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← The Parochial Church Council Of The Ecclesiastical Parish Of St Bartholomew, Thurstaston

2024-12-31-accounts

St Bartholomew’s, Thurstaston with St Chad’s Irby

MISSION AND ACTIVITIES IN 2024

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Members of the PCC 2024-2025

Revd J Turner Rector Revd A Whorton Associate Priest Revd G Kydd Curate Mr C Smale Deanery Synod 2023 – 2026 Ms C Goddard Elected 2024 – 2027 Mr R Jackson Elected 2024 – 2027 Mr J Oliver Elected 2024 – 2027 Mr C Turnbull Elected 2024 – 2027 Mrs J DeBooder Elected 2023 – 2026 Mr M Studholme Elected 2023 – 2026 Mrs J Trigg Elected 2023 – 2026 Mrs P Neil Elected 2022 – 2025 Mrs E Whitehead Elected 2023 – 2025 Mr G Barley Elected 2023 – deceased February 2024

Contents Page The Rector’s Report Electoral Roll Report on the Business of the PCC in 2024 Safeguarding Junior Church Bell Ringers Warm Hub Tots and Tinies Community Outreach and Social Events Dawpool School The Children’s Society The Leprosy Mission Donations to Charities Rainbows Brownies Fabric, Goods and Ornaments of the Churches Deanery Synod Treasurer’s Report and Accounts

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The Rector’s Report

Every year has its ups and downs and 2024 was no exception. We have welcomed Revd Gaynor Kydd as a self-supporting part time permanent deacon following her Ordination on 30[th] June 2024. We welcomed eight baptism families, shared in the joy of three confirmation candidates and five wedding couples, and grieved with the eight families for whom we conducted funerals.

At one point in the year, we had no church officers, so I am very grateful to Cheryl who took on the role of PCC Secretary following Graham’s death in February. We end the year still without Church Wardens or PCC Treasurer. I am grateful to the various PCC members who work hard at plugging these gaps, and who share the responsibilities which would normally be carried out by the Church Wardens. I am also grateful to the Finance Team who ensure that bills are paid, and income is banked. I continue to pray for God’s guidance and calling for those who will serve in these roles in the forthcoming year(s).

At the end of the year, we thanked Dawn Rudd for her 20 years of ministry within Junior Church, we worked out that during that time she had probably worked with in the region of 80 families. Dawn had indicated earlier in the year that she wished to step back from this role, and I am hugely grateful to Julie DeBoorder for returning to working with our children and to Hilary Parkinson who joined our church in the Summer and who is going to work alongside Julie beginning in January 2025. Please do pray for them and for more young families to join our church.

During 2024, I received various comments and communications about the current pattern of services and about the lack of toilet at St Bartholomew’s.

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go ahead. In the following years the PCC has revisited a whole variety of options and made further grant applications, all of which came to nothing. Following the pandemic in 2020 and the increasing costs of the current climate, the PCC decided to look for a solution which could be achieved within the funding that we had. I am hugely grateful to the various PCC members (especially John Roberts from 2008-2016, Andrew Harford from 2018-2021, Graham Barley and Malcolm Studholme from 2021-2024) who over the years have put huge amounts of time and effort into this project. During 2024, the PCC explored:

In January 2025 the PCC met with Mark Pearce (our Church architect), Sheena Wilson (Diocesan Buildings for Mission Advisor) and Dave Thomas (a congregation member with project management experience), with a view to finding a way forward which is practical and affordable (with or without grant funding) and which would get the required permissions for a Grade II* listed building in a conservation area from the Diocesan Advisory Committee (faculty) and from the local council (planning permission). You will see from the Accounts that there is approximately £30,000 remaining in the Open Door Fund.

Between Christmas and New Year Cheryl Goddard (PCC-Secretary) and I spent a day and a half sorting through documents and records which needed to go to the Chester Diocesan Archives. In January 2025, we delivered four boxes which contained service registers (1988-2017), baptism register (1954-2004), marriage registers (1981-2020), PCC and APCM Minutes (1993-2023), Parish Magazines (2007-2024), Annual Reports and Accounts (1993-2023) along with various other historical documents. This was a long and arduous job but very satisfying and it is now so much easier to put things into and out of the safe at St Bartholomew’s!

This year it has been wonderful to see a growth in the number of people engaging with faith in many different ways:-

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The variety of trips and groups has enabled a whole mix of different people with different interests to join in. “Table Talk” was very informal and did not require any preparation by participants and was run in the morning. The Lent group, Book groups and Bible Study group (all marked with * in the list above) all had the option of joining via Zoom and it was good to be able to include a housebound member of the congregation in these groups, Revd Ailsa occasionally joined us from her army base, and other members when suffering with colds chose not to share their germs in person and instead joined via Zoom. As I write this in January 2025, we have already begun our first group for 2025, and there will be more to come. Three members of the congregation have already booked for a Retreat weekend at Foxhill in 2025 because they have gained so much from previous ones. Why don’t you make 2025 the year when you choose to join one of these groups, or trips to the Cathedral or Foxhill?

Throughout the year, in many and various ways, we have continued to seek to fulfil our vision statement “serving Christ in Thurstaston and Irby”, and you can read about more of them in the rest of the Annual Report. Thank you to everyone who has supported the mission and worship in this place during the last year. We pray that 2025 will be a year in which we again see God’s hand at work.

Revd Jane Turner

Electoral Roll Report

At the APCM in 2024 the electoral roll consisted of 149 members from 101 households.

Every 6th year the electoral roll has to be wiped clean and started again. That was the case this year. The new electoral roll has 97 members from 63 households.

Helen Williams

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Report on the Business of the PCC in 2024

The PCC met 6 times in 2024.

Early in the year Mr Graham Barley passed away after battling with illness. He had been a very active member in the parish having been PCC Secretary for 40 years. At the APCM the Rector stated she had consulted with Mrs Barley and the family, and in recognition of Graham’s service the green chairs at St Chad’s would be replaced. It was anticipated that this would cost in the region of £2000. Members of the congregation were asked for donations and samples of chairs were tried resulting in the decision to purchase the 20 blue chairs, 10 with arms and 10 without, blue having been chosen to match the stacking chairs and because it was Graham’s favourite colour. These new chairs have received very positive comments, with those with arms being appreciated by those with mobility issues.

The Rector nominated Mr Barley for a Lifetime Achievement Award with the National Churches Trust. His nomination reached the final, and as a consequence the parish has been offered free membership of the Trust for the year.

Church Services

Vision Sunday – in line with other parishes in the Diocese a questionnaire had been circulated at services giving people an opportunity to respond to questions about reaching out to people in our community and suggestions for regarding what people felt would help them grow in faith. The PCC reviewed the responses noting that there were a lot of positive comments about things which were currently happening, and noting that many of the things people were requesting were already being provided. It was agreed that more use should be made of Crosstalk and the ITPAS notice boards to publicise the activities within the parish.

Living in Love and Faith – two papers produced by the Church of England had been circulated to PCC members to read; Prayer of Love and Faith and Living in Love and Faith Pastoral Guidance. These papers had been written in the context of providing prayers for friendships and same-sex relationships to be used within services. Each member of the PCC was asked to respond sensitively to the papers. Concerns were expressed that some members of the congregation might be very uncomfortable if these prayers were used in the parish. Revd Jane explained, that due to her current theological understanding, she would not feel able to conduct a same-sex blessing. Having heard each other’s comments and listening to Revd Jane it was agreed that these prayers would not be adopted in the parish. Church guidance had made it clear that a PCC could not be forced to accept these prayers. Revd Jane concluded this discussion by stating that she was certain that there were parishes within Wirral North Deanery where the Prayers of Love and Faith would be adopted and couples seeking the use of these prayers could be referred to one of those parishes.

Use of Chalice – there was a discussion about the reintroduction of receiving bread in hand and wine from the chalice at Communion after PCC members had sought the opinion of members of the congregations. There was less than a handful of positive responses, so it was agreed that simultaneous administration would

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continue. Included in this discussion was the returning to using the altar rail to receive, to kneel or stand according to the individual. This was positively supported and was restarted in September.

Bell-ringing – with there only being a 10.30am service at St Bartholomew’s every other Sunday, the bells have only been rung on those Sundays. There have been discussions about ringing every Sunday, ringing at 8.30am on the Sundays when there is not a 10.30am service. Mr Robson has contacted the residents in Thurstaston for their opinion and to date no final decision has been reached on ringing weekly.

Junior Church – there was concern regarding the future of Junior Church with Sally Partington standing down as co-leader in the summer and Dawn Rudd stating she would finish leading at the end of the year. Julie DeBoorder offered to lead and at the end of the year Hilary Parkinson offered to work alongside Julie, with grateful thanks to them for taking on this responsibility.

Ministry Support – Revd Gaynor Kydd became our Curate after her ordination as Deacon service on 30 June. She has attended PCC meetings, been involved in some of our discussion groups and in our services through leading Morning Worship, preaching, reading, prayers and serving. She has also shadowed Revd Jane on wedding and funeral visits and services.

Finance

Banking – for the majority of the year banking had to be done in Chester due to the closure of many local banks, with grateful thanks to Mr Studholme and Mr Smale who took it in turns to visit Chester. CAF (Charities Aid Foundation) bank eventually came to an agreement with the Post Office with the caveat that should a monthly total deposit exceed £2000, then a handling fee would be charged.

Parish Share – we have continued to pay 40% of the parish share throughout the year.

Introduction of the Parish Giving Scheme (PGS) – having heard PGS mentioned at a Deanery meeting at the beginning of the year which I attended with Mr Smale, I was keen to see it introduced in the parish as it had been implemented and used very beneficially in the parish and diocese from which I have come. A representative from Chester Diocese gave a presentation at PCC and it was agreed that it should be introduced. At the end of the year 36 monthly donations were being given via PGS, with the number of people moving over to the scheme continuing. To date, it is thought that our parish is the only one using PGS in Chester Diocese. It has the benefit of funds going straight into the parish bank account, gift-aid being collected monthly with the option of agreeing for donations to be increased annually with the donor’s permission.

The Finance Committee has deliberated at length about setting a budget and changing the accounting system from Quickbooks to My Fund Accounting which is the accounting system the Diocese recommends, both of which have been discussed at PCC meetings.

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Mrs Bulter’s salary was reviewed during the year, and is due to be reviewed again in April 2025

Vacancies in the Church Council

Following the APCM, vacancies for Churchwardens, a Treasurer, three Deanery Synod members and three members of the PCC remained unfilled. Ms Goddard and Mr Turnbull joined the PCC with Mr Jackson and Mr Oliver re-standing for the next 3 years, with Ms Goddard becoming the PCC Secretary.

The vacancy of Treasurer has remained unfilled all year, with the responsibility for bookkeeping being covered by Mrs Butler taking on payroll officer as well as her other financial responsibilities with the support of the Finance Sub-Committee.

Safeguarding

It is mandatory that this item be included on every PCC Agenda. Please see the Safeguarding report.

Buildings and Churchyard Matters

Toilet at St Bartholomew’s – this item has been discussed at every PCC meeting. Please see the Rector’s report for more information.

Defibrillator at St Bartholomew’s – this installation had been discussed by the PCC towards the end of 2023. This was a match-funded purchase of benefit to the community. With financial support from the Dawpool Farm Residents Company Ltd, Mr Ledsham from Church Farm and contributions from the congregation the defibrillator was purchased and installed. Mr Oliver is responsible for checking that it is fully charged on a regular basis.

Paving slab path replacement at St Chad’s – after considering whether to replace like for like paving or to tarmac the entrances to St Chad’s and along the path to Roslin Road, tarmac replacement was considered to be the best option to providing a level surface and removing the need to clear weeds between paving slabs.

Windows in the extension at St Chad’s – it was noticed that some of the wooden frames on the windows facing the car park were failing. These have been replaced with PVC frames for longevity.

The wood frame above the porch at St Chad’s – it has been noted that this needs attention and will be repaired at no cost to the parish.

St Bartholomew’s churchyard south wall – a section of wall has collapsed and it has been agreed that the fallen stones should be built as a dry stone wall by an experienced contractor.

Cheryl Goddard PCC Secretary

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Safeguarding

As a parish we have adopted the national Church of England's procedures and guidelines on safeguarding and you can find out more about the national policies and procedures on the parish website and the Church of England website. We also work with the Diocese of Chester to access their resources and training. Any individual who wishes to come forward with information or to make a disclosure is encouraged to make direct contact with the nominated individuals within the parish.

Locally, we continue to promote safeguarding within the parish, ensuring that DBS checks and appropriate safeguarding training is undertaken and kept up to date for all in positions of responsibility; this includes: Churchwardens, PCC members, employees of the PCC, Bell Ringers, Junior Church Leaders and helpers, Tots and Tinies Leaders and helpers, Sidespeople, Sacristans, Servers, Refreshment Servers, Flower arrangers and Warm Hub Helpers. In addition, safer recruitment procedures are in place for all new appointment processes.

We have a dedicated email address safeguarding@thurstaston.org.uk and safeguarding information is displayed on the front page of our parish website. Information is also provided on our weekly notice sheet, in the parish magazine, and on service sheets for one-off services.

There haven’t been any safeguarding referrals during the course of the year. In the year ahead we will continue to ensure that training and checks are updated and that we continue to engage with the diocese’s ‘dashboard’ model of tracking safeguarding compliance.

Chris Williams

Parish Safeguarding Officer

Junior Church

Junior Church has continued to run on a monthly basis throughout 2024 led by Dawn Rudd and Sally Partington. The age of children is generally of pre-school age. Sessions start with a short bible story and then crafts relating to the theme. Throughout the year we’ve explored Candlemas, celebrated Mothers Day, Palm Sunday, St George’s day, the Lost Sheep, the Wise man/Foolish man, Jesus and his Disciples, Harvest and we planted bulbs in the garden to flower this springtime.

Sally has led Junior Church for several years and decided to step down in the summer, a big thank you to Sally for always being prepared with a book and being creative. After 22 enjoyable years I decided to retire at the end of the year. Thank you to all leaders and helpers over the years for all your support.

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Junior Church will continue to run on the fourth Sunday of each month led by Julie and Hilary.

Dawn Rudd and Sally Partington

St Bartholomew Church Bell Ringers

We continue to ring the Church bells at Thurstaston for the Sunday service and on special occasions. We are an enthusiastic group who are willing to learn and are steadily improving our ringing.

We now only ring on alternate weeks on a Sunday morning (due to the change in service patterns). We continue to meet on the other Sundays for coffee, chat and hand bell practice. We host a monthly quarter peal attempt by members of the band and Wirral Branch, and we run a monthly hand bell session.

This year we had a special celebration in April. We met for a surprise afternoon tea at The Shippons to celebrate Richard Turner ringing the bells at St Bartholomew’s for 60 years (45 years as Tower Captain).

A plaque was commissioned and presented to Richard (this now hangs in the tower) and a quarter peal of Plain Bob Doubles was rung by a tower band.

Richard Turner with the plaque and the band wearing their St Bartholomew’s clothing.

You will note that the ringers now look very smart all wearing clothing embroidered with the logo of the Chester Diocesan Guild of Church Bellringers and St Bartholomew’s Thurstaston. These were bought via the Guild and part of the price was donated to the bell Restoration Fund.

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Below is a list of the quarter peals that were rung at the tower last year;

Wednesday 6[th] March ¼ Peal 1320 Oxford Treble Bob Minor First quarter of Oxford for 2 ringers Wednesday 3[rd] April ¼ Peal 1320 Cambridge Surprise Minor Thursday 20[th] April ¼ Peal 1260 Plain Bob Doubles Rung in celebration of Richard Turner ringing at St Bartholomew’s Church for 60 years (45 years as Tower Captain) Rung by a local band Wednesday 8[th] May ¼ Peal 1260 Plain Bob Minor

First Bob Minor for Alice Wednesday 12[th] June ¼ Peal 1320 Kent Treble Bob Minor Wednesday 10[th] July ¼ Peal 1296 Cambridge Surprise Minor Wednesday 14[th] August ¼ Peal 1320 Cambridge Surprise Minor

Rung in celebration of the life of Patricia Andrews, wife of Geoff Andrews, past Tower Captain at Thurstaston (1955 – 1968)

Geoff Andrews (centre) surrounded by his family following the quarter peal Wednesday 11[th] September ¼ Peal 1320 Cambridge Surprise Minor First Cambridge for Amy

Saturday 21[st] September ¼ Peal 1320 Wells Surprise Minor

With best wishes for a speedy recovery to Liz Whitehead following a knee operation Monday 14[th] October ¼ Peal 1260 Doubles (60 Stedman, 240 Plain Bob and St Simon’s, 360 St Martin’s and Grandsire)

Wednesday 13[th] November ¼ Peal 1320 Kent Treble Bob Minor Wednesday 11[th] December ¼ Peal 1320 Cambridge Surprise Minor

We enjoyed our Christmas meal in the New Year as usual. We met in February and had a wonderful evening with good food at The Mont Blanc in Irby.

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We currently have 18 ringers but will always welcome more. You are welcome to come and see what we do and to join us (please ring first to confirm that we will be there).

Peter Robson Tower Captain

Warm Hub

The Warm Hub has been running weekly for over two years now, serving the need for a safe, warm and friendly environment in which to enjoy social activity, company of other people, refreshments and a programme of talks and events designed to enlighten, interest and entertain. The sessions are open to everyone and they remain entirely free of charge, although we now invite donations on Guest Speaker weeks.

Our small book and jigsaw library remains popular, whilst the range of other entertainments like dominoes etc is expanding. Once a month, one of the volunteers organises a quiz in which, working in teams, our guests prove fiercely competitive! On the 4[th] Tuesday of each month, there is a Guest Speaker or Special Event and these sessions attract increasing numbers of people. It is difficult to describe the range of the topics covered and were you to ask our guests, they would probably all recall different ones as favourites. However, perhaps the Harp Recital was one of the most memorable – not only did Bethan Conway play so beautifully, but she also explained how to play the harp and how she had declined lessons in the first instance, preferring to play football in the park. People were enthralled! Many of our speakers are friends of the Warm Hub – Steve Jeffrey, Linda Barley, Sue Turnbull, Margaret Fletcher, Alan Jones, Pauline Mitchell and Elizabeth Barton. Some, however, came from further afield, like Jenny Schwarz who brought to life Yellowstone National Park (USA) in winter, Peter Cobley who advised us about Family History, Mary Ward who outlined the History of Irby, and Peter and Jill Nicholson who gave us a hilarious account of early Gordale. Adults with Learning Disabilities came from Royden Park bringing their beautiful barn owl, Roy, with whom they are learning about falconry. They successfully flew Roy in the church after which they encouraged guests to wear the gauntlet and hold her.

In addition to being affiliated to Places of Welcome (which is supported by Chester Diocese) and Warm Welcome Spaces, the Warm Hub is championed by many village businesses, Irby Club and the Warrens Medical Centre Social Prescriber. However, we are particularly indebted to the PCC and Parish Secretary for the administrative support and the Wednesday morning donation. We are very grateful to Revd Jane for her assistance in advertising events and especially for applying to Tesco for us so that we are now one of their three chosen local charities until March 2025. This means that the Warm Hub is guaranteed £500 (more, if people vote for us).

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2025 stretches ahead with talks, entertainments and weekly events planned. None of this would happen without the team of wonderful volunteers whose enthusiasm, kindness and energy lift the spirits of all who attend each week.

Susan Smale

Tots & Tinies

In the Academic Year Sept 2023 – Sept 2024 we used the Big Bible Story Book for our Story/Song Time. We had an average of 25 Adults and 30 children present each week.

We re-register all families each September and between Sept-Dec 2024 we had 55 adults and 79 children registered. Some of them come regularly, others pop in and out more haphazardly.

It continues to be a great help having volunteers to provide tea/coffee and Juice throughout the session and clear up the Kitchen. This makes a huge difference to the tidying up at the end.

Thank you to everyone who plays a part in making this group so successful and welcoming to all who attend.

Revd Jane (on behalf of Allison Youds)

Community Outreach and Social Events

In January we held a breakfast Bring and Buy with toast and teacakes, a tasty enjoyable morning.

In February we again had a Heart Bomb in Irby and the W.I. knitted and wrapped knitted scarves on the trees and our merry team hung hearts all around Irby Village, St Chad’s and St Bartholomew’s Churches. Our ladies created some wonderful floral arrangements too. Our purpose was for everyone to feel loved around Valentine’s Day.

The sight of so many hearts all over the village and at both churches was uplifting, residents and shops joined in putting hearts in their front gardens and windows. It was a lovely event and many people commented how lovely it looked and how it was a nice thing to do for the community. Lots of smiling faces and thank yous as we put them up.

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Also in February we had a fascinating talk on going on a pilgrimage by Cheryl Goddard, lots of interesting questions and a well-attended event.

In March we hosted an ARTY PARTY and everyone had a great time painting a spring scene and having a drink and nibbles as we went along.

In April we had an interesting talk all about WaterAid with a cake sale, many people donated to this worthy cause and all proceeds went to WaterAid.

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Also in April an impromptu tea in the garden with the bluebells. We had a welcome break in the rain and enjoyed the sunshine and bluebells.

In May a lovely day out at Ness Gardens, strolling in the sunshine, picnics, coffee and cake and ice-creams.

In June we had a walk to Hilbre Island on a bright but windy day, an enjoyable day for everyone.

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In July we had The Guide Dogs Demonstration and it was facinating to watch dog and handler in action. Donations were made to this worthy cause on the night and we later took their catalogue and coordinated an order for Christmas goodies as well.

In August we ran Summer Saturdays and the garden was opened to all. Many hands had worked together weeding, pruning and planting and we opened up the gardens on Saturday mornings. Children’s toys, crafts, drinks and snacks were available. All ages mixed together and everyone enjoyed the company, nature and the beautiful surrounding.

In August we also had St Bear tholomew’s Day, in the lovely sunshine, a great event for families and friends to marvel at the parachuting teddies, eat delicious cake with a cuppa and generally have great fun, helped along by children’s raffle, pic n mix and lucky dip.

In September we held a Coffee and Craft Sale afternoon. We received a generous donation of a variety of craft supplies, sewing pattern books, wool, crochet and sewing kits etc and our ladies made some beautiful scarves, so making a jolly afternoon, shopping for bargains and having a cuppa and natter, proceeds to church funds.

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In October Maralyn and June demonstrated how to make Christmas table decorations and by generously donating wooden discs and decorations along with a purchase of candles and flowers, we made 20 beautiful items which we sold at the Christmas Bazaar and other events in aid of church funds.

In November we had the Christmas Bazaar, complete with a variety of many local beautiful handcrafted goodies and we were able to support several charities. There was also homemade gorgeous cakes, an amazing raffle, children’s crafts and games and Santa’s Grotto. A popular event for the community and enjoyable time had by all.

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In December we provided children’s Christmas Crafts and Games in the Evangelical Church Hall during the Irby Lights Switch On. A very popular place for families, making Christmas Crafts, playing the ever popular lucky cards and a last chance to buy some handmade Christmas gifts, all in the warmth with plenty to keep the children occupied.

GARDENS St Chad’s and St Bartholomew’s

A small hardworking, generously time giving, gardening team has formed and together with the mowing team at St Chad’s and the Bellringers at St Bartholomew’s, both churches have been tended, pruned, planted and rewarded us with blossoms, provided food and a home for the wildlife and created lovely places to be enjoyed by all.

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THANK YOU

to the many people involved in these events, for giving their time and skills and to everyone who came along and supported them.

Julie DeBoorder

Dawpool Church of England Primary School

In 2024 the relationships between school and church continued to grow and flourish. Throughout the year, Revd Jane continued to visit school on a weekly basis. The time that Revd Jane has given has been greatly appreciated by all staff and is a model of good practice to other schools. As well as pastoral support for staff, Revd Jane also spent time visiting each year group on a rota. Pupils relish this time with Revd Jane when they are able to be encouraged, supported and celebrate their learning with her.

Pupils and staff visited church for an Easter service,

Christingle and a carol service. Year Six visited St Chad’s and shared the midweek communion service. Pupils had prepared their own worship song to share with parishioners. As part of the Religious Education curriculum, a number of year groups visited both St Bartholomew’s and St Chad’s churches.

Year 3 participated in the Archbishop of York Young Leaders’ Award. As part of this programme pupils invited elderly members of the congregation to a coffee morning. Pupils baked biscuits, prepared and served the refreshments and distributed gifts of kindness. They also celebrated aspects of their learning that they were most proud of.

Revd Jane and Revd Gaynor also joined us when Year 6 travelled to Chester Cathedral to participate in the annual Church Schools Leavers’ Service.

Church members and friends supported the school’s interfaith week. This year’s theme was ‘Share a Story.’ Revd Jane and Revd Gaynor shared the story of Esther with Years 1 and 2 – making the link between school and the church study group who were also studying Esther. Cheryl Goddard spoke with pupils in Year 5 and

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6 about Psalm 139. Julie DeBoorder supported pupils to create a new window display depicting the holy books of each major world religion. Julie’s friend Padma returned to teach children in EYFS a Hindu dance. Church kindly donated CDs, decorations and battery operated tealights to enable pupils to create Diya lamps.

A number of volunteers continue to attend school each week to support the development of reading. Both pupils and volunteers look forward to their dedicated reading time.

School Governors (which include some congregation members) have offered support with whole school life including support for specific projects, walks to church and class trips.

In December, the whole school community came together for an act of worship to celebrate the headteacher Mr Burrows as he embarked on the next stage of his career at »* Chester Diocese as a Schools Adviser. Invited guests included family members, a Chester .09 y >, 7: Diocesan Academies Trust representative and PN! j < a3 ie Governors. Pupils led the worship reflecting on the unique God given talents of Mr y% . es Burrows - which encompassed the Fruits of |e the Spirit and his implementation of the curriculum ‘The Abundant Life of Jesus’. Revd Jane led everyone in prayer, commissioning Mr Burrows for his new role.

Mrs McCann Acting Headteacher

THE CHILDREN’S SOCIETY

For over 140 years the Society has worked to transform the lives and hopes of young people facing abuse, exploitation and neglect, supporting them through their most serious life challenges. The Society also campaigns tirelessly for the big social changes that will improve the lives of those who need hope most.

Jean Heath and Barbara Kozer co-ordinate fund raising for the Society in the Parish.

We held two Coffee Mornings during 2024, one on 16th March which raised £800 and another on 26th October which raised £712.20. Our thanks go to all the stall holders and helpers and for the donations received and, of course, to all those who turn out to support these events.

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In the Autumn, the House Boxes provided another source of income for the Society with a total of £939, and we thank all boxholders for their generous support.

Sincere thanks to all those who have contributed to the Children’s Society in any way during the past year and we hope to have more opportunities to come together in 2025 to help those who need our support.

Jean Heath (648 6015)

The Leprosy Mission

The Prayer Diary is used at every Morning Prayer.

Donations raised for Charities throughout the year which have been given directly to the organisations

Water Aid (cake sale) £260.00
Guide Dogs £68.48
Guide Dogs Christmas catalogue purchases £336.00
British Legion Poppy Appeal £43.21

Thank you to everyone who gave generously to these charities.

2[nd] Irby Rainbows

1[st] Irby Rainbows who met at Irby Methodists closed at the end of the summer term and most of the girls joined our unit resulting in us having 26 Rainbows in total. Meetings are held on Tuesdays. The girls enjoy craft activities and games each week, and are working towards badges.

We made edible fireworks, planted plants for cups of kindness, did the splat thing for the young person going to NASA, made Christmas decorations and decorated the tree for Becky’s gran’s care home. We went to the Pantomime and enjoyed playing tennis in Heswall with Dan.

One of our favourite activities in 2024 was toasting marshmallows, and we enjoyed helping with Irby Heart bomb.

Karen, Allison, Trish, Emily and Bec

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3rd Irby Brownies

The Brownies have continued to meet at St Chad's weekly and we have had another great year full of activities and fun.

The Brownies have been very busy this year completing several guiding interest and challenge badges. We have had several girls achieve the highest programme award “Gold Award” again this year. This is a really special achievement and means that they fully completed the Brownie programme prior to moving up to Guides. We have had several girls go up to Guides this year.

We have had various overnight trips including a sleepover in the circus ring at Blackpool Tower, PGL at Winmarleigh Hall and some evenings at the cinema, bowling and mini golf. We have had several weekend trips including a carnival event at Hadlow Fields and going to a pantomime.

Several of our Brownies performed in the Gang Show this year and we were very proud of how fantastic they were.

Anyone who has a particular interest or service which they think the Brownies would be interested to learn about please feel free to get in touch as we are always looking for new ideas for our meetings.

Lynn McCoy, Gemma Willerton, Michelle Carter

Fabric, Goods and Ornaments of the Church

Due to not having any Church Wardens during this year, there is no Fabric Report.

Deanery Synod Report for 2024

For those who may be unfamiliar with the rather old-fashioned language used by the Church of England, a deanery is a group of churches within a particular geographical area. We belong to the Wirral North deanery and within the Chester diocese there are eighteen deaneries. Synod simply refers to a gathering of clergy and elected or volunteer parishioners. One of the advantages of this structure is that it enables members to look beyond the Christian family within their own parish and to remind themselves that we all belong to a larger family. We are able to share anxieties and concerns that we may have, but also to gather ideas and celebrate with people from other churches what is going well.

During 2024, there were three meetings held within Wirral North deanery. The first, on Monday 29[th] January, was hosted by The Lighthouse Church in Heswall. It gave us a chance to see the new building almost immediately after its opening and, whilst there may be mixed reactions to the style of architecture, there is no doubt that it is an extremely versatile space. The main topic discussed at the

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meeting was Stewardship and Giving, starting with a PowerPoint given by the Revd Peter Froggatt. After thinking about the anxieties that many churches are experiencing at the present time in relation to this topic, we moved on to consider the pyramid of thankfulness (Responsibility, Generosity and Contentment) and watched a video entitled ‘Generosity’.

This led to thinking about how we might do things better with regard to Stewardship and encourage generosity. Two acronyms were suggested:

1. MINT

Have the right M ECHANISMS Show the I MPACT Explain the N EED Build T RUST

2. IDEA

I NSPIRE people by celebrating generosity

The final part of the meeting consisted of a presentation on how to encourage digital financial giving by Ms Bessia Kanengoni (Diocesan Digital Giving Adviser).

The second meeting of the year took place at St Andrew’s Church, Bebington on Wednesday, 26[th] June. Paul Crowther from ‘Embracing Age’ was welcomed and invited to speak about the work of this Christian Charity. The aim of the charity is “Working towards a world where older people are valued, connected and full of hope,” and they do this by equipping churches, mobilizing volunteers, combatting loneliness and providing ongoing support.

Having considered such questions as:

members were urged to develop a strategy for ministry amongst older people, if they didn’t already have one. Expressed in simple terms this involves three actions, which should be at the heart of all Christian ministry:

Look

Listen

Love

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The final meeting of the year was hosted by Christ Church, Higher Bebington and focused on Safeguarding. The Revd Mike Loach, in opening the meeting, reminded members that we are called upon to safeguard the whole of God’s creation and encouraged us to pray for the forthcoming COP29 gathering.

Lynn Everton, from the Diocese of Chester Safeguarding Team, then gave a presentation in which she spoke about the critical importance of promoting a safer church and of complying with national standards published by the National Safeguarding Team. Chester Diocese launched a safeguarding dashboard in June, so that parishes can ensure that they are meeting these standards. Although members of the Synod welcomed this development, some expressed their frustration with the dashboard, saying that it was impossible to answer some questions, which then prevented a parish from moving forward.

Lynn, who has a background within social work, emphasized that the diocesan safeguarding team is now complete and that they are keen to support parishes with safeguarding questions and concerns.

I hope it is clear from this summary that the deanery synod addresses important issues. Meetings are open to other members of church congregations, not just synod members, so do feel free to attend any meetings in 2025 that may interest you.

Chris Smale

Treasurer’s Report and Accounts

Overall, we have had a more successful year than last year, with income slightly increasing.

PARISH SHARE

For the year 2024 we maintained a payment of 40% of the agreed Parish Share (£30138 paid of the £75344.42 as requested) to maintain our reserves at the required level.

ANALYSIS OF PERFORMANCE BETWEEN 2023 AND 2024

INCOME

Our overall income from giving was up slightly, 7% on last year, which is encouraging. Thank you to everyone for their amazing generosity in these troubled times.

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We have had specific donations for chairs at St Chads in memory of Graham Barley and a defibrillator at St Bartholomew’s, without the generous gifts from the congregation these would not have been possible.

This year we have also started a flower fund for flowers at church.

We have seen an encouraging number of people sign up to the new Parish Giving Scheme. Thank you to Cheryl for being instrumental in implementing this new system and thanks to Finance Committee for their support and championing of it.

Donations/Grants/Legacies/Fundraising Events

We have received 2 Grants this year one from the Raby school trust of £820 which was used to purchase Eggsplorers resources and £200 from the Diocese towards the Warm Hub

We have received 2 legacies this year, £8000 from the estate of Peggy Evans. £1000 in memory of Jane Ferguson.

Everyone should be encouraged to read our legacy policy and think about including the church in their will.

Various fund raising events such as Santa in Irby, Christmas Fair and Bears Day raised a total of £1716 (£500 more than last year), thanks to Julie DeBoorder for all her hard work and to everyone involved for all the effort in organising these community events.

Gift Aid and GASDS

We have just introduced the Parish Giving Scheme; this enables us to receive the gift aid on any donations at the time of the donation without us having to submit a claim to HMRC. Going forward this will significantly reduce the work required to receive Gift Aid.

Many thanks to Chris Turnbull and Chris Smale for the amazing work they do in this area which can be very time consuming and laborious.

Fees Received

Fees received were down again this year by £366 to £3056 from £3422 the previous year.

Hall Hire

Income from hall hire has increased from £10455 in 2023 to £12845, there has been a slight increase in regular hall bookings and we are hiring out the extension to the Council as a polling station each year.

Investments and Reserves

Given the interest rate rises over the year our income from investments was up from £6592 in 2023 to £7244 in 2024.

We have been able to maintain our reserves at a decent level by not paying the full parish share but the nature of our situation means this needs to be maintained

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for the continued financial health of the PCC and to cover any unexpected expenditure which can occur at any time.

There has been an expense of £4032 from the Open Door Fund this year, this was to pay the architects for some plans.

EXPENDITURE

Expenditure has gone up, the main increases are £1687 in wages, £6000 one off payment for 2023 parish share, £582 increase in insurance, £1500 increase in church yard upkeep, £600 increase in St Chad’s utilities. Thanks to Malcolm Studholme for investigating and switching the phone and electricity contract. We have also had a large expense of £7900 for the Tarmac at St Chads.

Summary

It has been another difficult year for everyone for many reasons so to have come out the other end in a stable financial position is a credit to the generosity of everyone in the Parish.

I would like to thank MAW accountants for their invaluable support over the year. I would also like to thank Chris Smale and Malcolm for banking the money earlier in the year. Also thank you to Linda Barley for collecting and counting the money each week.

During 2024, the finance team comprised: During 2024, the finance team comprised:
Accounts Partner MAW Accountants
Parish Giving Officers Chris Turnbull and Chris Smale
Banker Kate Butler / Chris Smale / Malcom Studholme
Parish Administrator Kate Butler
Signatory Roger Jackson, Chris Turnbull, Chris Smale,
Pat Neil, Malcolm Studholme
Hall Hire Officer Kate Butler
Payroll Officer Kate Butler
Committee members Chris Smale, Malcolm Studholme, Pat Neil,
Cheryl Goddard, Chris Turnbull

Kate Butler Parish Bookkeeper

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Independent examiner's report on the accounts CHARITY COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND AND WALES Sectlon A Independent Examinerfs Report Report to the trusteesl members of The Parochial Church Council of the Ecclesiastical Parish of St. Bartholomew Thurstaston On accounts for the year ended 31 st December 2024 Charity no {if anyl 1132086 Set out on pages 1to7 Respective responsibilities of trustees and examiner The charity's trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts. The charity's trustees consider Ihal an audit is nol required for this year under section 144 of the Charities Act 2011 {"the Charities Act") and that an independent examination is needed IThe charity's gross income exceeded £250.000 and l am qualified to undertake the examinalion by being a qualified member of Inamed bodyl). Delete I l if nol applKable. It is my responsibility to.. examine the accounts under section 145 of the Charities Act. to follow the procedures laid down in the general Directions given by the Charity Commission (under section 14515llbl of the Charities Act. and to slate whether particular matters have come to my attention Basis of independent My examination was carried out in accordance with general Directions given examiner'8 Statement by the Charity Commission. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disck)sures in the accounts. and seeking explanations from the trustees conceming any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit. and consequently no opinion is given as lo whether the accounts present a 'lrue and fair, view and the report is limited lo those matters set out in the statement below. IER March 2025

Independent In connection with my examination. no material matters have come to my examiner's statement attention lolher than that disclosed below "I which gives me cause lo believe that in, any malerial respect.. the accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Charities Act, or the accounts did not accord with the accounting records: or the accounts did not comply with the applicable requirements concerning the form and content of accounts set out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than any requirement that the accounts give a 'true and fair, view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination. I have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached. Please delete the words in the b￿CketS if they do not apply Signed: Date: 8th March 2025 Name: Margaret Ann Walker of MAW Accountants Relevant professional qualification(sl or body (if any): ICPA(Fellow), CPAA Address: 33 Thingwall Road Irby Wirral CH61 3UE Section B Disclosure (see CC32, Independent examination of charity accounts= directions and guidance for exafiiineis). IER March 2025

Glve here brlef details of any items that the examinerwishes to disclose. IER March 2025

OIiIROIACCOUPIT51024 The P4mthl•lth¥rth Coundl ol th¢ E¢dWI•￿Il Pullh ofst ￿rth010mW. Thuni•st Arf15terEd Charty Number 1132086 St•iwn•nt olHnand•l Att1￿¥•11￿ th• Y•ar EndlN 31 O•c•mb•r 2024 Fun 2024 202$ V•KfrferyRectipts Planned Givlrl 5t l•rthgknv St Ch•d Other Collectkins Sl l•rthohimqw $1 Ch•d Gfvlni Srh•me- One Dff donitltsnS In¢ludini l•n F•r8usoTr18ry Pirish Givin4 5cherne- rryuhr don4tioni Withdf•w41 fiom Reserve •c 68127 4031 TOTAL 1032 68405 Exettiol Pty 4610 4032 4620 11772 Yrnnil•rsb•tw funth T•thi 71668 70175 189151 192394 7729 821) 261Y8 271081 I CJN•nt ind O•pDiIt Accounts JI D•r U￿r￿trI¢l•d Fundi Eknmi Toul Fun 2024 Fun 201J Cash •¢ blnk •nd In h•nd •nd Unde￿￿edIufith CAF Curr•ntAccovnt CAF GoldA¢￿V 36396 29743 66148 36396 29743 66148 38530 29021 67560 Totol Inbtm•nt Asets (See rthg) MtsrreN frust 9J65 8213 7729 162 1134 rI￿Or Tmst EN*nShow Twst 27283 117053 31993 27Z83 117053 38993 4326 171041 Reser¥Fur Totol 4326 70475 411 168548 192394 B113 Othtr Monrt•ryA55tts Ti••surer•s F￿•1

Gift aid claimable
Total Assets
Liabilities (See note 11 )
Flower Float
Treasureres Float
Total Assets less Liabilities		 0
0		 0
70475
0
192394
0
8213
271081
0
378.25
92
70004
192394
8213
271081		 268548
429
275486

Approved by the PCC on and signed on their behalf by Rev E Jane turner (PCC Chairperson) and Mrs Kate Butler (Bookeeper)

Notes to the accounts
1. Non recurring donations
Gift Aided Donations
Non-Gift Aided Donations
Total
2.Grants Received
Grant from Diocese - Warm Hub
Jubilee Grant funding
Raby School Trust - used for Eggsplorers 755
Total
3.Generating Funds
Christmas Fair/Santa in Irby
sing events craft sale, bring and buy breakfast and Bears
Total
4. Main Church Activities
Fees Received
Contribution to heating
Hall Hire
Tots and Tinies
Magazine subscriptions
Magazine income
Insurance claims
Total
5. Income from Investments
Bank Interest
Morrell Trust
Ismay Charity
Tudor Trust
Shaw Trust
Total
6. Costs of Generating Voluntary Income
Planned Giving Envelope Systems
Bring and Buy Breakfast
Christmas Fair/Santa in Irby
Total
7. Mission Giving
Diocesan Family of Schools
Friends of Chester CathedralDeanery Synod
Ismay Charity donation
Gifts (Retiring Payroll Acountant )
Total
8. Church Activities
Parish Share
Salaries
Caretaker
Cleaners
Parish Clerk
Parish bookeeper		 Unrestricted
Restricted
Endowme
Total
Total
Funds
Funds
Funds
2024
2023
349
349
10
4568
4568
645
4917
0
0
0
0
4917
655
200
200
-
0
0
820
820
12
1020
0
0
0
0
1020
12
1206
1206
924

511
511
274
1716
0
0
0
0
1716
1199
3056
3056
3422
724
724
168
12845
12845
10455
1543
1543
1274
233
233
221
93
93
119
0
0
-250
18494
0
0
0
0
18494
15409
2437
2024
218
218
206
195
195
138
812
812
784
3581
3581
3441
7244
0
0
0
0
7244
6592
91
91
109
38
38
-
88
88
44
217
0
0
0
0
217
153
0
-
25
25
25
500
500
-
60
60
100
585
0.00
0.00
0.00
0
585
125
36138
36138
28703
197
197
394
3635
3635
3069
4969
4969
3560
2078
2078
1800
Pastoral Expenses
Curates Expenses
Rector's Expenses
Rector's Office Expenses
Rectory Expenses
Gifts
Mission Costs
Deanary Contribution
Assisting Clergy Fees & Expenses
Organist's Fees
Pumpkin Party
Warm Hub
Eggsplorers Materials
Service Costs (worship materials)
Food Hygiene Course
Website
Youth
Tots & Tinies
St Bartholomew Overheads
Church Insurance (see note 16)
C26: Church Licences
C23: Church Building Maintenance see note
C19: Churchyard Upkeep
C24: Church Organ Expenses
C21: Church Electricity
C22: Church Heating Oil
St Chad's Overheads
Hall Insurance ( see note 16)
Hall Licences
Hall Building Maintenance
Hall Grounds Maintenance
Hall Electricity
Hall Gas
Hall Water
St Chads Building Maintenance
Magazine Costs Production Expenses
Admin Expenses
Office equipment
Office Software
Office Stationery
Office Phone & Internet
Shredding Service
Bank Charges
Total		 161
161
2106
2106
2213
1007
1007
887
3587
3587
3239
0
0
25
30
30
30
0
-
149
149
323
323
755
755
941
941
781
46
46
233
233
215
0
0
0
648
648
1169
7176
7176
6594
97
97
93

467
4032
4499
550
2635
2635
1141
350
350
0
916
916
1089
1259
1259
2183
0
0
420
420
392
1016
1016
903
151
151
115
1994
1994
1495
1624
1624
1382
1128
1128
763
1150
1150
517
52
52
50
1168
1168
1174
608
608
806
1905
1905
2027
898
898
674
27
27
134
134
95
82178
0.00
0.00
4032.00
0
86210
68127
  1. Investments

The investments relate to 5 funds:

(i) The Morrell Trust is invested with the CBF Church of England Investments, split between the Fixed Interest Securities Fund and the Global Equity Income Fund. (ii) The Ismay Charity is invested with the CBF Church of England Global Equity Income Fund with the balance held in the bank account for distribution at the discretion of the incumbent, or for eventual reinvestment.

(iii) The Tudor Trust. This is invested with CBF Church of England income investments,The property fund,the UK equity fund and the global equity income fund

(iv) The Eileen Shaw Trust is a restricted fund producing income for general church use and is invested in C of E Global Equity, Property, Uk Equity, Investment and Fixed income Funds

The fund is held by Chester DBF as Diocesan Authority on behalf of the PCC This trust is now shown in the PCC’s statement of Assets and Liabilities

(v) The Reserve fund is a small general reserve held for emergency work at St Chads

St Chad's building is 50 years old and was built using donations. The first extension was built using funds from the sale of land on which Village Court was built. The new extension was built over 10 years ago.

11. Liabilities 2024
2023
2022
Retained wedding and funeral fees 748
429
0
Hall Hire paid in advance 0
Total 429
0
The Parish has been unable to meet its Parish Share contribution in full for several years.
The Parish achieved a payment amounting to 40% of the total request for 2024 (£30138 paid of £75344.42 requested) ,
the parish also made a one off payment of £6000 towards 2023 parish share.
The Parish are mindful that they have not been able to reach a full payment,
but will look to increase payment to the Diocese as income allows.
12. PCC member payments PCC member Jon Oliver was paid £176 and Liz Whitehead £35.20 as Verger.
13. Accounts This financial statement has been prepared in accordance wth Church Accounting
Regulations 2006 using the Receipts and Payments basis.
Also no reference is made to stock held or debtors
14. Reserves Policy We have no Quinquennial provision and we aim to carry a minimum of 3 months
turnover i.e approximately £30000
15. Legacies we received 2 legacies , £8000 from the estate of Peggy Evans.
£1000 in memory of Jane Ferguson ( donated through the PGS and a fee of 10.08 was applied)
16. Insurance The insurance figure is now a combined figure for both churches
17. Major New Works
Defibrillator 750
the parish collected 1251 towards this
Tarmac at St chads 7900
New Chairs 2649
the parish collected 2347.50 towards this (including gift aid)
11299
18. Plans were drawn up for a toilet at at Barts, the money to pay for these (£4032) was withdrawn from the Reserve Fund ,
, placed in the CAF bank account and paid to the architects from the CAF Bank account

Annual Report and Accounts Approved by the PCC on Monday 24th February 2025 and presented to the Annual Meeting on Sunday 23rd March 2025 Signed: a￿3120￿5 Rector: E Jane Turner