2011 apcm annual report - web compressed

8/7/2019 2011 APCM Annual Report - Web Compressed

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annual report 2010

presented to the all souls annual meeting

april 27th 2011


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annual meetingsthursday, 27th april at 8:00pm

agendaparishioners meeting

Churchwarden Elections

annual parochial church meeting1 Apologies for Absence2 Minutes of APCM 20103 Matters Arising4 PCC Elections5 Election of Deanery Synod Representative6 Electoral Roll Report7 The Reports:

PCC Report

Finance Report Fabric Report

Appointment of Sidespeople

Other Reports8 Any Other Business

minutes from 2010 APCM : april 22ndattendeesLucy Anstey, Lizzy Ammon, Pat and Ken Andrews, Charlotte Berding, Al Bird, Debbie Braun, Karl

Burgess, Tom and Rosalie Callway, Tilly Connor, Jan Cowie, Marcus Cutler, Adrian and Cath Davies,Brenda Dickens, Iain and Nikki Fletcher, Richard and Catherine Frank, Nicola Ghanem, Jamie Goode,Maggie Greenfield, Martin Houghton-Brown, Charles and Charlie Hudson, Tim and Bobbie Jonsson,Tom Johnson, Craig and Jen Knipe, Andreas Koestler, Ali Matthew, Matt McCarty, Nick and KatherineMerrifield, Linda Northern, Helene Parry, Richard Peart, David Peppiatt, Adrian and Tors Ramsey, Davidand Davina Rowe, Krista Small, Tim and Helen Stephens, Charles Tapson, Julian and Swan Treasure,Eleanor Tuck, Deborah Warne, Jon and Rachel Wooden, Beth Thyr, Katherine Wareham, Sue Wing.Apologies: Rob Anstey, Shelagh Clifford, Russell Dickens, Bill Greenfield, Ness and Ryan Reddick,Claire Wedderburn, Mark and Oliver Wing.

welcome

Richard Frank welcomed everyone and opened the meeting. The meeting was in two parts:the Parishioners Meeting, open to all who live in the parish, and the Parochial Meeting, opento those on the electoral roll of All Souls.

previous minutes - The April 2009 minutes were approved.

pcc electionsIain Fletcher, Nick Merrifield, Krista Small and Tim Jonsson were elected to the PCC. KarlBurgess and David Bryant were standing down. Richard thanked Karl and David for their workfor the PCC. David Rowe will be joining Jan Cowie as Deanery Synod Rep.

election of churchwardensCath Davies was elected churchwarden. Deborah Warne remains in this office.David Rowe stood down as churchwarden after ten years in the post. Richard thanked David


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and Davina for all their work while David has been churchwarden. The church gave David a roundof applause

election of sidespeopleKen & Pat Andrews, Paul and Lindsay Wilson, Nick and Katherine Merrifield, Jan Cowie,David Vroegindeweij, Charles Tapson, David Rowe and Mark Wing.

review of reportsReports were distributed to members of All Souls present, who were encouraged to read them later.

finance feportAl Bird (Treasurer) gave a presentation on the 2009 Accounts. All Souls was now using the SAGEaccounting system.

1. Income for 2009 was up from 175,158 to 186,772; an increase of 11,614 (excluding theexceptional one-off giving at the end of 2009 for The Link). We also used 26,650 transferredfrom our Woodridge Trust fund to complete The Link.

2. Total giving, including tax refunds, increased by 12,117 (excluding 2008 Link giving).3. Total expenditure in 2009 decreased by 19,545 (factoring in Childrens and Youth Workerdeparture and other savings).

4. The Diocesan Common Fund increased by 5,083 in 2009 and will increase again by 6,000in 2010, to a total of 56,000 for 2010.

5. Overall, income and expenditure for 2009 was generally in line with expectations and thebudget. All Souls was receiving around 14,000 a month.

Al thanked Sue and the Finance Team for monitoring the project management and cash flow in theabsence of a Treasurer. Richard noted that All Souls had been implementing the new SAGEaccounting system. Jen Knipe had put in hours setting it up and Sue had shouldered the

responsibilities of payments, cheques, etc. Richard added that, month by month, we were meetingour costs. God was providing exactly what we needed.

Richard spoke on His love endures for ever from Lamentations 3.

AOBNo other business.

The meeting was then closed and was followed by worship and testimonies.Helene Parry PCC Secretary

parochial church council (pcc)

The proposed PCC for 2011/12 would be:

Clergy: Richard Frank (Chair); Charles HudsonChurch Wardens: Deborah Warne & Cath DaviesDeanery Synod: David Rowe & Jan CowieStanding for election this year: Helen Stephens; Pranay Jeyechandran; Karl Burgess;

David Peppiatt; Eleanor Tuck; Becky KimbleContinuing for another year: Helene Parry (Hon. Secretary); Al Bird (Treasurer); Charles Tapson;Debbie Braun; Nick Merrifield; Iain Fletcher; Krista Small; Rosalie Callway


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pcc reportThe PCC has met six times since the All Souls Annual Meeting last year. Its meetings havecovered matters from the reorganisation of childrens and youth work to the addition ofIvybridge to All Souls parish. Each meeting begins with a report from Richard, which the PCCthen discusses.

In the past 12 months, the PCC has covered matters ranging from the challenges ofchurch growth, encouraging church giving, the take-up of short study and discussion courses,and the launch of All Souls tenth birthday celebrations. Recent highlights of PCC meetingshave included planning improvements to the building and Richards I nduction as vicar.

Helene Parry- PCC Secretary

electoral roll reportThe updated electoral roll has 133 people, of whom 97 are resident outside the parish. Sincethe revision of last years role, 21 names have been added and 1 name removed. New

applications can be made at any time after the APCM - please ask Sue Wing for further detailsand/or an enrolment form.

Sue Wing - Electoral Roll Officer

commentary on 2010 finances2010 was another very active year for All Souls with challenges (both planned and unplanned)which we rose to meet together as a church with strong backing from parishioners and theDiocese alike. Thank you to the All Souls community for your continued support.

We spent 13,109 more than our unrestricted income for the year which we achieved withthe help of an additional loan for 15,000 from the Diocese to cover agreed maintenanceworks.

Income Total unrestricted income in 2010 was 172,463 - broadly the same as 2009 regular

income, with some additional restricted funds donated towards the 2020 Vision project Total regular giving, including tax refunds, was broadly flat at 116,669 (2009 117,223) Total rental income was slightly down at 39,309 (2009 42,782) This is generally encouraging considering the recession and changing congregation

though does present challenges to both sustain necessary ongoing maintenanceactivities and realise further development & growth plans which will all require furtherincome and investment

The Ivybridge is now part of the parish with its associated finances transferred forrestricted use on the estate

Expenditure Total expenditure in 2010 decreased to 185,572 (from 232,973 which had included

an additional c.40k of one-off LINK building work) The Diocesan Common Fund increased as agreed by 8150 in 2010 to 58,150, and will

increase again as planned by 6,034 in 2011 to a total of 64,184 for 2011. Overall, the Income and Expenditure in 2010 was generally in line with expectations

and the budget. Huge credit is due to cash flow monitoring of Sue & the finance teamto keep everything afloat!


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The PCC are extremely thankful and very appreciative of the generous giving which hasallowed the church to grow and provide resources for the congregation and thecommunity

Balance SheetWe entered 2010 with an overall net debt owing of 11,871 in short term loans fromparishioners along with a longer term Diocesan loan taken out in 2009 to help complete the

Link project. Having paid off the parishioner loans and maintained repayments to the Dioceseas planned in 2010, a further Diocesan loan for 15,000 was awarded in late 2010 to fund anurgent boiler replacement and associated plumbing, electrical and redecoration works in theChurch Halls. We therefore ended 2010 with an overall net debt owing of 24,980, with aclear budget and plan to meet the necessary repayment obligations in 2011 and beyond.

2011 BudgetThe 2011 budget is prudent and so far tracking to plan. With running costs pared back to theessentials, and proactive review of utilities providers and other regular outgoings by thefinance team, the priorities are to maintain our obligations to the Diocese (common fund and

loan repayments) while eagerly looking to attract further funds to invest in the numerousadditional community oriented projects in the pipeline.

Al Bird - PCC Honorary Treasurer 2011


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CurateHouseInterest 7,200 0 0 7,200 7,193 8,298 0

Salaries,ProfessionalFees&Ni 38,524[5] 0 0 38,524 44,650 65,478 39,684

Training,Gifts,Vicar'sDiscretionaryFund 609 0 0 609 1,991 1,836 2,078

MaintenanceChurchBuildings 5,807 0 0 5,807 8,366 23,221 30,264

MaintenanceVicarage,CurateHouse+Flat 1,547 0 0 1,547 239 18,247 4,123

BuildingsDesign/Development 16,263 0 0 16,263 55,017 29,517 2,000

LittleSoulsCosts 4,303 0 0 4,303 4,110

Giving(SoulConnectionsFund&SpecialServices) 13,293 0 0 13,293 19,030 11,241 4,535

ChildrensAndYouthWork 2,286 0 0 2,286 1,360 6,094 3,926

DiscipleshipAndOutreachEvents 2,732 0 0 2,732 1,630 1,048 189

MissionAndMinistryResources 3,309 0 0 3,309 4,142 2,033 7,076

OfficeEquipment,SuppliesAndPostage 5,589 0 0 5,589 4,755 10,064 15,993

XmasDecorationsAndCelebration 201[6] 0 0 201 1,428 1,177 1,241

Welcome(Literature,Events) 76 0 0 76 255 192 587

IvyBridge 294 294

185,572 294 0 185,866 232,973 245,546 171,025

TOTALRESOURCESEXPENDED 185,572 294 0 185,866 232,973 245,546 171,025

Note4continued Analysisofresourcesexpended

Staffcosts 38,524 38,524 44,650 65,478 39,684

DuringtheyearthePCCemployedanAdministrator,aPersonalAssistanttothevicar(forpartoftheyear),aChurchSecretaryandaYouthWorkerallparttime.

Thetotalcostofemployment(includingPAYEandNI)was38,524(200944,650). ThisfigureincludesSiteDirectorProfessionalFees.

TherewerenoPensioncostsorPensioncontributionsin2008(2007Nil)

Note5 FixedAssetsIn2008ahousewasacquiredforthenewcurateatacostof450,000.Thisisfundedbyinterestandequityloansof200,000andequityloansof250,000fromthedioceseandmembersandequityloansof250respectively.Theassetandtheliabilityareinthebalancesheet.,000fromthedioceseandmembers.

Note6 Debtors(unrestrictedfunds)

Taxrecoverable(outstandinggiftaidfor2010) 259[7] 259 5,596 4,494 13,513

0 0 0 531

259 259 5,596 4,494 14,044

Note7 Liabilities

Amountsfallingdueinoneyear(unrestrictedfunds)

Accrualsforutilitiesandothercosts 8,168 8,168 6,861 2,585 8,292

ParishionerLoans 0 0 5,243 3,237 437

8,168 8,168 12,104 5,823 8,729

Theoutstandingamount(5243)oftheparishionerloansborrowedtocoverdevelopmentcostoverrunsinearly2009weresettledinfullasagreedbyAugust2010.LongerTermLoans: Inadditiontotheloansforthecurate'shouseobtainedin2008(perNote5),therearenowtwofurtherDiocesanLoansinplace,eachwith3yearrepaymentterms. AsatDec31st2010therewas6208outstandingonthefirstDiocesanloan(for14k)drawndownin2009tocompletetheLinkprojectandotheradditionalcostsassociatedwiththecurate'shouse. Repaymentsareproceedingtoplanandshouldbecompletedin2012. Inlate2010,afurther15kDiocesanloanwasapprovedtofundurgentreplacementoftheveryoldboilerwithassociatedplumbing,electricalandredecorationworksoftheChurchHalls. ThisworkwascompletedinDecember2010,andrepaymentsbeganin2011,toberepaidinfullin2014.

Note8 RestrictedFundsandInvestment

Therestrictedfundscomprise141inabankaccountassociatedwithTheMarthaLuggWooldridgeTrust,and1034inadepositaccountwhicharebothrestrictedfordevelopmentworktotheChurchbuildings,alongwith23,445inabankaccountrestrictedforchurchactivitieswiththeIvybridge.


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report on the fabric (buildings)of all souls

2010 was a quiet year, at least compared to the last decade!The highlights werent as great as in the past and perhapsthat is significant after ten years of recovery and growthculminating in Richard becoming the incumbent. Here are afew:

The Fire Risk Assessment was reviewed and klaxons and exit plans have now been fittedin all major rooms.

The halls boiler installation was investigated by independent engineers as it wasproving increasingly unreliable and, with parts no longer available, it might have failedat any moment. It was recommended that it be replaced and after obtainingcompetitive tenders MK Heating was appointed and carried out its replacement.

Following the routine electrical testing of the wiring installation, various improvementswere made in the Studio and elsewhere to improve safety.

Consideration was given to the overhaul or replacement of the wood block church flooras it is worn and loose in places. It was found that it was economic to overhaul the floorwhich may be carried out when adequate funds are available.

Negotiations have been concluded for the renewal of the licence of the parking spaceadjacent to 53 Newry Road to the new owner of the house following its sale by the

previous owner.

A plastic curtain has been fitted to the main hall side door in order to reduce heat lossduring the morning use of the garden by Pebbles nursery.

The main hall toilets (previously the ladies toilets) were refurbished in the summer(long overdue) and gents have been stripped out to be used as storage.

And looking ahead we will be carrying out some minor redecoration of 25 Brantwood Avenue(which is in excellent condition) preparatory to the arrival of our new curate, Calum Lindsay.

Charles Tapson Buildings Manager


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vicar's report to the apcmMy report on 2009 was all about the new our newLink (which itsnow hard to believe hasnt always been there!), newbishop (and nearlynew curate!), newparish boundaries, newMessy Church and of coursethe newsecond service.

In contrast, 2010 has been, I think, about consolidation, depth andstrength about celebrating our past and digging in for the future.

One thing, of course, has remained the same that ever-faithful love of God, revealed inJesus and known by his Spirit, who is the one at the heart of all we do and aspire to be.

looking back with thanksIt was always going to be a special year, with the tenth birthday of the church plant providinga good reason to look back with gratitude on the first decade of this new start for All Souls.

Celebrations began in the summer with a garden party (i.e. a barbecue in our back garden!)for the remaining members of the original planting team. It was that evening that, alongsidegiving thanks for all that God had done through that team, we particularly marked DavidRowes ten years, alongside Davina, as Church Warden here. Their remarkable leadership,pastoral care and spiritual wisdom has formed a vital part of the heart of the church since thebeginning. Helenes specially commissioned card, drawing out the tasks of a Church Wardenwas a fitting, and humorous, tribute!

October saw the 10th Birthday Weekend, with Bishop Paulspending from Friday evening to Sunday afternoon with us.Bishop Paul has been a friend and encourager to All Souls sincehe spent his very first Sunday as a bishop with us here in 2009and his presence was a fantastic way to mark our decade. TheBishop spoke at an Alpha Supper for nearly eighty on the Fridayevening, at a very well attended and received leaders event onthe Saturday and at our Celebration service on Sundaymorning, before joining our Ivybridge congregation in theafternoon. A memorable and encouraging weekend!

confidence in the futureWind forward a few months to the beginning of this year and we were able to welcome

Bishop Paul back once again for the Church of Englands official way of recognising thenewfound strength of All Souls as a local parish church. The official language was ofreinstating the Living and the Collation and Induction of me as Vicar something mostof us thought Id been doing for nearly six years already!

Fundamentally, the service was more about the church as a whole, than simply about mepersonally. Through it, the Church of England was showing that it recognised an end to thetemporary status of All Souls, as a church plant. Were here for the long-haul and it wasgreat to be able to celebrate that fact, rooted in Gods faithfulness, alongside our Bishop.

One of the things that especially struck me over the year is just how much impact the story ofthese ten years has on those who hear it for the first time. For those outside the life of a localchurch, the story they hear about Christianity in general and the Church of England in


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particular is nothing better than decline. To hear of a church not just recovering 'from thebrink', but actually thriving and growing is nothing short of astonishing and has been areason in itself for people to re-examine their preconceptions of church.

making contactMany people simply have no contact with churchwhatsoever, whether in decline or growth and that,

of course, is one of the reasons Little Soulscontinues to be so vital in its service to so manylocal young families.

This year has continued to see an enthusiasticcrowd for their 'Messy Church' services and a goodnumber of families trying out Sunday church for thefirst time, particularly for the 'high days andholidays'. We're increasingly convinced that LittleSouls represents the foundation for something more, finding new ways to serve and reach out

to the many young families who live locally and who already recognise in Little Souls anorganisation they can trust and a team they have begun to know. Watch this space!

two services one churchThis time last year, we were still getting used to a second service, the 4.30pm service havingstarted in September 2009. Its been really encouraging to see that service put down solidroots now, with a (more than!) viable congregation and a growing sense of identity andvitality. Weve had a few new households join, some from the morning service - particularlyas children have grown up and started sport on Sunday mornings - and a few who had beenmembers of churches elsewhere, but had fallen out of churchgoing with the onset of Sunday

sport.

Running two services continues to present its own challenges - not just the extra teams torecruit and support, but the need to keep our sense of identity as a whole church. Its beengood to keep up our regular pattern of together Sundays where both congregations get toworship in one service and we plan to continue that in the coming year.

Overall weve continued our gentle growth over the past year - certainly the numerical spikewe saw when we started a second service hasnt gone away and we now see an average ofabout 120 adults and 100 children across the two services on a Sunday.

leadership changeOur parish boundaries changed a year ago, as youll know, to take in the Ivybridge Estate andwith it, oversight of the Ivybridge Community Church, led by Luke Taylor. You can read a briefreport on that conregation below, but I want to give personal thanks here to the leadershipteam of lay people who have taken on the week-by-week running of ICC since the departureof Luke for a new position. They have carried a tremendous load and God has used them veryremarkably in the lives of individuals there and the church as a whole.

Change is in the air, of course, for All Souls too. Tors Ramsey has been a member of All Soulsnearly since the beginning of the church plant, with Adrian currently heading up our Worship

Teams. Tors has been training for ordained ministry whilst working on the staff here,particularly in refocusing our efforts and energy on the fledgling Underground Group. Withtheir departure this summer so that Tors can serve her curacy (church to be confirmed at timeof writing) will come a real sense of loss - both from Tors input into the preaching, worship


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and teenager ministry of the church and much behind-the-scenes pastoral and prayer ministrywork Tors has been done... As well as Adrians committed and effective leadership of theWorship Teams. They are going to be a tremendous blessing elsewhere - and were going tomiss them here!

At the same time, the moment we knew was coming three years ago - buthave been in denial about ever since! - will arrive as Charles moves on

from his curacy training here to be Rector of Broxbourne with Wormley.There will be plenty of time in the coming months to say our Goodbyesand to show our appreciation for all that he has brought to the life of AllSouls, alongside Charlie and Milly and Pippa, but for myself I find itgenuinely impossible to imagine life and ministry here without him. I trustGod that his going will be a huge blessing for the churches hes going toserve - and that God wont leave us wanting, despite the hole that he andhis family will leave behind.

looking ahead

Even as weve been consolidating the growth of the previous years and whilst some of thenew things have become so much part of the furniture that weve forgotten they were evernew, weve also been looking ahead. Giving thanks for the first decade makes us consider thenext ten years of what God may do here.

First up will be a new curate - Calum Lindsay will be joining us in July fresh from his trainingat Ridley Hall in Cambridge. Were looking forward to welcoming him to All Souls and all thatGod has to bring here through him.

Secondly we want to work in a focused way to grow our vision for 2020, especially three keyareas: 1. Outreach to young families, 2. The (re)development of our buildings for mission andministry and 3. Our ministry to and with the Ivybridge Estate. Well be establishing three 2020teams to help our thinking and planning move on in these areas. If youve like to be part ofone of them, do let me know...

finallyIf youve read this far, youll see theres so much to be thankful for - and hopefully youll alsosee that its not to do with patting ourselves on the back, but looking upwards to the Godwho is always faithful and always at work... for the first ten years and for the next.

Richard Frank - Vicar (!), April 2011

ivybridge community churchThe Ivybridge Community Church (ICC) was planted by a teamfrom St Stephen's Twickenham about six years ago. Its vision isto be 'a church that everyone from the Ivybridge communitywould love to belong to'.

The last year has seen much change for ICC...

First, in the summer of 2010, Luke Taylor (who had led theteam since its inception) moved to a post in Windsor. His andGissy's unique gifts and enthusiasm are much missed, but they have left behind a strong


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foundation for the work on the estate. A very committed team, led by Iain and Nikki Fletcher,Matt and Charlie Bending, Aideen Long and, more recently, Suzaan Meyers, has continued toprovide Sunday services at the BridgeLink Centre and to minister to those who come and toothers. They have continued to run events like the Christmas Giveaway and Storehouse, aswell as forging stronger connections with the community at Kirkstone Lodge.

Secondly, as a result of the changes in the parish boundaries which came into effect in April

2010, the Ivybridge estate formally became part of the All Souls parish. Since September,Richard and Charles have preached at one service a month each at ICC, and other members ofAll Souls have joined the team. In addition, Richard has started taking assemblies at IvybridgeSchool and Nikki Fletcher has joined the Governing Body.

ICC also now has its own website, created by ICC member James - you can take a look at:www.ivybridgechurch.org.uk - with a great range of pictures and videos. Theres also afacebook community and text message notices service!

We are praying that God will draw new people to join the ICC team - perhaps helping twice a

month on a Sunday afternoon - so do chat to one of us if youre interested in finding outmore. Were also looking to put a team together focusing on the long-term future of ourministry and mission on the estate.Richard Frank - for the ICC Team

youth and childrens team reports

youth the undergroundIn 2010 we continued to develop the youth group following the workstarted in 2010/2009. In the summer term 2010 there was a sense ofenthusiasm following the youth Alpha (winter term 2010). We aimed toconsolidate some of the teaching that had emerged through Alpha andto pick up on some specific points of interest and query. One examplewas Richard coming to do a Q & A on the Old Testament. We also hadRosalie and Fi coming to talk about the environment and to begin toexplore how issues of the environment impact our faith and vise versa.

The autumn term began with some changes to the structure of the group. Although we had

a small number of 'graduates' from Soultime, we began to think about planning long termand set up a trial older youth group that met monthly. We tried this for a term, and whilst wefelt it was fruitful in many aspects, we decided that in terms of resourcing, we were not readyyet to stretch to two youth groups.

Socially, Karl and Kate and others have made a couple of visits to Soul Survivor gatherings andthere is a plan for a group to go to the summer festival. The group did a great job at raisingmoney for Comic Relief, which resulted in a total of 360 being raised!

On Sundays this year we have been using the parables for our discussion time together. We

are looking forward to the autumn term when there will be a big intake of newUndergrounders!

Karl Burgess & Tors Ramsey


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creche (am)Creche (birth to around 2 years) has been busy over the past year. We cater for babies and toddlerswith toys, juice and biscuits and coffee and a chat for the parents. Creche numbers have grown overthe last year and we've had to move lots up to the Explorers group to make room for the ongoing babyboom!Becky Kimble

explorers (am)The Explorers group continues to meet on Sunday mornings in the dance studio, catering forthose moving up from crche (around 2 years of age) to those about to start their final yearof nursery or pre-school. Even with the recent move of children up to Gems, Explorers still has17 on its list, and numbers vary from 9 to 18 (if its a joint service/baptism). The team has,unfortunately, reduced with the recent moves, and we are down to 7 currently, with 3 leadersand 4 helpers, and are due to lose one of our experienced leaders during mid summer.

We are very fortunate to have had Brenda Dickens setting the themes, content and crafts for

our sessions since September. These, we usually simplify greatly for the needs our younggroup, relying heavily on visual aids and/or action. The format of the sessions has remainedthe same, with free play followed by the bible story corner (refreshments - as with the othergroups, we are cutting down on biscuits and trying to introduce slightly healthier snacks),craft session and songtime or free play again.

Many of the leaders and helpers have until recently, assisted with crche, and its lovely to seebabies and young toddlers that we looked after in crche growing up and taking their firststeps in understanding the message of Gods love for them.Fi Budden

gems (am)Gems has been going really well and I have enjoyed leading it. Weaverage about 12 children each week. I am going to break this reportinto two groups - September 2010 to February 2011, and March 2011until the present.

Sep 10 to Feb 11We saw a big growth in this group of children in terms of their maturity& development. Their understanding of the stories grew and they were

more and more able to apply things to their lives. As time went on theybecome more hands on with the crafts and quite enjoyed making things rather than juststicking and colouring. Their confidence has grown and they felt quite happy to ask questionsor give their comments (whether relevant or not!). As to be expected the boys generally haveless concentration in craft time and like to compete and compare with each other. They stillhad fun though. On the other hand, the girls loved spending ages doing their crafts andcolouring.

The material and crafts were pitched at the right level for this age group (mainly 4 to 4 1/2years) and my team of leaders and helpers were outstanding in their delivery.

Mar 11 to presentWith the "All Change" Sunday happening in March, the group dynamics (and teams) havechanged a lot. This has had two obvious effects. The first is the age of the children has


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dropped and therefore the material and craft have had to change to accommodate this. Iwould say that it took a few weeks for us to find a pitch that works well in terms of telling thestory and getting across the session aim. It is a work in progress that we get better at eachweek. The crafts have been fine but we need to give the children a bit more support.

The second effect being having new leaders and children we all have had to get to know eachother. The new leaders have hit the road running and all have been great in delivering great

sessions. The children have settled in well but it has taken about a month for them to get usedto their new groups and structure. Most of them feel happy to come in and are soon takingpart if they are a bit shy. I have heard good reports from parents that their children are nowhappy to be left in Gems on their own so well done to all our leaders and helpers.

On the whole, Gems is going really well. We have a great team of people running the groupseach week and the children are all settling in well. Our current Gems team is made up ofRosalie, David, Stewart, Tony, Anna, Sam, Lorraine, Andrew, Karen and myself.Brenda Dickens

pre-schoolers (pm)Sunday afternoon in the Studio sees the preschoolers group in full swing. Numbers vary eachweek, as do the ages of the children - but we can have anything from between 5 to 10 babiesto reception age children playing, having fun and talking about Jesus. We generally managedo a craft activity and the kids love to do the bible story colouring sheets. Thanks to all theleaders and helpers who give their time to this group - you're great! .... If you're reading thisand are interested in being part of the team do let me know!Cath Davies

soul time (am & pm)Soul Time, our largest children's group,runs during our morning and afternoonservice. We cater for the widest children'sage range in the church from Receptionage children up to Yr 6. The activitiesrange from quizzes and team games, biblestories, drama, and short DVDs, worship,prayer time, and craft activities (such as

making key rings, cards, photo frames), allrelating to the theme of the week.

The biggest change during the last year has been moving from three age-groups (Reds, Greensand Blues) all meeting together in the large hall to just two groups (Movers Reception to Yr3) and Groovers (Yrs 4-6), but differentiating to a greater extent between the activities foreach group The two groups still meet together in the large hall in the morning session, andtake part in some activities together, but in the afternoon, Movers meet in the small hall andGroovers in the large hall, each with separate teams of leaders. The change has beenwell-received by children, parents and leaders alike.

Over the past year we have covered many bible stories and themes. Here are a few Godsworld and looking after it, parables of Jesus including the tiny seed & the story of the weeds,Jesus baptism, Jesus choosing his disciples, the armour of God, miracles of Jesus, also


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marking occasions such as Christmas & Easter.

We aim to plan fun, thought provoking and stimulating sessions for the children whilstdelivering a clear biblical message for them to take away.

amSoul Time in the morning tends to have around 25 children each week. With the influx of

reception age children, the age range has increased even further. Unlike in the afternoon ouroldest group the Groovers are very erratic with only 2 regular attendees although thegroup can bulge up to 8 in some weeks. Certainly in my (Russell) week we have yet to find aneffective solution. We have recently been lucky enough to have some of the worship teamjoining us to sing a few songs which has worked really well. The morning team leaders arecurrently Charles, Richard and Russell with at least one vacancy, and includes a total of around12 different leaders.

pmSoul Time in the afternoon continues to grow apace, from 15-20 children on average at the

beginning of the year to over 35 on occasion towards the end. The afternoon teams are ledby Sharon, Tom & Annabel, Charles and Richard (Movers) and by Tim, Debbie and Matthewand Karen (Groovers), and involve a total of 19 different leaders.

joining the teamMore than eighty members of All Souls are part of our Sunday youth and children's teams -helping out once a month as part of an age-group team, with some taking responsibility forleading sessions, many simply helping with setting up and working alongside small groups of

children.

Most leaders are new to children's work - no previous experience is needed! You simply needto enjoy the company of the age-group, be happy to engage with them at their level and toenjoy being part of God at work amongst the young. All our leaders undergo a CriminalRecords Bureau check at 'enhanced' level.

We are always on the look-out for people to come and give it a go - why not try it out oneweek and see if you enjoy it?

Simply chat to Richard, or to the leader of a particular group if you'd like to know more.


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serving others

schoolsCharles and I continue to be involved in the life of several local schools - in particular, two CofE

schools, but also the two primary schools in our parish.

I continue as Governor at the Blue School, with particular responsibility for Child Protectionissues and IT, also sitting on the Blue School Trustees. Each week, I go into the school to singwith the Nursery class and then to take an assembly for the rest of the school. It continues tobe a real highlight of my week, being able to engage with the school on such a regular basisand really get to know children and teachers alike. I meet each with Jon Frostick, theheadteacher, to chat and to pray. It is a hugely over-subscribed school and sadly some fromAll Souls have not been able to get a place there for September.

Charles is a Governor for his part at the the Green School (chairing the Finance Committee)

and both of us take assemblies and midweek communion services there. The Green School isa highly regarded a girls' CofE secondary school attended by many local children, includingsome from All Souls. In addition to assemblies and services in the school, weve been involvedin two retreats run by staff as a voluntary option for pupils to explore deeper and wider issuesof faith and life than the normal curriculum would allow.

Last year marked my joining the Governors at Worple School - a Hounslow LEA primaryschool on the northern boundary of our parish which serves many local families. Imcontinuing to build up my input there, for example spending an hour with their Year 6 classjust before Easter looking at the easter story.

This past year, however, has marked my first contacts with Ivybridge School - a HounslowLEA primary school on the Ivybridge Estate and now part of our parish. Im building on thesuperb foundation laid by Rev Luke Taylor, who used to lead the Ivybridge Community Churchand beginning to go in for half-termly assemblies. Nikki Fletcher, a member of All Souls andpart of the ICC leadership team has also joined the Governing Body there to further strengthenour links.

Over the coming year, we are going to be taking a look at whether we can build links withother schools where children from our area go, particularly if there are some with little or no

other church input into assemblies and lessons.Richard

Little Souls meets every Wednesday during term time from 10am - 11.30am. It is a placewhere babies and toddlers come with their carers to play - we use both halls and outside in

the garden, when the weather is nice.The carers love a chance to meet friends and have a cupof coffee and the children love the space to play and eat popcorn. Richard or Charles leadsinging during the last 15 minutes of our time together.


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We are full nearly every week and with sinking hearts have to turn people away most weeksduring the winter months otherwise our halls would be too crowded.

Little Souls has continued to be a fun team to be part of. A hugethank you to Cath, Janine and Rosalie who have retired from theteam this year. Janine and Cath deserve a medal after theirparticularly long years of service.

As leaders move on, God graciously provides new ones. A hugethank you to Krista, Lou, Tuane, Nasrin, Sally, Charles and Charliewho each week give up their time and energy to bless theircommunity in this way. We will of course be saying goodbye toCharles and Charlie during the summer term so a big thank you to

them for all they have done for Little Souls and once again we trust God will send us along afew more leaders. Anyone interested?

We have now had five Messy Church events over the previous 16 months. They take place

after school on a Friday. Doors open with tea and coffee followed by an hour of craftactivities based around the church. Richard gives a 10 min talk and song and then it is timefor dinner (we only feed the children - our cooker wouldn't cope with adults too!) It isglorious choas and everyone seems to have a fun time. Unlike Little Souls carers are beinginvited into the worship area and the activites tie into a Christian theme or celebration. Wehope that it will whet peoples appetite to know more about God and at the same time giveeveryone a fun time together.

Thank you to a huge team of people who help make it happen - to everyone who turns up inthe morning to blow up balloons or make hot cross bun mix to those who lug tables away atthe end.

If you want a flavour of Little Souls or Messy Church have a look at the photos or a super DVDmade by Olly Wing on our website.

Catherine Frank

local connectionsOur links with the local community continue to grow:

Little Souls (see above) continues to attract new folk, serving their needs and givingthem a link with the church. The Ballet school continue to lease the Studio and also hire our halls on a weekly basis; Pebbles Nursery is run in the large hall 4 mornings a week (during term time only) The North St Margarets Residents Association held two events last year in our halls for

our neighbours one in May and one at Christmas. We took part in The Big Lunch last July, together with our local residents, where we

provided amongst other things, live music, bouncy castle, refreshments, face painting We opened up the church to serve refreshments and sell Fairtrade goods during the

Annual Great Street Sale last September. We hosted an evening with Canon Andrew White (Bishop of Baghdad) We hosted an Invitation Dinner to launch our Alpha Course during our 10th Anniversary

weekend.Sue Wing


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soul livingThe soul living team started up in 2009 to look at how All Souls can make a positive andpractical impact on our local community, natural environment and wider world. We areseeking to promote more sustainable living as individual members of the church, as well as inhow the church runs its buildings and infrastructure.

Recent activities included an in-depth analysis of whether solar panels (photovoltaic) were aviable future option for All Souls (answer, in a nutshell, maybe one day - but theres rathermore to the report than that!) and tracking our carbon footprint to see if this can be reducedover time. All Souls made a commitment to reduce its footprint by at least 10% in 2010 (partof the 10:10 campaign internationally) and we more than achieved this, as shown below!

We continue to look at ways to improve the efficiency of our heating and to continue torecycle as much as possible, as well as seeing how to keep sustainable and simple living atthe forefront of our teaching programme and decision making.

Contact: Rosalie Callway - [email protected]


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monday communionThe Monday Communion is a more traditional service format than the Sunday services, and isa short service followed by a light lunch (home made soup/rolls/cakes). The service has beenrunning on a monthly basis (1st Monday of the month) for over a year and, although is stillsmall in numbers, those that do come along attend on a very regular basis, and really seem toenjoy both the service and the lunch.

The service is open to anyone available to come on a Monday, however, most of the regularattendees are retired and we feel the service would suit older people. Having tried to publicisethe service, we now realise that word of mouth is the most positive way of encouragingpeople to come along. Therefore, we ask that people let neighbours, friends and relativesknow about the service.

We are grateful in having had Helen assisting with many of the Monday sessions recently,particularly after Alis departure, and also for Vani and Charlie who have been making soups.New helpers would be welcomed, and anyone who is interested in helping, one Monday a

month, to set up, make soups, or to chat to those attending (even with children in tow) shouldspeak to Richard or Charles.

Fi Budden

Soul Connections exists for two purposes: helping keep the worldwide mission of Godschurch (material and spiritual) in focus within the life of All Souls and overseeing thedistribution of a proportion of All Souls income to projects and organisations that help fulfilthis aim. The team members are David Rowe, Tors Ramsey, Rosalie Callway, Eleanor Tuck andSue Wing.

In 2010 we supported: Acts 88 working in Richmond schools Tearfund Bob & Becky Faber working in Bulgaria Ivybridge Community Church Tors Ramsey ministerial training Joshua Opondo Diocesan Youth pastor in Kenya Ali Mathew Book grant

If you would like to find out more about Soul Connections orwould like to be a member of the team, do contact Richard orSue for further details.

Sue Wing


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small groups and short coursessmall groupsAt present, we have seven groups, with around 93 adults are involved, which represents morethan half the regular adults in All Souls. The groups, which are organised on broadly

geographical lines and co-ordinated by Charles, Mark and Deborah, meet the first week ofevery month for fellowship, discussion and prayer. Alongside home groups, we are continuingto develop prayer triplets, bible-reading partnerships and bible studies in people's homes.

Soul Women, led by Charlie, has been meeting weekly through the year, providing a meetingplace for women around during the day (most of them with a baby or young child in tow).

alpha and digging deeper - short courses

We continued to offer a number of short courses, typically running over three weeks, on

different a range of different subjects.

In the summer term of 2010, we ran three one-off evenings. Ali led a Soul Review trip to thecontroversial film, Four Lions. Richard hosted an evening entitled The Questions Children

Ask, helping parents to grapple with their young childrens questions about faith. Finally,Charles put on a session called God on the Go, looking at practical ways to engage with Godin the midst of busy lives.

In the autumn term, we ran the Alpha Course, over seven weeks plus a day (at David andDavina Rowes) looking at the person of the Holy Spirit. We had around twenty guests on the

course, as well as a team of eight leaders and helpers.

In Lent, we ran three Digging Deeper courses:

Richard ran the Why Jesus? course over four evenings, with a small group ofenthusiastic participants.

Tongue Tied, led by Ruth Bushyager (a regular member of our morning congregation,but also the Kensington Area Missioner), helped a group to look at questions ofpersonal evangelism, covering What's the good news and how did Jesus share it?,Sharing our faith... without sounding odd and The tricky questions.

Finally, Charles led Reading Romans a series of four bible studies looking at passagesfrom chapters 3 to 8 of Pauls letter.

sung worshipAt All Souls we believe that we have been created to bein relationship with God our Father - as we spend timeworshipping together as a church we seek to deepenthat relationship as we encounter and spend time in thepresence of the living God.

Year before last the worship team started meetingregularly and this has continued during 2010, meetingon a (near) monthly basis. The main function of these


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meetings has been to share and practice new songs, share ideas and to deepen therelationships amongst the team. Many thanks to those who have given up their Mondaysevenings to support this - I am convinced that they have made a real difference to the qualityof friendships as well as to the coherence of the musical playing and our knowledge of thesound equipment at our disposal.

We have been able to introduce a considerable number of new songs into the All Souls

portfolio during this last year. These have come both from new material as well asintroduction of some old classics and considerably older hymns ('Come thy fount of everyblessing' has been a particular personal highlight).

The sound team also continue to gain in confidence as they become more and more familiarwith the sound kit that we have at church (seems hard to believe not so long ago we didn'thave anyone operating the sound desk).

Once again Christmas served to be a real highlight with the mix across services of classic carolsand modern material as well as congregational and choir led pieces at the Carols by

candlelight. 'Joyful, joyful' Sister Act style was a real treat.

During 2010 Tim Jonsson, who had been one of our worship leaders in the morning service,moved away from London. As a result at times we have been a little stretched to facilitate fullworship bands across both services. This has meant that we have had to think creatively abouthow we deploy our resources and experiment with more 'acoustic' worship styles which hasbeen both surprising and enriching in terms of our overall worship experience. It is also downto the committment as well as the musical skill and versatility of the team (many teammembers play more than one instrument) that has meant this has been less of an issue thanit might have been.

A big thank you to all those involved in serving All Souls in this important ministry.

Adrian Ramsey

2011 apcm annual report - web compressed

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