2024-12-31-accounts - The Parochial Church Council Of The Ecclesiastical Parish Of St Michael And All Angels, Bramcote

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St Michael & All Angels, Bramcote

Annual Parochial Church Meeting Monday 28th April 2025

“If anyone is in Christ, they are a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!”

CHURCH MOTTO 2025 ~ 2 Corinthians 5:17

Statutory Information

Parish Name: Bramcote, St Michael and All Angels Deanery: Nottingham South ra Archdeaconry: Nottingham Diocese: Southwell and Nottingham Address: Church Street, Bramcote NG9 3HD a ff ay ‘| Telephone: (0115) 9430137 a Email: bramcoteparishchurch@gmail.com “he me |) Website: www.saintmichaelsbramcote.com

~~a~~ Parochial Church Council (PCC): ~~ee~~ ‘ a, The PCC is a registered charity (#1130798) ae

Bankers:

Barclays Bank

Insurers:

Ecclesiastical Insurance Group PLC i=" it a | ,

i F = : f A +e[he] | Independent Examiner: ~~ee~~ = + i, Li) it a: Teri a oe TCP Chartered Accountants

Church Architect: . ~~a iT~~ See, f ae Ga ] =) 5 Graham Renton MA (Hons) DipArch RIBA AABC MIDA & = 1 etd oe = =, ea bee Ee at Architect Associate BDP ] 1 5 f 1 ss of 4 Sie eo Feu = E £5. i = re E. ). i i tapi ' ea oe ee - All information believed to be correct as of 1st March 2025

Parish Staff Team Vicar: Rev. Matt Roberts (from March 2025) Associate Ministers: Rev. Canon Lillian Heptinstall Rev. Tony Cardwell 4 Rev. Jonathan Smithurst Reader: Lalage Smithurst

Principal Church Officers Churchwardens: Deputy Churchwardens: PCC Secretary: PCC Treasurer: PCC Accountant: PCC Deputy Lay Chair: iy Parish Administrator: Safeguarding Officer: Electoral Roll Officer:

David Jones 4 Stan Heptinstall =ehhell| Wendy Willan > ah! Cath Ortori es Cindy Jones ee, hy Alan Bateman ao u Christine Langton Robert Cleave ‘ — r | a i Pa Claire Morrell-Stone Tina Newton Claire Morrell-Stone

Committee Chairpersons 72; Te eed eee Standing: Stan Heptinstall Outreach and Mission: Lalage Smithurst = : tha i rei; @ vOhe:fake ? ——Shaei | a Be ie, Tee= Berast Be ee!Pr Ministry Rev. Canon Lillian Heptinstall Resources: Wendy Willan

The Parochial Church Council (PCC)

Introduction

The Church Representation Rules require ‘an annual report on the proceedings of the Parochial Church Council and the activities of the parish generally’ to be received in time for the Annual Parochial Church Meeting (APCM). The contents of the report may be subject to discussion.

Aims of the Organisation

The PCC (Powers) Measure 1956 directs that the Parochial Church Council (PCC) of St Michael’s, Bramcote has the responsibility of cooperating with the incumbent in promoting within the ecclesiastical parish the whole mission of the Church; pastoral, evangelical, social and ecumenical. It also has maintenance responsibilities for all church buildings and grounds. Thus the prime purpose of the church is to maintain and develop the community of Christian believers and to use the strength of that community to promote the beliefs of and in Christ through outreach, care for those in need, and by contributing in practical and Christian ways to the whole of our local community.

Consequently, this will involve our engagement in such issues as Mission, Pastoral Care, Teaching, Nurture and Christian Stewardship - the giving of our time, talents and financial resources. All of this should be seen as part of our common Christian discipleship and not just for those who are particularly keen, willing and/or able.

In addition, our support of missionary activities, both at home and overseas, should form a clear and integral part of our communal life as the family of God in the ecclesiastical parish of Bramcote.

Membership

Members of the PCC are either ex-officio or elected at the APCM. In accordance with Church Representation Rules, membership is open to all those who a) are over 16 b) are on the electoral roll c) consent to being appointed d) have been confirmed e) have received Communion at least three times in the previous year and f) are not otherwise legally prohibited from serving.

During the past year, the following individuals have served as members of the PCC:

Ex-officio members : Stan Heptinstall and David Jones (Churchwardens)

Synod members:

Cindy Jones (Deanery Synod) Liz Cardwell (Deanery Synod) Robert Cleave (Diocesan and Deanery Synod)

Elected members of the PCC:

Christine Cleave Cindy Jones Andrew Hall Kate Prayle Liz Cardwell Tina Newton Jenny Biss Cath Ortori Robert Cleave Alan Bateman Wendy Willan Ken Bird Paul Neal Glynn Bannister Hillary Brian

Warden Emeriti : David Jones Victor Smithson Wendy Willan

PCC Committees

Standing Committee

This is the only committee required by law. It has power to transact the business of the PCC between its meetings, subject to any directions given by the Council. It also serves to establish the agenda of the PCC.

During the past year, the following have served as members:

Stan Heptinstall (Lay Chair of PCC & Churchwarden) David Jones (Churchwarden) Cindy Jones (PCC Secretary) Alan Bateman (Treasurer) Christine Langton (Church Accountant) Lillian Heptinstall (Chair of Ministry Committee) Lalage Smithurst (Chair of Mission & Outreach Committee) Wendy Willan (Chair of Resources Committee and Deputy Churchwarden) Robert Cleave (Deputy Lay Chair of PCC)

Outreach and Mission Committee

Responsible for the mission of the church within our own local community, together with the support of missions overseas and at home. During the past year, Lalage Smithurst has served as chair.

Ministry Committee

Responsible for the development of faith within its people and their pastoral care. During the past year, Lillian Heptinstall has served as chair.

Resources Committee

Responsible for resourcing the mission and ministry of the church through the regular maintenance and development of our premises, properties and equipment with an ongoing programme of Christian Stewardship. During the past year, Wendy Willan has served as chair.

Membership & Attendance Statistics

Over the last year, we have created a brand new membership database, removing a large number of people who have either died or no longer come to church. This means that the overall total is down on previous years, but is a truer reflection of our current church family.

The number of people attending church on Sundays has also decreased, although attendance at special services continues to be strong. The graphs below show the number of people in our worshipping community (left) and the average attendance at services (right). However, we are hoping our church will grow now that we have a new vicar in post.

Festival Statistics

	2023	2024	Occasional Offices
Mothering Sunday (10am)	61	92	2023	2024
Ash Wednesday Maundy Thursday Good Friday (total) Easter Day (8am)	25 36 95 10	30 21 110 10	Weddings Baptisms Funerals/Thanksgivings 3 4 15	6 3 17
Easter Day (10am)	89	79
Easter Day (6.30pm)	28	42	Electoral Roll
Ascension Day	27	12
Father’s Day (10am)	54	77	In 2025, in accordance with Church of
Bereavement Service	77	66	England regulations, we have started a
Remembrance Service Carols (5.30pm) Carols (7.30pm) Nativity	285 157 94 175	244 176 86 190	brand new electoral roll. This means that anyone wishing to go on the new roll had to reapply. Our new total for 2025 is 82, compared to 156 in 2024.
Midnight Communion	66	38
Christmas Day (8am)	9	11
Christmas Day (10am)	74	47
Christmas Day (11.30am)	3	0

PCC Review of the Year

At the beginning of 2024 we began our third year as a church in Vacancy. This did not deter our endeavours to keep our church at the heart of the community in Bramcote. Much prayer, however, centred around our desire to appoint a new incumbent and we were disappointed in February when after a round of interviews there was no appointment.

As the year progressed, we followed the Christian calendar and held special services and events to celebrate Easter and Christmas. We have been blessed with a dedicated team of retired clergy and a reader who have led and preached at two services each Sunday and a third service at 8.00am each month.

We have been pleased to welcome a number of visiting preachers including Bishops Paul and Andy, our Archdeacon Phil and Christina Baxter, former principal of St Johns College. Our Mission Partners have all visited this year and have preached or spoken at Sunday Services. It was a great pleasure that Azaria Spencer, our Mission Partner from Guatemala, chose to have her Wedding Blessing in our church. The service pattern has remained the same but we have endeavoured to make the morning service, twice a month, more inclusive for families and children. This is something we intend to develop. The annual services for Easter, Christmas, Remembrance and Bereavement were very well attended and it was encouraging to have members of the uniformed organisations taking a leading role in the service on Remembrance Sunday.

The PCC and the Standing Committee have met bi-monthly to conduct the business of the church and to plan future strategies. Finance and the use of resources are always an agenda item. Staffing and structure are also discussed. The minutes and recommendations are taken to PCC meetings.

The Ministry Committee, the Outreach and Mission Committee and the Resource Committee also meet bi-monthly. These committees are made up of members of the PCC and representatives from the congregation, who have skills and an interest in these areas. All the committees have worked hard to keep our church and centre buildings in good repair and to ensure that we are a strong and caring presence in the community.

Our Ministry Committee has planned the Sunday and Midweek Services and prayer groups. They have focussed on prayer and care, circulating regular prayer leaflets and the need for personal prayer where requested. Topics for the Home Groups are discussed and planned. Special prayer meetings during Lent have focused on the new Diocesan Vision, Compassion, Confidence and Courage. Inspiring Worship, reaching out to young people, encouraging generosity and nurturing prayer were thoughtfully prayed about. A number of our church leaders and PCC members attended the meetings led by the Bishop to launch this new vision.

The Outreach and Mission Committee have strengthened our ties with the Mission Partners, and worked alongside the social Reference Group to organise events which would reach out to the community. Monies raised at our Harvest Supper and during the Sunday thanksgivings services was donated to” Mission Without Borders in Ukraine”. Home mission continues to support Bestwood and Bulwell Food Bank, Teams4U and the Children’s Society.

The Resource Committee aim to keep our buildings safe and in sound working order. They also look after the car park area, and the ashes plot. They are constantly aware of our environmental responsibilities and we are holders of a silver award from the A Rocha Eco Church scheme. Heating lighting and audio-visual matters are always high on their agenda, but unfortunately their aims and visions are hampered by our financial situation. A quinquennial Inspection revealed a number of issues which are being considered and addressed.

The Social Reference Group, under the auspice of Mission and Outreach, meet quarterly to plan and organise social events and activities. It is hoped that these will welcome and engage members of our community, including those in different age groups and background. They have included regular Parish Brunches, a May Day Walk, the Christmas Fair and Carols with the Salvation Army. This group is made up of representatives from the church and the community.

We continue to assess the many risks associated with people and buildings, finance, safety and the reputation of the church.

Our Safeguarding Officer is diligent in ensuring that all correct procedures are adhered to. She also ensures that safeguarding training for PCC members and members of the leadership teams has been undertaken and that they hold the relevant qualifications.Our Safeguarding policies, including Child Protection and E-Safety are also up to date. All who prepare food now hold a Health and Safety Level 2 certificate. Our Kitchen facilities have a 5 star rating.

Communication from St Michael’s is good. The online weekly newsletter proves to be very popular and is circulated to over 200 homes in our parish and beyond. Hard copies are available in church. This includes information about our church services and a precis of the sermons. All our activities, with invitations, are mentioned together with interesting local news. We have seen many new faces at both events and church services as a result. Christmas and Easter cards were distributed to all homes in the parish. A welcome leaflet is now available for visitors. The parish website is continually being updated.

We are still struggling to encourage children, young people and their families into church. We do have a monthly Dads and Kids group on Saturday morning which is proving popular.Little Angels on a Thursday is very successful but sadly these young families are not getting involved in church life. This is a problem that a new incumbent will wish to address.

Unfortunately, our Children and Family Life Minister left in July. Donna had done much to cement the ties between our church and the church school. The foundation governors – members of our church - keep these links strongly in their remit. They are regular visitors to the school attending concerts, open days and church services. A new incumbent will automatically become part of that Governing Body.

FINANCIAL REVIEW

It is pleasing to report that our financial situation is strong this year. Our income is comparable to the previous year mainly as a result of interest gained from prudent investing. We are also not paying salaries for a Children and Family Life Minister or a Verger.As a result, we shall be able to pay our parish share in full using a much-reduced amount from a designated fund. It is our aim to be able to pay our Parish Share in full from regular giving. Thought and prayer is being given to this.

Full details of our income, expenditure, designated and restricted funds are shown in the annual accounts. These are reviewed on a regular basis by the Standing Committee and the PCC. A detailed annual budget has been produced and all accounts are audited at the beginning of each year. Our reserve policy continues to be in line with the Charities Act and the PCC have agreed that this should hold the equivalent of three months running costs as a General Reserve.

As we come to the end of 2024, I am delighted to announce that in November the Revd. Matt Roberts was appointed to be our new incumbent. We look forward to warmly welcoming Matt and his family to Bramcote in the new year.

Cindy Jones (PCC Secretary)

Resources Committee Report

Current Members : Alan Bateman, Ken Bird, Robert Cleave, Andrew Hall, John Hart, Stan Heptinstall, David Jones, Wendy Willan (Chair)

As with one’s own home, there are many issues for which this committee has responsibility! So understandably it’s been another busy year during which much has been accomplished both inside and outside the church premises with a list to carry over into the next year!

Meeting bi-monthly, the Committee have worked on some of the more critical issues raised by the latest Quinquennial report which highlighted work needing more urgent attention such as preventing water ingress into the building, for which quotes have been sought and a Faculty applied for to fund mending or replacing drainpipes and guttering. The perimeter wall is damaged and possible repair noted.

On a more domestic front, defunct heaters have been removed from the office and toilets, the subsequent holes replastered and the office redecorated/upgraded – new chair and new curtains. One of two broken cookers in the kitchen has been disposed of utilising parts to create one fully functional cooker.

With the input of a grant of £1000 from the Benefact Trust we have been able to repair a hole in the boiler pipe which will improve the heating system. The rear door in the kitchen is to be replaced with a proper outward-opening fire door, assuring a greater level of security and safety. The fencing and gates at the front of the car park have been stripped down and repainted. The Church Centre is now 40 years old and often none too warm, so quotes for the possible replacement of the aluminium windows at some future date have been obtained.

A visit from the Fire Service has led to updating our Fire Policy and Procedures in the case of fire. The AV desk has been ‘tweaked’ to overcome some of the sound issues experienced. Lighting has continued to be replaced by LED units as and when required. Our energy contract was switched to a 100% renewables programme early in the year and a smart meter installed.

Consideration was given to repainting the car park lines – now becoming a necessity – but the quote was in excess of £3000 and further options have been sought for this work to be done once drier weather makes it possible. A Working Party undertook removal of ivy, a lot of weeding and general tidying up of the grounds around the Church. The Council has drastically pruned the hedge running the length of the north side of the churchyard. A number of gravestones have been identified by the Council as unsafe – they are currently working on rectifying this.

All that we do is to ensure the care and safety of everyone who enters the buildings, both regular attendees and visitors to services, meetings and special events held here.

Much has been achieved during the past year and my thanks go to Committee members for their time and energy given to ensure St Michael’s remains fit for purpose and at the heart of the community of Bramcote as we enter a new year – with a new vicar confirmed to be in place in March.

Wendy Willan (Chair)

Ministry, Nurture and Pastoral Care Committee Report

Current Members: Lillian Heptinstall, Cath Ortori, Jenny Biss, Christine Cleave, Liz Cardwell, Paul Neal and Donna Snowden (up to July 2025)

We meet regularly between PCC meetings. Many thanks to Christine for taking the minutes of our meetings.

Prayer

We encouraged prayer, and the fellowship we have when we pray together, by:

Different people leading the Parish Prayer Meeting and putting together the prayer diary. The meeting is held on the third Tuesday of every month, 7-8pm in the Church Centre Lounge. Eight to ten people meet regularly. The parish prayer diary goes out via email to 34 others. Copies are also in the Link for any who would like to join us in prayer. Organising the Prayer Walk, which usually happens on Pentecost Saturday. About 12 people came in 2024 and the walk was organised by Cath Ortori. People can choose to walk the whole route, or part of it. This year the walk will take place on Saturday 31st May.
Continuing the email prayer alerts for urgent prayer needs. Liz Cardwell co-ordinates this. Prayer ministry is offered at both Sunday services. Cath heads up the prayer ministry team and would welcome new members (training will be given). The instructions for the Prayer Ministry team now include references for safeguarding and will be issued to any new recruits. At the recent meeting between our Parish Safeguarding Officer, Tina Newton, and members of the Prayer Ministry team, Tina stressed the importance of completing the training to a further level (Safeguarding Foundation level).
Prayer board – Christine Cleave has refreshed and updated the prayer board in the vestibule.
Celtic Prayer group has met most weeks on Monday mornings to pray the requests on the Prayer Board. Though only a few people meet, Celtic Prayer provides a conduit for those in St Michael’s to ask for prayer, often for their friends outside the church.

Lent and Easter 2024

Walking the way of the cross, a white cross is laid out on the grass outside church during Holy Week, booklets are prepared for adults and children to follow the stations of the cross. There was very little uptake in 2024 and it has been decided not to offer it this year.

The Maundy Thursday Agapé meal was well attended and much appreciated.

Advent 2024

The Prayer Labyrinth was managed and set up by the team for Friday 29th and Saturday 30th November, and was open at the same time as the Christmas Fayre. On the Friday the children from Bramcote C of E came to experience it and this proved very popular and meaningful. We have held a review and have decided to make the stations more child friendly for next year.

Nurture

A proposed Emmaus course did not go ahead as there was difficulty getting an outside speaker for a seekers service to launch the course.

Home groups provide a venue for studying the bible, learning together, praying and caring for each other. Resources are provided for home group leaders and individuals. During the past year groups have had the opportunity to engage in ‘Journeying through Advent with New Daylight’. For joint studies in the Church Centre, we have looked at four of seven studies prepared by the Diocese around the refreshed Diocesan vision, and had two sets of four studies based on the prayer course by Pete Grieg.

Home groups have had the opportunity to study the Book of James together. This Lent, the studies will be from Holy Habits: Following Jesus, and Living Hope – for adults and children – a booklet of 40 daily meditations for Lent, produce by the Church of England. Currently there are three home groups meeting regularly - all would welcome new members. We have continued take orders for Bible reading notes and have a group subscription for Bible Reading Fellowship notes, which gives us a discount for regular users. Recently, a few users have tried the notes for the first time. We have also offered notes for using in Advent and Lent; again, these give an opportunity to those who are not already regular readers of the Bible.

Pastoral Care

Pastoral Care continues through the Home Group and individual acts of care and kindness. ‘In Touch’ is a pastoral care network designed to keep people in touch with each other by means of a telephone contact network. This needs to be updated and renewed. Our ‘In Your Bereavement’ booklet is available for all those who are in contact with those who are bereaved. It has been updated and is available in the Link and in the Church Office. The ‘Caring for Each Other at St Michael’s’ leaflet is available and gives details of who to contact for home groups, in bereavement, prayer requests and much more, available on the website and in the office. It is proposed to set up a bereavement contact/visiting group, but as yet we have no one to co-ordinate this.

Friendship Group

The friendship Group has met several times and is pleased to have new members.

New Welcome Pack

This has been put to one side for the time being. Thanks are due to Christine for taking over the rotas for welcoming and service refreshments. New volunteers are always welcome.

Space for Parents with Children

The South aisle has been arranged to allow for families and children to be together during any service, if they wish. This has proved a valuable space for families and for craft activities during the first Sunday service. It is also used as a quiet space for personal prayer with candles to light, and leaflets to help and encourage prayer.

Many thanks to everyone for their contributions and hard work over the last year, and to Claire Morell-Stone for her administrative support.

Lillian Heptinstall

Choir & Music Report

The choir has continued to lead the singing at the 10am and 6.30pm services each Sunday. Also, we have sung at a number of other services, including several weddings and funerals.

In a wider context, we maintain our membership of the Royal School of Church Music (RSCM) which organises events, training and discounted music resources for the benefit of members.

Numerically, we have seen a slight decline in the year to about 12 regular members in the group, still rising to around 20 for special musical presentations.

It has been a pleasure to welcome Daniel Stanciu to assist in accompanying worship songs on guitar at the 10am service.

We particularly enjoyed preparing for and singing at the 2024 Good Friday evening service ‘Crown of Thorns’, Christmas Carols by Candlelight services and Choral Evensong each quarter. We were encouraged, both by the numbers attending these services and the comments received.

A particular highlight for me in March 2024 was the afternoon tea and Desert Island Discs followed by Choral Evensong to celebrate my 40 years in post. My sincere thanks to all who organised and participated in any way to make those events so special.

We practise in the Church Centre on Wednesday evenings and additional voices, both junior and adult, are always very welcome. It is great to share and develop our work with new members.

Please continue to pray for our spiritual and musical growth as a group, as we move forward in singing and worshipping together week by week.

David Hanford - Director of Music

Standing Committee Report

Standing Committee meets bimonthly between meetings of the PCC to deal with any urgent PCC business and to maintain an overview of all that is happening at St Michael’s.

Current members : Alan Bateman (Church Treasurer), Robert Cleave (Deputy Lay Chair of PCC), Lillian Heptinstall (Chair of Ministry Committee), Stan Heptinstall (Churchwarden and Lay Chair of PCC), Cindy Jones (PCC Secretary), David Jones (Churchwarden), Christine Langton (Church Accountant), Lalage Smithurst (Chair of Outreach and Mission Committee), Wendy Willan (Chair of Resources Committee and Deputy Churchwarden).

The meetings always opened and closed with a prayer. Members looked at the minutes of recent meetings of the PCC and its subcommittees and received reports on church finances and all other matters relevant to progress at St Michael’s. Minutes of the meetings were prepared and circulated to PCC members for information.

Here is an overview of what happened during the past year.

New Vicar – We were delighted when in late 2024 the Rev. Matt Roberts was shortlisted to fill the vacancy at St Michael’s and subsequently his appointment as our new Vicar was announced on 1st December 2024. He with his wife Melanie and daughter Talitha, were to move to the new Bramcote Vicarage in February 2025 with his licensing as the Vicar of Bramcote on Sunday 9th March 2025. Matt was to attend attended one meeting of Standing Committee in January 2025 as a visitor.

Employees – During the year Donna Snowden, our Children and Family Worker, moved on, and we decided not to fill the vacancy at that time. Emma, our cleaner, also left us and Heather then joined us to fill that vacancy. Throughout 2024 we continued to manage without a paid verger. Into 2025 our three continuing highly valued employees are Claire Morell-Stone (administrator), David Hanford (Director of Music) and Heather Miles (cleaner).

Communications – Regular communications with church members and many others have been via a weekly newsletter, our church website and our Facebook page. Easter cards were delivered to every household and both a special newsletter and a card were delivered at Christmas. Rolling notices were prepared weekly for use on Sundays and video recordings of some Sunday sermons were made available.

Church Services – With the help of our retired clergy and Reader, the frequency of services during the vacancy was as before. A group met to consider the content of services, and this led to significant changes in the All-Age service on the first Sunday of the month. Volunteers enabled refreshments to be served at the main services on Sundays.

Midweek Activities – Celtic Prayer, Monthly Prayer Meetings, opening of the church for daily private prayer, Prayers for Ukraine and other matters, meetings of Home Groups, a Lent Course, an Advent Prayer Course, and Dads ‘n’ Kids, together with associated activities including Coffee Morning, Choir, Small Steps, Little Angels, Silver Surfers, Fitness and Friendship and Bell Ringing practice have continued successfully as before. The Friendship Group for 30- to 40year-olds continued and new members joined this.

Special Services and Events – As always our annual Bereavement Service and Remembrance Sunday services were very well attended, and we were delighted with the number of people who came to our special services and events in December. Our celebration of David Hanford’s 40 years as Director of Music, Organist and Choirmaster with us in March was a great success. There was a May Day walk, and we had a busy time interacting with children and families at the Hemlock Happening in June. There were occasional Parish Brunches, and we continued with all else that happens regularly at St Michael’s.

Midweek Activities – Celtic Prayer, Monthly Prayer Meetings, Daily Private Prayer, Prayers for Ukraine and other matters, meetings of Home Groups, a Lent Course, Dads ‘n’ Kids, Rooted Youth Group, together with associated activities including Coffee Morning, Choir, Little Angels, Silver Surfers, Fitness and Friendship and Bell Ringing practice have continued successfully as before. A new Friendship Group for 30 to 40 year olds has been formed.

Parish Share – After careful stewardship of income and expenditure by our Finance Team and appropriate investment of funds we were able to pay our full parish share in 2024 with a top up of only £3822 from our reserves.

Charitable Support – 10% of our income goes to charities and support continued to be provided to our Mission Partners. There was also financial and gift support for Berega, T4U and the Bestwood and Bulwell Foodbank.

Book of Remembrance – The decision was taken to broaden the criteria for the recording of the names of deceased persons in our Book of Remembrance. This has proved very popular. We were delighted when Frances Pearson agreed to take on the role of entering the names, replacing Carole Croft following Carole’s sad death.

Buildings and Safety – The new AV System in Church has proved to be a great improvement over what we had before. The Church Office was redecorated with a new carpet and this included removal of the redundant heating systems in the office and also in the toilets following which the walls were replastered. Work was done on the gas cookers in the kitchen with two cookers being replaced by one that is fully functioning. A Quinquennial Inspection took place and individual items identified by our Church Architect are now being followed up.

Many thanks to the many staff, volunteers and friends who have made all of the above possible.

Stan Heptinstall - Chair

Coffee Morning Report

This group has continued to meet almost every week during the past year, offering tea, coffee and biscuits to all who attend in the Church Centre. I believe this has continued to be a greatly appreciated church outreach activity, where putting the world to rights or discussing the latest headlines, making new friends and keeping in touch has always been part of our raison d’etre. Sadly we have said goodbye to a few who have either died or moved into a Care Home or more appropriate accommodation but we have also seen new faces and friendships grow and we have celebrated many birthdays over the year!

At the beginning of each month Barbara has continued to arrange a small ‘bring and buy’ session and Hillary has updated the book-lending library, bringing in fresh titles for the avid readers amongst the group. These activities were augmented by a coach trip to Derby Garden Centre in late September when it was possible to do some early Christmas shopping and enjoy time together over a delicious meal.

Once a month we have provided a meal (for a small cost), fish and chips or jacket potatoes with a range of toppings followed by apple pie with custard and/or cream and it is only by the silence when we are eating that you realise just how much chatting goes on!

It has been great to have members helping out now and then to run the sessions, to see some members attending church and church events and we look forward to seeing more people in the community joining us in future weeks.

Wendy Willan

Bell Ringers Report

The current officers are:

Tower captain - Christine Langton Secretary - Lesley Hill Treasurer - Linda Seymour Ringing master - Christine Langton Communications officer - Richard Portwood Steeple keeper - Tom Langton Assistant steeple keeper - Richard Portwood Social secretary - Fiona Maxwell Spiderman - Richard Portwood Register keeper - Linda Seymour

Our Friday practices have been well attended by our ringers, with the average at practice nights increasing to 9.5 ringers from an average of 8 ringers in the previous year. We held 50 practices during the year, only missing the practice during Holy Week and one in August. Thanks to our visitors who help out at the practices. We welcomed Daniel to our band during the year. He moved to the area and could already ring, so has been helping with the teaching. We also welcomed two new recruits (Dugald and Christine R) who are both learning how to ring. These recruits have helped to increase our numbers.

We rang the bells before the 10am Sunday service almost every week (excluding first Sundays), usually ringing at least five bells. Both Linda and Dugald have started ringing with us on a Sunday morning, which meant that towards the end of the year we have been able to ring all our six bells. We thank Richard Black and his family from Nuthall for joining us on Sunday mornings.

It has been a busy year for the bell ringers. In June we rang to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings. We joined in with many other churches across the nation 'Ringing out for Peace'. We rang 80 rows (every bell 'dinged' 80 times) of rounds (the bells ring in descending note from the highest pitched to the lowest pitched) and everything else we rang had 80 changes (a change is when every bell rings once in a sequence).

We held our annual ‘Christmas Drinks with the Bell Ringers’ event at the beginning of December. It was great to see so many people enjoying mulled wine, eating mince pies and several people even had a go at ringing. It was again a very successful event with 26 guests attending plus all the bell ringers. Thanks to everyone that attended to make it a very enjoyable evening.

This year the Nottingham district heat of the Crawford Cup county striking competition was hosted by St Helen’s in Stapleford in March. We entered a band and rang very well. We were up against some very impressive bands and came 4th. The winners were St John the Baptist, Beeston.

In June the bell ringers hosted a stall at the Hemlock Happening, as part of the St Michael’s stand. We provided mini hand bells for the public to have a go at ringing some well known tunes. Thanks to Lesley and Fiona for manning the stall.

Nine of the St Michael’s ringers, including spouses, went on a 90 minute guided tour of the Taylor's bell foundry in Loughborough in August. It was a fascinating and very detailed tour, which described the history of the bell foundry and all the different techniques used over the years for making bells and all the fittings, which includes the wooden wheels, and the big metal bell frames. All the various parts are made at the foundry. There is a very informative and well laid out museum. We also got a chance to ring the bells at the foundry!

We also rang for four weddings and a wedding blessing during the year. We rang before the Berega dinner in July and rang half muffled on Remembrance Sunday. Over the Christmas period we were able to ring for the Carol Services, for the Children’s Nativity service on Christmas Eve and for the 10am service on Christmas Day.

We have continued to ring our monthly quarter peals (continuous ringing for 45 minutes) before the evening service on a Sunday. We were successful with all of our eleven quarter peals. Congratulations to Eddie and Dave for ringing their first quarter peals.

All our bell ropes are getting to the point where they need replacing having all been bought in 1999. At the start of the year we bought new ropes for bell 2 and bell 4, using money from our Bell fund.

Congratulations to Linda and Dugald for passing their level 1 in bell ringing during the year, to Dave for passing his level 1 and level 2 during the year and to Eddie for passing his level 3 during the year. A big thank you to Alistair, the tower captain at St John the Baptist church in Beeston, for allowing us to hold a weekly teaching session for our new recruits, which is specifically aimed at helping them pass their level 1 and 2 in bell ringing.

Should anyone wish to have the bells rung to mark a special occasion (e.g. birthdays and anniversaries), then please do get in touch with Christine.

We are always looking for new recruits so if you are interested in learning to ring or just want to come along to see what we do, you are very welcome to join our practice on a Friday evening from 7.30pm to 9pm or contact Christine (christine@nuscr.org or 0115 877 9439).

Christine Langton

Safeguarding Report

During the last year I have continued to work as the Parish Safeguarding officer. I have responded in a timely manner to all referrals made and followed the correct procedure to bring them to the notice of the Diocese Safeguarding Team.

Alongside this I have kept a record of all safeguarding training, reminded people when and which training they need to go on and begun to populate an online record of this and DBS status of all people needing to be noted. This is called the Safeguarding Hub. This is quite time consuming but is an ongoing process. But when complete the hub should do the reminding about training for us.

I attend regular Parish Safeguarding updates online and attended the Parish Safeguarding Conference last year in Worksop. In March this year I am undertaking training to enable me to lead courses for Basic and Foundation Safeguarding training. I hope this will help members of this parish and others to do their training face to face when they prefer it to online.

I have produced a Safeguarding report for every PCC meeting and met with the Prayer Ministry team to discuss safeguarding issues.

We now have five Safeguarding Standards to work to. These can be seen on the Main Notice Board in the link opposite the entrance. I am working on Standard 2 (Prevention) and Standard 5 (Learning Supervision and Support).

I would like to thank the PCC and church wardens for support and Revd Lillian for keeping DBS records up to date.

Tina Newton - Parish Safeguarding Officer

Foodbank Report

“Need is Greater bur provision is poorer”

That is the message we get from the manager and volunteer helpers at Bestwood and Bulwell. It is therefore a very heartfelt thank you that I say to all those who give and deliver our contributions from St Michaels. I am proud and pleased to report that we are, in fact one of their largest donators.

Bestwood and Bulwell is in the top 10 most deprived areas of our Country. Deprived not just of food, but of housing, job opportunities, education and resources of all kinds. It suffered and has never recovered from the 1980’s pit closures. I am pleased to report that the food bank, as well as providing food, also offers counselling, financial advice and help to enable families to get back on their feet. Unfortunately, money that was hoped could provide help of this kind had to be used to buy extra food and toiletries.

This year we have contributed 1471kg of food. In addition, there has been continual financial donations. Outreach and Mission also make a large monetary donation, and contributions from our Harvest Weekend, supplemented by gifts from the Bramcote Pre School, were delivered to Food Bank.

Since we began this project 10 years ago we have provided 19,642kg of food. Once again, a huge thank you to all who give so generously and to those who make up our team of volunteer drivers. Please continue your support and if you feel that you could join the delivery team than please speak to me.

David Jones

Social Reference Group Report

Under the auspices of Outreach and Mission, our group has met quarterly to plan and organise social events. It is hoped that these will not only encourage fellowship within the church family, but will provide the opportunity to reach out, inclusively, to the whole parish. The group is made up of representatives from most of the church groups and some of the groups that use our Church Centre Working alongside the church calendar, we have planned activities to celebrate Christian Festivals. Hot cross buns at Easter and carol singing at Christmas (in the local pubs and with the Salvation Army band in our Church Centre). The latter has always been a very popular evening as we enjoy homemade cakes and hot drinks during the singing.

The Parish May Day Walk took place again this year. It was not so well supported, but those who came thoroughly enjoyed their day, which for most included coffee and cakes at Trowell Garden Centre. The regular Parish Brunch has continued throughout the year. This is proving to be very popular and provides an excellent opportunity for Mission. We had our usual prescence at the annual Hemlock Happening. Children’s activities were planned, alongside Bell Ringing and badge making. A most successful day for us as a church. The annual Classic Car event and Café Bramcote brought many new faces to our church, as did the Christmas Fair. Our Harvest Supper and concert was an opportunity for the church family to eat and meet together. Thank you to all members of this group, their enthusiasm, ideas, help and support, has enabled these activities to be so successful. As we start to plan for 2025 we are aware that our new incumbent will be in post and we will welcome him and his input at our future meetings.

Cindy Jones (Chair)

Nottingham South Deanery 2024 Annual Report

This year we have said goodbye to Rev’d Christopher Harrison (Nottingham All Saint and St Peter), Rev’d John Blakeley (Sneinton St Stephen) and have welcomed Marsha Farmer (Sneinton St Christopher), Rev’d Lee Dunleavy (Sneinton, St Cyprian), Rev’d Sam WatkinsSmith (Trinity Church Nottingham) and Rev’d James Saunders (St Mary’s in the Lace Market).

The Deanery Leadership Team has continued to meet during the year to plan Synod and to discuss ways to support parishes in the Deanery – particularly those in vacancy. We have held three Synods:

On 13 February we met at St Mary’s in the Lace Market and we invited the Jericho Road Project, Transforming Notts Together, Refugee Roots and 100 Homes. We spent time praying for these organisations and also for the Deanery.

On 10 July we met at St Mary the Virgin’s in Attenborough. We were joined by Rev’d Canon Richard Kellett who shared about the new Diocesan Vision of growing disciples with Compassion, Confidence and Courage and led a discussion around ‘how can we as the body of Christ work across our parish boundaries to realise the Diocesan vision?’. We also received a report from General Synod.

On 21 November we met at Christ Church, Chilwell where Rev’d Canon Richard Kellett led us in prayer for the Middle East. Julian Hodgson, the Diocesan Safeguarding Lead, shared about the National Safeguarding Standards.

Our November meeting was also our AGM and a report was provided on the work of the Deanery Leadership Team during the past year.

Following the AGM the Deanery Leadership Team was made up of:

Ex-officio Members: Rev’d Jo Tatum (Area Dean), Kirsty Cowley (Deanery Administrator) Lay Chair: Charlie Barber and Fola Sowunmi Deanery Secretary: Peter Horne Deanery Treasurer: Trevor Peel DLT Members: Kirstine Buchan, Fi Shouler

We also voted the following people on to Diocesan Synod:

House of Clergy: Rev’d Jo Tatum, Rev’d Dr Mark Wreford, Rev’d Jonny Hughes and Rev’d Andy Tufnell
House of Laity: Christopher Gray

The Deanery paid 94% of its giving for ministry in 2024. Every parish is thanked for their generosity.

Outreach and Mission Committee Report

Membership : Chair, Lalage Smithurst; Glynn Bannister; Hillary Brian; Claire Gee; Cindy Jones; Tina Newton; Kate Prayle.

Over the past year, the Outreach & Mission Committee has continued to meet by Zoom approximately every two months.

Our Mission Partners are part of our church family and we play a vital role in their work by praying for them and supporting them financially. Every year we maintain the principle of the tithe by giving a tenth of the previous year’s church annual income to support mission and charitable work outside the parish boundary. In 2024 the PCC giving was £9708.00, a slight decrease on 2023.

We have continued throughout the year to hear from and prayerfully support our Mission Partners .

Kate and Paul and their family returned to the UK from the Middle East in the summer of 2023 and visited St Michael’s on Sunday 14th July when they shared some of their joys and frustrations. They are currently in Cambridge on long leave for rest, refreshment, and resetting; for reconnection with the church; to regroup, rethink, and re-evaluate; to retrain: and then to be re-sent/relaunched back into the Middle East.

CMS Mission Partners, Azaria and David Pocasangre , have updated us throughout the year about their work in training and supporting mentors working with vulnerable young people as well as being involved with the vulnerable community and their church in Bethania. Following their wedding in Guatemala in November 2023, a blessing of their marriage took place in St Michael’s Church in February 2024, at which many who could not attend the actual wedding were present, including representatives from CMS and many link churches. They both visited St Michael’s on Sunday 18th February before returning to Guatemala on 14th March.

David and Anne Curnock, Associate Mission Partners, continue to update us about their roles in health education and children's work with OneCollective . In March 2024 they visited Stara Zagora in Bulgaria for the 2nd time since lockdown and in April they visited Berega in Tanzania with Robert and Christine Cleave and were also involved in continuing discussions with the diocese of Morogoro about ongoing support for the work in and around Berega and the Church & Community Mobilization Process (CCMP) project, the project now managed by the diocese of Morogoro.

In July, the Curnocks and the Cleaves updated us on their work at very successful Berega Dinner , the profits from which totalled £2859 and were divided equally between CCMP and the BREADtrust. They also returned and preached in St Michael’s on Sunday 11th August.

We continue to support the Bestwood & Bulwell Foodbank with Cindy and David Jones keeping us updated with the most urgent needs, which have markedly increased in the current economic situation. The trolley in the south porch of the church has often been near to overflowing – so a HUGE thank you to all who have donated produce.

The practice of having a Mission Support Sunday usually on the second Sunday of each month has been continued and in addition to the above visits we have heard about The Leprosy Mission from Guy Willcock in January and an additional £541 was given by personal donations to TLM.

As part of our Outreach , the following have been undertaken:

On Good Friday , hot-cross buns were provided after the morning meditation.

As a church, we had a stall at the Hemlock Happening in June and several people stopped and took part in the activities provided.

At our Harvest Thanksgiving weekend, we again organised a very successful and enjoyable Harvest Supper . Money donated in thanks over the weekend amounted to £533.34 and was sent to Mission Without Borders for their work with internally displaced families in Ukraine. Non-perishable goods donations were taken to the Bestwood & Bulwell Foodbank .

Despite the current economic situation, generous donations at the Toys, Gifts & Christingle Service in December meant that a large number of toys were taken to the Great Notts Christmas Toy Appeal . This service was also a Christingle service in support of The Children’s Society , another organisation which helps children and young people in disadvantaged situations. A cheque for £55 was sent to The Children’s Society.

As part of our outreach and mission, we have supported Christian Aid and Teams4U – these reports follow.

Lalage Smithurst, Outreach & Mission Committee Chair

Christian Aid Week - 12th-18th May 2024 The Brink of Survival

In Christian Aid Week 2024, £1471.42 (including Gift Aid) was raised in the Bramcote area through donations and fundraising. This fantastic amount of money has made such a difference to the lives of many of our marginalised neighbours. Those who were struggling to meet their basic needs and whose livelihoods were under threat from droughts, floods and landslides.

In May 2024, there was a Christian Aid Service at the start of the week with special hymns, Bible readings and prayers related to the annual appeal. A Cake Sale was hosted on a local street, paper quizzes were given out, E Envelopes were sent out, traditional donation envelopes were available and Christian Aid Week daily devotionals were used.

A busy week when our church and the local community came together to help the work of Christian Aid.

A very big thank you to everyone who supported the appeal through prayers and donations.

Graeme & Penny

T4U Shoebox Appeal Report

Here are the ingredients for shipping 4191 shoeboxes to Ukraine in December 2024:

1 warehouse – courtesy of Shoe Aid, Basford in which to store and process shoeboxes 46 volunteers – each giving up a minimum of 18 hours between 1st November and 6th December 2024 to collect, check, seal, carton, log and deliver shoeboxes
2 designated drivers to collect filled boxes from schools, churches, and groups around the county
1 team of recovering drug addicts to load a huge lorry
Umpteen hours spent on the phone answering queries/arranging pick-ups/liaising with colleagues in Derby, Loughborough and Wrexham (Head Office)
7 presentations to schools/churches/WI and Trefoil groups
10 days setting up and ‘manning the stand’ in Tesco, which not only gave publicity but produced 78 filled shoeboxes
1 WhatsApp link to keep everyone encouraged and updated with progress and with whom to share ‘bargain buys’ for topping up shoeboxes
A whole host of generous people around the county who filled, paid for and delivered shoeboxes, without whom 4191 children in Ukraine would not have experienced the joy and excitement of receiving a gift this Christmas.

We have a fabulous team of volunteers in Nottingham who work so well together, sharing ideas, fun, chocolates and friendship. It’s a great joy to reunite each November and catch up whilst processing shoeboxes and this year it was wonderful to welcome nine new volunteers to the team – and there is always room for more! We work on a ‘come-when-you-can’ and ‘go-when-you-must’ policy so no fixed hours – just energy and enthusiasm to be involved.

We are part of a global charity dedicated to empowering communities and transforming lives through Education, Health, and Humanitarian Aid. Filling and sending shoeboxes to impoverished children in Eastern Europe is the Christmas Campaign we undertake each year. We have partners in Romania, Moldova, Ukraine and Bosnia Herzegovina with whom Head Office work closely to ensure our shoeboxes reach the children safely.

Finally, I should like to thank ALL who have been involved in any way whatsoever in enabling all of the above to happen and I look forward to working with you again this year. What we

Wendy Willan T4U Regional Coordinator

Report from the Clergy & Reader Team

Current members : Clergy – Tony Cardwell, David Edinborough, Lillian Heptinstall, Jonathan Smithurst; Reader – Lalage Smithurst; Director of Music, choir master and organist – David Hanford; Children and Family Life Minister – Donna Snowden (resigned July 2025).

The Staff Team continue to meet monthly to organise the Sunday and weekday worship rotas and special services. This year these included Remembrance Sunday, Carols by Candlelight and Easter services. Special thanks to David Hanford for the time and energy put into these services. Thanks also to Pat Ashworth for the Good Friday Meditation and the Taizé services.

Some of our regular services have a special focus. Our second Sunday service is Mission Support Sunday where we have welcomed visiting preachers from the Mission Societies we support. There were also special services for Harvest, and a service for those recently bereaved. An Agapé (informal meal with Holy Communion) was held on Maundy Thursday. We thank Claire Morrell-Stone for all her work in preparing for the Bereavement Service.

Remembrance Sunday was well attended by the uniformed organisations. We thank Paul Neal for his encouragement of the young people to attend this, as well as the special ‘Angel’ service which was held to commemorate the Patronal Festival of St Michael and All Angels.

The Annual Toy/Christingle service went particularly well, with children and adults enjoying making Christingles in church. Thank you to Kate, Andrea and Victoria for their help in preparing the Christingles beforehand.

Choral Evensong has proved very popular, attracting people from other churches as well as St Michael’s. Carols by Candlelight also had a better attendance than in recent years.

Nativities services were held in church with Bramcote Nursery, Bramcote Pre-school and Little Angels attending. The Christmas Eve Nativity was particularly well attended. Donna planned and led a very successful Easter experience as well as welcoming children into church for the Church School end of term service. Jonathan covered the spring end of term service.

Children have been warmly welcomed into church at the end of the third Sunday service, following activities in the Church Centre. This has lapsed since Donna left and there is currently no provision for children except at the first Sunday service. Since Donna left Lillian has been co-ordinating this with input from some mums and children.

There has been much discussion about the shape and content of Family Worship (first Sunday of the month), including some input from Canon Tim Pullen (Rector of Wollaton). Some feedback has been received from parents. This service is now renamed ‘Worship Together’ and is all on the screen.

We continue to use some material from Roots (an ecumenical resource which follows the lectionary and provides ideas, services, crafts and activities for all Age Worship and for children and young people’s work).

We have been blessed by our visiting preachers, Bishop Paul Williams, Bishop Andy Emerton, Phil Williams our Archdeacon, Dr Christina Baxter, Mike Duff, Jess Savill, Sarah Meredith, Vicki Smith and Richard Hanford. Charlie Barber has also led an evening service.

We thank Andrew, Cath and Ros for their work with the PA system, and all those who volunteer to read and lead the intercessions in church. We would welcome more volunteers to these important ministries. Thank you also to Dan who has joined David in leading the worship songs at our morning services.

Among the items discussed at staff meetings have been matters of a pastoral nature, the Church motto, visiting preachers, family worship, proposals around the pattern of services following a second meeting to review the worship of the church.

The staff team continue to take weddings, funerals, burial of ashes, baptisms and other occasional offices as requested.

While we are happy to contribute to the life and worship of St Michael’s we are looking forward to the licensing of Matt Roberts as our new Vicar, and to welcoming him, Melanie and Talitha.

After many years of faithful and loving service, David Edinborough stepped back from upfront ministry on Easter Day, although he continues to be available for occasional offices and services. We are very grateful for his presence on the staff team.

With grateful thanks for all your prayers and support.

Lillian Heptinstall – March 2025

Bramcote Care Group Report

Following on from last year’s report, decline in requests continues, despite advertising mechanisms remaining the same.

During 2024 there were 10 requests from 7 individuals, most of which were inappropriate for our intervention. Three requests were completed by different volunteers, others were advised to contact The Helpful Bureau.

A current issue I am struggling with is the ongoing renewal and management of DBS online updates which used to be renewed automatically without intervention. The DBS service changed the process in September 2024, but didn’t let anyone know! If anyone has any insight or expert knowledge, I would really appreciate any help that can be offered.

Elaine Morris

Silver Surfers Report

I’m happy to report that Silver Surfers continues to thrive; we have regular attendees who have come along weekly for many years and enjoy the social interaction provided. We also have a small number of new attendees, one or two per month, some stay for a short time, because they have had the help they needed, and some turn into regular long term guests.

Our committee is unchanged and everyone works collaboratively to ensure smooth running. Through recent work from one committee member and Nottingham Trent University contacts we have attracted students who are going through induction as new coaches; it’s early days, but we’re hopeful.

I am always amazed at the number of different devices people bring along, the questions that they raise and the challenge that developing technology brings; even more amazingly, there are very few challenges that we can’t meet!

Elaine Morris

Little Angels Report

Committee Members: Steph, Sam, Rachel, Theresa, Megan, Barbara

Little Angels is a group for babies, toddlers and pre-schoolers along with their parents, grandparents and carers to come and play, learn and meet other families in the community around Bramcote. We meet on a Thursday morning in the Church Centre during term time. We are a group run by a committee of volunteers, plus occasional helpers, which includes parents and grandparents.

We no longer take a set amount for admission, we now do a suggested donation of £2 per child but have the option for people to give from £1 up to £5. This allows people to choose what they feel they can give that day. We offer refreshments of tea, coffee, toast and sometimes a sweet treat. We also provide a snack at an allocated time for the children, which allows them a time to sit together and share.

At Christmas this year we went up to the church to tell the nativity story and sing some songs. There was a surprise visitor waiting for the children on our return to the hall!

The number of attendees of Little Angels has been pretty steady over the last 12 months with around 30 families on our register currently.

During in the morning, we have a craft activity for the children to take part in which links to the story we are learning about that morning. We will also have a messy activity that also links into the story. This allows the children to explore with all their senses and is usually very popular.

Little Angels endeavours to be a relaxing, fun, safe and supportive environment with a Christian ethos, reaching out to people in the community and welcoming them to the church of St Michaels.

S Soulby 01.03.2024

Bramcote C of E Primary School Report

Introduction

It is with great pleasure that I present this report on behalf of Bramcote Church of England Primary School for the Annual Parochial Church Meeting (APCM) of 2025. Our school continues to thrive as a nurturing Christian community, where children feel valued, inspired, and encouraged to grow in their faith and learning.

Christian Ethos and Collective Worship

Our Christian ethos remains at the heart of everything we do. This year, our children have taken a more active role in worship, leading prayers, writing reflections, and sharing their thoughts on key Christian values. The Worship Organisation Team (WOT) club led by Mrs Sarah Shaw lead worship and meet weekly at lunchtime to reflect on bible readings and plan worship ideas.

Although Donna Snowden left in July, we are pleased that we have been able to continue our links with St Michael and All Angels Church, with Rev Jonathan Smithurst visiting and leading worship.

The themes of worships have had a strong link to our values such as perseverance, kindness and co-operation this has enabled the children to reflect on their faith and apply Christian principles in their daily lives.

Religious Education and Spiritual Development

Mrs Abi Bodily our RE subject leader worked hard in the summer to revamp our Religious Education curriculum. We primarily use ‘Understanding Christianity’, dovetailing with the Notts Agreed Syllabus, which has enabled the children to explore Christianity and other world religions with curiosity and respect. Through creative storytelling, drama, and hands-on activities, pupils have deepened their understanding of faith and how it shapes lives. Spiritual development is nurtured with each classroom through the use of prayer spaces, with opportunities for quiet contemplation, which children use to express their thoughts, prayers, and aspirations. The children also have daily access to our Prayer Tree in the entrance hall.

Community Engagement and Outreach

Our pupils have been at the forefront of various outreach initiatives, demonstrating kindness and service to others with a particular focus on Courageous Advocacy. They have actively participated in charity fundraising, food bank collections, and visits to local care homes, where they sang songs and shared handmade cards. In addition, children have enjoyed welcoming parents and the wider community to events such as our Harvest Festival, Christmas and Easter services.

Academic and Extra-Curricular Achievements

Academically, our pupils continue to achieve well, with strong results across the curriculum. In addition to core subjects, children have thrived in a range of extra-curricular activities, including choir, drama, and sports, which allow them to develop their talents and confidence. We are delighted that we had success with the swimming gala in February and are now through to the County Finals in May.

Bramcote Voice has continued to thrive in the absence of Miss Felicity Scott who left us in July to pursue training in Music Therapy. Before her departure It was lovely to have a joint concert with the Rock and Soul Singers in July at St Michael’s where we raised money towards the costs of attending the Young Voices Concert in February 2025 and the Blood Bike Charity.

Wellbeing and Pastoral Care

The wellbeing of our children remains a priority, and we introduced new initiatives to support their mental health and emotional resilience. Mrs Danielle Pickard our Emotional Literacy Support Assistant has ensured she works closely with pupils to ensure they feel safe, valued, and supported. Children have also benefited from support from the Mental Health Support Team who have visited school and delivered workshops to the children.

Looking Ahead

It was a pleasure and privilege to be involved in the appointment of Rev. Matt Roberts in November. We are looking forward to his leadership and involvement within the parish and hope he will enjoy working with us.

We are grateful for the continued prayers and support from the church and wider community in helping us nurture and guide our children and we look forward to a new chapter under the steer of Rev. Matt Roberts.

Sarah Meredith - Headteacher

Finance Report for the Year Ending 31st December 2024

This report should be read in conjunction with the full set of Financial Statements that are displayed in the following pages.

We have had a steady year financially. As a church in vacancy our retired clergy team have maintained a full schedule of church services. This has continued to give the platform for people to have the opportunity to contribute financially to help us contend with a continued period of inflation. We are grateful to all those who have made donations or indeed, reviewed and increased their level of giving.

Our income and spending levels from general funds have been helped in two main ways. Firstly, our investment management has been actively led by Christine Langton such that we have greatly increased our savings with CCLA, the church investment body. This had the effect of increasing our income from investments from £4,000 in 2023 to £13,000 in 2024. This means that when we need to spend on large projects such as building repairs we are not reducing our Contingency Reserve as much as might have been thought, since the higher interest earned has mitigated the effect. Secondly, our salaries bill has been significantly reduced. This has come about by different factors, chiefly the moving on of our Children and Youth Worker who we were sorry to lose. But also by reductions in hours and a gap between a staff cleaner leaving and a replacement starting. We continue to be thankful for our wardens covering the work of a verger. As a result, our salaries and pension bill was reduced from £31,000 in 2023 to £19,000 in 2024.

We have again managed to pay our Giving for Ministry (Parish Share) allocation (£71,580) in full. This has been possible through continuing to apply some of our savings from the Contingency Reserve to top-up monthly payments from our general funds. We plan to do this also for 2025. Overall, our total funds decreased by around £17,000 compared to the preceding year. Our total funds include our general funds, designated funds and restricted funds.

Below is a simplified summary of our general funds (i.e. excluding specially designated and restricted funds and which appear more fully in the accounts in the following pages) for 2024.

Church Running Costs Giving for Ministry Sub-total General Reserve Transfer 10% Mission Transfer TOTAL EXPENDITURE Regular Giving and Collections Income Tax Reclaimed Other Income TOTAL INCOME	2024 43,000 57,000 100,000 (2,000) 9,000 107,000 72,000 16,000 19,000 107,000	2023 45,000 52,000 97,000 (1,000) 10,000 106,000 77,000 16,000 13,000 106,000	INC/(DEC)
			(2,000) 5,000 3,000 1,000 (1,000) 1,000 (5,000) - 6,000 (1,000)

Our volunteer collections counting team have worked on a rota basis so that each week we have two counters. I am sure they would appreciate further volunteers to join them on an occasional basis. They make sure that income from giving is recorded and deposited. The team is led by Victor Smithson and John Hart. John has recently stepped down after many years in the role and we thank him for all he has done.

The members of the Finance Team have specific roles. As Treasurer, Alan Bateman is the frontline worker who pays the bills and initially draws up accounts. These accounts are audited by Christine Langton, as volunteer Church Accountant, who also has an overarching role to look at financial matters generally. This includes preparing budgets, and producing the year-end Financial Statements.

Ken Bird, as Planned Giving Officer, is involved with all aspects of giving. This includes maintaining databases, making Gift Aid claims, and handling all the forms and declarations and envelopes.

The Finance Team

Financial Report for the Year Ending December 31[st] 2024

This report should be read in conjunction with the full set of Financial Statements that are displayed in the following pages.

Our income and spending levels from general funds have been helped in two main ways. Firstly, our investment management has been actively led by Christine Langton such that we have greatly increased our savings with CCLA, the church investment body. This had the effect of increasing our income from investments from £4,000 in 2023 to £13,000 in 2024. This means that when we need to spend on large projects such as building repairs we are not reducing our Contingency Reserve as much as might have been thought, since the higher interest earned has mitigated the effect. Secondly, our salaries bill has been significantly reduced. This has come about by different factors, chiefly the moving on of our Children and Youth worker who we were sorry to lose. But also by reductions in hours and a gap between a staff cleaner leaving and a replacement starting. We continue to be thankful for our wardens covering the work of a verger. As a result, our salaries and pension bill was reduced from £31,000 in 2023 to £19,000 in 2024.

Below is a simplified summary of our general funds (i.e. excluding specially designated and restricted funds and which appear more fully in the accounts in the following pages) for 2024.

Church Running Costs Giving for Ministry Sub-total General Reserve Transfer 10% Mission Transfer TOTAL EXPENDITURE Regular Giving and Collectons Income Tax Reclaimed Other Income TOTAL INCOME	2024 43,000 57,000 100,000 (2,000) 9,000 107,000 72,000 16,000 19,000 107,000	2023 45,000 52,000 97,000 (1,000) 10,000 106,000 77,000 16,000 13,000 106,000	INC/(DEC) (2,000) 5,000 3,000 1,000 (1,000)-
			1,000 (5,000) - 6,000 1,000

Ken Bird, as Planned Giving Officer, is involved with all aspects of giving. This includes maintaining databases, making Gift Aid claims, and handling all the forms and declarations and envelopes.

The Finance Team

Alan Bateman Ken Bird Christine Langton Church Treasurer Church Accountant Planned Giving Officer

Docusign Envelope ID: DAB88098-6671-45FE-A80B-06A98AA08574

Parochial Church Council of St Michael & All Angels, Bramcote Statement of Financial Activities

For the year ending 31 December 2024

Unrestricted Funds Note £ INCOMING RESOURCES Voluntary income 2(a) 90,018 Activities for generating funds 2(b) 6,951 Income from investments 2(c) 432 Church activities 2(d) 5,794 TOTAL INCOMING RESOURCES 103,195 RESOURCES EXPENDED Cost of generating voluntary income 3(a) 166 Grants 3(b) - Church activities 3(c) 100,557 TOTAL RESOURCES EXPENDED 100,723 NET INCOMING / (OUTGOING) RESOURCES 2,472 TRANSFER BETWEEN FUNDS 9 (2,472) NET MOVEMENTS IN FUNDS - FUND BALANCES BROUGHT FORWARD AT 1 JANUARY 2024 9 - TOTAL FUND BALANCES CARRIED FORWARD AT 31 DECEMBER 2024 8, 9 -	(Unrestricted) Designated Restricted Funds Funds £ £ - 5,495 - - 11,909 659 109 5,942	(Unrestricted) Designated Restricted Funds Funds £ £ - 5,495 - - 11,909 659 109 5,942	TOTAL Endowment Funds 2024 £ £ - 95,513 - 6,951 177 13,177 - 11,845	TOTAL Endowment Funds 2024 £ £ - 95,513 - 6,951 177 13,177 - 11,845	FUNDS 2023 £ 119,249 5,240 4,046 10,741
103,195	12,018	12,096	177	127,486	139,276
166 - 100,557	- 8,730 15,310	- 618 19,487	- - -	166 9,348 135,354	90 9,753 142,912
100,723	24,040	20,105	-	144,868	152,755
2,472 (2,472)	(12,022) 7,689	(8,009) (5,217)	177 -	(17,382) -	(13,479) -
- -	(4,333) 251,337	(13,226) 28,579	177 2,345	(17,382) 282,261	(13,479) 295,740
-	247,004	15,353	2,522	264,879	282,261

The notes on pages 3 to 7 form part of these accounts.

Page 1

Docusign Envelope ID: DAB88098-6671-45FE-A80B-06A98AA08574

Parochial Church Council of St Michael & All Angels, Bramcote Balance Sheet at 31 December 2024

Parochial Church Council of St Michael & All Angels, Bramcote Balance Sheet at 31 December 2024	Parochial Church Council of St Michael & All Angels, Bramcote
		2024	2023
	Note	£	£
CURRENT ASSETS
Debtors	6	13,754	10,465
Short term deposits		253,147	273,077
Cash at bank and in hand		1,014	1,954
		267,915	285,496
LIABILITIES
Creditors - amounts falling due within one year	7	(3,036)	(3,235)
NET CURRENT ASSETS		264,879	282,261

NET ASSETS		264,879	282,261
FUNDS
Unrestricted	8, 9	247,004	251,337
Restricted	8, 9	15,353	28,579
Endowment	8, 9	2,522	2,345
		264,879	282,261

5/3/2025 | 16:10:46 GMT

Approved by the Parochial Church Council on ……………….……..……….. and signed on its behalf by:

Chairman…………………………… Treasurer ………………………… 1284CAD9101F44F... FADBFD2980EA487... (Stan Heptinstall) (Alan Bateman)

The notes on pages 3 to 7 form part of these accounts.

Registered Charity No. 1130798

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Parochial Church Council of St Michael & All Angels, Bramcote Notes to the Financial Statements

For the year ending 31 December 2024

1 ACCOUNTING POLICIES

The PCC is a public benefit entity within the meaning of FRS102. The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland issued in October 2019, the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS102), the Charities Act 2011 and in accordance with the Church Accounting Regulations 2006 governing the individual accounts of PCC's.

The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention unless otherwise stated in the relevant notes to these accounts.

Funds

Endowment funds are funds, the capital of which must be maintained; only income arising from investment of the endowment may be used either as restricted or unrestricted funds depending upon the purpose for which the endowment was established.

Restricted funds represent (a) income from trusts or endowments which may be expended only on those restricted objects provided in the terms of the trust or bequest, and (b) donations or grants received for a special object or invited by the PCC for a specific object. The funds may only be expended on the specific object for which they were given. Any balance remaining unspent at the end of the each year must be carried forward as a balance on that fund. The PCC does not usually invest separately for each fund. Where there is no separate investment, interest is apportioned to individual funds on an average balance basis.

Unrestricted funds are general funds which can be used for PCC ordinary purposes.

Incoming Resources

Planned giving, collections, donations, grants and bank interest are recognised when received. Tax refunds are recognised when the incoming resource to which they relate is received. All other income is recognised when it is received. All incoming resources are accounted for gross.

Resources Expended

Grants and donations are accounted for when paid over, or when awarded, if that award creates a binding obligation on the PCC. The diocesan parish share is accounted for when paid. Any parish share unpaid at 31 December is provided for in these accounts as an operational (though not a legal) liability and is shown as an accrual in the Balance Sheet. All other expenditure is generally recognised when it is incurred and is accounted for gross.

Fixed Assets

Consecrated property and moveable church furnishings

Consecrated and beneficial property of any kind is excluded from the accounts by s.96(2)(a) of the Charities Act 1993.

Moveable church furnishings held by the Vicar and Churchwardens on special trust for the PCC, and which require a faculty for disposal, are accounted as inalienable property unless consecrated, listed in the church's inventory, which can be inspected (at any reasonable time). No value is placed on such property in these accounts.

All expenditure incurred during the year on consecrated or benefice buildings and moveable church furnishings, whether maintenance or improvement, is written off as expenditure in the Statement of Financial Activities (SOFA).

No value is placed on the Church centre and for insurance purposes there is no separate valuation as it is included in the overall amount of £14,300,000 (2023 : £14,300,000) for both the Church and centre.

Other fixtures, fittings and office equipment

All expenditure on fixtures, fittings and office furniture is written off at the time expenditure is incurred.

Current Assets

Short - term deposits is cash held on deposit either with the CBF Church of England Funds or at the bank.

Reserve Policy

The PCC agreed to continue the policy of holding the equivalent of three months running costs as a General Reserve. As at 31st December 2024 the balance in the reserve is £10,081 (2023 : £11,217).

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Parochial Church Council of St Michael & All Angels, Bramcote. Notes to the Financial Statements (continued)

For the year ending 31 December 2024

2 INCOMING RESOURCES

Unrestricted Funds £ 59,871 16,248 7,900 4,351 1,464 184	(Unrestricted) Designated Restricted Funds Funds £ £ - 2,810 - 702 - - - - - 34 - 1,949	(Unrestricted) Designated Restricted Funds Funds £ £ - 2,810 - 702 - - - - - 34 - 1,949	Endowment Funds £ - - - - - -	TOTAL FUNDS 2024 2023 £ £ 62,681 76,274 16,950 20,382 7,900 13,037 4,351 4,523 1,498 1,950 2,133 3,083	TOTAL FUNDS 2024 2023 £ £ 62,681 76,274 16,950 20,382 7,900 13,037 4,351 4,523 1,498 1,950 2,133 3,083
90,018	-	5,495	-	95,513	119,249
5,966 822 163	- - -	- - -	- - -	5,966 822 163	4,235 689 316
6,951	-	-	-	6,951	5,240
432 -	11,909 -	659 -	125 52	13,125 52	3,995 51
432	11,909	659	177	13,177	4,046
- - 642 4,704 226 222 - - -	- 109 - - - - - - -	- - - - 49 - 4,040 1,853 -	- - - - - - - - -	- 109 642 4,704 275 222 4,040 1,853 -	827 134 618 3,478 88 388 3,832 1,346 30
5,794	109	5,942	-	11,845	10,741

103,195	12,018	12,096	177	127,486	139,276

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Parochial Church Council of St Michael & All Angels, Bramcote. Notes to the Financial Statements (continued)

For the year ending 31 December 2024

3 RESOURCES EXPENDED

Unrestricted Funds £ 166	(Unrestricted) Designated Restricted Funds Funds £ £ - -	(Unrestricted) Designated Restricted Funds Funds £ £ - -	Endowment Funds £ -	TOTAL FUNDS 2024 2023 £ £ 166 90	TOTAL FUNDS 2024 2023 £ £ 166 90
166	-	-	-	166	90
- - - - - - - -	2,288 1,790 139 139 1,144 1,043 1,043 1,144	- - - - - - - 618	- - - - - - - -	2,288 1,790 139 139 1,144 1,043 1,043 1,762	2,380 1,829 142 141 1,798 1,066 1,066 1,331
-	8,730	618	-	9,348	9,753
57,014 746 - - 13,975 5,038 571 - - 564 16 659 1,073 - 1,792 5,499 11,226 1,690 - - 694	14,566 - 245 - - - - - - 499 - - - - - - - - - - -	- - - - - 361 - 7,367 316 7,861 - - 103 - - - - - 1,973 1,394 112	- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -	71,580 746 245 - 13,975 5,399 571 7,367 316 8,924 16 659 1,176 - 1,792 5,499 11,226 1,690 1,973 1,394 806	68,124 1,373 306 1,075 12,769 8,787 372 14,775 1,101 3,277 15 617 577 45 1,811 5,149 16,115 2,197 1,599 1,459 1,369
100,557	15,310	19,487	-	135,354	142,912

100,723	24,040	20,105	-	144,868	152,755

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Parochial Church Council of St Michael & All Angels, Bramcote. Notes to the Financial Statements (continued)

For the year ending 31 December 2024

4 STAFF NUMBERS AND RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS

During the year the PCC paid 4 employees (2023:5), the organist, parish administrator, cleaner and a Children and Family Youth Minister.

STAFF COSTS Salaries Pension Contributions TOTAL	2024 £ 18,007 586 18,593	2023 £ 29,969 921
		30,890

The PCC pays at least the Living Wage Foundation living wage. The Workplace Pension was implemented on 1st July 2016 and the PCC chose the Government scheme NEST as its provider.

No payments were paid to any member of the PCC or persons closely connected to them or related parties, except that a member of the PCC became employed as a verger from 1st January 2019 to 31st March 2023. He was not a party to discussions on relevant employee matters. The Public Liability Insurance now includes Church Council and Trustee Indemnity, and no separate fee has therefore been paid.

5 EXTERNAL EXAMINER'S FEE

The fee agreed by the external examiner for the Independent Examination of the 2024 accounts is £1,140 (2023: £1,020), including VAT and has been accrued in these accounts. This included an examination of the Charity Accounts.

6 DEBTORS Income tax recoverable Other debtors Prepayments 7 LIABILITIES: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR Accruals and deferred income	2024 £ 7,902 4,935 917 13,754 2024 £ 3,036 3,036	2023 £ 8,945 727 793
		10,465
		2023 £ 3,235
		3,235

8 ANALYSIS OF NET ASSETS BY FUND

Total Assets Current Liabilities	Unrestrict General Funds £ 3,036 (3,036)	ed Funds Restricted Endowmen Designated Funds Funds Funds £ £ £ 247,004 15,353 2,522 - - -	t Funds £ 267,915 (3,036)
	-	247,004 15,353 2,522	264,879

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Parochial Church Council of St Michael & All Angels, Bramcote. Notes to the Financial Statements (continued)

For the year ending 31 December 2024

9 BALANCES CARRIED FORWARD

Balance at 1/01/24 £ 582 680 9,708 - 1,133 1,763 - 4,619 4,559 11,217 217,076	Income/ Income Tax £ 109 - - - - - - - - - -	Interest £ 25 33 - - 56 25 63 213 260 490 10,744	Resources Expended £ (245) - (8,730) - - - - (499) - - (14,566)	Transfers £ - - (978) 9,315 - (1,788) 1,788 - 978 (1,626) -
251,337	109	11,909	(24,040)	7,689
Balance at 1/01/24 £ 918 8,154 1,841 107 1,474 751 - 472 454 203 638 9,920 174 2,068 1,405	Income/ Income Tax £ 267 - - - - - 3,512 135 - - 1,300 330 - 4,040 1,853	Interest £ 41 225 91 5 73 37 - 11 20 10 17 124 5 - -	Resources Expended £ (248) - - - - (157) (7,683) (618) (59) - - (7,861) (112) (1,973) (1,394)	Transfers £ - (4,171) - - - - 4,171 - - (1,612) - - (2,205) (1,400)
28,579	11,437	659	(20,105)	(5,217)
Balance at 1/01/24 £ 2,345	Income/ Income Tax £ 52	Interest £ 125	Resources Expended £ -	Transfers £ -
2,345	52	125	-	-

10 FUND DETAILS

The endowment fund is the income only element of the Bramcote Chancel Fund. This is a permanent endowment which requires the income to be spent on keeping the chancel "wind and weather proof". The capital element of the fund is represented by 82.50 shares in the Central Board of Finance Investment Fund at an original cost of £613 and is not shown in these financial statements. The value of the capital at 31 December 2024 was £1,907.62 i.e. £23.1227 per share (2023: £1,864.94 i.e. £22.6053 per share). Both the income and capital of the fund is held by the Diocese of Southwell with the income invested in a Central Board of Finance Deposit Fund.

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Independent Examiner’s Report To the PCC of St Michael and All Angels Church, Bramcote

I report to the Parochial Church Council on my examination of the Statement of Financial Activities, Balance Sheet and Notes to the Financial Statements of the Church for the year ended 31 December 2024, which are set out on pages 1 to 7.

Respective responsibilities of the Trustees and Independent Examiner

The charity’s trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (‘the Act’). The charity’s trustees consider that an audit is not required for this year under section 144(2) of the Charities Act 2011 (the 2011 Act) and that an independent examination is needed.

It is my responsibility to

examine the accounts under section 145 of the 2011 Act;
follow the procedures laid down in the General Directions given by the Charity Commissioners section 145(5)(b) of the 2011 Act; and
state whether particular matters have come to my attention.

Basis of Independent Examiner's Statement

My examination was carried out in accordance with the General Directions given by the Charity Commission.

An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts and seeking explanations from the management committee concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in a full audit, and consequently I do not express an audit opinion on the accounts.

Independent Examiner's Statement

In connection with my examination, no matters have come to my attention

which give me reasonable cause to believe that in any material respect the requirements
to keep accounting records in accordance with s.130 of the 2011 Act; or
to prepare accounts which accord with these accounting records have not been met; or
to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

[ DocuSigned by:

D83DD55CD455494... Peter Stewart FCA Gregory Priestley & Stewart Lyndhurst 1 Cranmer Street Long Eaton Nottingham NG10 1NJ

7/3/2025 | 16:55:23 GMT Date:

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