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2023-12-31-accounts

The Parochial Church Council of St Mary the Virgin, Bathwick

Charity Number: 1137972

ANNUAL REPORTS 2024

to be presented at

The Annual Parochial Church Meeting

on Sunday 21st April 2024 following Parish Eucharist at 10:30 a.m.

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ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION

St Mary’s Church is situated in Bathwick, Bath. It is part of the Diocese of Bath and Wells within the Church of England. The correspondence address is: -

The Parish Office, St Mary’s Church, Darlington Street, Bath BA2 4EB.

Email: office@bathwickparishes.org.uk www.bathwickparishes.org.uk Phone 01225-447450 The Parochial Church Council (PCC) is a charity registered with Charity Commission. Reg Charity No 1137972 PCC members who have served from 16[th] April 2023 until the date this report was approved are:

Name Post
Incumbent The Revd. Peter Edwards Chairman
Readers Marilyn Kirby PCC Secretary: Standing Committee, Restoration Action Group
Thomas Bunn Emeritus, Deanery Synod
Stephen Howard Vice Chairman PCC and Standing Committee ^,
Deanery Synod, Finance Committee,
Car Park Working Group, Organ Restoration Working Group
Marcus Wedge Health and Safety Officer, Fabric Committee
Churchwardens Jan Howard Standing Committee, Fabric and Finance Committees
Clare Goodhart Standing Committee, Fabric and Finance Committees,
Organ Restoration Working Group,
Mission & Evangelism Benefice Group
Diocesan Synod John Porteous Vice Chairman PCC#, Standing Committee#;
Fabric and Finance Committees
Deanery Synod Julia Brownbridge # Restoration Action Group#
Thomas Bunn ^ See above
Stephen Howard See above
Nicky Parker Safeguarding Officer,Standing Committee, Fabric,
Finance, and Social Committees
Restoration Action Group and Children’s Church,
Elected Members: Richard Andrews
Mission & Evangelism and Environmental Working Benefice
Groups
Julia Brownbridge ^ Social Committee, Car Park Working Group *
Nick Lennard Treasurer: Standing Committee, Finance and
Fabric Committees
Nicola Mathiason * Mission & Evangelism Benefice Working Group
Helen Moss Social Committee, Mission and Environmental Working
Benefice Groups
Andrew Parker Electoral Roll Officer, Fabric Committee,
Restoration Action Group,
Organ Restoration Working Group
Caroline Redfern ^ Mission &Evangelism Benefice Working Group
Carole Stickney Social and Fabric Committees
Dominic Taylor Environmental Benefice Working Group

Co-opted Members: None

# Until APCM 16[th] April 2023, ^ From APCM 16[th] April 2023, * Resigned September 2023

STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT

The method of appointment of PCC members is set out in the Church Representation Rules. All Church attendees are encouraged to register on the Electoral Roll and stand for election to the PCC.

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OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES

The PCC has considered the Charity Commission's guidance on public benefit and the advancement of religion.

The aim of the PCC is to co-operate with the incumbent in promoEng in the parish the whole mission of the Church, pastoral, evangelisEc, social and ecumenical. In addiEon it also has maintenance responsibiliEes for the church and its associated property. The PCC sees the Church's mission as witnessing steadfastly to the ChrisEan faith and proclaiming the gospel through prayer and preaching and the celebraEon of the sacraments through service to the people of Bathwick and further afield and to those in need. The Church Hall provides a safe haven for young people in the local area.

MISSION STATEMENT

By God’s grace and mindful of our heritage we aim to extend the Community of Faith where God is glorified and the Good News of Jesus Christ is proclaimed and lived

THE “WORSHIP” ETHOS

St Mary’s has been “Anglo Catholic” since “Oxford Movement” Emes, when the Church of England was re-affirmed as Catholic, in worship and pracEce. That revered tradiEon, as demonstrated by the Sunday Morning Sung Eucharist, has been influenced by subsequent developments in Catholic teaching and pracEce of liturgy. Music, (generally tradiEonal classical and Anglican), is valued, with statues, art, incense and vestments adding to the sense of the numinous. CelebraEon of the Sacraments with awe and wonder at the mystery of the love of God is a priority. Two key texts are 1 Cor. 14:40 and Hebrews 12:22-24.

RECTOR’S REPORT

Dear brothers and sisters,

May I begin this report with a thank you to all members of the St Mary’s church family – not only for me and Clare and our family, but – more importantly – for your faithful prayers and worship of God, and the work that you do to support the vulnerable in our own society and across the world through financial support and Eme spent supporEng a wide variety of chariEes and aid agencies.

In February 2023 we sought to survey the various strengths and weaknesses of our parish and church life using the Healthy Churches IniEaEve. We have been helped in this process by the Bishop of Oswestry’s Healthy Churches Mentor, Fr Gary Ecclestone to whom we are grateful. This process is designed to measure our relaEve strengths against eight measures which are characterisEcs of growing faith communiEes – empowering leadership, giM-based ministry, passionate spirituality, funcEonal structures, inspiring worship, holisEc small groups, need-oriented outreach, and loving relaEonships. Results of the survey suggested that the St Mary’s congregaEon felt that the area where the church was most successful was in the area of inspiring worship, with the next strongest measure being that of using people’s

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individual giM-based ministry. Areas that we might look to improve include some of the subcategories in the outreach, structures and leadership areas. Fr Gary encouraged us to celebrate our strengths, and we duly held a special service on the Feast of Christ the King in November 2023 when many of the different groups that make up our church and community life came together in worship, and presented a series of decorated jigsaw pieces which fiPed together to symbolise how all these different groups together make up the life of the church. Many thanks to those who organised and took part in this special event.

Following the survey in the Summer, a Working Group of the PCC was established to consider Mission and Evangelism to seek to make recommendaEons in these areas; we have sought to be improve our external adverEsing (e.g. a series of banners adverEsing events and services), availability of teaching leaflets and prayer cards for visitors; [anything else?]………

The other parEcular highlight of the year – more details contained elsewhere in this Annual Report – was the work to restore our beauEful Father Willis pipe organ. We said a farewell to the instrument at Easter 2023 when most of its components were transported to Harrison & Harrison’s workshop in Durham for a long-overdue major maintenance. AMer several months of work, the pipework and other components were restored to the church in the Autumn and revoicing took place in January 2024. Further ‘snagging’ work is sEll to take place before the organ is fully operaEonal, most likely at Easter 2024. We look forward to the formal opening recital, to be given on 7 June by Peter King, the former Director of Music of Bath Abbey who has been so supporEve of this restoraEon project from the fundraising stage to its compleEon. Thanks must also be extended to Neil Cocking who generously lent us his electronic instrument for use in the church over these past months.

Other events celebrated during the course of the year at St Mary’s included special services to mark the King’s coronaEon in May 2023. We also commemorated Fr Richard Hunt’s 50[th] anniversary of priesEng, and in September I celebrated the tenth anniversary of being the parish priest of Bathwick – it remains a great privilege to minister in our two benefice churches of St Mary the Virgin and St John the BapEst, giving a disEncEve Anglo-Catholic flavour of worship and theological understanding within the surrounding Deanery and Diocese. Elsewhere in this report, you will find details of the various acEviEes that have taken place during the past year in the life of St Mary’s church included in this Annual Report and Accounts, a range of acEviEes that characterizes all that we do in this place to worship God, to serve him in this community, and to provide a place for community groups and individuals to meet in safety.

Thanks are due from me personally to our Churchwardens Jan Howard and Clare Goodhart, to our PCC members, our assistant clergy and Readers, to our Parish Administrator Kerry Hughes, and to all those who have maintained the life of our church as well as supporEng me personally over these past months. Thanks too to Nick Lennard and those who have supported him for their conEnued careful stewardship of our financial resources.

As I end this short report, may I commend to your prayers all those from our congregaEon who

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died in 2023 or for whom funeral or memorial services took place in St Mary’s church (or held elsewhere but conducted by a minister from St Mary’s church) during the course of the year: Joan Wall, Queenie Maddox, Rosemary Beesley, Margaret Crow and Elizabeth Wilson. We conEnue to pray for those who mourn their passing. May they rest in peace and rise in glory. May God conEnue to bless this place and all that we seek to do in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Revd Peter Edwards Rector of Bathwick

HON SECRETARY’S REPORT YEAR 2023-24

The aim of the following report is to provide certain informaEon as well as noEng significant PCC decisions not otherwise covered in the separate CommiPee and other Church Group reports. The Secretary apologies for any overlaps or omissions that may have occurred. The Standing CommiPee comprises the Chairman, the two Churchwardens, Vice Chairman, the Hon. Secretary and the Treasurer.

There were 136 members on the Electoral Roll as reported at the Annual Parochial Church MeeEng on 16[th] April 2023. In addiEon, we have a number of regular aPendees who are not on the Roll.

At the Eme of wriEng, this report 6 PCC meeEngs had been held, with two further meeEngs scheduled before the APCM. The first on 21[st] February 2024 being to discuss general business, including proposals from the Mission and Evangelism Working Group, and to approve the accounts for the year ending 31[st] December 2023, and the second on 20[th] March 2024 at which Annual Reports will be presented prior to the Annual Parochial Church MeeEng on 21[st] April 2024.

The First PCC MeeEng 16[th] April 2023 followed immediately aMer the Annual Parochial Church MeeEng. Fr Peter welcomed Caroline Redfern to her first meeEng of the PCC.

The following Ofcers were elected: Hon. Treasurer Nick Lennard, Hon. Secretary Marilyn Kirby, Vice Chairman Steven Howard, and Electoral Roll Officer Andy Parker. The MeeEng then elected the Standing CommiPee: Fr Peter Edwards, the Vice Chairman of the PCC (Stephen Howard), the Churchwardens (Clare Goodhart and Jan Howard), the Secretary (Marilyn Kirby), the Treasurer (Nick Lennard) and the Safeguarding Officer Nicky Parker. There were no co-opEons to the PCC. The Parish Return was submiPed to the Diocese following this meeEng.

The Second PCC MeeEng 2[nd] May 2023 The convenors and members of the CommiPees and Working Groups of the PCC were appointed. MaPers relaEng to use of the car park were also discussed.

The Third MeeEng 14[th] June 2023 Fr Gary Ecclestone was invited to aPend the meeEng, at which the main item considered was the results from the Healthy Churches IniEaEve Survey carried out in February 2023. The meeEng agreed to consider at a future meeEng Fr Gary’s suggesEon to plan an event to celebrate one of our key strengths. The meeEng also agreed to Helen Moss’s suggesEon that Green Journey carry out an energy advice survey. The Fourth MeeEng 9[th] August 2023 Fr Gary Ecclestone also aPended this special meeEng which focussed on the planning of a special service on 26[th] November 2023 to give thanks for

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the life and ministry of the Church. A report from the Car Park Working Group was also considered and the meeEng agreed to trial an online booking system using the Your Parking Space plaYorm.

The FiMh MeeEng 6[th] September 2023 As requested by the Area Dean (Revd. Stephen Girling), the meeEng discussed the Deanery “Proposals for Pastoral OrganisaEon” which calls for a reducEon in full Eme incumbents from 22to 19. Following discussion, the meeEng asked Marilyn Kirby to inform Revd. Stephen Girling that they noted the proposals and were concerned with the impact of the overall strategy to reduced sEpendiary clergy numbers. The meeEng considered two reports from the Fabric CommiPee. Nick Lennard presented the Half-Year Accounts. Discussion of the carpark again featured at this meeEng. The Sixth MeeEng 1[st] November 2023. This was held at Bathwick St Mary’s school and began with a welcome from the Headmaster Kevin Purkiss, in which he spoke about the highlights and also the challenges they faced due to pupils coming from very diverse backgrounds, for example 21 languages are spoken as many of the children have parents working or studying at the University (for further details see Kevin Purkiss’s report). Nick Lennard tabled the Finance CommiPee’s proposed Budget for 2024 which was accepted by the meeEng. The Seventh MeeEng 21[st] February 2024 was sEll due to take place at the Eme of wriEng this report. It is scheduled as a normal business meeEng of the council with the addiEon of approving the accounts for the year ending 31[st] December 2022.

The Eighth MeeEng 20[d] March 2024 is scheduled to be the final meeEng before the APCM and is when the Annual Reports will be presented in preparaEon for the Annual MeeEng.

Marilyn Kirby, Hon PCC Secretary

CHURCHWARDENS’ REPORT ON FABRIC, GOODS AND ORNAMENTS

The high point of the year has, of course, been the repair and re-installaEon of our Father Willis organ. This has been a huge project and we are very excited to have achieved compleEon. The organ pipes have been regilded and the organ stool replaced, so we look forward to celebraEng.

Our sound system has also been repaired and the loop system is now working. Further work was undertaken on the roof as the annual clearing of guPers and drains revealed some water ingress and damage. This has been addressed.

The Church inventory has been updated and the terrier remains unchanged. Maintenance work has conEnued and will include a kitchen upgrade in the coming months. Marcus Wedge, to whom we owe an enormous debt of graEtude, has gradually been withdrawing from fabric responsibiliEes. Fabric CommiPee has met regularly to review and manage projects. We would also like to acknowledge the work of others in caring for our Church: Jenny Jones and Dawn Lennard for their gardening work; Molly Wedge, Sarah Davies and Helen Lees for their dedicated sacristy work; the Friday cleaning team and Marion Stoneham for her help with flowers.

Jan Howard and Clare Goodhart, Churchwardens

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HEALTH AND SAFETY

Health and Safety issues relaEng to the Church and Hall have been monitored during the year.

Marcus Wedge

READERS

As always Marilyn Kirby, Marcus Wedge and I conEnue to offer our support to Fr Peter in the execuEon of his role as Rector, in our various pracEcal and advisory capaciEes both “as Readers” and in a variety of other ways. We are very conscious that these are privileged ministries and if you have anything on your mind or thoughts that you would like to share, please do let us know.

Stephen Howard

LESSON READERS AND INTERCESSORS

We would like to record our thanks to all those who support our services by reading a lesson or leading our prayers. Beryl Llewellyn has paused her involvement as a lesson reader but John Price, Gerald and Margaret Hull have joined the rota. There are currently 28 on this rota for 2024-25:

Maggie and Trevor Blackshaw, Julia Brownbridge, Sarah and Robin Davies, Clare Edwards, Jan and Stephen Howard, Naomi Heffer, Gerald and Margaret Hull, Fr Richard and Jo Hunt, Jenny Jones, Marilyn Kirby, Nick Lennard, Helen and John Lees, Carla Maddocks, Ross Manaton, Helen and Keith Moss, Nicky and Andy Parker, John Porteous, John Price, Caroline Redfern and Marcus Wedge.

If you would like to read a lesson or lead the intercessions, please let the Churchwardens know.

Jan Howard and Clare Goodhart

SERVERS

I am very proud to celebrate the work done by our skilful team of servers who conEnue to dedicate themselves to these important ministries which enhance so much our worship at St Mary’s, and the commitment required to carry them out at the appointed Eme. But servers do have private lives as well, and I always make it clear that if anything “comes up” it s always possible to arrange for cover from another member of the team. I say this because if there are others in the congregaEon who are at all interested in joining the team, but are worried about being on a rota, please do let me know. Training is offered and I the case of an acolyte, partnership with an experienced acolyte. So all you have to do in the first instance is follow them!

My thanks to Richard Andrews, who is taking a break for a while on account of other commitments pressing on his Eme, but am very pleased to welcome to our ranks a new recruit Ashton Price whom we look forward to seeing in acEon shortly.

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SIDESPEOPLE

Stephen Howard

The group of Sidespeople remains a commiPed group of parishioners. Beryl Llewellyn has stepped down; we are very grateful for her past support.

There are 13 Sidespeople on the rota for 2024-25 but we really need a few more: Julia Brownbridge, Paul Chilvers, Robin and Sarah Davies, Roy Hatch, Helen Lees, Nick and Dawn Lennard, Carla Maddocks, Keith and Helen Moss, Nicky Parker, and Marion Stoneham The role involves welcoming people to Church, assisEng with seaEng and any specific needs, and taking round the collecEon pouches. If you would like to become a Sidesperson and are on the Electoral Roll, please talk to me.

Clare Goodhart

SACRISTY

The Sacristy Team have worked hard for another year preparing for all our services. This includes many duEes, i.e. cleaning/washing silver, laying vestments, changing all the liturgical colours as we move into the various seasons. Keeping on top of all the laundry. Also making sure on Sunday morning that everything is ready before Fr. Peter arrives from St. Johns. Then on course clearing up aMerwards!!!

.

Enormous thanks to Helen and Sarah for such wonderful support! Also, behind the scenes thank you to Jan for cleaning the Lady Chapel and for all her brass cleaning, to Marion and Jane who keep the chancel dusted. Many thanks to Neville who makes sure all the candles stay alight each week and for all his wonderful handiwork – if something needs repair it is Neville who is at hand!! A special thank you to Nicky and Andy who are amazing at erecEng the crib at Christmas and the Easter Garden and of course taking it all down !! It is a joy to behold!!! Also, may I say thank you to Helen and Keith who make sure all the recycling is put out each week.!! All this is done in love an service to our Lord - a great privilege by all of us.

Molly Wedge

BELLRINGERS

The big event in the calendar in 2023 was, of course, the coronaEon of their majesEes King Charles III and Queen Camilla. Twelve of the band rang on May 6[th] , including our youngest ringer, 8 year old Ivy, and both her parents. In years to come this will be a big part of her bellringing journey, and something she will be very proud to have done.

We’ve conEnued to ring for Sunday services and other special services, including half-muffled ringing on Remembrance Day. Several visiEng bands from around the country have enjoyed ringing at St Mary’s throughout the year, including a band of Bath University students, plus tours from Yeovil and Essex.

AMer almost 20 years our bellropes finally had to be replaced, and we’re delighted to have a brand new set of ten ropes. The top part of these is made from Dyneema, a very strong, light material that is used for climbing and sailing ropes. The same material is also used for bullet proof vests! The new ropes are quiet and smooth to ring, and will last for years.

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The year ended with the highlight of the St Mary’s community jigsaw. We loved creaEng our jigsaw piece and presenEng it at the morning service. We discovered creaEve talents among our ringers that we didn’t know they had, and the finished arEcle perfectly summed up bellringing and the Bathwick ringing team – colourful, entertaining, and a liPle bit different!

If you would like to have a go at ringing, please get in touch – we always welcome new ringrs of all ages.

Molly Waterson Tower Secretary

FLOWERS

We are experiencing a very difficult situaEon - despite making pleas for help no one comes forward! Since last year Julie Brown has tried to help, but due to health problems is unable to conEnue at the moment. We are indebted to Marion who is in most Fridays to keep the silk flowers looking good and excellent at arranging fresh flowers for the major fesEvals, but as we go to press Marion as informed the churchwardens that as from the end of August she will be reEring - words cannot express how grateful we are to her since Carol reEred she and I have done our best to keep flowers in church!! Also, thank you to Felicity and Carol who have helped at Easter and Christmas.

Thank you to everyone who kindly donates cash for fresh flowers when requested. Much appreciated. Serious thought needs to see how to move forward - I cannot bear to think of no flowers in church!!!!! Please pray about this and come forward with ideas how to proceed.

Molly Wedge

GARDEN

There is liPle to report this Eme around as the garden conEnues to flourish whatever the weather. Last summer was basically warm but wet with weeds having a field day – we know they are really plants growing where they are not wanted but, unfortunately, they have the happy knack of crowding out what is intended. However, despite the rain, Dawn and Jenny won in the end.

We are very fortunate to have Stu to do the heavy work which is immensely helpful as neither of us are exactly in the first flush of youth. SomeEmes, even though the spirit is willing. the flesh, (though not weak) does complain a liPle if too much is undertaken in any one aMernoon.

AMer a wet summer and very wet winter, we are hoping the coming season will be gardening friendly as so many people enjoy the tranquillity and peace found in St Mary’s Garden.

Dawn Lennard and Jenny Jones

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MUSIC

Twenty four hours aMer the last APCM, the team from Harrison & Harrison (Organ Builders) arrived from Durham to begin the two-week process of dismantling the organ for its longawaited restoraEon, thus beginning a momentous period in the history of St Mary’s. In August, four of us, including Fr Peter, visited the company’s premises to see work in progress on various parts of the instrument. As I write, the organ is now fully re-installed and back in use for a two-month ‘sePling in’ period, which will take us to Easter Day when the rededicaEon will take place. Periodically throughout the work, Tony Cooper (a neighbour of Fr Peter) has been photographing the project with the view of producing a book for posterity - ie church records! I am keen to record our very grateful thanks to Fr Neil Cocking for the free loan of his Viscount electronic instrument for the period of the restoraEon, thus saving us a substanEal amount of money over the ten-month period of the work.

We enjoyed a varied and successful monthly series of LunchEme Concerts from May to October with the reEring collecEons adding a pleasing £1,006 to our Student Choral Bursary Fund. As reported before, this scheme is proving to be a great success and we are grateful for the contribuEon that each of our students makes to the choir. Funding the scheme is always in the forefront of our minds and we conEnue to seek new ideas for maintaining a comfortable level in the account. We have seven students in total at the moment although two are currently on work placements as part of their course. Since the last APCM, we have welcomed Helena Taylor (soprano), Anna Lark (alto) and Ben Watson (bass) as student members and Mark Harrison as an occasional bass.

In October we again had the privilege of singing Choral Evensong in Wells Cathedral, this Eme on Tuesday, 31[st] for the Eve of All Saints and it is a great credit to the choir that we are now established on the Cathedral’s list of potenEal visiEng choirs.

The calendar year ended with the tradiEonal services of Advent Carols and Readings at St John’s and Nine Lessons and Carols at St Mary’s. There is always a wealth of wonderful music to choose from for these occasions and we try to look for the new whilst, of course, making sure that the favourites are not overlooked.

The pleasing comments we received aMer each service in 2023 seemed to indicate that we had achieved our aim!

St Mary’s conEnues to be a popular concert venue in the city, with many outside groups wanEng to hold their events in the building, not least the annual Bachfest and MozarYest programmes. We also conEnue to enjoy our associaEon with the University of Bath Chamber Choir and their conductor, Dr Michael PainEng.

Long may all this music making in St Mary’s conEnue and there is much to look forward to in 2024. My huge thanks as always to Fr Peter for his conEnued support throughout each year and to our wonderful choir, without whom liPle of all this would be possible.

Gary Desmond

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HALL AND CHURCH HIRE

We conEnue to maintain our regular bookings with U3A art group, WI, Pilates, Camerata, HBRG and Vocal Works Gospel Choir. We now have a Yoga class who use the hall on a Tuesday morning by arrangement, usually they run a block of weekly sessions during the term Eme. We have recently started to hire the kitchen to a lady for a cookery class by arrangement usually on a Saturday, someEmes in the morning or possibly aMernoon or all day or she may be interested in a Sunday aMernoon in the future. We have had a couple enquiries for new regular hall hire but this conEnues to be difficult due to some groups meeEng once a month such as the 2[nd] Monday in the month and 1[st] Wednesday of the month etc. Also, with some of our regular groups only meeEng during certain Emes of the year such as the art group. In 2023 the art group ran a summer term as well as their usual autumn and spring term so hopefully they will run a summer term in 2024.

The hall conEnues to be under-used during the day in the week on Monday aMernoons, Tuesday aMernoons, all day Thursday and Friday aMernoons. The Yoga class use the day-Eme discounted rate for regular bookings for having the booking on a Tuesday morning, but this hasn’t encouraged any other new groups. Pilates are the only other group which have the discounted rate for having the booking on a Wednesday lunchEme.

The hall conEnues to be used for occasional bookings and has been popular with the residents’ groups such as meeEngs, AGMs, socials etc. Hall bookings for children’s birthday parEes are parEcularly popular during the weekend. A lot of the bookings are from our toddler group who have the discounted rate, children at Bathwick St Mary School and people who have been to a child’s party at St Mary’s hall before.

Unfortunately, ABRSM were unable to hold their music exam days with us aMer spring 2023 due to the organ works being carried out. The exams are usually held across four days, twice a year. Also, ABRSM had a few complaints from parents due to their child being upset about the piano. ABRSM found another venue in Bath and they say their piano is bePer but they prefer St Mary’s for being on one level, locaEon, parking etc. ABRSM have booked their spring exams at the other venue, and I said I would keep them updated if our piano changes. Hopefully they may come back in the future.

During 2023 we had various choir workshops and concerts by Bath Bach Choir, Bath Bachfest, Bath FesEvals, The Handful, Lucis and Cappella Nova. In March Mid-Somerset FesEvals held their choral day with us and in December we had carol services for King Edward’s junior school and Bathwick St Mary School.

The diary for 2024 is ge`ng booked up with various bookings for concerts, workshops, rehearsals, children’s birthday parEes, residents’ associaEon meeEngs and regular bookings. Again, we even have a couple of bookings already for 2025!!!

Kerry Hughes—Parish Administrator

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RESTORATION ACTION GROUP

During the year RAG ran a range of fundraising acEviEes including the very successful Summer Fete on 10[th] June. Two new events were a Music and Dance Evening in early September and a Coffee Morning Plus in early November, which included craM and cake stalls. The illustrated travel lectures conEnue to be popular and during the year included Northeast Scotland focusing on Aberdeen and the Cairngorms, while further afield we went “Down Under” to explore the State of Victoria.

Travel Lectures restart at the end of February and the Summer Fete will be held on 1[st] June this year.

Marilyn Kirby

ALMSGIVING

During 2023 we conEnued our pracEce of giving away our weekly collecEons in the blue envelopes to local and naEonal chariEes, and we are grateful that members of the congregaEon conEnue to support a wide range of chariEes in this way. In total we supported 30 chariEes with 5 internaEonal ones including Goa Anglican Centre and our Zambian Link Parishes, 14 naEonal ones and 11 local chariEes. As in 2022 the PCC made the decision to focus more on some of our local chariEes and therefore a number benefiPed with three collecEons during the year. This has resulted in those chariEes ge`ng on average, £250-300 for the year, as opposed to others having a single collecEon which is oMen less that £100. We also had four collecEons for emergency aid and three for the pastoral fund which the Rector uses to help individuals, in complete confidence, who need financial support in some way. There was a special collecEon for the earthquake in Pakistan which came to £2,384.

The PCC has been asked to advise on three internaEonal chariEes which were supported in 2023 but there are potenEal difficulEes in sending the money directly to them due to the countries where they are based. The PCC has also been asked to decide about the just under £600 profit from Sunday and Wednesday coffees, and almost £900 had been accumulated over the last three years, from GiM Aid Tax on charitable donaEons. Formerly this money was sent to our local Church of England Schools, but the rules have changed, and this can no longer be done. The Annual MeeEng will be updated about these three issues. Robin and Sarah Davies

SOCIAL

Every Sunday morning is a social event at St Mary’s as we meet aMer the service for coffee (or tea) and fellowship. This has to be one of the most important Emes to welcome visitors and newcomers to our church family and I would encourage everyone to ensure that no one is leM without someone to talk to.

During the year we have had Bring & Share lunches, for our DedicaEon FesEval in February, to celebrate the King’s CoronaEon in May and for our Patronal FesEval in September. These lunches are always very successful thanks to everyone coming together and helping out. For our special Thanksgiving service, on the Feast of Christ the King, we celebrated with champagne and canapés as we thought there might be too many people for a lunch – another very happy occasion.

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In October the benefice harvest supper was held at St John’s and once again proved to be a lovely evening. Thank you to everyone from St Mary’s who provided the apple crumbles for pudding. On the morning of our Harvest FesEval service we tried to enEce students in by supplying doughnuts with coffee aMer the service. A few students arrived but most of the doughnuts were enjoyed by our regular congregaEon. Perhaps we should do this more oMen. The summer fete in June and the coffee morning in November were organised primarily as fund raising events but the social side of these occasions are just as important. Would we like to have more regular coffee mornings? Let me know.

As always the year ended with mulled wine and mince pies aMer the Nine Lessons and Carols Service. A fine way to start our Christmas celebraEons.

Many thanks to the members of the Social CommiPee and to everyone else who lends a hand. We are always in need of new people on the commiPee so please don’t wait to be asked.

Nicola Parker

WALSINGHAM

Every year in July, the two churches of Bathwick have made pilgrimage to Norfolk, to stay at the beauEful Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham. Ralph and I had been going with our previous churches for 20 plus years and so it was wonderful to be able to come to Bathwick and find a Cell of OLW. The Shrine is a wonderful place of peace and tranquility where one can be assured of renewal in mind, body and spirit. The rooms are comfortable, meals are good and plenEful, and the gardens are lovely to wander through or sit in. There is an excellent café (the Norton Room).

The Bathwick pilgrimage is usually from Sunday (aMer Mass at St John’s) unEl Thursday morning. We go half board. We hire a coach, whose driver stays at the Shrine. He is available to take us out for aMernoon trips of our choice. We also visit the Catholic Shrine just a mile away.

Our days are as busy as one chooses. There are Shrine services consisEng of a Mass, Liturgy of ReconciliaEon & AnoinEng, Procession & BenedicEon, Shrine Prayers and Evening Prayer; and our own group services as well. There are plenty of opportuniEes for quiet solitude and nothing is obligatory. Walsingham village itself is interesEng to wander around, with a thriving Anglican church of its own.

This year, we have booked to go Sunday 28July to Thursday 1[st] August. We would love to welcome not only seasoned pilgrims but also those who have yet to sample the joys of Walsingham. We promise any newcomers that they will be well looked aMer both by our own group and by all at the Shrine. If you would like to check out the website, please go to www.walsinghamanglicanshrine.org.uk If you are interested in joining us this year, please contact Chris Plummer at St John’s or telephone 01249 712894 or e-mail chrisEne.a.plummer@gmail.com

Chris Plummer

Page 13

ZAMBIA LINK

The St Mary Zambia link seems to have gone into hibernaEon. This is for 2 reasons firstly there is an ongoing issue with the diocesan office over money that was given for Zambia some Eme ago now. Nick has tried to trace it and is sEll in contact with the diocesan office over the problem. This issue will be raised with the PCC in the near future as St Mary's is si`ng on money that should be used for the Zambia link. Secondly, a viable link needs a group of people to oversee it. That has not been forthcoming despite requests. In the meanEme, the church in Buchi is thriving under the leadership of Father Freddie. If you remember Fr Alfred, who visited the UK and St Mary's a few years ago is now in another parish. It would be really good and beneficial to both churches if this link could be re-energised. It would enable St Mary's to feel part of the Anglican Communion in a mutual exchange of ideas and support.

Please contact me, Jo Hunt, if you could be part of a small group.

Joanna Hunt

BATHWICK BABY & TODDLER GROUP

It’s been another bumper year of fun and acEvity at our Baby & Toddler Group. In February we held a cake and bake sale to raise money for the Turkey and Syria earthquake appeal. At Easter the tots loved doing a chick ‘treasure’ hunt inside the church and in the garden. In November we held a pre-loved toy and book sale and raised a whopping £148 for Children in Need. Blink and you might have missed it it but there was footage of us on BBC Points West that evening, so impressed were they with our babies and tots’ efforts. We enjoyed a sunny and very windy summer party in the garden, with hot dogs, ice-cream and cocktails. We loved seeing lots of extended families coming along to join in the fun. The raffle was a big hit thanks to all the local businesses who generously donated prizes. And a big shout out to Green Street butchers who gave us loads of delicious sausages! Most of all, we’re so proud that for another year running we have been able to open our doors twice a week – Wednesday and Friday mornings– even through half terms and the summer holidays.

It’s only possible thanks to mums, dads and grandparents volunteering each week to set up and Edy away aMer playEme. And we are so grateful to Nicky Parker, Jo Hunt and Jane Tukmachi, our regular angels, who come week-in week-out to make tea and coffee and snacks for all.

We ended the year with a wonderful telling of the naEvity story in church and a visit from Father Christmas. Our sold-out Christmas party on 22 December was the hoPest toddler Ecket in town!

We’re always looking for more people who would like to volunteer their Eme to help out so don’t be shy to get in touch.

Siobhan Lambertsen

JUNIOR CHURCH

This past year there have been very few young people in church and consequently there have been very few actual Junior church sessions. However, I always have something prepared just in case.

Nicola Parker

Page 14

BATHWICK ST MARY’S PRIMARY SCHOOL

Dear Friends,

I hope and pray this report finds you all well and having had a blessed Christmas and 2023. Over the course of 2023, our children conEnued to thrive as part of our Church school, where the six core ChrisEan Values of Love, Joyfulness, Respect, Forgiveness, Perseverance, Fairness permeate every aspect of all we do. We are looking forward to EducaEon Sunday on Sunday 4th February where we will joyfully celebrate the close relaEonship between school and church as children share a liPle of their learning over the last few months.

Last year there was much to celebrate. High academic standards are a key part of a brilliant primary educaEon and the conEnued strong performance of our school was noted by the Chair of Bath and Wells MulE Academy Trust, who wrote in July, ‘The outcomes aPained by your children reflect your unwavering commitment to excellence and your relentless pursuit of high standards.’ and furthermore, ‘It is clear that your school maintains high expectaEons for all learners, fostering an environment that encourages academic growth and personal development. We are delighted to witness the conEnued progress and success of your school, as it goes from strength to strength. This accomplishment is the result of your visionary leadership, the hard work of your staff, and the strong support of your governing commiPee. In January 2023, it was a joy to see children enjoying a fantasEc new Play Garden which was officially opened by our School Council. We are grateful for the generosity and support of BECT and the Holburne Park team who have redeveloped the area, with only a relaEvely small cost coming from school funds given the scale of the works. The new surfacing, equipment and overhaul of the area has made such a difference to the play experiences for all of our children. We have worked hard on further developing our rich curriculum, with many extra curricular and carefully planned trips and visits embedded, designed to enhance the children’s learning. Just a few examples of this are regular sporEng events, such as the Year 4, 5 and 6 Cross Country; a Roman Day in Year 4; RecepEon Trips to Sydney Gardens to bePer understand the seasons; ‘evacuaEng’ Year 6 as part of learning about the second World War and some wonderful creaEve arts performances across the school.

We said farewell to some of our staff team as they moved onto new challenges and also welcomed and are benefi`ng from the experEse of Mrs Ally EllioP as Deputy Headteacher and Miss Vicky Bowman as Assistant Headteacher. Our Parent Teacher AssociaEon (PTA) raised over £20,000 last year which we used predominantly to further develop and enhance our outdoor spaces and environment. We ran a ‘Grow a Pound’ project where every child was given a £1 coin and challenged to ‘grow’ it over six weeks by invesEng it in an acEvity that will make money for our school. The children managed to raise around £6,000 with creaEve acEviEes such as liPer picking, craM and cake sales, sponsored cycle rides and car washing! There are many opportuniEes for us to conEnue working closely together. Please do come to our Easter Service on 8th March at 1.30 p.m. and the Leavers’ Service on Thursday 18th July also at 1.30 p.m. I would like to thank our staff team who work so hard to provide a brilliant educaEon for all our children. Thank you also to Fr. Peter for his prayers and support; we look forward to conEnuing to build on our close partnership with him and indeed all at St. Mary’s and St. John’s throughout this year.

Kevin Purkiss, Headteacher

Page 15

SAFEGUARDING

Once again, I am happy to report that the PCC have complied with its duty to have due regard to the House of Bishops' Safeguarding Policy and PracEce Guidance.

Safeguarding of both children and vulnerable adults has become more and more important in all walks of life and within our church family we should see it not just as a legal requirement but as part of our ongoing pastoral care - looking out for each other. All PCC members are now required to take both the Basic Safeguarding Awareness and FoundaEon Training and I would also commend the course on recognising DomesEc Abuse. All these can be accessed online by going to:

hPps://safeguardingtraining.cofeportal.org

The Diocese would also like to encourage everyone in the congregaEon to complete the Basic Awareness course as it helps to highlight and recognise vulnerabiliEes that we may not have thought of before. Anyone can access this course from the link above, but I am hoping to offer a face-to-face course in the future to which all will be welcome.

As Safeguarding officer, I would like to remind you that our parish safeguarding policy is always available for you to read and if anyone ever has any concerns involving our young and/or vulnerable people please talk to me as soon as possible.

Nicola Parker

MOTHERS’ UNION

The Mothers’ Union is a global ChrisEan Movement, working with people of all faiths and none to develop communiEes, strengthen families and advocate for change. We are acEve in 83 countries and work Erelessly to serve communiEes and build a future where everyone thrives: ending violence, ending poverty, ending injusEce. This is all underpinned with prayer.

Shelia Sims

WORLD DAY OF PRAYER

This was wriPen by the ChrisEan Women of Taiwan and enEtled, “ I have heard about your faith”. In Bath services were held in various churches on 3[rd] March.

Shelia Sims

Page 16

DEANERY SYNOD REPORT

Your acEve Deanery Reps are Nicky Parker, John Porteous (who aPends by virtue of his place on Diocesan Synod) Fr Peter (who aPends in his own right), and myself. This brief summary does not aPempt to encompass everything that has happened in a year’s worth of Synods but just highlights the main current issues.

There is currently in circulaEon a Deanery Plan on Church Leadership which compliments the Five Year Plan which I reported on last year.

Bath Deanery has 43 parish-based and Deanery-based Anglican worshipping communiEes and chaplaincies. 32 are parishes, currently under the oversight of 21 full-Eme sEpendiary clergy, 5 self-supporEng clergy (including house for duty) and 18 Readers. There are ancillary projects including Pioneers in Magnificat Parishes. The Five Year Plan for the Deanery is to reduce sEpendiary clergy to 17 by 2027. This excludes chaplaincies. Under the Leadership Plan there is to be a Lay Ministry Pathway in order to develop and release the giMs of all people as (for example) Lay Worship Assistants (LWA) and Lay Pastoral Assistants (LPA). Further informaEon on the plan is available to anyone who is interested.

The Deanery prioriEes are: firstly “partnership working” between Leadership Teams, which term includes licensed ministers (Clergy and Readers) and also locally authorised persons such as LWAs and LPAs and a variety of other lay workers and administrators (including churchwardens). Secondly, “church growth” – in a mixed ecology of parishes and other areas of common interest whether of acEvity (e.g. sport) or space (e.g. a café).

Where benefices are not in partnership they are enthusiasEcally encouraged to idenEfy exisEng or new partnerships to join. IniEally this will be informal but are likely to be formalized in due course – perhaps most likely following a Vacancy. The seemingly powerful DMPG (Deanery Ministry and Pastoral Group), which is led by the

Area Dean Stephen Girling, who has “incumbent rank” (effecEvely number two) at the Abbey, charged with implementaEon and who will make recommendaEons to the Bishop. Deployment Criteria: each partnership of benefices will have one or more ordained licensed ministers (an important St Mary’s amendment at the consultaEon stage for the Five Year Plan), either paid or unpaid.

It is stated that the parish church remains a primary focus for mission although there is embedded enthusiasm at all levels, for lay workers with specialist skills, and also pioneering.

Going forward, in the event of a parish vacancy the Partnership will submit proposals to the DMPG, who will then make recommendaEons to the Bishop. No posts are to be adverEsed in the meanEme.

On the subject of diocesan costs: the cost of a sEpendiary clergyperson is esEmated to be in the region of £53,000. AMer pressure from PCCs the Diocese is to supply more informaEon on what else the Parish Share is funding, principally in central administraEon. There are proposed to be changes in the way the Parish Share is calculated, and our treasurer Nick Lennard has engaged with the consultaEons on that. Further papers are to be presented, further consultaEons with Treasurers and others (July?) and alternaEve methodologies for calculaEng parish Share are being considered.

Page 17

The above plan review was approved by resoluEon of the synod.

There is an upcoming Eco-together course. Details awaited as at the date below. A Parish Giving Scheme having the intenEon of reducing administraEon for Treasurers in relaEon to GiM Aid, was presented and recommended by the Diocese.

Stephen Howard

Green Report

Energy CO2 Gas Electricity
Year Tonnes kWh kWh
2020/21 27.9 128,460 9,976
2021/22 33.2 109,649 10,896
2022/23 38.9 128,680 12,835

An organisaEon called Green Journey works in conjuncEon with the Church of England offering free energy audits for its churches. St Mary's had one in 2023. The aim of the Church of England is to be carbon neutral by 2030.

Could the Church consider installing solar panels on the Church Hall roof as this could make our electricity output neutral ?

Keith Moss

GENERAL DATA PRIVACY REGULATIONS MAY 2018

The PCC’s General Privacy NoEce and the Electoral Roll Privacy NoEce are both published on the church’s website and/or are available on request

Revd Peter Edwards

Page 18

TREASURER'S REPORT

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

The finance commiPee met to receive reports on the financial situaEon of the church, to agree the following year’s budget and to discuss and resolve any financial issues. Overview

The financial results for the year have been saEsfactory, Unrestricted Funds Deficit for the year was £987 (2022: Surplus£1,271) The value of Investments increased by £11,565 (2022: there was a fall of £14,991.

The Unrestricted Reserves are now £85,549 (2022: £74,971)

Church Maintenance of £25,991 exceeded the budget following refurbishment of the sound system and pruning the trees,.

No funds were used from the RestoraEon Fund and the reserves are now £52,063.

The Organ Fund benefiPed from £11,529 of interest arising on the investments of around £400,000.

Investments of £104,361 were sold at a profit of £2,393 to provide funds for the cost of the organ restoraEon.

The Organ Fund reserves are now £99,747 and will be used to finance the final stage payment of the restoraEon and the maintenance of the organ in the future.

Unrestricted funds comprise the general operaEng expenses of the church and the other funds are for monies received and expended for certain specific purposes.

Funds given for a parEcular purpose are known Restricted Funds and include Alms, RestoraEon Appeal, Emergency, Pastoral, Choir Bursary Fund and Zambia.

The Choristers Bursary Fund received large giMs and was parEally used for bursaries. The remaining funds £9,461 will support choristers in forthcoming years. The Music Endowment Fund contains money given specifically for music at the church. Endowment Fund.

Further donaEons from Laura and Rando Howard together with GiM Aid Tax and interest thereon amounted to £150,665.

These funds will be invested to produce income to support the church in future years. Assets

The Total Net Assets as at 31 December 2023 were £416,324 (2022: £586,596). Of these £85,549 (2022: £74,971) is for unrestricted use by the church for its general running costs. and £170,110 (2022: £511,625) is in restricted funds. The Endowment Funds were £160,665 (2022: £10,000) Unrestricted Funds

This fund records the income and expenditure of the church. The income from giving by the congregaEon (including GiM Aid tax) was £61,410 (2022: £55,700) which was an increase of £5,710 compared to the previous year.

Income from Hall Hire and Church Hire increased by £2,098

Income from the car park was £24,814 which was an increase of £1,796.

The church maintenance trust, (which is a separate fund which does not appear in our accounts) gave us £12,760,

Page 19

Expenditure was £128,436 (2022: £118,923) of which the largest component was our quota to the Diocese (which goes to meet the cost of the clergy) of £51,015 (2022: £50,015 and maintenance of the building of £25,991 (2022: £18,078).

The net result for the year was a deficit of £987 (2022: surplus £1,271). Investments are revalued each year, and this year showed a increase of £11,565 The Unrestricted Funds carried forward are £85,549 (2022: £74,971).

The Restricted Funds

These balances carried forward represent the money received for specific purposes and not yet spent.

Alms are collecEons received but not yet remiPed. RestoraEon Fund monies are the accumulaEon of fund-raising efforts less monies expended. Emergency Fund has collecEons which are accumulated and disbursed to specific appeals e.g. a natural disaster. The Pastoral Fund is at the disposal of the parish priest. CollecEons produced £170 Organ RestoraEon Fund had income of £11,906 and paid £430,827 in stage payments (one stage payment is outstanding) We received a Grant of £71,619 to recover the VAT element.

Page 20

The Unrestricted Funds Budget for 2024

Income: The Budget is £123,200. In 2023 Income totalled £127,863

Expenditure

The Diocesan Common Fund payment has been increased to £58,607 from £51,015 in 2023 We have allocated £10,000 for Church Maintenance.

The Unrestricted Reserves are £85,549

We have agreed that it is prudent to maintain reserves of around 6 months of budgeted expenditure which amounts to around £65,000.

The budgeted Deficit of £7,672 for 2024 will reduce the Unrestricted Reserves to £77,877

The church is fortunate to have significant reserves.

Nick Lennard Treasurer

Page 21

STIWIYTrE ¥IRfAN TOTPLFLWDS ai A10 .lY 117 12.7 12.932 2(¢1 542Y T2.912 11.529 s,￿1 .851 314 &784 7M78 pl 15Th5 15.1 129. 5T¥.374 215.391 I￿ ISDMS 1347X) 1184.2x1 s.￿1 13.958 I￿.323) 133V4 f444m￿Tr 117Q2T21 111&7281 74&71 IOAYJ 8SS19 70 1&)MS .747 41B324 The Notes on Pages 24 to30 IfAm part olthatsj￿nts Page 22

ST MARY THE VIRGIN BATHWICK PAFWHWL CHURCH COUNCIL BALANCE SHEEr ai 31 Demtw 2023 FLXED ASSErs Tangibl8 Fixthy Asss 3.Ot2 4.7 227.268 231.997 134.471 137.493 CURREMf ASSET8 24.486 &%h ai Bank in hornl 254.754 L￿lL￿Es." ArnwrfsfaliThJ tkn Ithin on&y8ar {8.712) NET CURRENT ASSETS 278.&11 354 599 NET ASSETS 416. 586 5% FUNDS uThr￿[￿ 74.971 E[¥￿e￿rt 1￿.665 10.000 (*gan Furhl 99.747 416.324 arKJ signedon its behalf ty.. Fr. Peter The Note5 PAges24 lo￿ form part aC(th￿ts Page 23

TOTALFthDS FL¥ 40.3Di 101.7S) 4.715 S359 6,137 86,337 5.171 lo￿ 57.761 146 215 llTrJ 14TrJ 1£ 12.TrJ 12,76D 12,9 Fétos. F￿￿Tr&C 1159 1618 IOM75 10016 10.075 7.351 12.775 134 C&T Pth 24M14 24,814 23,018 3x8 134 544 T2.912 tt912 l(knsi 3.¥15 SS15 11.S29 11 5 &801 1SJ Page 24

T[Fr￿FUNDs 471 477 310 &171 SI￿15 YJ.016 194 6241 991 18.076 191 740 740 2a54 497 2.61$ 2.478

tt7 194155 512 IS￿ 128 27 5T2374 215￿1 Page 25

ST kWtYTHEMRGIN ￿THw PAIKKHWLCHURCH C(XJIKL trKJTESTO THE FINA￿￿1•L STATEMwrs RXED ASSETS FOR itsEBYTHE rf¢ Freel￿0 L•vJ Equ¥Thnl Total 13.72S 13.735 82.8 At 1 JaThw2023 Clwlijrsea 78,1 1.707 79,807 1.707 10,713 3022 4.729 4.729 227 1104.3611 11,564 134.471 22726B 31 Dgwlw2 ANALY950F NEf ASSEfs BY FUIKI Ttstsi Fur FuTrJs Fund Fund Assèts 3,022 134.471 287.543 8.712 416224 74.471 16.768 20J&3 8.712 BS.$49 10.iK 150.ffi5 Curreni Assets Cutrerrt Fund BAknt• 9J.747 70J63 99.747 DEBTORS 15.85D 16.799 12.698 9.7L 140 .789 24,486 Page 26

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ST kiARYTHE VIRGAN BATFIWICK PAR(KHWCHURCH CaJNCIL P¥)TESTOTHE FINANCNL STATEIAENTS IIISSICWY AND(*1SIITIBLE GMIIQ 140 132 471 USPG 137 57 159 74 Bath City Pasth 274 91 104 Bath Women'$ Re Chrtstan DHI 497 143 249 87 6.764 Page 29

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Minutes of the Annual Vestry Meeting held in St Mary’s Church Hall on Sunday 16[th] April 2023, following the 10:30 Eucharist.

Fr Peter Edwards welcomed people to the Annual Vestry MeeEng Those present: Churchwardens: Clare Goodhart and Janet Howard, plus 27 people on the parish electoral roll.

Apologies for absence: Julia Brownbridge, Rosemary Cumming, Anthony Crossland, Barbara Crossland, Sheila Edwards, Nicola Mathiason, Gladys Powell, Marion Stoneham, and Dominic Taylor.

Minutes of the Vestry MeeEng 3[rd] April 2022. Copies were provided before the meeEng. Andrew Parker proposed, and Janet Howard seconded that they be accepted; agreed with one objecEon from Marcus Wedge, who cited “inaccuracies” as the reason, but was not specific about any points.

MaPers Arising from the Vestry MeeEng 3[rd] April 2022: None

ElecEon of Churchwardens

Before proceeding to the elecEon of churchwardens, Fr Peter Edwards thanked the churchwardens for all their support and hard work during the past year. The Secretary, Dr Marilyn Kirby, reported that there were 2 nominaEons for the posiEon of Churchwardens:

Margaret Clare Goodhart: proposed by Marilyn Joan Kirby and seconded by Robin Burton Davies

Janet Iris Howard: proposed by Marilyn Joan Kirby and seconded by Margaret Clare Goodhart There being no further nominaEons, the two people named above were duly elected to serve as Churchwardens in the Parish of St Mary the Virgin Bathwick for the ensuing year.

Deputy Churchwardens:

Fr Peter then expressed his thanks for the work that Dawn Lennard and Keith Moss carry out behind the scenes as “Tuesday Bankers”. Nicola Parker proposed, and Jenny Jones seconded that Keith Moss and Dawn Lennard conEnue as Deputy Churchwardens with the role of “Tuesday Bankers”. These appointments were agreed unanimously by the meeEng.

Any other business: None There being no further business the meeEng was closed at 12:05. Fr Peter Edwards Rector St Mary’s Bathwick

Page 32 Page 32

Minutes of the Annual Parochial Church Mee>ng

Sunday 16[th ] April 2023(following Annual Vestry Mee>ng) aBer the 10:30 Eucharist

The list of Apologies and the APendance was the same as for the Annual Vestry MeeEng. 1. To confrm the Minutes of the Annual Parochial Church MeeEng of the 3[rd] April 2022. Richard Andrews proposed, and Helen Moss seconded that the minutes be accepted as a correct record. This was agreed unanimously by the meeEng.

  1. MaPers arising from the Minutes. None

  2. To receive the New Electoral Roll. Andy Parker reported the total on the Electoral Roll was 136, a decrease of four from 3[rd] April 2022. Fr Peter thanked Andy Parker for his work as Electoral Roll Officer.

To receive the Annual Parish Reports. Copies of the report booklet were available before the meeEng. Fr Peter began by thanking the Standing CommiPee and the PCC for their support during the year. He then thanked Nick Lennard and Marilyn Kirby for their work, especially in producing the Annual Reports. He concluded by thanking all those in the congregaEon who had contributed in so many ways to the running of St Mary’s.

Fr Peter was then thanked, with acclamaEon, for his leadership and hard work.

To keep the meeting as brief as possible, rather than going through each report individually Fr Peter asked if any of the report writers wanted to add further informaEon or if anyone had any quesEons. Note a copy of the Annual Reports 2023 is filed with these Minutes and the page numbers following the reports referred to below relate to this Booklet.

Page 33

member of Diocesan Synod (and therefore ex-offico on both the Deanery Synod and PCC). Fr Peter then presented John with a couple of “special boPles” in appreciaEon for all that John had contributed to the life of St Mary’s over many years.

Marilyn Kirby announced there were 3 vacancies and 3 nominaEons had been received:

Thomas Charles Bunn, proposed by Marilyn Joan Kirby, seconded by Molly Marie Wedge Stephen William Charles Howard, proposed by Marilyn Joan Kirby, seconded by Sarah Ann Davies

Nicola Jane Parker, proposed by Marilyn Joan Kirby, seconded by Sarah Ann Davies

There being no further nomina>ons Fr Peter declared the above duly elected as members of Deanery Synod.

6.ElecEon of members of the Parochial Church Council. Marilyn Kirby announced there were 4 vacancies for three years and 4 nominaEons had been received prior to the meeEng.

Julia Rosemary Brownbridge, proposed by Margaret Clare Goodhart, seconded by Sarah Ann Davies

Nicholas Peter Lennard, proposed by Marilyn Joan Kirby, seconded by Sarah Ann Davies Carole Elizabeth Redfern, proposed by Julia Rosemary Brownbridge, seconded by Margaret Clare Goodhart

Carole Harriet Skepper SEckney, proposed by Helen Walker Lees, seconded by Nicholas Peter Lennard.

There being no further nomina>ons Fr Peter declared the above3 duly elected as members pf the PCC.

Page 34

  1. Appointment of an Independent Examiner for the Finances of the PCC. Nick Lennard proposed, and Richard Andrews seconded that Graham Barber be re-appointed as Independent Examiner for the Finances of the PCC; agreed unanimously. 8. AOB: Carla Maddocks reported that she it had been difficult to hear the sermon as there appeared to be a problem with the sound system. Clare Goodhart explained parts of the system were failing and some emergency work had been carried out a few weeks before. Nick Lennard reminded the meeEng that the system was installed 12 years ago, being the first project funded by RAG. The system now requires upgrading. Clare Goodhart told the meeEng she was obtaining a quote from the company that installed the system, but currently diagnosis of the problem was sEll ongoing. Marcus Wedge reminded her that we need to obtain two quotes and also the maPer should be referred to the Fabric CommiPee for consideraEon.

The mee>ng ended at 12:30 pm, with Fr Peter leading the saying of the Grace together.

Fr Peter Edwards Rector of St Mary’s Bathwick

Page 35

ST MARY’S, BATHWICK, ANNUAL VESTRY & PAROCHIAL MEETINGS ON SUNDAY 21st APRIL 2024

AGENDA FOR ANNUAL VESTRY MEETING,

  1. Apologies for Absence

  2. To confirm the Minutes of the Vestry Meeting of Sunday 16[th] April 2023

  3. Matters arising

  4. To elect two Churchwardens to serve for the ensuing year

  5. To appoint deputy Churchwarden(s) for the ensuing year

  6. Any other business

AGENDA FOR ANNUAL PAROCHIAL CHURCH MEETING, following the Vestry Meeting

  1. To confirm the minutes of the Meeting of Sunday 16[th] April 2023

  2. Matters arising

  3. To receive the Electoral Roll

  4. To receive the Parish Annual Reports (published in the booklet), secretary’s, churchwardens’ & treasurer’s reports need to be formally received

  5. To elect 4 members of the Parochial Church Council to serve for 3 years

  6. To appoint an Independent Examiner for the Finances of the PCC

  7. Matters arising there-from: “any person may ask questions about parochial matters, or bring about a discussion of such matters, by moving to give any recommendation to the PCC in relation to its duties” (Rules of Business for Annual Meetings)

AGENDA FOR THE PCC MEETING immediately following the Annual Parochial Church Meeting

  1. Apologies for absence

  2. To welcome newly elected members

  3. To elect a Vice Chairperson

  4. To effect co-options

  5. To appoint an Honorary Treasurer

  6. To appoint an Honorary Secretary

  7. To appoint members to the Standing Committee

  8. To appoint an Electoral Roll Officer

  9. Dates of 2024 meetings

  10. Any other business

Page 36