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Charity reference

number 1128474

St Paul’s Church, Woodford Bridge, IG8 8BT

Annual Report

and

Financial Statements

of the

Parochial Church Council

for the Year ended 31st December 2018

Incumbent:

The Revd Ola Franklin

The Vicarage

4 Cross Road

Woodford Green

Essex IG8 8BS

Independent Examiner: Mr Michael Green 41 Buckwoods Road Braintree Essex CM7 1DY

Bank:

Barclays Bank plc Loughton and Woodford Branch 33 The Broadway Woodford Green Essex IG8 0HJ

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ST PAUL'S CHURCH, WOODFORD BRIDGE

Annual Vestry Meeting and Annual Parochial Church Meeting 2019

Sunday 28th April in Church after Parish Communion Service

AGENDA 1. Opening prayers VESTRY MEETING 2. To elect two Churchwardens 3. Apologies for absence ANNUAL PAROCHIAL CHURCH MEETING 4. Draft Minutes of APCM held on 22 April 2018 (attached) To note 5 (a) Presentation of the Electoral Roll (b) To appoint 3 PCC members for 3 years, resulting from:

• the retirement after 3 years' service of Paul Malam; Len Stevens and Pam Varughese

6. Finance: (a) Treasurer's Report (b) To receive the audited Accounts (c) To agree that the PCC will decide who to appoint to audit the 2019 Accounts 7. To receive: (a) Churchwarden’s Report (attached) (b) Deanery Synod Report (attached) 8. Any other business 9. Date of next APCM 11.15am on Sunday 26 April 2020 10. Closing prayers

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St Paul’s Church, Woodford Bridge Draft Minutes of APCM held on 22 April 2018

Present:

Rev O Franklin, Rev A Bolding, P Bolding, J Wooden, L Stevens, J Croke, M Leonard, J Leonard,

M Stevens, R Monks, Rev I Monks, C Franklin, M Wooden, C Tate, A Tate, P Dent, E Perfect, P

Hodges, V Hodges, P Elgar, L Savage, D Savage, C Adams, V Hunt, P Malam, S Malam, A

Malam, M Malam, J Malam, S Adams, E Sarginson, P Varughese, G Varughese N Ayres, A

Ayres, D Hobday, A Graveson and A Taylor

Chair – Rev O Franklin

Minutes – J Wooden

Vestry Meeting

1. Election of Two Churchwardens

The Chair thanked P Bolding who was stepping down after 7 years as churchwarden for her

considerable service to St Paul’s, much of which was behind the scenes.

Two nomination papers had been received for churchwarden. One for P Malam (proposed

by J Wooden and seconded by V Hodges) and one for J Wooden (proposed by G

Varughese and seconded by L Stevens). There being no other nominations, the Chair

declared that the nominees were elected.

APCM

2. Draft Minutes of previous APCM held on 23 April 2017

The draft minutes of the previous APCM held on 23 April 2017 were duly noted.

3. (a) Electoral Roll

There were currently 96 people on the electoral roll.

(b) PCC - appointment of new members

Three PCC members had come to the end of their three year terms, Derek

Hobday, Peter Hodges and Valerie Hodges. The Chair thanked them for their

contribution to the life of St Paul’s.

In respect of the election of members for the three vacancies, three nominations had

been received so therefore, all three vacancies were filled as follows:

• Aimée Ayres (proposed by J Wooden and seconded by J Leonard) for three

years;

• Nathaniel Ayres (proposed by P Bolding and seconded by M Garvey) for three

years;

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• Owen Frankish (proposed by J Leonard and seconded by M Leonard) for

three years.

4. Finance

(a) Treasurer’s Report

L Stevens presented the accounts for 2017. He highlighted the turnaround by the

Playgroup in the last year - a deficit of £5,500 has become a surplus of £11,000. It

was a great credit to those running the Playgroup that they ensured its continuation

for the benefit of so many children. The Chair thanked L Stevens for his work in

putting the accounts together and for his stewardship of the church’s funds.

M Stevens was also thanked for all the support she gave him.

(b) To receive the audited Accounts

The audited accounts were received.

(c) To agree that the PCC will decide who to appoint to audit the 2018 Accounts

It was agreed that the PCC would decide who to appoint to audit the accounts.

5. Other Reports

To receive

(a) Churchwarden’s Reports

The reports of P Bolding and J Wooden had been circulated prior to the meeting and

were taken as read.

(b) Deanery Synod Report

The report had been circulated prior to the meeting and was taken as read.

6. Any Other Business

The Chair concluded the meeting by thanking all those who contributed, in whatever

capacity, to the life of St Paul’s and the wider community.

7. Date of next APCM

11.15am on 28 April 2019.

8. Closing Prayers

The meeting closed with prayers from Rev O Franklin.

ELECTORAL ROLL REPORT There are 69 people on the Electoral Roll. 27 are resident in the Parish and 42 are non-resident.

Sue Malam.

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PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF ST PAUL'S, WOODFORD BRIDGE, IG8 8BT STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2018

TOTAL

Unrestricted Restricted Endowment FUNDS

Notes Funds Funds Funds 2017

£ £ £ Incoming resources

Voluntary income

2a 58,958 67,727

Activities for generating funds 2b 8,031 8,530

Income from investments 2c 24

Church activities

2d 32,253 39,916

Other incoming resources 2e 16,560 17,280

Playgroup 10 108,197 115,413

226,023 248,866

Total incoming resources

Resources expended

Costs of generating voluntary income 3a nil

Fund-raising trading costs 3b nil

Church activities

3c 16,483 17,683

Governance Costs 3d 104,861 114,292

Playgroup 10 115,782 107,460

Total resources expended 237,126 242,646

Net incoming/(outgoing) resources

gains/losses, incl. Playgroup

Gains/(losses) on revaluation of fixed assets

Gains/(losses) on investment assets 5

Net movement in funds 6

Total funds brought forward at 1 January 2016

34,264

35,015

Total funds carried forward at 31 December 2018 27,643 34,264

PLAYGROUP - balance 31/12/18 7,585 11,075

35,228 45,339

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PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF ST PAUL'S, WOODFORD BRIDGE, IG8 8BT CHARITY COMMISSION REGISTRATION NUMBER: 1128474 BALANCE SHEET AT 31 DECEMBER 2018

Notes 2018 2017

£ £

Fixed assets

Tangible fixed assets 5 1,130,000

1,130,000

Investments 6

Total fixed assets 1,130,000

1,130,000

Current assets Stock

Debtors 8 2,671 1,934

Cash at bank and in hand

Covenant account - as above. 5,065 18,813

TOTAL ASSETS

Total assets less current liabilities Creditors: amounts falling due within one year 9 600 1,261

Creditors: amounts falling due after one year 9 100

700 1,261

Net current fluid assets

NET ASSETS Unrestricted Funds, incl. cash in safe 7 21,914 14,847

Endowment funds 10

Restricted funds 10 664 664

Covenant account - as above. 5,065 18,813

TOTAL HELD AT BANK: 27,643 34,324

Playgroup balance carried forward 31/12/17 7,585 11,075

35,228 45,399

Approved by the Parochial Church Council on ...........................2019 and signed on its behalf

Revd. Ola Franklin, Chair

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PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF ST PAUL'S, WOODFORD BRIDGE, IG8 8BT NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2018

2 Incoming resources TOTAL FUNDS

2018 2017

Unrestricted Restricted Endowment

Funds Funds Funds

£ £ £ £

a

Voluntary income

Planned giving 30,350 32,831

Collections at all services 3,796 6,606

Donations and appeals, incl. charities 14,607 2,703

Income tax recoverable 10,205 10,748

Grants nil 14,839

Legacies nil nil

58,958 67,727

b Activities for generating funds

Fetes, bazaars and other fund-raising events 7,720 8152

Bookstall sales and magazine adverts 311 378

8,031 8,530

c Investment income

Dividends and interest 24 nil

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d Income from Church Activities

Church hall lettings etc 25,566 25879

Occasional Offices-weddings, funerals etc. 8,661 10,793

Textile group / Seniors club 26 33

34,253 36,705

e Other incoming resources

Party deposits received 2,160 3360

Insurance claims nil nil

Rent - School House 14,400 13920

16,560 17,280

Total incoming resources 117,826

Other: Fees to Chelmsford Diocesan

Board of Finance - wedding/funeral fees 2,206 3,211

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PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF ST PAUL'S, WOODFORD BRIDGE, IG8 8BT

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2018

3 Resources expended TOTAL FUNDS

2018 2017

Unrestricted

Restricted

Endowment

Funds Funds Funds

£ £ £ £

a Costs of generating voluntary income

Stewardship costs NIL

Covenant account NIL

b Fund-raising trading costs

Fete costs NIL

Bookstall NIL nil

c Church Activities

Missionary and charitable giving:

Overseas:

Kenyan Street Children, Utugi centre 8000 8,000

Home: 13 PCC nominated charities x £450 5850 5,850

Senior's social club 466 40

Other: 1742 3,338

Trussell Trust - Redbridge food bank 425 455

16,483 17,683

Ministry costs:

Diocesan Parish Contribution 49780 48,633

Other clergy costs 679 1,208

Church running expenses 11249 17,323

Church maintenance 12899 34,504

Upkeep of services 699 332

Upkeep of churchyard 401 35

Parish magazine 1100 1,427

Sunday Club / youth work costs 29 142

Church hall running costs 27730 12,927

Bank charges / depreciation NIL nil

Vicarage - utilities and decoration NIL nil

Playgroup NIL 972

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PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF ST PAUL'S, WOODFORD BRIDGE, IG8 8BT

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2018

4 Staff costs 2018 2017

£ £ a Wages and salaries 5,518 5,018

playgroup contribution 2016 - 1,479 1,479

6,917 6,497

During the year the PCC employed a hall cleaner, part time. The wages and social security costs related to the hall cleaner were met by her being included on the Playgroup payroll with the church funds reimbursing part costs to the playgroup account.

b costs (£5018) to the playgroup account, and the Playgroup contributing the remaining £1479 in lieu

of rent.

5 Tangible fixed assets

Freehold land Church TOTAL

and buildings equipment 2017

Cost or valuation £ £ £

At 1 January 2014 1,130,000 1,130,000

Additions

Disposals

Revaluation

At 31 December 2014 1,130,000 1,130,000

Depreciation

At 1 January 2014

Provided in the year

Disposals

At 31 December 2014

Net book amounts

At 31 December 2018 1,130,000 1,130,000

6 Investments

£

Market value 1 January 2016 100

Disposals at carrying value 118

Purchases at cost

Net gains and revaluation

Market value 31 December 2017 nil nil

The investment was £100 Treasury Stock which was set up by the Reason Trust, the interest to go towards the upkeep of the churchyard. The investment matured during 2016.

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PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF ST PAUL'S, WOODFORD BRIDGE, IG8 8BT

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2018

7 Analysis of Net assets by fund

Unrestricted Restricted Endowment Total

Funds Comparison

Funds Funds Funds 2017

£ £ £

Church assets : insurance valuation

hall- 910,000;house- 220,000 1,130,000 1,130,000 1,130,000

Investment fixed assets

Current assets 27,643 664 28,307 34,324

Current liabilities

Long term liabilities

1,157,643 664 1158307 1,164,324

8 Debtors

Income tax recoverable (blue envelopes) 2,257 1,886

Prepayments and accrued income

Other debtors (water rate) 414 48

2671 2671 1,934

9 Creditors: amounts falling due within one year

Deferred income - 2018 wedding fees 600 200

Accruals for utilities/ other costs - UWDC Dec energy used 785 1061

Other creditors

600 1,261

Creditors: amounts falling due after more than one year

Wedding deposits for 2020 nil 100 100

100 100

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PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF ST PAUL'S, WOODFORD BRIDGE, IG8 8BT

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2018

10 Statement of funds

Bal b/fwd Income Expenditure Transfers, Bal c/fwd.

43,101 other gains 31 Dec 201

and losses

Unrestricted Fund £ £ £ £

Covenant account 18,813 11,678 25,426 0 £ 5,065.00

General accounts 12,126 98,144 89,783 -687 £ 19,800.00

Desig funds-a+b+c. 2391 7,723 8,000 0 £ 2,114.00

33,330 117,545 123,549 £26,979.00

(330 31st Dec '17

cash in safe:

31st Dec '18 330)

Restricted Fund

St Paul's playgroup 11,075 108,197 115,782

£ 7,585.00

Spire lighting fund 0

Organ/piano 664 0 0 0 £ 664.00

Endowment Fund

Reason bequest 0 0

Total funds 45,399 £ 35,228.00

Fees to Diocesan Board Finance shown in accounts

The unrestricted fund includes a designated sum of £1459 which the PCC has set aside for the Kenyan Street Children project(a); £568 for the School House(b) and £705 for the halls(c).

The restricted funds comprise the organ / piano fund which is monies dedicated to the maintenance of these assets and other musical provision.

The endowment comprises the Reason bequest. This is a permanent endowment which requires the income to be spent on the churchyard. It matured in 2016.

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TREASURER’S APPENDIX PCC 2018 Income Profile

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ST. PAUL’S CHRISTIAN PLAYGROUP ACCOUNTS

15

2018

10/3/2019

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Vicar’s Report: Church Life in 2018 St Paul’s Woodford Bridge exists to worship God, lead people to Christ, build a loving Christian community, and serve a world in need. As well as our regular Sunday services, we enable our community to celebrate and thank God at the milestones of the journey through life. Through baptism we thank God for the gift of new life, in marriage public vows are exchanged with God’s blessing and through funeral services family and friends express their grief and give thanks for the life which is now complete in this world, commending the person into God’s keeping. Our parish registers show the number of these occasional offices during 2018: 15 baptisms, 7 marriages, and 7 church funeral services. All these figures are lower than the previous year. In addition, our Annual Memorial Service was held in October. Some members of our parish are unable to attend church due to sickness or frailty. These members are regularly remembered in our Intercessions, and some of them receive Holy Communion at home, taken by other church members. Our parish magazine, Good News, was produced every 3 months to keep our parishioners and local community informed of church life and events. It was distributed to many of the shops and other businesses in the local area. Posters and flyers for seasonal events and services such as Harvest and Christmas are also distributed locally. Opportunities to get out and about during 2018 included carol singing at the Woodford Underground Station, The Hallmark Prince Regent Hotel, The Three Jolly Wheelers, and The Crown and Crooked Billet. This raised over £1,000 for St Francis Hospice. Contact with our local schools has continued, with West Hatch and Roding Primary Schools holding carol services at St. Paul’s, and visits to St Paul’s from both schools. Roding Primary Year 5 classes also came to church for the Easter Labyrinth in March. We joined the Woodford Fellowship of Christian Churches for a service marking the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity in January, held at Woodford United Reformed Church. We were involved in running Youth Alpha with our MMU (Mission and Ministry Unit) partner churches in the spring and summer. The Lighthouse Church continues to be a blessing to us as they regularly use the Church building for their worship and prayer meetings. Other highlights during the year include the Children’s Holiday Clubs; a Lent course: Transforming Church, Transforming Lives; Summer and Christmas Fairs; Shoe Box Service and the Nativity service. The Parochial Church Council met 6 times during the year. As well as routine business, the council discussed a Mission Action Plan, indicating ways we might work to grow and develop as a church. We would like to thank all the volunteers who work so hard to make our church the community it is. In particular we want to mention our Churchwardens, Mr Paul Malam and Mr John Wooden who have continued to work so hard and faithfully on our behalf, along with our Treasurer, Mr Len Stevens. The Revd Ola Franklin, Vicar CHURCHWARDENS’ FABRIC REPORT – 2018 The PCC has responsibility for three buildings within the curtilage of the church – church, hall and School House. In the church, thanks to a generous legacy from George Thompson, additional speakers have been installed. This has dramatically improved the sound in church. Alan Bolding arranged for a leak in the church roof above the choir vestry to be fixed. In the church halls, further work has been undertaken to refurbish and damp proof the graveyard kitchen and further painting has been undertaken in the main hall. A new central heating system, including boiler, has been installed. Many thanks to Alan Bolding and Derek Hobday and all those who undertook this work.

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In the churchyard, Dennis Croke has done wonderful work so it now looks the best it has for many years. Many thanks. A report was commissioned on the condition of the trees in the churchyard from Becker Tree Services. The trees were found to be in a good condition but some maintenance work was suggested and this was undertaken by Becker Tree Services. In respect of the School House, our thanks to Pauline Bolding, Alan Bolding, Len Stevens and Peter Hodges for their work in ensuring that any maintenance issues arising are sorted out. The focus of our efforts in 2019 is on installing a toilet in the church. Our thanks to the members of the toilet task group for their work in arranging the drawing up of plans and liaising with the Diocesan Advisory Committee to take this forward. As members of the congregation will be aware, a fundraising campaign has been launched spearheaded by Len Stevens to find the money necessary to fund its construction. John Wooden will be standing down as churchwarden at the 2019 APCM and he would like to thank all those who have assisted him during his time as churchwarden including in the last year his fellow churchwarden Paul Malam. John Wooden looks forward to helping his successor in any way he can. John Wooden and Paul Malam - Churchwardens REDBRIDGE DEANERY SYNOD REPORT, 2018 Synod met four times during 2018 on Wednesday 21st February at St. Cedd’s Church, Barkingside, Tuesday 12th June at St. Luke’s Church, Ilford, Monday 24th September 2018 at Holy Trinity Church, Barkingside and Monday 28th November at St. Barnabas’ Church, Woodford Green. Each meeting included reports from Deanery representatives on Deanery and Diocesan happenings, updates on the progress of MMU’s, and a lead speaker. YOUTH WORK in the Deanery has included an event attended by about 25 young people at Christ Church, Wanstead on Friday 18th May and “Light of the World” party at St Gabriel’s, Aldersbrook on 26th October – a free event for young people aged 11-18. A recent application to LOB for monies to fund youth events for a period of two years has been granted. Andy Smith of St Cedd’s, Barkingside explained that the Deanery Youth Team currently comprises Rev’d Martyn Hawkes, Chris Peck, Becca Kemal and himself – all from different churches throughout the deanery. They aim to put on at least three youth events during the year and would appreciate more help. There are no age restrictions for helpers. He urged all representatives to encourage young people in their churches to attend the events FINANCE: The deanery fund stood at £1,602.81 at 31st December. Wanstead Parish has agreed to hold the funds in their church’s account as a restricted fund so that the annual £72 bank charges can be avoided. The Unity Bank account will be closed. Parish Share payment: Redbridge had paid 91.4% which is less than the 94% paid last year but better than the diocese as a whole. Clergy stipends and pensions are paid from the diocese and the Chair gave a warning that if parishes do not contribute, hard decisions will have to be made because of the shortfalls in parish share receipts. The Lay Chair reported that up until the end of April 2018 three parishes had not paid anything but even so, Redbridge has paid 27% of its Family Purse, compared to 21.5% last year. At the end of May deanery funds stood at £1474.31, of which £55.18 is youth fund. The reduction in the youth fund was the result of paying a late youth worker’s bill, relating to 2017, of £150.44. At the end of August parish share payments from churches in the Redbridge Deanery were slightly down at 58.09% compared to 59.7% in 2017 and he hoped that parishes would be encouraged to make their payments. Deanery funds stood at £1474 at the end of August, some being designated as youth funds. Thanks were expressed to all churches who are paying towards their parish share, however, at the end of October payments from churches in the Redbridge Deanery were 3% down compared to the same time last year and behind those of our neighbouring deaneries of Waltham Forest and West Ham. The deanery fund still stood at £1474 at the end of October with no payments having been made. £55.18 is designated as youth funds with the remainder for general purposes.

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EDUCATION SCRUTINY: All faith schools are supported by the borough and non-faith children are supported in full. King Solomon’s School is not full of Jewish children as the demographics of the area are changing. Non-faith children have always gone to faith schools. There was emphasis on special needs and home schooling as home schooling is not scrutinised and may be being used by some heads to avoid poor OFSTED results. Chris Peck added his support to the special needs comments as a governor at Hatton School. He said it is important to speak out about the lack of central support. VOCATIONS: An event for West Ham Archdeaconry was planned for both lay and ordained vocations was planned to be held at Christ Church, Wanstead on 19th May 2018 from 9.30 am to 12.30 pm. But was cancelled due to lack of support. The same thing had occurred in the Barking Archdeaconry, so anyone interested was encouraged to attend the Harlow meeting. The Revd. Ola Franklin said that a re-think is needed regarding how information regarding these days is disseminated. MISSION AND MINISTRY UNITS (MMUs): MMU’s in the Deanery are progressing. The All Saints Minster is a formalised MMU. Clergy meet and worship together regularly and are grateful for the funding provided by All Saints which has financed a youth worker who started in August 2017. Representatives from the churches meet regularly on Monday mornings and this time together is very helpful. Rev’d. Gary Wilson has been ordained and is now curate at St Cedd’s, with Rev’d Paul Harcourt as his training incumbent. They are involved in the Barking Riverside Church being set up by the Diocese which it is hoped will have 2/300 people in its congregation in 10 years’ time. Rev’d. Sam Pollard has been appointed as Vicar. The Barkingside Bridge MMU (which includes St. Paul’s Woodford Bridge) has held a number of meetings are is working towards formalisation. They held a joint service on Ash Wednesday and an Alpha Course was being run at St Lawrence, Barkingside by different churches in the MMU. There had been a joint Youth Club meeting at St. Francis with involvement from volunteers from all the churches. The clergy hold joint acts of worship. Meetings continue in the search for the best way forward and formalisation is getting closer. The Far East Redbridge Mission (FERM): A charter was agreed but because of clergy leaving they are somewhat were somewhat in limbo at the beginning of the year. The commissioning of the MMU took place on 14th June at St Paul’s, Goodmayes. Autumn meetings were planned - two main strategies have been identified from the charter – prayer and mission. All meetings now have these strategies as main agenda items. Ilford: Father Gareth reported that the clergy feel like ‘naughty children’ as they are not operating as an MMU. It is difficult to get the five churches into an organic relationship. However, there is a greater willingness to address matters than last year. They are five very different churches who all serve an area of need and deprivation, so they are looking at areas that do overlap. West Roding Mission Partnership: They are working on joint projects, including co-ordinating a chaplaincy service at Snaresbrook Crown Court. More volunteers are needed to cover every weekday. A joint quiet day has been organised for Saturday March 17th at St Andrew’s, Ilford. Formalisation took place on 10th May, Ascension Day, and a Chair and Secretary were appointed for the ensuing year at the first meeting of the Partnership Committee the following week. St Peter’s-in-the-Forest which is just over the border in Waltham Forest, had asked to join the MMU and had now been welcomed into the MMU. The questions asked by the diocese each year were being used as basis for their meetings to explore. An interim minister has been appointed at Holy Trinity, Hermon Hill for one year from November. DIOCESAN SYNOD In this year’s elections the elected representatives are Alan Clark, Celia Heath, Heather Housden, Jill Leonard and Mac Leonard, Rev’d Ola Franklin, Rev’d Gareth Jones, Rev’d Kate Lovesey and Rev’d Marie Segal.

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Revd Canon Ian Tarrant said that one memorable item from the March meeting was Bishop Stephen talking about Kenya where he was very impressed by the hospitality and generosity extended; the way they paid their clergy and tithing. They tithe to pay for the service and then give a further gift to extend the work of the church. Ian said that we have a lot of catching up to do. The June meeting was combined with the PCC Resource event, with particular reference to the promotion of the Parish Giving Scheme. He emphasised that any parish struggling to pay their parish share should let the diocese know their situation. It is worrying that property is having to be sold in order to cope financially. At the November meeting the Rev’d Marie Segal, Area Dean, formally gave notice that she was to step down from this post on 31st December 2018. Marion Pank was stepping down as Deanery Secretary from 31st December 2018, a replacement was required. The Lay Chair expressed thanks to Marie for her service to the deanery over the past four years and said she would be missed. A presentation was made to her on our behalf. Jill also thanked Marion in her absence. GUEST SPEAKERS: There were four guest speakers during the year. Rob Kean – Christian Education Project: Rob explained that they are the face of the Church in Redbridge schools and as a result, make contact with 50,000 children and young people each year. They take Jesus into schools and help other faiths learn about Christianity. They cover general themes and messages as well as Christian beliefs. The service is free to schools and the response they receive from both children and teachers is very positive. Captain John Clifton, Salvation Army: John spoke in detail about the problem of homelessness. The Recycles Enterprise was developed, where old bicycles are made reusable and then sold. The main aim is to give training on the repair and maintenance, which is accredited by Redbridge Institute with C & G level II and then for the person to apply to somewhere like “Halfords” for a job, which has successfully happened. They realised that they were seeing the same people year after year at the night shelter and they would then go back onto the street having been in the shelter for 13 weeks. They wanted to do something else and the seed of the idea of Project Malachi was sown. Not being able to do everything by themselves, the Salvation Army are working in partnership with other faiths – Sikh, Muslim, Hindu, Pentecostal and Anglican. A site for the hostel was identified in Chadwick Road, owned by the Council, who decided to knock down the existing building used by funeral directors. The plan is to use 20’ shipping containers and convert them into studio apartments, for a period of 5 years. The project went to Planning for 60 containers, of which 43 will be used for accommodation, 12 for Recycles, 1 for laundry and 4 for offices and meeting rooms. Negotiations are currently taking place with an architect and costing consultant. At its inception it was estimated that the project would cost £2.2 million; the estimate is now closer to £4 million. Fr Gareth Jones – Diocesan Refugee Co-Ordinator: Fr Gareth explained that St Mary’s Ilford was the underwriting parish for the Diocese for the Refugee Welcome, the initiative having been instigated by the Diocese in response to the Syrian refugee crisis. A house in Dagenham has been acquired for a refugee family. Six point six million Syrians have been displaced within the country and 5.5 million have left and are refugees, the definition of a refugee being someone who has left their country because of war. Of these refugees the largest number have gone to Turkey and the Lebanon with others spread across Europe, with 11,000 coming to the UK. In 2015 the UK Government agreed to expand its Syrian vulnerable refugee scheme by committing to resettling 20,000 refugees by 2020. Chelmsford Diocese has made five houses in Essex available and has given £100,000. As the lead Bishop in the initiative, Bishop Peter asked the Diocesan Refugee Co-ordinator to explore a more direct Diocesan response to the crisis. At the same time St Mary’s, Ilford were looking to develop their refugee ministry and so Refugee Welcome Dagenham was born. It has taken six people four months to complete the necessary paperwork but agreement has now been given by the Home Office to welcome a family, which is expected to arrive in the first quarter of 2019. The steering group is currently attending specialist Home Office training along with Diocesan safeguarding

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training. Many volunteers (60 would be desirable) are now needed to work alongside the family in many different ways when they arrive – putting faith into action by turning around the life of one family. This could be a model for further families. Frank Hawkins, Vice-Chair Diocesan Board Of Finance (DBF) On Parish Giving: The parish share is a voluntary payment to the diocese and most parishes do pay. He gave some facts and figures including that the diocese costs £22m pa to run and the parish share is the largest source of income (£17m). 2017 saw a diocesan deficit of £924,000 and was the first time for many years that the deficit had increased. Parish share is used as follows: 65% “Ministry costs” (including stipends & pensions), 18% “Curate Training” including (CMD and lay minister training), 10% “MMU Services” and 7% “Other”. Each minister costs the diocese £49K even though average stipend is around £26K as things such as tax, NI & housing have to be taken into account. 96 parishes in the diocese paid less than 80% of their parish share, including 7 in Redbridge, and 7 parishes paid nothing. The remainder paid in full. A lively debate ensued around this and there were also many queries as to how the parish share figure is determined. There is a formula available on line for us to look at. Fr Gareth suggested that there are 4 types of parish: those who can and do pay their parish share and possibly some extra, those that can and do pay their parish share, but struggle to do so, those parishes that just can’t pay, and those parishes which could pay but choose not to. Hugh Williams (ASWW) summed up his discussion group’s responses as: The church can’t keep running on a deficit. Whilst property can be sold in the short term, eventually there will be no properties left to sell and as older congregations die off, churches may well have to close. Churches who can pay should help those who can’t. The current national financial situation and inflation means rises are inevitable. It has been an interesting year! Mac Leonard. APPENDICES Just for Girls (page 21)

Seniors’ Coffee Club (page 21)

Mothers’ Union (page 21)

Kenyan Street Children Appeal (page 21)

Sunday Church Club (page 21)

Holiday Clubs (page 22)

Textile Group (page 22)

St Paul’s Christian Playgroup (pages 22 and 23)

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JUST FOR GIRLS Just for Girls meet on alternate Tuesday’s, we start the morning with coffee and chatter and continue in worship, prayer and meditation. Sadly our very dear friend Marrianne died last year and we all miss her so much. The group is open to women who are members of St. Paul’s church. Pauline Bolding.

SENIORS’ COFFEE CLUB The Seniors’ Coffee Club continued to meet during the last year. We meet on the first Thursday of the month from 10am until 11.30am. Several church members come along to help, and St. Paul’s clergy all come along to chat and have a coffee. We had a lovely outing to Mulberry House last September paid for by our friend George who sadly died. The club is open to anyone who is free on a Thursday morning. Pauline Bolding.

MOTHERS’ UNION The most distressing happening for Mothers’ Union during 2018 was the death of our leader, Marrianne Stevens, in October following the development of a brain tumour. Her love, commitment and dedication to Mothers’ Union will be sorely missed. Otherwise, our membership number held steady at 23 and we enjoyed a variety of activities at our monthly meetings. We worshipped together by reflections at New Year and Easter, We heard from Sue Clack about her latest world-wide travel adventure and we learned about recycling from a representative of Redbridge Council. Rosemary and Ian hosted an evening at their home in June and we had High Tea at Mulberry House and enjoyed Yvonne’s now traditional Christmas Party in December. The Mothers Union exists to celebrate and support Christian values in marriage and family life and anyone who is baptised can join. We meet, usually in church, on the first Tuesday of each month. Len Stevens, Branch Leader.

KENYAN STREET CHILDREN (ACK Utugi Children’s Centre) KENYAN APPEAL Our Kenyan Street Children feeding project, initiated nearly twenty years ago by Marrianne, continues to be the major focus of St Paul’s charitable fund raising, with the proceeds of our fetes and fairs going to this cause. The church family raised £8,000 during 2018 which means that over the twenty years we have been able to send £125,000 to support five feeding stations operating for street children in Kenya. We provide the money for the Mothers’ Union members in Kenya to purchase and prepare the food. We are told that we are the only church doing this and were it not for us the feeding stations would close. Our commitment continues although we have now ceased to organise boot sales, concentrating instead on our two major fairs at Summer and Christmas. Len Stevens.

SUNDAY CHURCH CLUB A well-known phrase in response to Ola asking what’s been happening at Sunday Club is: “We’ve been having a party!” Yvonne, Len and the Sunday Club team of Lisa, Sue, Nathan, Aimee, Angela and other adult supporters would love to have a party every week if that brings the Gospel and Bible alive to the children. We have a register of about twenty children aged from three to thirteen and see between six to fifteen each week. In addition to Bible stories we engage the children in taking a full part in all-age services in church, the Christmas Nativity play and making and selling sweets and biscuits for Christian Aid during Lent. We want the children to associate the Gospel with fun whilst learning the truths that Jesus teaches us all. We are grateful to the wider church family for their support of our efforts and are always pleased to welcome new children and families. We meet in the hall each Sunday morning from 10:00 – 10:45am Len Stevens.

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HOLIDAY CLUBS We held holiday clubs for children of primary school age during 2018. These took place during the February, May and October half-terms along with 5 consecutive mornings at the start of the summer holidays. The theme for the year was ‘Cities of the Bible’. Bible stories included ‘the Siege of Samaria’, ‘David anointed at Bethlehem’ Lydia and the Jailer at Philippi’ and ‘the Riot at Ephesus’. The children enjoyed team games based loosely on the theme of the day followed by craft activities, some of which are on display in church. On the Sunday following the summer club, there was a re-cap of the stories during the service in church, and the children showed some of their art and craft work. We are pleased that, along with children from St Paul’s, the holiday clubs attract children who don’t usually go to church. The Holiday Club Team TEXTILE GROUP The Textile Group has been meeting fortnightly for many years. This year we have been greatly affected by the loss of our dear friend Marrianne. She had, since the beginning, been a mainstay of our group and is sadly missed, not only for her talent in the lovely things she made, but also for her friendship and dependability. The enthusiastic knitters in our group have made hats and gloves for the shoeboxes and are continuing to knit baptismal teddies to comply with the new health and safety regulations introduced the Mother Union. We have focused mainly on making items for the Summer and Christmas Fairs and we thank Eve for producing two beautiful quilts each year for our raffle. This is a considerable achievement and, together with the sale of items made on our regular stall, raises a substantial amount for the Kenyan Street Children Feeding Programme. We are also making seasonal items for an Easter stall to hopefully raise money for the Toilet Fund Mary Wooden PLAYGROUP REPORT We have had another fun packed and busy year and have been delighted to welcome 18 new children and their families into the group and ensuring that their first educational experiences are happy ones. The Playgroup team have continued to work tirelessly, conducting home visits for every child, as part of our settling in procedure and ensuring that a wide range of activities are planned to help the children forget their anxieties of saying goodbye to their families each morning. Towards the end of 2017 we planned a variety of fundraising activities to raise money for new equipment and resources for our outside area. This continued into the new year, with the team and our parents and supporters coming up with imaginative ideas to boast our fundraising fund. Thanks to their generosity and hard work and together with extra funding received from the Local Authority to support children with special educational needs and disabilities and disadvantaged families, we raised enough money to purchase a wonderful water table complete with cascade. We also made our own water experiment area; with recycled plastic bottles and funnels for the children to learn about the properties of water and how it flows. Some new banners and resources were also purchased for our 'small world area' to extend the children's imaginative play with an enchanted wood theme, dinosaur and African wildlife to name just a few. The children have absolutely loved these new resources and it has been a pleasure watching their learning develop, their friendships blossom and their skills in taking turns and resolving conflicts grow. The success of these new resources was further highlighted in May 2018 when we were inspected by Ofsted and rated as 'Good'. The inspection report praised our new resources stating that the " The outdoor play area is extremely well resourced. Children have plenty of fun and demonstrate that they can meet challenges set by staff .... While pouring water, children notice that it is trickling through a set of holes into another container. Children show good problem-solving skills".

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The Team have continued to benefit from a range of training offered by the Local Authority to support their continued professional development as well as fulfilling our statutory duties with regard to first aid and safeguarding. This has supported the team in developing our language groups and focus activities to ensure the children benefit from a varied and stimulating curriculum and are able to meet set milestones in their development. These activities have included the use of Makaton; a form of communication using both language and signs which benefits all children's communication and language development. We have also put together a lovely range of nursery rhyme resources which the children are able to take home to share with their families and this has also been beneficial in developing their language and love of songs. The children have again enjoyed all that their local community has to offer; with a visit from Woodford Fire service and Wellgate Community farm and nature walks around the green and feeding the ducks at the pond. A visit to the local shops to purchase snacks and to practise their road safety skills have also been a firm favourite. The weekly visit from Rev'd Ola has remained the highlight of the playgroup week; where the children have continued to be excited and attentive as Ola tells them a Bible story together with props and songs selected and prepared by Angela and Donnie. The benefit of the weekly visit from Pauline to help with preparing snacks and washing up is especially felt by the playgroup team and the children love to have a chat with her whilst in the kitchen. The children who learnt about the importance of helping others and along with parents and staff have once again shown their generosity in supporting several charities such as Barnardos, Children in Need, Redbridge Night Shelter, Crackerjacks, Genes for Jeans and Sports Relief as well as our own church through the summer and Christmas fairs. As usual our end of term services have proved to be the highlight each term giving the children the chance to share their knowledge of bible stories and songs with their family and friends. The end of 2018 brought more financial pressures for the Playgroup with a continued decline in new admissions. A lunchtime club was launched in September 2018, offering families a further 6hrs of child care on a Monday, Tuesday and Thursday afternoon from 12.15pm-2.15pm. This has been very popular and numbers attending have continued to rise and it is hoped that these extended hours will continue to boast numbers attending as well as offering a much needed service to the families of Woodford Green and further afield. We are all very grateful for everyone's support and generosity and look forward to a promising and successful 2019. Thank you all for your support Delia Ware on behalf of St Paul’s Christian Playgroup

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These Papers are published by Mac Leonard on behalf of St Paul’s Church, Woodford Bridge, from whom digital copies are available at macleonard@virginmedia.com . They are also available at the Parish website http://www.stpaulswb.com .