The Parish of The Upper Wreake Annual Report 2019

The Parish of The Upper Wreake Parish consists of the churches of All Saints Hoby, All Saints Ragdale, All Saints Rotherby, St. Michael & All Angels , St. Peter Kirby Bellars and St. Thomas of Canterbury Frisby-on-the-Wreake

Introduction: This annual report has been produced in order to comply with the requirements of the Charities Act 1993, and the Church Accounts Regulations 1997. The intention is to provide a fuller picture of the life of the Church during the year than could be obtained from the accounts alone.

Objectives of the Parochial Church Council (PCC) and District Church Councils (DCC): The PCC of the Parish meets at least four times a year to deal with any maters which concern the mission, development and administration of the Church, and is responsible for auditing decisions of the DCCs. The DCCs function with delegated authority from the PCC in the care of the church buildings (held jointly by the local Churchwardens and the Incumbent), finance and the local mission of the Church.

Electoral Roll (as at Easter 2020)

Brooksby Frisby Hoby Kirby Ragdale Rotherby Total 2020 8 19 35 16 12 13 103 2019 8 19 33 16 12 13 101

PCC Members: Chair: The Revd David Harknet Vice-Chair: Malcolm Briton, Reader (also Deanery Synod & Diocesan Synod) Secretary: Josie Brown (also Deanery Synod & Diocesan Synod) Ex-officio member Treasurer: Vic Allsop Elected Members: Frisby-on-the- Wreake: Pru Smith (CW), Simon Blake (CW) Hoby: Vic Allsop (CW), Maureen Coleman (CW), June Allsop Kirby Bellars: Sheila Taylor, Margaret Brewster Ragdale: Jane Burgess (CW), Liz Buxton Rotherby: Sue Smith (CW) (also Deanery Synod), Lesley Poter (CW), Ruth Robinson Brooksby: Malcolm Briton (CW), Jeanne Knowles (CW) Co-opted Members: Janet Norburn (Safeguarding Officer)

CW = Churchwarden

1.0 Priest in Charge’s Report

Early in 2020, four of our DCC Annual Meetings took place. Five months later, Brooksby & Hoby followed suit. The problem with the later two is that 2019 seems “so last year”. How much more can that be said of our Parish Annual Meeting, with 2020 entering its final third. I was glad to read Bishop Steven Croft's words; “The Church is not first and foremost a human organization, but a community called into being by Jesus and intended to reflect his character and nature. lf we can focus first and foremost on growing churches that reflect the character of Christ in the beatitudes then we will find, I believe, a pathway through the most difficult of changes that lie ahead. We will become more and more like Jesus' people”. Bishop Steven's words were writen ten years ago, reminding me that “difficult change” is always the

1 common currency of being human and of being church. Hence Jesus' good news message, calling people to “return & trust”; to find safety & refuge in an unchanging God – who is the same yesterday, today & forever. Looking back on our 2019 activity, we find that (seemingly) illogical blend of change and constancy. Growing in DEPTH of discipleship was built on the foundation of gathered worship – Sunday & midweek Communions alongside 'services of the Word'. Our Communions ranged from the quiet of the Prayer Book' to modern language with guest speakers on the theme of Inclusive Church. A 'Wholeness & Healing Eucharist' was introduced once/month midweek, which has provided moving experiences for regulars & visitors alike. Services of the Word were equally creative, mostly through the informality that Cafe Church offers, though the Lambing Service remained a highlight. Sue Smith continued to exercise her gift of drawing others into study & prayer; nurturing friendships; interceding for the parish; inviting God's Spirit to shape us. Crystal's arrival added greater depth again, as she explicitly and implicitly draws our atention to an eternally loving Creator & Redeemer. Growing in NUMBER of disciples always proves the most challenging of the Bishops' Key Questions. Fleeting opportunities occur at Festivals, mostly around Christmas – Easter & Harvest tend to atract regular worshippers only, while Carols & Christingle remain popular with the wider community. Partnership with Frisby Primary school allowed us to encourage them in their Christian foundation and to witness to the person of Jesus. The diet consisted of regular Assemblies in school & half-termly services in St.Thomas; fortnightly 'Everyday Faith Workshops' over lunch and interactive Christmas/Easter days in the Chapel. A well-received novelty was the Transition Walk for Year 6, taking pupils to Brooksby Church & back – we reflected on the move to Secondary School; learned about the history & faith of St.Michael & All Angel's; shared lunch & conversation in the comfort of Frisby Chapel. Messy Church ebbed & flowed, with a complete change of congregants in Autumn 2019. Janet continued to devote herself to this ministry, with Vicky, Sue, Lesley & Crystal acting as a core team. Crystal & I made contact with Steeple Chase through a door-knock & gift from the parish just before Christmas – this complemented a more general welcome by Simon & Frisby Church. Growing in LOVING SERVICE of our communities was ever present, and in many ways this is where 'Fabric & Finance' fits in. Hours of time & care are lovingly poured into our historic buildings, as we seek to serve our villages through our communal infrastructure. Though only one Toilet & Servery out of three planned was underway in 2019, such commitment shows our desire that these worshipful spaces are open to the public. The increasingly successful 'Frisby Creatives' exhibition in September was a perfect example of this spirit. The majority of our 'service' is, of course, hidden – individual congregants' prayers and quiet pastoral visits. I remain grateful to Vic for his administrative work which sustains so much of the traditional structures, allowing us to atend to people's needs & joys. I hope that our Inclusive Church focus will bear fruit in more compassionate witness & service. Woven through all the above was our ecumenical work & witness as Churches Together, and our continued fellowship as South West Framland. The later was sorely tested by financial woes, but our tireless prayer, conversation & decision-making served to strengthen our resolve. I'm grateful to all Churchwardens, Treasurers & Secretaries for their partnership in the Upper Wreake, with particular thanks to Malcolm Briton & Janet Norburn for their thoughtful collegiality. Any atempt to look at the year ahead falters if we think in calendar months, but under God, we are always asked to look up and to look ahead. Which is timely as Diocese initiates a process this September titled, “Shaped by God Together” - inviting us to share stories of what we have been learning about everyday Prayer (growing in DEPTH of discipleship); everyday Witness (growing in NUMBERS of disciples) and everyday Action (growing in LOVING SERVICE of our communities). The Diocese will collate these stories and use them to help generate insights about the future of the church. While our core remains the same, the way we express our church life may need to look quite different in the future, especially around finance, ministry & buildings. Telling Stories is something we do well in this parish. We did so last year and we have accentuated this through our Parish Newsleter. I look forward to hearing more voices in coming months, and pray that as we tell our stories hand-in-hand with those in our community; hand-in-hand with God's story; we will become more atentive to his life-giving Spirit.

2 2.0 South West Framland Group Council

2019 was a significant year as it was the first since 2013 when we had for a full year a Priest in Charge for each of our three benefices. We also started the new year with a continuing vacancy for a House for Duty Priest for the Burrough Hill Parishes. Thankfully by March we had started to advertise the vacancy but after a number of atempts there were no takers. By the time the autumn arrived there was a glimmer of hope and on November 15 th the interview of two possible candidates took place. We ended the year with the good news of Bishop Martyn’s announcement that the Revd Jane Walker had been appointed as House for Duty Priest of the Burrough Hill Parishes. It was later reported that Jane would be licensed on the 27th February 2020 by Bishop Guli at Pickwell Church. We will be at full strength again for the first time since June 2018. The other key event for SWF has been the issue of the finance of the Group. In March the Group Council were advised of the emerging financial problem. All were able to reflect on the issues and at the June meeting it was agreed to set up a Working Group to bring back recommendations and a budget to the November 19th meeting. The agreed outcome was a budget which increased from £12,000pa to £13,500pa this being the first increase for some years. The contribution of each benefice rising by £500pa. The increases have been modest and will see SWF start 2020 on a much firmer footing. We will be able to pay the Diocese all of their fees due for 2019 and also pay 50% as planned of the unpaid fees from 2018, paying the other 50% in 2021. However, all of this has come at a cost. As part of the process Mel Davies the SWF Book Keeper was made redundant and she completed her time with SWF by the end of November. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Mel for her six years of service to the Group and for being at the centre of building and consolidating the SWF Group after the Group was formally established back in 2011. In 2019 we said farewell to David Perril as our Reader. David had decided not to renew his licence in the Diocese of Leicester and on the 31st December, he retired from post. On Sunday 29th December we were all able to gather for a Group service at Ashby Folville and Andy Smith Warden of Readers preached at this service, where he thanked David for his work amongst us. At the end of the service Revd Neil presented gifts to David and Lorraine from donations received from across the Group. David will also be retiring from Somerby PCC and also from the Group Council. On the 10th July many of us from SWF made the journey to Barrow upon Soar Parish Church to the service where Revd Clive Wats was licensed as Priest in Charge of a group of churches in the Loughborough area. Clive had served as Assistant Curate in the Burrough Hill Parishes during the first half of 2019 and his time amongst the folk of these villages had been greatly appreciated. So much so that he returned to take the funeral of Mary Roy at Pickwell Parish Church, Bishop Guli preaching at that service. As is the case with everyday life, the life of the church has its ups and downs. We all in SWF worship in relatively small congregations. We all have historic buildings that are expensive to maintain and take up a lot of our time and effort to keep them open and functioning for the community. For many of us it was ever thus. But what do we do? We continue our work, and will continue to do so. I personally have found many challenging happenings in the life of our Parish Church this year. Dealing with the architect, contractors, working to timescales and keeping an eye on the budget and being disappointed seem to be part of the story of being church in our rural setng. After a while I get over the lows and the ‘I’ve had enough of this’ and ‘I could easily do without the hassle’ and I knuckle under and recover and get the reward of getng there in the end. Providing ‘a God space’ in our village, a welcome, a refuge, a sanctuary for anyone who cares to come and visit us is also a great reward for us. We get surprises like those who visit from many miles away. On new years day a family from Perth, Western Australia visited Hoby church while I was there. They were over in the UK working on their family history and it was great to be of assistance and share information with them from our chance meeting. If we hang on in there, the highs are always beter than the low moments. I know that some in our churches have experienced low moments in their church life this year for a variety of reasons. I hope my small example of lows and highs encourages you to keep at it. Your Church needs you! Thank you once again to Janet Norburn for being the Safeguarding co-ordinator for all of SWF and for keeping our Safeguarding Policy and training and DBS checks in order. We are most grateful for this

3 significant piece of work which you carry out for us. The SWF Group of villages have been working together for fourteen years now. We are made of strong stuff. Financially this has been a difficult year, but we have survived into 2020 and this says something about our commitment and stamina to keep the SWF Group at the centre of the life of our parishes and benefices. Thank you to all who have served on the Group Council over the last year. Thank you to those who are retiring this year, to those who will continue and welcome to newcomers. I end with a very short story that someone told me during our last winter. ‘Your church is cold! In fact, most of the churches round here are cold. But they are at the same time such beautiful buildings’ I asked, but what about the fellowship, welcome and worship that you are a part of when you come to church, does that warm you up a bit? The reply wasn’t surprising. ‘The folk who come to these churches are great servants of the Lord, I’ll still keep coming to church even if I need to have two layers of thermals on!’ Perhaps many of our churches are too cold and maybe we do need to do something about them, and no doubt would if we could afford to do so. But at least this individual noted that we were far more than that. There is hope for all cold churches, my own included!! Vic Allsop – Chair SWF Group Council. January 2020

3.0 Churches Together in the Upper Wreake

The Upper Wreake Churches continued to work out 'An Ecumenical Journey' agreement, implementing outreach and mission together. This co-operation was reaffirmed by the two Church Councils in September 2019 and signed by Reverends James Skinner and David Harknet. The rules and regulations of the two denomination can make practical action testing, but our common faith keeps us worshipping, working & witnessing together. It is a privilege to combine resources as we carry out God's work in our communities, though we try to be honest about the challenges to our shared life in terms of finance, maintenance & numbers. We wrestled with the Melton Methodist Circuit Review (published in March), while later in 2019 we welcomed Crystal McAllister as a Pioneer Ordinand, forcing us to re-think our identity & activity. By God's grace, we live out Christ's departing call to “love one another”. Rev'd David Harknet

4.0 Safeguarding

The Safeguarding policy will be presented to the first PCC meeting after the Group meeting for explanation and adoption. Has anything changed for Appendix 4?.Papers Atached.

Janet Norburn Churches Safeguarding Co-ordinator SWF

5.0 School

“Everyday with Jesus.” Lunchtime activity has continued and has included Crystal during 2019 . The school used the Methodist building for A Journey to Christmas when the Annunciation story was told and the ramifications for everyday life were followed up on today – homelessness, refugees within lesson time. Prayer scrolls displayed on small trees within the church. The School continue to have half-termly services in St Thomas’ with the parents of one class at a time being invited to stay for refreshments at the close of the service. Pru and Simon mastermind this. Foundation Governor post up for replacement or renewal June 2020. Janet Norburn (Foundation Governor)

4 6.0 Rotherby House Group

Our group continued to meet on a Tuesday evening through the year laterly we have met in the afternoon which seems to suit people beter, a small group but we have plenty of chairs for growth. Everyone is welcome to come and join us, no commitment just come along and see if it is for you. We share prayers and concerns for ourselves the community and the wider world, David Parr has led us in meditation on occasions this has been something new and meaningful to try and really calms us down after all our chater when we first arrive. Clive from Gaddesby has joined us this year along with his music skills leading the singing with his guitar, this is much appreciated. We have studied different areas of the Bible and joined in with the Upper Wreake Lent course. Sadly, we lost Ted Hill, a member of our group this year, we miss his friendship, his commitment to the group and all his input. Sue Smith 7.0 Messy Church

Over the last year Messy Church has continued to evolve after the summer regular atendees fell away possibly due to moving schools (secondary level). Craft-based activities linked to worship are an integral part of any session with food-based craft and really messy things being favourites. Increasingly we are trying to link the worship element and crafts to the Church year and seasons which has presented us with some interesting challenges. An ecumenical group is now delivering Messy Church leadership. Deacon Alsion has continued her support but it will lessen from Jan 2020 due to her other commitments. Crystal, daisy and Eve have joined in with planning during 2020 Janet Norburn (Local Pastor)

8.0 All Saints, Hoby

We start by thanking our Priest in Charge Revd David Harknet for the support and care given to us all in Hoby. We appreciate the contribution that David makes to the life of the DCC, and that includes regularly challenging us in positive ways about why we are doing what we do. David wants us to share with one another and explore more deeply what God might be calling us to do in our village. We hope that we have responded positively to what has been put before us. Canon Malcolm Briton always provides valuable support and gives great service to our parish and to Hoby we are most grateful for all that he does for us as a member of our DCC.

The close relationship with the Methodist Church continues and we demonstrate well our togetherness.

We have made steady progress during the year with the Bats in Churches project. There were three bat surveys carried out across the year and an historical report produced relating to the church building. The DCC atended a Bats in Churches day at Braunston in Rutland where the bats in church problem has now been addressed. We have further surveys in 2020 as we progress to what will hopefully be a positive outcome for the church.

The Church Log Book and Church Terrier are up to date.

5 All projects except that for the Toilet and Servery have been put on hold during 2019. This is what we were able to complete during the year: • The Toilet and Servery project finally got under way on October 7th with the repositioning of memorials from the North West corner of the church. Progress was steady throughout the autumn but sadly work did not complete before the end of the year and is ongoing. • New North Aisle drains have been put in place and they now connect to the mains and should adequately cope with the heavier rain we get these days, and help address the damp in the North Aisle walls. • We continued with our contract for the grass cutng in the Churchyard and Churchyard Extension. We also continue with our late first cut of the grass to allow the wildflowers to give an amazing display of colour. Projects on hold: • Work to the parquet floor. • Work to the 15th Century Pews. • Replacement of some of our church linen. • Progressing our search for a new burial ground. • Repairs to vulnerable parts of our boundary walls (Churchyard and Churchyard Extension). • Creating a strategy for stonework repairs. • Reviewing of our risk assessments. • Assessing the condition of our church electrics.

Finance of the Parish Church. The accounts remained healthy during the year but are significantly depleted at the end of 2019 because of payments (not all of them yet) made for the Toilet and Servery Project. We are most grateful for the grants received in 2019 and through this report wish to acknowledge and thank the following for their generosity and support. Without these grants this project would not have been possible: • The Diocese of Leicester – Capital Fund • Hoby with Rotherby Parish Council – Quintas Community Fund • Tarmac • Historic Churches Trust • The Jack Patston Trust • Maude Elkington Trust • Florence Turner Trust • Listed Places of Worship for the recovery of VAT for this project. We have followed with interest the financial issues relating to SWF during 2019 and are pleased that these are now resolved. We were saddened to hear though of the redundancy of Mel Davies from the office and wish to convey our thanks to her for what she did for our communities while she was working for SWF.

During 2019 Hoby Church took the first steps to becoming an Eco Church. Our first action was to change our electricity supplier to a Green Energy provider, namely Octopus Energy. When we get back in to church in 2020 this will be one of our main objectives. We will also be looking at our own Carbon Footprint, to reduce that along with starting the process to become a Fair Trade Church.

We also thank Hoby DCC members, The Friends of Hoby Church, the village and the wider Parish and Group for supporting our fund-raising efforts in 2019. These were much reduced because of our Toilet and Servery project: • The Christmas Market raised £644.74 for the Toilet & Servery Project. • Thanks to this year’s Ride + Stride cyclists John Coleman, Marta Hoffmann and Daniel Christmas who raised £205.50 for church funds. That day was very busy as we also provided refreshments for

6 250 cyclists who were cycling the Tour de Leicester. It demonstrated well our need for improved facilities! • In 2019 we continued to sell marmalade (and jam) in church in aid of church funds, raising £120.00 with £2 raised from Book Sales. • Our Carol Service, this year held in the Village Hall raised from the retiring collection £301.78 for the One Roof Leicester Homelessness Project • The collections for the Children’s Society boxes continue, co-ordinated by June Allsop and in 2019 raised £614.93 for the Society. Maureen and Vic are continually moved by the kindness shown by so many towards the Parish Church, and for the help that they are given. We pray that this support gives us the ability to continue God’s work here in Hoby with and for the people of this community. Without your support we could not do this work. We very much look forward to 2020 which along with new facilities for the church will also be our 800 th anniversary, 1220-2020. ‘Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever’ Hebrews 13:8 We look forward to seeing you at some of our events particularly the 800th Anniversary Open Gardens weekend on June 20th and 21st Maureen Coleman and Vic Allsop (Churchwardens)

9.0 All Saints, Ragdale

Mission & Ministry

Following on from the successful programme of speakers at services held in 2018 another series of speakers were invited to the services held at Ragdale throughout 2019. These services were based around Inclusive Church and were introduced by Anne Reddecliffe, Leicester Ambassador for Inclusive Church. The services included the topics of sexuality, ethnicity, poverty, gender, disability and mental health all were extremely thought provoking and challenging and lead to many individual discussions after the services over coffee and biscuits. Atendance at the 2019 services averaged a congregation of 26 people. By kind permission of Ray Bowley the Harvest service was again held at Old Hall Farm and our thanks go to Ray and family for allowing this service to go ahead. The speaker at the harvest service was Revd. Debbie Starling speaking on disability. Debbie brought her guitar to the service and with Mark at the piano a lively time was enjoyed by all. The Carol Service was held on 20th December, the day had been another of torrential rain but the weather was all forgoten when Emilia Bond opened the service for us with her beautiful solo of Once in Royal David’s City, Emilia also played the clarinet to introduce Away in a Manger, thank you Emilia. There were no weddings held in Ragdale during the year but in June we held the baptism of Ernest Bowley, Sarah and Andrew’s son and brother of Frank. In April the funeral of Eileen Evans was held at the church, Eileen had lived for many years at Lilac Cotage on Main Street and had been a member of All Saints Church whilst living in the village. Going forward into 2020 it is becoming apparent that the DCC will be facing a problem concerning the office of Treasurer. The current Treasurer considers himself ineligible to carry out the role due to the Church of requiring that the position be held by a communicant of the Church. This is an extremely disappointing development as the current members of the DCC have been working very well together for the benefit of All Saints Church.

Fabric of Building

The production of the quinquennial survey highlighted some major repairs which would be desirable and for the DCC to concentrate on. Following the report, clearing of the guters and downpipes was undertaken and this is something which will be required frequently. The Friends of Ragdale Church and Community met to discuss how they could be involved and help with any issues raised from the survey. At the meeting it was decided to concentrate their efforts on raising funds for the repair and refurbishment of the window west

7 of the porch on the south wall. The PCC have agreed permission to apply for a faculty to repair the window as above and also for the installation of a slate memorial to Thomas Haton, a casualty of the First World War.

Fund-raising and Social Activities

Ragdale were unable to participate in the Ride and Stride event in 2019 but Liz Buxton very kindly made a private donation to the church in lieu of this event, thank you Liz. At the end of June, the DCC held the second cream tea event and are again grateful to Mark and David for their generosity in hosting the teas in their garden at Home Farm. Although the weather had not been as good as the previous year and there were fewer people atending, the sum of £453 was raised for the church improvement fund. In December Revd. David and Jane met at All Saints Church with Hugh Wilson, Managing Director of Ragdale Hall to discuss the importance of the church within the village and the financial problems of the day to day running of the church. The board of directors have very generously donated £2,500 to the DCC to help with the insurance and security of the building.

Jane Burgess, Churchwarden

10.0 St. Peter’s, Kirby Bellars

Sadly, polythene still covers the roof but there has been a huge ray of hope in the enthusiasm of the Roof Resurrectors who reside in the village and have an affinity for St. Peter’s Church and wish to see it restored. Their report follows on but they have worked extremely hard to organise social events which have brought the community together whilst raising money for the church roof.

Mission and Ministry There were 10 services of evening prayer. The harvest festival and carol service were beter supported than in recent years.

Church Fabric The quinquennial inspection is due in 2020 when we shall have an update on the state of the building. Testing of the fire-extinguishers, electrical appliances and gravestones was carried out.

Fundraising The Church was open as part of the annual exhibition by the Kirby Group of Artists. The DCC had stalls in the Church, for the sale of produce, plants, books and bric-a-brac which raised £356 + £32.25 commission for sold paintings. Other fund-raising activities are covered in the roof Resurrectors’ report

People A familiar face at St Peter’s is missing through ill-health. David Woodward has served the church for many years as churchwarden and in the care of the building. In later years he gave a warm welcome to worshippers as he gave out the books at evensong. He is now resident in Egerton Lodge and can be assured of our prayers and warm wishes. Malcolm Briton

10.1 Kirby Roof Resurrectors This self-titled group began around the spring of 2019 with a core of outlying villagers simply interested in raising funds to permit a long-term replacement roof on St. Peter`s Church. The initial members had no real idea of how they would achieve this goal, but had the one common belief which was they did not want the Church to fall to ruin `during their watch`.

8 The first action was to take over the management of the Harvest Lunch of autumn 2019. This litle gathering sort of galvanised the group into working together and from then ideas began to emerge. We are all busy, working people with many other commitments but we understand the need to actually organise things to make other things happen. As none of us have been particularly involved in the Church or indeed are regular church goers, we are particularly pleased the Vicar and Malcolm Briton have chosen to come on board. The Revd David is useful in steering things from the wider church aspect and Malcom is a mine of information of all things historical and grant funding related. Over the past 12 months the group has grown as our activity has generated some interest in the village. As I look back over my notes made in the last year, the Church finances are a complex issue. The last Quinquennial Inspection in 2015 lead to a report showing the need for expensive repairs to many aspects of the building. This was before the theft of the roof. Revd David and the treasurer Mick Gane have alerted the group to the ordinary running costs of the building and the regular maintenance schedule. In an ideal world, one could spend the best part of half a million pounds bringing the building back into order. Our group is more realistic. If we can sort the drains out and put the roof back on, the Church is not going to fall down. We have learned about previous grant applications and intend to make a fresh one on the back of our fund- raising activities and the interest we hope to generate in the community. We all have to look at the Church building with fresh eyes and look to the future – what purpose do we want the building to serve and how can we justify its continued existence both socially and environmentally. There is help available to groups like ours and we have met with Gill Elliot and Simon Headly who manage the church estate. We have Alan Fox in the village with much historical knowledge. David Davies is very keen on the environment and renewables. We would welcome the Church Council along to our spring clean on the 19th April, not to bring a brush but rather your wisdom! To date we have raised the following funds for the Church Roof: ~ Harvest Lunch: £675.00 ~ Carol Service Refreshments: £187.30 ~ Village Walk: £200.00 Richard Machin

11.0 St Michael & All Angels Church, Brooksby

Worship, Mission and Ministry The national church initiative “Follow the Star” was promoted during the Christmas season and the illuminated star on the tower was quite a topic of interest There were nine 8.30 Holy Communion services and the Remembrance Sunday service came home to Brooksby. What have become regular events: the Lambing Service with the Bishop of Loughborough, The Rt Revd Dr Guli Francis-Dehqani, the Palm Sunday morning prayer for the Rose Croix freemasons, the BMC Christmas concert with the Ratcliffe Chorale and the Supporters Association carol service were well supported plus the first carol service for the Rotary Club of In total there were 6 baptisms, 11 weddings during the year. We participated in two Brooksby Hall Wedding Fairs and were represented at the parish wedding preparation courses.

Fabric and related topics The Quinquennial Inspection was carried out in July and at a rough estimate about £50,000 of stonework repairs are desirable before 2024 although the church is generally in good order and well cared for. Also, during 2019 we have: • completed the restoration of the east window • replaced two worn stones on the chancel step • reduced the height and removed the dead wood from the pine trees

9 • cleaned the carpets • thoroughly cleaned the church after the restoration of the window for which we are immensely grateful to the College cleaning team. • received a splendid oak lectern from its creator Alan Odom. • cleared the guters, downpipes and the gullies around the base of the church • carried out the fire extinguisher tests • checked the safety of the gravestones • carried out portable appliance testing • installed a nest box for tawny owls in the churchyard The Church Log Book is up-to-date.

Fund-raising Ukelele concert - £717.00 Summer quiz - £206.49 Brooksby Church Tea Towels were purchased towards the end of the year and £162.00 worth were sold in December. 5 talks to various groups and 2 conducted tours of the church and gardens. Donations to other charities and other good causes amounted to £908.41

People Andrew Walker was married and moved house to East Bridgford after serving the church in many practical ways over the years. Two other good friends Nick Marriot and Bridget Hollis retired from the College after supporting the church in many ways not least in overseeing the practical requirements for the lambing service. Sally Smith who liaised with us for wedding arrangements moved on from Hotel Services to a post at Ragdale Hall. Derek Overfield from Kirby Bellars now undertakes maintenance work in the churchyard. Thanks are due to various people for their practical help during the year especially Andrew Walker, Nick Marriot, Derek Oldfield and Alan Odom. Malcolm Briton and Jeanne Knowles (Churchwardens)

12.0 All Saints, Rotherby

Rotherby Church has hosted a family service each month through the year this has been well supported with as many as 10 children: the pet service took place in October which was very exciting. Our annual carol service was well atended by the villagers served with refreshments afterwards generously given by the community. This has been a mixed year with weather and fund raising. Several events had to be cancelled due to illness or the wet winter including the picnic in the park and the winter walk. Events able to take place were our November Winter Warmer this is becoming very popular with over 40 atending, we served hot casseroles in our slow cookers with drinks and nibbles. Two new events took place in the Church a ‘Body Shop’ evening where we were able to sample and order body products, also a Burleighs Gin night. Again, we sampled different gins and were able to purchase on the night both were really enjoyable evenings. The gin evening was particularly HAPPY. August cream teas were served every Sunday in August where we are able to meet lots of lovely people and sample delicious cream teas, a great social event. These events are not great financial fundraisers but give us the opportunity to meet with other villages and to build relationships. We were granted a Quintas grant to restore the arch and light over the Church gate, with the money from the grant and a private donation this will be complete early 2020.

10 We have a benefactor who wants to pay to have the Church Clock restored to its former glory a faculty was received in November and this work will take place early 2020. The faculty for the toilet project was received in September after a lot of hard work from many parties, we are so grateful to them all including David who came on board after he arrived. We are hopeful that this work will start summer 2020, so we have a lot to look forward to. Sue Smith & Lesley Poter (Churchwardens)

13.0 St Thomas of Canterbury,

Mission & Ministry In terms of numbers atending we have 2 records this year: we had 168 at the Christingle and 196 at the Christmas school service. School assemblies continue to thrive and school services at St Thomas church numbered 5 for 2019 and there are 3 planned in the early part of 2020. Messy church continues to thrive on a monthly basis. However, the trend across the Parish is for people to generally go to the service of their choice and to maintain this patern each Sunday/mid-week service. There continues to be a strong ecumenical tradition where Methodists come to Anglican services and vice versa. This has been built up over a number of years. Our outreach in Frisby tends to occur when there are fundraising activities (see below) and this will atract many non-church goers into church. This was certainly in evidence during the last quarter of 2019 when the Frisby Creatives weekend was followed by 2 concerts. Now that Steeple Chase is nearing completion it is apparent that we have quite a number of newcomers in the village and this has presented an opportunity to visit their homes. This has already occurred once in the form of Vicar David Harknet’s visits and is likely to occur again soon when each householder receives their Welcome Pack. It will also give us an opportunity to return to the newly occupied houses to ask if they would like to receive the Community Magazine.

Fund raising /Social Activities The last weekend in September 2019 saw a very successful event where the Frisby Creatives displayed their work of all types in church under the theme of the “Empty Vessel”. This gave the Friends of Frisby Church (FOFC) a chance to offer teas, coffees, cakes & lunches etc in the village hall over 2 days during which time we had the added advantage that the pub was closed! All artists were most generous in that they were able to offer the church 10% of their sales. In October “Generation Gap” came back again and this was received very well. Finally, in early December The Wassailers returned and this very popular concert gave us a foretaste of Christmas. The 3 events raised over £2000 for our toilet & servery project.

Maintenance/fabric/faculties/Future The Toilet & Servery project is now beginning to lift off the ground and there was a great deal of activity in 2019 mostly consisting of obtaining faculties for both the work itself and for the Percolation testing (now complete) plus the obtaining of grants which comprised the bulk of the work. All Architects drawings were completed. To summarise where the project was at the end of 2019 please see below. The lowest quote from Kirk & Bills was accepted and this came in at £46,828. A very large proportion of the VAT both on the buildings work, architects’ fees and bat inspection can be reclaimed from LPOW. The DCC has been awarded 4 grants totalling £16,400. From our own resources we have raised a total of £13,550. This together totals just under £30K & means we have yet to raise approx. £16.8K. So far only 2 grant applications have been unsuccessful and the DCC awaits the outcomes/decisions from 4 more grant aiding bodies. The state of the leaking roof and very poor heating system must not be forgoten and this needs to be addressed more urgently during 2020. As repairs to lead are generally fraught with difficulties it has been proposed that it may be more advisable to reroof the Baptistery altogether using turncoat steel, a much cheaper option than lead.

11 Finally, we are at the moment addressing the security of the building particularly in these times when lead theft seems to be becoming more frequent. During the year some PIR lighting was installed in the tower and this is thought to be a significant deterrent to burglars. However relaying electricity up the tower to run the PIRs has not been easy and the church will be getng a quote from electricians for this in the near future. This will occur hopefully concurrently with other actions needed to tighten security. Simon Blake & Pru Smith (Churchwardens)

14.0 Bellringers

The Tower bells and fitngs at Hoby and Kirby remain in good order for ringing. The local band still consists of only two ringers, so they have only rung the Tower bells for the Carol Services at Hoby and Kirby in December, with the help of fellow ringers from Ab Ketleby. The Tenor bell at Kirby was tolled in March, for the Funeral of Ted Hill, who had been a long-time supporter of Kirby Church. Kirby was host to visiting ringers from Hertfordshire (The 'Not Norfolk' Ringers) in May, to a band from Lincoln Cathedral in August and then to the Melton District of the Leicester Diocesan Guild of Church Bell Ringers for their monthly meeting in December.

Handbells The Handbell ringers have continued to meet regularly throughout the year at Kirby Church, to play tunes for general enjoyment. The band were invited to make a return visit to entertain the 9th Leicester Scouts in October, then performed during the Carol Service at Kirby Church in December. Martin Paling (Tower Captain)

15. Deanery Synod

The Synod met 4 times since the last APCM on the theme of the Bishop’s 3 questions Thursday 7th March – St Mary’s, Melton Mowbray – Bishops Martyn and Guli atended a special Deanery Evening and explored everyday discipleship ideas with local church leaders, both clergy and lay. Wednesday 26th June – St Mary the Virgin, Harby – Loving Service of the World This consisted of a review of Deanery-based social activities including Fair Trade Thursday 26th September - Frisby Methodist Centre – Growing Numbers of Disciples This centred on round table conversations sharing mission/outreach activities including “Open the Book”, Fresh Expressions and Occasional Offices. Wednesday 4th December – St Mary Magdalene, Waltham A reflection evening led by members of the Community of the Tree of life with the eucharist celebrated by The Revd John Barr.

16.0 Finance (Atached)

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