Diocese of Chester Christ Church Higher Bebington Parochial Church Council Annual Report 2023 chn￿ Chur(* BetsTrJkni P•rothi•l Churth c{w￿l Chrlst Churtth Cornn￿r￿ty C•ntr• Kings Road INrral C+￿3 8LX 11111111-_•.,￿ - li IfA CM# B¢tIn￿. AM￿1 Rewl 2023 éi I'* pray'2 *-, STIC, *w¥i" •+ Cl¥knt CIMvth W B•t4nglryi. Arrf￿1 R•wl 2023 •* .. ?¥. IrA IFJ +th4 S',.Frides¥¥i&)'s 74n JJ 10 If 12 IT'S JUST ME MY ELF 13 •i' 14 Chrl•t Church Hlgher 8•blngton Alms and Pu 80 Chnsl Church Highér B&bino0ft'8 Parochial Church Council (PCC) has the respcffisiblty of co￿per$I1￿J wth in￿rnbent in pr(xnotiTrJ in the ecdesiastical paflsh. the whole mlssion of t1￿ Churth. pasthl, •vangellslic, Social arrfl ecumenical. The PCC is $peofK•lly respon$ilk for Ihe m•i)tenan¢e ol the Church aThJ the Commur*ty Cenlfe. ec11ve8 and ActfvStles The PCC is commrtled lo enabling as many p•opl• a8 possibl• to lo¥• of God Ihrou9h worship at our church and engagement wrth our members in and around the parish. The PCC ma￿￿8¢n5 an overviv•V of Wofship 3r)d makes su99estsons on how our seThices can Involve the many groups Ihal live within parish Our and worship wi iailh into praclico thr￿gh wayef and scri*ure, music and sacramenL VYPth ￿s￿ing ¢xff activil*s f¢* y•ar, th• In￿Mb￿nI ar￿ PCC have considered Charrty Commtssion'g guthnce on public benefil and. in particular, the specthc gu￿ char11488 for the advancemenl of rel￿4¢n In parti¢ulaf, we lry lo enable all people to ibve Iheir laith as part of our parTsh communty through. Worship and pray•r.18aming aboul the Go¥)81: and d8v•k>FyrwJ knu*A•d and trust in Jesus Provision of pasioral ￿re for pe¢)pl• kving in lh• p*h Missi¢Jnwy a￿1 outreach work To facilitat8 thi% worK it Is Impcrtant that we wopety ma'rtsin tIKg fabric of Christ Church, wht¢h ts a Grade11 listed buldity d•b"ng b•ck lo 1859. 4￿j the Community Centre **uch opwd in April 2011. The PCC'S Pdlcy is lo dellver Chri51ma8 and Easter cards lo every home n the Parigh wing detai18 of the church Servi￿ arbd outreach actsWI￿ Fdanned lof thw18styvals. 3 Achl•vements and P rf 3.1 Incumbenfs Re b Revd Mlke Loach 2023 iwht the I￿Vrtable mix of chall8ng88 and blessings. ww• able to grthv in many areas. lyjt Sw￿tIMeS slnjggled to ￿sPOnd lo increased pressure on our resources and to shifting cultural pattems As our nallonal ￿allh socol sep4lces have conlinL*d to tw and break under the weight of impossit4e demands, the farth 8ecior has often fourMI ilself as the next line ol support arKI Ihi5 has resulled in rn0￿ and more peop* approaching us lor help Coupled wrth a national pcture of decline in church att8ndanc8. our aknlity to respond to all has been severely teyled. On a pernonal bevel. tho extr8 respor￿1b1Fty of b8rwJ Priest4nCharg8 at St Paufs Tranm•r• and Iht Chair of the D￿e58n Enwronmenl Fom has s￿netIMeS made my role impossible lo manage. That we have conb.nued to be able to offer such wonderful service to our community Is in no small part to our amazuvJ team of volunteers and the ongoing love and supp)rt given by fxr church family. Is Wornhlp Our w(Kshipping lrfe has a￿ayS been a *￿[Ce ofioy and c(Ynfort to m•. I love the fact thal we emlxace the queslions of faith and are willitvj lo lislen to the many different ansvth5 offered by various traditK>n8. Each rTb8mber of our Ministy Team leads serytes and preaches with a drfferenl theological and pasloral emphasls and this ￿ a streryth. Recognising Ihal as Chnstsans we arè all on a ioumey is so important rf we are lo emlxace prophet IAKah's in$InKt￿n lo'...walk humbly God.. We must always acknty￿edge our Ilmrtallons and fesisl any urge lo dose IlThe vi8wy that do not chime th our own. We conlinue lo offw f•gular Sunday le￿Ic•S al 8.3kn arwj 10am and have incTe8sed our Sunday evenKyJ provision lo 6.3QTh on most weeks, wrth our 4wn Praise & Play for youty childien gnd their18m11￿ belng offwed on the fir￿ Sunday of th8 month. AtterKlanc• has slabltsed aftef Ihe fluctuations of the post-pandemic P￿￿1, rtrumbers acros6 the Ihree Se￿1￿ averaging at around 130. Seasonal ser￿ceS obviously can prowde a boost in our numbers. and we ¢ontiftUe to attract around 500 att￿￿88 at the NatiNty service and Remembrance SurKlay, Y4ttth is qurte remarkabkn! It was a150 encouragiry lo Gee ttMI t)ur ekntwal roll grew o¢Ke agawn, We sadly lost seven lathlul members over the course of the ar and continue to 9t￿ thanks fof Ihéir service. Ten new members I￿ned us and rt t been 4 blessing to incorporate them into wor5hippng lrfe ol Chnsl Church. Our Ministry T8am of Rev Eunicé, Pam Hollinshead, Helen Byme. lan Milllnoon, Colette Millin9ton. Lynn lon and Jack* Jone$ work incredibly hard to ensure that our s￿viceS ar• indusive. rJealN8 and wrb.nenl to the ecclesiastKal season5 arKI l am Ihankful for tr*ir willingness to ser￿. In August. we were very sad to say goodbye to Thjr Curate. George Roach. Geor9e first Came to us as an Ordinand in 2018 and then served blle t*tsveen Christ Church aThJ St Paul's OurirwJ this tKne, it was 8 pleasure lo see him grow into h1$ ministry and be¢orne the fine pnest that he 1$ loday Georg8. Jeanette and their lamity have now moved to th8 Parish ol St MKhael & All Angels in Runcom, and we contu)ue to pray lof G¢xl'$ blessing on thwn all. Onh'ne, our vrt>rshlp￿'ThJ communty corfinues to provide an egsenli?I servlce lor tho8e ¢gnnot attend in person. wrth our weekly Y¢)uTube broadcasts lypicalty exceeding ¢iYer I views and many of ow members tuning in for Zoom Momirwj Prayer, Lectio OwiTha and House Group meeb'r¥Js. This ￿ an irnwrtant rest)uree arKJ our thanks must go to lan Carr ft>r his lJr6lè$s effms in managing the lechnolouy. along Rev Eunice. who provides $0 much of w PowerPoint material, and Swn Lo•¢h. who cryrtinue8 lo h¢lp out whon ho can. (Xff pastoral serviceg conlinue lo provth hope. comfort arKI ¢oMidernble ble38kYJ to the parish, We regularfy ￿1ve extremely positThie feedback on the qualty of ¢xK sarvices arKI Ihe care that is received ￿ times of s￿r0￿ and of loy. Over Coufse of the year, we recor(le(121 baptssms. 7 weddings aTrJ 32 lunefats {18 in church 8fKI 14 al Ihe cremalorlum). plus twrials into existing plois and 21 Intom￿￿tI of ashès. Tr numbef ol baptssms was the sarne a¥ in 2022, vMddiw8, fu￿ra1¥ and vrtem)erts $KJnifi¢antly up. (kn ministy to young F*oplo has continued to stfuggle sirKe IDckdoYm, Y•Tlh nolice fewer children regulady attending our Sunday Club and attendance al Ihe 8oukl•rs 9roup atso droP￿rb9 off. Numbera have been encouraging at speaal events s￿h as rehearsals for the n•lr4ty F4ay arKI we contsnue to IKye that our many social and Seasonal events will dr¥ oth8rs in. 'EXP￿n￿ Chnstmas" and 'ExpenerKe Easlerf $8ss•ons offered to IcKal $¢hool$ brought real erbcouragemenl to all those who volunteered to help, Hur#Jreds of children Irom six schools have been blessed ty I1￿$* lanlaslK events and I'm very gratefrj to Libby Potter and her fantastic tearn fof all the Work that Ihey have pul into this In a¢JdilK)n, our rnonthly Lego ChLtrch and Craty Church seSSi￿S have aLso been a 9￿3t bl•ssing. and I'm extremely thankful for the leadefship of Jackie Jones and Janet Wallace. In Ihe corni 16 m(x)ths, I￿pe io begh Ihe mss of sear¢hry for a Chitrkn F￿llies Wotl(er to help stèer and coordinate this vital mirnstry. Clearfy. muslc ￿y5 g key role in our worshipplng IKe and we are very fmunate to be able lo draw on the talent and ènthusiasm of som8 wonderful muS￿an$1 Leading our worship through rn￿h ol year ha$ been our latxjlously talented organlst and band leader. WefKty Tucker. We allowed her tlmè off in the Aulwnn and Winter to have a babyll) and rt has been a great deloht to have Arthur and Jordan join us in church since h8r retum. Ow choir continue to enthu￿88￿¢311Y lead us in our $inglng, and l am very gfateful to them arKI Ihoge who have led our rehearsals over the past yew. June Fogg, Awla Hamilton, Pam Hollinshead and rim Asbfidge have all made signlficant Contributio￿ and we deseryir¥ of r thanks. Pam has also helped to ltsad Ihe barxl whilst Wondy has lJ•en away Ihelr cOntn.￿1K)nS, especially at Al Age worship, have enabted us to exth ¢ffierenl gtyle3. Pastoral c•r• MinistenTrJ between Chnst Church and St Pwl'g h89. at times, stretched our capacity for pastoral vbsitlng. bul our dedicated learn contsnu• to work wlh g•nuine tX•mpaSs￿n an unrelentirvJ desire to help any¢Jne who is in need. Being t*lween two srtes has sometime4 also made rt difficult for the Ministy Team lo be alert to the absence of our members and that is why we ahvays apprec￿18 peop18 ￿tting us know when somèone is struwling. Wè are ?￿yS willing to provide supwt to an￿ in loc41 hogpit41$. hosws. ¢are homes. Coirtin￿ lo be l)le59ed by the care gNen by our Pastoral w￿ker. Lynn Ions, ¢ur Pastoral Worker Emerrtus. June Fogg. ow Pasloral Worker-iTrtraining. Jackie Jones, and by Rev Eunice. who has coordinated our care home team across Iwo panghes. Rev EunKe also ¢ontIn￿8 lo run the Befe8vemenl Joumey course, wrth four courses being offtsred c)ver lh• past year. These have been gfeally appreciated and have clearty pwov¥Jed a much-needed resource Ak+ngside this, the Befrierthrs GfOUP, run by Vera Jackson, continues to be very well attènded and offer8 a w•l¢oming Space for anyone wishing lo meet Mth othefs Vrt have eXp¥￿￿Ce￿ the10sg of 4 loved ￿e. (Y course. Ihefe are many ol1￿ n in a local composbng scherne and many n•yhbwrs arè now making use of the facilrty. In athYrt￿n. we conbnue to Collab￿le wrth olher Wrr31 based groups and have hosted events aimed at promoting mcKe sustsinabl8 livry Chamy fundrahlryj Is anoth•r k•y component in our outreach. and ￿ have managed to suppyt a numbef of fuTrJraisir¥a inrtiatives in 2023. Our Rose Queen 1$ inlegral to our chaffrty and. once again. we have been blessed by Iwo excellent ambassad￿3 over the past year, in Elttabeth Oulhanty and Eva Vllklnson Both EItta￿th. Eva. their familieg, and rets'nues have worf(ed extremely hard to raige fvnds for the ¢hurch and Ihthr ¢hoson charill•8. whilst also ¢onnecting thè communrty with some fantastic social events Fundraising for Christian Aid ha8 also been a key focus, with ￿'ane Shaw and Jlll Loa¢h doing a marvell¢ j¢Jb of ¢oordinahng o(w Christian Ald activrties, including lo¢al collethons. a coffee morning, and even online contrilMAions (wrth QR c(Klesl) Collections for many ¢Xher gt¢>upy have also taken plKe ttr*oughwt the year, In¢ludin9 The Childffen's Society. The Red Cross and The Red Crescent And wè continue to be at4e to make awards ol our own to the local comfflunty through Th¢Y￿ Rots'nson Charity, abty managgd by thjr Tr•a8urnr and Wardons. An important part of s)ur beiw a chtsrch N growlTrJ In laith iogether and we have been able to offer various coThs aTrJ reading wp8 duritvJ 2023. Tr Men's Group, generousty ht)sted and skn'tfully led by lan Murray comprises a dedlcated band of Ihinkers and drinkers. wrth more of Ih? latter also attending the m¢)nthly "Wet Wednesdays" at the Tr8veller's Rest! Our Molhefs. Union group. under guidance of Liz Bird and Heltn Young, regularfy bring8 opportunrty spirllual developmènt as vlell as ossenlial yactical support And, atlhough our "Iwjies. nights" perhaps have a $hghty d￿erent flavour, ttw loo PeOp￿209e¢hef around a shared set of values, Tht8 year a180 saw th8 retum of our House Group5 Wrth three beln9 set up to offef our memt)ers a var*ly of opwtunrties lo deepen their laith. An evening gr￿p hosted by Trncy and Rob, an aftemoon grcxjp led by Pam in the Centre aThJ an evening Zcw)m group focilrtated by lan & Colette have been well sup￿ed and afè open to all. Our Ministry Team mtrnbers h8ve contirn*d lo rewewnl Chrlst Church in a nwnb•r of vduntsry rol•s. Once agan, ￿•￿n Byme ha8 been activety invoP¥ed in suppofts'ng Reader training wtlhin the Diocese. Pam Hollinshead conduded her second tem as wesidenl of the regwal Soroptwnist branch WKI Revd EunKe mainlained d08e link8 wilh the Arrowe Patk 19 CPwtht 8•t4nBkn. AMwI Reyl 2023 cha￿81nCY Team. Fr G￿8 provided vrtal gUPPOrt to the Nmh Am￿lanCe 8eNic• in his role as cha￿￿n and I have corrtinuéd as chair of IIK8 Unilever Ethic8 Commthee, chapla'n at Clawe H(xx• arKI chaw of Ihe ￿.¢￿e5￿ EnvinxThrt FL￿ffl. St Paul'8 Our partr*r3hip V•ilh St Paul's. Tranmere. enjoyed a fruitlul year with members of our Ministry Team Continuing to Pfovide support lor Sunday and mhtrweek se￿ICe8. along with vtsrts to local schools care homes. 11 was gtxKI to see many of our congregalion supporbng comrnunty events and fundraisery and genum￿ fnernaships between the chufches have been l¢)rmed through such ¢olJaboralion. A achievement durry 2023 was the compleb'on ol Ihe Communty Hall which has proved lo be a real bles￿n9 the parish. altracting group5 and laalrtats'ng tyjtreach acthille8. Th• Opon Day event was a Suc￿$6 with hundreds of poopl8 att•ndw. Attendance al Sunday services Incieased, and rt is hoped that support from the Diocese may léad to Ihe appointment of a full-lime fmsl for the par¢sh. The church 1$ In a much better pla¢e th¥n it was when we first Started WOTking together 3￿r￿1 fouf years ago, wilh Imwoved fadlth$. Lydered accourts. strorKJ community links arKI an ellective PCC. However. rt wll ¢Jnly achieve the rt needs wrth a full-kn.me incumbent In post, wl10 k8 able to give ththr coMp￿ts attentlon lo expanding the mission of St Paul's deep into the pansh. Infra•tru¢turn Our churth buildmg conlinues to be to the public every day from 9am urrtll 7pm and Is regular stoppxng p￿nt for many people who would never usualty access a ￿ace of w￿r$hip Many Mll just lake the opportunity to find some lime away from the tw5y￿S ol hfe. some will 18ave 8 prayer or light a candle tx seek oul a member ol the ¢lefgy lo pray alongside This ￿ an Important ministry, and I ￿ very grateful lo our wonderful Vestry Te led by Diane Shaw and Helen 8yme. who. contsnue to offer ￿#￿ve displays and weekly Support lor ow worshipping lrfe. l am also thankful to our Iltr¥wr team and our"Classy Cleaners. who ensure thal our church looks stunning whenever ￿oPle allend. And a speclal "thank you. musl go to lan Carr who has given so 9enerously of his bme and resources, nolKing problems arKI $nags that r*&ed atterrtling to and thén just fecttyng them wrthout ariy fu88. are go very I￿UnIte to be •14e lo from skll expthtse. Th• chwchywd con11nL￿ to WOVKl8 vafiOUS chaHengeg relenU•8S expansion ol weeds around the ¢iemaled rernains plots Ihrough to foxès and other anima isluth.ng the land Wor￿ty al¢)ngsbde Wirral BLYough Council rJ not $￿ayS easy. and I conlinue lo be thankful for our ban¢J of vo]unlews who have worked so hard to keep th8 spa¢• accessible welc¢mlng for thos• visitsn9 loved on83. I￿￿ will certainly need more volunteers in the weeks io come, so do $peak with me (K Ho1tsns￿ad rf y￿'re atAe lo help in any way. The ¢hurch g8rdens c¢)ntinue to attrad many vlsFicKs and are a fanlaslS¢ r•sourc8 for our chihdren's groups and local schools We're very fortunate to have our dedicated ar￿ har working 9arsw¥J bal￿ of £254 at Ihe eThl of 2023. M••dng8 June 9th 2023.. Sl John the 8aptist Church. Meols. Rev Jonny maste￿ spoke abtyjl 'Grtrwing Faith Adventures,, The Gf¢>wing Faith A(fvantUf• li a call lor a Shrfl in attrtude Wbd cutture $0 Ihat it t￿e secoTrJ nature for every mernLw of the churi* to include and value chiklren, y¢xJrwJ people arKI househdds in every asped ￿ church Ide for the IWelon9 fomialioft of faith in ts whole ol lrfe.16th October 2023. St John the Divinè. Frankty and the Speaker was Werjdy Robert50n who spoke •ix￿1 'Transfomiing LNe$ Together.. 3.4 8ulldin Cunnln ham The vicarage cellar damp issue remains of cOn￿M. de$pile wuks on Ihe local drainage affanoements and séaling of Ihe access dI￿r. The loThJ.temi viats.lty of Iho vic&ra9e 1$ now under consideration. Rool repairs & gLfftering replacements scope of works were issued lo an •)seiling contractor. They have comwed some of the slonewofk fepait3 L￿rt the guttenng In t￿ poor 8 condthon to be addressed in a yecemeal fashion Exped therè lo be fUrt￿r work assoaaied wrth ihiB. Improvements to the centre AV system c(xnpleted. Lighiing uparades to Ihe Kings Hall are due to comffthce won {may b8 c¢)mWed by b$$￿ of thm report). All of the Community cent￿ emeruenLy Ilghts were tested and repalrs carried out 8$ r•qtlif8d. In addition, sQ￿ra• comdor lights needed to be replaced trtrt this induded Upgradi￿ them, to obsolescenc¢. A Fire Rtsk A$sessment for the church was eompl•t•d, a8 requlred by our insurers Extemal CCTV ￿11 be installed on the Communty Centre, to address personal safety ks. A Qu'nquenThal inspection survey 18 to ￿ ¢omp*ted year. Ica vd Eunl 81a kmo Pastoral care Includes home visits often wllh communS1)n, ho$￿31 vlslts- Includlng end of lrfe. phone calls ar)d Iu51 being there to lislen arKI pray. Some visits are requesled, ottws rec BebiTrJton Care Home typicalty 3rd Thursday of the month for (X￿ to one Clynmunions and addrlional visits for themed events (e.g. King's CoronatK)n. Advent. Christmas . Salisbury House - themed services - KINJ'S C¢xonation, Harvesi. Christmas all of which ￿ere very well attefKled. We also sang Carols at each one and included Lezayre and Daleside. A trial of using PowerPoint presentations with YouTube videos for the hymns has proven very effective as every horn has their own large screen smart TV. .8 Commun5catlon Our ¥￿iktY Par￿ n8wslott8r ￿ available bolh Qfb4ne aTrJ as hard copy. The vKbsite continu85 to provKl& a vital link l(x many m6mbefS ol our communty who cannot leach church regularly and we lry lo keep rt updaled Mlh new8 and hnks lo resources used in lx swvic88. Our Facébook has 9rown considwably over the pasi couple of yeaT$ 8rNJ, In ¢(￿ne￿n9 with othw c(mmunty group, n(￿ attract ththtsands of v*ws lor a sinot• The r￿￿ YouTube charwjel has added another way ￿ people lo Join in ￿th our seNices and rN)w has almosl 3CM) $ubsuibers. This onlin? presence has enabknl u8 to communicale in hllerent way and people who w¢)uhJ not usually have a¢ces$ lo our newslellers 3.7 Pastornl and Social Initiativ•s run b Chrigt Church: ha The continues lo be a very successful community initiative, wovirfing a safe. welcoming place for people to gather to chat ar#J get involved in construclK>n Of r•pair activilies, Should t￿Y so wish. Being &t•d dos• to tho church makes us an obvious choK• to look at any equipment treakdown activrt*s required in the centre ondlw ¢hurch. whtch has Certainty resulied in sonificanl ¢osl-savings. on occasions We have recently c(Mnplet•d an acce8sibl8 pothng tat4& for use by the gardening group and Co-op ac&demy students, Our aclp4e member numbers contsnue to be al)oul 11>12 on day, Ihwph r•duce$ a h'ttle during the *int8r. vrtlen opportunrtK?s to work outsid& are reduced somewhal Sadly. *t10gt one of our founder members recenlty. walt￿ Penketh. an amtxtious man who had many eas to tsxpand t￿ offerings ol Iho shed and ts out¢em•8. A plwue in his honour has b8en fitted to each of our memofial bench￿. A couple of pre8entstion8 have bean mado to the Women's Instrtute and Motws Union, explainiry how Ihe Men in Sheds organisation aboLrt. tls aims and how rt funthons nationally in th8 UK. as w811 as locally. which app8ar to have been V•TII received. All￿U9h ￿r.n¢￿fflaf proth￿8 ar• bifd boxes. bitd lables and planters, ar8 har4)y to consider bespoke rterns- so rf you want somethirbg that we mighl be able to help vnlh. ase pop in and see us. anytime thai we are *)F*n. In In Café Revd Eunlce Blackmore Singing Cafè has Corrtin￿l to b• a thoroughly eryoyed b14n￿hlY aclwty- meetirKJ at 10 30 am on the 111 and 3￿ Tuesdays - t￿r￿a$n9 Joy, laughter and ol course music. Numbers fluctuale but a good tlme is had by all. Ckn 6° June wo had a great concert gven 24 Clwknt Cluth H*hor 8•tskn￿. 2023 by afF the muslc48n$ from the v8Trous Vlral &nglry Café bam6 and our Chrtslmas Spedal on 1V I)Kember wa$ thoroughly enioyablg. Our Ihank8 lo Chris Youngman who heads UP the Singlng Café 9roups and lo June Fo99 who ha$ rthv handed over her krtchen responsibilities to Heatr￿T Wirtehead arwj al who assist in setting up the ro¢)m elc. Caffic h Loach Ar aa ddydd Mawrth y mis bydd siaratt4Yyr Cymraeg a da￿ar Gymry Cymraeg yn cael Iluniaeth boreol yn Neuadd y ￿enIn. Mae sgwts ddrfyr dros de, coffi {wedi'i weini yn y Isienl 90rau}, barabn'lh, pice ar y maen a Ilawer mwy ynghyd ag amrywiaeth o lyfr8u a thafienni Cymiaeg Mae'r dywyd¢Sad hefyd yn cynnwys addumwdau cyffto￿ gan gynnwys cennin pedr yn eu tymof, Ac mae'r Ddralg Goch yn wl ei ¢hwifK) o bolyn fflag yr Egw ar Nydd GW Dewi. Ma8 croeso tM)b arnser i wynebau newydd- yn rhugl yn y Gymraeg neu te1d￿. Welsh Ca Tho sKond Tuesday of the monlh s88s both Wélsh spe8kers 8nd M?ul&be Welsh SWkw3 taking m(¥n￿g ￿￿reShMentS in Ihe Kings H811 On offer ￿ convlvial conversatK)n over t64 coffee (swed in Ihe finesl china), barabiyth. W8lsh caJ(8s and much more plus an assortment of Welsh language books 8nd le817els. The evenl also leatu￿$ Welsh decoralions including daffodils rn season. And th8 Welsh Dr8gon ts Ilown fn)m the Church's 8gp(48 on St D8vrfs Day. New f8ces- IIu8nt ￿ Welsh or not- we 8Iw8ys *vlcome. rou Sarah Loach We rr￿t on the 1° and 4Vb Tuesday morning of the m(Yrth al 10 30am. All abllltl•$ ag•& ar6 wélcomel W• aro an infomal gr(￿p, w8 8njoy coming tO9ether to sew charity, Church evenls and do minor •lter8tions and small projects for people We always ha refreshmenls and swap Se￿n9 thas and kYol•¢is. My Ihanks to Rhona Sr*180n for aN her help aTrJ suFport in running the sessiorffJ. Conn b Rhona Snelson Connect Coffee ￿n5 every Wednesday IlYoughtyJt the year, provith.ng a meets'TrJ plac• Sn the Communlty Cenlr• Irom 10am to 12 nt)on. W￿re a wam) welcome is always readity gtven to all visil. Manned by 8 faithful, fnerldly grrMJp ol helpers, who offer lea, ¢offe• and loast wrth a happy smile. here memL*rs of the comMur￿tY and church have the opportunity to meèt with olher8 ￿ fn'endty conversationg ￿ just to give a -I￿tenty ear when required, During colder monlhs. Connocl coff￿ rxovid•d a ￿aTr￿ spac•. vkn•n tho sl of domestic heating rose thamats'cauy In a relaxéd atmosphere. visrtors wefe able to seek a(fvice from visiting Communty Conned(Irs. offer considerable knowledge of hdp available in the locd area Also, a member of Age Concem tethnical help came to offer advice vlllh uslng mobi18 phones and l- pads •tc. Always a thYlcom• afKI open to all. 25 3.7.6 Knlt & Natter Grou b Joan Rl on Knrt aThJ Nalléfs memberfshlp has grtrwn fr(*n strenoh to streryth. Ladi85 enioy meetiTha Imce monthly. tkjnations of knitted goo¢J3 have L*en made to Claire Hou86. T8ms 4 U Shoe Box Appeal and a thanly G¢)ods are also made lor 3aJe on stall at th• $umfflef fair Chn'8lmas ¢offoe mwikg, Donalions as follow 7r2r23 £100 to Rose a￿? Fund 314r23 £50 to Abr Ambul*￿8 315123 £22 to Clan Howe (res￿1 ol raffle) W5123 £50 to St John'6 Hospk• 2416r23 £120 to Rose Q￿en FuTrJ (Summer Fair) 15111r23 £70 to Royal Brrtjsh LegK)n 19111r23 £50 to The Moth•r8' Urmon in r•sp&d of Womon's Refijge 2112123 £153 to Ro8e Queen F￿￿1 {ChrlsbYAas Coffee MofniThJ) rou Jiii wrf T1￿ Oasis support gfOUP continu•8 to be successful, Ir￿lUding mernbers both lorvJgtsThJi and new Regular meetsrys took place eadi monlh in 2023. exdudirKJ August and Decembèr. The plart to tntrodurAg lopc led discusspons has tttn well received by members d have been led by Steve Flatt, p9ych￿herap￿t, as$i$led by mwnbers ol team, La Gregw and Kate Cfane. They abo offer one to orbè thefapy ses8￿￿S urvJ&r the heading 'Church Chats, wt*ich have t*8n yoving vw p)pu5ar. Jill Wnght continueg to carry (Krt the administratl¢)n ol the 08819 gro￿. Oasis h8$ conlinued lo off•r much ne•d&d support to group members. 3.7.8 Don't Eat Sunda Lunch Alon• b Revd Eunic• Blackmore We have nryAT adopted a wular pattern- the rv51 SuTrJay of ea(*) month 12.30 at PAoa(frway Stèak & Whne. eelwten 10 arKI 20 ladies and gentlemen ¥rt￿ ¥￿tsId n(￿alY spendirKJ thts time alone meet up and enjoy ¢ompany and a good lunch. We a￿ sep4ed well by the staff who glve uy Ihe endose(l outer area to ourselves and are v•ry aectynm￿in9 with Va￿ng numbèrs. d*ts ar￿ occasionally a guide dog iool 3.7.9 Chu h Walkin FollowiThJ on from Jll ￿kn9h1.5 Invaluable examFAe. Ihe waI￿n9 con1￿u88 lo organi8• vtalks on tm first F￿Y ol each month. th• lèadership bthng shared bet￿en Chris Ethiardg. Ann Bell LIZZ￿ Roach. The own 18 to attracl walkers of all ages who getting out in Ihe fresh air in ow beautlful Vthal coast and country8Kle wrth fr￿￿llY INety company, and we have tjeen delighted to welcome r*wcomers oulside the chur¢h membetship frwi a IcKal 8eroblcs dass, We offer one walk èach month. betsveen 3-5 milm. with a turTTrout of anylhirvJ belween 8 lo 13 people depending on weather aTrJ availabilrty. A 26 Chrflt cfA¥th Higlw 2023 refreshment stop 18 a￿ayS included, one of ihe mosl memorable belw lunch fof 16 of us at the Traveller3 Rest in December with Chnslma$ decorations on display and much hilartyi 10 B•friendeTS Bereavement Su ort b Vera Jacks The Befriendws lunch tlme meeling conts'nues to be much appreu•ted ￿ the first Thursday of ev•ry month. Gènerally, there are between 16 and 22 ixjt V￿ have some rn￿0 p80ple attending foll¢)wng Rev Euni¢e running the 8erttav8m￿t Journ8y course over the l&st few months. We shall conlinu8 provNling this sefvice as rory 89 the demand ts Ihwe. .7.11 Bereavement Journe b R dEunlc•8lackmorn This continuos to bo a rnal source of muiual supwt w#J enCo￿gern￿ lor those *tK• have been bereaved. t)uring 2023 we ran two aftemoon c¢)urses commenong in February a￿j September aTrJ an evening course in Junè for a lotal of nearly 30 people. We were one of the first groups natK>nally to njn the revise(J ¢ourge (from Alalo8s) from June - which nth¥ comprises 7 Sess￿ Wrth more interadive and inclu*ve films. Wlh written feedback which says "Wofds ￿11 rther be en¢xvJh lo expFain how gratefijl we are lor you runniNJ th* ¢wse' we are Ihanklul to G¢Jd that V￿ are at4e offer thts hugely significant cour8•. I very much appreciate the support and V*rysdorn of Mal Hattetsley, Flona Murphy also assisted wrth the evening cOu￿e and now Sharon Philpotts (a ￿8viouS participant) ￿ a great help. This book which is kept in chufch is mad• a¥ath1￿ for f￿l￿e$ th•t wish to havg th relatsves name added lo il. Time to Remember IBlue Chris Once again these vtry Poignant ser¥ic8$ **re wdl attertded and much appreckated arKI oved to be valuable links with tho pe￿e we had 8upwled In the Bereavemenl Joumeys J through fur*rg1 mMii$ty throUgh￿t Ihe year. We all need ways to 8wes8 wr grief and rind •mpathy fr¢Jm oth8rs and as a church *p're ￿1quelY placed lo th) 90. Rho a Sn•lson & Graham Loach The 4Cg contsnues to provide opp(Ktuntt￿s fN c8￿￿, and Itw who hav• w•vlously bMn fers. to meet arKI enjoy friends￿P and fèllowship together. txmng 2023 we had a full wogfamme and were very gr*efvl for tr* 9lven by our excellent ojest speakws, W• have bgan mfom)•d. educat￿. and frntertained thro￿hOUl In Janu¥y we were delyhted lo have Fiona MUrF￿Y talk lo u8 aboLrt the wonderhjl work she and her colleagues do in supporting G9ncer pabenls. The Wogfess made over recent yews Is truly r•markat)18. Tefry Gurr the CW Sanduary gav• an ent•rtainw ta￿ wi Feiwuary, ably 888i8led by In March we w•lc(Thed our very r)wn Alan Jackson who showed us some *￿nderf￿ Blides ol India Alan is not only an exLYllent speaker but a truly lalerrted Pholographer. In April we had a retum vi8it from Katie Paloma who updated Ihe 'Ernrgy Plus. pr¢Ject. 27 c￿￿¥1 Clwwth H4hw 8•*￿. R•port 2Q23 In May we 7A*re able to have a no&t￿pbe rollect￿ M lif• in tho 608 c(MKlesy of local hlstorian D4VKI He4m. Our now lrip lo uand￿n0 look pla￿ In Juno. One of our mombers. who shall remain anonymou8. gave us * brt of scare Ixrt rt all Iwned oul okay and we enjoyed a lovely day 0￿. July was our aft8rn(MM tea Me￿.ng. Allhough ts weather C￿k1 have been kNKler, we did enpy the sand¥￿ches. cakes and the odd gla$$ ol wingl After our August trfeak V•* r8turn8d m Sepiembef arKI wer• •nIertaK￿d by Rob jon￿ tellirvJ us aboul the IMrr81 Tram Museum. More local history followed in October with Tony giviTrJ an exc411enl Inf0M￿lIve talk about Birkenhead Pnory. The final meeting of tm year was ¢xw Christmas Social where we sang a few cwols and enioyed each other's Company. Tremendous thanks are due to Loma Cullen who rnakej sure that have wty)derfL san¢fv¢i¢hes e&h month, Thanks also to Rhona Snelson. JIU Loach and olhèr memt*rs vh)D bake cake and help in ts krtchen elc. m8mb8rs are al¥Yays welcome and look lorward to a seeing fr￿d8 okl arKI n&w •t r lunchtime méetings, which are usually on the 3° Tuesday of each month, except in A￿￿$t. at 12.30pn In Ihe CMimunty Centre. 3.7.13 Indoor Bowls b Sarah Loach We hokl 4xK Ind￿ Ses￿onS over the autwnn and winter on tho 1* wrfl 3￿ Friday of the month at 10am. 11 has b8en roally well atlendod arKI C¥¢ bo qurt• ¢ompetrtiw! All th'lrti88 ar• vwy welcome and peop4e have 41(A of fun while they Refreshments affj provlded. Thank5 to Rhona Snelson. Jrll Loo¢h and Brenda Vthrte for running the sessi<)ns and prowding refreshmenls. Ath. Ihanks lo Da¥• for 98tknf¥J the mal and pultHig it away every Session. 3.7.14 Chri tmas Da Lunc We had approximately ￿ peoe he￿ enloylng a delKiow chr￿tmaS lunch tOge￿r thi8 year. We also pack8d up somè d8livèfies for p8ople who couldn't attend. We had very generous donabon$ fr(¥n 1ndp￿u¥l9 and also businesses makn'ng Il all possible. incluth'ng our local butctr￿r and two local sup8rniarkets. Thefe are loo many volurrteers to mentson by name who gave up ther ts'me and worked so hard. thank you all. Special thank5 to the kitchen learn on the day Victoria and Mark Gleave. Kalo CrarK• and lan Miul￿On who mad sure everyone was catered for, very well fed and had a great tsme togettw. 3.7.16 Eco ChurchlGard n Gan b Pam Holllnshead The $m8N yet dedK8led Garden Gary ¢onlinue8 to bottle though the undefgrowth. unearthing unknown walls and plants nol seen for decades.. cuthr>g bath tKaml)le$ arKI overg1￿￿n t￿￿he9 thus openwvJ up new areas fof W￿d￿le and humans lo •nJoy. 28 Offjoing woth in the wocdand area Indudes removing the Afbore31 fofm of Ivy from th8 trees and stnpping as much Ground Ivy arMJ Ground Elder oui ol the Gyound a8 FX)s&ble 18aving a controllabl8 amounl for ts'odr¥ersty to Work. W4 hav• been loU￿d by Graham Morw and his cdhagues ￿ have buill a very $lurdy woctht(xe in the Fallen Chchard to accommodate the subslantial amount ol wood cul down Ihroughout tho V4inter s•ar•on. Thank you, ynllern•nl The StwTrpery area M developing we have compknted am the gfound Wofks and arn now ready to brlng In 8011 plant up f•ms and shado loving tAants to this arn•. The front ol thur¢h wag ￿ter￿1 up ready ￿ East•r Sunday with plants donated by ThÈnqwall Nurse￿$! Soon Ylill be hostlrg Garden ExperkqrKe events for local schools. the b￿bell wakn have l)een made safe lor small children by cutting bxk ovefhangirbg folia9e There is o m*ss of Spawn in bott7 pofKl$l So. 7A* are howg l¢y tadpd•s soon. th• children love lo see them up closé. Men in Shed9 have kindly buill a &￿tting bench al whoalehalr heohl so that afi our youngslers from Th& Cothop Academy can pin in with plantsng seeots of the okl tree near the Viwage scannod lo detemine rts he8llh and age. It's been corfimed Ihal il ￿ 200 years old, ￿en rt was &4ant•d the area of the pathway was at least 6 ft lower as it 18 in facl a sirvJle stem tree nol 35 we see today brfurcaled {Iwo Irunksll. Huge Ihanks to George Nelson lor enabling this Wole￿ and lor the Cons￿erable w(Mk pul in by various Pa￿ lo cleal Ihe area of rubble. rubtM8h etc. ready lof GPR root scan d¢)ne by Peter Barton Assouates. It is very important Ihal we manage and look after our Oak$ ol which there are many In the gaiden as théy provKI• much n88ded environs for hundreds of insects. b"rds. pollinators elc. Il's Ihat tlrfte of year agaln wh•n th• weeds are growng apace, pwbctharly in the Cremation mefflorial arealt! We ale k￿kIng for a de(licated team to work m this area on a regulai ba$ - volunlee(B please fNxl Pam11 We have hwj three workw party days this yew M the V Saturday ol th• month, If8 amazing wthal &qn accomplish8d by a deterrnined of folk especially when there li Ihe promise of bacon butties, egg tAJtties. lea and coffee made by our vwy own Mrn Vicarage aka Sarahl! Thank you to all who tum up. We are hopir*91o hire ol assislarKe someone with a di99er who wli I lake back the top layer of weed8 in certain areas $0 Ihat can oenerate more wildflower I￿an￿n95. Massr¢e thanks to Duncan Allender for such a kntyiderful area he ha$ de8•gned arKI tjjthll b•h#id the slagel A8 th8ys. we 8re loo￿,n9 fof more lolk to regularly voknt••r In th• gardon, perhap8 on a Wednesday 1.3￿3.CK)Pm,' the thitd Saturday of each month 10wn-12 noon: ¢y al another prewously &greed time, G8￿n9 expwb'se * not requi'red, rather a passion for worknng wrth nature and each other. Thank yw to all who ctmnlty a valued part of Th& ￿en Gang,. 29 Id b Joann¢ urn•r & Lin Our Boulders Fnvrtes youry people between the ages of 11- 18 yews. cirRnt a9e group that attends is 11 oThJ 13 yews ol age. We rfbeel a m¢)nth. On th8 first Sunday ol the month at chuich, Itw are jTh'ned by It* MirHstry Team to think thfough faith. Our yourWer8 atterKI our Sunday ServKes re9ulaty. Our Bouldets read in church and sing On Ihe third Fnday of month. meet In tt evening a COUP￿ of h￿rg in the Communrty cent￿ lof Social activities, Boulders is open 10 all youngsters In the aréa. Currently all children that attend part ol the chwch family. all of It￿rn onginalty Start￿ attending Irlxn Sunday club at a young age movin9 though, sin￿ COVKI we haven't had as many yourYJ Childrtn allend Surfflay Club. which has aff¢¢t8d Ihe numbors moving throu9h to the Y4xrth Group 8oulderg. I know we are actwely trying lo attract new children into our Sunday Club Ow Bouldefs have ￿$0 invrted fnends lo loin ttrern and at Imes our group has expand•d wilh frMTrJ group who hav• 8tt8nded esp6u*ly wh•n w• m••t on Frhjay evenirw. Our Boulders have grown up109ether in the ¢hufth famity and ow group have a great supportive frwmtship vnth each othèr. We are a diverse group and do plan our evenl$ to be Inclugf4e. We ¢ongthr a¢ces$ when planniry events and mobilrty in our games as on• of I>Uf yOUth$ is in a vtheèlchalr. Wé consider Wrirten and rvading actiwlies lo wpport one another as 0￿ of our youths needs extra supw)rt AEI the youths support each olhèr loo and wofk 109elhe¢ IhoughthJlly. kindly and inslincllvgly We had an activty recently 7hthich involved rnaths. weyhing mixture, c￿ts'n￿ it bakn"ng. They all w￿ked extremety together supportlng each olhw. Our Bguklerg make thirwJs tlwhout Ihe year for the ¢wJregth'on lo ery'oy. Ai Easlor ffla￿ an indoor 9arden table which was dlsplayed al lh• ￿trance of the community centre. In wep8r8tion for Mothering Sunday. ow Youth Group joined Sunday Club to wrrte cards for the Mothering Sunday flowers and Cut nbbon and helped %•Ath al the Wepara￿n. W8 support wilh th8 yeparalÈon for Chrislingle. Our Youlh Grwp supports the Rose Queen vfilh events that happen seveial tiff*s in the wr. 3.7.17 Sunda Club b Janet Wallac• We haw a rjmall bLrt retylar group ol children who corne lo Sunday Club every weeK al¢xwJ with the occasi¢￿1 visrtors. We have been exploring new w8y8 of connectlng Mlh families in the pan'gh to encw•ge lo L¥ry Iheir ¢hldren al￿￿. bul ha￿ noi h￿1 a great doal of succ•ss. There are a numhf of families who support Church famli y events but due to other commrtments cannot make SurKlay momings and we are lookjng al olP*r ways to •ng4• wrth Ihem, We have been running mith*eek Lego ar)d Craft a¢livrti8s after sch¢x)l on amernate Wedne%lays. These have been well r8cffid birt are al the same ts'me as after school dubs and so not everyone can coffle. The most successful events havo been the Easter and Christmos colfee momlngs and Summer Barbeque whi¢h wert all very well attended. The Nabvty was ak80 weu 8UPPOrtad ith over 15 chiklren takU￿ part We are contlnulng to bok at dfftirent ways to eryge wilh tho families in our Parish and Ihink about what times Mll be a better frt wrth modern farnily life. 30 ActlvFtI•• Sunday Club meels on o Surty mwiing term tlme 8￿j Is aimed al chldren aged between 5 and 11. W8 watch videos. ￿8Y games and use a range of crafts to explore 81)me of the exciting glories the BibSe contains. We love lo see new famlhes and as each week 18 StarKlal(>no it do￿nI matter il you canl come ￿ery timé. Leoo Club mèet8 on the flr8t V￿dnesdaY in the monlh at 3'.3Q)m and h an opportUThty for Chiklren to ￿lId Le90 creallons based on a bible Iheme Of lust buikl fr￿t thoir own Craty Churth meets evwy thi'rd we￿￿$daY and the chlldren gel lo have a go at a of ¢r8ft act￿11108, b• croalw and hav• 3.7.18 Pral8e & Pla Ovef the pa$i year ￿ have had positNe feedback from Ihe pwents of the c*Ml¢tren *tK* atlend. We have song$, a st¢xy. a prayw. an aclivty. craft, and we finish with cthe for the children and the adults. Some of the Ihemes we h8V• ¢4)vefed'. Noah's Ark The Lost sheep Jonah and The lthal• Fishers of Men Je$us Cakns the Sttym NatP4ity Palm Sunday Easter We hav• a gthxl t¢8m Ihat WO￿ well tog•lt*r. and have good bakors. whith keep UJ goirva Wbth cake. *hich appreuate. pray that God will keep u8 in8y'r•d. with bev¥J abl8 to keep the c*bildfen focused, and to continue to enjoy ttr￿ 9es3K>n3. That The can keep emthasising to them thal théy are Loved ty God. 3.7.19 Ex flence Easter & Ex rlenc Chrlstm Libb Pott•r FOR￿￿n9 our first Experience Christm8s in 2022 we decide(I to offer both Expeflence Eajter and Experience Christmag in 2023. We welcomed Town Laré Infanls School, Ht9her 8etsngtM Junior School, 8rackenwood Infant$, Brackenwood Juniors and Bedford DrNe PTimary School to both events A total of over 70) children and 200 accompanyin9 adutt$. Each Expefier)ce was run over 4 days with a team of 25+ volunteers telling the story using '¢tur88. drama. long and sto￿&11￿ in sesgiong 011.51ws per sthool We started to offer the ExperierKe to the unrfonned groups and church led chihJren'8 groups with Scouts attending al Eastèr Ra'nbows, Brownies, Mums and Tots and baby group attending 81 Chiistmas. Schools were sent colwriry actfvilles for the dwldren to Complete and bring ¥wth them The displays of afTrhtork decoraled the thurch for the Season and we encouraged famil￿9 to come and see their child's artwtyk at Ihe Easter Egg Hunl and Chnslmas coffe• m¢Nnry whKh loltth•thl the Expernnc•s. At Experience Easter 2023, for Ihe first ￿rne. %￿CoMed students from Cmp Academy Bets"rwon SEN Baso to work alongside us as volunteers. We offered them Il* ¢p￿Unty to 31 het* on $18lKJn> in a variety of ways, ¢re8le displays ol artworK w•kcfft• direct children and lake on acling foles. Th8y Ihts with great enthuS￿M and have brought 8 rèal sen80 of loy and fvn to our EXper￿ce. They shared their singing and BSL sgning skills with us leading to the 'Experien¢e Sow" being a regular leature of ￿try Expenence. We are very grateful for the contritxrtion th• Coop Academy students aThJ their $t8ff make lo each Expfrnence. The staff tell us that the oppthty to Work tn thth'r local c(NThnunty vovides many benefit$ lof these students. The number of member9 of otsr congregation who wbh lo help * the Experiencos has ¢reased wilh volunteers saying they enjoy the company of t￿1 School chiklren and Co St￿nts and the fellth•nhip created Ihrough W0￿.ng logelhef. We are It￿led that ￿ many people from ct¥Jrch volurrteer and we 8U havè a tsm8. 3.7.20 Thornlel h Frfendshl weekend 19-22 Ma 202 4101 u8 headod to th& Thc*nl•igh Christian Hotel in Grawover-Sand5 for a weektr#J of friendship. fun avvj felEow5hip We wefe spoilt wrth beautrful weather and mosl 8nioyed a scenic tour of the South Lakes on Ihe Salurday was a faal bonus aftef the rnonths of re8thcted travel follthwing Covid. We ènded 8%h day wth a thought ba5e. Numbers ¥tteThJlng ts Ihe firsl h*1 crf lh• year continued to be strong. friendships formed amMgst Ihe mwns and their chiklren 8 k•y dfrver for th￿. As thè children celobraled their first birthdays and became more mobil•, many of regular attendees moved on. In some ¢a$es. this was becau￿ mums were retumln9 lo work as th&if matemrty leavè camé lo an erwj F(Y others, they 'gr4dualed' lo Tcdjlef Group on a Monday aThJ l am delymed that al teast 10 from Baby Group rK regularty attend this group. The friendsh(ps lor9ed al Baby G[t￿p conts'nue to be strenglhef*d and will no doubt last unknl they start sdK>DI...... and beyondl UnfCA1u￿e1y. there was 8 lum in numb8rs att•nding for the second haff of the yew bul It has been a delight to conned Ihose have C¢)me along regularly, 32 Baby C*oup ter￿8 lo be cycllcal as It Is feally only a short ts'me before ertl*r rnums ￿uM to work of the chiklren 'oUt￿r0￿, ts group aThJ 85 a result numbers wlll ahvays fluduale. 11 is a r¥ilege to be able to make conneclions on behalf ol Chrlst Church, Higher 8ets'ngion and ays a pbasure to moei pa* rn•mber8 of the gfOUP th out and abo My thanks go to Beckie J{*￿ kn Supportlng I￿ ruNwng of thg group arKI to all Ihe c¢)nf￿ Cafè teams vtho so kindly wash up the cups. Akn. to any of you who pop into Ihe kyoup and always make the rnum3 feel $0 welcm, Cholr b Pam HollIns￿ad t)es&xte bthng a drffi¢uM year for ￿me m¢mbors CCHB chair has c(ffitinu8d to enjoy bew V￿Ved in the fomal v￿rshIp each Sufthy aThJ at ¢)¢c4si¢x￿I services such as funefals. We welcome fimothy AS￿ a3 ch¢rnler. who has rttalleryd and encouraged US to be adventurou5 In our sirKJing, 3.90 anRe b Wond Tu¢ker tt's tjeert anolhor iwsy year at the ¢)ryan. Along Ihe honoui ol ac¢ompanylrva tm 10arn Sunday serv￿$ and our rJK*ir. Ihe organ is in frequenl us6 at weddings arKI funerals throughout tha yèar btheré l occasronally get to exlerKI the organ repertoire. th* year hal featured musical theatre medleys. lolk musc ar￿ New Orleans Sty￿ swing. Tuning r6 a constant need for the organ as we only reany get about 2 monlhs b•fc*• the mIxtUf￿ on Ihe gwell need a bit of a tweak Ilhis is very Common for most organs). But tho ir*liument is In a good c(WbdllK*n and ahvays a joy to play. Th18 year has atso Involved a peri¢xl ol mat•fnlty boave for m• so rt's been a delight to welcome Tm Asbridge. Graham Ell￿, James Luxton. Rose McPharson Stewart Smrth arKI others who dunn9 that perlod. My thanks to ev•ryon81 Please do come and frfKI me If you have any or9an q￿$t￿n8 or raquestsl Be dekn'ghted to have a ¢haL 3.10 Mu8lc Grou b PamH I We Con1￿u0 to play togethw a￿1 enjoy supportlng vari￿￿ ¢hur¢h 8w¥lce8 wh•n askod lo We are looking foThArd to being mcn involved in the rnusic at the AAW awvkes th1$ ￿Ing year. Thard(s for the ￿Courag0MQnI and support from everyone. 3.11 Mother3. Unlon b Helen Youn In 2023 our MU tnnch euitinued to meet every month in the Cmunity Centm. As of se￿ernber 2023, our branch meetirKJs wefe held in the momir¥Js as rt was ¢JiffKull f¢x somé mombefs to mak8 th• w￿louS1Y sctthuled evening meetings. As a re5utt. we have h8d an en¢ouraging incre85e in atteThJantA al m8ew. Our branch Sadly lost a couple of members durrng the year Marjorie Hugh86's funeral was held in January 2023, Elaine Newall's. late in November. It ' always sad to lose members (and fnendsl have becmie a part of ￿ S¢C4al and 3p1rrtu￿ cornm￿￿. We miss I￿rn. 33 Our programme ol monthly l•low8hip m••b'n9s ¢￿Ired round a mix of devotional, Infomiabve and social events. A big 'lhank you, to wr speakers in 2023, who gave valuable tlme. skllts and I'fe expenenc6 to Supr￿ I￿r m8etsng8. Feb Vera Jackson: lrfe growng up in Ireland. Aw"1 Alan Jad<8￿.. Okj fikns r8elts from It* Port of Llvwpod as Ynll as his Vietnam Holiday May Janel Wallace. Merno￿ ol Queen Eloabelh'$ Coronatlon in 1953 June Graharn Loach on th8 Royal Vafi8ty Performance Sept F￿n8 Mufphy.. On her Pilgrimage and retreat to the C4xnmunty D•c Helen 8yme', A Chilstmas Medtlakn'on. A mowng and r•fie¢tive meew prior to the Christmas soason. Other notabl• •vents fix 2023 were as lollows'.- March For Motherlng Sunday the Molh*8' Unkffj 'Make a Moth•rfs D8y' fundraislng Campawi receNed generous support from our coTrJregation and went towardj making a real dlffffen¢e to women ar)d Iheir lamil*s both locally arKI worlthAide. MU brings hope a￿1 practical 8upwI to miHi¢)n8 ol Fwple every ye¥ through parertffy. Illwacy and ￿￿mUnIty devdOp￿nI prowamme$. May Our branch particJpat¢d in the Diocesan MU Wave ol Prayer In May. The MU Ww4e for tyayer is a special way of conn6cb.ng MU memben with each olher around the world Ihrou9h the mintstry of prayer, Ow branch * woud Ihat rt partlcipates in this *Ave' •ach ￿ar. July Our branGh c•lebrat•d IS 70th Anniverury. Whal an •chievemert! The t¥anch wa6 slartod 1953. To m* t￿ oc¢a$ion ffthbofs •ryoyod • ddKaous Aft•mo¢Jn Tea at Ihe Red Fox and enjoyed rwnints¢ing about our Ixanch, 11$ members, past ar#J present and how times hav• Changed over thg ye￿. Octobor Shoebox Gtfts - I￿1 tranch membefs, (wrth the help of dI￿tiOnS tr￿ our congregats)nl collected rtems to enable us lo send shoebox grfts to children sn Easlefn Ewope VA th• charity Teams4u. These woukj be used as Chfislmas gffts for chthn aged Irom baknes to teens. T￿Y ar• always 9raldully recewed. November K Annual AGM wa8 held. 1)o¢•mb•r Support I(￿ the local W￿n.$ Reftjge. After an appeal at Church, very ger*r￿S fund$ were ramed by our congrngab'm aThJ Ov￿6 our local Wirral Women'$ R•lw w￿h special grfl tote toiletry bags lor ts wmien reS￿ntS al Christma$. This pracb.cal support wa8 truty apwedated and the $laff at the Refuge was W touchad and grateful for t1￿ grfts. Our br8nch conbnues to $trNe Io supw1 Ihe Refuge •ath y￿. Orwing 8aptssm Preparalion support Ihough oul year T￿￿ of our branch members SUPPKKted families dunrKJ the year as they prepared for Ihetr ch&lren's bapts'sm. blanch members pray for th98e lamilies wor to thw bapb'$m date8. In D8cwnber 2023. Lo &'rd stepped down 08 our 8rar•ch 'Nomffialed Conlact.. (She was more like ow beader realty). The Branch fomially thanked her fof all h•r hard wcyk at our We do nol currently hgve a fornial Jeader ￿J1 Helen Young agr￿ to take on the role ol nominated contad to ensure communications the Drocese and other MU neK&. She will be well $upported by our Bfanch Committee who as a whole V4ry11 c¢ntlnue lo look lo tr c¢x)tinued running and healthy future of our trnnch wh￿St upholding ¢)ur Mothefs, Unlon values and mtssion. Eunic• Blackmor• Our ZoLvn actiVTlies have continued throughout 2023, stsrt week- morning prayer MorKlays at 9 am- has •van L¥k at the next Sunday's gospel readirwJ. 3.13 Illumlnatlons R• b Sarah Loach and charf￿ Van In en The ¢001 blue and tce-whte lights on t￿ CThnmunty Centre Roof are now a ￿MianoTht fixlure along wrth the penguins anmirvJ In lo rec•ve ad￿ce al)oul thèir dlgrtal devlces from Ant Richardfjon, Dlgital InClu￿n cl4$9 h•> woved very pokKAar as well by Wlrral 3L'$. Our I￿rch run groups are varied srxl indude.. 35 Toddler Group Baby Group Indoor Bowls Singing Café Happy Reading ¢>w> Knrt and Natter Sewiry group Oasis Belrienders Carer3 group Mothers. Union Bereavement J(MJmey B(￿Ide￿5 S(tnday Club Lego Church Walking Thank you to everyor* volunteefs in the k￿c￿n. runnvwj grow￿ arKI in Ihe office. Also, lo Victoria Gleave and Jane Dalziel for their hard and dedrcalion in Ihe office. s￿111 thanks to John Potter lor 811 N8 hard work and support to us all at the Communty Cenlre. Also, to Gavin and Peter from Clean arKI Green arKI Carol Hughes and Barbara Thomas for washing ￿ many tea ltrweljl Communlty C•ntr• Party l>ooklnp: The Cenlre continuey lo be a POW*r venue for Children's part￿8 and 12 part*s w￿e held re during 2023. Famil￿ put a lol ol effort into their childien's part*s, wnetimes hin KM)gs Surte $0 their buffets are In a separale are8. The •ntertaJnmenl varies with discos. soll play or ￿￿Y hlre enlertalners. mascols or have t*￿Ie8 Such as circus S￿118 lents'ng We have had lot8 of crmed the Centre inlo 8 scer* fr¢xn the V¥fjld West fof 8 f8nt8$1ic Wild West Shindig, comF4ete wrth line danciry, jacket potat¢)es In the canfina and a bn can alley shooting raThy. Tl*re war• somé really fantastic costumes like our Wicar-tumedSheriff fty the nTrght •ThJ the Millington'g co￿00Y ouifitsl This was possibly my favourlle •venl. celebrating an amazirva lime as Ihe Rose Queen having a lot of fun, a bil of a dance, lots of laughs wrth so many new InerKlsl I had Ihe most WLYmts￿r ts.ffte over the year •ThJ ho8b.ng 6 reaHy well 8tter#Jed communty everts supported by my retinue Amy Midgley. Eva lAfjl￿n$0n. Shenaia ar J•nnilee Alahakoon, Mas¢)n Lewis and Patrick SarKlèrson arml their famihes. Togethef We raised a tremendous £4.710 for my three thosen charrtw! For m8. the biggest success of my events was beiThJ able lo welcome new faceg into the Communily Centre 35 Vlell 8$ seeiThJ sm ol OUT old fnends loo. Ilembars ol Ihé communty and Church famdy often remarked that rt was so lovely to see so many drfferent age grou together having fun at ttsse events and I coukjn'l agree morel I would say ihal this mmunlly almosphefe (as well as a lol of orgaming ￿h1nd scones!) ts what my time as Rose Queen so enjoyable and, of course. s￿lu1 tool Rai8irYd £4,710 was ab8olut8ty imrnense and I was so grateful for your generosty in donating raffle prizey, b&kN￿ lovely desserts. and also In the lime thai peort for the event 89 well. Through the 'ngo and raffle at the same tsme we raised a lantasbc £550 and lots of peopl8 atterKled. The next evenl was the Chrislmas Coffee MomvwJ. Lcts of drflerent groups *?re lrnfolved )cILKJing the Sewng Group and Knrl & Natter, We also had great supwt from local businesw supp(Kw t￿ rafflè *ith Mèn ￿ Shedg wwe also genero￿ In the Lots of drfferent people were Inv0fr￿ lo l*lp make thi3 a successful evenl Evffyorbe who attended sa#1 they had a fantastrc lime and there wére lols of new facas from the local community We raised £1.930 wthich l am wery proLKI of. 6 El•ctoral Roll Trac Evans Al lasl yea¢s Annual Parochigl CIMJrch Meets'ng member8 were advisod thal the nLmber on Roll in 2023 was 271 namès. We ¢urrenlly have 273 memberg on ts El¢dNal roll. Since the last APCM, unlortunai•ty. 7 members have passed away and one moved wt of the area, We therefor8 hav• 10 rth nK*mbN8. To ensure the accuracy of the Electoral Roll. can I remind 811 membws of the need to notrfy Ihe Elecloral Roll Olficer of any changes lo their name or contact detaA8 (address. home telèphonè numbér. motx'le nufflb￿ & email address). This can be done in a number ol ww.. by ¢ompleliThJ 8notr*r wli¢abon lomi or delalling charyas in an émail wthich can be 8•nt VH the PaTrsh Office (paI￿h0ffice@cm'sIthUr¢hhVherbebtyl0n.org.uk 38 ¢hrt•l Anr#AI R•port 2023 6Sa Th8 Pansh Safeguarding Officef {PSO). al<)fig wlh Rev. Mike Loa¢h and Mrs Victoria Gleave held a number of meetings thfoughrKrt t￿ pr•ybOUS y•ar to update th8 Safeguard¥vJ file and to complete DBS documenlab'on. The PSO has also attended a Dean￿ safeguarfing meeting ￿1C￿, it is hoped. win be the first of many, in ¢Ndef lo share go¢Jd prathce and offer advice and support lo all PSOS. Thefe e now IDur S8leguwdirbg Officers w￿rkIr￿4 for the Oloces• which is a vast improvem8nL Thé annual safeguarding audrt has b•8n COMp￿tad, and vertTral reports wegented to the PCC at apwopriate meebngs. Th6r• wtsr8 fivej report8d Safèguarding incidents during thi318gt year All have been thoroughly investsgated. recorded appropnately and if ne￿$Sary. monil¢yed carefully and confidentially. Several pern￿ne1 NKlwJing all PCC m•mber8 and any Church 8clivty knad8r8 have b88n athised lo attend Basic Safeguafding Training which at the moment can ￿lY be ¥ch*ved line. It is es8ents.al that anyone compteknng any trainjrbg, inform the Pansh Saf•guarthng Officer who ¢ontsnues lo k￿p a re¢ord of au Saf•9uarding TrainiNJ. 7 Communl En ement Officer unt51 A TII 2023 b Vi¢ki Mid I As communty engagement Wofker for Chnst Church Cwnmunily centre th8 slart of 2023 saw the continual￿n of a number ol woieas The FrKSay lunch club contsnued to run fortnightty wrth an average attendance of around 30135 peo* enjoyiNJ a hot meal and iw. 11 t>eal¢d a so￿8 ol ¢ommunty and ev8ryor• •ryoyad lh• WKldingsI The O￿lIa1 Eng89emenl provided by ￿(raI CourKil ¢￿ttinUed vAlh thé Introductlon of Improvws class for thos• warn beginning to gr(r* in confidence. Lego ¢hufch hekl monthty on a Wedrb8sday h•l>•O attracl f•nib88 fr(xn the p￿sh in to enjoy t>uadw and plenty of ￿.$￿*t9. 2023 saw t1￿ rnnniw of the 88ginMrn DIY c4XH8e, run by Men in Shedg offering to novKes bawc tips, skiH¥ and knowledge ab¢ul household DIY. The final event run b8lor• the comt4elion of the community erbgagernerrt w)ied w¥s the Ea$tef coffee m￿l￿¥j and sheep hunl Cakes, crafts ar#Y find all the Nn away sheep. th8 evenl was well allended and ￿ath•r mad• ftx a boaulrful m(xning. 8 Flnanclal Rovlew b Charl•• Van 8.1 Introduction The overall finanoal sltuation Is presented in the Financial Statements whl¢h appear as Append￿ I to this report. Tr PCC is a chanty regtstefed wllh the Commission vhmcti has créated the Charitiés SORP (AcC￿nting arKI Reporting by ch&rrt￿￿. Statement of RecommeTrJed Practi￿) Thig 9rves charllies clear guldelines on infofrnats'on to keep gnd wl)al reports lo produ￿ to meel th8ir legal obligations. The Church of England has adopted SORP as ils standard basis fof arnual fewting by parishes so that a Single sel of information and report¥ meets the requirements ol both tho Chanty c￿￿m￿*,0n (a¢ces$iNe by the general public) and the Church. The •ccounts presented hore have been prepared on an Accruals basb. 39 Thè nè9alivè elfecl of cofonavirus pandemfr¢ largety dissipaled duri￿ 2022 such that Ihe finanual JrtuatK>n now prèsents an erKouragino Ixcture apart from the gubstantial negative impad of very hwh cost$ for electrKty and gas As shcnvn on the Statement of Finanaal Acbvibes (commonly kn¢y•m as the SOFA). Ihe tcrtal Incomirb9 resowces wefe £264,566 {ol which leg¥ies contnbuled £50,1x￿ - See 5.7 below) against total èxperKlitur8 of £262,426 indudin9 depreCiat￿n of £29.150 WI￿.PaI1Y relating to the Communlty Cenlre and it8 conlents. The total funds carrtd lorward tncreased slyhtly from £1.071,435 to £1.075.413 the bulk of vthich reflec1$ Ihe capitslisation of the Community .2Da hrisl Church A slrong Q4 2023 reSu￿ed in our Operating Income ts the year usefully exc•eding our Operating ExFeThJilure desprte the subsiantsal I￿ta￿ Cost of oas and alectrKty i>)mpared lo 2022, see Note 20. The Centre's operating inciTh was shghlty d(Avn •t £34.489 Mmpared to 2022's record £37,175. This relle¢ls problems wrth Lwkn'n9$ M a Thursday morning but we are organis¥vJ a weékty Lin8 Danung èvènt to fill the vacant slot. We also received £7,954 in grairts lo dire¢lty support operatsffj costs, events and activi￿9. see Nole 8a. Wrth the building now being 12 years old, we were again faced with cosls of ￿pairn, refuthshmenls and mprovements lotallin9 £9.055,' see Note 8b This ccwèred an upgrade lo the acces8 conlrol system. vari¢yJ8 rep&ts lo the l¥htsfwJ and a new w•ter b￿1¢1 in t kitchen Howevef. the mosl stnking figure in the of the 2023 accoLrts is Ihe cost of ectncity for the Communrty Centre at £19.900. Thts 1$ triplè what it was a few years ago. Electricrty used to drtve the air source heat pump$ whi¢h heal the bulldlng. Afthough w• have Increased the level ol User Contribut￿n5, this vhll nol cover Ihe high cost of ele•. do nol to fall ￿1111 lator in 2024. Thr(xvJh Kate Lws and Vlcki Mi55 to Communty Centre income as shown in Nol• .5 Inv08tm•nts. Soe Nots 15 In th• Annual A¢counts Tr* value of the PCC'S investment in The CBF Church of ErYJland Inve8tm•nt Fund Income Sharos thè Fabnc FuTrJ Incr¢as•d by 9%10 £19,091. Th• inv•strn8nt to support WLYk in 40 Ihe chwchy8rd and church grounds Increased simdaty to £2,281. However, the dividend Kom• from the Mo t*obJings tolalled £583. 8.6 Le aci93 Mary Garland, dl•d M 11 July 2023. 18ft Chnst Church Higher 8ebln9ton the of £50.0(K) 'for the gerwal Pufposes of the churth". We expe¢1 to receive the money during Q2 X124. On the Balance Sheel, rt is shown as a deblor. In recent Y￿5, legaws have enaljled us ￿ complete many worthwtÈil8 bul expensive project8. .7 R984rv98 Poli Given that our Grad&11 listed church bufidirvJ is over 180 year3 old. rt is PCC pollcy to maintain a balance in the Fabric Reserve a¢￿Unts of at leasl £10,000 in cash lo ¢ov•r emergency srtuatlons ¢￿pIed +Mlh the cwca £20,C(M) holdirvJ in The CBF CIMxch of England Inveilment FIKMI In￿rn Shar•s *fiich are easity reahgable rf req￿'red. rward Guidanc It is ant￿IPated that. given the posilive oUtC￿ne of our Autumn 2023 Thanksgivs Campaign and wKre8ses to User Contributions for the Communrty Centre. the overall operaling income In 2024 will match of exceed that of 2023. HU¥￿Ver. we are faced with 8xcepts.onal enefgy costs for the church heatir¥J (ga3) and eleth'cty in the Communty Centre. However, whi￿1 energy costs are expeded lo abate durin9 2024 rt is cl•ar tIHt tho PCC will rbeed lo draw on rts reserves to maintain ils faulrtie$ to a hyh Sta￿lard and to continue to delivef the WKle range of sevrficej. activtt*$ and *4enls a$ descriw el8ewh•fe In this report INhilsl th• PCC is w811 able to meet ils financial Obl￿allonS in 2024. it WAI nood to cwefulty monrtor income and experKlilure durifWJ the year aThJ be feady to take any necessary $tep5 to avoKJ excejsive rehgnce on exl$tlng feswves and legacies. The Chwch of England is deVek*pH￿ its Klea$ to dglwer Net Zero by 2030 arKI we We beginnlng lo ¢onwder how b8$t we can contn'buie to this goal in HigI￿r 8elJryton. .9 Acknowfed ments and thank My thanks are due lo Barbara Thomas for monrtorirg the standing orders (and watching ov th6 interest-free loan portfolio), Michael Blackbum lor recording envelope 9lving, I many sidespeople who assist wslh counting Ihe cash on SvThday momings, all those vh eounl Ihe cash arising from our many s￿141 in4tsative8 d￿1Th3 the week in the Centre, Jim Wallace for standing in duriry my holidays. Bev Pn'ce lor running the 100Club. lh• Churclhyardens for maintaining a genéral 0￿r8￿h1 arKI lo Jan8t Wallace fo( again being our Independent Examiner to ensure thal we meet all the requiremenls of Ihe Charty Commi￿[￿ and Ihe Churd) of Engl￿1. And finaly to Terry Cunnlngham handles the thallen9kn9 lask of purchasing arml managing the suppkn'es of Q￿r￿rtY afKI gas through the Church ol England Pansh Buying Scheme: also for keepiTrJ the Treasurer inlom)ed ￿ thal Ihe direct debils Irom Tot Ener9les appeanrwj on the bank slatements donl cc*me as loo much of a shock. 8.10 Chan e$ to Pro¢•8se Dunng 2023 we cont11￿￿ to uge MyFundAccounh'ng, a speafic software pa¢kage Ircmn the well48tabltshed Wofveth¥npton-ba￿ e4)mpany. Data D8velorThnts. This softsvare rung "on the CIoLwJ' and so is avali alAe on any $uil4ble intemet enabled comwter. The dala is Woless￿na￿Y backed Up and aspects ol the syslem can be made accessibl8 to a raro8 of people The $ofvaf• is recognised by Chester Diocese who have a deal with Dala Developmerts wrth the fesult Ihal we eryoy a spec￿1 l¢yw monlNy ¢haf90. 41 IYA We still bank wrth HSBC. How8ver, OLK local branch ¢n Ttr4m Lane, Higher Be￿.ngEl)n. closed few years ago and in July 2023 Ihe Brombofough branch also dosed. The nearest HSBC lyanches are in 8•￿enhead and Chester, tr*re are no othor HS8C brar*he$ on V¥frrral. deposit cash and ch8ques through local Post Offices. Thi's is not as convenienl 05 using •n HSBC branch as the P08t Office will only accept coin in full bags and, on occasion, have been relLKlaTrl to accew w volumes of c￿Tr8. A180, u*ry Post Offiw in the run-up to Christrna8 is not Kl•al. Th• rethjcry acceplats.lty ol cheque8 and the a880c￿t•d bank charp88 Tr￿n that we w be looking fUrtI￿r at MOVI￿ to online banking during 2024. PToposal$ will be brought fffward io thè PCC for discus*on artl apwoval. Lon9er tenn cash depo%ts we hekl thrO￿h CCLA Inveslmerf M8nagemenl'8 Chufch ol England Deposrt Fund, H¢ywevW, CCLA'S Fxo¢e$sas lintèmiinabl8 loms) - designed they Say lo prevent money laurwjering - milrtate against movements of balances away from HSBC lyjl we V•iN make greater ellrwts in 2024 to take advantsge ￿ higlw rales of inlereit available. The 'ca8Ness s￿. As well as b8iTrJ able to accèpt oTrline donatior￿ via SUM-UP. we can a¢cw tn person donations by card or Smartphone using a SUM-UP card reader Many p￿pIe now no lor carry cash and so this B an H￿p￿an1 developmenl lo secvre incorne for 6ventS 8t Ihe Cenlre. PCC fees etc. AJs0. during December, we installed a PAYA2 machine at Ihe church ¢nlrance to take electronlc payments. This is pnncipalty ol ad¥ania9è at special services Such as baptisms. weddings and funerals when people from outside t1￿ usual congregati atterKI. Overall. income through oTrline rouleg totalled £5,4CKI durin9 2023, Structtire ov•manc• and mana •ment The method of 8ppoinlrnenl of PCC member$ Is set t)ul in the Churth Rew•sortalion Rulos. All Ihose vtho attend ¢xtt serrfic8s I mémi*rs ol the congr•gation are enc4Juraged to join t Eledoral Roll and lo consider Stsnding for the PCC. PCC members are resp￿sible for makn.ng decisions on all matters ol general concern and IMp￿￿nCe lo the pansh induthn9 how the funds ol t￿ PCC are lo b• swt. 10 Rl8k hlana ement The PCC conlinu8s lo id￿tify and manage Ihe ri8k8 whith *ise from the day-l¢Aay athvilieg of Chn¥t Ch4Kth Hvjher Betswton The PCC ¢ate9Qfts•S rlsks that fac• Clv*t Church Hyher 8th'ngton the foll*Mng heath"ngs: Fln4nclal - Risks felatlng to the fiscal aclivrties of the PCC and the management of tl financial affalrs of Chnst Church Higher Beljngton. The8e risks include those apFAicable to best Uge of the PCC'S finanual resources, the aVaIlat￿lty of funds and nsk ol fraud. All cheques (and all new dired detst rnand3les> rth7uir8 two Signatures. Authorised by Ihe PCC. ttr￿re are four syr￿10r1es. Vicar, Churchwarden8 and Treasurer. Any move tOW8rds online t)4nking will nee<1 to be c8re(ulty con>N*red to ensure thal controls ale in HMRC has ngorou$ •dministrats've wocesges surrourKling Grft Aid tax redalms. To ensw• thal we only claim the Grfi AMI lo *ttich we ar• enlllled. our Pledge Frffi)s include the Gffl AKJ declaration. We daim Gfft Aid on a monthly basis using HMRC'S onlw* redaim sy$tem. We wovhje HMRC wrth monlhly infomation ab￿rt salaries paid lo part4im• staff through t￿.1 on4v* Real Time Inf￿rna￿.0n 8y81em- 88 RTI. 42 Clv* Churth ￿. R•port 2023 Stratsglc and Operallonal - Risks rel•tmg io Il* Y40y in PCC undertakes the activilies of Chnst Church H￿her 8etsngton, The PCC has dèveloped poknc￿ for.. Safeguarding, Health a Safety, Environmentsl, Equal OpportunilJ88 and Lone Wlorkefs. These are kepl under wular review so that ttw can be arnen{￿ in the h'ght ¢1 thawng neèds, emergmbg best wactice guidelir*$ and statutory rè9ulats'ons. Governance & Regulatlon - RL8ks relatlng lo extemal fadors whlch 8ffed the act1v1￿9 of Chrisl Churth Highef Betsnglon 3nd the regulatory environmenl In which we operaie Reputatlonal - Risk8 relating lo image arKI perceptim of Cfvffjl Chw(* Hlgt BebiTrglon in the WKler community The PCC main1am￿ careful ov•rsKJht of Ihe bThps. activrti•8 and ewnl$ that owaté u its aegis and authorises appropnate leaders. The PCC is particularty conscious of ts 1fthe￿nI ieputstsonal nsks of websQes a¢¢￿ metha generalty a￿1 takes steps io ensure that proper control i8 exercised 43 Appendlx I Christ Church Higher Bebington PCC Flnanclal Statemontj for tho y•ar endlng 31 D•cember 2023 Contents G•D•r•l lrt1omi•lloft StJtsm¢nt of PCc￿ rmpo￿lb￿llo lrnd•p•nd•nt Ex•rnln•rf¥ Report 8tst•m•nt Ol Fln•ThcW A¢ll¥ltl•• ISOFAI Il¢ts• to th• A¢Munl• Irwming Reyxwces Not• 4 N￿•5 No¢e 8 Not• 7 Note 8 Church RwMlng Exp•n*•¥ Rytrs •K1 Imprtylw￿ Upkeep ol church￿￿1 Not• 10 11 Nth12 Nole 13 N￿e 14 L)•btors Nol• 15 1ft￿l￿nts NoE• 16 C•th at Note• 17 18 Ci•ditor¥ Not• 19 Gf•rt$ P&d Grnnts R•cel¥*d So¢￿1 Efforts xl xl Note 20 Conlinuir4 tyr•llw Rowrt Chrlst Church Hlgher Bebington General Informatlon *A¥OC￿l• Mlnl*t•r P•rbh Offic• c￿rI*S Vw 1 8l*•*y P R* J•tWIV4•lLv 11 lIr￿1 W￿11 CFffj3 Y HSBC p 47 E4*J*i• ¥W••t 011￿￿$ PCC Q•rw* Acctyjrt 014&3917 C4mrnn¢y C•ntr• 61043JS8 P1W¥￿ 1043374 ICQ Cth kco¢Jni 71o$9B98cryr*N￿ C•Mr• C•pl•l **K4¥Jrt S1070•16 F•trt C111 IXYI CCLA1th*8tyMon¢ Lld CB3022OlSOOt F•bvk P*w tr• C4mmunty Cwtr•l. QLI IJZ Stal•rn•nt of th• PCC'• R¢spon•lbllltl•s for th• pr•par•llon ol th• Fln4nclal Statements Th• Chwth Re￿181￿* 20CkJ •nd lh• Clwwes Act 2011 requkn• m•fftys olth• PCC lo •par• financ￿ Ill em•ni lof each finafKial year v4hKh 9N• • trut gnd f8w ol the slat• ol aÈr5 of Chnsi Chuffjh High¢r BobIn9i￿ PCC ond ol Incom•¥ r•s¢vr¢*$ •nd tho applic8tKJn of r•*ourc•i In Ih¢ y¢w •r#l•d. In w¢pwing thes• 8t*m•nl*. ff*mbwJ of PCC w• r•w*•d lo". Seled 5Urtablo acuunlin poklos and then apfty Ihern constsiknty Make r4J usimeni$ es 8tes that ar• ¥••wn•ble and Frfwjenl h• fm•tKlal stat¢m•ntJ ￿ th• Im5•￿ tt ll knspwwl•l• trj Ihe PCC Cont￿ opornt# Thè ol th• PCC •rn r•wort•ble K¢ura Ihai lh• fin•f#J•l ¥1• Act2011. Ibl• I kng f•wrd$ dl8do8e h enabl• Ilwn 10 ¢tMur¢ PCC S ¢¢•nPty TAh PCC m•mb•rs •rn •1￿ r•sponthlo kx tr* •ss•ts ¢1 th• PCC and honc4 k*1• asonablo Sty lryth• pr•w)tM)n and d•tKkn Ind ￿ trr•gu**s. Ih#• I¢<￿ **r• w•p•rnd ty the Trn**M•r lo th• Paffjrtd•l CPwrch Cl￿￿1. Pffj•l Independ•nt Examlnorfs Report to the Parochlal Church Council of Chr5st Church Hlgher Beblngton l *• I￿j￿￿ 91 ty¥• Cgmrth P•10th￿ CW Coul￿1 IPCQ >••r JI DK•hbw2O22 R••p•dv• R••poftBlbllltb•• ol thp P•r•¢hl•l Courtll Ind th• h￿•Pl￿d•nt Ex•mln•f m•rnb•rs Parvtr•¢ Ch￿th C¢thcrf •r• th• Iroty1￿ Ctkwly> *r• reIpty￿ fty pr•p•r•iv rfv ctywtt•. Th• Pw¢¢hW Church Cour4 a¥4Otrrs itsi •r* •tyJl * npt 119md 141111 olth• A 2011 ftt* 2011 •NI bl•1 w* * n••th n L* my tts,. I1* •tthJNA Lwthr 145 2011 .1¢4w tm rKoc•dw Iwl wly wthr••c41￿ 1451•4bl qllh 2011 8#•h ol kthp•nd4rf Ex&mln•rf• R•port .*tt••p IYlofth• 2011 Aci. •r#l Vfvr .Jl M¥¢h 2024 Statement of Financial Actlvotles Foi th• y••r •nd•d 31 D*¢•mb•i 202J *? II•E SIW1 -S6MI 2140 ppJ7¥ roll￿9 Totsl lund• carrt•d I0￿4rd YJ1171 166735 107541) Balance Sheet AS at 31 Decembor 2023 i) W4•1 •n i¥ 21351 iJ• Mt9>2 IJ •17V i• Totol N4t As80ts 208678 866735 1075413 WTM C Fund• Total PCC Fund• 208678 866735 107S413 w9¢Jl G*rl•NI d•t• Q2 2024 •• •0** 140ts• to th• F￿￿nCIal 8￿t￿￿rA9 Fw th• y••r •nd•d 31 D•wnb•r 2023 1 *£¢•wthg Polbeb•• IJ Ir4*1w IJ Fl¥•dA•••l• Nol•• 10 th• A¢¢ourt• 2 Incoml R•*our¢•• 1•17• J)•1 1141• 11•42 4 W4 Imi J4i•D 47411 3••M• Swi iY471J Nol•• lo th• A¢¢ounts J R•••ur¢M &p•nd•d 414• NotM lo th• Aeeounts14- 71 2141 E*t*W49 1191•• t• 1h•A¢¢I￿n1• I C•nts• R•wl l*lud•• StrA¢•l ii 41 9 ChuvGh MuwB•ffl•nt & Ad￿￿*￿•￿0n 10 Grnnts Pald 17 11 Gr•nts Infofm•tl 12 Spttl•l Effor1• In¢M Notes to the Accounts 15 Investsnents ov•m•nts lfi th¢ y•*r. li*IOl¥¥Jè at 1 202Y M•r*•l v¥lu• at 31 D•¢•mb•r 2023 21351 O•iall• •1 I￿¢ )1 0•¢ 1¢ l•*rfc Fw •M.fy* 22A 213S1 16 Cash at 8ank 01480 01486917 8101JX• 6104JJ74 Jv 2125 126•• •*Jx SIQ70D11 C8 X23QIXQI OJ2 497WJ 111731 CD 302J117￿1) Note• to the A¢¢ount• INot• 17 - Cr•ditors: Amounts falllng duo withln ono y•ar Wo7k PCC 85t 1010 I￿¢ 171 IJO 4) fy•r41 41 117 T•i*l Cv•diro $91) 32MI 917•1 1623¥ INote 18- Cr•dltorn: Amounts falllng du• 2 to 10 y••rn ￿¢1￿*1 ClwJNlb IIAI•M•¢4rn• Lov• T•V#J OUt*g TrkJ 'Cknkng ts*l¥K• *131 D•¢•M￿ 2423 Note• to tho A¢counts Ji 701*1 PCC 10714J4 264MI • 107541J Note 20 Th1• p•p MtIMr* p•rtoFlh•knA O•y-ltrth GEIIEIiAL ACCOUNT kncom• 11•7 1373J7 44 71n7 717• VI￿ Op•r•Urq exwndmy lJ6201 113• f- endix11 Administrative information Christ Church Higher 8ebinglon is slluated in ￿N91 Road. 8èbl1¥i￿. Wffral CH63 8LL11 II Part of Ihe DKKue ol Che51¢r the Chwch ol EwlJThJ. Pansh Olllce. Chrlst Chufch Cornn￿￿￿Y Céntr•. 'ng$ Ro•J, H¥her Bebington. v￿rTaI CH63 8LX The PCC Vd a Luty gyporate {PCC Powerg Megyure 1956, Church RWesentst1￿ RLth 2011) •nd1g a clwty f•giSlef•d thé Chafity C¢)mmisS￿1n k¥ Eng*rnJ & Wales Irél. 1132356) Connected Cha Informatlon The Vrar and Churctrhv8rdens are the Iruslees olthe Ch￿ty., Ch￿ty Commi¥s r•f233412. Pl•fflb•r•hl of th• PCC: Up to th• Annu•l Paroc1￿ Church h•ld on 7th Il•y 2023.. Revé MIC￿81 G LoKh- Vlcar And Ch•irrrwt Re¥d E4tnre 81￿kn￿- MiTrstw Revd George Roach . Cura* Gary Shaw- Churthwarden Iw Mry- Ch(wctAvarden Hden 8yrn• Rhona Snel¥ f&sMfallYes oll Tery Cunningh8m J￿e DaLz*l - as PCC S•crelary Jun• 2022 SarKlr¥ Evar Trxy Evans Mwk Gle8ve Kate L*M$ W￿1¢Y1a MKIgI¢y MAllw1￿- r•4b8cl•d as Lw VlcfrCh•knwn (8h Juno 2022) Paul PrKe Ch•rl¢s Van Inw- wpwxnt•d aj PCC Trw¥urw 2Q221 Fm th• Annu•l P•ro¢hl•l Ch4Keh M••llng h￿d on 7th M•y 2023." Revd M￿hael G Loa¢h- Vl¢8r and Chwmwn Revd Eunlce BlacknKfe- Assoclato Mlnlst•f Revd Geory48 Roach- Cuiate JUM 8kkl)rd - chUrctr￿ard•n I￿ Muw- Chuthwwde Hdén Byrnè ltydia Gibson Mafk Gléav F￿￿4 Murphy PAkn4￿.. 10 {• S SoKWthr20231 Te(ry CL￿nI1￿d￿arn Jwbe Dalz￿l - 88 PCC Soryètary 10 W 2023 Sandra Evans TTXY Ev￿$ K*e Ltr*ls 27 s•￿1*•f2023l Vlcttyia MKlgley Milliwton- coW*J and fe4lected 10 Mty 2023 Paul Pri¢e- ¢o•ed on 10 May 2023 Chwlos Ing•n- cowled arrfj re•wnted Js PCC on 10 May 2023 &knl(rtd.' 9 (a 27 S•Mw*•r20231 f8 5 Seplerrtw 2023 IT 27 S•p(•mtsw2023 Chufchwanl• At Ihe Tr￿e￿n9 of PCC h•kl ￿ 10 2023. tho fr￿k￿l￿j people wwe appwted Dewty Churthwrnrdeos. Rose Rogers Done Sh Gory Sh•v oln John ￿$Son Terry CUnn￿￿￿n Rob E¥8n8 Tracy Ev• Anwth Falr OavKI Gib Ny JMI Lo* Barb¥r¥ Mw¥ern Flona Murphy J￿yth R•nton Diane Shaw Rhona Snelson Mike Thom• Jonel W4ll•ce JIM Wallac• LwKla V¥hit• Y￿r Ind• nd•nt Examlnor Janel Wallace iRè.apptyni•d at its APCM h•hJ May 2023 On 10kn May 204 th• new PCC follovAng the 2023 APCM ¢onfimi•d th• followlng: 11JIChJb Orwls Chibj Protedw •n¢J Safegu•rdlrwJ OffK¢r D￿ne Shww Chufch ￿￿b￿"t￿ ¢tsordinator Jull8 Eco Church Develowixnt Jgn Hollin5he•a Eknloral Rdl Trw Evans Flag Captain Sarah L LoKh GDPR co￿raina10f lan O Miiithgton Parish Legw Off lan D Wllwigbn R•cordef- CcmmLmity Cèntré Loans & Lump Sum DOnalkY￿ Btknara Thon Recordw- (h9an PrA*cl Lo•n$ & Lump Swn Bart•ra Thornas R•c¢yd•f- Envelopos A￿￿der- StaTrJiry Ordef¥ Rel*1 c￿nI Sup8piffjar S&￿ty & Seojnfy Off Social Mthjla Ctrordlnakn¥ (•xe•pl CCHB Vesty Team Le•Jer Barbara Thom89 Jlffl Vlallace To be arrnngod R•vd Mrhèel Dwe Shaw Auihorts•d r•pr•￿tal￿o 4Jl CCHB to dèal w#h HMRC f•gardl PAYE IWKI RTI) and Grfl Aid redain AuthorMd f•pr•4•ntth• ol CCH8 to dul wlth lh• P•r￿￿ Reguktor Aulhonsed repre¥erfatr*e ol CCHB lo de•1 wtth the Charty Comrrnsslon for Eft91￿d & Wa￿$ ALrth￿Sed reyesenl¥trrfe ol CCHB lo ¢JMI wth SUMUP and G￿ A Lltllè {¢)nkn• 9bvm9) PCC TfeOSLrn Auth0n￿d to ntyobal• érffjy eonlracts T•fry Th• n•w PCC foll¢ythF¥J the APCM al80 ￿nfirn￿d c0mpxltK￿ of th• folb>*vig bodie8 *1 ol ¥thi¢kn n to Ihe PCC lan Muftay (Chainnanl Terry Cwrbin9ham {Secr¢t•ryl lan Carr Rob Evang Révd m￿ha•1 G Lt)* Algn JKkson Chath Van lTrgen (Charn) Shwla Clathe MBE J•n• Datzièl {C•rrtre AlTh￿IStrator) Revd MKh8d Lo8ch Safah Loxh Icontre Suwth) lan Murray Chan• Sl Vth MKlgley (Charn) Helen Byme S¥oh Lo¥h Cosette IAilingl MIHinglt bby Pgttef Stephen lon Icharnn) Teny Curmingh•m an Ja¢&son ha & Fundratsin Roy M8yef8 {ChshTmanl Mark Glèave ISeu*ary) Revd Eun￿ Blackn Jane Oak*i Gary Sha Paul Pr Th• PCC aulh)rMI IP* paStora￿c¥ inl•tlv•8'. Inltiatlv• BeTeaven*rt Support Grcwp BouhJ•rs Group ny5 8 88b Care¢s' lknp Chfi5tm8s Lunch Church Waffting Gftyjp Cty)ne¢t Calè Happy R•ading Gr￿P lTrJoor 8￿5 l(nrt & Naltef Just Se* LU￿ C￿b Oasts Mentsl Heallh Supixrt