## New web domains The church and community project have new, different web-domain names, as below. https://barnabas-oldham.co.uk https://barnabas-thrive-oldham.co.uk 1 28 The Church holds four funds. The year-end balances are: the Deanery of Ashton and Oldham, the Episcopal Area of Middleton, and the Diocese of Manchester ## Ministry Team in 2022 **Vicar** The Revd Dr Paul Monk **Assistant Curates Lay Readers** Pete Haslam Rosie Kingham Ruth Lees (Reader Emeritus at Holy Trinity ) Lucie Reilly ## Parochial Church Council for 2022 **Church Wardens** Mr Peter Haslam Nicola Williams **Church Secretary** Mrs Joanne Monk **Church Treasurer** Mrs Vicky Heaton **Deanery Synod Reps.** Position vacant **Elected Members** Mr Tom Edmondson Mrs Joanne Monk Mrs Megan Patrick Mrs Nicola Williams ## Other Church officers **Administrator** Ms Sarah Gura (part time) **Child-protection Officer** Mrs Jo Monk and MaryAnne Oduntan (both in part) **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 _Co-operative 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 2022 was £11,000, which was paid in full. |General Fund|£4,872| |---|---| |Community Fund|£16,328| |Youth club|£15| |Building Fund|–£3,773| |Women Thrive|20,623| |Teen Thrive|–2,226| ## General fund The total income for 2022 was £129,406, which is much greater than in 2020 (£63,521). Overall costs over the year were £99,999 (up from £70,286 in 2021). The net balance improved from –£4,544 in 2021 to £35,839. The majority of the difference relates grants sourced for the major improvement of the nave and Parish Room, and grants for the community project. ## Restricted Funds _Community Fund_ The Church’s Community Project runs programmes including _Food Thrive!, Teen Thrive!_ and _Women Thrive!_ The project is busy, for example giving food to as many as 220 local people (including dependents) a week. A great many grants sourced for _Food Thrive!_ and _Women Thrive!_ It therefore contributed significantly to Church finances. ## Grants received in 2022 The Church was awarded 16 grants during 2022 totalling £166,477. This amount is the largest in a great many years—possibly ever. It’s important to appreciate that while this finance was _awarded_ in 2022, the church will received much of it in 2023 and a smaller amount in 2024. That’s how incremental grants operate. The grants covered the costs of building (capital) works, and the community project. The 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. The Church also received a grant of £1,300 from the Benefact Group that does not appear in the accounts: it was paid directly to the Plunkett Group for legal help in setting up the new Barnabas Thrive charity. 2 27 ## Treasurer’s report The accounts which append this Annual Report offer a detailed description of the Church finances. These paragraphs represent a summary. The Church paid its full parish share in 2022: it paid £11,500 and also paid off about £2,500 of its loan to the Diocese, which was taken out in 2018 to pay for emergency building work. In summary, Church funds continue to be under pressure, albeit less than in |Lotery: Reaching Communites|£86,740 Barnabas Thrive!| |---|---| |One Oldham Fund|£24,257 Teen Thrive! and hub development| |Natonal Lotery|£7,550 Nave redevelopment| |Garfeld Weston Foundaton|£7,500 Nave redevelopment| |Council for Social Acton|£5,000 Women Thrive!| |Bernard Sunley Foundaton|£5,000 Nave redevelopment| |Diocese of Manchester|£5,000 Nave redevelopment| |Allchurches Trust|£3,000 Nave redevelopment| |Oldham Council|£3,000 HAF sessions| |Manchester Guardian Society|£2,500 Nave redevelopment| |Oldham Council|£2,300 HAF sessions| |One Shop (Lees Road)|£1,000 Food co-operatve| |ROCA|£780 Chromebooks for Women Thrive!| |GMVCO|£750 Teen Thrive!| |Acton Together|£600 Cost of living grant| |One Stop|£500 Christmas celebratons| **Table 3** Table citing all the grants awarded and received during 2022. In most cases, the paperwork needed when applying for these grants was compiled in 2022, but in some cases in 2021. The largest grant (from the National Lottery) was awarded in 2022 but will be paid in instalments during the period 2022–2025. ## Minutes of the 2022 APCM ## **Sunday 24 April 2022** **Present** Paul Monk (Chair), Peter Haslam (Warden), Jo Monk (Secretary), John Booth, Rebecca Burbridge, Tom Edmondson, Margaret Haslam, John Marshall, Megan Patrick. **Introduction** Revd Paul Monk introduced the meeting with an introductory talk giving context. In a sense everything has changed—Brexit, Covid, Oldham, and Clarksfield. But in a sense nothing has changed. The Gospel is the same and God is the same. At heart, people are the same and their need for God is the same. Our task is therefore two-fold: to respond to God and to create a meaningful bridge between a changeless Heaven and a different earth, between God and His people. We often abbreviate the name of that bridge and call it the Church. Today is the annual meeting at which we take stock and ask the questions that matter about the Church. They include the personal questions like, ‘To what extent am I the person that God wants me to be?’ and ‘Am I pleasing to Him?’ And as a Church, we should ask, ‘Are we fulfilling our mission?’ I can’t analyse the first, personal, question except for myself. You’ll have to answer for yourselves, both today and later when standing before God in judgement. But, before we as a congregation respond, the Church of England They are: - To proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom. - To teach, baptise, and nurture new believers. - To respond to human need by loving service. - To seek to transform unjust structures of society, to challenge violence of every kind and to pursue peace and reconciliation. - To strive to safeguard the integrity of creation and sustain and renew the life of the earth. In some respects, we’re doing quite well. Concerning Mark 5: St Barnabas is now being used as an example of how to be eco-friendly. We’ve received a cherished silver eco-award from the international organisation _A Rocha_ . Concerning Mark 3: we set up and oversee one of the largest independent food co-operatives in this part of Oldham. We’re putting considerable effort into new groups that empower and support. You may have read about them in our annul report. 26 3 And, in my view, the first of these ‘Marks’ needs to be the foremost because the others flow from it. We need to think first of getting folk to believe and commit. Our principal gap is that proclaiming and seeking of new members. In my certain knowledge, this Church has nearly closed several times in the last twenty-five years. In 1999, it no longer warranted a full-time minister and might warrant no minister at all: the Diocese thought hard and entrusted it to a part-time minister. Again, in 2008, and during another interregnum, the Diocese had to decide whether to close us or appoint a new minister. In context, much of the building was in a poor condition and the congregation was small and quite old. The Diocese again appointed a new minister and, in true CoE fashion, didn’t change anything. I was that new minister. We’ve had massive stresses recently. Brexit decreased our congregation. Covid decreased our congregation. The area in which we live has changed beyond recognition. Other issues occurred at the same time. The situation today is different again. The whole world is in turmoil. The Church of England is in turmoil. The Diocese is in turmoil. I am assured that I have been quizzed extensively by the bishops and often. I have taken on additional duties in the Diocese and Deanery to ensure we remain in the ## Report from the Sunday school The Sunday school has not been able to reconvene since the first lockdown owing to a lack of leaders. ## Churches Together in East Oldham Churches Together did not convene during 2022. It is hoped that it will restart during 2023. _**Paul Monk** : Vicar (January 2023)_ ## PCC programme for 2023 Most PCC meetings may convene via Zoom. Tuesday 24 January Tuesday 21 March Tuesday 23 May Tuesday 18 July Tuesday 19 September Tuesday 21 November ## Liturgical programme for 2023 **Ash Wednesday** Ashing and Eucharist **Palm Sunday** Eucharist **Holy Monday** Compline **Holy Tuesday** Compline **Holy Wednesday** Compline **Maundy Thursday** Eucharist (followed by vigil) **Good Friday** Non-Eucharistic service **Meditations at the Cross** at St Barnabas **Easter Day** Eucharist **Harvest Festival Commemoration of the faithful departed Remembrance** Non-Eucharistic service **Carol Service Christingle service** at Waterhead Church **Midnight Mass** at Waterhead Church **Christmas Day** at St Barnabas’ Church Weds 22 February Sunday 2 April Monday 3 April Tuesday 4 April Wednesday 5 April Thursday 6 April Friday 7 April Sunday 9 April Sunday 8 October Sunday 29 October Sunday 12 November Sunday 17 December Sunday 24 December Sunday 24 December Monday 25 December _**Paul Monk** Vicar (January 2023_ 25 4 - **Woodlands Vale** (previously ‘Watersheddings’ School) had several tours of the church to comply with the requirements of the National Curriculum. - **Waterhead Academy** All the projects scheduled for 2022 were cancelled. No services for local schools occurred in the church during 2022. ## 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. It is unwise to trust the data for predictive purposes owing to the continuing impact of Covid: the list is undated every three years and will certainly change significantly when next compiled. Some congregational movement occurred with new members joining and others leaving. Many ceased to attend. And several members died during 2022: Cyril Brathwaite, Keith Duffell, Alma Kelly, and Joan Platt. Additionally, the funeral of Joyce Booth also occurred in 2022 (she died in 2021). And many other members lost loved ones during the year. _**Paul Monk** (January 2023)_ ## Report from the Child Protection Officer St Barnabas’ child-protection policy is displayed prominently at the back of the Church nave. The Parochial Church Council insists that all adults who work with young people must have an enhanced DBS. Most have undertaken on-line training and all have been advised of the procedures they should adopt if concerns arise. If they, or any member of the congregation, have safeguarding concerns about any child, they should in the first instance contact me as Child Protection for advice if required. No children’s work has been possible since the start of the first pandemic lockdown in March 2020. We very much look forward to resuming when it is safe to do so. _**Jo Monk** : Child-protection Officer (January 2023)_ forefront of decision making. In many respects that gambit has worked: it has enabled me to fight our corner and we are heavily subsidised as a result. But the fact remains: we must adapt. That adaptation is ongoing. We’re hoping to engage with more people _in this building_ making it accessible in every respect of that word. To that end, I’m seeking funds to improve the building and even now seeking planning permission. We already have £25,050 and several more pledges. I think it likely we’ll start in, say, June (though the Diocese is dragging its feet). We’ve put considerable effort into the music, seeking music that is more contemporary, and has lyrics that resonate with modern people in modern Britain. Off site, our presence on the internet, Council, school, voluntary sector at large—all is growing, but needs to grow much further. To engage further, I’m seeking funds to pay for a community worker. I also want us to work toward supporting younger members who seem to be suffering disproportionately because of the pandemic: I’m talking mental health. We all need to be aware of other initiatives. The Diocese has introduced what it calls ‘Mission Communities.’ I’ll sit lightly on the detail because some of it is unrealistic, but I’m wholly committed to the concept: we must engage with our fellow churches. It’s a mix of sharing and safety in numbers. St Barnabas is formally collaborating with Waterhead and Moorside, as it has for years; but also with St John’s in Lees and with Leesfield. We also inherit the Parish of Glodwick, though of course it currently has no Church building, no worship centre. I am the nominal leader of this large group. There was considerable collaboration over Holy Week and, I hope, more in the future. It seems obvious that we—St Barnabas—will help those other Churches in we are already the social conscience of this particular mission community, and some other Churches are subsidising us. In exchange, I expect help with our Sunday school and other forms of outreach. I want it soon. The bottom line: work for the Diocese will take much of my time, but in a relatively short time it will pay dividends. These are the considerations we need to keep in mind as we formally start this latest APCM. Before we start the actual business, I’d like to thank the small army of volunteers who keep everything going: admin and printing, cleaning and arranging, being a keyholder, and so on. It’s too wide a range to name but the Church depends on all of them. Thank you from all of us. **Minutes from Annual Parish Meeting and APCM 2021:** proposed: Peter Haslam, seconded: Rebecca Burbridge. On vote, accepted unanimously. 5 24 ## **Annual Parish Meeting** ## **Election of Church Wardens** Pete Haslam and Nicola Williams stood again as Wardens. Pete Haslam was proposed by Margaret Haslam, seconded by Rebecca Burbridge. Nicola Williams was proposed by Pete Haslam, seconded by Tom Edmondson. On vote, both were accepted unanimously. ## **Annual Parochial Church meeting** **Reports** were distributed and accepted. Paul Monk read out the policies on Child Protection and Vulnerable Adults: these were accepted unanimously. **Changes to the Constitution** It has been suggested that Readers from Holy Trinity Waterhead be part of our PCC and vice versa. On vote, this change was agreed unanimously. This means that Lucie Reilly is now a PCC member at St Barnabas. **----- Start of picture text -----**
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so we do not have a Deanery Synod rep. this year. **Election to the PCC** Tom Edmondson was re-elected (proposed by Megan Patrick, seconded by John Marshall, Megan Patrick was re-elected (proposed by John Marshall, seconded by John Pete Haslam). On vote, these members were accepted unanimously. **Sidespeople** We have three sidespeople who are all willing to stand again: Megan, Margaret, and Rebecca. On vote, all these elections were accepted unanimously. **Any other business** John Marshall is not happy with the music and thinks people to come on a Sunday. Several people present agreed with him; some others like the more modern music. Mr Marshall was particularly unhappy with the music we had at the Easter Sunday service. Jo apologised that one of the songs did not have lyrics on the screen: this was a simple oversight. However, we clearly need to look at the style of music and make sure everybody’s views are taken into account. Jo Monk expressed concern that many of our young people are having mental health difficulties, largely due to their experiences in the pandemic. It was suggested that the church look at ways we can provide a safe space for young people and consider how we can promote their mental health and wellbeing. The meeting ended with prayers at 11: 50 am. **----- Start of picture text -----**
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6 23 ## **Miscellaneous** In addition to the above, during 2022 the Vicar also led: - 17 funerals: 6 occurred in the Church, 1 occurred in Holy Trinity, and 1 each in in St Thomas’ Moorside, Oldham Parish Church, and Barlow’s memorial Chapel. The remainder occurred in Oldham Crematorium. - 2 baptisms. - There were no weddings or blessings of marriage. - 12 services of Holy Communion with the ill and housebound. - Covid prevented services occurring in Moor Haven Nursing Home on Ripponden Road. Conversely, the Vicar has started services at Alexandra House Nursing Home in Glodwick. ## 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: - **Littlemoor School** The Vicar led several assemblies and remains a Community Governor of the school. **----- Start of picture text -----**
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_**Figure 3 The numbers of occasional offices occurring in our Church during the past few Key: Left-hand page, baptisms; right-hand page top: weddings (including bless**_ ## Report from the Vicar 2022 has been a very varied year. First the high points. - A once-in-a-lifetime renovation of the nave occurred during the year. The nave is now lighter, brighter, and easier to clean. It has an innate flexibility that will allow us to rent the space, and engage in new, different forms of worship. The work in the Parish Room (as described on pages 10 and 13) has created a facility that will help local teenagers as well as parents and other adults. It is, apparently, unique for the churches in Oldham and extremely rare in the North West. The food project is feeding ever more local people. And the Church’s plans for creating a new charity to oversee the community project have been welcomed by everyone including the Bishop of Manchester, Oldham Council and councillors, funders, and members of the VCF (voluntary, charity, faith) sector. Our reputation locally has increased hugely over the year. That increase might also explain the larger number of hall bookings. And we have sought the necessary grant funds to welcomed in August, but had been working hard for the church for some time before then. Her report appears on page 9. But there are also many negatives. The average number within the congregation remains small and the number of funerals large. The Team Curate, Jane Hyde, left in January to help lead two churches in Middleton. Jane has not yet been replaced, nor is help being offered by the Diocese. And ambiguities also appear. For example, some church members very much prefer the more modern music during services, while others want a far more traditional style. Wisdom suggests hosting more services, each serving a different ‘constituency’, although staffing limitations preclude that option. The Diocese continues to struggle, particularly financially. It is probably true to say that the Covid pandemic accelerated a decline that was occurring already. The Diocese is therefore pushing through a major, innovative, but risky programme of change and renewal—the ‘Transformation Project’. _**Paul Monk:** Vicar (January 2023)_ ## Report from the Church Wardens We welcome those who are new to the Church and joined us during 2022, and hope you feel comfortable at St Barnabas. Please speak with us if you want to get more involved and contribute to the life of the Church. 22 7 In all Anglican Churches, the wardens bear the prime responsibility for the well-being of the Church, both as an organisation seeking to sponsor the ushering in of the Kingdom, and for the fabric of the building. Within this context, we note that during 2022 we twice had to worship in the hall: first in August while the new lights were being installed in the nave, and later in October when the pews were removed and the floor was sanded and sealed. We ensured that all services occurred within a safe environment, and were always keen to make sure that we looked after each other and could still worship God as a community. We are therefore proud to repeat a sentence from previous years’ reports, ‘The building is clearly in a superior state of repair and decoration than at the start of the year’. We had many tasks to address in 2022. Most involved improving our core finances to afford our commitments, and sponsor outreach and other work within our deprived community. The offerings each Sunday are insufficient to cover the Church’s costs and are not improving, although we received year, perhaps owing to the pandemic. We would like to thank all those members of St Barnabas’ congregation who have lavished support on us as 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. _**Peter Haslam and Nicola Williams** : Wardens (January 2023)_ ## Report from the PCC Secretary The Parochial Church Council (PCC) convened on five scheduled occasions in 2022 through the video-conferencing computer programme Zoom. The APCM occurred in the nave of the Church. I have sought to publish the minutes from our meetings as soon after each meetings as practicable. _**Jo Monk:** PCC Secretary (January 2023)_ ## Report from the Community Worker Firstly, please allow me to express my sincere thanks for the warm welcome I received when I joined St Barnabas. It was delightful. And also a huge ‘Thank you’ for entrusting this wonderful role to me. Please be assured that I will do my very best to serve God, neighbour, and church through this job. 8 21 It has been a good and busy year. With much help from Vicar Paul and from a great many committed volunteers, we have grown the community project from a food pantry to an organisation comprising four separate projects: Food Thrive, Women Thrive, Holiday Thrive, Teen Thrive, and (shortly) Cafe Thrive, which is part of our plans to become a ‘warm bank’. These components are described in more detail on pages 12 and 13. The umbrella name for the community project is ‘Barnabas Thrive!’. charity within a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) format. In effect, we are creating a new not-for-profit company that is also registered with the charity commissioners in London. We expect the community project to grow and diversify further during 2023 because local need intensifies and the so-called ‘cost of living crisis’ is an outward sign of the Government’s new age of austerity programme. I hope the community programme contributes to the life of the Church, and helps make it distinctive and a genuine outworking of Jesus’ command to love our neighbour as we love ourselves. _**MaryAnne Oduntan:** Community Worker (January 2023)_ ## News concerning other church members It’s always good to celebrate the achievements of our Church’s members. - Our curate, the Revd Jane Hyde, left to become Associate Minister of two churches in Middleton and was licensed on 6 January 2022. - Lucie Reilly was formally licensed as a Lay Reader in September. - Gareth Farnon-Jones from our sister church in Hey has been accepted for ordination training. Some of his placements will occur in St Barnabas and in Holy Trinity Churches. _**Paul Monk** : Vicar (January 2023)_ ## Report from the Property Committee 2002 was a busy year in terms of building work. The centrepiece involved reimaging the nave and Parish Room, which was sponsored by two projects: **1** We created a small gym in the Parish Room as part of the new Teen Thrive! programme, which required replacing the floor, remodelling the kitchenette, and installing four machines—a weights ‘cardio-gym’, a treadmill, a rowing machine, and a bike. The project was funded by a wide array of groups, **2** The Parish Hall is always over-subscribed with activities and local groups, yet the church is used for only a few hours a week. We therefore remodelled the nave to make it a multi-purpose space. To that end, we removed the pews and unsafe pulpit, sanded and sealed the floor, and replaced all the lights in 20 9 **----- Start of picture text -----**
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the nave and chancel with highbecause of the lights, we complete the project, we will encase the sound system in a bespoke, lockable cabinet in 2023. We also took the opportunity to upgrade much of the sound system. The project was funded principally by the National Lottery, the Garfield Weston Foundation, the Diocese of Manchester, and Oldham Council. We also replaced the windows in the office with doubled-glazed uPVC. 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, when the architect found several small problems (all of which have since been addressed). But the architect also noted how the Church needs a new roof, for which the likely cost is colossal. ## Report from the Diocese and Deanery The Diocese of Manchester is expending much energy on the initiatives that started in 2021. ## At the **Diocesan** level: In 2021, the Diocese started what it terms ‘the Transformation’ project, to create a modern church that is fit for purpose. To that end, the Diocese received a large grant from the Church Commissioners in 2020. This trans- day and Thursday) since 2000. The adult attendance in 2022 varied between the extremes of 34 and 11. The Sunday average was 17 adults and 3 children. Between 12 and 8 members were unable to attend worship owing to health and disability. This number has fluctuated over the year, owing to the needs for self-isolating from Covid, and illness, weather, holidays, and of course death. One obvious trend in Figure 2 is a general decrease in attendance before the Covid pandemic, which might be reversing somewhat. Attendance in the period 2015–2020 reflects changes in the ethnic composition around the Church, owing to immigration into Britain and emigration because of Brexit, etc. This correlation need not hold too closely in an era of choice and transport, suggesting it may be unwise to explore it too closely. But does seem wise as we move away from the pandemic to actively explore new ways of worship, new content and constituencies, etc. 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 head Church) and one ALM (Accredited Local Minister). Finally, we are very lucky that a recently retired Baptist minister, the Revd Robin Wilding, has agreed to help with preaching, leading Bible studies, and music. ## **Virtual services** Owing to the Covid pandemic, our Church delivered services online as well as live events in the Church. These additional materials were first delivered during the first lockdown in March 2020, when the Church We continue to publish two service transcripts (in pdf format) for printing or viewing onscreen. In all, we published 116 pdf services. They have been accessed in about 13 named countries; most are accessed in ‘Europe’ and across four continents. We will therefore continue to produce them until they are no longer needed. ## Other services: church year and occasional offices We celebrated more of the additional services than in any year since the start of the pandemic. We celebrated the whole of Holy Week and Easter, Trinity and Whit, Harvest and , Advent and Christmas. for Christingles and for Midnight Mass, and Waterhead joined us for Christmas. for Christingles and for Midnight Mass, and Waterhead Statistics for the occasional offices are given in Figure 3. There were no events shared with _Churches Together in East Oldham_ . 10 19 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 to develop a fuller understanding of an area. The most recent indices of multiple deprivation were published on 1 November 2019. They are no longer up-to-date as could be desired, but we don’t yet have better data. The _Church Urban Fund_ has used these indices of multiple deprivation to rank all English parishes in order of the deprivation they demonstrate. They suggest our Parish officially ranks 251 out of 12,382; s wise, we are in This result demonstrates a worsening since the previous statistics were published in 2015, which suggest we were then in the most deprived 2.1%. Informed commentators suggest the next figures are released will say the area has deteriorated further. 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 Barnabas Centre is located within LSOA, E01005448. The indices of multiple deprivation indicate it is (overall) in the most deprived 1.3% of all LSOAs in all of England. It is also in the 1.3% most deprived in terms of crime; 1.5% in terms of income deprivation; 1.9% in terms of health and disability; 6.3% in terms of child deprivation; 6.8% in terms of adult skills and training. The lower super-output area (LSOA) describing the Parish is in the most deprived 0.3%. The Covid pandemic has 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: 09-04-2020). 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. ## Regular services It’s quite difficult to interpret any of the statistics for 2022 owing to the continued fallout from Covid pandemic. Table 1 contains a a bland summary of average attendances at services; data for previous years is for comparative purposes. The line labelled ‘All Sunday services’ gives a weighted average of all our Sunday services. The lower entries help unpack this headline number. Sun- formation impinges on many aspects of church life. Firstly, the Diocese has decreased the number of Deaneries from 21 to 7. Our own Deanery (of Oldham and Ashton) came into being on 1 June 2021. For its second, related initiative, the Diocese created ‘mission communities’. Our Parish will work more closely with a group comprising Glodwick, Hey or Lees, the Leesfield benefice, Moorside, and Waterhead. Our Vicar Paul has been asked to lead this group. Links are growing and, in fact, are growing faster and stronger here than in many other Mission Communities. 40% by 2025. In fact, stress and workloads have caused the number locally to surpass the desired decrease, meaning that many local parishes are in vacancy. And, fourthly, several wide-ranging committees are addressing ecology and the environment, and finance and giving. Our vicar sits on both. At the **Deanery** level: As part of the transformation project, a Deanery Children’s Support Officer, Laura Tebay, will be appointed in early 2023, and we already have a new Deanery Transformation Support Officer (DTSO). The Revd John Evans was appointed in the autumn of 2022 and will help Mission Communities and parishes. There have been other changes of personnel. The Revd Lyn Woodall (who is the Vicar of St John’s and Leesfield) retires in early 2023. The Deanery is working to enhance the eco-agenda, and hopes to appoint an ‘eco-champion’ for the deanery and within each Mission Community, and the Eco-Echo is produced quarterly as an online resource. The Diocese is disposing of St Mark’s Church in Glodwick, but legal matters are causing delays. The Diocese wants to create a new church ‘plant’ in its place, although it’s not at all clear how realistic is that vision. That project is unlikely to start until 2024 but could start much later. One of the two Deanery Synod meetings was conducted via Zoom but the other occurred with members physically person. The principal subjects of debate have centred on the new deanery structures and creating new mission-communities (as above). ## At the **Mission Community** level: Our Mission Community formally came into being some time ago, and its inauguration service occurred in Moorside Church on 16 October. Our Mission Community has been selected to participate in the ‘More than Sunday’ evangelism training course, and is the only one in the deanery to do so. _**Paul Monk** and_ _**Denise Owen** (January 2023)_ 18 11 Food Thrive! runs the food co-operative. It feeds an average of 160 local people (including dependents) a week. Some weeks we have fed as many as 220. The food itself comes from Fareshare (Manchester), Gregg’s, One Stop, and from donations. The sugar, tea, and coffee we dispense is purchased directly. We ask clients for a donation ‘of about £2.50’ which buys a large bag of food; we offer one bag per person per week. Women Thrive! is a self-help group for local women. Clients learn skills and self-confidence through peersupport and structured sessions. The groups offers two or three sessions each week of term time. Other benefits include access to Food Thrive!, and experience volunteering. The members of Women Thrive! demonstrate great diversity in terms of background, ethnicity, creed, age, and family life. **Barnabas Thrive is the umbrella name for the Barnabas Community project. It comprises these four strands. We already plan more strands, if we can source the necessary finances.** |Table|2|Total|Living in the parish|Living outside the| |---|---|---|---|---| |||||parish| |2022||38|16|22| |2021||44|16|28| |2020||56|18|38| |2019||64|22|42| |2018||61|21|40| |2017||62|21|41| _**Table 2** Numbers of Church members on electoral roll. The numbers include the housebound and those in residential care._ The Parish of Clarksfield is multi-racial, with a composition that is changing fast, albeit at a rate that has decreased significantly. Ironically, the ethnic diversity looks rather low at 54%: in fact, the two principal ethnic groups have a Pakistani heritage (ca. 66%) or a Roma heritage (ca. 18–25%), meaning the remainder of parishioners (say, 10%) represents a much smaller number of people to represent other ethnic groups. 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 three sources: 1. Data collected and analysed by the PCC and members of the Church. 2. The Church Urban Fund. 3. Oldham Council via its monthly e-compendium. ## https://barnabas-thrive-oldham.co.uk/news.htm ## Deprivation indices As a Christian Church, 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 12 17 ||2022|2022|2022|2021|2021|2020|2020| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| ||No.|A|C|A|C|A|C| |Sunday|||||||| |All Sunday services|52|17|3|16|3|18|5| |Parish Eucharist|49|17|3|15|3|16|3| |Eucharistc Family Services|0|||19|4|26|9| |Morning worship
(non-Eucharistc)|3|18|2|—|—|22|8| |Mid-week service|||||||| |All morning services
of HolyCommunion|12|5|0|4|—|6|—| _Table 1 Average adult attendances (which do not include home communicants and nursing homes)._ _Figure 2 Average adult attendances during the census month of October: these data include both Sunday and mid-week services._ _The numbers do not include those who would normally attend but were ill, those receiving communion ‘by extension’ at their home, or members in a nursing home._ Teen Thrive! helps support young people affected by the mental-health crisis in this part of Oldham. The causes are multiple and complex, but we recognise historic factors that could include long-term austerity, then Brexit and Covid, and now today’s unprecedented cost-of-living crisis. This problem is endemic and growing and seems to impact teenagers and young adults. - We have a suite of four exercise machines: cardio-weights gym, bike, rowing machine, and treadmill. - The machines are housed in a safe space which is also furnished with a free brew bar, comfy seating, and all accompanied with a dedicated sound system. - Teenage clients are always accompanied by staff trained in mental-health first aid. Everyone knows the feeling—the school holidays have begun and the kids are already bored. Worse, you rely on free school meals during term time, so you’re out of pocket. Holiday Thrive! is your answer. Each session of Holiday Thrive is entirely free. We offer: - Free breakfast and lunch, and - sometimes fresh fruit and veg to take away. - Activities, games, craftwork, and - friendship. Sometimes we watch a film. https://barnabas-thrive-oldham.co.uk/partners.htm 16 13 ## Ecology report We replaced the lights in the nave and chancel, so the only non-LED lights in the building are in the long store-room and the main hall. We plan to replace those lights with LEDs during 2023. The Team Office is better insulated. While we cannot double-glaze the windows in the nave, they are now covered with Perspex sheeting. Finally, the church has been approached by a green energy provider wishing to cover the large south-west roof with solar panels. ## Community work report The Gospel imperative demands that we seek to establish the Kingdom of God on earth as it is in Heaven. Our Church is continually devising and resourcing projects to meet the needs of local people. We also offer the use of the Hall to projects that offer help which complements our own projects and that seek to address local needs. Incidentally, this aspect also generates income for both Church funds and renovation work. The community project has grown strongly as we seek to address growing local needs. We therefore risk a lack of focus. It is time to re-think and reassess. The Church Council has therefore decided to create a new, additional charity (the PCC is already a registered charity). This new charity will be led by new, different trustees and oversee the community project. The PCC will therefore have more scope for running services and overseeing the building. At the end of 2022, the community project had five principal strands: 1. Teen Thrive! (as described on page 13). 2. Holiday Thrive! (as described on page 13). 3. Women Thrive! seeks to empower local women. It’s a self-help group led by the church community worker, MaryAnne Oduntan. 4. Food Thrive! is the existing food co-operative. The number of clients (including dependents) each week regularly reaches 180 and has twice topped 200. We distribute up to a ton of food each week. The project will diversify somewhat as we purchase more of our own food and rely less on Fareshare. 5. Cafe Thrive! The Church has registered to become a ‘warm bank’ to help residents as the current cost-of-living crisis locally. We will offer food and activities during opening times. The statistics on pages 16 and 17 amply illustrate why this part of Oldham desperately needs this kind of community project. ## _**Figure 1**_ _by colour. The key appears bottom right._ All these projects are funded by a wide array of grants (see page 26). 15 14 Charity Registratlon Number: 1147033 THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH OF THE ECCLESIASTICAL PARISH OF ST BARNABAS, CLARKSFIELD. OLDHAM TRUSTEES, ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS For the year ended 31st December 2022 ST BARNABAS CHURCH. CLARKSFIELD TRUSTEES. ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS CONTENTS PAGE Members of the Board and professional advi5er5 Independent Examiners Report Receipt and Payments Account statement of Assets and Liabilitles Notes io the Financlal statements ST BARNABAS CHURCH, CLARKSFIELD TRUSTEES, ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS MEMBERS OF THE BOARD AND PROFESSIONAL ADVISORS REGISTERED CHARITY NAME THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF THE ECCLESIASTICAL PARISH OF ST BARNABA5,, CLARKSFIELD, OLDHAM CHARITY NUMBER 1147033 REGISTERED OFFICE St Barnoba5 Church Arundel Street Oldham OL4 INL TRUSTEES Cijrrent Trustees Revd Dr Paul Monk (Chairl Tom Edmond50 Peter Ha51am Revd Jène Hyde Jo Monk (Secretary) Revd Denise Owen Megan Patrick Nicola Williarn5 TREASURER Vicky HÈaton INDEPENDENT EXAMINER Name.. Llm @PEOT 20 SP4ftoThl DPIIE (MCkQ ioc Adres5'. Signed.. Date BANKERS The Co-operative Bank Oldham OLI REPORTTO THE MEMBERS ON THE UNAUDITED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS OF THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF THE ECCLESIASTICAL PARISH OF ST BARNABAS. CLARKESFIELD, OLDHAM YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2022 I report on the accounts of the Charity for the year ended 31st DecembEY 2022, which are set out on pages 4 to 6. RespertJ¥e responslbilmes of tntsteesathd vAamlner The charitvs trustees are responsiblo for the preparation of the accounts_ The charitws trustees consider that an audlt is not required for thls year underseclion 144121 of the Charities Art 2011 (the 2011 Acill and that an Indèpendent examinatlon Is needed. It Is my responslbllKy to.. Examlne the accounts under section 145 of the 2011 Actl.. - To follow the procedures lald down in the General Direttions 8ivÈn by thÈ Charity CornrnlsslDnlunder section 14515llbl of the 2011 Actl- and - To state whether particular matters have come to tny attentKIn. Ba51$ of Independent èxamlnerfs report My examln*ion was carried out in accordance wrf(h the general Directions given bythe Charity Commisslon. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a Comparison of the accounts presen&ed with those records. It a150 include5 conslderation of any unusual items or di5d05vre5 IWI the accounts, and seekin8 explanaiions fvom you 35 trustees concerning any such matters. The proceduie5 undertaken do not provide all the ewdence that WDuld be requlred in an audit and Consequent￿ no opinion is 8ivÈn as to whether the accounts present a'true and fairvie￿ and the report is limited to those matters set out in the statement below. Indepefftde￿ examlnerts statefflent In connertion with My exawnip.atiDn, no matter has come to my attention: l. Which Elves me reasonable c8U5e to believe that In any material respect the requirernents - To keep accountillg ￿cordS In accordan￿ section 130 ofthe 2011 Aci,. and - To prepare accounts which accord with the accountiTr8 record5 and comply wtth the accounting requirements of the 2011 Act have not been met,. or 2. To whlch, In my opinion. attention Should be drawn in order to enablea proper understanding of the accounts to be ￿athed. ST BARNABAS CHUR(H, CiARKSFIELO RECEipfs AND PAYMENTS ACCOUNY FOR THE PERIOD ENDINfj DEC 1022 TOTAL F￿￿ 3Vizl2022 3Wi¥ZOZi Fu RE(EIP15 C￿lertIL￿5 I￿￿￿ET￿xPecOY¢14b HBII Rents C￿r{h5e[¥ke5 Prlntlr lag￿￿￿ ￿dAd￿rtS 6.359 4,679 9,080 454 l3¢9 220 17.075 17,Q75 756 2,7E7 3SQ I,coo 18 65 In7 Te¥ Monry caiek MovlP05tsrd5 Grft Day 1nterESt8ttÉ￿Èd 742 HolyTrknt¥ 1.920 83,612 9.327 25,037 2L210 IL002 S340 Fwd FuilDuEh Lucy's61ft Concert M&Éllaneou5 Y327 45 IAB7 L575 45 1.487 1.$75 129.4 63.521 PAYPAÈNrs cdrsEY*n5e5 PE¥15hs￿re ChJfcWR￿1 Church5erViteS ni5Ltstlon klary ComTruTrltyWD*ei S*ry ComYunitywo*erEywEn5iS Hall M3lni*fftan¢ HallTeIep￿n Bulkla8Work coundlTax-v￿r68e ur