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2022-12-31-accounts

St Giles’ Parochial Church Council, Bramhope Annual Report for year ending 31 December 2022

Background and Administrative Information

Vision Statement

The 2022 vision of St Giles’ is to be a church that worships, welcomes, and shares God with all our community and beyond.

Mission Statement

St Giles’ exists in order to

Background

St Giles’ Parochial Church Council (PCC) is responsible for promoting the work in the Parish of the whole mission of the Church, pastoral, evangelical, social and ecumenical. The PCC is also responsible for the maintenance of the church, church grounds and the adjoining church hall. The PCC is a corporate body established by the Church of England and operates under the Parochial Church Council Powers Measure. The PCC has complied with its duty under s5 of the Safeguarding and Clergy Discipline Measure 2016 and has regard to guidance on safeguarding children and vulnerable adults, a duty which it takes seriously.

Administrative Information

St Giles Church is situated on the junction of Church Hill, Bramhope and the main A660 road from Leeds to Otley. It is part of the Diocese of Leeds within the Church of England and the correspondence address is St Giles Parish Church, Church Hill, Bramhope, LS16 9BA. The church is registered as a charity, charity number 1129657. PCC members are trustees of this charity and therefore have responsibilities to the Charity Commission.

Parochial Church Council

The Vicar, the churchwardens, and the Reader are ex-officio members of the PCC, as is a Deanery Synod representative. They are joined by 12 lay members of the congregation who are elected at the Annual Parochial Church Meeting (APCM) in accordance with the Church Representation Rules. Lay members serve for 3 years, with a maximum of two terms, and 4 retire on a rolling basis each year.

Incumbent

Revd Matt Broughton

Mr Nick Pinches Mrs Rachael Fox (from 8 May 2022)

Churchwardens

Secretary Mrs Jenni Hall Treasurer Mrs Angela Smith

Reader Mr Jonathan Slater (ex-officio)

Deanery Synod Representative Mrs Joy Smith (ex-officio)

The church holds its APCM in April or May of each year when a new PCC is elected. The 2022-2023 PCC was elected at the APCM on 8 May 2022 and its members are:

Mr Bernard Williams retires 2025 (2ndterm)
Mrs Joanne Dawdry retires 2025 (1stterm)
Dr Sue Ball retires 2025 (1stterm)
Mrs Jenni Hall (PCC Secretary) retires 2025 (2ndterm)
Mrs Liz Johnson retires 2024 (2ndterm)
Ms Suzy Bidgood retires 2024 (1stterm)
Mrs Krystyna Novak retires 2024 (1stterm)
Mrs Sara Leefe retires 2024 (1stterm)
Vacancy retires 2023
Mrs Jacquie Howard retires 2023 (1stterm)
Mrs Angela Smith (PCC Treasurer) retires 2023 (1stterm)
Mrs Hazel Lee retries 2023 (1stterm)

St Giles thanks all members of the 2021-22 and 2022-23 PCC who have worked hard over the past year helping and supporting our new Vicar, Revd Matt Broughton, as he and his family settled in Bramhope. Thanks are also due to Eddie Whitehead and Sarah Shay who retired from the PCC during 2022. We thank Joanne Dawdry and Sue Ball who were newly elected as lay members of the PCC in May 2022. The Deputy Wardens were Hazel Lee, Jean Bradshaw, Jean Weatherill, Marion Skirrow, and Sue Ball.

PCC Meetings

The PCC held regular meetings in January, March, May, July, and November 2022. All meetings were chaired by Revd Matt Broughton. The average attendance at these meetings was 82%. During the year the PCC were sad to receive the resignation of our organist, Bob Baker due to ill health. Sadly, Bob died soon after. The PCC also made important decisions about COVID mitigation during the year, resulting in the reestablishment of communion administered from the high altar. There was a successful Archdeacon’s

Visitation in November 2022. In addition, the PCC held an ‘Away Day’ in September 2022 at St Paul’s Ireland Wood, looking back at an eventful 2022 and forward to future plans and growth.

PCC Standing Committee Meetings

The PCC Standing Committee consists of the Vicar, the Churchwardens, the Treasurer and the Secretary. It acts for the PCC between full PCC meetings. It reports on its meetings and decisions to each PCC meeting. During 2022, the Standing Committee met physically on 2 occasions but were continually in communication via email. Most discussions were on aspects of fabric maintenance and expenditure, but a variety of other subjects were discussed including yearly service planning, remaining COVID mitigation measures, tree surgery, and a review of church insurance.

Other PCC Committees

The other sub committees of the PCC are Finance, Fabric and Communications.

PCC Ministries and Activities during 2022

Worship

The opening line of our Mission Statement is ‘Worship God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit’. We continue to rise to this challenge. Towards the end of 2022, the PCC started work on developing a new Vision Statement, and this work will continue in 2023.

Part of the reasoning behind Revd Matt Broughton’s appointment as a full time Vicar at St Giles was to task him with establishing a new Sunday worship pattern with two Sunday morning services, a contemporary styled one at 9.30am specifically aimed at young families, and a traditional Common Worship Communion Service at 11am. This was achieved very early on with our first 9.30am contemporary service being held on 9 January 2022. 30 adults and 8 children attended this service, with 50 adults attending the Common Worship Communion service at 11am on the same day. Over the year, the average number of adults attending the 9.30am service was 34 with an average of 14 children. At some particular services, eg baptisms, the number was considerably higher. The attendance at 11am services has remained steady at about 40 adults on average. There is some ‘double counting’ in these statistics because a few people attend both services.

The below graph shows our average Sunday attendance through 2022. The light green records adult attendance and the dark green, children.

The 9.30am service has evolved over the year with sessions of Godly Play in April 2022 and the starting of specific children’s groups during the service. On the second Sunday of each month there is an all-age Eucharist in the church and on the fourth Sunday there is Café Church held in the hall.

We were pleased to reinstitute our Healing Prayer Group during the year. This had been discontinued during COVID. Healing Prayer is offered during communion once a month at the 11am service.

A number of joint Sunday services have been held at 10am during the year when the whole church has joined together. During 2022 these occasions were on Easter Day, the Queen’s Jubilee celebration, Harvest (9 October), Toy Service (11 December) and Christmas Day. In addition, two Christingle services were held on Christmas Eve, when a total of over 200 adults and 100 children attended.

During the year there were 11 baptisms, 2 weddings, and 9 funerals in the church. In addition, the vicar presided over 2 interments of ashes and one memorial service.

During the year a Lent Course was held following the Part 1 of ‘The Prayer Course’, an 8 week journey through the Lord’s Prayer. This was well attended and Part 2 of the course is planned for Lent 2023. An Alpha course was also held in October-November 2022. Church services were also held to mark the sad death of Queen Elizabeth II in September. The church welcomed visitors in September 2022 when the church was open for the Heritage Open Day.

Pastoral Care

The Pastoral Care Team has over the last year continued to maintain contact with members of the St Giles congregation who have suffered bereavement, ill health, are housebound or now resident in a nursing home. Cards, flowers, or small gifts are delivered where appropriate. Christmas and Easter cards are also sent on behalf of the church. Friends are encouraged to keep in contact with those isolated by poor health.

Thank you to all the team for their continued support and those members of the congregation who keep us updated with the names and contact details where appropriate.

Much appreciation also to the Healing Prayer Group and to the Vicar who have provided spiritual comfort for those in need.

Meet and Eat Luncheon Club

In July Meet and Eat had a Strawberry Tea which was enjoyed by 40 of our members. A collection for St. George's Crypt at the event raised £150.

Meet and Eat has met monthly at lunchtime since September 2022.

The PCC are grateful to all the helpers who work so hard, and also the diners who come every month and make it such a success.

Children and Families

1 CATS has met 30 times in 2022 with an average of 18 adults and 20 children attending. Attendance in the Autumn term has been down. This we can attribute to

  1. A great deal of illness around.

  2. Missing out on new babies born during COVID so not becoming established members of the family.

  3. Many more corporate groups for children have started up.

Further advertising will hopefully improve the figures. We have contacted Midwives, NCT etc and are making a push on social media.

We are pleased to see a number of families are becoming regulars at our 9.30am Sunday services.

CATS Toddler Praise, which meets monthly, has met 7 times in 2022 with an average of 12 children attending. Once again the leadership has been split between Revd Matt and Gill Pinches and various bible stories have been covered.

Thank you to all our loyal helpers especially Susan & David Robinson and Marion Corrie and all the kitchen team.

2 The Vicar has been building on his connections with Bramhope Primary School. In 2022 Revd Matt took assemblies to mark Lent, Easter, Remembrance, and Christmas. Key Stage 2 Children also visited St Giles for their Christmas service.

Social Action

The church has continued its programme of social action throughout the year as we attempt to fulfil our role in reaching out to those in need.

A weekly collection of foodstuffs and toiletries for destitute asylum seekers in Leeds has continued in partnership with PAFRAS (Positive Action for Refugees and Asylum Seekers).

Throughout the year activities have also taken place to raise funds in support of the Children's Society. The sale of Christmas cards, quizzes, the collections from the Christingle services, collection boxes and other fund-raising activities have all contributed to another very successful year in support of the work of this extremely worthwhile and much needed charity. In 2022 St Giles Church Children’s Society Committee raised £4398.90.

Our Harvest collection was donated in support of Caring for Life, a local Christian charity which for many years has provided support and accommodation for the vulnerable.

In partnership with Bramhope Primary School our annual Toy Service resulted in the donation of a huge number of toys for distribution by Leeds Social Services Department to needy children.

Our annual Christmas collection of clothing and toiletries in aid of the homeless at St George's Crypt was once again well supported and highly successful.

We raised £480.24 for the British Red Cross Ukraine Crisis Appeal at the Sunday service on 27 February 2022, and CATS also raised £299.24 for the DEC Ukraine Appeal in March 2022.

However, despite this successful programme of activities we recognise that the needs often seem infinite while our resources are limited. Although much was achieved throughout 2022, it has been decided to review our activities during 2023 to ensure that, in partnership with others, we are all working to the greatest effect.

Sustainability Task Force

In the summer of 2022, the Vicar proposed the establishment of an informal “Net Zero” task force to consider ways in which St Giles could reduce its carbon footprint and so contribute to the national church’s ambition to be carbon net zero. Sue Ball, Joanne Dawdry, Richard Fox and Peter Vickers offered to serve on this group alongside Matt himself.

As well as being the “right thing to do” in itself, reducing our bought-in energy consumption has of course become an urgent matter for the financial health of the church. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine will result in a big increase in our cost of energy once the current fixed price contracts for gas and electricity expire in 2023. Therefore, there are strong financial as well as moral & spiritual reasons to see how we can reduce our bought-in energy usage, as quickly as possible.

Our own carbon emissions come primarily from the gas boilers which are used to heat the Church and church hall.

This informal group, now known as the Sustainability Task Force (STF), has met three times in July, September and November. Working closely with the Fabric Committee the STF has carried out the following activities in 2022:

PCC Governance and Asset Management during 2022

Safeguarding

During 2022 Liz Johnson was the parish safeguarding officer.

Safeguarding is an integral part of the Church’s worship and activities here at St Giles. This ensures that children and vulnerable adults are kept safe and supported. Visitors are informed of this by the notices in the Hall and Lobby.

As part of this commitment, PCC members have undertaken further training. This has been online, some carried out in groups, and other achieved independently. Members have completed both the Safeguarding Foundation and Awareness of Domestic Abuse courses.

With the increase in children’s work, new helpers have had DBS checks and also done the required training. During the year the PCC have considered and approved a number of policies giving guidance on Safeguarding procedures and practice.

Finance Sub Committee

Angela Smith (Chair and Treasurer), Matt Broughton (Vicar), Gillian Taylor (Planned Giving and Gift Aid Officer), Sue Ball (Envelopes Secretary) and Aimee Beckett are members of this committee.

This Committee covers all aspects of church finance and insurance including Stewardship and Collection envelopes. The PCC is grateful to them all and especially to Angela Smith for her leadership.

Finance

Income

Our income in 2022 was £107,933, up significantly from the 2021 figure of £81,315.

Planned giving is the backbone of our income strategy and it has been pleasing to see a significant increase in this from £39,946 in 2021 to £44,819 in 2022. We are enormously grateful to our established regular givers and those who have joined our regular giving scheme over the last 12 months.

Income from collections also increased significantly from £3,663 in 2021 to £6,045 in 2022. The digital card reader is very popular with the amount collected by card at Sunday services regularly exceeding that collected by cash.

We continue to be able to claim gift aid on a high proportion of donations and received a total of £12,143 in 2022.

A number of other generous donations were made during the year, including a legacy of £12,452 and donations totalling £7,000 for the repair of the belfry.

Other fund raising comprised the 50:50 club which generated £1,500 profit, the parish magazine which generated £2,000 profit and the hiring of the church hall which generated £7,108, up markedly from £3,713 in 2021. Thanks are due to all those who organised and supported these fundraising activities.

Fees received for weddings and funerals fell from £3,756 in 2021 to £2,890 in 2022. This is mainly due to a peak in demand for weddings in 2021 following lockdown.

The overall indication is that our income has now recovered from the challenges of the pandemic and we are optimistic about future growth.

Expenditure

Our expenditure increased from £73,477 in 2021 to £102,757 in 2022.

Our biggest item of expenditure is parish share. Our requested share for 2022 was £65,064 and we were pleased to be able to pay this in full as well as paying £1,000 towards our historic arrears. This contrasts with 2021 when we paid £55,072 (80% of the requested share).

Expenditure on buildings and ground maintenance was significantly higher in 2022 than the previous year. Two major items were the repair to the belfry which cost £7,000 and the maintenance of the trees which cost £5,000.

In line with our growth plans, we have made additional investment in our church services and outreach work by buying equipment and training to support new initiatives. We have also spent more on organist fees as we have resumed a weekly traditional service following the pandemic.

Reserves

Our reserves currently stand at £88,353. Of this total, £57,069 is held in restricted or designated funds. £31,284 is for general purposes. Having reviewed our regular outgoings and assessed the financial risks to which we are exposed and the mitigations in place, the PCC has agreed a reserves policy of keeping a minimum of £10,000 in the general fund.

Deanery Synod

Joy Smith is our representative on this Synod and has reported to the PCC on its proceedings during 2022. The Deanery boundaries have been redrawn and St Giles now finds itself in the Leeds NW Deanery, rather than the Headingley Deanery. For St Giles the new boundaries make only a marginal difference.

Fabric Sub Committee

Nick Pinches (Chair) Joanne Dawdry (Secretary), Matt Broughton, Bernard Williams and Douglas Hamilton are members of this sub committee.

The sub committee is responsible for planning and carrying out the maintenance and repair of the church, church hall and their associated buildings. Significant works carried out in 2022 include:

After the expenditure of significant time, effort and expense, we arranged to fell a few diseased and hazardous trees and to trim several others in the church grounds, some of which were hazarding our neighbours’ properties.

There remain a few potentially costly items identified in the 2021 Quinquennial Report which the sub committee are planning to seek PCC approval to complete before the next inspection in 2025.

Risk Management

A thorough review of our Fire Risk Assessment has been carried out by Nick Pinches and resulted in the painting of white lines in the car park, the training of Fire Officers and culminated in a successful trial evacuation of the premises after a church service in December 2022. Following a visit by an assessor from our insurance company EIG, at their request, a risk assessment on working at height has been carried out. As a result, this indicated the need to tighten our procedures and training where members of our congregation need to take at least one step off the floor to perform their duties. This has been discussed with the people concerned and is on-going. Our Health and Safety Policy has been reviewed (a copy is available on the notice board in the Hall) and procedures concerning the safety of the Grounds Team when operating grasscutting machinery are being refreshed. The Fabric Committee are also working on a solution to reduce the risk of falling from the top of the embankment walls at the entrance to the boiler house.

With Nick's retirement from the position of Churchwarden, a vacancy now exists for a Risk Management Officer.

Grounds team

This team is led by Alan Tomkins who organises a team of volunteers to maintain the church grounds. We are grateful for their continued work in particular during this last year when there has been a considerable amount of work on the trees in the churchyard. Our grounds are very visible from the main road and their tidy condition therefore provides an excellent showcase for our church.

Defibrillator

Our Women’s Fellowship, which sadly ‘closed its doors’ during 2021, wished to donate their remaining funds towards the installation of a defibrillator at church. This was installed in the car park in August 2022, and thankfully has not needed to be used so far, but is in place for the local community. The PCC is grateful to the Women’s Fellowship, Joy Smith, the Bramhope Trust and Glyn Jones for their support in making this happen. Hazel Smith and Sue Ball have also helped in organising training.

Hall Management

The Haall Management Team deal with maintenance and bookings for the church hall. Suzy Bidgood leads this with commitment and efficiency and we have much to thank her for.

During 2022 the total income received from hiring out the hall between January - December rose to over £7k. During 2021 it was £3.7k. Most regular December hire bookings were paid in January, so these amounts (approx. £1k) will be included in 2023’s total income.

Ad hoc bookings in 2022 amounted to approximately 25%, and regular hires 75%, of income.

----- Start of picture text -----
Split between Ad Hoc and
Regular Hire Bookings
Ad Hoc
Regular
Hires
----- End of picture text -----

Most ad hoc bookings were one-off events, consisting mainly of Kids Parties and Funeral Refreshment gatherings.

----- Start of picture text -----
Ad Hoc Bookings
Kids Parties
7%
10% Misc Events
40%
Funerals
20%
Chrismas Events
23% Christenings
----- End of picture text -----

A big thank you to all our hirers, new and established, who have helped us increase this income, a vital source of support for the church. We appreciate your choosing St. Giles Hall for your events, and we look forward to our ongoing partnerships in 2023.

Communications Sub Committee

Matt Broughton (Chair), Rachael Fox, Gill Pinches are members of this sub committee.

This sub committee, has continued to play an important role in organising the communication of our services and managing our online presence as well as the St Giles Review monthly magazine. Some 2022 highlights include:

We spent some time reviewing data in order to understand how individuals connect with us online. Some conclusions that came out of this include the need to ensure our website is more easily accessible for mobile users and more dynamic to enable easier access for those wishing to find out more about St Giles.

We would like to utilise email communication to a greater extent to keep church members well connected to the latest news and notices as well as ensuring that those with no emails are kept fully informed as well.

We are excited to see the St Giles story evolve as we grow as a church and look to the future with a refreshed vision; we hope the Communications Sub Committee can serve our church well playing their part to enable this.

General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR)

General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) gives people the right to be informed about how their data is being used. The PCC has a legal obligation to ensure that St Giles is GDPR compliant.

Some work has been done previously by Sarah Shay and Angela Smith to lay the foundations for good practice in this area – our thanks to them – but in 2022 we began the process of a full Data Audit to assess our compliance.

In 2022 Rachael Fox, our new GDPR officer, began the essential task of a full Data Audit with ad-hoc support from Laura Hill , who has offered to give some of her time to volunteer in this area. As a result:

• We have established a new storage system for data enabling greater security for information held. During 2023 we aim to complete the Data Audit and act on key recommendations with urgency and refresh the membership database to enable better, and GDPR compliant, communication with the congregation at large.

Conclusion

St Giles continues to provide a Christian presence in Bramhope. We feel very blessed by the ministry of our Vicar and the PCC supports him wholeheartedly in the establishment of our new church services aimed specifically at young families and children. We look forward to its growth in the next year whilst also cherishing our commitment to the traditional Common Worship liturgy of the Church of England. We look forward in the next year to developing our commitment to sustainability in working towards Net Zero, to a rethinking of our work in the wider community and to continuing to act as the parish church for our community. Further details of all that goes on at St Giles’ can be found on our parish website (stgilesbramhope.org.uk), our Facebook page and our Instagram page.

31 December 2022

End of Year Financial Statements

Year ending 31 December 2022

Statement of Financial Activities

Unrestricted Designated
Restricted Endowment
Total
Prior year
funds
funds
funds
funds
funds
total funds
Receipts
Planned giving
Collections and other giving
Other voluntary receipts
Gift Aid recovered
Other receipts
Activities for generating funds
Investment Income
Receipts from church activities
Total income
Payments
Cost of generating funds
Missionary and Charitable Giving
Parish Share
Clergy and Staffing costs
Church Running Expenses
Hall Running Costs
Church Repairs & Maintenance
Hall Repairs & Maintenance
New Building work
Governance Costs
Total expenditure
Net income / (expenditure) resources before
transfer
Transfers
Gross transfers between funds - in
Gross transfers between funds - out
Other recognised gains / losses
Gains / losses on investment assets
Gains on revaluation, fixed assets, charity's own
use
Net movement in funds
Total funds brought forward
Total funds carried forward
Represented by
Unrestricted
General fund
Designated
Flower
Witham
Worship Development
Restricted
Children
Elderly Services
Fabric		 44,819
—
—
—
44,819
39,946
6,045
—
—
—
6,045
3,663
16,786
102
6,936
—
23,824
8,104
12,143
—
400
—
12,543
11,221
501
—
962
—
1,463
153
14,317
—
—
—
14,317
13,394
181
—
—
—
181
90
3,619
—
1,118
—
4,737
4,741
98,415
102
9,416
—
107,933
81,315
1,531
—
—
—
1,531
3,377
—
—
—
—
—
—
66,064
—
—
—
66,064
55,072
1,334
—
—
—
1,334
800
13,678
259
6,918
—
20,856
10,627
5,298
135
345
—
5,779
3,600
—
—
7,190
—
7,190
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
87,907
395
14,455
—
102,757
73,476
10,508
(293)
(5,038)
—
5,176
7,838
2,000
—
2,609
—
4,609
1,000
(2,609)
—
(2,000)
—
(4,609)
(1,000)
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
9,898
(293)
(4,429)
—
5,176
7,838
21,385
43,141
18,650
—
83,177
75,339
31,284
42,848
14,221
—
88,353
83,177
31,284
—
—
—
31,284
21,385
—
200
—
—
200
163
—
41,978
—
—
41,978
41,978
—
669
—
—
669
1,000
—
—
1,549
—
1,549
1,239
—
—
1,533
—
1,533
1,533
—
—
11,138
—
11,138
15,876

Balance sheet

year funds Total funds Prior
Current assets
Cash at bank and in hand
Liabilities
Creditors: Amounts falling due in one year
Net current assets less current liabilities
Total assets less current liabilities
Total net assets less liabilities
Represented by
Unrestricted
General fund
Designated
Worship Development
Flower
Witham
Restricted
Fabric
Children
Elderly Services
Funds of the church		 88,353
83,306
88,353
83,306
—
129
—
129
88,353
83,177
88,353
83,177
88,353
83,177
31,284
21,385
669
1,000
200
163
41,978
41,978
11,138
15,876
1,549
1,239
1,533
1,533
88,353
83,177

Statement of assets and liabilities

year General Designated
Restricted Endowment
This
Last year
Current assets - Cash at bank and in hand
Bank current account -
Bank deposit account -
Cash in hand -
Totals
Liabilities - Agency accounts
Agency collections -
Totals
Grand total		 17,509
870
1,721
—
20,100
15,205
13,650
41,978
12,500
—
68,128
67,949
124
—
—
—
124
151
31,284
42,848
14,221
—
88,353
83,306
—
—
—
—
—
129
—
—
—
—
—
129
31,284
42,848
14,221
—
88,353
83,177

Fund movement by type

Opening
Incoming
Outgoing
Transfers
Gains/losses
Closing
General - General fund
Unrestricted
Sub-total for General
Fabric - Fabric
Restricted
Sub-total for Fabric
Worship De - Worship Development
Designated
Sub-total for Worship De
Children - Children
Restricted
Sub-total for Children
Elderly - Elderly Services
Restricted
Sub-total for Elderly
Flower - Flower
Designated
Sub-total for Flower
Property - Witham
Designated
Sub-total for Property
Grand total		 21,385
98,415
87,907
(609)
—
31,284
21,385
98,415
87,907
(609)
—
31,284
15,876
8,298
13,646
609
—
11,138
15,876
8,298
13,646
609
—
11,138
1,000
—
330
—
—
669
1,000
—
330
—
—
669
1,239
1,118
808
—
—
1,549
1,239
1,118
808
—
—
1,549
1,533
—
—
—
—
1,533
1,533
—
—
—
—
1,533
163
102
64
—
—
200
163
102
64
—
—
200
41,978
—
—
—
—
41,978
41,978
—
—
—
—
41,978
83,177
107,933
102,757
—
—
88,353

ST GILES’ BRAMHOPE PARISH CHURCH

ANNUAL REPORT and FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDING 31 DECEMBER 2022

Charity Reg Number : 1129657

1

St Giles Bramhope Parishioners Meeting and Annual Parochial Church Meeting

23 April 2023 at 2.30pm in the Church Hall

Parishioners Meeting

Annual Parochial Church Meeting

2

St. Giles’ Church Bramhope

Minutes of the 2022 meeting of St. Giles’ Parishioners, held Sunday 8 May 2022 at 2.30pm in St Giles Church Hall

1 Prayer Revd Matt Broughton opened the meeting with a prayer of thanks to God for help during the year past and of petition for support during the coming year.

2 Election of the Clerk of the meeting

Jenni Hall was proposed and agreed as the clerk of the meeting (proposed by Sue Ball and seconded by Gill Pinches).

3 Apologies for absence

Bob and Margaret Baker, Joy Smith, Suzy Bidgood, Bryan and Nancy Bundey, Fred and Joan Archenhold, Bernard and Sheila Williams, Dianne and Graham Eaton, Jo and Neil Simpson.

4 Present were Revd Matt Broughton (Chair), David Shay, Angela Smith, Nick Pinches, Gill Pinches, Jenni Hall, Alan Tomkins, Anne Marshall, Rachael Fox, Liz Johnson, Mike Johnson, Jonathan Slater, Hazel Lee, Jean Weatherill, Jude Jones, Joanne Dawdry, Krystyna Novak, Mary Mumby, Revd David Robinson, Susan Robinson, Sue Ball, Joyce Liddell, Tony North, Diane Thompson, Sara Leefe, Jacquie Howard, Elaine Dagg, Peter Vickers. (28)

5 Minutes of the meeting of the parishioners held Sunday 25 April 2021

The minutes were proposed and agreed as an accurate record of the meeting (proposed Jacquie Howard, seconded Tony North).

6 Election of Churchwardens

Nick Pinches had been proposed by Hazel Lee, seconded by Bernard Williams, and Rachael Fox had been proposed by Bernard Williams, seconded by Joanne Dawdry for the posts of Churchwardens for 2022-3. The meeting elected them unanimously.

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Minutes of St Giles’ Annual Parochial Church Meeting held on Sunday 8 May 2022 at 2.45pm

1 Apologies for absence

As above.

2 Present were

As above

3 Minutes of the APCM held on Sunday 25 April 2021

The minutes were proposed and agreed as an accurate record of the meeting (proposed by Angela Smith and seconded by Mary Mumby). Electoral Roll members had had the advantage of seeing the background papers for the meeting previously circulated via email but there a few hard copies available and the reports were displayed on the screen..

4 Report on the Electoral Roll

St Giles Electoral Roll was revised during the period 20 March -17 April 2022.

During the year we lost a number of longstanding and valued members of the congregation, some through death and some through moving away. They are all missed.

However, there are a number of new members and we look forward to their support and contributions during the forthcoming year. Thanks are due to Jean Weatherill for all her work in encouraging new members to sign up.

Membership of the Roll now stands at 140, exactly the same as last year, as we have lost and gained the same number of people (11).

Peter Vickers asked whether it was known if the ER membership had gone down significantly during COVID. The 2020 Electoral Roll was 138, and it was thought therefore there had not been a significant change.

5 Presentation of the 2021 Annual Report

The Annual Report had been circulated via email to all Electoral Roll members, and hard copies had been hand delivered to members not on email. Copies had been displayed at the back of church. Jenni Hall pointed out that the purpose of the report was threefold. Firstly to report to the Annual Meeting on the activities of the PCC who are elected by the congregation as a whole. Secondly to inform the Diocese of the activities of the church during the year and thirdly to fulfil our requirements to the Chairty Commission. She thanked all those who had contributed to the report with their summaries of their own church related activities.

6 Presentation of the 2021 Accounts

The Treasurer, Angela Smith, presented the church accounts, which had been circulated via email to all Electoral Roll members, with hard copies hand delivered to members not on email. Copies had been displayed at the back of church.

Angela thanked all those who had contributed to church finances during this very difficult year. Especial thanks were due to the faithful church members who had continued to regularly give during periods when the church was closed for worship. In addition, to all who had continued with fundraising during the year. Special thanks were due to Bernard Williams who had handed over the accounts in perfect order and to

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Gillian Taylor and Joyce Liddle, both qualified accountants, who gave their services free to manage the Gift Aid returns and Independent Auditing respectively.

Angela gave a brief explanation of the accounts. Comparison with previous years was not very helpful given the COVID situation but there is an overall decline in church income and this is quite significant if one looks at 10 years ago. Church receipts were c£81k in 2021, c£96k in 2019 but c£140k 10 years ago. Income during 2021 had increased due to more plate giving, a legacy, income from hall hire (due to a lot of work by Suzy Bidgood), and an increase in weddings and funerals. However planned giving, which forms the bedrock of our financial stability, had declined by about 8% from £43k to £39k. Planned giving brought in £60k ten years ago.

Our major outgoing is the parish share which was £69072 in 2021, of which we paid £55072, the PCC having decided not to dip into reserves to pay it. Our parish share is £65064 this year which the PCC hopes to be able to pay in full. We are lucky in having fixed our energy bills until 2023. We are also deeply grateful to Alan Tomkins and his volunteer Grounds Team who keep the grounds looking lovely for a mere £250 per annum (maintenance of machinery). Thanks also to Nick Pinches whose voluntary work on the fabric of the church saves us a great deal of money.

The most important thing for the coming year is to boost planned giving, especially if this can be done via Parish Giving which removes the need for a great deal of admin by Angela and Gillian Taylor. In response to a question from Peter Vickers, Angela reported that the income from planned giving is very slightly down during the period 1 Jan-1 May 2022. Mike Johnson suggested that increasing the default giving on the card reader from £5 to £6 could raise more money and Angela agreed this could certainly be considered. Tony North suggested that the benefits from the Parish Giving scheme could be more widely advertised Matt Broughton commented that the Parish Giving Scheme should be the system suggested to new planned giving donors, rather than asking people who already pay via standing order to change. He plans to raise the profile of regular giving in church and thanked all those who contribute so generously to the church and to Angela for her work on the accounts.

7 Churchwarden’s Report on the Fabric, Terrier and Inventory

Nick Pinches presented his report on fabric, terrier and inventory. The report had been circulated beforehand with the rest of the papers to give the meeting time to read it in advance. There were no questions.

8 Report on the proceedings of the Deanery Synod

A written report from Joy Smith, Deanery Synod Representative, reported on the proceedings of the Deanery Synod. ‘In common with many other meetings and events, Deanery meetings have been re-organised or done on Zoom due to Covid. This means I didn’t get to many of them so this will be a very brief report.

The three major points have been the re-organisation of the Deaneries, protecting our environment and what our Churches now look like following on from Covid.

We have a new Deanery Secretary, Roger Lazenby as well as a new Diocesan secretary, Jonathan Wood. The merits of changing the Deanery boundaries and making only 3 with easier geographical links has been thoroughly discussed and agreed by the Bishop.

More details will be published about the change which is planned to be before Advent 2021. This will enable the new Bishop of Kirkstall to be involved in the decisions.

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There will be the naming of the new Deaneries, ensuring parishes know which Deanery they will be in and the election of area deans and lay chairs to consider.

Other discussions were on the future of our Churches following Covid - suggestions were for more outreach in the community, work with children and young people and the future of our planet with greater care of and respect for our environment. This coming year should be very interesting.’ Matt Broughton also reported that despite the reorganisation of the Deanery Synod, this will mean very little change for us.

9 Election of Lay Representatives to the PCC

There were four vacancies on the PCC each for a term of 3 years. There were 4 candidates. Sue Ball (proposed by Gill Pinches and seconded by Douglas Hamilton), Jenni Hall (proposed by Hazel Lee and seconded by Anne Marshall), Bernard Williams (proposed by Jenni Hall and seconded by Joanne Dawdry) and Joanne Dawdry (proposed by Hazel Lee and seconded by Jonathan Slater) were all therefore appointed to the PCC for 3 years.

10 Appointment of the Independent Examiner

Joyce Liddle was again willing to be appointed as Independent Examiner for the coming year. Her appointment was proposed by Angela Smith and seconded by Jean Weatherill, and gratefully approved by the meeting.

11 Churchwarden’s Report

Nick Pinches gave the Churchwarden’s Report. ‘We had an eventful time during 2021. At the beginning of the year we were in the middle of the pandemic and having just opened the church for Christmas 2020, come the New Year, we decided to close the church again and continue with Tom’s recorded services being emailed to everyone interested. With a gradual relaxation of government restrictions we opened up again in time for Easter. This, many will recall, involved the re-creation of several of the duty rotas which the smooth running of St Giles depends on. This included deputy wardens, sidespeople and of course, coffee to name just 3!

You may recall that the 2020 Annual Meeting had been delayed until November and a few months later at the 2021 Annual Meeting Churchwarden Angela Smith became our Treasurer and no-one came forward to step into her warden shoes. Tom announced that he was going to move to a parish in the Dales at the end of May. So for the second time in 3 years, we were in a vacancy – again.

A month later, Rev Matt Broughton was loaned to us by St Paul’s Ireland Wood for a few months. In the meantime your PCC and others got to work on starting the legal process of finding a new incumbent who would bring in young people, and collating all the data the Diocese requires before they can advertise the vacancy.

In July PCC had a Zoom meeting with Bishop Paul during which we were shocked (but delighted) to be offered Matt to become our new, full time vicar, provided we embraced his remit of a growing congregation based on young people wanting to attend a new contemporary-style service. Thanks to both Matt and the publicity material we had prepared, the Diocese recognised our potential for growth, based on:

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We had been warned that some churches were not receptive to such change but by getting to know Matt over the previous few weeks, your PCC had no doubt that this had the potential to be a win-win situation.

Suzy Bidgood & I formally interviewed Matt in early September and two months later Matt was licenced as Vicar of Bramhope. With just 6 weeks to Christmas, Matt was in at the deep end and so we agreed that the focus should be on keeping with the usual programme of activities and services as far as Covid-safe practices would allow and leave any changes to New Year 2022. [Now, almost exactly 4 months on, we have an average of 35 adults and 15 children regularly attending the 9.30am service.]

I wish to take this opportunity to make a few personal comments.

When I was approached back in 2019 to become Churchwarden for a second spell, I agreed to stand for up to two years. I have now completed 3 and have just been elected for a fourth. I have already explained to PCC colleagues that I shall not be standing again next year. I am delighted that Rachael Fox has been elected to be Churchwarden with me and I wish to let it be known that I intend to do all I can to introduce her to the role and support her in it. I look forward to working with her for the benefit of the whole of the St Giles community and of course Matt. This time next year I sincerely hope that another person will come forward to be warden alongside Rachael. But it won’t be me.

As I said at the beginning, it has been an unusual year. It has had its challenges but they could have been so more difficult had it not been for the fantastic support I have received from everyone in the St Giles community. We have managed to get through the pandemic and in the meantime navigate a vacancy in just 5 months and succeed in landing a vicar who gives us real hope for the future. It would not be appropriate for me to single out any individuals who have gone beyond the call of duty to ease this process. They know who they are. But I will say that throughout all this, all the members of your PCC have been unanimous in the decisions that have been taken concerning the pandemic and the vacancy. This has made a challenging time less challenging than it could otherwise have been. I am most grateful for their support and encouragement.

I believe we now have a united church community and those of us who are of retirement age – or older - can now see a future for our church. I feel confident that you will all give your full support to Matt in his works to achieving his set task of growing a new, young and vibrant congregation.’

12 Vicar’s Remarks

Revd Matt Broughton read from Philippians Chapter 2 and encouraged the meeting to reflect on the importance of building a church together in humility and in valuing others above ourselves. He felt that this was being achieved at St Giles with the established congregation getting behind all the changes since his appointment in October 2021 and the new people now worshipping with us. He thanked all for sharing the love of God with those around them. He had especial thanks for Nick, for his knowledge, hard work and support. In addition he was most grateful to Jonathan for his work, commitment and support not just recently but during the vacancy and COVID and he was pleased to present Jonathan with a book token as an acknowledgement of the gratitude of the whole congregation.

As for the future, Matt was pleased to see green shoots at St Giles. Only that morning, two new families had come to church and he had great faith in the growth of our church. He felt the need to solidify our values as a church and to build a dynamic and multi-generational Christ centred community in Bramhope. He encouraged all at St Giles to continue to get to know each other and to work together as a united community.

The Church of England is aiming to be a Net Zero carbon organisation by 2030 and he hopes that St Giles will be able to support this. He asked anyone interested in helping to lead this initiative to get in touch with him.

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13 Date of the first meeting of the new PCC - Tuesday 17 May 2022 at 7.30pm in the Meeting Room.

14 Any Other Business

Nick has put in a vast amount of time and work for this church, not only as warden, but also as Fabric Convenor, being responsible for and looking after the church buildings. I have done both jobs and know just how complicated and time consuming they both are. Much of the remedial day by day fabric work he has managed to undertake himself, so saving extra contactors costs. So as you start your final year as Warden, Nick, may I, on behalf of this meeting and the whole congregation give you our united thanks for all the work you have done, and continue to do.’

15 The Meeting closed with the Grace.

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St Giles’ Parochial Church Council, Bramhope Annual Report for year ending 31 December 2022

Background and Administrative Information

Vision Statement

The 2022 vision of St Giles’ is to be a church that worships, welcomes, and shares God with all our community and beyond.

Mission Statement

St Giles’ exists in order to

Background

St Giles’ Parochial Church Council (PCC) is responsible for promoting the work in the Parish of the whole mission of the Church, pastoral, evangelical, social and ecumenical. The PCC is also responsible for the maintenance of the church, church grounds and the adjoining church hall. The PCC is a corporate body established by the Church of England and operates under the Parochial Church Council Powers Measure. The PCC has complied with its duty under s5 of the Safeguarding and Clergy Discipline Measure 2016 and has regard to guidance on safeguarding children and vulnerable adults, a duty which it takes seriously.

Administrative Information

St Giles Church is situated on the junction of Church Hill, Bramhope and the main A660 road from Leeds to Otley. It is part of the Diocese of Leeds within the Church of England and the correspondence address is St Giles Parish Church, Church Hill, Bramhope, LS16 9BA. The church is registered as a charity, charity number 1129657. PCC members are trustees of this charity and therefore have responsibilities to the Charity Commission.

Parochial Church Council

The Vicar, the churchwardens, and the Reader are ex-officio members of the PCC, as is a Deanery Synod representative. They are joined by 12 lay members of the congregation who are elected at the Annual Parochial Church Meeting (APCM) in accordance with the Church Representation Rules. Lay members serve for 3 years, with a maximum of two terms, and 4 retire on a rolling basis each year.

Incumbent Revd Matt Broughton
Churchwardens Mr Nick Pinches
Mrs Rachael Fox (from 8 May 2022)
Secretary Mrs Jenni Hall

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Treasurer Mrs Angela Smith

Reader Mr Jonathan Slater (ex-officio)

Deanery Synod Representative Mrs Joy Smith (ex-officio)

The church holds its APCM in April or May of each year when a new PCC is elected. The 2022-2023 PCC was elected at the APCM on 8 May 2022 and its members are:

Mr Bernard Williams retires 2025 (2ndterm)
Mrs Joanne Dawdry retires 2025 (1stterm)
Dr Sue Ball retires 2025 (1stterm)
Mrs Jenni Hall (PCC Secretary) retires 2025 (2ndterm)
Mrs Liz Johnson retires 2024 (2ndterm)
Ms Suzy Bidgood retires 2024 (1stterm)
Mrs Krystyna Novak retires 2024 (1stterm)
Mrs Sara Leefe retires 2024 (1stterm)
Vacancy retires 2023
Mrs Jacquie Howard retires 2023 (1stterm)
Mrs Angela Smith (PCC Treasurer) retires 2023 (1stterm)
Mrs Hazel Lee retries 2023 (1stterm)

St Giles thanks all members of the 2021-22 and 2022-23 PCC who have worked hard over the past year helping and supporting our new Vicar, Revd Matt Broughton, as he and his family settled in Bramhope. Thanks are also due to Eddie Whitehead and Sarah Shay who retired from the PCC during 2022. We thank Joanne Dawdry and Sue Ball who were newly elected as lay members of the PCC in May 2022.

The Deputy Wardens were Hazel Lee, Jean Bradshaw, Jean Weatherill, Marion Skirrow, and Sue Ball.

PCC Meetings

The PCC held regular meetings in January, March, May, July, and November 2022. All meetings were chaired by Revd Matt Broughton. The average attendance at these meetings was 82%. During the year the PCC were sad to receive the resignation of our organist, Bob Baker due to ill health. Sadly, Bob died soon after. The PCC also made important decisions about COVID mitigation during the year, resulting in the reestablishment of communion administered from the high altar. There was a successful Archdeacon’s Visitation in November 2022. In addition, the PCC held an ‘Away Day’ in September 2022 at St Paul’s Ireland Wood, looking back at an eventful 2022 and forward to future plans and growth.

PCC Standing Committee Meetings

The PCC Standing Committee consists of the Vicar, the Churchwardens, the Treasurer and the Secretary. It acts for the PCC between full PCC meetings. It reports on its meetings and decisions to each PCC meeting. During 2022, the Standing Committee met physically on 2 occasions but were continually in communication via email. Most discussions were on aspects of fabric maintenance and expenditure, but a variety of other subjects were discussed including yearly service planning, remaining COVID mitigation measures, tree surgery, and a review of church insurance.

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Other PCC Committees

The other sub committees of the PCC are Finance, Fabric and Communications.

PCC Ministries and Activities during 2022

Worship

The opening line of our Mission Statement is ‘Worship God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit’. We continue to rise to this challenge. Towards the end of 2022, the PCC started work on developing a new Vision Statement, and this work will continue in 2023.

Part of the reasoning behind Revd Matt Broughton’s appointment as a full time Vicar at St Giles was to task him with establishing a new Sunday worship pattern with two Sunday morning services, a contemporary styled one at 9.30am specifically aimed at young families, and a traditional Common Worship Communion Service at 11am. This was achieved very early on with our first 9.30am contemporary service being held on 9 January 2022. 30 adults and 8 children attended this service, with 50 adults attending the Common Worship Communion service at 11am on the same day. Over the year, the average number of adults attending the 9.30am service was 34 with an average of 14 children. At some particular services, eg baptisms, the number was considerably higher. The attendance at 11am services has remained steady at about 40 adults on average. There is some ‘double counting’ in these statistics because a few people attend both services.

The below graph shows our average Sunday attendance through 2022. The light green records adult attendance and the dark green, children.

The 9.30am service has evolved over the year with sessions of Godly Play in April 2022 and the starting of specific children’s groups during the service. On the second Sunday of each month there is an all-age Eucharist in the church and on the fourth Sunday there is Café Church held in the hall.

We were pleased to reinstitute our Healing Prayer Group during the year. This had been discontinued during COVID. Healing Prayer is offered during communion once a month at the 11am service.

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A number of joint Sunday services have been held at 10am during the year when the whole church has joined together. During 2022 these occasions were on Easter Day, the Queen’s Jubilee celebration, Harvest (9 October), Toy Service (11 December) and Christmas Day. In addition, two Christingle services were held on Christmas Eve, when a total of over 200 adults and 100 children attended.

During the year there were 11 baptisms, 2 weddings, and 9 funerals in the church. In addition, the vicar presided over 2 interments of ashes and one memorial service.

During the year a Lent Course was held following the Part 1 of ‘The Prayer Course’, an 8 week journey through the Lord’s Prayer. This was well attended and Part 2 of the course is planned for Lent 2023. An Alpha course was also held in October-November 2022. Church services were also held to mark the sad death of Queen Elizabeth II in September. The church welcomed visitors in September 2022 when the church was open for the Heritage Open Day.

Pastoral Care

The Pastoral Care Team has over the last year continued to maintain contact with members of the St Giles congregation who have suffered bereavement, ill health, are housebound or now resident in a nursing home. Cards, flowers, or small gifts are delivered where appropriate. Christmas and Easter cards are also sent on behalf of the church. Friends are encouraged to keep in contact with those isolated by poor health. Thank you to all the team for their continued support and those members of the congregation who keep us updated with the names and contact details where appropriate.

Much appreciation also to the Healing Prayer Group and to the Vicar who have provided spiritual comfort for those in need.

Meet and Eat Luncheon Club

In July Meet and Eat had a Strawberry Tea which was enjoyed by 40 of our members. A collection for St. George's Crypt at the event raised £150.

Meet and Eat has met monthly at lunchtime since September 2022.

The PCC are grateful to all the helpers who work so hard, and also the diners who come every month and make it such a success.

Children and Families

1 CATS has met 30 times in 2022 with an average of 18 adults and 20 children attending. Attendance in the Autumn term has been down. This we can attribute to

  1. A great deal of illness around.

  2. Missing out on new babies born during COVID so not becoming established members of the family.

  3. Many more corporate groups for children have started up.

Further advertising will hopefully improve the figures. We have contacted Midwives, NCT etc and are making a push on social media.

We are pleased to see a number of families are becoming regulars at our 9.30am Sunday services. CATS Toddler Praise, which meets monthly, has met 7 times in 2022 with an average of 12 children attending. Once again the leadership has been split between Revd Matt and Gill Pinches and various bible stories have been covered.

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Thank you to all our loyal helpers especially Susan & David Robinson and Marion Corrie and all the kitchen team.

2 The Vicar has been building on his connections with Bramhope Primary School. In 2022 Revd Matt took assemblies to mark Lent, Easter, Remembrance, and Christmas. Key Stage 2 Children also visited St Giles for their Christmas service.

Social Action

The church has continued its programme of social action throughout the year as we attempt to fulfil our role in reaching out to those in need.

A weekly collection of foodstuffs and toiletries for destitute asylum seekers in Leeds has continued in partnership with PAFRAS (Positive Action for Refugees and Asylum Seekers).

Throughout the year activities have also taken place to raise funds in support of the Children's Society. The sale of Christmas cards, quizzes, the collections from the Christingle services, collection boxes and other fundraising activities have all contributed to another very successful year in support of the work of this extremely worthwhile and much needed charity. In 2022 St Giles Church Children’s Society Committee raised £4398.90.

Our Harvest collection was donated in support of Caring for Life, a local Christian charity which for many years has provided support and accommodation for the vulnerable.

In partnership with Bramhope Primary School our annual Toy Service resulted in the donation of a huge number of toys for distribution by Leeds Social Services Department to needy children.

Our annual Christmas collection of clothing and toiletries in aid of the homeless at St George's Crypt was once again well supported and highly successful.

We raised £480.24 for the British Red Cross Ukraine Crisis Appeal at the Sunday service on 27 February 2022, and CATS also raised £299.24 for the DEC Ukraine Appeal in March 2022.

However, despite this successful programme of activities we recognise that the needs often seem infinite while our resources are limited. Although much was achieved throughout 2022, it has been decided to review our activities during 2023 to ensure that, in partnership with others, we are all working to the greatest effect.

Sustainability Task Force

In the summer of 2022, the Vicar proposed the establishment of an informal “Net Zero” task force to consider ways in which St Giles could reduce its carbon footprint and so contribute to the national church’s ambition to be carbon net zero. Sue Ball, Joanne Dawdry, Richard Fox and Peter Vickers offered to serve on this group alongside Matt himself.

As well as being the “right thing to do” in itself, reducing our bought-in energy consumption has of course become an urgent matter for the financial health of the church. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine will result in a big increase in our cost of energy once the current fixed price contracts for gas and electricity expire in 2023. Therefore, there are strong financial as well as moral & spiritual reasons to see how we can reduce our boughtin energy usage, as quickly as possible.

Our own carbon emissions come primarily from the gas boilers which are used to heat the Church and church hall.

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This informal group, now known as the Sustainability Task Force (STF), has met three times in July, September and November. Working closely with the Fabric Committee the STF has carried out the following activities in 2022:

PCC Governance and Asset Management during 2022

Safeguarding

During 2022 Liz Johnson was the parish safeguarding officer.

Safeguarding is an integral part of the Church’s worship and activities here at St Giles. This ensures that children and vulnerable adults are kept safe and supported. Visitors are informed of this by the notices in the Hall and Lobby.

As part of this commitment, PCC members have undertaken further training. This has been online, some carried out in groups, and other achieved independently. Members have completed both the Safeguarding Foundation and Awareness of Domestic Abuse courses.

With the increase in children’s work, new helpers have had DBS checks and also done the required training. During the year the PCC have considered and approved a number of policies giving guidance on Safeguarding procedures and practice.

Finance Sub Committee

Angela Smith (Chair and Treasurer), Matt Broughton (Vicar), Gillian Taylor (Planned Giving and Gift Aid Officer), Sue Ball (Envelopes Secretary) and Aimee Beckett are members of this committee.

This Committee covers all aspects of church finance and insurance including Stewardship and Collection envelopes. The PCC is grateful to them all and especially to Angela Smith for her leadership.

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Finance

Income

Our income in 2022 was £107,933, up significantly from the 2021 figure of £81,315.

Planned giving is the backbone of our income strategy and it has been pleasing to see a significant increase in this from £39,946 in 2021 to £44,819 in 2022. We are enormously grateful to our established regular givers and those who have joined our regular giving scheme over the last 12 months.

Income from collections also increased significantly from £3,663 in 2021 to £6,045 in 2022. The digital card reader is very popular with the amount collected by card at Sunday services regularly exceeding that collected by cash.

We continue to be able to claim gift aid on a high proportion of donations and received a total of £12,143 in 2022.

A number of other generous donations were made during the year, including a legacy of £12,452 and donations totalling £7,000 for the repair of the belfry.

Other fund raising comprised the 50:50 club which generated £1,500 profit, the parish magazine which generated £2,000 profit and the hiring of the church hall which generated £7,108, up markedly from £3,713 in 2021. Thanks are due to all those who organised and supported these fundraising activities.

Fees received for weddings and funerals fell from £3,756 in 2021 to £2,890 in 2022. This is mainly due to a peak in demand for weddings in 2021 following lockdown.

The overall indication is that our income has now recovered from the challenges of the pandemic and we are optimistic about future growth.

Expenditure

Our expenditure increased from £73,477 in 2021 to £102,757 in 2022.

Our biggest item of expenditure is parish share. Our requested share for 2022 was £65,064 and we were pleased to be able to pay this in full as well as paying £1,000 towards our historic arrears. This contrasts with 2021 when we paid £55,072 (80% of the requested share).

Expenditure on buildings and ground maintenance was significantly higher in 2022 than the previous year. Two major items were the repair to the belfry which cost £7,000 and the maintenance of the trees which cost £5,000.

In line with our growth plans, we have made additional investment in our church services and outreach work by buying equipment and training to support new initiatives. We have also spent more on organist fees as we have resumed a weekly traditional service following the pandemic.

Reserves

Our reserves currently stand at £88,353. Of this total, £57,069 is held in restricted or designated funds. £31,284 is for general purposes. Having reviewed our regular outgoings and assessed the financial risks to

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which we are exposed and the mitigations in place, the PCC has agreed a reserves policy of keeping a minimum of £10,000 in the general fund.

Deanery Synod

Joy Smith is our representative on this Synod and has reported to the PCC on its proceedings during 2022. The Deanery boundaries have been redrawn and St Giles now finds itself in the Leeds NW Deanery, rather than the Headingley Deanery. For St Giles the new boundaries make only a marginal difference.

Fabric Sub Committee

Nick Pinches (Chair) Joanne Dawdry (Secretary), Matt Broughton, Bernard Williams and Douglas Hamilton are members of this sub committee.

The sub committee is responsible for planning and carrying out the maintenance and repair of the church, church hall and their associated buildings. Significant works carried out in 2022 include:

After the expenditure of significant time, effort and expense, we arranged to fell a few diseased and hazardous trees and to trim several others in the church grounds, some of which were hazarding our neighbours’ properties. There remain a few potentially costly items identified in the 2021 Quinquennial Report which the sub committee are planning to seek PCC approval to complete before the next inspection in 2025.

Risk Management

A thorough review of our Fire Risk Assessment has been carried out by Nick Pinches and resulted in the painting of white lines in the car park, the training of Fire Officers and culminated in a successful trial evacuation of the premises after a church service in December 2022. Following a visit by an assessor from our insurance company EIG, at their request, a risk assessment on working at height has been carried out. As a result, this indicated the need to tighten our procedures and training where members of our congregation need to take at least one step off the floor to perform their duties. This has been discussed with the people concerned and is on-going. Our Health and Safety Policy has been reviewed (a copy is available on the notice board in the Hall) and procedures concerning the safety of the Grounds Team when operating grass-cutting machinery are being refreshed. The Fabric Committee are also working on a solution to reduce the risk of falling from the top of the embankment walls at the entrance to the boiler house.

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With Nick's retirement from the position of Churchwarden, a vacancy now exists for a Risk Management Officer.

Grounds team

This team is led by Alan Tomkins who organises a team of volunteers to maintain the church grounds. We are grateful for their continued work in particular during this last year when there has been a considerable amount of work on the trees in the churchyard. Our grounds are very visible from the main road and their tidy condition therefore provides an excellent showcase for our church.

Defibrillator

Our Women’s Fellowship, which sadly ‘closed its doors’ during 2021, wished to donate their remaining funds towards the installation of a defibrillator at church. This was installed in the car park in August 2022, and thankfully has not needed to be used so far, but is in place for the local community. The PCC is grateful to the Women’s Fellowship, Joy Smith, the Bramhope Trust and Glyn Jones for their support in making this happen. Hazel Smith and Sue Ball have also helped in organising training.

Hall Management

The Haall Management Team deal with maintenance and bookings for the church hall. Suzy Bidgood leads this with commitment and efficiency and we have much to thank her for.

During 2022 the total income received from hiring out the hall between January - December rose to over £7k. During 2021 it was £3.7k. Most regular December hire bookings were paid in January, so these amounts (approx. £1k) will be included in 2023’s total income.

Ad hoc bookings in 2022 amounted to approximately 25%, and regular hires 75%, of income.

----- Start of picture text -----
Split between Ad Hoc and
Regular Hire Bookings
Ad Hoc
Regular
Hires
----- End of picture text -----

Most ad hoc bookings were one-off events, consisting mainly of Kids Parties and Funeral Refreshment gatherings.

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----- Start of picture text -----
Ad Hoc Bookings
Kids Parties
7%
10% Misc Events
40%
Funerals
20%
Chrismas Events
23% Christenings
----- End of picture text -----

A big thank you to all our hirers, new and established, who have helped us increase this income, a vital source of support for the church. We appreciate your choosing St. Giles Hall for your events, and we look forward to our ongoing partnerships in 2023.

Communications Sub Committee

Matt Broughton (Chair), Rachael Fox, Gill Pinches are members of this sub committee.

This sub committee, has continued to play an important role in organising the communication of our services and managing our online presence as well as the St Giles Review monthly magazine. Some 2022 highlights include:

We spent some time reviewing data in order to understand how individuals connect with us online. Some conclusions that came out of this include the need to ensure our website is more easily accessible for mobile users and more dynamic to enable easier access for those wishing to find out more about St Giles.

We would like to utilise email communication to a greater extent to keep church members well connected to the latest news and notices as well as ensuring that those with no emails are kept fully informed as well.

We are excited to see the St Giles story evolve as we grow as a church and look to the future with a refreshed vision; we hope the Communications Sub Committee can serve our church well playing their part to enable this.

General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR)

General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) gives people the right to be informed about how their data is being used. The PCC has a legal obligation to ensure that St Giles is GDPR compliant. Some work has been done previously by Sarah Shay and Angela Smith to lay the foundations for good practice in this area – our thanks to them – but in 2022 we began the process of a full Data Audit to assess our compliance.

In 2022 Rachael Fox, our new GDPR officer, began the essential task of a full Data Audit with ad-hoc support from Laura Hill , who has offered to give some of her time to volunteer in this area.

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As a result:

• An updated Data Policy has been published on our website https://stgilesbramhope.org.uk/data-policy. • We have established a new storage system for data enabling greater security for information held. During 2023 we aim to complete the Data Audit and act on key recommendations with urgency and refresh the membership database to enable better, and GDPR compliant, communication with the congregation at large.

Conclusion

St Giles continues to provide a Christian presence in Bramhope. We feel very blessed by the ministry of our Vicar and the PCC supports him wholeheartedly in the establishment of our new church services aimed specifically at young families and children. We look forward to its growth in the next year whilst also cherishing our commitment to the traditional Common Worship liturgy of the Church of England. We look forward in the next year to developing our commitment to sustainability in working towards Net Zero, to a rethinking of our work in the wider community and to continuing to act as the parish church for our community. Further details of all that goes on at St Giles’ can be found on our parish website (stgilesbramhope.org.uk), our Facebook page and our Instagram page.

31 December 2022

19

End of Year Financial Statements

Year ending 31 December 2022

20

Statement of Financial Activities

Unrestricted Designated
Restricted Endowment
Total
Prior year
funds
funds
funds
funds
funds
total funds
Receipts
Planned giving
Collections and other giving
Other voluntary receipts
Gift Aid recovered
Other receipts
Activities for generating funds
Investment Income
Receipts from church activities
Total income
Payments
Cost of generating funds
Missionary and Charitable Giving
Parish Share
Clergy and Staffing costs
Church Running Expenses
Hall Running Costs
Church Repairs & Maintenance
Hall Repairs & Maintenance
New Building work
Governance Costs
Total expenditure
Net income / (expenditure) resources before
transfer
Transfers
Gross transfers between funds - in
Gross transfers between funds - out
Other recognised gains / losses
Gains / losses on investment assets
Gains on revaluation, fixed assets, charity's own
use
Net movement in funds
Total funds brought forward
Total funds carried forward
Represented by
Unrestricted
General fund
Designated
Flower
Witham
Worship Development
Restricted
Children
Elderly Services
Fabric		 44,819
—
—
—
44,819
39,946
6,045
—
—
—
6,045
3,663
16,786
102
6,936
—
23,824
8,104
12,143
—
400
—
12,543
11,221
501
—
962
—
1,463
153
14,317
—
—
—
14,317
13,394
181
—
—
—
181
90
3,619
—
1,118
—
4,737
4,741
98,415
102
9,416
—
107,933
81,315
1,531
—
—
—
1,531
3,377
—
—
—
—
—
—
66,064
—
—
—
66,064
55,072
1,334
—
—
—
1,334
800
13,678
259
6,918
—
20,856
10,627
5,298
135
345
—
5,779
3,600
—
—
7,190
—
7,190
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
87,907
395
14,455
—
102,757
73,476
10,508
(293)
(5,038)
—
5,176
7,838
2,000
—
2,609
—
4,609
1,000
(2,609)
—
(2,000)
—
(4,609)
(1,000)
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
9,898
(293)
(4,429)
—
5,176
7,838
21,385
43,141
18,650
—
83,177
75,339
31,284
42,848
14,221
—
88,353
83,177
31,284
—
—
—
31,284
21,385
—
200
—
—
200
163
—
41,978
—
—
41,978
41,978
—
669
—
—
669
1,000
—
—
1,549
—
1,549
1,239
—
—
1,533
—
1,533
1,533
—
—
11,138
—
11,138
15,876

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Balance sheet

Total funds
Prior year funds
Current assets
Cash at bank and in hand
Liabilities
Creditors: Amounts falling due in one year
Net current assets less current liabilities
Total assets less current liabilities
Total net assets less liabilities
Represented by
Unrestricted
General fund
Designated
Worship Development
Flower
Witham
Restricted
Fabric
Children
Elderly Services
Funds of the church		 88,353
83,306
88,353
83,306
—
129
—
129
88,353
83,177
88,353
83,177
88,353
83,177
31,284
21,385
669
1,000
200
163
41,978
41,978
11,138
15,876
1,549
1,239
1,533
1,533
88,353
83,177

Statement of assets and liabilities

General Designated
Restricted Endowment		 This year
Last year
Current assets - Cash at bank and in hand
Bank current account -
Bank deposit account -
Cash in hand -
Totals
Liabilities - Agency accounts
Agency collections -
Totals
Grand total		 17,509
870
1,721
—
13,650
41,978
12,500
—
124
—
—
—		 20,100
15,205
68,128
67,949
124
151
31,284
42,848
14,221
—
—
—
—
—		 88,353
83,306
—
129
—
—
—
—		 —
129
31,284
42,848
14,221
—		 88,353
83,177

22

Fund movement by type

Opening
Incoming
Outgoing
Transfers		 Gains/losses
Closing
General - General fund
Unrestricted
Sub-total for General
Fabric - Fabric
Restricted
Sub-total for Fabric
Worship De - Worship Development
Designated
Sub-total for Worship De
Children - Children
Restricted
Sub-total for Children
Elderly - Elderly Services
Restricted
Sub-total for Elderly
Flower - Flower
Designated
Sub-total for Flower
Property - Witham
Designated
Sub-total for Property
Grand total		 21,385
98,415
87,907
(609)		 —
31,284
21,385
98,415
87,907
(609)
15,876
8,298
13,646
609		 —
31,284
—
11,138
15,876
8,298
13,646
609
1,000
—
330
—		 —
11,138
—
669
1,000
—
330
—
1,239
1,118
808
—		 —
669
—
1,549
1,239
1,118
808
—
1,533
—
—
—		 —
1,549
—
1,533
1,533
—
—
—
163
102
64
—		 —
1,533
—
200
163
102
64
—
41,978
—
—
—		 —
200
—
41,978
41,978
—
—
—		 —
41,978
83,177
107,933
102,757
—		 —
88,353

23

ITbdependent examlnees report to St Giles Bramhope PCC I report to PCC on myexamination of the accounts of St Glles Bramhope for the year ended 31 De￿mber 2022 Reswislbllltles and of report As the charity Injstees of St Giles Bramhope you a￿ reswnslble for the preparation of the ac¢ounts in accordance with the requirement5 of the Charitieskt 20111.the Acri. I reFKtyrt In respect of my eXaMinat￿n of the accounts carried out under seciion 145 of the 2011 Art and in carryin8 out My exam1F￿ti0n I have followed all thé applltable d￿eCtionS gi¥en by the Charity Commlsslon under seCt￿n 14515llbl of the Act. Independent examimrfs slat4m¢nt I have completed my examination . I confirm that no materlal mattets have tome to myattention in ¢onneLtitin with the examination giving me cause to ￿lIeVe that n any rnaterial respect.. l. A¢¢ountin@ records were Th)t kept in ￿$pert of St Giles Brdmhope as ￿qUIred by section 130 of the Act,. or 2. The attounts do not accord with those records. I have no ¢onc*rns and have come acr05S llo othermatters in connecliort with thè examlnation to vthlch attention should be drawn in this report In order to enable a proper understaTrJing of the acu)￿ts to be reached . JOY￿ R Liddle FCA.￿A 2 Thè Rowans 8ramhope Leeds L516 9DZ 15 February 2023

Churchwardens’ 2022 Report on the Terrier, Inventory and Log Book for APCM 2023

As I reported last year, these records are now kept on a spread sheet and updated each year. With the introduction of a St Giles account with Google Workspace we now hold this information securely on ‘the cloud’ which can be accessed by those with permissions.

For archive purposes, a signed and dated printed copy of the Terrier & Inventory plus the Log Book (total two records) are kept in the filing cabinet in the vicar’s vestry. There are 3 documents which I have categorised as our ‘Terrier’ which relates to the legal ownership of the church land. These are:

  1. The original and a copy a 1954 deed of conveyance of 1774 sq yards of land to the east of the public footpath through the grounds, from V O Crowther to St Giles.

  2. Copy of 1985 legal agreement documents allowing Mr & Mrs Mellis of 12b Church Hill to use a 12' x 12' triangle of land on the SW corner of the church grounds.

  3. Copy of document allowing owner of 12c Church Hill, to cross church land to access the public footpath from a gate in their boundary wall. The agreement allows the church to rescind this permission at any time.

Other documents concerning the conveyancing of the land to St Giles is presumed to be held at Leeds District Archives (LDA) in Morley.

I can confirm that I have personally checked the existence of all the church plate (silver) and am happy to confirm that it is all present. There is significantly more not being regularly used than actually in use. As well as holding printed photographs of the items, there are now also electronic copies (held on ‘the cloud’) which include the silver hallmarks. For the record it is of interest to find that one three-legged Paten is hallmarked London 1736 and with the monogram ‘JA’ which, according to archived documents, refers to J Armitage. Mr Robert Armitage was one of the trustees who gave the land on which the church and vicarage was built. (Conveyance dated 16/02/1899).

All the church furniture and belongings have been checked off. Our paper records are generally now in place, and thanks to some kind person, the Electoral Roll records 1984 to 1993 miraculously appeared in a cupboard in the vicar’s vestry in recent months. These now need depositing with LDA. Several Registers of Marriage (covering 1984-2022), Service Registers (covering 1986-2015), and a Confirmation Register (covering 1892-1952) were deposited at LDA in 2022

The Log book containing records of the major works carried out has been maintained and, of course includes the refurbishment of the weathervane!

During his Visitation in November, Archdeacon Paul Ayres inspected our records and expressed his satisfaction.

NJ Pinches

March 2023

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