Latest Annual Report

St Philip and St James, Rock

Annual Report of the Parochial Church Council for the year ended 31 December 2020

The Church is situated in the village of Rock near Alnwick, Northumberland. It is in the Diocese of Newcastle in the Church of England, and is part of the Benefice of Embleton with Rennington and Rock. The correspondence address is:

c/o Lady Well House

Rock

Alnwick

NE66 3SB

The Parochial Church Council (PCC) of Rennington with Rock is a charity exempted from registration with the Charity Commission.

PCC members who have served during the year from the last AGM on 2 March 2020 until the date this report was approved, 9 March 2021 (unless otherwise stated) are:

Chair: The Revd Alison Hardy

Lay Chair: Mr Jay Bosanquet

Reader: Mr William Devonshire

Treasurer: Mr Brian Eke

Safeguarding Officer: Mrs Carole Dent

Churchwardens: Mr Jay Bosanquet and Mr Brian Eke (Rock)

Mr Paul Weston (Rennington)

Elected members:

Mrs Sara Eke

Mrs Hilary Walls

Mrs Judith Weston (Secretary and Assistant Churchwarden for Rennington)

Electoral Roll Officer: Mr Paul Weston

Representative on Deanery Synod: Mr Paul Weston

Representative on Farne Churches Together: None

The bankers are Barclays Bank, 20 Bondgate Within, Alnwick, and

CBF Church of England Funds, Senator House, 85 Queen Victoria St, London EC4V 4ET.

The independent examiner of accounts is Ms Wendy Kenway-Smith, 4 Southfield, Rennington.

Structure, governance and management

The method of appointment of PCC members is set out in the Church Representation Rules. All members of the congregation are encouraged to register on the Electoral Roll and stand for election to the PCC.

Objectives and activities

Rennington with Rock PCC has the responsibility of co-operating with the incumbent, or priest in charge, in promoting in the Benefice of Embleton and Rennington with Rock the whole mission of the Church, pastoral, social and ecumenical, and to maintain the church building and its contents in good repair.

Achievements and performance

Church attendance

The year has been dominated by the Covid-19 pandemic and the associated lockdowns. Normal services were suspended on 23 March and only resumed partially in August. Then there was a second lockdown in November. Worship transferred largely to Zoom, as did PCC meetings.

There were 8 parishioners on the Church Electoral Roll. Because of Covid-19, there were only 8 actual services during the year, and rather than giving the usual average figures it seems better to list the separate attendances:

12 Jan Holy Communion (Ian Chadwick) 12

26 Jan Morning Prayer (Bill Devonshire) 10

9 Feb Holy Communion (Alison Hardy) 16

23 Feb Morning Prayer (Bill Devonshire) 6

8 Mar Holy Communion (Ian Chadwick) 15

16 Aug Holy Communion (Alison Hardy) 13

13 Sep Holy Communion (Ian Chadwick) 23 incl 8 under 16

18 Oct Family Harvest (Alison Hardy) 23 incl 8 under 16

Interments of ashes

Two interments of ashes took place:

4 August: Carolyn Morris

20 August: Joyce and Peter Hawkey

Safeguarding

The PCC has complied with the duty under section 5 of the Safeguarding and Clergy Discipline Measure 2016 (duty to have regard to House of Bishops' guidance on safeguarding children and vulnerable adults).

Fabric and contents review

Because of Covid no maintenance apart from cleaning has been done during 2020. A quinquennial inspection was due in 2020 but owing to the pandemic it has been deferred. There have been no changes to the contents apart from removing books and kneelers from the nave. New baptism and burial registers were bought following the deposition of the old registers at Northumberland Archives, Woodhorn.

The key to the west door broke when the church was locked in March, However it and the lock have been repaired at no cost, and grateful thanks are due to Mr J Douglas of Drythropple for doing this.

In July Mr Peter Ryder, a historic buildings surveyor, carried out an archaeological assessment of the church for the Diocesan Advisory Committee, as part of a project which he has been conducting for 20 years. It is in fact a description of the structure of the building rather than of what may be under the ground. This is of great interest

and may be found on the diocesan website at https://www.newcastle.anglican.org/mission/dac/dacarchaeologicalassessments/

Finance

For full details please see the Treasurer's Report. In October the church received a grant of £10,000 from the County Council which has given a much-needed financial breathing space. Fund raising activity has been severely curtailed by the pandemic.

We are grateful to the Rock Estate for cutting the grass in the churchyard.

Reserves policy

A policy will be stated when needed with an increased level of funding.

This report was approved by the PCC on 9 March 2021 and signed on their behalf by the Revd Alison Hardy.