Winchelsea Parish Church

THE PARISH OF WINCHELSEA

ANNUAL REPORT FOR YEAR ENDED 31^st DECEMBER 2008

Major restoration work on the fabric of the church was completed during the year, thanks to the continued generosity of the Friends of Winchelsea Church and a handsome donation towards the purchase of a new boiler from Mr and Mrs Stephen Rumsey. As a result the church ended the year in a fine state of repair The financial crisis which occurred towards the end of 2008 has inevitably put a strain on the resources of the Friends, but fortunately we foresee no further major calls on them in the immediate future, while we are seeking ways of reducing the cost of routine maintenance, now amounting to some £70,000 each year. We are grateful to our Parish Council for the offer of a grant of £2,000 a year towards the maintenance of the churchyard, a central feature of the town of Winchelsea. The Memorial Garden has taken on a more dignified appearance during the year thanks to redesign and replanting by Ant. Parker and Alice Kenyon

We were delighted to welcome two retired clergymen to the parish, the Revd. Howard Norton and the Revd. David Page, who already play a very active part in the life of the town and church.

In April we celebrated St. George's Day in the presence of the Mayor and Corporation We were privileged to have the junior choir from St Bede's School sing the Office. The Officiant and Preacher was The Revd Dr. G. Martin Yould - the Rector was unable to be present because of illness. It is hoped this will be an annual event. Dr Yould was the Rector's lecturer in the church history, liturgy and theology. A major concert attracted a large audience in August entitled 'Happy and Glorious' featuring the Icklesham Festival Chorus. David Holloway conducting, and including the World Premier of 'An Anthem for Winchelsea’ composed by Ian Kerr. In December a large congregation attended the Festival of Christmas Carols sung by the Winchelsea Singers under their new conductor, Duncan Reid. Other major services attracting notably large congregations included the annual Patronal Festival held in July in the presence of the Mayor and Corporation and the Remembrance Sunday service on 9^th November conducted by the rector.

A board listing all the rectors of St Thomas the Martyr since 1254 was unveiled during the year as a gift from our churchwarden, Mr Robert Hargreaves.

The church's spiritual and liturgical life progressed steadily under the guidance of our rector. The Reverend Canon Howard Cocks SSC. His own report for the year follows. Finally, we would like to take the usual opportunity to mark our appreciation of the many people who ensure that the spiritual life of St Thomas's remains so vibrant, in particular our Lay Reader, Dr Michael McFadyean. The Junior Choir has continued to flourish under the guidance of Mrs Marion Lovell, who trains the girls for RSCM awards, and arranged for their participation in an annual harvest supper in September. Sir Geoffroy Millais and Mrs Tessa Potts were indefatigable as ever in ensuring the church events ran smoothly, in particular their contribution to the monthly Church Market, which has become a valued event in the life of the entire town

Robert Hargreaves Nigel Ashton Churchwardens

THE PARISH OF WINCHELSEA

ANNUAL REPORT FOR YEAR ENDED 31^st DECEMBER 2008

ST RICHARD'S CHURCH, WINCHELSEA BEACH

The opportunity was taken to carry out the continued internal decoration, which continues to considerably improve the appearance of the Church.

FINANCE

The Statement of Financial Affairs attached to this report shows the existing investments and reserves. During the coming year the PCC and its advisers will review these funds in accordance with the recommended practices of the Charity Commissioners.

The final contribution by the parish towards the costs incurred by the Diocese amounted to £43.560 covering both St Thomas' and St Richard's.

Recognition has already been made to the continuing generosity of The Friends of Wmchelsea Church who continue to provide invaluable support for the maintenance of the wonderful Church building and its surrounding churchyard and walls. There still remains the increasing demand of parish expenses which cannot be met by The Friends whose expenditure is restricted to the maintenance of the building and the churchyard.

RISK

During the year the PCC have continued to monitor the various risks applicable to the Church. Consideration has been given to child protection issues, and health and safety and security in the church buildings and the churchyard. An analysis of existing controls in place to deal with these risks has continued to be developed by identifying further actions required to mitigate these risks

INVESTMENT

The Church's policy is to invest all its surplus funds balances with CBF Church of England managed funds

ELECTORAL ROLL OFFICERS REPORT

There are 114 on the electoral roll for the Parish of Winchelsea, 96 residents and 18 non residents.

Tony and Angela Wesson

RECTOR'S REPORT

I have been your Parish Priest for just over four years. I have no regrets and greatly enjoy my priestly ministry among you - "with you I am a Christian for you I am a Priest" as together we seek to practice our faith and exercise our individual ministry as baptised members of the Royal Priesthood of the People of God

To enable us to be effective as Christians we are all well served by the Wardens of the Parish and the Chapel Wardens who look after St Richard's on behalf of the Church Wardens Nigel Ashton, Robert Hargreaves (Church wardens) and Sue Chetwood and Celia King (Chapel Wardens! work together harmoniously, which is greatly to the benefit of the parish and to me personally

I am very pleased to be able to report that chairing the Parochial Church Council and the St Richard s
Committee is a pleasure, always trouble free and genuinely seeks to advance the life of the parish socially,
spiritually and financially. There are always difficult decisions to make from time to time but these are always
'worked through' in a spirit of genuine Christian fellowship. There are always those who work to keep the
parish functioning in one way or another. For example the church officers of Secretary and Treasurer where
great attention is required to the minutiae of parish records/minutes to meet diocesan legal requirements and
the complexity of the financial records that have to be maintained just think about the work involved in drawing up the financial report. Tessa is in indefatigable as sacristan ensuring that all is ready for both weekday and Sunday worship, laundering linen, church market responsibilities etc etc

Or again the servers, always there, ensuring dignity and smoothness in the conduct of the liturgy - a happy band that adds to the spiritual life of the parish. The happy band of singers who give a positive lead in both the hymns and the Liturgical setting chosen. The flower arrangers, sidesman, PCC members and Marion Lovell with the Junior Choir are all part of a surprising large team that ensure we keep "the show on the road". It's not easy and it takes time and commitment.

Our thanks also to those who meet monthly to compile the parish magazine - Hazel Beavis and Geoffrey Millais organise and together with the team ensure that the parish magazine is always out on time. We underestimate the influence of the magazine but just think of those organisations that use it to publicise their events. Remember also the editors June and Denis Hyson who each month collate copy ready to be printed. It is quite a large team required to ensure the magazine is ready for the deliverers so thank you one and all.

Fellowship, formal and informal is an integral part of our worship - we do not worship in isolation ('me and my God') but with our brothers and sisters in Christ - hence we share the peace of Christ Tea/coffee following is an important part of our collective worshiping life - so we acknowledge with thanks those who organise and undertake the not so very exciting task of washing up afterwards

I cannot speak too highly of the dedication and initiative that Marion lavishes on the Junior Choir Both Marion and the children work hard in all that they do for the parish We all remember the splendid entertainment provided at the Harvest Supper and the Crib service - helped I should add by Mr Ian Kerr from Icklesham. Marion and the Junior Choir must be supported not only with kind words and where necessary appropriate funding but also with the active encouragement of all. They are the visible expression to our ministry to all in the parish. Sadly, not many parishes in the deanery have such a team so ably lead or in fact a team at all.

I have- said enough - no doubt I have omitted something; apologise. But let me leave you with the following-There is a well-known chorus that starts "Count your blessings, name them one by one, and it will surprise you what the Lord has done". Might it not be a good idea to make it our motto for 2009? Looking back on 2008 we should all realise we have to be thankful for: not only as a congregation but in our own lives as well. Too easily we take for granted the labour that others put in to "keep the show on the road" - no one should ever be taken for granted and yet it can so easily be done. We should discipline ourselves to make a point of realising that everything that happens in or about our two churches has been undertaken by someone -voluntarily.

It is a besetting habit for all of us to that we prefer to complain - especially if things happen we don't like Well, life it like that and living with that situation is what being a mature person is all about Being thankful grateful for others and saying 'thank you' is just so much more positive and makes us feel so much better And when difficulties/sadness' come cur way (as they will) then we are in a better position mentally/spiritually and physically to face up to all that life is bringing us.

2008 was a good year: many happy and interesting things happened to us as individuals and as a congregation... many blessings indeed.

We extend our prayerful sympathy to the families of those who died during the year:

Our year has been dominated by restoration work on the church’s Grade One listed building. Our first duty is therefore to express the parish’s heartfelt gratitude to the Friends of St. Thomas’s who have contributed no less than £90,000 towards this work in the last 18 months. Their generosity has been made possible by the handsome legacy left by the late Dr and Mrs Edmund Dugdale Jones with the proviso that the income it generated should be used solely for the upkeep and general maintenance of building and its grounds. The fund has been exceptionally well managed under the supervision of the Friends’ committee and its financial advisers, UBS Ltd of Brighton.

Repairs were necessary to the corroding ferrous T-bars which were endangering the precious Strachan stained glass windows and repointing was also needed on the crumbling interior stonework and on the remains of both the north and south transepts in the churchyard. All this work meant the erection of scaffolding, which added considerably to the overall cost At the same time, further work was undertaken on the church’s central heating system, including the replacement and painting of leaking radiators and renovation of the pipes. It is hard to imagine how work on this scale could have been paid for without the support of the Friends. who, on top of all their other support, made their usual contributions to the general maintenance and upkeep of the building and its fabric. We would also like to record our thanks to Alan McKinna for arranging the restoration and rehanging of the oil painting of the Baptism of Christ in the St Nicholas Chapel.

In spite of these upheavals the spiritual and liturgical life of the church has continued unimpaired under the guidance of our rector, The Reverend Canon Howards Cocks SSC whose own report for the year follows.

In January, the entire parish was deeply saddened by the death at the age of only 61 of our Treasurer, Mr. Martin Hogg, who had done so much to ensure the health of the church’s finances. He will be sorely missed. We are fortunate that he was succeeded as Treasurer by Mrs. Pamela Jefferies, who stood in as deputy during the many months of Mr. Hogg‘s illness.

We also regret to record the death during the year of Mr Knightly (Ken) Chetwood a former Mayor of Winchelsea and a long-serving churchwarden of St. Thomas’s.

In February, the annual deanery Candlemas evensong took place in St. Thomas’s in the presence on a large and enthusiastic congregation. The preacher was the Rev. Dr. G. Martin Yould, the rector’s lecturer in church history, liturgy and theology.

The preacher at the annual Patronal Festival held in the presence of the Mayor and Corporation was again the Rev. Martin Yould, who is now a firm friend of the parish and a welcome presence at so many of our services.

In the spring, our rector made an extended visit to his family and friends in Australia, ably replaced in his absence by another old friend, the Reverend Gerald Pegg.

Several concerts were held in the church during the year, including a much appreciated performance by the Winchelsea Singers of Vivaldi’s Gloria and Mendelssohn’s Hymn of Praise and a superb evensong in June by the King Charles the Martyr Singers.

We were also delighted to host a splendid production of Henry V by the Winchelsea Players.

At the end of the year, the church launched its own website. Work is still in progress, but the site can be viewed on www.winchelseaparishchurch.co.uk. We hope to make further progress on the site in the coming months.

Finally, we would like the take the usual opportunity to mark our appreciation of the many people who ensure that the spiritual life of St. Thomas’s remains so vibrant, in particular our Lay Reader and Licensed Lay Worker. The Junior Choir has continued to flourish under the guidance of Mrs. Marion Lovell, while Sir Geoffroy Millais and Mrs. Tessa Potts remain as indefatigable as ever in ensuring that events in the church run smoothly. We particularly appreciate their contribution to the monthly Church Market, which has become a valued event in the life of the entire town. The team of flower arrangers make another invaluable contribution to the beauty of our lovely church under the leadership of Charlotte Beecroft and Tessa Potts, especially at Easter, the annual Patronal Festival in July and the suitably festive decorations for Christmas. Ant Parker and Alice Kenyon continued their sterling work on the renovation of the Memorial Garden which lies against the west wall of the church.

The spiritual and liturgical life of St. Thomas’s progressed steadily under the guidance of our rector, The Reverend Canon Howard Cocks SSC, who we are delighted to report has been appointed a Canon of the Diocese of the Murray in his native Australia. His own report for the year follows.

The entire parish was saddened by the illness during the year of our Treasurer, Mr. Martin Hogg, who had done so much to ensure the health of the church’s finances. Mr. Hogg died early in January 2007 and has since been replaced as Treasurer by Mrs. Pamela Jefferies, who stood in as deputy during the many months of Mr. Hogg‘s illness.

We also regret to record the death during the year of the Very Rev. Canon Basil O’Ferrall, who made such a valuable contribution to our worship as a retired member of the clergy.

The year also saw the retirement as churchwarden of Mr. Robert Beecroft after 15 years of faithful and distinguished service in the post. As a mark of their appreciation, the parish presented him and his wife Charlotte (who edited the Parish Magazine for many years) with a new ‘state-of-the-art’ DVD player. Robert was replaced as churchwarden by Mr. Nigel Ashton with Mr. Robert Hargreaves continuing in office. Mrs. Charlotte Beecroft has been replaced as editor of our valuable monthly Parish Magazine by Mrs. June Hyson, whom we welcome warmly.

In February, the annual deanery Candlemas evensong took place in St. Thomas’s in the presence on a congregation in excess of one hundred. The preacher was the Rev. Dr. G. Martin Yould, the rector’s lecturer in church history, liturgy and theology.

A weekend in support of the Sacred Sussex Movement included a recital by the cellist Penelope Lynex, a very successful church market, which has now become a regular monthly feature of our community life, a Saturday performance by the Youth String Quartet and a stirring choral evensong on Sunday led by the King Charles Singers of Tunbridge Wells.

The preacher at the annual Patronal Festival held in the presence of the Mayor and Corporation was the Rt. Rev. Keith Newton, Bishop of Richborough and chairman of the Guild of All Souls, patron of St. Thomas’s. The patronal weekend was also marked by a reading in period costume by members of the Winchelsea Literary Society of T.S. Eliot’s ‘Murder in the Cathedral’. The performance was directed by Mr. Alan McKinna and the Archbishop played by Mr. Robert Luckham.

Major restoration work took place in October and November on all the Strachan stained glass windows which required the replacement and strengthening of the ferrous T-bar and crossbar supports which were corroding and spalling the stonework, thereby endangering the glass. The ferrous material has been replaced or tipped with a more durable non-ferrous metal. As scaffolding was required for this work, the opportunity was taken to undertake urgent repointing of the wall of the south aisle at the same time. The work was completed with great efficiency and the minimum of disturbance to regular services under the supervision of Mr Keith Hill of the Stained Glass Workshop of Rochester and Messrs. Tilley and Co., our church builders. A fascinating talk on the work done on the stained glass was subsequently given by Mr Hill to a large and appreciative audience.

Repairs to the windows of the north wall will follow in 2007 and the total cost of the entire undertaking will amount to some £54,000, all of which will be met by the Friends of Winchelsea Church, without whose continuing generosity work on this scale would hardly be possible.