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2022-12-31-accounts

2022 Annual Report and Financial Statements of the Parochial Church Council for the Annual Parochial Church Meeting to be held in St. John’s Church at 8pm on Tuesday 25th April 2023 THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND Registered Charity Number 1127318 ST JOHN THE BAPTIST CHURCH NEW ALRESFORD 7

The church of St John the Baptist, New Alresford, serves as a witness to the Glory of God in the community by:-

celebrating the life of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit

through worship, prayer and service

caring about one another in Christ

through welcoming, fellowship and pastoral visiting, healing, and the recognition of personal gifts

cultivating personal growth in Christ

through prayer, bible study, preaching and the Sacraments

communicating Christ to our community and to the wider world

through example, teaching, support and co-operation

THE ANNUAL MEETING

Tuesday April 25th 2023 In the Church, at 8pm

This report is sent out as early as possible firstly, to invite you to come to the meeting and secondly, to give you an opportunity to read the articles included before the meeting so that you may have time to consider the questions you may wish to ask, further to the report.

At this meeting, we shall be electing, or re-electing, two Churchwardens to serve for the year to April 2024.

We shall also be electing or re-electing members to the PCC including Deanery Synod representatives. Anyone retiring and wishing to stand again is subject to election on the same terms as anyone else. The PCC meets up to 6 times a year, normally on the second Tuesday of alternate months, and is responsible for wide-ranging decisions on church life at St. John’s.

Those who are proposed for election must be on the Church Electoral Roll, be regular communicants, and be over the age of 16. It is also desirable that they share the vision of the Church of England as an organisation that shares Christ’s concern for the world and ministers to the whole community. If you wish to nominate someone, please be sure you believe they are suitable to serve and that they are willing to do so.

The PCC delegates much of its work to the Standing Committee and to various teams and groups, whose range of recent activity is described in this report. PCC members are encouraged to serve on these teams together with members of the congregation.

Included below are reports from several committees and groups which are broadly connected with the wider work and mission of St John’s Church, but whose financial activities are entirely independent of the accounts of the PCC. They are included here for the general information and interest of those on the electoral roll and the wider community.

David Carr

PCC Secretary

We hope you will be able to attend the annual meeting.

REPORT OF THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL

The Parochial Church Council (PCC) is statutorily required by the provisions of the Charities Acts 1993 and 2011, and the Church Accounting Regulations, to produce an Annual Report. The name of the Parish is St. John the Baptist in the Benefice of The Arle Valley. It is part of the Diocese of Winchester within the Church of England. The church is situated adjacent to West Street in New Alresford. Correspondence should be addressed to The Churchwardens, c/o The Parish Office, St. John the Baptist Church, West St., Alresford, SO24 9AG.

The PCC is a charity registered with the Charity Commission under No.1127318

PCC members who have served from 1[st] January 2022 until the date this report was approved are:

Rector The Rev’d Heather Brearey

Wardens

Jane Parsons; Rosie Waring-Green (both re-elected from 26/4/22)

Elected Representatives on the Deanery Synod :

Barbara Griffiths Sue Clarke Rosie Waring-Green Miranda Pinch

(All immediately above elected October 2020)

Elected members:

Pearl Page (re-elected April 2022) Greville Dawson Rex Corfield (re-elected April 2022) Maureen Skayman (re-elected April 2022) Charlotte Ryton Janet Pooley Noelle Nutman Colin Scott-Morton Caroline Wheeler (elected April 2022) Jackie Connell (elected April 2022)

Co-opted members: David Carr (Secretary), re-appointed May 2022 Jonathan Whale (Treasurer), re-appointed May 2022 Ian Waring-Green (re-appointed May 2022)

The method of appointment of PCC members is set out in the Church Representation Rules. All Church attendees are encouraged to register on the Electoral Roll and stand for election to the PCC.

St. John’s PCC has the responsibility of co-operating with the Rector in promoting in the ecclesiastical parish the whole mission of the Church--Pastoral, Evangelistic, Social and Ecumenical.

The Council appoints a number of groups and committees that meet regularly during the course of the year and to which much of the detailed work is delegated. These have special responsibilities for issues including such activities as Ministry, Worship, World (Outreach), Catering, Fabric and Finance. Representatives are also elected to Churches Together in Alresford.

The number on the Electoral Roll as reported by the Electoral Roll Officer at the Annual Meeting on the 26[th] April 2022 was 226, (2021-217). The average number of usual Sunday service attendees was 67, plus a large number of attendees online.

In 2022 the PCC met formally six times. During the course of the year the Council covered a wide range of topics in addition to attending to the normal business pertaining to the management of the parish. Various events, activities and initiatives taken throughout the year are covered in the individual reports that follow. The Standing Committee met formally five times in the year and in addition dealt with the many day-to-day tasks necessary in running St. John’s.

St. Johns, in common with all other churches, had been greatly impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. Every one of our normal activities was adversely affected, and we had been unable to progress with many of the plans and initiatives which we had hoped to undertake. The life of the church reduced to almost the bare minimum of keeping some form of service pattern in being, and maintaining access for private prayer. Thankfully, these restrictions were lifted and we have been able to return to almost normal conditions, for example commencing several new house groups and planning an Alpha course. In parallel this involved an extremely large amount of time and effort, by many people, in keeping in touch with parishioners and trying to offer help and assistance where required. Services, meetings, planning and many other arrangements have had to be carried out on-line, using especially the Zoom facility and on-line broadcasting. A large number of people have stepped forward to offer their time and resources in these matters, and we are extremely grateful for all their efforts.

The PCC has complied with the duties under section 5 of the Safeguarding and Clergy Discipline Measure 2016; the UK General Data Protection Regulations and the Data Protection Act 2018; and the regulations regarding photography and filming in Church.

As in previous years, the PCC gave a significant proportion of its voluntary income to world, national and local charities, and also raised and donated other one-off amounts.

The PCC has been concerned for some time with the need for increased stewardship income, as reflected in the Treasurer’s reporting, and we continue to search for a suitable individual, team and means to manage and expand this activity.

St. John’s is a fully participating member of Churches Together in Alresford. The PCC would like to thank the Licensed Lay Ministers for all their work and support during the year.

On a personal note, later this year I am stepping down from the post of PCC Secretary after 10 years--hence this will be my final Annual Report. I would like to thank all past and present members of the PCC, Standing Committee, and contributors to the Report, for their cooperation in carrying out the many and varied duties of the role.

David Carr

PCC Secretary

MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL PAROCHIAL CHURCH MEETING

Held on Tuesday 26[th] April 2022 at 8pm in the Church

Present: 68 parishioners Apologies: Received from 5 people

The Rector welcomed everyone and opened the meeting with prayers.

Election of Churchwardens

David Carr reported that Jane Parsons and Rosie Waring-Green had been duly proposed and seconded for election, and there were no further nominations. They were duly elected, welcomed with applause and thanked for their work over the year. Jane passed on Rosie’s apologies for not being able to attend.

Approval of Minutes of the 2021 APCM

The Minutes had been circulated, with the Annual Report, prior to the meeting. The Minutes were duly approved by the meeting and signed by David Carr (as temporary Chair of the 2021 meeting) as a true record.

Matters arising

Following a query, Jon Whale reported that the issue of the need for increased Stewardship, noted in the annual Report, was still to be dealt with.

Election of PCC Members

David Carr reported that Pearl Page, Maureen Skayman and Rex Corfield had completed their three year terms, and were standing again. Two new nominations had been received from Jackie Connell and Caroline Wheeler. All five had been duly proposed and seconded, and there were no further nominations. As the number of candidates was less than the places available all were elected unanimously and welcomed with applause.

Electoral Roll

Janet Pooley reported that there were 226 parishioners on the Roll, compared with 217 the previous year. She thanked the previous Electoral Roll Officers, Greville Dawson and David Griffiths, for the help and advice received.

Annual PCC Report

David Carr reported that this had already been accepted and approved by the PCC on March 15 2022. There were no questions or comments. David was thanked for his efforts and the Report was accepted by the meeting.

Financial Report and Annual Accounts y/e December 31 2021

The Rector reported that these had already been accepted and approved by the PCC on March 15 2022. The Treasurer, Jon Whale, gave a short presentation on the accounts, emphasizing that, as previously, even though we were in surplus thanks to legacies (in particular that received from the Diverall estate), generous responses to appeals and the recovery of Gift Aid, there was a continuing need for increased regular income. We had received generous support from the Friends of St. John’s of more than £7k, which was acknowledged with thanks. We had donated large amounts of our discretionary income to our supported charities and had donated more than requested to the Church Mission Fund. Jon thanked all those in the Finance team for their work and support over the year, mentioning Margaret, Caroline, Colin and Penny. Considerable thanks were due to

Dennis Bignell for his accounting expertise. Dennis had now retired, and a suitable gift was being organised for him. Following Dennis’ retirement, with the lack of another volunteer, the church’s financial affairs were having to be split between three people. There were no questions or comments, and the financial records were accepted by the meeting, with thanks to Jon for his efforts.

Terrier and Inventory Report

Janet Pooley gave a brief presentation on what was contained in these public records— building, land, contents including such items as plate, documents, kitchen and office equipment etc. She reported that the Terrier was complete and the acceptance certificate would be signed and completed. The only changes from last year were that several items had been added.

Deanery Synod Report

The Rector said that Barbara Griffiths’ report on proceedings was included in the Annual Report. There were no comments or questions.

Rector’s Update

Heather said that she had published a short item in the Annual Report regarding her time since her appointment in November-not yet six months ago. Since then, she had been delighted with the warmth of the welcome she had received, thanked everyone for their work and enthusiasm, and had progressed with a very large amount of work in and around Alresford and the Benefice. Contact with all the schools had been established and she was now a Trustee at Perin’s and has a seat on the Local Advisory Board. This had borne fruit in such things as the Experience Easter project with more than 200 children attending. She had been concentrating on the Review of Services across the Benefice, and there were many things to be carefully considered now, including the issue of Music provision and participation. We needed important posts to be filled e.g. Assistant Treasurer and Magazine Editor, and she asked for volunteers to step forward. She thanked especially the Churchwardens, Ministry team, Penny Forbes, Dennis Bignell and all those who had contributed to making her time in Alresford so inspiring, including contact with our previous Rectors Graham Trasler and Phil Collins. She looked forward with great enthusiasm to the coming years and prayed for God’s work to continue in the Benefice. She was thanked by applause and by compliments from Jill and Terry Coombes.

AOB

No items were raised.

Presentation—the World Team

Sue Greenway presented a summary with graphics of the projects which St. John’s supports: Pannai Family Farm and Shanthigrammam Leprosy Village in Tamil Nahdu (India), Church Mission Society work in South Sudan (Lyn Treneary, our sponsored representative), the Mar Elias Educational Institute in Israel (Abuna Elias Chacour) and the Michael Project in Zimbabwe. She was thanked with applause for all the team’s work.

Commissioning Prayer

The Rector distributed the text of this which was read aloud by all, and the meeting ended with the Blessing.

The meeting ended at 8.45 pm and the social gathering commenced.

RECTOR’S REPORT

Every annual report is out of date before it is written, let alone presented to an annual meeting. Saying that, annual reports give a useful summary of how things have been and how we have arrived at a present moment in time, and I thank everyone who has contributed to the report and to the activities described in it. The report is, I hope, encouraging, and it suggests that we move forward through 2023 and into the future from a secure base

When I wrote my very short report last year and we looked forward to this year, I don’t think anyone expected quite the year we would have. I wrote in last year’s report;

My hope is that we will now enter a time of stability. Having been appointed as your Rector I want to assure you of my intention to be with you for a long time. May we move forward together with love and unity. Nothing is taken for granted and nothing will be achieved without God’s help and blessing. As psalm 18 says, ‘You are my mighty rock, my fortress, my protector, the rock where I am safe, my shield, my powerful weapon and my place of shelter.’ In His hands we proceed.

I believe that we have had a year of stability in our Benefice.

To try and cover everything would be impossible so here is an ABC of highlights

Alresford Old not New – Has been blessed with their focal minister in her first year in the role, a new Village Family Praise service is proving to be popular. They have enjoyed Beacon lighting, visits from Mothers Union groups, and a scrummy Harvest lunch in the spectacular Pinglestone barn.

Bighton – Has been blessed with their Focal minister in his first year in this new role, they enjoyed a summer fete, Father Christmas and an amazing nativity.

Church Wardens – We are fortunate to have the most amazing Church wardens and Verger in this Benefice, and I thank each one of you for your hard work and dedication throughout 2022.

Deanery – We are a small Deanery but with a big heart. Meetings have been productive the walk to Winchester was enjoyed by many we look forward to forging links with another Diocese in Rwanda in 2023.

Easter – We zoomed for Compline in Holy week, had Tenebrae and Taize for Maundy Thursday, Good Friday walk of witness with CTIA, an hour at the cross, we re-introduced the dawn service with breakfast afterwards which we will repeat in 2023. Culminating in four Easter Eucharist’s in each church and Egg hunts.

Food – Cakes everywhere at the Watercress Festival, we were packed at St John’s as the only indoor place to be! It was lovely to be able to give hospitality to all. We live up to our Church of England reputation by having Cake at every opportunity. Soup and Pancakes in Lent, and wonderful Harvest Lunches/suppers across the Benefice were also enjoyed.

Gift from St John’s – Another chance to give to our communities, with craft, food, hot drinks including the much appreciated coffee donated by Coffee#1, very many more people than last year came through our doors resulting in many good conversations about life and faith.

Hymns and Pimms , Ovington and Itchen Stoke had a successful time of singing in the summer and again in winter with Carol singing in both villages.

I is not in team – One of the most positive attributes of our Benefice is that we are one team. We may do things differently in each parish, but we do work well together. As Rector I am particularly grateful for the team of Church Wardens and our Ministry Team who I meet with regularly.

Jubilee – We certainly celebrated our late Queens Jubilee. The most wonderful display in St Mary’s Church, followed by lighting of the Beacon drew huge numbers of people. Bighton and Ovington had big parties in the villages, St John’s had a service with obligatory tea and cake afterwards.

King – Although in sad circumstances we had a new Monarch ascend to the throne. We prayed in our churches for King Charles III. This also raised a problem of having our Book of Common Prayer books reprinted to reflect the new monarch. Books that have been in our churches for 70 years!

Lent and love – We joined together for our Lent course, looking at Jesus from birth to Resurrection and everything in between, illustrated with pictures of The Holy Land. We have grown together in love as a Benefice with joint services and events. We will build on this as we move forward.

Monday Meet and Eat - welcomes families for play and a free hot meal. This is not only a Benefice initiative but ecumenical with our brothers and sisters in Christ from CTIA.

New Alresford – Summer fun and the light party were held in St Johns, we have also added 2 new house groups to our 4 already thriving groups. The graveyard has been tidied twice but continues to cause us concern over the cost of keeping it tidy for all who visit. We need to be creative to find a solution to managing the maintenance.

Occasional offices – We have baptised 14 children, married 11 couples and looked after many grieving families when loved ones have died. We are thankful for our Licensed lay ministers who have helped with funerals and thankful for our pastoral support team and bereavement team who have given care to many in our community. PCC’s – We are blessed with four PCC’s with many wonderful volunteers attending our regular meetings and sharing wisdom in decisions made on matters of general concerns and importance for each parish. Thank you to each and every member of our PCC’s. We do have spaces and indeed a need if as you read this you feel called to serve on the PCC in your parish. Minimum age is 16yrs and there is no maximum age!

Queen – In September we had the devastating news that our beloved monarch, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II had died. We immediately arranged to gather as a community to grieve together and we were assisted at our special service by members of Alresford Community choir, who have also sung for us at other services this year and we hope to grow this relationship. We were pleased to be able to show the funeral of our late Queen on the big screen in St John’s, we plan to do the same for the Coronation of King Charles III in May.

Rota Review - We began 2022 with a review of our service rota, which concluded with a rota that works well for each parish and a fair distribution of my time and presence in each church. We are all part of the body of Christ and for me that means being relational. I have devoted a huge amount of time meeting with as many people as possible, parishioners in all 4 parishes as well as organisations. A list too long to include but many hundreds of people.

Schools – I am a Trustee for Perins multi academy Trust and spend time in Perins and Sunhill Junior School. I lead assemblies in the junior school each term and we were thrilled to have the infant and junior school come into church a class at a time to ‘Experience Easter’.

Together we are stronger – A little bit cheesy but I do believe that the more we work together in our Benefice, in our teams and with each other the stronger we will be to do God’s work. We are all Disciples of Christ, we follow Jesus and his command ‘Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.’ There is much love within our Benefice which will help us to commit to growing the Kingdom of God as we have been commissioned to do in the words of the great Commission to Go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you.

Ukraine – The War in Ukraine shocked the world. The Christian world responded with prayer and practical support. Bighton collected vast amounts of clothing and other necessary items. We prayed for the people of Ukraine and for peace at the beginning of every service. We continue to pray every day for the war in Ukraine to stop. The ribbons on a tree in the graveyard of St John’s remind all who see them to persist in prayer.

Re V eiw – (allow me this for V!) We have reviewed some things throughout the year, including our energy use and not least we reviewed the salary we pay to our administrator. This resulted in a much deserved pay rise for Penny

WWW – not the World Wide Web but Winter Wednesdays Warm, Welcome! We have opened our doors to those in need of warmth, a cuppa and company, although we ensure that the doors are actually closed to keep the warmth in! St Mary’s have followed with a monthly coffee morning in The Christy hall. Both these initiatives are finding their feet and providing a welcome to all.

Xcellent Bells! – We are so fortunate to not only have bells in our churches but to have a truly wonderful team of ringers. Our bell ringers have had a busy year as detailed in their report, we are very grateful for all their ringing.

Young people – We restarted Chill Chat and Chomp on Wednesday afternoons which does exactly what it says, along with Our place on a Sunday as a more lively youth group. We are excited to see what the Lord has planned for our young people in 2023.

Zzz – On the 7[th] day God rested. Jesus also talked about the importance of rest. We all need to make time to rest in God’s loving embrace, some of us are not as good as others in doing this and 2023 needs to be a year to improve this!!

The ABC of 2023!

But the year will be remembered acutely as the year we lost our longest reigning monarch

The death of our Queen was shocking and upsetting, along with an unsettling time in the leadership of our government, we as a country felt a little adrift. We as Christians clung tightly to our Rock, Our God, who held us all.

As we look ahead we have the Coronation of our new monarch His Majesty King Charles III, a time to celebrate and to hold him and our country in prayer as we move into a new period in our Country’s history. It has been a privilege and a joy to minister among you and to share ministry with you.

No annual report can effectively communicate everything a parish does within a year. There are countless acts of ministry that go unnoticed, and many efforts that fail to receive thanks. Suffice it to say, I am grateful for every member of each of our churches who works to make Our Benefice so vibrant and healthy.

So, my challenge at the end of our Annual Meetings is this, that as we learn to live with Covid, a rising cost of living crisis and a world at war with itself, we work out together how we can share the love of Christ more effectively. I’ll end by saying that I hope that everyone, I do mean everyone, will at least try to pray more regularly, come to worship more often and volunteer to help. Each of us has something to give, however small or inadequate we feel that might be. The list of the ways in which everyone can play their part is almost limitless. And as psalm 18 says:

‘You are my mighty rock, my fortress, my protector, the rock where I am safe, my shield, my powerful weapon and my place of shelter.’ In His hands we proceed.

May God bless us all in our endeavours to play our part in making sure that every member of our community in The Arle Valley Benefice encounters the love of God in Christ.

Reverend Heather Brearey – Rector. 29[th] January 2023

CHURCHWARDENS’ REPORT

After the emergence of a worrying Covid variant in January, our year eventually settled to its more familiar routine, and Heather began an extensive Benefice wide consultation on service patterns. The results proved reassuring and only a few changes were necessary to meet people’s needs and preferences as far as was possible. Regular meetings between the Benefice Churchwardens and Heather have been instigated, which we all find useful in cementing good communications and relationships between the four parishes. The Lent course held both at St John’s and St Mary’s provided different times of day when all four villages could benefit from the Rector’s experiences in the Holy Land, and the traditional rotation of 5[th] Sunday services around our four churches also gave everyone an opportunity to join together. Do please contact the wardens if you need transport to any services or courses.

Easter brought a chance to offer our primary school children and the wider community an Easter Experience, with stations around the church telling the Easter story in a sensory way which was truly full of impact. Manned by our willing volunteers the experience brought many into St John’s, and we can only thank everyone who has made all our church’s outreach possible this year by bringing their skills, warmth and talents to the many initiatives undertaken. St John’s Café at the Watercress Festival, Summer Fun, Ride ‘n Stride, the Scarecrow Festival are events where we have all pulled together, and there are also myriad jobs being done quietly throughout the year by volunteers who keep everything running smoothly. Thank you all.

2022 has been a difficult time for many in our community with soaring costs of living, and St John’s has shown hospitality hosting the Monday Meet and Eat and Winter Wednesdays Warm Welcome projects. Thank you everyone who continues to provide these welcoming respites. On the theme of hospitality, we hosted overnight a group of pilgrims who were all in varying stages of Christian study at Waverley Abbey. They were so grateful for our welcome, and before leaving to continue their journey held a short service in which they prayed most movingly for the life and work of our church in this place.

Our annual celebrations of Patronal Festival and Harvest were marked by memorable services, and by the meals linked to them. A picnic in the churchyard and the always enjoyable Harvest Supper gave us time to relax

together. Great moments of national note also gave us pause to reflect. The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, celebrated within a special service and then with tea and cake was truly joyous, but later in the year it was our proud yet sad duty to be a focus of local mourning at the death of Her Majesty.

We note that it has been a very busy year for our ministry team, with many funerals undertaken, and we also thank the Pastoral Care team for the many ways in which they contribute to the well being of all those they support.

We are keeping in touch with families of the ‘younger generation’, with the reinstated Our Place on a Sunday evening and the new initiative called Chill Chat and Chomp where the young people have time to meet in a safe place to discuss the many issues of our challenging world.

As Christmas approached, we again held the Gift from St John’s event, welcoming even more people than last year into our church to enjoy crafting, eating and drinking – all in the cosy and welcoming environment created by our team of smiling helpers. All this was possible because of your generous donations. Christingle brought another chance to welcome young people and their families into church, as did the Crib Service, which saw numbers who attended growing, though not yet to eye watering pre-Covid levels!

In fact, all our Christmas services were very well attended, and we ended 2022 feeling blessed and thankful for all that God has enabled in this place and looking forward to what he may achieve through us all in the coming year

Jane and Rosie

ALRESFORD DEANERY SYNOD

Alresford Deanery consists of representatives from the twenty-six churches which make up the Benefices of the Arle Valley, Bishop’s Sutton, Ropley and West Tisted, Farleigh, Candover and Wield, the Itchen Valley and the Upper Itchen.

During the past year we have had three synod meetings, in February, June and October. The subjects covered were Farm Church, a pilgrimage from Alresford to Winchester Cathedral and the link with Rwanda. The Winchester Diocese has decided to link a deanery in the Northern Archdeaconry with a deanery in the Southern Archdeaconry and together, they would be linked to an overseas diocese. The Alresford Deanery would, together with the Lyndhurst Deanery, be linked to the Rwanda Diocese. This arrangement has not yet been put into practice. As a final contribution £1050 was sent to Lango to help complete the Youth Training Scheme and an email was sent by Stephen Mourant and Barbara Griffiths to the Bishop of Lango concluding the Link with Lango. Also, at our October meeting, Dean Catherine Ogle spoke of her experiences and plans for the future at Winchester Cathedral. Barbara Griffiths.

BEES KNEES

We are a small group who mix Bible study with discussing issues related to climate change. We read the Pope Francis book, Let us Dream, and decided to follow up on some of the issues raised. We have looked at ways to reduce our own carbon footprints, driving less, reducing the heating, avoiding unnecessary plastics, eating less meat and eating more local vegetables. Change begins with us! We have also been reading related articles and books by Greta Thunberg, David Attenborough and many more, and regularly submit articles for the magazine. We are currently studying St John’s Gospel and finding a lot of connections. We have had meetings with and support the climate care team and share ideas with them. We enjoyed making a scarecrow for the scarecrow festival, and we are happy doing anything to urgently raise awareness of climate change. Bees Knees.

CATERING TEAM

We have had another great year as a Catering Team.

As usual the Lent Lunch was a sell out… and delicious homemade soup, fresh bread and cheese was enjoyed by lots.

We managed a successful Harvest Supper in September 2022, and it was so lovely to see the church community together, sitting down and enjoying each other’s company. Even topped off by some chocolate truffles for everyone to take home!

As a team we continue to serve the Church and its community and are also very grateful to those who are always willing to roll up their sleeves and help in any way they are able and even with the washing up at the end of the event. We are also enormously grateful for those who generously provide raffle prizes and delicious puddings for us all to enjoy. We would not be able to cater in the same way if this generosity was not forthcoming.

We would always welcome new faces to our Catering Team so please contact me if you would like to join us.

Our yearly commitments include the Frugal lent lunch, The Harvest Supper and Mulled wine & mince pies at the Carol Service……and we look forward to 2023 and looking after your catering needs.

I cannot thank everyone in the team enough for their support and commitment to the Catering events, especially Hefin Tudor who steps in to take the lead when my other commitments prevail and the honorary member of the team Peter Tudor who is always ready at the door to take your money and sell you raffle tickets! … we really are a great team! Pippa Sherry.

CHURCH CLEANING

Once again, I would like to thank our dedicated team of volunteers who clean the Church without fail, week in /week out. Each cleaner has a section to clean, and they can choose their own time of working, fitting around services and other events being carried out in Church. At present, we are in need of 2 additional cleaners (male or female) so if you are able to offer some time, as little as 1/2 hour per week, fortnightly or monthly, I shall be very glad to hear from you. Heflin Tudor.

CHURCHES TOGETHER IN ALRESFORD

For those of us closely involved with CTIA, and others, 2022 was in many ways overshadowed by the death of Gary Carter, my immediate predecessor as Chair. That followed on from the death of Carol Beetham less than a year previously. The CTIA committee is exploring how the significant contributions Carol and Gary each made to church and community life can best be recognized in some permanent form.

As we have become used to “living with Covid” CTIA has cautiously reverted to its pre pandemic activities but with renewed vigour. At Christmas, building on 2021, after the silence of 2020, it was tremendous to be able to share the joy of carol singing in the centre of Alresford and at some of the sheltered housing units and at CTIA’s community carol service and earlier in the year to demonstrate the importance of Good Friday, taking part in the walk of witness whilst the world rushed by. Talking of walking Piers Armstrong kindly led walks on Easter Monday and Boxing Day, both of which were well attended and talking of singing it was uplifting to be able to hold outdoors CTIA’s combined Annual Meeting, picnic and Songs of Praise.

The CTIA committee has been looking at the possibility of reviving the successful Away Weekends that had taken in place in Bournemouth during Lent for several years until 2020. It continues to do so and on a date yet to be decided in 2023 it is proposed that there will be a Saturday “Awayday” of study, fellowship and fun at a location relatively close to Alresford at which the enthusiasm for a future away Weekend can be further gauged.

The support of the various Alresford “ministers” and others is much appreciated. In particular mention must be made of Rosie Waring-Green for “Summer Fun” and her help with the community Carol service. Although he remains living in Alresford Deacon Gerard Dailly’s ministry has moved to the Immaculate Conception Catholic

church in Southampton to assist Father Anthony Chiatu. CTIA is most grateful to Gerard for the time he devoted over many years to developing ecumenical relations in Alresford notwithstanding his many other commitments and wishes him well. CTIA is delighted to have been able to welcome Jon Hughes as local pastor of Alresford Methodist Church.

Apart from the sad deaths mentioned above and changes of clergy the membership of the CTIA committee changes little! I have been involved since 2000, Jackie Connell since (I think) 2007 and Sarah Wilding since 2016. I intend to step down from the committee by mid 2024 when I take on increased responsibilities elsewhere and I know Jackie and Sarah would love to be contacted by potential replacements for me (and quite possibly them)!

The length of tenure well illustrates that the CTIA committee is a lovely friendly group to mix with and involvement is not onerous. Please consider showing an “expression of interest”! James Pinniger.

COFFEE CAKE and CHAT

2022 saw us slowly ‘getting back to normal’ following the Covid restrictions. Being able to meet up with friends was a great boost to us all. Sadly our numbers are below pre-Covid but the time is enjoyed by all who attend. We are able to enjoy homemade cake and scones thanks to Erica Cook, Elizabeth Johnson, Pearl Page and Margaret Stewart. Jean Clark is the ‘Queen’ of making tea and coffee and we could not manage without her. During the year we supported Winchester Hospice and were able to send the £443. It has been decided to support The Hospice again this year. We meet on the 2[nd] Tuesday of each month 10-11.30am in the JPH. All are welcome so............. if you are feeling a bit lonely, need to make new friends or just want someone to talk to, come along and join us, you will be made very welcome. Angela Peel [01962 734814]

CREATION CARE

The role of the Creation Care team is threefold: -

We should be thankful for the wonderful world that God has created for us. For the flora and fauna that we can learn about, appreciate, and enjoy. ‘Caring for creation is a Christian responsibility, our responsibility’. Quietly and behind the scenes many in the church congregation are making lots of small changes to reduce the damage they are doing to God’s world. Some have made major changes. Over the year there have been numerous magazine articles such as: -

Ecological and Environmental issues are now regularly included in Sunday intercession, praying for us, politicians and world leaders.

Along with The Bees Knees we organised a very successful combined Harvest Festival and Climate Sunday. Heather spoke well for her Harvest Sermon (Published in last November’s Arle Valley Voice).

Here are a few highlights from Heather’s talk: -

‘We may argue that protecting the environment is unimportant in comparison to other God-given tasks such as sharing the gospel. But God is concerned with the physical world as well as the spiritual world, and restoration of the creation is part of the good news of Christ. Jesus came to save the world, not just people.’

‘With EVERYTHING every single thing that we buy as a church and individually in our homes we must consider, what is it made of? How far has it travelled? How much plastic packaging is there?’

Those of you who did not enjoy the service, I hope you still managed to think how your lifestyle may be damaging God’s world, affecting generations to come. Our children’s, grandchildren’s, and great grandchildren’s future. Look out for news of changes happening within the church and bigger plans being worked on.

The team is here to help you to understand Climate Change issues and encourage you to make changes to reduce your impact on God’s World.

God willing, we will do more and better in 2023. Join us. Rex Corfield (Creation Care Team)

FABRIC AND MAINTENANCE

Our church buildings are in good shape, that is according to our retired architect (we do have a new one!), a visiting contractor and our insurers. We do, of course, have a duty to properly maintain God’s house but recognise that at the same time we need to spend money wisely so that His whole mission can be fulfilled. That’s why, during 2022, the PCC has been very careful to assess and agree expense that has been necessary - we never spend church funds lightly.

Fabric-related activities that have been carried out can be broken down into various categories: - scheduled inspection and maintenance (such as smoke alarms, the stairlift, kitchen equipment, gutter cleaning); - essential repairs (like replacing broken door locks, replacement of the watermain isolation valve, easing the JPH entrance doors on their hinges;

Of course, 2022 saw completion of the clock face restoration – fully sponsored by The Friends of St John’s and once again a wonderful asset for the town – and partial redecoration of the porch. This included a new floor covering that is now easier to keep clean!

For all of the work we’ve done, thanks are due once more to members of the PCC for their support, to Tony Stirling who is constant in his diligent care for the clock, to Penny Forbes for managing arrangements with visiting contractors, to Jon Whale for his support and scrutiny of what’s being proposed and to Rosie and Jane for stepping in to open up the buildings and supervising activities when needed.

As our previous architect, Louise Bainbridge, had announced her retirement we needed to investigate who might take over. Richard Codd, who has the advantage of supporting St Mary’s, was selected and appointed by both St John’s and St Peter’s PCCs.

In 2023 we plan to complete decoration of the porch, for which we sought and received the Archdeacon’s approval. Before painting of the internal walls can take place some essential repairs will need to be done. As soon as possible after that the lower external walls of the tower will be re-pointed. This is essential as the wall structure has absorbed a great deal of mositure which has nowhere to go except through the internal walls into the porch. We hope to fund some or all of the cost of these items through grant support.

In addition, at the end of January, an energy audit of our facilities will be carried out. Many thanks are due to Jon, Jane and Rex Corfield for supporting the initial effort to get this investigation under way. Following its completion we will know where improvements can be made, helping us to work towrds the CofE’s 2030 Net Zero time target. It’s worth noting that we already have “full” LED lighting, Smart temperature control in the church building and are looking at the installation of a curtain over the north door so that we can keep the heat in.

Finally, a five-year (Quinquennial) inspection of the buildings is due in 2024. We will therefore review what remains to be done from the survey carried out in 2019. Greville Dawson.

FLOWER ARRANGERS

Thankfully we were completely back to normal for 2022. The usual routine of sponsors for the weekly pedestal continued with just two weeks when there was not a sponsor. The Lady Chapel has also had fresh flowers each week.

Apart from the usual church festivals there was an extra festival this year when we did a red white and blue theme for the late Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee. Mother’s day daffodils, Advent ring, porch Christmas tree etc have all continued to be done.

The sponsorship list is now permanently at the back of church with many weeks available for people to sign up to sponsor. Even with the rising cost of flowers we have managed, so far, to keep the donation at £30 .

This will be my last report as I now retire from organising flowers and my heartfelt thanks go to the flower teams and sponsors and for all the support from many people over many years. Diana Robbins.

(Benefice) PARISH MAGAZINE—The Arle Valley Voice

In 2022 Penny Forbes who had edited the magazine for several years stood down as she has quite enough to do with being the Benefice Administrator. Penny worked hard on the magazine introducing the new name to make it clear that the magazine is not just for St John’s but for all four churches in the Benefice. To that end she encouraged people from all parishes to write articles. She also introduced colour to the magazine making it much more attractive. Thank you Penny for all you did.

In August a new magazine editorial team was set up led by Charlotte Ryton who had some previous editorial experience and includes Liz Petheram, Jennifer Miller, Jackie Connell, Alison Starr, Ruth-Elizabeth Page and Caroline Hawkins. We meet once a month to pull the magazine together. We have also recruited others especially Paul Whiffen and Greville Dawson to collect the copies from the printers.

The team is committed to making the magazine attractive and inclusive. We are continuing Penny’s work of encouraging members of all four churches to contribute. It is also important that the magazine reflects the remit to be both a church and community magazine with a balance of material.

We have introduced some changes as you will have seen – we have expanded the children’s pages (though we gather many ‘grown-ups’ read them!), puzzle pages and articles relevant to the liturgical season so for example in February there was material on Candlemas and Lent. A new series that we hope will grow is one entitled ‘My Journey of Faith’ which was started by Paul Whiffen but I am sure many of you have a story to tell.

We hope to have articles from the congregations about their faith, about community life and other experiences that will interest our readers. Also if a particular book or picture or place or person or…. In fact anything, has had a great effect on your life do write about it. Also any memories or interesting pieces about the history of our churches and community. So please if you have a story or experience to relate do send it in.

Though we have brought in new material we will carry on publishing old favourites such as bell-ringing, gardening, recipes and we will of course continue to keep people up-to-date with events and activities in our four churches. That said if you are involved in running an event do let us know either on the magazine email or my own email cstryton@gmail.com so we can advertise it

In 2022 of course we had two major events that the magazine needed to reflect – the Platinum Jubilee and the death of Queen Elizabeth. Many people sent in memories of Her Majesty which gave a wonderful picture of our late sovereign. In this coming May there is of course the coronation, so we intend to do a special issue again. If any of you have memories of the coronation of 1953 or even perhaps 1937 then do send them in. Also if any of you have had encounters with our present King when he was Prince of Wales those would be interesting too.

Thanks are due to all our loyal advertisers who have continued to support us – do help them by using their services. We accept both one-off and annual adverts and hope to increase the number of advertisers as this

helps pay for the magazine. If we got more income from this we would love to be able to distribute the magazine more widely and also to have more colour.

In conclusion this is your magazine and if you want it to move in a particular direction please tell us and please do consider contributing articles. A big thank-you to all those who have already contributed, and to all those who have supported, worked and helped to bring out the magazine. Charlotte Ryton.

PASTORAL VISITORS

Members of the team visit people in the community on behalf of the church. There are currently 12 Pastoral Visitors who were all re-commissioned by Heather in early January. Barbara Griffiths and Pat Ure have now retired from visiting after many years of service. Within the team there are four members who mainly visit the bereaved and also help with the planning and arrangement of funerals. Thankfully, now that the number of covid cases has subsided, we have been able to resume visiting people from the community who are in hospital, although we need permission from the patient or a member of their family first. We also visit people within the community who are housebound, lonely or in need of someone to talk with. Please get in touch with me if you know of someone who might appreciate a visitor.

During the year members of the team have all completed safeguarding training thanks to the support of Sarah Wilding. The visitors meet together for further training and for prayer because all that we do is underpinned by prayer. We are hoping to hold a course to train some new visitors later in the year.

I should like to finish by thanking all the members of the team for their commitment and for the care they offer on behalf of St John’s as we reach out into the wider community. Jackie Connell.

PRAYER MINISTRY

We have been very encouraged this year by the many times we have been able to thank God for answered prayer and would encourage you to email or phone and share a request or a thank you.

We started the year encouraging everyone to tie a ribbon on the trees outside the church in support of Ukraine and to write a prayer or light a candle inside the church. These ribbons are still on the trees as a sign for us all to continue with our prayers for this difficult situation as well as for all the other areas of conflict in the world.

We regularly check the ‘Say One For Me’ prayer box in church and it has been a huge privilege to be able to share these concerns and anxieties in prayer with the Lord. There are regularly prayers to be shared, and now that we have the Prayer Tree in the porch, we would encourage everyone to take time to pray through the many thoughts and prayers shared on this Tree.

Several of the Prayer Team joined the Mission Team at the end of September at the top of West Street to offer a variety of creative ways that the passers-by could use as prayers in the huge gap felt in all of our lives by the passing of Queen Elizabeth. This enabled people to encounter prayer in a safe interactive way that they may not have experienced before.

It was also very special to be part of the Gift from St John’s event in December, chatting to the public as they enjoyed the craft activities, the Café, and writing their Hopes and Dreams for 2023. All these activities gave us opportunities to become engaged in many deep and important conversations inside the church as people stopped to read the messages and prayers.

We have left these on a board inside the church for everyone to pray through.

As a group, we hope to be able to resume our monthly meetings so that we can spend some quality time talking to and listening to God.

We also have a Prayer Team ‘prayer chain’ and are happy for you to phone – 01962 733237 / 07891120662 – or email Rosie – rosie@22rwg.co.uk – for any concerns needing immediate prayer which will only be passed round the Prayer Team. Prayer is at the heart of our relationship with God and the Team always pray for you using the utmost confidentiality offering your requests into the healing arms of God.

If you feel called to join this team, please contact Rosie to talk this through. The commitment is usually one Sunday a month and a meeting on the 4[th] Tuesday of the month. Rosie Waring Green

SAFEGUARDING

Safeguarding within the Church of England continues to evolve and develop. Anyone working with vulnerable adults or children in any capacity within the church needs to have undertaken a DBS check. This is a fairly straightforward process which can be done online initially and then requires a face-to-face meeting to complete an ID check. Once the process is completed and if the person signs up to continuous checking there is no further action needed.

Alongside DBS checking there is also a set of training packages that need to be undertaken. These are accessed online via the diocese website. It is important that the churches in the benefice keeps a record of who has undertaken training. I am very happy to provide support for anyone struggling with accessing this online. This year the Church of England launched a dashboard for each church whereby the important and pertinent aspects of safeguarding are gathered in one place and each church can see where they need to add information or update policies. There is a dashboard for each of the churches in the benefice.

Safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility and any concerns should be reported to myself or Heather in the first instance. It is helpful to remember the 4 Rs of safeguarding:

Recognise – recognise that you have concerns or someone has made a disclosure to you.

Respond – reassure the individual. Ask them what they would like to happen and tell them what action you need to take next.

Refer – report your concern to the Safeguarding Officer or Priest

Record – record your concerns as soon as possible. Sarah Wilding, Benefice Safeguarding Officer

SOCIAL MEDIA

In the 28 days prior to the time of writing this report on 17[th] January, St John’s Facebook Page had reached 3,081 individuals with its posts, both directly and via All Things New Alresford. We currently have 593 regular followers. The top recent post was the advert for the Barn Dance which reached 1,850 people altogether. The stats tell me that 129 people not only saw the post but engaged with it. I posted a new poster for the Winter Wednesdays Warm Welcome and within 2 days the post had reached 1,043 people with 76 engagements including some very positive comments! An ‘engagement’ with a post means that it was liked, commented on, or shared. It is always pleasing to have immediate feedback for posts with likes and comments and shows just how worthwhile it all is.

Facebook gives an extra option to pay a small amount to reach further to any demographic of our choice. That is worth considering for fund-raising ventures when we want to reach non churchgoing interested parties who might support our community or ecological aims.

We are still filming services and it is good to see how many view the services from via Facebook and our YouTube channel after the event. The Sunday service on 15[th] January, reached 101 people via Facebook, although in most cases that was just a brief view. The average number for a Sunday service via YouTube is about 35 viewings and for a Wednesday, 20. On Christmas Day there were 53. So, it looks as if it remains a valuable resource. Miranda Pinch.

SOLOS

Solos is a monthly gathering offering Tea, Scones and Home Made cakes with friendly conversation in the John Pearson Hall on the THIRD Sunday of each month from 2.30-4.30pm for anybody who lives on their own. There is an attendance of twenty-five people each month and any carers and family members who bring along a guest are welcome to stay.

It is a time when friends meet together and new friendships are made. Since Solos began, we have seen how much this time is appreciated by those who come along. What could be better than spending a couple of hours chatting together on a Sunday afternoon with delicious homemade cakes and tea?

We have a good team of helpers to serve the Tea and Cake to our guests. However some of the folk who come along do find it difficult to get to the JPH, we would greatly appreciate having help to transport people who would like to come to Solos and meet with friends. Could you be that someone?

Please contact Marion Morley or Margaret Stewart if you would be willing to help. Thank you.

TOWER REPORT

2022 saw ringing get back to something like normality with regular Sunday Service ringing and Friday practice nights. The number of ringers is below what would be ideal, with some not returning after the Covid break and others with health issues curtailing regular attendance.

On Sundays usually at least 6 of the 8 bells rang out sometimes more ringers than bells, and sometimes only 4 ringers were available. 5 weddings were celebrated with bells. There were 3 funerals requesting bells and a single bell was tolled for another. 6 quarter peals were rung – 3 of these were commissioned in celebration of special events raising in the region of £600 for church funds. 2 visiting bands used the bells and left a donation. The Annual Tower meeting was held in February and the tower lunch in April. Bells rang out joyfully for the Diamond Jubilee in June and sadly muffled on the death of Queen Elizabeth. St John’s ringers continue their outreach helping out in local towers Cheriton and Tichborne and the Candover Valley and of course Old Alresford and Ovington. Elizabeth Johnson, Tower Secretary.

WEB SITE

The new benefice website has been a welcome addition to all of the churches in the benefice. We have tried to make the information comprehensive and easily accessible to new visitors and parishioners. The Hubb Church support organisation helps with offering useful service event banners to mark important events during the church year. We hope that all the churches in the benefice will continue to utilise the website for upcoming events in their churches. Penny Forbes.

WORLD TEAM

These are the overseas projects we support:

Ashray UK: the organisation that supports the Mar Elias Educational Institutions, Ibillin, Israel, sends newsletters from Abuna Elias Chacour keeping us in touch. The latest, Christmas 2022 is full of optimism and hope for the future. The high school was among the top ten schools in Israel and the teachers were awarded a bonus.

Church Mission Society: sadly our mission partner Lynn Treneary returned to UK last year due to ill health and has retired from her post in South Sudan. We await news from CMS of a new partner.

The Michael Project, Zimbabwe: they continue to give the children in Shalom and the pre-schools their care, love and support. Four babies joined their “forever families”. We had a very successful coffee morning in the

JPH in October which raised £845 and they are very grateful to St John’s for the interest and support they receive.

Pannai Family Farm, Tamil Nadu, India: normality has been restored after the disruption of Covid lockdowns. We receive regular updates from Anita the sponsorship secretary. There are 150 children, 10 housemothers and 17 grandmothers and they are very grateful for our continuing sponsorship support.

Shanthigramam, Tamil Nadu: the home for elderly and destitute people continues to care for those damaged by leprosy.

Information on all our links can be found on the Arle Valley Benefice website under Community and Outreach/St John’s Outreach and there are regular articles in the Arle Valley Voice magazine. Sue Greenway.

YOUTH WORK

What a delight to be able to look back over the last 12 months since the last Youth Work report!! Last year we reported that only a few activities were beginning to creep back but we can now share some of the many ways that God has been moving in the life of our young people.

Chill, Chat, Chomp – a mid-week fortnightly group for year 7 upwards started in March 2022. A group of 8 or 9 us meet in Coffee#1 and order a drink which we then take to the Vestry, and along with cake, have deep and not so deep conversations = usually with lots of laughing and often rather noisy!! However, we have watched and talked about a series called Waymaker with titles such as ‘Be servant-hearted / Be compassionate / Be accepting / Be bold / Be forgiving / Be a light in the darkness.’ In the summer and autumn, we again had some great conversations using a series created by LICC called Frontline Service which had a series of short videos about ordinary everyday Christians making a difference in their communities and families.

By the time you read this, we will have completed a 10-week Youth Alpha course which will give rise to many questions and hopefully some answers for the young people growing up in today’s challenging world.

Our Place – after a break of 2 years we have been able to revive this social group of Year 6 to Year 9 young people. We meet fortnightly on a Sunday evening in the Methodist Café area which is a great place to relax and have fun. The group has started with small numbers but have enjoyed a quiz night, ‘food from round the world’ and bowling at Basingstoke. By popular request, the Year 10 upwards group started after Christmas. We have a great team of helpers from the CTIA churches.

Summer Fun – at last after 2 years, a group of 35 children and young people and 20 helpers put together 3 days of acting, singing, scenery, costume, prop making into a wonderful performance of Daniel in the Lions’ Den. It never ceases to amaze how a 50-minute musical can be created and performed with such enthusiasm and expertise. A wonderful testament to the children and young people of Alresford.

Autumn Fun Light Party was able to go ahead and 40 youngsters and 20 helpers had a wonderful time creating ‘jam jar lanterns’, lighthouses, stained glass windows along with apple catching, doughnuts on a string and many more activities. After food – always essential – there was a word treasure hunt trail in the beautifully illuminated church and ending with a fantastic dance version of the song ‘Shine’!

Services –the Crib Service is now back to full strength and for the Mothering Sunday and Remembrance services we had many uniformed youngsters joining us. The Second Sunday All Age service has a small but loyal group of families to help in the inter-generational service.

Chatterbox – the Parents / Carers Toddler Group is thriving and although this is run by a team from the families, there are several of us who go along to help and really enjoy this connection with the youngest members of our community.

Monday Meet and Eat – in response to the energy and cost of living crises, CTIA volunteers have been very active in providing a place for families with primary school children to come and have time to play somewhere

warm, and to share in a hot meal together. So far there have only been a few families joining us but we will continue for the time being to see if this a help to other families who might like to do the same.

Links with Schools – just before Easter, most of the children from Sun Hill Infant and Junior schools came to St John’s to an Experience Easter event. This involved a variety of interactive activities spaced out around the church, manned by some wonderful volunteers who helped the Easter story come alive. This included food (of course) as well as an interesting ‘donkey’ as part of the Palm Sunday happening!! Different year groups from Sun Hill Junior visit the school at Easter, Harvest and for Christmas services for which they devise and present storytelling and songs to the rest of the school and parents. Perins also hold their Christmas concert at St John’s for pupils and parents. Rosie Waring-Green.

St John the Baptist Church, New Alresford

Financial Statements of the Parochial Church Council

Year Ended 31 December 2022

Treasurer Jon Whale 12 Buttermere Gardens Alresford Hampshire S024 9NN

Assistant Treasurer Jane Parsons 54 Jacklyns Lane Alresford Hampshire SO24 9LG

Bank- Current Accounts: NatWest Bank Winchester, Old Bank (A) Branch 105 High Street Winchester Hampshire S023 9AW

Bank - Deposit Account: CCLA Investment Management Ltd The CBF Church of England Funds 80 Cheapside London EC2V 6DZ

Independent Examiner: Behegan Lynes Bank Chambers Brook Street Bishops Waltham Hampshire S032 lAX

Registered Charity Number 1127318

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TREASURER'S REPORT

After two extremely difficult years, we all hoped for a return to more normal times in 2022. In some ways, this has happened; our church is open once again to serve the community, and users returning to the John Pearson Hall. However it has not all been good news, as in common with so many people, we have felt significant financial pressure due to rising costs. Despite this, the generosity of our congregation and local groups such as the Friends, has been amazing.

In summary, our expenditure in 2022 was £189k and our income (excluding legacies) was £152k. As a result our expenditure has exceeded our regular income by approximately £37 k during 2022. This figure in 2021 was £28k.

There are, however, several factors which must be taken into account when considering this sobering situation:

At 31 December 2022 our funds were £198k (£118k Unrestricted, £64k Designated, £16k Restricted). Of this we have £30K set aside for repairs and hold an additional £32K in general reserves in accordance with our stated accounting policy. We retain £17k in funds restricted for specific purposes and the balance is in our main unrestricted general fund, and small funds set aside to support our ministry with children, young people and families.

The table below shows the trend of our unrestricted funds over the past 5 years:

Date 31/12/17 31/12/18 31/12/19 31/12/20 31/12/21 31/12/22
Unrestricted &
Designated
Funds (£k)		 79 86 97 187 155 182

So in effect, we remain in a viable financial position, but our operations in 2022 have been underwritten by the continued receipt of generous legacies and donations. It will be a priority over the next 12 months to reduce this gap between income and expenditure.

Despite the financial challenges of the past 3 years we continued, as a demonstration of our Christian witness, to donate a significant amount of our discretionary income in support of various local, national and international charities. We contributed £95k (more than requested) to the Diocese’s Common Mission Fund. We also donated £7.8k to causes including the Winchester Youth Counselling, the Michael Project, CMS, Ashray,

Shanthigramam, the Royal British Legion, and the congregation have continued to give generously to the Pannai Orphanage. This is an increase of 10% compared to 2021.

Administering a charity with £198k of assets is a team effort involving lots of people and I would like to thank all those who contribute so much to the day to day management of our finances: Penny Forbes who looks after all the PCC fee income and disbursements and administers the JPH bookings; David Griffiths and Nolly Nutman who maintain our Gift Aid records and claims the tax back from HMRC; Margaret Stewart and Caroline Hawkins who handle our banking; Colin Scott-Morton who has kindly taken on the work of reclaiming the VAT on our building works; and a large team of people who count and record our collections each week, and to our Independent Examiner, Steven Lynes of Behegan Lynes, for reviewing these financial statements. Finally, a massive thank you goes to Jane Parsons, who has taken on the role of Assistant Treasurer in addition to her many other duties.

Jonathan Whale Hon. Treasurer, PCC of New Alresford

Statement of Financial Activities

Unrestricted Designated Restricted Endowment Total Prioryear
funds funds funds
funds		 funds total funds
Incomeandendowmentsfrom:
Donations and legacies 175,622 5,634 181,257 175,456
Othertradingactivities 4,352 250 4,603 3,306
Church Activities 24,738 24,738 20,223
Otherincome 7025 7025 4,932
Total income 211,739 250 5,634 217,625 203,919
Expenditureon:
Costs ofGeneratingFunds 807 807 959
All Mission Giving&CharitableDonations 7,778 90 7,868 7,092
ChurchActivities 177719 109 4,766 182,595 196,481
Totalexpenditure 186,304 109 4,857 191,271 204~~,~~533
Netincome I(expenditure)resourcesbefore 25,435 141 777 26,354 (614)
transfer
Transfers
Gross transfersbetweenfunds- in 1,365 581 1,946 4,588
Grosstransfersbetweenfunds-out (581) (1,365) (1,946) (4,588)
Otherrecognisedgains_I_losses
Gainsonrevaluation,fixedassets,charity'sown (27,630)
use
Net movementinfunds 26,220 722 (588) 26,354 (28,245)
Total fundsbroughtforward 92,169 62,921 17,058 ~~172,149~~ 200,395
Totalfundscarriedforward 118,390 63,643 16,470 198,503 172,149
Represented by
Unrestricted
Generalfund 118,390 118,390 92,169
Designated
ChurchRepairFund 25,000 25,000 25,000
GrowingYounger 850 850 708
JPHRepair Fund 4,999 4,999 4,999
Reserve Fund 31,793 31,793 31,212
YouthWork 1,000 1,000 1,000
Restricted
Bell Fund 8,057 8,057 7,892
C BrillFund 3,725 3,725 3,725
Chatterbox 450 450 550
Mooday MeetAnd Eat 1,159 1,159
Pannai OrphanageDonations 3,077 3,077
RestrictedDonations 4,890

Balance sheet

General Designated Restricted Endowment This enr Last ear

General
Designated
Restricted
Endowment
Thisenr
Lastear
Currentassets
Debtors
Cash atbank andinhand
Liabilities
Creditors: Amounts fallingduein oneyear		 9,715
209
9,924
4,008
133,290
63,643
(3,012)
193,921
171,106
143~~,~~005
63,643
(2,802)
203,845
175,114
4,106
1,235
5,342
2,964
4,106
1,235
5,342
2,964

25

Netcurrent assetslesscurrent liabilities
Totalassetslesscurrent liabilities
Totalnet assetslessliabilities
Represented by
Unrestricted
Generalfund
Designated
Church RepairFund
Growing Younger
JPH RepairFund
ReserveFund
Youth Work
Restricted
BellFund
C BrillFund
Chatterbox
Monday Meet AndEat
PannaiOrphanage Donations
Restricted Donations
Agencycollection
Funds ofthe church		 138,898
63,643
(4,038)
198,503
172,149
138,898
63,643
(4,038)
198,503
172,149
138,898
63,643
(4,038)
198,503
172,149
118,390
118,390
92,169
25,000
25,000
25,000
850
850
708
4,999
4,999
4,999
31,793
31,793
31,212
1,000
1,000
1,000
8,057
8,057
7,892
3,725
3,725
3,725
450
450
550
1,159
1,159
3,077
3,077
4,890
118,390
63,643
16,470
198,503
172,149

Statement of assets and liabilities

General Designated
Restricted
Endowment
Thisyear
Lastyear
Fixed assets-Tangible assets
Audio System-
Totals
Current assets- Cashatbankandin hand
NatWest Current Account-
NatWest CurrentAccount-
NatWest Gift Aid Account-
NatWest Flower Account-
Lloyds Fees Account•
CCLA (CBF)Account-
CCLA (CBF)Account-
Totals
Current assets - Debtors
Debtors·
AccountsReceivable-
Totals
Liabilities -Agency accounts
Agency collections ·
Totals
Liabilities·Creditors: Amounts fallingduein
one year
AccountsPayable-
Totals
Grandtotal		 (20,508)
20,508
(20,508)
20,508
38,479
20,449
(22,430)
36,498
64,323
(3,177)
(21,033)
(24,210)
(24,210)
(14,156)
14,159
2
7
256
256
145
10
10
1,775
108,700
46,371
34,831
189,903
137,603
(8,539)
(8,539)
{8.539)
133,290
63,643
(3,012}
193,921
171,106
101
(101)
9,613
311
9,924
4,008
9,715
209
9,924
4,008
12
12
12
12
4,106
1,223
5,330
2,964
4,106
1,223
5,330
2,964
118,390
63,643
16,470
198,503
172,149

Fund movement by type

Opening Incoming Outgoing Transfers Gains/losses Closing

26

Sub-totalfor ResDons
Sub-totalfor General
Grandtotal
Bells• BellFund
Restricted
Sub-totalforBells
CBrill- CBrill Fund
Restricted
Sub-totalforCBrill
Chatterbox-Chatterbox
Restricted
Sub-totalforChatterbox
ChurchRepC·hurch RepairFund
Designated
Sub-totalforChurchRep
GrowingG· rowing Younger
Designated
Sub-totalfor Growing
JPHRepalr-JPH RepairFund
Designated
Sub-totalfor JPHRepair
Meet and E-Monday Meet And Eat
Restricted
Sub-totalforMeet andE
Pannai-Pannai OrphanageDon
Restricted
Sub-totalforPannai
ResDons -Restricted Donations
Restricted
Reserve·ReserveFund
Designated
Sub-totalfor Reserve
Youth-YouthWork
Designated
Sub-totalforYouth
General- Generalfund
Unrestricted		 7,892
165
8,057
7,892
165
8,057
3,725
3,725
3,725
3,725
550
100
450
550
100
450
25,000
25,000
25,000
25,000
708
250
109
850
708
250
109
850
4,999
4,999
~~4,999~~
4,999
1,250
90
1,159
1,250
90
1,159
3,077
3,077
4,890
1,141
4,666
(1,365}
3,077
3,077
4,890
1,141
4,666
(1,365}
92,169
211,739
186,304
784
118,390
92,169
211,739
186,304
784
118,390
172,149
217,625
191,271
1981503
31,212
581
31,793
31,212
581
31,793
1,000
1,000
~~1,000~~
~~1,0()0~~

Analysis of income and expenditure

Total Unrestricted Desi nated Restricted Endowment This vcar Last year

rNCOME AND ENDOWMENTS

Donations and legacies
0101 - Regular Giving SO GA 4,500 4,500 4,200
0102-Regular Givingbyenvelope 755 755 853
GA
0104-CAF Vouchers 1,300 1,300 1,300
0105-Regular GivingbyPGS Direct 62,650 62,650 58,553
GA
0201-RegularGiving Standing Order 1,260 1,260 1,560
NGA
0202 - RegularGivingbyenvelope
NGA
0204- RegularGivingbyPGS Direct
NGA
0301A-Sunday CollectionsGASDS
0302-Wedding Collections
0303- FuneralCollections
0304 -BaptismCollections
0306-One off GiftAidenvelopes
0307 -Donationsby cardreader NGA
0307A- Donatfonsby card reader GA
0402 -ChurchDonations Box
0404-Flower DonationsNGA
0500 - Other specific donations
0501-One offdonationsoutside
services
0502 -Donationsby Ringersand
Others
0504 -PannaiDonations
0518-Monday Meet andEat
donations
0601-GiftAid on unrestrictedincome
0602 -Gift Aidon restrictedincome
0700-Legaciesreceived
0801-Grants Recurring-
Unrestricted
0802 -GrantsNon Recurring-
Unrestricted
0803-VAT Recovered
Total
Other trading activities
0901-WatercressFestivalFund
Raising
0902-Other Fund raising activities
0903 - Social Events
0903A-YouthGroup Contributions
0904- MagazineChristmasCard
Total
Church Activities
1100- Fees retained by thePCC
1201-SaleofBooks, Christmas
Cardsetc.
1202-Income from use ofChurch
1203- Income from useofJPH
1204-MagazineSales-Casual
1205-Magazine Sales-
Subscriptions
1206 -Magazine Advertising
1207-Printing
Total
Other income
1001-Interestreceived
1303 - Ovington Payments
1304-Old AlresfordPayments
1305- Bighton Payments
Total		 2,921
2,921
150
3,561
3,374
3,374
3,472
35
35
146
146
5
411
411
1,196
1,759
1,759
1,424
193
193
10
917
917
2,042
1,692
1,692
711
1,338
1,338
955
2
1,141
1.144
11,867
3,934
3,934
2,628
165
165
240
3,077
3,077
2,640
1,250
1,250
19,175
19.175
18,294
1,022
63,183
63,183
52,745
35
35
35
5,477
5,477
2,151
559
559
3,837
175,622
5,634
181,257
175,456
2,250
2,250
199
199
2,132
1,453
1,453
845
0
250
251
449
449
329
4,352
250
4,603
3,306
11,092
11,092
7,633
10
10
357
3,069
3,069
1,751
2,887
2,887
1,497
19
19
262
3,011
3,011
3,190
4,615
4,615
5,531
35
35
24,738
24,738
20,223
2,300
2,300
41
1'170
1,170
1,432
1.740
1,740
1,715
1,814
1,814
1 742
7,025
7,025
4,932
211,739
250
5634
217,625
203,919
INCOMETOTAL

28

EXPENDITURE

Costs of Generating Funds

CostsofGenerating Funds
1702 -Costoffundraising,inc LL, 552
HS, CR etc
1703 -CostofSocialEvents 364 364 361
1705- Cost ofsupportingregular 419 419
giving
2320- Credit and debit cardcharges		 23 23 45
Total 807 ~~807~~ ~~959~~
ll Mission Giving &CharitableDonations
1709- Monday Meet andEat 90 90
expenditure
1801 -AnnualCharitableGiving
1802-OtherCharitableGiving
 6,641
1,136		 6,641
1,136		 6,329
762
Total 7,778 90 7,868 ~~7,092~~
hurch Activities
1900 -Parish Share 95,000 95,000 95,000
2001- Assiststaff 14,842 14,842 15,005
salary/pension/honoraria(B
2002-		 2,000 2,000 2,630
Organistlchoir/salaries/honoraria
2101-Workingexpensesof 203 203
Incumbent(B)
2102-Working Expensesof		 60
Assistant Clergy {B)
2104-Rectory/Staffhousing(8)		 836 836 657
2105-BeneficeAdministration 352 352 1,795
expenses
2200-Mission&Evangelismcosts 3,437 3,437 2,156
2301 - Church Insurance 3,215 3,215 3,108
2302-Church Cleaning 15 15 379
2303-Church minorrepairs 2,466 1,651 4,117 14,389
2303A- ChurchClockRepairs 4,669 3,015 7,685 5,293
2021/22
2304 - ChurchRoutineMaintenance 6,583 6,583 4,536
2305-Telephone 873 873 1,013
2306 -Organ_I_pianotuning 669 669 572
2307-ProvisionofServices 1,952 1,952 857
2309- Church Grounds 8,633 8,633 7,474
2310- Flowers 1,260 1,260 1,101
2311-Sunday School,2nd Sunday 371 109 480 111
& Youth Group
2312 -Training/Course FeesBRILL 80
2313-Subscriptions
2314 - Othersupport costs		 493
3,637		 100 493
3,737		 931
3,024
2315- Administration 1,707 1,707 4,462
2316-Bank Charges
2401 -Church Gas-TGP 47209		 95
4,726		 95
4,726		 95
2,127
2402-ChurchElectricityTGP 56609
2403- ChurchRunning-		 747 747 493
4,101
Depreciation
2502 -Magazine Printing
2503-MagazineOtherCosts
2504- JPH-Insurance		 6,367
167
1,071		 6,367
167
1,071		 6,427
1,262
1,035
2505-JPH-Electricity 1,494 1,494 987

All Mission Giving & Charitable Donations

Church Activities

29

2506- JPH- Gas-TGP38695
2507- JPH- Water
2508 - JPH -Maintenance
2509 - JPH -Cleaning
2510- JPH- Consumables
2601-Audit Fees
Total		 871
871
444
169
169
157
5,294
5,294
11'701
2,165
2,165
2.250
786
786
305
540
540
450
177,719
109
4,766
182,595
196,481
EXPENDITURE TOTAL
GRAND TOTAL		 186,304
109
4,857
191,271
204,533
25,435
141
777
26,354
{614}

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

1. Accounting Policies

a} Accounting convention

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the Church Accounting Regulations 2006 together with Financial Reporting Standard FRS102 Section 1A. The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention as modified by the inclusion of investments at market value and the revaluation of fixed assets. The financial statements include all transactions, assets and liabilities for which the PCC is responsible in law. They do not include the accounts of church groups that owe their affiliation to another body, nor those which are informal gatherings of church members.

b) Funds accounting

Funds which may be held by the PCC are:

Unrestricted funds- general funds which can be used for PCC ordinary purposes

Designated funds - monies set aside by the PCC out of restricted or unrestricted funds for specific future purposes or projects. Also monies required to settle contracts that have been let but not yet completed or invoiced.

Restricted funds - a) income from trusts or endowments which may be expended only on those restricted objects provided in the terms of the trust or bequest; b) donations or grants received for a specific object or invited by the PCC for a specific object. The funds may only be expended on the specific object for which they were given. Any balance remaining unspent at the end of the year is carried forward as a balance on that fund.

Endowment funds- funds the capital of which must be maintained; only income arising from the investment of the endowment may be used, either as restricted or unrestricted funds, depending on the purpose set out in the terms of the original endowment.

c) Incoming resources

All incoming resources are accounted for gross.

d) Voluntary Income

Collections are recognised when received. Planned giving receivable is recognised only when received. Income tax recoverable on Gift Aid donations is recognised in the period it relates to. VAT reclaim grants are recognised when received. Other Grants and legacies are recognised when received.

Income from investments

· Dividends and interest entitlements are accounted for when received.

All other income

All other income is recognised when it is received.

e) Resources used

Resources expended are accounted for on an accruals basis and are accounted for gross.

Grants

Grants and donations are accounted for when paid over, or when awarded when the award creates a legal obligation on the PCC.

Church activities

The diocesan Common Mission Fund is accounted for when paid.

f) Fixed Assets

Tangible fixed assets

Consecrated and beneficed property of any kind is excluded from the accounts by s. 96(2) of the Charities Act 1993.

Movable church furnishing held by the Priest-in-Charge and Churchwardens on special trust for the PCC and which require a faculty tor disposal are considered as inalienable property unless consecrated. They are listed in the church's inventory which can be inspected.

All expenditure on consecrated or beneficed buildings and individual items costing under £5,000 are written off in the year incurred.

Depreciation

Depreciation is calculated to write down the cost of tangible fixed assets, excluding freehold properties, over their expected useful lives. The rates generally applicable are:

The sound system installed in 2017 has been capitalised and is being depreciated over 5 years at 20% per annum straight line.

Netbook value1.1.21 £4,102
Less depreciationin £4,102
2021
Net book value31.12.21 £NIL

No depreciation is provided on freehold property as it is the PCC's policy to maintain these assets in a continual state of sound repair. The usefuleconomic life of these assets is so long and residual values so high that any depreciation would not be material. These assets will be subject to annual impairment reviews. Provision will be made if there has been any permanent diminution in value.

Investments

Investments would be stated at market value at the balance sheet date.

g) Current Assets

h) Cash and Deposits

Short term deposits include cash held on deposit either with the CBF Church of England Funds, or at the bank.

2. Disclosures

Employees: The average number of employees during the year 2022 was 1.

Pension Provision. The PCC participates in the Pension Builder 2014 Scheme section of the Church Workers Pension Fund {CWPF) for lay staff, administered by the Church of England Pensions Board. This is a Defined Benefits Scheme that provides a cash balance lump sum at retirement, with assets held separately from participating employers. Pension contributions are recorded in an account for each member to which discretionary bonuses may be added by the Board before retirement, dependent on investment experience and other factors. The accrued account balance is payable from members' Normal Pension Age.

There is no sub-division of assets between employers and therefore the scheme is considered to be a multi-employer scheme as described in Section 28 of FRS 102. It is not possible to attribute assets and liabilities to specific employers and this means that contributions are accounted for as if the Scheme were a defined contribution scheme. The pensions costs charged in the year are the employer's contributions payable

A valuation of the Pension Builder Scheme is carried out once every three years. The most recent was carried out as at 31 December 2019. For the Pension Builder 2014 section, the valuation revealed a surplus of £2.5m {notification on 1 March that this figure should be £5.5m) on the ongoing assumptions used. There is no requirement for deficit payments at the current time. The legal structure of the scheme is such that if another employer fails, the PCC could become responsible for paying a share of that employer's pension liabilities.

Independent Examiner's Fee: The amount due to Behegan Lynes for their independent examination of these accounts is £450.

3. PCC Funds

The PCC's policy is to hold in designated reserves the equivalent of two months of general running costs and an additional one month's salary costs. In addition the PCC seeks to hold around £30,000 in designated funds for the future repair of the Church and John Pearson Hall.

4. Financial Policies and Protocols

In April2021 the Standing Committee {SC) reviewed internal financial practices and approved:

a) Payments

Cheques issued are signed by two signatories from a panel consisting of the Churchwardens, Treasurer and Assistant Treasurer. Cheques are seldom used now.

Online BACS payments are made by the Treasurer and monitored by the Assistant Treasurer. Payments are scheduled and countersigned by a Churchwarden and the Treasurer at regular intervals. Direct debit payments are approved when the supply or service starts.

An Expenditure ApprovalRegister is maintained in which all non-pay or charitable giving payments over £1000 are recorded and presented to the SC annually for approval. The register gives details of the supplier, amount, purpose and what prior approval has been given.

32

Expense reimbursement claims should be submitted to the Treasurer or Assistant Treasurer with written receipts, and confirming that any appropriate authorisation has been obtained. Clergy should complete and submit an expense claim form along with receipts and mileage details.

b) Delegated Authority for Spending

Generally - up to £250. Church Officers can spend on routine items within their area of responsibility up to £250, without the need to seek prior approval. The Treasurer will monitor these payments and spending patterns for reasonableness, raising concerns if necessary. If possible more than one quotation should be sought for non-routine expenditure.

From £250 to £500. Items expected to exceed £250, up to £500, should be approved in advance by the Clergy (Mission) or Churchwardens (other matters), with the Treasurer advised when approval given. Unusual items should be approved in consultation with the Treasurer.

Over £500. Items exceeding £500 should always be approved in advance by the SC. In an emergency, SC members should be consulted, if possible, before action taken and expenditure incurred.

Substantial expenditure of an unusual nature, such as extensive repairs or improvements, should be approved in advance by the PCC on recommendation from the SC with estimated costs.

c) Specific Approvals

The Fees Bank Account is managed by the Benefice Administrator and monitored by the Treasurer or Assistant Treasurer. The monthly return of statutory fees to the diocese and the corresponding payment is approved before submission by the Treasurer and a Churchwarden.

Flower Fund Bank Account for Church flowers is managed by authorised individuals from the Flowers team and is monitored by the Treasurer.

Fabric Maintenance Work is overseen by the Fabric Manager, who is authorised to obtain quotations for projects up to £500 for approval by the SC. Projects over £500 need a report outlining the proposed work for prior approval.

d) Management of Income

Cash received should always be counted by two people together as a matter of best practice in order to protect them from challenge. The Independent Examiner regularly stresses the importance of this in his report on the Annual Accounts. This should apply to Church collections, donations box, fundraising, social events and all other activities where the money accrues to the Church.

Income received must be accounted for gross (without deduction of any expenses incurred raising the income) and expenses claimed for subsequent reimbursement by the Treasurer.

Investment of Surplus Funds. The SC and PCC should adopt a policy for the investment of funds judged surplus to current requirements. This should have regard to the length of time the money is unlikely to be required and the risk of loss on the chosen investments.

e) Annual Charitable Giving

The amount and allocation of annual charitable giving is considered and approved by the PCC each year, usually in November, following the receipt of appropriate information and recommendations from the Treasurer.

In addition to this, decisions may be made by the clergy and churchwardens throughout the year, consulting with SC where it is considered appropriate,to allocate collections for particular services to specific charities or other appropriate causes.

38

INDEX 2022 APCM REPORT 2022 APCM MINUTES RECTOR'S REPORT CHURCHWARDENS, REPORT FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 10 20 resford Deanery Synod Bees Knees Cateriry Team Churi Cleanffg Team CTIA Coff8ts Cake a￿j Chat Creabm Cwe Fabric and Maffttena Fkjwef Arraryvs IAagazine Past(nl Cafe Prayer Mintsty Safeguardir#J ial Motha Solos 11 11 11 12 12 13 14 14 15 16 16 17 17 17 18 18 18 19 Web Sile World Tewn Y￿th W(xk by the PCC meetir¥J on Tues< 14• 3)23. 39