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← The Parochial Church Council Of The Ecclesiastical Parish Of Holy Trinity, Horfield, Bristol

2024-12-31-accounts

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HOLY TRINITY WITH ST ANDREW AND ST EDMUND HORFIELD PARISH CHURCH

Snapshots Annual parish report 2025

Holy Trinity Church, Horfield DIOCESE OF BRISTOL Creating connections through the inclusive Catholic tradition in worship, welcome, and service.

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CONTENTS

APCM 2025 Agenda

APCM 2024 Minutes of the meeting held on 12[th] May 2024

Annual Report (Snapshots) from page 12 : including reports from -

Churchwarden Deanery Synod Stewardship Music and Choir Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Living Churchyard Mothers’ Union Young People’s Pastoral Ministry Safeguarding Social and Hospitality Horfield Families Group Decibell Handbell Ringers Horfield Theatre Company

Financial Statement, Annual Report and Accounts

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PARISH OF HOLY TRINITY WITH ST EDMUND, HORFIELD Annual Parochial Church Meeting Sunday, 18[th] May 2025 A G E N D A

  1. Opening Prayer and Worship

  2. Attendance and Apologies

  3. The Annual Meeting of Parishioners

  4. 3.1 Minutes of the meeting to elect Churchwardens held on 12[th] May 2024

  5. 3.2 Election of Churchwardens

4. The Annual Parochial Church Meeting

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Parish of Holy Trinity with St. Edmund, Horfield

Minutes of the Annual Meeting of Parishoners held on Sunday 12[th] May 2024

The Rector, the Reverend Canon Dr. David McGladdery (Chair) welcomed everyone and opened the meeting with prayer.

  1. List of attendees and apologies – see Appendix 1

MEETING FOR ELECTION OF CHURCHWARDENS

2. MINUTES OF THE MEETING HELD ON 30[TH] APRIL 2023

The minutes were agreed as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

3. ELECTION OF CHURCHWARDENS

Wanda Prosser proposed, and Christine Bufton seconded that Caroline Plaice be elected for a further year and this was unanimously agreed. Caroline Plaice was duly elected Churchwarden.

Wanda Prosser proposed, and Christine Bufton seconded that Nick Stephenson be elected for a further year and this was unanimously agreed. Nick Stephenson was duly elected Churchwarden.

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Parish of Holy Trinity with St. Edmund, Horfield

Minutes of the Annual Parochial Church Meeting (APCM) held on Sunday 12[th] May 2024

4.3 Notification of any other business – none

4.4 Report of the Electoral Roll Officer

Carolyn Larcey the Electoral Roll Officer, reported on the 2024 revision of the Electoral Roll as follows :

Number of people on Electoral Roll at the APCM in 2023 121 Number of names removed between then and APCM 2024 3 Number of names added between then and April 2024 3 Number of people on Electoral Roll at the APCM 2024 121

Carolyn also reported that next year a new Church Electoral Roll is required, which means that everyone must reapply to be included on the Electoral Roll for Holy Trinity. Fr David thanked Carolyn for her report.

4.5 PCC nominations and elections

There were four nominations:

Helen Currie, proposed by Garth Baker and seconded by Jen Douglas Phil Lewis, proposed by Dennis Hughes and seconded by Tony Hopton Laura Bufton proposed by Jen Douglas and seconded by Helen Hinksman

Jen Douglas proposed by Christine Bufton and seconded by Garth Baker

All were elected unanimously. Christine Bufton (Treasurer) and Carolyn Larcey (PCC Secretary) were co-opted in their roles.

4.6

To confirm the list of PCC members

Current membership of the PCC, including their specific responsibilities are as follows:

Chair: Revd. Canon Dr. David McGladdery, SCP – Rector; Diocesan Synod

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Caroline Plaice – Churchwarden; HR Lead; Parish Safeguarding Officer; Deanery and Diocesan Synod representative Nick Stephenson - Churchwarden, Inclusion, Equality and Diversity Lead; Estates and Plant Lead

Carolyn Larcey- PCC Secretary; MU; Social and Hospitality Garth Baker – Stewardship Recorder; Deanery Synod representative Jonathan Crow – Music and artistic outreach Christine Bufton – Treasurer Laura Bufton – Safeguarding administrator; altar serving team Helen Currie – Children, Youth and Families

Phil Lewis – Welcome Project Steering Group; Social and Hospitality Jen Douglas – Church School Liaison; Finance Advisory Group; Children, Youth and Families; Welcome Project Steering Group.

4.7 Deanery Synod representatives

Garth Baker and Caroline Plaice agreed to continue to be representatives on Deanery Synod.

4.8 To receive and approve the reports of individuals and church groups (Snapshots)

The report was commended and received as a record of church life.

4.9 Presentation from the Financial Advisory Group

Jen Douglas presented the report from the group (Dennis Hughes, Garth Baker, Christine Bufton, Jen Douglas, Nick Stephenson). The slides are at Appendix 2.

Questions from the floor:

Yes, we have taken the property off the market, for up to a year. We have not had as much interest in the property as we anticipated, and no realistic offer has been made. The market is currently volatile, and we’ve been advised to wait. As we are not immediately looking for the revenue to provide match funding for the Lottery funding, we can be more flexible in our timings with this. In addition, we can continue to offer the house as a welcome refuge. It is our intention to rent the property to guests from Ukraine through the Homes for Ukraine scheme, which will bring in income from the government.

That isn’t the case. We have been working closely with the Diocese on the process of selling and the money will be credited to us.

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The costs cover both the Church and the Hall and Helliwell Room. Some of the increase is accounted for by the increase in the cost of fuel which has impacted on us all. Some of the inefficiencies of e.g. the cost of the sodium lights in church, were addressed mid-year (June 2023) and since then, we have seen the cost of lighting reduce by two thirds. In our recent energy audit, the inefficiency of relying on gas was highlighted. We hope to have access to grants of up to £20,000 to move to an electric based heating system, and also have expertise from those who have done this already, including S. Matthew’s Cotham. Their Environment Lead, Deborah Tomkins spoke at our Parish Conference on this and offered further support.

Yes, we can do things to the building which will not change going forward, for example cavity wall insulation, suspended ceilings. It is also worth noting that at the moment we have one heating system for the hall and Helliwell, and cannot be flexible to the individual spaces, which is wasting money. Donald Wainwright asked to be included in this work, based on his experience in the industry.

Following the presentation and questions, the accounts were approved unanimously.

Flourishing Like a Tree -

But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit. ( 2 Jeremiah, 17:7-8 )

I chose to begin my report in Snapshots with those verses of scripture from the prophet Jeremiah, because they describe what is happening here in Holy Trinity.

We now live in a very different world to the one I grew up in; a very different world to the one I began my adult life in – and certainly church is a very different organisation now than it ever was. We have to be serious about this – the United Kingdom is not united and it is not a Christian country. Those who attempt to live the Christian faith know that some things remain ever the same. God as the source of all healing, inclusive, forgiving love is constant. The example of humble, non-judgemental love taught us by Jesus the Christ (the chosen one) of God is the same as ever. The power of the life-giving and life-giving Holy Spirit is the same as ever.

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We must not confuse these two realities. Our Christian Faith remains the same; the institution of the Church is ever changing as its cultural and social setting ever changes.

Over the last four years, much has changed here at Holy Trinity in terms of the way we have learnt to live our Faith in practical ways. I want to outline a few points by which the Leadership team and PCC will be enabling and encouraging our whole church community to be positively involved in a Year of Flourishing .

FLOWER OF FLOURISHING (See Appendix C)

The way we organise Church REVEALS what we set as priorities for what we wish to achieve.

LIVING UNCONDITIONAL WELCOME – Phil Lewis

Phil spoke about the work of the Welcome Project and the recent response to the Lottery decision – What is God telling us? Project started Nov 2020 – 3 ½ years go with a plan to refurbish the church hall a – because it needed it, b – to realise the vision of being a church engaged with and reaching out into the community. To demonstrate Christ’s love for all people in practical ways.

To be honest – when we started, we only had our vision and the early days were spent thinking about how we were going to achieve this. There was no real experience and it did feel a bit like we were winging it!  Within a couple of months, we realised there was a need to shift from the church hall being specifically attached to the church, to being more inclusive and community based, and our strapline of Whoever you are, wherever you come from, everyone is welcome here came into being.  Over the months, a plan was developed, and actioned upon – research, consultation, business plan appointing architects etc.

We certainly had our challenges – initially our lack of experience; the overwhelming size of the task; encouraging the church to be involved not forgetting the impact of the pandemic - however, whatever the challenge, we seemed able to persevere through - it was as though God still wanted us to carry on. Which of course he does.  However, the Welcome Project started to gradually develop beyond just the refurbishment of the hall. Opportunities arose which enabled us, you, the church to start being the Welcome Project in a very practical way.

With your support, we housed our Ukrainian friends offering a safe friendly welcome; we started the Warm Welcome over the winter months; we offer a free food pantry to people that need it; we’ve developed our youth ministry and have become a dementia friendly

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church. Even moving refreshments at the end of mass to the back of the church encouraging more people to stay behind and chat.

So, alongside the practical, pragmatic business of the hall refurbishments, the Spirit was quietly leading us into a much wider project. The Welcome project isn’t just the steering group. It’s all of us. We are all doing the Welcome Project. It’s what we do, what we have become and what we are.

So, the lottery decision, although disappointing, did lead us to take stocking stock.

What is God telling us? On reflection, I believe it’s that we’re doing Ok actually, to take heart and carry on with the project, perhaps taking a different approach, but still with the redevelopment of the church hall an integral part of future proofing our mission to serve our community in the name of our Lord Jesus through the welcome Project.

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ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP - Caring for the Churchyard

Our churchyard is a place of remembrance and peace that is widely valued and used by many local people. The churchyard is noted as being the most biodiverse area of Horfield common. Green Gym has been working tirelessly over the years to maintain and keep accessible as much of the churchyard as possible. Last year we started Sapling Saturdays – inviting volunteers to help tackle specific areas of the churchyard (initially taking out saplings that were growing where our mowers were not able to reach them), compost bins were built and we began clearing some of the very overgrown areas of the churchyard.

We need to better manage the churchyard to both respect the memory of those who are buried here and also to ensure that it remains an accessible and open place for remembrance and reflection.

Additionally, we wish to record the memorials we have as historical monuments (ie. John Frost’s grave), and understand and increase the biodiversity (plants, insects, animals). Parts of the hedge are dying and are being overtaken by ivy, some areas which are now cleared are very uneven, many saplings continue to grow through memorials at a phenomenal speed and there remain large areas of scrub and bramble.

Over the next year we plan 3 things:

  1. Continue our maintenance of the churchyard with Green Gym and Sapling Saturday and continue working to revitalise the hedge.

  2. Leave some areas of the churchyard unmown so we can survey the current wildlife.

  3. Develop a plan to identify areas of the churchyard which are managed differently to encourage a range of habitats, for example those where grass is mown every week, areas which are left to grow longer and perhaps cut twice a year, and areas which we may only cut every two or three years.

You are all invited to give your thoughts about how the churchyard is managed as well as to record what you know about the churchyard. We will be using excellent resources from Caring for God’s Acre to support this work.

The Welcome Project will involve and develop and provide a way for us to enable the flourishing of our resources to serve and support those in need in our community. We will have a redeveloped, parish hall to support this work within the very near future.

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I wish to draw our attention to the number of young adults who have been welcomed into our regular congregation over the last year. We do have regular worshippers from each decade of human life. Our average attendance at all services has increased over the last year – and I commend to you the work achieved by our Children, Youth and Families Pastoral Team, who have revitalised Friday Club and initiated a growing Messy Church.

A church community in the 3[rd] decade of the 21[st] century is encouraged to be far more collaborative – with everyone invited to give of their talents and encouraged to weave the threads of their own interests, capabilities and gifts to create a living tapestry of all that is good; all that will be helpful and all that serves those who feel isolated, judged and not included in the turmoil of life in 2024.

When we anchor our lives in faith, we won't fear the heat of trials or the drought of difficult times. Our lives will bear fruit, reflecting the steadfastness of our trust in God. This image of a thriving tree teaches us the beauty of reliance on God, promising a life that overcomes challenges, blooms and flourishes in every season.

In this coming Year of Flourishing – I invite you to give yourselves in any way you are able, in prayer, in unconditional welcome, in action to make a living contribution to the flourishing of the Kingdom of God in Horfield.

6. Questions following the Rector’s report and Phil’s presentation

It is a monthly part of Rob’s workplan to check all the graves for any sign of deterioration. We are also seeking advice from the Diocese, and working with the organisation Caring for God’s acre to maintain and protect our churchyard. If anyone notices anything amiss, please do inform Nick.

The first issue of Welcome, Matters! was distributed. This new publication provides detail on how we are moving forward with our plans, and will appear on a regular basis.

The meeting closed with the Grace.

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Appendix 1

Attendees:

Fr David Donald Wainwright Marianne Wainwright Celia Wells Judy Lee Helen Currie James Kay Carolyn Larcey Gabrielle Evans Vera Seaman Eleanor Costelloe Geoff Stock Nicky Stanton Karen Dunmall Julienne Trotman Tony Hopton Chris Hopton

Attendees and apologies

Mary White John White Annette Martin Bryan Plaister Laura Bufton Emma Bickford Alison Ellis Nigel Martin Jen Douglas Christine Bufton Garth Baker Dennis Hughes Hilary Maddalena Phil Lewis Jane Lewis Nigel de Bray Nick Stephenson Caroline Plaice

Apologies:

Penny Moynihan Gill Wilding Andy Cleaver Fergus Currie Pat Grosvenor David Grosvenor Margaret Smith Rob Smith

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CHURCHWARDEN’S REPORT

During 2024 we had a short period of stability with two wardens – Nick and myself – and then sadly Nick had to step back in June due to family and work commitments. Thank you, Nick, for all you brought to the warden role, and to the work you have continued to do as our lead in a number of areas – environment, and equality, diversity and inclusion. For the rest of the year, we have been fortunate to have several auxiliary wardens who ensure that our welcome is always warm, and that the church is prepared for and tidied after major events.

There have been many developments over the year. It is clear that our Welcome Project , originally focused on re-imagining the Hall, has expanded and grown in so many areas. Whilst the Hall remains a priority, and our Grant-Funding Team is working hard to secure the funding for this, there are a number of other areas which have been incorporated into us realising a life of welcome at Holy Trinity. At our parish conference in the autumn, there were thoughtful and ambitious discussions around prioritising our objectives as a community. Some of the ways we have realised our welcome over the year being reported are listed below:

  1. Re-purposing of the former Parish Office : with there no longer being a need for a staffed office across the road from the church building, the room was renovated and dedicated in October as ‘The Blancharde Room’ in memory of our dear friends Mtr Hilary and Brian. The room is available for hire for 1-1 and small meetings and has received many positive comments for its welcoming and bright atmosphere.

  2. Re-development of the Choir Vestry as a Parish Resource Room in the autumn: As well as continuing to be the base for the choir, the area also now houses the photocopier and the printing for services, pew sheet etc. now happens here. It is very useful to have the ‘ copier close to hand for last minute printing, and an unexpected benefit of the re-development has been the opportunity to be able to welcome people who come into church whilst in the office. Thank you to Rob for his work to renovate the space, to choir members for their significant support in sorting out music and the existing furnishings, to Hilary for donations of furniture to enhance the space, and to Carolyn for all the back office work she carries out there, quietly and efficiently.

  3. Introduction of a new booking system for our spaces: Holy Trinity have been one of the first churches in the Diocese to introduce Sharesy for our room bookings. The online booking system has a number of benefits, facilitating instant booking of the hall, Helliwell and Blancharde rooms by people across the community. This has resulted in an increase to our income, which in turn we can then put back into our support in other areas. Most importantly this initiative, has enabled us to welcome people who had no idea previously that there was a church and hireable spaces available, and to enable interesting conversations, and for us to offer a welcome in very different ways.

  4. Live-Streaming: whilst recording services had previously been enabled, it was sporadic and beset by technical difficulties. I am so pleased to report that the system is now much more stable, and we have an excellent team supporting the recording of our services and events. Thank you to Carolyn, Hilary, Sally, Phil and Martin for all they do to enable people to join with us in

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worship from afar. We know from the many comments received what an important part of our ministry this is.

  1. Church Path: approved for re-development in 2024, our old and increasingly unsafe path will be replaced very soon. This is very much a practical example of making that welcome safe and inviting, for all those who use the church environment, whether it is to come into church itself, or to walk through the churchyard.

  2. Electrics and energy efficiency: a review begun in 2023 continues, and through the Financial Advisory Board (FAB), and under the enthusiastic and can-do chairing of Jen, supported by Nick and Garth, we continue to make savings, and think carefully about how we move into the future.

  3. Welcome area at the west end of church: identified by all as a priority, the Welcome Project Steering Group have visited other locations, led by Phil, to inform our ideas for how a welcome and hospitality area could look at Holy Trinity. This will be a priority in 2025.

  4. Communications Strategy: all of our work needs to be informed and progressed by communications. There are a number of elements to this which are bubbling away, including a new-website and effective use of social media.

As well as these developments, we have welcomed a new family of guests from Ukraine to our church house . Iryna, Vitaly and Dominika, and latterly Lidiia, have settled into their new home. They are a gift to us, and a very real reminder of the ongoing war in Ukraine.

Our Warm Welcome continues to be offered across the winter months, and the Pantry all year around. Whilst numbers coming along for the Warm Welcome remain modest, they have enabled some extraordinary and affirming interactions with the wider community, which are bearing fruit and will be reported on for our 2026 report.

Thank you to so many for your ongoing support, hard work and enthusiasm which enables our community at Holy Trinity to flourish. It continues to be a privilege to serve.

Caroline Plaice (Warden)

DEANERY SYNOD

Deanery Synod acts as a conduit of information and counsel between the Bishop/Diocese and the ‘person in the pew’. Members have the opportunity to consider wider aspects of Church life beyond the confines of individual parishes, and from time-to-time wider attendance is encouraged from those with a particular interest in the matter to be discussed.

Your representatives attended three meetings in 2024. In February we met at Cotham Parish Church. The main focus was a ‘weaving trust’ workshop enabling us to ‘speak across difference’ and learn from each other’s experiences of Church in our respective communities. Amongst subjects discussed were what were our current challenges and what needed to be prayed about, community engagement and how we linked with other Churches.

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In June we met at St Stephen’s, Southmead. The main subject was the Diocesan Priority Community Programme (part of ‘Transforming Churches Together’ initiative). The Diocese was concentrating more of its resources on areas of deprivation, the intent being to improve support for such areas and raise up leaders from the community. Churches were encouraged to work with each other and share the gifts of their respective congregations.

In September we met in St Ambrose, Whitehall. We concentrated on work in schools. 75% of people first came to faith before the age of 16, yet more than a third of parents were not particularly concerned to pass on their faith to future generations. It was important to utilise all the senses in spreading The Good News, and to work with others in ‘non-Church schools, finding people where they were and using modern technology as appropriate.

An interesting ‘mixed bag’. Our Parish is currently entitled to three seats on Deanery Synod, but we have only taken up two of them. Anyone interested?

Garth Baker Deanery Synod Representative

STEWARDSHIP

I wrote quite a long piece about Stewardship this time last year, and we covered the matter further at the Parish Conference in October. So perhaps I should not need to write much now. But we all need to remind ourselves that Stewardship is essentially about looking after our Church, a matter much wider than just money (important though that is). It is about giving some part of ourselves to God, both in terms of practical gifts (be they in IT or Flower Arranging, and all points between) as well as money. Is there something which you think ought to be happening in Church, but currently is not? If so, perhaps you are the one who should be offering to do it? Have you reviewed your financial giving in the last five years (evidence suggests that some have not), or should you do so now?

At the Conference in October, we launched a Stewardship Event, but I have to record the response was somewhat disappointing. We probably made a mistake in hoping that people would take up the invitation to pick up the offered literature and forms, rather than making sure by posting copies through your letterboxes, but it is never the wrong time to consider these matters and response. (I have the relevant financial forms available, and practical gifts are never unwelcome). We will not have another Stewardship Event quite so soon, and the next one should be led by my (as yet unidentified) successor, but I think that we should go back to the true and tested ‘stuff envelopes then stuff letterboxes’ approach we did previously.

Food for thought (and prayer), I suggest.

Garth Baker Stewardship Recorder

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MUSIC AND CHOIR

Among my musical highlights of the year 2024/25 were a successful visit to Exeter and Devon with the Bristol & District Organists’ Association (BDOA), a brilliant Advent and Christmas Season with the newly formed Festival Choir, another hugely successful Burns Supper which included a very challenging quiz of Scottish places and an illustrated Bach 275[th] anniversary talk which included a survey of my own visits to the Bach towns and churches in north Germany.

The Festival Choir’s performances of “When will we see the little one” and my own arrangement of the French carol “Now tell us gentle Mary” were both very well received. I was also very pleased with the performance of Richard Shephard’s beautiful “Advent Carol.” The whole experience inspired me to write my very own Christmas carol – “Carol of the Stars” – both words and music which I look forward to premiering this year during Advent and Christmas.

It is really good to have Andy and James now regularly sing in our choir and even better to have Gail singing again after her ordeal. Furthermore, having occasional support from Nick, Jen, Sally and Donald means that the choir can sing anthems during Mass and enrich worship.

As 2024 was my 60[th] birthday year I treated myself to holidays to my own “special places” of Patmos and Islay. I have always enjoyed Hebridean sunsets and was not disappointed. I was blessed with the most glorious weather for two weeks in September, which I had never previously had during family visits over many years. I was also blessed that the tides were favourable for one of my

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favourite walks, the walk from Colonsay to Oronsay as part of a day trip from Islay. Oronsay is a tiny island which has a medieval abbey and can only be reached at low tide. It has an extraordinary atmosphere and sense of peace and calm that restores the soul.

As I said during my recent talk on Bach, Bach is my absolute passion. It gives me a reason to live. It brings me comfort and joy each day. Every day I listen to some Bach. It helps me sleep at night. My passion for Bach started at age 12 when I was first introduced to the organ music of Bach at school at St Peter’s Church Colchester. My music teacher Duncan Godwin was himself a keen organist who loved Bach. I was simply blown away by it and devoted myself to learning the organ and excelling at it. Since then my own love of Bach has just grown and grown. I have won organ competitions and given many organ recitals of Bach. So much so that I have been given the nickname Johann Sebastian! I may not be Bach’s No1 Superfan, but I think I am right up there!

In terms of 2025/26 my future plans for Holy Trinity Horfield are as follows:

For 15 June 2026 Trinity Sunday we have been successful in getting a patronal grant for choral evensong and I am currently making arrangements for our Festival Choir to be augmented by invited guest soloists. I also hope to involve Horfield Junior School in some of the music.

On 16 August 2026 at 3pm I have arranged a special organ and vocal concert by the stunning Greek organist Pavlos Triantaris and his wife Marily Kritikou. This will include a performance of his very own Japanese Fantasy which is absolutely mindblowing. (I have heard this during the course of its composition in the course of previous BDOA trips).

Among other plans yet to be arranged I hope to host an organ day to demonstrate the workings of the organ.

I will of course look forward to another exciting Advent and Christmas season with the Festival Choir and already have ideas for the music for it.

Any suggestions of favourite hymns or organ voluntaries are always welcome.

Jon Crow, Music Director

EQUALITY, DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION

Our focus in the last year focus has mainly been on improving specific pieces of physical access around the church. At last the church path is about to be re-laid, and the opportunity is being taken to ensure consistent path width, improved lighting and also to make the SE steps accessible. Work on the church toilet is now finished, making it as accessible as possible given the physical constraints of the building.

We have also taken opportunities to open up our invitation to a wider group of people. Specific invitations to events on social media have brought new people to the church. The information posters that we now regularly update on the church gates enable conversation with our local community when they are out and about.

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As ever the PCC Is encouraged that every meeting to challenge themselves about how every decision taken makes our work more accessible to more people, particularly those who are unchurched or do not share Holy Trinity’s tradition.

Thank you everyone who has supported our work around inclusion. From the simplest social media invite to the Christingle service, to ongoing project management making our path fit for purpose. It all helps. It all makes a difference.

Nick Stephenson

LIVING CHURCHYARD

Changes within the churchyard are very visible and receive a huge amount of comment and feedback. Even so, over time, we can forget how much work by so many people goes into making it happen. Work on the Living Churchyard is not a Chelsea Flower Show instant garden transformation but will take time as we do more get acquainted with how the churchyard has changed over the years and undertake work within our resources. = Ri: Alig | Wit ip eke’ '1) | eee ee

The Parish Conference last October agreed the Living Churchyard plan, which we had been working on and consulting over for a number of months. We will now follow this for the next year and then review it to check what is working and make any changes that are necessary.

A Wessex Water grant and a generous donation has enabled us to install two water butts in the churchyard and also purchase some new equipment and supplies. The hedge on the East side has been striped of the Ivy which was killing it and now has new hedgerow plants filling the gaps. The North side of the churchyard has been cleared of bramble

revealing parts of the churchyard that have net been seen for decades. Our waste management plan is beginning to work and ‘dead hedges’ are enhancing the diversity of habitats available for wildlife. The profusion of late winter and spring flowers this year has been beautiful – we hope encourage such growth in the coming years.

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Along with the dedication of a number of individuals, work on the churchyard is largely undertaken by two groups of volunteers: Green Gym mow and strim every week from April to October, whilst the Sapling Saturday volunteers meet on the Second Saturday morning each month to do specific clearing and maintenance work. These are both open and sociable groups who enjoy the work and friendship it brings

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about. Some of those who help have no other connection to the church. Thank you everyone who has mown, trimmed, cut, dug, pruned, chopped, strimmed, cleared or encouraged over the last year. Naturally we’re always on the lookout for more people to get involved; if you are interested, or know anyone who might be, please get in touch.

Phil Hall, who had been organising Green Gym for 33 years has stepped down from this role and Donald Wainwright has ably volunteered to take it on – thank you both.

1) As we move further into spring, please take some time to walk around the Living Churchyard and enjoy = > \ = be the beauty and tranquillity of this place. Please be sa ide ay Sg a ee | tt EROS careful! Whilst we have filled some dips and uneven 2 iS 5 parts of the main grassed route around the church, it ” , : can still be slippery with hazards that are not easily 7 . ies> .ee tog . imy e >iy E visible; we will continue this year to fill more holes | and stabilise some of the leaning monuments. When you walk through, or take a few moments to sit in, the Living Churchyard, you will be able to see : ~ uncovered memorials, watch bees and butterflies around the wildflowers, and enjoy the song of our friendly resident Robin - if you are lucky you may get to see the nesting Jays.

Nick Stephenson

MOTHERS’ UNION

We held our Annual General meeting as usual in January. In February Jacky Fredrickson, the Diocesan President, came to talk about the RiseUp campaign raising awareness about domestic abuse across Britain and Ireland. The letters of RISE UP stand for Respond, Inform, Support, Empower, Unite and Pray. Since her talk, Mothers’ Union working with the Church have attained the Bronze Award, the certificate was presented to me at the Deanery Festival on the 13[th] June. We are now taking steps to achieve the Silver award.

In March Marianne had us crafting collecting boxes for MU projects. In April we had a slide show illustrating the Threads through Creation exhibition some of us at seen at Wells Cathedral. In July we joined the other branches for the Deanery lunch at St Mary’s Shirehampton. As usual a lovely lunch and good fellowship. At our July meeting Helen Hinksman, a former Lay Reader at Holy Trinity, did one of her Café Style workshops – Reflections on the Blessings of Summer. This was an open meeting, and we had a very good turnout.

We held a short Wave of Prayer service in September which was followed by Donald Wainwright giving us a very interesting talk on the church’s liturgical colours and we had a demonstration of how the priest puts on each item of clothing in a specific order. In October Marianne had us looking ahead, forward planning and planting. She had kindly organised a hyacinth bulb and pot for everyone with specific planting and nurturing instructions for getting the hyacinth

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to bloom in time for Christmas. In November we had the Rev Jo Jennings from Horfield Prison come and talk to us. This was an open meeting and a few members from other branches joined us. Jo talked at length about her work in the prison which was really interesting. We also wrote Christmas cards for the Christian prisoners.

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In December we hosted the Deanery Advent Service, we used the service prepared by the Faith Group and had lots of lovely Advent hymns and readings. We had tea and mince pies after.

We enrolled two new members to our branch this year, Jean Fenn and Vera Seaman and sadly lost our dear friend Maureen Wootton who had been such a valued MU member during her life and is truly missed.

As Mothers’ Union members we support our diocesan projects, below, either by volunteering or by raising funds and giving donations.

If you would like any further information or feel you would like to come to one of our meetings, usually the second Thursday of each month, please do have a word with me.

Carolyn Larcey,

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Branch Secretary• MU. 22

YOUNG PEOPLE’S PASTORAL MINISTRY

The Young People’s Ministry in the parish continues to flourish and evolve. Every week between 15 – 20 young people have fun aplenty at Friday Club and our monthly Messy Church sessions have regular attendees who take part in worship, prayer, cooking, crafting and physical games. In addition to these church-based groups, links with Horfield Primary School have been strengthened through regular prayer sessions run by Jen Douglas.

We have just had the first of the celebrations to mark the 50[th] anniversary of Friday Club. The Club was set up by Geoff Stock in January 1975. It is an incredible achievement for Geoff to have started a group that has gone on to touch so many young people’s lives in many positive ways. Indeed, this remarkable anniversary hasn’t gone unnoticed as was demonstrated when Geoff received a letter of congratulations from King Charles himself! One of the activities already undertaken to

mark the anniversary was a ‘Sponsored Talents’ fundraiser. The young people raised money by doing whatever they do best. There was a range of talents, including football, maths, art. A total of £383 was raised through this for the charity ‘Help Bristol’s Homeless’. There will be a further day of celebrations in June when Friday Club alumni will be invited to join us in the Hall for refreshments and sharing of memories.

Messy Church takes place in the church hall every third Sunday at 10am during Parish Mass. We have had some great activities in the past year, including setting up a camp in the hall garden, mixing a Parish Christmas Cake, lots of craft activities and always some singing and sharing of Bible stories. One regular member comes all the way from Birmingham to attend! We regularly have new children who come along to try out a session. Parents are welcome to stay with their children.

Jen Douglas has set up a hugely popular fortnightly lunchtime ‘Prayer Space’ at Horfield C of E primary school. The Club consists of a Bible story and an activity and attracts around forty children every fortnight.

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We look forward to seeing how the young people’s ministry will develop further in the coming year. Many thanks to all the adults who give their time, support and energy to the groups.

Helen Currie

Safeguarding

Statement of commitment to Safeguarding

The parish of Holy Trinity is committed to safeguarding children, young people and adults at risk.

Parish Safeguarding Officer: Caroline Plaice Administrative Officer: Laura Bufton

Policies

The Safeguarding policy was reviewed in November 2024.

Activities

The PCC oversees the following activities for Children and Young People : Messy Church and Horfield Young People’s Club

Safer Recruitment & DBS

The PCC is responsible for the safe recruitment of people wanting to work with vulnerable groups through the activities mentioned above.

DBS Checks

As part of the safer recruitment process, where eligible, volunteers working with vulnerable groups have been DBS checked at the level appropriate to the role. Because the parish provides activities for vulnerable groups, the PCC members are also eligible for an enhanced DBS Check.

There are eighteen volunteers / PCC members who require a DBS check for their role and all of them have a current check (i.e. the check has been completed within the last 3 years).

Training

Safeguarding training at different levels is a requirement for all roles, the current situation in terms of meeting the requirements in the parish is as follows:

Basic Awareness

Number in
Role		 Number completed training in
last3 years		 Number with no or expired
training
17 17 0

Foundation Safeguarding

Number in
Role		 Number completed training in
last3 years		 Number with no or expired
training
17 17 0

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Leadership Safeguarding Leadership Safeguarding Leadership Safeguarding
Number in
Role		 Number completed training in
last3 years		 Number with no or expired
training
3 3 0

Domestic Abuse

Number in
Role		 Number completed training in
last3 years		 Number with no or expired
training
10 10 0

Reporting to the PCC

The PCC was updated about Safeguarding matters in the parish at each meeting. It is a standard item on the PCC agenda. During the year there was one safeguarding matter which were reported on to the Diocesan Safeguarding Team.

PCC workshop regarding safeguarding

Following the publication of the Makin Report ( The Independent Learning Lessons Review produced following the abuse perpetrated by John Smyth), the PCC held a workshop considered the implications for both the Church at a national level, and for us at a local level. The outcomes from this were sent to the Bishop of Bristol, and a display of the comments and actions from that PCC workshop put up in the Welcome Area. There was a notice in the pew sheet inviting anyone with specific concerns to contact Fr David or Caroline (PSO).

Action Plan

The PCC has an action plan created by the Parish Dashboard. Progress is reported to the PCC meetings, and we are working on Level 3 actions.

Caroline Plaice

SOCIAL AND HOSPITALITY TEAM REPORT

The Social and Hospitality Team was set up in February last year in order to provide structure around the hospitality needed for both church activities and fundraising events in the future.

Drawing on the experience of what has been provided historically and in particular on the expertise of Emma and Kate and their team of helpers, it was decided to bring hospitality under the umbrella of the Welcome Project.

The teams’ terms of reference as outlined in HTH standing orders are:

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Over the past year in addition to providing refreshments and lunches for church events (e.g APCM) we catered for the Strictly Masterclass in June, church BBQ in July, Harvest Supper in Oct, Curry and Quiz in Nov, Festive Fun in Dec and Burns Night Supper in Feb.

As usual, the hospitality team

provided excellent food and drink for each occasion and over the six events raised over £2000 for the Welcome Project which was very encouraging. As important as the fundraising is, more importantly, these were excellent opportunities to socialise together as a church family, extending our

welcome invitation to everyone echoing the ethos of the Welcome Project. It was also very encouraging to see how well we were supported by the wider community, and the positive feedback received from them emphasised this.

A lot of hard work goes into putting on social events, so a big “thank you” to everyone who helps make them happen. The team is fairly small, so if anyone feels like they could help out now and then, please let the Warden know.

Phil Lewis - Social and Hospitality Team

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HORFIELD FAMILIES GROUP

We are a friendly group of 18 ladies with a range of interests and views, Our programme provides a mixture of speakers and activities both indoor and out. Families and friends are always welcome to join us at meetings.

Over the past year our meetings have included advice on how to research your family history and a talk on the films of David Lean. On a more serious note, we heard from the Dementia Awareness Action Alliance on how we can make life easier for dementia sufferers and a representative of the Avon and Somerset Police gave us advice on Fraud Protection. Very timely advice these days when internet and telephone scams are so common. We also listened to a speaker from Bristol Waste explaining what happened to our rubbish and recycling after it was collected.

In June there was a visit to Organic Blooms a farm where flowers are organically grown and sold; it is a social enterprise working with local adults in a supported work environment. As well as a tour of the fields we were given a demonstration of bouquet making followed by tea and cakes. On a more active front we enjoyed evenings of line dancing and curling. November found us using our craft skills in a card making evening. In December we went out for a Christmas lunch and at our meeting held a Beetle Drive which resulted in a very entertaining evening rounded off with mince pies and mulled wine.

Each year we select a charity to support and in 2024 we donated £200 to the Bristol Child contact centre which provides a safe neutral and comfortable space for children to see their non-resident parents or family.

At Christmas we also donated tea and coffee supplies to Friends for Parents at the Children’s Hospital. In addition, we collected items for the North Bristol food bank. Another of our regular commitments is providing the Church Porch flowers.

One of the main strengths of the group over and above our speakers and activities is the friendship and support we give one another. The opportunity to keep in touch with old friends and to make | f new ones.

Meetings are held on the second Wednesday of the month in the Parish Hall, starting at 8pm if you are interested in knowing more about our events, they are also listed on the Church Pew sheet. Guests are always welcome at any of our meetings. We would also welcome new members.

Christine Payne

Our Christmas Meal at the Beehive

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THE DECIBELLS HANDBELL TEAM

During 2024 the Decibells team continued to meet most Wednesday afternoons in church to practise playing the handbells which had been donated to Holy Trinity church in the 1980s in memory of Derek Topham, a churchwarden at that time.

There were some changes to the team during 2024 – Georgina and Liz left the team at the beginning of the year. Carole felt in December that after 33 years in the team it was time for her to retire! During those years, we in the team were very grateful to her for her organising skills as well as for her ringing in the team. Despite not having learned in the past how to read music, she was always willing to master the pieces we played. Sarah joined the team as a new member in Spring 2024 and, despite never having played the handbells before then, she will be attending a national residential course later this year!

As well as the enjoyment we gained from our weekly practices together, we also enjoyed going out into the community to share our music with others. An uplifting experience for us was to attend a Ring- around-the- Region event held in Iron Acton Village Hall where we joined other handbell teams from the South- West to play our bells together in massed ringing. In July we visited Westbury Gardens Residential Home where the residents enjoyed talking about the pieces we played; then In August we went to Trinity Lunch Club Day Centre in Hotwells to entertain the visitors there after their lunch. In November we were invited back to Westbury Women’s Fellowship where we played some Christmas carols and talked about the history behind them. The Sunday evening before Christmas we enjoyed being back in Holy Trinity to play as the congregation arrived for the annual service of Christmas music and readings.

If anyone would like to experience having a go at playing the handbells or would like to know more, please let me know.

Gill Wilding

2024 saw our production team put on a couple of really great shows, two very funny one-act plays, ‘ Background Artiste’ and ‘On Location’ by Stephen Smith, this was ably directed by Richard Farrer. Following this, our October show was ‘ Hoovering on the Edge’ , a wry look at a group of women on a writing holiday, directed by Judith Claypoole. Both shows had excellent audiences and continued the trend of bringing in new cast and crew.

It has been another demanding year for the company, with the new hall booking system getting off the ground with its initial teething troubles impacting payments etc. and, of course, the increase in rents having a real impact on our budgets. We

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are a community organisation and depend on the community to support us by coming along and buying tickets, putting up prices is not an easy option given the strain on the community’s purse.

We value our home here in the parish hall and dearly hope to remain as we continue to attract personnel both on and off stage and hope to go forward in the future, embedding further into the local community.

We gladly welcome anyone who may be interested in any aspect of theatre, we are a friendly bunch and are happy to share our knowledge, whether their interest lies in acting, directing, technical, costume or backstage activities, a place will be found for all.

Bob Derrick – Chair, HTC. 2024

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INDEPENDENT EXAMINER’S REPORT TO THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF THE PARISH OF HOLY TRINITY, HORFIELD

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Parothial Clwrth c￿ncil of Hoty Trinity, HO￿ld Reglsrèrèd Charrty No. 1132013 Statement ol F•Tha￿la1 ArtMties For the year ended 31 December 2024 Unrestricted Restricted Endo¥fflbent FWMIS FuTrds Fund Total 2024 Totsl 2023 Note INCOMING RESOURCES Voluntary Income ActiVTtie5 trom generating funds Income from t￿estMentS Church activrtie5 afKI ancillary tradi Other incornng resources TOTAL INCOMING RESOURCE5 21al 21bl 21cl 21dl 2(el 58.223.05 5.500.LX) 6.491.18 56.817.35 O.(K) 58,223.05 74.892.70 5,500.CXI 13.940.86 6.491.18 6.198.83 O.(K) 56,817.35 62.398.46 5.973.05 0.00 133.Crf)4.63 157,430.85 5,973.05 5,973.05 127,031.58 RESOURCE5 EXPENDED chU￿h acti¥ite5 3{al 134.191.39 134,191.39 O.IKI 134.191.39 198.528.57 O.LKI 134,191.39 198528.57 TOTAL RESOURCES EXPENDED NEf INCOMI￿ RESOURCES 8EFORE OTHER RECOGNISED GAINS AND LOSSES -7.159.81 5.973.05 -1.186.76 41.097.72 Gains Ilossesl revaluation of inveslment assets 51b) 6.053.08 6,053.08 6.053.￿ 18.839.11 4J66.32 .22258.61 NET MOVEMENT IN FUNDS -7,159.81 5,97&05 FUNDS BROUGtrif FORWARD I JAt4UAIIY -9 960.14 6 972.41 247 961.90 244 974.17 267 FUNDS CARRIED FORWARD 31 OE(EMBER -17.119.95 11945.46 2S4.014.98 249.840.49 244.974.17 The notes on paees 3 to8 form wt of these acccwnt 31

P•rDthiil Chlvch CDurDDI of MDIV Trlnkny. HorfiEkl REBistrrDd chanty ND. 1132DIJ tu Financial SthternEnls F￿ndS Fun FurHI TDtsI 21124 Totsl XlJ2J 2 If￿￿11￿ ILESOURCES 2 Irdl Vo￿￿￿￿rv IrDtDmE wY4n 6.5￿.21 o.tAb 46.gJO.11 45.1?￿33 O.DJ IL193.35 I￿6.24 173.15 Tax rec(Y￿rablE OtlbEr plate sundry d￿￿t￿￿n$ FIDJd li&hiins 11.135.36 587.48 o.tmb 11.ia5.36 537.45 3.811.3 3A45.25 o.riTr $8.Z2kDS 74￿1]1] 21J.OS 4bl Artlths tor iEllErJlirry I E¥Enls irhTrnE 4.351 3.￿￿0 5Fecial CDIIECtIDn5 JFtFeals RentJl inccffi2 Frllm VllrLilcffle M S.5￿.( 0.(￿ S.5￿.c Grnrkls rE￿[VEd 5.789.86 0.￿ 5.51hKfAJ I&9￿￿86 s.5￿.00 21cl IrDm I[r￿￿￿e th4idEnds and dislributiDns 6.381.84 109.34 0.￿ &351. 109.34 6.114.66 84.17 6.491.18 o.riTr &49LIS 21dl frDm (hurrh (hJrliJldE JLtr•ltlES tra&1 FeES IrDm 4YetWin&s elc. IrDJrnE Ircqn irksuranre 2.102 2.102.C 4.100 6.597.12 0.￿ J71.￿5.35 46.631.34 urch hal incDrnE 41.965.35 YDuth Club IrhTrnE Rent From (hurih HDiBE 12.050.LYJ 56.817.3S o.tL4 12.050.trJ 5.L170.C 21EI Other ￿EDmIn5 reS￿r WelcDmE PrDjE(t 5.973.05 5.973.D5 TOTAL 11￿0MlNG RESOURCES 7.031.58 5.973.O5 33

Paroth511 th￿(kn tountd of Holy T￿lty. HDrfiEld Charlty IJD. 1131013 re&trirtEd estirrted ÉrthrTrETht Funds Pun( ur Ttrtal I &É$¢)L￿tÉS ÉxpthoÉts ¥ thurih ACb.47t￿c5 CxthEr eharitJEdE b'th SuurKlJbDTh ThE thildrtn ihrist13Th Aid i0i.]S 914.24 942.& 230.￿1 19&. Ibknlstry '￿t%3￿ Parish sh3rE 20JMYJ.th) So.L￿).￿) Ihwch ThJvrtenJnEe I1.￿&29 J.9P2. S.P24.0É Majur thurth rEyaifs I￿Ura￿Ce l.•J72. S.124.L 21d84. 1,74S.S O.LM) 19,asi.tsJ 89?.24 .P4S98 Lavd.44 ca￿Dn21 OrsJniFt n PunD5 1.1O6A 1(.40 Musir Cknir 1gJ. Fltxvers C￿￿ch￿l￿d maintEriirKE Lhp Ca￿ 240.IS oa.41 99&.J2 pl￿ Y￿th¢1th EKpen tSEI SJ&9q 53S.41 6&.9 669.>È th￿￿￿ AdmimlFtrlDn dMir￿ratjTh aFFice ¢4J2 7. irA.r 41197.17 s. 1,212. EmFtyr to% min￿rUt]￿ salJriE5 JI pn7FesuM31 fees Jnk thJrB25 hanorarwrn 1&4AI 42.]J7.J7 J2& 6.725. 9.t)Ja. 43.70 7S0.LM) tythtr ￿TtlInary Cthlvch Hall eKpenthre i&,SDq.44 1¥ts139 .M i¥il.¥J 14¢S21.S? rorAL AEStrLIAtÈS ÉtyÉNDÉ 134.tsLa9 .M i¥ll.¥9 14¢421.SJ 34

Pkn. IlfttLI Fuhl& Ttsul 1014 T￿￿1 4 &TAFF (05T5 25 66J.27 tF.W 25K61.R7 2I7B5Aa o.to h6.5J5.9) DL)] 14515.911 42.17.17 5 F￿D A55Et5 2ll IhrfLh 31 Ro51w Th& b￿1 ol A%SKrlS ¥54M. Th& PCL buldrfis ahd Cor￿￿r7rS lth th E£d[ia￿￿￿l &tsuP fLY a 01£7,￿￿3 IBF Filld I￿[￿lS[ F￿r 3597 157.19 S.363.￿ 5J06 2.7BS.15 124M73.14 I21314sg 231.FO 10.358.97 I￿￿27.17 D.0) B¥73QJ)3 IBF F￿ra1 S3￿7& IhaTh£l IBF F￿r￿ IBF F￿r￿ 3704 IBF F￿r￿ -ll￿AR Unhs 15È3.12 IBF F￿ra1 2.EP5.Y¢ 36￿.￿? 6a.ot J7¢31.3 2kWU5 Ihw th& C￿1#r1E ffl¥kE 11 01 l2j1￿5.￿ llliD39.74 6K63£g IEA39.11 J7¢31.3 2W7U5 IfalL 31 Dttth 31 b)J4 Ss fmriithl us&. £ E4&TORS iiiithKs1N￿lED FIINDSI 2ll 7,914A2 7.914A2 I.￿￿Al 7J14AI TOE 35

PJrDrhBal Chlrth eDL￿oI of W T￿ty. ￿l[￿lE1￿ Rc8l&tErEd Ch¥ity 1132013 7 LLIVJlilTIES Totsl 2024 Lxlitorfs HUr￿rar1U 750 750 Charrti2s 2J27.46 24U46. Tax& Ml NEt Pay CNrtrDI PerGiDfkS TDtsI 2.973.S9 7SO.fy) Fund Fund at 3ts1 hlDVEmEni DEC 2024 F￿d Jtjtst 2023 Ell f￿d 1.482.55 423.35 l.J182.55 411.35 Chllir RDbE Fumd NEDJlewLrk Fund SpEcrk ChancEI RepDir Fvnd CkKk fund 368.75 i.QS8.&9 lJ59.68 365.75 i.OSS.L78 1.359.6B WEIcDrnE Pro?Ert TDtsI 55973.05 SS.973.05 55.973.05 62A65.46 EndrrfwrnErrt FLmd 6.053.08 176.931.93 220.878.85 9 AMALYSIS OF frIET ASSETS BY FUI UnrEstritted Restricted Tlltal FuThd% Totsl FuTb&E F￿d5 Fund 2WL4 202% Tan8iblE fixEd aSSEis InvtStrnErrt fL￿1 assels 25S4. 2￿54.￿ 2.554JJ 176.4J31.93 176931.93 220.87&A5 383.69 62.945.46 ￿.￿ 93.329.15 22.191.31 22.973.59 O.ClJ 22.973.59 uO.C 9.964.10 6194S.46 176JJI.93 2I9.341.49 2K974J7 Current assets LiJL4lrtlES TDtsI 36