St. Peter’s Church, Wellesbourne
SUMMARY REPORT OF THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31[ST] DECEMBER, 2024
Vicar:
Revd Greg Bartlem
Churchwardens:
Jann Wallace David Close (from April 2024)
Secretary:
Ros Jarrett
Treasurer:
Jann Wallace
Independent Examiner:
Warren Ridgway
Bank
Barclays Bank Ltd. Market Cross, Stratford-upon-Avon
Central Board of Finance
Church of England Funds
Aim and Purposes
St. Peter’s Parochial Church Council (PCC) has the responsibility of co-operating with the incumbent, the Reverend Greg Bartlem, in promoting in the ecclesiastical parish the whole mission of the Church, pastoral, evangelistic, social and ecumenical.
The PCC is also specifically responsible for the maintenance of the Church, Church Centre and grounds of St. Peter’s Church, Church Street, Wellesbourne.
Objectives and Activities
St. Peter’s Church aims to be a broad church for everyone in Wellesbourne. Our objectives are to worship God, make new disciples, and transform communities. The PCC maintains an overview of these objectives, seeking to ensure that the activities we offer appeal to a wide variety of Wellesbourne people of all ages, temperaments and backgrounds.
It is important that we maintain the fabric of the Church, Church Centre and grounds to facilitate this work.
Electoral Roll and Attendance
The Church’s Electoral Roll is the register of its voting members. As of January 2025 the number on the roll is 138. Church attendance figures were encouraging with new people joining us. Additionally, special services throughout the year, such as Remembrance, Christmas and Easter were well attended.
Achievements and Performance
Worship and Prayer
The pattern of worship and prayer at St Peter’s seeks to cater for a wide range of people. Our regular pattern of services, throughout 2024 took the following form:
Sundays 10am Family Communion in Church. 10am Connections: informal, contemporary worship in the Church Centre. Once a month we aimed to hold a ‘Together Service’ combining the above congregations.
Tuesdays Morning Prayer at 9.10am Monthly ‘Fuel’ Holy Spirit Encounter evenings (Until August)
St Peter’s Church continues to grow with new people joining us during 2024. This has been very encouraging! Connections Services have explored a range of themes this year, combining reflection and discussion with contemporary worship songs, led by our dedicated team.
Highpoints of the year included 369 of us packing out the church for our Crib and Christingle service on Christmas Eve, and the joy of the many School services.
We were thrilled to begin offering Prayer Ministry once more, this has been a wonderful opportunity for people to encounter God’s love and healing.
Breathe 24 in October, offered us a great opportunity to invest time together in prayer whilst we continued to try new ways of connecting with God.
The church WhatsApp group continues to be a blessing, enabling us to connect better with each other and God aside from on Sundays.
In July we celebrated the ordination of Helen Smith as Priest, Helen is a real blessing to us.
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Our Remembrance service, held in the churchyard attracted a huge attendance, whilst the Poppy Cascade once again brought many visitors into the church building. This is a wonderful community project with the church playing its part.
The church services themselves were ably supported by Jackson Towers, the Director of Music and Organist, who retired from the role at the end of September. We are thrilled that Jackson and Jude remain part of our church family.
Jackson’s replacement, Stewart Wallace is already proving to be a popular addition to the team; he is a gifted worship leader. We are also blessed with a great team of musicians, including Helen. Thank you all!
Sadly, the St Peter’s Singers came to an end during 2024 and we thank everyone who has played their part in this wonderful worshipful ministry.
St Peter’s has, though, been blessed by the new Dene Singers (a group affiliated to the church and led by Tim and Wendy Scott). They have sung in the church at a number of our services.
Once again, we thank Jann Wallace who puts together the PowerPoint presentations for each week’s service.
Sides Person Report: Over the last 12 months we have had a very good rota of sides people. We gained some new volunteers who can also administer communion and one person stepped down. Many thanks to all the volunteers during 2024. Cyril Loman - Sides person co-ordinator.
Prayer and Pizza: a weekly group for ‘Tweenagers’ (school years 7-9) continues to help these young people find their own Christian faith. Numbers fluctuated throughout the year.
Prayer and Popcorn , was launched during the year. This meets on Thursday evenings and is aimed at older Primary school children. Numbers were often in the high teens for this.
The Young People made a great gospel contribution to our Crib and Christingle service via a wonderful talent show.
JAM (Jesus and Me) is a Christian club run by the church and based at the school. Again, we meet on Thursdays (straight after school) and numbers are in the mid twenties. Thanks so much to Liz, Helen and our many wonderful volunteers for taking part in this wonderful outreach.
Prayer Chain: The Prayer Chain consists of a group of people who pray in confidence for those in need. We take calls for the sick, dying and those in various kinds of trouble, both for themselves and on behalf of others. We explain to them that we pray for a week and encourage them to ring again to request more prayer if needed.
Discipleship & Pastoral Care
Home Groups: Our Home Groups continue to be an integral part of our church family here at St Peter's and continue to flourish due to the special relationships and trust existing between group members. These groups are a safe space to meet, share fellowship, pray, study, discuss and have fun too. Each group is autonomous, unique, special and the groups themselves decide on their own study material as best suits them. Group members are caring and supportive of each other and confidences, beliefs, doubts and opinions shared remain in the group. "What's shared in group stays in group".
We have had home groups at St Peter's for about 15 years now starting with just two. At last year’s Annual Report we totalled 8 groups and I am very pleased to report that we have just started our 9th group. One of our Home Groups meets in one of our village’s Sheltered Housing complexes and our groups are also interdenominational in membership. Our Home Groups contributed some really beautiful prayer stations at last year’s Breathe 24. During Lent and Advent, the opportunity to attend a Church-Wide Study Group / course was also well-received.
We are always ready to welcome new group members, so in the first instance please speak to Rev Greg or Linda Mitchell who will find a group for you, or maybe even start another new group. We are mindful to keep the healthy balance of not overloading groups and excited to start growing more new groups as need demands.
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Children & Young People
The main church-led provision in school is JAM club (Jesus and Me) which has gone from 7 to 21 members this year. Liz and Helen lead the weekly, after-school club comprised of children aged between 7-11 years old. The sessions are interactive and lively; each one includes a song, snack, craft, story, game and finishes with a prayer. It is encouraging to see the children get involved in discussions based around a Bible story and grow in their knowledge of Christianity. In addition, though, the club provides a safe space for the children to bring their questions and prayer requests. Several times a year, the members of JAM club are involved within church services and really enjoy leading prayers or presenting a Bible based drama.
Prayer and Popcorn is a group that meets on Thursday evenings during term-time. There are around 14 young people (Years 5 and 6) currently involved on a weekly basis. The sessions are led by Liz and volunteers from the church community. Each session includes a faith-based story and discussion, with a focus on themes relevant to this age group. Games and snacks are also important elements of the session and we finish each evening with prayers; these are often led by the children. Members of the group were involved in the Crib service and enjoyed performing a drama to the congregation. This group has only been running since September and is an exciting and popular new addition to the church provision for young people.
Prayer and Pizza is a group that meets on Wednesday evenings during term-time. There are around 8 members who attend on a regular basis aged between 11-14 years old. The sessions are very active and revolve around games played inside the church centre and outside on the paddock (during warmer weather). We have a short devotional time, food and prayers at the end where the young people can pray or be led in prayer by a leader. Liz, Catherine and Jordan are the current leaders and are actively recruiting others to join the leadership team in order for the sessions to continue. Prayer and Pizza hasn’t had a meeting since Christmas as we don’t have enough adults to run the sessions. We will be meeting with the parents and youth later this month to ask for their input on planning and staffing future sessions.
Little Angels offers provision for families with pre-school aged children to enjoy community. Margaret Howard has run the weekly Monday session with the help of 6 very valuable volunteers on a rota basis for several years for which we are very grateful. Liz has recently joined in with sessions to make links with local families, specifically those with older siblings at the primary school. Sessions involve snacks, songs, play-based activities and hot drinks for adults. The group offers a warm welcome to families and a safe, enjoyable atmosphere for young children and their carers, increasingly grandparents holding the fort, with many mums needing to return to work. Numbers have increased recently to around 10 families which makes for a happy buzz.
Our Open the Book (OTB) team brings engaging and interactive Bible stories into the primary school. The dramas are enjoyed by children and teachers who always look forward to seeing the keen actors dressing up in imaginative costumes and wielding a variety of props. Feedback from staff and pupils is especially positive and OTB performances never fail to bring memorable moments during Collective Worship. In addition to the OTB assemblies, Greg, Helen and Liz visit the primary schools regularly to lead collective worship for the children and staff.
The Family services and Connections offer provision for families on Sunday mornings. Attendance amongst families with children is varied but on average there are around 5-6 regular children. Liz or Catherine offer an activity time with the children in attendance and the service is accessible for all ages. The new family service will bring more opportunity for families with young children to become involved in times of worship on Sunday morning.
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Mothers Union: Our 2024 meetings commenced in January with our AGM and we have met each month in the year since then. We have been busy with other projects including Mothering Sunday when we provided and supplied a selection of plants and chocolates to be given to Coffee Tots mums by their children. We also provided funds, raised by our Church stall, for the purchase of pizzas and craft items for members of our church Prayer and Pizza group.
For the eighth year running The Heart of England Cycle Club asked us to provide cakes and savoury snacks for sale, plus hot and cold drinks, which raised £275 for MU funds. We received a letter from the cycle club expressing their thanks with a further donation of £40 for MU funds.
In April we were encouraged to raise money for work overseas to help with education and to help with setting up agricultural ventures. We held a coffee morning in church where we raised £250; we added a further £100 from our funds so we were able to send £350 to support these projects.
Our Deanery lunch in August, which has become an annual event, included members from Wellesbourne, Barford, Shottery, Kineton and Newbold on Stour. Karen Morris our Diocesan President was also in attendance at the lunch. A good time seemed to be had by all attendees.
We hosted two further MU Diocesan events: a quiet day in June with Charmaine Host leading, then in October a Diocesan member’s day lunch with 70 attending.
MU had its usual stall at the Christmas Fair full of craft items, cakes, marmalade, chutneys, and much more. Everyone enjoyed the occasion with plenty of opportunity for members to do some Christmas shopping. From our sales we were able to give St Peter ’ s Church £100 and had a further £245 into our funds.
This year we again supported the Community Fund by providing Christmas goodies which were distributed to vulnerable people, and people who are on their own in the Wellesbourne area. The congregation of St Peter ’ s supported us and was very generous in giving many Christmas items and food goodies.
We provided two large Christmas hampers for Coffee Tots to give to mums with children who have very little. We also provided crackers and table decorations, as last year, for them to have a traditional Christmas lunch which was held prior to Christmas Day. Presents and much more were also given for families in need. A hamper of Christmas food and goodies was made up and given to a St Peter ’ s family in need. All the Christmas food and hampers were blessed by the Rev Greg at the Mothers’ Union service on Advent Sunday in December. During the service it was a pleasure to welcome our Diocesan President and for her to enrol three new members: Jann Wallace, Sue Bacon and Jackie Hinds.
Our Wellesbourne branch Christmas carol service was held at The Vicarage by the kind invitation of Rev Greg and Catherine. It was well attended and everyone enjoyed themselves.
Our sales table at the back of the church is still very popular. Our takings increased significantly particularly at the time of the poppy cascade catering, so during the year we have been able to support the prayer and pizza by £300, we paid for the crackers for the Coffee Tots Christmas meal, £50 was spent on plants and chocolates for Mothering Sunday for children to give to their mums at Coffee Tots. We also supported St Peter ' s by the giving of £200 and the Mothers’ Union work by £100.
I would like to thank members for serving tea, coffee and biscuits at each meeting. Finally I would like to thank everyone who has supported me during the last year and given their time to the Mothers’ Union. Veronica.
Home Communion: Home Communion visits are made to members of our congregation who are unable physically to attend communion services at St Peter’s Church and are served by a team of nine people which includes the clergy. We also continue to offer communion services at both Lawrence Mackie House and Ettington Lodge sheltered housing scheme during the second week of every month.
Community Support
Wendy Biddington led on this valuable work in 2024 and we are most grateful for her compassion towards some of the most vulnerable people in our village. Wendy’s update is below:
Community support covers a multitude of situations which are often linked into one or more of the different volunteering opportunities below. They all require time for listening, signposting and an active, sometimes immediate, response to situations as they arise. Rather than saying thank you to all involved at the end of
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every item may I say a huge thank you for all the volunteers who give their time, talents and money so we can support those in need in our community with compassion, love and blessings.
Community fund: This happens quietly and discreetly as confidentiality is incredibly important because some clients have to hide their identity. Our thanks to the Lions who often help to co-fund gifts or transport furniture for us. The furniture store is full of basic furniture and we keep curtains and linen in the Foodbank store. We now also work with the Parish Council who have deposited money into the Community Fund for us to administer. Our designated phone for referrals is 07435 918210. Over the next six months Anne Penfold will be taking over the running of this initiative.
Foodbank: Thank you so much for all your donations – we collected 5,118.91kg over the year. This has helped us provide food for 253 adults and 105 children. Our activity has increased again this year and we gave 35 summer picnic goody bags out to the school and 70 Christmas ‘goody bags’ between the school and Foodbank clients. Our thanks to the Mother’s Union for their ongoing support at Christmas. We are grateful to Sainsbury’s, the Co-op, both One Stop shops, Hasting House and St Peter’s Church for providing space for donation boxes. We have a designated phone number for referrals which is 07581 297197, and now distribute food directly from the store since we moved to the Methodist building. All clients are contacted and given an appointment time to come on either a Monday or Friday afternoon. The new store is much more spacious and safer to work in. We continue to have different teams for the various roles which include being the phone holder for referrals and making appointments with clients, the store team, the team emptying the collection boxes to take to the warehouse in Kineton and return with any orders to the store, and the team who distribute to the clients. Delivering food parcels is now unusual.
Ettington Lodge: Offering a holy communion service and a home group bible study to the residents twice a month is a delight. At festival times we join the day care folk upstairs for a combined service which is much appreciated with the musicians who come in and support them.
Wellesbourne and Walton Community Cares (WW-CC): Do look on our website - https://www.wwcc.co.uk as this is now updated regularly with photos and news. OSCARS teas are held three times a year in the Village Hall and the Holiday at Home scheme took place again in the Bowls Club, imagining we were on holiday in Cornwall. The Santa sleigh collection outside Sainsbury’s just before Christmas and the sleigh collection round the village raises a substantial amount of money to support these initiatives which are free. We are also grateful for the grants we have received. All advertising for these events is in the Wellesbourne and Walton News with a tear off slip to be returned to Hastings House.
Meet&Eat: We have met every Wednesday 12-1.30pm in the Methodist Hall this year and celebrated our first birthday in April. Most weeks we have 27 diners, two cooks and two or three folk who serve at table. We celebrated Valentine’s Day, Meet&Eat birthday, and had an Easter, summer and Christmas themed lunch. Some of our surplus in Lent supported Amasango School for Career Children in South Africa and Help for Heroes. At the end of the year some surplus was used for the five course Christmas Day lunch which was attended by 15 folk who would otherwise have been by themselves on Christmas Day.
Plans for 2025-2026 : the intention is that all these activities will continue so long as we have the volunteers. If anyone feels inspired to volunteer, please contact the numbers above.
The Poppy Cascade: A highpoint of 2024 was the return of the Poppy Cascade with a new installation of painted rocks stationed around the church building. Again, the cascade was a big draw and people travelled for miles to see it. A new group, Wellesbourne Crafternoons, began in the church centre, and proved popular.
Pastoral Offices: We conducted 12 baptisms, 4 weddings, 20 funerals (6 at the Crematorium and 14 in the church - 5 were burials) during 2024.
Wellesbourne C of E Primary School: St Peter’s enjoys a very warm and positive relationship with the school. We supported our school by providing two Foundation Governors (Pam Norton and Greg Bartlem) whilst Greg is also Chair of the Christian Foundation Team, which is a subgroup of the Governors, along with serving as Vice Chair of the Governors.
The school children attended 8 church services at St Peter’s during 2024 alongside many Christian assemblies at the school from both the ‘Open the Book’ team (led by William Howard) and members of the church.
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Mission Partners : St Peters Church decided at its APCM to support 3 new charities. These were Flourish, a Leamington based teenage girl’s project, the Wellesbourne Dementia Café and Coffee Tots which is based in Coventry.
Friends of St. Peter’s: In 2024 we continued to provide the brunch breakfasts on a monthly basis which have proved to be very popular and are growing in size. The Friends also provided refreshments at the Community Fayre in September and at St Peter’s Christmas Fair. We are always looking for new members to increase our team.
Facilities/Premises
The Fabric Committee: Following Peter Quinn stepping back from responsibility for church building maintenance, Ken Shirley was appointed as Church Building Manager. Peter is to be thanked for his many years of voluntary work keeping the fabric of the church in such good condition. Thanks are also due to the Friends of St Peter's for funding the Christmas lights in the tree opposite the church entrance.
Premises: Since September the church heating system has become unreliable. A major factor was an automatic pressure unit under the church floor continuing to fail, resulting in loss of heat. Further remedial work is ongoing.
As part of the Diocesan push towards reducing carbon use, St Peter’s Church was one of 10 churches selected for a complete energy audit. This is scheduled to take place early in 2025.
Following a very comprehensive stock check of all the church’s equipment from Bibles to pews, work is being done to rationalise the information so future checks are less onerous. A start has been made where the upper vestry has been thoroughly cleared. Work is continuing with the bell tower which will be followed by the remainder of the church.
Churchyard: Areas of the churchyard have been planted with primroses and more snowdrops, and wildflower seeds have been sown with various success of growth. Plans for cutting the beech hedge between the old and new churchyard has been scheduled for early 2025. The new hedge planted alongside the footpath in the new churchyard is growing well and a few saplings were added in the autumn to replace some originals that have not survived.
The church gate and railings have been cleaned and repainted.
More small grants have been successfully awarded for the restoration of the 17[th] century Aylworth Tomb. It remains to be seen if there is sufficient money from grants and funds earmarked in the church budget to completely restore the tomb.
Once again the poppy cascade proved to be very successful, raising money for local charities and church funds.
Permission has been granted by the Diocese to cut back the overhanging branches on the church path but we are still waiting for the District Council to give planning permission.
During the summer, six gravestones were vandalised. The PCC decided because of the cost not to reinstate the stones apart from one exception where the family are still resident in Wellesbourne.
The school holidays proved challenging with minor vandalism in the church so the building was closed at lunchtime rather than later in the afternoon. The wooden benches in the churchyard became a regular meeting place for several of the village children accompanied by considerable litter.
The Church Centre : The Church Centre Committee met three times during 2024. The Church Centre lettings have been quite buoyant during the year, but we do have some spare capacity. The Centre is now in a financially positive situation at the end of the year after closing for the pandemic and the tremendous rise in utilities and costs generally
Our cleaner is Andrea Ball who is now in her eighth year and cleans the Centre for approximately 8 to 9 hours per week.
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The committee decided not to increase the hire charges during 2024; these rates will, however, be monitored and reviewed at our committee meetings.
The Centre is generally well serviced and maintained and a good venue for all.
Bell Ringing: Practice has continued to be a success. We have a good regular band who turn up to ring on Thursday evenings. We also have our faithful local regular Sunday morning ringers who ring from 9.30 until 9.55am. Our practice night is on Thursdays 7.30pm until 9.00pm
We held our annual Christmas Dinner in December at the King’s Head where 20 ringers, spouses and friends enjoyed good food and fellowship.
We have had two new members join our band during the year who are at various stages of the bell ringing process, so that we have a full band to ring on Sundays and also for special occasions such as weddings.
Our band is closely associated with the Coventry Diocesan Guild of Church Bell Ringers and the Four Shires Guild of Bell Ringers. These guilds hold regular practice meetings and also hold a series of social events during the year.
We are always looking for new recruits to join us so please do get in touch with Peter Quinn peterquinn22@gmail.com or telephone 07785 793500. We need new recruits or people who have learned to ring and would like to have another go. St Peter’s bells are a fairly light ring and are easy going. If you would like to know more, please come and have a chat.
The Churchyard: The Churchyard was well maintained and much appreciated by many families. We are grateful to the Parish Council for arranging and paying for some of the grass cutting. Burials and interments of ashes continued in the new churchyard extension which is beginning to look more established.
Communications
Church Website: The Church website www.stpeterswellesbourne.org.uk had a new home page this year and further changes are planned to make it more user-friendly. It is updated each week with the Weekly Newsletter and events are updated as they are planned. The website continues to get about 10 visits a day; the main pages visited are the Weekly Newsletter, About Us, Church Centre and Contact Details.
The Wellesbourne and Walton News: . The Parish Council has now taken over the running of the W&WN. The church continues to contribute £2,000 a year and has a guaranteed two pages in the magazine. Linda Dane continues to prepare these two pages. The content of the magazine continued to flourish with contributions coming from all sectors of the community. We are most grateful to everyone who volunteers towards the WWN but in particular Michael and Linda Dane.
Volunteers
We are most grateful to a myriad of volunteers who undertook tasks which kept the church going throughout 2024. The church is also most grateful to our vergers Michael Dane, Cyril Loman and Pam Garnett along with all the members of the PCC for their valuable contribution to our ministry and for keeping the church running.
Churchwardens: Jann Wallace and David Close (from April 2024) served us faithfully as Churchwardens during what proved to be a stable and encouraging year.
The Inventory, Logbook and Terrier have been kept up to date, and the various works undertaken have been recorded and reported in the Fabric Report to the PCC.
Structure, Governance and Management
The method of appointment of PCC members is set out in the Church Representation Rules. At St. Peter’s, the membership of the PCC consists of the incumbent (the vicar), churchwardens, and members elected by those members of the congregation who are on the electoral roll of the church. All those who attend our services/members of different congregations are encouraged to register on the Electoral Roll and stand for election to the PCC.
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The PCC members are responsible for making decisions on all matters of general concern and importance to the parish including how the funds of the PCC are to be spent.
St. Peter’s is registered as a Charity with the Charity Commission (Charity Number 1143822). This report is submitted to the Charity Commission each year.
The PCC met five times during the year. In addition, the APCM was held on 21[st] April. Given its wide responsibilities the PCC has a number of Committees, each dealing with a particular aspect of our parish life. These Committees which include Church Centre, Fabric and Finance are all responsible to the PCC and report back to it, with minutes of their deliberations and recommendations being received by the full PCC and discussed and approved as appropriate.
Deanery Synod provides a link between the parish and the rest of the deanery and beyond to the wider diocese.
Safeguarding : Under the leadership of Pat Clarke, Safeguarding continues to be taken seriously at St Peter's. Staff and volunteers undertake training (where appropriate to the role) which is available online. Our Safeguarding Officer reports to PCC meetings via the Safeguarding dashboard which gives us an update of what areas of our work need further action such as adopting new policies, training or changing what we do. We have continued with a voluntary contact list for congregation members who might wish us to contact their families in case of an emergency.
The Church Office : Our Administrator Ros Jarrett provides administrative support to St Peter’s for 16 hours a week.
The Ministry Support Team: co-ordinates the ministry of St Peter’s under the leadership of the Vicar. Core members in 2024 were the Revd Helen Smith, Lynn Darby, Jann Wallace, David Close and Ian Host. This team met regularly to worship, to ensure the smooth running of church services and events, and to ensure pastoral care is in place where most needed.
“St. Peter’s Wellesbourne, inspired by Jesus to forgive, encourage and serve”
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Administrative Information
St. Peter’s Church is situated in Church Street, Wellesbourne, Warwick, CV35 9LS. It is part of the Diocese of Coventry and the Fosse Deanery, within the Church of England. The correspondence address is The Vicarage, Church Street, Wellesbourne, Warwick, CV35 9LS.
The PCC is a body corporate (PCC Powers Measure 1956, Church Representation Rules 2017) and a registered charity with the Charity Commission (Charity Number 1143822).
PCC members who have served from 1 January 2024 until the date this report was approved are:
Ex Officio members
Incumbent Reverend Greg Bartlem Chairman Curate Reverend Helen Smith Wardens Mrs Jann Wallace Mr David Close (from April 2024) Vice Chairman Deanery Synod Mrs Margaret Howard Mr Ian Host Mrs Jann Wallace Elected members: Mrs Veronica Quinn Mr Cyril Loman Mrs Christine Murphy Mrs Fiona Unsworth (by secondment) Mr Graham Day Mr Jackson Towers Mrs Linda Mitchell Mrs Jan Willows Mrs Lynn Darby Minutes Secretary: Mrs Linda Dane (non-voting) Secretary: Mrs Ros Jarrett (non-voting)
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Financial Review
The net result for the year on all funds was an excess of payments over receipts of £37,394 (2023: £24,325). On unrestricted funds there was a surplus of receipts over payments of £3,685; the deficit on unrestricted funds was, therefore, £41,079.
Planned giving increased from £62,887 in 2023 to £65,181 in 2024 whilst other/ad hoc giving reduced from £28,146 in 2023 to £14,904 in 2024 due in the main to one-off donations being less than in 2023. Gift Aid recovered is lower in the year due to the timing of claims submitted. The claim for the final quarter of 2024 was submitted in early 2025.
Adding together the bank and deposit balances, the total carried forward in unrestricted funds at 31 December reduced to £129,567 (2023: £170,646). Of this, £22,901 (2023: £26,400) is designated for Music, the Church Centre, and St Peter’s Friends. Two small, dormant investment accounts were closed during the year. The balances of £915.00 and £1501.54 were transferred into St Peter's main bank account as unrestricted funds.
Fundraising was again successful in 2024. Once again, one of the highlights of the year was the busy and successful Christmas Fair held in December which raised a record total of £2,264. The Friends of St Peter’s continued to hold Saturday morning brunches throughout the year which raised a total of £1,537. Other fundraising for the year included a concert in the church which raised £176, and a barn dance in the Church Centre, raising £300. The Mother’s Union have a table at the back of church where they raise funds by selling produce such as cakes, marmalade and jam, and handmade cards/craft items. From these funds, they donated £200 to St Peter’s in 2024 for which we are very grateful. We also received a very generous donation of £1,955 from the funds raised by the Poppy Cascade.
£86,504 was spent from the unrestricted funds to provide the Christian Ministry from St Peter’s Church, including contribution to the diocesan share of £60,912 which largely provides the stipends and housing for clergy. The costs of the Families’ Worker are included in the Christian Ministry figure. This post is funded by a very generous legacy received in 2022. There was no restriction on the use of this legacy and the PCC were in favour of funding children and family work at St Peter’s, in Wellesbourne Primary School and in the wider community.
A second bequest was used to fund the balance of the refurbishment of the organ which took place in January/February 2024. The total invoiced cost for this was £26,407. VAT of £4,401 charged on this work was recovered, reducing the overall cost to £22,006. We received £500 towards this from The On Organ Fund in Chichester and £5,000 of the remaining cost was met by a generous donation from the Friends of St. Peter’s fund.
An unexpected expense in the year was a requirement by the diocese for all PCCs to carry out a topographical survey of the churchyard in order to produce a detailed plan in accordance with the Churchyard Plans and Records Regulations 1992. Royal Surveys from Leamington Spa undertook the work for this project at a cost of £1,530.
Although the running of Wellesbourne & Walton News was taken over by the Parish Council from 1 January 2024, the timing of invoices meant that £3,799 in print costs relating to work carried out in 2023 was paid by St Peter’s in 2024 and is included in the 2024 accounts.
No expenses were claimed by any PCC member for attending meetings during the year (2023: £0).
The PCC does not act as custodian trustee for any other charity.
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Reserves Policy
Restricted Reserves
The Carr Fund Restricted Reserve is held to cover the cost of maintaining the Carr graves in perpetuity (£10,000) with the remainder held to be used as the PCC determines. To date it has been held for fabric issues for the church and churchyard.
Other restricted reserves are set up as a result of specific criteria by the giver such that they can only be spent in a very restricted manner.
Unrestricted Reserves
Unrestricted reserves are held to cover costs that may arise that cannot be met out of annual income flows. This amount represents a minimum of the running costs for six months for the church and the church centre as currently operated (excluding the parish share which it is assumed is covered by giving). This cash buffer represents funds in the respective current and deposit accounts at a point in time.
Designated Reserves
Designated reserves are funds set up by the PCC out of unrestricted funds and can be added back into the unrestricted funds at any time. As they are wholly within the control of the PCC they are regarded as a special type of unrestricted fund.
Going Concern
The PCC has considered the issue of the charity continuing as a going concern and concluded that the charity can continue for the foreseeable future.
Approved by the PCC on 06 April 2025 and signed on their behalf
by Reverend Greg Bartlem (PCC Chair)
Signed ………………………………………………………………………….……………………………………….
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CHARITY COMMISSION, Independent examiner's FOR ENGLAND AND WALES I report on the accounts Report to the trusteesl memboT¥ of The ParCKhl Churth C41 of The E¢de8wsIK¥I pSh of SL Potorfs Church. Wellestoume accounts for the year ended 31& 0br1 2if24 Charfty no Ilf any) 1143822 S•t out on F•g•8 I report to the trustees on ry examin8tion clthe acunts of the atjove ch8rity (Ihe Trustl for th8 year ended 31112f2024. Ro8W181bHItI08 and As the ch8rity trustees of the Tnjst. you are regFX)nsible forthe prep8r8tion bash of rewt of the a(xounts in ¥wth the requiremerrts of the Charrties Act 2011 fthe Affj. I roport in rn8pect my exaninaticffl (rfl Trusfs )Unts carried o und8r5gj1 145 otlhe 2011 A( and in (xrrying out My 8xanwnation, I habe follcrtyI the applicatAe Diredion8 given by the Charity Commission undef sedNJn 14515){b) ol the Act. I have thmpleteJ ry exarnination. I c£Mffirm that M matefial matters hava conx to my tefitn l in connection the &xaminatson vthic giv88 ffie cauw to b81Tr8 tptsqt in. any Aterial respt. 8(Lounting rK kept in wlanCe ryih 3PGtion 130 of Ihe Act or the coUnts do not 1?1 ith the a(£ntirj re¢x)rds Independent exarninerfs ststement I ha no cThorns and have. co1 rn nD Lrther rnatters in conneclion th the ex8mirWJon to whlch attenb'on slK)uld be drwwn in order to enae proper urKlerstanding of the xcounts to be reached. . FY•8s8 delete Ihe wortls in th8 br8¢*9ts if thty not apy. ned: Plam•: Mieh881 WarTen Ridqway Relevant profemional quallfi¢aUon(•) or body Ilf any): ACKi4 Addr•ss: 63. Warnick Road, Wwesboume, CV35 9UB 13
St Peter’s Church, Wellesbourne Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2024
| Receipts and Payments Account Note RECEIPTS Voluntary Receipts: Planned giving Collections at Services Bequests/one-off donation All Other Giving/Voluntary Receipts 5a Gift Aid Recovered Activities for Generating Funds 5b Investment Income 5c Church Activities 5d Listed Places of Worship VAT recovered 5e Total Receipts PAYMENTS Church Activities: Parish share Clergy and Staffing expenses Church Running Expenses 5f Church Centre Running Costs 5g Mission giving and Donations 5h Costs of Generating Funds 5i Total payments (Excess) of Payments/receipts Cash at Bank and in Hand 1st January Cash at Bank and in Hand 31st December |
Unrestricted Funds Restricted Funds Total Funds 2024 Total Funds 2023 £ £ £ £ 65,181 - 65,181 62,887 1,504 - 1,504 1,341 2,057 - 2,057 - 8,600 6,304 14,904 28,146 16,391 - 16,391 19,084 |
|---|---|
| 93,733 6,304 100,037 111,458 32,743 - 32,743 33,457 7,552 1,714 9,266 6,221 8,055 295 8,350 6,492 4,401 - 4,401 - |
|
| 146,484 8,313 154,797 157,628 |
|
| 60,912 - 60,912 60,312 12,944 - 12,944 15,802 84,623 - 84,623 63,880 18,183 - 18,183 20,607 6,488 4,628 11,116 14,011 4,413 - 4,413 7,341 |
|
| 187,563 4,628 192,191 181,953 |
|
| (41,079) 3,685 (37,394) (24,325) |
|
| 170,646 49,245 219,891 244,218 |
|
| 129,567 52,930 182,497 219,891 |
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Statement of Assets and Liabilities Cash Funds Bank Current Account General Bank Current Account Church Centre CBF Deposit: Carr Fund CBF Deposit: Church CBF Deposit: Church Centre CBF Deposit: Youth Services Petty cash Maintenance Float Other Monetary Assets Gift Aid Recoverable Assets Retained for Church Use: Church Centre at cost Liabilities Fees owed to Coventry Diocesan Board of Finance Clergy Expenses |
Unrestricted Funds Restricted Funds Total Funds 2024 Total Funds 2023 £ £ £ £ 10,762 18,927 29,689 17,984 7,953 - 7,953 6,159 - 34,003 34,003 32,290 93,411 - 93,411 146,877 17,191 - 17,191 16,324 - - - 7 200 - 200 200 50 - 50 50 |
|---|---|
| 129,567 52,930 182,497 219,891 |
|
| 1,972 335 2,307 1,872 |
|
| 258,881 258,881 258,881 |
|
| 888 888 868 320 320 211 |
|
| 1,208 - 1,208 1,079 |
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Notes 1.
The Financial Statements of the PCC have been prepared in accordance with the Church Accounting Regulations 2006 using the receipts and payments basis.
2. Asset retained for Church use is the Church Centre at cost basis. The Church Centre and contents are valued at £3,330,000 for insurance purposes.
3. St Peter's church and contents are valued at £13,300,000 for insurance purposes.
4.
The movements in the designated and restricted funds during the year were:
| were: | |
|---|---|
| Designated Funds Organ and Music Fund St Peter’s Friends Fund Church Centre Reserve |
Bal b/fwd Receipts Payments Bal c/fwd 3,358 155 70 3,443 8,042 1,537 5,121 4,458 15,000 - - 15,000 |
| 26,400 1,692 5,191 22,901 |
Fund Descriptions:
The Organ and Music Fund supports music in the church e.g. purchasing new music books for the choir and tuning the organ. It is funded by occasional donations, and fees paid to St Peter’s Singers.
St Peter’s Friends is a group which raises funds for the church through various activities such as serving Saturday morning brunches to the community.
The Church Centre Reserve is set aside for major repairs and maintenance to the centre.
| Restricted Funds Community Benevolent Fund Fabric Fund (Carr Bequest) Memorial wall 5a Meet & Eat Foodbank Aylworth Tomb |
Bal b/fwd Receipts Payments Bal c/fwd 10,060 2,855 3,079 9,836 32,619 1,714 - 34,333 4,810 294 - 5,104 946 1,719 710 1,955 810 730 839 701 - 1,000 - 1,000 |
|---|---|
| 49,245 8,312 4,628 52,929 |
Fund Descriptions:
The Community Benevolent Fund exists to help individuals and families in crisis through the provision of such items as white goods, furniture, clothing and petrol vouchers as a short term measure.
The Fabric Fund from the Carr Bequest is partly to cover the cost of maintaining the Carr graves in perpetuity (£10,000), with the remainder held for use as the PCC determines. To date it has been held for fabric issues for the church and churchyard.
The Memorial Wall Fund holds monies paid in advance for inscriptions on the Memorial Wall for ashes interred in St Peter’s churchyard.
The Foodbank Fund exists to help individuals and families in crisis through the provision of carefully selected emergency food supplies as a short term measure.
The Aylworth Tomb fund is the result of a grant received during the year towards the repair of the Aylworth Tomb situated in St Peter’s churchyard.
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| 5. | Further Analysis of Receipts and Payments | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unrestricted | Restricted | Total | Total | ||
| Funds | Funds | Funds | Funds | ||
| 2024 | 2023 | ||||
| £ | £ | £ | £ | ||
| Receipts | |||||
| a) | All other giving/voluntary receipts | ||||
| Donations | 8,600 | 5,304 | 13,904 | 27,816 | |
| Collections for other charities | - | - | 330 | ||
| Grants | - | 1,000 | 1,000 | - | |
| 8,600 | 6,304 | 14,904 | 28,146 | ||
| b) | Activities for generating funds | ||||
| Church rental income | 1,179 | - | 1,179 | 2,010 | |
| Church centre income | 23,161 | - | 23,161 | 18,271 | |
| Advertising income Wellesbourne and Walton | |||||
| News | - | - | - | 7,163 | |
| Fundraising | 4,932 | - | 4,932 | 5,480 | |
| Other income | 3,472 | - | 3,472 | 533 | |
| 32,744 | - | 32,744 | 33,457 | ||
| c) | Investment Income | ||||
| Dividends | 152 | - | 152 | 150 | |
| Interest | 7,400 | 1,714 | 9,114 | 6,071 | |
| 7,552 | 1,714 | 9,266 | 6,221 | ||
| Interest is earned on monies invested in the CBF Church of England Deposit Fund. Dividends | are paid from | ||||
| shares held in the CBF Church of England Investment Fund – Income Shares accounts. Investment income on | |||||
| the Carr Bequest fund has been taken into the restricted funds analysis – see note 4. | |||||
| d) | Church Activities | ||||
| Fees paid to PCC for weddings, funerals etc | 8,055 | - | 8,055 | 5,731 | |
| Memorial wall | - | 295 | 295 | 761 | |
| 8,055 | 295 | 8,350 | 6,492 | ||
| e) | VAT recovered on cost of organ refurbishment | 4,401 | - | 4,401 | - |
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| Payments f) Church running expenses Office expenses, telephone etc Worship materials, music and organists Special services and events Church maintenance and repairs Churchyard maintenance Churchyard survey Utilities and Insurance Refurbishment of organ Memorial wall Children & Youth Ministry g) Church Centre Running Costs Maintenance and administration Utilities and insurance Cleaning h) Mission Giving and Donations Payments to mission partners Payments to other charities and mission i) Costs of Generating Funds Church rental costs Fundraising costs Printing costs - Wellesbourne and Walton News Approved by PCC on 06 April 2025 and signed by: |
Unrestricted Funds Restricted Funds Total Funds 2024 Total Funds 2023 £ £ £ £ 2,452 - 2,452 2,831 8,289 - 8,289 10,374 1,908 - 1,908 2,469 7,232 - 7,232 8,953 6,798 - 6,798 6,912 1,530 1,530 - 16,183 - 16,183 18,866 21,126 - 21,126 5,281 - - - 360 19,105 - 19,105 7,834 |
|---|---|
| 84,623 - 84,623 63,880 |
|
| Unrestricted Funds Restricted Funds Total Funds 2024 Total Funds 2023 £ £ £ £ 823 - 823 2,087 10,364 - 10,364 11,861 6,996 - 6,996 6,659 |
|
| 18,183 - 18,183 20,607 |
|
| 6,288 - 6,288 8,630 200 4,628 4,828 5,381 |
|
| 6,488 4,628 11,116 14,011 |
|
| 295 - 295 245 319 - 319 152 3,799 - 3,799 6,944 |
|
| 4,413 - 4,413 7,341 |
|
Revd Greg Bartlem, Chair PCC
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........................................................................................................ J A Wallace, Treasurer & Churchwarden
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