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Vicar’s Report, 2013/14I can’t quite believe that this is my 25th Vicar’s report! Little can I have thought, when prepar-ing my first Vicar’s report for the APM in April 1990, which was just a few hundred words long, that I’d be doing the same thing in 2014 – even if those few hundred words have grown now to over three thousand! Yet in these few years, the world has changed out of recognition. There’s no digital copy of my 1990 report as computers hardly existed then, and computer storage was transient and very expensive. And Catford, still in the depths of the late 1980s recession, was almost dead, with empty shops and vacant houses. No sense then of it becoming the next place to be ‘discovered’ as the Evening Standard suggested in the middle of March this year.
Even if Catford has changed, some things have not, such as the welcome that St Laurence’s tries to give to all who cross the threshold here, whether to visit the Church or the Centre. Several thou-sand people will do so over the course of a year, and our aim is to try to make them feel at home. Hospitality is one of the great virtues, shared by people of faith all over the world. It is a sign of our belief in the love of God that embraces all humanity. From the Welcomers in Church, who hand out the books with a smile at the beginning of mass, to the team who staff the Welcome table, through to the caretaking team and Centre Man-agement team in the Centre, the hope is that all the users of our Church and Centre will depart enriched by the joy of Christian living.
In fact, the Centre is at the very core of our Christian mission. The fact that the Centre is run almost entirely by volunteers from the congrega-tion is remarkable testimony to our desire to share the love of God in a practical way in the area in which we live. The Centre Management team, ably led by Kay Lanston, Centre Manager, with Joyce Turpin, booking administrator (who has also kindly been deputising as PCC secretary), Melinda Gereb, our part-time administrator, Nick Chapman, our chief caretaker, and other members of the committee including Ray Williams, Peter Louth and the Churchwardens, do an amazing job of co-ordinating all sorts of difficult requests from both individuals and groups seeking to use the hall and its various rooms while keeping the building in good repair. Quite a bit of my own time has been spent in fund-raising for the access project, which will we hope make the Centre much more welcoming to disabled and challenged people, including the renewal or automation of almost every door in the place. So far, we have raised £100,000 of the £125,000 needed thanks
to the City Bridge Trust, Mulberry Trust, Mar-shall’s Charity and our own resources, which is rather gratifying. The surveyor and architect have already started work on drawing up detailed plans, as we still have several applications for grants in the pipeline.
Similarly the Church, which over the last twelve months has seen three well-attended and beautifully organised national days – Guyana, Nigeria and Grenada, each well attended by large numbers of people from all over south-east London – has grown accustomed to welcoming visitors and guests from all over, and offering them hospitality. It is always exciting to be part of a really packed congregation, with singing to match, and the National Days celebrated here at St Laurence’s have certainly provided that. Remarkably, even countries with not many regu-lar members of the congregation have put on a terrific morning.
Overall, this has been a good year for the Sunday liturgy and for preachers. The usual round of the Christian Year – Advent and Christmas, New Year’s Eve, Lent, Holy Week and Easter – was marked by carol services (for the Christmas Carol service we happily welcomed members of the Hanover Choir), quiet days and glorious liturgies. Thanks to our Director of Music, Huw Morgan, being a composer as well as a musician and choir trainer, we have been treated to original compositions not only for anthems but also for liturgical texts such as the entrance antiphons in Lent and two unaccompanied plainsong-style mass settings (one an arrangement of an existing setting by the Malvern Sisters) which are becom-ing well-known, to the first of which this year Huw added a Gloria. Over the year Huw and I have been working on the eucharistic prayer, in order to create a more responsorial sense of engagement by the congregation. It is truly excit-ing to be in a church where the congregation are receptive to liturgical innovation, and are not stuck in a time warp.
Another innovation this year has been our male voice choir, who rehearse for several weeks at a time three or four times over the year. Uptake has been good, and this promises well for the future. At the other end of the age spectrum, May Thompson continues to lead the minichoir to great effect: for example, we have had some truly moving intercessions at family masses led by them. And once more Outburst Theatre came to lead our thoughts at Harvest and Mothering Sunday in their characteristic high-voltage manner. All of this is designed to enable the congregation to engage more deeply in worship: and, indeed, on a good Sunday we do enjoy terrific singing. So much so, that one of our visiting preachers
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actually remarked that the last time he had heard such singing had been in a township church in Soweto – high praise indeed! Over the first part of the year, Huw was assisted by Nicholas Man-noukas as organ scholar, who went on to All Saints, Margaret Street (all our organ scholars go on to rather distinguished musical churches); Nicholas was replaced by another Nicholas, Nicholas Wibberley, whose father and brother have been directors of music here over the years, and whose talents we are much enjoying.
We have also welcomed, over the year, a most exciting line-up of visiting preachers. It is a sign of how well the church building has aged, that our visitors are almost always struck by the beauty of our very functional architecture as well as by the warmth of their welcome. An email from a visiting preacher this year commented ‘It was a delight to be amongst a group of people for whom worship was so evidently their purpose. Such a change from so many churches where you just feel that you are visiting a Sunday Club.’ Instead of our usual two sermon series, this year we have had three: in Advent Bill Beaver, a former speech-writer to the Lord Mayor of London, Sam Dennis, curate from our neighbouring parish, and our new archdeacon, Alastair Cutting; in Lent, Gilly Myers, precentor at Southwark Cathedral; Chris Bunce, a former ordinand; Stephen Dando, a former churchwarden of St Laurence’s just retired from stipendiary ministry, and George Bush, Rector of St Mary le Bow in the City of London. But we also had an experimental series called ‘Telling it how it is’ in which we invited three of the country’s top theologians to preach to us in language we could understand: Professor Sarah Coakley from Cambridge; Dr Dave Leal from Brasenose College, Oxford; and Professor Ben Quash of King’s Col-lege, London. It involved a considerable amount of persuasion, but was a great achievement to draw people of this stature to a south-east London parish church. Additionally, we had the Rev’d Michael Olusesan Olu-Mike of Freedom Victory Ministry preach to us on Nigeria Day, Canon Ivelaw Bowman on Guyana Day, and Canon Peter Clark on Grenada Day.
An experiment that did not work quite so well was to invite all and sundry to church on a Saturday morning in November to remember the dead, and light a candle in their memory; in some churches this works well, but in our case we had a tiny trickle of people. We’ll keep on trying for a couple more years.
A more successful welcome was the one we gave to members of the Jewish and Muslim communities at one of a series of three ‘Getting to know you’ evenings on the theme of ‘Women in Religion’ assisted by a substantial grant from
the ‘Nearer Neighbours’ fund. The evening was well-attended. The first of the series, which had been at the synagogue, was memorable for being filmed for Norwegian television news, where interfaith is a hot topic. As a result, a couple of Sundays later we welcomed a couple of Norwe-gian Christians on holiday in London, who had seen the broadcast and come to Catford to dis-cover the Christian community which had been featured. After a meeting at the Islamic Centre, the series culminated in an enjoyable interfaith bowling evening followed by a kosher supper back at the synagogue, which was well-attended, especially by young people. An interfaith cricket match is planned for later in the year. And as well as Jews and Muslims, we now work much more closely with the local Roman Catholic com-munity, although sadly we had to cancel what was intended to be a joint blessing of the Palms on Palm Sunday in Holy Cross playground due (hard to believe this now) to ice and abominable weather. On the Wednesday of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, we welcomed visitors from Holy Cross and St Andrew’s Torridon Road at a low mass and for refreshments afterwards, having been to their churches on the previous two days; and last Pentecost, we shared a striking evening service of renewal at St Andrew’s with our three Paschal Candles standing together in their choir, looking like the three figures hanging from their crosses at Golgotha, but transformed by the Spirit.
Other occasions on which we welcomed visi-tors to St Laurence’s included the summer bar-becue, the autumn dance, the various dominos evenings, and the parish lunch held to celebrate my being made an honorary canon of Southwark Cathedral. We in turn were welcomed by the staff of the Mansion House, the home of the Lord Mayor of London, who gave us a most interest-ing guided tour followed by a drinks reception in the drawing room. This was a unique experience, gaining privileged access to a well-known London building not many people ever get inside. Other trips included a parish trip to Vicenza jointly with All Saints, Blackheath after Easter, and a particu-larly memorable trip to Ypres for the choir at the invitation of their City organist who had played a recital here. As the memorials for World War I’s centenary begin in earnest, it was a charged experience to be there. Fr Iain organised a trip for young people (a thank you to our servers for their commitment on Sunday mornings) to Southend, which this year was accompanied also by members of the MU.
The Catford South local assembly continue to meet at St Laurence Centre, just one of a number of meetings for local people (another was about whether to have a Residents’ parking zone). And
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Lewisham Choral Society, one of the largest in south-east London, continue to rehearse in the church every Monday evening. Sadly, our own organ recital series that had been running for many years finally ended, but not before we had welcomed back several former musicians from St Laurence’s, including Paul Dewhurst and Jo Ashmore. However, Huw Morgan, our present director of music, has recorded a number of CDs, which members of the congregation are encour-aged to purchase.
Our generosity as a parish also encompasses direct giving to charity as well as providing what we aim to be affordable space for the local com-munity to hold meetings and social events. We collected food for the local foodbank and for local asylum seekers; we collected £413 from door-to-door collections during Christian Aid week (thanks to Bylinda Lundy, our retiring Christian Aid rep, and welcome to Robert Green, her successor); on the various national days, money was sent off to relevant charities such as Connections, a Guyanese young person’s charity; various members of the parish undertook spon-sored walks for charities such as St Martin’s in the Fields homeless project and the Race for Life, while our Advent Fair raised some £600 for Maji Mazuri, a Kenyan charity for street children. Our choir sang round the Catford pubs raising money for St Christopher’s hospice; and more formally, the Church Council voted to give £800 from our direct giving to Lewisham Churches’ Care (Ageing Well in Lewisham), Breakthrough Breast Cancer, the African Caribbean Leukaemia Trust, Solaraid and the Godwin Memorial Trust which works with the poorest people in Candy, Sri Lanka.
Once more we rather struggled with publicis-ing the parish; we have finally found a new source of posters for the church noticeboards; we put out Christmas cards round the parish every year; we keep our website up to date; we have an excellent parish magazine; a good deal of work goes into the Sunday pewsheet; we have a Facebook page and a Twitter feed; and yet, very often still people are surprised to find us here. And those who do come regularly are sometimes unaware of the special events that we have planned. Perhaps this coming year we will finally crack the problem of communications!
In terms of congregation, it has been an unusu-ally sad year for many. Among present or former parishioners, we said good-bye to Wilfred Price, Inez Bebb, Oswald Simpson, Anne Gardom, David Mashita, Eudene Kirton (who had only joined us a few weeks before her death), Janice Doyle, Renée Stayte, Alva Richards, Frances Edwards, Charlotte Hillsden, John Barber and Hortense Niles. Sue Charles lost her mother Audrey,
Elaine Thompson her mother Marian, Josephine McKenzie her mother Ann, Huw Morgan his mother Anna, John Lashley his mother Elmina, Helen Pickstone her mother Sally and Melinda Gereb, our wonderful parish adminstrator, her brother Attila. Sadly, we had a record number of funerals in church (20 out of the parish total of 26 funerals over the year). And after a lifetime at St Laurence’s, Mike Lee has taken the plunge and moved out to Hampshire where he seems to be much enjoying his new life always accompanied by the faithful Wilson.
More cheerfully, the big issue locally over the last twelve months has been the fate of Lewisham hospital, which was scheduled for a down-grade by an administrator sent in to sort out the finances of a neighbouring NHS Trust. Against all the odds, Lewisham took Jeremy Hunt, the Health Secretary, to court, and won, and so Lewisham Hospital is now safe for the time being. Many members of the parish took part in the demonstrations and protests against the decision to downgrade the hospital, and we were all delighted at its success. It was the unfairness of the scheme that particularly angered people – that a financially viable hospital should be stripped to bail out a neighbour that could not break even thanks to the disastrously unrealistic Private Finance scheme that had got it built.
Over the year I have been invited to speak or preach at a number of venues: SEITE, an Anglican clergy training course, had me to speak at Canterbury just after Easter; I have several times been down to Sarum College in Salisbury to give lectures on Art & Spirituality; I preached at Brasenose College Oxford, at St Dunstan’s College Catford’s Commem Day at Southwark Cathedral, at St Lawrence Jewry for the Lord Mayor, at King Edward School, Whitley, and (at last) at Southwark Cathedral evensong; and given art talks for St Bartholomew, Sydenham and St George’s, Perry Hill. I have given gallery talks at the National Gallery for the Royal Naval College Chapel and for St Laurence’s, and also at the Estorick Collection in Islington in connection with one of their exhibitions.
On a personal note, the year just gone has seen two particular reasons for satisfaction. I started the year nearly half-way through my tenure of office as chaplain to the Lord Mayor of London, Roger (now Sir Roger!) Gifford. It was an extraor-dinary privilege to be party to the life of the City in all its aspects – from Finance to Diplomacy, from the Law to Religion, from the army to St John’s ambulance, from John Davies, ‘Keeper of the Lord Mayor’s Hall’, who kindly showed a group from the parish round the Mansion House, to William Chapman, private secretary to the Lord Mayor
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of London, the person who really organises everything (when he’s not being Churchwarden of St Katherine’s, Hatcham). Perhaps the thing I most enjoyed was getting to know the Mansion House staff, a good-natured team of people who cope with almost everything thrown at them with extraordinary good humour – not to mention the wonderful banquets where one had only to say grace and then enjoy the conversation of some interesting people from whatever City group happened to have been invited to it. Many of the events involved young people: there was a real effort to capture the imagination of young people through all the goes on in the City. Roger’s knight-hood was the culmination of what was generally agreed to be a most successful year in office.
Secondly, on the day my appointment as Lord Mayor’s chaplain ended, I was installed as an hon-orary canon at Southwark Cathedral – welcome recognition from the Diocese of all that we have achieved together here at St Laurence’s over the last two decades. One of my first tasks as honorary canon was to meet the Queen when she came to inspect the Jubilee window at the Cathedral that had been commissioned in her honour. So, quite an ending to my year!
But I am more and more aware that, like the Lord Mayor, the vicar of the parish is only a sort of figurehead, and that all the real work is done by those in the pews. A parish is only as strong as its people. We are very fortunate, here at St Laurence’s, to have the most extraordinary teams of volunteers who run the church and the liturgy, and make it the welcoming place it is. I have already mentioned the Centre Management Team; when it comes to welcome, we are very depend-ent upon the warm smile of the welcomers on a Sunday morning, which can make all the differ-ence between people coming back here regularly or not, and those who run the welcome table; and especially our Churchwardens, John, and Fiona who took over from Mark Thomson at the APM last year. It has been great to have them both on board, quietly supporting everything that goes on here and working behind the scenes to make sure that all is well. The Church Council, and especially its secretary Thelma Faulkner – who also oversees the flower arranging in church – meet regularly to oversee the work of the parish. The liturgy relies very much on Sarah King and Kofi Hagan for their always dependable support, while Huw Morgan, always a very liturgically sensitive Director, assisted this year by Nicholas Wibberley, gives St Laurence’s music that would be the envy of many a much larger church across the land. Melinda Gereb is a most supportive parish administrator, and Peter Louth, an often unsung hero who time and again has seen financial
problems coming up and quietly averted them before they became serious, is the most wonder-ful parish treasurer. Another unsung hero is Ann Mill, parish safeguarding officer, who helps us to comply with the Diocesan requirements regarding the protection of vulnerable young people and adults (and given the recent headlines, everyone can appreciate how important a role this is); Ann at last has a much-needed assistant, Peter Charles, who is able to help her in this task. The MU play a huge role in the life of the parish, ably led by Daphne, Eula and Margaret, and are responsible for much of the catering that we rely on for our increasingly famous parish lunches. But not only are they a resource for meals, they also fund-raise, organise parish dances, and are the source of our regular quiet days. We really couldn’t manage without them.
Donnie Tulloch orders up our posters, Kevin Counihan does a good deal of the work in the sac-risty and folds up the weekly sheets most Sundays, assisted by Robert Green (who has now taken on Christian Aid) and Ray Williams (who also con-trols illegal parkers in our church carpark); John and Jean Strange, after many years guaranteeing the service of tea and coffee on Sunday mornings, have finally retired, and we are most grateful to them for all they have done for St Laurence’s over the years. Joan Broomes organises the giving envelopes scheme, Sue Dearie organises the lesson readers in church (and Ann Mill the readers at the 8am mass), Debbie Watson writes up the parish registers. And finally, the ministry team, Fr Anthony, Peter Charles, Grace Blyth, Ijeoma Nwajiobi and Fr Iain – the most wonderfully loyal and supportive colleague any Vicar could hope for – do all they can to look after the pastoral needs of the parish. We are also grateful to Fr Iain and Peter for their running of the House Group (see their report) and organising the Lent and Advent Study groups, and the seasonal quiet days, and to Peter for teaching the first communion course. To them all we are enormously grateful for their love and dedication.
We know from the Bible that those who show generosity sometimes entertain angels unawares. Let us hope that the next time an angel comes calling they will find a warm welcome here at St Laurence’s!
Some parish statistics
2103 2012 2011 2010 2009baptisms 10 8 15 17 10funerals 26 21 24 26 40weddings 1 9 11 66 44adult confirmtn 6 4 5 9 0adm. to HC 4 2 2 6 2
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Church Wardens’ ReportJohn and I have had a busy but rewarding year.
The help and support from parishioners have made our job a lot easier; from those agreeing to cover side persons’ and welcome duties in the event of absence, to those who cheerfully agree to do the offertory when pounced on as they come through the church door! We are especially grateful to those who simply say ‘Do you need any help today?’
Father Charles, the Ministry Team and the choir have led our worship throughout the year and we have enjoyed some very memorable and uplifting services. As well as special services, such as those which take place over the Christmas and Easter periods, we are sure that there are many regular services that have touched hearts and brought a lot of comfort.
The centre and rooms continue to be well uti-lised. As well as bringing in welcome income for the church during these tough financial times, the lettings mean that St Laurence is really at the heart of community life in Catford and keeps us on map. This would not be possible without the sterling work undertaken by the Centre Manager Kay Lanston, Joyce Turpin and others who arrange bookings and ensure the centre runs smoothly. We are of course aware that in many cases parish-ioners have recommended the centre to potential users, and we are grateful for the marketing you do on behalf of us all.
Unfortunately, we have suffered a number of burglaries and thefts from the premises in recent years. We commissioned a survey from a security consultant attached to our insurance company, who has made some recommendations which, when implemented, will hopefully act as a deter-rent to would be thieves and ensure that church property stays on the premises, and visitors, employees and volunteers feel safe and secure.
Giving – We take this opportunity to thank you for your gifts of money and time, without which St Laurence simply could not function as effectively as it does. We all have increasing calls on our finances and time, yet many of you continue to go that extra mile for the benefit of St Laurence Church and the parish, which is humbling and inspiring.
We would like to pay a special tribute to the following:
The Welcome Team – The importance of a welcoming smile and warm words to regulars and visitors alike cannot be underestimated. Members of the Welcome Team have been brilliant, provid-ing assistance to those who may be a bit nervous about coming to St Laurence, or indeed any
church, for the first time, and those who arrive a bit late and who need a bit of help finding a seat.
Side persons – The side persons quickly and efficiently do the collection during the service and bring the gifts to the altar on behalf of everyone for a blessing, and help to ensure the service runs smoothly.
Cleaning the church – Ijeoma Nwajiobi and her son have ensured we have a clean church to worship in, and proudly welcome visitors – many thanks for your hard work.
Parish church Council – Finally, the Members of the PCC, who attend evening meetings after a busy day and make important decisions about the running of the church.
God’s blessings on all of us in the year ahead, and may we all be able to continue with the good work.
Fiona Tyrell-Jackson and John LashleyChurch Wardens
April 2014
Treasurers Report for the year 2013
Overall our net income over spending for 2013 was £26,632, though this includes a donation of £5,000 from The Mulberry Trust, making £15,000 from them over the last two years.
The PCC have transferred this £15,000 and £25,000 from our own resources into an Accessi-bility Fund to be spent on improving access for all into and throughout the church and centre. Also, the Bridge House Trust has approved a grant of £60,000 towards our accessibility project.
Income from congregational giving was main-tained at £45,402. 50% of this was gift-aided so boosting our income by £5,700.
Fees received for weddings and funerals were £1,500.
We also received a gift-aided donation of £10,000 during the year boosting the lighting fund by £12,500.
Day to day costs of the maintaining the church, administration, clergy and reader’s expenses, mis-sion, events, youth, music and choir costs totalled £60,431. The diocesan quota was £57,034.
We donated £6,305 to other charities. (See note 8 on page 4 of the annual accounts for details.)
Centre lettings and income from the flats, garages and car parking brought in just under £144,000 before costs of over £56,000.
The income from our monies invested through the South London Church Fund (SLCF) and the Southwark Diocesan Board of Finance (SDBF)
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was £2,893 and this was used to repay a part of the monies borrowed from them some years ago, in 1992. The Loans outstanding now stand at £12,562, are interest-free and should be fully repaid in 5 years’ time; leaving the monies invested with the CofE Central Board of Finance, free of any borrowing. Those investment funds amount to £64,976, at cost, and their market value at 31 December 2013 was £88,719.
This keeps us on track to have available £50,000 that the Church Architect has suggested we put aside for potential repairs that may arise by the year 2019.
Our unrestricted General Fund now stands at £130,172 comprising £52,414 (representing the net funds deposited with CofE Central Board of Finance) and £77,758 held in the Church, Centre and Flats maintenance funds and the Accessibil-ity Fund.
We have a Reserves Policy which is basically prudence on the part of the PCC to hold sufficient funds in reserve to meet the day to day ongoing expenditure including the salaries of our employ-ees, for a reasonable period of time, so as to enable
St Laurence Church and Centre to continue operating in the unlikely event that all our sources of income dried up, or were to be severely reduced.
Donations to the church ‘gift aided’ by stand-ing order, envelopes or through the Charities Aid Foundation and Give As You Earn (GAYE) are tax efficient and we encourage this form of giving by those of you who are UK taxpayers to whom these regulations apply. We recover from the government an amount equal to 25% of all amounts ‘gift-aided’.
We also welcome donations received by the Pledged Envelope Scheme or simply through the Collection Plate. Over £17,000 was received this way in 2013. Thank you for your efforts and generosity.
Peter Louth FCAHon. Treasurer 19 March 2014
PCC Secretary’s ReportThe Parochial Church Council meets to discuss
matters relating to the day to day running of the church, receiving and discussing reports from vari-ous individuals, such as the Director of Music, the Centre Manager and the Treasurer. Issues arising from the church’s role as a landlord and employer are also dealt with during the meetings. Resolu-tions voted on by the PCC included concessions on community centre hire fees, plans for church and community centre improvements.
Current members of the PCC are listed below:Father Charles Pickstone, Father Iain Farguhar,
Huw Morgan, Kay Lanston, Peter Louth, John Lashley, Thelma Faulkner, Fiona Tyrell-Jackson, Joan Broomes, Bob Knight, Michelle Miller-Cox, Grace Blyth, Peter Charles, Mark Thomson, Mat-thew Thomas, Joyce Turpin, Deli Muji, Daphne Moore, Eula Nicholas, Margaret Greaves and Jeni Griffiths.
This year the PCC has discussed children’s ministry and how we can encourage more young people to attend church, and better security for the church and the community centre after several break-ins.
CharitiesThe church is committed to donating a percent-
age of its income to charity. One of the important decisions the PCC has to make is which charities to support each year. Suggestions were received from members of the congregation, and various charities contacted the church requesting fund-ing. This year the PCC voted to donate to five charities, three UK based and two overseas, each receiving £800:
Lewisham Churches Care (Aging Well in Lew-isham LCC. – Work towards providing a better quality of life to vulnerable older people living in the south of the borough, supporting people to remain in their own homes and helping people to live independently within their communities.
Breakthrough Breast Cancer – Breakthrough Breast Cancer is committed to campaigning to change lives and shape futures by securing improvements in breast cancer prevention, diag-nosis, treatment and services for everyone affected by breast cancer.
African Caribbean Leukaemia Trust – The charity raises awareness which enables potential bone marrow donors to come forward at the ACLT registration drives to be involved in the process of offering hope and a healthy future to someone whose disorder may otherwise prove fatal. The ACLT has raised numbers of potential Black/Mixed Race donors from 550 to 33,000 and many lives have been saved in the process.
Solar Aid – Only 14.2% of people in rural sub-Saharan Africa have access to electricity. Quality sola lights increase people’s income by an average 20% per month, cut carbon emissions, improve education and better health. Homes, schools and health clinics are able to have clean and affordable lighting from the sun.
Godwin Memorial Trust Sri Lanka – This charity supports local families, sick and elderly individuals by providing small monthly payments, and the occasional more substantial help when required.
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Director of Music’s report 2013-14
This most recent year has again been one of consolidation for our little choir. We have, for-tunately, not experienced many of the lows of recent years, but have been part of some delight-ful occasions!
Chief amongst these was our delightful trip to Ieper (Ypres) in Belgium, where we were won-derfully hosted by our great friend Ludo Geloen. Ludo and his wife gave us a lovely tour of this famous city, one that was flattened during the first World War, and subsequently rebuilt, brick by brick, to its former mediaeval glory. We were deeply moved by a visit to the Flanders Fields museum and by watching the Last Post ceremony at the Menin Gate, a good introduction to our young singers to some of the history that we will be immersed in during this 100th anniversary year. We also enjoyed sightseeing in Ghent and Brussels, and sang Mass for All Saints at the church of St Peter in Ieper. This coming autumn, we hope to return to San Gimignano in Italy, site of several pilgrimages from this parish.
Advent and Christmas were particularly exciting for us. For the Advent Carol Service, we were once again joined by our friends from St Andrew’s, Torridon Road for a splendid service of music covering eight centuries, including Purcell’s wonderful Bell Anthem. The atmosphere of this candle-lit service remains one of the highlights, for me at least, of the year at St Laurence. Later in the season we were joined by a large number of singers from the Hanover Choir for our Carol Service, again including music from several cen-turies, notably Karl Jenkins’ exciting setting of In Dulci Jubilo. The atmosphere at Midnight Mass was similarly mystical and devotional.
At the time of writing, we are in the middle of our Lenten devotions (I’m delighted with the way the congregation are singing, unlike anywhere else I have ever served!), using our very own responsorial Mass setting in our unique liturgy, and looking forward to the Easter celebrations. In June we are excited to be singing Evensong at Southwark Cathedral, our mother church.
Music continues to be a vibrant and large part of the life of our church. Ruth Stockdale continues to teach the flute to many local pupils; keyboard classes continue weekly in the coffee bar; we have hosted many concerts including experimental group Vocal Constructivists, our friends from St Dunstan’s School and my own experimental col-lective Automatronic. It is a sadness to me that we have, for the time being at least, suspended our regular monthly organ recital series: partly as attendance was becoming so poor that it was
not seemly to invite people to play to such a small audience; and also as the church was unable to guarantee that the concerts did not conflict with other events. I hope both these factors may change in the future.
Following Nicholas Mannoukas’s appointment at All Saints, Margaret Street we are delighted to have Nicholas Wibberley as our current organ scholar (following both his father and brother in being a musician at St Laurence). Nicholas will be with us for one year only, after which he hopes to pursue a career as a singer – we wish him well for this and hope that we all continue to support him and enjoy his presence here until the end of his scholarship in July.
Huw Morgan, March 2014
Junior Church ReportJunior Church continues to meet on Sundays
from the end of the Gospel until the Offertory. The children are divided into two classes, 5–7 and 8–12 year olds.
In October, I attended a PCC meeting to lead a discussion on Junior Church in the context of children’s work at St Laurence’s. After a good dis-cussion, various suggestions were made. We con-templated beginning Junior Church earlier – e.g. after the first hymn – but decided against this as children in the choir and serving team would not be able to leave the church at that point. However, we would very much appreciate if the Welcome Team could mention Junior Church when greet-ing families, as it is difficult to do so after the Gospel. While usually we follow the readings of the day, we are, as suggested by the PCC, working on occasionally telling an Old Testament story, when the Gospel is obscure. We are still working on developing a regular prayer and/or song that is performed every week, so that children who only sometimes attend have something familiar to remember. May Thompson has taken the whole Junior Church for singing several times. This has proved very popular with all. Thank you May.
Numbers of children attending fluctuate between 0 and 12. However, overall we could do with some more. I would like to thank Michelle Miller-Cox, Tyler Miller-Cox, Lynda Howes, Elaine Dixon and Julia Jones, our Junior Church leaders, for their continued help and commitment to this very important part of Church life. We would welcome new leaders, especially as Tyler will soon be leaving.
Helen Pickstone
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Centre Management Report 2013-2014
Centre bookings over this reporting year have increased steadily. Unfortunately the Stroke Association that rented a suite of offices for many years with great sadness moved out leaving them empty for some months. We are now drawing up a new lease for another charity called Equaliteam Lewisham who hopefully will be renting from June 2014 after maintenance and decorating has been carried out. Another new charity named Uservoice has taken out a regular booking for Wednesday afternoons along with a few other regular bookings.
New terms and conditions for the centre are now in use, which defines more clearly when users will lose their deposits if they are breached. The centre has undergone a considerable amount of redecorating during this reporting year and it is hoped that more car parking space can be found in order to solve the parking problems when the centre is full. A new gardener named Barnaby was appointed some months ago and is endeav-ouring to keep the garden tidy. He has made a new compost area has suggested that the church congregation might like to provide some flower cuttings from their own gardens in order to cut down the cost of revamping the flower beds.
Unfortunately the centre has been subject to abuse from time to time this year and maintain-ing high standards have sometimes been an uphill struggle.
I would like to thank all the members of the Management Committee who have supported me throughout this reporting year. The care-taker Nick Chapman and his two deputies Ray Williams and Francine Thompson who keep the centre clean and tidy whilst ensuring that the user’s needs are provided for. Special thanks are given to Melinda Gereb the Parish Administrator and Joyce Turpin who does the church bookings on Thursday evenings and works in the office covering holiday periods.Kay Lanston, Centre Manager
East Lewisham Deanery Synod Reps Report 2013 -14
Representatives from Anglican churches within the Deanery of East Lewisham meet to discuss issues relevant to the parishes they serve and the church in general. Deanery Synods also have responsibilities to elect members to the Diocesan Synod
During the past year the East Lewisham Synod has met on four occasions. In addition to the day
to day concerns within parishes Deanery Meetings focus on specific topics.
In May, 2013 the Synod met at The Church of the Good Shepherd with St. Peters, Lee. Where David Britton the Reader at the Good Shepherd gave an introduction to that church including the destruction of the original church by incendi-ary bombs in 1940. The agenda included time for parish representatives to share project and activities that they are currently pursuing in their churches.
Revd Jane Kustner from St. Swithuns presented the Strategy for Ministry and the work of the sub group which has been set up at the last synod meeting.
There was also an update on the work of the Deanery Mission and Pastoral Working group. It was reported that the Deanery website was now up and running.
The meeting included a presentation of the Accounts for the previous year. Nominations to the Board of Education were requested.
On the 10th July the Deanery Synod was hosted by St. Augustines Grove Park.
The Agenda included a report on Deanery Working Party.
There was a discussion directed by Archdeacon Alistair Cutting on the topic of ‘What is a Deanery for?’ Elections were held to elect representatives to the vacancies to the Archdeaconry and Pastoral Committee.
In November the Synod met at St. Mildreds Lee. The agenda included a presentation of Mis-sion Action Planning by Rev. Stephen Hance, the Cannon Missioner. and The support of children’s and youth work in the Deanery.
During the year the Chair of the Deanery Revd Richard Bainbridge retired. Revd Jane Kustner took over as Chair.
The meeting in February was hosted by St. Margarets Lee and Chair Revd. Jane Kustner led the discussion on Church responses in the Deanery.
Grace Blyth
Mothers’ Union Report 2014The Mothers’ Union continue to meet for their
monthly meetings on the first Tuesday of each month at 8 pm in the Jubilee Room; when there is a Healing Mass we usually begin the meetings at 8.15 pm. Meetings start with the MU Prayer said by all. We try to arrange to have speakers every other meeting; our meetings tend to end by 10 pm.
Membership of the Mothers’ Union is open to all whether men or women, parents or not, mar-ried or single people. Information leaflets about
9
the Mother’s Union are on the Welcome Table in the Narthex.
Third Sundays in each month has been allo-cated for recognition of the MU where members are encouraged to read lessons and lead the intercessions and for taking up the MU Banner to the Altar.
MU members pays an annual subscription each year, our subscriptions are divided between Mary Sumner House MU Central Fund at Mary Sumner House and Southwark Diocesan MU.
The MU usually organise an annual Parish BBQ in August of each year, attendance is usu-ally good with food and music and is enjoyed by all. The fund-raising monthly domino session continues in the Coffee Bar on the last Friday of each month where everyone who wishes could attend. The Harvest Lunch and Advent Fair went well and were enjoyed by all who attended. The MU continues to assist with various social events in the Church during the year.
John Lashley and Fr Iain organised a joint outing with MU Members and Servers to South-end on Sea in July. A coach was hired and a few members attended and enjoyed the day. .
During the year we have had various speakers to talk about interesting subjects such as the Maji Mazuri Organisation which helps poor people in Kenya. Fr Andrew gave us an update during his recent visit on the Ladies in Christ project in Ghana which we support. Peter and Sue Charles gave an interesting talk on being a Franciscan or Dominican in everyday life. We hope to invite a speaker from LEWCAS to attend our April meeting. The MU hold Quiet Mornings in the Lady Chapel led by Fr Iain, Peter and Sue Charles which is also attended by Members from other MU branches.
I would like to thank Fr Iain, Peter and Sue Charles for leading us at our regular Quiet Morn-ings and also supporting us at our meetings. I would also like to say a big thanks to Margaret our Secretary for taking the minutes, to Joan our Treasurer for collecting our subscriptions, to Eula for her input/support at meetings and for all the members for their help in volunteering to lead the intercessions and readings at third Sunday MU service. We were sorry to say goodbye to Janice Doyle one of our MU members who sadly passed away during the year, may she rest in peace.
If you would like to be a member of the MU you would be most welcome to attend one of our monthly meetings or you can speak to Daphne, Fr Iain or any member of the MU for more infor-mation.
As we continue to hold everyone in our prayers, we in turn also ask for your prayers.
Daphne Moore
Sacristy ReportWe have had another successful year with
a total of 18 servers ranging in various ages. Four new people have joined us over the year - Henry and Eugenis (husband and wife) who are dedicated to the life of St. Laurence since they got married hear, boat persons Cormac and Shanay (who serves with her mother Julia) who carry the incense boat during the service. The serving teams are a most important part of the Sunday worship and because they carry out their duties quietly and reverently they blend into the background and I know the Priests would struggle without them.
I would like to say a big thank you to Sandra who serves at the 8am Mass and has always eve-rything set up before the Priests come in. We also have 11 Chalice Assistants who help to distribute the wine at the main Mass. it is not an easy job.
During the summer our annual outing was to Southend - on Sea which we shared with the Mother’s Union and hired a coach which made it a lot easier. It was a good day out but I think the servers want to go back to Thorpe Park so watch this space.
I would like to give a big thank you to Sarah and Kofi for organising and training the servers and setting up for the Mass especially at the big celebrations we have. You keep the Priests in order and also to Peter for ordering the candles, wine etc.. But a big thanks to all who give up their time on a Sunday, we could not do without you.
Fth. Iain.
House Group ReportSt. Laurence House Group meets every 2 weeks
in people’s homes (weekly during Advent and Lent). We discuss various sections of the Bible e.g. The Beatitudes, The Parables of Jesus and various topics of interest. Last Advent we talked about traditions of Christmas and where they came from. This group is open to everyone in the church and you do not need to know a lot about the Bible, we are all learning. It is a good time for people to get to know each other and share our thoughts on various topics. About 3 times a year we have a house Mass and social.
I would like to thank Peter for organising and leading the group and Veronica for leading while I was at Iona.
It would be good for more people to join us when we start the summer term in May. Please have a word with myself or Peter.
Fth. Iain
Parochial Church Council of St. Laurence, Catford Registered Charity No. 1131092
Statement of Financial ActivitiesFor the year ended 31 December 2013
Notes Unrestricted Restricted EndowmentFunds Funds Funds 2012£ £ £ £ £
INCOMING RESOURCESIncoming resources from donors
Planned GivingGift Aid donations 24092 10,000 -‐ 34092 20705Income tax recoverable 5734 2,500 -‐ 8234 5433Other planned giving 2956 -‐ -‐ 2956 4866
Collections at services 14893 -‐ -‐ 14893 17021Sundry donations and fees 4961 -‐ -‐ 4961 3746
52636 12500 0 65136 51771Other voluntary incoming resources
Grant : City Bridge Trust -‐ -‐ -‐ 0 1800Donation : The Mulberry Trust 5000 -‐ 5000 10000
-‐ 1990 -‐ 1990 -‐ 5000 1990 0 6990 11800
Income from operating activities:to further the Council's objectsChurch Hall lettings 112504 -‐ -‐ 112504 111087Rental income from flats 24540 -‐ -‐ 24540 24540Garage rents 1958 -‐ -‐ 1958 1421Car parking fees 4992 -‐ -‐ 4992 2982Miscellaneous income -‐ -‐ -‐ -‐
143994 0 0 143994 140030to generate fundsSocials, fetes and fairs 1991 -‐ 1991 1558
1991 0 0 1991 1558Income from deposits and investments
Bank accounts 10 -‐ -‐ 10 0Funds deposited with SLCF & SDBF 2893 -‐ -‐ 2893 2710
2903 0 0 2903 2710Other ordinary incoming resources
Other recoveries 1 -‐ -‐ 1 01 0 0 1 0
TOTAL INCOMING RESOURCES 206525 14490 0 221015 207869
RESOURCES EXPENDEDGrants
Missionary and charitable giving:Churches overseas
missionary societies -‐ 0 0relief and development agencies 4516 -‐ 4516 2850
Home missions and other Church Societies 1789 0 -‐ 1789 27386305 0 0 6305 5588
Activities directly relation to the work of the ChurchMinistry:
diocesan parish share 57034 -‐ -‐ 57034 59805clergy expenses 3317 -‐ -‐ 3317 3433other clergy costs 948 -‐ -‐ 948 914readers and Spa costs 80 -‐ -‐ 80 115events and youth activities 2054 2054 3592
Church running expenses 12234 -‐ -‐ 12234 12636Church maintenance 7353 -‐ -‐ 7353 4865Director of Music's fees & choir costs 17244 -‐ -‐ 17244 13748Church Hall running costs 39175 -‐ -‐ 39175 33219Caretaking costs 14367 -‐ -‐ 14367 14743Flats running costs 2581 -‐ -‐ 2581 4119Lighting Scheme -‐ 0 -‐ -‐ 4946
156387 0 0 156387 156135Church management and administration
Printing, stationery & computer costs 2739 -‐ -‐ 2739 3003Photocopier costs 1354 -‐ -‐ 1354 1094Parish administrator 10900 -‐ -‐ 10900 7033Accessibility Architects Fees / Audit Report 1983 1983 1800Examination fee 225 225 225
17201 0 0 17201 13155Costs of generating funds
Fetes and fairs 0 -‐ -‐ Other -‐ -‐ -‐ -‐ -‐
0 0 0 0 0
TOTAL RESOURCES EXPENDED 179893 0 0 179893 174878
NET INCOME/(OUTGOING) RESOURCES 26632 14490 0 41122 32991BALANCES BROUGHT FORWARD 1 JANUARY 2013 49524 7242 -‐ 56766 58998Maintenance funds transfers -‐23742 -‐ -‐ -‐23742 -‐35223Legacies transferred to Sculture Fund 0
52414 21732 0 74146 56766
The attached Notes to the Financial Statements form part of these accounts.
2013TOTAL FUNDS
BALANCES CARRIED FORWARD 31 December 2013
Donation : Church Urban Fund -‐ Faith Forum
Parochial Church Council of St. Laurence, Catford Registered Charity No. 1131092
Balance Sheet at 31 December 2013Notes
£ £ £ £FIXED ASSETS 1
Tangible fixed assets -‐ -‐INVESTMENTS
Amount deposited with SLCF & SDBF 2 64976 6497664976 64976
CURRENT ASSETSDebtors
Income tax recoverable 8104 5238Prepayments 2389 2382Other debtors 3 6864 4308
17357 11928Cash at bank and in hand 114204 85516
131561 97444
CURRENT LIABILITIESAmounts falling due within one year
Creditors for goods and services 6623 6563Other creditors 14258 18846Amounts held on behalf of others 4 11190 10777
32071 36186
NET CURRENT ASSETS 99490 61258164466 126234
LOANS 5 12562 15455
151904 110779
FUNDSReserve Funds matching net funds with SLCF & SDBF 52414 49521Maintenance Funds 6 77758 54016
130172 103537
Restricted Funds 7 21732 7242
151904 110779Approved by the Parochial Church Council on 19th March 2014 and signed its behalf by:
The Revd Canon Charles Pickstone(Chairman)
Independent examiner's report to the PCC of St Laurence, Catford
This report on the accounts of the PCC for the year ended 31 December 2013, which comprise the above Balance Sheet at that date, the Statement of Financial Activities for the year then ended and the notes thereon, is in respect of an examination carried out in accordance with theChurch Accounting Regulations 2006 (the Regulations) and the Charities Act 2011 (the 2011 Act)
Respective responsibilities of the PCC and the examiner
As members of the PCC you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts; you consider that an audit is not required for the year under section 144(2) of the Charities Act 2011 and that an independent examination is needed.It is my responsibility to :
examine the accounts under section 145 of the 2011 Act follow procedures laid down in the General Directors given by the Charity Commissiners in section 145(5)(b) of the 2011 Act and state whether particular matters have come to my attention.
Basis of this report
My examination was carried out in accordance with the General Directions given by the Charity Commission.An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the PCC and a comparison of these accounts with those records. It alsoincludes considering any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts, and seeking explanations from the PCC (the trustees) concerning any suchmatters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit, and consequently I do not express an audit opinion on these accounts.
Independent examiner's statement
In connection with my examination, no matter has come to my attention:1 which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in any material respect the requirements
-‐ to keep accounting records in accordance with section 130 of the 2011 Act: and-‐ to prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records have not been met, or
2 to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
Gavin Ellis FCCA26 Bargery RoadCatfordLondon SE6 2LNDated : 25th March 2014
The attached Notes to the Financial Statements form part of these accounts.
2013 2012
Parochial Church Council of St. Laurence, Catford Registered Charity No. 1131092
Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 December 2013
1 ACCOUNTING POLICIES
INCOMING RESOURCESVoluntary income and capital sourcesCollections are recognised when received by or on behalf of the PCC.Planned giving received under Gift Aid is recognised only when received.Income tax recoverable on Gift Aid donations is recognised when the income is recognised.Grants and legacies to the PCC are accounted for as soon as the PCC is notified of its legal entitlement, the amount due is
quantifiable and its ultimate receipt by the PCC us reasonably certain.Funds raised by fetes, fairs and similar events are accounted for net of expenses.Other incomeRental income from the letting of church premises is recognised when the rental is due.Income from depositsInterest entitlements are accounted for when received.
RESOURCES USEDGrantsGrants and donations are accounted for when paid over, or when awarded, if that award creates a binding obligation on the PCC.Provision is also made in the accounts for the annual PCC charitable donations given from the income received in the year.Activities directly relating to the work of the ChurchThe diocesan parish share (quota) is accounted for when paid.
RESERVES POLICYThe Parochial Church Council have a Reserves Policy to hold sufficient funds to provide continuity of Services, mission and other operations.It is considered desirable that reserves of 25% -‐ 50% of annual expenditure (monitored quarterly) are maintained to achieve this objective, anyexcess being available for contingency repairs which might arise within the next 10 years or are available for desirable improvements to thefacilities offered including easy access for all. Unrestriced funds at 31 December 2013 amounted to £130,172 representing some 72% of annualexpenditure.
FIXED ASSETSConsecrated property and movable furnishingsConsecrated and beneficed property of any kind is not included in the accountsin accordance with s.10(2)(a) and (c) of the Charities Act 2011.Movable church furnishings held by the Vicar and Churchwardens on special trust for the PCC, and which require a faculty for disposal,
are inalienable property, listed in the church's Inventory, which can be inspected (at any reasonable time).For anything acquired prior to 2000 there is insufficient cost information available and therefore such assets are not valued in the financial statements. Subsequently no individual Item has cost more than £1,000 so all such expenditure has been written off when incurred.
Other fixtures, fittings and office equipmentEquipment used within the church premises is depreciated on a straight line basis over 4 years. Individual items of equipment with a
purchase price of £500 or less are written off when the asset is acquired.InvestmentsInvestments held on behalf of the PCC by The South London Church Fund and Southwark Diocesan Board of Finance are
accounted at the value when the deposit was made. Current assetsAmounts owing to the PCC at 31 December in respect of fees, rents or other income are shown as debtors less provision for
amounts that may prove uncollectable.
2 FIXED ASSETS 2013 2012INVESTMENTS £ £Amount deposited with SLCF & SDBFThe amounts held in trust by The South London Church Fund and Southwark Diocesan Board of Finance are
in respect of monies in connection with: Sale of 34 Canadian Avenue (1987) 54942 54942 Miss Hilda May Augusta Marsh & Miss Pansie Beatrice Edney bequests (1989) 10034 10034
64976 64976
The market value at 31 December as valued by the Southwark Board of Finance 88719 81033
3 Other debtors
Charities Aid Foundation 450 725Lettings and rental debtors 3666 760Wedding fees 0 1380Other monies due or prepaid 2748 1443Per Balance Sheet 6864 4308
Parochial Church Council of St. Laurence, Catford Registered Charity No. 1131092
Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 December 2013
2013 2012£ £
4 Amounts held on behalf of others
Vicar's discretionary fund 3000 3075St. Laurence Women's Fellowship 3272 3392Choir Funds 876 1135
485 0Congregation Benevolent Fund 2000 2000Other 1557 1176Per Balance Sheet 11190 10778
5 LOANS
The loan is secured by the amount deposited with The South London Church Fund and Southwark DiocesanBoard of Finance and is repayable by the income receivable from those deposits
Balance 1 January 15455 18165Repaid during the year 2893 2710Balance 31 December 12562 15455
6 MAINTENANCE FUNDS
Church maintenance fundBalance 1 January 38596 18373Transfers during the year -‐17838 20223Balance 31 December 20758 38596
Centre maintenance fundBalance 1 January 10000 0Transfers during the year 10000Balance 31 December 10000 10000
Accessibility fundBalance 1 January 0 0Transfers during the year 40000 0Balance 31 December 40000 0
Flats maintenance fundBalance 1 January 5420 420Transfers during the year 1580 5000Balance 31 December 7000 5420
Total per Balance Sheet 77758 54016
7 RESTRICTED FUNDS
Lighting Fund 19295 67951990 0
Other 447 447Per Balance Sheet 21732 7242
8 Missionary and charitable giving
Charitable donations given during the year through the PCC were paid to:
African Caribbean Leukaemia Trust 800 800Bishop's Lent Fund 183 196Breakthrough Breast Cancer 800 800Christian Aid 549 254Christian Aid -‐ Philippines Appeal 159 0Connection Guyana 400 0
800 0Ladies in Christ -‐ Ghana 0 800LewCas (helping refugees) 0 810Lewisham Churches Care 800 800Maji Mazuri 620 0Robes Project (Southwark) 189 328Solar Aid 800 800World Vision 205 0
6305 5588
Godwin Memorial Fund
Mini choir funds
City Urban Fund-‐ Three Faiths Foru
annual report cover001SL annual report 2Accounts 2013
