St Nicholas Church, Kenilworth

Annual Meeting & APCM

Sunday 23 May 2021 at 11.30am

St Nicholas Church 28 High Street, Kenilworth, Warwickshire CV8 1LZ The Parish Church of St Nicholas, Kenilworth

MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL MEETING OF PARISHIONERS Held on Sunday 25 October 2020 at 12.00 noon in St Nicholas Church, Parochial Hall, High Street, Kenilworth and also, via Zoom Conferencing

1. Welcome The Reverend Stella Bailey opened the meeting with prayer and by welcoming the 21 people attending in person in the hall, 24 people connected at home and noted the 15 apologies received.

The domestics and dynamics regarding voting processes in person and by Zoom were explained and agreed by all attendees.

2. Minutes of the Previous Annual Meeting of Parishioners 7th April 2019 The minutes having been previously circulated and made available at the meeting were agreed as a true record of the proceedings and signed by Rev’d Stella Bailey.

3. Election of Churchwardens Two nominations were received – Janet Cherry and Tim Wilkes, duly proposed and seconded. Both candidates having indicated their willingness to stand again were elected nem. con. by a show of hands to serve as Churchwardens for the coming year.

4. Thanks to the Churchwardens The Rev’d Stella Bailey thanked the Wardens for all their hard work over what had proved a difficult and extended year and acknowledged their loyalty to the Parish and also added thanks to Malcolm Trewick and Keith Grierson for the support that they have provided during the year in their roles as Deputy Wardens.

The meeting closed at 12.20pm.

MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL PAROCHIAL CHURCH MEETING Held on Sunday 25 October 2020 at 12.25pm in St Nicholas Church, Parochial Hall, High Street, Kenilworth and also, via Zoom Conferencing. The Reverend Stella Bailey opened the meeting by reminding and highlighting the policy regarding Church of England Representation Rules and Guidance that the Annual Parochial Church Meeting (APCM) is open to all of those who are entered on the Parish electoral roll and invited all of those who had attended the Annual Meeting of Parishioners but not currently on the roll to remain for the APCM should they so wish. No objections were raised.

1. Minutes of the Previous Annual Parochial Church Meeting held on 7th April 2019 The minutes having been previously made available were approved, subject to 1 abstention in the hall and 1 abstention at home via Zoom and signed as a true record of the proceedings that had taken place.

2. Matters Arising (not covered elsewhere) There were no items raised.

3. Rev’d Stella Bailey Report on Parish Life The Rev’d Stella Bailey began by saying that 2019 had seen a blossoming of the Parish strategy regarding worship outreach, substantial inroads into family life had been achieved with increased take-up numbers for the Stay and Play sessions, further development in participation in more Schools locally, the re-introduction of “Notelets” and plans to introduce a Sunday School type provision. The Parish is in a good place looking forward to providing a whole range of worship opportunities to cater for the diverse age range currently in place however, many of the activities are temporarily curtailed or suspended indefinitely due to the ongoing impact of the current COVID-19 restrictions.

Russell Graham who, took over as Treasurer in April 2019 almost immediately encountered an issue with the Parish banking arrangements where the existing accounts had been closed by HSBC UK Bank and an alternative supplier was needed, this caused delays in not only settling accounts and bills but also in paying in receipts.

Negotiations are continuing with the Diocese regarding the Parish Share allocations for future years.

The Parish Giving Scheme is now in place and regular giving by standing order is being encouraged to be moved to a direct debit arrangement, this is administered by a third- party organisation at no charge and provides the gift aid element on a regular basis.

4. Report on Electoral Roll The meeting thanked Sheila Short for continuing to act as Electoral Roll Officer for the Parish. There are currently 254 people on the Electoral Roll this is a decrease of 12 from last year’s total.

5. Annual Report of the Parochial Church Council Copies of the report had previously by transmitted by email where possible to electoral roll members and hardcopies were also available at the meeting.

6. Report on the Deanery Synod A verbal report on the joint Kenilworth and Coventry South Deaneries for the year was made and an open invitation to anyone to attend a session of the Synod as an observer.

7. Churchwardens Report on the Fabric, Goods and Ornaments The report was accepted without questions.

8. Approval of the Annual Report and Accounts Financial Year ending 31st December 2019 Copies of the Report of the Trustees and Unaudited Financial Statements for the year having been made available were referred to.

The accounts have been signed off by PCC and also by the accountants.

The accounts record an overall overspend for the year however some income appropriate to the 2019 year has now been credited in 2020.

Café Sunday costs have been contained in service requisites, Children’s worship and hospitality with much more of the expenditure borne by those organising.

An adjustment in respect of St Nicholas Ladies Group delegated fund amounts currently held elsewhere will be reflected in the 2020 accounts.

St Barnabas running cost figures include an amount in respect of the window replacement brought to account in 2019.

St Barnabas House expenditure is excluded from the St Barnabas expenditure cost heading.

The chair replacement sponsorship scheme continues and details are available, there is still capacity for further expressions of interest. The proposal to replace all notice boards is currently on hold with work continuing.

A question regarding the amount of paper currently being used was raised, it was stated that due to current COVID 19 regulations single use Orders of Service and other distributed paperwork have to be provided.

Tim Wilkes proposed, and Linda Twibill seconded a motion to approve the Annual Report. This was carried unanimously.

9 (a) Elections to the Parochial Church Council (PCC) A total of 6 nominations duly proposed and seconded for the 5 vacancies on PCC were received and a ballot to fill these positions was carried out with the following elected to serve on PCC, for the next three years, were Heather Alford, Pat Holder, Sheila Short, Malcolm Trewick and Linda Twibill.

(b) Election of Deputy Warden Keith Grierson and Malcolm Trewick agreed to continue to serve in the capacity of Deputy Wardens.

(c) Elections for Deanery Synod 2 nominations were received for Deanery representatives for the Parish, duly proposed and seconded, Karen Mottram and Mark Lovegrove and both were elected to serve.

10. Appointment of: (a) An Independent Examiner for 2020 The Rev’d Stella Bailey proposed, and it was carried unanimously by all of those present that we continue to retain the services of our existing Independent Examiner who are Wallace Crooke Walsall Limited, Chartered Accountants. 11. Building and Property Report (a) Appointment of Architect Keith Grierson proposed that Mark King, who in his professional capacity has wide experience in architectural services be once again re-appointed for the Parish. Carried unanimously.

The meeting closed at 1.45pm

GROUP REPORTS

BELLRINGERS

Tower Captain: Peter Spencer Our Objectives: 1. To ring the bells to draw attention to the presence of the Church within the community, calling worshippers to services. 2. To mark national celebrations and for occasions such as weddings and funerals.

Our Aims: 1. Primarily to ring the bells before the main services on Sundays. 2. To ensure there is a strong band of ringers within the tower to keep the tradition secure for the future.

We (usually) deliver our Objectives and Aims through: • Ringing for approximately 45 minutes before morning and evening services on Sundays, ringing before and after weddings and, on request, before funerals. • Holding regular Tuesday evening practice sessions. • Ringing the bells to mark both Coventry Diocese and National celebrations. • Seeking and teaching new ringers. • Promoting continuing development of individuals’ ringing skills. • Attending Coventry Guild of Church Bellringers’ training courses, events and meetings. • Organising social activities, arranging a group outing to other towers, taking part in church services and activities e.g. the Christmas Tree Festival/running a stall at the Christmas Fair.

What were we able to achieve in 2020? • Lockdown on 23 March brought all ringing activities to a halt until 20 September when, to comply with Diocese instructions, we were able to ring just 3 bells once on Sundays for 15 minutes, carefully complying with social distancing restrictions. • Exceptionally, on 31 October we rang the 3 bells for 15 minutes before a wedding, in place of ringing for evensong the following day (regulations preventing re-entry to the tower for 72 hours). • All ringing was again stopped with the second lockdown on the 8 November. • With temporary lifting of restrictions by the Diocese over the Christmas period the Kempton family ‘bubble’ were able to ring 4 bells for the Christmas morning service. • The removal, repair and re-installation of various bell and frame components identified in July 2019 by the Bellfounders as part of a maintenance review. The costs for this (£2,152) were met from Tower funds obtained through sponsored ringing/visitor donations/a grant from the Coventry Diocesan Guild of Church Bellringers. • Donated the cost of a new Church chair and paid for two rope repairs from funds generated in 2020. • We have held a number of well-attended Zoom quizzes since March towards trying to maintain the cohesion of the band of ringers and help those who are more isolated. • Met the Safeguarding training requirement for appropriate Officers of the tower before lockdown. • Received and gratefully accepted expressions of interest in learning to ring from 3 members of ringers’ families which we will pursue when ringing recommences.

Issues to note: • In recognition of the quarter hours and on-the-hour striking of the Church clock not having worked for several years and its poor time keeping, the ringers are working with the PCC to explore the possibility of obtaining a grant for appropriate repairs.

• Work is also ongoing to secure a more regular official maintenance review of the bell installation to minimise future repairs costs.

Total number of members: • We are fortunate to be one of the strongest towers within Coventry Guild, having 20 ringers in 2020. D P Crawley - 10 February 2021

CAFÉ SUNDAY

Team Member: Heather Marshall We have not been able to meet in person for a year and have missed gathering together. When we first went into lockdown Kate and Keith lead joint sessions with St.N kids where families met in a virtual way. Keith and Kate left us during the summer and we would like to acknowledge all they have done as part of Café Sunday.

During the summer we had a break to think and pray about how we would like to go forward with Café Sunday and resumed meeting online monthly in December. We have had a small but loyal group who are exploring what it means to live a Christian life in this difficult time. We first met in December when we were able to meet on Zoom as well as in the hall to celebrate Christmas.

Since Christmas we have only been able to meet online, for many this has been a difficult way to come together as some people spend their whole working week on Zoom and by Sunday are zoomed out. Children find it very difficult to engage with zoom after a week spent in a virtual classroom. The sessions that we have had, we have been able to enjoy chatty break out rooms, Lego, songs, quizzes, stories and dressing up, as a way to engage with the Bible.

We look forward to being able to be together again in the future.

CHILDREN’S AND FAMILIES WORK

The Reverend Stella Bailey, Vicar We cannot underestimate the impact of the pandemic upon our children's ministry. The beginning of 2020 shouldered a sustained growth trajectory in our ministry where we will be able to share the love of God with the children and families in our community however, our encounter model was built upon the principle of building relationships so that we turned the encounter into discipleship. Due to successive lockdowns, the requirements of social distancing, and national and church guidelines, we have struggled to authentically replicate our ministry under the restricted conditions. This has been immensely frustrating to the team who repeatedly sought creative ways for us to engage with our children and families only for the rules to change, meaning that our plans were no longer viable. By my estimation we have probably taken 18 to 24 months regression in our development plan as we will now need to re-establish relationships and engagement with the last cohort. However in amongst this we have seen some wonderful shoots of hope over the past 12 months. The highlight of the year was our ability to hold a Nativity Trail, a replacement to the Crib Services at Christmas. Our thanks go to Heather Marshall who shared with us her gift of creativity to bring a concept into reality. She was able to draw together a team from the full breadth of our church family to help us put on the Nativity Trail. Our thanks also go to the Flower Guild who helped with the displays and the many volunteers who gave up their time to host the event which saw over 500 people explore the Christmas story during the week. It was wonderful to see so many of our families whom we have not seen since the pandemic started, return to church for this event.

In June, Kate Ayling left her position as Children and Families Worker and the PCC made the decision to turn this role into a full time post to enable us to expand our ministry to children and families. At the end of November, we were pleased to be able to appoint Clare Edwards to this role who, as a qualified teacher of more than 20 years, brings her passion for working with primary age children together with her faith. Clare has specific experience of working with children with special educational needs which is an area of ministry we will look to develop in the future.

Little Nick’s Stay and Play At the beginning of 2020 our Stay and Play Group continued to grow in strength of numbers and in atmosphere. Our large volunteer team offered free play every Thursday between 10.00 and 11.00am with coffee and cake for parents and craft activities. At 11.00am healthy snacks were offered to the little ones followed by a time of interactive song time and ended with play on the large items. We repeatedly receive strong feedback from those who attend our Stay and Play Group, with deeper relationships forming where we are able to share our faith with those whom we encounter. Many of the Stay and Play parents have sought to have their children baptised and have engaged in other children’s activities such as StN Kids and our Holiday Clubs.

As the nation entered lockdown in March 2020, Stay and Play activities were suspended. Despite extensive creative syncing to seek ways in which we could continue to engage with the families, this proved to be difficult. During the summer when we could hold outdoor activities we found that many of the families were valuing the small window of opportunity for other activities, and attempts to take encounters on-line proved futile due to the extensive amount of learning children were required to undertake on-line. However the response we have received from the Nativity Trail offered hope that the relationships we had formed had not collapsed, but these seeds of friendship will be able to be created again once the national situation allows.

StN Kids Our Sunday morning Children Ministry continued to grow in the early months of 2020 but came to an abrupt stop as the nation entered lockdown in March. During the first lockdown the children’s team provided Sunday afternoon engagement sessions but the uptake of this was low. When we returned to ‘in person’ worship the second service each Sunday was shaped to be accessible for families with children’s activities provided. Once the national landscape enables us to do so, we will return to getting StN Kids up and running again. However, we have to prepare ourselves for having taken several years backward steps in our engagement with children and families as we have lost contact with a significant cohort and those relationships need reforming and the significance of engaging with individual spiritualities needs re-establishing.

Youth Until March 2020 we still met for friendship and faith sessions, but this programme came to an end as the pandemic affected our nation. Up until the end of the summer on-line sessions were provided for the youth to engage with, however as more and more learning moved to on-line, we found that the young people disengaged with faith based learning on- line as they were overexposed to this style of engagement. Once the national picture changes we will be seeking to restart our youth ministry.

Schools’ Work Our Children and Families Worker as well as the clergy have continued to work with our local schools throughout 2020. In the early months we continued offering assemblies and assistance with the curriculum, these activities moved on-line once the pandemic affected the inability of our schools to welcome external visitors.

As well as two clergy being governors in two of our schools, a further three members of our church family are also governors ensuring that our church schools have a good foundation of Christian input and relationships with us as a parish. Bookings are already being put into place to return back to encountering our schools physically.

CHOIR AND SUNDAY SERVICE MUSIC

Name of Group: Robed Choir & Vestry Singers Organist & Choir Master: James Hunt In October 2019 the Vestry Singers was reformed and have their weekly practices (except for school holiday periods) on a Thursday evening at 7.00pm until 8.00pm. It is a small group, but most of the singers can read music and are keen to keep the unit together. The Vestry Singers have supported the congregational singing twice in 2020 on 26th January and 23rd February.

The Robed Choir meet every Friday evening between 7.00pm and 8.00pm and support the congregation on a weekly basis including leading the singing at choral evensong every two weeks.

Both choirs, supported by additional singers drawn from the St Nicholas congregation, where to be taking a very active part in the evening Palm Sunday service on 5th April 2020 by singing The Cross of Christ (a devotion for congregation and choir ) produced by The Royal School of Music. Unfortunately, as the country was in lock down due to the Covid-19 pandemic, this was cancelled. No choir practices have taken place since 13th March 2020. (The first lock down in England started on Friday 20th March 2020).

Plans were being made to start choir practices again in October 2020 but the Covid situation dictated that this was not to be. As the national vaccination programme makes advances, we wait to see how the situation unfolds. James Hunt Organist

Name of Group: Notelets Lead: Mary Houlgate Notelets choir had our usual month off in January 2020 and began meeting again just before February half term. We were learning songs about spring and mothers, ready to sing for Mothering Sunday on 22nd March. Our numbers were quite low at this point - about 8 children, all very keen, with supportive parents.

We added a craft activity to the singing and made shaker eggs as well as colouring song sheets. The children really enjoyed various circle games such as 'In and out the dusty bluebells'. Due to the Coronavirus lockdown, the church closed for worship and we were unable to sing for the service. However, we did try to continue to meet on Zoom, with weekly singalongs offered until mid May. By this time the weather was good and the children were unsurprisingly reluctant to try singing to a screen! All the families professed interest in re-joining once face to face sessions resumed.

We believe for Notelets to be viable, a new core of older KS2 singers need to be recruited; they are the ones who really carry the singing. A change of time might be necessary to make this possible. We'd suggest starting at 5.00pm at the earliest, so parents have time to collect children after work and bring them to Notelets.

Kit and Mary now feel it is time to hand over Notelets to Clare and wish her and all the Notelets’ families much fun together and happy singing!

Mary and Kit

Name of Group: Music Makers Lead: Margaret Siggers We were not asked to play at any service during 2020.

ECO CHURCH

Co-ordinator: James Kennedy We had planned to submit an application for our Bronze Eco Church Award, run another Open Churchyard Day in the summer, participate in the Kenilworth Eco Fayre organised by Kenilworth Churches Together, and start planning for what we need to do to move on to a Silver Eco Church Award.

Volunteers have nevertheless been able to continue with the development of the herb garden by the High Street (in a Covid-safe way) and are pleased with how it is looking, even after the winter.

Members of the Eco-Church group participated in the online Eco Fayre on Saturday 3rd October 2020. The church held a Creation-themed service on Sunday 7th February 2021. Stella and members of the Eco Church group took part in a discussion with idVerde, the consultants preparing the new Abbey Fields Management Plan, on 17th February 2021. It is expected that the Plan will be published in the summer and incorporate our suggestions for the management of the churchyard for enhanced environmental results and the glory of God's creation.

Tentative plans for this year include a 'Churches Count on Nature' event on Sunday 6th June. James Kennedy, 19 Lower Ladyes Hills, Tel: 07900 103140, [email protected]

FLOWER GUILD

Chair: Jean Bunce It will not be a surprise if we say we have very little to report for 2020.

Our last activity before lockdown was a Workshop in February when we welcomed 36 visitors. Then our Easter planning meeting was cancelled, so no Easter flowers in church. However, from June, until the church was closed for the heating to be replaced, some weekly flowers were arranged. When services were held in the Parochial Hall (from August—October) we put a small arrangement on the piano and these were given to members of the congregation after Sunday services. We had hoped that the church would reopen in September ‘with a bang’. We looked forward to the church filled with flowers and the Flower Guild celebrating their fifty-fifth anniversary of its foundation, but this was not to be.

From November to the new lockdown, some weekly flowers were arranged in church and members of the Guild joined in the Nativity Trail. Linda Williams and Maggie Wood were due to be the organisers of Christmas flowers, but their planning was very restricted to just a few positions and a few members decorating them. With the Christmas Tree Festival having to be changed we were not able to have the usual sale of swags and table decorations, although a few members were able to make a few for ‘old customers’.

It was expected at the beginning of the year that this would be a good one for weddings, but only three took place, two before the first lockdown and the other after the reopening but the latter did their own flowers.

We did not ask the PCC for funds for obvious reasons but will expect to make a request when everything ‘gets back to normal’ because we have no income from the PCC or wedding flowers, or Workshops, or Carnival Teas or Christmas sales.

To sum up, we had plans for Workshops throughout the year, for regular decorating of the church and the usual ‘specials for Easter, Harvest and Christmas’ and, in particular, big celebrations for our anniversary. We have only been able to do some decorating on a small scale and have put up our silk flowers for some occasions.

Finally, we are happy to report that the last of the altar cloths for the Lady Chapel under Edith Henstead’s bequest have arrived and the set is all we would have wished for.

GRAPEVINE MAGAZINE

Editor: Tony Shakespeare 7 Rosemary Mews, School Lane, Kenilworth CV8 2GS

What are your Aims and Objectives? Aims for 2020: Collate contributions and produce 10 issues of the A5 magazine per year (double editions for July/August and December/January) that will inform and reach out to members and non-members of the Parish and local community.

Revenue coming from subscriptions, advertising and local purchase of the magazines. Outgoings include subscription to the Parish Pump (online resource for parish magazine editors), printing costs and postal/delivery charges.

Overview of the year Due to COVID-19 it was unsafe to distribute and deliver printed copies of the magazine, therefore subscriptions to the printed magazine and advertising were suspended from March 2020, to be honoured when printing resumes and an online version of the magazine, in pdf format, has been made available through a link on the church website.

Last year, 11 editions of the magazine were produced, (double edition for December/January).

Although revenue has been lost from lost subscriptions and adverting fees, there has been an equivalent saving from the cost of printing.

Restrictions to social gatherings, events and Parish activities have considerably reduced the amount of local content available, with fewer regular contributors and the rest of the content being provided from the Parish Pump.

With no deadline to meet to send it to external printers, the copy date has been moved to the 25th of the preceding month. Unfortunately, with restrictions on meeting with others and reduced finishing times following the extended copy date, the magazines have not been formally proofread.

Moving forward? With restrictions lifted, it is expected that more events, activities and gatherings will take place providing more local content and hopefully more content contributors. When printing and distributions restrictions are lifted and we return to printing editions, I would recommend that a free pdf version continues to be made available online through the website. This is relatively easy to do with slight modifications to the printed version. After suspended subscriptions and advertising commitments are met, a reduced number of printed editions could be made available for those with limited internet access or with a strong preference for the printed edition and visitors to the church. This will reduce the environmental impact and printing costs while increasing the potential readership. This will also be more attractive to future advertisers to off-set printing costs. Tony Shakespeare (Editor), E-mail:[email protected]

HOME AND PRAYER GROUPS

Monday Group Lead: Jane Colby Our home group of 6 for 2020, began on 27 January, with Pilgrim booklets “Church and Kingdom”.

As a group we attended what should have been a 5-week Lent Course at St Barnabas. But due to the Covid-19 pandemic we went into lockdown in March.

So we hope to continue to finish the book we were on, 3 sessions remaining. Then take a look at Mystics. All are keen to continue as a group as soon as we are given the all clear to safely do so.

Tuesday Evening/Wednesday Afternoon Group Leads: Heather Alford and Vicki Barnes Aims and Objectives: Bible study and prayer time. The objective is for the members of the group to learn more about their faith by studying the Bible in more depth and encouraging each other through discussion.

Unfortunately, over this past year the group has not been able to meet in person. It has not been possible to have online meetings as some of the group are not able to access these facilities. We have, however, maintained contact with each other mainly by telephone. We have made sure that everyone who would like to receive CD’s of services has received them.

We are all looking forward to the time when we can meet again as I think we have all realised how much we value the meetings not only from the study point of view but also the social contact.

LADIES GROUP

Lead: Cynthia Skingley The Committee had planned an excellent programme of talks and events for September 2020 to July 2021. Unfortunately, the Covid-19 Lockdown happened, and the programme had to be cancelled/postponed. Hopefully, we will be able to re-start our meetings in St Barnabas Church again in September 2021.

Lockdown has meant that we have had to postponed our Annual General Meeting in both 2020 and 2021, so our first meeting will be to catch up on the AGMs, combined with a Social Evening.

We have maintained contact with all of our members throughout the lockdown by both email and “snail mail”.

As soon as lockdown permits, we hope to re-start our Coffee Morning meetings at The Almanack.

In the immortal words of Captain Sir Tom Moore; “Tomorrow will be a good day.”

PARISH SAFEGUARDING

Acting Parish Safeguarding Officer: Rosie Dalby The PCC takes Safeguarding seriously and adopted the recommended Safeguarding Policy from Coventry Diocese which reflects recent legislation changes. The PCC has complied with the duty to “have due regard” to the House of Bishops’ guidance in relation to Safeguarding. The PCC are now the legal body responsible for Safeguarding and the risk of liability sits with the PCC and the Church insurance. Catherine Nyman sadly resigned during the autumn of 2020 and until a new Parish Safeguarding Officer is appointed, Rosie Dalby who has looked after the Parish Safeguarding Administration and DBS Verification for nearly 6 years is currently Acting PSO.

There was a significant safeguarding incident which following a Diocese Core Group meeting was reported to the Charity Commission in accordance with our statuary obligation. There was no other requirements for us to change our Safeguarding practises which were found to be robust.

The Parish Dashboard is being updated constantly as required by Coventry Diocese and minuted accordingly at PCC Meetings. It is a requirement that Safeguarding is discussed at every PCC Meeting. During 2020 and the Covid-19 pandemic the Parish has played an active and significant part in the launch of the ‘Coronavirus Help in Kenilworth Group’ completing and verifying 246 DBS Applications.

DBS Applications: 250 C0 On-line Module: 247 C1 Foundation Module: 7 C2 Leadership Module: 1 S1 Safer Recruitment 0

PASTORAL CARE TEAM

Co-ordinator: Alison Wiggins We have 14 volunteers, with Reverend Richard Moore in charge, Marion Underwood Pastoral Assistant and Alison Wiggins Co-ordinator. Reverend Richard keeps us all on our toes with those who need prayers and visits.

Pastoral Care and Home Communion continue to meet together, however due to COVID, 3 of our meetings were cancelled and we up dated by email. However we were able have a Zoom meeting in November. This worked well, with the team emailing their updates to Alison Wiggins before the meeting. This has proved satisfactory and easier than taking notes at a meeting.

We lost two of our volunteers when Margaret Taylor stepped down after nearly 20 years of wonderful work and Janet Paget decided she needed a break, but we hope she may return soon as she was an asset to the team.

We gained a volunteer when Elaine Archibald joined us at the end of the year, and we look forward to working with her.

We have 30 people to be visited, this has not been possible due to lockdown, so the telephone has been our means of contact. We are also phoning many others since lockdown, some of these are just names but friendships have been forged over the phone and it is hoped we may meet up once it is clear to visit people again. With lockdown coming suddenly upon us in March, the housebound, lonely, and elderly were contacted en block and this has caused a number of people to be on several phone lists, so there is quite a bit of doubling up.

It has not been possible to visit those who receive Home Communion. We have to rely on members of the congregation to inform us when someone needs our prayers or visiting.

All our volunteers are DBS checked and undertake Safeguarding Training courses regularly.

We could always do with more people to join us and visit the housebound, lonely and sick. We have a new volunteer joining us in 2021, Sue Fitton, who has done a super job visiting and helping during 2020. We welcome her aboard.

TEA AND FRIENDSHIP

Lead: Barbara Sheppard Tea and Friendship meet on the second Tuesday of the month in St Barnabas Church, when we would normally have between 12 and 18 guests who would come together for tea and cake and a good chat with friends. This is often the only time that people are able to get out to see old friends and make new ones. This is thanks to our team of drivers who willing give their time to collect people and bring them to Tea and Friendship. The last time that we were able to meet was February 2020 when we celebrated in style, St Valentine’s Day.

We were advised by the Reverend Stella not to meet in March due to the age of our guests and their vulnerability. Coronavirus was a new word and just starting to be talked about, it was the following week that the whole country went into lockdown. Since them we have between us been able to keep in contact with people with regular telephone calls sending birthday and Christmas cards, so everyone has felt special.

Fortunately, everyone has kept reasonably well, just the usual ups and downs that come with age, sadly we did loose lovely little Mary Hessey in the summer of last year she will be sadly missed by us all. Looking to the future we will need more drivers, before lockdown we were asking for volunteer drivers as most of our guests need the front seat of a car which prevents picking up several in one trip, therefore several journeys have to be made.

Pat Malone was 100 years old at the end of December so we will have his incredibly special birthday to celebrate when we can eventually meet up again, when that is possible it will mean that we have said Goodbye to the virus so wont that be a celebration. Tea and Friendship Team

BUILDINGS AND MAINTENANCE

Lead: Keith Greirson This report is drafted by Keith Grierson, supported by Malcolm Trewick in February 2021, during the continued national lock-down in the face of the Covid-19 world-wide Pandemic. This has made a huge and continuing impact on our ability to open the churches for worship and for private visits and to operate the Parochial (St Nicholas) Hall.

• St Barnabas has been continuously closed since March 2020. • St Nicholas Church closed from the end of March until 5 July 2020. It remained open for worship until 7 January 2021. It remains closed since that date. • The Parochial (St Nicholas) Hall has been closed for normal bookings since the end of March 2020 until September then closed again in November for the second lockdown to reopen again briefly in December. The first-floor offices have remained open for business throughout.

Maintenance and repairs have been scaled back to include only essential work apart from the installation of new heating and re-ordering at St Nicholas Church.

Maintenance and repairs are organised by Keith Grierson and Malcolm Trewick (Assistant Wardens), supported by a team comprising Mark Draper, Mark Lovegrove, Elaine Archibald, Janet Cherry, Richard Short and Nigel Elliott. We are also grateful to Revd Stella Bailey and PCC for supporting this work despite huge financial pressures. In an ideal world we would do more to preserve our churches and property portfolio, but funding does not permit. To save costs we launched a DIY Group led by Malcolm.

We would welcome more active members - both ladies and gentlemen. - Please contact Malcolm [email protected] or one of the Church Wardens.

Please also refer to Appendices 1 - Bell Repairs

St Nicholas Routine Annual Planned Preventative Maintenance • Annual cleaning of roof, gutters and valleys, inspection of roof condition and removal of plant vegetation from tower by Malcolm Sharman using a telescopic hydraulic mobile platform (26 October 2020). • Lightning Conductor inspection and test by J Lacey Ltd (4-year frequency) - (January 2018) • Annual Inspect and test fire extinguishers by Fixfire Ltd 18 December 2020. All out-of- date extinguishers were replaced and more installed to comply with enhanced legislative standards. Monthly inspections undertaken by DIY Team. • Annual Portable Appliance test of electrical items by C&L Electrical Ltd (8 December 2020). • 5-yearly test and inspection of electrical installations by C&L Electrical Ltd (8 March 2017). • Twice per year service and tune of pipe organ by Cousins Organs Ltd (April and December 2020). • Annual service of organ humidifier by Stewart Fothergill Ltd deferred on the grounds of cost.

St Nicholas New and Non-Repetitive Works Heating Installation - The existing heating installation was removed and replaced by a much more comprehensive installation using 2 gas-fired boilers working in tandem and 17 fan convector heaters. Pews were removed from the north and south aisles of the nave and new floors were installed together with new carpet to these areas and the front of the nave. All works were the subject of detailed plans and specifications and Faculty approval DAC REF.:2019-035270. Work commenced on 1 September and Practical Completion was achieved on 18 December 2020. The contract was awarded to Arden Construction Ltd and is by Deed giving a 12-year liability period and the Maintenance Defect Period is 12 months.

Church Clock - Smiths of Derby serviced and fitted a new battery to clock, which had stopped for several months - 19 March 2020

Organ Protection – A “damp-chaser” 30 – 120 watt thermostatically controlled heater was installed in the void under the organ loft to prevent damage caused by damp.

Lectern reading lamp – new lamp fitted.

St Barnabas Church Routine Annual Planned Preventative Maintenance • Annual Inspect and test fire extinguishers by Fixfire Ltd 18 December 2020. All out-of-date extinguishers were replaced and more installed to comply with enhanced legislative standards. Monthly inspections undertaken by DIY Team. • Annual Portable Appliance test of electrical items by C&L Electrical Ltd (8 December 2020). • 5-yearly test and inspection of electrical installations by C&L Electrical Ltd (8 March 2017).

St Barnabas Church New and Non-Repetitive Works • Replacement roof and felt to outside WC.

The Parochial (St Nicholas) Hall Routine Annual Planned Preventative Maintenance • Annual service of two Central heating boilers serviced by Blue Diamond Ltd (13 December 2020). • Twice per year Fire Alarm Service by Churches Fire Ltd – service was undertaken on 6 March 2020 and no further services done due to the Pandemic. Weekly tests undertaken by DIY Team. • Annual Inspect and test fire extinguishers by Fixfire Ltd 18 December 2020. All out-of-date extinguishers were replaced and more installed to comply with enhanced legislative standards. Monthly inspections undertaken by DIY Team. • Annual Portable Appliance test of electrical items by C&L Electrical Ltd (8 December 2020). • 5-yearly test and inspection of electrical installations by C&L Electrical Ltd (2017). • Annual test of Emergency Lighting by C&L Electrical Ltd on 20 and 27 August. Monthly tests undertaken by DIY team. • Twice per year test and maintenance of wheelchair lift by Invalift Ltd – service undertaken on 11 March 2020 and no further services done due to Pandemic. • Annual test of Intruder Alarm by Eclipse Ltd – suspended due to the Pandemic. • Annual mechanical clean and varnish of hall floor – not done due to very little hall usage. • Electric hand dryer in female WC replaced – February 2020.

St Barnabas House • Annual service and safety check on central heating boiler by Mark Green & Co on 25 June 2020. • Monthly inspection and washing of drains by Keith Grierson to prevent blocking.

Work Undertaken by DIY Team St Nicholas Church • Routine bleeding of central heating system • Varnish bench outside Lady Chapel • Oil hinges on gas meter house • Treat moss around base of walls • Cut back shrubs beside wall to High Street and at East end of Church • Clear leaves etc. from courtyard outside vestry • Clear rainwater gulleys • Clear undergrowth around outside lights • Fit drop box for cash collections • Lectern reading lamp – new lamp fitted.

Parochial (St Nicholas) Hall • Sweep and clean up paths and paved areas • Cut back brambles, ivy and overgrown shrubs • Monthly test of emergency lights and alarm • Lawn - Keith Grierson mowed the grass as a temporary measure. Guy Blacklock has agreed to replace Brian Williams for mowing the grass on a longer-term basis.

APPENDICES 1 - KENILWORTH ST NICHOLAS – 2020/21 BELL REPAIRS

In July 2019, through the generosity of the Coventry Diocesan Guild of Bellringers (CDGBR), Bellfounders John Taylor & Co carried out an inspection and service of the Bell installation at St Nicholas. Their report found ‘all to be in good order’ but highlighted a number of items which required repair. The estimated cost of these repairs was nearly £9,000. However, thanks to a lot of hard work by some members of the Tower and a lower estimate for the repainting of the Bell frame, the amount needed to be raised was significantly less. In fact, the amount was £2,152.

This target has now been reached through a grant of £1,100 from the CDGBR Bell Repair Fund, a very generous donation in 2019 to the Tower and money raised by the bellringers through Sponsored ringing and other donations. To ensure that the necessary repairs could be undertaken during Lockdown, the bellringers loaned the PCC the cost of the work by the Bellfounders. It is expected that when all the repairs have been completed they will have been carried out at Nil cost to the PCC.

In 2020, the PCC kindly purchased a new rope for the Tower and, to ensure the availability of sufficient ropes for the foreseeable future, the bellringers paid for the repair of 2 existing ropes. To minimise future repair costs, and following agreement with Keith Grierson, a contract is to be signed with Bellfounders John Taylor & Co to carry out an inspection and service of the Bell installation every 2 years. The current cost is £210.00 + VAT and this amount will be funded by the bellringers from Sponsored ringing and other donations. John Powell, Treasurer, 14 February 2021

Keith Grierson Malcolm Trewick

CHURCH WARDENS’ REPORT Before the restrictions of the Covid-19 pandemic started in March 2020, we as a church, had many plans of how to involve and welcome more people into the church family and looked forward to a year of growth.

A major part of this was replacing the heating system and reordering the seating arrangements on the side aisles which we believed would make the church more comfortable, usable and adaptable for services.

We had planned to hold a cabaret, mainly involving church members, church teas, concerts, other fundraising events, along with Easter, Harvest and Christmas flower displays. Festival and Christmas services, including the crib services and school carol services, Carols by Candlelight, Christingle, and Christmas Tree Festival, all provide outreach into the wider community. On a spiritual level, having the churches open daily gives everyone space for peace and prayer.

Having purchased sanitising equipment, masks were kindly made by a group of parishioners and we were able to hold services with up to thirty people attending, in the Hall and at St Nicholas. With some extra technical equipment, we were able to stream the services and some funerals, to parishioners and the wider community, by using the technical skills of a number of people and clergy, for which we are very grateful.

Unfortunately, St Barnabas Church has been temporarily closed since March, as there is insufficient space to comply with the frequently changing Covid-19 rules. We also had to consider the vulnerability of the congregation.

The delayed APCM was held in October in the Hall and on Zoom. Many church meetings have been possible in this way.

The heating project was completed in December after a delayed start and has succeeded in making the church a much more welcoming place. The side aisle pews were sold, and reclaimed flooring and carpet fitted.

At Christmas, the festival trees were displayed around the town and a brilliant Nativity Trail in St Nicholas was visited by many families. An All Souls Service and Outdoor Carol Service were also held in the churchyard.

We thank everyone who made these events and services possible. Janet Cherry and Tim Wilkes, Church Wardens

CHURCH WARDENS’ REPORT

The Church Wardens St Nicholas Church Kenilworth Warwickshire Registered Charity No. 1126227

The Terrier, Inventory and Log Book, having been updated and inspected by us, and are presented to the meeting for approval. We confirm that to the best of our knowledge the information contained therein is accurate. Alterations and additions made are:

St Nicholas Church * Red and green Lady Chapel Altar embroidered panels donated by the Flower Guild from a bequest in memory of Edith Henstead. Green panel for mobile nave altar. * Side Aisle pews removed and sold. Side aisles raised and sides and front carpeted. * 17 new radiators fitted with new heating system. * Brass Lectern light fitted.

St Barnabas Church • None

Annual Fabric Report (section 5.1, 5.3). We leave both St. Nicholas and St. Barnabas Churches in good order.

St Nicholas Church • Bells serviced and cleaned. • Covid-19. Sound and Vision equipment purchased for service streaming • Necessary equipment for sanitizing. • North and south aisle walls painted and church deep cleaned after building work.

St Barnabas Church • Building temporarily closed and secured March – December 2020, because of Covid-19 restrictions.

Tim Wilkes (Church Warden) Janet Cherry (Church Warden)

ELECTORAL ROLL

Electoral Roll Report to APCM 23 May 2021

Electoral Roll Officer: Sheila Short

Our obligations In accordance with Church of England Representation Rules, and starting in 2007, all Parish Electoral Rolls must be completely replaced every 6 years and revised in each of the intervening 5 years. A new replacement Roll was created in 2019, and so in 2021 our obligation is to revise this Electoral Roll prior to the APCM.

Special circumstances in 2020 - 2021 Normally the Notice of Annual Revision of the Electoral Roll is posted at both St Nicholas and St Barnabas Churches in advance of the APCM. In 2021, due to the COVID-19 restrictions affecting the opening of both churches, the Roll has been posted at St Nicholas Church and the Parochial Hall. People were advised of this on local noticeboards and in the electronic church newsletter.

The Electoral Roll reflects changes made after the last APCM on 25th October 2020 and up to the closure date for updates of 2nd May 2021.

Publication of the Revised Electoral Roll for 2020 The revised Electoral Roll has been displayed at the Parochial Hall prior to the APCM and as required by C of E rules, and notices have been posted to this effect.

Electoral Roll numbers The figures presented below represent the Electoral Roll from the period 10 October 2020 to 03 May October 2021 (the end of the period of revision). There are now 248 people on the Electoral Roll, a reduction of 6 from 10 October 2021, which has resulted from

Joined Roll 1 Deceased 7 1 of those who died was included on the St Barnabas District Roll, reducing this to 24.

Notification to Diocese The secretary of the Diocesan Synod will be given written notification of the number of names on the Electoral Roll of the parish as at the date of the annual parochial church meeting.

Sheila Short Electoral Officer, St Nicholas Church

DEANERY SYNOD REPORT 2020 - 2021

Joint Kenilworth & Coventry South Deaneries

There were three meetings in 2020 in accordance with the decision made at the previous meeting in November. However, due to the Corona virus pandemic the February meeting was the only one when the parish representatives met in a church; the remaining two were conducted via Zoom and followed the usual pattern for meetings. All meetings, therefore, began with Opening Worship followed by the host parish presenting a résumé of their activities. Each meeting then focussed on a different theme. All closed with prayer and a blessing. Brief details of the meetings are as follows:

Tuesday 18th February – St Barnabas, Kenilworth Following opening worship, a presentation was given by Revd. Stella Bailey relating to her mission of “planting seeds” over the last three years since she was appointed to St Nicholas with St Barnabas, Kenilworth. The newly appointed Ven. Barry Dugmore then introduced himself and spoke on the Missional Vision of the Diocese and explained that the deaneries and parishes would be part of it. He explained that the Mission has three dimensions: - • Mustard seeds – offer a little seed and God does something great; • Diamonds – we are precious to God and called to shine in the places where we are; • Dancing feet – hand in hand with God – if learning to dance, then the spirit leads.

The Revd. Greg Smith and Revd. Stella Bailey then spoke about the Deanery Parish plans, which is when each deanery needs to make plans for the future including paying special attention to parish boundaries, which may change, and what may happen when your clergy person leaves. They stressed the importance of each parish being involved; Kenilworth deanery has already started this process and Coventry South needs to begin. Prior to closing it was announced that Nicola Perryman would no longer be secretary for Coventry South and therefore someone would be needed to fulfil this role.

Tuesday 15th September – Zoom After opening worship, the Revd. Andy March gave a presentation on St Christopher’s, Allesley Park and amongst other things he explained how the church and its ministry had adapted to the change necessitated by the “lockdown”. This was followed by a presentation on Collective Trauma in our Community from the Revd. Stella Bailey. This talk highlighted the three phases of Collective Trauma. In the first phase an adrenaline rush is experienced which is manifested by much activity and help given and this phase can last days, weeks or even months. The second phase is when emotions rise to the surface and lethargy and disillusionment is experienced until a turning point is reached. Rebuilding is the third phase and this is the phase when what has happened is acknowledged and the process of how to shape the future is approached while being aware not to rush things but to take time. There followed information on the deanery finance issues and the proposal, from clergy and treasurers’ meeting that there is no change in the figures for Kenilworth in 2021 was approved in the understanding that those churches that have applied for the relief fund are receiving that for which they have applied.

Monday 30th November – Zoom Following opening worship, a parish presentation on Christ Church, Cheylesmore was given by Revd. Arthur Woo in which he explained how the church had changed and adapted as a result of the pandemic and gave details of two future projects. Following this a brief talk was given by Revd. Jim Perryman on the Synodical Structure of the Church of England. He explained how Parishes are independent and these are grouped into Deaneries which in turn are grouped into Dioceses and these then make up the Church of England and also includes the Diocese in Europe. To ensure that every parish has a voice the clergy and elected representatives are on Deanery Synod; the Deaneries then elect clergy and lay representatives to the Diocesan Synod which is chaired by a Bishop. Bishops, clergy and lay representatives from every Diocese are elected to serve on General Synod and by this method everyone is given a chance to “have a say”. Members were then given a chance to meet some other members of Synod, through break- out rooms, and discuss any positive experiences from Covid. The two deaneries then separated and elected their officers.

In addition to these meetings Revd. Mark Bratton attended the General Synod in February, in his capacity as General Synod representative, House of Clergy.