Parochial Church Council of St Mary’s Slindon & St Margaret’s Eartham
Annual Report 2024
Highlights
- Attendance at services continued to grow and consolidate
- Momentum maintained with family involvement, building on school relationships and Messy Church and using music/singing (enhanced orchestra/children’s choir) – Elaine Foakes’ commitment key, especially while Gareth was away acting
- Hosting of a wide range of events in our churches
- Advent House Group well attended and provides a model for Lent and Advent 2025
- Eartham’s beautiful Flower Festival
- Continued involvement of Ven Lionel and Sue – a great support both for Peter and the church family
Background:
The PCC of St Mary’s with St Margaret’s is an excepted charity which has the responsibility of co-operating with the incumbent in promoting the mission of the church in the ecclesiastical parish of Slindon and Eartham. It does so according to the doctrines and practices of the Church of England and following the requirements of canon law. The parish is part of the United Benefice of Slindon with Eartham and Madehurst.
Benefice:
There are three churches, a C of E Primary School and two independent schools/colleges within the Benefice.
Parish:
The two churches in the combined parish retain their historic status; but there is a single PCC with representatives from both church communities. The combined population of the two villages is less than 600 people. However, the CofE Primary School in Slindon village draws most of its pupils from outside the parish and we encourage them and their parents/guardians to engage with the church.
Objectives:
The PCC has as its overarching goal that we should be welcoming churches that seek to share the love of Christ in our communities through worship, learning, action and sharing. As such, we encourage ecumenical involvement both through close working with our Catholic brothers and sisters in Christ and with other church groups through Churches Together. While our primary motivation is the promotion of the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ by enabling as many people as possible to worship in our churches, we also recognise the importance of the church buildings as historic village landmarks at the centre of our communities. We seek to welcome and inform all who visit the churches and encourage their use for non-liturgical events, partly to raise funds, but more importantly in the hope that non-churchgoers will gain spiritual refreshment and encouragement. St Mary’s is on the Old Way pilgrimage route and welcomes occasional overnight “champers” as they make their way to Canterbury. We also seek to involve the wider communities in the maintenance of the fabric of the listed buildings and their churchyards.
PCC Membership:
Members are either ex-officio, elected at the Annual Parochial Church Meeting or co-opted in accordance with Church Representation Rules.
Incumbent:
This was the third year with Revd Peter Dyson as rector and, since the year end, his position has been extended to 2027 when it will be reviewed again. Ven Lionel Whatley continued to assist Peter with services and much else, as well as worshipping in our Benefice with members of his family. Lionel’s wife, Sue, plays piano at Family Services.
Reader/Lay Minister: We do not currently have a lay reader: but Christine Tanner-Lindop is an Authorised Lay Minister and has steadily developed her participation in services and church life with growing confidence.
Churchwardens: Mrs Debbie Stevens was elected as Churchwarden at the APCM joining Tony Richards who continued in post.
Steward/Sacristan: Since the year-end, Miranda Clarke has stood down from her Sacristan role and PCC membership, leaving Helen Ball. We are seeking a volunteer to assist her. Apart from preparing the Communion table for services, the role includes managing the various altar frontals and accessories and the supply of wine, wafers and candles.
Deanery Synod Representatives: Mr Tony Richards and Mrs Debbie Stevens. Mr Richards continues to serve on the Deanery Standing Committee.
Honorary Treasurer: Mrs Clare Bacchus. Mr Mark Midgley began to “shadow” Clare during the year with a view to taking on the role in the future.
Honorary Secretary: Ms Carolyn Ball. Carolyn also agreed to represent Eartham on the PCC when Jane Haywood asked to stand down for family reasons.
Safeguarding Officer: Mrs Glen Hampshire.
Ex-officio Members: As above. Co-opted Members: Annie Simson (Madehurst liaison)
Elected Members: Mrs Jane Haywood (stood down during year), Mr Paul Wilkinson (stood down at APCM), Mr David Slee, Mr Gareth Williams, Mrs Helen Ball, Mr Adam Stone, Ven Lionel Whatley, Ms Jan Diamond (stood down at APCM) and Mrs Christine Tanner-Lindop. Messrs Andrew Foakes and Nick Horton were elected at the APCM. Mr Mark Midgley has attended meetings on an ex officio basis and will stand for election at the APCM along with Mrs Tina Wilkinson.
Committees: The PCC Standing Committee, which is required by law, has the power to transact the business of the PCC between its meetings, subject to any directions given by the Council. It consists of The Incumbent, Churchwardens, Treasurer and Secretary. The PCC has two informal sub-committees. The St Mary’s Building Committee manages the maintenance and development of the fabric of the church and churchyard. The St Mary’s Events Committee plans and coordinates a programme of events, primarily in the church, to promote use of the building and to raise money for our mission.
Children’s Activities: Messy Church (led by Tina Wilkinson) is generally held monthly in the Primary School and continues to develop. Together with occasional “Open the Book” performances and regular assemblies, it has seeded a greater engagement with family services at St Mary’s. Tina is handing over leadership of Messy Church to Jane Sanders in 2025: but will remain involved while they live in the area. The involvement of Elaine Foakes and Sue Whatley alongside Gareth Williams has enabled the further development of the children’s choir and the revitalisation of the family orchestra that are now at the centre of the monthly Family Service and Family Communion Service. Up to 25 children + their parents now participate, even though the majority do not live within the parish.
Music/Organists/Bells: Gareth Williams leads the choir and music with Elaine Foakes taking over when he is away (as happened in Advent 2024). Ray Adams is our mainstay organist and his commitment is a great blessing: he also plays at Eartham and is in demand for weddings and funeral services. Nigel Creasy plays at Madehurst and occasionally in Slindon. Sue Whatley plays piano at our Family Services. Adam Stone is Tower Captain and the bell-ringing team perform at most traditional services, as well as weddings on request. The St Mary’s sound system enables a wide range of recorded music to be played at special services, weddings and especially funerals/memorial services.
Foundation School Governor: The incumbent is usually the Foundation Governor at Slindon C of E Primary School. Mrs Elaine Foakes is the parish representative on the Slindon Primary School Governing Body following Emer Cloke’s moving to the West Country.
Note: All roles are undertaken by unpaid volunteers.
Electoral Roll: The church electoral roll has to be fully revised every 6 years which will be carried out prior to the 2025 APCM. It is updated in between prior to each APCM. Currently St Mary’s numbers 78 parishioners while St Margaret’s numbers 14. We continue to qualify for two voting representatives at Deanery Synod.
Pattern of Services & Attendance: The pattern of services ran largely unchanged through the first part of the year, although Madehurst reverted to their 10.00am start time. A proposal was approved at the APCM to swap the Slindon Family Service and Family Communion around from August and this has worked well. Evensong continues to be held at Eartham during British Summertime and Slindon during the winter – for safety reasons: the Eartham services are well attended by those who find the church’s intimacy magical. All special services and festivals were well attended. Forthcoming services are available to view on the church website with the most imminent on the Home Page – along with a “Donation” button.
Tony Richards continued the weekly pewsheet via email with materials for home worship – Bible notes, prayers, a Psalm and suitably-themed poems. Advent discussion groups were held at the Rectory with c.18 people attending.
Weddings, Baptisms and Funerals/Memorials: There were 2 weddings (+ one renewal of vows) and 1 baptism in the parish in 2024. Especially joyful was the wedding of our own Christine Tanner to Chris Lindop in September. There were 5 funeral/memorial services/interment of ashes. Slindon especially mourned the passing of Derek Thomas, a noted and much-loved figure in village life for many decades.
Charities: Refer to Treasurer’s report Thank Yous: Refer to the Rector’s Report
Review of the Year:
The PCC met 5 times (preceded by Standing Committee meetings to finalise the agendas), including one immediately before the Annual Meeting to approve the accounts.
The Summer Fair in the Forge Field and Village Hall was held on June 15th with Andrew Foakes leading the organising team. Despite somewhat indifferent weather, it was well attended and raised £4,727 for St Mary’s. Harvest Supper was held once more in the Coronation Hall and was oversubscribed. It was organised with great efficiency – and bonhomie! – by Corinna and the Colman family + helpers.
On April 27th, Professor Catherine Hall gave a talk on Edward Long and the History of Racial Capitalism to coincide with the publication of her book Lucky Valley: Edward Long’s grave and memorial is in St Mary’s. On May 21st the church hosted another talk by Andrew Foster, church historian, delving into the archives of the new Lambeth Palace Library for information on Slindon. On September 17th, Adam Stone gave a talk entitled Penguins & Polyps outlining his experiences as a visiting medical consultant to the Falkland Islands.
On the 18th/19th May, St Mary’s hosted a children’s art exhibition. Opera Anywhere came and mounted a performance in October of G&S’s Patience to a packed church. There were two concerts in the autumn raising money for our associated orphanage and school in Kenya. One was by a guitar quartet drawn from our own community and the other a visiting chamber ensemble from Arun. Despite the limitations of fixed pews, we have yet again demonstrated the diversity of activities for which our historic church is put to use.
The Open the Book initiative continued on an occasional basis, limited by staff turnover at the school and Gareth’s acting away during the last quarter. Slindon College continued its regular Friday services in the church. Lionel held his annual plant sale in order to raise money for the projects in Kenya that he has been supporting over many years.
The St Mary’s website was managed during the year by Tony Richards which includes the monthly letter from the Rector as well as other news items and forthcoming services + a donation button. Many thanks once again go to Simon Howell for his technical support and hosting of the site (as well as that for the village as a whole, including the SlindonLife Round Robin email service). Christine Tanner-Lindop has continued to maintain and develop the church Facebook page which now has over 200 followers. Nonetheless, villagers still value the traditional monthly Parish Magazine in print form: subscriptions remain stable and it is financed by advertising revenue (many artisans and local businesses find it to be a very cost-efficient promotional vehicle). Niki Adamson continued as its highly professional editor – a great relief since this is a precious skill. Andrew Foakes kindly assisted with the management of the advertising.
The contactless (card) donation device in St Mary’s has been very successful with only occasional drops in service due to weak mobile signals. There is a link on the St Mary’s website to the same donation service.
Safeguarding is a major focus in the Diocese and there is a continuous programme of renewal and training to be managed. We are extremely fortunate that Glen Hampshire has continued as our Safeguarding Officer to guide the PCC through this process. Both parishes remain accredited with SQP Level 1.
The PCC delivered on its pledge to pay our full ministry costs (in conjunction with Madehurst). We have pledged to do likewise in 2025 and we made an additional donation at the year-end to help with the current Deanery deficit. That is a remarkable achievement for a small rural benefice and ultimately reflects the success of Revd Peter’s ministry and the efforts of all our volunteers.
The Church Fabric and Churchyard
Generally, the fabric of St Mary’s remains in good order following the extensive work carried out over the last decade or so. Chasing damp ingress remains a challenge and we secured the Archdeacon’s permission to institute a programme of minor repairs to lead work, pointing, tiles, guttering and downpipes. While these were carried out, we know that we will need to have regular inspections and remediation work by our contractors going forward. All other basic maintenance was carried out in accordance with the Building Committee’s schedule, including the electrical testing and certification which was carried out by a local resident supervised by Colin Stevens on behalf of the Committee. Maintenance was also carried out on the bells in support of our active team of ringers. St Mary’s is cleaned every 2 months (end of March, May, July, September, November and January) by contractors and, together with The Coronation Hall, we jointly purchased a high level cobweb removal brush which can be used by church volunteers to remove cobwebs that are out of reach of the cleaners.
The cold snap this winter has exposed the limitations of our heating system despite the best efforts of Boughtons. We have been investigating options with a view to improvements during 2025. Considerable time has also been spent by Debbie Stevens in conjunction with our architect investigating modern lighting systems as ours needs updating to efficient, low-energy working – as well as providing better lighting to areas such as our restored reredos. A specification was drawn up and approved by the PCC and has gone out to tender. In the meantime, Colin Stevens has replaced some units that were inadequate or broken.
A new mower has significantly helped in the maintenance of the churchyard which is kept in good order by a team of volunteers supplemented by working parties as necessary. Colin Loveless organised a safety rail for approaching the bench that he sponsored adjacent to the gate: it remains a very popular facility with visitors along with the other benches along the south wall. Peter Fenton carried out some refurbishment to the flower arranging pedestals under Nancy Brinton’s guidance. We also replaced the water heater under the sink in the kitchenette which had succumbed to calcification by our hard water.
St Margaret’s
During 2024 Jane Haywood was responsible for overseeing St Margaret’s church including the preparation and distribution of duty rotas. Lucie Payton changed the altar frontals; Richard Payton turned the heating on in the winter months; Sarah Green was in charge of the flower arranging rota and Carolyn Ball cleaned the church. A member of staff at Great Ballard opened the electric gates for parking for the services. Litchfield and Fox gardening contractors continued to mow and strim the graveyards. David Hobson also assisted with tending the new graveyard. A churchyard working party was held in the Autumn and members of the village worked hard all morning to strim and tidy the two graveyards ready for the winter. David Hobson has decided to stand down from ringing the bells after fifteen years of service to St Margaret’s church. The uplifting sound of bells pealing before our Sunday services is greatly missed.
From January 2025, responsibilities for St Margaret’s have been reallocated. Fleur O’Kelly is looking after the upkeep and maintenance of the church. Carolyn Ball is the PCC Eartham representative and is carrying out administrative tasks. Sals Radkiewicz has taken responsibility for the maintenance of the churchyard and new graveyard, along with David Hobson. Jane Haywood is organising the duty rota and preparation of services.
Two church projects have been successfully completed in 2024. New handrails have been installed for the steps coming up from the road to the churchyard, and the heating of the church has been greatly improved by replacing the high, wall mounted heaters.
In order to aid with fundraising for Eartham church and to encourage community use, a Church Events Group has been established to organise events in St, Margaret’s for 2024 and beyond. The first successful event, in January was a very interesting talk by David Hobson about the history behind the wall plaques in the church. This was followed by a well-attended, enjoyable Pet Service organised by Fleur O’Kelly. In September a wonderful Harvest Flower Festival was held in St Margaret’s culminating in a Harvest Service. This was organised by Sarah Green and was a definite highlight of the year. Unfortunately, the Poetry Evening set for November had to be postponed because of inclement weather.
As we are a small (but growing) congregation at St Margaret’s, we are very thankful for the support we receive from the churchgoers of St. Mary’s. The Evensong Service held in the summer at St. Margaret’s is always well supported and it is lovely to enjoy the wonderful singing from St Mary’s church choir.
Endpiece
Our villages often seem like oases of calm in an increasingly troubled world and our church families are a key element in creating community cohesion. Locally our churches are bucking the national trend by engaging with a significant percentage of the local population – even if not every week! We cannot be complacent: but we are managing to draw in new people and to grow our mission. That is the result of enthusiasm, commitment and dedication by so many and we should be proud and thankful for it.
The Churchwardens