I begin as always by expressing my thanks to all my colleagues, the Churchwardens and other elected officials, and to all who lead or support our many activities as a Parish.  It has been another busy year and nothing could have been achieved without the hard work, generosity, commitment, support and faith of so many people.  We are fortunate to have a large number of people who work very hard – many often unseen and unknown to the congregation - to ensure the continuance of our life, worship and activities.  I hope that in the coming year with a Vocations Day for churches in Tower Hamlets being held here on May 20^th  at All Saints we will make it easier for more  people to use their gifts and energy for the mission and ministry of the Church. It is important that we remain conscious of how much voluntary organisations like the Church rely on the goodwill, time, energy and gifts of their members.

Since the last APCM we have had the  funerals of 6 people from our church community:- Caroline Wells, Alice Beamish, Lillian Carter, Des Boyle, William Holland and Marian Harvey.  Sadly, too, our architect, Tom Hornsby, died after a short illness.  He had been responsible for many of the improvements and projects at both our churches in the last 10 years and was a good friend of the Parish.  We thank God for all that these people contributed.  +May they rest in peace and rise in glory.

I am pleased to report that the congregation at St. Nicholas continues to grow and to be an effective witness and presence on the Aberfeldy Estate under the leadership of Fr. Andrew Wilson.  It is good that members of our two congregations feel able to worship together and join in activities in both our churches, and it is important that the links and contacts are maintained and grow. More about St. Nicholas is contained in Andrew’s report.

Zeeyoun Kim, who joined us as Parish Assistant in January 2005 from Korea, returned to home in December last year.  So far, it has not been possible to find someone suitable to help us with our youth ministry as.  Imogen Vibert (now with 2 children born in Poplar!) will be leaving us in June to take up a new post in Hackney.  Her place as assistant curate will be taken by John Seymour, who will be ordained Deacon at St. Paul’s Cathedral on July 1^st.  Michael Keyte was licensed as a Reader during the year, which brings our complement of Readers to 4.  Given that there are only 7 Readers in the whole Deanery of Tower Hamlets, we must be doing something right!  As my 5 year term of office as Area Dean comes to an end I should also like to thank all those who have taken on extra responsibilities and work during that time. I remain indebted to all my colleagues for their help, energy, advice and forebearance.  

In 2004/5 the PCC gave much consideration to the need to ensure that each member of our congregations should, if wanted, be part of a group offering support, prayer and Christian nurture.  The subsequent proposal for Fellowship Groups was published and many people have formed or joined groups.  Our hope is that these will continue to grow and be a source of encouragement. We also spent much time as a Joint PCC as well as individual Church Councils reviewing the strengths and weaknesses of our Church and forming a new Mission Action Plan to guide our life and ministry over the next 3 years.  This will need to be approved by the APCM so that the new PCC can begin to implement it.  Please read our proposals and consider what part you can play in making it happen.

The PCC also reviewed the 2 year experiment of having a central PCC and 2 Church Councils.  It was decided unanimously that an alternative structure should be put to the APCM for a year’s trial whereby we have only the Joint PCC.  This will reduce the number of meetings elected representatives have to attend and will make it easier for information and ideas to be shared between our two churches.  It will still be possible for each church to have its own groups and committees with particular responsibilities, but the PCC will remain in overall control.

We managed to pay all our bills last year and make generous donations to charities in addition to the fund-raising that was necessary  to meet our own expenses.  I thank people for their time and  generosity, but also remind us all of the need for continued realistic, regular giving in the coming years as we try to meet our day to day expenses and contribute more to the costs of ordained ministry in the parish and the work of the Diocese and national Church. Our contribution to these Diocesan/Ministry costs for 2006 is £40,000.   Despite this we are still heavily subsidised by other parishes in  the Diocese, and we thank them for it.  I am sure, too, the Treasurer would want me to remind everyone who pays tax of the need to Gift Aid their giving so that we can re-claim the 28 pence already paid in tax on every £1 given.

Below I list some of the statistics and events that come readily to mind:-

• at last the rainwater damage in 2002 to the vestries has been repaired (courtesy of Ecclesiastical Insurance);
• the 2 parish properties in Mountague Place have received their much-needed extensive repairs and renovations;
• below are the statistics for occasional offices we have performed in the past 12 months (previous year totals in brackets for comparison) - 
•                  45  (39) funerals – of which 9 (10) were in church;
•                   5  (3) burial of ashes in the Garden of Remembrance;
•                  51 (35)  baptisms; 
•                   8 (11) weddings;
•                 20 (27) people were confirmed in June. 
• Statutory Minister’s fees paid, where appropriate, for these services amounted to £3357  (£3456)) and were paid to the Diocese towards clergy stipends.
• the Prayer Healing Group continues and the Services of Prayer for Healing will continue to be held at regular intervals in both churches;
• the pattern of weekend retreats and occasional Quiet Days continues although the closure of Stacklands has led to a re-think.  The summer retreat in 2005 was at Pleshey and the 2006 retreat will be at Alton Abbey;
• the work with children and young people continues and many of the parents in our congregation play an active part in the leadership.  Our thanks to them for keeping this work alive, especially in Junior Church and during the week-long marathon activities of Holy Week;
• we continued to support many charities as a Parish, including our commitment to the Delhi Brotherhood Society;
• Volunteers continue to make it possible for All Saints to be open and available at lunch times.  More volunteers are needed, please, especially for Mondays & Thursdays;
• the annual Service of Remembrance in November for the friends and families of those whose funerals we have conducted is appreciated and continues to be well attended;
• the Crypt has been used on a regular weekly basis by the Parent & Toddlers Group, the Tuesday Lunch Club (newly re-formed by volunteer young mums),  Barnardo’s outreach work to families in temporary accommodation; and is used regularly by all the other groups and activities associated with the church and the parish.
• the staff continues its weekly involvement taking assemblies at St. Saviour’s School.  We congratulate the school on its continued deserved popularity with parishioners.
• the conduct of regular worship continues to benefit from a large number of people who give their time to ensure that it happens well.  My thanks to them all.  The Wednesday evening informal Mass continues to attract a large number of people.
• the ministers of the local churches continue to meet monthly over breakfast and we have maintained the pattern of regular acts of joint worship throughout the year.
• the Docklands Singers continue to use the church for at least one concert each year.
• it was good to welcome back members of the SPY Club (South Poplar Youth) for their re-union in the Crypt.  Their fund of stories about the parish as it was are always informative!

We are trying to up-date the Church Electoral Roll every year so that it gives a realistic picture of our church community.  Currently it stands at 318.   It is an increase on last year (304) but contains some interesting – if challenging! - statistics.  The 318 comprises 270 females and only 44 men, of whom 184 (58%) are resident in the parish and 134 (42%) non-resident.  Parochial boundaries do not mean much in modern London and we suffer (like other churches in Tower Hamlets) from the increasing number of people who move away from the area in search of affordable housing and suitable schools, but these figures are an important reminder to us of the need to develop effective ways of sharing our faith with others and encouraging more people to join us.  The Christian Church in Poplar and throughout the Borough needs to grow and each of us has a part to play in that.    One of the challenges for 2006 is to have an effective up-to-date data base and web site so that there can be more effective communication with everyone. 

Finally, many thanks again for all your support.  May God guide and bless all we attempt to do together in His Name.

Alan Wynne                                                                                                     April 2006

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The annual report for 2006 by Father Andrew Wilson concerning life at St Nicks' may be found here >