ANNUAL REPORT and FINANCIAL STATEMENTS For the year ended 31 December, 2024 THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF THE ECCLESIASTICAL PARISH OF ST MARY, TOTNES WITH ST JOHN THE EVANGELIST, BRIDGETOWN hereafter referred to as TOTNES with BRIDGETOWN PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL Registered Charity Number 1128123 Principal address for charitable purposes.. The Rectory, Northgate, Totnes, TQ9 5NX TOTNES with BRIDGETOWN PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL TABLE OF GONTENTS Page Number Trustees. Report Independent Examiner's Report Statement of Financial Activities Balance Sheet Notes to Financial Ststements Trustses. Annual Report and Accounts for Totnes with Bridgetown Parochial Church Council for the year ended 31 December 2024. Objectives and Activities Totnes with Bridgetown PCC has the responsibility of co-operating with the incumbent, the Revd Jim Barlow and other members ofthe team ministry in promoting in the ecclesiastical parish the whole mission of the Church, pastoral, avangeli8tic. social and ecumenical. It also has maintenance responsibilities for: St Mary's Church, Totnes. a medieval Grade 1 listed building of considerable historical interest., St John's Church, Bridgetown, a Grade 2 listed building, built in the 19th century and originally a chapel~of-ease in the Parish of Berry Pomeroy becoming part of the Parish of Totnes with Bridgetown in the 1970's; St Mary's Church Hall, originally part of Totnes Primary School, purchased by the PCC in the 1970's. The Charity Commission's guidance on public benefit is kept in mind by the members of the PCC in planning activities. Achievements and Performance 2024 was a year of significant achievement. Worship and prayer Regular morning worship has continued to be offered every Sunday, with lay led services continuing once a month at St. John's. The evening pattern has remained Team Choral Evensong on the 1st Sunday, Taize worship on the 2nd Sunday, Sacred Space on 3rd Sundays and Vespers on the 4th Sunday. Contemplative silence and morning or evening prayer has continued on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. Numbers have held up well or increased across all services. Christmas attendance across the team remained at hiqh levels with 9 Lessons and Carols. ￿0 Christingles, community carols and midnight mass. Miaaion The Community Café and weekday Toddler Group at St. John's have continued toflourish. The Friends of St. Mary's have continued their popular Tuesday café. The successful relocation of Stepping Stones / Food Bank to St John's at the beginning of the year has meant a change in activity at the church during weekday daytimes. It has been good to continue our relationship with Krt and her team. We have also run a successful Hot Potato lunch club and been able to host Kool Kitchen, a catering project aimed at men. Mike Gibbons has continued to do sterling work as music director for both churches, maintaining the monthly team choral evensongs and continuing to develop the Community Choir and St Mary's Junior Choir. The Summer Sounds programme ran again and there were two notable joint choir events, in June with Choir Jam from Keynsham, The Sea Gals and Totnes & Bridgetown Cotnmunity Choir in aid of the RNLI 200th anniversary (and St Mary's Upliftl Appeal) and in August when the community choir sung with Affinity from Cardiff, one of the largest female voice choirs in South Wales. Sunday Club remains active at St. John's as does our engagement with St John's School. the Grove School and Totnes Independent School. There has continued to be high demand for use of both churches for talks, recitals and concerts, InGludiiig tlie Uiiity iii Diveibily weekly inter-faith meetings at St. Mary's and Totnes Consciousness Café at St. John's. One off events included talks by Brian McLaren, George Monbiot. Martin Shaw and an evening of miiqir. 2nd rgadings by Andrew Riimsey. Bishop of Ramsbury and Church of England lead on historic buildings. The monthly Gospel of Mark study group concluded in December but will continue in 2025, now studying the Gospel of Luke. Building for the future St. Mary's Uplift Project.. Having secured an enabling faculty in De￿mber 2023, Ihe first six months of 2024 were focused on completing the requirements of the development phase. The London and South panel of the Heritage Fund approved our second stage application forjust under £1 million in June 2024, a tremendous achievement. There was still a funding shortfall to be addressed but by December 2024 we had succeeded in meeting the overall target of £1.44 million, with conditional grants to come from the National Churches Trust and Wolfson Foundation, the Headley Trust, other smaller trusts and local charities and a number of local fundraising events. including an art auction. In November and December 2024 we recruited a project management team, Phil Lewis and Helen Craven of Randal Simmonds. We also appointed Jess Langton and Gra Deathridge to the Activities Co-ordinator role on a job share basis, they started in January 2025. The remainder of the project cost (some £240,000) was VA"1 which, at that point, we expected to be able to reclaim under the listed places of worship grant scheme. However, already in December it was clear that the gov8rnmant might be considering reducing or even scrapping the scheme and we were engaging in lobbying with other churches to point out the damaging effect that would have on our plans. In anticipation of going out to tender on the works we had already scheduled to close St. Mary's after Christmas 2024 although delay8 Outside our control meant the tendering process was running two months behind as of the year end. In 2024 we also secured a grant for £19,675 from Awards for All, to refurbish and upgrade St Mary's Church Hall. That work will now happen after the main project. A new churchyard project has begun to develop, led initially by Peter Hilken and engaging with Totnes Independent School and we look fO￿ard to further plans being developed in 2025. St John's.. Attention being focussed on St. Mary's the implementation of the plans for developing St John's have moved at a slower pla￿. However, work began late in the year on removing the (collapsing) plaster ￿lling above the stained glass window and opening up the wall on the 2nd floor to eventually allow the window to be seen from there. These works are associated with work to secure the wall supporting the structural beam at that end of the building. In 2025 attention will focus on how to fund the wider project based on the excellent feasibility study. Ministry In 2024 the Diocese welcomed a new Bishop of Exeter, Mike Harrison, and we look forward to his pastoral and missional leadership. The Totnes Deanery has also revived somewhat with the appointment of Marisa Cockfield db Rural Dean. After 13 years, service in the Totnes Team, the Rev'd Canon Deborah Parsons moved to a full-time position at Exeter Cathedral, with her final service in Totnes held on Advent Sunday. Deborah and David have contributed so much. and Deborah seemed to be able to be turn up to every event in the team (sometitnes simultaneously). Her pastoral care and spiritual nurture were of great importance to many. Following discussions within the Team it was agreed to advertise in 2025 for fwo house for duty posts to replace the vacant 0.5 Team Vicar role. This is in line with the Team strategy of focal ministry and seeking to get priests back into parishes. As part of the same strategy, discussions were ongoing about splitting the Team rector role into two 0.5 posts as a time limited experiment. Diana Walters went through selection panel and was recommended for training for ordination which she began in September 2024. Diana has already made a big contribution to the ministry team as a lay leader. In December 24, quite suddenly, the pastoral measure to transfer Harberton St Andrews parish into the team was agreed and came into effect. This had been under consultation for several years. We are delighted to welcome Harberton into the Totnes Team and look forward to working with them. Communications During 2024 Diana Walters liad to step b