Christ Church Biddulph Moor
Annual Report of the Parochial Church
Council,
for the Year Ended
31st December 2011
1
1. Reference and Administration Information
The Parish of Christ Church Biddulph Moor is in the Deanery of Leek, the Rural Dean is Matthew
Parker from St Edward's, Leek. The Archdeacon is Godfrey Stone, in the archdeaconry of Stoke-onTrent. Jonathan Gledhill is the Bishop of Lichfield, Geoff Annas is the Bishop of Stafford and Rowan
Williams is the Archbishop of Canterbury.
Christ Church Biddulph Moor
Church Lane
Biddulph Moor
ST8 7HU
Church Wardens
Hilary Williams
17 Farmside Lane
Biddulph Moor
ST8 7LY
Rev. JA Dawswell
Priest-in-Charge
(left November 2011)
Margaret Ridgway
'David's Bank'
Gun Battery lane
Biddulph Moor
ST8 7RR
Parochial Church Council (PCC) members
Name
Dawswell Andrew
Dunn Kevin
Gadsden Anne
Haddock Elaine
Caron Hall
Hawley Jane
Hulme Sheila
Nicholls Nita
Nixon Ewart
Sybil Meehan
Ridgway Margaret
Walker Anne
Williams Hilary
Williams Terry
Office
Minister
Child Protection Officer
Gift Aid Secretary
Parish Giving Officer
Rep. Deanery Synod
Treasurer
Term expires
Left October 2011
2013
Ex-officio
2013
2012
2011
Ex-officio
Deputy Warden
Electoral Roll Officer
Rep. Deanery Synod
Secretary
Church Warden
Health & Safety Officer
2011
Co-opted
Ex-officio
2013
Ex-officio
Children’s Advocate
Church Warden
Rep. Deanery Synod
Reader
2013
Bank
Lloyds TSB
King Street
Biddulph
ST8 6AZ
Independent Examiner
Major CJ Waters
Pilgrims End
Ridgefields
Biddulph Moor
ST8 7JE
2
2. Structure, Governance and Management
“The Parochial Church Council (PCC) is a corporate body established by the Church of England. The
PCC operates under the Parochial Church Council Powers Measure. The PCC is excepted by order
from registering with the Charity Commission” The method of appointment of PCC members is set
out in the Church Representative Rules. All Church attendees are encouraged to register on the
Electoral roll and those who are confirmed are encouraged to stand for election. PCC members are
elected for three years and approximately one third of the committee's termship expires each year.
The PCC has ultimate responsibility for a wide range of matters affecting the parish for example;
compliance with health & safety, disability discrimination legislation and child protection. The PCC
members are also responsible for making decisions on all matters of general concern and importance
to the parish including deciding on how the funds of the PCC are to be spent. The PCC ensures that
the relevant officers access appropriate training and that this is disseminated. Such training is
arranged by the Diocese, the Deanery or organised locally.
Health & Safety (H&S) and Risk Assessment
Twice yearly H&S checks on the church, church hall and grounds as agreed by the PCC are carried
out by Mrs. Ridgway and Mrs. Williams, the Church Wardens. As a result of this a repairs and
maintenance list is drawn up. The following are in need of some attention and will be considered over
the following year 2012-2013.
 Pointing to the wall near the church steps and to the high wall between the church hall and
alley way
 maintenance to the emergency door in the church hall
 stopping the water ingress in the small kitchen in the church hall
 A second exit is required between Parish Room and kitchen.
 Paths and back yard of school house need upgrading
 Trees in the school house grounds need pruning
 The vestry in the church is very damp and needs attention
 The church porch roof needs repairing
We thank Margaret Ridgway for her work as the H&S Officer.
On the 27th July several members of the PCC underwent fire extinguisher training by Mr Pitt who
maintains the fire extinguishers We learned how to use them safely and correctly and which one to
use on which particular type of fire.
Standing Committee.
The Standing committee consists of the chair, wardens, secretary and treasurer, they meet three
weeks before a PCC meeting to prepare the agenda. They have delegated powers to undertake
necessary business between PCC meetings. All standing committee dates, PCC dates and agendas
are prepared and distributed to the Chair and members in advance. The PCC met six times during the
year in an effort to carry out its aims and objectives.
A book of minutes is available for inspection. A copy of each of the PCC, Extraordinary General
Meeting and Annual Parochial Meeting minutes is posted on the church notice board for the
information of all members of the congregation. For the Annual Parochial Meeting (APM) the notice
and agenda are prepared for the notice board one month in advance to inform the members of the
congregation. All members of the PCC receive a copy of the minutes of the previous APM in advance
of the scheduled meeting so that they can be signed as a true account by the Chair.
Letters written or received by the secretary relating to matters affecting Christ Church are discussed
with Reverend Dawswell or the Church Wardens, circulated at meetings and are always available for
inspection.
3
In October Reverend Andrew Dawswell left Christ Church to become the incumbent of St Andrew's in
the Westlands, Newcastle-under-Lyme. A bring and share lunch was held to mark Andrew's leaving.
He was presented with a cheque and a framed quotation as a memento of his ministry at Christ
Church, Terry Williams gave generous thanks to Andrew for his work at Christ Church. Andrew's
concluding words in his last newsletter were taken from Ephesians Chapter 20 verse 32 'Now I
commit you to God, and to the word of His grace. It is able to give you strength, and it will give you
the blessings God has for all His people.'
The PCC and its representatives have worked with St John's PCC Knypersley, the Archdeacon,
Godfrey Stone, Rev. John Alderman and Rev. John Fisher. Rev Alderman and Rev. Fisher are
representatives of the Church Pastoral Society who are the patrons of Christ Church. The
representatives wrote the Parish Profile for the Benefice, a copy is available at the back of the
church. Both churches are looking forward to appointing a new minister for September. The
interviews will be taking place on May 4th 2012 at the Bateman centre, Knypersley
3. Objectives and Activities
Christ Church PCC has the responsibility of cooperating with the incumbent, the Reverend Andrew
Dawswell and during this interregnum, the Archdeacon and Rural Dean, in promoting the
ecclesiastical parish, the whole mission of the Church, pastoral, evangelical, social and ecumenical,
according to the PCC Powers Measure of 1956. The PCC also considers and discusses matters
concerning the Church of England or any other matters of religious or public interest and makes
known and puts into effect any provision made by the diocesan synod or the deanery synod. In the
exercise of its functions the PCC takes into consideration any expression of opinion at the PCC
meetings. The PCC is also specifically responsible for the maintenance of the Church, the Church
Yard, the Church Hall and the Church House.
Deanery synod
Anne Gadsden, Andrew Dawswell, Nita Nicholls and Hilary Williams are the Deanery Synod
representatives. The Deanery Synod provides the PCC with an important link between the parish and
the wider structures of the church. This year four meetings and one Holy Communion Service were
held.
Date
31/01/11
Venue
St Luke's,
Endon
23/05/11
St Ann's,
Brown Edge
All Saints,
Leek
St Edward's,
Leek
11/07/11
10/10/11
14/11/11
St Chad's,
Bagnall
Agenda
Marking the 400th anniversary of the King James version of the Bible.
Promoting the use of the Bible
Different translations of the Bible
Celebrating the Bible
'The consecration of women to the Episcopate'. Opposing views were
heard and debated
Deanery Eucharist
Keith Davis spoke on the work of Christian Solidarity Worldwide.
Joanna Monckton (house of Laity General Synod) spoke on how Synod
works
'The future of church schools in a changing educational environment.'
speakers; Mr Colin Hopkins, Director of Education, Lichfield and Anne
Gadsden, Senior Manager, Cheshire East.
The PCC is committed to enabling as many people as possible to worship at Christ Church Biddulph
Moor and to become part of our parish community. The PCC maintains an overview of worship and
makes suggestions on how the services can involve the many groups that live within the parish, see
4
the Mission Action Plan. The services and worship put faith into practice through prayer, scripture and
sacrament.
Mission Action Plan (MAP)
Each year the MAP is reviewed giving clarity and purpose to the work of the PCC.
Mission Action plan 2011
PRIMARY PURPOSE
ACTIONS 2009
GROWING TOGETHER
through Worship &
Prayer
Establishment of Thursday morning prayer
time
Explore possibility of using additional hymn
book/booklet
Explore possibility of greater congregational
participation in worship – bible readings
and/or prayers
Continuation & promotion of building up of
‘Tuesday Together’ for study, fellowship &
prayer
Continue publicity material and system to
introduce church to those who move to a
new house in the area.
GROWING UP
through Teaching &
Nurture
GROWING MORE
through Outreach &
Evangelism
GROWING OUT
through Justice &
Care
ACTIONS 2010/11
Continuing ‘Breakfast club’ on Friday
Request a mystery worshipper report from the
diocese
Serve refreshments in church after the Carol Service
Aim for Sunday lunch together after worship 3 times a
year, ideally with a speaker
Explore development of ministry of churchyard teams,
including cards to hand out and a memorial service(s)
Investigate linking socials with invite to subsequent
special service.
Continue ‘Breakfast club’ on Friday
Worship & Prayer
The PCC are keen to offer a range of services that the community find both beneficial and spiritually
fulfilling. For example the monthly evening prayer provides a quiet, intimate and reflective
environment for worship whilst the All Age service provides the opportunity for young families to
actively engage in worship. Thursday Prayers are from 9.00am to 9.20 am. All are welcome to attend
these regular services. We are grateful to the visiting ministers who are preaching during the present
interregnum with thanks going to Terry Williams, our Lay Reader, who is leading the majority of the
services and preaching at many. We have a team of readers who read the lessons on a regular basis;
Anne Gadsden, Jane Hawley, Nita Nicholls, Sybil Meehan, Margaret Ridgway and Hilary Williams.
There is an open invitation for any member of the congregation to take an active part in any of the
services. Please speak to Terry Williams.
The Tuesday Together group (ranging from 3 to 6 church members) meets during the light evenings
of the summer months for Bible Study and prayer. Last year some of the deeper meanings contained
within the service of Holy Communion, divided into seven topics, were studied. These were;
Forgiveness, Remembrance, Covenant, Communion, Nourishment, Anticipation and finally Eucharist.
There was also an opportunity for each member of the group to bring along a favourite passage or
passages of scripture to share, and say what it meant to them. The study and prayer usually lasts for
around an hour and is followed by refreshments and fellowship together. We thank Hilary & Terry
Williams for this work.
At present there are 53 parishioners on the Church Electoral Roll, 11 of whom are not resident within
the parish. 1 name was added during the year and 3 names were removed either through death or
because they moved away from the parish. The average weekly attendance was 22, but this number
increased at festivals and special services.
As well as the regular services, we enable the community to celebrate and thank God at the
milestones of the journey through life. Through baptism we thank God for the gift of life, in marriage
5
public vows are exchanged with God's blessing and through funeral services friends and family
express their grief and thanks for life which is now complete in this world and to commend the
person into God's keeping.
Any family living in the parish or on the electoral roll is eligible for baptism. All that is asked of them
is that they attend a Sunday service and a short baptism preparation meeting:
 As baptism is partly about signing a child up as a member of a local church, it seems
appropriate to ask parents in the first place to have a little knowledge about our church’s
regular worship
 The aim of the baptism meeting is to help parents to understand the very strong pledges of
Christian commitment and church attendance that are made at the services.
A person living in the parish has the right to be married in church (assuming that a person has not
been married previously with a partner still living). In addition there is now new legislation in force
which enables a person with a demonstrable past connection to the parish to also be married there.
The PCC policy is that all who live in the parish (or have done so for a substantial part of their lives),
or are on the Church Electoral Roll, are eligible to be buried in the churchyard. As space is less likely
to become an issue in regard to the burial of cremated remains in the ‘garden of remembrance’
section of our churchyard, there is no restriction on this.
This year we celebrated two baptisms. We held three funerals and had two burials of cremated
remains in the remembrance garden..
Baptisms: Isabel Rose Smith and Lexi Anna Baskerville.
Funerals: Michael Hancock, John Machin and Howard Bailey
Burial of cremated remains: William Carthy and Grace Archer
The thanksgiving and memorial service has now become an established service in the Christ Church
calendar. Recently bereaved families are invited to attend. The service includes the opportunity to
give thanks, by name, for those who have died; to pray for God's help for the bereaved in facing the
future and to reflect upon what the bible has to say in the face of death.
Mystery Worshipper
On the 3rd October 2010 a Mystery Worshipper, as requested, attended the morning service and filed
a report. The headings of the report were: Exterior & Entrance, Initial Welcome, Worship Space and
After the Service. The majority of the findings were recorded in the 'good' column, with the church
grounds and the general maintenance receiving marks in the 'brilliant' boxes. The pre-service
atmosphere was described as 'quiet and reflective' and the mystery worshipper reported that the
service enabled her to worship and that nothing distracted her from that. However there were some
areas for improvement such as: making the collection plate more prominent, as the collection plate is
not passed round; the sides person to sit at the back of the church, rather than part way down, so as
to welcome any late comers; the mystery worshipper would also have liked someone else to speak
with them rather than it just have been the sides-person; the mystery worshipper would also have
liked there to have been some information available about the church. The PCC noted the report and
recorded that they endeavoured to welcome new comers to the church but acknowledged that
sometimes if the sides-person were busy that one may 'slip' through. The PCC also said that they
would ask Bill Ridgway to write a brief booklet about the church.
Refreshments after Carol Service
6
Another action from the MAP was to move the serving of the refreshments after the Carol Service
from the church hall to the church, as a result more people stayed behind and enjoyed fellowship
with one another. This practice will be continued in the future. Not only did we provide refreshments
after the Carol Service but we also joined with the two local Methodist churches to provide
refreshments and hand out Christmas Services leaflets at the switching on of the Biddulph Moor
Christmas lights.
Teaching & Nurture
The church is a member of Biddulph Churches Together. Combined services were held on Ash
Wednesday, Maunday Thursday and Ascension Day. On Good Friday many church members joined
with other Christians in the town on a march of witness to remind onlookers of the importance of
Easter in the Christian year. The march concluded with a service on the Town Hall step including
Bible readings, songs, prayers and drama. Churches Together also organise a pulpit swap, Terry
preached at New Street Methodist and Philip Owen from Well Spring, Congleton preached at Christ
Church. During the month of July, Churches Together organised a café outside the Town Hall. The
money raised from the sales of teas, coffee and cakes at the pavement café is distributed to
charitable and missionary causes.
A church fellowship day, organised by St John's Knypersley, was supported by a few members from
Christ Church. During the day there was the the opportunity to hear the Rev. Gerald Gardiner talk
about the Holy Spirit, there was time for fun and fellowship ranging from physical activities to quizzes
and lovely refreshments. All came back refreshed in body, mind and spirit.
The Ladies Fellowship enjoyed another interesting year; Terry Williams talked about his life and the
importance of music in it, he also brought along his guitar and everyone joined in with the songs. Mr
Bamford entertained the Fellowship with his ukulele and brought along a selection of Fair Trade
goods. A total of £45 was raised. In October the Fellowship were invited to join St Lawrence’s
Biddulph at their Harvest Tea, a good time was had by all. Thanks go to all who help to make the
Ladies Fellowship an enjoyable time of fellowship but particularly to Dulcie Worthington for all her
hard work.
Outreach & Evangelism
Helping those in need is a demonstration of our faith. The PCC has as an agenda item each year to
decide whether the PCC should continue to give a percentage of its collection to mission societies. If
agreed the PCC then decides which mission societies should be supported, how much should be given
and where the monies should come from. The three that have benefited in recent years have been,
Crosslinks, Church Society and Church Pastoral Aid Society (CPAS). In 2010 the sum of £1,249 was
shared between these three: Crosslinks £625, Church Society £312 and Church Pastoral Aid Society
£347.
The church once again continued to support the work of four charities. A donation of £281.63 was
made to The Leprosy Mission; many members of the congregation have phials or boxes at home,
which are collected on an annual basis. The second charity is TEAR Fund to which £75 was sent as a
result of the money raised at the harvest auction and goods were donated to the Salvation Army. The
third charity is the Mildmay Mission last year £92 was raised during the Lenten Period. And finally the
Friends of the Gideons at Christ Church collected £147.30 towards the work of the North
Staffordshire Gideon Branch. We thank Anne Walker for collecting the Leprosy Mission money and
Hilary Williams for collecting the money for the Gideons. If you would like to support either charity
please speak to Anne or Hilary.
The monthly newsletter is distributed to members of the congregation, keeping members informed of
the important matters affecting our Church.
7
Church Pastoral Aid Society: Sunday lunch (January)
Simon Chesters of the Church Aid Pastoral Society (CPAS) spoke at the morning service followed by a
bring and share lunch. He explained about the work of CPAS saying that they are an Anglican
evangelical mission agency working with churches, mainly in the UK and Republic of Ireland and that
they are fundamentally committed to the local church. They believe that the message of the cross is
real and relevant to all people and that it is a good news story: of grace, mercy and love. They are
passionately committed to the revitalisation of the Church of England and have never wavered in this
passion or commitment to patronage. CPAS are the patrons for Christ Church.
Harvest Festival & Back to Church Sunday (September)
This year gifts of dried and tinned fruits were sent to the Salvation Army to be made into packs for
homeless people setting up homes for the first time. Cash donations were also given in aid of TEAR
fund. £80 was raised. The Rainbows, Brownies and Guides took a full and active part in the service.
Justice & Care
The Breakfast Club continues, this is another action from the MAP. It is providing a good link with
some of the mums in the Parish, they are getting to know us and we them. Still we need to find a
way of translating this to passing through the church door. Several Grandparents are coming in after
they have dropped children at the school and some old acquaintances are being renewed. It is a slow
process but hopefully we are building for the future.
The hall continues to be used by the Brownies, Rainbows and Guides on Monday and Tuesday
evenings respectively during term time. This year the hall has been used for 7 children's parties, 1
Guide training event, 3 school disco’s, 1 Baptismal party, 3 play rehearsals and 2 plays. The hall is
also in more regular use as a venue for funeral teas and church festivities. Our thanks go to Sheila
Hulme and Jane Hall our hall cleaners and to Margaret Ridgway the hall manager.
The Church continues to nurture the strong links it has with Biddulph Moor School and this year once
again hosted the school Harvest Festival where Andrew Dawswell spoke, and the Carol Service at
which at which Terry Williams spoke to the children. Terry continues as a governor at the school.
Some members of the parish are unable to attend church due to sickness or age. Reverend Andrew
Dawswell visited all of these church members and was happy to celebrate communion with them
either in their home or in hospital. Several members of the congregation visit the elderly and the sick
during the week and Terry regularly prays for them on Sundays
It is the duty of the PCC to do everything possible to raise awareness of the need to keep children
and young people safe within our worshipping community. Mrs. Gadsden is the Child Protection
Officer through whom all concerns about child protection should be channelled and Mrs. Williams is
the children’s advocate, someone children may choose to talk with. Members of the church who are
likely to have a greater involvement with children have all been checked with the Criminal Records
Bureau. The Child Protection Policy was reviewed in 2011. In 2009 Mrs. Gadsden gained the Level 1
training for the safeguarding of children with Cheshire County Council, this lasts for three years.
4. Achievements and Performance
Review of the year
Throughout the year a considerable amount of work has been undertaken to ensure that the
buildings remain safe and pleasing to the eye. This year: the church organ was removed and a new
one installed. A sound system was installed and the hearing loop upgraded. The organ vestry is
being prepared in readiness for becoming a church room. Various sections of the church walls have
been re-plastered. The strip of land between the church and the new vicarage has been cleared and
sewn with wild flower seeds. The school house has had rotten floor boards replaced or treated.
8
Gutters and down spouts have been replaced at the front of the house. Over at the church hall two
front louvres and mesh have been fitted to the roof openings. New curtain rails have been fitted
and an emergency door has been fitted with a new hinge and planed. In the kitchen a replacement
toaster was purchased and the non slip flooring was laid. Strip lights were fitted to the
emergency signs and a new strip light was fitted in the main hall. Work took place to prevent
water spoiling the ceiling tiles in the Parish Room and the shed roof-felt was repaired or replaced.
The outflow pipe from the toilets was re-aligned and insulated. Along with many other general
maintenance and ongoing repairs.
Fund Raising Events; to support the work of the church.
Event
2011
Sale of hand-crafted cards
Plant Sale & Croissant
Breakfast
£251.91
Pancake Party
Biddulph Male Voice Choir
2010
2009
2008
£57.20
£180.40
£194.50
£245.56
£260.27
£203.41
£363.40
£363.30
£295.80
£270
Book Sale
£190.75
Hall Floor
£326.10
£38.87
Cycle Ride
£66
£65
£104
£80
Christmas Cracker
£145
£195
£320
£225
Total
£1059.01
£1,148.22
£1,227.97
£702.91
'Mr Cooke & Mr Bateman' entertain. (February)
To raise funds for the new non slip floor in the church hall a series of afternoon entertainments were
arranged by Margaret Ridgway. 'Mr Cooke & Mr Bateman' talked about their lives and times at
Biddulph Grange and Biddulph Moor. A total of £114 was raised plus a donation from the Biddulph
Town Mayor Roger Deane.
'Arnold Bennet marries Marguerite Soulie' (March)
An appreciative audience heard the performance by Frank Harris and Geraldine Outhwaite as they
acted the story of Arnold Bennet's marriage which formed the basis of the 'Clayhanger' trilogy. Once
again light refreshments were enjoyed and a further £140 was raised towards replacing the hall
flooring in the kitchen.
Biddulph Male voice Choir (March)
The concert evening, organised by Ewart Nixon, was a great success. Gwen Jones and the choir
entertained to a very high standard, the church was full and the refreshments were enjoyed by all.
£265 was raised for much needed church funds.
Plant Sale (May)
Once again we were very grateful to everyone who helped and supported this event particularly
those who brought plants to sell. The grand total was £251.91. The sale this year is being held on
May 12th 2012 between 10.30 and 12.00 so please pop this date into your diary and support us in
what ever way you can. Our thanks go to Nita Nicholls for organising this successful event.
9
Christmas Cracker (December)
This year the music and entertainment was provided by the Leek Morris Dancers. £145 was raised
and went towards the cost of the non slip flooring in the hall kitchen. Special thanks go to the hard
working catering team for the lovely jacket potatoes and to Ewart Nixon for organising the event.
Volunteers
The church is blessed with many volunteers who work tirelessly behind the scenes ensuring that the
church is always welcoming and well presented. Much of the work is done on a voluntary basis with a
small amount of the work offering a salary. In particular we want to mention our church wardens
Margaret Ridgway and Hilary Williams who work so tirelessly on our behalf, Anne Gadsden who has
helped us understand the church's accounts and its finances and all the other members of the PCC
for their valuable contributions to our ministry and for keeping the church running. This year Mrs
Nicholls announced her retirement as the church cleaner, and we thank her for her many years of
service. This position has yet to be filled. If you are interested please contact one of the church
wardens
Team
Sides-men
Members
Jack Bodsworth, Geoff Browne, Kevin Dunn, Anne Gadsden, Sheila Hulme, Nita
Nicholls, Alf Walker and Cyril Worthington.
Brasses
Elaine Haddock, Caron Hall, Jane Hall, Mary Hall, Sheila Hulme, Mary Pointon, Anne
Walker and Hilary Williams.
Churchyard Jack Bodsworth, Kevin Dunn, Michael Hancock, Bob Pass and Bill Ridgway and Anne
Walker
Music
Cynthia Brassington, Geoff Browne, Bill Ridgway and Heather Shutt.
Cleaners*
Jane Hall, Sheila Hulme and Nita Nicholls
Verger*
Nita Nicholls
Handymen
Pauline & Kevin Dunn, Margaret and Bill Ridgway, Anne Walker, Hilary & Terry
Williams and Cyril Worthington.
*denotes small salary
Church Yard
Early on in the season the new and old mowers were repaired and serviced, and a new hedge cutter
purchased. The old sit on mower was serviced and repaired in house. The mower required welding, a
new belt drive, the blades sharpened and a new battery. Thankfully it kept going, but for how much
longer we are not sure, a new one may cost in the region of £2000. To this end a new grounds notice
was placed above the water tap and a letter box positioned in the vestry door noting that anyone
wishing to donate to the upkeep of the grounds could do so. All donations were and will be gratefully
received.
We also continued to hand out prayer cards to relatives who visited their loved one's graves, these
were always accepted with grateful thanks. The handing out of the prayer cards continues.
Many thanks go to Mr J Bodsworth, Mr K Dunn, Mrs A Walker and Mr W Ridgway for their sterling
work in helping with the upkeep of the church grounds. The grounds continue to require a lot of work
throughout the year, removing Christmas wreaths, mowing, graves requiring attention, hedge cutting
and tree pruning. If any members of the church or their families would like to be part of the
groundwork team you would be made very welcome. We usually meet on Tuesday or Saturday
mornings during the season, March to November, please contact Kevin Dunn on 515491.
10
Organ
The story of the pipe organ has a real cliffhanger ending.
Andrew's departure gave the church a deadline of October 31 to have a firm arrangement for its
disposal. Extensive efforts were made here and abroad to find someone who would take it for
restoration but by the middle of October there was still no firm commitment in sight. At the end of
the month it looked as though it might be going to Germany, but that line of inquiry cooled off. Right
at the end of the month David Shuker found a larger workshop which would allow him to take it into
store. David used to be a professor of chemistry but decided after 30 years to swap his white lab coat
for a workshop apron and follow his long-held passion for organ building. In November he arrived to
start dismantling the organ, a job which was an eye-opener to the uninitiated. The pipe organ was
actually three instruments - the Great, or main organ; the Swell, a quieter instrument housed in a
large wooden casing with shutters to let the sound out; and the Pedal organ. Behind the façade was
a mass of pipes large and small, some wood, some metal. Some components were extremely heavy
and some were tiny and delicate. All these parts were carefully laid out in order and on the Saturday
a large working party turned up to carry them to the van. The Swell box was far too heavy to be
lifted down from its perch 10ft off the floor, so the massive wooden panels had to be taken apart, a
much harder job than first appeared because many of the screws were corroded firmly into the wood.
Some of the remaining components were too heavy to be lifted by hand, so David came back for a
second weekend, bringing a lift truck for the large items. His plan is to restore the organ and find it a
new home in another church.
Quite apart form the personal and emotional attachment which many parishioners felt for the pipe
organ, it had to be preserved because of its historic and artistic importance, dating back to at least
1840. The cost of restoration was beyond the means of this parish and many other good organs have
simply been scrapped. There are obviously many more organs looking for a new home than there are
people able or willing to take them on. We still don't know where it was installed originally, and
nothing came to light during the dismantling to provide any clues. I always thought it lacked a good
brass stop but when we took it apart we found that it did have a set of original trumpet pipes. These
were fitted in the Swell box and were voiced to sound more like an oboe. In the rebuilding they will
be fitted on the Great organ, where the higher pressure of wind will give them their proper brass
sound. Another discovery was that the connecting links in the Pedal organ were broken, which
explained why some pedals produced no sound and others were wheezy. It is very sad to lose this
special instrument but it will now get the sympathetic restoration it needs. We have got the best
outcome we possibly could. The new electronic organ has a very good sound and the challenge now
is to master its considerable potential.
Geoff Browne.
5. Financial Review
Total receipts were £49,520.45 which included a carry forward from 2010 of £9,552.57. (Both
receipts and payments are detailed in full in the financial statement.) The Parish Share of £17,496
was paid in full. The rent from the School House and the Church Hall brought in £6,620.49.
£28,550.39 was spent on Christian ministry, including the full contribution to the Diocesan Parish
Share, the church, the church yard and hall running expenses, missionary giving and salaries &
expenses.
The net result for the year was an excess of payments over receipts of £6,477.79. After adding
the bank balance brought forward at the beginning of the year, of £9,552.57, the balance carried
forward at 31st December 2011 totalled £3,074.78.
It is the policy of the PCC to invest some of the fund’s balances with the CBF Church of England
Deposit fund. The balance in the high interest account of £35,608.96 is made up of monies
designated for the house, the hall, the churchyard, the fabric of the building and the organ vestry
project.
11
This year we continued the Stewardship Campaign. The Rural Dean, Matthew Parker, was invited to
preach on giving on one of the Sundays dedicated to stewardship. Over the year we have increased
from seven to ten the number of people paying monthly by Direct Debit, Standing Order or Faster
Payments. This secures regular income and reduces the amount of time required of the church
wardens and treasurer in opening envelopes, counting and banking cash. Twenty three people gift
aided this year, seventeen of them regularly with others on occasional visits to the church. This,
when claimed, will bring in an additional £1,931.72. Please consider monthly payments and or gift
aiding which could increase your gift by 25%. We thank all of you who give regular gifts of time and
or money and those of you who responded to the Stewardship Campaign.
If you are unable to attend church regularly please remember we still need your support, kindly fill in
the envelopes for the Sundays missed and bring them next time you attend or ask someone to bring
them for you or consider monthly payments . If you are not part of the envelope scheme and would
like to be please contact the Church Treasurer.
'Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also'
Approved by the Churchwardens on behalf of the PCC on 18th April 2012
and signed on their behalf by Terry Williams (PCC Chairman)
Signed …………………………………………..
T. Williams
12