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2022-12-31-accounts

St. James’ Shere

THE PARISH OF SHERE

incorporating the villages of Gomshall, Peaslake and Shere

St. Mark’s Peaslake

Shere Parochial Church Council

Annual Report and

End of Year Financial Statements

Year ending 2022

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Annual Report – Table of Contents

Table of Contents

1. Ministry Report 3

2. Financial Report 4

3. Electoral Roll Report 6

4. Deanery Synod Report 6

5. Families and Children’s Work 6

6. St James’ and St Mark’s Flower Arrangers Report 8

7. Vestry Report 9

8. Cleaners Report 9

9. Choir Report 9

10. Report on the Fabric, Goods and Ornaments of the Churches. 10

11. Shere Bell Tower Annual Report 11

12. Mission Support Report 12

13. Safeguarding Report 13

14. The Parish Magazine report 14

15. Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2022 15

Notes 15

Shere PCC - Statement of Financial Activities 17

Shere PCC - Balance sheet 18

Shere PCC - Movement of Funds 19

Shere PCC - Analysis of income and expenditure 20

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1. Ministry Report

As I said last year, the ministry of our church really comprises everything we do, and so the other reports in this Annual Report each speak as much about the mission of our church as this one. Please do take the time to read as much as you can therefore - because each report (and other activities without their own heading like cleaning, supplying refreshments, etc.) reflect loving service for God’s Kingdom in our parish. The Ministry Team and the PCC are extremely grateful for all those whose work is reflected in these pages and perhaps even more so for those whose efforts go publicly unsung.

Emotionally 2022 was dominated by Her Majesty the Queen, with her platinum jubilee in February and her death in September. Along with our parish we celebrated the first and mourned the second. Our role was particularly important in September as we provided opportunities for public mourning and sought to put Her Majesty’s death in the context of our, and her, belief that death is not the end.

All this was in the context of us gradually shedding the last of our Covid restrictions and by the end of the year general service attendance at last returning close to pre-Covid numbers. That this was ahead of the average national trend is, I think, partly a reflection of how well we did in keeping in touch with people during the pandemic. The exception to this is perhaps regarding families and young people; here we are more in line with national figures and Family Feast attendance remains noticeably down on preCovid levels. While numbers are down the content of the services themselves is certainly not, thanks to the great work of the Feast Team. The faithful members of the team who got things started again were joined in January by Jeff Bartholomew, our new Benefice Young Communities Leader, and later by a few other new members - all of which has strengthened the team enormously (though more helpers are still needed).

Alongside this we were able to facilitate the start of a new service at St James’ – a monthly Saturday evening contemporary service of praise and prayer which grew from those involved with our 2021 Alpha Course and is made possible with worship input from outside members, for which we are very grateful. This service is very different in style from anything else taking place here and is an exciting opportunity for those with an alternative churchmanship or those seeking something different.

At PCC level we recognised what a helpful tool developing and implementing a strong Church Development Plan (CDP) had been in 2021, so we spent some time reviewing and updating the 2021 plan to give us clear new set of priorities and goals moving into 2023. A major addition to the new plan is a set of environmental goals, work towards which began in the latter part of the year such that we were able to apply for our bronze Eco Church Award by December – this is just the beginning however, as we start to work towards the much more demanding Silver Award in 2023 and the long term goal of being carbon neutral by 2030.

Looking beyond the parish early in 2022 our Mission Support Team recommended to our PCC that we add a refugee charity to those we support. Excitingly this developed into a partnership with Guildford Catholic Parish to actually bring a refugee family to the UK and house them locally. It has been wonderful to be part of this ecumenical and ‘hands on’ group (which we named ‘Camino Guildford’) and thrilling when the refugee family arrived in December.

You can read more about the Camino family in the Mission Support report below, and also about Family Feast in the Families and Children’s Work report. Whilst I have highlighted here some of the exceptional or new things we have been doing (and you’ll find reference to some others in the report below) it is never the less the regular weekly pattern of church life; supporting and partnering our local community, worshipping through the liturgical seasons, loving God and loving our neighbours, that remains our primary endeavour – thank you to all those who make this possible.

Tim Heaney Rector

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2. Financial Report for 2022

As the parish has emerged from the pandemic and resumed business as usual church activities the parish finances have returned to a largely steady state. Overall we have incurred a small loss on our unrestricted funds (monies available for day-to-day expenditure) for the year of £2,600 (2021: surplus of £84). Income increased overall, as we continued to benefit from the 2021 Planned Giving campaign, and increases in donations and collections, bequests and the magazine. Expenditure increased as we delivered on our objectives from the Planned Giving campaign, particularly our pledges to fund parish administration support and contribute to a benefice youth worker.

Total income on general unrestricted (excluding designated) funds was £203,000 (£173,000), an increase of 15%.

Income from planned giving through standing orders and the PGS direct debit scheme was £114,000 (£104,000), an increase of 9% (2021: 14%). This welcome uplift is as a continuing result of the Planned Giving campaign in the spring of 2021.

Unrestricted donations rose to £14,900 (£7,900). This figure includes money collected at Carols in the Square, making a welcome return after two years absence. Collections from services increased to over £8,000 (£3,200). The Old Parsonage on Lawbrook Lane continues to be let, which provided a gross income of £14,000 (£14,000). In addition we were fortunate to receive a bequest during the year of £5,000 (£0).

Income from wedding and funeral fees reduced from 2021 mainly as a result of fewer funeral offices during the year. Magazine income was up from £19,600 to over £23,000. This is primarily because of advertisers returning and renewing after the pandemic.

On the expenditure side, included in our unrestricted (excluding designated) expenditure total of £206,000 (£173,000) is our diocesan parish share of £89,000 (£85,000), an increase of 4.7% (0%). Parish share is our largest single item of expenditure and was increased in 2022 after being held by the Diocese at 2020 levels. For comparison our 2023 parish share will increase by 2% to £91,400.

Our mission support giving was £12,000 (£10,200). As well as donations to our long-standing regular charities of Barnabus and Amos Trust we further donated to the Tanzanian orphanage Larchfield. An exciting development is our support of the Camino project which you can read about elsewhere in this Report where we donated £3000, including £1000 brought forward from 2023. Carols in the Square raised over £3000 which was shared between the Christian Aid East Africa appeal and the North Guildford Food bank, who each received over £1700.

The figures for 2022 include a full year of salary payments for our church administrator and our 50% contribution towards the benefice children’s and family worker.

A word on utility bills. Expenditure on utilities, mainly gas and electricity, for our church buildings for the year was £10,100 (£6,900), an increase of 46%, and a slight increase on the pre-Covid expenditure in 2019 of £9,900. Utilities expenditure had been artificially depressed for the prior two years because of several one-off factors (the pandemic, a VAT rebate and refunds from over-estimated bills). For 2022 these one-off factors dropped out of the figures. The expected national uplifts in gas and electricity prices were fortunately not as severe as initially predicted, but we must continue to be vigilant and continue to look at ways to reduce our utilities spend, mindful that heating forms the largest part. The recent eco-church initiative will hopefully begin to yield savings on our utilities spend.

Expenditure on our church buildings was £14,900 (£13,600), which included the final payments for the replacement bell, work on St Mark’s roof and minor repairs identified in the previous quinquennial report.

The net result for the year was a deficit of income over expenditure of £2,600 (2021 surplus £84) on unrestricted

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and designated funds. Adding bank and deposit balances brought forward at the beginning of the year, the balances carried forward at 31st December on unrestricted funds totaled £149,000 (£162,000). This total includes deposit and investment funds lodged with the Church of England deposit fund, which decreased in value by £7,000.

We are part of the Camino project in partnership with the Roman Catholic Diocese of Guildford. We manage the finances. Funds are treated as a Restricted Fund, and at year end the balance was £3,900 (£0).

Reserves Policy: The reserves policy was agreed by the PCC in September 2020. It is detailed in the Notes to the Financial Statements.

Related Party Transactions: No PCC member (Trustee) has received any benefits (2021: £0), but clergy members of the PCC have been re-imbursed expenses not exceeding £1132 (£602) in total.

Finally I want to thank other key members of the parish finance team, including Stuart Madden, Ken Mead, Nick Bray and Phil Doherty and others without whose invaluable assistance managing the church finances would be much harder.

Angus Denny, Treasurer

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3. Electoral Roll Report

The number on the Electoral Roll, as of 4[th] May 2022, is 177 names from 120 households.

Howard Potter, Electoral Roll Officer

4. Deanery Synod Report

Because of the pandemic, there were only two meetings of Deanery Synod during the year, of which the first was quite short and held through Zoom. The usual administrative matters were discussed, and the Area Dean, Reverend Roy Woodhams reported that there would be later in the year elections to Diocesan Synod, and he also said that the Deanery needed to appoint a new lay chairman. Those taking part also discussed the problems with opening churches, and holding services during the pandemic.

It was with satisfaction that it proved possible to hold the Synod meeting on the 7[th] July at St. John the Baptist, Loxwood. Following on from the meeting in February, Roy was able to report that there was one candidate for the position of lay chairman, myself. No one objected to my being elected!

The principal business of the meeting was Reverend Sally Davies’ presentation on Living in Love and Faith, in which she introduced this initiative from the House of Bishops, which has now been presented to all the Parishes, including of course our own. Sally explained the course material, and those who attended the subsequent meetings will be aware of the book that has been published to accompany the course, and the videos put together to lead participants into discussion.

Martin Betts Deanery Synod Representative

5. Families and Children’s Work

Little Fishes

It has been another lovely year of Little Fishes get togethers on Wednesdays at 10am, meeting at St Mark’s Church. It was suggested that we move to the Old School Room during the colder months of the year and that has worked very well. We are delighted to have 8 children that come regularly with 5 parents and 3 carers along with 3 in the team and we have become a close group. We enjoy Bible stories, prayers and singing lots of songs with instruments! Then we all enjoy refreshments at the end, with a craft or colouring for the children. We look forward to the year ahead :-)

Shiona Bacon

Family Feast

It’s hard to believe a year has passed since writing my first annual update.

Remembering our Queen was a poignant Family Feast for us and together the children & families created a Prayer Board for our late Queen Elizabeth II and our new King, Charles.

Recently Anne Currier has gradually taken steps away from Family Feast and we are all incredibly grateful for her generous contribution and time that she has dedicated to the refreshments team. A VERY BIG THANK YOU ANNE

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We have welcomed Ian & Maggie to our planning team. Maggie has a passion for art and crafts and we are all delighted to have Maggie’s creative ideas and support. Ian is great with the children and we are so glad that he has joined us to help out at both St.James’ & St.Mark’s.

Recently a couple of teenagers joined us for Family Feast, both aged 16, we are really keen to keep up momentum and get them as much involved as possible. We may even get to enjoy some live musical instrument performances in the coming months.

One of the most important elements of Family Feast I believe is the day to day Christian values and application for those children and parents who attend. At the end of 2022 we started a series focussing of the Fruit of the Spirit and we have seen our families engage in acts of kindness and other practical elements of the season.

We would really love to build on the creative element of the team for Peaslake having seen the wonderful activities that Maggie has been able to share with us for Shere.

We have brought the talk or story closer to the Family Feast starting time, so that we can play games and have a song at the very start of our time together. We then have a brief description of the crafts for the families and children to then enjoy the activities. We will, hopefully, have some role plays too and have everyone join in some storytelling and acting.

Meanwhile we will be doing more to ensure that there is more of a Family Feast presence on the notice boards of both churches and we are keen to continue the momentum with The Gomshall Club.

On average we have seen about 14-16 children attending regularly at St.James’ and 10 to 14 at St.Mark’s.

We have received some feedback from families in both Shere and Peaslake asking if we could possibly start Family Feast slightly earlier and we have recently asked those attending if this indeed is something that would benefit them.

We had a full house for the Christingle service 2022 and it was great to have the Family Feast team assist where needed.

Jeff Bartholomew Young Communities Leader Benefice of Albury, Chilworth & Shere

Holiday Club

Holiday Club returned to Shere Village Hall in the last week of August following the break due to the pandemic. In August 2022 Covid was still quite prevalent across the Benefice and surrounding area. We felt it most important that the children have the opportunity to gather again. Attendance for the 2022 Holiday Club was considerably down in numbers much like the national phenomena.

The vast majority of the children who attended were engaged, attended the four mornings, and really enjoyed the experience.

We have been encouraging our young leaders and we are praying for new additions next summer.

Jeff Bartholomew Young Communities Leader Benefice of Albury, Chilworth & Shere

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Schools Report

Shere School Fox Class (Reception)

We have thoroughly enjoyed welcoming the youngest children from Shere School into St James’ Church. It’s lovely to hear their voices as they approach the church, they’re so full of excitement and interest. They come through the door and just stop then they look around before walking down the aisle as they look around and see what’s changed since their last visit. They notice the change of colour of the altar frontal as the seasons move round and they quickly tell me if there are different flowers (or indeed no flowers as during Lent and Advent). They love seeing the number of prayers which are hanging on the prayer tree and then sitting in the Bray chapel for a Bible story. We join in a song and a prayer just before they wave bye bye on their way back to school. It’s such a joy that they come and are so relaxed.

Main School Report

“Let the little children come to me”, says our Lord.

The schools in our Parish are of great importance, and it is a real privilege and joy to have the access that we do to both our schools, in Shere and in Peaslake.

Each school has a church-lead assembly every week, Shere on a Monday afternoon, and Peaslake on Wednesday morning. Four of us – Rector Tim, Rev Mike Currier, Rev Rosemary Mason and Cathy Mead, take these on a rota basis, and this is working very well.

In the past, we ourselves have decided on the topics for the term, using the many excellent books available for this purpose. This year, however, we have started to have proactive joint liaison meetings with both schools, and this is helping us to fit better into the general curriculum of the schools.

Topics covered include “A Jesse tree for Christmas”, in which each week we told the story of one of the ancestors of Jesus, then coloured a “bauble” to hang on the silver Jesse tree in each school. Based on the parable of the mustard seed, we have also looked at the spread of the worldwide church. We are now looking at the events in the life of Jesus, from Palm Sunday to Easter, as seen through the eyes of some time-travelling “witness” birds. The children love these “cliffhanger” stories and there is an audible sigh when we say “we’ll carry on next week”.

It is always a delight when the children come in to either of our churches, whether that is for their nativity play, to explore the different liturgical colours, to join in our Harvest or Mothering Sunday or Father’s Day services, for their end of term celebrations, or any other reason. We welcome them and their parents with open arms. It is so important that they feel familiar and relaxed in church, and that they come to know the love of God in their lives.

Our sincere thanks go to the Headteachers, all the staff and the pupils of both our schools, for always making us feel so welcome.

Revd. Rosemary Mason

6. St James’ and St Mark’s Flower Arrangers Report

St. James’ Flower Team

2022 was an unusual one for the St. James’s flower arranging team as many wedding ceremonies took place following on from the pandemic. The usual practice is for the wedding couple to leave a flower arrangement in the Church after their service and this year was no exception. Therefore the team had a much easier year but, of course, also provided the usual wonderful flower displays at Easter, Harvest Festival and Christmas.

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As Flower Secretary I would like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to my marvellous team of volunteers who quietly and modestly display their talents and regularly respond to my requests.

Lesley Childs

St Mark’s Flower Team

Many thanks to the loyal team of Flower Arrangers who work hard to keep St. Mark’s looking lovely week by week and for the Special Festivals. This is much appreciated by the congregation and visitors.

Anne Heyes

7. Vestry Report

St. James’

The chief role of the Vestry Team is to prepare all the items required for the giving of Communion including the special items of linen, the wine, the chalices and other containers for wine and water, the ciborium and the wafers. This becomes quite a challenge at Christmas when there are three communion services in the space of nine hours! After a service the candles need to be trimmed and everything washed up. Needless to say there is a myriad of other little jobs that need doing as well. My thanks go to Jane Davies, Louise Main, Sue Moulden and Gill Parker for all they do on a regular basis and their flexibility.

Cathy Mead

8. Cleaners Report

St. James’

St James’ has a splendid band of 15 willing cleaners. There are three in a team who arrive once a month at 09:00 on a Saturday morning. There is also a more occasional team for the few fifth Saturdays. Everyone has their favourite part of the church to dust/polish/sweep/ hoover – whatever they choose and enjoy doing. With the large footfall of visitors, many of whom come with muddy boots during a hike, there’s always a satisfying pile in the dustpan! Appreciative comments from visitors on seeing the gleaming pews give testament to the teams’ hard work.

Cathy Mead

9. Choir Report

The choir has had another very positive and successful year, amongst other things, gaining two new members. It is a delight to be led and encouraged by such an accomplished and inspiring musician as Doug. We have all benefitted hugely from his leadership, tackling pieces that we would have thought way beyond our capabilities!

In addition to supporting the worship at St James’ and St Mark’s we sang for five weddings and three funerals. Special mention must be given to the Festivals for which we provide an added input – Palm Sunday, Easter, Harvest, All Souls’ and Christmas. Rather than singing an entire choral work, the

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programme for these services was of a very diverse nature including old favourites such as Stainer’s ‘God So Loved the World’ and ‘Ave Verum’ by Byrd and new-to-us pieces. The ethereal ‘Bethlehem Down’ by Warlock and Chilcott’s ‘Where Riches is Everlastingly’ – complete with bongo drums – stand out in my mind. Following the restrictions imposed upon us by the pandemic, it was very encouraging to see the congregation for 9 Lessons and Carols almost back to pre-2020 numbers.

In a new venture, in January we joined the choir of St Nicholas’ Cranleigh for Choral Evensong singing Stanford’s ‘Canticles in C’, ‘Teach Me O Lord’ by Attwood and the Smooth Responses. This was quite challenging yet very enjoyable. With our two splendid new Sopranos, we could now do with some more support for the Tenor and Bass lines. Come on chaps – give it a try!

Cathy Mead on behalf of the Choir

10. Report on the Fabric, Goods and Ornaments of the Churches.

Many thanks to all the members of the property team, but I would like to particularly thank two people this year - David Harrison for all his work caring for the fabric of St Mark’s and for his detailed report below, and Roger Moulden who stepped back from chairing the committee last year, and would like to step back further, but continues to be on the committee and for now is still acting as our primary link with contractors for work on St James’. I am currently chairing the committee, hence the relatively brief St James’ report.

Tim Heaney – Rector

Report on the Fabric, Goods and Ornaments of St James’ Church, Shere

Our two largest items of expenditure last year were both either mainly or entirely funded by donations - for which we are very grateful. They were the new flagpole and the recasting of Bell 4 (which you can read about in the bellringers report). Apart from some major work on the trees in the graveyard the rest of our expenditure could mostly be described as routine upkeep and maintenance, mowing the graveyards, maintaining the boiler etc., but with a building of our age and complexity that is still a significant annual amount.

In the latter part of 2022, we had our legally required five year inspection (“quinquennial”); the report from which shows the need for some larger expenditure in 2023 – particularly on the rooves. The other major work going forward will be trying to make our buildings carbon neutral by 2030.

Tim Heaney – Chair, Property Team.

Report on the Fabric, Goods and Ornaments of St Mark’s Church

Heating

The central heating system had been suffering from pressure loss causing boiler cut outs. In February ’22 a pipework leak was identified behind the cabinets at the west end necessitating removal of the corner cabinet and repair to the pipework. Since then the operating pressure of the boiler has been satisfactory. The Central Heating systems in the church and in the Old School Room (OSR) were serviced and gas Safety Certificates issued in July ’22. The operating periods for the central heating have been re-adjusted as cooler temperatures within the church were having adverse effects on the organ and the cabinet work at the west end. Organ and Clock

The organ was tuned in April ’22 and again in August ’22. Later in the year some sticking of keys was noted. The temperature within the church was adjusted, as noted above, and the problem abated. The Clock was serviced in July ’22.

Fire Safety

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The fire extinguishers were inspected in May ’22. The service provider was not entirely satisfactory and a further inspection by another provider was made in July ’22, with 3 units being serviced and 6 units being replaced.

Quinquennial Work

In May ’22 work identified in the Quinquennial report was carried out comprising – clearing nesting material from the bell chamber and fitting of netting; replacement of a bell rope; fitting of lead gaiters to roof plate ends on the West gable and North Gable; re-battening and tiling of the west slope of the South Porch.

Old School Room (OSR) and Parish Office (PO)

The floor above the OSR and PO toilets was cleared of an old metal water tank and scrap insulation. A loft ladder was fitted to improve safe access and the area used for storage, with items placed in storage boxes and wheeled trunks. The ceiling of the kitchen was renewed, as part of work on the flat above, and a water leak from above was corrected. Low energy lamps were fitted where accessible (similar replacement of lamps at high level will be undertaken in 2023). The kitchen sink waste pipe has been replaced as the poor alignment of the previous waste pipe caused it to become frozen in cold weather. An Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR) was carried out on the OSR in July ’22. Use of electricity and gas in the PO was checked and unnecessary demand was switched off or adjusted.

Maintenance and Cleaning

A new contract for grass cutting was put in place for 2022 with J Dunican. This included mowing around the church monthly in the summer months, mowing of the bank down to the road twice in the year at appropriate times, removal of bracken in the autumn from the bank above the church, grass cutting in the cemetery twice in the year at appropriate times. The cleaning contract with Smarter Homes for the OSR and the PO was continued on a monthly basis. Cleaning of the interior of St Mark’s has continued through the year by a team of volunteers. On 19[th] March there was a working party in St Mark’s cemetery tidying grass and shrubs. A number of issues were identified for future action. On 6th June excess soil was removed from the St Mark’s Cemetery, by M Nicholson. The soil had been left behind by Undertakers from burials and had accumulated over the years into two significant heaps. The soil has been placed in a pile outside the cemetery boundary by agreement with Friends of the Hurtwood and will be taken by them and used for various re-instatement works.

David Harrison, Churchwarden

11. Shere Bell Tower Annual Report

The main event during the last 12 months in the tower was the recasting of the 4[th] bell. The cracked bell had been removed earlier and sent to Loughborough where it was prepared for melting down and recasting in a mould made from itself. A large party of ringers and friends travelled up to the foundry and enjoyed watching as the molten metal was poured into the mould, where it was left to cool slowly in a process that has changed very little since its original casting over 300 years ago. On 5[th] June 2022 the ‘new’ bell was blessed in the church and a few days later it was hoisted up the tower and fitted back into the frame ready to be rung once more. Our huge thanks go to Adrian and Christine O’Loughlin who generously donated the funds to pay for the recasting work, and to Bill Egerton who organised the whole process, including the necessary works in the tower.

The remainder of the ringing fabric is in good shape, although there are some minor issues with the clock mechanism as the strike is about 2 minutes ahead of the hands on the clock-face reaching the hour. Hopefully this can be sorted out at the clock’s next regular service check.

On the human side, the number of ringers is stable at 11. The main change has been that John Parker has stepped down from his role as Tower Captain, and that mantle has been taken on jointly by Ken Berry and Graham Hughes. Ken Berry has also taken over the role of treasurer from Eric Thornton. John and Eric had been in post for a very long time and we all owe them both a huge vote of thanks for their sterling service and ringing over the last 30 years or more. Of the 11 ringers, 2 are learners who have become competent

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bell-handlers in the last year and are now starting to face the complexities of change-ringing. With this number we have managed to ring for nearly all of the services and 8 weddings during the year and we also managed to ring for the events around the funeral of HM Queen Elizabeth II, the first time any of us had rung the bells fully muffled. We are now planning for ringing to celebrate the Coronation of King Charles III.

Graham Hughes, Tower Captain

12. Mission Support Report

Barnabus

This Parish has been supporting Barnabus, a Christian homeless charity in Manchester, which aims to empower and equip individuals, and recently whole families, experiencing particularly life threatening and challenging times especially when sleeping rough in freezing cold weather.

This year our Parish’s annual donation went towards Barnabas’s Big Give Christmas Challenge to enable them to raise funds for their life changing New Homes - New Futures project. Our donation was ‘match funded’ which was an extra bonus for Barnabus. We are now looking forward to a visit this March from Yvonne Hope, their chief executive when we will receive an update on the Charity.

Al-Ahli Hospital

Our Support for the Al Ahli Hospital in Gaza continues in a sadly declining situation of greater uncertainty and violence with Israeli incursions into Gaza causing deaths and casualties to which the Hospital must respond.

In addition to our annual commitment of £2000 we were in a position to donate a further £1500 in December through the Amos Trust Christmas Appeal – a figure which was doubled through matched funding. The funds were targeted at helping women in Gaza and the breast screening programme in the Hospital. Amos have also produced an in-depth interview with Dr Suheila Tarazi and her staff, available on their website, which shows the reality on the ground and justifies our continuing support.

Camino Guildford

This is the name of our latest Mission Support project: to sponsor and support a refugee family for resettlement in Guildford.

Together with our two partners: Rev. Diane Peters and her Church in North Guildford and the Catholic Church of Guildford, we made an application to the Home Office and were duly asked to take a Syrian family of three - two parents with special health needs and their 15-year-old son. (Their four older sons remain in Syria and in Turkey).

After a thorough refurbishment of a two-bedroom flat in Onslow Village, which was available for a reasonable rent, we were ready to welcome the Almidani family when they arrived in early December. Since then, our variously skilled team members have been kept busy setting them up with banking, benefits, medical care and language tuition. Their teenage son has been accepted at St. Peters School, has joined the local football club and is now discovering the area on a bicycle.

They are a delightful family, extremely grateful for our support and a joy to work with as we try to integrate them into local life.

Larchfield Children’s Home

Larchfield is a purpose-built children’s home in Tanzania which serves as a safe and secure refuge for children in the Mkuranga district of Tanzania (south of Dar-es-Salaam). Many of the children are there

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because their families have been dislocated and destroyed by HIV.

The project will also include a centre for vocational training in agriculture and our donations are being used to fund the planting of papaya, okra and guava trees plus peanuts and lentils to aid the agricultural project and sustainability initiative. The aim is to be able to feed the Larchfield family and also generate revenue by selling and distributing the produce in the market.

After a visit to Larchfield in November 2022 founder Jim Berry wrote to us saying; “I had a look around and saw Okra and Papaya plants etc - I have taken some photos (see church website) . One thing that’s obvious is that the sandy soil needs to be enriched by good growing soil and manure mixed together. As it stands, the sand is too porous to provide nutrition where it’s needed. Once we have done this, I expect the yield to be really good. My personal thanks to you and to your congregation for their support”.

Contributions from Caroline Evans, Tim Heaney, Javid Kumar, Lesley Childs and Marilyn Jarrett

Other Outward Giving/Support from the Parish –

Children's Society Boxes – £922.95 has been collected in 2022.

13. Safeguarding Report

The Church of England’s attitude and response to Safeguarding continues to develop rapidly: this Parish, along with the Diocese, does not tolerate abuse of any kind.

As Parish Safeguarding Officer, I am first line of contact, together with Tim Heaney, for any concern, however small it may seem, regarding people in our church community or Parish.

I also keep track of people who are required to undergo regular Safeguarding Training and DBS (Disclosure and Disbarring Service) checks. This is to ensure that the highest standard of awareness and protection of the vulnerable in the church community is maintained – of both adults and young people. Melody Barnett is our DBS validator and will contact those whose DBS need renewal, now every three years.

Safeguarding Training is required for all those who hold positions of responsibility or undertake roles within the church community – including the clergy team, the PCC, bellringing captain and choir leaders. There are 5 different training courses – from basic understanding to leadership, awareness of domestic abuse and recruitment – depending on the role held, and each course has to be refreshed every three years.

About 29 safeguarding courses were completed by PCC members, and the clergy and administration team amongst others in the Parish in 2022.

Training has now been extended to bellringers, sidespeople and welcomers, and so many more will be doing more in 2023 – it is a sign of commitment when people do them as soon as they are notified!

Our Parish Safeguarding Policy is displayed in the churches, and on the website is a guide on how to report any Safeguarding concerns.

As directed by the Diocese, we now have a Church of England Safeguarding ‘Dashboard’ for the Parish. This allows to keep track of all we are required to do, and generates a Safeguarding Action Plan for the PCC– we are working through this.

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The PCC and the Incumbent have a duty of care to ensure the protection of the vulnerable in the community and thus have responsibility for Safeguarding. It is a responsibility we extend to everyone, and one that we take very seriously.

Helen Murray Parish Safeguarding Officer

14. The Parish Magazine report

SHERE PARISH MAGAZINE – EDITORIAL REPORT 2022/2023

Our team of Rev Mike Currier, Bekah Heaney and Naia Edwards has continued to work well and I would like to record my thanks to them for their hard work and support for me during the year. I could/would not do it without them! It is a lot of work!

Moving the print contract to Surrey Hills Print, (formerly Careprint) has been a great success. Dominic is a pleasure to deal with and he has done a really good job every month. The quality I think is excellent. Significant events covered in the magazine during the year include the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, Her Majesty’s death and the King’s Proclamation and the re-casting of St James’ No 4 bell.

We have continued with the print run of 950 copies per month. There are around 690 subscribers and they now pay the full monthly cover price, so the annual subscription has risen from £10 to £12. Shere Distribution Manager Ken Mead reports that actual readership is increasing with magazines being passed around, and that feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. There is also a keen postal readership who like to remain connected to the parish after they have moved away. He has received many letters of thanks and appreciation.

After many years of very loyal service, Peaslake Distribution Managers Elsbeth and Ray Moran decided to retire. Grateful thanks to them such heroic work. Fortunately Steve and Louisa Leake have volunteered to take over the role. Huge thanks to them too!

Nick Winford gave us a very good price for the printing, considering that the cost of paper and toner continues to rise. In order to absorb the increase while protecting the cover price for the time being, we have again adjusted our advertising rates.

Jane Kumar Editor

SHERE PARISH MAGAZINE – ADVERTISING REPORT 2022/2023

Due to the significant increase in printing costs, a decision was taken to raise advertising rates by 15% from January 2023 when the majority of annual adverts are renewed. A few adverts were not renewed but this was mainly due to retirement or lack of local response. Advertisers were generally aware that in the present economic climate, prices would be rising.

Overall there was a small drop in advertisers, but this has not affected the overall income due to a few more larger adverts compensating for the drop in smaller ads.

Advert types No of advertisers
Jan 2022		 No. Advertisers
Jan 2023		 Difference
Quarter B&W 23 19 -4
Quarter Colour 44 38 -6
Half Page Colour 28 30 +2
Full Page Colour 1 4 +3
TOTAL 96 91 -5

Javed Kumar Advertising Manager

Page 14

15. Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2022

Notes

a) Accounting Policies

b) Funds

c) Incoming resources

Voluntary income and capital sources

Other ordinary income

Income from investments

Gains and losses on investments

d) Resources used

Grants

Activities directly related to the work of the Church

e) Fixed assets

Page 15

Consecrated land and buildings and movable church furnishings

Other fixtures, fittings and equipment

f) Investments

g) Current assets

h) Reserves Policy (agreed by the PCC in September 2020)

The PCC, as a body which should fundamentally operate through faith in God’s provision, considers: it is not appropriate stewardship to hold large reserves without any specific plans as to what they would be used for, and that as a charity it must have the aim of being in existence in perpetuity.

In recognition of the above it is the policy of the PCC to hold reserves sufficient to meet unexpected extra costs (eg unforeseen repairs) and to smooth out short-term mismatches between income and expenditure. After due consideration the PCC has determined that it should hold approximately nine months general running costs, including mission support, and to hold an amount for likely building works arising from the next quinquennial inspections of both churches.

In 2019 general running costs, including mission support but excluding project expenditure, equalled £184,000 (2018: £174,000). Therefore the PCC’s objective is to retain a General Fund reserve of a minimum of £138,000. At 31st December 2019 the General Fund stood at £143,000.

If the General Fund reserve exceeds £150,000, the PCC will consider how it will use the excess. If the General Fund reserve is below £100,000, the PCC will consider how to manage this shortfall.

The reserves policy will be reviewed every two years.

Page 16

Shere PCC - Statement of Financial Activities

Unrestricted Designated
Restricted Endowment
Total
Prior year
funds
funds
funds
funds
funds total funds
Incoming resources
Income from Donors
Planned Giving
Donations
Collections
Wall safe
Events
Bequests and Grants
Income from Fees
Weddings
Funerals
Income from Property & Trading
Magazine
OP Rent
OSR Hire
Bookstall sales
Income from Investments
Other Income
Total income
Resources used
Mission Support & Other Giving
Ministry Team
Upkeep of Services
Church Buildings
Utilities
Maintenance and upkeep
Churchyard
Other
Music
Diocesan, Deanery & Tower Costs
Parish Share
Deanery and Tower
Events & Christian Development
Administration
Administrator
Telephone / Internet
Bank Charges
Examiner / other
Property and Trading
Magazine
OP
OSR and PO
Bookstall
Total expenditure
Net income / (expenditure) resources before
transfer
Transfers
Gross transfers between funds - in
Gross transfers between funds - out
Other recognised gains / losses
Gains / losses on investment assets
Gains on revaluation, fixed assets, charity's own use
Net movement in funds
Total funds brought forward
Total funds carried forward		 £114,169
£750
£114,919
£104,230
£14,936
£10,490
£25,426
£7,898
£8,283
£8,283
£3,234
£3,000
£3,000
£1,975
£223
£223
£7,932
£7,932
£3,302
£5,658
£5,658
£6,011
£7,199
£7,199
£9,244
£23,030
£23,030
£19,629
£13,968
£13,968
£13,968
£1,586
£1,586
£1,298
£35
£35
£29
£2,361
£2,361
£1,598
£1,581
£1,581
£773
£203,964
£11,240
£215,204
£173,193
£10,094
£5,800
£15,894
£10,221
£1,170
£1,170
£602
£3,688
£68
£3,757
£3,180
£10,146
£10,146
£6,912
£14,912
£14,912
£13,602
£6,808
£5,545
£12,353
£7,478
£4,685
£4,685
£4,565
£10,159
£579
£10,739
£8,994
£89,622
£89,622
£85,607
£90
£90
£75
£11,793
£11,793
£3,264
£8,743
£8,743
£2,267
£1,516
£1,516
£1,530
£451
£451
£394
£570
£9
£580
£2,757
£23,805
£23,805
£21,295
£2,187
£2,187
£920
£2,439
£2,439
£2,094
£3,692
£3,692
£495
£206,577
£12,003
£218,580
£176,259
(£2,612)
(£763)
(£3,375)
(£3,065)
£3,000
£3,000
(£3,000)
(£3,000)
(£7,056)
(£7,056)
£7,539
(£12,668)
£2,236
(£10,432)
£4,473
£161,947
£878,900
£23,355
£1,064,202
£1,059,729
£149,278
£878,900
£25,591
£1,053,770
£1,064,202

Page 17

Shere PCC - Balance sheet

Shere PCC - Balance sheet
General Designated
Restricted Endowment
This year
Last year
Fixed assets
Tangible assets
Investments
Current assets
Stocks and work in progress
Debtors
Investments
Cash at bank and in hand
Liabilities
Creditors: Amounts falling due in one year
Net current assets less current liabilities
Total assets less current liabilities
Total net assets less liabilities
Represented by
Unrestricted
General fund
Designated
Diane Aston Memorial Fund
Old Parsonage
Parish Emergency Fund
Rectors Discretionary Fund
Rectory Premises Reserve
St James WC Project
Buildings Maintenance
Young People
Mission Support
StJ - Sound and Vision
Old School Room
Restricted
Camino
Lent Lunch
Flowers Easter Lilies
Old School Room
Hymn Books
Choir Social
St James Flagpole
Dedicated Collections
StJ - General
St James - Churchyard
StJ - Spire
StM - General
StM - West End
StM - Cemetery
Funds of the church		 £875,000
£875,000
£875,000
£53,630
£53,630
£60,687
£53,630
£875,000
£928,630
£935,687
£2,891
£6,797
£750
£7,547
£7,275
£55,435
£55,435
£54,716
£45,820
£3,900
£24,790
£74,510
£76,949
£108,053
£3,900
£25,540
£137,494
£141,833
£12,405
(£51)
£12,354
£13,317
£12,405
(£51)
£12,354
£13,317
£95,648
£3,900
£25,591
£125,139
£128,515
£149,278
£878,900
£25,591
£1,053,770
£1,064,202
£149,278
£878,900
£25,591
£1,053,770
£1,064,202
£149,278
£149,278
£161,947
£875,000
£875,000
£875,000
£500
£500
£500
£1,000
£1,000
£1,000
£600
£600
£600
£1,800
£1,800
£1,800
£3,940
£3,940
£62
£62
£131
£4,425
£4,425
£4,425
£579
£979
£979
£979
£1,055
£6,952
£6,952
£6,952
£250
£250
£250
£3,295
£3,295
£3,295
£922
£922
£922
£4,765
£4,765
£4,765
£149,278
£878,900
£25,591
£1,053,770
£1,064,202

Balance Sheet signed:

Rev Tim Heaney, Rector

Page 18

Shere PCC - Movement of Funds

Fund Fund balances Incoming Outgoing Transfers Gains and Journal Fund balances
brought forward Resources Resources Losses Entries Carried forward
Unrestricted
General - General fund £ 161,947
 £ 203,964
 £ 206,577
 -£ 3,000
 -£ 7,057
 - £ 149,278
Sub-totals £ 161,947
 £ 203,964
 £ 206,577
 -£ 3,000
 -£ 7,057
 - £ 149,278
Designated
Rectory - Rectory Premises Reserve £ 1,000
 - - - - - £ 1,000
YP - Young People £ 600
 - - - - - £ 600
OSR - Old School Room £ 1,800
 - - - - - £ 1,800
OP - Old Parsonage £ 875,000
 - - - - - £ 875,000
PEF - Parish Emergency Fund £ 500
 - - - - - £ 500
Sub-totals £ 878,900
 - - - - - £ 878,900
Restricted
Cam - Camino - £ 7,750
 £ 5,809
 £ 2,000
 - - £ 3,940
Flag-StJ - St James Flagpole £ 1,055
 £ 3,490
 £ 5,545
 £ 1,000
 - - -
StJ-Gen - StJ - General £ 6,952
 - - - - - £ 6,952
StJ-C - St James - Churchyard £ 250
 - - - - - £ 250
StJ-Spire - StJ - Spire £ 3,295
 - - - - - £ 3,295
StM-Gen - StM - General £ 922
 - - - - - £ 922
StM-Cem - StM - Cemetery £ 4,765
 - - - - - £ 4,765
F-EL - Flowers Easter Lilies £ 131
 - £ 68
 - - - £ 62
OSR - Old School Room £ 4,425
 - - - - - £ 4,425
Hymn - Hymn Books £ 579
 - £ 579
 - - - -
Ch-Soc - Choir Social £ 979
 - - - - - £ 979
Sub-totals £ 23,355
 £ 11,240
 £ 12,003
 £ 3,000
 - - £ 25,591
Totals £ 1,064,202
 £ 215,204
 £ 218,580
 - -£ 7,057
 - £ 1,053,770

Page 19

Shere PCC - Analysis of income and expenditure

Total
Unrestricted Designated Restricted Endowment
 This year Last year
a) INCOME
Income from Donors - Planned Giving
PG GA (Standing Orders) £19,678 £19,678 £21,931
PG GA (PGS Direct Debits) £61,989 £61,989 £53,721
PG GA PGE Envelopes £338 £338 £793
PG GA PGE Envelopes St Mark £377
PG NGA (PGS & SO) £5,615 £5,615 £3,798
PG NGA (PGS Direct Debits £1,663
PG NGA Envelopes and CAF £2,053 £2,053 £544
CAF £800
Tax Reclaim - PG non-PGS £8,995 £750 £9,745 £7,025
Tax Reclaim - ex-PGS £15,498 £15,498 £13,575
Total £114,169 £750 £114,919 £104,230
Income from Donors - Donations
Donations GA & NGA £10,821 £9,792 £20,613 £1,144
Donations NGA £2,122
Donations Online Giving £3,501 £3,501 £3,996
Tax Reclaim - Donations £614 £698 £1,312 £635
Total £14,936 £10,490 £25,426 £7,898
Income from Donors - Collections
Cash Collect GASDS £3,296 £3,296 £963
Cash Collect GASDS St Mark £170
WhiteE GA £2,539 £2,539 £580
WhiteE GA St Mark £550
BMF Collections GASDS / NGA £2,447 £2,447 £747
BMF Collections NGA £223
Total £8,283 £8,283 £3,234
Income from Donors - Wall safe
Wall Safes £3,000 £3,000 £1,814
Wall Safe NGA St Mark £161
Total £3,000 £3,000 £1,975
Income from Donors - Events
Parish Events - NGA £223 £223
Total £223 £223
Bequests and Grants
Bequests £5,000 £5,000
Grants £2,932 £2,932 £3,302
Total £7,932 £7,932 £3,302
Income from Fees - Weddings
Fees - Weddings - PCC £4,103 £4,103 £4,401
Fees - Weddings - Verger / Other £1,555 £1,555 £1,610
Total £5,658 £5,658 £6,011
Income from Fees - Funerals
Fees - Funerals - PCC £5,849 £5,849 £8,649
Fees - Funerals - Verger / Other £1,350 £1,350 £595
Total £7,199 £7,199 £9,244
Income from Property & Trading - Magazine
Magazine - advertising £14,087 £14,087 £11,137
Magazine - sales £1,574 £1,574 £1,297
Magazine - subscriptions £7,369 £7,369 £7,195
Total £23,030 £23,030 £19,629

Page 20

Total
Unrestricted Designated
Restricted
Endowment
This year Last year
Income from Property & Trading - OP Rent
OP Rent
£13,968
£13,968
£13,968
Total
£13,968
£13,968
£13,968
Income from Property & Trading - OSR Hire
Rent - OSR hire and other
£1,586
£1,586
£1,298
Total
£1,586
£1,586
£1,298
Income from Property & Trading - Bookstall sales
Bookstall Sales
£35
£35
£29
Total
£35
£35
£29
Income from Investments
Interest - Bank
£36
£36
£9
Interest - CBF / other
£2,324
£2,324
£1,589
Total
£2,361
£2,361
£1,598
Other Income
Unexpected Income
£1,581
£1,581
£773
Total
£1,581
£1,581
£773		 Total
Unrestricted Designated
Restricted
Endowment
This year Last year
Income from Property & Trading - OP Rent
OP Rent
£13,968
£13,968
£13,968
Total
£13,968
£13,968
£13,968
Income from Property & Trading - OSR Hire
Rent - OSR hire and other
£1,586
£1,586
£1,298
Total
£1,586
£1,586
£1,298
Income from Property & Trading - Bookstall sales
Bookstall Sales
£35
£35
£29
Total
£35
£35
£29
Income from Investments
Interest - Bank
£36
£36
£9
Interest - CBF / other
£2,324
£2,324
£1,589
Total
£2,361
£2,361
£1,598
Other Income
Unexpected Income
£1,581
£1,581
£773
Total
£1,581
£1,581
£773
£35
£35
£29
£36
£36
£9
£2,324
£2,324
£1,589
£2,361
£2,361
£1,598
£1,581
£1,581
£773
£1,581
£1,581
£773
INCOME TOTAL £203,964
£11,240
£215,204
£173,193

b) EXPENDITURE

b) EXPENDITURE
Total
Unrestricted Designated Restricted Endowment
 This year Last year
Mission Support & Other Giving
Outward Giving - Partner 1 Barnabus £1,500 £1,500 £3,166
Outward Giving - Partner 3 Larchfield £500 £500 £3,166
Outward Giving - Partner 4 Amos Trust £2,000 £2,000 £3,166
Outward Giving - Other £6,094 £5,800 £11,894 £721
Total £10,094 £5,800 £15,894 £10,221
Ministry Team
Ministry Team - Other £1,132 £1,132 £602
Ministry Team - Training / Retreats £38 £38
Total £1,170 £1,170 £602
Upkeep of Services
Upkeep of Services - Consumables £378 £378 £374
Upkeep of Services - Printing £318 £318 £236
Upkeep of Services - Other £1,513 £1,513 £2,404
Upkeep of Services - Flowers £127 £68 £196 £165
Upkeep of Services - Verger £1,350 £1,350
Total £3,688 £68 £3,757 £3,180
Church Buildings - Utilities
StJ - Gas £5,131 £5,131 £2,684
StJ - Electricity £2,591 £2,591 £1,596
StJ - Water £57 £57 £28
StM - Gas £1,934 £1,934 £2,349
StM - Electricity £432 £432 £253
Total £10,146 £10,146 £6,912

Page 21

Total
Unrestricted Designated Restricted Endowment
 This year Last year
Church Buildings - Maintenance and upkeep
StJ - Maintenance / Housekeeping £10,396 £10,396 £10,553
StJ - Projects £1,560
StM - Maintenance / Housekeeping £4,515 £4,515 £1,488
Total
£14,912		 £14,912 £13,602
Church Buildings - Churchyard
StJ - Churchyard £4,918 £5,545 £10,463 £5,367
StM - Churchyard £1,890 £1,890 £2,111
Total
£6,808		 £5,545 £12,353 £7,478
Church Buildings - Other
StJ - Insurance £3,049 £3,049 £2,946
StM - Insurance £1,636 £1,636 £1,559
StM - Other £60
Total
£4,685		 £4,685 £4,565
Music
Music - Organist Fees £8,139 £8,139 £7,389
Music - Music Licences £110
Music - Choir Expenses £1,205 £1,205 £958
Music - Music Licences and Other £814 £579 £1,394 £535
Total
£10,159		 £579 £10,739 £8,994
Diocesan, Deanery & Tower Costs - Parish Share
Parish Share £89,622 £89,622 £85,607
Total
£89,622		 £89,622 £85,607
Diocesan, Deanery & Tower Costs - Deanery and Tower
Deanery & Tower £90 £90 £75
Total
£90		 £90 £75
Events & Christian Development
Parish Events £1,592
Community Engagement £549 £549
Christian Development - Adult £1,923 £1,923
Christian Development - Schools £558 £558 £1,000
Christian Development - Children & £8,760 £8,760 £672
Young
Total
£11,793		 £11,793 £3,264
Administration - Administrator
Admin - Parish Administrator £8,424 £8,424 £2,106
Online Giving Fees £319 £319 £161
Total
£8,743		 £8,743 £2,267
Administration - Telephone / Internet
Admin - Telephone / Internet £1,516 £1,516 £1,530
Total
£1,516		 £1,516 £1,530
Administration - Bank Charges
Admin - Bank Charges £451 £451 £394
Total
£451		 £451 £394
Administration - Examiner / other
Admin - Stationary, Postage & Books £41 £41 £939
Admin - Office Equipment £768
Admin - Examiner £300 £300 £600
Admin - PCC expenses £13 £13
Admin - Other £215 £9 £224 £448
Total
£570		 £9 £580 £2,757

Page 22

Total
Unrestricted Designated
Restricted
Endowment
This year Last year
Property and Trading - Magazine
Magazine - Printing
£22,548
£22,548
£20,176
Magazine - Editor Expenses
£646
£646
£600
Magazine - Distribution
£610
£610
£518
Total
£23,805
£23,805
£21,295
Property and Trading - OP
OP - Maintenance
£1,302
£1,302
OP - Other
£884
£884
£920
Total
£2,187
£2,187
£920
Property and Trading - OSR and PO
OSR - Utilities
£1,343
£1,343
£910
OSR - Maintenance / Housekeeping
£592
£592
£149
OSR - Insurance
£503
£503
£908
OSR - Other
£126
Total
£2,439
£2,439
£2,094
Property and Trading - Bookstall
Bookstall - Stock
£3,692
£3,692
£495
Total
£3,692
£3,692
£495		 Total
Unrestricted Designated
Restricted
Endowment
This year Last year
Property and Trading - Magazine
Magazine - Printing
£22,548
£22,548
£20,176
Magazine - Editor Expenses
£646
£646
£600
Magazine - Distribution
£610
£610
£518
Total
£23,805
£23,805
£21,295
Property and Trading - OP
OP - Maintenance
£1,302
£1,302
OP - Other
£884
£884
£920
Total
£2,187
£2,187
£920
Property and Trading - OSR and PO
OSR - Utilities
£1,343
£1,343
£910
OSR - Maintenance / Housekeeping
£592
£592
£149
OSR - Insurance
£503
£503
£908
OSR - Other
£126
Total
£2,439
£2,439
£2,094
Property and Trading - Bookstall
Bookstall - Stock
£3,692
£3,692
£495
Total
£3,692
£3,692
£495
£3,692
£3,692
£495
EXPENDITURE TOTAL £206,577
£12,003
£218,580
£176,259
GRAND TOTAL (£2,612)
(£763)
(£3,375)
(£3,065)

These accounts as approved by Shere Parochial Church Council and dated 19[th] April 2023.

Signed:

Rev Tim Heaney, Rector

Page 23

Shere PCC - Independent Examiners report

Page 24