Tne ^Parish of(Burchetts greenSt Mary the Virgin, HurCey

St John the {EvatigeCist, LittCewicf^CjreenStJames the Less, Stuhhings

(Reportsfor theflnniiaC(Parochial Church Meeting

Sunday, 24ApriC2016in the Softau Centre, Stu66ings at 12 noon.

Seeing to ({tww Jesusto share his Cove and make him known

in wordandaction.

1 Secretary's ReportThe Annual Report of the Parochial Church Council of the ParishofBurchetts Green.

a) Introduction:This report is the product of the Incumbent, Wardens andParochial Church Council under Rule 27 of the ChurchAccounting Regulations, August 1997 of the Parish of BurchettsGreen. The Parish was formed in May 2002 from the uniting ofthejoint benefices ofSt Mary the Virgin, Hurley and St James theLess, Stubbings, and the Parish of St John the Evangelist,Littlewick Green. The PCC co-operates with the Vicar inpromoting the whole mission of the church, pastoral, evangelistic,social and ecumenical.

b) Membership:

Chair:

Assistant Curate

Churchwardens:

Assistant Churchwarden:

Deanery Synod:

Elected Members:

The Revd Keith Nicholls

The Revd Tina MolyneuxMrs Gill Wallis

Mrs Sue Harrington HillMrs JennyRobinson (Lay Chair)Mr Richard Moores

Ms Mary CooperMr Tom Dobinson

Mrs Teresa Kennard (LLM)Mrs Elaine Mordaunt

Mr Richard Curry (Treasurer)Mrs Fiona Fieldhouse

Mrs Sally GrayMrs Hazel O'Connor (Secretary)

c) Meetings:

The members of the Parochial Church Council have met together7 times since the last annual church meeting, the July 2015 onebeing very brief prior to a Mission Action Plan meeting. As usualattendance has been good and mostly the Vicar has been able toclose the meetings by 9.30pm, with the exception of the last onein March 2016 when the Treasurer presented the end of yearaccounts. Hurley still has no elected Churchwarden.As well as the regular items on the agenda, this year Insuranceand Quinquennial inspections which had been carried out in eachof the three churches were covered. Also, due to changes incircumstances within the Ministry Team, it had been necessary tolook at the pattern of services offered around the parish and somechanges may still be required in the future. Keith circulated tomembers an analysis of attendance figures for all services in thethree churches for 2015. Like the Treasurer, Local Committeesare given the opportunity to report at every meeting on items forconsideration or decision as required. As well as the threecharities supported annually by the parish - Thames Hospice,Church Urban Fund and the United Society - Mark Balfour(recently the Vicar of Furze Piatt) and his wife Rosalie, wereinvited to speak to congregations regarding their forthcomingwork in Guatemala and the PCC discussed how they might behelped financially in their work. The final MAP report wasprinted and circulated at the November Parish Service anddetailed three areas it was felt needed urgent attention - music;improvement of provision for families with young children; andencouraging and training of new Lay Leaders - and these arecurrently being addressed and looked into. The regularsocial/fundraising events were held during the year and it washoped enjoyed by all who participated.

2 Minutes of the Annual Meeting of Parishioners and theAnnual Parochial Church Meeting are available from the officeor can be read at the back ofthe churches.

3 Finance Report is available from the Parish Office or canbe read at the back of churches.

4 Report from St. Mary's Church Council, HurleyMembers: Messers: D.Burfitt; Rev. K.Nicholls; A.Williams;D.Foley Mesdames P.Iles; E.Mordaunt; F.Fieldhouse;J.Smith; E.Freebody; L. Smith.

The Hurley Committee has welcomed 3 new members this yearwho have made an invaluable contribution to church life in

Hurley. These are namely Laura and Jane Smith plus DavidFoley. The Hurley Committee has met 6 times this year, chairedby Keith Nicholls and David Burfitt as Secretary.All reports should start with a very big thank you especially toKeith and his ministry team of Dilys, Tina, Teresa and Jackie forall their hard work and dedication to keeping our Parish alive andthriving throughout the past year. We must also add to the list ofthanks Gilly in the Parish Office.Services.

In spite of having no Church Wardens, attendance at Hurleymaintains a very good number, especially at Family Serviceswhen often the church is full. It is so heartening to see so manychildren in church not only at these regular services but also overChristmas and Easter. We must also thank Keith for managing tomaintain a service in Hurley every weekend except for themonthly Parish Service at Stubbings.Rotas & Service Administration.

Our grateful thanks to Linda Roberts who still continues to playthe piano at our services when required. Her dedication is muchappreciated.Also thanks to our BGPN distributors around the village - I'msure the exercise does them good!!David Burfitt has now taken over from Margaret Jackson inhandling all the cash from services and events. Thanks Margaretfor all your behind the scenes work over many years.

We now have a large number of congregation members who helpout during our services at Hurley. It is great that more youngermembers are getting involved and our thanks to all who help outin any way to keep the church in Hurley alive and active.Our thanks also again to Margaret Jackson who still acts as vergerat weddings and funerals etc. and to Jenny Ramsay who overseasbaptisms.Thanks also to Chris Gutch who behind the scenes administers

our part of the FWO Scheme, burials, Hurley Church Estates.Organisation.Although Hurley is still bereft of any Church Wardens, the LocalChurch Committee is very active and covers all the posts andduties that are asked of it. The local committee has nowcompleted a comprehensive list of all jobs required within ourchurch and all have been filled. Liaison with the PCC is carried

out by Fiona Fieldhouse and Elaine Mordaunt (Deanery SynodRep.) as well as Tom Dobinson. Our thanks to you all.Fabric.

The Jubilee Bells have been greatly appreciated by everyone inHurley and add a real welcoming sound to worshippers and otherusers of our Church. They were duly rung in September to joinwith other churches celebrating our Queen becoming the longestever serving monarch.Sadly the clock regulator had a few teething problems which tookseveral visits from the installers to get right but now all is welland the clock has kept perfect time for the last 5 months withoutany attention.During the past year the area in front of our West Door wasresurfaced with tarmac and shingle. It looks very smart and ourvery grateful thanks to Mike Wellington and his firm who carriedout the work at no charge to the church. The other major projectwas to cure the rising damp in the Priory Room and our storagecupboards in the hallway. This has been carried out successfullyand hopefully will not causeus any more problems in the future.Our ancient church silver has now been removed from LloydsBank in Glasgow and placed in the Christchurch Cathedral

Treasury in Oxford. It should now be on display in the glasscabinets in the Cathedral Shop for all to see. Our thanks also toBrian Smith who has made a lovely leaflet display rack to go onour "Welcome" table.

We also this year had the church undergo a full electricalinspection which was successfully passed with only a few minorworks to be carried out. Similarly the Quinquennial inspectionand the insurance inspections were all passed satisfactorily withonly minor works to be done. The main project for 2016 is toimprove the quality of our sound system which has now beeninspected and mainly just required adjustment rather thanwholesale replacement.Churchyard Maintenance.The churchyard is in good order thanks to the diligence ofBraywick Heath Nurseries. We have also re-signed for theRBWM composting scheme. Remedial work has now beencarried out on the acacia tree on the Green and the tree looks

pretty healthy as a result.Social Events.

The Music on a Summer's Evening event was very popular withnearly 70 people attending raising over £922 for church funds.Our gratefbl thanks to Martin and Frankie Fry for once againallowing us to use their garden. This year's event will be held onSunday July 10th.The Summer Cream Teas were well supported, raising £1000 forchurch funds. Our grateful thanks go to Merle Bramwell and herlarge team of helpers who manned the Priory Room every Sundayafternoon throughout the summer.The Harvest Supper was once again a sellout in the Priory Room.The evening was a huge success with food organized by Pat liesand her team of cooks. Elaine Mordaunt organized a quiz and theukulele group led a sing-song to end the evening.The church is also the grateful recipient of funds raised by theTrivia Ouiz organized by Julian Stanford and David Barnes. Thequiz, originally started by David and Rosemary Burfitt is now, wethink, in its 30th year!

Breakfast in Hurley. 4 very successful family breakfasts wereorganized by Jenny Ramsay and her team of helpers. If youhaven't joined us yet you should - it is a very sociable event -coffee, bacon butties, croissants and pain au chocolat -YUMMIE!! Thank you to everyone involved.Hurley Fete. Once again we opened Hurley Church to invite Fetevisitors to come in and see what we do. We opened the bell toweragain for guided tours, David Burfitt organized an historicaldisplay and boards around the walls showed all the groups andactivities that take placewithin our church community.Carols around the tree. This was probably the most successful yetwith over 200 villagers joining us to sing carols on the villagegreen. Our thanks once again to Laureen Avann for playing thekeyboard.Organisation.Flowers. Fiona Fieldhouse once again has organized a band ofvolunteers to keep the church looking lovely with gorgeousarrangements of flowers. Their dedication and skill are amazing.Church Cleaning. Our grateful thanks to Carol Reynolds foroverseeing the work. We now have a new church cleaner, ClaireMeadows, who seems to have settled in very well. Also ourfurther thanks to Carol Reynolds, Tony & Joan Williams forlooking after the church linen and Marion Howard for keeping thebrass gleaming. Thanks also to Marion Armson for keeping theorgan loft free of flies!!Coffee and Catering. Our thanks to Pat lies and her team whoprovide refreshments after church services and catering for otherchurch events.

Locking Up. The committee's thanks to Margaret Jackson andDavid Burfitt and their team of helpers keeping the church opendaily for visitors.Cameo. See their report elsewhere but grateful thanks to Fionaand her team for providing this much needed and enjoyable gettogether for some of our older villagers - tea, cakes, a quiz and asing-song. What could be better!!

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Oasis. Thanks to Pat lies and Sandra Brooks for organizing thisprayer group on a regular basis in the Priory Room.David Burfitt.

5 Hurley Church Estates

Income ExpenditureOpening Balance at 01.01.15 £127916**Income Received £ 31354

Expenditure on Estate Property £ 13011Payments to/on behalfofBurchetts Green PCC £ 11869*

Excess of Income over

Expenditure £ 6474Closing Balance at 31.12.15 £134390**

♦Includes Insurance (£2448), Heating oil and utilities (£1580),General repairs and maintenance (£4182), Churchyard (£2114),Cleaning (£1545).** Excludes tenants' deposits.

The formal objects of the Charity are: "For defraying the cost ofrepairs, insurance, cleaning, warming and other expenses ofHurley Church".Chris Gutch and David Burfitt

6 Report from St John the Evangelist Littlewick GreenUnfortunately the Friends of Littlewick Church have not met thisyear but will be reformed this year with a yet to be decided titleand membership.February 2015 saw the restart of the All Age Service on the thirdSunday of the month at 4pm - a service which is slowly growingafter a little lull in attendance. Lent began early this year atLittlewick with the second Sunday in Lent, followed byMothering Sunday Children's' Service, and finished with the

usual Maundy Thursday service for the parish and Easter Eve.On Easter Day at 9.15am we had a Parish Communion with anEaster Egg Hunt around the Churchfor all.Our new PCC members have settled in well - Richard Moores asChurchwarden and Sally Gray as PCC Member.We collected jumble to support our church arranged by SallyGray and family. The Littlewick Show Tea Tent (August BankHoliday Monday) provided funds for the parish of BurchettsGreen, well organised thanks to Kate Rowland and Jean Tinklerphoning around for cakes etc. ably supported by many cakemakers, tea makers & servers on the day. In September harvestwas celebrated with a delicious meal - High Tea cooked by LynnPenfold and puddings by various members of the community wasenjoyed by all. The Harvest Festival provided a time to celebratethe fruits of the earth. The children and families are alwayssupportive of this event and the foods we collected went toYeldhall Manor (a Charity which rehabilitates young drug users).The Littlewick Green Montessori Nursery School also had itsown harvest service which was well received by staff and childrenalike.

Christmas was very active. Kick Off for Christmas, with the newaddition of the Treasure Hunt, and Christingle were successful.Carol singing around the Green raised £120 for the Children'sSociety. We had Nine Lessons and Carols. The church was fulland well organised again by Alec Rowland. Many local peopletook part and we had a Cub reading one of the Lessons. TheMontessori School met in the Church for their Christmas concert.We had the usual round of Christmas services as well. Were you aJoseph or Mary, King or an Angel? All the Services overChristmas were well attended.

We had a Summer Thanksgiving for the all the people involvedwith The Littlewick Loo project and there are still a few littlefinishes to complete the work. The Summer Lunch was held thisyear at Peter and Yvonne Tomlins at Orchard Farm in CherryGarden Lane. As a result of the Mission Action Plan we have anew small committee started and have produced our own

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Welcome leaflet for St John's church and now have a few new

members of the congregation. We have also had contact withsome of the owners of the new houses on the Woolley Hall Estateand a Christening as a result.As for the works at St John's, the Quinquennial report wasprepared last year and identified a number of small items to attendto. These will be actioned during the lifetime of the quinquennialin accordance with the priorities listed. The works to create anew gate and alterations to the railings around boiler houseentrance are scheduled to start on 25th April with the work takingone week. We are undertaking some tree works to the Beech andare awaiting approval from the Royal Borough of Windsor andMaidenhead as the church is in a Conservation area. During theyear we have had the NICEIC electrical inspections completed aswell as having the lightening conductor tested. Minor works wererequired to the electrical system, and are all now completed. TheChurchwardens are investigating the possibility of upgrading thelighting system and hope to report backduring the year.We would like to thank many people for their support. Inparticular the Ministry team, Churchwardens, Richard Curry, thePCC, and on a more local level - Tim Bowler for helping lightbulb changing; David Gilbert for organising the servers, readers,intercessors, and sides men/women; Anne Todd aided byMargaret Maillardet for acting as Sacristan; Kate Rowland fornotices, serving, tidying up, and helping with the altar; YvonneTomlins for organising the flowers and the flower rota; SylviaJarvis for the church cleaning rota; Viv Molyneux for the coffeerota, and organising the production of Nativity and costumes:Keith Robinson for Toilet maintenance; Paul Spencer for lookingafter the church generally and putting the dustbins out; the churchchoir for their singing and Nigel for his regular playing; theCommunity Pay Back Team and Bob for looking after the churchand churchyard together with Alec and his gardening team; andall those who make coffee, clean the church, arrange flowers andgenerally help to make the church run smoothly. We are very-grateful to White Waltham Parish Council for their ideas and

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financial assistance and to David Gilbert for funding the carpet; toDavid Newell for his speedy work in completing the loo andMartin Westrop for his artistic eye and skilled craftsmanship andanyone else who we have missed.Jenny Robinson & Richard Moores. Churchwardens

7 Report from St James the Less, StubbingsThe Quinquennial inspection we had this year, thankfullyrevealed no major problems with the fabric of the church, andsome of the minor works such as replacing the broken porchwindows, have already been dealt with. Work on the roof toreplace the coping at the chancel gable will be undertaken later inthe year. The lights on either side of the chancel having beencleaned and polished are a great improvement and now match thelights on the pulpit.We continue to meet as a church community, both for worshipand socially. The Garden Party Summer Lunch was for the firsttime held on the lawn at the Soltau Centre and was well

supported, as was the Christmas Fayre, the Harvest Supper, theSnowdrop tea and the Afternoon teas held in July and August.For the second year running we held our carol singing in thegarden of The Pinkney's Arms and again attracted a largegathering and a good mix of both young and old. We continue tomeet after services to enjoy coffee or wine and nibbles and, moreimportantly, to share news and views. The hard work that goeson behind the scenes to make these things happen is very muchappreciated; many thanks to all involved. While numbers at ourservices seem to be dropping generally we have seen a packedchurch at the major festivals such as Christmas (both the CribService and Christmas Day), Easter Day and RemembranceSunday. This year in August we held a Songs of Praise whichwas also well supported as were the occasional specialEvensongs, such as the 'birthday' Pentecost, which replaced themonthly services.While we enjoyed many happy occasions this year, it was withgreat sadness we shared in the loss of Derek Collins, and more

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recently Norma King, who both made such a contribution to ourchurch community. I am sure we all have our own specialmemories of them and will remember them with great affectionand gratitude.As always we are grateful to everyone who helps to keep thechurch running smoothly: Janet Houston and her team ofcleaners, Sheila Lawton and Tony Ruffell for tending to thechurchyard; all the members of the team who lock and unlock theSoltau Centre; Joanna Butterwick for organising the churchflowers; Margaret Burton and her helpers who continue toprovide delicious lunches for the Young at Heart. Thanks, too, toall the sidespersons, readers, chalice assistants, intercessors,organists, those who organise rotas and websites and to all thoseindividuals without whose contribution we just could notfunction. And finally thank you to Gilly who deals with ourconstant interruptions with patience and good humour whiletrying to keep the whole ship afloat!The coming year will bring challenges we probably haven't eventhought of, but working together in good faith we will be able toface them - maybe even cheerfully!Gill Wallis Sue Harrington-Hill Mary Cooper

8 Baptism Visitor MinistryThis past year (2015) our team of baptism visitors has supported28 baptisms across the parish, the majority being at St Mary theVirgin, Hurley. In this ministry of welcome to new Christiansand their relatives, the visitors assist at the service (sometimesvisit the family beforehand), and provide follow-up contact andinformation about parish events. Their commitment andcontribution are appreciated as a personal contact with our churchcommunity. Baptism services are usually separate occasions, andthose who have been recently baptized are invited to return tochurch for a family service, during which they will be welcomedinto the wider church family. During the year we have beenpleased to welcome two new members who have joined the team.Teresa Kennard

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9 Explorers and Adventurers & Sunday SchoolOur group meets once a month at Hurley, catering for thechildren. There may be 12 to 18 children between the ages of 1year to 12 years old. Parents sometimes come as well which atfirst seemed daunting. However, rather than sit and chat amongstthemselves, they do participate and may get persuaded to helpwith a role play! Sessions include plenty of singing, games, Bibleteaching using puppets, role play or "old-fashioned" flannelgraphillustrations, and appropriate art and craft. As far as possible wefollow the church calendar and so the lessons correspond with theadult service and address. The length of time involved and thewide range of age groups and number of children altogether inone group can be a difficulty but this has been overcomesomewhat by having 1 lesson suitable for the younger childrenand then including a short "addendum" for the older ones.Likewise, the older ones may sometimes have a different activityor do 2 activities. They really enjoy coming into churchafterwards for a blessing and to show their creations to thecongregation and sometimes share one of their songs.I am most grateful to Pam Nicholls whose help with the singingand extra pair of hands at activity time is invaluable. Thanks alsoto Simon Werner whose friendly email in the previous weekreminds parents to bring the childreneach month.Sometimes it feels as though it has been a wild and noisy sessionbut when at a later stage we have a quiz, they prove by theiranswers to have absorbed some of the teaching and tell us it was"amazing Sunday School", we feel it is worthwhile and that someseeds of Christian living and faith are being sown.Joleen Newton

10 Safeguarding ChildrenThere has been an updating of some procedures by the Diocese,more procedures and reviews being accomplished online, but ourguidelines and the parish safeguarding policies remain essentiallythe same. Diocesan Guidelines have been followed and

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recruitment procedures and Disclosure and Barring Servicechecks are current.

Fiona Fieldhouse.

Safeguarding Children and Vulnerable Adults representative.

11 Hurley Pastoral CareVisiting at home and in hospitals and care homes has continuedthis year and the Hurley Pastoral Care Team has been involvedwith both summer and Christmas gatherings for older people inthe village. Bus Pass to Broadway visited again in January andgave us a wonderful Dick Whittington. A new link has beenestablished with the Marlow Medical Group Patient ParticipationGroup in anticipation of future difficultiesand the possible loss ofthe surgery in Hurley and also with Age Concern Marlow. Wecontinue to organise and support CAMEO, (which has a separatereport). There have been a number of newcomers to the village,welcomed with the Welcome Pack which Barbara Nortonorganises, and we have inevitably said sad farewells. We aremost grateful for the support we have from our community whichas always is gratefully accepted and I would like to thank all themembers of the team for their quiet dedication and commitmentand for the unfailing response they give to requests for help.Fiona Fieldhouse.

12 Parish Walks

The Parish Walkers are striding confidently towards the end ofthe twelfth year of their pilgrimage! The main change since 2004is that our pace has slowed down, although our enthusiasm andfellowship remains undimmed, and we have a clearer picture ofwhich hostelries can be relied upon. The highlight of the pastyear was being conducted around the Berkshire College ofAgriculture by Keith and being entertained thereafter at theVicarage.Please join us this summer and discover thejoy of walking in thecountryside and sharinga meal with friends.Ian Bentley

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13 Ministry Team Report 2015:During the year I have been very grateful for the support of theMinistry Team: Teresa Kennard, Tina Molyneux, MauriceSkinner, Jackie Trick and Dilys Woodmore. Without their hugecommitment, ability and hard work we could not enjoy the varietyand scope of worship around the Parish that we do. We owe themall a great debt of gratitude. Towards the end of the year MauriceSkinner has had to step down from regular leadership of servicesfor personal reasons. Due to particularly stressful personalcircumstances, Tina took a break from Parish Ministry fromChristmas 2015 until Easter 2016. During this time she exploredother areas of ministry to try and discern where God is calling herin the future. This process is still ongoing. She has recentlyagreed to become a Diocesan Vocations Advisor and is currentlyseeking part-time paid employment, possibly with the Diocese, soat present it is still unclear what form her future ministry inBurchetts Green will take. Nevertheless it was wonderful to seeher backleading the EasterSundaymorningservice in Hurley.In general, but with some exceptions, attendances at regularSunday services have taken a dip since the middle of 2015,especially at Stubbings. This may prove to be temporary but, asour servicepattern has remained broadly similar for six years, andas therewill be changes to the time our Ministry Team can give, itis nowtime to review the service pattern - the Ministry Team andPCC will attend to this in 2016. At Festivals and other specialoccasions attendances in 2015 were mixed, with someexceptionally large congregations and others similar or sometimessmaller than in 2014.

2015 saw 13 wedding or wedding blessings in the Parish (2014:17), 28 baptisms (2014: 25) and we were involved with 24 funeralservices (2014: 20), 6 Thanksgiving and Memorial Services(2014: 12) and 18 Interments of Ashes (2014: 13). I thank DilysWoodmore and Tina Molyneux for all their help with the'Occasional Offices.' We continued to welcome Burchetts Green

School and Pinkneys Green Scout Groups for special servicesthroughout the year.

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May I take this opportunity to thank not only the Ministry Teambut also all those who contribute to our worship in whatever way.K&rffo (Revd KeithNicholls)

14 Discovery Group (Vicarage)The group (approx 12 members, but not everyone is able to attendeach time) met on Monday evenings for two blocks of sessionslast year. In spring/summer we continued to explore the variousstrands of Christian spirituality, and then in the autumn westudied the New Testament book of Philippians. Once again weenjoyed a "bring and share" supper in August and we ended theyear with an Advent party.We took a break in January this year, as it was proving quitedifficult to find a time to meet that suited the majority, and toallow me to focus on my changing role at work. All being wellwe will begin to meet again later this year. As I said last time,it's a very easy group to facilitate, as everyone is willing toparticipate and share their experiences! If anyone would like tojoin us please contact me.Pam Nicholls

15 Stubbings 200 ClubThe Stubbings 200 Club enjoyed considerable success with 103members last year. This was an excellent result thanks largely toseveral parishioners buying a second token and we raised a totalof £1230 for capital projects at St James' Church. The totalraised over the past thirteen years now exceeds £19,000 of whichsome £6000 is in the kitty at present. We are in discussion withthe PCC about possible uses for this money but weshallalso lookforward to hearing from anyone about any improvements tochurch facilities that they would like to see. Meantime, the patiodoors, which were fitted to the Soltau Centre using 200 Clubfunding, have transformed the facility and especially as theSummer Lunch venue.At the time of writing, many of last year's members have signedup for 2016 but we have lost several members and we have not

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yet had replies from several more. The net result is that,currently, I have sold 97 tokens thanks to a number of membersbuying extra tokens. I would like to use this opportunity toappeal to all readers, and especially those who have not yetrejoined from 2015, to consider joining this fun way of raisingmoney for important work at St James - the cost is less than 5Opper week and there valuable prizes on offer each month as well asbig prizes at Christmas!I should also like to take the opportunity to thank everyone whohas participated so enthusiastically in the Club and given me suchencouragement.Tony Ruffell

16 Stubbings Gardening Group"The Gnomes" have met most Wednesday mornings to undertakea variety of tasks to keep the Stubbings Churchyard tidy andattractive. We have been rather limited in what we can achievebecause, most of the time, the group has been down to threepensioners with occasional help from John and Phillip Gray whotrimmed all of the yew hedging on their own - a wonderfulcontribution! Now we are even more restricted because one ofour numberhas medical problems which preventhim from doingheavy work.We have continued to have the assistance of a group of"Community Payback" people which has provided us withinvaluable help once a month. They have undertaken a variety ofwork in a very capable manner and we are most grateful for this.We have also employed a professional gardening company toundertake the major grass-mowing in the Summer and Autumnbecause this was the only available way to get this essential workdone.

We were very pleased that many people came to the SnowdropTea despite the inclement weather! The woodland area willcontinue to be colourful for some time so I would urge everyoneto take advantage of this free display of snowdrops, daffodils andprimroses. We intend to transplant more bulbs this year to

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improve their flowering and to expand the area which is colourfulespecially in springtime.We really would welcome some additional help, especially someyounger "Gnomes", so, if anyone reading this can spare a fewhours on a Wednesday morning, even if it is not every week, Iwould be very pleased to hear from you.Tony Ruffell

17 Young at HeartLittle seems to have changed at Young at Heart except that we areall getting older and everything is becoming more of an effortthese days. Sandra and Richard Moores kindly came to ourrescue by putting out the tables for us, however, I now haveconcerns about putting them away. This task is usually carriedout by one or two of the men who come to the lunch but they arein their eighties. Any suggestions or volunteers to help with thistask would be most welcome.At the lunches there is a constant buzz in the hall and all seempleased to meet their friends and catch up with their news.Everyone leaves happy and smiling, thanking us for a lovelylunch and looking forward to seeing us nexttime.We still prepare meals for an average of 45 people and to makelife a little easier some of our helpers have volunteered tooccasionally make a pudding or prepare some of the vegetables.Special thanks must be given for the continued support of JoannaButterwick which is greatly appreciated.Margaret Burton

18 CameoCome And Meet Each Other is an informal gathering of olderpeople who meet in the Priory Room on the second Thursday ofthe month in friendship and to enjoy each others' company. Wehave tea, excellent homemade cakes, and Fred Furneaux's muchenjoyed quiz. We have marked the major events of the churchcalendar and there was enthusiastic carol singing at Christmas. InHurley where transport isnoteasy, this isa valued opportunity for

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people who have limited possibility of getting out and about togather together and have a link with the Church and talk to theVicar.

Cameo meetings have provided a useful forum for meeting newpeople this year, such as the Community Warden who visitedfrequently and listened to problems, and also links well withHurley Pastoral Care. This year in January, the month whenCAMEO does not happen, Bus Pass to Broadway returned andgave us their energetic Dick Whittington followed by tea whichwas much enjoyed.Fiona Fieldhouse

19 Oasis

Meaning of Oasis - Haven, Retreat, Sanctuary, Resting place,Water, Sanctum. An oasis of peace, prayer, reflection,meditation. A quiet time for prayer, sharing, praying for eachother, the mission of our church, our community, and worldconcerns.

Comeand see. A warmwelcome awaits you in The Priory RoomatStMary theVirgin, Hurley, 1st and 3rd Tuesdays at2.30pm.Every blessing.Sandra Brooks and Pat lies

20 Pebbles

Pebbles is a short informal service for babies, toddlers and preschoolers on Tuesday mornings at Stubbings and on Thursdaymornings at Hurley.

Pebbles at StubbingsI have been running Pebbles at Stubbings since January 2016while Tina is on Sabbatical. My 5 year old daughter grew up atPebbles with Tina and it became a way of life for the two of us, soI fully appreciate how important it is for families in and aroundthe area. We have welcomed 3 new babies including twins to thegroup this year.

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We have a "mini service" which consists of a few action songs, abible reading and prayers and we always end the service noisilywith a song and an instrument each! Then it's mad rush to thebiscuits and squash or a mug of tea or coffee for the grown ups. Itcan be a real pleasure for the carers to have a hot drink made forthem because it is often so hard to get that moment in the day todo it for themselves. It's especially appreciated by the sleepdeprived and a good biscuit can go a long way to make us feel abit better. The grown ups chat while the little ones play, then weall tidy up together and set off home for lunch.We are a happy group, very comfortable and supportive andalways very welcoming to new faces. About 12 children,including babies, attend weekly.We are very grateful to Dinah Rewell for serving teas and coffeesand washing up for us!Jenny Werner

Pebbles at HurleyHurley Pebbles is a short service and playgroup for pre-schoolchildren accompanied by a parent/grandparent/carer. This yearAlison Phillips has stepped up to share the leadership of Pebbleswith me for which we are very grateful. The format remains thesame, we sing a couple of action songs, often we then findWarwick Bear (!) hear a short message or story, pray together,make a lot of noise with children's musical (?!) instrumentsbefore we have refreshments (thank you everyone who helps toprovide these) and the children play and adults chat. Averageattendance is around 8 children. We meet each Thursday morningat 10.30 in the Priory Room alongside Hurley Church andwelcome new members, no need to book, just come!

Xeitfi (Revd Keith Nicholls)

21 Parish Craft Group (Knit & Natter)We have had another productive year. We meet on the 2nd and 4thTuesday afternoons of each month (apart from August andDecember) in the Soltau Centre where we knit, crochet, sew and

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enjoy friendship over a cuppa and biscuits with lots of chatter andlaughs.Primarily, we knit squares which are sewn together to make warmblankets whilst other members are knitting stripey jumpers andschool jumpers - these mainly go to East Africa where thechildren enjoy wearing their "uniforms". During the year wesupported the local Soroptomists group who are collecting knittedjumpers and blankets to assist villagers who have little in the wayof possessions. We have also sent some blankets and otherknitted goods to the Salvation Army who were very grateful.More recently, some members have knitted Twizzle muffs fordementia patients. During the Autumn we were busy makinggarments and toys for the Church Christmas Fayre. We alsoknitted hats, scarves and gloves to support the "Shoe BoxAppeal" for Operation Christmas Child.New members will receive a friendly welcome and we are alwayspleased to receive donations of double-knitting wool.Linda Ruffell

22 Traidcraft

Traidcraft continues to do well and over £3000 of food and craftshave been purchased over the past twelve months, making a totalof over £6000 since October 2013 when the first purchase wasmade. We have also made a healthy profit which will enable usto send a cheque for £200for the 'Let It Grow' Appeal which willgive the very poor in the third world a way out of poverty so thatthey can feed and educate their children.Last November, for the first time, I had a Traidcraft Event at myhome, and invited friends to have coffee and biscuits, whilstbuying Christmas cards and presents from the Traidcraftselection. There was a really good response and, as a resultnearly £800 of Traidcraft goods were sold. I am, therefore ,having another pre-Christmas Event again on Thursday, 17thNovember, 2016, 10am - 2pm, and hope this will be anothergreat social gathering and, at the same time, beneficial toTraidcraft. This time, there will also be short films showing true

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stories of how people in poverty have managed to turn their livesaround with the right help.I would like to thank all Traidcraft supporters and, particularly,those who buy regularly and look forward to seeing new faces asthe year progresses. Traidcraft goods can be purchased in theSoltau Centre after Parish Family Communion at Stubbings onthe first Sunday of the month and at Young at Heart Lunches on aWednesday.Sandra Moores

23 Electoral Roll 2015

The figure reported last year was -187During the year April 2015 - March2016 there have been9 new members added to the roll.

3 deaths

Total recorded for this year - 193Andrea Burn, Electoral Roll Officer

24 Parish Office

The Parish Office continues to be a very friendly, livelyworkplace and this year has been as busy as ever! I continue towork a number of hours from home and during the year a remoteaccess facility to the office PC was installed. This has allowed forgreater flexibility andefficiency and hasbeenveryhelpful.At the time of my last report I had struggled with many months ofPC problems and shoddy backup service by Dell engineers.Fortunately all was resolved and the new office PC has been inplace for nearly a year. The refund I secured from Dell more thancovered the cost of the new machine and printer, includinginstallation costs, and we were left with nearly £200 credit fortechnical support. So in the end, after much hassle, it all workedout well!This year the office has generally been running very smoothly interms of equipment, with internet, telephone, computer, printers

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and duplicator all behaving reliably. Amazing - long may itcontinue!

The number of bookings at the Soltau Centre has increased againduring the year and there is a very broad range of activities takingplace. These include antenatal pilates and baby massage sessions,regular pilates and yoga classes, an indoor skittles group, andlongstanding users such as Renaissance Voices, East BerkshireRecorders, Maidenhead Astronomical Society and Windsor andMaidenhead Embroiderers Guild. There are the regular churchbased activities such as Pebbles, Knit and Natter and Young atHeart and we also have many "one-off bookings ranging frommusic workshops and bridge drives to charity AGMs, churchaway days and receptions after baptisms and funerals. All hirersexpress how much they enjoy using the hall and appreciate thepeaceful setting.Many many thanks are due to the dedicated band of volunteerswho lock and unlock the Soltau Centre on a rota system. The roleof these volunteers is absolutely vital in enabling the bookings totake place. Whilst I have tried to reduce pressure on them byensuring as many of the hirers aspossible now have 'fobs' to gainentry to the Centre, there are still often many visits to be made,sometimes at unsocial hours.

I am very fortunate to be supported in the office by not only theministry team but also the churchwardens and deputychurchwarden and I would like to express my appreciation for alltheir assistance. Heartfelt thanks also to Vanessa Evans and HazelO'Connor for all their help. They are enormously generous withtheir time and commitment and their contribution to the smoothrunningof the office is, as ever, greatly appreciated. They are alsoboth wonderful company in the office and we have a lot of fun! Inaddition to helping each week in one way or another, Hazel alsosometimes covers the office for me if I am away or unwell. Shereally is my right-hand woman!Working in the Parish Office continues to be a pleasure due to thesupport and friendliness of Keith and the ministry team,

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parishioners and volunteers. The lovely outlook is an additionalbonus - I feel very lucky to be working in such a beautiful place.Gilly Miall, Parish Administrator.

25 Parish Website

Our superb website www.burchettsgreenparish.org is an excellentresource both for church members and enquirers and we aregrateful to Paul Heelas for all he does to make sure that this 'shopwindow' is interesting, engaging and up to date.

26 Parish News

Parish News has continued to be published 10 times a year and aswell as acting as a valuable source of information to parishioners,congregation members and visitors, the magazine contributedaround £3000 to Parish funds. Our thanks go to Lynn Penfold forher editing and general co-ordinating, Gilly Miall and HazelO'Connor for printing, to all the magazine distributors and to ouradvertisers for their continued support. Revd Keith

Appendix: Mission action Planning

During 2015 the PCC looked at the future of our churches andagreed a new vision statement 'Seeking to know Jesus, to sharehis love and make him known in word and action' and agreedpriorities for the whole and for each District Church as follows:

Parish

1) To provide consistent quality music for our services andother events across the Parish both traditional and modem

2) To improve our provision for families with young childrenby appointing a part-time 'Family Worker or' otherwise3) To identify, train and encourage new lay leaders

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In furtheranceofthese priorities we will:1) Appoint a 'champion' to assess our musical needs andreceive, appraise andprogress their initial findings2) Agree a role specification for a Family Worker orequivalent and advertise initially internally and within theDeanery if finance (if necessary) is in place3) Have put inplace a scheme for identifying and trainingpotential new leaders and have begun to approach an initialtranche

St Mary the Virgin, Hurley:

1) To communicate better inevery way sothe church trulyserves the needs of the community2) Tosecure the administration andrunning ofthechurchand enable creativethought aboutdevelopment in worship andchurch life eventually facilitating a new church warden's role3) Toencourage greater participation by members of thecongregation, especially younger people families andnewermembers

In furtherance of these priorities we will:1) Improve communication byusing the Notice Boards,creatinga family database/Facebook page, utilising Hurleyonlineand Hurleyburly, producing a welcome pack and updatedwelcome booklet, make more use ofEmail alerts and using thechurch creatively for community events e.g. fete, recitals etc2) Complete and communicate the work-in-progress on rolesat Hurley Church3) Actively invite people to beinvolved in activities in 'bitesized' opportunities and support theVillageAssociation inencouraging community participation.

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St John the Evangelist, Littlewick Green

1) To improve awareness of the church in the village2) To connect better with the local community3) To participate in and better link the church withcommunity events

In furtherance of these priorities by April 2016 we will:1) Produce a 'welcome leaflet' introducing St John's anddistribute it to new residents

2) Survey villagers asking them what they would like to seetheir local church doing3) Hold events like the recent 'First Flush' to connect churchand village, better link Christingle, Carol singing and Harvest andliaise with the village Scout Group

St James the Less, Stubbings

1) To raise church's profile in Pinkneys Green the localcommunity generally2) To create opportunities for the younger and oldercongregations to meet together socially and for worship3) To reach those who see Stubbings as their church andcome occasionally encouraging them to participate more

In furtherance of these priorities we will1) Create and utilize a data base 'Friends of Stubbings' tocommunicate services and activities2) Create attractive publicity about church activities to handout at well attended Festival services3) Establish 'Pastoral Friends' to co-ordinate pastoral care ofthe older congregation

The PCC will be regularly updating and reviewing our progresstowards meeting our priorities and goals and setting new ones andwould welcome your ideas and input - please speak to the vicaror any PCC member.

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www.burchettsgreenparish.org

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