2024-12-31-accounts

NORTH HINCKFORD TEAM ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024

The North Hinckford Team (Charity number 1143196) presents its Report of the activities of the Benefice for the year ended 31 December 2024 .

Incumbent, Clergy, Administrator and Lay Preachers:

Incumbent and Team Rector: Reverend Gill Morgan Team Vicar: Reverend Claire Wilkinson Curate: Reverend Kate Sale (until 28 July 2024) Supporting Clergy: Reverend Katharine King and Venerable Robin King Lay representative: Mally Graham Team Administrator: Fiona Wildblood Authorised lay preachers: Fiona Gault, Mally Graham, Susan Langham, David Mercer and Ann Robertson

Trustees

Those who served as Trustees during the period were:

Howard Martin Stuchfield (Chairman) Barrie Leslie Douglas Collins (Treasurer) Michael Jeremy Colin Milbank (Secretary) Desmond Robert Bridge (until 16 September 2024) Susan Colson Peter Leonard Fulcher Reverend Gillian Mary Morgan Michael Stebbing (appointed 16 September 2024) Marie Louise Wells

Review of the Year: The Reverend Gill Morgan, Team Rector

This report on the North Hinckford Benefice is for the year January – December 2024. Overall we had a productive and fruitful year in North Hinckford. There have been some challenges and changes but we have seen the fruits of our work and blessings from God.

In addition to being thankful to God, I am mindful of all those working together for the good of the the benefice: the Ministry team, Trustees and PCCs. My thanks go to all who contribute to the life and work of our benefice. We cannot thrive without the support, commitment time and loyalty of so many people. I would therefore like to thank all of our Churchwardens and Representatives, Treasurers, Secretaries, and all those who support them, many behind the scenes. Thanks also to our wider church family, who, often unseen, clean, provide music for worship, arrange flowers, lock and unlock, clear the churchyard and much more.

In terms of our Trustees, I would particularly like to thank Martin Stuchfield as Chair and Barrie Collins as Treasurer. Their support of the benefice and their commitment to financial matters has been tremendous and is hugely valued and appreciated by the clergy team. In particular, they have worked to ensure our Parish Share is met and paid for the Benefice as a whole. They also held a workshop to support and encourage parishes with fund-raising, this was opened up across the archdeaconry with speakers also from the diocese. My thanks to each parish for their hard work, fund raising and commitment to paying their share.

Within our Ministry Team we said goodbye to Rev Kate Sale, who completed her curacy. She is now a Chaplain at HMP, Highpoint. My thanks go to Kate along with blessings for her future ministry. Rev Claire Wilkinson, Fiona Wildblood and I continue to work together as a team, along with our Authorised Preachers and retired clergy. Venerable Robin and Rev Katherine King joined our Ministry team in March, following their retirement the previous year. They are both a very welcome blessing to us. My thanks to all this Ministry Team, as working together with our various gifts and skills allows the mission and Ministry of North Hinckford to flourish.

It is now over five years that I have been in the benefice, as both Vicar and Rector, and so a good opportunity to reflect on our journey. We have. Over these years, explored how we might work together as a Team with more collaborative worship, enabling a sustainable ministry as we look to the future of rural ministry within the diocese. Alongside this, we have aimed to strengthen, enable and equip the life and work of each Parish. With preference from parishes, generally, to stay with the parochial model, the Team model is now applied to the Ministry Team rather than across the whole benefice. The geographical spread of the benefice is a major contributing factor to this and demonstrates the need for a minimum of two clergy, and we are thankful the diocese continues to support this. That said, I note the growth in those areas where parishes and individuals are collaborative. Naturally, having a full and active ministry team has enabled growth in our ministry.

The Clergy have been an active part of the Halstead and Hinckford Deanery, particularly during the vacancy of the Area Dean. We have attended area and diocesan study days and continue to support and implement the diocesan vision of Travelling Well Together and the Church of England and diocesan safeguarding policy.

Sunday services, benefice services, festivals and the offices of marriage, baptism, and funerals continue. This year we have added two Alpha courses, a new regular coffee morning, a Bereavement Group, and two small groups under the label of Beer and Bible. We also had four people starting the Course in Christian Studies and hosted a Q&A evening with Bishop Roger Morris. Pastoral ministry continues, walking alongside the lonely, sick and others we cross paths with I daily life. Especial thanks to Sharon Hutton-Mayson for leading a project to register our churches with Eco-Church, encouraging people ‘to strive to safeguard the integrity of creation and sustain and renew the life of the earth’ (Anglican Communion, fifth Mark of Mission). Ministry has continued to children and staff in Bulmer school (Rev Claire) and Belchamp school (myself). Belchamp school now shares a Head with Ridgewell school.

I ended last year’s report praying that God would bless our vision in North Hinckford. I believe that prayer has been answered and am thankful to God. I invite you to join me in thankfulness and to continue to yearn and pray for people to grow in faith here in North Hinckford and for our churches to be full of abundant life and worship.

Across the Church of England – and globally – we live in unsettled times, and so I should like to leave you with words from Bishop Guli: ‘I want to encourage you to be gentle with one another, hold one another in prayer and keep your eyes on Christ who is ever before us.’

Finance Review

The results for the year were satisfying, showing a surplus of just over £3,500 on the general fund and almost £8,300 on restricted funds. The main driver of the improvement in general funds was a significant reduction in admin costs, which had peaked in the previous year with the printing of service booklets for the entire benefice. There was also some reduction in clergy travel, as our curate Reverend Kate Sale was in the final stages of her assignment, and we said goodbye to her at the end of the summer.

Our restricted funds were boosted by a Diocesan grant of £6,410 from its Mission Opportunity Fund in August. This is to fund Rural Outreach, Café Church and Parish Events in North Hinckford. We had spent only just over £1,200 of this money by the year end and, together with £2,000 in donations from two significant donors, this has led to the increase of just over £8,000 in our restricted funds.

Looking ahead, we are expecting to pay more in the current year on salaries, largely driven by increases in the minimum wage (which we remain a little above) and with continuing inflationary pressures. For this reason we agreed an increase of £20 in the contributions from parishes to the benefice from January 2025. This was the first such increase for at least 12 years.

NORTH HINCKFORD TEAM: RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS 2024

INCOMING RESOURCES Funding by Parishes MOF Grant Donations Gift Aid Refunds Collections Just Giving Repayment of Parish Share Miscellaneous inc. bank interest Collection for retiring Archdeacon TOTAL INCOMING RESOURCES RESOURCES USED Clergy - travel Clergy - mission and worship Clergy - retreats and training Administrative salary Admin costs MOF Grant drawdown Hire of facilities Insurance Just Giving Payments re Ride and Stride Payment of Parish Share Gift to Retiring Archdeacon TOTAL RESOURCES USED Surplus/(Deficit) for Year FUNDS AT 1 JANUARY FUNDS AT 31 DECEMBER	2024 2024 2024 General Fund Restricted TOTAL 12,160 12,160 - 6,410 6,410 716 6,305 7,021 - 1,091 1,091 891 - 891 1,470 - 1,470 6,548 - 6,548 208 - 208 - - - 21,994 13,806 35,800 2,738 - 2,738 1,006 - 1,006 472 - 472 5,252 4,305 9,557 1,242 - 1,242 - 1,207 1,207 555 - 555 439 - 439 216 - 216 - - - 6,548 - 6,548 - - - 18,467 5,512 23,980 3,527 8,294 11,821 14,820 1,013 15,833 18,347 9,307 27,654	2023 2023 2023 General Fund Restricted TOTAL 11,920 - 11,920 - - - 730 4,305 5,035 - 2,106 2,106 1,564 - 1,564 1,566 - 1,566 - - - 106 - 106 - 1,150 1,150 15,886 7,561 23,447 4,197 - 4,197 804 - 804 1,791 - 1,791 4,010 5,382 9,392 5,564 - 5,564 - - - 629 - 629 422 - 422 216 - 216 1,255 - 1,255 - 4,016 4,016 - 1,150 1,150 18,887 10,548 29,435 (3,001) (2,987) (5,988) 17,821 4,000 21,821 14,820 1,013 15,833

NORTH HINCKFORD TEAM BALANCE SHEET AT 31 DECEMBER 2024

Unrestricted Funds at 1 January Surplus/(deficit) Unrestricted Funds at 31 December Restricted Funds at 1 January Income Expenditure Total Restricted Funds at 31 December Total Funds at 31 December Represented Bby Lloyds Bank Treasurers Account Lloyds Bank Business Instant Access Account	2024 14,820 3,527 18,347 1,013 13,806 (5,512) 9,307 27,654 2,517 25,137 27,654	2023 17,821 (3,001)
		14,820 4,000 7,561 (10,548)
		1,013
		15,833
		4,405 11,429
		15,834

PARISH PAYMENTS
	£
Alphamstone	960
Belchamp Otten	960
Belchamp St Paul	960
Belchamp Walter	960
Bulmer	960
Foxearth	960
Lamarsh	960
Liston & Borley	960
Pentlow	1,040
Twinstead	960
Wickham St Paul	1,040
Total from Parishes normally paying £80 per month	10,720
Great & Little Henny	480
Middleton	480
Ovington	480
Total from Parishes normally paying £40 per month	1,440
GRAND TOTAL	12,160

Note: The apparent overpayment by Pentlow reflects a payment carried over from the previous year. Wickham St Paul initiated the payment increase prematurely and £80 has since been repaid.

CHARITY COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND AND WALES Independent examiner's report on the accounts Section A Independent Examiner's Report Report to the trusteesl members of NORTH HINCKFORO TEAM On accounts for the year ended 2024 Charity no {rf any) 1143196 Sot out on pages I rewrt to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above charityllhe Trustl for the year ended Rosponsibilities and As the charty trustees of Ihe Trust. you are responsib￿ foi the preparation basis of report of the accounts in accordance wrth the requ1￿mentS of the Chartties Act 2011 (￿e Acl"). I report in respecl of my eXaMinat￿n of the Twst's accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carying Out my examillalion, I have followed the appI￿able Direclions gNen by the Chafity Commission under sectKJn 14515}Ib} of the Act. I have completed my examination. I confim) thal no material matters have come to my attention I ') in conneclion with the eXaMinat￿n which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect: accounting r￿rdS were not kept in accordan￿ with section 130 of the Act or the aC￿)unts do not ￿l￿d with the accounting records Independent examiner's statement I have no cOn￿mS and have come across no t)ther matters in connection with the examinatM)n to wh￿h atlention should be drawn in order to enable proper understanding of the accounts to be reached. Pleas8 delete the words in the brackets rfthey do not apply. Slgned: 18 July 2025 Name: Don Jenkins Relevant professional qualificationls) or body (rf any): Address: 3 The Birches Church Green. Little Yeldham Halstead. C09 4LJ IER October 2018