The Easter Vestry and Annual Church Meeting took place on Monday 7th April 2003 attracting a good attendance. The following persons were elected to serve for the forthcoming year:-
CHURCHWARDEN
Mr Peter Haddleton
DEANERY SYNOD REPRESENTATIVES
Mrs Elizabeth Blakey
Mr Eric Jones
Mr Peter Oldfield
MEMBERS OF THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL
Mrs Vera Agar Mrs Margaret Aspinall Mrs Elizabeth Blakey*
Mrs Lorna Carter Mrs Ann Clark Mrs Hillary Dyson
Mrs Davina Hawkyard Mrs Jean Lawson Mrs Elsie Merrick
Mrs Emma Pearson Mrs Krystyna Primrose Mrs Doreen Smith
Mrs Gillian Turner Mr Peter Dyson Mr Ben Heath
Mr Eric Jones* Mr Arthur Marshall Mr Peter Oldfield*
Mr Sean Primrose
* Deanery Synod Representatives are Ex Officio Members of the PCC
SIDESPERSONS
Mrs Vera Agar Miss Ann Bond Mrs Ann Clark
Mrs Pamela Emms Mrs Brigid Jones Mrs Jean Lawson
Mrs Elsie Merrick Mrs Emma Pearson Miss Christine Sharp
Mrs Valerie Trigg Mrs Pam Withey Mrs Barbara Worthington
Mr Brian Emms Mr Ben Heath Mr Eric Jones
Mr Arthur Nicholas Mr Peter Oldfield Mr Gary Pearson
At the Parochial Church Council Meeting immediately afterwards the following Officers were elected:-
Lay Chairman - Peter Haddleton
Secretary - Sean Primrose
Treasurer - Elizabeth Blakey
Planned Giving Secretary - Arthur Marshall
Deputy Churchwarden - Eric Jones

The year 2002/2003 was certainly eventful and, at times, traumatic. Throughout the greater part of the year we were plagued with continued vandalism which was at one point occurring on a weekly basis. The extent of this vandalism was, to say the least, horrific. The other major item for concern was, and still is, the South Graveyard as Colin mentions in his letter.

The Church could not survive without the financial support of you, the Parishioners, and we are extremely grateful for the massive response to our Stewardship Appeal in 2002 where an additional £10,000 was pledged. As you will already have read in Elizabeth's article, the sum of £968 is required each week to enable the Church to continue operating, a truly daunting figure! Elizabeth does a sterling job as Treasurer, which is not without its worries, and we are deeply indebted to her. Sean Primrose carries out his duties as Secretary in an exemplary manner and his minutes are impeccable. For the first time in memory only one Churchwarden was nominated and appointed at the Easter Vestry Meeting. This is perhaps a sign of the times where people live busy lives and feel unable or unwilling to burden themselves with the responsibilities attached to the position of Churchwarden. Nevertheless we will press on ably assisted by Eric Jones who has played a valuable part in his role as Deputy Churchwarden. However, it should be remembered that a Churchwarden is limited to the time that he/she can serve, also there is the problem of cover for holidays and illness. It is therefore essential to find suitable volunteers who would be prepared to train to become Churchwardens in the future.

The observant will notice that Arthur Marshall has a new title. With the demise of Covenants he has been re-designated "Planned Giving Secretary". Everyone who knows Arthur is aware that his service to St. John's extends well beyond the remit of that title and we are grateful that, despite his recent illness, he continues to work tirelessly for the Church. Whilst on the subject of illness, we are amazed and delighted that Colin Briggs overcame so quickly the very serious illness that he sustained, and is back playing the organ for us each week as if nothing had happened. Even though his beloved pipe organ is out of action at present, during the refurbishment, he manages to make the little Yamaha organ, brought in to fill the gap, sound impressively good. Good organists are hard to come by and we are grateful to have both Colin and John Hewitt who is a tower of strength at the service of Evensong. It is an unfortunate fact of life that it is becoming increasingly difficult for Churches to maintain choirs and recruit choristers and in fact many Churches are no longer able to maintain a choir. We are therefore lucky to have our Choir to lead us on the first Sunday in the month, at Festivals and other special occasions. Thanks also go to our dedicated group of Bell Ringers.
Krystyna Primrose does a superb job of running the Crèche along with her helpers and we are indebted to her for her initiative and dedication.

Davina Hawkyard, our Verger, continues to do an excellent job and it is reassuring to know that she is always at hand and very willing to offer help and assistance.

We are extremely grateful to all those who give up their time to come to clean the Church and tend the gardens. The "Get Togethers" form an important part of the social life of the Church and we are grateful to Elsie Merrick for finding the artists to entertain us and to Jean Lawson and her band of helpers who provide such excellent refreshments, not forgetting the bar staff. Particular thanks go to Jim Newbold for his assistance in making the posts for the notices that you see around the Churchyard and to Ben Heath who assisted in the cordoning off of the graveyard. Ron Aspinall has put a lot of effort into repairing damage to the electrical fittings following the vandalism. Thanks also to Peter Oldfield who has provided assistance on several occasions and is always willing to come along at short notice to give a helping hand. Our thanks go to everyone who has in any way helped the Church over the last year.

Finally, we would like to thank The Reverend Kathryn Fitzsimons who is the Urban Ministry Officer for the Diocese of Ripon and Leeds. Kathryn lives in the parish and in recent months has provided valuable assistance to the Vicar at services.
Peter Haddleton (Churchwarden)

Sidespersons Rota

1st & last name for Morning, middle name for Evening
May Pam Withey Ann Clark Val Trigg
Jun Brian Emms Arthur Nicholas Pamela Emms
Jul Brigid Jones Ben Heath Vera Agar
Aug Christine Sharp Ann Clark Barbara Worthington
Sep Anne Bond Arthur Nicholas Elsie Merrick
Oct Jean Lawson Gary Pearson Emma Pearson
Nov Pam Withey Ann Clark Peter Oldfield
Dec Anne Bond Arthur Nicholas Barbara Worthington
Jan 2004 Brigid Jones Ben Heath Christine Sharp
Feb Jean Lawson Gary Pearson Elsie Merrick
Mar Peter Oldfield Ann Clark Vera Agar
Apl Brigid Jones Arthur Nicholas Emma Pearson
All Sidesperson may find it useful to retain this page for future reference.