The Parish Church of
St John the Baptist, Burford
Annual Report and Financial Statements of the
Parochial Church Council for the year ended
31st December 2013
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APCM on 31st March 2014
Background
Burford Parochial Church Council (PCC) has the responsibility of co-operating with the Vicar in
promoting in the ecclesiastical parish the whole mission of the Church: pastoral, evangelistic, social
and ecumenical. It also has the maintenance responsibilities for the Parish Church of St John the
Baptist, Burford.
Membership
Members of the PCC are either ex-officio or elected by the Annual Parochial Church Meeting (APCM)
in accordance with the Church Representation Rules.
Vicar
The Rev’d Richard Murray Coombs, The Vicarage, Church Lane,
Burford
Associate Vicar
The Rev’d Cedric Reavley, 124 High Street, Burford
Curates
The Rev’d Jonathan Hunter Dunn, 20 Oxford Road, Burford
Licensed Lay Minister (co-opted)
Mr John Leach
Churchwardens (ex-officio)
Mr Andrew Salsbury
Mr Andy Netherwood
Representatives on Witney Deanery Synod
Prof David Loades
Mrs Rachel Vander Elst
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Officers of the Parochial Church Council
Vice Chairman
Mr Andrew Salsbury
Treasurer
Mr Andrew Carter
Clerk to the PCC
Mrs Christine Brown
Council
Mrs Diana Peters
Mrs Annie Champness
Mr Peter Champness
Mr Charles Hunter Smart
Mrs Julie Jones
Mrs Susannah Lentin
Mr Ian Johnson
Mrs Miriam Owen
Mrs Jenny Tarbox
Mrs Kim Duckworth co-opted member
Mrs Erica Payne co-opted member
Mr Stephen Price co-opted member
Electoral Roll
Mrs Kim Duckworth
Officer
Bankers
Independent
Auditors
Lloyds Bank Plc, 4 Sheep Street, Burford, Oxfordshire
Rees Russell LLP Chartered Accountants and Statutory Auditors,
37 Market Square, Witney, OX28 6RE
Review of the Year 2013 – Richard Coombs
We are now three years into our five year vision. My report this year is based on our vision statement.
Our aim is ‘To know Christ and to make him known’. To achieve this aim we have eight ministry
objectives: To build a church…
…where Sunday is the best day of the week for everyone
Sunday continues to be our main focus as a church family, but we are now severely restricted by the
inadequate facilities in the Warwick Hall and the size of the 11am service which means that the church
building is usually full. One of the main challenges for the future is to work out how we can grow
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beyond our current capacity. I am so grateful to everyone who is involved in ministry on a Sunday: the
music group, organists and choir, the sacristan’s team, welcomers, stewards, intercessors, prayer
ministers, coffee makers, readers, service leaders, preachers and all who lead or help in the children’s
and youth ministries. The result of this ‘every-member ministry’ is a continued growth especially at the
11am service, as can be seen from the table and chart below.
Average adult
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
8am Communion
8
7
8
8
8
8
11
9.30am
37
35
37
39
39
42
38
11am
89
95
105
120
129
139
142
6pm Evensong
14
15
13
12
11
11
11
30
23
attendance
6pm Evening Service
Our five year target is to have 200 adults and 100 children and young people at the 11am service by
2015. We have an average of 47 children on a Sunday with 90 on our register and 45 young people on
our register. We have also performed 7 weddings, 6 infant baptisms, 5 adult baptisms 10 funerals and 3
services of thanksgiving.
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In the spring, our preaching took us through Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. Our summer series focussed
on Jesus’ teaching in the Upper Room in John 15-17. Alex Ross concluded the summer with a
memorable series on Jonah in July and August. In the autumn, we looked at Ecclesiastes, which I had
spent some of my sabbatical studying. I would especially like to thank our preachers and service leaders
who carried a heavier load to allow me to take a three month sabbatical from May to August.
Charlie Cannell has taken over leadership of the music group and Ruth Reavley is now leading the
9.30am choir which sings at 9.30am Morning Prayer and at festivals. I am most grateful to them and to
our various organists.
…which is passionate about holiness and discipleship
The home groups and the women’s Bible studies have been the backbone of the church’s discipleship
programme. I am very grateful to the leaders of all these groups, to Jonathan Hunter Dunn for running
the home groups and Nicola Coombs for overseeing the women’s groups. We had a great weekend
away at the Latimer Conference Centre with CJ Davis taking us through Philippians and a second men’s
weekend away in October. I would like to thank Roy and Jenny Tarbox for their help with organising
these weekends.
….where people are regularly converted and find healing for broken lives
The home groups have had a focus on training in evangelism using the Uncover material which was
introduced to us by Rebecca Manley Pippert at an excellent training event at St David’s Morton-in-theMarsh. Since then, a number of groups and one-to-one meetings have begun to use the studies with
enquirers. Much of the year has been taken up with preparation for the Passion for Life mission in the
Spring of 2014. The Forum has continued to reach out to 20s-30’s in the local area thanks to Sam and
Erica Payne. Rock-a-Tots has continued to be very effective in attracting many non-Christians thanks to
Nicola Coombs and her team. LogOn is delivered to every home in the Benefice, communicating the
churches’ activities and raising interest in the gospel. I am very grateful to Stephen Price who edits
LogOn and to all those who distribute it.
….which is deeply committed to prayer
Liz Gauntlett, our dear churchwarden, who died a year ago, left us with the challenge, ‘to go deeper
with Jesus, to go deeper in prayer and to go deeper with each other’. I feel that we still have a long way
to go in our prayer life as a church. However, the regular prayer meetings are faithfully supported by a
wonderful band of prayer warriors: the monthly Central Prayer gathering, the Wednesday early morning
prayer meeting, Tuesday Morning Prayer and the Monday prayer meeting. The prayer ministry team has
provided opportunities for prayer after the 11am service every Sunday. Do you attend a meeting
regularly for prayer?
….which gives a high proportion of its income away
The accounts show that we have given away about 17% of our unrestricted income. Our ‘Mission Matrix’
continues to help our mission planning group in its selection of mission partners. Stephen Blake handed
over its leadership to Jenny Tarbox, who has recruited some new members and has arranged more
regular contact with our mission partners, a number of whom have visited us during the year. We have
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plans in place to take on a new mission partner, Wanyeki Mahiaini who is setting up a Bible Training
programme for Ministers in Kenya.
….which is for Burford rather than just in Burford
Cedric Reavley has continued to head up our pastoral care programme. The Friday Club, run by Jackie
James and her team is much appreciated by an older group within the community, as are the regular
visits to Hunts Close by the ministry team. Cedric Reavley takes a communion service at the Ramping
Cat Nursing Home once a month. Coffee and Company, our Wednesday coffee morning, has been well
supported this year and we thank Penelope Leaf for providing this wonderful support for people who
would otherwise be on their own on a Wednesday morning. Support for young people in Burford is
being provided by Erica and Sam Payne. Sue Hunter Smart and her team provide a fantastic community
Christmas dinner. Meals were provided for new mums and for people who were unwell.
….with a flourishing children’s and youth ministry
Jo Vickers has had a great first year as leader of Sunday JAM, changing the syllabus and increasing the
number of leaders and helpers. Sunday JAM now runs throughout the whole year without breaks for
holidays. This has led to a greater sense of continuity through the year. Jenny Tarbox and her team have
continued to run weekly ‘Open the Book’ assemblies in the Primary School and the school has held
termly services in the church. Erica Payne and a great team ran a successful ‘Showstoppers’ Holiday Club
at the pavilion on Burford Recreation Ground which attracted more local children than in previous years.
In her report, Erica notes that this has been a challenging year for the youth work, with lower numbers
at the beginning of the year. But thanks to prayer, some creative reshaping of the groups and
perseverance, Thirst and Quench have grown significantly and ended the year in much better shape.
It is disappointing that the Pavilion is still not usable in the winter. In the summer, it is a great venue for
the Youth Café. Erica has taught a number of lessons at Burford School and has made herself available
to students who want to talk to her. We are now planning for Erica’s maternity leave which begins in
May.
None of our children’s or youth ministry would be possible without a great team of volunteer leaders to
whom we are enormously grateful.
….with the facilities to turn the dream into reality
The church building is in very good state of repair thanks to the care and devotion of the fabric
committee and our vergers, Stephen Price and Paul Juniper. Rachel Jones has taken over the flower
team from Sally Bradley and has made the church look wonderful, especially at the festivals. At last, the
project to turn the North Transept into a space for quiet prayer, with the financial support of the Friends
of Burford Church, is about to be completed. The proposed name for the new space is ‘The Chapel of
the Holy Spirit’ and the Bishop of Dorchester has agreed to dedicate it on Pentecost Sunday. Our major
project this year has continued to be the Warwick Hall Redevelopment which has made amazing
progress from this time last year. At the time of writing, we have £2.7M given or pledged, with the
remaining £600,000 matched by our main donor. We have therefore managed, with the Lord’s help to
raise £900,000 in the last 12 months. We have five builders tendering for the work who we are in
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negotiation with. The Lord has blessed us super-abundantly and we hope to begin work in the next
couple of months. I want to say a huge thank you to the project team who have worked and prayed so
hard to get us to this point.
Finally, I would like to say a huge thank you to our two wonderful Church Administrators, Kim
Duckworth and Lucy Savage. Lucy has joined Kim this year, providing support for all our bookings and
systems and enabling us to have the church office manned from 9-3pm, Monday to Friday. Their
workload has increased significantly with the impending closure of the Warwick Hall and increased use
of the church building. They have provided wonderful support for all the church activities and I am very
grateful them.
Treasurer’s Report: Andrew Carter
The financial activities of the church fall into two distinct categories, unrestricted funds and restricted
funds. The unrestricted funds relate to the general running of the church. The restricted funds relate to
the fundraising for the new Warwick Hall and the expenditure on it to date.
Unrestricted income for the year amounted to £289,671, and unrestricted expenditure amounted to
£290,117, giving a deficit of £446. The balance on unrestricted funds at the yearend amounted to
£45,401. This provides a small reserve to carry forward to 2014. As in previous years most of our
support comes from the generous giving of church members and friends, and we are grateful to God
and to all our regular givers for their continuing support.
Restricted income for the year amounted to £1,015,047. £187,925 of this has been spent in 2013 on
bringing the Warwick Hall project to the tendering stage, leaving £1,230,209 in restricted bank accounts
at the year end. In addition there is a fund of £72,000 designated for the maintenance of the fabric and
equipment within the church.
As in previous years, can you please let me know if you have any queries on the figures in the accounts
prior to the APCM, as I will not be able to deal with any detailed queries at the APCM.
Finally I would
like to thank the members of the Finance sub-committee who have supported me during the year, as
well as those who have assisted me with the bookkeeping, PAYE and gift aid work that arises each
month.
Secretary’s Report: Christine Brown
The PCC (Parochial Church Council) consists of the Clergy, Churchwardens, 3 elected Deanery Synod
members (although we only had two last year), 12 elected members (there was one vacancy) and a few
staff who are co-opted onto the PCC. The PCC met 5 times on alternate months and the Standing
Committee (consisting of the Minister, Curate, Churchwardens, Treasurer and Secretary) met about once
a month.
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The business of the PCC comprised: election of officers; staffing matters; approving resolutions to apply
for faculties; reviewing and previewing events, receiving and discussion reports from the Treasurer and
other groups and committees and reviewing the child protection policy. This last year the PCC has
been very involved with decisions about the Warwick Hall redevelopment.
The PCC is registered with the Charity Commission. Meetings are well attended and conducted
professionally and prayerfully.
Electoral Roll Report: Kim Duckworth
The Electoral Roll began the year at 131. Sadly, two members have moved away. 16 joined the
membership of the Electoral Roll, bringing the total to 145 on the Roll, of whom 50 are residents and
96 are non-residents.
Fabric Report: Ian Brown
Fabric Committee Ian Brown, Penelope Leaf, Roy Lilley, Andy Netherwood, Diana Peters and Stephen
Price.
Completed work

Church roof gutters and down pipes cleared out

Plain glass church windows cleaned

New Kitchen tap fitted and water heater reinstated

New South porch mats purchased

WC painted and door and sink repaired.

Investigated installing a number of large screens but the cost will be prohibitive, over £40k and
the idea has been shelved.

Church electricians have completed a number of electrical jobs including replacing bulbs and
light repairs

Boiler serviced, pump replaced and high pitched noise stopped

Smoke detection system problems with faulty sensor in bell tower and a component in the
main box resolved. Reliability will be improved when the system is connected to a BT telephone
line.

General tidy up of graves, clearing off moss and ivy

Head stones inspected to ensure that they are not likely to injure anybody

Two stone coffins tidied up

Lime Trees - lower trunk growth removed

Ivy on churchyard wall/Warwick Hall removed
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Faculty applications

Temporary modifications to church including portable toilets due to closure of Warwick Hall

Removal of 5 pew fronts
Ongoing work

North Transept – after considerable delay awaiting approvals, the work has started and the
glass should be installed by mid-April. Kindly being paid for by the Friends of Burford Church
To Do List

Daily log – will develop a daily log which would record faults, suggestions, work in progress,
and important telephone contacts, etc.

Flanders Cross – need a more prominent position when the North Transept is completed

Graveyard maintenance – need to arrange working parties

Have had some serious water leaks during heavy rainfall. Unable to locate where the water is
entering the church, needs to be monitored

Reviewing Quinquennial survey report to agree actions
Witney Deanery Synod Report: David Loades
Two meetings of the Deanery Synod have been held during 2013, the first at St John’s, Carterton, on
19th June, and the second at St Michael’s, Stanton Harcourt on 14th November.
At the first meeting, Bill Blakey announced that Rev. Sarah Sharpe would be leaving the Lower Windrush
Benefice shortly and that Rev. Adrian Gabb-Jones had retired from Minster Lovell at the end of May.
Bill also said that the presentation to Minster Lovell would be suspended in order to give the Deanery
and the Diocese time to consider an appropriate way forward, and that the suspension on Ducklington
had been lifted. The Rev. Bob Edy would be appointed Rector.
Bill then reported on the General Synod. Sue Campbell outlined the new plan which the diocese was
preparing for the collection of the Parish Share from January 2014. The Synod adopted the following
motion, ‘The Synod resolves to adopt in principle, without alteration, the new Oxford Diocesan scheme
for allocating Parochial Share to parishes or benefices when it comes into operation in January 2014’.
The Synod also agreed, in principle, to share the cost of appointing a one third time Area Dean,
emphasising the impossibility of a parochial incumbent carrying that burden on top of their normal
duties.
At the second meeting in November, Bill advised the Synod that the position of Area Dean was under
review, and Bishop Colin would be taking no further action at the moment.
Bill also announced that he
was stepping down from his role after five years in the Synod. David Loades was also stepping down as
Lay Chair.
Sue then presented the financial report outlining 3 motions which were agreed.
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Friends of Burford Church Report: Fenella Pearson
During 2013 the Friends’ Committee experienced several months of frustration whilst awaiting approval
from the Diocesan Advisory Committee and English Heritage for the design and specification of the
proposed North Transept ‘Quiet Space’.
It was not until October that the Faculty for the project was
received from the DAC and the task of awarding contracts to a main contractor and a specialist glass
contractor could commence. In November the Committee’s decision to appoint Edgar Allen as the main
contractor for the project met with the full approval of those attending the AGM.
In May, 22 Friends enjoyed a visit to an exhibition of Italian paintings at the Compton Verney Art Gallery
in Warwickshire. In June, members of the Committee hosted a Diocesan Seminar, attended by teams
from nine parishes aimed at encouraging and sustaining their own Friends groups. In July light
refreshments were provided for a small group of John Meade Falkner Society members at the end of
their weekend visit to Oxford and Burford.
At the AGM, following encouraging reports from the Chairman, the Treasurer and on the sale of items
from the Friends’ Stand, there was a talk by Colin Fletcher, the Bishop of Dorchester, on “Building for
Life” in which he stressed the importance of using church buildings to celebrate life in the community as
well as that in the church, was very well received. On the same occasion members were able to admire
the new Priest’s Stole made to match the red altar frontal given by the Friends in 2011 had been
presented to Richard Coombs by the Friends to mark his 15th anniversary as Vicar of Burford.
Music Report: Charlie Cannell
"My soul proclaims the greatness of The Lord, my spirit rejoices in God my saviour" Luke 1: 46
This year has again seen great blessings over the music of the church and we give thanks to God for
His work in this part of our church family life.
We have enjoyed wonderful provision of dedicated singers and musicians week on week, amazing
creativity as we play together and wonderful times of praise and worship across the many services and
meetings.
God has continued to use the breadth and depth of musical talent in the church family to great effect:
- a change in administrative approach with Charlie Cannell and Ruth Reavley taking on the
responsibilities of coordinating the music of the two Sunday services in Burford.
- new joiners to the choir and worship band have boosted the strength of music at both morning
services.
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- the provision of new songs, and reminders of older ones too, that have resonated with God's purpose
and message for the church at this time.
- blessing us with the opportunity to have church family members in various guises throughout the
Strictly Burford event.
No review of the year would be complete without a moment to give thanks for the life of our dear
brother Peter Fricker.
It is with a mixture of sadness and joy that we said goodbye to Peter in the summer. He played an
integral role in the musical life of the church for many years and is greatly missed.
His musicianship, tenacious desire for detail and passion for God were infectious and a part of the fabric
of the musical life in Burford. However, we know that he is having a wonderful time playing lead guitar
in a band at a fantastic party in heaven!
We continue to pray for Victoria, Hermione and Natalia.
Peter often reminded us of the role of prayer in our preparation as church musicians. A reoccurring
prayer this year has been of us being the kindling to the fire of worship and praise.
To that end it is clear that God's plan for the overall approach for our musical life is as follows:
1. We are worshippers first, giving our own praise and thanksgiving for all God is doing in our own lives.
2. Secondly, we are leading the rest of the church family, seeking God in all that we do together.
This affirmation of our priorities has been significant in the last year; we have prepared for each service
knowing that the time would be used by God. We have been able to commit every note and lyric to
God and He has blessed us, using the music in ways beyond our own capacity to plan, orchestrate and
perform.
Please join us in prayer as we a seek God’s blessing upon the church music:
- give thanks for the talents and commitment of the many musicians who contribute so much
- pray for spiritual protection as we declare our faith and lead others
- pray that we continue to hear God so clearly in all our preparation, for every service and meeting.
Choir Report: Ruth Reavley
The Parish Choir sings Matins for the 9.30 service once a month, and supports Festival services at
Christmas and Easter on invitation. Regulars number between a dozen and sixteen, and we welcome
anyone who would like to join us, for a couple of trial services in the first instance, so you can see
whether it suits you. We rehearse for an hour on the Saturday before the service (and more for Festival
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services), and people do practice at home. Our regular Sunday organist is unable to join us for our
rehearsal, and we’d really welcome someone willing to help by playing the piano for our rehearsals from
time to time. We sing Anthems/Introits, pointed psalms and canticles, and hymns in four part
harmony. Last year the 9.30 congregation sang 83 different hymns and carols, to 77 different tunes, and
the choir prepared 15 different anthems.
Sunday JAM: Jo Vickers
Sunday JAM has continued to be happy, Bible focused and busy! The gifted, enthusiastic and dedicated
Leaders and Helpers are a joyful team and put hours of preparation and service into the children’s
ministry. We have a team of approximately 14 people on duty each week and have increased adult
support for
the larger groups.
Whilst we have had to say good-bye to a couple of families that moved away last August, it has been
wonderful to see new families join us this academic year. From mid-October we have had approximately
50 children joining us weekly. Interestingly, the numbers didn’t drop off hugely over the holidays and
we had 40 children with us on the 29th December. The children seem to be enjoying the longer series
that we
are now teaching across the term and throughout the holidays.
The older two groups have continued to meet for Bread socials two or three times a term. Last term we
had a film night, pizza evening and over 40 of us (families and friends also invited) went skating.
The Warwick Hall which has served us so well over the years is now in a poor state of repair and with
the recent growth in the groups we are bursting at the seams and looking forward to moving out in the
near future. We are incredibly thankful to the various prayer groups which supports this ministry area
and the opportunities we have weekly to teach the next generation the wonderful gospel truths from
the Bible.
Holiday Club: Erica Payne
We ended the summer holidays in style with the Showstoppers Family Holiday Club at the pavilion on
Burford Recreation Ground. This was our first year on the recreation ground and we are pleased to say
it was a great success! Planning and preparations began back in April when we quickly pulled together
a team of 30 adults and teenagers. 43 children and their families joined in the theatre themed fun at
the end of August. This year we had a big group of year 6-7s with special privileges including a
sleepover on the last day! The long weekend comprised of bible stories, songs, games, drama, messy
challenges, decoupage crafts, lots of dressing up and learning our bible memory verse to the tune of
One Direction’s ‘What Makes you Beautiful’. After the Thursday and Friday Workshops we enjoyed a
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delicious lunch in the sun with our families. The Saturday Cast Party was a huge hit with an inflatable
obstacle course, games, face painting, and plenty of tea and cakes. It all ended with The Big Show on
Sunday at St John the Baptist Church followed by a BBQ which the whole church enjoyed.
Youth Work Report: Erica Payne
The year 2013 has been a mixture of highs and lows for the youth work. We began the year with a
night away at Standlake Ranch. We had 25 young people come along and John Ash inspired us with
passages from Revelation. It was a great time for the young people to enjoy fellowship and good
teaching and commit the year to God. Following the weekend, we had a group of 8 youth baptised
and confirmed in February.
Throughout the year consistency of attendance would fluctuate for both Thirst and Quench. At times,
we would have as little as 3 young people attending each group. We were also battling behaviour at
Thirst and Bible studies were becoming very difficult to run. We decided to re-structure how the group
ran in order to try and increase attendance and commitment as well as deal with the behaviour issues
at Thirst.
We moved Thirst to a Friday evening, so they now have an evening to themselves. We split the evening
up into 3 sections; games, food and bible study. The extra space and new format has seen an
improvement in behaviour. We began by running Youth Alpha and are now doing studies in Mark. We
received a grant from the Diocese and bought a projector and speakers which we regularly use to help
communicate the message. The young people are much more engaged and participate in discussions.
Numbers have increased and we have seen 14 new faces in Thirst. Many are year 7s who have moved
up from Sunday JAM as well as 6 youth from non-Christian families, 3 of which are now regular
members. It is wonderful to have this young group who are making strong friendships, are confident in
the good news and bold to tell their friends!
Quench has also seen a steady increase, with 6 new youth joining us in September. More recently, we
have averaged between 12-14 people each week. Pizza and games have livened up the group and the
young people now seem to be making it a weekly priority. In the summer term, we studied Uncover,
preparing the group to go through the book with a non-Christian friend. We are now looking at how
Romans can be applied to our everyday life.
Sam has regularly met with some of the boy’s on a 1-2-1 basis and we plan to meet with all of the
youth individually before the summer.
TAG groups began because of low numbers on Sunday evenings and we wanted to make time for the
youth to get to know each other better. Since numbers have now regularly increased we have decided
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that TAG groups are no longer needed. We do still meet for social. This year the girls went to the
‘beach’ in Gloucestershire, the boys to bowling and football, and we ended the year with Thirst and
Quench laser tag in the Johnsons back garden.
Since September, we have been having informal youth services. These have been so popular with youth
and adults that we are now looking into the possibility of this becoming a regular evening service for all
ages.
Due to a lack of heating in the Rec, we have had to postpone the youth café as it is only useable
between April and October. We did however open up the Warwick hall on Thursday after school for a
few weeks leading up to Christmas but we are now seeing many of our regulars on a Friday night at
Thirst.
Burford Secondary School has continued to invite us in, twice a week, to help with a lunch club and also
there are termly RE lessons.
I am now making preparations for my maternity leave in May 2014.
Discipleship and Holiness: Jonathan Hunter Dunn
‘To know Christ and to make Him known.’
It is often said that a disciple is a ‘follower’. While this is certainly an aspect of discipleship, I wonder if
it adequately captures the meaning of what it is to be a disciple of Jesus. By following someone we can
get to know about them: what they are like, what they stand for, what they love and what they hate and
so on. But knowing about them stops short of really knowing them. To really know them, we need to
cultivate a living relationship with them. To be a disciple of Jesus is to learn about Him in order to get
to know Him. We endeavour to encourage this in a number of ways.
Home Groups
The number registered in a Home Group remains static at ca. 100. As last year, regular attendance is a
little less than this but overall my impression is that commitment is improving.
This last year, the majority of the Home Groups studied Jonah in the Summer Term, Evangelism – a way
of life by Rebecca Manley-Pippert in the Autumn Term and Uncover this past Term. All these studies
have taught into the area of personal evangelism and I do think we have seen growth particularly
amongst the more committed members.
Erica and Sam Payne’s group, mainly catering for new Christians, has grown over the year which is
encouraging. Who could lead this group once Erica is on maternity leave is an open question.
Adrian and Bec Dolby are moving off to the Boarders. At the time of writing, I am looking for new
leaders for their group.
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After leading a group for three years, at the end of 2013, Andy and Angela Netherwood decided it was
time to step back. Sincere thanks to them for their diligent leading and hospitality. The members of
their group have been re-housed into existing groups.
We are very much hoping to launch a new group this coming term.
Men’s Ministries
Weekends Away. Last October a group of 15 men spent the weekend at Cotswold Farm. Richard
Coombs and Tim Vickers led us through 1 Peter. We broke into groups to discuss the passage and
apply it to our lives. In these same groups, we also had excellent times of prayer for one another.
Monthly Pub Evenings. These have all but died out for a variety of reasons. I say ‘all but’ because a
small number do meet on an ad-hoc basis.
Summary
The overriding fruit of the year has been the way that they Lord is helping us rise to the challenge of
evangelism, the ‘…to make Him known’ part of our vision.
The combination of Home Group studies,
the preaching in Acts and the testimonies is proving both exciting and motivating. The real test for us
will be the Passion for Life week in April. Will we be ready to step out in faith and invite our friends
and neighbours to events which will present the Gospel in a clear way!
Women’s Ministry: Nicola Coombs
Every week over 50 women meet in daytime Bible Study groups in different homes. Some of the 5
groups have a crèche and some are at full capacity; but if anyone is interested in joining a weekly
women’s group, please get in touch and we would love to introduce you to a group. In the past year,
most of the groups have seen God’s grace and provision in the second half of Exodus; have journeyed
with Job through his sufferings, finding it both sobering and difficult at times, but also enormously
helpful; and have been using Becky Manley Pippert’s material “Uncover”. Uncover is written for people
who wouldn’t call themselves Christians but are curious to find out more about Jesus. Studying the
passages in Luke has not only enthused us about using the material with friends of ours who are
seeking, but her questions have brought fresh insights and love for the Lord Jesus to our groups.
Wonderfully, two different Uncover morning groups started in January with 7 non-churchgoing women
discussing the Bible and being exposed to Jesus.
In summer 2013, 4 women did an online Biblical Counselling course together, called “Dynamics of
Biblical Change” (www.ccef.org) and found it not only personally challenging but felt it gave us tools
with which to minister to others.
By popular demand, we returned to two Advent Wreath Making events at the end of November. Beth
Johnson organised teams to run an evening and a morning event (with crèche). Over 70 guests came,
with well over half of them from Rock-a-Tots or with friends from church, but not church-goers
themselves. Emma Hunter Dunn gave a short stimulating Advent talk which opened up discussion on
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some tables and led to several women joining the January Uncover groups. They were lovely creative
occasions which brought much pleasure to everyone who came.
Pastoral Care: Cedric Reavley
I am grateful to all church members who provide pastoral care, both to other church members, and to
others to whom they are guided by the Holy Spirit. It is a time-consuming ministry, but a vitally
important one, and the need for it can only increase. In October, the PCC accepted a Pastoral Care
Policy which I compiled with the help and advice of Stephen Barber at Diocesan Church House. If any
church member would like to see a copy, please ask me.
I would like to record my grateful thanks to Stephen Blake for his wise friendship in sharing in being
joint leader of the pastoral care team until he moved to the Chipping Norton benefice in the Autumn.
He organised some useful workshops on pastoral care themes, and I hope to be able to arrange some
others in the future.
Rock-a-tots: Nicola Coombs
We are hugely encouraged by what God is doing through Rock-a-Tots, the weekly singing and music
group run by a team from church. Every week, there seem to be new families appearing, with an
encouraging number from Burford and the Benefice villages from Taynton to Worsham. Occasionally
numbers are a bit overwhelming, but normally God regulates our numbers to a more comfortable 50
adults and children. The weekly format stays the same and it is wonderful to see the babies and
children responding to music, rhythm and rhyme. We end each term with a special party session which
includes telling a Bible story to the children.
A number of Rock-a-Tots parents came to the Advent-wreath making event, and not only enjoyed being
creative but were struck by the Advent reflection. In January we started an “Uncover” group for Rock-aTots mums (with a crèche) and week by week five of them have asked questions and learned as they’ve
looked at Jesus. It has been such a privilege to witness.
Forum: Sam Payne.
The Forum has continued to run once a month throughout 2013. We have been meeting at the
Cotswold Arms Pub in Burford to discuss a variety of topics related to Christianity. Some of our topics
have been, What about other religions? How to overcome addiction, Why pray? Sex.
Numbers have been steady, with between 8-15 people coming each time. We have had a number of
new people coming along which has been very exciting and some of them have joined our home
group.
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We have made the decision to stop running Forum for the time being. The reasons for this are as
follows:
o
We are exploring the possibility of starting an evening service
o
Many of the group have joined our home group, so the focus has now switched to
discipleship
We hope to re-start Forum again at some point, but have not yet come to a decision as to when that
might be
Christmas Lunch: Sue Hunter Smart
We held the third Christmas Day lunch this year hosting around 55 people in the Warwick Hall. It was a
huge success again and enormous fun. We had a brief 'Christmas thought' followed by a full Christmas
lunch and entertainment in the form of a singing duo, who performed before lunch and after and an
amusing quiz. A large team of people cooked, served and cleared up and we are enormously grateful
for all the help we had. Each guest took home a present from under the Christmas tree and a slice of
Christmas cake - just in case they felt peckish later!
Digital Media Report: Andy Netherwood
St John the Baptist, Burford operates a website, Facebook page, Twitter feed and e-newsletter. Our aim
is to reach the significant and growing number of people who prefer to receive information through the
Internet in order for them to know Christ and make Him known. We use digital media to share church
news, advertise events and engage with our community. We also use digital media to support our
mission partners by sharing their news, and contribute to the wider Christian voice on the Internet. Our
social media is operated in accordance with Church of England guidelines.
Interest in our digital presence has grown steadily over the past year. The website attracts between 30
and 40 ‘hits’ per day, the Facebook page has 61 ‘likes’ and the Twitter feed 85 followers. Over the
following year we intend to find innovative new ways to use digital media in support of all aspects of
our ministry and that of our mission partners.
www.burfordchurch.org
St John, the Baptist Burford
@BurfordChurch
Warwick Hall Project: Andrew Butcher
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The church has the exciting opportunity to re-develop the medieval Warwick Hall in order to provide
space and modern facilities to serve the needs of the growing church and of the thriving Burford town
and surrounding villages.
At the beginning of the year, the church had raised 45%, or about £1.5m, of the anticipated cost of
£3.3m. By the end of the year, the total raised has increased to 80% or about £2.6m. We give much
praise to our gracious God for the generosity which has made this possible. Many in the congregation
have contributed to this increase partly through a Gift Day in November but also by sponsoring Geoff
Enoch in his cycle ride from Lands End to John O’Groats which raised some £20,000. In addition, the
church has published a book of favourite recipes which has been very well received and is being sold in
aid of the Warwick Hall fund.
There have been renewed approaches to charitable trusts which we hope and pray will bear fruit in
2014.
The detailed design has been completed which allowed us to issue invitations to tender to five
contractors during December 2013.
We pray that in the goodness of God we can agree a building contract during the first half of 2014 so
that work can commence on site.
We are seeking to aid the fulfilment of the church’s vision to provide a facility in which the church’s
work and the town’s activities can continue to thrive in a modern and fit for purpose building. We are
seeking to develop something which will be for the further glory of God for many, many years.
I am most grateful to those who have freely given of their time to help progress the project. It has been
a team effort.
Administration: Kim Duckworth
This year has seen a number of changes to the team. Lucy Savage joined me in September, with a
special brief to review and update our computer systems. She introduced a number of systems, which
we are presently learning to use effectively. Lucy has also taken over the coordination of Warwick Hall
and Church bookings, and has developed several new systems. This has enabled the office to support
and help the staff and church members more effectively in their ministries.
We also recruited a second verger, Paul Juniper, to support Stephen Price. There is now a verger on
duty all week, except Wednesdays, working alternative weekends. This has definitely improved the
support to the church.
Our aim for the coming year is to provide a professional, but caring service to the church members and
to support the vision of the church.
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Warwick Hall: Stephen Price
Keeping the Warwick Hall functioning has not been without its challenges - a leaking roof being the
most frustrating problem - and its imminent closure is eagerly anticipated by those who have shared
the responsibility for maintaining it! I am very grateful to Christine Brown who has done sterling work
with managing the bookings (until Lucy Savage took over this responsibly in the autumn) and has kept
a watchful eye on the building and the hirers, and also to Ian Brown for giving so much practical help
and expertise. Appreciation must also go to Michelle Young who has been cleaning the hall since
September.
The Friday Club: Jackie James
Friday Club is now entering its seventh successful year. We have approximately 30 members at present.
We aim to put on an interesting and varied programme every month. We usually meet at The Warwick
Hall on the 1st Friday of each month.
We are very grateful for all the volunteer helpers and the people who donate delicious homemade
cakes.
Just a couple of the highlights of last yearIn October, our members had their traditional Harvest Lunch. Followed by a Harvest service in Burford
Church.
In December, the children came from Burford Primary school again and entertained everybody with new
and traditional carols.
Mission Report: Jenny Tarbox
When Stephen Blake relinquished chairmanship to move to his new parish we were a committee of two
people. Since Christmas we now have four new members with considerable experience of mission
between them to develop this area of the church’s ministry.
Our budget of £36000 has been allocated across the matrix of sixteen missions we currently support. A
one off payment has been taken from the contingency fund to provide a toilet in Uganda. A certificate
now hangs in the church toilet and church members have been encouraged to follow this example and
twin their domestic or work place toilets. Through “Crosslinks” we are going to support Wanyeki and
Mary Mahiaini. In the past they have worked for UCCF and the Philip Project based at the Cornhill
Training Course. Since 2009 Wanyeki has been associate minister at All Souls Langham Place. They are
going to set up a training centre in Limuru Kenya but will visit us before they go so we can get to know
them.
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Our key aim this year is to raise an awareness of the responsibility that the church has towards mission.
Mission partners are being booked to be interviewed at 11 am service. Intercessors at 11 am are being
encouraged to pray for a mission partner. In return the partners are being requested to send regular
prayer letters which are put up on the Mission board and could possibly be included in the monthly
prayer diary or online newsletter. Work is in progress to include up to date information on all the
mission partners on the website.
Bookstall Report: Andrew Salsbury
WHEN WAS THE LAST CHRISTIAN BOOK YOU READ?
Book sales remain as ever and we just about cover costs.
But book sales are not the main point of the stall.
The name of the game is to add to our understanding and deepen our faith whilst at the same time offer hope to the visitors that we have during the week.
The challenge is not finding great books to offer you but in you (and me) finding the time to read
them.
Why not commit to reading a Christian book next time you start something? What to read? Let’s chat.
WHAT WILL BE THE NEXT CHRISTIAN BOOK YOU WILL READ?
Bellringers Report: Nigel Harrison
1. Service ringing
We have generally been able to ring before 11am Services at Burford, usually ringing all eight bells.
2. New bellringers
We have been fortunate in being joined by a few new bellringers recently, and they have made good
progress. As several of our bellringers often have other commitments on Sundays, we still need
further recruits to ensure that we can regularly ring all the bells for Sunday Services and Weddings.
3. Practice night
Our weekly practices continue to be on Friday nights from 7.30 – 9.00pm, except that we normally
practise at Fulbrook on the first Friday of the month.
4. The bells and the ringing chamber
The bells have received the benefit of annual maintenance by Whites of Appleton. We are again most
grateful to the Friends of Burford Church for financial assistance with maintenance and repairs, and in
particular this year they met the significant cost of new bell ropes: these should hopefully last for
about twenty years.
5. Christmas Peal
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Visiting bellringers from Gloucestershire rang an excellent full peal on the Saturday before Christmas.
The method for the peal was Burford Surprise Major, and the peal was rung in three hours and seven
minutes.
LogOn: Stephen Price
LogOn is published quarterly and is distributed to every house in the Benefice. In addition to
information about service times and other events in the churches, the aim is to include articles about
people, mission partners and other subjects that will hopefully be of general interest. Most issues
contain something of a gospel slant, often in the form of a testimony. Special thanks must go to
Graham Matthews who does such a terrific job with the design, and to the team who distribute it.
Coffee and Company Report: Penelope Leaf
The Wednesday gathering of Coffee and Company has taken place without interruption throughout the
year. The attendance has increased and we are always glad to welcome visitors. Highlights have been
the Shrove Tuesday (not Wednesday for once) Pancake party and our Christmas Bring and Buy which
raised £196 for Crisis at Christmas. The donations given mean we are able to give about £500 a year to
church funds. However it is the chance to get together for fellowship and refreshments which is the
most important thing.
Flowers: Rachel Jones
The faithful flower team have continued to keep the very high standards of the past going this last year,
with a couple of arrangements in church each week.
We have undertaken one wedding commission, and we are hoping very much to increase this as an
important part of the ministry of the church – not only in linking with brides, but also contributing
towards the flower fund.
Thanks to the Friends of Burford Church who contribute towards the flowers at Christmas, Easter and
the Patronal Festival, and our wedding income, we have managed to be self-sufficient this year, and not
draw on church funds.
We are so grateful to the team who not only give their time, but also frequently donate their flowers
etc, and it is a privilege to try and enhance our beautiful church even more, and also a great outreach
to visitors, who frequently chat away to us while we are at work as well as encourage us!!
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Bartholomew Trust: Ivan Hall & John Leach
The objectives of the Trust are the advancement of the Christian religion and of education and such
other charitable purposes that are beneficial to the community in the Burford Benefice with Fulbrook,
Taynton, Asthall, Swinbrook and Widford.
The Trust’s responsibilities include assisting the clergy in the Benefice by various charitable means. In
this respect and in conjunction with the 4 PCCs in the Benefice, the Trust holds a part share in 20
Oxford Road, Burford. The property currently provides accommodation for the Curate (Jonathan) and his
family.
The Trustees consider that the financial position of the Trust is satisfactory, having regard to its accounts
for 2013 and to expected commitments for the foreseeable future. Detailed accounts are available on
request.
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