St. Mary’s, Litton Cheney, is part of the Bride Valley Team Ministry. Rector: Canon Stephen Batty resides at The Rectory, Burton Bradstock, DT6 4QS. Tel. 01308 898799. Associate Priest: The Rev. Ryder Rogers 01308 897780 Assistant Curate: The Rev. Sue Linford 01308 897363 Readers: Mike Read 01308 897445 James Webster 01308 898657 Yvonne Buckland 01308 898492 St Mary's is one of seven Parish Churches within the Bride Valley Benefice. Church business is dealt with on a day to day basis by the standing committee of the Parochial Church Council [Chairman-the Rector, Churchwardens Freddie Spicer and Richard Jones, Secretary Wendy Firrell]. The full Council meets four times a year including the Annual Church Meeting in April.  The pattern of Worship currently in use on a monthly basis is Morning Worship at 9.30 a.m. with refreshments afterwards, Holy Communion with hymns at 9.30 a.m. on the 2nd Sunday, Matins at 9.30 a.m. on the 3rd Sunday and Holy Communion (by extension) at 9.30 a.m. on the 4th Sunday; the service on a 5th Sunday varies and is usually a United Valley Service at one of the Valley Churches. Copies of the Parish Magazine and Bride Valley News are available in the Church. The Churchyard: The churchyard surrounds the Church and slopes fairly sharply in places from north to south; the extension at the north end is presently a wildlife area with paths and picnic places from which you can enjoy a vast panoramic view of the coastal ridge with Hardy's monument to the east. There are many interesting old gravestones including box graves cut from Purbeck stone liberally adorned with yellow lichens. The grass is cut and the yard generally maintained by a small band of volunteers who are constantly on the lookout for additions to their number! The War Memorial is situated to the west of the church porch.  More details here

NEWSLETTER June 2017

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THE MINISTRY

ANNUAL REPORT 2015

St Mary's Church, Litton Cheney Annual Report 2015 The Church St Mary’s Church, Litton Cheney is one of the seven Parish Churches in the Bride Valley Benefice Declaration of Purpose The purpose of the Charity, St Mary’s Church, Litton Cheney, is the promotion of Christian belief in the Parish of Litton Cheney P.C.C. Membership at 2015 APCM It was with great joy that the PCC and congregation welcomed Canon Stephen Batty as Rector of the Bride Valley Benefice and his wife Frances. St Mary’s was honoured to host the Licensing Service on 12 th  May conducted by the Archdeacon. Ex-officio Rev Canon Stephen Batty (Rector) Mr Freddie Spicer (Churchwarden) Mr Richard Jones (Churchwarden) Mrs Jennie Prentice (Deanery Synod) Elected Mr Brian Prentice (Treasurer) Mrs Wendy Taylor (Secretary) Mr Paul Cheater Mrs Janet Jackson (Deanery Synod) Mrs Helen Jones (Electoral Roll Officer) Mrs Gill Newell  (Resigned Nov 2015) Mrs Jackson represents the Deanery in the Diocesan House of Laity and is a lay member of the Bishop's Council and a Trustee of the Diocesan Board of Finance. PCC Responsibilities The PCC co-operates with the Rector in taking the whole mission of the Church to the ecclesiastical parish of Litton Cheney and to those who live outside the parish but worship at St Mary’s. It assists the churchwardens in their responsibilities for the maintenance of the church building. PCC Committees and Meetings The PCC met four times during the year (including the Easter Vestry Meeting with Parishioners) and on other occasions after a service to deal with urgent business. The PCC is grateful to those members who hosted meetings in their homes. Financial Review Total receipts on the General and Restricted Funds were £31,853. Total Payments were £22,229 which included £11,905 paid in respect of Parish Share to the Diocese and the Benefice Council Share. The net result for the year was an excess receipts over payments of £9,624. The balance to carry forward at 31 December 2015 totalled £45,278. ‘General Fund’ received donations, fundraising and receipts from Church activities of £22,310 and paid out the total of £20,728 leaving an excess of £12,881 after allowing for the transfer of £1,500 to the Churchyard Fund. Details of the three Restricted Funds were as follows: ‘Churchyard upkeep and machinery maintenance Fund’ received donations of £500 and a further £1,500 that the PCC agreed to transfer from the General Fund towards the cost of machinery replacement. £175 was paid out leaving an excess of £3,374 to be carried forward. ‘Church Fabric Fund’ received donations of £5,812 and paid out a total of £1,235. The main payments included the Fete expenses of £1,162 leaving an excess of £9,392 to be carried forward. ‘Bell Restoration Appeal Fund’ raised the total of £3,191 in donations and fundraising making the total of £18,786 towards the target sum of in excess of £20,000 to be carried forward to 2016. ‘Bell Fund’ other income received donations of £41.00 mainly from visiting bell- ringers and paid out £90 in repairs leaving an excess of £845 to be carried forward. The PCC made the following specific charitable donations during 2015: Thomer’s CE School £250 Diocese of Salisbury (Sudan Relief Fund) £250 Church Mission Society £250 The United Society - Us. £500 The Annual Ride and Stride raised the total of £280 which was paid direct to Dorset Historic Churches Trust who returned 50% to the PCC. The collections from the Carol Service, Crib Service and Christmas Eve Midnight Communion amounted in a total of £460 which was divided equally between The Pilsdon Community and Julia’s House. The sum of £1,818 being two-thirds of the donations raised from a Sponsored Walk was donated to the charity ZANE. Music The choir of St Mary’s, which was restarted in 2015 after many years, is now well established and plays a significant and much- appreciated part in weekly worship. The choir has twelve members, made up of five sopranos, four contraltos, one tenor and three basses. The choir’s repertoire continues to be varied and eclectic, with works by Byrd, Tallis, Mozart, Elgar, Rutter and other composers having been learnt by the choir and incorporated as musical items within the various services. The keyboard that was loaned to the church by Mr and Mrs Newell was reclaimed in October 2015. Because the keyboard had become so embedded in the worship of the church and used for the weekly choir practices, the PCC agreed to purchase a replacement keyboard. The model purchased from Harmony Music in Dorchester is a Kawai KDP 90, and the cost was £700. This instrument in addition, to the pipe organ, provides a wide spectrum of appropriate sounds for the church’s music programme. Following discussion about copyright, it was agreed that the church should obtain a CCL licence. This has now been obtained. Fete The Fete was held at Litton and Thomer's Community Hall on 25th May; the net surplus for the church maintenance fund amounted to £3,328 (£3,268 in 2014). There was a welcome 50% increase in visitor numbers to 400 which may have been the result of starting early at 12 noon and offering barbecue lunches. An innovative attraction was a falconry display and there was another opportunity to enjoy Thomer’s Maypole dancing. Church repairs No major repairs were undertaken during the year. Minor repairs to the wooden floor and an adjacent pew front were carried out. Church worship and attendance The following table sets out the average attendance at the regular services during recent years. Sunday Of month Service Average Attendance 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 First Family/Morning Worship 18 15 15 17 16 Second Parish Communion 15 17 17 19 21 Third Matins 13 15 18 18 17 Fourth Holy Communion (sometimes 14 15 16 18 17 by extension) Overall average attendance * 15 15 16 18 18 ( * omitting Easter, Harvest Festival, Weddings, Baptisms, Funerals and School Services) Attendance at the major festivals was as follows: Actual Attendance 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 Easter 37 50 49 56 43 Carol Service 82 90 60 87 105 Crib Service 100 65 68 62 57 Christmas Eve Midnight Communion 59 56 57 76 43 The 8.00am Communion Services, on the 5 th  Sunday, was reintroduced during the year with an average attendance of 8 (average attendance of 10 in 2012 and 13 in 2011). There was 1 Marriage and 1 Funeral and 2 Baptism Services during the year. The number of people considered to be our “worshipping community” (defined in the annual Church of England statistics for mission as those who attend the church regularly, for example once a month) was 22 of whom 17 were aged 18-69 and 5 over 70, there being no young people 11-17. The number on the Electoral Roll was 38. Church Bells A band of 11 ringers in the village led by Tower Captain Wendy Firrell have rung for services nearly every Sunday, and also for one wedding during the year. The PCC is most grateful to the ringers who have turned out so regularly. Thanks are also due to John Salvetti who continues to call new and different changes and who has run many practice nights. Two bands of visiting ringers were welcomed during the year. The Bell Restoration Project progressed with further fund-raising, successful grant applications and a decision to appoint John Taylor & Co to undertake the work. With funding in place, Faculty approval was obtained with the anticipation that the work would be undertaken early in 2016. Unfortunately this proved not to be the case and the work has been delayed until the autumn of 2016. Christmas Lunch was enjoyed at The White Horse. The bells rang out the Old Year, and the New Year was rung in with the hope of continued good ringing and good fellowship. Other Church activities Dedicated teams of flower-arrangers, cleaners, mowers and gardeners, refreshment providers, clock winders, lockers-up and maintenance men and women, support the church building and the worship. Outreach The Rector and the Headteacher Mrs Jyotsna Chaffey, continue to involve Thomer’s (C. of E.) V.A. Primary School in church activities. Two School Services are normally held in the Church in each school term. Mr John Vercoe was appointed during the year as an additional Foundation Governor; Mrs Janet Jackson and Mrs Helen Jones continue as Foundation Governors. A Litton Cheney visiting team under the direction of Mrs Gill Newell will shortly commence its ministry. Freddie Spicer and Richard Jones Churchwardens, St Mary’s Litton Cheney April 2016

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BELL RESTORATION PROJECT NEWS

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