OpenCharities

This text was generated using OCR and may contain errors. Check the original PDF to see the document submitted to the regulator.

← The Parochial Church Council Of The Ecclesiastical Parish Of Saint Andrew And Saint Mark, Surbiton

2024-12-31-accounts

T h e P a r i s h o f S t A n d r e w a n d S t M a r k , S u r b i t o n

2024 Annual Report of the Parochial Church Council

Proceedings of the PCC and the activities of the parish

A n n u a l R e p o r t 2 0 2 4

P a g e 1

Registered Charity Number: 1130093

Address: The Parish Office, St Mark’s Church, St Mark’s Hill, Surbiton, Surrey, KT6 4LS Presented to the the Annual Parochial Church Meeting on 18 May 2025

Contents

Contents
PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF 1
SAINT ANDREW AND SAINT MARK, SURBITON 1
REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024 1
STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT 3
The Parochial Church Council 3
Sub-Committees reporting to the PCC 4
Charitable Status 5
VICAR’S REPORT, FOR ANNUAL REPORT OF 2024 6
Introduction 6
Public benefit 6
Goodbye 7
Morning Worship on Sundays 7
Christmas 8
Marriage, Baptism and Funerals 9
Confirmation 10
Parish Office and Administration 11
Sub Committees and Volunteer posts within the Church 11
Legacies 11
Communication 11
Parish Support Fund for the Diocese 12
SASM Junior School 12
Children and youth work 13
Uniformed groups 13
Sunbeams 13
ADULT CHRISTIAN MINISTRY 14
Tuesday Morning and Friday Afternoon Bible Study at St Mark’s 14
Discipleship Sub-Committee 14
Evening Home Group 14
SAFEGUARDING 15
PARISH MOTHERS’ UNION BRANCH 15
CHARITIES AND SOCIAL ACTION COMMITTEE 16
ECO COMMITTEE 17
FLOWERS 17
CHURCH MAGAZINE 17
MUSIC 18
Adult Choir 18
Children’s Choir and Youth Choir 18

A n n u a l R e p o r t 2 0 2 4

P a g e 2

T h e P a r i s h o f S t A n d r e w a n d S t M a r k , S u r b i t o n

T h e P a r i s h o f S t A n d r e w a n d S t M a r k , S u r b i
Pianists 19
FINANCE 20
Accounts 20
Accounts summary 29
APPENDIX A: KINGSTON DEANERY SYNOD 2024 32
APPENDIX B: CHURCHWARDENS’ ANNUAL FABRIC REPORT 33
Both Churches 33
St Andrews 33
St Marks 33

Structure, Governance and Management

The Parochial Church Council

Members of the Parochial Church Council (PCC) hold office in accordance with the Church Representation Rules – either ex-officio , by election, by appointment at the Annual Parochial Church Meeting or by co-option.

The following served as members of the PCC for all or part of the period from 1 January 2023 until the APCM on 18 May 2025:

Anne Barker ***

Valerie Baxter ***

Gary Buckley * Fiona Caldwell Mary Elliott ** Helen Goepel *** Ruth Gilmore - Churchwarden**

Andrew Horn *

Diana Lewis – Churchwarden until May 2024, and Treasurer ongoing

Christopher Madden

Toni Mitchell

Dan Nmadu * Rod Pearson – Churchwarden* The Reverend Janice Price Katherine Reed – PCC Secretary and Churchwarden

Emma Rush

A n n u a l R e p o r t 2 0 2 4

P a g e 3

The Reverend Robert Stanier – Chairman

Peter Stokes **

Ian Wilson ***

Eileen Wingrove

Notes:

*** Denotes a member of the Kingston Deanery Synod

Anne Oram served as Minutes secretary.

The PCC is responsible for making decisions on all matters of general concern and importance to the parish, including deciding how the funds of the PCC are to be spent. All eligible members of the congregation are encouraged to register on the Electoral Roll and to stand for election to the PCC.

Sub-Committees reporting to the PCC

Committee Chair
or
lead
contact		 Other members
Standing
Committee		 Robert
Stanier		 The Churchwardens, Ruth Gilmore and Katherine Reed, the Treasurer,
Diana Lewis,and PCC members Andrew Horn and Dan Nmadu
Discipleship Jackie
Robbs		 Anne Barker, Helen Goepel, Toni Mitchell, Janice Price
Charities
and
Social Action		 Janice
Price		 Gary Buckley, Anne Barker, Valerie Baxter, Eileen Wingrove, Moira
Greenfield, Charlie Bamford,Emma Rush
Social Events Robert
Stanier		 Del Gadd, Kate Harland, Gary Buckley, Emma Rush (until 2025)
Children Robert
Stanier		 Hazel Davis, Fiona Caldwell
Lettings Robert
Stanier		 Peter Stokes, Diana Lewis, Jay Turland
Finance
and
Income		 Robert
Stanier		 Dan Nmadu, Diana Lewis, Andrew Horn, Mary Elliott
Environment Brigid
Crew		 Terezie Wickenden, Brigid Crew, Valerie Baxter, Katherine Reed

A n n u a l R e p o r t 2 0 2 4

P a g e 4

T h e P a r i s h o f S t A n d r e w a n d S t M a r k , S u r b i t o n

Charitable Status

The PCC has charitable status and the members of the PCC are the trustees. The charity is registered with the Charity Commission under the number 1130093.

The PCC's charitable object is to promote in the ecclesiastical parish the whole mission of the Church of England

A n n u a l R e p o r t 2 0 2 4

P a g e 5

Vicar’s Report, For Annual Report of 2024

Introduction

2024 was a steady year at St Andrew’s and St Mark’s, and the highlight was probably the development of different people on stages of faith. Nine children were admitted to communion; eleven people, seven teenagers and four adults were confirmed, and two adults formally entered the process of discernment for ordination to ministry in the Church. Ordination is, of course, not an ‘ultimate’ aim for every Christian, but it is encouraging that our parish is providing an environment where those who feel called can move forward in their Christian journey in this way, and hopefully be a blessing to the wider Church.

Public benefit

A n n u a l R e p o r t 2 0 2 4

P a g e 6

T h e P a r i s h o f S t A n d r e w a n d S t M a r k , S u r b i t o n

Goodbye

For the third year in a row we had a high number of funerals, both of people who died within the parish who were mostly unconnected with church, but also among some core members of the congregation. Just to mention some people who were regular members of our worshipping community:

All are greatly missed. May they rest in peace and rise in glory.

Morning Worship on Sundays

2024 attendance was higher than 2022 but slightly lower than 2023. In some cases people have moved away, but the overall worshipping community has slightly increased, though many people are slightly less frequent in their church attendance.

A n n u a l R e p o r t 2 0 2 4

P a g e 7

----- Start of picture text -----
Sunday morning attendance
200
180
160
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
Sunday morning attendance
----- End of picture text -----

The above chart shows Sunday morning attendance since 2008, including adults and children for all morning services, but avoiding double counts if possible. The 2020-24 figures include Zoom attendance as well as in person attendance. For 2023 and 2024, the average on Zoom is just 5. It does not include figures for the Korean congregation, which is dealt with separately for the purposes of this report

Within the services on a Sunday morning,

Zoom attendance remained relatively low, after its peak of 2020 and 2021, as people are happier to come to church in person. However, Zoom continues to be an invaluable way of helping those who are ill for a time and house-bound to be able still to attend services as well as some people coming from further afield. The ability to livestream services is of increasing importance as part of our offer for occasional offices.

Christmas

From 2009 to 2019, the explosive growth in Christmas attendance - more than doubling in ten years - was a significant feature of the church’s life. This took a knock with the Lockdowns, but 2024 saw attendance continuing to increase.

A n n u a l R e p o r t 2 0 2 4

P a g e 8

T h e P a r i s h o f S t A n d r e w a n d S t M a r k , S u r b i t o n

The graph below shows cumulative attendance for: the Christmas Carol service, Christingle services on Christmas Eve, midnight eucharist and Christmas morning services (It does not include the 2,500 adults and children who attended a school carol service hosted at St Mark’s church.)

----- Start of picture text -----
CHRISTMAS ATTENDANCE
1600
1400
1200
,
a
1000800 ,i 4.in
600
400 Z| :
200 A|
_
0 ] o ‘
Y09 Y10 Y11 Y12 Y13 Y14 Y15 Y16 Y17 Y18 Y19 Y22 Y23 Y24
----- End of picture text -----

Over a thousand people attended services just in the 24 hours around Christmas Day (including Christmas Eve), which is one of the largest in the diocese.

Marriage, Baptism and Funerals

2024 saw good numbers of all the ‘occasional offices’. The parish hosted more weddings than it has done in some years. The number of funerals, both in church and officiated by the clergy in crematoria, remains high. In each of the last three years, there have been between 20 and 30 funerals, roughly 50% more than the average in the previous decade. This is partly due to our participation in the Deanery Funeral scheme, which makes organisation of Christian funerals easier for funeral directors.

However, the overall funeral ‘market’ is now being significantly shaped by ‘direct to cremation’ funerals, where there is no service or ceremony at all: this was the case for just 3% of funerals in the UK in 2019 but 20% of funerals in 2023.

At the one end, society seeks less ceremony; at the other end, society seeks more ceremony, in that, when funerals do happen in church, the arrangements are often more complex than they once were. Many people now ask that they be livestreamed, and the orders of service are more elaborate. How the Church more widely, and our church in particular, navigates these contrasting trends will affect how many funerals we will ‘keep’ in churches in the future.

A n n u a l R e p o r t 2 0 2 4

P a g e 9

"Occasional offices" at St Andrew and St Mark

----- Start of picture text -----
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Baptisms Marriages Funerals
----- End of picture text -----

Confirmation

Eleven members from our parish were confirmed by the Bishop of Kingston in a service held at St Andrew’s church, on 6[th] November; there were two groups of preparation classes: one for adults and one for teenagers. A further three confirmation candidates came from the Korean Anglican Church congregation at a service at St Mark’s church on 15[th] September.

----- Start of picture text -----
Confirmations
120000 120
100000 100
80000 80
60000 60
40000 40
20000 20
0 0
Confirmations from St Andrew and St Mark C of E (annual figures)
----- End of picture text -----

This continues a trend whereby the last fifteen years have seen an uptick in confirmations from this parish amid a wider decline in the Church of England. From the Seventies to the Nineties the decline in this parish and the nation broadly matched each other. However,

A n n u a l R e p o r t 2 0 2 4

P a g e 1 0

T h e P a r i s h o f S t A n d r e w a n d S t M a r k , S u r b i t o n

since the 2000s, there has been a 30% increase at St Andrew’s and St Mark’s at a time when nationally there has been a 70% decline.

Parish Office and Administration

The parish office has settled with Janine Turland working as the overall Operations and Buildings Manager all through the day from Tuesdays to Fridays and Janene Olivier working as a parish administrator in the mornings from Tuesdays to Fridays. In some cases, Janene now does some of the organising that would previously have done by a volunteer: a good example is flower arranging at St Andrew’s. The arranging itself is still done by volunteers, but Janene organises the rota. Dave Oram has begun to do some paid ‘handyman’ work when circumstances require it.

Sub Committees and Volunteer posts within the Church

2024 continued the committee structure first re-introduced in 2017. The ‘discipleship’ committee disbanded, having achieved many of its initial goals, but is ready to reform if a particular opportunity presents itself.

All the committees - ‘Finance’, ‘Charity and social action’, ‘Eco’ and ‘Social’ -produced helpful work and met regularly. The ‘Children’s’ committee did not meet as it was hard to find a core membership due to people moving away or being indisposed. Three new volunteers started to offer leadership at Sunday Club which is a good sign.

Diana Lewis stepped down from her duties as churchwarden to focus on being treasurer; Katherine Reed became a churchwarden as well as being secretary, but Anne Oram helped with minuting duties. Ruth Gilmore stepped up as churchwarden.

Legacies

The parish has benefitted significantly from a number of legacies in 2023 and 2024. It is now a matter for the PCC to decide how to invest these to grow the Gospel in Surbiton.

Communication

Online forms of communication continued to be important.

Arguably, the central hub of parish communication has remained the extended reach of the weekly email, which by the end of the year was going to around 600 subscribers, with an ‘open’ rate of just over 60%. This continues to be a key method of communication for church events and prayers as well as for Zoom codes to be disseminated.

Our Facebook page is another significant hub with general parish news.

Our website did well but is due an update, and there could be adoption of the ‘Church Suite’ software to improve this aspect of parish life. Our YouTube channel had 215 subscribers at the end of the year. The channel had a total of 3,000 views in 2024. The

A n n u a l R e p o r t 2 0 2 4

P a g e 1 1

Parish’s feed on X, formerly known as Twitter, typically produced 1 or 2 posts each week, boosting our presence there.

A typical sermon video had only about 60 views, though five sermons reached an audience of over 100.

The magazine, ‘Spire and Tower’ was relaunched in the autumn under the editorship of Greg Melia.

Parish Support Fund for the Diocese

Chart Four: giving to Southwark diocese by the parish

----- Start of picture text -----
£000s to Diocesan Parish Support Fund
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
y2013 y2014 y2015 y2016 y2017 y2018 y2019 y2020 y2021 y2022 y2023 y2024 y2025
----- End of picture text -----

In a number of recent years, our pledge dropped from its previous levels: first in 2021 because of the drop in lettings during the lockdowns; second in 2023 because of the need to fix the ceiling at St Andrew’s and then third in 2024 as we factored in fuel bills. Having navigated these choppy waters, the PCC felt able to significantly increase our Parish Support Fund offer, through which we help ministry in the wider church including in parishes that are less well off than ours.

OTHER SECTIONS

SASM Junior School

SASM Junior School has thrived under its headteacher, Matthew Gates, working well alongside the new deputy head, Sarah Crowther. Their choir performed again at the Christmas Fair.

A n n u a l R e p o r t 2 0 2 4

P a g e 1 2

T h e P a r i s h o f S t A n d r e w a n d S t M a r k , S u r b i t o n

People who have served as Foundation Governors this year are: Reverend Robert Stanier, Ruth May, Lucy Davis, Shafaly Khan and Zoe Francis. Diocesan governors are Anne Barker and Joy Aboim.

The vicar has continued to serve as chair. The quality of support offered by the parish in this way is a major contribution to the wider Surbiton community.

Children and youth work

In terms of working with children of all ages, 2024 was a strong year in the parish. Nine children were admitted to communion at the main choral eucharist at St Andrew’s on 23[rd] June (Thirty-six children have been admitted to communion in this parish since the practice began here in 2010.) Carole Bourne led the preparation classes brilliantly and it finished with the service in June and then a trip to Chessington World of Adventures.

Seven teenagers were confirmed in November, all of whom had previously been admitted to communion themselves at services in the past. This group attended a special event in October, including a eucharist where the president and preacher was Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury. This was coordinated by a new movement, Youth Ministry in Communion which supports young people in churches where traditionally there has been a more sacramental worship. It also coincided with a relative lack of investment in youthwork.

It may be that joining this diocese-wide organisation can help form a pattern and structure for youthwork going forward.

Uniformed groups

The 1[st] Surbiton Scout Troop continues to meet in the Scout hut with its Beavers, Cubs, Explorers and Scouts. These come to church twice a year for Mothering Sunday and Harvest Sunday. The church link with the Brownies has not yet been restored after the divide caused by Covid.

Sunbeams

This stay and play group is run by volunteers from our church congregation once a week during school terms. For a nominal charge a welcome is extended to all parents or carers with their children from 0 to 3 years old. The aim is to provide a friendly environment where everyone can have a happy time for an hour or so. There is a plentiful supply of toys for the children to play with while the adults get biscuits and a hot drink. The group is very popular, and at times over-subscribed.

A n n u a l R e p o r t 2 0 2 4

P a g e 1 3

Adult Christian Ministry

Tuesday Morning and Friday Afternoon Bible Study at St Mark’s

Both groups flourished. The Tuesday group grew steadily and by the end of 2024, had 9 regular members with another 2 due to join in 2025. The group undertook studies from the Old and New Testaments around the theme of “Our God who does the unexpected” and also looked at episodes from the beginning of Jesus’ adult ministry. The Friday group finished their study of the opening chapters of Revelation and moved on to the book of Acts. Meetings were led by Jackie Robbs in Room 2 at the back of St Mark’s.

Discipleship Sub-Committee

In May, the Committee organised and ran a parish quiet day at Wychcroft Retreat Centre. 18 members of the parish came along. Rev Janice Price presided at Morning Prayer, a midday Eucharist, and Evening Prayer in the chapel adjacent to the house. In between those fixed points, there was a choice between taking part in group sessions - such as a guided Lectio Divina (divine reading) - or just taking time to read, walk, pray or meditate in silence. Morning coffee, a delicious lunch and afternoon tea and cake were provided by the inhouse team.

John Hayward’s painting of Christ the Worker – Wychcroft chapel

Evening Home Group

The evening home group continued to meet every other Tuesday (then changing to Wednesdays). It was a shame to say Goodbye to some loyal members but God provided some new members of the congregation who were keen to get involved. The group continued reading Romans and then Hosea, and emphasised informality and social fellowship. Some of the group are also members of the thriving Sunday evening pub quiz team.

A n n u a l R e p o r t 2 0 2 4

P a g e 1 4

T h e P a r i s h o f S t A n d r e w a n d S t M a r k , S u r b i t o n

Safeguarding

The church continues to take safeguarding seriously. There are two Parish Safeguarding Officers in place, Charles Bamford-Hurrell and Sarah Stokes. They have met with the vicar on several occasions during the year to discuss issues that have been reported. Where it has been thought sensible to do so, they have contacted the diocesan safeguarding team for further advice.

While their names are publicly available and their photographs are in place at both churches, on Safeguarding Sunday, they identified themselves to the congregations after the services by mingling after the 9.15am and 11am services.

The PCC endorses the code under section 5A of the Safeguarding and Clergy Discipline Measure 2016." as required by the Church Representation Rules

Parish Mothers’ Union Branch

The Mothers’ Union was founded by Mary Sumner in 1876 and launched as a National Organisation in 1885. Their mission is Christian Care for Families through Prayer, Enabling and Campaigning. They support families of all kinds, of all faiths and none in 83 countries to transform communities. Although Mothers Union is a separate charity to the PCC, the branch is much valued by church members and parishioners.

There has been a Mothers’ Union Branch in St Andrew & St Mark’s Parishes since 1893. The branch meets every third Wednesday of the month. During 2024 the variety of meetings have included shared reflections, discussions around themes, members feedback of events, celebrations and social gatherings. Every meeting begins and ends with prayers. Attendance is open to non-members as well as members.

There is an active membership of 26 members keeping the branch alive and moving forward and strong links with the clergy, who support our meetings and are Mothers’ Union members. For much of 2024 the branch has been looking at ‘Is the Mothers’ Union relevant for the 21st Century?’ To guide the discussions we have used Mothers’ Union resources, ‘Transformation Now’ and ‘Metamorphosis’. We have looked at ‘What we used to do, What we are doing now and What we could do in the future.’

The branch continues to support The United Nations 16 Days of Activism Against GenderBased Violence and the MU ‘RISE UP’ campaign against domestic abuse.

A n n u a l R e p o r t 2 0 2 4

P a g e 1 5

It supports the local Refuge and has financed a set of yoga mats for them to use for sessions. The branch also supports the Southwark MU ‘Away From It All’ (AFIA) scheme that sends disadvantaged families on holidays.

This is Moira’s last year as branch leader and going into 2025 the group is working towards a new structure for its running.

Charities and Social Action Committee

Activities in 2024:

The Charities and Social Action Committee continued to organise events throughout the year in aid of the wide range of charities supported by St Andrew’s and St Mark’s. The fundraising events provided an opportunity for community-building and social interaction which people found encouraging. Loisted below are the fundraising amounts achieved during 2024:

The results of fundraising in 2024 is as follows:

Leprosy Mission - £523.06

Mission to Seafarers - £678.92

Christian Aid - £1121-58

Princess Alice Hospice - £1521-70

Matabeleland Link - £539-41

Action for Bethlehem Children with Disability - £875.30

Kingston Churches Action on Homelessness - £150

Oxygen - £569.71

Christians Against Poverty - £526.01

Welcare - £1244.38 The Children’s Society - £1244.38

Total: £8994.45

Social Action:

A n n u a l R e p o r t 2 0 2 4

P a g e 1 6

T h e P a r i s h o f S t A n d r e w a n d S t M a r k , S u r b i t o n

Throughout 2024 members of SASMS have been generous in their support of local foodbanks through boxes at the back of our churches and the Harvest Offering. Surbiton Community Fridge, New Era Community Projects and Alfriston Day Care Centre have all received food items from us as demands on their work continue to increase. Bring A Tin Sundays have also provided an increased contribution which has been donated to the three voluntary food providers.

The Christmas Day lunch is an established and important support for many who would otherwise be alone on Christmas Day and would rather be with others.

Eco Committee

There was a demonstration of de-stratifiers in St Andrew's (purchase not approved by the Diocese). The Wonderful World Exhibition took place at St Mark's with exhibits of art work from members of the congregation and pupils at St Andrew's and St Mark's School.

Flowers

In January Ann & Clare Mannall ran an informative and fun flower workshop which welcomed about 14 people from the congregation. Types and colours of flowers for different occasions was discussed and when there aren’t flowers in the church and why. Of course there was coffee and cake too followed by an active section where everyone had the chance to complete a flower arrangement. The church looked and smelt beautiful that weekend.

Subsequently there is now a flower rota that is regularly filled, along with a group of 6+ for special occasions such as Easter and Christmas.

Everyone is welcome to join the rota even if they have not attended the workshop or had any experience with flowers. Congregants are invited to choose a special anniversary or loved one’s birthday or just enjoy finding their artistic side with flowers. They can do this by contacting Clare or Ann at church one Sunday.

Church Magazine

This year, SASM's parish magazine Spire & Tower saw the light of day after a couple of years' break. It was last regularly produced when Michael Johns-Perring was at the helm and had fallen into disrepair after he left, but Greg Melia has now taken over the editor’s desk, with Janene printing the magazines in the church office. The plan is to publish four times a year, for Lent, Summer, Harvest and Advent, probably at 16 pages per issue. So far there has been a selection of pieces on church life, the history of the area, people’s thoughts, book reviews and even original art. Two issues in, people have started to volunteer their own copy without asking which makes the editor’s task much easier.

A n n u a l R e p o r t 2 0 2 4

P a g e 1 7

Music

Adult Choir

2024 was a generally settled year for our adult choir and although we only managed to gain one new member during the year (although a much-needed tenor!) it has felt like a year of consolidation of sorts. Numbers remained significantly lower than pre-Covid levels with a regular group of 15 singers making up our choir plus help from up to 4 additional voices for evensongs and other occasional services. There remains a need for more regular singers, however, particularly tenors and basses. To get back to around at least 20 regular singers would be ideal for the size of both churches, to widen our repertoire again and to maintain the standard of our choral offering, particularly during bouts of choir illness or singers dropping out at the last minute.

Although the number of singers in the adult choir remains modest, the regular pattern of sung services were mostly successful throughout the year, including the extra services scheduled for the Christmas and Easter periods. Regular members have been loyal and done their utmost to maintain the choral music to the best that can be achieved given the available resouces.

Further discussion around the possibility of offering Choral Scholarships continued during the year and it is hoped that these may become a reality in 2025.

The choir took its annual trip to sing Choral Evensong at a UK Cathedral, joining once again with the choir of St Matthew’s, this time led by their new Director of Music. The venue was Salisbury Cathedral on a gloriously sunny autumn day in October. Music included “Belfast Canticles” (new to all!) by Philip Stopford, as well as “The Responses” by Richard Ayleward. The anthem was the ever glorious “Evening Hymn” by Balfour Gardiner. The choirs are due to sing at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle in May 2025.

In the Autumn, it was lovely to hold a social event in the form of a choir lunch at The French Table in Maple Road which was well attended and enjoyed by everyone.

Children’s Choir and Youth Choir

Numbers in the Children’s Choir have continued to grow throughout 2024 with a steady attendance of up to 20 young people attending across the combined Children’s & Youth Choirs throughout much of the first half of the year, the highest there have been since the inception of these two groups. Numbers in the Youth Choir remained healthy up until the start of the Autumn Term when several singers decided they could no longer commit to singing which left only 4 singers in that group. It is hoped that the Youth Choir can revitalise its membership at some point in the near future. The choirs managed their customary four “five-week” modules, and the music learned covered a wide repertoire both accompanied and acapella alongside the adult choir. The Children’s/Youth Choirs sung without the adults at the Christingle service at St Andrew’s on Christmas Eve, as is their usual practice, singing

A n n u a l R e p o r t 2 0 2 4

P a g e 1 8

T h e P a r i s h o f S t A n d r e w a n d S t M a r k , S u r b i t o n

in front of several hundred people in a packed church. In June, the young singers enjoyed an afternoon out to Airhop in Esher where various activities included inflatables, trampolines and climbing walls - everyone seemed to have a good time, maintaining the strong social side amongst our young singers.

Pianists

A huge vote thanks, as ever, must go to our team of 4 pianists who play for the non-choral Sunday morning services throughout each year. They are very much the unsung musical heroes of the Parish and go about their business with a calm and almost clandestine expertise and professionalism and we just couldn’t do without them. We could do with more pianists, of course! It is hoped that both grand pianos in our churches will be replaced in 2025 as they are beginning to show their age and desperately need upgrading.

SASM & St Matthew’s Choirs rehearsing

Salisbury Cathedral

Finance

Accounts

A n n u a l R e p o r t 2 0 2 4

P a g e 1 9

•PAI 5ecdon 145 ofthe ChwAitsA£i 2011 Annual Report 2024 Page 20

T h e P a r i s h o f S t A n d r e w a n d S t M a r k , S u r b i t o n

A n n u a l R e p o r t 2 0 2 4

P a g e 2 1

Larnl and ￿lI￿r￿S T•rfble •sts iJwio L$4gAIO 3J77 6￿173 U49AtD 3.7S3 2 15160 ￿?11 ll9 71 7U45 $29 10.037 Urffjeslrfct￿d 5,075 Annual Report 2024 Page 22

T h e P a r i s h o f S t A n d r e w a n d S t M a r k , S u r b i t o n

A n n u a l R e p o r t 2 0 2 4

P a g e 2 3

Funds 2024 7un 74A71 IU52 ns 565.5 5,725 8.516 I￿.C ra15od lor &illÈs Sptoal trusts l(knsfmts D<f pknl ST7￿11 231,019 (Instsnas F4ir kntls 11 Letwngs 7￿? .619 22.1 135.217 96.639 19,384 122.943 21191 135217 1(4 Iwllm• from hTh•stn cKler￿ Int•reA 15.561 Fees: weddi￿, lunwals 3.234 922 4795 4,314 14345 438212 Annual Report 2024 Page 24

T h e P a r i s h o f S t A n d r e w a n d S t M a r k , S u r b i t o n

A n n u a l R e p o r t 2 0 2 4

P a g e 2 5

SL Andrevs and SL Mrts PCC Surblton 14ot•stothe ffnanthl Ststemwts tor the Year ended 3tst l)•wthr 1024 in The Ffc i5the kneficb4 ownwofirtwests in thèl(dlowinr. Value at l.L24 Ewnditure Value at 31.12.24 St Marvs Hall Car Park Lase- St Mark's Cwrt Lar#J at ElectrK Parade 1,037.802 1702 1.037,802 702 1.549,41D Iy9,410 The St Andrew's Partsh RoLYnsve ori8lnally corthcted underdkwan hay4 béen hdd In the xc￿￿ts$1ft￿ thelr onstru¢kn. Itwds orielrtattyantkiwed that thÈ ft)Dmstould betfdf&ferredto the parfsh partlal redundanci sthem However this did not happen in the e¥ertt.The PCC has ConsKIe￿ carefvlty wFther it is CO￿¢1 to ¢￿tinUe to tn¢lude the fooms as an asset In the Kcounts. hav1￿ regard to the gtsirtan￿ kn the Church of En8lan(fs Pccknuntsblllty Guide, has £￿clUded after careful in¥e5tigotion thatthe arguments tor writing the cost off xe Mt adequately supwrted. The PCCcc¥tsKlers thatthe i￿lusion of the cost of ¢¢￿5tn￿tltsn on the balance sheet is in Kne with Gènenlly Accerted Ac(o￿n8 pri￿e5 aThl reftects the f&tthat the asset IS£enErati￿ St Mark's Hall 55valued atthe esdmated final cost ot Its col￿truCtIon. The999 year lease (dpakiryspaos$8rarted lor a n¢¥ninal cotsithrati(¥L ft is ¥ad ata fwe e￿1 tothe le8 costs of Its At Electrk Paradethe PCCoWr6tt￿fveQho1d Interest Inthe land Occup￿ed tytrSc(Arts Headryarrm Value at Cost tn Year DeweCètI￿ 31.12.24 •11.1.24 Fixtures Ffftiwand Equipmknt Parlsh Roorns StAndrrfs (dewec￿2dfrth￿ 1.12013) St Mar,5 Hall 3325 428 333 43 1992 385 3.753 376 3,377 ￿￿t￿re5. frtkngsand ew¢pftRnt are deweoated ata IiN¥educry balan￿. Annual Report 2024 Page 26

T h e P a r i s h o f S t A n d r e w a n d S t M a r k , S u r b i t o n

A n n u a l R e p o r t 2 0 2 4

P a g e 2 7

T• faeneral 1113.K2 461 95> 2.939 9292 l The ¥rume OIN￿ fty brfh ¢J•thtstttll ))24 lo¥1 6 Wwcotys kxa lor XQ4 W•+Y4V ** >) Annual Report 2024 Page 28

T h e P a r i s h o f S t A n d r e w a n d S t M a r k , S u r b i t o n

Accounts summary

Parish Accounts 2024 Commentary:

2024 was a year in which exceptional gifts from legacies were received. The financial activities of the parish continued as normal and the balance of recurring income against recurring expenditure needs to be considered aside from the legacy income.

The net incoming resources were £555K, of which legacies amounted to £566K (Note 9 for details). The deficit of expenditure in excess of income excluding legacies is therefore £11K.

If the deficit of £11K is adjusted to take out expenditure of £19K on major works (funded from reserves), then the overall figure for recurring income and expenditure is a surplus of £8K.

The PCC continues its plan to balance recurring income against expenditure in the medium term. The legacy gifts have increased reserves significantly and decisions will need to be made about the use of these resources. In addition, the parish needs to continue to focus on maintaining the real value of income from giving and from lettings of our buildings. Costs, particularly gas and electricity usage, remain a challenge.

Income:

Compared to 2023, planned giving is down whilst open collections are up. The switch to contactless giving continues with a (relatively) permanent giving station at St Andrews and a smaller more mobile unit at St Marks. Overall voluntary income, excluding legacies, is £120K. This includes £9K raised for charities and just under £19K of tax recoverable from Gift Aided giving.

Hall lettings are up by £9K and church lettings by £3K. The overall figure of £128K from lets is a very significant part of our overall income and could not be generated without the capability and hard work of the parish office team.

Income from investments at £33K is more than double the amount received in 2023 primarily because much larger funds (from legacies) have been on deposit. This higher level of interest will not continue if/when some reserve funds are committed to expenditure in the future.

Grants from the Listed Places of Worship scheme are lower as less eligible buildings maintenance work has been done at St Andrews than in 2023, so there has been less VAT to reclaim.

Legacy Income:

The PCC wishes to record its gratitude to past parishioners for their generous gifts. The late Mary Rice, Barbara Prince and Vera Palmer have given a total of £345K from their estates in 2024 as unrestricted gifts.

A n n u a l R e p o r t 2 0 2 4

P a g e 2 9

The late Margie Lindsay left gifts to the parish both from her retirement pension fund and from her estate.

The sum of £121K from Margie’s pension fund has been accepted by the PCC as an unrestricted gift and it is expected that the recurring costs of music such as the salary of the Director of Music will be paid from the general fund to which this gift has been added.

A further £100K has been received as an interim distribution from Margie’s estate. After careful discussion, the PCC agreed to accept this as an unrestricted gift but to designate the funds for musical purposes, in order to honour the wishes expressed in Margie’s will. It is anticipated that this “Margie Lindsay Music Fund” will be used for larger items of musical expenditure. For example, the Director of Music is currently investigating the purchase of new grand pianos. Full details of the designation can be found in Note 10.

Expenditure:

The parish was able to fulfil its pledge to the Parish Support Fund with a contribution of £100.5K. This was up from 2023 when the contribution made was £96.9K.

Gas and electricity costs for the year came to £42K, with gas bills being significantly higher than in 2023. During the first 4 months of 2024 there were problems with the heating control unit and boiler at St Andrews resulting in excessive gas usage when heating was not required. This has been remedied and it is anticipated that there should be lower utilities costs going forward.

Buildings maintenance costs of £35K (excluding major works) include the new heating control unit above, and resurfacing the hall floor at St Mark’s. Given the halls heavy usage, it is likely that in any year some significant costs for particular maintenance tasks will be incurred, in addition to the ongoing servicing and upkeep of buildings and equipment.

The costs of office staff at £33K reflect both a pay rise during the year and a recognition that slightly longer hours are needed to fully cover necessary tasks.

Major works totalling £19K were carried out by Weighill Builders at St Andrew’s in response to the Quinquennial Report by our architect.

Assets:

The parish continues to hold both longer and shorter term investments in CCLA with the Diocese as Custodian Trustee. The deposit account has increased by a total of £484K from legacies received during the year. The £100K distribution from the estate of the late Margie Lindsay was received at the end of December and is shown as held in the CAF bank balance at the end of the year. The sum was put on deposit in January 2025. No longer term investments were sold during the year, and the unrealised value of these investments increased by £21K during 2024.

Going Concern:

In considering the question of Going Concern, the PCC will continue to meet its commitment to balance recurring income and expenditure in the medium term. With the

A n n u a l R e p o r t 2 0 2 4

P a g e 3 0

T h e P a r i s h o f S t A n d r e w a n d S t M a r k , S u r b i t o n

further increase in the level of reserves in 2024, the PCC is confident that one off and other major items of expenditure can reasonably be met in the medium term from investments.

Finance Sub-Committee:

The Finance Sub-Committee has met to consider the legacies received during the year, and to discuss and make recommendations to the PCC on the investment of the funds. The committee has also made suggestions about the consultation process needed to lead to decisions about the use of surplus funds.

In addition, the committee has reviewed the budget and the accounts for 2024 before submission to the PCC for approval, and has discussed with the independent examiner his findings and comments.

Reserves Policy (note: due for revision in 2025):

It is the policy of the PCC that the parish’s regular expenditure should broadly match its regular income over the medium term. The parish will hold a strategic liquid reserve against unforeseen or foreseen future expenditure. The PCC will determine the appropriate amount but the unforeseen reserve should represent at least six months’ budgeted expenditure. Longer-term reserves are held and may be spent on authorised projects or initiatives. Examples of future expenditure may relate to the fabric of our two churches, the organs in our two churches, or charitable support. Any such future projects will be clearly identified and approved by the PCC and expenditure on such projects budgeted and monitored. It is the policy of the PCC to use the CBF Church of England Funds, managed by CCLA Investment Management Ltd, to invest both its cash and longer-term reserves.

A n n u a l R e p o r t 2 0 2 4

P a g e 3 1

Appendix A: Kingston Deanery Synod 2024

‘Rooted in my Parish, connected by my Deanery, supported by my Diocese’

Kingston Deanery Synod comprises seventeen parishes, all of which are situated within the boundaries of the Royal Borough. The purpose of the Synod is to bring together the representatives of these parishes in order to promote the work of Christ’s Church in the Kingston area. The Synod provides an opportunity for representatives to meet three times each year to share experience of the life and work of their churches, to discuss topics of mutual interest and to work together throughout the year on Synod’s agreed priorities as set out in the Deanery Mission Action Plan.

Clergy are members of the Synod and each church elects lay representatives every three years. The Area Dean is appointed by the Bishop of Kingston with clergy having an opportunity to express their preference: Synod members elect the lay chairman. This parish has four members on Synod: Anne Barker, Valerie Baxter, Helen Goepel and Ian Wilson. Principal matters which came to the fore during the year were:

A n n u a l R e p o r t 2 0 2 4

P a g e 3 2

T h e P a r i s h o f S t A n d r e w a n d S t M a r k , S u r b i t o n

Appendix B: Churchwardens’ Annual Fabric Report

This report was made to the Parochial Church Council (PCC) under section 50 of the Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction and Care of Churches Measure 2018 by Katherine Reed and Ruth Gilmore as Churchwardens during 2024; and is also made by them to the Annual Parochial Church Meeting on behalf of the PCC.

Both Churches

Crew Energy submitted a report on energy efficiency and savings, and arranged a demonstration of new destratifier technology. However, it has not been possible to obtain the necessary Diocesan approval.

The Wi-Fi systems at both churches were upgraded.

St Andrews

Quinquennial Inspection works:

Two companies, Weighill Builders and Telson Roofwise, both of who have worked for us before, were asked to quote for the most essential items in the Quinquennial Reports for both churches. This turned out to be a protracted and ultimately not entirely successful exercise, possibly because the work consisted of a large number of small and very disparate items which were difficult for a contractor to price.

Eventually, quotations were received from both firms for the works at St Andrew’s, but they were difficult to compare due to different approaches. It was decided to award the contract to Weighill in the first instance and then to ask Telson to submit a price for St Mark’s.

Weighill began work at St Andrew’s in April and completed it in June.

Heating:

The programming unit, serviced by Environmental Control Partners, and the boilers, serviced by Dunamis were not working correctly. Representatives from both companies came at the same time to figure out what the problem was. In the future, it may be advisable to invite both at the same time for annual maintenance. The programming unit failed and was replaced.

St Marks

Four leaking taps at St Marks were serviced in May.

The hall floors at St Marks were sanded and refinished.

After the automatic door at St Marks was locked closed (following a fire alarm) the door installer, Geze, serviced it and inserted a wire to ensure that the door remains open when the alarm goes off.

A n n u a l R e p o r t 2 0 2 4

P a g e 3 3