2023-12-31-accounts - The Parochial Church Council Of The Ecclesiastical Parish Of Merrow

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St. John the Evangelist Merrow

A nnual Report 2023

Our Vision is to be:

A Caring Christian Community, here for everyone.

St. John’s Church is the Parish Church of Merrow. It is part of the Diocese of Guildford within the Church of England. The correspondence address is The Parish Office, 222 Epsom Road, Guildford GU4 7AA. The Parochial Church Council (PCC) of St John’s was registered with Charity Commission in January 2008. Officially called The Parochial Church Council of the Ecclesiastical Parish of Merrow, its registration number is 1127555.

Contents: Index page(s): 2 Review of the Year page(s): 3/4 Churchwarden’s report page(s): 4/5/6

Churchwarden’s Property & Land Fabric report 2022-2023

page(s): 7/8 Safeguarding page(s): 8/9 PCC page(s): 9/10 Electoral Roll pages(s): 10 Financial Review. page(s): 11/12/13/14

Review of the Year.

Welcome to the Annual Report for the Parish of Merrow 2023.

Annual Report 2023-2024.

Welcome to the Annual Report for St. John the Evangelist, Merrow. I hope that this report gives you a good overview of the life of our parish. The activities listed in this report are those we are required to produce but there are many activities not listed in this report and should you wish to know more then please do be in touch. I hope that you will find this report about the life of St. John’s interesting and can’t thank Nick Bond enough for putting it together.

I write this at the beginning of my sixth month as Rector of Merrow. Thank you so much for welcoming Alexandra, Henry (and Mary the dog) and me into the life of St. John’s. God’s call for us to come and minister here was a strong one and we feel blessed to be surrounded by such a lovely, friendly and fun group of people in this wonderful corner of God’s world.

I have many people to thank for making our arrival so smooth but I wish to especially thank Peter Tappin and Carole Burtonwood, the two churchwardens during the interregnum, along with deputy churchwardens Jane Farquharson and Cathy Thompson, Treasurer Lindsay Dobson, retired clergy Diana Matthews and Margaret Dean, Verger Helen Chambers and Lay Preacher Robert Avis. They handed St. John’s to me in an excellent condition and have been a really helpful support to me during my first six months. I’m also not the newest member of the team now and it’s been great to welcome our new Youth and Families Worker, Georgie Gregson, into the life of the St. John’s, joining Harry and Barry as part of the staff team here.

As we look back over the past year we can see signs of God’s grace. This report shows how the people of St. John’s have come together in worship and service, in times of joy and sorrow and at the great festivals of the Church. We have welcomed new members of the Church through baptism, celebrated marriages, commended the dead

and comforted the grieving at funerals, as well as losing from our number in particular Diana Butcher, Jim Styles and The Rev’d Tim Dean.

Although we look back we also want to look forward to the year ahead. I’m excited about all that we will do to further God’s kingdom in Merrow, so that we can continue to become a place of welcome for everyone in Merrow, living out the idea of being ‘your church here for you’ that I mentioned in my first Sermon on my first Sunday.

All that has been achieved and all that lies before us we entrust to the Lord and ask his strength and grace in what is to come. In all our endeavours may the Lord bless us and may St John the Evangelist and all the saints of God pray for us.

With every good wish,

Tim

The Rev’d Tim Clifford Hill – Rector of Merrow.

Churchwardens report 2023

2023 was another challenging year for St John’s. Turbulent economic times and escalating gas and electricity prices added to the job of continuing to run the Church and Centre effectively, during the year of vacancy, for our congregation and the wider Merrow community. During this time many services were conducted by our loyal and dedicated retired clergy including Margaret and Tim Dean and Diana Matthews and we are so grateful to them, our Verger Helen Chambers and our Lay Preacher, Robert Avis for enabling us to continue with our regular communion and so many other additional services.

The Churchwardens; Carole Burtonwood, Peter Tappin and deputy Churchwarden, Jane Farquharson met weekly on Tuesday mornings and after this with Hannah Harvey our Youthworker, Lindsay Dobson our Treasurer, Helen Chambers our Verger, Harry Talboys our Parish Administrator and Cathy Thompson to ensure continuity of services and events.

Last summer Carole Burtonwood stood down as Churchwarden, having extended her term. We are extremely grateful to her for her extended tenure as she has so much experience and knowledge. It is said that you only know what to do as a churchwarden once you finish your term!! At the extraordinary meeting held for this purpose Jane Farquharson stepped up as Churchwarden. Cathy Thompson had taken on the role of deputy Churchwarden at the last APCM. The continuity of having a deputy Churchwarden is invaluable.

The Standing Committee which used to be called the Finance and General Purposes Committee also met every other month and this included Cathy Thompson alongside the Churchwardens and Treasurer.

The Ministry Team, originally set up in 2021 consisted of Margaret and Tim Dean, Diana Matthews, Robert Avis, Hannah Harvey, Helen Chambers and the Churchwardens, and met to plan services for 4 months ahead. This ensured that we had cover for regular Sunday and Wednesday services, and enabled us to identify where we required additional clergy cover whilst we were in vacancy. We also had to find clergy to take weddings, funerals and baptisms.

We have been blessed to have Edward, a talented young organist and student at Charterhouse School to play for us at our All Age Services, and Damien, another very talented young organ scholar who uses our church organ for practice and occasionally plays for services.

In August Hannah Harvey moved on to pastures new, commencing clergy college in Birmingham. We wish her and her partner Kate, all the best in this exciting new phase of their life.

St John’s Centre, under Barry’s direction, is now well occupied for most of the week and Saturdays have a regular booking from Italia Conti. This has meant that, financially, it has held its own, allowing us to carry out some renovating for two weeks last summer.

During this time we had a significant clear-out in the Centre, and reorganised the archives and records.

In June, and in collaboration with the War Graves Commission, a plaque was put on the corner of the Centre to acknowledge the presence of war graves in our graveyard.

The key activity in 2023 was of course the recruitment process involved in finding our next rector at St John’s. This started with the very considerable amount of work in producing the Parish Profile, which was a significant and very successful piece of work.

Following advertising, we had applications from three promising candidates and the two-day interview process began on 18[th] July 2023 with an informal meeting with Churchwardens and then accompanied visits to The Church, Rectory, Centre and Merrow Infant School where each applicant carried out a brief activity with the children. Day two on the 19[th] then saw the formal interviews with Bishop Andrew, other clergy and Churchwardens.

The unanimous decision was made and we were delighted to offer Tim Clifford Hill the position of Rector and as we now fast forward, the rest, as they say is history! We were very pleased to arrange for all remedial works, including some redecoration at The Rectory to be completed quickly so Tim, Alexandra and Henry ( and Mary!) could move in ahead of Henry’s first day at Merrow Infant School, and commuting from Cranleigh each day to Merrow was avoided!

Tim’s Licensing and Institution Service was a joyful event on 10[th] October in a packed church accompanied by some wonderful, enthusiastic singing of hymns and followed by a happy, social gathering in The Centre.

Tim, Alexandra, Henry and Mary are now an integral and very happy part of our life at St John’s and we are blessed to have them in our midst. We pray with thanks that God has called them to join our flourishing church community and we continue to pray for them as they settle in at St John’s.

Following the appointment of Tim as Rector, we were delighted to appoint Georgie Gregson as our Youthworker in late 2023. She has joined us with fresh ideas and enthusiasm which has resulted in the number of children attending church regularly, on a Sunday, as well as the Mother and Toddler session on a Monday, increasing greatly. Her work involves much contact with the local schools, which has enhanced our relationship with them.

We warmly welcome Tim and family and now Georgie, and what an asset they have already been for those last months of 2023, and into 2024.

Peter Tappin and Jane Farquharson

Churchwarden’s Property and Land Fabric report 2022-2023

The Annual Churchwarden’s Inspections of the church, Centre and churchyard were undertaken and whilst no significant defects were found, there are numerous maintenance issues that were identified, several of which are ongoing from last year including the roof of the Centre, the flint walls and the porch roof.

The Quinquennial Inspection which was carried out in June 2023, included some of these items and has helped to determine longer term objectives and priorities. A new Parish Architect was appointed in 2022 to carry this out, who is Adam Heike of Nye Saunders Chartered Architects in Godalming.

We have replaced the timber handrail at the Trodds Lane entrance to the church yard.

The damaged flint wall on the corner of Trodds Lane was the subject of an insurance claim which is nearing a settlement and commencement of work.

A number of improvements to the Centre have been made. During a two week shut down last summer; the floors of both halls were sanded and sealed, walls painted, curtains replaced, flooring and windows in the seminar room replaced and new blinds installed. This has freshened and updated the Centre. There are still minor issues with the lighting in the main hall. The Centre roof is the subject of ongoing debate and investigation for a replacement covering with redesigned water gulleys that will also be suitable for the future installation of Solar panels.

An air source heat pump was installed in the Merrow Hall. Following a water leak between the boiler and the ceiling heaters in the hall, it was decided that this was the least disruptive more cost-effective solution and would be a start to St John’s carbon reduction initiative.

The car park lines were repainted, and the parking spaces slightly enlarged to facilitate easier parking.

Following an earlier tree survey significant tree work was carried out to the large lime trees adjoining the car park.

The five yearly fixed wiring check was carried out for the church in early 2022.

The church property register continues to be updated with photographs added of all relevant items including furniture, artefacts and silver. We are very grateful to Carole Burtonwood for all her hard work to get this in a digital form.

The internal high level illumination of the stained glass windows during the winter months continued for 2023.

We are monitoring the heating in church as there are still slight vagaries with the programming. The lighting in the church is under review.

Churchyard maintenance continued with regular volunteer working groups organised by Diana Butcher until the end of the year, and we all mourn her untimely death. We have reduced areas of wild grass and flowers to hopefully provide a better balance with the rest of the more closely mown areas.

The Churchwardens

Safeguarding Report.

The safeguarding of all vulnerable people has continued to underpin the life and work at St John’s.

The PCC is aware that it is ultimately accountable for safeguarding. As Parish Safeguarding Officer, I have submitted a written report to each PCC meeting and attended in person, when required.

Alongside my report the PCC received a safeguarding action plan which details actions which need to be addressed. At the end of last year 97% of the actions had been addressed. Thank you to all those who helped St John’s reach this target. We have now moved on to an online Safeguarding Hub which enables users to input further information, for example job descriptions, risk assessments.

Safeguarding policies have been reviewed and are on display on parish notice boards and on the St John’s website. Also on display are posters providing helpline phone numbers. These can be found in the church and in the Centre. The safeguarding section on the website remains in a prominent position.

Pastoral care meetings were reintroduced as a means of trying to ensure that we are offering support to those who need it. As Parish Safeguarding Officer I have continued to remain in contact with the Rector and the Youth worker.

Criminal record checks (DBS) were processed during the year, as required. Postholders have been advised of the safeguarding training which they need to complete in line with their role.

Safeguarding issues have been addressed in line with Diocesan procedures. Advice and support have been sought from the Diocese, when necessary. Referrals to outside agencies have been made, when necessary.

Whilst all the above measures are important we need to ensure that it doesn’t just remain as paperwork in a filing cabinet or online. We all have a responsibility to try and keep people safe. As a parishioner if you ever have any safeguarding concerns then please contact the Rector or Parish Safeguarding Officer as soon as possible without investigating matters for yourself. We might be able to find the right help for that person.

Rosanne Bond Parish Safeguarding Officer

PCC

The PCC meets bi-monthly. During the year the PCC has discussed and decided upon, amongst other things, Finance, the appointment of our new Youthworker Georgie, Youth Ministry and its funding, Parish Safeguarding, Centre strategy and refurbishment, hospitality and music events, the activities of Friends of St John’s, the changing priorities of the various teams within the PCC, Gift Day planning, raising awareness of legacy planning, appointment of a Trustee for FoStJ, appointment of a School Governor, Clergy cover for Services, development of a H&S policy, a review of Utilities contracts, churchyard upkeep and, of course, the recruitment, appointment and welcoming of our new Rector Tim and his family. We are wholeheartedly delighted that Tim is here to lead us in our worship and guide the PCC in serving our church family and wider community of Merrow.

Before Tim’s Induction in October, the challenges of the 12 months of Interregnum were carried in large part by the Churchwardens, and I would like to thank them once again for shouldering this increased workload for the benefit of us all and pay tribute to the PCC for the support shown throughout this period. I would also like to thank Kate, who is retiring from the PCC this year, for her service over the last three years, and Carole, who continued in her post as Churchwarden until Tim’s appointment was made. I am very grateful to her for her efficiency, dedication, hard work and steadying expertise during this period.

While I look after the Minutes and Agendas for the PCC meetings, I would like to say how grateful I am to Nick for continuing to take on the task of preparing the Reports for the APCM.

Being a PCC member brings an informative and interesting insight into some of the ‘behind-the-scenes’ workings of our church. It gives the opportunity to become involved in shaping our plans and visions, and we share the benefits of new connections and fellowship. We look forward to welcoming new members to the PCC team, working together with a shared sense of energy, purpose, vision and fun during the coming year.

Tricia Tappin

PCC Secretary.

Electoral roll

Since the APCM in 2023 two people have joined the electoral roll and sadly five of our longstanding members have died leaving the current number on the roll at 142.

Being on the electoral roll is a really good way to become more involved and show commitment to the community of St John’s. It allows people to have more say and take a full part in and vote at the Annual Parochial Church Meeting (APCM) and to be able to join the PCC or sides persons rota if they so wish.

If you are thinking of joining and want to know more please contact me Carole Burtonwood at carole.burtonwood@saintjohns.org.uk

Carole Burtonwood

Electoral Roll Officer

Financial Review

As a Charity registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales our accounts have to be presented in a prescribed format. There are differences with accounts required for other organisations as most of our income is received from donors, who, in many cases give monies to be used for specific purposes.

A full set of accounts is available; this review will only touch on salient points and is intended as a brief summary of our financial position. Whilst our Accounts are presented in a unified format, internally we deal with matters separately between Church and Centre.

For most of this year, the Church was in interregnum, with a new rector not in place in October 2023. We also lost our Youthworker in August 2023, as she decided to train to become a vicar herself. However, thanks to the hard work of the Churchwardens, the church continued to fully service our community. What was impacted was our ability to find the time and resources to continue with our major fundraising events which impacted our income.

The Church

Once again it is to be emphasised that the Church is almost entirely dependent on the generous and continuing support of our congregation. The figures below in parenthesis are for 2022. Our planned giving rose slightly on last year, but without a rector it was difficult to run another Stewardship Campaign and so our ‘one off donations’ amount dipped sharply from 2022. A lack of fundraising also impacted our income. Luckily, we had a good year with our investments which raised over 19K. Overall, our income dropped by just over £20K.

Church Income

Planned Giving	£ 69,916	(£ 63,801)
Collections and other giving	£ 17,241	(£ 35,999 )
Other receipts and tax	£ 18,159	(£ 21,580 )
Legacies and other income	£ 5,590	(£ 18,780)
Grants	£ 36,000	(£ 36,725)
Receipts from Church Activities	£ 9,107	(£ 6,544)
Magazine Receipts	£ 3,956	(£ 3,706 )
Dividends and Interest	£ 19,382	(£ 13,704)
Total Income	£179,351	(£200,209)

The two Grants received were:

£35,000 grant from the Down Road Trust, used to support the employment of our youth worker. Obviously as our Youthworker left in August, some of this grant will provide support for the new Youthworker who started in January 2024.
£1,000 payment from the Diocese to help with our fuel bills.

During the year the total income for the Church was £179,351 which is a decrease on last year of year of £20,858

There were no new legacies in 2023.

Church Expenditure

Church Expenses map very close to 2022, with a small increase of £1,123.

Costs of generating voluntary income	£ 1,682	(£ 2,755)
Grants and Charitable Giving	£ 12,578	(£ 12,228)
Direct Costs of Church Activity	£170,815	(£170,998)
Church Management and Administration	£ 4,373	(£ 4,498)
Governance Costs	£ 4,569	(£ 2,415)
Total Expenditure	£194,017	(£192,894)

The Parish Share was, by far, the largest item of Expenditure at £92,435 (£91,038). This must be paid even when we have no rector, as was the case for the first 10 months of the year. Also, we had the costs relating to bringing in a new rector and rectory bills during the interregnum which amounted to over £8,025.

Other key elements of the expenses included our churchyard upkeep. These doubled to £3,261 due to the need for some urgent maintenance to dangerous trees. The churchyard is now full and as such the responsibility for this type of work in the future will fall to Guildford Borough Council.

Also, this year we had a Quinquennial inspection which added over £2k to our governance costs and will probably mean some greater expense on the Church fabric in 2024, although the report did not raise any significant issues.

Our charitable giving has increased slightly this year, even though our income dropped. We are still supporting our three main charities (Foodwise, CAP, Compassion UK), who were given £8000 in total, as well as gifts to the Bishops Fund. The remainder

of the giving was provided by the Grant Legacy Fund income from which was agreed several gifts to parish members.

Despite this increase in expenditure, we have, through our effort on income generation, managed to show a very small positive balance of £7,315.

The Church Centre

The sole source of income for the Centre is from the hire of the facilities. During 2023, the usage of our centre increased significantly including the NHS running their diabetic clinic in Merrow Hall 3 days per week. Also, users for events such as birthday parties is doing well, with bookings most weekends.

Overall operational costs for running the Centre have also increased with the Centre being open all year. Key areas of increase were the cost of cleaning, as our previous Cleaner left us in 2021 as well as a doubling of our utility bills (from £5.3k to nearly £12k). As well as this staff costs have been attributed across Church and Centre this year in a more accurate way.

During the year the total income was £78,507 (£51,907) The costs of running the Centre we were £74,140 (£45,007 ) (Deprecation is excluded in the figure above to show the more accurate yearly cost of running the centre).

So overall, we managed to maintain a positive balance on our centre finances of £5,367 .

The expense figures include the centre maintenance work undertaken during the summer closedown. The work included decoration of Main Hall and Merrow Hall as well as new curtains, floor re-sanding in both halls, new heating system in Merrow Hall and finally a new carpet and new windows in the Seminar Rooms. The total of this work came to £30,822. Some of this cost was offset with an insurance claim of £5,286 (which appears as Centre Income above.) However, with this level of investment it is heartening that we still managed to show a small profit on the centre.

It is worth noting that the running of the office (e.g., stationery, phone, photocopier) is allocated as a centre expenditure, so it is important to note that without the centre these costs would have to be allocated to the church breakdown. These costs in 2023 were £4,716.

Reserves and Cash

Church Reserves are still very healthy which give us some comfort for the future of our church finances. Every year we manage to match our expenditure to our income which means that we do not have to touch our reserves to keep our church running.

However, this takes careful management and every year we do not expect to achieve it. This year our budget predicted a shortfall of £16k.

However, a few key elements meant we managed to avoid hitting our reserves. These included:

A reduction in our utility bills as the year continued.
Loss of our Youthworker means we retained more of our income from the Down Road Trust. This will be used to help with employment of our new Youthworker in 2024.
Better than expected centre lettings which meant the expense on the refurbishment did not deliver the shortfall expected.
Better than expected dividends as interest rates grew during the year.

At the end of 2023 our CLCLA investments were valued at £340,725. This is still below our end 2021 figures of £352,511 but have risen by nearly £30k since 2022. This is on top of the £20k dividends that the assets generated into our funds during 2023.

It is also worth stressing that the investments account for less than 50% of our total reserves which come to £695,122 – this excludes the value of the Centre. Therefore, we are holding £354,397 in cash reserves.

Breakdown of our reserves by fund can be seen in the full accounts on Page 13, if required.

Lindsay Dobson – Treasurer.

RECISTERED CHARITY NUMBER: 1127555 FINANCIAL STATEMENTS R THE YEA ED 31 DECEMBER 2023 THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COLTNCIL OF THE CHIIRCH OF ST JOHN THE EVANGELIST MERR CMII Partnuship Limited Chartered A¢u)Unt$ & Regist¢re4J Aj[torS 7 Wey CourL Mary Road Guildford GUI 4QU Tel.. 01483 455508 web57t¢: wWw.Cmbparthc¢o.uk

THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COiThYCIL OF THE CHURCH OF ST JOHN THE EVANGELIST MERROW CONTENTS OF THE FJNAf4CJAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023 Pa Lyl •bd AdmSnistr4tiv¢ InforThtion Antyv41 Report of the Pthjchiil Ch4rth Collntil Repfrrt Of the Independent ExAmiwer5 Statement of nancial Adiviti Bilinet Shett Notes to tht FiD#ncial Ststements

THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH coTC[L OF THE CHURCH OF ST JOHN THE EVANGELIST MERROW ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED JI DECEMBER 2023 LEGAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION ADDRESS The Parith Offic4 St John's thur¢iL 222 Epsom R(M Guildford GU4 7AA. TRuEEs I'h¢ tntst¢C$ W¢T¢ the [tMberS 0fthePar¢iaI Chur¢h Council (PCQ as klow.. Rettor: Jnterrwu]n (until Ortobcr 20231 Revd Tim Clifford Hill (from Octolxr 2023} ChirebwArdens Mr Petrr T&ppi Mrs Jane FaryubaTBon Mr Ni¢holas Bond Mrs Tricill faFq>in Treasurer Other PCC m¢mb¢rn Mrs Helth Chatnbcr5 Mrs K¢ Vm¢hoyl¢ MrJo¢ Bullo¢k Mr Robert Avis Mr David Hwil Mrs Calhy Ihompson M$ Carol Potter Mrn Carol Burtonwood Ms H¢l¢n Stffnficld-Kri5tffles¢ Parlsh Admlnl$tr8tor MT Harry Talksys Centrt Manager Mr B8rry Di¢ktns<rf) Yifvuth Worker Mrs HaThnoh Hatvey (left August 2023) Mr R1] Brown ACA CN4B PartfterSh Limited Chartered AcCJnDts & Rc8tstttcd Auditors 7 Wey CourL Mary Road Guildfojd (3Ui 4QU Page I

THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF THE CHURCH OF STJOHN THE EVAIYCELIST MERROW Af4P4UAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENJ)ED 3J DECEMBER21bll Th¢ Parochial Church Council of the Church of St John the Evangelis¢ Merrow, (the PCCI. has ihe resnsIbility to promotc thc wholc mission of St JohD'& It is a]so re5ponsibl¢ for the maintenatK¢ arjd upke¢p of the buildings &8soc1ed with the Church. The PCC ¢ottfimb th¢ 8nnua] Jrpoft 8nd finsncial statements comply with CUTrent 5tebJtOry Tequir¢iii¢rLt¥ thr requircments of the PCC'5 governtrlg th)cum¢nt4 Iuting stdrdS and the provisions of the Statcmcnt of Recommenth Practi¢¢ "AttDutttlil8 and RerA)rtin8 by Chariiics" (aritieS SORP IFRS1021 ¢ff¢ctive (or a¢cOtITIg puiods i)n or aft l Jatlvary 2019. STRUCTiJRE AND GOVERNANCE Thc PCC i5 4 Charity r¢gi5ttt¢d with the Ch8rity Commtssion and is an unincorporated &%9)ciati(Xh govemed ty th¢tttrns of its wistiwiion oBcTIVEs To bc 4vibrartL wibJ¢ssing and worshippin8 ¢hurd) at Ibc hcart of the community. REVIEW OFACTIVITIES Ineonbt Parish inwm¢ fo11$ irtto several catr80riffj of which thc main ones4re.' Plann1 giving Collealo and 01h charitable giving mprisIng collections at WViKS gnd oth¢roJknoff donations Gifi Aid recovered Oth¢T rcrtiws, which incllldes ow dJarit8ble fjJnd-raisin8 Rce¢ipts from thur¢h Aaiviti¢& in¢ludin8 ¢entre lettin8$. Pl•mnèd glvkng Plwm¢d givinE is the main source of incoffl¢ whi¢h is d¢Tived froTn the 1kn8h Ciiving schem¢ and Stgndin8 tO8ether with Gift Aid re(tipts from Hbl RevetLU¢ & CUston. This tolail¢J £88,0751£85,381). Coll¢¢tlon8 other giving A5 w¢ll &8 s¢rvic¢ colltionS A)d ¢nvelop¢s, this category includes donations for Mi$si¢)n and Cknitable Givi amoutLtitLg to £17,241. Oth¢r r#•lpt% Intludl*g tblrllable funds 8em•rgted Fund raising ¢v¢Dts generatrd iDcomeo(£1.729 (£13,816) including for Missioth and Charitoble JMJrpDse Rrf¢ipts from churtb adi¥ltles 'Ilis eategory includcs w¢thlit)g and fimera] ftts of £9.1071£&5411. Centre lEttit in¢om¢ was £73,220 (UI,W. Page 2

THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH CO1ClL OF THE CHURCH OF ST JOHf4 THE EVANGELIST MERROW ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED JJ DEClIBER 2023 Exptlldithre The laTg¢5t 5ingl¢ itcm of ex[ditUTe wa5 the Diocesan Parith Share of £92,4351£91,0381. Mission Charitsble Giving was maintained at £12.5781£12.228}, which i8 teimony to th¢ g¢n¢rosity of St Johns, in a year whcre donatons were impacted by the lack of a wtor. Church C¢ntre n]nning ¢ost& excluding depreciatiotj. w*Je £74.1401£45.IK)7}. OYerAII positio Over[ QUT exp¢nditure exceeded our ittcome by £16.353. Howcver our trJvestm¢nts gF¢w and therefore covered this defjcit. During 2023. Sainl Johns r¢¢ruited a new rector. This resulted in some Taordinary costs of both recruitnt and ctory m&inten&Rc£ Icosis U%Wdlly t4)ver¢d by the incumbtnl OT dioccsel. Thi5 meant an ¢xp¢nsc of £8,025. The tentye also clOd during the summ¢T for some refurbishmeni 8nd r¢p8ir at overall nci cost of £25,536 lexelud¢5 th¢ insurance claim income). At yCaF end cash Position was £358,530 {£363.2341. RISK MITIGATION Tht major Tisks to which the PCC is txposcd hav¢ b¢¢n identified and considered by th¢ ]n¢mbers of the PCC. Systems and procedures have b¢¢n established to manage those Tisk5 id¢ntified. RESERVES POLICY The PCC seek to maintain a sufficient level of reserv¢5 to supp)rt its day to day operations and to mcet such conting¢ncics &8 might reasonably be foTe5een. Page 3

THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COtTr4ClL THE CHURCH OF ST JOHN THE EVANGELIST MERROW ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023 STATEMENT OF TRUSTEESY RESPONSIBILITIES Law applicable to chltieS in England and Wales requtres the memlxrs ofthe PCC who ore th¢ tru8tees of the Charity for the puryoses of charity law. to prepare financial statements for &gch f]nancial year M'hich give a Me and fair view of thc stsie of affairs of the tharity, and of its fjnancial activities for tlmt year. In PTepaTiog those ac¢ounlS, the trubt¢¢5 ar¢ required to.. 5¢1eci suitable accounting poli¢ies ood apply them ¢onsistentty.' make judgements and estimate5 that are reasonable and prndeni., stale whether applicable accounting Standards halie been followed, subjtd to any mateTiaJ d¢PartU di5¢1o5ed yJJd eXplned in th¢ awounts., and prepare the fancIal ststemettts on a going conc¢rn basi5 unle&s it 15 inappropriate io preswne thai the charity will continue in op¢ratioD. The tTUStecs have oveTall responsibility for ensuTtng that the charity has apprepriate systems of control finan¢i#l or otherwise. They are also responsible for keeping proper aetounting CordS which disclosc wtih Jrasonablc eLxuracy 81 any time ihe financia] position of th¢ ¢harity and which enable them to ensure ih21 tht 8c¢ounls comply ith opplicabl¢ law. They arc also Tcsponsible foT safeguarding the ass¢ts of th¢ charity and hence for taking r¢onable steps for the prevention and deietlion Of fraud and otheT iTr¢¥uldrytle5. This ]Eport was approveé by the Pan)chial Church CO)¢1[ and SI¢d on its behalf by.. Lindsay Dobson Tre&sutEr a])d m¢mb¢r of the PaJochia] Church Council Dated P&gf 4

REP T OF THE INDEPENDEN MINER TO THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF THE CHURCH OF ST JOHN THE EVANGELIST MERROW YOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023 J report to the mistees on my examination of the finao¢ial statements of the Par081 Church Council of St Johns the Evattg¢lisL Merrow. for the y&ir ended 31 Decembcr 2023 whCh cotllprise the Statemeni of Financial Activities, the Balantt She£t and rclated rtot¢5. This report is made solcly tts the charity's In]sttt& a body. in accordance with settion 145 of the Charities Ath 2011. My work has betn undertaken so thai l Tnight state ro ihc chaTiry'S trustees ihose matters l am Tequired ts) statc to Ihctn in thi5 report and for no other purpos¢. I'o the fvllest exlenl pemiitted by law. I do not accept or as9um¢ sponSibl]Ity to aDyone other than tbe charity and Ihe ¢harity's trustees as a body, for my work, for Ihis or for the opinions I have foETr. Responsibilltits knd basis of report As the tSlee$ of th¢ charity you are r¢sponsibl¢ for the pr¢pgration of the fumncioi St]¢tS in accordantt with the requirements of the Ch3riti¢s Act 2011 I'the Act'l. I report in SPeCt of my examination of the charity's fjnancial ststemcnts carried out under section 145 of the Act and in carry'tng out my examinatton I have followed all the appli¢able Directions giveo by the Charity Commission under Section 14515)(b} of ihe Acl. At) iJ)dependent examIn10n does EJOt ihvolv¢ gathering all the evidence that would be requird in audii and consequently does not coveT the matters thai att auditor CDnsid¢rs in giving theiT opinion on the financial stot¢ments. The planjllng and ¢onduct of an audit goes beyond rht lirnit•J sur#n¢t that an indeFKDd¢nt examination catt provide. C.onscquetttly l expre no opinion as to whether the fillanGial 5tatemenis prescni a 'true and fair, view and my rewkrt is limiicd io those 5peciftc matters sct out in the independent exllin¢r s SLqiemenL IMd¢p¢ndenf examintr 5 ststement I have complcted tny examination. I tonfirm that no maierial tnatt¢T5 have come to my att¢ntion in ¢onntction the examination giving Tn¢ c&us¢ to belicve that Any material respect..

accounting records were not kept respect ofthe chariiy as r¢quir¢d by section 130 ofthe Act,. or the fJnan¢ial 5tat¢m¢nts do not accord with those recordi OT the financial Staten)t$ do not complv with th¢ applicable requir¢tn¢nts conceniing the forni and corti¢nt of accollnis stl oul in the Chariues (Accounts and Repo) Regulations 21X>8 oiher than anv rquirement ihal the accounts giv¢ a 'true and fair view which is not a mattel Gonsid¢red as pth of 3n independent examination. I h&v¢ no conccms Ènd have wm¢ across no other matters UJ conneciitsn with th¢ ¢xamination to which attention should be drawn in this repon ill ordtr to ¢Dabl¢ apropcr undeT5tanding of the fin2ncl 8tat•D¢nts to be reached. Mr Ru8*11 Brown A.C.A. CMB Parthership Limitcd Charter•4 A¢wUnits & R¢gig¢Ted Auditors 7 W¢y CourL Mary Road Guildfo SuTr¢y Glll 4QU Dated I51312¥ Pa8¢ 5

THEPAR0cHLclluRcHc0ucllL OF THE C&URCH OF WJOHN THKEVANGEU¥f MEIIROW srATF.MF.vfoFMNANCIALACTTvmES tht In¢omeDd Ei FOR THB YKARENDED31 DECEMBF.R21123 2023 2022 Nth¢ 31715 146Jkfi 91 J70 19J82 176.885 62.157 I374 91J70 14.755 3,420 12fy7 frorn ch&Titabkoetivitit8 TOfALINCOMtNGRE8nifRCES 216J16 40.135 1307 257W8 252 IJ6 eostsof wrntin8volunWi11¢4me Ih82 10.100 145323 74,140 4J73 2.755 12x8 170598 ).Q38 1320 11578 170,815 .194 4) 4,498 4J69 41$ DiK¢twstsof¢hw¢h linS 215 6.054 240787 NET tNCOMINGI(OUTGOJNG) ESOVRCES (24.2711 (115l} {16J55) 8,In7 TrANSFERS (laLJ&tlosJes}otsthyy Ofts0b]efiX]?S G3l0510uitIveme14SgPts 14 587 29J61 41,497 10. 936 133.4601 525.153 514J88 39.J48 1,079.289 1.111749 TUIAL FUF41JSkS ArJTDECEm1BR20I3 527.056 524.657 40.484 1079 1092 197 89 TrThrtBSQThPWS8to 13 f¢Jtrn of11*

TIJE PAROCHL4L CItURCH COIJYCll. OF THE CHiiRCH OF ST JOHN I'HL EVANGELIST MERROW BALANC HEF,T AS AT 31 DEC.EMBER 2023 2023 2022 Not¢5 FIXED ASSETS T3Dgible Investhwjts 13 397.075 340,275 737.350 41)3.129 311014 714.143 CURRENT ASSETS Debtors Cash at bank 15 5,718 363,234 368,952 358.530 358,530 CREDITORS .. falling due Withitt ye*r 3,806 NET CEiiiRENf ASSETS 354.847 365,146 TOTAL ASSETS LESS CiQUiENT LIABJLITIES ,092,197 1079,289 FLNDS Ujjttstricted genernl fimds Restiided funds EndowTnent fillJd$ 17 527,056 524.657 40.484 1.092.197 525,153 514,-%88 39,548 1,079.289 These fJnanci815tstementshave be pjypth in acwrilan¢¢ the chariti Ad 201 l and the Church Aceouniing Regulations 20(kn. si "ED ON. BEALF OF JHE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COU.NCIL.. Manber of theparochial Churth Council Member of th¢ Parochial Churth Coun¢il The notes on pages 8 to 13 fom part of th¢ a¢¢ounls Pa8¢ 7

THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF THE CHURCH OF STJOHN THE EVANGELIST MERROW NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS 31 DEC&MBKR2023 l. AccouffflNC POLICIES Bsl$ of preparAth)n of tht finantiAI sttsments The accounts have b¢u Preped und¢r th¢ biaori¢ai Cost conventio]x ex¢ept for c&tsin iTrvesbnents included at marknt va]u4 in a¢¢ordsn¢e with the Church Accounting Reglllations 2006, the Chariti¢s Act 2011 and the Sw¢m¢nt of Rmm¢nded Practice: Accoun118 and R¢porting by Chariti&8 SOBF IFRS 102) dyective for accoLllJting periods comm¢ncin8 on OT after l January 2019. Fwnd aCCOUDtiMg Unrestricted funds represent the fimds of the PCC that are t 5thje¢t to any trictiOnS &% to their us£. Funds designated by the PCC fora particular purp05c ar¢ a150 unrcstriGtd. Restrict funds 8re those funds held which are subject to r¢striCti0* as to their use imFosed by the donor ( contained within the ternjs ofagTanL Etlthwrllcnt fvnd5 are fiuJd5, the rapita] of whi¢h must b¢ maitttsin&t Jneome ari8in8 from the investment of the ¢Iowent may be restricd or thvestriC deiKnding on the pwpose for whi¢h the en(k)wmeni ¢stsblished. The aGGounts in¢lud¢ transa¢tiotts wets liabilitiL8 for which the PCC be held responsible. Thcy do not include the accourjts of church thai owe an atrill10tt to anoth¢r body, nor thos¢ that are iDformal 8atherin8s of church mcmbcrs. Inrning rewurt All voluntsry VIng is inchtded in the fin8ncig] 5tatcments for the period in which it 15 received. Donations un Gift Aid plus the SOciad tax recovery ar¢ reco8nised incomc when the donation i5 reffiv Legacies are accountd for whenthcir retcipt is certwn and Can be properly quontifi&t All other income is recogDised when it 15 T¢ceivable. Resources expellded Grants and donatiLXJS arc arrowrtd for when paid ov¢r. or wh¢n awardtd, tf that award creat&s a binthn8 or constn]¢tiv¢ obligation on th¢ PCC. The dioc¢5a]] parisb Sha is calculated antluaily and h&$ been accounted fer in thcyeor to which ii relate& (kner ¢xp¢ndifttTC is a¢¢ountcd for as ihe liability is ini?red and where 8ppropriak includes i]Tecoverabl¢ VAT. GoYern8nce costs include those LY)St5 &wiated wtth theeting the constiOnI1 and statutory requirnyjents of the ¢h8rity attd includ¢ tbe illd¢pendeDt examiners fee& T%gible fjKed Assets Cons¢cTated and benefJc¢ propcrty of any kind is ¢x¢ludtsJ fr(>m th¢ financial ststements itt 2ceordance with the Charities Act 2011. This includes attLount5 expetlded upon Such ass¢ts by thE PCC which is ilud6 Df writien v81ueper aonum. Sl John'$ C¢Jtr fiJrnitttr¢ Atxl equipment is deprxiated on a slrdight line b&8is ovu 10 year& Computcr and oth equipmenr is d¢pr¢¢i8ted on a &tyight line blS overthree year5. Inw¢sknents arc incllldcd at thcLT mad(ct value at 31 Dccember. Page 8

PAROCHtALCHURCIICX)UNCILOF IHE EVANGELLFf ME10 OTESTOACCOUYTS R YBAREf4DED31 DECEMBER2023 2025 VOLIiNTARYINCY)ME PknrttsJ8l5iA Collethions aDdotherkryv knc0MEtlircovcIcd Oift Aid 69.916 15.921 1&159 5.194 69.916 17241 18.159 5,5 36.QiYJ J,801 35,9 21,510 18577 3(725 203 l J19 Gjults L¢BXia Lts irK(¢ll¢ 146906 17fj885 INCfJMEFROM ACTI177sF0RG1ZIRATllNGFi5 715D7 9,I07 3.956 78,507 9,107 3,956 51,907 J44 rhutch4Ctiirytits fSblfdS 91 19 1207 &2 13074 COSTSOFGEPIERATtriG FUN[15 2.755 1.6f2 82 2755 Unrci¢ted R¢skncwd 2022 funds 1.44D 38 1257¥ 26

THE PAROCHIALCHIIRCHCOUNLIL OF ThE CHURCHOFSTJO]IN TEEEVANGBLiST MERROW OTKSTO ACCY)UNTS FOR ThEYRAIi E 2023 2022 TLttI Di(**]5 sh 92.43S 2.153 T6269 7.153 91435 91,038 W54 3&523 9.473 34J26 Cleiwy8lli¥vmaryJexpe4S 20 440 3.110 1,743 17.884 1943 thoir¢wK5 R¢pirsto church 3,110 17.834 chw¢hyAw1ktcP 1,565 D¢rrtClicffj offuLthlkyts&s 145 2J 170.815 1709)8 TrDivEwanFqn¥hkn bythoDloC¢0f GlIardIdiSQ$hJtOV¢rthBwsQflhtR UnTegtncted fiJndg Stsff 4823 4.716 11998 9.171 £522 30.822 1414 716 129)8 1524 anIng ilittes 4.522 guranGE 2,471 557 557 712 17$ 80.194

THEFAROCHIALCHUItCHCOUF4CJLOF liOTESTOACCOIINTS FORIHE YFAREP4DED31 DECEM1023 22 Totyl CHIIRCH NL4NAGEhIEI4TLYDAI>MU4ISTRAT1014 3.598 IT2 728 LThurchllthDiDtxrauoD 192 192 fol 4.498 IQ GOVERNANCRC(AYTS 4569 1415 STAFF COS TRIJSTEES ThteeoI[n1nyX¥¥l¢c5lntheywlJ)22.ll71l P¥ll

THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF THE CHURCH OF ST JOHN THE EVAI¥GELIST MERROW NOTES TO ACCOUNTS AR Ef4DED 31 DE EMBER2023 OR THE 13 FIXED ASSETS TANGIBLEASSETS Freknld land and buibjings Fumilure ting5 ¢quip]at cosr At 1st juY 2023 502.(3 70 18587 At 31 DecaDber 2023 70 590.917 DEPRECIA'nON At 1st Janusry 2013 Charge foryear 98.954 70247 1&587 187.788 At31 De£hlxr2023 18 NET BOOK VALUE At 31 Dlber 2023 397.075 At 31 Decanber 2022 403 129 403.129 The fKeehold knd and buildinRs c(ryrisetheStJohn's Cath. DOlati( has btrn dwged in rdation ts) frt¢lK)td buijdisI0reatdth{10f in in a¢ukJdgn¢¢ with Iewmthd Prnai¢¢. 14 FIXED ASSETS. INVLSTMENrs 20 2022 MaTk¢tVglor inVe5bllQ bEJdat l Janwy 2ff23 Additil$ ReVAtuationBaiorffjSl 311,014 352.511 Markctvsiue at 31 December2023 311.014 rnlrkd Val a 31 DxaDbtr2023 inV#ttn¢itts for. 2023 2022 304,378 278,204 32.810 340.275 311014 2023 2022 15 DEwfoiLS Pag¢ 12

PAROCHIAL CIIURCH COUNCVI, OF THE CHURCII OF STJOHN THF EVANGELISI. .MbRROW NOTFSTO ACCOUN 2 16 CREDTfoK8 2,4LK 1283 J7 REsfRvcfEDAND UNRESTRtCT£D FUNDS Balan¢¢ brwghi for%iwd i)JtBOin8 fimds UnT¢lrfed Gellerd Church fur 84.472 137J28 {1&4,5501 26.174 819J9 Dtti%tEd fuud5 35.552 271 79.153 174,OY2) 40J89 MIFelV$blp OJre¥hou* Fwil 12711 404,fib8 250 404.fA)8 140 Tty4wFulld 35 11451 rchyard 216 516 StknJJD'8Centr¢ BabyBa5i¢5 Cbwth fthic fd ChuT£b>aTd Wy Bwing Crt)uid Gra Warmemorial 403.129 lJ32 93.848 5.777 1.430 933 7939 16.054) 11.440) 397.075 396 3.113 100 97.661 5.559 ).430 J.759 20.685 35.( 30.IJ66 fuu 46 40.438 TheGrts8 39502 1207 3,358 3.087 39.548 07 1.079289 257.858 274211 29261 P1)

accounting records were not kept respect ofthe chariiy as r¢quir¢d by section 130 ofthe Act,. or the fJnan¢ial 5tat¢m¢nts do not accord with those recordi OT the financial Staten)t$ do not complv with th¢ applicable requir¢tn¢nts conceniing the forni and corti¢nt of accollnis stl oul in the Chariues (Accounts and Repo) Regulations 21X>8 oiher than anv rquirement ihal the accounts giv¢ a 'true and fair view which is not a mattel Gonsid¢red as pth of 3n independent examination. I h&v¢ no conccms Ènd have wm¢ across no other matters UJ conneciitsn with th¢ ¢xamination to which attention should be drawn in this repon ill ordtr to ¢Dabl¢ apropcr undeT5tanding of the fin2ncl 8tat•D¢nts to be reached. Mr Ru8*11 Brown A.C.A. CMB Parthership Limitcd Charter•4 A¢wUnits & R¢gig¢Ted Auditors 7 W¢y CourL Mary Road Guildfo SuTr¢y Glll 4QU Dated I51312¥ Pa8¢ 5