PARISH REVIEWfor the year ending 31st December 2019

To be presented at theAnnual Parochial Church Meeting

On Sunday 11th October 2020following a short service at 11am

Contents1.Governance 4

1.1. Vicar’s Report 41.2. Churchwarden’s Report 51.3. Church Building & Fabric Advisory Group Report 71.4. Parochial Church Council Secretary’s Report 81.5. Electoral Roll Officer’s Report 91.6. Deanery Synod Representative’s Report 10

2.Mission 102.1. Mission Advisory Group 102.2. Children and Young People 11

2.2.1. Messy Church 112.2.2. Twyford St. Mary’s Primary School 12

2.3. Education and Spiritual Food 142.3.1. House Group 142.3.2. 8.30 Breakfast! 142.3.3. The Life Group 142.3.4. Library 142.3.5. Bible Reading Fellowship 15

2.4. Charitable Outreach 152.4.1. Supported Charities 152.4.2. The Children's Society 162.4.3. Christian Aid - We Believe in Life Before Death 16

2.5. ECO Church 172.6. Parish Magazine 18

3.Church Groups 193.1. Bell Ringers 193.2. Brass Cleaners 193.3. Church Cleaning 193.4. Church Music 203.5. Flower Arrangers 20

4.Finance 214.1. Freewill Offering Scheme 214.2. Treasurer’s Report 214.3. Finance Advisory Group 234.4. Independent Examiner’s Report 244.5. Accounts for the Year 2019 244.6. Notes to the Financial Statements 28

5.Minutes of the Annual Parish Church Meeting 2019 31

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Matthew 28:18-19And Jesus came and said to them,

“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the

Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

Greetings!

Welcome to our Annual Report for 2019. We hope that this document helps to give you a full picture of all the things that we do as a church in pursuit of our vision of Following Jesus Christ and Sharing His Hope.In this booklet, you will find reports on the various activities that have taken place and are associated with our church community over the past year. Some are statutory, all are of interest, we hope.Also, publishing this record provides anyone new to the church with an introduction to the presence of God in our community and the strength of the life of this church. Though the review looks back, it also indicates our journey forward this year and beyond.

Revd Damon Draisey, Vicar

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Agenda – Vestry Meetingfor the meeting of Parishioners (Vestry Meeting) to be held on

Sunday 11th October 2020 following a short service at 11am

1. Election of Churchwardens for the ensuing year2. Re-appointment of Assistant Churchwardens

Agenda – Parochial Church Meetingfor the Annual Parochial Church Meeting

to be held immediately afterwards.

1. To receive apologies for absence2. To approve the Minutes of the previous Annual Parochial Church Meeting3. Matters arising from those Minutes4. To receive the following Reports from the PCC:

a. The Vicar’s Review of the yearb. The Churchwarden’s Report on the fabric, goods, and ornaments of the

Churchc. The Electoral Roll Officer’s Reportd. The Annual Report on the proceedings of the PCC, and of the Deanery

and Diocesan Synodse. The Treasurer’s Report, and adopt the independently examined Accounts

for the year ended 31st December 20195. Elections

a. To elect PCC Members and Deanery Synod Representatives (two).6. Appointments: To appoint an Independent Examiner

7. Any other business (to be emailed to the Vicar at least 72 hours before the meeting)

8. Presentation to Cynthia English in gratitude for more than 45 years’ service to the school.

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1. Governance1.1. Vicar’s Report

Running toward the Goal12 I do not claim that I have already succeeded or have already become perfect. I keep striving to win the prize for which Christ Jesus has already won me to himself. 13 Of course, my friends, I really do not think that I have already won it; the one thing I do, however, is to forget what is behind me and do my best to reach what is ahead. 14 So I run straight toward the goal in order to win the prize, which is God's call through Christ Jesus to the life above.

Philippians 3:12-14 With the passing of 2019, I realise that I have completed my first whole year in the Benefice: where have 18 months gone? I thank God for his faithfulness and direction, especially in inspiring me to apply for this position in the Benefice. As a family, we feel blessed to live, work, worship, and minister in such a beautiful part of the country.I previously reported, in the 2018 report, how I felt it important to look for ways of bringing unity and collaboration between the parishes. We looked at giving the Benefice a welcoming, understandable, and all-inclusive name that would bring us together and make a statement in our communities. The name ‘South Downs Gateway Churches’ was unanimously chosen by the PCCs and as of July 2019, this became our legal name.Along with this, a new website was launched (www.sdgateway.org.uk) and we have designed new logos and branding to complement the new name and these are gradually being added to all our documentation. All our PCCs now meet together twice-yearly and we have already seen quicker benefice decisions and improved communications. This has been complemented by a monthly meeting between the wardens and me.I believe that these actions are symbolic first steps in our unity together as we move forward and live by our weekly declaration of, “Although we are many, we are one body because we all share in the one bread.”Last year has presented some unique financial challenges. A tremendous effort by a team in Colden Common reached its goal of raising enough funds to build a kitchen and toilet (work to start in 2020). Sadly, we also experienced lead thefts, water damage, heating problems, broken bells, and other pressing concerns, all of which have required a great deal of expertise, time, and money. I thank all those who have dedicated so much of their own time in the resolution of these issues.A consequence of this, and in the day-to-day running costs of keeping your four churches structurally, functionally, and internally alive and active, including having a stipendiary vicar, means that we are now struggling financially as a Benefice. The

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latest figures reveal that the approximate cost of running each parish, is around £15 per worshiper, per week.Can I, therefore, encourage each of you to reflect and pray on your planned regular giving? Can I ask that you seriously consider moving to the Parish giving scheme? This scheme frees up a great amount of administration time; it enables us to get Gift Aid far more simply, as well as help us to budget more easily. It is easy to sign up or move across and I am sure our treasurers would be only too happy to show you how to do this.

The point is this: the one who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the one who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each of you must give as you have made up your mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

2 Corinthians 9:6-7 NRSVLooking ahead in 2020, my heart prays, as many of you will have understood, that we grow together as disciples of Christ and that as individuals we feel empowered to make a difference within the benefice. Let me, therefore, encourage you, individually, to reflect and pray that you can develop your personal journey in faith and to hear God’s voice and calling for you. Join or start a homegroup, put yourself down to read or pray the intercessions on a Sunday, get involved in helping in the community, discover what it is to be more Christ-like.During my prayers at the beginning of this year, I felt God remind me of words he gave me at my original calling, “We do not need to be perfect, we just need to be willing” (read the Philippians reading at the start of this report). Let’s be willing, let’s not feel that we are not worthy or are not capable, because God equips the called, he does not call the equipped. Let us all, as we start this new decade, move forward as a family of ‘called people.’

Revd Damon Draisey1.2. Churchwarden’s Report

2019 has been marked by a consolidation of the changes put in place in 2018. The new Benefice name of South Downs Gateway Churches and the associated new logo is now widely recognised, and the new website is up and running and will continue to be the source of information to the Benefice.The new Benefice Forum meetings are held twice per year in approximately June and November, with the individual PCC’s meeting in January to approve the annual budget and a brief one after each APCM primarily intended for inducting new members.This approach has been recognised by the Diocese and decisions taken by the Forum have now been recognised as valid. The monthly Church Wardens’ meetings have proved very helpful in co-ordinating activities across the Benefice.

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2019 also saw the launch of the benefice-wide pew sheet which is available in paper form for each service and is now passed electronically via an email with a link to the Benefice Website.As in recent years, our main festivals have been well attended, with the local schools using the church for their services over the Spring, Advent and Christmas period and good support from the community for our Carol Service, Christingle, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day Services.This year saw the move of the Christingle Service from its previous slot on Christmas Eve to a new date early in December, where it proved popular with the under eights. The Christmas Eve service then became a Crib service, which proved much more manageable without the added distraction of lots of naked candles and appeared to be just as much enjoyed.There was also a very successful village carol-singing group who went on a pre-arranged route which included refreshments (thank you to Sylvia Stops and Karen Barritt) and the additional rehearsal, hosted by Val Corcoran. The provision of carol sheets and leadership from Neil Richards ensured its success.The number of people attending ‘normal’ Sunday services has continued to decline, but Messy Church under the leadership of Val Corcoran, with the support of Carol Pullen, Annie Hibberd, Sheila Lees and others, continues to thrive. The number of weddings and baptisms continues to decline (two weddings and four baptisms) while the number of funerals has kept steady.We also express our thanks to Ron Pont for his willingness to continue to lead lay worship on the third Sunday services.We are very grateful to our faithful regular organists, particularly Anthony Burns-Cox, David Hall, Andrew Smith, Christopher Tolley, and Karl Turner, who usually play for our communion services.Susie Evershed has continued to liaise with three charities per year (see her report below) and these provide a charity focussed service on three Sundays during the year. There were no Lent Lunches this year. The church also supports other charitable giving throughout the year as follows: Snowdrop Saturday in February, which includes a Christian Aid donation, Christian Aid week in May, Harvest Festival supports Winchester Basics Bank, Remembrance Sunday, which supports the British Legion/Help for Heroes, and Christingle which supports the Children’s Society.Our events programme in 2019 continued with a range of concerts, plant sales and other events which made a good contribution to church funds as well as the Bells Fund.There continues to be exciting work in the churchyard, where the usual spring and autumn working parties have continued to make progress in knocking back brambles and nettles, ably aided and abetted by other individuals as are able. This work has proceeded apace in 2019, and we are hoping to remove the soil heaps

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that have accumulated on both sides of the churchyard as soon as the weather improves. We are also hoping to improve the footpath at the bottom end of the churchyard during 2020, and the gravel, kindly donated by Linda Wilkin and stored by the Lady Chapel, will be used for this purpose.We thank the Grass-cutting Appeal organised by David Thompson and David Sullivan, which stopped fund-raising in 2019 in order to avoid conflicting with the Bells Appeal Phase 2. Its fundraising efforts will resume in 2020, and they will be using the services of Paul Brooks, replacing Graham Fisk who retired during 2019, and will be cutting back the grass throughout the churchyard almost all year round.I receive enormous support from Nigel Close and Judith Lathlean, the Assistant Churchwardens, without whom it would be impossible to carry out this role, and particularly Nigel’s help with setting the heating and turning up at all times of the day and night to deal with minor crises, as well as Judith’s regular rota creation for readers and intercessors.A special thank you goes to our verger, Dick Gray, and to Ian Wheeler, who also assists at many of the special services (baptisms, weddings etc.), as their help in guiding our ‘Clerical Registry’ priests in ‘how we do things here’ has been essential. And a big thank you to all who turn up with keys to open or lock up at anti-social hours to keep the church available to the community.We thank Ros Medd for keeping us and the PCC so well organised and prepared.We welcome any church members who would like to join the PCC or any of the Advisory Groups. All contributions are much appreciated so please let us know if you are interested. We are always looking for new events and activities to draw people into the church and make it a centre for community activity as well as worship, so any ideas are more than welcome.We look forward to 2020 with expectancy to the initiatives led by our new vicar and for what can be achieved through God working in our church community in Twyford and beyond.

Juliet Hawkes1.3. Church Building & Fabric Advisory Group Report

The church building is in good overall repair. A regular contract has been let to Clive Goodyear to continue to clear the gutters. The south doors have been repaired and the refurbishment of the noticeboard to the right of the church porch was completed by Colden Common Shed.The PCC approved a resolution in November 2019 agreeing to the amended wording of a Scheme to transfer the responsibility for the Church Drive to the Winchester Diocesan Board of Finance. The Archdeacon has been notified of the PCC’s willingness to proceed, and we await a response, and hopefully closure of this issue.Mr Chris Reading, Diocesan Heating Adviser has recommended a new radiator system for the church, and discussions on the detail of this project continue. This

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will require a fundraising effort and, as will become clear in the Financial Report, we will not be able to fund this project from existing resources, as we were able to do for the boiler and pump.However, the Diocese have initiated a new focus on the Church’s responsibility for leading the way on climate change, and as a result, Maggie Lippiett became our Eco Church Champion at the end of 2019. We are therefore reviewing our use of fossil fuels and the various choices available, and we will continue with this process during 2020 to make sure we do not commit ourselves irretrievably to a solution which encourages the use of carbon.The Bells Appeal was relaunched in May 2019 with a talk given by Adam Greenley about the project. The Saturday that week was an event devoted to the ringing of the Charmborough Ring, a mobile belfry which was set up in the drive of Mildmay House by kind permission of the White family, and by the ringing of the current bells by the Winchester and Portsmouth Guild of Church Bellringers. This was one of a variety of other events in 2019. The Fun Flower Festival held in June 2019 was a great success, and Valerie Roberts must be congratulated and commended for the great energy and effort she put into making this event so popular. As a result of all these efforts, the fund currently stands at approximately £50,000, which we trust is enough for the renewing of two bells and the refurbishment of the remainder.

Juliet Hawkes1.4. Parochial Church Council Secretary’s Report

Membership:

Members serving ex officio

Damon Draisey (Vicar), Juliet Hawkes (Churchwarden)Members elected for three years

2018-2021 2019-2022

Michael Biddle, Vanessa Eales, Wendy Sullivan

Andrew Brooks, Nigel Close,

Deanery and Diocesan Synod Representatives (PCC members ex officio)

2017-2020 (Deanery Synod) Ron Pont, Juliet Hawkes Co-opted Member 2019-2020

Maggie LippiettStanding Committee

The Vicar and Churchwardens (ex officio), the Treasurer, the Secretary, Michael Biddle and Andrew Brooks (all elected by the PCC).

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Advisory Group Membership and Chairs:The Advisory Groups (Mission, Fabric and Finance) continued to carry forward much of the work of the Council, and at the same time inform and advise the Council in its deliberations. Their year’s work is reported elsewhere in this Review.

Mission Finance FabricValerie Corcoran Nigel Close Juliet Hawkes

Ian WheelerRon Pont

Mags LippiettNeil Richards

Damon DraiseyJuliet Hawkes

Juliet HawkesMichael Biddle

Sheila LeesJudith Lathlean

Andrew BrooksAnthony Bateman

Michael BiddleMartin Locke

Wendy Sullivan

Foundation School Governors:Cynthia English (Jan 2018 - Jan 2022), Linda Snoswell (Aug 2016 - Aug 2020)Safeguarding Officer:Vanessa Eales (safeguarding@sdgatewaychurches.org.uk)PCC Report:Two of the four 2019 PCC meetings followed a Benefice Forum held in the Parish Rooms at Colden Common. This has proved a largely successful meetings model and will continue in 2020. Gathering as a Benefice reduces the quantity of separate PCC meetings to a number that is more realistic for the incumbent to attend, but more than this, it is an opportunity to promote joint discussion and thinking on issues that affect all four parishes. In 2019, we looked together at the impact of GDPR, updating the bMAP, adopting Safeguarding and other Policies, receiving Deanery and Diocesan Reports, changes to Clerical Attire, Churchyard Regulations and Stewardship.I am required to state the following in this Review:St Mary’s Church is situated at Church Lane, Twyford, Hampshire SO21 1NT. The correspondence address is The Vicarage, Main Road, Colden Common, Hampshire, SO21 1TL. The PCC is a body corporate (PCC Powers Measure and Church Representation Rules) and a charity currently exempted from registration with the Charity Commission.SafeguardingThe PCC is required to acknowledge formally in this Review its duty to have due regard to the House of Bishops’ guidance on safeguarding children and vulnerable adults. Our Safeguarding Officer is Vanessa Eales (see above). Safeguarding is a standing item at all full Council meetings. No safeguarding issues were reported in

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2019. All Council members are required to hold a satisfactory DBS certificate and to have completed the first two levels of Diocesan Safeguarding Training.

Rosalind Medd, PCC Secretary1.5. Electoral Roll Officer’s Report

Last year, the Electoral Roll was renewed, as it is every six years. Last year’s report showed that there were 124 on the roll before renewal, but the current numbers are 95, representing 72 households. The roll is always open to new members so please let me know of anyone who would like to join.

George Medd - Electoral Roll Officer (george@medd.org.uk)1.6. Deanery Synod Representative’s Report

St Mary’s is in the group of churches which comprise the Winchester Deanery, one of seven deaneries within the northern division of the Diocese, there being another five deaneries within the southern division. Each Deanery Synod meets three times a year, and since the agenda is usually routine business matters, perhaps we might skip reporting on those this year, and highlight just a few other deanery activities.Winchester Deanery Schools Team. This is a very hardworking group of volunteers who put on a cycle of seven short plays, with a Christian theme, in school assemblies spread over three terms. They visit about 25 schools, totalling 175 assemblies seen by about 5,000 children. The team has a fluctuating number of 20 volunteers, but urgently need another 10, especially musicians, to keep the programme viable. Volunteers are also needed to help the team when they visit our own school.Chaplaincies. Several chaplains are sponsored within the deanery: two at Winchester Prison, two at the Hospital, one at the Art School, one at Peter Symonds, and one informal chaplain growing partnerships with city centre GP practices.All combine social care in a Gospel context, bringing the grace of practical love to those who might never enter a church building.Lay ministry. 25-30 members of churches in the deanery have participated in training sessions for the Bishop’s Commission for Ministry (BCM). This is a less time-consuming gateway than the Licensed Lay Ministers (LLM) course, enabling church members to help locally in pastoral work and preaching, to lighten the load on ordained incumbents.Prayer ministry. A small group meets at intervals for the essential matter of praying for the needs of the Deanery churches. They have also started up a WhatsApp link for a wider membership to highlight more urgent items for prayer needing immediate support.

Ron Pont2. Mission2.1. Mission Advisory Group

I took over as chairperson of this group in January 2019.- 10 -

January. Our first meeting reviewed the bMAP and where we were with it and what we should concentrate on. We also welcomed Maggie Lippiett to the group. Our first actions were to address the notice boards to make the church more accessible and welcoming and to make sure they were up to date. We recommended that the outside notice boards be replaced as soon as possible. We made sure that the Lady Chapel was an obvious prayer space using signage.In March we started planning for setting up a two-day prayer space for the whole of Twyford St Mary's school. With the kind cooperation of the Methodist chapel, we set up an imaginative and exciting space with different prayer activities which the whole school attended bit by bit. We also began to look at green issues in relation to our church. Meanwhile Maggie made Christian Aid links with Twyford St Mary’s school. Carol Pullen resigned from MAG. We thank her for all her hard work.In May, welcome leaflets were in place in all the pews for newcomers, the notice boards continued to be revamped and a Basics Bank box put out at the back of church. Christian Aid Week house-to-house collecting also took place.In July, the Harvest Festival lunch was planned to use only zero food miles. Planning was well advanced for the Mad Hatters Tea Party in September. This combined the outreach of games for the children and a Mad Hatters theme, being non-fund raising, with the traditional fund-raising church fete. Plans were put in place for carol singing around the village hoping to involve young families.September. Deanery Synod on 25th September at All Saints church had a focus on Care of Creation. It is probably fair to say that this inspirational session fired up the group to work harder on climate change and green issues. The updating of the Welcome pack is well under way, and we will be recruiting more members as Welcomers and reviewing their role.November. Plans for carol singing and for separating the Christingle from the crib service were finalised. Maggie Lippiett is to become the green champion for the Benefice. Plans for a newcomers’ welcome tea and thank you to volunteers were agreed for March 8th 2020. All food now to be zero food miles if possible. Chris Pope has made a start on an information sheet about the church, its history, architecture, and fittings.Thank you to Damon, Maggie Lippiett, Ron Pont, Neil Richards, and Ian Wheeler for all their hard work and thoughts.

Val Corcoran2.2. Children and Young People2.2.1. Messy Church

This is a summary of our activities this year.February. The widow's mite – we thought about the value of money using money chutes, penny towers, and chocolate coins.

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March. The Pharisee and the tax collector. We used prayer bracelets, parachute games and bringing the mess of our lives to God and starting again.April. Messy Church came to St Mary's for an all-age service. We rolled the stone away in the Easter garden and banged nails into the wooden cross.July. We were in Hunter Park for The Great Commission. ‘I am with you always.’ You can see the results of our thoughts on the board in the church.October. Giving God our best. We linked this with thinking about climate change and we made fruit monsters and cheerful giving bags.November. Peter's miraculous escape from prison. The highlight of this session was making a prison from old cardboard boxes which the children used to great effect as they burst free while retelling the story.December. We thought about the Christmas story, built a Bethlehem prayer village, a field of sheep and a small baby Jesus to keep in a matchbox in a pocket. Some children will not go out without it!Our numbers hold up (never fewer than twelve children), as do our finances. The atmosphere is relaxed and fun. This year we say goodbye to Judith Lea who has been incredible in organising our sumptuous meals together with Sheila Lees, and we thank her very much for all her hard work. The pans are now locked in the Parish Hall kitchen cupboards, which makes it very difficult for our caterers who now must bring in all their heavy equipment. We hope this can be resolved soon.If you would like to be involved in the catering or the craft side of Messy Church, please just have a word with one of us.

Val Corcoran and Sarah Evans2.2.2. Twyford St. Mary’s Primary School

It has been another very exciting and challenging year in the life of the school.In June we had a successful SIAMS (Statutory Inspection of Anglican and Methodist Schools) inspection, achieving the well-deserved grade of EXCELLENT.The inspector remarked, ‘Leaders at Twyford St Mary`s are determined it will be a village school making a world of difference. Leaders’ vision for the school and their high expectations of pupils are clear in every aspect of their school life.’At the end of the Summer term we heard of the tragic death of Annie Holman, one of our much-loved teachers.In the weekly parent mail letter following Annie`s death, Head teacher Hannah Beckett wrote, ‘A special thank you to Reverend Damon, who on hearing the sad news, was with us until Friday. He provided children and staff with strength and courage when we felt we did not have the strength.’In early December, the school had another inspection, this time by OFSTED. The report contained many positive comments. We were delighted to attain a GOOD judgement. Well done to all the staff and children for working so hard to gain the results in both inspections, we are so proud of you.

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At the end of the Autumn term Hannah informed us that she had accepted a new position as Headteacher at a much larger local primary school. Hannah joined our school as Headteacher in April 2016. Her dedication has made a significant difference to the school and the wider community. She will be missed, and we wish her well in her new post which she will take up after Easter 2020.Vicky McQueen, our Year R teacher, moved to a new teaching job in September. She was replaced by Sophie Keating (formerly Sophie Etheridge) who is now in charge of the Year R/ 1 class.Lucy Hutchin retired as Chair of Governors in July. Jane Chuhan, Co-opted Governor, also left at the same time. Both had given valuable service to the governing body.Since September Freya Fixler has been the new Chair of Governors and two new governors, Keri Billen and Jo Robb, joined in December.In September, the school was reduced from six to five classes due to financial and other implications.Church and school have worked well together during the year. The usual religious festivals were observed with full congregations when the school attends for their services and productions.In June, the church and the school worked beautifully together when some of the children created a flower display for St Mary`s Flower Festival.The Methodist Church in The Drove was used for the whole school to explore Prayer Spaces and as a `Pop up` classroom following on from work from the NSPCC.Year 6 children took part in the Winchester Schools’ Leavers’ service at the cathedral, with three of the pupils being chosen to speak during the service.The Foundation Governors are fully involved in the life of the school. Our role is: To be an effective liaison between church, school, and the Dioceses of

Winchester and Portsmouth. To work with the parish and PCC in promoting links between church and school To represent the Christian ethos of the school on the governing body. To ensure that the terms of the Trust Deed and the National Society`s Terms of

Union are kept.Like all governors we are expected to attend two whole governing body meetings a term.Both the Headteacher`s Performance Management Committee and the Resources Committee have a Foundation Governor as a member.We monitor Collective Worship and attend training courses organised by the Diocese of Winchester and Portsmouth.The Foundation Governors were involved in both inspection processes and one will be also be one involved in the choosing of the new Headteacher.

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Our subject responsibilities are PHSE and RE. Damon, as an ex-officio Foundation Governor, regularly leads Collective Worship and prayer groups as well as supporting all staff and children.During the year, the children have enjoyed many stimulating, varied, activities to enhance the curriculum. The school Parentmail shares school news on a regular monthly basis through the Parish Magazine.At this time of change please continue to pray for our school.

Cynthia English, Linda Snoswell (Foundation Governors)2.3. Education and Spiritual Food2.3.1. House Group

House groups have been in existence in our parish for a long time, although in recent years the number of people attending has fallen. We are a small group who meet for Bible Study, discussion, prayer, and support on the first Friday of each month.Currently we are using the York Course, ‘The Psalms; Prayers for today’s church.’ This course explores five of the psalms. With a CD and transcript containing contributions from a wide range of churches and traditions to guide us, we are deepening our knowledge of the psalms.Bishop Stephen Cottrell, author of the course writes, ‘there is something about the psalms that means whatever you are feeling about in almost any given situation, there is a psalm that will match it and trump it.’We would welcome new members; come and join us!

Cynthia English (01962 713427)2.3.2. 8.30 Breakfast!

Having been held bi-monthly for nearly six years, our programme has lost some momentum, chiefly through lack of further speakers. We have had 30 different speakers during this time, and it has become difficult to find fresh ones. We are hesitant, if not a little embarrassed, to ask the excellent ones we have had, to give up much of another Saturday morning for a group as small as ours. However, there have been expressions of regret that the idea may have run its course, so we shall be starting up again in the Spring, following a different more home-made pattern, and look forward to members old and new joining us.

Ron Pont (01962 712332)2.3.3. The Life Group

Basing its discussions on DVD documentaries, the group meets in the early evening once a week for an hour. Each series of meetings has eight to ten sessions followed by a couple months without a programme. The recent series, ‘Word Alive!’ has been following the excellent Bible Society DVD course summarising the structure and teaching of our Bible. We have synchronised this with portions selected from the BBC’s series ‘The Bible’ as visual aids, sometimes showing too

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dramatic a picture (these scenes contain violence and parental guidance is recommended) of those coarse and brutal centuries. The sessions are worthwhile, and anyone is welcome to attend.

Ron Pont (01962 712332)2.3.4. Library

Peruse, borrow, and read!A mobile carousel has been purchased and set up, in addition to the existing bookcase, which is now used for topical displays and is regularly changed.Christian books, read when alert, will increase our faith, our understanding of the Bible and have a practical outworking in our lives.

Molly Pont2.3.5. Bible Reading Fellowship

St Mary's BRF group started this year with ten members as in 2019. It would be good to increase the membership for the New Daylight booklets, which have been ordered for 2020. If you would like to subscribe to New Daylight, then do let me know as I can easily order more. They are paid for once a year in March/April. I will continue to leave past copies in church for anyone who is interested.Each New Daylight booklet offers the reader four months of daily Bible readings and I distribute the booklets to the BRF members throughout the year. There is continuity for the reader as I receive regular deliveries.We do not read New Daylight as a group; we simply find some quiet time in our own homes to read the daily passages. Each page offers a daily reading from the Bible, a simple explanation, which is followed by a short reflection.

Carol Anne Pullen2.4. Charitable Outreach2.4.1. Supported Charities

The charities that are supported across the benefice on a regular and annual basis are:Christian Aid Soup and Snowdrop day - FebruaryChristian Aid Collections - May (International)Harvest charity - October (Basic’s bank; local temporary short-term needy)Poppy Appeal - November (National/Heroes/Services etc)Children’s Society – December (see report below – Children; National)During the year, we planned a benefice-wide series of three Lent Lunches for 2020, although, at the time of writing, we have decided to postpone two of them due to the Covid 19 outbreak.There were three Charity Sundays in 2019. We hope that Gift Aid Small Donations were collected on each of these offerings by the charity concerned. This is an excellent scheme and it means that we do not have to list the names and addresses of each donor. All we have to do is note the Postcode of the event and the

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denominations of the cash collected. All donations under £20 count as small donations.

Olive Branch Christian Counselling Winchester on January 13th 2019. This raised £171 and together with Gift Aid, the total was £213.75 together with a CAF cheque for £30.

Winchester Churches Nightshelter on March 10th 2019. This raised £130.50 in the retiring collection and together with Gift Aid, the total was £162.63 together with a CAF cheque for £30.

The Trinity Centre on September 15th 2019. There were 25 people present at the service and we raised £164 and together with Gift Aid, this made £205.

We hope that parishioners will come forward with their own suggestions about charities for next year, particularly local charities, that the PCC might like to consider as future beneficiaries.

Susie Evershed (smevershed@gmail.com)2.4.2. The Children's Society

£668.97 was collected in the Children’s Society Boxes and sent to the Society in 2019, which is an increase of £123.73 on 2018. On behalf of the Children’s Society, I thank you. Once again, we have three fewer collection boxes in circulation with no new holders willing to take them up.I have new boxes if anyone feels able to make small donations over a year to support this very valuable organisation. All you have to do is to put a box in your kitchen, put in any change that you can spare, and it will soon mount up. One box-holder puts in £1 each week which makes over £50 in the year. Every little helps and thank you to those who continue to support this great cause

Andy Spencer (01962 712238)2.4.3. Christian Aid - We Believe in Life Before Death

Poverty is not natural and inevitable. It is a consequence of what we do, or what we fail to do. Millions of people around the world are united in the shared belief that it does not have to be this way, and that positive change is possible. Christian Aid, with our partners and supporters, is part of that movement. We stand alongside poor communities who work tirelessly to lift themselves out of poverty.2019 activities in Twyford included:February 28th: Kathy East from the Winchester Fairtrade Network led an assembly at Twyford St Mary’s Primary School (TSM) featuring Fairtrade bananas.March 2nd: Coffee morning in the church rooms with soup and bread, homemade from locally sourced ingredients. This was a combined event to support Snowdrop Saturday, Christian Aid and to mark the beginning of Fairtrade Fortnight. The event was well supported, and thanks are due to the team of soup makers and helpers. £740.37 was raised for Christian Aid.March 4th: Fairtrade sale at TSM for pupils, staff, and parents after school.

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March 22nd: Joanna Tom-Kargbo, a nurse/midwife and project officer with Christian Aid from Sierra Leone visited TSM where she met an enthusiastic bunch of children for an informal chat about her country and her work. Joanna was the speaker at a Christian Aid service at St Paul’s Church in Winchester later that day. Her subject, ‘Delivering Hope’ featured the maternal and infant services in Sierra Leone where childbirth is fraught with danger and perinatal mortality rate is high.May: Christian Aid Week is the single biggest act of Christian witness in Britain and Ireland and is characterised by house to house collections. This year (May 10th – 16th), the focus was on Sierra Leone (see above). Despite the increasing problems of house-to-house collections, Winchester and District raised £25,000, of which £3,210.90 came from Twyford and Colden Common. Many thanks to our collectors (including a small team from TSM), supporters and contributors.June: TSM was awarded bronze for Christian Aid’s Global Neighbours accreditation scheme which aims to empower children to be active global citizens. We congratulate the pupils and staff on this achievement and are actively encouraging them to take further steps as courageous advocates for change.August 12th: Tea party for Christian Aid supporters at Pax Lodge.August 23rd – 27th: Greenbelt sponsored by Christian Aid.October: A Murder Mystery evening in the Parish Hall raised £1,100 for Christian Aid.November 21st: Dancing on Just(ICE) – TPS took part in environmental workshops organised jointly by Christian Aid and the Cathedral Education department. This was followed up by an ice-skating session and a commitment from the pupils to organise a fundraising event for Christian Aid.And for 2020, at the time of writing, there were lots of plans. Twyford St Mary’s Primary School (TSM) Christian Aid’s Global Neighbours Scheme and Fairtrade fortnight. Other activities planned include Snowdrop Saturday, Climate Justice Campaign Kick-Off, and Christian Aid Week.Thanks to all our supporters for acting, giving, and praying!

Maggie Lippiett (magslippiett@yahoo.co.uk),Cathy Pope (catherinealexanderson@gmail.com)

2.5. ECO ChurchWhat is Eco Church?From worship to building management, outreach to personal lifestyle, loving God and his creation should influence all that we do in our individual and church life. The world is facing a Climate Crisis and we need to play our part in mitigating the effects of Climate Change.This is why A Rocha UK has developed Eco Church – an interdenominational award scheme for churches concerned with recognizing this Global Climate Crisis and wanting to respond.

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With supporting resources, we have started to complete an online survey about how our church operates in key areas of its life and work.• Worship and Teaching• Management of Church Buildings• Management of Church Land• Community and Global Engagement• LifestyleAs we progress with the survey, we will collect points towards a Bronze, Silver or Gold Eco Church award. Winchester Diocese has achieved a Bronze award, and several churches locally, a silver award (St Lawrence with St Swithun, St Barnabas, the University chaplaincy, and Winchester Cathedral).Worship and TeachingOur clergy team have made a formal commitment to improving the environmental credentials of our church by endorsing the undertaking of the Eco Church survey.Environmental issues are addressed regularly in our worship and special Sundays are celebrated (e.g. Creationtide, Christian Aid). Jo Crocker, Champion for Climate Justice for Churches Together in Winchester has visited to address the PCC, and the congregation at an ‘Outreach’ Sunday service.Management of Church BuildingsThe Fabric Group of the PCC are addressing these issues, mindful of the historic, listed status of St Mary’s church and the challenges this presents.Management of Church LandWe have a dedicated churchyard working party and together we hope to manage the land for the encouragement of native wildlife (birds, animals, and plants). We have been given a hedgehog box for the church land, and children from Twyford St Mary’s Primary School will be building a ‘bug hotel’ when the weather gets warmer.Community and Global engagementWe have established links with the local community in various ways. ACT (Action on Carbon in Twyford) consists of a small group of Parish councillors and others resident in the village to publish practical, achievable ways for us to reduce our village carbon footprint.Links with Twyford St Mary’s Primary School (TSM), Twyford Prep School and Abbeyfield Orchard Close have been made to share ideas and resources and to publicize events. TSM are planning to plant 1,000 trees in the area, sponsored by the Royal Society.Christian Aid is organising a Climate Justice Campaign ‘kick-off’ in Winchester, and Climate Justice is the focus for Christian Aid Week 2020 with particular reference to the extreme effects of Climate Change in Kenya.We are planning a Green Summer Fair on July 18th at St Mary’s church

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LifestyleWe aim to publish an ‘Eco’ suggestion in the Parish magazine each month.Drinks and meals provided at any event in the church will aim to be locally sourced, organic, animal friendly and Fairtrade (LOAF).

Maggie Lippiett (magslippiett@yahoo.co.uk)2.6. Parish Magazine

During 2019, the parish magazine continued to provide reminders of events across the Benefice, both at the four churches and in the wider community. I hope that readers find this useful and that they welcome notices of other local events which might be of interest.I am always grateful to regular contributors such as Ron Pont, Terry Forder-Stent and David Eaton with their Bird Rambling articles, Maggie Lippiett with Christian Aid information, and updates from Hannah Beckett about activities and news from the primary school. Although less frequent in recent years, Chris Corcoran's series about the historical landscape of Twyford has always been interesting.I am always open to suggestions from readers about what they might like to contribute.

Theo Johnson3. Church Groups3.1. Bell Ringers

Our appeal for funds to renovate the bells has been a wonderful success and we are so grateful for the enormous generosity from Twyford and further afield. We are somewhere around £15,000 short of the optimum sum of £65,000. The launch of the appeal in May began with an evening where Adam Greenley from Basingstoke spoke about the project and the importance of not only preserving our bells but replacing three of them, which would produce a much clearer ring. We were immediately offered the cost of two replacement bells which was amazing and so generous. Various fundraising events have shown how happy people are to help with this appeal.A highly successful flower festival weekend was organised by Valerie Roberts. A walk from Owslebury to Twyford to the sound of bells took place between Christmas and New Year. Some twenty souls braved the mud and enjoyed mulled wine and refreshments when arriving at Twyford and listened to the peal which finished after three hours around 6pm. Our aim is to have the bells restored in the tower and ready to ring for next Christmas. All will depend on the final fund raising (look out for coming events) and the ability of the bell restorers to deliver after removing the bells in August.Andrew Johnson tolled the bell for seven minutes at 7pm after the fire at Notre Dame, along with many towers throughout England.We rang for the funeral of John Denham who had been a bell ringer, and sometime captain of the bells, for over 40 years. He is greatly missed in the bell chamber.

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Angela Forder Stent3.2. Brass Cleaners

The work done by the brass cleaners, led by Isobel Gray is always appreciated.3.3. Church Cleaning

Church cleaning continues magnificently week by week, with a wonderful team of approximately fifty noble volunteers who do the cleaning in teams of two or three: in other words, only two or three times a year. A grand Spring Clean was carried out as usual on the Saturday preceding Palm Sunday, to have the church sparkling for Holy Week and Easter.We are always on the lookout for new recruits, men or women, tall or short, young or old, churchgoers or non-churchgoers. The skills required are minimal! If you think you could spare a little time to push the hoover around, please get in touch with Trish Mardon at trish_mardon@hotmail.com.

Trish Mardon3.4. Church Music

St. Mary’s Church has played host to a variety of music concerts throughout the past year as well as providing a choir to support the main festivals and the Eucharist services. It is lovely to see the church organ and the building itself used to provide entertainment not just for the regular worshippers, but also attracting a wider audience.This last year has seen returning performances from the Solent Concert Orchestra Players, Robert Carter Jazz and Nao Dickson as well as performances from the Winchester Quiristers in October, and David Hall’s ‘Debut’ piano concert in November. We have retained our faithful few members in the robed choir who support the congregation at each Eucharist service and are always grateful to members of the Ad Hoc choir who come along to sing at Christmas time. We all had the added luxury of sitting on padded cushions in the choir stalls and our thanks go to Juliet Hawkes for this. The Carol service was once more under the direction of Vicky Feldwick and we are very grateful to her for all the preparation and leadership on the night.Once again, we received an invitation to join the residents of Orchard Close for Tea, Cake and Carols just before Christmas. This was an enjoyable occasion as was the carol singing around the village. I was delighted by the numbers attending this event and it made for a jolly evening.I do hope you were able to attend some of the musical events this year and enjoyed them. Please keep a look out for those to come throughout the coming year and support them if you can.

Annie Hibberd

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3.5. Flower ArrangersWhat a year 2019 was for the church flower arrangers. People in the village really got to know about us. Once again, the arrangers have come up trumps and done us proud with wonderful flower arrangements.In June we arranged a flower festival with a difference. Most flower festivals cost a great deal of money, so instead of us arranging the flowers, I asked the village businesses to depict themselves in flowers, charging them a fee for the advertising they would receive, while village clubs contributed for free.They did us proud and even the village bobby arranged two police helmets with flowers in them, and a blue flashing light. The event was way beyond my expectations, and I was over the moon.We sold eggs donated by the egg farm as well as donated ice cream. We had a highly successful plant stall, sold coffees, teas, cakes and ploughman’s lunches, and wine. We turned the pews around, placed tables between them, turning the church into a café for the two days. Rain did not deter people from coming, and they all said how much they enjoyed it with some coming on both days.We raised just over £2,500 including donations. A big Thank You to all who helped our village fun day.At Harvest and Christmas, we arranged the windows flowers early so that the school children had the benefit of seeing them.At Harvest we also decorated the windows with model birds and animals and invited the Twyford play group to have a short service in the church, which was well supported and very much enjoyed by all the young children; we even received a thank-you card from them.We would love more people to join our happy team. The commitment is only a few times a year and we can also teach you flower arranging if necessary.

Valerie Roberts (01962 711538)4. Finance4.1. Freewill Offering Scheme

Sadly, in 2019, we did not achieve our target of increasing giving by £3,000. It remains impressive that £37,000 was contributed to the general funds and we paid our Parish Share in full. We claimed £8,900 in gift aid. This was given by 60 committed and regular payments, many of which represent a household, so more than 60 individuals. Collections from services in Church raised £921. These are now also eligible for Gift Aid.I hope that everyone knows about the newish GASDS scheme? Gift Aid Small Donations means that we can claim gift aid on collections in Church provided they are in cash and less than £20 each. I hope this will encourage all to be generous in the collection. It also means that individual envelopes are superfluous unless they contain more than £20.

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It will be such a shame if we can no longer feel confident that we are a giving Church that pays its way and supports others. So many are so generous. Please keep it up, increase if you can, and ask me for more details. Thank you all.

Sheila Lees 01962 713164 (sheila.lees@btinternet.com)4.2. Treasurer’s Report

There is some good news for 2019 and some not so good.Let us start with a good item. The appeal for refurbishment of the church bells raised a further £31.2k last year. This represents some very generous donations plus a lot of enthusiastic fundraising. In May we had a visiting mini bell tower where everybody could try ringing, and there was a ringing competition up in the tower. The wonderful Flower Festival in June attracted a lot of support and raised more money for the bells. We have enough to proceed with the minimum necessary work in 2020, but to do a complete job, we need another £22k.Less happy is the state of the routine finance. Yet again receipts to those funds that the PCC controls without restrictions – the General and Fabric funds – were less than the outgoing payments. The deficit was £4k, despite a reduction in expenditure. And the budget for 2020 is looking at a loss of almost £7k. Three-quarters of our income is from regular giving – mostly boosted 25% by Gift Aid, and this is just not keeping pace. Our spending represents more than £1,000 per year for every member of our worshipping community. Some parishioners give this or more, while for many others it is simply not possible. Can YOU review your level of giving this year?The other good news concerns our investments. The stock market did well in 2019, boosting our CBF investments (General & Fabric funds) by 19% (£13.4k) and the Endowment Fund (from which we receive the dividends) by 24% (£4.7k). Of course, these are paper gains and could be reversed next year if the market takes fright, but it does at least make our year-end funds look slightly healthier than the receipts & payments would suggest.Here is the latest update to a familiar chart (but note that this welcome upturn does not change the long-term trend much):

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Here are the values of our Restricted funds – those monies that may only be spent for the purpose for which they were donated. The grass cutting fund shows a slight drop because fundraising was lower-key last year to help the bells; and because the exiting contractor retired and the new one is more expensive.

And these are the investments:

Nigel Close, PCC Treasurer

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4.3. Finance Advisory GroupThe Finance Advisory Group (FINAG) has met to set and oversee the budget and discuss various aspects of the finances. The Reserves Policy was reviewed at the year-end and a lower, more realistic value was set for the Working Capital reserve on the General Fund of £16k, while the Emergency Building Work Reserve on the Fabric Fund remained at £30k.

Nigel Close, PCC Treasurer

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4.4. Independent Examiner’s Report

4.5. Accounts for the Year 2019The accounts for 2019 are shown in the following pages. The Section that follows them, ‘Notes to the Financial Statements,’ forms part of these accounts.

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Income and Expenditure

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4.6. Notes to the Financial Statementsfor the year ending 31st December 2019

1 ACCOUNTING POLICYThis financial statement has been prepared in accordance with the Charities Act 2011 on the Receipts and Payments (R & P) basis. Charities (including churches) may use this basis if their gross income is below a threshold, which is currently £250,000. R & P deals with receipts when the money arrives, and payments when the cheque is sent. It trades a more concrete day-to-day picture against a less comprehensive strategic overview. And the bookkeeping is simpler.The reporting requirement is for an Account of Receipts and Payments together with a Statement of Assets and Liabilities (SOAL). The format of these reports is not defined, although they broadly follow the Statement of Recommended Practice SORP 2015.The accounts have been prepared using Data Developments software Finance Co-ordinator V4.37 with reports output to Excel and formatted.

2 FUNDSCharities must clearly distinguish between, and account separately for, various types of fund:UNRESTRICTED: The church will have ordinary funds, which are for general

use in promoting the church's usual purposes; these are unrestricted funds.

DESIGNATED: The church may have decided to set aside sums in respect of specific projects; these are designated funds. They can always be redirected back to unrestricted funds if the church chooses.

RESTRICTED: There may be special funds for specific purposes. Appeals which the church has made for special and specific objects; funds or grants given to the church by donors who have specified that they should only be used for specific objectives. These are restricted funds and can only be used in respect of the purposes for which they were given. They cannot be added to unrestricted funds without the consent of the donor.

ENDOWMENTS: are those funds, which are held on trust to be retained as ‘capital’ funds, i.e. the income from the funds can be spent on either unrestricted or restricted purposes (depending upon the directions of the donor), but the capital must be retained; it cannot be spent.

In addition to our GENERAL Fund, which is Unrestricted, we have:

Designated FABRIC Fund: Set up in 2008 with £80K transferred from the General Fund to cover major works – principally those identified during Quinquennial Inspections

Restricted BELL APPEAL: To renovate the bells.Restricted CHANCEL Fund: To preserve and enhance the chancel,

including the mural and wall paintings.Restricted CHURCHYARD Fund: To preserve and enhance the church grounds,

including the yew tree, graves, paths, benches, walls etc.

Restricted GRASSCUTTING Fund: Set up after a public appeal to pay the cost of mowing the churchyard.

Restricted MUSIC Fund: Originated by a legacy ‘for the music in church.’ Our hymn books were purchased from this fund.

Restricted OTHER Funds: Inherited from previous years. I hope to discover their origins and purpose, but at present they must lie dormant.

Restricted VICAR’S Fund: Set up by a donation ‘for use at the Vicar’s discretion.’ The vicar can offer immediate charitable assistance without question.

Endowment (Capital) Fund: A legacy of shares, the income from which is treated as unrestricted, but we may not dispose of the capital.

AGENCY or ‘POSTBOX’ Funds: In-and-out monies held briefly, then passed on: funeral collections for a charity, Christingle, leaving gifts etc.

The opening and closing value of each fund is shown in the FUND MOVEMENT SUMMARY table.

3 FREEWILL OFFERING (FWO)Regular giving provides a stable, vital base of funding, and most of it attracts a 25% bonus through Gift Aid. I am very grateful to Sheila Lees for the not inconsiderable task of administering the scheme, tracking donations, and claiming tax.

4 GRANTSUnder the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme, we received a refund of VAT of £1,763. This comprised £165 for organ maintenance, £698 for maintenance of

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our existing heating system and £900 for fees and design work on our replacement heating.The Graze Festival donated £300 towards refurbishment of the porch notice board.Ecclesiastical Insurance donates £130 to a nominated church when anyone buys home insurance from them; we benefitted from two donations in 2019.A recurring grant of £80 from the War Graves Commission appears in the Churchyard Fund.

5 FEESStatutory and other fees for weddings and funerals. Other disbursements (to the Diocese, organists, vergers and bellringers) are Agency payments.

6 CONTRIBUTIONS FROM AND TO THE BENEFICETwyford pays for the Vicar’s expenses and clergy from the Clerical Registry on behalf of the whole benefice and then claims from the other parishes in agreed proportion. The contribution shown relates to the expenses for 2018, which were calculated and paid in 2019. Twyford pays its proportion of the costs of the Benefice Office in Colden Common (recorded under code 2110 Office Costs).

7 COMMON MISSION FUND – CMF (or PARISH SHARE)Our contribution pays for the costs of clergy – their salaries, accommodation, pensions, and training – together with Mission funding and diocesan services. Our relatively affluent village with its reasonably well-attended church means that our payment is substantial. After steep increases during the transition to this system, the amounts due have now stabilised.

8 MESSY CHURCHWe continue to support Messy Church by paying for the hire of premises. They fund their running expenses from contributions and hold a small amount of petty cash for this.

9 RESERVESCurrent PCC policy is to maintain a Working Capital reserve on the General Fund of £35k and an Emergency Building Work reserve in the Fabric Fund of £30k.

10 FIXED ASSETSThe value of the CBF CoE Investment Fund shares has been allocated 50% to the General Fund and 50% to the Fabric Fund.

11 BANK CURRENT ACCOUNTThe total shown in the SOAL for our main account - £53,322 – includes unreconciled payments by five cheques (totalling £1,026) which had not been presented at year-end. The actual bank balance on 31st December was therefore £54,348.

Nigel Close, PCC Treasurer

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Approved by the PCC of St Mary the Virgin, Twyfordand signed on its behalf

5. Minutes of the Annual Parish Church Meeting 2019Held in church following part of Compline on Sunday 24th March 2019Vestry meeting

1. WelcomeDamon welcomed everyone and opened the meeting with a reading from Ephesians 4, and prayer.

2. Election of ChurchwardensThere was a single nomination to the role of Churchwarden. Juliet Hawkes was proposed by Chris Pope, seconded by Nigel Close and re-elected unanimously, to applause. Damon thanked her on behalf of the meeting for her willingness to be proposed again.The meeting unanimously supported Judith Lathlean and Nigel Close’s offer to continue as Assistant Churchwardens.

Annual Parochial Church Meeting1. Apologies for absence were received from nine members of the electoral roll.2. Minutes of the APCM held on 1st April 2017

No amendments to the Minutes were suggested and their adoption as a true record was proposed by Celia Close, seconded by Jane Rogers and agreed unanimously. They were signed by the Chair.

3. Matters ArisingIn response to a question about how the Electoral Roll is kept up to date, the Roll Officer, Celia Close, explained that she deletes the names of those she knows have died during the year, or responds to information given by members themselves for example when they move away from the village.

4. Reportsa. The Vicar’s Review of the Year

Damon said how grateful he and his family were for the welcome they had received and what a privilege he has found it to serve in a place like this. He

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was sad not to have been able to officiate at Twyford more regularly to date but explained that he was trying to limit major service changes until he was embedded in the parish.He has however addressed two early issues: firstly, proposing to reduce the number of individual PCC meetings to two, complemented by a twice-yearly Benefice Forum meeting set up to discuss umbrella issues common to all, such as mission and safeguarding. These are backed up by a monthly meeting of all Benefice Churchwardens together. Secondly, he proposed adopting a new name for the Benefice, examples of which were displayed on a screen, as well as draft logos to go with them. It was agreed the Benefice Forum and PCCs would consider the details to go forward to the Bishop for final approval.Damon thanked the PCC for their help in keeping the parish running and made especial reference to retiring members Carol Pullen, Neil Richards and Ian Wheeler for the work, ideas and wisdom they had brought to meetings. He thanked all those involved in Messy Church, acknowledging its success, and encouraging the congregation to attend a session, and to pray for those who take part.He thanked Nigel for his work as Treasurer and Vanessa Eales for volunteering to take on the role of Safeguarding Champion. To his clergy colleagues, he voiced his particular appreciation for their wisdom, their willingness to be called upon by him and the parish, and their desire to serve.In conclusion, Damon spoke of his heartfelt commitment to discipleship, to growing us in our faith and in our love of God, and he hoped that everyone would feel welcome to come and talk to him about that. Damon reminded the meeting that the opposite of faith is certainty, not uncertainty, and that many come to faith with and through doubt.

b. The Churchwardens’ ReportJuliet reminded the meeting that she had looked back on 2018 in her written report. Looking to 2019, she wanted to express her concerns about funding the maintenance of the fabric of the building so that the mission of the church can be carried forward. She hoped to be able to continue with the internal reordering agreed in 2016. The sale of several redundant pews, for which a Faculty had been granted, would help to declutter some areas and applying lockable casters to several other pews will shortly enable some internal spaces to be used more flexibly.She summarised the progress made by the Bell Appeal and mentioned that installing swift nesting boxes in the Tower at the same time as the bells are overhauled was a possibility. She hoped to take steps towards obtaining financial support from the village for church upkeep by sending out a survey to all villagers to establish what Twyford would like to use the building for.

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Juliet commended all those who keep the churchyard well-tended and mentioned particularly Bernard Sullivan who works there tirelessly.In reply to a question Juliet clarified that the swift boxes would have no access to the inside of the bell tower.

c. Electoral Roll Officer’s ReportCelia Close reported that the six-year Roll had now closed with 124 names. The new Roll, 2019 - 2025 had opened with 95 names. As she had advised earlier, she wished to hand over as Electoral Roll Officer. No volunteer was immediately forthcoming, but Damon asked that anyone interested should contact him. Celia had undertaken the task for ten years, and she was thanked warmly for having done so.

d. The Annual ReportThe meeting received, in a formal sense, the Annual Report, which had been published and circulated in advance. The PCC Secretary and the Deanery Synod Representatives had no further comments to add.

e. Treasurer’s Report Nigel thanked both Mike Watson for his hard work each January inspecting the accounts, and Sheila Lees for managing the Freewill Offering scheme so effectively. Income had been falling since 2000 and does not keep level with essential outgoings and maintenance. The shortfall is covered by our reserves, but these are static and due to run out within a few years unless augmented by donations or legacies.He summarised our annual costs of around £90,000 as made up of the Parish Share, mission costs such as Clergy from the Register, the Organist, Messy Church and other outreach expenses, as well as enabling costs such as lighting, heating, insurance and fundraising, and upkeep costs such as cleaning, office supplies, candles and light bulbs.Building works averaging around £10,000 are undertaken every year so that the church can continue to operate safely. Nigel agreed to display this information for parishioners and visitors to see. With 100 people in our worshipping community an average of £17 per member per week needs to be donated, or £75 per month.There was a question about the ethical nature of our investments, which the Treasurer confirmed are held in the Church Benevolent Fund. There are in addition some shares forming an Endowment Fund held as part of a legacy.

f. Adoption of the AccountsA motion to adopt the approved Accounts for the year ended 31st December 2018 was proposed by Maggie Lippiett, seconded by Jane Rogers, and passed unanimously.

5. Elections

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a. PCC MembersThere were no new nominations. Nigel Close and Andrew Brooks had agreed to stand again and were re-elected unanimously.

6. Appointmentsa. Independent Examiner

Mike Watson, the Independent Examiner of our Accounts, has kindly confirmed that he is willing to continue in this role. His re appointment was proposed by Celia Close and seconded by Michael Biddle. It was agreed unanimously, with gratitude.

b. Sides PersonsThere was a proposal to reappoint those currently on the Sidespersons’ Rota. This motion was unanimously supported.

7. Any Other BusinessThere being no other business, the meeting closed with prayer, followed by a reminder that refreshments would be served, and a short meeting of PCC members would take place.

Ros Medd, PCC Secretary

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