PCC Secretaries Letter

Dear  PCC Secretaries

The autumn has started in an incredible rush in Diocesan Church House. All the Boards and Councils are having their autumn meetings and  the building is full of people coming and going. It’s hard to remember the ( relative ) quietness of August when the  number of emails, meetings and phone calls dropped and we had time for proper conversations. I expect it is the same in your parish and  personal lives. We’re very busy with what’s needed  now and we are also beginning to plan  ( not for Christmas – I couldn’t bear that! ) – but for Advent. This letter contains a couple of suggestions about things that your parish can do  to slow the pace, and allow reflection and preparation for Christmas so that we don’t career headlong from September to Christmas Eve.

First the practicalities

1.  Statistics for Mission Returns

Following feedback from Lay Chairmen and others we have decided this year to separate the  parish statistics  and Finance Returns that usually come together . The Finance Return is going to be issued to Treasurers in January in time for the APCMs  but I have enclosed the Statistics for Mission form now so that you can use it to note the October attendance count.  Please complete the form and return it to your deanery Lay Chair as soon as it is done.  We hope that way forms won’t be mislaid and have to be completed again. This year the “special” question relates to groups for those enquiring about, or seeking to know more about the Christian faith.

If you do lose the forms we will put copies on the diocesan website www.oxford.anglican.org  so that you can download them. Look at the site map on the front page and go to Finance.

This year we have been able to do a much more detailed analysis of the information that you send to us and will be using it in our planning during the year.

If you are interested in seeing how the Oxford Diocese fits into the national picture the information is available on cofe.anglican.org/info/statistics. A booklet is being produced which should be available from the Church House bookshop (London) in November.

Thank you for doing this piece of work and thanks also to the Lay Chairs and Area Deans who collect the returns. I know it can be a chore but the data collected is making a real difference to our understanding of what is happening in the churches in the diocese and nationally,  and to the strategic development of our work.

2. Fire Regulations – Don’t Panic!

The Archdeacons have asked me to draw your attention to the new Fire Regulations which came into effect on 1st October 2006.  Information is being prepared,  but at this stage  they are asking simply that you think about how you would evacuate people from church if there was a fire in different parts of the building, whether you have keys to appropriate doors etc. They are urging parishes to take this opportunity to remove the piles of unnecessary items that tend to accumulate in corners of the church and which might form a fire hazard.  They are also warning you NOT  to pay sums of money to people trying to sell you additional protection to meet the regulations. A lot of what is being offered is unnecessary.  More will follow.

3. B.C.P.

I have been asked by a parish whether anyone has reasonable copies of the Book of Common Prayer that they don’t use any more. If so, please could you give a contact name/telephone number to Tricia Grout by email or phone on 01865 208297 ( mornings).

4. Registration with the Charity Commission 

Parochial Church Councils currently have  “ Excepted Status” which means that they do not have to register with the Charity Commission and do not have a charity registration number. (They must however, under the Church Representation Rules, send copies of their Annual Report and Accounts to the Secretary of the Diocesan Board of Finance - ie to me. Please send them if you have not already done so.)  However this is going to change and the Charities Bill going through the Commons will, in the first instance, require PCCs with annual incomes over £100,000 to register when the current temporary exception expires on 1st October 2007.

The national Church is working with the Charity Commission to develop a standard form to simplify the process and to provide answers to FAQ.

These forms will not be ready for some months and parishes are advised not to register voluntarily before the system is agreed. Information will be sent out to appropriate parishes as soon as it is ready.

5. VAT reduction for Repairs to Listed Places of Worship  and for Memorials

At the Financial Consultations I have been reminding Treasurers about the Government’s Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme which enables reclaim of the full 17.5% VAT payable on repairs and maintenance undertaken to Listed church buildings since 1 April 2004.  Work carried out between 1 April 2001 and 31 March 2004 is also eligible for a refund amounting to 12.5%. Under this Scheme almost  £33.5million has been paid to listed places of worship in England, an estimated 89%  of  them Anglican churches. Information about the scheme can be accessed from the website  
 
Queries about eligibility, filling in the application form (available via the website) or any other matter can be directed to the Scheme administrators at: 0845 601 5945 (calls charged at local rate). 

In the Spring budget the Chancellor extended the period for which funding will be available until 2010-11. The scheme  will now also cover the VAT costs incurred on professional fees and include fixtures and fittings for listed places of worship, such as bells, pews, clocks and organs. The inclusion of professional fees and fixtures and fittings is a substantial benefit which we should use as much as possible. Treasurers commented on how simple the forms were to use and how quickly they got their money! The Government has also made proposals to the European Commission for a permanent reduced VAT rate to be charged on memorial construction, renovation and maintenance. The Memorials Grant Scheme was initially set up as a temporary measure but has also been extended to 2010/11.  The Scheme returns in grant aid the amount of VAT incurred in the construction, renovation and maintenance of memorials on or after 16th March 2005.  Invoices spanning works before and after 16th March 2005 can be submitted, but only the element incurred on or after this date will be refunded.  There is no minimum or maximum limit on the amount reclaimable.

The purpose of the scheme is to recognise the social value of memorials, and it therefore applies to memorial structures in the form of statues, monuments and similar constructions, which:
• are solely for the purposes of commemorating people, events or animals;
• bear a commemorative inscription; and
• meet a public access test of a minimum of 30 hours a week.
Further details of the scheme may be found on this website  or you can contact the scheme administrators at:
Memorials Grant Scheme                                 
PO Box 609,
Newport , South Wales
NP10 8QD.                
Tel 0845 600 6430

Parishes are urged to use these schemes as it will confirm to the Government the value of this funding and strengthen their case when arguing for its permanent inclusion in the EU VAT  regime.

Treasurers  who have not been able to attend the Financial Consultations may also be interested to see the Treasurer’s Handbook which has been developed by the Finance Department and which is available either in paper form from DCH or it can be viewed and/or downloaded from the finance section of the website:

6.  Vocations Work – a Message from the Diocesan Director of Ordinands
 
Dear Secretary,

In the Archdeacons’ Articles of Enquiry for 2006 there were two questions relating to vocations work. The first asked if the PCC had discussed ways of fostering the ministry of adult Christians within the last three years. The second asked if the parish would welcome a visit  from a member of the Vocations Team.

The response to these two questions was very heartening. Over half of the parishes said that they had done work to develop a sense of Christian vocation in their church/congregation, and over a third of the parishes said that they would be glad to receive a visit from a Vocations Adviser. We are very grateful for this response and excited by the opportunity this offers us as a Diocese to do some work with parishes in this important area. The Vocations Team wants to assist parishes and benefices in raising awareness of the wide variety of ministries to which adult Christians are called. We also want to provide information about how people can pursue their  adult Christian vocation, what training might be available to assist them in doing the work, and what forms of authorization and selection, if any, are needed. In the course of the next month , a member of the Vocations Team should be making contact with parishes who requested some help, usually through the incumbent, to arrange a visit and appropriate support for the leadership team in this important area of work. I hope that this is of use to your PCC or appropriate church council/body. If there is any other way that we can be of use to your church, please do get in touch.

Revd Canon Dr Marilyn Parry,
Diocesan Director of Ordinands
Diocesan Church House      01865 208291

7.  Advent Resources

I would like to draw your attention to two  resources produced by the Diocese to help us to make the most of the season of Advent

Advent of the Real World: a new resource publication for the Advent season

Edited by Alison Webster for the Oxford Diocesan Board for Social Responsibility, price £5.00 (including postage and packing).

If ‘God is with us’, what does this mean for the complex realities of our personal lives: our doubts and fears, our joys and pleasures, our yearnings and our visions? If God is in others, what does that mean for the way we engage with the people around us, and the complex social and political world we inhabit? Advent of the Real World combines an outward focus (stories of change and transformation) and an inward focus (who are we before God? Who are we in silence and contemplation?). It has world issues and personal experience at its heart. It is designed to inspire and guide personal prayer and reflection, to resource group discussions, and even to help with Advent sermon writing!

Advent of the Real World has four scripturally-inspired sections: Seeing, Waiting, Loving and Choosing. Each section includes a meditative reflection, a think-piece, and stories to inspire discussion and action. An accompanying booklet, ‘Praying through Advent’, has a prayer for each day of December, written and compiled by the social action team of Oxford Diocese.

Contributors include: Bishop Stephen Cottrell, Bishop Colin Fletcher, Archdeacon Sheila Watson, Bishop Alan Wilson, and author Jo Ind.

Orders should be placed via the BSR department in Diocesan Church House, you can email Alison Webster or phone her on 01865 208213. 

I would also like to draw your attention to a flyer about the book:

“Sharing Life through Advent” by Jenny Hyson with Canon David Winter
Lectionary-based ideas for the Advent journey for Church, the Home and
Collective Worship

Jenny Hyson has been the Diocesan Adviser on Children’s Work for many years.

Sharing Life Through Advent provides a range of material and ideas to help us grow spiritually during the Advent weeks. In the areas of worship, children’s groups in church, families, and Bible reading notes, they have enabled us to celebrate and create space and opportunity to focus on the coming of Christ. Suggestions for readings, prayers, craft ideas and creative worship are given for each week. Sharing Life Through Advent will make the lead up to Christmas more meaningful for us and for our families and church groups. The book caters for each year in the three-year lectionary, taking different themes. Year A celebrates Pilgrimage, Year B looks at Promises, and Year C looks at Coming. 

8. The Organists’ Benevolent League

The Organists’ Benevolent League exists to provide financial help to organists or their dependents in times of need.  All enquiries for assistance, and donations to the League should be addressed to :  The Secretary, The Organists’ Benevolent League, 10 Stratford Place, London W1C 1BA.

9. Volunteers Needed for Spring Harvest

The organizers of Spring Harvest are looking for volunteers to help with the three Spring Harvest weeks at Minehead and Skegness 31st March – 15th April 2007.  A flyer is enclosed which gives further details. Please draw it to the attention of people who you think may be interested.

10. Work Opportunities with the Children’s Society

The Children’s Society  have 2 posts available for Community Fundraising Managers covering the dioceses of Oxford and St Albans, and Portsmouth, Chichester and Guildford. £24,965 - £32,310  Home based. For further information visit their web site  or call 0121 362 8634 quoting ref FR045/GUA. Closing date 20th October  2007

Finally,

11. A Meeting for PCC Secretaries

I have been asked whether I would organize a meeting for PCC Secretaries so that you have a chance to meet each other, share ideas, answer questions etc.  I would be delighted to do that and thought about possibly doing it on a Saturday morning in the Spring.  It would be very helpful to get a sense of how many people would be interested so that we see whether we need more than one venue. Given that whatever date we choose won’t suit everyone  please contact me if you would be interested in coming in principle, by  emailing me  or ringing  Tricia Grout my PA on 01865 208297 ( mornings)  giving your name and where you live. I’ve already had one volunteer to help with such an event – if others would be willing to help please let me know.

Please feel free to cut and paste these items for your parish magazine.

With best wishes

Rosemary Pearce
Diocesan Secretary

2006 Standard Membership Form
2006 Standard Membership Notes