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← St Mary's Church Attleborough Pcc

2023-12-31-accounts

A Year in Review Annual Report on 2023

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Welcome to the report booklet prepared for the St Mary's Annual Meetings on Tuesday 16 April 2024. The reports in this booklet are on church activities in 2023. Please do try to come to the meeting which starts at 7.30pm in the Church Hall. There is a service of Holy Communion at 7pm prior to the meeting.

The agenda for the meeting is enclosed and a full report on church activities for you to read before the meeting. There will be a chance to ask questions on the reports but as usual the reports themselves won't be read out. You will find the accounts in a supplement in the centre of the booklet and you can find the minutes of last year's meeting, which we need to approve, at the back.

Rev’d Matthew Jackson, April 2024

CONTENTS:

for the Annual Parochial Church Meeting of St Mary’s Church Attleborough

Tuesday 16 April 2024 7.30pm in the Church Hall and on Zoom preceded by Holy Communion at 7pm

3 Agenda 4 PCC Annual Report 6 Reports on Parish Life Between pages 12 and 13 Financial Report 20 Minutes of the last meetings

Registered Charity No: 1130508

ST MARY’S CHURCH – ANNUAL REPORT FOR 2023

THE ANNUAL PARISH CHURCH MEETING Tuesday 16 April 2024 at 7.30pm in St Mary’s Church Hall and on Zoom

AGENDA

Meeting 1

Administrative information

St Mary’s Church, Attleborough is part of the Norwich Diocese in the Thetford & Rockland Deanery. The correspondence address is St Mary’s Church Office, Church Street, Attleborough, NR17 2AH. The Parochial Church Council (PCC) is registered with the Charity Commission (Number: 1130508).

Structure, governance and management

The function and purpose of the PCC is outlined in the Parochial Church Councils (Powers) Measure 1956.

The method of appointment of PCC members is set out in the Church Representation Rules. All Church attendees are encouraged to register on the Electoral Roll and stand for election to the PCC.

Meeting 2

A short meeting of the new PCC will follow this meeting

Objectives and activities

St Mary’s PCC has the responsibility of co-operating with the Incumbent and Churchwardens in promoting in the ecclesiastical parish the whole mission of the Church, pastoral, evangelistic, social and ecumenical.

It also has maintenance responsibilities for the building.

The main activities of the PCC are the provision of church services, baptisms, weddings, funerals, youth and children’s work and teaching adults through home and prayer groups.

PCC membership and Report

Members of the PCC are either ex officio or elected at the Annual Parish Church Meeting (APCM), in accordance with the Church Representation Rules. During the year the following served as members of the PCC:

Incumbent: Rev’d Matthew Jackson (Chairman) Assistant Priest: Rev’d Andrew Slater Assistant Curate: Rev’d Richard Washington Licensed Lay Minister (PtO) Robert Andrews (RIP 7 September 2023) Licensed Lay Minister Brenda Greig (also Deanery Synod rep) Licensed Lay Minister Jane Minchin (from September 2023) Churchwardens: David Bartington Stephen Taylor Cherry Saunders Deanery Synod reps : Eileen Roberts David Stubbert

Elected members: Paul Andrew Catherine Buckley Carole Burt Mary Dark Marion Dawe (Lay Vice-Chairman) Christopher MacKinnon Emma Neve Jonathan Tidnam Nigel Waring Dorothy Woolliscroft Peter Wright Director of Music: Ben Miller Secretary: Pat Buttolph Treasurer: Yvonne O’Dell

In 2023 there were twenty one people serving on the PCC – eight ex-officio, and thirteen elected for a three-year term of office (including Deanery Synod representatives). Sadly Bob Andrews, Licensed Lay Minister, died in September 2023.

An approved copy of the minutes of the most recent PCC meeting is always displayed on the notice board in the church porch. Parishioners are encouraged to read the minutes and minutes of past meetings, which are available on request at the Church Office between Monday-Friday, 10-12 noon.

Pat Buttolph

Church attendance

On 31 December 2023 there were 134 parishioners on the Church Electoral Roll, of whom 39 were not resident within the parish.

Weekly attendance, taken on a ‘normal’ Sunday was 75 adults, 10 children and 5 online. Easter communicants numbered 114, Christmas communicants numbered 102. There were 13 baptisms during the year, 2 weddings, 20 funerals held in the church and 13 conducted at crematoriums or Colney Wood.

PCC account holders

Barclays Bank PLC and CCLA Investment Management Limited, The CBF Church of England Fund.

Signed on behalf of the PCC by Rev’d Matthew Jackson 16 April 2024

Pat Buttolph, Ben Miller and Yvonne O’Dell attend meetings as Secretary, Director of Music and treasurer respectively.

Emma Neve and Chris MacKinnon retire after having completed a three-year term of office, but are eligible to stand for a further three years if they wish. Catherine Buckley and Dorothy Woolliscroft retire after having completed the maximum term of six years. We thank them all for their commitment to the life of St Mary’s over this time.

There were ten PCC meetings during 2023, all being held in the Church Hall and on Zoom. The average attendance at meetings during the year was sixteen. Reports were given at meetings on finance, deanery matters, youth & children’s work, social & fundraising, church hall, fabric and music, when appropriate. Other business discussed and implemented during the year included general maintenance of the church and plans for the seasons of Lent, Easter, Advent and Christmas. The new monthly craft markets and summer fete were discussed regularly.

Members were informed and consulted regularly on the Church and Hall Project, the progress of AMP (Attleborough Music Project) and the work of the Christian Aid Committee.

Safeguarding was an item on each PCC meeting agenda.

REPORTS ON PARISH LIFE

Children’s Society

2023 was our first ‘normal’ year since covid. It seems a distant memory now when

we were unable to hold our twice-yearly coffee mornings and box opening. Our May coffee morning raised £186 and the box opening at that time £367.

In late October our second coffee morning raised £215 including donations. The boxes added another £27.

So our annual totals were down by over two hundred pounds, however a generous donor added £600 as a gift to the society.

For Christmas 2023 I offered people the opportunity to order Children’s Society Christmas cards, with no postage charge by doing a bulk order. This proved to be popular as the cards are of a high quality and a reasonable price. £154 was taken and I will do this again.

So in total we were able to send £1,639 to the Society for their vital work among children in this country.

Thank you very much to those who give so generously and if anyone else would like a house box to collect spare cash I have a couple, just ask.

Pauline Parnell-Hopkinson

Christian Aid

Our fundraising activities started with the curry evening in January and ended with the wine tasting evening in November. We held one new event for 2023 - the Fairtrade Summer Extravaganza.

In total £4165 was raised for the year, which was £863 less than was raised in 2022. The absence of the annual Knit-in clearly had an impact. An additional £1000 was raised for Christian Aid Week, which was £283 more than the 2022 sum, making the combined totals £580 less for 2023.

The continuing generosity of the congregation and people from outside the Church, together with the consistent support from the clergy and the members of the Christian Aid Committee is gratefully acknowledged.

Peter Wright

Church and Hall Project

Following PCC discussions about the ‘Vanburgh’ viability report, which presented options for reordering the Church and Hall, including rebuilding the church organ, the Cambridge based firm of Architects, Freeland Rees Roberts were formally appointed after interviews of three prospective firms. This also followed an evening of Community Consultation when those who use the church in the wider community were given the opportunity to offer input and ideas.

Three FRR personnel are working on the project, including Henry Freeland, founding partner of the firm. FRR are bringing significant expertise, experience and energy to the project and good progress has been made. Their recommendation to make further appointments to the professional team has been accepted and 3 GCC (Quantity Surveyors), Rossi Long (Structural Engineers) and CCD (Mechanical Engineering and Heating) have been appointed, also after competitive tenders. Alongside these principal consultants, Construction Health and Safety, Environmental and Ecological experts have been appointed.

A number of meetings have been held with the architects and the wider professional team, during which design ideas have been considered, refined and progressed. As a result, a scheme has been created that has been drawn up in some detail, and subsequently costed by the Quantity Surveyor.

In broad summary, under the proposal, the Nave section of the church would be made more flexible for liturgical, concert and event use by removal of the Altar platform in favour of delineation in the floor surface, and lighting, new furniture and a new floor that is level throughout the church. The floor under the tower would be brought up to the level of the Nave and the Mortimer Chapel would be brought back into use as a chapel by relocating the vestries into the church hall. A new, silent, under floor heating system is being considered throughout, supported by double glazing the clerestory windows and an interior lobby to the North Porch to stifle drafts. The rebuilt organ would be in the same North Eastern position but the console would be moveable.

The hall would be significantly enlarged by enlarging the ground floor eastwards and rebuilding the first floor to have the same footprint as the ground floor. The hall will be physically linked along its entire North elevation by a part glazed roof joining the church wall in a similar fashion to the Cathedral Refectory. Via this link, the hall will have a secondary entrance into the Mortimer Chapel though a newly created door.

The hall will contain a large ground hall supported by a commercial sized kitchen for existing Day Centre use as present, but also designed to support wedding receptions and other such parties and events. On the ground floor there would be a clergy vestry and secure sacristy along with Day Centre and Parish Offices. The first floor, linked by stair and lift, would have choir vestry, a further office and mid- sized room for meetings or events.

Sustainability and the Carbon footprint of the church are at the forefront of all design aspects of the scheme, currently assuming air source heat pump fed from PV cells and linked into energy saving batteries.

An exercise is underway to further refine the scheme so as to ensure that the total cost is no greater than necessary, before further consultation leading to an application for Planning and other permissions.

In parallel, strategies are being developed in order to raise the funds necessary to pay for the scheme through grants and other sources of income.

An annual concert programme has been successfully established and the project has attracted the appointment of a number of high profile patrons all to support the required fundraising campaign.

Nigel Waring

Church Hall

Due to uncertainties regarding possible building works, we have really been marking time with the committee meeting in person only twice, with urgent matters being dealt with in person, by telephone or email.

In order to approve the transfer of £6000 to the PCC General Account, all members were circulated by telephone.

Bookings throughout 2023 have been satisfactory and charity bookings in connection with the Saturday morning Coffee and Chat have been regularised. Our thanks are extended to Pat who deals with the bookings and my personal thanks also to the committee.

David Stubbert, Chairman

Churchwardens

We were very sad to lose Marion’s expertise as she stood down after completing 6 years of dedicated service in April 2023. Typically, Marion helped the wardens at big services even after she had stepped down, such as Remembrance Sunday and Maundy Thursday. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Marion personally

for all her help and support. Also, we are very grateful to Pat Buttolph and Paul Andrew for covering wardens’ duties when needed, e.g. when holidays and important family visits weave themselves into the rota. We welcomed Steve Taylor to replace Marion as Churchwarden and are very grateful to him for taking on these responsibilities in conjunction with his sidesperson duties at the 8am service. Likewise grateful thanks to David Bartington for combining his Churchwarden duties with 8am duties, serving as crucifer and helping at Messy Church as well as fulfilling Fabric Officer duties. Cherry continues to co-ordinate the rota and help with shopping for the sharing table, lead Drop-in and Play once a month alongside her Churchwarden, Sunday Club and Messy Church duties.

Services ran smoothly and well in the main during 2023. The period of Matthew’s sabbatical went very well due to his diligent planning in making sure all services had clergy and all duties were covered by our remaining dedicated clergy team. We are very pleased to have welcomed some new members to the congregation and hope they will continue to feel happy and settled among us. The whole mission of the church has fared well in 2023 with a resurgent Messy Church congregation with upwards of 20 children at each session of particular note. Sunday Club has been very fortunate to have a rota of leaders and helpers who have stepped forward to fill the gap left by Lorna Goodrich. It was particularly gratifying to see numbers back to pre-covid levels for Easter Day and the main Christmas Services. The Christmas Eve Crib and Midnight Mass services were especially joyful and packed with people. The Easter Vigil was poorly attended and the clergy are resolved to address this issue when planning for Easter 2024. It was noted that there were many Christingles left over at the end of the Crib service, therefore it has been decided by the clergy and PCC to stop the distribution of the Christingles at the Crib service to prevent food waste in line with our ethos as an aspiring Eco church. Instead, a small number of Christingles will be used as a teaching aid in Messy Church activities during Advent 2024. For all these things we give thanks to God. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the clergy for their fellowship and support ‘in the vestry’.

Cherry Saunders

Coffee & Chat

Throughout 2023 Coffee and Chat continued to meet in the Church Hall on Saturday mornings and we are very thankful for all those who continued to support us.

We are very fortunate to have a dedicated team of lovely ladies, who regularly bake, serve and give a warm welcome to our guests. We are a non-profit group and the money raised is donated to various charities. In 2023 we gave to the following;

Attleborough Guides

Uganda

EACH St Martin’s Housing Marie Curie Zipper Club Caitlin Hutson Mothers’ Union Christian Aid Topaz Thailand Project British Heart Foundation Red Cross Mercy Ships Alzheimer’s Society East Anglia Air Ambulance Compassion Christmas Appeal St Mary’s Building Project Salvation Army

The Bring and Share table is also available on a Saturday morning.

Alison Sayer

Community Lunch

We are a very friendly group who usually meet on the first, third and fifth Fridays of the month. We gather in the church hall from 12.00 onwards, aiming to serve the meal at 12.30 p.m. Diners each bring a small raffle prize and pay 30 pence for a raffle ticket; the proceeds of this raffle go towards Christmas gifts for diners and volunteers.

The Day Centre provides us with our first course, which is always delicious and plentiful. Dorothy supplies a variety of puddings. We have a loyal band of volunteers who set the tables, serve the meals and wash up. The meal costs £6 and is intended for those who live alone and would benefit from a good midday meal enjoyed in company. Applications should be made via the Rector.

Dorothy Woolliscroft

Deanery Synod

There were four meetings of the Thetford & Rockland Deanery Synod in 2023. The first, in January, was held in St Mary’s Church Hall, Attleborough with guest speaker Gemma Fraser from the Norwich Diocese, promoting Eco Church. The meeting in May was held at All Saints’ Church, Old Buckenham when Alison Hannah, Project Leader and Old Buckenham PCC Secretary, gave a very interesting and encouraging explanation of the amazing works which had taken place in All Saints’ Old Buckenham over the last 10 years.

On Ascension Day, 18 May, all in the deanery were invited to attend a sung Holy Eucharist service in St Mary’s, Attleborough if there were no services planned in their own parish/benefice.

At the meeting in September at St Mary’s Church, Kenninghall we were pleased to welcome The Very Revd Andrew Braddock. Dean of Norwich Cathedral, as guest speaker. Andrew had been installed in this position in Norwich Cathedral in January 2023.

In November Caroline Herbert, as elected member to General Synod for nearly 10 years, gave a very interesting and entertaining talk on her experiences of General Synod. The meeting was held at St Cuthbert’s, Thetford. The triennial elections to Deanery Synod were held at APCMs in 2023, with members standing from 1 July 2023 until 30 June 2026. Those elected to stand to represent Attleborough are Brenda Greig, Eileen Roberts and David Stubbert.

Pat Buttolph

Drop-in & Play

Drop-in and Play 2023 has continued to thrive, with 18-25 children attending with their parents, grandparents or carers. We have welcomed some new members this year. Numbers dropped when the schools were closed for any reason on a Thursday during term time because we are unable to offer facilities for school-age children. Many of those who attend have been with us since we re-opened following Covid closures, progressing from the baby corner, through the ‘boddlers’ and into the toddler areas. We aim to provide a safe and friendly environment for the various stages in the children’s pre-school development, as well as enabling the adults to meet up and chat while keeping an eye on the children whilst they play together. Every other week, there is a ‘seasonal’ craft activity on offer, and we are grateful for Barbara’s preparation of this, as well as her ingenuity and patience on the day. We are fortunate in having a large supply of toys, so it is not always the same things which are put out every week. We are also most grateful to Matthew, Andrew and Richard who take it in turns to carry the equipment downstairs early in the morning and then back up again at the end of the session. We have a dedicated group of helpers – Linda, Barabara, Catherine, Cherry, Joan, Jenny and Margaret and were delighted to welcome Rosemary this year. We look to – and thank – Alison for her dedicated leadership of the group.

If you would like to volunteer to help at a session, please have a word with Alison Sayer.

New volunteers are always welcome, whether you want to do one session a month or every week.

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Drop-in & Share

The sharing table provision expanded in 2023 to Thursday AND Saturday mornings in order to reach as many people as possible. Sadly, the extreme rise in inflation, together with rising mortgage costs and fuel costs volatility has meant that there was a marked upswing in demand for items from the table and for food bank vouchers that can be redeemed at Trussell Trust Foodbanks and their affiliates. Anecdotally, the main drivers for people needing to access the table are unemployment with delayed universal credit payments, unstable employment, low waged employment coupled with rising cost of living and disability necessitating family members giving up jobs to fulfil caring responsibilities. Thursday guest numbers increased to the 13-19 range. Guests started to attend very regularly. It soon became clear that people were experiencing food insecurity in the context of a host of other problems such as homelessness, fuel poverty, debt increase and rent/mortgage arrears. I drew up a file of charities and local council support which we could use to signpost guests towards further help. This has proved invaluable in helping folk get to a place of stability. There are no numbers for Saturday guests as the table is unmanned and accessed mainly by folk attending coffee and chat. Fortunately, Attleborough Town Council were able to increase their annual grant in the Autumn to £300 to help augment the congregation donations. We are extremely grateful for this vital support, which has been a lifeline for us. Please consider donating a couple of items regularly, or you can pay a cash donation to Pat Buttolph in the Church Office which will be added to the Drop-in and Share fund. Regular shops are done to top up donations. People often ask us “what items are most needed?”. This is tricky to answer because of variability, but there is a consistent demand for long life milk, tea bags, coffee and laundry detergents. We also try and supply tinned meat and fish, pies, tinned vegetables and fruit, packet mashed potato, tinned pulses, porridge, fortified cereals, rice, pastas, custard powder and ready-made custard, biscuits, fruit juice and basic toiletries including sanitary products. There is a need for all of these items. Donations can be left in the upper room or the Drop-in and Share box at the back of the church near the boiler room. If a surplus builds up, items are transported to the Trussell Trust Food Bank situated at Christ Community Church in Halford Road. A sincere thank you to everyone who has donated items in 2023. Your generosity in “loving neighbour as self” is much appreciated by us and the people we serve. Our brief at Drop-in and Share is to give non-judgmental support to folk who are at their most vulnerable. There is no criteria and no questions are asked unless a foodbank form has to be filled out. If you would like to help with this ministry please approach me. I would like to take this opportunity to give sincere thanks to Richard Washington, Alison Sayer and her team, Enid Andrew, Paul Andrew, Sara Shaw and Linda Goff for all their faithful support and commitment.

Cherry Saunders

Eco Church Project

A small working group within the Parish has developed an ‘Eco-Church’ project for St Mary’s.

In our first year two significant achievements were made.

St Mary’s has been registered as an Eco-Church with A Rocha, a Christian organisation who set standards for environmental practice for churches. We have undertaken an audit of our current practice and from that have achieved a Bronze status. The audit has also enabled us to focus on areas where we can develop practice to move onto Silver and Gold award status.

Running parallel with the audit, a revised management plan for the Churchyard has been developed, in collaboration with the town council and the Attleborough Bloomers group. This has been based on a survey of the churchyard conducted by the Norfolk Wildlife Trust which identified some rare plants within the grass sward and recommended changes in mowing management for part of the churchyard. This will become apparent in 2024. Further steps are planned to increase biodiversity and particularly provide habitat and food source for insects.

James Trounce

Electoral Roll

The past year has seen 2 additional names added to the Electoral Roll and 4 people who sadly died during the year have been removed. The current total, as at 1 April 2024, stands at 135.

Flowers

It has been good to have a year of seasonal arrangements of flowers beside the Pulpit in 2023. My grateful thanks go to all the ladies who week by week ensure that our church is decorated with fresh flowers. It is rare to be arranging when no one comes in to look round, say a prayer, ask a question, or have a word. Thanks to those who donate money to remember a loved one, celebrate a birthday, or a special occasion. We do appreciate this generosity as it helps with the cost of providing flowers. Pat is always happy to receive any gifts in the office and a dedication can be placed on the weekly news sheet if desired.

My personal thanks to the arrangers who give their time and talents freely and especially to Joan. We would welcome any new recruits to our rota.

Pauline Parnell-Hopkinson

Friends of St Mary’s Church

The trustees have met twice in 2023, and the clerk has ensured we have complied with charity regulation. Funds have slowly accumulated through regular giving and donations coming through ‘Easyfundraising’.

To widen the scope of giving pathways the trust is setting up a ‘Just Giving’ page for donations.

As the Church Development project gathers momentum the role of the ‘Friends’ will need to be considered in the wider context.

James Trounce, Chair and Treasurer

Carole Burt

Gift Aid

Fabric

During 2023 no major alterations or repairs were required on St. Mary's. In the future, there will have to be work carried out on the roof. With proposed improvements being debated. An action plan will be agreed, as soon as finances will allow.

Foodbank

As a church, we continue to support the local food bank, run by The Trussell Trust and are now able to issue food vouchers. Donations of dried food, tins, jars and packets are welcome, as well as milk and other drinks in cartons. Although not used for the food parcels, things such as pet food, toiletries, laundry and washing up items, nappies and wipes can be offered to clients if needed and if available. The Attleborough Foodbank is open from 10.00 – 11.00 am on Tuesday mornings at The Lighthouse, 131 Hargham Road, Attleborough, NR17 2JP.

In 2023 the amount of Gift Aid claimed back from HMRC was £11908.00. Of this, £133.00 was from donations to the Music Project and £150.00 from donations to the Organ Fund. The total is lower than the figure for 2022 which was boosted by donations from people sponsoring the Hymn Marathon. Therefore, do please complete a Gift Aid declaration form if you are eligible and have not already done so. These are available from me or the Parish Office.

The use of weekly envelopes and yellow envelopes was much the same as 2022. There were 14 people using the weekly envelopes but only 5 were gift aided. If anyone would like a set of weekly envelopes, there are some available from the Parish Office.

The number of people donating by bank standing order increased slightly from 51 to 55 and 44 of these were gift aided. I was also able to claim Gift Aid on donations made on the card reader and by direct bank credit by eligible donors.

Arthur Peters

Joanna Slater

Green Sale

Last August (2023) as part of our eco church work I started a Green Sale. This consists of any items that people have finished with, or in some cases brand new unwanted items and even lovely items made by our talented makers.

The sale is held once a month on Thursday mornings in the churchyard and to date sales have been very successful. Jig saw puzzles, books, items of clothing (especially for children) have been very successful. All sorts of items have sold, some kitchenware and garden items too. The money raised to date is £304.55.

We will use the money for green issues in the church and although it may not buy solar panels … every little helps!

In addition, we are keen to get the message across that just because we no longer have use for something it doesn’t have to go to waste (landfill).

Thank you to everyone who has supported us so far. Donations in future can be left in the Parish Office. Special thanks to Linda Trounce and Catherine Buckley who have braved the cold (and sometimes wet weather) to stand in the church yard with me.

Marion Dawe

Magazine distribution and collation

The Link is issued ten times per year. The magazine is edited by Emma Neve; three hundred copies are printed in house by Pat Buttolph and a new cover is created for each month. The magazine is sent out each month by email to all who have requested it.

Christine Beales arranges for local firms to advertise in the magazine and heads the collation team which meets usually on the last Thursday or Friday in the month. Nineteen distributors then deliver to the subscribers on their round. The price is 70 pence per copy (£7 per year). All subscriptions are now collected in May/June. After a baptism the family receives the magazine free for a year.

News from the Norwich diocese is now available weekly on their website.

May I thank once again those who collate and distribute. I do urge all members of our congregation to read the magazine. It contains details of coming events, reports on our activities and interesting articles. In recent years we have made a great effort to increase the variety and interest of the magazine’s content; please send your contributions via the Parish Office.

D o rothy Woolliscroft

Monthly Craft Markets

2023 saw the return of the St Mary’s monthly craft markets. In its second year we were looking to build upon the markets, making them a shopping destination for locals and visitors to Attleborough whilst giving local crafters and small businesses the opportunity to show case their homemade produce, gifts and treats.

The markets in 2023 were combined with two other church events which helped increase the customer footfall and also brought a wonderful community feeling to the church and church yard. In May we celebrated the King’s Coronation. As well as the craft market we had a children’s colouring competition, singing from AMP Voices, an organ recital and refreshments served on the grass. In June the market paired up with the valuation day. Stallholder numbers fluctuated throughout the months, but were always healthy, seeing returning stallholders as well as some new faces.

Susan Wilson

Mothers’ Union

Our branch at St Mary’s Church in Attleborough continued very positively in 2023. We have 17 members and a good attendance at most of the meetings. With our church notice board and regular articles in the Link magazine we have tried to increase our profile within the church community and hope to attract more members to our branch.

The monthly programme throughout the year proved interesting and uplifting, with many speakers on a variety of topics, from round tower churches to life experiences both here and abroad.

Our annual tombola and coffee morning in April was very successful and we were able to send a good donation to be used for AFIA. We also participated in the Angel Tree project and with our regular raffles have a healthy bank balance, some of which can be donated to diocesan projects in this coming year.

Collaboration with High Oak and Little Melton branches continued during the year and it is hoped to be able to attend events with them when possible in the coming months.

As always the wonderful support of the committee, members and our clergy have helped the branch successfully continue to offer fellowship to each other and help those in need in the UK and abroad.

Mary Dark

Music

The choir continues to enjoy providing music for the weekly 10am Parish Eucharist and monthly services of Choral Evensong, plus occasional extra evening services. This year the choir also sang for several services at cathedrals, including at Norwich Cathedral on Sunday 26 March (Eucharist and Choral Evensong) and Sunday 2 July (Choral Evensong), and Ely Cathedral on Saturday 30 December (Choral Evensong). Particular musical highlights this year included Eccard’s When to the temple Mary went for the Confirmation service (29 January), Parry’s I was glad for the Coronation Celebration service (7 May), Schubert’s Mass in G (with strings) at Pentecost (28 May), Vierne’s Messe solennelle to mark Christ the King (26 November), and Rachmaninov’s Bogoroditse Devo at the Advent Procession

(3 December). The upper voices and men’s voices sang their first services of Choral Evensong alone (upper voices on 29 October, and men’s voices on 19 November), and the full choir enjoyed singing in Besthorpe for Choral Evensong at Harvest (1 October) and the Village Carol Service (17 December). We also welcomed the Josquin Singers on Low Sunday (16 April), who sang Josquin’s Missa Pange Lingua . Numbers in the choir have remained steady in the last year and we have welcomed two new adult members (but no new choristers). The choir is always on the lookout for new members (both adults and children), so do get in touch if you’re interested in singing with the choir.

In 2023 we held a successful summer concert series, including performances by Nigel Waring (organ; 8 May), early music trio ‘Hexachordia’ (14 May), the Cavick string quartet (3 June), Matthew Bond (piano; 11 June), Cawston Band (24 June), Barbershop ‘United in Harmony’ (15 July), Rhiannon Roberts (soprano; 23 July), Jill Crossland (piano; 13 August), David Dunnett (organ; 2 September) and Norwich Baroque (16 September). We also welcomed the Norwich Salvation Army Band for a Christmas concert (with standing room only!) on 19 December and hosted the annual performance of Handel’s Messiah on 29 December. All of our 2023 concerts were well-attended, and, with generous local sponsorship, helped to raise over £2,500 to support the Attleborough Music Project (AMP).

Our music outreach worker, Judith Williams, continues to run the popular AMP Voices choir (with ~20 children attending regularly at sessions on Tuesday afternoons during term time), plus additional free one-day music workshops during the school holidays. On 9 October, in partnership with the Norfolk Music Hub, we welcomed members of the Britten Sinfonia and over 150 local school children to St Mary’s for an Izzy Gizmo-themed children’s concert. On 23 September we also held our Community Music Day, where 12 different local groups (from hand-bell groups to African drummers, and choirs, instrumentalists, singers and bands, from ages 8 to 80!) performed at St Mary’s throughout the day. Particular thanks to Alison Humphreys, Emma Neve and Richard Washington for their help and support with organising the Community Music Day. Following its success, we hope to make the Community Music Day an annual fixture in the church diary!

Overall, I’m pleased to report that music-making at St Mary’s has continued to grow over the last 12 months, particularly through our outreach work and concert series, which together have allowed us to welcome many new faces to the church to enjoy listening to, making, and performing music. None of this would be possible without the support of many people, so my thanks go to all members of the choir, our organists (especially Nigel Waring, Assistant Director of Music, but also David Barnard, Simon Cole, Bob Gee and Ron Watson as assistant organists covering occasional services), Judith Williams, and the parents of the choristers, for all their commitment and support over the past year. Thanks also go to all of those who have supported our concerts, events and who have donated to the choir fund and helped with fundraising for AMP.

A special mention must also go to David Hilton, who sadly passed away on 12 November, but who was a great supporter of music at St Mary’s over many years, especially in his roles as conductor and organist.

This year the organ has experienced a few minor faults, with most of these successfully repaired by EJ Johnson & Son Ltd, who continue to maintain and tune the organ. One stop is now no longer working because of mechanical issues due to the ageing instrument. There is no major update on the organ rebuild work; the necessary faculty permission remains in place and fundraising continues. Choir funds this year have been used to purchase new copies of music (anthems and communion service settings).

Ben Miller

Open the Book

Open the Book Bible presentations in schools took place throughout 2023. Presentations took place twice a month on Wednesdays during term time, at Attleborough Primary in the morning and Rosecroft Primary in the afternoon. Two teams, led by volunteers and whenever possible supported by the clergy, offered performed Bible stories for Attleborough Primary. Children from the school often and very willingly and excellently took part. For Rosecroft Primary the formular was a bit different: Matthew and Richard, as a duo or singly, read the Open the Book Bible stories and used the supporting materials.

We continue to be blessed by the excellent relationships we have built up with the local primary schools so that we can present Bible stories in this way. We thank God for this opportunity and pray that the Good News of Jesus Christ is able to reach our children through our work.

Huge thanks to the amazing work and commitment of our teams who have offered themselves and their talents so wholeheartedly throughout the year.

Richard Washington

Safeguarding

The Church of England states clearly that “The care and protection of children, young people and adults involved in church activities are the responsibility of everyone who participates in the life of our church.”

Safeguarding does not have to be a complicated thing. If you have a concern about anybody involved in a church activity, young or old, please pass it on. All concerns will be taken seriously and will be discussed. If necessary, they will be passed on to the diocesan safeguarding officers for their consideration.

Safeguarding is everybody’s responsibility. Please never be afraid of raising a concern.

Many thanks. Andrew Slater

Servers

As with last year I am pleased to report that the Serving Team is up to full strength and with two young people in training, one of whom will be starting in early 2024. We are well supplied with Servers now, but as usual anyone with a burning desire to fulfil a role in Serving, should please speak to the clergy in the first instance. No experience is required as full training will be given.

I would like to offer my personal thanks to all the team for continuing with their work in this field and their willingness to fill any sudden empty spaces.

David Stubbert

Sidespeople

There were a few changes in the sidespersons rota in 2023. Steve Taylor was elected Churchwarden but continued in the sidesperson role for the Sunday 8am service alongside Catherine Buckley, Catherine Taylor, Jill Atkins, Christine Beales, Dorothy Woolliscroft and Sandra Blyth. At the Sunday 10am service Nina Knowles, Enid Andrew, Bobbie Aughton, Pauline Parnell-Hopkinson, Rebecca Sangster, Joan Smith, Susan Wilson and Dorothy Woolliscroft were sidespersons. Bob Gandell stepped down from the rota for 8am. Thank you for your service Bob. As well as giving out service and notice sheets sidespersons play a valuable role in welcoming people to our services. I very much appreciate the support given to the churchwardens with this ministry of welcome, which frees up wardens to move furniture as necessary and have those in-depth conversations with parishioners and clergy which often occur before Sunday services. Also, they support in encouraging new people to come to coffee after the service whilst the warden is busy locking the collection in the safe, cleaning and putting away communion vessels and other equipment, tidying and recycling dated service sheets, tidying the church and turning off lights etc. If this is a role you would like to undertake in the future; please have a word with Matthew or Pat. Sidespersons are elected at the APCMs but it is possible to help out as a steward informally until the next APCM occurs. Most people have a regular Sunday in the month when they make themselves available to do these duties and of course it is understood that holidays and family visits will weave themselves into the rota.

Cherry Saunders

Summer Fete 1st July 2023

It all started in February 2023 with the first fete planning meeting. All meetings were well attended and took place online throughout the preparation stages. It was an early start, but the sun was shining on the 1st July 2023. The whole church family were involved in making the fete a real success. We welcomed 5 local groups who performed in the entertainments area. There were 18 craft stalls which were pitched both inside and outside the church. There was an array of our own manned stalls such as plants and garden produce, preserves, children’s clothes,

toys and games, jigsaws, books, bric a brac, jars tombola, cakes, bottle tombola, water into wine, jewellery, tombola, raffle and an assortment of fete games.

We received support from local businesses who donated items such as eggs, BBQ items and raffle prizes which we were very grateful for.

There was a wonderful atmosphere with lots of enjoyment had. It was well attended and supported by the whole town community.

Thanks goes to everyone who helped towards this year’s fete, for all those who donated items to sell, organised, prepared and manned a stall, advertised the event, helped with setting up and clearing away as well as organising the finances and behind the scenes administration.

It is such a team effort by the whole church family. The total raised was £3,256.

Susan Wilson

Sunday Club

There have been a few changes to Sunday Club in 2023. We said goodbye to Lorna Goodrich as leader at the end of the summer term. We were sorry to see Lorna go but understood that she wanted her family to be able to worship together again at Wymondham Abbey. It was decided that we would try a team approach after the summer break to spread the load of leadership. A rota for leading and helping is distributed each term and all the helpers keep in touch by WhatsApp. Sunday Club continues to meet fortnightly during school term times and the first session of each half term is now an All-Age Eucharist where the children stay in for the whole service and are more involved.

We’d love to welcome new children - please tell your family, friends and neighbours about Sunday Club. Dates are available on the website for the whole year or from the office.

Matthew Jackson

Minutes of the Annual Church Meetings held on Tuesday 18 April 2023 at 7.30pm in St Mary’s Church Hall and on Zoom

Meeting 1

1 Apologies for absence

Jennifer Elliott de Riverol, Brenda Greig, Laura McIlroy, Arthur Peters, Mike Rayner, Cherry Saunders, Joan Smith, Margaret Smith, Martin Smith, David Stubbert, Penny Stubbert, Rev’d Richard Washington, Susan Wilson, Dorothy Woolliscroft, Tom Wright.

Thirteen people attended this meeting in person, with four on zoom.

2 Minutes of the Parishioners meeting held on 26 April 2022

It was proposed by Paul Andrew, seconded by Eileen Roberts and agreed by all who had been present at this meeting that the minutes were an accurate record of proceedings and these were signed by the Chairman accordingly.

3 Election of churchwardens

The Rector thanked the Churchwardens of the past year, David Bartington, Marion Dawe and Cherry Saunders for their hard work and support. Special thanks was given to Marion who had completed six consecutive years as Churchwarden, and therefore was standing down from this role. Marion had been a tremendous support over this time, especially with her work with the children of the church, and it was very much hoped that she would continue to share her advice and expertise.

Matthew presented Marion with a bouquet of flowers from the parish in thanks for her steadfast dedication over the past six years.

Nominations for three churchwardens for the year April 2023/2024 had been put forward before the meeting.

Churchwardens are elected annually and usually cannot stand for more than 6 years in succession.

David Bartington
Cherry Saunders
Stephen Taylor		 Proposer
Jill Atkins
Paul Andrew
Dorothy Woolliscroft		 Seconder
Christine Beales
Eileen Roberts
David Bartington

Stubbert, Penny Stubbert, Rev’d Richard Washington, Susan Wilson, Dorothy Woolliscroft, Tom Wright.

2 Minutes of the APCM meeting held on 26 April 2022

It was proposed by Jonathan Tidnam, seconded by Paul Andrew and agreed by all who had been present at this meeting that the minutes were an accurate record of proceedings and these were signed by the Chairman accordingly.

3 Elections

(a) PCC members (five places for three years)

At the APCM in 2011 it had been agreed that although PCC members stand for a period of 3 years, members could be put forward to be elected for a further 3-year period, but could not stand for more than 6 years in succession.

The following were proposed and seconded to stand on the Attleborough PCC for a three-year term:

Carole Burt
Mary Dark
Marion Dawe
Nigel Waring
Peter Wright		 Proposer
Emma Neve
Alison Humphreys
Alison Humphreys
David Stubbert
Dorothy Woolliscroft		 Seconder
Ben Miller
Fran Palmer
Fran Palmer
Jonathan Tidnam
Cherry Saunders

With there being no further nominations, the above elections were agreed unanimously by all present.

(b) Deanery Synod members

With there being no further nomination forms received by the Chairman prior to the meeting the above elections were agreed unanimously.

4 Close of meeting

The meeting closed at 7.40pm.

Meeting 2

The following were proposed and seconded to stand as lay representatives of the Attleborough PCC on the Thetford & Rockland Synod for a three year term from 1 July 2023:

Brenda Greig
Eileen Roberts
David Stubbert		 Proposer
Paul Andrew
Joan Smith
David Bartington		 Seconder
David Stubbert
Darrell Smith
Marion Dawe

1 Apologies for absence

Jennifer Elliott de Riverol, Brenda Greig, Laura McIlroy, Arthur Peters, Mike Rayner, Cherry Saunders, Joan Smith, Margaret Smith, Martin Smith, David

With there being no further nominations, the above elections were agreed unanimously by all present.

4 Reports

(a) PCC, Deanery Synod, Churchwardens

Reports of the PCC, Deanery Synod and Churchwardens (including Fabric) were presented.

The Terrier and Log Book had been updated during the year and were available for inspection in the church office. It was noted that the grand piano and font bowl in memory of Pauline Groom had been added to the Terrier and this would be signed by all churchwardens after the meeting.

(b) Treasurer Presentation of Audited Church Accounts for year ending 31.12.2022

The Chairman presented the accounts for the year ending 31 December 2022.

These had been approved by the PCC and signed by the Chairman and Treasurer at a PCC meeting on 16 March 2023 for presentation to the APCM.

With there being no questions raised, it was proposed by Jonathan Tidnam, seconded by Marion Dawe, and agreed by all present that the accounts for 2022 be commended.

The Chairman wished to record his thanks on behalf of the PCC to Yvonne O’Dell as treasurer for her conscientious dedication and sound handling of the St Mary’s finances. It was agreed that flowers be delivered to Yvonne to express our thanks.

(c) Chairman’s Report

Matthew gave his report as Rector of the parish and Chairman of Attleborough PCC.

A copy of this would be printed in the May 2023 edition of The Link parish magazine and filed on record with the 2022 Annual Report. Printed copies were also available on the table at the back of the church.

(a) Servers’ Report

Mike Rayner wished it to be noted that the Servers’ Report was factually inaccurate. Mike had not decided to retire from serving, but had resigned following complaints when he had been thurifer.

It was noted that these complaints had not been made by Matthew. The allegation of his retirement was premature since he had been invited to join the team of servers at Norwich Cathedral, as soon as he had undergone the relevant safeguarding procedures.

(b) Renovation of porch facia

It was noted that when R & J Hogg Builders renovated the facia of the porch it had not weathered well and did not appear to be in keeping with the ancient building.

Paul Andrew would contact Hoggs to investigate if an improvement to this work could be made.

Thanks was expressed to George Ridgway who had been the Independent Examiner for the past year.

It was proposed by Paul Andrew, seconded by Marion Dawe and agreed by all present that George Ridgway be appointed Independent Examiner for the coming year.

With there being no further nominations the above was duly appointed. It was agreed that Mr Ridgway be presented with a gift of wine for carrying out this task.

7 Presentation and adoption of Electoral Roll

There were 137 members on the Church Electoral Roll as at 3 April 2023. It was proposed by Mary Dark, seconded by Ben Miller and agreed by all present that the 2023/2024 Roll be adopted.

The Rector wished to record his thanks to Carole on behalf of the parish for her work as Electoral Roll Officer throughout the year.

8 Appointment of sidespeople

The Rector thanked all sidespeople who had carried out their duties diligently over the past year in which services had slowly returned to normal.

Marion Dawe proposed en-bloc elections to serve as sidespeople during the year April 2023/2024, with Pat Buttolph acting as Senior Sidesperson: Enid & Paul Andrew, Jill Atkins, Bobbie Aughton, Christine Beales, Sandra Blyth, Pat Buttolph, Bob Gandell, Nina Knowles, Pauline Parnell Hopkinson, Rebecca Sangster, Joan Smith, Catherine Taylor, Susan Wilson, Dorothy Woolliscroft. These were seconded by Paul Andrew.

With there being no further nominations the above fifteen persons listed were duly elected.

Thank you to Matthew

Marion Dawe thanked Matthew, on behalf of the parish, for his dedicated ministry and leadership over the past year. She also thanked Matthew’s wife Emma and his family for their support behind the scenes.

10 Close of meeting

The meeting closed at 8.25pm with The Grace being said together.

FIDaneial Report and Aeeo¥nts for the yeArended 31 Detember 20L1 FiD8nci41 Review General fvnd Overall income from giving {collection8 el¢ctronK and planned giving> Standing oThlers, donAtions and Gift Aid laims) is £3.400 lower thart in 2022. Since fewer w¢ddin8s fi￿¢Tal5 took Pl￿ during th¢ y¢ar. ther¢ is a reduction in this income of £1,875 and £1.454 r￿{V¢ty compared to 2022. Fundraising inwme from the annual fete. monthty craft m8rkds et¢ and also inwme from thagazi￿ sai¢s gDd advertising were similar to that rweivra in 2022. High iDflation and rising wices ¢ontinued and incr£es￿ in day to day njnning costs for gas and el￿triCty ￿)d for goods and .wrvtces were incurr￿. with expendttiwe in 2023 being ov¢r £1.51X) higher than in 2022. A transfer of £6,ilKI from the Designthl Ilall Fund to the G¢D¢rnl Fund towaftts th¢ Parish sha￿ ten shown. Due to the reduced inoome and increasal eX￿nS￿ ovff the year. the General fiuMI show$ an overall net loss of 43.371). which had to be tsken from rcs¢rves whilst this has been possibl¢ this y￿, it Cannot be sustsin¢d and ¢v¢ry effort must be made to iDcr¢&g¢ income to cover exp¢ndilur¢ in the lthure. DvlgD•ted Lwelej Fund IUnru¢rf¢¢ed) R¢ccived was a legacy of £2.(M)O during the year. This fiujd w&s used to uplate olTice computer equipment and to pur¢hase a meeting Owl. DesIg￿ted Hll FNnd There irtereased u8¢ of the hall in 2023. T¢sultin8 iti this year'5 inc4)me bein8 over £6.000 higher than 2022 and with only a small i[￿ease in expeThliturfy this allowed fwthe trnnsfer of £6,IKK) to be made to the Genernl Fund. Fabr1¢ & HeatlllK Fu•d (Restricted) No legaci¢$ w¢re received during the year. There wcre no ex￿)SeS in 2023. O¢bcr Rdtrl¢t¢d Funds The restricted fund for the Attleborough Music Project (AMP) receivd over £IO.000 in fundraising from pro8ramme of concerts and recltals perfornied durinB th¢ y¢Ar I￿1 108etlKr with donations mad¢ a similar income to Ihat of 2022. Associatsj expen￿ also include initial a)nsultst1￿ Costs Telating to th¢ Frop)8ed hall expansion and music centre. A further grant was receiv￿ from th¢ National Fund Y(Mrth Musio for the spocialist Musi¢ OUtr￿h Worker who le￿8 music outreach activities with ¢hildren. the elderly and disabled people in the I￿1 wmmunity. AMP Voices W85 also fomlcd. a new inclusive singing group open lo all primary children. All oth¢r rcstricted fund5 Continued satisfActc(ity throughout the year. Flxed Awts The value of th¢ two t￿￿ fimd investment L%sets at the year end w&5 £12.432 (2022: £11,363). Re8erYes Policy It is PCC wlicy to maintsitt at least an avsilable balan¢e on th¢ Geneial Fund which equates to approximately four months, unrestri¢t¢d payments excluding the Parish Slwe to Cover potential cTrditors. The unrestrlcted legacies. fund is available to me¢t on¢ off costs and any ernc¥g¢ncy sitt￿tionS that may arise. The b8lkn¢e of net current assets of th¢ G￿eTaI Fund 8t the etmi of the yw 2023 approximately meets tIMt N)licy. Th¢ d¢signated Hall Fund retsins a balaDce to m¢et futur¢ Malthen￿￿e costs for th¢ hall. The ba]aDces for th¢ various other restricted funds ar¢ the result of rnonies raised or donatsj for their ￿Sp￿tive purposes. It is the policy of the PCC to inv&8t the available fund balances with th¢ Church of England De￿)Sit fimd. The ￿￿Unts We￿ approv&1 on behalf ofthe Panthl Church Council on i L. 3 . zo 4 by: . Tjusurer

Stmarfi Church, Allknboyough Unrn•tslekd Fund• Stslwn•nt of Fh¥an¢lll￿II¥￿ rJ 6.23Z 2.159 £4934 rA128 1.373 1417 CL4knlbx6 GM A Swlry ￿ Gkl Ald SI￿1r￿j Ord•r QTrlAld T&x 2.686 29.017 27.567 ,738 rwty. mthc.èJmhi. 11.77 3,558 1.012 2.578 71L5 10 7.501 1.010 4Jg1 4.115? 7.21Q GIttAhJ 144 i.iJ5 t.145 1147 1047 134 197 Patrth￿ FoBih Iwira c•¥• • 72 13 7SO Bc4 qr¥rt E¢oChJrt Tw•rth FLTrJ iP•d•h Sw•) gQ446 #leo ,&17 10.102 Cuh CIFV•O$1 CÉCEKWÈR J21 ••••t 1 ¥NiMRY Totd 31 DECEIIBER 1&4)1 18.431 D•*Mt•d L•ga¢l••Fuffd RESOURCES Icty 27.758 6M1 3.010 TOTAL INCOMWG RESOUA 3,163 A197 10.14• TIPKCIIING RESOi¥ICES BALANCES BIFWD I NNWIRY BALAPKES C4FVrt) a1 DECEMBER

ynalBd ￿11 14,882 13.747 IW7 6.031 fj.918 1.124 TOThL tr4COME PESOiRCES 3&551 •, 35,sao 26,819 NeTKCIIN3 RESOURCES 21 BAiATrXES C4F¥YD31 DEcEm￿R 31.179 31.150 Fibrfc a Fu INCCAIW3 RESOURCES 1.514 L 164 (kart knrfwlt4W G￿￿rVAT0n4lr￿1ty s 1.078 1783 NET￿￿￿•￿3 PEStyKES BALAPKES BIFWD I WU4RY aAL4P4CES fJFWD J1 DECEP48ÉA 2.1$3 1•1 44,OTZ q345 INCIAIING RES0￿E5 Fw 1,7 127 14 fy•nl ty Frtdty Fl￿ QL• DK•h&P Dr¢v￿ & srrt T•W• 418 S15 10 142 OTo•n F￿￿ Attwh Prrt 631 10,31• 13210 IS.IX 10.202 Tih¢eiiiNG RESOIJICES ALANCES 8IFWD 1 JAtr4A4RY BAIANCES CIFWD J1 PECE118ER 11aM Z4.470 a2.021 2iQ2 92.gZI ILITAL I1CCM￿7 RESOIthCES MOVEMENTN FLWtsS 181265 109. 17T,￿l 142.097 NEr•4e(NA1r￿ PESOlMiCE8 And klOVEME14T•4 F VJ.fft) 4&923 BALANCES alF￿ I AINU4RY BAiAfKEs ¢¥F¥￿ $1 DECÉkTER 21ts.￿ 11476 14%1425 210.39•

Allleborough Parochlal Church Council Balan￿ Sh••t •t 31 D•¢emb8r 2023 (Figurns roundéd tr+ n••roa £1 Lknrn¥Ji¢t•d Rorf¢tsd General Oesyt&l Hall Fabric FuThJ Lyy Furyj &FWingResthctè FuThl Fund Total FIED ASSETS In￿l￿antS CBF 6.738 6,738 cuRRE￿A$SErs Barclay8 Bank Eposit CBF 18,899 50.157 35.386 31.751 9,518 34.505 21,012 101.626 2.042 103,684 Debtors 108s Suspen TOTAL CuRRE￿ASSETs 1,683 5,773 22.W 85,543 33.817 44.022 24.736 211,082 Le88 CurMI ￿￿1111•$ 14,642 4.114 21.393 TOTAL NET CuRRE￿AsSETs 8.321 85.543 31.179 44,022 20,622 189.689 TOTAL NET ASSETS 15.L59 85.S43 31,179 44.022 20.822 1,427 FLYED ASSETS Im￿tmonts CBF 8.738 CURRENT ASSETS B8rtlay¥ Bank til CBF 25,115 51,711 3,021 9.354 33,833 30.358 32,991 30,759 119,959 1,952 99,134 Dobtor8 211 5.9r2 TOTAL CURRETrTh ASSETS 30,875 85.544 33.380 42,345 32,￿21 225, L¢98 Curyenl Lliliti88 19,183 21,404 TOTAL NET CURRENT ASSETS 11,693 85,544 31,158 42.345 32,921 203,861 TOTAL NET ASSETS 18.431 85.544 31.158 42,345 32,921 210.399 13,023 10,932 ,82Z 31921

Nol&q to the fluxA¢knl 8tstsmtAts for the ye4r ended 31 De¢uaber2023 l. AccouNfING POIJCIES The fimancial statements have b¢¢n pttpaffd Urtd￿ the histori￿ CCkSt C4)nveDtion except for revaluation of two trust fund investsnent Lssets. The inveslments of two tnLsÈ fim(ts (Attleborough Bell Pightle and Attl¢borough Church tan(ts) were revalued at 31 December 2006 and subwuent movement in th¢ mrtet value is not material. The finan¢ial 5tat(Juents inclu& all tronsa¢tions. &ss¢ts and liabilities for wbi¢h the PCC is responsi￿1¢ in law. They do not include the accounts of church groups that owe their affilialion to anoth¢r body. Funds Restrided fimds repTrsent inwnc. donations or re£eivol a specific object or invited by the PCC for a specifi¢ object. The fimds may only be exFnded on the S￿]ric for which they were giv¢n. Any balAn¢e remaining unspent at the end of earh year must be carried forward as a balance on that The PCC does not invest separat¢ly for fimd. InteTe# is ￿P￿tIOned to individual funds on an av¢rag¢ balance basis. Figures are rounded to ne4rest £. Unrestricted funds are gen¢Tal funds which can bc used for PCC puryxhses. The Hall Fund has been d¢signAled by the PCC to provide for futttre maintenance of th¢ Hall from the incorne gener8t¢d by the lettings. It is an unrestricttyj fimd and the PCC can decide ￿ spend it for any other pryyc. In particular. it has delegat¢d w the HAII Committ¢¢ r¢sponsibility to SFa some of thc fimds generated by lettings on donations to charities. In the year 2008 thc PCC to a new des1￿￿¢•j fund for unr¢stri¢ted1¢8acies ttl show a clear view of how these are spent. 2. Ineomlng rejources Planned 8ivin& collcctiolls and do￿tionS are re<ogDiSed when received. Tax refunds ar¢ r¢wgnis¢d when th¢ incoming resource to whicb they rel￿e is received. Grants and le8acies are aceountrAI for when the PCC is l¢¥ally entitled to th¢ amounts due. Investment incom¢ and interest on dcposits are re¢o8nised when r¢¢cived. All incoming rty)u￿ accounfrd for8Tf 3. Regonreea expended GTants and donati￿$ are a￿Ounted for Wh￿ paid over, or wh¢n awarded if that 8w8rd Creates a bindin8 or consttwctivc obligation. Thc diocesan parish share is accounted for the amouni decided by the PCC that it can TV8sonably afford from ily unrcstric¢ed f￿ndS and has been ￿lty paid for many y¢4rJ. All other expenditure 18 genernlly rew8nised when it is incuThed and is aexounted for gross. 4. Fts¢d 4Mets Consecrated and benefiet is not includa in the acc(Mmts in accordance with s.9q2Xa) of the Ch4riti¢s Act 1993. Movable chur¢h furnishings held by th¢ rector and chuTchwoTd¢ns on s￿la1 trust for the PCC and r¢quire a faculty for disrM)sal are inalienable Fyoputy. lisled in the Church's inventory. which can b¢ inspoct¢d (at any re&qonable time). For anything a¢quIr￿J ￿101 to 20(KJ there is insuffici¢nt cost inforniation available and therefore such ass¢ts are not valued in th¢ financial sthtements. Subs¢qu¢ndy all expenditure has b¢cn written off when ineurreiL The Di0￿s8￿ Board of Finance hol&s th¢ ass¢ts of the two trust fiuth with investment in th¢ Shares of the CBF Church of England Fund. The in¢ome from these trnsts is forthe c￿leS18Stical purposes of the parish and is I￿luded in the In¢oming res(wC￿ of the General fund. 5. S¢Aff Costs a) Durin8 the year the PCC employed a s•, chU￿h and hall cleanm, All part time. Totsl salaries paid during the year were £21.018 (2022: £19,940). b) Payments to PCC members. As orgarÈist Mr. J B Mill#, who eTropt￿ member of the PCC. was paid £4,8218nd this paymcnt is included in Director of Music expenses. 6. Debto ror 2023 Gen¢ral fund'Debtor5' i5 unci¢ar¢d re¢¢ipts at the of De¢emtr of £509 from fun¢ral& t&x refvnd duc from Gift Aid of £3.109 (2022: Gift Aid £3J28k £447 from co11￿lOnS and donations from services. 'Hall ttbtors, i8 £25 hall hire. ,(m￿r Debtors. relates to the Music, Organ and Choir fi￿dS artd includes £52 Gift Aid Tefimd (2022.. £211), £1,566 ti¢k¢t sal¢$ from 'The Messiah, £65 donations. Creditors (Currellt IAabilitkJ) The year 2023 General fund 'Current Liabilitied are the outstsnding instaltnents for Parish Share £8.934, fees payable to the DiiKese of £2.(M)I, insurance £885 (2022.. £834). electricity and gas bills of £824 (2022: £5351 benefiee Christmas Card £510. mis¢¢lI￿ROuS other £1.488 {2022: £1204). Th¢ Hall Fund 'CurTEllt Liabilities, arc insurdnce £885 (2022: £8341 Cl￿tricIty and gas bills of £1.647 (2022.. £1,071) and misc¢Ilan￿uS other £106 (2022.. £318). The Other R¢strithd FuJMls'Curr¢nt Liabilitie5' aTe Q917 for outstsnding consultin8 fees. £1.120 for musicians and other fees relatin8 to 'lhe Me&8iab' and Salvation Army concerts 8tth¢ ¢nd of December, aad for MIS￿11&ne0US othtt £77.

THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND Diocese of Norwich Independent Examiners Certificate Report to tho trust••sl members OP. Atlleborough PaTochval Church Council On #¢¢ount8 lor tho year •rthd: 31st t)ecember 2023 Charlty no Ilf ny): 1130508 I raport to the trust898 on my examination of tho aecamts crf the abo¥e charity fftt￿ Tru$l-) for Ih year erKkd 31112 12023 R••pon$lbllIt￿s and baBl8 of r•port As Ihp charity's InJ8tees. you ar• re$wns￿le for the preparatvjn of the acccwnts kn aco)rd8nco wlth the rvquirements of the Charities Act 2011 fthe Act.). I rèport in ffj8pect of my examinol¢on of th6 Trust's accounts carried CMJt under sectlon 145 of the 2011 and in e8rrying out my trxaminatie￿. I have fotlowed 811 Ihe ap[4￿ble Dir8dTons glvtsr) by the Chanty Commraslon under gedlon 14515llbl of Ihe A¢ lnd•￿nd•nt •xafflln•rf• ¥tst•m•nt 11. Delete ll rfnot applic8ble. I h8vè completed my èxamination. l that material mattets have come to my attention in connectlon with the examtnètson I that in, any materk?I respect.. ') which gives me cau¥e lo believe • the accoijnling racords were not kaN In accoTdan¢e with s8cli￿ 130 of tho Charllies Act: or the a¢Gourts did not acctyd ￿th the a(£wnting recorfs., or • tho accounts did nol ccffnply wrth the ap￿￿obl? requirements conceming Ihe form end wntent of accounts set out In the Chartties (Accounts and ReFQrtsl Ra9ultibon3 2008 ouwthan any requirem•nl that the accJJuns give a kn and fairf view wh￿h is not a matter considered as part of an indeponrjerrt examination. I have no r￿n¢emS have com8 OUOS8 E)0 olhor m8tlers in connectkn with the èx8mln3tr*n to which attention should be ¢fawn in this report in 0￿eT to enable a proper 4FndefStanding of th8 accounts lo be reached. "P1•8$8 dolete th& thg br8drets rfthey do notappty. Swed.. Date: IER Oct 2018

Relev￿t prof8$8ional quallfi¢atkJn{8) or body (W any) Fellow of In8Olule of Charter￿1 A¢¢A)untants in England & Wale8 Alma Housè, Station Roed. AttI8b￿0U￿. NorfcAk NR17 2AS 8ectk•n B Disclo•ur• Only complète if the examlner needs to hi8hlight materlal matters of concem (see CC32. Independent eyamlnatlon of charrty xcounts: dirertions and gubdance lorexaminers}. 6￿? h•r• brf detslb of •ny It•ms •xarnlner dlsclos• IER Ort 2018