St James’s Church

PiccadillyAnnual Review

2014

Our Mission StatementSt James’s Church is part of the Anglican Communion within the world-wide

Christian Church. We understand ourselves to be called: to gather as a body which welcomes and celebrates human diversity - including

spirituality, ethnicity, gender and sexual orientation to create a space where people of any faith or none can question and discover the

sacred in life through openness, struggle, laughter and prayer to a common commitment to be in solidarity with poor and marginalised people and

to cherish Creation. We don’t manage it all the time, so we try again.

Our Nativity sculpture, carved from the wood of the old Catalpa tree

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Content

1. Message from the Rector

2. Community Matters

3. Worship and Ministries

4. Our Strategic Plan 2012 – 2015

5. Our Activities

6. Community Groups

7. External Projects

8. St James’s Church

9. The Southwood Garden

10. The PCC

11. Our Staff Team

12. Financials

13. Room Hire

14. Getting Involved

The Viscount Southwood fountain and steps leading to the Southwood Garden

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Message from the RectorRevd Lucy Winkett, Rector

We hope that you enjoy reading this annual report on the many different activities and groups that are aligned with St James’s Church. Thousands of people walk past our gates, come into our courtyard, and into the church each week of the year, and our level of activity in terms of services, debates, concerts and partnerships is increasing. For our church community, this year has been one of deepening partnerships with other faiths and with our neighbours here in Piccadilly. We have continued to work with Jewish and Muslim groups, getting to know one another better and finding ways to work together on matters of mutual concern. A highlight for us was the 10-day collaboration in a joint celebration of the Christian festival of Harvest and the Jewish festival of Sukkot, which saw not only an all-night soup kitchen in our courtyard and an amazing sukkah (booth) built in our garden but a fascinating and challenging session with the Trussell Trust, who run food banks across the UK, and a debate on environmental issues with Voltaire Alferez, environmental campaigner from the Philippines, and the Chair of the government’s Energy and Climate Change committee in the UK, Tim Yeo MP (pictured). We also hosted a remarkable event with Dr Rowan Williams, Master of Magdalene College Cambridge, who discussed with a large audience of Muslim teenagers issues of public trust in politics and civic society. Relationships were also forged with City Circle, an organisation which holds discussions and debates of concern to London’s Muslims. Our Night Shelter ran for a third year, we forged new partnerships with neighbours who hired our garden, including delegates from the ad industry in March, and our involvement in the Living Wage campaign stepped up during the year too through London Citizens.

At the centre of all this political, social and entrepreneurial engagement is a simple sacramental act of sharing bread and wine in remembrance of Christ and in anticipation of the just and peaceful future promised by God. At the Eucharist, celebrated here four or five times every week and principally at 11 o’clock on Sundays, we pray for one another, for the world around us, and we stake ourselves on the belief that injustice, cruelty, violence and abuse of power is overcome by the self-emptying of God into the hurly-burly of human affairs. Without this prayerful underpinning, our activity can end up being vacuous or hectic. But without our worldly engagement, our prayers can become detached and passionless. We use the same sanctuary for our Eucharist, for lunch for all comers on Christmas Day, for our rough sleepers to sleep in over the winter and for our all-night vigil on

Easter Eve. In our sanctuary, prayers are said, music is played, people dance and sing and are fed. It’s a cliché to say it, but it is worth repeating in a world that categorises and separates humanity on the grounds of religion, ethnicity, sexuality and any number of other boundaries drawn around who we are: everyone is welcome here whatever your background, history or culture. Everyone.

Christmas Day lunch

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Community Matters

Jo Hines and Steve Innes, Churchwardens

The St James’s community is impossible to define, yet obvious when you are part of it. There’s a growing core of regulars to the Sunday service, but also people who visit only occasionally, who enrich the life of the community enormously. And there are people scattered all over the world who have at some time in their lives joined a service, or many services, and who keep in touch via the website or through friends who remain, or just through their memories. The ‘Sunday community’ spills over into others, the concert goers, Alternatives, Julian group, Camino.... In December several members of the Sunday community joined the traders in the market, by helping with the Traidcraft stall.

In 2014 we decided it was time to look again at how we welcome visitors and create a way for people to become more involved, when they are ready — always remembering that for some people ‘church’ is an intensely private business, and the idea of joining anything fills them with horror. So a fine line has to be maintained, and inevitably sometimes it is misjudged. Two developments have been tried out, to begin with, in what is a continuing process.

We have decided to pause the weekly ‘official’ welcomer brandishing a green card during the notices slot during the Sunday 11 am service. This is partly due to a desire to tighten up that part of the service, but also on the assumption that welcoming should not be the task of a single individual. The green cards remain, and rather than promising an elusive newcomers’ party at some indeterminate time in the future, we aim to have

three each year.

The first, in November 2014, was a great success, in spite of the fact that a good number of the ‘regular’ community were away on retreat. PCC members and sidespeople were the hosts — on the grounds that the de facto welcomers each week are those who stand at the church door and hand out service sheets — and the food, savoury-filled croissants and home-made cakes, gave a tangible and delicious reality to our welcome.

At the most recent party, a visitor, who feels uncomfortable in her ‘home’ church but wasn’t in London very often was told firmly, ‘You are here now. So you are part of St James’s.’ She was visibly moved. That is community. And we’re working on it.

Community members on the Parish weekend away October 2014

Community members during a visit by Sami Awad of the Holy Land Trust, December 2014

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Worship and Ministries

Revd Lindsay Meader

Faith with food and fire . . .Hospitality is as much about the physical as the spiritual. Indeed, this concept is at the very heart of our faith, embodied in the God who came to earth and rarely missed an opportunity to gather around tables with friends, followers and strangers alike, and whose miracles included both healings and large-scale alfresco catering. We find this same principle at the heart of our Sunday Eucharist, as we encircle the altar together to share in bread and wine. The shape of 2014 has been punctuated with fire and feasts — providing light and warmth and welcome, and drawing people in. Our night shelter guests and volunteers welcomed in the New Year together, between a delicious home-cooked dinner and breakfast. As part of Westminster Churches Winter Shelter, from December to March our volunteers

welcomed 15 homeless men and women each Tuesday evening for a home-cooked dinner, companionship, a safe, warm night’s sleep and breakfast.Our first of many courtyard fires was lit when we burned the palm crosses on the Sunday before Lent, ready for our Ash Wednesday services. During Lent we offered the time between our 9.15am and 11am Eucharist services to discuss and chew over the day’s Gospel reading with coffee and croissants – an invitation which proved extremely popular. Holy Week began with our usual Palm Sunday procession and drama, led by Larry the donkey, and continued with weekday evening meditations with music, poetry and drama, and the Eucharist with foot-washing and a Vigil on Maundy Thursday. The three-hour service on Good Friday saw all three clergy offer addresses amidst much silence for reflection and some beautiful music from a solo violinist. On the Eve of Easter a number of our community were baptised and/or confirmed at St. Paul’s Cathedral, whilst back at St. James’s others started the overnight Vigil, baking bread to be broken around the fire in the garden as we celebrated the Dawn Eucharist, before processing noisily to festoon Eros with chocolate eggs for the first passers-by, and then returning to the warmth of the church hall for breakfast.At Pentecost we welcomed many neighbours and friends from Churches Together in Westminster, for a lively evening service, culminating in gathering around another courtyard fire, as we reflected upon the coming of the Holy Spirit in wind and flame. To celebrate our Patronal Festival — St James’s Day — at the end of July, we held two services in our courtyard – the Parish Eucharist and Choral Evensong with a choir and the Lewisham Brass Band — in full view of upstairs bus passengers and passers-by, some of whom ventured through the open gates to join us. Lunch and tea were served in the church.In August we launched our new programme of Sundays at Six: creative, reflective, spacious and alternative evening services; Creative arts on the first Sunday of each month, a Eucharist with Soul Sanctuary Gospel Choir on the second, Taizé prayer

Churches Together in Westminster Advent Evening Service

The Sukkah in the garden during the celebration of Harvest and Sukkot

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on the third, silent liturgies on the fourth and Choral Evensong on fifth Sundays.We celebrated Harvest and the Judaic festival Sukkot in partnership with our Jewish friends, building a sukkah (temporary shelter) in our garden, decorated by children from Soho School; hosting events on food justice, including an all night pop-up Saturday soup kitchen in our courtyard (with a roaring fire) and sharing a kosher lunch in the Sukkah after our Parish Eucharist. The church was bedecked in large wheatsheaves and, once more, our resident master-baker created a huge loaf for us to break and share in Communion. Over All Saints and All Souls, we held our first Parish Weekend Away in many years, and were refreshed and inspired by time spent in the Kent countryside.Remembrance Sunday saw a moving performance feature in our liturgy and a few weeks later, we welcomed Churches Together in Westminster back for an evening Advent service, finishing with another outdoor fire at the coldest and darkest time of the year. Soho School Choir came to sing Carols as the lights on our Christmas tree – decorated by the pupils – were switched on. Amidst a multitude of carol services and concerts, mince pies and mulled wine, we held our second Blue Christmas service, a quiet reflective afternoon liturgy for those who find Christmas difficult or painful. We welcomed record numbers to our Christmas Eve and Christmas Day services. Following our Christmas morning Eucharist, around 40 regulars and guests, including some from our night shelter, enjoyed a fabulous Christmas dinner with all the trimmings. For the first time in many years, the church remained open between Christmas and New Year, to welcome many visitors and provide a space for prayer and reflection. In the midst of these festivals, feasts and fires, we continue to offer a range of ministries to all those who happen along to St James’s each day – those who work nearby who come to join in midweek services, or to light a candle or pray; those who come each day in need of somewhere warm and safe to sleep; those in need of a listening ear; and those who come simply to admire and absorb something of the beauty of our church building.We’ve been privileged to share in the happiest and saddest of times — two baptisms, seven weddings, a marriage blessing and 12 memorials, along with a further two baptisms and nine Confirmations at St. Paul’s Cathedral on Easter Eve. We’ve hosted annual services for the Royal Academy of Arts, the Baltic Council and RoadPeace. Our clergy have accompanied those on their final journey, and given the Last Rites. We’ve welcomed the pupils, staff and families of Soho School for their lively Easter, Harvest and Christmas services. We’ve welcomed visitors from all over the world, some for a day, others for several months. Our ministry has reached out to schools and theatres, pubs, businesses and academies. Our Camino course – for those wanting to explore their faith more deeply – is now in its third year, with a small follow-on group continuing for those ‘graduates’ who didn’t want it to end! We have continued to enhance the music offered in our liturgies and strive to make it as eclectic as possible. Our Lay Singers have been joined by a range of instruments: trumpet, violin, guitar, piano and djembe drums, and for larger services, some professional singers. We use different settings in the Eucharist for the different liturgical seasons. As always we are extremely grateful to our Cantor Lil, our deputy cantors and our organist, Malcolm Hicks.Drama has also featured in our liturgy, co-ordinated by Leah Hoskin – with a re-enactment of the events of Palm Sunday in the courtyard, followed by a moving presentation of the Passion Gospel in the church; a dramatic promenade reading of the Gospel in the courtyard during our Patronal Festival. Sundays at Six Creative Arts Liturgy

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Our Strategic Plan 2012–2015

Our Strategic Plan was developed by St James’s PCC during 2011-12 from the output of consultations with our Community and others who care about St James’s. At its core are four gospel values and, emanating from those, four strategic objectives. From these and the wealth of questionnaires completed as part of the consultation process, we have identified a number of specific areas of focus and, within these, individual actions to be taken. Not every action can appear on this plan, and we want to be flexible to respond to unforeseen opportunities, but it is proving a useful tool to frame the direction that the Community wishes to follow during this period. With Gospel values at the core of our common life, this plan is an evolving, organic guide for our work 2012-15.

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Our Activities

Away GivingMercédès PavlicevicBeing in a position to support other communities and projects brings with it privilege and responsibility: not simply to ‘do good’, but to ensure that our funds are apportioned wisely, to projects that have accountability structures and whose values are aligned with our own. In the broadest sense, we have been supporting social justice, and in 2014 we distributed just over 2% of our income from the use of premises. Reading through the applications made us aware of how many extraordinary projects there are – in the UK, South Africa and Pakistan: poverty alleviation projects, work with asylum seekers and refugees, work with those who are ill, who are homeless, who are recovering from natural disasters – and arts-based projects that bring relief from difficulties and disabilities. We gave away a total of £14,150. In return we receive letters, reports, and stories. Every now and then a story tells us that we really have made a difference to a life, somewhere. Away Giving is an exchange. It puts us in touch with people and places, their hopes and dreams – and their irrepressible commitment and hard work. We are enriched through Away Giving.

197 PiccadillyJo Hines

In 2014 we decided the time had come, after four issues, to get some feedback on the magazine we launched in December 2012. Lia Shimada devised the questions and the response was fascinating. As well as a few predictably contradictory comments – one person wanted more long articles on serious topics while others wanted shorter, lighter ones – there were plenty of useful requests, like ‘bigger print for the cartoons, please’. Perhaps the most helpful question was, ‘197 Piccadilly is like a ––––––– Name an animal’. Chameleon and duck-billed platypus both had two votes. Interesting.The editorial team is clear that while we hope 197 Piccadilly is read and enjoyed by the community at St James’s, our ambition is to reach a larger audience: not just visitors, concert goers and neighbours, but all those on the margins of belief. Thanks to its inclusion on the website, it has readers worldwide. Regular slots are developing: Meet the Neighbours and Piccadilly Eye appear in most issues, as well as items on the market and profiles of individuals who are part of the St James’s story. In the summer we introduced an opportunity for some ‘Disgusted of Tunbridge Wells’ type ranting, And Another Thing…! which is discreetly anonymous. Mick Twister’s popular Biblical limericks are exclusive to the magazine and the winter issue saw the first appearance of ‘Overheard at St James’s,’ occasional one-liners inspired by the unforgettable statement: ‘I love coming to St James’s but my spiritual home is really Cheltenham Racecourse.’Three seasonal issues came out in 2014 (we skipped autumn) which seems to be as much as the budget and limited capacity can provide at present. We remain hopeful that it will be possible to increase circulation, distribution, advertising, and to improve and expand the content. As always, comments and suggestions are welcome.

197 PICCADILLYCHURCH WITHOUT WALLS SUMMER 2014 • ISSUE 5

LEGACIES OF WAR • THE GOD I DON’T BELIEVE IN • MEET THE NEIGHBUZZ

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ConcertsDavid McCleery, Concerts & Events Manager

The musical year at St James’s saw performances by a diverse array of artists: our Bethlehem Unwrapped festival drew to a close in January with a performance by musicians including the Tallis Scholars and Nigel Kennedy; in June we welcomed the legendary South African trumpeter, composer and singer Hugh Maskela for an evening in which he both played, sang and talked about his career. How fitting for this special event to take place at St James’s, as it was our own Trevor Huddleston who gave Masekela his first ever trumpet at the age of 14. In September, the phenomenal jazz singers Claire Martin, and Sharon Corr (of the Irish band The Corrs) both celebrated the launch of their new CDs at St James’s. And Leona Lewis performed at the annual Fayre of St James in November, presented by Quintessentially Events and the Crown Estate.Amateur music-making plays an important role in community, and amateur status in no way means amateur quality. At St James’s, we are proud to host concerts of an incredibly high standard by some of the UK’s best amateur choirs and orchestras. Regular visitors to St James’s such as the London Oriana Choir, Orchestra of the City and the Corinthian Chamber Orchestra are testament to the extremely high standard of music-making in London: anyone who heard Orchestra of the City’s mature interpretation of Richard Strauss’s Death and Transfiguration in July, or the Corinthian’s electrifying performance of Shostakovich’s 9th Symphony in October couldn’t have failed to come away deeply moved, and astounded by the level of musicianship.Our free lunchtime concert series (every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 1.10pm) goes from strength to strength. It is a joy to be able not only to provide the opportunity to exceptionally talented young musicians, often at the start of their careers, to perform in a high-profile concert series (with a world-class piano), but also to give audiences from all walks of life the chance to listen – for free – to outstanding live performances. In programming this series we have existing partnerships with a variety of organisations that support young musicians and academic institutions, such as Concordia Foundation, Park Lane Group, and the Royal College of Music, and in 2014 we have forged new links with the Royal Academy of Music, Trinity Laban and Guildhall School of Music and Drama. In May we bid a fond farewell to Sarah Baxter, who retired after 18 loyal years’ service as Concerts Manager.

Throughout her time at St James’s Sarah worked tirelessly to build the concerts programme to what it is today, forging excellent relationships with artists, promoters and audience members alike.The diversity of the concerts presented at St James’s means that we are reaching a wide audience. In this way, the music programme contributes to our mission to be as inclusive and welcoming as possible. Listening to music of whatever genre in a spectacular acoustic offers the opportunity to experience and reflect on beauty in many different forms in this unique and sacred setting.

Sharon Corr © Noel Buckley

The Fayre of St James’s in the Church in November 2014

Our Activities

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Piccadilly MarketCostas Benopoulos-Jones, Market Manager

2014 has been a challenging year for the Piccadilly Market at St James’s Church.

In the first six months of the year, the building work, the restoration of the Piccadilly Wall, was obviously an obstacle to the smooth operation of the market. We knew from the very beginning that the end result would be great but it was nevertheless disruptive during construction. We did manage to keep most of our traders here trading despite difficult circumstances, and the market traders deserve much credit for their understanding and cooperation. In the second half of the year, from the end of May onwards and after the completion of the works in the courtyard, we recovered both stalls’ capacity and financially. The market was either full or close to full and, as we were expecting, the Piccadilly wall was looking very good indeed.

We are constantly trying to improve the appearance of the market as we believe that the courtyard is the ‘front window’ to our historic site. The appearance of the stalls, the goods on sale at our market and the cleanliness are all improving. The transformation of the Piccadilly Market over the last two and half years has been phenomenal and it is really a testimony to the hard work and effort that we put towards our objectives.

All of us connected with the market, traders, riggers and management are fully aware of our responsibilities to the good upkeep of the site. The market brings a great atmosphere, vibrancy and “life” to our courtyard and, as our sign on Piccadilly reads, ‘Church open – Market open’! At the same time, we are also bringing a very important source of income to St James’s Church in order to support both the upkeep and the good work of the Church.

In 2014 the Piccadilly Market also participated with a stall during Christian Aid Week; we made a donation to our night shelter charity and we had a Fairtrade stall in the market from November to December for the Christmas period. Occasionally we have decorated the market either with Union Jack bunting or for other special occasions and last Christmas we thought that the decorations and the Christmas Trees were the best ever, making the courtyard looking very festive and picturesque. The Piccadilly Market in 2014 expanded significantly on the social media world with a new web-site page, Facebook and Twitter accounts. All have proven to be very popular. We advertise the Market in various publications and last March the Sunday Telegraph published a small article about the Piccadilly Market.

The targets for 2015 are more or less the same as always, full capacity of the Market, various improvements on all fronts and working closely, as a unit and as a team, with all the other departments and all other participants of St James’s Church. More challenges ahead and more hard work! Piccadilly Market is honoured and proud to be very much part of this community of St James’s Church Piccadilly.

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London CitizensTony Sanchez

St James’s Church continues to be an institutional member of West London Citizens. Members of our community have continued to be involved in Citizens events. Lucy, our rector, has become a member of the leadership team at West London Citizens. She and other members of St James’s have attended and taken part in assemblies. Lucy took part in a presentation on the issue of Social Care at the West London Citizens AGM in December 2014. However, it is the issue of the Living Wage where people at St James’s have continued to be most involved. Lucy was part of a delegation that met with the Company Secretary of BP in March 2014 to discuss whether the Living Wage could be implemented in their company. I also took part in a Living Wage team to contact employers to arrange meetings with them to discuss the Living Wage and propose they become Living Wage accredited employers. St James’s Church is an accredited Living Wage employer.On a national level, Citizens UK are involved in a number of campaigns. More details can be found on their website: http://www.citizensuk.org. Although Citizens organisations are best known for the campaigns, the ideology behind Citizens UK is to empower all citizens to make political change, whether large or small.During 2014-15, Michael Faulkner was the main co-ordinator in promoting involvement by St James’s. It’s always a challenge to get people at St James’s to participate in Citizens activities. Those who have been to Citizens events or actions for the first time report finding them inspiring. Citizens is one of the few truly diverse and ecumenical community organisations in our country made up of churches of many denominations as well as synagogues, mosques, schools, trade unions and other types of institutions. In a time when people in our country seem disillusioned with traditional politics and are turning to parties such as UKIP for their voice to be heard, Citizens offers a voice for people to be heard that does not have to be reactionary. London Citizens offers training in community organising that is free for people at St James’s. I would encourage people to take part in this. Part of our philosophy at St James’s is that being Christian involves being political. Being involved in Citizens is a way of trying to promote the values we believe in.

The St James’s Piccadilly and Archbishop Tenison Charitiesare two small charitable trusts which support the work of the parish and local community.One is the St James’s Piccadilly Charity, established in 1992 when ten very small trusts were amalgamated. This awards grants to individuals and charities within a mile radius of St James’s Church. The grants are primarily for the promotion of education, with smaller amounts being awarded for the relief of poverty and for the religious and charitable work of the Church of England. Around £8000 is distributed annually.The other trust is the Ecclesiastical Charity of Archbishop Tenison, which has been the subject of a number of Charity Commission Schemes since 1869. Archbishop Tenison was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1695 to 1715, having previously been the first Rector of St James’s, and was well known for his preaching and charitable work. This trust awards grants to the parishes of St James, Piccadilly and St Anne, Soho, each parish receiving around £7000 annually.The Rector of St James’s and both churchwardens are currently trustees of these two charities.

Our Activities

All-night soup served in the courtyard during the Harvest/Sukkot festival

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Westminster Churches Winter ShelterDebbie O’Brien and Mary Stewart

A report on the winter shelter is always tricky as the Annual Report covers the 2014 calendar year, which therefore includes the end of our third shelter, January-April and the beginning of our fourth shelter November-December. The former is already a fairly distant memory and experience, the latter a new group of guests and volunteers. Each winter shelter is very different in feel and unique in experience – nothing stays the same!By the end of the shelter in April 2014, 45 guests had come to the shelter and 29 were housed. Although the shelter at St James’s finished at the end of March, it continued for two weeks at the West London Day Centre with St James’s volunteers cooking and running the Tuesday evening slot.Our fourth shelter began with a week in November at the West London Day Centre (WLDC) and, from the first week in December, the 15 guests went to venues run by the seven partners, Hinde St Methodist, Notre Dame de France, Holy Apostles, St Paul’s Rossmore Road, West London Synagogue, ASLAN (All Souls), with St Patrick’s Soho joining in February to take over from Holy Apostles. The biggest change has been the appointment of Peter Mwaniki to a part-time paid post as winter shelter coordinator based at the WLDC, recognising the hard work and time commitment put in by Annie Kirke who had set the winter shelter up in her own time.

We began preparing for the 2014/15 night shelter in October with a great training session for volunteers at St James’s, run by Ruth Wilson and Lia Shimada. We have involved more people in the running of the shelter this year, as it felt important to share responsibilities and encourage others to be confident in volunteering. We now have Ros Fane in charge of the rota (and all its challenges!) and keeping statistics. Pete Smith, Eleanor Butler and Anouska Doyle are the lead chefs, working alternate weeks, and are entirely responsible for food – from shopping to cooking and balancing petty cash, working with two kitchen volunteers each week. Maggie Butcher took on the role of asking for donations of specific items for the shelter and Keith Turton and Simon Polley continue to lead a team of people who pray. Two coordinators, Debbie and Mary, continue to be responsible for planning, admin and fundraising, and meeting monthly with coordinators from the other shelters.

The winter shelter pays for itself, including the cost of room hire to St James’s, which is fantastic, and we are hugely grateful to Pret a Manger for their funding this year, including paying for camp beds to replace inflatable and not very reliable mattresses. Many of you have given donations of both money and goods. Thanks, too, to the vergers and finance team and David Hamilton-Peters.We enjoy this and feel hugely privileged to be part of the night shelter. We are very aware that this is an example of ‘loving your neighbour’ that includes all at St James’s.Thank you for being co-workers in the gospel of Jesus.

Some of our volunteers preparing a meal for our Winter Shelter guests

Winter Shelter Art Group activity - shells were collected from behind the Savoy Hotel and made into candlestands by our guests

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Asylum and Migration SupportPuck de Raadt

A total of nine persons were assisted, of whom five were children. Of last year’s people, one stopped requiring regular financial assistance: MK: Last year I reported on MK; an agency carer for elderly people and on a zero-hours’ contract. Her income still varies between £80–£120 per week. In spring she went to Guinea to sort out her children, and needed some travel/food support on returning to the UK. Apart from a sudden emergency payment of £200 in summer for hospital fees in her country for her son’s traffic accident, she no longer depends on St James’s subsidies. Her minimum wage has been raised a few pence. (NOT Living Wage!) Her agency is arranging for her to access much needed remedial English classes so she can start her NVQ 3 Care certificate in September and improve her employment. MJB, This Congolese lady returned to London and had her NASS benefit stopped. We paid for a medical report to challenge this, and some bus/train fares.MeK and A.K: This ex-client instigated a determined trans-border investigation of the exploitation of her sole surviving baby sister, now 15. Excellent NGO work in the UK and Guinea, plus first class legal representation, led to the child being transferred to a local children’s home, the exploiting carer being sentenced and fined, and on 02/12/2014 A. arrived at Heathrow. The total expenditure on this case over the year has been nearly £1000 in visa, legal aid and medical fees. The youngster has now started classes in Lambeth. St James’s gave a grant in recognition to the Guinea children’s charity SOS-Mineurs for excellent support and research.LK: Ugandan mother of R. and H., previously assisted by St James’s, came to the end of her immigration status of Discretionary Leave on Art.8 grounds, needing legal advice and documents for herself and her little boy, for which her benefit was insufficient. (Little H. has a British passport via the father.) Having now got permanent Leave to Remain she was promptly offered a nursery class assistant post and is in a better financial position. She is still paying back to friends the loan of £1000 she had to pay solicitors to finalise status. The family are now thriving.

HY, young Arab refugee with status , still has no positive answer from the Home Office for a refugee document that uses her deed poll name rather than her high profile family name so cannot restart her degree, fearing she may be traced by those threatening her. She has got braver socially, doing some classes. St James’s found her a winter coat and repaired her laptop which is invaluable for her limited social contacts. Thanks to the Iranian & Kurdish Women’s Rights Organisation and an understanding GP, she now is in counselling, lessening isolation and anxiety attacks. She finally received a disability top-up on her Benefits, after very distressing interviews with ATOS, the French firm operating the DWP’s disability assessments.

Our Activities

Visit by Sami Awad of the Holy Land Trust,December 2014

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TraidcraftBetty HarrisThe Traidcraft stall continues to be held on the second and fourth Sundays of the month. Sales to the congregation have held up throughout the year, totalling £6,200. Items on the stall are sold at cost price, the discount being passed on to the purchaser. Sales figures overall increased dramatically this year as a group of volunteers ran a stall in the market for the six weeks leading up to Christmas. Goods were sold at catalogue price and resulted in takings of £6,085.25. After the deduction of expenses, we were able to give the church £606 rental and equipment to the value of £240 for setting up a stall.Our total sales of over £12,000 means that SJP is now rated as a church, ranking 20th out of the 4,600 small outlets for Traidcraft.Having a stall in the market was a very worthwhile venture in various ways. Apart helping the producers in undeveloped countries it made a useful link between the church and the traders. Many stallholders expressed a hope that we will join them again. I certainly hope the Christmas market will have a Traidcraft stall this coming December but we need much more help in running it. I feel that our large congregation we should be able to furnish a powerful team so too much work doesn’t fall on the shoulders of a few.If volunteers come forward and there is space for us, we could consider running a stall for a few days in the tourist season as an experiment. I feel our location gives us a wonderful opportunity to help the poor, and morally it is incumbent upon us to seize it.I am now in my 19th year as a Traidcraft representative and can foresee a time when I can’t do it any more, so some planning for the future is necessary. Currently the Sunday workload is quite heavy; I’d welcome assistance from anyone interested in helping the poor trade their way out of poverty.

United Charities of St James’sSt James’s is responsible for providing a Chair and Clerk to administer the United Charities of St James’s. The Chair is the Rector and the Clerk is a volunteer from the church community. The church also provides three of the trustees who oversee the business of the Charity, and there are four other trustees from the Local Authority. The business of the Charity is to provide a small additional pension payment four times a year to residents of the borough of Westminster. These pensioners are eligible because of their age or disability, and are referred by organisations such as Age Concern. Additional one-off payments are also sanctioned for a particular need.Patronal Evensong in the courtyard with brass band July 2014

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Community Groups

LGBT GroupTrevor Lines

It has been another good year for the LGBT Group, building on developments in the recent past. Mercia McMahon returned as the group facilitator last March; she has been the group’s figurehead, supported by Trevor Lines, Mary Deans and Georgina Elsey. The group’s main activity is its monthly shared lunches, which continue to be a great way to welcome visitors and those exploring whether to join the St James’s Community. That welcome provides an important service to those who have previously suffered rejection in church circles due to their LGBT status. There are also visitors who attend every so often because they cannot be open about their sexuality or gender identity in their home church. St James’s offers an important role as one of the few churches that has a group specifically dedicated to the LGBT members of its congregation and is found by newcomers via the internet. February is LGBT History Month and a presentation was given by Mary Deans drawing on her life experience as a trans woman. In May, our friend Patti Brace was preparing to return to Canada with her son, Caleb. Before she left, she gave a fascinating talk at our May shared lunch about the experiences of LGBT people in her home country.The group’s major public activity was its involvement in the late June/early July Pride London celebration, in partnership with Christians Together at Pride, whose committee has St James’s representation. It all went off with great success, even though it rained heavily on the Saturday. The garden party couldn’t take place this year because of another booking, but we were kindly entertained by our colleagues at the Friends’ Meeting House in St Martin’s Lane. Some group members took part in the main parade and the garden party (thought it couldn’t happen?) was again hugely successful, attracting a large number of guests both familiar and new. At the main Eucharist at St James’s on the Sunday, Georgina read Trevor’s intercessions, and a moving discussion on LGBT issues was led by Mercia McMahon.We closed our year with our usual Christmas Party and it was attended by very many people, including friends from St Martin-in-the-Fields.

Building the Sukkah in the garden, October 2014

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VagabondsCornell Jackson

The Vagabonds is a group of mainly Christian spiritual enquirers. We meet informally once a month in a pub close to St James’s to discuss a topic of interest. We take our name from William Blake’s poem The Little Vagabond, a character who prefers the alehouse to the church (Blake was baptised at St James’s). The topics of interest are spiritual in nature. We also visit each year other places of worship. Our 2014 programme was as follows:-

The Relation of Love and JusticeDiggers, Levellers and RantersVisit to the Sunday Assembly

Theology of WorkMy Cross to Wear

Poetry and SpiritualityTheology of the Living WageThe Thin Places of Theatre

The Visionary Experience: Miracle or MadnessCrisis of Faith

Palestinian Liberation Theology: Work of Naim Stifan AteekVagabonds Christmas Party and 2015 Planning

The Little Vagabondby

William Blake

Dear mother, dear mother, the church is cold,But the ale-house is healthy and pleasant and warm;

Besides I can tell where I am used well,Such usage in Heaven will never do well.

But if at the church they would give us some ale,And a pleasant fire our souls to regale,

We’d sing and we’d pray all the live-long day,Nor ever once wish from the church to stray.

Then the parson might preach, and drink, and sing,And we’d be as happy as birds in the spring;

And modest Dame Lurch, who is always at church,Would not have bandy children, nor fasting, nor birch.

And God, like a father rejoicing to seeHis children as pleasant and happy as he,

Would have no more quarrel with the Devil or the barrel,But kiss him, and give him both drink and apparel.

We generally start our pub sessions with a lunch and fellowship time, starting at 1.00pm. We usually split our sessions into two periods, although this may vary, with a break in between. Our session ends no later than4.00pm.The exception will be when we visit other places.

Most of our meetings take place at The Clarence Pub near Green Park Station.

The Clarence4 Dover StreetLondon W1S 4LB

Details of forthcoming meetings are included in the diary of events on the St James’s website. Leaflets with full details of the 2015 programme are available in the Church.

Hope to see you there!

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External Projects

AlternativesRichard Dunkerley and Mary Daniels

Founded in 1982 as a project of St James’s Church, Alternatives is now an independent not-for-profit company hosting a diverse programme of events inspiring heart, mind and soul. We aim to create a warm and welcoming space where people may explore their spirituality and personal growth and meet like-minded people. Our Monday talks at St James’s and our weekend workshops are attended by thousands of people each year. In 2014, we hosted many wonderful speakers in the church. Marianne Williamson gave two sold-out talks in the same week on how we can transform our world with the power of love. In his Occupy Spirituality talk, Matthew Fox made an inspiring call for us to become spiritual activists and to take effective action to save the environment. Rupert Sheldrake and Brother Martin (from Father Bede Griffith’s ashram in India) had a fascinating discourse on whether God is a part of human nature. Gabrielle Bernstein told the story of how miracle thinking had changed her addictive lifestyle. Her talk attracted many younger people who were attending for the first time. Tara Brach, the founder of the Insight Meditation community in Washington DC, gave an excellent sold-out talk speaking about True Refuge.Our weekend workshops are held at various central venues and are experiential in nature. Popular workshops included How to Teach and Lead Meditation with William Bloom, Seeing Naturally Without Glasses with Peter Grunwald, and The Artist’s Way with Julia Cameron. Our Conscious Business Club is proving popular with people who want to bring a more conscious approach into their working lives. We also hold several large seminars each year with well-known speakers that attract many hundreds of people from all parts of the UK and Europe. In 2014, we hosted Deepak Chopra on The Future of Wellbeing, Byron Katie on Loving What Is, Bruce Lipton on The Science of Creating Heaven on Earth, and Marianne Williamson on Relationships and the Spiritual Journey. Alternatives flourishes through the goodwill of many people. Our small office team is greatly supported by our board of trustees and by our fantastic volunteer team who give much time and energy to help facilitate our events. We continue to be hugely appreciative of our relationship with St James’s and we give thanks for the pleasure of being part of this wonderful community.

An Alternatives event in the Church: Marianne Williamson’s Miraculous Mind, Miraculous Life, October 2014

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Blake SocietyTim Heath

William Blake was a fully paid-up member of the awkward squad and those who love him can be even more difficult at times because of their resistance to joining any organisation, believing that institutions are the cause of the world’s troubles.So how does a Society reflect the character of its members? What is the corporate analogy of awkwardness?The French philosopher Michael Foucault suggested an answer in the term Heterotopia. We are familiar with Utopia – a perfect place that does not exist – and also with its opposite, Dystopias – imperfect places that, alas, all too readily exist. Between a Utopia and a Dystopia lies Heterotopia – a space that challenges, questions and causes us to examine the fundamental assumptions of our existence.During the year we held ten heterotopic events. We began with a talk on the Australian novel Remembering Babylon by David Malouf, in which a shipwrecked English child is brought up by Aboriginals and then returns to wreak havoc on an English sensibility.Following this lecturer from Australia, we welcomed the Grand Arch-Druid of America who questioned the reinvention of Druidry as a modern spiritual vision. And, later in the year, we held an event on Shamanism suggesting that Blake acted on a world of spiritual signs that are invisible to most of us. In early summer we held a retreat in a medieval manor house in Oxfordshire to spend a day reading aloud one of Blake’s prophetic works Milton – an expansive narrative that occurs in a single moment of time.By tradition we meet each year in August at Blake’s grave to continue our conversation with a dead poet, and in September we set out on a pilgrimage to explore Blake’s fourfold visionary London. During this day of walks we discovered we are all pilgrims – strangers in a city of numbness and numbers. To correct this myopia, we have commissioned a map of Blake’s London from the visionary cartographer Andrea McLean as well as hosting a workshop by a Master Printer to empower us in the art of mapping visions.The society was represented at several conferences and we ended our year of events with a lecture on The Anatomy of Imagination by a poet and cenobite, Maitreyabandhu. Our annual Tithe Grant challenged the form of a poetry competition by asking people to submit entries through Twitter — so limiting each to a length of 140 characters. We received a thousand entries from around the world and the winning aphorism was judged by Stephen Fry: ‘Incorruptible plastic proves the value of decay’.Finally, for the first time in almost a century, the cottage where William Blake wrote ‘Jerusalem’ has come up for sale, and under the guidance of the society an attempt is being made to put it into trust for the nation and create a space where you might enter in trepidation and leave in awe – a heterotopia. William Blake’s Cottage in Milton, West Sussex

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Caravan Drop-in and Counselling ServiceZak Waterman

The Caravan provides a drop-in and counselling service seven days a week and is available by voluntary donation. It is run by the Centre for Counselling and Psychotherapy (CCPE) in partnership with St James’s, which has provided a home for the Caravan in its courtyard since 1982. These days all of our vital volunteer counsellors come from CCPE, and this year’s article puts them in the spotlight. The Caravan has become, by word of mouth between generations of counsellors over the years, a highly valued ‘training placement’ among the many from which counsellors have to choose. However, we cannot be complacent, so in the autumn we took the opportunity of the CCPE’s 30th Anniversary to contribute an article about the Caravan for a book of reminiscences and tributes. We also mounted an exhibit for the Anniversary Party in December. The exhibit showed the heritage of the Caravan, from its earliest days, beginning with the Peace Caravan.

This was seeded by Mother Teresa’s dedication in 1981 at St James’s of her Prayer for Peace. The exhibit emphasised the partnership with St James’s and the ethos of the Caravan, told through a few moving tributes, and photos depicting the beauty and spirit of St James’s and its gardens in which we are privileged to work. Generations of Caravans, up to the new Shepherd’s Hut, with its exciting installation by crane prior to the Caravan’s 30th Anniversary garden party in 2012, were also depicted.Pictures of generations of Caravan counsellors, enjoying the annual Caravan Spring Cleaning and shared lunch in the gardens over the years, evoked the ethos of the Caravan as not only an opportunity for trainees to develop professionally but also to offer a heart-opening experience. A key theme of the display was how the counsellors, as well as working individually with their clients, hold the drop-in clients collectively and how the required team spirit is fostered, not only through all our training and supervision, but also importantly through the extra-curricular activities and responsibilities which many volunteers willingly undertake. These bring an additional sense of belonging and ownership, as well as including some all-important fun, which all counsellors need to balance with the work they do. We implemented some important policy changes this year, which will ensure more opportunities for our drop-in visitors to be seen. However, this might have introduced a short-term transitional dip of two percentage points in one of our two key target indicators, namely, the number of face-to-face client hours per counsellor hour. This was still, however, well within the annual variation around an overall trend-line, which has been improving over the years. This ratio is significantly affected by the awareness of the Service by potential users and can only have been helpfully influenced by the effect of the much-improved new A Boards and the noticeboard and sign on the Caravan itself.

External Projects

The Shepherd’s Hut — Home to the drop-in and counselling service

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LivingSpiritualityPetra Griffiths

LivingSpirituality brings together the contemplative and active dimensions of life, and is broadly rooted within Christianity. LivingSpirituality is a resource through which people can find material, groups and people to help deepen and anchor their explorations through all stages of their journeying. You can read the LS vision at: http://www.livingspirit.org.uk/about-ls/vision-statementWe issue email newsletters three times a year and circulate quarterly listings of events held at different centres throughout the UK. We have regional contacts in many parts of the country. There are special interest groups on Art and Spirituality and Music and Spirituality. A new Health, Healing and Spirituality group is being formed in April 2015.Our Journeying Together Group – www.livingspirit.org.uk/journeying-together-group is attended by members of the St James’s community and holds monthly discussions and lay-led liturgies. Group members share their spiritual journeys, as they seek to make deeper connections to God. The group seeks inclusivity in language and imagery. It explores the feminine and masculine nature of the divine, and our connection with the web of life. It focuses on bringing forth the suppressed feminine strand within the Judeo-Christian tradition, while listening for the voice of the Holy Spirit in our time. LivingSpirituality works in partnerships with other like-minded organisations, and has a link with the Institute

of Theological Partnerships, led by liberation theologian Professor Lisa Isherwood, at the University of Winchester.An annual joint event organised by LivingSpirituality and chaired by Revd Lucy Winkett will take place each autumn, following the very successful launch of Professor June Boyce-Tillman’s new book, In Tune with Heaven or Not (on women’s role in liturgical music) in November 2014 at St James’s.

Julian GroupNick Hamilton

The Julian Group continues to meet fortnightly on Thursday evenings from 6.30pm to 7.30pm in the Tower. During the last year the number of people joining us has grown, with anything up to seven or eight people sitting with us at any one time, both from the church community and outside. The group remains part of the nationwide Julian Meetings network, which was set up in 1973 to encourage the practice of silent prayer, and you can find out more by going to their website: www.julianmeetings.orgThe format of the evening sitting is very simple: we start with a short introductory reading, followed by thirty to forty minutes of silence, and finish by saying the Grace together. In the last ten minutes or so, we also read a selection of the prayers of intercession left in the church.People are welcome to join us at any time. But as we go into silence soon after 6.30pm, we would ask anyone planning to attend to arrive early so as not to interrupt the sitting. You can check the monthly programme for the dates [available on St James’s website] – and either be with us in person or in Spirit.

September 2014 — The Journeying Together Group meets with Professor Lisa Isherwood and artist-theologian Dr Megan Clay at the Winchester University Cosmic Walk

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St James’s Church stands between Piccadilly and Jermyn Street, just off Piccadilly Circus in central London. It has been attended and admired by a wide array of people over the centuries, and has a very rich and colourful past and present.In 1662 Henry Jermyn, 1st Earl of St Albans, obtained a grant of land on what was then the outskirts of London, comprising the area now known as St James’s, which he intended for development as a residential neighbourhood. He first built St James’s Square and the surrounding streets, including a marketplace between the Square and Haymarket. A portion of land on the south side of Portugal Street (soon to be called Piccadilly) was later set aside for the building of a parish church with a churchyard.Sir Christopher Wren was chosen as the architect, and following construction St James’s Church was consecrated on 13th July 1684 by Henry Compton, Bishop of London. The first rector was Dr.Tenison, previously Vicar of St Martin-in-the-Fields (out of which parish the new one of St James’s was formed) and who later became Archbishop of Canterbury. A rectory house and a vestry hall were built a few years later.On 14th October 1940, St James’s was severely damaged by enemy bombing. Most of the Church roof and the rectory were destroyed, and fire gutted the Church interior. The verger and his wife lost their lives. Although services resumed in 1941 after a temporary roof was constructed over parts of the south aisle, the Church remained in a ruinous state until after the war. Repairs began in 1947 and, after seven years of painstaking restoration, the Church was re-dedicated by the Bishop of London in June 1954. St James’s remains a building of significant historical and architectural interest, attracting a diverse range of visitors from across the UK and overseas. The original vestry hall is now a cafe, helping to create a welcoming space for visitors, and the Southwood Memorial Garden alongside, a hidden gem amongst London’s open spaces, was fully refurbished during 2011. The Church itself benefitted from significant restoration work to the roof during 2010/11, and the whole site continues to be cared for and loved by its Community. A feasibility study for renovation of the Church has been discussed at the PCC, and discussions have started with heritage bodies. Bringing together the pastoral work of the church with the celebration of the architectural heritage is a challenging and exciting task. The treasures of Christopher Wren and Grinling Gibbons are to be balanced with the recognition of the post-war restoration by Sir Albert Richardson, at the same time as ensuring the life of this busy working church is enhanced by our investment in the building itself. As custodians of this beautiful and historic building, we are taking our cue from Wren’s vision and developing plans for the whole site. With our inspiration the hospitality of the Eucharist meal of bread and wine, we are exploring ways to develop our café, better office accommodation for our employed staff, expanded and improved ‘back stage’ facilities for our concert performers. All this within the context of bringing what can look like a disparate collection of buildings, along with our wonderful garden, into a unified whole. This necessarily involves a huge amount of consultation both with our own congregation, our neighbours and numerous heritage bodies. We are enthusiastic and energetic in our deliberations and, if the timetable remains on track, the coming year will be key in terms of decision-making.

St James’s Church

Inside the Church at Easter

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The Southwood Garden

Catherine Tidnam, GardenerLast year was a year of taking stock — getting to know the site, the soil, where the light fell, where the water pooled, which plants were happy and which just didn’t want to be there. It was also a year of restoration, of the ‘Lutyens’ planters and park benches. In spring 2014, the Southwood Garden was pleased to host Ad Week. It was fascinating to see how this event opened up different ways in which the space could be used. Smaller installations, such as the Sukkah, also demonstrated how the garden can be many things as well as itself — a venue for art, for celebration and for the exchange of ideas and experience.Never forgetting my brief from St James’s – to introduce more colour — we planted lots of spring bulbs as, essentially, the Southwood Garden is a spring garden. We planted cyclamen for autumn colour and put together a rich list of shrubs, including ‘Niobe’ with its ruby red flowers, four camellia x williamsii, two of which are shocking pink and a Lonicera japonica ‘Halliana’ which, despite its pale yellow and white flowers, should pack a punch in terms of fragrance for those walking along Piccadilly.The health of its soil is critical to any garden and the Southwood Garden was mulched for the first time in several years, and over the course of the year an improved soil ecology became evident. We took part in Westminster’s biodiversity audit as well as meeting the Crown Estate to discuss how we could contribute to their plans to create a green corridor from Regent’s Park to St James’s Park.The grass continues to warrant sleepless nights. It dreams of wide open prairie land but all we can offer is heavily shaded, poorly drained planters. Hope has not (yet) been abandoned. Having turfed last year, we will reseed this year with a different seed mix and a modified maintenance regime. In 2014, we completed a successful volunteering programme with Costa Coffee which provided a steady supply

of robust and productive workers to help out in the garden. With that scheme ending, we welcomed Sam Shukir from the congregation who offered of an extra pair of hands on a weekly basis (plus the occasional sponge cake!). The Southwood Garden is an intrinsic part of what St James’s has to offer visitors and we have great ambitions for its future. If you would like to be part of this transformation, please contact me: gardener@sjp.org.uk

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The PCC

Mercédès Pavlicevic, PCC Lay Chair

The PCC (Parochial Church Council) aims to promote and encourage the life of the church, as part of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and is responsible for the management of the assets and finances of St James’s. As St James’s is a registered charity, the PCC members are also its trustees.

The PCC comprises fifteen members elected in accordance with the Church Representation Rules (including three elected Deanery Synod representatives), together with two churchwardens and the clergy of the parish. The PCC meets around ten times per annum and delegates some responsibilities to a sub-committee, referred to as the Standing Committee.

This year has been accompanied by ceaseless drilling, hammering, crunching concrete mixers, scaffolding erected and removed, and men in high visibility clothes issuing instructions and restrictions. Piccadilly is transformed, and the PCC’s work seems to have been one long conversation about the collisions, contradictions and conundrums that remain stubbornly in place when Christian values, economics, ethics and our commitment to Shrinking the Footprint don’t easily resonate with one another. There is all of this, underpinned by our commitment to manage our affairs responsibly: surrounded by immense wealth, how might we earn and use funds ethically; and how might our projects and aspirations be in tune – or not – with the signs of our times and place in central London? How do we shrink our carbon footprint when on some Sundays there is a collective request to crank up the boiler? Our community is a multiple: some gathered, some dispersed, some virtual – here at times, and then not. How do we connect? How do we keep engaged with our neighbours, while knowing that some of our projects alienate and provoke them? These counterpoints inform – and at times neatly scupper – our work as a PCC. We meet around eight times a year – and while the everyday business of the buildings, the site and staffing, the bank balance and various projects keeps us grounded and at times bogged in detail, the insistent voices of the activists and dreamers amongst us ensure that our horizons remain alive. It has been a relatively quiet year for the PCC – and it feels like the proverbial lull, before the Wren Site Development project calls us to decision time. Watch this space!

Members of the PCC during 2014-15 were:-

Clergy:- The Reverend Lucy Winkett The Reverend Lindsay Meader The Reverend Hugh Valentine

Churchwardens:- Joanna Hines Steve Innes

Deanery Synod Shirley DixonRepresentatives:- Leah Hoskin Puck de Raadt

Lay members:- Maggie Butcher Deborah Colvin Penelope Douglas Jane Gray Kevin Hipgrave Frank Kihere Fiona Notman Mercedes Pavlicevic (Lay Chair) Simon Stedman (Hon. Treasurer) Mary Stewart Meg Stewart Wilson Wong

Members of St James’s PCC 2014-15

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Members of the PCC during 2014-15 were:-

Clergy:- The Reverend Lucy Winkett The Reverend Lindsay Meader The Reverend Hugh Valentine

Churchwardens:- Joanna Hines Steve Innes

Deanery Synod Shirley DixonRepresentatives:- Leah Hoskin Puck de Raadt

Lay members:- Maggie Butcher Deborah Colvin Penelope Douglas Jane Gray Kevin Hipgrave Frank Kihere Fiona Notman Mercedes Pavlicevic (Lay Chair) Simon Stedman (Hon. Treasurer) Mary Stewart Meg Stewart Wilson Wong

StaffOur Staff Team

St James’s has a dedicated staff team who, along with the clergy and members of the community, carry out the many day to day tasks necessary to support the wide range of activities. The current staff team is:-

Ashley Ashworth - Head VergerTel. 020 7292 4863/4865

Chris Davies, Toks Mumuney, Jenny Walpole - VergersTel. 020 7292 4865 Email: vergers@sjp.org.uk

Costas Benopoulos-Jones - Market Manager and Deputy Estates ManagerTel. 020 7292 4864 Email: marketmanager@sjp.org.uk

Markets staff - Dominic Grange, Femi OshinPCC Secretary - Graham Cooper

Email: pcc@sjp.org.ukDavid Hamilton-Peters - Parish Secretary

Tel. 020 7292 4860 Email: secretary@sjp.org.ukMalcolm Hicks - Director of Music and OrganistDiana Kateregga - Basement facilities caretaker

Elizabeth Lil (‘Lil’) - Director of Congregational MusicEmail: lil@sjp.org.uk

David McCleery - Concerts and Events ManagerHelen Zalba-Smith - House Manager

Concerts team - Kevin Fawell, Ruth Henning-Lincoln, Eric Sayer, Adam LawlerTel. 020 7381 0441 Email: concerts@sjp.org.uk

Chris Rogers - Finance ManagerTel. 020 7292 4851 Email: financemanager@sjp.org.uk

Catherine Tidnam - Gardenergardener@sjp.org.uk

Ryan Tyler - Estates ManagerTel. 020 7292 4852 Email: sitemanager@sjp.org.uk

Secretary, Intercessors’ Rota: Maggie Butcher; Secretary, Readers’ Rota: Diane Crocker; Children’s Champion: Vacancy; Pastoral Auxiliary and Welcomers’ Rota: Laura Hamilton; Safeguarding Officer: Jane Preest; Head Server: Meg Stewart; Web Ministry: Hugh Valentine; Volunteer receptionists: Sarah Baxter, Robert Bell, Richard Cutler, Robert Duirs, Laura Hamilton, Jocelyn Henry, Ceinwen Sanderson.

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Financials

Simon Stedman BA Hons ACA, PCC Honorary TreasurerThe financial results of the Parochial Church Council (PCC) are presented in the Annual Financial Statements for 2014. These accounts show that:• Church income from planned giving and collections rose by 7% from £111,467 during 2013

to £119,248 in 2014, including an increase of just over 7% in Planned Giving. Many thanks to those members of the community who give to St James’ through the Planned Giving scheme. The proportion of staff salaries now covered by regular giving has increased from 63% to 65%. This figure is important, because it shows to what extent we can employ staff knowing that their salaries are covered by regular committed giving. My sincere thanks to Maggie Butcher who took over as Planned Giving coordinator during the year.

• In addition to our regular income we received a legacy of £15,116 during the year.• Other income generated by our buildings rose by 3.7% during 2014, thanks in particular to an

increase in concerts income, lettings from the basement rooms and the Wren flat, which was occupied throughout the year. Many thanks to Costas Benopoulos-Jones our market manager and the market traders, David McCleery who took over as our concerts manager during the year along with his team and the Vergers team who look after basement room bookings for the way in which their efforts support the community financially. The total financial contribution from ‘trading activities’ during the year was £409,024 (2013 - £392,907) and the PCC is reliant on this to cover the contribution the PCC makes to the Diocesan fund, maintaining the fabric of the church, and supporting the Ministry costs of the church’s mission.

• On the expenditure side, the overall cost of running the ministry of the church rose during the year from £605,857 to £820,516, however almost all of this increase was due to the cost of replacing the Piccadilly Wall, and when this is excluded the cost of church activities rose 3.2%. Most categories of expenditure were in line with previous years, but the following should be noted:• Improvements in the way in which we communicate with those around us through the Friends

diary and 197 Piccadilly have led to higher costs• Costs of running the Winter Night Shelter fell compared to last year, thanks mainly to so

much being given by local businesses. At 31st December 2014 there was a surplus in the Winter Night Shelter fund of £17,292, and although some of this has been used during the winter months to run the Winter Night Shelter, there remained a significant surplus at the end of March 2015. Therefore alternative ways of using these funds to assist people who are homeless are being explored. In March 2015 a donation of £5,000 was made to the Westminster Night Shelter to enable them to provide micro loans to suitable clients who need deposits for rooms or a flat. This is a new venture for the WNS and I will report in due course on how successful this has been.

• Expenditure on the garden has increased significantly compared to 2013. We are very fortunate to have Catherine Tidman working for the community, looking after our garden, and transforming it into such a beautiful and hospitable space. Much of the cost of the garden upkeep was covered by a grant during 2013, but when this ran out, the PCC decided to continue maintaining the garden to the same level.

• Overall the General Fund net surplus (income less expenditure) during the year was £8,674 (2013 - £3,719) before transfers between funds. In addition, the decision was made to close the asset replacement fund and transfer the balance of £12,432 into the General Fund. This fund was originally set up to replace the IT system within the church offices which has since been

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done. The General Fund therefore has risen from £242,062 to £263,650 for use in future years, a level that meets Charity Commission recommendations relating to financial prudence.

• The balance sheet shows that cash balances held during the year fell from £1,133,335 at the end of 2013 to £952,590 at the end of 2014, largely as the result of money being spent on the Piccadilly Wall that had been given during 2013.

• The ‘bottom’ of the balance sheet – showing how the available funds of the church are allocated – are organised according to Accounting Principles for Charity accounts into two types, ‘Unrestricted Funds’ and ‘Restricted Funds’.

• ‘Unrestricted Funds’ – as the name suggests - represent assets that the PCC can use at its own discretion and are organised as follows:• General Purposes Fund is there for the day to day running of the church and during the year

the balance on this fund increased from £242,062 to £263,650. This represents around 6 months worth of running costs for St James’ and is in line with recommended practice for charities.

• Winter Shelter fund – the money that is allocated towards maintaining the work of the Winter night shelter project. Any money that is specifically donated or raised for this work is included in this fund. At 31st December 2014, the balance of this fund stood at £17,292 (2013 - £8,576)

• Designated Building Repairs Fund – as opposed to the ‘Restricted Building Repairs fund’ (see below), this is the pot of money that is allocated by the PCC towards larger restoration or repair projects of the church and surrounding buildings. After expenditure on the Piccadilly Wall during the year, the balance on this fund decreased from £121,803 to £34,700. The PCC consider that this is sufficient to cover any emergency repairs that may occur during the year, given that full restoration of the church is planned to commence in the near future.

• ‘Restricted Funds’ represent money that has been given to the PCC on the condition that it is used for specific purposes and these are organised in to the following funds:• Restricted Building Repairs Fund. This represents money that has been given in the past

on the condition that it is used specifically towards building repairs and during the year the balance dropped from £91,288 to £205. Almost the whole of this fund was used during 2014 to pay for the work on the Piccadilly wall.

• Church Restoration Fund represents all the money that has been given specifically towards the restoration of St James’ less any expenditure directly attributable to this project. During the year £9,969 was raised and added to the fund and £48,219 was spent on the preparatory work that is being done for the project. The balance therefore decreased during the year from £725,153 to £686,903.

• Organ Appeal Fund. This represents monies that have been given in the past specifically to pay for the restoration costs of the organ as and when the PCC is in a position to carry this out. There was no movement on the fund during the year.

The PCC runs its main banking activity with the Cooperative Bank, but for operational reasons continues to hold small balances with Barclays and HSBC. Banking arrangements continue to be the subject of much discussion in the PCC.Finally, I would like to express my thanks to Chris Rogers, our Finance Manager, for the diligence and hard work he puts into looking after the finances day-to-day of St James’s Piccadilly with such cheerfulness.

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Copies of St James’s full Report & Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2014 are available from the PCC Secretary, and, in due course, St James’s website and that of the Charity Commission.

Financials

Total Incoming Resources£872,344

Total Resources Expended£1,074,826

Voluntary Income includes:Planned Giving £83,360(and Gift Aid)Collections £35,888Collection Boxes £42,708(and sundry donations) Trusts £7,230Winter Shelter £13,493Legacies £15,116

Income from use of premises includes:Market rents £331,241Cafe £76,500Concerts £135,647Church, Church Hall £71,778 and Rectory

Cost of generating funds from use of premises includes: Market £152,773 Concerts £67,880

Church activities includes:Staff Costs £258,906Common Fund £92,638Repairs/maintenance £30,321Utilities £19,945Insurance £23,775Depreciation £31,283Away Giving £14,150Winter Shelter £4,777

203,448  

3,042  

5,267  

652,768  

7,809  Voluntary  income  

Ac:vi:es  for  genera:ng  funds  

Income  from  investments  

Income  from  use  of  premises  

Income  from  church  ac:vi:es  

628  

238,394  

820,516  

15,288  

Cost  of  genera6ng  voluntary  income  

Costs  of  genera6ng  funds  from  use  of  premises  

Church  ac6vi6es  

Governance  costs  

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SUMMARY STATEMENTS OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES Year end 31st December 2012

2013

2014

£

£

£

Income Voluntary income 233,307

748,375

203,448

Activities for generating funds 2,816

1,428

3,042 Income from investments 4,548

6,001

5,267

Income from use of premises 633,872

629,654

652,768 Income from church activities 6,019

8,195

7,809

Total Income 880,562

1,393,653

872,334

Expenditure Cost of generating voluntary income 677

810

628

Fundraising costs 1,211

-

- Costs of generating funds from use of premises 223,160

231,397

238,394

Church activities 617,087

605,857

820,516 Governance costs 17,957

16,310

15,288

Total Expenditure 860,092

854,374

1,074,826

Net Incoming/(Outgoing) resources before other recognised gains and losses 20,470

539,279

(202,492)

Gain/(Loss) on investments 732

947

482

Net movement in funds 21,202

540,226

(202,010)

Fund balances brought forward 649,154

670,356

1,210,582

Fund balances carried forward 670,356

1,210,582

1,008,572

SUMMARY BALANCE SHEETS AT 31st DECEMBER

2012

2013

2014

£

£

£

FIXED ASSETS 42,962

75,319

51,965

CURRENT ASSETS Stock -

-

-

Debtors 50,206

70,805

53,950 Total Cash 605,774

1,133,335

952,590

655,980

1,204,140

1,006,540

CURRENT LIABILITIES Loan -

-

-

Creditors and Accruals 28,586

68,877

49,933

28,586

68,877

49,933

NET CURRENT ASSETS 627,394

1,135,263

956,607

TOTAL ASSETS LESS CURRENT LIABILITIES 670,356

1,210,582

1,008,572

LIABILITY: Loan falling due after more than one year -

-

-

NET ASSETS 670,356

1,210,582

1,008,572

FINANCED BY: Unrestricted Income Funds 306,796

388,319

315,642

Restricted Income Funds 363,560

822,263

692,930

670,356

1,210,582

1,008,572

 

Voluntary Income includes:Planned Giving £83,360(and Gift Aid)Collections £35,888Collection Boxes £42,708(and sundry donations) Trusts £7,230Winter Shelter £13,493Legacies £15,116

Income from use of premises includes:Market rents £331,241Cafe £76,500Concerts £135,647Church, Church Hall £71,778 and Rectory

Cost of generating funds from use of premises includes: Market £152,773 Concerts £67,880

Church activities includes:Staff Costs £258,906Common Fund £92,638Repairs/maintenance £30,321Utilities £19,945Insurance £23,775Depreciation £31,283Away Giving £14,150Winter Shelter £4,777

30

Room Hire

St James’s Church is a renowned concert venue and is available for hire. Additionally, in the Rectory building we have a conference room, perfect for meetings, presentations, press launches, workshops and rehearsals, and also a further meeting room for smaller events. These two spaces are adjoining and can be opened up into one big room for larger scale events. Because of our central London location, we have a very broad client base ranging from TV and theatre production companies to commercial businesses, independent practitioners, NGOs and charities. If you’re thinking or arranging an event or looking for space for regular meetings, why not give us a try?

The Meeting Room measures 7.5m x 5m (26ft x 16ft) and can accommodate 40 theatre-style, 18 classroom-style or 16 boardroom-style.

For information on hire of our facilities, please contact:- Chris Davies, VergerTel: 0207 734 4865Email: roomhire@sjp.org.uk

The Conference Room measures 10m x 7.5m (30ft x 25ft) and can accommodate 50-60 theatre-style, 30 classroom-style, 30-boardroom style. The room also has a Yamaha Grand Piano.

Getting Involved

Planned GivingIf you attend St James’s regularly or occasionally and are willing to support us, please consider planned giving. Planned Giving is the means by which members of the community can show their commitment. And its done automatically, usually by standing order. It simply means giving a regular sum. However little or much, it is always gratefully received. St James’s is an employer, a business and registered charity as well as a Church and cannot function without money. By being regular, Planned Giving helps us know what the church income will be, and that allows us to plan ahead. And if you are a UK tax payer, it also allows you to increase the value of your gift at no extra cost to you.If you wish to start, vary or stop planned giving, please contact Maggie Butcher, Planned Giving Co-ordinator,or write to us at:Planned GivingSt James’s Church197 Piccadilly London W1J 9LL

Finding out moreIf you would like to find out more about St James’s, why not visit us?. Our doors are open from 8.00am to 7.00pm, and sometimes later when concerts are taking place.Further information about our activities, including a monthly diary of events, can also be found on our website:- www.sjp.org.uk

How to find us

Our websiteRevd Hugh ValentineThe St James’s website is rare amongst parish sites because it is updated virtually every day and carries a constantly changing content. It is managed in-house, something which not only saves money but also means we can determine the tone without relying on a third party. Visitor numbers remain fairly constant year-by-year: we average 1400 page views a day (511,000 a year) and 375 ‘unique visitors’ a day (137,000 a year). This means that our web presence is a significant part of our identify, conveying various things to interested visitors: something about our community, approach to faith, tolerance of diversity (indeed, our delight in it), our liturgy, values, interests and aspirations. Subscriptions to our eNews mailing are handled via the site. We currently have c. 1600 people on the list. Mail-outs are typically opened by between 600-800 of these recipients (a common rate for such things). Many of the news items posted to our site are also automatically tweeted.

to landfill

St James’s Church197 PiccadillyLondonW1J 9LL020 7734 4511

Charity number 1133048