The Church of St. Peter Purse Caundle
Annual Report for 2019 The AGM was scheduled to take place on Monday 29 April 2020 but was postponed until Tuesday 27 October 2020 due to the Coronavirus outbreak.
Review of the Year In an age where church attendance nationally is dropping and some small village churches are even having to close or reduce the number of services, we feel very strongly in Purse Caundle that it is absolutely vital our village church remains a centre point of the village. Recognising that not everyone wishes to attend church regularly, we want to find ways to ensure everyone, irrespective of their beliefs, is welcomed and feels part of the church and village community. By working together we can maintain it as a place of worship and a venue for celebrations such as marriages and baptisms. To ensure we preserve the tradition of having a village church – it’s been here since the 1400s – the PCC has responsibility for raising and managing funds to maintain and improve this Grade 1 listed, historic building. St. Peter’s Festival was celebrated with a summer party held at Church Farm at the end of June. This was well supported and raised £767. Many thanks to all who attended and also those who gave raffle prizes. The traditional Harvest Lunch held at Church Farm by kind invitation of Edward and Ethne Waltham following the Harvest Festival service was very well attended and a wonderful social occasion raising £89. A new event, the Cake and Plant Sale managed to raise £443. Our village cyclists took part in the annual Ride & Stride event which raises money equally for Dorset Historic Churches Trust and St Peter’s Church. This year, their splendid efforts means £173 has come back to Purse Caundle. The annual carol service was well attended and was followed by a drinks party at The Manor House, by kind invitation of Michael and Charlotte de Pelet. The entry donation asked at this event was given entirely to support the running of the Church and raised a much appreciated £396. Since the retirement of William Ridding in July 2019, the Diocese has been seeking a replacement but until they fill the vacancy, we are incredibly lucky to have David Dunning (retired priest) and Carolyn Mumford (Lay Worship Leader) to ensure our services continue and spiritual support remains available for all.
Financial In 2019 the income totalled £5600.76. Each year we must pay the Share which is the amount paid to the diocese to pay for priests and a contribution to central church costs. The Share allocated to Purse Caundle for 2019 was £6,043, of which we paid £1,000. Having used a considerable amount of our funds to cover the essential electrical and heating repairs needed in 2018, we face a situation where it is becoming increasingly difficult to meet the Share payment.
The pandemic has severely impacted our finances and so we are anticipating a considerable shortfall next year. The rising cost of Share, together with the upkeep, repair and maintenance costs means that Church in Purse Caundle depends more and more on income through fundraising events, covenants, standing orders, donations and gift aid, which is eligible for tax relief. Anybody wishing to understand more should speak to the Treasurer, Trevor Slack, on 01963 250272. So, it is particularly important that in this review, we wish to acknowledge and offer sincere thanks to all those who supported our efforts to raise funds last year. All monies will be dedicated to preserving the wonderful building and maintaining a strong Christian presence in the village.
Church Attendance There are 18 parishioners on the Church Electoral Roll, 3 of whom are not resident within the parish. The average Sunday attendance was 13 but this number increases considerably at festivals. In 2019 there were no marriages or funerals and one baptism was held at the Church. Up until his retirement, William Ridding visited the parish every second Tuesday of the month.
Future Plans We are adapting services to ensure they are Covid-safe but sadly many of the usual social and fundraising events have had to be cancelled. We await further guidance from the Diocese as to how we can proceed but our intention is to carry on wherever possible.
How the PCC Works The PCC is responsible for the maintenance of the Church and meets at regular times throughout the year to discuss matters concerning Church events and funds. If you would like to support the PCC’s work or enquire about becoming a member, please speak to any member of the PCC – all levels of support would be very welcome. The flowers in Church are done on a monthly rota basis – thank you to all those who have contributed. If anybody would like to volunteer or help out with flower arranging, even on an ad-hoc basis, please contact Mrs Anne-Marie Slack on 01963 250272. A Church email has been set up for St. Peter’s Purse Caundle. You can use stpeterspursecaundle@gmail.com to email any suggestions or ideas for village events.
Membership of the PCC During the year the following served as members of the PCC: Mrs Ethne Waltham Mrs Anne-Marie Slack Mr Trevor Slack Mr Edward Waltham Mrs Sharon Vincent Mrs Carolyn Mumford Mrs Kate Cox David Dunning Canon William Ridding
Churchwarden Churchwarden Treasurer
Lay Worship Leader Secretary & Deanery Synod Representative Rector – retired in July 2019
And finally … Who could have known the impact that Coronavirus would have - and continues to have – on our community and our Church? Not even previous wars have forced the closure of church buildings but that is exactly what we faced this year. And yet, despite not being able to celebrate our usual services and annual events such as the Summer Party, we have come together in new ways that have served to strengthen the role that the Church and the PCC plays within our small village community. Sharing services online; helping with shopping; collecting prescriptions and even supporting local tradespeople and businesses has shown what a cohesive and caring community we have. Throughout it all, we hope that the PCC has demonstrated it is fully committed to continuing its work for the good of the village and local neighbours and we wish to publicly thank everyone who responded to requests for support and help. Since March 2020 we have missed the wonderful opportunities of socialising at our village parties and fundraising events which have sadly all had to be cancelled. We very much hope to begin reintroducing these events as soon as it is safe to do so and the guidance allows.
Published November 2020