## **Annual Report of the Tarporley Parochial Church Council and Accounts for the Year Ended 31[st] December 2024** 



_On Mothering Sunday at St Helen’s during Café Church, Bishop Mark helped to install the memorial stone for those who have experienced Stillbirth, Abortion or Miscarriage_ 




## **Annual Report of the Tarporley Parochial Church Council and Accounts for the Year Ended 31[st] December 2024** 

What follows is a brief report of our Parish life in 2024. 

As ever with these kinds of reports, this only scratches the surface of all the hard work and faithfulness that is seen in abundance in this parish often seen in the small or unseen jobs that ensure that our three churches are still standing, and our services function without major hiccups! 

My thanks go to clergy colleagues who helped sustain and enhance ministry and mission in the parish during the year - Revd Trevor Davies, Revd Jenny Bridgman and Revd Richard Tuckwell – as well as Church Wardens and officers and members of our PCC for their unstinting hard work and complete support. 

I hope that it is not an act of great self-deception, but as I look back at 2024, I feel that God has been here, bringing a spirit of life, hope and togetherness, which I pray will continue into 2025. While there have been difficult goodbyes, there have also been celebratory welcomes too, and in all the ups and down, a reassurance of God being present. 

Let us continue to look for God’s presence in Tarporley, Eaton, Cotebrook, Rushton and Utkinton, and be ready for where God wants to take us next. 

With every blessing 

## _Jim_ 

Revd. Jim Bridgman Rector of Tarporley 



## **The Parochial Church Council of the Ecclesiastical Parish of Tarporley A Registered Charity: Number 1130496** 

## **Aim and Purposes** 

St Helen’s Tarporley Parochial Church Council (PCC) has the responsibility of cooperating with the incumbent, in promoting in the ecclesiastical parish, the whole mission of the church, pastoral, evangelistic, social and ecumenical. The PCC is also responsible for the maintenance of the Parish’s three churches: St Helen’s Tarporley, St John and the Holy Cross Cotebrook and St Thomas, Eaton their attendant churchyards and The Done Room. In pursuing these aims and purposes the PCC has due regard to the Charity Commission’s concern for public benefit. 

## **Objectives and Activities** 

The PCC is committed to enabling as many people as possible to worship at our churches. Our services are open to all, and we are committed to making and keeping our churches, both during and outside of worship, welcoming sacred spaces where people can encounter the presence of God, sanctuary from an often-stressful world and, if they wish it, a place in a welcoming and caring community. When planning our activities for the year, both our regular worship and our extra activities, we have considered the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit. We are open to all and actively encourage participation in our services and activities from all sections of the community believing as we do that every person is made in the image of God. We try to help each other grow in knowledge and love of God and his son, our Lord Jesus Christ, through our worship and prayer and discipleship activities believing that the good news of the gospel enriches and gives purpose and direction to life. And we try to follow this teaching and communicate God’s love for all people through our pastoral and outreach work. 

## **Achievements and Performance** 

In autumn 2022, the parish vision process identified a number of priorities: 

- a. Exploring a new pattern of worship. 

- b. Deepening prayer and discipleship. 

- c. Improving Facilities. 

- d. Engagement. 

   - I. With communities. 

II. With ‘un-churched’ people. 

III. With schools. 

During 2024, we continued to press ahead with making these priorities into reality. 

## **a. Exploring a new pattern of worship.** 

In 2024, we continued to offer a broad range of services across the three churches. As well as ensuring that our regular services of Communion were offered, with a good standard of singing, praying and preaching, 2024 saw a real consolidation and expansion of some of the ‘different’ services offered: 




**Café Church** continued to take place on the second Sunday of the month, and through 2024 alternated between St Helen’s and the Done Room – whilst the former allows the use of the screen and audio visual system as well as increased capacity, the latter allowed closer access to toilets and the use of kitchen facilities, as a well as a more café style environment. Everyone had their own preference, but regardless of venue, each month we enjoyed great hospitality, times of singing, praying and discussing. The themes for the majority of the year were based around the Apostles’ Creed, looking at some of the core statements of our faith. Café Church brings all ages together, and has good support from each of the three churches, helping to draw us closer together as a parish. 

**Songs of Praise** at St Thomas’ has also been firmly cemented into the regular pattern of worship, regularly drawing people from across the other two churches to hear (and sing) the music that has shaped the faith of the people in the pews. We sang a broad range of hymn and songs, many of which resonated with our own childhoods, weddings or journeys of faith; in addition to a ‘Greatest Hits’ compilation service, both the St Thomas’ choir and The Eatonians chose their favourite music, and organist Jill Robey told us of her influences in her final service with us. We also heard some musical numbers that reminded us of Wales, Yorkshire and the Guiding movement, and managed to introduce some church members to the music of The Proclaimers, Morrissey and The Seekers, and finally had Cliff Richard played in 

church! And the fantastic team of breakfast helpers, provide the perfect ending for the morning with a great array of food! 

**Evensong** on the third Sunday of the month is cherished by those who attend. In the winter months and darker nights, the service remained at St Helen’s at an earlier time of 4pm, and then once the clocks changed, we continued to put Evensong ‘on tour’, visiting all three churches, and being supported by those who may never regularly travel to one of the other churches. In October, we were joined by _Vox Vocavit_ who led a beautiful service of Evensong, complete with chanted Psalm 86 Hear me Lord and the beautiful "Greater love hath no man" by John Ireland. **Joint services** on months with 5 Sundays have led to further mixing of congregations and catching up with old and new friends (and some people even entering a different church for the first time!). 

## **b. Deepening prayer and discipleship.** 



The annual **Lent group** considered a publication by the Archbishop of York ‘How to Pray’, which both stimulated good conversation and exploration of different ways to pray. This came in useful after Easter during **Thy Kingdom come,** when the whole church is encouraged to pray for more people to come to know God. During the week of TKC, Revd Jim opened each of the churches at midday for times of prayer. 



Following on from a mini worship review in the summer, the autumn term saw Sunday services follow a sermon series on the **‘Heroes of the Old Testament’** , looking at some of the men and women remembered in the Bible for their 

faith and action. To compliment the Sunday sermons, a time for further discussion and study was offered each Friday at 10am at The Dray’s coffee shop in Eaton. During the autumn, this was very well received, drawing in lots of different people and perspectives, and helping to have some really illuminating conversations of the flawed lives of figures such as Sarah, Abraham, Ruth, Judah, Daniel and Gideon to name a few. We only scratched the surface and there are plenty more ‘heroes’ left to consider, so the series may return for part 2 in 2025! 

As that group proved worthwhile and popular, its format and location was retained for the **Advent group** , where we read Rachel Mann’s book ‘Do not be afraid’, which once more elicited good discussion and a deeper appreciation of the season of Advent. The Friday Bible group will continue in 2025 looking at The Psalms. 

The **Eco church** worked hard over 2024 to move us towards the goal of a Silver award. Nick Parker and Walter Gibson were joined by Netty Oakes to form a core Eco Church team for the parish, and met regularly to share expertise, support each other and consider what we needed to do next. A number of policies were adopted by PCC, to make simple but important changes to things such as light pollution, cleaning product usage and refreshments. Maintenance of the three churchyards continued to be undertaken by a mixture of contractors and volunteers, with dedicated areas for longer grass growth, special planting and composting. There was also an emphasis on the lifestyle of the congregations, with everyone encouraged to undertake their own carbon footprint, and consider offsetting the carbon dioxide they produce. Thank you to Walter, Nick and Netty, and all who volunteered throughout the year as a parish Silver award got closer! 

## **c. Improving Facilities.** 

After years of planning 2024 finally was the year that the **Done Room** repairs could begin! Thanks to the expertise and hard work of Stephen Wright, we were able to secure some big grants for the work: FCC Communities Foundation have committed £94,728 to the cause, the Ursula Keyes Trust has contributed £23 000, while the National Lottery have weighed in with £18,960. There have also been contributions from local benefactors including a generous £5,000 grant from the Holroyd Foundation. 

In the wake of tendering for the work, Grosvenor Construction Ltd was approached and work began in July to repair the gable ends, insulate and re-slate the roof, insert a fire escape and replace the front door. The work took longer than planned, and was approaching completion at 2024 ended. Huge thanks 



goes to Phillip Posnett for steering the project, and to Tarporley Done Room Pre-School for accommodating the building work around their continued provision. 

At **St Thomas’,** with an eye on eco sustainability, and improved efficiency, Mike Wilson led a team to consider options on changing the oil-based heating in church. After extensive and thorough testing and trials of different options, the best system proposed was a mixture of infra-red heaters and air heaters, positioned through church. Faculty permission was applied for, with the hope that 2024 would be the final oil fired (and cold!) winter at St Thomas’! 

## **d. Engagement.** 

## **I. With communities.** 

Each of the three churches in the parish continue to make positive impacts and connections with the surrounding local community. 


St John and the Holy Cross built upon the good relationship with **Utkinton and Cotebrook Parish council** through the year: in June, the church helped take part in the Big Community Raffle, donating prizes and selling raffle tickets before the big BBQ and prize draw at Rose Farm, and received a share of the proceeds along with the other four community organisations. In addition, the parish council attended the Act of Remembrance at the end of November’s service at St John’s, and helped with a reading at the Carol service, as well as aiding with funding for improvements to the churchyard path as part of our Eco Church initiative. 


A new venture in the parish arrived in spring with an invitation to come and sing at **Iddenshall Hall and Beeston View Nursing homes** , after singing there at their Christmas lantern parade in 2024. Soon, a large choir from across the three churches now gathers monthly to entertain the residents with some favourite hymns and now branching out into some easy listening classics too! It is lovely to see the residents connect with some meaningful music, and it led to them bringing a collection of food for the Foodbank to church at Harvest time. 

With the now annual rainstorm (!), in July the parish had a stall at the **Tarporley Carnival** , offering games and a chance to talk to those at the event. During November, St Helen’s was floodlit in red thanks to Ian and Connor Diskin, and our **Remembrance service** was once again packed to the rafters, with a special focus on the 80[th] anniversary of D-Day. 





As Christmas approached, we worked with **Tarporley Parish Council** , Tarporley Independent Traders and Tarporley Chapel to be a part of the Tarporley Christmas weekend event; sadly the planned Christmas light switch on was cancelled due to storm weather, but a few weekends later Revd Jim and Revd Mark led some community carol singing and the Blessing of a newly created crib on Burton Square. 




During Advent and Christmas, **carol singing** in the community was a popular way of connecting and sharing the Christmas story, and this year we sang at The Alvanley Arms, on the green in Eaton, on the High Street in Tarporley on Christmas Eve, at Iddenshall Nursing home with residents and their families for their lantern parade, and joined at The Dray’s as they celebrated a special event when the Posada (travelling nativity) stopped with Anne and Declan Kelly. 


As ever, the **social side** of life was prominent in the parish this year: from the two Afternoon Teas at the Done Room ably organised by Elaine Meredith and the team, to the annual quizzes organised by both the Bell ringers’ and St Thomas’ church, to an enjoyable summer evening’s 

singing at St Thomas’ and the Jessie Hughes Hall by the Vale Royal 

Singers. There were also some special fundraising events in aid of the Done Room Restoration project, including a Soul Night at the Tarporley Community Centre, and an open house event hosted by Charles and Sandra Hardy. 


And not to forget the usual feast for the St Thomas’ Harvest Supper! 

After the success last year of the BBQ to celebrate St Thomas, we expanded our celebrations of the **patron saints** in the parish – alongside another enjoyable return to The Dray’s in July to remember St Thomas, we also took time to celebrate St Helen in May through a special service of Communion followed by strawberries and fizz, which was very eagerly and happily received! Thanks go to all those whose hard work, 

dedication and sacrifice meant that all these events were so successful and such good fun! 





Continuing our Eco Church efforts, and keen to engage the wider community, the team put on our first Eco Church Film night in St Helen’s, watching the film ‘2040’, which provoked a lot of challenge and thought. We also had a Fair Trade stall that evening, showing some of the Fair Trade products now available in shops. 



Last year we received faculty permission for the introduction of a **new memorial** in St Helen’s to commemorate lives lost through stillbirth, abortion and miscarriage. This will be a place for people to gather and remember those who so often are not remembered elsewhere. This stone was donated by Jackie Wilson Funeral Directors and Blackwell’s Memorials, and was unveiled at a special Café Church service on Mothering Sunday 2024 by Bishop Mark, bishop of Chester. 

**The Link** continues to keep the community updated with church life, in addition to the Facebook page and weekly email, sharing weekly readings and prayers and upcoming services and events from the three churches. Thanks to Andy Jobson for his sterling work on editing both the website and The Link, and his team of distributors for spreading the news across the parish. 



## **II. With ‘un-churched’ people.** 

**Messy Church** is one of the ways that we try to connect with those who are not used to church, and have no faith background. This year Messy Church looked at some of the heroes of the faith from the Bible, as well as Saints from the early church to the present day. 

## **III. With schools.** 

We certainly had lows and highs with our two church schools in 2024: sadly, in early 2024, the decision was made to close **St Paul’s CE primary in Utkinton.** The combination of the nationwide falling birthrate, a falling school roll, a lack of new housing and families in the locality of the school, and the competition from other schools locally were all factors that sadly worked against all the great improvements and the ‘Good’ Ofsted grade of 2023. Following on from a moving closing service at St Helen’s, the school finally shut its doors at the end of July. Each student and member of staff was given a special holding cross from the parish as a reminder of God’s continuing presence with them in their new phase of learning and life. These crosses were featured on a special edition of BBC’s _Songs of Praise_ , where Revd Jim even made a fleeting appearance! 


The parish continued to strengthen connections with **Tarporley CE Primary** through the year; Christine Robinson, a member of St Helen’s, was elected as a Foundation Governor, and helped Revd Jim and existing governor Sara Diggle to maintain the governors’ focus on the Christian distinctiveness of the school. During the summer term, Years 3 and 4 returned to find out about St Helen on St Helen’s day, hearing about her remarkable life through a number of activities and crafts such as making stained glass crosses, rock painting, and offering our own prayers on a prayer tree. 

We also worked with school and Tarporley Chapel to fund a week of worship by **iSingPop** where the whole school learnt the words and actions to 6 new worship songs, and then put on two concerts for 


parents hosted at St Helen’s. This was a superb week, which impacted students, staff and parents, and the songs are still regularly used in Collective Worship in school and in both churches. It was a great initiative to work together as church for the community. It was all the more impressive as this was the same week that **Ofsted** visited Tarporley Primary – the inspectors were very encouraged by the high standards at school and their assessment that the school retain its previous ‘Good’ grading was a vindication of the hard work of all the staff and governors. In the autumn term, school celebrated **175 years** since its opening, with a special open day showcasing the history of the school and 



its impact on the community, with some of the photo montages moving to St Helen’s for further viewing after the event. 

In conjunction with school, we were also delighted to be taking part in a brand new national Church of England project called **Flourish.** Flourish is an innovative pilot project which is taking place in around 40 schools across the country, seeking to start new, intergenerational worshipping communities within schools. Although each Flourish project will be unique, there are five core values underpinning them all: 

_1. Young people’s voices will instinctively be at the centre of all leadership decision-making and implementation_ 

_2. There will be a clearly articulated and shared purpose to grow a younger and more diverse community of Christian disciples_ 

_3. There will be a strategic leadership partnership between school/college and at least one church community_ 

_4. Each Flourish project will be an intergenerational faith development experience, involving children and their families of all ages_ 

_5. Flourish will lead worship that is fully integrated into the regular rhythms, practices, structures and resources of the school/college’s vision for the flourishing of children and adults_ 

Due to the strong links already existing between church and school, we were seen as an ideal pilot placement, and were chosen as one of 4 projects for Chester diocese, starting in autumn 2024. 

As part of this process, our project in Tarporley wanted to appoint a Children’s and Families Worker, to help lead the project and develop the young leaders in our school. In December, after a rigorous interview process, Debbie Wood was appointed to this role. ( _pictured with the Flourish board, comprising (l-r) Sandra Hardy, Christine Robinson, Debbie Wood, Kerry Forrester and Revd Jim Bridgman)._ Flourish was launched on Dec 20[th] at school with a special Christmas themed event, full of Lego and songs and refreshments, with 56 people coming along – a great start, with lots to work with! 

St Helen’s continued to host a number of school events during the 


year, with Easter, Harvest, Christmas and Leavers’ services for Tarporley Primary. Revd Jim continued to open church for school RE visits, exploring about weddings and baptisms, and the history of St Helen’s and its continued use and significance today. Add to this regular Collective worship, RE lessons in school, and congregation members helping with reading with children and we can see that our links with Tarporley Primary are flourishing. 





Outside of our church schools, all of Year 7 of **Tarporley High School** once again visited in November as part of their joint history/geography field trip on the local area, and they returned at Christmas for their now annual Christmas carol service. Revd Jim also visited RE lessons at school for GCSE and A-Level students, trying valiantly to answer some of their very deep questions! **Eaton Primary** made good connections with St Thomas’, through Nick Parker’s initiative to help 

grow runner beans outside church, which the children helped to plant and harvest. It was also a joy to host Eaton Primary for their carol service at St Helen’s. We have continued to support the **Done Room Preschool** too, and welcomed them for performance at St Helen’s at 

Easter, end of summer term, Harvest and Christmas. Please continue to pray for the staff, pupils, governors and parents of our local schools. 

## **Pastoral Services and Activity** 

The PCC recognizes that our ministry and churches offer a very important and unique resource at particular moments in people’s lives.  It is a joy to be asked to baptise and marry people and share this celebration with family and friends and a privilege to be able to offer help and support to others through our funeral ministry. Rather than dictating the content of these services we work hard with all concerned to make sure that, within a Christian setting, they have a service that holds meaning for them. Such pastoral services mark important rites in everyone’s life and the Church extends the welcome and compassion of God to all people, regardless of their beliefs or background. 

In addition to organizing and delivering the service itself the churches are involved in baptism and marriage preparation, helping families prepare for and organise funerals and following up with bereavement visits.  Whilst the Clergy undertake most of this work they are supported and enormously helped by the Parish Pastoral Team formed of representatives from all our churches. The PCC also acknowledges the foundational importance of the informal visiting and pastoral care that takes place every day as members of our churches look out for and take care of each other and their neighbours and members of the wider community. 

|**Church**|**Number of**<br>**‘usual’ Sunday**<br>**services**|**Usual Sunday**<br>**Attendance***|**Baptisms**|**Weddings/**<br>**Renewal of**<br>**Vows(RoV)**|**Funerals**|**Burial**<br>**of**<br>**Ashes**|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|St Helen’s|37|54 adults (-3)<br>2 children (-2)|12 (+2)|4 (-2)|15 (-4)|5 (+1)|
|St Thomas’|40|17 adults (-4)<br>1 children (-1)|2 (-)|3 (+3)|3 (+1)|3 (+1)|
|St John’s|12|14 adults (-1)<br>2 children (-)|1 (+1)|0 (-1)|2 (+1)|0 (-)|



Change from 2023 (+/-) 




**----- Start of picture text -----**<br>
Number of  Average<br>Attendance<br>services<br>(2023 stats)<br>(2023 stats)<br>Joint services  4 (5)   48 (56) adults<br> 8 (1) children<br>Messy Church  9 (11)  12 (18) adults<br>12 (19) children<br>Evensong 11 (10) 10 (11) adults<br>Café Church  11 (9)  42 (47) adults<br>6 (10) children<br>Songs of Praise  9 (8)  32 (32) adults<br>2 (3) children<br>**----- End of picture text -----**<br>


* _based on average over the year. This however does not reflect the extent of the ‘worshipping community’ (those connected with each church, and whose attendance may be irregular) which is higher._ 



In addition to regular Sunday and midweek worship, we had usual special services to mark the Christian year. We held services throughout Holy Week and Easter, including a joint service on Good Friday with Tarporley Chapel; all three churches celebrated Harvest; a special service for All Souls was held at St Helen’s for those bereaved during the year with an opportunity to light candles and use the work of local author and 

artist Lorna Gibson and her book ‘Love never dies’; Remembrance Sunday continued to be well attended, with an act of Remembrance at St 

Thomas, followed by the full parade in Tarporley, with all uniformed organisations joining us in church. We also had Canon Rosie Woodall, Canon for Worship & Spirituality, Vice Dean & Canon Librarian at Chester Cathedral, preach in the parish in April. 





Christmas 2024 across the parish

The Parochial Church Council St Helen's Church, Tarporley End of Year Financial Statements 

## Year ending 31[st ] December 2024 and Independent Examiners report 

## **Introduction** 

Below are the accounts for the Parish of Tarporley which comprises of St Helen's Church, Tarporley, St Thomas', Eaton & St John & the Holy Cross, Cotebrook. 

The accounts are prepared on a receipts and payments basis. 

The Treasurer, whilst having some financial qualifications is not a qualified Chartered or Certified Accountant and all errors and omissions are to be expected. 

## **Statement of Financial Activities** 

|**Statement of Financial Activities**||
|---|---|
||**Unrestricted**<br>**funds**<br>**Restricted**<br>**funds**<br>**Endowment**<br>**funds**<br>**Total**<br>**funds**<br>**Prior year**<br>**total funds**|
|**Receipts**<br>Planned giving<br>Collections and other giving<br>Other voluntary receipts<br>Gift Aid recovered<br>Other receipts<br>Activities for generating funds<br>Investment Income<br>Receipts from church activities<br>**Total income**<br>**Payments**<br>Cost of generating funds<br>Missionary and Charitable Giving<br>Parish Share<br>Clergy and Staffing costs<br>Church Running Expenses<br>Hall Running Costs<br>Church Repairs & Maintenance<br>Hall Repairs & Maintenance<br>New Building work<br>Governance Costs<br>**Total expenditure**<br>**Net income / (expenditure) resources**<br>**before transfer**<br>**Transfers**<br>Gross transfers between funds - in<br>Gross transfers between funds - out<br>**Other recognised gains / losses**<br>Gains/losses on investment assets<br>Gains on revaluation, fixed assets,<br>charity's own use<br>**Net movement in funds**<br>**Total funds brought forward**<br>**Total funds carried forward**|45,288.50<br>-<br>-<br>45,288.50<br>42,926.00<br>27,241.84<br>1,686.00<br>-<br>28,927.84<br>32,251.98<br>141,869.79<br>100.00<br>- 141,969.79<br>612.10<br>15,262.71<br>-<br>-<br>15,262.71<br>15,330.04<br>85.22 11,147.00<br>-<br>11,232.22<br>1,327.05<br>44,311.66<br>-<br>-<br>44,311.66<br>29,323.54<br>2,822.38<br>5,357.34<br>-<br>8,179.72<br>8,004.06<br>11,008.00<br>-<br>-<br>11,008.00<br>9,226.00|
||**287,890.10 18,290.34**<br>**- 306,180.44 139,000.77**<br>801.75<br>-<br>-<br>801.75<br>1,287.48<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>1,625.22<br>75,344.40<br>-<br>-<br>75,344.40<br>71,756.64<br>5,658.37<br>-<br>-<br>5,658.37<br>4,714.51<br>32,723.51<br>2,165.61<br>-<br>34,889.12<br>32,192.83<br>208,161.41<br>-<br>- 208,161.41<br>34,313.45<br>8,104.94<br>5,747.23<br>-<br>13,852.17<br>2,550.00<br>3,367.00<br>-<br>-<br>3,367.00<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>1,312.20<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-|
||**334,161.38**<br>**7,912.84**<br>**- 342,074.22 149,752.33**|
||**(46,271.28) 10,377.50**<br>**- (35,893.78) (10,751.56)**<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>92.06<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>(92.06)<br>5,010.17<br>2,464.84<br>-<br>7,475.01<br>22,929.14<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-|
||**(41,261.11) 12,842.34**<br>**- (28,418.77)**<br>**12,177.58**|
||**225,170.17 123,932.89**<br>**- 349,103.06 336,925.48**|
||**183,909.06 136,775.23**<br>**- 320,684.29 349,103.06**|





|**Represented by**||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|**Unrestricted**||||||
|General fund|70,473.96|<br>-|-|70,473.96|67,630.63|
|**Designated**||||||
|ALTAR FRONTAL FUND|416.63|<br>-|-|416.63|416.63|
|CHILDRENS SOCIETY & OTHERS|-|<br>-|-|-|-|
|CHOIR FUND|2,111.89|<br>-|-|2,111.89|2,111.89|
|Churchyard Footpath St H|7,555.38|<br>-|-|7,555.38|16,067.10|
|DONE ROOM|(21,485.17)|<br>-|-|(21,485.17)|13,740.45|
|General Mission Fund|1,006.22|<br>-|-|1,006.22|986.02|
|HEARSE HOUSE|542.95|<br>-|-|542.95|-|
|Rectors Leaving Fund|-|<br>-|-|-|-|
|St Helens Fabric|3,819.92|<br>-|-|3,819.92|3,819.92|
|St Helen's Fixed Projector & Screen|-|<br>-|-|-|-|
|ST JOHN CLOCK AND BELLS APPEAL|-|<br>-|-|-|-|
|Toilet & Kitchen St Helens|3,687.80|<br>-|-|3,687.80|3,687.80|
|UNRESTRICTED ST HELENS|91,038.40|<br>-|-|91,038.40|86,042.91|
|UNRESTRICTED ST JOHN|-|<br>-|-|-|7,497.87|
|UNRESTRICTED ST THOMAS|24,741.08|<br>-|-|24,741.08|23,168.95|
|**Restricted**||||||
|Agency collection|-|<br>-|-|-|-|
|DIVIDENDS REST ST THOMAS|-|<br>8,513.58|-|8,513.58|7,805.77|
|Flourish Project|-|<br>8,718.06|-|8,718.06|-|
|PARISH CHURCHYARDS|-|87,139.34|-|87,139.34|83,977.29|
|RESTRICTED RELIGIOUS EDUCATION|-|21,210.87|-|21,210.87|20,982.18|
|RESTRICTED ST HELENS (FORMER<br>CONS CHARITY)|-|<br>2,000.00|-|2,000.00|-|
|RESTRICTED ST JOHN|-|<br>7,788.12|-|7,788.12|9,421.31|
|St John's Churchyard|-|<br>1,405.26|-|1,405.26|1,746.34|
|UNRESTRICTED ST THOMAS|-|<br>-|-|-|-|
|**Total funds**|**183,909.06**|**136,775.23**|**- **|**320,684.29 **|**349,103.06**|



## **Balance Sheet (Summary)** 

|**Balance Sheet (Summary)**||
|---|---|
||**As at**<br>**31/12/2024**<br>**As at**<br>**31/12/2023**<br> 321,589.03<br>320,018.37<br> **321,589.03**<br>**320,018.37**<br>66,567.30<br>95,066.96<br>**66,567.30**<br>**95,066.96**<br>-<br>20.00<br>**-**<br>**20.00**<br>**66,567.30**<br>**95,046.96**<br> **388,156.33**<br>**415,065.33**|
|**Fixed assets**<br>Investments<br>**Current assets**<br>Cash At Bank And In Hand<br>**Liabilities**<br>Creditors: Amounts Falling Due In One Year<br>**Net current assets less current liabilities**<br>**Total assets less current liabilities**||





## **Liabilities** 

Creditors: Amounts falling due after more than one year 

|**Liabilities**<br>|||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|Creditors: Amounts falling due after more tha|n one year|||67,472.04||65,962.27|
|||||**67,472.04**||**65,962.27**|
|**Total net assets less liabilities**|||**320,684.29**||**349,103.06**||
|**Represented by**|||||||
|**Unrestricted**|||||||
|Unrestricted - General Funds||||70,453.96||67,610.63|
|**Designated**|||||||
|Designated - ALTAR FRONTAL FUND||||416.63||416.63|
|Designated - CHOIR FUND||||2,111.89||2,111.89|
|Designated - Churchyard Footpath St H||||7,555.38||16,067.10|
|Designated - DONE ROOM|||(21,465.17)|||13,760.45|
|Designated - General Mission Fund||||1,006.22||986.02|
|Designated - HEARSE HOUSE||||542.95||-|
|Designated - St Helens Fabric||||3,819.92||3,819.92|
|Designated - Toilet & Kitchen St Helens||||3,687.80||3,687.80|
|Designated - UNRESTRICTED ST HELENS||||91,038.40||86,042.91|
|Designated - UNRESTRICTED ST JOHN||||-||7,497.87|
|Designated - UNRESTRICTED ST THOMAS||||24,741.08||23,168.95|
|**Restricted**|||||||
|Restricted - DIVIDENDS REST ST THOMAS||||8,513.58||7,805.77|
|Restricted - Flourish Project||||8,718.06||-|
|Restricted - PARISH CHURCHYARDS||||87,139.34||83,977.29|
|Restricted - RESTRICTED RELIGIOUS EDUCATION||||21,210.87||20,982.18|
|Restricted - RESTRICTED ST HELENS (FORMER CONS CHARITY)||||2,000.00||-|
|Restricted - RESTRICTED ST JOHN||||7,788.12||9,421.31|
|Restricted - St John's Churchyard||||1,405.26||1,746.34|
|**Endowment**|||||||
|||**Fund Totals**|**320,684.29**||**349,103.06**||
|**Statement of Assets and Liabilities (by code)**|||||||
|**Class and nominal code**<br>**General Designated Restricted Endowment**||||**Total**||**Last year**|
|**Fixed Asset - Investments**|||||||
|6512: St Helen's Footpath<br>CB3022782<br>-|-|-|-||-|7,945.08|
|6513: Parish Churchyards<br>CB3022780<br>-|-|6,501.41|-|6,501.41||6,355.93|
|6514: St Helen's Unrestricted<br>CB3022775<br>-|80,374.51|-|-|80,374.51||78,576.02|
|6515: Unrestricted Parish|||||||
|Churchyard & Fabric<br>-|-|38,496.10|-|38,496.10||31,780.34|
|CB3022769|||||||
|6522: J Palmer Ancient<br>Endowment CB3022768<br>-|-|36,695.72|-|36,695.72||35,874.61|
|6523: Miss Lewis Ancient<br>Endowment CB3022776<br>-|-|12,948.71|-|12,948.71||12,658.97|
|6524: Lady Grisell Ancient<br>Endowment CB3022777<br>-|-|5,942.53|-|5,942.53||5,809.56|
|6526: Eaton Church Wardens<br>Fund CB3022784<br>-|4,208.33|-|-|4,208.33||4,114.16|
|6529: John Derek Davies<br>CB3022779<br>-|-|4,764.66|-|4,764.66||4,658.05|





|6530: Sale of Cotebrook<br>Church M& G 0024011783|-|-|<br>-|-|-|5,215.87|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|6531: Canon Hughes Ancient<br>Endowment 109001124S|-|-|67,472.04|-|67,472.04|65,962.27|
|6534: 2014 investment (Accum<br>Shares) St Thomas UST|<br>-|19,420.45|<br>-|-|19,420.45|17,861.70|
|6535: 2014 investment (Accum<br>Shares) General fund|<br>26,980.58|-|<br>-|-|26,980.58|26,980.58|
|6536: 2014 investment (Accum<br>Shares) Done Room|<br>-|98.37|<br>-|-|98.37|98.37|
|6537: 2014 investment (Accum<br>Shares) Parish Churchyards|<br>-|-|<br>5,402.76|-|5,402.76|5,402.76|
|6538: 2014 investment (Accum<br>Shares) RRE|<br>-|-|<br>4,940.95|-|4,940.95|4,940.95|
|6539: 2014 investment (Accum<br>Shares) USH|<br>-|7,341.91|<br>-|-|7,341.91|5,783.15|
|**Total **|**26,980.58 111,443.57**||**183,164.88**|**- **|**321,589.03 **|**320,018.37**|
|**Current Asset - Cash At Bank And In Hand**|||||||
|6501: Bank Current Account|41,779.82|1,991.53|21,082.39|-|64,853.74|93,428.62|
|6510: CCLA (CBF) deposit<br>account|1,690.93|-|<br>-|-|1,690.93|1,605.71|
|6590: Petty Cash|22.63|-|<br>-|-|22.63|32.63|
|**Total**|**43,493.38**|**1,991.53**|**21,082.39**|**-**|**66,567.30**|**95,066.96**|
|**Liability - Agency Accounts**|||||||
|6699: Agency collections|-|-|-|-|-|20.00|
|**Total**|**-**|**-**|<br>**-**|**-**|**-**|**20.00**|
|**Liability - Creditors: Amounts falling due after more than one year**|||||||
|6532: Canon Hughes Ancient<br>Endowment 109001124S|-|-|67,472.04|-|67,472.04|65,962.27|
|**Total**|**-**|**-**|**67,472.04**|**-**|**67,472.04**|**65,962.27**|
|**Net total assets **|**70,473.96 113,435.10**||**136,775.23**|**- **|**320,684.29 **|**349,103.06**|
|**Represented by**|||||||
|General (Unrestricted)|70,453.96|-|<br>-|-|70,453.96|67,610.63|
|Designated - AFF|-|416.63|<br>-|-|416.63|416.63|
|Designated - CF|-|2,111.89|<br>-|-|2,111.89|2,111.89|
|Designated - DONE|- (21,465.17)||<br>-|-|(21,465.17)|13,760.45|
|Designated - Fabric|-|3,819.92|<br>-|-|3,819.92|3,819.92|
|Designated - Footpath|-|7,555.38|<br>-|-|7,555.38|16,067.10|
|Designated - GMF|-|1,006.22|<br>-|-|1,006.22|986.02|
|Designated - HH|-|542.95|<br>-|-|542.95|-|
|Designated - TFSTH|-|3,687.80|<br>-|-|3,687.80|3,687.80|
|Designated - USH|-|91,038.40|<br>-|-|91,038.40|86,042.91|
|Designated - USJ|-|-|<br>-|-|-|7,497.87|
|Designated - UST|-|24,741.08|<br>-|-|24,741.08|23,168.95|
|Restricted - DRST|-|-|<br>8,513.58|-|8,513.58|7,805.77|
|Restricted - FLP|-|-|<br>8,718.06|-|8,718.06|-|
|Restricted - PCY|-|-|87,139.34|-|87,139.34|83,977.29|
|Restricted - RRE|-|-|21,210.87|-|21,210.87|20,982.18|
|Restricted - RSH|-|-|<br>2,000.00|-|2,000.00|-|
|Restricted - RSJ|-|-|<br>7,788.12|-|7,788.12|9,421.31|
|Restricted - SJCY|-|-|<br>1,405.26|-|1,405.26|1,746.34|
|**Total**|**70,453.96 113,455.10**||**136,775.23**|**- **|**320,684.29 **|**349,103.06**|





Our financial performance in 2024 proved to be fruitful despite the challenging circumstances in which we are operating and the climate of financial pressures facing individual parishioners, as we continue to consolidate our attendances and donations to pre pandemic levels. 

To solidify our position we undertook a financial appeal to all members of the congregation and those eon the electoral roll in February encouraging those who did not have a monthly regular giving commitment to consider doing so while asking those who did to review if they could increase it. This led to an increase overall for the year of over £2,000 against 2023. 

Our total receipts for 2024 were £306,180 which was a considerable increase on 2023, however this included a significant increase in activities to generate funds specifically for the Done Room renovation. 

Our expenditure for 2024 was £342.074 which was £192,322 more than 2023, again due in main to the Done Room investment, giving a net deficit of £35,893. However, this will be addressed in 2025 once the final costs of the Done Room work is known and the release of funds from the St Helens unrestricted investment (6514 £80, 374) that has already been approved by PCC. 

As a result of the investment in the Done Room refurbishment we ended 2024 with an overall deficit of £28,419. 

We continued to monitor our investments with CCLA and review our bank balance with a view to further investment if necessary. 

We continue to benefit from the foresight of arranging fixed rate energy contracts for all three churches that was negotiated in June 2021 although they didn’t come into place until May 2022. As these are for three years, we will continue to benefit from these until mid 2025. 

We have reviewed our Reserves policy and have decided that we can keep the period we need to reserve for to three months. This is due to the fact that our Standing Orders give regular income and we have decided to invest more of our income which will result in receiving more dividends. Items we reserve for are: Utilities, Parish Share, Rector & Staffing costs, Insurance, Organ and Bell Maintenance, Grass Cutting & Done Room Costs. The amount we reserved in 2023 was £28,952. 

This report dated: 18[th] February 2025 

David JG Smithson Treasurer 



CHARITY COMMISSION
FOR ENGLANO AND WALES
Independent examinerfs report on the
accounts
Section A
Independent Exarniner's Report
Report to the trust8•s
Tme Parochial Church Council of the E¢¢￿sIas￿¢al Parish of Tarp
On accounts for thè year
endod
31 December 2024
Charity no
lif any)
1130496
Set out on pages
1-23
I r8POrt to the Injstees on my 8xarnination of the accounts of th8 atx)va
charity I'the Trusy'l forth8 year ended
As the charity's trustees. you 8r8 re5ponsble for the preparation of the
account5 in accordance with th8 requirernents of the Charities Act 2011
(￿h9 Act").
Responsibillties and
basis of report
I rewrt in ￿Spect of my exarnin8t￿n of the Trusfs accounts carried out
under $8ction 145 01 the 2011 Act 8nd in carrying my examination, I
have followed all the applicable Directions gwen by the Charity Commisskjn
under section 1451Sllbl of the Aet.
Independènt charity's gross incomg excE￿lad £250.000 and l am qualifi8d to
examiner's statement undertake the examinatv)n by being a quaIrf￿d rnember ol ICAEW.
I have completed my examinatKJn. I confimi that no material matters h8V6
Come to my attent￿n in connection with the ex8mination which gwes me
Cause to believe that in, any material respe¢t'.
the accounting records We￿ not kept in accordance with sectbn
130 of the Charities A¢t". or
ihe aceounts not accord with the accountiro record5', or
the aecounts did not compty with the applKable requirernents
conceming the form and content of 8cc(xJnts sel wt in the
ch&r￿￿5 IAccounts and Repots) Regulation5 2008 other than
any requirement that the accournts give a'true and f8tr' view wtrHch
ts not a matter con9der￿1 as part of an indepen(Jenl examination.
I have rK) concems and have corne acros8 no oth8r rnattets in cornnection
with the examination to which attèntion should be drawn in this rgport in
ord8r to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
Signod..
Dale..
Name:
Relevan¢ profe55ional
qualrficationlsl or body
lif any1=
Address:
IL
trST• C
IER
Oct 2018

Section B
Disclosure
Only complete if the examiner needs to highlight material matters of concern
1588 CC32. Independent exatnination of charity accounts. directions and
guKlance for examinersl.
Give here brlef (l•talls of
any It•rns that the
examiner wishes to
dlsclo$8.
IER
Oct 2018

## **Reports from Our Three Churches regarding Fabric** 

The main project this year was the restoration work on the Done Room summarised as follows: 

1. Stripping the roof, treating the timbers, installing insulation, felting and battening and then replacing the slates and stone ridges on both the main building and store room. The guttering was also cleaned and repaired and a valley had the lead replaced. 

2. All the stone and brickwork was repointed and in places repaired. 

3. Repairing the timber framed gable ends which involved taking out and replacing the rotten timbers with oak. Infilling and remortaring the panels and then painting them. 

4. Installing a new fire exit next to the kitchen and replacing the doors with fire doors.  A new fire alarm was also installed. 

5. Replacing the front door, clearing the earth away from the building to enlarge the yard and putting a new drain in front of the building. 

6. Stripping out and installing a new kitchen along with a new cooker, fridge freezer and dishwashing machine. 

A team has worked hard all year on grant applications, fundraising, obtaining tenders and then managing the work which started in July and was finally completed at the end of January 2025.  The contractor whose bid was successful was Grosvenor Construction of Conwy.  The work has cost more than £200,000. 

Henry Williams & Son has resurfaced the paths with tarmac on the south side of the church which look much better now.  The quote was £13,838 + VAT = £16,605. 


Calberrie was chosen to undertake a survey and test all the electrics in the three churches.  Reports were produced and the remedial work has been done. 

At **St John’s** major repairs were undertaken in spring and early summer to the church tower with all the stonework being repointed and a displaced stone in the chimney made secure. The first stage of a threeyear programme of repointing to the walls of the church and making the window cills watertight was also completed. Our neighbour, Mr Nick Parker, kindly repaired the churchyard gate, and repairs were also made to the adjoining wall free of charge by the tower contractor, Jamie Gregory and his team. 

The Quinquennial report at **St Thomas’** highlighted some minor repair work to be undertaken over the next one to two years. Much work has been done in exploring how to replace the current oil heating system with electric radiant heating. The lighting will also be upgraded to LED spotlights at the same time.  Various fund-raising initiatives and donations have covered the majority of the cost of these upgrades which make the church more environmentally friendly. Work is hoped to be started in early 2025. 

As this will mean the current boiler room now becoming redundant and suffering from damp, and there is no kitchen or toilet facility in church, a proposed re-design of that part of church has been undertaken and shared with the congregation, and will be reviewed again once the heating project has been completed. 



Volunteers have worked hard in the churchyard, weeding and levelling graves and re-seeding grass. An improvement to the gravel paths will be undertaken in the next 12 months. 

## **Safeguarding** 

The PCC considers that it has, to the best of its knowledge, taken all reasonable steps to comply with the duty under section 5 of the Safeguarding and Clergy Discipline Measure 2017. St Helens Parish Church takes its duty and obligation to protect all extremely seriously. We have adopted the national Church of England's robust procedures and guidelines. You can find out more about the national policies and procedures at www.churchofengland.org/safeguarding. 

If you have any safeguarding concerns or issues of a safeguarding matter then you can find useful contact information below and at www.chester.anglican.org/socialresponsibility/safeguarding 

In line with the diocesan regulations on safeguarding the PCC has adopted a Policy Statement on the Safeguarding of Children and Adults in the Church. There are notices in the Church providing contact details for Childline and Family Lives and also contact details for the Rector and the Parish Safeguarding Officer should anyone wish to speak privately and in confidence on safeguarding issues. 

## _The Parish Dashboard_ 

On 30/05/2024 the parish of Tarporley was invited to sign up to the Parish Dashboard, an online programme for use by incumbents and the safeguarding teams. This has proven to be an invaluable tool which helps to clarify the steps and stages of safeguarding training to be done (and by whom), risk assessments, health and safety issues and much more to ensure our parish churches are safe for all using them. The programme covers not only the churches in our parish but also the belltower and ringers, the Done Room and the users of that space too. Stages 1 and 2 are completed and Stage 3 (the final part) is well on the way to completion. 

## _The Done Room_ 

During the latter part of 2024 work began on repairs and renovations in the Done Room and safeguarding issues arose around various contractors working in close proximity to children at the preschool. While the majority of the workforce had clear and current DBS certificates some did not and the Parish Safeguarding Officer was called in to ensure those people were checked and cleared to work on site. 

## _The Parish Safeguarding Officer_ 

In November 2023 the current PSO, Liz Neely, gave notice that she would like to hand over the role within the next year, having taken it on several years earlier. Although no-one had stepped forward by November 2024 all safeguarding training, DBS applications and any issues continued to be monitored and all safeguarding guidelines continued to be followed. It is expected that by mid 2025 a new person will be appointed. 

The PCC thanks all the volunteers for their time and commitment given in running these activities and for their understanding in having background checks completed. We take the safeguarding of our children and vulnerable adults in church extremely seriously and DBS checks and procedures ensure all who are vulnerable as well as those who volunteer are protected. No safeguarding issues have arisen in the past year. 



## **Electoral Roll** 

The Electoral Roll of the church is a list of people who consider themselves to be members of one of our three churches including those who are housebound or unable to attend regularly. Everyone is welcome and forms, available in our churches or from the Electoral Roll Officer, are completed by each individual (over 16 and baptised). We are grateful to our Electoral Roll officer who oversees this work. 

After the annual revision in 2024 the Electoral roll stood at 190 

(2023: 199; 2022: 199; 2021: 190; 2020: 199; 2019: 191; 2018: 202; 2017: 198; 2016: 205; 2015: 185) 

## **Malpas Deanery Synod Report** 

Synod gathered at Hargrave Church Hall on 25th April 2024 to hear a presentation on the ALIVE Project given by Pat Blackwood. Pat formed ALIVE (Alleviating Loneliness In A Village Environment) and arranges events in the Bunbury area which are available for anyone who needs company. The Rural Dean, Revd Tim Hayward led synod in prayers and thanked all the Clergy and Laity in the Parishes for all they do for the life of the churches in the Rural Deanery. Phillip Posnett chaired the business meeting with contributions from Dianne Ouseley, Treasurer, Dr. John Mason, General Synod Rep with each Parish sharing ideas and giving updates on their services and events. In September there was a Deanery Youth event with a series of pizza nights every Thursday evening in Tilly’s Cafe in Bunbury. The overall theme was “Thinking about the big questions in Life”. The Annual Deanery Service was held at St John the Baptist Church, Aldford during September. This year it was a Songs of Praise Evensong followed by refreshments. The next Synod is planned for May 2025. Our Parish is well represented by Phillip Posnett, Dianne Ouseley, Elaine Meredith, and Revds Jim and Jenny Bridgman. 

## **Structure Governance and Management** 

The PCC is a corporate body established by the Church of England. The PCC operates under the Parochial Church Powers Measure. The PCC is a Registered Charity. As trustees of the charity the PCC members are responsible for making decisions on all matters of general concern and importance to the parish including deciding on how the funds of the PCC are to be spent. There is a Standing Committee comprised of the Incumbent, 2 Church Wardens, Treasurer and Secretary of the PCC, and two further PCC representatives. This Committee will consult only in extremis when a decision must be made between PCC meetings. The full PCC met five times during the year 

Given its wide responsibilities the PCC has a number of committees, each dealing with a particular aspect of Parish Life, but all these committees report back to the PCC for decision making. 

In 2023, three new sub-groups were formed, with each member of the PCC assigned to one subgroup. The committees are: 

1. Worship, Mission and Pastoral group 

2. Finance group 

3. Buildings group 

Each group would meet between PCC meetings, to look in further depth at their areas, and then provide reports to full PCC for discussion and comment. 



## **Administrative Information** 

Michael Scott completed his term of office, and was thanked for his service. At the APCM on Sunday, 12[th] May 2024, the following were elected to the PCC unopposed, for a period of three years: 

Rosemary Lilley, Amelia McCourty, Andrew Needham, and Duncan Gordon. 

There were still 2 vacancies on PCC. Revd Jenny Bridgman, as a member of General Synod, also joined PCC. Dave Smithson took up the reins as Treasurer. 

The lay membership of the PCC currently comprises the following: 

John Burton Walter Gibson (PCC Standing Committee) Duncan Gordon (PCC Standing Committee) Charles Hardern Sandra Hardy Liz Neely (Churchwarden; PCC Standing Committee) Rosemary Lilley Amelia McCourty Elaine Meredith (Deanery Synod representative; PCC Standing Committee) Andrew Needham Christine Noblett Kate O’Neil Phillip Posnett (Churchwarden; Deanery Synod representative; PCC Standing Committee) David Smithson (Treasurer; PCC Standing Committee) Paul Emerson (ex offico Secretary; PCC Standing Committee) Dianne Ouseley (Deanery Synod Treasurer, not PCC) 

Jenny Christian kindly agreed to become the new Electoral Roll Officer.