ST OSWllUI'S SOWERBY Annual report 2023 Parochial Church Council of St Oswald's Sowerby Annual Trustees Report for the year ended 31 December 2023 Incumbent: Revd David Biggs (Priest-in-chargej As51Stant Priest.. Revd Pauline Percy Independent Examiner: Mr Barrie Lross, ACA Bankers: FISBC Independent Financial Advisor: Ellis Bares Group ChurLh Architect: David Beaumont Website: www. sow Facebook: Administrative Information St Oswald's Church is situated in Sowerby in North Yorkshirc. It is part of the Diocese ofyork within the Church of England. The current correspondence address is: 162 Front Street. Sowerby Y07 IJG. Sowerby PLL is a registered charity; number 1135485. Members of the Parochial Church Coundl Members of rhe PCC are either ex officio or elected by the Annual Parochial Church Meeting (APLM) in accordance with the Church Representation Rules. In 2023 the APCM was on 14 May 2023. During the year the following served as members ofthe PCC: Churchwardens (ex offitio): David Tucker (joint Vice Chair) Simon Birkbeck O'oint Vice Chair) Revd David Bisgs Revd Pauline Percy David Brooke Cecily Rand5 (retired September 2023) Helen Irving Yvonne Bowlln8 Sue Binn5 Priesi-in-charge (ex oJficio}: Assistant Priest (ex officio): Reader.. Recognised Parish Assistants: (now known as Authorised lay Mini5ters] Deanery Synod (ex officio): Elected Members from 14 May 2023 Retiring 2024 PauliTre Alderson Morna Stoakley Yvonne Bowling Andrew MCCOrn￿Ck lill Drew Gayle Hartley Helen Irving (Standing Committee) David Brooke lane lackson (Secretsry- Standing Committee) Cecily Rands Graham Merriam (Treasurer and Standing Commirree) Rachel Halkyard (Candy) from December 2023 Retiring 3025 Rvtirin9 ZO26 Co-opted Members Structure, governance and management The Parochial Lhurch Council (PLL) is a corporate body established by the Church of F.ngland. Registered charity number 1135485 It operates under the Parochial Church Council Powers Measure. The PCC is registered as a separate charity with the Charity Commission. The method of appointment of PCC member5 Is set out in the Church Representation Rules. All Church attendees are encourdged to register on the Electoral Roll and stand for elertion to the pcc. In normal circumstances the full PCC meets six tlmes a year. or more as needed. The PCC is supported by the Standing Committee. consisting of Churchwardens. Treasurer and Secretary and Children and Youth Minister. In addition, there are a few working groups which report to PCQ Our Deanery Synod Representatives attend meetings during the year and report back to the PCC. Special combined meetings of the PCCS of St Oswald Sowerby. All Saints Thirkteby. St Marfs Kilburn. St Cuthbert'5 Sessay and Sr Matys Bagby took place on 25th February 2023 and 2]Ml September 2023. Obfrectives of the PCC St Oswald's PCC worked with the Priest-ln-charge. the Rev David Biggs. in promoting in the ecclesiastical parish the whole mission of the church. pastoral. evangelistlc, Social and ecumenical. The PCC is also responsible for the management and maintenance of Sowerby Parochial Hall and Annexe. The Church. the Parochial Hall and the Annexe are norn]ally well. used and valued community assets and a base for our service to metnbers of the congregation and wider outreach to the parish as a whole. Our Missfion At St Oswald's ourvision is that we seek to Love God. Build Communityand Serve Sowerby. Review ofthe year. Achievements and Perforniance 2023 has been a year of some growth and a return to some'normallty after the impart of the Covid pandemic. We held two joint PCC sessions with the otherchurches of the plurality to tryand bulld Mission Action Plans for each church to take forward. Locally. this was to build on our stated vision to Love God. Build Communityand Serve Sowerby. This work remains to be developed further. We attempted to recruit a new Children. Families and Youth worker. We took the process through a job and person description, advertisin& interviewing and offering the position to a person who would have been suitable. Due to personal circumstances however. she was unable to take up the post. Pauline Alderson agreed to continue her fonner role (on a reduced basis) in the interim working one day per week We also bought in the advice of a youth adviser from the diocese in order to plan the Sunday night youth groups. Towards the end of 2023. we appointed Rachel Halkyard (a member ofour church) to act as our interim Children. Families and Youth Worker. She started work in time to plan the Christmas family activities. We were very pleased to welcome back Sowerby School and Keeble Gateway Academy for their Natlvlty services in church before Christmas. We continued the new Warm Welcome. lunches on Fridays throughout the year. This has been appreciated by a fairly regular group of mainly older people. During the year our Registered charlty nutnber 1135485 community %ocial activities included a 'Coronation Big Lunch. on the Hall field and also'coffee Cakes and Cr2fts' in the Autumn in the Hall. Our Lent Course was on the subject of'unanswered Prayer,. This was well attended and appreciated. We were excited to be able to hold a full-immersion adult baptism in church. The buildings remain in good repalr and we arranged fora full digital survey of the church and churchydrd to enable the Architect to advise on possible future developments to make the buildings more accessihle and to improve our facilities. Grdteful thanks are due fo Rev Sandra Howells and other visiting and retired clergy for assisting in conducting serv5ces in church. Children and Youth After the sad loss of laura Damulira at the end of 2022. Paullne Alderson returned In january for one day a week to keep the children and family work going. We held several Messy churLh session.s. including an Easter themed one on Good Friday which was very well attended. This attraLtL'd new familie5 who hdd not had any previous connection with St Oswald's. With help from volunteers from Thirkleby, Kilburn and Bagby we held a Messy Church in Thirkleby on 22nd April, The families who attended were all new to Messy ChurLh and appreciated the event. We returned on the 14th October ro hold a second Messy Lhurch using a Harvest theme. Some ofthose who attended then camc along to our Follow the Light Nighi event at.%r Oswald's on 315t October and our Messy f.hristingle service in December. These events, along. with the Crib Service on Christmas Eve, always attract and are appreciated by many families in the community. The Open the Book teams continued to visit Sowerby. Sessay. Keeble and Topcliffe primary schools to share Bible stories twice each half term. The children and the statfalways look forward to our visits. Holiday Club took place during the first week of the summer holiday with an'under the.Sea' theme. We shared stories from both the Old and NewTestaments with the children. The team ofvolunleers once again excelled themselves. working together to deliver a fun-filled. action packed week for the children. Many members of the youth group took on roles. responsibilities and leadership wilh great enthusiasm. Lots of families attended the Iloliday Cluh service on the Sunday mornin& Kids Club continued throughout the year with Godly Play each Isi and 2nd Sunday. This is always very popular. We greatly appreciate members of£owerby Methodist church who lead this with support from .%t Osw31d's helpers. Rev David introduced a Family Communion service each 4th Sunday of the month, where the children are involved in setting Ihe communion table. There is a shortened Kids Club session during this service so the children can attend communion. l.ittle Wonders baby and toddlergroup met every Monday morning in tern) tAme and we welcomed many new families throughout the year. The group is well attended and continues to grow. Thanks are due to the team of volunteers who work hard to make peoplL, feel welcome and provide a range of activities and refreshments. Several families enjoyed a joint vuting to Monk Park Farm in August with Little Ark c.lub from St Mary's. Registered charity number 1135485 The youth group has continued to meet in 2023. and continues to be well received by the young people. We started a new p31tern of having a session every Sunday in terni time with one session being a youth small group. Youth group would not be possible without the committed team of volunteeryouth leaders who continue to invesi in ouryoungpeople. In December there was a trip 10 The Oakes. a Christian activity centre. The young people had a great time. t2king part in acts"vities and engaging in Sessions explorin8'The First Christmas, and Who is Jesus7. In lune two families from St Oswald's attended the family weekend camp at Wydale Emmaus Centre which was organised by York Diocese. Adults and children thoroughly enjoyed the weekend and are looking fonvard to attending in 2024. At the beginning ofDecember we were delighted to welcome Rachel Halkyard as the new Children, Youth & Family worker. Parish and Community Events As described in the review of theyear, a'coronation Big Lunch, on the H￿1 field was held on 7th May and also 'Coffee Cakes and Crafts. on 18th November in the Hall. Alongside these a summer fair was held on 15ilE July. The church building was used for a number of different concerts throughout the year. A publlc service on Remembrance Sunday. 12 November. took place at the warmemorial and the church wa5 beautifullydecorated with flowers and the outside walls with knitted and crocheted poppies. Many thanks to Barbara Thornton and her team for continuing to provide flower arrangements and to Kath Reynard for tending the outdoor planters, Carol Singing around the Sowerby Christmas Trtt took place on Tuesday 19th December and was led by Rev David Biggs. Givin& Mfssion and Communlty We continued to support jigsaw Kids Ministries in the Philippines through regular gifts to CMS (to supporr their mission partner Tim I￿e} and to jigsaw directly. We were inspired to hear from Tim Lee at a service on 5th November about the ways in which Jigsaw was serving the communities around them in the Philippines and about lives that were being transformed through this ministry. We have continued to host Warm Welcome Lunches. These take place on Friday lunchtlmes from 12 noon in the Parochial Hall. These are intended to provide a place for people to come where it is warm and welcoming and to have a simple lunch. The lunches are free. A rota of helpers is organised by Pauline Alderson to ensure this happens. Special thanks are due to Penny Merriam, Sandra Howells and occasional others who cook the soups and source the ingredients. We regularly support Thirsk Community Works (CW) in their service to the wider community. Our harvest gifts and occasional offerings on special services (e.&. ChrSstrnas) have been given to them. We have a box in church available for non-perishable food donations towards their food bank Our Christmas offerings this year were split three ways between Red Cross- Israel and Occupied Palestine Territory Appeal, Church Army and Salvatson Army (local). Registered chariry number 1135485 The Parochial Hall is a valued community asset. There are many groups who regularly meet throughvut theyear as well as privaEe events. The 100 Llub which raises funds towards the running costs was able to continue and increased its contribution to the Hall's incomc. Pastoral work: Our pastoral Recogni5ed Parish Assistsnts (RPA), Cecily Rands and Yvonne Bowling iontinued their support ufelderly and vulnerable people. Cecily is standing down from being an RPA but she is still involved in pastoral work The Mothers. Union continued their meetings during the year. The Prayer Circle continued to operate throughout 2023 to support those in particular need of prayer. Many thanks to lill Drew for coordinating this. Monthly Singing for loy sessions continued for residents of Orchid House and the bungalows and surrounding community. Farming chaplaincy.. Yvonne Bowling continued her work as an assistant chaplain working under RLIV Dianne Garnble to provide support to the farming community at the Auction Mart located in the parish. Ecumenical relations: St Oswald's values the covenant with rhe Methodist Church. A joint Christma¥ card with the Methodist Church was distributed using the delivery team. The children and youth team have continued to work ecumenically and joint.services were planned to celebrate festivals through theyear. We especially enjoyed the Easter Messy Church, Summer Holiday Club. and our Christingle and Crib service& safeguarding Elizabeth Allen continued as our Safeguarding o￿lcer until the APCM in May 2023. Amanda Wo()d was appointed as parish Safeguarding oificer, taking over from F.lizabeth. All PCC members are DBS checked and musi complete a Confidential Declaration Form and complete an on-line safeguarding training course. St 05wald's PCC has complied with the duty under section 5 ofthe.5afeguardin8 and Clergy Discipline Measure 2016 to have regard to House of Bishop's guidance on safeguarding children and vulnerable adults. Financial review ()ur VoluiilLiry Income has been maintained through the generosity of many people and has allowed us to raise our Freewill Offering to the Diocese trom £60.000 to £62,400. 2023 has been a year of transition as we await the appointment of a new Candy worker but still continue to benefit from much of the Voluntary Income that partially supports the role. Although, on the face of it, our total income appears to be much reduced at £149,635 (2022- E167.120) most of this is due to the large grant for the refurbishment nf the Hall in 2022. There were also significant donations from other parishes in 2022 to support the full-time C2ndY post which we hope will return in 2024. Overall, we generated a surplus of £8,551 (2022 - £55). A part of this is ilttributable to the performance of the Parochial Hall which raised its inLome from lettin8s to £20.105 (2022 - £14.350) and its net surplus to £2,525 (2022 - £5,241) having Piiid for the carpark and fencing. This leave5 the Hall in a much healthier place with residual reserves of £10,822 - there Is still work to do in the carpark and the exterior painting of the whole building has now become essential. The Soup Lunches have continued throughout the year producing donations of £4,511 of which El,250 has been given collectively to the Lambert and Community Works. All surpluses Registered charity number 1135485 are or will be given away. Huge thanks are due to the volunteer team that manages the Hall. rhe Soup Lunches, 100 Club and maintenance. Reserves Policy It is the PCC'S intention 10 spend those Reserves that are Restricted on their defjned purposes. in due course. Unrestricted Reserrfes include an amount that is Designated for the Parochial Hall and the PCC aim5 to safeguard these foran ongoing plan of refijrbishment The remainder of Unrestricted Reserves represent approximately three months income which the PCC feels is the minimutn that it should aim to hold for normal levels of activity. The Church buildln& fabric. ornaments and furnishing& The buildings team continued to organise the management of the buildings. A number of working parties undertook maintenance tasks throughout theyear. A separate report on the building fabric, ornaments and furnishings is available. Thanks Grateful thanks are expressed to all at St Oswald's who have worked so hard, sometimes in different Ways from normal. and with so much dedication for the benefit of the church and wider community. May we continue to love God and our neighbours near and far as we seek to serve Christ in this place. We remember that our hope Is always in lesus ChriSL oursaviour. roved by the PCC on 25 March 2024. and signed on their behalf. David Chu er warden Simon Birkbeck Churchwarden Rev David Biggs Priest-in-charge Build Community. Serve Sowerby. Registered charity number 1135485 ST OSWlllDI SOWERBY Registered charity number 1135485 Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2023 Independent Examiner's Report Statement of Financial Activities Balance Sheet Notes to the Accounts Independent examlnerfs report to the Trustees of The Parochial Church COU￿01 of The Ecclesia5tkal Parish of St 05wald Sowerby I report to the trustees on my exarnination of the accounts for the year ended 31 December 2023 which are set out on pages 2 to 7. ResPOn51blll¢les and basls of report As the charity trustees you are responsible for the preparatlon ol the accounts In accordance with the requirewnents of the Charities Att 20111Ihe ACV). I report In respect of my examination of the Trustee's accourrts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination I have followed all the applicable Directions Elven by the Charity Commission under section 1451511b) of the 2011 Act. Independent emamlnerfs ststement I have completed my examlnation. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention In connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any materSal respect: (11 accounting records were not kept in respect of the as required by 5ectFon 130 of the Act: or 121 the accounts do not accord with those records,. or (31 the accounts do not comply wlth the applicable requirements concerning the forni and content of accounts set out in the Charitie5 IAc¢ount5 and Reports) Regulations 2CQ8 other than anv requirement that the accounts Er¥e a 'true arNJ fair view. which is not a matter consldered a5 part of an independent exarnlnation. I have no concems and have come across no other matters in connettion wath the exarnination to which attention sl)ould be drawn in this report in order to enable o proper understandin8 of the accounts to be reached. Barrie Cross ACA The Barker Partnership Chartered Accountants 17 Central Buildin8s Markei Place Thir5k North Yorkshire Y07 IHD Date- 1414 20 TrAal Funds Fun TO¢al Voiuiiiwy Incom• 46.162 14.959 46.162 47.898 Ta¥ Rets¥l¥ 1.￿7 1743 1.967 s.sor 2.f29 7.n3 783 6Z34 6.519 534 7.370 Dona￿￿$ mlo Cwdy 8 Grfl 6234 W811 Dox 8 &x*sial 119 1784 91.996 wjo pcc Or9th91 & Bell RrewB 9.891 8.982 910 270 3,975 140 Inc(ffi• from 8y Coffee FWMI & Sa* 370 3.on Cther Iwe 975 R•currfng Grnnl* WaYéa¥e 8 122 2.4LX* 2.4LY) Iwr trndlty •r¢hS110¥ PwrL*thI Hai Irm InL*e 121 ParrK*41 Hal Eatrnw 1fy) C*AJ 1.105 20.1th5 1.2 28.774 4.511 876 9Z3 IGrwsi & INeMt 1.4 1.Tr37 l.W7 141359 149.$35 117.119 E4￿dIf￿r• on charmab￿ nots Ji 7.007 14125S 114889 Il•1 Ir*m￿*￿￿￿￿Itlr•l Ixf¢)re 7.132 N•ty1￿(lo8W￿ on In¥wlwbl 1,5$1 Baian¢•i 1 &￿n￿ry X123 46.714 11S3 49.867 49M13 Balan￿ 31 D•e•mbw ￿23 21 2021 ro Fund¥ Fund¥ Ff••*llS Oll•rtng S¥larf•6, Hon¢Jrnrf• VDBF YO8F 6WO 3.975 21.743 Athin Sthry 1150 ly) IQ214 2.150 I￿25 270 15.214 .913 VuFwJe Costs 1.12Q 874 1.120 874 1.921 43 57S 1,132 GftlÉ 797 787 &n4 Church R￿nIng ae•wwJ 1.818 1.895 531 471 477 183 2.873 gJ17 2.873 9.817 2.212 ¢hurth Ulllhh• 3221 180 3.221 2.867 VlatwR 915 44 Chw¢h *Almknhl 3.474 3.474 3n 231 373 238 352 1.853 37$ 375 Dok)alkn¥ to Chwltl•* 4,191 050 2.714 7,814 Co•ts ofgenwaurwj fund Parttfu81 H811Th)te 12) Cw*r¥J c(dts 16.(O2 16.082 11314 27.793 JWJ LutKth Costs 4.013 27h61 F•brk Costs eci'6 F0•9 .287 .287 4.737 4.731 Tdal ¢h•rtwbl•¥cllvMI•s 135.22T IK235 164619 Paro¢hial Church Coun¢il of St Oswald's Sowwby Balance Shè•t as at 31 Decernb•r 2023 2023 2022 Fixed Ag$0ts 2,033 Curr•rrt Assets Invesltnenls Debtors Bank Accr￿nts Prepayments Cash BalarKes 33,192 2,794 22,125 31,176 3,729 14,575 271 200 49.951 200 Cr¢ditors Sundry Cre(Ji1rys l(Kl Club Deposi15 for followirg year 314 2.208 2.522 1.980 N•t Curr•nt Ass 58.418 49,867 R•pr•8•nt•d ty. Unrèstnetttd Fuf Restn¢ted Funds 10 11 46.714 3,153 3.422 Net Funds 58,418 49.867 Approved ty Ihe Paroehial Churth 25 IAarch 2024 and signed on its behall by Rev David 8iggs PTiest4n-chargo Simon Birkbeck ChLwchwarden Parochial Church Councll of St Oswald'• Sowetby Notes to the Financlal Ststem¢nts for the year ended 31 De¢emI￿r 2023 Accountlng Pollcles Ac¢ountlng Convontion The accounts are prepared ufftr Ihe hislDrtal cfjst convention 2nd in ac¢crdance wilh the Church Accounting Regulations 20Lb and the Accounbng ant1 Rewrttng by Charities.. Statement of Recommended Practice appluble lo Chartl*s preparing their a¢counts in aCc￿dar￿e with FRS 102 Ichanbes SORP IFRS 1021 and the ChanhesAct 2011. The financ￿1 slatements have been prepared under the historlcal c•st conventson except for the ValUatK￿ of investment assets which are shthvn at mthet value. Funds Gene￿ lunds represent the fuNJs of Ihe PCC Ihat are not subpd to any restric*ons regarding their use and 8re available lor appI￿atiOn on Ihe general pu￿)SeS of tha PCC. Funds desi9nated for a particular purpose by the PCC are also unresthcted. The ￿l￿nts indude all transactions, assets and liabilrb.es for whth the PCC Is reSP)nsib￿ in law. They do not include the xcounts of church groups that owe theK main affiltats.on to another body or Ihose that are infom*l gatherings ol church mernbe￿. Ineomlng Resourcos Voluntary incomo and cap￿al sour¢es Collectsons are recognised when received by or on behall of tho PCC Planned glving receNable under Grft Aid is recognised only when recewed. Ir￿ tax rècoverable on Gift AKI donatK>ns Is rEcognised when receiveishffont of Hall Intenor Car Park entryance and farKtng Annexe TV & Blind$ 420 27,793 6.348 Total Exceptlonal Costs 7,336 27,793 Surplus lor Ih? year 2.525 5341 Fund Batance at 1 January 2023 8.297 3,066 Ro8ldual Fund Balanu at 31 December 2023 10.822 8.297 This fund is deswnated but not restrthd. ST OSWllUI'S SOWERBY Annual report 2023 Parochial Church Council of St Oswald's Sowerby Annual Trustees Report for the year ended 31 December 2023 Incumbent: Revd David Biggs (Priest-in-chargej As51Stant Priest.. Revd Pauline Percy Independent Examiner: Mr Barrie Lross, ACA Bankers: FISBC Independent Financial Advisor: Ellis Bares Group ChurLh Architect: David Beaumont Website: www. sow Facebook: Administrative Information St Oswald's Church is situated in Sowerby in North Yorkshirc. It is part of the Diocese ofyork within the Church of England. The current correspondence address is: 162 Front Street. Sowerby Y07 IJG. Sowerby PLL is a registered charity; number 1135485. Members of the Parochial Church Coundl Members of rhe PCC are either ex officio or elected by the Annual Parochial Church Meeting (APLM) in accordance with the Church Representation Rules. In 2023 the APCM was on 14 May 2023. During the year the following served as members ofthe PCC: Churchwardens (ex offitio): David Tucker (joint Vice Chair) Simon Birkbeck O'oint Vice Chair) Revd David Bisgs Revd Pauline Percy David Brooke Cecily Rand5 (retired September 2023) Helen Irving Yvonne Bowlln8 Sue Binn5 Priesi-in-charge (ex oJficio}: Assistant Priest (ex officio): Reader.. Recognised Parish Assistants: (now known as Authorised lay Mini5ters] Deanery Synod (ex officio): Elected Members from 14 May 2023 Retiring 2024 PauliTre Alderson Morna Stoakley Yvonne Bowling Andrew MCCOrn￿Ck lill Drew Gayle Hartley Helen Irving (Standing Committee) David Brooke lane lackson (Secretsry- Standing Committee) Cecily Rands Graham Merriam (Treasurer and Standing Commirree) Rachel Halkyard (Candy) from December 2023 Retiring 3025 Rvtirin9 ZO26 Co-opted Members Structure, governance and management The Parochial Lhurch Council (PLL) is a corporate body established by the Church of F.ngland. Registered charity number 1135485 It operates under the Parochial Church Council Powers Measure. The PCC is registered as a separate charity with the Charity Commission. The method of appointment of PCC member5 Is set out in the Church Representation Rules. All Church attendees are encourdged to register on the Electoral Roll and stand for elertion to the pcc. In normal circumstances the full PCC meets six tlmes a year. or more as needed. The PCC is supported by the Standing Committee. consisting of Churchwardens. Treasurer and Secretary and Children and Youth Minister. In addition, there are a few working groups which report to PCQ Our Deanery Synod Representatives attend meetings during the year and report back to the PCC. Special combined meetings of the PCCS of St Oswald Sowerby. All Saints Thirkteby. St Marfs Kilburn. St Cuthbert'5 Sessay and Sr Matys Bagby took place on 25th February 2023 and 2]Ml September 2023. Obfrectives of the PCC St Oswald's PCC worked with the Priest-ln-charge. the Rev David Biggs. in promoting in the ecclesiastical parish the whole mission of the church. pastoral. evangelistlc, Social and ecumenical. The PCC is also responsible for the management and maintenance of Sowerby Parochial Hall and Annexe. The Church. the Parochial Hall and the Annexe are norn]ally well. used and valued community assets and a base for our service to metnbers of the congregation and wider outreach to the parish as a whole. Our Missfion At St Oswald's ourvision is that we seek to Love God. Build Communityand Serve Sowerby. Review ofthe year. Achievements and Perforniance 2023 has been a year of some growth and a return to some'normallty after the impart of the Covid pandemic. We held two joint PCC sessions with the otherchurches of the plurality to tryand bulld Mission Action Plans for each church to take forward. Locally. this was to build on our stated vision to Love God. Build Communityand Serve Sowerby. This work remains to be developed further. We attempted to recruit a new Children. Families and Youth worker. We took the process through a job and person description, advertisin& interviewing and offering the position to a person who would have been suitable. Due to personal circumstances however. she was unable to take up the post. Pauline Alderson agreed to continue her fonner role (on a reduced basis) in the interim working one day per week We also bought in the advice of a youth adviser from the diocese in order to plan the Sunday night youth groups. Towards the end of 2023. we appointed Rachel Halkyard (a member ofour church) to act as our interim Children. Families and Youth Worker. She started work in time to plan the Christmas family activities. We were very pleased to welcome back Sowerby School and Keeble Gateway Academy for their Natlvlty services in church before Christmas. We continued the new Warm Welcome. lunches on Fridays throughout the year. This has been appreciated by a fairly regular group of mainly older people. During the year our Registered charlty nutnber 1135485 community %ocial activities included a 'Coronation Big Lunch. on the Hall field and also'coffee Cakes and Cr2fts' in the Autumn in the Hall. Our Lent Course was on the subject of'unanswered Prayer,. This was well attended and appreciated. We were excited to be able to hold a full-immersion adult baptism in church. The buildings remain in good repalr and we arranged fora full digital survey of the church and churchydrd to enable the Architect to advise on possible future developments to make the buildings more accessihle and to improve our facilities. Grdteful thanks are due fo Rev Sandra Howells and other visiting and retired clergy for assisting in conducting serv5ces in church. Children and Youth After the sad loss of laura Damulira at the end of 2022. Paullne Alderson returned In january for one day a week to keep the children and family work going. We held several Messy churLh session.s. including an Easter themed one on Good Friday which was very well attended. This attraLtL'd new familie5 who hdd not had any previous connection with St Oswald's. With help from volunteers from Thirkleby, Kilburn and Bagby we held a Messy Church in Thirkleby on 22nd April, The families who attended were all new to Messy ChurLh and appreciated the event. We returned on the 14th October ro hold a second Messy Lhurch using a Harvest theme. Some ofthose who attended then camc along to our Follow the Light Nighi event at.%r Oswald's on 315t October and our Messy f.hristingle service in December. These events, along. with the Crib Service on Christmas Eve, always attract and are appreciated by many families in the community. The Open the Book teams continued to visit Sowerby. Sessay. Keeble and Topcliffe primary schools to share Bible stories twice each half term. The children and the statfalways look forward to our visits. Holiday Club took place during the first week of the summer holiday with an'under the.Sea' theme. We shared stories from both the Old and NewTestaments with the children. The team ofvolunleers once again excelled themselves. working together to deliver a fun-filled. action packed week for the children. Many members of the youth group took on roles. responsibilities and leadership wilh great enthusiasm. Lots of families attended the Iloliday Cluh service on the Sunday mornin& Kids Club continued throughout the year with Godly Play each Isi and 2nd Sunday. This is always very popular. We greatly appreciate members of£owerby Methodist church who lead this with support from .%t Osw31d's helpers. Rev David introduced a Family Communion service each 4th Sunday of the month, where the children are involved in setting Ihe communion table. There is a shortened Kids Club session during this service so the children can attend communion. l.ittle Wonders baby and toddlergroup met every Monday morning in tern) tAme and we welcomed many new families throughout the year. The group is well attended and continues to grow. Thanks are due to the team of volunteers who work hard to make peoplL, feel welcome and provide a range of activities and refreshments. Several families enjoyed a joint vuting to Monk Park Farm in August with Little Ark c.lub from St Mary's. Registered charity number 1135485 The youth group has continued to meet in 2023. and continues to be well received by the young people. We started a new p31tern of having a session every Sunday in terni time with one session being a youth small group. Youth group would not be possible without the committed team of volunteeryouth leaders who continue to invesi in ouryoungpeople. In December there was a trip 10 The Oakes. a Christian activity centre. The young people had a great time. t2king part in acts"vities and engaging in Sessions explorin8'The First Christmas, and Who is Jesus7. In lune two families from St Oswald's attended the family weekend camp at Wydale Emmaus Centre which was organised by York Diocese. Adults and children thoroughly enjoyed the weekend and are looking fonvard to attending in 2024. At the beginning ofDecember we were delighted to welcome Rachel Halkyard as the new Children, Youth & Family worker. Parish and Community Events As described in the review of theyear, a'coronation Big Lunch, on the H￿1 field was held on 7th May and also 'Coffee Cakes and Crafts. on 18th November in the Hall. Alongside these a summer fair was held on 15ilE July. The church building was used for a number of different concerts throughout the year. A publlc service on Remembrance Sunday. 12 November. took place at the warmemorial and the church wa5 beautifullydecorated with flowers and the outside walls with knitted and crocheted poppies. Many thanks to Barbara Thornton and her team for continuing to provide flower arrangements and to Kath Reynard for tending the outdoor planters, Carol Singing around the Sowerby Christmas Trtt took place on Tuesday 19th December and was led by Rev David Biggs. Givin& Mfssion and Communlty We continued to support jigsaw Kids Ministries in the Philippines through regular gifts to CMS (to supporr their mission partner Tim I￿e} and to jigsaw directly. We were inspired to hear from Tim Lee at a service on 5th November about the ways in which Jigsaw was serving the communities around them in the Philippines and about lives that were being transformed through this ministry. We have continued to host Warm Welcome Lunches. These take place on Friday lunchtlmes from 12 noon in the Parochial Hall. These are intended to provide a place for people to come where it is warm and welcoming and to have a simple lunch. The lunches are free. A rota of helpers is organised by Pauline Alderson to ensure this happens. Special thanks are due to Penny Merriam, Sandra Howells and occasional others who cook the soups and source the ingredients. We regularly support Thirsk Community Works (CW) in their service to the wider community. Our harvest gifts and occasional offerings on special services (e.&. ChrSstrnas) have been given to them. We have a box in church available for non-perishable food donations towards their food bank Our Christmas offerings this year were split three ways between Red Cross- Israel and Occupied Palestine Territory Appeal, Church Army and Salvatson Army (local). Registered chariry number 1135485 The Parochial Hall is a valued community asset. There are many groups who regularly meet throughvut theyear as well as privaEe events. The 100 Llub which raises funds towards the running costs was able to continue and increased its contribution to the Hall's incomc. Pastoral work: Our pastoral Recogni5ed Parish Assistsnts (RPA), Cecily Rands and Yvonne Bowling iontinued their support ufelderly and vulnerable people. Cecily is standing down from being an RPA but she is still involved in pastoral work The Mothers. Union continued their meetings during the year. The Prayer Circle continued to operate throughout 2023 to support those in particular need of prayer. Many thanks to lill Drew for coordinating this. Monthly Singing for loy sessions continued for residents of Orchid House and the bungalows and surrounding community. Farming chaplaincy.. Yvonne Bowling continued her work as an assistant chaplain working under RLIV Dianne Garnble to provide support to the farming community at the Auction Mart located in the parish. Ecumenical relations: St Oswald's values the covenant with rhe Methodist Church. A joint Christma¥ card with the Methodist Church was distributed using the delivery team. The children and youth team have continued to work ecumenically and joint.services were planned to celebrate festivals through theyear. We especially enjoyed the Easter Messy Church, Summer Holiday Club. and our Christingle and Crib service& safeguarding Elizabeth Allen continued as our Safeguarding o￿lcer until the APCM in May 2023. Amanda Wo()d was appointed as parish Safeguarding oificer, taking over from F.lizabeth. All PCC members are DBS checked and musi complete a Confidential Declaration Form and complete an on-line safeguarding training course. St 05wald's PCC has complied with the duty under section 5 ofthe.5afeguardin8 and Clergy Discipline Measure 2016 to have regard to House of Bishop's guidance on safeguarding children and vulnerable adults. Financial review ()ur VoluiilLiry Income has been maintained through the generosity of many people and has allowed us to raise our Freewill Offering to the Diocese trom £60.000 to £62,400. 2023 has been a year of transition as we await the appointment of a new Candy worker but still continue to benefit from much of the Voluntary Income that partially supports the role. Although, on the face of it, our total income appears to be much reduced at £149,635 (2022- E167.120) most of this is due to the large grant for the refurbishment nf the Hall in 2022. There were also significant donations from other parishes in 2022 to support the full-time C2ndY post which we hope will return in 2024. Overall, we generated a surplus of £8,551 (2022 - £55). A part of this is ilttributable to the performance of the Parochial Hall which raised its inLome from lettin8s to £20.105 (2022 - £14.350) and its net surplus to £2,525 (2022 - £5,241) having Piiid for the carpark and fencing. This leave5 the Hall in a much healthier place with residual reserves of £10,822 - there Is still work to do in the carpark and the exterior painting of the whole building has now become essential. The Soup Lunches have continued throughout the year producing donations of £4,511 of which El,250 has been given collectively to the Lambert and Community Works. All surpluses Registered charity number 1135485 are or will be given away. Huge thanks are due to the volunteer team that manages the Hall. rhe Soup Lunches, 100 Club and maintenance. Reserves Policy It is the PCC'S intention 10 spend those Reserves that are Restricted on their defjned purposes. in due course. Unrestricted Reserrfes include an amount that is Designated for the Parochial Hall and the PCC aim5 to safeguard these foran ongoing plan of refijrbishment The remainder of Unrestricted Reserves represent approximately three months income which the PCC feels is the minimutn that it should aim to hold for normal levels of activity. The Church buildln& fabric. ornaments and furnishing& The buildings team continued to organise the management of the buildings. A number of working parties undertook maintenance tasks throughout theyear. A separate report on the building fabric, ornaments and furnishings is available. Thanks Grateful thanks are expressed to all at St Oswald's who have worked so hard, sometimes in different Ways from normal. and with so much dedication for the benefit of the church and wider community. May we continue to love God and our neighbours near and far as we seek to serve Christ in this place. We remember that our hope Is always in lesus ChriSL oursaviour. roved by the PCC on 25 March 2024. and signed on their behalf. David Chu er warden Simon Birkbeck Churchwarden Rev David Biggs Priest-in-charge Build Community. Serve Sowerby. Registered charity number 1135485