St Andrew’s Church Eccles Annual Report of the Parochial Church Council for the Year Ending 31st December 2023
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Contents
| Administratve Informaton | 3 |
|---|---|
| Structure, Governance and Management | 3-4 |
| Safeguarding Report | 4 |
| Safeguarding Policy | 5 |
| Church Wardens’ Report | 6 |
| St Andrew’s School Report | 7-8 |
| Electoral Roll | 8 |
| Community Report | 8-9 |
| SALT (Sunday School) Report | 9 |
| Home Group Report | 10-11 |
| Churches Together in Eccles Report | 11 |
| Deanery Synod Report | 11-12 |
| Financial Review | 13 |
| Independent Examiner’s Report | 14 |
| Statement of Financial Actvites | 15-18 |
Aims and Purposes
St Andrew’s Eccles PCC has the responsibility of co-operating with the Team Clergy in promoting in the ecclesiastical parish the whole mission of the Church - pastoral, evangelistic, social and ecumenical. It also has maintenance responsibilities for the church building.
Administrative Information
St Andrew’s Church is situated on Chadwick Rd, Eccles M30 0NZ. It is part of the Eccles Team Ministry in the Deanery of Salford and Leigh and in the Diocese of Manchester within the Church of England. The correspondence address is The Vicarage, 11 Abbey Grove, Eccles M30 9QN. Website: www.standrewseccles.org
Structure, Governance and Management
The Parochial Church Council of the ecclesiastical parish of St Andrew, Eccles, Manchester is a registered charity (charity number 1132836). The method of appointment of PCC members and wardens is set out in the Church Representation Rules. Members of the PCC are either ex officio (being ordained clergy, members of the Deanery or Diocesan Synod or Church Wardens) or are elected at the Annual Parochial Church Meeting as PCC members. (Wardens and Deanery Synod representatives are also elected by the Annual Parochial Church Meeting). All Church attendees are encouraged to register on the Electoral Roll and stand for election to the PCC.
PCC members who have served during 2023 and are ex officio
The Parochial Church Council of the ecclesiastical parish of St Andrew Eccles Manchester. Registered charity number 1132836
Rev Andrew Harper Team Vicar and Chair Rev Jennifer Lewis Ordained Local Minister and Curate Kevin Walton Church Warden (Lay chair) Stephen Gibbison Church Warden and Safeguarding Coordinator Richard Lewis/* PCC Treasurer
- Deanery Synod member ** Diocesan Synod member
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Elected members
Elaine Walton Reader Karen Gibbison Authorised Lay Minister (Children’s work) Jane Lowe PCC Secretary (until November 2023) and Authorised Lay Minister (Community)
Gaynor Bland
Aimee Downey First elected 23rd April 2023 and PCC Secretary (from November 2023)
The PCC met 7 times in 2023. The average attendance was 77%.
Safeguarding Report
Statement of Intent: The parish will follow the Church of England guidance on safeguarding children and adults at risk, per the Parish Safeguarding Handbook, Updated August 2019.
The C of E Parish safeguarding handbook can be accessed via a link within the diocese website, Navigate to it via Support for Parishes >> safeguarding >> Policies and Guidance Diocese of Manchester | Policies and Guidance (anglican.org) If anyone would like a hard copy of the handbook, please ask the safeguarding co-ordinator.
The PCC reviewed and agreed to apply the Church of England model safeguarding policy on 13th March 2023. It was signed at the 2023 APCM on 23rd April 2023. A signed copy of the policy is on the notice board in church and it is also published in this annual report.
Where roles require it, we are continuing to get our volunteers DBS checked and to complete the required training courses.
Stephen Gibbison, Safeguarding Coordinator
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Church Wardens’ Report
We wish to place on record, on behalf of the PCC and the congregation our thanks to Rev Jenny Lewis for her generous devotion to St Andrew’s, its congregation and the wider community, during the past year. She has been the glue that has held the parish together during a difficult period in the life of St Andrew’s and we are blessed that she has been placed here. She has worked tirelessly not only in the parishes of the Eccles Benefice, but has also ministered to the bereaved and officiated at Sunday Services in adjacent parishes. They also are blessed that she has made herself available to meet their needs.
In our 2022 report we looked at the average weekly attendance and noted that we had not recovered from the 2020 Covid epidemic. In 2023 our average weekly attendance was 27 adults and 5 children which is a marginal increase on 2022, but we have not recovered our pre-Covid average weekly attendance of 29 adults and 7 children. We must not be discouraged by this, as our mid-week activities have been better supported than in previous years, as other reports will reflect, showing that there is a need for the outreach we are undertaking to provide for the community. Our continuing goal now must be to work to bring the message of Jesus to these groups and to welcome them into our worshipping community.
The major piece of work for all four churches in the benefice this year was the composition of a Benefice Profile, to be used to advertise the post of Rector of Eccles. It has been made clear to the benefice that eventually there would be only one stipendiary clergy moving forward and therefore the writing and collation of the contributions from the four parishes had to be handled sensitively. However, in late October, Archdeacon Rachel Mann suggested to the Benefice PCC’s that Rev Jeremy Wisdom might join the Team as a Curate-in-Charge to add support to the stipendiary clergy and to complete his training. After discussion this proposal was accepted and subsequently an arrival date of January 2024 was agreed.
Maintenance of the building is a never ending task for the wardens and we have seen the refurbishment of the main entrance doors completed, refurbishment of the organ pedal board, preparation of a faculty application for pigeon deterrence on the tower and repair/replacement of tower windows, as well as pointing of the west boundary wall and painting of the flagpole.
Finally, Stephen and I would like to thank all those who have helped us maintain our worship during 2023 and those who, by various means, have been undertaking the pastoral care of our community throughout the year.
Kevin Walton & Stephen Gibbison, Church Wardens
St Andrew’s School Report
2023 was another busy year for the school. Teaching was back to normal, but the shadow of Covid-19 is still affecting our children, especially the younger children joining us in nursery and reception who are often less developed as they were locked down so didn’t access as many experiences during their formative toddler years. Additional financial resources have been committed to provide extra trips and enrichment experiences to the children, especially as many of our families have been impacted by the cost-of-living challenges. The school was disrupted a little in February by a fire in the boiler room which started in the small hours of a Sunday morning. It could have been far worse. Fortunately, all the systems and protections that have been put in place worked well on the morning. The fire alarm summoned school staff and the fire service. The fire was contained within the boiler room and promptly extinguished. We are thankful for the prompt response of the school staff and fire service. The Local Authority emergency planning team were also excellent, they fitted and commissioned a temporary boiler within 2 days and the school was able to re-open on the Wednesday with working heating and the loss of only two days teaching.
We were the subject of an Ofsted Inspection in May 2023. It is fair to say that the school staff, particularly the Headteacher, were put under a great deal of pressure by the process and the intensity of some of the questioning that the inspectors applied. The timing was also terrible as it was during SATS testing week when staffing and pupils are already stretched in terms of their schedules and their nerves. The Headteacher and senior leaders had done a great job keeping the school prepared for this very overdue inspection and that preparation was effective during the inspection process. The Inspection result was very pleasing and reflected the hard work of all the St Andrews staff. The school was rated Good in all categories and Good overall, with the inspector making the following comments:
Pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), thrive at St Andrew’s School. They are happy at school. Typically, pupils behave well and they develop positive at udes to learning. Pupils strive each day to meet leaders’ high expectations of their learning and behaviour. Pupils value their diverse community. Many pupils at the school are new to the country. Nevertheless, they settle quickly, make new friends and catch up where they have missing knowledge. Pupils told inspectors that it does not matter who you are because everyone is treated the same at St Andrew’s School.
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St Andrew’s School Report continued….
The full Ofsted inspection report is available on-line or I can provide a printed copy. Last year’s report referred to the Government pushing schools to academize. Once again, the legislation on this matter did not materialise, so we are continuing as we are for the time being. Academisation is still likely to happen at some point so we need to keep considering and looking for viable options. Until then we will continue to work in clusters with other Salford Schools to support and share best practice with each other.
The school is missing an ex officio foundation governor as Rev Andy Harper chose not to take up the role and no replacement was appointed. We hope the role will be filled in 2024.
As November 2023, the school was rather full with 227 pupils, 132 boys and 95 girls. 113 children (49%) speak English as an additional language. 93 children (40%) are classed as disadvantaged, and 40 are vulnerable.
Community Report continued ….
The Art and Craft workshop continued to run on Tuesday afternoons led by a professional tutor (financed by grants including one from the National Lottery Community Fund) providing an activity and a chance to socialise for mainly (but not exclusively) older members of the community. The Community Café on Friday mornings also continued to attract members of the local community as did the dementia friendly sessions for older sports fans run by the Sporting Memories Foundation while the cafe is open. All our activities saw an increase in the number of people using them during the year. It is our hope that all these activities as well as meeting local needs in a variety of ways will help us increase our links with the local community and show people the love of Jesus. I would also like to express my gratitude to all those who give up their time to help run these activities.
Jane Lowe, ALM (Community)
SALT (Sunday School) Report
Stephen Gibbison, Foundation Governor & Vice Chair of Governors
Electoral Roll Report
On 31st December 2023 there were 35 names on the Electoral Roll. During the year we welcomed two new members, Emma Harper and Aimee Downey. Sadly just near the end of the year Rose Sharpe died unexpectedly.
Jane Lowe, Electoral Roll Officer
Community Report
During the year St Andrew’s has hosted a distribution centre for the Salford Foodbank which is part of the Trussell Trust network of foodbanks on Monday afternoons and Thursday mornings. Foodbank volunteers (some from Eccles Team churches and others from the wider community) served refreshments and gave out bags of food to people who came with vouchers issued by professionals or voluntary organisations. Advice was provided by advisors from St Anthony’s Centre and Salford Citizens’ Advice.
Toddler Group for preschool children accompanied by an adult continued to take place on Tuesday mornings. Children had the opportunity to play with a variety of toys, listen to a Bible themed story and have a go at a craft activity based on the story.
Our families continue to regularly attend and we continue to learn together using games bible stories crafts and we are trying different ways to pray together.
This year we have explored the book of Acts especially looking at Stephen, Barnabus and Silas and we have learned how Saul became St Paul and we went with him on his missionary journey .
We have also looked at how God gives us different weather
The children decorated plant pots so we could give them to the housebound and sick at Harvest time.
We also held our Nativity play which was based on what the animals saw in the stable when Jesus was born. For this we made masks
Our work is displayed on the noticeboard before being put into scrapbooks. Thank you to all our special children who bring us creativity and fun and to Marian for her help and patience and her creativity . Thank you to the congregation of St Andrew who show support and interest in the children
Please continue to pray for the children, Kate and Karen.
Kate and Karen, Salt Leaders
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Home Group Report
The group was still meeting via Zoom when we restarted after the 2022/2023 Christmas break.
For the beginning of the year, our sessions were based on studies from the bibleproject.com website, a resource which is new to us. We followed a set of studies about the Character of God, looking in detail at God’s attributes according to Exodus 34:6-7:
6 And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, ‘The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness,
7 maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.’
Over the course of six weeks, after a general overview of the verses, we considered each of the attributes mentioned in verse 6 in turn, as well as his justice which means that, while being able to forgive wickedness, rebellion and sin, God can’t simply ignore it as if it doesn’t matter. The background material went back to the various meanings of the Hebrew words used in the Bible in this description of God, which helped to enrich our understanding. Who knew that the Hebrew word for compassion is linked to the word for womb? Not me, for one! The Biblical images of God as a mother cherishing, protecting and nurturing her child, illustrating God’s compassion, take on deeper significance with this understanding.
Home Group Report continued….
We decided that after the summer break we would continue going through the book of Isaiah, to get a whole picture of what God said to his people through this major prophet. And so from September until December, we read and discussed Isaiah chapters 40 onwards, under the heading ‘Finding Hope’.
We delighted in, and were greatly encouraged by, the wonderful prophecies about Jesus.
The group is currently made up of people who belong to St Andrew’s, Christ Church and St Paul’s. New members are always welcome. I would love it if we could start an additional group because the current group grows too large, or if someone could host an afternoon group.
Elaine Walton, Home Group Coordinator & Reader
Churches Together In Eccles Report
The Annual Unity service was well attended with a majority of our member churches present.
We were not able to hold the Easter Walk of Witness and our Lenten group was held on line again. Armistice Day and Remembrance Day services were well attended, in spite of the weather. Carols round the Cross were supported by local residents and the Borough Band in December.
Barbara Holmes and Emma Harper, CTE Representatives
Jenny once more organised a Lent course on behalf of Churches Together in Eccles, using the study guide ‘The Prayers of Jesus’. We met on Zoom and it was, as always, a joy to meet with Christians from other denominations during this time.
After Easter, we focused on the first 39 chapters of the book of Isaiah, under the heading ‘Lessons in Trust’. During the turbulent time of the threat to Israel and Judah from the Assyrian Empire, the prophet Isaiah urged God’s people to turn back to God and trust him, despite the circumstances they were living through.
From 23 May the group started meeting together in person again, at a new venue: the home of Rosemary Grovestock, from St Paul’s Church. Meeting in person meant that three people were able to re-join the group, and we could enjoy refreshments together again afterwards!
Deanery Synod Report
Deanery Synod has met three times during 2023, in March, July and November.
At the March Synod meeting the main discussion was about Focal Leadership and a presentation was received from Beverley Angier, the Diocesan Focal Ministry Officer, about Focal Ministry. Following the presentation there was a wide ranging discussion and some confusion surrounding the role of the Focal Leader. Some questioned whether the proposed role was not already being undertaken by a variety of office holders already and there were a number of questions left unanswered.
At the July Synod meeting we were provided with a paper ‘Church Attendance in October 2022 Post Covid Trends, Patterns and Possibilities’. The paper
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Deanery Synod Report continued ….
highlighted that attendance at weekly Sunday services had not recovered to the pre Covid levels, but there was evidence that a significant number of people were accessing their weekly worship via online Church at home. The conclusions of the paper are:-
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Invite and welcome – who has not returned post Covid and have they been invited back? Enquirers’ courses and invitations to Sunday services can bear fruit if the interested can be identified. The technical experience and expertise churches have had to develop for their online operations should have improved their ability to use social media as part of their invitation and welcome initiative.
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Plant new services and congregations
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Make church and services available every week
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Focus on children and families
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Don’t abandon on line - develop it
The main topic for discussion was a presentation from Mike McGurk entitled ‘What are our five loaves and two fishes?’ The main outcomes from the presentation are not dissimilar to those noted in the paper mentioned above. At the November meeting the main topic for discussion was entitled ‘The extraordinary Gift of ‘Giving’’. Carolyn McGloughlin, the Diocesan Parish Support Officer, gave a presentation on Diocesan finances and how the parish share is spent. The diocesan income for 2023 is estimated at £12.1 million, including £6.5 million from parish share contributions. However, the budgeted expenditure is £13.1 million. The deficit of £1.1 million will be covered from unrestricted reserves and the sale of redundant vicarages. Clearly balancing a budget from reserves and sale of vicarages cannot balance budgets ad infinitum. Parishes are being asked to make payment of the parish share a priority, although the point was made that payment of parish share is voluntary. Logically, reduced income will inevitably mean fewer clergy. St Andrew’s has paid the requested Parish Share in full for at least the past 30 years.
Kevin Walton & Stephen Gibbison, Deanery Synod Representatives
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