The Parochial Church Council The Ecclesiastical Parish of St. Bartholomew, Otford Registered Charity Number 1135073 Also known as St. Bart's, OtFord Rev. David Guest Vacancy from 29th May 2023 The Green Otford Sevenoaks Kent TN14 5PD st.bartholomews otford.net www.stbartholomews.co.uk Annual Report and Financial Statement for the year ended 31 December 2023 Page l of 24 TheTrustees are the membevs of the Paroch￿1 Church Countil IPCCI. Th05e membe15 areeither ex-offlclo. eterted at the Annual PaTochlal Church MeetinB IAPCMI or ¢i￿oPled bythe PCC in accordance wlth the thurch Rewèsentatkni Rules. Tru#ees afy not rernunerated. Durln8 thè year ended 31 De￿mber2O23 the follo￿rtg served as members of the KC. Vlcar The Reverend Davld Guest (until 28 May 20231 Mrsjanet Hunt - from Aprll 2018 and re-elected In 2019.2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023 - from Ap￿1 202L 2022 and re*letted in 2023 Wardens Mr5. Joan Bea¢om Representotlves on the DiocesonSynod Mr. Derek Shillin¥ Representotfves on the Deonerysynod Mr. Mark Holmes- PCC Minutes Secretsry Mr5. Margaret Udbetter Mrsjanet Hunt ICo4)Pted Nov 20231 ElertEdMeml￿s Mr. Colln Anderson12021 Mr5. Lorna Coulson120221 Mr. Ru$5ell Edwards120211 Ms. Dawn H8llam120171 Mts.JctefyTr Hart12019 MTrss. Naoml Hunt120211 Mrs NancyJorsson120221 Mrs. Emma Peters120191 Mr5. Mags 5oirthgate120221 Mrs. He?ther5tsnley120181- PCCTrea5UTer Indeixndent Examlmer Mr F W IBIIII Salmond IOEden Hall, St￿k Hill, Ed￿nb￿dge, KentTN8 5QQ kers CAF 8ank Ltd, 25 Klnes Hill Avenue, ￿￿85 Hlll, West Mallln& Kent The CBF Church of En£￿#d Dewit Fund One An8el Lane. Lorthn, EC4R3AB Governi￿ Doturnwrt The Parochlal Church Coun¢il Powers Measure 1956 as ame￿d. and Church Repre5errt•ti¢Jn Rules pre￿￿￿5￿ e¥¢rnpted from re8iStrat￿ts. All mem￿r$ of the Pccare trnstees of the Char￿¥. Elected members of the PCC are T￿MIalty aptK)Inted fora perlod of three years and art requlred underthe PCC'S own poliryio Stand down for a mlnlmum of one yearfollowrng the th￿e-year perlod. however due io COVIDJocetyn Hart and Emma Peters have seN¢d fora bnger period. Dawn Halkm as a Reader was requested ty The V4¢4rto remèln on the PCC. The PCC eets every iwo months to tiansact the buslb)¢Ss of the Church. In between meetln8s of the full Councll the Pag• 2 of24 Stsndln8Commth&15 authortsed, 5ubJectto the P￿S dIrect￿n$, to conductthe L￿SInesS of the PCC should decisions need to be taken between full ￿ell￿ ofthe PCC This follows on a thangètothe constltlrtion of committees after the lastAPCM. ObJe¢1s olthe tharft¢ The PCC has the respoDslblI￿ of working vAth the Vlcar Rev Davkl Guest to uphold the min15try and missh)n of the Church Inthe areas of worshlp. the nurture of faith. servlce tothe village of Otford and Christlan vritness. Thls ts thjne through..- sunday and mlilweek servic&4' bapt15rns, weddlnBS, and funerals: youth and chlk4ren'5 work: teachlng adults through weekty home arKI o¢¢aslonal ser￿5 of talk5.. pastoral care and Invofvement In the tommunlty: and supportln8 mtsslon partners. To meet our objeclrves. aml by way of 8oTrJ stewardshlp of the propertyfor which the Vkar. Churchwardens and PCC are responsib￿, we maintsin the fabric of St Bartholome￿s Church Iwhlch En61ish Herfta8e has Ilsted 35 3 Grade I ulldlngl, the adjoinlng Church Centre and the Churth Hall Ilocatsd in the H¥h Street). To ensure the oblertlves are Compl￿ wtth thè PCC meets regularw. Therèwere 9 PCC rneetlw duri18lheyearwtth hwh average attendance level. Much of the PCUS work ts a￿sted ￿ commlttEes. Those committee5 rèport and make recommendatlons to the PCC. The mairt committees are:_ Stcndlng- Hasthe legal a￿hOrItY to continue the buslness of the PC¢ subject to any dIreCthy￿ g￿en by the Councll. Flnonce- meets on average at two-monthty Intebya15 between PCC meetings. It monltors Income and eX￿ndIt￿r reviews budgets and revlews financlal controls workln8c105ety wrf(h the TreaSU￿r. Fobric- monftorsthe condltton of the Church fabrfc, Church Hall. thurchyard and car park a*)d arTrnges malntenance and repalr work as requlred. Folr- plans and organlse5 the St Bzrtholonw/s Falr. 1￿M￿l￿the prlD*alfund-ra151ng event of theyear. Fundmisln9 fet7rn Including the Evtnts Teom. plans and organtses s￿131 and fund-ralsln8 eveDts durinKtheyear. Mlntstry T￿ffl meets to PTrAide mutual fellowshlp and support, and the opportunity to ¢ontlnue to 8row In iheolo8lcal and mlni5terial studies. Mlssion Mtntstry ond Growth- communl(ate5 Ihe work of ChrlsrLin a8encies supported by SL Bart's throu8h wrttten article5 and arran8lng for speakets to vtslt. 11 recommends the a1￿catHYn of avallable fufids to Christian mts51on and fdlef or8anisatkJns, both In the UK and overseas. tt updates and revlews the Chan8e, SeNe, Grow plan Iformer Called to Grow A¢iion Plan) and makes recommendath)n5 to the PCCforfiJrther dlscu551on and acElon as appropriate. aertwal In 2023 there were 180 members onthe Electoral ROIL M&￿b￿S0fthe$trnd1n8 Commrttee arethevkar, the Churchwardens, the PCC Mlnutes Sttreiwy, thÈT￿rera￿ three other members of the Pccor iheMceCh8lrof Pccandtw membersof the Z Forcharty ComrnlssiDn purposes the CharSty comtg¥Athln theclasslflcatlon of "Relwus Acilvlrle5" to helpthe gew81 ptsbli¢ pèrtlcularty ¥J￿h1nthe parish of orFord, Kent and the 5urroundSng are? but alsothroulh mlsslon further afv?kl. ft Provldes the serylce5 Il$ted In th15 dotument. Pag• 3 of24 c￿￿￿vAcA11Cy Wewere sorryto bid farewell to ihe Rev. Da￿d Guest atthe end of May. David havln8 been •ppolnted as Rertor of I Saint5 Bearsden, in the Untled D￿>￿se ot Glasgow and Gallowèy in the Seott15h Ep15copal Church. We wlsh Davld well a5 he follows his callln8 In S¢ot5and. We would Ilke to record ourthanks to all our Vtsltln8 Clergy who have tsken our 5ervlces Df Hoty Communlon, Weddings, Funera15 and 8apttsm's alongwtth our home team of Readers who have enabfed Worshlpto carry on a5 usual dull￿ thE vacancy. Workstarted on the Parish Prtsfi￿ durlngthe latter quarter of the year, wlth a Parish Consultation bein8 launched wlth the alm of Infomiing the Par￿h profi￿ whlch would be requlred In the New Year. Arthdeacon Sharon attended a Speclal PCC meetlng on the I" November. to consultwSth the PCC on the possib 5U5penslon of the Ilvln&foll¢)win8 which the PCC re50fved not tocontestthe suspenshryn. Thls will zlbwfor a Prlest In Charge to be Op￿5￿1ed in 2024•5 there is much uncertainty in relatton to the firture shape of the Deanery. SuMM4RYOFTHEWIlN AullE￿lEP4TSoUl1H6TrElw4R When plannlngour actlvltks fortheyearthe IncUm￿nt and the PCC consider the Charlty Commissb)n's guldance on publlc benefft and the specffic 8ufjdanc* on charities for the advancement of rel*lon. Many of the artivltkn and servlces Ilsted In thls re￿rt are carried out byvoluntrers and St Bart's Is v¢ryKrnteful for thb. It Is dlfficukto e5tlmatethe exact numberof volunteer5, but we bèlleve that well over haff of the numberon the Elettoral ROIL Manyamong the congregatlon have I￿n time to undertake varh)uslobs wtthln the Church and Churchyard, tao manyto mentlon by name lyJt we record Dur thank5 to eath and every one ofyou. Confirm•Uo A Coup￿ of week5 P￿Or to the departu￿ of Vkar Davkl to kotland we wère pleased to ￿kOn* The Rt Rev51mon Burton.Jones 8bhop ofTonbrldge to St Barfs to confirm eknn membÈrs of St. Bartholomev/s Congregatlon along wfth ihree members of St. Edrrtund the ￿rtr, West Klngsdown. A very 5pecSal octaslon on which the fovrteen candldates fr)nfirmed thelr belief5 In fTOntof Famllles, F￿ends, Supporter5 and Church Family. Pastoral Core 2023 sawihe retlrernent of Susan Reld from the role Df Pastoral Ass15tsnt after some thity four years. However, sh contlnue5 to support the work of pastoral care many dlffererrtways. We r￿W have just one Pastt>ral Asslstant MaT8aret Lidbetter, who ￿ a159 a trained coun5ellor, and who seThes our church In manysltuatlons, from an aNanged appolntmerrt and HO￿ Communlon at 1￿met0the lrnpromptu chat and wh3tevei help Js needed. We appreclate belng a￿rted to any sltuation where we ean help. Th15 b a fulfilllng iole wlthln ourthurch and k>ok fonAfard to berng jolned bythose comlngfoFward fortralnln& a￿1r-It4 ty K•¥ln Gr•fton IOry•nlrt and CIKdrma5tqrl Throushout 2023, the choIrfU￿1led its normal scheduk of slnglng thrae rnwnlngand two e¥enlng services per month. with the usual special 5ervice5 to mark partkular occa51ons In the ch￿￿h'S ytar. In May. tg celebrate the Coronation, the cholr once agaln tackledthe dIfficutt￿ of Handevs &dok the Prw and other Coronatlon rnuslc Throuth Septemberto the end of the year. the cholr rose wlth dLstinctlon to the ¢hallen8e of onty having very fav rehear5a15, due to my persDnal dfftuttles. We owe ourthanksto the very Capab￿ Mark Holmes forstèpplng In to take several ch￿r pra¢tlces In thls perh)d. The ChrL%tmZs concert and carol se￿1¢¢ weresuccessfvlly dea￿ wlth bv repeat1￿ much of the repertoire from 2022. The cholr has always had a wldtrranglng opertolre. and during 2023 san8 muskfrorn England and abroad, from the 16 to the 21" ¢entury. The ¢htsir ts, as e•er. fortunate to havèso mlry dedlc*ed and famhlul mernbers, and ts membership now cofttlftuès to stand at 16. Durfngthe prevlou5 two yea￿, certlfkates of longservio. cover￿8 perl¢)ds of between 20 and 64 yeats. We￿ awarded to m05t of the ¢hoir members. Thznks are due to all membefs of the ¢holrforthelr loyal servlce to St BartholOme￿$, but we are IncreasIng￿ confroftted bythefact thatthe cholrts ageln8 and Ls In vryerrt need of new recruits. Anyone Interested in 51ngln& on a regU￿r basS5. the wide range of service repertoire that we hav•. shoutd contact me Kavln Grafton our Organist and ChOlm￿r. Pag• 4 of24 Muslc Group- led by Cll¥e S*•te Membershlp of the mu51c 8rovp Ibandl has rem?ined stable durlngthe year. AcoU￿e of members have gone off to univèrslty but It Is great to welcome them back to the band when they are home. When everyone turns up it ¢an be qulte dlfficult to frtLweryone on the platform-what a gre4t problem to havel The Instruments In the band in(￿de celb, violin. vartpus representatlons fromthe brass and w¢x*dvdnd sectlon5, guiiars. ba5S 8Uttar& per¢usslon and of course our slngers. We are fortunate to have such a tommltted #nd tslented group of inStrU￿￿n￿lIsts here at St Barfs. Spe¢lal thanks mustgottj a ¢oupl• of band mèmber In partlcular. {￿rt￿chnICal wlzard whowlth aFI hls knowhow and tslent has spent many hours maklng It posslble forihe band to be heard I￿￿h In church and vw the1Sve stream: and to one of our member5 who spenttstlm arranging songs for the many and vaded Instruments In the Broup. The Band have contlnued to play at AIITogethÈr Worshlp servi￿$ each rnonth and at some extrd geNlces durlng the yeaf Includlngthe Ser¥lcefor Chrtstian Unity, Mothering Sunday communion. one of our quarteth heallng servlces. 5und•y Club Natfvity, Christlngle serylce and the Palm Sunday ecumEnKal se￿re0￿ The Green. The band l¢)ok for4¥afd towhatthtsyèarwlll bthg as we tontlnuetoworship wlth God's people here at St 8arVs. Bell Rln8ers-SeuetaryJrt Whltehead We have managed to keep golng wilh most of our ThuTsday evenlng prarti5es wlth tt+ntlnued support from two experienced rfngersfrom Kemslng and perlodlc support from othe￿. With such a limlted numbèr of rlngers It ts becomin8 harderto gather5ufflclent numbers, con51derlnB holwjays and illness. for Sunday rlnginl. We wlll contlnue to do our best We do have one rlDgei 5tlll In tralnln8 wlth thank3 to those helpingto trdln. We had qulte a busy as re8ards the US￿￿ of the be115. We were dellghted to ringfortwo weddlngs, one In October, other Èn December. We have also hosted a number of visiting ringersto the tower indvdln8 Sornt youngtralnee rIDge￿t0 practlce on our be115 prfor to the bell stTlklng Competitbn, scheduw for June whlch due tts latk of support ended up as a general d15trlct ringing practi(*. We also welcomed rlryT5 from Putr￿, Rothester and a Ladles Gulld Ifmm all overthe country). We hosted a Bell handlin8teachlng course In ourchurch and ChuT¢h Centre. We rang for the Coronatlon In Mayj the Churth Summer Fair, Remembrdnce Sunday. a Memortal Servlce and the Otford Chrlstmas Fayre and on Chrlstrnas Dty. Cameo- led by Maryv•t Ui*ett CAMEO contlnues to meet every Monday afternoon at 2 Uclock. Thls grovp is forihose wtho live alone aThJ provWe5 SUPFQrt and fellowshlp. The regularbty of attendance Indkates value. Fortn*htly we have 8lble Study s￿lOnS and have Con￿ntrated on the short, less famlllar Books. On a￿¢Mate Mondays we en8aBe In a variety of events and dl$cussknns. Forsome sesslons we invitè someone to come and speak on thelrthosen subject. This year our visitors included Ed Thomp50n and Rod Shehon, members of our congregatlon wlth knowledge abo￿ the htstory of our village. A popular feature s oursummerand Chrlsimas partles and som¢ members are able to loin us on v15Jts away. This year we spent time vtsr£in8 York. Harro8ate. Knare5boro8h, Grassln8ton# ar￿ Sklpton. These Monday aftemoon meetlng5 are for members of St. Bartholome4rfs church famlby. You would be warn)ly welcome to loln us. Pag• 5 of24 thHdr•n and Peopl• ndry aub-IEd ty&H•nn• a•aTd &Jnday aub continue5 to meeton Sunday Mornin85 (except forthe I Sundayof the month wthen we have our'AI Togetherf wor5hlpl. We contlnue to n*et as an a114ge group wlth two leade￿fOr each 5e551on. The leader5 work togetherto plan the sesslon and can splttthe8roup up de￿ndIn8 011 the aBesof chlklren attendln8each week We use a xheme from the ScApture Unlon whith provlde5 a variety of age approprlote actfvlt*s based rOUr￿ a bible passage, and we ftnd thls)kxlble app￿ach allows u5 to pkny to the Stren￿Of both the IEthrs and the YQUOB people attendlng*ek bywee From tlmeto tlme, we also work produclng a dlsplay forthe notke i¥)ard In thè thurch centre-often Shar1￿ the prolect wkh Epk or Messy Church. These displays may be seasonal or related to a particulor blble story. These creatwe sesslons art akny5 popular and aljow usto 8lve somethlng ba¢k tothe con8regatltsn. We have seven regular le￿er$ who work on a rota basis and are b￿Ssed to have surh o fatthful team. We thank them all for sharingtheirtlme, theirtalents, and theIrf#￿h. We also benth from the suppprt of YOU￿ peoplE who are folbwln8 the Duke of EdinI￿r¥h awafd schème. and work wtth vs as volunteer5. current￿ wè have 27 children on our reglsters. wlth an average attendance ot between 7 and 9 most weeks. It become a bit of a tradkhin thatsunthy aub has a spEctsl project durtn8AtvJustwhere we construrt somethl -and thb yearwe tookthe theme of waterand I￿lIt a well Inthè churchyanl as well as trylng out otherwater related actviitiesl We a￿ graiefulto those wtrK> PTLwJuced the materol arKI made thL5 POS5ible. The year ended wtth our natlvlty plays'Amazin8 Days. using resources Irom the Blble Socw lone of our rnls5bn partnetsl. This invofved pathclpatlon by the wthole ¢on8re8ation al￿ was a successful ènd to the year. EPIC. E¥•ry p¢￿(￿ In thrlgt lorEat Pluj in ￿￿rChI lÈd by Dawn Hd1* £￿t ts the St Barthob)mthrfs yts￿h Club forthosè in school years 5-8. Meetlry are heid on thesecond Saturdav evenin8 of the month in the Church Centre for a range r>f actMtie5. supper. and blble stuty. We try to offer a range of &¢fvtttes that meer the 50clal. physlcal and splrltual need3of young people. Wt alm to fostera SpIr￿ OIc(￿Peratknn and èncourage workinBtQ8ether In small group5 for problem solvlr¥ actfvttlesand a5 a whole8rtyJp fOrd￿￿5510n tlmes. There 15 often a craft attivlty, as wellas plenty of opportunltlesto kt off steanK We have suppertO8ether-¥*s two cour5e5 and hopefulty wlth ve88le50rfrultl SometIn￿$t￿s Is pro¥Kled lry parents. thank you to all those who have taken on thls task Sometlme5we order In Pl2za (always popularl and we also ha￿tIMeS when wegettheyoung peop￿ Mivofved In the preparation and the washlng up. ThLs L% a1￿y5 an Inte￿tIftg expertence wSth much bEinB learnedl Grace ts sald before supper arKlthere Is ak¥ays 8 bible study linked to one of the prevityJ5 actfvltles and a Pra￿r. We h8ve three ￿￿lar leaders and on othets a5 needed forextra or 5peth hel￿ There are 16youn8 people on the re8i5ter8ndtywcalty 12. 14 attend. Eplcoffersa wondèrful opwrtun￿tO meet the needs of thls age group and theirfamll*s and to rèach outtofami1￿S who are not regular church attende￿. Forthe leaders it is exhaustln& eTh￿ChIng and enlightenlng. Forthe sffjuA8 people we it is a thanceto meet kn a safe space that Is Njt sdwol or home. to habt a degree of freed￿ to have and to have a chanoto conslderthe splritual *pectsof thelr Ilves. Thanks must go to ever*one was involved In running Epk and for b•kng a Constant In the of ouryouTrA people when so much else wa5 changlng. This group of youn8 peop￿ afy open to b￿￿[ngthetrfv￿Th￿5 along and kx>kfonward to meetlng together. We alm tosupport a smooth transttion ofthese thildren wimarytosenior school and frnm EPICto YPF Page 8 of24 YPF-Yowry p•0￿¢5 Fellow5hlp-Itd tri D••m H*l•n We are veryfortunateto have a commthd group ofteenaBers vAthln ourchurch who meet every Sunday evening as YPF. It i4 a timefor ￿cIalISt￿& having fun aTwJ even someiimes workin& We enjoy quizzes. craftin& treasure hunts and movln8 church tha1￿ around lor50cSal events Ilkethe falr (the tsst one tskes a I￿le brt more pe15uaslonl but the bwst beneflt15 being ablt to s￿nd tlmetO8ether and maybe learn a little bit about Jesus and the Chrtstlan lalth. We sald farewell io a number of studerrts who went off tg unfversity and tt Is alway5 aloy when theyeome home forthe holiday5 and rejoin us. We %%*lcomed a gr￿P of youngwomen Into the group and the notse Ipvel seems to have Increased. Our young peopbe are an inte8ral part of tsurchurth and manyof them seryethe congregat•)n in muslc maktn& technlcal skU15 and the churchyard workin8 party Itwa$ a partIcularl￿ to see manyof them confirmed durfngthe year, tskingtheir fakth a step fvrther8nd ¢Onilnulr the good W)￿that has begun In thern.. yO￿h W••k•r4d-l•d ￿ MaB55outlrf•t• Everyyearwetake any of ouryoung people whtswant to ¢¢me on a weekend away. Thls year we had 35 of them In 15 for a time in Kenth nearTenterden. The 38es ran8ed fr¥Jm 8 to 21 and Ik is a￿JaY5 3 joytowztch howthey Interact across the ages. Ourtoplcihls year wa5Jesus our advcKate lyes, we ha¥e Some iheo108y de8ree graduat*$ in the planning groupll (É gave us a Chan￿ to bok 3twhatJe5U5 has donefor ￿5 and a150 what we ¢an do for our ¢ommunilies aftd ourworkl. Mea￿lMe5 ar* communal and a great chance tojust chat. We also went on an aftemoon oul to Camber5ands-dueto a generous donatlon we were able to bjy icp creams for everyone-the man in the ice tteam van'sface upl The youn8 people also realtyenloy the fxt that some of Our¢waregat￿n travel down to vtslt us for afternoon tea. to find what we have been doing and this timt theyoung people also took the opportunlty ¢0 ¥k questlons and flnd out more about what followin8 Jesu5 meant to ourviS￿orS. This weekend ueates many happy memories that can be an encouragement in the f￿ure, IÈ Trs loud. busy, fijn and exhaustlng but we 8re often asked what the date Isfor ne*( year realty earty5Q that peop￿ can plan thelr lfves arwnd rt. We a￿ k￿kOng10rWard to 2024. Tech-team- led by Russdl Edw•rd$ Our Lfve streamlng of regular and ottash)nal seTrlces ts made Po￿lbIe ￿ a very dedlcated of household5 who 8ive up several hours each month to set up and njn the ¥￿¢0 for our se￿5 alongslde the thiee regular volunteers who run the sound. Our thank5 8oesto themfor giving up their tlme and ialents on Saturday5 and Sundays overthe last year In 5UPPOrt of thls much apprecoated a5pert of our church Ilfe. Thank5 41$0 8Oto cfi¥e. kn the offi￿. for sthnBtQ8etherthe SU￿ltIeS eath week and tothe members of the Fabrtc Commltteefor thelrwork in consolidatlngthe CUTfent Installatlon. Many people apprec￿ the LNe streamln8of our Servlce5 allowinB thtrn to catch up at a later tin* ordate, but we are now at the stagewhere addltlonal help would be much apweclated, It ts not onerou5 (usually ono a monthl. Full trainl￿will be prtivided. Church FalWk-ChaI￿d byT(4Wf￿n The elBht members Qn the Church Fabrlc Commlttee rnetfour nrnes In 2023. ertherfacetofate oron zoom). There Is much actfvlty ty members between meetlngs. as part of ￿ork￿l8 Partf days orad hoc as requlred. The a¢tl¥tti¢s completed and In conside¥¥tion for our main buildings and surmundln85 a￿ reported below. Churth AV- A new permanent wooden cabinet has been designed. ordered and Is bèing made. The Installath)n of th15 I￿11 reducè set-up and troubieshootlng ilme forthe Tech Team si8nfficantty. Once compth, the two cameraswill be moved lothelr newi pprfflaftent locatklr￿-the one on the ￿rth wall rnovlngon￿ a foot orso to the bracket alrea Pag• 7 of 24 in on ? beam. andthe one onthe arcade movFr¥ tolust underneath the top of the archforthe doorto the bell tower. Boththe cablnet and the campras wlll Iwk much betterthan the cuffent teM￿rary arrangements. Uthdn8- Several bulb5 forthe maln14hts In the church have ljeen replaced and a stock of bulbs ha5 bee purchased to overeorne ￿a51￿ out otsupplle DoDf5-The external automatlc north door openkng button has been repalred and repalrs to the south doorto stop tt rubblng on the rnetal grkl floor Imaklng It dlfficult to openl are In hand. Q¥lnquonnlal Report Isepternber 20221-The Immedlatè works recommended ￿the archltert all beeft completed. The longertern￿ Items wlll be considered when thty èither become mow? urgen( or ourfinancial 511uatlon ￿sUC￿that we can tsckle them. Cl￿reh Surroundlng3 Gard•Tr 91 R•m•nbrance-The extenslon to thewall of Remembrance ha5 been completed, Includln8 the provlslon of￿0"bu1 boxe< on the bKkto eno)urage Wmd1￿ la plinn1￿& conditknnll Cor PatkSKwky-a planto pw IWln8 Wl the car parft has beeTr put on hold as the 155ue no longer seems to be a prob￿M. ur£h Centr• Crads lft Walls- A strudurdl Engineerfs report concludtd that the Eastwall require5 5truttural tl2s. Iwi the other tracks onty re9uire flexlble fllling and d*£Orat￿n. ThJs ts not urgent and is cUrrent￿On hold. Ac4yJ5tks- Acoutt pa￿1$1¢ ￿1￿Ce the nolse levelsand amount of echo are pknned tt> be Instslled but *e akn on hokl. s￿rIty-An upgrade ofthe alarn￿ system ha5 been compknd. n-An UVdrad* ha5 been requested. but tskinBthi5 forward requlres agreement on how much up8fdding ts reqUi￿d (anyth￿s￿0M a brkf to blBger plans Indudlng extendin8the kitchen to make mom for mre equlpmentl and a150 findln8the appropTfjatefvndin& Church Ha I￿￿de Nth8wd-A I￿ard was commbsknned erected h) the sumn*rla goodteam athlty!) have been compltt*d tothe corru8ated rC￿aftd somè maln roof tlle5 have been repla￿d. Boller•nd H￿Il￿- Quoles have been Invited foran upgrade induding repk7an8the very old b)ilEts. Itls hO￿d to have thi5 y￿rk com*ted by s•Jrnmer2024. Ext•mwl Oectrk41 Inspectloft-A numberof impTo¥ement workswere wwuired a5 a result of the Inspectknn. Th?5e are all in hand and due for completknn In January X124. DecorJtlon-The new play8roup l*sdone 8 wonderfuljob of palntinsall the wall& No ￿rth￿r decoratlon Mry>rk15 seen as a priority. MalnteTraKe lnwctl￿￿17 Nov20231-Two members of thefabik committee Ca￿led out an IDspectksn of work required. Recommended short- and medium4*mi actlons have been prfjoritised on seThi¢es, Internal, wlndows. doors, mof. gutter5 and and extemal finlshes. Other15gWS Eii•r8yS•¥*¥ Revlw¥-The onty relatlvety easy to Implementenew say1￿ Idea wasto fft underlloorhtsulatlon underthe pew staglng. Quote5 zre being obtalned forthl5. Hnalty, a bigthank v(yJ to our commmee member5for alltheir hard WO￿ and dedkationl Page 8 of24 The FlowerTearn continuesto place flowers eath week on the two altars In our beautiful thurch to enhan￿ the experlente of everyone attending service5 or vi5itln& We atso work as a tèam for Speclal Festivals where more elab)rate arrarrfements arè needed. You do not need to be a flowerarrangerto helpourdepleted team lust the ability to putflowers In a vase and wè would welcome more mernberk Some of our congfe8?tl¢)n usethe opportunlty to remember knied one5 on spedAc dates and the signup Sheet is at the back of the church. Fund RaWn8 fjr￿p- led ￿ Heath•f Stsnl Thère were many varled events tololn Tn wlth. Events ian8ed from a H?rvest5upper and qulz to a Bangers and Board ganws evenlngs, the lad￿ Tenn15 final from Wlmbledon, the str￿t￿ Come Danckn)g quarterfina15. along wSth the Rugby 6 Natknns. Played In Otford, a concert put on ￿ members of our Congregation to showcase thè muskal lents of fflzny who regularly worshlp at SL Barfs. We also hekl our pop up5 atthe Chvrch him and our very )pular book and bakes Sale overthe earty May bank HrAlday. we￿1Thed the vllla8e tn c?IEbfakn8 the Coronatlon of Kln8 Char1È5111 provldlng a refreshment 5ts1L The Church Falrand the Chrlsimas Marketalso Ilnk with the Fund Ralsln8 Commttted. many Mem￿r$ belry part of both. We wère able to hold the Church falr In June once more, and a wonderful event on the8reen was held. Many thank5 to all who hèlped make the event a Bre* Vlllage even( at whlch we were able toeny)y rNsk wovkded by ourtalented mu51dan5. The Chrlstrnas Market colnclded wlth the Otford Vdla8e Chrlstmas Fayre run by the Otford Society, th15 Wa$5pread through the Church and Church certre and brought many people Into the Church and centre with the wonderful smell of bacon provlng a wlnner. Manythanks to e¥eryone on the Fundralslng Commtttee. the Fair Commlttee and the Chr15tmas MarketOrganlse￿ for all the hard work In 2023. Soup Lunch-cUtydlnat￿ by Joan 86irom Soup Lunch Ls an opportunity to enloy some hornernade soup and bread w￿h 8 small de￿rt and toffee In convNial ornpany. We have an after coffee guest who wlll talk about thelr IWe and Irrtere5ts. Recentty we enloyed a variety o*speakers ranglng from a MÈt Pollceman, a local photographer. and our own Arthdeacon. We meet blnK)nthty In the ChU￿h centre all are w•lcome. We contlnue our Warm Wèleome InltSatfve on a Frklay aftemoon 2-5pm In the Church Centre. We are a fr￿ndty group arwjtypicalfy see si¥toten petsple who meetfoi a cha( to knlt, sew work on a Jwaw and of coursetea ond cakel All are welcorne. Mtss Naoml Hunt contlnuesto be our Parlsh Safeguardlng Offlcer IPSOI The PSO and Lead Safeguardlng Warden ljanei Hurbtl have a150 been workln8through the yearto Identify all of the Voluntee￿ wlthln the CO￿re￿￿tIon who should Complete Bask awareness and Foundatw)n tralnln8. Safe8uardinB ppears as gn 4qenda Item on all PCC and Standing Commluee meetlny. There were no issues raised wkh the Dlo¢esan Safeguardlng team. C•llwl to Gr(w4 Weoriginalty created a Called to Glow plan when we were last In clertcal yacan¢y and b35ed the contents on Ideas ynerated by the congregation on i55uesthat were Important to them. This plan Is revlewed at regular InteNals. 'Called to Gro￿ has now eV0￿d within the Dlocese to'change, Serye, Grov/ followlng the appolntment of B15hop Johnathan. The PCC comlnues to evofvè our plans In lkne wlth the alms of the ob￿Se. FollowI￿the departure of Page 9 of 24 Davld GuesL furthercon5uhatloTrs have been hekl wKh the congre8atlon In Ofderto help w6th the p￿p¥￿tion of the PaY15h Pmfile, aimed at flndlng a new Irlcumbentbrthe Parlsh of St. Bartholomevls. The Annual Clvlt SeNice was replaced bya CelEbratiOn servke to mark the thronatlon of KlngChath111 folknwed by refreshments In the Church Centre. The RèmembranTr Sundaysemce was wèll attended both in Clrurth ond then out on the Green. The unfformed oyganlsations were a8aln able to p* their part In theservice and the layln8of Wreaths on the Green. The Serv*• In Chur¢h was live Streamed, and both r￿U￿rchUrChg0ers and rnembers of the wbjervlllage cornrnuntty coukl watch from home ff the¥We￿ unable to attend In person. De¥nerySyMd- report by Math Holme5 Shoreharn Deanery Synod brlrytogether representstlvesfrom partshes stretrhlng from Otford tostansted and from Famlngham to Shlpboume. St. Barfs ts the largest befiefi￿ in the Deanery by ekntoral roll. Members are elected atAnnual Parorhial Church Meetln85 toserve a 3-year terwL The Synod met 3 ￿rneS In 2023, thaored by the Rural Dean, Rev. Chrf5 Noble IRectorof Stansted wtth Falrseat & Vl801. At a typical meetln& the first half conststs of a ￿eSenta￿on by 3 relevant speakerfollowed by questlons and answers. The second part conslsts of ro￿[ne Synod busSness. The meetlng of the yearwas held on 27 February 2023 *the ChuTth of the Good Shephtrd. B0￿Ugh Green. Lelgh Ide from Trlnltychurch Insurance S*rvKes explalned the thurch buiklings instjrance awaiFable from theTrlnltas brand. as a comwitorto Ettkslastlcal Insurante. He explalned how widely premla can vary and the best waysto reduce thern. In the bustne5s part of the meetln& Paul Brltton from shipboUr￿ Invlted parishe5to increase partlclpatlon Inthe annual Frknds of Kent Churches bicycle rhje. g￿ft thè ehaller¢es of rablng frJndsto repak hfjstorlc churches. HÈ suggèsted that In one parish. typ1czl￿ onty one person orfamlly needed to partlclpate to arta5 a'rna8neV for sp¥)nsorship, and l Wra5 pleased to be ab￿ io offer my ownfarnity a5 an exampk. The second Meet1￿ took pl￿ on 28 June at SL Marf5. Stsnsted. The spEaker w75 Rev. Kathy KnJghi.Scott. Vkar of dcup & F¢￿5 Cray, who completed her d155ertatlon In astrophyslcs and sppntrnarvyears as an atheist FRfore later being callEd to the prle5thood. wrth the help of a video, she conveyed a clear ènd astonishing vision of the Sheer Sea￿ of the untvèfse, In¢ludinHthe enornw)us size and number of planets and stats (Inc￿dIng a reference to the OtFord solar system). Fore¥2mple, S￿5*al$ ago. people thought the sun was 20 tlmes lurtherawtyfrom the Earth than the moon. whereas fart It Is 4LKltSmes furtheraway and 64 mlllton tomes blgger. She recommended Psalm 8 for anyone fee￿ng0VerWhelrnedl It took 10 blllion year5 zfterthe bi8 bang before atom5 as lar8e as carbon or OXy8en We￿ fomied stabfy. when Frèd Hoyk Predkted and confirmed thatthe Inner Structure of a carbon atom rteed￿ exartly the flght energy levelforthat ever to have become posslble. tt sI￿0k his determlned atheism. "Just 51x Numberf by Martin Rees discusses shnllarextrdordinary aspects ofthe unfverse. which many See a5 deslgn featyre5. In questkins and answers. Rw. Kathy a150 tokl the story of her0￿ conve￿I￿n. Thethlrd medin& on 19 October, was held at St Edmn¢Ys Churth Centre In West Kingsdown, and d15cussed the fvture shape of mlntstry xyoss thè Deanery- lIke￿ to be a majorthemè for some tirne. Gfveo the agenda. our ¢hurch warden5 attended. FIrst￿the Area Dean explaln¢d that. Wven avallable cleryy numbèrs In the 010￿Se and the numberol dew In thè Oèanery experted to retlre or leave in the next fewyears, it would lje necessary for some parishe5 tololn forces- ￿ would not be su5talnabk to Tetaln so many Incumbents. Much work and prayerful thought woukl need to go into shaplng and de¥eloplrvd these changes. Ven. Mlke Lod8e IPrlest4n It4.212 31.852 22 Ji. 14*J11 1Y.ISD J•0 113tq) 21JQl i7t• IL7n èi 71.1 719 19.1 21.> Al7• 21C178 x¥ss Jii.J• 14 AVarA 1.144 2&114 1.$37 7.7&1 12AJi e27 4¢F S3k2 2Qi_Y4 ¥13r4 1402 iJ3 Page 14 rf24 St B•Ftholome¥rf• Church OIIoTd_ 1135073 Blllance (sepa￿lIe1u￿d$l Fur4¥ Fur*• 91572 1Th2 5JJZ J•isrd 87.gJJ OT.337 ¥d 1701 iq 112>5 •xn¥ 2118SF 311.ID3 21 4P4 1.2U7 l.>Y 11¥51 >.12 24124 1.$72 1.&4 11Jl 311.llj P•ge 150124 Si B4rtholomrfs Churth Orfoyd. 1135073 sta1•￿￿￿101 A$8ots qnd Llobllhlu 4byfvr￿l A8 at. 31 De¢￿tser 2QJ plvthig Bolant• 183217 4gJl17 14Y1.' ClwnhHdl.A•Mt i￿? lo1￿12 1•1.57100 Ca•hiXbQnK4￿ In hffid 11,824.711 2,8&￿13 17.05157 6.440.84 5.117.55 117. AV&id IT 1,2n7.65 5251.9S gX.72 £￿￿1T 3.527 IB6223 hlu* 12.351.CQ 5.¥11B 23.U22 9.157JB 23,85& 5,72&.54 •,851.t5 11.994ffjB 1.874.42 Mb*n 1,734.15 9.69J30 91N17.• 145.13 Pago 16 0124 b•lanc• 50 1J54 fO13.00 1M1 J. Cmdtor•.' Am0￿￿1111￿0due knoney 3JJ1&65 4in.ls 0￿year 3,171.15 401fj.65 311J03A7 IN12AI Paga 17 of24 StButholorAew'8 Church Orffwd. 1139J73 Anolysis ofhKomeand exwdltrJTe Selectodperlod: 01 Jafiuary 2023to 31 D9￿mbor2￿13 TL*I Thby InG0￿•D￿d•r￿I0#ffllVnts 212 110. Q12J 123 4,6 20Y 719 19,064 485 sth) 15, 75 tKyc*) 131152 11&432 1101.FwtrwdJy$rtr•r¥5- 4Qry7 2UB 7,9gJ 7,188 6,1É4 l. PladB 87$ 4,It)6 9.￿5 11755 ¢D13. ¥14.e¥eDI¥ 4.1¢6 15. ,47C a975 15.755 Y,853 l.S75 lJ7 Incom? and •rMkn*m*iits Grnnd 147A17 17,061 $7Q.1lQ Pag•18of24 Thkyur Lxtywr Exp•nd1￿r• 17>). 974 1,974 1,974 '.1704 18V)-Ti* 19)7. 5T,516 51,316 {311 4¢10 4S80 1343 2.J43 si 61T 21 ID. 212£. 2636 1802 1,496 frK> 1721 515 23X.Offjankntfevs 2922. 4011 4112 413 221 V4 51¢ 510 717 2M3 147 241¢-Chth 1fPJ 3216 J,U13 JAlb $79 IJ 2570.FW 4371 1.$11 IW52 147.085 154,N% 251 Pap 19 of24 T￿1 ThL4yeir Expendlknr• GTand tots 149?11 157,1 Approved ￿the Parochlalchurch Councll on 18 Marth 2024 al￿ *ned on its behaff A-• l( JA Hunt Mrsjanet Hunt Ichurchwardenl and Mrsknn Beacom Ichurthwardenl Notèsto the Rnandal Stst¢rnethts ar •ndln to 31 December2023 The noteson thefoll0￿ng pages fcffrn part of thesè accounts. l. A(uyJnthry Pollrjes The PCC15 a pubk benefft enttywlthln the meafiingof FR5102. The financlal statements ha* been prepared under the Charftles Art 2011 and In ac£ordance wlth the Church Attountlng Re8ukitlons 2th)6 governln8 the Indlvkluol accounts of PCC. and wlth the Re6uth*n<'true and falr vw provlslons. 2.1. Consetf3ted and benefke ro ert In sofar as consecrated and benefice property of aw kind Ls exludtd frorn the statutory definttkon of'Chari￿ by section 1012llal and Icl of the Charldes Att 2011 such assets are notra￿l￿ed In thefinandal 5taternents. 2.2. M0Veab￿ Churth Fumhsh Typlcally, these are taprtalBed at cost and dewedated overthe useful economk ftfe otherthan where Insufficlent c￿ Informatlon 15 avallab*. In th15 case the Item Is not capttsltsed, but all Items*Fe In(￿ded In the Chur¢Ws inventory. 2.3. Tan tble Flxed Assetslor use b the char. These are CapttaI￿ed Ifit*y can be used for morethan oneyear and cost at least £IOLI). They are valued at cost orelse,for8lfts-in-kind, at a ￿aSOnable ￿tImate of thelropen market valueon receipt. Depreciatlon b calculated to wrlteoff the ¢aptstsed cost of r￿ed assets le5S their currentty antklpated rèsidual fairva￿e ovef theirestknated useful as foll Land FIx￿re$ & Fitti Comput*is 20ye? 3 ￿al% No dewecTratknn15 provlded on Imslhjings as CUT￿nIty estknated resldual valuè of the propertles Is not le¥ thon their carrylngvalue andthe remalnin8 usefvl Ilfe of Page 20 of 24 these assets curremtyeKcee(ts 50 year% so thatany depreclatlon charyes would be immaterbal. An Impalrmènt revbw Is catrled out eath year end and any resultsnt195S tdentffied included In expenditu￿ forthe year. 2.4. Church Hall The Church H811 ts cuffenttyihe subjert of a ¢onsuhatlon pr￿5St0 determlne tts futu￿ use. The PCC has Suspend￿ all non*ssentlal maintenance to thè Hall until thts process ts complete, wkh the resultthatthe fabricof the Hall is tontlnulng to deterlorate. As part ofthe consu￿10￿ protess In 2019 the PCC commi5swJned a condltk)n survey of the Hal( wtth assoeiated costs for repalrs. frgm an independent fimi of surveyors. which estlmated total repalr costs, at the tlme, of £385k. Asum of £15k has been set aside wrthln the Church Hall DeS￿natsd fijnd 20￿ to cover malntenance costs needln8 Immedlate attentlon wlthln the short temi. 2.5. In￿stments Investments quoted on a fecognised stock exchan8eorwhose value derfves from that are valued at martetvalue *the Yearend. Other Inve5tmeftt assets are Induded at PCC5 best estimate of market value. 2.6. Short Temi De os These are the cash held on dèposf( elther wlth the CCLA or at a bank The church's assets are held In the followlnB accounts.. AF B8nk-current account IforgÈneral Income aThJ paymerrt5 for l>)th church CAF Bank- freewlll offerlTrJ accourt Ifor all wlar donatlons made h boftktransferl CCLA-deposrt account (interest pawng Instsnt acws acrnuntl 3. Funds 3.1. Unrestrlcted Funds These represent the funds of the Pccthat are 0vallab￿￿1r$PÈfidIn{ on the general purposes ofthe PCG excludh)g amou1￿ deS￿￿ated by PCC forftxed assetsfor own use orfor spending on a future projert and which aretherefore r￿1 induded in Its 'free reseNes' as dtsd05ed on the trwtees, repowL 3.2. Restrkted Funds These are fvnds that must be spent on restricted purposes. Detslls of the re5trirted funds held are shown below: Bernard Wor5sam Fund Cameras & ITFund Choral Music Fund Church Hall (Buildi￿) Church Hall Malntenan¢e External Works Flower Fund Jean Kelsey Muslt Fund Music Fund Seque$tratlon Account These Ftsnds are prfmarity heh4 in the CCLA account ar￿ Interest is added to the Funds on a quarterly bJsl5. Paqe 21 of 24 Asequestration Account is instlgated when a derkal vacancyoccurs. IncomÈfrorn statutory fees norn)ally paydblèto the dI0￿e are retalned withln thls account along wlth ¢05ts assoclated w5th ihe vacary such as vtsltln8 ojratefees. The account showlng a del￿￿ as at 31 December 2023. The Sequestratlon Account wlll te closed when a new wkst k appolnted. Any wsltfve balan￿ wrthln the account atthe lknè is payabfe to the dI0￿Se. a negatlve balano must be covered from churth funds. Restrkted Inwmo Sn the y*rwo5 a5folh)ws: Cameras & IT Churth Hall MalnTrnan¢e Muslt Fund Flower Fund Segue5tratton Accthjni £500 donatiun fOr￿bIl￿e PC £2,375 donatlon for New Notke Board £5￿ lega¢yfor use on Churth Music £47 donatlons for purchase of FbweTS £1531 Statutoryfees Expendrture in theyearfrom Restrlcted Fund5 was 3s folk)ws: Camera5 & IT Fund £2,673-50% payment towards New Sound Desk £544-Subtitlé PC for Prolectlon £2,887 transterred by agreement to Cameras & ITFund £32-Ahar Flower5 £2339- New Notke Board £3350- 1ftsiti￿ Clerw& Vkara8e costs External Works Fund Flower Fund Church Hall Malntenan Sequestraiion Account nated Fund These are fund5 that the PCC have designated fDfa 5pecJftc purpose. DetaFls of the deslgnated funds currèrt ￿ld are shown belovr. AV & IT Malntenance Church Hall (running Costs and lettlngsl Cydlcal Maifiienance PAlsslon Gfvlng Padsh Offèr Fund These Funds are prknarify held In the CCUI account and Interest Is added to the Fund5 on a quarterty basts. MonytransfeffEd to de*natsd Funds durtngihe year was astolkws: Church Hall Mission Gfvi ParLsh OFferFund £15,755 Hall Lettl £7320 lyjdgeted Mtssion GIVI￿ for2023 £12.351 towords 2024 paT￿h Offer (see Ftem 6 ￿l¢W ExpendItU￿ In the yeaf from l)esl8natsd Funds was as foll¢y*ts". Church Hall Cyclkal M?Intenance Fund £18,838 Hall RunninB & Malntenance £2,496- New Photocopier £800. rn Cameras £9,698 Away Givin8from 2022 Mlsslon GhTI Pago 22 of24 Slaff Costs Durlng the year the PCC employed an organlst and offlee staff lall part tlmel. Tax and Natitsnal Insurnnce payments were made for relevant empb)yees. Totsl staff costs amounted to £18,374 whlch indudès £735 Employer Penslon Contributigns. Natlonal Insuran￿ c0ntrfb￿kn$fQrthe year fell belowthe £2,OCQ 8overTrrnerrt alkwance. Incumbent costs are covered bythe diocese and therefore not I￿￿)ded WFthln thesè accoun No rneMbe￿ of the PCC are empl¢)yed, however a c105ety connerted to a PCC member 15 employed wf£hin the office staff. Donatlons made ￿ PCC membèrs durfingthe year amounted to £34A33, 4.1. Church Workers Penslon Fund CWPF St Bartholomth¢s participates In the Penslon Bulkler Scheme 5ertlon of CWPF for lay staff. CWPF Ls admlnLstered by the Church of England Penslons Board, whlch hold5 the CWPF assets separatsfv from those ofthe Employer and other partklpatlng empl¢)yer5. CWPF ha5 two sertbns: l. the Deflned Benef￿ts Scheme 2. the Penslon Bullder kheme, whl¢h has two subsections; a deferred annuhy 5ertlon known as Pension Builderaassk, and, a cash balance sectlon known a5 PeTrsion Builder 2014. PensloTr Bulld•r $d￿M 80th settlons otthe Penslon Bulhler Scheme are da$5ed a5 defined benefit schemes. Penslon 8ullderClassk provtdes a penslon. accumulated frorn Contrib￿10￿$ paid and nverted lllto a deferTed annuity durin8 employment based on term5 set and revlewed ￿ the Church of England Pensions B08rd from tlme totlme. DlscretK¢nary Inrnses rnay also be added. dependbnB on IrNe5tment return5 and otherfatto Penslon Bullder2014 Is 3 r35h balance scheme that provides ¥ lump wm which members use to provide ben?ffis at retlrement. Pension contributions are recordtd in an accoufttfor each fflember. D15cretionary bonuses may be added before retitement, dependln8 on investrnent returns and otherfactors. The accounL plu5 any bonuses declared Is payable. unreduced. from ag• 65. There bs no sukHliv151on of assets btheen Èmplo￿rs in eath sectbon ofthe Penslon Bullder Scheme. The scheme È consldered to be a multi-ernployerscheme as deSt￿bed In Section 28 of FRS 102. Thls Is because it 15 not possible to attrfbute the Penslon Bullderscheme's assets and Ilabllf(les to specfflc employÈrs and mèans that tt*ntrlbutlons a￿ accounted for as Ifthe Scheme were a deftned contrib￿lon xheme. The per*$lons costs charged to the SOFA In theyear are the contributions payable12023- £2,343,. 2022: £2,237). A vgluatlon of the Penslon Bullder Scheme 15 carried out once eVeryth￿e yeAN The most retent valuatkjn was carded out as at 31 December 2019. Pw23cI24 For the Pension 8uikleraa55rc sedion,the 2019 vafuatton r￿ealed a deficlt Df £4Arn on the on80ing assurnptions used. At the most ￿cent annual revleweffertfve I Ja￿￿ary 2024. the B￿rd chose toBrant a dkcretlonary bonus of &7% to both pensknDS r￿Yet in payTnent and pensions in payment In re$￿t of setwtte prforto Aprll 1997: and a t￿￿5 on pensivn5 in payrnent In respect of post Aprll 2C116 sewvke so th3tthe pension increa5ewa5 5% (Whe￿ ￿su01￿ Itwould be calojlated based on knflatlon up to 2.5%). This folhjwed Improvements In the fundkng posltlon over 2023. There b5 no regulrement for defkft payTnentsatthe cuNent tkne. For the Penslon Bullder 2014 sectlon, the 2019valuakn Tevealed a surplus of £5.Sm on the orb8olng assumptlons used. Thefy15 Th) rewlrementfordefkk paymentsatthe current tlme. The next ￿luatIOn Is due as at 31 December2022. Cakulaiknns forihls are ￿Tr@￿tty nder way. The lerdl strutturè of the stheme ts s￿h that Ifanotheremployerfal]s. St BarthQlprne￿S could become respons1b￿ for paying a share of the falled emplo￿￿5 nslon Ilablll￿eS. S. MIS$k￿ Gl¥& Current pollcy is for 75%of aTry ￿n￿$tr￿ted tr￿dEet surpkts from the 2022 actounts to be added to the 2L)22 budgeted Mi55ion Givin8 and ft>rthese funds to be dlstrllMJted followlng 51Bn-off of the 2022 accounts. The church madè a finan¢lal105s In 2022 and therefore M15sk)n GhAng was retsined at the buL*eted level of £9,550 plus Interest earned. A total of £9,698 was di5tribu*d in line wfth InstNLllonsfrcth the m&￿tart Commttee. & O¥eraM Posltl( Follovth8 al0￿ In Unrestrlcted Funds ￿£11.5k In 2022, the Budget set at the startof 2023 Included slgnltkant Co￿ red￿V0￿$, achteved prlmarlly by redudng Mlsslon GNin8 and the annual contrlbutlon to the Dlocese. Whilst the Proport￿n of the ¢hurch Income whkh 15 der￿ed from re8￿lar￿vITr8 remalns slgnrfkantty beb)w ihe average achleved acros5 the dlocese. totsl Income forthe yearwa5 s*nfficantfy hW*rthan antldpated. Thls was due prlmarllyto the receipt of several legac￿5 and to the signrflcznt efforts of the fundralsln8 team. In rewnttlon of the fact thatthe par15h had falkd to meet ￿ Parlsh Offer In 2023, PCC pa￿ed 8 fesolutlon In Decembef 2023 to set ashje £12,351 from the 2023 accountstofund the Parish Offer in 2024, thus allowl￿the partsh to rneet the 20240ffer InfvlF. Thls money Is held wlthin the Parfsh Offer Fund. The PCC have r•viewtd antlclpated Income and expeEKltiure for 2024and Set a balanced I￿dgetf0rthe year ahead. Py24(*24