## **THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF THE ECCLESIASTICAL PARISH OF CHESTERTON ST ANDREW**
**Registered Charity Number: 1130805**
## **Annual Report and**
## **Financial Statements St Andrew’s Church, Chesterton Cambridge**
_for the year ended 31 December 2023_
Signed on behalf of the PCC
Revd Dr Philip Lockley, Vicar
St Andrew’s Chesterton
Annual report and financial statements
## **CONTENTS**
|Aim and purposes|3|
|---|---|
|Objectives and activities|3|
|Achievements and performance|7|
|I.
VICAR’S REPORT|7|
|II.
REPORTS FROM GROUPS AND AREAS OF CHURCH ACTIVITY|11|
|Financial review|30|
|Reserves Policy|31|
|Structure, governance and management|33|
|Reference and Administrative information|35|
|Financial statements, accounts and notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 December|36|
|2023||
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## **AIM AND PURPOSES**
St Andrew’s Chesterton Parochial Church Council (PCC) has the responsibility of cooperating with the incumbent, the Reverend Dr Philip Lockley, in promoting in the ecclesiastical parish the whole mission of the Church, pastoral, evangelistic, social and ecumenical. It also has ultimate legal responsibility for St Andrew’s Hall, its buildings and community activities, though it delegates day-today running to a management committee that includes representatives of user and residents’ groups as well as its own nominees (50%).
## **OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES**
St Andrew’s is the Church of England parish church for the area of North Cambridge between the River Cam and Milton Road, from Mitcham’s Corner to Green End Road. St Andrew’s seeks to be a nurturing, cherishing and restoring community of Christians – among people we are with, around places where we live, and within the building, churchyard and Creation we have been gifted and will pass on to future generations.
Our church building is usually open from 9.15am to 4pm daily. Our regular times of worship on Sundays are 8am and 10am, with advertised evening services at 5.30pm.
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St Andrew’s Chesterton is part of the Cambridge North Deanery in the Diocese of Ely. The current diocesan vision is this: _We pray to be generous and visible people of Jesus Christ._
Believing that God calls us to discover together his transforming presence in our lives and in every community, in Jesus Christ we pray:
- To engage fully and courageously with the needs of our communities, locally and globally
- To grow God’s church by finding disciples and nurturing leaders
- To deepen our commitment to God through word, worship and prayer.
The overarching objective of St Andrew’s Chesterton fits these Christian commitments. This is what motivates all our more specific objectives and activities described below. Our activities provide public benefit to the parish and the wider community, in line with guidance issued by the Charity Commission. We describe our achievements and performance for each of these activities in more detail in the next section.
## **Objectives**
**1. Worship and Music** – to give all our parishioners, as well as church members from outside the parish, the opportunity to participate in Christian worship and enjoy worship enhanced by faith-filled music. We want to experience God and the joy that comes from knowing God and learning to love and serve God in our lives.
## **Activities**
We provide at least two regular services each Sunday – in both traditional and more contemporary styles of worship – as well as additional evening services across the month. Our styles of services, supported by choral and instrumental music groups, are wide-ranging, to suit members of all ages. Our Minims music group develops a love of music and singing among primary-age children from within and beyond the church congregation. We offer a range of special services throughout the year, including at Christmas, Easter and Remembrance-tide, which are attended by considerable numbers from our local community. Baptism, Marriage and Funeral Services at St Andrew’s remain popular and much valued. We offer hospitality after the principal service and some evening services, providing a welcoming atmosphere for social connection and building community.
**2. Prayer, discipleship and small group fellowship** – to deepen our knowledge of our Christian faith, to practice prayer and contemplation in the Christian tradition, to reflect together on the relevance of faith in relation to society and culture, and to encourage one another in our Christian lives.
We aim to understand God’s purposes for our lives through Bible study, prayer and wider learning in the Christian tradition – both individually and by meeting in smaller groups beyond Sundays. Morning Prayer is held online or in person each weekday. The Tuesday Bible Study group and the Healing and Wholeness Prayer group meet throughout the year. During Lent, a series of small groups meet in church members’ homes to explore our walk with God in depth. A Book Group meets to discuss a range of literature from a faith perspective. We encourage all our church members to pray and study the Bible regularly as part of their personal devotions. Courses of Christian study and deepening discipleship run on occasion, sometimes leading to services such as baptism and confirmation for those new to faith or resolving to make a public commitment of their faith.
**3. Children and young people** - to Our youth work provides a wide range of activities for those give our younger members and of secondary school age. These include meetings on Sunday
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|children in the parish the
opportunity to explore the Christian
faith in ways they find meaningful.|evenings at points across the month, and one Sunday
morning. Our children’s work for those of primary school age
is focused on Sunday mornings – on second Sundays in age-
specific groups, and on fourth Sundays in the form of Café
Church for parents, grandparents and children to worship
together. On other Sundays, our worship in church is
intergenerational by purpose and design, ensuring children
feel welcome, included and valued in our worshipping life
and community.|
|---|---|
|**4. Community and Pastoral concern**
– to express the love of God in
hospitality, social connection and
concern in practical ways to the local
community.|The St Andrew’s Hall is a space of hospitality and connection
hosted by church volunteers through our weekly Monday
MorningCoffee Morning and the Sunday Lunch Club –
offering an affordable meal to those in the local community
who would otherwise live alone. Our clergy and developing
pastoral care team also visit a range of local people to offer a
listening ear and pastoral support. A monthly Communion
service in a local care home is a further opportunity for
connection and conversation in addition to worship.|
|**5. Building and Churchyard**– to
preserve and enhance the historic
fabric of our church building and to
sustain the eco-system of our
churchyard for current and future
generations.|The medieval parish church of St Andrew’s Chesterton is
Grade-1 listed, and the 3 ½ acres of churchyard surrounding
it is a much-valued green space enjoyed by thousands of
local residents and visitors each year. A volunteer team
opens and closes our church building for visitors each day,
and the visitors’ book attests to how many enjoy its quiet
peace and beauty. We commit significant funds to
maintaining the historic fabric of the building, aided by the
fundraising efforts of the Friends of St Andrew’s Church. St
Andrew’s has six bells, a number of experienced bell ringers,
and an active programme to train new ringers from the
wider community. The bells are rung twice each week, at
festivals and on national occasions. A team of volunteers
continue to improve our beautiful churchyard so that it is a
pleasure for visitors and a good home for a range of plant
and animal species. Our flower arranging group makes the
interior of the church more beautiful.|
|**6. Mission and Giving**– to
encourage in our church life
generosity and commitment to the
five ‘marks of mission’ of the
worldwide Anglican Church.|A Mission and Giving subgroup of the PCC plans and
coordinates our giving as a church to Christian work and
other charitable causes. Throughout the year, we also seek
to devise themed services and events linked to the causes
and initiatives supported, as well as our wider commitment
to mission as disciples of Christ. We use the five ‘marks of
mission’ to guide our decisions about priorities for giving and
to ensure a balance in our commitment to various aspects of
mission:
To proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom
To teach, baptize and nurture new believers
To respond to human need by loving service
To seek to transform unjust structures of society
To strive to safeguard the integrity of creation and
sustain and renew the earth.|
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|||
|---|---|
|**7. Communications**– to share news
in church and community life and to
publicise relevant events and
initiatives within our wider
community.|A Communications team of staff and volunteers seeks to
ensure that services and events as well as opportunities to
be involved in church life and wider community initiatives
are publicised well, on noticeboards, our website, through
social media, leaflets and regular publications. St Andrew’s
provides significant staff support for the Chesterton News
community publication which promotes community
initiatives, groups and activities across much of North
Cambridge.|
|**8. Safeguarding**- to create and
maintain a safe and nurturing
environment for everyone,
especially for children, young
people and vulnerable adults.|St Andrew’s Church is strongly committed to creating and
maintaining a safe and nurturing environment for everyone,
especially for children, young people and vulnerable adults.
We affirm, with the Church of England, a ‘Whole Church’
approach to safeguarding. This means we will:
promote the welfare of children, young people and adults,
work to prevent abuse from occurring,
seek to protect those that are at risk of being abused, and
respond well to those that have been abused.
We will also take care to identify where a person may
present a risk to others, and offer support to them whilst
taking steps to mitigate such risks.
We have a designated member of our congregation as our
Parish Safeguarding Officer. All volunteers in roles involving
children or vulnerable adults or positions of leadership in the
church community are DBS checked and undergoing regular
safeguarding training. We have due regard to all guidance on
safeguarding issued by the Diocese of Ely and House of
Bishops.|
|**9. Playing our part in the life of**
**the wider Church**– to contribute
to the financial, missional and
collaborative health of the
Deanery, Diocese and national
Church of England.|Ordained and lay members of St Andrew’s engage
constructively with wider representative bodies in the North
Cambridge Deanery and the Diocese of Ely, attending and
contributing to planning processes and decision-making at
Deanery Synod, Clergy Chapter and Diocesan Synod. We join
with other Church of England churches in Cambridge North
Deanery in pooling much of our congregational giving,
supporting ministry in parishes with fewer resources. We
participate with other churches across the denominations in
activities like the Good Friday walk through Chesterton and
wider partnerships.|
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## **ACHIEVEMENTS AND PERFORMANCE**
## I. VICAR’S REPORT
2023 has been a year of changes and continuities at St Andrew’s, many warm welcomes and a few significant departures; a year of growing and learning, celebrating joys and sharing some sadnesses. The most obvious change and welcome began a little before the new year, as I was installed as Vicar in the week before Christmas 2022. This meant I had the delight of meeting a vast array of people very quickly across the various Christmas services and events. Yet it was once we were into the new year that it felt like the real beginning of the task of meeting, getting to know and working with the wonderful people of St Andrew’s. From our first arrival, Ruth, Jonathan, Sam and I have been made to feel so welcome in this special church community. Thank you to everyone who has played their part in that welcome this year.
## **Ministry and staff team changes**
The warm welcomes as well as the significant departures have been noticeable among the St Andrew’s team of staff, volunteers and contractors, and ordained ministers.
Just before my arrival in December 2022 – and entirely independent of it(!) – St Andrew’s said goodbye to Hannah Fytche as our **youth worker** . Wonderfully, we have continued to welcome Hannah within our congregation out of term-time, when she has not had duties as part of her role and studies at Clare College. With Hannah moving on, Youth Group and Why Group were sustained by a small group of dedicated volunteer leaders and chefs up to the summer. In September, we welcomed our new Youth Worker, **Jess Bent** , who has worked hard to get to know and support our young people and quickly proved herself an invaluable new addition to our staff team. Jess’ role is funded from generous donations to our Youth Fund from members of our congregation. A huge thank you to those who have supported this Fund this year.
The end of September 2023 witnessed a further significant departure, as **Peter Wadl** left St Andrew’s after ten years in the role of **Director of Music** . As was shared with the congregation at the time, the PCC had spent a considerable period carefully reviewing the nature of music provision for our worship, identifying intentions and aims for our music in line with the long-standing traditions of St Andrew's and future hopes. This review and process led the PCC to realise it needed a new structure of voluntary and paid roles for music and worship. Adopting this new structure meant that, regrettably, the existing self-employed role of Director of Music was required to end. Upon learning that the role would end, Peter opted not to remain with us until the end of the notice period but moved on immediately. Peter is to be thanked and acknowledged for all his work at St Andrew's over the many years he was with us, including his efforts to resume music and choral provision in the difficult circumstances after the pandemic. Further details of the subsequent working out our new arrangements for music, with a new structure gradually being implemented and developed, are given in the music report below.
In addition to our staff and contractor team, our **ordained ministry team** has seen further changes and notable new arrivals. In July 2023, we welcomed a new part-time Assistant Curate, **Revd Steve**
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**McGregor** and his family. Steve has a background in the military before academic research and teaching, and trained for ordination at Ridley Hall, Cambridge. Ordained deacon at the beginning of July, Steve has been getting to know St Andrew’s and the parish, and letting us get to know him through his thoughtful preaching and teaching, amiability and engaging interest in people. We hope and pray St Andrew’s will be a context of great fruitfulness in ministry for Steve, Celina and their children, and look forward to Steve sharing yet more of his gifts and energies among us in the coming year.
November 2023 saw a further welcome addition to our clergy team, as **Revd Duncan Gray** was licensed as an Associate Priest for St Andrew’s. Duncan, Amy and their family joined our congregation during 2023, having moved to Cambridge from London, where Duncan was a curate in self-supporting parish ministry. I am delighted to have Duncan as a colleague, and St Andrew’s looks forward to receiving much from the depth and insight Duncan brings to presiding and preaching on Sundays and his wider wisdom for the future of our mission and ministry.
Of course, 2023 has also seen continuities in both our staff and ordained ministry teams. St Andrew’s has continued to appreciate the valued preaching and pastoral ministry of **Revd Dorothy Peyton Jones** as an Associate Priest – even as Dorothy’s principal ministry commitments remain at St John’s, Orchard Park. **Bishop Graham Kings** has generously maintained a regular pattern of preaching and presiding at the 10am services across the year – even as the departure of the Bishop of Ely has meant Graham has taken on wider commitments in the diocese during that vacancy. Meanwhile, the 8am congregation has been greatly blessed by the continued ministry among them of **Revd Dr Tim Jenkins** , who has preached and presided on a fortnightly basis through much of the year.
Last, but never, ever least, **Rachel Clarke** has continued as an extremely dedicated and diligent servant of our church and wider community through her role as St Andrew’s Hall Manager, and additional responsibilities in 2023 covering both church administration and the duties of Parish Safeguarding Officer. Huge thanks are due to Rachel for the way she has held together these diverse responsibilities coming out of the vacancy and through the first year of a new incumbency, while further overseeing the recovery of the community use and flourishing of the St Andrew’s Hall. A further thank you is also very much due to **Deborah Bick** for her voluntary support in administration and communications in the Church Office for much of 2023. Deborah helped sustain the weekly communications to our church family, the website, our regular service recordings available on YouTube, and a host of our printing tasks, working with care behind the scenes. Very many thanks indeed to Deborah, who gradually set down these responsibilities towards the end of 2023, preparing the way for a new Communications role to be initiated in the new year.
## **Church Warden and PCC changes**
In May 2023, Ian Nimmo-Smith stood down as Church Warden – bringing to a close a distinguished record of service to St Andrew’s in this role. Tremendous gratitude was rightly expressed to Ian for all his effort and care over almost a decade, with particular thanks due for his steering through several projects to care for and develop the historic fabric of our church building in his time. Maggie Fernie was re-elected as Church Warden for another year in 2023. Maggie has continued as a much valued and caring presence in our church life, often noticing what others don’t, carefully ensuring many
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things get done behind the scenes, and being a wonderful advocate for the flourishing of the churchyard too. Much thanks are due to Maggie for her continued efforts in this role.
With Ian standing down, Chris Pountain was elected as Church Warden for the first time. Chris has brought energy, conscientiousness, and fresh thinking to several areas of church life already in his new role. As the change to music structures at St Andrew’s took effect, Chris played a crucial role in sustaining and developing our music in worship, proving an invaluable source of wisdom, experience and reassurance for many. Huge thanks are due to Chris for all his effort and understanding in this role.
Finally, the Annual Meeting in May brought changes to the make-up of the PCC, with Robin Newton standing down from PCC, and one newly elected member, Peter Coomber. Many thanks to Robin for all he has contributed to PCC over the years he has served; and a welcome back to Peter, after a couple of years away from PCC.
## **Achievements and highlights from the year**
Many other changes and continuities, growing-s and learnings from 2023 will be apparent from the group reports of areas of activity in the life of our church included below.
For me, highlights from the year include:
- A broad sense of growth and energy as a church body of all-ages, with more people returning to worship with us since the end of the pandemic as well as several new individuals and families joining us for worship and seeking to become a part of our community in different ways. In particular, we have seen growth in Junior Church, Café Church and in all-age services, with new families joining our congregation, and some who previously perhaps worshipped with us more occasionally, now becoming more involved and a more consistent part of things. Our online worship ‘views’ – which many in our in-person congregation are perhaps less aware of – have also been sustained and even seen some growth at both Sunday services (see statistics below on page 14). Particular thanks are due to the amazing tech team which sustains this ministry: Georgia Curry and Jill Garrett at 8am, and David Bick, Steve Grantham, Robin Hellen and Mark Lawson at the 10am. Our welcome and after-worship fellowship and sense of being a body together have been enabled by our wonderful sidesperson and refreshment teams – thanks to all who serve in this way and their respective coordinators Patricia Abrey & Emily Winslow-Stark.
- The planning, commissioning and completion of the Quinquennial Repairs, restoring the South Aisle wall, inside and out, and generally improving the sense of the interior of the church as clean, dry and cared for. This work was only made possible by the generous support of members of St Andrew’s and especially the Friends of St Andrew’s, with additional donations from the Cambridgeshire Historic Churches Trust and the Benefact Trust. Credit is further due to the Fabric Committee, Wardens and Rachel Clarke for liaising so effectively with our architects and contractors – F.A. Valiant – throughout the project.
- Several stand out services across the year, including joyful baptisms and weddings, and poignant funerals for much valued members of our congregation and community. In July, we had both a Family Service marking the significance of Vassa Day, and an All-age Communion, when four of our children received Communion for the first time. The year was capped off with a series of joyfilled Christmas services and events, with an especial highlight the strength and enthusiasm of the choir drawn together to sing at the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols on Christmas Eve.
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## **Looking ahead**
In July, the St Andrew’s PCC gathered for an away evening at the Vicarage, to reflect on where we sensed St Andrew’s had been in recent years, where it was now, and where we might be being called to grow and develop together. During the evening, our discussions revolved around three words: **nourish, cherish, and restore** . We asked ourselves where, who, how and what our church life nourishes, cherishes or restores. We looked back to how we might have answered these questions before the pandemic, what we considered the current answers, and what we hoped and dreamed to nourish, cherish and restore in our church life in future. Our discussions that evening felt like a valuable first step to discerning the areas that we hope to develop in the coming months and years for growing ministry and mission at St Andrew’s. These included:
- Building a pastoral team of trained volunteers to deepen and broaden our pastoral care and support across the congregation and parish community.
- Growing a music and worship culture prioritising participation.
- Offering more hospitality in the Hall to the wider community, including for parents of young children or those of other ages who might feel on the edge of the community.
- Initiating opportunities for more sharing of food, fellowship and faith discussion – on Sundays, midweek and in homes – to grow us together as a thinking and caring community of faith beyond Sundays.
- Holding more space for prayer in the life and for the future of our community.
2023 has been a profoundly encouraging year for St Andrew’s: with a growing sense of confidence and capacity, of drawing in newcomers and pointing in new directions.
As a final reflection on the year, I recall how, at the Annual Parochial Church Meeting in May, Maggie Fernie shared that for a number of those involved in the appointment process for finding a new vicar for St Andrew’s, one Bible verse was especially influential:
**‘Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding’** (Proverbs 3:5).
I was personally deeply moved to learn this, as this same verse has been especially formative in my own faith and calling through life for the last twenty years. For me, this scriptural wisdom has spoken into times of wavering confidence and unknown futures. It has also spoken into times of encouragement and profoundly formative learning. I find this is a verse for all seasons, because it a verse about faith as a matter of trust, of heart-felt hope, of sincerity, and letting go of what we cannot control to allow God to gift us the future God lovingly intends for us. My hope is this is a scripture verse which can continue to speak into our life together as a church, as we continue to learn what it means to trust God for our future, over and above the limited horizon of our own understandings.
_Philip Lockley April 2024_
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## II. REPORTS FROM GROUPS AND AREAS OF CHURCH ACTIVITY
## **1. Worship and Music**
## **Worship (PCC Committee report)**
Among the continuities of 2023 have been our pattern of worship across the month and year, and our identity as a thriving, open and welcoming church community for all ages. During the process of appointing a new Vicar of St Andrew’s, I’m aware a conscious decision was taken to seek a parish priest who could enable each of the distinctive styles of worship and services here to flourish and develop – rather than to narrow or curtail them. For me, this was one of the appeals and opportunities of the role; and so the range of existing services has been preserved and gained a palpable sense of renewed energy and purpose over the year.
- The weekly 8am Prayer Book Communion retained a loyal and valued congregation both in church and online. During the vacancy, Tim Jenkins, a former Dean of Jesus College, came to preside regularly at this service, and – since my arrival – Tim has kindly continued to lead one or two services a month. While now based predominantly at St John’s Orchard Park, our much-loved Associate Priest, Dorothy Peyton-Jones, continued to preach and preside once a month or so at 8am for much of 2023.
- The 10am services where we are all ages together – the Family Service at the start of the month and All-Age Communions at other times – have a distinctive shape and feel. There is often more interaction in the talk, we have been introducing new songs to sing, and (in the final months of the year) benefitted from the introduction of a new “all-comers” choir. The Family Service also consistently ends with forming a circle and sharing the Peace, which I know many people have grown to value and draw inspiration from.
- The more formal 10am Sung Eucharists and Parish Communions – typically on 2[nd] and 4[th] Sundays of the month – have witnessed their own development, while also maintaining an enduring style. The changes in the staff and volunteer structure of music at St Andrew’s in the final quarter of the year proved a catalyst for visible growth at these services. It has been encouraging to see and hear new and enthused faces and voices drawn to be involved in choral singing at these services, as well as new volunteer organists and conductors sharing their gifts through helping lead worship.
- Café Church meeting in the St Andrew’s Hall in parallel with a more formal service in church has continued to flourish and involve new families. Over the year, Café Church came to incorporate more singing together, while retaining elements of the Godly Play approach to scripture stories familiar to many from Junior Church. Café Church continues to provide an excellent opportunity for families to worship and discuss faith together and offer support and encouragement.
- Evening services had a less consistent pattern during 2023 – as they have done since the pandemic. The Epiphany Procession service, the Choral Passion and Advent services, several sung Taizé and said Iona contemplative services, Evening Prayer, and a termly Evensong, nevertheless all together demonstrate the richness of worship in the distinctive space that St Andrew’s feels in the evenings – whether in the darkness of autumn or winter or the verdant late-afternoons of a Chesterton spring and summer.
_Philip Lockley_
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## **Music Report**
As Philip’s Vicar’s Report above mentions, for a considerable part of 2023, the PCC held an in-depth review of the nature and structure of music provision in our worship. Its main conclusions were that it wished to see:
- greater involvement and participation in music,
- the formation of groups which seek ways to grow fellowship, belonging and shared joy,
- the encouragement of learning and the confidence to contribute,
- the cultivation of breadth and diversity in musical style and tradition, and
- the good use of inherited musical resources such as the organ.
The PCC considered that these aims would be best met by adopting an organisational model in which there would be a plurality of roles held by both volunteers and professionals as deemed appropriate. Moving to this new model necessitated the ending of the existing Director of Music role. Three months’ notice of this was given to Peter Wadl, the self-employed Director of Music, to whom it was also made clear he would have the opportunity to apply for any of the plural roles envisaged. Peter chose not to do this, and it was mutually agreed to release him from his notice obligations with payment of his contractor fees until the end of the year.
As a consequence of Peter’s departure, the new structure for music came into operation immediately at the beginning of October under the oversight of Chris Pountain, the former Director of Music and the current Church Warden. By the end of the year, a regular team of five organists (Chris Pountain, Simon Kirk, John Marsh, John Reynolds and David Finlay) and four choir directors/choral group leaders (Chris Pountain, Peter Horley, Sharon Neufeld and Maggie Fernie) had been engaged; a choir of some 28 experienced singers and an All-comers group of some 14 singers had been established, and a growing instrumental and vocalist group assembled under the provisional leadership of Catherine Blydenstein.
The previous pattern of a full Sung Eucharist once a month was maintained, and a rehearsed group of singers (both experienced and Allcomers) supported the All-Age Communion and Parish Communion services, also usually offering a motet, introit or other reflective music. A service of readings and music for Advent inaugurated what is anticipated to be a regular full choral evening service once a month. The annual Christmas Eve Carol Service was supported by a 40-strong choir singing nine choir carols in addition to the hymns. Services at which the organ is used typically feature two to three composed voluntaries in a range of styles.
Other notable highlights of music at St Andrew’s over the course of 2023, included:
- In November, Alex Coke-Woods, a member of the instrumental group, led a songwriting workshop.
- The Cambridge Organists’ Association also visited in November, when several of their number played the organ.
- The Friends of St Andrew’s lunchtime concert series continued to prove a popular means of sharing music with the wider public within the context of our beautiful worship space.
_Chris Pountain_
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## **Sacristan's report**
The Sacristan’s year is normally dominated by the Church’s seasons and 2023 was no exception. This means changing altar and pulpit colours, as appropriate, as well as the usual task of making sure there is an adequate supply of Communion wine and wafers, including gluten free wafers and altar candles. The Advent Carol Service was by candlelight which meant an extra session for the noble band of candleholder cleaners who help prepare them for the Christmas services. Thank you to them and to Ursula Sainsbury and Jean Jackson for the Advent Wreath. As well as singing in the choir I now play the organ for some services so thank you to Patricia Abrey for carrying out Sacristan duties on Sung Eucharist Sundays and other occasions.
_John Reynolds_
## **Minims**
Minims singing group now runs twice a month, rather than once a month as it did previously. It runs at 4pm on first and third Sundays, usually in the main church but sometimes in Room 2 of the Hall. Parents stay for the whole session.
The target age range is 4 to 8 years old, but siblings are welcome so the actual age range has been 3 to 10 years old. Attendance has ranged from 4 to 10 children in a session, with 17 on the books. In the Winter, two new children started coming because they had seen Minims advertised in the Chesterton Chimes or Newsletter. One other child started when his family first started coming to the church in the Autumn.
Until the Autumn, Peter Wadl accompanied the sessions on the piano and was a second leader with Lizzie Fleming. David Boulton accompanied the group for a rehearsal and for the Christingle service and is happy to be involved again in the future. One of the older Minims singers is a skilled pianist and has accompanied the singing in many of the recent sessions. The group sang at the Easter morning service in April and the Christingle service in December.
_Lizzie Fleming_
## **Life Events – Baptisms, Weddings, Funerals**
The numbers of baptisms, wedding and funerals at St Andrew’s during 2023 followed a fairly similar trajectory to recent years (see Statistics table below). Of baptisms, 2 took place within the principal Sunday service, and a further 4 in their short service form at 12.15pm. Among the 3 weddings in the year, the wedding of Sarah Abrey and Riccardo Wysoczanski was the most familiar to members of St Andrew’s (and presented the greatest challenge to the clergy reading the Banns of Marriage!). Funerals in 2023 included of those of well-remembered members of the church: Jeanne Henderson, Beryl Brundish, Isolde Gundert and Derek Dazeley. Many thanks are due to Jean Welham for her continued service as funeral and weddings verger in 2023, in addition to Rachel Clarke and Peter Wadl, who further served in different capacities at funerals and weddings, ensuring St Andrew’s sustains this valued ministry to our parish and community.
_Philip Lockley_
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## **Statistics**
|**Statistics**||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|||||||||||||
||2015
2016||||2017|2018|2019|2020|2021
while
church
open|2022|**2023**|
|**Average**
**Sunday**
**attendance**|Adults
120
130||||129|123|115|*|71**|65|**82**|
||Children
29
31||||29|32|28|*|24|6|**16**|
|**Average online views of 8am/10am services**
**combined**(does not exclude later and repeat views)||||||||206**|88|75|**97**|
** combines lockdown and hybrid worship periods
**----- Start of picture text -----**
Numbers of services/individuals initiated
Baptisms 16 15 13 7 5 2 5 7 6
Weddings 9 13 7 9 4 5 4 6 3
Funerals Home 17 12 15 7 9 10 15 7 10
Away 10 9 15 13 4 6 9 3 3
Interment of 1 5 5 2 1 3 6 3 6
ashes
Confirmations 0 5 1 4 8 0 0 3 1
First 3 4 3 4 6 0 0 3 4
Communions
**----- End of picture text -----**
_Rachel Clarke_
## **2. Prayer, Discipleship and small group fellowship**
## **Wholeness and Healing Prayer Group**
The Wholeness and Healing Prayer Group has continued much as before this year. Our number was depleted however when, to everyone’s sorrow, Jeanne Henderson died in the Spring of 2023. She had been a stalwart member since the group started up, under the care of Pam Lumsden, a good many years ago now, and was always a most steadfast “Christian Soldier” and an inspiration. We have continued to be available during Communion services on the 2nd and 4th Sundays in the month, in the space behind the font, for anyone who needs prayer for themselves or for another. We also meet as a group in church for quiet prayer and contemplation once or twice a month when we can.
_Rosemary Mathew_
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## **Tuesday Bible Study Group**
The Tuesday Bible Study Group continued to meet fortnightly in 2023 although during Lent we met weekly as a Lent Group. For the first part of the year we studied St Mark’s Gospel and later in the year we began to study the book of Genesis. The latter has proved both interesting and challenging! We are a friendly group and new members are welcome.
## _John Reynolds_
## **Lent Groups**
During Lent 2023, some 50 people gathered in six different groups meeting either in day-time or evenings to study together Sam Wells’ book _The Heart of it All: the Bible’s big picture_ (2019) _. The Heart of it All_ is a short and engaging book with concise but readable chapters presenting the Bible as a single story – a love story between God, creation and humanity. Each week, groups met to explore themes from this story and reflect on faith together. Many encouraging comments were received. Particular thanks are due to the hosts and leaders of groups: Eva Allen, John Reynolds, Graham and June Stevenson, Philip and Ruth Lockley, Gill and Robin Bickerstaffe, Sharon and Jerome Neufeld, and David and Deborah Bick.
_Philip Lockley_
## **Book Group**
The book group meets every other month on Tuesday evenings. As ever, we have chosen quite a wide variety of books. We tend towards mainly fiction, and among the books we have read over the last year are Anne Tyler's Digging to America, Patrick Hamilton's Slaves of Solitude, Rebecca Stott's In the Days of Rain, about her family’s experiences with the Exclusive Brethren, and Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by the Polish Nobel-prize-winning author Olga Tokarczuk. The books and their themes have led us into many interesting and often lively discussions. We are very grateful to Ewa Allen for hosting us in her home.
If anyone would like details of the books we are reading, and would like to join us on a regular or occasional basis, please email zoe.g.lewin@gmail.com.
_Zoe Lewin_
## **3. Children and Young People**
## **Junior Church, Café Church and wider children’s work (PCC Committee report)**
In our first meeting of 2023, Philip outlined his vision for children’s work at St Andrew’s within the existing pattern of monthly services. He emphasised:
- Ensuring that families feel there is provision in worship for them at St Andrew’s, whichever Sunday they turn up.
- Encouraging a team effort and more joined-up themes and connections between Junior Church/Café church and All-Age/Family Services
- Continuing café church - sees this as a positive initiative for families
- Considering how children could be involved in communion on Junior Church Sundays
- Using space in church – bringing children out of the children’s area and moving around the church
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## Investing in children’s resources
- Promoting teamwork
We also spoke of the need to recruit a new youth worker after Hannah Fytche left with the aim of having someone in place by September. Ruth Lockley kindly volunteered to help out with ‘Why’ group (for 11-18 year olds), on a rota alongside Julia Eisen and Helen Druiff. Meanwhile, until July 2023 Lesley Mackie and Pippa Brice ran Seekers (for school years 4-6), Anne Williams and Gill Bickerstaffe ran Wonderers (for school years 1-3) with help from Shani Lee and Liz Frayling-Cork. Lizzie Fleming ran Rainbows with help from Miriam Stollwerck-Boulton. The Junior Church leaders took turns to lead Café Church.
**Rainbows** – numbers on the register increased from 8 to 12 January – July as new families joined (average attendance 6). From September there were 11 on the register (average attendance 8). **Wonderers** – numbers of children at this age remained low. Only one person joined the group from Rainbows in September bringing numbers from 4-5 with an average attendance of 2-3. **Seekers** – went from 11 on register Jan – July (av. attendance 8) to 5 from September (av. attendance 4) as 5 children moved on to Why group in September.
**Why group** – From January–July there were 7 youth on the register with an average attendance of 6.
**Cafe church** numbers stayed extremely healthy, averaging around 34 throughout the year (including children, parents/carers and leaders). Numbers ranged between 45/46 in January /March and 22 in October half term. We continued to have junior church leaders using the ‘Godly Play’ style of bible storytelling with prayers and creative responses and Sharon Neufeld led worship songs on the guitar. Amongst others, we celebrated Epiphany complete with scents and incense, the Mystery of Easter with its symbolic transformation of a purple to a white cross, and participated in a dramatic telling of Jonah complete with ‘whale’ tent. In the Autumn term we anchored ourselves in the Old Testament ‘Great Family’,’10 Best Ways’ and ‘Exile and Return’.
We continued to discuss ways in which Café Church could be developed to enhance intergenerational discussion and potentially to use the space differently. Adult ‘wondering’ and prayer ministry were also considered in order to make café church spiritually nourishing for the adults as well. Many thanks to Shani Lee and helpers for faithfully serving coffee over many Sundays and to Matthew Barker for helping us to set tables for café church and welcome people to Junior Church.
We also continued to organise our worship so that the themes of Junior Church and Café Church built on one another, following the Godly Play curriculum, to encourage children to attend both types of service if possible. In the Autumn, Anne Williams produced the first of a series of termly plans with a view to creating a two or three year rolling programme so that children who are with us for the whole of Junior Church don’t have too much repetition (obvious Church festivals notwithstanding!) The plan also took into account the sharing of resources between groups.
The end of the Summer term bought with it some farewells to a couple of very longstanding members of the St Andrew’s Junior Church team. Lesley Mackie left to worship full-time at Hope Church which she had been attending since Covid, and we marked her departure with a card, gift and prayers in church and with an extra thank you at our third annual Junior Church tea party in July.
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Pippa Brice also felt it would be an appropriate time for her to join the rest of her family at Christ Church and so signalled her departure in July. She requested that there be no formal farewell so we showed our appreciation as a smaller Junior Church team. We also thanked Miriam StollwerckBoulton for her help to Lizzie Fleming in Rainbows particularly during the Spring term before her A- levels began.
We said Goodbye to the Murrell children in July but welcomed our new curate’s family in the autumn. It has been good to see new families moving into the area and into our church all the time. We are well-equipped to pick them up through chatty staff and our mailouts. Equally some children stopped being regulars because of choir commitments elsewhere.
In September we were delighted to welcome our new Youth Worker, Jess Bent, a very welcome asset to the St Andrew’s team and a timely arrival. Ruth Lockley now stepped in to lead Seekers with help from a rota of other Junior Church helpers. Meanwhile Imogen Eisen (by now on her Silver DofE) helped Lizzie with Rainbows in September and November. We moved the Seekers group to Room 3 so that Jess and the Why group could enjoy the privacy of the Annexe.
In September we also decided to shift the pattern of worship and have Junior Church on the Second Sunday of the Month and Café Church on the Fourth Sunday. This enabled Sharon to participate in Church Sung Eucharist as well as lead café church music and has proved easier for managing halfterms when numbers of staff as well as families tends to be lower.
Bi-monthly mail-outs continued to be sent to Junior Church parents and carers reminding them of the upcoming services and any other events. This was also a useful ‘response’ tool which parents could use to advise of absences or ask any questions.
The children’s area in church was extended in the autumn after the removal of some pews to Helen Orr’s chapel. A new table and cloths were sourced along with some new toys. Colouring to match the bible reading continues to be provided at Family Services and All-Age Communions. Lizzie, Julia and Rachel tidied the cupboard at the back of St Andrew’s Hall to try and free up access to children’s resources.
Children’s work of course is not confined to Junior / Café church and it was a delight to see children engaging actively with Family Services and All-Age communions in Church as Philip put his vast selection of packing boxes to creative use. Children and families seemed to come to many services throughout the month, regardless of whether they were in church or in the Hall, which ties in with the positive impact of having a full-time vicar again. Philip’s ability to call the children by name is to be commended!
Many thanks to the members of the Junior Church team who were involved in so many aspects of our whole Church life in 2023: Mothering Sunday posies, Good Friday crafts, Christingle-making, the Nativity Tableau and of course Minims.
We finished the year in good heart at our happy community but aware that we are operating now on minimum capacity as far as leaders are concerned. General requests for help in church notices
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elicited almost no response so we must think creatively and specifically about how to attract, grow and equip new leaders.
_Julia Eisen Junior Church coordinator_
## **Youth Work**
I began as Youth Worker in September 2023. As such, this report covers September – December 2023. I cannot comment on the January – August period of St Andrew’s Youth. However, I can speak to the warm welcome from St Andrew’s. I have been honoured to get to know the youth over the previous four months and look forward to being part of their continued faith journeys.
I am thankful for all the volunteer leaders (Helen Druiff, Peter Abrey, Quentin Harmer, Julia Eisen, and Alex Barker) and cooks (Philip and Ruth Lockley, Simon Peyton-Jones, Karrie Fuller, Linda Stollwerk-Boulton, Ewa Allen, David Finlay, and Gill Bickerstaffe). Without them, St Andrew’s Youth wouldn’t have happened! I am also thankful to Helen Druiff, Julia Eisen, and Philip Lockley for assisting me and answering my many questions as I began the role.
St Andrew’s Youth started with a bang in September 2023 and enjoyed regular times together during Youth Group and WHY Group (though we never managed to get together to help out at the churchyard working party!). We finished the year with a small but delightful Christmas party.
## **2023 Activities:**
## _Youth Group_
In 2023 (September – December), attendance at youth group ranged from three to nine young people. We looked at the Psalms and what we could learn about God from them. We followed a regular pattern of beginning the evening by catching up and playing games before having a biblefocused time and enjoying a meal together.
## _WHY Group_
The core group of young people who regularly attended Youth Group also attended WHY Group. However, some youth who did not attend Youth Group attended one or more WHY Group sessions. Attendance ranged from six to eight young people. During our once-monthly Sunday mornings together, we explored the theme of participating with God and learnt about covenants. Our sessions included watching a short video, reading and exploring scripture together, doing a small activity to help us reflect on our passage, spending some “quiet time” with God, and praying together.
## _Café Catch-ups_
In addition to Youth Group and WHY Group, I was privileged to enjoy a few café catch-ups with the youth one-on-one or in a small group. It was encouraging to get to know these girls better. I anticipate that café catch-ups will continue in 2024.
_Jess Bent Youth Worker_
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## **4. Community and pastoral concern**
## **St Andrew’s Hall**
2023 was a good year for St Andrew’s Hall as more community groups began to organise new events, classes and projects. This uptake in usage enabled us to invest in some minor building works replacing lights, minor redecoration outside, and two replacement ovens for the kitchen. The continued investment in our building helps us to improve our offering within the Chesterton community.
2023 did not feature the Chesterton Festival. This was partly due to a decrease in funding opportunities, but more importantly it was the lack of volunteers available for the planning and management of the event itself that meant the committee made the hard decision in March to cancel the festival. The Chesterton News continued to be produced and delivered quarterly, and the Chesterton Community Association attracted some new Trustees which has been crucial for it to keep operating and allowing for the News and Festival to exist.
St Andrew’s Hall - in collaboration with the Chesterton Community Association - also organised and ran a Warm Hub from January to March on a Tuesday lunchtime in the Main Hall. We served soup and hot drinks to those who attended, which was gratefully received. The same collaborative effort - along with a representative from the Cambridge City Council - also ran a day trip to Great Yarmouth. The trip was heavily subsidised by the CCA and this allowed families to visit the seaside who might otherwise not have been able to afford it.
A gentle and relaxed St Andrew’s Hall Advent Fayre in late November was an enjoyable event for most, and the scaled back version again gave us all a little more room to enjoy the wonderful refreshments provided by Sheila Merrick and her team of cake makers.
A year of community events was rounded off once again with the St Andrew’s Community Carols. The decision to hold the event inside was made early this year and more than 200 people joined in to sing and enjoy a mulled wine and a mince pie.
A lot can happen within our community in a year. With new volunteers making themselves available, and vacant staff positions within the Church and Hall being filled, we move into 2024 in a good place, with a strong team. I very much look forward to building on existing events and adding new ones within our community as we move throughout 2024 and beyond.
_Rachel Clarke_
## **Coffee Morning**
Open every Monday 10.45 – 12.00 noon, except bank holidays. We have people from St Andrew’s church community and the wider Chesterton community who come for tea, coffee, biscuits and a good chat. During the year for special occasions we have cakes, sausage rolls and raffles, in particular for the MacMillan cancer care charity.
_Jean Jackson_
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## **Sunday Lunch Club**
Sunday Lunch Club offers a low priced lunch for those who would normally be eating alone on a Sunday, as well as friendship and conversation. 2023 started well for the Sunday Lunch Club with a steady number of 25 diners plus a good supply of servers. As 2023 was going to be the cooks, Sheila and lan's, last year running SLC, a meeting with Phillip and Rachel was organised. Following this, it was agreed that Karrie and Sheila put together a short presentation to the church congregation., as well as advertising insertions in Chesterton News and the online Chesterton Chimes. We had interest from several people prepared to make puddings and serve on one of the 7 Sundays that the lunch club was going to run in2A24. As no cooks were forthcoming from these pleas for help, Sheila has volunteered to cook the roast main course on 3 of the Sundays. As Karrie and Jim have offered to organise the SLC, its future now looks positive. We thank all our helpers in 2023, especially Jean and Lesley.
_Karrie and Jim Fuller, Sheila and lan Merrick and Jean Welham_
## **Care Homes and Home Visiting**
With the end of both the pandemic and the vacancy, a new pattern of clergy visits to local care homes and sheltered accommodation has been re-established. By the end of 2023, a monthly Communion Service at Langdon House had developed a small but appreciative congregation. Pastoral links and visits were also made with residents at Willow Bank. The availability of St Andrew’s services online has transformed the opportunities for some house-bound members of the church and local care home residents to engage with our worship. Visits in person, especially to share Communion, are still deeply appreciated, and a valued expression of our life as the body of Christ.
_Philip Lockley_
## **5. Building and Churchyard (including Flowers, Bells, and The Friends of St Andrew’s)**
## **Fabric (PCC Committee report)**
The work to the fabric of the church last year has been dominated by that required by the Quinquennial Inspection report, following the inspection back in December 2021. This included:
- Patching of the aluminium aisle roofs in a few areas
- Improving the drainage away from the church to the south east, with a trench being dug for a drain pipe through to the composting area, which additionally required an archaeological report and a faculty.
- Rebuilding the south wall of the south aisle, with much stone removal and repointing in a lime mortar; replastering and white-washing of the internal wall.
The committee has continued to develop plans for ensure the church is NetZeroCarbon for the future; this particularly will involve replacing or updating the heating system as well as lower energy lights. In 2023 a commitment was made to investigate the options; to perform a heating survey of the church; to canvas the congregation to understand the needs and desires for the heating, to determine exactly what will be done during 2024. In addition, the lighting to the church has been
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failing slowly even as the project of replacing with new LED lighting has been developed; we coped with the current state of the lighting over Christmas, but over the coming year the lighting will be renewed with LED lighting.
In May 2023, a longstanding proposal was finally implemented to loan 6 modern reproduction pews and an unused Communion table to a former Curate of St Andrew’s, Revd Helen Orr, for use within a chapel in the grounds of her house within the parish. This was granted a temporary licence for 2 years, over which time, we will need to decide whether to apply for a faculty to make this a permanent loan, or to return the pews to the church building.
_Gavin Stark (and Philip Lockley)_
## **Flower Group**
Flower group members have continued to enhance our beautiful church with flower arrangements throughout 2023. This included a colourful display of flowers to celebrate the Coronation of King Charles III, in addition to our usual arrangements for Easter, Whitsun, Harvest, Remembrance, Advent and of course decorative greenery throughout the Christmas period.
As the group suffered low funds at the end of 2022, we were most grateful to receive an increase in funding from the church. This has helped us maintain decorations which we hope worshippers have enjoyed throughout the year.
Some years ago, we were very fortunate to receive a considerable donation from Edna Andrews, following her death in 2018. Edna founded the St Andrew’s flower group when she took on the role in the 1960s as “teacher” to ladies of the church interested in flower arranging. We therefore decided to invest in some new stainless steel pew end holders as our old ones were past their best. Edna’s initials have been etched into the back plate of the holders in tribute to her memory. Finally, I would like to say how sad we were to lose one of our long-serving ladies, Jill Pratt, last year. Jill was also the group’s Treasurer, and we would like to pay tribute for her many years of hard work and support. She will be sadly missed.
Consequently, Linda Marsh has now taken on the role as Treasurer and Penny Lawrence is now group organiser. As ever, we would love to hear from anyone who may be interested in joining the flower group as our numbers have unfortunately depleted over recent years.
_Penny Lawrence and Linda Marsh_
## **Churchyard (PCC Committee report)**
## _**Meadows and other ‘special areas’**_
Our Spring Meadow again stretched from the Pye Rec. edge of the churchyard in an arc to the Service Tree and down to the right-of-way path. For the ‘Summer Meadow’, we established an area on the Church Street side of the churchyard, from the right-of-way path up to the cottages and this grew from early Summer until October. We cordoned off an area behind the church where the Clary grows and flourishes and the ‘teasels area’, down in the south western corner where a small area is being left for three years. We also allowed the grass on ‘Wimbledon’ (that is the front lawn) to grow during the Spring. The Spring Meadow areas were cut in June by the City Council team and the Summer Meadow was cut in October. This was a continuation of our work with Cambridgeshire Churchyards Conservation where we sought to maintain our Bronze award level. The meadows are
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lovely as they grow and it is exciting and rewarding to find different wild plants emerging. It isn’t easy, however, for the City Council team to cut them down sufficiently, with the limited time frame in which they work. Next year, we intend to have smaller areas left to grow as we hope they will be easier to cut down neatly and for us to rake up!
## _**Trees**_
Of our four new trees, we were glad to see that three have survived well but sad that the Magnolia didn’t. We don’t know why. Kenny McGregor, City Council Arboriculture Officer, continues to keep an eye on our trees and during the year arranged for tree work to be done.
## _**Donations**_
We were very grateful for donations of some tools and a small electric mower from Rosemary Mathew and a heavy-duty strimmer from Margaret White which will be serviced. We will have instruction in using it before any of us tries! Thanks also to the Flower Team, Linda Marsh in particular, for giving us more space in the shed to store our newly acquired tools.
## _**War Graves and the War Memorial**_
Robin and Gill Bickerstaffe continue to look after our War Graves and have found others to add to our list. Many flowers and votive lights continue to be left at the War Memorial, especially as Remembrance Day approaches. It is very touching to see them but we would ask that people remove the wrappings and put them in our black bin.
## _**Difficulties!**_
- Raking up the grass cuttings became a real headache but needs to be done in order to maintain our Bronze award level. It’s a must! There is a volunteer group organised by the City Council who may help us – something to pursue next year.
- The boiler room steps are still a place for drug taking and an instance of open drug dealing was reported to the Police during the year by a dog walker. However work to restore the south wall and construct a new soak away drain meant that that area was fenced off from the summer to November which gave a bit of respite.
- Some of our hedgehog bowls disappeared and need replacing.
- It was annoying that people walked in cordoned off areas and broke down the cordons. We would rather not have to put up iron railings! We do intend to put up more signs in order to communicate better why areas are cordoned off and what we are trying to achieve.
- There has been a lot of rain this year which has made progress difficult.
## _**But**_
The snowdrops and daffodils are increasing and so are the Star of Bethlehem. It was a much better year for butterflies! One sunny day in September, there were more than a dozen Red Admirals on one of our ivy trees.
_Maggie Fernie_
## **Bells**
The pattern of bellringing was largely unchanged in 2023, practising on Thursday evenings and ringing for Sunday services as well as the occasional wedding. Numbers on Sundays have been stable,
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with enough to ring something worthwhile almost every week and, recently, six or more ringers (one per bell) as often as not. Practices have been fairly well attended, especially out of term time when we have been happy to host a few recently graduated ringers who still ring with the University bands during term.
We have provided bells for weddings and funerals when asked. Thanks to Andrew Morley for his continuing excellent work in arranging bands for these events.
To our knowledge there have been no complaints about noise this year, we are pleased to say. On the other hand we have had quite a few positive comments on Sundays or from people dropping in during practice, which are always appreciated.
_James Bench-Capon_
## **The Friends of St Andrew’s Church**
During 2023 The Friends agreed to help finance the restoration work on the south aisle wall of the church and largely due to the generosity of members we were able to donate £20,000. There were a number of the usual fund-raising events such as lunchtime concerts and a stall at the St Andrew's Advent Fayre followed by a concert with music by Students from Chesterton Community College. In May, on the Bank Holiday following the Coronation, we held a church open day in co-operation with the Flower Group. A steady stream of visitors came to view the flower displays and refreshments were served. There were also plants and greetings cards for sale. Thanks also to The Friends Committee, all those who have loyally supported concerts and other events and to the Vicar for designing an attractive new Friends Introductory leaflet. We have recruited a number of new members as a result.
_John Reynolds_
## **6. Mission and Giving**
## **Mission and Giving (PCC Committee report)**
The PCC’s Mission and Giving committee is involved in helping St Andrew’s have an outward focus through supporting organizations which:
- proclaim the good news of the Kingdom
- teach, baptise and nurture new believers
- respond to human need by loving service
- seek to transform unjust structures of society
- strive to safeguard the integrity of creation and to sustain the life of the earth.
In our giving, we strive to support multiple organizations which together cover these five marks of mission recognised across the Anglican Communion of churches. We aim to have our giving split across charities which are local to Cambridge, UK-based, and international organisations. We also aim to support charities with a Christian ethos. There are organizations that the PCC has made a commitment to support annually (£500 - £1000, see table below): Azul Wasi orphanage in Peru, Wintercomfort for the homeless, bible translations in the middle east (Church Mission Society, CMS), Romsey Mill North Cambridge Youth Outreach worker, and Unseen UK’s efforts to stamp out human
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trafficking. Azul Wasi is supported also by standing orders from members of the congregation, which are included in the fundraising section in the table below (£13,885 including Gift Aid).
The Mission and Giving Committee also allocates smaller one-off donations (£200 or less) which are detailed in the table below. Many of our one-off givings were made to support organisations addressing the increased cost of living in our areas, which are also in line with our desire as a subcommittee and the PCC as a whole to help combat the large gap between rich and poor in Cambridge and beyond. To this end, in 2023 we supported Crossways Hostel milk and bread initiative organised by Patricia Abrey, with the hostel being run by the Cambridge Churches Homelessness Project. We also made a donation to provide Christmas necessities to Cambridge Regional College’s ‘Looked after children’, and Kings Hedges Family Support Project, who support families during the present cost of living crisis, as well as offering parenting support and advice when needed. In addition, we made a donation to Cogwheel, who provide affordable counselling to those in Cambridgeshire who most need it. Further abroad, we gave to Amos Trust’s Street Justice programme which helps children and young people living on the streets in Africa and Asia. We were pleased to support congregant Helen Dawes’ son Barney, teaching English to refugees in Jordon.
For environmental causes, we made a donation to A Rocha UK, which works to protect and restore the natural world, as well as USPG Church of South India Programme to help children learn about combatting climate change in an area where sea levels are rising. Finally, to help nurture new believers, we made a donation to Church Mission Society, which seeks to make disciples of Jesus at the margins and cultural fringes where Jesus is not often followed.
We also raised additional funds for Wintercomfort at our Harvest Festival (£1,250), and fundraised for Crossways (£988) and the Children’s Society (£327). This year, Margaret and Ian Nimmo-Smith stepped down from their fundraising coordinating for Christian Aid week. Huge thanks to them for their years of faithful service; we give thanks knowing that many people have been helped as a result of their incredible efforts. This year we advertised Christian Aid week in our weekly news sheet and encouraged parishioners to donate directly to Christian Aid.
**----- Start of picture text -----**
Giving days and
Year Summary PCC Giving Regular Individual
Donations
Azul Wasi £1,000.00 £13,885
Wintercomfort (PCC: monthly fruit & veg; Giving days: £1,250
£1,200.00 [a ]
Harvest Festival)
CMS - Waters in Iraq £600.00
Unseen UK £500.00
Romsey Mill £600.00
CSD Brass (Community Carols in Aid of Wintercomfort) £150.00
Children’s Society (Christingle) £327 [c]
One-off Donations:
Crossways Milk (Cambridgeshire Homeless Partnership) £200.00 £988 [b ]
Barney Dawes - teaching English to refuges in Jordan £200.00
**----- End of picture text -----**
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**----- Start of picture text -----**
Cambridge Regional College, Looked after children £200.00
Kings Hedges Family Support Project £200
Cogwheel Counselling £200
A Rocha £200
USPG – Church of South India Programme £200
Amos Trust (Street Justice in Africa & Asia) £200
Church Mission Society (CMS) - nurturing new believers in the
£150
UK
TOTAL given in 2023 £5,800.00
**----- End of picture text -----**
a only spent £1020 – carry over extra to 2024
b paid out £2,533 in total, due to an excess from 2022
c from 2022 and 2023
_Sharon Neufeld_
## **7. Communications**
## **Communications (PCC Committee report)**
At the beginning of the year, it very quickly became apparent that design, photography and digital publishing are amongst the many skills that Philip has brought to St Andrew’s! The Communications Group has benefitted greatly from his design expertise and steer on all things to do with our church communications in this past year. It is Philip we must thank for producing the new welcome leaflets and posters that you will have seen on display in church and on the noticeboards, and the new improved design of the _Chesterton News_ too.
There have also been some developments on the church website in this past year: a new welcome message to newcomers, updated photos (with more to come), and also our first ‘moving picture’ has appeared! A short video on the home page now shows the central aisle, moving towards the chancel. There is a future plan to translate Philip’s welcome message into a video, and to also create videos to convey information about our church history and church life on the website.
We thank Jess Bent for so capably taking on our social media communications work since September 2023. In the coming year, the Communications Group look forward to supporting her in her new role of Church Communications Administrator. We are also, as always, grateful to Rachel Clarke for her vital part in supporting church admin and communications work.
There are many volunteers who are part of the communications team and we want to thank: the sound teams, for providing the livestreaming of our 8am and 10 am services each Sunday; the sidespeople who greet and support the congregations at our services; Patricia Abrey, for her work as Co-ordinator of lay volunteers and rotas; Pip Tofaris, for putting together all of this year’s excellent editions of _Chesterton Chimes_ ; David Bick for his technical expertise in maintaining the website ( _Patricia adds: and Deborah herself who spent every Friday morning voluntarily supporting church administration and more time beyond that, for which we can be very thankful)_ .
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I also wish to thank the members of the Communication Group in 2023: Philip, Robin Newton, Ian Nimmo Smith (until May 2023), Patricia Abrey, Peter Coomber and Amber Grantham. In the year ahead there will be a number of exciting new developments for the Group to work on to continue transforming our church communications. It is a good time to get involved! New members to the Group are always very welcome.
_Deborah Bick_
## **8. Safeguarding**
## **Report from the Parish Safeguarding Officer in 2023**
## _**Policies & Procedures**_
The PCC has a safeguarding policy, which was reviewed in January 2023. The Safeguarding policy is kept in the Church office and displayed in the public areas at the Hall and in Church. An electronic copy can be viewed or downloaded on the St Andrew’s church website (Safeguarding section). This webpage also contains links to the Church of England Safeguarding policies and procedures, safeguarding contacts and relevant organisations, and links to the training courses and online modules. The “Promoting a Safer Church” poster is displayed at the back of the church.
## _**Reporting to the PCC**_
- Regular updates were given to every PCC meeting held in 2023.
- In September Linda Holmes began training to take over as the new volunteer Parish Safeguarding Officer with a view to starting this position fully in early 2024.
## _**Other**_
- We continue using the “Parish Dashboard”, software specially designed for Parishes to make safeguarding administration simpler and allows the PSO and PCC to see the current status of compliance at a glance. These reports are submitted annually to the PCC meeting along with the review of the Church Safeguarding Policy.
- This year 9 DBS checks were applied for and 11 training updates were carried out. The collating of written job/role descriptions for volunteer church workers where required is still ongoing.
_Rachel Clarke_
## **9. Wider Church – Diocesan Synod; Deanery Synod**
## **Diocesan Synod**
In 2023, Ely Diocesan Synod met on 11 March, 14 June, and 14 October. **Presidential addresses** were given by the Bishop of Ely in March (reflecting particularly on the tragic death of Revd Canon Anna Matthews in early March 2023, as well as commenting on the status of Living in Love and Faith discussions at General Synod) and June (marking the occasion, with gratefulness, of his final Diocesan Synod before moving to the Diocese of Lincoln), and by the Bishop of Huntingdon in October (via video, and focusing on the conflict in Israel and Gaza). Communion was shared at the October meeting.
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Bishop Stephen moved to the Diocese of Lincoln in summer 2023; the Diocese of Ely is now in vacancy, with the Bishop of Huntingdon as Acting Bishop. From the October meeting onwards, Diocesan Synod has received reports from the Vacancy in See committee, which is concerned with discerning who might be our next Bishop. **For full details of the timeline and process for appointing a new Bishop,** see here.
Another major change in the Diocese during 2023 was the in-progress **movement of the Diocesan Offices** from Bishop Woodford House in Ely, to a new building, Etheldreda House, located in the Lancaster Way Business Park. Ground was broken on the new building in July 2023: through 2023, Diocesan Synod received progress updates on this project; at time of writing (March 2024), the new building is very nearly ready to use. You can read more about this project here.
**Regular business** included the receiving of the Annual Safeguarding Report 2022 at the June meeting, as well as the approval of the 2024 Annual Budget and Ministry Share figures at the October meeting. Finally, further items which featured through 2023 meetings:
**Net Zero Carbon:** regular updates on the Diocese’s progress towards the national Church of
England’s target of achieving net zero carbon by 2030. You can read more about the Diocese’s efforts towards environmental sustainability here.
## **Living in Love and Faith:**
- **The February 2023 meeting of General Synod** saw a motion passed (with one amendment; 57% for the amended motion, 41% against and 2% abstained) which ‘lamented and repented’ of the harm that LGBTQI+ people have experienced and continue to experience in churches, and which proposed the consideration of use of ‘Prayers of Love and Faith’ – prayers which could be used voluntarily in churches for couples who have marked a significant stage of their relationship such as a civil marriage or civil partnership. You can read the press release summary of this here, and the full motion passed on page 24-25 of the ‘Business Done’ document from the February 2023 meeting of the General Synod.
- **In June 2023, the North Cambridge Deanery** (of which St Andrew’s is a part), responded by
holding a debate which then led to the passing of the following motions:
1) _We, the members of the Deanery Synod, are united in expressing our deep concerns regarding the impact of recent proposals from the Bishops regarding_ Prayers of Love and Faith _. In the spirit of the Pastoral Principles, we warmly affirm the importance of pastoral care for all members of our congregations, we recognise the importance of speaking into issues of gender, sexuality and identity, which are to many the most pressing pastoral and theological issues of our time, and we lament the way that some members of the LGBTQ+ community have been treated in the Church._
_However, we are also united in our view that the proposals as they stand create significant difficulties for the unity and mission of the Church of England, including our Deanery. We acknowledge that there are differing views on the proposals, and especially that a number of us cannot in good conscience ‘walk together’ on this issue. We understand that many find the prospect of ‘pastoral reassurance’ inadequate to meet the profound ecclesiological and moral differences that have been exposed._
_We are anxious that the Bishop of Ely (and his successor), the Bishop of Huntingdon, the Bishop’s staff, the Bishop’s Council and Diocesan Synod should fully engage with this reality, and work urgently to address the full impact of these proposals for the life of the Church._
_2) This Deanery_
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a) _Regrets the motion passed at General Synod on_ Living in Love and Faith _and would urge the Bishops and General Synod to withdraw their support for the proposed_ Prayers of Love and Faith _and reconsider._
c) _Urges that preparations be made for a new structural settlement that accepts that we cannot simply ‘walk together’ on this matter.*_
_* The motion at paragraph 2(b) which expressed support for the motion passed at General Synod on_ Living in Love and Faith _was defeated._
## ● **At Diocesan Synod in October 2023,** the following question was then presented by Christopher Townsend:
_Notwithstanding that about one-third of those present voted against (or in a few cases abstained from voting on) the motions at paragraph 2 a) and c), the motion at paragraph 1 was passed with a very high degree of support indeed (38 votes in favour to 5 votes against with 1 abstention)._
_What steps have the acting Bishop of Ely and Bishop’s Council taken so far, and what steps do the acting Bishop of Ely and Bishop’s Council plan to take, to “engage with this reality, and work urgently to address the full impact of these proposals for the life of the Church” in the Diocese of Ely given the impossibility on grounds of conscience for a significant number of people, clergy and laity, to ‘walk together’ on this issue?_
## ● **Bishop Dagmar offered the following written response** (read out on her behalf by the Chair):
_The Bishop’s Staff and Bishop’s Council are listening carefully to the various arguments made and the question before us adds to this. Please note that it is as yet quite unclear and undecided, what shape the ‘pastoral reassurance’ will take. It will certainly not be decided by the Diocese of Ely but this Diocese will be directed by the House of Bishops and the General Synod. The Bishop’s Staff in Ely Diocese are unanimous in respecting and defending freedom of conscience in the contended issues at hand. However, we know we are far from unanimity in the diocese with a wide spectrum of views held concerning the LLF proposals. Each of us have to accept this reality. There is furthermore no unanimity on how we best deal with this fact of widely different views, as the motion from Cambridge North Deanery demonstrates. I welcome the mention of the Pastoral Principles as we live in this difficult situation while still awaiting a firming up of the package of LLF proposals._
You can find further information pertaining to Ely Diocesan Synod here.
## _Hannah Fytche_
## **Deanery Synod**
A number of the issues which are included in Hannah’s Diocesan Report have also featured in North Cambridge Deanery meetings in relation to the Living in Love and Faith prayers and the Vacancy for a new Bishop, Budgets and Safeguarding.
The first meeting of the year was in the refurbished “school room” at St Luke’s Church but very much in the wake of the sudden death of Canon Anna Matthews, as she had been a vibrant presence in Cambridge South Deanery as Vicar of St Bene't's. A minute’s silence was held in her memory. During this meeting Nick Moir, Rural Dean, continued an introduction to the Deanery Planning exercise initiated the previous autumn. Short presentations were given by each of 4 parishes: Christ the Redeemer, The 3 combined parishes of Fen Ditton, Teversham and Horningsea, St George’s with Hope Church, and St John’s Orchard Park. The idea of the sharing of the settings was to encourage links between parishes with similar or lacking resources which can be tapped into. Nick insisted it was not about the cutting of posts but the new housing developments will need to be resourced in future with the example of the Parish of the Ascension having Eddington within their parish boundary. Given the pressing nature of the issues of Living in Love and Faith, a vote was taken whereby the
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Deanery Planning item was postponed in favour of a Deanery Synod meeting to focus on the issues raised about proposed Prayers for same sex couples.
The next Synod at Michaelhouse took the form of a debate with 8 speakers for and against 4 motions. We were urged by the Lay Chair to listen and to open our ears particularly to those with whom we disagree. Hannah Fytche spoke on one motion urging us to unite in Christ. Some churches in our Deanery are of the view they cannot walk together if the General Synod votes to allow prayers for same sex couples as it is their belief this is to “bless sin”. Nick Moir spoke of his own personal journey on these issues as an evangelical, articulating a sense of being guided over the course of his ministry by the Holy Spirit to a position of feeling the welcome of all is the overriding position the church should be taking. The result of our votes were sent to us the following day. Among those present at the Synod meeting, the majority took the position of regretting the motion passed at General Synod on Living in Love and Faith and urged the Bishops and General Synod to withdraw their support for the proposed Prayers of Love and Faith and reconsider. The Chair was asked about people not present and therefore not able to express their position but this was overruled.
This outcome was challenged by some at the next and final meeting of the year, held at Christ the Redeemer Church. This voting outcome had led to a tabling of a question by a member of General and Diocesan Synod to the acting Bishop of Ely. There were those present who said this representation of the “mind” of Cambridge North Deanery was not one which sat well with them. In her reply Bishop Dagmar stressed: “ _The Bishop’s Staff in Ely Diocese are unanimous in respecting and defending freedom of conscience in the contended issues at hand”_ and that she welcomed _“the mention of the Pastoral Principles as we live in this difficult situation while still awaiting a firming up of the package of LLF proposals.”_ At this same meeting, Philip spoke about the parish of St Andrew’s Chesterton, while respective clergy spoke about St Matthew’s, the Parish of the Ascension, and Church of the Good Shepherd. There were several references to the division in Cambridge North Deanery during these presentations. This left the final 4 parishes to be presented at the first meeting of 2024. The parish presentations from all the churches at the two sessions demonstrated the diversity of approaches, demographics and challenges facing all the congregations. Margaret or Patricia would be happy to explain those different parish settings for those with an interest in further information.
_Patricia Abrey and Margaret Nimmo Smith_
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## **Financial review**
In last year’s Annual Report, we outlined a number of challenges on the financial front. This year we are very pleased indeed to tell you that there is much better news. The General Fund (the one used for the day to day running of St Andrew’s) has finished the year in balance with a very small surplus of £415. This is almost entirely due to an increase in congregational giving of £10,000 compared with 2022, bringing the total to £115,589. We are very grateful for this generosity as it completely changes how we are able to plan ahead. In addition to this, we have been able to employ a part-time Youth Worker, funded by separate donations from the congregation specifically for this purpose as well as a generous donation from the St Andrew’s Trust.
Our greatest expense during the year has been the renovation to the church roof and south wall, together with the significant work on the drainage on the south side of the church. This was on the urgent list of Quinquennial repairs, and was a project of considerable size with a total cost of £75,729 (excluding VAT which we were able to recover). We were fortunate in receiving generous donations from the Friends of St Andrew’s and members of the congregation of £20,750 as well as grants of £3,000 each from both the Benefact Trust and the Cambridgeshire Historic Churches Trust. The balance was made up of £13,594 in the Quinquennial Fund, £10,000 from the Fabric Fund and the investment income for the three years from 2022 to 2024 of £25,385. We were very fortunate indeed to have both the outside help for this as well as the investment income to fund a project of this size.
During 2023, we were grateful to receive generous bequests from the estates of the late Sheila Cracknell and Beryl Brundish, both of which will form valuable contributions to our capital projects. It will be seen from the Statement of Financial Affairs (SOFA) that, before taking into account the gains on investments of £55,128 (at least partly replacing last year’s losses of £75,873), the change in the total funds of St Andrew’s at the end of 2023 was an increase of £28,418. The main contributions to this were the bequests just mentioned totalling £37,281, investment income of £20,389, a surplus of £9,268 on the Hall Fund and net expenditure on the Quinquennial repairs of £49,000. Including the gains on investments brings the total funds of St Andrew’s at the end of 2023 to £780,041. This compares with the total at the end of 2022 of £696,496 and £740,356 at the end of 2021.
As we have reported before, we joined the Parish Giving Scheme (PGS) in December 2018, a method whereby regular donations are collected by direct debit rather than standing order. Not only does this mean less administration for ourselves, but it also makes it simpler for donations to be automatically increased by a small amount each year to keep pace with inflation. We now have 33 donors on the scheme – a similar figure to this time last year, and this is still only a third of our regular givers. We hope that more will be willing to transfer over to this alternative route for regular giving over the coming year. A direct debit can be set up in a number of ways - by visiting the website (www.parishgiving.org.uk), by telephoning the scheme on 0333 002 1271, or by filling in a form available from Rachel in the Hall office. When doing this, it is helpful to quote the St Andrew’s PGS number 140614046.
_Michael Grande_
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## **Reserves Policy**
The PCC has a Reserves Policy to ensure that adequate funds are available for unscheduled expenses and to provide for new projects; this is reviewed at least every three years and the 2021 updated policy is presented below:
1. The **Capital Reserve Fund** is held for three purposes:
- a. As a reserve to be used in the extreme circumstances of a huge and unexpected repair needed for the church.
- b. As a reserve for 6 months’ running costs of the General Fund, which is estimated to be £65,000.
- c. As a reserve for 3 months’ running costs of the Hall Management Fund, estimated to be £17,000.
The capital growth of this fund will hopefully increase its size over time so that both its size and its income keep up with inflation.
2. The income from the investment of the capital reserves will provide both for the regular maintenance of the church and for other projects that would previously have been a capital expense.
3. The **Quinquennial Reserve Fund** will be used to cover the expenditure of the Quinquennial inspection. It received £15,000 of the Wadsworth bequest in 2019, and from 2023 it has received all of the investment income after the King Fund has received its share. This proportion to be reviewed regularly so that the Fund is of sufficient size for the expenditure required.
4. The **Building Project Reserve Fund** will be available for occasional expenditure that is too large for the General Fund, or for special projects of a larger kind that are related to “buildings”. It received £65,000 of the Wadsworth bequest in 2019 from 2023 it has not received any share of the investment income.
5. The **King Fund** was originally an amount left by the bequestor for specific projects. This has received its share of both capital growth and income from investment, and has increased in size as a result. It will continue to receive its share of investment income and it is suggested that its original purpose is best met by spending it on “people” rather than buildings.
6. In summary:
|Fund|Balance at
31 Dec. 2023|Receives|Expenditure|
|---|---|---|---|
|Capital Reserve
Fund|£378,083|Nil|Unexpected large
expenditure of Church
and Hall|
|Quinquennial
Reserve Fund|-£8,551|All of the income of
investment account after the
King Fund has received its
share.|Quinquennial repairs|
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|Building Project
Reserve Fund|£119,336|None of Investment account
income|1) Occasional small
sums
2) Specific building
projects|
|---|---|---|---|
|King Fund|£117,791|Pro rata share of Investment
income|Projects that require
“People” funding|
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## **Structure, governance and management**
The Parochial Church Council is a corporate body established by the Church of England. The PCC operates under the Parochial Church Council (Powers) measure. The PCC is a Registered Charity.
## **PCC membership 2023**
_Ex Officio – Clergy_
_Ex Officio – Wardens_
The Revd Dr Philip Lockley Margaret Fernie The Revd Dorothy Peyton Jones Ian Nimmo Smith* (until May 2023) The Revd Steven McGregor (From July 2023) Christopher Pountain (From May 2023)
The Revd Duncan Cowan Gray (From November 2023)
_Ex Officio – Synods_
Diocesan Synod: Hannah Fytche Deanery Synod: Patricia Abrey and Margaret Nimmo Smith
_Elected members with a three year term (year of election in brackets)**_
Georgia Curry (2021) Zoe Lewin (2021) Amber Grantham (2022) (for 2 years) Deborah Bick (2023) Julia Eisen (2023) Peter Coomber (2023)
Linda Stollwerck Boulton (2021) Gavin Stark (2021) Mark Lawson (2022) Quentin Harmer (2023) Sue Lacey (2023) Michael Grande (2023 for 1 year)
_Elected/appointed officers of the PCC_
Vice-chair: Treasurer: Secretary: Hall Manager and Parish Safeguarding Officer:
Ian Nimmo-Smith (until May 2023) Michael Grande Patricia Abrey Rachel Clarke
* This follows a resolution at the annual meeting on 21[st] September 2020, to suspend the part of the Churchwardens Measure 2001 that disqualifies a warden from standing for more than 6 consecutive terms, reviewed and extended one further year at the annual meeting in 2022.
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** Following a resolution at the annual meeting in 2015, members of the PCC may serve for two terms (of up to three years each) but must then step down for at least a year.
The method of appointment of PCC members is set out in the Church Representation Rules. At St Andrew’s the membership of the PCC consists of the incumbent (our vicar) and other licensed clergy, churchwardens, and members elected by those members of the congregation who are on the electoral roll of the church. To assist with its wide responsibilities the PCC has a number of committees, each dealing with a particular aspect of parish life. These committees are responsible to the PCC and report back to it regularly, with minutes that are discussed by the PCC as necessary. In 2022 the committees were:
- **Mission and Giving** , which makes recommendations on the church’s strategy for financial giving to mission.
- **Finance** , which meets with the treasurer once a term to assist in preparing and reviewing the budget, reviewing finances and considering stewardship issues.
- **Fabric** , which makes recommendations concerning the church’s building development and maintenance.
- **Music and Worship** , which assists the Vicar in planning and reviewing the worship and musical life of our church.
- **Communications** , which works to review and improve the church’s communications (publications, website, social media, signage etc).
- **Churchyard** , which reviews the management of the churchyard and plans necessary work.
- **Youth and Children** , which works to review and improve provision for the church’s younger members.
There is also a staff team (which is not a PCC committee) which deals with day-to-day management of the church.
The PCC met 7 times during 2023, with an average attendance of 74%.
_Patricia Abrey_
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## **Reference and Administrative information**
Church name: St Andrew’s, Chesterton. Address: Church Street, Chesterton, Cambridge, CB4 1DT. Incumbent: The Revd Dr Philip Lockley Bankers: Barclays Bank Plc, Chesterton Road, Cambridge. Inspecting Architect: Mr Henry Freeland, Freeland Rees Roberts Architects Independent examiner: Mr Geoff Mann, Dee House, Highworth Avenue, Cambridge. Charity registration no: 1130805
Trustees of the St Andrew’s Church Trust (which now incorporates the St Andrew’s Churchyard Charitable Trust) are: Mrs M White (Chair) Mrs C Dawson Mr J Marsh Mr J Reynolds
The Trust has wide powers to assist in the promotion of Christianity at St Andrew’s.
35
|**St Andrews PCC Statement of Financial Activities 31st December 2023**|**St Andrews PCC Statement of Financial Activities 31st December 2023**|**St Andrews PCC Statement of Financial Activities 31st December 2023**|**St Andrews PCC Statement of Financial Activities 31st December 2023**|**St Andrews PCC Statement of Financial Activities 31st December 2023**|**St Andrews PCC Statement of Financial Activities 31st December 2023**|**St Andrews PCC Statement of Financial Activities 31st December 2023**|**St Andrews PCC Statement of Financial Activities 31st December 2023**|**St Andrews PCC Statement of Financial Activities 31st December 2023**|**St Andrews PCC Statement of Financial Activities 31st December 2023**|**St Andrews PCC Statement of Financial Activities 31st December 2023**|**St Andrews PCC Statement of Financial Activities 31st December 2023**|**St Andrews PCC Statement of Financial Activities 31st December 2023**|**St Andrews PCC Statement of Financial Activities 31st December 2023**|**St Andrews PCC Statement of Financial Activities 31st December 2023**|||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||||||||||||||||||
|(See Note 1)|**General Fund**|||**Designated**
**Funds**|||**Restricted**
**Funds**||**Endowment**
**Funds**|||**Total 2023**|||**Total 2022**||
||||||||||||||||||
|**Income**|||||||||||||||||
|Voluntaryincome(congregation)||£115,589|||£8,109|||£13,254|||£0||£136,952|||£127,945|
|Voluntaryincome(grants)||£6,448|||£44,114|||£0|||£0||£50,563|||£9,830|
|Activities forgeneratingfunds||£159|||£11,039|||£0|||£0||£11,198|||£15,842|
|Investment income||£1,865|||£17,599|||£926|||£0||£20,390|||£17,510|
|Charitable activities- excl Hall and Tower||£1,292|||£0|||£0|||£0||£1,292|||£1,099|
|Charitable activities - Hall and Tower||£0|||£102,213|||£307|||£0||£102,520|||£86,676|
|Other income||£12,834|||£37,281|||£0|||£0||£50,114|||£35,146|
|**Total income**||**£138,187**|||**£220,355**|||**£14,487**|||**£0**||£373,029|||**£294,048**|
||||||||||||||||||
|**Expenditure**|||||||||||||||||
|Cost ofgeneratingvoluntaryincome||£77,758|||£0|||£0|||£0||£77,758|||£73,796|
|Fundraisingtradingcosts||£898|||£6,626|||£0|||£0||£7,524|||£12,678|
|Charitable activities - Staff||£22,505|||£133|||£0|||£0||£22,638|||£31,765|
|Charitable activities - Buildings||£26,598|||£88,784|||£0|||£0||£115,382|||£36,097|
|Charitable activities - Good causes||£4,980|||£393|||£14,077|||£0||£19,450|||£19,053|
|Charitable activities - Activities||£2,003|||£0|||£0|||£0||£2,003|||£4,584|
|Charitable activities - Administration||£4,356|||£0|||£0|||£0||£4,356|||£3,351|
|Charitable activities - Hall+Tower||£0|||£92,945|||£0|||£0||£92,945|||£80,290|
|Governance costs||£2,556|||£0|||£0|||£0||£2,556|||£422|
|**Total Expenditure**||**£141,654**|||**£188,880**|||**£14,077**|||**£0**||£344,612|||**£262,035**|
||||||||||||||||||
|Net Inc/Expbefore fund transfers||-£3,467||||£31,475||£410|||£0|||£28,418||£32,012|
|Transfers between funds|||£3,882|||£5,298||-£9,180|||£0|||£0||£0|
|**Net Inc/Exp after Fund transfers**|||**£415**|||**£36,773**||**-£8,770**|||**£0**|||**£28,418**||**£32,012**|
||||||||||||||||||
|Gains on Investments|||£0|||£46,016||£726|||£8,386|||£55,128||-£75,873|
||||||||||||||||||
|**Net Movement in Funds**|||**£415**|||**£82,789**||**-£8,044**|||**£8,386**|||**£83,545**||**-£43,860**|
||||||||||||||||||
|Funds brought forward|||£2,813||£569,720|||£32,528||£91,433|||£696,496|||£740,356|
|Adjustments|||||||||||||||||
|**Total funds carried forward**|||**£3,228**||**£652,510**|||**£24,484**||**£99,819**|||**£780,041**|||**£696,496**|
||||||||||||||||||
||||||||||||||||||
|SOFA Note 1|**General Fund**|**General Fund**|**Designated**
**Funds**|**Designated**
**Funds**|**Restricted**
**Funds**|**Restricted**
**Funds**|**Endowments**|**Total 2023**|**Total 2023**|**Total 2022**|**Total 2022**|**General Fund**
**2022**|**General Fund**
**2022**|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|**INCOME**||||||||||||||
|**Voluntary income**||||||||||||||
|Donations -GA||£34,288||£1,835||£5,516|£0||£41,639||£43,443||£35,505|
|Donations -CAF||£8,137||£0||£1,640|£0||£9,777||£11,927||£10,287|
|Donations -no GA||£840||£450||£180|£0||£1,470||£1,110||£685|
|Donations -PGS||£45,218||£875||£0|£0||£46,093||£42,188||£40,438|
|Donations -digital||£7,125||£2,660||£3,789|£0||£13,573||£8,359||£4,752|
|Donations- cash or cheque||£8,628||£1,139||£530|£0||£10,297||£6,007||£4,348|
|Gift Aid Income||£11,354||£1,150||£1,599|£0||£14,103||£14,911||£10,495|
|TrinityCollege||£2,265||£0||£0|£0||£2,265||£2,265||£2,265|
|Church School's Trust||£250||£0||£0|£0||£250||£1,250||£0|
|Friends of St Andrews||£0||£23,317||£0|£0||£23,317||£1,338||£0|
|St Andrew's Trust||£3,500||£0||£0|£0||£3,500||£3,500||£3,500|
|Listed Places of worshipGrant||£433||£14,797||£0|£0||£15,230||£877||£508|
|Grants -Other||£0||£6,000||£0|£0||£6,000||£600||£600|
|||||||||||||||
|**Activities forgenerating funds**||||||||||||||
|Fees for wedd/funs||£0||£8,606||£0|£0||£8,606||£9,757||£0|
|Headstones||£0||£2,433||£0|£0||£2,433||£2,566||£0|
|Refreshments and events||£42||£0||£0|£0||£42||||£0|
|Miscellaneous||£117||£0||£0|£0||£117||£3,519||£3,519|
|||||||||||||||
|**Investment Income**||||||||||||||
|Interest||£125||£2,742||£0|£0||£2,866||£669||£0|
|Dividends||£1,740||£14,858||£926|£0||£17,523||£16,841||£1,730|
|||||||||||||||
|**Income from charitable activities**||||||||||||||
|Youthgroup||£142||£0||£0|£0||£142||£1,099||£179|
|Church hire||£1,150||£0||£0|£0||£1,150||||£0|
|Coffee morning||£0||£0||£0|£0||£0||||£0|
|Hall management committee||£0||£102,213||£0|£0||£102,213||£86,321||£0|
|Tower||£0||£0||£307|£0||£307||£355||£0|
|||||||||||||||
|**Other income**||||||||||||||
|Bequests||£0||£37,281||£0|£0||£37,281||£20,000||£0|
|Insurance claims||£12,834||£0||£0|£0||£12,834||£15,146||£15,146|
|||||||||||||||
|**TOTAL INCOME**||**£138,187**||**£220,355**||**£14,487**|**£0**||**£373,029**||**£294,048**||**£133,957**|
|||||||||||||||
|**EXPENDITURE**||||||||||||||
|**Charitable activities -parish share**||£77,758||£0||£0|£0||£77,758||£73,796||£73,796|
|||||||||||||||
|**Fundraising trading costs**||||||||||||||
|Refreshments and events||£781||£0||£0|£0||£781||£1,769||£1,769|
|Fees for Weddings and Funerals||£0||£4,977||£0|£0||£4,977||£5,592||£0|
|Headstones||£0||£1,649||£0|£0||£1,649||£1,362||£0|
|Miscellaneous||£117||£0||£0|£0||£117||£3,955||£3,164|
|||||||||||||||
|**Charitable Activities - Staff**||||||||||||||
|Clergyexpenses||£1,530||£0||£0|£0||£1,530||£570||£570|
|Administration||£7,867||£0||£0|£0||£7,867||£14,239||£14,239|
|Music||£7,385||£0||£0|£0||£7,385||£7,860||£7,860|
|Youth work||£4,723||£133||£0|£0||£4,856||£8,096||£8,096|
|Junior Church Coordinator||£1,000||£0||£0|£0||£1,000||£1,000||£1,000|
|||||||||||||||
|**Charitable Activities - Buildings**||||||||||||||
|Maintenance and Repairs||£1,734||£0||£0|£0||£1,734||£5,443||£5,443|
|Churchgas,electicity,water||£3,660||£0||£0|£0||£3,660||£3,949||£3,949|
|Insurance||£6,068||£0||£0|£0||£6,068||£5,228||£5,228|
|Telephone||£599||£0||£0|£0||£599||£714||£714|
|Fire Alarm maintenance||£311||£0||£0|£0||£311||£867||£867|
|Repairs to deliberate damage||£13,302||£0||£0|£0||£13,302||£15,646||£15,646|
|Cleaning||£125||£0||£0|£0||£125||£300||£300|
|Flowers||£800||£0|£0||£0||£0||£800|£800||£600||£600|£600|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|Organ||£0||£0|||£0||£0||£0|||£912||£0||
|Equipmentpurchases||£0||£0|||£0||£0||£0|||£0||£0||
|Capital expenses||£0||£88,784|||£0||£0||£88,784|||£2,439||£0||
|||||||||||||||||||
|**Charitable Activities-Good Causes**||||||||||||||||||
|RomseyMill||£600||£0|||£0||£0||£600|||£600||£600||
|Azul Wasi||£380||£0|||£11,383||£0||£11,763|||£11,806||£456||
|Children's society||£0||£393|||£0||£0||£393|||£0||£0||
|Wintercomfort||£1,200||£0|||£113||£0||£1,313|||£1,764||£1,080||
|Other Charitablegiving||£2,800||£0|||£2,582||£0||£5,382|||£4,883||£3,120||
|||||||||||||||||||
|**Charitable Activities - Activities**||||||||||||||||||
|Worshipsupplies||£1,512||£0|||£0||£0||£1,512|||£850||£850||
|Music supplies||£0||£0|||£0||£0||£0|||£95||£95||
|Junior Church||£387||£0|||£0||£0||£387|||£133||£133||
|Youthgroup||£104||£0|||£0||£0||£104|||£3,506||£413||
|Healing group||£0||£0|||£0||£0||£0|||£0||£0||
|Education||£0|||||£0||£0||£0|||£0||£0||
|||||||||||||||||||
|**Charitable activities - administration**||||||||||||||||||
|Printingandphotocopying||£1,283||£0|||£0||£0||£1,283|||£1,135||£1,135||
|Subscriptions||£1,735||£0|||£0||£0||£1,735|||£1,606||£1,606||
|Office equipmentpurchases||£787||£0|||£0||£0||£787|||£9||£9||
|Stationeryandpostage||£475||£0|||£0||£0||£475|||£381||£381||
|Other office costs||£76||£0|||£0||£0||£76|||£220||£220||
|||||||||||||||||||
|**Charitable activities - Hall and Tower**||||||||||||||||||
|Hall Management committee||£0||£92,945|||£0||£0||£92,945|||£79,604||£0||
|Tower||£0||£0|||£0||£0||£0|||£686||£0||
|||||||||||||||||||
|**Governance costs**||||||||||||||||||
|Professional fees||£2,480||£0|||£0||£0||£2,480|||£384||£384||
|PCCgovernance costs||£76||£0|||£0||£0||£76|||£38||£38||
|**TOTAL EXPENDITURE**||**£141,654**||**£188,880**|||**£14,077**||**£0**||**£344,612**|||**£262,037**||**£153,760**||
|**Net Inc/exp before transfers**||**-£3,467**|||**£31,475**||**£410**||**£0**|||**£28,418**||**£32,012**||**-£20,003**||
|Fund Transfer Kingto General||£0|||£0||£0||£0|||£0|||||£7,500|
|Fund Transfer General to Azul Wasi||-£620|||£0||£620||£0|||£0|||||-£544|
|Fund Transfer Youth Worker to General||£1,223|||-£1,223||£0||£0|||£0|||||£4,596|
|Fund Transfer Fees to General||£3,479|||-£3,479||£0||£0|||£0|||||£3,344|
|Fund Transfer Fabric toQuinquennial||£0|||£10,000|-£10,000|||£0|||£0|||||£0|
|Fund Transfer General to Cambr Homeless F||-£200|||£0||£200||£0|||£0|||||£0|
|Capital appreciation of Endowments||£0|||£0||£0||£8,386|||£8,386||-£11,892|||£0|
|Capital Appreciation of Investment a/c||£0|||£46,016||£726||£0|||£46,742||-£63,980|||£0|
|**Surplus/-deficit**||**£415**|||**£82,789**||**-£8,044**||**£8,386**|||**£83,545**||**-£43,861**|||**-£5,107**|
||**St Andrew's Chesterton PCC Balance Sheet at 31st December 2023**|**St Andrew's Chesterton PCC Balance Sheet at 31st December 2023**|**St Andrew's Chesterton PCC Balance Sheet at 31st December 2023**|**St Andrew's Chesterton PCC Balance Sheet at 31st December 2023**|**St Andrew's Chesterton PCC Balance Sheet at 31st December 2023**||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||||||||
||**TOTAL 31st Dec**
**2022**|Total Income|Total
expenditure|Transfers and
Adjustments|Increase in
asset value|**TOTAL 31st Dec**
**2023**|
|**Tangible Assets**|||||||
|Endowment Dixon|£2,521|||||£2,758|
|Endowment Ida Elsom|£6,178|||||£6,759|
|Endowment Mabel Elsom|£8,492|||||£9,291|
|Endowment Clark|£10,372|||||£11,348|
|Endowment Kettle Grave|£3,388|||||£3,707|
|Endowment Harris|£58,183|||||£63,657|
|**TOTAL**|£89,133|||||**£97,519**|
||||||||
|**Debtors, Hall and Tower**|||||||
|PCC Debtors|£3,131|||||£34,317|
|Recoverable Gift aid|£13,589|||||£14,560|
|St Andrew's Hall assets|£19,162|||||£28,431|
|Tower assets|£5,963|||||£6,271|
|**TOTAL**|£41,845|||||**£83,579**|
||||||||
|**Cash at Bank and in hand**|||||||
|PCC Bank account|£28,563|||||£12,165|
|PCC Deposit account|£55,695|||||£45,960|
|PCC Investment account|£496,809|||||£543,551|
|**TOTAL**|£581,067|||||**£601,676**|
||||||||
|**Creditors(due within 1year)**|||||||
|PCC Liabilities|£15,549|||||£2,733|
||||||||
|**NET ASSETS**|**£696,496**|||||**£780,041**|
|Held in|||||||
|**General fund**|£2,813|£138,187|£141,654|£3,882||**£3,228**|
||||||||
|**Designated funds**|||||||
|Capital Reserve|£314,949|£36,281|||£26,854|£378,083|
|BuildingProject Reserve|£109,039|£1,000|||£9,297|£119,336|
|Quinquennial Reserve|£10,277|£59,079|£88,784|£10,000|£876|-£8,551|
|King project fund|£105,419|£3,384|||£8,988|£117,791|
|Coffee morning|£0|£18||||£18|
|Youth choir|£950|||||£950|
|Church mice|£2,066|||||£2,066|
|Churchyard|£4,512|£2,433|£1,649|||£5,296|
|Parish weekend|£0|||||£0|
|Wedding/Funeral fees|£0|£8,456|£4,977|-£3,479||£0|
|Youth worker|£2,161|£7,306|£133|-£1,223||£8,111|
|Youth Group|£1,187|||||£1,187|
|Music|£0|£185||||£185|
|Hall management committee|£19,162|£102,213|£92,945|||£28,431|
|**Total**|**£569,721**|||||**£652,903**|
||||||||
|**Restricted income funds**|||||||
|Azul Wasi|£14,885|£11,779|£11,383|£620||£15,901|
|Children's Society|£66|£327|£393|||£0|
|Christian Aid|£0|||||£0|
|Cambridge Homeless Partnership|£2,362|£988|£2,533|£200||£1,016|
|Cambridge Refugees|£121|||||£121|
|Wintercomfort|£0|£113|£113|||£0|
|Friends of St Andrew's|£0|£48|£48|||£0|
|Good causes Miscellaneous|£37|||||£37|
|Organ|-£107|||||-£107|
|Fabric|£8,513|£926||-£10,000|£726|£164|
|War Memorial|£689|||||£689|
|Tower|£5,963|£307||||£6,271|
|**Total**|**£32,528**|||||**£24,091**|
||||||||
|**Endowment funds**|£91,433|||||£99,819|
||||||||
|**TOTAL**|**£696,496**|||||**£780,041**|
_Annual report & financial statements_
_St Andrew’s Chesterton_
## **St Andrew’s Chesterton**
## **Financial statements and notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 December 2023**
## **1 General Accounting Policies**
The accounts have been prepared in accordance with the Church and Reporting by Charities: Statement of recommended practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (Effective 1 January 2019) –(Charities SORP (FRS 102)), the financial reporting standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102), the Charities Act 2011 and the Church Accounting Regulations 2006. St Andrews PCC meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS102.
## _**1.1 Income and expenditure**_
The accounts are prepared on an accruals basis rather than on a receipts and payment basis. This means that the costs and incomes relate to the period of account rather than to the time when monies are received or paid. For example, Hall rental income is recognised at the date of usage.
Collections planned giving, grants and legacies are recognised when received. Funds raised are accounted for gross.
## _**1.2 Grants**_
Grants are credited to the accounts in full when received.
Most grants relate to the purchase of assets and are immediately utilised in full; the only conditions attached to such grants is usually that the asset is used for the purpose it was intended for.
Other grants are credited to a specific reserve to ensure that they are spent only for the purpose they were intended.
## _**1.3 Assets**_
## **1.3.1 Current assets**
Short-term deposits include cash held either with the CCLA Church of England Funds, or at the Bank.
## **1.3.2 Fixed Assets**
Consecrated land and buildings are excluded from the accounts by Section 10(2)(c) of the Charities Act 2011.
No value is placed on movable church furnishings held which require a faculty for disposal since the PCC considers this to be inalienable property. All expenditure incurred during the year on consecrated buildings and movable church furnishings, whether maintenance or improvement, is written off as expenditure in the SOFA.
Individual items of equipment are written off at cost when the equipment is acquired.
## **1.3.3 Investments**
Investments are valued at market value on 31 December. Realised gains or losses are recognised when investments are sold. Unrealised gains or losses are accounted for on
1
_Annual report & financial statements_
_St Andrew’s Chesterton_
revaluation of investments at 31 December. These are apportioned between our major funds in accordance with the updated Reserves policy which is detailed above.
## _**1.4 Equipment**_
Equipment is never acquired with a view to future sale, or the generation of income. For this reason, the cost is written off when incurred and hence depreciation is not charged. If an item of equipment is sold any proceeds are credited in full to the accounts, reducing the level of equipment expenditure reported in the accounts for that period.
A listing of important assets is maintained by the Wardens and Treasurer and these are reviewed on an annual basis.
## **2 Funds**
## _**2.1 Categorisation**_
The accounts include all transactions, assets and liabilities for which the PCC is responsible in law. They do not include informal gatherings of Church members.
Some funds are **restricted** , meaning that we can only spend it on particular purposes; some are **designated** , meaning that while the PCC may have designated it for particular purposes, it is free to change its mind; and some are **endowments** , meaning that the PCC cannot touch the capital. The funds at 31 December are as follows:
## **Designated** :
- PCC General fund
- Capital Reserve fund. The PCC has Reserves Policy and this specifies that this fund will only be used in the event of unexpected major repairs or renovation to the Church or Hall that might be required in extremis.
- Quinquennial Reserve fund. This fund is held to pay for work required to the Church identified in the Quinquennial report.
- Building Reserve fund. This fund is held as reserves for small to medium capital building works to the Church and for small Capital expenses such as the purchase of office equipment.
- King Project fund. A historical legacy from a Miss King, which can be used for ‘such charitable purpose in connection with the said church or the parish thereof as the Trustees may think proper’. In 2008 the PCC resolved to use the income of the fund to enable new projects to be launched and since then it has been used as funding towards the cost of employing a Youth Worker and, in 2022, an extra Administrator.
- Youth Choir fund.
- Church Mice fund. This fund is for income and expenditure related to Church Mice sessions.
- Hall Management Committee. This fund is managed by the Hall Management Committee, under the general oversight of the PCC.
- Coffee Morning fund.
- Churchyard fund. Formerly the Headstones fund, this is for the purchase of single and multiple use headstones and for the fees charged for their engraving. The fund is also used for donations and expenditure related to the Churchyard and it should be noted that the fee for a headstone contains a small administrative charge related to the upkeep of the Churchyard.
- Parish Weekend fund to allow income and expenditure on the Parish weekend to be identified separately
- Wedding and Funeral fees. This fund is used for all fees income and expenditure related to weddings and funerals.
- Youth Group. This fund has been set up to handle income and expenditure related to the Youth Group
2
_Annual report & financial statements_
_St Andrew’s Chesterton_
- Youth Worker Fund. This has been setup to receive donations made towards the cost of employing our Youth Worker.
- Music Fund. The PCC implemented a revised strategy for the provision of music at St Andrew’s and this fund has been set up to receive donations towards the employment of a Music coordinator and any sheet music or other supplies that are required.
## **Restricted:**
- Fabric fund. This is used for specific projects to maintain the fabric of the church.
- Organ fund. This is used for specific organ projects such as the current rebuilding work.
- • War Memorial fund. This was opened specifically for donations towards the upkeep of the War Memorial in the Churchyard
- Tower Fund. The team of bell ringers manage a small bank balance for the running of the bell tower and keep a reserve for larger repairs. This was introduced to the accounts on 1[st] January 2021
- Good causes funds. These are used for donations that have been given for specific causes, such as on specific Giving Days, and for our contributions to Azul Wasi. A fund for the Cambridge Homeless Partnership was set up last year to handle donations and expenditure related to the provision of milk to the Crossways Hostel (see Mission and Giving section of the Annual Report).
## **Endowments:**
The Dixon, Ida Elsom, Mabel Elsom, Clark, Kettle Grave and TB Robinson funds all generate income for the fabric fund. The Harris fund income is applied to the general fund. All of these funds sit in their own investment accounts except the Robinson fund which is part of the PCC Investment account. This explains the difference on the balance sheet between the total of ‘Endowment Funds’ (£99,819) and the total of ‘Tangible Assets’ which appears to be the sum of endowment funds (£97,519).
## _**2.2 Distribution of interest, dividends and increase (or decrease) of asset value**_
Income from our accounts (interest and dividends) is distributed to our major funds at the end of the year in accordance with the Reserves Policy (see above).
## _**2.3 General Fund**_
- In 2023, the total income of the general fund totalled £138,187 and the expenditure £141,654. As in 2022, both these figures are inflated by the insurance claims and cost of repairs (respectively) relating to two episodes when vandals broke in to the church and caused considerable damage. After transfers of £1,223 from the Youth Worker fund and £3,379 from the Weddings and Funerals Fees Fund for PCC fees, as well as the regular transfer to the Azul Wasi Fund, and the Mission and giving Committee’s transfer of £200 to the Cambridge Homeless Partnership Fund, there was a small surplus of £415, comparing very favourably with last year’s deficit of £5,107.
- The total income from the congregation for the year was £115,589, which is substantially higher than the total for 2022 of £106,311.
- We appointed a part time Youth Worker to start in post in September 2023 and the costs of her employment totalled £4,723. Generous donations from members of the congregation have been made towards this for the a two year period and placed in the Youth Worker Fund. A transfer of £1,223 was made to the General Fund to cover the 2023 cost in addition to a donation from St Andrew’s Trust of £3,500.
- The SOFA Note 1 details the regular donations via Standing Order, CAF account and the Parish Giving Scheme(PGS), and is separated from the “one -off” digital and cash/cheque donations that we receive during collections in our services, through the card machine at the back of church, through the website, and directly into the bank account.
3
_Annual report & financial statements_
_St Andrew’s Chesterton_
- Trends over the last six years for the fund are shown below:
||2018|2019|2020|2021|2022|2023|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|Voluntary
income from
congregation|£112,956|£107,748|£103,907|£112,800|£106,311|£115,589|
|Total
Income|£126,179|£121,610|£114,847|£124,009|£133,757|£138,187|
|Total
Expenditure|£136,974|£140,395|£131,347|£139,255|£153,760|£141,654|
|Surplus/-
Deficit|-£309|£426|-£3,808|£3,268|-£5,107|£415|
## 2.4 _**Capital Reserve Fund**_
Capital reserves are held in this fund for purposes outlined in the Reserves Policy. No expenditure is made from the Fund except under exceptional circumstances and its income is applied to the Quinquennial Fund. As can be seen in the table below, the Fund is considerably higher than last year is due to the capital value of the investment account recovering from last year’s loss, as well as the generous bequest from the late Mrs Sheila Cracknell. The end of year balances of the fund for the last seven years are shown below:
||2017|2018|2019|2020|2021|2022|2023|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|End of
year
Balance|£245,065*|£267,283|£280,393|£296,016|£331,300|£314,949|£378,083|
*Held in separate Capital and Hall Capital Funds until combined in 2018
## _**2.5 Building Project Reserve Fund**_
This Fund received a generous bequest from the late Mrs Beryl Brundish and will be used for the lighting project due to complete in 2024. The Fund has also increased in value as a result of the recovery in investment values described above. There has been no expenditure during 2023. The expenditure and end of year balances of the fund for the last six years are shown below:
||2017|2018|2019|2020|2021|2022|2023|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|Expenditure|£0|£0|£2,088|£0|£2,922|£834|£0|
|End of year
balance|£0|£2,193|£78,518*|£95,958|£114,290|£109,039|£119,336|
*Includes £65,000 from a bequest
## _**2.6 Quinquennial Reserve Fund**_
A major project of renovation and repair to the church was commenced and completed during the year. The cost of the various contractors will be over £75,729 (excluding VAT which is
4
_Annual report & financial statements_
_St Andrew’s Chesterton_
refundable) when the retentions are paid and we were extremely fortunate and very grateful to receive a donation of £20,000 from the Friends of St Andrew’s, grants of £3,000 each from the Benefact trust and the Cambridgeshire Historic Churches Trust and individual donations from members of the congregation of £1,250. A transfer of £10,000 was made from the Fabric Fund and with the investment income that is applied to this fund of £12,000 this year, the Fund ends the year with a deficit of £8,511. This deficit will be met by investment income of a similar amount in 2024, and then the Fund will gradually build up in value to try to meet the costs of the next Quinquennial inspection in 2026 . The expenditure and end of year balances for the last seven years are shown below:
||2017|2018|2019|2020|2021|2022|2023|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|Expenditure|£0|£0|£0|£99,968*|£3,646|£0|£88,784|
|End of year
balance|£0|£5,000|£28,142|£3,527|£5,910|£10,277|-£8,551|
*£ 67,930 of this expenditure was covered by donations and VAT reimbursement
## _**2.7 King Project Fund**_
No transfers were made out of the fund in 2023.. The transfers and end of year balances for the last seven years are shown below:
||2017|2018|2019|2020|2021|2022|2023|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|Transfers
out|£4,000|£10,000|£11,500|£7,000|£7,000|£7,500|£0|
|End of
year
balance|£112,966|£104,515|£112,064|£113,769|£123,103|£105,419|£117,791|
## _**2.8 Churchyard Fund**_ .
As with the Wedding and Funerals Fund, all fees and expenditure related to headstones are now paid through the PCC bank account, using the Churchyard fund.
## _**2.9 Coffee Morning Fund**_
The Coffee Morning Fund did not have any income or expenditure during 2023.
_**2.10 Parish Weekend Fund.**_
This fund had a nil balance throughout the year.
## _**2.11 Wedding and Funeral Fees Fund**_
The fees paid for weddings and funerals due to the PCC for 2023 amounted to £3,479 and appears as a transfer from this fund to the General Fund. A summary of the annual totals for the last seven years is shown below:
||2017|2018|2019|2020|2021|2022|2023|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|PCC fees|£3,093|£4,437|£2,811|£2,309|£3,034|£3,344|£3,479|
## _**2.12 Youth Worker Fund**_
5
_Annual report & financial statements_
_St Andrew’s Chesterton_
During 2023, we received generous donations from the congregation of £7,306 towards the cost of employing the Youth Worker. An amount of £1,233 was transferred to the General Fund to pay for this, the remainder being held back for 2024. The income and transfers for the last five years are shown below:
||2019|2020|2021|2022|2023|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|Donations|£4,125|£6,139|£7,469|£4,875|£7,306|
|Transfers to Gen
Fund|£4,125|£3,256|£8,470|£4,596|£1,223|
## _**2.13 Organ Fund**_
We have continued to enjoy our wonderful new organ and there have been no Income or expenditure through the Fund. The small negative balance will be met from the General Fund in 2024.
## _**2.14 Tower Fund**_
The Tower Fund is run by the bell ringers with accounts presented to the group at their AGM. There was a small income during the year of £307 from fees paid at weddings, funerals and other events and there has been no expenditure in the year. The sum held on deposit represents a reserve in case of the need for more major repair and renovation in the future.
## **3 St Andrew’s Hall**
## _**3.1 Hall Ownership and Book Value**_
The Hall and the land on which it stands is owned by the Diocese of Ely as custodian trustee, on behalf of the PCC (under the PCC Powers Measure of 1956).
As a result, the Hall does not appear in the PCC balance sheet.
## _**3.2 Obligations of the Church Regarding the Hall**_
The Church received a Grant of £246,000 from Cambridge City Council toward the cost of building the Hall. The Section 106 agreement relating to this grant places various constraints on the Church as to how the hall should be used for a period of 25 years following the opening of the Hall in November 2005.
The main terms are as follows:
- **Availability** . The Hall must be made available for at least 60 hours a month for community use and at least 20 hours a month local use
- **Standards** . The Hall must be kept in a condition suitable for community use
- **Advertising** . The PCC must advertise the Hall in a suitable manner and have a suitable system for taking bookings for community use
The agreement provides for termination under certain circumstances, with a claw-back of the grant on a tapering basis, from 90% when terminated after three years, to 10% after eleven years, and nothing thereafter.
## _**3.3 Hall Management Committee**_
In order to get the best use from the Hall and to maximise benefit for the community the PCC in partnership with the local Residents Associations has set up a Hall Management Committee. This is made up of representatives of the PCC, Old Chesterton Residents Association, St Andrew’s Road Residents Association and Hall User groups. The Committee meets on a regular
6
_Annual report & financial statements_
_St Andrew’s Chesterton_
basis. They are responsible for ensuring that the Hall is operated in accordance with the Section 106 agreement. They also deal with practical day-to-day matters and make recommendations to the PCC as to general policy.
## _**3.4 Hall Accounts**_
Ownership of the Hall is vested in the Diocese and the capital value of the Hall does not appear in the PCC accounts.
The Section 106 agreement sets out that an annual report must be submitted covering the Hall finances and details of letting.
An income and expenditure account setting out all the income earned and costs incurred by the PCC in operating the Hall is prepared and reported to the Hall Management Committee and is examined each year with the PCC accounts. The income and expenditure totals as reported by the Hall Treasurer appear in the PCC accounts and in 2023 show that it has generated a surplus of £9,268. Further details of the Hall affairs are available in the Hall’s annual report.
The end of year balance on the Hall funds for the last seven years are shown below:
||2017|2018|2019|2020|2021|2022|2023|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|End of
year
balance|£19,218|£15,914|*£40,074|£16,986|£12,445|£19,162|£28,431|
*Included a transfer of £25,000 from the PCC capital fund.
## **4 Giving to good causes**
## _**4.1 PCC policy**_
The PCC has a longstanding policy of giving to good causes and the amount that we aim to give from the General fund to the same causes each year was unchanged this year at £5,800. Of this, £1,000 was given to Azul Wasi (as part of a larger sum raised through regular donations and targeted events), and in addition, the Mission & Giving group is delegated to distribute the balance in smaller sums to Christian ministries, mission agencies and other good causes. The group also organises giving days during the year for a variety of causes (seeking to ensure that all five marks of Mission – as defined by the Anglican Communion – are covered: evangelism, Christian education & nurture, serving those in need, transforming society and safeguarding creation).
## _**4.2 Azul Wasi**_
Azul Wasi (‘the Blue House’) is a boys’ orphanage in Cusco, Peru, which St Andrew’s has supported since its beginning in 2005. Members of the congregation give regularly to this cause by standing order (held in a restricted fund) and this enables St Andrew’s to support the 12 boys who live there as a family by sending a regular monthly donation for the food costs.
## _**5 Grants and Employment costs**_
- A grant of £2,265 per annum is received from Trinity College as a contribution towards the administrative support of the vicar and parish.
- A grant of £3,500 was received from St Andrew’s Trust towards the cost of employing a Youth Worker.
- The costs of the Director of Music and Church Administrator are met out of the General Fund, as described in 2.3 above. A small part of the Hall Manager’s salary is also met out of the General Fund to cover the work that she took over from the Administrative Assistant during the year as well as other operational duties on behalf of the PCC.
7
St Andrew's Church. Chesterton
Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2023
Independent examiner's report
To the PCC of St Andrew's Church, Chesterton
This report on the accounts of the PCC for the year ended 31 De¢ember 2023, which comprise the
Statement of Financial Activities, the Balance Sheet and the notes lo the accounts, is in respecl
of an examination Carried out in accordance with the Church Accounting Regulations 2006 {'Ihe
Regulalions'l and section 145 of the Charilies Act 2011 1.the Act'l.
Respectlve responslbllltles of the PCC and the examlner
As members of the PCC you are responsible for the preparation of the accounls., you consider that
the audit requirement of the Regulations and section 144121 of the Act does not apply. 11 is my
responsibility lo issue this report on those accounts in accordan with the terms of the Regulations.
Basis of this report
My ex8min8tion was carried out in accordance with the General Directions given by the Charity
Commissioners under section 14515llbl of the Act and lo be found in the Church Guidance, 2006
edition. That examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the PCC and a
Comparison of the accounts with those records. 11 also includes considering any unusual items or
disclosures in the accounts, and seeking explan81ions from you as members of the PCC concerning
any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required
in an audit, and consequently I do not express an audit opinion on the view given by the accounts.
INDEPENDENT EXAMINER'S STATEMENT
In connection with my examination. no matter has come lo my allenlion..
111 which gives me reasonable Cause lo believe Ihal in any material respect Ihe requirements
lo keep accounting records in accordance with section 130 of the Act.. and
lo prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records and lo comply with the
accounting requirements of the Act and the Regulations have not been mel", or
121 lo which, in my opinion, allenlion should be drawn in order lo enable a proper understanding of
the accounts to be reached.
Geoff Mann FCIE
Geoff Mann Limited
Dee House
Highworth Avenue
Cambridge
CB4 2BQ