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← The Parochial Church Council Of The Ecclesiastical Parish Of St. Andrew's Church Corbridge

2023-12-31-accounts

The Parish of St Andre￿s. Corbrldge with St Oswald. Hajton and St James. Newton Hall FINANCIAL STATEMENTS For the ear ended 31st De￿mber 2023 1. Independent Examinerfs Report 2. Treasurer's Report 3. Summarised Balance Sheet 4. Summarised Statement of Financial Activities 5. Notes to Financial Statements 6. Grants & Donations

ST ANDREW'S CHIIRCH, CORBRIDGE INDEPENDENT EXA￿lINER's REPORT TO THE PAROCHIAI, CHiiRCH COI'YCIL OF ST ANDREW'S CHURCH. CORBRIDGE I reKK)rt on the accounts of the Parish Council for the year ended 31 December 2023 which are atiached. Respective Responsibilities of Trustee and Examiner. As the members of the Pamchial Church Council. you are r¢swnsible for the preparation of the accounts. I rcp)rt in rLSkK'Ct of m) e￿InatiOn of the Tn￿l'S accounts Ca￿l¢d out undcr scction 145 ofih¢ 201 l Act and in carrying out my examination. I have followed th¢ applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5Xb) of the Act Basis of Independent Exgminer's ReporL The examination includes a review of the accounting T￿OrdS k¢pt by the Parochial Church Council and a companson of ihe accounts presented with these records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in th¢ accounts. and seeking explanations from you ￿ members concerning any such mats¢rs. The procedures undertaken do noi provide all the evidence that would be required in an audil. and consequently I do not express an audit opinion on the view given by the accounts. Independent Exwminer's StalemenL In connLction with m), examinaiion. no matter has ￿me lo my attention: (a) which gives me ￿&Sonable cause to believe thai in any ma¢¢riaJ respect the requirements.. (i) To keep ac¢ountin8 r￿ordS in accordance with section 130 of the act. and To prepare accounts which accord with the acrJ)untin8 records and to comply wilh the accounting rquirements of the Act. have not been met. or (b) To which, in my opinion. attention should be dra￿ in ordcr to enable a proper underslandin8 of the accounts to be reach￿. Mike Collini

Parochial chU￿h Council of Cort)ridge. with Hallon and Newton Hall. TREASURER'S REPORT For the ygar ending 31st December 2023 1. Summary In 2023, Our reserves, as reported In the accounts. increa 50 . A breakdovm of the incre8ge came about is set out below together wth a ¢crfnparison to the 2022 results.. £OOO'• 2023 2022 Sury)lu• on o￿l•tIng A¢tlvltle8 Capltsl pro1￿ts Chango In valu• of In¥gsknonl• 12.0 23.9 Net Mov•m•nt In Funds 17.6 Note that the Operating Activities result shown for 2022 is shown after adiuslmenl for a liming issue associated with the payment of PCC Gfants. 2. Op8ratlng AcllvltS01 Operating Activities covers all ol the activities involved in Ihe regular running of the Church including income frgm Giving, Donatsons, Fees and Fundraising and expenoilure on Clergy expenses. Cttufch and Cottage maintenance, Services. Admin as well as Parish Share. The result Is an Important Indicator of the financial health of the church. The chart below shows how well we perforn￿d Ihis indicator over the pasl 10 year8. Operatlng Artl¥ttl I£I)OO's) Lo G*ld -10 Irlterregnurn -10 -30 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 >)20 2021 2022 X123 A strorsg recovery which began in 2019, following the interregnum. was interrupted by Covid In 2020 bul continued thereafter up until 2022. The resutt for 2023, athough 5ts11 very posikn"ve. was £14,000 lower than the year before. This Is because".

  1. Befvleen 2018 and 2022, I￿ome levels rose strongly. particularty ￿th Personal Giving. tjonalions and Fundraisinq Events whilst expendrture increased bul al a much slower rate.
  2. Befvleen 2022 and 2023. Income levels Ilattened *Mth no growth at all on Donati¢)ns and Fundraising Events whilst there were some significant increases in costs followtThJ the need to renew electricity ctsnlra¢xt5 and the employment of a Parish Admini51rator. 3 year contracts for electricity and gas mean Ihat ¥￿ have been spared some of the earfy Shocks of Increa51ng energy pnces but new conlracls for electllcity last year and church gas In 2025 will re$ull In higher costs in coming years. In addition. our Pafish Share charge. after many years virtually unchanged. Increases by £4.000 this year and further robust Increases can be expected in fvture.
  3. Capltal Prol8cts Spending on Capital last year was very minor bLrt we did receive a donats'on of £25.000 from John Ross lo be applied to the Lady Chapel proiecl
  4. Inv••tmènts The small impfovemenl in the value of our investments last year reflected rna￿et Condit￿n$. The value of the Investments hasll not recovered to pre Covid levels. During the year we re￿1Ved £3,120 in dividends. Our Re$lricted Reseryes of £74.100 are primarity assooated wth capital spend. Unrestricted ReseNes of £181,400 include £86.200 which was received as a legao and deS￿nated lo the wofk involved in rer￿vatsng Sl Andrthrfs Coltage.
  5. Conclu81on Financially. 2023 was certainly a good yeaf lor St ArKlre*s. After pawrvj out £80.000 in Pafi8h Sh8re and £8.000 in charitable grants. we still managed an Operating surplus of £12,000. The fall in the surplus, however, from £26,000 In 2022 to £12.000 in 2023 S￿nal$ some coneeming issues. We are now seeing some punishing Increases In eleclncity costs with more of the same expected frorn 2025 with Church gas costs. In addrtion. after a number ol years where our Pansh Share ￿ntribUtIon hasnl changed much, we can expect o lot more pressure In coming years. A flattening In the gr0￿h of our income streams eoupled wrth these in¢rea$e$ is an uncomfortable combination

Paro¢ial Church Couneil of Corbridge with Halton and Newton Hall SUMMARISED BALANCE SHEET- at 31st Dec•m￿r 2023 2023 2022 INVESTMENTS lTr¥estmeni a$8eis CBF FuTr1 ICCLA 1S 853 05 sh•ml M & G Fund 13033 unrt$i 19283 17626 43523 44571 62807 62190 CURRENT ASSETS CBF Fur￿ ICCLA 10 + CCLA 201 11511 11180 C¥$h at bank and in Hanon G¢ner81 176438 1J7650 7141 7141 195096 165980 6QQ ACCRLIED INCOME & PREPAYKENTS 8181 9219 LNBILITIES FALLING OUE WITPIIN ONE YEAR 10822 8399 NET CURRENT ASSETS 192860 1￿770 NET ASSETS 355466 218966 FUNDS io UnreslrKted 181378 74088 184748 54221 2SS467 218968 The attached notes form part of these financial statements. Approved by the PCC on and signed on their behalf Ar Chalman Tre•¥uver

Parochial Church Coun¢ll ol Corbiidge, with Halton and 14•wlon Hall SUMIAARISED STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL AcT￿￿lEs - for th• y•af •nding 31st 00¢omb•r 2023 TOTAL FUNDS 2023 Fynd¥ INCOME & ENDOWMENTS Intomlng w••ourcM Ivomilworn 115474 115e77 IIIT56 Oth•r voluntary Incom• 13541 87 81524 li Incoff• Irom¢h•rW•bkn •rKf •n¢llliqry tr•dlTrJ Oth•f ordln•ry Incol￿n9 IMOIII¢•• 6742 15818 179J8 6297 3991 Extraordln4ry1th¢0rn 113T In¢om• Irom Inw•tm•nts 31TT 301 347 3186 Tg1•l Income & End0wm￿ts •¢1 L•gxl•s 131•36 22•636 186120 EXPENDITURE Gr4nt• 14549 19136 AttlvttJ•• r•M•d to th• •¢tlvll• ol chU￿b 53374 I￿2￿ 138181 Fund-r•lilng •t)d publlcty 14995 15836 3T02 Church ￿￿19¥m•￿t 12083 Rop•lrn & Mlnt•n•nc• Prol•¢t• 1123 1123 3701 Exp•rtdltur• In Mlatlm to prloi yMr• Tot•lExp•ndlturn 117164 T8￿1 1•J645 IT1128 L•¥a¢lrt R•¢•lv•d t4•t In¢0M￿Ap•￿dIl￿rn l.) 21J1 30090 14992 TranBfvr• B•hw•n Fund Othr R•¢ognlwd GOI￿Lo￿l￿ I. G•In¥L￿*￿ I-l on Inv••tyrnnts 611 4981 NET MOVEMENT IN FUNDS 11633 19067 eALANCES BROUGHT FWD Af 1 JAFI 2023 IM741 $4221 211966 208955 BALANCES CARRIED FWO AT 31 DECEMBER 2023 18im 250467 218966

  1. INCOME & ENOOWMENTS UJtr¢slrict•d R•strlci TOTAL FUNDS 2023 2022 In¢omlng mources from donorn 2 Bankets ordef5 lo Personal GNirJ a¢¢ouni Tax iefunds Irom 9rft aKI. FlanneLI gwirg with enwws Cash Co1￿￿¥ at •ll r¥t•s 82.759 24.651 82759 24651 78997 24133 8267 8627 Totsl.. 2a 115,474 203 116677 111756 Other voltsntsry lrt¢ffft T￿￿Te•l 2b fkjnatsons Votwe Cand8lLrt•raturalW¥lbox 01￿1 Fund Organ ApF•al 2b Churth Box 41.114 3.988 41314 3988 36222 18385 3071 26655 13.541 Halton Total: 2b 1&S41 87,982 81624 48111 Incorn• from ch•rft•lA• & •nclll•ry tradlng 2¢ Foes Hire ol Chvrcl 6,742 13.921 1,897 IS,818 17008 930 17938 1897 22560 Totsl.. 2£ 6.742 Oth•r ordlnary Incomlng rmourc 2tl Fun•rai col￿¢1￿￿ Speejal colkntions 5.885 432 6.297 3845 346 3991 432 1297 Totsl.. 2d Extraordlnary St•m• 2• utilit￿ Support 1137 1137 Tot•l.. 2• In¢om• Irom Inv•Atm•nts DNthnds and Irth￿t 3.177 3,177 301 301 3478 347fj 918fj 3186 Total: 21 Tol•l Incomlng f••our¢M b•lorn L•wkn.. ￿.1 136.936 2Z953LS 186120 L•g•cl•• Total.. 29 Tot•1 In6omlnq rn#ourcH: 2 136,930 22953L5 186120

  2. EXPENDITURE Unrestrict•d RestrtCi8d Exp¢ftthlurn Expendllure TOTAL FUNDS 1023 2022 Grant8 PCC donat￿)n$ PCC 9rnnt$ Funeral seNcas 432 203 s.e65 432 8253 346 15145 3645 8,OYJ Totsi.. 3• Actlvltlos dlrrftly r•latsd to th• ¥¢llvlll•• of th• ¢hurch 3b Minislry

  3. Porish Sharn * Dhx S•rv F￿3
  4. VKarage
  5. Vt•r
  6. Othw C￿rgY Church and SoThice$
  7. 8uth1ing * builJw*J Irtr4UWC•
  8. Seryth r•ourt•s -Mus 1.050 14549 19136 80.340 3.656 3,524 7.619 87959 3656 3524 83781 3484 3313 22,124 825 22124 16649 5838 OryarVPkgr#Js Choir Cam•ratA Org•nist$ Ph55y Chuich + Womèn'• SI A￿re￿$ Cott4g• Pknmon&l G•thfi Ewr•¥ 1.920 3.677 1920 36n 2628 10.339 289 5.322 1.279 10339 122 S322 1279 9012 420 437fj Total.. Jb 53.374 160264 138181 Fund-r•lslng and publlclty 3¢ Cost ol ¥•nis 642 842 14.9a5 14,916 5702 5702 Total.. Jc 118J¢ Chur¢h m•n•9•m•n¢ •nd admlnl•tratlon 3d CopyirrfJ. 5ta110n•ry and le￿￿ne Bank ¢h¥rgos + prof + m Parish Adm￿lI1r#t0r 3227 1182 1.745 5.253 12.083 1745 5253 12003 Tol•l.. 3d 4408 A•p•lrn •nd malnt•nanc• Misarylhn•tyJ8 Tot•l.. 3• Proloets 3f ￿ Gas 8048r Office Cornput•r ContnbutKsn recN*J New Hymn eooks 2291 288 2410 3701 Tctsl- 3f 1,123 1123 Totsl exp•ndlturn: 3 117,654 75,991 193846 171128

STAFF COSTS 2023111 2Q22 Wage5 and Sala￿$ 12,418 7,403 Dunng tha yeai, the PCC p#Kt fee5 for oryanists. a trumpeter for Rernembrance Day, a ¢kan&r and the Pansh Adminislralor None ol the feeipents r• paY more than £50.C#)J No rrNJmber of th8 PCC rece￿ any rernuneratw or benefrt during lh• year. INVESThIE14TS CBF CCLA IS Inv•stwl Fund.. Units 3 853.05 Htsio￿ = £3,S19. Markot v¥lue 4131 Dx 2023= e19283.45 131 Dec 2022 z £17625.21) M&G Inv•slrn8nt Fund. Unrts x 3033 e4$1 = £12.(0). Mork•l ¥•1￿ at 310oc 2023= £43623.25151 Doc 2022. t44570.541. DEBTORS A¢KnwO In¢om• & Pr•p•yThwJnl•.' Gift Attl In$urane• Prepll•J Parish Fees Oeternber cwsh banked in J•nu•ry irKI ¢wd r••0 Hiro F￿9 Oonalio 2023 1669 1174 3521 1076 4621 435 8106 9219 Gift Aid lax thim•d hai ￿•Th Aeen￿￿ Ihrd yaar. Tho KL¥u•l * in Wrth gull•nc• provthd Ir￿￿ PCC 4ccount•￿lrtY •Tha th• Ch•rii$ Aci. CASH ATBANK AND IN HANO Bank - co￿• PCC ILWS) Plonn¢d Giving - Corbndge PCC IBarcliysl Wom•n$ Fello￿hIP Fabric Pe￿ thsh WI 2022 49,703 16,939 85,450 44,867 8,803 J9.905 859 43,089 126 137.650 43,089 250 176A38 LIABILITIES.. FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR Awu¢d Costs Athfanc¢ ¢wir￿l￿n$ to ewnts ganisl fees utilrt Expen8•8 prepa￿ F￿ 8T 2022 111 2021, 1165 728 2466 496 1246 281 1318 142 556 8399 1248 210 2231 331

56

InvoiwJ Pansh Fees Funernl ¢d*a#)ns 10822

FUND DETAILS The thurch maintains reslricted fu￿1$ lor short and bxg tann purp088s for SiAndrthV$ and Hatton as wtll a$ those associated wrth 5pecffjc furJ faL51ng Ind￿1￿8$ and dMatKJns. Financjal transactvjns in ￿lch the church 1$ sirnply an Iniemiediary. ￿￿1ving and pa5$1ng on chartable donat￿￿9 as In Ihe cases of funeral So￿￿e5 or"bucd" collections. ar• 8SO treated os belongin9 to ￿trthd funds 10 ANALYSIS OF NET ASSETS BY FUND Unr•sirf¢¢•d RestrKted Funds Ftsnds Toi•l Inwstrnents Cuffeni A$sets Current OebtOfS Cuffeni LIa￿1rt 62,807 116.736 4.337 12.5021 181.378 82007 195096 8186 78,360 3.849 110.6221 255467 74.088 R•strlct•d funds: Atji D•comb•r 2023 Incomlng At l J•nuary X123 rn•our¢ Olrtgoing Trnn•f•rn PfgecIS Hallon Church MU￿¢ BuiKling Runn¢ng Cosls Fun•r8 Olher Ch•rtlks PCC Charrties Lo¢81 EmergenLy Me$8y Church Vicarlchurehwathni •tc Try Prgying terrtage 8oard8 DBF 1380 Anniversary Lady¢hapel Othoi Miner 36,&)3 1.123 35,781 7.799 ,931 27,446 5,022 4.751 432 203 432 1.159 1.159 269 1.206 19S 736 736 7.619 475 25.000 1.049 2195 2,104 .12$ 54,221 75.991 5,258 74.088 Regular Income sucn as standing order r•ceWs. plat• colkn(1thS partyb le•5 tends to be "unrestricted". ThK8 rnaan• Ihal th• in¢om• for ¥ny kgrtmai¢ •xwndrtur• subJe¢i to norm•1 •wov•l pr0¢•0uw. W• ca unre$iiiaed lunds %4ttich represent the surplus of irKome o¥er •xpendrtur• •t any poinl m Ilm?. fvnds c•n obviousty be aPpl￿d to any rtimate purpoae Wnen finon¢ 10 be appl￿￿ to a Part￿r ot4od Ilor Oyn Apwll o rK•lwd fw • donor. rt is 'reslricted" lo that Pufpose. The money has. ¢n effect. been g￿n on coTrJthn that rt wll ￿ sp8nt In that way Where, how￿er. mere money Is coll8c¢•d for a part￿u￿r ofyec¢ Ih#n ￿ need. sU￿lUS fund5 can b• applNryd lo a pu￿0￿8 %thich IB near hil. In the Case of the Oryan Apwal. lor exarnp￿. thk4 covkl te some ￿her fomi ol mu$ic In the Church Subject to the appioval ol PCC It 1$ noi nomially Possib￿ 10 holj a watNe fund. Th81 ￿Uk1 be a srtualion ere hove $￿Thi more on a reslncted ced than had recwd. In a ca#• such as thal, the shortfall wDuhY be made up tyjl of unrestr1c￿d funds Within our totsl closlng unrestrlcted fvnd8 for 20231É1813781, £88,245 cam• from a legacy. Although not r••trlct•d. this generous dohatit)n ha$ be•n"deslgnatett' lsat asld•l by PCC for sp•clfi¢ puvpow. t)•#lgnaUon In th1 way allows PCC tho Iloxl￿1ty to ¥p￿Y funds wh•r• rn￿1 n••d•d.

PCC Grants & Donatio x 2021 )23 Rtyai 8ntssh LegKn Stop Gap Stop Gap 2021 Chuich Misson S(¢ety Cnureh thssion Scoety 2021 Prxtical CompASSW tr tknststtrt• Cwen 2021 A Ro¢tO UK 223 1250 1925 242S A Rotha UK 2020121 Th• Yohannes lafftity The YLannes larnily 2021 Bfver PCCIL￿n￿QUsè Prqett InibaD¥e Noth East 2021 19Z5 2425 ioso InibN8 E•si 2022 Clim8te s1th￿rds ¢ubndq¢ Youm Inity• ioj Cutrblrt'5 cycli￿ Chalknw...................-..-..-..-....-.....-.....-...........-.-..-.._..-........ NOÈ• th+t￿l011￿•￿io•yJ￿0eeY￿I4S￿ 2022. tT.572rythdrotr•2020L10214•Awy

ST AIIDREW'S CHIIRCH. CORBRIDGE INDEPENDENT EXAMINER'S REPORT TO THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COiiYCIL OF ST ANDREW'S CHURCH. CORBIUDGE I r¢FK)rt on the accounts of the Parish Council for the year ended 31 December 2023 which are attached. Respective Responsibilities ofTrustee and Examiner. As the members of the Parochial Church Council. you are reswjnsible for the prewation of the accounts. l FCIK)rt in rL$￿cl of my Lxamination of thc Trust's accounts ca￿l¢d out under scction 145 of thc 201 l Act and in carrying out my examination. I have followed the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5Xb) of the Act Bgsis of Independent Examiner's ReporL The e.xamination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the Parochial Church Council and a comparison of the accounts presented with these records. li also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the account5, and seeking explanalions from you as members concerning any such matlers. The procLdures undertaken do not provide all Ihe evidenL% ihal would b¢ required in an audil, and consequently I do nol expr¢ss an audit opinion on the view given by the accounts. Independent Examiner's St¥4temenL In connLCtion with my examination. no matter has corne to my attention: (a) which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in any matrnal reSp￿t the requirements.. (i) To keep accounting records in accordance with Kction 130 of the act. and To prepare a￿ountS which accord with the accowitin8 records and to comply with ihc accounting requir¢ments of the Act. hav¢ not been met. or (b) To which, in my opinion. attention should be drawn in ordcr io enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be rvdched. Mike Collinj

The Parish of St. Andrew’s Corbridge with St. Oswald, Halton and Newton Hall

ANNUAL REPORT for year ending 31[st] March 2024

Incumbent

Canon Dr David J Kennedy

Bank

Lloyds Bank , Priestpopple , Hexham . NE46 1PA Barclays Bank , Priestpopple , Hexham . NE46 1PA

Parlsh of Corbridge with Halton and Newton Hall Our Parish Mission Statement Sharing the length and breadth of the love ofJesUS We are a community of Christians, committed to serve the Living God we know in Jesus Christ. Along with every Church in the Diocese of Newcastle we strive to grow the Church and bring hope through worship and prayer that is engaged and holy in INing out and sharing the Gospel by word and deed through reaching out to the entire community by caring for all by seeking to grow in faith as Christian disciples by welcoming visitors into our buildings and our Church life by working in partnership wtth other Christians in our parish. deanery and diocese To this end our doors are open our minds are open our hearts are open Inspired by the example of St Andrew. we strive to bring children, teenagers and adults to Jesus. ju￿ 2019

ANNUAL REPORTS

page

Minutes of AGM 2023 Carol Moffatt
 4
Vicar’s Report Canon David J Kennedy
 7
Electoral Roll Maureen Davison
 12
PCC Annual Report Jean Wilks
 13
Churchwardens Report Sue Graves, Jean Wilks & David McEwan 15
Halton Report Edward Pybus
 16
Safeguarding Report Safeguarding Team
 18
Fabric, Goods and Ornaments of the Church Maintenance Team
 19
Mission and Ministry
Messy Church Louise Stubbs
 22
Outside Mission and Giving: Take 5 Malcom Warin
 24
Pastoral Outreach
 Revd Linda E Hunter
 25
Eco Church Revd Sam Lochead
 27
Book Club
 Jennifer Wright
 28
Home Group Anne King-Lewis and Max Philbrick
 28
Prayer Group Jennifer Wright
 28
Church Music
 Colin Williams
 29
Women’s Fellowship
 Revd Linda E Hunter
 31
Outreach
Electronic Communication Simon A Hunter
 32
Deanery Synod Acting Deanery Secretary 34
Events & Fundraising Jean Wilks & Revd Linda Hunter 35
Church Flowers Ann Prudhoe
 37
Corbridge First School Suz Hart
 38

Thanks to Mike Bewick. Simon Hunter, Ian Wylie for contributing photographs to this report.

Minutes of the Annual Meeting of Parishioners and Annual Parochial Church Meeting

held in St Andrew’s Church, Corbridge on Sunday 21[st] May 2023 at 11.10am

Present:

Canon David Kennedy (Chair), Rev’d Sam Lochhead, Rev’d Linda Hunter and 48 laity.

Apologies:

John Wilson, Susan Wilson, Gail Williams, John Ross, Lynn Ward, Maurice Holmes, Max Philbrick and Monica Philbrick.

Meeting of Parishioners:

This first of two meetings was for the election of Church Wardens, for which anyone voting must be either resident in the parish or on the electoral roll. Both Jean Wilks and David McEwan had been nominated to stand again and their election was agreed unanimously.

David Kennedy expressed sincere thanks to Sue Graves, who though stepping down during the year due to personal circumstances, had continued Christian service with grace.

Annual Parochial Church Meeting:

  1. Minutes of meeting held on Sunday 15[th] May 2022

  2. Acceptance was proposed by Ian Graves, seconded by Janet Kennedy, agreed unanimously and signed by David Kennedy. There were no matters arising.

  3. Financial Statement

Cliff Wright spoke to the report and accounts, expressing thanks to all who help and highlighted the main features over the year.

3. Electoral Roll

David thanked Maureen Davison for maintaining the electoral roll role which stands at 172, a copy of which was available for inspection.

4. Reports.

It is the custom to take the reports included in the Annual Report, as read. David thanked everyone involved for their contribution to the booklet which demonstrates a very clear picture of what is happening in all areas of the church. He feels privileged to be Vicar at St Andrew’s. He also expressed appreciation to everyone who gave generously of time to support the work across the whole church. Although much goes unseen, all contributes to the spiritual health and wellbeing of our community. Particular thanks were expressed to Linda for her work inducting Lorna into the newly created post of administrator.

5. Elections.

With the retirement of Sue Graves, Anne King Lewis, Monica and Max Philbrick from the PCC, there were four vacancies. Four nominations had been received and their election agreed unanimously.

Two nominations to Deanery Synod were received and approved unanimously.

6. Appointment of Independent Examiner:

Cliff Wright reported that Mike Collins was happy to remain as independent examiner.

Acceptance was proposed by Alice Stephenson, seconded by Liz Buckley and agreed unanimously.

7. AOB.

Jean Wilks thanked David Kennedy for his inspirational leadership, and Janet, his wife for giving of her time so generously to support him.

There being no further business, the meeting closed in prayer.

PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL (PCC) 2023 – 2024

Churchwardens Jean Wilks David McEwan PCC Elected Members 2021 – 2024 Val Barnes Jo Eldridge Edward Pybus

2022 - 2025

Nahidah Remy John Wilson

2023 – 2026 John Clark Max Philbrick

Deanery Synod

Alice Stephenson Janet Kennedy

Canon Dr. David J Kennedy

VICAR’S REPORT

Introduction

It was hard to believe that last October, I have been in Corbridge for five years. How time flies. I can look back on that time in three phases – the first 15 months of getting to know both Church and community, beginning to develop church life and assessing our strengths and weaknesses. The second phase was the challenge of the Pandemic with all that stopping and starting. The months of Zoom meetings, telephone ministry, You-Tube videos, social distancing, the closure of our buildings, not being allowed to sing, masks, hand sanitizer, and tragically, many funerals – all now seems like a bad dream. But then, phase three and the return to something like normality as once again, we seek to move forward with energy and purpose. And, of course, phase four will be our 1350[th] Celebration Year beginning in October. We have exciting times ahead as a Church family and as a community.

Worship

The big development in our worship over the past year has been the introduction of Simply Worship (a name ‘borrowed’ from Morpeth Parish) on Sunday afternoons at 4pm. This now gives us an afternoon pattern of Messy Church on the second Sunday, River on the fourth Sunday and Simply Worship on the other Sundays of the month. While it was sad to bid farewell to 1662 Evening Prayer (which will have been used at St Andrew’s for over 400 years), nevertheless, the time was right to try something new. So now we have an informal contemporary Service of the Word (which is an authorized alternative to Morning and Evening Prayer in the Church of England) with sermon series (the first has been exploring selected Psalms), meeting in the North Transept in the round. It has been encouraging to have a congregation of between 10-20 people each Sunday. So, we are offering a diversity of worship styles at St Andrew’s which we believe will be an important part of our developing mission.

An innovation this past year was to focus on creation/environment for a month during the early autumn at our morning worship. This is part of an ecumenical and international initiative to make issues of ecology and concern to safeguard the integrity of creation and sustain and renew the life of the earth (Mark 5, the Anglican Five Marks of Mission’). This will become an annual part of our worship pattern, incorporating Harvest Thanksgiving. We also kept the Rogation Days with both the Sunday morning service and a prayer walk from Corbridge to Halton and back again. We have also welcomed speakers from some of our ‘Take 5’ charities that we support prayerfully and financially, including speakers from Gap Supported Housing, The Byker ‘Lighthouse Project’ and our recently retired CMS Mission Partners, Phil and Sylvie Good.

We continue to celebrate the Christian year fully through liturgy, preaching, music, and symbol. We had a moving Advent Procession, ‘Three Wonders’ Epiphany Service, a shared Covenant Service with Corbridge Methodists, our Dedication Festival in October (St Wilfrid’s-tide), the well-attended All Souls’ service and Remembrance Sunday Civic Service, as well as moving Evening Eucharists for Candlemas (with hundreds of tea-lights), Ash Wednesday, and Ascension Day. Advent and Christmas were as busy as ever with a packed Church for the three Community Carols services during the Tree Festival, a beautiful outdoor Carol Service with Hexham Brass with 278 attending, and excellent attendances on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day (855 people attended at either St Andrew’s or Halton). During Lent, the weekly Compline included addresses on the Northern Saints and in Holy Week, four addresses on ‘Friends of Jesus’. The Passiontide Holy Week liturgies were rich; a special choral devotion Behold the Man on Passion Sunday, and our customary liturgies for Maundy Thursday evening, Good Friday and Easter Day, which excellent music from the choir, with 243 people at worship on Easter Day. The ministry of prayer and the laying-on-of-hands and/or anointing with the oil of healing is now well established with autumn and spring special services on Sunday morning. We were delighted to welcome our Bishop, Bishop Helen-Ann to Corbridge for the first time to lead a service of confirmation in October and to give a Lent talk in February.

People

The undoubted highlight of the year was Linda Hunter’s ordination as Priest As with her Deaconing, a bus-full of members of St Andrew’s attended her ordination, led by Bishop Helen-Ann, at the Cathedral. Then on 5[th] July, Linda presided at the Eucharist at St Andrew’s for the first time. It was an evening of great joy and celebration. Her first Eucharist celebrated St Columba of Iona and the preacher was Bishop Dagmar Winter. Linda has settled into priestly ministry with amazing confidence and assurance; it’s hard to believe that she has only been exercising this ministry for 10 months.

In June, we welcomed the Revd Phil Smith as an Associate Priest of this parish. Phil is a full-time psycho-therapist which involves a lot of weekend work but we have greatly enjoyed Phil’s skills as worship leader and preacher both on the Sundays when he is free and on Wednesday mornings. The ministry team has also been enriched by the appointment of the Revd Claire Robson as our second Associate priest in January. Claire has quickly established herself and like, Phil, presides and preaches with tremendous verve and insight. We are fortunate indeed to have such gifted clergy here.

At Harvest, we celebrated the Revd Jenny Kinnaird’s long and wonderful service to St Andrew’s and the wider Church. Jenny decided to retire from active ministry but we are so grateful for her ministry as both Reader and Priest. She continues to be a priestly presence among us. We congratulate the Revd Sam Lochead on his appointment as Priest-in-Charge of Seaton Hirst in Ashington. Sam’s farewell service will be at 10am on Sunday 2[nd] June followed by presentations and a shared lunch. Sam has been called to a major urban parish and we send with him our love, prayers and support. We will miss him enormously here, but we ae grateful for the four years he has shared with us and ministered to us.

Jennifer Wright has continued her role as Pastoral Assistant, and Diane Wylie has contributed to our preaching and teaching ministry. Paul Morris preached at one of our services exploring healing, bringing his insight from his profession as a GP. The River Team all contribute to our River

Gatherings, and it has been great to see gifts being exercised in leading, sharing the word and in the music group. In December, Hilary Hunter began as our new Part-time Parish Administrator, and Hilary has made a tremendous start, brining energy and accuracy, and initiating excellent systems. Charlotte Alexandra has completed her first year as our Cleaner, and has proved to be a first-class appointment. We were saddened by the death of a number of worshipping members of our Church community over the recent year, notably Rita Atkinson, Joan Smith, Roger Thorn KC, Daphne Anderson and of course, John Ross, our Organist Emeritus and Robin Gray. John gave a life-time of service to St Andrew’s and we miss his cheerful presence and excellent musicianship. We look forward to a Memorial Concert later this year. I’m so glad he saw the Church organ restored and enhanced as it was his vision for the instrument. Robin has given years of devoted service both to the Diocese and Churches to which he has belonged; we will miss his gentle and wise presence among us, his acumen as a historian, and his commitment to furthering good ecumenical relationships. In June we held a memorial service for John Sykes, former Director of Music, when past and present members of the Church Choir brought music of which John would have been proud.

Mission and Ministry

Various opportunities were offered to help us grow in faith. As well as the Home Group, Book Club and Prayer Group, we once again used the Thy Kingdom Come material in Ascensiontide. We have continued our periodic Exploring the Bible group studies, studying Jonah in the early Summer, the Book of Revelation in the autumn and the four Servant Songs of Isaiah during Lent. We continue our Schools’ ministry; Linda takes assemblies and services at Mowden Hall School, we do periodic assemblies in the Middle School, and weekly assemblies at our Church of England First School. The First School also come to Church to celebrate Harvest, Christmas, Easter and the End of the School Year as well as Church visits as part of the RE curriculum. It has been great to see our Pastoral Ministry developing apace.

As well as the now well-established Tea and Chat, we have teams ministering to Charlotte Straker House, Burn Brae Lodge and Abbeyfield, a lay Home Communion Team and pastoral visiting team. The Occasional Offices of baptisms, weddings and funerals remains an important aspect of our ministry to the wider community, as well as all we seek to do in partnership with the local community as can be read elsewhere in this Annual Report. In 2023 we launched a new and splendid web-site, and I am grateful to Simon Hunter for all his work in designing and building this vital source of communication. In the autumn we commissioned a new ‘Welcome Card’ to welcome people moving into Corbridge and those attending Church. Bob and Jo Eldridge have led a small team of visitors who have visited the new estate, the Jamieson Drive estate, and other areas of the Parish will follow in due course. It is good to see new people joining our regular rotas, reading and interceding, our welcome team, coffee team and ministers of communion.

Slaley and Healey and the Wider Deanery

Following the Revd Helen Savage’s retirement last October, the Corbridge Ministry Team has been assuming pastoral oversight of Slaley, Healey and Whittonstall as well as supporting vacancies in St John Shotley, Bywell, Stocksfield and Mickley. This has brought extra work and responsibility our way. Linda Hunter has been exemplary in attending the fortnightly Snack and Chat at Slaley and supporting Schools ministry and Slaley Messy Church. I’m grateful to the service cover provided by Canon Michael Thompson and the Revd Barbara McNamara in the vacancies, as well as their regular participation in our Wednesday morning communion here at St Andrew’s. And indeed, to my ministerial colleagues for sharing in this extended ministry. The old Moorland Group has major building projects at Blanchland, Muggleswick, Whittonstall and Edmundbyers. We are seeking to support Wardens and PCCs as best we can, but Linda has also given invaluable support around Faculty applications and other legal and statutory requirements.

Conclusion

On a personal level, I have been touched and humbled by the love and care extended to myself and Janet following my fall in February. We received so many cards, texts, and practical expressions of love and kindness. Fortunately, I am now making good progress, but many people have stepped up to the mark in ensuring that the work and ministry of the Parish has continued. I am enormously grateful. At Linda’s Ordination I was struck by some words from the service, that priests are called to share with the Bishop in the oversight of the Church, ‘delighting in its beauty and rejoicing in its well-being’. This is partly based on Ephesians 5, where we read, ‘Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her in order to make her holy by cleansing her with the washing of water by the word, so as to present the church to himself in splendour, without a spot or wrinkle or anything of the kind, so that she may be holy and without blemish’. While the Church is fragile and fallible, nevertheless, it

is the beautiful sacrament of the Lord’s presence and love, and will at the last be presented to the Lord in perfection and true beauty. There have been many times when I have seen the beauty of the Church here in Corbridge and I continue to delight in its well-being. As we look forward to our 1350[th] , may the Lord give the increase as we celebrate the faith and give thanks for this remarkable unbroken witness of thirteen and a half centuries. Praise God.

Alleluia! Christ is risen.

David

ELECTORAL ROLL

Maureen Davison

At the beginning of the year there were 172 names on the Electoral Roll. During this year 6 names have been added and there have been 4 names removed.

The current number of names on the Electoral Roll is 174.

PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL REPORT

Jean Wilks

MEMBERSHIP 2023-2024

Members of the PCC are either ex officio, elected by the Annual Parochial Church Meeting (APCM) in accordance with Church Representation Rules, or co-opted by the PCC. During the year the following served as members of the PCC:

Ex officio:

Vicar: Canon David J Kennedy Assistant Curate: The Rev’d Sam Lochead Assistant Curate: The Rev’d Linda E Hunter Associate Priests: The Rev’d Phil Smith, The Rev’d Claire Robson Churchwardens: David McEwan, Jean Wilks Val Barnes John Clark Jo Eldridge Max Philbrick Edward Pybus Nahida Remy Lynne Ward John Wilson Elected at APCM, as representatives on the Deanery Synod: Alice Stephenson Janet Kennedy

Co-opted

Cliff Wright Treasurer Carol Moffatt Minute Secretary

STANDING COMMITTEE

It is a requirement by law that a Standing Committee is appointed. It sets the agenda for the PCC meeting and deals with business in between meetings.

Members during 2023-24: Vicar, Assistant Curates, Churchwardens, Treasurer.

WELCOMES AND FAREWELLS

In May 2023 we welcomed three new members: John Clark, Janet Kennedy and Lynne Ward. We thank them all for joining us and for all that they have brought to the PCC. (Lynne stood down in September 2023.)

Two PCC members completed their term of office at the 2023 APCM: Anne King-Lewis and Monica Philbrick. We thank them both for their many contributions and their hard work.

REVIEW OF THE YEAR

Seven meetings of the PCC and seven of the Standing Committee were held during the last year , following the APCM on 21[st] May 2023. PCC has been very busy throughout the year with a range of topics discussed. More detail may be found elsewhere in this report, and in the Minute File available on request or on the website.

TOPICS COVERED

As well as our regular business, and one-off events covered elsewhere in this report, we have also discussed:

CHURCHWARDENS’ REPORT David McEwan and Jean Wilks

We have had another very busy year as your churchwardens. We are both members of the PCC, Standing Committee and Maintenance Committee, so we share in all decision-making about the work and upkeep of our churches. We are responsible for maintaining the church building and property, and addressing health and safety issues, and we oversee the work of our church cleaner. We have turned our hands to a wide variety of tasks when required, including counting money, lots of odd jobs and repairs, changing light bulbs, ladder inspections, locking/unlocking church, cleaning loos, clearing cobwebs, sorting out store cupboards, putting up banners in the churchyard, and stocking the bar for concerts!

As ever, we thank all our Ministry team for their tireless work and enthusiasm, and for being so inspiring to work with. We also thank their partners and families for supporting them in all the work that they do. This was an exciting year, which saw Linda’ s ordination as Priest, the licensing of Phil and Claire as our new Associate Priests, and ending with news of Sam’s imminent move to pastures new at the end of his Curacy.

Part of our role is to oversee all those who take part in our Ministry of Welcome, and we couldn’t do this without the fantastic work done by Sue Graves, Nahida Remy and Hilary Hunter. Sue, as Senior Welcomer, keeps everything running smoothly before, during and after services, and co-ordinates the welcomers, readers, intercessors and chalice volunteers on each week’s rota. Nahida oversees the volunteers on the weekly coffee rota. And Hilary compiles all the rotas as part of her role as Parish Administrator. We are so grateful to them, and to everyone who volunteers for all these vital roles. This is a really important part of our Ministry, helping to welcome everyone who comes into church. It is also a great way of getting to know more people! So, if you haven’t yet signed up to help, please do have a word with one of us, and give it a try.

Thanks also to everyone involved in all the other tasks, rotas and committees which ensure that things run smoothly for all our different services and activities. There are far too many of you to mention by name, but we really do appreciate all your hard work.

HALTON ST. OSWALD Edward Pybus

The pattern of services has continued unchanged with Holy Communion celebrated on the first Sunday of each month and at Christmas and Easter, the latter falling this time on the last day of our reporting period and providing an appropriate culmination. Thee core congregation numbers around 15, increased at Christmas and Easter to 25-30, and we are hugely grateful to Canon David Kennedy and his team for their regular conduct of those services and the enthusiasm they bring to them. David himself and Revd’s Sam Lochead and Linda Hunter together with Revd’s Michael Thompson and Barbara McNamara from the retired clergy have all presided and/or preached and latterly we have had great pleasure in welcoming Revd Claire Robson too.

Additionally, the (now traditional) Choral Evensong was held in June to coincide with the garden opening at Halton Castle. Colin Williams brought the St Andrew's choir and organist and together, filling the church with resounding and glorious music, they created something very special. It was much appreciated: the church was packed. Also, Sam incorporated the church and a service there in the Rogation Prayer Walk which he organised in May. There were three occasional services too: the saying of Evensong in July, a Baptism in September and a Burial of Ashes in May.

The church continues to attract many visitors and part of its joy lies in looking through the comments made in the Visitors Book. Some come by chance, many of them walking Hadrian's Wall; some

come repeatedly. All express delight at finding the church open and go on to find inspiration and consolation in the peace and beauty of the place. A local visitor has written "In memory of my mother ... who loved this place", capturing the experience perfectly.

On the administrative side much time and effort have been expended by the churchwardens in arranging the essential works of maintenance and repair to the church building required by the recent Quinquennial Report. Builders have been instructed and work is scheduled to commence this coming spring or summer depending on the weather.

Thanks go to everyone who has contributed to the life and spirit of Halton and most especially to the Blackett family who keep the churchyard beautifully mown, a big job, and the team who provides us with the most stunning flowers.

SAFEGUARDING

www.churchofengland.org/more/safeguarding for further information

Parish Safeguarding Officer: Mandy Norton Tel: 01434 632585 Safer Recruitment Officer: Richard Adams Tel: 01434 634869 Asst PSO (Admin): Linda E Hunter Tel: 01434 633742

‘ The Church of England is committed to the safeguarding, care and nurture of everyone within the church community so that all can flourish in faith and know the love of God .’ Here in St. Andrew’s and Halton we need to remember that we are all responsible for keeping each other safe. Mandy is always available to listen if you have any safeguarding concerns. She can also point you in right direction if you need any information or further support. Richard looks after the recruitment paperwork in particular the Volunteer forms and on-line DBS checks, new and renewals.

Over the last year we have continued using the National Church Dashboard in order to keep up to date with all that we need to do to ensure that our churches are safe places. We have consistently been at level 3 (highest level!) Safer recruitment is really important as we ensure that we recruit to roles safely and those who work with children or vulnerable adults have all the appropriate checks. All those involved in roles which require Safeguarding training have participated in the appropriate course for their role - Basic Awareness, Foundation or Leadership. In addition, some people have received training in Domestic Violence Awareness and Safer Recruiting. Basic Awareness training is completed on line and anyone who wants to know more about Safeguarding can go on the Church of England website and register to complete this training.

Over the last year we were part of a trial for the Safeguarding Hub which links in with the Parish Dashboard. It helps us keep track of all the training required for specific roles and DBS renewal dates. It is a very useful tool but has taken up a lot of time to set up and now to continue to maintain. However, it is really important to have parity across the C of E for the recruitment of volunteers. It has now been launched country wide.

Safeguarding is on the agenda of every PCC meeting and all PCC members are kept up to date current information. All policies and procedures are revised, renewed and approved at the October PCC meeting.

Remember if you have any concerns please speak to Mandy or one of the clergy, or Carol Butler: Diocesan Safeguarding Adviser.

FABRIC, GOODS AND ORNAMENTS OF THE CHURCH Maintenance Committee

The fabric of both our churches is in serviceable condition, and all goods and ornaments are as required for worship and events to take place in St. Andrew’s and St. Oswald’s.

The Maintenance Committee

The committee meets regularly and reports to PCC. Members are Jon Williams, Jane DarbyshireWalker, Peter Cook, Canon David Kennedy, Rev’d Linda Hunter, and both churchwardens. The committee is especially indebted to Jon, Jane and Peter for all their wisdom, expertise and hard work. Jane and Peter have joined us this year, and both bring a wealth of knowledge and experience. Jon is the committee’s designated Eco-Champion, ensuring that environmental concerns are taken on board in all discussion and decision-making. Michael Rae retired from the committee in May 2023; we are enormously grateful to Michael for all the expertise, hard work and commitment he has given over many years in the maintenance of our buildings, and for his guidance to the committee.

Quinquennial Inspections and recommendations

Inspections of both churches, and of the cottage, were commissioned in 2021.

Maintenance and works undertaken

Projects and plans

Utilities: contract renewals

New electrical contracts for St Andrew’s, Halton and the cottage commenced in May 2023. The cottage gas contract is being renewed in May 2024. St Andrew’s gas contract runs until March 2025.

Health & Safety

Review of our fire safety risk assessments is ongoing. Event risk assessments are carried out for all new events.

Security Review

We regularly monitor our security arrangements. If you have any church key and are no longer in the role for which it was issued, please return it to the Parish Administrator.

Thank You

The fabric of our churches is well looked after, and we are extremely grateful to all those who contribute to this in any way, by giving their time, expertise or financial help. It is impossible to thank all those who play a part in this, as so many people are involved. We are always looking for more volunteers to take on maintenance tasks or responsibilities; if you could offer some help, please speak to the churchwardens.

MISSION AND MINISTRY

CHILDREN, YOUNG PEOPLE AND FAMILIES

MESSY CHURCH Louise Stubbs

Messy Church is currently celebrating its fourteenth year which is an amazing achievement, heralded by the team and our leader, Revd. Linda Hunter.

The Messy Church banner is in a prominent position in the church grounds. It is impossible to miss! The banner serves a dual purpose as a reminder for our regular participating families and an open invitation for any visiting families to join us. Flyers are also distributed in school, displayed on the Church notice board, the website and the Church Facebook page. These are designed and produced by Max Philbrick. Our team would welcome anyone who may be interested in helping, to come along to a Messy Church and join in with the fun.

The team have regular planning/review meetings. The Ministry Team are fully involved in Messy Church. The team are grateful for their involvement and support. During the above period we have also been joined by Rev’d Barbara McNamara.

The Messy Church format has remained unchanged. We begin with a welcome and game with good participation by everyone. A video is used to introduce the story/theme for the day. Max Philbrick is invaluable in operating all the technology required for this part of the worship. A member of the team tells the story. A physical activity is always provided. Several table top activities are also available. Families have freedom to choose what they would like to take part in. Any items made, subsequently go home!

The afternoon concludes with a recap of the story, song and prayers. This is followed by a ‘buffet style’ tea cooked by Janet Morrison. We are grateful to Janet for making such wonderful teas and her creativity, in linking her ‘bakes’ to our theme.

Our attendance figures have varied considerably over the past year with recent numbers being very low. We are currently considering ways in which we can encourage more families to participate. For a trial period -May, June and July we are going to change the time to 4.00pm to see whether this might be an acceptable time for families.

Some of the themes we have addressed have included;

Good Friday/Easter activities, The Miraculous Catch, Go Green for God (EC0), Feeding of the 5,000, The 10 men healed by Jesus, the mustard seed, I am the vine and you are the branches, Getting ready for Christmas (Advent) The wise and foolish man,

As always, our thoughts and prayers remain with all our Messy Church Families and everyone who contributes, in any way. We greatly value all their support and hope that any changes we make will enable us to share the Christian gospel with all who come.

Used with permission

OUTSIDE MISSION AND GIVING: ‘TAKE 5’

Malcolm Warin

There have been 9 meetings during the year.

Members have also visited GAP, attended the St Andrew’s ECO Group, hosted the Goods during their visit to Corbridge, updated the Take 5 noticeboard, been part of the prayer rota on Sunday mornings, attended PCC and kept up to date with each of the missions/charities which we support. We have continued to support:

We welcomed Dave Johnson (MINE Youth Project Co-ordinator) at a 10am service in 2023, and were joined by Phil and Sylvie Good at 10am and a River gathering in January.

Our total giving for the year was £8000.

PASTORAL OUTREACH

The Revd Linda E Hunter

The past year has seen our Pastoral outreach grow and expand. We have a Pastoral lead team who meet to plan and ensure that progress is being made in all the areas we are keen to develop.

Pastoral Visitors

We have a team of people who have attended 3 half day trainings covering a range of topics, pertinent to Pastoral visitors, on line Safeguarding training and in addition, Revd Janet Jackson, who worked with Tynedale Hospice, has run a day training on Bereavement visiting for them. Our team all have official lanyards which they wear when visiting. If you know someone who would like an occasional or regular visit or would like one yourself, please do contact Linda and that can be arranged.

RESIDENTIAL HOMES

We now have teams of people who lead monthly worship in the Residential Homes.

Abbeyfield House: Diane Wylie and Maurice Holmes

It has been a privilege and pleasure to give the residents a short Service of the Word and to share thoughts and personal cares together afterwards. We begin with prayers and a traditional hymn. There is a bible passage which may mirror the time of the church year and/ or theme. e.g. Christmas, Lent, Remembrance.

There is a short talk, then prayers, intercessions and closing hymn. I started going with Maurice Holmes last August and lately with Mike Bewick when Maurice has been unable to attend. The time with chats after the Service is valuable too. There is usually an issue we can all join with in the conversation.

Burn Brae Lodge: Jennifer Wright and Monica Philbrick

As part of the church’s mission and ministry, a small team visit Burn Brae once a month. Following the long break caused by the Covid 19 outbreak we returned to do a “Service of the Word”. We changed this format in order to make better connections and engage in more meaningful conversations with those residents who join us in our worship service. To help us, we use a book called “Living Liturgies” by Caroline George. Using this “interactive” format we feel that every one of us has benefited.

Charlotte Straker House: Bob and Jo Eldridge

We visit Charlotte Straker Residential Home once a month to hold a short service for the residents. We normally have around 8 attending. We follow a service sheet starting with a familiar hymn accompanied by taped music, followed by prayers and a bible reading. A short talk is prepared

that follows the theme of the reading. We end with another favourite hymn. Coffee is also served giving time for chatting and getting to know the residents.

Mike Bewick and Liz Buckley are happy to fill in when required with any of the teams.

HOME COMMUNION

A team of people: Jennifer Wright, Alice Stephenson, Liz Buckley, Mike Bewick, Jo Eldridge, and Diane Wylie have recently undertaken training and are now authorised to take Communion to people in their own homes. We have currently 6 people on our list receiving home communion but we could easily visit more housebound people if they would like to receive communion in their own home.

TEA AND CHAT

Mike Bewick

Tea and Chat has been running at The Community Hub for just over a year, the numbers have grown from c10 to c42 people coming along at any one time, to enjoy fellowship with both friends old and new. This happens twice a month on the 2[nd] and 4[th] Wednesday.

The initiative started by Linda is a great success in bringing people together people, those of different faiths and none. A huge Thank You to Ann Duncan who cooks all the cakes, organises the other volunteers in the kitchen and serving customers. Thanks to those who help Alice, Ellie, Janice, Mike, Harry, Daphne and Margaret. Linda, Alice and Mike offer lifts to those less able to come on their own. Looking forward to serving more people in 2024. Do come along and visit us in the Community Hub

ECO CHURCH

Revd Sam Lochead

The last year has seen significant growth and development in relation to St Andrew’s environmental work. This includes achieving our A Rocha Eco Church Bronze Award, which reflects work and progress in a significant variety of areas - from teaching and ministry through to engagement with the wider community, as well as the use of our church buildings and churchyard.

Throughout the past year this work has included last summer’s Eco Festival, which saw various community groups produce displays and volunteers in church having discussions with parishioners and visitors. The Festival included musical performances and a panel discussion, which allowed for the sharing of great reflections from panellists and those who came, particularly around the role of the church in responding to the climate crisis (locally, nationally, and internationally). This was a wonderful event, and I remain very grateful to all those who in various ways worked so hard to help make it a success.

Linked to this, there have been several further opportunities for environmental concerns to take a prominent place in our prayer and worship as a church, including in our work with young people through Messy Church, and at one of our informal River gatherings.

Other work by the Eco Committee has included scoping out possibilities of churchyard wildlife surveys and other work ‘behind the scenes’ looking at our church’s energy use and buildings, in the hopes of considering ways we can all work to reduce our environmental footprint.

In light of all this, huge thanks must go to all members of the Eco Committee for their commitment and their time in ensuring that this important aspect of our missional work continues to move forward. All of these achievements so far are a cause for real celebration, and are also an excellent launching pad as we begin to look ahead towards achieving our Silver Award as a church.

Jennifer Wright

BOOK CLUB

This is a small group meeting almost every week. We have read two books this year both by Kathryn Mannix. We have also spent some weeks looking at Old Testament prophets using a Scripture Union study booklet and other weeks doing Lectio Divino

HOME GROUP

Anne King-Lewis, Max Philbrick

We meet every Thursday at 4pm in the home of Max and Monica Philbrick except in holiday times. There are usually 8-10 of us and we have open discussion on differing topics based on the Bible or associated books. Last year we used Stephen Cottrell’s book ‘The Things He Carried, A journey to the Cross’. Autumn 2023 was a highlight when we used videos from the Bible Society to study Paul’s letter to the Romans presented by Andrew Ollerton with wonderful views of Rome in the background!! To start 2024, we studied various Psalms and in Lent we have read and discussed the 4 Servant Songs from Isaiah.

We would welcome anyone who might wish to join us. That would be lovely!! Just let us know if you are coming so we can put out enough seats!!

PRAYER GROUP

Jennifer Wright

We meet every Thursday afternoon in church for a short time when we pray for current issues relevant to our lives here in Corbridge as well as those relating to the country and the rest of the world.

We pray for the work of the ministry team and all of the groups working within our church including the regular church services, Messy church and River. We pray for those people we know who are unwell and people who have asked for prayer for their particular needs. Every week we hold before God in pray those people who have left prayer requests on the prayer board.

In addition, we pray for those chosen charities we support each year. These include

Colin Williams Musical Director

CHURCH MUSIC

The last twelve months have been both a time of remembrance for departed friends and a celebration of new beginnings. Throughout the year the choir has endeavoured to respond to a series of very different events with appropriate and evocative music.

The last report was written just before the Coronation celebrations. The choir seized the opportunity to sing Handel’s ‘Zadok the Priest’ and a new commission for the RSCM by Joannah Forbes L’Estange entitled ‘The mountains shall bring peace’, which was sung in many Parish Churches throughout the country on the Coronation Sunday.

In June there was a special memorial service for John Sykes, a stellar organist and choir director throughout the 1990’s. Many members of his choir from that very special period in the history of music in St Andrew’s came back to sing one of the motets for which he will ever be remembered - Bruckner’s Locus Iste.

We no longer have a regular opportunity (or the voices) to sing Choral Evensong, and in June it was a pleasure to repeat our annual visit to the little church at Halton to sing a simple choral liturgy. In July we celebrated the ordination of Linda Hunter, singing a specially prepared and particularly apposite anthem – A Prayer of St Columba, by Richard Shepherd at her first Celebration of Holy Communion.

John Ross had been associated with the music of St Andrew’s since the early 1970’s and until his retirement held the shared post of Organist from 2013. In September the choir sang a special evensong tribute to John, and on the following day a service of celebration, featuring some of John’s favourite organ and choral music, including the Nunc Dimittis by Geoffrey Burgon, Charles Parry’s ‘Crossing the Bar’, the Nunc Dimittis in B Minor by Tertius Noble and Psalm 121 to a setting by H Walford Davies.

One of the highpoints of the choral year is the Advent procession, a dramatic sequence from darkness to light beginning in a totally dark church and ending in a blaze of candlelight, accompanied by Advent music both new and old.

And then, Christmas. For a change, the weather remained dry for Carols for All in the churchyard with the wonderful Hexham Brass. The Christmas Eve Carol Service was standing room only. I always try to introduce one new carol – this year it was ‘The Cradle Hymn’ by Norwegian Kim Arnesen, fast becoming one of the most frequently performed choral composers in Europe. On Passion Sunday the choir presented a choral devotional service ‘Behold the Man’ featuring 6

individually distinctive anthems and motets, each responding to a particular aspect of the Passion Story. The music included the traditional: ‘O Saviour of the World’ by John Goss,’ Ex ore Innocentium’ by John Ireland, ‘O Vos Omnes’ by Carlos Correa, and thee anthems by contemporary composers: a setting by Howard Helvey of the well-known hymn ‘Ah Holy Jesus,’ ‘A Crux Ave’ by Rihards Dubra, and a setting of ‘Stabat Mater’ by Phillip Stopford sung as an unforgettable solo by our own Jennifer Lansberry.

In many ways this service of music characterises the choir’s current repertoire spanning the years from the early 16[th] century to the present day; each piece with a unique musical character and a sentient and felt response to the text.

When you overlay these special services with the regular Festival services, licensing services for Revd Phil Smith and Revd Claire Robson, the civic Festival of Remembrance, and of course the musically-intense celebrations of Advent and Christmas, in retrospect I am astonished at how much we achieve together, entirely because of the hard work and commitment of each member of the choir.

It is not all serious application – at the beginning of the year we enjoyed a lovely meal together at the Golden Lion, and our regular attendance at this newly-managed hostelry after the Friday practice has earned us a reserved table.

We are indeed blessed at St Andrews with two organists, John Roper and Marc Bryant, who week after week patiently support the choir though rehearsals, as well as delighting congregations with their musical talent, both during services and summer organ recitals.

Nicki Swart provides secretarial support patiently checking on member’s anticipated attendance, Liz Collins continues to manage the robes. Chistine Fenwick, Val Barnes and others assist with keeping the music library in order. The choir is continually encouraged by David Kennedy who despite the claims on his time joins us whenever he can. We greatly appreciate his enthusiasm and support and not least, his bass voice. To all: a very big thank you.

A final comment: I share a dream with all parish church choir directors of having as many tenors and basses to match the sopranos and altos in the choir – I end with this hint (and invitation).

WOMEN’S FELLOWSHIP

The Revd Linda E. Hunter

Treasurer : Sheila Neilson Social Secretary: Claire Hay

Minute Secretary: Rosemary Rayfield Programme Secretaries: Liz Buckley & Yvonne Piper Committee Members: Janet Kennedy, Elsie Fletcher, (the late) Daphne Anderson

We now have 52 members. The first half of the year we continued to meet in St. Andrew’s, in the afternoon which we commenced after covid. This has given us the opportunity to chat over refreshments, after our talk. The committee have continued to meet regularly through the year to continue talking about the monthly arrangements and plan the programme.

After our AGM last year, we began our programme in February with a change of speaker, when Penny Eley stepped in at the last minute to talk to us about Medieval Costumes. This was most interesting and also involved some modelling from a couple of our members.

Our Lent service took the theme of symbols for the journey – our readings were based round; Palm branch, towel and basin, bread and wine, the money bag and the crown of thorns and purple robe. This provided us with some time and space before Easter. Members of fellowship led readings and took participated in the service.

Our next monthly speaker, Roy Dallison gave a fascinating talk about the Leather Tanning Industry and how Hexham became renowned for its various leather related trades. We heard about how the leather industry grew through the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, becoming renowned for its gloves known as the Hexham tans. He explained that some of the leather-working remains can be seen in the Cockshaw area of the town today.

In May the Vicar came to share with us his vast knowledge on the northern saints – he took us on a historic trail through the ancient kingdom of Northumbria bringing alive the time line Aidan, Oswald, Cuthbert, Hild and Bede through a range of key Christian artefacts and where they may be seen.

June saw us at Shepherd’s Dene for a talk and afternoon tea.

In September we took the step of moving to the Community Hub for our meetings and this has proved very successful. It is warmer, easier to manage for refreshments and has a speaker system. Bruce Howarth from the Hextol Foundation came to talk to us. The foundation plays an essential part in providing working opportunities for people with learning disabilities and mental health conditions. There are a wide range of areas in which the Foundation operates – The Tans vegetarian restaurant in back street in Hexham, outside catering, gardening - garden maintenance and design and

landscaping. A packing service when the packing teams are commissioned by companies and organisations from all across the North East to assemble and distribute their newsletters, promotional mailings and product packs. We were all amazed at the range of opportunities open to those who were part of this service.

We had an entertaining afternoon in October when Geoff Millar the former Dean of Newcastle Cathedral came to talk to us about the book he had written for the Cathedral – a treasure Chest of stories. His talk was full of anecdotes and inspired many to think about a revisit of the Cathedral.

A visit by Natalie from the yoga studio was just what we needed in November in the hectic run up to Christmas. Learning how to breath properly and how to relax was very beneficial.

We rounded the year off with our Advent service, the theme this year was Light and Darkness this was an opportunity for us to have some quiet reflective time amidst that Christmas hustle and bustle. Of course, we finished off the afternoon with more mince pies and tea.

If you would like to try out Women’s Fellowship, do come along you would be most welcome.

OUTREACH

ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION

Simon Hunter

www.corbridgechurch.org.uk

This year St Andrew’s Church website was redesigned and launched successfully in September. The website contains a wide range of information on St Andrew’s Church services, events and groups.

The website has been designed so that it can be used with ease on Smart phones, Mobile devices, and Desktop computers.

The design is more graphical which means it is easier for you to find and navigate to the different pages of information, each page has the same style of graphics.

Since the launch we have seen an increase in the number visitors to the website with over 5000 unique visitors. With returning visitors accessing the website each week making the This Week page the most popular because of its weekly information.

Weekly Email

Each week we have over 350 households receiving the St Andrew’s church weekly email. This keeps readers up to date with information for the forthcoming week and it also provides a link to the THIS WEEK page on the Church website which gives access to the bulletin, reflection, orders of services and other relevant information.

This information can also be accessed via the Church website directly.

Social Media

We would welcome contributions for the News and Events section which can be emailed to corbridgechurchwebsite@btinternet.com

( Paper copies of Bulletin and Booklets are available in church to members of the congregation who don’t have access to the internet)

Acting Deanery Secretary

DEANERY SYNOD

Corbridge Deanery Synod meets 3 times a year to discuss various relevant topics and the Deanery Development group meets more frequently. This is principally a group reflecting on, and suggesting ideas, to take forward the development of the mission and ministry of the Deanery. The decisionmaking body is the Synod.

July Synod : Generous Giving team: Dennis Fancett and Leanne Conway-Wilcox .

Their presentation covered the following areas:

November Synod : The main topic of the evening was an opportunity for parishes to share, ‘What we are celebrating’. Our Challenges . This was recorded with PowerPoint slides

February Synod: The Revd Stephen Tranter Diocesan Director of Ordinands and Vocations

Stephen started in the Diocese in September and is beginning now to find out what is happening across the Diocese. His talk covered the following points.

We have continued to develop our working groups which look at various aspects of the mission and ministry of the Deanery, these are: Shared Ministry and Getting to Know each other, Simplification Management – Use of Skills, Eco church, Communication.

All Deaneries have been asked to produce a Deanery Plan on a standard proforma so a considerable amount of time has been spent engaging with this information from the Diocese in order to compile our plan using the Diocesan toolkit. Thank you to Alice Stephenson and Janet Kennedy for being our representatives.

EVENTS & FUNDRAISING

MUSICAL EVENTS

Revd Linda E. Hunter and Jean Wilks

A small team comprising ourselves, Marc Bryant, Mary Oswell, Coleen Petrie, Nicki Swart, Jenny Watson and Gail Williams meet regularly to plan the musical events for St. Andrew’s. It has been a really good year for concerts. St Andrew’s is a wonderful venue, with a great ambience and good acoustics, so musicians love performing here, and we love hosting and working with them. Some hire the building and manage the concert themselves, and some work jointly with us so that some or all of the profits come to St Andrews. We especially enjoy hosting our seasons of Friday lunchtime music, which have brought some real treats!

These were the concerts we hosted in April 2023 – March 2024 :

OTHER EVENTS

Nov 4[th]

Autumn Market

Dec 1[st] -6[th]

Christmas Tree Festival: As usual there were many innovative ideas interpreted in a range of ways, it was a delight to walk round and see them all. This year we had 90 trees, over 7,000 visitors and raised a total of £ 9,957.00 which with gift aid will be well over £10,000. This was a fantastic result.

Dec 16[th] Church Christmas Party in the new CCP Hub Jan 17[th] Author event by Forum Books with Mairi Hannah Feb 13[th] Pancakes and Quiz evening in the new CCP Hub, organised by Pauline and Susan Bennett.

King’s Coronation Celebrations

FUNDRAISING:

Thanks to Suzette and Warwick Milne for arranging the Grand Draw which brought in over £1,000.

If you would like to be involved in helping with any of our events, or have some suggestions of others that we may have, do let us know.

CHURCH FLOWERS St. Andrew’s Church Corbridge Ann Prudhoe

The flower arranging Team have continued to develop with a busy and varied year given the many diverse aspects and nature of the work undertaken at St. Andrew’s Church.

Progress and Developments

I am very pleased to report that we have some new members joining our flower arranging team. With this in mind we are looking to start a rota later in the year.

We still need to keep building the group and so anyone who is interested in joining the flower arranging team would be most welcome. Please contact Ann Prudhoe on mobile 07483 855385 or home 01434 632971

We wish to thank all people who have donated money for flowers for Christmas and Easter and anyone who would like to be involved with the flower arranging team are invited to contact Ann Prudhoe.

THE FEDERATION OF BROOMHAUGH AND CORBRIDGE CHURCH OF ENGLAND (VA) FIRST SCHOOL

Suz Hart, Executive Head Teacher

At Corbridge Church of England First School, we have the Christian values of respect, forgiveness, truth, thankfulness and kindness guiding us in all we do, helping us to be courageous advocates who make a difference in our local community and the wider world.

‘Let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action.’ 1 John 3:18

Through high expectations and encouragement, we empower our children to believe in themselves and be the best they can be!

School Information
Number of children on roll: 142 % SEND pupils: 14.8%
Age range of pupils: 4-9 years % of disadvantaged pupils: 14.8%

Key Developments (Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural Education)

The whole school ethos, and promotion of personal development, are enhanced through collective worship, RE, the work of the playground buddies, the work of the School Council and the work of the Eco Council. Picture News is used in whole school worship to discuss current affairs; pupils can access the content at a suitable level. The use of Picture News encourages discussion and debate through links to current affairs. Pupils are encouraged to talk about things happening in the world right now, becoming courageous advocates for change. Staff look at how the Bible can be linked to Picture News. The worship schedule is on the school website so that parents can use links from Picture News at home and know what has been discussed in school.

Children have accessed further, special assemblies such as a virtual session on the Protected Characteristics for KS2, a local author, an online safety speaker and a visit from the football Premier League trophy. A PSHE enrichment calendar has been created for the year across the Federation; it includes, for example, global goals week, black history month, Christianity projects, STEM, Remembrance Day and LGBT History Month. There is a strong focus on the purpose of the days and why the school takes part. Kema Kay – rapper and actor – came to speak to both schools about the racist bullying he experienced and complete a forum theatre workshop with the children on bullying. Tuesday assembly is usually led by either David, Sam, Linda or Marie.

On Wednesday 28th February we held our annual Rainbow Day where we celebrate equality, diversity and inclusion. This year, we celebrated neurodiversity and making links to mental health and wellbeing. Very simply, neurodiversity refers to the different ways a person’s brain processes information. Those who are neurodivergent make up a large percentage of our society and school communities. Research from the NHS states that up to 1 in 7 people in the U.K may be neurodiverse. Neurodiversity includes those with dyslexia, ASD, ADHD, OCD, Developmental coordination disorder (dyspraxia), dyscalculia, stammering and Tourette’s Syndrome. Throughout the day, we shared books linked to neurodiversity and took part in wellbeing activities as well as having an assembly led by the Northumberland A.S.D team about different types of neurodiversity. As we did last year, we invited children to come dressed in different colours of the rainbow. We are all unique like each colour of the rainbow and we believe we should always celebrate our differences!

Every day, every class chooses someone to be a special person. The special person hears positive affirmations from their peers and provides their own self-affirmations; some pupils can initially find this difficult to do, however self-esteem is boosted as a result. The work also supports oracy and language development. The SENDCo works closely with a number of external partners to promote positive emotional wellbeing and mental health in school; she has put in place a range of strategies to support pupils and parents. The SENDCo is a highly skilled practitioner who has a sharp focus on achieving the best outcomes for all pupils. NDAS (Northumberland Domestic Abuse Service) has delivered a block of PSHE workshops to Years 3 and 4 about healthy relationships, self-esteem, confidence and consent.

- Extra curricular provision

A wide range of lunchtime and after-school clubs are on offer and boast strong numbers. Provision is always inclusive and funded places are available, so no-one misses out. Attendance is monitored. A proportional representation audit has been completed to ascertain number of Pupil Premium and SEND children accessing clubs and whether this is in line with Pupil Premium and SEND percentages in school. We currently offer choir, calm club, sensory club, gymnastics, sports, orienteering and history, to name just a few! All of the children’s interests ate celebrated and developed in school.

Behaviour Policy Changes

We are proud to take a relational approach to behaviour management. At Corbridge CofE First School, we feel that positive relationships are the root of positive behaviour and attitudes to learning and we all have a part to play in building that positive foundation. Our approach reflects the 5 core Christian values that underpin everything we do in school. We serve to provide a Christian school

community in which our children can feel secure and happy and thrive, both emotionally and academically, on a daily basis.

The Corbridge CofE First School Code outlines what children and adults will do in our school. They are very much a statement of, ‘How we do things here.’ New policies and documents have been shared with the wider school community and are available on the schools’ websites.

STEM Fortnight

Corbridge CofE First School's STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) fortnight took place 5th-15th February 2024 and managed to go beyond last year's excitement levels and enthusiasm! Our ongoing aim is to inspire the children into STEM based interests through activities and workshops during the fortnight. Each class had a packed timetable with events, ambassador visits (where we invited parents and family members with STEM careers into school to talk to the children), workshops and more. We were even visited by some familiar characters from Star Wars, which was so exciting!

The children were all invited to dress up on the first and last days to start and end it with a bang. These costumes either reflected their class theme or were STEM based. The fortnight finished with an 'Open Afternoon' on Thursday 15th February, where the children acted as STEM experts and explained what they had learnt and achieved to all of our visitors.

All of the children were so enthused by their learning, smashed stereotypes about what people who work in STEM careers look like and saw the amazing opportunities each of their futures could hold.

Out and About!

EYFS and KS1 visited Northern Stage to see The Three Bears at Christmas time. Our music lead, Mrs. Richardson, attended Royal Opera House training through NCC and booked places at a singing event for The Magic Flute for the choir, where they sang songs from the opera, accompanied by a full orchestra and professional singers. Our EYFS children spent the day at Hall Hill Farm in April, our Year 3 children will soon be visiting Vindolanda and the Roman Army Museum and Year 4 will be spending the day at Beamish, in addition to their residential trip to Dukeshousewood. We have also established an annual beach trip, which will take place this year in July. Our many trips have been made possible by the support of Consett Rotary and their ‘Kids Out’ programme, which we are extremely grateful for.