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2022-12-31-accounts

Christ Church Epsom Common Annual Report 2022 - 2023

Charity Commission number 1127945 The Parochial Church Council of the Ecclesiastical Parish of Christ Church Epsom Common

Trustees Annual Report and Accounts year ending December 31 2022

CONTENTS Christ Church Epsom Common Annual Report 2022-2023 ................................................................... 2 Worship ............................................................................................................................................ 2 Church Development ........................................................................................................................ 3 Outreach ........................................................................................................................................... 3 Social Events ..................................................................................................................................... 3 Children and young people ............................................................................................................... 4 Eco Church ........................................................................................................................................ 4 Discipleship ....................................................................................................................................... 4 Pastoral Care ..................................................................................................................................... 6 Missions ............................................................................................................................................ 6 Safeguarding ..................................................................................................................................... 7 Christ Church Safeguarding Policy - Ratified by PCC 2022 ............................................................ 8 Safeguarding Training Requirements: ........................................................................................... 9 Church Governance ........................................................................................................................ 10 The Parochial Church Council (PCC) ............................................................................................ 10 PCC membership during 2022-2023........................................................................................ 10 Review of PCC business ........................................................................................................... 10 Church Wardens’ Report on the Fabric of the Church and its other Properties 2022 – 2023 . 12 Deanery Synod Report ................................................................................................................ 15 Finance Report: Alan Frame ........................................................................................................ 17 Introduction: ............................................................................................................................... 17 Planned Giving and Other Income .............................................................................................. 17 Expenditure ................................................................................................................................. 18 Missions .................................................................................................................................. 18 Funds....................................................................................................................................... 18 Investments ............................................................................................................................ 18 Statement of Financial Activities (SOFA) ................................................................................. 19 Balance sheet, detailed ........................................................................................................... 20 Accounting policies ................................................................................................................. 20 Independent examiner’s report to the PCC of Christ Church, Epsom Common ...................... 21 Minutes of the Vestry and Annual Parochial Church Meetings for the Parish Of Christ Church Epsom Common April 24 2022 ....................................................................................................................... 22 VESTRY MEETING ............................................................................................................................ 22 ANNUAL PAROCHIAL CHURCH MEETING ........................................................................................ 23

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Christ Church Epsom Common Annual Report 2022-2023

Approved by the PCC, March 13 2023

A Message from Revd Rosemary Donovan

The combination of personal life events coupled with national ones seems to have overshadowed this past year for me and it feels like it has come and gone in something of a blur. (Maybe that’s the effect of major surgery and a new puppy!) The joy of celebrating the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee in June followed by the sadness of her death in September sums up the roller-coaster of emotions that we have all been on.

There continues to be a slow recovery in communal life as the long-term effects of the Covid 19 Pandemic remain with some people still cautious and others struck down with a variety of seasonal aliments that we have been sheltered from in recent times. This makes planning and preparation hard, and we increasingly need a flexible approach with contingency options. This was made harder with changes in personnel in the office and the ongoing sick leave of our Youth and Families Worker.

In July we were pleased to welcome our new Curate, Esther Holley Hunt and her husband James, rejoicing with them on the arrival of their first child Gabriel in October. As a result, Esther has since been on maternity leave, but we look forward to her flourishing in ministry and the exciting proposition of hosting her ordination to the priesthood at Christ Church in October.

Worship

It is always encouraging to receive positive feedback and not a week goes by without someone commenting about how inspiring they found our main morning worship whether that be the sermon or the music or sense of the Spirit moving amongst us. In all things as long as glory is given to God that is most important. It has been good to restart post service hospitality thanks to the coordination of Ruth Grint and a team of willing volunteers. We continue to explore ways of making this more efficient and environmentally friendly.

The addition of a quiet said Holy Communion on the mornings of 5@5 seem to have been popular although the main focus those days will be building community through food, fellowship and café style worship which is growing. The Source has fluctuated a bit due to Jen’s absence but sincere thanks to those faithful volunteers that welcome families, join in craft and make tea or cakes.

Additional work commitments have forced Sarah to step down from coordinating baptisms so that ministry too has had to be transitioned. Thanks to Sarah and the rest of the team who assist with preparation and services. Pastoral offices have seen a gradual decline in recent years as other options are available for civil ceremonies, but it is always a joy to celebrate and officiate at life’s key moments. We were pleased to host completely on site the wedding of a former Chorister Emily, this year and have mourned the loss of our former

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Verger Diana. We were also pleased to baptise 5 adults and they along with 3 further were confirmed by Bishop Andrew at St. Mary’s, Ewell on Advent Sunday.

Probably the highlight of the year was celebrating the Queen’s jubilee with a party and worship, and we chose to explore her values and faith in our summer series outdoor worship. This was made even more poignant with her death just weeks later. However, we were pleased to offer sanctuary for those who wished to light a candle and sign the Book of Remembrance, and the Thanksgiving service for her life was very well attended. Our Bellringers were able to contribute peels for both the Queen’s passing and the accession of the new King Charles. We look forward to both ringing and singing for the King later this year.

Church Development

We have been fortunate to have been gifted with several legacies in recent years and these monies have been ring fenced for redevelopment or special projects that we could never be able to afford ordinarily. Plans for the hall upgrade have been tweaked in the light of the Pandemic and rising building costs and we hope to present them to the wider congregation very soon. There will however be a shortfall as the Greenway project will eat into a portion of the available funds but an upgrade to that property is prudent and could be used as collateral. Although it is hoped that fundraising and grants can be achieved. We have offered the Scouts a new lease, but they are as yet to sign which is disappointing.

Outreach

We were pleased to repeat the Creationtide family fun day in partnership with the Little Hands Nursery and new connections were made. Many people shared in a live screening of the late Queen’s funeral. The re-establishment of the ecumenical Good Friday witness in the market place had a good feel and turn out thanks to the community choir coordinated by David Williams.

Members of the Evangelism and Outreach team have attended several training events and we seek to increase our community engagement in the coming year.

Social Events

It has been good to concentrate on rebuilding community through our regular walks and lunches. Strengthening the fellowship aspect at 5@5 with a wonderful afternoon tea for the Jubilee, fun at the holiday at home in the summer, and a spectacular fireworks display in the autumn.

In particular the whole community pulled together to rise over £1700 at the Autumn fair which bought in stallholders from the local community too. Several of the MU were privileged to visit Frogmore House in the summer as the late Queen opened its gardens for charity. We hope to return to Windsor on a coach trip in this coming year.

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Children and young people

Sadly, Jen’s long term sick leave has put a huge dent in the work she had begun and dwindling finances mean we cannot continue to employ a fulltime YFW. We were not successful in appointing a temporary post holder and look forward to Jen retuning part time after Easter. Massive thanks to Katharine and Gill who continue to maintain CCKids.

The Youth group has had several new members and meets weekly for games, discussion, and films. It was great that 4 young people were confirmed this year and the group facilitated an Easter egg trail on the common for local families to enjoy.

We have hosted shared activities with the Forest School, Wheels and Squeals and uniformed organisation as well as acts of collective worship for our schools. CCUFC looked on the brink of closure in the summer as several founding coaches retired .Fortunately with a lot of prayer and appealing for volunteers from the wider community it has survived. Thanks to David Wedlake for continuing to support our link with the club and we look forward to hosting the annual award ceremony again.

Eco Church

With the C of E pledge to be Carbon Zero by 2030 the climate emergency is a real challenge. Consequently Alison Moulden, the Diocesan Environmental Advisor issued 3 targets to Guildford Churches for 2022.

  1. Get a new Eco Church Award

  2. Fill in the Energy Footprint Tool

  3. Switch to renewable energy

We were delighted to achieve all 3 and were awarded the Silver Eco award in September.

The group organized another popular twilight bat walk in the summer and are in the process of erecting swift boxes and a water butt to improve our grounds. Raising the profile of this essential aspect of ministry remains a strong priority as we believe our unique location compels us to really nail our colours to the mast on this issue as part of our discipleship and response to a loving Creator. Safeguarding the planet is one of the 5 marks of mission and not an optional extra. This is integral to everything we do as we seek to be a Living Well and live well ourselves

Discipleship

Revd Sue Curtis

Discipleship is one of the key threads of our Parish Development plan. The priority is to ensure that we have a strategic approach to discipleship and growing leaders. The action points include promoting new opportunities for deepening discipleship, through courses, quiet days and service. One of the possibilities is participating in a church retreat or Big Day Out.

A disciple is someone who follows the teachings, life, and aims of another until the person becomes like that individual. Discipleship in the Christian sense is the process of become like

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Christ. As disciples, we need to follow the teachings and actions of Jesus, allow the Holy Spirit to transform how we live and commit to the work of God in the world.

Many things contribute to helping us grow as disciples of Christ: our worship, prayer, Bible study, care for each other, commitment to working for God’s justice and outreach in mission and proclamation.

As a community, Sunday worship, including the worship in songs and hymns, corporate prayer, Bible readings, preaching and the messaging in the liturgy is a main way we develop our knowledge, relationship with God and experience as disciples. In the last year we have had some Sunday sermon series where we have focussed for a specific set of talks on particular topics. These have included a focus on the values of our late Queen in August and on the environment during September.

Our Lent course, this year, looked at Talking Jesus and how we share our faith. This has also involved a whole church course in the evening. As disciples, sharing our faith in word, values and actions is a priority.

Last summer some Christ Church members, in different phases of a faith journey, joined with the other local Anglican churches at The Prayer Course which helped develop and enrich our openness and receptivity to God.

Working in prayer and action as part of Churches Together in Epsom (CTiE) is also important in witnessing to the community where we are united as disciples and broadening our own perspectives.

Home groups are also an important part of developing together as disciples of Christ. Within Christ Church, people meet regularly to get to understand God and know each other better. Meeting in homes, there is an opportunity to explore the Bible, issues of faith, and to discuss current issues from a Christian perspective. This is an excellent chance to share ideas in a safe and supportive environment. In a group situation it is easy to share prayer, social activities, and pastoral care for each other, as trust and friendships develop. Groups are open to all and welcome anyone who can come along. There is a chance to talk and listen and we learn together and develop our response to God’s love in a friendly and relaxed way. The groups currently meet on a Tuesday. There are evening groups that meet weekly in term time on Zoom and in person, one group that normally meets monthly in person and a group that meets on a Tuesday, sharing lunch together. Why not give a Home Group a try? It is an excellent way to develop connections within the Christ Church community.

If we are to continue to grow as Christian Disciples, it would be good to expand our group provision, attracting new and younger Christians as well as continuing to nurture and develop those who are established group members. Maybe a different balance of activities would be good and meeting on a different day or time, could help some share in this formative process. What we need are some new leaders. Leadership can be shared; the need is to be an enabler, not an expert.

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If you would like to know more, speak to Sue Curtis 01372 210492 or email associateminister@christchurchepsom.org.uk.

Pastoral Care

Sue Matthews

The Pastoral Care Team continues to meet every 6 weeks to review and respond to Pastoral needs. The Ministerial team, Parish Safeguarding Officer and Youth and Family worker attend the meetings, in addition to the lay members of the pastoral team. Prayer for those in need has continued through the prayer chain and intercessions in services. Prayer ministry is offered after the morning service, with at least two people available, who will pray with you, respecting confidentiality. All members of the prayer ministry team are trained and meet regularly with Rosemary for ongoing training and support. The Tea Club meets quarterly and is well supported. The Baptism team continue to work with families in preparation for, and after baptism. The weekly MailChimp parish notices outline how to seek pastoral support. To ensure inclusivity, paper copies of Parish notices are delivered to those without email access. Sue Curtis also emails a simplified version of the notices to those with limited IT access titled ‘Keeping in Touch’.

The team now uses a pastoral email address for each Pastoral Assistant, available on MailChimp bulletins. All members of the team are trained by the Guildford Diocese and also attend update courses including Domestic Abuse Awareness and Safeguarding Leadership. Current team members are Pastoral Assistants: Sue Matthews; Jo Wolfe; Devorah Burns and Pastoral Visitor Jane Williams. More people are much needed for these roles. If you would like to join the Pastoral team and or the Prayer Ministry team please speak to Sue Matthews.

Current contact details:

Sue Matthews - pastoralsue@christchurchepsom.org.uk Jo Woolfe - pastoraljo@christchurchepsom.org.uk Devorah Burns - pastoraldevorah@christchurchepsom.org.uk Jane Williams - pastoraljane@christchurchepsom.org.uk

Missions

Greg Edwards

Christ Church directs its Missions Giving through ten championed charities, which are supported for a 3-year period. However, due to financial pressures facing the Church, it has been decided at the PCC level to look at reducing the number of Missions and the subsequent Missions Budget for 2023.

We had a successful 2022/23 year. One of the principle actions on the Missions Committee is to distribute funds out of our emergency funding pot (usually 15% of the Missions budget) to charities that urgently require funding, based on the consensus from the Missions. This year we successfully distributed the following payments:

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One of the positives from this year was larger collections in our nominated services (Harvest & Christmas) for specific charities.

Although the ask is to reduce the number of Missions in 2023 down to 5 members, we have requested PCC approval for us to keep all 10 Missions for the foreseeable future, but not to fund 4 of these Missions in 2023. This will still keep these 4 Missions visible/ known to the congregation. When the Mission Renewal process takes place next year, rather than changing or increasing Mission representatives, we will look at using this process to naturally reduce Missions that aren’t actively supported or Missions who wish to step down.

Our vision for the forthcoming 2023 year, is to focus on using our limited resources to carry on our Charitable work, keep our supporting / promoting our Charities to the congregation & start looking at ways of supporting our Missions with less dependence on the Church’s finances. Example: Christmas hamper collection for the Besom, individual school fees sponsorship for VPM orphans in Nairobi, the Children Society money collection boxes etc.

Once again, we thank Christ Church parochial team and congregation for their continued support for the Missions Committee.

Safeguarding

Fay Wedlake Church Warden and interim PSO from October 2022, Andy Hards Church Warden

It is exciting that we will all have acquired the same shared understanding that

“ Safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility”

What is safeguarding and why is it important?

Safeguarding means protecting a person’s health, wellbeing and human rights to enable them to live free from harm abuse and neglect.

Ref: Introduction from ‘Promoting a Safer Church’, The Church of England’s Safeguarding Policy Statement cofe-policy-statement.pdf (churchofengland.org)

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*The care and protection of children, young people and vulnerable adults involved in Church activities is the responsibility of the whole Church.

*Everyone who participates in the life of the Church has a role to play in promoting a Safer Church for all.

*Safeguarding Policy Statement of the Church of England The Church of England, its Archbishops, Bishops, clergy and leaders are committed to safeguarding as an integral part of the life and ministry of the Church.

Safeguarding means the action the Church takes to promote a safer culture.

*This means we will promote the welfare of children, young people and adults, work to prevent abuse from occurring, seek to protect those that are at risk of being abused and respond well to those that have been abused.

*We will take care to identify where a person may present a risk to others, and offer support to them whilst taking steps to mitigate such risks.

The Church of England affirms the Whole Church approach to safeguarding.

*This approach encompasses a commitment to consistent policy and practice across all Church bodies, Church Officers and that everyone associated with the Church, who comes into contact with children, young people and adults, has a role to play.

*The Church will take appropriate steps to maintain a safer environment for all and to practice fully and positively Christ's Ministry towards children, young people and adults; to respond sensitively and compassionately to their needs in order to help keep them safe from harm.

Christ Church Safeguarding Policy - Ratified by PCC 2022

Commissioned by the PCC, I assisted Ro Stretton our Safeguarding Co-ordinator with reviewing safeguarding training in the Parish in line with the current requirements of the Church of England and Guildford Dioceses.

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Safeguarding Training Requirements:

Our focus is to support people in Christ Church to access the higher levels of Core Safeguarding Training: that is the Basic Awareness and Foundation, Domestic Violence and Leadership

52 Adults of all ages, have successful completed the on line safeguarding training.

There are 66 people on rolling refresher programme.

If you are curious, the modules build on faith, are relevant to both church growth and everyday life settings, accessible via the above web address.

Safeguarding and DBS are both to be refreshed every three years (rather than 5 years)

In the Disclosure and Barring Service (DSB), higher security levels of Enhanced Plus or Enhanced are required for a wider variety of roles. To ensure Christ Church remains Diocesan DSB Compliant.

DBS Review : 48 people eligible – 16 hold valid DBS, 32 need new or renewal of existing DBS.

Welcome to Les and Maureen King to be formally appointed As DBS and Safeguarding Officers

“Creating a Safe Space and Safer Culture in Christ Church Epsom”.

Thank you so much to Ro Stretton for the much appreciated, hard work you have put into shaping both the Safeguarding and the DSB systems over many years.

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Church Governance

ANNUAL REPORT FOR 2022 – Jane Williams PCC Secretary March 2023 Together with:

Christ Church, Epsom Common, is an Anglican Church in the Diocese of Guildford. The postal address is Christ Church, Christ Church Road, Epsom KT19 8NE. Registered Charity number 1127945.

The Parochial Church Council (PCC)

Under Church of England legislation, the PCC is responsible for collaborating with the incumbent in promoting, in the ecclesiastical parish, the whole mission of the Church: pastoral, evangelistic, social and ecumenical. Worship matters are for the incumbent. The PCC is responsible for these premises: Christ Church, its Church Hall and the Curate’s house at 278 The Greenway, Epsom.

The PCC has complied with the duty under section 5 of the Safeguarding and Clergy Discipline Measure 2016 (duty to have regard to the House of Bishop’s guidance on safeguarding children and vulnerable adults).

PCC membership during 2022-2023

Ex-officio PCC members

Clergy Vicar The Revd RosemaryDonovan Chair
Curate The Revd Esther Hunt From 07/22
Associate Minister The Revd Sue Curtis(OLM)
Reader Licensed LayMinister Berwick Curtis(LLM)
Churchwardens Andrew Hards Chair Premises LayVice-Chair
FayWedlake Interim SafeguardingOfficer LayVice-Chair

Elected PCC members

Elected PCC members
Additional Roles Name Year appointed
BRC,Eco Team,Children and Families Katherine Chambers
 2020
DeanerySynod,PCC Safeguarding
 Merinda D’Aprano
 2020
Finance committee Nigel Daniels 2021
MerryMowers Daniel Korboe 2021
DeanerySynod,E&O Jen Sadler 2020
Children and Families LucyWarren 2021
PCC sec,BRC,E&O Jane Williams 2020 October
MerryMowers Gerald Wisden 2021
Children and Families Clair Wright 2020 October
DeanerySynod,Children and Families Gill Glasspool 2022
Christ Church United Rep David Wedlake 2022

Review of PCC business

The PCC met 8 times during the year with an average attendance of 75%.

The PCC is supported by the Business and Resources Committee (the required standing committee with some additional delegated powers). Other groups met regularly, (each including PCC and non-PCC members), dealing with: Finance, Premises, Missions and Giving, Evangelism and Outreach, Environmental/ Eco and Children and Youth Support Team. All report to the PCC at regular intervals. The terms of reference of each group were reviewed

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in September 2021. Each group is chaired by Revd Donovan or a PCC member, with the exception of Missions Team, chaired by Greg Edwards who also attends the BRC meetings.

Seven days in advance of each PCC meeting, the agenda is displayed on the church noticeboard (a mandatory requirement). A summary of each PCC meeting is circulated in the church MailChimp Bulletin. The summary and draft minutes are also displayed on the PCC noticeboard to keep the congregation informed.

Safeguarding is an agenda item at every PCC meeting. The whole church community is responsible for safeguarding. Ro Stretton, Parish Safeguarding Officer, has worked diligently to keep up-to-date with new developments and requirements. Ro retired from this role in October 2022 with Fay Wedlake covering in the interim with the support of Rosemary pending appointment of Safeguarding Officers in April 2023

The PCC also expressed heartfelt thanks for the work of the Finance Committee during these challenging times, with grateful thanks to Alan Frame to retaking the role of Treasurer in the short term. Thanks were also expressed during the year to our dedicated Music Worship Team, including the Band, Choir and to Dan Allsopp, Band Leader and David Williams, Choir Director and Organist for their resourcefulness in responding to ongoing challenges posed by Covid infection. Thanks also to our dedicated sound desk team. The PCC also acknowledged the dedicated work of Andy Hards and Richard Martin on the Premises team. Richard retired from this role in summer 2022 after 30 years’ service.

We met for an at home “away day” in July and spent time reflecting on the Church of England’s vision to be ‘Simpler, Humbler and Bolder’ in its evangelism, worship, and outlook. Several PCC members attended an inspiring conference on Church Growth in November and a two day meeting in January, led by Jacquie Pullinger with a focus on sharing our faith. We have spent time discussing the necessary maintenance to the church fabric, issues related to the Scout Hall lease and possibilities for redevelopment of both the Parish hall and Curates residence.

Hall Bookings have increased this year. Parish Administrator Sophie Foale has worked hard to promote the Parish Hall for lettings. The Hall is used weekdays by Little Hands Nursery. We now have regular bookings with a local Dance School on two evenings a week. We continue to have monthly lettings by Alpine Garden Society and Epsom Paws for regular dog training sessions. An increasing number of community groups hire the hall for their annual AGM's and the ad-hoc meeting. To name a few we have: Noble Park Estate AGM, Stamford & Horton Residents Association, Epsom Civic Society, and Epsom Common Association. Ad hoc bookings for birthday parties and one off events continue. It is encouraging to see an increase in community use of our premises post Covid.

The pandemic has had an impact not only on church finances, but also on the scope of our activities. We look forward to working with the congregation to fulfil God’s plan for us in this community, with the power of the Holy Spirit directing and inspiring us.

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Church Wardens’ Report on the Fabric of the Church and its other Properties 2022 – 2023 Andrew Hards, Fay Wedlake: Church Wardens. 22 February 2023

Introduction

Generally, the Church is in good condition but aging and deterioration of some of the construction elements meant that several significant repairs were required and some further work is anticipated within the next few years. This is consistent with the age and construction of the main church building and boundary walls

The upkeep of the church, hall, grounds and 278 The Greenway (the Curate’s house) are overseen by the small but dedicated Premises Committee.

The Committee manages a planned maintenance programme to ensure that the small things are dealt with in a timely manner and record when everything has been completed. This includes routine items such as servicing and safety checks of heating installations, fire extinguishers, electrical installations and equipment, fire alarms, organ and woodworm checks. These are an important element of the Health and Safety of the church and hall.

As in previous years, many checks and repairs continued to be carried out in house-saving expenditure. The wardens would like the church members to note the continued hard work, advice and dedication of Richard Martin.

Thanks must again go to the teams of volunteers who work hard and often unseen with the upkeep including the church cleaners, the flower team and the Merry Mowers who have evolved into a “Whats App “connected gardening group, thanks to Gerald Wisden for overseeing this.

An autumn clean- up day on 15 October was well attended, thanks to all who took part.

A spring clean- up was planned for 1 April 2023.

Thanks also to Martin Shipton for continuing to deal with insurance issues.

The church is insured by the Ecclesiastical Insurance Group in the sum of £14,780,000 with a £500 excess and the £2,960,000 with a £250 excess for the hall. EIG normally apply an inflation indexed increase to these sums at this time of year.

The Church

As indicated, several significant repairs took place which was fully described in the previous APCM fabric report.

  1. The rain water gutters were replaced, downpipes overhauled and repainted and the eaves level woodwork repainted. The work was carried out by DBR Leadwork at a cost of £31,000 plus VAT (thanks to Alan Frame for reclaiming the VAT). The work was supervised by Robert Shaw, our Quinquennial Architect and signed off on 10 August 2022.

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  1. Following the boiler room flood our insurance claim for drainage repairs was a success saving a significant amount of money. Repairs involving partial drain re lining and partial replacement were carried out by Auger and signed off on 13 June 2022.

Future major repair:

The gutter work involved scaffolding which allowed a close examination of the roof edge parapet wall coping stones by Andy and Robert Shaw. Parts of the stonework are clearly spalling, due to weathering and frost damage over the years. The condition is such that repair could well be a requirement of the next Quinquennial Report which is due in the summer of 2024. Robert considers that it may well be possible to repair the stonework in situ rather than sourcing new stones but a skilled stone mason will still be required. He has experience of this type of work at other churches. His ball park figure was in the region of £50,000, possibly less.

The PCC was advised and has agreed to follow Robert’s suggestion of a phased course of action. This involves assessing the degree of damage and drafting a Statement of Need (both already done) for inclusion in an application for DAC approval. From initial discussion with the DAC secretary it is likely that repairs can be carried out with Archdeacon’s consent rather than a full faculty.

After that, obtain quotations with provision for inflation (potential contractors have been identified) and then in Robert’s words “draw breath” to consider funding and grant applications.

In addition to major works, regular servicing of the heating system, organ and organ blower plus safety checks of fire extinguishers were carried out as normal.

Some additional work was performed during organ servicing to repair the leaking air valve that was causing an annoying hissing noise.

The Hall

Little has been required since the last APCM report.

The boiler pump was replaced following routine servicing.

Additional door hinge finger guards were fitted to reduce the risk of injury and potential claims with the help of Charles Rodrigues of Little Hands.

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The Grounds

The condition of the flint boundary walls was mentioned in the 2019 Quinquennial Report and reported at the last APCM. Since then, two areas of damage have appeared facing the car park, possibly due to un-reported vehicle impact. At the time of writing, quotations were in hand with a view to repair to prevent further deterioration. Repair timing is weather dependant.

278 The Greenway (The Curate House)

The Curate Esther Hunt and her husband James moved in, initially as church tenants, during November 2021.

The fabric report for the previous APCM advised that the house has had little in the way of improvement for some time and has relatively low kerb appeal compared with other houses near -by.

As previously reported the PCC had considered and approved a programme of improvements which should make the house a better place to live up to as well as enhancing the market and rental values.

The main items are:

Improved parking, new front door, improvement to the awkward layout of the bathroom and wc, conversion of the integral garage to give an extra room, utility area and ground floor wc plus associated refitting of the kitchen and creation of a contemporary kitchen/family/dining room.

The PCC had significant involvement in the process of approving contractor appointment and agreement of the cost.

The detailed design, specification, planning and building regulations and contractor search were handled for the church by a professional architect, Annette Peters Design. She has gone through the successful quotation in considerable depth with the contractor to bring the cost down as far as possible but it is still a considerable sum reflecting high inflation particularly for building materials. The PCC were fully engaged and considered the options including limiting the scope of the work and even suspending the project before giving final approval.

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The architect performed due diligence checks on the contractor including references, arranged the contract and will carry out all supervision with 2 weekly valuations of the work as it progresses.

The contractor is Adam Hayman trading as Concept 73 Developments.

His final quotation was £113,682 plus VAT

Esther’s husband James has very kindly agreed to undertake the decorative works at materials cost only for which the PCC is very grateful, also for their co-operation and willingness to vacate the house and arrange alternative accommodation during the work.

Report on the Goods and Ornaments 2022-2023

At the beginning of February, the church had an intruder or intruders. There was no sign of a break in and no known missing keys. The safe lock was drilled out and the safe opened but nothing was taken, no signs of ransacking or vandalism in other parts of the church. The Police and insurers were notified, door lock barrels and tumblers were changed as a precaution and to satisfy insurers. Thanks to Richard Martin for this. Insurers have agreed to meet the cost of a replacement safe and at the time of writing, quotations were being obtained again with the help of Richard.

Otherwise, there is nothing to report

Deanery Synod Report

Gill Glasspool. Christ Church representatives: Merinda D’Aprano and Gill Glasspool The Synod has met three times over the course of the year, with each meeting taking place at a different church venue and having a different focus. As Deanery Synod Chair, Rosemary has led each meeting, all of which have been well attended by representatives from churches across the Deanery. Discussions have been enthusiastic, engendered a common understanding and facilitated a healthy cross-fertilisation of ideas.

The agenda for each meeting usually includes administrative items, e.g. Deanery and Diocesan updates and Treasurer’s Report, and then a focus topic presented by a guest speaker with break out discussions.

Thursday 16[th] June 2022 at St. Mary the Virgin, Headley

Revd. Harry Latham provided a very interesting introduction, informing us about the church’s history and fabric in addition to current church practice and trends: traditional/Eucharistic services are held at St. Mary’s but there were plans for new ‘gathering’ times, these mainly in response to calls from members of the Community Choir who had shown interest in exploring church in a new way.

Focus Topic: Eco-Church, presented by Alison Moulden, Diocesan Environment Officer.

Alison’s presentation was comprehensive and packed with information. She covered:

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Alison noted that in many cases church buildings were not built with energy efficiency in mind but reminded us that there was lots of scope for every parish to become more ecofriendly. Churches were urged to sign up for Eco Church – we already had and, in fact, Christ Church went on to receive our Silver Award later in the year! At the time of the meeting, only 55% of the Deanery had signed up and only two awards had been made (our Bronze Award being one of these). Churches were reminded to fill in the Energy Footprint Tool by 31[st] July 2022.

Break out groups discussed related issues pertinent to their own church environments and shared success stories. These were captured, with Alison highlighting further eco quick wins.

Thursday 5[th] October 2022 at Ruxley Church

Revd Fiona Ellingham led the meeting in Creationtide prayer and provided a brief biography of Ruxley Church which was celebrating its 20[th] year in ecumenical partnership with the Ruxley Methodist Church.

Focus Topic: Mission Presentation from Peter Harwood, Diocese Director of Mission and Sarah Slater, Mission Training Lead.

In his introduction, Peter described the Diocese’s goal of helping everyone in our churches to: grow in faith; become lifelong learners; and have the right tools to share our faith with others. Peter then invited us to split into parish groups to consider the question: ‘What caused you personally to grow in faith?’

Following feedback, the groups reflected on how their faith was currently being nurtured and responses were considered as a basis for future mission.

Peter advised that the Transforming Church Transforming Lives vision (a diocesan vision for growth in our personal faith and as a Church body, which in turn has a positive impact on the flourishing and growth of the communities we serve) had recently been relaunched. The twelve original strategic goals had been slimmed down to three to outline the Mission of the Diocese as a whole. These were:

  1. Growing Disciples

  2. Diversity (including age, youth, ethnicity, equality)

  3. Growing community

Peter asked everyone to consider their calling and the ways in which our own unique talents could be used for mission in future.

Sarah Slater described the Lay Training Pathway, launched earlier in 2022, as lifelong learning for Lay Disciples. The training comprises a suite of resources to support the training of Lay Pastoral Visitors/Assistants, Service Leaders and Occasional Preachers. A flexible

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programme means it will meet parish needs whilst addressing the individual skillsets and aspirations of those being trained.

The Clergy Ministerial Development Programme was also described.

– Thursday 2[nd] February 2023 a zoom meeting

The meeting took place via zoom as the main topic speaker – Fran Pyatt from the Diocesan Safeguarding Team – was unable to attend. The topic will now be addressed at a future date.

Rosemary provided her usual updates and we received a short report from the Treasurer. During this item, it was suggested that the Deanery should consider moving its bank account to a recognised ethical bank. The Treasurer was asked to look into this matter.

Personal Reflections

Finance Report: Alan Frame

Introduction:

During the year ending 31 December 2022, Christ Church received income before legacies of £157,716 (versus £ 149,773 in 2021) whilst expenditure totalled £250,624 (versus £210,735 in 2021): a deficit over the course of the year of £92,908 versus a deficit of £50,962 in 2021. Once the legacies which total £85,194 are taken into account the deficit is reduced to £7,714. The 2 legacies given to Christ Church from the estates of the late Jessica Walls and Diana Tear have been allocated to a new Fund which is The Curate’s House Fund; this Fund is to finance the refurbishment of the Curate’s house on The Greenway.

The balance sheet at the end of 2022 records the total net worth of Christ Church as £ 626,784 compared with £639,314 at the end of 2021.

Planned Giving and Other Income

Christ Church is heavily dependent on voluntary financial contributions from our members, most of who donate via standing orders through their bank. Standing orders generated £74,247 which was a reduction by nearly £9,000 than that received in 2021 This reduction is in the main due to decreases or cessations in the amounts that individuals have given but also, during 2022 there were a significant number of deaths and leavers. We were able to claim from HMRC a total of £20,160 in gift aid during the year thanks to the 68 donors who are able to allow us to claim Gift Aid on their donations.

A further 12 persons donating on a regular basis but not able to Gift Aid make up the 80 who make this valuable contribution to the life of Christ Church on a regular basis. Planned Giving forms our major source of income, some £95,000; we welcome all who are able to join our Planned Giving

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Scheme. One off donations increased to £12,000 from £8,000 in the previous year some of which was gift aided.

Trading income picked up during the year with church hall hire leading the way with £23,000 being generated including the income from Little Hands nursery compared to £17,000 the year before. The surprise of the year was the income from the interest on the investment in the deposit fund with CCLA which amounted to £6,324 due to the sharp rise in interest rates during the year.

Expen d iture

As you would expect overall expenditure increased throughout the year beyond our original expectations due mainly to the Russian invasion in the Ukraine. Planned work on the church roof deferred from 2021 had to go ahead at a cost of some £37,400 together with other more routine items of church maintenance amounted to over £42,500 for the year. The Hall and Curate’s house together added a further £12,500 to maintenance costs, mainly as a result of architect’s fees on the Curate’s house and electrical work on the Church hall. We have been partially protected on the costs of utilities as there are some fixed rate contracts in place for some of the utilities. Generally all services have risen in price and together with various repairs to our buildings this has added some £40,000 to expenses over and above that of the previous year. Employment costs fell as Jen’s absence from her illness meant that she was unable to work with a reduction in payroll costs of £13,500 from 2021.

The largest expenditure was our Parish Share of £85,455 which supports our clergy and ministry, as well as a part of the support to those parishes in the Diocese who are suffering from reduced income and are less well blessed with funds than ourselves. The Parish Share is expected to rise by around 2% per annum for the next 4-5 years.

The AVL project was undertaken in 2018 and completed during 2019 and was treated as a capital expense. Depreciation on this, and a photocopier purchased in 2019, is over 5 years and is included in the year at £31,200. This depreciation of these items will cease by 2026.

Missions

Donations to our Missions partners amounted to £14,750 a little less than in the previous year but £2,300 remained available at the year end and is carried forward to the current year.

Funds

General Fund at the year-end is £24,687 whilst the Living Well Fund is £460,800 and the Curate’s House Fund has a balance of £82,260 all of these Funds are cash assets and held for the most part with CCLA in the CBF Church of England Deposit Fund accumulating £6,300 of interest during the year. I do not expect that the funds put aside in the Curate’s House Fund will be sufficient to cover the final cost of the Greenway project; in that case the Living Well Fund will remain the source of any shortfall as it represents the legacies that we have received in earlier years.

Investments

The investment in the COIF Charities Ethical Investment Fund managed by CCLA Fund Managers Limited a wholly owned subsidiary of CCLA Investment Management Limited in November 2018 of £30,000 which was valued at £43,978 at the end of 2021. This investment suffered in the global collapse of all stock markets, caused by the war in The Ukraine. Despite this the valuation of this investment at the year-end was £39,162, an increase of 30.5% from its cost price.

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Statement of Financial Activities (SOFA)

These financial statements were approved by the PCC of Christ Church, Epsom Common at its meeting on 13th March 2023, and signed on its behalf by the Revd Rosemary Donovan. The Income and Expenditure Analysis for 1 January 2022 to 31 December 2022, including the proposed budget for 2023 prepared by the Finance Committee, has not been included in this report. A print out or email copy of this report is available on request from PCC Secretary Jane Williams pcc@christchurchepsom.org.uk.

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Balance sheet, detailed

Accounting policies

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the Church Accounting Regulations 2006, together with applicable accounting standards and the SORP 2015. The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention. 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 main affiliation to another body, nor those that are informal gatherings of church members.

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Funds

Designated Funds are part of the unrestricted funds which the PCC has earmarked for a particular project or use, without restricting or committing the funds legally. The designation may be cancelled by the PCC if it later decides not to proceed or continue with the use or project for which the funds were designated.

Unrestricted Funds are General funds, which can be used for PCC ordinary purposes.

The accounts also do not incorporate the financial statements of the Vicar and Churchwardens' Trust, which handles the legacies from Dennis King and Mildred Freeman.

Incoming Resources

Planned giving, collections and donations are recognised when received. Tax refunds are recognised as accruals when the incoming resource to which they relate is received. Grants and legacies are accounted for when received. All other income is recognised when it is received and accounted for gross.

Resources expended

Grants and donations are accounted for when paid over, or when awarded, if that award creates a binding or constructive obligation on the PCC. The diocesan parish share is accounted for when due. Amounts received specifically for missions are dealt with as restricted funds. All other expenditure is generally recognised when it is incurred and is accounted for gross.

Fixed Assets

Consecrated land and buildings and movable church furnishings

Consecrated and beneficed property is excluded from the accounts by s.96 (2) (a) of the Charities Act 1993. The curate's house is included at the original cost.

No value is placed on movable church furnishings held by the churchwardens held in special trust for the PCC and which require a faculty for disposal, since the PCC considers this to be inalienable property. All expenditure incurred during the year on consecrated or benefice buildings and movable church furnishings, whether maintenance or improvement, is written off as expenditure in the SOFA. Other fixtures, fittings and office equipment and individual items costing £5000 or less are not capitalised.

Payments to Trustees

There were no Payments to Trustees during the year other than for goods or services purchased by Trustees in the course of their duty on behalf of Christ Church.

Independent examiner’s report to the PCC of Christ Church, Epsom Common

I report to the PCC (the trustees of Registered Charity 1127945) on my examination of the accounts of the charity for the year ended 31 December 2022, as set out on the pages attached.

Responsibilities and basis of report

As the charity's trustees, you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (“the Act”).

I report in respect of my examination of the Trust’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination, I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act.

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Independent examiner's statement

I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect:

I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

Minutes of the Vestry and Annual Parochial Church Meetings for the Parish

Of Christ Church Epsom Common

Registered Charity No 1127945

Held at 10 am on Sunday 24 April 2022. Chaired by the Vicar, the Revd Rosemary Donovan

Notes: As usual for Christ Church, the Meetings were integrated with Parish Communion, thus removing the need for opening and closing devotions. The meeting was held publicly in church and live-streamed on Zoom (as approved by the Diocese). All votes included both those present and those joining via Zoom.

VESTRY MEETING

(Open to all Electoral Roll Members and every resident of the Parish)

  1. Minutes of the Vestry Meeting held on 25 April 2021 were approved, as previously circulated via website, weekly bulletin and hardcopy in church from 14 April 2022

  2. Election of Churchwardens

Rosemary expressed heartfelt thanks to John Warburton for his skills and strategic thinking while working in this role for 5 years and as Treasurer in the last 2 years.

There were nominations for the two Churchwarden positions.

Rosemary expressed thanks for their willingness to undertake these roles.

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ANNUAL PAROCHIAL CHURCH MEETING

(Open to all Electoral Roll Members)

1. Attendance

The service was held in Church and live-streamed. 56 adults (age over 16) were present in Church of whom 55 were eligible to vote. Six children (under 16) were present. 12 adults were present via zoom

  1. Minutes of the APCM, 25 April 2021, as circulated via website, weekly bulletin and hardcopy in church (from 14 April 2022) were approved

  2. Electoral Roll: Report by the Electoral Roll Officer, Martin Shipton

The Church Electoral Roll is the foundation of the structure of synodical government in the Church of England. Similar to the national electoral roll, membership confers certain voting rights and includes the names and addresses of everyone eligible for election to our PCC and synods. Each year, the Electoral Roll is reviewed and this year’s updating was carried out online with the latest amendment of the Church Representation Rules as agreed by Parliament.

At last year’s meeting I reported an Electoral Roll membership of 155 people. This year we have signed up 6 people but lost 12. Membership now stands at 149 people. 60% of the Electoral Roll lives within the parish boundaries and the remaining 40% outside. During the past year two members of our Church Family have died and I invite you to stand as we pause for a moment to remember them: Joyce Munns and Pam Buckingham, both of them longstanding members of the church. We also remember, with thanksgiving, friends and family of members of the congregation who have died. John Munton who died a couple of weeks ago was a long-time member of this church and closely associated with the tower and the bell ringers. All are sadly missed and we thank God for our memories of them and all that they gave to us.

A period of silent prayer followed in their memory.

  1. Deanery Synod Report. Approved

  2. PCC Report. Approved

  3. Financial Statements for year ending 31 December 2022. Approved.

In the absence of a Treasurer, a personal presentation of the financial statement was not possible. Alan Frame submitted a detailed Finance Report which is included in the Annual Report. Rosemary expressed heartfelt thanks for the detailed and dedicated work of members of the Finance committee enabling them to produce the required reports for the APCM: Alan Frame; Malcolm Channing; John Warburton; June Skinner and Nigel Daniels. Special thanks were given to Alan Frame for his detailed financial summary and ongoing oversight of the finance team. Tracy Jones was thanked for her work and for the “Year on Year Income and Expenses Analysis Summary and 2022 Budget proposal”. This was not included in the Annual Report but copies are available in paper and email form on request from pcc@christchurchepsom.org.uk

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  1. Annual Report on the Fabric of the Church and other Properties, and on the Church Goods and Ornaments. Approved

  2. PCC Elections

There were 2 vacancies on the PCC. David Wedlake was proposed by Ro Stretton, seconded by Gerald Wisden. David Wedlake was appointed for a 3-year term.

Retiring members, Greg Edwards and Tracy Jones, both of whom had served for 6 years, were warmly thanked for their contributions.

  1. Appointment of Deanery Synod Representative. There was one vacancy. Gill Glasspool, proposed by Malcolm Channing, seconded by Robert Burns, was appointed to a 3-year term, joining Jen Sadler and Merinda D’Aprano, serving her final year of the 3 year term.

  2. Appointment of Independent Examiner. Ronald Byer was re-appointed and thanked for his work

  3. Appointment of Parish Safeguarding Officer. Ro Stretton was re-appointed in her absence but had agreed to continue in this role for a further term.

  4. Vicar’s Review of the Year: delivered during the service.

Vicar’s Report APCM 2021-22

Acts 5:27-32. John 20:19-end.

“We are witnesses of these things”, said the disciples about the life, death, and resurrection of their friend and leader Jesus.

“We are witnesses of these things”, for as the Father sent the Son, so the Son sends us.

“We are witnesses of these things” as we teach in the name of Jesus and share the good news.

How have we been witnesses to these things in this past year? Another year that has been fraught with confusion as we have sought to navigate our way out of a global pandemic? How we have longed for Jesus to come through the doors and stand with his arms open wide reassuring us of his peace. Would he have just used his eyes to smile, or offered an inane wave at a camera, or sent a Mexican wave to the back? I’m not sure it matters as his very presence was enough to calm the disciples’ doubts and fears especially when he breathes on them and says, ‘ Receive the Holy Spirit’ . It’s a few weeks until Pentecost but I’d like us all to take a big breath today. The Annual Church meeting is exactly a breathing point, an opportunity to pause, to look back with gratitude and forward with hope.

Lets’ just focus on our breathing now. Breathing out all the distractions, frustrations, interruptions, and downright annoying things of this past year and breathing in the Holy Spirit. Breath out, breathe in, breathe out,… Receive the Holy Spirit.

I feel better already. Keeping our focus on God is always going to be better but that’s been hard when there have been so many demands made on us this year. Reconnecting with

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family, friends, other social groups as well as church community. Personally, there have been times when I have felt like the Israelites wandering in the desert and I know I’ve not been the only one. Also like the Israelites I have wanted to be faithful but nevertheless at times also felt like giving up. The direction of travel has been unclear and that is hard because it feels aimless and lacks clarity. Consequently, the PCC refocusing our vision to be in line with the broader Church of England strapline of Humbler, Simpler, and Bolder was really helpful. Ultimately, it’s been a year of waiting on God and we all know God’s timing and solutions are not the same as human ones.

Running a church has felt like hard work, rather than the joy and privilege it previously did. Mainly because even though some restrictions gradually got eased, the nature of our ‘business’ if we view it like that contained higher elements of risk - public gathering, enclosed spaces, singing, sharing fellowship. In my experience church people are naturally cautious and adding a pandemic into the mix greatly increased this. It has only been in recent weeks that we have seen a return to pre pandemic numbers in church for which I rejoice and praise God.

I also praise God for all the wonderful things that have happened this past year and I’ve got some lovely photos to share with you.

We have found new ways of worshipping mainly outside and that has been joyful, in the summer, at Morning Prayer and through use of installations like the Easter Garden or the new icon. We continued to improve our digital offering and appreciated that church is not just about Sunday but our homes, schools, places of work or connection. The Source has seen new families and 5@5 has been experimental too.

Despite saying goodbye to David and Jo Fox Branch in August we were able to launch the Eco handbook and learn more about the effects of climate change on our doorstep with a very informative walk led by Stewart Cocker as part of the season of creation. This also saw us developing connections with the nursery and local families at the forest fun day. The Pet service is always a highlight with 15 dogs a parrot and a gecko joining with us in worship. Allowing worship to be more natural and outward looking will undoubtedly lead to growth and another source of joy despite the ER figures is the number of new people accessing worship and events at Christ Church. We were able to engage creatively with some different social events last summer too - bat watching, visiting the memorial Wood at Langley Vale, along with the monthly walk for health so it’s certainly not been a fallow time.

We have been building on our community links with the scouts, schools, and other churches. The cake and cordial tent drew attention along with our regular fence ministry postings as we seek to keep evangelism high on our agenda. This is an area to continue to develop and anyone wanting to get more involved in community outreach, please do speak to either me or Jane Williams.

We’ve been able to celebrate our young people growing in faith and the turnout for Alpha was brilliant and I hope for many life-changing.

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However, you have to take the rough with the smooth and it’s not surprising with all these wonderful things going on (and there are many more images on the board at the back) that the Devil or evil one will get upset. Now I know some people find talking about spiritual warfare uncomfortable, but I genuinely believe that this is why this last year has felt hard. The leadership team in particular has been under attack. After the Fox Branches moving on to pastures new, we then lost Helen who resigned in the autumn, Jen went off sick at Christmas, and John, Andy, Berwick and Sue have all had family issues to contend with. With my back operation too, we have not been at full capacity. I am grateful for the support of PCC members, the Finance Team, and David Williams in particular who undertook extra responsibilities to help us through.

So how do we pick ourselves up and put aside the doubts and fears that like Thomas we must inevitably all be feeling? Will it require a miracle? Will it require concrete proof? Or do we trust in the words of scripture that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God and that by believing we may have life in his name?

That’s encouraging, isn’t it? That’s what we all want, life in his name, and life in all its fullness, Christ Church to be a Living Well and living well? That’s the aim, that’s the hope, and hope is the point of faith - being certain of those things we cannot see.

The future is exciting. We have the follow up to Alpha, the Prayer Course beginning in 2 weeks’ time (there will be a trailer later). We have a new Curate arriving in July. We have some great events planned for the summer including celebrating the Jubilee. We have an exciting partnership developing with the Scouts and an opportunity to reimagine our whole site to make it sustainable long term.

There is a lot to give thanks for, lots to keep praying about, but most importantly let us not forget to breathe. To receive the Holy Spirit and then through the Spirit’s power we can believe and have life in Jesus name. Amen.

  1. Questions from Congregation sent in advance.

One question was submitted by Martin Shipton:

The Summary Minutes of the last PCC meeting recorded an entry:

Re-development of Parish Hall, Link to Church (Site A) Scout Hut (Site B)

● PCC approved instruction of Quantity Surveyors Synergy (£3,550+vat) to work with PT Architects to prepare

Separate costing for elements of Site A proposals, costing for Site B proposals. PTA will progress with feasibility layouts for Site B (£7.5K agreed by PCC 09/21). We will then be in a position to produce business plan and agree in discussion with congregation, diocese and other partners what is feasible.

Can the meeting be given a summary of what proposals and what is involved?

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Rosemary’s Response :

The short answer is not really, as the proposals are not fully worked through but to keep members up to date this is a summary of where we are at:

The congregation and wider community were consulted at Christmas 2019 when we presented a model of a significantly improved and extended parish hall linked to the church. The plan at that point was to put all activities under one roof and regenerate the scout hut site to provide car parking and easier access to the Common. Further discussions with the architect and PCC led to a pre-planning application being made to the Council in December 2020 to see how amenable they would be to developing both the parish hall (Site A) and Scout hut (site B), the latter being an improved Youth centre and residential accommodation to provide an income stream for the church.

However, with the pandemic and its financial implications, priorities have changed and we are not sure that the previous scheme is still viable. Consequently, we are in negotiation with the Scouts as potential partners who understand that we need to make the whole site financially sustainable. The QS will help us to determine what is achievable. The architect is due to come back to us with a revised scheme for Site A as well as more worked out plans for site B very shortly. Hopefully there will be more to share later in the year.

  1. Any other business. None

Jane Williams PCC secretary 02/05/2022

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