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2024-12-31-accounts

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Annual Report of the Parochial Church Council June 2024 – April 2025

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On behalf of the PCC

………….………………………………….. Paul Rawlings Churchwarden

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CONTENTS

  1. The Aims of the Council

  2. Council Members, Committees and Information for 2024/2025

  3. A Review of the Year

  4. Vicar’s Report

  5. Fabric Report

  6. Finance Report and Accounts

  7. Parochial Church Council Report

  8. Deanery Synod Report

  9. Mission Committee Report

  10. Pastoral Care Report

  11. Safeguarding Report

  12. Music Ministry Report

  13. Children & Families Report

  14. Social and Fundraising Report

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1 The Aims of the Council

The primary aim of the PCC is to co-operate with the Vicar in promoting in the Parish the whole mission of the Church, pastoral, evangelistic, social and ecumenical. In particular, the PCC supports the vision and mission statement of the Parish:

“to Seek, to Serve and to Share Jesus Christ daily”

The Annual Report of the Parochial Church Council gives an opportunity to present an overview of the whole mission of the Church in addition to the formal documentation associated with the accounts and the fabric reports.

2 The Parochial Church Council of the Parish of Iver

Council members for 2024-2025

Ex Officio and Co-opted
Vicar
Licensed Lay Minister
Associate Priest (p/t)
Associate Priest (p/t)
Churchwardens
Deanery Synod
Members
Robert Gooding
Jim Dashper
Sarah Smith
Carole Gooding
from Sept 2024
Paul Rawlings*
Anitra Cuff
Paul Fisher		 Elected PCC members:
Date of Retirement
Rachel Nikolay (Hon Secretary)
2025
Lesley Bristol
2026
Jim Dalwood
2026
Tina Lewis (interim Hon Treasurer) 2027
Gerald Paine
2027
Graeme Jenner 2027
Peter Fearon 2027
Peter Owen 2027
Angela Lindström
2026*
 resigned May 2024
elected Lay Vice Chair of the PCC
** interim Hon Treasurer Jan 24 – Dec 24

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Committees for 2024-2025

Standing Fabric Finance The legal requirement, with power to Attends to all matters concerning Oversees general finances, transact the business of the PCC our buildings and churchyard, prepares budgets and monitors between its meetings. their maintenance and income and expenditure. improvement. Robert Gooding (chair) Tina Lewis Paul Rawlings Paul Rawlings (chair) Robert Gooding (acting chair) Rachel Nikolay Graeme Jenner Wendy Jenner (co-opted) Tina Lewis Peter Owen Gerald Paine Paul Fisher Paul Fisher Murray Macdonald (co-opted) Jim Dalwood Pastoral Mission Social & Fundraising Robert Gooding (chair) Robert Gooding (chair) Rachel Nikolay (chair) Sue Kightley (co-opted) Jan Rayner (co-opted) Paul Rawlings Maureen Traxler (co-opted) Paula Carey (co-opted) Helen Macdonald (co-opted) Anitra Cuff Reina Fisher-van Werkhoven (coLesley Bristol Wendy Jenner (co-opted) opted) Heather Harper (co-opted) Peter Fearon Children & Families Committee Carole Gooding Sarah Smith (chair) Robert Gooding Anitra Cuff

Safeguarding Reina Fisher van-Werkhoven, Parish Safeguarding Officer
Robert Gooding
Rachel Nikolay
Inspecting Architect Mr David Pendery
Pendery Architecture & Heritage Ltd
23 Orchard Road
Hook Norton, Oxon
OX15 5LX
Bankers NatWest
Slough Trading Estate
PO Box 1070
Slough, Berks
SL1 1AL
Independent Examiner Mr Michael Kennedy
5 Woodwaye
Woodley
Reading, Berks
RG5 3HA
Hon PCC Secretary
Mrs Rachel Nikolay
155 High Street
Iver, Bucks
SL0 9QB
Hon Treasurer(interim) Mrs Tina Lewis (from Jan 24 – Dec 24)
367 Rochford Gardens
Slough, Berks
SL2 5XE

On 3[rd] April 2009 Iver Parish Church was registered with the Charity Commission as “The Parochial Church Council of the Ecclesiastical Parish of St Peter, Iver” Charity No.1128999. All PCC members are now trustees of the charity.

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3 A Review of the Year

Electoral Roll:

Following the preparation of a new Electoral Roll this year, the Electoral Roll stands at 69.

Attendance at Services:

We have continued with our online streaming of services (mostly from St Peter’s) to our church Facebook page. This is still a blessing to those who could not attend church in person due to distance or infirmity.

Figures based on services between January and December 2024

At St Peter’s, a typical congregation was:

er’s, a typical congregation was:
Service Attendance 2024
Jan - Dec
8.00am Holy Communion 0-9 (0-10)
10.00am MorningPraise (Adults) 13-30 (17-34)
10.00am MorningPraise (Children) 0-7 (0-8)
Combined10am withStLeonard’s (Adults) 24-67 (20-40)
Combined 10am with St Leonard’s (Children) 1-4 (1-5)

Although not included in the statistics, attendance at the Thursday 12 noon Holy Communion service ranged from 4-11 (4-10)

Figures in parenthesis are previous year’s attendances for comparison

At St Leonard’s, a typical congregation was:

nard’s, a typical congregation was:
Service Attendance 2024
Jan - Dec
10.00am Morning Worship (Adults) 10-22 (10-23)
10.00am (Children) 0-1 (0-4)
Combined 10am with St Peter’s (adults) 20-38 (23-39)
Combined 10am with St Peter’s (children) 0-2 (0-3)

Figures in parenthesis are previous year’s attendances for comparison

Note 1. Through the year, attendance at the 10.00am service at St Peter’s was sometimes significantly increased when the services included Baptism, but the figures listed above do not show these increased numbers. Also the figures do not reflect the increased attendances at major festivals, or other special services

Note 2. Combined 10.00am services have continued on the 4[th] Sunday of each month, usually alternating between St Peter’s and St Leonard’s.

Occasional Services in 2024 (calendar year)

Baptisms: Infant/Children (<1-10)
Young People (11-17)
Adult		 3
0
0
(2)
(0)
(1)
Marriages 1
(7)
MarriageBlessings 1
(0)
Funeral Services in St Peter’s or
St Leonard’s (followed or preceded
by a burial or cremation)		 12
(11)
Burials in the churchyards or
Burial Ground		 5
(4)
FullService at Crematorium 6
(7)
MemorialServices 0
(0)
Interment of Ashes 5
(7)

Figures in parenthesis are previous year’s statistics for comparison.

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3.1 Reviews undertaken during the year

– Statutory and Legal Risks Safeguarding Policy (including Child Protection)

The PCC complies with the Safeguarding Policy in the Parish to ensure compliance with the House of Bishops’ Policy and Diocesan procedures. The policy was last reviewed and presented to the PCC on 15[th] October 2024. Reina Fisher-van Werkhoven continued as Parish Safeguarding Officer

General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR)

The PCC complies with the principles under which personal data may only be obtained, held or disclosed to others under the Data Protection Act 2018, which is the UK's implementation of the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR)

Financial Risks – Budgeting and Cash Monitoring

The PCC prepares an annual budget and, through the Finance Committee, monitors cash flow and budgetary control on a regular basis

Insurable Risks – Review of Insurances

During the year all our insurance policies were reviewed in conjunction with our insurance Advisors Access Insurance Ltd and Bridges Insurance

– Operational Risks Identifying Essential Repairs

In addition to the quinquennial inspections of St Peter’s and St Leonard’s churches, there is a policy of prioritising maintenance. Details of the work carried out this year is set out in the Fabric Report

Health and Safety (including fire precautions and disability access)

The Fabric Committee maintains its ongoing commitment to ensure that all activities are risk assessed and that appropriate training, equipment, records and processes are made available. Annual servicing of fire equipment and emergency lighting was carried out in January 2025. PAT testing was carried out in all buildings in June 2023 and due to be renewed this year. The Health and Safety buildings risk assessments and the disability access audit are continually kept under review.

3.2 Programme and Activities

Special Occasions

Regular Activities

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Home Groups

The pattern of Home Groups continues with considerable variety in style and content. For many of those who attend they represent the most meaningful aspect of church life. If you are interested in joining a group, please contact the Church Office. We currently have 4 Home Groups meeting in person - 2 on a Monday afternoon (one which is fortnightly), 1 on a Tuesday evening and 1 on a Wednesday evening.

Parish Magazine

The St Peter’s and St Leonard’s Parish Magazine is produced by the church and compiled by Rev Sarah Smith working closely with Rachel Nikolay (who also looks after the advertising) and is delivered free of charge to all residents in Iver Village and Richings Park by a team of volunteers from both the church and the local community. There are over 2,600 households. The magazine contains news from St Peter’s and St Leonard’s churches as well as the other churches in Iver. It also provides community information and carries adverts for local businesses and services. A digital copy is also available on the church website and Facebook page and is also published on local community Facebook pages.

Website

Our website, viewable on all devices plays an important role in the parish providing many people with communication, information, direct links to our sermons and Facebook Live streaming of our Sunday services, Morning Prayer and other services e.g. Christmas and also one click access to our donations platform ‘Give a Little’. Rachel Nikolay is responsible for updating the site on a weekly basis so that there is easy access to up to date information, including our sermons and notices. The website address is www.iverparishchurch.org.uk

Social Media

The St Peter’s and St Leonard’s Facebook page provides another source of up-to-date information and can be found at www.facebook.com/iverparishchurch The content additionally includes videos of Morning Prayer (for a period of 2 weeks), our 10am services from St Peter’s each week and combined services from St Leonard’s. The page is administered and monitored by Rachel Nikolay.

Opening up our Churches to the Community

St Peter’s Church has been open to the public from 9am to 1pm, Monday to Friday (during term time)

3.3 Things We’ve Done Together With Others

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3.4 The People Who Make It All Work

Again this year, God has worked through so many different people and, as always, we want to express our very warmest thanks to all those who help our churches to carry on their work throughout the year. Some of these are very obvious, whilst others serve much more "behind the scenes". We as a church rely on these gifts of time, effort and specialist skills, which are given with love and grace. All gifts are of great value. They include:

In several of these areas we are currently short of volunteers so please do not hesitate to contact us if you can help in any way

4 Vicar’s Report

My highlights

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From 1[st] January 2025, Jim Dashper, our amazing Licensed Lay Minister (LLM) decided that he would like to lead and preach just once a month (rather than twice) and this in now normally on the first Sunday of every month at St Leonard’s. We are very grateful for his wisdom and ongoing commitment to the parish, particularly in providing extra cover when others are away, e.g. on holiday. It has also been such a joy to see how well his wife Brenda has recovered from her major hip surgery last year

Sarah, Carole and I have just returned from 48 hours at the New Wine Leaders Conference in Harrogate (25[th] to 27[th] Feb 2025). It was quite “intense” and tiring but also very encouraging to hear stories of God definitely “on the move”. There is a spiritual awaking throughout the UK, particularly among those in the 1825 age group. Hundreds of churches represented at the conference reported people with no church background turning up at church without warning. One of the keynote speakers – Pete Hughes said this. “We are living in increasingly dark times and people are starting to cry out for ‘Daddy’, our heavenly Father. We are moving from winter to spring and from the challenge of ‘surviving scarcity’ to the challenge of ‘stewarding abundance’ However, it was also very challenging, and one thing in particular struck home from one of the seminars on “Breaking out of a decline mindset” …. “God comes where he is wanted” Have we become too self-sufficient? “If the Spirit of God walked out of our church, would anyone notice?” Are we too set in our ways. If a revival does come to Iver (and I pray it does), how willing would we be to be flexible enough to embrace it?

Paul Rawlings has done an incredible job as our only Churchwarden since last May 2023, and I am delighted that he has agreed to stand for election for another year. However, we really do need another churchwarden to work alongside him to share this significant responsibility

I also want to thank Rachel for her continued dedication and hard work as our PCC Secretary and Church Administrator, particularly over recent weeks when she has been so unwell. 1st December 2024 marked the fact that she has been our Church Administrator for 10 years ... what an achievement!

We still URGENTLY need to find a new permanent Treasurer, although we are very grateful that Tina Lewis continued in the role of Interim Treasurer until the end of December last year. Tina has continued to serve on the Finance Committee since then and undertake several roles but she has confirmed that she will be stepping down from the Finance Committee after the APCM unless a new Treasurer is appointed before then. We will be lost without her knowledge and experience, which is why the appointment of a new permanent treasurer is now critical

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As always, I am indebted to all those who work alongside me in any form of leadership capacity in the church including those on PCC and Deanery Synod. I am also aware that many people in our church serve faithfully and often quietly behind the scenes and I am so grateful to them all. In particular this year I want to express my gratitude to David Rowlands for over 70 years as a member of our bell ringing team and for many of those years as the Tower Captain, a role he has recently retired from, dure to poor health. I am pleased to report that Mrs Nickie Tuckwell has been appointed as the new Tower Captain. However, like many churches and charity organisations we have a shortage of volunteers for a number of roles, and I hope to run some training events this year to encourage church members to get more involved

Sadly, we lost a few more much loved former regular members of our church family this year

Mike James in July 2024 (it is impossible to overestimate the debt of gratitude that we owe to Mike for his humble and quiet service to God in Iver over so many years)

Doreen de Burton (aged 105) in August 2024

Cath Coleshill (aged 102) in September 2024

In January 2025 I conducted the funeral for Will Paine who was the Independent Examiner of our church accounts over many years and more recently helped with our churchyard days

Finally, in January 2025, Revd Tony Coulson, the much lover former Vicar of Iver Parish from 1963 to 1986 died (aged 92)

I am also aware of a number of members of our church have also lost loved ones this last year; parents, siblings or close friends, some suddenly and some at a relatively young age.

Three church members have also moved away this year; Jo Elkins to Aylesbury, Liz Allen to live with her daughter in Holyport and Peggy Bowers has moved to Swarthmore Care Home in Gerrards Cross (joining Doreen Roberts). It is great that Liz Allen has returned on a few occasions to attend Tea Chat and Company, and I have been able to visit Peggy on a monthly basis to take Holy Communion.

Again, during Lent this year in our Sunday services (and some of our home groups) we have been using the “Come and See” materials from Oxford Diocese with videos from Bishop Steven, Bishop of Oxford, exploring “Baptism”. I hope you have found these interesting and inspiring.

As usual I am particularly looking forward to our Easter services especially the Tenebrae service at St Leonard’s, the Good Friday Walk of Witness and the Hour at the Cross at St Peter’s

Thankfully many of the clergy vacancies in the Deanery have now been filled but Sarah, Carole and I have been able to provide some cover when we are not all required at St Peter’s or St Leonard’s. In particular Sarah and I have helped out at St Paul’s, Slough and I have conducted some services at St Margaret’s, Iver Heath, either on a Wednesday morning or a Sunday evening and two services (Remembrance Day and Carol Concert) at Pinewood film Studios. A new priest has now been appointed for St Margaret’s, but his start date has not yet been announced. Carole continues to offer occasional pastoral support in her previous benefice as they are still without a priest. She has also offered couples at her previous benefice the opportunity to join our marriage prep morning. Carole and Sarah will be conducting a number of weddings in that benefice this year

Please pray for our new Bishop of Buckingham, Rt Revd Dave Bull, who was consecrated on 26[th] February 2025. My feeling is that this is an excellent appointment, but he will need our prayers and support.

My prayer for us is that, as a church, we are ready, willing and able to join in with what God is doing at this time. However, in order to do this, we need to help, support and encourage one another.

God bless Robert

Revd Robert Gooding

5 Fabric Report

1. Introduction

All members of the Fabric Committee have assisted with a variety of tasks during the year. The Fabric Committee work to ensure costs are kept to a minimum and where possible look to carry out tasks using their own skills. The Committee continues to seek practical help from other members of the church fellowship. There is a rolling maintenance programme for our buildings but of course if work is postponed it

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means that the fabric will continue to deteriorate, and the costs will increase when the work is finally undertaken.

2. St Peter’s Church

2.1 External

North Aisle Roof

There is some pointing work needed to repair cracks in the flashing, otherwise the roof appears to be in good condition

South Aisle Roof

Repairs to some flashing have taken place and water to the high level downpipe has been diverted to prevent more water damage to the South Aisle window

Annexe Roof

The roof appears to currently be in good condition

Tower Roof

This seems to be in good condition, however the weathervane, together with the flagpole is in need of decoration

Walls

On the walls there are a number of “clunch” stones that are exfoliating and there is a section of flint work which needs to be replaced. In addition, there are several areas of “clunch” and limestone pieces exfoliating and repairs are required

Chancel Wall

The blocked window opening stonework is exfoliating and repairs and consolidation are required

Stonework

The stonework is still in the same state as last year and is in places in urgent need of repair. The render applied to the stonework of the west door continues to slowly break away and has also become a problem around the south aisle door. This must be rectified by removing the render and replacing damaged stone then applying further render

The stonework to the gulley around the church needs repointing

Woodwork

All external doors are in need of re-staining. The south east door to the Chancel has had one coat of stain

Lighting

All outside LED lighting is working well, with the exception of one light which will need replacing

Windows

South West - the west window in the south aisle has a serious crack in the jamb at high level and substantial water damage which it is hoped has now been rectified by the repairs to the roof (see above)

North West - the damage to the west window in the north aisle has deteriorated further. There are a considerable number of repairs needed to prevent further deterioration of the stonework. This window in particular was badly repaired some decades ago. Quotations received from specialist companies for the repairs will need to be updated. A schedule of works and specification of needs has been produced by our architect, ready to proceed with the faculty process with the DAC. This will also be of assistance as grants for the repairs are sourced

2.2 Internal

Some repointing of stonework is recommended and the plaster on the west and north walls in the tower area is breaking away and needs repair and redecoration. A survey of the wooden roof rafters to detect signs of any active woodworm is recommended, there has still been no sign of death watch beetle activity, but this needs to be kept under review.

Annexe

Following further investigation on the badly deteriorated kitchen floor, the recommended outcome is to remove the floor covering together with all damaged parquet flooring. Two coats of latex DPM will be applied and then the floor replaced with tarasafe ultra non slip flooring. At the same time all pipework will be boxed in. A faculty application for these works was submitted and approved. It is anticipated these works will take place as soon as possible.

Repair to the plaster on the toilet wall, damaged by water is still in need of repair. Further investigation on this is needed.

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A second noticeboard, specifically for Children’s activities has been erected, following Archdeacon’s faculty approval

Furnishings

The chancel furnishings are still in good repair but the nave cushions have not been replaced. The linen is in good order with thanks to those who launder and care for the linen at both churches.

Heating

All four boilers were serviced in October 2024, issues were found with two of the boilers and the necessary repairs made. However, we do need to keep in mind that the heating system is now over 18 years old.

Lighting

To change the bulbs in the Nave, South and North Aisle to LED bulbs would prove very costly as the entire light fittings would need to be upgraded. It is still the intention to look into this when funding is viable.

AV System

The visibility on the screen at St Peter’s has been deteriorating for a number of years and a new AV system (screen plus projection) is required. After much consideration an original quote was received and approved and the necessary faculty applied for. Some questions were received from the DAC concerning the positioning of the screen and the original contractor was unable to draw up the plans required by the DAC. Following recommendation from the DAC, a new contractor who specialises in church AV has visited and subsequently provided a quotation which has been passed to the Finance committee. The majority of the funding for this will be from pledged donations specifically for these works

Miscellaneous

The lightning conductor was tested by Bacon Ltd in January 2025 and the certificate was issued.

The basement is very damp and every opportunity must be taken to ventilate this space.

Following a fault with the smoke alarms in the basement, two new alarms were fitted. At the same time damp damage was found to one light fitting and one double socket. These were replaced with waterproof fittings

The situation with regard to mice, bees and wasps continues to be monitored and treated.

Evidence of bats has been found in the Chancel area. As a protected species we can only monitor their existence and clean up after them accordingly.

The clock is wound once a week and still appears to be working fairly well. The clock is often a few minutes fast or slow, however experts have advised that this will mostly be due to changes in weather conditions. Back in September 2024 the weights to the clock disengaged themselves from the pulley whilst the clock was being wound. The problem was repaired by Gillett & Johnstone in November 2024. Otherwise the clock is in good working order.

2.3 Tower Report

This has been a year of transition with regard to the Tower and our wonderful bells. After decades of faithful service, many as Tower Captain, David Rowlands decided to step down due to ongoing health issues. I for one, will miss his wise and humble counsel in all matters related to the bells as a result of his huge number of years of experience. As a church and as a local community we owe a huge debt of gratitude to David and we wish him well in his "retirement". We are pleased to announce that Mrs Nickie Tuckwell has been appointed as the new Tower Captain. Unfortunately the bells need a fair amount of maintenance before they are safe to ring again and we also need to recruit more bellringers as you may have read in the April Parish Magazine. If you are interested in joining the Bell ringing team please contact Nickie via her email address in the back of the Parish Magazine.

2.4 Churchyards

Churchyard work mornings at St Peter’s took place in the Autumn of 2024. Unfortunately the planned morning at St Leonard’s was cancelled due to bad weather. Churchyard Mornings at both St Peter’s and St Leonard’s are planned for the Spring of 2025. At St Peter’s, a group of people, including members from the community cleared undergrowth and tidied beds from the churchyards and gullies and gutters were cleared

The tap in the New Churchyard has not been working for some time. Several attempts have been made to establish the reason for this. Further investigation is still underway, and advice is being sought.

The churchyard is generally in good condition, and we would like to thank the Ivers Parish Council for all their work in maintaining the grounds

Tombs in St Peter’s Churchyard

The parish council have identified certain tombs in the churchyard which need to be made safe for health and safety reasons. Every effort has been made to contact next of kin of the deceased in the identified tombs and any detail passed to the Ivers Parish Council. The work will involve lifting off the tomb tops,

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removing rubble and bricks and tomb lids replaced at ground level (plus any side panels that have inscriptions). The Ivers Parish Council have a budget for the works and will carry these out. A faculty for these works will need to be applied for

NB: Upkeep of the Old and New Churchyards, and the Burial Ground is the responsibility of the Parish Council. Responsibility for the administration of burials and monuments in the Burial Ground was handed over to the Parish Council on 1st January 2016. No further new graves will be allowed. Interment in existing graves and interment of ashes will continue.

3. St Leonard’s Church

There is still a need for a toilet in the church. The current arrangement of using the toilets in the hall are not viable long term due to accessibility (e.g. those with a disability), health & safety, safeguarding and community needs. In additional currently we are having to ask paying hall hirers to forego their bookings when there is an event/service coinciding in the church. Many options are being looked into

3.1 Exterior

There is moss on the roofs which will require attention. Repair work will be required to broken/missing tiles of all roofs. Some repointing of brickwork and stonework is required to windows, walls and the boundary wall.

The render on the walls is in poor condition and has cracked in a number of places and some has now fallen off. This will need to be repaired, however a faculty will be required before any works can commence

3.2 Interior

The interior of St Leonard’s Church is in reasonable condition although some repairs to the stone work of the windows should be carried out to prevent further deterioration. The south west corner of the Nave has a possible water ingress and continues to be monitored.

The boiler was serviced in October 2024 and no faults were found. It is to be noted that the boiler may need replacing in the near future.

Following intermittent failure of the heating a new pressure switch was fitted. No further issues have been reported

4. St Leonard’s Hall

Overall, the hall is in good repair and is being regularly used and respected by hirers

The boiler was serviced in October 2024, with no faults found. Recently a leaking radiator has been fixed

The outdated fluorescent lighting has now been replaced with new LED lighting and is working well

The back door (from the kitchen to the outside area) was damaged and repaired

Following the closure of the pre-school in February 2025, some remedial decorating works will be required

5. St Leonard’s House

The house is let at present and the building is generally in good condition. Some general minor maintenance work may need to be carried out following the EICR.

The boiler was serviced in March 2025, with no issues found

6. St Leonard’s Grounds

The grass is being cut regularly by volunteers for which we are very grateful

7. The Core

The Core has not been used since December 2017 but serious health and safety consideration would be needed should this building be put to future use

8. Health and Safety

The Fabric Committee maintains its ongoing commitment to ensure that all activities are risk assessed and appropriate training, equipment, records and processes are made available.

A Health and Safety Policy is in place (last reviewed in January 2025 and agreed by the PCC) and Accident Report books are in all buildings, first aid kits are maintained, signage and health and safety notices comply with current legislation. Paul Rawlings continues as our elected Health & Safety Officer.

A Lone Working Policy, running alongside the Health & Safety Policy was produced and agreed by the PCC in October 2024 and is on display at each church building

9. Fabric Maintenance

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The five year EICR (Electrical Installation Inspection Report) was carried out in all buildings in November 2024. The report on both churches was satisfactory, with no outstanding remedial works. There are a number of remedial works required at St Leonard’s House and St Leonard’s Hall which should be arranged as soon as possible

Emergency lighting in all buildings is regularly serviced

The availability of volunteers over the past years continues to decrease. More volunteers are required to maintain the buildings and to keep maintenance work up to date. Volunteers with practical skills are always welcomed

There will be a considerable increase in fabric costs should we need to employ external people/ organisations to carry out normal maintenance tasks

A regular volunteer cleaning team is still required for St Peter’s, to work as part of a team. If you feel you would be able to help with the cleaning, please contact Rachel in the Church Office

We are very grateful to the volunteers who carry out the cleaning at St Leonard’s Church and St Leonard’s Hall and to those who cover essential cleaning when required at St Peter’s

Paul Rawlings, Churchwarden and Chair of Fabric Committee

6 Finance Report and Accounts

Executive Summary

The financial year ended 31 December 2024 saw an overall deficit of income over expenditure of £3,192.18. This figure is disappointing but can be explained with costs having increased year on year for maintenance costs. There has also been a decrease in legacies of £4,000 from last year, rent for St Leonard’s Hall increased by £12,503.25.

Our Parish General Fund, the amount we have available to spend on all unrestricted expenditure, amounted to £20,228.96. Our restricted fund balances total £37,348.08 and endowment fund balances total £117,791.50 (including the investment assets, monies that may only be spent on specific purposes), a combined total of £155,139.58

Your PCC is immensely grateful to you all for the contributions and donations received in 2024. We give thanks we have had the opportunity to use this money wisely to continue God’s work here in Iver Parish and beyond.

INCOME

Our overall income was up in 2024 by 7.8% from £118,045.34 to £127,258.59

The increase in income is mainly due to money being donated towards a new PA system at St Peter’s.

Our income is derived from 5 sources: voluntary income; fund raising; investments; charitable activities and other resources.

(i) Voluntary Income decreased by £4,573.30 from £75,227.03 to £70,653.73

Gift aid received increased by £467.56. Plate collections also decreased in 2024 by £879.62 with a decrease in wall box donations by £7.16. Legacies decreased by £4,000 in 2024.

(ii) Fund raising increased by £1,101.33 (gross) or £1,147.08 (net)

2024 has seen fundraising events with a net income of £5,690.64 being raised with £139.00 spent.

(iii) Investment income increased by £501.16

We received a small return of £16.84 on our Santander shares donated to the PCC in 2002. We also received interest of £918.00 in 2024 from The Ethel Leach Memorial Fund; an original investment of £1,000 in 2006 invested in M&G Charifund Unit Trust units is currently worth £15,018.48.

We also let St Leonard’s House, a 3 bed-roomed house in St Leonard’s Walk behind St Leonard’s Church, at £1,700 per calendar month. This generated £20,400 between January to December, pa net excluding insurance and repair costs and is a vital source of income.

(iv) Income from charitable activities increased by £12,609.95 from £16,969.43 to £29,579.38 This income source is analysed across three headings

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Income from the hire of St Leonard’s Hall increased by £12,503.25 from £4,948.25 to £17,451.50 in 2024. This is mainly due to Lilliput Pre-School rental during 2024.

The advertising income for the magazine has resulted in an increase of revenue from £3,333.18 to £6,400.88 due to outstanding invoices being paid in 2024 following the exceptional work of the Parish Administrator to chase invoices.

Fees from weddings and funeral services decreased in 2024 to a total of £5,727.00; of which £3,499.00 is paid to the Diocese and is reflected in our Ministry costs.

EXPENDITURE

Our Expenditure increased by 4.6% in 2024 from £124,698.49 to £130,450.77

The significant reasons for this are:

Restricted funds

The church has a number of funds which are for restricted use only. These are separately disclosed in the accounts see note 21(b).

Thanks and appreciation

Once again, the PCC would like to extend its thanks and appreciation to everyone involved in the many and varied aspects of financial activity undertaken at St Peter’s and St Leonard’s, particularly to Pauline Telfer for taking on the inputting of the bank statements since November 2024.

Tina Lewis, Interim Treasurer

7 Report on the activities of the Parochial Church Council for 2024-25

The Parochial Church Council have met to transact business on 7 occasions since the last APCM

The Standing Committee of the PCC also met as necessary.

Paul Rawlings was re-elected as Churchwarden. Rachel Nikolay was re-elected as Hon PCC Secretary.

Robert Gooding chaired the above PCC meetings and Paul Rawlings was elected as Lay Vice Chair.

There were no PCC vacancies and one Deanery Synod vacancy not filled at the last APCM.

Having stepped in as Hon Treasurer on an interim basis in December 2023, Tina Lewis continued as Hon Treasurer until 31[st] December 2024. There is currently no one in the role of Hon PCC Treasurer, this is a vital role that needs to be filled.

A PCC Away Day was held on Saturday 6[th] July 2024 at St Mary’s Church Hall, Wexham. The day was lead by Revd Asa Humpries, the Parish Development Adviser for the Buckinghamshire Archdeaconry In these continuing challenging times the PCC worked to ensure the best use was made of our available financial resources and to ensure that our Church continues to be able to support a range of charitable activities outside of the Parish.

Our thanks go to the members of PCC, our Churchwarden Paul Rawlings, our Vicar - Revd Robert Gooding, our Associate Priests Revd Sarah Smith, Revd Carole Gooding and our LLM – Jim Dashper for all of their support and prayer, during the last year.

Rachel Nikolay, Hon PCC Secretary

8 Deanery Synod Report

For the Burnham and Slough Deanery the Revd Canon Janet Binns, our Area Dean, has managed another challenging year.

Janet is committed to creating a sustainable financial strategy to meet the cost of ministry while addressing the spiritual needs of its parishes. These persistent challenges have made it necessary to take a hard look at reducing costs to align with current income levels. So, the table shows the changes of Stipendiary Ministers

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Year No of
Stipendiary
Ministers		 No of HfD
Ministers
2024 18 2
2025 15.5 3
2026 15.5 3
2027 15.5 3

The reduction between 2024 and 2025 was achieved primarily due to retirements and so gave the opportunity to initiate a pastoral reorganisation of the ministry provision with financial realities and in doing so decrease the Deanery Parish Share by £100,000 for 2025 with a key expectation to achieve no deficit for 2025.

For 2025 the Diocesan Synod will focus mainly on: - Environment, Discipleship, New Congregations, Children & Youth and Social Justice. Each parish is encouraged to enhance giving, and support parishes in vacancy through transition. Deanery Clergy are encouraged to collaborate across multiple parishes, focusing on specific ministry areas such as youth work, families, work with the elderly and pastoral care through the following

Please find below an overview of the Deanery Synod meetings held during 2024/25 and the key topics discussed:

15th June 2024 at St Georges, Britwell

24 September 2024 St Peter’s Burnham

26 November 2024 at St Andrew’s Cippenham

26 February 2025

In addition to the specifics mentioned above, at each meeting there have been ongoing discussions about the following:

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Burnham and Slough Deanery has been classified a ‘Recovery Deanery’ by the Diocese due to consistently underpayment of the allocated Parish share over many years. Deaneries are required to pay minimum 90% of the allocated share, the data for B&S for the past five years is below:

Year Allocation Contribution % contribution
2019 942,522 824,721 87.5
2020 963,063 739,320 76.8
2021 953,432 762,509 80.0
2022 943,898 813,069 86.1
2023 925,020 824,649 89.1

During the year the following new clergy have been welcomed to the Deanery:

Other news from the Deanery

New Bishop

Revd Canon Dave Bull was consecrated as the new Bishop of Buckingham on 27[th] February 2025

Diocesan Synod Elections

Three Deanery Synod members from the House of Laity were elected to Diocesan Synod namely SallyAnne Jarvis, Julie Sheilds and David Moore. The clergy members elected were Fr Chris Ferris and Revd Canon Janet Binns

Interfaith Dialogue and Cooperation

Slough has a significant non-Christian population, especially in Upton-cum-Chalvey with several mosques, temples, and gurdwaras in the area. Generally, relationships between faiths are good. The Slough Faith Partnership is a group that fosters inter-faith dialogue.

Youth and Children’s Ministry Funding (YCMP) Application

If successful the agreed proposal is that the YCMF will, in the first phase, focus on 11–18-year-olds in the Langley area, with support from St Paul’s Slough (already looking at this age group utilizing money from the Diocesan Strategic Development Fund) and is well placed to provide mentorship and support. Later on, the second stage will expand the focus on 2–11-year-olds in the Langley area (with a view to calling on the 11–18-year-olds to support this) and at the same time to introduce two other hubs; Farnham Royal with Support from St Peter’s Burnham, also selected for their potential to reach this age group in their catchment

Unfortunately, the Deanery / Diocese bid for YCMP funding from the national Church of England was not successful in the first round of applications in February, but they have been encouraged to reapply in the autumn

Deanery Parishes in Vacancy / Interregnum

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Paul Fisher and Robert Gooding

9 Mission Committee

Our small committee of 4 has continued to meet regularly since the last APCM, the other members being Jan Rayner (secretary), Paula Carey (one of our own Mission partners) and Reina Fisher-van Werkhoven who has recently rejoined the Committee

Mission Giving

The mission budget for the year 2024 was distributed as planned

The mission budget for 2025 is £6,554.72 (a fractional increase on the 2024 budget £6,536.76). This equates to 5% of the forecast income for 2025. In line with mission giving for 2024 and previous years, it was agreed that more would be awarded to individuals. Our church remains committed to mission giving and careful financial management and budgeting has allowed us to continue our giving for 2025. The Finance Committee continues to have a standing agenda item to review the opportunity to increase mission giving, should the financial position of the church improve during the year

There have been no requests to change or consider new Mission Partners for 2025. We therefore currently support:

Mission Aviation Fellowship Church Army Far Eastern Broadcasting Associates (FEBA) London City Mission Tearfund

Wayne Dixon (Christian Connections in Schools; in association with Scripture Union) David and Joy James (Novo UK) (previously operating under the name InnerCHANGE) Paula Carey (World Horizons)

Stewart and Jo Johnson (Wycliffe Bible Translators) Simon French (Borderless – the UK operation of Africa Inland Mission working with Africans in the UK)

A letter was sent to each of our individual Mission Partners in February 2025 advising them that we are still continuing to support them financially and prayerfully

Visits from Mission Partners

The following visits were made by our Mission Partners and in each case, they gave us a very useful update on their work

The following events / visits are planned for later this year

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Other Activities

Our Mission Partners continue to work faithfully in the UK and around the world in a context that has changed a lot in recent months and years with the ongoing wars in Ukraine and Israel / Gaza and elsewhere in areas that do not hit the headlines (such as the Democratic Republic of Congo). In addition, in the continuing cost of living crisis, many charities are seeing a significant reduction in their income. This has been compounded in recent weeks by announcements from both the UK and US Governments regarding a reduction in their Overseas Aid budgets. What should our response as Christians be to this? Our Mission Partners need our financial support and prayers more than ever as they seek to declare the good news of Jesus and stand up for the poor and marginalized who have no other voice.

Robert Gooding, Chair of Mission Committee

10 Pastoral Care Report

T he current Pastoral Care Committee has met regularly since the last APCM report.

The Committee again organised our annual Remembering Service on Sunday 3[rd] November 2024 and we are very grateful to all those who volunteered to help in various ways on the day and provided a warm welcome for those attending. Many positive comments were, once more, received from members of the wider local community who came along to this service. This year we handed out bulbs rather than planting them

Certain members of the Pastoral Care Committee will again be taking the lead this year in organising the Tenebrae service at St Leonard’s on Maundy Thursday, together with other members of the St Leonard's fellowship

We still have four homegroups meeting either weekly or fortnightly and I am very grateful to those who faithfully host and/or lead these

CAMEO continues to go very well with around 40 people attending on the 2[nd] Saturday of each month and the group has collected and donated hundreds of pounds to local charities. Likewise, the Tea Chat and Company group is continuing to grow on the 1[st] Tuesday afternoon of each month since it moved to a new temporary home at Richings Sports Park. They have had some fascinating speakers over the last year. Our new group called “Mix and Mingle” for adults of all ages meets once a month on a Saturday afternoon at the St Peter’s Centre for craft activities, jigsaws and social interaction. Some board games are also available if requested. I am pleased that we have now developed a small but growing core of regular members. CAMEO, Tea Chat and Company and Mix and Mingle all provide important informal pastoral care to those who come along and also enable us to reach out to our local community. I am incredibly grateful to all those who organise and run these groups

Sue Kightley and Maureen Traxler continue to serve on the volunteer Chaplaincy team at Wexham Park Hospital

We are, as always, very grateful for all the “unofficial” pastoral support that members of the church family offer to others quietly behind the scenes.

Revd Robert Gooding - Chair of Pastoral Care Committee

11 Safeguarding

Introduction: A safer church is a more Christ-like church

The need for sound safeguarding policies and practices was sadly highlighted in November 2024 with the publication of the independent review by Keith Makin, of the Church’s handlings of allegations against the late John Smyth and the subsequent resignation of the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby. https://www.churchofengland.org/media/press-releases/independent-review-churchs-handling-smythcase-published

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As a parish it is important to create a culture where people are served, heard and loved, to reflect the fact that the needs of the vulnerable were at the heart of Jesus’ ministry, and therefore should be at the heart of ours too. All safeguarding activities that are implemented and monitored with this purpose.

Safeguarding is a standing agenda item at each PCC meeting. This is where policies are being reviewed, and relevant topics are discussed, to ensure Safeguarding is embedded as an essential component of all that we do. It has also been an opportunity for learning from national case reviews.

Regular meetings (every two to three months) take place with the Safeguarding committee, consisting of Rev. Robert Gooding, Rachel Nikolay, Church Administrator, Reina Fisher-van Werkhoven, Parish Safeguarding Officer (PSO).

Safeguarding activities and management take place in line with Church of England Safeguarding Policy and Practice Guidance. Where appropriate Diocese Safeguarding meetings or workshops are attended. A dedicated Safeguarding Sunday service took place at St Peter’s church on the 26[th] of January 2025, to reflect as congregation on the church’s responsibility to be a safe, Christlike church, as Christ showed his concern for the Samaritan woman at the well, who was considered marginalised and vulnerable in her own community to empower her and restore her dignity (John 4: 1-40).

Safeguarding Policy, Guidance and Information

Details of Parish Safeguarding Policy are available on the parish website and are reviewed annually (last updated October 2024).

The ‘Promoting a Safer Church’ information poster with key contact details for safeguarding concerns is available on the parish website and is displayed in both church buildings.

Safeguarding Learning and Development

All employed staff and church officers (all volunteers having a role in serving the church) are required to complete Safeguarding training, according to CoE training guidance, almost all of which is available as online learning. Those involved with children and vulnerable adults will be required to complete an enhanced level of safeguarding training. The purpose of this is to raise awareness of abuse that could take place, but most of all to prevent this and make the church a safe place for all.

Currently 45% of staff and volunteers are fully compliant, 12% is partly compliant and 43% is not compliant with this (this is partly due to training having recently expired and now needing to be renewed – a 3-yearly requirement). All have been reminded via email that training has expired or is still outstanding, and this is also being reiterated at PCC meetings.

The fact that the training is only available online is a barrier for some volunteers who do not have access to internet or are not conversant with online training, but they have been supported to complete this.

Safer Recruitment and People Management

The Church of England has developed a comprehensive Safer Recruitment and People Management toolkit in order to formalise the process of employing paid staff and volunteers. This includes the use of job descriptions and obtaining references, DBS checks, and completion of required safeguarding training. New volunteers and staff will need to be supported in their role through regular meetings. The parish reports to the Diocese the progress in meeting these recruitment and management requirements via an online dashboard. When new staff or volunteers will join the team, the new process will now need to be followed.

Concerns Raised

No safeguarding concerns have been shared with Parish Safeguarding Officer since the last report.

Reina Fisher-van Werkhoven, Parish Safeguarding Officer

12 Music Ministry

Roger Hall continues to provide music leadership at most St Peter’s 10am services together with Reina Fisher-van Werkhoven. Anne Torrent also kindly provides music for some St Leonard’s services, parish joint services and other special events. We continue to pray for more members to join the music ministry team.

Roger Hall

13 Children & Families

To start with, a big thank you to the Children and Families Committee and those who have volunteered for any aspect of Children and Families work. We couldn’t do it without you!

Sunday Seekers and Sunday services

This year has brought significant changes to our provision for children and families. Unfortunately, due to a lack of enough regular leaders and young children, we no longer have any regular Sunday Seekers, which

19

has meant a shift in our approach to engaging with younger members of our congregation

We continue to hold our Any Age Service on the second Sunday of the month, which is now the designated service for Baptisms . This service aims to be accessible and engaging for all ages, incorporating elements such as interactive talks, and prayers

To support families and younger visitors, children’s activity sheets are often provided. However, the fluctuating attendance of children and families means we are continually adapting our approach

The lack of a consistent children's group on Sundays remains a concern, particularly in ensuring that families feel welcomed and engaged when they do attend. Looking ahead, we will need to consider how best to provide for children and families within the current context and explore ways to rebuild a more regular provision

At the beginning of the year, we continued using a mix of Scripture Union resources alongside custom lesson plans prepared by Sarah, with additional support from Anitra. These tailored sessions were well received. However, as attendance became increasingly sporadic and the last of our regular children moved away, the need for structured weekly lesson planning diminished

In the event that children's work restarts in the future , we have explored potential resources to support this. "Roots" has emerged as a promising option, offering ready-made materials that are adaptable to a range of ages and contexts. This could provide a sustainable approach when we are ready to relaunch children's provision at a later stage

Schools Ministry

Open the Book - Iver Village Infant Academy

Open the Book continues to run well, with a dedicated team from both our church together with Kings Church, Iver with the Open the Book team going into the school every Monday afternoon. The children remain engaged with the stories, reflections, and prayers , and it is always encouraging to see their enthusiasm. A huge thank you to Anitra for her ongoing hard work in organising the scripts and costumes

We are delighted that the new Headteacher is keen for this valuable ministry to continue

A Harvest Festival service was held at Iver Village Infant School on 7[th] October 2024 and harvest gifts for Slough Food Bank were collected

The team led a Christingle Assembly on 9th December

Iver Village Junior School

Sarah and Robert continue to forge a good relationship with the school, supporting the children’s learning through assemblies and RE lessons. The engagement from students has been encouraging, with thoughtful participation and discussions

This year, they have: Led a Harvest Festival Assembly, which was well received by the children. Delivered a Year 5 RE lesson on the Founders and Prophets of Christianity. Year 3 RE lessons on “How Church Features Aid Worship”, helping children connect the physical space of the church with its role in faith and community. And an RE lesson (which on How Jesus' Teachings Shape Christian Life, encouraging reflection on the impact of Jesus’ message today

The school also held their Christmas concert in the church on 11th December

Old Station Nursery

Harvest - Sarah and Robert had a lovely time at Old Station Nursery on 7[th] October with the children discussing where our food comes from and then the children had fun guessing the names of fruit and vegetables and deciding on where they thought they grew: in the tree, on the ground or under the ground. The children had collected some lovely Harvest Gifts for Slough Food Bank

Christmas - Sarah and Carole went into the nursery to tell the Christmas Story on December 10th. The children really enjoyed looking at the characters and hearing the interactive story. The session finished with singing some Christmas songs

Other schools : Sarah is fortunate to still be able to attend St Helen's College, the school she worked at, carrying out assemblies, prayers, RE lessons and a special Christingle-making workshop

TotZone

Totzone is continuing well. Carole has taken the lead on this and is enjoying drawing on her Early Years Experience. We are grateful to Wendy Meads, who volunteers each week. We have 4 regular families as

20

well as occasional attendees. The children and their families are forming friendships and there is a lovely atmosphere

Other Events:

Light Party - t his year's Light Party was on 31st October in St Peter’s Church. There were crafts, party games, a scavenger hunt, a talk by Carole and plenty of party food

Christingle - this year, rather than holding a separate Christingle Service, we incorporated it into the Christmas Eve Family Service. This change was very well received, with a much larger attendance than expected—so much so that we even ran out of oranges! It was lovely to see some adults kindly offering their Christingles to children who hadn’t received one

A few families arrived with pre-made Christingles, showing great enthusiasm for the tradition. The service itself was fun-filled and engaging, with Carole creatively explaining the meaning of the Christingle by dressing Sarah up as one, which added a memorable and interactive element to the celebration

Confirmation - f ollowing their Confirmation early last year, both of our candidates continue to regularly attend church and receive Communion. (One has moved away but I was recently able to preside at a Communion service at the church they now attend)

St Peter’s Football Club - Robert continues to make regular visits once or twice a month on a Saturday morning and would be very happy if anyone else from the church would like to join him

Revd Sarah Smith - Chair of Youth and Children’s Committee

14 Social and Fundraising

The Social & Fundraising Team has had another busy year organising a variety of events involving many meetings and behind the scenes planning and preparation. In addition to raising valuable monies for general church funds the team strives to reach out to the wider community, serving and sharing the love of Jesus through all we do. The events reported on are those which took place during the period of this report, June 2024 to April 2025. The amounts raised are net (after costs).

Iver Open Gardens – Sunday 9[th] June 2024

This event was a huge success with 3 fabulous and very different gardens on show, including Bridgefoot where refreshments, including cream teas and homemade cakes were served for the first time.

We received some really encouraging feedback from within the community on how lovely the gardens were, how well organised the event was, what a great atmosphere there was and how lovely it was to see people walking around the village between gardens, it was a great community event. The weather was lovely and there was a real sense of God’s presence throughout.

We are very grateful to those who opened their gardens and to Bridgefoot for not only opening their garden but allowing us to use the grounds to serve refreshments and have a few stalls and activities. We are also grateful to those who supported the event either by attending or volunteering to help on the day.

A total of £1091.95 was raised

Ivers Olympicnic – Saturday 13[th] July 2024

St Peter’s and St Leonard’s was represented with a double stall at this event. There was a craft activity of ‘make your own Olympic Torch’ which was very well received by (mostly) children and was busy throughout the day. There was a giant Olympic Torch ‘lolly’ stand where people could pick a lolly with a chance to win a prize.

We created a noticeboard advertising what we do as a church and the gazebos were adorned with our vision statement banner and Olympic bunting and flags. Flyers were handed out advertising upcoming events and again some great conversations were had within the community.

Robert, Sarah and myself represented St Peter’s and St Leonard’s in the ‘small’ opening ceremony!

Although fundraising was not the main aim for this event, we did raise £8.10

Tower Tours & Cream Teas – Sundays 4[th] and 18[th] August 2024

Both weekends were successful and very well organised

There were over 100 visitors to the church across both events, with the 18[th] August being extremely busy. In total 45 people climbed the tower across both weekends, that is 23 people more than 2023! There wee some of our church stalls and also a treasure hunt for our younger visitors.

21

A number of people took the audio tour of the church and many people enjoyed some shopping and tasty cream teas! We chatted to lots of people, had really good conversations and feedback was excellent

The events raised £762.49

“Rainbow Quiz” – Saturday 16[th] November 2024

A record 13 teams took part in this quiz and a real fun time was had by all. Several new teams from within the community entered and we saw a new winning team! Our Quiz Masters were again Roger & Karen Hall, this time with their trainee Keira.

The event raised total of £798

Iver Christmas Tree Festival & Christmas Market – 29[th] November to 1[st] December 2024

This year the number of trees entered into the festival grew substantially with 52 fabulous trees on display. The number of visitors to the festival has been growing every year and this year was no exception with many visitors throughout the festival. Visitors commented on how amazing the church looked wonderfully decorated with so many beautiful trees, with the array of twinkling lights bringing a sense of calm to a busy world. Some comments heard over the weekend were 'wow, this is truly amazing', 'thank you, the tree festival always starts off the Christmas season for me' and from a young visitor from one of our local schools 'this is the best trip ever... better than our last trip to the cinema!'

The 'Real Christmas Grotto' was enjoyed by many of our younger visitors who had the opportunity to chat to characters from the Nativity and take home a Christmas story book. The straw bales this year were kindly donated by Home Cottage Farm and from a member of the community for which we were very grateful

The Iver Christmas Market in the St Peter’s Centre on Saturday 30[th] November, running alongside the Christmas Tree Festival in the church was again well received. Stall space was sold out with some fabulous stallholders - both new sellers and some popular returning ones. The Market was very busy, offering an array of fabulous gift ideas for all the family. Very encouraging feedback was received from stallholders and visitors alike with stallholders commenting particularly on how good the footfall was.

There were some great connections with the community throughout the event

The event raised £1885.35 - we believe this to be our highest ever!

We would like to thank all those who entered trees or had stalls in the Market, those who visited and those who volunteered to help in any way during the weekend.

Why not think about entering your own tree into the 2025 Festival or talking to others and encouraging them to do so. It would be great to see even more trees decorating the church this year

Illuminated Ivers (formally Light up the Ivers) – Christmas Eve 2024

St Peter’s was again number 24 on the ‘Advent calendar’ this year using the theme of ‘Silent Night, Holy Night’. The lychgate was decorated with lights, a lit star and pictures and Bible verses fitting with the theme. The display was again well received by the community and we hope you all had an opportunity to visit to look at the display between 24[th] December to 2[nd] January.

“25 Quiz” – Saturday 22[nd] March 2025

9 teams took part in this quiz and there was a happy buzz about the room. Our November quiz winners retained their crown, with the rest of the teams in a close battle for positions on the leader board! Our Quiz Masters were again Roger & Karen Hall, ably assisted by Keira

The event raised total of £580

In addition to those already thanked, the Social & Fundraising team would like to extend their grateful thanks to the following:

Gerald Paine for again producing countless jars of his ever popular and delicious jams and marmalade which have been offered for donation in aid of church funds, raising a fabulous £825.00

Roger and Karen Hall who continue to skilfully compile and host our popular Quiz Nights.

Anthea, Alice and Barnaby for so kindly allowing us to use the grounds of Bridgefoot to serve refreshments etc to our Open Gardens visitors

Our talented bakers and those who have so kindly and generously donated towards the running costs of these events.

Oakwoods Estate Agents for sponsoring Open Gardens and the Christmas Tree Festival and Market with advertising boards and a donation to the Christmas Tree Festival.

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The many different local businesses and others who have donated raffle prizes for events

Everyone who volunteered to help and support these events in any way, it is absolutely true that the events could not run so successfully without each and every one of you!

I would like to add my personal thanks to our Social & Fundraising team - for their endless commitment, ideas, enjoyable meetings and hard work in putting together a selection of fun and enjoyable events for all.

Please continue to prayerfully consider ways in which you could help us in the coming year as we seek to serve God in our community and church. All of these events would not have been possible without the help of many people, and we thank them all again for their time and service.

Rachel Nikolay, Chair of Social & Fundraising Committee

23

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forthePCCAcco forthePCCAcco unts
Report to the trusteesof:
lver,		 St. Peter andStLeonard
Parochial Church Council
Onaccounts for the year ended: 31stDecember2024
Charity Number (if applicable):
1128999
Respectiveresponsibilitiesof The charity's trustees are responsible forthepreparation oftheaccounts. The
trusteesandexaminer charity's trustees eonsider that an audit is not required for this year under section
144 ofthe Charities Act 2011 (the Charities Act) and that an independent
examinationisneeded.
Itis my responsibility to:
r
examine the accounts undersection145of the Charities Act,
.
to follow theprocedureslaid downinthe general Directions givenbythe
Charity Commission (underseclion145(5Xb)oftheCharities Act, and
oto state whether particular matters have come to my attention.
Basisof independent Myexamination was carried outinaccordance with general Directions givenbythe
examiner's statement CharityCommission.An examination includes a reviewofthe accounting records
keptbythe charity and a comparisonofthe accounts presented with those records.
Itatso includes consideration ofanyunusual items or disclosuresinthe accounts,
and seeking explanations*omthe trustees concerning any suchmatters.The
proeedures undertaken do not provideallthe evidence that would be required in an
audit, and consequently no opinion is given astowhether the accounts present a
'true andfair'view and the report is limited tothosematters set outinthe statement
below.
lndependentexaminels ln eonnection with my examination, no matter has cometomy attention which gives
statement me reasonable causetobelievethatin,any material respect,
.
accounting records were not keptinaccordance withsection130of the Charities
Actor
.
the accounts do not accord with the accounting records
I have come across no other mattersinconnection with the examination to which
attention should be drawninorder to enableaproper understanding of the accounts to
be reached.