APCM 2024 Minutes

St. Lawrence with St. Paul Longridge

Minutes of the Annual Meeting of Parishioners held on

22^nd April 2024

Present: Revd. Mike Barton, Revd. Simon King, Dot Little, Barbara Burton, Graham Kelsall, Mae Heys, Amii Bateson, Paul Warren, Phil, Jones, Adrain Mairs, Dorothy Mairs, David Hartley, Helen Bailey, Merilyn Kinrade, Vernon Kinrade, Beryl Fenech, Rie Rogers-Waterman, Karen Boardman, Barbara McCormick, Val Wardley, Chris Page, Teresa, Page, Andrew Filder, Phil Livesey, Lawrence Ingham, Rosemary Lyons.

The vicar welcomed everyone to the meeting which commenced in prayer led by the curate.

Apologies were received from: Michael Dawson, Ellen Dawson, Wendy Smyth, Ali Ng, Kai Ng.

Following a proposal by Barbara McCormick, seconded by Rosemary Lyons the minutes of the Annual Meeting of Parishioners held on 24^th April 2023 were approved as a true record.

Election of Churchwardens

People allowed to vote are:

Anyone who lives in the parish of St Lawrence with St Paul
Anyone on the electoral roll of the Parish Church

Dot Little and Dorothy agreed to stand for election for another term as Churchwardens. There were no further nominations.

Dot Little was nominated by Kathleen Sturzaker and seconded by Vernon Kinrade. Dorothy Laver was nominated by Helen Clements and seconded by Rosemary Lyons.

As there were two vacant Churchwarden positions and two people standing, both Dot and Dorothy were duly elected as the new Churchwardens for St Lawrence with St Paul.

The vicar thanked Dot and Dorothy for being willing to serve St Lawrence with St Paul.

This concluded the ANNUAL MEETING OF PARISHIONERS

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St. Lawrence with St. Paul, Longridge

Minutes of the annual Parochial Meeting, held on 22nd April, 2024

Present: See attendance list for Annual meeting of Parishioners (Vestry meeting) above.

Apologies were received from: See above.

Rie Rogers-Waterman proposed and Vernon Kinrade seconded that the minutes of the meeting held on the 24^th April 2023 were an accurate record. The motion was unanimously supported.

Matters Arising from the Minutes:

None

To receive a report on the changes to the roll since the last annual meeting

Presently there are 217 people on our electoral roll.

At April 2023 the figure was 218. During the course of this period 3 people were added to the roll; sadly 4 people on the electoral roll passed away, these being; Walter Clayton, Terry Warburton, Barbara Willan and Thomas Edward (Eddie) Paynter.

The vicar added: We trust that these dear people, whose names were said with such familiarity by those who knew them the best and loved them the most, along with others known well to us at the church but not on the electoral role who have passed since the last APCM year now sleep in the nearer presence of God and await a glorious resurrection in Christ.

Let us now remember in prayer all those we love but no longer see.

God our father, we praise you for all who have lived and died in our church family. Thank you for the encouragement of their example, their witness which inspired us, and the memory of their lives which gives us cause to reflect with gladness at this time.

In response, teach us to number our own days aright so that enfolded in your everlasting arms we may know you more clearly, love you more dearly, and serve you more truly, to the honour and glory of your name. Amen

At the APCM last year I spoke on the theme of Renewal, Renewal in Christian confidence, Renewal in Christian fellowship, and renewal in Christian witness and in doing so I reflected on the story of Gideon to whom God said,

‘Go in the strength you have… Am I not sending you?’

This year with our Church Vision Emphasis being ‘Following Jesus with the Northern Saints’ and the sub context, ‘Being Inspired in order to Inspire’ I’d like to build on last year’s ‘renewal’ theme to talk about ‘Jesus our inspiration.’

Our guiding verses tonight comes from Hebrews 13:7-8,

“Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”

Tonight we think about: Jesus our inspiration in the past, Jesus our inspiration in the present and Jesus our inspiration for the future.

So beginning with Jesus our inspiration in the past we look back over the previous year since the 2023 APCM.

Unsurprisingly, as you’ll hear later, our Churchwardens, Dot and Dorothy, along with many others like Rosemary Lyons have been very busy with fabric related matters, and on behalf of all of us, I’d like to thank them and others for their hard work and diligence in continuing to maintain St Lawrence and St Paul’s Churches and thank you also to Terry Lewis for his hard, and this year especially, wet work(!) in St Lawrence Graveyard which is held in such high affection by our Longridge community.

Also worthy of mention is the increasing clarity with which Graham Kelsall has worked to present our budgeting and financial position and we can celebrate the fact we continue to pay our full parish share, which is testament to the ongoing generosity of parishioners. Blackburn Diocese continue to believe having as many clergy on the ground locally is good for the health of the church and I along with many others believe this is a vision worth supporting.

Indeed, personnel wise there is much to report over the past year and at the risk of missing out some hugely valuable contributions, for which I can only apologise, there are some things I’d like to highlight.

Michael Dawson in the Parish office is a real gift to us and his patience with the very poor wi-fi signal at times knows no bounds! I’d delighted to report that this issue has now been fully resolved and the vastly improved broadband speed stands us in good stead for the forthcoming improvements to the AV system and particularly the livestreaming of our church services which unfortunately the quality this year has been patchier than I would have liked.

Tonight, I’d also like to pay tribute to Revd Gill and Gerald whose ministry among us over the last 8 years we were able to celebrate in the special service held on 19^th November. We pray for God’s blessing on them both in this transitional time and especially for the success of Revd Gill’s ongoing cancer treatment. In addition, Muriel Anderson had to step down from her Lay Ministry preaching responsibilities this year due to illness but after a successful recent operation It’s good to see an improvement in her mobility. Muriel has now been preparing the Open the Books scripts for school assemblies for 6 years, so we now have a complete syllabus of material which is a remarkable effort.

Grateful thanks must also go to Paul Warren, who having now experienced all the services in the liturgical church calendar has a good grasp of the life of an organist in a busy parish. Over the last six months it’s been fun to introduce our little ‘Hymns We Love’ series with Paul and discover some of the fascinating background behind some of the hymns we love to sing.

At this point we must also show our special appreciation to all the members of our Church Choir and Worship Group who, week in, week out, massively enhance the quality and experience of our church services. Thank you for your continual commitment.

I’m also deeply grateful to our Children’s Church Leaders and their Assistants who constantly amaze me with the creativity and care with which they prepare their sessions. It’s a joy to interview the children at the end of the 11.15 service and as you’d expect sometimes the children express the most profound revelations about God, which is due in no small measure to all that they’re being taught.

During his curacy one of Revd Simon’s key roles has been to support our Church Lads and Church Girls Brigade. You can read the full Brigade report in the Log to come out later in the month, however many of you will be aware of the fortitude and courage Janet Redding has shown in her struggles with cancer while gradually handing over the Brigade Leadership responsibilities to Olivia Stewart and Amii Bateson. Thank you Janet, you’re an inspiration to so many young people, and thank you also to Amii and Olivia for your recent support of Youth Group alongside Revd Simon.

Now about more about our curate! I trust you’ve all witnessed the deep affection with which Revd Simon and I hold each other in the hugs we like to share when sharing the peace. Simon has been a true delight to have alongside me as Curate and while we’re not yet sure what the future holds for him and Tracey, it’s no surprise Simon has this year had his curacy signed off by the diocese. I’m very hopeful Simon will remain with us until at least the end of 2024, and I know he’s ready to lead St Lawrence with St Paul during my forthcoming sabbatical during the June to August period.

I know you will look after him during this time and I’m very grateful to Revd Adrian Mairs will be on hand to offer his valuable wisdom and support as well.

Other significant changes this year include Chris Martin coming onboard as our Health and Safety Officer, his industry experience in this area is proving hugely valuable and together with Kathleen Sturzaker and Andrew Belshaw, all three have been a real blessing as part of our preaching team as well.

Then Elizabeth Hemmingway kindly offered to take on the important role of Safeguarding Officer, following on from Andrew Burdett. Elizabeth has taken good strides getting to grips with the new Parish Safeguarding Dashboard supported by Barbara McCormick as the Safeguarding Administrator. I’m pleased to report that since the last APCM the PCC has complied with our duty to have due regard to House of Bishops' guidance on safeguarding children and vulnerable adults.

Now, one of the big encouragements in recent years has been the bubbling up of new ministry activities that Revd Simon and I have had minimal involvement with. These are significant signs that St Lawrence with St Paul’s continues to be a healthy church where people can explore and use their gifts to serve our community.

For example, the Autism Group, led by Emma Turver and Jacqui Laker. The Welcome Café led by Steph Willan and Karen Burdett and the Men’s Fellowship Group steered by John Keating continue to prosper. The Churches Together Foodbank is now being supplemented by visitors from Citizen’s Advice and Children and Family Wellbeing services offered by Lancashire County Council which makes it easier for people to access the support and services they need all in one place.

Then more recently the setting up of the Bereavement Journey Course in Autumn 2023 by Karen Burdett along with Revd Wilma Colley and Katie from St Bartholomew’s Church in Chipping, which built on our monthly Bereavement Group was a real privilege to witness.

In the last Spring Term Barbara McCormick and Marina Walker trialled a ‘Bible Fun Club’ after school attracting thirty Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 pupils from Berry Lane. We await to see what next for this in the future…

And now finally looking back I’d like us to note and celebrate the strong relationship St Lawrence with St Paul has with Longridge C of E Primary School. The teachers and staff at the school do an amazing job and after a very strong Ofsted Report in March 2022, their recent March 2024 SIAMS inspection highlighted the excellent education and strong Christian grounding all the pupils receive. Our congratulations to Catherine Parkin and team, many of whom flow naturally between the school and our church.

And now secondly, I’d like to hand over to Revd Simon to say a few things related to Jesus our inspiration in the present.

In the next few months, while Mike is away on sabbatical, I very much hope that you will join me in putting on your walking boots. You will be needing them, as we embark on a pilgrimage with the Northern Saints. We will be doing that in two ways, physically with a trip up to Durham Cathedral in September, that is kindly being arranged and organised by John and Bev Keating, and metaphorically, with a teaching series over the summer months. It’s a journey that will seek to uncover how Jesus inspired our ancestors to follow him, and in turn, they inspired others to do the same. Although most of those saints lived in Northumbria, my prayer is that through their lead, our own northern community of saints will grow closer together and closer to Jesus.

Talking of journeys, another passage that is coming to an end is my curacy. Having been signed off by the Bishop Philip earlier this year, I am now free to apply for vacancies in other parishes. Even though neither myself nor Tracy are in any rush to move away from this wonderful church family, it seems like a good opportunity to express our heartfelt thanks and appreciation for all the help and support and prayers that you have afforded to us in the last three years. Your generosity of spirit and willingness to accept us and share your lives with us has filled our hearts with joy. At various times we have laughed together, cried together, made soup, cheese scones and memories together. The prodigal nature of your spirituality has enriched and encouraged us in our faith, and we are especially indebted to Revered Mike for his guidance, care and prayers throughout. Thank you so very much.

Reverend Mike’s sabbatical will herald changes to the pattern of Sunday morning worship. The 9:30am service of Holy Communion at St Paul’s will push back half an hour, to start at 10am and will merge with the informal 11:15 service. To support parents with young families, Children’s Church will be available at the new 10am service, except for the second Sunday of the month when there will be an all-age family service of the word (Communion will still be available in the evening at St Lawrence. I am very grateful to the Children’s Church leadership for their willingness to embrace the change. At this time, the balance between the worship group and the choir has yet to be fully worked out, but my hope is that, as we have seen in other recent services, both styles can complement each other and enrich everyone’s experience of worship.

In the last week, both Reverend Mike and I have been very encouraged by the uptake in the confirmation course from the year 6 pupils at Berry Lane School. The course began on Thursday 18^th April with six eager candidates, whose enthusiasm and inquisitiveness was wonderful. Although the number of candidates was down from those that were attained in days gone by, it’s worth noting that Berry Lane School is no longer in the catchment for Archbishop Temple High School and, as a result, confirmation is no longer a requirement for enrolment. This year Bishop Tony Porter has agreed to come to St. Paul’s to confirm our young people in what we hope will be a celebration of their commitment to Jesus.

On Saturday 13^th and Sunday 14^th July, the Sunday all age worship service will be moved from St Paul to St Lawrence to facilitate in the delivery of the inaugural Flower Festival. The festival is being organised by Donna Rowe-Green and members of the flower arranging team. With the theme of “save it with flowers” the festival will off a chance to involve as many people as possible from both the church and the wider community to come together and celebrate nature and creativity. Donna and her team are hoping to encourage people to grow flowers in their garden that can be used in church to save on both financial costs and the cost to our global environment by flying flowers around the world.

Finally, one of the priorities for the coming months is to identify and recruit a new leader for our Junior Choir. When running, the choir enable children from Berry Lane school the chance to participate in singing both the sacred and the secular. More than that it also builds relationships between the young people, their parents and the church family. It’s an important bridge between school and church and often those who sing with the choir go on to join the youth group. We very much hope that very soon St Paul’s church will be filled with the voices of children on a late Friday afternoon.

Thirdly we come now to Jesus our inspiration for the future.

As you’ve already heard tonight there is much going on at St Lawrence with St Paul’s Church to inspire new people to explore the Christian faith, and deepen the faith of existing Christians. However, it might not surprise you to hear me say, we have so much more potential.

In January we heard how the Northern Saints were bold in their Worship, their Walk and their Witness and I think we need to be looking to the future with the same level of faith. As I cast my eye ahead, I think the following areas should to be considered a priority.

The first is corporate prayer. I’m hugely grateful to Marina Walker for striving in this area and simply put, I don’t think we say ‘Amen’ enough together during the week. Vernon Kinrade often begins his intercessions with the words, ‘In the power of the Spirit and in union with Christ, let us pray to the Father’. I’d love to see all our activities charged with more power of the Spirit, more union with Christ and an increasing sense of the presence of God the Father. How wonderful it would be if the size of our prayer engine even got close to the size of God’s ambition for us.

The second is capacity. As I look out at Longridge, with its three primary Schools, two high schools and one special needs school, the harvest is certainly plentiful but the workers are presently too few, especially in the area of Children’s and Youth work. Culture has long since passed the moment when young families prioritise church over the range of other potential activities they can do on a Sunday morning and so we need to think creatively and deliberately about how we share the gospel with families who have no or limited church background. This will require intentional resource in the form of someone like a Children and Youth Worker to help us build up a team of volunteers. Blackburn Diocese may be able to help us with this, but I expect it will require some investment from us.

Also coming under the heading of capacity is the recognition that when Revd Simon’s curacy ends there will be some decisions to be made together about the types of ministry we want to prioritise. Again, for St Lawrence with St Paul to truly flourish and match the ambition of God, in addition to a Children’s and Youth Worker, I think we need to be looking towards recruiting a full time Assistant Minister to support the Vicar.

These ideas would have cost implications but time and time again I’ve seen in prayer that nothing is impossible with God.

The third area is St Paul’s Church facilities. On Saturday we held a brilliant community breakfast and the cooking and serving team once again delivered a most tasty result. But I, and I think they, have noticed that the St Paul’s kitchen is not like the Tardis, in that once you step into it, it does not get any bigger! Over the longer-term future I’d love us to develop an ambitious plan for the re-ordering of St Paul’s Church as a place of worship and community service for the glory of God.

To close, only God knows what the future will bring but my prayer is that in your prayers you’ll boldly bring your inspiration and ambition before God as we collectively seek his will for St Lawrence with St Paul in the coming days ahead.

In the Gospels Jesus calls us to come boldly before God and I’m assured Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

Amen.

Treasurers report to APCM

Full copies of the Accounts are available in both St Pauls and St Lawrences.

The key figures from the 2023 Annual Accounts are, income £194,197, expenditure £189,271 surplus £4,926, total cash at year end £38,772 and value of our investments at the year-end £338,148. We then proceeded to look at each of the figures in turn.

Income: Income overall for 2023 was £16,705 higher than in 2022. One of the key things to note is that our total income from planned giving and collections at services reduced by £7,899.

Another thing to note was that the Gift Aid we had been able to reclaim in 2023 was much higher than in 2022, this is mainly because Gift Aid claims have been brought up to date, along with the positive impact that PGS makes to the timely receipt of Gift Aid. My thanks as always to Jackie for looking after the Gift Aid side of things.

Fundraising was almost the same at just £145 lower than in 2022. Printing – the income here is down on 2022. Haighton Dividend was down and Newsham Legacy income was up, as was income from the Log from £3,787 to £4,897. Income from facilities rental increased again.

We received no legacies in 2023, however income from fees for weddings and funerals, was up by £6,353.

Moving on to our expenditure at £189,271, this was £74,845 lower than in 2022.

Our expenditure on Parish Share was slightly higher the previous year. I confirm that in 2023 we paid our Parish Share request in full.

Clergy and staffing costs were £1,232 lower. Main increases were in Council tax payments and in water costs. Water costs increased as bills had not been presented paid in previous years, so were in effect brought up to date.

The main decrease was in Repairs and Maintenance where we spent £32,233 in total, a decrease of £59,741 over the 2022 level. The main reason for this is the amount of works carried out at St Lawrence and St Pauls in 2023, compared to 2022, further details are in the fabric report.

Churchyard expenditure show as being lower by £3,311, this is because tree works were paid for in 2022.

The Uniform fund was well used in 2023, but to a lower level than in 2022.

Costs of energy where down in 2023, back to 2021 levels. This is about the more controlled usage of energy, as we are on a fixed rate tariff.

One final point to note regarding expenditure is regarding printing costs of £7,845 (£6,774 in 2022), this should be seen in the context of income from printing (£3,807) and income from The Log (£4,897), total £8,704. So, on balance, printing is income generating.

Having looked at income and expenditure we confirmed that the net position for the year is a surplus of £4,926.

Looking briefly at the transfers between funds that are recorded in the accounts, where we had transferred £1,207 out of Unrestricted designated funds into general funds. With respect to our Restricted funds, the St Pauls Repair fund we transferred £35,002 from general funds, the St Lawrence repair fund we transferred £10,764 from general funds to bring these funds to a nil balance at the year end. We also had to transfer £204 into the uniform fund to correct the negative position.

As mentioned at the last APCM, in view of the size, cost and urgency of these maintenance/repair projects, the PCC decided that we could not ‘wait’ whilst we fund raised, and agreed to sell some of the shares we hold to do them and to clear these negative balances, but currently the share price is still at the lower end, so we are ‘biding our time’. The issue of course is that we can only sell these once.

We then looked at the cash (£38,722) and looked at the four bank accounts we hold in addition to the cash held with the Diocese, and how some of the cash at the diocese was restricted (being the Haighton legacy cash).

Finally, looking at our investments where the value had increased from £274,688 to £300,758, and the value of our ‘other shares’ that have increased from £34,987to £37,390. We confirmed that the ‘other shares’ are the United Utilities shares we hold as part of the Haighton legacy – these cannot be sold, however the dividend income goes into the Haighton legacy ‘cash’ account, which can then be spent on the purpose of the legacy (the upkeep of St Lawrence church and the church yard). Our other investments are held with the Central Investment Fund, and the value of these can go up or down, in 2023 we saw an increase.

We wrote in The Log earlier this year to thank Parishioners for their donations, and I’d like to reiterate that thanks now. Thanks again to Jacqui Taylor who does such a great job as Gift Aid Secretary, and to Dorothy Laver for her assistance.

Also, this year we successfully applied to the Diocese for a card machine for St Lawrence, which they provided at a cost of £50, instead of the usual cost of over £300.

Finally - The budget for 2024 set by the PCC, looks to try and balance the books, however with the repairs/maintenance bills coming in at around £40,000, including the Churchyard wall at St Lawrence requiring c£10,000 to stop it falling down into Happy Alley, and another estimated £10,000 required to repair the Lychgate, we are currently looking at a £30,000 shortfall.

We will need to work hard on trying to increase our income to enable us to complete the required works, and fundraising and appeals will no doubt feature this year.

Mike and the PCC will be looking at ways to encourage people to prayerfully consider “Giving in Grace” to try and balance the books.

There were no questions.

Fabric Report presented by Dot Little

I would like to thank Dorothy Laver for her help in putting this annual fabric report together and I look forward to working with Dorothy in the coming twelve months. I am especially grateful to her for compiling the rota’s which enable our Sunday Services to run smoothly and be appropriately manned and would especially like to thank the Duty Wardens and Sidespeople for all they do Sunday by Sunday.

As Churchwardens we try to be as involved as possible in the day to day running of the parish, bringing our own particular strengths to the role. Sadly, this APCM restricts the churchwarden’s to reporting just on fabric leaving Revd. Mike and others to cover the far more interesting topics of worship and fellowship.

So, Fabric it is and there is a good deal to report.

We are grateful to Barbara Burton for taking a lead and encouraging us to adopt a more environmentally aware way of doing things. With the Diocese planning to become Carbon Neutral by 2030 it’s important that both as individuals and as a parish we play our part. To aid this a new subcommittee of the PCC has been set up to work on the two areas of Fabric and Environmental issues and certainly by the next APCM we hope to have moved forward in both these areas.

One area already under review is changing to LED lighting in both churches, something we have done reasonably successfully at St. Paul’s with most of the lighting, if not LED, made up of compact fluorescents making them energy efficient, although they do take time to come to full brightness. St. Lawrence church less so with none of the lights in the Parish Room having LED fittings and in the main body of the church to replace the spot lights high in the chancel would require scaffolding so added costs involved.

On the subject of lighting at St. Lawrence we are grateful to Barbara and Steve McCormick for the installation of the Victorian shaped lamp which has made such a difference on the path up to church as has the improved light at the Lychgate.

Trees are an important part of any churchyard but are currently causing us problems at both churches. In the case of St. Paul’s, the two 120-year-old sycamore trees at either side of the steps need the crown raising and the canopies thinning so that the tower end of the church is more visible. Perhaps more worrying are the twelve or so dying ash trees at the top of the carpark banking just inside our boundary with the houses built at Sharley Fold which need felling and it is hoped we can schedule this work in 2024.

Trees again are an issue at St. Lawrence’s or rather tree stumps from previously felled trees down the Happy Alley side of the churchyard. In hindsight planting what would then have been small trees so close to the wall back in the 1950-1960’s was a mistake because although the four trees were removed a few years back the roots together with the weight of soil and drainage water retained has caused some bulging of the boundary wall which is causing concern. That section of the wall unfortunately constructed using a rough and random stone.

Contractors have been approved for the work which will involve grinding the four tree stumps and repairing the wall but the Diocese are requesting further clarification before a faculty can be approved, so the work is likely to be delayed.

While still in the churchyard an unexpected water channel has been found in the East side of the new section of graves and while this is not a cause for concern it will mean that some of the remaining grave space will be lost.

Still at St. Lawrence the Lychgate which has been in situ since 1939 has been found to have fungal rot and wood boring beetles eating away at the woodwork as well as damage caused by water ingress. Over the years the wood has been repaired by splicing new wood into parts of the structure but we have now reached a point where the Lychgate needs completely renovating. We are still awaiting estimates for the work but our hope is that we can apply for some grant funding while running an appeal similar to the one we ran for the urgent tower work at St. Lawrence – one suggestion being an exhibition of photographs from couples who got married in St. Lawrence’s and have photographs taken at the Lychgate.

The interior of St. Lawrence Church although thankfully watertight has areas of dampness and flaking plaster particularly on the rear wall and this will no doubt be highlighted in the next quinquennial of that church scheduled for 2025.

Let’s turn to St. Paul’s and to fabric issues that we have moved forward over the past year. The processional cross which had become unusable has now been restored and our thanks go to the Church Craft Group for part funding that repair.

St. Paul’s Carpark and paths was one of the major findings in the last St. Paul’s Quinquennial inspection. The five main potholes have been filled but it is unlikely, unless grants are available, for us to consider financing the re-surfacing required before 2025 at the earliest. Following that last Quinquennial a sum of money was set aside for smaller repair and maintenance work and high-level cleaning around that church which was felt essential.

The carpark area and the public footpath running from Church Street past the church and carpark to Parlick Avenue was the subject of a report submitted to the PCC in September 2023 which noted that the area is not well lit at night contributing to a risk of vandalism. The PCC agreed that there was a need for more external lighting for the users of the footpath and propose to go ahead with this as well as obtaining quotes for the installation of CCTV at St Paul’s. A faculty and quotes are in the process of being obtained.

If there is a fabric success story in the last twelve months it is the improvement to St. Paul’s heating. For two winters we had run with just two of the three boilers needed to heat the church – the third boiler having been condemned. Not only was this putting added pressure on the two remaining boilers but the PCC were concerned that if a second boiler broke down it would be impossible to heat the church. Money was therefore set aside in the 2023 budget and following advice from the Diocesan heating adviser a new hydrogen ready gas boiler was installed. In addition, a problem with the configuration of the pipework and flue system was identified and remedying this has considerably improved the output from the radiators. The difference has been noticeable and our hope is that the heating adviser can now ascertain why St. Lawrence boiler is struggling to keep that church as warm as we would wish. Our thanks to Ali Ng for her interest and input on the St. Paul’s heating project.

We are also grateful to Alex Squires who kindly made and fitted a temporary boiler house door at St. Paul’s when the other one collapsed and is currently preparing to fit a more permanent hardwood door to secure that area.

We now move to other major work scheduled at St. Paul’s with the proposed Audio-Visual System.

Since 2020 the morning services in St Paul’s Church have been live-streamed via Facebook. This has enabled those who are unable to get to church for whatever reason to watch the service. At times, however, the live-stream has been of poor sound and picture quality and dependent on the use of the vicar’s, or someone else’s mobile phone. As a key ‘shop window’ to attract new visitors or those who want to discreetly explore faith within our Longridge community and beyond this is not a sustainable or reputational sound solution. In addition, the new Worship Group, largely established to facilitate worship at our 11.15am Informal Service requires a lot of set up in order to get the amplification correct. Again, this situation is unsustainable because it is far more laborious than it needs to be given current technology. The extensive wiring is proving a trip hazard and is managed from a sound desk located too far away from what the congregation actually hear.

In March 2023 the PCC approved a proposal to enhance the worship experience and improve communication by installing a modern Audio-Visual system in St Paul’s. This fits in with the Church Vision and will enhance the overall worship experience by allowing more creative service content. The use of LED screens will gradually reduce reliance on the printed sheets. It will also provide opportunities to hold more community events. The PCC were optimistic of obtaining grant funding towards the cost of the work.

In the summer of 2023, we appealed for pledges from the congregation towards the estimated cost of the new system (approximately £30,000). In a short space of time parishioners had pledged £7,500 with the related gift aid claim required. This enabled us to apply to the Diocesan Parish Vision Fund in early September for match-funding for the project. The Diocese was impressed with the specification of the new system and match funding of £16,000 was approved. Further pledges and donations have now been received and the total of £16,000 from the Parish has been achieved. The required faculty has been obtained and we are now in the process of collecting in the pledge monies and anticipate the implementation of the work in late May-June, 2024.

It is a relief especially to our Administrative Officer Michael Dawson, that we have finally found a solution to the frustrating broadband issues at St. Paul’s and can report that we now have a superfast and reliable WIFI system in that church.

Health & Safety and Fire Protection are important areas for any building used by the public and we are extremely fortunate in having the expertise of Chris Martin who has carried out a comprehensive assessment of these two areas – recommendations include CCTV and additional lighting mentioned earlier.

Before ending this Fabric Report can we place on record our thanks to those people who have so generously given their time and talents to help us as Churchwardens sort out numerous day-to-day issues. Although we value and take advice from members of the PCC with regard to fabric we would especially like to thank Rosemary Lyons whose expertise and support has been invaluable. Our thanks also to Helen Clements who has efficiently dealt with all the paperwork and procedures around faculty applications.

On a practical level John Collinson too deserves our thanks for not only clearing waste material from the churchyard at St. Lawrence’s but also manning his draining rods one Friday afternoon to unblock the drains at St. Paul’s.

At St. Lawrence we appreciate the work Shaun Walmsley and Ray Hodgson have done on the churchyard noticeboard and other small jobs that they saw were needed, not least in supplying and servicing our vacuum cleaners.

We continue to be grateful to those who open and close St. Lawrence Church each day enabling that church to be open seven days a week and also thank the volunteers who flower arrange and spend time cleaning both our churches. In fact, THANKYOU to everyone who has willingly helped in so many ways.

At the end of last year’s Churchwarden’s Report, I mentioned that having a 73-year-old Churchwarden like me was not the future for the forward looking and vibrant parish we seek to continue to be. Well, this year you have a 74-year-old Churchwarden and the same sentiment applies but with Revd. Mike’s pending sabbatical it was perhaps felt appropriate and helpful to Revd. Simon if we continue with the same team this year. I know that Dorothy and I consider it a privilege to do so and will do our utmost to support Mike and Simon in any way we can.

As a parish we undoubtedly have challenges not least through having two church buildings to maintain and we must increasingly seek and take advantage of grant funding to help with this – but we also have so many Blessings. For 134 years the worshipping congregations and wider community of Longridge has met that two-building challenge passing on history and continuity, tradition and opportunity. As stewards in this our generation we pray that we will do all we can to pass on to the next generation two church buildings maintained to a good standard and places worthy for worshipping Almighty God who we seek to serve.

Deanery Synod presented by Dorothy Laver

Three members of the PCC are members of Deanery Synod (Dorothy Laver, Chris Martin and Graham Kelsall). There is one vacancy.

The Synod met three times during 2023: on 31 January 2023,. 26 June 2023 and 12 October 2023.The first meeting of 2024 was held on 6 February 2024. One of the core objectives of the Deanery Synod is to identify and share good practice. Topics and speakers are arranged. These highlight the good work that is happening in other parishes.

At the meeting on 31 January 2023 there were presentations from various churches in the deanery, about providing a “Warm Space” and how this had been embraced by the community. A few churches had “re-branded” current activities to embrace the warm space ethos. It was generally thought that more successful schemes were in the city centre churches where the number of homeless were higher and needs easily met. There was also some discussion about how other community events are organised and how important building relationships are and how people are more likely to respond to an invite it they know someone who already attends.

On 26 June the theme was “Food Ministries”. Three parishes gave presentations regarding the support they give through their food outlets in their churches. Ribbleton offers a coffee shop together with a food pantry. St Michael’s works with other local churches to offer “Cupboard Love”, a food bank with breakfast included. George’s Kitchen provides hot meals on a Saturday evening when there is no support available from Social Services. It was suggested that all parishes should have a list of what is available, where and when. The Area Dean asked us all to forward what is available and he will produce a list for circulation so we can signpost people to the services we offer.

On 12 October 2023 Bishop Philip came to the Deanery Synod and held a communion service. In his sermon he spoke of the Church as the vine and as it is natural for plants to grow he asked “what is preventing church growth?.” He reiterated that the Diocese is not accepting an agenda of “decline-ism.” It recognises the importance of clergy, parishes and anticipates that at the 100th anniversary of the Diocese in 2026 it will be celebrating growth. He spoke of the achievements in the Diocese including successful training of ALMs, LLMs and ordinands. Bishop Philip mentioned that the Church Commissioners have just allocated £30million to assist with the enormous task of churches reaching the carbon neutral target by 2030.

The theme for the meeting on 6 February 2024 was ‘Reaching Young People.’ It included a presentation from “The Message Trust” who talked about the ‘No More Knives’ tour which was coming to Preston in early March 2024. There were also presentations from some other churches in the deanery who had recently tried starting to work with young people. Afterwards we split into groups and shared the challenges and opportunities in building relationships with young people.

To elect a parochial lay representative to Deanery Synod.

The vicar confirmed that there are 15 different Parishes in the Preston Deanery and All Deanery Synod representatives are elected for a period of 3 years. The size of our electoral roll means we’re allowed up to 4 representatives and presently 3 of these spaces are filled by Chris Martin, Dorothy Laver, and Graham Kelsall.

Karen Boardman is also an ex-Officio Member by virtue of her role as Parish Vision Champion and can attend if she wishes.

Chris, Dorothy and Graham wished to continue as representatives on Deanery Synod for the next two years and this means there is an additional space for a fourth person if someone wants to put their name forward for election.

The vicar thanked Chris, Dorothy and Graham for their ongoing commitment to the wider deanery.

To elect the Parochial Church Council

At the start of the Annual Meeting of the Parishioners we had 6 vacant positions due to be filled. This includes 5 people whose 3-year terms in office have come to an end: Wendy Smyth, Rosemary Lyons, Anna Marie Rogers-Waterman, Philip Jones and Vernon Kinrade.

And then 1 person, Ali Ng who is stepping down from PCC membership with two years of her term remaining due to increasing work commitments with the Carlisle Diocese.

Ali and Wendy have decided not to stand for re-election and both have made hugely significant contributions in the recent life our church;

The vicar thanked both of these people:

As a previous churchwarden, Wendy was pretty much the first person I spoke to when I was preparing to take on the role of vicar of St Lawrence with St Paul and after 12 years of exemplary service we all owe her a debt of gratitude.

Ali too as a previous church warden was great gift to the church in helping to steer us through the minefield of regulations in the tough time of covid.

The vicar presented Wendy and Ali with vouchers as a token of his appreciation.

This meant that we there were 6 positions to be filled, 5 three-year terms of office and 1 two-year term of office.

Rosemary Lyons, Anna Marie Rogers-Waterman, Philip Jones and Vernon Kinrade have graciously put themselves forward to stand again.

Mae Heys and Amii Bateson have also kindly offered to stand for election

There were no other nominations.

Rosemary Lyons has been proposed by Dorothy Lave and seconded by Helen Clements
Anna Marie Rogers-Waterman has been proposed by Karen Boardman and seconded by Barbara McCormick
Philip Jones has been proposed by Barbara Burton and seconded by Dot Little
Vernon Kinrade has been proposed by Graham Kelsall and seconded by Barbara Burton

Mae Heys has been proposed by Dot Little and seconded by Chris Page
Amii Bateson has been proposed by Mike Barton and seconded by Barbara Burton

As there are five vacant positions 3 year positions and one vacant 2 year positions on the PCC and six people standing, so that all six were duly elected as the new PCC members for St Lawrence with St Paul.

To confirm any Readers as members of the Parochial Church Council

We did not need to confirm any Readers as members of the PCC this year.

To appoint an Independent Examiner to the Parochial Church Council

It was proposed by Graham Kelsall, seconded by Dot little and agreed by all present that McDade Roberts be appointed for a further 12 month term.

Questions from the floor

There were none.

Any other business

The vicar confirmed that we would be electing certain PCC roles in the short PCC meeting that followed, along with confirming the Sides people and Duty wardens for services, the names of who will be included in the next edition of the Log.

The meeting ended with the following words from the vicar: I would though like to take this opportunity to say thank you to all the people who turn up early to services and stay late to set up and make sure that people coming to church receive a warm and confident welcome.

Many people who tentatively come into our church for the first time stay with us because of your diligence and kindness. – Thank you.

Finally, I would like to say thank you to all of you for coming tonight. As we’ve heard we are approaching a period of change and transition with my sabbatical coming during June to August and Revd Simon’s Curacy beginning to come to an end, probably end Dec 2024 or early 2025. We’re not yet sure how things will shake out but all of us can be sure, ‘Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.’