The Meeting of Parishioners was held on 26 April in the Church Hall. It was chaired by the Vicar and attended by our Curate and 49 parishioners. The main business was to elect the two churchwardens for the coming year. It is customary for our churchwardens to serve for a five-year period, but they must stand each year for re-election. Elizabeth Wilmot and Richard Melville were both re-elected.

The Annual Parochial Church Meeting followed on. The minutes of the last meeting were agreed, and the numbers of the revised Electoral Roll presented. There are 260 members on our Electoral Roll, slightly up on the previous total of 257. Of the 260, 160 live within the parish boundary.

The PCC consists of the vicar, the curate, the two churchwardens, our five elected representatives on the Deanery Synod, all as ex-officio members; also up to 11 ordinary elected members. An additional two members may be co-opted to the PCC.

Our Deanery Synod representatives were elected last year for a term of three years and are: Liz Butler, Lesley Mortimer, Ann Peterken and Pip Rowett. Rodney Taylor wished to be replaced and Gwynneth Lloyd agreed to fill the vacancy for the two year period. The 11 ordinary members were elected unopposed. They are: Nick Bagge, Don Barrett, Clive Beaumont, Rosamond Daly, David Hetling, Martin Hinckley, Margaret Hobbs, Susannah Nettleton, Betty Rainbow, David Taylor and Dick Wilde. At the PCC meeting on 5 May Janet Nunn was co-opted as a member, and agreed to continue to act as secretary to the PCC. Don Barrett was unanimously elected as treasurer.

A list of those volunteering to act as sidespersons was read and agreed by the meeting. Peter thanked the sidespersons for the very valuable work they do in making everyone feel welcome. Janet Nunn presented her secretary’s report on the proceedings of the PCC during the previous year. In November we welcomed our new curate, Debbie Oades. Seven routine meetings were held in which the church worship and its administration were discussed and in which the treasurer presented the updated accounts. Additionally there was an Away Day to discuss the progress of our Mission Action Plan, and a workshop on practical ecology run by Hannah Shepherd of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames Council. After the final settlement on the West Porch it was agreed by the PCC that we should appoint a new Inspecting Architect and Daniel Goldberg agreed to take up the post.

The Church of England has always been registered as a charity but new rules had been agreed and all churches with an annual income over £100,000 had to register with the Charity Commissioners to receive their own charity number. This was a convoluted process as all PCC members would now become trustees of the church. St James’s Church now has its own charity number - 1129286. This will be very useful as sometimes local stores are able to donate goods or materials under their charitable giving. It will certainly be worth a try.

Our treasurer for the past two years, Anne Cowlin, was unable to be present because of sickness. The accounts had been prepared by her and audited, and were on display in the church for detailed examination. In Anne’s absence they were presented and explained by the vicar. There had been some unusual items in the balance sheet, such as the cost of the replacement of the lead stolen from the west porch, mostly reclaimed from our insurance, and a ‘paper loss’ due to the write-down of the value of our investment assets. However, overall the giving had been maintained, and our expenditure contained. If the investment loss - which may in time be reversed - was not included, the accounts showed a positive balance, income over expenditure, of about £12,000 over the year. The vicar summarised by saying ‘We are on an even keel’. He expressed our thanks to Anne Cowlin for her hard and patient voluntary work, and wished her a speedy recovery. After the APCM, Anne would hand over her work as treasurer to Don Barrett, who had agreed to take over. Don said he hoped we would be able to maintain our Planned Giving commitment as the mainstay of our finances. Special emphasis would be given to planned giving on Sunday 14 June.

A report on the fabric of the church was given by Richard Melville, speaking for the chair of the Properties Committee, Bryan Basdell. This sub-committee is responsible for the maintenance of the church, the hall, the decoration of the vicarage, the Pigeon Lane property, and parts of the churchyard. This entails making sure that the regular inspections of boilers, electrical appliances and other routine work is carried out, and also that maintenance detailed in the quinquennial (once every five years) inspection is progressed. A routine spring-clean and autumn leaf clearance and gutter-clean is scheduled annually; Richard gave details of jobs which were either completed or in hand. He highlighted the recent marking of the metal on the church roof with ‘SmartWater’, which will hopefully be a deterrent to thieves. He ended his report with an appeal for some young volunteers to join the team.

In his report the vicar hoped we would continue to focus on our Mission Action Plan (MAP). The PCC Away Day had been a valuable contribution to this. Peter warmly welcomed our new curate, the Revd Debbie Oades. One of the areas of MAP that she would be helping to develop would be continuing Christian education for adults, as was a new group for toddlers and carers.

A Carers and Toddlers Group is due to be launched this autumn. The dates and times will be confirmed in the next issue of The Spire. Debbie would welcome any donations of pre-school toys, books or craft equipment (all in a good condition please) that your family has outgrown or no longer uses. Also needed are old shirts, both child and adult sizes, for use during messy play. Any enquiries or donations to Debbie Oades, Debbie Nunn or Carole Greville-Giddings.

Peter was actively involved with Hampton Hill Junior School as chair of the governors, and he valued our close contact with the uniformed groups. He reminded us of the local occasions at which our new bishop, The Rt Rev Paul Williams, will officiate this year and welcomed the new Area Dean, Revd Derek Winterburn, taking over from Revd Andrew Watson.

There had been 32 baptisms, 14 weddings and five funerals in church during the year; 13 funerals had been conducted at the crematorium or the cemetery. Particular mention was made of the role that the Visitors’ Group plays. The Visitors’ Group was set up five years ago to assist the clergy with pastoral care. Some 12 members visit the elderly and housebound and enjoy tea and a chat once a month. Tea parties are held three times a year where all those visited meet up with old friends and clergy. We are particularly pleased that some of our regular church members also attend these to catch up with friends who are unable to get to church so much. The group is planning to introduce Baptism Evenings, along the same lines as Marriage Preparation Evenings, whereby we invite a few families at a time.

Peter said that although we were living in troubled times, the church’s presence and its steady routine, based on the Christian faith, offered us all a firm foundation for our lives.

Source: The Spire Magazine - 2008 December/2009 January