## **TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS The Parochial Church Council of ST MARY’S CHURCH, PULBOROUGH Registered Charity No. 1132137 For the year ended 31 December 2022** ## **CONTENTS** ||**Page**| |---|---| |Trustees Annual Report for 2022|2| |Statement of Financial Activities (SOFA)|9| |Balance Sheet|10| |Notes to the Accounts|11| |Report of the Independent Examiner|17| St Mary’s Church, Church Place, Pulborough, West Sussex, RH20 1AF _Incumbent:_ The Rector, The Reverend Canon Paul Seaman, The Rectory, Hillcrest Park, Pulborough, West Sussex, RH20 2AW _Independent Examiner:_ Sue Etheridge ACMA, Corsley, Melton Drive, Storrington, West Sussex RH20 4BL _Bankers:_ The National Westminster Bank, 5 East Street, Chichester, West Sussex. PO19 1HH ## **Parochial Church Council of St Mary’s, Pulborough Registered Charity No. 1132137** ## **TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS** ## **Trustees Annual Report for 2022** 1 ## **Structure, governance and management** The Parochial Church Council (PCC) is a charity, but it is excepted from registering with the Charity Commission within the meaning of Section 30 of the Charities Act 2011. During the year, the following served as members of the PCC: _Ex Officio Members_ Incumbent The Reverend Canon Paul Seaman Chair Wardens Mrs Alyson Heath Vice-Chair Mrs Ann Kaiser Reader Mr Anthony Holloway _Elected Members_ Mr Peter Gregory Mrs Antoinette Hayes Electoral Roll Officer Mr Austen Hindman Safeguarding Officer Ms Elizabeth Hunt Mr Brian Hunter Treasurer Mrs Ann Kaiser Mrs Christine Lindsay Ms Susan Scholefield PCC Secretary Mrs Victoria Smith Mrs Jacquie Walbridge _Deanery Synod_ Mr Rob Aylott Mrs Alyson Heath Ms Susan Scholefield Membership of the PCC is determined under the Church Representation Rules and consists of certain ex officio members (the incumbent/priest in charge, curate, lay readers licensed to officiate in the church), the churchwardens and members of the Deanery, Diocesan or General Synod and 12 members of the church who have previously been elected at the Annual Parochial Church Meeting (APCM). Members are warmly encouraged to stand for election to the PCC and we try to ensure a balance of skills and experience where possible. ## **Aim and Purposes** The primary objective of St Mary’s PCC is the promotion of the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to the doctrines and practices of the Church of England. The PCC has the responsibility of co-operating with the Incumbent, The Reverend Canon Paul Seaman, in promoting in the ecclesiastical parish the whole mission of the church pastoral, evangelistic, social and ecumenical. 2 ## **The Rector writes:** ## Dear Friends, As the year progressed 2022 began to feel more like a ‘normal year’! After two years of restrictions our celebration of Easter could be observed once again without liturgical limitations. We were pleased to welcome the then Deacon Paddy from Chanctonbury who played a full part in our Holy Week and Easter liturgies. At the beginning of the year the numbers in the congregation were still building up again but by the end of the year our congregation was back to pre-pandemic levels which is something many churches are not seeing. We are pleased to be welcoming new people into our church family and they are proving to be a source of enrichment for our life together in Christ. We continue to work on putting our Mission Action Plan into practice with many of the identified priorities being addressed as part of our ongoing ministry and outreach. The setting up of the Kingfishers’ group for primary school aged children and the introduction of the ‘Let’s Celebrate’ non-Eucharistic monthly service have been well received with lots of potential for development. Our work with our school continues to evolve, following the formal signing of ‘the Partnership’ between church and school in April in the presence of Archdeacon Luke. We were very pleased to be able to celebrate the ‘Good’ OFSTED judgement given to the school and congratulate Sam Copus and all her staff for all they do to serve the children of our parish. We are very grateful to all those who give a lot of time and energy to many aspects of church life and who use their gifts, time and talents to support God’s mission through His church in this area. It is important to recognise the strong commitment and energetic abilities of our two Wardens, Ann and Alyson. I know they are very well respected generally both in our church family as well as in the wider community. They lead a strong group of equally committed people who all play their different parts in our offering of worship to the Lord and in the service of His people. At the end of 2021/beginning of 2022 we asked for a response to the financial challenges that were facing us in 2022, requesting one-off payments as well as participation in a ‘talents initiative’ to offset a potential shortfall. I am very grateful to all those who were able to make a contribution to these appeals and assure you of how important your generous giving has been. Without these donations we would have been facing even greater financial challenges in this year and in the year ahead. We were very pleased to see the official launch of the new ‘Friends of Pulborough Parish Church’ in December with an inaugural fundraising event following soon after. The ‘Friends’ will be focusing on drawing in support for maintaining our beautiful historic building, while the regular congregation can focus on the ministry and mission of the local church here in Pulborough and across our household of faith throughout Sussex. As we move through 2023 my prayer is that we will all see what great potential there is here in Pulborough for the church to have an even greater presence in our village, serving more people and offering more opportunities to engage with the saving message of Jesus Christ. When we have captured something of this vision, let us hope that God will move each one of us to respond enthusiastically in providing the resources we need to fulfil this potential. May God richly bless us in the apostolic adventure He calls us to embark upon in the coming months and years. With my love and prayers, Fr Paul. 3 ## **Canon Paul Seaman** ## **Annual Report for calendar year 2022** ## **Achievements and Performance** Church Attendance At the last Annual Parochial Church Meeting the Electoral Roll Officer, Antoinette Hayes, reported that 2 members of the congregation had joined the Church Electoral Roll and that 2 had left. There were now 147 people recorded on the Roll. 113 were resident in the Parish and 34 outside. 2022 represents the first year where the church building was open for services since the pandemic of 2019/20. On a usual Sunday in 2022, there were ‘on average’, 59 people in the congregation. It should be stated that throughout that year the Sunday average steadily increased throughout that time. At the start it should be appreciated that parishioners were uncertain, a little wary and fearful about returning in numbers to sit together. However, as the year progressed these factors were being understood and worked through and numbers increased. In the course of the year there were 2 weddings, 8 baptisms and 13 funeral services held in church. Three funeral services were held at crematoria and there were 14 burials of ashes. The PCC met seven times in church. The Standing Committee met eight times, with two of these meetings by Zoom. We are so grateful to all the volunteers who help in so many ways, as described by the churchwardens in the following pages. It is very much appreciated. . ## **Churchwardens Report** We are pleased to report that no major problems were experienced during the year and no major work has been undertaken. Working parties on the first Saturday each month concentrated on the churchyard, paths and drain gullies together with various maintenance and cleaning activities inside the church. We are grateful for all those volunteers who support the working parties and keep the church and churchyard so well looked after. Thanks to the generosity of Pauline Adsett and Graham Allfrey we are very grateful for the delicious refreshments at the end of each session. Particular thanks are due to Richard Cromwell who regularly takes a car load of rubbish which is too bulky to bin to the tip, also to our rota of ‘Bin Operatives’ who put the relevant bins out for the weekly collection throughout the year. Minor damage to the shed doors, apparently due to an attempted break-in, were repaired. New notices that no machinery is kept inside were fixed thereon. The contractor kept the grass cut throughout the year. This costs some £9,000 each year and we were grateful to the Parish Council for a grant towards this cost. We receive many compliments on the appearance of the churchyard from visitors and family members attending graves. 4 The newly procured defibrillator was commissioned in February and is situated on the southern outside wall of the North Porch. Annual servicing of the personal alarm, CCTV, portable electrical apparatus, clock, bells, boiler and fire extinguishers was carried out as normal. Additional draughtproofing has been fitted on the external doors, the heating thermostat adjusted and use of the floodlighting curtailed in a bid to reduce our energy use. Following extreme rainfall in the Autumn water was found to have penetrated the tower roof. It appears that this was the result of wind blowing rain under the tiles. Following investigation adjustments have been made and additional sealant applied to prevent any repeat. A special thanks go to St Mary’s Bellringers whose commitment to Sunday ringing, weddings and special occasions is much appreciated. There are a number of activities that sometimes go unnoticed at the church, such as the Church Flower Arrangers, giving us beautiful flower arrangements on a weekly basis together with special displays at Easter, Harvest and Christmas. St Mary’s choir who support our worship so wonderfully week by week and with special services. Then we have the Holy Dusters together with Chris Rule, keeping the church and church toilet clean and tidy on a weekly basis. The sidespeople who welcome you and visitors as you arrive at church. The Coffee Rota members who are there with welcoming refreshments after the service. As Churchwardens we are so grateful for all the support that is given to enable the smooth running of our church. Thank you. ## **Alyson Heath and Ann Kaiser** ## **Safeguarding Report for 2022** 5 ## **Alyson Heath, Lead Recruiter** ## **Austen Hindman, Safeguarding Officer Deanery Synod Report for 2022** Alyson Heath, Rob Aylott and Susan Scholefield are your lay Parish Deanery Synod representatives. Their role is to: represent the views of our Parish within the Deanery; and to refer to the PCC information that is provided by the Deanery and news from other Deanery parishes. Below is an overview of our Synod meetings in 2022 with a focus generally on the main speaker’s talks. ## **25 January meeting at St Peter and St Paul, Ashington** Revd Canon Kathryn Windslow introduced the debate on ‘Living in Love and Faith’ (LLF) which explored how do we understand and discern God’s will? Should the Church of England (C of E) change its understanding of marriage to include same-sex relationships? How can the Church engage with the LGBTQ+ community? What does our sexuality teach us about what it means to be made in the image of God? This Synod’s feedback was then to be forwarded to the General Synod for debate. Two motions had been submitted – the first motion was presented by Revd James di Castiglione with two members of the Chanctonbury churches who represented the ideas and concerns of different age groups. The motion and those who presented saw the issues to be fully bounded by a plain reading of Holy Scripture as supported by Article 20 of the 39 Articles which were adopted by the C of E in 1571 and as such saw just two vocations of singleness and Christian marriage between a man and a woman. A vote taken on the first motion showed 6 for the motion and 20 against and no abstentions. The second motion on LLF was then presented by Rob Aylott which represented the views of himself and Brian Hanson. The motion represented three distinct thoughts and was delivered in three parts. The first part introduced the motion and supported the LLF Motion that was to be the basis of the Chichester Diocesan submission to the National Church and was for discussion at the next Diocesan Synod in the light of the voting at this and other Deanery Synods. The second motion endorsed the church’s traditional teaching regarding marriage in which marriage was a God given supported and celebrated institution for bringing together a man and woman for the lifetime support of and caring for each other and the nurturing of children as the next generation. Parts B and C of the second motion recognized God’s love of all people and the need of people for companionship and commitment to each other as demonstrated in a civil marriage or partnership or a standing relationship not recognized by legislation. 6 The third part stated that the Church should support and celebrate all civil marriages as a relationship with a blessing endorsed by the giving of God’s grace to the parties – the blessing would be at the discretion of the incumbent. The vote on the second motion showed 5 for the motion and 16 against and 4 abstentions. Revd Canon Kathryn Windslow advised that the motions and the related votes would be passed to the Diocese for inclusion in their thinking. ## **22 June meeting at St Peter and St Paul, Ashington** Billy Jo O’Leary introduced herself as the lead for the South East area of the ‘Home for Good’ organization and an experienced care provider while also being a licensed lay minister and being elected to General Synod. Billy Jo then went on to talk passionately about the work of the charity ‘Home for Good’ by first talking about her own childhood background of broken family and was placed into various care situations where the local gang became her real ‘family’ and she then finished up in prison at the age of 20. In prison she went to church, only because it was 90 minutes out of her cell but she got the Christian message. The work of the charity was to find or develop good Christian foster homes for the 100,000 children in care and help prospective foster parents find the right child and then help the late teenagers to move on to supported lodgings after the ‘cliff’ when the financial and social support drops off. In West Sussex, at this time, there were 891 children in their care – this was over 10% more than before the covid lockdown. She asked us to think how we could help ‘Home for Good’ find prospective foster parents in our area who could find the joy of transforming the life of a child. ## **9 November meeting at St Mary’s West Chiltington** Revd Canon Kathryn Windslow, the retiring Rural Dean, paid tribute to the late Guy Leonard who had been Lay Chair of the Synod for many years. Canon Kathryn said how much she had appreciated Guy’s support and guidance to her in her role as Rural Dean and his understanding of the workings of Church House from his tireless work on various committees and in particular his work with the property department in managing the Diocese’s property portfolio. The Revd James di Castiglione then gave an appreciation of the work of the Revd Kathryn Windslow, the retiring Rural Dean, for all the work she had done during her tenure with the lockdown and a long period when the Deanery was reduced to two full-time clergy. Bishop Martin then led the Synod in a Eucharist, which he then followed with some recollections of the recent Lambeth Conference of the worldwide Anglican Communion at Canterbury. He noted that sadly some members of the Communion chose not to attend because of the agenda on gender and sexuality which he said was a painful and difficult issue, in that he saw the Communion as a family with all its strengths and problems. The Bishop then invited questions which focused on the Conference’s outcomes on climate change and relationships. On the question of relationships between the provinces the Bishop said that our legal structures give us the boundaries and customs that we sign up to. The Laity then elected a new Lay Chair and Brian Hanson was elected. John Edwards, the interim Treasurer, reviewed the end-of-year accounts. Fr Paul Seaman noted that John Edwards had agreed to stand as Deanery Treasurer until 2024. _Any questions on these talks or delated Deanery matters should be addressed to your representatives._ 7 ## **Rob Aylott** ## **PCC Financial Review for 2022** In 2022 we made a £5,500 loss on unrestricted income which was because our income was down, and our expenditure was up in a few specific areas and because we increased our Parish Share contributions by £3,000. The special donations and talents campaigns raised £10,125 which paid the £6,500 Diocesan loan repayment and offset the increase in gas and electricity charges for the Church building. Despite this we have agreed to pay 86% of our Diocesan Parish Share which means we need to pay an additional £2,500 in 2023. This is the figure requested by the Diocesan Treasurer. In order to do this, we have withdrawn £25,000 from our Endowment Investments in order to balance our budget for 2023. In 2022 the cost of maintaining the Churchyard was £750 more than the income received from the Endowment set up from the Frost Legacy. In summary, we need to continue and strengthen our efforts to increase our regular giving and we need to look for other initiatives to increase our regular income. Only then will we be able to get back to paying 100% of our Diocesan Parish Share. ## **Reserves Policy** It is PCC policy to maintain a balance on the general unrestricted funds which equates to approximately three months of unrestricted payments as a contingency against unforeseen situations. The PCC has Endowment Investments currently valued at £101,000 of which in the region of £35,000 can be used for approved Church Projects if required. 8 It is PCC policy to invest temporarily surplus funds with the CBF Church of England deposit fund. ## **Brian Hunter, Treasurer** ## **Approved** by the PCC and signed on their behalf by The Rector, The Reverend Canon Paul Seaman: ## P R SEAMAN Date: 23 April 2023 9 srAl8*PK(FRMIPXJALAalVrn TOTIL Fwd5 I￿n LX) 7451NX40 71,944.55 7J12.42 6,03) 501 37.559.33 ll,￿).04 I1033.￿ 8,fO).(K) 7,3ll42 &59L64 rReraKts FtunF17entsofSt May LX) 119.676. 13.728.35 133A(6.15 105.554.09 Rasiro Ffftls 157.4> LY) 157AO 2YJ.77 CIBrit*Ae ￿tivItieS 103.529.67 103.ffj7.07 I4.1￿97 I4.￿.97 117,726.61 IQYJ.011.9I I17￿(￿ Ir13,251.68 14&8.621 521.11 13,697.591 LQLE6 31LY3174 17.91L)3 .62S 37,$3&51 13,744.011 1671E41 0.￿ 164,249.921 164922.561 42,W.671 1723&75 I$￿2￿12 164249.921 127,38&051 )3.143,66 T¢tsl fLryts at ￿tI￿￿2022 As¢yurolly statsj 3259LOI, IIQ161E61,, 337.379.95 359W.J> 33J,663.64 49,829.76 9A61A6 273.IX).03 332A21.25 359,￿1.30 io Parochlal (Jxrth of St Mary Re*tered Charky l&•. 1132137 2022 2021 Tar01t￿e f￿1 assets |in￿tn*nts 27&171.41 343,093.97 278.171.41 343.093.97 Current Assets 3.62￿80 2.773.87 50,661.17 57.059.84 3.146.87 2.749.CK) 30.512.46 36,408.33 SFK)rt term det#)sits Cash at bank and in lJ3rKJ 14 Current Ualjltbes Creditors.. anxxjnts frdlliro within ￿ar (2.810.￿) I￿. 195.(X)I 54249.84 23.213.33 Total assets less currert labltles 332.421.25 366.307.30 Creditor5: arr¥J￿ts fallirvJ after ore Far O.qM) j-16.XM).LK)I 332,421.25 359,807.30 273.130.03 337.379.95 Restrkted fuNts 9.461.46 110.1641 49.829.76 32,591.01 332,421.25 359,807.30 This Annual Fina￿la1 ReF()rt 31st LX£errter 20Z2. rK)tes fi￿lOW1 .ApprowJ ty Par(Ktr¥al Churth C￿rK]I ￿ 23rd W'l 2023 armj s￿rEd on its tEhalf .was acCo￿Pa￿rQ rotes fomi a tklrt of t￿ fvkiroal stat£nEnts. li Parochlal Clmwch CO￿￿1 of St Mary Re*tered awr*y Pkn. 1132137 Forthe YEAR EPIED 31st tEC8•TBi 2022 | 2 Inconiry resowces TOTAL TOTAL FUNLS 2021 2022 | a Ebnati￿5 anred giwr Cdl&tiorts at all senrices SUr￿ry dorkHts"ors arKJ a Ir(onE tax recoKEratAe VAT recfftraLle frants IParish C(YJKiII Church Lrtts'ros R￿ry Maintaiar 37.461.62 9.974.31 9.919.38 13.619.f8 .70 37,461.62 39,2W.66 14896.02 11.708.46 10.134.38 13,550.08 13.619.68 12,674.84 388.70 310.51 4.921.71 7L363.69 5.13&71 7&5￿.40 77,944.55 Ob Ottw Tra* | CiKKert5 Parish n￿gaZIne ￿￿kSta11 l RefrthTErt Sales Actrvities 6.478.07 834.35 7.312.42 6,478.07 834.35 7.312.42 5,512.CM) 6,020. Oc In￿StrI￿ntI￿0n ErKlow￿ Release of FLfKJs atyj irtwest 25.LU).LLI 3.￿7.69 8,591.64 28,967.69 8,591.fA 25.(KXJ.(X) 12.559.33 12,W.04 37,559.33 I2,￿.04 | d Charitslle Actiwties Fees fr(m We(kli & Fwals 12.033.( 12.033. 12.033. 12.033.(X) 8,689. 8.&89.(K) lle Odw Rec￿1x5 IrsurarKe aaim Frie￿15 O.IK Total recefved cm al fwK15 I19.67￿￿ 13.72&35 133.405.15 105,554.c 12 TOTAL TOT 2022 2021 Rai&rKJ FU￿ SFeaal AFreals Costs Cost of wee￿Y 157.40 157AO 157.40 157.40 239.77 239.77 b OtsEr tra*rg ￿lieS 0.￿ 4,417.65 0.￿ 4A17.65 O.¢XTr 4 Liocesan Faish ccrtribjbc Church Ir￿ar￿ IEcclwsti(all 63.268.00 60.255. 3.381.02 3,286.52 I.2(￿.(￿> L2￿.00 60.49 4.778.20 157.(K 3,381.02 I.2￿. .49 4,778.20 157.C(I 4.826.46 Staff O.CX) 3.IXKI.CKI 3.IXK1.￿ 5 'lit'es etc IrThnistrabcn costs Parish Secrda s Fknuariun 6.￿ 03 2,054.01 1.3W. 6.80&03 2,05￿01 5,96&10 1,399.51 1.250.00 602.34 Flower Lade5 Organ Mairtenar Ichurth n13irtet13tKe l & SwrKI Church Fatyic (strts￿ & Alkr dc) UF*w ofseThi￿5 Sanclusry & SerLice5 CKganist & OKxr costs eep of chLrctyard Church Letb Swal aF¥wls pa￿ts 903.53 1.358.( 1.143.16 1,358.( 1.081.41 6.279.70 L143.16 1,348.93 L17L76 8,421.26 8A21.26 7,650.00 1.5fK>.fK> Parish niagaire Sun(ky & Youth w costs Weddirus & F￿￿al Mission Gmro tA(Ke5an L(Nsn Re[￿￿ 3.140 95 3.140.95 3.413.24 3.936.rxi 3.936.(K> 2.742.40 6.5(K+. TotalaBr*ats￿ Actwit 103,529.67 I4,1￿.97 0.(￿1 117,726.64 106,026.44 103.687.07 14.196.97 O.CQ 117.8M04 1(fj.266.21 13 TOTAL 2022 2021 255.( Water Cth*"an ￿1(1 39LIXI 391.(K) 375.(K) SdNxA LeaKeY5 &lJe5 FSW A￿5 435 TwnirKJ Ti(*s Ch"l(trws Swdy Mission to Seafarer5 Mi55ion to Seafarer5 PoFyyiWI Mary Fk)w Tr￿t Chd*r FkHJtsl Histhc ￿t￿tr SLNLF rwfm ,Total MiS9