year. In particular attention has been given to three areas. Firstly, looking at the design to ensure it meets the needs of the church, now and in the future. This has included looking at the entrance to allow level access, providing storage and learning from some of the issues that arose during the building of the office. This work took place over last Summer and was finished in the Autumn. Secondly, as the original tenders for the combined office and link scheme are now rather dated and to allow for grant applications to be considered, updated prices have been sought. These have now been received. Finally, a fundraising plan is being developed that will start with a focus of institutional donors. This fits with the current need for the congregation to meet existing church costs including the Parish Share. The anticipated timeline assumes funds will be raised during 2020, so a contract can be signed in January 2021. Works will then start as soon as ground conditions allow and should take about 6 months.

Andrew Taylor

Supporting Mission

St John’s has continued to financially support Heather Johnstone in Tanzania as she manages the Rehema Project in Musoma in the Diocese of Mara. This work seeks to empower the most disadvantaged women and children in the area.

During the year St John’s was able to finance the purchase of two sewing machines. One was for Mariam whose sewing course we had sponsored. A member of our congregation also generously financed some building work for an employee at the Project. St John’s was also able to sell many goods made by the Rehema ladies at the Christmas Fair and in church in the New Year.

In January 2020 Heather visited St John’s and spoke of her work in an interview with Wim at both morning services. Later after a lunch together she presented a slide show illustrating how our support has been used.

Mary Smith

Support was also given to: Children’s Society (boxes & Christingle) Water Aid Tear Fund Family Support Work Open House, Crawley Royal British Legion

11 Deanery Synod Report

The Parish of St John’s Copthorne is part of the East Grinstead Deanery, which along with other Parishes, covers an area from Cowden (Kent) in the east to Bewbush (Crawley) in the west, and from Copthorne in the north to Ashurst Wood in the south, and includes all of the Crawley area. The East Grinstead Deanery in turn forms part of the Diocese of Chichester, within the Church of England. At St Johns we have three elected Lay Deanery Synod Representatives who represent our Parish at Deanery Synod meetings. Four meetings were held this year at various church locations within the deanery and were chaired by the new Rural Dean Angela Martin, and the elected Lay Chairman Chris Bell. The principle purpose of these meetings is to provide a two-way communication channel from the General Synod, through the diocese and deanery to the parishes. This is an important platform and opportunity to discuss and share ideas between parishes as we seek to promote the Gospel in our ever-changing communities. A Special Open Meeting of the Deanery Synod was held at Holy Trinity School, Crawley on the 8th April in which Bishop Martin introduced the Diocesan Strategy for 2020 – 2025. The Church of England is the largest voluntary organisation in the UK and can be instrumental in bringing other civil and voluntary organisations to work together in joint projects to the benefit of all. Our approach going forwards should support growth in numbers and reimagining ministry, with actions being led via the parishes rather than the diocese and deanery. Each Parish in turn was asked to present one area of growth within their Parish over the last five years. Bishop Martin praised these areas of growth which ranged from building projects and improvements, joint community projects, changes in service styles, Alpha courses and other mission projects - we should spend more time in redefining and refreshing our faith. He summarised the strategy in four “more” statements - More Open, More Converted to Jesus Christ, More Generous and More Engaged. Our second meeting was held at St Margaret’s Church Ifield on 19th June in which the Revd Rob Dillingham presented progress on the Diocesan Strategy, A Vision for Growth, 2020 – 2025, which had been further developed since the previous meeting, but is still based on the four “mores”. More Complete – A sign of being one. Churches to better represent the age profiles of their Parish and communities that they serve. Services to suit the ages and maturities of their communities. More Converted – A sign of becoming Holy Churches to communicate more effectively the Gospels to all ages. Churches to value and nurture their congregations and specially to encourage young children. More Generous – A sign of being more catholic with wealthy Parishes supporting poorer ones and contributing to sustain ministry costs in deprived areas. A Diocese with a balanced budget and financially secure. More Engaged – A sign of being Apostolic. A vision where people have a sense of vocation, of love in the workplace, family, and the wider world. The strategy is explained in detail on the Diocese of Chichester website. The meeting was split into small groups to review the “four mores” and discuss how they could be applied to our own Parish. We felt our easy wins were our new 11.00am Sunday service which addresses many of the “more complete” and “more engaged” themes. On reassembly, Rob explained that our diocese has a £2.5M black hole in its finances, however, unlike other dioceses it aims 12 as far as possible to fill vacant clergy positions one for one and not resort to combining parishes under one priest. He is encouraging neighbouring parishes to share resources and work together in their mission for the common good within the diocese. Our third meeting was held on 28th September at The Glebe Centre, Crawley Down and had finance as its main agenda item. Following introductions, a session with break out groups was held to try to learn about our neighbouring parishes and share and discuss fundraising ideas which revealed some interesting ideas. Following a light lunch, the group received a finance presentation made by Catherine Dawkins, Lesley Lynn and Archdeacon Fiona, during which an excellent video was shown to explain to parishes the amazing work taking place across the Diocese and how the generosity of our churches helps to support the household of faith, which is the Diocese of Chichester. The 2020 budget was then presented in detail. Since 2015, there was a big focus on investment in parsonages and education and the diocese believes it has been successful in these areas, but this has resulted in significant financial deficits which must now be addressed over the coming 5 years and the 2020 budget starts this journey. There is a real need for all parishes, including St Johns, Copthorne, to meet their budgeted financial contribution, known as the Parish Share. Our final meeting was held at Holy Trinity Church, Tilgate on 8th February where the main topic was an excellent presentation by Fiona Strazynski and Rob Pudney on Christians Against Poverty (CAP). This organization was founded by John Kirkby in Bradford, West Yorkshire in 1996 as a charity to provide support and debt counselling services. CAP has expanded through a network of local churches (including Methodist) into a nationwide service available to serve all and to provide care for the broken and lost. After extensive training as a debt coach, the Crawley branch was set up by Rob Pudney and the East Grinstead branch by Fiona Strazynski. This nationwide service helped 24,300 people in 2018 through 4000 front line volunteers, supported by 327 head office staff in Bradford. As a direct result of this work, 2575 people were made debt free in 2018. What started as a debt control service has now expanded to include counselling and pastoral visits. CAP cafes are being launched in Crawley and East Grinstead. CAP hampers were available to the needy at Christmas. In summing up, Archdeacon Fiona said that solving debt for one family may not change the world, but it changes the world for that family! Andy Harpham, Ian Hornsby and Angela Vevers

Open the Book

In January we completed our first year of presenting Open the Book to the Junior school. Since September we have been presenting Bible stories from the Christian Values book to match the school curriculum. The children clearly look forward to our assemblies. Unfortunately, the Infant school stopped using our services in September. We currently have 10 storytellers, but could do with more. Jan Leftley was managing our costumes, but has since stepped down. Margaret Jones is now looking after costumes, whilst I continue to look after props, with help from others. I would like to thank our enthusiastic storytellers for their dedication and time given over the last year. Eddie Redfern, Open the Book Team Leader 13 Legal Documentation Relating to the Parish Hub (updated December 2019)

The documentation is filed in a box file in the Parish Office. In summary:

Worth Parish Council have been granted a 25 year lease on the use of the North Rooms under the following arrangement

 The Lease runs for 25 years, from 1st January 2015 to 31st December 2040.  For the first 15 years the rent payable is £1 pa.  On 1st January 2030 (15th Anniversary of the Lease) a premium rent of £10,000 is payable and the annual rent (payable quarterly) increases to 50 percent of the then market rent.  On 1st January 2035 a full market rent becomes payable.  Worth Parish Council are responsible for 23 percent of all Shared Service Costs as defined in Clause 8.2. (This is based on the respective floor areas.) St John’s PCC’s obligations in providing services are detailed in Clause 8.3.  St John’s PCC are obliged to provide Quarterly Accounts to Worth Parish Council.

A Section 119 Report was submitted in fulfilment of the Charities Act 2011 in support of the above arrangements.

Worth Parish Council have an annual renewable lease on the South Room. The annual rent (currently £4,750) is reviewable every three years from 2015. The 2018 review, to be effective May 2019, has resulted in an agreed annual rent of £6,400 per annum, from that date. The next review will take place in 2021 to be effective from May 2022. In addition, Worth Parish Council pays a Proportionate Share (13%) of the Shared Service Costs as defined in the North Room Lease dated 10th June 2015. (Note that this is in addition to Worth Parish Council’s share of the Shared Service Costs provided for under the North Room Lease Agreement.) The Worth Parish Council has the option of converting the lease into a longer lease.

The Diocesan Board of Finance loan of £30k as at 31st December 2015 was repaid in full on 31st October 2016. A Loan Agreement for £25k dated 10th October 2016 was entered into between St John’s PCC and Edward Michael Livesey and Rosalind Elaine Livesey. The Agreement allows for the repayment of the capital in five annual instalments, the first repayment falling due on 10th October 2017, with interest at 2% per annum, calculated on the loan balance on 30th June and 31st December each year. The PCC can repay the loan in full as it wishes with one month’s notice. (Loan as at 31st December 2019 - £10k).

St John’s PCC has granted a lease to the Trustees of the Copthorne Village Millennium Group (CVMG) for use of the Archive Room on the First Floor and access to storage in the loft for 15 years at £1pa. The Millennium Group undertakes to pay 10 percent of annual income excluding restricted funds towards the upkeep of the Parish Hub and to offset cost of

14 publication of the work in the Copthorne Magazine. The Incumbent of St John’s is a member of the CVMG Committee if s/he so wishes.

Service Agreements have been entered into for:

Lift LOLER inspection; Lift Annual Service; Boiler annual service; Security annual checks; Water annual checks; Wiring and fire alarm annual checks; Portable Appliance Testing; Fire extinguishers.

Other Legal Agreements and Matters

The PCC leases two Ricoh photocopiers, one from Altodigital (E156M131393) and the other through KCS. Both lease periods are for five years and run from March 2016. The lease period will be automatically renewed in 2021 for twelve months unless the lease agreement is terminated with a minimum of six months’ notice. If a new lease agreement is entered into at the end of the existing lease agreement, this does not negate the need to have provided six months’ notice on the existing agreement; nor should it be assumed that the terms of the new agreement will mirror the existing.

The PCC has entered into a five-year Service Contract dated 27th November 2016 with Peninsula for Human Resource services. The contract (PCC006) is automatically renewed unless cancelled in writing six months before the termination date in 2021.

The Incumbent of St John the Evangelist is a Trustee of the Delmar- Morgan Hall and of St John’s Sunshine Pre-School.

The Incumbent is also a Foundation Governor of Copthorne CE Junior School.

15 Trustees Annual Report and Financial Report

The Parochial Church Council of the Ecclesiastical Parish of St. John the Evangelist, Copthorne St. John’s Church, Church Road, Copthorne, West Sussex RH10 3RD Registered Charity no: 1155185 For the year ended 31 December 2019

CONTENTS

Trustees Annual Report for 2019 ...... 17

The following to be issued separately:

Statement of Financial Activities (receipts and payments) ...... Balance Sheet (Assets and Liabilities) ...... Notes to the Accounts ...... Report of the Independent Examiner ......

Website: www.copthornechurch.org Incumbent: The Reverend Willem Mauritz, The Vicarage, Church Road, Copthorne, RH10 3RD (from July) Assistant Curate: Reverend Alexandra Wheeler Independent Examiner: Fionna Thomson, 5 Abergavenny Gardens, Copthorne, RH10 3RU Bankers: The Co-operative Bank plc PO Box 250, Delf House, Southway, Skelmersdale, WN8 6WT,

16 Trustees Annual Report for 2019 For The Parochial Church Council (PCC) of St. John the Evangelist, Copthorne Our aims and purposes as a charity St John the Evangelist is part of the Diocese of Chichester and the Church of England. We believe, that as the parish church in Copthorne, our purpose is to play our role in reaching out in God’s mission to our local community. The PCC of St John’s is responsible for the upkeep of the charity’s assets such as the main church building, the Parish Hub, offices, vestry and churchyard for the benefit of all parishioners. The PCC co-operates with the incumbent to enable the church’s vision of GROWING IN LOVE for God and each other. To enable this vision, we have focused on a number of mission priorities that echo the Five Marks of Mission, developed by the Anglican Consultative Council which are: (1) To proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom of God (2) To teach, baptise and nurture new believers (3) To respond to human need by loving service (4) To seek 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 In July 2019 we were fortunate to have the Rev’d Alexandra Wheeler join us as a self-supporting Assistant Curate to our parish.

What we planned to do to achieve our charitable objectives

When planning our activities for the year, the PCC considered the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit and, in particular, the specific guidance on ‘charities for the advancement of religion’. The PCC has complied with the duty under section 5 of the Safeguarding and Clergy Discipline Measure 2016, fully recognising its duty to have due regard to House of Bishops’ guidance on safeguarding children and vulnerable adults.

In May 2019 we discussed and planned the following objectives and activities to fulfil our aims of:

 PROCLAIMING AND SHARING GOD’S GOOD NEWS to enable as many people as possible to worship at our church and enjoy access to our church buildings.  DISCIPLESHIP, TEACHING AND NURTURING those who became part of our faith community through courses, small groups and other events.  GENEROSITY AND RESPONSE TO THOSE IN NEED by providing pastoral care through local outreach, visits, social events and practical and financial support to other charitable organisations.  AWARENESS OF INJUSTICE ISSUES by supporting international charities such as Christian Aid, CMS, Compassion, and Tearfund as they tackle issues of injustice and poverty.  CARING FOR CREATION, maintaining due care for our church properties and church grounds, committing to reduce our carbon footprint and environmental impact by aiming to become a certified Eco Church.

17 What we achieved and how we affected beneficiaries’ lives

PROCLAIMING AND SHARING GOD’S GOOD NEWS

Our core priority is to increase our worshipping community. This is foundational for growing and sustaining all our other priorities. We have seen an increase of 26% in our average church attendance, compared to last year, at our regular Sunday services by encouraging everyone to invite friends or family to come along and join us. We are continuing to re-imagine how ‘to do’ church by having up-to- date worship styles and communication means to invite and engage with all types of people. We have new weekly children and youth work programmes and recruited and developed appropriate courses and volunteers to sustain these.

Our public worship activities have been of benefit to the wider community. Our Sunday Services are intentionally all different in style but welcoming a broad-spectrum of people to join in worship, practical bible teaching, prayer and generosity. This year we also renewed our Electoral Roll which currently stands at 121. During the Sunday 11 am service we have developed worship activities for children and for youth (those of Year 6 and above). Our AV system is more extensively used in that particular service as many of the contemporary songs are not available in our traditional hymn books. Film clips and photos are also used to enhance our worship.

We have key seasonal services such as Mothering Sunday, Easter, Harvest, Remembrance and Christmas which are very well attended by the wider community, including those who do not join us on a regular Sunday. This includes local organisations, such as the Copthorne Silver Band which plays for the Remembrance Service when all the uniformed organisations gather in the church to honour those who made the ultimate sacrifice in conflict. Our All Souls service in November was a particularly poignant, but very much appreciated, occasion where those who have lost loved ones joined for worship, the giving of daffodil bulbs as a sign of hope and the sharing of memories over refreshments. The daffodils have been planted alongside a path in the churchyard. The traditional ‘Nine Lessons and Carols’ service before Christmas was well attended, as were the services held over Christmas.

We have been very pleased to work with the staff of Copthorne C of E Junior School in bringing the pupils and their parents into the church for the School’s Easter, Harvest, Ascension, Leavers and Christmas services. We were also pleased to welcome the staff and children from Fairway Infants School who came for a Christmas story time and church discovery experience.

We were delighted to be asked to lead evening sessions for our Copthorne Beaver and Cub Colonies. These, which were an integral part of their Faith badge, allow them to learn about the church building and stories of Jesus.

Information about church activities is now more accessible, with a new web site detailing contacts and activities so we can share the vision of the church bringing community and church together. The web site has the capability to book courses and events online, so reaching out to the local community. Our Church building is open every day during daylight hours for anyone to use for moments of quiet reflection and a place of peace. This is much appreciated by the village as can be seen from the written requests for prayers on the Prayer Board, which are read during the mid-week Holy Communion service on a Wednesday.

Towards the end of 2019 our community dealt with The Prayer Board. 24.12.19 Please pray for all a tragic event with the death of one of our local those affected by the tragic events in Crawley Down – church school teachers. During this time the church Jesus our comfort and support. has been a place where many local parents and children could withdraw to mourn, light a candle and find a space to have some quiet prayer and reflection.

18 Our church continues to be appreciated by many as a location where life events are celebrated with joy and thanksgiving. Eight weddings have taken place, 7 sets of ashes have been interred in the labyrinth and 11 funerals were held in church during the year, many of which followed the service with a wake in the Parish Hub. Some of the recently bereaved have begun to join us at services or work parties.

DISCIPLESHIP, TEACHING AND NURTURING OF BELIEVERS. Towards the end of 2019 we launched a new website and a new an online system incorporating new administration tools where we can share notifications, events, studies, videos, etc. We continue to see more people taking part in our Prayer Gatherings, Baptism Classes, Marriage Preparation Courses and children & youth groups.

We have seen an increase in our Christian input in teaching and corporate worship at our local school(s), through weekly Christian themed assemblies, thanks to our ‘Open The Book’ team. Over the year three adult Alpha and one youth Alpha course have been held, each culminating with an ‘away day’. More than 85 people attended these Alpha Courses with many deepening or finding their faith in Jesus, as can be seen in the increased numbers attending services. We have held baptisms during 2019 for 9 children (1 by immersion) and 1 adult. We were also delighted to witness a full immersion celebration of a church member who wished to reaffirm her baptismal faith following an Alpha course.

Home Groups meet during the month offering spiritual and practical nurture and support to their members, with two new groups being added following the first two Alpha Courses.

All church members are encouraged to use their gifts of ministry at services - leading, welcoming, reading lessons and leading prayers: we are very grateful to the musicians and singers who freely give of their expertise at both the 9.30am and the 11.00am services.

GENEROSITY AND RESPONSE TO THOSE IN NEED

We have set up a Pastoral Ministry Team that visits those who are sick or lonely in our parish, and continue to provide pastoral engagements before, during and after our regular church services and at our social events. We maintained our commitment to charitable giving, by supporting local and overseas mission and development agencies and continued to sponsor, produce and distribute our local Copthorne Magazine to all village residents.

An important part of our ministry is providing Communion to those too frail to attend church. We have several ‘care in the community’ homes within the parish with residents and their carers regularly attending the Sunday and weekday services.

We hold regular services at our two local care homes, Francis Court and Heatherley Cheshire Home with some care home staff joining with the residents for the service. Our thanks go to those who give up their time to lead the worship and singing. We held a Carol Service at both the Care Homes at Christmas. Social events are a key point of our ministry to the village, enabling Church members to invite others to join us. The Social Team work hard planning a large number of events throughout the year which have been well attended by both Church members and the village community. This year’s events which have provided fun and hospitality for all, as well as generating funds have included:

 Jazz on the Green, sponsored by the Church, an annual free event for the village, which is always well attended  Cream Teas are served at The Parish Hub during the annual village carnival. These prove to be very popular, providing a haven of peace from the stalls and activities on The Green  Several quiz nights, film and games afternoons  Sunday Lunches which allow us to take advantage of the superb catering quality kitchen in the Parish Hub

19  Big Breakfasts with speakers on topical subjects bringing local and national situations to our attention  Michaelmas Fayre and Flower and Produce Show

Planned monthly giving continues to the Church Mission Society, for Heather Johnstone at the Rehema project in Tanzania, and Compassion, paying school fees for Ivan in Uganda. Ivan writes with his thanks for his education. His letters inspire us with expressions of his faith in Jesus. The Rehema project supports abused women and children by giving them work in a craft workshop and café. Last year we raised money through weekly Wednesday lunches during Lent and other events to enable a teenager at the Rehema project to complete a sewing course, giving her the skills to support herself and this year we gave money to buy sewing machines for her and another lady so they can start their own businesses. The house-to-house collection for Christian Aid Week, organised by the Church for the village, raised £3.009.84. and we supported Tearfund through the sale of Christmas cards. We regularly support The Children’s Society, via home boxes and the Christingle service, and The Royal British Legion at our Remembrance Service. In addition, the church toilet is ‘twinned’, with money raised going to Water Aid, who provide clean water supplies and sanitation in developing countries.

The church is the village collection point for groceries and toiletries for Crawley Open House, sending them a large crate of supplies every month to help them care for the local homeless. At Christmas the Church members provided festive food in response to the Diocesan Family Support Work appeal to help Communication received from Family them make up hampers to give to underprivileged Support Work “Thank you for helping FSW families in our area who would otherwise have no sustain its work supporting children and their Christmas meal. families in Sussex.” Dec 2019

Most of our events are advertised around the village and in our local Copthorne Magazine. The printing and delivery of the bi-monthly Copthorne Magazine is co-ordinated by the Church and supported by local advertising. It contains news, events and reports on Church and local activities with the 2000 + copies being delivered free to every home in Copthorne by a team of village and Church volunteers.

AWARENESS OF INJUSTICE ISSUES In May we also set a priority that helps us to engage with global justice issues and to connect and support agencies that engage with refugees, migrants, asylum seekers and those that rescue people from modern day slavery. Engaging and supporting those charities is an important part of our mission and in 2019 we continued to be involved with the advocacy work of Christian Aid and Tearfund.

CARE FOR THE CREATION We are committed to reduce our Carbon Footprint individually as well as a Church Community and would like to become an accredited (Silver or Gold) Eco Church. We recently have attained the bronze award for Eco Church and recycle materials where possible.

The Parish Hub, opened in 2015, is proving of great benefit to Church and community alike, accommodating St. John’s Sunshine pre-school, Friday Friends Teas and Mothers’ Union meetings. Building the Parish Hub has increased the footfall through the churchyard with many villagers enjoying the attractive space. Worth Parish Council leases the first floor of the Hub for offices under the terms of a grant and lease agreement and rents the upper meeting room on an annual agreement, the rent from which covers our loan repayment of £5000 plus interest per annum. The Parish Hub has a management team which ensures the smooth running of bookings, financial security and a high standard of upkeep. In addition to our volunteers, the Church employs a Marketing Manager, Bookings Manager, Caretaker and assistant, and a Cleaner.

The Parish Hub is so well booked with community activities and many private hires that St. John’s has plans to build an annex to the church building. This annex, also known as “the Link”, will help the Church realise its vision of a providing local environmental education centre as well as hospitality for

20 small groups and for those who visit the churchyard and tend graves every week. Following the building of the Church Office during the interregnum in 2018, (phase one of The Link) we have reviewed and amended the plans for the completion of the project and are awaiting new quotes.

We have rethought our giving priorities and feel that we must concentrate on paying our Parish Share so are asking those who have pledged giving to the Building Fund to redirect their giving to the General Fund. This will impact on our ability to continue with the project unless grant funding is obtained, but we have a team to work on this. Our thanks to all those who have spent many hours working on the plans and liaising with the architect and builders.

Visitors’ Book “Visiting loved and special The churchyard is well cared for, which is much friends who reside here in this lovely peaceful place” appreciated by villagers. We are grateful to receive 13-03-19 monies from the Payne Grave Deposit Fund, Faith Arnold Trust, our restricted Graveyard Fund and Worth Parish Council to help to pay for the upkeep of the churchyard. We employ 2 part time groundsmen, who have been a great help keeping it tidy.

Most of the routine maintenance of the church and churchyard is done by volunteers from the Church and community at the “First Saturday” work parties and coffee mornings. Team building and refreshments are an important part of these occasions. Volunteer cleaners and flower arrangers keep the church tidy and attractive week by week. The PCC expresses a heartfelt thankyou to all who, give up their time in running different ministries, providing hospitality, care & outreach and to those looking after our premises. The hard work of each and every one is much appreciated.

Financial Review The total receipts on general unrestricted funds received were £141,597 (£132,699 for 2018) and are detailed in the Financial Report (£8,798 more than last year). Planned giving to the General Fund, through envelopes and bankers’ orders, has increased. Gift aid is recovered regularly. We employ Nigel Cramp to manage the Stewardship for the church General Fund, to monitor the pledged giving for the Building account, to make payments for the Parish Hub, and to make timely applications for Gift Aid. The PCC paid £58,248 to the Diocese towards ministry costs for the stipend, housing and pension costs of our clergy as well as a standard sum for diocesan central costs. We have taken the decision that in future we should pay the full cost of our Parish Share of £74,035. We will be implementing a number of initiatives to increase our income to cover this. St. John’s has 13 employees. In 2016 we appointed Peninsula Business Services Ltd. to advise on HR, employment law, payroll and pension requirements to ensure we are compliant in these areas and have insurance to cover for any claims arising from a breach in legislation. This is at a cost of £156.12 per month for a 5-year agreement.

Reserves Policy It is the PCC’s policy:  To maintain a balance on the general unrestricted funds (excluding property) which equates to approximately three months’ of unrestricted payments as contingency against unforeseen situations. The closing balance of £23,765 at the end of 2019 did not achieve this and the PCC will need to continue to review this situation to ensure an adequate balance can be maintained.  To invest legacies restricted as to their objects with the Churches, Charities and Local Authorities financial provider, CCLA, until such time that suitable beneficiaries are identified by the PCC.

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Structure, Governance and Management. The Parochial Church Council (PCC) is registered with the Charity Commission as required by the Charities Act 2011. Its governing document is the Parochial Church Councils (Powers) Measure 1956. During 2019 the following served as members of the Parochial Church Council: Ex Officio members Incumbent: The Rev’d Willem Mauritz Assistant Curate: The Rev’d Alexandra Wheeler From July Wardens: Mrs Monica Polley Mrs Susan Williams Until April Mr David Hornsby From April Elected Members: Mrs Lesley Dawson Until 2022 Mr John Edwards Until 2020 Mrs Jan Leftley Until 2022 Mr Michael Livesey Until 2020 Mr Paul Simmons Until 2020 Mr Andrew Taylor Until 2022 Mr Eric Trevett Until 2022 Mr Geoffrey Truesdale Until 2020 Mrs Susan Williams Until 2022 Appointed Members: Mr Christopher Philips Treasurer Mrs Cathy Sexton Secretary

Co-opted Member: Mr Eddie Redfern Safeguarding Officer Deanery Synod: Mr Andrew Harpham Until 2020 Mr Ian Hornsby Until 2020 Mrs Angela Vevers Until 2020

The PCC has appointed Eddie Redfern as Safeguarding Officer, who ensures he is up to date with Diocesan Safeguarding Policies and that the PCC is advised of any changes. In addition, he maintains the DBS register of those working with children and vulnerable adults or in leadership roles at St. John’s. We have recruited more youth workers, leaders and adult carers this year. We are enrolled on the Simple Quality Protects system with the diocese to maintain best practice.

Membership of the PCC is determined under the Church Representation Rules and consists of certain ex-officio members (the incumbent, curate, readers licensed to officiate in the church, the churchwardens), members of the Deanery, Diocesan or General synods and 11 members of the church who are elected at the Annual Parochial Church Meeting (APCM). Church members are warmly encouraged to stand for election to the PCC and we try to ensure a balance of skills and experience where possible. This Trustees’ Annual Report was approved by the PCC and signed on their behalf by Rev’d W Mauritz. Signed Date

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