## **THE PARISH OF ST THOMAS, LYMINGTON WITH ALL SAINTS, WOODSIDE.** ## **2024 REPORT and ACCOUNTS for the PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL** ## **TO BE PRESENTED AT THE ANNUAL PAROCHIAL CHURCH MEETING** ## **Wednesday May 7[th] 2025** ## **7:30pm** ## **St Thomas’ Church** Registered Charity Number 1128119 **AGENDA** ## **PRAYERS. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE.** ## **MEETING FOR THE ELECTION OF CHURCHWARDENS.** 1. Election of Churchwardens for 2025-2026.[1] All persons whose names are on the Electoral Roll of this Parish and all persons resident in the Parish whose names are entered on a register of local government electors by reason of such residence may participate in this election. . ## **ANNUAL PAROCHIAL CHURCH MEETING.** 1. Welcome by the Chairman of the Parochial Church Council. 2. Approval of 2024 Minutes. 3. Election of Representatives to the Deanery Synod. 4. Election of Parochial Church Council members. 5. Consideration of: - a) The Electoral Roll. - b) The Annual Report of the Proceedings of the PCC and activities of the Parish generally. - c) Finance[3] : - I. Examined accounts of the PCC for the year ending 31 December 2024. - II. Statement of the funds and property of the PCC. - III. To appoint independent examiners. - d) The annual fabric report under section 50 of the Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction and Care of Churches Measure 2018. - e) Report on the Proceedings of the Deanery Synod. - f) Other Reports. 6. Any other business of Parochial or general interest to be submitted in writing one week in advance of the APCM to the PCC Secretary via e-mail to the Secretary at pcc.secretary@lymingtonchurch.org ## _Mary Hill_ ## _Honorary Secretary, Lymington PCC_ . - 1 In accordance with the Churchwardens’ Measure 2001. - 2 In accordance with the Church Representation Rules 2020. - 3 Item 5 is presented in accordance with the Charities SORP (FRS102). 2 # PARISH OF ST. THOMAS, LYMINGTON WITH ALL SAINTS, WOODSIDE. ## **ANNUAL REPORT OF THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024** . ## **Aims and Purposes.** The St Thomas’ with All Saints Parochial Church Council (PCC) has the responsibility for co-operation with the incumbent, the Revd. Lee Thompson, in promoting in the ecclesiastical Parish the whole mission of the Church, pastoral, evangelistic, social and ecumenical. The PCC is also specifically responsible for the maintenance of the Parish Church of St Thomas and the Chapel of Ease of All Saints. ## **Administrative Information** . The Parish of St Thomas, with All Saints, is part of the Diocese of Winchester within the Church of England. The address for correspondence is: The Parish Office, St Thomas’ Church, St Thomas Street, Lymington, SO41 9ND. Telephone: 01590 676194. e-mail: office@lymingtonchurch.org website: www.lymingtonchurch.org |**Personnel**.|| |---|---| |Incumbent:|The Revd. Lee Thompson| |Churchwardens:|Chris Stroud, Daphne Johnston.| |Licensed Lay Minister Emeritus:|Malcolm Ward.| |Parish Administrator:|Suzie Napleton.| |Organist:|Peter Roper-Curzon.| |Verger, Sacristan-St Thomas’:|Helen Pocklington.| |Treasurer:|Andrew Payne.| |Inspecting Architect:|Ryan Bunce of Ryan Bunce & Co,| |Independent Examiner:|Hope Jones, Chartered Accountant, Lymington, Hants, SO41 9ZG.| **PCC Members** who served from the APCM 2024 until the date this report was approved are: |Incumbent|The Revd. Lee Thompson (Chairman)| |---|---| |Churchwardens|Chris Stroud (Vice-Chairman), Daphne Johnston.| |Licensed Lay Minister Emeritus|Malcolm Ward.| |Deanery Synod Representatives:|| |To APCM 2026|Pat Cashin, Sylvia Pepin, Celia Swan, Michael Standage.| |Elected Members:|| |---|---| |To APCM 2025|Maureen Harris, David Hanks.| |To APCM 2026|Jonathan Cook, Malcolm Ward.| |To APCM 2027|Sally Drury, Mary Hill.| Appointed under casual vacancy rules in 2024 for one year: David Bridges, Anne Morrish, Derek Scheffer. **The Electoral Roll** : The Electoral Roll stands at 204 with 164 being resident and 40 non-residents. 3 ## **Structure, Governance and Management.** The Parochial Church Council (Powers) Measure 1956 (as amended) requires “the Minister and the PCC to consult together on matters of general concern and importance to the Parish” and requires the PCC to “co-operate with the Minister in promoting in the Parish the whole mission of the church: pastoral, evangelistic, social and ecumenical”. The Church of England (Worship and Doctrine) Measure 1974 requires the Minister and PCC to agree jointly any decisions about which forms of service are to be used in any church in the Parish. The PCC meets six times per year. Normally meetings are held in St Thomas’ Church. Minutes of PCC meetings are made available in the Parish church office. The Standing Committee of the PCC conducts the business of the PCC between meetings, is answerable to the PCC and submits to it proposals in connection with issues of Parish-wide significance. The _ex-officio_ members in 2024 were the Vicar (Chairman), the Churchwardens, the Finance Officer, the chair of the Fabric Committee and the PCC Secretary. **The Finance Committee** , chaired by Andrew Payne, prepares and monitors the annual budget and reports directly to the PCC. **The Fabric Committee,** chaired by Michael Standage, provides support and guidance to the PCC on the appropriate maintenance and management of the church premises and grounds. The Vicar and Churchwardens are _ex-officio_ **Trustees of Lymington C of E Infant School** and of two Trusts associated with the Parish. ## **Objectives and Activities.** The Parish Vocation is “to be the town church in Lymington, offering prayer and hospitality in Jesus’ name”. Mindful of this and the charity’s object to promote in the ecclesiastical Parish the whole mission of the Church, the church seeks to become a church for all generations; holding the vision to be a church that is “Growing Younger Together.” Accounting procedures are designed to identify clearly patterns of income and expenditure across the Parish, so that its resources may be deployed as appropriately as possible. In their report below, the Trustees present a summary of the activities undertaken by the charity in the Parish for the benefit of the public. They confirm that they have had due regard to the public benefit guidance published by the Charity Commission and the supplementary guidance on charities for the advancement of religion. Many Parishioners who willingly undertake a wide variety of tasks with no thought of remuneration or other recognition have contributed to the life of the Parish. The Vicar, Churchwardens and PCC are enormously grateful to them all. 4 ## **REPORTS** ## **Vicar’s Report.** On Epiphany Sunday the church began exploring the vision to be a church that was “Growing Younger Together”. The church already understood its vocation to be “the town church for Lymington” but was significantly under-represented in terms of younger generations. One particular challenge was the absence of children and youth in our Sunday worship and as a corollary, very few working age adults. A feedback exercise was undertaken and the response was very encouraging with over 150 responses. In early April 2024, the PCC held an away day to consider the feedback and explore the primary themes and opportunities before us. These were provision for children & families, refreshing of worship, developing the choir and developing pastoral care. I am grateful to the leaders of the “Life & Soul” service who have served this church with great generosity over many years. The service had become a much-cherished time of worship and place of lasting friendship. The retirement of this service created the time and space on Sunday mornings to open our doors to younger generations. In June an enthusiastic team went to Ascension Balham to undertake training to become a “Bubble Church” – a church service for families with young children. In September, Bubble Church launched as a weekly service and quickly established itself as meeting the needs of families who were not attending churches elsewhere. Throughout the year, there have been many signs of encouragement. Our links with Lymington Infant School provide a mutually supportive relationship through collective worship, monthly Messy Church, church visits of the LIS Robins Choir and the wisdom and discernment of the Foundation Governors who serve the school community. Attendance at church services showed continued signs of renewal and I must thank the many volunteers who so generously offer their gifts to make this possible. I add to that the commitment of those who seek to contribute to our common life, through acts of compassion towards those in need, hospitality and outreach, stewardship and care for our buildings, environment and uplifting cultural and seasonal events. I am grateful to the Friends of St. Thomas for co-ordinating the provision of a concert grand piano, made possible through the generosity of supporters of the arts and grant-making trusts. Our vision is to be a church “Growing” in number, as disciples and in confidence. It is to be a church growing “Younger” by nurturing links with families, our schools and a sense of joie de vivre. It is to be a church that is growing younger “Together” by serving through our gifts, serving the community and the wider church. I commend to you the reports below. _Revd. Lee Thompson (Vicar)_ 5 ## **Worship Services** . The Sunday services are: 8am Book of Common Prayer Holy Communion, 9am Bubble Church for young children and parents, 10am Common Worship Holy Communion with the choir and organ. There is an opportunity to meet over coffee after the 10am. Service. There is a regular communion service on Wednesday mornings and a monthly choral Evensong. The numbers of worshippers continued to increase during the year, especially at the 10.00 am service and are now close to pre-Covid levels. ## **Pastoral Report.** Pastoral support, both for parishioners as well as some members of the wider community, has continued and gradually increased (total 10, March ‘25) while the Pastoral Team remains at two. However, acknowledgement is due to the congregational support networks through the various home and interest groups within the church. Frequency of visits to people either living at home or in residential care is dependent upon their situation; the aim is either weekly or at least monthly. Visits to three church members in residential care outside the parish has been necessary, along with visits to Lymington Hospital and very occasionally to Southampton General. Telephone calls and email are also used to keep in touch as and when appropriate. All visits and contacts adhere to the latest safeguarding guidelines. Four nursing homes receive a monthly Holy Communion visit by three teams of two serving small groups of residents. Five housebound parishioners are also regularly served in this way. Prayer requests are made to the parish office to be included on the confidential Prayer Chain. _Maureen Harris_ ## **Prayer Ministry Report.** Regular prayer activities have continued through the year. A prayer meeting, Morning Prayer, is held every weekday on Zoom. It is led by the regular members and they are joined by folk from St Mark’s Pennington. Saturday Morning Prayers are held at St Thomas Church to pray for the work of the Parish, for projects and the people of the parish. Included are the prayer requests left on the Prayer Tree. We give thanks for the many opportunities for prayer during our worship services and we thank those who faithfully lead our intersessions. Also, there are the small groups who pray together: House Groups, Messy Church, Bubble Church and all the other meetings which hold prayer foundational to their activities. The prayer list on the Weekly New Sheet highlights prayer requests. Also, the Prayer Chain Team is alerted to prayer requests which are made through the Church Office and are prayed for in confidence. (Please contact the team if you know of people who would appreciate being held in prayer.) “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-17). _Jane Cook_ ## **House/Home Group Report.** The Sunday worship and biblical teaching at St Thomas’ is supported and strengthened by weekly House Group / Home Group study, where we explore God’s Word and discuss the challenge of the application in relation to our daily lives. Topics for study are usually based on the sermon theme for the previous Sunday. St Thomas’ currently has five groups with a total of around 40 members; most groups meet in each other’s homes, with one group using the church as its venue. 6 Most groups meet weekly, with the usual calendar breaks for holidays. Each group provides an informal and a relaxed environment in which to study scripture and to listen to God and to share with each other. We seek to apply His Word to the realities of our lives, to care for each other and to pray for one another. Members will often take it in turns to lead or to host a group meeting. Are you part of a home group? If not, then please be encouraged to seriously consider joining one of the groups we have in church. Not only may you be missing out on belonging to a smaller ‘family unit’ within the larger family of St Thomas’ Church, but a group is missing out on your friendship too. Please contact one of the home group leaders; you will be made very welcome and you will be both blessed and be a blessing! If you, or someone you know, would like to join a House/Home Group, please make contact and we’ll put you in touch. Details appear regularly in the weekly news sheet. ## _Malcolm Ward_ ## **Deanery Synod.** The Lyndhurst Deanery Synod includes our Area Dean, clergy and elected representatives from each local parish. The number of elected representatives per parish is based on the size of the parish’s electoral roll. We meet three times a year at various Parish churches within Lyndhurst Deanery. The meetings have included presentations and last year the subjects were about Eco Churches, Christian Fellowship and Lighthouse ministries. Plus, Deanery Mission, Pastoral Committee reports, General Synod News and the links with Rwanda. There is currently a vacancy for a Deanery Synod Representative from St Thomas’ Church. _Pat Cashin_ ## **Church Choir and Organist.** Music is at the heart of our worship at St Thomas’, much of which is led by a regular choir of about 12 to 14 core members for Choral Communion each Sunday, with 20 to 30 for Choral Evensongs, festivals, Advent, and Christmas carol services. We are delighted to have welcomed several children to our team over the past year and are looking for opportunities to expand their number and involvement. We were joined by the Lymington Infants School Robins Choir for the Palm Sunday family communion service, with their music director Carole Dowding conducting and look forward to their return on occasions next year. In May, Peter Roper-Curzon was formally installed as our Organist, since when the choir’s repertoire has been expanding and a greater variety of hymns, songs and tunes to which they are sung has been introduced. Music selection is undertaken by a small team including Anne Keir and Alison Towler, while Anne undertakes the huge task of ordering, coordinating, and managing the musical scores. For the Sunday morning services the focus is on the theme and readings, with inspiration from recommendations of the RSCM and the Anglican hymnaries, but requests are always welcome and met wherever possible. Fern Daish-Handy provides invaluable support as the choir conductor whenever available. In 2024, the choir supported seven funerals and services of thanksgiving and a wedding, additional services for which Karen Brett coordinates the singers. In the spirit of wider outreach and visibility for the church, we also sang at the annual RNLI service at the Bath Road Bandstand and supported the blessing of the Town Crib when the Christmas lights were switched on in December. Regular choral evensongs, incorporating some more challenging as well as inspiring pieces, are well attended but also provide an opportunity for singers who do not regularly attend church to 7 experience formal worship and spiritual enlightenment beyond their involvement in other local choral groups. We are grateful for their support. The Advent Carol Service, which took place during the Christmas Tree Festival, was another successful opportunity for outreach, as was the Service of Nine Lessons and Carols. Both attracted significant support, not only from more local people but some travelling substantial distances to attend what have become “events” in people’s calendars. St Thomas’s Church Choir is one of the few SATB (four voice parts) church choirs remaining in the Diocese, and sharing the opportunities available to present music in the Anglican choral tradition is important to us. We have particularly strong ties to St John’s Church Boldre, and our choir members often support this neighbouring church as do their choir support us. In addition to the seven St Thomas’ Church choral evensongs we also hosted a memorable Deanery Evensong in September at which choir members from St John’s Boldre, St Mark’s Pennington, St Luke’s Sway, St Saviour’s Brockenhurst, St Mary’s South Baddersley and St Andrew’s Tiptoe joined St Thomas’ for a wonderful service of celebration, preceded by a super tea and the chance to share our experiences. We are a friendly and inclusive choir to which new members of any age and ability are welcome. Organist Peter Roper-Curzon is an exceptionally talented musician and we have been blessed with virtuoso voluntaries on our much-loved historic organ brought to renewed life through his musicianship. His thoughtful direction of the choir is much appreciated. We practice most Monday evenings throughout the year with only a short break during the summer, preparing for the forthcoming Sunday services, learning new music and enjoying fellowship and fun. _Anne Keir and Alison Towler_ ## **Children and Families** ## **Bubble Church** . Following ‘Growing younger together’ discussions at a PCC away day in early 2024, we launched a Bubble Church service at 9.00 on 15 September. A core team formed in June 2024 and we travelled to Ascension Church in Balham for a full day of training, discussion and practising with the puppets. Bubble Church is a Sunday church service, targeted at babies, toddlers and young families. It is a puppet-packed, Jesus-centred, coffee-and-croissant fuelled, 30-minute kids and families’ adventure. It has been encouraging to see the positive response to Bubble Church in Lymington and the service reached 30+ families between launch and Christmas. The service requires a large team resource and lots of energy to deliver each week, but every service has encouragements and growth. At Bubble church we welcome, pray, confess, learn from God’s amazing true story the Bible and respond creatively with activities, games and more prayer, in way that engages young children and their grown-ups. ## **Messy Church** In 2024 Messy Church continued to grow in our host home, Lymington Infant school. The community has reached over 80 families to date and there have been some very busy sessions! Running monthly, this can mean that over school holidays we do not have sessions, so in 2024 we made some adjustments to our pattern to minimise the number of sessions we could miss. In December, we hosted a Messy Church Christmas Crafternoon drop-in, in St Thomas hall, after school and had a great session creating Christmas themed crafts to keep and those that were edible! 8 We continue to live the values of Messy church by being Christ-centred, all ages; by providing hospitality, activities with creativity and a time of celebration to bring it all together – all in an hour! Numbers have been steadily increasing over the last year, as has engagement with the sessions. We are creative in our celebration time, inviting children and their families to show and tell their crafts that day, encourage them to help us tell their stories and to take part, being invitational in our times of prayer. ## **Glitter and Glue** This is a Friday lunch club launched in Lymington Infant school in 2023. The club continued in 2024 with 3 cohorts of children joining for a term. The club focuses on crafting with essential ingredients of glitter and glue. Together we get messy, get to know one another and explore who Jesus is. Sessions include “God Knows my name” where the children make a name bracelet and a name badge, God knows all about me and they decorate card people to make a group collage, to dream catchers where we explore our dreams for the future! Each cohort has 10-14 children that meets each week to create something to share at home and to remember their time in the club. ## **Experience Easter** In March 2024, we hosted each class at Lymington Infant school with their teachers to join an interactive Easter Experience! The children were welcomed with fanfare and palm leaves as they explored the events in Jesus’ life that we call Holy week. From a triumphal entry to feet washing, to sharing a simple meal with Jesus, to the cross for a time of reflection; out to a garden to think about praying and then to the joy of the empty tomb. Across six stations, the children explore what happened at each stage of Jesus’ week with an activity to join in with and things to see and explore. Adults and children together were taken on this journey and loved the opportunity to bring the easter story to life for some of our youngest children. _Helen Thompson_ ## **Deanery Synod.** The Lyndhurst Deanery Synod includes our Area Dean, clergy and elected representatives from each local parish. The number of elected representatives per parish is based on the size of the parish’s electoral roll. We meet three times a year at various Parish churches within Lyndhurst Deanery. The meetings have included presentations and last year the subjects were about Eco Churches, Christian Fellowship and Lighthouse ministries. Plus, Deanery Mission, Pastoral Committee reports, General Synod News and the links with Rwanda. There is currently a vacancy for a Synod representative from St Thomas’ Church. ## _Pat Cashin_ ## **Safeguarding.** The PCC is responsible for Safeguarding within the Parish. It has appointed a Parish Safeguarding Officer (PSO) and Safeguarding is a standing item on every PCC agenda. At the start of every year, the PSO writes a Safeguarding Action Plan for the PCC’s approval. The Plan for 2024 covered three main areas. These were: - Routine Activities - Changes - The Future. 9 Routine. 2024 was a busy year for all those involved with safeguarding. Staying on top of the routine activities of DBS checks, safer recruitment and training of our volunteers has remained a demanding constant. So too, was the need to ensure policies and safeguarding risk assessments were up to date. Additionally, the requirement to Back-Record missing recruitment details proved to be time-consuming and asking long-serving volunteers to provide referees could well have been upsetting to some. However, the vast majority of people were extremely understanding. Many more people are now aware of St Thomas’ safeguarding practices and procedures and are supportive of the measures taken. This awareness has been helped by activities such as a safeguarding training morning and participation in Safeguarding Sunday. Changes. It has been exciting to see the launch of Bubble Church with a number of new volunteers stepping forward to help. They have all been safer recruited and trained. Less exciting has been the steady stream of changes emanating from the National Safeguarding team. These have ranged from the micro – all churches have been told to move the Safeguarding button from the bottom of their website home pages to the top – to the macro and the arrival of the National Safeguarding Standards. Future. The PCC has been briefed on two changes that will happen during 2025. The first concerns the need for new volunteers to undergo a more formal induction process. The second change will involve the PCC considering the requirements of the National Safeguarding Standards. These were published to parishes in the Autumn of 2024 and seek to encourage PCCs to stand back and consider the question “What difference is our safeguarding activity actually making to people’s lives?” The PCC will be looking more closely at this during the coming year. In conclusion, during 2024, the PCC has complied with its duty to have ‘due regard’ to the House of Bishops’ Safeguarding Policy and Practice Guidance. _Jonathan Cook Parish Safeguarding Officer_ ## **Health and Safety.** The Health & Safety policy of St Thomas’ with All Saints, Woodside, remained as updated in March 2023 during the period since the last APCM. The policy is to provide and maintain as far as is reasonably practicable, healthy and safe working conditions, equipment, and systems of work for all employees and voluntary helpers and provide such information as needed for this purpose, including supervision and training. The Health and Safety Officer (HSO), through the PCC, endeavours to ensure, as far as reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare of all parishioners, visitors, contractors, and others who enter the churches, halls, churchyards, grounds, and associated buildings. The policy is reviewed at regular intervals by the Incumbent, the Churchwardens and the PCC. ## **Public Liability Insurance.** Public Liability Insurance was in place at both St Thomas and All Saints Churches during the period to protect staff, volunteer workers and members of the public during activities for which the church was responsible, e.g., acts of worship and meetings. It is a requirement for all groups wishing to hire St Thomas Church or the Church Hall that they have their own Public Liability Insurance to cover the activity for which they are responsible. Applications to hire the church and/or the church hall are 10 validated by the Church Administrator to confirm that the applicant has this in place. The Certificate of Public Liability insurance held by ‘Tops’ nursery school, who lease All Saints Church and its Church Hall and grounds, is validated annually by the PCC member on the All Saint’s Management Committee. _Chris Stroud_ ## **Risk Management.** The members of the PCC, as charity trustees, are responsible for identifying and managing the possible and probable risks that both St Thomas church and All Saints church may face. It is a key part of effective governance. The trustees also recognise that not all risks can be identified or eliminated. Over the past year, the trustees confirm that they have attempted to consider the major risks to which the charity is exposed and have sought to put in place systems or procedures to manage and mitigate these risks. Examples of actions that have taken place since the last APCM are: - The implementation of video and recorded fire safety announcements for high attendance events. - A review of our general fire safety arrangements that included an audit of our fire extinguishers, a half day fire warden training session and a timed evacuation of the building. - A review of the appropriate capacity of the Church and hall for all services and events. - The standardisation of risk assessments for all activities. - First aid training for certain individuals. We will continue in the coming year to be vigilant and work on enhancing our arrangements to manage additional risks as they become apparent. _Chris Stroud_ ## **Eco Church and Net Zero Carbon** Over the past year, our attention has moved towards Net Zero Carbon, in line with the Church of England’s focus. Our carbon footprint for 2024 was 21.4 tonnes of CO2 (gross). Our 2023 footprint was 20.4, so this year’s is an increase which we believe is due to more use being made of the Church and Church Hall. In January we carried out an IR survey of the Church Hall which pointed to the windows as a significant cause of heat loss. They are going to be replaced with the help of matched funding from the C of E “Give to go Green” project. In April, we had an ESOS energy survey and the report complimented us on the steps we have taken so far to reduce our Carbon footprint and gave us some pointers to future further reduction. We are looking at using IR panels and heated cushions as a way of heating small areas of the Church e.g. the Chapel and the servery. In October, three members of St Thomas attended a very useful day on Creation Care and Sustainable Building, held in Winchester. As one result, we have drafted a Net Zero plan for adoption by the PCC. An Eco highlight of the year was our Wilder Lymington event in April, which we ran jointly with Transition Lymington. We were asked to trial the new Eco Church survey, and this presented us with new challenges, such as creating a procurement policy, reporting regularly to the PCC on progress towards net zero carbon, and engaging with issues arising from the climate and ecological crises. In September, we marked Creationtide with a sermon series on Rivers and Seas. During the 11 year we continued to work on conservation of grassland and swifts. The far end of the churchyard was well cut in July-August, ready for sowing wildflower seed. In April, we installed a swift caller, but we have not seen the boxes used yet. _Jeremy Vines and Rosie Ward_ ## **Community Action, Fellowship and Hospitality.** ## **Good Samaritans.** During the past year, we have seen several members leave due to moving and the group currently only consists of the minimum number. More members are needed to enable it to function well and respond quickly when required. The help needed remains _ad hoc_ and unpredictable (the more members of the group, the more likely we are to be available). Over the year we have provided material help in the form of meals and hot drinks and moral support to enable liaison with the Local Authority. We look forward to the possibility of working more closely with other community groups over the next year. _Bronwen Bridges_ ## **Mission Links.** In 2024, the Church made gifts to the Leprosy Mission, the Mission to Seafarers, Mission Aviation Fellowship and the New Forest Food Bank. We enjoyed visits to Sunday services from representatives of all the charities who talked about the work of their charity. ## **Toddler Group.** The Toddler group continues to meet in the Church Hall every Tuesday morning during school term time and proves to be popular with local families. We have on average 16 families each morning and have had to put the “Full Sign” up several times in the last year when reaching 20 families. First time parenting especially, can be a lonely experience - we provide friendly faces, encouragement and the opportunity to make new friends. We offer a safe space for the children to play with a wide selection of toys. Many of the children who come will go on to attend Lymington Infant School and some have siblings already attending, this gives us the opportunity to publicise Church activities and events suitable for children and families. We have also introduced a new registration sheet where parents /carers can give permission to be contacted by the Church email about family and or Church events. We have a small, dedicated team of helpers, we would love to have more! You don't have to come every week, or for a full session, you can help with the drinks for adults and children, be on the welcome desk, talk to the parents and carers or just sit and play with the children! We work on a half-termly rota so no long term planning / commitment is needed! These families could be our future Church members and leaders, for many it is the first time they have come into contact with a Church. The Toddler group provides St. Thomas with a great opportunity for outreach and service to the local community. _Barbara Payne_ 12 ## **Lymington Infants CE (Aided) School.** Last year we reported the highly complementary report by SIAMS in January 2024 (Statutory Inspection of Anglican and Methodist Schools). This was followed by an OFSTED inspection in March 2024 leading to an Outstanding overall grade for the school. It is gratifying that at an annual visit for external validation by Hampshire County Council in March 2025, the school was told that they had improved again since OFSTED’s visit a year ago. The majority of the governors are foundation governors, appointed by the diocese on the recommendation of the PCC. The following were foundation governors at the school for all or part of the year since the last report: Mary Hill, Sally Johnston, Tricia Owen, Tim Smit, Jacqui Stoneham, Jane Stroud, Helen Thompson and Revd. Lee Thompson. The Vicar is an _ex officio_ foundation governor and supports worship at the school on a weekly basis . As well as general governor duties, foundation governors have a special role in monitoring the Christian and spiritual aspects of the school. If anyone is interested in becoming a foundation governor please do speak to one of the governors named above to find out more. School children, including the Robins Choir, participate in services at St Thomas’ at key times in the church year including Harvest, Christmas and Easter. For the first time all children attended an “Easter Experience” in the church during Holy Week 2024. Members of St Thomas Church, led by Helen Thompson, continue to facilitate the popular Messy Church at the school on a monthly basis. We look forward to continuing to develop the links between St Thomas and the school, collaborating closely with Julia Morris, the Head Teacher, and her team. _Jane Stroud_ ## **FairTrade** Trade craft has now finished trading but we, as a Fairtrade Church, continue to search, supply and use ethically traded items where possible. We have a supplier for our filter coffee and hot chocolate. They buy Fairtrade coffee beans, blend, roast and grind them. We are given a discount for bulk buys. Since having a filter coffee machine installed in the church hall, most of the church groups use this coffee. A new retailer True Origin Retail source ethical goods, working with small holders and farmers in Africa. We bulk buy teabags and biscuits from them. They also sell many other Fairtrade items of food and gifts. _Denise Dibb_ ## **New Forest Basics Bank.** The church has continued to support the New Forest Basics Bank and the congregation is kept up to date with the service that the Bank provides. Both the Church and the Infants School donated items to the NFBB at their Harvest Services. ## **Vistas Café including Stitch and Knit** Vistas Café is open every Thursday in the Church Hall from 10am until 12 noon. The Café is open to all and serves tea, coffee, home-made cakes, scones and flapjacks. There is a large table of Stitchers and Knitters each week and a craft group from the WI use the Bethune Room twice a month. During Summer of 2024, we bought new tablecloths and display boards and improved the signs both 13 on the High Street and on the pathway through the graveyard, resulting in an increase in visitors. The café uses FairTrade produce and the money raised is donated to charity as well as paying the PCC for the use of the hall (£800). This year, Vistas donated £400 to Ride and Stride Historic Churches in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. ## **Monday Lunch Club.** Monday Lunch Club continues to thrive and flourish with forty to fifty guests each week. We have met some lovely new customers and are nearly at full capacity. The older customers have been very welcoming of newcomers and the hall is filled with laughter and chatter. We’ve also welcomed some new regular volunteers to help as well as saying thank you and a fond farewell to a couple of long-term helpers. There is a fantastic community feeling, both cooking and serving – and even clearing up afterwards! The food continues to be seasonal and locally sourced as well as being Fairtrade and organic where possible. We also support Eco Church and reuse, recycle and compost. The cost of the meal has remained at £7 although we provide a free meal to those who are in need. We serve a hot lunch, pudding and tea/coffee, with a few special occasion lunches – one the Monday before Christmas, and one at Easter. We also managed to successfully work with the Christmas Tree Festival café on one Monday in November! We've held an informal raffle every few months - the prizes range from bottles of wine to scented candles (Prizes provided from volunteers and leftover wine from Christmas). This has proved to be very popular. It is a wonderful and much needed service and I am very honoured to be part of it. _Mikki Willford._ ## **Poetry Corner** This is a well-established group with 22 members and our average attendance each week at the poetry reading is twelve people. We meet at the back of church as the access is better. Sylvia Pepin leads the group and sends out the list of poems by email to all. It is a friendly group and we enjoy sharing poems, discussing them and learning facts about poets' lives and also swapping poetry books. _Sarah Standage_ ## **Stanza Group** Wendy Stickley and I observed that a number of people in Poetry Corner were writing and sharing their own poems and so we decided to set up a writing group and invited the members of Poetry Corner to join us. There was an enthusiastic response and we now have a small group of ten people who meet once a month in the Bethune room. We have been learning about different forms of poetry and sharing our homework. We were delighted when Damian Kelly-Basher (Hampshire's Poet Laureate) was able to join us and lead a session on Surrealist poetry. _Sarah Standage._ ## **Flower Arrangers** When I first joined the flower ladies there were 10 members on the rota but over the years our numbers have dwindled to just 5, with expert help on big occasions from Carole Barnet. Whereas we used to be able to produce a font and altar arrangement every week, now we only do the font arrangement which we keep going for 2 weeks. With so few members this is more manageable and keeps costs down. Silk flowers have been purchased and the plan in the future is to use them in 14 conjunction with fresh foliage to produce an economical altar arrangement. We try to do a good job keeping the church looking beautiful and it is very rewarding when our efforts are acknowledged. Only this week when I was working at the pulpit a man and his father, who has dementia, came in and apparently they come specifically to see the flowers! Besides the enjoyment of doing the flowers, I have learnt a lot about the history of the church because of the questions asked by visitors. _Judy Martin_ ## **Bell Tower Report.** 2024 was not a good year for us as a group as the number of changes impacted on our numbers of ringers. The change in times of the services being the first since four of our ringers ring at other towers before they come to us and this clashed with the service times of their churches. Secondly, some of our ringers considered giving up ringing altogether as they did not agree with the safeguarding policy adopted by the Church of England and the Diocesan Guild of Bell Ringers. Thirdly, two of our ringers had to retire due to ill health. The good news is we have a team of five very positive ringers, one being an experienced ringer who heard of our plight and has rejoined the band making our number up to five. We have all completed our safeguarding training and have been registered with both the Guild and Church. More good news is that our Guild secretary and three local churches ringers have supported us on practice nights and Church events. Better news is that three new learners have started to learn bell handling on weekdays. We attempt to ring as many bells for Sunday service as we can, mostly 3,4 or 5 and occasionally 6, with visitors helping. Finally, our thanks to Lee for helping us through this awkward period and Jonathan Cook for guiding us through the safeguarding procedure. The bells not only call us to worship but call out to many people that are unable to attend our services and tell them we are here and thinking of them. _Andy Dibb Tower Captain_ ## **Communications/ChurchDesk** **Social Media** The Social Media Coordinator is a role approved by the PCC as part of its Safeguarding Action Plan. **ChurchDesk** Throughout the year, the church adopted and then transitioned much of its record keeping and communications to ChurchDesk. This platform allows the church to store and process GDPR compliant information for the purposes of communications and record keeping. The church Weekly News Sheet migrated to ChurchDesk, followed by the church calendar, PCC documentation and the launch of our refreshed website. Lee Thompson **The Weekly News Sheet** , compiled by Parish Secretary Susie Napleton, is the most comprehensive, vital communication tool available to the Church community. It is an accurate source of information covering everything we do from our regular Church services and all our other activities. 15 ## **Friends of St Thomas Church** ## _A separate registered charity no 1166743_ . The Friends have had a very successful year. In June they held a summer reception with the aim of raising the profile and gaining new members. The initial purpose was to say ‘thank you’ to our current membership in the form of a party. A magnificent raffle was organised by Joan Horton Fawkes. The musical entertainment was supplied by Reeds in Harmony. At this time the **St Thomas Churchyard Memorials Project** was nearing completion. Sincere thanks go to Rosie Ward and Simon Bennett who edited the final details to get the first edition over the line in time for the reception. The Memorials Project was the result of many years research by the late Nigel Mussett and a team of volunteers. It represents the most detailed record of all burials in St Thomas Churchyard and will be used for reference for many years to come. This publication is available to buy and a copy is stored in the St Barbe Museum. In collaboration with a group of local enthusiasts the Friends supported an appeal to replace the church piano. Tasked with raising £55.000, the **Piano Project** was a targeted appeal driven by a group of individuals with a shared vision to provide the finest concert grand piano. The piano arrived in September and The Friends supported the first Gala Recital given by Peter Roper-Curzon. The AGM took place in November. Philip St Lawrence gave an interesting talk entitled “Alfred the first Christian King”. The **Christmas Tree Festival** remains the main fundraising event. This year the surplus raised was in excess of £13,000. Extending for five days, the start coincided with the town Christmas Lights switch-on. The festival was expanded to include sales tables and refreshments in the hall and trees in the courtyard garden. Finally, the Friends supported the cost and served refreshments after the Carol Service. _Daphne Johnston_ . ## **Concerts** Live performance of music remains a vital part of the life of St Thomas Church. Concerts range from free small informal gatherings on Saturday mornings to more formal ticketed evening events. Lymington Choral Society now rehearse in St Thomas’ Church and under the baton of their music director, Philip Daish-Handy, and with the local professional orchestra Nova Foresta Philharmonic (NFP), they gave two memorable concerts to capacity audiences. NFP returned to give further performances during the year, as did other local orchestras. A firm fixture of the year is the Solent Music Festival (SMF). The Festival began with a Mozartfest, an orchestral concert with players selected from several renowned international orchestras. The week continued with daily evening chamber performances. Highlights included a piano recital given by Sam Haywood, the festival artistic director, and a choral concert by members of the Sixteen, directed by Harry Christophers. There were two free events, an organ recital given by Peter Roper-Curzon and an animal-themed children’s concert with The Galliard Wind Ensemble. It is privilege to welcome musicians to St Thomas Church in the knowledge that their usual performance venues include London’s Wigmore Hall and Glyndebourne Opera. Finally, a concert in February given by NFP and piano soloist Peter Roper- Curzon marked the arrival in St Thomas’ Church of the Concert Grand Steinway piano. _Daphne Johnston_ 16 ## **Buildings and Land Report.** The Quinquennial inspections in April were the primary focus for St Thomas’ and All Saints Fabric consideration. Their reports indicated no new or unexpected major issues, but several action items were identified and activity to address these will be continued in 2025. Due to its age and construction St Thomas’ is always going to have issues with damp in the walls which could not be rectified without total reconstruction. We therefore must adopt a strategy of managing, rather than resolving, these problems to preserve the building for future generations. For example, a detailed investigation of the Narthex internal walls and external rendering on the West End will be started in 2025. We have also carried out a Fire Risk assessment and this has resulted in improvements to our equipment and policies and procedures for Fire Safety. One result of this was a decision to trial moving the Parish Office down to the Hall building which has proved to be a success. The trial also indicated the need for some minor modifications to the new office and Bethune Room and these are in progress. The All Saints long term tenancy by TOPS Day Nursery continues and ensures these buildings make an active contribution to the local community. On behalf of the Fabric group, I would like to thank both the Friends of St Thomas' and members of our congregation and community for their continued financial support to help us both maintain and improve the fabric of our churches and halls. _Michael Standage_ ## **Finance Report 2024.** ## **Finance Committee** St Thomas' Church Finance Committee members manage our church finances week by week on behalf of the PCC, meeting a minimum of six times a year. Our aim is to use our finances as effectively as possible to further the Christian work of our church. **Looking back to 2024** Committee members were Jonathan Cook, Daphne Johnston, Judy Martin (bookkeeper), Andy Payne, Chris Stroud, Lee Thompson, Malcolm Ward. We were ably assisted by, and most grateful to, Suzie Napleton and John Nivison along with those who make up the weekly counting teams organised by Peta Walmisley. All play important roles. At the end of 2024 the financial assets controlled by the PCC totalled £609,438, which includes the net asset value of the donated Steinway piano amounting to £54,143. Our income and expenditure during 2024 can be summarised as below. |**2024**|**Income £**|**Expenditure £**|**Surplus £**| |---|---|---|---| |**Routine**|**255,204**|**238,167**|**17,037**| |**Overall**|**326,827**|**258,212**|**68,615**| Routine income includes that donated through Parish Giving Scheme and church offertories, along with the SumUp card reader and a small number of Standing Orders. 17 Routine expenditure includes donations of over £23,000 made to various causes including Leprosy Mission, Bible Society, Mission to Seafarers, New Forest Basics Bank, Mission Aviation Fellowship, DEC Middle East Appeal, Oakhaven Hospice, Royal British Legion, Children’s Society, A Rocha. Exceptional income includes legacies, for which we were most grateful. The PCC was also grateful to the Friends of St Thomas’s Church, for the gift of a Steinway piano. Exceptional expenditure includes repairs to the organ, along with an electrical inspection of our buildings with subsequent work carried out. As can be seen, our routine income and expenditure returned a surplus of £17,037. The overall surplus at £68,615 is significantly higher than this routine surplus as it includes the net effect of the above exceptional income and expenditure. The principal difference is the value of the Steinway piano at 31st December 2024 amounting to £54,143. This amount will be written down to nil over the estimated useful life of the piano. In addition to our overall surplus of £68,615, our investments gained in value by £6,439, giving a total increase in Funds amounting to £75,054. Not everyone appreciates that parish churches do not receive any funding from either the Government or the CofE, therefore our existence depends on the steadfast generosity of our church family. We look back with a sense of joy at the many ways in which, as a Christian church, we have been able to continue going forward together. The commitment and generosity evident at St Thomas' Church are a source of confidence. We sincerely thank everyone who has financially supported our church. ## **Reserves Policy** Our Reserves policy states: - _It is the policy of the PCC to hold an Operational Reserve to cover routine expenditure for a period of three months._ Currently £60,000 - _In addition, the PCC has designated a Buildings Reserve to meet unplanned expenditure on the fabric of our buildings, recognising that the PCC is responsible for maintaining three Grade II* listed historic buildings. Currently £200,000._ ## **Looking Ahead** We intend to maintain our charitable donations to good causes and of course, to pay our Common Mission Fund, along with all our usual expenses. We look forward to meeting the financial challenges of our growing Christian church, including our Growing Younger Together initiative. However, our buildings are definitely not growing younger, so during the coming years the necessary maintenance and repairs identified through our Quinquennial Inspections will feature in our spending. _Andy Payne_ ## **oOo** 18 LYMINGT¢)N PAR(XHIAL CFIURCH COUNCIL ACCOUNT 31ST DECEMBER 2024 Ind ndgnt Examxnor, • R to the L ton Parochial Chureh Coun¢il w• t&port tsn th• a¢couThts of th• paroehial Chureh cotsneAI th• Y*￿ •nded 31ot DocoTrb•r 2024, vhieh at• $•t *>Ut tstt pag•• 2 to 11. ctivo re¥ n8ibilitie6 of the Tru8ts•0 of the PCC aThd Exwnor AS the Trust88s of the Parochial Church Council you ar• r•sponJiblo for tho pzoparation of th• accowits in accordanc• with th• requireMant8 of tha Cbarits88 Act 2011 (the 2011 Act) . You oon8id•r that an Audit 18 not required for thx8 yaar wider 8•ctxon 144121 of th9 2011 A¢t and that an Indwnd•nt Exarnkn•ts¢n roquxr•a. AB Indap•nd&nt ExaAinAr it our r•swJn#ibilty to: ExaMxn• th• accountg und•r 4oCtxon 145 of th• 2011 Act.. To tollow the procathJre¥ laid down in the Ganeral Directions givon by th• Charity CO￿*&Lon*t5 lund*r 8•etson 145151 Ibl of tha 2011 etl .. and To stato wh•th•r partscular WitterJ hav• CO￿ to our attontson. Basi8 of Inde dant EXa￿Thar.8 Our 0Xti￿natIOn wa8 carriad out in a￿ordanc0 with th• Gonaral Dxr4ction¥ gxv•n by th• Charity CoAai$8ion. An •&wn4tLon includ•• a review of tho acco￿Ating racord8 kept by tha Parochial Church Councxl and a comparison 0£ the accounts prasant•d with thog• rAttoid• It also Includ￿ eon8idtsration of any ur¥u8ual itau or di8cIo8ur•ii in th• aecoijntb and 8eekxng explanation3 from you aB truBt••8 cone•rning any 3uch watter8. The procBduro8 72ndertaken do not pzovzd• all th• •vidèneè that Would bè tèquxrèd in an audit, aThd eontséquèutly no opinion i* giv•n *• to Whath￿ th• accounts prgBant a trua and vi•w and th• t•pott IA li￿t•d to tho*• matt•rA ••t out in th• 8tateJllent bolow. In In connéction with our gxamin4tion. attentiOTL'. 111 which giv•8 U8 r￿￿onabl• caDs• to b•ll•v• that In any 7llatarial r•Jp•ct tb• r•qLuT￿ants al to koop account￿9 r•cozdB xn accordance ¥ith 8octxon 130 of the 2011 Act," bl to pr•par• account¥ which accord with the accountsng r•cord• and waply with th• a¢Gountknq r•quxz•a•nts of th• 2011 AL%t hav• not been met," or 121 to vhieh, in *)ur ¢>pinioA, att•ntitstt •TrLould b• drawn in ord•E to •nabl8 a prO￿r und•tIstan￿ftg of th• aL￿unt• to b• r•a¢h•d. HOPK JONES 4th P4)ril 2025 8uit• 114, Lywington Hall. LYMINGTON, Hant8 L)Trill4GTON PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL STATRMENT OF FIWCIAL ACTIVITIES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31ST DECEMBER 2D24 UnEeatsict8d Reotsicted EndowrLent Funds Funds Funds Total Funds 2024 2023 Voluntary Incom• 2(a} A¢tivitlO8 fot Ggnorating Funds 2(b) Investnent Incom• 2(cl 2(d) 204,509 65,268 18,251 26,424 1.000 6,800 211,309 167,029 65,268 22,826 26,424 1,000 57,482 21,759 25,815 3,871 704 Church Activities Oth•t Ine¢m• 2(el TOTAL INCC £315.452 £10, 671 £704 £326.827 £272,085 Raising Funds Church Activities 31al 31b> 6,312 240.525 6,312 11,254 704 251.900 331,000 10.671 TOTAL EXPE14DITURE £246.837 £10, 671 £704 £258.212 £342,254 NET INCCthff / (EXPENDITURE 68,615 68,615 (70,1691 GAINS AND LOSSES INVESTMwrs On Rèvaluation 5,820 619 6.439 23,722 NET HOVEHENT IN FUtIDS 74,435 619 75,054 (46,447) Fund Balanc•8 •t 18t January 2024 508. 975 638 24.771 534,384 580.831 FUND BALANCES AT 31ST DECEE4BER 2024 £583.410 £638 £25, 390 £609, 438 £5341,384 LYMINGTON PARIXHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL BALANCE SHEET 31ST DECEMBER 2024 Nots 2024 2023 FI)￿D ASSETS Tan ibL• Fix•d A88•ts As at Igt January 2024 4.345 4.345 869 L•ss: D￿raCiatIOn for th• y￿r 3.476 4.345 steinva Piano Ad￿tion Less: Depreciation £or the year 55.248 i.ios 54,143 Investnent8 EndownwAt Fund Inv•8tments Hapgood B•quo$t 3.828 C.O.I.F. Ch8ritie8 Ethical Inve8toaAt ESJnd ML¥s B Monk Fund 586 C B F Znve8tWLt Eund 11.840 11,525 13.550 13,246 25,390 24,771 Unr•strictsd Investmants C.B.F. Dep¢sit Account 10,030 C.B.F. Inve8tDent Fund Sharès 7,634 COIF Charities Ethical Inv•¥t*•nt Fund 227.204 231. 921 215.689 226,731 23.609 22,979 482,734 465,399 Curr•At A$s•ts Traidcraf t Stock Debtors and Pr•payn•nt• Cash at Bank Treasurers Aeeount Cash in Hand 124 25,728 6,968 56.475 1,650 19,827 353 65.093 46,032 I￿88.. Liabilit1•8 allLOUThta falling dua witMn on• y•ar 21.398 6,163 43,695 39,869 £609.438 £534.384 LYM114GTON PARCCHIAL (YtnicH COiJNCIL 3AI414CE SHEET Icontsnuedl 31¥T DECEI4BER 2024 Not• 2024 2023 Unr•Btrict•d 583. 410 508, 975 R•gtsxotod DoDationB Fund 630 638 En(Jowmont Fwid8 Hapgood 3￿•St IPari8h ehurch Fabrxcl 88 B. Monk (Youth VDrkl 11,840 13,550 11,525 13.246 25.390 24,771 £609,438 £534.384 Approv•d by th• Parochial Church Council on 27th ltst¢h 2025 and •i¢Jned on beh41f by: Vicaz Honor•ry Tr￿S￿ra NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEM8NTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31ST DECEE4BER 2024 ACCOUNTING POLICIES I (al Accountzn Convention8 Th• FinaneLal Statements havq boan prepared in accordan¢• wxth th Church Accotmting R•5YJlations 2006 togeth•r with applie*ble accounting $tandards and the CharitiÉis S¢JRP (FRS102} . Th• FU￿nciaL Stat•m•nt6 have k*en prepar•d und•r th• historical cost conV￿t￿On, •xc•pt for the valuation 0£ intr•stxent as8et8 which ar• 8hown at marke¢ value. I Ib) Fixed Ass•ts Consecratsd arld b￿•fiC•d property 18 exe1tsd(￿ from the Financial Stat&m&nts by 8. 10{21 la> of the Charit108 Act 2011. and no valu• ia placgd on lovabl• church furni$hing$. All •xpenditure ineurrgd during tha on Co￿•¢￿at￿ or t￿•fICed buil￿n9¥ and Jgvable church furnishxDgs. wheth•r maint•nanc• or improv•]wit, ZB writt off aB expenditur• in th• Stat•A•nt 0£ Financial ActiviknèB. ZquipnwAt used within th• Church prwg•¥ i* d￿recIated at tho rat0 of 20* on the r•du¢ing balane• basis. In￿vIdUal items of 9q￿PILent vzth a purchase price of £3,500 or l•ss ar• Written off wh•n th• asset is acquLred. Th• Stexnway Piano is d￿￿O￿at￿ ov•r it8 •st￿t•d u$•fuL life of fifty yeara on a stsaight lin• ba81B. l {e) Inv•stmant A88gts Invg8tn*nt8 are valued at Jllark•t valu• at 31#t December. I Idl 8tock Stock8 are valued at the low•r of cost and n•t reali8able valua. NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEbJEWfS (cont¥nu￿) FOR THE YL4R E14DED 31ST DECEblBER 2024 . INCCt4E AND ENDOWMENTS Unrgatsicted Restricted End0WllL￿e Total FlJnd• 2024 2023 2 13) Voluntary Income FlanA•d Giving.. Gift Aid Donati¢n$ Incom• tax R•cov•rablo OttrL•r Plannod Giving Coll•ction$ Li8t•d Plae•$ of Worship Grant Fti•n00 3,428 969 3,000 88,841 2.270 2,605 1,802 715 1.314 IS.S63 2,460 3,752 598 5,222 1.120 194 194 13,174 3.780 3,923 399 6.321 869 1,105 3,757 16,931 3,780 3.923 399 6,321 869 1,105 240.525 10.671 704 251.900 331,000 £2a6.837 £10.671 £704 £258.212 £342,254 NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS leontinuadl FQR THE ¥Ehli ENDED 31ST DECE148ER 2024 4. Ex Th￿tUr• Staf f Costs 2024 2023 8alari•s Pènsion Co8t$ 26.202 301 17,184 271 £26.503 £17,455 During the year the Council enployed a Parish A￿1￿￿trator. Verger and an Organist non¢ of whom earned £60.000 OE moro. Th• av•rage nu]thr of •mploye•s during the year was 3. Ext&tnal Accountan and Exa•it)ation F••s 2024 2023 Accountancy and ExaThination Fo•8 £2,502 £2,298 D•btors and Pre ant 2024 2023 Incorne Tax R•cov•tabl• Oth•r D•btot8 and Prepayments 2.353 4,615 2,559 23.169 £6.968 £25,728 LiabilJtias: knLount8 fallin du• wzthzn one 2023 Croditors for Goods and Services Mission A¢¢rn•d Expenses 4,697 573 16.128 3,467 2,696 £21.398 £6.163 Unr•$tietod Fund8 During the year Th• Fti•nds 0£ St ThoTra8 donatad to thè Parochial Church Council a Stoinvay piazko. the net cost OE which wa8 £54,248. The piano is being daprociated ov•r its eBtimated ugoful lif• of 50 y•ats. The net asJ•t valu* of the piano at 31st DeceiBber 2024 aNount•d to £54, 143, and this allount 18 i￿￿Ud•d witkun Unre8tEictad Fund*. Restticted Funds R•Strict￿ Funds in th• accowlts ar• as follo•TS: Donations Fund Amounts rocoived for a Sp&￿£12 PUtpos• are cr￿tea to the D¢nationB Fknd. Expenditure incurred for th•8• Purposes are A888ts r•lating to the Ra8trxcted Funds ar• as follow8: 2024 2023 Ca8h at Bank £638 £638 NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS {continuad) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31ST DECEMBER 2024 Inv•sts•nt A88•ts Totsl Fund 2024 2023 Investxent8 Funds Endowtrkent Fund Inv•stth•nt8 Ha ood Be est AS at IBt January 2024 Unt•aLi8ad gazn 11.525 315 11.525 315 10.494 1.031 A8 at 31st Decam￿￿ 2024 11,840 11,840 11,525 MLBS B 14onk Fund As at lat January 2024 Unrealised gun 13,246 304 13,246 304 12,107 1.139 A8 at 31st DOe￿bar 2024 13,550 13,550 13,246 Unr•strictad Inv•8tmants As at 1st January 2024 Withdrarrtn ReinveBtad Income Unr•alis•d gain 465.399 465.399 461,372 (25, 000) 7,475 21,552 11.515 5.820 11,515 5.820 £482.734 £482.734 £465.399 Total Valuation at 31st D•ceThb•r 2024 £482.734 £25.390 £508,124 £490, 170 Total Unr•alis•d Gain3 £5,820 £619 £6,439 £23,722 NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS IcontirAu•dl FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31ST DECEMBER 2024 10. Vicar and Churchwardens, Charitable Trust The Vicar and Churchward•ns ar• trusta•8 of th• followinq ¢harit*bl• Tru3t'. Tho Parish Hall Trust The incoAe and propkrty 0£ Trust Jllay bo appli•d •ith•r towards the upkeÉpt r•pair and insurance 0£ the £abric and contents of the Parxsh Church of LymingtorA. or in otherwise furthering th• r&ligiou8 and other charitable work 0£ the Church 0£ England. Dkvidonds on thè Trust's xnve8tll•nts are paxd dxrect xnto the bank account 0£ Lynington Parochial Church Council as a contribution to the cost of the Pari8h AdAini8trator. IrAv•8tsont8 0£ tha Trust at 31st D•e•*b•r 2024 amount8d to £138,447. Inv8BtLent In￿Me in th? y¢ar to 31st De¢ts 2023 amounted to £3,757 all of which T*a¥ donatad t¢) Lyxington Parocial Church Councxl tovatds th• cost 0£ the Parish AthLinistrator. 11 . Charit Inv•$tsent8 IrJv8stT¢ent held by Charitable Tru8ts88 where the ineoma arising 1$ due to the Parish is as follows: t￿$& E. Earl est for Chur 1,295. 05 Incor￿ Units Charitie8 Ethical Investsient Pund {Mark•t Valuo 318t Doce•bor 2024 £4.0051 io NOTES TO THE STATEblZNT OF FINANCL4L ACTIVITIES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31ST DECEbJBER 2024 12. Stat•m•nt of Financial Actsvitse# eor thè r to 318t December 2023 Unr•8trict•d R•8tricted Endowment Total )Jndo Fbnds Fundg Volunt•ry Incom8 Activi￿a# for G•h•rat￿9 Funds Inv8Stment In2oA• 156,625 57.482 17.255 25.815 10.404 167.029 57.4182 21,759 25.815 3.812 692 ChurcTrL Activitiès TOTAL INCCt4E £257.177 £14,216 £692 £272, 085 EXPENDiTtJRE Church Activiti@8 327,564 13,998 692 342,254 TOTAL EXPZNDirup £327,564 £13. 998 £692 £342,254 NET (EXPENDITURE) /INCC (70. 387) 218 170,1691 GAINS AND LOSSES ON INVESIYKNTS On r•valuation 21.552 2,170 23,722 (48. 835) 218 2,170 (46,447) Fund Balances at 1st January 2023 557, 810 420 22.601 5BO,831 FUND BALANCES AT 31ST DECEMBER 2023 £508.975 £638 £24,771 £534.384 li