The Parish Church of St Saviour with All Saints
Gladstone Road
Scarborough
Annual Report
2023
The Parish of St Saviour with All Saints, Scarborough
Gladstone Road, Scarborough, YO12 2BQ
Parochial Church Council
Incumbent: The Rev’d David Dixon
Christine Brown
Martin Dodgson Churchwarden / Secretary
Margaret Newlove Churchwarden / Electoral Roll Officer
Lesley Peacey
Ashlie Pearson Parish Community Minister
John Pitwood Treasurer / Head Server
Anne Smith Safeguarding Officer
Status: The PCC is a charity exempted from registration with the
Charity Commission under the Charities (Exemption from
Registration) Regulation 1996.
Sacristan John Hilton
Independent Examiner Andrew Green
Bankers: Virgin Money
24 Huntriss Row
Scarborough YO11 2EF
Insurers: Trinitas Church Insurance Services
Blenheim House
1-2 Bridge Street
Guildford Surrey GU1 4RY
Aims of the Organisation:
The main purpose of the PCC is defined in the Parochial Church Council (Powers)
Measure of 1956 as :
“to co-operate with the minister in promoting in the parish, the whole mission of the
Church, pastoral, evangelistic, social and ecumenical”.
In response to the love God has shown us in Jesus Christ, the parish has the
following missionary intentions :
· to worship almighty God
· to proclaim the gospel
· to present the challenge of God’s Kingdom
· to care for the people of the Parish
· to work with our brothers and sisters in Christ to promote Christian Unity
Safeguarding Statement
St Saviour’s PCC has complied with the duty under section 5 of the Safeguarding and Clergy Discipline Measure 2016 (duty to have regard to the House of Bishops’ guidance on safeguarding children and vulnerable adults).
Priest’s Report: 2023
This Year has been significant in many ways perhaps best described as ‘completions or endings and beginnings.’ Here are my reflections on some the most important events.
The Pattern of Church Services.
In November 2022, with the commencement of building works to re-order the church, the pattern of worship changed. The Thursday mass was no longer feasible and suspended. The Sunday Parish Mass continued to be offered.
This pattern continued until the re-ordering of the interior of the church was completed. In September 2023, following the Thanksgiving Mass, the mid-week mass was restored.
The Re-Ordering of the Church Building
The transformation of the church building has been brought about through God’s grace, the generosity of members of the congregation and the commitment and perseverance of the changing members of the PCC over the past decade.
We have contended with changes to our plans, some brought about by world events, most significantly Covid and the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the continuing war in that country. This caused an unforeseen increase in the cost of building materials and
labour. On a number of occasions we have literally had to instruct our architect to go back to his drawing board and revise our plans.
Particular thanks must go to Churchwarden Martin Dodgson for liaising with the church architect and builders to put in place the necessary arrangements for the commencement and completion of the works. Martin, living in Thwing, has been very much ‘our man in Scarborough,’ for which we are all grateful.
The church interior is lighter than before with windows formed in the south wall and a
paler colour scheme used on the nave and chancel walls. A community/parish room has been formed at the back of the nave. A kitchen and two WCs, one with wheelchair
access, have been added to the facilities in this area of the church which is separated from the nave by a folding wooden and glass screen. The screen can be opened to
provide additional space, if the need arises, for church services. The community or parish room has been funded from a legacy of the late Beryl Reed.
The Stations of the Cross, presented from All Saints Parish Church, had to be removed and sold as there was insufficient space to hang them. Thanks to the generosity of
Mildred Copley new Stations of the Cross have been purchased and now hang in church in memory of her parents.
Outside, access to the church building is now from Gladstone Road through a newly formed arched gateway provided for by the generosity of the late Fr John Adey. The path to the church has been levelled and provides easier and lighted access to the church with a parking space for motorised wheelchairs or buggies. At the top of the path a new gated porch with an electrically operated door gives access to the church. The garden is being cared for by Wendy Ryle who is using her skill to bring seasonal colour and beauty to one of the few green spaces in the local area.
On Sunday 10 September The Parish celebrated a Thanksgiving Mass for the Re-ordering of the Church. The Bishop of Beverley presided and we were joined by guests and friends on this important day in the life of our parish. The theme of ‘renewal’ was
underlined for us as three candidates, Jack Pearson from St Savour’s and two candidates from St Martin-on the-Hill, were confirmed in the Christian faith by the Bishop of Beverley. A splendid lunch followed. Our attractive church now provides opportunities for mission and ministry which we hope to develop over the next year and beyond.
Pastoral work Sick or housebound members of the congregation have been visited and provided with communion at home or in hospital. Margaret Newlove and John Pitwood helped me in this work.
Work with children and schools
Work with Gladstone Road School continued but because of the building work the school did not visit church during the year.
The Congregation
The parish is requested to compile statistics about the ministry it undertakes. During 2023 the congregation at St Saviour’s remained relatively stable in numbers. The ‘Worshiping Community’ was made up as follows:
Children aged 0-10: 1 Young people 11-17: 1
Adults aged 18-69: 25 Adults aged 70+ : 30 Total 57
The Occasional Offices
Baptisms 1 Confirmations 1 Marriages 1
Funerals: Church 3 Crematorium 0 Burial of Ashes 1
In October, the first Marriage Service in church over a decade took place at
St Saviour’s. Fr Derek and Marion were married.
The congregation suffered the loss of John Harper and Pet Thompson who had
Requiem Masses in Church.
A Mustard Seed sprouts and grows a Community Minister!
You will probably know Ashlie Pearson has a particular interest to develop ministry with children and families. The Crafty Kids project was put on hold because of the building works. In 2022 Ashlie enrolled on a year-long diocesan course called Mustard Seed. Weekly meetings took place at St Martin-on-the-Hill. In March 2023 Ashlie completed the course and in October she was commissioned as the Parish Community Minister.
In 2024, with the help of a grant from the Mustard Seed organisation, the ‘old’ entrance porch to the church is to be formed into a space devoted to children’s ministry. We look forward to seeing how Ashlie can develop parish work with children and families.
Walsingham Pilgrimage In September, for the first time since 2020, members from the parish and St Martin’s travelled to the Anglican Shrine on pilgrimage from Monday 11th to Friday15th resulting in many happy memories.
Music
Thanks to Lucy for providing organ music that adds so much to the Parish Mass on Sundays and the other services held at St Saviour’s.
End notes
As well as the priestly ministry I undertake at St Saviour’s I continue to provide advice and issue Common Licences as the local Diocesan Surrogate for Marriages; am
member of the Diocesan Deliverance Ministry Team and offer advice and pastoral
support to priests and laity; sit as a member of the Archbishop’s Panel to hear
disciplinary cases brought against members of the clergy; am a School Governor at
St Martin’s Church of England Deanery Primary School; offer spiritual direction; and
am the Vicar of the Parish of St Martin-on-the-Hill, Scarborough.
Once again thanks to John Pitwood, our treasurer, who has ensured our solvency for another year; to members of the PCC for their commitment and perseverance to stick with and see through the church building project and their other contributions that
ensure St Saviour’s continues to flourish; to John Hilton our sacristan; and to the ‘holy dusters’ who clean the church; and to you all for the contribution you make to our
common life together.
In 2024 let us look forward to promoting the church building as a place of meeting and worship, developing ministry to children and families and supporting one another.
Let us go forward in faith and may God bless us on our way.
Fr David
Churchwardens’ Report
. . . . and it all began on March 14th 2012 when a gap appeared between the kitchen and the main wall of the Parish Hall. Thereafter many months (which became years) ensued when following extensive surveys and valuations the decision was taken by the Parish Church Council on 30th January 2017 to sell the Parish Hall. Fast forward to October 2022 when the tender of Stockills, Builders, of Snainton was accepted to re-develop the interior of the Church, together with access from Gladstone Road and a new porch at the South door entrance. The confines of this 2023 Annual Report do not allow for a
detailed account of the progress of the work during 2023 but certain salient points are worthy of mention.
An oak screen was created across the Church towards the West end thereby enabling a Parish Room to be established embracing a seating area, toilets, store-room and a kitchen. The screen can be folded back to enable seating for large services and, when appropriate, processions. The large area to the East of the screen provides for the nave. Important decisions were taken to remove the pews and replace them with upholstered chairs, create three new windows on the South wall of the nave, also due to the
reduced wall space to replace the large Stations of the Cross with smaller wooden
Stations hand carved in Italy by Holyart. The oak frame which surrounded the former West entrance was transferred to the new South entrance where a porch has been
created and a flood-lit pathway down to a new gated entrance on Gladstone Road.
The nave altar, reredos, chancel, choir stalls and High Altar remain the same. Mention has been made in previous reports of the generous legacies of Father John Adey and Mrs Beryl Reed. The new arch entrance on Gladstone Road is in memory of Fr Adey and the Parish Room is in memory of Mrs Reed. The new Stations of the Cross were provided for by Miss Mildred Copley in memory of her parents George and Florence Copley.
The work was completed on schedule and in time for 10th September 2023 when the Bishop of Beverley, the Right Reverend Stephen Race, presided and preached at a Sung Mass of Thanksgiving for the Re-ordering of the Parish Church and Service of Confirmation. The congregation of St Martin’s joined us. There were three confirmation candidates, one from St Saviour’s and two from St Martin’s. The congregation of one hundred enjoyed a buffet lunch after the Mass.
On September 30th we held an Open Day when between 60-70 people attended, many being local residents – the beginning of our outreach.
We record in this Report our thanks to Keith Halliday (Church Building Advisor),
Andrew Wiles (Architect) and Stockills (Main Contractor) for their support,
courtesy, professional advice and expertise.
We continue to have close and cordial relationships with St Martin’s and indeed many of the services during the Triduum were joint services. Following the Mass on May 7th which was in part celebrating the King’s Coronation a joint celebration lunch was held at St Martin’s.
We were able to resume the Walsingham Pilgrimage led by Father David. A group of
pilgrims from St Saviour’s joined a similar group from St Martin’s from September
11th – 15th.
Significant decisions were made during November when the PCC accepted an offer from John Pitwood to print the words of the hymns within the pew sheet thereby obviating the need for hymn books. In addition it was decided to restore the High Altar Green and Red frontals.
It is with regret that we record the death of two valued members of our congregation.
Mr John Harper died on April 22nd and Mrs ‘Pet’ Thompson on 11th June.
May they rest in peace and rise in glory.
We did, however, celebrate the 90th Birthday of Mildred Copley on May 2nd. Mildred is our Parish Archivist. She was baptised by our first Parish Priest, Father Ramsden, and ‘survived’ every Priest since! Jack Pearson was one of the candidates confirmed by
Bishop Stephen and that was a special occasion. It is not often these days that we have a wedding in Church but we rejoiced on October 7th when Father Derek and Marilyn were joined in Holy Matrimony.
At the Annual Vestry Meeting in May Margaret Newlove was elected as Churchwarden along with Martin Dodgson. It is good to have two Churchwardens once more.
The major part of this Report especially with regard to the re-ordering has been written by Martin Dodgson but the Report is commended by both Churchwardens.
Father David has been outstanding in his leadership this year. We are fortunate to have a priest of his dedication and commitment. We place on record our sincere thanks and pray that our Lord will continue to watch over him and bless him.
Martin Dodgson Margaret Newlove
Churchwardens
PCC Secretary’s Report
The PCC met on eleven occasions during 2023 with an average attendance of 74%.
The majority of the business discussed by the PCC is represented elsewhere in this
Annual Report.
Safeguarding is an item on each agenda. At the meeting of March 6th 2023 the
members adopted the Procedures for dealing with Safeguarding allegations or
concerns. Mrs A Smith gives the PCC invaluable service as the Safeguarding Officer.
I am grateful to John Pitwood for all his assistance in connection with PCC meetings
and not least in the compiling and printing of the Annual Report.
Martin Dodgson
PCC Secretary
RPA/ Youth & Family Ministry Report
I successfully completed the Mustard Seed programme at Easter 2023. My 12 months
on this course enabled me to build strong connections with other laity throughout the deanery, sharing ideas and learning about the structure of our Parish so I am better equipped to serve.
Mustard Seed also provides a funding grant, to enable and support work within the
Parish. I am pleased to share that an application has been made, with the approval of
the PCC, to redesign and develop a children’s corner in the church. The space has
been designed with consideration both to the liturgical calendar and to Gladstone Road School’s RE curriculum, to develop a multi-functional faith based learning space for
children of all ages that will be inviting to youngsters within our congregation, visiting
families and provide an enhanced set of resources that the school can access to
support their learning about “Christianity in our Community” should they choose to.
From this, I have reached out again to Gladstone Road School, with a view to encouraging more church-school ties and greater engagement with the pupils. Fr David has already been invited to conduct some assemblies for key Christian holidays, with discussion about more visits ongoing.
Due to building works, I have as yet been unable to resume our Crafty Kid’s sessions, but these are planned to resume in 2023.
Ashlie Pearson
Parish Community Minister
Electoral Roll :
The number on the electoral roll remains at 40. We had one death during the year but have also welcomed one new member. The year 2025 will require the preparation of a new electoral roll.
Margaret Newlove
Electoral Roll Officer
Sacristan’s Report :
The chancel gates from All Saints, which stand on either side of the High Altar, were veiled for the first time in Passiontide, being deemed too bright to leave unveiled. Thanks are due to Margaret Newlove, who measured the gates and sewed the veils, and her brother, who devised the method of hanging them. It is my ambition to veil the Rood, but that is not feasible at present. As it is a fixture of the building, I comfort myself with Ritual Note No. 343, which states “Statues which are part of the architectural features of the building…need not be veiled”.
New cloths for the nave altar and credence table were sewn by Christine Brown, aided by Mildred Copley. The material for the veils and cloths was donated.
Now that our re-ordering of the church has been completed, attention can focus on the High Altar. There are two altar frontals (the red and the green) which are in a poor state and require restoration. The PCC has agreed that this should be done and we expect that the work will start in early 2024.
My thanks, as usual, are due to Fr. David, John Pitwood and the Churchwardens for their support. Also, to Christine Brown and to Mildred Copley, who continued her
valuable work of laundering the communion linen and repairing vestments.
John Hilton
Sacristan
Servers’ Report :
It was with great sadness that we received the announcement of the death of long-time server John Harper during the year; his joy of life always made everyone feel happier. The remainder of the team have carried on valiantly.
John Pitwood
Head Server
Report from the Cell of Our Lady of Walsingham :
No cell meetings have taken place during 2023, although a successful pilgrimage did
during September.
Safeguarding Report
Safeguarding is an item on every PCC agenda. All members of the PCC have a current DBS clearance and have completed the appropriate Safeguarding Pathways training.
In 2023 the Diocesan Safeguarding Team held an audit of safeguarding in the parishes and across the diocese. This was last done in 2018. We did not have to complete the audit as our Safeguarding Dashboard was completed at Level 3. This certainly saved a lot of work and proved the value of the Safeguarding Dashboard – this is updated after every PCC and keeps us on track.
Safeguarding is important and we must all play our part in ensuring that everyone who
attends St. Saviour’s is safe here and that if anyone raises the issue of any form of abuse, we respond well and in an appropriate manner
Anne Smith
Safeguarding Officer
Deanery Synod Report
Deanery synod met 3 times during 2023, with presentations regarding Growing Healthy Churches and New Ministry opportunities for Lay and Ordained individuals, as well as an
update about the progress at St Martin’s school.
Following previous success, it was again suggested and approved that there would be no deanery levy for St Martin’s School, but each PCC would be invited to make their own
donation. Headteacher Claire Barber shared how donations from the Parishes had been
used to support and deliver their new literacy scheme of work, focussing on improving and
embedding literacy skills for all their pupils.
Elections for deanery synod members took place this year, with each PCC advised of the
number of representatives they were eligible to put forward. This also resulted in some
changes to the Deanery Leadership Team, with new individuals replacing outgoing members.
Parishes were thanked for providing updates on their progress with Living Christ’s story,
and how this is informing continuous review of the Deanery Action Plan that was established during 2022. This highlighted a need for better access to resourcing, training and networking to enhance and enable the skills of those working in named parish roles.
Ashlie Pearson
Parish Community Minister
A review of the Annual Accounts for 2023
The running costs of the Church are the same whether one person turns up or everyone does. The annual cost of running the Church in 2023 increased to £33,874. This means the cost for EACH PERSON on the electoral roll (40 as at 31/12/23) works out at £70.57 per month, or £16.29 per week, or £2.32 per day, to keep the Church going. Fortunately many people give much in excess of these figures.
Covenanted giving has fallen by 6.43%, although many of us are giving sacrificially. It will
therefore be necessary for all of us to keep in mind how to help our Church to survive,
especially with the overall increasing costs of everything.
We have still managed to keep our bank account in credit although the expected increase of energy costs after June 2023 have not yet been charged by our supplier owing to a problem on their behalf trying to install a new system. I have made an estimate of £2,500 as a possible charge to the account for July to December. We have been promised a further grant of £1,250 from the Diocesan Board of Finance for 2024 towards the increase of energy costs and this sum will also be a great help when the account does arrive.
Good news: we have started to let the Parish Room and income from this source will help in our expenses. A group of our parishioners has also started to run a café serving tea, coffee and tasty snacks every Tuesday between 10 am and 2 pm. So far the support from the Parish has been very disappointing. So please help support this venture.
John H Pitwood
Treasurer
|
|
