Holy Trinity Church, Waterhead 1 Annual Report for 2023
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Annual Report for 2023
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Contents
Minutes of the 2023 APCM .......................................................................................................... 3 Annual Parish Meeting .............................................................................................................. 5 Annual Parochial Church Meeting ....................................................................................... 5 Parish Reports ................................................................................................................................... 8 Report from the Vicar ................................................................................................................ 8 Report from the Church Wardens ....................................................................................... 9 Report from the PCC Secretary ............................................................................................. 9 Report from the Property Committee ................................................................................ 9 Report from the Diocese and Deanery ........................................................................... 10 Ecology report ........................................................................................................................... 11 News concerning church members .................................................................................. 11 Community reports ...................................................................................................................... 11 Background ................................................................................................................................. 12 Footprint ...................................................................................................................................... 12 Socio-economic context ......................................................................................................... 12 Church life......................................................................................................................................... 15 Regular services ........................................................................................................................ 15 Other services: church year and occasional offices .................................................. 16 Electoral Roll Officer ............................................................................................................... 17 Youth-work Reports .................................................................................................................... 18 School liaison ............................................................................................................................. 18 Report from the Safeguarding Officer ............................................................................. 18 Report from the Sunday School ......................................................................................... 19 Ecumenism ....................................................................................................................................... 20 Churches Together in East Oldham.................................................................................. 20 Church diary .................................................................................................................................... 20 PCC programme for 2024 ..................................................................................................... 20 Liturgical programme for 2024 ......................................................................................... 20 Financial Reports .......................................................................................................................... 23 Treasurer’s report ................................................................................................................... 23 General fund ............................................................................................................................... 24 Restricted Funds ....................................................................................................................... 24 Grants received in 2023 ........................................................................................................ 24 Glossary ............................................................................................................................................. 25
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Minutes of the 2023 APCM
Present John Birky, Linda Birkby, Lynda Blair, Val Crane, Joan Donallon, Vicky Heaton, Geoff Lees, Zoe Liles (secretary), Revd Paul Monk (chair), Jack Peacock, Lynne Schofield, Dan Reilly, Lucie Reilly, June Winterbottom, Ann Wolstencroft, John Wolstencroft.
Apologies Natalie Crabtree, Sue Crabtree, Revd Denise Owen, Naomi Parkes.
Opening prayers Rev Paul Monk opened the meeting As Vicar and chair of the Parochial Church Council (PCC), Paul Monk opened the meeting with prayer. He then reminded us that our primary purpose is to love God and to spread God’s love in our community: everything we do must be with that motivation and with that goal in mind.
Vicar’s introduction
Welcome to this year’s Annual Parochial Church meeting. In many respects, it’s business as usual and in many respects it’s different—everything is still responding to an (almost) post-Covid world.
I want to start with a long list of the many positives from this past year. First, I’m delighted that the number of folk worshipping here has grown again. It’s surely a sign that we, as a church and community, are welcoming and offer worship that is fulfilling and meaningful. I’m also delighted that ever more members want to contribute toward the delivery of that worship—maybe that’s why its quality is so high. Second, the social events that our church is offering are again consistently of a high quality. Local people often ask me, ‘When is the next quiz, when is the next concert, and so on?’, which surely speaks for itself. They want what we offer. And, thirdly, I want to highlight the life in the Parish Centre. It is managed and run to an exceptional standard and is generating much needed income. That income underwrites the whole of the church and its life. It also explains why, as a fourth positive point, we managed to pay the full Parish Share last year and look likely to do so again this year. Thank you to everyone involved.
But there are also negatives. Obviously, the country as a whole is in crisis. Look at the headlines: cost of living, austerity, expensive fuel and empty supermarket shelves. That Oldham is regarded as deprived in such a context implies that we must address a huge level of need. It’s a big ask. We need to keep asking what we could do. Before the welfare state, the church was the fourth emergency service. Well, the welfare state is being dismantled—what are we doing about it?
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The second challenge concerns the Church of England in general and the Diocese of Manchester in particular. When I started work here in Waterhead, in 2009, the area covered by our so-called Mission Community was served by five full-time priests. Three had a full-time curate, so a complement of eight full-time ordained staff. There are now two—Denise Owen at Moorside and me though, to be fair, St John the Baptist Church will advertise for an incumbent priest quite soon and that person may possibly be in post before the end of this year. I have done a lot of cover work especially for St John’s. I have been asked to become Vicar of Glodwick, which means a certain amount of paperwork, visiting nursing homes, funerals, and so on. And I am doing work for the Diocese and for the Deanery. Why? Because the work needs to be done, but also because the Diocese cannot ask to redeploy me. Before moving forward, I’ll conclude this part of my introductory talk by saying that while a great many local churches are closing—and most of them in deprived places like Oldham—we, Holy Trinity in Waterhead—are regarded as being among the safer churches in the entire Diocese. But we must make ourselves safer still.
How? I want to suggest to this meeting a few priorities for the coming year: I want to appoint an administrator cum facilitator to help oversee the Mission Community. I hope that person will help blur the boundaries between the churches as we all so that, together, we can explore greater community engagement. I will therefore explore that idea with the PCCs of all the churches in the Mission Community.
We do not have a replacement Sunday School after the Pandemic. In fact, we share this predicament with almost all the other local churches. Nevertheless, received wisdom still insists that we attract adults if we attract children. I therefore want a youth worker of sorts, which means sourcing the necessary finance.
I’m not convinced we should change much about the Sunday morning services except sometimes using live musicians. I think there is more scope for updating the Wednesday services, again with more music. As I think you know, the PCC want to install projectors and screens and to facilitate worship, so perhaps that small project will improve things. But I still think we should explore hosting praise night services somewhere within the Mission Community. Maybe that should occur here.
Inevitably, we must talk about building work. The condition of our church and Parish Centre are now among the very best in Oldham—indeed, among the best in the Diocese at large, but we can still do more. I’ve already alluded to the idea of projectors and screens, but we clearly need better heating here in the church and a better kitchen in the hall. We would benefit from remodelling the front of the chancel for weddings, baptisms, family services, but also safety. Yet again, those
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ideas require funding.
I will of course explore and revisit all these ideas with the Church Council over the coming months.
It’s time to conclude.
I want to thank the large number of organisations who have given grants to the church and centre, its work, and its projects.
And I will end by thanking the small army of people—church members and volunteers—without whom running this church and centre would be impossible: they clean, organise, help, accompany, tidy, liaise, often drop everything at a moment’s notice, … , the list is long and the commitment is humbling. A huge ‘thank you’ from all of us.
Minutes of the APCM 2022 Proposed J Wolstencroft Seconded J Peacock. On vote, the motion was carried unanimously.
Matters to be considered No matters raised at this point
Annual Parish Meeting
Election of Church Wardens
Val Crane was proposed by Geoff Lees and seconded by Linda Birkby.
John Wolstencroft was proposed by Geoff Lees and seconded by Linda Birkby.
As there were two candidates and two positions, the two were elected together. On vote, their acceptance was unanimous.
Revd Paul also mentioned to those in attendance that Dan Reilly is adopting the role of Deputy Warden and will therefore shadow Val and John to learn the role with the assumption that he will at some future date become a full warden himself.
Annual Parochial Church Meeting
Reports Revd Paul advised that new events taking place have encouraged new people to join services as they have attended events and liked what they have seen.
Policies and updates
The Safeguarding and Child Protection policies were read out and copies are on view on the notice board at the back of church. No questions or queries were raised, those in attendance were happy with both policies.
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Concerning safeguarding, if anyone has any questions or queries to speak to Linda or Paul directly, if concerns relate to Linda or Paul direct these to the Diocese. If Sunday School recommences anyone running this will require full DRB checks.
No queries were raised.
Annual Accounts
Revd Paul thanked Vicky for her hard work and commented she is a dream to work with.
Val Crane asked about the parish share increasing more than had been advised. Revd Paul Monk confirmed that he has not yet received any clarification, so will continue to seek answers.
The PCC has already accepted the accounts. Lynne Schofield proposed that the meeting accept the accounts and Dan Reilly seconded. On vote, the meeting accepted the accounts unanimously.
Election of Deanery Synod
Linda Birkby was elected to post at the 2022 APCM and has a further two years in role. Linda was thanked for all she does in this role.
We are eligible for two more representatives. Despite being advertised, no further candidates came forward.
Election of the PCC
Vicky Heaton was proposed John Wolstencroft and seconded by Val Crane Geoff Lees was proposed John Wolstencroft and seconded by Val Crane
As there were two candidates and two positions, the two were elected together. On vote, their acceptance was unanimous.
Appointment of Sidespeople
Sunday Services Linda Birkby, Natalie Crabtree, Sue Crabtree, Val Crane, Vicky Heaton, Geoff Lees, Naomi Parkes, Jack Peacock, Lynne Schofield, June Winterbottom, John Wolstencroft, Zoe Liles
Lily Lord and Stacey Lord have both been listed in absentia in case they wish to continue.
Wednesday Services Dan Reilly and Lucie Reilly.
Both listed were accepted unanimously.
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Any other business
Linda asked about resources for our children. There are no Christian bookshops in Oldham or central Manchester, so asked where suitable resources can be sourced. A short discussion ensued. Joan suggested Twinkl which produces resources for schools. Lucie mentioned Eden as another site for resources. The meeting agreed for Linda to continue to source resources.
The meeting discussed Sunday school for our younger members. We have been wholly unable to source volunteers. Received wisdom suggests that it’s easier to find volunteers if a central leader is appointed. That person could be paid or a volunteer.
Geoff mentioned keeping growth in church going and to keep the warmth shown to all growing, Paul encouraged everyone to continue to pray for each other.
Paul thanked everyone for their attendance.
Meeting closed at 1:05 pm with prayers.
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Report from the Vicar
Broadly, 2023 was a very good year. A great many positive features shine brightly. First, the Wednesday congregation has clearly grown and continues to grow. The Parish Centre is in better condition at the end of the year than at its beginning. Our reputation locally has increased over the year. New people see the church, experience Christian love, and of course its activities generate interest, publicity, and income. Bookings in the Parish Centre continue to grow, and also represent a good source of income.
But there are also negatives. The biggest challenge concerns the pressure on clergy in the Church of England in general and the Diocese of Manchester in Particular. The number of Anglican Vicars in east Oldham has slumped, with vacancies in every single church in our Mission Community except our own benefice. Nor is there a single curate, associate priest, non-stipendiary minister, or retired minister to help. We are the only Mission Community in the entire Diocese for which this is the case. The workload for me, as your Vicar and priest, has been gruesome. Nevertheless, I apologise if I have appeared distracted, disorganised, or merely tired.
Secondly, the re-introduction of ‘austerity’ by the Government is causing real damage to the local infrastructure at every layer—Council, Police, regular groups who convene in our Hall. These changes make it even more difficult to source grants and funds than last year; stated differently, sourcing grants to replace the church roof will be a significant challenge.
And thirdly, the Diocese continues to struggle, particularly financially. In retrospect, the Covid pandemic accelerated a decline that was already in train.
Additional pressures include a significant number of attempts to break into the Parish Centre, which causes frustration, fuss and paperwork, and great financial strain. That strain has been felt most acutely by the Hall manager.
Adaptation remains a key requirement, explaining why we have continued to experiment with music during Sunday worship. The growth in the church congregation is one feature of those more modern choices; that some members attend less regularly is a second direct consequence of that same choice. Stated otherwise, music polarises opinion in a way that few other features of worship can do. we will explore further still after installing audio-visual screens at the front of the chancel. Planning permission was granted in 2023 so we now need to source additional funds. Paul Monk:
Paul Monk: Vicar (February 2024)
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Report from the Church Wardens
We welcome those who are new to the Church and joined us during 2023, and hope you feel comfortable at Holy Trinity. Please speak with us if you want to get more involved and contribute to the life of the Church.
In all Anglican Churches, the wardens bear the prime responsibility for the wellbeing of the Church, both as an organisation seeking to sponsor the ushering in of the Kingdom, and for the fabric of the building.
We are therefore proud to repeat a sentence from previous years’ reports, ‘The building is clearly in a superior state of repair than at the start of the year’.
We had many tasks to address in 2023 such as building work, improving our core finances to afford our commitments, and sponsor outreach and other work within our deprived community, so we would like to thank all those members of Holy Trinity’s congregation who have lavished support on us as Wardens during 2023. We hope we can continue to earn your support in 2024.
Our thanks go to the team that lead each week’s services at the Church: the PCC members, readers, and intercession leaders, sidespeople, and those who brew. And please notice how the Church always looks clean and tidy every Sunday so many thanks to all who work to maintain this high standard of presentation.
As Wardens we continue to pray for you all, and we very much look forward to seeing you in church again soon.
Val Crane and JohnWolstencroft : Wardens (February 2024)
Report from the PCC Secretary
The Parochial Church Council (PCC) convened on five scheduled occasions in 2023 through the video-conferencing computer programme Zoom. The APCM occurred in the nave of the Church.
The dates of the PCC meetings were:
Tuesday 13 Tuesday 28 March Tuesday 30 May Tuesday 25 July Tuesday 26 September Tuesday 28 November
I have always sought to publish the minutes from all our meetings as soon after each meeting as practicable. Zoe Liles: PCC Secretary (February 2024)
Report from the Property Committee
2023 was a quiet year. All the projects occurred in the Parish Hall:
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The flooring in the bar room has been replaced with high-quality, tensile vinyl.
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The bar room and main hall are now separated with a glass and metal screen.
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The Hall suffered 6 attempted break-ins during the summer. In consequence, the doors facing the graveyard (the kitchen and the fire doors) have both been replaced with security doors of plate steel, the outer surfaces of each is further protected by electric drop-down roller shutters.
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Again owing to security concerns, the Hall is now fitted with good-quality CCTV and the alarm has been substantially upgraded.
Finally, by law, the fabric of an Anglican Church is inspected every five years by a nominated architect. The most recent inspection occurred in November 2018. We may be inspected again 2024.
Paul Monk, Val Crane, and John Wolstencroft: Vicar and Wardens (February 2024)
Report from the Diocese and Deanery
At the Diocesan level
The Diocesan clergy conference convened at Swanwick in May 2023. Both the Vicar and the Team Curate attended. Changes to financing the Diocese were discussed. Few other changes have directly affected our church.
At the Deanery level
As part of the transformation project, in 2023 the Deanery appointed a ‘Deanery Children’s Support Officer’ (Laura Tebay) and a ‘Deanery Transformation Support Officer’ (the Revd John Evans).
The Deanery Synod convened twice. Each synod was addressed by a keynote speaker, as follows: a debate on eco-church (the in-person synod at Oldham Parish Church in May 2023) and on collaborative ministry with church schools (Zoom synod in September 2023).
At the Mission Community level
There have been many changes this year. Firstly, staffing: the Vicar of Hey and Leesfield took early retirement in early January; and in September the Vicar of Moorside left to move to lead a team of three churches in Ashton and Mossley. The associate minister in Hey also retired, in October. Accordingly, our Vicar is the only ordained minister in our Mission Community.
Second, Moorside Parish is likely to ‘twin’ with Heyside (St Mark’s). Heyside will therefore join our Mission Community in 2024.
Thirdly, our Vicar is now formally Vicar of Glodwick. There is no clarity, however, concerning the sale of the old Parish Church, St Mark.
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Fourthly, several wide-ranging committees address ecology and the environment, and finance and giving. Our vicar sits on both. Paul Monk (January 2024)
Ecology report
At the general synod in summer 2023, the Church of England committed to ‘net zero’ by 2030. Holy Trinity commits to working toward that goal, and also recognises that we will find that goal very difficult to attain.
We are therefore planning ahead and have advanced plans to install projectors and screens which will enable new forms of worship that do not need for paperbased books or photocopying, so again with a low ecological impact.
The church wishes to replace much of the current heating system, which is not efficient: the interior temperature is often uncomfortable despite heating the building for upward of six hours before a service.
Holy Trinity has expressed its commitment to ecological goals, and has been assessed as an eco-church by international body A Rocha with a bronze award. We will explore enhancing that award to silver once the heating has been improved.
Paul Monk, Val Crane and John Wolstencroft : Vicar and Wardens (January 2024)
News concerning church members
It’s always good to celebrate the achievements of our Church’s members.
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Our Lay Reader Lucie Reilly was appointed the Executive Assistant to the Bishop of Manchester.
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Dean Stott joined us as a placement student on Advent Sunday and will remain with us until Easter 2024. Paul Monk : Vicar (January 2024)
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The accuracy of some of the statistics below is unlikely to be high but, nevertheless, they well illustrate our daily challenges and our social context. We obtain our statistics from the following sources:
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Data collected and analysed by the PCC and members of the Church.
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The Church of England data (recently processed from the 2021 Census).
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The Church Urban Fund.
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Oldham Council via its monthly e-compendium.
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Background
Official figures suggest there is a 7.4% ethnic diversity in the Parish, which is exceptionally low for Oldham, and low within the Diocese of Manchester: the highest in the Diocese is 88% and the lowest is 1%.
The most recent data from the Church Urban Fund (2019) suggest the approximate ethnicities in our Parish are: British 86% : Pakistani Asian 4% : Roma 2% : ‘other’ 4%. These figures are only changing in the corridor between Littlemoor and Waterhead, and in the social housing in Greenacres.
Footprint
The 2023 footprint of people coming to services in the Church was about 15,000 people—a decrease from its 2020 peak of about 20,000 people but about 32% more than 2021.
Socio-economic context
As a Christian Church, we exist to fulfil the first commandment and love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. To that end, we attend and sponsor services of Christian worship. We interpret the second half of the Great Commandment—that we must love our neighbour—as God’s telling us to improve the life chances of everyone in this part of Oldham.
The so-called indices of multiple deprivation (IMD) describe relative affluence or deprivation. These IMD bring together 7 statistical domains: employment; income; health and disability; education; crime; housing and services; and living environment. The resulting IMD are a relative measure that is used to compare geographical areas; they are not a direct measure of deprivation. Other measures, such as child poverty or working-age poverty, are necessary when developing a fuller understanding of an area.
The most recent indices of multiple deprivation were published early in 2024 and are based on the 2021 Census and are the most up-to-date available. The 2021 Census data demonstrate that Oldham is the most deprived borough in Greater Manchester. Its data show that in our part of Oldham, 77.7% of households have some form of deprivation (the figure for the whole of Oldham is 59.1%; and is 51.7% for England as a whole). Statistics from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation in its report ‘UK Poverty 24’ show that 44% of all Oldham children under 16 live in poverty, which is the third-highest level in England after Birmingham (at 46%)
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and Sandwell and Manchester (at 45%).
The Covid pandemic accentuated the need for us to ‘love our neighbour’. For example, the Institute of Fiscal Studies suggests those hardest hit by Covid will be women, younger workers, and workers on low incomes. Before the pandemic, these groups were over-represented in the economy of east Oldham (ONS: 09-042020). And data (released a year ago in February 2022 by the House of Commons Library) shows that in our parliamentary constituency, and across all age groups, the unemployment rate has risen by 43% since the start of the first lockdown; nationally, the rate has gone down.
Using these data from the 2021 census, it is possible to rank our church against all English parishes in order of the deprivation they demonstrate. They suggest our Parish officially ranks 572 out of 12,239; stated otherwise, we are in the most deprived 4.7% of all Anglican parishes in England. This result implies a modest deterioration since statistics were last published in 2019, which then said we were in the most deprived 5.2% of all English parishes. Actually, this ranking yields a comparative measure rather than anything absolute , and all informed opinion suggests that the area bounded within Waterhead Parish has actually not changed significantly since the Pandemic; the change is a direct result of the appalling deprivation in the Littlemoor estates to the left of the parish.
It is unwise to summarise the disparity in life experience across a densely populated parish by using a single datum for deprivation. It also complicates our task of tackling and addressing need and makes it more difficult when seeking external sources of funding such as grants.
Data concerning local super-output areas (LSOA) are better able to describe conditions on a micro-community level. The parish traverses 4 LSOAs. The Church and Parish Centre is located within LSOA E01005449. The indices of multiple deprivation from the 2021 Census indicate it is in the most deprived 11.4% LSOAs in all England. The most-needy is located on the far-west side of the Parish (LSOA E01005456) and is in the most deprived 2.2 of all LSOAs. It the 0.44% most deprived in terms of crime; 0.50% in terms of deprivation caused by crime; 2.1% in terms of both employment and education; 6.3% in terms of health and disability. By contrast, properties in the Strinesdale estate to the north of the Church, which reaches into the south-western most tip of Moorside, are in the top 25% in England.
All the data used to compile this paragraph are available via the site: https://www.arcgis.com/home/webmap/viewer.html?webmap=67bce0ed36dd 4ee0af7a16bc079aa09a&extent=-0.4317,51.313,0.1986,51.5945
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Holy Trinity Church, Waterhead 14 Annual Report for 2023
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Moorside
Parish
Derker
Parish
Hey
Waterhead Parish
Parish
Clarksfield
Parish
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Figure 1 The Parish of Waterhead: the location of the Church is indicated by the green circle near the centre of the lower map. The figure also shows the indices of multiple deprivation, as indicated by colour (the key appears right).
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Regular services
Table 1 contains a bland summary of average attendances at services across the whole of 2023; data for two previous years appear for comparative purposes.
| No. | 2023 A C |
2023 A C |
2022 A C |
2022 A C |
2021 A A |
2021 A A |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunday services | |||||||
| All Sunday services | 52 | 33 | 10 | 34 | 13 | 29 | 9 |
| Wednesday services | |||||||
| Family services | 50 | 34 | 30 | 28 | 33 | 27 | 21 |
Table 1 Average adult attendances through the week (all events).
- The data do not include home communicants and nursing homes). Key: A = adult and C = children.
In 2023, the number of adults attending Sunday worship varied between the extremes of 19 and 48, and the number of children varied between 2 and 20. The Sunday averages were 33 adults and 10 children, which is the same as 2022. The Wednesday averages were 34 adults and 30 children.
Figure 2 shows the average number of adults attending services during the census month of October during the period 2000–2023. One obvious trend is the steep decline caused by the Covid pandemic, which has clearly reversed. The average adult attendance was 78.
An increasing feature before the pandemic was lay participation. During most of the pandemic period, only members with a formal licence led services owing to insurance requirements, but we can now call again on a wider pool comprising two Lay Readers (one formally worships at St Barnabas Church).
There were no events shared with Churches Together in East Oldham .
Virtual services
Each week the church publishes service transcripts in .pdf format, for printing or viewing on-screen. In all, 117 pdf services were posted on-line. On average, the Sunday transcripts were downloaded 90 times and the mid-week transcripts were
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downloaded 72 times, albeit with significant fluctuations. All can be viewed via the page, https://www.medlockhead.co.uk/resources/index.htm
The church magazine is also available on-line. Each edition is typically downloaded about 80 times, with significant fluctuations. All can be viewed via the page, https://www.medlockhead.co.uk/magazines/index.htm
Other services: church year and occasional offices
We celebrated many additional services within the liturgical year such as Ash Wednesday, the whole of Holy Week and Easter, Trinity and Pentecost, Harvest, Advent and Christmas. We joined our sister Church of Waterhead for All Souls, Christingles and for Midnight Mass, and Waterhead joined us for Christmas Day.
Statistics In addition to the above, during 2023 the Vicar also led:
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27 baptisms (3 adults and 24 children).
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1 wedding and no blessings of marriage. There were also weddings in St Barnabas (1) and St John the Baptist Churches (2).
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22 funerals: 2 occurred in the Church, 5 occurred in St Barnabas, and 1 each in in St John the Baptist, St Thomas’ Leesfield, and St Thomas’ Moorside. All the remainder occurred in Oldham Crematorium.
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Figure 2 Average weekly attendances of adults during the census month of October: these data include both Sunday and mid-week services.
The numbers do not include members who would normally attend but were ill, those receiving communion ‘by extension’ at their home, or members in a nursing home.
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17
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25 services of Holy Communion occurred with the ill and housebound.
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10 services of Holy Communion at Alexandra House Nursing Home in Glodwick.
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Statistics for the occasional offices are given in Figure 3.
Electoral Roll Officer
The list in Table 2 quantifies the adults on the electoral roll. The list is subdivided according to residency within or outside the Parish. We update the list every three years and will change significantly when next compiled in 2024 to reflect congregational movement, with new members joining and others leaving. The numbers attending services—particularly Wednesday services—bear little relationship to attendance.
During 2023, a former member, Freda Taylor, died; and a great many members also lost a loved one during the year. Paul Monk (February 2024)
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Figure 3
The numbers of occasional offices occurring in the Church. Key: left: baptisms;
bottom-left: weddings; bottom right: funerals.
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| Table 2 Total |
Living in the parish Living outside the parish |
|---|---|
| 2023 142 2022 159 2021 158 2020 129 |
65 77 71 88 70 88 69 58 |
Table 2 Numbers of Church members on the electoral roll. The numbers include the housebound and/or in residential care.
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School liaison
There are no Church of England schools in the parish and, since the Covid pandemic, work with local schools has not been extensive:
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The Vicar led three assemblies in Littlemoor School and was a Community Governor of the school during the academic year 2022–23.
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The Vicar has worked extensively with the church schools at St Thomas (Moorside) and St Thomas (Leesfield), especially for harvest, Advent, and Christmas.
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No services for local schools occurred in the church during 2023,
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Waterhead Academy again cancelled all the projects scheduled for 2023.
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Three local schools toured the Church during 2023.
Report from the Safeguarding Officer
The Parochial Church Council insists that anyone who works with young people or vulnerable adults must have an enhanced DBS certification, that all workers with children undertake on-line training, and all have been advised of the procedures they should adopt if concerns of any kind arise. In this, the church is following secular law and is acting within the regulations of the Church of England and the Diocese of Manchester. All our policies reiterate these requirements and are displayed prominently at the back of the Church nave.
If anyone has safeguarding concerns about any child, they should first contact me as the church’s Child Protection Officer. All the necessary contact details are listed at the back of the church and on-line. The Local Authority Child Protection
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Officer can also be contacted for advice if required. Please contact the Police in an emergency.
Our principal children’s work during 2023 were the Wednesday School sessions (in the vestry and in the Parish Centre).
Within the purview of the above regulations, there were no child-protection issues during the year.
Linda Birkby : Child-protection Officer (February 2024)
Report from the Sunday School
The Sunday school has not reconvened since the first lockdowns in 2020 owing to a lack of leaders. Paul Monk : Vicar (January 2024)
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Churches Together in East Oldham
Churches Together did not convene during 2022. It is hoped that it will restart during 2024. Paul Monk : Vicar (January 2024)
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PCC programme for 2024
These PCC meetings are scheduled to convene at 7:30 pm if in-person in the chancel, or 7:00 pm by Zoom:
Thursday 25 January Monday 21 March Tuesday 28 May Tuesday 22 July Tuesday 24 September Tuesday 26 November
Liturgical programme for 2024
| Weds 14 February | Ash Wednesday | Ashing and Eucharist |
|---|---|---|
| Sunday 24 March | Palm Sunday | Eucharist |
| Monday 25 March | Holy Monday | Compline |
| Tuesday 26 March | Holy Tuesday | Compline |
| Weds 27 March | Holy Wednesday | Compline |
| Thursday 28 March | Maundy Thursday | Eucharist (followed by vigil) |
| Friday 29 March | Good Friday | Non-Eucharistic service |
| Sunday 31 March | Easter Day | Eucharist |
| Sunday 16 June | Confirmation servicefor our Mission Community | |
| Sunday 6 October | Harvest Festival | |
| Sunday 3 November | Commemoration of the faithful departed | |
| Sunday 10 Nov | Remembrance SundayNon-Eucharistic service | |
| Sunday 15 Dec | Carol Service | |
| Tuesday 24 Dec | Christingle service | at Waterhead Church |
| Tuesday 24 Dec | Midnight Mass | at Waterhead Church |
| Weds 25 Dec | Christmas Day | at St Barnabas’ Church |
| Paul MonkVicar (February 2024) |
Annual Report for 2023
Holy Trinity Church, Waterhead 21
Liturgical events in 2023
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Social events in 2023
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Annual Report for 2023
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Treasurer’s report
The accounts attached to this Annual Report offer a detailed description of the Church finances and its trading condition. These paragraphs represent a summary. The Church paid of 82% of its full Parish Share in 2023: it paid £13,041. It also paid off about £1,800 of its loan to the Diocese, which was taken out in 2020 to pay for emergency building work when we replaced the floor in the ‘community space’ at the rear of the nave.
In summary, Church funds continue to be under enormous pressure, making achievement of its missionary and charitable aims a challenge. The total income for 2023 was £67,694, which is greater than in 2022 (£61,921. Overall costs over the year were £66,596 (up 24% from £53,785 in 2022). The net balance decreased from 8,136 in 2022 to £1,098. Most of this difference relates the cost of additional security at the Parish Centre following repeated break-ins.
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Holy Trinity Church, Waterhead 24
General fund
The general fund is the church’s only unrestricted account. It pays heat and light, water and cleaning costs, insurance, and routine maintenance. It also pays the Parish Share. At the end of the financial year, the general fund has decreased from £8,315 to £3,065. This decrease is alarming: for example, the Diocese of Manchester recommends that it is large enough to pay 6–9 months of bills.
Restricted Funds
The Building Fund financed significant security improvements in the Parish Centre, and is now stands at, £6,572.
The fund for renovating the Centre kitchen and bar area is comprises £135, because Dan has started renovating the kitchen in the Parish Centre. The Flower Fund holds £86.
The Children’s Fund contains £1,273.
Grants received in 2023
The Church and Parish Centre was awarded 3 grants during 2023 totalling £15,520. Table 3 cites them in decreasing order of magnitude. These grants helped cover the costs of building (capital) works.
Grant income in 2023 was significantly smaller than in 2022, when we received £200,000 from Oldham Council for renovating and refurbishing the graveyard. Grant income was higher in 2023 if this large exceptional amount is ignored.
It needs to be appreciated that some grant income was awarded in 2022 but received in 2023; and some grant income awarded in 2023 will not be received before 2024 or even 2025. That’s how grants operate, particularly those awarded over several years.
Awards for all £9,520 Heating Oldham Council £3,500 Security of the Parish Centre Garfield Weston £2,500 Projectors £15,520
Table 3 The grants awarded and received by the Church and Parish Centre during 2023.
The Parochial Church Council is extremely grateful to these funders for putting their trust in the Church. It is hoped that subsequent grants will enable yet further improvements to the building. A superior building means less maintenance and more projects that help more local people. It also enhances our potential for higher rental income.
Annual Report for 2023
Holy Trinity Church, Waterhead 25
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Accounting period An organisation’s accounts are compiled after the end of a week, month, or year. Without qualification, the phrase means the same as a ‘financial year’.
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Accounts A way of ‘giving an account’ of what has happened financially. The accounts can cover any period, although most organisations have to produce both monthly and annual accounts. The accounts are compiled to help give a full and clear picture of the transactions during the preceding ‘accounting period’ year and its financial position at the end of it.
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Accrual A form of accounting based on the concept that any money earned by an organisation must be matched with the costs that were incurred to generate that income, and that both are considered during the same accounting period.
Anglican Adjective meaning ‘the Church of England’.
- Archdeacon The priest in charge of the legal aspects for a large administrative area within a Diocese. In particular, the Archdeacon oversees aspects of property law, the employment and appointment of clergy, and discipline.
Area Dean The priest in charge of an administrative area of a Diocese. Asset(s) In the accounts, quantifiable or tangible item(s) owned by the charity.
- Banns A legal prerequisite for a person to get married in an Anglican church. The word comes from a mediaeval term meaning ‘boundary’.
Bishop The head of a Diocese. The bishop is always ordained, so is a priest.
Capital A project involving building work or purchasing of equipment.
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Chair The person who oversees the progress of a meeting. Often called a ‘chairman’, which is itself an abbreviation of ‘chair’s mandate’.
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Church Warden A non-ordained member of a Parish Council with responsibility for the fabric of the church. Wardens are elected at the APCM. Those eligible to vote in an election for a Warden include both the members of a church and those who live within the geographical confines of its parish.
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Holy Trinity Church, Waterhead 26
Core cost Regular expenditure, for example on salary, rent, insurance, heating and light, and not a one-off purchase or building project.
Diocese A autonomous administrative district within the Church of England.
Financial year The period over which a year-long ‘accounting period’ extends. In the Church of England, the financial year starts on 1 January and concludes on 31 December.
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Faculty The Anglican form of planning permission which grants permission to proceed with building work, or other scheme.
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Fund A component part of an account. For example, the general fund could comprise a flower fund, refreshment fund, maintenance fund, and so on.
General fund The church’s main financial account. It is usually unrestricted.
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Grant A gift of money to support an organisation or an activity. Grants are generally regarded as ‘restricted’ income.
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Lay Reader A person authorised by an Anglican Diocese to lead and preach at a service held in a parish church.
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Overheads The word generally means some or all the fixed costs that need to be met no matter how much or how little of an activity is undertaken, such as rent, heat, light, Council Tax, core staff.
Parish A geographical area overseen by a Church Council.
Parish Share The amount of money payable to the Diocese of Manchester. It helps pay clergy salary and associated costs. In older documentation, this debt is called the ‘Parish Quota’ or merely ‘Quota’.
Parochial Relating to a parish, its area, or business.
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Project A series of inter-related activities or programmes. For example, a children’s project can comprise fundraising, organisation of volunteers, craftwork, and so on.
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Quoracy, quorum, quorate Quoracy describes the rules that define a minimum number or proportion of people who attend a meeting: the decisions of a meeting that operates outside its quoracy is not legally binding. Those people,
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when assembled, are the ‘quorum’, and meetings attended by that number (or more) are ‘quorate’.
Reader (see ‘Lay Reader’)
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Reserves A word used in accounting meaning ‘savings’. If they can be spent on anything the organisation does, they are called free (or ‘unrestricted’) reserves. If they can only be spent on something in particular, they are ‘restricted’.
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Restricted Money that has been given to a charity for a particular purpose or project.
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Sidespeople Members of a church (authorised by the APCM) to assist the Church Wardens as they oversee the running of a church and its services.
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Statutory Adjective meaning deriving from the state, hence the Government, rather than business or VCFSE sectors. The term is usually qualified by words such as ‘activity’ or ‘sector’.
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Trustee A person who takes responsibility for managing money or assets that have been set aside for the benefit of others. The members of the PCC are trustees and most are elected.
Unrestricted Money that has not been set aside by the trustees of the charity, or a grant-awarding body, for a particular purpose. Unrestricted funds can be used on any of the charity’s activities.
Warden (see ‘Church Warden’)
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ALM Accredited Lay Minister. A church member is taught and licensed to help lead an aspect of a church service.
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APCM Annual Parochial Church Meeting. This once-a-year meeting always occurs in April, and is the occasion at which representatives are elected to run a PCC.
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DAC The Diocesan Advisory Committee. The DAC oversees the planning of Faculties in the Church of England.
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HAF Holidays Activities Fund. Grant-based fund for delivering ‘holiday-hunger’ clubs during the main school holidays.
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Holy Trinity Church, Waterhead 28
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IMD Indices of multiple deprivation. A weighted average of (usually) seven statistical databases used to help define rankings of deprivation. The initials are often followed by a number, indicating the last relevant ranking or accumulation of data. For example, IMD-19 were the data computed in 2019.
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LSOA Local super-output area. An acronym used in statistics to refer to an area comprising about 40–60 postcodes and a population of about 2000 houses.
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p.a. Per annum = per year.
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PCC Parochial Church Council. The PCC is a group of people who oversee the running of an Anglican Parish, with a remit comprising the fabric of a church building, the services of worship that occur within it, and all the financial transactions that oversight requires.
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VCFSE Voluntary, charity, faith, social enterprise. The acronym seeks to distinguish an activity or group from either the statutory sector (so led by the Government) or the business sector.
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Holy Trinity Church, Waterhead 29 Annual Report for 2023
Annual Report for 2023
Holy Trinity Church, Waterhead 30
The Parish of Clarksfield and Waterhead, Oldham
The benefice of Clarksfield (St Barnabas) and Waterhead (Holy Trinity) is in the Deanery of Ashton and Oldham, the Episcopal Area of Middleton, and the Diocese of Manchester.
Ministry Team in 2023
Vicar The Revd Dr Paul Monk Assistant Curate (in part) The Revd Denise Owen (and Vicar of St Thomas’, Moorside) Lay Readers Pete Haslam Lucie Reilly
Parochial Church Council for 2023
| Church Wardens | Church Wardens | Mrs Val Crane | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mr John Wolstencroft | |||
| Church Secretary | Mrs Zoe Liles | ||
| Church Treasurer | Mrs Vicky Heaton | ||
| Deanery Synod Reps. | Mrs Linda Birkby | ||
| Elected Members | Mrs Vicky Heaton | ||
| Mrs Zoe Liles | |||
| Mr Daniel Reilly |
Other Church officers
| Administrator | Ms Sarah Gura (part time) |
|---|---|
| Child-protection Officer | Mrs Linda Birkby |
| Electoral roll officer | Revd Paul Monk |
| Treasurer | Mrs Vicky Heaton |
| Gift-aid Secretary | Mrs Vicky Heaton |
Parish Information
| Benefice | St Barnabas, Clarksfield and Holy Trinity, Waterhead, both in Oldham. | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Bank | The_Virgin Bank_, Spindles Square, Oldham. | ||
| Insurance | The Church, PCC and property are insured with_Ecclesiastical PLC_. | ||
| Fees | The list of Diocesan fees are displayed in the Church porch and vestry. | ||
| Parish Share | The Parish Share for 2023 was £X, of which 82% was paid. |