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2022-12-31-accounts

St Mary the Virgin Higham Ferrers APCM 2023

Contents 2
Page 4
Prayer
Page 5-8
Minutes APCM 2022
Page 9
Reflection
Page 10-11
Ministry Team
Page 12-13
Church Wardens
Page 14
Music
Page 15-16
Elizabeth Groome Music Charity
Page 17
Treasurers Report
Page 18-21
Accounts
Page 22
Electoral Roll
Page 23-24
Capitol Projects
Page 25-28
Childrens Ministry
Page 29
Safe Guarding
Page 30
Baptism and Pastoral Care
Page 31
Morning Worship
Page 32
Communications Group
Page 33
Benefice Website
Page 34
Cleaning Team
Page 35
Sunday Morning Coffee
Page 36
Bede House and Sides People
Page 37
600 Appeal
Page 38-41
Friends of St Marys
Page 42
1St Higham Rainbows
Page 43
2nd Higham Rainbows
Page 44
Deanery Synod
Page 45
Holy Handymen
Page 46-47
First Friday Youth Club
Page 48
Tiny Tots
Page 49-50
Social & Fund Raising Team
Page 51-52
Lycig
Page 53
THANK YOU

: St Mary the Virgin Higham Ferrers

This is the Annual Parochial Church Report, looking back at the events of 2022

Contributions have been made by our ministry team, committees chairs, wardens, and groups and volunteers who have a calling to our church.

Let us thank them for supporting and guiding us in what has been an eventful year, and we look forward to their continued support as we lead our church in growth, with numbers and finances. Before we start, a short prayer.

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: St Mary the Virgin Higham Ferrers

Prayer

Lord of light, we pray that unity may prevail in our community. Help us to be an instrument of Your peace. Help us in Higham Ferrers to come together to resolve the issues that affect us all.

Help us cooperate well in overcoming health issues and prejudice. May we each bring our experiences and our expertise to the table and work out solutions together.

Help us to listen well, to empathize, and prepare the best path for our church family.

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: St Mary the Virgin Higham Ferrers

Minutes APCM 2022

Sandy Colman.

Due to the events that took place at last years APCM, it became upsetting for the PCC secretary at the time, who left their role and the PCC, and as such there are no formal minutes from this meeting.

A second meeting was held with the Rural Dean in attendance to discuss the ‘ ‘Finances’ at St Marys. Below are the minutes of this meeting taken by Sandy Colman.

APCM – Continuation Meeting

In addition to the attendees of the previous meeting:-

Chris Youngman, Rural Dean of Higham, Vicar of Whitefriars Brian Behagg, Treasurer Stewart Wiles, Chairman, Finance Committee

Brenda Elldred opened in prayer with a subject of Live, Love and respect each other.

Alison Oberman was first to speak, pointing out an overspend of £6,000. £4,000 was carried forward from the previous meeting. There wasn’t as much gift aid as expected taking the final over spend to £6,000

Brian Behagg responded by explaining that he normally carries over a working capital of £5,000. At the end of last year, he felt that this wasn’t necessary and used the money to send an extra £5,000 for the parish share.

David Richardson was next to speak. He asked how much the church should have paid for the parish share for last year and he then asked how much was actually paid.

Sue Dennis then spoke to say that people were not aware how much the parish share is each year and how much we are actually paying. She also mentioned that if this information was put up for everyone to see, including visitors, it might encourage visitors to donate more to help keep our historical buildings open. She then mentioned that a loan for £50,000 was asked for from the diocese but only £30,000 was used. £20,000 has already been paid back and the remainder will be paid back by the end of the year.

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: St Mary the Virgin Higham Ferrers

Minutes APCM 2022

Sandy Coleman

Chris Youngman explained the location of the amount being on page 13, eight lines down.

£47,000 was paid in 2021, £24,000 paid in 2020 and £68,000 was expected for 2022. He mentioned that the diocese has frozen the parish share for the last 2 years and that one of the things it goes towards is paying for clergy.

Stewart Wiles then answered by saying that a letter is sent out to all on the electoral roll every year with the amount of the expected parish share on it.

Richard Oberman was next to speak. He mentioned that he is currently completing the necessary documentation to apply for grants towards the refurbishments. There are various restricted funds linked to the Bede House that are not used for daily running expenses. He queried that the church subsidises the Bede House and has been doing this for many years

It has always been known that the Bede house needs subsidising.

Reg Harlow was next to speak. Having seen the bank statements for the 600 appeal, he queried a difference of £80.00 more in the bank than on the financial statements.

Brian stated that the figures that he uses are given to him by Avril.

Chris Youngman explained more about the workings of the accounts system used and that it could possibly be human error or a cheque that had been issued but hadn’t gone out of the bank account at the time the statement was issued.

Ruth Bond was next to speak. The main reason that the meeting was called was to approve the finances because people were unable to understand the information given and that they were too complicated for most people to understand.

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Minutes APCM 2022

Sandy Coleman

Avril Harlow then mentioned that as the 600 appeal accounts were simpler, why couldn’t the church accounts be in a simpler form, this comment was echoed by Alison Oberman.

Karen Holmes was next to speak. Keeping accounts for a church such as ours is a major job and the way that people are being criticised is horrible. This was echoed by Sue Dennis.

Brenda Elldred was next to speak concerning the Bede House. The accounts for the Bede House and church have to be separate. The Bede House and its facilities are important for church growth so it is important that this facility is kept.

Each request for funding for funding regardless of what it is creates an additional line on the accounts adding additional layers of complexity which is not an easy task.

Darren Robinson gave thanks to Brian for his work as Treasurer and presented him with a gift.

Peter Bond was next to speak. He asked the Rural Dean to send word back to the Diocese/Church of England to use a simpler system. Chris Youngman responded by saying that how the account reported concerning restricted funds etc is a requirement of the Charity Commission.

Cynthia Matthias was next to speak. She pointed out that the average age of the congregation was getting older and incomes were becoming more restricted.

No further questions were raised on the above subjects and that questions could have been asked at any time.

The need for a Treasurer was then mentioned. The new Treasurer is not required to b a member of the church or PCC. They can be completely independent.

Darren Robinson then reminded everyone that the church is run by a team of volunteers.

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St Mary the Virgin : Higham Ferrers

Minutes APCM 2022

Sandy Coleman

Dave Stuttle gave thanks for the participation of everyone in the meeting.

The appointment of an auditor was the next subject. Dave Stuttle proposed that Paul Adams should be appointed as Auditor again. This was seconded by Raymond Wildsmith. Sue Dennis said no to Paul Adams as an auditor as he isn’t independent enough and an alternative should be sourced.

Raymond Wildsmith stated that, as a professional man, Paul Adams would state if there was a problem. Paul’s role is only advisory, and he is not involved in day-today transactions in the church. An outside company has been used in the past, but this can be expensive.

A vote was taken for Paul Adams to continue as auditor:24 for 4 against. Resolution stands.

Dave Stuttle closed the meeting, thanking everyone for their contributions and asking that if anyone knew of someone who could be treasurer, they were to inform the church wardens.

The meeting was finished with the Lycig prayer.

It was felt that there was still some questions about our finances that had not been fully answered, and so a further personal meeting took place with the Rural Dean. Only one couple attended and was given direct answers, and therefore as no one else attended it is assumed that all other parties were happy at the time.

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: St Mary the Virgin Higham Ferrers

Reflection

The rest of 2022 has been challenging without a full time vicar, and we are very grateful for the three retired clergy and lay reader who have kept us going by providing the range of joyful services across the benefice to meet the needs of our church family.

Thank you also to our church administrator, committee chairpersons for keeping everything flowing and providing the information you require.

Thank you for your understanding.

Church Wardens

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: St Mary the Virgin Higham Ferrers

Ministr Team y

Father Paul

It is an honour to compile this report as I am a mere 25% of the Benefice Ministry Team and attribute the honour to being merely a seniority in age, something our lengthy vacancy period has reminded me of in recent months!

When Revd. Michelle left us at the end of February 2022 we knew that she would be a hard act to follow and three “retired” clergy and a Reader would find a challenge and so it has proved.

Between us we have managed to provide Sunday services in both our churches and a midweek Eucharist as well as baptisms, weddings and funeral services – all of which require pastoral input and hours of preparation.

Highlights of the past year have been the Holy Week and Easter with their devotions and a sense of holy joy. It was a delight that Bishop John was able to join us for some of these. Other festivals proved to be memorable blessings, even when we were not able to provide as many services as there had been in the past.

Harvest services also provided joyful and lively occasions with uplifting worship and a sense of our closeness to the world around us.

Ministry Team members have also supported Lent lunches, the regular Thursday morning Coffee Mornings, Mother’s Union meetings, Youth activities and services at the Shrubberies nursing home. We recognise the importance of a minister’s presence to bring comfort and continuity.

We are also conscious that so much more could have been done by a dedicated fulltime Vicar – we have not been able to respond to requests for services at other care homes in the parish or to build on Revd. Michelle’s sterling work in local schools. However it was encouraging that our schools and playgroups came to us – in vast numbers in the run up to Christmas and gave us a chance to share in their innovative nativity plays and worship. We were also able to assure them of our prayerful support in their work. How good to see all seats in church filled with extra people standing!

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: St Mary the Virgin Higham Ferrers

Ministry Team

Father Paul

We are also grateful for the occasional ministry support of visiting clergy, not least in the hectic weekend when I went down with Covid and needed support for a wedding, baptism and an All-age service. We are aware that some in our parish might say that we have “not done those things that we ought to have done” or we have “done those things we ought not to have done – but you may be assured that your Ministry Team are praying most fervently for the appointment of a wise, loving, enthusiastic and energetic priest to be appointed soon to build on the work we have been privileged to share in.

Canon Lesley, Revd Linda, Brenda and Father Paul.

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: St Mary the Virgin Higham Ferrers

Church Wardens

Darren & Sandy – A look back at 2022

When I started this role, it was to support Reverend Michelle and help develop our 2020 Vision in all things non-ministry, even though I did chip in with many ideas especially for the younger members (school age) of the church family.

It was only after Michelle was taken from us (even if only as far as Peterborough) that you get to see what else to needs to be done, and not only rocking up at 10.30am on a Sunday morning.

The role of a warden can be a tough one, and I am not your usual stereotype not retired or semiretired but having to fit in all the extra duties around home and work life. We chair the PCC , and are members on many sub-committees, but the list is longer than that.

From approving payment of invoices, organising a vicar for a service withing 24 hours’ notice, checking on opening and closing of the church, and sadly a recent thefts, to checking alarms on the church roof on New Year’s Eve; and don’t forget the numerous time the toilets have been blocked in the Bede House.

This is a huge task for anyone we are a dying breed, so why do we do it. As well as my own faith it’s the enjoyment of seeing everyone pull together when times are hard and they have been recent years, and even more so during the last 12 months without that leader to guide us. But we have dug deep, had to make some tough decisions at times that have not pleased everyone, had some eventful services, and we are still here, and I can see light at the end of this long tunnel.

By the time you read this I am hopeful we will have a new vicar in post and I look forward to supporting them as I am sure you all will in the many new joyful years ahead.

Thank you for all your wishes of support in 2022.

Darren Robinson - Church Warden

Like Darren, I am also a working Church Warden. I am also a leader with Girlguiding, helping to run Guides on a Monday night and Brownies on a Wednesday night. It is a lot to juggle along with all the sub committees that we are on, but I love being part of it.

I am proud of our own ‘Cathedral Precinct’ and I am grateful to all the people behind the scenes that help Darren and myself with keeping everything running.

Sandy Coleman – Church Warden

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St Mary the Virgin : Higham Ferrers

Church Wardens

Dave Stuttle OblOSB Churchwarden Emeritus

Having served four years as Churchwarden, through the period of Fr. Richard’s illness and then through the Covid pandemic I decided to discontinue as Churchwarden. Following the advice of Revd Michelle, I took on the role of Churchwarden Emeritus so that I could provide support to Darren and Sandy over the coming year.

It hardly seems possible that nearly a year has gone past since the last APCM and also the moving on to a new role in Peterborough of Revd Michelle. During the past year I have been happy to shoulder some of the Churchwarden burden on behalf of Darren and Sandy as well as give them my support and help in some of their decision making and also liaising with other people, groups and organisations within the Benefice and externally.

It has been a privilege to serve St. Mary’s in this capacity over the last year and I look forward to continuing in the role for another year at the request of the Churchwardens.

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MUSIC

Revd Linda Bond

On Easter Sunday 2022, Keith Green relinquished his post as acting Choir Director after four years. It was uncertain if the choir would continue. A choir needs a director, encouragement, a challenge if it is to survive. I formed the choir in 1983 and was the director until 1996 when I had to step back when I began training for ordination. Obviously I have a vested interest and wanted to help the members if they wished to continue for music enhances worship and can bring people closer to God when there is a sense of the numinous. The members of the choir met in church after a Sunday Service to discuss if they wished to continue and the outcome was unanimous. We fixed a date to meet informally at the home of one of the members to find a way forward. I offered to direct the choir until such a time the Incumbent could appoint an Organist / Choir Director. We had a positive meeting with drinks and nibbles and made the decision to rehearse once a month on a Friday evening to prepare music for the services for the next five or six weeks. I now draw up a list of suitable anthems which I circulate to the choristers so they can, if they wish, look at the music prior to the rehearsal. They also rehearse the anthem and the Gospel Acclamation on a Sunday morning at 10.00am in the Chantry Chapel. During the last year we have welcomed two new regular members, a tenor and a bass into the choir. A former alto returned, and a Cambridge Choral Scholar also sings soprano when she is home for the vacation. She sang a moving rendition of O Holy Night at Midnight Mass.

In addition to the choir, I have taken on some of Keith’s other responsibilities. I prepare the organist’s rota and circulate the Music List to them so they are able to prepare for the services. We now have two organists, Alan Cufaude and John Wearmouth. We also have an Organ Scholar, Matthew Foster. Bill Wright can be called upon in an emergency but does not wish to be included on the rota. Paul Harris stepped back a month ago due to ill health. Another task I have taken on is finding suitable musicians to perform at the Farmer’s Market Recital on the last Saturday of each month. I formed a small working group which includes Bill Wright, David Richardson and me to plan, engage musicians, prepare the programme notes and host the recitals. We see this as important outreach on a day which is community focused.

Music is a vital part of worship. It can attract people to worship with us at St. Mary’s. It would be good to welcome new members to the choir and even encourage past members to return. Please think about this and encourage any singers you know to consider joining. A monthly rehearsal is not too great a commitment.

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: St Mary the Virgin Higham Ferrers

ELIZABETH GROOME MUSIC CHARITY

Dave Stuttle

As a former Head of Music at the John Lea School in Wellingborough and musical and artistic director of various choirs, drama groups and amateur theatrical societies, Elizabeth Groome was known to many in the local music community.

The John Lea Swing and Wind Bands, formed by Elizabeth with the help of the County School of Music, in many ways laid down the foundation for the County Youth Big Band.

Elizabeth’s directorial skills allowed the school to perform many musicals, culminating in the production of the opera Carmen by Bizet and Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rusticana, productions that gained the attention and cooperation of the Royal Opera, Covent Garden.

Outside of the school Elizabeth took the lead in several musicals such as Anna in the King and I. She was a much sought after producer and musical director locally, including Rushden Amateur Theatrical Society.

Elizabeth went into full-time nursing care in 2005 in Northampton. The Charity was set up in her name by her good friend and carer Terry Broughton in 2011 as a lasting legacy to Elizabeth.

Sadly after a long illness we lost Elizabeth in December 2015 and I regret to say that we also lost Terry in October 2019 after a long battle with Cancer. However, the charity continues with the support of the current trustees.

Grants to Families and St. Mary’s Church

So far since it began the Charity has given out £421,283 to individual families in Northamptonshire, many of those in the Higham Ferrers and Rushden area. The Junior Choir at St. Mary’s Church in Higham has over the years been granted a total of £508. In 2021 we began to support an Organ Scholar at the Church, at the sum of £2000 per year for the four years of his training. Also at the church in 2021 we gave £2000 to support the Children’s Singing Workshops led by Adam Hope the Choral Conductor of the Junior Royal Academy of Music

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St Mary the Virgin : Higham Ferrers

ELIZABETH GROOME MUSIC CHARITY

Dave Stuttle

The Ferrers School.

We began our involvement with Ferrers School in 2017 when we were very pleased to present two shields, and each year the winning students receive financial support for their continued music tuition in the school. We have also supported year 7 students through bursaries each year and have also supported individual applicants from the school and the NMPAT Saturday Music School. In addition we were pleased to be able to give the school £1667 towards the purchase of 8 Trumpets a classical guitar and 8 keyboards. In 2021 the grant the school received for year 7 students to begin musical education was no longer available so in place of the bursaries we gave the school £1750 to make up for that loss of funding from the government.

Northampton Music and Performing Arts Trust (NMPAT)

In July 2017 made a grant of £700 to NMPAT towards the purchase of a specially made bespoke trumpet for one of their students who suffers from dwarfism and has difficulty using a standard instrument.

In 2022 we were extremely pleased to be invited to be involved in the Rotary Club Young Musician Competition and to be able to donate the prizes for the winners and runners up in each category. We are pleased that we have been invited to do the same in 2023.

Anyone wishing to know more about the charity, how we can help your young musicians, how you can help us raise funds for us to continue to make our awards, on if you wish to apply for a grant, please contact us or talk to Dave Stuttle at the Church.

PATRON DAVID WILSON-JOHNSON

THE ELIZABETH GROOME MUSIC CHARITY

Registered Charity Number 1142094 Dave Stuttle OblOSB Grants Administrator and Secretary Tel: 07 941 306391 Email: egmc2011@virginmedia.com Website: www.egmc.org.uk Recycle 4 Charity supporters link: - http://www.recycle4charity.co.uk/Register/C93495

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: St Mary the Virgin Higham Ferrers

Treasurers Report

Brian Behagg

The challenges of 2021 continued into 2022. The old Peterborough based Standing Order scheme was finally closed, with the 5 remaining contributors to the scheme offered the opportunity to switch to the Parish Giving Scheme (the Universal scheme that is based in Gloucester and is used by 50 of our Congregation). It is a every efficient scheme, free to Parishes, and I would encourage those who still use the Envelope scheme to consider switching to Parish Giving. Application forms are in the Church or can be provided by myself or Stewart.

Loose plate collections (which include the Glass Jar monies) were up from £2,617 to £4,640 in 2022 and reflected the fact that the Church was open following the Covid restrictions of 2021. The Bede House also benefited from the easing of Covid restrictions with lettings up to £8,986 from £6,130. Bookings and interest for 2023 suggest that the Bede House will continue to be popular for these 3[rd] party events.

On the expenditure side, the Russian invasion of Ukraine has seen a universal increase in Energy prices and whilst we did not have increases until the Autumn, 2023 looks to be a major challenge with large increases in November and December. The ‘Holy Handymen’ continue to monitor usage and ensure we do not waste costly heat.

Parish Share was once again a major challenge. We managed to make a total contribution of £30,000 towards our target of £63,000. To bridge this gap will be a mammoth task in 2023, particularly when we are faced with expenditure on the Bede House which is expected to be in excess of £100,000. Many thanks to Karen and her team for their fundraising efforts, and to Paul O’Dell for his continuing support on Thursday mornings with counting cash and the Lloyds banking.

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St Mary the Virgin Higham Ferrers Treasurers Report Brian Behagg st Mary$ Chur¢h Hlgham F•rrors- 1132078 Stat•m•nt of Flnanclal Actlvltl•• For th• p•rfod from 01 January 2022 to 31 D•¢•mbor 2022 Toi Prlorswr ndb IDWfuTrJ• In¢¢m• fvom.. eo.1$3 S.93 17.440 io.rth) gIAIO 161, 8&014 OA33 7&eOS 3B.J 22r 21.558 Inv￿￿Tr￿lS 3,510 21.800 339 10.IT1 24•.If4 11J.O•l Exp•J>dltur• on.. 1.391 7&7 3,3ei 154,022 &407 232.979 78201 Told •ip•ndknJ ¥0.174 242.80ts N•iinMm•Il￿P•n0I￿r•1I•I¢u￿•• Wot•ir•rntsr 10,243 74A3J 11390 t7•.1 .731 122.7311 ieo.c491 IP4),Wl Oth•rr•coynls•dylni/lDU 10,243 74A31 12390 (7•.1 A•CO￿lI1•t10￿ ollund• Tt)14 1,0 124711 22S.•14 T4w lun01￿r￿*01Orw• 31.ZE• 191.149 239.Ug0 140.BDO

: St Mary the Virgin Higham Ferrers

Treasurers Report Brian Behagg St Marys Church Higham Ferrers - 1132678 Analysis of income and expenditure Unrestricted Designated Restricted Endowment Total This year Last year Income and endowments Donations and legacies 0101 - Gift Aid - Bank 38,251 — — — 38,251 37,615 0110 - Gift Aid - Envelopes 1,666 — — — 1,666 2,217 0120 - Donations -Gift Aid 350 — — — 350 1,020 0301 - Loose plate collections 4,640 — — — 4,640 2,617 0302 - Envelopes - Non Gift Aid 1,359 — — — 1,359 1,436 0303 - Bank - Non Gift Aid 4 — — — 4 651 0304 - SumUp Payments 127 — 28 — 155 1,124 0405 - Web Site donations 1,076 — — — 1,076 916 0501 - One-off Gift Aid gifts — — — — — 175 0550 - Donations appeals etc 545 — 770 — 1,315 3,419 0601 - Tax recoverable on Gift Aid 10,874 — 5,062 — 15,936 15,146 0701 - Legacies 20 10,000 — — 10,020 — 0702 - Legacy - Restricted — — 80,640 — 80,640 — 0703 - Elizabeth Groome Organ Scholarship — — (90) — (90) 2,000 0704 - Children's Singing Workshops — — — — — 2,000 0801 - Recurring grants — — — — — 1,523 08A1 - Non-recurring one-off grants 85 — 5,000 — 5,085 10,600 0901 - Other funds genera

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St Mary the Virgin Higham Ferrers Treasurers Report Brian Behagg .VATR•dthixd 21.USI 21, 241 211 241 21. 21,•]0 laJJll Grnnd 1011 1101. &731 i•iO. 47.K¥) iJn 1,372 S,fQl n6 3,4A2 D77 t41 JA•2 tJJl. 2A71 2,471 1.047 2dl0. J,217 1,•Jl 1,140 *374

St Mary the Virgin Higham Ferrers Treasurers Report Brian Behagg 00,104 t4,164 142ts67 7VI 164JJZ2 77.17S 10,174 IS7J84

: St Mary the Virgin Higham Ferrers

ELECTORAL ROLL

Stewart Wiles

The Electoral Roll was renewed in March 2019 and is due for renewal in 2025.

After a review this year (2023) the membership now stands at 115. This figure is 1 less than last years figure of 116. This is due to the sad loss of David Rockley. No new members joined during the year.

Of the 115 members, 47 live outside of the parish.

A copy of the Electoral Roll minus telephone numbers and email addresses for privacy reasons will be posted on the notice board in the Church porch for 2 weeks before the APCM.

Please check that these details are correct, and if not. please contact myself or a Church Warden.

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CAPITAL PROJECTS

Stewart Wiles

Church Heating.

The new gas fired heating system has been in use throughout the year allowing us to have a warm church during the winter months. We can now control the heating units so that only certain parts of the church can be heated if required. This is very useful as energy costs have increased considerably since October 2022. The total cost was £126,000 after the VAT was claimed back.

Thanks to the many members of the parish, grant giving bodies and the many events that help pay for the system.

Servery.

The Servery was completed in August 2022 and is now in use every Sunday. The total cost was £31,312 + VAT which has been claimed back. This has added a very useful amenity to the church.

Tower and Spire repairs.

The restoration work on the tower and spire was started in the autumn of 2020 but some of the decorative corbels were damaged when the scaffolding was removed later in that that year. It has now finally been repaired at the builder’s expense. The total cost was £21,000. £5,000 has come from the grant given to us by Church Care and £5,000 from the St Mary’s Bell Appeal Fund. The remaining £11,000 will come from the Restoration Fund.

Church.

Work started on the Church in October 2022 to replace a large number of stone blocks in many of the outer walls and windows of the church which, after many hundreds of years in place have eroded away. Parts of the lead covered roof over the South porch and the wooden roof below have also been replaced and other repairs to the lead on main nave roof which was installed in 1979 have been carried out. Also some of the cast-iron rain water pipes and gutters are being replaced. The cost of the work is £70,000 +VAT and should be completed by May 2023. Funding for this will come from a £5,000 grant from the National Churches Trust and £5,000 from the Francis Coales Charitable Foundation and the remaining £60,000 from the Restoration Fund.

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St Mary the Virgin : Higham Ferrers

CAPITAL PROJECTS

Stewart Wiles

Bede House. - External.

We now have an update quotation for this work at £140,000. This figure includes VAT as we cannot claim it back as the Bede House is not classed as a Place of Worship.

Most of the cost of the work relates to the North facing roof that needs to be removed , re-felted and battened and the tiles replaced together with high level stonework and rainwater gutters. The PCC has recently given permission to spend up to £90,000 on this part of the repairs. It is hoped to start this work in midsummer 2023. St Mary’s 600 Appeal Fund raising events in 2023/24 will hopefully raise the remaining funds together with applications to grant giving bodies.

Bede House. - Internal.

The Bede House lighting in the main hall has recently been upgraded to LED lighting at a cost of £2,560, but there are still a number of areas such as the floor, walls, sound and vision equipment, stage storage, welcome porch, toilets upgrade etc. that need looking at, costing and then finding the funds to do it. However, in the last 2 years we have raised and will have spent £340,000 to keep our three Grade 1 Listed Buildings in good repair and improve their facilities.

We should be proud of our achievements.

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: St Mary the Virgin Higham Ferrers

CHILDRENS MINISTRY

Brenda Elldred

During the past year, since the last APCM the ‘Children’s Ministry team’ have had several planning meetings and managed, despite having no vicar, to make sure all the children’s events have been running as normal. On March 26th, on the Saturday before Mothering Sunday, we had a Mothering Sunday craft day, held at St. John’s, where the children made cards, biscuits, decorated glass jars for vases, bookmarks, and personalised chocolate bars for their mum whilst mums enjoyed a cup of tea and cake.

Good Friday we held our ‘Messy Church’ called ‘Exploring Easter’. The children walked through the story of Easter including taking part in the ‘Last Supper’ using bread and grapes. We finished the morning making the Easter Garden and having Hot Cross Buns. All were invited to come back on Easter Day for our annual egg hunt.

We then had a bit of a break until after the summer. This year it was felt that it would be too much to have a summer holiday club as many people were now booking holidays to see family and catching up with friends after the last 2 years of the pandemic.

Our next event was on October 29[th] where we held a ‘Light Party’ as an alternative to Halloween. This was very well attended and loved by all the families. We had food and party games and then the story of how Jesus brought light to the darkness and that is what we celebrate.

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St Mary the Virgin Higham Ferrers CHILDRENS MINISTRY Brenda Elldred ITI

: St Mary the Virgin Higham Ferrers

CHILDRENS MINISTRY

Brenda Elldred

Sparkle gave another opportunity to get together and the families met after Morning Worship on 13[th] November to make their sparkle decoration for the church. They cut out angels, hung them on a decorated hoop with lights above the font – reminding us of all our church children.

Christingle was our next big event and we advertised it around the schools. After a short Morning Worship Service on 18[th] December, we made 160 Christingles whilst enjoying bacon butties! The service was at 4pm in the afternoon and 148 people, including children came – the Church was lit with the candles as we sang and learnt about the Christingle.

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CHILDRENS MINISTRY

Brenda Elldred

December saw the church filled on many occasions with the school concerts. This had been in part due to the LyCiG work we had been doing with the schools. This gave us an opportunity to share with them our planned Crib Services.

On December 24[th] we held 2 Crib Services; midday at St. John’s where we had mostly adults, but it was enjoyed, and 4pm at St. Mary’s where we had 168 people in total with children dressed for the part and who made a live crib scene as the story was told.

Another Mothering Sunday craft event is planned for 18[th] March this year in the Bede House 2-5pm.

The ongoing work with children is vital as these are our Church now and in the future. We always need more volunteers to help with crafts and refreshments so if you feel you would like to get involved please speak to any of the team; - Brenda Elldred, Sue Thompson, Annette Robinson, Amanda Smith, Sandy Coleman, Claire Headland.

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Benefice Safe uardin g g

Brenda Elldred & Annette Robinson

Safeguarding is something every member of the church needs to be aware of and indeed it is part of our Christian duty of care. In both churches there are copies of the most recent safeguarding policies on noticeboards and a folder with the handbook plus relevant information on how to report and where to get help. The Safeguarding Policy along with Helpline numbers can also be found on the website link https://www.stmaryhighamferrers.org/safeguarding

In the front of the Handbook is a Policy Statement from the Church of England that states that:

The Church of England is called to share the good news of God’s salvation through Jesus Christ. The life of our communities and institutions is integral to how we address this task. The good news speaks as welcome for all, with a particular regard for those who are most vulnerable, into a community where the value and dignity of every human being is affirmed and those in positions of authority are truly trustworthy. Being faithful to our call to share the Gospel therefore compels us to take with the utmost seriousness the challenge of preventing abuse from happening and responding well where it has. Statement

With the lifting of the pandemic restrictions this year more of our groups and events have been taking place. Considering the above statement, Safeguarding has been top of the list ensuring that all PCC members and leaders in both churches have a current DBS and have completed Safeguarding training. We have a comprehensive list of all activities and the leaders with the required information. This information is gradually being uploaded onto the central ‘I Know Church’ system so that we can be more efficient and transparent.

Both DBS and Safeguarding training regulations changed from requiring refreshing from 5 years to 3 years with everyone by 2024 on a 3-year cycle. Work has been ongoing, and we are on track to be compliant by the end of 2023. Safeguarding training can be completed online or face to face and we have the benefit of Cathy Kennedy who provides locally our face-to-face training.

We also complete the Parish Dashboard regularly and this gives us an action plan ensuring that we keep up with all we need to do. This year we have moved from Level 2 to 3 in both churches and progressing well.

We have had no reported Safeguarding issues this year although we have had some general enquiries regarding the vulnerability of people in the community and we have supported those people.

The Diocesan Safeguarding Officer vacancy has now been filled by Carole Fitzsimons and we are well supported by Diocesan Safeguarding Advisory team.

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BAPTISM & PASTORAL

Sue Thompson

Baptism Team.

The baptism team is a small group, of mainly ladies, who support families throughout a baptism service. We get to know the children and adults prior to the service and keep in touch with them for a few years after by delivering anniversary cards and visiting when we can.

As church life returns to normal, we are pleased to see more families requesting baptisms. If you would like to join our group please contact Sue (01933 313956).

Pastoral Committee

The aim of this group is to follow our Lord when he asked us to be good shepherds to “Take care of his sheep and lambs”. (John 21 v 15-17). We have regular meetings to organise visits for those who find it difficult to get out and to take communion to those who cannot get to church. We also offer help to those recently bereaved.

We monitor the sick list and those who have been ill and for whom we have concern. The sick list is reviewed every six weeks to keep it up to date. We are also developing “Books of Concern” for names of those who are no longer ill but would like the congregation to include them in their personal prayers.

Another important aspect of pastoral work is with families and children. We have been approached by local schools for volunteers to listen to children read.

Within the parish we have “Tiny Tots” and playgroups who would appreciate some help to prepare drinks and snacks or perhaps read a story to a small group of children.

If you have an hour or two to spare, weekly or monthly, the groups would appreciate your help and you would gain a great deal of satisfaction from the experience too. Please contact one of the team for information.

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MORNING WORSHIP

Brenda Elldred & Sue Thompson

It is with great joy that we once again are able to offer regular Morning Worship services in the Bede House. The monthly format was agreed with Rev. Michelle before she left, to help us through the interregnum. Generally, we have 3 regular services each month,

As the weather improves, we hope to continue with Wild Worship when we will worship in the churchyard or enjoy a walk together to appreciate God’s wonderful world and give thanks.

Although the attendance is varied it is good to have more of the older members of the congregation joining us.

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COMMUNICATIONS GROUP

Father Paul

The Communications Advisory Group is not a formal sub-committee of the PCC but is a bi-monthly meeting of the diverse and enthusiastic individuals involved in church communications, external and internal.

We have worked to develop the preparation of special services, building on the work done by Rev Michelle, and the preparation and provision of a weekly service guide and news sheet edited by Jane Smeathers.

Publicity for special services and seasons has been planned and printed, thanks to the graphic design guidance from Pam Webbley, who has also helped us keep the style and content of our church website up to date.

Another development and a tool for our future missions and ministry contacts has been the gradual introduction of a church database, under the guidance of Bill Wright. This should prove of immense value to an incoming parish priest.

The website also includes two recorded services for church contacts near and far with the weekly Celtic devotions and a Sunday online service. These are not alternatives to regular attendance but available for anyone unable to be physically in church, for whatever reason, and they are also used as additional resources for people beyond our regular services. The website is faithfully tended and updated by Richard Hall.

Other items which have occupied us in our frank (and occasionally hilarious!) discussions have been the provision of church noticeboards and information available to visitors, regular and occasional.

My thanks to all who have made this “behind the scenes” ministry positive and joyful.

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Benefice Website

Richard Hall

The website has performed well this year thanks mostly to the contributions from Fr. Paul and Brenda with their podcasts of the Meeting Point service for Sunday and the Celtic Evening Liturgy for Wednesday.

The site has become a valuable point of contact with the Benefice, through the contact page, for those who don’t normally attend one of our churches and enables us to reach out for Baptisms, Weddings, etc. especially as the Church of England “A Church Near You” site has the website link displayed for both parishes.

The average number of hits for the Sunday service is around 50 each week and for the Celtic service it averages 20 each week and the site gets around 12 hits per day.

The site is viewed worldwide and in the last year has been seen in 48 different countries. Obviously the majority of viewers are from the UK but we also have a regular following in Spain and Canada. The latter hits nearly all come from the North Bay area where I understand there are no churches open for worship.

In the UK the hits are mostly from Northamptonshire but there is a surprising following in Birmingham, ex-pats from Higham and Chelveston perhaps?

The total site sessions for the past year are 8816 with 3497 unique visitors and the site has been active for 99.98% of the time. The maximum hits in any one day have been 86 on 20th February 2022 and again on18th December 2022.

My thanks to Fr. Paul and Brenda for all the work put into their contributions and to Pam Webley for her invaluable help with design of the site and her additions for special occasions.

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Cleaning Team

Sue Clarke

As St. Mary's is open every day it does need to be cleaned more often than it was previously. The carpets and entrance hall are now hoovered every week, with an extra clean before funerals and weddings. However, being open daily has had the advantage of more flexibility for the cleaning team. Rather than all having to arrive at the same day and time, they are now able to come at a time that is suitable for themselves. This has also enabled me to divide the church into areas which individuals have taken responsibility for (with Darren Robinson and Peter Swindley taking responsibility for removing large spiders before areas get hoovered). Sadly I still need someone to mechanically scrub and buff the floors a couple of times a year, but I'm able to keep on top of most things with the help of my much appreciated volunteers.

Very many thanks to Sue Thompson, Chris and Graham Newell, Linda Boxall and Karen Holmes, Alison Oberman, Ruth Bond and the M.U., Mary Harber and Elizabeth Bradshaw.

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SUNDAY MORNING COFFEE

Pam Whiting

I cannot believe that a year has passed by since I last wrote a report for the 2022 Annual Meeting.

In that time, we have been fortunate enough to have the servery finally installed. It has taken a long time but it is well worth the wait. Providing coffee now is so much safer than using the urn on a hostess trolley, and so much nicer to be using proper mugs instead of the paper ones which, more often than not, either burnt your fingers or leaked everywhere.

During the past year we have raised over £350 for the Church Funds so thank you to you all for your donations.

Once again, my thanks must go to Ruth, Angela and Nikki for their help in providing coffee following the Sunday Service, and this year we have also had the help of the members of the Family Worship, so my thanks also go to them for organising coffee on the first Sunday of the Month.

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Rev. Linda, Rev. Lesley, Father Paul, and Layreader Brenda, for all her hard work during the year, and for holding the Church together whilst we await a new Vicar.

We would like to continue providing refreshments on a Sunday morning and will always welcome anyone who wishes to join our little band of helpers, if that could be you then please speak to anyone of us “behind the counter”

Thank you all

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Bede House & Sides people

Diane Behagg

Bookings continue steadily with children's parties being one of the busiest. We do have several weddings booked for 2023 and even one for 2024.

Our regular bookings are Guiding units: - Girl Guides, two Brownie packs and Rainbows.

Also, two children’s groups, Badminton, Mothers Union, Chichele Society and regular coffee morning on Thursdays.

We do have enquiries from people in other towns and have a yearly booking from a group in Brixworth who love the old building. It is therefore very important that we continue to keep the hall looking attractive to prospective hirers.

Thursday morning coffee would really love to see a couple more people to assist with the making of coffee.

Many thanks must go to the Holy Handymen for all their work and to the 600 Appeal for fundraising towards the many things that need doing to keep this very old building in good use.

Thank you to everyone on the sides people's rota now that we really do feel that things are 'back to normal'.

We have a very loyal band of people to welcome our congregation which ensures a smooth running for our services.

It is very important when we have new people and visitors in the congregation to make them feel welcomed.

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600 Appeal

Avril Harlow & Sue Dennis

The Team members have worked hard this year to promote and complete the first two objectives of the Appeal, the Heating system and the new Servery, which are now both in good working order and paid for in full.

Some costings and final bills were, happily, reduced or altered in some way towards the end of the year, thus giving the opportunity to transfer excess funds and begin the next project.

We have been able to organise and run several successful concerts and events; the Two Violins, the Belcanto and Fynnius Fogg Concerts, the H.E.Bates Afternoon, as well as running several Coffee and Market Morning stalls. The Higham Hot Hundreds Tote makes £3,000 per year and we hope to add further to the Auction of Promises during the coming months. Thanks to some very hard work on the part of our member in charge of applications to Grant Giving Bodies, we have acquired £8,000 this year, and from generous and anonymous donations another £15,000.

We are grateful for the continued support we receive from the parish family; donations which in most cases are given with permission to claim Gift Aid. Several Tote winners have been kind enough to donate all or part of their winnings back to the Appeal; we thank you all.

The focus for the Appeal has now moved to the Bede House and the repairs needed to the roof. This will take another big push; £140,000 is the target with a further £60,000 for the internal upgrades. Unfortunately, it will not qualify for help from the Heritage Lottery Fund.

Our Team therefore will need more members, more help with this task, people with ideas, time and energy to share. The various groups who use the Bede House, and people from the wider community will want to participate; we shall welcome all.

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St Mary the Virgin : Higham Ferrers

2022 was a busy year, most of it in tribute to Higham’s most famous son, Henry Chichele, in what was the 600[th] Anniversary of the founding of Chichele College and the Bede House.

Unique timeline tapestry and labour of love unveiled

We began in January with the framing and the hanging of the final piece of the Life of Henry Chichele in Fabric and Thread; the banner. This was jointly funded between the Friends and the profit ─ from the book, Higham Ferrers 1251 1914 A portrait of the town and people through its historic charters . At the end of February as one of Revd. Michelle’s final tasks, this frame was unveiled and celebrated at a dedicated event with the Material Girls who created

the work.

Our annual coffee mornings

Our Spring Coffee Morning was a great success with pots of miniature daffodils being sold in aid of the Ukraine Appeal. Spring flowers filled the churchyard and the daffodils bloomed in the Bedeswoman’s Garden for the first time.

Our Autumn Coffee Morning at the end of October was warmly supported and financially successful with live music and many stalls. The profits from the selling of spring flowering bulbs were given to the Ukraine Appeal.

Enhancing the churchyard for visitors

Trustee Liz added a honeysuckle to the arbour in the Bedeswoman’s Garden and Marian, the Bedeswoman, planted two white roses. The herbs and lavender planted last summer became nicely established. Many beautiful wild flowers bloom in the meadow area and areas purposefully left for the wildlife to thrive further enhance Church Walk.

During the summer months the new notice board purchased by the Friends, was supplied and installed. We also organised the installation of donated benches following permission from the Archdeacon.

Our churchyard will be made even more beautiful with the addition of 1,000 purple crocus donated by the Chichele Rotary Group. Volunteers planted these and other bulbs at our regular Thursday morning gardening sessions. Tulips were added to the Chantry Chapel border in November and the tradition of planting daffodil bulbs to enhance the

entry to the town in Station Road continued.

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Friends of St Marys

The gateway to God … the Bede House … and beyond

We waited patiently for the necessary permission from the Diocese of Peterborough to pursue our vision of the new Gateway to the Bede House plus of course the important work of securing funding. This gate has been inaccessible for several decades; some would say in living memory. The work involved replacing the stones in the arch, the removal of the large concrete step, the creation of a new oak door using the old ironmongery where possible, and a non-slip smooth pathway. The laying of a pathway was for reasons of safety with no trip hazards which is also more suited to the wheelchair, walking aid and buggy user and those unsure of their footing as they negotiate the gradient. John Barker was appointed as the Project Manager from the offset, monitoring materials and the work undertaken.

Along with the support of members of the Friends of St. Mary’s, our carefully considered plan attracted success in securing the support of Nenescape (a Heritage Lottery initiative), the Duchy of Lancaster and the John Warren foundation. The skill of those working on this project was exceptional and we are very proud of the craftsmanship which is clearly evident.

In September, the beautifully bespoke gate and frame was fitted, and our vision realised and marked with a special Grand Opening by the Bedeswoman, Marian Knott, accompanied by her Bedesmen and blessed by the Revd. Paul Needle.

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Friends of St Marys

Minutes from APCM 2022

The Grand Opening was accompanied by the Bedesmen and Beadswoman and guests of SERVE and working in conjunction with Tourism, we were able to host an Afternoon Tea funded by Jenny Bone’s Council Empowerment Fund. The week of the Nene Valley Festival and its funding allowed for another splendid Afternoon Tea with the Chichele Over 60’s Club attended by the Vice Lord Lieutenant of Northamptonshire, Morcea Walker MBE. Both these occasions allowed for those less mobile to view The Henry Chichele Exhibition which was on display as part of this special year together with the Life of Henry Chichele in fabric and thread that is permanently on display in the Bede House.

Rewilding the churchyard

In November, The Wildlife Trust Forum was held at our invitation in the Bede House and the Churchyard Conservation Awards presented. This was attended by over 30 other churchyard conservation groups. Our rewilding work was described to include the reprieve of the maple tree, planting of a shrub bed and tending of the wildflower meadow. We are proud that the breeding pair of peregrine falcons once again produced four chicks that successfully fledged. A management plan of our conservation work was added to the al fresco information boards together with a map displaying our accomplishments.

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Friends of St Marys

Minutes from APCM 2022

Christmas Sparkle

We submitted an entry to the Christmas Sparkle display in the Church. Our monochrome display celebrated the 600[th] anniversary of the founding of the Bede House and Chichele College, accompanied by a poem on the Midland Gate written by Susan Waters.

Sharing the history of Higham Ferrers

Following an invitation to deliver school assemblies from Higham Ferrers Junior School, Brenda Lofthouse has been researching the named Houses of Higham Ferrers Junior School: Ferrers, Lancaster, Wykeham and Chichele. With education being such a substantial part of our aims as a registered charity we were happy to work with Higham Ferrers Tourism on enlightening local children as to the town’s special heritage. Fellow Trustee Carol

Fitzgerald created PowerPoint presentations based on this research to ensure that the children discovered more about the people behind the names. Special guests also took part to include the Mayor, Mayor’s Sergeant and a Bedesman over a four week period and we also shared finds from the medieval period thanks to the Higham Ferrers Archaeological Research Society. We were fortunate to be helped by the Fellow Librarian of All Souls College, Oxford, Professor Horden, a specialist in medieval history who checked all the details and offered advice. All Souls was built sixteen years after Chichele College and during this 600th Anniversary year, new friendships have been re-established.

Communication

We shall share the research on the school house names with our members through our regular newsletters. The website shows details of our activities and the year’s newsletters. Our Facebook page is used to share news and promote events.

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1[st] HIGHAM FERRERS RAINBOWS

Jelly Bean (Katie) Bubble-gum (Karen) Candy Cane (Rachel)

Our Rainbow unit meets weekly at the Infant School during school term times. 2022 was another exciting year for the unit. We took part in a long list of activities which included playing games, fun crafts, learning new skills and gaining badges, singing songs, exploring our local area and having fun! We enjoyed the girl guiding programme and the many opportunities it offers.

A few of the highlights were:-

FERRERS DISTRICT: If you would like your daughter to join either Rainbows, Brownies or Guides in the future please register them at www.girlguiding.org.uk.

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2[nd] HIGHAM FERRERS RAINBOWS

Carole, Jennifer & Sarah

Numbers of Rainbows has increased since the covid restrictions have been relaxed.

Rainbows enjoy games (like parachute), crafts, outings and singing songs with the help of Carole, Jennifer and Sarah.

They also worked towards their ‘Skill-Builders’ earning badges as part of their badge-work (some interest badges seemed to be more popular than others).

We did a sponsored activity night to raise funds to pay the annual census and held a Thinking Day service (on Rainbow night) to remember Lord Baden Powell.

We made crafts for Mothers Day and Fathers Day and also enjoyed the window display quiz around Higham Ferrers.

Rainbows enjoyed a party to celebrate the Queen’s 96[th] birthday.

The leaders attended the County Awards night at Chester House where Sarah was presented with her long service award and all 3 leaders now passed their Safer Space Level 3 and 1[st] Aid training.

We attended the beacon lighting and picnic at Wicksteed Park to celebrate the 70[th] anniversary of the Queen’s coronation and Rainbows enjoyed a ‘red, white and blue’ party in the Bede House.

Rainbows enjoyed the day trip to the Cotswold Wildlife Park to celebrate the 35[th] birthday of the forming of Rainbows.

This year we celebrated the Chinese New Year (of the Tiger), decorated a Church window to celebrate Harvest Festival, and attended the Civic Service, the Remembrance Sunday service on the Square and the Christingle service in the Church.

Rainbows attended their Christmas Party and Disco to finish off the year.

We now can start girls at age 4½ and they can stay until age 7 when they would move up to Brownies. If your daughter would like to join please register her on the Girlguiding web site.

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DEANERY SYNOD

Peter, Linda B, Sue C, Sandy

The Deanery Synod representatives are Sandy Coleman, Linda Boxall, Peter Swindley and Sue Clarke, with Sue Clarke and Sandy Coleman as members of the Deanery Synod Standing Committee.

In 2022, we had the following meetings:-

28[th] June, we met at St Peters Church, Raunds and the guest speaker was Alison Booker, Arch Deacon, to discuss Intergenerational Ministry. Encouragement of young people being involved in the running of the churches and as members of the PCC was discussed as a way of making them feel that they belong. Afterall, they are the church of tomorrow!

12[th] July – Beer and Hymns at the Swan, Newton Bromswold. The Synod met in the pub garden for hymn singing and fellowship. It was a very enjoyable evening with only a little bit of rain. It didn’t dampen the proceedings! It was nice to have local people from the pub joining in with the singing. The pub even provided a buffet afterwards!

12[th] October- St Peters Church Rushden, Guest speakers were Paul Adams and Lizzie Moesbauer (Youth Enabler). Lizzie has been achieving success at the Ferrers School, Higham Ferrers with students achieving 100% attendance who had previously been only achieving 10%.

Paul Adams discussed the machines available for taking card payments in church and the assistance that the diocese is giving churches to obtain one. St Mary’s is in the process of obtaining a new machine.

At the time of writing this report, the next meeting is the Deanery worship on 5[th] February at St Lawrence’s church Stanwick, Lent Litter pick on 11[th] , 18[th] and 25[th] March and Deanery prayer meeting on 23[rd] May.

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HOLY and HANDYMEN of St MARYS

Chris Hale

Yet another busy year to occupy our time though with five of us now active – some more - than others – we have managed to keep on top of things.

Firstly let us all let us thank Richard Hall, Nick Lee, Fred Frost, Stephen Tuffnail and Graham Newell for all their efforts over the year and for keeping the Bede House (BH) drains clear and roding out sections that were blocked with toilet paper etc which had clearly been the work of saboteurs and other time wasters. Breakages to toilet seats and toilet roll dispensers also figured in the aforementioned folk’s activities and even a large broken mirror. Other diverse tasks included repairing and maintaining the BH sound system’s microphones, laying fires, repairing the Auto flush in the Gents and repairing plaster work in the BH office.

Naturally the BH unfortunately sustained the most damage sometimes through carelessness by hirers or failure to follow ‘simple home care’ rules e.g. pulling the curtains, covering the chairs too violently causing rings and ring hooks to break etc. Fortunately our good men – any ladies care to join us ? – were up to the repair work with fixing a heater guard that had been pulled off the wall. Separately, the installing of a locked switch guard to prevent lights being switched on from the stage unnecessarily. The main doors of the BH also came to our attention- oiling hinges and easing friction at the base though the keys are still a problem – some only working from the inside and others from the outside..

Within the Church itself, Richard, Nick and others worked hard to install the now present Wi- Fi system which involved laying a cable from the BH to the Church with it suitably buried out of sight. At Christmas the crib was moved from the boiler room , decorated and, after use returned. Candle holders likewise .

Once more our rods (cost £24) were used to clear birds’ nests from the entries to the Church downpipes and clear other blocked outside pipes – mainly moss – causing the usual blockages. Much time was spent in the Churchyard clearing ivy off the perimeter walls and cutting back intrusive bushes on walls overlooking churchyard paths.

Richard discovered a hitherto unknown manhole in the vicar’s drive which proved useful in identifying other blocks further back and confirming that there was a flow out into the Wood Street drains. Much time was also spent clearing the North side Church gutters of leaves and moss and on small items such as repairs to the vicar’s side gate, chair moving etc.. all helped to fill our Thursdays

Happily, we all get on fine and enjoy a coffee as much as any – so it's not all work. Again – thanks to you all,

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FIRST FRIDAY YOUTH CLUB

Children

We are :

Brenda, Lizzie, Annette, Darren, Claire, Keith & Jo, Kelvin & Leona let us play lots of board games, table tennis and pool. They also feed us lovely hot dogs, pizza and wedges and we also have some cake treats.

We would like to do more, but need funds and adult volunteers

PLEASE HELP AND SUPPORT

This is us………….having fun

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St Mary the Virgin Higham Ferrers FIRST FRIDAY YOUTH CLUB Our Children

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Tiny Tots

Ria Jefferies

Tiny Tots restarted in December 2021 and grew steadily in numbers up until July 2022. It was identified at the APCM 2022 that the group was at risk due to a reduction in volunteers. During the summer holidays promotion of the group within the town took place garnering a lot of interest from new families. Additionally several calls for help within the congregation were made for more volunteers to assist run the group but with little to no response.

Tiny Tots returned in September 2022 but had to be suspended after two sessions, as due to changes in the personal circumstances of the one volunteer running the group it could not continue. Another call for volunteers was made but again no response. Since then the group has been unable to restart. An online presence to maintain communication with the public has been maintained, encouraging interaction with other church activities and corresponding with new enquiries.

Alongside Tiny Tots, local childminders have been running a Stay and Play group on Monday mornings, and a Packed lunch and Play group on Fridays. This is on behalf of the church. These groups are immensely successful and well attended, to the point some weeks families are being turned away. The childminders have identified they need financial assistance to buy food and craft items, as they are having to use their own cash to replenish, despite a £1.50 donation taken from parents. This is to be looked in to by Ria Jefferies.

Additionally these groups need extra volunteers to help maintain ratios, to avoid having to turn away newcomers, and to meet and greet parents. Ria Jefferies is to start doing this on Mondays, and take this to the Children's Team for further discussion. As the Tiny Tots leader, Ria is also going to start providing story time with the older children on Mondays using a faith/moral based book and activity. This is so the message of Tiny Tots is still maintained until the official group can be restarted.

Lastly the childminders are happy to partner with the Children's Team on Fridays throughout the summer holidays to provide a play scheme. This is to combine resources, particularly in regards of volunteer numbers for ratio and supervision safety. This is currently for further discussion

Volunteers and assistance for all three groups are desperately needed to keep these groups running. As identified before we need to nurture these potential future church users and make them feel wanted and valued. Our highest service user on social media are mothers, the demographic who are the gateway for our future users. We need to continue to provide services for them and welcome them, but stretched volunteers who do not have time to fully engage, or no services at all will not do this.

PLEASE THINK IF YOU CAN HELP, OR KNOW SOMEONE WHO MIGHT WANT TO, EVEN IF IT'S JUST SERVING REFRESHMENTS OR SUPERVISING. DIRECT PROVISION OF ACTIVITIES IS NOT NECESSARILY REQUIRED, JUST A SMILE AND A HELLO.

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Social & Fund Raising

Karen Holmes

The first event for 2022 was Brass on the Grass on Sunday 31[st] July which was held in the Churchyard and we served Prosecco and Strawberries. This was a very enjoyable afternoon with everyone loving the music and at the same time raising £318.10.for the church.

The next event was the Farmers Market Coffee Morning on Saturday 24[th] September where we raised £225.

Harvest Lunch was held on Sunday 2[nd] October where we had 44 people attend and we raised £345.04. It was a tasty lunch and good for the parish family to meet up together.

Our next event was Christmas Sparkle which was held on Saturday November 19[th] ; this year sadly we had fewer displays in the church unlike previous years. Footfall going inside the church was a little down however overall with refreshments, craft stalls and mulled wine we raised £4,403.16. People love to visit our 13Century Church however the costs of keeping it in good order are quite staggering and so every penny counts.

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Social & Fund Raising

Karen Holmes

Our next event was on Saturday December 3[rd] the Wreath Making Workshop which was attended by 39 people and raised £460.

(Wreath Making Workshop)

On Sunday 11[th] December we offered mulled wine and mince pies to those attending the Carol Service organised by the choir. This was a service of Lessons and Carols displaying St. Mary’s choral tradition.

(Refreshments after the Carol Service)

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Lycig

Brenda Elldred

Leading your church into growth is all about building connections with our local communities, getting to know people and sharing God’s love by listening and caring and encouraging them to connect with God. It’s about putting into action our faith. At Leading your Church into Growth, we think a good way to begin the process of planning for growth is to think about 'The Four P's'. These are based on Paul's ministry in Acts 17.

1. We pray for growth.

2. The church is an intentional presence in the community.

3. We take opportunities to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ.

4. Not all will respond, but some will want to hear more, so we 'persuade' those who do want to hear more, by teaching them how to become a follower of Jesus.

As the year began so Covid restrictions were lifting and generally church life began to take shape again. However, we were also now in vacancy and so felt we needed to review our capacity for keeping things going. A meeting was held on 19[th] July with the Diocesan lead Revd Charlie Nobbs. A full programme of church events was mapped, it was extensive, but it gave a plan for the year and it was good to see at the end of the year that the majority of the planned work was achieved. There are 7 steps to the programme, and we agreed that we would continue working on the 3 Steps originally chosen as needing work. They are as follows;-

Creating a prayerful culture of Growth Developing engaging worship Becoming an inviting and welcoming church.

Leaving the next step of Making a pathway for seekers to become disciples until we had more capacity and leadership from a vicar.

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Lycig

Brenda Elldred

In St. John’s Chelveston we don’t have schools, but we have been working closely with our Parish council and now have joint events.

We are part of the ‘Environmental group’ looking to clean up our countryside and encourage recycling and less use of plastics. We also had a joint ‘Queens Platinum Jubilee’ event in the church and we have regular joint Quiz nights held in the church– all this has brought more interest in the church and an opportunity to talk about our faith and we hope to build on this.

In the September meeting Charlie Nobbs provided some training on the 4 step approach on how best to recruit volunteers which we now need to follow through. Simply put:-

Step 1 I do – you watch Step 2 I do – you help Step 3 you do – I help Step 4 You do – I watch

In November we joined in with the Council of Churches for Rushden and Higham in providing ‘Warm Spaces’ for people who were struggling to heat and eat.

At the meeting in January 2023, we agreed to investigate more the joint work with the Council of Churches, particularly for learning and study groups, and in order to promote more joined up thinking. This Lent we shared in the Lent Lunches and Sue Clarke from St. Mary’s has set up a Deanery Lent Litter pick, which gives an opportunity to do our bit for the environment and gives the opportunity to speak to people as we do.

We also hope to join in ‘Party in the Park’ in the summer with all churches together and, where we can, share our faith and promote our churches.

Going forward we hope that with a new vicar we can begin looking at study groups to help grow our faith and at the same time grow our team of volunteers.

52

St Mary the Virgin Higham Ferrers Thank You God of Mission Who alone brings growth to your Church, Send your Holy SplrSt to glve Vlsion to our plannlngi Wisdom to our octions, And power to our witness. Help our church to grow in numbers, In spiritual commitment to you, And in service to our local commvnltyi Through Jesus Chrlst our Lord. Amen Leoding your Church into Growth May the glace Of the Loid iesus Christ, the love Of God, ano the feiiowship Of the Holy spiiit. be you all. 2 Ciilnlh

St Mary’s Church, Higham Ferrers

End of Year Financial Statements

Year ending 31/12/2022

Page 1

Statement of Financial Activities

Unrestricted Designated
Restricted Endowment
Total
Prior year
funds
funds
funds
funds
funds
total funds
Income and endowments from:
Donations and legacies
Income from charitable activities
Other trading activities
Investments
Other income
Total income
59,586.56
10,000.00
91,410.53
0.00
160,997.09
83,014.81
5,938.50
0.00
0.00
0.00
5,938.50
6,433.00
17,840.34
0.00
39,290.34
0.00
57,130.68
73,605.24
1,012.51
285.77
2,243.82
0.00
3,542.10
196.29
241.99
0.00
21,558.38
0.00
21,800.37
339.23
84,619.90
10,285.77
154,503.07
0.00
249,408.74
163,588.57
Expenditure on:
Raising funds
Expenditure on charitable activities
Other expenditure
Total expenditure
1,394.41
0.00
1,966.75
0.00
3,361.16
8,407.49
74,755.74
34.66
48,287.48
0.00
123,077.88
232,979.33
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
1,311.40
76,150.15
34.66
50,254.23
0.00
126,439.04
242,698.22
Net income / (expenditure) resources before
transfer		 8,469.75
10,251.11
104,248.84
0.00
122,969.70
(79,109.65)
Transfers
Gross transfers between funds - in
Gross transfers between funds - out
Other recognised gains / losses
Net movement in funds
0.00
146.56
91,314.24
0.00
91,460.80
22,731.18
(148.43)
0.00
(91,312.37)
0.00
(91,460.80)
(22,731.18)
8,321.32
10,397.67
104,250.71
0.00
122,969.70
(79,109.65)
Total funds brought forward 1,078.45
21,013.02
124,713.68
0.00
146,805.15
225,914.80
Total funds carried forward 9,399.77
31,410.69
228,964.39
0.00
269,774.85
146,805.15
Represented by
Unrestricted
General fund
9,399.77
0.00
0.00
0.00
9,399.77
1,078.45
Designated
Grace Milgate & Peggy Horsfield Young People
Fund
0.00
31,410.69
0.00
0.00
31,410.69
21,013.02
Restricted
Bede House
Bell Appeal
0.00
0.00
5,116.79
0.00
5,116.79
4,996.79
0.00
0.00
6,180.31
0.00
6,180.31
6,070.16

Page 2

Choir 0.00 0.00 400.23 0.00 400.23 0.00
Elizabeth Groome Organ Scholarship 0.00 0.00 1,910.00 0.00 1,910.00 2,000.00
Heating Fund 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 (33,002.23)
J Crew (Fabric) 0.00 0.00 2,922.04 0.00 2,922.04 2,979.23
Restoration Fund 0.00 0.00 196,742.67 0.00 196,742.67 123,776.51
Servery 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 231.15
St Marys 600 Appeal 0.00 0.00 15,692.35 0.00 15,692.35 17,662.07

Balance sheet

Total funds
Prioryear funds
Current assets
Investments
Cash at bank and in hand
2,922.04
2,979.23
268,966.62
174,707.62
271,888.66
177,686.85
Liabilities
Creditors: Amounts falling due in one year
2,113.81
30,881.70
2,113.81
30,881.70
Net current assets less current liabilities 269,774.85
146,805.15
Total assets less current liabilities 269,774.85
146,805.15
Total net assets less liabilities 269,774.85
146,805.15
Represented by
Unrestricted
General fund
9,399.77
1,078.45

Page 3

Designated
Choir Vestry
Grace Milgate & Peggy Horsfield Young People Fund
Community Outreach
Choir Robes
Father Warnes
0.00
0.00
31,410.69
21,013.02
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
Restricted
Bede House
Restoration Fund
Servery
St Marys 600 Appeal
Bell Appeal
Chantry Chapel
Choir
J Crew (Fabric)
Heating Fund
Childrens Corner
Lady Chapel
Elizabeth Groome Organ Scholarship
5,116.79
4,996.79
196,742.67
123,776.51
0.00
231.15
15,692.35
17,662.07
6,180.31
6,070.16
0.00
0.00
400.23
0.00
2,922.04
2,979.23
0.00
(33,002.23)
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
1,910.00
2,000.00
Funds of the church 269,774.85
146,805.15

Analysis of income and expenditure

Total Unrestricted Designated Restricted Endowment This year Last year

Page 4

INCOME AND ENDOWMENTS

Donations and legacies

Income from charitable activities
Gift Aid - Bank
Gift Aid - Envelopes
Donations -Gift Aid
Loose plate collections
Envelopes - Non Gift Aid
Bank - Non Gift Aid
SumUp Payments
Web Site donations
One-off Gift Aid gifts
Donations appeals etc
Tax recoverable on Gift Aid
Legacies
Legacy - Restricted
Elizabeth Groome Organ Scholarship
Children's Singing Workshops
Recurring grants
Non-recurring one-off grants
Other funds generated
Wall Safes-Candles
Wall Safe - Church Expences
Church Flowers
Misc
Total
Fees for weddings and funerals
Bookstall sales to promote objectives
Total		 38,109.68
0.00
0.00
0.00
38,109.68
37,615.22
1,666.04
0.00
0.00
0.00
1,666.04
2,217.49
350.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
350.00
1,020.00
4,344.53
0.00
0.00
0.00
4,344.53
2,617.57
1,359.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
1,359.00
1,436.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
651.00
127.47
0.00
28.48
0.00
155.95
1,124.59
1,076.16
0.00
0.00
0.00
1,076.16
916.91
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
175.00
645.00
0.00
770.00
0.00
1,415.00
3,419.75
10,869.23
0.00
5,062.05
0.00
15,931.28
15,146.25
0.00
10,000.00
0.00
0.00
10,000.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
80,640.00
0.00
80,640.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
(90.00)
0.00
(90.00)
2,000.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
2,000.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
1,523.96
85.00
0.00
5,000.00
0.00
5,085.00
10,600.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
5.08
188.90
0.00
0.00
0.00
188.90
372.39
85.55
0.00
0.00
0.00
85.55
23.60
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
100.00
680.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
680.00
50.00
59,586.56
10,000.00
91,410.53
0.00
160,997.09
83,014.81
5,920.20
0.00
0.00
0.00
5,920.20
6,433.00
18.30
0.00
0.00
0.00
18.30
0.00
5,938.50
0.00
0.00
0.00
5,938.50
6,433.00

Page 5

Other trading activities

Investments
Other income
Fund Raising
St Marys 600 Appeal
Heating & Lighting
Bede House - Lettings
Parish magazine sales
Total
Dividends
Increase in share value
Bank and building society interest
Rent from lands or buildings
Total
VAT Reclaimed
Chelveston Stationery Contribution
Insurance claims
Total		 8,184.32
0.00
0.00
0.00
8,184.32
8,194.33
0.00
0.00
39,290.34
0.00
39,290.34
58,323.11
665.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
665.00
750.00
8,986.67
0.00
0.00
0.00
8,986.67
6,130.80
4.35
0.00
0.00
0.00
4.35
207.00
17,840.34
0.00
39,290.34
0.00
57,130.68
73,605.24
87.38
0.00
0.00
0.00
87.38
170.28
0.00
0.00
(57.19)
0.00
(57.19)
0.00
25.13
285.77
2,301.01
0.00
2,611.91
26.01
900.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
900.00
0.00
1,012.51
285.77
2,243.82
0.00
3,542.10
196.29
0.00
0.00
21,558.38
0.00
21,558.38
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
339.23
241.99
0.00
0.00
0.00
241.99
0.00
241.99
0.00
21,558.38
0.00
21,800.37
339.23
INCOME TOTAL 84,619.90
10,285.77
154,503.07
0.00
249,408.74
163,588.57
EXPENDITURE
Raising funds
Fees paid to fund raisers
Costs of fetes & other events
St Marys 600
Total		 0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
78.36
1,394.41
0.00
0.00
0.00
1,394.41
5,731.13
0.00
0.00
1,966.75
0.00
1,966.75
2,598.00
1,394.41
0.00
1,966.75
0.00
3,361.16
8,407.49

Page 6

Expenditure on charitable activities Page 7

Giving to missionary societies
Giving - relief and development
agencies
Secular charities
Special Collections
Parish Share payments
Assistant staff costs
Salary of parish administrator
Working expenses of incumbent
Vicar's telephone
Parish training and mission
Church running - insurance
Miscellaneous
Church office - telephone
Organ / Organist costs
Choir
Church maintenance
Cleaning
Upkeep of services
Upkeep of churchyard
Administration
Photo Copier/Printing
Visiting speakers / locums
Church running - electric
Chantry Chapel - Electricity
Church running - gas
Church running - water
Church running - heating and lighting
Grace Milgate
Fees re Weddings/Funerals-
Disbursements
Bede House - electricity
Bede House - gas
Bede House - Water Rates
Bede House - General Expenditure
Bede House - Cleaning
Church major repairs - structure
Church major repairs - installation
Total		 0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
500.00
1,000.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
1,000.00
1,000.00
1,000.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
1,000.00
1,165.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
198.74
30,000.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
30,000.00
47,000.00
53.95
0.00
0.00
0.00
53.95
100.13
2,142.25
0.00
0.00
0.00
2,142.25
0.00
428.82
0.00
0.00
0.00
428.82
4.99
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
84.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
48.62
8,790.49
0.00
0.00
0.00
8,790.49
8,452.55
1,372.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
1,372.00
25.00
539.68
0.00
0.00
0.00
539.68
420.28
5,021.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
5,021.00
3,977.99
586.10
0.00
149.77
0.00
735.87
551.60
3,492.82
0.00
80.00
0.00
3,572.82
5,059.63
1,041.35
0.00
0.00
0.00
1,041.35
688.40
580.32
0.00
0.00
0.00
580.32
1,603.72
74.99
0.00
0.00
0.00
74.99
55.00
951.18
0.00
0.00
0.00
951.18
433.48
2,471.24
0.00
0.00
0.00
2,471.24
2,059.71
133.60
0.00
0.00
0.00
133.60
0.00
816.11
0.00
0.00
0.00
816.11
1,152.03
1,066.65
0.00
0.00
0.00
1,066.65
1,047.87
2,811.49
0.00
0.00
0.00
2,811.49
1,410.93
53.62
0.00
0.00
0.00
53.62
0.00
(755.00)
0.00
0.00
0.00
(755.00)
0.00
0.00
34.66
0.00
0.00
34.66
0.00
2,692.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
2,692.00
2,535.00
925.30
0.00
0.00
0.00
925.30
556.22
1,931.03
0.00
0.00
0.00
1,931.03
818.41
538.34
0.00
0.00
0.00
538.34
185.66
1,146.41
0.00
0.00
0.00
1,146.41
1,202.32
3,850.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
3,850.00
5,374.30
0.00
0.00
9,893.00
0.00
9,893.00
2,700.00
0.00
0.00
38,164.71
0.00
38,164.71
142,567.75
74,755.74
34.66
48,287.48
0.00
123,077.88
232,979.33

Page 8

Other expenditure

Childrens Singing Workshop
Total		 0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
1,311.40
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
1,311.40
EXPENDITURE TOTAL 76,150.15
34.66
50,254.23
0.00
126,439.04
242,698.22
GRAND TOTAL 8,469.75
10,251.11
104,248.84
0.00
122,969.70
(79,109.65)

Independent Examiner’s Report to the Trustees of St Mary’s Church, Higham Ferrers.

I report on the accounts of the church for the year ended 31/12/2022.

Respective responsibilities of trustees and examiner

The church’s trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts. The church’s trustees consider that an audit is not required for this year under section 144(2) of the Charities Act 2011 (the 2011 Act)) and that an independent examination is needed.

It is my responsibility to:

Basis of independent examiner’s report

My examination was carried out in accordance with the general Directions given by the Charity Commission. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts, and seeking explanations from you as trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit and consequently no opinion is given as to whether the accounts present a ‘true and fair view’ and the report is limited to those matters set out in the statement below.

Independent examiner’s statement

In connection with my examination, no matter has come to my attention:

  1. which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in any material respect the requirements

  2. to keep accounting records in accordance with section 130 of the 2011 Act; and

Page 9

• to prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records and comply with the accounting requirements of the 2011 Act have not been met; or

  1. to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

Signed

Paul Adams 19 Wymington Park Rushden Northants NN10 9JP

Date 17th March 2023

Page 10

Independent Examln•r'8 R•F>Ort to tho Trustees of St Mary's Church. Hlgham Ferrern. I report on the accounts of the church for the year ended 31112r2022. Rospective responsibilities of tru$tee8 and examlner The church's trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accwnts. The church's trustees consider that an audit is not required for this year under section 144(2) of the Charities Act 2011 (the 2011 Act)) and that an independent examination is needed. tt is my responsibility to". ' examine the accounts under section 145 of the 2011 Act)., . to follow the proodures laid down in the General Directions given by tr Charity Commission (under section 145{5)(b) of the 2011 Act); and . to state whether particular matters have corre to my attention. Ba8is of indopendent oxam5n•r's report My examination was carried out in accordance with the general Direclions given by the Charity Commission. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charty and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts. and seeking explanations from you as trustees conoming any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit and consequently opinion is given as to whether the accounts present a 'true and fair vie•l and the report is limited to those matters set out in the statement below. Independent examiner's statement In connection with my examination. no matter has come to my attention: 1. which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in any material resFect the require . to keep accounting records in accordan￿ with section 130 of the 2011 Act. and . to prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records and comply with the accounting requirements of the 2011 Act have not been met. or 2. to which. in my opinion. attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached. Signed Paul Adams 19 Wymington Park Rushden Northants NN10 9JP Date17th March