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← The Parochial Church Council Of The Ecclesiastical Parish Of St Peter, Leckhampton

2024-12-31-accounts

Parochial Church Council Annual Report for 2024

Our Vision Statement

St Peter’s Church, Leckhampton exists to love and worship God, to serve its neighbours and to share the love of Jesus Christ.

The Parish Prayer

Loving God Open our eyes that we might see you. Open our ears that we might hear you. Open our hearts and minds that we might respond to you and bring others to know you. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord who lights our way. Amen

Charity Registration Number: 1134612

Parochial Church Council Annual Report for 2024

Legal and Administrative Information

Name: Parochial Church Council of St Peter’s, Leckhampton (PCC). Location: St Peter’s Church is located in Church Road, Leckhampton and is part of the Diocese of Gloucester within the Church of England. Address for correspondence: The Parish Office, Glebe Cottages, Church Road, Leckhampton, Cheltenham, Glos GL53 0QJ

Members

Following the 2024 APCM the composition of the PCC is as follows (the years elected are shown in brackets):

Clergy Revd Canon Gary Grady (Team Rector) Rev Jade Scholes (Associate Priest) Readers Dereck Freeman Melissa Webb EX-OFFICIO Churchwardens David Webber (2024) Sally Marlow (2024) Deputy Churchwardens Arthur Webb (2024) Duncan Hughes (2024) Deanery Synod Members (2023-2026) Peter Davies * Mike Riley Brad Coates

LAY MEMBERS

Lay Members elected 2022-2025 (one year of Margaret Kyffin service remaining) Peter Marlow (Treasurer) Lay Members elected 2023-2026 (two years of Jennie Hawdon service remaining) Penny Piggott Christine Brown (Secretary) Anne Webber Lay Members elected 2024-2027 (three years of Ro Baillie service remaining) Helen Shill † Sarah Wood Pat Long Andrea Hughes Co-opted Member* Richard Kerr-Wilson 2024 (Eco Officer)

Co-opted Member

* SCTM Representatives (2024-2025)

† Youth Representative (2024-2025)

Totals: PCC members: 11, Ex officio 7, co-opted 1

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Parochial Church Council Annual Report for 2024

Notes on composition of PCC

Calculation of numbers on PCC : six representatives of the laity where there are not more than fifty names on the electoral roll, nine such representatives where there are not more than one hundred names on the roll and, where there are more than one hundred names on the roll, a further three such representatives for every one hundred (or part thereof) names on the roll up to a maximum of fifteen such members, and so that the aforesaid numbers "six", "nine", "three" and "fifteen" may be altered from time to time by a resolution passed at any annual meeting, but such resolution shall not take effect before the next ensuing annual meeting

Co-opted members: We can also have co-opted members, if the parochial church council so decides, not exceeding in number one-fifth of the representatives of the laity elected or two persons whichever shall be the greater, and being either clerks in Holy Orders or actual lay communicants of sixteen years of age or upwards. The term of office of a co-opted member shall be until the conclusion of the next annual meeting; but without prejudice to his being co-opted on subsequent occasions for a similar term, subject to and in accordance with the provisions of these rules.

Terms of Office

PCC members 3 years Deanery synod 3 years SCTM 3 years Churchwardens and Deputy Churchwardens I year Secretary and Treasurer I year

Financial Information

Status: The PCC is a Registered Charity (1134612) Independent Examiner: Mr Daryl Burns Bankers: Lloyds Bank plc, High Street, Cheltenham, Glos. CAF Bank Ltd, Kings Hill, West Malling, Kent.

Aims and Organisation

The main purpose of the PCC is defined in the Parochial Church Councils (Powers) Measure 1956 as “to cooperate with the minister in promoting in the Parish the whole mission of the church, pastoral, evangelistic, social and ecumenical.”

The following Committees promote the life of St Peter’s:

Social Committee: Revd Gary Grady, Ro Baillie, Helen Yates Pastoral Team: Revd Gary Grady, Revd Jade Scholes, Dereck Freeman, Jennie Hawdon, Sally Marlow, Anne Webber, Steve Whittington, Penny Williams

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Parochial Church Council Annual Report for 2024

Ministry Report

Revd Gary Grady, Team Rector

Thank you to all at St. Peter’s for another good year.

We have continued to worship both in-person and on-line, with the 10am Sunday Service and Morning Prayer (Mon-Thu) being live-streamed throughout the year; we will continue to do this in 2025 where possible

At the start of 2024, on Epiphany Sunday, we said goodbye to Revd Jacqueline Henson and family, Jacqueline having completed her curacy with St. Peter’s and moved on to a new role as Team Vicar in the North Cheltenham Team.

The church was then closed for 8 weeks as we undertook the final phase of the ordering project to rebuild the wooden dais at the front, install a new set of movable communion rails, and lay put down a new (red) carpet. The result has been excellent and thanks must go to our Architects and Contractors for keeping the works to schedule, and enabling us to come back to worship on Passion Sunday.

During that time, we held an 8am service in the Church Cottages every other week and worshipped at St. Stephen’s on the other Sundays. Thank you for your patience and support; special thanks go to David Webber for all of his support, and to Peter Davies for his practical advice.

At this time, we were blessed with the arrival of Revd Jade Scholes, who joined St. Peter’s as an Associate Priest and has fully supported the life of the church over the past year, regularly leading and preaching, attending Little Pebbles, and becoming a valued member of the Pastoral Team, as well as a Foundation Governor at the local primary school.

I continue to look ahead with optimism. Our numbers and finances (and church building) are all in good shape, we have a new Friends of St. Peter’s Scheme, our relationship with the local schools is excellent, and we continue to reach out in many ways to the local community through the different groups and events we offer.

Our beautiful church building and churchyard continues to attract people to ‘come and see’ and we have once again shared God’s love through the many baptism, wedding and funeral services we have conducted, and through the special services and music of our wonderful choir.

Towards the end of the year, we started to think about our vision and mission for the next 5 years and met, as a PCC over 2 separate days, to plan what this might be. This is now being drawn together into a plan!

Thank you to all who have supported the life of St Peter’s in 2024, with special thanks going to our churchwardens, David and Sally, our Readers, Dereck and Melissa, to all who have served on our PCC, to Peter Davies, our Sacristan, to Kit Perona-Wright, our Director of Music, and to Liz Johnson, our Administrator.

Thank you also to all who have supported our social events, made music, rung bells, arranged flowers, tended our churchyard, welcomed at the door, served at the front, or have simply showed your love for God through worship and what you do for others.

Every blessing for 2025 and beyond.

Revd Gary

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Parochial Church Council Annual Report for 2024

Review of financial activities and affairs for 2024

Peter Marlow, Hon. Treasurer

The accounts have three sections:

Overall, at the completion of the Reordering Project, St Peters remains in a good financial position with total unrestricted funds carried forward of £131,173. Total funds carried forward, which includes restricted income and investments, is £147,904, a decrease of £66,844 over 2023. We paid our Parish Share contribution in full. We benefited from the Listed Place of Worship Grant Scheme which enabled us to claim back the VAT on our Reordering work. A cost breakdown of the Reordering Project is contained in the Annual Report.

We had set a deficit budget for Running Costs for 2024, but we have ended the year with a surplus of £6,128. This great result was due to several generous donations. The Church was closed for over 2 months for Reordering at the beginning of 2024 which reduced running costs but also potentially reduced income.

We currently have 76 regular givers, 73 of whom give through the Parish Giving Scheme. Regular giving massively helps St Peters to plan its finances.

We launched a Friends of St Peter’s Leckhampton scheme in September and it currently has 44 members.

We supported the South Cheltenham Youth Project (£2,354) and Little Pebbles (£1,956). Carol Singing and Friday lunches raised £1006 for the Children’s Society.

Over the past year there were 611 transactions through the card reader in church to a value of £3,770 (in 2023 there were 487 transactions to a value of £3,160). The terminal fees were £258 over the year with a 2.5% transaction cost.

Policy on Reserves

In preparation for the Quinquennial Inspection Report of 2025 the Churchwardens and PCC are setting aside unrestricted reserves of £25,000 minimum to cover liabilities. They also recognise that it is prudent to retain unrestricted reserves of at least 4 months running costs (£50,000) to meet unforeseen occurrences. This policy was agreed by the PCC on16 January 2024. The PCC has also agreed to set up a Designated Fund of £40,000 from Reserves to help cover the repair of the Organ which suffered water damage in the September 2024 storms.

Expenses Payments

Other than the reimbursement of expenses and purchases made on the church’s behalf, no payments have been made to members of the PCC.

Acknowledgements

Many thanks to Steve Whittingham the Assistant Treasurer and Mike Riley the Gift Aid Officer for their invaluable help in 2024. Our Independent Examiner, David Evans, is having to retire on health grounds. We are very grateful for his support in this role for many years. Thanks to Daryl Burns, Treasurer of St Christopher’s Warden Hill, for stepping in as our new Independent Examiner.

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Parochial Church Council Annual Report for 2024

INDEPENDENT EXAMINER’S REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES OF THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF THE ECCLESIASTICAL PARISH OF ST PETER, LECKHAMPTON

I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts (attached) of the Parochial Church Council of the Ecclesiastical Parish of St Peter, Leckhampton (the Trust) for the year ended 31 December 2024.

Responsibilities and basis of report

As the charity trustees of the Trust you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (‘the Act’). I report in respect of my examination of the Trust’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act.

Independent examiner’s statement

I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect:

  1. accounting records were not kept in respect of the Trust as required by section 130 of the Act; or

  2. the accounts do not accord with those records.

I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

Name: Daryl Burns

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Parochial Church Council Annual Report for 2024

St Peter’s Leckhampton Reordering Project – February 2022 - March 2024 Peter Marlow, Treasurer

The reordering project at St Peter’s Leckhampton has finally completed! Long in planning, work started in February 2022 and was completed in March 2024. The total cost was £160,000 as detailed below. The funding came from generous donations, grants and reserves built up over many years from legacies. Our Reserves are still healthy but we are looking to rebuild them to fund more projects . It’s still possible to donate to the Reordering Fund , perhaps by funding one of the fine acolyte chairs (two have already been funded and dedication plaques provided). Please contact me if you would like further details.

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Parochial Church Council Annual Report for 2024

Churchwardens report for the 2025 APCM

Churchwardens: David Webber and Sally Marlow, Deputy Wardens: Arthur Webb and Duncan Hughes

David Webber continued as Churchwarden for a further year and was joined by Sally Marlow. Arthur Webb continued as Deputy Warden and we welcomed Duncan Hughes. David and Sally have met regularly with Rev Gary to discuss church policy, and this has given both them and Gary the opportunity to talk frankly and in confidence, and for them to offer him support, and to pass on pastoral concerns that may have come to their attention. This is in addition to the more formal Standing Committee meetings. The PCC has also maintained its regular timetable of meetings. Rev Jade Scholes joined St Peter’s as Associate Priest.

Other regular duties have included the completion of various surveys and official documents as required by the diocese. We attended the annual Archdeacon’s Visitation service where the wardens were officially admitted to their office.

The altar servers have continued to assist with the smooth running of services. Thanks are due to them and to the readers, intercessors, welcomers, junior church leaders, bellringers, choir and organist who all make a valuable contribution to services, and to the flower arrangers for their inspirational displays. Thanks also to Liz in the office for keeping day to day life of St Peter’s running smoothly.

The Church Building and Grounds

Regular checks, such as the emergency lighting, and fire safety have been carried out by the appropriate agencies.

The Reordering was completed before the last APCM but it became evident that the exposed flooring by the front pews was creating a trip hazard so Asher Collins, Blacksmith, was commissioned to design and install wrought iron guards. These blend in well with the existing design and have minimised the risk.

The congregation are getting used to the under-pew heating system, but the church is unheated when not in use.

The main room of the Glebe Cottages was redecorated by a volunteer working party. Thanks are due to them and to Martyn Shill, who decorated the entrance lobby and toilets.

During a tremendous storm in September which overwhelmed the north gulley, water entered the organ chamber damaging the organ. At the time of writing an insurance claim has been submitted but the outcome is not yet known. It is complicated by evidence of some subsidence, which will involve a separate claim.

Following a tragic event where a visitor collapsed and died during a memorial service a Defibrillator has been acquired, courtesy of the Fire Service, and this will be installed on the Glebe Cottages wall. It will be unlocked and un-coded to be instantly available to all. Thanks are due to numerous people who made this possible.

The church will undergo a Saturday morning Spring Clean before Easter and we look forward to a good number of the congregation coming to help out.

We are grateful to Mohammed who continues to keep the churchyard neat and trim, and to Brad Coates and the churchyard maintenance team.

Social activities continue to flourish at St Peter’s from regular chats over coffee on Sunday mornings to refreshments served after occasional concerts in church, special services and celebrations of festivals. We are grateful to the catering committee, led by Helen Yates, who undertake the organisation of many of these events.

The lights on the Christmas tree in the churchyard and round the Lych Gate during Advent have become a tradition. We are very grateful to Peter Davies who organises the lighting.

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We are delighted that Rev Gary has been invited by Bishop Rachel to be an Honorary Canon. The installation service will be part of Evensong at Gloucester Cathedral on Wednesday 2 April. We can be sure that St Peter’s will be well represented at that service, supporting Rev Gary.

Brownies - 15th Cheltenham (St. Peter’s, Leckhampton) Brownie Pack

Livvy Niblett

15th Cheltenham Brownies currently have 22 girls at the unit. We have been working towards both programme and challenge badges during some of our Brownie meetings.

We've had a busy year! The Brownies enjoyed taking part in our annual indoor camp evening. Just before Christmas, we ran another Christmas games evening. The Brownies worked together in small groups to create a Christmas themed game. We invited families along at the end of the meeting to play some of the games for a small fee. The money raised was donated to charity. In February, we celebrated 'World Thinking Day'. The Brownies took part in a range of activities all linked to our 5 world centres in Girlguiding.

This last year we have attended a District trip to Cattle Country farm park and a District disco. We have a Brownie Sleepover planned for May 2025. It will be the first one we have organised for the unit. We are looking forward to once again making use of the outside space at the cottages and spending some meetings outdoors next term. We are also excited to be taking part in the 'Lions at Large' project taking place in both Cheltenham and Gloucester this summer.

CCP (Caring for Communities and People ) Donations

Gilly Whittingham

CCP are extremely grateful for the continued generosity of the St Peter’s congregation towards their foodbank. This is demonstrated on a weekly basis by the amount of donations left in the porch for collection. The demands on CCP continue to rise and I am met with thanks each week when I take these items down to the CCP shop.

At the start of 2024 donations to CCP were reduced as a result of St Peter’s being closed for refurbishment. Once the church reopened donations picked up. The now regular Lent appeal had a very positive response. I will again encourage parishioners to ‘giving something’ rather than ‘giving up something’ for Lent in 2025.

The Harvest Festival again was very generously supported with over 150kgs donated. There was also support for the Hamper Scamper appeal in the lead up to Christmas. The grand total for 2024 amounted to 881.9kgs.

A very big thank you to everyone who has donated, either with physical items or regular monetary donations.

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Cheltenham Deanery Synod

Peter Davies

A Deanery Synod consists of all clergy and ministers licensed to a benefice within a deanery, plus elected lay members of each church in the deanery.

Each synod is elected for 3 years, known as a triennium, during which there are 9 meetings (3 per year) usually convened by the Area Dean (or Lay Chair) before a Diocesan Synod, so that any matters arising can be taken onto that meeting.

Representing St Peter’s Leckhampton within the Cheltenham Deanery is: Peter Davies, Bradley Coates and Mike Riley. The Area Dean for Cheltenham Deanery is The Reverend Andrew Blyth.

Reports containing minutes of deanery Synod meetings are regularly reported to the PCC at St Peter’s. During 2024 meetings were held as follows:

The next election for Deanery Synod members takes place in 2026.

Churchyard Maintenance

Brad Coates

This year we have been continuing to increase the biodiversity through selective rewilding. We have also engaged with Bartletts the tree surgeons for a multi year plan of maintenance of the Yews, all of which are looking healthy. Again, many thanks to Mohammed and the Team for their efforts in keeping the churchyard so tidy and such a pleasure to visit.

Cottages Bookings

Liz Johnson, Parish Administrator

We have had steady bookings over the past year where the Cottages have been used by various church and community groups as well as private hirers. Church groups include Little Pebbles, Julian Group, Ladies Fellowship, the Choir and the Craft Group. Other hirers include private parties, receptions and lunches, primary school tuition, Quiet Days, QiGong, other church’s away days and Leckhampton with Warden Hill Parish Council. We have Brownies and Rainbows each week during term time.

To comply with our Eco Church ethos, I try where possible to order sustainable and Fair Trade supplies for the Cottages. We encourage all hirers and church groups to use the recycling boxes and food bin in the Cottages: the recycling fairy (Liz) would welcome your help in this – please squash tins/plastic/cardboard where possible, only put clean items into the boxes and change the liner in the food bin after use.

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Craft-T-Time

Helen Shill

We have enjoyed each other's company on Wednesday mornings at the Cottages, chatting, doing our Craft and drinking teas and coffees with biscuits that our members bring along!

This year St Peter's Leckhampton Craft Group have knitted Christening Blankets, which are given to young children at the Christening Service in St Peter's, crosses, Christmas trees and Easter eggs for the Anna Chaplaincy projects, which give them to local Care Homes. We have made Greeting Cards, jumpers and a Quilted Runner. One of our group even knitted a beaver which was auctioned for a Wildlife Charity! We also showed our Craft at the Cottages last summer and received a lot of support from the Congregation.

We regularly have 5-10 members, one of whom has joined recently and comes from Twigworth. We welcome everyone to our group and would love to see you, if only for a cuppa and a chat.

EcoChurch

Richard Kerr-Wilson

The church eco group met in alternate months in 2024. This year they have agreed to meet monthly and divide the work for members to do in pairs between meetings.

During the year, A Rocha, who give the Eco church awards, updated their survey criteria. We have therefore started looking at the new survey before applying for their gold award. This consists of five sections: Worship and teaching; Buildings and energy; Land and nature; Community and global engagement, and Lifestyle. So far, we can only achieve gold in the first category.

Nevertheless, we have had some successes during the year. Under Worship, prayers for the planet and those affected by the climate crisis are now included regularly in the intercessions. In Buildings category, we now have LED lighting in both church and cottages and we have insulated the roof in the cottages. An environmental policy and climate resilience policy has been written. In the Land section, we have installed a box for hedgehogs and a bird feeder in the Cottages’ garden, planted another rowan and carried out another plant survey in the churchyard, as well as joining the bat conservation trust. Thanks to Ben Gilchrist, who carries out the plant surveys, our policy of re-wilding sections has shown an increase in the number and variety of plants in the churchyard.

More generally, attendance at an online carbon literacy course has been undertaken, as well as zoom meetings with A Rocha and the diocese. A climate emergency declaration has been passed by the PCC, as well as articles written by members of the group for the parish magazine. We now have an eco notice board in the Cottages and a section on the website.

In the coming year, we plan to ask members of the congregation what they do already as individuals in the way of eco activities, such as what relevant charities they support. This will help us to complete the survey section on Community and global engagement.

Thanks to all members of the Eco group for their enthusiasm and dedication.

Electoral Roll Officer's Report

Eric Miller

This year the Roll has been due for its six-yearly renewal and all parishioners have been asked to submit a fresh application. There has been a steady trickle of entries, the majority by email. At the time of writing there have been 146 applications, of which 15 are for the first time. Later applications can of course be made and are encouraged, since being on the Roll is a sign that you regard yourself as a full member of the church. The Roll ought to be an accurate reflection of the size of the congregation.

I have served as ERO on and off for many years and now wish to retire. Normally little work is entailed, except each sixth year. I shall be very happy to ensure a smooth handover to whoever takes over.

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Flower Guild

Averil Murray

As I look back over this year it seems to me that at the beginning of 2024 we were concerned about finances. However, as the year has gone on I feel much more sanguine about our position. People gave generously at Christmas when I put the basket for donations out, and we have had donations throughout the year. We recognise that it is now a fact that brides are careful with money and don’t automatically request special flowers, and there are fewer church weddings, although we now have 8 this year.

I have now sourced biodegradable oasis from an online company and they say they have an inexhaustible supply of it, so I no longer have to rely on C&G Flowers whose supply is intermittent at best.

We have learned to cope with only two cupboards, and we are being as tidy as we can, however I do have several items that now reside in my garage.

Once again, I would like to place on record my grateful thanks for all that you do to support our Guild.

Kathy is proving to be a treasure as Secretary, her efficiency is amazing and she keeps me on the straight and narrow. Thank you.

Sally is an excellent treasurer and I don’t have to worry about balancing books. Thank you.

Veronica is still interviewing brides and coping with all their various requirements and it is a big job in itself, so thank you to her.

And last of all, thank you to all our members who give of their time and gifts to beautify our church.

Last of all, I would just like to remind us all, we do not do all we do to please the Vicar, although we are glad that he is pleased. We do not do what we do to please the congregation and cheer everybody up, we don’t even do what we do to please ourselves, no, it is much more than that, quite simply we do it for the glory of God and to beautify this sacred place which is gifted to us in this generation. We offer our gifts of flower arranging to the One who said “Consider the lilies of the field….”

Julian Group

Jennie Hawdon

We have continued to meet together monthly in the Cottages. There are currently six of us from different areas of Cheltenham to share a time of prayerful stillness and silence with God. We feel this is especially necessary in these troubled times, and would encourage others to join us. As we come from different religious backgrounds and experiences, we have enjoyed some interesting discussions over tea and biscuits afterwards.

If you would like to join us, we meet in the Cottages on the first Thursday of the month at 2.30 pm. Contact: Jennie Hawdon for more details.

Junior Church

Liz Johnson

Junior Church provides activities for the children’s area in church each week, with special activities for the First/Special Sunday services. We continue to send out baptism anniversary cards which now contain an invitation to come along to First Sundays. We send email invitations to First Sundays to all baptism families and give paper invitations to those attending Little Pebbles. First/Special Sundays are also advertised on the website and on our notice boards.

Groups met in the Cottages to make Christingles for Candlemas and posies for Mothering Sunday. It was lovely to see a full church for Mothering Sunday with the children’s areas bursting at the seams! It is encouraging to see an increasing number of families with young children at all Sunday services; a sign that they feel comfortable at St Peter’s and are feeling that they are part of the church family.

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Ladies’ Fellowship Group

Hermione Mason

In January and February we looked at different passages from the Old and New Testament and discussed them; two very enjoyable and interesting events.

In March we joined the Men’s Group for a Skittles evening, our first joint event. It was such an enjoyable evening that we plan to repeat it this year.

In May we visited Beckford Silks and had a very informative tour, which we all enjoyed. Later in the year a group of us visited St Christopher’s where we were given an informative talk and looked their wonderful windows by John Denny followed by a lovely tea laid on by some of their ladies.

In October Eric Miller gave us a fascinating talk on the History of Leckhampton . I think we all felt that by the end we had learnt something new about Leckhampton. Other events were an enjoyable visit to Tewkesbury Abbey, some theatre trips and a ‘bring and share’ dinner.

Another busy and enjoyable year for the Ladies’ Fellowship.

Leckhampton Bellringers

Stuart Tomlinson

From early January through to mid-March we couldn’t ring at Leckhampton due to the building work taking place inside the church. Since we didn’t want to lose 10 weeks of ringing (especially for our learners), we continued with our Monday evening practice at a variety of local towers – Badgeworth, Brockworth, Cheltenham Minster, Elkstone, Painswick and Upton St Leonards.

We have a good number of enthusiastic learners in the band and are continuing with our learners practice at 7:00pm, with the main practice starting around 7:30pm. Monday practice nights are often busy with 15-20 ringers present. This is great but can be hard work, trying to give everyone something they want to ring. We now have a rota so others run the practice once or twice a month – helps share the load and is good experience. Richard While has joined us from St Marks and we warmly welcome him to the band.

Sunday Service ringing is well attended, and we usually have enough to ring all eight bells, which is excellent. Most Sunday evenings we continue to attempt a quarter peal, with assistance from other local ringers.

In July we had a successful ringing trip to Somerset – where Jon Hill learnt to ring 60 years ago. We rang at 18 towers over four days. Chris Hickey organised a quarter peal day for us in August. We rang at Ripple, Twyning, Pershore Parish Centre and Ashchurch.

In September Stuart completed 50 years ringing at Leckhampton and he was presented with some lovely gifts by Gary at the Sunday morning service.

I continue to visit the belfry roughly every six weeks to check the bells and fittings. I don’t anticipate any significant work being required this year. We have had a few stays made this year (due to breakages) to ensure we have a minimum of two replacements for each bell. The stay is made of Ash and roughly two feet long and 2 inches in diameter. It works with the slider in allowing us to ring the bells full circle. With Keith’s help we adjusted all the ropes to reduce the wear at the point it passes through the bell wheel.

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Leckhampton C of E Primary School Foundation Governors report

Susan Laurence

Leckhampton C of E school is a large primary school with a pupil roll of nearly 630 pupils. There are three form classes for each year group. The quality of education is outstanding and attainment results above national figures. There is evidence of exceptional commitment to education shown by staff and pupils. The school embraces a collective approach to leadership across all levels and in partnership with parents and the wider community. The focus on training and development of all staff means that quality is embedded into teaching and learning. Attention is given to the needs of all pupils including those with specific needs. For example, training has been provided to all staff in order to achieve the ‘ADHD for Schools Award’.

In addition to the prioritisation of educational achievement there is an equal focus given to fostering the wellbeing of the children and to their development as ‘ rounded’ individuals able to ‘live life in all its fullness’ (John 10:10). The aims of the school fitting well within the diocese of Gloucestershire’s vision; ‘for education, knowledge and skills, aspiration and, living well together with dignity and respect’ . The children have lots of opportunities to participate in extra- curricular cultural and sporting activities supported by teaching staff and in association with partners from the community. The parents’ association raises substantial funds to support enhanced activities for the benefit of all pupils.

Reverend Gary and Reverend Jade lead Thursday worships at the school and Christian values are highlighted in all school policies. St Peter’s welcomes all children and their parents in the church when they start school at the Reception service in September each year. As well as the Christmas Nativity services held at the church there will be an ‘Experience Easter’ event in 2025 led by Reverend Gary and the Foundation Governors for pupils in year four.

Thanks are due to Sue Marlow and Mark Hambling who resigned as foundation school governors in 2024 owing to other commitments. Two new Foundation school governors have been appointed, Duncan Hughes and Jade Scholes.

Men’s Group

John Laurence

The Men’s Group continues to meet on the first Thursday of every month alternating between a lunchtime gathering (12:30) and an evening one (7:30). We meet in the Wheatsheaf public house and enjoy good fellowship (and excellent food!) in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere. Regular attendees find this most rewarding. There is no cost of membership, and it is open to all. Numbers participating have stayed relatively stable over the year, but there has been an increase in the numbers attending in recent months. New members are always welcome, and we have had several who have joined us for the first time since Christmas. Reverend Gary is generally present and supports the group well. We have joint events to which the Ladies Group have been invited, and this includes the skittles evening, and a hill walk later in March. There is also a future proposed visit to the Javelin Park Incinerator, which promises to be interesting.

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Music

Kit Perona-Wright, Director of Music

This is now my first ‘full’ year as Director of Music, and there is much to look back on during that time. Gary and I have put in place a programme of additional services spread throughout the church/calendar year to compliment the regular pattern of worship and to enhance the liturgical seasons. This has included a Harvest Evensong, Faure’s Requiem for Remembrance Sunday, an Advent Carol service, our traditional 9 Lessons & Carols (with brass), a Choral Compline by Candlelight for Candlemas, a special service for Passiontide, Maundy Thursday, Ascension Day, the Patronal Festival Evensong, and a visit to Gloucester Cathedral to sing Evensong in the summer as well. These have all been well received by congregation and choir, and we have been able to enhance the repertoire of the choir with the introduction of lots of pieces new to most. These services have also seen a number of visitors to our church who have come for the music and/or special occasion, several of whom have become repeat visitors as a result. Music is, and should be, a vital part of the mission and outreach of a church as it both enhances the liturgy but also speaks to some where words simply cannot. It provides a connection to something intangible and spiritual because of the way it moves us, and I am so pleased that it seems to be having such a positive impact at St. Peter’s.

It is important to pay tribute to the wonderful members of the choir. We have been able to welcome several new members to the choir – both adults and young people – but the work is never done (!), and I will be contacting local schools again to continue to get the word out there. A lovely event in the autumn was our informal chorister coffee concert in church. All the young people played instruments and sang together to an appreciative audience, and we will look to repeat this later in the year. The word is also spreading about the music at St. Peter’s – near and far - due to increased social media usage and the choir YouTube channel (which posts musical items each week).

The organ suffered some serious water damage during some of the significant stormy weather (and due to blocked drains on the roof of the church) in the autumn. These things take a long time to assess, and it has involved structural engineers as well as insurance companies and the organ builders themselves. As I write this report, the cost of repair to the organ is currently with the insurance company – and we are waiting to find out what they will be prepared to cover. There is a significant amount of work needed to repair the damage (around a third of the organ is not currently working as a result…), not including other general wear and tear that will need work at some stage further down the line as well. We will keep everyone posted as and when we know more. The other change of musical instrument is the electronic piano positioned in front of the choir stalls. We traded in the upright piano (that was unable to be moved for practical use due to being too heavy and on a raised platform at the side of the church) for this modern, versatile instrument – and this has greatly enhanced our weekly worship as a result.

I am grateful to the whole church community for the ongoing support of the music programme at St. Peter’s, and to Gary, Peter Marlow and the church wardens in particular. Standards are high, but we aspire to even greater things – so watch this space!

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Parochial Church Council Annual Report for 2024

Parish Magazine

David Webber, Editor;

Sue Marlow, Business Manager; Peter Davies, Distribution Manager; Liz Johnson, Printing

The Parish Magazine has continued to be published every month both in printed form and on the website. We have continued to maintain the integrity of the magazine by insisting that all articles are apolitical and, in accordance with Diocesan policy, the editor reserves the right to reject any contribution that he considers inappropriate.

Thank you to everyone who contributes to the magazine, whether as a reader/subscriber, a contributor, distributor, deliverer or advertiser. As we print in-house costs are reduced and more colour has been used in the magazine. Although we have lost some advertisers the magazine accounts are healthy. The cover price has remained at 50p for several years. The value of the magazine is in its outreach and contact with the wider community. It remains a Church Magazine, not a Community magazine, though contributions from community organisations will be duly considered.

As printed is each issue: The contents of the magazine do not necessarily reflect the views of the PCC or the editor, but are those of the individual contributors and whilst pleased to welcome adverts and grateful for the support St Peter’s PCC cannot offer endorsement of any specific advertiser or event.

As a legal requirement, a hard copy is posted to the British Library.

An electronic copy is sent every month, at their request, to the Diocesan Press Office, and the editor makes a point of drawing their attention to any particularly noteworthy stories, just in case the magazine is archived without being read! Members of the Press Office staff have commented that they can always rely on the St Peter’s magazine to have an interesting story.

Each year the magazines are bound into a hard copy, which is stored in the Parish Office and eventually in the Diocesan Archives.

Having been the editor for 16 years, since 2009, David has decided to make 2025 his final year He will continue until December as subscribers and advertisers have paid for the whole year, but if a successor comes forward he would be happy to hand over earlier , and will assist the new editor to settle in. This also gives time for Rev Gary and a new editor to consider a different format if they so wish.

David Webber, Editor 2009-2025

Pastoral Team

Sally Marlow

The St. Peter’s ‘Pastoral Team’ continues to support the clergy in the following areas:

Wedding Preparation is now organised by the South Cheltenham Team. Baptism preparation is negotiated by Rev Gary with individual families.

The team meets every other month to share updates on all of the above areas and is made up of Rev Gary, Rev Jade, Dereck Freeman, Jennie Hawdon, Penny Williams, Anne Webber, Steve Whittingham and Sally Marlow.

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Parochial Church Council Annual Report for 2024

PCC Report

Chrissie Brown – PCC Secretary

Following last year’s APCM, St Peter’s PCC consisted of our Clergy, Readers, eleven Lay members, one coopted member and six Ex-Officio members. At our first PCC meeting following the APCM we elected our PCC officers. Rev Gary Grady continued in his role as Chair. David Webber and Sally Marlow were elected to be our Church Wardens and Arthur Webb and Duncan Hughes were elected as Deputy Church Wardens. Peter Marlow was elected as Treasurer and Christine Brown as PCC Secretary. Richard KerrWilson was elected to serve as our Eco Officer. We have also welcomed Revd Jade Scholes, Associate Priest to the PCC.

Peter Davies, Brad Coates, and Mike Riley represent the PCC at Deanery Synod meetings and report any relevant information back to the PCC. Peter Davies and Helen Shill represent the PCC at South Cheltenham Team meetings and report any relevant information to the PCC. Helen Shill is also our Youth Representative.

The PCC have met five times during the last PCC year. At our meetings, the agenda has covered, Building and ground maintenance, Reordering, Finance, Safeguarding, a South Cheltenham Team update, Health and Safety and Eco Matters. Any other business can be added to the agenda as needed. The Standing Committee have also met five times, and reports of any discussions were received by the PCC, discussed where necessary and recorded in PCC Minutes.

The highlights of the year have included endorsing the applications of Revd Jade Scholes and Duncan Hughes as Foundation Governors at Leckhampton School and setting up the Friends of Leckhampton Scheme. The PCC has supported improvements in both the Church and Cottages, these will be referred to in the Churchwardens report. The PCC have agreed a Climate Emergency Declaration and are supporting Richard and his committee as we seek the Gold Eco award.

In November we had a Mission Planning Day to discuss these Mission areas; Buildings, Fellowship, Outreach, Worship, Children and families, Discipleship, and what opportunities there are to enable St Peter’s to grow. There was real energy and commitment from the PCC with many ideas and suggestions. Two of the suggestions have already been implemented; a slight change to our Mission Statement and bookmarks with upcoming services given out at the Crib service. We look forward to Gary’s analysis of the discussions and a list of items to focus on.

All PCC members have completed the Diocesan Safeguarding training.

Rainbows (37[th] Cheltenham (Leckhampton) Rainbows)

Maggie Ansell – Rainbow Leader

The Rainbows have had a busy time since spring last year working on and completing our unit meeting activities and skills builders which make up our Rainbow programme.

Our theme for the Summer term was ‘Have Adventures’ the Rainbows learnt to develop outdoor skills such as how to care for nature, cooking without a kitchen, choosing clothes for different weathers and making dens. We ended the summer term with a lovely Teddy Bears Picnic in the garden.

At the start of the autumn term, we welcomed 5 new Rainbows and started working on our ‘Know Myself’ topic, exploring and learning how to be brave, getting creative and practicing sharing, how we can learn new things and working as a team. We ended the term with a District Disco and a Christmas party.

We began the spring term welcoming 4 new Rainbows. This term we are working on our ‘Take Action’ topic. Activities include discovering different ways we can support charities, thinking about changes we would like to see in the world and exploring the things that we care about.

Throughout the year I have been able to present lots of interest badges, theme awards and bronze, silver and gold awards. We have also been fortunate to welcome a new adult helper to the Rainbow Team.

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Parochial Church Council Annual Report for 2024

Safeguarding

Sally Campion

St Peter’s continues to be committed to the safeguarding of children, young people, and vulnerable adults. There have been no serious causes for concern. Any issues are brought to the attention of Rev Gary and the PCC. Safeguarding is a required agenda item for every Standing Committee and PCC meeting. The policies are reviewed annually in accordance with Diocesan policy.

Sally Campion remains as Parish Safeguarding Officer. Liz Johnson continues to act as Evidence Checker.

Sally Campion, as Parish Safeguarding Officer, regularly reviews the list of volunteers and employees. All individuals who required a DBS check, or a renewal, have been notified and asked to follow the DBS procedure. A DBS tracker is kept by Sally Campion as Parish Safeguarding Officer and Liz Johnson as Parish Office Administrator. All written declarations are stored securely in the Parish Office and are only accessible to Rev Gary Grady, Sally Campion, Liz Johnson and the Diocesan Safeguarding Office.

Invites to complete safeguarding training continue to be sent out to those who carry out roles which require it. Liz Johnson as Parish Administrator keeps a record of all training completed. The training must be refreshed every three years if the role is maintained.

Sally Campion has continued to help Andrew Mallin-Jones, Safeguarding Officer at St Philip and St James, with delivering the Basic Awareness Safeguarding Course. Mr. Mallin-Jones is trained to deliver the course face to face. A requirement of delivery is that a second safeguarding officer is present to support anyone who finds the content of the course distressing. Sally Campion has supported Mr. Mallin-Jones in this role during the year. There may be places available on future courses for anyone from St. Peter’s who needs to complete the Basic Awareness Safeguarding training and would prefer to do it face to face rather than online.

Social Committee

Helen Yates

The Social Committee continued to support the Church Calendar in 2024 – with the following taking place:

Epiphany Sunday 7th January – This was the last Sunday Rev Jacqueline would be attached to St Peters, before moving on to North Cheltenham Churches. Following a special service there was Fizz in the cottages with a celebration cake kindly made by Suzy.

As St Peters was closed for 7 weeks for re-ordering work to be carried out there was no special Mothering Sunday service – some of the committee visited Rev Jacqueline’s church at Swindon Village who made us most welcome.

Sunday 17th March – Following a wonderful performance of John Stainer’s “The Crucifixion” by our choir, Fizz etc was served in the church to about 80 people.

Hot cross buns were served following the Good Friday service and on Easter Day “fizz” was served along with coffee following the 10 am service.

On Ascension Day – Thursday, 7th May – fizz was served outside following a Eucharist service in the Cottage gardens.

Sunday 7th July – “Petertide” was celebrated – this was a “bring your own picnic” at 12 noon – with the committee providing strawberries (grown locally at Primrose Vale Farm, Shurdington) and cream. After a rainy start the weather cleared up so that everyone could enjoy fellowship and lunch in the sunshine!

Pimms was served after the Choral evensong for Harvest on the 6th October.

Sunday 3rd November – All Souls service – this was very well attended and refreshments were served at the back of the church following a very moving service – this gave worshippers the opportunity to socialise together along with both Rev Gary and Dereck.

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The Carol service was held on Sunday 22nd December and we welcomed about 60 people to the cottages following the service for mulled wine, mince pies etc.

My special thanks to Ro, Andrea, Anna, Sally, Penny, Pat and Helen “S” and Suzy our “Star Baker”. Additional help was also appreciated from Val, Anneliese, Jim, Peter and Duncan.

Thanks also to Rev Gary for his lead support. We all enjoy our contribution to the life of St Peter’s in our support role of the “Ministry of Hospitality” and in helping to welcome our church family and visitors.

South Cheltenham Churches Team Council

Reverend Gary Grady

The South Cheltenham Team is made up of St. Peter’s, Leckhampton, St. Philip and St. James, Leckhampton, St. Christopher’s, Warden Hill, St. Stephen’s, Tivoli, and Emmanuel, Naunton Park, the latter of which is in partnership with Cheltenham Network Church (CNC), who hold a Bishop’s Mission Order (BMO) for the Cheltenham Deanery.

Our shared vision is:

‘Our team will be joyful, prayerful and engaged with our communities. We will be thriving, growing congregations reflecting a vivid mosaic of spirituality. Shaped by our communities and working together with our ecumenical partners, we will offer a prophetic, Kingdom challenge. As a result, South Cheltenham will know itself to be loved and supported. Intrigued by what we do, they will have a growing awareness of our team and our Churches as the spiritual hubs of inclusive communities.’

During the past year we have welcomed Revd Ruth Edmonds as the new Team Vicar of St. Philip & St. James and St. Stephen’s, with Cheltenham Network Church (CNC) and Emmanuel Church, who have been working in partnership since 2021, calling themselves as ‘Emmanuel Network Church’ (ENC).

At the time of writing, we have sadly said farewell to Revd Dr Sarah Haden McDonald, who is leaving ENC on Easter Sunday to focus her time on family life; she leaves with our blessing and we wish her well.

The South Cheltenham Team Council meets quarterly, with representatives of each church working together to discern how we can share the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ in this area. Please continue to pray for the diversity and unity of the team, we are stronger together.

Little Pebbles

Lara Skinner

This has been another successful year for Little Pebbles. Each week we have about 15 families attending some with multiple children. Most families come from the local area whilst a few travel across Cheltenham. Each week we provide an art and craft activity which is aimed to be reflective of an upcoming Christian festival/event, the season or a national awareness day, and provide a snack (usually fruit, cucumber, a savoury biscuit and a cake option) as well as hot teas and coffees, squash etc.

There is a pool of wonderful helpers who come along on a rota basis who extend the hospitality and welcome out to all the families and then serve the refreshments at 11 o clock.

Rev Jade has been coming regularly, which has been a great way to encourage more theological conversations, particularly around baptism, and also provide extended pastoral support. Last week we enjoyed an Easter story from Rev Gary in the sunshine. Whilst we try to encourage church attendance as much as possible this is still an area that can be developed.

In addition, the group has become a small community, who often meet up outside of Tuesday mornings. They are very welcoming to newcomers and there is a real sense of friendship amongst families and helpers alike! We regularly hear comments such as "this group is a life saver for me" and I've heard that some families chose their nursery/preschool days around LP so they can attend on Tuesday mornings!

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Parochial Church Council Annual Report for 2024

Sunday Coffee

Ro Baillie and Joey Kerr-Wilson

We started the year with a service saying farewell to Jacqueline, followed by refreshments, on 7[th] January. St Peter’s then closed for 10 weeks for the reordering to take place and the refreshments team were stood down - a well deserved break was taken.

Services resumed on 17[th] March and the team have worked tirelessly since then. I would like to thank all those who make up the team for all their hard work. During the year our dishwasher “died” and is not going to be replaced. Consequently it has been necessary to add a 3rd person to the regular weekly refreshments team to take on the washing up. This too has been much appreciated.

We could, of course, do with a few more willing helpers. If anyone would like to join the team please do get in touch with either Ro Baillie 07717 002752 or Joey Kerr-Wilson 07990 813122. The more people that can help the fewer times it is necessary for people to add their name to the list!

Youth Update

Abbie Marsh – South Cheltenham Team Youth Worker

South Cheltenham Youth is a partnership of Emmanuel Network Church, Pip and Jim’s, St Peter’s, St Christopher’s, and St Stephens; working together to support young people. Abbie is employed as full-time youth worker to oversee the youth work projects and to support each Church in engaging with young people in their worship and community.

Tuesday Youth Group

Our joint youth group continues to run on Tuesday evenings, meeting at Emmanuel. Around 50% of the evening is a relaxed space with drinks and snacks, organised games, card games and chatting. The other 50% is designed to help young people explore Christian faith in relevant and interactive ways. This has been a mixture of exploring different ways to pray, activities or craft based on a topic, a 4-week interactive Bible study on a single passage, and the new Youth Alpha series. We also have a few socials a year which have included funky laser tag, pizza nights, summer BBQ, movie night, and Christmas party. These socials help to build friendship and group memories, and are an invite to our local community to join in a fun evening with us.

Youth Reps and Young Leaders

An exciting initiative this year has been appointing youth reps from each church, inviting both a young person and an adult youth team member to represent their Church. This has been a bit of a learning year, seeing how these roles could look but has increased the voices feeding into the youthwork. Alongside this we have seen some young people become young leaders in their churches including creative design and kids work. Many of our young people are already involved with worship groups and choir and this alongside volunteering in other gifts helps to give them a sense of belonging in church life.

Residentials and camps

One of the Highlights of this year has been our youth weekend away where we spent the time in Bridgewater. For our faith content, we did the ‘Holy Spirit Day’ part of our Youth Alpha course and had our Diocesan youth connector Barrie Voyce from the Diocese come and speak to us about the Fruit of the Spirit. Victoria Orr from Sportily came along to run games and sports for us. Alongside this we had archery, chocolate making, escape rooms, kintsugi, tie-dye and so many more fun activities together. It was a really special time of building group memories and growing in faith. You can see the young people’s reflections on the weekend by following this link: https://shorturl.at/oDbcg.

We also went to Satellites youth camp last summer, and will go again with a small number of young people; however this has had low take up due to the camping element!

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Parochial Church Council Annual Report for 2024

Schools work

We run a weekend Christian lunch group at Balcarras on Mondays and are starting a new group at High School Leckhampton after Easter on Wednesdays. This relationship with local secondary schools is a valued and important part of what we do. Bournside already has a group led by YFC that several of our young people are a part of, as do Pates, and other grammar schools in Gloucester where some of our young people attend.

Local Partnerships

We were part of Fabric worship night for a while, a joint project led by local youth workers, which was a really positive experience both for Abbie and the young people. This has sadly had to stop due to changes of staff at Trinity Church where it was held, but Abbie has been part of conversations with Barrie Voyce and others about doing something different to bring local youth groups together for worship and connections. Hopefully we can find other ways to join together and be part of the bigger picture.

Youth Team

Our youth work couldn’t happen without our wonderful youth team made up of volunteers from our churches. This year Abbie has been hosting the Youthscape Essentials training aimed at helping volunteers in their understanding of young people, building youth work skills, and growing in our character as leaders. This is proving to be insightful and it is also great to spend time together and learn from one another. We always encourage Churches to think about how they can contribute the gift of time to our young people, and would particularly appreciate some new male volunteers as our team is majority female.

Thank you

We really appreciate each Church’s prayers and support as we support young people in our churches and community. To find out more, you can visit our youth Instagram and Facebook by typing @southcheltyouth to hear more updates throughout the year. You can sign up to our newsletters on this link: http://eepurl.com/iyh_FQ

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