THE
PARISH OF WINCHELSEA
ANNUAL
REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31st DECEMBER 2009
OUR MISSION STATEMENT
"We as members of the family of the churches in Winchelsea
believe that God loves us.
He has shown this love in the gift of Jesus to the world.
He wants us to share that love with the people of our communities.
Our commitment is to enable everyone to discover
The love of God in Jesus for themselves".
The Parish of Winchelsea and Winchelsea Beach is
served by two Churches, St Thomas of Canterbury the Annunciation of
the B.V.M. in the Town of Winchelsea and St Richard of Chichester at
Winchelsea Beach. There is a single Parochial Church Council whose
Chairman is the serving incumbent and Rector, The Reverend Canon
HAS Cocks. Together with
the neighbouring Parish of Icklesham (the Church of St Nicolas with
All Saints) these three churches comprise a joint benefice.
Icklesham has its own Parochial
Church Council
P.C.C. WINCHELSEA - MEMBERSHIP
Members of the PCC are elected by the Annual
Parochial Church Meeting in accordance with the Church
Representation Rules or are co-opted when a vacancy arises. Some
parish officers are ex-officio churchwardens and Deanery Synod
representatives.
Churchwardens are elected at the annual Vestry
meeting, which precedes the Annual Parochial Church Meeting. Deanery
Synod representatives are elected for a three-year term (we are
entitled to three representatives by virtue of the number on the
parish electoral roll). They were elected either at the 2008 APCM or
co-opted at the first PCC after the APCM for the term 2008-201 1 .
The following served on the PCC during 2009:
|
Incumbent and
Chairman |
The Rev'd Canon
Howard Cocks SSC |
|
Churchwardens
|
Mr Nigel M
Ashton
Mrs SueChetwood
|
|
Deanery Synod
Representative |
Mrs Marion
Lovell
Mrs Angela Hill
Mrs Tessa Potts
|
|
Reader
|
DrK
Michael McFaydean
Mr D Fawcett (Chapel Warden) |
|
PCC Office Holders
|
Mrs Celia King (Chapel Warden)
Mrs Angela
Hill (is also Hon. Secretary
Mrs Pamela
Jefferies (Hon. Treasurer)
|
|
Non office
holders
|
Mrs Sara Baker
Mr David Jefferies
Mr J Allan McKinna
Mrs Ellen Smith
Mrs Sue Taberer
Ms Patricia Dawes
Mrs D Rodley
|
|
Mr Michael Phillips is the Parish Licensed Lay Worker
but is not a member of the PCC
|
This has been a year
when there have been no major structural projects due to the
enormous amount of work that has been completed in recent years and
the down-turn in the income of The Friends' due lo the economic
situation; however a number of important smaller tasks have been
completed.
The gates to the
churchyard have all been repaired and in one case replaced; a stone
pillar near the Court Hall has been rebuilt. A comprehensive survey
of all the trees has taken place and planning permission gained for
some trees to be removed, replaced or pruned. The large compost heap
at the east end of the churchyard has been painstakingly removed as
has a large pile of grass cuttings and detritus from the west end.
We have now arranged for the Church walls to be repointed where
necessary and the mortar replaced between the paving on the paths
and war memorial. There has been considerable debate within the
church community and the town at large, regarding grass cutting and
the War Memorial. It has been decided the churchyard will be rough
cut every 2 weeks during the growing season as long as funds permit,
the War Memorial is now being overseen by Major John LeB Freeman MBE
and the War Memorials Trust (Registered Charity No. 1062255)
One of the
most important tasks that has been completed this year is a thorough
assessment of the Health and Safety risks at St. Thomas's by James
Gumming of J and C Consulting, Health and Safety Management
Services. He produced a highly professional and detailed report and
many of his recommendations have already been implemented. This
report will result in the church and its environs being safer for
all of us. The church paths in wet or icy weather have obviously
been a major concern and it is proposed that a 20cm gravel path be
laid at the side of each of the stone paths for use when the stone
is slippery. We hope to begin work on this soon.
We have
removed broken chairs from the two side chapels and replaced them
with a set of folding upholstered chairs which are comfortable and
easily moved. The organ has been examined and is in need of
considerable refurbishment. We applied for a grant for some of this
work but were unsuccessful- We will need to bring work on the organ
to the fore within a few years. After much discussion and debate the
entire sound system in the church has been carefully tested and some
new equipment provided, which has resulted in a much more reliable
amplification. Many thanks to Peter Skiffen and Geoffrey Yates (of
Christian Fabrications Ltd ) for all their hard work. The boiler is
working very well but there has been some remedial work on existing
pipes. Thank you to Alan for his work overseeing the sound and for
keeping us
warm.
We have been extremely
fortunate in having the guidance of Celia King in preparation for
the application for St Thomas's to have a liquor and performing
license which will mean that shortly we will be able to sell alcohol
at concerts and performances to raise money for church funds and
other charities.
The Church's spiritual
and liturgical life has continued to flourish under the gentle
direction of The Reverend Canon Howard Cocks SSC and we must also
record our personal thanks to all who contribute so much to our
worship particularly our reader Dr Michael McFadyean, Marion Lovell
and the Junior Choir, our indefatigable organist Jean Taverner and
all who read and lead prayers during worship. We would particularly
like to thank Reverends David Page and Howard Norton for the
dynamism, intellectual energy and joy they have added to so many of
our services this year.
In April we commemorated
St. George's Day in the presence of the Mayor and Corporation; the
Patronal festival was a great success with the sermon being preached
by The Right Reverend Roger Alan Jupp, S.S.C., MA, Bishop of
Popondota 2003-05 and the church flowers looking glorious under the
direction of Charlotte Beecroft. Services for Harvest and
Remembrance were well attended and attendance at services for
Christmas, especially the enchanting crib service, was impressive.
The Rector and Churchwardens hosted a reception at the Court Hall
for the Church community, following the Service of Lessons and
Carols, it is hoped this will become an annual event.
The amount of
skill, dedication and sheer hard work involved in keeping St
Thomas's worshipping, bearing witness, unlocked, cleaned, decorated,
safe, prepared for services, legal and solvent is awesome and we
would like to thank very sincerely everyone (including Tessa Potts
and all the sidesmen) who is involved in
this in anyway.
Nigel Ashton and Sue
Chetwood Church Wardens
RECTOR'S REPORT
I have been your Parish
Priest for five years - and still have no regrets and greatly enjoy
living among you both as a resident and as your Parish Priest. As
St. Augustine wrote "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 here is Winchetsea.
We are well
served by the Church Wardens of the parish, Mrs Sue Chetwood, who
has completed her first year in office has, along with her co-church
warden Mr Nigel Ashton worked generously and indefatigably to ensure
that all is good order and everything operates smoothly. We all owe
them a great debt of gratitude. Similarly the Chapel Wardens, Mrs
Celia King and Mr. David Fawcett keep our Chapel-of-Ease St.
Richard's in good order and everything functioning efficiently. It
is wonderful and a great witness to the spirit of the whole that all
work together harmoniously which is obviously 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 invariably difficult
decisions to make from time to time but these are always 'worked
through1 in a spirit of genuine Christian fellowship.
A surprising number of
members of the congregation work to keep the parish functioning eg
the legally required church officers of Secretary and Treasurer
where great attention is required to the minutiae of parish minutes,
financial records necessary for both legal and diocesan
requirements. When you examine the accounts just consider the
complexity and the work involved in drawing up the financial report.
Many others are involved
in the life of the church and add to the smoothness of church life
eg Tessa as a conscientious sacristan ensuring that all is ready for
both weekday and Sunday worship, laundering linen etc. 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,
Magazine editors and magazine compilers (here we thank Denis and
June Hyson and Hazel and Geoffrey Milais), sidesman, PCC members and
Marion Lovell with the Junior Choir (who will ever forget that
magnificent crib service with a real live baby and donkey) are all
part of a surprisingly large team that ensure we keep "the show on
the road". It is not easy and it takes time and commitment.
Fellowship, formal and
informal is an integral part of our worship - we do not worship in
isolation (me and my God) but in union with our brothers and sisters
in Christ - hence we share the peace of Christ. Tea/coffee is an
important part of our collective worshipping life - so we
acknowledge with thanks those who organise and undertake the not so
very exciting task of washing up afterwards!
I have said enough - no
doubt I have omitted something: apologies But let me leave you
with the following:
Last year I drew to your
attention the well-known chorus that starts "Count your blessings,
name them one by one, and it will surprise you what the Lord has
done" and I challenged us all to make it our motto for 2009. How did
we succeed? Looking back on 2009 we must realise we have so much to
be thankful for, not only as a congregation but in our own lives as
well - we must not take our good fortune for granted!
As a church it is too
easy to take for granted the efforts 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. Let us discipline ourselves to make a
point of appreciating that everything that happens in or about our
churches has been undertaken by someone - voluntarily.
It is a besetting habit
for all of us that we prefer to complain - especially if things
happen we don't like Well, life is like that and living with that
situation is what being a mature person is all about. Being thankful
and acknowledging others and saying "thank you" is just so much more
positive and makes us all feel so much better. Difficulties/sadness
are part of life: being positive and thankful puts us in a better
position both mentally, spiritually and physically to deal with all
the 'down'1 things that can happen to us.
2009 was a good year:
many happy and interesting things happened to us as individuals and
as a congregation......many blessings indeed.
Howard A.S Cocks
ANNUAL REPORT FOR YEAR ENDED 31st 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 9th 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 31st 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: