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← The Parish of Yate PCC

2023-12-31-accounts

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The Parish of Yate

Annual Report and Financial Statements of the Parochial Church Council for the year ended 31st December 2023

(In line with the terms of the Charities Acts of 2011 & 2022 & the Church Representation Rules)

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Annual Report and Financial Statements of the Parochial Church Council for the year ended 31 December 2023 1
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St Mary’s Church, Yate St Nicholas’ Church, Abbotswood St James’ Church, Westerleigh St Peter’s Church, Wapley

Deanery of Kingswood & South Gloucestershire

Archdeaconry of Malmesbury

Diocese of Bristol

Parish Number 55/180 Registered Charity number: 1133980

Mission Statement

Making Jesus Visible

The Trustees 2023

The members of the PCC are the Trustees of the “charity” and share the responsibility with the Ministry Team for promoting the whole work of the Church in the ecclesiastical parish.

Members of the PCC are either ex officio or elected by the Annual Parochial Church Meeting (APCM) in accordance with the Church Representation Rules.

Team Rector The Revd Ian Wallace Associate Ministers The Revd. Hywel Snook, The Revd. Chris Ainslie, The Revd. Joanne Hodge, The Revd. David Jones, Curates The Revd. Wanda Morris PCC Secretary Mrs Pamela Brown PCC Treasurer Mr Stephen Lord Church Wardens Mr John Cornforth, Mrs Claire Hayward, Mrs Mary Farrell St Mary Mrs June Powell St James St Nicholas St Peter

Mrs Shirley Dando, Mr Henry Shiles (from May 2023)

Deanery Synod Representatives

Mrs June Powell (St J), Mrs Diana Carter (St N), Vacancy (St M), Mrs Christine Dolton (St P)

Elected PCC Members

Three members from each DCC of which one is to be the DCC Finance Officer .

Mrs Heather Smith; Mrs Mary Perks; Mrs Clare Hayward - St Mary Mrs Diana Carter; Ros Bailey, Debbie Foster - St Nicholas Mrs Kathryn Mills; Mrs Joy Archer; Carol Goddard - St James Mrs Janet Williams; Mr. Wulstan Perks; - St Peter

Co-opted PCC Members

There are currently no co-opted members of the PCC.

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Annual Report and Financial Statements of the Parochial Church Council for the year ended 31 December 2023.

PCC Standing Committee

Revd Ian Wallace (Chair); Mrs Pamela Brown (Secretary); Mrs Claire Hayward; Mrs Mary Farrell; Mr John Cornforth (St M); Mr Mike Collis (fin April) Mr Henry Shiles (from April) (St P); Mrs June Powell (St J); Mrs. Heather Smith (fin April); Mrs Christine Dolton (Bookkeeper); Mr Stephen Lord (Treasurer), Revd. Hywel Snook (from April)

Parish Safeguarding Mrs Beverley Hodgson

Parish Health & Safety Officer : Mr Gus Smith.

Gift Aid Officer: Mr Stephen Lord

Data Protection: Revd. Hywel Snook

Bank Lloyds TSB. P.O. Box 1000, BX1 1LT Account Number 01552206 Sort Code: 30-12-04 Churches Gift Aid Organisers Electoral Roll Officers Health & Safety St Mary Mr Terry Carter Mrs Wendy Dykes Mr Gus Smith St James Mrs Kathryn Mills Mr Andrew Rapson Mr Norman Shanks St Peter Mr Mike Collis Mr Mike Collis Mr Mike Collis St Nicholas Mr David Warren Mrs Moira Jenkins Mrs Ros Bailey

Churches Child Safety St Mary Mrs Beverley Hodgson St James Mrs Carol Goddard St Peter Mrs. Jenny Shiles St Nicholas Mrs. Ros Bailey

The Parish Governing Structure

The PCC provides an overview of the Parish linking it with the Deanery and Diocese and takes responsibility for the setting of vision and strategy, approving the overall budget, approving policies to guide the work of the Parish, all legal matters and the monitoring of risk. It operates by delegating responsibility for care of the fabric of Parish facilities to the four District Church Councils, who in return, report their business to the PCC. They also seek PCC approval for faculties and any call on trust funds.

At its meeting on 30[th] November 2019 the PCC approved a vision and 5-year strategy for advancing that vision. This document sets out clear aims and objectives for the five years up to 2025 and introduces a reporting structure so that progress against the vision can be identified and reported on against a set of pre-defined measures of progress.

At the beginning of the year the PCC restructured its Standing Committee by establishing a separate Finance Committee under the chairmanship of the new treasurer and replaced the Finance Officers on the Standing Committee with representation from among the Church Wardens. This gives the Standing Committee an enhanced ability to focus on the strategic direction of the Parish rather than having to focus predominantly on financial matters.

The PCC Treasurer liaises with the DCC Finance Officers to ensure that all financial liabilities can be met in a timely fashion and that the complex requirements of the various Charities Acts are fully complied with.

The PCC has had five regular meetings this year with an average attendance of 17 members.

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Annual Report and Financial Statements of the Parochial Church Council for the year ended 31 December 2023.

The Electoral Roll

Counting the Electoral Roll and Average Sunday Attendance assesses the size of the church community. A roll has been revised under the Church Representation Rules.

Electoral Roll:
2013
St Mary
89
St Nicholas
75
St James
33
St Peter
23
Total Parish Roll 220		 2014
114
78
35
23
250		 2015
119
73
35
23
250		 2016
134
75
37
24
270		 2017
136
78
39
24
277		 2018
130
69
30
20
249		 2019
131
71
26
21
249		 2020
127
66
26
21
240		 2021
143
67
32
22
264		 2022
147
66
35
22
270		 2023
155
65
35
19
274

Each Church submits figures to the Diocese, which show Average Sunday Attendance (over and under 16 years of age), as well as their Electoral Roll figure. The Electoral Roll is used to calculate the number of Deanery Synod Representatives to be elected from the parish.

Average Weekly Attendance

Throughout the year the average weekly attendance (AWA) has continued to recover against pre-COVID levels. We are now back above 2018 levels for the core congregation but the overall total attendance was supressed by the fact that we had fewer baptisms and Parade Services in 2023. We have not yet recovered to the 2019 peak for two reasons:

The ‘in-person’ AWA for the core congregation (i.e. excluding baptisms and special services) was 253 (c.f. 216 in 2022, 167 in 2021 and 319 in 2019). Once baptisms and special services are included that figure rose to an AWA of 286 (c.f. 317 in 2022 and 380 in 2019).

There were a higher number of services across the Parish in 2023 (491 compared to 488 in 2022 and 489 in 2018 but this is below the 579 services held in 2019 which reflected the new initiatives that had been started and have failed to recover from post COVID). The under-16 attendance remained stable at 60 young people which is comparable to the pre COVID attendance.

We continued to stream services throughout the year although data comparison has been made almost impossible by the change of reporting by the streaming platforms. We continued with daily Morning Prayer on Facebook although the number viewing has dropped significantly to just a handful or people each day. The number viewing the online Sunday service has been stronger and, while it fluctuates from week to week, has consistently been between 10-20 people most of whom watch throughout the entire service. The total number of online services through the year was 289 (337 in 2022 and 417 in 2021). Because of the difficulties in compiling any meaningful data regarding the online services we have decided that we will no longer collect this data in 2024.

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Annual Report and Financial Statements of the Parochial Church Council for the year ended 31 December 2023.

Occasional Offices

We have seen a significant reduction in both baptisms and weddings this year after last year’s post-COVID recovery. The weddings may be explained by the financial crisis that many young couples have faced through 2023, but this doesn’t explain the fall in the number of baptisms which hit its lowest level outside the COVID pandemic. It seems that young parents are less inclined to bring their children for baptism these days and this may reflect a cultural shift away from baptism by Generation Z. On a more encouraging note we conducted more funerals in church during 2023 than in any of the previous 10 years. Funerals at the Crematorium were down though, which may reflect an increasing tendency among local Funeral Directors to use their own celebrants.

Year
Baptisms
Weddings………
Funerals in church……
Funerals at Crem. ……		 2013
74
19
31
32		 2014
55
23
14
46		 2015
55
19
23
32		 2016
70
19
22
22		 2017
50
16
22
25		 2018
58
10
28
24		 2019
64
9
16
16		 2020
12
2
16
20		 2021
22
9
27
21		 2022
44
13
31
19		 2023
25
5
33
12

Baptism Preparation takes place on a monthly basis. The ordained ministers meet with parents and godparents to help them understand the meaning and commitment they are about to take through an exploration of the Baptism liturgy.

Marriage Preparation documentation is completed primarily by the Parish Administrator, Mrs Pamela Brown. We also run a Marriage Preparation Day in March in which couples are invited to attend and this is then followed on by clergy visiting couples in preparing for their marriage service.

Funerals are generally booked through the Parish Office and then shared across the parish by the clergy and LLMs.

St. Mary’s CEVA Primary School

During the early part of 2023 the Governors of St. Mary’s School and St. Helen’s Primary School in Alveston voted to formalise the informal partnership that has been running for the past four years and become a Federation. This involved dissolving both Governing bodies and constituting a new Governing body made up of Governors from both schools. The new Governing body is listed below:

Mr Charles de Nobriga Foundation Chair Mr Charles de Nobriga Foundation Chair (Yate Parish PCC)
Mr David Gordon Foundation Vice-Chair (Alveston PCC)
Revd. Ian Wallace Foundation (ex-officio – Yate Parish)
Revd. David Moss Foundation (ex-officio – Alveston Parish)
Mrs Kelly Reed LEA Governor
Mrs Fiona Kitson Staff Governor
Mrs Ann Crabbe Foundation (Yate Parish PCC)
Mrs Gemma-Jane Gunnery Foundation (Alveston PCC)
Revd. Joanne Hodge Foundation (Yate Parish PCC)
Mrs. Emily Stephens Foundation (Alveston PCC)
Mr. Ben Fowkes Parent Governor
Mrs. Fran Clarke Co-opted Governor
Mrs. Gemma Wilburn Clerk to the Governors

Towards the end of the year Mrs. Ann Crabbe gave notice that she was resigning from her position as a Foundation Governor (a post that she had held at St. Mary’s School for very many years) for medical reasons. Her position remains vacant but a recruitment exercise for her replacement is underway.

One of the first things that the new Federation Governing body did was to appoint Mrs. Julie Simpson as Executive Head across both schools. She has brought energy and enthusiasm, combined with an excellent awareness of the changing educational environment and a vibrant spirituality, such that the Governors are delighted with all that she is bringing to both schools. We are currently blessed with a very strong Senior Leadership Team with Mrs. Bethan Scriven as Head Teacher and Mrs. Natalie Lane as her deputy.

The Ministry Team maintain strong links with local schools and take many assemblies (collective worship) throughout the year. This happens weekly at St. Mary’s School but we have also taken assemblies at Abbotswood School and Broadway Infant School. In addition to those service as Governors for the newly-formed Federation we also have a

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Annual Report and Financial Statements of the Parochial Church Council for the year ended 31 December 2023.

member of the Ministry Team as a Governor for Brimsham Green School and a member of Yate Parish also chairs the trustees for Regenerate.

Through the year we have continued with the mentoring scheme at St. Mary’s School based on the Early Intervention Programme run by the charity Transforming Lives for Good (TLG). Five mentors have been trained and are co-ordinated by Revd. Joanne Hodge who provides our main link to TLG. Each mentor provides one-to-one support for one child every week during term times and during this year six children have been mentored in this way.

The Rector’s Summary of 2023

2023 has seen stability returning to Parish life after the turbulence of the COVID years. The core attendance is back above 2018 levels (2019 was an exceptional year which we have not been able to replicate), but the total Average Weekly Attendance remains below 2018 levels due to the small number of baptisms conducted during the year. We continue to broadcast online services every day of the week (Morning Prayer from Monday to Saturday and then live worship on Sunday). The numbers viewing Morning Prayer live have fallen though there are still others who watch on catchup. However, the live Sunday attendance has remained stable at approximately 15 people per week. Anecdotal evidence tells us that this service is greatly appreciated by those who are ill or housebound.

The Ministry Team have continued to function well together by providing mutual support to one another while respecting the responsibilities carried by others. In particular, Pastoral Care & Fellowship has a full and vibrant weekly programme that engages with a lot of people who seldom attend our Sunday services. The Missional Church Team have also been very busy supporting community events across the town – the Pilgrim Group provide an active missional presence in Ladden Garden Village and we have also expanded our work with the Abbotswood Residents Association. In addition, we retain a strong bond with the local Ukrainian community and have hosted a number of their events.

The Youth, Children’s and Young Families work has been a priority for us through the year and is now well established under the leadership of Charlie Blackett. Messy Church has grown significantly through the year and we have also started a popular new initiative for pre-school children and their carers on a Friday morning (Friday Refresh). The number of people with whom we are in contact through Who Let the Dad’s Out has also increased through the year.

The Discipleship lead has organised several courses and sermons series through the year including a successful Alpha Course through the summer months and both Lent and Advent courses.

Through 2023 we have managed to develop our financial systems under the leadership of our Treasurer and the Finance Committee that he chairs. We now have a clear gradation of delegated authority which the PCC has approved as part of our financial controls and have developed a more sophisticated budgeting system. In addition, new invoicing software has now been introduced across the Parish which enables us to track more accurately the payments for weddings, funerals and the renting of our facilities and a new app-based system has been introduced to enable us to manage the payment of clergy expenses more efficiently. Our finances remain stable despite the heavy demand on the budget of increased costs (particularly energy costs), although we have had to draw on reserves during the year to make ends meet.

Our Parish Safeguarding Officer has also worked hard to improve our procedures for ensuring that we implement our Safeguarding Policy in full and to a high standard. This has included mapping all volunteer jobs within the Parish and ensuring that safer recruitment procedures are adopted for all roles.

Our main constraint this year has not been financial but rather the lack of volunteers and the erosion of Ministry Team hours. This is happening while demands are increasing, particularly around the compliance agenda, and we are now asking more of people than we have previously done. Unless we can get more volunteer input we may have to consider cutting back on some of the activities covered in this report.

Overall it has been a year of stability with some small growth, new members and new initiatives. We have laid some strong foundations in our Youth & Families work and in the Discipleship Ministry Area. A lot happens during the middle of the week which complements the full programme of Sunday services. We are holding our own in a very challenging environment but have not yet seen the “vibrant, growing community” that we envisioned. What progress we have made has been hard won and, while we are keeping our head above water financially, expenses are continuing to rise faster than income leading to deficit budgets. However, the coherence of the Ministry Team and the effectiveness of the PCC means that the Parish is well placed to enter a vacancy towards the end of 2024.

One notable achievement this year was obtaining Eco Church awards across all four churches in the Parish. Both St.

6 Annual Report and Financial Statements of the Parochial Church Council for the year ended 31 December 2023.

Mary's and St. James obtained the silver award and St. Peter's and St. Nicholas obtained the bronze award. This was largely due to the hard work of the Eco Working Group who will continue their work to see how we can move towards the goal of becoming Net Zero churches and upgrade those awards. Particular focus is being given to our heating systems and all four churches have now had an Eco Audit from an advisor appointed by the Diocese who has made various recommendations as to the way forward.

Ian Wallace

Activities and Impact

Worship & Prayer

Aim: To become, by 2025, a vibrant growing community focused on following Jesus and rooted in prayer that is open to and caring of all people.

I am pleased to report that we are continuing to develop our vision for the parish in prayer and worship.

In conclusion : As a parish we continue to offer a great deal, and my hope and prayer is that we may continue in our offering and introduction of new ideas that can help each one of us develop in prayer and worship, which in turn will help us grow in our relationship with God.

Wanda Morris

Missional Church

Aim: To become, by 2025, a vibrant growing community focused on following Jesus and rooted in prayer, that is open to and caring of all people.

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Annual Report and Financial Statements of the Parochial Church Council for the year ended 31 December 2023.

Continued work with Ladden Garden Village community group: Easter Egg Hunt Coronation celebration MacMillian Coffee Morning Remembrance display Remembrance trail Christmas Fayre

Hywel Snook

Discipleship Report

2023 has seen a mixed picture on the discipleship front. A well-attended Lent course was well received in home groups. However, the sessions held for those not in home groups had a very minimal uptake. This was a shock as the previous Advent course had been well attended.

Alpha was run at St. Mary’s but did not attract anybody from outside the church. There were however three developments.

  1. The churches worked well, even in a different church, to provide hospitality for each session. This is an encouraging development.

  2. Table leads were easier than anticipated to recruit and this gave those leads the opportunity to grow in confidence.

  3. Perhaps most importantly, a good number began to grow in their understanding of their own faith and how to live it out. After the initial seven sessions the remainder were held in September and October at St. Nix. These were also very well attended, even with reduced hospitality.

Feedback from the Advent course was good from home groups.

Home groups have had a difficult year due to personal circumstances with those leading and their loved ones. The Emmaus group lost critical mass due to the busyness of participants and The Westerleigh Pilgrims group has lost its momentum. Ladden Garden Pilgrims has proved to be a stable and supportive group that is working well as a missional community rooted in its discipleship framework.

Two new groups will be launching, one in the daytime and one in the evenings. Both will be looking at the Bible in more depth.

There is currently no plan to run alpha in 2024 and a revised format will be offered in 2025.

I continue to encourage congregants to look at their interaction with God and the questions of faith beyond their worship attendance. Advent and Lent courses are a good way to begin.

David Jones

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Annual Report and Financial Statements of the Parochial Church Council for the year ended 31 December 2023.

Care for the Community

Aim: To become, by 2025, a vibrant growing community, focused on following Jesus and rooted in prayer, that is open to and caring of all people.

What’s going well:

Home Communions The Ministry Team now visits four care homes in Yate, and numbers are growing. Chris Ainslie continues to do some home communions.

Craft Group We continue to look forward to meeting new members and creating beautiful items but mostly all the friendships that are deepening and those to come. Wednesday morning itself is vital in maintain pastoral links and identifying pastoral issues. ( Jo Horler )

Shalom Group is still meeting on the fourth Tuesday in the Quiet Room at St Nicholas. Friendship Group and Lunch Club are still thriving at St Nicholas. Two new volunteers have joined the lunch club team.

Mothers’ Union The highlights were the annual lunch at Lark Rise Cafe, Commissioning Service for new members, hosting the Deanery Festival Service, and the Diocesan Autumn Gathering - all at St Nicholas. We support Praise & Play weekly and the Away From It All day in Weston-super-Mare was filled with sun, sea, and sand enjoyed by parents and children. September brought the Love Bags, full of goodies with the big/little handmade hearts, a welcome gift for those reluctant reception parents. We rounded off the year with our Christmas tree at St Mary’s themed in the new RISE UP campaign on domestic abuse, the tree covered in origami birds of peace and crochet hearts.

Coffee Morning at St Mary’s , meeting from 11am on the second Tuesday of each month at St Mary’s Church, is continuing with a steadily increasing clientele, many of whom are coming into St Mary’s either for the first time, or for the first time in a while. This is successfully run by Gerry and Mike Willis and a faithful group of helpers.

School Chaplaincy is still being offered to St Mary’s School staff.

Transforming Lives for Good is the Early Intervention programme under which St Mary’s school and St Mary’s church have formed a partnership. We are now working with our third set of children. We have lost two coaches this year, so if you know anyone who has a passion for helping children and has an hour to spare every week, please send them to me!

St James’ coffee morning on Wednesdays continues to thrive, as does the Sunday Lunch at the New Inn.

St Mary’s coffee shop on Sundays continues to reach out to non-churchgoers as well as providing an excellent fellowship space for worshippers.

Listening Ministry Reverend Joanne had a meeting with a doctor at Courtside Surgery regarding being able to listen to patients’ concerns about faith, especially when they are diagnosed with a terminal disease. So far there have been no calls, but the offer is there!

Mission Area Partnership The Care for the Community Stream continues to meet regularly. Our current focus is making our churches more dementia aware. A good number of people from Yate Parish attended a Dementia Awareness Training Day in the Fromeside Benefice on July 8[th] . This was a fantastic day, and the Care of the Community Team has been working with the aim of making all our churches Dementia Friendly.

Disappointments:

However, as I seem to say every year, for new initiatives and the continuation and development of existing initiatives, volunteers are essential. I am very aware that there is a great deal of really good Community caring going on in our Parish, and my prayer is that people will volunteer and receive some training, which may add some tools to help in the work already going on! Without training we cannot, for instance, develop our ministry to our care homes, or develop our Listening Ministry, or grow the Grave Talk sessions, or develop the support networks in St Mary’s school (let alone other schools), all of which I would dearly love to see. As I said last year, and make no apologies for repeating - again - the shrinking ministry team cannot and should not be expected to do all the work.

Joanne Hodge

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Annual Report and Financial Statements of the Parochial Church Council for the year ended 31 December 2023.

Youth, Children & Young Families

Aim: To become, by 2025, a vibrant growing community focused on following Jesus and rooted in prayer that is open to and caring of all people.

Children and Family activities have continued to flourish this last year along with the Youth Missioner role becoming more established.

The weekday activities have continued, attended by local families

Sunday morning family worship has continued to be offered through All Age Worship or Sunburst - a small number of families engage with these activities. We have held 5 parade services throughout the year that have been incredibly well supported by local uniformed organisations.

Yate Messy Church is a thriving congregation and a hive of activity with many families making this their regular Church attendance.

Schools work in Yate continues in that we provide a weekly assembly for St Mary’s school with some support to Regenerate for some of the wider schools’ work.

There has been increased working in Yate with other local churches under the umbrella of Yate and Sodbury Churches Together: we have a strong support network for each other and have undertaken many joint events through the year such as parenting courses, Easter Walk of Witness, Light Party. Another success from this working is that we meet and attend together ‘The Mix’ at Woodlands Church in Bristol by shared transport. I have passed the minibus driving test to assist in transporting youth.

We have faced problems with volunteers for our Children’s and Family activities this last year; this is not just a problem faced in Churches but is reflected nationally post pandemic. So we continue to seek to safely recruit to fill the many vacant roles that we have.

Charlie Blackett

Mission to Ladden Garden Village Estate (North Yate)

Mission in Ladden Garden Village has been uplifting and frustrating in 2023.

In May 2023 we formally began the Ladden Garden Village Community Group, with a constitution and our own bank account. This allows us to apply for our own funding and as the team grows allows us to be open and accountable to the community. We continued working with Live West homes and have recently begun a partnership with Bromford, the other social housing provider on the estate. The group has grown in numbers with good representation from the pilgrim missional community. We held several events in the village in 2023:

In addition to these events the Pilgrim group has held monthly prayer walks through the village in the summer months. All these activities have led to the Pilgrim group growing and some extra people from LGV coming to church.

The central frustration is that the community centre and school which were promised for 2022 have not been built. The community group has been ready to take our work to the next level for a while but without a venue this work is impossible. We continue to lobby the council for a community centre and look for alternative provisions, but this is slow work.

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Annual Report and Financial Statements of the Parochial Church Council for the year ended 31 December 2023.

Overall, it was a good year with great events and new people offering their gift to the community; we stand ready to take things to the next level as the estate continues to grow.

Hywel Snook

Governance, Administration, Finance, Communication & Facilities (GAFCaF)

Aim: to support ministry within the Parish by ensuring

We have continued to develop our financial systems through the year. After a successful pilot of a digital invoicing system at St. Nix we have now rolled the same system out across the whole Parish to cover funeral and wedding invoices and invoices for the hiring of other venues. The system has proved itself in facilitating more timely payment and enabling better tracking of late payments. We have also introduced an App-based payment system for Clergy expenses which is again proving popular as it enables expenses to be claimed and allocated to the correct budget as we go along through the month.

The systems that we have put in place to support communication across a variety of digital/ social media platforms continue to function well and ensure that we have an active presence on such forums. In addition, we have developed the use of WhatsApp groups for such activities as Praise & Play, Friday Refresh, Sunburst and Who Let the Dads Out which allow us to keep in regular contact with many of the young families. Joining the WhatsApp groups can be done simply by scanning a dedicated QR code that requests permission from the group administrator.

Our plans to improve our facilities have progressed very slowly through this year, largely because of a lack of funds to implement them. St. James have had to revise their plans for a toilet and kitchen within the church and are now exploring installing an Eco (composting) toilet within the church grounds. St. Mary’s hosted a visit by the DAC and Archdeacon and, as a result, have applied for permission to make certain changes by way of a TMRO (Temporary Minor Re-Ordering licence). Just before the end of the year they also commissioned a new sound system that will be installed in the first quarter of 2024.

Ian Wallace

Eco Church

2023 was an exciting year for the Eco Church Movement. The newly-appointed Diocesan Environment Officer clearly wants the Diocese of Bristol to be at the forefront and a leader in the field. Each of our churches has an Eco Champion - Jane Lawrence for St James, Julia Holbrook for St Mary’s, Anne White for St Nicholas (assisted by Ros Bailey) and Jenny Shiles for St Peters.

St James and St Mary’s hold a Silver Award and St Nix and St Peter’s hold a Bronze award. There is a Buddy Scheme running in the Diocese so that churches who have achieved an award can help those who are just starting.

The Eco Champions are invited to a Zoom Meeting on a very regular basis; these are well attended and there have been some very interesting speakers. The meetings are always followed up with a sheet of new suggestions to further the work of the Eco Church.

All four churches have been promised an Energy Audit with the promise of a £10,000 grant to implement something of what is needed to make the churches more Eco efficient.

Christine Dolton

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Annual Report and Financial Statements of the Parochial Church Council for the year ended 31 December 2023.

Mission Area

The Yate and Fromeside Mission Area is a joint missional venture with Fromeside Benefice aimed at bringing new growth and energy to both benefices. It was begun in 2017 at the instigation of Bristol Diocese as part of the Church of England’s Strategic Development Programme. The Mission Area was formally launched with a Covenant Service in January 2018 and by June of that year the two benefices had developed a joint plan for the first 18 months which ran to December 2019. A subsequent plan that was developed to cover the period from 2020 to 2022 has been interrupted by the COVID pandemic.

Mission Area activity has now recovered following the interruption of the pandemic. The Youth Missioner has been working productively across both benefices and has brought greater coherence in Messy Church across the mission Area as well as starting a new initiative in Yate called ‘Friday Refresh’. The pastoral team have run a very successful Dementia Awareness training and have additional initiatives planned for 2024. We have run several joint discipleship initiatives across the Mission Area during 2023 and there continues to be significant co-operation around communication and publicity including the launch of a new podcast called ‘Those Vicar Blokes’. Revd. Malcolm Strange (Fromeside) has now taken on the leadership of the Mission Area to ensure that there is no hiatus when Revd. Ian Wallace retires in 2024 and discussions have begun with the Diocese with a view to all stipendiary roles having a Mission Area element written into their job description.

The end of 2023 saw the completion of the six years of the Church of England’s Strategic Development Fund’s involvement with the Mission Areas and, in the autumn, they commissioned the Church Army Research Unit to carry out a full evaluation. The conclusion of that evaluation was that the objectives had been partially met. They noted that the COVID pandemic had temporarily halted the upward trend in attendance across the Mission Areas and had significantly knocked us back so that the attendance targets were not met. However, other objectives had been met and the Diocese of Bristol has decided to continue with the Mission Area model in its new Transforming Church. Together strategy.

Ian Wallace

Safeguarding

Safeguarding is everyone’s business: see something, do something

The Parish of Yate is committed to safeguarding children, young people and vulnerable adults at risk of abuse, harm, neglect or exploitation. To ensure that safeguarding underpins all that we do, our work draws heavily on policies and guidance from the National Safeguarding Team and the Diocese of Bristol.

The role of the Parish Safeguarding Officer is ever-changing, with the workload increasing across the parish at both strategic and practical levels. Our parish safeguarding team remains the same as last year. However, to reflect the increasing administration, Ian Hodgson was appointed as Safeguarding Administrator, having gone through the safer recruitment process.

Our team continues to have an open-door policy supporting parishioners, church officers and the ministry team, consulting with professionals and the Diocese of Bristol as needed.

Our revised Parish Safeguarding Policy and Procedures were agreed at the PCC meeting in March 2024. We have also adopted the national Domestic Abuse Statement and Policy on Recruitment of Ex-Offenders. Over the next few months we will be revising our social media policy and hall hiring agreements, and writing good practice guidelines for staff and volunteers.

All staff and volunteers are required to complete safeguarding training every three years. Last year we held our first inperson session which was attended by 25 people. Volunteers can also access training online via the national safeguarding team’s training portal. The aim of training is to equip volunteers with the information needed to recognise that abuse or neglect may be happening, respond, record and refer.

Our recruitment of volunteers is underpinned by the Church of England’s safer recruitment and people management guidance. Over the past year we have started the process of writing role descriptions for each volunteer post and we hope this year to develop a section on the parish website specifically for volunteers. To support interdenominational activities we now use a memo of understanding to determine and agree respective responsibilities.

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Annual Report and Financial Statements of the Parochial Church Council for the year ended 31 December 2023.

All our churches play a vital role in the lives of many across our communities and we all have a role to play in keeping those who are vulnerable safe and secure, creating and nurturing a culture of informed vigilance where anyone can feel safe to disclose an incident, make an allegation or raise a concern, and know that they will be listened to and taken seriously. God cares about protecting people, particularly the vulnerable, and so should we. Safeguarding is everyone’s business because it must be at the heart of all we do.

Beverley Hodgson, Parish Safeguarding Officer, Parish of Yate.

Health and Safety Report

2023 has again been a fairly quiet year on the accident front, with no incidents being recorded; this is good news as the Churches have started to hold more events.

The Health and Safety Policy was reviewed and updated during 2022, and the DCCs are required to ensure that they have appropriate arrangements in place to ensure compliance. Health and Safety is a responsibility of every member of the congregation and every user of our premises; if they see something that is of concern they should raise it with a Churchwarden or the local Health and Safety Rep to ensure that everyone, including themselves, is kept safe by following the working practices that have been developed and implemented across the parish.

The information provided by the Church insurance company has continued, changes in processes and procedures relate to food handling and allergies and intolerances legislation. These changes have been reported to the PCC. A Risk Assessment form has been created and is available on the Parish File Store in the Health and Safety folder, and should be used to complete event Risk Assessments.

A copy of completed Risk Assessments and other monitoring forms must be printed and safely stored before events: this is an insurance requirement and must be produced on request.

Gus Smith, Parish Health & Safety Officer

Treasurer’s Report

As Covid receded from the headlines in 2022, cost of living took over and energy costs and other inflation became the dominant macroeconomic issue that we had to contend with. We went into 2023 expecting things to be difficult and I’m pleased to report that our total funds increased by £10k year on year, an increase of 2.6%.

We remain exceptionally grateful for our donors, whether regular or occasional, as the vast majority of our income comes from our donors. We are also grateful for those that provided grants to help us fund youth work and mitigate some of the impact of the increase in energy costs.

Overall our income was up 11% against 2022, a £26k increase, and our expenses were up by 3%, an £8k increase. Our annual investment revaluation was significantly better in 2023 than 2022, which also contributed to a much stronger result than the previous year.

Managing our expenses is a key focus area at the moment, and in 2023 this meant that we paid a lower level of Diocesan Parish Share contributions than in 2022. We continue to debate the appropriate level of these payments in recognition of the level of clergy support we receive from the Diocese and have set ourselves a target to increase these payments in 2024.

We do have a significant list of building refurbishment projects lined up that will need funding and the Trustees will ensure that appropriate funding arrangements are put in place to manage this pipeline of work. It should be noted, however, that most grant providers require that a project is at least partially funded by the PCC and therefore fundraising and income generation will be one of our main tasks in 2024.

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Annual Report and Financial Statements of the Parochial Church Council for the year ended 31 December 2023.

Stephen Lord

Conclusion

The Annual Report is a composite document prepared by Officers and members of the PCC, in line with the terms of the Charities Acts of 1993, 2011 and 2022. We hope this report gives a clear picture of the church and the way in which the PCC have administered the task placed on them as trustees in the Parish of Yate.

On behalf of the PCC, The Revd. Ian Wallace (Team Rector).

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Annual Report and Financial Statements of the Parochial Church Council for the year ended 31 December 2023.

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Annual Report and Financial Statements of the Parochial Church Council for the year ended 31 December 2023.

The Parish Of Yate PCC Statement of Financial Activities For The Year to 31st December 2023

Unrestrict Restricte Endowme
Incoming Resources Note ed d nt Total Funds
Funds Funds Funds 2023 2022
£ £ £ £ £
Incoming resources from generated funds 2
Voluntary income from donors 2a 100,588 0 0 100,588 92,833
Voluntary income - other 2b 3,374 27,957 0 31,330 32,072
Incoming resources from charitable activities
Lettings and fees 2c 73,306 0 0 73,306 65,513
Other 2d 32,078 0 0 32,078 28,827
Investment income 2e 5,555 10,371 0 15,926 9,171
Other incoming resources 2f 1,432 0 0 1,432 0
Total Incoming Resources 216,332 38,328 0 254,660 228,416
Resources Expended
Cost of generating funds 3
Costs of generating voluntary income 3a 151,540 13,963 0 165,504 154,399
Governance costs 3b 52,778 31,158 0 83,935 87,868
Costs of Generating Funds 3c 4,710 0 0 4,710 4,181
Charitable activities 3d 5,934 225 0 6,158 4,225
Movement in Debtors 5 0 0 0 1,594
Total Resources Expended 214,962 45,345 0 260,307 252,266
Net Incoming (Outgoing) Resources 1,370 -7,018 0 -5,647 -23,850
Transfers -6,444 6,446 0 2 -424
Gains and Losses on Investments 8,040 0 7,595 15,635 -27,659
Net Movement in Funds 2,967 -572 7,595 9,990 -51,934
Reconciliation of Funds
Balances B/F @ Start Of Year 199,760 66,552 115,015 381,327 433,261
Opening balance reclassification -38,852 38,852 0 -0 0
Net Movement in Funds 2,967 -572 7,595 9,990 -51,934
Balances C/F @ End Of Year 163,875 104,833 122,610 391,317 381,327

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Annual Report and Financial Statements of the Parochial Church Council for the year ended 31 December 2023.

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Annual Report and Financial Statements of the Parochial Church Council for the year ended 31 December 2023.

The Parish Of Yate PCC Fund Analysis

For The Year to 31st December 2023

Opening Movement Income Payments Transfers Transfers Capital Closing
Revaluatio
Balances In Debtors In Out n Balances
& Creditors
£ £ £ £ £ £ £ £
General
Printer 96 0 0 96
Discretionary Capital 69,718 6,647 76,365
Discretionary Revenue 257 2,311 -752 1,816
Parish - General 4,077 -78 11,522 -40,877 29,365 4,009
St James General 2,935 -147 23,554 -20,272 1,094 -7,759 -595
St Mary's General 2,060 845 76,040 -73,524 18,194 -20,090 3,525
St Nicholas General 8,453 3,075 63,585 -48,336 0 -10,320 16,456
St Peter's General 3,627 12,437 -11,684 0 -3,323 1,056
St Nicholas Youth Centre 557 495 19,629 -19,111 1,571
St Mary's EB Memorial 42,502 1,805 -181 3,089 -18,194 29,021
St Peters CBF General 11,809 1,033 1,500 0 14,342
St Peter's Investment CBF 14,817 1,393 16,210
General Funds 160,908 4,189 211,918 -214,737 53,242 -59,685 8,040 163,875
Specific
Parish - Youth Worker 38,852 27,957 -34,219 5,000 37,590
St. Mary's Newman Income 5,754 7,585 -10,902 0 2,436
St. James Fabric & Organ 33,646 -225 1,586 2,540 -1,094 36,453
St. Nicholas Fabric & Kitchen 11,394 523 0 11,917
St Nicholas Roof 14,759 677 15,436
St Nicholas Youth Centre Projects 1,000 0 0 1,000
Specfic Funds 105,405 -225 38,328 -45,121 7,540 -1,094 0 104,833
Endowment
St. Mary's Newman Trust Capital 115,015 7,595 122,610
Endowment Funds 115,015 0 0 0 0 0 7,595 122,610
Total Funds 381,327 3,965 250,245 -259,857 60,781 -60,779 15,635 391,317
Analysed As:
Unrestricted 160,908 4,189 211,918 -214,737 53,242 -59,685 8,040 163,875
Restricted 105,405 -225 38,328 -45,121 7,540 -1,094 0 104,833
Endowment 115,015 0 0 0 0 0 7,595 122,610
Total Funds 381,327 3,965 250,245 -259,857 60,781 -60,779 15,635 391,317
The Parish Of Yate PCC

Annual Report and Financial Statements of the Parochial Church Council for the year ended 31 December 2023.

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Notes To The Financial Statements For The Year to 31st December 2023

Unrestricte Endowmen Total
2 Incoming Resources d Restricted t Funds
Funds Funds Funds 2023 2022
£ £ £ £ £
2a Voluntary income from donors
Planned Giving 71,099 71,099 68,756
Income Tax Recoverable 22,240 22,240 15,044
Collections (Open plate) 7,249 7,249 9,034
100,588 0 0 100,588 92,833
Voluntary income -
2b other
Grants 3,374 22,500 25,874 25,790
Donations, Appeals, etc. 0 5,457 5,457 6,282
3,374 27,957 0 31,330 32,072
2c Lettings and Fees
Church hall lettings 55,220 55,220 42,439
Fees 18,086 0 18,086 23,074
73,306 0 0 73,306 65,513
2d Other income
Funds generated 32,078 32,078 28,827
Copier 0 0 0
32,078 0 0 32,078 28,827
2e Investment Income
Interest/Dividends 5,555 10,371 15,926 9,171
5,555 10,371 0 15,926 9,171
Other incoming
2f resources
Miscellaneous 0 0 0
Tax reclaim 1,432 1,432 0
Legacy 0 0 0
1,432 0 0 1,432 0
Total Incoming Resources 216,332 38,328 0 254,660 228,416

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Annual Report and Financial Statements of the Parochial Church Council for the year ended 31 December 2023.

The Parish Of Yate PCC Notes To The Financial Statements For The Year to 31st December 2023

Total
3. Resources Expended Unrestricted Restricted Endowment Funds
Funds Funds Funds 2023 2022
£ £ £ £ £
3a Costs of Generating Voluntary Income
Activities directly relating to the church
Ministry Diocesan Share 66,000 66,000 70,000
Ministry Clergy Expenses 5,341 5,341 4,523
Church Running Expenses 0 0 0
Utilities 15,833 15,833 10,629
Insurance 10,310 10,310 9,102
Church Maintenance 9,111 9,111 7,069
Equipment Repairs 3,098 3,098 1,768
Other Projects 452 452 3,920
Roof Project 17,472 17,472 971
Church Cleaning 1,700 1,700 1,561
Flower Decoration 0 0 0
Altar requisites 979 979 734
Vision 1,954 3,061 5,016 22,167
Care of Church Grounds 181 10,902 10,902 7,357
Youth & Community Centres Running
Costs
Utilities 6,662 6,662 2,810
Insurance 918 918 839
Repairs 936 936 1,361
Staff Costs 9,088 9,088 8,204
Equipment 0 0 0
Admin 7 7 0
Caretaking 1,499 1,499 1,384
Projects 0 0 0
Building Refurbishment 0 0 0
Stationery etc. 0 0 0
Total Costs of Generating Voluntary
Income 151,540 13,963 0 165,323 154,399

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Annual Report and Financial Statements of the Parochial Church Council for the year ended 31 December 2023.

The Parish Of Yate PCC Notes To The Financial Statements For The Year to 31st December 2023

3. Resources Expended Unrestricted Restricted Endowment Total Funds
Funds Funds Funds 2023
2022
£ £ £ £
£
3b Governance Costs
Church Management & Administration
Staff - Administration 37,827 37,827
34,730
Other Staff Costs 2,110 31,158 33,268
32,018
Sundry Expenses 0
0
Administration 6,187 6,187
6,372
Miscellaneous 6,558 6,558
14,654
Bank Charges 95 95
94
52,778 31,158 0 83,935
87,868
Cost of generating
3c funds
Fund Raising 4,710 4,710
4,130
Copier 0 0
50
4,710 0 0 4,710
4,181

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Annual Report and Financial Statements of the Parochial Church Council for the year ended 31 December 2023.

The Parish Of Yate PCC Notes To The Financial Statements For The Year to 31st December 2023

3 Resources Expended Unrestricted Restricted Endowment Total Funds
Funds Funds Funds 2023 2022
£ £ £ £ £
3d Charitable Activities
Charitable Giving 5,934 225 6,158 4,225
Analysed as:
For Ukraine Projects 1,351
Regenerate 1,200
DEC for Turkey Earthquake appeal 864
British Legion 471
Gloucester Historic Churches Fund 369
Southern Brookes 325
CRY 300
InHope 300
Great Western Air Ambulance 200
Blonde Street Angels 147
Childrens Society 128
Foodbank 83
Cancer Research 50
Amounts accrued but not paid at year end 371
Total 6,158

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Annual Report and Financial Statements of the Parochial Church Council for the year ended 31 December 2023.

The Parish Of Yate PCC Notes To The Financial Statements For The Year to 31st December 2023

2023 2022
£ £
4a Fixed Assets for use by PCC 0 0
4b Investments
Market Value at start of year Discretionary Fund 69,719 79,112
Market Value at start of year Newman Trust 115,015 143,127
Market Value at start of year St Peters CBF 14,817 16,771
Gain (loss) on revaluation Discretionary Fund 6,647 -9,393
Gain (loss) on revaluation Newman Trust 7,595 -16,312
Gain (loss) on revaluation St Peters CBF 1,393 -1,954
Other income (expenditure) Discretionary Fund 0 0
Other income (expenditure) Newman Trust 0 -11,800
Other income (expenditure) St Peters CBF 0 0
Valuation at end of year 215,186 199,551
Holdings as at end of year (Number of units)
Dis. Fund 3,378 3,378
New Trust 5,424 5,567
St Peters 717 717
9,519 9,662
5 Debtors (Unrestricted Funds)
Tax Claim 845 0
Trade Debtors 3,825
4,669 0
6 Cash Balances
Parish Lloyds Account 15,352 16,823
Parish Lloyds Account 49,421 50,844
St. James CBF 36,678 33,646
St. Mary's CBF 29,021 42,502
St. Nicholas CBF 11,917 11,394
St. Peter's CBF 14,342 11,809
St. Nicholas CBF Roof 15,436 14,759
172,167 181,776

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Annual Report and Financial Statements of the Parochial Church Council for the year ended 31 December 2023.

The Parish Of Yate PCC Notes To The Financial Statements For The Year to 31st December 2023

2023 2022
£ £
7 Liabilities - Amounts falling due within one year
Amounts collected to be paid to
other organisations 372 0
Expenses incurred but not paid 334 0
705 0
2023 2022
8 Diocesan Parish Share £ £
66,000 70,000

The amount paid to the Diocese was increased as we aim to cover fully our clergy costs that are funded by the Diocese.

9 Analysis of net assets by fund

General Restricted Endowment Total 2022
£ £ £ £ £
Investments 92,575 122,610 215,185 199,550
Debtors 0 0 0
Cash Balances 42,278 42,278 33,871
Cash Balances St Mary's CBF 29,021 29,021 42,502
Cash Balances allocated funds 104,833 104,833 105,405
163,875 104,833 122,610 391,317 381,327

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Annual Report and Financial Statements of the Parochial Church Council for the year ended 31 December 2023.

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Annual Report and Financial Statements of the Parochial Church Council for the year ended 31 December 2023.