2023-12-31-accounts - The Parochial Church Council Of The Ecclesiastical Parish Of Richmond With Hudswell

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St Mary’s Church, Richmond with St Michael and All Angels Church, Hudswell Annual Report 2024

For the Period January to December 2023

St Mary’s Church, Richmond with St Michael and All Angels Church, Hudswell

Aims and purposes

St Mary’s Church, Richmond with St Michael and All Angels Church, Hudswell Parochial Church Council (PCC) has the responsibility of co-operating with the Incumbent, the Reverend Canon Martin Fletcher, in promoting the ecclesiastical parish, the whole mission of the church, pastoral, evangelistic, social, and ecumenical to the people of the town of Richmond and the village of Hudswell. The PCC is also specifically responsible for the maintenance of St Mary’s Church, Richmond and Hudswell churchyard.

The Wider Church

The United Benefice of Richmond with Hudswell and Downholme and Marske is in the episcopal area of Ripon under the Bishop of Ripon, The Right Reverend Anna Eltringham within the Diocese of Leeds.

Objectives and Activities

Worship in the churches has continued and developed, based on regular, mainly eucharistic services with the addition of non-eucharistic services particularly directed to all ages from young to old. Retired, visiting and Licensed Lay Ministers provide a major contribution to our services.

The PCC is committed to enabling as many people as possible to worship at our church and to become part of our parish community. The PCC maintains an overview of worship throughout the parish and makes suggestions on how our services can involve the groups that live within our parish. Our services and worship put faith into practice through prayer and scripture, music and sacrament.

When planning our activities for the year, we have considered the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit, and particularly the supplementary guidance on charities for the advancement of religion.

We try to enable ordinary people to live out their faith as part of our parish community through:

Worship and prayer; learning about the gospel; developing their knowledge and trust in Jesus.
Provision of pastoral care for people living in the parish.
Missionary and outreach work.

To facilitate this work, it is important that we maintain the fabric of the church of St Mary’s Richmond.

Achievements and performance

Worship and prayer

We continue to welcome all who wish to attend our regular services. This includes Sundays, major feast days and some weekdays. On Sundays the 8am Holy Communion continues to use the Book of Common Prayer (1662) pattern. On the first Sunday in the month we have our ‘informal’ noneucharistic Morning Worship which is inclusive of all ages whilst during the rest of the month we have our eucharistic Parish Communion at 10am. We also offer Fun-Key Church, Café Church and Choral Evensong.

We have regular mid-week Communion Services each Wednesday at St Mary’s and Thursday at Holy Trinity Chapel. Morning Prayer takes place at 8.30am every Tuesday to Friday at St Mary’s.

Many of our services and occasional offices are live streamed and available online via YouTube and Zoom or by telephone for those who prefer this method thus opening up our worship to a wider audience around the world as well as to those who are unable to attend our services in person.

St Mary’s Church, Richmond with St Michael and All Angels Church, Hudswell

As well as our regular services, we enable our community to celebrate and thank God at the milestones of the journey through life. Through baptism we thank God for the gift of life; in marriage, public vows are exchanged with God’s blessing; through funeral services friends and family express their grief and give thanks for the life that is now complete in this world and commend the person into God’s keeping. During 2023 we celebrated 10 baptisms, 1 wedding and held 25 funerals. We also provided ministers for 20 funerals and cremations outside the parish.

The Rector’s involvement in the community includes being trustee of various local charities, acting as Chaplain to Richmond Town Mayor, the Company of Fellmongers, the Company of Mercers, Grocers and Haberdashers, the Richmond branch of the Royal British Legion and to the Green Howards Association.

We keep the church open for visitors and for private prayer during daylight hours and there is a votive candle stand for those who wish to light a prayer candle.

St Michael and All Angels’ Church, Hudswell was formally closed following resolution of access across a privately owned field. The vision is that the church will become a hostel for walkers and cyclists visiting the Yorkshire Dales.

Fabric and Churchwardens’ Report

Significant events during the year:

Replacement of pressure management system in the boiler room to cope with continuing leakage from central heating system. The site of the central heating leakage has not been identified. Chris Upton, our boiler advisor, suggests living with it for the moment until it gets worse and declares itself.
Theft of lead flashing from roof. Lead flashing replaced and roof alarm installed.
Gutters and gullies cleared. Ivy cut back from south-east corner of the church and the associated downpipe unblocked.
Downpipe in Holy Trinity Church unblocked.
With the help of the scouts, volunteers, Mark Walling and John Gill, two areas to the north of the church have been rotavated and planted with seed and bulbs. Results disappointing to date but it is early days. Rachel Richards from Buglife is championing the cause and will liaise with local schools.
Planning permission obtained and noticeboard now installed on Station Road wall by the south entrance. It has been a great success. Thank you, Andy Lovell.
Original church noticeboard on Station Road refurbished by John Challis now with the correct details of the Rector. Refurbishment of noticeboard on Church Wynd in progress.
Faculty approved for step free access to the south door including relocation of ancient memorial stones. Ongoing discussions with the Diocese regarding the accessible car park in the Rectory Garden. Fundraising in progress.
Suggestion that we move the stone font sitting in front of the north aisle pews to a more visible position outside the south door as part of the rearrangements there. Jane Hatcher informs us that it was retrieved from the churchyard in 1890 where it had been used to catch water from a spring. Jan Beaton suggested we plant it with mediaeval flowers and herbs to point to and reflect on its heritage. Minuted PCC approval would be required to move it.
Satisfactory fire inspection, save for pointing out the need for more regular recordings of smoke alarm tests.

St Mary’s Church, Richmond with St Michael and All Angels Church, Hudswell

Satisfactory Portable Appliance Testing and safety testing of the entire electrical circuitry apart from minor work needed to the lights in the organ loft and boiler room and the switch in the disabled access toilet and the need to record monthly testing of the emergency lighting. The repairs have been booked in.
Quinquennial Inspection due in the next 12 months. Awaiting the date from our Diocesan approved architect.
The entire carpet has been cleaned. Thank you, Friends, for paying for this.
The mammoth task of updating the Terrier register of church assets is virtually complete thanks to Wendy.

David Frankton’s extraordinary work for St Mary’s, both visible and behind-the-scenes continues unabated. We have so many reasons to be thankful to him.

The Churchwardens would also like to express their gratitude to the team of welcomers and stewards, as well as to those on the church closing rota, the coffee rota, the servers’ rota, the readers and intercessors, the choir and organists and those on the AV rota. Also, to those involved with cleaning the church. We are very grateful to Leonard Scrafton who has taken on the cleaning of the Green Howards Chapel as well as Holy Trinity Chapel. There are so many others who give their time and energy to the church and all are much appreciated, but additional volunteers are always welcome.

This year we have paid a fond farewell to our Assistant Curate Paul Sunderland and his wife Jeanette and wish them well in Kirkbymoorside and look forward to welcoming our new Assistant Curate Lorna Heatley in June 2024. Thank you to our Rector Martin, our retired Ministers, Lay Readers, FunKey organisers and others for taking on Paul’s roles so ably and willingly in this interim period.

Pastoral Care

The Pastoral Team meet every 6 weeks to consider those who may need pastoral support and who would be best placed to provide that support. Pastoral care is undertaken in many ways across the church and our community: practical assistance from The Happy Bodgers, bereavement support through After The Cards and individual prayer support via the Prayer Circle and pew sheet, listening, visiting and home communion. The team has also supported the annual All Souls-tide Service of Light which is much appreciated by those who attend. We regularly review the support we provide to ensure it always meets pastoral needs.

Education

The links with the CofE Primary School, Trinity Academy Richmond, and the joint CofE and Roman Catholic Secondary School, St Francis Xavier School (SFX), continue to flourish. The Rector sits on the local governing body of each school and members of our congregation are foundation governors at both of the schools.

At SFX we have continued to work closely with the school chaplaincy co-ordinator, and we have seen pupils increasingly involved in the creating and planning of activities and whole school worship. We have welcomed pupils to services in St Mary’s and the Rector and Curate are regular visitors to the school. It has been delightful to watch the children grow in their own personal faith and follow the ethos of the school.

We conduct collective worship at the Primary School every Tuesday and the school community is welcomed at St Mary’s for special services and visits throughout the year.

St Mary’s Church, Richmond with St Michael and All Angels Church, Hudswell

Mission and Evangelism

The mission of the church is in part provided through the regular worship and work of the clergy and laity of the parish including the PCC.

Support for the activities of the church elsewhere include support for the Children's Society through an annual Christingle service. The monthly ‘Charity of the Month’ voluntary retiring collection continued successfully throughout 2023 to support both British and international charities.

Representatives of the Church are trustees of local Charity Trusts and are members of the local Town Council.

Ecumenical Relationships

The formal organisation Churches Together in Richmond was wound up some years ago, although most of the joint activities within the Christian communities in Richmond have continued much as previously.

Activities in 2023 included a shared meal in the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity and a Good Friday Walk of Witness.

Richmond Churches continued to provide food contributions for the StoreHouse foodbank.

Other Groups and Organisations

A Thursday morning Toddlers Group continues to meet in the Methodist Church Hall catering for children up to 5 years old and their adult carers. Refreshments and a warm welcome are provided by a team from Richmond Methodist Church and St Mary’s.

The Mothers Union continues as an active integral part of parish life with various events including (as The Belles of St Mary's) providing refreshments for parish events. Primulas are distributed on Mothering Sunday. We supported all the Mothers Union appeals, donated to the warm Hub at the Methodist Church (including members volunteering regularly) and the Colburn village hub. Christmas and Easter gifts were given to residents at the Beacon.

A book group has been set up and meets monthly to study various Christian books. Poetry and Puds meets monthly to reflect on a wide variety of poetry, with the bonus of puddings.

The Ladies group meets on the last Friday of each month at the Morro Lounge in Richmond Market Place. “After the Cards” meets on the first Wednesday of the month also in the Morro Lounge to provide support for bereaved people.

The regulars of the “Yarns” knitting group continue to meet at The Restaurant at Greyfriars, on Flints Terrace, Richmond on Friday mornings and welcome occasional visitors.

A Men’s Group has been established and meets on the evening of the first Thursday of the month in the Town Hall pub in Richmond Market Place.

Community Links

Within the broader community, concerts and other events were held during the year in St Mary's by Richmond Choral Society, the Station Singers, the Swaledale Festival, Reeth Brass Band, The Richmond Books and Boots Festival, Richmond School, Trinity Academy Primary School and the Band of the Royal Armoured Corps.

St Mary’s Church, Richmond with St Michael and All Angels Church, Hudswell

Safeguarding

There were no safeguarding issues to report.

Safeguarding has been actively adhered to for many years, in line with Diocesan guidelines. Efforts are made to ensure that all taking part in, and particularly those organising, church activities are aware of their responsibilities and trained appropriately. Actions include featuring safeguarding on the home page of the church website, making information on appropriate contacts for anyone needing support more readily available, recording the roles undertaken by members of the congregation and identifying who has had safeguarding training and at what level, and/or DBS clearance. A team headed by the Safeguarding Officer keep track of all relevant information via the Diocesan Safeguarding Dashboard and report to the PCC on a regular basis.

Financial review

Our annual accounts have been prepared using the Receipts and Payments method.

This report illustrates our financial position at our year-end 31st December 2023:

Total receipts	£ 154,416
Total payments	£ 138,423
Our total financial assets at the end of the year were	£ 123,874
Comprising
HSBC bank accounts	£ 52,351
Investment Fund shares held with CCLA	£ 71,523

Receipts

The church’s day-to-day running costs could not be met without those people who give financially on a regular basis. We would like to express our thanks to those who continue to support us in this way as regular planned giving helps parishes with their financial stability. The £62,616 received in 2023 represented 50% of the amount being received into the church’s General Fund.

Planned giving via bank standing order and charity accounts decreased slightly in 2023, but this was due to the greater utilisation of the Parish Giving Scheme (PGS). In fact, during 2023 the number of donors giving via this system doubled. It would be advantageous to the Treasurer if more of our regular donors, as well as any new donors, would consider joining the PGS.

Restricted income amounted to £13,344, the majority being funds received into our Fabric Fund in relation to both the installation of a defibrillator and the theft of lead from the church roof.

Payments

This year the Diocesan Parish Share Request was £95,280 (1.9% lower than in 2022) and the PCC were able to make a contribution of £81,000, but this only represented 85% of the total. The Parish Share Request is our contribution to funding clergy stipends, housing and pensions and the resources to maintain ministry and mission across the Diocese of Leeds.

Outcome

The net result for the year was an excess of receipts over payments (i.e. a surplus) of £17,203 on unrestricted funds. However, £13,490 of this was received into our Designated Step-free Access Fund. On restricted funds there was an excess of payments over receipts (i.e. a deficit) of £1,210.

St Mary’s Church, Richmond with St Michael and All Angels Church, Hudswell

Including bank and deposit balances, the unrestricted funds available at the end of 2023 was £52,531, an increase of 9.5%. The value of investments (in restricted and unrestricted funds) increased by £6,198 (9.4%) as compared with the end of 2022.

Reserves policy

It is PCC policy (in line with Diocesan recommendations) to aim to maintain a balance on unrestricted funds that equates to at least three months’ unrestricted payments to smooth out fluctuations in cash flow and to meet emergencies. This is equivalent to £25,000. The cash balance of £52,531 held in unrestricted funds at the year-end more than adequately meets these aims.

Volunteers

We would like to thank all volunteers who make our church the place of peace and rest that it is. They demonstrate their realisation of the importance of the sustainability of the mission and ministry of the church within the communities of Richmond and Hudswell.

Deanery Synod Report

Synod acts as an intermediary between the Parochial Church Councils of each parish in its Deanery and the Synod of the Diocese as a whole. The Rector, three lay members of the PCC, and a lay Diocesan Synod representative are members of Richmond Deanery Synod which covers the most northerly part of the Diocese taking in mainly Swaledale and the area to the East towards the A19 south of the River Tees.

During 2023 Synod met in February, June and October.

Structure, governance and management

The PCC is a body corporate (PCC Powers Measure 1956, Church Representation Rules 2022) and is registered with the Charity Commission, registered number 1132585. The PCC operates under the Parochial Church Council Powers Measure. The method of appointment of PCC members is set out in the Church Representation Rules. The membership of the PCC consists of the Incumbent, Assistant Curate, Licensed Lay Ministers, two Churchwardens, three members of Deanery Synod and laity members elected by those who are on the Electoral Roll of the church. There may also be co-opted members. Members of the PCC are responsible for making decisions on all matters of general concern and importance to the parish, including deciding how the funds of the PCC are to be spent.

Given the wide range of responsibilities in a benefice of this size, the PCC has a number of subcommittees/teams which look after particular areas. These sub-committees which include finance, fabric, worship, charitable-giving, fundraising, communications and pastoral are all responsible to the PCC and report regularly on what has been discussed at their meetings. They make recommendations to the PCC for decision and action and confirm completion of actions previously authorised by the PCC.

Administrative information

St Mary’s Church is the parish church of the town of Richmond and is situated on Station Road, Richmond. The now closed St Michael and All Angels’ Church was the parish church of the village of Hudswell and is situated back from Hudswell Lane, towards the western end of the village. The parish also includes Holy Trinity Chapel in Richmond Market Place (originally part of a Chapel of Ease within the bailey of Richmond Castle). The United Parish is part of a larger benefice, which also includes the Parish of Downholme and Marske having the churches of St Michael and All Angels, Downholme and St Edmund, Marske, the benefice being part of the Diocese of Leeds within the Church of England.

St Mary’s Church, Richmond with St Michael and All Angels Church, Hudswell

PCC members who have served at any time from 1[st] January 2023 until the date this report was approved are:

Ex-Officio Members

Rector

Reverend Canon Martin Fletcher

Assistant Curate

Reverend Paul Sunderland (until February 2024)

Licensed Lay Minister

Scott Lunn (until June 2023)

Churchwardens

Wendy Pritchard (from APCM 2023) Peter Trewby

Synod Representatives

Colin Hicks (Deanery) Jonathan Roberts (Deanery, until APCM 2023) Ian Short (Diocesan, until APCM 2024) Susan Welch (Deanery)

Elected members

John Challis (until APCM 2024) Linda Curran (from APCM 2024) Reuben Digan (co-opted July 2024) Sharon Digan (from APCM 2023) David Frankton (until APCM 2023, from APCM 2024) Pamela Holland (until APCM 2023) (co-opted as Safeguarding Officer May 2023) Alan Judge (co-opted May 2023, until APCM 2024) Andy Lovell (until APCM 2023) Carol McCormack (from APCM 2024) John McCormack (until 2024) Annette Richardson Stuart Rowan Susan Scrafton (until APCM 2024) Isobel Short (from APCM 2024) Anna Warren (resigned September 2023) Stephanie Williamson (from APCM 2023)

Officers

Paul Carnell (Treasurer) Colin Hicks (PCC Secretary)

St Mary’s Church, Richmond with St Michael and All Angels Church, Hudswell

Electoral Roll

All who regularly attend our services or are members of our congregations are encouraged to be registered on the Electoral Roll of the parish and take part in the Annual Parochial Church Meeting and to stand for election to the PCC.

There are currently 146 parishioners on the Church Electoral Roll, of whom 18 are not resident within the parish.

Trustees Annual Report Approval

Approved by the PCC on 18/09/2024

and signed on their behalf by the Reverend Canon Martin Fletcher

St Mary’s Church, Richmond with St Michael and All Angels Church, Hudswell

Appendix 1

St Mary’s Church, Richmond with St Michael and All Angels Church, Hudswell

Appendix 2 Rectors Report

The PCC’s plans in 2023 were for us to:

grow spiritually (by expanding our range of services and home groups)
extend our community engagement (through greater involvement in community events)
improve our viability (through numerical growth and by developing the use of St Mary’s as an events venue).

Our plans to grow included attracting more young families to church life. This involved offering a more inclusive all-age service on first Sundays, with something for children at the 10am service on the other Sundays as well; a re-launch of Fun-Key Church and a wider range of youth activities; plus extending our schools outreach and developing our young singers.

All this required us in turn to strengthen our lay leadership and publicity, and to improve access to the church. And the fact that solid growth is not something which can take place instantly, but rather needs careful planting and patient nurture, is symbolised by the bulbs we see flowering in the porch. They were planted back in November at our Parish Retreat Day, when we tuned in to God’s plans for us and through us.

As we look back over the last year, we are thankful for the progress we have made. As ‘branches’, connected to each other as well as to ‘the vine’ to whom we belong, I would like to thank you for the part you have played through your giving of time, talents, and financial support. There are many people involved in church life, whether ‘up front’, serving on our various rotas, or active in the community, or carefully supporting us prayerfully and financially. I would like to thank you all.

In doing so, I must mention a few names, amongst them our Ministry Team: Paul (who with Jeanette we greatly miss as they now follow God’s plans for them in Kirkbymoorside), Bishop John, Martin Clarke, Pauline Shepherd, Stewart Ridley, and Paul Perry; our Pastoral Assistants: Jennifer Patrick, Sharon Digan, with ‘new recruits’ Sharon O’Connor, Jan Jack and Graham Pearson; our Parish Administrator and Director of Music, Colin with his teams of musicians and singers; our Tower Captain, Susan Welch and her band; our Magazine Editor, John McCormack (a worthy successor to Jim Jack) and the editing team; the creative Friends of St Mary’s committee, ably led by Peter and Jim; Judith Clarke and her team of flower arrangers. Thank you, one and all.

Special mention goes to our Churchwardens, Peter and Wendy, as well as our Churchwarden Emeritus, David, who is also our Sacristan, our Treasurer Paul Carnell, and Safeguarding Officer Pamela Holland. They all do far more than we realise.

St Mary’s Church, Richmond with St Michael and All Angels Church, Hudswell

I could mention many others whose involvement is also key, whether as members of our church family over many years or who have joined us more recently. In thanking you all, I would like to single out Jennifer Patrick who sadly for us will be moving away to be closer to her family.

Finally, this Eastertide it is good and right to affirm our faith that ‘all who have died in the love of Christ will share in his resurrection’. So we give thanks for the lives of our brothers and sisters in Christ gone before us, amongst them, Tony Dykes, Sheila Harrisson, Malcolm Tooze, Graham Merlane, and Peter Ward. Their examples of faith, love and service live on as an inspiration to us all.